what up, we got some battles going on today. and as you read, you should all notice some people missing in the exam. I will try and stay true to the characters power but I will also wank some of the people who are not up to my standard.

if you see Tenten doing something she shouldn't, don't ask me any questions. let's just say someone else wrote that. My alter ego, ANITA MAX WIN

Review Center

nagiten- Samui and Kurotsuchi are important people who I like to mess with. Glad you like the OC uzumaki, a lot of you do it seems

Moonlight Slayer- You are right, so lets just say Neji could see Sasuke chakra moving around his neck

EVIL-SAGE- my guy! glad you like what you are reading.

Write Your Wrongs- Adigato

eniox27- Yall like Tenten the rizzler! lol, it was the head tilt right? I fold everytime its done

Guest- sorry, no senju benifts. unless yall want me to make Tenten a senju lol. don't worry, Naruto gonna be cracked like glass

Guest- will do my goodmen

curt466- I feel that, hope to see you some more

Eminated- roger that goodmen

YeagerMeister31- Tenten is the rizzler i'm just saying. I'm trying to make the girls real and not just bed warmers for Naruto.

Aye don't worry, yall let me know if Naruto got game!

Team Seven was making their way to the tower in the forest prepared to hopefully make it. All Five Days had been used up and now it was the last day of this part. It didn't even feel like five days to them as their battles seemed almost instant.

The sun was setting and the sky had already begun to bleed purple casting a night shadow over the large forest. Their minds were a bit tired and so were their bodies. Well, Sakura and Sasuke's bodies were tired. Naruto was only barely feeling the effects.

Sasuke was in the back checking their surroundings and making sure nobody was hiding in the trees. Sakura was in the middle placing a small distorting Genjutsu over them. It wasn't extremely powerful and could be seen through by another stronger user of Genjutsu. However, it did its job by making them invisible at first glance.

And Naruto, their powerhouse, took up the front and used his basic knowledge of sensory to try and avoid enemy ninjas. Using it like this allowed Naruto to increase his proficiency at an astounding rate. Thanks to this, it allowed Naruto to know there was something up ahead.

"There's another team up ahead." The other two readied themselves at the warning. "It looks like they've seen through our Genjutsu as well, damnit."

"Sorry." Sakura muttered weakly and felt ashamed of her weak skills.

"Don't apologize, we can definitely take this team." Like a spark, Sakura felt lifted. She smiled and eagerly nodded.

A ninja wearing a white bodysuit suddenly jumped out at Naruto who reacted quickly and punched the guy to the ground. On the ground, the ninja turned into black mud and fell into the dirt.

Sasuke frowned and scanned the area. "That was a clone."

"Some form of Shadow Clone, I felt that hit. Didn't know there were other variants to the Shadow Clone." other than commenting, Naruto never stopped so neither did the others.

"Don't you remember Zabuza, he had Water Clones." Sasuke reminded.

"Oh yeah."

Another clone leaped from the trees and attacked Naruto again. It was even easier this time as Naruto struck out with a punch causing the clone to splat on the ground.

"He's putting a lot of strength into these punches. Or has he just gotten that much stronger? I can't help but think he seems aggravated and anxious even." Sakura noticed the brutal efficiency Naruto was killing these clones. If it had been a real person, they'd have died on contact.

Five clones launched out of nowhere and all aimed to attack Naruto. Like clockwork, Naruto dispatched the clones without being touched.

"Now I'm annoyed." Naruto placed his hands in a cross and flooded the area with his own clones. "You want clones, I got clones!" It was more than a hundred and they all spread out to find the person responsible.

While this was going on, They still moved forward in the direction of the tower. Nobody stopped in their pursuit of the tower.

"I found them." Naruto said and jumped off in the direction his clone popped. "You two go on, I will catch up in no time."

"Wait Naruto, you shouldn't fight them alone." Sakura halted and tried to reason.

"Let's go Sakura, he's not alone. Remember he can make an army if he needs to." Sasuke reminded Sakura who seemed to just now be figuring out how strong Naruto was. "He's going to be fine so let's keep moving." And he was gone in the trees moving again.

Sakura looked at Naruto's back and took in Sasuke's words. "It's so strange, they argue like they hate each other but fight in perfect unison together. They have such strong trust for each other, I…don't understand boys." Sakura quickly followed after Sasuke but wished Naruto to be safe in his fight.

Naruto stood alone on the tree trunk and crossed his arms with a scowl. "Are you just going to hide forever or come and fight me?!"

