Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

He glanced up at where the Kages were sat. Naruto's face was expressionless, but Itachi could tell that he was pleased with both his daughters' performances.

Chapter 12 – Break Time

Shino stepped up.

"The winner is… Uzumaki Kaname no Konohagakure." Kaname grinned and made her way up to where the other victors stood. "There will be a thirty minute respite so that the competitors can recover slightly before their next match," Shino added as medics carried Aiko away. The crowd all surged to their feet and applauded as Shino beckoned for the remaining eight to come down. They complied and were greeted by the standing ovation. When they were finally allowed to go, Itachi went to where the defeated ninja were. The first people he saw were Yorusuke and Hisuke, who grinned at him.

"Judging by the fact you look unharmed and aren't being carried in on a stretcher, I'd say you won your match," Hisuke commented. Itachi nodded.

"Cool. Now tell me, who fought who and who won," Yorusuke demanded. Itachi sighed.

"Hiroshi fought that small Ame ninja – Tadashi – and lost. The Ame kunoichi, Megumi, lost against Kei. The other Ame ninja, Koushi, beat Isas. The puppet master, Taro, beat Hotaru. The Suna kunoichi, Usagi, beat Hidé. I beat the other Suna ninja, Mamoru. Jun beat Genzō and Aiko got beaten by Kaname." The twins looked impressed.

"So what's happening now?" Hisuke asked.

"We've been given a thirty minute respite to recover before the second round," Itachi explained.

"There you are," Mikoto said, having just come from seeing Isas, putting a hand on Itachi's shoulder. She inspected her brother. "You're getting low on Chakra," she commented. "Why did you keep the Chidori Nagashi activated for that long?" Itachi grinned sheepishly at her.

"I needed to lure him out," he explained. "And the only way to do that was to pretend that I didn't know where he was." Mikoto sighed and gave him a hug.

"Baka. But I'm glad you made it through to the second round," she said. There was the sound of running feet. The siblings looked round to see Tani running over to them, pursued by their parents. She flung herself on her brother, who staggered back a few paces, much to the amusement of the twins.

"You did it! You did it!" she squealed in delight. "You won your match!" He nodded. Sasuke and Sakura came up and pulled Tani off him.

"Well done," Sasuke said. "That was well fought." Sakura nodded in agreement.

"And now you've seen the others' jutsus." Itachi nodded, then paused.

"Unless, like me they were keeping back their stronger jutsus," he said thoughtfully. "That's what the intelligent ones would have done." His uncle walked up and smiled.

"You did well," he complemented Itachi. The teen grinned.

"Thanks," he said. "How much longer to I have until we regroup?"

"Paranoid," Sakura laughed. "Twenty minutes." Itachi grinned again. "So you should be resting, not wandering around." The grin disappeared.

"Mu-um," he said. "I can look after myself. I'm fine." His mother glared at him.

"I'm not stupid, you know. You're only at about three-quarters of your normal Chakra level which means that you need to rest." Itachi scowled. The Ame ninja, listening nearby, gasped quietly.

"He sustained that powerful jutsu for so long and he's still got three-quarters of his Chakra left?" Megumi whispered in disbelief. "This guy's Chakra is insane!"

"You got that right," Hiroshi said, walking up to them. "Itachi's quite likely to have more Chakra than anyone else that's made it to the third exam, maybe out of everyone who took the exam in the first place. After all, he's an Uchiha – the clan known for their extraordinary Chakra levels. As well as that, he's got the brains to use it no more than necessary – and he knows exactly how much is necessary. That's what comes of having a genius for a mother and an almost total powerhouse for a father. Not that Sasuke's dumb. He's pretty clever. Oh yeah, and his uncle's a true prodigy too. So you have no chance against him… Why am I even explaining this too you – it's such a drag." The three foreign ninja glared at the Nara.

"You're just trying to intimidate us," Koushi accused. Hiroshi shrugged.

"You can see it that way if you want," he said. "It doesn't concern me. After all, I lost my match… remember?"

Itachi grinned. He could hear the conversation that his best friend was having with the Ame ninja. So they're underestimating me, he thought. That might be a mistake on their part… His mother grabbed his arm and dragged him away, amusing the twins to no end. The rest of his family followed. They entered a room that was set aside for the competitors. The remaining two Suna ninja glared at him as he entered with his family.

"He's strong – I don't want to have to fight him," they both thought. Naruto and Gaara were there as well. When they saw the Uchihas they walked over to them.

"You're doing well," Naruto commented.

