Sasuke had been tested repeatedly while under the gaze of Hyuga Hiashi, the leader of the Hyuga clan, as well as the head of the Medical Corps, Anko, and Kakashi. The results had been disturbing.

"It's almost like a dedicated flow controller for his chakra," Hiashi had said when he finished his observations and made his report to the Hokage. "His entire chakra system flows through the seal, and the seal normally does nothing. But when he tries to use it, the seal acts on his intent and bends the flow of his chakra to maximize the desired effect."

The Hokage frowned at that. "You see no loss in chakra, no unusual chakra, no sign of alteration or variation in the chakra beyond improved flow?"

"None, Hokage-sama."

Hiruzen turned the the head of the Medical Shinobi Corps. "You have found no evidence of alteration, on any physical level, when the seal is operating?" The woman looked at a clipboard she had, thick with readings and test results, and shook her head. "As far as we can tell," she said, flipping through the documents as if to check one last time for an error, "the seal does not interact on a physical level with anything. Even the interpretation of intent appears to be caused by reactions to the flow of chakra, rather than through nerve impulses or other biological means, just as Hyuga-sama has said."

The Hokage turned to share a look with Kakashi, who sighed and shook his head, and then his gaze fell on to Sasuke, his face growing stern even as his eyes softened. "Sasuke, I cannot allow you to continue to compete in the Chunin exam. I am sorry, but this unknown seal is too dangerous. We will have to continue to observe it, at least until Jiraiya returns." His voice was deep, calm, and painfully certain.

Sasuke felt the urge to shout, to argue, to do whatever it took to continue. He had a team, a good team! He was learning so much! He was growing stronger, and so were they, and together they might one day reach his goals, and beyond them! But Sarutobi Hiruzen did not take his eyes from Sasuke, and he was not some random shinobi to argue with. He was in charge for a reason, called the God of Shinobi by friend and foe alike, respected here and feared abroad for his wisdom and intellect. Sasuke knew that if anyone had the right to make that call, it was the old man before him, looking saddened but determined.

Sasuke bowed. "I understand," he said quietly, biting back both anger and tears.

He was shocked to feel the old man's hands lightly touch his shoulders and lift, raising him from his bow. Sasuke looked at the man as he smiled and patted his shoulder with one hand while fiddling with his pipe in the other. "I am sorry to have to lie to you like that, " the old man said, his lips curved upward slightly. "I had to be sure. Orochimaru's previous seals were known for having a detrimental effect to those who suffered them, and those we have witnessed tend to show a marked decline in self control as well, with one notable exception, who was little better to begin with." He snuck a glance at Anko, who was leaning against the wall. She stuck her tongue out at him, and he chuckled.

Kakashi patted Sasuke's other shoulder and chuckled at the boy's confused look. Sasuke could see the curve in his mask that indicated he was smiling. "What the Hokage is saying, Sasuke, is he had to forbid you from competing to see how you reacted. He is apologizing for that lie."

"So I can compete?"

Hiruzen looked at each person in the room in turn, and each gave a small nod, or in Anko's case, a thumbs up. He then looked at Sasuke and nodded as well.

The last two days at the tower passed slowly for the Konoha group. Only a single successful team arrived after they did, the trio of Otogakure shinobi that had picked a fight with Naruto before the written test, and they arrived only minutes after Sasuke was taken away by Kakashi. Every other team that arrived was injured, or in a couple cases, carrying a dead ally.

Naruto spotted the red haired girl that he and Shino had saved, crying and alone when she limped into the tower. His clones had seen her reunite with her team, so something must have happened to them again, this time without himself and Shino to save them. That thought made him antsy, and the others watched him pace the floor as they waited and watched for further arrivals, his head down, his mouth drawn into a frown.

The Konoha group stayed together, sleeping in one large room that looked like it did duty as a meeting hall under normal circumstances. They had been assigned beds, just like every other arrival, but Shikamaru had pointed out that they while they had passed the test, nobody had said anything about being safe from the other contestants. Naruto sent his clones out to find a good place to gather and found the room deep in the building and apparently unused for some time. In the end, the group chose to camp there together rather than risk separation at this point.

