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.

So, as I promised, I'm updating this chapter as soon as I finished writing it. I hope the wait wasn't too long. I gathered you are very worried about Shino, so I am letting you read about him without too much ado, here is the chapter:

SUDDEN SURPRISES: NARUTO VS GAARA

Or: Jinchūriki's clash – part 1

As the smoke dispersed, the crowd was able to make out the figure of the two genin – Sasuke trying to punch Shino, while he blocked the bowl with crossed arms – before they both fell on the ground at the same moment.

Then, without any forewarning, a figure appeared between them. It was not Genma, the proctor, but the masked jōnin who had carried Sasuke in the arena in the first place.

Hatake Kakashi glanced with open disdain at Sasuke, before kneeling to check over his student, just as two other figures appeared near him: Akimi and Naruto. Genma also approached, to check over Sasuke – it was his duty as proctor.

Genma called out for medics as soon as he saw Sasuke was unconscious. Then he approached the now united Team 7. It was astonishing how close they all seemed to be. He saw the girl had put an hand on Shino's forehead and her eyes were closed in concentration. The blonde genin was behind her, his arms crossed and his brow furrowed in worry. Kakashi stood up and he seemed very tense.

"Kakashi-sempai?" Genma asked.

The jōnin turned to look at him, just as the medical team arrived in the field. "Shino is unconscious, but otherwise seems to be fine." he explained.

"I guess he had his cloned Kikaichū absorb Sasuke's power." Akimi said then. "It clearly saved his life, because I doubted he would have sustained that punch otherwise."

"Why is he unconscious then?" Genma asked.

From his place in the Kage Booth, Sarutobi watched the happenings with keen eyes. He looked at his noble colleague, the Kazekage, with a corner of his eyes. He clearly saw an hint of enthusiasm and satisfaction on the other man's face. He sighed.

"Raidō-kun," the Sandaime started to say, sitting back down to his throne, "I need you to carry out a message for me."

The tokubetsu jōnin nodded hastily, as the old man whispered in his ear a couple of quick orders for Kurenai Yūhi: soon Sasuke would be moved to a safer location. And he would also ensure another genin's safety.

"Impressive display, once again." the Kazekage's velvet voice commented just as the guard disappeared with a Sunshin. "But you seem worried."

Hiruzen sighed, unsure on how to respond. "I was hoping the young Uchiha would not use that power." he truthfully answered. He had the distinct impression that, under his veil, the other man smirked in response.

"How so? It seemed a quite powerful asset."

"Power isn't everything." the Hokage sagely replied.

The answer was a barely contained snort. "I think we disagree on this point, Hokage-sama."

"So be it." Hiruzen quietly said. "We can't certainly agree on everything, can we, Kazekage-dono?"

"The Cursed Seal's chakra is foreign for Shino." Akimi answered. "So he passed out."

Kakashi nodded. "Would one of your pill help?"

The girl didn't answer but simply fed his teammate said pill, then she got up and sighed. "I think so."

A squad of chūnin medics reached them in that moment. "Let us pass. We need to examine the patients."

Kakashi looked evenly at them. "I believe you'll find out my student isn't hurt much. My other genin will take him back to the combatants booth. Sasuke-san, on the other hand, needs immediate attention. Bring him to the infirmary at once."

"But..."

"Kakashi-sempai is the highest-ranked shinobi here." Genma said. "Obey him."

"I want to have a look at the boy, first." the head of the medical team stubbornly said. "You can't stop me."

Kakashi nodded and moved out of the way. The medic, who was dressed in a whitish uniform, kneeled out and put his hands over Shino's stomach, before using green healing chakra to scan him. Meanwhile, the other medics were taking Shino out on a stretcher.

"He is indeed fine." the chūnin replied. "However, since he is unconscious it would be best if..."

He was interrupted when Shino coughed a couple of time, before sitting up.

"Oh, well." Kakashi cheerfully exclaimed. "I think that cancels your concerns, medic-san." he nodded to his other students.

Naruto helped Shino up then disappeared with a Sunshin. Akimi followed suit. The medic looked annoyed, but said nothing more before heading out as well.

