Hi again! Not much happening, I'm just trying to graduate, and despite the classes I have to take, plus the other ways I may choose to spend my free time, I just MIGHT take Hapkido. I probably won't get beyond orange belt, but it should still be something fun to learn.

And we'vehad a good turn out of reviews. I must say though, it was a bit of a kick in the teeth to get some negative reviews, but then again, criticism is what they're for. Since I'd rather not reply to the people who have claimed they've given up on this fic (that's their call), I'll just say this for those of you who are also getting bored with this fic yet are still sticking around (which I appreciate, by the way): I warned you, this arc was for Naruto's team. After this is over, and it will be next chapter (no, the tournament will be completed, no invasion or S-class criminal will halt it), the story WILL focus on Naruto again. Team 12 will still play a prominent role, but the other genin you'veseen here are done after this. Also, if you feel this story is not going the way you would like it, review it or PM me before you giveup on it. I probably won't give you what you want 100 percent, but I will at least veer towards what you request.

Now for responses!

JDay: Thank you, it's one of the things I try to be good at. I should also add that westerners didn't have so much of a hard time getting the spoken language down, but getting the kanji right was almost impossible. English is actually said to be the hardest to learn.

Mrfipp: He did. Naruto said it himself. And as for the flashback thing, this chapter will break that pattern.

Dark Dragon 22: Wait, what did you find funny about this chapter?

Pirogeth: I appreciate you telling me instead of saying "This sucks now! Goodbye!" I suppose I may havebeen a bit too descriptive, and I hope this chapter will leave a little more to the imagination. It will end next chapter and you will get a better idea of what's going on with Sasuke and the Akatsuki at the same time too.

For today's disclaimer, we'll have Sakura say it! Go ahead, Sakura!

Sakura: KC does not own Naruto. He's my bitch! Mine!

KC:...Indeed.

The Tea Daimyo dropped his program in shock. "H-How? That's impossible!!" He stood up and stomped it repeatedly, cursing something incoherent.

"Calm down, Shinichiro-san." The Wind Daimyo said. "You choose based on what is said in those programs, and nothing more. Besides, it was your fault you lost money; I never wanted to bet anything. It was your suggestion in the first place."

The Tea Daimyo was about to make a debilitating retort, but when his eyes returned back to the stadium, he smiled instead. In the center was a young girl with black hair. "That's…a Hyuga!" He turned to face the wind daimyo once more. "Two thousand on the Hyuga, no matter whom she may be facing!!"

"The odds?"

"20 to 1!!"

The Wind Daimyo had to roll his eyes. Normally, he would have advised him to stop with his gambling habits. But unfortunately, this was the most peaceful custom between Daimyos. Tradition dictated that so long as the challenger offered you a huge sum of money, you were obliged to accept the bet. There was an unspoken rule that of all the petty reasons a ruler could go to war, loosing gambling money wasn't one of them. So, his country wouldn't have a problem should the Tea Daimyo look like a fool again. And custom dictated that if he lost, he could refuse any more wagers. "Oh well." He said to the Daimyo "I accept. But I warn you, her opponent is another one of this…Uzumaki's students. You just may end up loosing again."

The Tea Daimyo just looked at him madly. "Have you seen who it is!?" He pointed his finger. "That's a Hyuga!! Next to the extinct Uchiha clan, they're the greatest of Konoha's ninjas!! There's no way I can loose!!"

Iori nervously trotted towards the exit into the arena. From what Naruto had told her, it would be impossible to fight her opponent the way she normally would any other ninja. Hanabi sounded scary, and looked downright scary when Iori looked into her eyes. She nearly flinched when she felt someone touch her shoulder. She turned around to see Yuji, supported by Shiguri.

"Hey, don't give up. The most important thing, remember."

Iori gave a slight smile, and jumped down to the floor. Yuji simply smiled back.

"I'll be honest with you, Yuji." Shiguri whispered. "Her chances don't look too good."

"Neither did mine. I may be out of the fight, but the fact is I did win. Everyone has a chance to beat the odds."

Kakashi laid back in his seat, amused by the last match. He didn't flinch when Narutoliterally jumped from the higher point of the floor into his seat…or when it gave way under the pressure and sent Naruto to the concrete floor, accidentally kicking two spectators in the head.