On the first night, Naruto sent out clones, henged to look like the group, to give the impression that they was staying in their separate accommodations. It was less than an hour before he received memories from the clone disguised as Neji being stabbed in his sleep. Ten minutes later, the clones looking like Sakura and Naruto were also dispelled. None of the clones got a look at their attacker's face before they were dispelled.

Shikamaru nodded thoughtfully when Naruto shared the news. "Someone is eliminating the competition," he said, frowning to himself as he thought. "Neji is well known as a genius, and Sakura and Naruto have some solid reputation from their mission a few months back. I suspect that Lee and Shino's clones will be next, and if Sasuke had one, it would have been first to go."

Shikamaru was lazy, but he was also intelligent. Within a few more minutes, both Lee and Shino's clones dispelled. The remainder of the night was spent in rotating watches, and nobody walked the tower alone after that.

On the second night, Sasuke was brought to the group. He was ushered in by Kakashi himself, as well as an ANBU member, one of the anonymous and powerful shinobi hand picked by the Hokage to fulfill difficult missions. Shikamaru was careful to hide his reaction to the escort, and saw Shino spare a glance at him. Why would Sasuke need an ANBU level escort into the middle of a chunin level test? Shinobi were graded by their capability, and the power difference between grades was immense. A single jonin like his own sensei, Asuma, could easily destroy any genin team unless he was caught unawares and in a weakened state. Simply having Kakashi as an escort should have been more than enough.

The group stood and gathered around quickly, greeting Sasuke in a manner ranging from a quiet nod from Shino to a loud whoop from Naruto. Kakashi waved them all down with his hands, saying, "Mah, Sasuke's fine, we had him examined thoroughly. Nothing he can't work through, right, Sasuke?"

Sasuke scoffed. 'Work through' is not anywhere near the right words. He huffed slightly and looked away. "I'm probably better rested than you guys. I'll be fine"

The Konoha group relaxed at the news… except for Ino. She was standing away from the others, her back turned to them. Sakura gave Sasuke a nudge and nodded to the blond girl, drawing a pained groan from Sasuke. He trudged over and stood behind Ino, waiting for her to turn. When she did not he reached out and gently turned her around to face him.

She continued to look down on the floor, and he could hear her softly muttering apologies. For failing him. For being weak. Sasuke looked back at Sakura, who pointed vigorously at the other girl, mouthing the most dreaded of words. Help her.

I don't do that, he mouthed back.

Figure it out, was the reply.

Sasuke rolled his eyes and bit back a sigh. He had no problem with Sakura in general. After the wave mission, what little weird fangirl bits of her that remained had vanished, and he had not seen them since. And she was putting a lot of effort into training. But sometimes she forgot who he was. Even before he lost his family, the only one who used to be able to comfort him when he was upset was his mom, who managed it because she was his mom, and…

No.

He glared at Sakura and shook his head. She pointed again and stomped the floor slightly. He shook his head again. She took a deep breath, her jaw setting, then reached into her pouch and withdrew a pair of leather gloves, her fighting pair, and made a show of putting them on while glaring at him. And behind her, Kakashi shrugged and nodded at Ino.

Sasuke shot a betrayed face at Kakashi, then schooled his face into, if not good cheer, than at least passive non-aggression. He turned to Ino, then raised his hand and pushed on her forehead with his index finger, increasing the pressure slowly until he got her head up high enough for her to meet his eyes. "We were ambushed by an enemy well beyond our abilities," he said calmly. "It happens. Let's just be glad we both survived, so we can grow stronger and do better... next time."

Sasuke mentally flinched, even as he struggled to keep his face still. Never mind that he was acting like… that man… he was also deliberately acting cool to one of his most rabid fangirls. He imagined Ino squealing with glee and jumping around and acting like she had just won the lottery, and thus was deeply surprised when she quietly nodded her head and gave him a small and rather pathetic smile. She even managed not to cry, in spite of the tears welling in her eyes.

