The Seventh swooped down by Naruto's side, entering the Black Cube now that Naruto's fight with Orochimaru had concluded. The elder of the two versions of Naruto raised his arm to pat the shoulder of his other self but then his hand froze. Having realized that it would seem a bit too weird to try and act fatherly with himself from a different point in time, Naruto crossed his arms over his chest to make the motion of his arm seem less awkward when caught in mid-motion.
"Alright then, now that that's dealt with, you know…" Seventh Naruto nodded in approval. "We can deal with the finals of the Chuunin Exams at last."
"Hmm… It's a real bummer that I didn't get my promotion, you know…" Naruto deflated his posture by letting his arms and head sink down in powerlessness. He might have been the most powerful person in that room but he still acted like the goofball he truly was inside.
"There are things more important than rank, you know. I, for one, became Hokage while still being a genin." The Seventh gave his younger self an encouraging thumb up. "I've tried the Chuunin Exams plenty of times but things just didn't work out in the end… Luck has a lot to do with this trial, you know."
"Yeah, I guess mine's just the lousiest…" Naruto sighed.
"Oh, I wouldn't say that…" the Seventh looked back at Kiyomi and Meiko flickering beside him with beaming smiles.
"Naruto, that was awesome!" Meiko cheered on him.
"We were wondering if we'd ever get to see you again. Boy did we…" Kiyomi nodded with a more reserved expression, being the one less subservient to hype of the duo.
"Thanks!" Naruto straightened his back up and began rubbing his nose in embarrassment. It was not often that people paid him praise, despite his immense talent, which made him less than ideal at stomaching compliments like a professional.
"That reminds me, everyone in the finals, can you gather around, you know?" the Seventh turned back at a blank point in the wall of the Black Cube. Before long, flickers accompanied by shifty buzzing lagging behind them informed the Seventh Hokage that the finalists had gathered.
"Now that Orochimaru is gone, that makes twenty of you, it seems." The Seventh smiled to the gathered circle of finalists. "You can say goodbye to the Dimensional Cube, Shikamaru's going to send it back after we leave. The finals are gonna take place in the Stadium here in the village. Everyone that wants to see it is going to have the chance and, I'd imagine, it will require some additional renovation to accommodate everyone from across the multiverse. In addition, it will be broadcasted all over the different timelines and universes, you know."
"So then the finals aren't going to be a tournament, just a series of ten bouts?" Sasuke bent his head to the side without dropping his power-hungry, maniacal look for a second despite having just seen Orochimaru being vanquished before his eyes.
"That's right though… I have to wonder, what is it exactly that you are looking to accomplish in these exams, Sasuke?" the Seventh wondered. "Orochimaru is gone, his soul is sealed away while his body has withered away like the humanity he had abandoned. Itachi is dead as well."
"He wasn't my Itachi. I had wanted to crush anything that stood in the way of my revenge though I still lack the power to do so. Right now, I will be content with just staying in this universe for as long as possible and taking in all the power it resonates with, then, I will eradicate every version of Itachi in the multiverse. Then, I can work with deleting him from as many histories as I can. Do you have a problem with that?" Sasuke challenged the Seventh with his glare.
"The problem I have with you is not mine to correct." The Seventh sighed.
"Leave it to me, you know!" the younger Naruto pumped his fist. "Sasuke, we're due for a long talk after this, there're a lot of things I've learned during my expedition across the multiverse and… I won't try to change your mind, just tell you what you need to know. What you do after that is up to you, you know."
"Save it until after the exams," Sasuke shook his head. "Right now I enjoy the strength and focus coursing through my veins. While I don't think anything you say can weaken that bond between me and my vengeance, one thing I have to admit is, that you continue to defy people's expectations and I have to take that into account."
"Right." Naruto nodded.
A dot of crimson drew from the Seventh's thumb before the Hokage finished his collection of hand seals and drove his palm onto the ground, calling forth a pair of toads that could not have differed more greatly one from another. One appeared more like a frog than a toad, larger than a mere frog and of coarser, thicker skin whereas the other paled the rest of the examinees by standing tall enough to host the Seventh Naruto on his forehead. Huge and purple with a lighter shade of pink shining on its underside and distinct red markings around his eyes.
"These will help us determine the matchups. If you guys would please place your hands onto the back of the smaller fellow and just focus your chakra into your palm, as if attempting to burn through his skin, you know." The Seventh requested.
One by one, the finalists approached the little Gekomatsu and focused their chakra as requested, leaving a temporary, black imprint on the back of the froggy toad. With each successive chakra signature in its possession, Gekomatsu appeared to grow more and more excited, switching between phases of thanking the Seventh for bringing him here and exclaiming phrases of profound excitement at each approaching individual as well after they left.
"Oh, yeah! This is great! The Rainbow Toad Stone is all shiny and glittery now!" Gekomatsu croaked out as if he had just had a meal of his life and needed a smoke.
