A.N.: So here comes another chapter. I hope you'll like it as much a sthe previous ones. Please read and review.

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

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. I don't think I ever will. Do you?

There was a half-hour break between the quarterfinals and the semifinals. Team Tenzo used it to meet together. They choose a place near the infirmary, because Hana was still tending to her dogs and Hotaru had a couple of minor scraps that needed a bit of medical attention.

"Good work, all three of you," Tenzo beamed at his students.

"We're the most awesome team there is," Naruto boasted.

"Are you now?" the jounin cocked his head sideways.

"That's because we have the most awesome sensei," the boy added. The Wood user couldn't help but smile. He ruffled Naruto's hair.

"Never forget it," he said.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~The infirmary~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ryoutenbin no Oonoki used the break to check on his grandchildren. He was proud that they both won, even though he thought they could have done better. He found them in the infirmary, a medic was just finishing his work on Akatsuchi's arm.

"There," the woman said, "it should be alright now, but you should still try to avoid getting hit there." The redhead nodded in confirmation.

"I understand. It's not like I need two hands to squish a midget."

"That's the spirit," Kurotsuchi smiled. The med-nin left the room. There was a moment of tense silence. Neither of the genin knew whether their Kage came to praise them or scold them. It was rarely possible to tell with him.

"Good job, the two of you," the grandfather said with a smile. The tense atmosphere immediately disappeared.

"It could be better," the boy remarked. "I should have beaten that nobody sooner."

"Don't be too harsh on yourself," the Tsuchikage consoled him. "You are elite in Iwa, but those who got into the finals are elite in their own villages. You cannot expect to defeat them easily, that's a sure way to fail."

"I know," Akatsuchi answered.

"Then don't forget it," the old man advised.

"I won't," his grandson assured. "I'll beat that child with no trouble."

"Now listen to yourself, brat," Oonoki chastised. "What have I just told you? You're already underestimating him."

"That's what's he good at," Kurotsuchi added.

"Don't underestimate the boy," the Sandaime Tsuchikage said gravely.

"Why so serious?" his granddaughter wondered.

"That child, he looks just like Him," the Kage answered.

"Him?" Akatsuchi's eyes widened. "Surely you don't mean Him?!"

"Yes, you dolt, that's just who I mean," the short man said.

"Are you certain?" the black-haired girl asked.

"What is ever certain?" the aged village leader asked rhetorically. "But we cannot afford to take chances. If Konoha trains another fighter like Him…" He trailed of with a grave face. Once more silence ruled the infirmary. Everybody was considering the possible implications. The images they came up with weren't pretty.

"Akatsuchi," the Tsuchikage ordered, "in the next match… Kill him."

"I will," the boy smirked evilly.

"And don't you dare underestimate him," Oonoki reminded him. "There is something else I have to tell you about him. It isn't confirmed, but I suspect he is the jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi no Kitsune."

"No way. That squirt?" Akatsuchi didn't look convinced.

"Well, he is the right age," Kurotsuchi mused. "And if that is true, what would happen if he used his power? Do you really think Akatsuchi can take him then?"

"Then I must get him before he gets the chance to do so," the big redhead decided.

"Just be careful," the old man said. "If things go bad, fall back. There are other ways to get rid of one little genin."

"But none of the others are legal," the redhead said.

"You caught on it quickly," his grandfather smiled. "Maybe we'll make a diplomat out of you yet."

"Not likely," Kurotsuchi smirked.

"You aren't going to get a rise out of me, sister," Akatsuchi answered. "I don't want to be a politician anyway. I'll be a strong ninja instead."

"Then why are you not?" she teased.

"What did you just say?!"

"Children," the Tsuchikage interrupted, "spare the energy for your fights. And that's an order."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~The arena~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Maruishi announced that the break was over. "First match of the semifinals: Uzumaki Naruto of Konoha versus Akatsuchi of Iwa."

Akatsuchi entered the arena with a heavy feeling in his stomach. Was it really possible? Could he really be facing the son of That Man? It was almost too much to comprehend. And was he really a jinchuuriki? He didn't look like one. He knew both Han and Roushi in Iwa and both were big hulks of man and accomplished shinobi. He realized they must have been young once, but it was still hard to imagine such power contained within such a small body. Of course, they might be reading too much into this situation and their likeness was entirely coincidental, but they would rather err on the side of caution, especially when the future of Iwa was at stake. Especially when he could kill his target legally.

Then the person in question stood right in front of him looking at him with big blue eyes from under golden-yellow bangs. He was just a child, he realized, but he could very well be His son. The son of his father's killer. Yes, he would enjoy killing him.

