Heya!

This chapter was originally supposed to follow very closely behind the previous… But well, that bird got shot right out of the sky with haste, because as if writing this, it's been nearly a full week since then and I'm just now getting to sit down to write.

The reasons are kind've all over the place, really. New semester is beginning so I have a lot of material I need to prepare. Oh, and I finally got a hold of Baldur's Gate 3 so needless to say, I've been pretty occupied on that front. All of this to say that I haven't really been in a writing mood up until this point.

BUT THAT ENDS NOW.

YOU'RE NOT JUST DEALING WITH YOUR ORDINARY WRITER ANYMORE. I'VE ASCENDED TO A LEVEL BEYOND THAT OF YOUR AVERAGE, SIMPLE-MINDED FANFICTION WRITER. YES, I'VE BECOME THE LEGEND; THE LEGEND YOU ALL FEAR.

That aside, before we get into this chapter, I'd like to take a moment as usual to discuss some of my thoughts regarding the previous chapter, namely in regards to a lot of the reviews/criticism I got from it:

First of all, I really appreciate that a lot of you took the time to outline for me what things worked for you and what didn't in the previous chapter; that kind of detailed criticism helps me a great deal. I really do use the reviews to help shift my goal posts whenever I'm working on a chapter, so let's talk about some of the most frequent ones!

The first comment that I'd like to address is in relation to Neji showing off the gates and in doing so 'invalidating Lee'. I can absolutely see how some would take it that way; that's totally a valid criticism and something that I considered when I was writing the chapter. My reasoning for doing it anyways is manyfold. Firstly, even though Lee showed them off first, I see the gates more as Gai's thing than Lee's; I think most of that stems from the fact that Gai ended up using them a lot more extensively, once Shippuden rolled around. That said, I definitely have some fun things that I can do to differentiate Lee and Neji even with them having a similar ability. Just know that Lee will be getting some love as well, once I find an appropriate moment to get him back into action, and it'll hopefully be something you all like.

That said, I tried to make it clear that as of now, Neji is FAR inferior to Lee when it comes to the use of the gates. Neji can open them because I honestly don't think it'd be very difficult for a taijutsu genius of his caliber to figure it out with Gai's tutelage. But there's a big difference between being able to do something, and being able to do it well. It's why Neji's showing with them cuts off so quickly; from the perspective of the audience, he basically opens them and is active for just a few seconds before his body gives out on him and he burns out. Not only that, but can't bring out the max potential they afford him like Lee and Gai can, hence why Naruto has even a ghost of a chance keeping up with him in that state. Naruto doesn't beat Neji because he's suddenly some 3rd gate level monster. He's strong, but as he said in the last chapter, there are plenty of ways to win a fight that don't involve raw power. All of this to say that there's still plenty more room for Neji to grow into the path I've chosen for him and I have some cool things to do for Lee that will hopefully differentiate them enough that it won't feel like I'm just screwing the guy over. Time will tell if they land or not!

Lastly, and this is in regards to power scaling:

I strongly agree that scaling needs to be handled correctly, but I strongly disagree that 'they're just genin' is a decent enough argument for it, and that's for a handful of reasons:

Gaara was already casually slaughtering Sand jonin in his own village, to my remembrance. It was a notable point that the Kazekage had been sending elite assassins to kill him from an early age, and yet Gaara had killed all of them without so much as a scratch. By that logic, Lee even being able to scratch the guy should put him above the standard level of a Sand jonin… That feels really dumb to say, but that's kind've how wacky scaling was, even in early Naruto.

Lee does all of this BEFORE he opens his gates, and Neji is supposed to be above the unweighted Lee who could hurt Gaara. By the time Lee opens the gates, he should be on a level far above anything any regular jonin, even from the leaf, should be capable of.

And this is the craziest, wackiest part. Canon Naruto absolutely FOLDS partially transformed Gaara with no Kyubi amps once he gets his head on straight and awakens his will to protect. Like, I went back to watch that fight and Gaara got absolutely dog walked, once the 2K barrage came out. Then he does a full unleashing of Shukaku, releasing him and going to sleep, presumably allowing him to access his full power. Naruto is then able to summon Gamabunta with a bit of Kurama's chakra, a kage-level summon that Mintao used to help subdue the full nine tails, and defeat that version of Gaara. That's easily a kage-level feat and that's just goofy, man. My point being that scaling is already stupid but my hope is that I'll be able to differentiate the level of a Genin, Chunin, and even Jonin by tackling scaling in a less linear fashion.

If we look at just displays of raw power, then even in early Naruto, many of the Genin were just ridiculous in ways that some high level ninja later on just are unable to even compete with. However my hope is that we'll be able to differentiate the differences in those levels by putting a greater focus on the decision-making and finesse that higher level ninja employ to essentially achieve the same result with a fraction of the cost.

All of this to say I agree that scaling needs to be handled carefully and should honestly be toned down, but I don't actually think Neji's showing with the third gate was too egregious, considering the mentioned examples and the limitations he displayed there. As far as Naruto goes, he was very blatantly inferior to even a poor man's third gate Neji, and only could win because he demonstrated superior intelligence and strategy. Because of this, far more than his power, he proves himself to be more deserving of a Chunin title than this Neji.

That said, I am keeping scaling in mind and will try to keep things reasonable for where we are in the story, but expect some wacky stuff from time to time as it becomes appropriate (and I will be happy to further explain my reasonings for those moments when it becomes appropriate to do so!)

Okay, I've rambled MORE than long enough. Sorry for going on for so long but this has sort've helped me get my writing brain active so there's that. We'll talk more in the post-chapter analysis. Thanks for your patience!


Naruto watched Hiashi walk away, confusion being the only clear impression that was left in his wake.

"What a wackjob," he finally settled on with a deep sigh. Honestly, what the Hyuga clan head did with his leadership was hardly Naruto's concern. It didn't mean he couldn't judge the man though, both for his clan's questionable practices, and for being a bit of a stuffy bastard.

"Yeah, Hiashi was always a bit insufferable," Kushina agreed. Her memories of the Hyuga head were a bit vague now; still, her role, both as wife of the Fourth Hokage, and as the head representative of the Uzumaki clan, had ensured that she'd run into the man enough times to have made an impression. "He was never that bad, though."

Naruto shrugged, choosing to put Hiashi's oddities out of his mind for the time being. "So, how would you rate my performance against Neji?" He asked as he made his way to the stands, above.

"During that fight, you used the Shadow-clone jutsu, the Shape-changing jutsu, and the replacement technique; all of which to great effect. Your proficiency with all three kept your chakra usage to the minimum and you soundly avoided any and all damage that might have impacted your performance in later matches. As far as I'm concerned, you did great; well above what should be expected of your rank and age." Kushina hummed in thought. "I have two criticisms though."

"Let's hear them," Naruto invited, now climbing the steps to the challenger's booth, two steps at a time.

"First and most important, your use of the Mind's Eye technique was a big improvement over previous attempts, but you still kind've sucked at using it in battle; diverting your focus so heavily toward its use when you're so inexperienced with it was somewhat foolish, too. Were your opponent more clever, he'd have thought to leave imprints of his chakra all around you to completely throw off your senses. If he'd done that, he would've easily handled you." Kushina shrugged, then. "Of course, since he was only fighting a clone, it didn't matter much in the end. But it's still something to consider. If you want to use Mind's Eye in battle, you oughta get much better at using it in general, is all I'll say."

Naruto winced. "And second?"

"Secondly, the lag in your chains is something you're gonna need to work on. If you were using them as intuitively as you oughta be, you'd have wrapped that kid up on the first clash and the fight would've been over. But you waited to make sure they'd hold against his attack instead of instantly going to work, and even when you did, you took too long thinking about how to catch him, which caused you to waste a golden opportunity to close out the fight with minimal energy usage."

All fair points. "So refine my chakra sensitivity and be quicker on the uptake with my chains. Yeah, I can do that."

Kushina said nothing else, satisfied that her son understood. She was content to leave him to the company of his peers as Naruto finally cleared the stairs and reached the competitor's booth; all eyes were on him as he approached.

