Author's note: I don't own any of the characters. They belong to Masashi Kishimoto. The original characters belong to me.

Chapter 31: The Siblings Inuzuka-Hyuuga

Inside the Hokage Monument, the Village Hidden in the Leaves

"Tell me something, Naruto. Are you upset that Tadeshi lost to this Mist ninja?" Sasuke was asking Naruto as they were having a drink.

The blonde-haired man only looked to another direction. "He was very talented and all. But this Aoi Terumi was a real strategist when he fought this round" he answered him. "But still, I don't mind this happening. C'mon, Tadeshi is a jounin now, for crying out loud! Why should he even win? For entertainment purposes?" he added while facing the raven-haired man.

Sasuke closed his eyes, pretending not to have heard his words, although he forced a slight chuckle on his face. "I'm just curious about your students" he said in return.

Shikamaru was having a chat with his former student, Ayumu. They were glad to have been able to catch up with the good times they had. But the subject changed when Shikamaru asked Ayumu something. "Hey Ayumu, do you play shogi with these students of yours?" he asked him with a smug look. Ayumu was surprised by hearing this at first, but he nervously chuckled afterwards, much to Shikamaru's confusion. "What's so funny, kid?" he asked his former student.

"Well, I introduced shogi to them on my third day with them, and they each were given a chance, but only Shikaien seemed to like it. But he did tell me that it felt boring and he lost every round we played" he told his former sensei.

Shikamaru grinned smugly at this. "That little punk" he thought about his son. But he fixed a smile at Ayumu. "But still, you managed to introduce something new to those kids. Hell, they might be interested to play it some other time" he pointed out.

Ayumu sweated by seeing his sensei like this. "Truth is. I also think shogi is boring" he thought inside of his head. "But it's fun to play it once you've got nothing to do" he admitted in his thoughts. But he soon faced Shikamaru with a smile on his face. "Well, I have high hopes for Shikaien and Chouta once we get back to the match. They are both valuable to our team, just as you said, Shikamaru-sensei" he said to him.

The man with ponytail and goatee nodded in return. "I'm glad to see that you're capable of guiding students, Ayumu. You are beginning to resemble your old man by each passing day, no kidding" he said with a smile.

Ayumu accepted with a slight chuckle, as he was getting somewhat touched by being reminded of his late father.

"You're son did a wonderful job in his duel against Shunsuke, Sai!" Lee remarked while giving his long-time friend a thumb. "And the best part is that those two boys enjoyed their duel" he added to his explanation.

Sai nodded his head. "You're correct. I taught him very well. He has really made me proud, as a father" he noted while smiling for real. "I believe you also have high hopes for Guy" he added.

Lee smirked. "Oh I sure do!" he said as he was gleaming with his eyes. "His determination is the same as mine, Guy-sensei's and Tenten's combined! He's a proud and sweet angel!" he exclaimed while tears began streaming from his eyes, much to Sai's confusion.

Kimiko sweated by seeing Guy's father behaving this way. "How can Guy be so tolerant over his dad's stupidity? It doesn't make any sense!" she wondered in her head.

Having just been able to go visit the bathroom or getting something to drink, all the teams were now returning to their places on the tribunals. One and a half hour was not necessarily long, so they only did what they needed to do as quickly as they could. When everyone was present, Udon motioned for the giant screen to begin switching names. All the teams were waiting impatiently for the switching to end.

"Please let it be me! Please let it be me!" Guy said in his head, hoping that it would be his turn.

Hisoka could notice how excited his teammate was and sighed deeply. "Seriously, are you really that hopeful?" he asked in his head, as he still didn't get why Guy was so desperate to be chosen.

Naruto was having a good perspective of all the teams with his blue eyes. "So far, the Elite Squadron has lost two of its members, while Team Kazue has lost Ochinko. This means that only Bunko remains of the Elite Squadron while Minami and Saburou as those left of Kazue's students" he noted in his head while facing each of the teams, including Nashiko's. "Something tells me that this round could belong to Nashiko's…but that's impossible to predict" he concluded as he saw his curious daughter facing the screen.

Even the Hokage herself had high hopes. "I hope for something unique in this match" Tsunade hoped while her eyes were focused on the screen. "We've seen good matches so far, what will be next?" she wondered in her head.

