Disclaimer: - I, SSG-Goku3397, do not own Naruto and any related matter. It all belongs to Kishimoto, the original brain behind the character Naruto. The only thing that I do own is the plot of this story and any original jutsu, seals, concepts and OC's that are present within the story.


"Thoughts / Telepathic Speech"

"Speech"

Letters / Jutsu notes


Chapter 26 – Chunin Exams Final Day I

Fifteen Genin were standing in the middle of the Arena as it slowly began filling up with people. The VIP box was already filled with, interestingly, more Daimyō in attendance than in living memory — not that it was shocking, as the Chunin Exams were a relatively new institution, being instituted at the end of the Second Shinobi World War, which ended about thirty years ago.

In the Kage Box, The Sandiame Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen sat with The Sandiame Tsuchikage, Ōnoki; The Godaime Mizukage, Terumi Mei; The Yondaime Raikage, Ē and the Yondaime Kazekage, Rasa. The presence of all Gokage was a bit nerve wracking to many of the spectators and some of the participants. The absence of Uzumaki Naruto also drew much speculation. He was afterall the proctor, and time was nearing the start of the Exams.

At five minutes to noon, a massive plume of smoke appeared in the middle of the stadium. When the smoke cleared, a large green toad was seen standing there with Naruto sitting on it's head. Standing up, Naruto said, "Sorry for being nearly late, but I had a last minute meeting with the Toad Boss. Anyway, welcome to the finals of the Chunin Exams. This year, it will be a three day affair with an exhibition match between the Legendary A-B combo from Kumo and myself on the third day right before the finals. Everyone, please enjoy the exams. Now it is time for the first match between Yamanaka Ino and Rock Lee. Will everyone except the two mentioned please leave the arena?"

Within moments, Naruto had jumped down from the toad as it disappeared in another burst of smoke. When the smoke cleared, only Ino and Lee were left in the arena. The other participants found themselves in the participants waiting box.

"This will be a no-holds-barred match with killing forbidden. The match will be declared over if one or both participants are unable to continue or I say so. BEGIN!"

Ino — knowing that Lee had the advantage against her in Taijutsu — didn't waste any time. Focusing her not so menial mental faculties, she released a destructive wave of telekinetic energy at Lee as she took the air, to the astonishment of both Ninja and Civilian alike.

Lee frowned as he was thrown back from the powerful attack but with a subtle application of air bending, was easily able to deaden the blow and land back on his feet without much disorientation. Using the cloud of dust as cover, Lee conjured a ball of compressed wind and threw it at the floating Ino.

Ino didn't even blink as she caught the spinning orb of wind between the palm of her hands and crushed the technique with ease. Bending the released winds to her will, Ino launched a stream of fast flowing winds into the dust cloud, dissipating it and revealing Lee sitting on a ball of swirling winds.

Manipulating the ball of winds below him, Lee easily evaded the stream of wind before causing the ball to explode upwards, throwing the Taijutsu expert at the surprised Ino. Lee grinned as he appeared in front of Ino and threw a punch only for Ino to easily dodge by floating to the side and retaliating with a fist engulfed in swirling winds. Lee's eyes widened in surprise as he raised is arms in front of his face just as Ino's fist struck him. An explosion of winds threw the green clad Genin back from the Yamanaka Heiress, a little worse for wear.

As Lee flew away towards the Arena walls, he manipulated the winds to correct his posture and cushion him, allowing him to softly crash into the wall and rebound with a burst of wind, catching Ino by surprise.


The spectators watched in shock, awe and excitement as the two Air Benders battled it out. It was truly a sight. The high-speed battle in the air between a girl, who could float, and a boy, who could command the very winds to level the playing field, was truly impossible to describe with words.

Each clash left the spectators gripping the edge of their seats as the two Genin battled it out to prove their dominance and worth of being a Chunin. If one didn't know that the two young Genin were bending the air in various ways, one would say that the very gods were supporting them.

With each clash, more and more stormy winds were bring created and blowing around the arena, throwing up dust clouds, seemingly determined to throw the whole arena into a massive dust storm.

"Wow! I didn't know that Lee was that flexible." Kiba commented with Choji nodding in agreement.

"My youthful friends, you haven't yet seen Lee's full capabilities!" Gai said causing confusion to the two Genin. Turning his attention to the arena, Gai shouted out, "LEE! TAKE THEM OFF. IT'S NO TIME TO HOLD BACK!"

Lee looked up with surprise before he crouched down and took off his leg weights. Ino narrowed her eyes — there was no way she didn't know what was happening. Lee would have been a difficult opponent even before ninshu training. Now, without his weights, and having mastered Air Bending, he would be a monster. She would have to be careful and plan out her next course of actions. Her eyes widened in shock when Lee suddenly appeared in front of her, floating just like herself. This will be much more difficult that she thought.


"I must say Hokage-dono; this is probably the best match between two Genin I have had the pleasure of witnessing. They were trained by Naruto-sama, weren't they?"

"That is right Kazekage-dono. Mizukage-dono has personally witnessed the power of Ninshu. I am sure that she will agree with me on the fact that this is only a warm-up. After all, I did receive a report from Naruto-kun that both Yamanaka Ino and Rock Lee has achieved appreciable mastery to be called masters in the basic arts." Hiruzen said with a smile.

