Naruto: Uchiha no Densetsu

Chapter 30: The Finals commence

Late night, Training Ground 7

Ducking under his outstretched hand, she thrust her arm forward to strike a tenketsu on his shoulder joint, but he promptly intercepted her by catching her wrist with his right hand. He followed by pushing his left hand on her shoulder; using it as support, he flipped over her and went in for a leg sweep. However, already having predicted his moves, she jumped over his legs and twirled around to give a roundhouse kick to his face. Holding up his arms just in time, he managed to block the kick, but he was certainly surprised at the strength behind it since he was pushed back quite a few feet.

"I can see that Tsunade baa-chan has trained you well, Hinata-chan." Naruto stated with a smile on his face. He rubbed his left forearm slightly where her leg made contact, but otherwise he was fine.

"I'm not done yet." Hinata replied back, as she once again activated her byakugan. Naruto merely smirked in return as his left eye turned a shade of devilish red.

"Bring it on, girl!" Naruto remarked, getting into his taijutsu stance. Without further ado, Hinata rushed towards him with all her strength. The moment she got close to him; she launched a flurry of palm strikes towards his upper chest. And with that smirk still planted on his face, Naruto kept deflecting the palm strikes at the last moment, by striking her wrist.

Seeing that she was still unable to land a hit on him, Hinata narrowed her eyes as she pushed more chakra through her arms. A slight hue of chakra surrounded her palms, as her strikes became faster. Though, it looked as if Naruto was deflecting the strikes easily, he was rather having quite a difficult time. His sharingan continuously moved in all directions to predict her next attack. It was only due to his experience in fighting against Hinata, that he was even able to maintain his posture and ground. He certainly was impressed with how far Hinata had grown and he was confident given enough time, she would become among the best in Konoha.

Meanwhile, Hinata kept pushing herself, trying to go beyond the limitations of her strength and stamina. Just then her byakugan picked up a slight flinch in Naruto's left forearm and capitalizing on that, she promptly went to strike his left wrist. She was about a centimeter away from it, when Naruto flicked her arm away to the side, yet again. However, instead to showing any signs of distress, she quickly blocked the right knee that the blond thrust towards her torso. Seeing Naruto's right arm coming to jab her at the same time, Hinata side stepped the attack and promptly struck a few tenketsu on his right thigh.

The blond immediately jumped back to gain some distance. While it didn't necessarily hurt him to open tenketsu points, it was still a nuisance he rather not deal with. However, glancing up he couldn't help but smile upon seeing the giddiness on Hinata's face.

"Well, aren't you a happy angel?" Naruto said, as he walked towards her. Hinata immediately stopped her movements as she saw the blond walk towards him. A faint red blush spread over her cheeks upon hearing his words. Although, she always maintained a perfectly calm composure in front of others, but he always managed to find a way to make her blush when alone.

"W… well… I… did manage to hit you… So, of course I'm happy!" Hinata said, as she stammered a bit initially. She backed a few steps upon seeing his predatory gaze. But, before she could do anything else, Naruto suddenly appeared behind her and wrapped his arms around her. She could only sigh at his antics, but she definitely enjoyed being in his arms. Having him so close, always made her heart flutter and her blood rush.

"I'm so glad to see that you're improving, Hinata-chan." Naruto whispered into her ears, as he smelled the intoxicating lavender smell off her hair. She squirmed slightly upon feeling his breath on her neck and she was certain her heart skipped a beat when she felt his lips on her neck. She shut her eyes close, as she turned around and rested her head on his chest. It was just then she realized how tall Naruto had grown since the academy days. At this moment, she breathed a content sigh as she could hear the rhythmic beating of his heart.

"Getting comfortable, are we?" Naruto teased, as he rested his chin on her head. Hinata giggled lightly as she nuzzled herself more into him.

"Of course, I'm getting comfortable. Being with you is my most favorite thing in the world." Hinata whispered peacefully. A wide smile spread on his face, as he could feel how content she was feeling at the moment. And just knowing that she was happy and being close to her, always calmed the raging storm in his mind and heart. Cupping her cheeks with his hands, Naruto raised her head, so he could stare right into her beautiful white eyes.

"I want you to be careful tomorrow, okay? I don't know what I'll do if anything ever happened to you…" Naruto said. In response, she simply went on her toes and kissed him lightly on his lips. Even if it was for a second, Naruto felt all his worries wash away, as if he was being devoured by an entire ocean.

"I'm trying to be serious here… Hinata-chan!" Naruto retorted. And once again, Hinata went on her toes and gave him a kiss on his lips. She laughed when she saw him furrow his eyebrows in concertation. Hearing her laugh, Naruto merely sighed as he couldn't even get mad. Her laugh was a melody to his ears that was sweeter than the nectar made by flowers in spring.