He forced a small smile of his own, then backed away, already discomforted by the close contact, already hurting inside with the memories of his bro... that man... doing the same for him. Naruto chose that moment to grab Sasuke by the belt and lift him over his head, letting out a cheer as he did so. Hearing the others laugh over it was mostly unpleasant for Sasuke.

Mostly.

"Dobe?"

"Yeah, teme?"

"Put me the fuck down."

Later that night, while everyone was settling down and arranging who would be on watch, Sakura gave Sasuke a tap on the shoulder and pointed out into the corridor, a worried look on her face. When they both got out there, she quietly shut the door and scanned the corridor with her eyes before turning back to him. "I saw the thing on your neck," she said quietly. "I have to ask the same thing I asked Naruto. Is it safe, both for you, and for us?"

Sasuke nodded once, slowly. "As far as we can tell, and by we, I mean an awful lot of experts, medics, and the Hokage himself, it's a harmless seal, possibly even useful. It might actually make me stronger."

Sakura wanted to sigh with relief, but the look in his eyes was dark. "As far as we can tell," she repeated.

He nodded again. "You and Naruto might want to keep an eye on me, to be safe. Others with similar seals have, in the past, experienced… aggression issues. If you ever see me get unreasonably angry, or otherwise act irrational, you may need to stop me, or at least warn someone of higher rank if it's something disastrous. But as far as anyone can tell, the seal should not have that sort of effect on me."

Sakura nodded, and scanned the corridor one more time. She then leaned in slightly and made the sign language for Secret. Sasuke leaned in as well, head turned slightly to one side. "Excuse me for a second," she whispered, before putting her arms around him and giving him a hug. It was over almost immediately, just a brief moment of pressure, and she backed away before Sasuke could react. "Sorry," she said, "It's not your thing and all, but I was worried about you. And I know you were pushing yourself to help Ino. And even if I don't act like I used to, I still have a little fangirl in me..." Her voice trailed off, and she looked at the floor sheepishly before looking up at him again. "Sorry," she said once more, through a smile that looked completely unapologetic.

Sasuke frowned, but he knew she meant well, and at least she wasn't trying to kiss him. Or lift him over her head. "I forgive you. This time."

Sakura laughed and gave him a playful swat on the shoulder before opening the door and walking back into the room with a jaunty step, waving over her shoulder and saying, "Never change, Sasuke." And out in the dark corridor, where he was sure she would never see it, he smiled slightly before adopting a stern look and walking back into the light.

All of those who qualified were gathered on the fifth day and lined up in rows of three, each row containing a full team. The room was massive, a single large and empty space with observation walkways high above. On a slightly raised platform rested a statue of two hands shaped in the hand seal for confrontation, and on that platform stood the jonin who had remaining competitors, fronted by the Hokage himself and flanked by the proctors from the previous exam sections

Anko stepped forward and said, "At this point, Hokage-sama will explain to you about the purpose of this exam. Please pay attention." She turned to the Hokage and nodded. "If you would do us the honor, Hokage-sama?"

Hiruzen stepped forward and coughed lightly into his fist. "Before we tell you the details of the next step, I must explain to you the true purpose of this exam." He waited a moment for the sound of the genin shifting at that statement to stop, then continued. "In the past, you have been told that these exams are for diplomatic relations between the Hidden VIllages, or that it is done to showcase our shinobi. These are only partially true. This exam has one true purpose, however. War."

The genin shifted, and several started to speak, but Hiruzen waved them down. "The Chunin exam began as organized warfare, a chance to test our foes in battle without risking mindless destruction and damage to our lands. Yes, this test is used to find candidates for promotion, but that is not its primary purpose. Instead, it is a measurement of the strength of your village."

"The final part of the exam will be witnessed by many, including many potential clients, feudal lords and other powerful people. They will witness these final battles, and they will vote for the winners with the lifeblood of the shinobi world, their money. A good showing in the finals is not just a measure of you, but of your nation, and its strength."

