Katon: Gyuki no Jutsu: Jutsu

"Naruto!": Bijuu talk

'Naruto!': Bijuu thoughts

'Naruto!': character thoughts

"Naruto!": Regular speech

[Intransigence: n. refusal to change one's views or to agree about something.]

Shikamaru was absolutely baffled. Disbelief was written all over his face. This had been one of the rare times that his team had witnessed Shikamaru be so unsure.

"Wait wait wait, you said Sakura? As in our dead classmate? How would these guys even be aware of her existence?" Choji questioned Ino as he was also bewildered.

"After going through eyepatch's memories over here, I found out that his name is Zaku. But you guys won't believe this; his entire team had a sparring session with her. And the fight was orchestrated by Orochimaru himself!"

"What else did you manage to extract from him, Ino?" A new voice joined the fray that conveyed a profound level of malice.

Lilac waves of dense chakra smothered everybody in the clearing. Sasuke had awoken with killing intent that was utterly palpable.

Talk about waking up on the wrong side of the bed.

"…Sasuke?" Ino called out to the avenger in training as he advanced towards the sound genin threateningly.

"I couldn't help but to overhear that you witnessed Sakura getting assaulted by these lowlifes?" Sasuke stalked slowly towards Zaku. With each step he took, a burning footprint of death was left behind.

The nature beneath his very feat had burned away due to a combination of his contaminated chakra and his volatile fire release.

A murderous look was clear as day in his ruby red eyes. If looks could kill then each one of those failed assassins would have been massacred on the spot.

"Fuck off Uchiha, you don't want any of thi-" Zaku's words died in his throat as the tip of Sasuke's tanto slighty nicked his jugular in an instant. Sasuke's blade was on the verge of decapitating Zaku but fortunately he was detained by his own shadow.

"Sasuke I know that you want revenge for Sakura but stop and take a moment to think about the consequences. We can still get more information out of them alive."

Sasuke turned his head slightly and looked Shikamaru in the eyes with a cold stare of indifference. Not that Shikamaru would know since he instinctively avoided eye contact with Sasuke. More specifically his sharingan.

"You may think that you're smarter than everyone else with that brain of yours. But I already had a plan for you the moment I laid my eyes upon you." Unbeknownst to team ten a flash bang was casually gripped in Sasuke's left hand.

The raven haired teen proceeded to detonate the bomb. After that he lept high into the air..

Blinding lights from the flashbang severed Sasuke's shadow from Shikamaru's, allowing the Uchiha to move freely. But not only that, the bomb had also dazed anybody who was looking in his direction. It so happened that Shikamaru was one of those people.

Using his left hand only Sasuke performed a tiger seal while he was in midair.

Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu!

'Did he only perform that jutsu with one hand?! Why is he so fast!' Ino wondered as she was about to witness her dazed teammate's final moments before being roasted alive.

Thankfully Choji jumped in front of Shikamaru and expanded many times his size. Fully committed to take on the burning inferno that was Sasuke's fireball.

But luckily Choji was spared from Sasuke's friendly fire by a wall of sand that had been melted into glass. Jumping on top of the glass structure, Shikamaru cleverly used the massive shadow that the opaque cover created to his advantage. Several tendrils of shadows were sent towards the sound nin and Sasuke once again.

"Listen Sasuke I don't know what's going on with you right now but I will not hold back just because you're from my village." Shikamaru vowed as he tried his best to contain Sasuke.

"It's a shame your Jounin sensei taught you how to show mercy to your enemies. That could get you killed in our field of work." Sasuke commented as he used his flame control on his sword. Repelling Shikamaru's attacking shadow by utilizing the burning light.

Using his sharingan Sasuke made eye contact with Dosu, Kin and Zaku, who all were watching the Uchiha intently. The trio were caught under his genjutsu with ease, the result were three completely paralyzed assassins.

Once again the sound of chirping birds emitted from Sasuke's hand that day. Only this time his lightning control seeped with power.

Chidori Nagashi!

Thrusting his hand forward the Uchiha let loose a wave of lightning towards his three victims, successfully incapacitating them. Using shunshin the Uchiha then dashed right between his victims.

His sights were set on Zaku first. Wasting no time Sasuke prepared to plunge his flaming blade right into his heart. Luckily for Zaku his life was once again spared by a rogue kunai that clashed with Sasuke tantō.

