A.N.: I'm back with another chapter. My muse is currently sulking, so please cheer her up with some reviews, or there would be long waiting for more chapters (once I run out of the prewritten ones).

A.N.2: Now reposted with less grammar and spelling errors.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Sometimes I wish I did, but lately I would have to be ashamed.

They left the Golden Sand Castle. It was late afternoon and the sun was shining brightly on the sandstone cliffs.

"Finally!" Naruto exclaimed. "I thought I was going to get crazy if I had to stay one more day."

"Didn't we all," Hotaru uttered. "No need to get overly exited."

"So how do you like your opponents?" the blond inquired. "I can't wait to start training again."

"So what else's new," the purple-haired girl muttered.

"I just want to get into a huge bathtub and soak for hours," Hana stated.

"Me to," Hotaru added. "Too bad they have none here."

"In that case," Tenzo said, "you'll be glad to hear we won't be staying here until the finals."

"Yipee!" "Yay!" "What?!" Guess who said what.

"Just what does bother you about it, Naruto?" the dog mistress scowled. "Don't you want to see water again just like anyone else?"

"Yes, but…" the boy trailed off.

"You want to see that friend of yours again," the brunette asked.

"Yes," he nodded.

"You can see him before we go," Tenzo consoled him.

"Thanks, but that's not enough," the blond replied. "Do you have any idea how lonely is he? Why do we have to leave anyway?"

"Technically we don't have to," the jounin started explaining, "all finalists have the right to stay until the Finals are over, but the Kazekage hinted that he would appreciate if we got lost and didn't come back until the Finals started."

"But why?" Naruto scrunched his forehead in confusion.

"Have you already forgotten your fight with Gaara? He's nervous of your presence," the older man explained. "It is better not to antagonize him needlessly."

"I can understand you shouldn't piss off foreign leaders," the jinchuuriki answered, "but just why should he be worried about me? Have I done anything to him? He knows Gaara started his fight."

"That the does," the Wood user nodded, "but he doesn't know what you are capable of. After his experience with Gaara, it's no wonder he just waits for you to sprout a few tails and start killing people left and right."

"It's his fault Gaara turned out that way," Naruto said hotly. "You were right. The Kage is really the biggest whacko in the village. And arguing with whackos is pointless and dangerous. Okay, we're leaving."

"I'm glad you're so understanding," the older man said.

"I wouldn't put it that way," the boy muttered.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~The hotel~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

They were greeted by the other Konoha teams. They were pleasantly surprised to hear nobody from Konoha came to any permanent harm during the Exams. Everybody congratulated them on their success, even Tokiko managed a strained "good job," probably after much prodding from Oboro-sensei. The jounin in the party quickly conversed among themselves and informed them that they would be leaving Suna tomorrow. There was no reason to postpone it, no-one was hurt and needed time to recuperate. For Naruto it meant he had only the evening to meet up with Gaara. He didn't ask for permission to leave. He wasn't sure he would have gotten it, despite Tenzo's promise. He sneaked out of the window again, leaving a clone behind, not caring if he was in for another night in a cage, hoping he wouldn't be missed too soon.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Gaara's house~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The unnatural movement of the sand announced that his friend was home. He knocked on the door and entered.

"Hello, Gaara," he called.

"Hello," answered the sole occupant of the house. The redhead looked much better then when Naruto saw him the last time. His wounds were finally healed and his eyes weren't so haunted anymore.

"How are you?" Naruto asked.

"Better," Gaara answered like he was talking about the weather.

"I'm glad to hear it," the blond smiled. "So have you tried making new friends?"

"Not yet," the tattooed youth replied. "I have you."

"Well, listen, Gaara, that's what I came to talk about." Naruto's heart almost broke when he saw the redhead's expression. "Tenzo just told me we won't be staying for the month. We'll be training elsewhere and only return for the finals."

"So you advanced?" Gaara would have raised an eyebrow, if he had one.

"Yes," the Konoha genin confirmed, "I completely forgot to tell you. My team is in the finals."

"Congratulations."