"That is why the chunin exam is the first deadly challenge that most of you will face. It weeds out the unfit, the weak, and the fools, while showing the other nations and our patrons the strength of our newest shinobi.

The genin mutter amongst themselves, until Gaara's cold voice spoke over them. "I don't care. Tell us the details of this deadly exam."

Hiruzen frowned, but made no other move. He instead waved his hand, summoning the final proctor. He jumped from the ceiling and landed in a crouch before the Hokage, then slowly stood and turned to face the genin. Even as he did so, he coughed, a wet and painful cough from deep in his chest. His face was pale and drawn, and his eyes had dark bags under them.

This is not a healthy man, thought Naruto.

"I am Gekko Hayate, the proctor for the third part of the exams." He gave a deep, racking cough, then continued. "The details are simple. We have too many candidates for the finals, so we shall hold a preliminary match immediately." The genin shifted as the man coughed hard for a few moments, and a few shouted about how unfair it was for the wounded. "Life is unfair," he continued, "more so for a shinobi. However, should you feel unable to continue, you may step out now."

Naruto looked around, but nobody budged. Shikamaru looked like he wanted to bow out, and Ino was barely paying attention. Gaara had a very large and deeply worrying smile on his face. So did the gray haired Konoha shinobi who had tried to quiet them down just before the written exam. Sakura and Sasuke, however, shared a glance with him, and there was no question of backing down. Naruto shot them a thumbs up and smiled.

The proctor waited a few more moments, before he nodded. "Your opponents will be selected at random and their names displayed on the board above. All others must go to the observation platforms. A fight ends when your foe is dead, unable to fight, or yields. When I say the match is over, it is over, and continuing to attack could get you disqualified… or worse." He gave them a sickly smile, and behind him, the jonin-sensei for the various teams, as well as the Hokage, all jumped to the platforms. Oddly, almost off of them chose the right handed platform, except for the Oto jonin, who chose the left.

Hayate turned to the board, an electronic display designed around a simple series of light bulbs, good only for displaying text, and nodded to an unseen operator. After a moment, two names flashed onto the board. "Haruno Sakura, Aburame Shino, please remain. The rest of you may gather as you like on the platforms.

Sakura gave her team a high five, then started to slip on her leather gloves. Kieri remained on her shoulder, clinging tight, and aside from taking a moment to groom herself, showed no interest in her foe.

For his part, Shino moved to the center and stood quietly, not moving in the least. Sakura watched as one of his kikaichu bugs crawled across his face, and grinned. She was not so easy to disturb as she once was, but she had to admire him, trying to intimidate her without the usual trash talk she would have expected. Between the sunglasses, the high collar hiding most of his face, and the bugs crawling over him, Shino could be an intimidating figure.

She thought for a moment, then shouted out, "Hey, Shino! I'll try not to squish too many of them, but your bugs are not going to win this match. And you took your tracker off of me already, right? It's be unfair to start with that sort of advantage."

Shino adjusted his glasses, his eyebrows rising slightly. "I appreciate your concern for my swarm, Haruno-san, and I assure you, I will do no meaningful harm to Kieri-san. Why? To do so would be to dishonor the good will you show my own companions." She could not see his face, but his voice was a touch warmer than usual. His eyebrows lowered again. "I have removed the tracking bug. You are correct, it would be a poor showing if I did not follow the rules to the letter."

Sakura glanced at Kieri, who narrowed her eyes and swished her tail a few times, tapping code onto Sakura's back as she did. Sakura shrugged the shoulder the cat was sitting on slightly to indicate an agreement, then nodded at the proctor. "Yeah, rules are very important, especially when following them to the letter." She crouched into her stance and smirked. "Whenever you are ready, Hayate-sama."

Hayate raised his hand. "Let the first match of the preliminaries… begin." His hand dropped, and Sakura burst into action. Even as Shino raised his hands, summoning his swarm, she was cartwheeling back, Kieri leaping to the floor and running with her. When she was almost all the way across the floor, she dropped a smoke bomb, which exploded and filled a fourth of the room. Within, she stopped tumbling and slowly, silently backed up, hand reaching for what she was looking for.

