Naruto:Death's Second Chance

by Le loup de Kaiser

Ever since the attack of the Kyubi, Naruto was shunned as ‘Konoha’s Demon’ when he was born with the Kyubi sealed in him. His life was miserable beyond grief. NaruHina, Naruto/Bleach Crossover.

23. The Enigmatic Maverick

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Ever since the attack of the Kyuubi, Naruto was shunned as 'Konoha's Demon' when he was born with the Kyuubi sealed in him. His life was miserable beyond grief. Time passed by and he has slowly proven himself as its jailer instead of its incarnate. But despite this, love never truly touched the young jinchuuriki's heart until death came over him.

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A/N: I do not own Naruto, Bleach or any other canonical characters. If I did, I wouldn't be here in FF now would I?

A/N: There will be some translations in this one so people can understand better. Take note, there will be a little more of my culture in here so please bear with it.

Talking
'thinking/flashback'
Kyuubi Talking/Jutsu
'Kyuubi Thinking'

Chapter 23

The Enigmatic Maverick

With the opening of the doors…

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A serious, silver-haired jounin with his hitai-ate slanted over his left eye and a video tape in his right hand, walked into the video room where the Hokage, Anko, Izumo, and Kotetsu are watching over the screen the footage of Gaara's team and the rest of the twenty one participants in the soon to be held preliminaries.

The wild Anko was trembling in pain from the curse seal that Orochimaru left on her as a parting gift before she no longer became of use to him. She clutched the triple tomoe tattoo on her left shoulder as she braced herself for the pain. Slowly, the pain began to wither away allowing her to focus on matters at hand.

The old Hokage took a puff from his pipe before he asked the wild woman, "How are you feeling? Does the cursed seal hurt?"

Anko then replied, "No, it's gotten better thanks to you."

As the wild woman let go of her left shoulder, Izumo then asked, "Isn't Orochimaru one of the Sannins from the Konoha Legends? He's an S-classed exiled ninja from the bingo book that even ANBU couldn't deal with right?" seeing that they were still listening, he continued. "I heard that he died, but…"

Kotetsu then finished the sentence for his comrade. "Why would he come to this village now?"

Anko went wide-eyed when she remembered what happened to her in the forest where she confronted the Snake-sannin himself.

The wild woman then said in a low voice, "It's because…"

"Sasuke, right?" the old Hokage said, much to the surprise of the silver haired jounin who turned to Sarutobi and said, "Is that why you called me here?"

Sarutobi nodded and replied, "Unfortunately, I've known my student to be extremely persistent. You will need to guard Sasuke with your life if necessary."

Kakashi nodded but still got a curious stare from Kotetsu who pointed at the tape in his hand and said, "Ano, what's that for?"

Kakashi smiled under his mask. Only Anko and Sarutobi could pick up the subtle smile behind the mask. The silver haired jounin then said, "I was asked to bring an empty tape here to exchange it for the used one."

Kotetsu and Izumo bought it but little did they know what Kakashi really had in his hand as the silver haired jounin thought back to when he got the tape.

Flashback

Earlier that day, Kakashi was waiting outside the video store in the red light district of Konoha. He was sure that it wouldn't take long to convert a videotape. Yet he had waited for more than an hour and it was bothering him.

And just as he was about to enter the store, a beautiful young woman came out of the store carrying a videotape in her right hand. She had blue eyes and shoulder length brown hair that was wild yet combed. (Think Yuna's hairdo from FFX-2) She wore a black tank top underneath a yellow jacket that exposed her shoulders and the straps of her tank top. Its sleeves were black and longer than her arms so she could hide her hands in it. She also wore a white miniskirt, black and pink striped stockings that stopped to her mid thigh, shinobi sandals and a necklace with a red teardrop pendant on it.

"Sorry it took so long." She said. "But Akayashi Mizore has customized the film."

Kakashi scratched his head and said, "Well at least it's done."

Mizore then handed him the videotape and said, "I did everything you asked for. The tape works both ways. While it plays the contents on one side, it records on the other at the same time. All you need to do is…" she then pulled out a small cable from her pocket. "Plug this in the recording socket on one end and the other to your camera and use the play option. The screen becomes a twin relay that records and plays at the same time."

Kakashi then lazily replied, "Once again, I'm amazed at how ingenious you are."

The lazy beauty then said, "Don't thank me. After all, you're paying." She then handed him the cable and took out a lollipop from her pocket and began sucking on it. Kakashi no longer had any business here and said to her, "I guess I'll get going."

"Hold on there!" a voice spoke from the doors of the shop behind them. They turned to see who spoke and saw a dark, brown skinned, balding old man in nothing more than a white tank top tucked in a straight cut, black pants and worn out slippers. He had the same blue eyes that his daughter Mizore had but his were more drained indicating a colorful past. But what was most significant of him was the amount of black bands tattooed on his right arm starting from his wrist up to his forearm.

The old man then walked closer and said to Kakashi, "It's a bit early to leave so soon. Can you spare an old man a few more minutes?"

Kakashi's visible eyebrow rose. "What's wrong?"

The old man then bowed to him and said, "My name is Akayashi Kwago. And I want to thank your for taking care of my daughter for the past few weeks."

Both Kakashi and Mizore were a bit startled with what he said. Kakashi then told the old man, "Oji-san…I haven't even thought about it. And now I'm her boyfriend?"

Mizore said to her father, "That's right. We're just business friends." After she said that, a middle-aged woman passed by and said, "Ohayo Mizore-chan! Is that your boyfriend?"

The lazy beauty turned to her and said, "Hai. He came by to meet the family."

Kakashi sweatdropped as the middle-aged woman giggled and left. The silver haired jounin then said, "Akayashi-san…Didn't you hear what I just said and what you said?"

Mizore then looked at him and replied, "What? You said something?"

Kakashi felt ashamed. Now he feels what Gai feels whenever he gives him that remark. Putting that thought aside, Kakashi then said, "Anyway, I better get going. I need to plug this in."

Mizore then asked him, "So why go through all this trouble?"

Kakashi then replied, "First of all, it's my mission. My target is…elusive. He's unpredictable, making it hard for me to pinpoint his acts and determine his next move."

Kwago then said, "You know, no matter how many times your target acts out of character, eventually he can be read."

Kakashi then said, "Not this one. He's quick on his feet and brain though he acts like an idiot. He's very resourceful and creative which is why not even ANBU security would be able to stop him."

Mizore then said to him, "Gambate."

End of Flashback

After Kakashi finished reminiscing, they heard a voice call out from the intercom.

"Anko-sama…" the people in the room paid attention to the screen and saw the reporting chuunin. When the same man caught their attention, he then said, "We have confirmed that twenty-one people passed the Second Exam. According to Chuunin regulations, we will have to do preliminary matches for the first time in five years."

They were speechless after what they heard. Kakashi then chimed in, "Good thing I brought this empty video tape."

Sarutobi then said to Anko, "Despite your thoughts about this, we will continue the Exam." Anko was about to protest when the old Hokage continued. "But we will see what he is up to at the same time."

Anko then stood up and said, "Yes, sir!"

Sarutobi then put out his pipe and said, "One more thing, keep the medic nins on alert. You never know when a disaster can strike."

Kakashi then said, "Anything else Hokage-sama?"

Sarutobi decided to take action on behalf of Naruto this time. "Who will be the referee of the matches?"

Izumo then said, "Hai! Gekko Hayate sir."

The old Hokage then said, "Switch him with Yukinose Haku. I have another task for him."

Izumo then protested, "But Hokage-sama, Haku is still a new chuunin."

Anko then faced Izumo and said, "All the more reason for him to be the referee. As his guardian, I recommend him."

Sarutobi then smiled and said, "Then that's settled. If you don't mind, I'll be at the main floor to explain to our participants." 'At least I was able to spare one life.'

The old Hokage then left with Anko, Izumo and Kotetsu. Kakashi then quickly plugged his camera with the cable and plugged the other end to the recording device. He then hid the camera in a small space between the screens and switched the videotapes in haste as Izumo walked back in and said, "Hatake-san, no one else is allowed in here when the preliminaries start."

The silver haired jounin then took the used tape with him on his way out to meet up with his team while Izumo begun the recording of the preliminaries.

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Mizore was busy tending to the shop when her father came out of the storage room in the back holding up a tape. He then said to her, "Mizore-chan, this tape is the empty one that you were supposed to work on."

The lazy beauty then said, "So which tape did I end up working on?"

Her father shook his head and said, "You ended up switching the tapes and still fixed the wrong one. Did you even bother to check the contents first?"

Mizore replied, "Well, I thought everything was organized so I just took the tape from the small pile there in the back."

Kwago shook his head again and replied, "Buisit naman! Baka ung pirated movies ko ang inayos mo!" (Damn it! You might have fixed my pirated movies!)

Mizore then scratched her head and said, "Alright, let's check which tape I accidentally worked on. The list should be there."

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The main lobby smelled of blood, sweat and tears. The room had a clean-cut, cement floor with two balconies opposite each other on the west and east side of the large room. In the north side was a giant screen with several smaller ones on the side's of it and two stone arms protruding from the center with the hands in the ram seal.

The twenty-one teams were lined up the same way as before. From Naruto's point of view, he could see fourteen nins in front of him. In the center was the sandaime. Behind sandaime's right side, stood a disguised Orochimaru with a new, regrown arm, as well as Baki, and Kurenai. Behind the sandaime's left, stood Gai, Kakashi, Asuma and one more Konoha nin. In front of his right side stood Iruka, Ibiki and two more Konoha nins. In front of his left, stood Anko, Haku and two more Konoha nins.

The young blonde then thought, 'Okay…the preliminaries. Sasuke doesn't have the cursed seal but that sudden transformation back in the forest might happen again. If that's the case, then I'd best contact Rukia, Inoue and Urahara-san to do a double reinforcement seal on Sasuke. That will be a pain to explain to Kakashi-sensei so we will run the risk of erasing that part of his memory.'

The old Hokage then said, "First off, congratulations on passing the Second Exam."

The young blonde then closed his eyes and a Kage Bunsin materialized on the ceiling of the room. Naruto then telepathically sent his orders to his bunshin who upon receiving them, quickly shunpo'd out of there and ran as fast as he could back to the Namikaze house.

Naruto then thought again, 'One objective down. To prevent Lee from being destroyed by Gaara, someone has to step in but in the worst-case scenario, Inoue would have to restore Lee's wounds as well as the other nins' wounds. I don't think I can pull anyone else out from Ichigo's team since they're probably dealing with the new hollow threat in my world.'

His furry tenant then replied, So…you felt it and didn't panic. You trust them too much. But I'll take your word for it this time. Focus on your task rather than the things around you. Let them do the backdrop work while you fix the paint of the picture.

Naruto then reopened his eyes with a new flame burning in his heart as a determined, but calm look adorned his face.

Hinata gazed at his back and could feel his heart burning with passion. She was nervous of being here but she decided to come here whether she would win or not. To her, just being with Naruto was more than enough. However, she wanted to not just watch his back, but also fight alongside him despite her fears. So she quickly built her resolve as a flame burned deeply in her heart.

But not all were ecstatic of the circumstances. Chouji rubbed his stomach and said, "I'm hungry."

Shikamaru then looked around from his position and said, "There's still this many people? How troublesome." 'But not as troublesome as what I found back in the Forest of Death.'

Flashback

Team Ten took a slight detour in the forest to rest before moving on. After all, they were just a couple of meters away from the tower. And it just so happened that they were close to the largest tree in the entire forest though it was hollow in the center.

The lazy genius gazed upon it and said, "To think there are trees like this one here makes my day."

Ino then sat down on the floor and sighed. "Finally, some rest! All that constant action is making me exhausted."

Chouji's stomach audibly grumbled. The plump boy began putting his nose to work and sucked in the air through his nose for the aroma of food.

Ino pouted when she saw Chouji's hungered state and said, "I won't complain this time but can you at least get food for all of us?"

Shikamaru replied, "Knowing Chouji, he'll eat everything before he comes back."

Despite the lazy genius' sarcastic remarks, he was energetic enough to follow Chouji in his quest for food. Chouji led the way with his nose in a small circle before he said, "There's food inside the tree!"

The plump boy ran towards the hollowed out tree when Shikamaru noticed a thin wire, barely visible and a centimeter above the grass. The lazy genius quickly pulled Chouji back and said, "Don't move. We're caught in a trap."

Chouji looked at where he was about to step in and saw the wire. He traced it with his eyes towards a nearby tree that had hidden darts slung in a makeshift slingshot that was camouflaged with a fake branch. But from the position it was in the forest, it was barely noticeable.

Shikamaru then turned his head to Ino and said, "Ino, were stuck. We need your help but don't come close until I say so."

With quick thinking and proper timing, the trap was disarmed. Ino then berated Chouji. "That's what you get for letting that oversized stomach of yours to lead the way!"

Shikamaru paid no attention to her rantings and was curious why there was a trap there. He then went inside the tree through the opening in one of the roots that allowed him to crawl into.

Ino saw him crawl in and said as she ran after him, "Hey! Don't leave me here!"

Chouji tailed behind her and Team Ten went inside and saw the wonderful, complex structure of nature that was the tree. Or rather, an aggregate of trees merged into one.

Shikamaru then said, "I was right. That trap was a safeguard to protect anyone from entering here."

Chouji then said, "So someone lived here?"

The lazy genius replied, "Hai. The trap looked like it was weeks old so I guessed it was to protect the residents here. A place like this can house three people at the most."

Ino then placed her hands on her hips and said, "It's no use standing here gawking. We need food and fast!"

Team Ten then searched the hollow tree and noticed several things that were unusual. True enough, someone once lived here but all the belongings aside from what can be carried in a backpack were left behind.

Shikamaru then approached what was once the bedroom and examined the fabric. He then thought, 'It's pretty worn out but was kept in good condition. Whoever used this must've used it for years.' He then approached the cabinet and wardrobe. 'No doubt someone lived here, but for how many years and why in this forest?'

Ino then hollered out to Shikamaru, "Hey! We found some dried fish here! Let's get going!"

Shikamaru was about to follow when he gave one last look at the entire room and went wide-eyed. He didn't notice it before since he was too focused on the objects that humans would use. He looked above the on the wall where the head of the bed was. He saw a three-pronged kunai with a seal written on the handle stuck on the same runic seal he saw last time in the Forest of Death.

The lazy genius then quickly shouted to his teammates, "I'll be there! I left something." He quickly took down the three-pronged kunai and quickly hid it in his kunai holster. Just as Ino started losing her patience, he leaped down and joined his team to exit the tree and continue their trek towards the tower.

End of Flashback

Shikamaru then gazed at Naruto and thought, 'I have this strange feeling that this kunai is related to a lot of things about Naruto.'

Not everyone was focused on the young blonde though. Most were focused on what was going to happen next. Things happened pretty much as they did the last time with just a few changes here and there but nothing too drastic.

Team Ten was tired and wanted to head home, Team Eight was geared and ready, Team Suna, Oto as well as Team Kabuto kept their calm and debated on their next steps while Team Neji was fired up for the next bouts. Only Team Seven looked like they were just fresh from the Forest though they were well rested.

Naruto kept sharp until a Hell butterfly silently hovered close to his left ear making Sasuke and Sakura shudder when they saw it.

Naruto then listened well to what the black butterfly whispered and his eyes sharpened when he heard the news. Shikamaru, Shino, and Sasuke noticed his sudden change in mood as if it were a sudden breeze. They kept their gaze on the butterfly as it left until Anko said on her microphone attached to her ear, "We will now have an explanation of the Third Exam from Hokage-sama. Everyone, listen well."

Sarutobi then explained the reasons for the Exams and everyone understood what it implied.

After the explanation, Gaara, who wasn't wasteful of time said, "I don't care. Tell us the details of this life-or-death exam."

Sarutobi then cleared his throat and said, "Then I will now begin the explanation of the Third Exam. But…"

Haku then leaped and landed right in front of the Hokage in a kneeling position on his right knee and said, "Excuse me, Hokage-sama, I, Yukinose Haku, the judge, will explain."

Ino then made a small squeal and thought, 'Finally! Something to look forward to in this Exam!'