"Baka… I should be the one saying that to you… I don't want to lose you again. Promise me you'll be careful and will not do anything to harm yourself." Hinata whispered as she rested her forehead on his. Staring into each other's eyes, both could see the love and worry they held for each other.

"You know me, Hinata-chan. I… I can't promise that. I can't let anyone close to me die tomorrow. If it's for the village and my friends, I will gladly give my life to protect them." Naruto replied with unwavering eyes.

"Think about yourself too… sometimes. Think about us, Naruto-kun. I know how much you love the village and the people in it… But, how do you think we'll feel if you die in front of us…?" she said with a slight whimper. Naruto caressed her cheeks gently and wiped the tear off her face. Ever since he was a young boy, he never really thought about himself. It was always the village and his friends before himself. And it wasn't even that he was forced to think in such a way. He just genuinely cared more about others than himself.

"Then... I promise you; I'll fight the Shinigami himself if he comes for my life. I will never leave you or anyone else alone. It's a promise of a lifetime, Hinata-hime." Naruto replied with a light chuckle. However, upon seeing the seriousness in her eyes, he was slightly caught off guard. Seeing the intense passion in her eyes, certainly shook something within him. And at that moment, Naruto knew, he would never be able to live in peace without her.

"Promise…?"

"I swear on all the gods above..."

Next day

The eventful day for the populace of Konoha had finally arrived. Unlike the rest of the year, today the streets of Konoha were packed with hordes of people from various regions of the Elemental Nation- Kumogakure, Sunagakure, Tanzaku Gai, Otafuki Gai as well as the capital of the Fire Nation- Keishi. The citizens of the village appeared to be in high spirits, as they expected to make quite a large sum of money through their sales. Most of the shops had displayed their best items on the front, to attract more customers and the restaurants had put up several offers on boards all over the village to invite those from outside the village.

Though the civilians and the outsiders seemed to be in high spirits, it was a completely different case with the Konoha shinobi. The looming threat of war which hung upon Konoha certainly kept them on their toes. There were several teams of Konoha shinobi, in each of the important buildings in the village. Secretly stationed on each gate of the village were squads comprised of Aburame and Inuzuka clan members. Aside from them, there was also an additional Anbu member, who could communicate with the Anbu headquarter.

Clan heads such as Shikaku and Inoichi were stationed in the Anbu headquarters from where they could command the forces during the war. While Shikaku oversaw the battle formation as well as being the strategist, Inoichi was the one who communicated the plan to everyone. Meanwhile, Tsunade and Shizune had stationed medical camps discreetly in various parts of the village, so they could get medical attention to the injured in due time. Yamato- the Anbu director as well as Itachi and Shisui were stationed in the Hokage's Building from where they could command the Anbu squads easily to all over the village when the war broke out. The fact that Sunagakure had decided to betray them did not come as a shock to most of the higher ups of the village. But it was the source which had surprised them indeed. None of them had expected the son of the Yondaime Kazekage himself to betray his own village. Had it not been for Naruto's backing, Gaara would have most certainly been detained and questioned further gruesomely. However, the Suna genin was merely asked to return to his team and pretend as if nothing had happened.

Currently, Gaara and his team were just stepping out of their hotel and making their way to the Konoha stadium. The last few days had been some of the most peaceful days for the redhead. Knowing that there were people he could rely on and trust had given him an unexpected peace of mind. He had spent most of the days since then, with Naruto and Sasuke. It was either simply sitting on top of the Hokage Monument or even sparring from time to time. Even Shukaku had not bothered him much and he was extremely thankful for that. Spending time with the blonde had made him realize that there was a lot of beauty in the world which needed to be protected.

However, this sudden change in Gaara was also noticed by Temari and Baki. Though, the two had not voiced their opinion in fear of being killed. While, Temari was merely curious as to what brought upon this change, Baki had been slightly suspicious of Gaara's behavior. During the invasion, Gaara played an important role, where he would transform into the Ichibi in the middle of the village and wreak havoc. Nevertheless, considering the type of person Gaara was, Baki was sure the redhead would do exactly that. The Suna genins' sensei was the type of person who believed jinchuriki to be mere tools used by the village on their whims.

'Kazekage-sama, Tsuchikage-sama and Danzo-sama should be about ten miles outside the village along with the rest of the shinobi. If all goes, according to plan, Konoha won't be standing anymore after today…' Baki thought with a smirk. As the Suna team was making their way through the heavily populated streets of the village, Baki called out to Gaara to stop.

"What?" Gaara asked with his customary glare.

"Wait for Orochimaru's signal to begin with your rampage. As you know, he'll be in the Kage's stand with the Hokage and Raikage, disguised as the Kazekage. The attack will most likely commence when your match starts. So, don't do anything rash until that time." Baki ordered coldly. For a mere second, Gaara wondered if it would be okay to kill the man right here and now but thought against of it. Naruto had advised him to not do anything that would raise too much suspicion with his teammates and sensei.

