Gallivanting God

Chapter 12

The dusk of the early morn began to vanish as the sun vanquished the darkness. Uzumaki Naruto stood awake, watching the light encompass the world. The blonde had slept easily, awakening only moments ago. Today was the day of the finals of the Chunin Exams. The day of his promotion. The Jinchuriki had spent copious amounts of effort and dedication into improving the speed of his Hand Seals. As well as having his ass beaten by Jiraiya for a week and half to improve his Taijutsu. It was hard, but the blonde felt rewarded for it all.

The Exams were not starting until midday. So, the blonde still had over six hours to himself. Naruto decided he'd have a little splurge before the finals. The Jinchuriki started off towards Ichiraku's. The Genin hadn't been there in a while and decided to have a little taste of the ramen he considered the best. Naruto didn't rush over; he simply walked the entire way. This extended the journey by another 30 minutes, as the commercial district was nowhere near close to his apartment. Naruto rounded the corner, seeing the ever-present flaps of Ichiraku's. This was one of the places that fed him when he was a lone orphan on the streets. Naruto could never not pay patronage to them. The blonde walked up and pushed the flaps away from his face.

"Teuchi-Ossan! Fire me up some Miso, ya know!" Naruto beckoned to the chef in the back. Teuchi came out the back with a ladle in hand, with a bulging vein of anger on his face.

"Who're ya calling Old- Naruto! It's nice to see ya son! Ayame get those Miso fired up for our No. 1!" Teuchi called over his shoulder receiving a positive reply from his daughter. The chef looked back towards the blonde, noticing his change in attire. "What's with the change in clothes Naruto? Is it a girl?" The stall owner winked to the blonde, leaving Naruto perplexed.

"Why would a girl change my clothes?" Teuchi looked at Naruto and couldn't stop himself from face-palming. He'd forgotten, the boy was a brick when it came to common sense. "I actually got them because I'm in the Chunin Exams ya know, to show I'm taking this Ninja stuff seriously." The Ramen Chef recovered quickly, before looking over the teen again.

"Are you sure you didn't have help picking that out? It looks good on ya kid." Naruto pouted at the man.

"Oh, shove it Teuchi-Ossan! Just accept the fact that I picked it myself!" Naruto glared at the man causing him to burst out in laughter. Naruto watched for a few moments before his expression lightened into a smile. Ayame came out from behind them both, with two bowls of steaming Ramen in her hands. Setting them down before the blonde, Naruto took in the sweet aroma the dish wafted up his nostrils. His stomach rumbled demandingly after his brain computed the smell. With a quick prayer of "Thank you for the food." Naruto tucked in immediately, breaking his chopsticks apart and sucking the noodles up.

The blonde ate breakfast happily, talking to Teuchi and Ayame for the next half an hour, topping up his bowl whenever they found it empty. Naruto exited the booth, easily paying his hefty bill before heading over to the bath house. Yes, he had a shower in his apartment, but nothing could beat the relaxing waters of a traditional bathhouse. The blonde quickly used a henge on himself, changing his appearance. The transmogrified teen easily made his way throughout the facility and found himself in the waters of the bathhouse.

Sinking down, the Genin let loose a satisfied sigh. Whilst the blonde relaxed, the Tailed Beast inside him, the Kyubi had its mind in a different plane of existence, having a conservation with one of its brethren.

"What do you want, you stupid Tanuki?" The fox opened its eyes lazily to gaze upon the figure of Shukaku, the One-Tailed beast. The figure of the Dune Beast stayed perfectly still, uncharacteristic of itself. Before long a building cackle erupted from the creature.

"HA! You stupid Fox! You have no idea what's coming! And I'm gonna be the one to show you once and for all that I'm stronger than you!" The Nine-Tails looked over his sibling with a disinterested stare.

"Whatever makes you happy, Stupid Tanuki. But I'm not gonna lose, and neither is my host to yours." The One-Tails simmered down at that and glared at the Nine-Tails.

"So you did know… It still doesn't matter anyway! Your Jinchuriki can't even use your Chakra whilst mine can use mine at any time! I'm gonna enjoy wiping you out!" The Tanuki faded from the plane they were on, leaving the Nine-Tails to return to his place in Naruto's seal.

"Hmph, Tanuki Bastard…"

Naruto had now made his way to the Chunin Exams arena, he still had four hours until they were to begin. The blonde debated the idea of setting a few traps beforehand, there wasn't exactly anything stating he couldn't, but, decided not to. The blonde had absolute confidence in his ability and his training this past month. Naruto used a Shunshin to get himself to the roof of the arena, settling down to look at the clouds for the next couple of hours.