"While I agree that the match will only get more intense, I doubt that either are using only basic skills. After all, I doubt flight is a basic skill, because Naruto-sama told me that it takes quite the understanding of both oneself and the element of air to learn levitation." Mei commented getting a nod from Hiruzen.

"Oh! She is going to be feeling that, no matter how much air she used to cushion the impact." Ē commented as Ino crashed into the ground with an audible thump.

As everyone stared at the cloud of dust in anticipation, a fierce cry rang out followed by the dust cloud being literally ripped apart and dissipated as a wave of psionic energy erupted from the young beauty.


Ino had her head bowed with her long blonde hair flying about around her head in a non-existent wind, completely free of the violet hair tie that Ino used to tie it up in her customary high ponytail. Taking a deep breath, Ino slowly looked up and with another scream of defiance, she ripped up chunks of earth as she started flying towards Lee, the chunks of earth rotating around her as if they were the moon and she was the planet.

Lee gulped in fear at the show of power and focused his mind as he quickly started releasing a few of the gates.

The shouts of "Kaimon: Kai", "Kyūmon: Kai" and "Seimon: Kai" were heard as Lee's skin turned a deep red, his muscles bulged and a green aura formed around him. Just as Ino and her fake moons reached the green clad Genin, Lee burst into motion.

With the grace of a swan and the speed of a swift, Lee weaved through the floating pieces of rock and struck out at Ino with swift and strong punches. With barely a strain, Ino floated out of the way and bombarded Lee with the chunks of rock, causing the green clad Genin to use his mediocre skills in flight to dodge or strike down the rock chunks.

While Lee was distracted by the chunks of floating rock, Ino closed her eyes and focused her formidable mind on her next move. Lee destroyed the last chunk of rock and turned only to face against five copies of Ino. Lee frowned — he knew that Ino despised the Bunshin no Jutsu and didn't bother to learn any other more advanced version of it, so therefore this must be the infamous Fūjin Genjutsu that Ino has developed.

Shaking his head, Lee focused his senses on the air to see if he could find the real Ino. Afterall, illusions don't really affect the winds like a real person does. All five Ino's smirked at the sight and called out, "Don't bother with that Lee. These illusions are real! No matter what you try, I doubt you would realize which one is the real me."

"Yosh... But if I don't try, then it would be all the more unyouthful of me my youthful opponent!" Lee exclaimed before he suddenly rushing the five Ino's with an excited grin.


"What the hell are they feeding you guys?" Samui exclaimed in shock. The battle she and her fellow Chunin Exam candidates were witnessing was truly awe inspiring.

Konohamaru chuckled and cried out, "Shishō's training is as effective as it is hard!"

"Not to mention that the troublesome blonde knows how to motivate." Shikamaru commented lazily getting an eye twitch from Samui. She was really happy that Sasuke wasn't a lazy bum like the Nara Heir.

"Then there is the fact that we are ourselves motivated to surpass preconceived notions of our limits. If Naruto can reach such a level without much help, then we should be able to as well; don't you think so?" Sasuke commented with a smirk.

"Oh — that has got to hurt!" Suiren commented as another Ino suddenly appeared behind Lee and chopped his neck with a knife hand strike covered in writhing winds. Lee fell from the skies like a sack of potatoes. Right before he could crash, Naruto appeard and caught him. Laying the green clad Genin on the ground, Naruto stood up and declared, "Winner by Knock Out, Yamanaka Ino!"

The stadium erupted in cheers at the amazing match between the two Genin as Iryōnin rushed to carry the unconscious Genin away.

"There will be five minutes break while the arena is being repaired!" Naruto declared getting a sheepish smile from Ino.


"That was surprisingly fast." Kurenai commented getting a nod from Anko.

"Well, what do you expect. Both are masters of the wind. Hey Asuma, it seems that you are no longer the premier wind master in Konoha!"

"Laugh it up Anko, but ninshu shouldn't be compared with ninjutsu!" Asuma stated with annoyance.

"I will agree with that statement Sarutobi. Afterall, you were getting your ass handed to you by yours truly!" Zabuza stated getting a round of chuckles from the assembled Jonin. The Mission to Wave had become a legend to the Konoha ninja and a bar to compare yourself with.

"Will Nii Samui and Nara Shikamaru please come down to the Arena!"

"Ah — finally the match I have been waiting for!" Asuma commented with eagerness.


Samui was leaving the waiting area when Sasuke walked up to her and whispered, "Don't underestimate the lazy bum. He is far more dangerous that one would expect, especially with the training he received from Naruto." Samui looked surprised at the sudden warning but nodded in appreciation. She was a bit torn as Shikamaru was also a candidate for her political marriage, but with his lazy behavior and complete apathy, she decided that it was not worth it to select him. After the exams were over, she will be letting everyone know who she has chosen.

Shikamaru looked at the interaction with interest but shook his head clear of those thoughts. He needed to focus at the moment. Vaulting over the barrier, Shikamaru landed in a crouch and then walked towards the center. When both candidates were in position, Naruto asked if they were ready. Getting positive responses, Naruto jumped back as he declared the start of the match.

Samui didn't waste anytime and flung a handful of shuriken at Shikamaru. The Nara heir just pulled out a pair of kunai and started deflecting the throwing stars, all the while repositioning himself into a more favourable position. It was too bad that the arena was too large for his water storage scrolls to be useful. Luckily, his opponent didn't know of his family's Hiden Jutsu nor his other trump card.