The screen soon stopped switching and everyone was stunned by who was going to fight next. Kiba and Hinata were filled with shock by what they saw, as this choosing affected them the most. But this was perhaps more surprising for the Inuzuka-Hyuuga twins.

MINAMI INUZUKA

VS

TAKEDA INUZUKA

"No…..it can't be….." Hinata was out of words after she saw the names of her twins on the large screen. "How…..how is it possible?" she asked lowly.

Even the rowdy and miserable Kiba was very surprised, knowing that he did not expect something like this to happen. However, he remained cool and was not as worried about it as his wife was. The brown-haired man faced Hinata.

"There's nothing we can do about it, Hinata" he said to her to ease her concerns. "Minami and Takedamust fight, regardless of your opposition to this" he added, but he could see that his wife was too distracted by the giant screen, making him quitting lecturing her.

For both Minami and Takeda, this felt like a sting into their hearts. Never before had they imagined that they would have to fight each other in a duel so early in the Chuunin Exams. Both their teams decided not to interrupt their thoughts.

"Once again, one of my students are up against a student of Menma" Kazue noted grimly in her head. "But this time, things are different" she added while seeing the young bluenette in a deep thought as she had watched her name being shown on the screen. "Minami…..watch your back" she added with a silent wish to her student

Minami's eyes changed into that of surprise to seriousness, as she could feel something boil inside of her. She stroke Riko's fur to ease his concerns. "So be it! If I have to defeat Takeda to advance to the finals….then I guess I have no choice but to accept this challenge" she concluded in her head. She turned around to face her sensei and Saburou with a serious look on her face. "Don't start worrying about me. I will do what I must to win. But feel free to support me" she said before jumping down to the fighting ring. As she stood on the floor, she let Riko walk out, and the black-furred dog stood on his own feet.

Hinata was feeling uncomfortable by seeing her daughter standing there, waiting for the match to start. For some reason, she felt that the look in Minami's eyes were different from that of her own at Minami's age. No, they were more similar to those of her late cousin, Neji Hyuuga.

"Minami….." Hinata said lowly, never taking off her gaze at her. "Why are you so….serious?" she wondered in her head.

Both Shunsuke and Nashiko were beginning to feel worried about Takeda, as they saw him face the screen with eyes of surprise. They wondered what their teammate felt on the inside, but they decided not to interrupt him in his thoughts. Menma had also begun putting his hands on each of their shoulders, indicating that they needed to give him space.

"This match will certainly test the bonds between Takeda and Minami. But I hope at least something good can come out of it" Menma noted in his head while seeing Takeda. "Takeda…..I won't ask much of you…..but please be strong" he added.

Takeda stroked Arata's fur as he fixed his eyes on the screen. "Well" he finally spoke up lowly to his team. "It looks like it's my turn now" he said and slowly turned around to show his team a smile on his face, something which made them filled with surprise. "You three just stay up here and support me, okay? I will do my best" he said in a friendly manner, something which was rarely for him to do, considering how lazy and rude he was in terms of persona.

Shunsuke began to smile lightly at Takeda, and he nodded his head as a yes to his request. "I will definitely support you….Takeda" he said.

The long-haired boy proceeded to jump from the tribunal and landed on the floor, taking a few steps forward to face his twin sister. He let Arata loose and he stood on the floor while growling towards Riko. The black-furred dog returned the favour by doing the exact same thing towards Arata.

Kiba was beginning to take interest in this match, since both his twins were now on the fighting stage ready to combat. But he was slightly interrupted by hearing Hinata sob against Naruto, who was trying to comfort her. This made him filled with anger, and he approached the blonde-haired man.

"Hey Naruto, keep your filthy hands off my wife!" he rudely requested him. But Naruto was not responding, something which made him irritable. The brown-haired man with goatee put his hand on Naruto's left shoulder to make him turn around. "Quit ignoring me, asshole! I'm telling you to leave my wife alone!" he was suddenly grabbed on his wrist by Tsunade. The blonde-haired woman fixed a disapproving glance on Kiba, who was stunned by seeing this.

