Below Team 7, Kankuro of the Sand Village squared off with one of their comrades, who was really a spy for Orochimaru. None, save Kakashi, were really interested in the fight though. Naruto already defeated the face-painted teenager with ease, and the other seemed to come from a weak team. His and Hinata's outbursts related to the Sand ninja's sister already drew away the focus from it.

The Leaf ninja wrapped around his opponent as if he were an octopus, told him to give up, and crushed his neck when it seemed he wouldn't.

"Wowee, you killed a painted whore I beat by literally stepping on," Naruto jeered. "Congratulations on being top weakling!"

"What did you say?!" Kankuro's head spun around to face the elastic man, revealing it to have been a puppet in disguise. The outfit fell to pieces as the load it carried unwrapped to reveal the real Kankuro. With some movements of his fingers, the odd puppet extended several arms and crushed the man's bones.

Hayate and several others cringed at the cracking chorus. "Winner! Kankuro!"

"A little old to be playing with dolls, huh?" Naruto scoffed.

"Hey!" The puppet-user ninja flipped him off. "Fuck you!"

"Quit making a fool out of yourself and get back here before I kill you," Gaara said, making his siblings and Team 8 shiver.

Naruto nodded as Kankuro began running. "Keep going! We all know you're a bitch!"

Kakashi moved to grab his shoulder, but a red-eyed glance from the boy dissuaded him. He noticed the equally concerned looks from his teammates. They all knew it was the academy delinquent in him: the rigidness and spite he kept up to feel better about himself.

"Naruto," Sasuke said, completing their sensei's failed action.

He turned back, eyes significantly warmer but stern. "What?" The other boy pointed at the announcement screen, so he looked at it, which also made their other teammate look.

'Sakura Haruno VS Ino Yamanaka' was displayed on it.

"Yes!" Naruto turned to the surprised girl. "It's finally your time to show that pig bitch!"

Sasuke smirked and gave her a nod. "Let them… No. Let all of us know how much you've changed since the academy."

Her face grew a fitting pink tint at their words. "I will." She sprung to her feet. "I'm going to show all of you!" With a pump of her fist, Sakura jumped on to the balcony railing and launched herself twirling into the air all the way down, channeling chakra into her legs.

Naruto cheered and Anko whistled at the display. Their old classmates thought it a little too much, but it was to be expected after being around their poster boy for unnecessary displays of ability. Other jonin thought it wasteful. Kakashi was one such, though saying anything would be counterproductive.

Ino, who was walking toward the stairs like a normal person, twitched before attempting the same.

Sakura gave a smug smile as the girl's feet made contact with the floor. It took a great amount of willpower to stop herself from laughing at the yelp of pain her old rival made. While it wasn't completely her intention to bait her into potentially crippling herself before the match began, she wanted to throw her off at the very least.

"Really?" Shikamaru shook his head. "Ino, you know you lack the conditioning for that kind of thing!"

Ino looked back and pointed an accusing finger at her teammate. "Just whose side are you on?!"

He groaned. "Apparently not yours if it means telling you breaking your legs is stupid. So troublesome."

"Live and let learn, Shikamaru," Asuma said, making Choji nod in agreement.

The two squared off more than a decent enough distance from the other. Ino's eyes sparked with rage while Sakura's stayed smug. Anger was their usual default, but it wouldn't be for one today. Something needed proving.

Hayate held out his arm and drove it down. "Begin!"

"I have no intentions of fighting over boys with you right now," she said, pulling her forehead protector out of her hair.

Ino blinked. "What?"

"You don't compliment Sasuke at all, and I've become so much stronger than you to the point you're really an afterthought."

Naruto started clapping. "Damn! Sakura's talking shit!"

"She's not the type to look at her accomplishments or go out of her way to really hurt people," Kakashi said. "She doesn't want Ino to hold back on her, so she can prove to herself she's changed." He looked to the boys. "Sakura's felt inadequate for a long time now. When in Wave, she was so happy she could do the tree exercise because she felt like you two were far beyond her reach." Eye-smiling, he focused back on the girls below. "I'm sure, win or lose, this will help her."

