-Hokage's Office Later that Night-

Fugaku called his spymaster into his office. Jiraiya was a man of many quirks, but he was effective when it came to doing his job. Jiraiya had been out of the village for years and only shown up for the chunin exams. He then disappeared to do his research and after two weeks, Fugaku was able to get him into a meeting. Now, the older man with a long and untidy mane of white hair was standing in front of his desk waiting for him to speak.

"Okay, Jiraiya, what reports do you have for me?" Fugaku said with a short tone.

"Well, Sand has been severely weakened by us taking those missions. If your goal is takeover, it will be easy enough in a year or two. They seemed to be mobilizing for something, but there has been no increased activity on our borders.

There is something sinister going on in the Land of Rice Paddies. There are far too many missing nins roaming around there casually and wearing the symbol of Otogakore. I would assume that the new village recruited missing ninjas to bolster its numbers. I attempted to find Otogakore, but rumors say that it is a series of underground bases. I was also able to confirm that it is being led by Orochimaru. The snake has been sighted making the rounds to various leaders, but I don't know why.

I would have loved to get my hands on that Oto team for some questions, but that Ruto kid took them out. Quite the interesting gaki, that one."

Fugaku listened to the report. Since being ejected from Kiri and Wave, he has focused in on the Sand and some of the minor nations. "And what of Taki?"

"I found the way in. We can get their jinchuriki easy enough. She is isolated to the great tree and isn't allowed inside the town. She is guarded by two chunin at any time, but that is it. I would recommend sending Kakuzu and the Jashinist but I would try simply recruiting the girl first. We could use a biju to bolster our strength."

"Do you think that she would come willingly?" Fugaku seemed interested in this option.

"Yeah, why don't you send some Aburame to Taki in secret and have them meet with the girl. Shino is on his way to becoming a good shinobi and he is around her age. I will sneak them in and distract the chunin guards so they can meet."

"And if that doesn't work?"

"Well then, we put your goon squad to work and get more forceful. I always wanted peace in the shinobi nations, but playing nice has lost me everyone I loved. I think it is time to take a more hands on approach." Jiraiya said with conviction.

"Yes, yes, I am still sorry about what happened to Kushina and young Naruto. Tsunade still won't talk to you?" Fugaku had to hide the smirk that threatened to escape. He worked for a long time to get this powerful shinobi to his side.

"She damn near killed me the last time I approached her. I haven't seen her that angry since I last peeped on her. I would cut your losses with that one." Jiraiya cautioned.

Fugaku waved him off. "She is unnecessary. I have no need for a has-been drunk. I want you to look into this Maki family while they are here. They could be our greatest ally or fiercest enemy."

Jiraiya sighed. "I have been trying but they are locked up tight. They are highly disciplined, and they are constantly on high alert. I really wished that you didn't make it so hard for me. Any rational person can't blame them for their skepticism."

"Yes, it is regrettable. If I could redo it, I admit that I would take a different approach."

Jiraiya shrugged in response. "What's done is done. I will keep an eye out, but I think they just want to wrap up their business, get their promotions and get out of here."

Meanwhile, while there was scheming in the Hokage office, a meeting was occurring in the Ame team's room. The genin that failed had been sent back with Konan while Nagato and Yahiko remained to train Amie.

"Yahiko, I know you want to approach Jiraiya-Sensei, but he cannot be trusted. He still works for the Hokage. We should focus on strengthening the relationship with Kumo rather than reopen old wounds." Nagato's even tone put a damper on Yahiko's hopes.

"Oh, come on, Nagato. He was the one that trained us and made peace in Ame possible. He probably thinks we are dead." Yahiko whined.

"And it is better off that way, old friend. The old toad is still the spymaster of Konoha and Hanzo-Sama doesn't want us associating with him. It will inevitably get back to Danzo, which would create problems down the road." Nagato shot back.

Amie watched the interaction with curiosity. "Daddy told me about what Konoha tried to do back in the day. I want nothing to do with them." She got stars in her eyes. "Can't you just focus on helping me prepare for my fight against Ruto?"

"We have been doing that for the past couple weeks. You are ready, but I do now wish to give you false hope. That boy is something else entirely. I get the feeling that he would give each of us a run for our money if he were to get serious." Yahiko answered.

Amie waved him off. "There is victory to be gained if he defeats me. If he impresses daddy, then daddy will have no choice but to honor the clan customs. I just need to push him hard enough to show daddy his strength."

"Why are you so interested in my cousin, Amie-Chan?" Nagato asked, genuinely curious.

Amie held up fingers and began counting off. "One, have you seen that body? Two, have you felt that powerful protective aura? Three, a man doesn't walk around with two girls of that caliber unless he earned it. Four, no boy my age has ever challenged me or proven to be my equal. Five, can I just say his body again?"

Yahiko chuckled while Nagato shook his head. "Well, Amie-Chan, he would prove to be a powerful ally. Let's go to the training ground and prepare further to make sure you can make him earn his keep."

-Two Days Before Chunin Exam Finals-

Ai arrived at the front gates of Kumo with his secretary Karui, Rias, two squads of Bolt, and Dodai. Karui and Rias wanted to see their Uzumaki cousins represent and kick some butt, so after nagging Ai for nearly the whole month, Ai agreed to bring them along. He brought Dodai in because Dodai was responsible for handling the nonaggression pact and Ai wanted a familiar face for Konoha to negotiate with. The diplomatic envoy checked in at the front gates and was informed that the Hokage wished to speak with them.

As they made their way to the Hokage tower, Ai let Karui and Rias go to the Golden Leaf hotel where the Kumo teams were waiting for them. Ai and Dodai walked into the Hokage's office ten minutes later and were greeted by Fugaku and the three village elders. Ai held back a scowl when he looked at Danzo before he threw on his traditional smirk and greeted Fugaku. After the pleasantries were over with, Fugaku got straight to the serious stuff.