Samui narrowed her eyes as Shikamaru kept moving towards the small copse of trees in the arena. She didn't know what he was planning but after seeing Hinata draw out water from plants over the last month, she wasn't about to bet that Shikamaru couldn't do the same, no matter how much Hinata reassured her that only herself, Sakura and Naruto could do that.

Taking a deep breath, Samui charged forward as she unsheathed her katana and engulfed the blade in raiton chakra. Shikamaru mentally cursed as he rushed towards the copse of trees when Samui fell upon him with a war cry.


"I hope the Nara has a plan, because letting Samui get so close to him is a grave mistake. Bee has trained her to be a monster in close quarters." Ē commented with a grin.

"Don't be so sure Ē-dono. Afterall, I doubt that one of Naruto-sama's students would be so weak." Mei commented with an eager expression. Turning to Hiruzen, she asked, "Don't you agree, Hokage-dono?"

Hiruzen chuckled but refrained from commenting as Shikamaru easily rolled out of the way of Samui's blade and retaliated but throwing forward his shadow in a simple Kagemane no Jutsu.

Samui saw the danger and caused the chakra flow on her blade to spark and release a flash of light allowing the girl the time to jump away from the reach of the technique only to curse as she realized that the Hiden Jutsu was just a feint. Shikamaru's true plan was completely different.

Hiruzen smiled and said, "It seems that young Samui has understood Shikamaru-kun's plan. It is all over now. If only Samui-chan was a long range fighter."

"Don't count her out yet Hokage-dono. I am sure that my neice will be able to pull through." Ē said only for Ōnoki to click his tongue, causing Ē to look at the aged Tsuchikage and ask, "Is something the matter Tsuchikage-dono?"

"The girl is done for. I remember how dangerous members of the Nara Clan are from the last war. What they lack in brawn, they make up in mind. Their strategies are spot on and rarely lead them to failure."

"I would agree with Tsuchikage-dono. The Nara are well know for their mental accume in battle." The Kazekage stated before ignoring the other Kage in favor of the match.


Samui rushed forward — pumping large amounts of chakra to her legs in the dwindling hopes of catching Shikamaru before he reached the copse of trees — when the girl suddenly stumbled. For a moment, it seemed that the very earth had tried to catch hold of her foot.

As she recovered from her stumble, she looked back to see a small pothole where she stumbled. Funny thing was that she didn't remember seeing one there when she charged forward. Shaking her head to rid her mind of her curiosity, she turned her full attention back to Shikamaru and saw that he ran into the copse of trees.

"Damnit!" Samui cursed to herself as she swung her raiton chakra covered blade in a wide arc. A thin blade of crackling lighting flew off in a flash of light and easily cleaved throw a few of the trees, alighting them aflame. Unfortunately for her, Shikamaru vaulted over the blade and retaliated before she could even blink.

Manipulating the water in the vines and other smaller plants, Shikamaru started a counter offensive against his opponent.

Samui could only look on in horror as she tried and failed to dodge the barrage of strikes from the plants.


"That is a novel way to use the water in the plants." Sakura commented drawing everyone's attention. The pink haired medic was sitting in the box for VIP guests with Otohime and Shion.

The representative from Kumo asked, "What do you mean, Haruno-san?"

Sakura was a bit surprised at how easily she was recognized, but shook it away to ponder later. Taking a deep breath, she explained, "Shikamaru is manipulating the water in the plants like I would manipulate the blood of my enemy. As a result, it would seem that Shikamaru is using a limited version of the Senju Hashirama-sama's mokuton. Let me be clear, if there are no plants in the vicinity of Shikamaru, he would be quite easily disarmed. Now why don't we focus on the match before it suddenly comes to an end."

The Kumo representative along with others who were focusing on the conversation nodded as they turned away and focused back on the match. In the short while they were distracted, Samui had made it quite close to the Nara Heir but was sporting quite a collection nasty gashes and bruises. A particular bad cut over her right eye was bleeding quite profusely and seemed to be obscuring her vision a bit.


A deep sigh of sadness drew everyone's attention to the large, dark skinned man witg sunglasses and a bandana over his head. The Hachibi Jinchūriki was quite depressed at the turn of events.

"Are you alright Bee-san?"

Bee shook his head and said, "Not to worry miss seven, Kirabi is still in heaven. He is just sad that Samui forgot all of Kirabi's warning, so her defeat is going be humbling."

Fū just nodded and again though why did it have to be her to escort her fellow Jinchūriki around Konoha. Yugito, Roshi and Utakata were alright but Han just gave her the wrong vibes and Kirabi was plain annoying with his rapping. She really pitied Gyuki for having to put up with him. A sudden shout of pain drew her attention. Looking at the arena floor, she saw that Samui's left leg was caught in a vice like grip between two pillars of thick rock.


"You can bend Earth as well?" Samui asked in shock as Shikamaru chuckled.

"That's right, though my mastery of earth is far less than water. Ninshu has opened up so many more strategies. Now forfeit, or I will be forced to knock you out!"

Samui struggled a bit but seeing that it was futile and that the pressure on her leg kept increase to unbearable levels, Samui sighed and called out her forfeiture.

Naruto appeared beside Samui and with a simple tap of his fingers, destroyed the stone pillars and released the defeated Kunoichi as he called out, "Winner by forfeit, Nara Shikamaru!"