"Thanks. I'm sorry I can't stay," the blond apologized, "but from what Tenzo said, we aren't exactly welcome here. They didn't exactly throw us out, but they as well could."

"Is this Kazekage's wish?" The Ichibi jinchuuriki sounded like he already knew the answer.

"I'm not sure," the foxy boy shrugged, "probably yes."

"He's scared." It sounded ridiculous. The Leaf genin almost burst out with laughter. Big bad Kage scared of little Naruto? "He fears our power." Gaara sounded completely serious, but then it was his default tone.

"Whatever you say," he shrugged. "It's hard to imagine someone like him scared of anything."

"He is scared of any power that isn't under his control." The vessel of Shukaku knew what he was talking about.

"From what I heard, it's common among people of power," Naruto replied sagely.

"It seems so."

"Ah, this is depressing," the short boy threw his arms into the air. "Let's talk about something else, like… like what?" There weren't many things he could talk about with Gaara without the conversation turning depressing.

"What about the Exams?" the redhead suggested. "What was it like?"

"Well, it started when the proctors made a false queue…"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~River country~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Konoha teams traveled through the desert quickly. Everybody just wanted to be home and there was no reason to conserve energy anymore. Everyone was excited when they spotted first vegetation in the sand and soon they crossed the borders of Wind Country and entered the lush green territory of River Country. There was where Team Tenzo bid their goodbyes to the rest of the delegation. They were staying at a small outpost belonging to Konoha for their month of training, not wanting to lose nearly three days the full trek to the Leaf Village and back would take.

Their training was as rigorous as ever, but at least they didn't have to perform mock-missions anymore. Instead they concentrated on honing their individual fighting abilities. Naruto wanted to learn some cool new jutsu, but Tenzo told him that a month was too short for this and he'd better concentrate on perfecting those he already had. The boy had to admit it was true, there were techniques in his arsenal that took him too much time to perform to be really useful in battle. Regardless of this he had a couple of clones practicing the Elemental recomposition for Fire, but thanks to the strain of the training he couldn't use as many as he would have wanted, so he didn't expect to complete it before the month was over.

The problem was that he had only a vague idea what he would be facing. He tried spying on all the finalists, but a windy season started in Suna and the omnipresent grains of sand tended to wear and pop his clones in a short time. It took him a lot of effort just to locate the other teams and when he did, he saw only the warm-ups. It left only the impression that his first opponent was fast.

But despite his initial disappointment with the training arrangements, he was glad they weren't staying in Suna. Their workouts were hard and pushing them to their limits even in the relatively moderate climate of the River Country. He couldn't imagine training like that in the heat of the desert.

He still wished he could have stayed close to Gaara. He wondered constantly how the other boy was doing. He seemed to be well on his way to recovery, but there was no telling what might happen with a father like his.

Another thing that weighted on his conscience was the fate of the Suna team they defeated in front of the Castle gates. Even though they heard there were very few deaths during the second round, they weren't able to find out about any team in particular. He somewhat came to terms with the incident, but the girl still haunted his dreams.

A whistling of air being cut by a kunai snapped him out of his reverie. He dodged it by a margin, the thrown blade cutting of a strand of his hair.

"Have you fallen asleep?" Tenzo called. "You aren't going to survive the first match if you perform like this."

Naruto returned a volley of his own kunai. "I'm perfectly alert, mind you," he shouted back.

"I don't think so," said his sensei touching his neck with the blade of his sword. 'When did he get behind me?' wondered the boy. "And you need to work on your genjutsu detecting skill," the jounin ordered. "By the rate you are going, the first genjutsu specialist is going to completely fry you." Naruto had to admit it was true. Tenzo let go of him and they resumed their combat practice.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Tsuchikage's office~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ryoutenbin no Oonoki was preparing for the trip to Suna. He didn't like traveling in his age, his joints weren't what they used to be anymore, but he definitely was going to the Chuunin Exams finals. He always enjoyed the fights. If it were any other Exams, he might have excused himself nevertheless, but not this time. This time his grandchildren were fighting and they would never forgive him if he didn't cheer them on.