Haku then faced the remaining teams and smiled making Ino, Kin and Temari blush. The young bishounen then said, "It's nice to meet everyone. Before the Exam…" Haku took on a serious face at this part making the teams pay attention as he continued. "There's something I want you to do."

They focused on the next words that he was going to say with their hearts in their throats. Haku then said, "You will fight in a preliminary match to see who gets to battle in the Third Exam."

Shikamaru protested. "Preliminary matches? What do you mean?"

Sakura then said, "Haku-san, I don't understand. Why do we have to do preliminary matches? Can't we just start the Third Exam with the remaining teams?"

Haku then said, "Though we can start right away with the remaining teams, it would take too long and take too much of our guests' time. Also, it is part of Chuunin regulations and we ourselves don't have enough time."

Haku paused a bit as he saw three unusual medic nins enter the premises from the entrance that the remaining teams used.

"Sumimasen!" the red haired one said as her medic nin hood was down showing her long locks of hair tied with two snowflake shaped hair clips at the sides. Of course, those weren't the only things eye-catching about her since her shapely figure implied that she was more than just fit.

Next to the red-haired woman was a man in a similar outfit except he had long black bangs parted to the side so as to not cover his rectangular framed glasses. And lastly, was another woman who was much shorter than the red-haired one and had short, black, shoulder-length hair. One bang lay over her forehead and reached her left cheek; she had blue eyes.

Haku, as the other nins aside from Naruto, Hinata, and Sarutobi, did not recognize them as they entered the ward where the other medic nins waited.

Seeing as there were no other interruptions present, Haku then continued, "If anyone wants to quit after hearing the explanations, please let me know. The preliminary matches will begin immediately."

Several protested. Namely, Kiba, and Team Ten. But Naruto kept a cool sharp gaze while Hinata was building her strength and confidence. Kakashi noticed Naruto's steel resolve and made a mental note about giving him a position of leadership on their next mission.

Haku then said, "It would be wise to think about your next moves from here because the matches will be one-on-one throughout the exam."

Sasuke then felt a sudden tingling pain in his left arm. He grabbed it with his right hand to ease the pain but it still remained. He then thought, 'It's happening again. I need to fight it.'

Naruto and Sakura noticed Sasuke flinching and Sakura understood what was going on. She then said to the young Uchiha, "Sasuke-kun, you should withdraw from the preliminary matches."

Sasuke then replied, "Why?"

Sakura then said, "Because you've been acting weird after that Orochimaru guy nearly beat you."

Naruto then said, "Sasuke…it's up to you. I won't force you to fight if you don't want to. Neither does Sakura. I still want to see you in one piece."

Anko noticed Sasuke's slightly distressed state. She then said to the sandaime, "Hokage-sama, that's probably were the cursed seal was placed on him."

Sarutobi then nodded and thought, 'So Orochimaru did place a cursed seal on him.'

Orochimaru on the other hand noticed what was happening to Sasuke and raised an eyebrow as he thought, 'Sasuke-kun, whatever could have happened to you? Hopefully it's minor and not permanent damage to that young body of yours.'

Sasuke and Sakura continued arguing until Kabuto said, "I'll quit." His voice snapped them to attention.

Haku then said, "Is that so? Then, Yakushi Kabuto, you may leave."

The sandaime then said to Anko, "He's a dangerous individual…" the wild woman then made a mark on her mind while Ibiki fixed his right glove which was the signal to the nearby ANBU to keep an eye on Kabuto.

Haku then said, "Is there anyone else who wants to give up?"

Sakura was about to raise her hand until Sasuke stopped her. Naruto listened to every word he said to Sakura and still wasn't happy with Sasuke's attitude.

The young blonde then said, "So you'll sacrifice everything for your cause?"

Sasuke faced him and said, "Yes. I will." He then faced Sakura and said, "I won't even let you change that path."

The raven-haired boy then faced Naruto and said, "I want to fight you too Naruto. I will win this time."

Naruto sharpened his gaze at Sasuke and said, "I'm looking forward to it." 'Some things won't change right away so I might as well make things interesting.'

Sarutobi then said to Anko, "Let's let Sasuke go on, and just observe him for now."

Anko said in protest, "Hokage-sama!"

"However," Sarutobi replied. "If the cursed seal opens up and his powers become uncontrollable, stop him." 'How on earth did Sasuke get the cursed seal? Naruto should have stopped Orochimaru from giving it. I have a bad feeling about this.'

Anko was about to protest again but just frowned and said, "Wakarimashta."

Haku then said, "Then let's begin the preliminary matches. It will be a one-on-one match. This is a real fight. Now that we have exactly twenty people, there will be ten matches and the winners will be able to advance to the Third Exam. There are no rules so you will fight until the other person dies, is knocked out or surrenders. If you don't want to die, please give up immediately. But if I judge that the match is over, I will stop you to prevent meaningless deaths." Haku then faced Anko who quickly nodded and said over her microphone, "Open it."

The cement wall protecting the top left screen retracted. Haku took that as his cue and said, "The electric bulletin board will randomly display the names of two fighters for each match. And I will now display the names of the first match."

The bulletin board lit up and random names began to scroll through the screen until it stopped at two names…

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Akadou Yoroi Vs. Uchiha Sasuke

II- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -II

Haku then said, "So that's it…will the fighters whose names were displayed remain while the rest stand by the balconies?"

They complied and moved towards the balcony. Kakashi casually stood behind Sasuke and softly told Sasuke what was going on. Sasuke wasn't very pleased with what he heard and was put in a bind as the silver haired jounin continued to his place in the balcony.

As Sasuke and Yoroi stood in front of each other, Sakura was worried about Sasuke since he still needed to recover. Hinata on the other hand, was worried about Naruto since there was no guarantee that things wouldn't be different this time and she might end up fighting him.

As the remaining noncombatants stood on the balconies in pretty much the same positions as before, Haku then said, "The first match will be Akadou Yoroi Vs. Uchiha Sasuke. Are there any objections?"

Neither objected. Sakura then thought, 'All I can do now is watch…Sasuke-kun…'

Naruto then gripped the railing as he looked down where the two were poised and ready. He then thought, 'Kami-sama….I'm going to need all the help I can get to bring back Sasuke.'

Orochimaru crossed his arms and thought, 'Sasuke, Yoroi's ability will turn out dreadful for you…'

Sasuke thought back to what Kakashi said. 'Kakashi-sensei knew. But to defeat him without using my Sharingan will be hard. Now, how should I fight?'

The raven-haired boy stood poised and ready. While his opponent assessed his options. Everyone was tense while Naruto stood calm and strong. Haku then shifted his eyes between the two and said, "Hajime!"

Yoroi quickly put his hands in the tiger seal and said, "Let's go!"

Yoroi's right hand flared with chakra while his left hand, inside his back pocket,

was ready to pull out whatever he needed while Sasuke kept poised in his fighting stance.

They kept a sharp eye on each other and were wary and steady while staying relaxed.

Despite their hard-pressed concentration, something usually goes wrong. And like Kon in the middle of a tense political discussion, the electric bulletin suddenly showed something else aside from the matches as the sounds accommodating the show reverberated in the room. Everyone looked at the board and became speechless while their eyes became saucers.

Sakura was jawdropped, Ino slumped to the wall, Kurenai tried to calm down a blushing Hinata, while Anko was holding her laughter in with little success. Sasuke, the most horrified, saw a video of his embarrassing dance in the gay bar suddenly show up on the screen.

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Back in the video store within the red light district of Konoha, Mizore hollered out to her father, "I found it!"

Kwago then approached her and looked over the list in her hand and found what he was looking for. When he realized what it was that was switched, he then said, "You had the video of that time in the gay bar mixed up with the empty one?"

The lazy beauty then said, "I hope Kakashi doesn't mind that the videos are switched."

Kwago shook his head and said, "Just as long as he hasn't plugged it in, he'll be fine. What's the worst that could happen?"

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Sasuke was speechless and in shock. His mind was about to shut down when he heard his opponent laughing and rolling around the floor.

"Hahahaha! THAT is my enemy?!" Yoroi said in mockery. "No wonder you're so feared, their too afraid of your hobbies!"

That triggered Sasuke's resolve as his temper flared. His Sharingan was ablaze and he made a mad dash towards the now distracted Yoroi.

The undercover sound nin didn't know what hit him. Sasuke kicked him upwards with his right leg and his right hand planted on the ground.

Lee was surprised by the move he saw as Sasuke leaped into the air used Kage Buyo to follow up behind an airborne Yoroi. Soon, everyone was surprised except Naruto who knew what Sasuke was going to do.

The young blonde then smirked and said, "It's over."

Sasuke then said from behind Yoroi, "From here on out, it's all original though." He then placed his right, pointer and middle finger on Yoroi's spine and said, "Eat this!"

Unfortunately, the runic seals were reopening from his chest area and are starting to reappear on his body once more causing intense pain. Sasuke was using all his might to fight the pain.

Naruto saw what was happening and thought, 'The Soul Trackers in my body have expired already so I won't be able to contact them.'

He wasn't the only one to see the runes since Team Ten, who were able to see them up close, noticed it and caused Shikamaru's brain to move into survival mode just In case Sasuke went berserk.

Sasuke then said as he griped in pain, "Kuso, it responds even when it doesn't need to." He then remembered when Sakura hugged him and pleaded for him to stop and Naruto's small speech when the young blonde rescued him from Orochimaru in the Forest of Death. With that thought it mind he then thought again, 'I can't believe I've gotten them worried. I won't let this thing take over!'

Kakashi kept a steel gaze at Sasuke and thought, 'This must be it.'

Orochimaru, Sarutobi and Anko were surprised by what they saw.

Orochimaru then thought, 'THAT'S NOT MY CURSED SEAL!! I NEVER GAVE HIM ONE SO WHAT IS THAT?!'

Anko was wide-eyed and thought, 'I've never seen a cursed seal like that one!'

As suddenly as it came, the seal began to return. The wild woman went-wide eyed and thought, 'The cursed seal withdrew?!'

Sasuke felt his control return again. He then made a small smile and said, "Let's get this on."

He then threw his left hand and grabbed the back of Yoroi's shirt and threw him to his left side and gave a left kick that Yoroi easily blocked with his left arm.

Yoroi then said, "Not good enough."

Sasuke quickly withdrew his right leg and used his faster momentum and better balance to slightly swerve to the right and give the undercover nin a left backfist to the face.

Seeing the hit connect, Kakashi lazily mumbled, "No, you're not good enough.

Sasuke wasn't finished yet. He then twisted his body so that he was facing Yoroi. He threw a right hook to the nin's stomach and used the momentum to spin his body.

Sasuke then said, "I'm not done!" he quickly dropped his right leg on Yoroi's chest just as they both landed on the floor with Yoroi's body making a small crack on it. He then shouted, "Shishi Rendan!"

After the attack, Sasuke fell on the floor and skidded to the side and landed on his front while Yoroi coughed out blood. Haku maintained his cool as he awaited both fighters to get up.

Haku then knelt down beside Yoroi and saw that he was unconscious but in critical condition.

The young bishounen thought, 'Sasuke sure is something.'

Sasuke got up, panting with a little blood dripping from his mouth. He quickly wiped it away with his arm warmer and deactivated his Kekkei Genkai.

Haku then announced, "The match is over. Winner of the first match is Uchiha Sasuke."

Sakura and Ino smiled as the show on the electric bulletin board stopped and the screen returned back to normal.

Naruto gave Sasuke his foxy grin and said, "Now that's the Sasuke we know!"

Sasuke tried to stand but nearly collapsed backwards until Kakashi appeared behind him while lazily reading Icha Icha Violence.

The silver haired jounin then said, "You did okay. The move before the Shishi Rendan was a Gai hand-to-hand combat move."

Sakura felt she could relax and thought, 'Sasuke-kun…I'm so glad.'

Sasuke begun to feel the stress accumulated from performing the move and thought, 'It seems that I can't use the move consecutively too much.'

Lee, who watched intently, then thought, 'I see, so you copied part of the moves I used on you just once. That must be your ability. Sasuke-kun, you are incredible. You become stronger and stronger. I even feel some fear of you.'

Gai, who also watched intently thought, 'Renge, a series of high-speed hand-to-hand combat moves…cannot be done unless you train very hard. It's not something a person can just use right away because he used his Sharingan. Also, that idea he came up with for the finishing move…Kakashi, this boy reminds me of you when you were young.'

Tenten wondered who was stronger now. Was it Hyuuga Neji or Uchiha Sasuke?

While all were agape in wonder of Sasuke's abilities, Anko was shocked that he held the curse seal back in. Of course, that didn't last too long as Sasuke gripped his chest and made a slight grunt as the runic seals began to reappear and disappear.

Anko then thought, 'Though he held it in back there, he isn't doing too well now. He must be at his limits.'

Naruto saw what was happening and said to Sakura, "It's happening again Sakura." Of course, this didn't fall upon deaf ears as Kiba managed to hear what he said clearly while Shikamaru read the young blonde's lips. The lazy genius thought, 'That strange seal on Sasuke is reappearing again. But with the adults looking into it, there won't be any problems.' He then looked at Naruto from his leaning position on the wall and thought, 'So with that out of the way, I can focus on finding out more about Naruto. This preliminaries is the perfect way to unwravel the secrets of Naruto and find the connection between him, the seals and this three-pronged kunai.'

Sakura then shouted to Sasuke, "Sasuke-kun, are you okay?"

Kakashi then knelt down to Sasuke and said, "Well, I did warn you."

Sasuke then whispered back, "I'll get you for that tape one of these days. And everyone will know your true colors."

Kakashi's visible eye became a u shape as he pat Sasuke's shoulder and said, "Well, no harm done. But we better fix you up."

Kakashi then slung Sasuke's right arm over his shoulder as Rukia, Ishida and Inoue came out to tend to the wounded. The three of them had the medic's cap on to make it more official.

Rukia and Ishida put Yoroi on a stretcher and took him back to the ward while Inoue did a routine checkup on Sasuke and then said, "Your heartbeat is irregular. We need to treat you right away."

Kakashi then said to her, "This isn't your field. I'll take him."

Inoue wasn't easily deterred by such words. "It will be alright. We just need him to rest while we bandage him. I'll leave him to you if there is anything we can't do."

Kakashi then whispered into Sasuke's ear, "I'll take you into the back room and seal that cursed seal."

Sasuke then replied, "Wait until the preliminaries are over! I want to see the matches of the guys who will move on to the main event."

Their voices naturally became louder as they argued. And because of this, they were oblivious of a smiling Orochimaru and agitated Gaara. In fact, they didn't notice Inoue get close to them and place a suppressor seal on Sasuke's right foot as she checked his bruises.

Inoue then took Sasuke's left arm over her shoulder. She then smiled and said, "Okay. Let's go."

Kakashi, begrudgingly complied with Inoue's will and said to Sasuke, "I won't listen to your selfish requests twice."

Sasuke swallowed his pride and surrendered to their wills as the three walked into the back room were the rest of the medical team awaited him.

All Sakura could do now was hope and wait as she watched them walk away. The rest of the participants and a few of the jounins hoped that things would go smoothly from here and there would be no interruptions.

With Sasuke and Kakashi gone from the lobby, Haku then said, "Now, we will begin the next match."

Everyone gazed with anxiousness on the electric bulletin board as it lit up. Several names were scrolling in random on the board making the participants a bit more anxious. However Naruto wasn't anxious the way the others were. He thought, 'The lineup will be set if it happens…'

And like clockwork, two names lit up on the screen…

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Zaku Abumi Vs. Aburrame Shino

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Naruto then mumbled, "As I thought."

Sakura who was next to him then faced him and said, "What do you mean?"

Naruto then cried anime tears and said, "I knew that it's not my turn yet to show of my new jutsu!"

Sakura then sighed and shook her head as Zaku and Shino took their places in the makeshift arena.

Haku then said, "We will now begin the second match." 'It seems a lot of things are changing, especially here in this preliminaries. I hope nothing goes wrong.'

Sakura was worried for the bug-user as was Hinata being that said user was her teammate. Nevertheless, she knew that Shino was in for a long battle even if the opponent is handicapped.

The pink-haired girl thought, 'He's the guy that got his arms broken by Sasuke-kun. He's going to fight with those arms?'