"Not many people could over power Mamoru as easily as you did," Gaara agreed. "You are just like your father." Sasuke looked at the two Kages.

"Who thought up the matches?" he asked. "They can't have been coincidence." Naruto nodded.

"It was a decision made by the proctors, myself and Gaara," he explained. "We all thought that it would be amusing to put Itachi against Mamoru to see who was stronger." Sasuke glared at him. "Well who can resist déjà vu?" he defended himself.

"Déjà vu?" Itachi asked his father.

"During the Chuunin exams when a war broke out before it was finished, I was pitted against Gaara," Sasuke explained.

"...But the war broke out right in the middle of out match so no-one found out who was the stronger – the top shinobi of Suna or the Uchiha clan," Gaara completed. "Everyone wanted to know who was stronger - our match was the most eagerly anticipated of the lot. They delayed it twice because Sasuke was late. Technically, he should have been disqualified, but the Kages refused to disqualify him for some reason." Mikoto stared at her father.

"You were late?" She asked incredulously. He scowled.

"It was Kakashi's fault."

Naruto laughed.

"And you just hadto make a dramatic entrance instead of using the door," he said. Itachi ignored the argument that broke out. Instead, he focused on what he knew about the remaining Chuunin. The Ame ninja, Koushi, appeared to favour Joro Senbon no jutsu and had fuiton and suiton based chakra. The other Ame ninja, Tadashi, used a strange jutsu that he didn't recognise. He was very strong – probably the most dangerous opponent left in the competition. The Suna kunoichi, Usagi, used fuiton jutsu. That Kyodai Sensu of hers was dangerous. The other Suna ninja, Taro, was a puppet master with a powerful puppet. Kaname had a powerful kekkei genkai, making her dangerous, but as long as he stayed out of her trigrams he would be safe. Jun summoned animals, which made him hard to fight – he could summon an animal to cope with virtually every situation. Finally, Kei. She was highly intelligent, and had Shintenshin no jutsu and other, similar, techniques. Her Kage jutsus were a problem.

"Earth to Itachi..." Naruto said, waving a hand in front of his face. He blinked and looked at the Hokage inquiringly.

"What?"

"Seeing as you've thoroughly analysed your opponents, who do you not want to fight?"

"A few of them," Itachi hedged.

"Who?" Naruto pressed, earning himself an infamous Uchiha glare.

"A few of them."

Sasuke laughed.

"You're not going to get him to say who, but the fact that any of them worry him is slightly surprising."

"Not really," Hisuke said, walking in with his twin. "Itachi's paranoia has increased a bit during this exam. He's worrying too much. He could take on any Chuunin in this room and win."

Naruto laughed.

"Just the Chuunin? He could give me or Gaara a run for our money," he confessed. The Chuunin in the room all looked at him and then at Itachi. "Is he really that strong?" they all wondered, now wary of the good looking sixteen year old standing by the door with his family. In answer, Hisuke chuckled.

"I know he could – he is my teammate, after all."

Sasuke looked at his only son and grinned.

"You're not listening, are you?"

Itachi didn't reply.

"Itachi..." Silence. "Itachi..." Still no answer. "ITACHI!" The teen jerked.

"Huh?" he asked. His father sighed.

"Stop spacing out – you're worse than your mother." Itachi just looked at his father." Itachi just blinked at his father.

"Just leave him," Sakura said. "He's probably thinking up tactics or something like that." Her son nodded.

"Well go sit down then," Sasuke said. "Don't just stand there looking like a lemon." Itachi glared at his father before going to a vacant chair in the corner and sitting down. Mikoto walked over to him and sat on the floor next to him. Tani soon followed and the three siblings sat in a companionable silence. The adults continued to talk about things that didn't really interest them. Itachi just concentrated on resting. No matter who he fought next, the match would be tough and he knew it. The other seven would-be-Jounin watched the trio, surprised at how similar they looked. All with raven hair and emerald eyes, except the oldest who had her Sharingan activated – they were unmistakeably siblings.

"Five minutes," Shino said, sticking his head round the door. The Chuunin nodded and rose. They headed out the room, following the bug master. All except Itachi, because his sisters were holding on to his arm. Tadashi saw Mikoto hug him before letting go. Tani gave her brother a crushing embrace before she too released him. The Uchiha boy glared at the Ame ninja as his family wished him luck. The usually serious Ame Chuunin grinned back before going to join his teammate. Itachi followed soon afterwards.

Thanks for reading!

Tsari