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

Chapter 32: Whirlpools and Butterflies

Deep inside the Hokage Monument, the Village Hidden in the Leaves

Nashiko was in full spirits over seeing her being chosen for this round. She had grown weary of just watching the previous matches from the sidelines. But now, things were starting to change, and it was her turn to demonstrate her abilities to her father, the Hokage and everyone else. Both Menma and Shunsuke were surprised by seeing her in such mood, considering that she was saddened by Takeda's loss to Minami in the previous round.

"I think that Nashiko doesn't want Takeda's loss to affect her confidence in herself. She has to concentrate on her own match" Menma noted inside his head. The man with the ponytail forced a smile on his face by looking at the young kunoichi preparing for her match. "But I know that Nashiko's determination is stronger than what the others think, and it is of great help to her" he added to his thoughts.

Shunsuke fixed a nervous smile on her, something the pinkette noticed. But Nashiko only gave him a wink, which took him by surprise. "Nashiko…..what are you….." the young boy uttered out words.

"I understand that you're worried about me, Shunsuke. And truth is, I'm a little worried myself" she admitted to him. But the young girl cracked her knuckled and fixed a determined look on her face. "But I promise you: I won't lose this fight, Shunsuke! You and me are gonna make it to the finals together….for Takeda and Arata's sakes!" she explained to him, causing the raven-haired boy to gasp in surprise.

Nevertheless, Shunsuke knew that his teammate spoke with honesty, and he himself had to agree on what she said. He nodded his head in return, indicating that he understood what had to be done.

Nashiko turned around and was about to jump, until she felt a hand touch her right shoulder. It was Menma, who was facing her with a supportive look on his face. "Nashiko, do you best, and don't let overconfidence cloud your instincts. You are better than that" he advised her.

Although the pinkette was confused at his words at first, she eventually brushed it off and grinned at him in return. "Thanks for the advice, Menma-sensei!" she said before leaving her spot to stand in the ring.

As she landed in the ring, she fixed a brief glance on her father, who was presiding over the match. For some reason, the expression on his face was grim. Did he actually fear for her safety? Nashiko rebutted suchtheories. To the blonde-haired man's surprise, the young pinkette pointed a finger towards him. Everyone else was wondering why she did that.

"Just watch this, dad! You're gonna feel surprised once the match's over, believe it!" she said to herself, actually using the same catchphrase his father did. Normally, she would never use that. It was only when she felt the situation demanded it.

Meanwhile, Chouta was getting herself prepared while receiving encouragements from both Shikaien and their sensei. She gladly accepted them, as she realized that their support of her mattered.

"Okay, Chouta. Go teach that girly prankster what a REAL girl is capable of" Shikaien said to her, causing her to giggle.

"Oh you bet I will!" she replied while bumping fists with the dark blonde-haired boy. The chubby girl then turned her attention to Ayumu, who was now sitting on her level. Chouta fixed a determined look on her face. "I won't go down, not after coming so far!" she said to him.

The black-haired man with red eyes admired her enthusiasm and put a hand on her shoulder. "I appreciate that, Chouta. But know this: neither of us are interested in whether you win or lose. The only thing we are interested in, is that you do your best in this match" he revealed to her, causing the girl to gasp in surprise.

But Chouta could not quite understand her teacher's words. "I don't know what that means, but I really wanna try my best out there. Inojin did it in his match, so now it's my turn!" she replied to Ayumu.

"Good. Now go get her, girl!" he encouraged Chouta, who immediately jumped from the tribunal and landed in the ring. Ayumu was proud. "To be honest, I'd always wondered about who would win in a match between Chouta and Nashiko. Well, here's the chance I get" he said in his thoughts.

"For some reason, I have a feeling that Chouta should not underestimate Nashiko's abilities" Shikaien noted in his head while watching the match commencing. "But on the other hand, Nashiko should not do that to her either" he added with a smirk.

Chouta prepared herself, fixing her eyes upon her pink-haired opponent, who did the same thing towards her. Both of them realized that this was actually the first catfight to happen in this phase. Nevertheless, this match would not be as girly and catty as most people would usually think.

"I can do this!" Chouta said inside of her. "I will make Nashiko realize that I'm not to be underestimated" she added.

The Hokage was filled with pride by the two young kunoichis getting prepared for the duel. She had met them before, and knew their parents. Frankly, Tsunade knew everyone's' parents. But in Nashiko's case, it was different. She was the daughter of Naruto Uzumaki, her successor as Hokage and the one who had encouraged her to lead the Village Hidden in the Leaves as the Fifth Hokage, despite the fact that he was only a young boy at that time. Nashiko's mother Sakura Haruno, was on the other hand, her own protégé for the title of Slug Queen. Tsunade still remembered when Sakura had approached her with determination, requesting to be mentored under her wing. At that time, the blonde-haired woman could see and realize her motivation for becoming stronger.