"Ai, it pleases me that you came early enough that we could start with some peace talks. Your genin have made a powerful impression on us and we wish to deepen the bond between Konoha and Kumo to move it past a simple nonaggression pact."

Ai looked impassive and kept his features schooled. "Okay, Fugaku, before we talk about that, why don't we address the extra adversity that my genin teams faced. We could begin by discussing why they don't feel safe enough to let their guards down and enjoy the delicious local cuisine for starters."

Fugaku bowed ever so slightly to Ai. "That was an overzealous move made by my advisor Danzo. It wasn't malicious, he was simply looking out for Konoha's best interest."

Ai didn't suppress this scowl. "So, poisoning foreign shinobi as they dine in your village during an exam protected by international law isn't malicious? What, pray tell, would you consider it then?"

Danzo stepped forward and bowed his head. "A mistake. We heard of the prowess of your genin and feared that our genin would be woefully outmatched. I took measures to even the playing field and I was caught doing so. I humbly apologize."

Fugaku picked up where Danzo left off. "Ai, adversity during foreign chunin exams is expected. Your shinobi were well trained enough to shrug it off. Can we not move past it in favor of better relations in the future."

Ai grunted before letting it go. "What did you have in mind? Lady Shina informed me of the marriage proposal. I must thank you for a good laugh. I would have thought that your profilers could have found a better match for Ruto."

Fugaku grunted back at that. "They did, but my daughter Itachi is already promised to Neji Hyuga when he earns his chunin promotion."

"Ah, yes, that would have been a better choice. What's wrong? The Hyuga didn't want to swallow their pride and let you offer Itachi?"

"Would it have changed your answer?" Fugaku shot back.

Ai shrugged his massive shoulders. "Probably not, but Ruto wouldn't have been so offended. I may as well announce this now. Ruto is my successor and will take over for me on his 18th or 21st birthday, the when is still being debated. There is no kunoichi in this world that will get that kid to leave Kumo."

Homura's eyes widened at that revelation. "If we were to offer a kunoichi to return to Kumo with him then?"

Ai looked at the wrinkled elder impassively. "I would ask why you are so keen on him being the intended. If you are after the secrets to my village's recent success, I would tell you that you are wasting your time."

"Even if we were your allies, you wouldn't share such secrets?" Fugaku asked with a meaningful tone.

"Not right away we wouldn't. With respect, Fugaku, I do not wish to be your enemy but those aren't my secrets to share. The Maki family has been Kami's blessing to Kumo, and they have expressed their wariness in trusting Konoha."

Koharu picked up on that and couldn't stop herself from asking, "Why? What have we ever done to wrong the Maki clan?"

Ai slowly turned his head to meet Koharu's gaze. "I will counter with this. When your ancestral allies, the Uzumaki, were attacked and needed your help, what did Konoha do? The past provides great insight to the future."

Koharu and Homura had enough shame to lower their heads, but Danzo and Fugaku did not. Fugaku answered those charges. "It was war, and we could not send reinforcements quickly enough. By the time we arrived, most of the foreign shinobi were destroyed and Uzu was submerged."

Ai smirked as he continued to conduct the conversation. "Oh? Okay then. What about the Uzumaki survivor and her family?"

"We gave Kushina-Sama an estate here in Konoha and sheltered her." Homura answered.

"Okay, time for the big reveal that should make it blatantly obvious for you to understand Lady Shina. The Maki clan branched off of the Uzumaki clan to take their practices to the West. She returned shortly after Kushina Uzumaki and her son were killed. She saw that Konoha did nothing to gather the Uzumaki survivors and offer them refuge. Can you say anything that would counter that?"

"The survivors scattered around the elemental nations. There was nothing to be done." Danzo answered.

"Coming from a black-ops guy like you Danzo, allow me to say you are full of shit. Lady Shina and her son have done more for the Uzumaki survivors in the last year than Konoha has done since the fall of Uzu. Two branches of a broken clan are coming back together with the full support of Kumo. I will end this conversation with this since I do not wish to keeping going in circles. Before Kumo would ever consider furthering our relationship with Konoha, the relationship with the Maki clan would need to be repaired. Quite frankly, the few members of the Maki clan are more precious to Kumo than I am. Good day Fugaku, I thank you for your hospitality."

Ai walked out of the room smirking with Dodai following behind him. He left four Gobsmacked fools in his wake and he felt like he got just a little bit of enjoyment out of that. Dodai wasn't as confident.

"Was it wise to give them such information, Raikage-Sama?"

Ai waved it off. "Lady Shina gave me the approval. She didn't feel like spending anymore time talking about marriage with the fools." Ai ended with a look to Dodai not to say more until they were in a secure area.

Thirty minutes later, Ai and Dodai joined the Kumo teams in Ruto's room, which now felt quite cramped. Ai, Kushina, Dodai, Darui, Shi and Yugito stood and addressed the genin on the beds.

"Okay, Bolts, I am proud of you. You performed up to expectations and we will be able to make a statement in these finals. Ruto, you are up against a tough opponent, and I just announced you as my successor. Go ahead and use the lightning armor if you need it against the Hattori girl. Mabui and Tayuya, no need to hold back in your fights. I would prefer you not kill them, but it wouldn't be a great setback if you did. Omoi, no killing or maiming the Kazekage's daughter. She could be a good ally in the future."

A chorus of 'Hai, Raikage-Sama' answered Ai.

"Okay, moving on, I just stirred up the hornet's nest for the Makis, it was part of the plan, but you need to be on guard during the invasion now more than ever. Each of your blood clones are prepared and will be providing your alibi during the invasion. Since the master scroll of the Namikaze is still missing, it is more important than ever to get into the Hokage's office. If the scroll is in the Hokage's vault, take it and everything else. If it is not in the Hokage's vault, check other hidden areas. You will need to work fast and you cannot leave any survivors. Kushina, what's the status with the exodus?"