Before the blonde could even close his eyelids an inch, his Danger Sense skill flared to life painfully, making him react by using the Shunshin again to get away. Eyeing whatever activated his skill, Naruto found himself staring into the dead eyes of Gaara of The Sand. The blonde narrowed his eyes and prepared himself for battle.

"You better have a damn good reason for trying to kill me before the Exams, Gaara."

The redhead said nothing in reply, simply retracting his sand, staring blankly at the blonde. Naruto didn't let the tension leave his body and simply stayed ready. After a minute of silence, Gaara finally spoke.

"I was simply testing if you were worthy."

"Worthy?" The blonde parroted, bewildered.

"Mother has incessantly been going on about you, especially this current day. I figured if you were something special then you wouldn't die pathetically. It's a good thing you're a special one." The dull monotone Gaara spoke in slightly unnerved the blonde, but he let himself relax a slight bit. It was just a test from the psychopath to determine his "worthiness". Fucking bastard.

"Well, your mother sounds like a lovely woman, when can I meet her and tell her what a wonderful job she's done raising you?" Naruto smirked at the Gaara who kept his stoicism on full display.

"Mother died during childbirth, but her voice, lives on inside me."

"…What?" Naruto decided to end his confusion, using Analyse on the redhead to see if he had a mental illness of some sort. As Naruto scrolled down the Sand Ninja's attributes list, his eyes and heart stopped after reading a particular one.

"Jailor of the Ichibi no Shukaku"

Looking back up from the screen to Gaara, Naruto stared deep into the redheads' eyes, beneath the cold exterior the boy kept up, Naruto saw it. The pain, the sadness and the excruciating loneliness. The blonde felt his heart throb painfully, his eyes wanting to tear up.

The redhead who had been quietly watching this entire time, noticed a distinct change in the blonde in front of him. Before, his eyes had been hardened, guarded. But now, something had changed, the Leaf Shinobi in front of him wore a look that Gaara had seen many times before, after Yashamaru had passed. The Sand Shinobi tightened his fists unconsciously.

"You… You're…." Naruto wanted to talk to him as a fellow Jinchuriki, but even as emotional as he was feeling now, he knew it would be suspect if he came out asking about his Jinchuriki status from nowhere. Swallowing the metaphorical lump in his throat Naruto continued. "What the hell are you talking about?"

Gaara once again looked into the eyes of the Genin before him. Debating whether to reply to the blonde. Something deep within him urged him to speak.

"Since my birth, I have been hated. My countrymen, even my own family have all hated me. I am a weapon to be used by my village. A Human Sacrifice. A Jinchuriki. When I was a child, there was one who tried to worm his way into my good graces. Eventually, his true self became apparent, and thus I killed him."

Naruto couldn't stop the shock fluttering across his face. His heart ached painfully.

"Since that night, I've discovered my purpose. To exist is to be strong. To be strong is to exist. I kill to prove that my existence is greater than everyone else's. If I am not strong, then for what reason should I be alive?"

Naruto couldn't help but clutch at the fabric of his haori. Gaara was so much like him it hurt. Gaara was himself, before he met Iruka-sensei, before Team 7. That was why Naruto knew, that Gaara's "Iruka" had died before he had the chance to change him. Tears pricked at his lashes. A Jinchuriki like himself, has been in the darkness of the world much longer than Naruto was in it. That just wasn't fair! That wasn't right! Jinchuriki were people too, they have thoughts and feelings just like everyone else, yet everyone judges them for what they contain.

"You're wrong." Naruto stated firmly, blinking away his tears and standing strong.

"Huh?"

"True strength doesn't come just from yourself. It comes from a desire, to protect those whom you cherish, that's what a friend of mine taught me."

"Then you and your friend are like-minded cowards. Only the strong, in solitude, can survive."

"I already told you, you're wrong! You know, you were right about me being special." The blonde rested his hand on his gut. "You're not the only Jinchuriki here. I understand your pain, I really do… That's why I'm telling you, you're wrong. True strength comes from when you protect those close to your heart, surely, you've got someone like that?"

Gaara clenched his fist at his sides, his temper beginning to flare.

"I don't, I am alone! If the world hates me, then I will hate it back. If the world is out to kill me, I will kill it in return! Only then can I prove that I am allowed to exist!" Gaara roared at the blonde, his manic smile coming back in full. Naruto too clenched his fists.

