No More

by Sivaatasi

How much crap does a guy have to take just to get a fair shake? The school was out to get him, villagers were trying to ruin his life, and everyone he'd ever loved (admittedly that's not many people in the life of our favorite Jinchuuriki) were vanishing on him. Determined to make a new start, he learns that not everything glittering is gold. AU, Naruto. M (just in case).

45. Chapter 45

A/N: I suppose that the last update went well? Everyone back in a happy place, are they? Good.

I took a look back over my story outline and the 27 key points I wanted to work in throughout this fanfic. I am going to say that I've worked through most of them over the what… year-and-almost-a-half this story has been up? We're coming up on 500K for this one and there is still so much to work through. I may have to slow down my pace to keep the juices flowing. Meh, enough musing as I should probably get back to the story and quit teasing the folks interested in what happens next.

I am going to assume, however, that those of you 6,000+ viewers of this story (thank you by the way) that read it over the 48 hours I posted chapters 43 and 44 are extremely happy with what you're seeing since there were only 7 reviews per chapter. Yes, I'm going to assume you liked everything I've written and are ecstatic with my work to date (that's my story and I'm sticking to it). Okay, moving on...

...A couple of quick answers before we do:

- Dragon0905: Thank you for your comments. There are 3 points, however, I'd like to address from your review:

First Point: I use the word "vice" in several capacities in this story. With the exception of my spellchecker failing to catch the misuse of vice instead of "vise" when referencing the strength of someone's grip, it is used exactly how I intended to use it per Webster's definition of the prepositional format meaning, "In place of" or "rather than" and not per its prefix usage as a title or its reference to sexual or other forms of immorality. However, don't take my word for it; look it up for yourself. There is one example where I did, in fact, use "vice versa" and that was "as intended." Is it technically accurate? Certainly. Would an editor pull their hair out and bang their forehead on a keyboard forcing me to change it? Probably. That does not make its use inappropriate, only not aesthetically appetizing to some.

Second Point: Everyone is entitled to their opinion on how a story is written and you seem to take issue with how I've written this story based on general shinobi backstabbing and under-handedness. That is your right. If you want a more straightforward tale, there are plenty out there. This story is heavily into intrigue and plot because it takes place in a world of shinobi where everyone involved in that life is constantly plotting to gain an edge and I have intentionally folded in that level of intrigue; this is a shinobi fic for fans of intrigue, not a fanfic version of Demolition Man. I am constantly amused by the many "one-punch" Naruto fanfics out there that completely ignore this aspect of his life that thoroughly dominates everyone else in his shinobi universe (accepting that Naruto is often the blunt-headed exception) unless it's used briefly as part of a fight. As if bad guys don't have ideas and desires of their own or are patient enough to sit back and wait for him to get powerful enough to fight one on one?

Shinobi don't fight fair and rarely go head-to-head unless they have to and this is a shinobi fanfic for shinobi fans. If you want fair and bloody, movies like "The Seven Samurai" are what you need.

Final Point: Tone and context are difficult to ascertain in text. It is the number one downfall of email and messaging so I will apologize upfront if I've misunderstood or misrepresented yours. That said, it's nice to see the stereotypical American attitude (an outright assumption as there is a lack of information to state other than your claim to linguistic proficiency in the language) there "bud" in that you assumed English to be my secondary language when it's actually Spanish with a very, very, very, very minor attempt at horribly poor Japanese being my third (even had the privilege of three years living in Japan to help out with it). Constructive criticism I am open to - hubris not so much.

If you had asked if English was my first language (rather than bluntly and rudely assuming), I might have perceived a much different bias to your "feedback." That said, I will admit that I probably am entirely to comfortable with certain words and should find suitable replacements; I have stated before that "I are an engineer" so the Language Arts are not my forte (this be a hobby so I are not the goodest at it). Finding new words gets a bit repetitive after writing 480,000+ of them on the same subject and becomes less appealing as you go along. That said, I will attempt to be gooder when using the Engrish.

Elypsus: I don't often bludgeon my readers with neon signs saying "This Right Here Is Important!" There will be no foot-stomping to draw your eyes to a specific paragraph. The hints are subtle but they are there. In fact, there are no less than 3 direct hints to the fact that Ino's relationship with Naruto may not be on the up-and-up and these all occur well in advance of the "big reveal." They are spread through 3 separate story arcs and the first two are blended in with other events going on in the story and are so subtle that it's easy to understand why people would gloss over them. One involving Anko is even referenced by her during the Dango Stop Showdown and should have been easy enough to remember from the Nami Arc. The third was, to me, overly obvious and involved Ino but, as the writer, it would seem that way as I wrote it. Funny that someone else wrote a review recommending that I should stay away from romance because they misunderstood the cues as poorly scripted and awkwardly-written romance "vice" hints that the untrained female in question was getting in over her head and "chickened out" at the last minute. If that doesn't point to the third clue (cough* Nadeshiko Arc cough*), then I don't know what to tell you.

- Unmei no Te translates roughly to "Hand of Fate." It was Neji's attempt at Fate-based humor given his fanaticism to that obscure Hyuuga religion. Dancingrage picked up on it quick enough - though I'm not sure how I feel about the reference to Manos: Hands of Fate and my story as it can be taken in multiple directions.

- Naruto, as the current Walker for the Umihebi, has the power to override a contractual bond between a recognized summoner and their summons in order to break it. This was developed over many, many decades so that mistreated Umihebi could be freed from abusive summoners unwilling to release their charges. This does not give him the authority to force a sea serpent into a bond with someone they have not accepted – the summoning clan retains the right to choose their mates. This does not mean that a summons cannot break the bond on their own; they can but it's terribly difficult to do due to the coercive nature of the bond itself. Eito lost his bond because Lampades' sister intentionally severed their link but left with her sibling so she would not suffer alone in exile.

- In case others are curious, I'll share my answer to vyoom about the hint I gave concerning "The Eyes Lie" comment. This isn't specifically a message about Genjutsu, just that the all-seeing eyes of the Hyuuga shouldn't automatically believe everything they see to be inviolate truth. I'll go a step further to hint that if you remember what the original premise of this story is about, you'll know how Naruto was able to pull this little shocker off. 'Nuff said on that since Dancingrage nailed it in one.

- Finally, on the ultimately anti-climactic ending of the Iwa vs. Konoha fight. Remember that these fights are being broadcast across the nations in conjunction with the supporting Daimyo of each of the five major powers. Konoha absolutely cannot be viewed as being biased against the jinchuuriki vessel as that's horribly bad for business with a world that doesn't know he is a jinchuuriki. That means that, even though it's Naruto in the ring, they need to uphold the rules. Gekido interfered in the bout and, since he's doing so on behalf of Iwa Genin, Iwa automatically forfeits the win. The fact that ANBU might have been too late to stop his death if it had been the real Naruto is irrelevant so long as they "act in a timely manner to control the situation," which they did. Sorta. Nonetheless, once they did intervene, they brought the situation to an immediate halt making a prolonged fight between Gekido and Naruto unnecessary (rest assured there is plenty of blood-shedding yet to come warmongers).

Gotta admit the hostility towards the Hyuuga Princess is always surprising (she's such a kind soul). More surprised that two people actually unfollowed the story (presumably with her death). You guys really get into your NaruHina, don'tcha?

In any event, I'm pretty sure I stated upfront that this was a NaruIno fic…

One final check before we move on. Is everyone ready to get back to it? Hope so. Let's pick up where we left off last, shall we?

Enjoy as you will.

~Siva'a-tasi

~III~

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Standard Disclaimer: Blah Blah... don't own Naruto... but I do own the Umihebi!

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Chapter 45: Mono A Mono

~III~

---

~ Previously on No More ~

It was a bit disconcerting to be calmly standing in neat little rows while med-nins went about the business of loading up Hinata's body on the cloth-covered stretcher preparing to cart her away like cordwood. Ino's mind was still replaying the wailing protests and curses being slung towards the smug branch member of her clan who'd casually snuffed out her life without so much as a "Please and Thank You." Boy was that ever the shit-show and, when she'd looked up for a reaction from the poor girl's father or clan in the expensive box seats, Ino only just caught sight of the elders calmly departing with a stone-faced Hanabi Hyuuga in tow.

Their antipathy floored the young mind walker. Shocked to a point of having a delayed reaction she could get, but these... monsters... didn't even care to stick around for the official death call?

Bastards the lot of them! She lost a considerable amount of respect for the entire clan at that point.

Let's not forget poor Kurenai-sensei. How the woman was holding it together was beyond Ino who barely knew the girl and was still going numb to the whole experience.

Suddenly the Chunin Exam, regardless of whatever festival people were calling it, seemed less like the party of happy memories she'd hoped it could be.

Everyone knew that death was a risk in the exams. It had been stressed and repeated enough times but to suffer it at the hands of someone from your own clan charged with keeping you safe on a daily basis? That rankled something primal in the back of Ino's mind, something that she couldn't quite come to grips with. It would be as if her cousin Momoka shanked her the moment she stepped foot in the clan compound over the last pack of cookies; it just made no sense.

So she stood there silently bracketed by her brooding squad leader and the equally brooding bruiser of their squad as her body fought the overwhelming urge to spin around and run right into his arms.

Kami, she hated this lie!

She couldn't even focus on the rambling words of the senbon-chewing Jounin explaining to them how tomorrow was supposed to go. She remembered something about eight in the morning and an electronic board of some kind. Judging by the faces around her looking upwards and in the same direction, she had a reasonably sound idea where this information board was located and now she was just killing time until she could go home and cry herself to sleep.

They weren't even going to be told who their first opponents were until tomorrow so there wasn't much to focus on anyway. She'd deal with it all as it came.

By the gods, she just wanted her normal life back!

But they weren't done yet so normal couldn't happen yet. The entire village needed to put on a final show before the last dance could begin and, not for the last time as her eyes glanced over at the dark red stains on the hard stadium floor, did she wonder if this life she wanted to live was worth the price they'd all have to pay for it.

~III~

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"Perceive that which cannot be seen with the eye."

