17 2/3

I smiled sadly. "When Ino and I were 5 years old, my mom and her mom had taken us to the market with them. We were laughing, having a good time, being kids. Some drunks came out of a bar and were smoking and harassing people. They began harassing my mom and aunt. Calling them the wives of the strongest paper pushing clan in the village, things like that. Ino and I, being the way we are, started mouthing back off to them. Our yells of indignation at the abuse of our clan were met with more jeers and laughter. I was so upset, as was Ino. Ino stayed at my house that night. We built a blanket fort and were just laughing and goofing off before Ino turned to me. She made me promise her that we would both work hard. I would be the strongest male and she would be the strongest female our clan had ever seen. We'd show those idiots how strong our clan could be." I laughed softly at the memory replaying in my mind as if it had happened yesterday. Before what happened next made me really laugh. "She then ordered me, as heiress to the clan, that I was not allowed to break my promise. She made me pinky swear." I smiled at the Uchiha who watched me with an unreadable expression.

"Mom and Dad started my training a year earlier than most. I was a weird kid. Didn't really like other kids, spent all my time reading. They knew I'd benefit from having a training program to focus on. The next year I started the training for my clan techniques. It took me a full year to successfully separate my yin from my yang chakra. I remember running to Ino to tell her my success. She was cheering me on when I told her right as her dad walked in. She boasted loudly how awesome her cousin was, then right there demanded uncle start her training as well. He agreed and Ino began her training."

"It took me a year to get achieve what I did, and that had me labeled by the entire clan as a prodigy. Do you know how long it took Ino to separate her yin and yang chakra?" I asked Sasuke. He shook his head. "A single, month." I stated.

Sasuke's eyes widened, realizing what that meant. A year was considered a prodigy… What did that make Ino?

"When Ino came and boasted of her achievement, bragging and saying how easy it was, it hurt. I won't lie. I was jealous, I'll admit. But I was also so proud because she was my cousin. So I cheered her on as enthusiastically as she had cheered me on."

"Once I learned how to separate my two chakras, learning our most fundamental clan technique was actually quite simple. I completed the 'Mind-Body Transfer' around the same time as Ino was showing her next level genius in our clan techniques. If I did it in a week, Ino was probably going to get it in a day or two."

"We had just started our second year in the academy. I was focused on my studies, but my cousin had started to turn her attentions to other things. Clothes, makeup, boys. All of those things had now become the center of her universe. Her training was slowing to a crawl, her focus slipping more and more before giving up on learning the first of our clan techniques. Watching her turn from a determined little girl that wanted to prove to the village our clans strength, into this… thing. It broke my heart. It also pissed me off. I kept thinking to myself, if she's going to waste all that potential, why wasn't it given to someone else? Someone like me? I would have killed to have that natural talent she was tossing to the side like that type of genius is common."

"So I grew to resent her. She and I grew apart. I continued to get stronger and stronger, using you as my only means of motivation" I admitted to the Uchiha across from me. "Since I no longer had a fellow clan member to compare my growth to, you were the only person in class who could push me. And year by year, Ino became more and more pathetic. Her antics and grades in school brought shame to our clan. Which is a really hard thing to do for a clan that usually doesn't even care about our image. But when you're the heiress and the unofficial president of the fangirls fan club, well even we start to turn our heads away and distance ourselves."

"Everything I said leads up to why I despise Ino so much. Wasted potential. Mind off in space somewhere thinking about what dress she'll wear to your two's wedding." Sasuke fake gagged causing me to laugh. "But the final nail in the coffin for her was letting my sister down. I may not look it, but I am a doting big brother, and that little girl I would die to protect. But how can you protect her heart when the one who broke it was our cousin. Kono looked up to Ino, wanted to be like her. Then she saw what she had become and her biggest hero just became her biggest shame." I finally finished.