It was Ino that halted Sasuke's killing blow and boy did she look pissed.

"Damn it Sasuke it's clear as day that curse mark Orochimaru gave you is corrupting your mind. So why don't we both just inhale slowly and think before you execute our hostages!" Ino tried her best to reprimand him. But the power gap between him and her made her advice sound like pleas.

"Move out the way Yamanaka...you claimed that these assassins were sent after me? Who am I to let them walk away unscathed? Such weakness won't bring me closer to killing Itachi."

Ino directed Sasuke's sword to the side as she gazed into his dōjutsu. A bold move by the clan heiress but a gamble was a gamble.

"We need to focus on how to get Naruto out of this warzone. Surely your brother is more important than that traitor?" Ino was met with silence as Sasuke looked at the downed Zaku. A contemplative look showed in his expression.

"Please spare us.. I'll even hand over our heaven scroll if you let us walk!" Dosu begged as he steadily got to his legs. Sasuke rolled his eyes and scoffed in disgust. His black flame-like tattoos slowly receded back into his curse mark. The searing hot flames that coated his blade died out as the raven haired boy walked over to Naruto.

"The mercy you show will only come back to haunt us, you guys signed up to be ninjas not super heroes." Sasuke's offhanded comment resonated throughout the forest as he swung Naruto over his shoulders.

Gaara used his sand to secure the heaven scroll that layed in front of Dosu's feet as he stared at Sasuke wearily. Shikamaru sighed in relief as he relaxed his posture.

"Alright now that the drama is over I suggest that we make a beeline to the tower. Sasuke and Gaara will take point while Ino and Choji watch our rear. I'll stay in the center, any objections?" There was no way Shikamaru was willing to trust Sasuke to watch his team's back after that whole fiasco.

A simultaneous nod from each genin signified their agreement to the plan. With nothing more to discuss everybody had set advancement towards the tower.

Uncomfortable silence had managed to suffocate the rag-tag unit as they hopped from branch to branch. But the absence of noise was a saving grace for the Uchiha. And boy was Sasuke glad that it stayed constant throughout their journey.

000

Crimson fluid mixed with morning dew dropped off a blade of grass as it seeped down into the rich earth. Blood leaking from a corpse in a beige jumpsuit created a pool around the body. A hitai-ate with falling rain carved onto its metal surface clung tightly around the dead man's forehead. Currently the now dead ninja that belonged to Amegakure was being looted by an older genin from Konoha.

"Oi Kabuto, looks like these bums were holding onto a scroll of earth for us. I think we should start heading towards the tower now hmm?" Misumi said as he adjusted his face cover ever so slightly.

Kabuto, a nineteen year old boy, moved aside his gray strands of hair. An indifferent look behind his glasses met Misumi's own spectacles. Adjusting his glasses with his palm, Kabuto proceeded to wipe the stray blood off the side of his face.

"Well with four days left of this test I suggest that we wait it out for another day or two. Wouldn't want to run into any monsters on our way to the tower."

"Oh but I'm afraid it's too late for that." Orochimaru placed his hand on top of Kabuto's shoulder as he joined in on their conversation. Just like a snake, the Sanin announced himself silently.

Of course his sudden appearance startled Kabuto to the max. But impressively enough the young medic had managed to not react in the slightest.

"Well Kabuto my boy it looks like plans have changed." Orochimaru said in a somewhat… amused tone?

"Is there an obstacle that needs to be dealt with, lord Orochimaru?" Kabuto inquired as he and the rest of his squad fell to one knee.

"Ah no not an obstacle, but more like a blessing to our cause. We need to take a trip to Sunagakure; our dear old friend Raasa should be interested in this particular piece of news I've happened to stumble upon." The way Orochimaru hissed his tongue after he pronounced his s's irritated his subjects greatly.

Orochimaru then clasped his hands together to create a mud clone. "You two will continue on to the preliminary rounds while me and Kabuto evacuate the village. Failure is an option but I wouldn't recommend it."

Fluttering leaves blew in the wind as Orochimaru and Kabuto vanished from the scene.

"Misumi was it? Well your suggestion to travel to the tower is the most feasible action to take as of now. Arriving in last place wouldn't look good for a team from Konoha after all." The mud clone that was now disguised as Kabuto said sarcastically as he jumped to the tree branches.