Naruto tilted his head in confusion at the heavy silence that had fallen between them all. His eyes flitted from face to face, catching the irritated expressions of Team Gai before shifting towards Gaara's seething siblings, off in the far corner of the space.

"There you are, you damn slow-ass," Kiba suddenly stood. "What, did you get lost on your way up here or something?"

"Actually, Hinata's dad caught me alone for a few moments." Winking at the still silent girl, he added, "Apparently he was so disappointed with Neji he decided he wants a brand new nephew; my byakugan should come in the mail within four-to-five business days."

Suddenly, Hinata flew into action, slamming into Naruto's chest like a red-faced bullet. "Y-you were amazing, Naruto-kun!" Her joyful exclamation caught everyone off guard, Naruto included.

"You know, if I knew all it took was clowning on your cousin to see you smile so wide, I'd have packed him up a lot sooner!" Naruto cheered, lifting the girl and twirling around with her.

"A-ah, too much!" She whimpered, suddenly overwhelmed by his own reciprocal affection. She thanked her stars as her crush gently lowered her to the ground, allowing her to regain some of her composure. "S-sorry, it's just- I- um, well… T-thanks for -well, for keeping your promise."

Naruto grinned. "Yeah…"

A loud cough ripped their attention away from one another, leaving them to face several smirking faces. Shikamaru seemed particularly smug, lounging sloppily in his chair. "I didn't realize you two had gone and gotten so cute with one another.

"I'm always cute," Naruto deflected, accentuating his indignant huff with an exaggerated eye roll. Then looking around, he narrowed his eyes, "So Sasuke still hasn't popped up yet?"

"N-no." It was Sakura who responded, her tone clearly nervous. Naruto slowly tilted his head to regard her, his expression flat "No one's seen him since he left to go train with Kakashi-sensei."

"Huh…" Naruto trailed off, and the two simply looked at one another for a moment. Sakura shifted, uncomfortable under his gaze. Then Naruto shrugged, flippantly. "Neat!"

"Wait, why 'neat'?" Ino put her hands on her hips, leering at him. "What, are you afraid to fight him or something?"

"Oh one-hundred percent. The dude's a menace; I mean -what if he kisses me again, or something? I don't wanna get his gross Uchiha cooties" Naruto shrugged, then winced at twin indignant squawks, courtesy of Ino and Sakura. With a huff, he added, "Look, look… If Sasuke's dumb enough to show up late to his own fight for such an important event, then that's on him ya know. I don't really know what else to say."

Geeze, did they really have to look so eager to shoot the messenger?

"Naruto's right," Shikamaru thankfully interjected. "You're just going to have to hope he makes it in the ten minutes before his match is called."

Ino made a show of being annoyed, but Sakura just looked depressed. Naruto thought about offering the girl some comfort but paused, sensing Hinata's chakra. She was pissed, and her open glare at Sakura made it clear as to who she was pissed at.

Would she faint if he grabbed her hand?

"Do it," Kushina egged her son on. "For -uh, for scientific purposes."

Hinata suddenly went stiff as he did so. Her eyes rolled away from Sakura, her glare melting away into simple embarrassment.

Leaning down to her ear, he cheekily whispered, "Please don't taxidermy my teammate. I need her for -uh… Well I'm not sure what I need her for, but I probably need her for something." Hinata went red, and her sensei Kurenai snorted in amusement. Naruto eyed their eavesdropper curiously, but she refused to meet his eyes, instead looking past him with a widening smile.

"Get your hands off my sister, you leper!" Several heads turned to regard the young girl who had approached, her hands on her hips; she looked eerily similar to Hinata, albeit with longer, brown hair.

Hinata squeaked, trying to jump apart from her crush. Naruto allowed no such thing.

He hated being told what to do.

"Hinata, does this sassy lost child belong to you?" Naruto side-eyed his friend, who had just about given up on trying to separate their hands. Instead, she simply looked between him and the little girl before them, mortified.

"Ah- well, she's my- she's my sister…" Hinata bit her lip, now bearing the judgmental stare of her younger sibling. "H-hello Hanabi-chan." Then, blinking rapidly, she questioned, "H-how did you get into this booth?"

True enough, only competitors and their team were allowed in the competitor's booth. Shino may have bowed out, but he had advanced fair and square, and his team were still afforded that privilege, hence Team Eight's presence. How had her kid sister gotten in?

Hanabi suddenly looked a touch embarrassed. "I told the guard I had to give you your medicine for your heart murmurs."

"I don't have-" Hinata started, before simply giving up. "Thank you, Hanabi-chan."

Her younger sister did not acknowledge her thanks, instead looking Hinata up and down. "Orange, huh?" Then, she glared again at Naruto. "You, leper."

"Hey it's me, Leper. How can I help you, small one?"

Hanabi's left eye twitched. "What are your intentions with my sister?" She demanded, her pale eyes trying to bore a hole through the boy's head.

"To harvest her organs and sacrifice her body and soul to the elder gods," Naruto quipped back without so much as a pause. "Respectfully, of course." Kiba and Shikamaru's simultaneous snickers stood in stark contrast to Hanabi's indignant squawk.

"That's not respectful at all!"

Hinata hid her face with both hands, looking just about ready to faint from embarrassment. "H-Hanabi-chan please. He's m-my-" Hinata took a breath, steadying herself. "He's my friend."

"Yeah, uh-uh," Hanabi gave a pointed look toward their still-joined hands. "Try telling that to father…"

"Three minutes until the next match will commence," Genma's voice sounded from below, amplified for all to hear.

"Will Sasuke-san really not show up in time?" Lee's concerned voice caught their attention. "I was very much hoping to see how he performed." Unspoken was the additional context that the green-clad boy had been specifically wanting to see him fight Gaara, whose lack of presence had been duly noted by all.

A snort from the far corner stole the spotlight from the boy. The culprit was Kankuro, who jerked himself out from his seat. As he did so, he slung a large, cocooned mass from its spot right next to him and slung it across his back. "Does your idiot friend even know he's not facing my brother anymore?" He looked at Lee, specifically the boy's still ruined arm and leg. Leering at the boy, he smugly remarked, "Real shame, that. I was really hoping to see him make a matching set out of you guys." He drank in Lee's self-conscious look, the young man unconsciously shifting to protect his ruined side.

Well that wouldn't do…

Naruto grinned at the sand ninja, pacing forward. "Real shame," he parroted back. "I hope Sasuke won't be too disappointed playing dollhouse with a third-rate hack craftsman, instead."

Kankuro sneered at the blonde, stalking forward to meet him. "Don't go getting cocky, twerp. The second I get done running through your teammate, I'm killing you next."

The spike of tension that followed Kankuro's declaration left the onlookers in the booth temporarily stunned.

"Good god, are all of my opponents going to be running on the same brain cell?" Naruto snorted. "'The second I get done running through your teammate, I'm killing you next,'" he mocked. "The only things you're missing are the big shoes and rainbow wig, jackass."

Kankuro clenched his fist, and Naruto rolled his eyes, now regarding the boy's sister, who looked just as ready to attack him. "What, are you two really mad at me for bitching out your brother? You know he attacked me, right?" Naruto was fit to say more, but a firm hand on his shoulder took his attention away from the pair to regard the culprit.

Kurenai had stood from her seat, a warning in her eyes. "Don't provoke our allies, Naruto."

"Yes, mommy."

"What?" Kurenai did a double take.

"What?" Naruto feigned innocence, actively ignoring Hinata's scandalized expression. He especially took care to ignore the indignant glares of Sakura and Kurenai both. "Look, all I'm saying is that it's a little hypocritical to heckle Bushy Brows over his wounds and threaten my life over defending myself, all the while hiding behind diplomatic immunity afforded as our allies. You idiots are acting like your brother didn't waltz into a freaking hospital and slaughter our people in cold blood for shits and giggles." Fixing a stern glare on the two, Naruto snarled. "If you want to fuck around, go ahead and find out. But let's not pretend like you lot are sitting pretty on some moral high ground." Now, he leveled his stare directly onto Kankuro. "Now if -and that's a pretty strong if- you manage to get through Sasuke, know that I'll treat you with the exact same courtesy that you come at me with. Do with that as you will."