The crowd cheered at the show of subtlety and strategy from the Nara Heir as both participants left the arena.

"As the arena is fine, will Kazekage Gaara and Makkeshō Suiren please come down to the arena!"

Both participants appeared in swirls of glittering dust. One, a yellowish silver and the other a bright azure-pink. As the glittering dust storms abated, both Chunin candidates were glaring at each other with bloodthirsty grins.

"Are both of you ready?" Getting nods of agreement, Naruto continued, "Then BEGIN!"

As soon as Naruto disappeared from the arena, the ground around Suiren erupted in towering pillars of sapphire blue crystal, protecting the girl from the wave of sand spears Gaara launched at her direction. The crystal pillars started to crack from the continuous barrage of heavy sand causing Suiren to growl and twist upon her heel and using a bit of basic earth bending, dived into the ground as her pillars finally fell apart in a loud shattering sound.

Gaara narrowed his eyes as he recalled his sand only to roll to his right as Suiren erupted beneath him with her whole body covered in glittering blue-white crystal. The time displaced Godaime Kazekage narrowed his eyes as he analyzed the crystal before mentally cursing. It would seem that his opponent was just like her leader. Only an Uzumaki or someone affiliated with them would be this difficult. Either way, he would have to find a way to bypass the glittering blue diamond crystal armor the girl had conjured, and keep out of her reach as well. Even his Shukaku no Tate could be useless against diamond — never having the chance to test it out before against diamond.

Gathering a platform of sand underneath himself, Gaara took to the skies to prevent his opponent from getting too close to him only to widen his eyes in shock as Suiren grinned and snapped her fingers. The previously created crystal pillars and small patches of crystallized earth shattered into a massive glittering cloud of dust. With a swipe of her arms, Suiren gathered the dust beneath her feet and lifted herself into the sky as well.


"What is it with this generation? How the hell are they all figuring out how to fly?" Ōnoki grumbled drawing everyone's attention to him. Seeing the smug look from Hiruzen, the aged Tsuchikage grumbled and turned back to the second battle that was about to commence in the sky.


"Did Suiren just figure out how to fly?" Kurenai asked in shock getting similarly dumbfounded expressions from her fellow Jōnin.

After a few moments of silence, Kakashi spoke up, "Gaara, I can understand. He has the Ichibi to help guide him, but Suiren must be a genius to be able to decipher and recreate the technique."

"Don't bother putting such lables on Uzu Ninja, Hatake. Besides, Suiren-dono trained under Naruto-sama from the get go, so it isn't surprising that she would be able to recreate a simple ninjutsu technique using ninshu. After all, she only knows ninshu along with a few basic ninjutsu." Dōmon said with a grin causing the assembled Konoha Ninja to nod in understanding. After all, those who started with ninshu over ninjutsu seems to be mastering the art faster.

"Quite! I want to see the battle between these two." Zabuza hissed in annoyance as Anko nodded in agreement with the Uzu Jōnin.

"That's right! I want to see the blood flow from those two." Everyone shook their heads at Anko's bloodthirsty smile and focused on the battle that was about to escalate.


Gaara and Suiren stared at each other with emotionless expressions, waiting for the other to move first. After what seemed like hours, both twitched as massive waves of crystal dust and sand crashed against each other. Tentacles of sand were countered by tentacles of glittering crystal dust. This continued for a few moments before the sand and crystal dust withdrew to hover behind their respective wielders.

"I must accept that you are good but can you keep up?" Gaara called out as a bloodthirsty grin appeared on his face.

Suiren grinned in return as she raised her hands and gestured with them. Gaara blinked in surprise as the crystal dust congealed into hundreds of small spikes and flew towards him. Not to be outdone, Gaara raised his arms and clasped his hands in the ram seal.

The sand flowed around him and collected into a statue of Shukaku with his arms outstretched to the sides. Suiren smirked as she brought her hands into the snake seal and pulsed her chakra.


"Damn! This isn't going to end well for Gaara." Karin commented getting a nod from Haku as both Uzu Kunoichi smirked.

"What do you mean by that?" Shikamaru asked with a frown.

Karin thought about the Nara Heir's question for a moment before shrugging and said, "Uzu has specialized in Fūinjutsu for a much longer time than we we have with Ninshu. It is only natural that most of us would use it in conjecture with our other techniques."

"That and the fact that Suiren specializes in heavy demolition and uses seals that complement that speciality." Haku commented getting a groan from Shikamaru as he understood what both Uzu Kunoichi meant.


Gaara narrowed his eyes as the crystal spikes started striking his shield. At first, it seemed to hold causing Gaara to smirk and state, "Keep trying all you like. None has been able to harm me yet! How can a newly minted Genin do something where Shinobi with years of experience has failed?"

Suiren growled before she shifted her hands into the dragon seal and pulsed her chakra once again. The crystal spikes erupted in an aura of glowing green-blue chakra. Within moments the statue of Shukaku started chipping as the spikes kept shattering on the statue before the shattered crystal flew back and reformed the spikes with the same green-blue aura. It took some time but by the time Gaara realized the danger, some of the spikes had punctured through the shield and crashed into him. His Suna no Yoroi absorbed most of the damage but unfortunately some of the spikes pierced his shoulders and right arm, drawing blood.