Hinata gazed down at the two fighters and asked Kiba, "Is Shino-kun going to be ok?"

The dog boy responded, "Yeah, he's strong. I don't want to fight him either." 'Especially after the training he did with us.'

Hinata thought back to what he said and knew what was going to happen. She then thought, 'Naruto-kun said that if ever Shino would fight against that guy, he would win. I know he's right but why am I still nervous?'

She then looked to at Neji and saw the cold and calculating look in his eyes. The stoic boy was analyzing the two fighters and thought, 'There's no way he would lose. This battle is already decided. The Aburame Clan's bugs eat chakra and that Sound is already handicapped.' But as he looked to Naruto, he noticed that Naruto wasn't paying attention to the battle. In fact, he was reading from a black book.

However, the young blonde wasn't the only one that was missing in action. Orochimaru shunsined out of there just in time without being noticed as the staredown between Shino and Zaku came to a close.

Haku then said, "Hajime!"

Shino then said to his opponent, "If you fight me here, then you will never be able to fight again. Retire."

Zaku didn't back down and pulled out his left arm to indicate he could still fight. "One arm is good enough for you!"

With that said, Zaku, in a burst of speed, made the first move and attacked Shino. As the battle began between the chakra dependent users, the battle to close the new wormholes for hollows to enter was coming to a close just on the outskirts of Konoha.

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Ichigo was in his bankai form and just ended another hollow's life with a swing from his black nodachi. The orange haired shinigami then said, "Renji, cover me!"

Renji replied, "Don't take too long." He then transformed into his bankai form and sent Zabimaru on the unsuspecting hollows. He swung left and right, up and down before leaping into the air and landing on the invisible flooring there. Zabimaru coiled around Renji before releasing a ball of red energy at the mob of hollows by the new wormhole. It burned up the hollows leaving nothing but dust of soul particles.

Renji then shouted to Ichigo, "Oi, Ichigo! Move!"

Ichigo then faced his left to see Chad with his transformed right arm and said, "Ikuso, Chad!" the two then jumped into the wormhole.

Renji then heard more howling and saw the remaining hollows around him were the Gillian class. There were more than a handful of them but they were unorganized. Renji then brought out his GPS and called up Yoruichi. He then said over the phone, "Urahara-san, how many more?"

Urahara then replied, "That's the last one. Yoruichi is coming with the new sealing bomb. Can you hold on until then?"

Renji then smirked and said, "These types of battles are what a shinigami is all about." He then shut down the phone and shouted, "All right you bastards! I'll show you what the fukutaicho of the sixth division can do!"

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While the battle against the hollows and the preliminaries were going on, yet another battle ensued. Kakashi had taken Sasuke to another room although he wasn't happy that Inoue followed. He made the same sealing ritual as before except the blood seal started from Sasuke's chest where a runic, western-like seal was on it with a dark outline of a scar from a blast of gunpowder in the center.

When Kakashi finished writing, he then said to Sasuke, "Bear with this a little. It'll be done in no time."

Inoue then asked, "Are you sure this will work?" 'I don't think that 'that' form of sealing will work on a hollow.'

Kakashi then said, "For a curse seal like his, it should prevent most of it. Now it's my turn to ask a question." The silver haired jounin's visible eye sharpened while his face frowned. "Who are you? And what is your purpose here?"

Inoue was about to panic until Rukia came in and said, "We are just doctors who are concerned for the village's soldiers."

Ishida came in as well and said as he adjusted his glasses, "What about you? How are we to know that what you're doing is helping him instead of hurting him? You're not even a medic nin."

Kakashi coldy replied, "Don't get so nervous. Trust me, I have experience here…More enough than you. I can tell you guys are new recruits so just stand still and pay attention." 'Fugaku must have sent them to watch over Sasuke. He never did trust anyone after the massacre of his clan.'

Sasuke then gripped his chest in pain as the seal tried to spread while it glowed an eerie blue. Kakashi then said, "We don't have time for this." The silver haired jounin ritually performed several handseals and then said, "Fuuja Houin!" he then placed his right hand on Sasuke's chest. Sasuke was squirming in pain. Ishida, Rukia and Inoue did what they could to hold him down.

Inoue then shouted, "It will be alright! Hold on!"

Within a few seconds, the blood writings seeped into the runic seal and formed a summoning suppressor seal around it. Sasuke made one final howl of pain and fainted as the glowing rune on his chest receded till only the dark outline of the scar remained.

Inoue then asked, "Is he alright now?"

Rukia placed her hand over the seal to feel the chakra and reiatsu from it. She then shook her head and said, "No, the seal wasn't strong enough. This will only last for a few hours at the most."

Kakashi then said, "All that and it won't last? Are you sure?"

Rukia then said, "I can do some sealing jutsus. For a power like his, it would take more than a simple chakra seal to hold it."

Kakashi replied, "If that's the case we have to do the sealing jutsu again. And to think, that was my strongest seal."

Suddenly, an all to familiar voice of a villain said, "So you can use sealing techniques now. You've grown Kakashi."

Kakashi recognized the voice and turned around to see the disguised Orochimaru walking towards him with an evil smile. The snake-sannin then slyly said, "It's been a long time, Kakashi-kun."

Ishida then stood in front of Kakashi and said to the snake-sannin, "Anata dare?!"

Orochimaru snickered and paid them no attention. "I'm sorry, but I have no business with any of you. But I do have business with the boy behind you."

Kakashi then asked, "Why are you after Sasuke?"

Orochimaru then said, "You're lucky. You already got what you wanted. You didn't have 'that' a long time ago. That Sharingan in your left eye…I want it too…Uchiha's powers that is."

Things began unraveling in Kakashi's mind though there were still other unanswered questions. "What is your purpose?"

Rukia then said, "He's just another power hungry tyrant. We have to keep him away from Sasuke at all cost." She then took a fighting stance, and pulled out a wakizashi from its hidden position underneath the back of her medic robe. Ishida decided to act as well and pulled out a handheld crossbow from his robe and aimed its ready and cocked state at Orochimaru as if he was holding a gun. Inoue then stood in front of Sasuke to become his shield if necessary.

Rukia then thought, 'I can't revert to a shinigami in this position. But if he proves too much in this current state, I'll have to shift.'

Orochimaru then snickered and said, "Let's not get hasty. I haven't made Sasuke mine yet."

Kakashi went wide-eyed at statement. He then thought, 'Orochimaru never gave him a cursed seal? Then what was that?'

The snake-sannin then said, "Surprised Kakashi-kun? So was I. Your student, Naruto, prevented me from giving him my cursed seal. I was angry that he stopped me, but things began to swing in a different direction. And now, I want it even more."

Kakashi then said, "So, that's it?"

Orochimaru replied, "Just kidding. But I'll tell you this, Otogakure, the recently made village, is mine. You understand if I just say that, right?"

Ishida then said, "What a stupid ambition. All that trouble for that?"

The snake-sannin replied, "Oh, my…that was blunt. But to accomplish my ambition, I need pieces to become my legs and arms and accomplish things for me."

Inoue then said, "We won't let you make Sasuke your slave."

Orochimaru kept his evil smile and said, "Slave? You speak as if he's a pawn. He'd be hurt if he heard you."

Kakashi then said, "So what is he to you?"

Orochimaru replied, "He's a supreme piece. The pawns…are the ones taking the exam right now."

Orochimaru began to take slow steps towards them. Ishida didn't hestate and fired the first bolt at the snake sannin. The sickly looking man wasn't fazed and caught the arrow in mid flight before it could touch the skin of his forehead. He then dropped the arrow, only to realize that the crossbowman wasn't in front of him. Instincts took over and he side-stepped to the left and grabbed Ishida's gun arm with his right to prevent a point black shot to the back. He then gave a right side kick to Ishida in the gut only for the crossbowman to grab it with his left and throw it to the left side. Orochimaru let go of the man's gun arm and used the momentum of his thrown right kick to give a left kick to the right ribs of the man. Ishida saw it coming and blocked it with his right arm before stepping back to make some distance.

Orochimaru was able to gain balance despite the haphazard move and returned to his neutral stance with his hands in his pocket. He then chuckled and said, "Kukukukuku. It seems that Konoha hasn't lost it fangs yet." He then looked over his shoulder and saw Rukia, pointing her wakizashi at the center of his spine while she stood in a stance, ready to stab it in.

The snake sannin then turned to face her who didn't flinch or back away. Instead, she brought the blade close to his neck and said, "You're outnumbered and outmatched. Surrender or pay with your life." Just as she finished, Ishida was at the snake sannin's left side, pointing the reloaded crossbow at his left temple. But that wasn't all. They then heard the sound of crackling like the chirping of birds. It wasn't hard to see over Rukia considering her size so the snake sannin clearly saw Kakashi, in the horse stance, holding his right arm with his left while his right hand was powering up the Raikiri.

Kakashi then said, "I won't let take Sasuke. Even if you are one of the legendary Sannin, I can sacrifice my life to kill you." Orochimaru laughed in mockery making Kakashi ask with a frown, "What's so funny?"

The snake sannin, still fully aware of the weapons pointed at him replied, "What you say and do don't agree with each other." Seeing that they needed an explanation from the puzzled looks on their faces, he continued. "There's no point in using that seal. Even your comrades here know it. Sasuke-kun has a heart that seeks power no matter how evil it is. He simply possesses that kind of disposition. He is an avenger."

Inoue then said, "And you tried to take advantage of his weakness. But…"

Orochimaru then interrupted and said, "Kukuku. You still don't get it? Eventually, he will seek me out." Orochimaru then took three back steps before turning around and saying, "Seek me out for power that is." He then walked out and faded back into the background taking with him, the tense atmosphere allowing them to power down and lower their weapons.

Rukia then said as she sheathed her blade, "At least he's gone for now."

Ishida then said, "We better strengthen the seal now or else." Inoue looked at the silver haired jounin and back at Ishida who just replied, "It can't be helped. We're running out of time."

Rukia stood in front of Sasuke and placed her hands in the snake handseal and chanted, "Walls of Iron sand, a priestly pagoda, glowing iron-clad fireflies, standing upright, silent to the end." Five orbs of reiatsu then slipped out of her clutched hands and hovered around them. She then slammed her fist into the drawn seal in the earth allowing the orbs to do the same as she shouted, "Bakudo number seventy-five, Gochuutekkan!"

Five pillars of stone pinned Sasuke's arms, legs and chest to the floor and cracked it underneath him. The force was strong enough to shake the ground and the ceiling for a moment. Luckily enough, they were in a secluded area so no one was aware. Kakashi's visible eye widened with what he saw. But that wasn't enough. Rukia then raised her right hand and faced it at the prone Sasuke and said, "Bakudo number sixty-one, rikujōkōrō!" a bright yellow light burst from Rukia's hand and restrained Sasuke's midsection in a way that his body was the center and the lights were like petals from a flower.

Isihida then brought out his Seele Schneiderarrows. Without activating them, he stabbed them parallel to the stone pillars holding Sasuke down on the outermost circle of the ritual seal. The Quincy then said to Inoue, "Inoue, put up the barrier."

Inoue nodded and said, "Santen Kesshun, watashi wa kyozetsu suru." Soon after that, a barrier of yellow energy in a large triangle prism, covered the sealed Sasuke. Overall, Kakashi was extremely shocked.

But that didn't stop there, Rukia then stood at the head of Sasuke while Ishida stood on the left foot and Inoue at the right. Ishida then said, "We better not screw this up. One wrong move can be dangerous for us."

Inoue then said, "Demo, I'm still new to this." Ishida replied, "So am I and Kuchiki-san as well."

Kakashi asked in haste, "What are you going to do?"

Rukia answered, "complete the seal. It's a gamble since we're new at this, but we've seen this type of sealing in the past although what we have now isn't an exact copy, we can manage. But we have more experience in this than you do." With that done, she nodded to her comrades and the trio began simultaneously doing the Kuji-in handseals as they recited at the same time, "Rin, Pyō, Tō, Sha, Kai, Jin, Retsu, Zai, Zen!" When they were finished, they continued to hold the last handseal as the quadruple reiatsu barrier began to deconstruct and reconstruct on the seal on Sasuke's body. Sasuke wasn't affected but Rukia begun to wane and was about to collapse before she regained her composure.

"Kuchiki-san!" Inoue blurted.

Rukia answered, "I'm fine. I didn't know how much power it would take to maintain the seal."

Ishida then said, "Those last two kido spells took only a small amount of your reserves. How much reiatsu is needed to maintain the seal?"

But the painful part withered away as the first hakudo reconstructed themselves on the seal of Kakashi causing the seal to become bolder in lettering. But Rukia had become exhausted and Ishida was approaching his limit as well.

Kakashi saw the sweat on Rukia and how she was struggling to keep awake. He then gently shoved her out and took her position and held the seal for her. Rukia, baffled by Kakashi's move then said, "What are you doing?! That's a high-powered forbidden technique! A man of your level wouldn't be able to hold it. You could die!"

And true enough, Kakashi could feel the weight of the technique on his body and spirit as he too was struggling to keep awake for his life. He then said, "You should've told me that earlier…matakun…But since I'm here already, I need to keep it up or else I will die." 'Am I mad?! Doing something this dangerous with an unknown jutsu. Now I need to hold it or else!'

Rukia then shouted, "Kakashi-dono, let me do this. You have no knowledge of reiatsu and kido. Yamekudasai!"

But Kakashi didn't respond and the second hakudo reconstructed itself on the seal in the form of a ring of the kanji for the Kuji-in. by this time, Kakashi suddenly got pushed back by an invisible force. He hit the pillar and slumped to the floor before shaking his head and saying, "What was that?"

Rukia quickly took his place and held the handseal and said, "His inner hollow is finally resisting. We're almost there."

Kakashi was baffled by everything that was happening. What was kido? And what is reiatsu? And furthermore, what was a hollow? These were the main questions in his mind aside from the identity of these people and their arcane talents. The silver haired jounin got up and noticed a silhouette of a binding force on Sasuke coming from his chest area and wrapping around him. Kakashi then pulled up his hitai-ate to reveal his Sharingan and was surprised to see chains coming from Sasuke's chest and they were flailing about attempting to break the last barrier.

'What is this?' Kakashi thought. But suddenly, another burst of reiatsu flashed out. Rukia, Ishida and Inoue managed to shield themselves since they were used to such things. Kakashi however, felt the aftershock as it hit him and flashed in his Sharingan. He screamed for a while as he covered his left eye.

Inoue saw Kakashi lift up his hitai-ate and reveal his left eye only to get hit by the reiatsu backlash. She then said, "He needs to get out of here! If he gets hit again th—"

Rukia interrupted, "There's nothing we can do. We can't leave the sealing circle just yet."

Ishida said, "Just a little more. When they grab on to the Seele Schneider, it'll be over."

And true enough, the flailing chains grabbed on to the steel arrows. Ishida shouted, "Now!"

Rukia then shouted, "Akuryou taisen!" the steel arrows activated and sent a power surge through the chains and it hit the center causing Sasuke's body to go in shock. The chains receded back into the raven-haired boy's body and the final barrier collapsed. Rukia and Ishida fell to the floor while Inoue ran to help out Kakashi.

When she got to him, she then asked, "Daijobu Kakashi-san?"

Kakashi then let go of his left eye when the pain receded. He then replied, "Yes. But something feels weird."

Inoue then noticed that Kakashi's left eye no longer had the Sharingan. It was the natural brown color instead. The orange haired woman then said, "Your left eye…it's no longer red."

Kakashi took down his hitai-ate and used it as a mirror to see his eye. He was surprised that it was brown. He tried pouring chakra to his eyes and noticed that his Sharingan was back. He sighed in relief but was shocked to notice he had the Sharingan in both eyes.

"How?" he asked himself.

Inoue then said, "Maybe it's the side effect of getting hit by that powerful reiatsu blast when you activated it."

He then said, "That means that my Sharingan has an off switch now and they are on both eyes."

Inoue then faced her other two comrades and said, "He's alright."

Despite the miraculous new gain in abilities, Kakakshi thought, 'Medic nins with the ability to suppress chakra of that magnitude…no, it didn't feel like chakra. It felt like something else. Who are these people? I've never seen people who have the ability to perform high powered medical related sealing jutsus since Tsunade and Jiraya during the Great Shinobi Wars.'