The crowd had watched the events unfold with curiosity, but was starting to get restless once again. What the hell was happening? Genma noticed it at once.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" he shouted. "Both combatants passed out, so the match ends in a draw!"

Which was quite obvious.

"Now we will continue with..." the man stopped as another man appeared in the arena. The battlefield was getting quite busy, although he noticed Kakashi was gone again.

The Hokage's bodyguard whispered some hushed words to Genma, before leaving as will. "... as I was saying, we will now continue with the second round of matches. As the last match has ended in a draw, we will change the fighting schedule."

"What?" Temari asked, surprised.

"Troublesome." Shikamaru said, just as Team 7 arrived in the combatants booth.

Naruto was supporting Shino and helped him sitting down next to the wall. Akimi was hovering over them like a fussing mother hen.

"The first match of the second round will be Uzumaki Naruto against Sabaku no Gaara." Genma shouted then. "Then, it will be Katora Akimi against Temari of the Sand. The winners of both matches will fight in the final match of the tournament."

"What?" Akimi exclaimed. "That is... unexpected."

"It worked." Shino murmured.

"Uh?" Naruto asked, while Akimi looked down at Shino with narrowed eyes.

"We will now have fifteen minutes of spare before resuming with the fights." Genma concluded his announcement, provoking a couple of protests in the crowd.

"Well, mind explaining?" Akimi hissed to Shino.

"I wasn't really that passed out." the Aburame answered.

Naruto gaped at him.

"Why did I pretended then, do you ask?" Shino continued, whispering. "Logical. I thought that if the match ended in a draw, they would change the next ones like that. If what you said about Gaara is true... you are strong, Akimi, but you know the only one that can keep up with him is Naruto."

"Marvellous!" Naruto shouted. "You are a genius, Shino."

Akimi swatted them on the head at the same time, making them wince in pain. "Do you have an idea of what fright you gave me, Aburame-san?" she shouted.

"What did I do?" Naruto pouted, whining.

Shikamaru, Temari, Kankurō and even Gaara had turned to watch the display.

"You encouraged him, baka!" Akimi exclaimed. "And you! Do you think I need babysitting?"

"I was just worried, Akimi." Shino replied quietly, having care only his teammate could hear him. "I care about you and Naruto, you know. You are like siblings for me."

Naruto was uncharacteristically silent at those words, his eyes watering.

Akimi's eyes softened. "Sorry, I was worried too."

"I think you are a little irritable today." Naruto gently rubbed her back. "Just calm down, 'mi-chan. Relax."

"How can you think I can relax? You are about to have a true fight to death, for kami's sake!"

"I can totally win it, though." Naruto smiled. "Don't worry."

"Shino, you are sure you are fine?" Akimi asked.

The tall boy nodded. "You were right, that foreign chakra feels funny, but my Kikaichū are working on getting it out."

"Very well, we'll talk later about it." Akimi looked at Naruto. "Come with me." and she turned towards the door that led to the stairs.

Naruto looked a little baffled. So did all the other genins that had followed the small banter between the team – apart from Gaara who was emotionless as usual. Akimi stopped and turned when she realised the blonde had not followed her. She also noticed the others looking at them.

"Come on!" she repeated, quite annoyed. Then with a louder voice, she asked: "I am just going to have a make out session with my boyfriend to wish him good luck, you got problems with that?"

Shikamaru's eyes widened in surprise. Shino snickered and Temari giggled as well. Kankurō cursed and exclaimed: "I can't believe it!". Gaara still looked emotionless. Naruto seemed eager, albeit very surprised. What had gotten into Akimi?

But he did not wait a second more to follow her... he wasn't that stupid.

Akimi stopped near the stairs that lead down to the arena and leaned against the wall. She looked tired. Naruto reached her few seconds later and crossed his arms.

"What's wrong?"

"I told you. I am dead worried about you." she shook her head, as trying to clear her head. "I trust you, I trust in your abilities, but Gaara is..."

"... frightening." Naruto concluded for her. He moved closer to her. "But I can defeat him. I could summon one of the Great Three."

"In the middle of the village?" she asked. "Are you freaking crazy?"

"Yeah, right. I thought I was going to fight him in the forest, far from here." he scratched his head. "I need to revise my strategy."