"So long as I get to feed blood to my mother…" Gaara replied and kept walking ahead, without glancing back. Hearing those words certainly sent a chill up his spine. Even Baki knew the only reason Gaara hadn't killed him till now was because he was specifically ordered by the Kazekage not do so. In the eyes of their kage, every shinobi was expendable if it meant for the progress of the village. The man simply sighed and resumed following the redhead.

"You've noticed it too, haven't you? He's been slightly different the past few days. I wonder what happened though…" Temari whispered to Kankuro. Said genin raised an eyebrow at the statement. Ever since he could remember, his brother had always been a cold and uncaring person. Moreover, whenever he tried to talk to him in the past, he was always threatened to be killed. He didn't know if it was cause of fear or not, but he had stopped caring about Gaara a long time back. So, he never really bothered noticing if there was a change in his personality or not.

"I think you're seeing things, Temari. You know how he is… Someone like him isn't going to change, no matter what." Kankuro replied casually. She sighed upon hearing his words. She couldn't really blame him for his way of thinking. But at the same time, he was her brother… and she wished to be close to him. But she could never muster up enough courage to speak her mind.

Konoha Stadium

In the Konoha stadium, the stands were slowly beginning to get filled. While the Konoha civilians were sitting in the middle section, the visitors from outside the village had the leftmost and rightmost section of the stadium. The shinobi were given a separate section, just above the Konoha civilians and the clans were seated beside the shinobi section. The important dignitaries such as the daimyos of Fire Nation, Lightning Nation and Wind Nation were in the stands above the shinobi section, guarded by their own personal shinobi.

Minato and Naruto stood in the kage box, which was beside the Daimyo's seats. The Yondaime Raikage, A, was the next to enter along with his two bodyguards, Darui and C. The Raikage had dark skin with a large muscular build, white hair combed back, a small mustache and a goatee. His face had pronounced cheekbones and tear troughs under his eyes, and a prominent crease around his forehead. He wore a white haori without a shirt underneath and also wore the traditional Raikage hat. He had black fuma shuriken tattoos on both shoulders and wore a large, golden vambraces on his wrists.

Similar to the Raikage, Darui was also a dark-skinned man with a slightly bulbous nose, black eyes that usually looked bored and shaggy, white hair which covered his left eye. His attire consisted of high collared, sleeveless uniform with loose fitting pants, bandages on his wrists and the one-strap-over-one-shoulder flak jacket of Kumogakure shinobi. Unlike the Raikage and Darui, C was a fairly young man with dark eyes and short, blond hair which he wore parted in the front. He wore the standard attire of the Kumogakure ninja; a sleeveless, black shirt with a one-strap-one-shoulder white flak jacket, black forehead protector, characteristic black, elbow length arm guards and the red and white Kumogakure shin guards along with a pair of sandals.

"Raikage-dono, it's been a while since we have met. I'm glad you could join us today." Minato greeted with a smile. Despite their rivalry on the battlefield, out of all the other kages, Minato considered A to be good person and maybe even a friend. Maybe it was because the two were about the same age or because no one else could compete with him in terms of speed.

"Of course, I would come. I wouldn't miss Samui winning the chunin exams." Raikage replied, quite proudly. Minato couldn't help but chuckle at the straightforward comment. The two had always had a friendly rivalry among themselves. A's eyes then darted towards Naruto, who quietly stood beside Minato. And for a few seconds, he kept his gaze focused on the younger Namikaze.

"So, you're the Kuro Shi, I've heard so much about. You don't look so tough brat." A commented with a scoff. To be frank, A wanted to meet Minato's son for quite a while now. To be regarded as a S-Rank shinobi at such a young age was certainly a feat. And when he had heard about the young Namikaze humiliating Ohnoki and the Iwa shinobi in Takigakure, he had gotten a good laugh out of that. He definitely believed that the old man's way of thinking was far too passive for the shinobi world. While he may not show it openly, he too desired for his homeland to be at peace.

"And just because you look tougher than me, doesn't really mean you can beat me…" Naruto replied with a smirk. Both Darui and C had shocked looked on their faces since no one had ever said such a thing to their kage. Even A narrowed his eyes on Naruto.

"Oh? Is that a challenge, I hear? You should know your place, kid!" A stated roughly as he lowered himself to stare right into Naruto's eyes. However, a smirk formed on his face when he noticed that Naruto didn't even flinch by his intimidation. Minato sweat dropped at the unusual display by the Raikage.

"I like you kid. You got guts and I can tell you're plenty strong… just like your old man here." A commented. Naruto laughed lightly on hearing that since he knew his dad didn't like being called old. And as expected Minato had a deadpan look on his face.