– Miyamoto Musashi.

~III~

---

~ Inside the Hatchery of the Glittering Grotto ~

Normally the Grotto was a silent cave whose serene hues of brilliant blues and soothing purple glows would be stirred only by the gentle breaths of the slumbering behemoths making up the remaining "active" members of the Umihebi Celestial Summoning Clan. Enormous enough in size to fit two-thirds of Konoha's geography, there would be, generally speaking, more than enough room to allow free range of motion to its scaly occupants of unusual size, the gentle sloshing of its pools accented by the soothing sounds of water cascading along walls worn smooth through the ages. With its dim sources of light provided by the crystals high above and pulsing eggs throughout the nesting cavern that served as the Clan Boss's audience chamber, its subtle atmosphere would normally be enough to lull anyone into a pleasant slumber as the hours ticked idly by.

Normally.

"This is... unprecedented!"

Poseidus was doing his dead-level best to ignore the recent... activity... transpiring all around him, his eyes looking everywhere but at his smug Elders smugly pressing their smug muzzles in his general direction with their... smugness. Perhaps his wife would be able to corral the new acolyte appointed to help Ellamus once her official duties to the new Walker began.

Speaking of which... The Clan Patron passively glanced down from his shelf to watch his mate's futile attempts to curb the new priestess' energy.

"'Nerva."

"Wow!" The royal blue scales of the Stormwielder shimmered as her slender muzzle hovered equally above a clutch of ten eggs cracking open with the sound of magma boiling beneath the seas. Her overenthusiastic personality was beginning to chafe the already cranky Patron who'd already complained about the unbearable rise in "cavern chatter" as he referred to general noise and distractions.

"MINERVA," she announced with some authority.

"Hmm? OH! Oh, beg pardon, Mother." Pale blue orbs winked sideways as the younger wyrmkin tore her slitted eyes from the emerging life all around her.

"Yes, thank you for your... dedication," Marianus hazarded a glance to her broody husband as he huffed safely from his perch, "but please keep it to a controlled minimum."

"Certainly, Mother." The younger wyrm's graceful neck dipped low in deference. "I was caught by surprise in the rise in hatchling activity."

'Quite.' The clan Matron could not agree more actually despite having to convince herself repeatedly that the recent spate of - a quick count confirmed the latest numbers - forty-one births was any indication.

"But... Mother... these numbers do not make sense," the young adult gasped.

Marianus had to agree with her once again finding the trend reassuring and frustrating at the same time. She knew exactly how many summoners the clan currently possessed-FOUR not including the Walker. The amount of chakra feedback from their bonds should support, at best, the Great Wyrms slumbering in deep hibernation, the current Elder Wyrms, the Young Adults, and the handful of hatchlings scurrying about before the recent upsurge in serpent activity. To make it easy, the Bond adhered to the Rule of Six: One summoner could support either two elders, four young adults, or six hatchlings (the standard as they required more energy due to less self-control) through the average bonding.

Clearly this was not the case with the new Walker and she found herself reviewing what they knew about the process and its benefits despite her disbelief.

A Celestial bond was a give and take affair. While the Uzumaki, Senju, Terumī, and other branch clans gained undeniable benefits from merging their chakras with the Celestial wyrms, the merging was a mutual exchange and the Umihebi's benefit came in the infusion of chakra siphoning.

Chakra, for the clan of sea serpents, literally meant life.

The bond between a serpent and its human summoner thrived off of chakra, primarily the extra energy naturally generated and cast off by the human host. Normally this chakra was lost as the body cast it off into the atmosphere, unless captured through the sealing arts and stored, but the bond transferred those wasted lifegiving pulses back to the bonded wyrm to sustain their bodies. While it often resulted in stagnated growth of the host's chakra coils, that extra energy is transferred to the summons and radiated from its body, as the serpents couldn't otherwise use or store it resulting in similar castoff waste inside the Grotto, to be collected in the many seals inscribed within the walls of the cavern, a beneficial collaboration between the Umihebi and their cherished clan long before The Breaking.

The energy not consumed by the bonded wyrm, absorbed energy that sustained them reducing the need for such large creatures to drain the oceans and forests dry while they fed to support their enormous bulk, is expunged as radiated waste, collected then transmitted to either get absorbed by those seals or resident serpents not bonded to another summoner. It was how the clan could sustain their numbers during emergency times when the number of summoners available dipped to dangerous levels.

Their odd symbiotic dependency on human chakra was also why the reclusive summoning clan was allowed to travel, for short times despite the risks, to the elemental nations which were rich in chakra waste.

Before their current Walker, there had been just enough summoners to support the three classes of serpents still lumbering about: Elders Wyrms, which contained the boss, his wife, and the two Elders Magnus and Regnus and any other wyrm older than one-thousand years; Adult Serpents, which contained Ellamus and the majority ranging from five hundred to a thousand years in age that would normally be clustered lethargically in the Grotto to reduce their energy needs; and finally the Hatchlings below five hundred years in age, which included Opal and Titus.

Ella and Opal both understood how the energy was distributed and she so wished one could be here to educate the new acolyte that would be assuming Ella-hime's duties once the latter became the Grand Priestess. She could not wait until her new infatuation, despite how considerate and charming the Walker could be, wore off and Ella could return to free her from this... energetic... female's attention.

~III~

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For a parent, even one as horribly negligent as Hiashi Hyuuga, three minutes can be an indeterminable amount of time while you wait for a team of med-nins to rush out onto the stadium floor, check for a weak pulse from the all-too-still body of your oldest daughter, then lift their masked face towards the proctor so they could gently shake their head from side to side indicating that there is nothing they can do to save the girl's life. Three minutes can seem like an eternity in a case like that.

A great many things can run rampant in a person's mind in those three minutes.

Take for instance the idea that your brother's son intentionally murdered your eldest daughter under the protective premise of the Chunin Exams and you could "legally" do nothing to punish him for it. A rational mind might be able to separate the searing grief of losing a child under the harsh conditions of the shinobi advancement exams and withdraw to grieve privately, as might be expected of a clan head that had successfully convinced an entire village that he cared little for his daughter in order to minimize the influence of the corrupt elders of his clan. A rational mind might even, with the greatest most Herculean effort of mental will, be able to calmly order those same elders sitting behind him to take his youngest daughter back to their clan compound so that he could collect the body of said eldest daughter for later burial without entertaining the thought of slowly pummeling his nephew to death with his bare hands over a period of days.

One might be able to if they were possessed of the iron will embodied in the Hyuuga Clan Head and even be fairly convincing at it.

Three minutes might even provide enough time to look for a certain blond-haired Genin searching for hope, grasping for any kind of way out of the situation you suddenly found yourself faced with. That person might, under the pretense of staring off into space despite the scrutiny of his entire village as they sought to dissect his every reaction for some sign that he cared for the departed girl, find the supposedly unaffected youth once again leaning against the guardrail of the observer's deck with both hands occupied through the making of inane gestures the average person would consider absolutely meaningless. Take for example his left hand hanging limply from the wrist as it twirled in a particularly oblong counterclockwise pattern while his right tapped idly on the handrail upon which his elbows rested. A normal person might consider that odd unless they knew the symbology behind his hand impersonating the direction animals raced in the betting tracks found in Tanzaku Town, the particular direction indicating everything was "on-track," as it were.

One might just release the tiniest shiver of relief that less observant folks may misinterpret as a person of immense control trying to prevent a breakdown of emotion when facing their currently horrific circumstance.

One just might.

So, it was with great purpose and dignity that this great bastion of the Hyuuga Clan rose from his seat to begin the solemn trek to the stadium infirmary to retrieve the body of his daughter before anyone could begin to piece together these things running through his mind.

There was so much to do before the viewing and the funeral after all.

~oOOo~

Naruto stayed long enough to watch Hiashi thread his way through the thinning crowd, the observation deck long since cleared out of people hoping to see a knock-down-drag-out-fight between Naruto and the murdering bastard being tsked to death by his peers. He did have to admit that it was a tough one when both Shino and Kiba chased him back to the observation deck, automatically forfeiting the match to the rest of Team Gai, once their shock at Hinata's death wore off. He could have sworn it was coming to deadly blows if Gai hadn't held back Kurenai and members of the Rookie bunch hadn't tackled the rather irate remainders of Team Eight.

Meh, not really his problem at the moment.

Appreciating the growing blanket of silence, he shoved both hands into cozy pockets and made the casual walk down one and a half levels to the tunnel connecting the stadium entrance to their competitor's section. He couldn't wait to get home and soak in the onsen. Perhaps he'd even get lucky and enjoy the company of a friend or five in the four-person steamer.

He had the strangest urge to giggle right then but it passed as a figure dropped from the tunnel ceiling to quietly walk along next to him.

"Neji-kun." If the boy was annoyed by the younger Genin's address or surprised that he recognized him without making eye contact, it did not show.

"Naruto-sama."

"Will you be okay tonight?" the blond queried casually. He couldn't imagine that the public murder of the clan's unofficial heiress would end well for the branch member.

There was a brisk nod in the affirmative. "The only person that would be upset by the match's outcome would be Hiashi-sama."

Naruto tried not to wince at the callousness of an entire clan toward one of their own deflecting his own dislike of the subject by handing the taller youth a wooden token bearing a carved nine-pronged spiral on one side and a suspension bridge on the other.

"Don't lose that. You'll need it soon."

The small token vanished into the folds of Neji's robes.

"Please forgive me, Naruto-sama, for my brusque nature as we are nearly out of time." Both could see the end of the tunnel steadily approaching.

Naruto gently shrugged it away.

"I need to confirm that this balances my... our debt." Something in the older boy's normally stoic voice sounded... needy.

Naruto's eyes swiveled up to meet the pale pair anxiously searching his face for something. "A life for a life, Neji. That was my requirement." The blond turned back to the nearing tunnel exit never having broken stride. "The scales are balanced and I always keep my word."

'Your nindo.' The long-haired Hyuuga's heavy sigh was telling.

"Neji-kun, you do realize that we could end up opponents in the stadium tomorrow, right?"

