Chapter 10: Commencement of Conclusion.
Enjoy the fic
"Kabuto vs Naruto"
The fight between Kabuto and Naruto begun with the shout of Hayate.
Naruto sped forward throwing kunais from both sides, his opponent moved swiftly to avoid both. It was just a distraction, Kabuto didn't take that in consideration. Watching as the medic-trainee drew closer, Naruto let out a stream of fire toward the young trainee. Kabuto countered the fire with a jet of water, steam arose around them blocking their visibility.
Still, Kabuto had to show that he was the seasoned one of the two, he opted to use sound to track the other genin. While it would've been better if he could use his hearing senses unhindered, that wouldn't come to pass without the notice of their proctor. Thus, he decided to dim it intentionally, perhaps he would be able to gauge the level of his opponent that way.
He was really surprised when two arms enclosed him from behind, he didn't get the chance as a knee impacted his from behind. Bending down Kabuto avoided the elbow that was passed above his head, he was tricked, the blonde wasn't infront. Instead a knee to his back, and pain surged through his body instantly.
Without a stray thought he swirled around, but except air there wasn't much for him to hit. He decided to use a few stored jutsus of his arsenal, but perhaps Naruto never wanted him to attempt such. This time the assault was from both side, coincidentally, the steam was lifting lightly. Kabuto could make out two similar silhouettes on his sides, taking the advantage of steam he stabbed the Naruto on his right with his kunai.
The teen smoked out, a Shadow clone!?
'I see, Sarutobi hasn't held back with his training, the bothersome brat know the Shadow clone technique.' Kabuto mused lightly as a frown appeared on his face. 'And with the amount of chakra he has at his disposal, this could turn ugly real quick'
And that it did, the steam rose more and now the Oto spy and Naruto were fairly visible to all. Or I should say Naruto-s. There were three of them surrounding the Oto spy, who swore under his breath and took the initiative to attack the boy again.
The onlookers were really surprised to see the brat use a kinjutsu, even Kakashi had wide eyes as he saw the blonde using his clones to sync his attack. Though, Sasuke wasn't one of the surprised, nor was Hinata. They had seen the yellow-hared boy use his clone technique, Sasuke while Naruto trained him and Hinata on similar turf.
Kabuto was assaulted by two sides, he tried to kick the clone at his right that avoided it by crouching down. He jumped up as the other one attempted a swipe, in doing so he forgot about the third member. And that did came as a big mistake on his part, a kick to his abdomen pushed him back. The clone on his right grasped his arm in a hold, while his counterpart delivered a spinkick to his face.
Kabuto staggered back and tried to pull himself, instead he received a elbow to his chin. Humiliated and infuriated, he hooked his leg with Naruto's and pushed him. The clone on his left attempted to halt his advance with a punch, instead he ducked down and stabbed the third with a kunai. It smoked off. Kabuto spun on his heel to do the same to the first one, except his arm was again grasped—firmly.
He looked up to see two more blondes, smirking in his direction. He didn't get the chance to taunt him though, as one of them latched to his other side.
"Ninpo: Clone exploding technique" The third one voiced, a grin tugging his lips.
He felt the pain and pressure on his chest, he could've avoided it. But doing so would have exposed him—that he didn't want right now.
(:-:)
Kakashi glanced toward Hiruzen with a questioning gaze, was it him that had taught the blonde this explosive jutsu. The Hokage shook his head, he wasn't the one. Then—who?
His eyes wandered across the hall untill it finally settled upon the smirking face of Anko, that woman!—there was a reason Hiruzen and himself had held themselves from teaching the blonde any explosive jutsu. He was prone to them, and his jutsus tend to overpower.
On the opposite side of the stands, Nii Yugito was impressed by Naruto's show, she wasn't inattentive or aloof, even if she carried herself as such. Her suspicion of the boy being more than he showed was proving true, here he was throwing jutsus without halt. His taijutsu wasn't something to ignore either, it was exceptional if not perfect. Yet what transpired next wasn't something she would've trusted if she didn't saw it with her own eyes.
(:-:)
Kabuto flew out of the smoke, after skidding on the floor his body stopped. He rolled over, his body was going to be sore for next few days, he was sure of that. However, he knew this fight wasn't over, not untill either he declare or the blond knock him unconscious.
The answer came as his eye caught the sight of the kunai thrown by Naruto in the beginning of the round.
Yeah—this was one of those damned Kunai, he waited for the substitution and it did occur.
The blonde materialised infront of him with a proud smirk, he never saw Darui and Baki shuddering under their cloaks. The airy similarity between the father and son surged his profile by several folds, Kabuto sighed lightly. Atleast Orochimaru had got what he wanted, indicated by the slight nod of his head from the stands.
"Surrender, Kabuto-san" Naruto demanded placing the blade of his tanto on the back of his neck.
Kabuto nodded stiffly, he will take his revenge on the blonde at the right time. No one dared to demean him like this, and walk away unscathed.
"Our *cough* Winner, Uzumaki Naruto" Hayate declared.
(_-_-_X_-_-_)
The fifteen genins who had qualified the prelims were called down to stand in the arena. The list consisted of Uzumaki Naruto, Hyuga Hinata, Haruno Sakura, Uchiha Sasuke, Nii Yugito, Nara Shikamaru, Rock Lee, Hyuga Neji, Sai, Shin, Kurama Yakumo, Sabaku no Garra, Sabaku no Temari and Karui.
These were the contestants for the final round, it was evident that the finals were going be tough. With elite genins from every village except Rock and Mist, it was no secret that the major villages will not hesitate from displaying the prowess of their shinobi by any margin.
"All *cough* the qualifying participants, please, stand in a line" ordered Hayate, waving in the genius gathered around the arena.
"Now Anko-san, could *cough* you please bring me that glass ball from over there?" requested Hayate politely pointing toward the ball of glass placed on a table at a distance.
With a nod, Anko brought the ball and handed it to Hayate, who then proceeded to station it on a stand.
"Now each one of you will come forward and take out a paper from the ball, take it and hold it untill I instruct you further" ordered Hayate.
The participants one by one, as their named were called, collected their respective papers and stood aside, except Hinata who was unable to acquire a piece of paper
"Now, open your paper and shout out the number written on it, one by one from left, the only other genin with the same number will raise their hand" instructed Hayate, and the genins did as he said.
Sakura and Temari got 1 in the same order, Number 2 were Yugito and Kiba, Number 3- Lee and Neji, Number 4- Naruto and Karui, Number 5- Garra and Shin, Number 6- Shikamaru and Sai, Number 7- Sasuke and Yakumo and Hinata was given free pass for the first round of the third phase.