"Oh no! Gaara is bleeding." Temari said in a panic as Kankuro jumped up, ready to flee at the first sign of danger.

Kiba looked at the duo and asked with a sneer, "So what? We have all bled before. It's not something to worry about."

Temari was about to respond with a scathing remark when Baki beat her to it. "Gaara has never been injured before. This may unbalance his already fragile psyche to the point the Ichibi is released."

Normally Baki wouldn't have said such things but since Gaara's status as a Jinchūriki wasn't really a secret, he could get away with releasing this information.

Kiba nodded and simply commented, "Nothing to worry about then. After all, Naruto would take him down before Shukaku could even begin to rampage."

Baki was a bit unnerved at the nonchalant behavior of the Konoha Genin but shook it of as overconfidence. Besides, it wasn't a big secret that Uzumaki Naruto-sama had defeated multiple Jinchūriki without using his own Bijū.


Gaara felt the blood flow down his arms and torso causing him to grimace in pain. Suiren took this chance to taunt Gaara, "It seems that this newly minted Genin is superior to all of you for your previous opponents! Does it hurt?"

Gaara narrowed his eyes as he growled before drawing in all the sand to form a near impenetrable sphere. Within the sphere, red chakra bubbled over his skin as the injuries started to rapidly heal.

Suiren didn't know what Gaara had planned, so she charged forward and struck at the sand with a few palm strikes. To anyone else, it would have been a futile endeavor, but to Suiren — who had adequate mastery in bending sand to her will — each strike displaced massive amounts of sand. With the rapid strikes, Suiren quickly carved a deep furrow into the sand sphere and revealed the hidden Gaara.

Suiren punched was about to push forward when she felt something was wrong. Before she knew it, the sand around Gaara had flown around and encompassed her completely, leaving only her head free.

Suiren smirked and said, "This can't hold me. I can easily bend the sand to my will!"

"We shall see." Gaara simply stated as the red chakra cloak bubbled over his form. Gaara moved his floating sand platform to the restrained Suiren and touched it as blue lines appeared on the chakra cloak. The blue lines spread down his arms until the whole of the sand holding Suiren was covered in an intricate blue sealing pattern. When it was finished, Gaara grinned and said, "You taunt too much. Did anyone ever tell you that? Anyway, those are cursed seals designed by Shukaku himself. They will damage your chakra coils if you try to free yourself. Give up. Your defeat is inevitable."

Suiren physical struggled for a moment before slumping her head and called out, "Proctor, I forfeit!"

Naruto appeared and declared Gaara the victor causing Gaara to nod and disperse the seals and recollection the sand into his gourd before heading back to the competitors box with Suiren.


"Both are good, but your son was spectacular Kazekage-dono. I would recommend a promotion." Ē said getting a nod of agreement from Hiruzen and Ōnoki. Mei decided not to comment.

The Kazekage gave a non-committal nod as he watched the arena with the precision of a hawk. The other four Kage narrowed their eyes but decided to ignore his rudeness.


"Will Kamizuru Kurotsuchi and Sarutobi Konohamaru please come down to the arena?"

"Finally my turn!" Konohamaru exclaimed with excitement before turning to Kurotsuchi and stated, "Don't go easy on me. Because, if you do, then don't hold ne responsible for a humiliating defeat!"

Before Kurotsuchi could respond, Konohamaru had jumped over the barrier and as he was about to crash, a jet of flames cushioned his landing, leaving a scorched patch of earth.

Kurotsuchi narrowed her eyes and disappeared in a swirl of dust and reappeared in the middle of the arena in a puff of smoke.

"Are both participants ready?" Kurotsuchi and Konohamaru nodded, getting into their respective taijutsu stances and waited for the match to begin. "Then... BEGIN!"

Kurotsuchi jumped back weaving hand seals before bringing cupping her hands in front of her mouth and breathed a wave of a gray fluid as she called out, "Yōton: Sekkaigyō no Jutsu!"

Konohamaru just smirked as he raised a wall of rock to intercept the technique as he himself twisted upon his heels and drilled into the earth, disappearing from view. Kurotsuchi growled at how easily Konohamaru countered her technique and was about to charge forward when she felt the ground trembling underneath her feet. Jumping back, she was shocked to see Konohamaru burst out of the ground, intent on punching her under the jaw.

Growling in annoyance, Kurotsuchi threw a couple of shuriken at the Sarutobi heir only for the boy to punch forward releasing a wave of blue flames. The flames engulfed the shuriken and instantly turned them to molten slag and rushed forward to engulf the Iwa princess, to the horror of her teammates only to be replaced by a scorched log.


"Blue flames! Is that even possible without using high intensity katon combined with focused fūton?" Ē exclaimed in shock with Ōnoki nodding in agreement. Rasa ignored the banter in favor of analyzing the battle.

It wasn't Hiruzen who answered but Mei. The Godaime Mizukage gave an enigmatic smile and said, "I have seen quite a lot of things that I had thought impossible until I witnessed the power of Ninshu. Just keep watching Raikage-dono, Tsuchikage-dono and be amazed."

Hiruzen laughed in agreement and said, "I can do the same. After all, I would be doing a disservice to my title as 'Professor' if I didn't study the new art as well."

Ōnoki grumbled and asked, "Are you telling me that even you have trained under Uzumaki-sama?"

