Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto nor any of the characters, beside the main OC. All credit for creating this amazing series goes to Mr. Kishimoto

Author's note: thanks to everyone for reading. Answer to the reviews are at the bottom.

I want to give a special thanks to all those that have show me their support: to those who have added this story to favourites or alerts, but especially to those who have reviewed. I just hit 100 reviews and I am elated. I cannot say enough how much they help me and encourage me to keep writing, because even though I always loved to write and enjoyed it, your support makes it all the better altogether. Thank you again.

Without further ado, here is it next chapter:

THIS IS SO TROUBLESOME

Third match: Shikamaru vs. Temari

"Next match up..." Genma shouted in that moment. "...Temari and Nara Shikamaru."

Temari immediately prepared for battle, looking eager. She made a somehow theatrical entrance riding her fan down to the field.

"Nay, yours was much better, mi-chan." Naruto said. "Now she looks just like she wanted to imitate you."

"What a drag." Shikamaru sighed. "Akimi, did you dig your way through the holes you and your clones shot out from?" he asked in a low voice.

Akimi tilted her head. "Yes. I actually entered the ground from the hole Naruto dug, to save chakra, so they are all connected."

Shikamaru nodded. "I am thinking about retiring, you know."

Akimi shook her head, while Naruto stealthy made his way behind the lazy genius.

"Do you trust me, Shikamaru?" Akimi suddenly said.

The Nara's eyes widened, both because he didn't expect the question and because she hadn't used a honorific suffix. He nodded, silently wondering what was all about.

"Save chakra." she replied. "And make it as long as you can, please."

"What?"

"Just listen to 'mi-chan. And fight!" Naruto exclaimed and promptly shoved him. The poor boy fell down, arriving in the arena head on.

"This is so troublesome..."

Akimi watched with a small smile as Shikamaru lazily made his way towards Temari and Genma.

"Everything is set up." Naruto said in that moment. "The False Conversation Seal is in place."

The girl nodded. During the one month break for training she had looked up a lot of advanced sealing techniques – especially time-space and barriers – and she had also developed a lot of useful supplementary seals, first of all the Team Compass Seal, as she had called it. The False Conversation seal was instead the combination of a medium powered privacy seal with a genjutsu seal, that basically masked any conversation so that is sounded like small talk. And if someone recognised the genjutsu and dispelled it, then the privacy seal was still in place.

"Something is up." Akimi said then. "You know as much and Kakashi-sensei confirmed it. We knew that the return of an old foe like Orochimaru didn't bode well for our village, but if this happens while Suna sends here someone like Gaara..."

"... it's suspicious." Naruto concluded for her.

"Or curious at the very least." the girl nodded.

"You think they are going to backstab us." Shino darkly said.

"Aye. Konoha has been expecting an invasion. ANBU has been very busy in these past month and there a lot of them in the stadium right now." Akimi explained. "But I don't think they suspected a betrayal... until yesterday."

"We discovered Gaara holds a Bijū for mere chance yesterday." Naruto explained. "And Akimi informed the jiji of it."

"Hokage-sama listened to you?"

"Of course he did!" Naruto exclaimed. "After all Akimi has unrevealed the secrets of my special seal, so there is no way jiji underestimates her."

Shino nodded, a little smirk on his lips.

"I've been thinking about it since yesterday." Akimi said then. "When it was announced your match was being delayed, I had Kaera listen to the Sand Siblings. They were worried about Uchiha-san not being here on time... that it would hinder their plan."

Naruto frowned. "I thought their plan was having Gaara unleash Shukaku here."

"Yes, of course, but I think Orochimaru is the mind behind all of this." Akimi answered.

"It's very likely they also have a further plot to create havoc in the village." Shino murmured. "It's logical after all... and they may use the chaos as a chance to get to Uchiha-san."

"Because we know how much the Oro-teme is interested in the Sasuke very well." Naruto nodded gravely.

"So when sensei told me to patient he was hinting at this delay." Shino exclaimed.

"Precisely. I think they are making Uchiha-san late on purpose." Akimi said. "At least to buy time and ensure his protection."

"Something else is troubling you, 'mi-chan." Naruto softly said.

Akimi watched absently as Temari once again shoved a hurling windstorm towards a battered Shikamaru. "Yes." she answered at last. "I have a bad feeling in my guts. A very, very bad one." she sighed. "I didn't like one bit Sandaime-sama's expression yesterday when I talked to him. He looked somehow... resigned."

Naruto put an hand on her shoulder. "The old man is the strongest ninja in the village. He is the Hokage. He has upon his shoulder the duty to care and protect all the people of Konoha. He was probably worried, that's all."

Akimi nodded. "I suppose you are right."

"We are only genins." Shino said then. "But I believe we can make a difference. You two taught me this. We'll keep an eye on them." his eyes shifted towards Kankurō and Gaara.