Considering this as an end for the second phase, Darui and Baki collected their genins and bid their goodbye to the Hokage. The leaf had arranged for the training of the genins from the other villages, yet the relationship between the major villages wasn't steady enough that they'd accept that proposal.
Each of the genins, from the infirmary too, were released after quick inspection. While the genins moved out of the arena and eventually returned to the village, accompanied by their respective sensei. The Jonins joined Hiruzen toward the Hokage tower for quick debriefing, leaving the genins on their own accord.
"What'cha say, Shika, We should celebrate our success through a small treat in Choji's restaurant tomorrow evening, shouldn't we?" Asked Naruto nudging Shikamaru, while his arm hung over Sasuke's shoulders.
"Sounds troublesome though, Who all are to be invited?" asked Shikamaru lazily.
"Team 7, 8, 9 and 2. You're all invited, it wouldn't be much of a party with only a few people" said Naruto.
"I'm afraid that I won't be available for your get together, Uzumaki" refused Neji, as he simply didn't want to join them.
"No problem, Neji, anybody else who wouldn't be available?" asked Naruto eyeing everyone.
None objected, they accepted on the next evening in Choji's family restaurant. After brief chorus of goodbyes, the genins moved on toward their houses, too tired and broken to argue further.
Naruto took a step back and joined Hinata, she was walking toward her manor alone as Neji had already taken his leave. Naruto's feet synced with that of Hinata, they didn't utter a single word as they moved toward Hyuga manor, the path would further lead Naruto to Senju manor.
"So, You're coming tomorrow, right?" Naruto broke the silence.
"O-Of course, I will, Naruto-kun" smiled Hinata.
Again, those cute facial features of Hinata disrupted his thoughts completely. He couldn't think straight when he was around the Hyuga heiress, it was a new feeling for the blonde. He felt similar when Tsunade hugeed him, or when Kakashi and Anko ruffled his hairs. To feel this way by simple smiles of the pearl-eyed girl wasn't normal, for Naruto that is. A child who didn't had a mother, a mother who would have taught him manners, a mother who would have helped him solve his internal turmoil, could make him understand the feeling of a genuine crush.
"That's nice, Hinata" were the last words of Naruto as he dropped the Hyuga heiress infront of her manor and rushed off toward Senju manor.
(_-_-_X_-_-_)
The Next evening saw all the invited genins gather up in one of several restaurants owned by Akimichi family, after they met up collectively in the park near the restaurant.
They acquired a table in the corner of the restaurant to avoid interruption. Naruto, Shikamaru, Kiba, Choji and Lee all seated at one side of the table in the respective order, while Hinata, Ino, Sakura and Tenten took the seats on the other side.
Barbecued beef and soft fizzy drinks were presented, it wasn't like anybody would stop them from tasting alcohol, except Choji's father, Tsunade, Hiashi or Hizashi, Tsume and Inoichi. Contrary to popular norm that 'If a shinobi is ready to kill, then they are surely ready to drink', Tsunade and Tsume would beat the shits out of their wards, while rest wouldn't hesitate from punishing their wards in other ways.
Discussion sprouted with simple words, that changed into arguments and then to jokes. It wouldn't be wrong to say that the genins enjoyed their time in the restaurant. Ino, Lee and Tenten were new to the group, but the rest didn't let them feel it. Naruto and Kiba were trying to rile up the Uchiha throughout the party, it stopped when the Uchiha at last frustrated bonked them several times.
This became one of the many reasons for all out laughter at the table, in the sidenote Naruto and Sasuke challenged Rock-Lee for a training session after the Chunin exams, this further led to Tenten reciting Lee's over-the-top training routine to both the boys.
Hinata found herself stealing glances toward her crush constantly, it didn't helped that she caught Naruto staring right back at her quite a few times. Ino and Tenten both noticed that the group didn't had a rigid pattern like others, where a leader would lead the group, instead everyone was equally important. As a result, Lee quickly found his place in the group, he wasn't made fun of by his new mates.
Lee had been always made fun of, from his academy years to his genin days. Even his teammate, Neji Hyuga, didn't respect him. But Naruto and his friends accepted him as quickly as he had joined them, they accepted his choice of clothing and didn't ignored him in anyway. He was happy, after a long time he was truly happy, not the occasional fake deceptive grin but a true happy laughter came out of his mouth as Kiba praised his taijutsu skills.
Like all the good things, the evening came to an end. Everyone was full, the bill was distributed evenly as each paid their fair share of the amount. The group exited the shop and took the route toward their respective homes, some individually while some in pairs, likewise Naruto again found himself walking beside Hinata.
Naruto had kept a keen eye on her for the whole evening, she was dressed rather cute but moderately as the party was rather stationed as a small get-together. Naruto himself wasn't in a much lavish attire, instead he and all his friends had chosen casual wear.
"It is beautiful, isn't it?" Hinata soft melodious voice interrupted his ongoing thoughts. She was gazing up at the sky, her eyes fixed on the white globe of light, the Moon.
"It is" replied Naruto, eyeing her fondly.
He wasn't interested in the Moon, it couldn't match to the sight infront of him. Half of Hinata's face was adorned by the white light of the Moon, her pearl like eyes tallying with the complexion of the Moon. She looked like the most beautiful girl he has ever seen, even more than Haku. His awestruck stare didn't went unnoticed by Hinata, and it did uplifted her confidence. She gave her best smile to Naruto, and it did the intended, Naruto stumbled on his footing.
She giggled softly, her voice gentle and warming. Naruto adjusted his posture before smiling at her sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head. His embarrassment was evident by the pink tinge on his cheeks.
Hinata was truly a beautiful person, both from inside and outside. And Naruto was discovering it again and again.
Unfortunately for the duo, this lovely ordeal was cut short, as in their crushing exchange, both of them failed to notice that they had reached the Hyuga manor. Hinata made her departure after saying goodbye to Naruto, the events could have been slightly different if any of the two had courage enough to accept their fondness for the other, out loud.
Regardless, Naruto moved on toward his House, a gentle smile on his lips
(_-_-_X_-_-_)
The next morning Naruto woke up to familiar voices, the voices were coming from the ground floor. He completed his daily routine and climbed down the stairs to enter the living room. He was welcomed to the scene of Jiraiya being punched in the face by Tsunade that threw him to the wall.
"Good morning, Baa-chan" greeted Naruto with a dry look toward Jiraiya, truly he was so stubborn sometimes in his perverse nature.
"Good morning, Naruto. It's just the promise between us that allows Jiraiya to enter the house, his perverse activities ought to keep him out forever" said Tsunade rubbing her knuckles.
"I don't take responsibilities of his actions" clarified Naruto picking the glass of juice form the table, it tasted cumcumber-ly, if that's a word.