"HEY, WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING, YOU DAMN JERK!?"

"MAYBE THEY SHOULD DEMOTE YOU BACK TO THEIR LEVEL!! YOU'LL GET PLENTY OF ACTION DOWN THERE!!"

Naruto tried to apologize, but Kakashi grabbed his shoulder and bowed. "My apologies. We were on our way to get new seats anyway." Kakashi dragged Naruto with him, muttering "Even though you're a jonin, your maturity is incredible, and I don't mean that in a nice way."

Naruto whispered "Sorry, I just wanted to watch the fight as soon as possible. So what now?"

"The roof will do. I prefer standing anyway."

Shikamaru watched from the shadows, leaning against the wall. While he appeared to be laid back without a care in the world, he was paying attention to what was going down at the arena very closely. "Well Hanabi, will you dominate this fight, struggle, or loose? This will be interesting to see."

Iori faced Hanabi, trying to put on the best game face she could. However, her eyes still twitched.

And that did not go unnoticed by Hanabi. "You're scared. Good." She already activated her Byakugan, and got into her clan's trademark stance. Iori did too, although she kept in mind direct combat was probably a bad idea.

Gendou stepped forward. "The next fight: Hyuga Hanabi vs. Myojin Iori! Begin!"

Hanabi struck with a palm strike, which Iori backed away from. Hanabi made strike after strike, and Iori backed away from each one. "If what sensei told me is correct, I can't let even one touch me!!" True to her sensei's suggestions, she managed to dodge each strike, if only by a hair. However, she was so concerned with dodging that she was becoming predictable. Hanabi feigned a strike but at the last minute changed to a foot sweep, sending Iori to the ground. Hanabi was on top of her, preparing a strike to the heart…but Iori flipped around and struck her heel, sending the Hyuga to the ground as well. Iori then back-flipped away, putting some distance between them.

"Long range!" Iori threw her shuriken at Hanabi, who only smiled and leapt to her feet. She then twirled, and a chakra shield surrounded her. The shuriken hit it and bounced back right at Iori. Iori tried to dodge, but one of them hit her knee. The kunoichi hissed in pain, struggling to keep herself from kneeling over. She pulled the shuriken out of her knee, and stood guard.

Hanabi was upon her, making a series of palm strikes once again. Iori blocked…and realized her mistake too late. Hanbi brought her fingers down on Iori's arm, and sealed her tenkatsu there. Iori backed away, and held her arm in pain. She noticed the dots right on it. Iori nearly turned around too late to miss a palm strike to her face. Fortunately, she flipped, and landed a solid kick on Hanabi, sending her to the ground once more.

Hanabi clutched her broken nose more in rage than in pain. "I'm done toying with you!!" She stood up again, maintaining her guard.

Iori stared at her, thinking of a way to fight. She scored a damn good hit, and she needed to land another one. "Shuriken won't work on her. But even if it was a fluke, I managed to break her nose." She thought of a difference between the two occurrences, and then it hit her. "She can't use rotation in close quarter combat. She could easily see the shuriken coming from far away, and was able to time her counterattack. Close range, there's not enough time for her to react. Sensei said close quarter combat was a bad idea, but right now, it's my best shot." Iori charged, and Hanabi tried to block. Ioriducked and weaved to avoid her strikes, and sent two consecutive punches to her opponent's abdomen. Hanabi flew and rolled onto the ground. Iori smiled, the high from scoring a hit on a supposedly undefeatable opponent coursing through her. "That's it!"

"So far, I'm very impressed." Kakashi said to Naruto. "I don't think she's going to win this one though. By using close combat, she's bound to make a mistake against Hanabi."

Naruto audibly gulped. "Yeah…"

Iori landed several round kicks to Hanabi's shins. They didn't hurt, but they prevented the young Hyuga from closing the distance. Hanabi back flipped to break the pattern, rushed forward and shot another palm strike. Iori used an inward block to stop it, and immediately turned it into a chop that struck Hanabi's neck. Had she stepped away one second later, she would have been out cold. Even so, it still hurt like hell.

She panted, and stared at Iori. "Okay Hanabi. Calm down." She closed her eyes, breathing. Even if Iori attacked, she could at least back up. Then, she opened her eyes, realizing the best way to fight. "Don't meet force with force. That's the key." She stayed put, waiting for Iori to strike.