Ino took her own forehead protector from her waist and tied it around what it was meant to guard. "I'm going to make you regret those words!"

"Please." Sakura tied hers around her forehead. "If all you have to offer is threats, this is going to be over before I can work up a sweat."

Forehead vein bulging at her words, Ino rushed forward with a punch, which Sakura leaned out the way of. It, thanks to her anger and sloppiness, left her overextended. She had no time to react to nor could conceive her old crybaby friend spin-tripping her forward leg out.

Sakura backed away with a bounce to her step reminiscent of Naruto's playful, taxing footwork. It wasn't her intention to copy her teammate. His style was just the fastest and had the most in common with speed she'd seen outside of Rock Lee, who outright launched himself in directions.

"She's letting Sakura unbalance her, figuratively and literally," Shikamaru said, watching his teammate rise.

Asuma nodded. "Gotta let them live and learn, little man."

"Idiots or women? Because they're both troublesome."

"I know what I'm going to tell your mother if I ever run across her again." Asuma's grin held his cigarette in his teeth.

He groaned. "You're a troublesome sensei."

"Everything's troublesome to you, Shikamaru." He pointed down at the arena. "Now focus."

Ino approached more tactically, prepping a right hook while intending to left jab. Sakura swiped away her left, inclined herself towards her body to help evade a possible right reprisal, and pushed her back. It would've shocked her for a moment if she hadn't pushed. "You touched my boob!"

"What boobs?" Sakura asked, baiting her with a facetious tone and smirk. She raised her elbow in time to catch the angry fist. Kakashi taught her elbow blocks were great for defense because they also had the fortunate side-effect of breaking your opponent's knuckle-bones if they punched too hard. When Ino stepped back shivering, she blinked and dropped out of her combat mode. "...Are you fighting seriously with me right now?"

"O-Of course I am!" Ino kicked but her foot met air as Sakura inched back.

She raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure?" She leaned out of the way of a right, parried her left with a jab of her own, and spun around to bring their backs together. "I mean, seriously?" She ducked under a twisting punch, grabbed a leg with both arms, and dragged her to the ground. Disengaging, she rolled away and stood up.

Tenten shook her head from her team's side of the balcony. "That girl came here expecting the fight of her life."

"Kunoichi are too quick to disregard taijutsu in favor of other arts," Neji said, eyes closed over observing what he couldn't consider a battle below. "Her opponent is a Yamanaka: she likely neglected her physical abilities in favor for her mental abilities, thinking the former unnecessary and unlikely to ever be used. This fight was decided before it began."

"Their fighting spirit is to be commended nonetheless!" Lee shouted.

Guy nodded. "That's right, Lee! Even if your skills are lacking, what shines brightest is your youthful spirit!"

"Sakura's gotten stronger too." Kiba hummed, trying to ignore Lee and Guy's weirdness.

Hinata examined the two other girls with some curiosity as one picked themselves up. "She's been holding back and relying on nothing but her defense." She pursed her lips. "Ino's the most driven of her team. Their sensei is easy-going, so I doubt she had anyone to really push her."

"Asuma might be a bit of a slouch, but he knows how to motivate his team," Kurenai said. "No sensei can teach his students what they don't want to learn." She looked to Team 7, who were watching the match proudly. "Kakashi is outright hours late to everything, but he has two absolutely driven team members. She kept up because she wanted to reach their level. Ino is failing because she grew complacent while Sakura realized she was lacking."

"...Kurenai-sensei, how do you know about Asuma's teaching style?" Hinata asked, turning to her freezing teacher.

"Focus on the match."

Ino grit her teeth. "Quit making a fool out of me!"

"I'm not really doing anything," Sakura said. She raised a hand to her chin, examined the look in her old friend's eyes, and shook her head. "During your missions, did you ever feel like you were about to die?"

"What?!"