"I do not tolerate quarrelling among adults like you, Kiba. So don't make a scene about something ridiculous as you usually do!" she told him strictly and let go of his wrist. The brown-haired man could tell how painful her grab was, as he began rubbing it to ease the pain.

Naruto eventually turned around and fixed a stern look at Kiba, something which made him filled with disgust. "Hinata needs your support, Kiba. Stay with her and act like a true husband for once" he told him seriously.

The brown-haired man couldn't stand being lectured by Naruto, so he flipped his middle finger at him in the uttermost disrespect. "I already told you, Naruto. I don't need lecturing from the likes of you!" he snapped, until he felt the blonde-haired man grab his middle finger tightly. This made Kiba outraged. "Let go off me, you ugly son of a bitch" he cursed, but lowly winced in pain, as he could feel Naruto's grip tighten around his middle finger.

"Cut out this bullshit at once, Kiba. You're gonna support your wife, whether you want to or not" he said as he worked hard to restrain his urge to brake his friend's middle finger. "Hinata needs her husband by her side and you're gonna be there for her" he added sternly, eventually forcing Kiba to approach behind his wife.

Hinata was surprised by feeling a hand on her shoulder and it came from Kiba. He only faced her sternly before fixing his eyes on the match that was about to commence. The blue-haired woman did the same thing, after leaning against her husband.

"Kiba…I'm so worried" she said lowly to him.

The brown-haired man did not know what to say in return, but he had to come up with something, not because of Naruto and Tsunade ordering him. He saw their twins standing face to face, knowing that they had to fight one another. This made him unable to come up with words to ease Hinata's concerns.

The long brown-haired boy fixed his bright eyes on Udon. "Hey Udon-sensei, if you don't mind, I would like to have a few words with Manami before we start our match. We are twins after all" Takeshi requested from the four-eyed man, who widened at this, considering how unusual it was. Nevertheless he silently nodded his head.

Udon eventually came back to his senses. "Very well, you may have five minutes" he said to the young boy. "But remember, that's the only minutes I can give you" he reminded him, and Takeshi showed understanding in return with a nod.

Minami fixed her stern gaze upon her twin brother, wondering why he was doing something as ridiculous as to speak with her before the match started. She could see her twin brother fixing a similar look upon his face, his own bright eyes never taking off his glance at her.

The bluenette grew irritated by this. "Hey Takeda, what's the meaning of this?" she suddenly spoke up to him, demanding to know an answer for his actions.

"I want to ask you something, Minami. And this time, I want your REAL answers, no more lies!" he said with a hint of bitterness in his voice. However, there was a slim chance that he was bitter, more like questionable.

Minami shrugged her shoulders as if she didn't know what he was talking about. "Real answers?" she asked him before fixing a slight scowl with her mouth. "Just get to the point of your words already!" she exclaimed in return.

Takeda narrowed his bright eyes. "Very well, then answer me this. What is your true objective of passing the Chuunin Exams?" he asked her directly. The brown-haired boy pointed a finger at her. "I can tell that you're hiding something from me, your teammates and all others inside here, including mom and dad" he added.

His twin sister widened her eyes in surprise. However, that surprise soon formed into an angered expression on her face. "You're sounding ridiculous, Takeda! Just as ridiculous as dad and our so-called grandfather!" she hit back.

Kiba widened his eyes in surprise over not hearing Minami mentioning him, but his father-in-law. He knew that Hiashi had a low opinion on them as well, but he didn't realize that his daughter possessed such distaste towards her maternal grandfather. He could see Hinata feeling uncomfortable by seeing their twins arguing.

"What I want to know is what you will achieve when if you somehow were to win the finals" Takeda said to her. "You think that by winning, you will the Hyuuga clan's favour" he quizzed her.

The bluenette gritted her teeth by hearing this. "You think I have entered the Exams just to impress that old fool and our bitch of an aunt!?" she asked him in outrage. "You're wrong, moron. I am not doing this for anyone but myself…and mom" she said, much to everyone's surprise, even to Takeshi and her parents.

Hinata's bright eyes widened once she heard her daughter say that. However, it was apparent that she has already figured out what Minami meant by those words. Kiba on the other hand, wasn't getting the picture straight as he had wanted to.