"Hey, Shino," she shouted cheerfully, hidden in the smoke. Shino raised one of his arms, and sent half of his swarm forward, slowly, into the smoke. They reported no poison or insecticide in the smoke, as Haruno-san promised. Its only value was concealment, and Sakura was ruining that use by shouting at him, revealing her general position. That made no sense.

I find I am confused, Shino thought to himself. It was important for a logical shinobi to admit that to themselves when it happens, so they could properly face the puzzle that confused them. And he knew exactly what a logical shinobi should do when faced with an unguessable tactic. He pulled his insects back and prepared to defend himself, the insect clone technique ready for immediate action, a technique that would allow his insects to take his visual form and swap with him to distract an attacker. After a few moments of tense silence, he decided to prompt a reaction. "What is it, Haruno-san?"

The smoke shifted slightly, pulling away from Shino, and he heard a metallic slam. His insects reported a new air current flowing out of the room coming from the other side of the smoke. "Nobody said we had to stay in this room for the fight," Sakura called out cheerfully, and Shino heard the sounds of her feet quietly running into the other rooms of the tower. He turned and gave the Proctor a look.

Hayate started to speak, then stopped and glanced at the Hokage, who was smiling. "She is… technically correct," the Hokage said. "You never said they had to remain in the room for the fight." Shino nodded to the Hokage, then turned and darted into the rapidly clearing smoke, his swarm surrounding him and buzzing furiously.

Up on the observation deck, Naruto laughed loudly, cheering and shouting her name, quickly joined by Lee and Guy, making the entire room boom with their voices. Asuma's mouth had slackened, dropping a half finished cigarette, and he remained that way until Shikamaru nudged him, after which he smiled and shook his head while reach for another. Sasuke was smirking, as was Kurenai. Even the jonin for the sand shinobi had a small smile, from what could be seen under the sheet hanging in front of half of his face, and he did not seem the sort of man to smile often.

But nobody was smiling as hard as Kakashi, safely behind his mask. Because he had seen the look on the Hokage's face when Sakura ran out, when everyone else had been looking at the smoke, and it had been priceless. "That's my girl," Kakashi said to the others, hooking a thumb at the open door.

Sarutobi Hiruzen, Third Hokage, was a hard man to surprise, but he was surprised, enough so that let out a small chuckle himself. He turned to Hayate with a smile on his face and said, "Let's get to the camera system, shall we?"

Sakura slipped into a small meeting room, deep inside the tower, and looked around. The place had several doors leading further into the building, but a quick check indicated they did not seem to lead in the general direction of the arena, leaving them as viable escape routes. The room was small for its design and simple, a small space that had been partitioned off from a larger space at some point in the distant past. It was perfect for her needs.

Fight Shino is a wide open space? No, thank you. Without some sort of cover, the match would be over before it began. She would dodge and evade, and the swarms would follow her. If she moved to engage, all Shino had to do was fight her to a standstill until they caught up. Even if she was as fast as Lee, Shino could pull his swarms back and simply defend himself until she tired. There was no good fight to be had there for her, and there was no rule saying she had to do so. Bet they'll add that to the rulebook when this is done.

She listened carefully at the door, turning her head periodically to focus her hearing to a different area. She waited and listened, and eventually she was rewarded with the sound of Shino approaching, stepping quietly. She smiled to herself, listening carefully, and did not move as he walked by. A minute later, she heard a second set of footsteps come close, and this time, she knew it was the right time.

She pulled back slightly and flexed her arm.

"Hell yeah," she screamed, smashing into the thin wooden wall that was used to partition the room… and through it, her entire body focused in the effort, pushing her forward, until her fist plowed into Shino, who flew across the hallway and hit the other wall hard enough to bounce. That side of the hallway was part of the original room, something she realized when she was running this way, evidenced by the different trim along the walls and floors. Those walls were solid enough to take a blow, unlike the thin one she had just smashed through.

