A/N: Sorry it took so long. Events in my life, Dragon Ball Super finally being dubbed, and a serious case of writer's block. I will try not to take as long, but no promises.

Chapter 24: The Finals Begin

The stadium was filled to the brim with people. The Hokage greeted the nobles who came, including the Land of Fire's feudal lord, who came with his advisors,leaving his wife and her cat Tora back at the capital along with his daughter, Naho. Finally, the Kazekage approached him. "Lord Kazekage," Hiruzen greeted.

"Ah, Lord Hokage. It's been too long," the Kazekage said. "It's good to be here. I hear the matches are gonna be especially entertaining his time around."

"Yes, you're children will be fighting the heirs of the Nara, Aburame, and Hyūga clans."

"Yes, those should prove to be interesting to watch. And I hear an Uchiha is fighting too. The last one, besides Itachi."

"Yes, Sasuke Uchiha." Hiruzen said, wondering why his fellow Kage sounded more interested in him than his own children. "He is fighting in the first round."

"I see. I'm curious how he does compared to his brother." The Kazekage let himself be lead toward the private stadium box where the two of them as well as their guards would watch the exams.

Haku and Karin sat together with Tsunami and Inari. Lee was allowed to leave the hospital to watch the match, so long as he remained under Guy's supervision. Held up by crutches, he and stood near the exit on one side of the arena while Kurenai and Asuma stood at the other end. Sakura sat with Ino, Kiba, Choji, and Tenten.

Down in the center of the arena, all the finalists waited for the start of the exams. All but two that is. Neither Dosu nor Sasuke were anywhere to be found. Soon, a man in the standard jonin attire approached. He had brown hair and eyes and a senbon in his mouth. His headband was bandana style. "I'm your proctor, Genma Shiranui." Some of the genin wondered where Hayate was since during the preliminaries he said he was gonna be proctor. But before anyone could ask, Gemma continued. "Remember to stand up straight and present yourselves proudly to the spectators, especially the nobles who've come to watch. Everyone here has come to watch you. It's important to keep in mind that your performance today will shape your ninja careers, so you want to make a good impression."

The two Kage sat down, each with a pair of ANBU for their respective by their side. Hiruzen was unnerved by the fact that Sasuke Uchiha had yet to arrive, though he hid it well. 'I hope Orochimaru hasn't gotten his hands on him yet.' He stood up and approached the edge. "Welcome all, to the Chunin Exam Finals!" A large cheer went up from the crowd. "We thank you for coming to the Village Hidden in the Leaves to witness our final 9 contestant as they fight for the honor of becoming chunin!"

"Nine?" the Kazekage asked. "Aren't you missing one?"

"Hey, I forgot to mention this," Genma said, "but there's been a little change in the lineup." He took out a piece of paper and showed it to them. Most of the matches were the same, but now Shikamaru was fighting Temari while Neji would fight the winner of Naruto and Sasuke's match.

"Hmm? Did Dosu drop out?" Hinata wondered aloud. She didn't think he would. Last she saw him, he looked intent on a rematch with them. Naruto kept quiet, as he was order not to tell anyone of the former Sound nin's defection, though he was tempted to answer Hinata.

"And what if Sasuke Uchiha does not show up?" Neji asked the proctor.

"Then he forfeits and you battle Naruto Uzumaki instead," the proctor answered.

'Well, at least I'll win the bet,' Naruto thought, not exactly eager to fight Hinata's cousin but would be satisfied with winning the bet.

'I hope he does appear then. He at least could provide more of a challenge compared to Uzumaki,' Neji thought.

"Now, the rules of the finals are the same as the preliminaries. You fight until your opponent dies or gives up, and I can intervene and end the match if I deem it necessary. No arguments. Is that clear?" Everyone nodded. "Good. The first match is between Sasuke Uchiha and Naruto Uzumaki." Everyone looked, but Sasuke still hadn't arrived yet.

Up in the stands, the Hokage sighed. "Guess we'll have to disqualify him."

"Hold on," the Kazekage said before Hiruzen could give the order. "I know this seems unfair, but why not give him until the end of the other matches. After all, many of the nobles and shinobi leaders came here solely to see the Last Uchiha in action. It'd be a shame to let them down."

Hiruzen thought for a moment. "Very well. The match between Sasuke Uchiha and Naruto Uzumaki will be postponed." He turned to one of his guards and told him to relay the message to the proctor.

"And here I took the effort to get here on time."

The two Kage and their escorts looked back to see Jiraiya approach. "I had a feeling you were in the village, my old pupil," Hiruzen said as he dismissed his remaining guard.

"What gave it away?"