Udon, realizing that both girls were ready for combat gave them the green light to fight. "Begin!" he said and the match was on.

Both girls sprinted towards one another and they engaged in hand-to-hand combat. So far, they were doing it swiftly and neither of them had been punched out. They eventually realized that it became boring and knew that some changes were required.

"I better start getting serious" Nashiko said and grabbed some kunais and held them between her fingers on each arm. She smirked at her opponent. "Try dodging this, tough girl!" she exclaimed and threw her kunais towards Chouta.

As she could witness them heading straight for her, the chubby girl knew that she had to avoid getting hit, but not by dodging them. Chouta formed a hand seal. "Oh no, you don't! Expansion Jutsu!" she exclaimed and she formed her body into that of a ball. "I better get rid of those tools of hers! Human Boulder!" she said loudly and her round form began spinning around before taking off like a ball.

She rolled towards her opponent in a fast speed, easily sending away Nashiko's kunais, much to the pinkette's anger. But she didn't have time to get angry, as she could see Chouta rolling towards.

"For being fat, she sure is fast with that technique of hers" she noted in her head. With tough luck, she narrowly avoided Chouta by jumping sideways. She landed on the floor panting and could see her opponent crashing into the wall. Nashiko smirked. "Heh, you missed me!" she taunted at her.

But as the dust settled, Chouta was back in her normal size, not sustaining any injuries from the crash, only dust. She fixed a similar glance upon the pinkette. "Nice work, Nashiko! I almost had you beneath me" she said while commending her efforts.

Nashiko stood on her feet and prepared her stance. "It turns out that I was faster than you!" she said back at her. "Now bring it on, fat princess! Show me what else you got!" she taunted her.

Hearing these words, the chubby girl could only feel anger boiling inside of her. It only encouraged her to get serious in this match. Chouta fixed her angry gaze upon Nashiko while gritting her teeth. "Don't you EVER call me that, stinking cherry blossom!" she shouted back with an insult and readied her stance. "Here's an idea! Why don't you start showing some tricks you got up your sleeves?" she asked her.

The pinkette smiled at this and did a hand seal. "With pleasure! Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu!" she declared and a horde of shadow clones appeared beside her. They were all ready to take on Chouta. "LET'S GET HER!" the shadow clones said together and charged towards their target like a train.

Although the young girl was cautious of this at first, she brushed off her concerns and stood firm. She gathered up chakra in her palms. "Dad, I will have to thank you for teaching this to me, even though you did it behind mom's back" she said inside of her, remembering her father teaching her this technique. As she could see the shadow clones near her, Chouta unleashed her attack on them. "HUMAN JACKHAMMER!" she shouted and landed her palms unto the floor, causing a huge shockwave for everyone to see.

Even Ayumu was surprised by this as he watched the fight with his jaw dropped. "Woah…since when did Chouta learn such advanced techniques belonging to the Akimichi clan?" he wondered aloud.

Shikaien only smirked at what he heard from his sensei. "What do you expect? She is the Akimichi heiress" he answered his question. "But on another note, Chouta could be described as both a gentle soul when she's happy and an angry golem when she's insulted" he added to his explanation.

"Aha…..I see the picture" Ayumu said, as he realized what the young boy was trying to point out. "She probably got very pissed once Nashiko insulted her….amazing" he noted in his thoughts.

Both Menma and Shunsuke were concerned about Nashiko being able to survive this match. Frankly, they never expected Chouta to be that strong.

"Stay strong, Nashiko!" Shunsuke gave his support of her.

"It turns out that Chouta is indeed powerful" he noted in his head while eyeing the match. "But Nashiko hasn't showed us what she really is capable of" he added.

Naruto was witnessing this match with a frown, as he had done that since the beginning. Why he did that was unknown. "Nashiko…I hope you understand that…..you must win for your own sake, not for the sake of pleasing me and your mom" he said in his head.

As the dust disappeared everyone could witness Chouta standing with her palms on the floor. Pillars of earth had risen from the ground. And surprisingly, Nashiko stood on one of those pillars and waved her hand to her opponent below. The chubby girl with brown hair was filled with surprise, as she could see the pinkette sitting there.

"Howdy neighbor! Nice pillars you've got here. Do you mind if I burrow one of these?" she mockingly asked Chouta, much to her outrage

"WHAT THE…HOW DID YOU END UP THERE!?" she angrily demanded from her, causing the pinkette to fix a sly grin.

"Well, it turns out that when you put your palms on the floor, these pillars suddenly started rising up from the ground. I was randomly standing on one of them when it began rising" Nashiko answered.

While the chubby girl was stunned by hearing what she was told, she easily shrugged it off and did a few hand seals. She fixed a smirk on her face. "Those pillars of earth gave me just the perfect idea. Time to use some earth-based justsus I learned from mom!" she came up with a decision in her head while fixing her eyes upon her opponent. "Earth Style: Great Mud River!" she exclaimed and she formed a river of mud underneath the pillar Nashiko stood on.