"You don't say." Akimi rolled her eyes. "Why did you think I asked you to come here?"

He smirked. "To make out with me?"

She sighed. "You passed way too much time with Jiraiya-sensei."

Naruto chuckled.

"Let's be serious, 'to-kun! You have any ideas?"

"I was thinking about Suiton to slow him down. I can use a couple of Water Dragon to completely drench Gaara."

"We are not sure it's going to work." Akimi warned. "First gauge it with a minor jutsu."

Naruto nodded. "Yeah, you are right. Then I was also hoping my wind manipulation will help me to get him."

"Remove your weights." she replied. "You can't take any risk."

"Then there is my red chakra." Naruto concluded. "But I would keep it as a last resort. Using it in front of the village..."

Akimi nodded. "One last thing. I did have a strategy in mind, you know. I think you may use a part of it as well"

Naruto looked very interested. "Do tell."

Akimi beckoned him to come closer. He did and she whispered something in his ear. Naruto grinned. "Oh." he said. "Smart."

"Do you think you can pull it off?"

Naruto nodded. "Pretty sure. So, I think we can't do much more as it of now." he smirked. "But I do think that the making out session you mentioned could help me in the long run."

"Naruto!"

"Come on! For good luck! You basically promised it."

Akimi giggled. "Oh, all right." and then Naruto suffocated her laughter with his mouth.

Genma looked at the now restless crowd and then at his watch again. He sighed in relief. 'Finally. I thought the time would never come. Some of them look ready to jump into the arena and demand action. Stupid audience.' "We will now resume the tournament!" he exclaimed, keeping his voice even. "Uzumaki Naruto and Sabaku no Gaara, please come down!"

The first one to arrive was the expressionless Suna genin. Genma had heard of what happened during the preliminaries match and the Hokage had also warned him of the boy's secret. He really wished he did not have to supervise this fight, but he wasn't shirking from his duty.

Gaara slowly walked towards him, a cold glare in his eyes, stopping at his side. Then he crossed his arms and waited.

Genma almost started to sweat when the other one didn't show himself. Then, thankfully, the blonde genin arrived as well, running frantically. His hair was ruffled and his overall appearance looked a little dishevelled. He stopped in front of Gaara, panting a little.

"Sorry I am late!" he exclaimed and Genma couldn't help but think that Kakashi had had a very big – and not always positive – influence on his students. "But I... I was preparing for this battle and lost track of times."

Genma raised an eyebrow, a little incredulous. Still the boy looked sincere. "It's fine." he curtly said, moving his senbon from one side of his mouth to another. "Now, the first match of the second round begins!" And he jumped back.

Naruto stretched his arms and cracked his knuckles. "So, here we are." he said cheerfully to Gaara.

The red haired genin didn't not even move, but he glared harder at his opponent.

"May the best one win." Naruto continued, trying to get an answer from Gaara.

"I am going to kill you."

Naruto laughed. "That must be the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me." his expression suddenly became serious. "I am not going to let you harm this village or my precious people."

This time, Gaara's answer was a sudden stab of his sand towards Naruto. The blonde didn't even flinch, disappearing from view in a blur of movement.

He was definitely as fast as Sasuke had been in the previous match, but without using chakra. Naruto knew he couldn't trick the sand's protection with taijutsu only, he was nowhere near Lee's levels, but he had a couple of tricks in his book. Yes, you guessed it.

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Naruto shouted from a vague point behind Gaara.

A dozen of clones appeared from nothingness and charged without any hesitation at the red haired kid. Gaara was obviously waiting for him. He looked almost bored, his arms crossed and his expression ever unchanging. It irked Naruto a lot, but the blonde restrained himself. This was not an opponent to take lightly.

Naruto didn't use chakra flow this time, he was only trying to see if he could create an opening in the sand shield on his own. He sincerely doubted he could, but one can never know. In fact, as much as the sand seemed to have a mind of its own, there was only so much it could keep up with.

Naruto observed the battle unfold, hidden with Ero-sennin's technique, the Tōton Jutsu (Transparent Escape Technique). He wondered if Gaara was testing him as well or if he was already fighting seriously. His guts told him it was the former option.

His guts weren't wrong.