"So that, Sasuke Uchiha, is the timeline and collection of how I grew to despise my cousin." I stood up and brushed the grass off my pants. "Now, if we're done for our heart to hearts today, I'm starving. Mom probably made dinner, you're more than welcome to join. She loves doting on all my friends." I laughed. Sasuke politely declined my invitation and made his way towards his home. I stared after the loner of our class, a little less of a loner at this point. I was still slightly in shock that he had not only come to me for advice, but had opened up so much to me. I shook my head and started the path to my own home. Well, whatever caused this anomaly in the universe I wouldn't change it. We hadn't been friends before today, but maybe now we were? Ah, I don't know. All this friendship crap is Naruto's forte.

*********************************Sasu Bro-Mance***************************************

I collapsed to my hands and knees, panting. I watched the sweat drip from my brow to land on the soil below me. I took a deep breath and looked up, greeted by the impassive visage of my mother. Like a queen staring down at her subject before she announced their fate, she stared. I sighed and let my head drop.

"Again!" Her voice called out suddenly. "Concentrate, Kenta! You're losing focus!"

I nodded and slowly pushed myself to a standing position. I took a deep breath and stepped towards the stream once more. I knelt down in the soft sand below, placing both hands in the cool water. I closed my eyes and took one more deep breath. I molded my chakra and began my task. The water that was once wrist deep began to slowly crawl its way up my arms. Slowly, ever so slowly it started its ascent. Slowly, ever so slow my elbows were now covered. I concentrated. Slowly, my biceps were now encased. Slower, the water reached to both my shoulders. Even slower, both shoulders were now hidden beneath the layer of water. I focused even harder, the hardest part was about to begin.

With as much care as I could I directed the water. The separate streams converged at my neckline. I was shaking now, my breathing becoming a little more labored. Focus. The cool water covered my collarbones. Focus. My chest was now slick with the liquid life clinging to it. Focus. My abdomen tightened at the touch of the cool water. Focus. My hips wore the second the skin.

I was shaking more violently. A mixture of the strain as well as the chill that had begun to creep into my body. Concentrate. The hardest part. I directed the water to once again split. The tops of my thighs breaking out in goosebumps. Concentrate. Mid thighs now feelings the chill that the rest had been fighting. Concentrate. The cool water covered my knees. Concentrate my shins relished in the cool to ease some of the burning. Concentrate! The tops of my feet now tingled like the rest.

The shaking was so violent I felt my concentration waver. I put shoved it, violently to the back of my mind. FOCUS! Halfway done, the hardest part had just begun. I felt the liquid wrap my soles in their cool embrace. FOUCS! The screaming of my aching calves cried in salvation at the feel of the cool water. FOCUS! My hamstrings tightened further at the light touch of water. FOCUS! My glutes were in heaven at the touch they felt. FOCUS! The liquid creeped up my lower back, I twitched.

Water cascaded off my body to the soil below and I collapsed to my hands and knees once more, the taste of bile made its presence known. I puked right there for all I was worth. What was left of my breakfast forcibly evicted. I wiped my mouth and retreated to the shade of the trees where I collapsed onto my back. I took deep breaths, doing my best to calm my quivering muscles. Chakra exhaustion looming on the horizon. Finally, what could have been minutes or hours seemed to pass and I was able to push myself into a seated position. I opened my eyes and laughed.

Mom was there, but gone was her stony glare. In its place was a wide smile. She was bouncing on her toes in her excitement. "Oh, honey! That was so good! You're a natural. Only 3 sessions and you're already moving the water hallway up the back. That's the hardest part!"

It had been just over a week since my talk with Sasuke. Mom and Dad worked out my training program for the next month and it's been brutal. Besides receiving a personalized fitness program via Guy, the rest of my training had been just as bad. Mom was working me on the last step of water manipulation. As you can see. I had to pull the water up my arms, down my front side, then wrap around and up to the neckline once more. By the end, from the neck down every inch of skin would be covered in a thin layer of water. According to mom and great-grandmother, until I could complete the exercise in under 10 seconds, I would never reach my potential with either water techniques, or my storm techniques.