"I'm not that old… you know… We are about the same age A…" Minato grumbled as he folded his arms over his chest. Darui and C were rather startled at the humor between the three, since they had never seen their Raikage act so carefree.

"Anyway, why don't we take a seat? The Kazekage should be arriving soon and there's an important matter that I wish to discuss with you prior to that." Minato said, ending on a serious note. The Raikage and his bodyguards could certainly feel the shift in tension as soon as Minato uttered those words. But A had known him for years now and believed the man would not pull any underhanded tactics.

"Alright, I'm all ears. I will hear what you have to say." A stated, as he took the seat beside Minato, while Darui, C and Naruto stood behind their respective leader. Minato promptly made a few hands seals and discreetly erected a soundproof barrier around the kage box. One of the Anbu member was waiting by the stadium gates for the arrival of the Kazekage, so he knew he had some time to discuss the matter about the invasion before that. Moreover, he believed it would be better for the Raikage to know about this now, rather than later. And if Kumo did decide to help Konoha, their chances of victory would be boosted tremendously, and the two villages could perhaps even talk about an alliance that would be mutually beneficial.

Meanwhile, C had a sinking feeling about the situation. He had an innate ability to sense chakra around himself to a great extent. And upon entering Konoha today, he had sensed large number of Konoha shinobi scattered systematically around the important locations of the village. While he had not thought much of it earlier, seeing the Hokage take precautions such as a Sound Barrier had definitely made it look like something was amiss.

"I'm going to be blunt now, Konoha is going to be invaded today by Otogakure, Iwagakure, Sunagakure and another Konoha missing ninja named Danzo Shimura. We have had this information for the past three weeks and have been preparing for the coming war. Ever since of the fall of Takigakure, Ohnoki had pretty much declared war upon Konoha. And Orochimaru is the current leader of Otogakure, who has always held a grudge against the village. And I'm sure I don't need to tell you about Danzo. He fled the village soon after that night. And hasn't returned since. I'm certain their main target is Naruto and I. But I wouldn't put it past them to eliminate you either." Minato stated, as a matter of fact.

The disbelief was clearly visible on the faces of the Kumogakure shinobi. Three villages against a single one is indeed a disastrous situation. Moreover, two out of three were the great villages in the Elemental Nations. Both Darui and C were quite mortified by the information, but the Raikage merely stared at the blond Hokage. As he thought about the situation, he could simply walk away from the fight and leave Konoha to its fate. He had to think about his own village after all. However, he doubted the enemy would simply let his shinobi leave unscathed. The other possibility was that Ohnoki would ask him to join his cause in eradicating Konoha.

"You're putting a lot of faith in us to assist you… Minato. What if we were to turn against you? After all, our two villages have never had much of good faith between us." A replied, to gauge their response. To the bulky man's surprise, it was Naruto who stepped forward and stared right at him with a stoic look on his face.

"it doesn't matter how many there are… or who they are… I shall eliminate anyone who tries to lay a hand on Konoha today. Years ago, I should have killed Ohnoki and Orochimaru when I had the chance, but that will not be the case today. Two kages will likely be falling to their deaths today… killing another one…" Naruto said ominously but was interrupted by Minato.

"That's enough, Naruto!" Minato said coldly as he glanced at his son from the corner of his eyes. "Pardon my son, A. He's rather… passionate when it comes to our village. Although, I don't think I can blame him. But I will be glad if you and your men were to assist us in the upcoming battle. If not, I have prepared a safe passageway for your shinobi to be escorted out of Konoha. However, if you decide to fight with us, we can most likely change the past history between our two villages and strive for a better future. I know the odds seem stacked against us, but we protect our own to the end… and that will include Kumogakure too." Minato clarified. Even though, he said that, he wouldn't hesitate to strike down the Raikage and his men if they did end up turning against him. It may hurt him slightly to do so, since he did in fact like A, but it would have to be done. Today would indeed be a monumental day for Konoha to remember.

Upon hearing their words, A certainly had a lot to think about, and judging by the situation not a lot of time. The prospect of furthering the good will between Konoha and Kumogakure did sound appealing to him. Unlike his father, he did not wish to stand atop everyone else. During the last war, he himself had experienced the loss of great number of his friends, some due to the hatred of other villagers on Kumo and some due to his father's mistakes. Still, he held his father in great respect knowing full well whatever actions he took was merely for the welfare of Kumogakure. His thought then shifted to a time when Jiraiya had once mentioned to him that he considered Minato to be the child of prophecy, someone who would bring about a great change or revolution in the shinobi world. His eyes then darted towards Naruto. 'The boy either has to be dangerously powerful to talk about killing three kages or profoundly stupid… Although, if the information about him is accurate, he has the power to do so… plus, it would be beneficial for our village to have an alliance with at least one other village.' A thought.

