Sasuke's Troubles

The teams that had passed the second exam stood in front of the third Hokage, their teachers, and examiners. Most of the teams were still tired and beat from the second exam, but they all stood up straight and listened to the Third's explanation of why the Chunin exams worked they way they do.

Hinata glared over at Karin who stood next to Naruto in the rows.

Hayate landed in front of the third hokage. "Sorry for the interruption." He stood and turned around to face the young genin, coughing. "Before we move onto the third exam we have to have a preliminary round."

"A preliminary round?" Sakura questioned.

"Why do we have to have a preliminary round?" Shikamaru asked.

"To be honest we didn't believe so many of you would pass the second exam," Hayate said. "Now if anyone wants to drop out for any reason now is the time."

Everyone stood, looking as if no one was going to raise their hand for a moment. Sakura was going to inform everyone about Sasuke's curse mark, but Sasuke stopped her. Naruto didn't bother getting involve he knew what he needed to do.

Then out of nowhere Kabuto raised his hand with a smile on his face. "Alright you got me. I give up." The white hair genin then left to everyone's surprise.

"Since no one else seems to be leaving we will decide who will fight in each round," Hayate said.

Anko turned around to face the wall. She adjusted the micophone on her headset. "Lower the panel."

The panel lowered to reveal the screen. "Since there are twenty-one of you, these matches will be broken down into three way free for all," Hayate explained. "Anything goes in these matches, however if it's clear that a person can't go on I have a right to end a match in order to save as many lives as possible." The names of the twenty one shinobi flashed across the screen in a random order.

Everyone of the wannabe chunin stared at the screen intensely, seeing who they might fight.

The names stopped and fell on:

"They didn't waste any time," Sasuke said.

"Oh, no," Sakura cried.

"I couldn't ask for a better match," said Yoroi.

"Now I'll get my revenge," Zaku responded.

"The first round will be Sasuke vs. Yoroi vs. Zaku," Hayate announced. "Everyone who isn't in the match please go up to the upper level and clear the stage."

The other shinobi did as Hayate said as Kakashi stepped beside Sasuke. "Sasuke don't use your sharingan."

"So you know about it huh?"

"Just so you know if things get out of hand I'll have to stop the match." Kakashi walked away to meet up with Sakura and Naruto.

Stop the match? Sasuke focused on Yoroi who stood across from him and then at Zaku who was on his left with his arms still in his sling. Sasuke shifted his eyes toward the mark on the back of his neck. This thing seems to respond to my charka. Which means that even my own jutsu are off limits. He focused his eyes back on both of his opponents. Maybe I can make them both laugh to death.

I'm going to make you pay, Sasuke. Zaku slowly pulled his right hand out of his sling. He smiled. "Well, looks at that I've got feeling in one of them."

Hayate stood across from Zaku. He raised his hands. "Are all of you ready?"

"Yes."

"You bet."

"Let's do this."

"Then let the match begin," Hayate announced.

Sasuke pulled out two kunai and a shuriken. He was ready to throw them when the curse mark on his neck suddenly reacted. "Already." He fell backwards with both of his opponents gunning for him. He threw the weapons on his way down.

Yoroi pulled out a kunai and knocked away the two knives that came at him and charged forward at the young Uchiha.

Sasuke's shuriken flew in Zaku's direction. Zaku jumped out of the way.

Yoroi formed a hand sign. Charka formed around his hands. He leaped forward, jumping on top of the weaken Sakura, thrusting his hand on top of Sasuke's forehead and grabbed it as he slammed the boy to the ground.

"What's going on?" Sasuke questioned. He felt her body slowly growing weaker and weaker as the man held onto him. His hands fell dropped to the ground. "My charka you're stealing it from me."

"So you figured it out, huh?"

Zaku thrust out his good arm toward the two. "I don't think so. Sasuke is mine. Slicing Sound Wave!" A powerful air blast shot out of his arm at his two opponents were too busy fighting with each other to notice him.