Kushina stepped forward. "So far, we have gotten confirmation from Hitomi and Hannabi Hyuga, the rest of the clan isn't worth saving. Hinata's performance in the exams made me withdraw my offer and Hitomi conceded. Mikoto, Shisui, Itachi and Sasumi Uchiha are in line to join. Mikoto told me that she would be talking to Sasumi on the morning of the finals, but she thinks that she would accept. Kakashi, Yugao, Hayate Gekko, Genma Shiranui and Kurenai Yuhi will join as well. They are all old students and I trust them implicitly. The other clans will take more time and convincing, if we even deem them worth the effort."

"So, it was a complete no-go on the Nara then?" Ai asked.

"Nope. They are too lazy and too smart to approach. They haven't given the proper indication that they are frustrated enough with the current regime to leave."

"That's too bad, I would have thought that they could see the signs." Ai replied. "Moving on, Ruto, what's this I hear about Hanzo's girl?"

Naruto shrugged, "Ai-Ogi, you know that I don't go out of my way to make things happen. She has been rather forthright in her intentions. According to her, she is going to go all-out on me and if I beat her then her clan customs make me eligible to be her husband. I will let the girls take it from here because I quite frankly don't care either way."

Ai looked at Samui and Mabui who were sitting next to Naruto, Mabui spoke. "Raikage-Sama, if it is for the good of Kumo, we won't resist it. She is strong and seems like a good enough person, but if she hurts Naruto, she is dead."

"Okay, deal with it when we cross that road then, got it. Hanzo is going to be in attendance Naruto, so keep that in mind. Shina, what's the word with Nagato?"

"He was happy to reunite with family, but his allegiance is to Ame. He has been with his two friends, Yahiko and Konan, since his parents were killed in the third war. He will not leave them, which I can respect."

"So, Ame could make a good potential ally?" Ai asked with interest filling his tone.

"Yup, a very good ally. Along with securing their borders, they have raised a sizeable and strong shinobi force." Kushina answered merrily.

"Okay, these last two days should be final prep work. Make sure you know your routes, your escape routes, plan which jutsu you would use in the event of a fight. I don't want any of you using raiton techniques if you are forced to fight during the invasion. It is going to be chaos, so watch your backs out there."

-Chunin Exam Finals-

Ai watched from the Kage box with Lady Shina and Darui as his Divine Bolts took the field. They were on high alert and ready to go at any moment. Next to him, Fugaku sat with Jiraiya and Hiruzen behind him. Fugaku decided having Hiruzen present would send a powerful message that Konoha was still protected by two Kages. Everyone turned and watched as the Kazekage entered the chamber, wearing the typical sand veil of Suna shinobi. The two guards that entered alongside him took up their positions behind the Kazekage silently.

"Greetings, Kazekage-San, I do hope your journey was tolerable." Fugaku greeted.

"Though the desert is harsh, it was still a pleasant journey. I couldn't miss my two children's performance. Hokage-San, do you think that your son will put up a good fight against mine?" The Kazekage asked in a smug tone.

"I believe in the might of the Uchiha, Kazekage-San."

"Ah, yes, it will be most interesting to see how far the boy has come along with your doujutsu."

The slimy nature of the Kazekage's answer sent shivers down everyone's spine. Fugaku stood up to address the stadium and start the exams, noting that his son and the ever-late Kakashi were absent.

"Greeting, people of Fire Country and all of our valued visitors. Welcome to the Semi-annual Chunin Exams in Konoha. Today, we have genin from Konoha, Kumo, Suna and Ame competing on behalf of their villages. Please join me in giving them a warm welcome." A rowdy applause filled the stadium as people hurried to make their final bets, including one very well-endowed sandy blonde. "Today, they will compete in tournament style matches to demonstrate their skills and convince us that they are worthy of their promotions to chunin. Without further ado, I will hand it over to Shisui Uchiha."

"Thank you, Hokage-Sama. These are no holds barred matches that will continue until your opponent in unable to fight, dead or I call the match. You will honor my orders at all times. Will Ruto Maki and Amie Hattori stay on the field for the first match, the rest of you may go to the finalist's box."

Ruto was dressed in his chosen outfit. His long, Sunkissed blonde hair was tied back into a man-bun with two blonde locks that fell and framed his Bolt mask. He wore a black, short-sleeved combat shirt under his slick body armor that was covered in pouches containing scrolls and a couple kunai. He had his greatsword strapped on his back with the hilt popping out over his left shoulder and maintained the katana on his left hip. The three golden bracelets jingled on his wrist with each movement of his well-toned arms. His black cargo pants were loose enough to provide freedom of movement and led into black combat boots. All in all, he looked like on badass mofo that was ready to lay a beatdown on any fool that stepped to him.

Amie was wearing the same setup she wore for the prelims except she removed her weighted rain jacket and rebreather mask. Her dual blades were in an X-sheath on her back and a beautiful smirk graced her lips.

"I have been waiting eagerly for this day, Ruto-Kun. I do hope you don't disappoint." Her sensual tone threatened to lure in any lesser man. In her head, she was squealing like a fangirl about how hot Ruto looked in his uniform. It took all of her kunoichi training to stop herself from imagining Ruto with his uniform off.

Ruto smiled coyly under his mask. "I am sure you have, Amie-Chan. I will do my best to live up to your expectations." He pulled 'Heaven's Blessing' off his back and sealed it away. Amie cocked her head at him. "I only use 'Heaven's Blessing' on those I intend to kill. I could never rob the elemental nations of your beauty."

Amie blushed furiously at this while Shisui smirked, waiting for the exchange to be completed to start the match. Amie's mind was reeling from the compliment and her only comeback was a whispered, "B-b-b-b-baka."