For a few minutes, Gaara stayed still and stationary, his eyes following the movements of the clones moving around him. They were fairly quick and seemed almost to dance around him, trying to get past his shield. They attacked at the same time, from opposite sides, clashing against the sand with impressive strength – albeit weaker than the annoying bobbled haired kid. But it was all to no avail.

'His control over the sand is clearly improved. He can move it faster and with more accuracy.' Naruto thought. 'Lee has almost defeated him, so that has ought to made him train hard, in order to prove his existence. I must be extremely careful'

Suddenly, Gaara grew tired of the strange game of run and chase between clones and sand: he moved his hand as if grasping an invisible object. "Sabaku Kyū [Sand Binding Coffin]" he murmured.

Naruto narrowed his eyes, watching as the sand reacted to its master's command and unexpectedly charged forward, capturing his clones. 'And that is my cue in.' He ordered his clones to dispel, as he did not fancy the experience of being crushed by sand, and appeared midair, in front of Gaara.

"Suiton: Mizurappa no Jutsu [Water Release: Wild Water Wave Technique]!" he bellowed, unleashing a fairly sized wave of water against his opponent. Gaara promptly used his sand to shield.

Naruto landed on the ground, watching with keen eyes to see if his plan had worked and the sand was slowed down.

Gaara looked a little irritated. "Sabaku Kyū!" he roared with a cold voice.

Naruto cursed as the sand was as fast as before – if not faster. He formed the dragon seal. "Fūton: Daitoppa [Wind Release: Great Breakthrough]" he shouted back. He was much more comfortable with Fūton, since it was his – extremely powerful – affinity. He didn't even break a sweat as he overpowered the jutsu to blow away all the bloody sand.

Wind and sand clashed powerfully against each other, but eventually it was Gaara who gave up, stopping his attack. Naruto panted a little – blowing all that air out was a little tiring – and gritted his teeth. 'It didn't work. Time to pass to plan B!'

Shino watched with a rather amused smile as Naruto arrived into the arena. 'So they did really make out? That's unexpected.' He had gone back to his spot, leaning against the railing.

Besides him, Shikamaru looked surprised. "What a drag!" he muttered.

Shino almost couldn't believe that nobody had noticed how close Akimi and Naruto really were. For him it was kind of obvious, but then again he had seen it happen. And Akimi was very reserved, hence why only an handful of people knew the two teammates were, in fact, a couple. She must have been very stressed out to shout in front a three potential enemies that she was going to make out with her boyfriend. Still, he couldn't help but think it was entertaining.

In that moment Akimi arrived back in the combatants booth. Like Naruto, the usual neatly dressed girl looked messy – messier, in fact, than the blond. And she was smiling goofily.

Shino restrained a snicker.

"Cut it off, Shino, I am still annoyed with you." Akimi lightly scolded him.

"Whatever do you mean?" Shikamaru asked. "He hasn't even moved a little."

"I know what to look for." Akimi replied, stretching. She went to stand beside her teammate.

"Troublesome."

Down in the arena, Genma started the match.

"So, how is it going really?" the girl asked quietly.

Shino sighed. "I lost more Kikaichū that I would have liked." he curtly answered. "I still have roughly half of my chakra reserves... and your pill is doing its work as usual."

"Why do you bother?" Shikamaru asked. "It's not like you have to fight again."

Akimi glanced at the two Sand Siblings, but thankfully they seemed quite focused on the battle. They probably didn't hear them talking. Good. "You should stay alert, Shikamaru." she murmured, then turning to Shino, she continued: "Do you plan to use that technique?"

"Quite frankly yes." the Aburame shrugged. "How long do you reckon the fight will last?"

"It depends on how soon and if that surprise happens." Akimi looked intently as several Narutos attacked Gaara in tandem. "But I would wager you'll have enough time."

"What about...?" Shino slightly beckoned towards Temari and Kankurō.

Akimi smirked. "I'll provide a genjutsu... they look quite distracted anyway."

"Right, I need some time to prepare."

Shikamaru sighed. "You two are so troublesome."

As Akimi was about to answer the very Shikamaru-like comment, Naruto attacked Gaara with his Suiton technique.

"Did it work?" she asked to nobody.

