Chapter 43

Awe and shock was the theme of the crowd. They were use to seeing amazing things but this was just extra amazing. After moments of awed silence, a voice broke through to every one.

"Holy shit, Choji's a freaking giant!" the voice shouted. Choji was as tall as the top of the stadium wall. Tenten was in shock as she was eye-to-eye with her opponent. That's when the light begin to dim around her. She realized too late as Choji's large hands closed in on her as a clap. The sound was incredibly loud as everyone had to cover their ears. Even villagers outside the stadium could hear it.

Choji lowered his hands to the ground before opening them. This released Tenten who was out cold. Hayate went to check on Tenten as Choji shrank back down to normal size. Hayate checked on Tenten to see if she was okay and found that she was just out cold. As he stood to announce the winner, he heard a thump. He looked behind him to see Choji on the ground, only he was very skinny and had swirly eyes. The jonin just chuckled before turning to the crowd.

"Due to neither competitor being able to continue, this match has been declared a draw." Hayate said with a cough. The crowd clapped for the two despite the outcome of the match.

XXX

"That... was surprising." the Kazekage said. He turned to face the Hokage. "It seems that you have improved your village's training methods."

"You can say that. The changes were small but the fruit it bore was worth it." Hiruzen said.

"I should say so." the Kazekage said. He turned his attention back to the field as medics came to pick up the two competitors. He spent most of his time looking at Choji. His eyes narrowed as he watched him. The boy should not have been able to use the Multi-Size Jutsu in that way. He knew that many Akimichi clan members did not have the chakra or calories to preform it until they were sixteen. The fact that he was even able to do it without the use of the Akimichi Chili Pills only furthered his annoyance. He would have to make plans to deal with this new generation or they could become bigger problems in the future.

XXX

Sakura and Hinata entered the competitors box. They saw the guys with the exception of Shikamaru and Shino. Lee was quick to occupy their space, unnerving the two.

"Sakura-chan, Hinata-chan, have you each recovered from your glorious battle!" Lee exclaimed.

"Uh..." Hinata began but she was saved by her teammate.

"You really need to develop an inside voice Lee." he said to him. Lee look dejected but backed off. He looked at the two. "Hey Hinata, what's up with the cold patch on your cheek?"

"It's to s-stop the swelling from continuing. S-Sakura hits really hard." Hinata explained. Naruto chuckled as he looked at Sakura.

"She-hulk." Naruto muttered. Sakura glared at him but it turned into a worried expression that Naruto caught on to. "Something wrong?" She walked up to the group.

"I'm a bit concerned about Sasuke." Sakura said softly.

"What about him?" Kiba asked in the same low voice.

"We w-were in the medical bay and o-overheard him arguing with Kakashi s-sensei. He's has no regrets a-about his attempt to use that l-lightning jutsu against you" Hinata explained.

"He also was planning on coming back here to finish your fight. He told Kakashi that you are one of his enemies. Kakashi had to physically restrain him to the bed to stop him. It doesn't look like he's going to leave you alone after this." Sakura added.

"Thanks for the heads up." Naruto said. He turned his attention back to the field to see Shino and Shikamaru face off. He wasn't writing off the warning but he decided to focus on the next match to clear his head. The others understood this and joined him in watching.

XXX

Hayate looked at the two who still had their hands in their pockets.

"Are (cough) you two ready?" he asked.

"Yes." Shino stated.

"Let's get this over with." Shikamaru groaned.

"Okay, begin!" Hayate said loudly. Shino's hands shot out of his pockets and launched his parasitic insects. Shikamaru ran away as Shino's swarm chased him. As he ran, Shikamaru did some hand seals.

"Confinement Barrier!" Shikamaru shouted. A purple sphere surrounded him and protected him from the swarm. They tried to brake through but were denied. Shino pulled out a kunai before tossing it at Shikamaru. The kunai hit the barrier and broke it in an instant. The insects immediately attacked and surrounded Shikamaru. The young Nara was able to escape his fate by replacing himself with a log.

Shino looked out for him only to block several shuriken that came from his left. He directed his swarm to the area and Shikamaru was back on the run. This was how the match continued as Shikamaru would continue to use his barrier ninjutsu only to have it destroyed by Shino's kunai. It was only after the fifth one did Shino realize what Shikamaru wanted him to do. He decided to save his last kunai for when the opportunity arise.

Shino put all his efforts in trying to corner the running Shikamaru. The lazy Nara was running for his life until Shino finally corner him against the wall. There was no avenue of escape for him. Shino ordered his swarm to attack, forcing Shikamaru to use a jutsu.

"Shadow Net Jutsu!" he called out, making cracks with his shadow. Shino saw this an assumed that this was another barrier and used his last kunai. A smirk appeared on Shikamaru's face as he released the jutsu, creating a whirlwind that blinded Shino and took out some of his insects. When the whirlwind died down, Shikamaru was gone. Shino was looking around for him only to have three rods shoot out of the ground, surrounding him.

"Lightning Style: Lightning Bind!" a three-sided wall of electricity surrounded and trapped Shino. Shikamaru popped out of the ground. The ninja looked tired and annoyed but was happy. He had used the Earth Style: Underground Move Jutsu to escape the swarm and get close to Shino. He then used the rods that were given to him by Asuma and used the jutsu that he taught him. Shino tried to get free by using the parasitic insects but they were shocked by the barrier.

Shino figured that he could still capture Shikamaru with his swarm outside but Shikamaru could easily go back underground and hide. While Shino knew he could probably outlast him, his friend did hang out with both Kiba and Naruto. One would need really good cardio to keep up with those two. Using his logic, Shino realized that his victory was slim to none. He turned to Hayate and signaled him.