She put her hand back to her side. "Were you ever in danger?" She looked down. "On our first real mission, Kakashi-sensei was captured by the enemy, and we had to face down Zabuza Momochi to get him back. It was...like staring at death itself coming to kill us." She glanced at her team. "Naruto didn't flinch, made clones, and started throwing all his ninja tools. Sasuke used the hail of weapons to get a single shuriken past his guard. When Kakashi-sensei was freed, I managed to put Zabuza under a genjutsu, which let him ram a water dragon into him." She laughed. "It was supposed to be a C rank mission, but it turned into an A rank!"

"...Sasuke wasn't joking back at the academy?"

"Not at all." Sakura grimaced. "He almost died. Naruto and Kakashi-sensei fought an entire mob of people to the death, but Naruto came back drenched in their blood. They call it the Wave Massacre." She chuckled at the recognition in their spectators' gazes. "And Naruto and Sasuke did nothing but train every. Fucking. Day. After that happened so they never have to be put in that position again." Frowning, she looked her old friend dead in the eye. "...I felt so useless, even when I did something, so I've been training too."

"S-So have I!"

"Ino, I haven't even used any jutsu yet or even tried to hurt you." She raised a hand to rub the back of her head. "To be honest, I'm feeling really bummed out right now. I was expecting a challenge."

The girl's vein popped before she drew and threw a shuriken. "Expect this!"

She raised a finger into the shuriken's open hole, letting it ring around it. "I did." Pulling her finger back, she let it fall to the ground. "Kakashi would've thrown that back at you and told you to stop being so predictable."

"It's true!" He yelled.

"You stay out of this, weirdo!" Ino yelled back. She put her pointer and ring fingers together as well as her thumbs.

Shikamaru scowled. "You idiot! What are you doing?!"

"What's it look like?!"

"Gotta let them live and learn, Shikamaru." He took a drag from his cigarette. "Can't save someone from themselves." His eyes widened as Sakura made hand seals he and every jonin recognized. "Kakashi, what the hell did you teach your student?!"

The weirdo in question tilted his head. "She said she wanted to be useful!" He laughed at his other genin's questioning gazes. "Just watch."

Sakura finished the seals and Ino dropped, convulsing. Without pause, she ran over. She knelt over her, hooked her chin underneath her elbow, and coiled the rest of her body around her old friend's. Dispelling the genjutsu she placed her under, she finished her off with a rear-naked choke Naruto recommended but had Sasuke hands-on teach her, an experience she was grateful for.

"Winner!" Hayate brought his arm down towards the victor as she let go of her opponent. "Sakura Haruno!"

She bowed before walking up the wall back to her welcoming teammates. "Hey!"

"You owned that bitch!" Naruto cheered, jumping into the air.

"I don't know what that jutsu was, but it was a nice finisher," Sasuke said. He put his hand on her shoulder. "When the exams are over, you should start training with us in full instead of asking for pointers." Smirking at her blushing face, he held back a laugh. Every word was honest. The girl before him could put up a decent fight against his old and current self.

"That was an interrogation jutsu all jonin are trained to resist to make jonin in the first place," Kakashi said. "It's supposed to break your opponent's will so they tell you everything, but I didn't expect you to use it like that."

Sakura winced at the memory of his demonstration. "Well, I didn't take all that pain to wait for a good time to use it." She looked at the other balcony at Ino, who regained consciousness seconds after she lost. "And I think I needed to show her the gap between us. That wasn't a real fight, but I want to have one with her."

"I didn't think that one-eyed bastard would teach that genjutsu of all things." Asuma grumbled. "Either he's slave-driving his students or they're milking him for all he's worth."

"Eww," Shikamaru said.

"Get your mind out of the gutter, kid."

"Eww!"

He scoffed. "What did I say?"

"Make me stronger!" Ino shouted, ending that awkward conversation. She grit her teeth and seethed. "I've never been so humiliated in my entire life!"

Asuma's gaze steeled. "Finally ready to take the shinobi life seriously, huh?" He glanced at the victorious team. "They nearly got killed on their first real mission. Not exactly the best experience, but it's one hell of a kick in the ass." Focusing back on his student, he took a drag from his cigarette. "To tell you the truth, they're already on the level of chunin. This exam is more of a formality, one they're having fun with and laughing at you for finding hard."