Yoroi shared a look with Misumi, both worrying about advancing in a chunin exams test with a literal mud clone. But they both knew better. A clone made from a Sanin could probably last months, maybe even a year if done right.

And what junior leveled ninja could possibly compete with a mud clone of Orochimaru's caliber? Certainly none that could be found in this forest…right?

000

It's been a few days since then. Team seven and ten safely made it to the tower. We now see Sasuke currently sitting in the middle of a dormitory surrounded by sealing arrays made of ink.

"Alright Sasuke are you ready?" Naruto rubbed his hands in a manic type of way. Whenever it came to seals this complex Naruto couldn't help but let his excitement leak out.

"Let's just get this over with already." Sasuke grunted as he stared at the floor intensely.

"This shouldn't hurt that much." Naruto placed his palm upon Orochimaru's 'gift'. Sasuke's neck burned as evaporating ink sizzled on his skin.

The sealing array that covered his entire body had receded back into his curse seal of heaven instantly. Now instead of just three black tomoe, a black ring of fire now surrounded the commas.

"As promised you should now be able to use chakra without any issues… I've also left you access to the curse mark without any physical drawbacks." Naruto waited a moment before he continued talking.

"Are you really planning on using this mark?" The Uchiha whirled towards Naruto and sent him a questioning gaze. Slowly then his expression morphed into a mixture of deflection and consideration.

"I admit that I almost lost control when I awakened in the forest. I was actually considering incapacitating team ten if they didn't allow me to kill those assassins. But no matter how overwhelming this power may be, it is surely efficient." Sasuke stared at his open hand as he closed it into a fist.

"Naruto as an Uchiha it will be my duty to turn this curse into a blessing. I'll tame this well of power before it ever gets the opportunity to control me."

"His soul lies inside of the matrix. Does that not bother you?" A hint of worriedness could be heard from Naruto's voice as he asked Sasuke.

"A soul of an old relic could never get in the way of my calling. Enemies like Orochimaru are on the same level as Itachi. Basically losing to one will be like losing to the other and I'm not letting that happen."

"We almost lost our lives out there Sasuke…we need to focus more on our strength. I thought we made progress but there are still monsters out there waiting for us." Naruto approached Sasuke with a fist. The raven haired teen begrudgingly met Naruto's fist with his own. A silent nod was shared between the two brothers before they brought their attention to the corner of their room.

A flurry of sand whirled throughout their resting quarters as the stray grains revealed Gaara and Ino when it settled. The former was now without his disguise. Gaara's original crimson red hair cascaded beautifully down to his shoulders. Not only that but his pupils were now the color teal as a dark outline traced his eyelids and bags.

Fortunately Shukaku kept his eyebrows.

"Now that Orochimaru knows of my existence my cover is now useless. Hokage-sama has ordered me to drop Kakashi's last name…following at the end of this exam I will be immediately pulled back into the corpse."

Sasuke took a good look at Gaara's new look. Never before meeting the sand jinchuriki before he went undercover. "Great, now I have two teammates with red hair. Two tomatoes in a can you lot."

"Eh you may not be under Kakashi's care any more but we're still brothers y'know. Now let's get rid of this intruder on my stomach." After summoning a clone, Naruto lifted his shirt to reveal a five pronged seal matrix on top of his stomach.

Gogyō Fūin Naruto's clone muttered as he covered his fingertips with wisps of chakra. Release! Said shadow clone then jabbed all five of his digits onto the foreign seal and twisted his hand like his fingers were a key.

The original Uzumukai then let out a sigh of relief as his ethereal blue chakra exploded from his body.

"Finally I have control over my chakra again!"

"Wait hold on! You were working on my curse mark with your chakra system hindered! Aren't seals all about chakra control!"

"Well yes and no. Don't worry teme you were in good hands. Plus I thought you already knew with your sharingan and what not" Sasuke gave Naruto a bewildered gaze before his left hand started to inch towards his sword.

"Will you two quit it for a moment? I have something important to share with you two." Naruto and Sasuke gave Ino their full attention.

"As you both know Sakura is alive and she is capable of using wood release! Orochimaru is experimenting on our friend and who knows how much time we have before he goes too far! We need to bring Sakura home before it's too late guys!"

"You already informed the Hokage of her whereabouts?" Sasuke asked.