But there were someone other than the twins' parents that had managed to figure it out, especially Naruto. The blonde-haired man could remember how the duel between Hinata and Neji ended up many years ago. "I am beginning to see the picture here. While Hinata is still committed to her troubled relationship with Kiba, her family doesn't support her in that position, considering Kiba's miserable antics" he noted in his head while briefly observing the twins' parents.

Kazue also understood this feud, as well as Minami's recently strict and serious personality. After all, she had been a student of the bluenette's mother. "I feel sorry for Minami and her twin brother. They are caught between two clans with different customs and views on the way of the shinobi. Moreover, even though their children are married, Tsume Inuzuka and Hiashi Hyuuga have for some reason a strained relationship to one another, even though the Inuzuka and Hyuuga clans are willing to cooperate against a common threat" she noted in her head while seeing Minami and Takeda standing down there. But she had her eyes fixed on Minami specifically. "Minami…..whatever you plan on doing now…please take caution" she added to her thoughts.

"Minami….." Hinata thought after hearing what she had just said. "Why…..why are you so focused on…..not repeating the same mistake I did in the Exams?" she wondered deeply.

Takeda raised an eyebrow at his twin sister. "For mom?" he asked loudly while facing her. He fixed a stern look on his face and readied his stance. Arata did the same thing. "Stop drifting yourself to the past, Minami! You weren't even born around that time!" he scolded her.

The bluenette did not take kindly to his words, and readied her fighting stance while motioning Riko to do the same thing. "I don't give a damn what you say, Takeda! If you think I'm gonna listen to some lame-ass fool like you, then you're sadly mistaking!" she hit back.

The brown-haired boy gritted his teeth and began the first move, with Arata following him. They began surrounding their opponents and Takeda prepared a hand seal while eyeing Arata, who barked in return. "Let's do this, buddy! Human Beast Clone!" he exclaimed and Arata was transformed into a perfect clone of Takeda. Takeda grinned by seeing this and stood on all fours, as Arata did exactly as his partner did.

Minami and Riko watched this with caution, as they realized what they were doing. "Riko, get close to me!" she ordered her dog. Riko got close to her feet. "They obviously are resorting to brute force as usual" she noted in her head while seeing this.

As the two Takedas stood on all their fours, chakra began enveloping on their bodies. "Ninja Art of Beast Mimicry: All-Fours Jutsu!" the brown-haired boy called out and he and Arata were having. Takeda fixed his eyes on his partner. "Alright, let's get this over with, Arata!" he called out to the dog in his image. They then began performing a spinning attack with ferocious speed, with each of them heading towards their opponents. "Tunnelling Fang!" he shouted as the two vortexes headed straight towards Minami and Riko.

The blunette knew that she had to react to this and she immidaltey did a hand seal while facing Riko. "Human Beast Clone!" she said and Riko was transformed into a clone of herself. They both faced each other with a nod. "They really are hell-bent on beating us, Riko! Let us do the dance we practiced together!" she said and they both did a stance that was unfamiliar to most, except for Hinata.

But they were too late, as Takeda and his partner hit them, creating a large explosion in the process. Everyone really wanted to know if Takeda and Arata were able to perform their attack on Minami and Riko. They waited patiently for the smoke to clear away, and they were all stunned by what they witnessed. Both Takeda and Arata were lying on the floor, as they struggled to rise up from their knees. But his twin sister and her dog were still standing, but in a very familiar stance, that became clear to everyone. In addition, she and her clone had activated the Byakugan in their eyes.

Saburou's eyes were filled with surprise over seeing this. He fixed his glance on his sensei. "Kazue-sensei, that stance is…" he was interrupted by the white-haired woman speaking.

"Yes. I know what that is…" she said, as her eyes had also been filled with surprise over seeing Minami and her partner standing like this. "I never expected her to be capable of performing a technique like that. This is the…Hyuuga clan's Gentle Fist Art!" she uttered out words.

Kiba fixed an outraged look on his wife, and she could notice it. "Hinata…..what the hell?" he asked lowly while facing her. "Is this….the same technique that you were taught by your dad!?" he demanded an answer from her.