"Then I'll do what everyone else failed to do! I'll become your friend!"

That declaration caused Gaara's anger to dissipate for only a moment before it came back stronger than before.

"Don't be ridiculous, Uzumaki! We are Jinchuriki of opposing villages, we are weapons! Born to fight another in mortal combat, where only one victor leaves!"

Naruto grinned at the Jinchuriki before jabbing his finger towards him.

"We'll see about that, Gaara. I promise you this! I'll beat you and I'll make you see the truth!"

"Then in turn, I too promise! I promise to tear you limb from limb and bask in your blood in absolute victory!"

The blonde let a full grin burst out across his face as a Quest appeared in front of his face.

Mandatory Quest Started!

Title: The Combat of Sand and Leaf

Description: Uzumaki Naruto and Gaara of the Sand have bared their guts to one another, and as such, Naruto has resolved himself to save Gaara from the inner depths of the loneliness of a Jinchuriki's life.

Objectives:

- Defeat Gaara of the Sand

- ?

- ?

Bonus Objective

- ?

Rewards:

Exp x 1,000,000
Ryo x 10,000,000
Title : ?

"It's a date then."

Naruto spent the next couple of hours lounging about on top of the Arena. His hands behind his head, he stared into the numerous clouds that marched along the sky.

"Man, Shikamaru is really onto something with this stuff…" Naruto commented in a low voice, letting the breeze billow through his tresses. His locks rested and had covered his eyes with their new position.

"Today, marks the start of my journey to becoming Hokage. I must succeed. And I must rescue Gaara from himself."

As Naruto affirmed his resolve, the stadium below him had filled to maximum capacity, everyone who could have been there, was present. Civilians, Daimyo's, Shinobi and even ANBU. Konoha had been abuzz the past month. The build up to the finals was always like a Festival, and true enough to the Third's word. Entertainment was made of their battles, betting pools were started on who would win fights, how they would win, how long it would take, etc. But more importantly, throughout the village, the talk of the town was none other than, Uzumaki Naruto. The boy's moniker was now known to the civilians too. Those who had labelled him as the "Demon Child", those who denied his existence had begun to pay attention to him. Not for being the object of their hatred. But to see if the rumours of his skill were fact or fiction.

For the first time in the Hidden Leaf Village in the last 13 years, Uzumaki Naruto was acknowledged by the villagers as a "someone" and not a "thing". It was drawing close to midday now, barely 5 minutes until the Chunin Exams were to start, and the participants of the Chunin Exams were showing up in force. Everyone was present except for Naruto and Sasuke. The blonde watched the proceedings from above, not too fussed about arriving before the start. He wouldn't be late, but he wouldn't show up 5 minutes early.

Down in the arena, the contestants lined up in front of Hayate, the proctor of the Third Exam. The Genin in front of him stood still and calm. Except for one Nara Shikamaru who had been forcibly dragged by his teammate Yamanaka Ino. The black-haired youth hadn't wanted to do this all that much. But ultimately, his opinion hadn't mattered, as Ino dragged him into the arena.

"Geez, Ino did you really have to drag me like that, I think my arm still has a hand imprint on it…" Shikamaru rubbed his sore left arm, whilst Ino sent him a daggered glare.

"Oh, quit your whining Shikamaru! We're finally here, you could at least act like you care!" Ino punched his right arm before looking back to the proctor in front of her, who was quelling one of his usual coughing fits. The Nara heir grumbled inwardly as he placed his right hand on the back of his neck.

"Even though she's troublesome… I guess she's right. I suppose trying a little bit wouldn't hurt…"

Up in the stands were various citizens of Konoha, civilian and shinobi alike. The various members of the "Rookie Nine", as they had been dubbed, were all in the same area. Choji was stuffing his face with a bag of crisps whilst Sakura was talking to Shino about the upcoming matches.

"Say, Shino-san, how do you think your teammates are going to do?" The pinkette had changed her appearance over the month, gone was the long qipao and instead was something similar in style to it. A crop top styled Qipao that bared her midriff coupled with short sleeves and a skirt that stopped at her mid thighs. Underneath the skirt were her usual spats, alongside the regular blue Shinobi Sandals. Shino didn't turn his head, but instead nodded.