Tears of frustration left Ino's eyes, to Shikamaru's annoyance. "Dammit!"

"Remember there's always someone better than you." He patted her on the head and grinned. "Which makes it really fun when you surpass them. I'm going to make sure all three of you can rub their attitudes back in their faces soon enough."

"Oh no." Shikamaru groaned.

Asuma laughed. "Oh yeah!"

"Can we get barbecue after we train?" Choji asked, still munching.

"Well, you have to train first."

A look of determination found itself on his fat face. "Let's do it!"

"Troublesome," Shikamaru muttered. "They're announcing the next match."

The announcement screen displayed 'Temari VS Tenten.'

Team Guy's female member high-fived Lee before making her way down. "You got your ass smacked by the dead last!" She laughed at the other kunoichi's red face.

"She did!" Naruto yelled.

"Shut up!" Temari scoffed at her opponent. "Like you could put up a fight against anyone Gaara is interested in."

"We'll see," Tenten said with a smirk.

Hayate brought down his arm. "Begin!"

It did not go well for Tenten. Really, not one good thing turned out in her favor. She revealed her wide array of weapons, which all fell uselessly to her opponent's wind jutsu. Taijutsu was her backup, being part of a taijutsu specialist team, but she couldn't get close enough to land a single hit. The match ended soon with her back-first on the Sand kunoichi's furled fan.

"Pathetic." Temari tilted her head to better examine her defeated prey and scoffed. "At least I have an ass!"

Naruto laughed. "That you do!"

"Winner! Temari!" Hayate proclaimed.

Face red, she flinged Tenten over the many weapons she left behind into Lee's arms. "Damn, I was hoping to see how far she'd go."

"Is this how you treat someone who gave their all in battle?!" Lee shouted, making a fist.

"Bushy Brows, you do realize if this were a real fight she would've just killed her, right?!" Naruto scoffed. "Quit with the romantic bullshit! We're weapons to be used and thrown away!" He didn't acknowledge the concerned looks from his comrades.

"I'm with the jackass for once; get your shit and get out." Temari blocked a hasty kick from Lee with her fan. "Please! You're as pathetic as she is."

Lee grimaced. "What did you say?"

"Stop!" Guy body flickered over. "Not now, Lee!"

"How many times are you two idiots going to hold up the matches!" Gaara yelled, sparking fear in his team again. "You've been declared the winner. Stop wasting everyone's time, Temari."

Guy smirked and set a hand on Lee's shoulder while she ran back to the balcony. "You should be careful. This kid is strong."

"I beat almost all of them by just jumping on them! You're not special!" Naruto chimed in, watching Team Guy return to their balcony place after picking up all the leftover ninja tools.

Kiba almost laughed. "He did literally spank one of them in front of the other." He froze as Hinata started shaking again. Looking down, he saw Akamaru doing the same in fear rather than anger. "...I'm sure it w–"

"Just start the next damn match already!" Hinata cried out again.

Naruto jumped up and down. "Yes!" He didn't notice her immediate pacification. "Be me, be me, be me, be me, b–"

'Shikamaru Nara VS Kin Tsuchi' displayed on the screen.

"Oh come the fuck on! Shikamaru?!" He deflated. "This shit's going to take forever!"

Asuma chuckled as the laziest genin started walking. "He's not wrong."

To everyone's surprise, it was the opposite.

Kin tried pulling a needle trick fake-out into a genjutsu, but Shikamaru saw through it. He trapped her with his clan's kekkai genkai, and threw a well directed shuriken. The young woman's head slammed against the wall behind her and that was that. After the last two matches, it seemed like the quickest.

Hayate brought his arm down. "Winner! Shikamaru Nara!"

"Fuck me, you actually won!" Naruto laughed. It was a sentiment everyone else shared. "Since when the hell could you fight?!"

"Thanks for the vote of confidence!" Shikamaru yelled on his way to the balcony.

"No, seriously! You spent taijutsu training sessions sitting on your ass! That one time we almost got robbed in the red-light district, you just made the guy slam his head against the wall!"

Asuma and Ino squinted at an uneasy Shikamaru. "Red-light district?"