"Hai, Naruto-sama. I shall be sure to forfeit if that-."

"Neji," the blond interrupted him actually coming to a stop in the tunnel, "I expect you to honor your father's legacy and fight with everything you have if that's the case."

The taller brunette blinked in confusion.

"We are twice armed if we fight with honor, Neji. I expect you to stand before your father as a hero when this is all said and done, not as a quitter. How else will you change your fate unless you fight for it to the very end?"

The two nodded sagely to each other before resuming their exodus. As the whisker-marked Genin broke out of the tunnel and into the blinding light of the afternoon sun, only one figure could be seen as he continued onward to the steamy onsen calling his tired name.

~III~

Every med-nin not on rounds was scurrying about Konoha General at the will of their new medical Commander, and woe betide the slow appointee not efficiently about her furious tasking.

Said Commander was not alone in her one-woman war on inefficiency. While Tsunade Senju, the greatest med-nin in perhaps the entire elemental kingdom blasted orders from her mighty throne of administrative dominance (her newly recovered office once she'd evicted the lazy squatters wasting the talent of her subordinates), her apprentice was equally about her shishou's business when it came to setting up the relay medical stations needed for tomorrow's festivities.

All about their wake was chaos and destruction for the initiated and into this mess clacked the fearless geta of Jiraiya, the Toad Sage of Mount Myōboku.

He waited patiently until the final cowering subordinate scuttled off to do its mistress's bidding before sticking his white-maned head around the corner of her office doorjamb, his rugged face resisting the urge to smile at what he saw. The office was spacious as it should be for the Medical Director of the hospital, her desk near the far end of the room by the large double window affording a peaceful view of the village backdropped by faces of the great Hokage long passed. Closer to the door was a small conference table covered by scrolls draping its surface like a jigsaw tabletop but he ignored it all.

No, Jiraiya only had eyes for the blonde bombshell standing before an enormous wall map of the village on the far side of her cluttered table, her hands fisted upon her curvy hips as she chewed thoughtfully on a pursed lower lip.

"If you're done eye-groping me, you can move on so we can finish getting ready, Jiraiya."

The Slug Princess never broke her gaze free from the map sporting a dozen red circles across its faded surface.

"Never," he shot back immediately.

She only snorted in return. 'Same old perv.'

"I wish you'd consider his offer," he opined.

"I will when you will," she fired back.

"You know I-."

"-WON'T!" she interrupted. "Don't lie to me and claim you can't." Her amber eyes so capable of stealing his breath away swiveled to glare at him from across the room. "We're both too old for that these days."

"Can't blame a guy for trying." Jiraiya's heart thumped painfully in his chest at her soured gaze, his eyes not leaving her even after her chest expanded magnificently to let her expel a burst of frustrated air as she returned to her precious map.

"No, I suppose I can't at that."

"Have you seen him yet?" For such a large man, the question was surprisingly gentle.

"I see him all the time."

"You know that's not what I meant!" Jiraiya paused before, "You don't want to waste a second chance, Hime."

The sound she made this time was closer to a grunt than a sigh. It was less an agreement than it was more of an acknowledgement that he spoke. Getting the sense that she was done speaking for now, the disappointed Toad Sage turned away to find happier moments.

She ignored the sound of his footwear fading off into the hospital's pristine hallways ignoring his casual, "Drinks at the usual time."

For once, the Senju Princess felt no desire to "toss a couple back" with her old teammate. She had a feeling she'd need to be sober tomorrow.

~III~

Ino paused fidgeting briefly as she waited with her two unlikely dinner companions in the koi garden making up the entrance lobby to Konoha's premier eatery, Fields of Gold. Any other time she'd be ecstatic at the invitation to a place graced only by the powerful and politically well-heeled decision-makers of her village. Only the truly exceptional frequented this place after all.

If only it could be under better circumstances. The day's drama at the very end of Team Battles only served to point out how lethal the shinobi world really was, how things could go from "a really great day" to an "oh, crapper" in the blink of an eye. I mean, that's about how long it took for Neji to murder his own cousin before thousands of spectators after all.

The blink of a shinobi's eye.

At some point during her introspective moment, Ino's eyes had wandered to the mindlessly swimming Koi meandering about in the mini pond beneath the bridge connecting the Tori gate of the establishment to the finely-stained porch entry of the restaurant. From there, tired eyes rolled right along the glistening planks to the midnight kimonos sported by her fellow dinner companions, any attempt at beauty quashed by the somber mood and simple pink kunai pins hovering above the field of black cloth covering each woman's left breast. Considering their entire outfit, barring that single splash of color, was made of the same soul-rending material, it wasn't hard to draw attention to the sympathetic symbols of a village trying to hide the ongoing excitement of the exams behind a facade of mourning.

She'd seen Hyuuga elders fleeing from the stadium the second Hinata's body struck the ground and held zero illusions as to how much her death affected them beyond their agreement with the Daimyo. The bastards! She hoped with all her heart that the same agreement bit them right in the-.

"I hope that I have not kept you ladies waiting?"

Ino's stare flickered from the tranquil setting of the wooden bench she waited on to the pained smile on Shizuka's face and wondered if the suffering of her village meant anything to the Nadeshiko native here on her own agenda. Two seconds later she decided it didn't matter and stood up to follow the three women that were her competition for Naruto's affections.

She could mourn her dead friend later, apparently. Plus she'd need to corner Naruto to ask where his plan, the same one she'd asked to be clued in on repeatedly, went sideways with Hinata's untimely demise. She shook away those grim thoughts and focused on her fellow kunoichi.

What she couldn't get was how calm Anko seemed to be. The woman's face was a stone mask, unlike any other time when Ino couldn't knock that obnoxious smirk from her lips no matter what she tried. Not tonight though as the snake charmer hadn't said more than two grunts of acknowledgment in the past fifteen minutes of waiting for their host, or hostess in the case of the Nadeshiko ruler. Shizuka was the reason why they even had a table in a place that required reservations two months in advance just to get a foot in the door and, once they cleared the foyer, Ino fully understood why.

Once past the restaurant's greeting podium, the wooden planks of the entryway branched out into a network of open-aired bridges and walkways working past, around, and to individual wooden platforms ranging in sizes large enough to accommodate a single circular table capable of hosting groups in the dozens or cozy, intimate settings for two and everything in between. Each platform was its own individual island - literally - as the water feeding the koi pond out front ran underneath the walkways and fed the lake of water being gently churned in between each platform by bubblers and water fountains no bigger than a small planter. It lent a soothing atmosphere like those cheap Zen fountains you could buy for your office desk, the multiple bubblers providing a soothing gurgling sound as ambient noise that matched well with the lily pad-borne lavender pots floating errantly throughout the entire waterway beneath their feet.

It gave the entire setting a blanket of peace and serenity Ino desperately needed at the moment.

As they wound their way to a slightly raised platform near the center of the open floor plan, Ino appreciated the background noise as it would most likely keep the average snoop from picking up on their conversation. The sense of isolated privacy only compounded once she noticed the curtained pavilion set up around their candlelit table, three sides already closed off as they took their seats.

There was no need to order as a pair of servants laid out a small garden salad, fresh rolls, and chilled glasses filled with a white wine from a bottle with a Sauvignon Blanc label she couldn't quite catch. Whatever it was, the wine was as crisp as the leafy greens on her plate and she was glad to see none of the women sharing the table were shy about eating.

The servers topped off their water glasses with fresh slices of lemon or cucumber per preference, lit additional candles to provide just a touch more lighting, then departed closing the entry curtains as they did so, the sign their hostess was waiting for it seemed before the conversation began.

"It pleases me that you all accepted my invitation."

Ino tore a chunk of bread from the steaming roll on her side plate before slathering a healthy dollop of soft butter across the feathery surface - she'd always loved the smell of fresh-baked bread.

"You said it was important, so we came." Tenten didn't appear to be shy and Anko was more than happy to observe while the two chatted, so Ino focused more on the light course. With no menus, the entire meal was probably scripted so she could afford to enjoy the show while paying attention to their surroundings.

She focused on Shizuka's face and body language as the woman washed down her own mouthful of food with a sip of wine.

"I wanted to pass on my condolences for your village's-."

"Don't." It appeared that Anko could speak, after all, her single word bringing the table to a standstill, as it were. "Everyone in the exams knew the risks going into it."

Ino figured if she were truly sorry then the woman would have donned the black for a day in solidarity. Her seafoam green kimono was just too cheery to make false platitudes seem sincere.

Shizuka nodded once before moving on. "Very well. Straight to business, it is then."

Ino took a sip and had to revise her opinion of the wine. Maybe she could get Tou-san to purchase a bottle or three...

"I want to ask if you three have considered Naruto-sama's proposal."

"Which part?" Tenten asked around a particularly juicy cherry tomato.

"Not the marriage part, obviously, otherwise you wouldn't be here. I'm talking about the large family issue."

"You mean the wife-harem?" Tenten sounded affronted as she dabbed her surprisingly dainty chin. "I'm not so desperate that I'd surrender my shot at happiness to rent out a husband once or twice a week."

"It wouldn't be a harem, Miss. Higurashi, as I will be living in Nadeshiko until he decides to join me there and this all falls under Konoha's horrible CRA practices. Our... arrangement... would be symbolic, nothing more. He gives me one or two children until he's ready to assume the mantle of leadership in Nadeshiko." She belatedly added, "You're all welcome to come with, of course."

"Of course." Anko's eyes narrowed sarcastically with her response.

Tenten rose to the bait. "You sound awfully convinced that he'll leave his home village when you refuse to leave yours."

Ino was enjoying the back and forth despite the Nadeshiko kunoichi's relaxed body language. Even the sideways nod of her head alluded to confidence in how things were going to turn out as if it were fated. A quick frown at the image of a smug Neji Hyuuga soured her surprisingly refreshing salad so she washed down the bitter feeling with a slightly larger sip of wine. A quick glance to Anko as she did so showed only another slight narrowing of the eyes.