"Aww, don't be like brat" whined Jiraiya as he re-adjusted his Obi, and went on to sit on the sofa chair beside Tsunade keeping his distance.
"Whatever" replied Naruto as he took a seat on the other side of Tsunade.
"So, I was informed that you've qualified for the third phase of the examination. Congratulations, Naruto" Tsunade said smiling at him proudly.
Naruto nodded his head while sipping the last of the juice, as Jiraiya opened his mouth to say, the doorbell rang abruptly.
"I'll see to it, I've to take this to the sink anyway" Naruto said taking the glass with him.
He opened the door to see Hiruzen standing with two anbu at each of his sides, and a mop of red hairs peeking from behind him. He welcomed them in and directed them to the living room where Tsunade was.
"Sensei" greeted both Tsunade and Jiraiya, as they stood up to greet their Sensei. They didn't fail to notice the girl standing beside Hiruzen, striking red hairs, smooth silky locks, red fiery eyes and a pair of glasses on them. The girl wasn't too healthy as surmised by her skinny arms and equally lean facial structure, but by the colour of her hair and eyes, she was definitely an Uzumaki, a pure blood Uzumaki to be more precise.
"Sit down, you two, I am just here to discuss some important matters and Introduce someone." he spoke as Naruto winked at Karin, and signalled her sit on one of the sofa chairs as Hiruzen sat on the other one. Naruto joined his god-parents and looked at Hiruzen expectantly.
Hiruzen signalled his anbu to remain out of the room.
"First of all, let me introduce you two to Karin Uzumaki. If I consider your baffled expressions, I could rightly conclude that Naruto had forgotten to tell you about her." Hiruzen said with amused look in his eyes, the duo infront of him were doing great imitation of wide eyed Aye-Aye. "Naruto had rescued her in the second phase of exams. A quick blood test by her consent revealed her lineage as an Uzumaki, Naruto invited her to join the village as she was unhappy with her treatment in Kusa" expressed Hiruzen getting serious.
"If her red eyes and hairs proved her lineage as an Uzumaki, Does that mean a pure Uzumaki has same coloured hair?" asked Naruto with a thoughtful look.
Consider it as a distraction toward Karin that Hiruzen unconsciously nodded responding to Naruto's question. Because Hiruzen knew how calculative Naruto can be, and if he puts his mind to the task he is given he can be very effective. He didn't want to give unnecessary hints to Naruto about his parentage right now, it could prove quite disastrous if he reveals the secret of his lineage unknowingly.
"So, If you'd allow, Tsunade, she could live with you. And if you don't, then I will have to provide her with a separate apartment to stay in. You don't know but I had to supply two heavy medical equipment in exchange for her, Kusa wasn't in the mindset to let her go." Hiruzen added the last part with a mind that it would ignite the fire of curiosity in Tsunade, and sure it did as she observed the girl keenly. He decided to add further to use it to the advantage of the girl. "She has inherited a strong Kekkai-Genkai from her mother's side, she could heal anyone if they bite her skin"
"Tsunade Baa-chan would surely allow her to stay in the manor, moreover she's a family. Won't you, Baa-chan?" asked Naruto with big pleading eyes.
Tsunade looked between Naruto and Karin for a few moments, before sighing with a smile. She had taught Shizune what she could, the rest she could handle on herself. It would take her mind off mundane things if she decides to take new apprentices.
"Indeed I will" Tsunade accepted smiling at the girl, thus, it was settled that Karin would stay in Senju manor.
"Now that that's handled. Naruto, we've to discuss your training regime. But first let me inform you how proud I'm with your performance untill now" said Hiruzen as he turned toward Naruto.
"Thanks, Sensei" Naruto accepted with a short bow.
Hiruzen smiled at the boy.
"I want you to spend the month training with me and Jiraiya, first two weeks with him and then with me." Hiruzen informed nodding toward Jiraiya.
Naruto's eyebrows furrowed together at that.
"I accept the prospect, Sensei. I would be respected to be under your and Oji-san's care" said Naruto, he stood up and bowed respectfully.
The rest two occupants of the room were bewildered, Naruto wasn't known to show such formal behavior for anyone.
"Hey, Why don't we get such respect from you?" asked both Tsunade and Jiraiya at the same time.
Naruto just looked toward them with a mischievous grin, while Hiruzen just smiled at them wisely. He knew Naruto only showed such a respective side when it was a necessity, he would never show this side of him to his two Godparents.
"Yet, I am perplexed at the prospect of being trained by two of best shinobi in the village" Naruto said hesitantly. "Wouldn't it be unfair on the other genins?" He asked honestly.
"No, it wouldn't be" Jiraiya answered his question without any pause. "We are shinobi, Naruto, Your opponents will never fight fairly or with honour, those notions belong to Samurais not us"
Naruto nodded solemnly, he knew that, emotions, honour and fairness wasn't a part of Shinobi code.
"On the sidenote, though, your teammates have accepted offers presented to them." Hiruzen added. "Uchiha Sasuke has accepted a offer from his Clan head, and a close contemporary simultaneously. Meanwhile, Haruno Sakura was offered a month of training under Momochi Zabuza, and Yuki Haku."
"What about Kakashi nii-san then? Why hasn't he offered to assist anyone of us?" Naruto asked with a frown.
"I don't know why, but Hatake Kakashi has filed his outstanding holidays of past three years to take a month off" Hiruzen said without divulging any more information.
"Three years!?" Naruto exclaimed baffled. "He hasn't refused a mission in past three years, that Scarecrow"
Tsunade swatted him on head for his language, while Jiraiya laughed at his antics.
"Keeping that aside, from tomorrow onwards you're to report at our training ground sharp at nine in the morning. We will have a session till twelve, then I will look after village issues, we will continue it from five to eight evening after that" instructed Hiruzen. "That'll be your routine for two weeks, untill Jiraiya begins his training"
Naruto nodded, Hiruzen stood and took his leave from the house walk, his anbu guards walking securely beside him. He didn't had much of time for pleasantries, he had to prepare for the last phase of Chunin exams in a month time.
(_-_-_X_-_-_)
The rest of day remained uneventful, considering this Naruto chose to meet Sasuke at his home. They made further plans for a dinner in Ichiraku's, it wasn't untill late night that they decided to return to their respective houses.
As both Senju manor and Uchiha compound were in the same direction from Ichiraku they were walking together in comfortable silence, they were about to turn at the corner that separated their paths into two. They noticed a shadow pass above them, considering it a regular duty Anbu they ignored and moved forward. But before they could walk more than three steps, two more shadows crossed in haste.