"It was Naruto's idea."

"For the first time we went," Choji said, munching.

Shikamaru sighed. "You've become troublesome."

"Were you three friends?" Ino asked.

"Detention buddies." He shook his head. "Naruto nearly knocked Choji's teeth out one time. Pretty sure that doesn't qualify as friendly."

"He hasn't changed a bit, huh?"

Choji swallowed and hummed. "He was doing just fine when the exams started. Something's going on."

The rest of the team looked at him in shock before glancing at the orange and blue mummy practically frothing to get in the arena.

Orochimaru noticed as well. He didn't care for the loss of his pawns. Really, he didn't expect them to make it as far as they did. Whatever drama occurred earlier set the jinchuriki off. A part of him was hoping to see if the Nine-Tailed Fox won out over his desire to be independent of it. Sasuke became a tantalizing vessel choice, so he was looking for something to disqualify the other over.

Then the announcement screen displayed 'Naruto Uzumaki VS Kiba Inuzuka.'

Everyone felt the blood lust.

The first boy in question took a deep breath and sighed, a shaky savage thing. "Finally!" He jumped on to the railing with all fours, launched himself down, and caught himself with his palms. Standing up, he ignored the cry of his organs. "Someone I can tear apart!"

Kiba, not one to be outmatched, jumped over the railing too. "Your clones got lucky back in the forest." He approached the boy as he did the same. "That trick won't work on me again."

"What's with the puppy?" Naruto asked, raising an eyebrow at the uneasy creature peaking out of his opponent's sweater.

He lifted Akamaru out and set him down. "Dumbass, he's fighting with me."

"Is that against the rules?" He turned and asked the proctor.

"Animals and bugs are the same as ninja tools," Hayate answered.

Shrugging, Naruto made an 'eh' sound. "Two for one special, like at Ichiraku, I guess."

"I can smell your wounds, dumbass." Kiba scoffed. "You're not going to outlast me or take more than one good hit. Training with Sasuke doesn't make you Sasuke." He broke into a cold sweat when the pressure around the arena focused entirely on him.

"Sasuke would leave something left of you." Naruto's eyes held the same mood to them as the words that left his lips. "I'm going to break you apart, like Mizuki, and keep going until I've had enough." He stomped forward and nearly fell over.

Kakashi's eye narrowed. "Naruto!"

"Shut up!" He yelled back, his voice ringing with frustration and hurt. "This is my fight!" He focused back on his opponent.

Hinata was shivering with worry. The Naruto she saw was the boy during one of his worst moods and in one of his worst physical states. While she had no strong feelings for Kiba outside of their comradery, she didn't want to see him hurt either. No desire to cheer for either was in her.

The rest of Team 7 shared the same thoughts. He was doing fine before the Chunin Exams began. Then whatever business he shared with Neji reopened old wounds. When the first test started, they saw him freeze up in anxiety. The second test nearly killed him through Orochimaru's meddling. His secret, his relationship with the Hokage, and now the trust between him and their sensei was broken. It was adding up, and their friend was bound to explode.

Hayate held up his arm before bringing it down. "Begin!"

Kiba crouched, made a hand seal, got on all fours, and slammed into Naruto before he could react, sending him rolling back. He turned to Hayate. "Proctor, c–

Naruto, blood oozing out of his mouth, jumped up and launched himself back with as much force he could muster, placing him at the boy's side in spite of the screaming in his insides. "Hey." He grabbed Kiba by the face, tripped him, pushed, and stopped when his head was an inch away from the ground. "Take this seriously, you mangy mutt." He felt delight at the terror in his shaking eyes. Letting go, he got up in his usual stance and bounced back to make some distance. "I'm not gonna give you a second chance!"

"You already did!" He stood up and scoffed. "Just look at you, man! Covered in bandages, jumping around like a rabid animal, and fucking your own body up just to show off!" Kiba felt honest worry toward the class delinquent. "I have no idea what the hell is going on with you, but I think you should drop out of this for your own good." His gaze steeled as he fell back on all fours. "Before I put you down!"