"I am certain that he will, in time, come to rely on my village to give him something Konoha never intended him to have that he'll desperately need to help keep his family, however large, protected."

Tenten was indignant, her salad temporarily forgotten. "Pardon me for being blunt but just what the hell could your village give him that one of the Big Five couldn't?"

To be honest, it was a fair question in Ino's opinion despite sounding a bit elitist.

"Legitimacy," the flower kunoichi responded with absolute certainty and a total lack of hesitancy.

"Pfft!" Tenten's response was guttural, emotional.

"No, Ten-chan." Three pairs of eyes turned to the snake Tokujo in surprise. "She has a fair point."

"What?! How can you say that? Naruto is a Leaf nin-."

Anko's interruption was brutally efficient.

"Who's been pissed on by his own village his whole life, present company excluded."

Ino inadvertently flinched, both at the blunt brutality in the beautiful woman's response and the harsh truth of it, but hoped no one caught it. She barely honored the spirit of that statement and only within the last six months or so.

"You yourself said that he can't buy standard shinobi gear without getting raked over the coals unless it's from your store. What makes you think a Daimyo is going to respect his rights if his own village can't be bothered?" Anko's brusque evaluation killed Tenten's head of steam like a rapidly deflating balloon.

Shizuka piled on. "Having already defeated me in ritual combat before a large number of my nation's populace, Naruto is automatically accepted, and respected, based on his skill and power alone. He's a recognized and valued member of Nadeshiko without reservation, a nation with a standing military and thriving economy in the elemental world."

'Well, damn,' Ino mentally chirped even as her keen mind filled in the years worth of crappy background suffered by her blond love interest. 'She isn't wrong.'

"But it's going to take more than that to win over his loyalty. You know the Uzumaki, all of them, were hopelessly loyal to a homicidal fault." Anko's eyes, having not reset after the second round of speculation, narrowed a bit further as the smirking Nadeshikan nodded with a sly grin gracing her lips. "So what aren't you telling us?"

Shizuka paused for a moment to take one last sip of her wine allowing for the returning servants to remove the quartet of now empty salad plates, each replaced with a healthy serving of Saba-braised lamb shanks served on a bed of mixed rice paired with baby carrots sautéed in a buttery sauce followed by a crusty type of thick-sliced bread that made Ino's mouth water. Empty wine glasses were replaced with a fresh glass holding a blood red-colored Cabernet boasting hints of black cherries and spice.

Shizuka didn't resume speaking until the servers once again stepped outside the pavilion, the pause giving Ino a chance to notice the freshly-lit candles floating atop the lily pads surrounding their enchanting dinner setting.

"No love for the game of intrigue? I find that odd from one of Konoha's best interrogators." Shizuka hummed appreciatively as the perfectly done shank dribbled the faintest trail of juice down her disgustingly beautiful chin before she could wipe it away.

"There is a time and a place for that nonsense and you're almost out of time." The Tokujo was steadily working her way through the main course and remaining mess-free, much to Ino's ire.

"There is always dessert," the other busty brunette giggled, "but I'm more interested in the thoughts of our silent observer since she knows exactly what I'm referring to."

And just like that, all eyes flickered directly to Ino who swore internally mid-bite (she was really enjoying the food).

Taking the time to chew her way methodically through what was an admittedly large bite of tender meat, she took the time needed to gather her thoughts through an equally diligent wiping of her mouth with the cottony napkin resting in her lap.

"I'm going to assume that you're referring to the brokered deal by certain clan members concerning our dearly departed kunoichi." Ino's eyes never left the bright green orbs of their hostess. 'Curse her exotic eyes.' "Seeing as very influential parties could not broker a new deal to release her from the marriage contract, there has to be a hidden reward or agenda that's now been thrown out of whack by today's unfortunate outcome."

Shizuka hid her smirk behind a healthy swallow of red wine.

"Given the reported prize of the previous agreement and the believed location of said prize, the risk-reward for this endeavor would need to be substantial to warrant the Fire Daimyo's direct involvement. The question now is, 'Does Konoha have something that could make up for losing Hinata, and would the crown even accept the substitution should it be offered'?"

Anko fully joined the meeting of the minds. "That shit sandwich is the sole problem of the Hyuuga, not the Leaf."

"Ah, that's true unless it's in the best interests of the village to support the deal for better enticements from the Capital. Even though the third cousin, a minor noble at best who'll never sit the throne, lost a young kunoichi bride, he lost a kunoichi of a noble clan and that's worth something in prestige. It has value, does it not?" Shizuka cautioned.

Tenten was shaking her head even as her nose crinkled up at the political rat's nest to unwind. "Again, that's an issue for the Hyuuga to worry about. We had nothing to do with any of that!"

Ino frowned at the bubbly weapons mistress' overly simplistic view of the situation. The Hyūga were a connected bunch but even they weren't tied in enough to earn a high-ranking marriage into the Daimyo's family without some serious muscle behind the push. No, they would need something huge to pull that kind of interest from the "Great Flame" himself...

"Unless the Hyuuga weren't the only ones involved in the deal," Ino began. Her concern didn't lessen any when the dark-haired beauty's smile grew at her supposition. Her mind started dissecting the need for the Daimyo to be involved and why the arranged marriage was such a sticking point in it all.

"Ino, you know how the minds of greedy politicians work. Tell me," the frustratingly beautiful woman leaned forward with her elbow on the table as her chin plopped comfortably on the cupped palm provided, "why would a Daimyo feel the need to involve himself personally in a petty marriage negotiation between lesser nobles, even if it does involve someone from his extended family?"

Ino's eyes popped wide open as the truth dawned on her. "He'd only get involved if he had something personal to lose from the deal going south."

Anko picked up the thread. "So, if the Hyuuga bargaining chip gets lost during the exams, the whole deal, and whatever he stands to gain, could potentially fall through..."

"Something valuable enough that rich and powerful people have most likely killed to protect before..." Ino offered. 'Money, power, and prestige,' her mind rattled off almost subconsciously.

"...unless Konoha could offer something sweet enough to keep the disgusting perv in the Capital interested in the prior arrangement thereby securing the original reward," Tenten summarized up nicely.

"No, not Konoha as the Hokage would never risk his adopted grandson like that unless he had absolutely no choice." Anko seemed confident in her analysis.

"The Hokage wouldn't but the Hyūga most certainly would," Ino whispered.

"Huh? Why would they care about a penniless orphan?" Tenten blurted out.

Ino was quick to correct her. "You forget. Naruto-kun is the heir to the Uzumaki Clan and the sovereign prince of the Uzumaki village of Uzu no Kuni, Ten. He stopped being a penniless orphan the moment his heritage was made public but he can't legally claim it until he turns sixteen."

"So," Tenten began a bit unsure of herself, "what happens if he dies before then?"

"Then the state reclaims it all," Ino supplied.

Anko countered with, "But that only helps the Hyūga if they had someone placed high enough in government to help them get their hands on it."

"Who is to say that they did at one point or still do have someone like that? A quick paper shuffle and some, if not all, of his inheritance, could easily get siphoned off into their greedy mitts, especially if the Daimyo is available to cover their tracks," Ino reposted.

Then the weight of such a conspiracy nut theory began to settle over the once calm atmosphere of the meal, the very voicing of which could mean a traitor's death to all four women seated at the table. For Ino, Naruto's reluctance to share every facet of his plan with her was beginning to make more sense.

"See, you all have the knack for politics if you set your mind to it." Shizuka's mind was positively churning as she bit happily into another juicy chunk of lamb.

"Wait a minute," Ino piped off. "The Hyuuga don't have another prize like Hinata they could offer. The remaining Main Branch members with children have sons and I don't see Hiashi surrendering Hanabi, now his only heiress, due to the Clan Protection laws Hi no Kuni defends with a narrow-minded vengeance. This all seems so flimsy still without a bride to seal the deal." The disgust in her voice over the snobby clan's views on people, in general, and their respective value was palpable.

"Unless another offer could be made. Perhaps another clan prize?" Shizuka purred.

Ino frowned at that comment. While she was the current clan head's daughter, there were plenty of main branch daughters in the rather prolific Yamanaka gene pool that could either be sacrificed in her place or outright replace her, as the Clan Head position was an elected one and her father could be easily replaced. Thinking back on the failed Kumo kidnapping of the heiress, Konoha had already made it abundantly clear that they'd sacrifice a shinobi pawn for the greater good if push came to shove.

That comment struck a little too close to home for her sake.

"Oh, let's not be snobbish about it, Ino-chan. Any unwed kunoichi with beauty, skill, talent, and an impressive bustline could easily be sent in Hinata's place. I see at least three qualified females at this very table." Both Anko and Tenten started at the very thought. "Which brings me back to my original question at the beginning of this meal." She looked each woman at the table directly in the eye.

"Have you three seriously considered the extremely generous offer from Uzu no Kuni's extremely handsome and politically-isolated Daimyo, Naruto Uzumaki? More importantly, have you considered the considerable protection that another legitimate ruler allied with someone that had their own significant military force could provide you if you were also betrothed to such a man?"

Suddenly, Ino understood why Naruto wanted her to appear close to the Uchiha runt during their Hinata-purposed subterfuge. As Konoha's darling clan survivor, the Council would never allow anyone, the Daimyo and his family included, from stealing her away while they worked the plan to free Hinata. So long as the boy professed even the smallest amount of interest in her, she would have been safe from the intrigue surrounding the betrothal of the Daimyo's cousin and isolated from the mess that was Hinata's escape attempt from her clan.

"Well, kuso!" the blonde grunted out surprising her dinner companions.

Oddly enough, the remainder of the meal was less inspiring for three of its participants even with the chocolate soufflé smothered in a beatific orange-tinted Crème Anglaise sauce.

~III~

Kabuto was doing his best to remain detached from his surroundings without appearing to be overly detached. To a normal civilian, this would not be difficult to do. Unfortunately, his audience for such a daring performance did not stroll through the realms of mortal men. With uncanny self-control, he forced his body to relax and remain tucked away where he stood partially-concealed from prying eyes overhead.

