ultima-owner: I know, right? How many others, in the Shinobi Realm, can resist torture like he did?
madmanmark666: He's not gonna get it just yet. I think too many people would get suspicious if they knew a blade like that existed. First, He gets another sword that I believe is perfect for the Shinobi Realm.
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Chapter 4: A Lord's scheme
"Welcome, everyone, to Training Ground 44, also known as the Forest of Death." Anko introduced. "Before we begin the exam, I'm going to pass these out to everyone." She said, pulling out consent forms.
"Is Hokage-sama worried about being on the receiving end of another Kage's wrath?" Naruto asked.
"More like he doesn't want to go to war because someone died, so everyone will sign these." She said before handing the pile to Naruto, who took a paper before giving the pile to the person next to him, and so on and so forth. "I will now explain the Exam. It's basically a big Survival Match. The Forest of Death is a large circular forest surrounded by 44 gate entrances, hence the rank Training Ground 44. There is a river and a tower in the very middle of the forest. The tower, which is your destination, is exactly 10 km away from every gate."
She pulled out two scrolls of different color. "These are the Scrolls of Heaven and Earth. You will have to bring both to the tower. 13 teams will get a Heaven Scroll and the other 13 will get the Earth Scroll."
"No matter what, half of the teams are guaranteed to fail." Everyone realized.
"You need to reach the tower in the following five days." Anko added. "Here are the rules. 1: A team must be full to pass. 2: If a member of the team dies, the team fails. 3: Don't open in the scrolls until you reach the tower."
"What happens if we do?" Someone asked.
"That's a surprise." Anko grinned. "As a Chunin, you will be handling top secret documents, one day. This will test your reliability. Take the consent forms to the hut and you will get your scroll. You'll also receive your gate number and start at the same time."
Team 7 exchanged their forms and got a Heaven scroll and gate 12.
When the gates opened, everyone rushed into the forest.
As Team 7 made their way in the forest, they were attacked. A massive gust of wind separated Naruto from the team.
"Tch, we're off to a bad start." He said before a shadow passed over him. He looked up and saw a massive snake.
The snake wrapped its tails around him, to keep him still, before gobbling him whole.
"All right, that's disgusting." He said. "Not staying in here longer than I have to." He tried piercing the snake's insides with a kunai, but that didn't work. He then created Kage Bunshins to inflate the snake until it burst. The snake had exploded.
"Finally out." He said as his clones dispelled. "Now, I have to find those two."
With Sasuke and Sakura
Both Genin were afraid. After that wind attack, a Kusa-nin came to them, seeking a fight. He simply flared his Killing Intent and they saw their death. This wasn't a normal nin. To get rid of the fear, Sasuke stabbed his thigh with a kunai before running away, only to be found again.
Just as the Kusa-nin was charging toward them, he had to stop to avoid getting hit by Shuriken.
Naruto landed on a nearby tree. "You guys all right?"
"Naruto!" Sakura cried out in joy.
"Stay away from the kusa-nin, Naruto!" Sasuke said. "He's way out of our league!"
"So you defeated the snake I sent your way, Naruto-kun?" The Kusa-nin asked. The way his body was extended and wrapped around a tree branch reminded Naruto of a snake.
Sasuke pulled out the Heaven's scroll. "I'll give you the scroll. Take it and leave us in peace." He said.
The Kusa-nin smiled. "I see, you're smart. A prey's only hope for survival is to bargain with the predator..."
Sasuke threw the scroll at the Kusa-nin, only for Naruto to land between them and catch it, shocking the others.
"You idiot! What are you-" Before Sasuke could say anything else, Naruto punched him straight in the face. "What the hell are you doing?" Sasuke asked as he caught himself.
"You're the idiot." Naruto said. "If you looked at the thirst for blood in his eyes, you'd know he wouldn't let you go, even if you gave him the scroll."
"And there is the prey who knows he will be attacked no matter what, and therefore prepares himself to fight for his life." The Kusa-nin said, to Sasuke and Sakura's shock, as he licked his lips with a ridiculously long tongue. "I'll just have to kill all three of you to get the scroll." He rolled his left to show a tattoo. He then bit his thumb, drawing blood, applied it on the tattoo, and slammed on the tree branch. "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"
A snake, much larger than the last one Naruto saw, appeared beneath the Kusa-nin's feet. It destroyed the branch from beneath Naruto's feet, knocking him in the air. As the snake raised it head to reach Naruto, it opened its mouth.
"Oh hell no! I'm not getting eaten again!" He said as he activated Kyuubi's chakra.
He twisted his body to avoid the mouth before clawing at the snake, blood gushing from the newly-made wound. He then kicked the snake, sending its head back slightly.
"Those eyes..." The Kusa-nin said. "There's no mistaking it."
When Naruto was about to continue his assault, snakes came out of the Kusa-nin's sleeve and restrained him before bringing him closer to the nin. He lifted Naruto's jumpsuit top and found what he was looking for.
"There it is... The Kyuubi's seal." He said.
"The seal is still visible?" Naruto thought. The seal never broke, considering Kyuubi never escaped, but he didn't think it was still visible.
The Kusa-nin performed a handsign before bracing a single hand, his fingers glowing with chakra.
"Gogyo Fuin!" He said, striking Naruto straight at the seal on his abdomen.
"D-Dammit." Naruto thought before he lost consciousness.
The Kusa-nin took the Heaven's scroll from Naruto' pouch before throwing him aside, down to the shadows of the Ground Floor.
"Naruto!" Sakura called out as she threw a kunai to embed itself on the clothes and tree to prevent him from falling, but, to her horror, she missed, resulting in Naruto falling in the Shadows.
In these very shadows, Shinigami appeared and caught his lord. It was finally time...
He returned to the castle, carrying his lord. He felt that every servant felt their master's return.
He arrived at the throne room, where the rest of Dracula's essence was, and sat his lord on the throne.
Feeling its missing piece in the body, Dracula's essence merged with the body.
Dracula opened his eyes and saw his surroundings. "So I am finally back..." He said as he looked at himself. "Yet I do not feel the curse of the vampire within me."
"The Crimson Stone was what gave you the curse, my lord. With it broken, your new body can't receive the curse. Whatever power you do not have due to lack of vampirism, you have a similar one through your arsenal of souls. You will need a replacement to gain eternal life once more, however." Shinigami said. Dracula nodded. "You should rest, my lord. You must recover your strength for your return."
Dracula smirked. "Actually, I would like to talk about that. Have you observed my mission in Nami no Kuni?"
"Unfortunately, I was busy keeping the others from going in a panic. I was fortunate to be able to observe the Chunin Exams."
"Then you will love to hear this." Dracula said. "The human souls in this new world are worthy of mention."
The Shinigami grew interested. "You have another soul?"
The Lord of Darkness nodded. "I have domination over Haku Yuki's soul, gaining his Kekkei Genkai."
"The Hyoton Kekkei Genkai... This is unexpected."
"I shall play along as a human for a while longer." Dracula said. "I will, however, use the five days to my advantage here." He said as he summoned a Persephone maid. "Bring me Muramasa. I shall bring it with me when I leave."
The maid bowed. "Right away, my lord!" She said before leaving the Throne Room.