Hiruzen nodded with a grin and said, "Of course I did Ōnoki. Did you think I would let such an opportunity to pass? Just watch my grandson in action. He is Naruto-kun's personal apprentice. We all have high expectations for him."

The other four Kage nodded as they focused their attention back to the battle. Over the course of their conversation, Konohamaru had been countering and attacking Kurotsuchi, slowly forcing the Iwa princess towards the wall of the arena.


"Kurotsuchi is done for! She let Konohamaru dictate the pace of the battle and with his troublesome unorthodox strategies, she doesn't even realize it."

"Wow! That's quite the mouthful coming out of you Shikamaru. Is it going to rain gold?" Ino commented with a chuckle before becoming serious and said, "But I agree with you. Facing off against Konohamaru isn't easy, especially with his unpredictable behavior. Like Master, like apprentice it seems."

"Oh that has got to hurt!" Sasuke commented as Kurotsuchi was thrown into the arena wall from a well placed Combustion Bending.


Kurotsuchi gritted her teeth in pain as she shook her head to clear the daze from her collision with the arena wall. Stumbling to her feet, Kurotsuchi looked up to see Konohamaru holding a kunai to her throat.

Narrowing her eyes in anger, Kurotsuchi growled out, "Proctor, I forfeit!"

"Winner by forfeiture, Sarutobi Konohamaru!" Naruto said appearing beside the duo. Turning to Konohamaru, Naruto said with a soft tone, "Next time, don't hold back. It is disrespectful to both your Shisho and your opponent. You are here to showcase your skills."

Konohamaru nodded with a sad smile as Kurotsuchi gaped in realization that she didn't have a chance from the start. Shaking her head to rid herself of the self-loathing she felt towards her skills. Kurotsuchi bowed to Konohamaru and vanished in a swirl of dust. Konohamaru following soon after in a swirl of flames.

"Will Uzumaki Karin and Aburame Shino please come down to the arena?"

As soon as Naruto finished both candidates appeared in the middle of the arena in twin swirl of flames. Seeing that both were already in their taijutsu stances, Naruto called out, "BEGIN!"

Just as Naruto disappeared from the arena, Karin and Shino burst into motion. Unlike expected of the two, neither stayed in place. Shino jumped forward, flames swirling around his fists, intent on smacking the redhead with hia burning fists.

Karin, on the other hand, had jumped back as four golden chains of chakra erupted from her back and flew towards the surprised Shino.


The Kazekage gasped and muttered in worry, "The Kongōfūsa isn't lost!"

"I didn't expect to see it in my lifetime!" Mei commented with awe.

Ē and Ōnoki grimaced at the reminder of the past wielder of the technique. She was after all a monster in battle as well. And if they weren't mistaken, this young girl would be just as dangerous, if not more so.


"What technique is that?" Kiba exclaimed in shock as he watched Shino jump back in surprise as the four chains crashed into the very spot he was previously occupying.

"The Kongōfūsa is a special fūinjutsu used by certain members of the Uzumaki Clan. Specifically those who have a special kind of chakra capable of suppressing Bijū." Kakashi said as he watched the battle in the arena. "It isn't completed yet. Karin still has a way to go before she masters it completely."

Kiba turned to look at Karin with his jaw hanging open in shock as Kurenai asked, "What do you mean Kakashi? How can you tell that it is incomplete?"

"I have seen the completed version in action before. Karin's version is still flickering a bit signifying an unstable structure. It is supposed to be completely solid. As for how I know so much about it, Kushina-sama was a user."

Kurenai nodded in understanding as she watched with worry as Shino was forced into the defensive by four chains attacking in tandem. As Kurenai watched Shino dodge another attack, she thought she saw the glow of a seal in the cloud of dust before it vanished. As Kurenai kept watching, Zabuza suddenly spoke up.

"Clever girl. She is placing seals every time she misses. I was wondering why her aiming was suddenly so bad. She has better control of the chains that she is showing."


For the past few minutes Shino was dodging and diving out of the way of those accursed chains as he kept trying to change the pace of the battle towards his favor. Unfortunately, he was neither fast enough nor agile enough to weave through the chains and everytime he tried a ranged attack, the chains would seal the flames into themselves and then release his own flames to roast his Kikaichu.

Dodging another chain, a flash of light drew his attention to the newly formed crater and dust cloud. Narrowing his eyes behind his sunglasses, Shino focused his attention on the point of contact for the chains and the ground. Everytime single time there was a flash of light as sealing arrays appeared and vanished in a flash.

Jumping back from another attack, Shino called out, "Proctor! I forfeit. I have no way to handle this situation. Especially with the seals spread around the arena floor."

"Ah... You realized my plan. So much chakra wasted on preparing the seals as well." Karin said with a pout as Naruto reappeared and declared Karin the winner by forfeiture before saying that they would be taking a five minute break to remove the seals and smooth out the ground.


"That was an interesting match."

"Not surprising really Mei-dono. That's how an Uzumaki Battle Sealer fights. Karin-chan is a credit to her clan. Mito-sama would have been proud of her."

"She deserves a promotion. Their is no doubt about it. So does the Aburame. Both showed skills, tactics and proper mindset." Ē commented getting agreeing nods from all the othe Kage except the Kazekage.


"Will Yūki Haku and Higurashi Tenten please come down to the arena!"