Over the last ten years that he'd spent working as a spy, the youth developed what he considered fairly strong control over his emotions, something you needed to work around monsters like Sasori of the Red Sands and Orochimaru of the Sannin. Standing in a shadowed alcove awaiting the arrival of his master the night before a huge invasion of the village he was currently engaging his lucrative line of work in, while avoiding an increased number of ANBU patrols, easily counted as a pressure cooker situation needing ironclad emotional control.

Still, he couldn't resist the odd brush of his fingertips along the bridge of his owl-like spectacles.

He froze the very moment he felt a familiar presence behind him knowing if the man wanted him dead he would be already.

"You have what I need?"

The man's sibilant hiss of a voice was like the caress of soft leather across his skin but Kabuto repressed a shudder and slowly lifted behind his back the Ninfo Cards his master required without turning around. The Sannin's voice moved from the darker recesses to directly behind his ear and Kabuto flushed decadently as warmth shot through his extremities.

"Excellent work, as always."

Kabuto knew better than to draw attention by speaking.

"Continue as planned. Once I've achieved my goal, let the Sound Four claim the Uchiha." The speaker paused as the fingers of his right hand pressed against the bridge of his nose lingering to block his lips from view.

"Yes, Kabuto?"

"What of the other, master?"

Orochimaru's hand gently stroked the med-nin's cheek drawing a much more obvious shuddering reaction. "Never fear, Kabuto-kun. I shall tend to him, personally. We continue as planned."

Kabuto waited a full twenty seconds once the hand withdrew before he turned around to ensure he was alone. Once he took another twenty to regain control over his heart rate, he stepped off into the street to mingle with the sparse evening crowd on his way back to his apartment.

After tonight he wouldn't need it but he'd make sure to enjoy it one last time before the entire village burned at his master's pleasure.

Meetings with Orochimaru-sama were always so... stimulating.

~III~

"Now, I know we've touched back on the overall plan a few times but let's take one last-." Naruto's summation for their last official gathering was cut short by the sound of the gate chime. When his eyes swung back towards the attentive audience gathered in his living room, he had to hold up his hands to calm them and direct the cessation of rapidly spawning weaponry. A very cynical part of his mind felt it was like de-arming Kumogakure.

A clone spawned in a small puff of smoke right before drawing a kunai and offing itself to the very shocked faces of half his discussion group, several eyes still blinking in surprise as the front door opened to admit another clone followed by none other than Hiashi Hyuuga.

"Good evening, Hiashi-san." Naruto's greeting was cordial if not overly warm.

"Good evening, Naruto-sama, and my thanks for seeing me at... so late... unexpected... H-Hinata!" The man's voice became less urgent, less controlled, and barely a whisper by the time he'd uttered her name at which point the girl in question calmly rose from her comfy spot nestled in between the Aburame heir and his mother to stand before her father.

"Hyuuga-sama." Her bow was perfunctory and entirely appropriate to his rank.

Hiashi Hyuuga flinched as if struck by a physical blow. His pain only grew when he reached out to embrace his daughter and she stepped back beyond the range of his arms.

The pained faces of the gathered room full of observers did not turn away to give the fracturing family a moment of peace and Hiashi understood all too well that this was a mental prison of his own doing. He'd lost her love as a daughter long ago in his failed attempt to protect her from a thankless clan and it was too late to be the loving Tou-san she once knew. As understanding dawned with shocking clarity on the proud clan leader, Hiashi Hyuuga righted himself, turned to face the blond Uzumaki, and bowed low at the waist as the pain in his heart dulled to a throbbing ache in his soul.

'She lived!'

"You have granted this old man his fondest wish in safely delivering his daughter from a fate worse than d-death."

Several in the room did turn away this time to allow the man a private moment of grief at the smallest hitching of his shoulders.

"The Uzumaki and Aburame will f-forever be named as friends to the Hyuuga so long as I b-breathe." He righted himself then bowed once to Shibi and his family. With a final wistful glance into the hardened face of his dau-Hinata, the once-proud Hyuuga scion calmly exited the way he came.

Naruto turned to the clone that escorted him in. "No other visitors tonight. We still have a bit to review before tomorrow."

The clone in question bowed once before stepping out to resume his guard post.

~III~

Hiashi's footsteps were brisk and full of happiness though he carried a heavy heart. His normally calm and methodical mind was scattered to the four cardinal points of the compass. His daughter lived!

It was difficult to rationalize losing her love if it meant she could live her life freely, the greatest and only gift he could bestow upon her now. Looking back on what his clan - his family had become, it was a tough decision to reconcile but he'd have to suffer through. Hiashi tried to console himself by making a mental note to offer more lucrative contracts to the Aburame to thank them for their help.

He first had a nest of snakes to cull and the thought hardened his stare as the gates to his family compound came into view.

Since the truth of Hinata's illegal betrothal by the elders of his clan, Hiashi had uncovered several unpleasant facts he'd rather never been made aware of. It could be reasonably surmised that to be unaware of such occurrences (if you ignored them) meant that they did not happen - if one was an utter fool content to let others run and ruin their life. Hiashi was no such fool thusly he now had a cancerous growth to weed out now that he'd corrected their malicious tampering of his family's inner workings.

Take for instance the two guards standing just outside the entry gates to his home. Hiashi recognized them as two of his most loyal but this had not always been thus. In fact, the entire week that the Daimyo's concierge, Jurou Onishi, had been consorting with the Hyuuga Elders, the guards on-station had been loyal to his father (a main family elder) and not the current clan head. This whole mess was possible as the Elders had been responsible for the day-to-day tasks of the large clan freeing up the clan head to focus on "larger and more important decisions vital to the well being of the clan" with the end result being the Elders had kept the whole affair from his notice until it was too late to prevent it.

That had been the very first precedent Hiashi corrected and now he made sure there were two sentries with his full faith and confidence awaiting his return at the end of the day's events. This would also be the same case tomorrow given the importance of the final exams.

Pausing to dismiss the two branch members he was positive would report the entirety of the day's events to the nosy elders, Hiashi dallied long enough to lean in and listen to Hiroto's report. The news bode extremely ill as he thanked them both and departed in a ground-consuming stride towards the Elder's personal meeting chamber.

No longer distracted by errant thoughts, he flagged down Natsu - Hanabi's caretaker - smiling as the clever girl darted off to secure his remaining daughter. Then, like the whirlwind only a Hyuuga master could muster, he turned the corner of the ground floor corridor leading directly to the entrance of what he knew to be a Fūinjutsu-sealed chamber containing nine of the oldest bastards ever to make his life miserable.

The two branch members standing guard actually thought to impede him - up until his dual palm strikes swatted them to the side and out of his path. Before their bodies ever crumpled to the ground, he'd smashed a chakra-filled palm to the double sliding rice-paper doors hard enough to shatter the seals and tear the flimsy barriers from their hinges, their wooden frames having to be deflected by seated, and terribly surprised, main and branch family elders apparently deep in discussion over several scrolls bearing the Hyuuga Seal and one hastily-scrawled scroll bearing the royal seal of the Daimyo.

The members around the low table froze like rabbits before a wolf as their eyes locked onto the stern face of their Clan head. Older though they were, Hiashi was still a warrior in his prime and perhaps the greatest practitioner of their fabled Jyūken. None of the branch members moved knowing all-too-well what would happen if he made either of the handseals associated with the Hyūga Family Juinjutsu. There were only two options there: extreme pain (then maybe death) or death outright. This gave Hiashi a moment to glance at the far end of the chamber to the throne-like chairs occupied by his hateful father and Jurou smug in his royal garb as the Daimyo's gopher boy.

Jurou may be safe but no one else in that room was and the vast majority of them knew it.

Without a single word, Hiashi padded slowly around one side of the table, the one inhabited solely by main branch Elders, his eyes never leaving those of his father's. Again, without looking away, he held out one hand as if demanding something. The resulting sigh and head nod from the man seated next to Jurou brought a sneer to Hiashi's lips but, in the end, he was given a copy of what appeared to be a new contract offering Hanabi up to the same sniveling relative to the Daimyo along with a certain blonde Yamanaka that had caught the cousin's rather greedy eye.

Hiashi actually snorted at that unsanctioned proposal knowing how poorly that would go over with a certain Uzu Daimyo, his action raising several eyebrows at the table as those still kneeling before him began to fidget.

"It appears that a firm lesson needs to be taught as you did not learn it the last time this topic came up."

Hideyoshi Hyūga, kneeling within arm's reach of his clan leader, knew fear for the first time. "Hiashi," he nervously began, "let's discuss-."

"Jūkenhō Ōgi: Hakke: Jū-Hachishō no Hotoke!"

Something deep within the former twin snapped at the sight of Hanabi's name freshly-inked upon another contract being drafted in full view of his father, the current senior among the Elders, and an accomplice from the Daimyo's court. That they would fearlessly do so not once but twice in an effort to bleed out his family line struck him as the utmost example of cowardice and treachery.

That his own flesh and blood would sanction such an act without seeking his consent demanded justice so that was what Hiashi delivered in the form of his family's most sacred art.

The Eight Trigrams Eighteen Palms of the Buddha was the ultimate stance of the Jūkenhō, better known as the Gentle Fist passed down only from clan head to clan head. Those that felt its fury rarely survived more than a single blow from the golden palmed chakra that was their family's pinnacle of melee combat and he'd divided the eighteen strikes disproportionately among the Main Branch Elders of his clan.

The three closest to the head of the table, the three that should have known better than to sanction the wholesale trafficking of the clan head's daughter and should have prevented Hinata's betrayal, received five blows apiece, their lifeless bodies devoid of chakra before they struck the tatami mats at their feet as Hiashi's glowing palms transitioned before the first blow landed from the peaceful blue to a furiously golden glow that hummed with power. The palm-shaped scorch marks littering their torsos would surface later as the bodies cooled showing the burst blood vessels beneath the skin's topmost layer.

The remaining three suffered a single strike apiece. There was a good chance they'd survive the assault and hopefully learn from their greedy mistakes. It was unlikely that their chakra networks would ever recover effectively crippling their martial prowess.