"I suppose a change to more noble clothes is out of the question, then."
"Of course. While it is possible to find a weapon in the forest, a fresh pair of clothes is quite the stretch. That is why we shall leave the seal as it is. There shouldn't be anyone with the ability to release the Gogyo Fuin within that forest, other than the one who used it on me in the first place."
"Speaking of the seal, my lord, I believe it is time to unite the two halves of Kurama." Shinigami said, handing Dracula a glowing crimson orb.
Dracula took it and absorbed it, finally completing the fox.
Back with Sakura and Sasuke
Sakura applied another wet rug on Sasuke's forehead as she though on what happened. After Naruto's defeat, Sasuke gained the courage to fight the Kusa-nin and it was pretty even for a moment, but the Kusa-nin was actually someone named Orochimaru, in disguise and severely holding back. When he revealed his identity, he bit Sasuke on the neck, leaving a weird mark and making him lose consciousness, and left.
It was now the second day of the second exam and she was sleepy from keeping watch.
"Keeping watch and not getting a wink of sleep." A voice said, fully waking her up through fear. She turned around and saw the Oto team that almost attacked Kabuto. "Could you wake up Sasuke?" Despite sounding like a question, it was an order. "We would like to fight him, though I wished my revenge on that blond, but it seems you've been separated."
"What is your purpose here?" Sakura asked. "Did Orochimaru sent you? What is that mark he put on Sasuke's neck?" Her last two questions shocked the bandaged guy.
"What is Orochimaru thinking, sending us against someone he marked?" He wondered.
"Does it matter?" The spiky-haired guy asked rhetorically. "I wanna fight him even more."
"Wait, Zaku." The bandaged guy said. He then patted the ground. "The dirt's color indicates it's recently been dug up. Such a mediocre trap."
Zaku scowled. "That explains why she threw her kunai at our tagged squirrel. The explosion tag probably went off by now."
Sakura's eyes widened. A squirrel tried to approach her earlier and she scared it off by barely missing it with a kunai, but she didn't know it was tagged with an explosive. The poor thing...
"Let's get rid of her right away." The bandaged guy as the entire team jumped in the air.
Sakura smirked as she cut a tripwire. A giant log was about to smash into the entire team.
"Worthless." The bandaged guy rolled his right sleeve, revealing a strange contraption on his forearm and destroyed the log. How he did it, Sakura couldn't see.
"Konoha Senpu!" A familiar voice cried out as he kicked the Oto team away.
Landing in front of Sakura was Rock Lee, with a familiar squirrel on his shoulder.
"How did you get here, Lee?" Sakura asked.
"Thanks to this little guy." Lee said as put the squirrel on the ground. The squirrel quickly ran off.
The bandaged guy pulled an Earth scroll. "Zaku, I trust you to deal with Sasuke." He said, throwing the scroll to his teammate, who caught it. "I'll deal with these two."
He rolled his right sleeve again. "I can have some fun against your Taijutsu skills." He said, charging at Lee.
Sakura threw a kunai at him, but he jumped to dodge. He then punched Lee, who blocked. He smirked and flicked the contraption. A sound echoed in the area and Lee started bleeding from his left ear.
"W-What!?" Sakura cried out as Lee staggered for a moment.
"Surprised? With this gauntlet, I can use my chakra to manipulate sound and send it wherever I want."
"This is bad." Lee thought. "I have to incapacitate him before he gets me a second time." He unwrapped the bandages on his hands. "Guy-sensei, I can now use this Jutsu for the one reason you permitted...to protect someone precious!"
Lee rushed to his opponent with surprising speed and kicked him on the chin, sending him in the air. He jumped behind his opponent and trapped him in his bandages. Lee grabbed his opponent as they fell.
"Damn. Dosu won't be able to break the fall restrained like that!" Zaku said as he made some handsigns.
Lee and Dosu started spinning. "Omote Renge!"
Zaku slammed his hands in the ground, burying them.
Lee jumped away just in time to let Dosu crash on the ground by himself, however, the ground was softened to cushion his fall.
"Just in the nick of time." Zaku said.
Dosu pulled himself out of the hole.
"Impossible!" Lee said.
"What a technique." Dosu said. "Even with Zaku using air pressure to soften the ground, it's still very painful."
Lee was panting. His body was strained from the Lotus.
Dosu readied his gauntlet, charged at Lee and threw a punch, which Lee dodged. It didn't matter, the sound waves reached him anyway. Lee became shaky and fell to his knees before throwing up.
"Your turn!" Dosu said, charging at Sakura, who readied a kunai.
Lee quickly got up and charged at Dosu, who looked shocked.
"Konoha Senpu!" He said, about to kick Dosu, but he was slowed down, due to his agony.
Dosu caught the kick. "Even if you can move, my attacks left their mark." He went to punch Lee, who dodged. But the sound waves attacked his left ear again. This time, he fell unconscious.
Further away, Team 10 was observing the battle.
"I say we run away." Choji said. "They're too dangerous for us."
Shikamaru sighed. "Sasuke's out of it, I don't see Naruto anywhere and Lee is defeated. Now, it's just Sakura. What do we do, Ino?"
"We have to help them." Ino said before she sighed. "But what can we do? We can't just jump in."
Sakura tried throwing shuriken at Dosu, but Zaku appeared in front appeared in front of him and used air pressure to send the shuriken right back at Sakura. The girl of the Oto team appeared behind Sakura and grabbed her by her hair.
"Your hair is much softer than mine." She said, shaking Sakura's head around. "If you have time to take care of your hair, train more! Are you trying to look good?" She turned to her teammate. "Zaku, kill that Sasuke guy right in front of her face!"
Zaku smirked. "That sounds good, Kin."
Sakura tried to get up, but Kin pulled on her hair. "Don't move!"
Sakura started crying. She was useless once again. She wanted to be the one protecting someone, not being the one protected.
Even as Zaku approached Sasuke's body, nobody noticed the dark chakra leaking out.
Sakura pulled out a kunai.
"That won't work on me." Kin said.
Sakura smirked at her. "Who says it was for you?" She asked as she cut her hair, shocking Ino to the core. Both of them let their hair grow long because they had heard a rumor that Sasuke liked long-haired girls.
Kin caught herself and tackled Sakura, but she already used Kawarimi to get away. Zaku sensed Sakura charging at him from the right. She threw some kunai at him, which he sent back with air pressure. Sakura once again disappeared with Kawarimi.
"Is that the only Jutsu she can do?" He wondered aloud before looking up, immediately finding her. He threw some kunai at her then looked around, thinking she had used Kawarimi again. He looked up in shock when he felt blood fall on his face. She crashed on him, rammed a kunai in his right arm and bit his left arm, to everyone's shock.
Zaku started punching her head. "Let go, you psychotic bitch!" He kept punching her until he finally was able to push her away. Just as he was about to use air pressure on her, Team 10 appeared between them.
"They just keep swarming in..." Dosu said. "Konoha is certainly full of bugs."
"What are you two thinking!?" Choji asked, scared. "These guys are too dangerous!"
"It's troublesome, but we can't let Ino deal with this by herself." Shikamaru said as he kept hold of Choji by the scarf to prevent him from running away.