They became suspicious as the Anbu always patrolled in pairs, maybe the one that crossed before was an infiltrator. Naruto looked toward Sasuke before they jumped on the roofs and took off toward the direction that the first shadow took, they tracked the shadow to a training ground but the two chaser couldn't be seen around.
Sasuke tapped on Naruto's shoulder, and signalled him to take the route on their left.
As they closed in on the training ground, the two of them noticed a familiar face, their proctor from the second exam leaned against one of the trees in the ground. Two more figures emerged out of the shadows and before Naruto and Sasuke could decipher the situation, one of the figures fired several wind blades toward Hayate.
Considering it as an enemy attack, Naruto quickly formed three hand-seals before raising his hand as he muttered "Doton: Mud wall". A thick wall rose out of the ground, it shielded Hayate, blocking the wind blades. Sasuke took the initiative and moved past Naruto while forming several hand signs, "Katon: Fire shurikens" yelled Sasuke but his shurikens only lodged into a log of wood.
"Substitution" Sasuke signalled him.
Naruto with a nod revealed his kunai and threw them around the training ground, making it a favourable turf.
The shorter shadow observed the Kunais before signalling his partner to retreat, the blonde has changed the turf too much for their assurance.
Naruto rushed toward Hayate and sat beside him, he checked his pulse to find Hayate's heartbeat a little strained but not anything more than that. He had several cuts along his body, not fatal but still critical. Sasuke instructed him to pick up Hayate and jumped toward hospital, he would inform Kakashi and Shishui about the incident.
Naruto did as he was told and went on rush toward the hospital, Sasuke too shunshined out of the ground.
In half hour Naruto had reached the hospital with Hayate, Sasuke had returned with Kakashi, Shishui and Hiruzen at his toll. Tsunade with shizune was in the operation chamber, looking over Hayate.
Shizune started operating on Hayate's wounds, an anbu with cat mask and purple hairs was sitting on the chair outside the room, her head in her hands. Sasuke had informed two pairs of patrolling Anbu about the incident, and urged them to look out for such individuals as he moved toward Kakashi's house.
Hiruzen had allowed both the genins to remain in the hospital, as it was due to them only that Hayate was alive today. They had the absolute right to know about his state, it'll reflect good on their shinobi record, both of them had displayed immense courage and high level of intelligence during the whole situation.
As the days went by, the duo was gaining more experience and praise from the high-ups. In spite of them being trained by some of the most powerful shinobis of, they didn't had the arrogance that most of other capable shinobis developed, nor were they boastful about their achievements.
It was true that Naruto was living up to the names of his two sensei and parents, while Sasuke too wasn't shortcoming on Itachi's reputation of being a powerful and highly intelligent shinobi. These two could be the future of Konoha, if directed correctly they could even surpass their parents, and their sibling in case of Sasuke.
Hiruzen knew whom he could trust to nourish them into powerful yet kind shinobis. In contrast to others in the same line of work, Hiruzen didn't believed that feelings weakened a shinobi. He believed that those same feelings prevented a shinobi from becoming a monster.
Tsunade walked out of the room with Shizune following her, it appeared from her expression that the operation was successful, this was confirmed as she nodded toward the female anbu and patted her shoulder and moved toward Hiruzen. The Anbu stood up and went inside the operation room hurriedly, she surely had deep connection with Hayate.
"The man is a tough bastard, he had been suffering from chronic cough and signs of mild tuberculosis. If he hadn't been treated soon, his life would have been cut short due to several diseases that he carried." Tsunade shook her head tiredly. "He is stable now but I'd advise him against rejoining his shinobi duties for a month time" Tsunade said calmly.
"I'll see to it m, Tsunade. Can I talk to him? He had informed me that he had some concerning news for me" questioned Hiruzen.
Before Tsunade could answer him, a female voice spoke from behind.
"No need to worry, Hokage sama. I have collected that information, whenever you need I'll tell you all about it" said Cat masked Anbu coming in front.
"We'll talk about that, Neko, but first instruct Guy to remain by his friends side. Hayate was in purge of some highly sensitive information, the owner would do anything to erase any proof" said Hiruzen.
He further instructed her to collect Jiraiya and report to his office in thirty-minutes.
Naruto and Sasuke were dismissed for the day, their training would start from the next day.
All the needed personals were present in the chamber; Kakashi, Asuma, Shishui, Jiraiya, Tsunade, Shikaku, Danzo, Neko and Hiruzen. Guy wasn't called as he wasn't strategic type, he would most likely break through walls to kick his opponent than entering the area through a door. A storm that cause ruckus wherever it went.
"So, we have gathered to discuss on a very concerning news..." and the meetings went by, plans were made and discarded. The meeting went on for the next 2 hours, each course of action was discussed and agreed upon.
In the meantime, Naruto had another musing to do, if his mother had red hairs and he didn't had, that means his hairs matched that of his father. And in hindsight there weren't many blondes in the village history, he would surely find about his heritage.
He didn't considered the fact that the blonde shinobi should be connected to Jiraiya, as for Jiraiya to be his godfather. There was only one blonde shinobi under Jiraiya tutelage, it wouldn't be long until he figures that out.
(_-_-_X_-_-_)
Gaara didn't hated his sister as much as he hated his village, his sister was always kind to him. But he wasn't sure if it was due to fear or love. After Yashamaru's death he didn't dared to trust another person and would never, so for him it was probably the former reason, fear.
They had reached Suna, the three of them. Kankuro and Temari with Gaara, Baki had left them on the border of Sunagakure to return back to leaf to meet a spy. He would return in a week time, after he had discussed and planned every step of their attack on the Leaf.
This attack, or more to be called as an Invasion would strengthen their village. Konoha had been snatching many missions from Suna's areas, this Invasion would weaken Konoha and this would prove quite fruitful for the Sand.
(_-_-_X_-_-_)
Hatake Kakashi was breathing heavily, sweat trickled down his nose as he pushed his chakra out once again.
His usually covered eye was unveiled for the world to see, but it wasn't the red iris or three tomoes that observed the mountain peak he was climbing onto.
No, it was black unlike his silver one. He had asked Jiraiya to help him with the problem of constant drain on his chakra by the Sharingan, the old pervert had tattooed a seal on his left temple near his eye. The matrix was connected to his eyes, only his chakra or touch could activate or deactivate it. It was deactivated for now and helped him like that, his chakra reserve after a decade of constant drain became a vast sea rather than a small pond like an average shinobi. And it was filling to limits now that the source of the constant drain was no more.
But Kakashi didn't aspire to leave it as such, he would keep his Sharingan active for three weeks out of four while he trained. This training regime was going to be rigorous, it was planned by his father and grandfather, Riau Hatake was a famed shinobi of Nindaime Hokage's era.