Iori did sense that Hanabi wanted her to come. "She's got a plan…no time to think about what it is! I've got to strike! and end the fight before she gets a chance to use it!!" Iori charged, aiming a knife-edge kick to her opponent's kidney…but Hanabi circled around and placed two palms on Iori's side instead. Iori screamed as the pain of having her chakra sealed filled her body. She hopped away, and prepared to fight again. She punched, but Hanabi twisted once more and hit her left temple. Iori stumbled, feeling light-headed. Another strike to her stomach made her cough up blood and fall on her back. Her vision began to fail…

Iori, who was three at the time, played hopscotch with a teddy bear at her side. Every now and then, she would glance back at her dad, who was a few feet away from her. She saw him playing with something, but she couldn't figure out what. She was getting bored, so she decided to ask him. "Daddy…what are those?"

Her father stopped, and looked at her. He seemed to be thinking about something. Then, he smiled and made a face like he didn't care. He knelt down to Iori. "These, princess…are called kamas. They're pretty handy weapons."

Iori said "But I thought ninjas only used shuriken and kunai, like in the books you read me."

Her father chuckled. "Most use only those weapons, plus the occasional sword, true. But you see, our people weren't always ninja. We used to be farmers. Those were turbulent times, and we needed weapons of all kinds to defend ourselves. One day, the king banned non-samurai from carrying swords. As a result, the farmers in this region were helpless against tyranny. So, they turned their own tools into weapons. And that led to our own style of ninjutsueventually." He held one of the weapons in front of her face. "This one was used for cutting weeds. But trust me, it can be deadly. Technically, you're too young for this, and your mother will kill me if she finds out. But…you want to give this a try?"

Iori hesitated, wondering if she should or not. Then, she reached out and grabbed the handle…

Iori realized she was unconscious for only one second. She rolled over and crawled away. She was lucky too; Gendou almost declared Hanabi the winner.

Iori turned to face Hanabi, trying her best to make it look like she recovered. The truth was, her body felt weak. "I think my strength has been cut in half. I can't let this fight drag on!" She reached behind her shirt, and pulled out two weapons the ninja of Konohagakure were not familiar with. They looked like garden scythes, though sharper than usual. Hanabi was puzzled as well. "Kamas." Iori said, answering the question in her opponent's mind. "They belonged to my dad. I've had them with me ever since he died."

She got into a guard position, holding the weapons straight towards her opponent. Hanabi hesitated. They were close range weapons, and she hadn't mastered the rotation technique to counter such things from so close. "I'll have to bear it and test her." Hanabi flipped forward and shot some more palm strikes. Iori side stepped and cut her opponent across the back. "AARRGGH!" Hanabi clutched her bleeding back. She decided to use one of her earlier tactics: She feigned a strike and went for a leg sweep. But Iori was ready this time around. She jumped up, and brought one of the Kamas down. It missed Hanabi's leg, although it did manage to tear a small piece of her kimono. The two broke apart, and sized each other up once again.

"I go in, she'll cut me down! She knows already not to attack! Unless…I draw her in." Hanabi wasn't exactly an expert on people, but she spared enough with both her father and her two teammates to understand her opponent's personality. Iori, she deduced, was hot-tempered and eager to fight. Sure, once she realized it was safer to be on the defensive, she would do so. But once she saw an opening…she would try to take advantage of it."Perfect." Hanabi made a huge round kick, which Iori ducked to avoid. Hanabi landed, exposing her back as a result. Iori didn't waste the opportunity and lunged forward, aiming for her opponent's shoulders with her kamas. But Hanabi twisted and shot her palms towards Iori.

One hand hit Iori's shoulder, just like she intended. The other one was impaled by the kama. Hanabi was so high on adrenaline she barely felt it. Careful not to make a bigger hole in her palm, she pulled it away and stepped back. The left shoulder that she struck, however, did some of the damage she was aiming for; Iori seemed to be having trouble holding on to her weapon. But it was her left hand, and Hanabi could clearly see Iori was right-handed. Iori probably couldn't defend as well, but she could attack just fine. Hanabi had to be aware of that, and keep in mind that tricking her into attacking was still dangerous.

