Let's start this from the beginning

Chūnin Exams

VI

"Okaa-san, I didn't expect you to come."

A small, genuine smile sneaked on Mikoto's face at the honest surprise in her son's voice. It wasn't easy to get him by surprise, making her savour the experience whenever it happened.

"Of course I came! How could you think I would miss this? It's a very important moment in your life, after all."

"I just thought you would be too busy, that's all. I'm sorry."

She naturally knew the real reason for why he hadn't expected her. As the matriarch of Konoha's strongest and most prominent clan, she would make for a precious hostage, especially because she also had a Kekkei Genkai. Naturally, there were also some darker and more unsavoury reasons for why other villages could have an interest in her, but she preferred not to think too much about that.

"I do have a lot to do," she agreed, going on with the front they were presenting to anyone that might be listening. "But I convinced your father to take my share during my absence. Let's see if he still thinks them 'easier' and 'less important' than his when we return home, shall we?"

She counted the widening of his smile as a win. "Hopefully he will not be too cross with you for forcing him to do all the accounting."

"Ah," a third voice cut in. "If I remember correctly, Fugaku-san always struggled a bit with numbers. How cruel of you to force this upon him, Mikoto-san."

"It's important to face your weaknesses to overcome them, Hokage-sama," she replied with a slight bow. "He will come out of this stronger than before, I'm sure."

She was pretty sure she wasn't supposed to hear her son's female teammate whispering "your mum is so cool!" into his ear, so she just acted as if she hadn't noticed.

The old man chuckled. "Very true. Now that I think about it, I think my wife said the same every time she forced me to help her with the house." Then he turned towards her son's team. "The Tsuchikage is expecting me, so I have unfortunately no time to talk right now. However, I still would like to hear about your exams so far, so would you mind meeting me later today?"

Although it wasn't formulated as an order, there was no doubt that they would agree. After all, you didn't simply deny a request from your kage.

"Of course, Hokage-sama."

"Wonderful. I will send someone for you once my meeting is over." He turned back towards her. "Mikoto-san, take the rest of the day off. It will be enough if you resume your duties tomorrow."

She bowed again. "Thank you, Hokage-sama."

Maybe it would be 'the right thing' to decline and continue doing her job, but the very reason she had accepted to act as one of his bodyguards during the final exam was to talk to and see her son. As he said, it would be enough if she took a break for today. Besides, she was hardly his only guard.

Mikoto was aware of the hostile glances thrown in their direction, so she thought it was probably best to get out of sight. Not that she was afraid anything would actually happen, but such an atmosphere was hardly suitable for a family reunion.

"Why don't you show me the place you're staying at?" she asked. "And maybe your assigned trainings-ground as well? I might be able to give you a pointer or two if you don't mind?"

"Well, we will leave you two-" her son's male teammate started, but she didn't let him finish.

"Nonsense. You're more than welcome to join us. I'm sure I can help you two as well."

They were obviously uncomfortable at the thought, but neither of them disagreed.

You couldn't just deny a simple request from your kage, but denying a mother was almost even harder. Besides, after dealing with stubborn members of her clan all her life, she was more than capable of speaking in a manner that didn't allow any objection. A trait which motherhood had only enhanced.

"On that note, there is something I have for you," she continued before fetching something from her pocket. "Before we departed, I went to your parents, Yukio, and asked them if they wanted me to deliver a message for them, seeing as they can't come in person to watch you fight." She then handed him the letter.

"Wow," he replied with a big smile before bowing to her, his previous awkwardness forgotten. "Thank you, Uchiha-san. That really means a lot to me."

She smiled at him for a moment before turning to Itachi. "I'm also supposed to tell you from your father that he has absolute trust in your success. I tried to make him wish you 'good luck' as well, but you know how he is. He insisted you wouldn't need it." Which was so typical for her stubborn husband. It was almost adorable at times, really. "Shisui, Izumi, and Sasuke were not so insistence, however. They also want me to let you know that they expect you to return with nothing less than a new flak jacket."

"They would say that, yes," Itachi chuckled, genuine amusement shining in his eyes. "I wouldn't expect anything less."

"Oh, there was also this young girl, Haku, who came to our house just hours after you left. Apparently, she wanted to wish you good luck as well."

That seemed to surprise him. "She did?"

"She looked rather disappointed that she missed you. You should thank her when we return."

It had been a little off-putting how well the girl could hide her sadness behind a smile, though. Her mask had been good, even for a child that grew up in a clan. She didn't tell her son that she had invited the girl for dinner that night, or that she went shopping with her the next day.

