"Silly Neji, you may be a genius, but Hinata-chan is a prodigy among geniuses! The only reason you won because Hinata is too compassionate for you Hyuugas, however, I am not Hinata!" ~ Naruto

"Now then, if we are all here, I'll go ahead and begin the third part of the Chunnin Exams by telling you the reason behind them." The Third Hokage said as he leaned on the metal fence separating the ground floor from the platform above.

"The reason behind the Chunnin Exams? But I thought they were just for a Genin to rise in rank." Kankuro said, confusion etched on his face as he looked at the Hokage perched above, the Jounin-senseis of the surviving teams standing beside him.

Sarutobi chuckled lightly. "Yes, that is one reason to the less informed, but to those that have witnessed the alternative; the Chunnin exams serve a different purpose." He continued as several Genin stopped to think on his words. Seeing this, the Third paused to see if any one of the assembled Genin could get it right.

Several could think of the true reason behind the Exams, but only one actually spoke up. "War, during war times, Genin and Chunnin are promoted by their acts on the battlefield, or in some cases, off the battlefield. The Chunnin Exams serve as a safer way for Genin to show off their capabilities, as well as the strength of their village without the danger of murder en-masse. The Jounin Exams serve much the same purpose, while being vastly different." Naruto said as if reading from a textbook, a habit he had when answering a question.

Sarutobi smiled. "Yes, that is nearly word for word what I was going to say, albeit without the Jounin exams part, considering they have nothing to do with today. But other than that, you are correct, Naruto." The Third said, and Naruto smiled minutely, his shinobi mask presiding for the moment. Still, one always showed appreciation when complimented by one's Kage.

"Now then-" Sarutobi's words were cut short by a man stepping forwards.

"May I explain the next part, Lord Hokage?" The man asked; a sword strapped to his back which bobbed as he bowed to his leader.

Sarutobi simply nodded in ascent as the man turned back to the assembled Genin. "Okay then, unfortunately, due to the large number of Genin that have managed to get through the second part, preliminaries must be held to weed out the weaker half of you." The man said, only to be met with incredulous looks and shout of anger.

"Hey, we worked hard to get through that forest, and now you just come in and tell us that we may still get eliminated. What's the big deal, man!?" Kiba shouted, and Sakura sighed beside him, before smashing her fist into his head to silence the Inuzuka's ranting.

"The Third part of the Chunnin Exams are held in public, and are attended by nobles and Daimyos, as well as the Kage of all those in the Finals. Due to the limited time each has, a few shinobi and kunoichi as possible are allowed to participate in the Finals. About half of you will have to go to make the Finals more manageable." The man said, before gesturing to the giant board on the wall behind him.

"The board will cycle through the remaining contestants and select two who will fight down here for the honor of being in the Finals. Now then, before we begin, are their any of you who are unable to continue?" When no one answered, he added to the question, "Dropping out now will not disqualify your teammates; from this point onwards, you are all on your own to compete." This time one hand shot up as everyone turned to see who was dropping out.

The raised hand belonged to Kabuto Yuuhi, who smiled embarrassedly. "Sorry guys, but the last part took a lot out of me. I wouldn't be able to fight properly anyways." Was the only explanation he gave as he was led away by two nondescript shinobi.

"Okay then, if there are no others, we will move on." The man said, turning back to the board as it began to cycle through names quickly before stopping on two, both people smirking.

Sasuke Uchiha vs. Yoroi Akad o

"Now, will the two selected please say down here while everyone else heads to the walkway above to watch?" The Jounin said as every followed his orders, heading to the walkway above where they split into individual groups with the Sand Siblings separated and heading to a different area to watch while the Leaf-nin divided into their teams while remaining near one another.