Nothing. The forest didn't speak to him and Naruto scowled. "Fine! If you won't come out, I'll force you out!" Naruto began to raise his chakra levels to the point he began glowing blue.

"I don't know how to freely shape wind yet nor am I super advanced and I only know a few Wind Jutsu. I'll just use what I have." The trees around Naruto began to get slashed by razor-thin cuts. Until they got bigger and began to completely cut the trees down and leave deep trenches in the ground.

The wind began howling as a Tornado began forming in front of Naruto. It grew in size rapidly and the power of the wind also grew. Building-size trees were being torn out of the ground and chaos was born from the devastation.

"Wind Style: Wind Blade Tornado!" This was just a B-Rank jutsu which could have its rank boosted depending on the caster. All you had to do was pour more chakra into said jutsu. And Naruto had oceans of chakra to spare.

Shouts were heard as the ninja terrorizing Naruto and his team were pulled from their hiding spot. They flew into the geyser of wind and screamed as their bodies received hundreds of cuts and slashes within seconds. The tornado was massive at this point as it began to level the entire area.

Even miles away, other teams looked up and saw the Tornado destroying the forest.

Back on the ground, Naruto looked up with eyes of liquid ruby red. The eyes were primal and unmatched ferocity. Through it all, Naruto still kept a calm face and relaxed posture as if what he was doing was no different from walking through the forest.

He blinked once and then twice. His eyes returned back to their cerulean blue once again. Naruto dropped the jutsu and the bloody bodies of the three genin smacked into the ground. Walking to them on guard, Naruto kicked one over and heard him groan and moan. His mouth was filled with blood and his body was torn up.

He didn't mean to nearly kill them. But in drawing upon his chakra so quickly and intensely combined with his emotional state right now, some of the Nine-Tails Chakra weaseled its way in.

Still, there was no empathy for these three beneath him. He reached in and took their scrolls and jumped back into the trees to meet up with his team.

Forest of Death Arena

Once Naruto regrouped with his group just outside the tower. All they had to do was take out their two scrolls and enter the safe haven. The trail didn't end there as the wall was covered with text. It was easy for Sakura to understand what was needed upon inspection.

Finally, they unfurled the scrolls and like a magic trick. Out came their old-school Sensei, Iruka. He gave his congratulations and a small speech about how proud he was.

He then escorted them to their current location.

Naruto leaned on the railing and looked around to see who made it. On his side of the large stoned room, his team, Team Eight, and Team Ten.

On the other wall, Kurotsuchi and her two teammates, The Cloud team, and Gaara with his two siblings.

He saw a familiar head of wheat blonde hair and felt his face stretch into a grin. Temari had made it safe and without a scratch. Which was no surprise, spending his limited time with Temari, he discovered a bit of her silent power.

Her teal green eyes locked with his bright blue and they both conveyed their relief and happiness. Temari gave him a wink and blew a flirty kiss. Naruto moved his head to let it slip by him, drawing an affronted gasp from the Sand Kunoichi.

He chuckled at her glare. What she sent this time wasn't a kiss, but her middle finger.

"I was beginning to think you wouldn't make it." Naruto turned to see Tenten, who was looking at him amused.

"Where you…waiting for me?" Naruto asked, sending a suggestive look toward the girl. She was caught off guard by the open display and also flushed at his deep tone and hungry look.

Her face turned scarlet. "N-No, I-I was just worried that something might have happened to you."

"Well thank you Ten-chan." Naruto was overjoyed that there was someone who was truly worried for him now. Oh, how his life had changed since coming onto Team Seven. He was grateful for all of it. And it caused him to give a smile that radiated warmth and comfort.

"What's with that smile?" Tenten asked once she was done admiring Naruto's handsome features.

"Nothing, I'm just happy that's all." He was honest and true. The anger and anxiety grabbing at his heart from being in that forest were finally beginning to leave.

From her side of the arena. Temari saw the scene play out and felt left out and thrown to the side. Who was that? Why was Naruto looking at her like that and making the girl blush? Was she just some backup and side chick?

She didn't know why. That was a lie, she did know why. It was quick, maybe love at first sight. Her heart had already become attached to Naruto. He made her feel emotions the princess didn't know existed. So it was for this reason that Temari placed a mental hit on Tenten.

She didn't want to lose the feelings Naruto gave her. So she'd fight for those feelings if she needed to. And Temari hoped she had too.

"Damn that whiskered blonde! I still haven't forgiven him for feeling me up!" To Temari's left, she saw the girl from stone glaring at Naruto. "I hope I can fight him again, I'm gonna melt him down so not even his ashes remain."