There was also another reason that he wanted to go. When he first received the report about the massive release of demonic chakra just outside Suna, he was deeply worried. His spies had given him information on the Ichibi jinchuuriki and the perfect control over the sand he exhibited. He was rumored to be unbeatable within the desert. That somebody managed to do so was unsettling, Of course, there was the matter of Gaara being just a child, but it shouldn't have mattered if the Shukaku was unleashed.

The Tsuchikage didn't like the idea of someone else holding such power. They had their own hosts, the four and five tails, but he wasn't sure how would they fare against somebody with such power.

Oonoki had been curious who held such a perfect weapon, but his spies didn't know, but the fact that the whole incident was written off as 'friendly spar,' even though everybody knew it was anything but, narrowed down the choices. Then one of their jounin-sensei got lucky and overheard the conversation of his Konoha counterparts. The jinchuuriki was on one of Leaf's genin teams in the Exam. When the matchups for the finals came out, he wasn't surprised to find out that said team had advanced.

And that brought him to the other reason he wanted to attend the Suna finals: he wanted to see the child with his own eyes. His agents weren't able to dig up which one of the three it was, but he was sure he would know once he saw them. He also wanted to personally assess the danger said jinchuuriki possessed. Then he would decide what to do next.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Hokage's office~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sarutobi was sitting at his desk, puffing from his pipe. Tomorrow he would be leaving for Suna. He had to admit, he was looking forward to the trip. Homura and Koharu had tried to convince him that it couldn't possibly be good for his health at his age, but he told them in no uncertain manner that he wasn't quite that old yet, thank you very much.

He was pleased when he heard that Team Tenzo made it to the Finals. His plan on flaunting Konoha's strength was going nicely. Now if just the kids could perform well in the finals and everything would be good. He had no doubts they would put on quite a show. They even had a fair chance of getting promoted. He would wish it especially to Naruto, due to his statute within Konoha it was likely his promotion would be obstructed as much as possible. He thought the boy was still too young for the rank, but he proved he could pull through anything.

Another reason was the possibilities for bettering diplomatic relations. It would be for the first time in decades the Hokage would meet with the Tsuchikage. He had met Ryoutenbin no Oonoki before, during the peacetime between the Second and Third Great Shinobi Wars when Konoha and Iwa had been on speaking terms. They even managed to draft a treaty there, but it didn't last long. Soon after that the unrest in Suna started, the Sandaime Kazekage having disappeared mysteriously, and everybody was blaming each other. Considering how strained the relations between the Hidden Villages were at their best, it didn't take long for a war to break out. Since then, only hate existed between the Rock and the Leaf.

The animosity between their nations had been going on for too long. Maybe if he got to talk with the Sandaime Tsuchikage, they might work something out. Or maybe not. Last time he heard they still ostracized blond people in Iwa. The defeat at the Yondaime's hands must have hurt them too deep. He couldn't really fault them, considering how citizens of Konoha still felt about the Kyuubi, despite his best efforts.

A frown appeared on his forehead. How would the Tsuchikage react to seeing Naruto? The truce of the Exams would prevent him from doing anything immediately, but he might try something later. The Hokage had no real way of preventing such an action, besides maybe negotiating a treaty between them, but even though many called him an idealist, he couldn't quite see that happening.

Well, he'll have to cross the bridge when he reached it. Now the only thing that remained unresolved was who he would take as his guards for the trip. It wasn't a difficult decision. He wrote down the identifications of two ANBU he thought would appreciate it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~River Country~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Three days before the Exams were scheduled to start the Hokage's entourage arrived to the base Team Tenzo were training at. They greeted each other and prepared to travel the rest of the journey to Suna together.

Hana wasn't surprised when she saw her mother in the entourage, but she raised an eyebrow when she noticed Kiba riding on Kuromaru's back.

"Hey, Kiba, what are you doing here?" she greeted.

"I came to watch your fight," he announced.

"Shouldn't you be at school?" The Inuzuka heiress raised an eyebrow.

"Not really," Tsume answered. "There are some reconstructions taking place on the Academy building, from what I heard a demonstration with Explosive tags went wrong, and the Academy is closed for a couple of days, until they're sure it won't fall on the children's heads. Kiba won't be losing more than a few days of instructions."