Dad was doing the same, but with lightning. Those sessions were even more brutal. They involved dad sending bolts of lightning at me. I had to pull the lightning into my own body, convert dad's lightning to my own lightning, and then discharge it into the ground. Yeah, not easy and it fucking hurt!

They had been switching back and forth each day. From breakfast until early afternoon, they drilled me. After that, from mid-afternoon until I collapsed I would work on anything else. My main focus was getting as proficient with the 'Body-Flicker' as humanly possible. I was making great progress, but I was still nowhere near Shisui's rumored level. My max right now was three in a row before the strain was too great and I risked injury.

I had also met Haku a few times for lunch. Mainly to make the effort to be more of a friend to the guy, as well as grill him on how he uses his bloodline. His ice bloodline was an advanced nature bloodline just like mine. While I could do the basic techniques, they still felt forced and put a greater strain on my coils than my regular techniques ever did. We talked for hours over the course of those lunches and I gained some useful insight. Come exam time, I was going to shock the world. Only 20 days left.

*****************************************KY*****************************************

I felt the water touch my hairline and I grinned. The water collapsed to the ground but I had done it. Still took me over 5 minutes, but now I had the feeling down. Speed was my forte. It was my greatest strength. Getting something done fast was nothing new to me. 14 days.

**********************************Training Montague***********************************

I eyed my father warily. Part of this training was attacking without warning. I had to be ready at all times. Muscles loose, mind coiled in anticipation. I waited, and waited. I blinked and saw the flash of light racing towards me. I pointed my index finger forward and let the lightning strike me. I felt the foreign voltage coursing through my body, muscles attempting to seize from the power coursing through them. I focused my mind letting my senses do their job. I felt the electricity coursing through me and clamped down on it. I met electricity with my chakra, the transformation happening second nature now. I held it inside for a split second more before I directed it out my toes and into the soil below. Dad's proud smile made my heart feel light. He walked over to me and placed both hands on my shoulders.

"You bring not only so much pride to your mother, your sister and me, but our clan as a whole. You're going to remind the world the dangers of a underestimating a Yamanaka. I'm so proud of you, my son."

I felt hot tears prick the corners of my eyes. I scrubbed them furiously, banishing the demons to the 7th hell. "Thanks, Dad. I won't let any of you down, I promise. I'll take down the son of a kage and show the world." I smiled brightly, still waging war with the demons threatening to escape their eternal prison.

He smiled brightly and pulled me into a tight hug. 8 Days.

**********************************Father-Son Moment**********************************

Mom gasped. "Baby! 6 seconds! That's faster than even I can do it!" She pulled me into a bone crushing hug, letting go only when I went limp in her arms due to lack of oxygen. 6 days.

**********************************Momma Super Grip***********************************

My feet silently touched down and I jumped for joy. The full moon shone brightly in the sky, hiding the stars with its brilliant glow. New record, 8 jumps. Shisui, I hope you can hear my nightly prayers to you. Granting me the ability to continue the legacy you started.

Only one more test before I called it a night.

Boar-Hare-Horse-Tiger. "Storm Release: Quick Shot Light Blitz!" I called. I pointed my index finger at the target before me. I single beam of light rocketed forward at an alarming rate, tearing a hole in the bullseyes as soon as it left my body. I cancelled the technique and started whooping loudly in the night air. My parents training coupled with the tips provided by Haku had paid in dividends. No longer did my storm chakra feel clunky, sloppy and forced. It was now as smooth as silk, the same as if I was using a water or lightning technique. Oh man, I love my teammates but I hope they know they're going down something fierce if they have to face me. My good mood intensified thinking of Ami and Naruto. I had only seen them a few times this month. I couldn't wait to see how much they'd improved themselves. Tomorrow. Tomorrow the world would bear witness to the coming of the storm over Konoha.