"Why are you still on that? He only did it to distract you. He's obviously not tripping about it?" Kitsuki rolled her eyes. She was running a kunai along the edges of her Demon Wind Shuriken to sharpen it.

"Because! It was uncalled for and insensitive!" She yelled with a red face.

"Calm down Kuro, you will have your time to fight the blonde again. Don't lose focus as right now you still need to get through the second part of this exam. Or you can wave goodbye to making it to the finals." It was their tall slightly tan-skinned Sensei behind them who spoke. Covering his muscular body was a black cloak, underneath which was the Rock Jounin attire. His hair was a perfect mess of brown strands but still looked as if it belonged.

"Okay, Reger-Sensei. I'm just itching to get at him." Kurotsuchi felt her head patted by the man's ruff hands. She looked into his orange eyes and grinning face.

"I know all of you will pass." He reassured making all three teens.

Naruto did what?

Temari's brow twitched and now she wanted to send another middle finger to Naruto. This one backed up with actual anger.

A couple of feet away, Samui and her teammates could be seen perfectly healthy and in top condition. Behind them was also their extremely tall Sensei. He was massive with arms like tree trunks that were bare for the world to see his gains. His skin was caramel with long braided black hair. His Cloud Jounin attire was made for him as it had no sleeves and the only thing protecting his skin was the white vest. He wore big baggy tattered black pants and sandals.

"Alright, things are really about to get out of hand. Are you three ready?" His deep voice was powerful and demanded obedience.

"Yes, Nondo-Sensei!" All three of his students answered in unison.

The giant screen on the wall lit up drawing all their attention. The giant hands performing a hand sign slightly blocked their view. "Alright, like I said earlier, there are too many of you so we are going to trim the numbers down a bit. This screen will cycle through names at random and if you are picked, proceed to the arena floor!" After speaking for so long, the proctor coughed and patted his chest.

"Let's begin!" Hayate yelled.

The screen began flashing names at random drawing all the genin's complete attention. Some were anxious, frightened, excited, or overall impassive. But they all shared one thing in common.

The main goal was to win!

The screen slowed down until it landed on just two names.

Sasuke Uchiha Vs Omoi.

"Starting off strong I see." Kakashi said. He then patted Sasuke on the back. He leaned down to whisper into his ear. "Don't use your Sharingan."

Sasuke went stiff like a plank. How did Kakashi know? Of course he did! Kakashi was the strongest Jounin in the village. Something like this obviously wasn't going to escape his eagle eye.

"This Curse Mark, it draws on my chakra. Which means I shouldn't be using my chakra at all, but I need it to fight. I need my Sharingan to win!" Sasuke rubbed at his shoulder and stared down at the dark-skinned teen waiting for him in the ring with a bored look. "So be it, I'll try to not use it. We've been doing intense physical training. I'm no Naruto but I should be able to do damage with just my body."

"Good luck Sasuke-kun!" Sakura clamped her hands together and cheered.

He didn't look at her and focused on finding ways to win. Just when he was about to leap over, his arm was grabbed tight. Shifting his eyes, Sasuke saw Naruto giving him a rather serious and, to be honest, chilling look. It was a look that didn't belong on Naruto's face, it was out of place.

"You better win, I'm the only one who can beat you." Naruto's voice was low and frigid. Sasuke felt his intent through their bond, they were close but even he had never seen this look on Naruto. Did beating him mean more to Naruto than he was led to believe?

Returning the look, Sasuke smirked in anticipation and amusement. "Don't worry Naruto, I want to fight you too. And I'll prove to you that I'm better."

"Yeah, well see." Naruto let him go and a more fitting expression rested on his face. "Just don't embarrass us."

Sasuke flipped down and landed perfectly. He walked up to Omoi until the other ninja was only ten feet away. Omoi's black eyes landed on his onyx eyes.

"You two ready?"

"Is it okay if I quit?"

This surprised the both of them. Sasuke wondered if the stars aligned and his clan had risen from the dead. Was he just going to get a pass?

"You can if you want."

"Omoi! If you quit I'm actually going to kill you!" Karui yelled at him from the railings. She looked ready to leap over as lighting was already jumping from her skin.

"Uhh, fine! But what if I die and this sparks a chain reaction of mass murder? Which might lead to my team dying in the bloody war going to take place. Which would cause our village to retaliate with a war causing the entire world to burn as it's brought to chaos. And the aliens watching decide we are a lost cause and they destroy Earth with a giant laser?"