Just in time, Sasuke started to wake up. When he opened his eyes, he could see the faces of Rukia and Ishida. He then said, "What happened?"

Ishida then informed him, "We managed to suppress the evil reiatsu that was trying to take over. You should get some rest now. Doctor's orders."

Sasuke stood up and put on his shirt. He then replied without facing them, "No thanks. I'm going to watch the next matches."

Ishida protested and said, "Going now might reopen the seal we nearly died to give you. Get some rest if you value your life."

Sasuke then replied, "You can't stop me this time."

Inoue then came in between them and said, "Don't worry. It'll be all right. It's sealed so he'll be fine." Ishida wanted not to protest further since he didn't want to have the hassle of dealing with people like Sasuke at the moment.

Kakashi walked shakily towards Sasuke with his hitai-ate back on its original position. He then said to Sasuke, "Well, I can't stop you now. So we'll head back."

Rukia then said, "Then we'll be back at our posts."

With that, Ishida picked up his steel arrows, and followed Rukia and Inoue back to the medics' quarters. However, as they walked, Rukia then sent a text message to Yoruichi that Kakashi got involved at the last minute and there was a slight side effect because of that.

Of course, by the time the message was sent, Kakashi and Sasuke arrived at time that Naruto's match was up.

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Haku looked over the fallen Zaku who's arms were swollen and had just burst from the pressure of the chakra bugs that Shino sent down his arms. Haku then faced Shino and said, "This match is over." He then announced, "Winner, Aburame Shino."

Naruto then said, "That's Shino for you. Sneaky as always."

Lee then asked Neji, "Who is he Neji?"

Neji then gazed at Shino and used his Byakugan to find out what was odd about him. He then gasped and said, "What a guy. I would understand if he summoned those bugs with a jutsu, but…he lets the bugs live inside him."

Lee was surprised. Gai then said, "He must be part of the clan in Konoha that controls bugs."

Neji then said, "I've heard of it before…The story of the clan that lends their body as a nest to bugs upon birth and uses them to fight. They control bugs with their minds, and let the bugs battle for them. In exchange, they give their own chakra as food to the bugs."

Shino then walked back up to the balcony to join his team as a medical team brought Zaku to the back room for treatment.

Kin and Dosu were now inwardly panicking. But the ones who were the least panicked were Team Eight. As Shino walked towards them, Hinata said to him, "Shino-kun, good job."

"Good job." Kiba curtly replied.

Shino then answered, "Yes, I expect you guys to do the same." He then faced the arena, completely ignoring Kiba and Hinata. Kiba was pissed that he was acting like the leader. Hinata on the other hand, had different thoughts in mind. She quickly asked Shino, "Shino-kun, what if, you ended up fighting someone you care about?"

This brought Kiba and Kurenai's attention to her question. Shino knew what Hinata was implying and replied without looking back, "Why did you come if you knew that it could happen?"

Hinata twiddled her fingers nervously and muttered, "That is…"

Kurenai then said to her, "Hinata, never have we ever doubted you. You are a strong girl. You should not forget the reason why you came here in the first place. You did this for yourself and no one else so there is no reason that you won't end up fighting against the one you care for the most."

Hinata faced her and said with an unsure smile. "Arigato sensei. But, even so…I might still give way for that person."

Kurenai replied, "You're too kind Hinata. But always remember, that nothing is more disappointing than never having tried at all."

Kiba then pat the Hyuuga heiress' shoulder and said, "Hehehe. For Naruto over there, you've done some reckless things."

Hinata blushed when she heard that as Naruto suddenly asked them, "Eh? Was someone calling me?"

Hinata then waved her arms a bit before saying, "No-nothing's wrong Naruto-kun."

Naruto then returned to facing the arena as Haku said, "Let us move on to the next match."

Sakura then said, "I'm worried about Sasuke-kun. Why hasn't Kakashi-sensei come back yet?"

As she said that, the electric board lit up once again…

II- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -II

Tsurugi Misumi Vs. Kankuro

II- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -II

Kankuro and his opponent moved away from the balcony and towards the arena. While most of them were preoccupied by the next battle, Naruto looked around looking for the Hell butterfly that would confirm if the sealing process was completed or that the dimensional rift caused by Sasuke's transformation was closed up. Sakura noticed his distracted state and asked, "What's wrong?"

Naruto then said, "I'm looking for that butterfly that followed me here."

She shrugged and replied, "At a time like this you're looking for an insect?"

The two weren't paying much attention until they heard Haku say, "Let the third match begin!"

Misumi charged and gave a right back fist to Kankuro who blocked it with his left hand. The match was progressing however, Naruto decided it wasn't so important. He then took out his black book from his jacket and leaned on the wall and began reading it. Hinata noticed his apparently bored look.

'That's right…he already knows.' The Hyuuga heiress thought. 'But who will win?'

Sakura noticed at the corner of her eye, the lazy young blonde. She then asked him, "Aren't you going to watch?"

Naruto answered, "The battle is already decided. Kankuro will win."

Shikamaru then asked him, "How do you know?"

The young blonde flipped a page on his book and said, "You'll see."

They paid attention to the match and locked their eyes on every movement the two combatants made. Misumi used his unique, elastic body to strangle the poor sand nin to death. the crowd held it's breath at what they saw until Kankuro's face began to crack revealing him to be no more than a fake. The real Kankuro emerged from the supposed bandaged doll. The fake Kankuro, now known as Karasu, shed its skin and wrapped it's six arms around Musumi and crushed his body in a bear hug. The undercover sound nin fell to the floor, unconscious but also in critical condition from internal bleeding. Haku then said, "This was unexpected. But the match is decided. Kankuro wins."

Naruto then closed his book and said, "Looks like I'm right."

Sakura then said, "He won using the Kugutsu no Jutsu. He controlled the doll with his chakra."

Shikamaru eyed the young blonde and thought, 'He knew. To what extent I don't know but somehow, he knew. Who are you? Single handedly taking down four chuunins and two ronins and an overbuilt okama…knowing about a sealing jutsu that only archaeologists would know…calm and cool at one time while wild and erratic the next…far too unpredictable. This really is troublesome.'

Ino then said, "Hmmm…looks like all the strong guys are here."

Chouji then replied, "Not all the strong guys are here you know."

Sakura then looked around and said, "Kakashi-sensei hasn't come yet. I hope Sasuke-kun is alright."

The other jounin senseis noticed it as well and Gai said to Asuma, "It seems my rival hasn't arrived yet. I wonder what could have happened to him."

Kurenai then crossed her arms and huffed, "He's probably off reading his book again right after he dropped Sasuke at the hospital."

Hinata, Kiba and Sakura were silently giggling knowing it was probably true. Unfortunately, it wasn't the right time to be laughing.

Naruto tapped the back of Sakura and said, "Now's not the right time for laughing. Look." He pointed to the electric bulletin board. Sakura looked and her eyes widened when she saw the board say…

II- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -II

Haruno Sakura Vs. Yamanaka Ino

II- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -II

Ino gave Sakura a cold stare before walking towards the arena. Sakura hated it when Ino did that and begun walking as well until Hinata said, "Sa-Sakura-san…" Sakura faced her and saw Hinata smile. The Hyuuga Heiress then said, "Gambate. We'll cheer you on."

Sakura was surprised and muttered, "Hinata…"

Naruto then walked towards the pink haired girl until he was beside Hinata. He then said with a foxy grin, "That's right. Were here all the way. Show her that your demon is more powerful than hers, cherry demon."

Sakura had a vein throbbing on her forehead and gave a glare that said, 'your dead meat.' Naruto then said, "That's the Sakura we know."

Sakura decided to leave her frustrations there for now and turned on her heel to enter the arena. However, in her mind, she swore that she saw Naruto holding hands with Hinata. But it didn't matter now the moment she stood opposite of her rival.

Haku then smiled at Sakura and said, "It's been a long time Sakura-san. You must be really strong now."

Sakura replied with a confident face, "That's right. I've faced hell long enough to show her who's the better kunoichi."

Ino then smirked and said, "I'd be saying the same thing if Haku-kun wasn't here to watch." She then faced Haku and tried to look as cute as possible while saying in an innocent tone, "Haku-kun, don't mind her. If it's okay, can we talk later?"

Haku sheepishly replied with a smile, "Um…I think it's best to start the match now." 'That girl scares me for some reason. I just hope that she isn't like Anko-san.'

That was the unofficial start of the match. Sakura charged and attacked Ino with all her might in hand-to-hand combat. Ino withstood her barrage of blows and handed down her own.

Naruto then said to Hinata who was still beside him, "Take a good look at their moves. They aren't even fighting."

Hinata gazed harder and said, "They don't want to fight with each other."

Shikamaru then said, "These two are just playing around. They're not getting stronger."

Neji then said, "The physical strength of a kunoichi is much lower than a man's. They need to focus their attacks on speed to really get anywhere."

Tenten then said, "That's not it." She then faced Neji with a hard glare and said, "Those two are just soft against each other. Sex doesn't matter in battle."

Hinata then followed the match with her eyes. What she didn't know, was everything was moving in slow motion to her. She could see the next set of moves like Shikamaru playing shogi. She then accidentally muttered her thoughts. "Sakura is going to give a right kick. Ino will respond with the same move. Then Ino will switch places with Sakura and give two quick punches before making a punch to her side and finally slapping her."

Shino heard her and said, "Is that so?"

Naruto also heard her while Shikamaru was able to read her lips the same way as Kurenai. And just as she predicted, it happened. They were first surprised that it did happen. Then Naruto faced Hinata and saw the silhouette of a black dragon wrapping around her legs and slowly slithering up her body before disappearing. Of course, Gaara, on the other side of the room, saw it as well.

The sand jinchuriki then said, "Interesting."

But he wasn't the only one who noticed. Kurenai also saw it and thought, 'When she was watching the battle, her eyes suddenly changed. They became slit like an animal's.' She then shook her head and thought, 'That's not possible. The Byakugan has the ability to see the chakra coils and through any genjutsu but it doesn't have that sort of ability. That's something only the Sharingan is capable of.'

Naruto then faced the arena again and thought, 'Kuro Enkouryuu…the sleeping dragon is awakening. But what kind of dragon? I've seen two so far and one is a dragon of power while the other a dragon of ice.'

The battle raged on and things pretty much went the same way as before—a double knockout. Haku inspected the two and then announced, "Both are unable to fight so I declare this a double KO."

Asuma then went down and picked up Ino while Naruto went down and picked up Sakura. This of course made Hinata extremely jealous though she didn't show it, Shino and Kiba could feel the fire ignite in her.

What made things even worse was that Asuma cracked a joke at Naruto when the smoker said, "Picking up damsels in distress eh Naruto? You're probably one happy boy today to pick up a strong willed princess."

Hinata gripped the railing with one hand while she gripped her jacket with the other. Unknowingly, she was accidentally heating up the railing in her clutches. Kiba happened to be leaning on that railing and suddenly jumped back and yelped, "Damn it's hot!"

Naruto and Asuma placed the two unconscious kunoichis by the wall, side by side. The others gathered around the unconscious kunoichis while Naruto went back to his spot on the railing and noticed Hinata smiling at him. He then realized it was a forced smile.

He sheepishly scratched his head and soundlessly said, "Gomenasai Hina-hime."

Good thing no one was watching the two since they were too busy looking after the two female fighters until the electric board began moving again till it stopped at two names…

II- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -II

Tenten Vs. Temari

II- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -II

As the second batch of female fighters stepped up to the plate, Ino woke up and Sakura followed suit. Ino then said to her still sleepy companion, "Are you finally awake now Sakura? Our match is over."

Sakura looked in awe as she noticed the back of the Konoha nins in front of her. It was plain and simple logic that told her…"I lost."

Ino then said to her with a sad smile, "I'm the one who wants to cry. I tied to someone like you." She then handed the hitai-ate back to Sakura who accepted it wholeheartedly indicating the stop of their bitter rivalry. However, she then said, "I have no intention of giving Sasuke-kun to you."

Sakura crossed her arms and said, "Sasuke-kun is mine already. We've gotten so far that your relationship with him is a dream."

Ino then angrily said with saucers for eyes, "I think your head's still aching from that punch. Reality is I'm taking Sasuke-kun!"

Naruto heard them rambling and leaned on the wall next to them and begun reading his book again. He then said to them without looking, "You know, the cherry demon is right about being far with him. I can't count how many intimate sessions she had with him."

Ino froze like a rock as Haku announced, "Hajime!" the blonde haired girl turned to Sakura who just stuck out her tongue and pulled down the skin of her left eye.

Ino then screamed, "That's not fair! How could you?!"

Sakura then said, "The winner is the one who shows affections both in private and public! It's not love if it isn't something you can freely announce!"

Naruto felt hurt at what she said and thought, 'I hate this. Here they are, able to express their feelings freely while Hinata-chan and I have to hide it all the time. But what she says is true. How can I call it love if we can't be honest? For all I know, she might…' the young blonde shook his head as he tucked in his black book and thought, 'No…I shouldn't think like that, I'm braver than this. I'm Namikaze Naruto for crying out loud!'

Naruto then went back to the railings and watched the match. Ino then looked at Naruto and saw the insignia on the back of his jacket. She then said to her best friend, "Hey Sakura, Naruto doesn't seem to have feelings for you anymore."

Sakura crossed her arms and said, "So what? He keeps calling me cherry demon because it's the second meaning of my name. If that isn't an answer to your question, then I don't know what is."

Ino then observed the young blonde closely and noticed Hinata was much closer to Naruto than usual. She then said, "Hinata has been acting strange lately."

"What do you mean?" Sakura asked.

Ino then said, "Take a look. She's become more comfortable around him but she still acts normal when we're around. But when no one's looking, she's really different."

Sakura noticed it as well and said with wide-eyes, "She's hiding her true self?"

Ino then said, "Well, we don't know her and Tenten too well so it's no surprise."

Sakura then said, "It makes a lot of sense now. It's almost the same with Naruto."

Ino then said, "The so-called idiot isn't so idiotic right?"

Sakura replied, "I'm not sure. At times, he's reliable. But other times, he's still the same. He's probably just begun to grow up."

Ino then said, "That's true. But what about his taste in clothes? Isn't that different as well?"

Sakura then said, "He did say he didn't want to become a walking target so he changed them. Where are you getting at?"

Ino then said, "Ever since you guys came back, Shikamaru has been getting off his butt snooping around for anything concerning Naruto. Asuma-sensei keeps telling him to stop but he doesn't seem to listen and it's not helping us. In fact, he got even more interested after that Kabuto guy showed his profile. Chouji begged me to help out too since it's the only way to make him stop."

Sakura then said, "Sasuke-kun and I tried to do the same. We couldn't even find his house since he barely tells us anything. We even tried to follow him at night but Sasuke always looked pale after getting to a certain corner. He began muttering about 'okamas' and 'hairy bears that eat strange food'.

Ino's eyebrow rose as Tenten's match ended with Temari the victor. As before, tension was high with Lee since he outright, challenged Gaara. Good thing Gai was there to stop him before further damage could be done.

Kiba and Hinata shrugged at the thought of fighting the guys from Sand. Naruto saw the way the two were reacting and the way Gaara reacted. He eyed Gaara with caution and kept cool until Sakura said to him, "Don't lose to anyone, Naruto."

Naruto turned around to face her and said, "Don't worry. I don't plan to. I still have to face Sasuke." He then returned to facing the electric board that kept showing random names. Ino then remembered something important and pulled out something from her pocket. It was a three-pronged kunai with a seal written on the hilt. She then showed it to Sakura and said, "Shikamaru found it in some old tree before we got here. I kept it for him since he didn't have enough space in his holster for it."

It then snapped in Sakura's mind. She then said, "Naruto has one of those!"

Ino then said, "He does? When does he use it?"

Sakura replied, "He just used it during the first day when we fought a guy named Orochimaru. He threw the kunai at him and then used a new jutsu on him. I can't remember the name of the jutsu but he shot lightning from his fingers and it homed onto the kunai. I think he bribed Kakashi-sensei to teach him that jutsu."