"Now then, before we begin, I'll go over the rules," The Jounin said, glancing at the two combatants to make sure they were listening, "You may use any and all weapons, jutsus, etc. at your disposal, however, if I deign the match over, both of you are to stop fighting immediately. If you continue to try and fight, I will step in, as will the other Jounin, and you will be disqualified. If at any point you want to forfeit, simply raise your hand and say, 'I forfeit.' am I understood?" He asked, his only response being two identical nods.

"Okay, my name is Gecko Hayate, and I will be the referee for the matches." Hayate said, glancing between the two as he leapt back, shouting "Hajime!"

Sasuke and Yoroi smirked at each other as they both opened up by tossing a kunai at each other, the weapon colliding in mid-air with a resounding clang.

This seemed to signal the two to charge at each other, attacking with punches and kicks which both blocked easily. Anyone could see they weren't putting any real force behind the attack, simply prodding at their opponent's defenses.

Finally, Yoroi struck out with a quick jab which Sasuke blocked, knocking the boy arm aside as he responded with a straight kick that Yoroi was forced to block with only one arm as he was sent skidding back.

The boy scowled, starting on a quick set of hand seals which Sasuke tried to copy as he activated his Sharingan, only for the curse seal to react to the use of chakra in the Dojutsu, causing Sasuke to freeze up as hot pain lanced through his body.

Yoroi took advantage of his momentary opening as he tackled Sasuke to the ground, planting his glowing blue hand on the last Uchiha's head, Sasuke shaking the extremity to get loose, but Yoroi had a firm grasp on him as he grimaced in pain.

Finally, Sasuke managed to get grab a kunai from his pouch on his hip as he sliced at Yoroi, fending him off as the boy leapt back to avoid the metal knife. As Sasuke slowly climbed to his feet, Yoroi grinned as Sasuke held his head.

"Yo-You…" Sasuke trailed off as his signature scowl came into being on his face. This only seemed make Yoroi happier at his plan being revealed.

"You noticed huh? That's right, I have the special power to absorb another being chakra through touch, so you better think of something or I'm going to drain you dry." Yoroi said smugly, only for Sasuke to hurl his kunai at the boy's face, who weaved to the side, not realizing as he looked back at Sasuke's position that it was a trap.

"Where did he-" His thoughts were cut short as Sasuke appeared under his guard, kicking straight up as Yoroi was lifted into the air. Sasuke flipped over, landing on all four as he launched himself upwards after his target.

"That move!" Lee said as he recognized the move from the one he used on Sasuke in their short spar before the first part of the Exams.

"He copied it from an off-hand glance he caught one time. Just how skilled is this boy's Sharingan?" Lee's sensei mumbled under his breath beside his mini-me, although Kakashi still heard him.

"What can you expect from an Uchiha with the Sharingan, it is their Dojutsu after all?" Kakashi explained, although it still sounded more like a question than an answer. He reflexively reached up to touch his own Sharingan eye hidden behind his headband.

"Thanks for letting me copy this jutsu Rock Lee; it will serve me well in killing my brother." Sasuke said as he appeared underneath the floating Yoroi. "I copied that move from someone who fought me, but from now on, this is all me." Sasuke said confidently as he kicked outwards, Yoroi blocking the kick smugly. However, what he didn't expect was for Sasuke to kick off of him, and use the momentum to slam a kick into his opposite side as he was sent back towards the ground.

"Lion's-" Sasuke started as he flipped end over end after Yoroi, catching up to him just before he hit the ground. "BARRAGE!" He finished as he slammed a second kick into Yoroi's chest, sending blood fountaining from his mouth as Sasuke flipped off, landing safely on his feet with a smirk.

Only to falter as a hand shot to his neck, covering his curse seal which began to glow red.

"Winner, Sasuke Uchiha." Hayate sounded almost depressed that the Uchiha had managed to pull off a win. Sasuke started to collapse a second later as Kakashi appeared to catch him, before Shushinning away to begin sealing the curse seal.