Shisui took that as his cue and knifed his hand down through the air, which seemed to snap Amie out of it. She launched herself at impressive speeds toward Ruto and lashed out with a right cross into a left uppercut. Ruto blocked the right cross and took the uppercut to his gut but used that opportunity to secure Amie's fist to his stomach. She saw the hold coming and used her momentum to slide under her much bigger opponent, dragging his arm through his legs. Ruto let her get away and simply stood up and turned around.

He then blurred toward Amie lashing out with punches and kicks that put the Ame genin and daughter of Hanzo to the test. After blocking Ruto's first punch with one forearm, Amie decided that blocking was a terrible idea. Pain lanced up her arm and made her decided to dodge and parry the rest of his blows. The one-sided offensive continued for a while before Ruto broke contact and let her catch her breath.

Up in the stands, Tsunade was sitting with Shizune, Yugao and Kurenai and they were discussing the performance thus far.

"That Ame kunoichi is keeping up with Ruto. That is actually kind of impressive." Yugao said.

Tsunade tsk'd, "The brat hasn't even gotten serious yet. I put every Ryu I had on him winning this fight. He better start taking the girl seriously. I saw her use Hanzo's poison, which could potentially put Ruto down."

Shizune chided Tsunade. "It is not Ruto's fault that you are such a gambling addict. Plus, he is good enough to figure out a counter to that jutsu since he saw her use it in the finals."

"Yeah, but that's probably not the only poison jutsu she knows. How do you know Ruto hasn't gotten serious yet, Lady Tsunade?" Kurenai asked. She was honestly impressed because Ruto was moving a mid-jonin speeds.

"Nai-Chan, that kid is the Raikage's apprentice. If that were his top speed, Ai would have chucked him off the mountain. Plus, I have sparred with him many times before. He still has his seals active and is holding back to give the girl a chance to show off."

Back in the arena, Amie caught her breath and smirked. "Why are you going easy on me, Ruto-Kun?"

"Because you have yet to go all out, Amie-Chan. I want to put on a good show. How about you release your seals, and I will release half of mine?" He challenged her.

"Deal, don't cry to me later." Amie released seals on her wrists and ankles, which Naruto answered with 5glowing seals on his body. He released the resistance seals completely but kept the weight seals to make it fair.

Amie drew out her wakizashis and began a high-speed attack that left the audience wondering what all of the blurs were. The kenjutsu fight went back and forth with streak of motion that would pause for the briefest instant and provide a glimpse of swords clashed in a variety of ways. Ruto's katana movements were swift and graceful, dealing with the threat of the dual wakizashis easy enough. Amie was struggling to gain the upper hand in a purely kenjutsu bout, so she decided that it was time for chakra.

Ruto noticed Amie's swords beginning to glow with the bluish-white sheen of wind chakra, so he answered in kind. Whereas the kodachis were 40-inches in length and extended to 50inches with wind chakra, Ruto's katana was an extra-long 65-inch blade that extended well past 7-feet due to Ruto's chakra channeling. Furthermore, Ruto had self-repair seal on his blade that consumed his chakra to maintain the edge. It only took three minutes of chakra on chakra for Ruto's far more potent chakra sword to cleave through one wakizashi and crack the other.

In a graceful spin, Ruto blocked an upward slash from the left sword, spun to avoid the twin swing from the right sword, and then accelerated his spin to send a powerful horizontal slash at the stunned kunoichi. The combination of Ruto's bigger chakra blade, the concentration of the blade and the power of the spin caused Amie's first sword to get sheered clean through while the second sword of the X guard cracked nearly halfway through the blade. Both kenjutsu masters saw this and Ruto let Amie create space and reset the fight.

Up in a dignitary's box, Hanzo sat next to his wife, Yahiko, Konan and Nagato. He was watching the match with interest and using every skill he could to analyze the young blonde.

"He is most impressive. His skills are quite refined for one so young and his frame gives him the power to dominate a battle of finesse. It appears as though my daughter will need to resort to the clan jutsus."

Nagato spoke respectfully, "Hanzo-Sama, there is no shame in losing to my cousin. He was taught by Lady Shina, a most formidable swords mistress, from a young age. She prepared him to deal with the many enemies he will surely grow to have."

"So, Nagato, you believe my daughter will lose?" Hanzo quirked an eyebrow at Nagato's bold claim.

"Oh, wouldn't that be splendid, dear? You know Amie is getting to that age and every boy in Amegakore is too scared to challenge her for the right of marriage." Hanzo's wife chipped gleefully into the conversation.

"Maria, she is still too young. I am not ready to leave her in the hands of a boy." Hanzo's tone carried a fatherly pout to it.

Konan sighed before telling the obvious to her master. "Hanzo-Sama, it is obvious that she is a daddy's girl, and you are not ready to let go. If you do not let go, she will rebel, and the separation will hurt far more than if you accept the situation. If you do not let go, how will the Hattori clan continue its legacy?"

"Konan, my baby girl has many years to decide her mate. I know nothing of this young man, and you all seem too eager for my tastes. Just watched the damned fight!" Hanzo growled.

"Ara, ara, did the great Hanzo the Salamander just pout? You are too cute when it comes to our baby girl!" Maria squealed with delight at the rare sight of her husband showing emotion.

Amie was struggling to remain standing now, rather than let her prepare ninjutsu, Amie was forced to deal with clone after clone of the massive blonde. One clone would simply puff into smoke, another would burst into a shock of lightning, yet another wind blades and her least favorite was the water clones that would drench her from head to foot. She knew Ruto was playing with her, and she had enough of it. After dispelling yet another water clone, Amie blurred forward to fight the original.

She engaged in a taijutsu battle that she was clearly losing, but she was slowly molding the chakra needed. Ruto saw her pretty pink cheeks bulge and he slammed his hand into the ground and placed a vacuum seal. He may have added a little more chakra than intended because everything in a 10-meter radius was being sucked into the vacuum. Amie was so surprised that she let the gas out prematurely and watched as the gas was sucked into the seal.

"I told you Ruto would come ready for the same tactic." Shizune said proudly. Tsunade cheered while Yugao and Kurenai watched on with interest.