That didn't stop him from trying.
"Go ahead and run, fatass." Zaku taunted.
Choji stopped. "What did you say?"
"Uh oh." Shikamaru thought. "Any insult about weight is taboo to Choji."
"I said you can run away if you want, Fatass!" Zaku said.
Choji turned to Zaku with comical rage. "I'm not fat! I'm big-boned!" He yelled as he flared his chakra.
Choji's teammates smiled, he was finally motivated to fight.
"All right then! Formation Ino!" Ino started.
"Shika!"
"Cho!" Shikamaru and Choji followed before the latter made a handsign. "Baika no Jutsu!" He then inflated like a balloon. His limbs and head retreated in his body. "Nikudan Sensha!" He said, rolling towards Zaku like a boulder going down a cliff.
"What the hell? That's just a fatass rolling. Zankuha!" He said, sent his airwaves at Choji.
The airwaves kept Choji rolling in place for a moment before he jumped in the air and started falling towards Zaku. Dosu charged at his teammate to try and push him out of the way.
"Ninpo: Kagemane no Jutsu!" Shikamaru said as his own shadow extended and connected with Dosu's, keeping him in place.
Zaku jumped out of Choji's way just in time.
"Your turn, Ino." Shikamaru said as he made Dosu do some stupid poses with the Kagemane no Jutsu.
Ino made a handsign and pointed it at Kin. "Ninpo: Shintenshin no Jutsu!" She said as her mind left her body and controlled Kin's body.
Zaku was still dodging Choji.
"Dammit... Kin!" He called out.
'Kin' opened her eyes and pointed her kunai at her neck. "If you try anything, I will kill this girl." She said, shocking Zaku and Dosu. "You can just drop your scroll and leave. I'll free the girl once we can longer sense your chakra." She stopped speaking when they started laughing.
Zaku attacked 'Kin' and Choji with his airwaves, making 'Kin' slightly bleed from her mouth and making Choji dizzy. The same injury appeared on Ino's body.
"Idiot girl..." Zaku said.
"Our orders are to kill Sasuke Uchiha, not to get through the Exams." Dosu explained.
At that moment, the Kagemane no Jutsu stopped, freeing Dosu.
"So this Jutsu only lasts five minutes, huh?" Dosu said. "Then there is the girl's Jutsu, which allows her to leave her body and take control of another's, but if we kill Kin, she will die as well."
"You would kill your own teammate?" Shikamaru asked.
Zaku aimed his hand at 'Kin'. "If we have to." He said.
Shikamaru sighed. "It's over."
Choji punched the ground. "Damn it!"
"You almost had us." Zaku said.
"So pathetic." A voice above them said. Everyone turned to the source and saw Neji and Tenten. "Mere Oto-nins acting like victors against second-rate Shinobi." Neji said.
"You Konoha-nins really are like bugs!" Zaku said, irritated that someone else joined the fight.
"The one with the bobbed hair is our teammate." Neji said, activating his Byakugan. The veins becoming visible next to his eyes surprised everyone, except Tenten. "You seem to have gone overboard with him!"
Neji then sensed something and deactivated his Byakugan.
"Then how about coming down here and teach us a lesson?" Dosu taunted.
"That is unnecessary. Someone else will prevent me from wasting my time with you." He said.
Sasuke was up. He had black marks all over the left half of his skin and was leaking sinister chakra.
He looked at Sakura and saw her condition. "Sakura... Who did this to you?" His voice was calm and ruthless.
"T-The cursed seal!" Dosu thought.
Zaku smirked. "I'm the one who gave her a beating!"
Sasuke immediately turned to Zaku.
Shikamaru, along with Ino's body, and Choji hid. Ino cancelled her Jutsu and returned to her body.
"Orochimaru really did mark him..." Dosu realized.
"It doesn't matter! I'll deal with him!" Zaku said.
"Zaku, don't! You don't understand!"
"Zankukyokuha!" He called out as he sent air waves of mass destruction towards Sasuke and Sakura.
The tree in front of him was completely destroyed.
"That'll teach you!" Zaku smirked.
"Teach who?" Sasuke said as he appeared next to Zaku, carrying Sakura, and backhanded him in the face, sending him flying several feet away.
"Zaku!" Dosu called out.
Sasuke made some handsigns faster than ever before. "Katon: Housenka no Jutsu!" He said as he breathed out several small fireballs toward Zaku.
"That's nothing!" Zaku said as he sent airwaves to extinguish them. But within the fireballs were shuriken that never faltered, wounding Zaku.
Sasuke rushed toward Zaku, got behind him and grabbed his arms while putting a foot on his back.
"You seem quite proud of these arms, aren't you, Zaku?" Sasuke asked rhetorically as he pulled Zaku's arms and applied pressure on his back.
"S-stop!" Zaku pleaded. But Sasuke didn't stop and dislocated his arms.
Sasuke dropped Zaku and turned to Dosu. "And then there was one." He said calmly walking.
Sakura ran toward Sasuke and hugged him from behind.
"Stop!" She said. "Please...stop..."
The marks returned to the seal left by Orochimaru. Sasuke sat on the ground and started panting.
"Sasuke Uchiha." Dosu called out, pulling out the Earth's scroll. "We cannot defeat you. Take it." He put the scroll on the ground, grabbed his teammates and left.
"What adnormal chakra." Neji thought as Tenten picked Lee up. Or rather, she shook him to wake him up.
Ino decide to fix Sakura's hair.
After that, everyone went their separate ways.
Two days later
"Four days since the Exams started and still one scroll and no sign of Naruto." Sasuke said as he and Sakura cooked fish. "Remembering that the exam started at 3 P.M., we have about 25 hours left."
"A lot of teams probably finished by now." Sakura said. "We have to find a Heaven's scroll and Naruto."
Sasuke nodded and pulled out a canteen. He tried to drink, but it was empty. "I'll go get some water." He said, walking away.
Sakura stayed behind, watching the fire grow weaker.
"Sakura-san." She heard someone call her out. She turned around and saw...
"Kabuto-san?" She said. "What are you doing here?"
"I got separated from my team and am headed to the tower to meet up with them, since we have both scrolls." He said before looking around. "Where are Sasuke-kun and Naruto-kun?"
Sakura looked down. "Sasuke is gone to get some water and we got separated from Naruto when we were attacked by that Orochimaru guy."
Kabuto's eyes widened. "Orochimaru of the Sannin?"
Sakura looked up to Kabuto. "You know him?"
"Everyone has heard of him. He was one of Sandaime-sama's students before he became a Nuke-nin."
"Kabuto?" They heard Sasuke ask.
"Good day to you, Sasuke-kun." Kabuto greeted. "As I just told Sakura-san here, I got separated from my team and was heading to the tower to meet up with them."
"And I'm just supposed to believe you're not after our scroll?" Sasuke asked.
"Well, if you require proof." Kabuto said as he pulled out the Heaven and Earth scrolls.
Sasuke braced himself.
"You would fight me for one of my scrolls?" Kabuto asked.
"We're running out of time." Sasuke said. "This is the only way."
Kabuto smiled "I disagree."