"Joy, the Teme managed to get through to the Finals; I wonder how long it'll be before we here the end of that?" Naruto grumbled and Hinata giggled lightly beside him at his pouting face. But, apparently Ino didn't share her sentiments of cuteness as she growled, clenching a fist as she started to hit Naruto over the head.

"Shut up Orphan, no one cares about your opinion anyways. You're only jealous because you know you can't even hope to make it to the Finals with Sasuke-kun." Her beginning daydream was cut short as Naruto began gagging beside her; Hinata's giggling growing louder as she brought a hand up to block it out.

"Hey, does anyone else smell something rancid, almost like a… oh, hello Pig." Naruto said; his greeting so genuine that Hinata's laughter began to overwhelm her efforts to stifle it. Nearby, Kiba was guffawing at Ino's thunderstruck look. Or maybe it was because he knew someone was about to get pounded into the concrete.

"Shut up Naruto-dobe, it's not like you have many redeeming qualities either." Sakura said, crossing her arms in a way that dared someone to argue with her.

"Thanks Fore… what do you mean either?! I have plenty of good qualities!" Ino shouted at Sakura.

"Being easy isn't a good quality." Naruto mumbled loud enough that the immediate company heard him as Ino made to bash him over the head. Which probably would've worked had the blonde not moved to dodge Sakura's own fist. Instead, Sakura punched Ino across the face, and Ino punched a solid metal pole. The platinum blonde screeched, waving her hand around as she glared daggers at Naruto, who didn't seem to notice.

"You two want to team up on me, fine, how about you work your issues out by fighting… each other." Naruto said as he pointed to the board which had finished selecting the next pair of fighters.

Ino Yamanaka vs. Sakura Haruno

Both girls glanced nervously at each other before heading for the ground floor, Naruto smirking evilly as he watched the retreating pair.

"Good job Shino." Kiba shouted as he tried to high-five his teammate, only for the bug-user to ignore him.

"Huh, what happened?" Naruto was confused, why was Kiba congratulating Shino when he hadn't done anything.

"Shino finished up his fight in no time. That Zabu guy didn't even stand a chance against my buddy Shino, although I and Akamaru could've beaten him with moments." Kiba declared, although no one was listening after the first sentence.

"Oh, you already fought? Ahh, man, I wanted to watch so I could plan in case I have to fight you later. What am I talking about, you're an Aburame, you use bugs, what else would I need to know." Naruto said, and despite how insulting the statement sounded, Shino didn't seem to take offence. Instead, he turned to watch his female teammate's fight with her friend.

"Hajime!" Hayate said as Sakura and Ino stared each other down before both pulled out two shurikan and threw them, the metal weapons colliding in mid-air with a resounding clang.

With that, the two friends leapt at each other, kunai clutched in their hands as they clashed against each other, both trying to get the upper hand by pushing her opponent back. Finally, after several minutes of smashing into each other, they both leapt back and flung the used kunai at each other, the weapon once again colliding as they glared at each other.

"Come on Sakura, I can tell you aren't taking this seriously. What Sasuke sees in you, I'll never know, after all, how could anyone likes someone with such a huge fore-" Ino leapt back to avoid Sakura's rage-driven axe kick; this still didn't prepare her as instead of hitting the stone floor, Sakura landed evenly, using her momentum to launch herself at Ino as she reared back to punch her friend across the cheek once again, this time on purpose.

However, just before the fist collided, Sakura's eyes widened, and instead of a fist, her open palm slapped Ino across the cheek. The blonde looked shocked as she stumbled back, staring platter-eyed at Sakura, who was mirroring her eyes.

"Did-did you just… slap me?" Ino asked as Sakura looked like a child caught in the cookie jar as she tried to find something else to look at rather then Ino's face. "You really don't want to fight me, huh?" Ino mumbled and everyone went silent in anticipation for Sakura's answer.