Kurenai's grip remained firm on his shoulder, so he finally let the woman guide him away from the makeup-clad sand sibling, finding himself seated between her and an anxious Hinata.

"I know it's frustrating," Kurenai soothed. "But you really oughta try to keep diplomacy on your mind while dealing with those guys. We really don't need tensions between Leaf and Sand getting any higher."

Hinata boldly grabbed Naruto's hand, her face alight with a fierce blush. "I-I think it was sweet of you to def- to defend Lee-san." She whispered, gesturing past Naruto. He turned to look, catching Rock Lee's thankful smile and returning it with one of his own. "B-but I also -um… I also agree w-with Kurenai-sensei that w-we need to be the highroad here."

It was frustrating, yes. But they'd be out of their hair before long. Still, Hinata leaned closer to her crush, whispering in his ear. "B-but if you end up fighting him, please punch him extra hard."

Naruto grinned. That, he could most certainly do.

"The next match, between Sasuke Uchiha and Kankuro from the Hidden Sand Village, is now set to begin. Both fighters, please come down to the arena."

Sakura clenched her jaw, obviously stressed by the announcement. "If he doesn't show, what's going to happen to him?"

"At a bare minimum, he will be disqualified, I imagine," Shino piped up, stoically. "However, his performance in the exams was a major attraction for many within the audience. If Sasuke disrespects them by failing to arrive, it is likely that he will be severely disciplined."

Sakura whined at that.

"You know, we've really gotta teach you how to read a room, buddy." Kiba nudged Shino with his elbow, an almost pained grin painted across his features as Kankuro descended past them, making his way down to the arena.


Genma watched the puppet-using sand ninja approach at a leisurely pace. The boy looked smug, and it didn't take a genius for the jonin to sus out why. Sasuke Uchiha was nowhere in sight.

"Hey proctor," Kankuro called out to the man, a cocky slur in his speech. "If my opponent doesn't show soon then it's my win by default, yeah?"

The murmuring of the crowd above told both ninja exactly what they thought of that.

Genma chanced a look up at the Hokage. The stony expression on the man's face did not bode well for young Sasuke, should the Uchiha fail to arrive. Sharing a nod with him, Genma simply sighed. "Yeah…" Raising his head, he announced, "Sasuke Uchiha has ten seconds to arrive in this arena. If he does not appear within that time, he will be deemed unfit to compete and will be disqualified."

Several long moments passed. The crowd had gone so still that Genma could hear his own heartbeat. He certainly didn't want to be that kid when it came time to explain his absence to the Hokage. It was just like a student of the notoriously ever-late Kakashi Hatake to miss his own fight, though.

"Ten seconds have passed. Sasuke Uchiha is hereby disqualif-"Genma cut himself off as the wind around them started to pick up. Kankuro's smug grin melted off his face, replaced with irritation as two males appeared at the center of the arena, back to back. "Cutting it a bit close aren't you, Kakashi?"

The taller male lolled his head in his direction, his lone visible eye lazily meeting Genma's own. "Ah, sorry. We're not late, are we?"

Technically, they were. Another quick glance at the Hokage earned Genma a stiff nod. "You're on thin ice, but you technically haven't been disqualified yet, so…" He trailed off, simply shrugging. "I guess you're in the clear." Looking at the younger of the pair, he raised an eyebrow at the Uchiha's new clothes. He was wearing a black one-piece with shorts, his usual arm warmers being replaced with a gray leather arm brace. "Well, Sasuke Uchiha, are you fit to compete or not?"

Sasuke said nothing for a moment, instead staring down Kankuro. "Where's the other guy?" When Kankuro simply sneered at him, he looked to Genma instead. "Well?"

Genma glared at him. "Gaara of the Sand Village has been disqualified on account of multiple criminal charges. Now are you fit to compete, or not?"

A pause, then, "I am." Sasuke stepped forward, coming to a stop just a few feet apart from a glowering Kankuro. "I've just got one more question, if you don't mind…" At Genma's 'get on with it' gesture, he looked up into the stands. "The winner of the first match. Who was it?"

"Naruto Uzumaki."

Kakashi looked a bit shocked, but Sasuke simply smirked. "Good." Looking back at Kankuro, he stuffed his hands into the pockets of his shorts. "Let's get this over with."

"Cocky bastard!" Kankuro stole an impatient look at Genma. "Hurry up and start the match so I can put this guy in his place, already."

Kakashi lightly thumped Sasuke's shoulder before making himself scarce, leaving Genma to sidle up between them both.

"The battle between Sasuke Uchiha and Kankuro of the Sand Village is now commencing… START!"

The two wasted no time. Sasuke's hands snapped into the utility pouch on his hip, snagging a brace of shuriken and launching them forward with speed and precision.

Kankuro dashed to the side, giving the weapons a wide berth. In one swift motion, he slung the cocooned mass from his back and planted it into the ground. A follow-up kunai from Sasuke was intercepted as the cocooning cloth unraveled, giving way to a gray wooden arm, which snatched the weapon out of the air. The rest of the cloth burst apart, revealing a humanoid puppet with three glassy eyes and four arms. It hovered in the air between the two combatants, barring Sasuke's way toward Kankuro.

"So I'll need to get around your doll before I can take you down. That's fine," Sasuke smirked, coolly.

"Karasu here isn't just some children's toy. It was designed by Sasori of the Red Sand, one of the greatest puppet masters to ever live!"

A pause. "You didn't even design your own puppet?" Sasuke snorted. "Now that's adorable."

With a snarl, Kankuro sent the puppet forward, its limbs folding inwards to reveal a multitude of hidden blades in each; they were arranged in a four-set cross formation on a rotary hinge. The blades began to rotate at high speed as the puppet flailed about, taking several rapid shots at the Uchiha, who evaded by quickly backpedaling. A series of horizontal swings came flying forward like a buzzsaw, to which Sasuke ducked low as it flew overhead; the puppet quickly returned to continue its onslaught. Weaving to the left, Sasuke spun out of the way of the approaching puppet, slamming a back kick into its torso as it passed.

The puppet didn't even budge, easily absorbing his kick and attempting a vertical slash which caught a few stray hairs as Sasuke tilted his head to avoid the attack.

Procuring another kunai, he attempted to match his foe's strikes. Steel clashed with steel a few times, then Sasuke deftly braced himself against an overhand cross slash. However, Karasu had only used two of its attacking arms, leaving its second pair to stab at its opponent's torso. With a grunt of effort, Sasuke pushed it back and made some space before it could skewer him.

Sasuke had to admit, the puppet was fast. The rapid and subtle shifts of Kankuro's fingers as he directed the thing was a code that he couldn't quite decipher easily, and the wooden humanoid's erratic, inhuman movements were a challenge to predict. Crimson bled into his eyes as his sharingan activated, a twin pair of two-tomoed pupils spinning into existence.

Time to stop playing.

Karasu lunged, attempting to trap Sasuke between two blades and limit his movement, leaving him to either duck or jump. Taking the former option, Sasuke rolled underneath the puppet and sped forward, looking to take out his primary opponent. A strong pulse of chakra burst from his feet, launching him toward Kankuro; the distance was crossed in an instant, his massive increase in speed taking Kankuro completely off guard as Sasuke slammed a high kick into his jaw.

Kankuro reeled at the sudden strike, but held himself surprisingly well, his fingers continuing to work away at his puppet's movements. Sasuke righted himself with a sharp skid of his feet, pushing forward to follow up with a second, more decisive strike as Karasu still lagged behind; however, Kankuro was ready for it this time, using his elbow to divert a right cross out of his path.

Just then, Kankuro's puppet finally caught back up, flanking Sasuke. As the boy's eyes shifted to watch its movements, Kankuro snapped a kunai out from under his sleeve, lashing out to stab Sasuke's eye out. His opponent caught the motion and moved to intercept him, using his own elbow to strike out at Kankuro's wrist.