"From my own personal beliefs, I believe neither of them will make it past their first fights. However, a part of me still roots for them to succeed. That is because, I am their teammate." Sakura looked surprised at her fellow Genin's appraisal with surprise. Before the pinkette could open her mouth to retort, another voice joined their conversation.

"I don't blame you for that assumption, quite frankly, I don't think there's a Genin here who can beat Neji." The three Rookie's looked towards their left seeing a brunette with her hair done up in buns. The girl noticed their stares and turned towards them. "Nice to meet you, I'm Tenten, Neji's and Lee's teammate." Sakura calmed her temper down a little, chalking the girl's cheek up to her belief in Neji as a teammate. The pinkette could understand that.

"I'm Sakura, Haruno Sakura. Naruto and Sasuke's teammate."

"I am Shino, teammate of Hyuga Hinata and Inuzuka Kiba. A pleasure to meet you, Tenten-san."

"Alright, let's all hope for some entertaining battles!" Tenten grinned at her two new acquaintances, Choji had promptly ignored her and went back to chomping his crisps down. Everyone's attention was brought to the Hokage, as he stood on the balcony of his respective viewing booth.

"Citizens of Konoha, delegates and officials of neighbouring nations, I welcome you all with a jovial heart to our Chunin Exams. The Genin who have fought their way here have been training for the past month, eager to partake in battle and prove themselves to be capable of Chunin. Without further ado, I hand the reigns over to the proctor of the Third Exam." Everyone's attention shifted from Sarutobi to the centre of the arena, where the Genin stood. Before Hayate could even speak, the wind picked up around the Shinobi, leaves strewn about in maniacal vortex, two figures appeared within the wind funnel, causing the leaves to slow and descend to the ground again.

Clear for everyone to see was Hatake Kakashi and Uchiha Sasuke, the latter whose hair had grown, his bangs clearly growing past his chin. Sasuke's outfit had changed from the usual blue to a completely black one-piece styled outfit. He had bandages on his left hand, as well on both his legs. Covering the bandages on his legs were several black, band like hoops, whilst Sasuke's left arm was covered in a belt.

"I hope we're not too late…?" Kakashi gave an embarrassed smile as he looked towards the proctor, noticing all the lined-up contestants only after he spoke.

"No, Kakashi-san, you're just on time… Please go join the spectators in the stands whilst Sasuke waits here." Kakashi nodded to the man as he went to go join the spectators with a Shunshin. Sasuke walked up beside his fellow contestants as the murmurs of the crowd began to get louder seeing the Uchiha. Naruto who was still on the roof of the arena, felt his blood pump a little bit faster.

"So Kakashi wants to be flashy, does he? Well, I guess as his pupil I can't disappoint." The blonde lifted himself up from the roof and went through the Hand Seals for the Shunshin, changing the last one to a Tori Seal. Channelling and controlling Wind Chakra into the destination the blonde wanted to land in, Naruto created a miniature tornado in the arena. Some of the spectators panicked, whilst the Shinobi braced themselves. Those on the arena floor brought their arms to stop the wind from whipping dirt and rocks into their faces. The tornado dispersed, leaving Uzumaki Naruto in the middle of it, hair still being jostled by the wind with a lopsided grin on his face.

"I hope I ain't too late?" The Genin who knew Naruto could only scoff at his entrance, how typical of the Number 1 Hyperactive Knucklehead. The others who didn't know him, like Neji and those from the Hidden Sand, looked carefully at his entrance and his use of Futon Chakra. Despite seeing him use Great Breakthrough against Kankuro in the preliminaries the month prior, it was simply a Jutsu someone could learn. Seeing the whirlwind, he created with what many assumed as the Shunshin no Jutsu, showed a clear affinity for the Futon Element with how strong and precise the control over it was.

"No, you're just on time, now get in line." Naruto kept his grin on his face and joined the rest of the participants. Up in the stands, Kakashi smiled at the blonde's entrance. The Jonin was somewhat proud of his student's entrance, after all, Kakashi himself had a flare for the dramatic.

"Just like the preliminaries, there will be no rules in these bouts… however, I will judge if the match is over to prevent any unnecessary bloodshed." Hayate's eyes casted over Gaara, reminding everyone who was there of what happened. "With that out of the way, let us begin… the Chunin Exam Finals. Could… all but the first participants please leave to the contestants waiting area."

The Genin all made their way up the stairs, whilst Kiba and Neji stood opposite of one another.