Ino then said, "Is that all?"

Sakura shook her head and said, "Who knows?"

Of course, they were so absorbed in their conversation that they didn't notice what was going on until Naruto said, "So Shikamaru is fighting a genjutsu user. This will good."

The two kunoichis stood up and looked over the railing to see Shikamaru fighting Kin.

Ino then shouted, "Shikamaru! Don't lose to her! You still owe me!"

Shikamaru just shook his head and said, "Mendokuse. I'd rather be watching the clouds right about now."

Kin then said, "Che. You're girlfriend is calling your lazy ass. How nice."

The lazy genius replied, "She isn't my girlfriend. I'd die before that happens."

The battle was straightforward and simple. Shikamaru won through his ingenuity with his jutsu. Haku confirmed Kin was unconscious and announced, "This match is over. Shikamaru wins this round."

Naruto then tucked in his black book and said, "I think this will be it."

Hinata then asked him, "What do you mean Naruto-kun?"

Naruto shook it off and said, "It's nothing. I'll be fine." And just as he said that, Kiba then said, "Now we have one Sound ninja, me, Hinata, Naruto, Chouji, Neji and Lee and that Sand guy."

Neji then said, "It looks like I can have nice battles with the rookies this year." He then eyed Hinata menacingly. The Hyuuga heiress noticed his cold stare and looked away. Naruto noticed her fear and thought, 'Hold on Hinata-chan. I'll save you.'

And as the names were scrolling, it happened. The unexpected happened. The names that lit up were…

II- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - II

Namikaze Naruto Vs. Inuzuka Kiba

II- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - II

They were surprised by what was written on the board. Sakura then said, "Namikaze? Did they get it wrong?"

Asuna and Kurenai, as well as Gai saw the name. They were perplexed but old man Sarutobi just smiled.

Lee then said, "I thought Naruto's last name was Uzumaki. Did he change it?"

Tenten then said, "There's no way for that. Once your name's been written in the record it stays until special circumstances say otherwise."

Chouji looked around and said, "Where's Naruto?"

They looked around and found that he was not around. Shino however was able to locate the young blonde and said, "He's fast."

Haku noticed it as well and turned around to see Naruto was behind him. The young blonde then said, "Sorry for the trouble guys but that's my new last name."

Hinata then said, "Ga-gambate Naruto-kun!"

Sakura joined in and said, "Gambate Naruto!"

Kiba leaped down onto the arena and said with a confident smile, "All right Akamaru! We got lucky. We can definitely beat him."

Haku then chuckled as he thought, 'Don't judge a book by its cover Kiba-kun. You might be surprised what tricks it has up it's sleeves.' Haku then announced, "This is the seventh match. Namikaze Naruto vs. Inuzuka Kiba."

Shikamaru thought, 'Let's see the power that took down those chuunins in that B-rank Mission.'

Sarutobi thought, 'I hope you know what you're doing Naruto.'

And just in time, Kakashi and Sasuke arrived. Sakura saw them and said, "Sasuke-kun, are you alright?"

Sasuke nodded and saw the match that was about to go underway. He was happy that he made it. He then thought, 'There's no point in hiding anymore. We'll see what you're made of Naruto.'

Kakashi then said, "Looks like I made it just in time."

Gai then faced Kakashi and said, "My eternal rival! You have missed the most youthful display of manliness. Were have you been all this time?"

Kakashi paid him no heed (Much to Gai's dismay) and just decided to watch the match that was to show Naruto's skills.

Naruto stood opposite of Kiba, a few meters away. He kept cool and calm though his heart was burning with passion. With his hands in his pocket, he then said, "Kiba…I'm ready to fight. But against you, I'm sure to win."

Kiba then said, "In your dreams. Stop trying to act tough. I've trained ever since we got back. I won't lose to you. I'm sure to win."

Naruto then said, "Have it your way. I'll still get some exercise walking the dogs." 'Good. Just a little more agitation and I can win without having to reveal a lot of tricks.'

Kiba then chuckled and said, "Wise guy eh?" he the put down Akamaru and said, "Akamaru, don't do anything. I'll do this alone. I'll beat you it one hit out of pity."

Haku then said, "Hajime!"

Naruto then slyly retorted, "I'll do the same." He then ran towards Kiba and jumped at him Kiba smirked at his luck while Sakura planted her hand on her face.

Kiba then thought, 'Too easy. He's still an idiot after all.'

Kiba was about to leap out of the way until Naruto shouted, "Henge!" the young blonde used his Sexy no Jutsu and transformed into an older, naked, female version of himself, with open arms, he said in a cute yet sultry voice, "Kiba-sama! I want you!"

Kiba was unprepared for this as were the other shinobi in that room. He just stood there agape with blood dripping from his nose as Naruto landed on top of him and caressing him with his 'assets'.

Sasuke and Sakura both shouted, "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!"

Sarutobi sweatdropped and thought, 'He's still slightly the same.'

Hinata sighed and shook her head while Shikamaru face-faulted. Kurenai looked at Kakashi in disgust while Asuma noticed something odd. The smoker then smirked and said, "Now that's ingenious. Underhanded, but ingenious."

Ino then said with a frown, "Asuma-sensei…Naruto's just an idiot who used an idiotic jutsu. I don't believe his profile was real anymore."

Asuma then said, "Just watch. You'll see what I mean."

Kiba managed to push Naruto off who just used another henge so that his disguise was clothed in a skimpy yet slightly revealing blue kimono. Naruto pouted and said in a girl's voice, "What's wrong Kiba-sama? Don't you want me? Am I not sexy enough?"

Kiba then angrily replied with saucers for eyes, "Who would knowing you're a guy?! WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?!"

Kiba stood up and took another step forward and suddenly his senses dulled and he couldn't move. Naruto stood up and his face changed into that of a cold, devious manipulator. He snickered and said with a voice to match. "Never underestimate a kitsune, Kiba. You can feel it, can't you?"

"What did you do to me?" Kiba asked as the crowd was shocked by what suddenly took place.

Naruto pulled out a small needle from the kimono sleeve in his left and showed it to the dog boy. Haku immediately recognized it and said, "An acupuncture needle."

Kiba got it quickly by the look of his dumbfounded expression. Naruto then said, "That's right. Before I attacked you, I had a sebon in my pocket. I always keep one handy to make sure I have a weapon I can reach for anytime. Then, I used this body to distract you long enough to attack the nerve that has something to do with your movement. It wasn't that hard considering you were paralyzed by the feel of a woman's body."

Kiba then said, "I'm not the only one fighting and you're going to regret this." Akamaru then bit Kiba's legs allowing Kiba to get out of his paralyzed state as his senses returned.

The dog boy then said, "Let's go Akamaru."

Naruto dropped the henge and took his fighting stance. Asuma then told Ino, "There you go. The only reason Kiba is still fighting is because he has Akamaru with him. Otherwise, he's already lost."

Shikamaru then thought, 'Shameless but gets the job done. This is getting interesting.'

Hinata felt troubled since Naruto was fighting Kiba. But she knew who to root for as she silently prayed for Kami-sama to allow Naruto victory.

Kiba and Akamaru charged. The dog boy then pulled out two smoke bombs and threw them while he said, "Take this!"

Naruto stood still and made a one-handed handseal, surprising the audience, as the bombs exploded and emitted thick, purple smoke all around him. He made two Kage Bunshins and both used henge to transform into two large shurikens. The young blonde took the two in his hands and wrapped wire around them. He then picked them up as Kiba dove into the smoke to attack the young blonde. Naruto evaded every punch sent to him. Though the young blonde couldn't see things very well in the smoke, he could feel Kiba's chakra and reiatsu signature like an iron rod in a furnace. He then leaped out of the smoke only for Akamaru to push him back in.

Kiba then leaped outside the smoke, smirked and said, "He fell for it."

When the smoke cleared, Akamaru was sitting down wagging his tail next to an unconscious Naruto with two large shurikens stuck to the ground beside him.

Kiba then shouted, "All right, you got him."

As Akamaru ran to Kiba, Sasuke noticed something was odd. He then thought, 'Naruto wouldn't lose that easily. He's got something planned.'

Kiba then opened his arms and crouched to receive the dog in an embrace. He then said, "Good job Aka—"

Before he could continue, Akamaru bit Kiba's left arm. Needless to say, everyone else except Gaara, Hinata, and the jounins were surprised.

Akamaru suddenly spoke, "You fell for it." The dog dropped the henge revealing it to be Naruto. Naruto let go his jaws from Kiba's left arm. He then grabbed Kiba's left hand by the wrist with his left arm and tucked it in his right armpit. In the same motion, he slinked his right hand under the grabbed arm and grabbed Kiba's collar while his left hand held his right arm and was in between it and Kiba's left elbow. The young blonde moved slightly closer and then sidestepped to the left causing Kiba to lean forward to keep his arm intact from the arm and shoulder lock.

Kiba then asked, "Where's Akamaru?"

Naruto then said, "Look to your right." Kiba looked and saw a clone of the young blonde holding up Akamaru. The original blonde then removed the hold and kicked Kiba towards the center. The fainted clone of Naruto suddenly got up and threw the large shurikens at Kiba. Kiba quickly jumped up to evade the spinning blades that the original blonde behind him caught and stuck it to the ground while his clone opposite of him stuck a kunai in the ground.

Sasuke then said, "Kiba's dead with that move."

Sakura then shouted, "Kiba! Get out of there!"

"What?" Kiba asked as Naruto blurred through several handseals and said, "Katon Enjou Sankaku no Jutsu!"

Akamaru managed to get out of the grips of one of the clones and with all his might, shoves both himself and Kiba out of the attack range as the two large shurikens and kunai began to glow and an orange triangle of fire burst upwards and downwards. It created a hole in the roof while the ground below it melted in the triangle prism of flames.

Kiba and the rest were wide-eyed by the attack Naruto just used as smoke and sizzling sound of cooked dirt emerged from the ground while Naruto and his two remaining clones stood stalwart and calm. Everyone was shocked by the move Naruto just used.

Ino then gasped, "No, way! That was Naruto?!"

Shikamaru then said, "Mendokuse. No wonder he defeated those four chuunins."

Kurenai then faced Kakashi and said, "Kakashi! You taught him such a reckless move!"

Sasuke and Sakura faced the silver haired jounin as well with a look that said 'explain'.

Kakashi replied, "That's a move from the forbidden scroll. Only the Hokage has access to it."

Sasuke then shouted, "Then how did he learn those deadly jutsus?!"

Kakashi scratched his head and replied, "I guess I forgot to tell you. Naruto didn't pass the way you guys did. He passed because he retrieved the forbidden scroll back from the traitor Mizuki. Iruka found him in the forest with the scroll after he defeated Mizuki and Naruto then said to Iruka that he only mastered one jutsu from it and asked if he showed the move he could pass."

Sasuke thought for a moment and said, "He only said master not learn."

Sakura thought about it for a while and her eyes widened as she shouted, "HEEEEEEEHHH?! He learned everything from the forbidden scroll?!"

Kakashi then said, "Technically, yes."

Kiba then thanked Akamaru and his eyes became wide as saucers as he angrily shouted to the young blonde, "Chikusho, teme! You nearly burned me alive!"

Naruto sheepishly grinned and said, "Go-gomenasai! I forgot to hold back! But it was a good thing that I didn't roast you or we would be eating cooked dog for lunch."

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Mizore sneezed while she was cooking up a peculiar barbeque in the kitchen of her apartment and a pile of sheared fur was in a small basket. Kwago then called out to her from the small dining room, "Luto no ba? Gutom na gutom na ako." (Is it cooked already? I'm really hungry here.)

Mizore then answered, "It's almost done." 'I hate cooking his favorite meal even if it is a stray and we're out of food right now.'

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Hinata was amazed and said, "Naruto-kun, that was amazing. Please don't hurt Kiba-kun too much."

Naruto heard that and thought, 'Okay. Hold back. From here on out, I have to make it look like that was my strongest attack and I barely got any chakra left.'

Kiba then said, "Too bad that was your strongest attack. There's no way you can beat me now. Now I won't hold back and I will defeat you!"

Naruto then replied, "Really? But you can never defeat me!"

Shikamaru then said, "He definitely isn't the Naruto we once knew."

Ino then said, "Oh yeah…Shikamaru, that kunai you found, Naruto has one of those." Shikamaru listened as Ino continued. "He uses it for a lightning jutsu."

Shikamaru kept it in mind as the whole audience kept their eyes peeled on the exciting match.

Kiba took a deep breath and gave Akamaru a food pill causing Akamaru's fur to turn wild and red. He too took a food pill and then crouched down and placed his hands in the tiger handseal and Akamaru leaped on top of his back.

Naruto's clones charged but were too late as Kiba said, "Gijyuu Ninpou, Jiyuujin Bunshin!"

Akamaru transformed into a clone of Kiba and leaped and tore through one clone. Naruto threw an exploding tag at his clone who caught it and charged at Kiba.

The feral boy then shouted, "Shikakuno Jutsu!" Akamaru intercepted the clone and ripped him with one swipe allowing the kunai to fly to the other side and explode harmlessly. Kiba and the transformed Akamaru ran at Naruto with feral speed. Both tried to attack Naruto who leaped out of the way and evaded their constant berserker strikes.

Kiba tried to get a better angle of attack by running along the wall and then leaping of it to attack Naruto from behind. The young blonde leaped up and stepped on Kiba's head in midair to use it as a stepping stone and threw three shurikens at him. He then pulled a kunai out his left holster with his left hand and did several one-handed handseals with his right before saying, "Kage Shuriken no Jutsu!" the shurikens multiplied to thirty and rained down on Kiba and Akamaru who evaded most of the shurikens and swatted the rest away. Naruto knew he couldn't get far like this and when he landed on the railing of the balcony where the sand siblings stood, with kunai still in his left hand, he kicked off it towards Kiba, who just landed below. He did a one-handed handseal and a Kage Bunshin appeared to his right and latched on to his right hand. Akamaru then leaped off Kiba to attack Naruto in mid-air. The young blonde threw his clone at Akamaru and continued his descent to Kiba. Kiba leaped up to meet Naruto. When they were within arms length, Naruto attempted to stab Kiba with his left hand. The dog boy swatted the blade away and lunged his other hand and gave Naruto a deep slash on his face. The force was strong enough that Naruto was swatted to the side. The young blonde regained his balance in mid-air and landed safely as Kiba landed back on the ground with Akamaru beside him leaving Naruto alone to face them since his clone was defeated.

Asuma then said, "Naruto is at a disadvantage. Kiba has chakra surrounding his body, and he is a total combat-type fighter that brawls like a beast. That food pill that doubles his chakra is perfect for him."

Hinata heard Asuma and wanted to protest but she knew better. All she could do was watch and it made her feel helpless. Kurenai then said to her, "So who are you supporting Hinata?"

Hinata looked at her and then looked away in embarrassment. Kurenai then said, "It doesn't matter who wins at this point right?"

Hinata nodded. Kurenai then said, "But if you had the choice who to make a sacrifice for, which one of them would you offer your sacrifice?"

Hinata thought hard for a moment and said, "I can't do that Kurenai-sensei. I want to go for Naruto-kun. But Kiba-kun is also my friend and teammate. I can't leave him or Shino behind because of my selfishness. They are my team."

Kurenai then said, "But there will come a time when you need to sacrifice one or the other for someone or something you hold dear to you. When that time comes, you will need to make a decision."

Hinata then sheepishly replied, "But I don't want to be selfish for making that decision. I'd rather find a way to help both."

Kurenai then said, "Take a look at the two of them. They're fighting for a reason and protecting that reason with their lives. It may look selfish, but it's the complete opposite. I know you came here for more than just being able to see Naruto. Otherwise, you wouldn't be here at all."

Hinata watched the two staring each other down and catching their breaths. Naruto appeared winded but his eyes showed he was relaxed and well. The Hyuuga heiress then thought, 'I remember now. He said that he would protect me and be with me even in the afterlife. And I made the decision to stay with him and support him. He's here because he wants to be. And I'm here because I too have something I want. He sacrificed his life in Soul Society to come back here for me. He could have had a better life but he chose to stay with me even if it kills him. He loved me…because I loved him first and he just wants to do everything he can so that we can live together in peace and harmony.'