"Yeah it was the reason why I had to accompany Gaara to meet with him. It's kind of strange though..Hokage-sama reacted as if he had already known that Sakura is alive. He didn't even flinch when I told him that she had Lord First's kekkei genkai."

"That does sound like the old man, to be all knowing. You know whenever he lies the flow of his chakra becomes slightly muddy." Naruto's comment made Ino ponder as she recalled her meeting with the Kage. Lord Third's chakra control had not shifted the slightest throughout their whole conversation.

'Naruto-kun's sensory skills must be extremely advanced by now. He might be better than Dad if he can catch Hokage-sama.'

"Well there is for sure something going on but.." Naruto then stood up as he clasped his hands together. Jumping towards his bed, Naruto sat down on it relaxed.

"We shall worry about Sakura after we survive the rest of the exams first. Hasn't it been five days since we got to the tower? I wonder who else had passed by now?"

"Well the team that made it in first place was team nine, leaf genin under Might Gai's tutelage. Following them was Kurenai Yuhi's genin squad. After them was when both of our squads arrived. My siblings followed after us not too long after. I heard this morning that those sound genin also passed with another Konoha team." Gaara answered Naruto

"We should start heading to the arena now, the second portion will commence soon." Sasuke added on. Team seven plus Ino nodded in agreement.

"See you on the battlefield Whiskers!" The Yamanaka heiress approached Naruto slowly and grasped both of his hands. "Remember our first mission as chunin will be to retrieve Sakura." Ino gave Naruto a hug before leaving the room.

Naruto was left sitting on his bed with a balled up fist. A determined smile was shown on his face.

"Alright team seven we have an exam to dominate."

"Right!"

000

The arena that was being used for the third portion of the exam was quite spacious. Tile flooring made from a dark gray marble covered the ground. On the south side of the room was a statue depicting a ram hand seal.

In the middle of the floor stood all the rookies that made it to the third selection. All of their Jounin sensei's stood in the stands as they watched below. Meanwhile all the genin were now lined up in front of a sickly looking Jounin waiting for him to reveal the next portion of the exam. Naruto stood next to Sasuke and Gaara staring down Kabuto and the sound nin to death.

Meanwhile Kabuto just had a calm smile on his face as his glasses gleamed, hiding his eyes.

Kiba stood still with a look of indifference. The sand siblings were looking at Gaara with disbelief. Meanwhile Shira stood headstrong ready for a war. If looks could kill Hinata surely would've been murdered by Neji's hateful stare. The Hyuga princess seemed unbothered as she kept a stoic expression.

Lee was practically ecstatic as he bounced on the balls of his feet; ready for action at any notice. Tenten Shino and Choji also looked calm and confident. Meanwhile Shikamaru was..Shikamaru, tired and bored.

"My name is Gekko Hayate and I will be your exam proctor for this afternoon. First off I would like to start off with a congratulations for everyone who has made it this far. Unfortunately since too many of you have survived the Forest of Death-"

[UNFORTUNATELY?!]

Hayate coughed into his hands as he continued on with his introduction. "This portion of the exam will consist of a preliminary tournament of 1v1s. If you lose, you fail. If you win, you pass. No exceptions. Killing is allowed but not advised, forfeits are also allowed. Be prepared to fight your teammates because the selections are one hundred percent random. Now that you all know the rules I shall let Hokage-sama share a few words." After Hayate finished his lecture he took a knee as Hiruzen flashed next to him in an blink of an eye.

Every shinobi that was present in the arena also took a knee. Except for every foreign ninja, a sign of disrespect it may be but wars were started for even less.

"Before we continue on with the exams there is some information I must share with you all. This news concerns the true reason for the chunin exams." Sarutobi titled his Kage's hat as he continued on with his speel of information.

"If any of you have ever wondered why exactly do we group all of these genin from foreign countries to test their capabilities when it could easily be done on their home turf? The reason why is to promote friendship and create new bonds among countries and other villages."

"It's kind of hard to 'create new bonds' when we're pitted to fight each other to death." Kiba muttered sarcastically before Hinata sent a light jyuken strike to his side.

"Well not only to create new bonds..but to have a substitute for war. We are currently at peace thanks to the past three great ninja wars. And Konoha would personally like to continue to be for as long as possible."