"You ready to get yer ass beaten? I don't care if yer Hinata's cousin or not, you're gonna be licking the dirt off Akamaru after this!" Kiba snarled with exuberant confidence. Neji disregarded the Inuzuka's attempt at verbal jousting. The renowned Hyuga stoicism was on in full display. Each fighter has absolute confidence in their abilities, and none wished to back down. Kiba calmed himself quickly, entering a focused state. That was when, Neji spoke.

"Fear not, Inuzuka. I will end this swiftly." Kiba could feel his blood beginning to pump in anger but quelled it as much as possible.

"Yeah, yeah. Keep talking ponytail, surprised you can speak with that stick up your ass like that!"

Neji's eyebrow's twitched slightly. "Your bravado is commendable, but in the grand picture, is meaningless. You will see."

Hayate looked between the two contestants, all the others were now in the viewing room, and the two in front were ready to tear their heads off already. Hayate wasted no further time raised his right arm up, before declaring the fight started.

Kiba knew Neji was amazing. That much Hinata had told him. That's why he couldn't afford to act cockily, to let his pride overtake his actions. Using such reasoning, Kiba instantly started running to the left.

"Akamaru, let's do it!" The shout reached the dog before a whimper was heard. Kiba immediately stopped and looked towards his partner, seeing Akamaru laying on the ground unconscious with Neji standing over him. Kiba's blood began to boil seeing his partner like that. In a moment of instinct, Kiba sprinted towards Neji, beginning to prepare himself to launch into a Passing Fang, before the Man-Beast user could start his momentum he was peppered with a barrage of Neji's gentle fist. Expertly closing off Tenketsu's, Kiba felt his limbs losing their function, after another few seconds Kiba's body went slack as he fell to the ground.

The arena was silent. Some couldn't believe it was over that fast, whilst others believed it to be so. Neji was touted as Genius of unparalleled growth, even if Kiba was the next Inuzuka patriarch, there was no chance he could rival the strongest Hyuga Genin. Neji's clansmen looked over him with differing emotions beneath their stoic surface. The branch members like himself felt pride, seeing what he was doing. The Main Branch members felt fear, panic and other emotions ripple through them. Such talent was wasted on the branch family but there was nothing they could do about it now. The boy was already cursed.

"The first match is over, Inuzuka Kiba is unable to continue, thus, the victor is Hyuga Neji."

At the jonin proctor's announcement, the crowd erupted into cheering, whilst medics came on with a stretcher to carry the Inuzuka off. Kiba was lamenting his foolhardy behaviour, to lose his rational mind even for that single moment cost him everything. He had worked for a month, for this. Tears pricked at his lashes, letting them fall eventually. His throat felt constricted and like it was on fire at the same time. He wanted to scream his anguish loudly. But even this his pride as a man, and as an Inuzuka wouldn't allow it.

As Kiba was carried away, Neji walked up to the contestant booth, drinking in the sight of the others as they watched over him carefully. Except for him. Naruto couldn't care less, he was talking to that redhead, his clansmen if he recalled correctly. The Byakugan wielder walked carefully over to the chattering blonde.

"And then, I was like WAPAM, BLAOW, and those two goons were out cold! Ha! You shoulda seen the look on Inari's face, ya know!"

Naruto laughed aloud which made Karin's giggle change into one as well. They had spent a bit talking, with the blonde telling her about his first mission outside the village. Karin had wanted to watch the first battle, but she would never pass up talking to Naruto, ever. It also helped that he provided his own insight on why Neji would win the fight. Before Naruto could continue onto his entrance on the bridge, he was interrupted by the grating of sandals stopping. Ceasing his laughter, Naruto turned up to look at Hyuga Neji staring down at him, with very well concealed hate.

"Yo took ya a bit longer than I thought it would. Nice job out there." Naruto offered his congratulations, which Neji scoffed at.

"Don't try and act like you knew what would happen. You and the Inuzuka are two threads of the same cloth. I would crush you myself, but even I know that Gaara of the sand will kill you immediately."

Naruto looked over Neji with a cool eye, thinking about what he could have possibly done to piss off Hinata's cousin so much. Maybe it was because he had been agitating Hinata's sickness or something. It would explain why she went flush red around him, a lot. Neji was getting annoyed by the blonde's silence, cutting out the redheads piercing glare at him.

"Don't worry Neji, Gaara won't be able to do anything too serious. But let me tell you something that I know you'll love to hear." Naruto smirked at the black-haired teen. "Rock Lee is stronger than you." Neji's left eye began to spasm wildly, a vein bulging on his forehead. Before the enraged Hyuga could respond, Hayate called the contestants for the next fight.