She then mustered her strength and shouted, "Naruto-kun! Don't give up! I believe in you!"

They looked at Hinata for a moment before Lee shouted, "Naruto-kun! You can do it! Let the flames of your youth bring you strength in battle!"

Sakura then chimed in, "Show him what you did to Orochimaru!"

The Sand nins and Dosu were surprised by what they heard as did Anko, Ibiki and the jounins. The rest either knew that what she meant or were bewildered. Naruto on the other hand, just said with a confident smile, "I guess I can't run anymore. I'll have to beat you no matter what."

Kiba then said, "Bakero! You barely got anything on me! You're moves surprised me, but what's the use if it can't even scratch me?" he then charged straight for Naruto. The young blonde ran to the side, evading head on collision with Kiba, only to get intercepted by Akamaru. Naruto used the wind to slightly move himself to the side much faster, evading Akamaru's tackle only for Kiba to head back. The dog boy then jumped and shouted before spinning his body wildly, "Gatsuuga!" Naruto wasn't able to move quickly enough as Kiba drilled through him and skidded to the side afterwards.

Naruto was sent flying by the attack and then started descending. Kiba then smirked until the young blonde's body crumbled into rocks that harmlessly fell to the ground.

"What?!" Kiba shouted.

Sasuke then smiled and said, "He's finally getting serious."

Lee then asked his master, "Gai-sensei, what was that move?"

Gai then responded, "Doton, Kawarimi no Jutsu. It is a stone replacement jutsu. The Iwa nins used it quite often to injure their opponents who used hand to hand combat moves with the hardness of the rocks."

Kiba and Akamaru looked around and then Kiba got irritated and said, "Where are you?"

Naruto then appeared on top of the stone hands at the fingertips with a clone just below him. Kiba then noticed him and said, "Still feel like running or do you quit?"

Naruto didn't reply and dropped down to the level of his clone. He then formed several handseals and said, "This is one of my trump cards. I created this jutsu for reasons like this. Ninpou, Nijuu Mi no Jutsu!"

The original Naruto transformed into black and red chakra that engulfed the clone before receding to reveal a battle-ready, orange-haired man in a black hakama and kimono with a cleaver sword the size of his height, wrapped in cloth, tied to his back. Kiba then said, "A flashy way of making a henge. Let's see what you can do."

Kiba then ran to him and shouted, "Getsuuga!" he then spun his body wildly to form the drilling attack headed for the orange haired man. But to everyone's surprise, the attack went right through him."

"It went through him!" Shikamaru said in utter shock.

Kiba stopped and said, "That won't stop me! Akamaru, Now!" both the dog-boy and his dog did the same attack, only to pass through the orange-haired man.

Kiba then asked, "Why? That's impossible! Unless…" He then smiled and said, "I get it now. You're just a Bunshin. Adding a henge to a bunshin. What a useless move."

The clone then took out his cleaver sword and ran to Kiba aiming to slice him in half with a horizontal slash. Kiba then stood his ground and heard Akamaru growling at him to move. Kiba then confidently said, "Don't worry Akamaru there's no way that a bunshin can ha—"

Before he could continue, Akamaru grabbed him at the last second, preventing the clone of Ichigo from making a deep cut with his attack. Instead, it just cut through his clothes and made a grazing scratch on his skin.

Sakura then said, "It cut him! But, How? How can a regular Bunshin do that?"

Kiba then thought, 'No way! I thought it was a regular Bunshin! How did it cut me? Come to think of it, where's Naruto?"

The Ichigo clone didn't give Kiba and Akamaru time to fight back and swung right and left at them. Kiba ducked and evaded the attacks narrowly, getting scratches on his body. Akamaru found an opening when the clone was preoccupied with Kiba and lunged. His attack failed and he just passed right through the man. Kiba tried to jump out of the way only to realize that wherever he went, so did the Ichigo clone and it was always in front of him.

Kakashi said, "Wow. No wonder he calls it a trump card. Kiba can neither attack nor defend or even run away."

Sasuke then asked, "What kind of a jutsu did he create?"

Asuma then asked Kakashi, "Kakashi, what did you do to that boy? That jutsu is like the jutsu of the Red Shadow."

Sakura then said in confusion, "Red Shadow?"

Kurenai then explained for them. "Red Shadow—it was the nickname given to a kunoichi of the former whirlpool country that was wiped out during the last Shinobi War. Her jutsu was a genjutsu that personifies the worst nightmare of the user for the opponent to fight. Her jutsu is genjutsu by nature."

Hinata then activated her Byakugan and noticed a coat of chakra emanating from the clone and it was attaching itself on whoever came close. In fact, chakra threads attached themselves from the coat to Kiba and Akamaru. She then said, "It is a genjutsu."

Ino then said, "No way! Naruto knows how to do a genjutsu?"

Gai then chimed in, "Not just any genjutsu. I have heard of the Red Shadow myself. Her jutsu was simply a genjutsu and can be overcome the same way any genjutsu can but they couldn't do any physical damage the way this one is doing."

Tenten looked and noticed that the wounds were real. "Gai-sensei is right!"

Kakashi then said, "Naruto figured out the jutsu and improved it by using a clone as a base making it a pseudo-bunshin. An intelligent genjutsu that can move and think semi-independently without getting destroyed until it's too late…Matakun…Naruto's been working on these things without my knowledge."

Kiba's sharp ears heard what they were saying. He then stood still as the Ichigo clone came charging at him with sword at the ready. Kiba then placed his hands together and said, "Kai!"

The Ichigo clone stopped a centimeter before he could cleave Kiba in half. Naruto's real position was revealed because of this. He was no longer invisible and was hanging from the ceiling.

Kiba noticed him and said, "I also know about genjutsu Naruto. You're out of tricks."

Naruto replied, "Saying Kai just made my day."

The Ichigo clone suddenly transformed into Byakuya. Kiba was surprised and said, "No way! I thought that…"

The Byakuya clone then spoke, "Ignorant fool. Saying Kai only defeats the first genjutsu and activates its true form. The jutsu is a twofold one. Your defeat was destined from the start." He then raised his sword paralle to his body and said, "Scatter, Senbonzakura." The blade of his sword transformed into cherry blossom sized blades that swirled around him, Kiba and Akamaru. Akamaru then grabbed Kiba and threw him with all his might to Naruto. Because of that, Akamaru was the one that was hit by the blades instead, causing him to revert to his original form with a battered body. Kiba then used Gatsuuga in mid-air to give him the extra boost in height, allowing him to reach Naruto and give him a swift strike to the face causing the two to fall back down to the ground. Kiba landed on his feet while Naruto, on his back.

Hinata looked away as the genjutsu faded. Kiba noticed the genjutsu fade and said to the fallen Naruto, "You see that Naruto? I'll prove to them that I'm much stronger than an idiot like you!"

Naruto then got up and said, "This fox is still one step of the hounds Kiba, especially really smelly ones like you and Akamaru. You guys need to bathe and take a breath mint after I win this match and then become Hokage, underdog." 'I can't do this without revealing more of my capabilities. I have no choice…focus my reiatsu at 0.2 percent.'

Hinata then saw the determined eyes of Naruto and saw the flame in it. 'I believe you, Naruto-kun. You can do this.'

Kurenai then muttered, "Don't get agitated. Calm down."

That was the last straw though. Kiba finally got agitated and shouted, "You're still persistent that you're going to win? Face facts Naruto…YOU SUCK YOU IDIOT!"

Naruto then shouted back, "Urasei! Dissintegrate, Roddanni's black dog!"

Kiba then shouted back, "Is that all you can do? Stop insulting and start fighting you coward!"

Naruto paid no heed to his sudden remark and continued. "Read, Burn, and Devour your own Throat!"

Sakura then said, "Great. An insult fit for Kiba and it sounds like a bad Haiku."

Naruto then smiled and raised his right hand and pointed his middle and pointer finger at Kiba and said, "You lost Kiba…because you can't discern an incantation from an insult."

Kakashi then thought, 'He's still unpredictable as ever.'

Haku then thought, 'Will this match be finally over?'

Kiba was confused by what Naruto said. His mind had become entangled making him unable to act accordingly. Naruto then said, "Bakudo number nine, Geki!"

A flash of red light shot from Naruto's fingers and egulfed Kiba. Kiba screamed for a moment before finally falling down, unconscious.

Hinata's face lightened up with joy as Haku announced, "This match is over. Naruto wins."

They cheered for Naruto while others clapped and some did nothing. Naruto then walked up the stairs with his hands behind his back. Hinata waited nervously holding a small bottle of healing ointment. When he got up the stairs she walked up to him and gave him the cream with embarrassment plastered on her face. Naruto then asked, "What's this for?" 'How can I forget this? She's too sweet.'

Hinata blushed and said, "It's an ointment."

Naruto's gaze softened and he smiled at her. She blushed even further as he gently grabbed both her hands and said, "Arigato, Hinata-chan." He then took the ointment and smiled even more. She smiled in return, completely in bliss that she could see his smile and feel loved by him while a blush adorned her face.

Kurenai was finally able to confirm it when she saw what interacted between the two. 'You may be able to hide yourself completely from us in battle, but when it comes to the heart, your quite open Naruto.'

The young blonde walked back towards his team as the medic nins brought an unconscious Kiba and Akamaru to the back room on a stretcher. Sakura then shouted, "All right Naruto! That was awesome."

Sasuke then said, "Looks like my opponents are very strong. I can't wait to fight you in the final exam." 'Those jutsus were completely different from the ones he showed us so far. If I used my Sharingan I could have copied them. But Kakashi-sensei would have noticed it and stopped me. I need to get stronger…much stronger!'

Kakashi then said, "Hmm…a fire jutsu from the scroll, a lost jutsu from another country, a jutsu from an opposing village, and a jutsu with an incantation and rank number meaning there was more than one of that type."

Naruto sweatdropped knowing the disaster his moves implemented. Kakashi then continued. "Bakudo number nine, Geki…I'll remember that one. The last ones who said words like that and used a jutsu like that were the medic nins that helped me treat Sasuke."

Naruto inwardly froze at that point though he didn't show it. Sasuke then said, "Hmph. You keep holding out on us. Were did you learn that jutsu?"

Naruto replied, "Uh…from a perverted sage who writes your favorite book and a woman who transforms into a cat?"

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Jiraya sneezed while he was peeking in the bathouse. Of course, his sneezing revealed his location and he got the beating of his life.

Yoruichi sneezed as she bandaged up Renji. Her sneeze accidentally went to his wounds making him turn pale at the thought of dying from a cold.

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Sasuke didn't buy it. He then said, "I still remember that other move you used against Orochimaru. If you can do it, then I can do it better. And I will find a way to defeat all your moves."

Kakashi then said, "But to do that, I think you need to learn how to use reiatsu since that's what the medic nins mentioned when I asked them about how they did those jutsus."

Naruto unknowingly, flinched when he heard what Kakashi said. The silver haired jounin noticed his sudden nervousness and knew he found his opening.

The young blonde then smiled and said, "Kakashi-sensei, do you know what reiatsu is?" Kakashi's eyebrow rose. Naruto then continued. "Neither do I. So whatever the hell they were talking about doesn't make sense. I used chakra to do my moves."

Kakashi knew that Naruto was using this method as a scapegoat. He nailed him here and wasn't planning to let go. But while their conversation was moving, the electric board did as well. It finally stopped and showed the names of the next two fighters…

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Hyuuga Hinata Vs. Hyuuga Neji

II- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - II

Naruto's eyes widened when he saw the two names light up. Hinata saw it as well and feared for her life. She knew that she was strong, but against the merciless Neji, she couldn't hold her resolve.

Shino then faced her and said, "He won't stop. Kiba would say no as well."

Hinata lowered her head and sighed. She then shakily replied, "I know. But I have to try."

She and Neji then went down and stood opposite each other. Neji was cold as ice while Hinata was silent and still kept a lowered face.

Haku then asked her, "Are you alright Hinata-san? I think you should quit."

Silence was all he heard from her. Haku then said, "I guess I'll take that as a no."

Neji kept a sharp glare at her. He then said with ice in his words, "I didn't think that I would be fighting you…Hinata-sama." Hinata then leveled her head to see his hard face and reply, "Neji-nii-san."

Sakura was surprised and said, "That must be the cousin that Hinata mentioned."

Naruto faced the arena and gripped the railings as he said, "They're from the oldest clan in Konoha…The Hyuuga Clan. I heard he was an ass…but the way he looks at her, it's the look of someone whose heart was ripped off. Most likely it's because of the fact he's from the Branch Family of the Hyuuga Clan."

Lee then said, "That's right Naruto-kun. Neji told us that he had a cousin who was born into the head of the Hyuuga Clan."

Sakura turned to watch the two Hyuugas. "So it's a fight between relatives. It must be difficult for those two to fight."

Kakashi gazed at the focused Naruto and thought, 'It's even more difficult for the one who's watching.'

Lee then said, "Yes, but I believe that a lot of things happened between the head family and the branch family in the past…and they are not on really good terms with each other."

Naruto then said, "The Hyuuga Clan is like the Uchiha Clan. So much rules but only one side gains from them."

Sakura was puzzled by what Naruto said. Lee then explained. "What Naruto says is true. I don't know the details, but they have special moves that run only in that clan. To pass those moves down, the Hyuuga family has a set of rules. But it seems that the rules are favorable to the head family. Because of those rules, a lot happened between the head family and the branch family."

Sakura then said, "This must be a fight to settle the quarrels then."

Naruto thought, 'No this will be a massacre.'

Haku then said, "Please start the match."

Neji widened the gap between his feet and said, "Before we begin the match, let me warn you about one thing Hinata-sama." Hinata gazed into his hateful eyes as he continued. "Give up. You're not suited to be a ninja. You are too kind. You seek harmony and avoid trouble. And you just go along and follow someone else's idea and you have no self-confidence. You always feel inferior. That's why you thought it would be fine if you remain a Genin. But you cannot register for the Chuunin Exam unless there are three people. You couldn't refuse the offers of Kiba and your teammate and the truth is you are taking this exam unwillingly…Am I wrong?"

Hinata looked away from him and said, "You're both right and wrong…"

"What?" asked Neji. Hinata then faced him though she was shaking. She then said, "It's true. I am too kind and want peace and harmony. But…I chose to come here on my own. Because I am inferior, I will work hard because I want to be a ninja. I want to change myself…I have a reason to be here even if it is dangerous."

Neji sharpened his gaze and said, "Hinata-sama…you are indeed a spoiled child from the head family. People cannot change. A failure is a failure."

Naruto gripped the railing as his anger for Neji's attitude grew. He tried to control it as Neji said, "His personality and power will not change. People cannot change so that's why terms like elites and failures exist."

Hinata struggled to stop from running away and crying her heart out. She thought, 'That's not true! That's not true…'

Neji then said, "Everyone judges you by how good your face, head, abilites, body shape, and personality are. There are things that cannot be changed. People suffer due to their limits and live."

Hinata was beginning to lose her resolve. But before Neji could speak any more, Naruto suddenly shouted, "Don't let him get to you! Hinata, You can change. I know you can! Don't let that jerk tell you what to do! Why did you come here for? Show him how strong you are and crush him!"

Hinata suddenly snapped out of her uneasiness. She then stopped shaking and lowered her head and closed her eyes. 'Arigato…Naruto-kun. I nearly forgot. I came here because I wanted to. I wanted to become strong enough to walk with you wherever you go. I won't lose hope…I won't give in.'

She then leveled her head and opened her eyes revealing her Byakugan. She then poised herself in the Hyuuga Clan fighting stance. "I won't run away anymore. Neji-nii-san…Let us fight."

Neji then faced Hinata and said, "So you're not going to give up? Don't blame me later on."

He then activated his Byakugan and took the same stance. Hinata didn't hesitate and rushed him. She gave him a right palm thrust only for him to duck and parry it with his right arm. She then gave thrust for thrust only for him to either evade the strike or parry it to the side. Neji also gave the same set of movement. Hinata dodged and parried his strikes with utmost efficiency. They were dead even. Or at least it seemed like it.

Naruto knew what was going to happen next and gripped the railings once more as he thought, 'Why did I say that? I can't let this continue! She's going to get hurt really bad!'