"If I hear that Hanabi has been bartered away as her sister was, the rest of you will join them." As Hiashi spun on a sandaled heel and strode from the room, a heavily disappointed Jurou rose to his feet to depart.

"I shall inform the Daimyo that the revised deal is unlikely to be ratified in the same fashion as the previous one." The stiff-necked court official departed without a second look at his grey-haired host.

The Senior rose and bowed to his departing guest. "I shall send word if we are able to resolve this in the Court's favor." He didn't receive an answer or acknowledgment but, then again, he wasn't expecting one. The Concierge simply expected that the petitioners of the Court would succeed or fail; it was not his place to care short of the issue becoming his personal problem to resolve, which it had not yet become.

Hideo frowned knowing there would be hard times ahead for the Hyuuga Clan if he could not turn his son's stubborn head to the proper path. He doubted the possibility of winning back the clan by challenge, therefore, they would have to be opportunists tomorrow.

~III~

---

~ Konohagakure no Sato, Day Four of the Chunin Exam Festival ~

A brilliant burst of sunlight rudely snatched Sakura from the world of dreams, her face wrinkling with the pain of glaring brightness in her soothing den of pastel blues and greens.

What? Just because she had pink hair didn't mean her entire world was pink.

"That's enough dawdling young lady!"

The agonized groan bubbling up from her throat was all the indication that Mebuki Haruno needed to confirm that her daughter was at least awake if not fully functional yet.

SWAT

"Ack! Moooooooooooom!"

The dishwater blonde giggled happily even as she retreated from the room after opening every window she could find. With a final chorus of, "Today's the big day!" she hummed her way downstairs to finish setting up breakfast for her "Cherry Blossom."

This left a still-groggy and highly perturbed Sakura Haruno to rub her marginally bruised posterior in the wake of her mother's unprovoked attack as she mentally chewed on recent developments. With a heavy sigh and an unhappy huff of air, she decided to reflect on the day's agenda while stumbling through her morning ablutions in her personal bathroom.

'Spare no expense!' The false smile on her face indicated it was a term she heard all too often in the Haruno household but it also indicated that she led a comfortable life free from hardship and deprivation. Isn't the way that it should be when a family works hard to succeed?

The Haruno Clan was primarily a civilian one focused on commercial enterprise, her parents being the first to break the mold with her career Genin of a father settling down to take over the Clan's commercial land shipping routes between Suna, River, Tea, and Hot Water. Her mother had married into the clan from another civilian family but left active service after marriage and pregnancy took her from the Civil Engineering Corps of the Logistics Division, a helpful career she parlayed into a Konoha Real Estate license used to subsidize her father's restructuring of the family's heavily neglected shipping business. They were successful through hard work and keen business minds, something Sakura had inherited and improved upon so why in the holy name of all that is heavenly was she trying to get herself killed in becoming something neither of her parents needed or achieved in their shinobi careers?

That was the million Ryu question of the day.

In reality, she had two choices ahead of herself. On the one hand, she could take over one of the family businesses and lead a comfortable life as she improved upon the clan's (as the Harunos were a middling clan) prestige and influence. On the other, she could marry into greater social position by wooing a clan heir. While the latter was usually the path impressed upon young girls in the elemental nations still stuck in their dynastic dreams of antiquity, she was a privileged woman with choices who could afford to choose another career path if she so desired.

As the warm water soaked away most of the dreary after-effects of a long night of comfortable sleep, she tried to let her natural fears and doubts slither down the drain at her feet along with the thin rivulets of water wicking off her almost boyish figure.

Her intelligent mind cataloged her physical deficiencies, the narrowed hips, her soft musculature, and even the underdeveloped breasts she wrote off as part of her petite figure. This was of course immediately brushed aside as necessary in the ongoing war for Sasuke's affections justifying her unabridged diet-. Tch!

She was doing it again. How many times now had her obsessive fixation tried to negate what her critical mind was trying to layout for her? Who had even started the rumors about what Sasuke-ku... Sasuke liked or disliked? Was it Akimi? It hadn't come from him most assuredly. The often non-communicative boy certainly hadn't shared with them his thoughts and desires and now, on the morning where she could very much lose her life as... as Hinata had the day before... she realized that the harm she'd been doing to herself all this time just might do her in.

Death was a very sobering event and if Hinata, who was the strongest combat kunoichi of their class, could get done in then what was to prevent the same from happening to her? Didn't their kunoichi instructors at the academy always harp about there being worse fates than death for female nins?

When the time came, a much more determined Sakura stepped from the warm shower to dawn her normal Genin outfit. She'd need to convince her father to help her find more appropriate combat attire. While she was at it, she'd need to ask her mother about proper diet and exercise.

Like the proctor that dispassionately watched a very vibrant Hinata Hyuuga sift her life's blood through ruptured eye sockets, she knew she couldn't count on anyone to come to her rescue. Shinobi died much to quickly for that knight-in-shining-armor fairy tale crap.

With a silently breaking heart, another piece of the impervious Sasuke dream plummeted into the muck and mire of her disillusioned reality.

Sakura tried not to notice how her mother and father, both excited to take the day off and observe their "little Cherry Blossom" in the finals, stared in shock at their daughter's complete shift in eating habits as healthy portions of eggs, bacon, oats, toast, and fruit all got chased down with equal parts milk and water. Well, healthy for Sakura as she hadn't been eating in great amounts and her stomach had probably atrophied as it adjusted over time to her starvation diet.

Fighting down a sudden wave of nausea, she took one last gulp of water and further stunned her parents by asking for the assistance in helping her become a real kunoichi, her eyes locked firmly on the pink kunai adorning her usual kunoichi attire.

She had to ignore their overly hopeful faces as they stutteringly agreed to help her undo all of her self-inflicted harm, that is if she survived today.

She swore to herself that she would do exactly that.

The trip to the stadium was a silent one for her, her mind going over all of the lessons and tips her impressionable class received at the academy. She'd never really applied herself physically but her mind was still as sharp as any blade. Eidetic memory was a blessing that had saved her hours of wasteful mental repetition as she sought to fill her head with as much knowledge readily available to a Genin-level kunoichi. Even as she cobbled together a workable novice training schedule she'd ask her parents to critique later, she suddenly felt just the tiniest bit less helpless.

It wasn't too late. She could still take charge of her career and become something more than a damsel in distress.

Before long her automatic steps merged with the excited crowds flocking to the stadium for the final rounds of competition. Sakura, for all her dread and worry, was so lost in her own thoughts that she ignored the inane chatter enveloping her like an electric blanket. Most of it was mindless betting speculation or outright fan fetishism as people cooed over their favorites in the upcoming bloodshed.

'Is this how other civilians see us?'

'Why not? This is no different than how your classmates saw - and still see - you.'

She hated that small voice in the back of her head sometimes. Like really, really, hated that voice. It never quite let her off the hook for anything and had only grown more antagonistic every time she saw her class baka-.

'You can't legitimately call him the class baka anymore and you know it. Stop trying to deny the truth you stubborn-!'

It was possible to cut out the voice - sometimes. It had been considerably easier to do when she hardly cared for the annoying jibes shared at her expense as it was easier to live in her evaporating Sasuke World. Over the last few months, however, she found the angry little voice in the back of her mind pleasant company once she stopped denying the hard truths fueling its sarcastic comments which often came at the unfortunate expense of her general awareness.

Today though we can excuse Sakura's lack of attentiveness as she wasn't the only one missing how the small stands surrounding the stadium began the slow process of shutting down. To be honest, the cascading disappearance of vendors didn't really start until the last stragglers to the arena began to wander away so they could do so without raising suspicion, the last stand beginning the process of closing up by the time Sakura had taken her place in line with the fifteen other people looking to enter the combat field.

By then the full weight of the remainder of her day was upon her, the roaring of the stadium crowd reluctantly pulling her from quiet introspection to a fully-alert partial panic.

Turning away from the throng headed higher into the stadium through ramped walkways, Sakura waved her way past Chunin stationed to help direct nonparticipants from the deadly battleground. With a final heavy breath and a pat or two to verify her (for the first time ever) fully packed hip and thigh pouches, Sakura resolutely marched onto the field to join her fellow competitors for the vaunted Chunin rank.

It was time to face the day as well as her inner demons.

~III~

Naruto entered the personal box of the Uzumaki Clan ahead of three "guests" dressed in body-concealing cloaks, two of which were distinguished males sporting dark blue or dark green hair hanging about their shoulders followed closely by a female with flowing scarlet hair locks streaked with bright swatches of fiery orange.

"Feel free to enjoy our hospitality. I'll leave you to introduce yourselves to my extended family, starting with my mother, Keina Uzumaki." With a short bow, he saw his way out to join his fellow competitors on the stadium floor.

Keina rose and bowed as she introduced the three guardians and four Sirens in her company with members of the Aburame Clan, her eyes twinkling as she locked smiles with the middle-aged male with powerful shoulders and dark blue hair just beginning to frost at the temples with silver. His eyes the color of a clear lagoon twinkling merrily as he smiled back.

"Greetings, Uzumaki-sama. My family blessed me with the surname Magnus."

Keina purred. "What a powerful name," she cooed as she reached inside his cloak and looped her arms around his. "Tell me more..."

~III~

Monitors all across Konoha were showing the growing crowd flooding the stadium's seats as the anxious sought to gain the most advantageous locations among the poorer masses. The wealthy perched comfortably among the common folk in their isolated clusters, and the powerful sat safely above them all catered to by the small army of trusted servants milling along in their wake. Sitting atop the entire mass of the human horde, the most powerful gathering of shinobi - minus the Tsuchikage of Iwa - not so patiently awaited the start of the day's activities but none so apprehensive as the alert Mizukage, her eyes peeling apart the Genin below their Kage box until they settled upon Shiroi, the one upon whom her final hopes of reconciliation rested.

She would need to get past her first opponent beforehand and, despite a lackluster performance from the surviving clan heir thus far, an Uchiha would be a difficult hurdle if he had that dreaded eye-disease. Mei, bracketed by both Aoi and Chōjūrō, tried to set a proper example for her shinobi hoping it would push her growing sense of unease far enough to the side. She needed to have faith in Shiroi.