"And flexing the strength of the next generation would provide a perfect way to warn other villages of exactly what they have to deal with encase they plan to start one in the future." Shikamaru shared his observation.

"Precisely Shikamaru-kun. Now with that out of the way let's continue on with the exams. Surely that piece of information will motivate you all to try your best. Hayate!" In a flash the Jounin instructor from earlier stood by Hiruzen's side.

"Before we begin, does anyone want to forfeit before we proceed?" A lone hand belonging to Kabuto Yakushi was raised high into the air.

"You may excuse yourself from the premises. But be on standby and after all is said and done your jounin instructor will retrieve you." Kabuto didn't say a word as he left the arena. Team ten and team seven were glaring daggers at the back of his head.

"Now *cough* will everybody direct their attention to the computer screen on *cough*- the wall. The contenders for the first round will now be chosen." Names were randomly sorted through on the screen before it ended with just two.

Rock lee vs Shira

"Now will everybody please evacuate the floor instead of Rock Lee and Shira."

"Yosh watch me shine guy-sensei!" Lee shouted as he sent a thumbs up to his jounin sensei.

"Shine with youth Lee!"

Shira turned his attention towards Baki and gave him a subtle nod before he jumped over the railing.

"I heard that you're a taijutsu specialist as well. You better keep up Lee." Shira offered his friendly advice as he adjusted his stature into a boxer stance.

"That sounds excellent, a battle with you will surely push me past my limits. I'm not planning on holding back by the way!" Lee responded as he waited for the signal to start.

"I wouldn't have it any other way!" Shira yelled back before he nodded his head towards Hayate. Lee doing the same.

"Alright..now let the first match between Rock Lee and Shira." Hayate gave both contestants one last look before he back peddled into the crowd. "Begin!" Hayate vanished from the arena in an instant.

Lee wasted no time closing the distance. With one jump he was suspended in the air with a high kick ready to bash open Shira's head. But Shira responded by crossing his arms together and protecting his skull. Waves of gust were expelled between their short clash as Lee backflipped away from Shira.

This time Shira was on the offense as he gave chase to lee. When the boy was close enough he threw a right hook towards Lee's face but the leaf genin grabbed the incoming punch and yanked Shira's right hand towards the floor.

It seemed Lee was planning to knee Shira in the nose but skillfully his opponent moved his cranium out of the way at the last second. But Lee wasn't done with his combo yet as he proceeded to pull Shira's right hand that he still held captive.

Shira's facial expression held shock because of Lee's truly unexpected overwhelming strength. Shira couldn't do anything while he was swept off his feet thanks to a low tackle from Lee.

Before Shira could completely roll over the green youth, both had their backs connected. Rock Lee flexed his calves to an extreme and jumped high into the air. Managing to bring them both into aerial combat.

Shira kept his cool though as he ferociously grabbed the back of Lee's fishnet tank top to spin him around mid air! Finishing his little twirl by savagely hurling Lee towards the ground as if he weighed nothing!

"What am I witnessing right now?" Kurenai sputtered in disbelief as she watched genin perform feats that were simply out of this world.

"The power of youth Kurenai! The power of youth.." Gai replied smugly as he crossed his arms. Even the blind can see how proud Might Gai was as he watched Lee thrive in his environment.

A cloud of debris tried its best to reach the heavens as Lee crash landed. But unsurprisingly as the freak of nature that he is, he black flipped out of the cloud of dust and landed perfectly on top of the statue of Ram. Only sporting scratches here and there. Shira landed gracefully as he stared into Lee's eyes.

Both were at loss of breath but they couldn't help to wipe the smirk off their faces.

"You know you're the first ninja my age to give me a run for my money in taijutsu." Shira's compliment drew a slight snicker from Lee.

"I would say the same to you Shira, but my teammate is a Hyuga determined to change his fate. I felt your weights when we first traded blows, are they not slowing you down?" Lee gestured excitingly.

"I too felt yours, I guess you're right…it is time to take the training wheels off."

Lee bent down and removed a pair of weights out of his leg warmers. Shira followed his lead as he unbuckled a pair of bracelets off his wrists. Out of nowhere Lee chose to throw his weights like they were kunai. Shira's eyes widened before he dived to left, the floor he was standing on had exploded when the weights landed. A small earthquake followed after but it didn't knock him off balance at all.