Hinata managed to find an opening gave a palm strike to his stomach. Unfortunately, it missed him.

Sakura shouted, "Did it hit him?"

Naruto replied, "No, it wasn't deep enough."

Lee then said, "No, it hurts even if it just nicks you. That is why the Hyuuga Clan is called Konoha's noble family."

Sakura then asked, "What do you mean?"

Gai then explained. "Hyuuga has a special hand-to-hand combat style that is passed on from generation to generation."

Naruto then said, "That would be the Jyuken style that Hinata mentioned to us when we fought Zabuza for the first time."

Sakura then said, "So that was it. But if she's using the same style as him…"

Lee then said, "Yeah. It'll all come down to skill from here."

Sasuke crossed his arms and thought, 'So that's that. He's a worthy opponent,'

Gai then said, "The Jyuken style is not flashy, but it will hurt later on. There's no way to train your internal organs. If you get hit it'll be fatal no matter how tough you are. All you can do is evade and hopefully hit your opponent when he's open. In this case, the faster your opponent is, the more likely you will get hit."

Hinata squared off with Neji in a stare down to catch their breaths. Naruto saw the way Neji kept calm and resolute though Hinata wasn't the same. The young blonde thought, 'I just can't watch. I need to do something before he gets serious.'

His fiery tenant replied, So you're going to deny her the right to fight?

The young blonde mentally replied, 'But Hinata-chan—'

Kyuubi interrrupted, Forget it kit. If you value her so much, then let her do what she wants to do.

Hinata used her slightly superior speed and made several blows aimed at his vital organs. Neji saw them coming though he needed to rely a little more on reflex in order to parry her attacks. She gave blow for blow until she saw a good opening and aimed to strike his chest.

'There!' the Hyuuga heiress thought. She went for it and instead, was the one who got struck in the heart. The two stood still for a second as the rush of chakra squeezed her heart.

Sakura wasn't able to see what happened clearly from her position. "Did she hit him?"

The Konoha jounins in the room flinched knowing what really happened. Naruto lowered his head and said, "No…she couldn't make it."

They watched and saw that Neji struck her chest with his right hand while his left struck her right arm. She coughed out blood that dripped on his hand. Neji then said, "So this was the best that the head family could do."

Though Hinata could feel pain in her chest, her spirit didn't break. She then parried his right arm with her left and tried to give a left palm strike to his face. Neji saw it coming and grabbed her wrist with his left hand at the last second and struck her forearm with his right, middle and index fingers. He kept his hold of her arm as she panted in pain. He then pulled up the sleeve of her arm and showed them the several red areas that showed he wasn't just parrying her attacks.

Hinata then gasped out, "So…you were…"

Neji then said, "Yes…I could see the tenketsu."

Naruto then said, "He hit her tenketsus."

Sakura then asked, "Hinata-chan mentioned that when we were fighting Zabuza. I don't fully understand that."

Kakashi then explained, "In the Chakra circulatory system, there are 361 points known as chakra holes. Their width is as small as a needle though. They're known as tenketsus. And in theory, if you hit them accurately, you can stop or increase the enemy's flow of chakra. You're basically able to control it. And let me add this, my Sharingan is unable to see those tenketsus." Sakura was surprised as Sasuke finished for Kakashi, "Although the Sharingan has the ability of insight, it can't see it that precisely in battle."

Neji then pushed Hinata away, causing her to fall and skid a few feet from him. Naruto sqeezed the bars even tighter causing it to cry a little as Neji said, "Hinata-sama. This is the difference in our unchangeable powers. It's the difference that separates the elites from the dropouts. This is the unchangeable reality."

Hinata tried to get up but barely had the strength to. She managed to turn her head and was panting hard as everything around her began to fade out. She then thought, 'Am I really this weak? Am I really unable to do anything?'

Suddenly her vision waned and she began to see in black and white as she heard Neji say, "You were destined to regret this when you said that you didn't want to run away. "

She then thought, 'I can barely hear him now. Am I going to lose? At least I tried Kitsune…'

Neji then said, "You should be in despair right now…"

She couldn't hear his voice anymore as the world deafened. Shen then fell to a crawling position as she tried to support herself with her arms. But as she struggled, the floor suddenly became like water. And from it, she saw herself in its reflection. She saw her young self and thought, 'That's me…' Her young reflection was crying her little heart out as her memories begun to flash before her eyes. She saw everything that weighed her down. She saw her harsh father, her dead mother…her sister with a cruel face…the faceless elders who connived and secretly mocked her and backstabbed her. She suddenly fell through the floor as she gasped for air only to fall deeper in as she drowned in it like it was water.

Hinata then thought, 'These memories, they all made me feel ashamed and guilty. I was too afraid of them. And now, I'm drowning in my own guilt and shame. I couldn't do anything. I am too weak…I couldn't even if I tried. I deserve to die like this. I'm sorry Naruto-kun…I really do love you. But you deserve someone better and stronger. Please go on without me. I'll always remember that you really loved me…It was the happiest days of my life…'

Suddenly she saw a black stony object at the bottom where she landed on. She curiously looked at the object and tried to touch it. When she looked hard enough, she noticed that its was a large black egg. The egg then glowed in a purple light and said, "You're going to give up now? You're not pathetic you know."

She was surprised by what she heard. The egg then spoke again. "You keep saying things like you're a martyr when in fact you're supposed to dominate and lead."

Hinata then said, "But I wasn't even strong enough to--"

"Win? Is strength everything?" the egg retorted. Hinata was taken aback as the egg continued. "A fighter is measured by his strength. A warrior is measured by his bravery. A champion is measured by his heart. 'Only the strong-willed live' is a false belief. No one is born strong. Everyone is weak and wicked. What makes people strong is not what they are, but what they can be. This is the secret to purity—walking by faith and not by sight."

Hinata then replied, "But I don't understand. Why are you telling me all this?"

The egg then replied, "Why aren't you drowning?" she suddenly covered her mouth only to realize that she hasn't drowned yet. In fact, she was breathing underwater and speaking in it. The egg then said, "Stop looking and start seeing. The body is only tortured by the demon of the heart. You didn't feel pain because you had no demon in your heart. Normal people would have died after the first hit. Yet you held on. You had the will to fight. And whether you believe it or not, the desire to fight. If you continue running from the problems you are facing it will continue to stay with you longer. If you fight them it will make you stronger."

Hinata then said, "But you haven't really answered my question."

The egg then said, "I can grant you the power to fight and win. But the reason I can is because it is not mine. It is yours that has lain dormant in you for so long. You don't feel it because it is so small but full of power. It is the most powerful force in the entire universe. All you need is to crack open this shell and I will grant it to you."

Hinata took a step back from the egg and replied, "But, how can I trust you?"

The egg then replied, "You can't. I'm offering it to you freely. Otherwise, you will drown here forever. "

Hinata understood that she couldn't leave unless she took the power. So she decided to gamble her life and said, "Wakata. I'll take it then." She then began beating the egg but it wasn't cracking anytime soon. The water lessened her strength, slowing her down and making her weaker than normal. She put all her effort but was unable to make a dent on the shell.

Panting away, she said, "It's impossible to break this. The water is stopping me from breaking it."

The egg then said, "You can't gain what you want by staying passive. Put your heart into it if it is that important to you. "

Hinata then thought as she struck harder, 'Why would I want power? What do I need it for?' but as she struck harder, she remembered Naruto throughout it all how he helped her and saved her and showed his love for her. When she remembered that, she then struck with more force and thought, 'That's right. I want more power so that I can stand with him and fight alongside him. He is my inspiration. He was the fuel to the fire of my heart.'

"I won't lose!" Hinata said with conviction as her body became hotter and she made a crack in the egg. A powerful silver light started to glow from the crack. The water around her started to heat up and she returned to reality and slowly got up.

Naruto then cheered her on and said, "Hinata-chan! Gambare! Beat him up!"

Hinata then said without facing Neji, "I'm not…going…to take back…my words…"

She then faced Neji with Byakugan activated. "That's my way of the ninja." Blood was dripping from her mouth but she wasn't going to give up. She then took off her jacket and tied it around her waist. Her eyes sharpened as her face dawned a determined expression.

All who saw her were shocked. This included Naruto who said, "So cool. I didn't know that Hinata-chan was so tough." 'She's tough that's for sure. But something about her has changed.'

Lee then said, "That's because she's similar to you."

Sakura nodded and said, "Come to think of it, she's always watching you and getting closer to you."

Neji then goaded her to attack. She coughed out some blood making Naruto worried. Kurenai knew where this will lead from here and thought, 'She can't fight anymore. If she takes anymore attacks…'

Hinata then steeled her heart and thought, 'I will not lose here! If I have to crawl to get there, I will. Nothing will get between me and Naruto-kun because…he is my precious person.'

Suddenly, like a bolt out of the blue, Hinata's vein pulsing eyes ceased and changed into a slit lavender one. But that wasn't all. Reiatsu began pouring out of her at such a rate that it became visible to the eyes of the audience causing them to wonder in absolute confusion. The ground around her started to crack while her breathing started to slow down indicating she was calming down.

Ino then said, "What's happening to her?"

Gai then faced Kurenai and asked, "Kurenai, has she learned of the Celestial Gates?"

Kurenai answered, "No, I wouldn't teach her something so reckless."

Kakashi then thought, 'That aura and energy is the same as the medic nins and the power that was sealed inside Sasuke!'

Neji then thought, 'That's impossible. I sealed her main tenketsus. What's going on here?'

Naruto didn't know what to think. He felt it clear as day and accidentally muttered, "No way…Reiatsu overload…"

Sasuke then heard him and asked, "What do you mean?"

Kakashi finally caught Naruto in the act when he heard those words. Sasuke also finally got something on Naruto while Shikamaru kept his eyes glued on the match. Haku then thought, 'Neji might lose if she fights him.'

Hinata suddenly vanished in a blur. Neji didn't see it coming and suddenly received a straight, right punch to his gut. He was sent crashing into the wall. They were shocked by what occurred as the stoic boy got out of the crater in the wall. Hinata then rushed forward and grabbed his right arm with her right hand and pulled him closer so that she could give him a right elbow smash to his right temple. She was fast enough and the attack connected. Taking advantage of his stunned form, she pulled down his right arm with her left hand this time and in one fluid motion, she pulled him closer and gave a left elbow smash to his face while she gripped his arm with her right hand. She then pulled him in again and held him by the nape with both hands and then pulled his head down and gave him alternating knee strikes to the face and ribs. She kept it up at a speed he could not follow until she let go of the clinch and gave him a rising right knee to the face.

Neji's face was bloody and bruised from the heavy attacks but it didn't stop there. She used the momentum of her attack and grabbed his head with her two hands while in mid-air, and swung her body around like a gymnast and used the full momentum of her swing to give him a left knee strike to his left temple. He skidded for on the floor, but Hinata was close behind and leaped on top of him and started giving a barrage of punches and palm strikes to his body while on the mount though he was poorly defending himself.

Sakura then gasped out, "Hinata's gone berserk! Kakashi-sensei, we should stop the match!"

Kakashi then faced Naruto and said, "Somehow stopping the match would disqualify her. what do you think Naruto?"

Naruto gripped the railings and said, "Only Haku can decide right now." 'It'll be all right. Whether you win or lose, you've done your best…Hina-hime.' He then shouted, "Give it to him! Don't stop till he's crushed!"

Hinata gave everything she had at him until his defense finally broke. She then coiled back her right fist while she held his face with her left hand. Neji could see the silhouette of the black dragon around her and the head on her cocked right hand with it's mouth open wide to devour him. She then quickly let loose her weapon only to come up short as Neji instinctively struck with both hands her chest. She stopped halfway but the reiatsu pressure from her punch still hit his stomach causing him to cough out blood as well.

She then collapsed to the side as her eyes returned to normal. Neji got up but was weary from her attacks. Those who watched were disappointed with the outcome however, Naruto was on the verge of tears as he remembered the what happened in the seal of the phoenix.

Neji then coughed out, "You are such a stubborn person. I'll admit you were able to hurt me, but they weren't effective enough to stop me. It's over."

Neji began to walk away until he could hear Hinata struggle to get up. Naruto saw her and thought, 'No, why is she getting up? She should stay down!' But when he saw Hinata's steeled eyes, he then remembered his old self and saw the fire in her heart from his past lifetime. This was the part of Hinata he loved the most—her passion. Haku then said, "She's taken too much damage. The match is—"

"Not over." Naruto shouted causing them to look at him as he thought, 'Hinata-chan is so brave. She fell down so many times but she still got up every time. She's done everything despite how painful it was for her. I still don't understand why she's enduring so much more than I ever did, but that's also why…I love her so much. You really are a dragon.'

Sakura then berated him. "Baka. Hinata can't fight anymore! She can barely stand!"

Hinata stood up, though she was shaking furiously from the pain. She panted hard and held her chest as her jacket fell to the floor. Neji faced her and said, "Why did you stand?" Neji saw her confident smile through the pain and it made him snap causing Lee and Kurenai to become alert.

Hinata then harshly muttered through the blood in her mouth, "I can still…"

Neji then coldly commanded, "There's no point in acting tough. You're barely able to stand up. I can tell with these eyes that you have carried the destiny known as the Hyuuga Family. You cursed your powerlessness and blamed yourself. But people cannot change. This is destiny. There's no need to suffer. Let yourself go."

Hinata then retorted, "You're wrong, Neji-nii-san. Because I can see…that you are suffering more than me." Neji was confused by what she said but she continued anyway. "You are the one who is confused and suffering inside the fate of the head and the branch families."

Neji really snapped and charged at Hinata. Haku protested but wasn't heard so he ran to intercept him. But instead, Naruto suddenly appeared in front of Hinata, unafraid, and ready to kill. Luckily, Kakashi, Lee and Kurenai held Neji down at the same time.

Gai then scolded Neji, "Neji, cut it out. You have made a passionate promise with me that you will not argue with me about the head family."

Neji replied with hate in his voice, "Why did the other jounins come out? Does the head family receive special treatment?"

Hinata then fell to the ground. Naruto quickly caught her and commanded, "Where are the medics?"

Kurenai quickly ran to the two of them and checked Hinata's pulse. She shivered when she felt it fade away fast. She then said, "Naruto, there's no time. We need to get her to the hospital fast. That last attack injured her badly."

Naruto then took out a food pill and gently placed it in her mouth while he said, "Eat it. It will help you recover." He then forced a smile and said, "You did well Hinata." She then ate it and swallowed. By this time, Sakura and Lee came down as well and Neji managed to keep his anger in check. Neji then said to Naruto, "Hey dropout." The young blonde gazed at him with hate as Neji continued, "Let me warn you about two things. If you're a ninja, stop with that unsightly cheering for a stranger. And one more thing, a dropout is a dropout. They cannot change."

Naruto's eyes became red and slit alerting Kakashi until he closed them and took a deep breath before walking towards Neji until Lee ran in front of him and said, "I understand your feelings Naruto-kun. But you should fight in a proper match. A dropout will beat a genius with hard work. The main matches will be exciting."

Naruto then ran back to Hinata and gently picked her up as she coughed out blood again. Some spilled on her chest while a litte flowed to his hand. It flashed back in his mind the incident in the seal of the phoenix, stunning him for a second. Kurenai then shouted, "Medical team what are you doing?! Hurry!" Naruto then snapped back to reality and ran towards the entrance to the ward until Inoue, Rukia and Ishida came out.

"What happened?" Rukia asked. Ishida then took out his stethoscope and listened to her heartbeat and pulse. He then said, "She's going into ventricular fibrillation. She's in critical condition."

Inoue then said, "We'll take it from here."

Naruto then said, "I'm already holding her. We don't have time to put her in a stretcher. Especially since…"

Rukia then said, "It's alright. We felt it too. We can handle the rest. Ikimasho."

Naruto, with his red, slit eyes, then looked back at Neji one last time and raised his bloodied fist at him and said, "Neji, I will win. By this blood she shed, I will win. Don't underestimate a kitsune…Especially one with more than one tail."

The four of them then ran into the medical room leaving behind a curious Shikamaru and even more suspicious Kakashi.

