Author's note – I don't own Naruto. We now return you to the scheduled story.

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Chapter Twenty-Seven – The Finals Part One

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Naruto stood with eight of the other nine finalists in the middle of the crowded stadium. Behind the high walls, it seemed like half the village had come to witness the battles.

"Naruto-san." Neji said softly from beside him, his voice filled with wry amusement. "Will you be giving me a choice of whether you fight with sword or cat?"

"Kami, no." Naruto smirked. "You've seen me fighting with my sword and as a Tiger, so I'm going to be doing something completely new against you. Especially since you promised to destroy me for going along with Hinata's choice. Ummm, Hinata-hime, If I have to use certain skills, it may make your fight harder since I'm sure Temari suspects you have similar skills to me. Sorry in advance."

On Naruto's other side, Hinata shrugged. "We may have some skills in common, Naruto-kun, but we use them in different ways. I should be fine."

Naruto looked over at the clan seating where Honoka's red hair was highly visible beside the dark hair of the massed Hyuugas.

"I don't know whether to be pleased or worried that Hanabi's taken such a shine to Honoka." Naruto admitted, seeing Hanabi and Honoka were sharing a bag of something. "Still, she's settling in as a chunin very well."

"Shino's been helping her settle in." Hinata smiled. "He's really smitten with her."

Naruto looked round again. "Where the heck is Sasuke?"

"He's behind the buttress over there along with Kakashi." Hinata said, tilting her head slightly. Neji activated his Byakgan briefly and grunted in agreement. "They're probably planning on making a last-second entrance."

Hinata sighed, then looked across to where Temari was standing, giving her a measuring look.

"Did Jiraiya ever catch up to you? I heard that he was going to offer you some training."

"While I was hiding from Neji, yes. He wanted me to sign the Toad Contract." Naruto replied. "I kind of put him off for a while and talked with Krugeri about it. He doesn't have a problem, the Greatcats have quite a bit of respect for the Toads, but… I got the feeling that Jiraiya sees me as… Minato's legacy rather than as me, if that makes any sense. "

"I felt the same while I was heir." Hinata agreed. "Since I passed that position to Hanabi, I've felt more like myself. I know just what you are saying. Did you manage to get the third form?"

"Succeeded yesterday." Naruto replied, careful not to say just what it was the third form of. "Takes a ton of chakra, though."

"Hang on." Neji said. "Greatcats? What in Kami's name did you find in Wave, and should I simply forfeit now? Hinata-sama?"

"You'll find out, if you fight hard enough for Naruto-kun to resort to it." Hinata smirked, reaching back with her free hand to stroke Kyouka's ears. "Just be grateful he hasn't signed the Toad contract yet."

Neji swallowed nervously.

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"This is certainly an interesting day." The veiled Kazekage said as he bowed slightly to Sarutobi and sat down, looking out into the field. "I see two of my children are ready to show how good they are… but aren't we missing one of the genin?"

"Yes." Sarutobi sighed. "Uchiha Sasuke has yet to show, I hope he's not taking after his sensei. Kakashi's infamous for always being late for everything except a high-ranked mission."

"I have my own share of Jonin with personality issues." The Kazekage replied, settling back in his chair. "My daughter mentioned one of your genin, a… Naruto? May I ask about him?"

"That would be Kagetora Naruto." Sarutobi said. "That's him, the blond second from the right."

"And the cats?"

"The one on the left is his bond-partner, Kaze. The cat next to him is Hyuuga Hinata's bond-partner, Kyouka. ChuninKagetora Haku also has a bond-partner, you can see them over there, along with his uncle, Momochi Zabuza no Kagetora."

"I see them." The Kazekage said, his voice showing that he was impressed. "How many of these… great tigers… does Konoha have?"

"Close to two hundred, but very few of them are actually bonded." Hiruzen said with a slight smile. "The Kagetora clan is growing in size and power and has allied itself not only with the Hyuuga clan, but also the resurrected Uzumaki clan."

The Kazekage froze. "The… resurrected Uzumaki?"

"You can see the clan head of the Uzumaki, Uzumaki Honoka, sat by the Hyuuga clan over their. Her red hair is very visible. We hope to find others and bring them in to boost the numbers of the Uzumaki, bring them to full prominence as they were in Uzushiogakure. Already, Honoka has made quite a name for herself with her creation of new sealing tags of various descriptions. Now, I believe it is time to begin, yes?"

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Shiranui Gemna stepped forwards and looked at the line of genin in front of you. Taking a deep breath, he spoke.

"I am the proctor for this exam, since Hayate Gekko is currently isin hospital, in a coma after being attacked by an unknown assailant while protecting Suna Jonin Baki. Fortunately for us all, a team of ANBU on patrol scared away the attacker and Baki insisted on escorting them to hospital. However, despite their best efforts, Hayate remains in a coma. Therefore, I am your new proctor.