"That was quite the counter to our Salamander's breath. Not even the Sanin back in the day employed such a tactic." Hanzo grunted in acknowledgement.

"That reminds me dear, why did you let those kids go? Did they really put up that much of a fight?" Maria asked.

"For kids their age, they did. I didn't feel like taking their lives and they were the first ones before these three that pushed me to summon the boss Salamander. I thought that deserved recognition." Hanzo explained.

Yahiko laughed. "Look how that turned out. One pedophile, one pervert and one gambling drunk. Admittedly, they are strong, but they leave a lot to be desired."

After recovering from the surprise seal, Amie began flipping through hand signs again. He cheeks bulged and she shot out globs of purple poison at high speeds. Ruto saw this, clapped his hands together before swirling them in a circular motion and whispering 'futon – wind wall'. The air rushed in front of Ruto and formed a barely visible wall that halted the advance of the poison globs. Ruto watched the poison eat into the ground and gulped. He may be immune, but the thought of that poison goo on his junk would be enough to make any man nervous. Hikari heard the thought clearly and nearly fell off of her couch laughing.

Ruto decided to go on the ninjutsu offensive and show off some of his skills. Forming lightning chakra in his right hand and water chakra in his left, he called out 'storm style – laser circus'. The next 20-seconds of the fight were spent with Amie dodging a hail of lasers that punched straight through her water wall. She took a couple of hits to her front and side, each hit sizzling through her uniform and showing off some singed skin.

Amie decided to go for broke and bring out the summons. She summoned a mid-sized salamander that was the size of a large house. She threw a rebreather in her mouth to protect herself from the potent poisons of the salamander clan. Ruto paused here, he had two options. Answer a summons with a summons or step up his own game. Deciding to enjoy the fight, Ruto unsealed 'Heaven's Blessing' and channeled lightning chakra through the blade and his body. Even through the noise of the fight, Ruto heard the crowd gasp as he became encased in the thin blue haze of his stage one lightning armor.

Hanzo sighed, "Rudra isn't going to like this. I have a feeling he will be losing one of his clansmen today."

"What makes you say that, Hanzo-Sama?" Konan asked.

"That boy can clearly handle a summon of this level. He brought out his sword as soon as he saw little Daedon there. I can only hope Daedon dispels before he sustains too much damage."

Amie ordered here summon to attack and buy her time to form her next jutsu. The massive salamander moved at surprising speeds toward the glowing Ruto. Before it could completely close the distance, Ruto disappeared in a burst of speed, leaving only a crackle of lightning in his place. The next thing the crowd knew, the salamander let out a roar of pain and sent Amie flying off of its head, unprepared for such a sudden dismounting. The crowd watched purple blood spurt out of the salamander's side from a gash that ran from behind its front leg down to its tail. The wound crackled with electricity before the giant summon dispelled in a puff of smoke that obscured the audience's view.

When the smoked cleared, the audience saw Amie captured princess style in Ruto's arms. In his left hand, he had a kunai pointed at her jugular. Amie remained frozen in Ruto's arms. How can such hard muscle feel so comfortable and natural? Amie also caught a full blast of Ruto's pheromones that were pouring off him in waves due to the prolonged battle. Amie didn't say anything, she simply leaned her head into Ruto's chest and waited for the fight to be called.

"Oh! My! Goodness! That is SO cute honey! Our daughter is in love!" Maria's excited screams could be heard above the roar of the crowd as Hanzo sunk his face into his hands. The Ame trio laughed at their leader's fatherly predicament before promptly silencing themselves when Hanzo glared at them.

Elsewhere in the stadium, "YES! THAT'S MY GAKI! BOOM! TWO MILLION RYU IN THE BANK!" This prompted Shizune to adopt a similar pose to Hanzo's for a completely different reason.

In the Kage box, Fugaku was drooling at the prospect of having that kind of potential at his disposal. "That young man is truly a promising young shinobi, Ai. It would be a crime to leave him as a genin."

"Thank you, Fugaku. I appreciate that coming from a clan as prodigious as your own."

The Kazekage seemed pensive as he added in half-hearted praise. "Indeed, he is quite the interesting young man." This earned a glare from Lady Shina, who had already identified the man as Orochimaru. She would warn Ai about it during the intermission.

Ruto attempted to set Amie down, but she refused and whimpered in protest. Sighing, he carried the beaten kunoichi princess-style to the finalist's box. This earned catcalls and jealous protests from some of the females in the crowd, but nothing compared to the knowing look that greeted him in the contestant's box. Samui and Mabui's eyes were alight with mischief as they simply locked eye contact with Ruto through their masks.

Ruto shrugged before he set Ami down in a chair and went to join his two wonderful women. In the internal comms, Ruto was getting busted by all of his friends.

"Sure took your time dealing with her, my love. Was she that much fun to play with?" Mabui asked.

"I mean, it is cool with me, but I don't think it was cool to play with her for so long. I think you owe me some cuddle time for your indulgence."

"I believe you mean US some cuddle time, don't you, Samui-Chan?" Mabui chided.

A mutter of 'lucky bastard' came through the channel before Tayuya bonked Atsui on the head. Shisui called for the next contestants to come to the battlefield and Mabui received a passionate kiss from her lover before sauntering her way out of the box. This earned Ruto jealous looks from Samui and Amie, the prior of which kept Ruto's mask up and claimed his lips.

Mabui looked like a battle goddess with her silvery white hair hanging over her mask, the katana/kodachi pairing on her left hip just like Lady Shina and the tight, white shirt emphasized all of the right assets. The prim and proper Neji was forcing down lustful thoughts as he stared at his competition.

"I have nothing against you, kunoichi-San, but I would recommend you forfeit. There is nothing you can do against the might of the Hyuga, and I do not wish to hurt a beautiful lady such as yourself." Neji said in a formal and somewhat polite tone.