"Should there even be enemies left?" Sasuke asked as he, Sakura and Kabuto tree-hopped in the direction of the tower.
"Of course. The best way to fight in a battle like this exam is to place a trap and ambush the enemy. With so little time left, everyone will cluster around the tower to trap each other." Kabuto explained.
By nightfall, the trio were at a visible distance from the tower.
They tried getting closer, but despite how long they walked, they never seemed to approach the tower.
They realized they were trapped in a Genjutsu. As they noticed this, they were ambushed by an army of Ame-nin.
"Don't worry about their numbers. They're all Bunshin of a kind." Kabuto advised.
The team of Ame-nin hiding behind the Genjutsu chuckled at the luck of finding such easy preys, only to feel an arm wrap around their necks and a blade pierce their torso.
The army disappeared.
"Hey, what happened?" Sakura asked.
"Someone must have taken care of the real ones." Kabuto theorized.
"An enemy?" Sasuke asked.
"Not a chance." A familiar voice answered. They all looked up and saw Naruto and two Kage Bunshin carrying the Ame team.
"Naruto!" Sakura cried out in joy.
"So, you didn't kick the bucket." Sasuke stated.
"Would you rather I did?" Naruto asked.
"Of course not. If I have to spend five days in this forest for this exam, I want to pass."
"You and me both." Naruto said as he landed in front of the others, dispelled his Kage Bunshin and searched the Ame team for scrolls. "How are we, scroll-wise?"
"Orochimaru, the man who attacked us, burned our Heaven's scroll, but we got an Earth Scroll from the Oto team that attacked Kabuto before the first exam." Sakura answered.
"I see..." Naruto said as he kept looking for a scroll in the Ame-nin's belongings.
Sasuke looked the katana strapped to Naruto's hip. "Where did you get this?"
Naruto pulled out a Heaven's scroll from the Ame-nin and shrugged. "I simply found it and took it. Anyways, we got both scrolls, now."
Sakura cheered and Sasuke smirked.
By dawn, they all reached the tower and even met up with Kabuto's teammates before each team went their separate ways.
They entered a large room that had a riddle of some kind, but there was a piece missing.
"Now that we've arrived at the tower, I think we can open the scrolls now." Naruto said.
With that, the team opened the scrolls and threw them away when they saw a summoning seal.
The scrolls had summoned Iruka Umino.
"Congratulations on finally passing the second exam!" Iruka said. "If you would allow me, before you take the few hours you have left to rest, I would like to complete my mission of describing the text for you. It is the principality for every Chunin. The Heaven written there means the mind. If you lack in that department, study to develop it. The Earth is the body. If, like Sakura, your physical strength is your weakness, train yourself every day. If you have both Heaven and Earth, even the hardest of mission can become safe. The missing letter, the 'person', represents Chunin as a whole. This exam tested you to see if you have the qualities of a Chunin. And you have proven that you do. Now, you have a few hours before the third exam, take them and be careful."
The team did take advantage of the hours of break, though Naruto didn't need them, but nobody needed to know that. Afterwards, everyone had to go to an arena within the tower. There 21 people, or 7 teams, in all, along with the Hokage, the proctors, Ibiki and Anko, and the Jonin-sensei of each team.
"To begin, congratulation on passing the second exam." Anko said. "I know I said I would cut the numbers in half, but I was kinda aiming for single digits." She thought in disappointment. "We will now proceed with third exam, Hokage-sama will explain everything."
"Before we begin, there is one thing I want to make clear to everyone: the true purpose of the Chunin Exam." Hiruzen began.
"Isn't it to test the strength of one's country without going to war?" Naruto asked.
The Sandaime nodded. "That is exactly the reason, along with 'helping relationships between countries' and 'improving one's self'. The Chunin Exams are a replacement for war between the countries. They were created to show your country's strength with the lowest possible death rate. During the third exam, many Daimyo and other potential clients will be watching you. If you show how powerful your village is, it will receive many mission requests."
"This is a waste of time." Gaara said. "Tell us the details of this specific exam."
"Very well then, but..." A sickly man appeared before the Hokage could finish.
"Forgive me, Hokage-sama, but as proctor for the third exam, I, Hayate Gekko, should explain."
"By all means." Hiruzen said with a nod.
Hayate coughed as he turned to the teams. "Because of the large number of participants, you will have to fight in preliminary rounds. As Hokage-sama said, many potential clients will be watching your battles. To see this many people fight would take far too long. If you are not feeling well, you are free to quit without taking your teammates with you. After all, the battles, from now on, will be one-on-one."
"Not a chance." Sasuke thought before pain shot through the Cursed Mark.
"Sasuke-kun..." Sakura whispered. "Maybe you should withdraw. The mark still hurts doesn't it? You're in no condition to fight. Whatever you say, I'll tell Hokage-sama about the mark."
"They already know." Naruto whispered. "Anko-san is clutching the same place as Sasuke and both her and Hokage-sama are looking at Sasuke."
Sasuke and Sakura looked and saw that Anko was indeed clutching the same place as Sasuke's mark.
"I'll quit." Kabuto raised his hand.
"Kabuto Yakushi of Konoha, correct? You may leave, then." Hayate said. Kabuto nodded and walked away.
"I suppose nobody else wishes to quit, then? Very well, we shall begin the preliminary rounds. This will be like real combat. The fights will only end if someone dies, is knocked out, or admits defeat. However, if I deem the match over, I will stop you if you go on fighting."
A small part of the wall opened and revealed a screen.
"This electric bulletin board will randomly choose two participants for each match."
Yoroi Akado vs Sasuke Uchiha
"Participants, step forward." Hayate said. "Everyone else, please move to the catwalks."
As everyone did so, Kakashi walked by Sasuke.
"Sasuke, don't use the Sharingan." He said.
"Naruto was right, then, you all knew." Sasuke commented.
"If the mark acts up, it will kill you. If it activates, the match will be stopped."
Sasuke scowled slightly. "Then I'll have to stick to Taijutsu, if I don't want it to act to my chakra usage."
"First match: Yoroi Akado against Sasuke Uchiha. Are you ready?" Hayate asked, receiving nods. "Hajime!" He said, jumping away.
Yoroi's right hand glowed with chakra while his left hand went to his pouch. Sasuke readied a kunai. Yoroi threw some shuriken at Sasuke, who reflected them at Yoroi with his own kunai. The mark then gave a small amount of pain, enough to make him trip. Yoroi dodged the shuriken and charged at Sasuke. He then threw a punch at Sasuke, who dodged and tripped Yoroi before grappling his right arm, in position to break it. Yoroi simply grabbed on to Sasuke's shirt and his hand glowed with chakra. Sasuke started feeling weaker.
Yoroi was absorbing Sasuke's chakra.
His strength leaving him, Sasuke could no longer hold the arm. Yoroi backhanded Sasuke on the torso, got up, jumped away and charged at Sasuke, grabbing his opponent's head and absorbing more chakra.
Fortunately, Sasuke managed to kick Yoroi away and get up.
Yoroi chuckled as he got up. "You still have some strength left? I'll finish this quickly." He said as he charged.
Sasuke kept dodging Yoroi's palm as best as he could. As he dodged, he saw Lee in his line of sight. "Of course!"