Sakura kneed the remainder of the wall she had pushed through, smashing through it, and moved in to attack. She knew his swarm would be back in seconds after the attack, and she pushed herself as hard as she could, trying to end the match quickly. She darted forward and raised her leg to stomp on him, but he had already recovered, spinning his entire body and lashing out at her one leg with both of his. Already committed to her attack, Sakura took the blow to her legs, and fell.

She fell forward onto Shino, grinning.

Her arms reached out, grabbing at Shino's, her legs now tangling into his. She pulled, her strength far greater than his, and when his arms parted enough, she arced her back and then curled inward, smashing her forehead into his face, her hitai-ate's metal plate and cloth padding preventing damage to her even as it increased the damage to him.

God, I hope Ino doesn't see me using my forehead as a weapon, I'll never hear the end of it.

Shino was hurt, one lens of his glasses cracked, his nose clearly broken, but he continued to struggle, shifting in her grip, trying to get a leg between them, anything to clear the distance and hold her off. She gave him another headbutt, but he twisted as she did so, and she did not hit him with near enough force. She raised her head again, then heard the sound of his swarm flying at her. She shoved off of him, as hard as she could, sending herself flying back into the hole she had made, just in time to see the swarm arrive, forming a living barrier between her and her target.

She paused, long enough to see Shino start to move, then dashed to the back of the room and ran through one of the doors.

Shimura Mioki, Civilian Security Specialist, was having a nerve wracking day.

Usually, her job as one of the shift guards for the complex camera systems installed in various important areas of Konoha was an easy and pleasant one. Watching over the Konoha Library or the exterior of the Hokage's tower was a boring job, more so as she was only a tertiary defense, after the normal shinobi patrols and occasional ANBU guard hiding and watching. Civilians were only there as a defense against corruption, and even she was first to admit that excuse was only a paper thin screen hiding the simple truth that she was there only to make the other civilians feel better. If they could get past the patrols and ANBU, they could get past Mioki and her camera system. Still, she enjoyed her boring job, and as much as her distant uncle complained, she enjoyed the peace and warmth of her village.

None of that warmth or peace was with her now. She was standing nervously at the back of her monitoring station, having been politely steered there by the Hokage himself, who gave her a pat on the shoulder as he did so. He was sitting in her chair even now, flipping through cameras at a speed that made her eyes ache, never missing a moment of the two genin hunting each other through the tower.

Sitting and sometimes standing around the Hokage were living legends as well. Hatake Kakashi the Copy Nin was sitting on her supervisor's chair, and with the sudden break in decorum as a result of his student's move, he was cheerfully munching on some sort of puffed grain cereal. He was eating it through his mask, the very act of which hurt Mioki's eyes as much as the flickering screens.

Next to him was the Sublime Green Beast of Konoha, Maito Guy, leaning over Kakashi's shoulder and cheering so loudly that the room was vibrating. His voice was painful, but the man gave Mioki eyes a rest at least, because he was built. That was a man's man, never mind the bowl cut or eyebrows. When her eyes needed rest from the rest of the room, they settled carefully and discreetly on his buttox, and her mind kept returning to a single question. Can you literally bend steel on them, or did they just look like it?

"Yes, you can literally bend steel on almost any part of him," came a quiet voice, causing Mioki to lift her eyes nervously from Guy's… qualities… and look at the woman standing next to her. She did not recognize the red eyed woman, but she had an aura of confident power that signified her position as an elite, and the small smirk on her face did little to help Mioki's nerves. "We had to test it for a bet he and Kakashi made. You're not the first to think about that." She leaned in slightly and whispered, "He's also dense as the rock he seems to be made of, which means he's available. Just saying." She smirked and gave Mioki a pat on the shoulder, then moved up to get a better view of the screens.

Mioki tried to resist, but her gaze slowly returned to the jonin's… powers.

It was a nerve wracking experience for a mere Civilian Security Specialist. But it had its benefits.

Naruto kicked at the floor and grumbled. "I don't care how crowded the room is, I wanted to see Sakura fight."