"Do your thing then, Gekomatsu, you know." The Seventh sighed, not liking the look that this summon of his choice put him in, judging from the awkward faces of the finalists reflecting on the toad's behavior.
"Right! Chakra Entity Creation!" Gekomatsu opened its mouth, releasing a rainbow gleam of conflicting colors that constantly bickered with one another for dominance. Pearly shapes of the finalists stood in the middle of the overwhelming light, obscuring it somewhat and providing a weak cover from the intense beam before absorbing enough of the rainbow glitter to obtain life and colors of their own.
"Now it's your turn, Gamagoro…" the Seventh Naruto looked down at the massive toad he stood on, which took no time at all to open its mouth and swoop all of the created chakra entities into its mouth. Judging by the powerful gleam breaking through his skin and flesh from inside its belly, the toad had swallowed those lifelike copies of each finalist up inside its stomach.
"Pachi-Pachi, Kaku-Kaku!" Gamagoro sang out before switching the direction of air streaming into his mouth to instead blow it out, freeing two Chakra Entities from the prison of its stomach.
"Shinki from Sunagakure against Blusckel Steinck from Iwagakure for the first match." Gekomatsu read out before the Chakra Entities dispersed into a burst of the total light show that gave them their origin in the first place.
Gamagoro continued to release Chakra Entities by a pair of two to determine the matches to take place in the finals. As they appeared, Gekomatsu read out the pair's names before the pair went away.
"Quill B from Kumogakure against Karatachi Ume from Kirigakure for the second match."
"Teclaim Laoch from Hoshigakure against Tsuru Itoi from Konohagakure for the third match."
"Tala from Sunagakure against Ripper Inaba from Kumogakure for the fourth match."
"Relta Ginn from Hoshigakure against Tasure Kaeron from Kirigakure for the fifth match."
"Boruto Uzumaki from Konohagakure against Gennai from Konohagakure for the sixth match."
"Gurker Gliesse from Iwagakure against Toroi from Kumogakure for the seventh match."
"Wakizashi Meiko from Konohagakure against Sunny-Lee from Kumogakure for the eighth match."
"Temari from Sunagakure against Fuyo from Amegakure for the ninth match."
"Sasuke Uchiha from Konohagakure against Yamanaka Kiyomi for the tenth match."
After the readout was complete, the toads gave the examinees a moment to process the matches that were declared. The competing genin proceeded to inspect their opponents as by now they had the chance to familiarize themselves with their opposition now that it was trimmed down to an amount more suitable for memorization and proper analysis.
A lot would weigh on the opposition. Not only in the most obvious sense that an opponent too powerful to defeat would make promotion difficult and failing to get promoted after conquering such colossal odds would be disappointing to accept the path of putting it mildly. The best opponent was not a weakling that one could trounce easily but instead a worthy opponent that could draw out one's best in a match in order that one's strategic thinking on the battlefield and potential could be on full display for the council judging ninja worthy of promotion.
"Alright then, if any of you skimmed through your training, hoping to skip along through sheer luck, I hope that ends now, you know. I'll accept that strategy if only because it worked out for you until now, due to how bold it was for you to choose that path but luck will not help you in the slightest in the finals when you have to step out there and show all you have to some of the most remarkable ninja from across the multiverse who would decide if you cut it or not. I'd advise you guys to use that final month until the finals take place by pushing yourselves to the limit one day and living to the fullest the next, prepare for this event as if your futures depended on it because they just might, you know."
A man with long and spiky, mahogany hair and a stubble flickered in beside the Seventh Naruto, placing his hand on the Seventh's shoulder. The two standing one beside another seemed like quite the pair, if anything, because of the matching white cloaks and triangular hats with the kanji of "Fire" decorating it. The two Sevenths did not meet in public often but the weight of this moment demanded it.
"I assume that the semi-finals are through then? The finalists have been filtered out?" Uzumaki Midoben, the Lord Seventh of the hosting universe wondered.
"That's right, these twenty are the ones, you know." The Seventh Naruto nodded.
"And that criminal that hitched a ride? Orochimaru, was it?" the Seventh wondered.
"We've dealt with him as intended, you know." The Seventh Naruto replied.
"So then we have no other security threats to worry about?" Midoben turned to his fellow Seventh with a less than pleased expression. He did not look at all pleased by the fact that his peer allowed a known and revered criminal in his universe's history to roam the Chuunin Exams and act as he pleased almost all the way until the finals.
"None, you know." The Seventh Naruto answered while looking at Sasuke Uchiha with a calm demeanor. Sasuke could only smirk and look away.
"Well, if this person is who you are trying to cover for with your lies, Lord Seventh, perhaps there truly is no danger to the village or the exams, at this moment." Uzumaki Midoben turned his back to Seventh Naruto who gulped once, doing his best to conceal his freak-out over the fact he got caught red-handed the moment he decided to try and play the man who once managed the Village Protection and whose very job it was to be paranoid about every spark of chakra signature inside the village walls.