How unfortunate that her thoughts would get interrupted by the sensual voice of the delectable Proctor below before she could fully center herself. Hmm... Perhaps she could use other thoughts to help her relax as her eyes settled on the lean form of the bandana-wearing shinobi.

~oOOo~

"Laaaaaaaaaaaaaadiieeeeeeees aaaaaaaaaannnnnnddd Gentlemeeeeeeeeeeennnn!" Genma was laying it on thick with his arms stretched out to the vast sea of faces settling into their seats with concession stand snacks and pennants showing which elemental nation they supported. His eyes easily took in the bright red flags sporting the symbolic white flames of Hi no Kuni interspersed with the golden foam fingers of Suna or the sea green triangles doing the human wave on Mizu no Kuni's behalf.

The large screens mounted strategically in the four corners of the upper stadium flashed up the image of each competitor along with a rough approximation of their status shown in a spiderweb graph, just enough to indicate if they leaned towards, melee or Jutsu, power or speed. Many in the crowd recognized the fight profiles offered in their event programs as the crowd surged in different sections based on village loyalties.

~oOOo~

Outside the cozy environs of the stadium, the great eastern gate of the village, along with the merchant's access in the southern village wall, closed with a resounding CLANK as gears ground to a halt. All along the mighty village's wall, shinobi gathered in groups of five to chant their way through ten carefully regulated hand seals before slapping their palms to the enormous planks traversing key chakra nodes of their first inner line of defense.

Far from the hungry eyes of the "guests" preparing to watch the bloody death of young exam hopefuls, a wave of chakra spread out from each of the four major gateways to encase the entire wall in a faint blue wave of energy, like blue flames chasing a trail of kerosene, for exactly ten seconds as the great wall sealed itself shut.

~oOOo~

"Welcome to this the final fight day of the first-ever Chuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuunin Exam Feeeeeeeeesstivaaaaaaaaallllllll! We've gathered some of the finest Genin across the hidden villages of the elemental nations as the fight, claw, and scratch their way to the top of the heap." Genma swept his eyes across the entire stadium before flourishing an arm to the far left of the Genin formation facing him.

"Please note the following changes to your fight brochures with the withdrawal of Chōjūrō of Kiri and Konoha's Chouji from Clan Akimichi." He waited patiently as the crowd frantically checked the lineup to see if emergency changes to recent bets needed to be made. "Now that the public service announcements are done, I give you your starting lineup for the first round!"

The crowd's pick up in energy would have been impossible to miss with their eruption of cheers and wolf-whistles.

"From the harsh and unforgiving islands of the Bloody Mist, hailing from Mizu no Kuni, I give you the dreaded Ice Queen of the North, the Frozen Dragon of Destruction," the aforementioned Ice Queen merely raised a delicate eyebrow at her rather enthusiastic introduction, "Shiroi YUUUUUUUU-kiiiiiiiiiiii!"

He grinned at the appreciative nod of his Hokage and waited for the amped-up reaction of the crowd to die down before continuing. As a shinobi, Genma found the theatrics embarrassing but Konoha needed him to keep people focused on the display while other events transpired behind the scenes...

~oOOo~

The crowds outside the stadium consisted mostly of "merchants" who, oddly enough, were not staring at the large monitors mounted to the exterior of the stadium but at the faces of their beloved Hokage monument. Amidst the height of the energetic shinobi introducing the fighters for today's exam, a bright flash of light from a quick burst of fire in the left eye of the Sandaime's sculpted face - the briefest flicker of reddish heat really - caught their attention and, as one, every stall began closing up with the resounding shuddering of wooden windows, slats, and doorways. Once the last stall was securely fashioned in such a manner, the crowds dispersed in four random directions as if the entire group decided to take random strolls at the height of the morning's excitement.

~oOOo~

"And last, but most definitely not least, I give you the deadly melody mistress from Oto, the lethal Siren of Song, Kiiiiiiinnn TSSUUUUUUUU-chiiiiiiiiii!"

Kin slapped the back of Zaku's head as he happily joined in with the crowd having been long since lost in the ringmaster's hype and energy. She had to admit that it was a nice opener considering what they usually saw at events like this but they all needed to focus as the Konoha showman drew their attention for the last of the pre-show shenanigans.

"Thank you, thank you! You're all too kind." The senbon-chewing nin gently patted the air to dull the crowd's roar enough to resume speaking.

"Welcome back to this the final round of the Chunin Exam Festival. Today's matches will be one on one," his eyes swept the competitors now to ensure he had their attention. "Same rules of engagement apply here gang. Do not count on someone to step in and save your life; you're expected to have enough common sense to know when you need to bow out. THAT SAID, if I step in to call the fight, you WILL cease and desist otherwise our trusty ANBU will intervene to recalibrate your attention span."

"The only thing off the table today are Kinjutsu and Juinjutsu. Break the rules, and we reserve the right to break you to ensure compliance and mail the pieces back to your Kages via shinobi courier."

"You've heard the rest of the exam rules so I'm going to cut this short and reaffirm that all previously stated guidelines remain in effect." The crowd in the stadium was starting to ripple with excitement. "Now, show respect to the Daimyo and Kage here to observe you fight with honor!"

Somewhere in the crowd, a steady beat from the repeated stomping of sandals began to build momentum and reverberate throughout the stadium.

"I need Shiroi Yuki from Mizu and Sasuke Uchiha from Konoha to hold tight. If your name isn't one of those two shinobi, then the rest of you need to hightail it to the observation area until your fight is called!"

Genma smirked as the Ice Queen and the Crimson-Eyed Stalker squared off, the Uchiha looking less than thrilled at his stage moniker.

"You folks have five minutes to place your bets!" Genma stuffed his hands in his pockets even as he observed another of his fellow Jounin appearing briefly next to their Hokage to deliver a short message. He didn't need to know what was in it. If the village hadn't properly completed the first step of their plan, that shinobi wouldn't have shown up, to begin with.

The pretty kunoichi wearing a flowing white battle kimono with sleeves both billowy and long enough to nearly drag the ground turned from the proctor to lock eyes with her opponent.

"Nothing personal but you're in my way and I very much need to speak to someone after this is over."

Sasuke, who had been reworking his strategy at the last minute, smirked. "Let me know who it is you need to speak with and I'll send them to your infirmary bed."

The resulting "Tch" from the annoyed kunoichi said that she was clearly not impressed.

"You two ready?" Genma waited just long enough to confirm their brief head nods before chopping his hand downward.

"Hajime!"

~oOOo~

Mizu's Shiroi Yuki vs. Konoha's Sasuke Uchiha

Sasuke's first action was to leap backwards and throw up a single Tiger Seal as he released his favorite Katon Jutsu and the crowd cooed over the display of raw flame blossoming before their eyes like some demonic mushroom as it hungrily devoured the oxygen in the arena with a roar, the air crackling with heat that forced them to lean away from the nearest railing. [Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu]

The Jutsu itself wasn't the fastest moving threat but Sasuke wasn't expecting it to do more than distract her as he drew his chokuto and pushed enough chakra to his feet to dash forward the moment he saw the fluttering of white cloth to the left side of his ball of flame. It was the condensing sound of water freezing that caused him to pull up short on his lunge, a reflex that saved his left eye from being impaled by the girl's chilly reception.

His blade's return strike was met by a crossed pair of extra-long kunai shaped out of ice and cold enough to partially freeze the remaining oxygen around them forming a haloing nimbus of light reflecting from tiny crystals floating in the air. [Hyōton: Hyōken no Jutsu]

"Tch." To make matters worse she stopped meeting his stare, her eyes focusing instead on the dangerous blade clutched in his hand. 'So much for getting in close and ending it quickly with a Sharingan Genjutsu.'

Sasuke dropped low to sweep his left leg across his body forcing her to go airborne to escape a painful fall. He noticed that her hop took her backwards and away from their current position, his blood-red orbs spinning as they mapped the entire floor. 'I see where you're headed and we can't allow that, now can we?'

Sasuke's foot planted with a dull Thump and a displaced puff of dust as his low spin concluded, his legs exploding as energy coursed through his muscles to thrust his darting form between her and the small body of water at the far end. To his displeasure, her slim figure was clearly built for speed as she easily kept pace.

"No more witty comments?" he snarked.

His sword dipped low with the ringing hiss of metal splitting air to force her to alter her path in order to avoid a crippling strike to a curvy thigh giving him just enough time to sneak past her halting their mad dash twenty or so meters from her ready source of water. With her objective blocked, he began to press again with quick sword strikes snaking out from his guard aimed at whatever limb he could reach, his blade chipping away slowly at the ice kunai that PINGed in her hands like fine china.

He had her on the run and knew it... right up until the moment he didn't.

Suddenly his eyes spun wildly, his body moving near automatically to bend him backwards until his shoulderblades slapped down onto the harsh stadium floor just in time to watch two icy blades shoot overhead where his chest was moments before. Compressing his abdominals, Sasuke tucked his knees into his chest before kipping up to lung forward, the tip of his chokuto leading the way with its high-pitched whine only for his opponent to barrel roll over his extended shoulder, her foot lashing out in passing to stumble him two paces further than he wanted. The kick didn't hurt but, by the time he'd turned back to face her she was standing comfortably atop the rippling water he'd been frantically trying to keep her away from, her hands in a single seal resembling a deformed Tiger symbol with her middle fingers crossed over her index digits.

Cursing at being out of position, Sasuke let fly with a brace of shuriken from his off-hand and rushed forward only to pause once his deadly projectiles bounced harmlessly off of a vertical sheet of ice just tall enough to protect her. Things only got worse once dozens of identical sheets flickered into being forming a large dome with him at the center of it all. Cursing again, he noticed that there wasn't enough room for him to sneak out between the ice slabs that reflected back his stunned features. [Hijutsu: Makyō Hyōshō]

'Mirrors. Shi-!'