In response, Gaara's sand shot forward to try and ensnare the blonde. Naruto immediately defended himself with his outstanding skills with Fūton.

Akimi sighed. "I hoped it would have worked." she murmured, then she frowned. "Did you feel it too, Shino?"

"Yes, definitely." the Aburame smirked. "You just need to let Naruto know it as well."

Shikamaru sighed. 'What a drag... but they got me curious.' "What is it?"

"The sand is heavier, therefore Gaara is using more chakra to make it move at such a speed. We clearly felt a spike in his energy when he attacked." Akimi answered, as Naruto and Gaara stared at each other in a standstill, then she focused into nothingness.

"She is telling Naruto." Shino explained, noticing Shikamaru baffled expression.

A few moments later, Akimi nodded. "Done, he also said he would buy time for you 'cause he has another idea we didn't discuss."

"Pity I'll be probably too focused to see it properly" Shino sighed. "I am ready when you are."

Akimi nodded and closed her eyes in concentration. "I'll fill you in on what 'to-kun does." she held the Ram seal. "Genjutsu in place. Go."

Shino went through a brief sequence of handseals then whispered: "Hijutsu: Mushimayu [Secret Technique: Insect Cocoon]" He was immediately surrounded by a faint blue shell of light, that covered his whole body. He was even stiller than usual.

Akimi checked to see if Temari or Kankurō noticed something, but her illusion seemed to work. Satisfied, she turned back to the arena. "Shino is increasing the number of his Kikaichū." she told Shikamaru. "Meanwhile, you should enjoy the battle."

"Troublesome." the other boy murmured. "Aren't you worried?"

"Very." Akimi softly said. "But my trust in him is bigger than my anxiety. It will be fine."

After Naruto blew away Gaara's attack, he dropped into a defensive stance, thinking about his next move. 'Pity about the Suiton thing... although it would have been a little too easy. And it is never easy...'

"'to-kun!" Akimi called him through their Loyalty Seal. He knew she would not do such a thing during a battle if it weren't something important. Probably some new intel about Gaara. He created a clone to cover him and waited. "Gaara needs more chakra to move the drenched sand. It's not much, but it's not an entire waste either."

"Good." he sent back,

"Shino needs to increases the number of his insects. More time would be appreciate."

Naruto registered the words, even though his mind was swirling with thoughts. The seal that allowed him to use water was very useful, but had a massive chakra cost. He could not play out like that, because even if Gaara was using more chakra, Naruto himself was probably wasting more: he should not – could not probably – defeat another Jinchūriki simply by outrunning him in stamina.

However, water wasn't the only way to slow down the sand. Naruto wondered why he didn't think of that before. "Fine, 'mi-chan. I've an idea... it'll also buy time."

"Good. I am out."

In other words, focus on the battle. Thankfully, his opponent hadn't made a move yet. However, Naruto sensed a raising anger coming from the red haired kid. 'Not good. I don't want him to transform here... I better entertain him.'

Few seconds later, he and his clone had duplicated several times. Gaara was now literally surrounded by a swarm of black and orange clad kids, but he did not look bothered in the slightest. In fact, he simply crossed his arms.

Then, moving as one man, the army of clones charged forward. Akimi tilted her head. 'What is he doing? He is a stamina freak, but this is a little excessive. Unless...'

Naruto's clones were behaving in a rather... suicidal way. Their attacks were messy and sloppy, almost as if their aim was to provoke Gaara. Still, they somehow were able to escape the abrupt stabs of sand that tried to kill them.

Yes, Naruto was definitely playing with Gaara. But why?

"I want your blood!" Gaara shouted suddenly, clearly tired of that skirmish. "Sabaku Kyū!"

Few of the Narutos desperately tried to escape – and some even succeeded – but most of them were inevitably captured. The true Naruto had waited with his arm crossed on the other side of the arena.

"Go ahead, you crazed brat!" he shouted. "Try to get my blood if you can!"

Gaara looked as murderous as when Lee had first hit his Armour of Sand. "Sabaku Sōsō [Sand Waterfall Funeral]!"

The sand clenched like an iron fist against the captured clones, destroying them among their cries of pain. But they did not dispel with a pop of smoke, like one would expect...