Sasuke crouched to dodge Yoroi's palm and kicked him in the chin, sending him in the air. Guy and Lee's eyes widened at the way Sasuke did it. "That's..."
Sasuke jumped behind Yoroi. Just as he did, the mark started acting up and started spreading across his skin. "N-No! I won't... let it win!" The marks retracted, to the shock of those who knew about it.
Sasuke smirked. He twisted his body to kick Yoroi, who blocked. He twisted himself to backhand Yoroi from the other side before punching him in the abdomen, sending him downward. He twisted himself once again and kicked Yoroi in the abdomen just as he hit the floor. "Shishi Rendan!" He said, pulling a name out of nowhere. The floor cracked at the impact. Sasuke slid backwards and ended up face down, but quickly got up. Yoroi was unconscious.
"Winner of the match: Sasuke Uchiha." Hayate said.
Kakashi appeared next to Sasuke. "Well done." He said.
Naruto was unimpressed. "If Lee hadn't challenged him, he wouldn't have copied that move."
"Not bad." Gaara thought as he looked at Sasuke. His gaze then turned to Naruto. "But what about you?"
Kakashi crouched next to Sasuke. "Let's go seal that mark." He said.
Sasuke got up with Kakashi and they walked away. The medics carried Yoroi away.
"Let's begin the next match." Hayate said as the board chose the next fighters.
Orochimaru, disguised as the Oto Jonin, left with the Shunshin, to find Sasuke and Kakashi.
Zaku Abumi vs Shino Aburame
Zaku seemed confident, even though he had both arms in slings. Shino was as stoic as he always was.
"Are you two ready?" Both Genin nodded. "Hajime!"
"If you fight me here, you will never be able to fight again." Shino said.
Zaku smirked. "No worries. I got a working arm." He said, pulling his left arm out of the sling. "That's all I need!" He then charged Shino. Shino blocked Zaku's arm.
"You can't beat me with only one arm." Shino said.
"Zankuha!" Zaku called out, sending airwaves out of his hand, sending Shino to the floor. "Come on, stand up. That can't be all you've got!"
Shino got up and his bugs started crawling all over him.
"What the hell kinda trick is that?" he asked before he heard a lot of noises behind him. He turned around and saw a large amount of bugs crawling his way.
"They are called Kikaichu. They attack their prey in groups and suck their chakra." Shino explained. "If I attack you with this many bugs, you will never be able to fight again. It would be logical to give up now. Attack me with your left arm and the bugs will attack you. Attack them and I will attack you. You can't win. Always have a trump card."
Zaku shook in rage. With a battlecry, he aimed his left hand at Shino. "Don't underestimate me!" He said, pulling his right arm from the sling and aimed his hand at the swarm of bugs. "'Always have a trump card.' That's what you said, right?" With another battlecry, he focused as much chakra as he could in his arms to sent powerful airwaves.
Unfortunately for him, his arms detonated, chakra flowing out of his arm. He cried out in pain. He looked at his hands. The air cavities were full of bugs!
"When I told you to give up, I sent my bugs to your arms to clog the cavities with their bodies. That was my trump card." Shino said before backhanding Zaku, knocking him unconscious.
"Winner: Shino Aburame!" Hayate said.
"Though the only relationship we had was this mission, Zaku, I will avenge your loss." Dosu swore as he watched the medics carry Zaku away.
Kakashi reappeared behind his students.
"Is Sasuke-kun all right?" Sakura asked.
"Yes. He's asleep at the hospital." He said.
Misumi Tsurugi vs Kankuro
"Unlike Yoroi with Sasuke, I won't go easy on you." Misumi said.
Kankuro put his puppet, still wrapped in bandages, down. "Talk all you want, it won't change my mind."
"Since both of you claim to be ready, Hajime!" Hayate said.
"I won't let you do anything. This will be a swift victory!" Misumi said as he charged and went to punch Kankuro, who blocked with his forearm. Misumi's body extended and wrapped itself around Kankuro's limbs and neck.
"I can take my joints off their hinges and use my chakra to control my loosened body." Misumi explained. "That's why I can strangle you until your bones break. Unless you give up, I'll keep going. I don't know what sort to tool you have in these bandages, but it won't help you when restrained like this. Give up or I'll break your neck."
Kankuro smirked. "Absolutely not."
"You want to die!?"
"You're the one who's going to die." Kankuro said before Misumi broke his neck.
"What an idiot. I got carried away and broke his neck."
As he said this, pieces of Kankuro's face fell off. Kankuro's head did a literal 180. A face was behind a fake layer of skin.
"Now it's my turn" A distorted voice came from 'Kankuro's mouth as the fake layer was discarded, revealing a puppet, and multiple arms wrapped around Misumi, trapping him. The real Kankuro jumped out of the bundle of bandages. Strings of chakra were connecting his left hand to the puppet.
"I give-" Misumi tried to say, but was interrupted by the breaking of his own bones.
"Winner: Kankuro."
Sakura looked at Misumi as he was carried away by the medics. "And I thought I was good at using my chakra."
Sakura Haruno vs Ino Yamanaka
"I didn't think I'd be fighting you." Ino admitted.
"Neither was I." Sakura responded.
"Ready? Hajime!"
The fight started with a couple of dodged attacks before Sakura threw two kunai at Ino, who caught one and threw it to the other. Both girls charged at each other, with Sakura creating two Bunshin. She increased her speed with chakra and managed to punch Ino in the face. Ino quickly got up and threw a shuriken at Sakura, who responded by deflecting it with one of her own.
They then charged and exchanged a couple of blows before punching each other in the face at the same time sending each other flying backwards. As they got up, Ino pulled out a kunai and cut her own hair, throwing what was cut in front of her. She prepared to use the Mind Transfer on Sakura, who didn't move and started talking about the weaknesses of the Jutsu.
Sakura, however, never realized that Ino threw her hair between them for the purpose of keeping her still by using her chakra to make a leash around one of her legs, making her an immobile target for the Mind Transfer Jutsu. Ino, in control of Sakura's body, raised her hand and gave up before cancelling the Jutsu, giving Ino the victory.
"Pathetic." Naruto thought. "Why would you point out a Jutsu's weaknesses to someone who knows them better than you?"
Tenten vs Temari
Both girls simply stared at each other as they stood on the ring.
"Hajime!"
Tenten jumped in the air and threw some shuriken at Temari, who looked unfazed. The shurikens landed next to her.
"I missed?" Tenten wondered. She never missed her mark!
"Tenten's attack missed!?" Lee said, disbelief on his face.
"She didn't miss." Naruto said.
Lee turned to Naruto in confusion. "Naruto-kun?"
"I saw Temari's movements. That tool on her back is a Battle Fan. She's a wind user. She swung her fan and used the wind to deviate the shuriken before holstering her fan, making it look like she didn't move." Naruto looked at Lee. "If Tenten doesn't use a different strategy, she will lose."
Tenten once again jumped in the air, opened a scroll and spun in the air. Different kinds on weapons were appearing from the storage scroll and Tenten threw each one at Temari, who grabbed her fan and swung, once again using wind to deviate the projectiles. This time, Temari didn't bother holstering her Fan.