Kankuro allowed himself to be disarmed, taking the opportunity to grapple the Uchiha, his fingers dancing all the while to command Karasu to skewer the boy while his movements were restricted.

Sensing the impending attack, Sasuke slackened, turning into deadweight and dragging a stumbling Kankuro with him to the ground as he leaned back. Taking advantage of the boy's confusion, he slammed his legs into the sand ninja's chest and kicked out against his ribs. Kankuro's eyes bugged out as he was painfully launched upwards, colliding with his fast approaching puppet and being sent rolling.

Rolling backwards into a handspring, Sasuke's hands flew together into a set of hand seals.

'Ox, Tiger, Horse, Boar, Rat, Rooster'

He inhaled, taking in a massive gulp of oxygen. Then, "Fire Style: Fireball jutsu!"

From his maw burst a massive ball of flame, which threatened to swallow his foe and the boy's puppet all at once.

"Shit!" Kankuro scrambled to his feet in a hasty attempt at a dodge, but knew he'd be unable to fully escape the attack. Instead, he interposed his puppet between himself and the fireball as it blew towards them with explosive force.


When Sasuke finally arrived on the scene, it was like much of the tension had bled out of the booth.

"He made it!" Sakura exclaimed, ducking her head down and shakily sighing with relief. "Oh god, he made it!"

Naruto didn't quite share her enthusiasm, instead scoffing. "The dumbass got here like a whole minute ago. He and Kakashi were just waiting for dramatic tension."

"How do you know?" Shikamaru raised an eyebrow at his proclamation, cutting off Sakura's rush to defend their teammate.

"I caught his duck-ass hairdo creeping about near the woman's bathroom, on my way up," Naruto lied. "It's always the quiet ones, I tell you."

Shikamaru snorted, disbelievingly. "Was that before or after Hinata's dad tried to make you his new nephew?"

"He did not!" Hanabi hissed. "There is no way my father would do such a thing!"

Naruto simply grinned at the fuming girl. "It's true. He even asked me to braid my initials into his chest hair. You should ask him about it." He then palmed the small girl's little head, causing her to growl -yes, growl- at him. "Hinata, is this where all of your bottled up rage flows into?"

Hinata was thankfully spared from having to answer as an audible 'poof' stole everyone's attention. The resulting smoke dissipated, revealing Kakashi Hatake.

"Yo!" He greeted them all, cheerfully. Looking between them all, his eyes momentarily roved past them all, eventually settling on Sakura. "Sorry we were so late. We met an old lady on our way here and had to slow down to walk her across a busy intersection, but she dropped her glasses so-" He suddenly cut off, once again looking at each and every face in the crowd, eventually settling on the odd one out. "Naruto?"

Naruto simply raised an eyebrow at the man. "Surprise."

There was a tense silence between the pair, then Kakashi smiled, his lone visible eye closing in an expression of cheer. "You look well!"

"Go fuck yourself," Naruto snapped back, just as cheerfully.

Kakashi paused, unsure of how to respond to that. Then, "So are you still mad at me over Ebisu-san, or…?" He trailed off, leading.

The entirety of Team Eight gaped at the obvious deflection. Kurenai was no better. Even Shikamaru and Choji chanced a glare at the man. Finally, Kiba piped up, a string of insults dancing on his tongue.

"Oh you callous piece of-"

"It's fine, Kiba." Naruto's firm tone made the Inuzuka boy pause. "Thanks for speaking up, but I clearly didn't miss anything important." His piece said, Naruto didn't acknowledge Kakashi any further, simply turning his attention to the scene below.

Kakashi raised a finger as if to say something else, but warning glances from each of the present teachers made him reconsider. Gai in particular looked severely disappointed in him. Kakashi tried to catch a silent Sakura's eye, willing the girl to communicate with him. But his pink-haired student refused to meet his gaze, simply looking down guiltily.

"He won, by the way," Hinata suddenly piped up, her tone steady. Everyone, even Naruto, peered her way, interested in what the normally quiet girl had to say.. Hanabi looked at her older sister, her face twisted with shock at her boldness.

"What was that?" Kakashi drawled back, his masked smile still on full display.

"His battle with Neji-niisan. He won."

"Ah, yeah I heard. Congratulations, Naruto!"

Hinata glared at the man, "You shouldn't have had to hear about it… You should've been here to cheer him on, instead of showing up late for dramatic effect."

'You're a horrible sensei.'

She almost said it; really, it was a close thing. But Naruto's fingers intertwining with her own cooled her head. Blushing, she shared a smile with the blonde, who turned his attention back to the arena, their hands still embracing.

Kakashi said nothing, but his smile was gone. He gave their joined hands a long look before sitting down with a sigh, instead turning to watch his student's fight with the sand ninja, below.

"START!" Genma's shout was the catalyst for motion between the two fighters. Sasuke jumped into action, hurling several shuriken at Kankuro, who went wide to evade them. As he removed his puppet from his shoulder and planted it into the ground, Naruto watched the boy with keen eyes.

"So he uses chakra threads connected to the joints to induce motion," Naruto murmured, quietly. Hinata looked at him questioningly, so he leaned in. "Ninja puppetry is an art that Sand more or less has a monopoly on; it's because there's a ton of different stuff that goes into even making a ninja tool like that, let alone actually using it in a fight."

Hinata tilted forward, her byakugan once more pulsing and fixed onto Kankuro's active fingers. "Ho-how does he do all of that while Sasuke-san is pressing him?" She asked, as Sasuke slipped past Karasu and engaged him in a taijutsu scuffle.

"A lot of practice, probably… Splitting your focus like that isn't easy… I called him third-rate earlier, but I was mostly just bullshitting; dude's got some serious talent." Naruto grinned as Sasuke began to dominate the older boy in close quarters. "Still, that's a major weakness of the art, right? Look." He pointed, and Hinata followed his gesture, noting the sluggishness of the puppet. "As his focus gets split, his control wavers."

Sasuke and Kankuro both went down, grappling for a moment, then Sasuke shoved his opponent upwards, into the path of his flying puppet; Kankuro was hit dead on and went tumbling with the ninja tool, allowing Sasuke to launch a devastating fireball, which collided with the pair.

When the smoke dissipated, the damage was plain for all to see. Much of the wood on Kankuro's puppet had been burned to nearly nothing, leaving little more than a warped, metal frame.

Kankuro was only slightly better off, having had a good portion of his top burned away. Leaving a splatter of second degree burns along the boy's chest and forearms, which were crossed in front of him in a guard. Clearly, much of the damage had been weathered by the boy's puppet, allowing him to remain mostly unscathed -well, compared to how badly off he should have been.

"Fire retarding seals carved into the torso of the puppet would have completely nullified that attack," Naruto scoffed. "Who makes a puppet with a wood exterior and doesn't think to fire proof it?"

Kurenai glanced his way. "Not many people are proficient enough with seals to consider it."

"Puppetry practically demands at least some sealing knowledge to put one together. If he couldn't even fire-proof it, then I take back my compliments," Naruto fired back with a roll of his eyes.

The older woman smiled at him, her wine-red eyes twinkling with mirth. "Well you certainly seem interested enough to critique it… How would you build a puppet, then?"

How would he- huh… "I guess I'd weave a sealing array through the torso and install it with necessary protections. Then I'd program it with multiple commands and triggers to have it respond to certain stimuli; essentially build a central processing unit and rig all the other components to that. Chakra threads are kind've an archaic method so I'd probably use built-in chakra receivers to control it remotely. Maybe I'd… Actually-" Naruto suddenly interrupted himself. "Can I get back to you on that?"

"Take your time," Kurenai replied with a chuckle. She chanced a glance towards Hinata, who seemed almost enthralled as her blonde-haired crush began to mutter under his breath, in thought.

Kurenai rather liked him, she decided.

"Just surrender," Sasuke drawled out to his burned opponent. "Your puppet is totaled, and those burns don't look too good. No one will judge you for bowing out."

"I will," Naruto whispered, holding back a laugh. "Talk all of that garbage and lose within the minute? Dishonor on you and that bootleg puppet."