Haku and Tenten shared a look before both decided to walk down the stairs instead of vaulting over the barrier or using the shunshin, taking the time to mentally prepare themselves. Over the past few months, both Kunoichi had gotten to be good friends over their mutual interest in marksmanship. It was quite unfortunate that two friends had to face off against each other in such a situation, even when they anticipated it.

"Are both candidates ready?" Haku and Tenten nodded as the former pulled out a hand full of senbon and the latter, shuriken. "BEGIN!"

Unlike expected, neither Kunoichi threw their chosen weapons, preferring to wait for the other to take the initiative. After a few minutes of tense silence, the crowd began to get irritated at the lack of action when the arms of both Kunoichi twitched.

The civilians couldn't track what happened, but the sound of multiple metallic collisions revealed the secret. Both Kunoichi had thrown their respective ranged weapons with pinpoint accuracy. That was only the prelude, for what followed seemed to be something out of a fantasy novel.

Waves of senbon and shuriken flew all over the field, scattering around the ground making for a treacherous footing. After seeing that neither was able to get the upper hand on the other, both jumped back, mindful of their footing and brought out a pair of scrolls. Throwing them into the air, Haku's scrolls flooded the whole arena with water while Tenten's rained iron sand.


"It seems that both young Kunoichi are preparing to bring out their big guns." Hiruzen commented getting inquisitive glances form the rest of his fellow Kage. Seeing the glances, Hiruzen elaborated, "As you've already realized, ninshu is becoming the staple for the new generation. Both Haku-chan and Tenten-chan are quite well versed in their respective Ninshu elements. Those scrolls are their way of always carrying their main weapons."

"Water and... Metal?" Ōnoki asked with a questioning frown.

Hiruzen nodded as he noticed the rather lackluster reaction form the Kazekage. The other three Kage narrowed their eyes at the Kazekage but the veiled Kage didn't seem to notice. Mei subtly motioned her head towards the Kazekage drawing her fellow Kage's attention as she asked, "Are you not affected by the fact that the ability to bend metal dust is no longer a secret to only your clan Kazekage-dono?"

The Kazekage narrowed his eyes and said, "As Naruto-sama once said, Ninshu and Ninjutsu are as different as are the Sky and the Earth. Their is no comparing them, especially since the sky encompasses the earth."

"A wise way to look at it I suppose young Kazekage. With the advent of Ninshu, I believe that the secrets of ninjutsu are completely useless. After all, if rumours are to be believed, young Haruno Sakura-san would easily be able to rival Roshi in full Bijū mode just by the virtue of her skills in bending lava and blood." Ōnoki said with a grimace.

"I would not doubt it, not after the massacre she did in Kiri. A massacre I personally witnessed." Mei admitted with a smile. A smile that didn't reach her eyes.


"This just keeps escalating!" Samui commented with a frown.

"Not surprising at all. Yūki-sama was trained by both Naruto-sama and Zabuza-sama. Then their is Tenten. Our Sensei is knowing for going a bit overboard. Just look at Lee, he idolizes Sensei to an unhealthy degree. Not to mention that Tenten was allowed permission to learn the Uzumaki Fūinjutsu theory and style. So—" Neji couldn't finish his sentence as a massive shockwave reached the group. Turning his attention back to the arena, he could hardly believe his eyes.

The water in the arena was churning as a massive amount of tentacles with icy tips sharpened into blades whipped about colliding with an equal number of metallic tentacles made from the iron dust emerging from the floating platform of iron dust holding Tenten up in the air.


"If I didn't know better, I would have said that both gakis are far beyond Chunin Level." Anko commented as she munched on a stick of dango.

"Ninshu is truly powerful. I wonder how powerful both will become in the future." Genma commented as he chewed on his senbon.

"Powerful enough to make us feel obsolete; that is if we weren't learning Ninshu as well. I swear that my mission success rate has increased by nearly thirty percent after I became adept in water bending."

"I will have to agree with you there Yugao. My earth bending has saved my hide quite a few times already. If I had resorted to Mokuton, I would have been in far worse situations." Tenzō said before wincing in sympathy as Tenten got lucky and was able to shave of the top layer of skin from Haku's right arm.

"Woo hoo... Now this is my kind of fight!" Anko cheered as Haku covered her injured arm in water. The water glowed for a few moments before being falling back to the pool underneath revealing unblemished alabaster skin.

"Damn, this battle just got less exciting!" Anko moaned only for Yugao to slap her behind the head in annoyance.


"Healing?" Tenten asked with a single raised eyebrow.

"Healing!" Haku nodded as she manipulated the water beneath her to carry he towards her opponent in a massive wave.

Tenten silently cursed as she brought the iron dust together around her into a compact sphere, hoping to stave off most of the damage. As the wave crashed down upon her, the sphere shuddered and Tenten could feel herself getting a little wet, but decided that it was inconvenient but inconsequential.

Haku grinned as she suddenly flash froze the water causing the previously believed to be impenetrable metal sphere to form cracks before the ice suddenly turned to steam and then flash froze again. This repeated a couple of more times before with a loud cracking sound, the sphere shattered into motes of glittering silvery-black dust leaving behind a surprised and shocked Tenten. Before the budding metal bender and weapons mistress even realized it, she was trapped in a sphere of water which quickly froze into ice with only her head free.

"Give up Tenten. I doubt you are good enough to be able to to psychically control your metal dust. Don't force my hand!"

Tenten struggled for a few moments before sighing and said, "Proctor, I forfeit!"