"And we are very well suited to fight that team." Naruto chuckled. "By the way, how much chakra did you use in the match, 'mi-chan?"

She shrugged. "Well, the Shuriken shadow clones was a bit of a overkill, the Goukakyuu didn't bother me at all and I trained a lot with Doton during this month... so I would say around a quarter. Hopefully I will be up to the top when I fight Gaara."

"'mi-chan..."

"I'll be careful, 'to-kun. I've a plan." Akimi smiled at him, reassuringly

"You asked Shika to make it long..." Naruto said, deactivating the privacy seal. "So you could recover, right?"

"Indeed." Akimi smirked. "Let's enjoy the match. I'm curious to see what strategy Shikamaru will come up with!"

Shikamaru landed supine on the ground and was immediately drawn to the clouds. The crowd sounded a little disappointed. 'Damn, Naruto! And damn you, Akimi! What the hell does it mean: save chakra and make it as long as you can? I don't want to fight!'

In that moment Temari pounded the ground with her heavy fan. "Well, are you going to give up as well?"

'And my opponent is a girl, again!'

Few moments passed and Shikamaru noted that Team 7, just above him, was deep in conversation. Akimi had a dark and serious expression on. 'Maybe I should listen to her.'

"If you aren't going to attack, I will!" Temari shouted, racing towards him.

"Ehi, I haven't started the match yet..." Genma protested... to no avail.

Temari simply ignored him and promptly smashed her fan above Shikamaru. A loud crash and a cloud of dust were the results. When the air cleared, Temari saw the lazy genius in front of her, leaning on the wall.

"I don't care if I become a chūnin or not. There are only a couple of women I would not be ashamed to lose to." he pointedly look at her. "You are not one of them. I guess I'll fight this troublesome match."

Temari growled and slashed the air with her fan, unleashing a powerful blast of wind towards her opponent. Once again, Shikamaru ran away, leaving two kunai in his place.

'Kawarimi. [Substitution]' Temari thought, looking around. 'This guy uses shadows as a weapon... I think he is trying to lure me into the trees where there are a lot of shadows... pity I am a long ranged fighter!'

"Shikamaru! Come on, attack! Go get her!" Ino shouted.

"Why do you yell like that?" Chōji asked, munching chips like a crazy man. "He doesn't want to fight. He'll give up soon."

'I wish I were a cloud.' Shikamaru thought, staring at the sky. 'No problems, no worries... no fighting. And I thought that being a ninja could be fun and...' he sighed, leaving his hiding spot between a tree. '... well, things don't go that easily, do they?'

Temari frowned at the strange, dumb expression on the boy's face. Annoyed, she shouted: "Ninpo: Kamaitachi [Sickle Weasel Technique]!' and slashed viciously with her fan.

This time, the attack she created was a raging windstorm, that lifted a heavy cloud of dirt all around. The wind was so powerful it arrived even to the seats, blowing several leaves on the crowd. Temari was smirking, but her expression quickly fell as she saw a shadow, shaped almost like a spear, shooting towards her. Without missing a beat, she quickly jumped back several times, until the shadow simply stopped and, after a few second hesitation, retreated.

Temari immediately traced a line with her fan, before implanting it on the ground. "I've figured Kagemane no jutsu [Shadow Imitation Technique] out. There is a limit to how much you can shrink, stretch and manipulate your shadow... you can't go past its normal surface area, even if you use the wall's shadow to boost its length." 'I'm safe as long as I stay behind this line.'

Shikamaru was panting for the strain of sending his shadow out so long. 'This doesn't look good, she is a long range fighter...' With a sigh he crouched, leaning on the wall, and formed a peculiar hand seal, with his finger touching each other in a cube like shape.

Asuma recognised it immediately, explaining to Kurenai how the Nara used that pose to think about several possible scenarios and was able to come up with a lot of different strategies whenever he did so. Naruto and Akimi also were familiar with it.

"Ah!" Akimi exclaimed delighted. "Finally he is getting serious." she then looked at Temari. "I wonder why she isn't attacking him while his guard is down. Or do you think she can't reach him with a damaging jutsu at that range?"

Naruto shrugged. "If you think about it, her stamina is limited. You are used to my raw power. The greater the distance, the greater the strain. She is probably saving energy."

Akimi nodded. "Yeah. She is tough, though. Her reserve are bigger than the other rookie kunoichi put together."

"We must not underestimate her if we have to fight her." Shino said, fixing his sunglasses. "I think it would be best for me to take Kankurō on, while you take Temari, Akimi."

The other girl smirked, looking very feral. The other two were reminded that she was bonded to a tiger, after all. "Yeah, I think it would be best."

In that moment Shikamaru opened his eyes. Naruto, Akimi and Asuma knew what it meant. He was done thinking. Temari saw it as well and unleashed another wave of wind at him.