Hinata said nothing, but noted with surprise that her sister was nodding, intently.

"Don't patronize me, you little shit!" Kankuro snapped back. Shakily, he raised his arms once more in a 'ready' stance, both hands outstretched and commanding his wounded puppet to come back to life. "I've still got plenty of cards to play!"

A weak bluff, if the panic in his eyes were any indicator. Most of the traps still left usable in the puppet could be seen clear as day now, without the wooden shell to conceal them. Sasuke's fireball had done a phenomenal job of neutralizing Kankuro's only real win-condition.

"His chakra strings are visible now," Naruto noted.

Hinata nodded. "He's expending more chakra to compensate for the damage."

Hanabi pulled her sister's arm, getting Hinata's attention. "Won't he tire himself out faster doing that?"

"Yeah," Hinata and Naruto responded at once, sharing a look over it. Naruto sheepishly tilted his head, leaving her the floor to continue. "Um- Pi-piloting that puppet doesn't really -well, it doesn't seem to eat up too much chakra normally." Hinata winced as Sasuke now effortlessly weaved out of the way of the ruined weapon's attacks. Several explosives burst from Karasu's jaw, but Sasuke easily avoided them, taking extra care to steer clear of the thick, purple smoke that emitted from them. He slipped past again in a blur, appearing behind Kankuro and slamming a knee into his chest as the crippled puppet user turned to face him. "But he doesn't seem to have very much to begin with; right now his chakra levels are bottoming out, fast."

"What's more is now that his chakra strings are so easily visible, Sasuke's sharingan is going to have no issues reading his puppet's movements." Naruto shook his head with a wry grin. "This fight is over."

Sasuke slammed a backfist into the side of Kankuro's neck, then pulled him in for a headbutt that left the Sand ninja's nose spewing crimson. Karasu hobbled forth, trying to take a stab at his head, but Sasuke climbed the still-reeling Kankuro's torso like a tree before kicking off from the boy to go airborne. Kankuro stumbled back and fell prone, then Sasuke, soaring backwards through the air, launched a hail of shuriken; lines of ninja wire were attached to the hurled weapons, allowing Sasuke to guide them to their intended target. The shuriken curved along their paths, each landing with extreme precision to pin each of the visible chakra threads against the ground.

"Hot damn," Kiba whistled. "That's some next level shuriken-jutsu."

Naruto nodded. If there was one area of expertise that Sasuke had always stood head and shoulders above the rest of them in, it was the use of shuriken.

Maybe he could learn a thing or two from reviewing this fight at a later date.

"I'll prep it so we can go over it later, then," Kushina offered, from within.

"Fuck!" Kankuro cursed angrily as his puppet fell, now completely paralyzed. He threw his arms up to try and ward off a rapidly approaching Sasuke, only for the Uchiha to flip behind him, snaring the weakened puppet user with a textbook chokehold. It took only seconds for Sasuke's opponent to go completely still.

Genma appeared on the scene again, his lip moving wordlessly as he silently counted down. On 'ten', he raised an arm. "Kankuro is unable to continue any further. The winner of this fight is Sasuke Uchiha."

Sakura and Ino both clutched each other, cheering amongst one another.

"He won!" Sakura squealed, all but jumping with excitement. "He didn't break a sweat! He won!"

Ino loudly mirrored Sakura's sentiments, much to the chagrin of her team. Choji sent an embarrassed grin Shikamaru's way, to which the lazy Nara simply shook his head.

"I bet she won't even cheer half as loud for me when I win my fight… Troublesome woman."

"When you win?" Not far from him, Kankuro's sister narrowed her eyes. "You mean if you even survive our fight."

"Yeah, yeah." Shikamaru waved her off as if swatting a gnat. "Sorry I'm not really the bantering type, but I've got my own reasons for wanting to win so you're going to have to hold this loss."

Temari jumped to her feet, livid. "We'll see how long that confidence lasts," she snarled, before slinging her giant fan over her shoulder and stalking off.

"Troublesome…" Shikamaru sighed as she did so, watching her prowl past his comrades, taking the stairs leading below. As she did so, her eyes lingered on Naruto, an ugly sneer marring her features. Naruto barely paid the girl any mind, instead tentatively chancing another pat on the head of Hanabi Hyuga. Like before, she hissed at him.

"Stop doing that!"

"Listen you little gremlin, you're my friend's sister so I'm obligated by ninja law to befriend you. It's a real thing, look it up." Naruto leaned down to meet her at eye level and smiled. "What level of the academy are you in?"

Hanabi crossed her arms and looked away, a tiny frown dancing on her lips. "I just started third year."

"Huh," Naruto hummed. "You look pretty young for that; I bet you skipped a year or two, yeah?" Standing tall with a grin, he added, "You must be pretty dedicated!"

Hinata smiled, noting her sister's poor attempt at hiding her own blush. "Hanabi-chan is far more ta-talented at the gentle-fist than I am."

"Woah," Naruto tilted his head, impressed. "Well Hinata's strong as shit so you must be crazy tough, then.

Hanabi's blush only deepened, the girl finally having enough and throwing herself behind her grinning sister.

Yep… Definitely siblings.

"Oi, Naruto." Shikamaru's sudden call made the blonde tilt his head to look at him. He was leaning on the rail, having sidled up to the trio. "I need a moment, if you've got it."

They locked eyes, and Naruto nodded. "Yeah, I'll see you down to the waiting terminal."


Kankuro woke to the glare of the hospital wing's ceiling lights. He was in a clean, plush mattress that had been secured to whatever gurney he'd been wheeled in on.

Certainly a step up from Sand's medical accommodations…

On the nightstand to his left stood a decorated clay frog, a small digital clock held in its massive maw. Judging by the time, he hadn't been out for very long.

His wounds had been wrapped up in pristine white gauze; underneath, he could feel and smell the soothing antiseptic balm, clearly an effort to get ahead of his burns before they scarred over.

"So I lost, then…" Kankuro groused, shifting in his bed. He'd hoped to at least make the Uchiha bleed a bit, but for all his talk up in the competitor's booth, he'd known he had no chance at Naruto Uzumaki; certainly not in a straightforward tournament setting, at least. Anyone who could take down Gaara wasn't about to be bested by a single puppet. Still, he hadn't quite expected to get so utterly thrashed by the kid's teammate. The guy hadn't seemed particularly impressive back in the preliminaries.

On that note, neither had Uzumaki, himself. Whatever they were feeding Konoha ninja, he wanted some of that.

The door creaked open, and Kankuro gingerly craned his neck to get his eyes on the door.

Temari.

Kankuro snorted at the somber look on her face. "What, did you lose your fight too or something?" He forced down a laugh as her concerned expression twisted into one of annoyance.

Ow, ribs.

"I haven't had my fight yet, and I'm not losing," she hissed back. "I'm going to tear that lazy bastard apart; you'll see."

"Actually, I won't. I'm not going anywhere in this condition." Emphasizing his point was a wide gesture at his nearly mummified body. "Not exactly my best showing, huh?"

"You did fine," his sister soothed. "You just had a bad opponent."

"Yeah right!" With some effort, Kankuro forced himself into a sitting position, trying to find a sweet spot that didn't quite hurt as much as everything else. Temari approached, throwing an arm around his back and helping him up. "Thanks…" There was a pause as his sister simply waved him off. Then, "So Karasu is totaled… I'm not really sure how much help I'll be, later."

Temari simply shrugged. "Don't worry about that. I'll figure something out."

"I…" Kankuro trailed off, trying to find the words to match his feelings. "Don't get mad, but…" As his sister turned a suspicious glare on him, he winced. "Maybe we oughta reevaluate our stance a bit, here."

Temari's eyes narrowed. "What's that supposed to mean?" Her irritation was clear as day, and Kankuro knew to tread carefully. His sister could be as explosive as Gaara when she was mad.

"Look, our main priority is Gaara. We get him, get out, and call it a day. Sticking it to Uzumaki isn't going to do anything more than put us in harm's way." Kankuro dug his fingers through his hair, scratching at his scalp. "These Konoha ninja are really something else."