Storm Release vs. Magnet Release. We'll just see who's the strongest.

*************************************Fiinnnalllyyyy*************************************

"Ladies and Gentleman! It is with my greatest greetings I welcome you all to the Konoha Chunin Exams!" Lord Third called to the gathered crowd. Thousands upon thousands of people crammed into the large stadium to see the newest generation kick the snot out of each other. Not a single seat was empty, and the crowd of hopefuls outside that had hoped to scalp some tickets only added to the din inside. The crowd roared their approval for their leader. Beside him, Lord Rasa stared around impassively.

"The 10 young men and women you see before you have proven to be the best of their generation. Passing all the mental and physical tests we threw at them and coming out on top. Without further delay, please turn your attention to the field where Hayate Gekko will soon begin the fights. Thank you and enjoy today's show!"

The very ground we stood on shook by the thunderous cheers being issued by the spectators. Many minutes later it had died down enough for Hayate to be heard. His slightly gravelly voice called out with as much force as he could.

"The first match is between Neji Hyuga and Naruto Uzumaki! Those two please stay down here with me, rest of you retreat to the spectator booth." Hayate called. We all complied. I gave Naruto a fist bump and wished him luck. He cockily smiled back before turning to his opponent. The eight of us quickly found our way to where we would be observing each other's matches. I quickly ran to the railing and leaned against it. Fú's cute little face joined me to my left, Ami squeezed into my right. We all started cheering Naruto on as loud as we could.

"I know you both are too smart to forget the rules, but I will remind you just in case as well as let the audience know." Hayate started. "This fight will continue until one of you either surrenders, or I declare you unable to continue. While it is permitted, killing your opponent is highly frowned up. If I say stop, you will stop or I will make you stop. Do either of you have questions?"

Both boys shook their heads, eyes never leaving the other, sizing each other up.

"Then Neji Hyuga, are you ready?" Hayate asked.

"I am." He declared loudly and confidently.

"Naruto Uzumaki, are you ready?"

"Am I ready? I was born ready! Let's do this!" He crowed loudly.

"Then let the first match of final exam of the Chunin Exams… BEGIN!" He jumped back, coughing slightly.

"You should give up, Uzumaki. You're in over your head. The fates have a plan for all of us the second we are born into this cruel world. You barely scraped by in the academy. Those born at the bottom can do nothing to escape the bottom. You must play the hand life deals you. The hand you were dealt was that of a mediocre shinobi with no future." Neji called to Naruto, gaze impassive.

Naruto was clutching his stomach from laughing so hard. "Wow. Last year's rookie of the year is a complete moron. You wanna talk about fate? Go talk to Kenta. He's seen fate with his own eyes, and let me tell you, it isn't a straight line. As for your attempt at mind games? You suck!" He was now crying from laughter. Chuckles could be heard in the audience at the boy's antics.

Neji scowled. "If that is your answer, then I will just show you how outclassed you are." And he activated his 'Byakugan.'

Naruto wiped a few tears away and sobered up. "Yeah, yeah. Don't go crying to Hinata when I kick your ass!"

Neji's eyes narrowed in anger and he charged forward, his speed even greater than a month ago.

"Multi Shadow Clone Technique!" Naruto called and the stadium erupted in a pillar of smoke. The smoke quickly dissipated leaving at least 100 Naruto's covering every corner of the arena floor.

"Hey moron!"

"Over here!"

"Bet you can't find me!"

"You suck!"

"Let's see how good those eyes are"

Hundreds of Naruto's were throwing insults at the Hyuga prodigy. He stopped his charged and took in his predicament. His gaze swept the horde of Narutos and his frown deepened. Seemingly unable to tell the real from the fake. The glory of the Shadow Clone.