"Could Nara Shikamaru and Yamanaka Ino please make their way to the arena." Ino didn't have to be told twice, she was already walking down the stairs by the time she heard her name. Meanwhile Shikamaru still had his hands planted on the guard rail. Despite Ino's earlier chiding about taking this seriously, he really couldn't be bothered to get into it. Before he could even raise his hand for the proctor's attention, the Nara felt a weight settle on his back.

"Hey, Shikamaru. You weren't thinking about dropping out right?" Naruto questioned smoothly whilst looking out over the stands. "Because I just know that not only would Ino beat your ass for not fighting, but also your mother too. Doesn't a couple of minutes of effort sound better than that?"

"Naruto, leave it alone. Despite how much those troublesome women bother me to no end, I'm gonna have to say n- HEY, WHA, AGH!" Before Shikamaru could even finish his sentence, he was unceremoniously flipped out of the viewing arena and sent crashing into the floor of the arena. As he crashed into the ground, Shikamaru couldn't help but grumble about troublesome blondes. The youth felt the jeering laughter of the audience brush against him. Making him more pissed off than before. It was Naruto's damn fault he was like this!

Picking himself up and dusting his clothes off. Shikamaru trudged his way towards an exasperated Ino and a spluttering Gekko Hayate. With a furrow pout on his face, Shikamaru stood opposite of Ino.

"Well, I'm here now. May as well try I guess…" Shikamaru mumbled to himself, whilst Ino focused herself. As she predicted Shikamaru would try to back out of it, what she didn't expect was that Naruto would just throw her teammate into the Arena. But she wasn't one to complain. Even if Shikamaru was her friend and teammate, she wouldn't hold back. Since her fight with Sakura, Ino had rekindled her long-lost friendship with her, and that meant more to the blonde than she would ever let on. She had thrown herself in the ringer this past month, and she wasn't about to eat dirt so easily.

Hayate raised his arm into the air and quickly slashed it downwards.

"Begin!"

Immediately, Shikamaru dropped to a knee and weaved his fingers into the "Rat" Hand Seal, controlling his shadow and launching it towards Ino, who was now back pedalling heavily. The blonde knew that once she was snared by Shikamaru's shadow it was over. That was why she had done a lot of physical training this past month. Ino had done away with her fascination with her diet, because to build proper muscle she needed a real, healthy diet. So, it was no wonder Shikamaru wore a surprised expression when Ino broke away from him faster than he'd ever seen her move.

The Nara Heir may have been lazy and bored a lot of the time. But he never neglected to collect information wherever he got it from. Shikamaru knew that the Ino from before would have been under his Jutsu instantly, but Ino now? She was already speeding away from him, getting him close to the limit his shadow could stretch. Ino had never seen Shikamaru's shadow been used to its maximum, but she knew from the things her father told her, that it had a definite range to it.

Ino turned around during a backflip so she could fully sprint away from Shikamaru's shadow. By the time Ino had gotten to the other side of the arena walls, she glanced over her shoulder, to see Shikamaru's shadow had stopped in the middle of the arena. Looking at where her teammate was to the edge of the shadow, Ino measured his limit was fifteen metres. Now that she knew how far his shadow extended didn't do her much good. Ino as sad as it was to say was a close-range fighter, she had no long-range techniques aside from throwing Kunai.

"Damn, and here I thought Shikamaru was just a lazy bum. Why the hell is his jutsu so strong? No, can't think like that. My options are limited. The best I can do is hope to get him out of the tree line there." Ino palmed the smoke bombs and explosive tags in her pouch. "I guess that's what I'll have to do, I can't think of anything else." As Ino was about to put her makeshift plan into motion, she saw Shikamaru make an unorthodox Hand Seal. She had never seen one like it before and wasn't about to find out what it did either.

Ino took advantage of Shikamaru's close eyes, and pumped chakra into her legs sprinting towards him.

"A habit? That's not a Hand Seal?" Yuhi Kurenai looked disbelievingly at the man beside her, Asuma Sarutobi as he explained what Shikamaru was doing.

"Yeah. Shikamaru's a lazy bum, but he enjoys Shogi and Go. He's like an old man." Asuma grinned at his comparison. "Whenever he gets cornered in a game, he makes that pose. And because of it, I've never once beaten him." Asuma finished his explanation a little bitterly, but with pride dosed in it.