"I expect you know the rules, but if any of you are stupid enough to have forgotten them, here they are. When commanded, you will fight your designated adversary. When commanded to stop, you will do so. Should you fail to stop on command, I am allowed to use any technique I choose to stop you, killing you if I deem it necessary, although I don't like filling out the paperwork afterwards.

"The first match if Kagetora Naruto against Hyuuga Neji. If all others can go to the contestants balcony now, it would be helpful."

As the other genin turned towards the stairs, Hinata gave Naruto a quick kiss on the cheek, ignoring Neji's glare. "Don't hold back, Naruto-kun. Neji's been practising countering the skills you showed in the preliminaries."

"Are you sure?"

"Trust me."

Naruto grinned as Hinata vaulted onto Kyouka's back and they moved towards the stairs, then he turned back to face Genma.

"Ready."

Genma nodded and looked at Neji.

"I am prepared to fight. And for the honour of the Hyuugas, I will win this match."

"Is it fated?" Naruto quipped and Neji glared at him.

"If it is, I shall accept it. If not, I shall fight it. I have learned that from you. Now, you will face a true master of Jyuuken."

"Match one!" Genma proclaimed, stepping back several paces as Naruto and Neji dropped into their respective fighting stances, Neji activating his Byakugan as he did so. "Hyuuga Neji of Konoha versus Kagetora Naruto and Kaze of Konoha, Fight!"

Naruto instantly performed a blurring sequence of hand-seals. A brief burst of smoke surrounded him and when it dispersed, the figure standing there was not what anyone expected.

"N… Naruto?" Neji asked, almost unable to believe it and the bipedal tiger-man in front of him nodded even as he drew the Kitsune's Claw from its position on his back.

"You have your clan techniques, I have mine." Naruto rumbled as Kaze lay down to watch. "Witness the power of the Secret Technique Tiger Warrior."

As he finished speaking, Naruto crouched briefly, then accelerated past Neji, skidding to a stop half-way across the stadum. Neji remained motionless for a moment, then clutched at where Naruto had managed to slice through his jacket and inflicted a shallow cut on the side of his torso.

"So fast…" He gasped, turning to try and keep track of Naruto, who grinned at him, then blurred towards him time, Neji managed to deflect the blade with a chakra-charged palm-strike, but Naruto simply spun round and accelerated to an even higher speed.

"Kaiten!"

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Hanabi gasped and Honoka looked at her.

"That technique… How did Neji learn it?" Hanabi half-whispered. "The Kaiten is only taught to the Main House, not the Branch House."

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Naruto bounced off the chakra dome and skidded across the arena, rolling to his feet as he jammed his sword into the ground to stop his slide.

"Nice one, Neji. That is a truly impressive defence. I guess I'll have to take it up a notch."

Naruto held out his dagger. "Demon Technique Youkai Senbon."

The dagger glowed in his hand and shifted form, becoming a large bundle of senbon. Without wasting a second, Naruto began throwing them at Neji, who dodged them, ignoring them as they landed on the ground around him. The last one, he tried to catch, only to drop it and stare at his bleeding fingers.

"You like it? Youkai Senbon, they'll cut anyone they hit, only I can touch them safely."

"An impressive weapon, but you've used them all now." Neji said and Naruto shook his head. Holding up one hand, he frowned slightly and one of the senbon near Neji vanished, reappearing in Naruto's hand.

"You were saying?"

Neji dodged the thrown senbon and sprinted towards Naruto who summoned another senbon.

"You are within range of my divination! Eight trigrams one-hundred and twenty-eight palms!"

Before the first strike could connect, Naruto vanished in a burst of red chakra, appearing where Neji had been standing a moment earlier as the senbon he had been holding dropped to the floor. Neji stopped his attack and spun round, eyes wide, just in time to see Naruto vanishing again,this time appearing immediately behind Neji. Before Neji could respond, Naruto grabbed him and spun, hurling the teenager across the arena towards Kaze who rose from his rest and pounced as Neji skidded to a halt, landing on the unfortunate Hyuuga and placing his teeth on his neck.

"I would advise you to yield." Naruto said calmly.

"Proctor, I cannot escape and thus yield." Neji stated. Kaze released him and backed away as Neji slowly pulled himself to a sitting position.

"Kagetora Naruto wins!" Genma proclaimed. "Now pick up those damned senbon of yours."

Naruto grinned as he released his transformation. Holding up his hand, he concentrated and all the senbon vanished, reforming in his hand as his dagger which he placed on his left thigh before offering his hand to Neji.

"You fought well." Naruto said. "Speed, improvisation, adaptation, but your weakness was not your technique."

"Critique me later." Neji groaned, leaning against Naruto for support. "For now, just get me somewhere that I can rest. And what the hell are the Greatcats? I know you didn't use them against me."

"I'll tell you later, assuming that Hinata doesn't call on them." Naruto said as he half-carried Neji to the exit. "I had her sign the scroll too. And Haku, as well, although I'm the only one who can summon Krugeri."