Sakura and Ino grabbed the rails in front of them and leaned forward. "SASUKE!"

A bit of concern flashed across Naruto's face as well since all they could see was dust surrounding where Sasuke and Yoroi were fighting.

"This isn't good," Kakashi said.

Sasuke and Yoroi slammed into the wall underneath where everyone was watching. Sasuke held his fist against the wall, struggling to keep himself standing. "Damn it."

Yoroi's back was against the wall. Blood fell out of his mask and his back was badly injured from taking most of the blow of Zaku's attack. "What a pain? I should have taken that idiot out first. Well fine if he wants to play it that way."

Yoroi pushed himself out of the wall and charged through the smoke that slowly departed.

"How was that?" Zaku laughed.

"How about you stay out of my way," Yoroi's voice came out of the smoke. He leaped out of the smoke and tackled the sound ninja to the ground, grabbing the teen's chest with his special palm jutsu. "This time I'm going to ensure you stay out of my way."

Zaku felt himself slowly becoming more useless by the second not even able to pull out his second arm from the sling to help himself. "Damn you, I want Sasuke."

"Sasuke is my prey."

The dust had cleared.

"Where's Sasuke?" Ino cried.

"Maybe he lost already," Shikamaru said.

Ino grabbed Shikamaru by his shirt and shook him around. "Don't you say that! Sasuke is the best. There's no way he would lose just like that."

Sasuke's teammates observed the match to see what would happen next.

Zaku barely had any energy to fight back as Yoroi continued to steal his charka. "There that outta keep you out of my way." He turned in Sasuke's direction when five shuriken flew at him and Zaku.

The shuriken exploded.

Sasuke went from the rabbit hand sign to the tiger. "Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu!" He exploded the flames from his mouth along the smoke he created with his explosion, creating a larger blast that reached up the second floor.

The ninjas covered their fronts with their arms, feeling the intensity of the flames that blew near them. "Isn't Sasuke going a bit too far with this?" Naruto questioned.

"I can't believe a genin is capable do this," Anko said.

The black smoke rose up into the air and through the doorway.

A sharp pain shot through Sasuke's body from the curse mark. He grabbed his neck and bit down on his teeth. He backed into the wall, shutting his eyes. "Well, at least it's over." Sasuke breathed heavily.

"You think so." Yoroi jumped out of the burning smoke with his arm pulled back. Pieces of shuriken were impaled in the man's body along with flames leaping off of parts of him. "I'm not falling that easily." He thrust his hand forward to try to try to grab Sasuke again and steal more charka.

Sasuke rolled over the wall to dodge the attack. Yoroi's hand slammed into the wall. Sasuke pushed himself off the wall. Yoroi went after him, thrusting his hand at Sasuke over and over again as he dodged them as best he could.

What do I do? If I get touched by that I'd finished, Sasuke thought.

"You're not going to get away." Yoroi kept thrusting his hand at Sasuke.

Sasuke then spotted Lee among the crowd as he moved from under the staircase, remembering his battle with Naruto. Yoroi thrust his hand again when Sasuke disappeared. "What?!" Sasuke kicked him up off the ground from below.

He then flipped over on all fours and launched himself up in the air behind the ninja. Yoroi looked below him. "Dancing Leaf Shadow."

Lee and Naruto looked in amazement. "He managed to do it from the one time he saw me do it."

"From here on out its all original," Sasuke said. Just as he was about to prepare his next strike the curse mark began to spread up his neck to his face in a fiery red.

Orochimaru smirked at the results.

Is this as far as he goes?, Anko wondered to herself.

"No! I won't let this beat me." Sasuke forced the curse mark back in its place. He spun around Yoroi slammed his fist into the man's face as he was too slow to react. He kicked him down several times until he was just inches off the floor. "Lion's Barrage!"

Sasuke flipped around and slammed his leg right down on the man's stomach, knocking him out cold. He slid back across the now clear floor, revealing he was the only one still conscious.

"And the winner is Sasuke Uchiha."