Gaara was clearly surprised to see them transform in a mass of sticky, thick, brown oil. The oil completely drenched his sand. And it was clearly more deterring than water, because it actually made several grains of sand stick together.

"Gamayu Bunshin [Toad Oil Clone]" Akimi whispered. "Smart."

Gaara seemed really furious now. In fact, instead of simply waiting for Naruto to come at him, he started to attack viciously as well. Naruto smirked, noticing the sand's movements appeared to be more hesitant, at least a little.

Naruto jumped away to avoid being stabbed by a spear of sand, soon regrouping with his surviving clones, that were actually Kage Bunshin. It was time to use Fūton seriously. He had practised, during his training with Ero-sennin and Akimi, several taijutsu formation to use with his clones. It was very important to train carefully because, once he got down to use Fūton chakra flow, the risk of cutting one of his own clones was very high. Basically, he had to learn how to time perfectly his attacks – which wasn't that hard since he was used to fight in tandem with Akimi. What he was going to do now, he mentally called "Square formation". He looked at his clones and nodded.

The Shadow Clones sheathed their tantō at the same time, then moved to surround Gaara: the starting point of the formation consisted in having four Narutos at the corners of an imaginary square, while other four stood in the middle point between the first ones, so the opponent found himself in the middle of said square. The concept was simple: after dividing the square in eight identical triangles, each one covered one. They would attack relentlessly and try not to let the enemy escape the square – which wasn't really an issue because Gaara was a very stationary ninja.

Gaara was still enraged and did not lose time to attack again. Naruto and his clones did not let him reach them. This time, their movements were precise and deadly. While their numbers had drastically decreased, their efforts had exponentially increased. Evidently, coordination was more deadly than sheer numeric superiority.

The audience was captured by the strange dance taking place in the arena. Gai looked fairly impressed. 'He must have practiced long and hard to reach such a perfect harmony with his clones. They will not mistakenly hit each other.'

"He can't win with taijutsu only." he said to Kakashi. "Even though he can multiply as much as he want."

The masked jōnin nodded. "He is just trying to create an opening." he said. "Besides, Gaara must have difficulty to move that sticky, oiled sand."

Gai shook his head. "You know as well as I do that he can't just hope to outlast him in stamina."

"Although if that were the case, I would say Naruto would win. I never met anyone with as much energy as the kid." Kakashi eye smiled.

As much as Naruto tried his hardest to get past the sand's shield, he could not. The battle seemed to be at a draw... and the blonde smirked.

"Let's cut it!" he shouted.

Nothing seemed to change in the blonde's fighting style... expect that now he was indeed using chakra flow. Gaara was from Suna, so he was very familiar with wind chakra, but he had to admit: the blonde was probably better than most of his villagers. The invisible blades of cutting air came suddenly and without forewarnings and his sand could barely keep up with them.

And then it happened: the wind reached him. Gaara stumbled back in surprise, but thankfully his armour of sand stopped the blade before it could wound him. But it was only the first of several cutting attacks coming at him: he even saw Naruto's tantō slice dangerously near his body.

Gaara started to panic. 'No, no, no... I won't let my existence be erased!' "NOOO" he shouted, calling his sand to him. It swirled and danced around him, even succeeding in taking out a couple of clones, before encasing him in a dome like shield, all around him. Said dome looked as hard as stone. A small eye of sand hovered above, probably giving Gaara an idea of what was happening outside the shield.

The remaining Narutos jumped back. One of them – probably the real one - beckoned a couple of clones and they charged forward trying to slice the dome with their tantō and Fūton chakra. It did not work: in fact they were launched back because of the counterblow, falling into the ground and dispelling.

Naruto was still, a little breathless, thinking hard about a way to break that very effective defence. 'Clearly, that dome is infused with a lot of chakra. That is why my wind can't get through it. I wonder how long Gaara can keep it up.' Naruto looked torn about what do to. His shoulder crumbled down, as he pondered whether the boost Kyūbi's chakra gave him would be enough to break that bloody shield. But, as he said to Akimi, he did not really fancy using that chakra in front of the whole village.

"Shino is done." Akimi said to him in that moment. "'to-kun, don't be afraid."