But Hinata stood tall and faced him firmly. "Yes it is! But I never expected her to be talented in the Gentle Fist Art. I only taught her the basics when she was little" she said to him.

Kiba gritted his teeth by seeing this. "But what about Takeda?" he asked her. "As far as I understand from those stupid rules of yours, entrusting that technique is supposed to be done by a father and to his son" he told her.

"But Kiba, times have changed! My father was unable to conceive a son, but he still passed this technique to me" she pointed out to him. "If a father can entrust something to his daughter, then it's only apparent that a mother can something to her daughter" she added to her explanation.

Takeda slowly got up on his feet and was helped by Arata, who was still in his human form. They both fixed their bright eyes upon their opponents, who only stood still while facing them. He spit out blood from his mouth and managed to stand on his own two feet. However, he was also surprised by seeing what Minami just did.

"Hey sis…how…how the hell did you manage to master the Gentle Fist Art so perfectly!?" he asked her while demanding an answer from her. "I mean, you and I were only taught the basic stances, weren't we!?" he added to his frustration.

Her face was filled with seriousness, never taking off her bright eyes at him. "I was taught its basics by mom, yes. But unlike you, I developed it on my own, but not before having been advised on the matter" she revealed to him and everyone else.

Takeshi's eyes widened in return. "What! But who gave you advice on mastering the Gentle Fist Art? I seriously doubt that gramps and Auntie Hanabi would be willing to do something like that for you" he said while trying to gather enough energy to stand.

Minami's eyes widened as she heard this. "Of course they wouldn't, but it's not like I wanted to be advised on this matter. But even so, Himawari was kind enough to do so, as she understood the destiny I had!" she revealed to him, much to Takeda's surprise.

Hinata was stunned by her daughter's words. She knew who Himawari was, as she was actually her younger sister's eldest daughter. That would make Himawari her niece. "Himawari told you the secrets of mastering the Gentle Fist Art?" she wondered in her head, as she was surprised to discover this. "And she did this, without me, Hanabi and father knowing. I don't know how to respond to this" she added as her head was lost in thoughts.

Kiba was also surprised by this revelation, but had a different reaction to it. "It's odd that one of Hanabi's brats would actually be willing to share information about this to Minami, considering that Hanabi constantly kisses Hiashi's ass all the time" he remarked while seeing this.

Nashiko was beginning to worry for the teammate she usually clashed with, as was Shunsuke. The young pinkette could also notice how different Minami was behaving. She was no longer the same tomboyish and foul-mouthed girl as she knew her to be, but someone else.

"Shunsuke…..have you noticed how different Minami is?" she asked the raven-haired boy, who didn't know what to say in return. But he did give her a nod to show that he understood it.

"For some reason…I'm beginning to see myself and Inojin in them" he thought in his head while seeing this. "When the time comes that we must face each other in combat, will it be similar to a duel like this?" he wondered, never taking off his gaze at the combatants.

As Arata helped his partner up, Takeda faced him with a determined look on his face. He showed understanding in return. "They really mean business, pal. Let's get dangerous here! Byakugan!" he exclaimed as the brown-haired boy activated the Hyuuga clan's Kekkei Genkai. By doing so, Arata was also able to use Byakugan, even though he was just a dog in a human form. Takeda smirked by seeing this. "Okay, now we're about to let Minami and Riko get a taste of their own medicine!" he said as he and Arata ran straight towards their opponents, who remained still in their stances.

Minami narrowed her eyes. "I see that he has activated the Byakugan. But I doubt that he intends on using Tunnelling Fang again, Riko. We must take caution to him" she told her partner, who nodded in return.

As they neared their opponents, Takeda and Arata each pointed their palms against them and Minami and Riko was stunned by what they did. "Eight Trigrams Air Palm Wall!" Takeda shouted as he and Arata fired chakra with great force towards their opponents.

Minami and her partner tried to stand strongly against this attack, but they were almost blown away, thanks to the combined efforts of Takeda and Arata. But she was not about to be beaten by this technique, although she wanted to know if Hinata had taught some techniques to him as well. She could see her opponents walking closer to her and she knew that she had to act.