"Are you going to fight? To stop all of that from happening?" Hayate asked with a deadpan.

"Yes, I will!" Omoi took hold of the red-handled katana on his back.

"Are you ready?" He asked Sasuke this time.

"Yeah."

Jumping back before he gave the go. "Begin!"

Even before Hayate had declared that, Sasuke was already retreating to keep his distance. Which gave him time to pick up on key features that might allow him to win.

In the seconds it took Omoi to pull his sword and run toward him. Sasuke saw that his speed as it was now wasn't too impressive, his overall form and guard weren't anything too troubling either. And most importantly, he was able to stick a hand in his pouch and get a guess on what he had to work with.

It caused him to grin, this was winnable without a doubt.

Withdrawing a kunai just in time, Sasuke parried and blocked the attacks of Omoi. Sasuke used his agility to his advantage as he would slip out of the way suffering no damage, or parry and unleash an attack of his own.

The clanging of metal filled the arena as Sasuke and Omoi fought with their weapons. Sparks flew and shallow cuts found their way on both of their bodies as their exchange of blows continued.

"Yeah, He's no Zabuza. His sword kenjutsu is something I can easily adapt to." Sasuke thought to himself in joy. He took out another kunai and held it like menacing daggers.

Instead of displaying an even match, the scale began to tip in Sasuke's favor. Everyone saw as Sasuke moved quickly and precisely. He struck like an attacking snake and cut Omoi open along his left shoulder drawing real leaking blood.

Sasuke was relentless though. He gave no room for Omoi to breathe let alone think of a strategy. Since Sasuke's weapons were lighter, he could attack quicker and he used that to his full advantage.

Dashing forward with a lunge-like stab, Sasuke was parried to the side leaving his back open for attack. Omoi saw and moved to capitalize. That was until he saw the spinning Kunai Sasuke had left in the air. It wasn't just a spinning kunai, it was an explosive kunai.

Omoi's hair stood on end as he saw every piece of the paper sizzle away. It exploded powerfully, blowing chunks in the stone underneath their feet.

"Wow, Sasuke sure is doing great!" Sakura was ecstatic as she spoke with a smile.

"He looks good with those kunai, perhaps he should pick up a blade." Naruto added. "But that other guy was good too, he only suffered one real hit and that kunai trick was nice but I know it didn't work."

Kakashi watched, but had nothing to say. He was content to see how Sasuke would fare without his Sharingan.

"I could beat the both of them in Kenjutsu alone." Tenten felt proud of herself. To have such an edge on the famed and worshiped Uchiha was a nice comfort to her.

"Hmph, petty tricks." Neji murmured.

"Come on Omoi! Stop being a pussy and fight! You are better than him!" Karui roared from the stands.

"Oh yeah, that will motivate him." Samui droned on. She rolled her shoulders a bit and took some breaths. "Come on Omoi, don't disappoint the Cloud." Even her cheers were ice cold like her expression.

"Haha, no way he's losing to this Uchiha! We beat his ass in the forest!" Kurotsuchi laughed mockingly, like a hyena laughing at injured prey.

"You shut up bitch! Or I'll cut your ugly face to pieces."

"As if your blade could reach me, weakling." She laughed more, almost causing Karui to rush over and fight.

"Ouch!"

Corresponding ouches rang as both girls suffered chops to the head. Their Sensei delivered their punishments at the same time. The girls were picked up by the back of their necks like kittens and placed opposite of each other, out of sight.

Omoi panted. His clothes had burn marks on them and he still had to pat down some of the burning clothing. He had managed to avoid the blast but not before taking some damage. Omoi also felt the cut on his left shoulder alert him to the damage.

"A bigger issue than I thought. He's been aiming for my shoulder joints or wrist. He's trying to stop me from using my sword." Omoi saw the dust clear and looked at Sasuke sizing him up with a cold calculative expression. "The Uchiha is good, but I've felt no chakra come from his body at all. And he isn't using his Sharingan. Does he think I am unworthy? Bastard, I'll show him!"

Omoi stood to his feet and fell into stance again. His arms shook slightly and apprehension along with anxiety began clawing at his throat. Lighting sparked off his blade before crawling up the weapon to cover his body. "I…can win!"

Sasuke's eyes widened as Omoi blitzed past him and opened up a cut along his cheek. Sasuke turned and barely had time to block the sword strike aimed toward the left side of his body. Omoi crashed into him like a chagrin Rhino which blew Sasuke back several feet.