Keeping his Sharingan active through three week of this regime will increase his reserve dramatically, it was the same set that his father had used to earn the skill that had made him a monster of Shinobi arts.
And Kakashi aspired to do just that, for the safety of his younger brother and his village.
He sighed lightly as he climbed the cliff finally, looking down the cliff was a medium-sized mansion of Hatake-clan. The area on far left was covered in snow, the cliff descended down into a tropical forest. It was one of the holiday mansions of his clan, that hasn't been used since the decline of Hatake clan in the second great shinobi war.
"You know, Scarecrow, when you invited me over to one of the properties of your clan. I thought it would be a dating month, on a beach in nice hot sun, but this—this is better" Anko's voice called from behind.
Kakashi sighed, what had encourage him to take her with himself for the need of a partner, he didn't know. But he was rethinking on his state of mind, even Guy would've been better. No! Anko is far better than that green-clad beast, now that he recalled why he chose her, because the only other prospect was Guy.
(_-_-_X_-_-_)
A Month Later:
Konoha was budding with energy, since groups and groups of shinobis from several small and big villages were roaming throughout the Village.
The crowd was particularly aligned toward the paths that led to the main stadium in which Chunin exams were to be held on the day after tomorrow.
Almost a month has passed since the prelims, each and every qualifying genin of Konoha had been training meticulously.
Qualifying genins from other villages were to return to Konoha for the finals, taking this under consideration, all the shinobis of the Leaf were ordered to be more vigilant. Though, they knew Orochimaru had already infiltrated the village during Chunin exams ignoring the tight security, still they couldn't let that knowledge leak to the general public, that would cause unwanted chaos.
Besides, this time the village was much more secure than the last time, as the higher ups knew about Orochimaru's previous voyage, and the additional information from Genma cleared all their confusion.
Naruto sidestepped the sword of stone Jiraiya brought down on him, his eyes narrowed at his Godfather before shooting two fireballs at him. Hiruzen had versed him in using a single hand-sign for Katon and Fuuton jutsus. The log caught on fire, a substitution, he was propelled forward by a stream of water that hit his back.
But the Blonde dissolved into mud, before Jiraiya could acknowledge Naruto's quick thinking, he had to defend himself from the stone spikes that erupted around his feet. He wasn't given a minute respite as the blonde himself closed in the distance with his Bo in his hand.
Jiraiya ducked from the Bo, another swing and he caught it in his side. Without a thought Naruto grew spikes on its end, forcing Jiraiya to relieve his hold.
But the blond had miscalculated the speed that Jiraiya could achieve, a kick to his sternum threw him back several metres dislodging that particular motion.
Naruto was like a bag full of surprises, every time Hiruzen allows Naruto to try something new on his own, he was surprised by his determination and efficiency. Even if Naruto had same skill sets as his father, his personality was more inclined toward Kushina, and Hiruzen was thankful for the same.
He didn't want to see in the eyes of an another blonde shinobi that can mask his emotions completely, the fact that Minato could switch his personality from caring, happy to go family man to a cold, unforgiving and emotionless mercenary in a mili-second was still a surprise for Hiruzen. It wasn't like he didn't knew about other shinobis that could do the same, or he himself was incapable of such, it was just a little surprising to see Minato do it with unhindered fluidity.
At the end, he concluded that he didn't need an another shinobi whose demeanor he couldn't read.
"That's all for today, Brat, I can't say about Sarutobi-sensei but I am content with what I can teach you in a month time." Jiraiya said vanishing his stone sword. "As you know, the Chunin exam's final are to be held on the day after tomorrow, and I want you to be on your best health for the tournament. So don't drain yourself, it'll reflect bad on my reputation" Jiraiya warned him with a grin.
Naruto mumbled something that sounded 'But it's already ruined, you old pervert'
Jiraiya ignored that in favour of jogging toward the route that led to the public spa, yeah the old pervert will never change.
Naruto sighed before exiting the training ground, he was in need of a quick shower before he could get the dinner. His walk through the streets of the village went unnoticed, none had the time to stare at him, as the sudden influx in the population had increased the trade in village, and distracted the villagers. As he roamed around the village he could notice the happy faces of the civilians as their business bloomed, mothers carrying their young ones and showing them places.
His path was about to separate, from the main market toward the Senju manor, when he noticed a streak of yellow hair, at first he didn't recognized it, but after few moments he recalled the blonde Kumo kunoichi that had defeated the puppeteer from Suna in the prelims. A more focused gaze revealed two more shinobis walking beside her, it was apparent by her appearance that the convoy from Kumo had arrived earlier that day.
As they crossed paths, the red-head from the group, who was Naruto's next opponent, scrutinized Naruto up and down. Restraining himself from commenting something cheeky, Naruto ignored them and focused on his way, he was strongly advised by Hiruzen to not argue with any of the foreign ninjas, as it would render a bad image of Konoha.
Naruto decided in that moment that it was time to go underground, he will not be seen in the village for next two days.
Meanwhile, the convoys from other villages arrived in Konoha during these next two days. As the number of foreign shinobis increased, one could feel tension brewing in the air, number of visible anbu patrolling the village increased by several-folds. Jonins and Chunins went on high alert, moreover the regular genin squads were restricted from taking up unnecessary missions.
One thing that unnerved Naruto most was that the anbu were scouting through the village like a pack of wolves, it seemed that they were hunting something, or perhaps someone. It might be that all of this fiasco was connected to that attack on Hayate, whatever it may be, these actions didn't signaled toward a pleasant surprise. It didn't help that Jiraiya had been present in the village for the month, unlike his traveling self.
(_-_-_X_-_-_)
Finally, the day of Chunin exams arrived, Naruto started his day by engrossing himself into his daily chores.
After a quick shower, he went on to wear the new outfits brought by Tsunade specifically for this event.
A black full-sleeve t-shirt settled admirably with same coloured trousers, loose at the sides. An orange full-sleeve jacket was adjusted upon the tee, and he rolled the sleeves to his elbow for better movements of the wrist. Orange fingerless gloves on his hands and black boots for his feet.
All the accessories he needed were sealed inside his multilayered sealing tattoos on the inner side of his forehands with his weapons. He was ready for the finals of chunin exams, and with a mindset of a proud win he exited his apartment, taking the route of the roofs.
He arrived at the stadium in ten minutes time, as he didn't travel through the crowded pathway. A specific gate was reserved for Kages, Daimos and the participating genins, he climbed the stone stairs to reach what looked like a lobby with a balcony that opened in the arena.