"Unacceptable!" Temari growled. "You saw what that monster did to Gaara. You think I'm fine with just letting that slide?" Her grip on his side had tightened painfully around his ribs, digging into tender, burned skin. "We have to do this. It's the only way to protect Gaara!"

"Ow! Ow!" Kankuro wheezed.

Temari jumped back in an instant, looking guilty. "I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean-" Her hasty apologies were waved off by a partially disoriented Kankuro. "I'm sorry…"

"It's fine. It's fine." Kankuro took a long breath. "Maybe you're right." He paused for a moment, still catching his bearings.

Suddenly, over an intercom above, Genma Shiranui's voice sounded all around them. "Three minutes before the next match is called. Contestants Shikamaru Nara and Temari of the Sand please be ready to report to the arena."

Kankuro inclined his head toward the door. "I'll see if I can find some way to watch your fight from here; maybe they've got a screen or something. So make sure you win, alright?"

Temari nodded, sensing the clear dismissal. "Yeah. I'll do that… Sorry.

As she exited the room, Kankuro flopped back down into his bed, his side still aching. "We're biting off way more than we can chew, here." He craned his neck once again, trying to spot the time, but found his night stand suspiciously empty. "Wha-" He cut off, his thoughts unfocusing for a moment. Then, "What's a guy gotta do to get a warm meal in here?"


"So what did you want to talk about?" Naruto tried to match Shikamaru's sluggish pace through the winding corridor leading to the waiting terminal. It was hard though; Shikamaru really did have laziness down to a science.

"That fan of hers," Shikamaru said, his tone leading. "Your thoughts?"

"I'm surprised you're asking me for tactical advice." Naruto grinned his way. "You're sure you want my empty headed ass talking tactics with you?"

"Humor me."

At that, Naruto frowned, thinking. "Most war fans use a two-segmented hinge with a single, split vertical brace for stability… They're also typically hand-sized. Her fan might as well be a damn polearm. It's also on a three-segmented hinge with two split braces to keep it stable and compensate for the increased weight when she swings it. Do you know why that is?" At Shikamaru's curious expression, Naruto elaborated. "It's because she's strong as shit, but lacks finesse. She can dish it out and has the stamina to swing that thing around for a while, but it's gonna be all or nothing for her."

Shikamaru bit his lip, his brain now in overdrive. "You're saying she can't self regulate?"

"I'm saying her self regulation is gonna be piss poor. A fan that large is going to be heavy as hell and weigh her down. The fact that she uses such a big, clunky club instead of a set of standard war fans tells me she probably kept destroying the smaller ones with unregulated wind chakra usage. So she's strong and can dish out tons of damage when it comes to big attacks, but is gonna fall short if you can manage to outpace her. If you stay close and don't let her wind up, she shouldn't be able to threaten you as much."

The lazy Nara gave his friend an appraising look. "I know I'm the one who asked, but I really didn't realize you were so knowledgeable about war fans…"

"Crafts in general, actually." Naruto thumped Shikamaru's shoulder, sending the boy slightly stumbling. "You win your fight and I'll be happy to talk more."

"About that," Shikamaru started, catching himself. "I don't suppose you're willing to shoot me some of those theories you mentioned, in advance?" Shikamaru rolled his eyes toward the boy, noting that the blonde now towered over him in size. "I've got a bad feeling, is the thing…"

Naruto hummed. "Super promise me that you'll win your fight, and it's a deal."

"Fine, whatever. I super promise to thrash the troublesome sand girl. Now spill.

From above them both, Genma's voice sounded over an intercom. "The third match between Shikamaru Nara and Temari of the Hidden Sand Village is now set to begin. Both contestants please arrive at the arena, posthaste."

Shikamaru cursed, looking between the intercom and his friend, indecisive.

Closing his eyes, Naruto considered his own words. What to say? How best to convey his thoughts with the little time they had?

"Gaara is a weapon on a hair trigger," Naruto finally said, grabbing Shikamaru's focus yet again. "Why else would Sand bring an out of control weapon to a foreign village, except to have it fire automatically?

The dark look that crossed Shikamaru's face told Naruto that he understood. "Yeah, that's about what I was thinking, as well."

He left in just about the fastest hurry Naruto had ever seen from the boy -which to be fair wasn't exactly a high bar-, leaving Naruto alone for a moment.

He sighed. "Good luck, Shika…" Then he peered off to the wall, curious. "What do you want, you old pervert?"

From the wall, Jiraiya's form melded away, leaving the man to stand before him with an easy grin on his face. "So you knew I was there then, huh? That's some impressive sense you've got there, kid."

Naruto sighed again. "Not really." Then, "That's a pretty neat stealth jutsu though. Earth style, yeah?"

"It's a personal creation of mine. Why, you want to learn it or something?" Jiraiya hedged, trying to look nonchalant.

"If only so I can do it better," Naruto scoffed. "You heard our conversation. How right am I?"

"There's no confirmation, but I'm with you, kid." Jiraiya looked him up and down, his expression twisting into one of seriousness. "I saw your fight with the Hyuga kid. You did damn good, by the way so I know you can take care of yourself… Just be careful, alright? Those sand kids seem to really have it out for you."

Naruto noted to himself that Jiraiya had found time to view his fight where his own sensei had failed to. It wasn't quite worth bringing up though... Not yet, at least. "I appreciate the concern. If they try anything, I'll take care of them."

"Good." His piece said, Jiraiya once more melded into the wall, leaving Naruto alone.

If he made it through all of this, the toad sage would be more than happy to teach him a couple of jutsu.


Genma stood between the two ninja, dead center within the arena. Once again they had one of their own being pitted against a sand ninja.

Shikamaru was slouching, looking just short of keeling over and falling asleep. His posture alone had his opponent strangling her fan in an iron grip; a thick vein bulged in the girl's fist. Genma noted that regardless of his stance, Shikamaru's eyes were alert and deadly serious.

Tensions between both villages were already high enough as it was and Genma didn't quite like the look in that girl's eyes, so he looked between the two and asked them, "Before we begin, I want to ask you both if either of you would like to forfeit in advance for any reason."

"Kinda," Shikamaru droned back. "But I'll live, I guess."

His words only seemed to incense Temari even further, who simply replied with, "Start the damned fight already."

"Right then." Genma took several steps back and raised his arm. "The third match of the Chūnin exams tournament between Shikamaru Nara and Temari of the Sand is now commencing… START!"

Genma had barely even managed to fully get the word out before Temari hefted her fan, preparing to swing it in a wide arc to blow the Nara away. Before she could get more than halfway, though, Shikamaru had already dropped low, his hands clasping together in the rat hand seal.

"Shadow possession jutsu," he intoned, commanding his shadow to speed towards his foe. Temari aborted her attack, instead taking several leaps back to make some space. "Troublesome woman… I hate chasing people."

Shikamaru launched off from the ground, heading straight for Temari at a surprisingly decent pace. As the physical distance between them closed, he continued to focus on his writhing shadow, which snapped outwards yet again with speed. It arced to and fro, attempting to cut off Temari's movement as she retreated.

Even weighed down as she was by her fan, Temari was faster than Shikamaru. She was able to make enough space to once again try to take the offensive, but found herself needing to defend as Shikamaru loosed a handful of shuriken at her.

The first moon of her fan was revealed as she opened up the first segment to deflect the attack, and Shikamaru noted the timing of the gesture.

The second moon was immediately unveiled with the second segment as Temari attempted to ward him off. Shikamaru channeled his chakra to his soles, empowering a horizontal rush towards a nearby boulder; a leftover piece of terrain from Naruto and Neji's battle. The wind was not quite enough to breach his cover, and with his back to the structure, Shikamaru commanded his shadow to curve around the boulder, using the reflective surface of a kunai to help direct his next attack.

"Back off!" Temari finally shouted, dancing out of the way of another shadowy lunge and fully unfurling her fan. Her third moon was revealed and from her swing came a devastating wave of wind, the ensuing tempest riddled with tiny blades of chakra.