Naruto didn't think of the match that was going to come next as he followed the trio into the emergency room. The other medics looked at Naruto with mixed emotions until Inoue commanded, "Mina, clear the room! Get a stretcher, some water and a room to the hospital fast."

The junior medics did as they were told allowing Naruto to place Hinata on the surgery table. Hinata was almost unconscious by this time as Inoue used her Santen Keshuun on Hinata. She started healing her making Naruto, Rukia and Ishida finally sigh in relief. Ishida then said, "When I felt that sudden reiatsu pulse I knew something was wrong. Somehow, she's responsible."

Naruto nodded and said, "She suddenly got up and changed. Her eyes became slit and this powerful aura started coming out of her. I've never felt anything like it. It was so overwhelming."

Rukia then said, "But she barely knows how to use reiatsu. For a regular human being to do that is amazing. She must have a strong spirit."

Naruto replied with a sad look, "But she lost."

Ishida then said, "That's impossible. I felt her reiatsu wasn't raw like Ichigo or Chad. But it was powerful enough that even a weak hollow can get killed."

Naruto then said, "So she lost on purpose. Is that what you're telling me?"

Hinata suddenly answered, "Are you angry Naruto-kun?"

They faced her and the young blonde said, "Hinata-chan! You should be resting."

Hinata replied, "Gomenasai Naruto-kun. I held back a little so that I would lose."

Naruto then asked, "Doshite? What for? If you could win why didn't you?"

Hinata then said, "Because I saw the pain in his eyes. If I won, it would just make him even more hurt inside. And, I didn't want to end up fighting you in the finals."

She coughed a bit making Naruto come closer until he could see she was recovering quickly. He then shed tears there and said, "Why…why are you enduring all this?"

Hinata then said, "Because, I am with you till the end Naruto-kun. You've suffered all your life and I've been sad ever since I heard your story." Naruto was speechless at this point. Hinata continued, "I knew that what I suffered was small compared to yours. But most of all, I really didn't know what it meant to suffer the way you did. So I made my decision to get up and share your pain so that you won't be alone and walk alone in this life."

"Hinata-chan…"Naruto muttered with tears flowing from his face. Rukia handed him a tissue for him to wipe his face with until Inoue finished healing her. Naruto quickly ran to her and hugged her with all his might and said, "Don't be a reckless idiot like me. If we're both reckless, No one's going to save us if we fall."

He then let go and gazed at her face with his azure eyes, showing that he had calmed down. Hinata then said, "I'm sorry for my selfishness, but this is the one place I'll never stop being stubborn, because I love you."

Inoue then started to cry as well until a medic came in and said, "We have a room for the paitent."

Inoue then said, "Wakata. Iko, Hinata-chan." She then helped Hinata to her feet and walked her to the hospital through the side exit.

Naruto then said, "I'm really amazed by her. She fought long and hard and still held back for me. I feel really embarrassed right now."

Rukia replied, "It's not so bad. Besides, we still need to find out the source of her sudden reiatsu overload."

Naruto nodded. Ishida then asked, "Naruto, is there anyone else we need to take care of?"

The medical ward had it's own TV set inside for the medics to get an update on the current battles and they saw Haku announce the beginning of the match.

The young blonde then said, "Shoot! Gaara and Lee are fighting right now!"

Naruto was about to run out until Ishida held him back by the collar and said, "Matte Naruto. You can't rush in suddenly in the middle of the battlefield."

Naruto then stopped and said, "Alright. I won't for now. But I'll call up Yoruichi-san and find out what's happening out there." He took out his GPS and dialed the number for the house phone. It rang twice before Urahara's voice said over the phone, "Naruto-kun. What a surprise. Are you done there?"

The young blonde replied, "Most of the matches are done. Only two are remaining. Hinata-chan is being escorted to the hospital while I'm stuck in the medical ward since the match already started. Did you guys close the wormholes?"

Urahara replied, "Hmmm. I think we did for now. But you never know what will happen tomorrow. After all, we've got a strong hollow here who's actually alive."

Ichigo then grabbed the phone from Urahara and said, "We took care of the hollows here. Did you put the seal on Sasuke?"

Naruto replied, "Sasuke's fine. He had the strength to watch the match. But it's you guys and Hinata-chan that I'm worried about."

Ichigo replied, "We're okay. It's all over."

Naruto then shut his GPS and tucked it back in his jacket. He watched the match from his screen in the medical ward. Ishida and Rukia watched alongside him and saw how it progressed.

Ishida then said, "They're barely teenagers and already they can do moves like that. This world is completely different from ours."

Rukia then said, "Naruto, you grew up in a world like this. To think there were people like this aside from Ishida, Chad and Inoue around. How did you survive?"

The young blonde then said in a solemn voice while facing the TV, "I didn't. I was already dead from the beginning. You know my past. I screwed up and kept yelling 'I'll be the next Hokage' and wore colors that attracted attention. All I wanted was to be loved and acknowledged. But love isn't something given so freely here. Very few people loved me for who I was. And I'm happy that I have them. But…" he then faced them properly and said, "I received those people, a little too late…I tried hard to keep my promises and not screw up. But in the end, I died before I could keep one of them and lost the person who loved me the most."

Rukia then replied in sympathy, "I really envy Hinata-dono. She has someone as honest and direct as you."

Naruto suddenly smiled and said, "Hey, that's all behind me now. I don't need to look back on that. No matter how much it shoves itself in my face, I'll always move forward. It's the only way to solve my problems…facing it and accepting it. You should do the same…" he then pointed to the ring on her left hand and said, "Especially since you're married."

Rukai then replied, "Arigato Naruto. I really needed that."

The young blonde then said to Ishida, "How about you megane-kun? Do you have someone already?"

Ishida had veins throbbing from the insult and said, "Even if I did, I wouldn't tell it to someone like you."

Naruto then continued to watch the match until he saw Lee used the Ura Renge. When he saw that move, he decided to make his move. He then used Shunpo and arrived at the arena. When he saw the hand of sand about to crush Lee, suddenly, a wall of ice appeared and blocked it. And behind that wall, stood Haku with his hands in the bird seal. The young bishounen then said, "Lee is unable to fight. I declare Gaara the winner. We don't need to continue."

Naruto sighed and looked at the sandaime who had a confident smile.

"Sugoi! He's so cool, literally!" Ino squealed in delight.

Asuma then said, "Koori…another Kekei Genkai for Konoha. And a boy of his age too."

Kakashi then said, "He's the last of his clan before he became a Konoha nin."

Ino then thought, 'He's all alone? This is perfect! Now I can really have him and he's extremely nice too.'

Naruto then noticed that the sand quickly went around the ice and managed to grab Lee's arm. Naruto then shunpo'd to the spot and used the wind to form a blade around his hand and he severed the sand as Haku then made several handseals and said, "Hitjutsu, Koori no Keimusho." A wall of ice suddenly shot out of the ground and formed around Gaara, disconnecting him from the sand that nearly took Lee's arms and legs.

Naruto then shouted to the sandaime, "Gaara already won! Should he be disqualified for that?"

The old Hokage shook his head and thought, 'Even if I wanted to, Orochimaru would still attack.'

Gaara then burst out of the ice wall as the sand returned to becoming the gourd on his back. Gai then took Lee in his arms. Gaara then asked while holding his head, "Why did you help him?"

Gai then answered, "He's an important subordinate I love."

Baki then thought, 'Gaara would never understand such a thing.'

Naruto then hollered out, "Medic! I need the medical team. Full body muscle tension with cell degeneration of the bones!"

Ishida and Rukia came out with a stretcher and Ishida carefully took the boy from his sensei and put him on a stretcher as Gaara walked back to the balcony. Ishida then used Ransōtengai on Lee like Kankuro would with his puppets except reaitsu was the medium. He pulled up and down, side to side with each limb. He even did so with Lee's neck and chest.

Kankuro then said, "That's impossible! How does a Konoha nin know the secrets of Suna?"

Baki then answered, "I don't know. But something is off here with his jutsu."

Ishida then stopped and put his hand on his chin. He then went to Lee's legs and grabbed the other end of the stretcher while Rukia grabbed the end where Lee's head rested. They then took Lee to the back room where Lee awaited treatment.

Naruto then said to Gai, "Gai-sensei, Fuzzy Eyebrows fought with all his might. I won't let his effort be in vain."

Gai then faced Naruto and replied, "Arigato Naruto-kun. You truly are a man among men."

Haku then inspected the arena and thought, 'This place looks like a war zone. Good thing it's the last match.' He then announced, "The last match is Dosu Kinuta vs. Akamichi Chouji."

The two fighters stepped up to the battle-scarred arena and duked it out without hesitation. It was a short match with Dosu the winner. Rukia then came out of the ward and took Chouji to the back room.

Shikamaru then said with a bored expression, "The opponent went easy on him."

Asuma commented, "He lost, but I guess I can take him to eat barbeque."

The sandaime then thought, 'The main matches will finally begin.'

Anko then sighed and said, "That was the most exciting set of matches I've ever watched. The Chuunin Exams never had this kind of excitement in ages."

Ibiki crossed his arms and said, "But now we have to prepare for the worst after this."

Anko asked, "What's wrong? Are we going to see something really ugly after?"

The sandaime didn't further comment and said, "Let's just prepare for whatever fate might throw at us."

Haku then announced, "This concludes the Third Exam's preliminary matches. Those who have won, please assemble here for a word with the Hokage."

The Sandaime, Ibiki and Anko went down and stood front and center with the winners opposite them. Haku knew his task was done and decided to stand beside Anko.

Sarutobi then said, "To those who have made it to the main matches of the Chuunin Exam's Third Exam, congratulations."

Sakura then asked Kakashi with a worried expression, "Sensei…may I ask something?"

Kakashi then replied, "About Sasuke? Sorry, but I'm not sure myself." He then placed his hands in his pocket and said, "Sakura, I'm going to leave, so tell me the details of the main matches later." 'I have to retrieve that video tape and have a word with Mizore and Naruto later.'

The Hokage then said, "I will now begin the explanation for the main matches." The hokage paused for a minute to catch his breath and then said, "Your main match fights will be shown in front of everyone. We wish for all of you to show off your abilities as your country's representative power. Therefore, the main matches will begin in one month."

Naruto then thought, 'Another month. With that time, I can get Kakashi-sensei off my tail, find out the reason behind Sasuke's transformation, think of a way to get Baa-chan here, make preparations for the Exam, plan out our next plan of attack during the invasion, find out about the status of the elemental gods and spend time with Hinata-chan.'

The hokage continued, "The one month time is a time to conduct appropriate preparations. In other words, we are going to announce to the feudal lords and head ninja of the individual countries that the preliminary matches have ended and time is needed to gather those people for the main matches. This is also preperation time for you candidates."

Kankuro then said, "I still don't understand. Explain."

Naruto then replied, "We need that time to analyze the information we gathered from these matches so that we can be better prepared for the upcoming matches. If we fight later, we'll be able to know the other's strength's and weaknesses and some don't even have the energy to continue now."

The old Hokage then said, "That's right. But before you go, there is something else that you must do." Seeing that they were listening, he then continued. "Take a piece from the box that Anko is holding."

Anko then went around until everyone picked a piece of paper with a number on it. Ibiki then asked them to say their numbers out loud allowing him to write the line up.

When all their numbers were written down, the hokage then said, "We will now tell you the match ups for the tournament."

They were surpised while Naruto stayed calm and cool. Ibiki showed them the match ups and it was exactly like before.

Naruto Vs. Neji

Gaara Vs. Sasuke

Kankuro Vs. Shino

Temari wating for the winner of the match of Shikamaru and Dosu

In that order.

Naruto smirked and thought, 'Things will get rowdy at that time. We'll need to be very careful from here on out.'

Shikamaru then asked, "If it's a tournament, then there can only be one winner right? Does that mean that only one person can be a chuunin?"

The sandaime then answered, "No, that's not how it is. These main matches will have judges, including me, Kazekage, as well as the feudal lords and head ninja from the other countries who will be future clients. These judges will grade you by watching you in the tournament. And those who are qualified to be a chuunin, even if they lose in the first round, will become a chuunin."

Sasuke then said, "So everyone can become a chuunin or fail."

The hokage then said, "Hai. Winning the matches in the tournament means that you can show off your skills more. Understand, Shikamaru-kun?" Seeing his even more bored expression than before, he continued. "That is all. We are adjourned until next month."

The teams then dispersed and went on their way.

Naruto then took two steps back before turning on his heel. Sasuke then took Naruto by the hand and said, "Where are you going?"

The young blonde then said, "I'm headed to the hospital to visit our friends. They should be there"

Sakura then leaped off the balcony and said as she ran to her team, "I'm coming too."

Sasuke let go and said, "So we're all going together. Don't think of running off."

The young blonde and his team were about to leave until Shikamaru and Ino approached them. Shikamaru then said, "Ino can you bring it out?" Ino then showed them the three-pronged kunai making Team Seven went wide-eyed when they saw it.

Shikamaru then asked, "Where did you find a kunai like this?"

Naruto replied, "Those are custom made. When I got enough money, I was able to ask the blacksmith to make me some. Where did you find that one?"

Shikamaru answered, "I found it in a large tree. Someone used to live there from the looks inside and when I saw it attached to the wall closest to the bed."

It finally connected in Sasuke's head. "You didn't just spend time in the Forest of Death. You actually lived here."

Sakura then gasped and covered her mouth when she heard that. Ino and Shikamaru were confused. Ino then asked, "What do you mean?"

Sasuke then said, "This idiot here told us that he spent his free time during his days in the Academy here. But what you told us now means that he's been using this place as his home."

Naruto backed away while he thought, 'Damn it! He found it! Wait…It doesn't matter anymore so why am I nervous.'

His tenant then said, Don't waste time on these meatbags. Move!

Naruto then said, "Tell you what. Since you guys are so eager to investigate about me, I'll teach you something cool if you can find out anything and everything about that three-pronged kunai before the day of the Finals. If you can't do that, then I won't teach you or tell you anything."

Shikamaru then said, "A troublesome challenge. But I've come too far to back out now. Especially in front of girls."

Sasuke then said, "I'm not afraid of a challenge."

Naruto then said, "Good. Because this Kitsune is one step ahead of the hounds." With that, the wind blew inside carrying some leaves. Sasuke grabbed a hold of Naruto to prevent him from leaving only for the young blonde to suddenly transform into a log.

Naruto proved to be more elusive than ever. He showed that he had so much up his sleeves and had connections in places that they never thought possible. He was a mystery that could not be unwravelled. Only his few close friends truly knew him. But even they agreed one thing about Naruto…he was The Enigmatic Maverick.

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Yattase! Sorewa owari waru! I've been feeling condemned lately that I took too long to finish this. But it's finally done so I'm out of Hueco Mundo…for now. (Why is the moon suddenly red? And is that…oh great. Red manateu, white gloves with the pentango on them, orange googles and red hat along with black flowing hair and a cryptic smile. I need backup. ) In other news, I finally found my flow in school. Now to find my flow in . (Why is there a black notebook in my room? Oh, that's the live action in my TV. My mistake. Guy in red outfit is still here. I need the guy from FF versus XIII to stop him.) I hope you love this chapter. If there are things that are still blurry to you, don't be afraid to PM me. I'll answer as much as I can. I'm just happy to be able to write this story. Anyway, Ja ne!

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Doton, Kawarimi no Jutsu(Earth release, Replacement technique)- Ninjutsu technique that replaces your body with rocks. What gives it an advantage is the fact that physical attackers, especially of taijutsu origin, are harmed or dulled because of the rocks.

Ninpou, Nijuu Mi no Jutsu(Hidden art, Doppelganger technique)- Genjutsu and Ninjutsu mixed technique that projects the user's worst fears in an incarnate form through the use of a shadow clone while at the same time, masking the presence of the user from the opponents eyes causing him to focus only on the pseudo-clone. Depending on the amount of chakra used, the technique can be layered to create a double or triple effect trap when the opponent forcefully releases himself from the technique.

Hitjutsu, Koori no Keimusho(Hidden Art, Prison of Ice)- Simply put, a wall of ice from the water underneath the earth. The wall works like an iceberg so digging it out isn't the answer to escaping it.