"I won't bow to you yet! Protective Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms!" she called out and she formed blades of chakra that appeared on Takeda and his partner. They both expressed wonder by seeing this technique, as they had never seen it before. But they failed to realize that this technique enabled Minami and Arata to inflect offensive punches at them.

Takeda could feel his chest and stomach getting beaten relentlessly and blood began sprouting out from his mouth. His twin sister punched him so fast, that it was nearly impossible for him to mount a defence against it. This attack sent him and his partner flying over the floor, but they remarkably managed to land on all their fours. He panted deeply as he could see Minami and her partner still standing tall. It felt bitter and frustrating.

"Damn it! I never expected Minami to be THAT good in taijutsu. But still, mine is not near as powerful as hers" he noted in his head while facing her strictly. "Using abilities of the Hyuuga clan is practically useless against her, which leaves us no choice but to stick with…" Takeda was interrupted in his thoughts as he coughed up blood on the floor, much to the uneasiness of his teammates. He was helped by Arata to compose himself.

"Takeda!" Shunsuke said with great concern.

Even Nashiko was getting more worried about him. "This is insane. If Takeda continues fighting, he might not be able to survive" she noted in her head with worry and fixed her eyes upon Minami. "Minami….what the hell is wrong with you!?" she wondered in her head loudly, as she could feel how different she behaved than from what she used to.

Minami ceased standing in her position and fixed her eyes upon her twin brother. She eyed him with disdain, something Takeda noted as he came back to her senses. "You're only walking straight towards your own grave, Takeda. I advise you to give up, before things gets worse" she told her strictly.

As she could still hear him panting with his head hung down, Minami was surprised once she could hear his panting changing into laughter. The brown-haired boy slowly lifted her head up, but his face had confidential grin running across his face. This surprised the bluenette.

"Heh, you are seriously forgetting something here, sis" he pointed out to her and slowly began using the technique had used earlier, only in a more powerful way. He allowed the feral instinct to take control of his body, as his fingernails sharpened into that of a beast. "Yes, we are Hyuugas, but at the same time, we're also Inuzukas. And Inuzukas never go down so easily! Ninja Art of Beast Mimicry: ALL-FOURS JUTSU!" he shouted and large amounts of chakra began exploding from both him and Arata, who also stood on his fours. Takeda faced his opponents deadly and dug his claws onto the floor. "Prepare for your defeat, bitch!" he vulgarly said to her.

The bluenette and her partner were surprised by seeing Takeda still filled with confidence. She took great caution as she knew that her twin brother was planning on doing pulling an attack on her. But still she ordered Riko to stay vigilant and not to let his guard down.

"It's obvious that he plans on using it! He is nearly out of chakra. But I don't have much either" she noted in her head and prepared herself. "I am reluctant to pull this attack on Takeda. But it is worth it…for our sakes" she added with a hint of sadness in her voice.

Everyone was waiting to witness what would become of the match between the Inuzuka-Hyuuga twins, as they realized that the climax was beginning. Takeda and Arata empowered themselves in chakra, while Minami and Riko only stood in their positions, waiting for the right opportunity.

"C'MON, ARATA! HERE WE GO!" Takeda shouted as he and his partner began spinning towards their opponents in ferocious speed, something which made Kiba surprised, as he knew what that technique was. "MAN-BEAST ULTIMATE TAIJUTSU: FANG OVER FANG!" the young boy shouted as they were spinning even underground and appeared up to the surface again.

Kiba silently mused over seeing this. "Now that's my boy" he noted in his head. "You give everything you got left! I'm impressed" he said and chuckled lightly.

As they were nearing her in such speed, Minami knew that she had to act quickly readied herself. She got Riko to get close to her. "Eight Trigrams: Palm Rotation!" she shouted and a huge amount of chakra began emitting from her body, thus creating a small bubble in the middle of the fighting ring.

Despite this, Takeda and Arata proceeded to force themselves through the amount of chakra, and they managed to enter it where Minami and Riko stood waiting for them. But before they could even hit them, the bluenette and her partner were standing in a familiar stance. Minami faced her twin brother with a sorry look on her face, something which made him filled with confusion.

"I respect your bravery, brother. But this is the end of the road for you" she said lowly and began performing her technique on him. "Eight Trigrams One Hundred Twenty-Eight Palms!" she shouted with determination and began the attack by punching.

