(A/N) *singing* Nobody likes me, everybody hates me, guess I'll go eat worms. Long thin slimy ones, short fat juicy ones...
Hiruzen looked to his two companions. Shikaku and Danzo were seated on either side of him, as they would both be vital in the selection of chuunin, and there were no foreign kage to be seated up here.
"Sasuke put up a good fight," Shikaku noted. "He appeared to know that he wouldn't win, and merely played to show off."
"I noticed it as well," Danzo agreed. "He would make a good Chuunin. He showed planning and plenty of skill."
Hiruzen nodded, writing that down. "I agree."
Hinata faced down her cousin in the arena, almost retreating into her hood.
"Pathetic," her cousin snorted. "Didn't your sensei teach you anything?"
"O-of course he did!" Hinata squeaked. "Kakashi-sensei was a w-wonderful teacher! Late, but a good teacher!"
Neji scoffed, but got into his stance. Hinata got into a similar, yet different one. "What is the Gentle Fist better than you will ever be?"
"N-no, I merely adapted it with the assistance of Shisui-sensei. It fits me better."
"Begin!" Genma shouted, bringing his hand down, then leaping away.
"BYAKUGAN!" Rang out across the arena, and they leaped at each other.
One gentle fist exchange later, Neji was nursing a very numb right leg, and Hinata was suffering multiple closed tenketsu on her arms. They both reversed the damage caused by the other, and went back at it again, suffering assorted mild injuries from the other, reversing them, then jumping right back at it.
After a fourth exchange, Hinata reversed the closed tenketsu, and jumped back into a tree, running through a few hand signs.
Neji glared at her, leaping towards her, only to be encased in a sudden mist. Hinata could see fine because the mist was made of her own chakra, and she could use it to see a bit, even if she couldn't use her byakugan. Neji was attempting to look for her with his byakugan activated.
A couple more hand signs, and the jutsu to spread her voice around was active. "Y-you won't be a-able to find me," Hinata said, shifting so she could lunge forward for an attack on the back of his neck, the only blindspot of a Hyuuga. "The m-mist is full of my ch-chakra, you won't be able to see wh-where I am."
She lunged, and he couldn't see her, so she hit her target, the nerves between the vertebrae on his neck, paralyzing him completely from the neck down. She cleared the mist. "Neji-nii-san, surrender or I will knock you out completely."
Neji growled audibly, but relented. "I forfeit."
"Winner, Hinata Hyuuga." Genma announced.
Medics came in, lifting Neji onto a stretcher.
"I pinched the nerves in his neck," Hinata told them. "Easily fixable."
"YOU GO HINATA!" Naruto yelled from the stands.
He was closely followed by Fuu's shout of, "YOU SHOWED HIM!"
The Hokage nodded approvingly. "She moved outside of the normal Hyuuga comfort range. Learned a very effective jutsu."
"I say chuunin material," Shikaku agreed, yawning. "She let Neji think she hadn't improved much other than changing her fighting style, then brutally defeated him."
Danzo just nodded, and Hiruzen wrote that down. "I say Neji waits another year though, he was far too arrogant, and that can kill a chuunin."
"Agreed," Danzo said. "Powerful, but arrogant."
Hiruzen watched the match closely. An Aburame and a prospective weapons master was an interesting matchup indeed. They were both mid to long range fighters, and managed to cancel out most things, Tenten's weapons being moved aside from hitting Shino, and his bugs being kept away from Tenten by the storm of metal.
After a long few minutes of the storm of metal, Tenten froze, glancing down at the bugs crawling up her legs. Hiruzen nodded approvingly. A good strategy. The kid had probably won.
Shino stopped the advancing of his bugs for a moment. "We are both low on chakra. Should you chose not to forfeit, I will drain your chakra completely, and you will loose. I will forfeit in the next round, as I do not have enough chakra for another round. You forfeit here, and I will forfeit as well, making this a tie."
Tenten gauged him, decided he was being truthful, and accepted. "I forfeit."