All the competing genins were already present there, he scanned through the group for familiar faces and wasn't disappointed, he saw Sasuke, Sakura, Hinata, Kiba and Lee gathered up in one side of the stand, while Neji stood alone. His roamed his eyes further to see Shikamaru sitting on one of the seats, his eye closed and his hand supported his head from the back. The mysterious team from Konoha was also standing in one of the corners of the stand, and Garra and his sister were seated at the back of the stand while others scattered across the balcony.
He walked up to his friends group, he could feel the gaze of some of the competitors on himself but ignore it in favour of his friends. Ad he came near them he could hear Sasuke arguing with Kiba while Sakura was chattering to Hinata, Lee was just laughing on the antics of Kiba as he teased the Uchiha. Everyone had changed their attires for the events, it wasn't just a simple tournament, it was more like a show of strength from their respective villages.
In the Kage Booth:-
Hiruzen was seated in the middle of the three kages, one guard at his each side similar to his counterparts. Both of his guards' faces weren't visible behind the veil covering their faces. Seated at his right was the Raikage, the man had a monstrous posture, towering above his peers and the guards.
A was the only son of the third Raikage, he was groomed from early childhood to become the next kage. But after the Hyuga incident, the majority of the members on the Kumo council lost faith in third Raikage's ability to lead them further. They couldn't replaced the Raikage as their power were limited, but understanding the unrest among the population, A decided to succeed his father early. As expected, the third Raikage didn't oppose his decision, he had groomed his son for this very moment only.
A was a dark-skinned man with a large muscular build, blond hair combed back, his face adorned with a small moustache and goatee. His face had pronounced cheekbones and tear troughs under his eyes, a prominent crease ran across his forehead. His attire consisted of white haori without a shirt underneath, and the traditional Raikage hat. He had black fuma shuriken tattoos on both shoulders, and wore large golden vambraces on his wrists. He also wore a gold belt around his waist with a boar's face engraved in the center, black pants with torn ends, Kumo's regular shin guards, and shinobi sandals. All of these aspects combined gave him the appearance of a professional wrestler.
At Hiruzen's other side was the Kazekage, Rasa the Yondaime Kazekage.
Rasa had auburn hair and dark eyes, his face set in stern expression. He was dressed in white robe with blue underline and the traditional Kazekage hat on his head
Shiranui Genma was chosen as the new proctor of the final exam, ad considering the current health of Hayate Gekko, he couldn't proctor the exams effectively. The proctor stood in the middle of the arena, his eyes taking note of the crowd gathered in the large stadium to spectate the finals of this year's exams.
Confirming that every important dignitary was seated, he begun his introduction.
"I, Shiranui Genma, welcomes you all to the finals of the chunin exams held in Konoha. All the competing genins are requested to present themselves in the arena" announced Genma.
The fifteen genins walked down the stands to the middle of arena, their head held high and posture relaxed, except Shikamaru who was descending the stairs lazily.
"I present you with the fifteen genins that have qualified the second phase and the prelims, getting placed in the finals." Genma's voice boomed as he gestured toward the gathered Genins.
"Only one shinobi out of these fifteen will win this tournament, I wish all of you the best of luck." Genma added.
"Now all of you may return to the stand, except the ones with number one, you'll remain here" instructed Genma facing the genins.
Haruno Sakura and Sabaku no Temari stayed on the ground, while others took the route to stadium.
"This tournament starts with our first match, Haruno Sakura from Konoha against Sabaku no Temari from Suna" the proctor announced loudly.
"Both fighters ready?" asked Genma, they both nodded in response.
"Begin" Genma yelled loudly.
Both competitors stood infront each other, it seemed none of them were risking the first movement. Temari knew to asses her opponents before attacking them upfront, on the opposite end Sakura was also taught by Kakashi to be patient and use her brain rather than the adrenaline rush in a fight.
"What is it pinky? are you afraid of me already?" Temari mocked with a smirk. Her temper flared as she saw Sakura ignore her comment.
"Well, If you're not going to come then I think I will" Said the blonde Suna kunoichi before rushing toward her opponent.
Sakura didn't tried to blocked the punch that was sent her was, as if she knew Temari's punch wouldn't have much impact. Unexpectedly for Temari, it didn't. Sakura had welcomed the punch right at her face, with even flinching. The foreign Kunoichi gritted her teeth, as she went for another punch that was also left unblocked.
This didn't go unnoticed by Tsunade who was seated near the booth with Shizune at her side, her long-range vision caught the hue of additional fading chakra around Sakura's face. Anybody without the knowledge of the said jutsu wouldn't be able to notice it though, and it seemed like Naruto's teammate had succeed in copying her jutsu to a limited level, this certainly indicates that the girl should've admirable control over her chakra and high IQ, both were still to be seen yet.
Sakura used Temari confused state to her advantage and returned with a left swing, Temari crossed her hands infront at the last moment to block it. Still, Sakura's punch made her slide back several feet. Temari felt like a idiot, how could she forget the damage the pinkette had caused to the blonde during prelims.
She couldn't afford to attack her upfront, she was unmoved by the punch Temari had delivered, it wasn't a weak punch in least. Her strategy was to either knock her opponent out on the first punch or to go out with stamina, her punch wasn't successful, so she had to go on with mediocre but frequent attacks. But the fight didn't went onwards as she expected, even if she tried to prolong this battle Sakura wasn't in the mood to do so.
Sakura pounced with a high kick, that was reflexively block. A side kick; blocked. A right punch; blocked. A descending kick; merely blocked.
Sakura was trying to break through her guards continuously, she was trying to deliver high-powered attacks, like she did to Ino to end the fight easily. She wasn't succeeding in it though, it appeared that the blonde infront of her wasn't as mediocre as the Yamanaka heiress. Temari guards were near-impossible to break through, additionally, the girl was maintaining a distance between the both for extra safety.
Sakura had to devise a plan to trick the girl, she found one after a few moments of pondering meanwhile her onslaught was continuous. If Temari wasn't keen on close distance, perhaps she can make her jutsu reach her.
Sakura jumped back, and went through several hand signs.
"Doton: Stone Boulder" She yelled as she slammed her hands on the ground.
A Boulder rose from the ground, and before Temari could understand the Jutsu, the boulder was speeding toward her.
The boulder didn't brought success that Sakura had envisioned, as it was broken into pieces—credit to the fan that Temari held in her hand. She didn't wasted a single second, and swinged the big fan to shoot wind waves toward the other kunoichi.
The wind wave faced a metallic resistance at the opposite side, emitting a loud noise.
~Clang~
~Boom~
The waves hit Sakura's heavy sword to make the loud noise, this didn't discourage Sakura from pacing toward Temari as soon as she deflected the waves. She attempted a heavy right swing that was blocked by Temari's fan. Neither Temari nor Sakura were fully adept with their respective weapon, as both of them had acquired their weapons in the near past. In the midst of their fight, It wasn't clear when Sakura start to outmaneuver Temari.