Neji and Lee were both amazed. Lee was nearly heartbroken from the last match that his pupil lost, but he recovered before this match began. At first, he put his money on Hanabi. "Oh, Myojin? I can't say, really. The one opponent I did see her face wasn't too impressive, and she took him down with one hit. I think Hanabi will be fine."

That was what he told Neji. Now, he wasn't so sure. "Naruto-kun, you're students keep surprising me." He smiled at the thought. He glanced at Neji, who was chuckling. "It reminds you of your fight with Naruto-kun, doesn't it?" Lee asked.

"A little. Just the part about a supposed nobody taking on someone from the Hyuga. But Iori is being more strategic. Naruto learned from our fight, and Iori is applying that advice." Then Neji started to shake slightly.

"Shit!" Lee cursed. He reached for his pouch and took out Neji's pills, who asked him to hold onto it for him earlier in the morning.

Neji swallowed it as soon as it was presented to him, and calmed down immediately. "Thanks." He whispered. Neji turned to his uncle. "So, what are your thoughts, Hiashi-sama?"

Hiashi didn't look at him, instead he stared at the arena. "It looks like it will be a close match. However…I'm hoping Hanabi will loose."

Neji and Hinata turned to him in shock. "Father!" Hinata almost screamed. "Why?"

Hiashi relaxed back into his chair and sighed. "The elders have been getting to her. They've practically brainwashed her into believing the Hyugaclan is superior above all, even the Hokages. I have tried to tell her we are equal with the other ninja of Konoha, but she won't listen to me. I myself was that arrogant once, and I regret it so much." Neji knew what he was talking about. "The superiority-complex I once had caused me to loose my brother. Even if he would have still volunteered to take my place when Cloud attacked, I regret treating him as my subordinate, and not as my family. The only way Hanabi will realize how blind the clan's views are is to loose herself."

Iori made another slice at Hanabi's cheek. The ebony-haired girl now had two scars across her face. She didn't really care about her looks, but she wasn't too happy about it nonetheless. Hanabi shot a low kick to Iori's stomach, pushing her back. However, Iori surprised her and threw the kama in her left hand right at Hanabi. She was still too close to allow Hanabi to use rotation, and it grazed her eye. "AAAAHHH!"

Hanabi clutched her eye in pain while Iori rolled behind her to pick up her discarded weapon. "Sorry about that." She kissed it, and got into a fighting stance again.

Hanabi turned around, one hand holding a guard, the other holding her eye. "I haven't mastered the application of the rotation technique! But there's still got to be a way to…" Then, she smiled. "If I can't use it for defense, I'll use it for distraction!!" She let go of her eye, and jumped towards Iori, landing a few feet away from her. She suddenly spun, puzzling Iori.

"What's she doing? I haven't even attacked her yet!" The dust cloud formed, and Hanabi jumped behind her, repeating the process. She did it again and again within six seconds, in all directions. Soon, the red-head was surrounded by dust. "Wha-?" She coughed, the dust starting to get to her. Without any warning, two kunai came out of nowhere, and struck her kamas out of her hands.

Before she could process what happened, Hanabi was upon her. "Hakke Rokujuuyonshou!!" Hanabi landed each of her strikes quickly and with precise accuracy, sealing off any chakra Iori had left in her body.

Iori felt the last of her strength leave. "No…"She fell to the ground, but did not loose consciousness; she struggled to get back up.

"Give up." Hanabi said, tracing the scar across her eye. "You're powerless now. The Hyuga are invincible, although I have to admit, you came close to changing that."

Iori managed to roll over and lie on her back. "Sorry, but that's bullshit. I got you hurt. If you're invincible, that can't happen. Besides, my sensei kicked someone's ass who was from your family." Iori had to smile at the last part, despite the dire situation.

Hanabi became enraged. "You'll pay for that!!" She ran forward and placed more palm strikes on Iori…

"Oh no!!" Naruto shouted. "I'vegot to save her!!"

"Hold it, Naruto!!" Kakashi yelled "Gendou is right there! He'll stop the fight!"

"You don't understand! If this goes on too long, Iori will..."

"Naruto, I know about Iori. Tsunade anticipated that and Yamato is here somewhere. She wants to see if Iori can control her power. If she can, even if she looses the fight, she might become Chunin!!"

Naruto was about to retort, but he was interrupted by a scream. And Iori was not the one who did it.