Naruto meanwhile was eyeing him warily. The Iwa genin was twice as tall and four times as wide as him. That didn't bode well for him. The expression in the redhead's round face didn't bode well for him as well. For a moment he considered forfeiting. But then he looked up in the stands, to his teammates and sensei cheering on him. Another glance was aimed at the Kage booth. He couldn't see the Hokage's expression in the shadow cast by his hat, but he could imagine a gentle encouraging smile on that wrinkled old face. No, he couldn't let them down. He would fight. Suddenly his opponent being so big didn't look like such a bad thing. It just made him easier to hit. His confidence restored, he smiled.

"Ready?" the proctor asked. "Begin." He disappeared from the arena. The contestants stood there motionless, both measuring the other, both considering the best course of attack.

Akatsuchi moved first. He decided to begin with the brutal approach. He ran at the Konoha genin intending to crush him. Naruto jumped to the side, grabbing his sword. He wanted to slice the Iwa boy with a Wind Blade, but he was too slow. The redhead evaded the attack. Then the rotund youth whirled on his feet and charged again. The Leaf ninja waited for the right moment to strike. The bigger lad didn't give him the opportunity. He hauled a fistful of shuriken at him and the youngest of the chuunin-hopefuls was forced to dodge again. The situation repeated once more, this time with kunai sailing at the blond genin. He evaded again, then noticed the kunai handles. His eyes widened for a split second before he performed a Kawarimi. He made it just in time to avoid the blast from the Exploding notes activating.

"Are you going to run all the time?" the round-faced chuunin-hopeful taunted. Naruto thought about a witty reply for a moment but nothing suitable came to him. He decided to go on offense instead. He ran forward with his sword poised for a strike. When a stone wall suddenly rose from the earth, he wasn't surprised. He pumped chakra to his legs and jumped high. He knew the opponent would be prepared for him, but then, so was he. When the Iwa ninja evaded his strike, he didn't even blink. He just turned his head a bit. Akatsuchi moved his fist to punch him. Naruto unleashed a Slicing Scream.

The problem was his opponent had seen that technique in the first round. When he noticed the blond opening his mouth, he was already ducking. The main force of the blast hit only thin air. Akatsuchi punched at him. Naruto kicked. His foot touched Akatsuchi's forearm, but he didn't manage to deflect the hit significantly. It impacted with his side and sent him crashing into the ground.

He rolled on the ground. The Iwa redhead kicked him, but the blond switched with one of the boulders littering the battleground. He got to his feet and assessed the damage. Nothing serious. His side was sore, but that would fade soon. He wondered how his newest trick worked, but he couldn't see the other contestant from his spot.

Then the Tsuchikage's grandson appeared from behind the stone wall. His right arm was bleeding and his face held a furious expression. Naruto smirked. It worked as a charm. Tenzo had been initially doubtful when he suggested enveloping any part of his body in Wind chakra, but his student was convinced about the potential in his idea. It took a lot of training, but it was paying off. He hadn't perfected it yet, but he could now turn his feet into blades. He was thankful for all the walking-on-anything lessons.

Unfortunately he couldn't make the blades very long. It seemed that only skin was cut on Akatsuchi's forearm, but even that was better than nothing. He doubted the other boy could regenerate the same as him. And even the smallest sensitive spot can be exploited, his sensei had hammered the lesson into him mercilessly. Now he just had to get close to the other shinobi. But the Rock ninja knew that as well and was dead set on not allowing it.

The big boy raised his arms to form handseals. Naruto mirrored his action. Two dozen Shadow clones appeared in front of him the same time a rift appeared in the ground and sped towards him. The clones spread out. Akatsuchi couldn't tell which one was the original and cancelled his technique. He instead started another jutsu and stone spikes rose from the sand covering the arena floor. There were more numerous and sharper than when he used the jutsu before. About a half of Naruto's clones were popped. He signaled to the remaining ones. It was time for a jutsu combo.

Eight of the clones started forming seals for a 'Fuuton: Great breakthrough,' the others for 'Katon: Endan.' But Akatsuchi wasn't idle as well. A quick series of handseals and a palm slammed into the ground and a dome of earth formed around him. The inferno of Naruto's techniques couldn't get in.

The blond swore. His opponent had a counter to his strongest attack. That had cost him quite a lot of chakra and even his reserves weren't bottomless. He couldn't just fire a jutsu after jutsu and hope the other boy would reach his limit first. He reckoned the redhead's chakra was running low, but he wasn't willing to bet the match on it. He had to think up a strategy.