Sasuke shrugged. "I bet five ryo the whole thing is being taped by the security console, and Kakashi will snag the tape before the day is done."

Naruto thought for a moment, then shook his head. "No bet."

Shino opened a door and looked into the darkened room. It was large, large enough to have support pillars along either side, and the decor implied it was some sort of reception area. He walked a few feet forward, looking carefully, then turned and shut the door behind him. He darted behind one of the pillars and paused to think.

He had been tracking Sakura throughout the tower, trying to distract her with his insect clones, trying to get her to jump one and allow herself to be swarmed. But no matter what he tried, she always found him. He'd send the two clones he could form forward, and had been ambushed when Sakura dropped out of a tiled ceiling. He'd stepped forward first himself, letting his clones trail him as if waiting for her to jump. She had literally opened a door he was reaching for and punched him in the face, then casually shut the door again. Shino had blushed under his collar after he recovered from that one.

Worse, she was smart enough to disengage when threatened. The moment his swarm would get within striking distance, she would be in full retreat, and her strikes were so powerful that he dared not pursue her too far, lest she double back and hit him in passing. He had almost lost the match when she opened the door and hit him, and the only reason he was still in the running was because his swarm had defended him while he struggled to remain conscious.

But now, they were in a dead end, the final room. He had left the door open for a moment, trying to draw her out in an attempt to escape and continue her game, but she had made no move.

But how can she know what is really me? Shino gathered his swarm to watch over him and thought carefully. She must be sensing something different between me and my swarm. I am confused. I must think calmly to determine what that is.

It was not vision. His insect clones were well practiced, so much so that his own parents could not tell the difference on inspection.

It was not smell. His personal odor was dominated completely by his hive and the pheromones they put out, so his clones smelled the same as himself.

It was not touch, she had avoided them completely. He doubted it was taste.

A rare smile formed on his lips, hidden by his collar. I am no longer confused.

Sakura crouched behind the pillar and waited, turning her head just slightly, listening carefully. Her ears were quite powerful, something she had gained training with Kieri, and with the help of Tsume. The principal was the same as the Inuzuka clan's scent training, focusing chakra into her ears and being exposed to slowly rising and falling sounds. Over time, her hearing had become incredible. Enough to track a mouse behind the wall. Enough to hear if Dan was in his shop from across the street.

Enough to discern between a flying swarm of insects acting as a clone and the non flying insects in Shino's body.

She heard footsteps, accompanied by the drone of Shino's hive, and with a roar, she jumped from her spot and lunged. Shino backed up, parry wildly, and Sakura saw his clone on the other side of the room, far too distant to get to his aid quickly. This is it, she thought as she roared and lunged at full speed and power directly at the boy, leading with her shoulder to knock him down. Once on the floor, she could dominate him.

She passed into his body, and with its own droning roar, it the clone burst apart and descended on her. They latched on to her skin, and Sakura hissed as she felt the burning sensation of the kikaichu feeding on her chakra. She stumbled slightly, resisting the urge to slap at the insects, then tripped and fell.

"You fought well, Haruno-san." Shino, the real Shino, the one she thought was a clone, walked over and knelt next to her.

"How," asked Sakura weakly.

"I determined that, of all the senses, sound must be the one you were using to detect me. I recalled a few of my flying kikaichu and had them start buzzing in my body. The entire remainder of my swarm landed on each other and forced themselves to move without wings. It was a difficult task for them, and for me." He stood and adjusted his glasses. "Now yield, so I need not hurt you."

On the floor, Sakura smirked.

Shino felt a weight settle on his shoulders, a vibrating weight that purred in delight at him. He also felt the claws, latching carefully and only slightly painfully on either side of his neck, directly over the primary sources of blood flow to his brain. Shino stiffened, and for the second time that day, he blushed at his mistake. I forgot about Kieri.

Sakura pulled herself up. "I'm not as bad off as you think, and Kieri is fresh, having done nothing but shadow you this entire match, as soon as you exited the smoke. Yield."