Sasuke bounced on the ground and flipped out of the way of Omoi's fallen strike. Then another and another, Sasuke was being pushed back severely.

He winced as Omoi was getting clear cuts on his body and if things kept up, he'd lose.

"Ninja Art: Talefin!" Omoi jumped up and came spinning down, turning into a sparking spinning death wheel.

Sasuke dove out of the way and avoided the attack. However, he wasn't prepared for the second attack Omoi threw.

"Lighting Burst!" The blue lighting rushed out in all directions at an alarming pace. Sasuke had no hope of dodging and was shocked by the pain.

Sasuke's scream filled the arena as Omoi held the jutsu and shocked Sasuke on repeat.

"Come on Sasuke-kun! Get outta there!" Sakura yelled in worry.

Naruto bent the railing from how hard he was gripping it. He looked worried for his friend to escape and pull off a victory.

"It's just a light shock Sasuke endured." Kakashi looked on not as worried, but still a little anxious.

"Yeah Omoi! Cook him!"

"Cool."

Sasuke grit his teeth and stared at Omoi. In the back of his mind, he could feel a dark presence. It was beckoning him, just begging for him to draw on the power. "I won't! I won't use it!" though these were his words. A black flame-like pattern spread from Sasuke's neck.

It was instant. Sasuke was screaming in pain one second and the next he was silent. Everyone in the room felt the change as Sasuke unleashed a killer amount of chakra that washed over the room.

The lighting jutsu was blasted away like it didn't exist. Sasuke's head slowly rose and he peered through his black bangs at Omoi. The look was downright murderous and just oozing intent to kill.

The cloud ninja flinched heavily as he even jumped back in a panic. Goosebumps ran up his entire body as he felt a bitter cold splash on his face. Sasuke the young teen in front of him was radiating such malevolent intent as his red eyes, dark and ruthless burned holes in him.

Only for the marks to fade and Sasuke to wobble on his feet. He moved his hair back and smirked at Omoi. "Come on, you can still dance now can't you?"

Omoi was still in shock. This Uchiha, he was living up to the hype. It was time to end this fight though, Omoi did not want to be caught off guard any longer. His body became lit with Lighting Chakra and he shined like a blue star.

"I had no idea you could use Lightning that way. He's using it like armor. But it's unrefined, patchy, and not very powerful. I know I could use it better." coming up with an idea, Sasuke went for something daring.

Using a burst of chakra. Sasuke turned his Sharingan on for half a second. And in the span of that little time, Sasuke saw where he could attack.

"Hear I come!" Omoi rushed in ready to finish the battle with this single attack. And his sword hit home, plunging right through Sasuke's body. He was surprised at first as he didn't think Sasuke would be hit so easily, in fact. He was prepared to launch his other plan.

So this must be…

The Sasuke he hit turned out to not be Sasuke at all. And instead, it was a strange-looking flower resembling a Sunflower. If it had been born in hell and dumped in mud. Its petals were red like blood and poked full of holes. The steam was long and black, like a metal pipe. In the center was the pollen.

It was blown in his face and clouded his vision and numbed his senses. He inhaled gray fog and he felt the effects immediately. Omoi's body froze and he lost vision in his eyes.

He panicked and only functioned on motor functions. Omoi swung his katana and prayed to hit Sasuke by accident.

His suffering was halted as he felt his chin being kicked. It was powerful enough to lift him off the ground. Omoi then felt a barrage of several more kicks raise his body.

"Lions Barrage!" Sasuke snapped back down with a powerful leg drop that sent Omoi crashing into the ground where he lost consciousness. The boy had been out the moment Sasuke dropped his leg right on his sternum.

Hayate jumped back on the arena floor and walked over to Omoi who didn't move a single muscle or even twitch. Yup, this kid was out for the count.

"Winner, Sasuke Uchiha!"

Hearing his name called, and him being declared the victor was like a long breath had finally been released. Sasuke smirked proudly and full of bravado for all to see. He pushed his bruised and trembling hands into his pockets in a cool aloof way. The last Uchiha walked back up the stairs since he lacked the energy to jump that high at the moment.

Upon reaching the top, he was faced with mixed emotions. Neji gave him a blank look, but he might have seen just a hint of respect in those eyes. Tenten gave him a thumbs up and a friendly smile, while Rock Lee had fire in his eyes.

"What an amazing display of talent Sasuke Uchiha! You managed to use my move after only seeing it once, only a genius of your caliber could pull that off!" Lee brought up a fist and gained a challenging look. "Yosh! I shall make it to the final so we may face each other once again in an all-out fight!"