Akatsuchi was breathing hard. That had been close. He could feel the heat from the flames even through the earth wall. He didn't even want to think about what would have happened had he been a second slower. Not to mention a thorough defense like this cost him a whole lot of chakra. He couldn't afford to let this fight drag on. He had to finish it in one move. He had already revealed his trump card in the duel with the Shinkudai boy, the yellow brat wouldn't fall for it, he had already proven himself quick with the Kawarimi. He had to try something else. He formed a couple of Rock clones.

Naruto watched cracks appear in the molten glassy surface of the dome. The Doton user was about to come out. He and his remaining clones moved closer to get a better position for an attack. Than the overgrown boy finally appeared and Naruto struck. His blade was sharpened with elemental chakra, closing in at the rotund boy's stomach. The Konoha genin wasn't aiming to kill, but he was still surprised how shallow the resulting wound was. More so when the big redhead didn't even flinch and struck him in the face. A Rock clone, realized the boy before he dispersed into smoke.

The original Naruto grimaced. He could have figured that the Tsuchikage's grandson would know those. He recalled everything he knew about them. Tenzo used them in training often enough for him to gain some experience. They were strong and hard to destroy, but they had little intelligence of their own, usually they required their creator's direct control. Now how to use it to his advantage? He knew the original Iwa genin was still inside the dome, but the doppelganger was blocking his access. There was no way he could pass through the wall of moving stone. Then he slapped his forehead. There was an obvious answer to the problem. Without wasting any more time he proceeded to implement it.

Akatsuchi glanced through the hole in the wall. His clone was doing well in fending any of the blond's attacks off, but he wasn't getting any closer to killing the pest. He sent the other clone to battle. He'd let them do the hard work and use the brief respite to recuperate. Then the little yellow menace decided to attack.

A hail of kunai sailed from one of the still remaining Shadow clones. He motioned for his own Rock Clone to block them. It managed without trouble. Next came a wave of shuriken. Even those were easily stopped. He glanced to the side. He could have sworn something moved there but he couldn't tell what it was. Still he couldn't just let it pass. It could be a trap.

He wasn't given enough time to investigate. Numerous kunai were flying at him and this time there was the telltale burning of Explosive notes. He sacrificed a good part of his remaining chakra to create a wall to stop them. This was becoming too troublesome.

An explosion resounded outside. It couldn't harm him inside. The punch he barely blocked with his forearm could. 'How the hell did he get inside?' thought the Iwa genin. 'And why did he have to hit the arm injured during the first clash?' followed closely. Akatsuchi had to suppress a pained gasp. His eyes narrowed in anger. He was going to pound the obnoxious piece of snot into the ground and then some. He punched with all his might.

Naruto barely avoided the crushing fist. He suddenly got second thoughts about his plan. Sure the transformation along with distractions enabled him to get close to his opponent, but after he failed to take him out with the first strike, he found himself in an extremely unfavorable position. There wasn't enough space to dodge. His sword was lying discarded somewhere in the sand. He couldn't see outside to find something to perform a Kawarimi with. And to top it off, the other boy seemed intent on breaking every bone in his body. He realized he was fighting not for promotion, but for his very life here.

Akatsuchi struck again and this time Naruto's attempt to dodge was stopped by the wall. He groaned in pain. He tried to use a Slicing Scream, but a kick to his ribs forced the air out of him before he could lace it with chakra. Yes, things were indeed looking bad for him. He wished he went for the kill the moment he got into the dome, but it was too late for it and idle musings at such a time would only get him killed.

'I can't die here,' he thought. Before he could come up with a way to prevent it, another hit landed on his head. Stars exploded in front of his eyes. "Kill him," said a voice. 'Yes,' he answered. The stars were suddenly gone. He could see perfectly within the darkness of the dome. A fist was nearing him again. He raised his arms and blocked. Surprise registered on his opponent's round face. He used the brief reprieve to get to his feet.

The Iwa genin quickly shook off his surprise. He reached into his pouch for a kunai. The jinchuuriki snarled in response. He jumped at the redhead. He blocked the vicious kick, but the force of the impact propelled the bigger boy backwards nevertheless. Disbelief was written all over his face. It didn't stay there for long. He stabbed his kunai at the short yellow menace. Naruto moved just a bit, avoiding the blade by a hair's breadth. He slammed into the other boy's large stomach. He stumbled backward, through the crack, knocking over the wall he erected to block the Exploding kunai. Naruto jumped after him and punched. His fist hit hard rock. His opponent pulled a Kawarimi. Then a stony fist impacted with his ribcage, sending him flying. He had completely forgotten about the Rock Clones and now he was paying for it. He rolled for a moment before pulling a Kawarimi on his own.