The pinkette could notice that the pillar was begging to crumble, so she needed to jump. "Crap! Where can I jump off to!?" she asked in desperation, as the other pillars were standing too far away from her location. But she suddenly got an idea as she witnessed the river of mud floating from Chouta's location. Nashiko smirked. "Well, it looks like I've no other options! I will have to use insanity!" she declared and jumped from the pillar and dived towards her opponent. She then made a hand seal while facing Chouta. "It's time to see you fly! Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu!" she exclaimed but this time, shadow clones appeared behind her feet and they each grabbed one's feet until the last one, who was standing on the pillar while trying to balance.

The chubby girl was confused at this but remained vigilant. "Don't think that this trick is gonna work again, Nashiko! I already know it, so why even bother using it on…." Chouta was interrupted once the real Nashiko almost crashed into her, although she stopped in midair and grabbed both her shoulders. "What the hell are you…" she asked her as the pinkette held her shoulders tightly.

Nashiko grinned mischievously while seeing Chouta's reaction to this. She could feel her being flown into the air, due to the shadow clone standing on the falling pillar doing her best to lift up all the shadow clones and the two girls with all her strength. She was too strong for being a shadow clone though.

"Hope you are not afraid of heights, Chouta! ALLEY-OOP!" she exclaimed as they were both thrown up high into the air, almost reaching the rocky roof. Chouta screamed like a pig, while Nashiko still held her tightly on her shoulders.

"AHHHHHH…WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING!? GET ME DOWN! GET ME DOWN, YOU FREAKING PSYCHOPATH!" the chubby girl screamed, but Nashiko remained defiant.

Everyone was filled with surprise by seeing the girls being flown so high up in the air. Even Naruto was opening his mouth in disbelief by seeing his daughter pulling that technique.

"What has gotten into your daughter's head!?" Tsunade demanded from him, but Naruto did not reply. Tsunade returned her gaze on the fight. "Whatever she thought, her sense of strategy is ludicrous!" she added to her words, still getting no answer from Naruto.

"That girl….when did she get so stubborn?" the blonde-haired man wondered in his head, his eyes never leaving his daughter and her opponent.

Shikamaru approached them. "Those kids are too high in air! They're not gonna be able to make a safe landing! They will die!" he stressed out to them.

Lee agreed with what Shikamaru said. "Shall we intervene to save them? This could end up badly!" he said while asking what to do.

But Naruto surprisingly fixed a smile on his face and seemed less fearful of his daughter's well-being. He also shut his eyes as if to ignore what he just heard. This outraged both Shikamaru and Lee.

"Why are you so confident!? This is your own daughter we're talking about here! And also Chouji's daughter! We gotta do something to save them!" Shikamaru scolded him.

"Are you two done bitching?" both adults snapped once they could hear Sasuke's stern voice coming from the wall. He was leaning against it while facing them with a disapproving glance. "Instead of acting like a pair of imbeciles, why don't you take a better look at what is really happening" he rudely suggested to them.

Everyone on the tribunals could see that the remaining shadow clones were now gathered in a large pile, as both girls were now falling towards them. But something occurred between Chouta and Nashiko.

The brown-haired girl could see her opponent reading her rights fist, clenching it tightly. She widened in fear, as Nashiko smirked. "Sorry for doing this to you, Chouta. But no hard feelings okay?" she asked Chouta before readying her arm. "Now let see if you can withstand the strength I've inherited from my mom. It might sting you….a little" she said with uncertainty, before slamming her fist onto the chubby girl's stomach.

As she felt the pain, Chouta didn't have to strength to resist it. It was so hard that blood sprouted out from her mouth. But she also felt her entire body being sent down towards the pile of shadow clones. Nashiko headed straight after her, resulting in them both crashing down. It caused a huge explosion of shadow clones.

The explosion's dust disintegrated, and everyone could see that Nashiko was holding her opponent from the rocky floor, as she was lying on her back. But the pinkette held her up by Chouta's neck and back. Both girls were battered and bruised by the fall they just took, but since Chouta had been taken by Nashiko's punch, she didn't have enough strength to stand up on her feet.

Nashiko could see the chubby girl's eyes open and she smiled by seeing them. Chouta did the exact same thing. "Am I still alive?" she wondered while looking around.

The pinkette giggled. "Of course you are, silly!" she said and stuck out her tongue at Chouta in a girly manner. "By the way, you did great out there, Chouta. I never expected you to be that talented" she commended her opponent.

"Thanks…you were no different yourself" Chouta said while praising the pinkette. "I guess it's the end of the road for me here. As much as it pains me to accept defeat, I am very happy to have been able to have this fight with you, Nashiko" the chubby girl said to her.