Then with pure speed Shira appeared on the other side of the arena and threw his bracelets like they were baseballs. Lee ducked at the last second, the wall behind him completely fell apart.

Naruto and Sasuke spared a glance to each other after seeing weights heavy as oak trees being flung around like toys. 'Our peers are just as advanced as us.' Sasuke couldn't get rid of the hunger in his eyes as Naruto's grip on the rail tightened.

"Leave it to Lee to destroy the arena after the first match." Tenten sighed out exasperatedly. Neji just scoffed and rolled his eyes in response.

"You know Gai-sensei might be onto something if this is what the power of youth is capable of." Kiba added his two cents as he tried to keep track of the battle. Hinata couldn't help but to hold back a small chuckle despite the sheer ridiculousness that was this fight

Lee and Shira then met in the middle of the ring. Lee sent a high kick while Shira threw a left hook at his leg. The clash sounded like thunder, forcing them to split apart temporarily. Shira then started to run in circles disappearing completely.

Lee couldn't hear him so he was following with his eyes as best as he could. Unfortunately his reactions weren't enough, as Shira appeared to his left and punched him in the liver.

Good thing Lee instinctively tucked his left arm at the last second. Dashing close into Shira's guard. Lee punched his chest three separate times. The sand kid ate all three heavy hitters. But on the last one he caught Lee's wrist and judo slammed him to the ground.

A cloud of dust and some rocks exploded everywhere. A horrified expression took over Shira as he noticed both of his hands were wrapped in Lee's bandages.

Out of the cloud smoke bursted Lee performing a high front flip in the air. The leaf nin then tensed his muscle slightly, pulling Shira straight into a dropkick. Pinballing him right back into the hard concrete.

Shira moaned in pain to the world as he forced himself back to his feet. Spitting out a glob of blood towards Lee's direction.

"You leaf ninjas are no pushovers there is no doubt about that." Lee landed adjacent to his opponent as he was once again rolling his bandages around his arms.

"But this battle cannot go on any further.. My ninja career is at risk and this battle determines it all. Surely you understand." Lee cocked his head in confusion as Shira started to expel grand amounts of chakra.

"Shichi Tenkohō…First activation!" Shira screamed to the heavens as yellow chakra started to expel from his body.

"Second activation!" Now Shira's tanned skin started to gain a reddish tint.

"Fifth activation!" Skipping past two levels caused gales of wind to pick up from Shira's transformation, Lee started to skid back a few paces while everyone in the spectators stand had to cover their eyes.

"Lee! You have permission to bloom twice, just don't over do it!" Gai's words snapped Lee out of his trance before he gave his sensei a thumbs up.

"The fifth gate, gate of Limit.. OPEN!" Just like Shira, Lee had his own transformation unfold. But instead of yellow ethereal chakra it was green unruly chakra. But aside from the color difference both of their transformations were identical.

"Here I come Lee.. Prepare yourself!"

"Yosh!"

Silence fell upon the arena after the two contestants vanished from everyone's sights. It was almost as if they just stopped existing.

Until of course there was a supersonic clash that uprooted the tiled floor in the middle of the arena. There they were, caught in a power struggle as they both had their hands interlocked. Breaking it off quickly they both peddled backwards before Lee turned into a literal hurricane.

Konoha Senpū!

Shira stood his ground as he awaited Lee's onslaught. As the mini twister was about to come into contact with Shira. The gray haired youth countered Lee's technique perfectly. After that Shira caught Lee unbalanced and jabbed one of his chakra points successfully.

Hinata gasped in shock while Neji seemed a little riled up.

This wasn't Lee's first time having one his chakra points shut down; instead of flinching from pain Lee carried on and landed a palm strike on Shira's face. That won Lee a short pause allowing him to gain some distance.

"You shut down one of my tenketsu. How? You don't have the byakugan."

"Ever since I became aware that taijutsu was my saving grace I've been studying all on chakra points. I have about an 80% success rate in shutting down your tenketsu."

Lee's only response was a punch to the face. Shira blocked his strike before sending his own. Missing completely, Lee retaliated with a spinning elbow that Shira ate head on. Unfortunately for Lee a kick to the stomach was the trade off.

Capitalizing on his successful kick, Shira rushed into Lee's space and grabbed his torso. Performing a devastating suplex on Lee. Gai's student managed to hang on at the last second as his hands were wrist deep into the tiled floor. Lee then used his legs to tornado kick off of him.