"I want to do this with my own power!" he replied rather forcefully.

"Then put some pressure on that thing."

Naruto frowned. "Pressure?" he asked aloud to no one. Then he smirked. But of course!

He quickly used ANBU signals to order his clones what to do. Then he took a deep breath. 'Let's hope this works. Timing has to be perfect!'

From his inside his shield, Gaara was holding his head. "No, no... mother! I am not going to be erased. I will get you his blood!" It was then that he saw Naruto move.

Two annoying blondes stood in front of his dome, going through handseals.

"Katon: Goukakyuu no jutsu! [Great Fireball Technique]" shouted the first, creating a small fireball. It was smaller than Sasuke's and nowhere as powerful as Akimi's, but what did it matter when he could fuel it?

"Fūton: Namikadou [Wind Release: Wind Vortex]!" the second Naruto bellowed, unleashing a literal tornado in the arena.

Gaara's eyes widened, as a blazing hot inferno of flames came crashing towards his shield. He had already used a great quantity of chakra... but he would withstand it. He would not be killed! What he did not considered, though, was the fact that his sand was drenched in oil. High inflammable oil.

The sand caught fire suddenly and powerfully and he had no choice but to release the dome to avoid being burned down – his Armour of Sand had already been put under pressure when he did. But as soon as he was free, Naruto appeared behind him with a burst of speed and sliced at him with all his physical strength. At the same time he channelled the chakra conducting metal with his most powerful wind manipulation. The very same one that had cut through a waterfall.

The already proved Armour of Sand could not stand a chance: Naruto broke through it, drawing blood from Gaara.

"AHHHRG!" the red haired boy shouted and his voice was insanely terrifying... and inhuman. Sand raised from his gourd, grabbing Naruto in a iron grip... right before he popped out of existence.

Akimi sighed in relief. 'Thank the Kami for Kage Bunshin!' she thought, holding her heart.

"My blood!" Gaara bellowed. "My blood!" A heavy, murderous killing intent swept through the arena.

The true Naruto, who was revealed to be the one that used Katon moments before, paled. He knew what that meant. Gaara's body had partially transformed and an arm made of sand, with yellowish mark running on its surface, made to grab Naruto.

The blonde jumped back, avoiding it. He knew it was time to draw Gaara out of the village, exams be damned!

"Has he transformed?" Temari and Akimi asked at the same time.

"I think he's still in control." Shino murmured, watching as the arm disappeared – thankfully.

Gaara was panting, holding his right shoulder with a look of disbelief and sheer hatred. The killing intent was his, obviously, and he was all directed at Naruto.

"I am going to kill you!" he roared.

"I would like to see you try." Naruto replied with a confident smirk.

The whole arena was silent. Naruto thought it was normal, until he noticed something... 'Are those feathers?' Then it hit him: genjutsu!

"Kai! (Release, dispel)" he shouted, just as his teammates did the same.

Thought the stadium, a lot of other ninjas dispelled the illusion at once too, among them, of course, Kakashi and Gai. Sakura, not surprisingly – seeing who her sensei was – reacted immediately as well, then she quickly woke up Ino, Chōji and Kiba. She wouldn't have done so up until a month ago, but now she was a much more capable kunoichi.

Kakashi looked at her and nodded in approval. "Akimi told me the other rookies were training hard during this month."

Then, a booming explosion was heard. Everyone turned to the source: the Kage booth, which was covered in smoke.

It had started.

JUTSU NOTES:

Hijutsu: Mushimayu [Secret Technique: Insect Cocoon], C/B rank, supplementary. An Aburame members uses his own chakra to propel and speed up the life cycle of the Kikaichū, encasing himself in a shell of chakra – a cocoon of sort. The technique is incredibly useful, but leaves the opponent static and vulnerable. Therefore, it can only be used in a safe location or when guarded by teammates.

Notes: I changed a couple of details from canon, one because I couldn't find out how long it actually took to finish the technique, two because the technique seemed to create a very bright and blinding light, a detail that I have eliminated.

Gamayu Bunshin [Toad Oil Clone]: C rank, supplementary. Thanks to the connection with Toads, due to signing a summoning contract, the user can create clones with the sticky brown oil of Mount Myōboku, the sacred ground of Toads. When the clone is hit, it dispels drenching the enemy with said oil, leaving them extremely vulnerable to Fire jutsu.