Nashiko never took her eyes away from her and nodded in return. "I understand. I also feel the same way you do" she said. "And by the way, I'm sorry for calling you fat princess. I was very rude of me" she apologized to her, making Chouta giggle in return.

"Apology accepted" she said quickly. "Good luck, Nashiko. I hope to have a rematch with you soon" she said and her eyes drifted into unconsciousness.

Seeing her opponent doing that, the brave girl rose up on her two feet, first standing silent as if she was confused at all this. Udon examined Chouta and adjusted his glasses. It was obvious on who was the victor here.

"This girl is unable to continue fighting. So winner by knockout: Nashiko Uzumaki!" he declared the winner.

The moment she heard those words, she raised her arms up in the air with a gleeful face. "ALRIGHT! I WON THIS MATCH! BUT BEST OF ALL, I HAD SO MUCH FUN!" she expressed her opinion so loudly. Takeshi was not here, but he would've been embarrassed if she did that when he was around.

Shunsuke praised his teammate, while Menma only dropped sweats by seeing Nashiko so enthusiastic. But he eventually forced a smile on his face, feeling somewhat proud of his student's victory. The reason for that was because two of his students had been able to make it through the third phase of the Chuunin Exams. It made him feel confident of himself as a jounin.

"I can't believe it…but all my students have each had their duels…..with two of them making it to the finals…" Menma came to a realization.

Nashiko fixed her eyes upon his father standing on the tribunals. From what she could see, it was an expression filled with pride. The blonde-haired man smiled at his daughter, and just because she had won, but also that she had realized the true spirit of fighting in a duel. Tsunade and the others around him could see how pleased Naruto was feeling right now.

"That girl is something" Tsunade remarked while facing her successor with a smile. "She must have inherited this determination from you, Naruto" she added, causing Naruto to chuckle lightly.

"More than just my determination, grandma" Naruto said while seeing his daughter jumping up to her team on the tribunal. "Nashiko is the spitting image of Sakura and mom. She is worthy of their legacies" he reminded her.

Tsunade mused at his words while seeing Team Mamuro celebrate their victory. "Yeah, I agree with what you say" she said.

Although Team Ayumu was hoping for a win in this match, both Ayumu and Shikio accepted their loss and watched with pride as Chouta was taken care of by the medics. Both of them knew that she had come out of her comfort zone by taking this match seriously. Therefore, they had no reason to be disappointed in her.

"Chouta…you did well!" Ayumu said in his head, feeling proud of being her teacher. "You gave everything you got until the very end. You make me proud" he added to his thoughts, as he could even see the chubby girl smiling in her unconsciousness.

Shikaien was also having similar thoughts. "I promise you, I will make it to the finals along with Inojin" the young boy said while seeing Chouta lying on the board. "Team Ayumu will also not be denied their right to have two students reaching the finals" he added, knowing that he would honor this vow.

But there were someone who was not pleased to see Nashiko win her match. Minami was leaning against the wall, staring at Team Menma was they were celebrating their victory. She was still upset about those words the pinkette had said to her earlier and it affected her deeply. The young bluenette clenched her fists tightly.

"Enjoy your victory for now, Nashiko. But in the finals, I will make sure to humiliate you before everyone, even before your dumb parents!" she said inside of her and it sounded bitter. "I thought you would be on my side in this conflict, but it seems that I was foolishly mistaking" she added to her thoughts.

The large screen in the middle began switching names again and all eyes were focused on it. So far, there was one victor from Team Ayumu, one victor from Team Kazue, two victors from Team Menma and one victor from the Mist Village team. Everybody was really curious to know how the next fight would be. All genins could feel their senses tingling.

Eventually, the screen stopped and everyone got a glimpse of who the next combatants were. Team Hideki had especially been paying attention, because it involved them.

KIMIKO INOUE

VS

KOTONE HOZUKI

"Ah, it's about time!" Kimiko said with a giggle and stuck her tongue out at both Guy and Hisoka. "Just bad luck for you, boys!" she teased them.

While Hisoka simply ignored her by shutting his eyes, Guy had tears of frustration running from his. This made both her and their sensei annoyed. But Guy came back to his senses and gave Kimiko thumbs up to her in encouragement.

"Go get her, Kimiko! Do your best!" he encouraged her with a flashy smile, making the blonde-haired woman drop sweats in return. Nevertheless, she accepted his wishes.

Knowing that getting wishes from Hisoka was fruitless, Kimiko turned her attention to Hideki, who stared down at her while crossing his arms. She smiled at him sweetly, making the black-skinned man raise an eyebrow at her.

"Why so cheerful all of a sudden?" he asked her, as he didn't get her behavior, making the girl slump in defeat. Hideki dropped sweats at this. "Do you really need someone wishing you luck? Luck won't help you" he explained to her.