Hanabi clutched her wrist in pain. From out of nowhere, the chakra in Iori's body regenerated…and duplicated itself several times over! Silver chakra, cobalt eyes, and fangs formed around Iori. She growled, grabbed Hanabi by the throat and threw Hanabi several feet away. Hanabi hacked, rushing into a fighting position. "What is that chakra!?" Hanabi wondered in horror.

Iori roared, and ran towards Iori, barely fast enough to see. Hanabi, in a panic, threw shuriken. Iori kept running, and stalactites formed out of nowhere, deflecting them. Iori stood face to face with Hanabi. The Hyuga froze, then collapsed. Iori's punch was far stronger than before. Hanabi coughed up a little bit of blood, but maintained her will to fight. She reached for another kunai and slashed Iori across the forehead. She spun, then faced her again. The cut was healing!! Hanabi shot her palms out, trying to keep her calm. But Iori dodged each one of them, and sent her opponent in the air with an ninety degree kick to the chin. She flew high enough that she was on level ground with the spectators. She could have gone higher, but Iori jumped up and grabbed her, then slammed her back into the ground. Hanabi retreated, in a manner she wasn't used to: Crawling!! Her mind couldn't comprehend that she was reduced to this! Iori landed behind her, walking to her slowly, yet not the least bit calm. Hanabi reached her thigh. She got out her smoke bomb and threw it right in Iori's face. The red-head roared, its senses disoriented, and choked.

Hanabi shot straight forward and struck. It was no longer a battle of strategy, but survival! Hanabi hit her target, but as soon as the tenkatsu was closed, they reopened! Iori roared and punched Hanabi across the face, turning her into a human rocket. Hanabi struggled to rise from the ruble, spitting out a tooth. Iori simply stood there, flexing her claws. Then she ran forward, and punched the ground. Hanabi didn't know what was coming, but she knew she did not want to stay where she was. She jumped just in time to avoid being impaled by a stalactite that came out of nowhere. Hanabi looked back at Iori in fear. She punched the ground once again, and Hanabi moved. Everywhere she landed, she dodged to avoid being skewered. Soon, half the arena began to look like a spike pit…

"What happened to her!?" Yuji asked in fear.

Shiguri replied "I don't know." That wasn't a complete lie. Sure, he had seen this power before, but he couldn't figure out its origins.

"She'll kill her!"

Yuji was about to step in, but Shiguri held him back. "You'll get killed too! You're in no condition to fight, and your luck from your fight won't stop her!!"

Yuji struggled, but he was still too injured to fight his teammate. "I can't just watch!!" Yuji screamed "Iori!! Snap out of it!! You'll never become chunin like this!! Come back!! Don't loose control!!"

Hanabi panted like mad. She was battered, bruised, and bloody all over. Never mind the fact that she had to perform a balancing act on the stalactites her opponent had formed.

Iori was staring right at her, and got ready to bring her fist to the ground once again. Then, she heard something. It sounded familiar. "Irrelevant. Kill." were the only thoughts that entered her mind. However, she froze when she heard one clear sentence:

"Don't loose control!!"

Iori was six. She was doing simple things. Watching the clouds, climbing anything she could, chasing crickets…there wasn't much else to do out here. Her father was training, and no matter how boring she complained it was, he forced her to come with him. It used to be fun watching her father practice his techniques, but she saw him do the same ones over and over again that she didn't care anymore. "I might as well see what he's doing anyway." she decided

She ran through the tall grass, and climbed up a rock to observe him. But something was wrong. Her father wasn't moving. He wasn't even in a proper horse stance. He was hunched over…crying. "What? Daddy doesn't cry!!"

Suddenly, he shot straight up, gritting his teeth. Silver chakra surrounded him, and parts of it extended behind his body almost like they were tails, about three to be exact. He roared, and ran on all fours. Iori stared in both horror and awe as her father leaped into the air, straight for a boulder. He cocked his fist back, and punched it dead center. The boulder became nothing but dust before he even landed. He seemed to search for something, grunting like a feral animal. Every time he yelled, spikes from the earth formed.