"There is no use in hiding!" Temari shouted, as Shikamaru quickly covered behind a tree.

'She was collecting her strength, then? Why didn't she attack immediately?' Akimi thought. 'What a waste of time. Leaving the enemy time to think up a strategy is such a idiotic thing to do. Even if she doesn't know how smart Shikamaru is, it's just... foolish.'

Shikamaru didn't seem like he was about to come out from his hiding spot anytime soon. Temari was getting annoyed, one could see, and attacked another couple of times, without getting any reaction.

"Come out already!" she shouted, hurling a nasty wind attack towards the tree. "You can't run forever!"

She got what she wished for. First, a kunai came right towards her and she quickly dodged it, jumping to her right, then she used her fan to parry another. What she didn't expect was to see Shikamaru's shadow to come out again. "There is no use! I'm safe if I stay behind the lin... oh, this is bad!"

She swiftly jumped back, just as the shadow stretched behind the line she had set before.

"The sun sets, shadows grow." Akimi said. "Smart Shikamaru."

Temari was intently looking at the bent shadow, probably trying to calculate the progress it made in the few minutes Shikamaru had bought time.

Akimi frowned. 'He doesn't have that much chakra... why is he wasting it by keeping the technique up? And where did he put his jacket? What are you up to, Shikamaru?'

"Now, that's very smart." Naruto exclaimed, nudging her to watch up. She smirked when she saw what caught the blonde's attention.

"Temari! Above you!" shouted Kankurō in that moment.

Shikamaru had used is jacket to create a parachute so to increase his shadow's surface. As soon as the shadow of the flying object arrived over his main shadow, it shot forward towards Temari. Only her brother's warning allowed her to jump back and avoid being caught.

"I'm not letting you escape!" the Nara shouted.

Shikamaru led her in a game of chase through half of the field, but eventually the parachute fell and his shadow retreated back to the line Temari had drawn, leaving him panting. Akimi tilted her head.

Temari looked very determined.

"She is going to get very serious with her next attack." Shino curtly said. "She knows that as time passes, so does Shikamaru's territory."

"I bet Shika has something planned as well. He can think ten steps ahead of you."

Akimi nodded at Naruto's statement. "Shikamaru is the best strategist I ever met. In fact, he thoroughly analysed the battle field before his match even started. I think only his father can really beat him in this area. Nara-san is astonishing, but then again he has experience to back him up."

"Why do you know about Shika's dad?"

"We met him once, remember?" Akimi asked. "And he is the Jōnin Commander, after all. It's the highest ranked shinobi in the village after the Hokage, on par with the ANBU Commander."

Naruto nodded. "I didn't know that he was Shika's dad."

Shikamaru completely retreated his shadow and Temari looked ready to exploit the moment.

Operative word being try.

Temari couldn't move, much to her utter horror.

"Kagemane no jutsu. Success." Shikamaru smugly said.

The crowd was astonished. Asuma was surprised, but knew his student had some kind ace on his sleeves. Sakura, Kiba and Ino were also very amazed. Many spectator started to cheer. Shino smirked a little. Naruto shouted in excitement. Akimi laughed.

"How?" Temari stuttered.

"I'll show you what's behind you." the boy replied, turning his head.

Temari was forced to imitate his movements and her eyes' widened when she saw the hole behind her. It was the one from which Naruto had shot out in his match with Neji.

"Akimi told me she used that hole to enter the ground. She then dug her way with chakra towards the hole in front of you, from which she exited to finish her match off. They are connected." Shikamaru explained.

"So you used the shadow inside the tunnel to...?"

"Correct." Shikamaru nodded, stepping forward. Once again, Temari had to mirror him. They stopped when they arrived in the centre of the arena.

Akimi was still giggling a little.

"What has gotten into you?" Naruto said.

"Think about what you know about Shikamaru. What do you think he is going to do next?"

Naruto scratched his head. Then he mockingly slapped himself. "Oh, boy..."

Shikamaru raised his arm and kept it suspended. Temari gulped. The whole crowd was holding its breath. Then he spoke.

"I lose. I give up."

"What a wait to deflate the atmosphere." Shino deadpanned.

"What?" Temari shouted. "Why?"

"I used too much chakra holding Kagemane no jutsu so long. I can hold you only for ten additional seconds." Shikamaru explained. "So I've thought about an hundred moves I could do... but time is up." he lowered his arm. "It's too troublesome to do more." he shrugged. "Our match is enough for me."

Genma sighed. 'What a weird guy.' "Winner, Temari."

Ino was enraged. "I can't believe he wasted this opportunity! He could have become chūnin!"

Chōji shrugged. "It's his nature." he said. "I told you he was going to give up."

Kiba shook his head. "What a guy. But if you think about it, his next opponent would have been either Gaara or Akimi." he commented. "And he said he hadn't any chakra left. So his choice was the smartest. In one case he would have lost the match, in another he would have basically lost his life."