"It's not like it matters," the boy boasted. "What's a couple of days of training to such an awesome ninja as I?"

"You think you are awesome already?" his sister cocked her head sideways, much like a dog would. "You'll soon see what awesome truly means."

"I can't wait," her brother grinned.

Hotaru was startled when she saw the ANBU guarding the Hokage. One of them was a female in the mask of a lioness, sporting long purple hair. The young kunoichi recognized her immediately, but said nothing. ANBU on duty weren't supposed to have identities beside their codenames.

Even Tenzo recognized people from the guard detail. It wasn't too long since he left ANBU and he knew a lot of people there. He didn't say anything as well. There would be time to catch up with old friends later.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Later the evening~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tenzo sneaked out of their quarters an hour after his team had fallen asleep. He walked the short distance to the room the ANBU guards were lodging in. He knocked on the door in a secret sequence and was answered by another coded signal. He opened the door and entered.

"Long time no see, Tenzo," the occupant of the room greeted.

"Good to see you too, Kakashi," the Wood user replied.

The silver-haired man smiled his infamous one-eyed smile. "So I see the rumors were true, you really got a genin team."

"Yes," Tenzo nodded. "How do you like them?"

"Hn, let's see," Kakashi started. "There's a girl with puppies running underfoot, then there's a decorative kunoichi wannabe and then a little kid. I don't see how you can put up with them."

"Do you have to be such a cynic? They are a good team," the jounin defended his charges. "And can you stop reading that book when I'm talking to you?"

"Yes. They are going to get killed. No." Kakashi didn't lift his single eye from his infamous orange publication.

"Figures." Tenzo sighed exasperatedly. "You're still the same old block of ice pretending to be a human being. What would it take to make you melt a bit?"

"Don't start again," the silver-haired ANBU warned him.

"Seriously, Kakashi," the Mokuton wielder didn't give up that easily. "You can't go on like that. Do you want to spend the rest of your life kneeling before the Memorial stone?"

"I don't see why does it bother you," the dog summoner shrugged. "I'm perfectly fine the way I am."

"I disagree. You're wasting away," the dark-haired man said. "Why don't you quit ANBU and take on a team? Having kids around will cheer you up."

"No." That sounded final.

"Give it a try," Tenzo prodded.

"Hokage already tried it," the masked man replied.

"And?" The former ANBU raised an eyebrow.

"I failed them," the current ANBU answered. "They were just punks who would get killed on their first mission."

"I doubt they were really that bad," Tenzo questioned.

"They were," Kakashi confirmed. "Kids today, just playing to be ninja. They have no idea what is it like out there."

"Then you should teach them," the jounin-sensei pointed out.

"No," the silver-haired man flat-out refused. "They were hopeless cases."

"You're a hopeless case," the dark-haired man sighed.

"I'm perfectly fine this way," the notorious porn-reader shrugged.

"If you say so," Tenzo threw his arms up in a defeated gesture. "Who I am to keep you from reading the same book for the sixtieth or is it the seventieth time now?"

"Seventy-third," Kakashi corrected.

"You really are unbelievable," his comrade shook his head.

"I like it that way." He turned a page in his book.

"Goodbye then."

"Goodbye."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Kazekage's office~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Everybody was apprehensive of the upcoming Chuunin Selection Exams Finals and the Yondaime Kazekage was no exception to the rule. He had good reasons to be.

First was that both the Hokage and the Tsuchikage were coming. Both Konoha and Iwa were on speaking terms with Suna, but the sentiment between the two of them was notorious. If he wasn't mistaken, the two Hidden Villages hadn't exchanged a single diplomatic letter since the Third Great Shinobi War. There were too many grievances on both sides, first when the Iwa ninja pushed deep into the Fire Country, then when the Yellow Flash nearly single-handedly chased them back to their mountains. Things like that couldn't be forgotten as long as its participants lived.