Another prospect that made A further inclined to accept the proposition were the rumors he had picked up from Kumogakure's Black op's division. Rumors about an organization of several S-rank shinobi. His shinobi hadn't been able to find anything else on group, but the news was indeed troubling.

Similar thoughts were also going through Darui's mind. While he would be obliged to fight against Konoha if his Kage asked him to, he knew their chances of survival would be slim. There was a reason why the Yondaime Hokage and Naruto Namikaze were currently the most feared shinobi in the Elemental Nations. Then, there were more shinobi such as Jiraiya of the Sannin, Tsunade Senju, Itachi Uchiha, Shisui Uchiha… who would be just as hard to take down. Moreover, even if Kumo was to align itself with Iwa, Suna, Oto and Danzo, there was no guarantee that everyone on their side would come out unscathed. And considering the fact that Konoha had taken adequate measure to go up against three villages in the invasion, it would be beneficial to side with Konoha instead. With that in mind, he moved closer to A and lowered himself to the Raikage's ear level to speak his mind.

"Boss, I think we should align with Konoha in this situation. It would be rather dull to fight their forces if they are already prepared for the war." Darui said quietly. A nodded as he had also come to the same conclusion. While he did not doubt his abilities against the Hokage, he too did not wish to kill Minato. He released a heavy sigh, as he thought about everything today. He had simply come to watch the Chunin Exam Finals… and now he would have to deal with a war.

Glancing up at the two Namikaze, his facial features hardened as he spoke the following words, "Kumogakure shall assist you, Minato. The shinobi world has seen lots of needless fighting. The Elemental Nations has no need for the likes of Ohnoki, Orochimaru or Danzo who only think about towering over others regardless of the consequences. Let's look forward to a new future, Hokage…" A stated, ending on a light note.

Before Minato could reply, an Anbu appeared beside Minato with a shunshin. "Hokage-sama, the Kazekage has entered the stadium and is making his way here." She stated duly.

"Thank you, Neko. I appreciate the message. And please inform Yamato and Shikaku that Kumo will be assisting us in the invasion, so they can adapt them to our plans accordingly." Though surprised by the revelation, she didn't show any outward reaction. However, there was a part of her which simply wanted to slaughter the enemies to the ground. Because of them, the love of her life had been unceremoniously taken away from her. And she didn't want to lose anyone close to her today either. She knew as an Anbu it was wrong for her to let emotions take control, but when it came to those she cherished, it was certainly hard for her. Today, she would show them what it meant to mess with Konoha shinobi.

"Yes, Hokage-sama." She bowed once and flickered away towards the Hokage's building. Soon after that, Minato undid the sound barrier around the Kage box.

"Konoha will be in your debt, A. We shall come to Kumogakure's assistance when you require it." Minato finally said, with a relieved sigh. Just as A nodded, two new presences entered the Kage box- the Kazekage and his bodyguard.

"Hokage-sama, Raikage-sama, pleasure to see you both. Looks like I'm the last one to arrive." The Kazekage greeted the two as he took his seat. A gave a slight glance to C, and the message was clearly understood. He promptly shunshined from the Kage box and went to look for Bee, to inform him about the developments.

"Rasa-dono, I'm glad you could join us today. Now that you're here, we can begin with the chunin exams finally." Minato stated calmly. Meanwhile, Naruto stared at the man for a few seconds long, as he clenched his fists. He could clearly tell that it was Orochimaru disguising as the Kazekage and glancing at his bodyguard, he could feel four different chakra signatures coming from the same body.

'It's not a regular Henge… has to be an advanced version that Orochimaru created to keep some of his top shinobi with him at all times…' Naruto thought suspiciously. Still, he composed himself as he did not wish to give anything away through his emotions.

"It will be a hard-fought battle, Naruto. I hope you're ready. You'll have to give everything you've got if you wish to protect everyone in the village." Kurama said, from within Naruto's mindscape.

'I know Kurama…. I know. I shall make sure that everything goes according to plan…' Naruto thought.

"Ah, yes. Certainly. There are a lot of promising shinobi in the finals this year. It would be certainly entertaining to watch them showcase their skills." Kazekage noted, looking down at the arena. By now, most of the stadium had already been filled with people. Even the Daimyos of Fire, Lightning and Wind Nations had taken their seats, in a separate box beside the Kages. And the participants were slowly gathering in the middle of the arena.

'Kukuku… Minato-kun, Naruto-kun… you have no idea what's in store for you…' Orochimaru thought, as he glanced towards the younger blond momentarily.

Minato then stood up from his seat and walked to the edge of the Kage box, from where everyone in the stadium could see him clearly and began to address the start of the Chunin Exam Finals.