Without warning, one of the Narutos charged Neji. A quick exchange later and the clone was dispelled. As soon as the first was dispelled, another charged. Again and again, as soon as Neji dispelled one clone another was on him. Several minutes later, the arena was empty. Neji's frown was once again in place. He looked around the arena and then his eyes widened in shock. Naruto burst from the ground directly below the genius. Neji leaned back, narrowly avoiding the rising uppercut to the chin Naruto had attempted. Neji back flipped several times away before stopping, already in a defensive position.

"Aw man! My plan almost worked! You're better than you look!" Naruto whined.

"Of course. Your parlor trick was nothing but a waste of time. The difference in skill between us is too great to overcome. You will lose as was written, and I will continue to the next match." Neji stated matter-of-factly.

"Hmmm… Are you sure? I don't know about all that. I mean, you didn't even notice that." Naruto said, pointing down. Neji looked down and his eyes widened in panic. His foot directly on a paper seal. He looked up and Naruto had his hand in a single seal. "Sorry, chump. You might have impressive eyes, but if you aren't opening them wide enough, you'll miss the small details." Naruto waved as the seal activated. An explosion of syrup erupted from the tag. Neji tried to evade, but the wave was too large and he was now at Naruto's mercy, trapped.

"What is this?" Neji hissed.

"Uh, it's a trap seal. Are you really this dumb?" Naruto asked, eyeing the boy up and down. "If you're asking specifically what you're standing in, that's this weird syrup stuff Kenta can spit out. Yeah, he like spits it at me, and then I hold up my seal and it all gets sucked in. Then I can set it up to go off on contact or manually set it off. It's great, right!? OH! And the best part, is the amplification matrix I added, which doubles the effect of the technique sealed inside!" Naruto excitedly explained. Impressed murmuring broke out amongst the crowd.

Neji pulled and pulled trying to escape. His face growing redder by the minute. His mood not helped by Naruto's mad cackling. Finally movement by Naruto drew Neji's attention. Naruto was slowly making a show out of unsealing several kunai and sealing tags. He wrapped a few of the seals around the handles of the sharp weapons. Once done, he looked up at Neji and smiled.

"Oh don't mind me, just getting ready for the next round. You still stuck? Aw man, that sucks!" Naruto laughed loudly again. The crowd joining in on the Uzumaki's torment.

Neji was seething now. Time and again his struggles were met with the same result. Failure. Naruto finally calmed down and his eyes hardened.

"Well, if you're too stupid to reazlied how boned you are, allow me to show you." He twirled 4 of the seal wrapped kunai. "These are the lowest grade explosions I can make. They're simply make your ears ring. Diversionary explosions are what I dubbed them. Each set of four ramps up. I keep throwing, the danger increasing by the round. We'll keep this up until you wise up enough and forfeit. Got it? Let's start.

He launched four of the kunai towards a still very much trapped Neji. The Hyuga's eyes widened. The kunai glowed ominously as they approached. The explosion went off and… pink paint now covered the Hyuga from head to toe. Naruto couldn't keep up the seriousness anymore and was rolling on the ground, laughing like today was his last day. The audience couldn't keep their composure and soon tens of thousands of spectators joined Naruto in their laughter of the Hyuga prodigy's humiliation.

Neji's fist's tightened, his face darkening. His chakra reacting to his anger and embarrassment, it seemed to spike. "ENOUGH! I WILL KILL YOU, UZUMAKI!" He roared.

Naruto's laughter never let up, "With what? Your cuteness?! Are you going to glare at me to death?" Naruto's loud laughter was amplified by the audience joining him.

Neji's chakra spiked to new levels, a thin layer of chakra could barely be seen coating his body. If one were to look close, they would see the syrup beneath his feet breaking apart slightly. His body moved, slightly, before he began to turn slowly. Freeing himself enough, he began to rotate rapidly.

"Eight Trigams Palms Revolving Heaven!" his strong voice rang out, cutting the laughter of the crowd and Naruto of abruptly. His dome of chakra was cutting through the thick liquid, creating a space that he was free from. He stopped his rotation, landing in an unusual pose. He was bent low to the ground, arms spread wide. His left arm dropped low to the ground, while his right faced the heavens.