"As you were, guys…" the Seventh Naruto let the finalists free with a bitter look on his face. He stroked the back of his head, pondering if the Lord Seventh of the hosting universe would try anything against Sasuke or not. The most dangerous people were the ones with whom Naruto could honestly never tell that. The confusion on Seventh Naruto's face suggested that Midoben's intentions fooled even his own sensory of negative emotions, suggesting that either Midoben had no negative intent or that he didn't consider anything that he was about to do negative with every trace of his being.
Every murderer, no matter how well their ideology masked their crimes, no matter how often they convinced themselves to be the hero of the story, always knew deep down that murder was a foul act, no matter if it was justified or not. A rebel knew that overthrowing the country by force, even if for the better good, was by no means a noble and guilt-free act. Therefore, either Midoben was merely calmed by Naruto's explanation and the fact he could peer through his lies this easily, or he genuinely was so full of his own ideology that he would not consider his acts evil even on a subconscious level.
There was something fearsome about a man that felt completely guilt-free in everything he thought and did.
"Yo!" Naruto waved his arm in front of the Seventh Naruto's face. "Everyone's gone already, you know, what about me!?"
"Hmm? What about you? Why aren't you gone, you know?" the Seventh Naruto looked back at the younger alternate version of himself.
"I dunno… I don't think I wanna leave this universe just yet. Not until everyone's heading out. I kinda wondered if you had something for me to do in the meantime, you know…" Naruto shrugged.
"Well… I might need a tutor for Boruto, you know…" the Seventh scratched his head.
"Screw that, you deadbeat! Train your own son, you know!" Naruto freaked out, pointing his finger like an accusatory spear at his other, older self.
"Well, I suppose that's hard but fair, you know…" the Seventh sighed and adopted the powerless sense of deflation from his younger alternate self.
"Don't worry, I'll check on Sasuke for you and make sure he doesn't make you look bad in front of the other Seventh Hokage." Naruto snickered while leaning back on his arms, the similarity between his own body language and that of Seventh Naruto's not being lost on him.
"What a weird test…" Kiyomi breathed out a sigh of relief after the finalists all left the Black Cube premises and turned back at the ordinary-looking building that housed the laws of physics-defying Dimensional Cube.
"I dunno, I kinda liked it, a free-for-all made things really clear." Meiko shrugged.
"Not that, you oaf. Didn't you see some of the guys that made it onto the finals? That Gennai guy and Toroi. Those guys were complete losers in the Battle Royal but they survived until the end because far stronger examinees feuded with each other and got themselves kicked out." Kiyomi noted.
"Maybe so, I guess the finals will show what's what. What do you plan to do for a whole month?" Meiko wondered.
"I'm… Not quite sure. That Sasuke guy… I'm glad to get a chance to defeat an Uchiha for my promotion, nothing makes me more excited. The only way I could be even sunnier about it is if I got to kick Lithia's ass over it but… He's also crazy strong. It didn't look like he was trying in the Battle Royal at all and he was ruthless enough to strike down his own teammate to reduce the total numbers too." Kiyomi looked up at the bright sky.
"Are you afraid? I can help you train if you need help. You know… If you need practice, I'm sure that Lithia would help you train up too. There's no replacement to training against someone with the actual Sharingan." Meiko turned to her teammate.
"Tsk. That harpy would never let me forget it… I'm still trying to assess which would be more embarrassing, being hopelessly crushed by Sasuke Uchiha due to something I've overlooked or winning because Lithia Uchiha trained me up for him." Kiyomi sighed with a hopeless expression, dreading both options equally.
"You were quite amazing out there though. It seemed as if though you had the Sharingan with some of those crazy moves you showed off against that Kirigakure girl." Meiko complimented her teammate while the two walked toward the village center from its several south-eastern districts.
"She was on a tear, wasn't she? Then again, she'd have made a way better finalist than that Gennai guy, he's a Konoha ninja though he didn't exude any confidence or strength at all. He won by just not being where all the action was… To think I trained this hard when that was the only skill I needed." Kiyomi looked grumpy about that fact.
"Well, I can help you train, if you ever need help. I'll be working on my chakra coating, it's been progressing at a snail's pace. Maybe I should ask Hanshin to train me? Nobody has taken chakra coating further in the entire village." Meiko pondered.
"I would pay you to get to see you ask him that." Kiyomi laughed out. "Oh, you're approaching Hanshin? Do you have a proposition for Hanshin? Hanshin train you? Are you kidding me, girl? Can't you see Hanshin? He is utterly beautiful and you are not, begone now!"
"That was a pretty good impression…" Meiko had to cover her mouth so that she didn't let laughter completely overtake her. "Anyway, if you're feeling so generous as to throw money around, how about you treat me to lunch?"
"Fine, but only on the condition you actually ask Hanshin to train you." Kiyomi teased her friend with a nudge of her knuckle.
"Fine. Easiest lunch I've ever earned. He'll probably just be out on a mission or something…" Meiko shrugged.
And thus, the countdown before the finals of the Interuniversal and Intertemporal Chuunin Exams began.