But the young girl huffed at him and began heading for the fighting ring. "Well, at least Guy knows what to do" she thought before heading down. As she landed, she stood up and stroked her blonde hair. "It's time to put on a show inside this cavern" she suggested to herself gleefully.

As she jumped from them, Hideki sighed deeply, finding it annoying to deal with both Kimiko's sassiness, as well as Guy's ridiculous persona. Even so, he put his support behind the young girl in kimono, as she was after all a student of his.

On their tribunal, the team from the Mist Village was preparing their candidate. "This should be fun!" Kotone exclaimed while adjusting her glasses. She looked over her shoulder to see her teammates. "Wish me luck!" she said while giggling.

Aoi scoffed at her in return. "Idiot, why would I do that? You never wished me luck when I had my match, even though I pretended you were!" he asked while justifying his refusal to wish her luck.

Kotone eyed him sternly. "I was talking to Jurou, not you! So shut your trap for a minute, Mizukage's pet!" she said to him with an insult before focusing her eyes on the orange-haired boy. "Jurou, I wish to receive some blessing from you and your fallen clansmen" she told the silent boy, who had only stared at her with his empty gaze.

But he closed his eyes, something which made the four-eyed girl confused. "Do your best out there, Kotone. Walk with the blessings of the Kaguya clan" he said to her, making Kotone smile gleefully.

The red-haired girl turned around and rewarded him with a wink, although he couldn't see it because of his eyes being shut. Nevertheless, she did. Kotone was approached by her sensei, who faced her with seriousness, something which made her wondering why. The bandaged man went down to her level.

"Listen closely, Kotone. Remember what I taught you, about to not use your blade whenever you feel like it" he reminded her strictly, very different from his attitude towards Aoi. "Whatever you do, don't use your blade to cut that girl in half. Use it as a tool rather than a weapon" he added to his explanation.

Despite being lectured by Kaito, the young redhead rolled her eyes in return. "Of course, I know the drill. But at least let me have fun with this girl! It's my match, not yours" she insisted to him.

Kaito narrowed his eyes at her words. "Careful what you wish for, young lady. You would not like to see me drawing out Yoarashi to discipline your cocky backside. Please make me refrain from doing so" he sternly warned her, but the four-eyed girl still didn't seem intimidated by his words.

Kotone adjusted her glasses and walked from her sensei in a girly manner before jumping from the tribunals to face her opponent. As she readied her stance, she reflected on what Kaito had just told her. It made her feel somewhat offended.

"Using my blade whenever I feel like it? Give me a break! I'll show that mummified dick that I'm capable of using it as a tool" she thought in her head while facing Kimiko.

The blonde-haired girl held a pink wrap in her left hand and a needle in her right hand. "Alright, it's all or nothing!" she exclaimed inside with confidence.

From her spot, Tsunade watched with interest as the match between those two kunoichis was about to start. "This is the second time the team from the Mist Village sends their combatants, but it is also the first time Team Hideki does that" she noted in her head and set her eyes upon the black-skinned jounin leaning against the wall. "Hideki…..you have a very admirable but stubborn attitude, yet your students are highly spoken of. Let's see if that is the truth" she added to her thoughts.

Naruto was for some reason very curious about Kotone, almost as if he had seen her somewhere from before. It was something about her red hair. Sasuke noticed this and mused to himself.

"Heh, you're probably wondering whether you've seen that girl somewhere" the raven-haired man said in his head while seeing Naruto's curiosity.

Udon adjusted his glasses and gave the two combatants permission to start the match. "Begin!" he declared and it was on.

Before Kotone could figure out her first move, she failed to realize that Kimiko was already ahead of her with her own tools. The redhead got cautious. "Ninja Art: Wrapped Whips!" she exclaimed and she made two thick whips of wrap and used them to attack Kotone with.

The wrapped whips could stretch far off to Kotone's location, so the four-eyed girl dodged them by either jumping sideways or backwards. Either way, she was able to dodge them.

"Pfft…..lame!" the redhead thought in her head while dodging them. "I am too fast for you!" she suddenly began taunting her opponent.

Kimiko realized that this wasn't enough, so she devised another attack with her unique ninjutsu. "Maybe I should stop toying with her and get more assertive" she thought while sewing something with her needle and wrap. "Ninja Art: Enclosed Spire of Wrap!" she said and suddenly ran around Kotone in a circle.

The redhead got cautious but realized that Kimiko was actually creating a spire of wrap that could act as a prison. The wrap was even empowered by her chakra. Kotone was figuring out a way to stop this, but noticed how fast Kimiko was making it that she was too late. The blonde-haired girl smirked once she made a spire from the floor and up to its pointed top. Its color was pink as her fabulous kimono.

"There's no escaping now" Kimiko said as she had her right hand empowered with chakra. "When my wrap is empowered with chakra, tearing it apart won't be so easily" she added as loud as she could. She had hoped that Kotone would eventually fall into unconsciousness considering that she had also thrown poisoned perfume while making the spire.