"Hmph, prepare yourself. Because I won't lose again." Sasuke matched Lee's intensity with his own excitement begging to shine through his cold exterior.

"Haha! The youth radiate like the sun rising at the earliest hour! Way to go young Sasuke!" Guy gave a thumbs-up and a brilliant smile.

Walking past the man kinda creeped out, Sasuke saw Kiba's smug expression. "Good fight I guess, but me and Akimaru could have done way better! right boy!?" Kiba received a bark from the small puppy who wagged its tail.

Shino didn't say anything and mainly kept to himself.

Hinata, at least barely audible, also congratulated Sasuke. "G-G-Good work, S-Sasuke." Just speaking to him made her feel smaller and shrink in on herself.

Sasuke didn't spare her a glance and just walked by.

"Hey! You're not going to say anything to me!" Kiba yelled in outrage at being ignored.

"Impressive Sasuke, I can see that you live up to your hype." Kurenai gave Sasuke his respect mentally. Familiar with the silent type of kid Sasuke was, since she too, had a silent type on her team.

He was caught off guard and unprepared as Sakura threw herself at him and nuzzled his face. She was squealing and rambling about how happy she was. Sasuke hoped no one saw since Sakura was blocking his face that he was blushing. "Sasuke-kun you were amazing! I knew you'd win the entire time!"

Once she let him go, Sasuke could see the matching mischievous look his best friend and Sensei shared. "What did you expect, it was me after all."

"Yeah yeah, praise be to Sasuke-sama!" Naruto was sarcastic as he mockingly performed a bowing gesture toward Sasuke.

"Hmph, talk it up now. I want to see how you are going to fight."

"Wanna get back in the ring and I'll show ya."

The two eternal rivals butted heads and radiated intense fighting spirit.

"Alright, you two, enough." Kakashi plucked both of them in the nose with a little bit of chakra. "Good fighting down there Sasuke, way to use your tactical brain. But I do have a question, where did you get that flower?"

"Oh, It came from the forest. Sakura was looking at it weirdly. She told us that umm, what's the name of your blonde hair friend again?" Sasuke looked at Sakura who had to chuckle at the question.

How would the Yamanaka feel if she knew Sasuke didn't know her name?

"Ino Yamanaka."

"Ino, yeah I remember now. She was quite…persistent." Sasuke shivered. "Anyways, Sakura had brought up that Ino said it was super dangerous and could cause the senses to dull and temporary blindness might occur if the pollen was sprayed in someone's eyes. It's called Blind Sunflower."

"So you took it for future use. Very good, I'm glad my lessons of thinking ahead are starting to stick." Kakashi patted Sasuke on the head and gave him an eye smile before he shifted and turned serious. "Now quickly, let's go and deal with that problem."

"Alright." Sasuke nodded and was flashed away with Kakashi who used Body Flicker.

"Uh, what problem?" Naruto asked Sakura who looked nervous. Until he thought back to the match and what he saw. "Was it about those patterns spreading from his neck? Did something happen while I was away?"

Sakura bit the inside of her lip. Sasuke had asked her not to tell Naruto for the safety of their team and his own powerlessness in the endeavor.

However, more than anything she wanted to tell Naruto. She knew that if Naruto got involved he'd do everything about it. Though she knew that's exactly what Sasuke wanted to avoid. He didn't want Naruto's help or to burden him or anyone with his own problems.

"My issues are mine and mine alone, so that's why I will handle my issues however I see fit."

Sakura needed to come up with an answer or Naruto would start to pick and poke at her for answers. "I don't think it's that big of a deal anymore, Kakashi-sensei is handling it. But just know it's the aftermath of the fight with Orochimaru."

"What did he do? I understand you guys fought him. But did this lead to something else?"

"Like I said, you can relax. Kakashi-sensei is going to take care of it."

Down in the arena, Hayate began to speak once again. "Now it is time for the second match to take place. Once again, look for your name on the screen."

Kitsuki vs Samui

Standing on the hands, Hiruzen watched on with a gentle smile. "Young Sasuke was able to force the markdown and win the battle with just his wits. He will go far in his ninja career." Hiruzen smiled down at this young generation of shinobi. He could feel great change coming to the world.

These young kids of sixteen and seventeen already have good starts to their careers. Even still, amongst the batch of newly born leaves. Four seemed particularly green.

Naruto Uzumaki

Samui

Gaara

Kurotsuchi.