Note: a very big thank you to NATSUxERZA 123456 for giving me the idea for this jutsu.

REVIEWS' ANSWERS

Skeleus: thank you very much for reviewing. I am glad you like the techniques' name like this. =) I hope you liked this chapter.

Laura-Jean95: thank you very much for reviewing! Ahahaha, honestly your review made me laugh so much... it must be my sadistic side. I usually hate reading cliff hangers myself, but they are needed now and there to keep up suspense! Besides, Shino is just fine, see? I hope I am forgiven. I like him as well, so don't worry too much in future...

GiveMe20Dollars: thank you for reviewing! I am extremely glad you liked the fighting scenes and (I assume) the cliff-hanger. I hope you liked this chapter as well.

mg4of6: thank you a lot for reviewing! I gathered you didn't like so much the cliff hanger, eh? I hope you liked this chapter (and I know there is another small cliffy there, but we all know what is gonna happen right?).

OnePieceFAN2012: thank you so much for reviewing. Sorry for the cliff hanger, but here is next chapter... I don't think it took me so long to post it, since I had to write it from zero!

fred123: thank your reviewing. You are absolutely right and I did correct the sentence. I didn't express myself well, as I wanted to say Sasuke reached Kakashi's normal speed (you know when he is not fighting seriously or with chakra enhancements). In any case, I would like to make you notice that while Kakashi is one of the top jōnin, it isn't certainly because of his speed... (like it would be for, let's say, Gai) If you check the official stats, you'll see that Kakashi's and Lee's speed is the same: 4 out of 5. Sasuke, on the other hand, has 3 and then 3,5. So it isn't that different, although I personally think those stats are a little approximate...

azfaerydust: thank you for reviewing! I am glad you like Shino's personality. What did you think of protective Shino at the start of the chapter? =) About the Chidori, I do think Sasuke's will eventually get it, but I still need to figure out the details about how it will happen. Right now, anyway, he doesn't know how to perform it.

pedobear412: thank you so much for reviewing. I am glad you liked the chapter and the fight, and that you agree with me about Sasuke and his semi-bashing. You guessed right: draw! Let me know what you think about the chapter! =)

OoklahThePunk57: thank you for reading and reviewing. Please, do not worry, I am glad if you make me notice mistakes so I can correct them. I am edited the two things you told me about. I am happy you seem to enjoy the story and let me know if my characters still seem overpowered. I don't really want them to be overpowered, but perhaps I failed in this aspect. Let me know!

maruaderlove: thank for reading and reviewing (and re-reading! XD). I am very glad you enjoyed the story and that you think the characters (and especially Shino and Akimi) are believable. That is my main concern! Let me know if you liked this chapter as well. Thanks again!

Pirate Queen ofthe 21st centry: thank you a lot for reviewing. I am glad you enjoy the story! Here it's the chapter, let me know what do you think about it! =)

CHAPTER'S NOTES:

So another small cliff hanger. I hope you don't mind too much, as you all know what it's gonna happen next.

I got a little OOC with protective!Shino and hysteric!Akimi at the beginning, but it was kind of fun! =) What do you think about it?

Now, for the fight against Gaara, I hope I really got it down realistically.

In recent canon, it was shown that Gaara can still manipulate wet sand (it was actually part of a collaboration jutsu) but I thought it would be logical that he uses more chakra to do it. As for the use of Oil, I know that oil is lighter than water, but I figured that the Toad Oil is different, sticky and full of chakra and so it would deter Gaara more. As for the sand catching fire, I also thought that as much as it is engulfed with chakra, it's still is vulnerable. It's all about pressure!

The title refers to the "surprise" at the beginning, when Naruto fights Gaara instead of Akimi and to the "surprise" at the end. As usual I hate giving titles and this was the best I could come up with.

Now, starting from next chapter – whenever I decide to publish it after I edit it – I will close thepoll about Shino's affinity. So if you want to vote, you should do it now! This is because I've another poll for you in mind (but you'll see next time)

This should be all, thank you again for reading! I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Until next time!

Next time up: Invasion!