"Oh, Hyuga-San, I don't know whether to be offended or flattered. If that is what Itachi-Chan has to look forward to then I don't know whether I should be jealous or pity her."

"What business does my betrothed have with you?" Neji asked while narrowing his eyes.

"Zero business, nothing at all. Just good old fashioned rumor mill stuff. Kunoichi love to gossip, you know. So, tell me, Hyuga-San, do you know the weakness of your eyes?" Mabui's melodious yet taunting tone would haunt Neji's dreams for weeks to come.

"The Hyuga have no weakness."

"Oh, dear. I believe I must show you that you are wrong."

"Hajime!" Shisui called before jumping out of the way.

Neji activated his Byakugan and was confused. The armor and the shirt and the pants the kunoichi was wearing blocked him from seeing her tenketsu, which was a major problem.

Mabui held up one finger. "Lesson one, a simple chakra seal can stop you from seeing my chakra network. Right now, you can only see my head, which is an obvious weak point, so it doesn't matter."

The Hyuga in the crowd shifted uneasily as their weaknesses were being put on display for other nations. Neji scowled but Mabui held up a second finger.

"Lesson two, by infusing my own chakra into my clothing, you cannot inject your chakra required into my system and close off my tenketsu."

The Hyuga elders were glaring daggers at the girl and looked close to jumping over the railing to shut this girl up. The camera crews would broadcast this worldwide and expose their weaknesses. Meanwhile, Neji was digging his feet into the ground in preparation to dash toward Mabui, who was waiting for it. A third finger was put in the air and the Hyuga elders were practically begging Neji to end this fight.

"Lesson three, your eyes are sensitive to chakra…"

Neji blurred forward and Mabui activated a barrier seal she was palming. A bright blue dome that was 3-meters in diameter spread around Mabui and Neji ran smack dab into it. It was an electric barrier that sent a good jolt into Neji's system and halted his advance. Mabui jumped back and began to chide Neji, to the humor of the crowd and the infuriation of the Hyuga.

"Now, now, Neji-San, the lesson wasn't finished." Mabui lectured while wagging a finger at Neji.

Neji was seeing red and began dashing at Mabui again to close the distance and end her foolish existence. The veins around his eyes were bulging wildly and a snarl was fixed to his face.

"Screw you, you clanless filth. You will die by my hand today, fate demands it!" Neji screamed at the top of his lungs while he charged.

Mabui braced herself by bending her knees and right before Neji's fingers touched her, she channeled chakra to another seal matrix on her armor and Neji received a numbing shock to his fingers, but he pushed on and engaged in a taijutsu fight against the silver haired kunoichi. Each strike Neji landed was ineffective at affecting Mabui overall. That is not to say it didn't hurt, but the strength of the Juken was effectively neutralized.

Mabui finally had enough space to draw her two swords and lightning sparked to life around the blades. Neji saw the blades and jumped back to create some distance.

"Now, Neji-San, lesson four is the most important one. The Hyuga's pride is their greatest weakness. You have no ninjutsu, your shuriken and kunai throwing are put on the back burner and your Juken means jack all at range. Now, come Neji, let us conclude this lesson."

In the contestant's box, Ruto was practically drooling through his mask. He was totally going to have Mabui play teacher while he performs the role of the naughty student. Hikari giggled in his mind and said that she would be the headmistress. Ruto could be seen spacing out and nodding his head vigorously. Thank Kami for the mask that covered his face and preserved his dignity.

Mabui threw kunais that Neji easily deflected into the area around him before she channeled chakra to her palms and clapped her hands together to perform the 'raiton – lightning rod' jutsu. The lightning stream was thick and powerful and heading straight for Neji. He saw the kunais around him and knew that it wouldn't be good for him. He began spinning rapidly and a blue chakra dome formed around him as he called out 'Kaiten – heavenly spin'. The lightning jutsu was reflected and redirected into the kunai around Neji. The chakra Neji was emitting during his jutsu protected him from the effects.

While Neji was spinning, Mabui pulled out a clump of her favorite flash tags and attached them to a kunai. She lobbed them toward Neji, closed her eyes and formed the rat hand seal to detonate the tags. A blinding flash of light lit up the stadium and blinded a good portion of the crowd, especially the Hyugas with their Byakugan activated. The whole Hyuga section was clutching their eyes in pain, some stumbling over themselves and falling over the chairs.

Back on the battlefield, the blinding white light nearly destroyed Neji's eyes and the pain caused him to stumble and release his 'Kaiten'. The stumble during the abrupt end of his jutsu sent him tumbling across the ground as Mabui finished her jutsu. 'Raiton – Thunder Clap', as Mabui slammed her palms together, a stream of lightning arced from her toward the blinded Neji. It hit him dead on and caused him to cry out in pain again as the lightning coursed through his body. The electrification ignited every pain sensor on his body, which overloaded his brain and left him in a smoldering lump on the arena floor.

Mabui didn't feel the need to push things further, but she made sure to look at the Hyuga section of the stands and began giggling. The seals around the stadium picked up the enchanting sound and taunted the Hyuga that were stumbling around blind. Mabui was already walking off of the field when Shisui announced her the winner. She locked eyes with Ruto's azure blues and began fantasizing about the victory sex when this was all over.

Upon in the Kage box, Fugaku was having a bad day. That was a complete mockery of one of Konoha's strongest clans. A complete dissection of the Byakugan and a thorough instruction manual on how to defeat Hyuga opponents. The next council meeting would be sheer torture. He could tell Ai was sitting there smugly, waiting for him to open the comments on the match. The Kazekage saved him the embarrassment.

"That was quite the display of fuinjutsu Lady Shina. Do all of your shinobi study the art?" The 'Kazekage' asked.

Lady Shina put a slim finger over the lower part of her mask. "Sorry, it's a secret." She let out a girly giggle that taunted both foreign Kage.