"I'd rather not talk about it in front of our guest," Hiruzen answered, gesturing to the Kazekage. "Let's just say it has to do with a report Anko gave me about a certain incident."

Jiraiya rubbed the back of his head sheepishly before turning the the other leader. "Lord Kazekage. A pleasure to make your acquaintance once more," Jiraiya greeted with a short bow.

"The pleasure is all mine, Jiraiya of the Sannin," the Kazekage said. Unseen by both Hiruzen and Jiraiya, his fist was clenched.

"What brings you here, though?" Hiruzen asked. It was unusual for him to stick around.

"I came to watch my student," Jiraiya responded.

"Student?" the Kazekage asked. "That's very interesting. Very interesting indeed." Hiruzen had a pretty good idea who it was.


The ANBU whispered into Genma's ear. "Ok, the first match has been postponed, so we'll move on to the second match."

"Wait, how is that fair?" Hinata demanded.

"The orders come from the Hokage. Apparently, our more important guests would be very upset if they didn't get to see the Sasuke fight, which would not be good for our village. However, if he doesn't arrive by the end of your match, he'll be disqualified regardless." Hinata huffed but with no choice accepted it. Naruto was also disappointed, as he was hoping to be able to win his bet without fighting proctor turned to Neji. "Unless you wish to start your match with Naruto Uzumaki now."

Neji thought about it for a moment before answering. "I'll wait."

Hinata looked at her cousin in confusion but Genma simply accepted it and said, "Shikamaru Nara and Temari of the Desert, stay here. The rest of you, please vacate the area."

"Man, what a drag," Shikamaru complained. "I think I'll just give up now."

"I do not think that is a good idea," Shino said. "Why? Because many people here were looking forward to Sasuke's match, but since that's been postponed, it's best to give them a fight now, or it could have negative repercussions on our village."

Shikamaru sighed. "I hate how right you are. How troublesome. Fine, I'll fight."

The other finalists left the area and went into the stands, leaving only Shikamaru and Temari. "Ok, I've already explained the rules." Genma held his hand up, then brought it down. "Begin!"

"I can't believe I have to fight because Sasuke's a no show. And it's another girl too. What a drag," the Nara heir complained.

"Geez, you Leaf shinobi really are a let down," Temari said as she grabbed her fan. "This'll be easy." She charged and swung it horizontally. Shikamaru duck, but Temari spun with her momentum, bringing the metal fan up then bringing it down to where Shikamaru was.

He jumped back and sighed. "Honestly, I'm not interested in being a chunin. Not yet anyway. But that doesn't mean I'll make this easy for you. I can't exactly lose to a girl now can I?"

"Funny, every guy I've fought has said that right before I blow them away!" Temari exclaimed as she opened her fan and swung it. The resulting wind gust cause dirt to fly into the air, blocking the Nara from her view. His friends looked down at the stadium with concern, but when the dust settled, Shikamaru was gone.

Temari looked around found him crouched in the shadow of a tree. 'He intends to lure me there and bind me with his shadow jutsu. He must think I'm stupid if he thinks I'll fall for that.'

Meanwhile, Shikamaru mentally groaned. 'Seriously, why did it have to be another girl? Troublesome, and I don't even want to be a chunin yet.' He looked up at the sky for a brief moment. 'Man, clouds have it best. They just drift in the sky, not a care in the world.' He stood up and looked at Temari. 'Oh well. A guy's gotta do what a guy's gotta do.'

Temari frowned as he saw the arrogant grin on his face. 'If he's gonna underestimate me then fine! He'll see what a big mistake that is!' "Wind Style: Wind Scythe Jutsu!" Swinging her fan, Temari sent a large gust of wind at him. Shikamaru tried to keep himself rooted in place as the attack left cuts on the trees.

Dust clouds covered the area as Temari smirked, but it was short lived as Shikamaru's shadow stretched out. It nearly touched her own shadow, but Temari reacted quickly and did a series of backflips until the shadow stopped, having reached it's limit. Letting out a sigh of relief, she looked at her opponent, the dust clouds having dissipated. Shikamaru's shadow retracted as Temari drew a line on the ground with her fan. "Clever, you almost got me. But almost won't cut it. Now I know more about your jutsu. You can manipulate any shadow you're in, not just your own. Like the wall, that's why you're over there. And now I know your limit. Fifthteen meters and thirty-two centimeters. So as long as I stay behind this line, I'm safe from your jutsu."

Shikamaru, sporting minor cuts on his arms, couldn't help but admire the way she analised his jutsu so quickly. 'She's smarter than I thought. And judging by the skills she possesses, she's likely an expert at long range combat. What a drag.' Kneeling down, Shikamaru brought his hands together and formed a circle with them.