In these four, he saw future Kage or strong leadership roles. Throughout the exam, they had rapidly sparked Hiruzen's interest. Their wits, leadership, dynamic, and team impact.

Naruto was young and ambitious, far more ambitious than anyone from the Leaf had been for a long time. Currently, Naruto was improving himself to better suit his needs and achieve his dreams. And it was working. The blonde fell into all categories of what he was looking for.

Samui may have been cold and cool as her name defined. But much like Gaara, the impact of her position could not go unnoticed. She spoke, and they became quiet to listen. She led them through the forest without suffering any damage. Her team even arrived only ten seconds after Gaara's team.

Gaara. Yes, he was unstable and feared by his team. It was that aspect of fear that kept everyone in line. As a Kage, that fear needed to be submitted into the brain of your Shinobi so they would remain loyal and obedient. All he needed to do now was cut back on his bloodlust, and open up a little more and the boy would be perfect.

Kurotsuchi was a mirror image of Naruto. Dye her hair blonde and draw whisker marks on her face, and you'd have a twin of Naruto. The aged Hokage shuddered at that possibility. Kurotsuchi was ambitious, wild, and charismatic. A flaw of hers would be letting your emotions run your mind.

But, that was why these kids had a future. A bright one at that. The world was on the brink of turning into a new chapter, and it was a shame he'd not be alive to see it.

"Alright, to the battle we go!" Kitsuki leaped over the railing and dropped to the ground silently.

"Go and show them your power kiddo." Reger encouraged smiling at the girl.

Samui moved and walked down the stairs instead.

"Go and reclaim our dignity Samui!" Karui glared at Omoi who was still blind. So he didn't see it. Since he was lacking in vision right now, Karui was holding his hand so he'd not feel scared or lost.

"Sorry Samui!"

The two girls met in the middle and stared at each other. Kitsuki had a small grin of anticipation on her face as she was ready to fight.

While Samui remained passive and unreadable. Though on the inside, Samui was itching to fight someone strong. And this girl just might give her what she needs.

Kiba leaned over the railing. "Two hot chicks! Rip her clothes off!" Kiba yelled.

"Tackle her!" Naruto yelled getting excited for another reason.

"Are you two ready?" Hayate asked. He received two nods of approval from the young kunoichi. "Then fight!" Hayate faded back to his previous spot to watch.

Samui was silent and pulled her katana from its sheath in one fluid motion. She lunged and went to end the match quickly with just one sword strike.

Kitsukii reacted just in time to throw Samui off. Her demon wind shuriken clashed with the katana of Samui. The Stone Kunoichi felt the power behind Samui's attack, and it was very powerful. It was almost too much for her to handle.

They sprung into action and began to let orange sparks fly as their dominant battle carried them over the arena floor.

Samui attacked with pinpoint accuracy and quick precision backed by hidden strength. The goal of this exchange was to bombard Kitsuki with relentless attacks that would leave her exhausted and on edge. Samui's blade arced down in unpredictable displays that left the audience stunned by the performance,

"I can't really judge how she's going to attack, this is my first time fighting someone using a sword. My other battles just give me enough experience to counter and protect myself from anything harming." Kitsuki continued to be pressed as she was forced to play defense as Samui's attack never seemed to finish.

Samui attacked low and forced Kitsuki to defend low. Seeing as Kitsukii had fallen victim to her setup, Samui sent chakra into her mouth. "Lightning Needle." The blue needle-shaped chakra spit out of Samui's mouth like spit.

Kitsuki shifted her head in time to miss being shot straight through the head. But a cut opened above her left eyebrow which leaked a trail of blood. A fist slammed into her side as well launching her back into the stone wall.

"Ahk, my back." Kitsuki fell from the wall to her knees. The hair on the back of her neck stood firm and she looked up. Just in time to see Samui clad in lightning just above her ready to finish her.

Kitsuki's hands and blood were already on the ground so she didn't need to do much. The head of Red popped in front of her like a shield. He opened his mouth and breathed onto Samui who was caught in it momentarily.

She wasn't safe and her cloak wasn't developed enough to negate the damage. The flames burned her skin and battled the lightning around her body. Samui retreated momentarily to a safe distance.

Samui patted the fire out and just bit back her grunts from the stings the fire would leave on her skin. This retreat, however, was Kitsuki's time to attack, and so she did.

Demon wind shurikens came flying at Samui. Her ice-blue eyes took in the tools and she dodged them. It was two at first, then three, four, and five.