Too many of them still did. In fact, both villages were still governed by the same Kage. He wondered how long they would be able to hold civil conversation before they'd start exchanging thinly veiled insults. He just hoped they wouldn't start a war within his village. With Suna's military being as week as it was, damn their daimyo, they would have a lot of trouble if they had to fight. On the other hand, a war might make the retard raise their budget, but he wasn't counting on it.

The other reason was that the Konoha jinchuuriki was coming again. If he really didn't like something, it was having a weapon stronger than their best in his village. He hated the feeling that should anything happen, he wouldn't be the most powerful one in his own home. He didn't even want to think what might happen if the Konoha jinchuuriki lost control and went on a killing spree. There would be nobody capable of stopping him. The boy didn't seem unstable at all while he stayed within Suna, but appearances could be deceiving. In fact, among ninja they usually were. He had too much experience with Gaara to believe that any human weapon can be possibly sane.

Speaking of which, there seemed to be at least one positive outcome of the disastrous battle. Ever since it happened, Gaara hadn't killed anybody. If the reports were true, he even stopped threatening people regularly. It sounded like a dream come true. The Kazekage just waited for it to turn into a nightmare. There was just no way a psychopath like Gaara could suddenly become a reasonable person, but he enjoyed the respite while it lasted.

He sighed. Those were matters outside his control and worrying about them accomplished nothing, no matter how much he wished it wasn't so. He'd better do something more productive, like check on the Finals preparations. It just wouldn't do if they botched something in front of so many important guests. Especially the Wind Country Daimyo would see it as a reason to cut their funds even further. And maybe if he saw they were doing well, he might think they don't need as much money as they have now.

He rubbed the bridge of his nose. He felt a major headache coming. No matter how he looked at it, he couldn't find a solution to his situation. If just the Daimyo decided to drop dead suddenly, it might solve all their trouble, but that insufferable man was still young and completely healthy, so there was little hope there. He briefly wished he could just order the assassination of the man, but his personal guards weren't from Suna and they didn't get their funding cut. There was little hope there as well.

He stood up from his table. There was no point dwelling on such thoughts. He'd go and check on the Arena. Maybe a stroll would clear his head and chase away the migraine. He walked out of his office.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Back in Suna~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"So tomorrow's the day," Hotaru said. They were back in their old hotel room in Suna. "Are you scared?"

"Why do you ask?" Hana shot back. "Are you scared?"

Hotaru was. She couldn't help but remember how her first Exam Finals ended. That didn't mean she would admit it aloud. "Scared? Me? Don't be ridiculous."

"I'm not," the Inuzuka replied. "I just have a good nose."

"You're no fun," the purple-haired girl muttered.

One of Hana's dogs barked. "You're right," said its mistress. "She does have a weird sense of humor."

"Hey!" The skimpily-clad girl scowled.

"Just admit you're both anxious and leave it at that," Naruto suggested.

"And what about you?" Hotaru teased. "I bet you won't be able to sleep tonight again, little boy."

"Hey!" Now it was Naruto's turn to defend himself. "I'll let you know, I'm not scared at all."

"Woof!" "Hn," Hana replied, "somebody disagrees."

"And how does that somebody feel?" the blond asked looking at the dog in question. The animal, still a puppy, though now considerably bigger than when the team first formed, wagged its tail innocently. "I wait to see whether you'll be such a tough guy tomorrow."

"Don't insult my dogs," the Inuzuka scowled.

"Tell them to stop making puppy eyes on me," he retorted.

"They can't help it, they are still puppies," Hana pointed out.

"That's not my problem," he retorted.

Naruto finished sharpening his ninjato. "I'll head to bed. I'm tired."

"Already?" Hotaru raised an eyebrow. "You aren't trying to sneak off again then?"

"Hey!" The blond looked scandalized although it was exactly what he was planning to do. He hoped he could see Gaara before the Exams started.

"Tenzo-sensei told us to keep an extra close eye on you," Hana added.

"I'm wounded," the boy pouted. "Doesn't he trust me at all?"

"Do you really want me to answer this?"

Naruto recognized that there was really no choice for him but to head to bed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Arena~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The morning of the Exams finals dawned bright and clear, as was usual in Suna. Everybody headed for the Arena to witness the events.