"Ah shit," Shikamaru droned as it engulfed him, smashing his covering boulder upwards like a golf ball and shredding at his body without mercy.

Temari huffed triumphantly as Shikamaru was caught up in the residual tempest and sent flying far away; he landed wetly, lying prone in a pool of his own blood.

"You should've just surrendered when you had the chance, asshole," She taunted, cautiously approaching her mutilated foe. Her fan was once again closed, the girl hefting it over her shoulder like a club, ready to put the younger boy out of his misery. Something caught her eye though as she did so.

A chip.

Of wood.

Temari's eyes widened and she dove to the side as a silent shadow attempted to flank her from behind. "Oh you sneaky little twerp!" She rolled to her hands, swiftly hand-springing back to avoid the continuous lunge as Shikamaru's shadow pushed forward more and more. Then suddenly, it stopped.

A limit?

Temari slashed the ground with her fan and eyed the shadow warily as it tried and failed to push further toward her.

"Well that's unfortunate," Shikamaru called out, sounding unbothered. "I was hoping you were the stupid sort. Clever women are just a different breed of troublesome."

A vein bulged in Temari's head. "What is that supposed to mean!?"

Shikamaru didn't respond directly, simply sighing instead as he called his shadow back to himself. He'd need to conserve his chakra as much as he could if he had any plans of fighting after this.

But what to do, then? He couldn't give her time to wind up or he'd never be able to win; certainly not without taking some hefty damage. But how to extend his shadow to reach someone who was not only prepared for it, but also faster than him? Shikamaru's eyes flitted across the battlefield, taking in every detail even as he once again prepared to evade Temari's next wind up.

A dozen ideas flitted through his head, then multiplied a dozen times over. Each was carefully considered and categorized with speed as the boy considered his options.

Nope.

Nope.

Maybe.

Nope.

Nop- Huh… Yeah, that could work.

Shikamaru threw his arms up in a guard as Temari's winds once more came his way. This time, she had gone for speed, using only one moon to batter him. Tiny lacerations scraped across his arms as he balled himself up to protect his face and torso, using his chakra to stick stalwartly to the ground. As he did so, he procured a kunai and wrapped an exploding tag around it. The follow up swing was using the second moon, and Shikamaru knew it would hurt.

'Wait for it!'

The winds buffeted his body, threatening to completely tear him off his feet and adding several far deeper lacerations to his newfound collection.

"This sucks," Shikamaru moaned.

"Oh, we're just getting started!" Temari howled back, her third moon fully revealed. She twirled her whole body, preparing to take a massive, devastating swing.

"Actually, I think we're done here!" Shikamaru snapped back, hurling his armed kunai at his foe with blinding speed.

It was probably the fastest he'd ever thrown one of the damned things.

Temari laughed mockingly, completing her twirl and unleashing her attack. A massive storm of windy blades careened toward him, engulfing his kunai. As it did so, Shikamaru formed a single tiger seal, and the entire thing detonated.

Funny thing about wind chakra, it was hard as hell to control; much more so than any other elemental affinity, likely due to its largely formless shape. Intense focus was needed to mold wind-natured chakra of the quantities that Temari was hurling about. His talk with Naruto had only confirmed for Shikamaru that his opponent likely lacked the finesse to account for a sudden conflagration. Which brought him to the next point:

Wind-nature chakra got really chaotic when fire was involved. The results spoke for themselves as a massive tower of explosive flame erupted between them.

"Wha-" Temari had no time to say anything else as the explosion bloomed outward, the shockwave slamming into her and launching her backward. She slammed into the arena wall with an audible crack, her body shattering the surface on impact. A moment passed, then Temari tumbled bonelessly onto the floor.

Far across from her lay a groaning Shikamaru, who rolled onto his back with a gasp. "Ow. Oooh, pretty clouds."

God, what he wouldn't give to be a cloud right about now; just him, floating stressless, through the sky.

Temari groaned as she painfully tried to drag herself to her feet. Shikamaru shook his head, clamoring to his own with significantly less effort. "You really are something else. Take an explosion almost point blank and you're already almost up again… Are you sure you're human?"

"Piss off," she slurred back, leaning heavily onto her closed fan to find her footing. Clearly, she didn't quite trust her body to stay standing under her own power. "You got lucky with that. "I won't let you get another-" She stopped, her eyes wide. "H-how the hell did you-?"

"Shadow possession jutsu, success." Shikamaru yawned, throwing his arms up in a stretch. To his amusement, a wincing Temari mimicked him. "Look where you're standing, woman. Here, I'll let you." He looked to the side and Temari's posture followed, her eyes widening yet again as she spotted a nearby hole in the ground. "Naruto burst out of that hole when he knocked the shit out of Neji. I figured he had to have made an entry point somewhere, and lo and behold." Right in front of him was yet another hole, his shadow clearly using the darkness below to reach the sand ninja from outside his usual range. "That's checkmate, I'd say. So are you gonna surrender, or do we gotta do this the hard way?"

"Try me, asshole!" Temari snarled back, straining against her bonds.

"Hard way it is," Shikamaru sighed. He lifted his arms above his head, as if gripping something. As Temari was forced to copy him, she realized with horror that she was still holding her heavy fan. Shikamaru slammed his arms down and Temari howled as her foot was broken under the head of her fan.

"And the other one," Shikamaru said, wincing as Temari's other foot was smashed, unceremoniously. She screamed again, and her body went slack against his shadow possession jutsu. She stood, quivering on two broken feet; her body was nearly limp, held up against her will by Shikamaru's shadow, alone. "Do we gotta move on to the kneecaps? Because I hate this just as much as you do." A moment, then, "Well, probably less, but not by much."

"That's enough," Genma said, stepping forth. As soon as he appeared, Shikamaru's shadow split from Temari, allowing her to fall painfully to the ground where she remained. "Temari is unable to fight any further. The winner is Shikamaru Nara."


"Holy-" Ino gagged as the second crack rang through the air. "Is that really necessary?"

"Well, she did say 'try me, asshole'," Shino reminded her. "This was a poor choice of words. Why? Because as Shikamaru oh-so superlatively demonstrated for us, Temari-san was teetering very dangerously high on the tried and true fuck around and find out chart."

"She challenged him because she didn't think he had the spine to mess her up," Sasuke commented from his position on the railings. An irritated sneer was threatening to break free across his handsome features. Sakura had been fawning over him since he'd come up into the challengers' booth.

Honestly, would it kill the girl to give him a bit of space?

"Well now her toes are broke and she looks stupid. Real great plan there," Kiba heckled with a laugh. Atop his head, Akamaru barked in agreement.

Choji offered a thumbs-up in agreement, then stuck the chip-covered digit into his mouth, humming with pleasure. To his side, their sensei Asuma had stolen Shikamaru's old seat, trying to mask his pride around a lit cigarette.

"I didn't think I'd ever see the day that Shikamaru took something so seriously. I can't say I hate it, though."

There was an audible agreement among the group. Anyone who knew anything about Shikamaru knew that even willingly participating in the fight at all was a huge milestone for the boy.

Temari was carried off the arena, a slouching Shikamaru following loosely behind the medics who had taken her. As the arena was finally left barren of the two competitors, Sasuke looked around, a single question on his mind. "Where's Naruto?"

He'd wanted to talk to the blonde before their fight.

A multitude of eyes all trailed towards Hinata, who began to blush at the attention. "Oh he-he's waiting for Shikamaru-kun." She accentuated this by pointing down to where Shikamaru had recently stepped through. "I-I think they'd wan-wanted to talk about something?"

"Tsk" Sasuke sucked his teeth, abruptly rocking back onto his heels. Without another word, he stalked off, his destination clear.

"Hey Sasuke, hold on!" Sakura made to follow him, but found herself stopped by Kakashi's grip on her forearm. She froze at the man's sudden interception.

"Now, now Sakura. You know how Sasuke gets; I'm sure he'd rather not be interrupted right now, don't you think?"