Their constant fro and back with weapons presented Sakura with a small gap to hit Temari with a chakra enhanced strike. Temari disorientation gave Sakura time to form two hand seals quickly, immediately Temari legs were restricted by a structure of stones and mud. As soon as she looked up a punch hit her face, knocking her out.
The match went in thr favor of Sakura.
The level of skill Sakura had displayed was unexpected, many individuals including Asuma, Tsunade, Rasa and A were impressed. Tsunade could bet that Sakura had the capabilities to become a strong kunoichi, If trained properly.
"That was terrific, Sakura" complimented Naruto as Sakura walked up the stairs toward the stands.
In the Kage booth
"Well, that was unexpected. I didn't knew Konoha was trying to nurture a second Tsunade" voiced A surprised at the level of the skill that the pinkette displayed.
"We don't want her to become a second Tsunade, it is her own choice to follow the footsteps of Tsunade. Given her abilities and mind set, I would be surprised if she doesn't reach Tsunade's strength level in next five-years" replied Hiruzen.
"Such confidence in one of your genins, Sarutobi? If I am not wrong, Haruno clan doesn't possess any kekkai-genkai, Does it?" asked Rasa.
"If you may know Kazekage dono, I, personally doesn't favour Kekkai-Genkai users. And no the clan doesn't possess any such abilities, but still she is capable enough to earn the mentorship of 'the Copy-Ninja'." was Sarutobi's final answer
"I suggest we wait untill we see Haruno- san's next performance before determining her future, for Temari san, she should acquire more experience." suggested the Raikage.
Hiruzen and Rasa, both nodded their heads in agreement.
(_-_-_X_-_-_)
"Inuzuka Kiba and Nii Yugito, please come down to the ground" announced Genma.
Both competitors arrived walked down the stairs one after another, Yugito and Kiba took their respective place in the arena waiting for Genma's signal. Neither had the mindset of restraining from the first move, or strategic planning. Yugito's Jinchurikki status uplifted her chances in any fight, and Kiba was an Inuzuka, that's all he needed.
As soon as Genma said 'Begin', Kiba rushed toward Yugito his face morphed into a smirk, putting his canines on full display. He covered the distance in no time, and begun his onslaught on Yugito. Punches were thrown toward her at a rapid speed, continuously.
Since, Yugito wasn't the one to stand down to such tactics, she worked on the gaps between her own guard to deliver occasional kicks and punches to Kiba.
This frustrated Kiba to no end as he wasn't able to cause much damage to the Kumo kunoichi, he jumped back a little stopping his onslaught to do something about it. He smirked as he put his hands inside the long pouches at his sides that were connected to the belt that he wore, as his hands came out, Yugito and most of the crowd could see a thirteen-inch claw attached to them. This changed the turf of match for Kiba slightly, he rushed back at her again at a much higher speed, his claws pointed forward.
She jumped over him to avoid the claws like a Matador. But unlike them, she revealed her own set of claws from her fingernails to slash at Kiba's back. The slash inflicted four straight-lined cuts on Kiba's back, he howled before kneeling on the ground, his back throbbing with the painful sensation. He knew he was fucked, charging head-on toward the Kumo girl wasn't the most intelligent thing to do.
This sudden turn of events sorely disappointed Konoha genins, specially Naruto and his group. Kiba stood up with shaky feet, he turned around to see a ball of fire speeding toward him, before he could think his claws came infront to protect his face as a reflex, the result didn't came as he expected. The claws were able to successfully protect him from the fire, but it also heated them up due to the intensity of fireball and iron being a conductor of heat.
"Ouch..Ouch...Ouch" he repeated as he threw his claw aside.
"You should forfeit, Inuzuka. You're both hurt and lost your weapon" suggested Yugito smugly.
"I will decide what should I do" Kiba growled at her, in an instant Akamaru appeared infront of him. He had instructed Akamaru to stay out of the fight as long as he doesn't signal him to do otherwise, and the howl was just the needed signal. He hastily tossed a pill to Akamaru while he took one himself, the cut on his back sizzled before closing, his fang and hair grew by a definitive margin and the burn on his hand started to fade. Meanwhile, Akamaru's coat took a red hue and his size increased a little bit.
"Inuzuka Style: Fang over Fang" He yelled and pounced toward her with Akamaru, the duo started to spin at one place, forming what looked like two small typhoons. The two typhoons combined together, and rushed toward Yugito, who in turn jumped over the typhoons to land a little far away. The movement was quite similar to a cat on her four limbs, and Naruto didn't fail to notice it. The duo tried to get her between the typhoons several times, but she continued to jump around like a cat.
Eventually, Kiba and Akamaru separated to attack her from both sides, this couldn't be avoided. Kiba had already cornered her against the stadium wall, as a result she couldn't jump back to avoid the attack. Additionally, the boy and his dog were much faster than her after they had consumed that strange pill.
Her only escape was her fire technique, so, she just did that. As soon as Kiba and Akamaru came in the right distance, she spewed blue fire forming walls of fire around herself. Kiba and Akamaru collided with the firewall, and burned out themselves on them, too tired to move they collapsed on the ground, unconscious.
Yugito picked up the win.
In stands
"Kiba-kun" exclaimed Hinata to herself.
'He truly gave his all to this match, though he was an idiot to underestimate her' thought Sakura as she watched the fight.
"That idiot, He had to underestimate her" Naruto shook his head.
Kurenai was both proud and worried about her student, Kiba had sure showed determination throughout his match. Yet, he should stop underestimating his opponents, only if he had taken Yugito seriously, the outcome of the match would have been different.
In Kage Booth
"That was anticlimactic, perhaps, Kiba should focus more on his defence than offence" said Hiruzen at the end.
"Correctly said, Hokage dono" voiced A.
It seems that all the Kage shared thoughts with Kurenai, Kiba was determined but was inexperienced, His path to chunin hasn't came.
(_-_-_X_-_-_)
"Next match, Hyuga Neji VS Rock Lee" announced Genma.
Neji and Lee walked down the stairs toward the arena for their bout, as they stood infront eachother they both reflected upon the number of matches they had through years.
Lee was always trying to outdo Neji in combat, but Neji was one of most gifted Hyuga in the entire clan. He could do main branch moves effortlessly even without formal teaching, that skill of his conflicted with his father morals as Hizashi was inclined more toward Hinata's training due to his fatherly affection for her.
His father didn't outright oppose him learning the main branch moves, but he didn't allow him to use those moves publicly. It was under the consideration that the elders would see this as an another weakness of Hinata and would create problems for her.