"This is the first star." Temari said, talking about the purple dot on her fan. "Once you see all three, you lose."
Tenten pulled out twin scrolls, put them on the ground and made some handsigns. "I planned on saving this for the third exam, but I can't hold back."
"Soushouryu!" She said.
The scrolls exploded in smoke. Two smoke dragons rose in the air and spiralled around each other. The smoke dragons dissipated to reveal the scrolls. Tenten jumped inside the spiral, pulled out weapon after weapon and constantly threw them at Temari.
"No matter how many you throw at me, it will be the same!" Temari said, unfolding her fan to reveal the second star. She swung her Fan again, deflecting the projectiles with wind once more.
"I'm not done!" Tenten said, using ninja-wire to send her weapons back in the air and sending them back to Temari. Temari swung her fan as she reveal the third star, sending Tenten and the weapons backwards.
"Ninpo: Kamaitachi!" Temari said before swinging her fan, sending a tornado towards Tenten. Tenten was sent in the air as the tornado made several cuts to her body. As she fell, Temari folded her fan and held it out next to her, making Tenten fall straight on it, back first. Tenten caught blood as her back bent.
"Winner: Temari." Hayate said after seeing that Tenten wasn't moving.
Temari threw Tenten away, but Lee appeared to catch her.
"Nice catch." Temari taunted.
"Why did you do this to her?" Lee demanded. "This isn't how you treat someone who fights their hardest!"
"Shut up." Temari said. "Just take the piece of trash and leave."
Lee charged at Temari. "Konoha Senpu!"
Temari blocked Lee's kick with her folded fan. "Too slow."
The medics took Tenten away, calming Lee down, as everyone waited for the next matchup.
Shikamaru Nara vs Kin Tsuchi
"I have to fight a girl? How troublesome..." Shikamaru thought.
"Hajime!"
"Kagemane no Jutsu!" Shikamaru said, extending his shadow to reach for Kin's.
Kin jumped to the side and threw some senbon needles, with bells attached to the back, at Shikamaru, who ducked to let them stick to the wall.
"Bells? What next, throw one with a bell and the other without one to confuse me?" Shikamaru taunted.
"You talk too much!" Kin said, throwing more needles, which Shikamaru dodged.
He then heard the sound of bells behind him and thought more were coming from behind, only to see that one of the earlier thrown had a string attached to it. Kin used that distraction to throw more needles, hitting Shikamaru.
"Whew, dodged a critical hit." Shikamaru said, pulling out the needles from his wound. While he did get hit, he managed to move enough that the needle didn't anything that would hinder him. "Now, I won't get tricked."
"So you say." Kin said, pulling on the string again.
Shikamaru then became wobbly and fell to his knees.
"These bells are special." Kin claimed. "Their vibrations go directly to the eardrums and up to the brain. Then, it shows you a Genjutsu."
As she said this, Shikamaru started seeing multiple Kins.
Kin then started throwing needles at him, hitting him once more as he didn't know which ones to dodge. She was about to throw more, but couldn't move.
"W-What?"
Shikamaru sighed in relief. "Kagemane no Jutsu, successful."
"What are you talking about?"
Shikamaru smirked. "I control my shadow. I can shrink it to the point where it was your own string's shadow, which it couldn't have one in the first place with the height you're holding it." He then held out his right arm, making Kin do the same.
"But how are you going to win like this?" Kin asked.
Shikamaru and Kin pulled out a shuriken each and threw them at each other. Shikamaru literally bent backward to dodge, with Kin doing the same, only for her head to hit the wall, knocking her unconscious.
"Winner: Shikamaru Nara."
"So I'm the only one left." Dosu thought as the medics took Kin away.
Naruto Uzumaki vs Kiba Inuzuka
"Finally." Naruto said.
"Piece of cake." Kiba boasted as he looked at Naruto.
Noting the following silence, Hayate assumed they were ready. "Hajime!"
Akamaru jumped out of Kiba's jacket.
Kiba crouched. "Gijyu Ninpo: Shikyaku no Jutsu!" He then got on his hands and feet, like a dog. His nails lengthened into claws.
He charged at Naruto, who unsheathed his sword and thrust it forward, forcing Kiba to dodge by twisting sideways. Naruto then tried to stomb Kiba's crouched body, but Kiba backed away.
Naruto then charged at Kiba proceeded to do multiple swings, all of which Kiba barely dodged before backing away.
"Are you going to take me seriously now?" Naruto asked.
Kiba and Akamaru charged at the same time. Kiba pulled out some smoke bombs and threw them at Naruto, making them explode. Kiba was about to rush in the cloud of smoke, only for Naruto to charge at him with surprising speed and punch him straight in the gut, making him caught blood before falling back a few feet. Akamaru tried to jump at Naruto and bite him, only to be caught the back of his neck.
Kiba got up. "Naruto. Give Akamaru back."
Naruto smirked at the calm and serious tone Kiba used. "Finally, you take me seriously." He said, putting Akamaru down. The ninken ran back to Kiba. Kiba pulled a Food Pill and gave it to Akamaru, who ate it before his fur turned red. Kiba also ate a pill.
"Let's go, Akamaru!" Kiba said as he crouched again. This time, however, Akamaru jumped on his back. "Gijyu Ninpo: Jujin Bunshin!" He said as Akamaru turned into a clone of Kiba. Both charged at Naruto, who quickly jumped away to dodge the first strike. One Kiba then charged again. Naruto sidestepped the attack and backhanded him. The other one charged and tried to swipe Naruto, who ducked and responded with an uppercut.
The Kibas jumped in the air and started spinning like drills. "Jujin Taijutsu Ougi: Gatsuga!"
Naruto smirked. To everyone's shock, some more than others, chains shot out of his back, dug into the floor before emerging beneath the Kibas and restraining them.
"What the hell!?" Kiba, the real one, said.
"These are chains made from my chakra." Naruto said. "A little something I discovered I could do during the second exam." He lied about the last part. It came from Kushina's soul. "I can't win by making you give up like this, though. That wouldn't prove anything." He said as he retracted the chains.
Kiba and Akamaru quickly got up and the former threw more smoke bombs at Naruto before they started spinning for the Gatsuga again. They attacked the entire area engulfed in smoke until it all dissipated, only to see that Naruto was nowhere to be found.
"Over here." Naruto said from under the catwalk Team 7, 8 and 10 were, making his opponents turn to him.
Naruto sheathed his sword before charging and punching both of them in the gut followed by elbowing them on the back of the neck, knocking them both down.
"Winner: Naruto Uzumaki."
"All right, Naruto!" Sakura cheered.
"He really has grown." Kakashi thought. "He even used his mother's chains."
"I'll have to talk to him about how he is able to use the chains." Hiruzen thought as the medics took Kiba and Akamaru away.
Naruto was walking back to his team, but as he walked by Hinata...
"N-Naruto-kun..." She called out.
Naruto turned to her. "Is something wrong?"
Hinato nervously shook her head and held out something to him. "I-It's healing ointment. Y-You didn't get injured, b-but..."
Naruto smiled. "I see..." He gently took the ointment from her and pocketed it. "Thank you."
Hinata blushed and nodded before running to catch up to Kiba and give him ointment as well.