"What's that?" Kurenai asked Asuma. "Some kind of handsign?"

The smoker chuckled and shook his head. "No, nothing like that. This is just what he does when he's thinking."

"When he's thinking?"

"He's not like most ninja his age who are impulsive and like to do things quickly. No, he takes things slow, planning every move to ensure victory in the end. It's why he's so good at shogi. In fact, the only person who's ever beaten him at the game is his father. Not even I have won a match. Not a single game."

"He's definitely his father's son." Kurenai asked.

Asuma smirked as he lit a cigarette. "That's right."

"Come on Shikamaru!" Hinata yelled.

"Show her what happens when you mess with someone from Team Ino!" Ino shouted as well.

'Is she really still calling us that?' Shikamaru thought with a sweatdrop as Temari sent another wind gust at him, forcing him to take cover behind one of the trees. 'It's official. All blonds are troublesome,' he thinks as he removes his jacket.

"What's wrong? Can't do anything now that I've figured out your jutsu?" Temari taunted as she released another torrent of wind. "Come on! Either give up or come out and fight!"

No sooner than when the words left her mouth did a kunai burst from the cloud of dust, forcing Temari to duck. Another one came, which was blocked by her fan. Shikamaru's shadow sped toward her. Making sure she was still behind the line she drew, she smirked, knowing she was still out of her range. But it faded the moment the shadow crossed line. She barely managed to back away enough before the shadow stopped again.

"Not bad," Shikamaru complimented. "You're quick on your feet."

Temari glared at her opponent. "I should have known. You weren't just hiding, you were buying time for the wall's shadow to get longer as the sun gets lower, increasing your range." 'I'll have to watch out for that, but if keep an eye on the sun and measure the distance he's gain from last time, I can still keep out of his range.'

"Temari! Above you!" Kankuro warned.

"What?" the Sand kunoichi looked up to see a kunai on a parachute made using Shikamaru's jacket. It casted a shadow that touched Shikamaru's own, further increasing his range and forcing Temari to maneuver away.

"I got you now." Shikamaru's shadow continued to chase Temari until finally it reached it's limit.

Panting Temari stared at the shadow user. "And here I thought you were nothing but a slacker." 'But things are getting dangerous. Time is not on my side. As the sun lowers, his shadow's range increases, and he might come up with more ways to extend his shadow. I need to end this now.' Temari hid behind her fan as she plan, unaware of the quiet hiss until it was too late. The explosion, while to far to hurt her, had knocked her away.

Right into Shikamaru's waiting shadow.

"Bout time. Shadow Possession, complete," Shikamaru said as he stood. "You focused too much on my shadow to see what else I might be doing, or notice I was leading you around."

Temari growled as her body moved against her will. She couldn't believe she had been outsmarted like that.

The crowd cheered as they expected the end of the match. Shikamaru walked over to the Sand nin. "And now it's time to finish this." He raised his hand, Temari's moving too. "I forfeit."

The audience went silent once Shikamaru uttered those words, followed by a loud collective, 'What!"

"I knew this would happen," Choji commented as he grabbed more chips.

The Nara released his jutsu, freeing Temari. "I can't continue 'cause I'm low on chakra. Which is too bad, cause I've already planned the next 200 moves in my head." Temari would have scoffed but a part of her believed he really did. "But like I said, my chakra's running low, so I'm done. Besides, if I'd won, I'd have to fight again later and that'd be such a drag."

"Winner by forfeit, Temari!" Genma announced.

The civilians boo'd the young Nara, but most of the shinobi looked at him impressed by his display of his strategizing skills.

"I should have known that lazy bum would've given up," Hinata said aloud.

"Still, his performance during the match was impressive. The way he formulated a plan and adjusted as necessary in order for it to succeed," Shino told her. "Even if he gave up at the end."

"No doubt that was part of the plan too," the Hyūga girl added. Shino couldn't help but nod at that.

"Alright. Next match is Shino Aburame vs Kankuro of the Desert. Would both combatants please come down."

"Actually proctor," Kankuro called out, "I forfeit."

"Are you sure?" Genma asked, surprised by what he was hearing.

Everyone stared at Kankuro, wondering why he would give up now. "Yeah, not as prepared as I hoped I'd be. Gotta take a knee this time."

"Ok then. Winner by forfeit, Shino." The crowd's disappointment was audible. "Ok then. Next match, will…"

He was interrupted when smoke appeared in the middle of the arena.

"Sorry, are we late?"


Alpha: Finally. Probably not my finest work, but I wanted to get this out of the way already. So since this is done, the interesting stuff is coming up next.

Naruto: More waiting?

Alpha: I know. Waiting sucks. But it'll be worth it for what I've got planned.

Naruto: Better be.