He really started to swear once his opponent's delicate features replaced his own in every surface, one hand slowly rising up from her slender waist gripping a fistful of senbon. Dozens of parroted versions of her voice worsened the chill already racing down his spine with the rapid drop in temperature with the following fifteen words:

"You have wasted enough of my time. I think it's time to end this dance."

~oOOo~

"Bad luck old boy." Asuma chucked another smoke between his lips then reached for his lighter as he offered his condolences. His snarky comment only earned him another frown as Kurenai snatched the unlit cancer stick from his mouth then crushed it to powder.

The audience cooed at a particularly violent burst of fire venting up between the mirror plates of the ice dome.

"Bad luck, old boy," Kakashi retorted with his familiar eye smile.

"Ha... ha..." The former Royal Guardian tucked away his favorite lighter and glanced back down to the half dome leaking cold mist across the stadium floor like an open freezer. "A Hyōton user right off the bat. That's harsh luck that is."

Kakashi's shoulder shrug seemed almost accepting as he flipped another page of his favorite pastime but none of the Jounin watching were fooled. They could see his eyebrow twitch when a gout of flame shout out from between the slender cracks of the dome's roof to no avail; nothing melted, nothing shattered.

"The luck of the dice do not always fall our way," the cyclops opined. He was struggling with the original concept of this being a "learning experience" for his Genin as a way to shake off their laziness. Never once had they considered one of their students would die and an innocent had paid the price for it.

"YOSH! Your hip ways continue to offset the wisdom of your years!"

Everyone NOT Gai winced as his mini-me frantically scribbled each Pearl of eardrum-shattering Wisdom from his sensei's lips. Everyone's abused eardrums found their reprieve once the sound of chirping birds rang out from the stadium floor, their sound mirrored by the flickering lights from between the floating mirror plates like a club strobe light.

"Kakashi," Gai started with zero traces of his over-the-top persona, "tell me you did not teach him that."

"Well..." the elite nin began only to have the still sparking fist of his student pierce through one of the mirrors with the sound of shattering glass only to see the panel repair itself once his hand retracted.

It was immediately followed by a shrieking scream that could only be attributed to the Uchiha.

There was no joviality in the Green Beast's face as he turned to stare with disappointment at the man he considered his life-long rival in Youth.

"I refuse to be scolded by a man that taught his student to open the Gates," Kakashi returned with zero regrets.

Knowing that the discussion had reached an impasse, the two turned their attention back to the stadium floor and the on-going screams of Kakashi's student.

Kakashi absently hoped the boy survived the "experience" he was being given so he could learn from it.

~oOOo~

Inside the freezing cold dome, Sasuke immediately began churning chakra as his hands snapped through seal after seal ending once again on Tiger as his opponent patiently waited. Sasuke's chest ballooned to near comic proportions as he gently curled the two fingers held alongside his mouth to help focus the massive gout of flame searing the air as it screamed across the arena to the first mirror he saw Shiroi step into.

Before the flames could clear and show him the success of his attack, a horrific scream tore from his throat as multiple shooting pains bloomed across his back and the backs of his legs.

'Guess I didn't get her with that.' He grunted in anger as his eyes rose from the floor to see an unblemished surface filled with the annoyed face of his attractive assailant. 'Only one last trick to think of but I was saving it for the Dobe!'

"Yield."

Her voice was almost lethargic as if she couldn't be bothered with him and it angered the pride right out of Sasuke. As another searing pain blossomed across his right arm and side, Sasuke swallowed back his pride, grit his teeth, then flew through nine seals as his Sharingan flared. Gripping his clawed left hand, Sasuke's ears welcomed the blessed sounds of many birds chirping.

He didn't care that she wasn't moving to stop him. Her confidence would be her downfall - a thought that tickled something at the back of his mind he felt should be important - right before he shifted his feet fractionally to the left as he charged the mirror he believed the mobile kunoichi to now be hiding inside of.

Violent fingers of Raiton energy waved about like angry tentacles ripping up the earth just beyond the reach of his extended left arm, his right gripping the shoulder as he streaked forward towards his chosen target. Eyes spinning madly as his vision drew to a narrow tunnel, Sasuke pushed more chakra down the length of his burning arm, the network in it screaming its protest at the concentrated fire flowing along its length to the almost numb extremities. 'Push it down... focus... compress it to... A POINT!'

His opponent, who was reflected in every shiny surface he could see, relaxed her limbs as she waited patiently while the billowing dust trail grew closer by the second.

The narrowing view of his eyes and the bright dot representing his latest weapon coalesced to a point on the slender figure before him, somewhere just above the gentle curve on the left side of her chest.

"Chidori!" Sasuke's cry of victory brought the nervously jabbering crowd to an eerie silence as every eye focused on the outer dome of the wall right as his fingertips pierced straight through the frozen mirror with a shattering crescendo.

Then his whole back exploded in pain and dozens of pinpricks began to shut down his raging chakra system and the world went completely black.

~oOOo~

All at once, the dome of ice mirrors shattered, the larger pieces breaking up into increasingly smaller and smaller fragments before vanishing with the gentle tinkling of chimes. When the dust cleared, all that was left in the gently rolling fog reminiscent of dry ice was the heavily breathing Shiroi, as she tried to suck in vast amounts of oxygen, and the unconscious Uchiha sprawled out face-first on the hard ground.

"Victor! Shiroi Yuki from Mizu no Kuni!" The simple announcement brought violent cheers from the comparatively small section of the stadium sporting dark blue banners, which were enough to keep pace with the subdued clapping from the remaining seventy-five percent of the audience hoping to make a Ryu off the defeated Uchiha.

"There will be a ten-minute intermission while we resurface the arena and clear away any... slick spots," Genma grumbled as he made way for medical and repair teams.

In the observation area for contestants, Shiroi took the congratulatory nods, though few in number, as they came. Of them all, none gave her more hope for her secondary mission than the respectful one she earned from the Uzumaki scion, something a very attentive Mizukage noticed from her silent perch.

"You have a strong Genin, Mei-dono. Her planning and forethought served her well against the Sharingan Eye," Hiruzen commented almost casually.

Mei accepted the claim with a gracious smile. "I'm counting on that forethought to pull through one more time, Hiruzen-kun."

Her blatantly doe-eyed smile made the older man pink about the cheeks despite his best efforts to resist.

Right below the Kage box, the matchup screen began to flicker and tumble once again, and, when it stopped, the entire stadium erupted once again in unrestrained anticipation.

Genma, smiling up at the knowing nod of the Hokage, grinned at the upcoming bout. 'Well, would you look at that. Back to back blood for the mob.'

"Gaara no Subaku of Suna and Lee Rock of Konoha!" he called out to the ecstatic fist-pumping of the green-clad Genin. "Get your tails down here for the next round! You have three minutes!"

~III~

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A/N: It would seem that the frozen excrement has laterally struck the rotating oscillator. Sasuke would have lost that match against Haku without Naruto. I found it only fitting to include it here in the Finals since the Wave mission was botched.

Remember to read, follow, and review. I'd like to see this one actually make it to the 1K review club if possible. Now that would be something.

~III~

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[Jutsu Used In this Story]

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[A-Rank] Hijutsu: Makyō Hyōshō (Secret Technique: Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals): This technique is performed with the "cursed" Kekkei Genkai of the Yuki clan. Shiroi creates several large mirrors out of ice, which he surrounds a target with. By entering one of these mirrors, Shiroi's reflection will appear in all of them. Shiroi can travel between these mirrors very quickly, giving the appearance that she occupies all of them simultaneously. As such, any attacks she makes from these mirrors - usually rapid volleys of thrown senbon - can overwhelm opponents, seemingly coming from every mirror at once. Using the technique requires a great deal of chakra from its user, meaning they cannot use it indefinitely. In the anime, if the mirror the user is in is broken, they can leap out of one of the fragments and continue their attack or move to another mirror.

[A-Rank] Raiton: Chidori (Lightning Release: Thousand Birds): Kakashi Hatake's first original Jutsu, this assassination technique came about when he tried to add his Raiton element to a Rasengan. Its high penetration capability provides equally high lethality. Because their opponent can easily counter the attack, it requires a Sharingan user to make the technique worthwhile while minimizing the resulting tunnel vision from high-speed motion.

[E thru A-Rank; C-Rank as used in the Chunin Exams] Hyōton: Hyōken no Jutsu (Ice Release: Ice Sword Technique): The user condenses the moisture in the atmosphere into swords of ice that can then be used for close-range combat or shot at a target (short to mid-range, ~10m). As Shiroi's control is not as powerful as her prodigal cousin, Haku, she condenses her blades into extra-long kunai to make them sufficiently strong enough to resist low-ranked Katon techniques or Chunin-level chakra enhanced weaponry. The swords can be formed from great distances away.

[C-Rank] Katon: Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu (Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique): A signature short-range (0-5m) technique of the Uchiha Clan used as a right of passage to adulthood, the user kneads chakra in their body and turns it into fire, which they then expel from their mouth; the more chakra they use, the more flames are produced. Sometimes the flames lack a distinct shape, being only a stream, but more often than not they take the form of a giant orb that maintains its shape until hitting a target. Upon impact, the fireball is powerful enough to crater the ground and vaporize the surroundings. Against living targets, the fireball can cause extensive burns. Seals: Snake → Ram → Monkey → Boar → Horse → Tiger

[C-Rank] Katon: Ryūka no Jutsu (Fire Release: Dragon Fire Technique): The user spits flames from their mouth that, like a dragon's, quickly travel forward in a straight direction. Upon contact with a target, the affected area is engulfed in flames. Whereas the Great Fireball Technique will burn everything in the vicinity, the Dragon Fire Technique is more narrowly focused at its initial target, likened to a projectile. When first used by Sasuke Uchiha, he uses wire strings to guide the Dragon Fire Technique to his target's face. The anime later shows it burning through a line of enemies, with the flames moving from one enemy to the next. Despite these two cases, the medium range (5-10m) Dragon Fire Technique seemingly does not require a medium through which to be transmitted. Seals: Snake → Dragon → Rabbit → Tiger

~III~