The other teens looked with shocked and baffled looks.

"What?" Kiba looked affronted. "My sister drilled basic strategy to me!"

They all laughed.

Akimi and Naruto were also laughing at Shikamaru's antics, as the lazy boy slowly returned to the combatants' booth.

"Shikamaru, good match!" Akimi exclaimed.

"Amazing strategy, dattebayo!"

"Aren't you going to be troublesome about the fact I gave up?"

"A good shinobi knows there is a time to fight and a time to escape so to be able to fight another time." Akimi said. "A comrade's life is worth more than any mission."

Naruto and Shino nodded.

"Now, we just need to see if Sasuke gets here or not." Shikamaru yawned. "The crowd is waiting for him."

"Take this, Shikamaru." Akimi gave him a pill. "It'll help regaining your chakra. You'll need it. And watch out."

The lazy genius looked a little baffled by this but nodded and popped the pill in his mouth.

"Well, I don't think Uchiha-san has much time left..." Akimi sighed. "It's almost as if Kakashi-sensei has meddled with this..."

Genma sighed, looked at the Kage booth and saw the Sandaime nod. He raised his arm. "The last match of the first round is..."

He was stopped by a sudden swirling amass of leaves, that appeared in the centre of the arena. Then, Kakashi Hatake and Sasuke Uchiha appeared, back to back. The jōnin ruffled his hair in embarrassment, while Sasuke stood still, his usually angry with the world expression on.

The crowd was in an happy uproar within seconds.

"I hope we are not late." Kakashi said, while Genma sweat dropped. "I guess it's a lot to ask in this situation, but is Sasuke-kun disqualified?"

"He is fine. His match was delayed." the proctor replied.

"Oh, really?" Kakashi exclaimed, giggling a little. "That is a relief!" and he disappeared with a puff of smoke before the other man could even reply.

Genma sighed. "Very well. This match will be Uchiha Sasuke..." he saw with his head the tall and mysterious last member of Team 7 walk slowly towards them. "... and Aburame Shino."

REVIEW ANSWERS

vsncheze: thank you for reviewing! I am glad you enjoyed the fight, even though I purposely kept simple. I hope I can manage to keep updating often, but for now it seems I will. I hope you liked the chapter.

azfaerydust: thank you for reading and reviewing. I'm glad you enjoyed the story. About Naruto and Fūinjutsu: 1) he is more competent in Fūinjutsu than he seems, 2) like in canon, Naruto doesn't really enjoys intellectual activities (like I believe Fūinjutsu is) and would rather spend is time practicing ninjutsu rather than Fūinjutsu. I hope you liked the chapter, thanks again for reviewing.

ILOVEANIME123: thank you very much for reviewing. Fudou no Fūin means Immobility Seal. I hope that using Japanese names for techniques isn't making reading this story more difficult, but I will try to implement translation from now on (and eventually edit old chapters as well). I hope you liked this chapter.

Skeleus: thank you so much for reviewing! I am glad you liked the fight and the writing style. I hope you enjoy this one as well.

Unmei Ryu: thank you so much for reviewing! I am glad you agree with me about Naruto/Akimi's similar fighting style. I am also happy you liked the chapter and the PO switches. I hope you enjoyed this one as well.

pedobear412: thank you so much for reading and reviewing! Thinking that you couldn't stop reading my story makes me very happy and also helps finding the right inspiration to write next chapters. I am also glad you like Akimi and the plot. Thank you again for your compliments! I hope you liked this chapter as well.

Pirate Queen ofthe 21st centry: thank you so much for reading and reviewing. I have spent nights reading good fan fiction myself and thinking that someone is doing it because of my story is something really elating. So thank you again for the review. I am glad you like Akimi, as one of my fears when I started the fic was to create a boring OC. And smarter Naruto rules! I hope you liked this chapter as well.

CHAPTER NOTES:

So, I kept the fight exactly like in canon because there was really no reason to change it. The most interesting part about the chapter is in fact the talk between Team 7. So what do you think about Sasuke being late on purpose?

I'm having some difficulties writing the fight between Sasuke and Shino, but hopefully I will finish it soon and be able to update next week. I just hope I will, but I am not making any promises.

I wanted to ask you guys if the use of Japanese names for the techniques bothers you. For some strange reason I love the original names of the jutsu, but I can easily see that it's hard to keep up with all the names (especially for my original jutsu). I think I'll put English translation in brackets, but would you like if I also put at the bottom of the chapter the jutsu description even if it is not the first time it's used in the fic? (aside from the obvious techniques like Kage Bunshin etc, which I assume everyone knows the meaning of)

Lastly, like I said at the top, a very big thanks to all those who added the story to favourite, alerts or have reviewed or even just read. Until next time!

Next time up: Shino vs. Sasuke