Now only dodging wasn't good enough and Samui had to physically block them.

"Ninja Art: Massive Demon Wind Shuriken Jutsu!" The ninja tools grew to proportional sizes and spun rapidly. The weapons were launched at Samui who widened her eyes at the oncoming attack.

"Chakra Burst!" Samui used a jutsu of her creation. It was a simple move that anyone could master and use if they wanted to. The base of the technique was just channeling your chakra across your entire body to increase its capability temporarily in that short burst. With this increased movement, Samui was able to easily dodge.

Quick as it came, the feeling was gone. And Samui took a deep breath to gather herself.

"How did you dodge? That should have hit you for sure." Kitsuki was left in shock and wonder. All she saw and felt was the burst of chakra from Samui's position. Did she launch some jutsu to allow her to escape?

"I'm pretty fast."

"Indeed you are. I wasn't holding back in that attack, I haven't since we started, I could sense how powerful you are." Kitsuki rolled another spare demon wind shuriken along her finger. She was showing Samui the courtesy of not holding anything back, unlike how she did in the forest with all the other genin.

"I never hold back, so you can take solace in your defeat to me, the future Raikage!" Samui's body was wrapped in lighting again and she used the jutsu of the Fourth Raikage. "Lightning Armor!" Samui's blonde hair began to spike up unruly.

Their sensei Nondo whistled. "And this fight is over."

"Aww yeah Samui! Kick her ass!" Karui yelled.

"Man she's so strong, we're going to need to train even harder just to keep up with her." Omoi, who could see again, started to shed tears at the future training.

"Hey, Nondo!" Looking over, the dark-skinned man saw Reger looking at him. "Is she being trained by the Raikage?"

Nondo gave Reger a smirk. "Not telling you outsider."

This answer caused the Stone Shinobi to feel dissatisfied. But he already knew the answer, everyone did. Of course Samui was getting trained by the Raikage, how else would she know that jutsu?

"Should we be worried? The Raikage has already picked a successor. Perhaps his health is declining or he just wants to secure the future. No matter, Kurotsuchi is also being trained by our Tsuchikage. I wonder if the Hokage has picked another successor? It could be his son Asuma or Kakashi." Thoughts for a later time, now he had to get ready to treat his student's soon-to-be wounds.

"Secret Technique: Cold Stab!" Samui bathed in lightning moved forward faster than the naked eye could track. Her katana extended in a stabbing motion, it hit home as it pierced Kitsuki's abdomen.

The Genin from the Stone ran through before she could even see it. The only thing her eyes saw was an arc of blue light and the next thing she knew was pain.

Samui pulled her sword from Kitsuki who dropped to the floor bleeding. She whipped the sword to the side, throwing her enemy's blood on the cold ground. The weapon went back into its sheath with a click.

"Winner, Samui!"

Samui didn't show her joy on the outside, but inside she was very pleased with herself. She managed to win without sustaining major injuries plus, Samui was able to perform perfectly. But most of all.

She was cool while doing so.

Samui walked back up the stairs and to her team to be crushed in a hug by Karui. "You were amazing Samui!"

"Yeah. Great job!" Omoi praised.

"You bring great pride to our village Samui, I have no doubt you'll win and become a Chunin." Nondo said. Which made Samui almost giddy at the praise and acknowledgment.

"I will live up to your hopes."

Over with Kitsuki, she had to be brought up by her sensei. She was carried like a bride until she was gently set on the ground. "You're going to be alright. You had a good fight out there." Geger quietly hushed the girl who was whimpering in pain.

His hands lit to life with healing chakra. The green glow of his hands covered the wound and she felt the pain wash away. The only thing left was the blood splashes in her green hair and orange hoodie. Even still, her beauty was still present and not stained by the blood.

"Don't worry, I'll go to the finals in your place." Even the loud Kurotsuchi calmed down to check on her friend. "I'll buy you dinner tonight to make you feel better."

"And then we'll train harder so this doesn't happen again." Nokami took the chance to pat Kitsuki's head. Which he knew she hated.

Still strong enough to glare, Kitsuki sent one to Nokami who only sent an eye smile back as he kept rubbing her head. "Thanks guys, and I'm sorry for losing."

"Don't apologize for doing your best. That was a good match, she was just stronger than you."

"Okay, Sensei."

"Now onto the next match!" Hayate yelled. The screen went through names until it landed on two Naruto knew very well.

Tenten vs Temari.

Even though I got pulled over today in my own neighborhood, it's going to be a good day

Let It All Work Out- Lil Wayne