Hinata Hyuuga vs Neji Hyuuga
The atmosphere suddenly became very tense as the two stepped up.
"Hajime!"
"Give up." Neji said almost immediately. "You're not fit to be a ninja. You are too kind. You seek harmony and avoid trouble. And you just go along with someone else's idea. You also lack self-confidence. You always feel inferior. That's why, if the Chunin Exams did require the entire team to enter, you wouldn't have been here in the first place."
"You're wrong..." Hinata said. "I wanted to change myself..."
"Hinata-sama." Neji said. "You are indeed a spoiled child of the head family. People cannot change. A failure is a failure. Someone's personality and power will never change. That's why terms like 'elites' and 'failures' exist. Everyone judges you by how good your face, head, abilities, body shape and personalities are. There are things that cannot be changed. People suffer due to their limits, and live. Just like how we can't change the fact that I am from the branch family and you are from the head family. My byakugan has seen many things. That's why I know these things! You're just trying to be tough. You are thinking about how much you want to leave this place right now."
"That's not true!" Hinata said. "I really want to..."
Before she could finish, Neji activated the Byakugan to intimidate her.
"You can't fool my eyes." Neji said. "You moved your eyes to the top-left corner after everything I said. This means that you are recalling a past event. A harsh past of yours. Then, your eyes moved to the bottom-right. This means you are imagining physical and mental pain. Therefore, you imagine your old self and predicted what will happen in this match through past experiences. A prediction that says you will lose! The way you have your arm in front of you...shows that you want to put a wall between us to create some distance. You do not want me to see your true feelings. Because everything I said was true. You are also touching your lips to show that your mind is disturbed." Hinata had tears in her eyes. "You are trying to lower your nervousness and uneasiness. In other words, you know...that you cannot change who you are!"
Hinata fell to her knees, shaking and crying.
"I...I can't... I'm sorry... Kiba-kun... Shino-kun... Kurenai-sensei... I can't do it."
Hayate felt quite bad for the girl. "Winner: Neji Hyuuga."
Kurenai went to Hinata and kept her close.
Sabaku no Gaara vs Rock Lee
Lee got into the Goken stance. "I am happy to be your opponent."
Gaara remained silent.
"Hajime!"
Lee charged at Gaara. "Konoha Senpu!" As he went for a kick, sand rose in front of Gaara and blocked the kick. Lee then started running circles around Gaara, trying to hit him, only to always hit sand. The sand then tried to engulf Lee, who started rolling and flipping to dodge. During that entire time, Gaara never moved an inch.
"Why doesn't Lee use Ninjutsu or Genjutsu? Taijutsu can't make a dent." Sakura wondered.
"It's not that Lee doesn't use them, it's that he can't use them." Guy said. "Lee has no talent in Ninjutsu or Genjutsu. When I met him, He had no sense in anything. No talent at all."
Sand shot towards Lee again. He tried to jump over, but his legs were caught and he was thrown on a wall. It tried catching him again, only for Lee to roll away and jumping everywhere to dodge.
"Lee! Take them off!" Guy said.
"But, Guy-sensei, I thought I could only take them off to protect many precious people." Lee said.
"I'll make an exception!" Guy said.
Lee started grinning and laughing joyfully as he removed weights from underneath his leg-warmers.
"What an old-fashined training method." Kakashi said.
"And yet, it's very effective." Naruto said. "A ninja looks underneath the underneath. I bet the weights are much heavier than they look."
"And you'd be winning the lottery with that bet, Naruto-kun." Guy said.
As Guy said this, Lee let go of the weights. When they fell to the floor, there weren't thuds...there were small explosions that created small craters, to everyone's shock.
"Isn't that taking it a bit far, Guy?" Kakashi asked.
"Go, Lee!" Guy encouraged.
This time, when Lee attacked, the sand barely managed to block his hits. Gaara himself couldn't follow Lee's movement.
"I'll have to try that when I get back to the castle." Naruto thought.
After a lot of barely-blocked hits, Lee jumped above Gaara and axe-kicked him on the head. Gaara then tried to engulf Lee with sand, only for the Green Beast to run around and punch Gaara in the face.
Once Gaara got up, his face crumbled, similarly to Karasu disguised as Kankuro. He had sand covering his skin the whole time. When Gaara looked up, he had a psychotic look on his face. The sand then started covering him again, hiding his psychotic face behind a calm one.
Lee looked at Guy with a specific message on his face. Guy nodded. Lee unwrapped the bandages around his hands. He then started running around Gaara before kicking him on the chin, sending him in the air. But, because of the sand armor's weight, he wasn't very high. Lee jumped and continuously kicked Gaara higher up in the air.
Guy closed his eyes and prayed that Lee would finish the battle with this move. As this happened, Lee winced at the strain the technique already did to his body. He then wrapped his bandages around Gaara and grabbed him before spinning around as they were falling.
"Omote Renge!" Lee called out.
Both crashed into the floor, making a crater and a lot of smoke.
Lee jumped out of the crater, panting, as he looked at Gaara, whose entire body was cracked.
Pieces of the sand armor fell inside, revealing that the armor was hollow.
"When did he escape?" Guy asked, wide-eyed.
"When you closed your eyes and prayed." Kakashi answered.
"Lee winced at that very moment, giving Gaara an opportunity." Naruto explained.
Gaara appeared behind Lee, chuckling. He sent his sand at Lee, who tried blocking but was knocked back. This repeated itself a couple more times.
"Why isn't Lee dodging?" Sakura asked.
"The Omote Renge puts a strain on the body. He can barely move." Guy answered.
Gaara sent his sand at Lee once more, only for Lee to start dodging after finally regaining some speed.
"How is Lee healed from the strain?" Sakura wondered.
"Because, in Konoha, the Lotus blooms twice." Guy answered, shocking Kakashi.
"You didn't..." Kakashi realized.
"I did." Guy answered.
"To teach the boy how to open the Eight Gates and the Ura Renge... How many Gates can he open!?"
"Five Gates."
"What are those Eight Gates and the Ura Renge?" Sakura asked.
"The Eight Gates Manipulation is a preparation of taking off limiters to use the Ura Renge." Guy explained.
"In the Chakra system, there are eight gates in each part of the body: the Gate of Opening, the Gate of Healing, the Gate of Life, the Gate of Pain, the Gate of Limit, the Gate of View, the Gate of Wonder and the Gate of Death. These areas have the greatest concentration of chakra in the body. They constantly controls the chakra that flows in one's body. The Lotus unfastens those controls with force and grants the user more than ten times more power." Kakashi explained.
"Omote Renge opens the First Gate. It unfastens the control of the brain and enables the user to use their muscles at their limits." Guy said.
"And the Ura Renge?" Sakura asked.
"It opens the Second Gate and forcefully increases one's strength. After opening the Third Gate, the Ura Renge is carried out." Guy answered.
"But if the Omote Renge strained his body so much..." Sakura trailed off.
"Indeed. By opening all Eight Gates, you gain temporary power surpassing a Hokage..."
"At the cost of the user's life, if the name of the Eighth Gate is anything to go by." Naruto commented, to Sakura's horror.