"Then I do as well, proctor. You may mark it down as a tie," Shino informed the proctor. The bugs left Tenten's legs, and the two shook hands. Tenten collected her weapons, sealing them all away in one big bunch to sort later.
"They both did well," Hiruzen said, smiling at the comradery shown.
"I say both could be chuunin, but I would suggest some branching out, should they wish to advance further," Shikaku said.
"Agreed," Danzo said.
"Fuu vs Rock Lee." Genma announced. "Begin!"
Fuu and Rock Lee immediately began to exchange blows, Lee slowly but surely pushing her back against a wall. When her back almost touched it, Fuu lunged forward, using her few inches of height on Lee to vault over him, flying up into the air, and spraying off a layer of the flash powder, that would reflect the sun and blind him.
He got out of the cloud, eyes closed, and lunged in her direction, trying to kick her before he fell back down to earth. Fuu dodged the attack, flying up out of reach.
Lee opened two gates, and shot after her, trying to catch her. Fuu just rose higher and higher, evading all attempts at her person, then shot down, pinning Lee on the way down, and knocking him out when they hit the ground.
Fuu stood up, Lee did not.
"Winner, Fuu!" Genma announced, after hopping down and poking Lee a few times. "As we have an extra person, they have a bye to the next round. Fifteen minutes intermission, and we'll start the next round."
"They both did well," Danzo admitted, "But not a lot of strategy was employed."
"Agreed," Shikaku said. "Lee definitely isn't ready, we'll have to see about Fuu. She may display more planning next round against Naruto."
"Something tells me that isn't how that's gonna go," Hiruzen muttered.
"Congrats!" Naruto shouted when Fuu arrived back at the competitors box. "I knew you could do it!"
Hinata smiled slightly, and nodded. "We all knew you could do it." When Fuu beamed at her, she reddened and tried to disappear into Sasuke's shadow. Sasuke had recovered after the administration of the antidote, and had decided to sit in the competitors box to watch the battles.
"Maybe use some strategy you two," Sasuke said. "If you don't neither of you will be promoted."
"We'll try," Naruto said reluctantly after a moment.
Gaara snorted. "You expect to be able to beat some strategy into their heads? I highly doubt either will use any, and will have to be genin missing-nin."
Naruto and Fuu made identical annoyed faces, showing their clear dislike of that option.
"It's most likely useless, but I might as well try and tell them to use strategy," Sasuke replied. "One day, maybe they'll listen to us."
Kurama formed with a slight puff of smoke. "On the day they listen to the voices in their heads, maybe they'll listen to you. So, never, probably." He hopped up into Hinata's arms, rumbling happily when she sat down to start petting him.
"Does this break ever end!" Fuu asked, flopping down on the floor in a starfish position.
"It's so the people watching can get snacks and go to the bathroom and stuff," Naruto replied, flopping down on top of her in a similar position. A slight grunt was all that signaled she'd even noticed his weight. "So, no, it doesn't."
Gaara snorted. "When your biju is the only one to not give you ADHD."
"When you're the only one without a biju," Sasuke replied in the exact same tone.
"Wh-when you're the only one who d-didn't grow up with a b-bunch of missing-nin," Hinata offered quietly, quite used to Sasuke doing that.
Kurama rumbled slightly louder. "When you're the only one under one foot tall. On the plus side, pets."
Hinata giggled softly, scratching behind the fox's ears. "N-Naruto, you might just h-have to do it without K-Kurama."
"He is anyway," Kurama muttered. "M 'n Chomei decided we'll let our jinchuuriki handle the fight without us." He groaned as Hinata's fingers found a spot on his back, and he flopped in her lap in a happy puddle of fox biju.
"Cool," Naruto and Fuu decided together, remaining flopped out on the floor.
(A/N) Second round next time. Naruto vs Fuu, and Gaara vs Hinata! Comment who you think'll win on both of those. And check out the poll. It does close next week.