The pinkette slowly nodded, and Ino sighed as she relaxed, extending her hand to Sakura. The pinkette looked fearfully at the hand, before slowly taking it. "Fine, we won't fight anymore." Ino said, and Sakura smiled, only for Ino to demonstrate amazing upper body strength as she flipped Sakura her shoulder in a judo throw as Sakura painfully hit the floor, the breath knocked out of her lungs.

Ino jumped on top of Sakura, straddling the girl as she began to claw at Sakura. "Just take it, Forehead, and we won't have to fight ever again!" Ino shouted, grabbing Sakura's hair as she began to slam the pinkette's head into the stone floor.

"SAKURA!" Kiba shouted, his knuckles turning white as they gripped the fence separating the bystanders from the fighters. A rare occasion, Naruto shared Kiba's sentiments as he watched the psychotic blonde brutalize her former best friend.

"I'm going to make you so hideously ugly that no guy would ever want anything to do with you, you pink-haired fukkā. I mean, what kind of name is Sakura even, it sounds like a cheap whore's name!" Ino shouted as she rolled Sakura over before pulling a kunai out as she went for the finishing blow.

"Stop, the match-" Hayate started forwards, only for a hand to shoot up, throwing Ino backwards, the kunai clattering to the side harmlessly.

"Oh no, I'm sorry Asuma. I'm afraid Ino is about to find herself on the wrong side of Sakura." Kurenai said as the nearby Leaf-nin turned to look at her confusedly.

"The girl had, has, remarkable chakra control, making her a skilled Genjutsu user. I suspect that is why she was placed on my team in the first place. However, when I took my team on a D-rank that turned rotten when Sakura was cornered by several men looking for a good time. I tried to make it to her in time, but I was too late, but instead of finding her covered in…," Kurenai trailed off, leaving the statement unfinished, "she was covered in the men's blood, from where they had apparently went crazy and slit their own throats to try and escape whatever they saw in that alley. While this isn't abnormal when a weak-willed subject is subjected to Genjutsu, what was most terrifying was… well watch." Kurenai said as the group turned back to look as Sakura seemed to clamber to her feet like a demented zombie, a slasher-grin splitting her face in half.

However, just as Kurenai had thought, as Sakura lifted her face, thick rivers of tears were forming a waterfall down her face, however, what was terrifying was that the tears were ink black.

"But why Ino, why do you hate me?" Sakura's voice sounded like a child that had been crying for hours on end.

Sakura seemed to move erratically, like her joints were rusty before she seemed to bum rush Ino, grabbing the blonde by the neck as she pinned her to the ground, staring directly into Ino's eyes as the black ink tears began to drip towards her eyes. Ino tried to close her eyes, but Sakura screeched, grasping around for a kunai to cut open Ino's eyes.

"Why won't you look at me, Ino? Don't I look beautiful, Sasuke thinks I'm beautiful, do you think so Ino?" Sakura said, and Ino began to cry as the black tears leaked into her eyes, and whatever effect they had on Ino, the girl began to shake, wailing cries echoing around the chamber.

Before anyone knew what was happening, Sakura had flipped Ino over, kicking her legs out from under her, leaving the platinum blonde to bow on her knees. "Bow down for the most beautiful princess in all the Land of Fire!" Sakura yelled manically, finally grabbing that kunai she was looking for.

Sakura interlaced her vice grip in Ino's platinum locks as she yanked the girl back like a horse, while still planting her foot squarely in Ino's back to keep her down. "You have such stringy hair, Ino. It reminds me of ramen noodles, all slimy and smelly. My mother always says that cutting your hair will make it grow out fuller. Would you like me to make you beautiful, Ino?" Sakura said, placing the edge of the kunai against Ino's ponytail, making Ino squirm.

"No, no, stop this Sakura. I forfeit, stop it, make her stop!" Ino yelled, and Hayate moved to end the fight once Ino forfeited, but Sakura seemed to grimace as she yanked the kunai back, slicing off the majority of Ino's hair before shoving it into Ino's mouth.