"What's happening to him!?" Iori jumped from her perch and ran straight towards him. "Daddy!!" Her father froze, and looked right at her. Iori stopped right in her tracks. Her father had changed…cobalt blue eyes, protruding fangs…she didn't know what she was feeling...sadness? Fear? Perhaps both? "Daddy…what happened to you?" Her father's eyes widened, and slowly, he stood straight up like a normal person. The chakra vanished, and his beast like features disappeared. He was back to normal, but he was giving her the same look she did just a minute before. He turned around, and held his hands behind his back.

For a long time, neither one of them said a word. Finally, her father broke the ice. "I'm sorry…I didn't want you to see that." Iori slowly walked up to his side, and took his hand. Her father looked down at her, and his frown slowly became a smile. Then, he scowled again quickly. "Iori-chan." Iori looked straight at him and nodded, showing him he had her full attention. He kneeled, and firmly gripped her shoulders, of course not enough to hurt. "Never, EVER, loose control like I did. Nothing good ever comes out of it." Iorionly gave him a confused look. "It's okay if you don't understand right now. But always remember what I just told you."

Iorilooked even more confused, but then gave him a goofy smile. "Okay, Daddy!!"

Her father laughed, and picked her up. "Come on! I'm really not in the mood to train anyway!!" Her father settled her on his shoulders as they walked back towards the village…

"Control…" Iori 's vision suddenly became clear, and she looked around in horror. "I…I did this?" No one could safely walk in the arena now, with all the newly formed stalactites. She looked down at her hands nearly screamed. They looked more like claws. She was so shocked that she forgot she was in the middle of a fight! Hanabi jumped over the spikes and attacked. Iori wasn't prepared, and didn't put up a guard. Not when she saw her own face reflected in Hanabi's eye. "I look like…a monster."

Hanabi struck her in the kidney, and Iori went down. Luckily for her, she fell into a space of open ground. She gripped her side, and looked up at her opponent. She stood up, and stared at her with a new determination. "I'd rather loose as a human being than win as a monster. Even so, I'm not giving up!!" She then started making hand signs. "I might as well make use of this chakra!!"

Hanabi watched carefully, and realized what she was trying to do. "A summoning jutsu!?"

Iori then placed her hand on the ground. "Summoning no Jutsu!!" An explosion of smoke followed, and revealed Iori, standing atop a butterfly. Enlarged, the insect wasn't terribly attractive, now that one could see the different segments of its body. But it's wings were still stunning. Orange and black, and the patterns looked like a work of art. Iori herself could only look at what she summoned with awe. "Wow…so…just how do you fight?" The insect said nothing.

Hanabi reached into her back, and threw more shuriken. The insect flapped its wings, not only lifting itself off the ground, but halting the shuriken as well. It then flew right towards Hanabi at an incredible speed.

Hanabi jumped up, intending to attack the creature. "It's just a bug! What danger is it to me!?" She found her answer when the large insect wrapped its proboscis around her waist and flung her to the ground on which it was summoned. Hanabi jumped up, and prepared for battle once more. The insect, however, had other ideas. It hovered right over Hanabi, and as it flapped its wings, a powder fell from them. Hanabi coughed as soon as the powder touched her nose. "What the hell…is…this…stuff…" Hanabi relaxed her guard, and put on the stupidest, laziest grin imaginable. "Hehe…" She fell to her knees, and simply lied down as if she was getting ready for bed. The crowd watched her in silence, wondering what was going on.

Those who bet on Hanabi, particularly the Tea Daimyo, panicked. "What is she doing!!"

The Wind Daimyo merely said "It looks like…she is sleeping."

"No!! There's no way any child who passed the academy here would do something so stupid as to fall asleep in the battlefield!!" He then snapped his fingers. "Waitaminute, that's it!! Of course!! How could I not think of that myself!?"

"What?"

"She's trying to trick her!! Lure her into a false sense of security!!" His theory was blown out of the water when the speakers emitted Hanabi snoring.

"The winner!! Myojin Iori!!" Gendou announced.

"Noooo!!"

"I guess that's life." The Wind Daimyo said to no one in particular.

Sakura checked out Hanabi, measuring her pulse, her breathing, all of her vital signs. "She's fine. The powder that insect spread was a tranquilizer. Quite effective, perhaps better than our own."

"How so?" Hiashi asked, looking over Hanabi with concern a second before.

"It induces euphoria as well. Our tranquilizers, the few times we use them, doesn't affect the mood of the person. As a result, in combat, one could fight it off for a time and escape. However, with this one, it makes the victim feel unusually happy and truly relaxed. You can't fight off a chemical like that when you're in an unusually good mood."