All eyes were focused on the spire. However, Kimiko was noticed something appearing out of the wrap the spire was made of. Her eyes widened. A watery appearance walked straight out of the spire and its whole body was liquefied. But it didn't take long for everyone except for the Mist ninjas to realize that walking figure of liquid was actually Kotone. She smirked at her shocked opponent.

"Surprised by what you see here? Well I can't blame you" she said with sarcasm. "That piece of junk behind me was too easy too just walk through!" she added.

Naruto, Shikamaru and the others was amazed by this. "Woah, what kind of technique is that?" Naruto asked while studying it. "This Kotone is not what we expected her to be" he added to his thoughts.

"These Mist ninjas keeps me intrigued, no doubt about that" Lee admitted. "I mean, she was able to easily walk through Kimiko's empowered wraps. It's unbelievable" he also remarked to his comrades.

Sasuke chuckled by hearing this, something his blonde-haired comrade and the others could notice. Realizing that some explanation was needed, he walked towards Naruto and Tsunade. The blonde-haired woman eyed him sternly. "You mind telling us what's so funny about this?" she asked him.

"It's nothing. I expected you to at least have some understanding on other shinobis and their cultures, including those of the Hidden Mist" Sasuke answered before shifting his expression into that of seriousness. "But anyway. This technique that girl is using now is a signature technique called the Liquefy Jutsu" he told them, much to their surprises.

"Liquefy Jutsu" Sai said lowly as a realization came into his head. "I remember reading something about it from the secret files. It is a whole-body jutsu which allows it's user to liquefy their body at will" the pale-skinned man told them.

Sasuke nodded his head. "Yes. However, only members of the Hozuki clan are capable of performing it" he pointed out and suddenly faced his attention to the girl. "That girl is the daughter of an old crime partner of mine, whom I knew since my days under Orochimaru's tutelage. It's the swordsman: Suigetsu Hozuki" he revealed to them.

Naruto slightly remembered Sasuke's former crime partners, albeit barely. "Wait, you mean that weird guy with the pointed teeth?" he asked him with a raised eyebrow. "I remember him, I heard he disappeared once then went on to become a member of the Mist Village's ANBU Black Ops" he admitted.

His long-time friend faced him with a smirk on his face. "He did disappear yes, but from the hateful eyes of the public. After the war, Suigetsu returned to the Hidden Mist, but he was still despised for being a former guinea pig of Orochimaru and Kabuto, as well as being a war criminal. Therefore, he also did the same choice as me, to hide in the shadows of his former village" he explained to him.

Tsunade was surprised at this, but eventually got the picture. "I see. So that means he joined the Mist Village's own ANBU Black Ops, just like the rumors said" she quizzed him in an amused tone. "I also take that you and him have met each other on numerous occasions before now" she expressed her thoughts to him.

Sasuke shrugged his shoulders. "Sure I have, but it's not like we have time to relive the old days. We rarely see each other" he said to her.

But everyone focused their attentions on the fight below, as Kotone had dispelled her Liquefy Jutsu. She returned to her normal form, still showing her smug grin for everyone to see, much to Kimiko's irritation.

"I don't know how you managed to walk out of my spire" she said to her and reached for a couple of kunai bombs as they were lit on. "BUT YOU WON'T BE WALKING AWAY FROM THESE!" she shouted in anger and threw them towards her red-haired opponent.

Kotone adjusted her glasses, while seeing the kunai bombs heading straight for her. Surprisingly, she didn't seem threatened by Kimiko's weapons. She reached for the grip on her blade and giggled.

"I better finish this fight quickly" she said, before unleashing the blade to stop the approaching kunai bombs by cutting them into pieces. This resulted in small explosions but not fatal ones. As the smokes cleared, everyone could get a glimpse of her blade which was slightly thicker than that of her sensei's, yet remained suitable for her size. It was white-grey with two red stripes running along each side from its point to its end. The four-eyed girl brandished her blade. "This is my blade: Uzushio" she introduced it.

Kimiko sweated and made something with her sewing. "Not finished, yet! Ninja Art: Wrapped Snakes!" she exclaimed and sent five snakes made of wraps to attack Kotone.

The redhead raised an eyebrow at this before laughing. "You must be joking!" Kotone noted with a smug smile and suddenly swung with her sword in her hand. She span around like a whirlwind. It was almost as if she was dancing. As the five snakes tried to attack her, they were all torn to shreds by the whirlwind that had been made by Kotone. Kimiko could only watch in fear as her snakes were cut into many pieces. Once she stopped spinning around, she sighed in boredom

"No…it can't be!" Kimiko was at loss of words. "Have I seriously underestimated her abilities!?" she wondered in her head.