Scowling, Naruto closed his eyes to hide the redness he could feel in them. He took several deep breaths until he opened them, showing his crispy blue. "If you're going to play bleeding heart shithead, I guess I'll have to draw the dog out of you."

"Fuck your dog puns, man!"

"Fuck?" He created a single shadow clone and stood back to back with it, leaning perfectly on the other. They hummed in tandem and stroked their chins. "Wanna know what's really worth giving a fuck about and fucking?" The real one asked before they both grinned. "That sister of yours," the clone answered.

Kurenai grimaced. "Oh no." She gave a sorry smile to her blushing, shivering, and wondering kunoichi in training. "The Inuzuka are a little...protective of their family."

Kiba twitched. "What are you saying about Hana?"

"Hana! That was her name! She came to pick you up that one time when we were kids, and she was, like, fourteen?" The real Naruto held out his hands and began kneading the air. "She already had big tits!" The clone, instead of putting his wriggly hands in front of him, did so near his hips, wrists facing up. "And a nice ass!" They shuddered. "Hana's totally stacked now, isn't she?!"

"I'm going to fucking murder you!"

Naruto dispelled his clone and smirked. "After I beat you, I'm going to give that Hana and her plump ass a spanking, fuck her, and pup her! No need to worry; I'll take good care of your sister." His smirk morphed into a gleeful grin. "The runt of the litter lapping at those big tits we'll name Kiba."

And that was his last straw.

Kiba fished two pills from his pouch, threw one at Akamaru, who caught it in his mouth; and ate one himself. His nails grew into claws, and a red Akamaru jumped on to his back. Bringing his fingers together, he made a hand seal as his pet barked, turning them into synced feral Kibas.

"Did he just dope himself?" Naruto asked the proctor.

Hayate nodded. "Soldier pills are ninja tools."

"I guess crutches are also a ninja tool?"

"Well...yes." Hayate coughed.

"Well, well, well!" Asuma chanted. "Naruto might actually be screwed: that's a stimulant that lets you keep going for three days and nights without resting."

Shikamaru clucked his tongue. "How the hell is that tournament legal?"

"Ninja tool," Asuma answered.

The Kibas leaped at their enemy, hoping to pounce. Except jumping leaves a person open unless they can exert more force during their airtime. One got Naruto's full attention and hands on his arm. The force of his leap was complimented by the force he added in slamming him into the other Kiba.

"Is that it?!" Naruto swallowed the blood in his mouth. "Sasuke can see in slow motion, but I don't need the Sharingan to read you like a book!" He dunked under a Kiba's lunging slash for his throat, leaned to the side, and stuck out his elbow in the other's face in their vain attempt to trap him, sending him back. "You've just gotten faster! Stronger?! Maybe! But speed and strength are meaningless and nothing compared to skill: precision, timing, and instinct!"

"Fuck you!" The Kibas launched themselves, spinning, at him from two different sides. "Fang Over F–"

Naruto jumped and split kicked, using the force of their own bodies against them again. He landed on his quivering feet just barely. "I don't need pills, kekkai genkai, or any pet to beat the ever loving shit out of you!" He pointed his thumb toward his bandaged face. "Ripped to shreds and falling apart, I'm still handing you your ass!"

Orochimaru was almost drooling at that fact. His body's capabilities were without a doubt beyond any in terms of stamina, chakra, and vitality. And there wasn't a single sign of the Tailed Beast overcoming his pride and ego. It upset him very much how he had to choose between two different candidates.

Shaking his dizzying head, Naruto took a look to to the nearest wall and moved so it was behind him. Even he was beginning to tire. His opponent was on a combat drug that game him stamina for several days, so he needed to end it. The plan he had in mind wasn't the most original, but he was going to add his own personal touch to it. "Speaking of ass, I wasn't actually lying to you: I really want your sister's! Already grabbed me a pretty great pair of tits!" He spared a glance at a blushing Anko, a gesture several people but especially Hinata noticed. "But I'm the type of man who needs the full package! Just won't be satisfied with anything less! So Hana will suite me perfectly!"