"Who?"

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"Quite a spectacle your Kagetora Naruto makes." The Kazekage noted and Hiruzen nodded.

"He does indeed, although that was a new one on me. A partial transformation without needing physical contact with Kaze… I wonder what else he learned on that training trip of his."

"And that other technique… it looked like the Hiraishin."

Hiruzen nodded. "Yes, it did, but it's different. I've asked him about it, and it's a skill that no-one else could learn. A mini-Kekkei Genkai, you might say."

"Interesting…"

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Match Two!" Genma said. "Inuzuka Kiba and Akamaru of Konoha versus Rock Lee of Konoha. Fight!"

Even as Genma finished his command, Kiba flung a soldier pill into Akamaru's mouth.

"All Fours Jutsu! Man-beast Clone Jutsu!"

The burst of smoke cleared to reveal two Kibas, both of whom instantly charged towards Lee, who had taken a Goken stance.

"Fang Over Fang!"

Both Kibas hurtled towards Lee, spinning like cutting drills as they did so and Lee, instead of trying to dodge, leapt into the air, delivering a pair of spinning kicks.

CLANG! CLANG!

Lee landed in a slight crouch as both Kibas crashed into the ground.

"What… was that? Are you made of iron or something?"

Lee pulled up one of his legwarmers to reveal a set of weight underneath. "I wear these most youthful weights to aid me in becoming faster and stronger. They also prove most useful in deflecting incoming attacks that might otherwise hurt me."

The two Kibas looked at each other, then both charged at Lee, aiming to perform a slashing attack. As they closed in, Lee grabbed their hands and threw himself into a forwards somersault, landing lightly and slamming both Kibas full-length into the ground.

One of them vanished in a puff of smoke which dissipated to reveal the unconscious form of Akamaru.

"Dammit." Kiba gasped. "you're too good, I can't win. Proctor, I forfeit. I don't want Akamaru to get hurt."

"Yosh, my eternal friend and rival!" Lee exhulted, turning to face the contestants balcony. "I shall soon be facing you in a test to see whose flames of youth are more powerful!"

Naruto waved back as Genma called the match.

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"Eternal friend and rival?" the Kazekage asked and Sarutobi smiled.

"Lee and Naruto both trained extensively under the tijitsu master Jonin Maito Gai. They've come to see each other almost as brothers, and they constantly compete against each other in order to become better. They've both been looking forwards to the chance to go full-out against each other in order to see who's currently better and how they can improve."

"I see. How… commendable. You must be proud of them."

"I am."

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"Match three… Where is Uchiha Sasuke?"

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"Damn grandstander." Naruto muttered, glancing over to the Kage box where Sarutobi and the Kazekage were talkig. A moment later, Sarutobi rose and stepped forwards.

"The third match will be postponed. Move on."

"Very well. Match four, Skikamaru Nara of Konoha versus Tsuchi Kin of Oto. Could the two competitors please come down."

Shikamaru sighed and walked to the stairs while Kin, smirking, strode down ahead of him. The two of them came to a halt before Genma.

"Okay, put up a good show. Fight!"

Kin reacted almost instantly, throwing a group of two-dozen bell-tagged senbon around Shikamaru, only for him to vanish in a puff of smoke, leaving a log behind.

"Dammit! Kawarimi!" Kin cursed, looking round as she pulled out more senbon from her pouch, holding them ready to throw. An instant later, she froze and the log faded away, revealing that Shikamaru had not use a Kawarimi, but a Henge and had caught her in his shadow.

"Kagemane no Jutsu, complete."

"Dammit, dammit, dammit!" Kin snarled. "How did you do that? How did you know to do that?"

"I researched your abilities that you showed in the preliminaries." Shikamaru said, flexing his fingers and pulling a kunai out of his pouch. Caught by the shadow, Kin mimicked his motions, her senbon bouncing off the ground as she also pulled out a kunai.

"So what, we stab each other for a mutual death?" Kin smirked and Shikamaru sighed.

"No, I do this." Shikamaru said, reversing his kunai and moving it near his neck. Kin mirrored the movement, staring in confusion, until she felt her kunai snag on the end of her scarf and start to pull it tight around her neck.

"Wait, don't…" she choked out before Shikamaru moved his kunai further, watching with cold eyes as she started fighting for air. As her eyes started to roll up, he released her and she fell to her hands and knees, taking huge gasps of air as she fought to recover, then Shikamaru grabbed her hair and pulled her back, setting his kunai against her throat.

"Quit or die." Shikamaru said and Kin gulped.

"I forfeit." She whispered and Shikamaru nodded.

"If I hadn't known about your trick from Ino, you would probably have won." He said as he walked off. "It was your bad luck that you didn't plan ahead. You could have been a most troublesome opponant if you had."

"Winner, Shikamaru."