Konoha stadium Arena

Down at the arena the finalists of the chunin exams stood in a single row, their heads held high. Their performance today would mark a steppingstone for them to advance their shinobi careers and serve as a basis for advancing their own skills.

From Kumogakure it was Samui, from Sunagakure it was Temari Subaku and Gaara Subaku; finally, from Konohagakure it was Sasuke Uchiha, Hinata Hyuga, Fu, Neji Hyuga, Shino Aburame, Shikamaru Nara and Ino Yamanaka. The Konoha crowd was ecstatic since majority of the finalists were from Konoha itself and all of them wanted to see one of their own win the exams. There was also a majority of the people who had bet on winning participant. The top four favorable winners as of now are considered to be Sasuke Uchiha, Samui, Hinata Hyuga and Gaara Subaku, with most of the votes leaning towards Sasuke and Hinata.

The exemplary performances of those four during the preliminaries had spread like a wildfire among the populace of Konoha and even most shinobi considered their skills to be of high chunin level or low jounin level rather than that of a mere genin. However, that's what made the chunin exams so exciting for the spectators. The exams create a stage for low ranked shinobi to showcase their skills to the full extent. And a shinobi's true worth is only shown when they put their lives on the line.

'So, it begins… I'm not going to lose to anyone today… either them or the enemy.' Sasuke thought as he glanced towards the genins standing to his right. Out of all the genins, he would have to look out for Hinata, Samui and Gaara.

"Good luck, Sasuke. Let's do our best. And remember, don't waste your chakra too much. You'll be needing it." Hinata whispered. Sasuke nodded upon hearing his words. None of them knew when exactly the invasion would begin, so they would need to conserve as much chakra as they could.

"Got it..." Sasuke replied.

Upon hearing the Hokage's voice, everyone in the stadium turned their attention to the Kage Box.

"Greetings to everyone, who have come to spectate the finals of the chunin exams and to the participants as well. Today will certainly be an important day for all of you, where you will get the stage to show everyone how much you all have grown as ninjas. I, Minato Namikaze, the Yondaime Hokage hereby mark the beginning of the Chunin Exam Finals. Good luck to all the genins!" Minato stated out loud before taking seat along with the other kages.

Soon after that, Genma flickered in front of the genins in the middle of the arena. He had brown, shoulder-length hair which hung about his face and brown eyes. He wore his forehead protector like a bandana, and the standard Konoha jounin outfit and had his trademark senbon in his mouth. He gave all the genins a look over once and decided to simply get on with it. Being a personal guard to the Yondaime Hokage, his main duty in the coming invasion was to safeguard the Daimyos of the different nation that were present. Having grown up during the third shinobi war, he wasn't necessarily surprised about the invasion, but to see several of the Sunagakure shinobi sitting amidst the crowds definitely bothered him.

"The first match will be Hinata Hyuga of Konoha against Samui of Kumogakure. The rest of the participants please move to the contestants booth and await further instructions." Genma announced.

In the spectators stand most of the Konoha jounins such as Kakashi, Asuma, Kurenai, Gai and Anko sat beside some of the other Konoha genins- Sakura, Choji, Tenten and Kiba. Even Lee was allowed to leave form the hospital with clutches provided Gai looked after him every step of the way.

"Remember the bet, Kakashi?" Asuma asked, with a smirk.

"… I didn't think you'd bring that up at a time like this… but yes, I do remember. And I'm sure both Hinata and Sasuke will be promoted to chunin after everything is settled." Kakashi replied. Even though, Hinata would be facing off against someone like Samui in the first round itself, Kakashi was quite confident in her abilities.

"You sound confident. I have heard Samui was personally trained by the Raikage's brother, Killer Bee." Asuma commented, taking a puff of his cigarette. By now, even the genins were rather interested in the conversation.

"What's so special about the Raikage's brother, Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura voiced her dilemma.

"Well, Killer Bee is known to be an exceptional shinobi in several of the ninja arts. I don't know much about him since I have never had the opportunity to fight with him. But, Minato-sensei had fought him and the Raikage on various occasions during the Third Shinobi War. Sensei used to say that Killer Bee is just as skilled as the Raikage, if not more. So, I suppose Bee would have passed some of his skills to Samui as well. Moreover, if you remember, that Samui kunoichi also has the ability to use a rare kekkei genkai called Ranton." Kakashi explained calmly.

Sakura and the other genins were definitely surprised on learning that Samui's sensei was such a capable man, and for even Kakashi and the Hokage to hold him in such high regards meant that the man was indeed a strong shinobi.

"Eh, it doesn't matter who she was trained by. Hinata is not going to lose to that bimbo!" Kiba stated loudly. And he was immediately met with a punch on his face that threw him against the hard surface of the floor.