Or at least tried to as Shira overpowered Lee's core strength and just grabbed his left leg and threw him into the wall. Lee spat up a glob of saliva as his back connected to the wall but he quickly recovered as he raced around the arena. Shira right behind him.

"Sis..did you know that handicap down there was this powerful?" Kankura prodded Temari as they both observed the battle.

"Kankura do you really think Lord Kazekage-sama would send anybody less to support your back behind enemy lines?" Baki cut off Temari before she could answer. But truth be told even he was unaware of such potential the Shira held.

"Alright Shira let's end this!" Lee stopped in his tracks, Shira doing the same. "I was saving this technique for the finals but you're certainly worthy Shira!"

Lee started to spin in place with insane speeds, a small tornado started to kick up around him which soon transitioned into a raging twister.

Konoha Ryūjin!

The raging twister then took the shape of a dragon with sinister glowing yellow eyes.

"No way that dragon was formed from just taijutsu alone!" Chouji exclaimed as he started to sweat bullets.

The beast had let loose a mighty roar before it proceeded to give chase to Shira. Said target stood his ground as he siphoned all of his chakra into his left arm.

The dragon opened its maw to astounding proportions before it tried its best to devour their prey. Shira responded by shoving an uppercut right into the beast's jaw.

"RAHHHH!" Shira screeched to his heavens as he put his all into diverting the attack. A moment of struggle had dragged on between the two but unfortunately it ended in the dragon's favor.

Devouring Shira with no problem the dragon continued on its path into the air. Ragdolling Shira as he cycled through the technique, sharp cuts appearing all over his body. In the end the dragon dived head first into the ground; causing a huge explosion.

When the huge cloud of dust settled there Shira was laying flat in a deep crater. His left arm was broken and mangled while his body was covered with shards of concrete and blood. Amazingly enough the taijutsu user fought his way back onto his two feet. His transformation was long gone but there was still determination in his eyes.

"I refuse to let it end like this Lee… my dream is on the line." Shira raised his right arm in a vain attempt, his hand gesturing in a 'come hither' motion. "Come!"

Lee's heavy breathes could be heard by all as he struggled to stand on both feet. His fifth gate flickered out of control before it ultimately ran out.

"As you wish Shira, prepare yourself for here I come!"

Dynamic Entry! Lee jumped forward with a high kick determined to spartan kick Shira right in the chest but had stopped himself mere inches away from his opponent. Shock was written all over his face as he stared at Shira hollowed eyes.

The sand genin had passed out standing.

"He's out cold, there's nothing keeping him up but sheer will power. What a guy." Naruto had to hand it to Shira, he was a powerhouse indeed.

"Hmm, I remember that Lee fellow stating something along the lines of 'hard work will beat natural talent.' But from the looks of this fight his work ethic is a natural talent itself. He's a walking contradiction if I've ever seen one." Sasuke responded to Naruto's comment.

"The winner of this match is Rock Lee! Everybody will take a five minute recess so we can clean up the arena before we proceed any further. Medics!" A necessary call that was because the floor had craters in it left and right, a trail of destruction where Lee's leaf dragon had traveled, and not to mention the crumbling walls here and there.

"Looks like the next generation is something not to be trifled with. I hope you three are ready to deal with your peers when it's your turn. Take this break to strategize on everyone here." Asuma lit up a cigarette as he walked away from the stands. Shikamaru, Ino, and Chouji responded with a chorus of "Yes Sensei!" Before following along after him.

000

*Before the first round*

After being dismissed from the exam Kabuto slowly walked through the hallways unbothered. That was until two Anbu members stopped him in his tracks.

"Kabuto Yakushi, on the orders of Lord Hokage-sama you are to be reprimanded and tried for treason. Turn yourself in peacefully."

Kabuto's usually calm demeanor changed in an instant as a wicked smile broke through his features.

"Kukuku it seems the old man has caught on. Well you boys have fun telling dear old sensei the bad news, tata." Kabuto then dispelled into a pile of mud. Both Anbu members tried to sense his chakra signature but he was nowhere to be found.

"Shit."

"Shit."

000

Back with another chapter, I poured my heart and soul into this one. May be a few spelling errors but fuck it we ball.