As Kotone fixed her eyes upon Kimiko, the blonde-haired girl snapped in fear. Surprisingly, she slowly began putting her blade back into its sheath on her back. The four-eyed girl fixed a smug look on her opponent. "You know that I could've ended this match quickly by using Uzushio to cut that annoying mouth of yours. But after studying your fighting style, using my sword is not required in this match" she concluded her analysis of Kimiko.

Menma was surprised by seeing how perceptive Kotone was. "It's just like that Aoi-kid. She's very observant with regards to her opponents" he noted in his head. "I guess Kimiko did not see that one coming" he added.

"Damn, this will surely be an embarrassment to Team Hideki's dignity" Ayumu noted while watching the team, who had different reactions so far. "But that may change once Guy or Hisoka gets chosen for the next round" he added.

Hideki gritted his teeth lowly by seeing Kimiko in such state. "That sassy idiot!" he thought while fixing his stern eyes upon the blonde-haired girl. "Haven't my explanations been enough for her to understand to not underestimate her opponents?" he wondered.

Guy was feeling concerned for his teammate while Hisoka was having similar thoughts about the match as their sensei. Guy could notice Hisoka's reaction and nudged him on his elbow. The black-skinned boy with dreadlocks faced his teammate sternly.

"Guy, do you mind?" he asked with little pleasantries, much to the brown-haired boy's dissatisfaction.

"Show some support to Kimiko! She desperately needs it!" he pointed out to him. But Hisoka looked to another direction, indicating that he ignored him.

Kaito fixed a smug smile upon seeing Kotone's efforts. "Good job, girl! You seem to have understood my point" he noted in his head.

Kimiko knew that there she had nothing left to lose. So she readied herself once again. "You're trying to analyze me? I will make you think twice!" she said in return and held her needle and wraps.

Kotone scoffed at her and did a few hand seals. "This will make her feel less confident" she thought while doing the hand seals. "Ninja Art: Hidden Mist Jutsu!" she said and suddenly, a mist appeared in around the arena. People could see that the mist came from her body, as she had activated her Liquefy Jutsu once again.

The mist completely clouded Kimiko's vision, as she couldn't even spot her opponent. She could feel her heart beating faster, considering that she was filled with uncertainty and fear. The young girl held her objects tightly and tried to scour the area for any silhouettes she could spot. But the mist was too thick for her.

"Damn it! I can't see a thing!" she noted in her head while sweating with fear. "This is a jutsu practiced by ninjas of the Hidden Mist, so it's no surprise that she would be capable of doing it" she added to her thoughts, still trying to figure out how to cope with this. But she suddenly came up with an idea and used her tools to create something. She created a jacket to wear, although it was thicker. "It's obvious that she plans on cutting me with all that mist clouding us, so I will have to put on a defense! Ninja Art: Armor of Wrap!" she said and she was tightly secured in her new outfit.

But even so, Kimiko had still problems in ratting out her opponent. But all that changed once she could hear a girly laugh in the mist. She became cautious by hearing this.

"This is just getting ridiculous. I think I should stop torturing you mentally" Kotone's voice could be heard, as her opponent remained on her watch. The readhead suddenly appeared behind her and liquefied both her hands. Kimiko was about to attack, but she was too slow for Kotone. "Double Water Gun Jutsu!" she said and two jets of water were fired from her hands to the blonde-haired girl's back.

It was really painful for Kimiko and she was sent landing on her stomach. She found it unbelievable that the attack could injure her, despite her armor. But Kotone was not finished with her. The girl in kimono tried her best to get up, but she could see her opponent standing a few meters from her while doing a few hand seals. The mist began to disappear and everyone could see clearly again.

"Consider this match over!" the readhead said while doing the hand seals. "Water Style: Water Dragon Jutsu!" she bellowed and a large dragon of water appeared beside her. The large serpentine being had its eyes focused on the girl lying on the floor. Kimiko eyed the aquatic being in fear. With little chance of evading, she was swallowed by the water dragon.

When the mist finally began disappearing, everyone could see Kimiko lying on the floor both soaking wet and unconscious. They were surprised by seeing what Kotone was capable of doing. Udon studied the blonde-haired girl's condition before announcing the winner.

"Kimiko Inoue is in no condition to continue fighting. So winner by knockout, Kotone Hozuki" he announced the redhead the winner, causing her to giggle in amusement.

"Just as I had predicted: I didn't need Uzushio to defeat her" she concluded with a confidential smile directed towards her team. She could see Kaito giving her a thumb, Jurou nodding his head in congratulating her victory, while Aoi crossed his arms and huffed, something Kotone really didn't care about.

"These Mist genins are indeed dangerous" Tsunade noted grimly after watching the match's conclusion.

"I agree" Naruto simply said, not knowing what else to say.

But before medics could pick up Kimiko's body, Guy immediately jumped down and lifted her unconscious body. The boy listened to her chest, hoping to hear some heartbeat. He was worried about her. "Please Kimiko, tell me that you're only unconscious" he said with a hint of hope in his voice.