"Don't call kunoichis with such demeaning names, Kiba!" Sakura replied with irritation visible on her face. Kurenai couldn't help but laugh at the scene, as she would have scolded Kiba too had he said something like that while sitting next to her. Meanwhile, Choji laughed awkwardly and munched on his chips, unsure of what to say. He certainly did not wish to get punched like his friend.

"However, Kiba is right. I'm sure Hinata won't lose. She has trained hard for the finals under Tsunade-sama and Naruto also trained with her during the one month. She's bound to have improved by leaps in that time." Sakura said, proudly. Having trained with Hinata by her side, she personally knew how strong Hinata was. With the help of her byakugan and her innate ability to control chakra smoothly, she had been able to grasp several of Tsunade's techniques quite easily, compared to her. However, it was not to say that she herself hadn't improved.

"Whatever the case, I just wanted to remind you about the bet. You better pay up once everything is over…" Asuma said. A second later, Kurenai smacked him on the head lightly.

"Stop using your genins as a way to make money. Just be glad that they are improving their shinobi skills." Kurenai said, as she folded her arms over her chest. Unlike Kakashi and Asuma, Kurenai was merely content that two of her genins able to make it to the finals. Being able to pass on her knowledge to the next generation had made her realize what her father meant about the importance of the future.

"HINATA, You better win the match… Shannaro!" Sakura cheered loudly from the stands.

Hinata giggled a bit upon hearing Sakura's voice and nodded slightly looking in her direction. Glancing below the Kage's box, she noticed that several members of the Hyuga Clan were seated. Mainly the elders, her father and her sister, Hanabi. She vowed to herself to put up a good show of her skill. However, there was also a part of her that wanted to show Naruto that she could take care of herself in tough situations.

Turning her gaze towards her opponent, she noticed that Samui had a stoic demeanor on her face and looked absolutely serious.

"Both contestants, ready?" Genma asked. Upon getting a silent nod from both, he put his hands down and called for the start of the match, as he promptly jumped to the sidelines.

Taking out a few kunais from her pouch, Hinata twirled it around between her fingers before hurling the two kunai towards the Kumo Kunoichi. She had also added miniscule amount of raiton chakra at the tip of the two kunais, which made them speed towards Samui hastily. A shinobi not versed in raiton manipulation would have definitely missed that little detail. But that wasn't the case for Samui, who specialized in raiton and suiton natured chakra.

In the blink of an eye, Samui unsheathed her tanto and quickly deflected the two kunais, cancelling the raiton chakra in the kunai, by channeling her own raiton chakra through the tanto.

'So, she can also use raiton chakra as expected… and she also seems to be fast…' Hinata thought calculatingly. The next second, she activated her byakugan. And with another kunai in hand, she ran towards the blond kunoichi, who had yet to move from her place. Once Hinata reached within twenty feet of Samui, she once again hurled a single kunai, but this time she followed with several hand seals.

"Kunai Kage Bunshin" Hinata uttered as the single kunai multiplied to six kunai. Samui narrowed her eyes at the incoming projectiles and tightened her grip on her tanto. As she began deflecting the kunais swiftly and with expert precision, her eyes widened slightly when she lost sight of Hinata in front of her.

However, she suddenly back flipped, upon hearing a slight noise behind her. A second later, Hinata appeared from behind and punched the ground where Samui was standing, forming a relatively large crater in the ground. Seeing a golden chance, channeling raiton chakra through her tanto, she slashed it towards Hinata whose back was turned to her, hoping to take her out. To Samui's surprise, Hinata lowered herself to the ground to avoid the sparkling blue tanto. Quickly turning on her heel, Hinata went for a juken strike to Samui's wrist. The Hyuga kunoichi was maybe a few inches away, when Samui let go of her weapon and went to kick Hinata on the right side of her face.

Promptly switching to a defensive position, Hinata just managed to get a block in. By now, Samui had jumped quite a few feet back and let out a relieved sigh. She would definitely need to take Hinata a lot more seriously now.

"You're better than I expected. Not many people would have dodged that or gotten a block, in that situation." Samui commented with a straight face. Hinata chuckled internally as she got up from the ground. Samui's attitude sort of reminded her of Naruto.

"I appreciate your words… Sadly, I can't say the same about you, since you've hardly shown any of your abilities." Hinata replied as she settled into her fighting stance.

Both the contestants simply stared at each other as if gauging to see who would make the first move, this time. Samui may not show it, but she was excited to fight her opponent. 'She's quick and has good control of chakra. In close range, she'll be dangerous. And that byakugan is going to be a problem. If she can supposedly see attacks coming from all directions, it'll be hard to catch her off guard.' Samui thought as she quickly formulated a simple three step plan, hoping that it would be enough to take out Hinata.