Hiashi rubbed his fingers across Hanabi's forehead. "I see. How long until she wakes up?"

"I'd say this time tomorrow. You can take her home, she's in no danger."

Hiashi nodded, and picked his daughter up. He looked at her with fondness that sometimes even he thought he wasn't capable of. He hadn't seen her looking so peaceful since she was an infant. "You fought well, but your ego lead to your downfall in the end. I hope you learned your lesson." Hiashi whispered that with true fatherly love, and not the strict voice he normally had. He stopped when he saw Iori standing in front of the doorway.

She seemed hesitant, nervous for some reason. Then, she quickly bowed. "I'm sorry!" There was a moment of silence between the two. "I'm sorry…for hurting your daughter. I didn't mean to…"

"There is no need to apologize. Your objective in this exam was to beat your opponent anyway you could. I bear no grudge against you. However, your concern for my daughter is very much appreciated." Hiashi bowed slightly, and said "Thank you."

Hiashi walked past her, and walked towards his elder daughter and nephew. "Let's go home. Now that Hanabi is out of the fight, there's not much reason for us to stay."

Neji bowed, and said "Actually, Hiashi-sama, if it is alright with you, I would like to stay and watch the rest of the fights. I'm curious to see how Naruto's final student will do."

Hinata blushed, and quickly bowed as well. "Yes!! I mean…I've been enjoying the exams as well."

Hiashi sighed. "She's got to let that silly crush of hers go." He smiled and said "Very well. You two have a good time. I'll see you at the mansion." With that, the Hyuga leader left.

The rest of the exam had a brief delay. Tsunade needed time to give some of the ninja who were on guard to get rid of the spikes. After that, Tsume and Chan's match began. Shiguri, Yuji and Iori watched the two face off. Chan was on top at first, using his unpredictable movements. However, Tsume lived up to his name and got some serious cuts on his opponent.

"He's good." Iori commented. "However, if I'm the one he fights, I don't know what he's going to do. He's strictly against hitting women..."

"He might do the same thing as last time." Shiguri calmly replied.

Iori facefaulted as she remembered that incident from the preliminaries. "IF HE DOES THAT, I'LL MURDER HIM!! I DON'T CARE IF I FLASH THE WHOLE VILLAGE, I'LL MAKE HIM PAY!!"

Shiguri just stared at her oddly, then turned away, muttering "I'm sure."

Yuji, who was standing in between them, said "It's almost over."

At that moment, Chan thrust a powerful side-kick, which Tsume leapt over. "Serval Stride!" Tsume leapt in mid-air straight up, awing everyone in the stadium. As soon as he reached his peak, he shot forward at 90 degrees to the left. He finally shot straight down and bounced off the ground towards Chan. Tsume punched Chan right in the ribs, and the Zhiu Quan fighter coughed up blood and collapsed.

Gendou held up his hand and yelled "The winner! Shiro Tsume!"

Chan was dragged out of the arena immediately as the crowd cheered.

"Well," Yuji said "it will be either you, you, or that guy who fights him." Yuji was referring to Shiguri's opponent, Hige.

Shiguri cracked his neck in response."He's got nothing on me. I've got some tricks up my sleeve not even sensei knows about." Shiguri looked at Yuji, and winked one eye.

Yuji only said "That sounds like a deadly weapon. Especially one to be using in a chunin exam." Shiguri also trained late at night without Naruto knowing. He was working on a weapon, one that was clearly meant for killing. Yuji didn't like the fact he would be using it here, but trusted his friend's judgement.

"Hey, we're allowed to use shuriken and kunai. You could poke someone's eyes out with those things, so mine shouldn't be much of a big deal."

"The next fight: Inuzuka Hige vs. Naka Shiguri!"

Shiguri just gave a wicked smirk and jumped into the arena floor…

Hope you enjoyed that! I forgot to mention, that Iori's taijutsu was supposed to be based on Okinawan Karate. Hopefully, you got something from that style (I should also warn you NOT to bang your knuckles against a rock, that's a fine way to get arthritis). Next chapter, Shiguri vs. Hige, and the final round of the chunin exams! Plus, what is the new jutsu that Kizu has discovered?