"EAT IT! EAT YOUR HIDEOUS HAIR, YOU SQUEALING PIGLET!" Sakura screeched, before Kurenai interceded, pulling Sakura away from Ino while the medics attended to the sobbing Yamanaka.

Sakura seemed to come to as she looked around in confusion, before seeing the trail of inky tears on the floor, along with the broken Ino. This caused Sakura to break into another round of hysterics, clear tears falling in a thick river from her eyes this time.

From nowhere, Sakura felt herself be pulled against a male's chest, and she grabbed at his clothes, smelling the telltale smell of dog, revealing her comforter to be Kiba, who crooned in Sakura's ears as she sobbed.

"I didn't mean to, I didn't mean to. Please don't hate me, Ino. Kiba, am I a monster? Do you think I'm beautiful?" Sakura seemed to mumble in a continuous loop as Kiba smiled softly, contrary to his ruggish nature as he held the sobbing girl close.

"Yes, I think you're beautiful Sakura, more so than Ino could ever hope to be." Kiba responded kindly as Sakura grinned, looking up into Kiba's eyes.

"Thanks Kiba, I think you're beautiful too." Sakura said before passing out, her sobbing finally trailing off in peaceful unconsciousness.

"Well, I think it goes without saying the winner of the match was Sakura Haruno. If her sensei would like, the medics can attend to your student's well-being." Hayate offered; his eyes shifting over Sakura's from like they would an abused animal.

"No, what she needs right now is to be near people who won't judge her." Kurenai responded, bending down to lift Sakura, only for Kiba to scoop the girl up, carrying her up the stairs as their shared sensei lead the way. Once they had returned, Kiba set Sakura softly against the wall, placing Akamaru carefully in her lap as the small puppy began to nuzzle against Sakura.

"Kurenai, I-" Asuma started, only to be cut off by Kurenai's palm, her silent anger coming off of her in waves.

"Don't defend her Asuma. I don't blame you, I know you wouldn't do this; you aren't that cruel-hearted. That said; I doubt if I'll ever forgive Ino for forcing my student to endure that pain." Kurenai said, and Asuma sighed, only to lift a cigarette to smoke, which immediately lit up without the use of a lighter as Asuma looked at it in confusion before shrugging it off.

No one seemed to really have anything to say, so they simply watched the names cycle through before finally stopping.

Rock Lee vs. Gaara no Suna

The match seemed to be over within minutes, despite how it had everyone on the edge of their seats at who would emerge victorious. Finally Gaara came out on top, and cruelly tried to crush Lee within his sand, though due to his injuries, he only managed to crush his arm and leg on one side. All the same, the medics said Lee's career as a shinobi was over, unless a miracle worker fixed Lee's broken body.

Once all was said and done, no one noticed that Naruto's hands had actually sunk into the metal in anger, the metal yielding to his clenching fists as it slowly rose in temperature. His anger had slowly been rising, turning from a few small bubbles to almost reach a rolling boil. As he dragged his eyes from Lee's body being carried away, they caught sight of the next two combatants, and his hand pulled the metal off, the surrounding metal turned from the charcoal black to cherry red from his touch alone.

Hinata Hyuuga vs. Neji Hyuuga

A/N: Hey guys, I actually jumped right on this chapter Sunday, working all day to complete the entire thing. I wanted this to just be a two part thing, but circumstances have turned it into a three-part. When I started writing this chapter, I had some vague ideas of how I wanted each fight to go, but as I wrote each part, the fights just flowed out of me. One fight in particular, went an entirely different direction than I intended while still keeping to the result I wanted. That fight was the only non-canon fight, Sakura and Ino's fight. I also revealed one of the pairing for the story, albeit a side-pairing, I felt like a Kibura pairing would be kinda cute.

One last thing, some far I decided on two of Konoha 11's monikers, Naruto's and Sakura's. A shout-out to the person who can guess Sakura's future moniker. Hint, it's based on her talent she demonstrated this chapter.