All spectators were really wondering on what was happening inside that enormous clout of chakra. All they could hear was the sound of it, as they couldn't hear either Takeda or Minami. But out of the blue, they could see the chakra disintegrating and someone came out flying from it. As they got a closer look, they could see that it was Takeda and Arata, who had been beaten up senseless. Takeda's face was all covered in blood and his eyes were pale white. Arata had reverted back to his dog form.

"TAKEDA!" both Shunsuke and Nashiko shouted in shock by seeing their teammate being flying above the ground and eventually landing on it, although he rolled over a few times. Arata was sent a few meters against him and laid closely into Takeda.

But they most eyes were focused on Minami, who was still standing on her two feet, this time, less strong to stand on her feet, as she was now shivering through her body. Riko had returned to his dog form and was lying on the floor unconscious. But the bluenette was still panting deeply, trying to catch his breath.

Udon had begun to approach the two fighters, having been forced to stay away from this commotion the twins created. As he got closer to Takeda's body, he could see that he was not moving an inch, and neither was Arata. He adjusted his glasses and took a deep breath before facing Minami standing on her feet.

"Takeda and his partner are in no condition to continue the fight. So winner by knockout: Minami Inuzuka" he declared her the winner.

After this, there was not a sound of cheering from both tribunals. But immediately after the match was over, Nashiko jumped down to the ring and went over to Takeda's unconscious body. She was filled with grief over seeing her teammate in this state. She was eventually followed by Shunsuke, who also wanted to see.

"Oh no…Takeda…Arata" Shunsuke said lowly as he could see them not moving a muscle. "He's not….." the raven-haired boy was interrupted by his teammate.

"Don't even go there, Shunsuke! I refuse to accept that he's…..dead!" she urged him and began watching the injuries his teammates had gotten from his opponent. To Shunsuke's surprise, tears began streaming from her eyes. "Takeda's still alive…I'm sure of it!" she said, as the young pinkette tried to hold her tears.

Nashiko herself found it stunning that she was actually worrying and even crying for Takeda, as they didn't usually get along as teammates. But maybe their times spent together had made them grown to appreciate one another. But it was not just her. Even Shunsuke and their sensei had started to notice the same thing.

Menma stepped behind his two students and faced them with a remorseful look on his face. "Nashiko, Shunsuke. As much as I hate to say this, you must leave Takeda and Arata alone. We must leave them to the medics' care now" he explained to them.

While Shunsuke did as he said, Nashiko would not move aside. "No….I won't" she said lowly in return. Menma put his hand on her shoulder gently, but the young girl rose up and shoved his arm away, while facing him with anger on her face. "I SAID I WON'T!" she retorted in anger, something which made her sensei surprised.

"Nashiko, control yourself!" Menma told her strictly, but she ignored him and walked past him to face Minami, who had so far not moved a muscle, and was carrying Riko in her arms.

"Minami, what the hell has gotten into you!?" Nashiko asked her with anger. "Was all this really pain necessary for Takeda to feel!?" she demanded to know from the bluenette, who faced her with a similar glance.

"What I did is of no concern to you, Nashiko! I made a decision!" Minami hit back at her. "So do me favour and shut up!" she added with anger.

But the pinkette did not back down from this fight. "Don't tell me to shut up, bitch! You caused a great deal of deadly injuries to my comrade and I won't stand for it!" Nashiko retorted back. "You're beginning to sound like a completely different person!" she added, something which caused Minami's eyes to widen.

But the young girl soon fixed her bright eyes into that of anger as she began gritting her teeth. "Screw you, Nashiko! You honestly think that just because you're the daughter of our future Hokage that you think you can judge me!? You're an idiot!" she screamed at her, as the bluenette was getting pissed off at Nashiko.

"Who're you calling an idiot, you ass!? And besides, I'm more than just the…" she was interrupted by the booming voice of an elderly woman.