The Kibas stacked themselves on top of one another again and roared in fury. "Not a chance in hell!"

"Don't embarrass yourself in front of your brother in law!" Naruto tapped his left heel against the ground, took a deep breath, closed his eyes, bobbed his head, and started snapping with his right hand.

"Is he…" Ino, red-faced at the boy's constant remarks, blinked at the change in demeanor and style. "Going to start dancing?"

"He's timing and baiting something," Shikamaru said, knowing whose plan he was inspired by.

"Precision, timing, and instinct!" Lee shouted. "I may disagree with you on what it means to be a shinobi, but I agree that is what skill is, Naruto!" He could tell from his stance exactly what he was about to do.

Tenten shook her head. "I'm pretty sure he'd look down on your style. Kiba's is a lot like it, just less. The perverted asshole is pretty good."

"And he's doing all of that while wounded!" Guy cheered. "His spirit, however malicious, is blazing!" He turned to Neji. "You haven't said a thing, but I think you're too busy learning from this fight." He took his silence as agreement. "Alright!"

"I'm not sure if he's back to his usual self or still losing it," Sakura said, eyes gazing softly at her punk teammate.

Sasuke was frowning throughout the entire fight. "He's still losing it. He could've ended the match when he sprung back to Kiba, but Naruto drew out all of his tricks with his taunts to humiliate him."

"That's how he used to be," Kakashi said, sadness in his voice. "Tearing other people down to build himself up."

"...Crying on the inside," Sasuke whispered.

"Die, you fuck!" The Kibas launched themselves over the other at their target.

Naruto bent himself back flat and kicked at the same time. His heel drove into the lower Kiba's face with their compounded force and the other Kiba flew over him into the wall, letting everyone on that balcony feel the impact. "I'm not dying here." He stood himself up straight and glanced back. Seeing that the wall Kiba was now normal white Akamaru, he walked to the dust cloud where the real one was concealed in, stumbling with every step. "You are!"

"Naruto, stop!" Hinata shouted.

He looked up and saw tears running down her cheeks. He parted his lips to say something horrible but couldn't find the words. There was no hatred, fear, nor anger in her eyes: only worry and sadness, just like there was the day they met. Blinking, the drive and lust for violence he felt faded. "...Okay."

"Winner!" Hayate, seeing Kiba and his dog both out, lifted a hand in Naruto's direction. "Naruto Uzumaki!"

Naruto nearly fainted when he heard those words, falling on to one knee. Kakashi body flickered over and held out a hand but he slapped it away. He picked himself up, stepped forward, and fell on to two shoulders belonging to his other teammates.

"You really dragged that out," Sasuke said.

Sakura had a blush as pink as her hair. "Hinata really cried over you."

"Huh?" Naruto looked to her, vision blurring. "She was crying over Kiba."

"...Y-Yeah, Kiba. I'm sure that's why she started yelling when you did."

He hefted an eyebrow up. "Why do you sound mad at me?"

"I have plenty of reasons to be mad! What was that?!"

"Don't yell, please." Naruto grumbled. "Everything hurts."

"It wouldn't hurt if you just ended it in that first attack." Sasuke shot him a look. "I wasn't being stylish on purpose: I was trying to overcome an enemy by making him underestimate me in a wounded state, and it worked. You were trying to look cool and scare the hell out of anyone who doesn't know the real you."

"...I'm sorry."

Team 7 returned to their balcony, eyes all on their most savage and wounded member. They were the first team to pass the preliminary in full. Other than them, it seemed like the Sand Team was the strongest, of which more than half were apparently beaten by just one member of Team 7. There were still a handful of matches left.

AN: The Preliminaries are almost over. I didn't mean to make both matches into curb-stomps, but that's what happens when there's a significant gap between people. When the fights are more even, they drag on for good reason. Man, I forgot how good the Chunin Exams was. It's good off memory, but it's so much better when you revisit it and get reminded of all the little things. I hope you're picking up on the little things I'm leaving in relation to this fic.

Last chapter, I forgot to mention we're now over a hundred followers. I honestly didn't expect that to happen. It's a pleasure, and I hope to write for more people.

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