The twelve finalists lined up in the sand on the arena floor. They stood there at attention, all of them trying to look tough and proud, hiding their anxiety from both their peers and the audience.

Furthest right stood an unassuming boy with long brown hair dressed in a strange robe-like garb with an eye-catching collar, the typical clothing of members of Kamizuru clan from Iwa. He was Kamizuru Kageromaru, member of the once proud clan which could boast being related to the First Tsuchikage, but currently they were on hard times. He couldn't wait to show everybody that his clan still hadn't lost its strength and most importantly show up his snotty teammates.

One of them was standing next to him, a giant redhead boy with a round face and rotund body dressed in standard shinobi pants and shirt with a black bandanna and a green scarf around his neck. His name was Akatsuchi and he was grandson of the Sandaime Tsuchikage. Looking at him it was hard to believe he was really related to the short man, but there was undeniable likeness between the two of them. He was confident he could make Chuunin here. Their sensei waited a whole year after he considered them ready to make sure they would breeze through the Exams with little trouble. So far his strategy was working.

Third in line was his sister Kurotsuchi. She was a slim girl with chin-length black hair showing off her feminine assets via a tight red top, red miniskirt and a lot of mesh. She was not to be underestimated though, as she possessed a shrewd mind, ambitious nature and considerable combat ability. She was here to show everybody the might of Iwa kunoichi.

To her left a giant black feline was sitting and on its side its master, Akira from the proud Kineko clan of Sunagakure. He was dressed in standard Suna shinobi attire with a leather vest with a fur-rimmed cape. He simply believed himself to be the best member of an awesome team and wanted to show everybody up. His clan members tended to be like that.

His teammate standing next to him would dispute which one of them was better. He was Shinkudai Toshiro and he was determined to prove that brute strength really could win you any match. His clan was known for their great size and enormous muscles, being one of the very few ninja clans still wearing samurai-style armor and carrying big weapons. There weren't many things that could stop a charging Shinkudai.

The only kunoichi of his team was last in the first half of the combatants. She was known as Mizue. She wasn't tall or muscular, but she was quite fast and agile. Her knee-length braids seemed utterly impractical for a shinobi, but many an enemy learned the hard way how incorrect that assumption was. She wasn't as confident as her teammates, but she couldn't wait to test her personal fighting style against capable opponents.

The second half of competitors was started by a short boy with a baby face clad in grayish blue robe-like clothing distinguishing him as a member of the Aoyume clan of Suna. The clan wasn't big or famous, tending to produce only average ninja, but Daiki was determined to change it. Since early childhood he was hailed as a prodigy, his family's ability being the strongest in him, stronger than had appeared in generations. He was determined to utilize it to his best and bring prestige back to his clan.

Next stood his teammate, a girl in short sandy-colored kimono with absurdly long and wide sleeves decorated by motives of dunes, her ginger hair done up in an elaborate bun held by many ornamental needles. Many people wondered why she wore such an obviously expansive outfit to battle, but Kaede always refused to answer. She preferred practical demonstration and she was prepared to give one soon.

Then came the last of Suna shinobi, the puppet master Gennosuke, a plain boy clad in long ocher robes. Behind him stood his puppet, named Hisan Uma, crafted like a giant horse. He just yearned to show everybody what Suna puppeteers were made of.

Then came the trio of Konoha genin, first of them Inuzuka Hana surrounded by the Haimaru triplets. She came here to prove that she wasn't useless despite the fate of her first team and show everybody the might of an Inuzuka, especially the obnoxious cat boy.

Uzuki Hotaru was the second to last, and looking at the competition she was getting second thoughts. But she wasn't backing away. All the training must have amounted to something and she felt like she could put up a good fight now.

The line was closed by Uzumaki Naruto, the smallest and youngest of all the competitors. Some people wondered what was such a child doing there, but he was determined to prove that he earned his place there. He was going to win the fight and earn a promotion. Dattebayo.

They stood silently, waiting for the Finals to begin.

A.N. That's it for now. I know it was slow, but next time the first match is coming, so there will be plenty of action soon.

Next time: The tournament begins