Shino nodded, and his swarm flew off of Sakura. "I made a tactical error. Had I kept some reserve, they could have tried to take Kieri by surprise, but it took the whole hive to make a clone that does not fly. I yield. Well fought, Haruno-san."

Sakura smiled as Kieri jumped from Shino's shoulders to hers and started to rub against her hair. She held out a fist, and after a moment's hesitation, Shino raised his own and bumped it to hers.

The security room was silent. Every person in the room, from the Hokage to the civilian was looking at Kakashi, who leaned back, arms behind his head, and smiled at them with untainted glee.

"That's my girl," he repeated.

"Tell me you got the tape," Naruto said as soon as Kakashi stepped out. He'd heard Hayate over the intercom, calling the match for Sakura and summoning them back to the arena.

Kakashi shrugged and shook his head.

"What! Why?"

"Hokage-sama beat me to it."

Author's Note: Wow, that is by far the longest chapter yet. I felt splitting a fight would be bad form, as would be telling everyone the rules and then waiting for the next chapter to do anything. So, hey, enjoy.

As you can see, my matches will not be cookie cutter duplicates. Not a single fight will be the same. The delay in this chapter arriving was not medical, as I had thought, but plot related. I didn't want to corner myself into an uninteresting match, so I decided to plot out all the way to the final rounds ahead of time, which was quite a bit of work.

Going forward, expect one or two fights per chapter, depending on how long they are. I fully intend for most of them to be on the same level as this, but a few may be much shorter because of what happens or who is involved.

Also, I could not resist the humor scene in the middle. Literally could not. For me, Naruto means two things, thoughtful combat and humor, and I tried to have both in this chapter. Expect Shimura Mioki, Civilian Security Consultant, to pop up from time to time in my Omake.

Several folks have noted that Naruto has not had that sudden, "This is my Way of the Ninja" moment. If it happens, it'll happen when it makes sense. Keep in mind, unlike canon, Naruto has not suffered a tragic loss, real or perceived, nor has he touched the Kyuubi/Kurama's power. Unfortunately, that is life. Sometimes you get a single defining moment. Sometimes you become who you are gradually. Which of these will happen in my story is uncertain yet, although I have a vague idea where it might happen if it does.

And as always, thanks for the reviews. Those of you who pointed out grammar and spelling errors in previous chapters, I have not got them yet, but message received, they'll get their time soon. Those of you just encouraging me, it works, so thanks again.

EDIT: It took me three re-reads, but I finally found the character name error in the Security Consultant section. Thanks, CuteKirby. And truthfully, I keep screwing up Kieri the same reason I had trouble with then/than, I just don't notice. I think I got it fixed, though. Damn, I think I still need to fix "cloths" in a previous chapter. Best hop to it.

Quinn1989: I am fairly certain you have seen a scene similar to the Karin Rescue a half a dozen times at least. There is not a ton of wiggle room in that sort of scenario, unless I try to make her part of the main cast, which I am not. It was actually inserted briefly just for the fun of it, and because Shino never gets any love in fanfic, as Ky mentioned. Besides, her infatuation with Sasuke was as shallow as Sakura's was in early canon, all based on a single "cool" moment. Well, hell, Shino can do cool, why not?

To my concerned Guest, no, Ino's "shape me up" sensei won't be Anko. Nor Kakashi. Nor Guy. And so on and so on. Give me some credit.

Sakura? Get eliminated? Maybe, KasonSama, but if so, it'll be the kind of exit you play metal guitar riffs and shooting fire effects and dragon unicorn lasers to. I didn't put all that work getting Sakura out of the Pit of Comparatively Useless Protagonists just to stuff her back in there.

GalanthaDreams: One of my issues with some fic is the common inability to write someone who is capable of intelligence but not used to applying it, such as canon Naruto. In canon, he has some excellent ideas at regular intervals, but often, writers either let his social incapability and "run head first at the foe" part of him dominate, or make him a genius. I am actively working at not letting my version slide too far to either side of the scale.

EDIT (4/6): Fixed "Kirei," "Deep Racking Could," and "Shino is Carefully Careful" nonsense.