He took a moment to assess his situation. It didn't look well. His ribs were aching and his whole body was burning, but not due to the demon's chakra. That short rush had left him about the same time they exited the earth dome. It was just sheer exhaustion. For a moment he considered yielding, but then the ground under his feet moved. He didn't have time for thinking anymore, he only reacted.

Akatsuchi was having similar thoughts. He as well was injured and exhausted, but he couldn't stop. Not when his grandfather – his Kage – had entrusted him with a mission. Not when he saw firsthand just how dangerous the small child in front of him was. He gathered his remaining chakra to begin a maneuver that would insure his victory and death of the little pest.

Naruto jumped up as soon as he felt the ground shift. He didn't get neither high nor far. The soil disappearing from under his feet prevented it. 'I should switch with something,' occurred to him, but before he could turn the thought into deed the ground suddenly appeared again, trapping his feet. The Kawarimi failed.

Akatsuchi swore. He had intended to fully bury his opponent, but his chakra supply had ran out on him and the Disappearing Ground technique ended too soon. He could have guessed it by its slow start, it was the only thing that allowed the other genin to jump at all. But it didn't matter now. The Konoha child was trapped. Lack of chakra didn't matter anymore. He'll finish him off with his bare hands. Scratch it, he'll take a kunai to make sure.

Naruto was thinking frantically. He was stuck and something in the ground surrounding his feet prevented him from getting out. He tried cutting the rock, but even Wind-sharpened blades couldn't do more than put a dent into it. His back was unprotected. His clones had already been destroyed by Akatsuchi's, but, on a positive note, the two Rock clones were now lying on the ground motionless. It still left the original to attack him. He created two Shadow Clones to cover his back, but he knew they wouldn't last long against the Tsuchikage's grandson. Exhaustion was setting into his bones. No matter how he thought about it, he was screwed. It didn't even occur to him he could yield. The fact that this was just a competition was forgotten somewhere along the way. Now it was a death match.

Rustle of sand betrayed his opponent's approach. He tried to look, but he couldn't turn fully with his legs bound by the Doton technique. He saw over his shoulder how the clones attacked with Slicing scream and then dispersed. Their chakra supply had run out. The redhead was forced to dodge and suffered a few cuts, but soon he was coming at him again.

Naruto gathered his chakra to his hands and turned it into the Wind element. He still couldn't make a long blade, but it wouldn't matter if his opponent came close enough. If he came from an angle he could hit him at all. Akatsuchi realized that as well. He changed his course to always come at the blond's back. The trapped genin turned left and right, but he still couldn't face him fully. And then the overgrown redhead came within range.

Naruto stabbed with his left hand, but he only glanced one of the giant's thighs. Akatsuchi aimed for his neck. He bent forward to avoid a lethal hit. The kunai plunged deep between his ribs.

It didn't hurt. He knew that it should, but there was only the coldness of the steel piercing too close to his heart. He opened his mouth half in surprise, half in silent scream.

Then pain suddenly hit him as the blade was slowly retracted from his body. Red clouded his vision. He turned with speed he didn't know he possessed and struck the enemy just as he was preparing for another stab. The huge youth flew back and hit the arena wall with a crack. He slumped on the ground unconscious.

Naruto forcibly freed his feet from the trap. The chakra enforcing the soil couldn't withstand the strong flow of Kyuubi's youki. Some small part of Naruto's brain realized that it was flowing through his body almost as strongly as during his fight with Gaara. The rest didn't care. He simply wanted to tear apart the insect that dared to try to kill him. "Yes," resounded in his consciousness. "Naruto!" It came from an incredible distance. He wanted to ignore it, but something told him it was important. Who was calling him anyway?

He noticed his sensei jumping into the arena. What was he doing here? The match… that's right, the match. He was fighting the second round of the Chuunin exam finals. His opponent was lying on the ground unmoving, bleeding. He had won. He didn't need to kill him. Why did he even want to anyway? He had almost given in to the demon. He concentrated his will and forced the red chakra to recede back into the seal. Tenzo didn't even have to use his trees.