"You humiliated me for the last time. You die here. I will not be outdone by some mediocre orphan!" Neji screamed in rage. "You are within my field of divination. Know the difference between us!"

"Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms!" he screamed, loud gasps and murmuring could be heard from the crowd of Hyuga that were sitting together. Neji erupted from his stance, barreling towards Naruto at the fastest I'd seen him move. He closed the distance between himself and Naruto in seconds. Naruto's look of shock quickly turned into a smug smirk. He made a hand sign.

"Uzumaki Sealing Style: Gale Force Uprising!" Neji took another step, his left foot hitting the concrete. A brilliant emerald green sealing matrix lit up beneath him. He barely had time to register what had happened before a towering tornado erupted right underneath him. He was instantly thrown skyward, screams of pain echoing in the sunken pit. The technique kept hold of Neji in its unforgiving winds for several seconds before it dropped him unceremoniously to the cold ground below. He landed with a grunt of pain, hundreds of tiny cuts littered every inch of exposed skin. He tried to push himself up, refusing to admit his defeat. Naruto moved like a viper, behind Neji in a blink. He slapped another tag onto the downed Hyuga's back. He activated it, and Neji was sent crashing to the ground, held there by an unseen force.

"And that's checkmate." Naruto declared boldly. "I got my strategy from Kenta, you know. Seeing how mad he made Kiba, he was able to control the battle from start to finish. Now I'm no Kenta, I'll never reach his level of head fuckery. But being matched up with a smug bastard like you? I've had plenty of practice ruffling those feathers." He looked up at our observation balcony, glaring at who I assumed was Sasuke. Sasuke seemed to agree if the snort of laughter was anything to go by. Naruto turned back to Neji.

"That's a gravity seal, in case you were wondering. It'll hold you there for up to 12 hours before needing to be recharged. So the proctor is going to call this one. I hope you learned a lesson, moron. Never judge someone on preconceived notions. They will no doubt surprise you if you give them a chance. Sure, I struggled in school. I don't do well on tests, so sue me! Grades don't mean shit once you graduate, only your actions. I clearly proved that by beating the rookie of the year, and I can kick the shit outta that smug bastard up there that shares your title, any day!" Naruto yelled loudly. "You say our path is set by destiny? Destiny can kiss my butt! The only one in charge of Naruto Uzumaki is me! The world tells the caterpillar that it is ugly. It's ugly and will never be beautiful. The caterpillar then says kiss my butt, and poops some string out, and a couple days later it's the prettiest thing in the world! So don't you say I'm stuck to be some average shinobi. I'm a god damn caterpillar, ya know!" Naruto finished to loud applause from the crowd. I spied a mop of blonde hair holding a sigh that said "Big Bro Naruto Kicks Butt!" I laughed at Kono's antics.

Hayate then came over to check Neji. He let him try to break free for another minute before his announcement. "Since we don't have 12 hours for this seal to wear of, Neji Hyuga can no longer fight. Naruto Uzumaki is the winner!"

The crowd cheered wildly for Naruto's flawless victory. The blonde Jinchuriki looked around in shock at all the cheering people. He shook himself out of it though and began being Naruto once more. He smiled and waved at everyone. Screaming how amazing he was. He then pointed to Lord Third, the crowd fell silent once more.

"YOU SEE THAT, OLD MAN!?" Naruto screamed, loud groans from those that knew Naruto, and shocked gasps from those who didn't filled the air. "KEEP THAT BUTT IN YOUR CHAIR. I LIKE A WARM SEAT! THAT HAT IS MINE, YOU BETTER BELIEVE IT!" He scream confidently. Lord Third chuckled warmly at his favorite surrogate grandson, all doubts that Naruto was wholly himself out the door.