With the crowd

Several people in the crowd gave loud applauses upon seeing the short exchange between the two kunoichi. Meanwhile, those among the shinobi were clearly impressed with the way the match was progressing as both kunoichi portrayed a calm persona and a level head.

"She seems to be doing fine, but Samui seems to be just as good, in terms of reflexes and speed." Sakura said from her seat. The pink haired girl was certainly surprised to see this. Considering she had trained with Hinata since they were kids, she personally knew how strong she was as a genin, currently. Although, Sakura just mused there were a lot of things she didn't know about the elemental nations or about shinobi from other villages.

"But, Hinata almost got her that time with the punch and with juken too, after that!" Ino exclaimed in a surprised tone.

"They seem to be just testing each other out at the moment, I would say. None of them have revealed much about their abilities." Asuma stated out loud, with an interested look on his face. In the shinobi world, you can learn much about a shinobi by analyzing their movements within the first few minutes of the fight. And looking at the two genins below, he knew the two kunoichi were being cautious while also being calculative.

"I agree with Asuma. None of them have even revealed a sliver of their true strength yet. Although, I have a feeling this will be a close match and could go either way." Kakashi added, as he peered his eyes away from his orange book momentarily. Even so, Kakashi also knew that none of them will end up showing much of their skill since it's only the first match.

In the arena

Deciding to keep her distance, Samui sheathed her tanto and began going through several hand seals. On the other side, Hinata noted that Samui began weaving hand signs for a suiton jutsu and responded in same, but for a katon jutsu.

"Suiton: Suiryudan no jutsu" Samui stated as she drew water from a nearby pond, forming a large dragon with menacing and glowing yellow large water dragon swirled around Samui towered over her, almost reaching the height of the arena roof.

"Katon: Goukakyuu no jutsu" Hinata said as she took a deep breath and exhaled a large ball of fire towards the suiton jutsu rushing towards her. The moment the two jutsu collided, Samui smirked slightly as her plan was already underway.

Soon enough, a thick blanket of fog enveloped the area, which made it extremely hard for anyone in the crowd to see what was going on. Despite that, Hinata stayed her ground and looked around cautiously. She was glad that the byakugan allowed her to see quite well even in this thick fog. Suddenly her ears picked up the sound of footsteps. Turning to her left, her eyes immediately locked onto Samui who was now running up the wall of the arena. Just as Hinata made an attempt to follow Samui, she had to suddenly duck under a kick aimed at her head. Turning around, her eyes widened slightly, upon seeing two suiton bunshins. Consequently, Hinata also noticed that the fog around her was turning thicker than usual.

'She's relatively skilled in suiton manipulation also.' Hinata thought, clearly impressed by her opponent. Not only was Samui keeping the battle area surrounded in fog with slight amount of chakra but was also able to control her suiton clones from a distance. However, Hinata also smirked as she quickly side stepped a punch from a clone. Grabbing onto to that clone's arm, she swiftly placed several well placed juken strikes on it's neck, causing it to dispel. Noticing the last clone trying to sneak up on her from behind, Hinata jumped up into the air, and while descending, she punched the clone it the head, thereby also dispelling the last one.

However, the few seconds Hinata had spent dispatching of the clones, was all the time Samui needed to prepare her jutsu with which she was certain to end the match. The moment Hinata turned her attention towards Samui, her eyes widened dramatically as she realized what Samui was planning to do.

"Ranton: Reiza Sakasu" The Kumo kunoichi called out calmly and a large halo of bright chakra formed around her hands, which were held together tightly. The very next second, countless beams of lightning shot out of it and all of them quickly shot towards the arena ground, covering the entirety of it.

It was only a split second, but to Hinata, time itself appeared to be stretched. She knew with all the moisture that surrounded her right now, if Samui's attack got anywhere close to her, it would be over for her. She clicked her tongue in slight annoyance, as she was left with no other choice. Immediately converting her chakra to raiton nature and releasing it through her tenketsu points, Hinata began a spinning motion with her arms stretched out wide.

"Raiton: Kaiten"

Author Notes: Ah, its been a while guys! I was kind of overwhelmed with how many different directions I want the story to head to. It took me a little while to sort things out properly for this story as well as my other ones. I also wanted to wait for certain events to take place in Boruto manga before I proceeded.

Anyhow, I think I'm somewhat content with this particular chapter. I didn't want to create a big scene between Konoha and Kumo when Minato decided to reveal to A about the war. Although, I believe A mainly wanted to gauge Naruto's reaction more so than Minato's. Then moving on to the Chunin Exam matches, I have great matches planned for all of them. I am guessing, either by the end of next chapter or sometime in chapter 32, the war will break out in Konoha.

Please follow, favorite and review the story! Great to know that people are still liking the content! Thanks to everyone!

Until next time!