The blond slumped to his knees. He clutched at his chest. It hurt, but the demon's power had already worked its magic. The wound closed. He felt tired. There were strong arms encircling him, hugging him to somebody's chest. Tenzo, he realized. Somebody appeared nearby. The proctor. He barely heard Maruishi declare him the winner. Darkness was already gnawing at the edges of his vision. He had the vague sensation of being lifted and carried. Then even that disappeared. He finally fainted.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Kage booth~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Oonoki couldn't believe what he was seeing. His grandson, his precious little Akatsuchi, was slumped on the ground, four deep gashes across his chest. He wanted to jump down to the arena, to help his boy, to slay that monster that had hurt (killed?) him, to make sure that a blond devil of Konoha wouldn't hurt another of his people, he wanted to… He felt a hard stare upon him. He glanced from the corner of his eye to its source. The Hokage was sitting there, outwardly unemotional, but in fact alert, waiting for any provocation. He knew that if he tried to jump down Sarutobi would be right on top of him, and although the other Kage wasn't the Yellow Flash, he was known as the God of Shinobi for a reason. He didn't want to find out the hard way which one of them was better. Idly, he wondered whether the other man was having trouble with his hips too. The Kazekage was seated between them, seemingly unconcerned, but in fact watching every twitch with maximum attention. The short man suppressed a sigh. He couldn't do anything now. But later… later was a completely different matter. He leaned back in his seat (why do they make them so uncomfortable anyway? He wasn't getting any younger), and watched as the medics ran into the arena with an impassive expression. He'd wait for now.

"That was quite a fight," the Kazekage said. "Too bad nobody would be advancing to the finals."

"Why so?" the Hokage asked. "Uzumaki would be alright by the time the final start."

"He was expressly forbidden from using the demon's chakra under the penalty of immediate disqualification," the Kazekage elaborated.

"Is that so?" Sarutobi raised an eyebrow. "I wasn't aware there was such a rule. I wasn't even aware that it was possible to make a rule specifically discriminating against one contestant."

"Everything is allowed," the Tsuchikage added. "Such is the rule of the final matches." The Hokage was surprised. Just why did Oonoki help? He would expect him to hinder Naruto. 'He wants him to lose the finals,' he realized. 'He hopes he would get killed and if not, he'd gain more information about his abilities.' Should he allow it? Should he allow the Kazekage get away with a blatant disregard for the rules?

"It is what the Exams are based upon," he said. "Shouldn't a shinobi be prepared to face anything, a jinchuuriki included?"

The Kazekage saw he was outnumbered. "Very well," he decided. "Uzumaki Naruto is allowed to continue."

He turned to watch the arena floor. The only Suna semifinalist was fighting next. After the debacle in the first round, he'd better win or Suna would look even weaker than it really was.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Spectators' stands~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"What was that?" asked Kiba. Tsume knew what he wanted to know, but she couldn't answer. The Law forbade it. She couldn't tell her son even this, but he demanded an answer and he wouldn't stop pestering her until she told him something.

"I'm not sure," she said. "I think I've heard about a technique like that before, but it's been a long time ago."

"Technique?" asked Kiba. "It was quite something. I've never heard about anything like that."

"That's because you're still a pup," she answered.

"I'm already at the Academy, mind you," he scowled. Tsume smiled inwardly. The conversation had been successfully steered away from dangerous themes.

"Isn't Hana fighting next?" Kuromaru asked.

"She is," Tsume confirmed. The Inuzuka trio turned their attention to the upcoming match, the last one forgotten.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Finalists' booth~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kurotsuchi watched in horror as her brother crumpled to the ground. Even though she had constantly teased him about being slow and thick, she recognized Akatsuchi as a strong and capable shinobi. She wasn't prepared to see him defeated, despite knowing what he was facing. She wanted to jump down and rip the little terror into pieces. 'Next round,' she reminded herself. She just needed to advance to the final and then she could tear him legally. The only thing she had to do was defeat a purple Konoha wench. No problem at all for an accomplished kunoichi like her. She summoned what little patience she could find and waited.

Both Hana and Hotaru watched worriedly as Naruto was carried from the arena by Tenzo-sensei. They had seen enough proof of his healing ability, but this wound looked serious.

"That was close to the heart," the Inuzuka said. Too bad she couldn't see where exactly the kunai had hit.

"I think if it failed to kill him on the spot, he'll be alright," Hotaru said.

"I hope so," the brunette replied.

"And don't get depressed now," the purple-haired girl advised. "You're next."

"Yes," the dog mistress nodded. Her dogs barked encouragingly. She smiled. "You're right. Let's go and kick somebody's butt. That's the best remedy for depression."

So that's the end for today. The plot is thickening, isn't it?

Next time: The rest of the semifinals.