"Attention everyone," Genma's voice projected from below. "Due to the odd number of leftover competitors, it has been decided that the next match will be a three-way deadlock between our three fighters. That will ensue in half an hour. Please offer us your patience while we prepare the arena once again. Competitors, please make any preparations that you need, with this time."

Kakashi tilted his head, interested. "A three-way deadlock, huh? Well, isn't that exciting?" He turned to face Asuma, noting the man's tense posture. "Care to make a wager, Asuma-san?"

Asuma glared at him. "A wager where you have double odds? Hard pass."

"Actually, I'd like to bet on Naruto, if that's fine," Kurenai piped up with a smile. Kakashi's surprise was well worth the effort. "You can bet solely on your favorite student; how's that work?"

Kakashi laughed, humorlessly. "I really don't appreciate the insinuation, Kurenai-san." He palmed Sakura's head affectionately, with the young girl looking somewhat unsure of how to take it. "I adore all of my precious students."


Gaara watched the rickety ceiling light sway back and forth; teal-blue eyes traced its path ceaselessly. It was the only thing he really had to do there, after all.

He'd gone ahead and laid down on the cold, stone floor. His one pillow and thin blanket had been removed from his otherwise scarce bedding set up to join him on the ground; somehow, the ground was far more comfortable than the uneven pile of cinder blocks he'd been given for a bed.

He didn't really mind though. Mother had been quiet for days now. Before, such a thing would've been eerie to him. Now though, he was starting to understand it for the blessing that it was. Gaara had slept for the first time in years, mother being far too weak in her current state to take over while he rested. It had only been a few short hours, but even that little had done wonders for him.

The nightmares were still present, and the pain persisted; less so, though. Enough that he could think clearly yet again for the first time in so, so very long.

Gaara's mind wandered, settling on Temari and Kankuro after a moment. They were still competing in the tournament, weren't they?

"You're not going to die, buddy… We're gonna take you home with us… I swear to you, Gaara. You hear me?"

Kankuro's tone had been so gentle; so earnest.

Temari's eyes had been so full of… Something. He didn't know what; he had never seen such an emotion in another person's eyes. But something in it had given him pause. Maybe it was simply his own fear, but he had been compelled to trust them both, in that moment.

Gaara sighed. Mother had told him time and time again that he could not trust anyone; not even his own siblings… Especially not them.

But mother was not here right now. No, she had abandoned him.

And they hadn't. They had come for him, and promised their support.

Why had he believed them?

Call it naivety, call it simple desperation… It wasn't like he had any other options, he supposed.

There was a buzz of speech just behind him. His guards did not often speak while on the job, but it wasn't terribly uncommon for one or even both of them to briefly break the silence.

"Ah, ANBU-san. Is there something I can help you with?"

ANBU? That gave Gaara pause. What were the Leaf's Black ops unit doing here? Had the Hokage chosen to execute him after all? Gaara tilted his head back, trying to catch a glimpse of his captors.

"The Hokage has ordered the presence of Gaara-san, courtesy of the Kazekage's request."

Ah, so it was time to go, then. That was fine.

"Already? Aren't the matches still going on?" One of the Chūnin sounded suspicious. "With all due respect sir, we were ordered not to let this kid out of our sight for anyone. I'm going to need to see some kind of proof of order before I can in good consc-" The Chūnin suddenly cut off, now choking on something. There was a momentary exclamation of surprise from his partner before he suddenly fell silent. Two bodies thumped to the ground, their deathly expressions filling Gaara's sight.

Dead. Both dead.

Gaara shot up, scrambling to his feet as a cloaked, masked man began to rifle through the pockets of the dead ninja.

"What's going on?" He demanded, backing away from the bars.

The faux ANBU procured a key from one of the dead ninjas' flak jackets and began working away at the lock. "It's your lucky day, Gaara-san," he replied, a smile in his voice. "You get to go free… Well, on a condition or two, that is. My master has a special use for you, you see."

Gaara backed away from the man as he slid open the door, cornering the boy against the wall. "Master? Special use? Stay back! I don't trust you!"

"There's no need to be afraid, Gaara-san." The faux ANBU snapped forward, suddenly grabbing the boy's arm and dragging him closer. Gaara attempted to pry his hand away but found himself terribly outmatched. Without his sand, he was far too vulnerable. "I'm simply here to give you what you need."

"What I need? What do I need?" Gaara dropped low, attempting to weaken the man's grip by becoming dead weight, again to no avail. "Let go!"

His aggressor paid him no heed, instead procuring what looked to be a syringe, filled with a viscous purple liquid. "Just a little bit of help, is all." he whispered back, almost reverently. "You remember, don't you? You have a role to play in this little invasion of ours."

The man jammed the syringe into the neck of a futilely struggling Gaara, who froze as he emptied the capsule.

"Wha- I-" Gaara slurred, trying to catch his bearings. "What did you do? WHAT DID YOU DO!?"

"I gave you a gift, Gaara-san. The freedom to kill without consequence." The faux ANBU peeled off his mask, allowing Gaara to glimpse a pair of bespectacled black eyes before his vision began to blur. "Orochimaru-sama sends his regards."

From his neck where he was injected bloomed a staggering pain; it quickly began to spread like a virus, ripping Gaara's body apart with reckless abandon. He curled inward and vomited, his mouth agape in a silent scream. The pain was rushing to his head, white-hot soldering iron penetrating his brain. Deep within, something snapped, and Gaara heard mother begin to laugh.

"Finally! I'm free!"


And that's the chapter! This definitely took way longer than I planned for it to. I'm honestly not super happy with how it turned out, but I figured I'd rather get something decent out than spend several weeks on hiatus just trying to figure out how to get it done.

In any case, let's talk about the chapter:

I'm still trying to figure out exactly how I want to handle Naruto's relationship with his team. Honestly, I'd rather try and tackle each one on an individual basis first instead of trying to sort out dynamics in a place as active as the Chūnin exams. Quite frankly, there's WAY too many people active and way too much stuff actively going on for me to feel comfortable trying to unpack a lot of the character-related plot points that I'm trying to set up. That's why Naruto's interactions with Sakura and Kakashi are likely going to feel somewhat underwhelming. Thinking from the perspective of Naruto, I just don't think he'd care to take the time to sort things out with them here of all places. It doesn't mean it won't happen though!

My primary focus is to tackle the nuances of these relationships, specifically without bashing anybody. I'm gonna be very straight up, I really don't like Sakura or Kakashi in part 1. Kakashi strongly redeems himself for me from Shippuden onwards by being a much more present friend and sensei to Naruto. Before that point though, he kinda sucks to me, and I can't really see my Naruto vibing well with him without first understanding WHY Kakashi is the way that he is and understanding more about the man's character. In part 1 especially, Kakashi has a habit of just deflecting constantly. He constantly makes excuses and really just doesn't take anyone seriously; it's mostly played for laughs, but looking at it from the perspective of a recently burned Naruto who is still trying to figure out who's really his friends, dealing with someone like that isn't going to end well. All of this to say, I do not plan to bash Kakashi, and I have every intention of giving him and Sakura both chances to really show their mettle as friends/comrades once I can figure out how to even write them.

Moving on to Shikamaru, I'm getting more into the groove of writing him and I hope it's landing as well as I feel it is! I really like Shikamaru and I feel like he always goes super hard whenever he's convinced to take stuff seriously. Here, Shikamaru is getting a bit of a jumpstart on that seriousness because he's realizing that something very suspect is up with how sand has been acting. I wanted to tackle his fight with Temari a bit differently to demonstrate that. But I still love the way he beat her in canon so I still ended up using that.

Sasuke fighting Kankuro was only ever going to go this one way. But I DO plan for it to have some relevancy that we'll see later on.

Lastly, Gaara. Poor Gaara, my sweet, beautiful angel boy. I feel bad for putting him through the meat grinder so much, but trust that things will get better for him eventually! For now though, he's going to have to keep being an 'L' magnet for a little longer. Next chapter, things get messy!

Hopefully, that should come by next Friday at the latest, but we'll have to see how well I'm able to weather the storm of all of my responsibilities.

Thanks again for your patience!