"But this isn't a game? This is real combat Asuma! I looked at his grades in the Academy, they were comparable to Naruto's!"

"That's only because he said it was too troublesome to lift the pencil during tests!" Asuma countered back cracking into laughter as he spoke about his hopelessly lazy student. The red-eyed women couldn't help but look at the boy in the arena in confusion.

"So, do you know how smart he is?"

"Come on, Kurenai. Give me some credit here… Of course, I tested him. In a game that was disguised as an IQ test." Asuma smiled proudly crossing his arms over his chest. "If you would just look at what he does in our games, he'd be considered a Genius among Geniuses. But that test, revealed he was super genius with an IQ of over 200!"

Kurenai was floored, doubtful still, but floored. A mere Genin had an IQ at that number? Then the Genjutsu user remembered his family name. It seemed to explain it somewhat, considering he was the son of the Jonin Commander of Konoha. Down in the arena, they saw Shikamaru come out from his pose just as Ino closed in on his position.

"Alright, his plan's in motion." Asuma wanted to cheer both of his students on. The olive-skinned man wanted both to succeed; only one of them would go through here. That meant they would have to give it their all, especially Ino, she was heavily hampered with what she could do regarding Shikamaru's trump card.

Ino let loose the smoke and paper bombs in her possession, making sure the explosion from the paper bombs combined with the smoke to make an ever-thicker blanket of cover. Rushing into the smoke where she saw Shikamaru was before, Ino leapt into the air as she took the form of a flying kick. At some point during her flight, she felt her body stiffen. She had just been taken over by the Shadow Possession jutsu. But that wouldn't stop her momentum going through the air. She knew Shikamaru. She knew even if he was serious, he would take the most steps possible to keep himself from moving.

Seconds later to figures were seen barrelling out of the smoke into the trees behind them. The impact made Shikamaru lose his concentration and drop the Shadow Possession Jutsu, letting Ino free. Up in the stands Kurenai looked at the unbelievable display of stupidity from Shikamaru.

"Are you sure he has a plan?" Asuma looked similarly disgruntled by his students' actions but held true to his beliefs about Shikamaru.

"I'm sure of it… hopefully."

Shikamaru winced as he felt the sharp pain in his back after hitting the tree trunk behind him. "That troublesome blonde, she just had to go and kick me…" Before Shikamaru had a chance to collect himself, he was manhandled by Ino and thrown out of the shadow of the tree line. The blonde Yamanaka didn't let up, quickly following up on Shikamaru who had just braced his knees. Ino lashed out with a left hook that connected with the black-haired Genin's unprotected cheek, sending him down the ground again, Ino wasn't finished and snapped her right leg straight, connecting with Shikamaru's falling head, rocking him back up to centre. Then a right hook followed with a straight left kick, causing his vision to swim.

Ino took advantage of her teammates failing consciousness and let loose another left hook, quickly pivoting her entire body into a double kick into Shikamaru's chest. Right as Shikamaru was going to fall on his side, Ino used her favoured left slide to slide into a face crunching right straight, causing Shikamaru to slink backwards onto the ground. Ino put her hands on her knees, sucking in harsh gulps of much needed oxygen.

"Take that, Shikamaru, I call it the Yamanaka 8-hit Combo…" Ino wheezed out with a smirk. Hayate looked at both competitors and raised his hand. But before he made any call, the jonin heard the gasp of Ino and a grunt from the black haired Genin.

"H-how!? I thought I was-" Ino stopped herself mid-sentence thinking back on the exchange, she had not seen Shikamaru's underneath him! "You thinned your shadow out? Wait that doesn't-"

Realising Ino had nothing left to do, she called her loss.

"I admit my defeat, proctor."

"With Yamanaka Ino's declaration, Nara Shikamaru is the winner!"

The crowd burst into explosive applause. They had been hooked on the edge of their seats from that fight compared to the first one. It had been quite entertaining to watch, and they were sure that the blonde was going to win too. Shikamaru looked shell-shocked. His plan had failed. He had wanted to surrender, citing low chakra as his reason! He forgot to include Ino's quick mouth into his plans. In the stands, Asuma couldn't help but laugh, knowing what was going through his lazy student's mind. As Ino went off the to the medics' area, Shikamaru trudged up to the contestant's booth.

The Hokage and the Kazekage who watched over the fight had different reactions. Sarutobi couldn't help but smile at the fresh new leaves who were nurturing their talents. He had known for a while what Shikamaru was capable of, and it really stroked his ego to see it come true. The Kazekage himself was quite interested in the intelligence of the child who won.