**********************************POV CHANGE****************************************

I chuckled at Naruto's antics. The boy was such a fresh of breath air. Behind him, Jiraiya was loudly guffawing, and even Kakashi had chuckled. 'Lord Rasa' spoke up.

"Do you let all your shinobi disrespect you as that one?" He asked in his dry voice. "If one of my shinobi ever spoke to me that way, I'd have him killed on the spot."

I gagged, internally of course, at my wayward student's horrible acting job. I smiled amicably on the outside. "Naruto is a special case. He respects me above almost everyone in his life. If he called me anything other than 'Gramps' or 'Old Man,' then I would punish him for being a smartass." I chuckled at my little joke. "Now then, what were your thoughts on our contestants? Let's start with young Neji."

'Lord Rasa' grunted. "Does anything need to be said? His emotional control is shit. His opponent played him like a violin from go. He was led by the hand into trap after trap. His hand to hand skills are impressive. Judging from the excited murmuring from the boy's clan, he was using techniques well above his skill level. He may have the strength of a Chunin, but he is far from being emotionally stable enough to lead a team. I vote no." 'Lord Rasa' finished.

"I agree with everything you just said, Lord Rasa. Young Naruto was in control from the moment he walked into this arena. What are your thoughts on Young Naruto?" I asked in innocence. I didn't care what the snake said, Naruto had proven in both skill and tactically planning, he had the required skill.

'Rasa' hummed. "If that were my shinobi that gave a performance like that, I'd throw him the jacket the second we returned to Sand. As you said he was in control the entire time. He used his opponent's emotions as another tool to use against him. His trapping and planning were superb, and his seal work seems to be well above his age and experience. A true prodigy in that unique branch of the shinobi arts. He makes his ancestors proud. My vote is a tentative yes, with a definite answer seeing how he faces off against an unknown opponent. Though I think we can both agree that the last Uchiha will most likely win." Rasa finished, a strange gleam in his eye when he spoke of Sasuke. I internally winced at that.

'My Gods, Orochimaru. Are you even trying at this point?'

"A glowing review, Lord Kazekage. I once again agree with your assessment. Young Naruto is on the path to be the greatest sealing master Konoha has had since Lady Mito herself once lived here. He makes me proud every day." I stated, letting the pride I felt for the boy bleed into my voice.

"Damn right he does! He's got the best teacher around too!" Jiraiya boasted loudly.

"Let us turn our attention to the field, the show is about to continue" I announced to those in the booth.

********************************** Fú Bae Beat Down************************************

"The second fight of the Chunin exam finals will now begin! Sasuke Uchiha, are you ready?" Hayate called loudly, sending him into a coughing fit.

"Yes" Came the bored drawl of the Uchiha.

"Fú of Taki, are you ready?" He managed to cough out.

"Yes, sir! I'm excited!" Fú's cute reply came. The audience agreed with me as laughter could be heard throughout the arena.

"Begin!" And Hayate jumped back.

*********************************** Fú Ass Kicking*************************************

I thought over the last month. After the hot spring trip after the preliminaries I stopped in to see how Fú was getting on in her hotel. She was over the moon to see me and we spent a few hours just hanging out and chatting. I asked what her plan was over the month, still fuming about the Jonin and teammates abandoning her. She told me she didn't really know. She was just going to work on the techniques she knew and work a bit with Chomei. Well that just wasn't acceptable. So I went with the plan that never failed me. Ask the parents. Dad was at the prelims and saw firsthand how they treated her. When mom heard she was ready to march to Taki and demand a duel to the death with her shitty Jonin instructor. After calming mom down and assuring her that starting a war with Taki was a little extreme, we talked about her predicament. Dad finally decided that, as a favor to his favorite (and only) son, he would call in a favor some friends owed him.