Kakashi nodded before turning to Guy. "I have no intentions of prying into what that boy is to you and I won't tell you to leave personal affairs out of this... But there is such a thing called limit."
"What do you know about him?" Guy asked, looking at Kakashi with piercing eyes. "He has something precious that he must protect and prove to everyone, even at the cost of his life. That is why I wanted to turn him into a man who could hold on to those words. That is all."
Lee panted as he crossed his arms in front of his face. "Guy-sensei, it is time for me..." His chakra flared as his skin turned red. "...To protect my Nindo, my ninja way!" "Gate of Life, open!"
"He's going to make his move..." Kakashi said.
"Not yet." Guy countered.
Lee crouched, his chakra flaring even more. "Gate of Pain, open!"
Kakashi was awed. "This isn't the result of hard work alone. Is he a genius as well?"
Lee charged at Gaara, with greater speed than before, and kicked him in the chin to send him in the air. Lee appeared over Gaara and punched him, sending him backwards, before appearing behind him and punching him again. This went on as seemingly never-ending aerial combo.
"Gate of Limit, open!" Lee called out. He then punched Gaara in the gut, attaching his bandages to Gaara's scarf. Before Gaara could fall on the floor, Lee pulled the bandages. As Gaara rose into the air, Lee gave a powerful punch and kick to the gut, sending Gaara to the floor. "Ura Renge!"
Gaara's gourd turned into sand as he crashed.
Lee fell, his skin returning to its normal shade.
When the dust dissipated, Gaara was revealed.
The sand had cushioned his fall, even if it was slight. He raised his hand towards Lee, making sand head towards him.
Lee couldn't get up. He could barely crawl.
The sand grabbed his left leg and arm.
"Sabaku Kyu!" Gaara said, closing his fist.
Lee cried out in pain as his left limbs were crushed before falling unconscious.
More sand rushed towards Lee.
"Die!" Gaara demanded.
Before the sand could engulf Lee, Guy stepped in and repelled the sand.
"Why...?" Gaara asked. "Why did you help him?"
"He's an important student that I love." Guy answered.
Gaara got up, the sand returning as his reformed gourd, and walked away, knowing he had won the moment Guy stepped in. He didn't feel like continuing.
Hayate was about to announce the winner, but something surprised him...
Lee was up.
He was standing on his right leg and had gotten into the Goken stance. His face was low enough that his eyes were shadowed.
"Lee..." Guy said as he approached his student. "Stop it. It's over. You shouldn't..." He stopped himself when he noticed something.
Lee's eyes were glazed over.
"Even unconscious, he stands up to fight." Naruto said with a voice filled with respect. Lee's determination...
...was worthy of even the greatest of Belmonts.
Guy was crying in pride for his student as he hugged him.
"Winner: Gaara." Despite the moment he said it, Hayate's tone did not break the moment.
The medics ran towards Lee as Guy let him down on the floor. They inspected his body to see the damages. One of them stood up and led Guy away to talk to him as the other two placed Lee on the stretcher and took him away.
The one medic told Guy that Lee's bones are fractured in multiple places and his muscles were torn up. He could recover...but his body may never handle shinobi life again.
The Jonin took it hard. He was shaking, trying to hold back his tears.
Once the atmosphere calmed down, it was time for the final match...
...Choji against Dosu.
"Hajime."
Choji used Baika no Jutsu to expand his body size and hide his ears inside his body and used Nikudan Sensha try and roll over Dosu, who kept dodging until Choji crashed into a wall. Dosu then punched Choji but, due to the latter's expanded state, it was ineffective.
"My ears are covered! You can't get me like that!"
"So you say." Dosu said before flicking his gauntlet. The sound echoed through Choji's body and rendered him unconscious. "More than 70% of the human body is made of water, which is quite the sound transmitter. In other words, your whole body is like one big ear."
"Winner: Dosu Kinuta. This concludes the preliminary matches."
The winners of each match stepped up to Hayate.
"To those who have made it to the Main matches of the third exam... All but one of you are here, so congratulations." Hayate said.
"Including Sasuke, who isn't present at the moment, there are 6 participants in Konoha, 3 in suna and 1 from Oto." Hiruzen thought as he looked at the Konoha winners: Naruto, Neji, Ino, Shikamaru and Shino. "I will now explain the main matches of the third exam. They will be shown in public. We wish for all of you to show off your abilities as your country's representative power. Therefore, to let you train and create new tactics, the third exam will be in one month. After all, we do have to prepare for everyone's arrival. Announce to the feudal lords and head ninja of individual countries that the preliminary exams have ended. Time is needed to gather everyone for the main matches. Each of you will randomly pick a number inside the box Anko is holding."
"Everyone, take turns." Anko said as she walked to each participant.
After everyone picked a number, Ibiki asked to say aloud.
"9." Dosu said.
"1." Naruto said.
"8." Temari said.
"5." Kankuro said.
"3." Gaara said.
"7." Shikamaru said.
"2." Neji said.
"6." Shino said.
"10." Ino said.
"That leaves Sasuke Uchiha with 4." Ibiki said as he wrote something on a notepad.
"We will now tell you the match ups for the third exam. Ibiki."
"Yes." Ibiki showed a tournament-style drawing.
Match 1: Naruto Uzumaki vs Neji Hyuuga.
Match 2: Sabaku no Gaara vs Sasuke Uchiha.
Match 3: Kankuro vs Shino Aburame.
Match 4: Shikamaru Nara vs Temari.
Match 5: Dosu Kinuta vs Ino Yamanaka.
"If it's a tournament, does it mean only one of us can become Chunin?" Shikamaru asked.
"That's not how it is." Hiruzen said. "There will be judges, such as myself, the Kazekage, as well as the feudal lords and head ninja of other countries, who will be potential clients. They will grade you and if you are qualified to be Chunin, even if you lose in the first round, you will become Chunin."
"That means everyone here can become Chunin?" Temari asked.
"Yes, as well as nobody." The Hokage answered. "The more matches you fight, the more chances you have of showing off your skills. That is all. See you all next month."
Before Naruto could leave, however, the Hokage asked to speak to him.
"Is there a problem, Old Man?" Naruto asked.
"I was simply wondering when, accurately, you started being able to use those chains."
"About after that Orochimaru guy struck me in the gut with the...Gogyo Fuin, I think he called it." He lied.
"As I thought. Kushina restrained the Kyuubi with her chains for years, so of course the fox would try to block the ability. Now that he can use them, though, it shouldn't be a problem." The old man thought. "The Gogyo Fuin? Such a seal disrupts the chakra control of the victim. Show me the seal, Naruto-kun, I will remove it."
"You will? Thanks, Old Man." Naruto said, raising his shirt to reveal the seal.
Hiruzen braced his hand the same way Orochimaru did. "Gogyo Kaiin!" He said, hitting the seal.
Naruto coughed a little at the blow. "Thanks, Old Man." Naruto repeated.
"You're welcome, Naruto-kun. Now, off you go. You have training to do."
Naruto left and, the moment he was alone, disappeared in a shadow to return to the castle.
And there we go, another chapter! Yes, Naruto will use training weights, BUT only during pre-shippuden. I wanted to add an intimidation factor against Naruto's enemies.