"Well, Hokage-dono, it would appear you have some interesting Genin this year, yes? That one who just won, Nara Shikamaru? He looks to be a promising Shinobi in the coming years."

"Ah you are quite right, Kazekage-dono. However, I believe we still have more great battles to witness. I must admit, I do look forward to seeing how well your son has mastered the Magnet Release." Hiruzen smiled towards the Wind Shadow.

"As do I. Gaara will perform aptly and as expected of him." Hiruzen couldn't help but notice the detached tone with which the Kazekage spoke, about his own flesh and blood.

"Hey Shikamaru! Nice job ya lazy bastard! I knew ya could do it!" Naruto hollered to the Nara Heir, making his face morph into an uncharacteristic show of anger.

"Yeah, yeah! Everything would have been great by now if you hadn't pushed me down Naruto! Man, nothing's going right today! What a load of shit!" Shikamaru huffed and settled for glowering down at the arena as Naruto laughed it off. The Jinchuriki of the One-Tails watched the blonde in barely contained excitement. Temari inched away from her brother, feeling the familiar aura of his bloodthirst beginning to emerge.

"Uzumaki Naruto and Gaara of the Sand, please make your way to the arena."

AN: hey guys its me, back after like 2 years or something. I said months before? I meant like, 24 of them. In all honesty, I had written this and the next chapter last year, but I didn't feel like they were any good so I didn't do anything with them. from the 12th of July to when I'm writing this (the 13th of July 2022) I added a few things, tweaked some too.

I really have to thank all the guys who have read and reviewed the story after I put it on hiatus, your kind words meant a lot. The only review I really got that was response worthy was some guy called MasterSgtjames or something, but like, I can't even be assed, he's not reading the story cause he stopped at Chapter 5. The only valid criticism he had was that my dialogue feels awkward and forced, which I agree with. I really struggle to make natural flowing conversations and dialogues. The rest was literally some head canon stuff about Naruto's whiskers being scars from being held down by drunks...

I didn't think it was possible to have your entire knowledge of Naruto come from fanfiction. Naruto being abused physically by villagers is literally a fandom thing. In canon he only ever got ostracised, maybe a few insults but that was it. Oh yeah and, The Ino and Shikamaru fight. Dude. Help me man, I can't cope, trying to take Shikamaru's uber strategy intensive fighting style against a CQC fighter like Ino is really awkward, at least for me. When I was going over it there was just shit that didn't make sense, because I literally thought too much about lmao.

I feel like I did alright with the chapter, all things considered. It's not the greatest thing ever, it's not the worst either, so i'll take that. Some other people before were talking about the Harem stuff. I'm fairly certain before I've mentioned that it's not gonna be a Harem. That being said, I do just fly by the seat of my pants writing chapters so who knows. Someone said it'll leave a bad taste in my mouth if I don't go the harem route. I see what you're saying, but I think i'll be fine. I was gonna spoil something about some of the characters but I'll leave it for now. As of the current moment, I feel very comfortable with a NarutoxKarin pairing, that's it. As a very light spoiler for something that is in the future of my story, there might be a second girl, but that's about it.

Lastly, this was a review back from Chapter 2 about some guy going on about the Gamer System from the Manhua, etc etc. I really don't care man lol. I just thought it'd be cool if Naruto had The Gamer, that was all. Yeah, some guys could have a better system for it, I didn't think too much about it, because that would make me not want to write this. I don't know if I ever will go back and re write the earlier chapters, frankly that's too much effort, but maybe i'll explain the façade, to the best of my ability, in chapters after the Chunin exams, or at some point in future chapters.

That's all for now, I'll try post the next chapter soon. I really hope Isseixwithyourcloneincest comes back, I just found his review and literally laughed my ass off at his name, Don't drop your crown king. Big thanks to the Spanish readers too, hold on let me check the country graph to be sure... might be spanish? I don't know? Maybe like Latinos or something? Anyway big thanks to you guys, you're all really funny and that one Spanish guy who reviewed in English, bro, I feel you on so many levels it's insane. I don't know how to feel that a lot of you guys looked forward to the notes at the end, maybe that's something to be flattered about? I think i'll be flattered by it :)

Thanks for reading and hope you enjoyed!

Adios!

P.S Forgive any spacing errors with the text for conversations, me and the text editor are arguing about the kids and we can't come to an agreement.