"While I agree with Lady Shina, Mabui is among the brightest in fuinjutsu, aside from Ruto." Ai played nice among the Kage.

"That is interesting. Not only is your chosen successor a complete force of nature, but he is also intelligent enough to excel in fuinjutsu?" Fugaku asked, with Orochimaru perking up when he heard that Ruto was to be Ai's successor.

"This is news to me, Raikage-Dono, when did you announce your successor?" The 'Kazekage' asked.

"I haven't done it officially. I told that to the Hokage in confidence, but I guess it is out in the open now." Ai sighed out. Shina was tempted to end the façade and take the snake out before he could become a threat to her son.

Back in the finalist's box, Ruto pulled Tayuya into a side channel and talked to her.

"Look, little sister, I want you to go out there and open a can of whoop as on the Hyuga. Shatter the rest of that worthless pride of theirs. I believe in you, and I am proud of you." Ruto finished with a rare sibling sentiment that made Tayuya blush.

"Sure thing, Shithead. It will be the first time the ninja world will get to meet my doki. Should I use all three of them?"

"I don't see why not, remember not to kill her. Humiliation is more effective in this instance, especially when we are taking two of their unsealed members with us." Ruto answered.

"Are they already at the rendezvous?" Tayuya asked, interested in knowing more about the escape plan.

"Yeah, all of the exiles should have substituted with their blood clones already and headed toward the rendezvous." Ruto informed her. "Now, no more of that, focus on you fight and come back victorious."

"Gotcha, shithead."

As Hinata walked through the tunnels and mentally prepared herself, she wondered why the Kumo team was acting so much colder to her than usual. She had gotten along with Ruto, and his body language always seemed positive. Now, whenever he looked at Hinata, she noticed the tightening of his muscles and the stiffening of his posture. 'It started after the prelims … was he mad about what I did to Hannabi?' Her thoughts came to a screeching halt when she was at the entrance to the tunnel. She took a steadying breath and walked out of the tunnel and onto the field.

Tayuya had jumped out of the box and been waiting on the prissy heiress for nearly five minutes now. She was losing her patience and that never bode well for her opponents. She remembered how infuriated Ruto and Shina were when they saw her use that seal on her own sister. Tayuya readily agreed that it was a fucking shitty thing to do. That thought added fuel to her fire when she saw the heiress walking all fancy like toward the center of the arena.

The two competitors were ready to square off and the tension in the stadium was palpable. 80percent of the crowd was composed of Fire country natives and nobles. So far, the Leaf had not put on a good showing and people were getting worried. It didn't help that most people lost their previous bet after being force fed a bit of humble pie.

As Shisui stepped up and was about to start the match, a wind funnel appeared in the center of the arena before Kakashi showed up with his hand on Sasuke's shoulder. There was silence before the crown went wild for the heir apparent of the Uchiha clan. Every foreign person wondered why Konoha was so delusional that they treated the Uchihas like they were gods or something.

"What the fuck, father fucker, get the fuck off my fuckin' battlefield you fuckin dickless conglomeration of bastardized human tissue." Tayuya snapped off like it was the most natural thing in the world.

Shisui stifled a laugh as the stadium fell dead silent. Then roars of disapproval, insults and death threats were thrown at Tayuya. She took it naturally, like withstanding a nice breeze on a warm summer day. Then, she flipped the audience the bird.

In the Kage's box, Ai sighed and sunk his head into his hands while Lady Shina and Darui failed to suppress their laughter. Fugaku had a giant tick mark over his left temple and was struggling to calm himself down. Hiruzen couldn't help but chuckle at the intrepid youth.

"That is quite the kunoichi you have down there, Raikage-Dono. She seems to have a knack for getting under people's skin." Hiruzen said lightheartedly, diffusing the tension.

"Indeed, she does, Hiruzen, indeed she does." Ai sighed out.

Down on the field, Sasuke fumed and began to march toward Tayuya, who sat their calmly, but Sasuke was stopped by a hand on the shoulder from Kakashi.

"Not now, Sasuke. Win you first match and then you can deal with her." Kakashi said in an attempt to calm the raging Uchiha.

"Sorry, fucker, I don't know if you Konoha twits know how to count, but when I win, I will be facing Omoi. The Uchiha bitch boy will have to fight his little sister." Tayuya ripped into Sasuke once more, intentionally pouring fuel on the fire.

Kakashi was forced to use both hands to restrain Sasuke as he shot a look at Tayuya then said, "Thanks for that." Kakashi used shunshin to vacate the premises before Sasuke completely lost his shit.

Shisui coughed to get the attention back on him and then knifed his hand downward and started the match. Hinata was more timid by nature and after seeing how the previous Kumo kunoichi picked the Byakugan apart, she was hesitant.

"Tell you what, oh great Prissy Princess of the White Eye clan, I am going to play you a song to apologize for my fucked up foul mouth." Tayuya pulled a flute out of her vest and began playing. The music carried throughout the stadium and had a serene calming effect to it. The shouts of anger subsided, and a peaceful calm settled over the arena. Once everyone was quiet, the real performance began. It started as a jaunty tune that turned into the sharp notes associated with a thriller movie.

When the music changed, Hinata seemed to snap out of her trance and activated her Byakugan. She saw the chakra laced into the music and watched as it sprung out of the flute with a supernatural grace that entranced the audience. She then saw three demonic looking figures appear out of nowhere. She tried to pulse her chakra and dispel the illusion with no effect. Then the assault began.

Hinata worked hard to repulse the attacks of the large demonic figures as a fast-paced song seemed to spur them on and give them more power. Tayuya was dancing to the music in a truly entrancing fashion as her Doki continued to assault the Hyuga heiress. During a brutal attack from the Doki carrying a massive club, the hit broke through Hinata's defenses and sent her rolling on the ground. The audience, aside from a couple higher level ninjas, was still completely wrapped up in the tune. It was building into a crescendo as the Doki launched themselves at the downed form of the Hyuga heiress. The girl rolled to the right to avoid the massive club slamming down on her but received a stomp to the gut from the Doki with no arms. She spit out blood and cried out in pain as a brutal beating began.