"Winner by forfeiture, Yūki Haku! We shall now take a five minutes break while the arena is brought back to optimal conditions!" Naruto declared as he melted the ice around Tenten before a translucent barrier formed around the three of them before he vanished both Kunoichi.


"Both showed skills to be Chunin but only the Yūki showed the mindset to be one. Don't you agree?" Mei said with a frown.

"I totally agree with with you Mei-dono!" Ē said with the Kazekage nodding in agreement.

Ōnoki grunted before stating that he wouldn't make any comments until he had seen the Yūki in action a second time though he agreed with their belief that Tenten doesn't deserve promotion yet.

"I would also like to reserve judgement for a bit longer on Haku-chan but you are right that Tenten-chan isnt fully ready for the burdens of being a Chunin Kunoichi."

"Will Hyūga Neji and Hyūga Hinata please come down to the arena!"

"Five minutes are already over?" Ē asked in surprise as he watched the two cousins from the prestigious clan walk up to the center of the arena.


Both Neji and Hinata silently stood, the former rigid and the latter relaxed, as they waited for the match to begin. When they were asked if they were ready, both nodded and stepped into their respective taijutsu stances. Neji got into the standard jūken stance while Hinata got into a heavily modified stance that she was developing to compliment her water ninshu.

"BEGIN!"

Neji rushed forward and started striking at Hinata with the tips of his index and ring finger. Hinata dodged and redirected the blows with the grace of a professional dancer before; suddenly, she coiled her arms back before letting them spring forth with the power and accuracy of a cobra.

Right before Hinata attacked, Neji felt a sudden shiver run down his spine causing him to instinctively jump back. His eyes widened in shock as Hinata's palms — shrouded in blue chakra, shaped like a lion's head — passed the very position that his torso had just occupied. From the structure of the chakra in the shroud, Neji realized that they were designed to steal chakra form the users opponent and give it to the user. A very effective technique, of he says so himself, as it would increase the potency of jūken by a great margin. Neji didn't have much more time to analyze the technique before Hinata used her flexibility to start attacking him for sides that without his Byakugan, he would have been hard pressed to match. Even then, Neji found himself unable to change the pace of the battle towards his advantage as Hinata kept attacking from seemingly random directions.

Hinata frowned as Neji kept escaping the optimal range of her Jūho: Sōshiken making her waste more chakra than she was receiving. Jumping back, Hinata let the technique dissipated as she closed her eyes and focused on the water around. The water in the ground, in the plants, floating in the air and most of all, the sheen of sweat covering both herself and Neji.

Seeing that Hinata was distracted, Neji decided to go on the offensive and charged forward in hope of at least closing some of Hinata's tenketsu before she regained cognizance. As Neji reached within five feet of Hinata, the girl smirked and opened her eyes she manipulated the water all around her to entrap the surprised Neji in a swirling ball of raging water. Hinata started waving her arms causing the water to rise into the air, churning at a rapid pace before it suddenly vanished into steam leaving an unconscious Neji behind.

"Winner by KO, Hyūga Hinata! Uchiha Sasuke receives a by to the next round!" Naruto declared as the crowd started cheering at the quick paced but adrenaline filled battle. "Than you all for attending the first round. The second round — which consists of four matches of the semifinals will take place tomorrow from 11 AM. Please feel free to to watch them as well at your leisure. Have a good day!"


"I must say Hokage-dono, those are some skilled Shinobi you have. That Hyūga girl deserves a promotion and that too to Tokubetsu Jōnin. She showed the skills and the mentality for the rank." Mei said with a proud smile. She was always proud of budding Kunoichi that showed potential and Hyūga Hinata showed it in spades.

"I don't know about Tokubetsu Jōnin but promoted she will be." Hiruzen said with a smile. Ē, Ōnoki and Rasa decided not to comment. "Now let us be off. It is getting late in the afternoon, so a late lunch is in order. If you wish, you may join me at the Golden Leaf Hotel. What do you say?"

Seeing the gentle smile on the Sandaime Hokage's face, Mei nodded with a smile while Ōnoki juts grunted his approval. Ē said that he wouldn't mind joining them and Rasa politely declined stating that he wished to spend some time with his children.


Japanese Translations

Gokage = Five Shadows

Sandiame = Third

Yondaime = Fourth

Godaime = Fifth

Hokage = Fire Shadow

Tsuchikage = Earth Shadow

Mizukage = Water Shadow

Raikage = Lightning Shadow

Kazekage = Wind Shadow

Shishō = Master

Hiden Jutsu = Secret Technique

Kikaichu = Destruction Beetles

Tenketsu = Chakra Holes


Japanese Jutsu, Style and Weapon Name Translations

Bunshin no Jutsu = Clone Technique

Fūjin Genjutsu = Wind God Illusion

Kagemane no Jutsu = Shadow Imitation Technique

Shukaku no Tate = Shield of Shukaku

Suna no Yoroi = Sand Armor

Yōton: Sekkaigyō no Jutsu = Lava Release: Quicklime Congealing Technique

Kongōfūsa = Adamantine Sealing Chains

Shunshin = Body Flickering

Jūken = Gentle Fist

Jūho: Sōshiken = Gentle Step: Twin Lions Fist


A/N: I hope you all liked this chapter. I will try to post the next day of the exams soon, probably within this month.

SSG