Mikoto wouldn't exchange her children for anything in the world, but it would be a lie if she said she didn't wish for a daughter when she found out she was pregnant for the second time. Her first child, the heir, should be a boy -a girl could be the heir as well, of course, but the Uchiha Clan traditionally preferred boys above girls- but the gender didn't matter much for the second one.

Maybe she should arrange for another trip with her when they returned home? She could invite Izumi and her mother as well, making a girls' day out of it. When she was already at it, she could ask Anko to come as well.

Speaking of Anko, the dark look in her eyes vanished as soon as it appeared, but not before Mikoto noticed it. It was unfortunate, but in these days, so soon after the last war and the Nine-Tails attack both, there were many orphans in the village, and she thanked all the gods she knew that both she and her husband had survived it. The thought of leaving her children behind chilled her more than she could put into words.

"I hope these two don't give you too much grief," she addressed the girl while pointing at her two teammates. "I know how troublesome boys can be, no matter how hard their parents try to educate them. Sometimes they need a strong hand to lead them."

Anko had apparently not expected to be spoken to since they were talking about family, but she recovered quickly. "Nah, they have more common sense than most. A chop to the head or two is usually enough to beat some sense into them."

"Then you're luckier than most," she laughed. "I will still cheer for you during your fight, though. We women need to stick together, don't we?"

Her eyes went wide for a second before she quickly looked away, cheeks suspiciously red. "Thank you, Uchiha-san."

"Please, call me Mikoto," she corrected her gently. "Also, Izumi sends you her best wishes as well. I think she might look up to you a bit since you met at Itachi's birthday."

It might not be as good as well-wishes from your family, but it was the best thing she could offer. And anyway, most people considered their teammates as an extension of their family, she had certainly done so with Kushina. They were her son's teammates and as such, in a manner of speaking, her family as well.

All awkwardness from the beginning was forgotten as they walked towards their lodgings, their conversation turning towards more light-hearted topics.

"I see," he said as he took another puff from his pipe. "So Oonoki tried to manipulate the results of the exam, huh?"

It was not exactly surprising, unfortunately. Itachi lacked information in that regard, having only participated in a single Chūnin Exam before which also happened to be in Konoha and not having not been involved in the organization of another one, but Hiruzen knew his fellow kage well enough. Such an act of manipulation had been predictable, but there wasn't anything he could do about it as long as there was no proof. The Genin could have come up with it themselves for all they knew and that would be exactly what Oonoki would claim if confronted about it.

Well, it seemed as if the plan had failed anyway, so it didn't matter anymore.

"Yes, Hokage-sama," Anko said. "We overheard some of them talking about it and also talked with other teams who had heard the same."

So several villages would be annoyed with Iwa for the foreseeable future. Maybe it would be a good idea to use this common ground to begin a conversation or two about alliances? He doubted anything tangible would come out of it, but even something simple as an agreement on better trade deals would be helpful.

"You should have gotten a good look at your competition," he continued. "What do you think about your chances in this tournament?"

"All of them are pretty good," Yukio answered for them. "But we're confident that we could win against most of them without too much struggle. There are only two people that might be a real problem."

"Only two?" he asked good-naturedly. "That's very confident of you. And who might these two be?"

"One is the leader of the team from Amegakure," Anko continued. "His name is Mezo. He's confident and charismatic. He was also the closest thing to a leader our group had during the exam and no one challenged him on that. We weren't able to observe many of his fights, but when we did, he was easily dominating his opponents. He was also still uninjured by the time we passed as well."

"That's very impressive," he agreed. Both Yukio and Anko had been injured, even though it had been only small cuts. Itachi had none, though, but that was only fair; he had far more experience than anyone else in these exams. "And the other one?"

"The female member of the team from Kumo," Itachi said. "Her name is Yugito Nii. Her two teammates aren't weak either, but she is on a completely different level. Just like Mezo, she has come out of the second exam without as much as a cut. Even her clothes survived without taking any damage. From what we have seen of her abilities, it wouldn't be wrong to say that she is the greatest threat in this exam."

Yugito Nii, he thought. I recognize that name. Not only from his conversations with Itachi but also from the general information he as Hokage had access to. The Jinchūriki of the Two-Tails, wasn't it? Yes, that would definitively be a problem.