"Guy! Leave Kimiko for the medics' care now! There's nothing you can do to help her!" the booming voice of Hideki could be heard across the tribunals. But the brown-haired boy didn't listen to what his teacher said. Hideki sighed in disappointment. "Guy, come back to the tribunal! Your match is over!" he said again, but the young boy refused to listen.

"You should listen to what your sensei tells you" Guy snapped in anger by hearing Kotone's voice calling to him from behind. She smiled at him with sarcasm, only for Guy to fix an angered look on his face. "Why so serious? She still lives" she asked him while pointing out her condition.

"I don't care about that! You will pay for doing this to her!" he hit back, trying his best to restrain himself.

Kotone scoffed at his threats. "Oh please, you're lucky that I chose not to use my blade to tear your bimbo teammate to shreds!" she said to him.

Hearing these words, the brown-haired guy lost all patience. He clenched his fist and was about to attack her, until he was stopped by a firm grip on his left shoulder. It was Hisoka, who watched his teammate with dispassion.

"Hisoka…..let go of me!" Guy said to him.

"Just let it go, moron! Kimiko lost her match! Deal with it!" the boy with dreadlocks said to him with seriousness. But Guy shoved off his grip and walked towards Kotone, who knew that he was hell-bent on beating her. "Dumbass, get back here!" Hisoka scolded Guy, who ignored his words.

But the brown-haired boy stopped, once he could see Jurou standing before him. But the orange-haired boy was pointing something sharp from his right arm towards him. He faced him with a look of dispassion. Both Kotone and Hisoka were surprised, as they didn't even seem to notice him coming.

"First you ignore your teacher's words, then your comrade's. You really lack the potentiality of a shinobi, don't you?" he asked him before looking over his shoulder to see Kotone, who was confused. "You won the match, Kotone. Why waste time with that spineless imbecile standing before us?" he asked her, causing some rage to brew inside Guy.

"Why don't you say that to my face!?" he demanded, but he was suddenly grabbed tightly by Hideki, who carried him back to the tribunal with Hisoka tagging along. Kotone and Jurou headed back to their team, but Kotone was curious.

"Jurou, why did you interfere?" she asked him as they were back with their team. "I could've handled that doofus on my own" she insisted to him.

The orange-haired boy fixed his serious eyes upon her, almost as if he was piercing through her. "I did it because you didn't have the strength to reject that idiot" Jurou answered lowly while taking a brief glance upon them. "And besides, I can tell that this Rock Guy, is nothing but talk. It is Hisoka Sado that intrigues me more" he added while watching them.

Kotone giggled in return after hearing his answer. "Yeah, you could say so" she said and looked over to the team as well.

The black-skinned man faced his student with disappointment, yet Guy remained defiant. However, Hideki's glance was strong enough to kill Guy's defiance. The young boy was ashamed of himself.

"I am sorry…Hideki-sensei" Guy apologized, but the stoic man was not satisfied.

"To hell with your apology, why did you make an ass of yourself in front of everyone?" he demanded an answer with little emotion. "What part of getting back here don't you understand!?" he added.

Knowing better than to clash with his strict teacher, Guy let out a deep sigh. "I let my emotions get the best of me. I'm sorry" he said as honest as he could.

Hideki only grunted in return and went by the wall to lean against it. "Kimiko may be defeated, but I'm certain that Guy and Hisoka still have their chances of winning their matches….whoever their opponent might be" he noted while eyeing the hall.

Having just watched his own son causing a scene, Lee didn't know how to respond to this. It was great that Guy cared about his teammates, but it felt weird to make a drama in front of everyone. The black-haired man fixed an apologetic look on Tsunade, whom he could see was not in a good mood, based upon what had just transpired.

"Don't take it so personally, Lady Tsunade. Guy can be very outspoken at times" Lee insisted to her.

Tsunade was feeling slightly irritated over this kafuffle that just occurred. "I was just about to tell them to return before Hideki arrived. I am relived about it" she said to Lee, Naruto and the others while taking a deep breath.

Naruto smiled. "Focus on what lies before us, grandma. The past is the past" he suggested to her, but suddenly focused his eyes on the large screen ahead. "So far, six matches have been held. But there are only three matches left" he said to her and she nodded in agreement. The blonde-haired man took his time to scour the tribunals for those who remained left. "Since the sixth round has already passed, it would be wise to see who the remaining combatants are. And they are as following:

Shikaien Nara from Team Ayumu

Saburou Aburame from Team Kazue

Bunko Mitarashi from the Elite Squadron

Rock Guy and Hisoka Sado from Team Hideki

And Jurou Kaguya from the Mist Village team

How will this end, I wonder?" Naruto concluded his analysis.

To be continued…

Author's note: Chapter 32 completed! I will not spoil who will fight next in this chapter. We are almost finished with the third phase here. I feel excited. See you around.