"I would like to surrender. Logically speaking, I have no way to escape and my opponent is very good at running." Shino said. The jonin nodded at him.

"The winner (cough) due to surrender, (cough) Shikamaru Nara." Hayate announced. Hearing that he was the winner, Shikamaru released Shino before laying on the ground. He let out a breath of relief. Shino just looked at his opponent.

"To be honest, I thought you would have surrender after two minutes. I am happy that you respect me enough to try." he said.

"I respect you but I'm done with this tournament. I haven't work this hard since the academy and I don't plan to do so in the next round. I blame those two up there for this." Shikamaru grumbled. This amused Shino greatly, not that you could see it.

XXX

"You gave him Kitane's weapons and jutsu?" Kurenai asked with some surprise. She knew how important they were to him.

"Kitane wouldn't want them gathering dust in my home. Besides, it was the perfect jutsu for Shikamaru. Granted, he won't use it again or continue on but I'm proud of the fact that he tried against Shino. It will also be funny when he is promoted." Asuma said with amusement.

"You're right about that." Kurenai said with a giggle. "I would also recommend Naruto as his match against Sasuke showed some ability to lead. However, I know that there are still a few that still have their issues with him." Asuma nodded in agreement at that. That's when Kakashi arrived with Sasuke in tow. They watched as the jonin forced the last Uchiha into a seat. The two glared at each other before Sasuke turned his attention to the field. The two jonin looked on in concern and wondered what happened between them.

XXX

Still tired and annoyed, Shikamaru entered the competitor's box. He looked at Naruto and Kiba with the same annoyance he looked at Shino with. The two looked at him with smirks, indicating that they knew why he was so unhappy.

"You think this is funny, don't you? You think that you have brought me over to the dark side, huh?" Shikamaru spat angrily.

"Shika, why are so serious?" Kiba asked with an amused tone. "All Naruto and I wanted to say is good work out there. You really show that 'Will of Fire'." Naruto looked on with a smirk and slow clapped for Shikamaru.

"You won't know when but I will make you both pay for this." Shikamaru grumbled. Naruto and Kiba laughed at him before turning back to the field. They watched as Lee faced off against Gaara. Everyone, except Neji, was worried about this match due to how Gaara acted. They were all pulling for Lee.

They watched as the match started as Lee rushed in. Everyone thought that this was a mistake as the sand automatically protected him. Lee's attacks were not working and had to retreat. Lee was nearly caught by the sand but was able to escape, making everyone sigh in relief.

"Heh, your comrade should just give up. He ain't getting pass Gaara's sand." Kankuro joked. That's when they heard Guy shout at Lee to take his weights off. Kiba would have slapped his forehead if both arms weren't in slings.

"I forgot about that. Lee wears the same weights I do everyday. He's probably going at half speed." Kiba said.

"Please, you don't actually think a couple of pounds is going to make a difference?" scoffed Temari. That's when Lee's weights hit ground, shaking it and creating two craters. Everyone was wide eyed at that. Shikamaru looked at Kiba.

"How much weight does he move with?!" Shikamaru exclaimed. That's when Lee vanished and appeared next to Gaara. Lee's punch nearly caught Gaara and plowed through the sand. Lee began to move at incredible speeds, surprising Gaara. Lee then connected with a punch that sent the red head flying. This shocked his siblings. Lee continued to move too fast for Gaara's sand and once again, Lee landed another blow.

"T-This isn't real. There's no way this is happening!" Kankuro shouted. The Konoha shinobi looked at them with some confusion. They looked back to the match to see Gaara stand. They also saw the crazy smile on his face as the sand began to cover the cracks on his jaw.

"What the? Is that... is he wearing Sand Armor?" Kiba asked. That's when they noticed feathers falling down. Everyone was starting to feel really sleepy but Sakura, Neji, Shikamaru, Hinata and Shino recognized that it was a genjutsu. They quickly dispelled the genjutsu and helped dispelled it over Naruto and Kiba. They were wondering what was going on when Sakura noticed something. It was Kankuro and he just launched his puppet at Naruto.

"Naruto!" she shouted. The blond looked up the see the puppet on him. Neji reacted and quickly got in from of him.

"Rotation!" he shouted. The chakra dome knocked back the puppet. Temari growled before opening her fan all the way.

"Wind Scythe Jutsu!" she shouted, launching a huge wind attack. It caused and explosion in the competitor's box.

The jonin saw this and was worried for their students. The couldn't do anything to help them now as several Sand and Sound shinobi appeared within the crowd who were all fast asleep. They were engaged with the enemy, protecting the villagers. The fighting was starting to get intense. On the roof, the Kazekage had Hiruzen with a kunai to his throat. However, that quickly changed when Hiruzen burst into flames, surprising the Kazekage. He managed to escape being burned. He chuckled at the attempt before facing Hiruzen.

"Cute, you learned a new jutsu. Assuming that you learned something from a child." The Kazekage said with a different voice.

"That same child also put a curse on you." Hiruzen said.

"That he did. Surprised and annoyed me at the same time. All those children have been annoying me." he sneered.

"You should be more concerned with me. Seeing how you're made some careless mistakes, I might just send you back to the academy." Hiruzen said with a smirk. An amused snort was made as the Kazekage removed his face and hat, revealing it to be Orochimaru.

"Very well sensei, let's begin."

XXXXX

Authors' Notes

A chapter that was way overdue. I hope everyone likes the changes. I'm using some elements of the anime to further the story. Truth be told, I don't plan on using much of the anime or the movies. My main focus will be the manga however, I will use some of the filler episode that they created should it help the story along.

Anyway, please enjoy the new chapter.