It would honestly be a surprise if anyone in this tournament could beat her. Itachi was strong, yes, and had more experience, but there was still a limit to what he could do at his current age. He could win if he used some of his most powerful techniques, but not only did they want to keep them a secret, it would also be stupid to permanently damage one of Kumogakure's Jinchūriki like that.

"I see," he said again. "So, what do you think your chances are to come out of this victorious?"

There was a short break before Anko answered. "Slim, Hokage-sama," she said without hiding how unhappy she was about this confession. "We held back our true abilities, of course, but it's likely that the others did so as well. All of us could probably beat Mezo, but if what we have seen from Yugito was her while holding back, she would probably win a confrontation."

He hummed thoughtfully. "Remember, you don't need to win to be promoted. All that matters are the abilities you demonstrate during the exam." And to admit your own inferiority, to stay objective even when you didn't like it, was an important skill a Chūnin needed to possess.

"Yes, Hokage-sama!"

"Yukito," he turned towards the boy. "You will face her in your first bout, so that will be your only opportunity to show off. Make the best of it."

His face darkened as he nodded. "I will not disappoint you, Hokage-sama."

"I know you will not," he replied with a warm smile. "Now, I think it's time for you to return to your quarters for tonight. You need to be rested for tomorrow, after all."

He couldn't help but be a little excited about the next day. These exams had always interesting fights between the next generation to offer, and seeing the youth of your village showing off their skills never ceased to be refreshing.

Outwardly, Yukio kept his cool as he walked towards the middle of the arena where his opponent was already waiting. He wouldn't give her, nor the cheering crowd for that matter, the satisfaction of seeing him fidget like a beginner fresh out of the academy.

Still, even with that in mind, he needed to swallow the lump in his throat when he came closer.

Yugito Nii, he knew, was a formidable opponent and probably the strongest participant in these exams. It had been easy to ignore during the second stage when they had been allies, but now that all her attention was focused on him, things were different. She wasn't even openly hostile, but that would actually have been easier to handle. instead, she was perfectly calm, observing him with gleaming eyes like a predator did with its prey. He knew he would probably lose, he wouldn't deny that no matter how much it bothered him, but that didn't mean he would simply surrender.

No, he would try to force her to show as much of her strength as he could so that Anko and Itachi had a chance to observe her. That way, they might actually be able to come up with a strategy that could ultimately beat her.

He glanced towards the stands; most of it considered of a faceless crowd that meant nothing to him. Their cheering was nice, or at least he guessed it would be if it were directed at him. As it was now, they mainly cheered simply because they were excited that the spectacle was about to begin.

Yukio suppressed a scowl at the thought that they would start cheering for his opponent as soon as they saw her beating him.

To his right was a podium on which the Hokage, the Raikage, the Kazekage, and the Tsuchikage sat side by side. On any other occasion, the sight would have put him in awe, the thought of four of the strongest Shinobi alive being so close sending shivers down his spine, but right now, not even the bulky stature to the Raikage affected him.

He didn't turn around to look at the other Genin that were still waiting for their turn in a room behind him.

"Are the participants ready?"

He nodded, an action that was mirrored by his opponent in front of him.

"Begin!"

He instantly jumped backwards while also throwing a bunch of kunai with explosion tags towards the blonde girl.

The arena was nothing but a flat plain with two small bodies of water on one side, giving him no cover whatsoever. That was problematic, considering he wanted his opponent to show what kind of techniques she could use; his teammates wouldn't learn anything new if all she needed to do was to rush at him and knock him out.

The tags exploded, momentarily obscuring their view of each other. Deciding to use the time he had, he instantly weaved the hand seals to create a mud clone, but before he could sink into the underground with the Moguragakure no Jutsu (Hiding Like a Mole Technique) to switch places with it as he had intended, Yugito shot out of the dust. Fast.

She wasn't quite on the level of his sensei, but her speed was still greater than that of both of his teammates and any of his other friends he had ever sparred with. One moment she was still a fair distance away and the next thing he knew was that she was right in front of him.

Yukio raised his arms just in time to block the punch towards his chest, the power behind it nearly knocking all the air out of him, before jumping further back to evade her follow-up attack. She visibly tensed to go after him again, but was forced to abandon that plan when his clone jumped at her from her right; the roundhouse kick at her head failed just like the following swept at her with a kunai, and a moment later, his clone got destroyed when she retaliated with a kick to its torso.

Only, rather than just collapsing back into a bunch of dirt, it exploded.