Lee wasn't far away, contrary to the popular views of him being a failure, only a few were able to recognise his determination and true talent. What many of the civilians, and even majority of the shinobi population failed to assess was that Lee wasn't a weak shinobi. His skills in taijutsu were developing at an alarming rate, he wasn't a genius like Neji, Sasuke or even Naruto to some extent, unlike them he was hard worker. He would train and complete his regime untill his body falls apart, theoretically not literally of course.
"Begin" shouted Genma, and the match started.
Lee took the initiative and closed the distance, throwing punches like a boxer. Left, right, left, up, down, right, up, left and so on. Each of his punch were blocked by Neji effectively, he didn't spare an extra move to block them, displaying why a Hyuga's defence wasn't best for nothin'.
Lee was continuously trying to break through his defences, and Neji could feel the level of strength Lee possessed. It was like he was being hit by a person wearing bricks instead of gloves. He was constantly deflecting the punches Lee threw at him, but he couldn't understand how the failure of his generation could be this strong. In the midst of his onslaught it wasn't clear when Lee unwrapped the bandages from his wrists, one moment Neji was deflecting his punches the next moment he was surrounded by bandages ready to wrap him.
This was one of the moves that Lee had developed in synchronisation with Guy sensei, a devastating tombstone piledriver wrapped tightly by bandages wasn't the best thing to look forward to.
Since, Neji had acquired some main branch jutsu, ignoring his father's advice, he decided to use one of them, The Kaiten. As soon as the bandages enclosed him he started rotating like a top, expelling chakra from both of his palms resulting in formation of a dome like structure. Lee was thrown aback due to the force of chakra inside the dome.
This surprised the majority of the audience, a side branch member using main branch moves was unheard of, let alone be seen. The Clan elders were seething in the stands, How could a side branch member use a main branch moves? Such atrocity couldn't be foreseen, more so, if the heiress is unable to perform those moves. Eyes turned toward Hiashi and Hizashi, who were seated right above the elders. Since, Hiashi was the clan head, He was to look after such incidents.
It became more of a problem when the said side branch member was the nephew of the clan head, considering his position he could have been trained by the family. However, apart from the rumors and lies, these allegations didn't held validation.
As soon as the dome dispersed, Neji bolted forward with his palms outstretched and directed toward Lee. Lee didn't get a chance to avoid the impact, as he hadn't got the chance to remove his weights untill now, he had the muscle memory to dodge it but his speed didn't matched his reflexes.
Neji struck Lee at various points with two open palms, as he shouted "Eight Trigrams: Thirty-Two Palms".
He closed 32 of Lee's tenketsus, little did he considered that Lee never used a bit of chakra in his genin days and academy years. As Lee's chakra passages were too narrow for chakra to pass through them, he couldn't use ninjutsus or genjutsus and was relied solely upon taijutsu, in which he specialises.
Since, 'Thirty-two palms' immobilizes the one it is used on, Neji relaxed a little. Lee couldn't possibly oppose the effects of the technique, he was most likely paralyzed and defeated. Right?
It came as shock to Neji and most of the audience when Lee returned with a knee to his gut, grinning like usual. As if, he didn't felt the effects of the Hyuga palms, that couldn't be possible. What they failed to understand was that even if the palms could stop the flow of chakra in one's body, it required active network of chakra to do so. Since, Lee's chakra network were already clogged from birth, he could just shook off the effects.
Not prolonging the fight further, Lee kicked the Hyuga that threw him back several metres. He quickly followed his teammate, but this time, his speed was unmatched and his movements were swift.
Visible chakra flared around the boy, before his eyes went complete white, not unlike his Hyuga teammate.
Neji cursed internally, it seemed that Lee had successfully opened first of the eight gates. Much to dismay of Hyuga clan members, Neji didn't stood a chance afterwards. A right hand Punch was accurately blocked by Neji, but the following kick from the left wasn't noticed. As a result, it hit Neji square on the face. Apart from his speed, Lee's strength had also increased slightly, making the kick more dangerous. Neji landed a little far, but Lee wasn't done yet, Lee was on his heels right now. A double hand axe handle was dropped upon Neji.
Neji hadn't conversed or taunted Lee throughout the match, he wasn't an idiot. He knew Lee was under direct supervision of Guy sensei, he was ought to be powerful. At the same time he was astonished, Lee never displayed such physical or battle prowess in their spars. Was he always under the illusion that he was the strongest of the three? How couldn't he notice the strength Lee possessed all along? He always pitied Lee, as he assumed Lee's weakness was due to his inability to use chakra.
What an ironical situation he found himself in, Lee's inability to use chakra was his biggest strength. Lee was always the strongest one of the three, he always let others underestimate him.
The fight ended as Lee used the force he used to deliver the axe handle to jump toward the arena wall, and use it as a springboard to deliver a dropkick.
Neji's last thought was pain, immense pain.
The Winner- Rock lee
The Kage Booth:-
"He surely did a number on the Hyuga, I was expecting more from the Hyuga. Taking his lineage under consideration, he should be one of the elite genin of this village" stated the Raikage.
"He should be, but he isn't" retorted Rasa, the Kazekage.
"Thank you for concern, my fellow kages. But, since we aren't in middle of a shinobi war, children of my village doesn't need to sacrifice their childhood in quest of power" replied Hiruzen.
"A noble thought, I expected nothing less from you, Sarutobi-dono" Complimented A.
"I suggest that we observe one or two more matches of the green-clad boy before we consider for his graduation." suggested Rasa.
"I agree with you, Kazekage-dono, the green clad boy showed great skills in taijutsu." replied the Raikage.
"Then the decision is made" finalized Hiruzen.
In the stands
Kakashi had moved toward Guy during the match, Since, he was Guy's friend, He knew Lee was under Guy's tutelage.
"Did I saw Lee using the first gate? By the way, his transition from base to first gate was flawless. Bearing into mind that, even most of the jonin were unaware of his transition" praised Kakashi.
"Aren't you a little worried about me teaching him gates this early?" asked Guy soberly.
"We all have aces up our sleeves, Guy. Given, he can't use ninjutsu and genjutsu, I had presumed that you would share your knowledge of the inner gates with him." replied Kakashi neutrally.
"Did you observe his style and speed? He isn't a failure as other expect him to be" voiced Sasuke as he stood beside Naruto.
"It's no surprise, after all how many times were the villagers correct about us ? His background isn't that different from us, and as such, we should support him" replied Naruto.
Sasuke nodded without looking toward him, before he returned back to his place.
(_-_-_X_-_-_)
"The next match; Uzumaki Naruto vs Karui" announced Genma.
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto; all rights are reserved to Kishimoto.