Tayuya's flute was now playing harsh music that elicited rage and fear from her audience as blow after blow landed on the defenseless girl. Tayuya was so wrapped up in her own performance that she didn't notice when Shisui called the match. He was forced to intervene, and he snatched the flute out of the girl's hands and abruptly halted the music. The trance was broken, and the crowd snapped back into awareness to notice the Hyuga heiress in a bloody and crumpled mess. Shisui called medics out with some urgency as multiple bones looked like they weren't holding their proper anatomical shape.

Tayuya snatched her flute back and put it in a pouch of her vest before taking a bow to her still stunned audience. She then skipped back to the finalist's box in a show of girlish happiness that sharply contrasted with the environment of the stadium. It didn't take long for the stunned silence to break before people began cursing at Tayuya. The Hyuga were incensed that they were caught in an elaborate genjutsu that left their heiress on death's door. Meanwhile, Tsunade cashed in her third all-in bet and was squealing with a girlish glee while jumping up and down with Shizune.

In the Kage's box, they were all impressed by the power of the genjutsu. To create chakra avatars that reacted to the music with such brutality was a magnificent feat and Orochimaru was drooling at the prospect of such a kunoichi. If he had her in his forces, she would instantly become one of his elites. The sad thought that she would never accept him as a master then shot threw his head and left a sour taste in his mouth.

"I will begrudgingly admit that that was impressive. If you don't mind me asking, why did she go so far as to make it personal?" Fugaku asked.

Shina picked up the question. "The Makis are proud of our seals. For a sister to use such a disgusting seal on her own twin rubbed us all the wrong way. Tayuya seemed just as enraged as my sochi was. The Hyuga should thank my sochi for asking her to spare the Hyuga heiress' life."

"Why would he ask her to do that?" Orochimaru asked, genuinely interested.

"The girl was nice enough in Wave, but he had changed his opinion since the prelims. He didn't think she was a completely lost cause, so he wanted to punish her, but give her a proper chance to atone." Shina shrugged as she said it.

Fugaku was interested too and tried to dig further into this idea. "Why does you son throw himself so readily into matters that don't concern him?"

"Because he is a true leader, Hokage. That boy sees injustice and leads those around him to correct it. Simple as that." Stated Ai with his arms crossed over his chest.

With the Konoha rookies, the mood was sour, and their faces were downcast.

"Man, that was brutal." The usually long-winded Ino stated simply.

"Those fuckin' Makis think they run this town. They come in here and assault two clan heirs and think they will just walk away…" Kiba fumed, genuinely enraged by what just happened to his teammate.

"Troublesome, Kiba, they have the power to do it and walk away. If any of us touch them outside of the exams, not only would it probably fail, but it would mean all-out war against Kumo." Shikamaru drawled. That seemed to silence the rookies as the heavy mood descended on them once more.

The finalist's box was subdued as well after that beating. Ruto thought that the punishment was just, but he didn't revel in the pain a misery of others. He wished Omoi luck as the next match was called and his eyes shot to Temari, who met his gaze and looked away blushing. Temari then swung her fan before jumping on it and riding it down into the arena in a beautiful display of wind control. Omoi just used a lightning shunshin to take his place in the arena.

Both contestants squared off as scenarios played rapidly the Omoi's mind at a nearly schizophrenic pace. He immediately dropped his seals, knowing that his battle plan depended on speed. Shisui started the matched and Omoi cased kunais in lightning chakra before throwing ten in rapid succession. Temari opened her battle fan to the first moon and swung it in a wide arc that kicked up dust and sent the kunai flying in all directions.

Omoi used the dust to mask his shunshin to behind Temari. He was a highly proficient Raiton user, but his suiton jutsu left a lot to be desired. He created a single shadow clone at this location before blurring to Temari's blind spot in a nearby tree. Temari turned to face the clone, who had drawn the red-handled katana out and started channeling lightning chakra to it in a flashy manner. Temari opened her fan to the second moon and called out 'sickle weasel jutsu'. A sizeable tornado formed out of the wind from Temari's fan and sped toward Omoi's clone.

Seeing his opening, Omoi dashed in a show of speed toward Temari and swung his sword in a horizontal fashion that would wound, but not kill, the kunoichi. Temari spun at the last second to block the slash with her partially open battle fan. The lightning enhanced katana sliced through Temari's battle fan, effectively removing her greatest weapon. Temari used the butt of the fan to lash out at Omoi, who dropped his katana and rolled around the blow to deliver a punishing kidney shot. Temari dropped to the ground in pain before Omoi placed a kunai on the back of her neck.

Shisui appeared and called the match. The audience was rather sick of seeing Kumo win, but a polite applause was given for the brief performance. In a show of sportsmanship, Omoi offered a hand up to the downed kunoichi. Temari accepted the helping hand and walked off the field with Omoi.

In the Kage box, Fugaku was feeling better that it wasn't just his village that was losing to the Kumo genin. The results had been worse than expected and he knew that it would hurt the mission requests total. However, he now had the opportunity to comment on the match.

"Well, that was a quick fight. Is the battle fan your daughter's only weapon, Kazekage-Dono?"

Orochimaru shrugged off the accusation, it wasn't his daughter. However, since he was playing Raza, he responded to the provocation. "Hn, it seems my daughter's training has been lacking. For a long-ranged fighter to lose so easily to a close ranged opponent with an elemental disadvantage is … disappointing."

"There are many kinds of shinobi, Kazekage. Not all of them are meant to fight on the front lines. Your daughter would be a deadly force in a defensive position and during bigger battles." Ai commented.

"Thank you for the kind works, Raikage-Dono. It is this next fight that I am most excited to see. My son is undefeated throughout his brief career, and this will demonstrate the might of Suna."