"ENOUGH OF THIS FOOLISHNESS, AT ONCE!" Tsunade called out to everyone, although her voice was directed towards Nashiko and Minami. After hearing this, both girls didn't bother speaking up, an only stood in silence. After this, the blonde-haired woman coughed her throat. "Nashiko Uzumaki, when your sensei tells you that you must let the medics take care of your comrade, you do as he says! And more importantly, your reckless behaviour is only distracting us from proceeding this phase. That also goes for you, Minami Inuzuka! So before I lose my patience, return to the tribunals, both of you" she explained to them with no kindness in her voice.

Manami could notice her sensei appearing beside her and she turned her head to face Kazue. "Are you in need of medical help, Minami? You don't look so well" she asked her with kindness.

The young girl faced the floor, never looking at her sensei, something which indicated that she was not in a good mood after this match. "I'm fine…..just help me up to the tribunal" she told her.

Kazue nodded and helped her with getting up to the tribunal. As they reached their spot, she faced the young kunoichi with a smile on her face. "You did a terrific work out there, Minami. We all knew that Takeda more than a challenge to you" she praised her while putting her arm on her left shoulder.

The young girl faced the floor, but she did lift her head to see Saburou, who was only leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. Even though she couldn't see it in his eyes, Minami could tell that the boy with sunglasses was dissatisfied by her. Nevertheless, she chose to ignore him as a whole and decided to say something to her white-haired sensei.

"I won. But I was kind of expecting something different to happen, like being congratulated by a teammate for example!" she told her while briefly shooting Saburou with a dirty look. She then walked towards the wall and sat down against it. The bluenette sat a few distances from her blonde-haired teammate. "Hey Saburou, do your best in your fight. But don't expect me to give you a blessing or something!" she told her with sarcasm.

Saburou only grunted by hearing this. "Well I could care less about what you say or think" he said lowly in return.

As Team Menma had returned to their places and the medics had managed to pick up Takeda and Arata, Naruto could only think about how that bickering between Nashiko and Minami, was reminiscent of the one between him and Hinata's cousin Neji when they were in the Chuunin Exams. However, it reminded him more of his currently strained relationship with Kiba.

"Damn…..I have never witnessed such…..drama" Naruto was out of words.

He took a brief glance at Hinata, who was now sitting against the wall while putting her face on her hands. The blonde-haired man could tell that she was filled with despair over seeing her children fight one another. Naruto could then notice Kiba begin walking away. Sasuke, Shikamaru and the others could also notice him doing so.

"Where are you going, Kiba?" Naruto asked him as gentle as he could. The brown-haired man stopped walking. "Your presence is required here, remember?" he tried to remind him.

Kiba only looked over his shoulder at Naruto and his eye was not showing any signs of kindness. "I've done what I came here for, to witness my children fight, which unexpectedly happened to be between them. If you don't mind, I would like to make sure that my son's being protected properly. So don't try to stop me" he said before taking off, but he took a brief glance at Hinata. "I'll be over at the medics' quarters for a while, Hinata. If something bothers you, just come there to see me" he told her before finally walking away.

Shikamaru was about to make his move on him, only for Naruto to block him with his left arm. The man with spikey ponytail faced Naruto with confusion. He could see the blonde-haired man closing his eyes while sighing deeply.

"Just let him see his son. After what just happened, he has a right to do that" Naruto told Shikamaru. He then fixed his gaze upon Hinata, who was still sitting against the wall. "And I'm confident that the medics will treat Takeshi's injuries with great care" he said to her lowly, but he realized that this wasn't enough to make her feel better.

Udon stood in the middle and faced the screen above him. "We will begin the next round, now!" he said and the screen started to switch through the names that were left.

Everyone had their eyes focused on the giant screen, as it continued switching names randomly. After a couple of seconds, it stopped and Team Mamuro and Team Ayumu were filled with surprise over who it was. In fact, even Naruto was surprised and so was his daughter. But their surprised faces soon changed into that of satisfaction.

"FINALLY!" Nashiko exclaimed gleefully by what she read.

NASHIKO UZUMAKI

VS
CHOUTA AKIMICHI

To be continued…

Author's note: Now that was a good chapter. It was between Takeda and Minami. In the future chapters, we will get more details about the relationship between the Hyuuga and Inuzuka clans, as well as Hinata's relationship to her daughter. We will also get to see Hanabi and he children. The next chapter, as you read, will be Nashiko vs Chouta. Stay tuned!