Not wasting any time, he weaved hand seals once again:

"Doton: Chikyū no hahen!" (Earth Release: Earth Shards)

At his command, hundreds of sharp clumps of earth flew towards the cloud of dust that had been stirred by his exploding clone, hopefully doing some damage to his opponent.

That hope was crushed a second later when a storm of lightning flew out of it and towards him, destroying every earth shard in its path and hitting the place he stood just a moment earlier.

"Smart," a voice behind him said. "Hiding an explosion tag inside your clone. Smart, but ultimately useless." He had no time to react before a kick to his back catapulted him through the air, making him fly until he finally hit the wall of the arena that had been almost twenty meters away.

He groaned when he sat up, forcing himself to keep his eyes on his enemy even though his vision was blurry. That will bruise, he thought with a wince, but at least I'm pretty sure that nothing broke. Kami, fortunately I was able to enforce my body with chakra before the impact or I would have already lost.

"Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu!" (Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique)

His eyes went wide as a gigantic ball of fire flew towards him, bigger than anything he had seen Itachi produce with the same technique ever since he joined his team.

"Doton: Doryūheki!" (Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall)

He put as much chakra as he could without totally exhausting himself into the technique before using the rest to finally vanish into the underground while leaving another clone behind.

Barely a second later, he felt Yugito arrive in front of the remains of his wall, breaking right through it before continuing her attack. Using the opportunity, he broke through the surface the moment she passed above him and took a second to survey the situation:

Yukio's clone had managed to momentarily trap her, just as he had hoped. One of her arms was pushed through its chest, but as the attack didn't blow it up, it was still able to fight and thus grab her arm to keep her in place. Knowing he couldn't let that chance go to waste, he rushed towards her with a kick that was aimed right at her head.

The good news was that his attack connected.

The bad news was that the moment he should have blown her away, her body dissolved into electricity and fried him and his clone both.

He opened his mouth to scream, but no tone escaped from his lungs. The pain lasted only a few seconds, but even after it was gone, he couldn't move as he laid face down on the ground. His entire body felt sore, the smell of burned flesh filled his nose, and he was pretty sure he was smoking. It took everything he got to slowly move his arms until they were angled in a way that would allow him to push himself up, but he felt a weight on his back before he could even attempt such a thing.

"You're not the only one who can use clones for a trap, you know."

He had not enough energy to talk, let alone turn around to look at her, so he stayed mute.

"Don't worry, I put just enough energy into the technique to put you out of commission for a while. There will be no permanent damage, but you will not be able to continue this fight. Honestly, I'm actually impressed that you're still conscious at all!"

She was right, there was no denying that. There was no way he could continue this fight, even if he somehow managed to get up. No, this match was over.

Yukio would have laughed if he could. So much for making her show what kind of abilities she is hiding, he thought sarcastically. All he could make her do was to use some pretty standard techniques, none of which would be one of her trump cards. At least we now know that she can not only use Fire Release but Lightning Release as well. Somehow, that thought didn't comfort him at all.

"The winner is Yugito Nii from Kumogakure!"

"Seems like my shinobi won, just like I said." Hiruzen didn't need to look at the muscular man to know he must have a very satisfied expression on his face right now. "As I told you before, don't expect any of your Genin to win against her. Yugito is on a completely different level."

"Pah," Oonoki scoffed. "Don't act as if that means anything. She's a Jinchūriki, of course she would dominate these fights. Let's wait and see how her teammates do, that will show us how talented your shinobi really are."

"You're fishing for excuses, Tsuchikage-san. She didn't even use any of her Bijuu's power, so you have no reason to complain."

"Irrelevant. Her strength and stamina are still greater than that of every average shinobi, even if she isn't actively using her Bijuu's chakra."

"Complaining about such a thing is the same as complaining about someone that uses a Kekkei Genkai. Do you also think your victories are worthless just because you used your famous Jinton (Dust Release)?"

"The one happens naturally while the other is artificial, that are two entirely different things!"

"And both still lose if its wielder faces enough enemies. Talking about that, it's such a shame that there aren't more participants from your village in the finals, isn't it? Especially considering you sent so many of them into the exams this year."

Hiruzen stopped listening to their squabbles at that point, choosing to instead look with sad eyes down into the arena where Yukio was being carried out right now. He had fought well, but it had been clear that he was outmatched from the very beginning. No even clever traps could change that.

He sighed. The injuries he received weren't too bad, meaning he would soon be recovered, but the blow to his pride and confidence was another thing entirely.

Only time would tell how this loss would affect him.