When I was able to see her a few days later, she about sent me through the wall in her enthusiasm to hug me. She told me that yesterday some creepy ANBU had showed up at her hotel and instructed her to meet at one of the training grounds. He had told her over the month that he and some of his squad members would rotate helping her train, depending on who was and wasn't available. I smiled at her excitement, and eagerly listened to all her stories.

She said even though they were all a little scary in their masks, they were either really nice, or at least polite to her and taught her or supervised her without bias. That simple motion of unbiased training had made the girl happier than Naruto with a promise of free ramen. It made me so sad for the gorgeous girl, but also happy that dad's friends were treating her right.

**********************************Ass Kicking Start**************************************

I smiled at all of the memories of limited conversations over the last month. Fú's utter excitement about something she learned, no matter how big or small it was, was infectious.

It was time to see what an ANBU trained Fú was capable of.

Sasuke blinked, and his eyes bled red. Fú saw this and raced through hand seals. She unleashed the same torrent of blinding powder directly at the Uchiha who had enhanced his own vision. I tried to call out a warning, Sasuke had instantly appeared behind the girl. A choked gasp escaped my lips as Sasuke brought the chokuto down merciless on the girls exposed back. The slash may have been non-fatal, but it was going to hurt, bad. My gasp became some strange gurgled laugh as Fú burst into water.

'Calm down, Kenta. Fú is strong, she's capable, and Sasuke isn't going to kill her. Enjoy the fight and have faith in her.' I mentally told myself. I took a deep breath and did just that.

Sasuke blinked once in confusion as the now puddle of water. His eyes narrowed and began searching for this opponent. Fú came bursting out of the very powder she had unleashed, closing the distance between her and her opponent rapidly. She threw and blazingly quick right hook that the Uchiha barely dodged. The displaced air from the force of Fú's punch ruffling his hair. Sasuke's eyes widened slightly, seeing that this fight would not be so easily won.

Fú landed and quickly spun on her heel, foot lashing out towards Sasuke. Sasuke was able to get his guard up, wincing slightly at the force behind the kick. A flurry of hand to hand combat quickly ensued, neither side having the upper hand. Where Sasuke had the reach and Sharingan at his disposal, Fú quickly made sure to eliminate one of those advantages. She kept close to the Uchiha, never letting him use his height and reach to his advantage. She constantly kept slipping inside his guard, his quick reflexes coupled with those eyes the only thing keeping him from having his ribs broke. The exchange continued for a few more seconds before Sasuke saw and opening and was able to get a clean, hard kick directly into Fú's stomach. She coughed as the wind was forced from her lungs. Sasuke took the opportunity to create space from the petite terror and gain some distance.

Fú eyed Sasuke warily. This wasn't an opponent she could take lightly. He was strong, fast, had good reflexes, and his eyes gave me a huge advantage. She had tried to make those eyes work against him, but he had already seen that technique and wouldn't get caught in it without some planning or as a big surprise. She readied herself, Sasuke began to flash through hand seals.

"Fire Release: Phoenix Flower Technique!" Half a dozen small fireballs raced towards her from all heights and directions. Fú smiled.

"Water released: Hand of Waves!" Fú called her own technique, a stream of highly pressurized water erupted from her palm. A technique one of the nice ANBU had taught her. Her water quickly doused the fire and she smiled brightly. It was then the hidden shuriken made themselves known as Fú was now dodging for her life. The last passed by and Fú let out a relieved sigh. The sigh turned into a startled "EEP!" as Fú's arms were snapped to her sides and her whole body was pulled taught. That was when she noticed the very fine wire snaked around her body. She looked towards her opponent, the wires pulled tight by his teeth as he was racing through hand signs quickly.

Fú tested the wire, too strong to brute force her way out. No choice, she took a deep breath and mold the chakra in her stomach. She let it build, the way nice ANBU had showed her, and then spat out a small, but highly dense and fast moving ball of water at her capture. Sasuke was not expecting the girl to be able to use any techniques with her arms pinned. In his shock he was unable to process in time and was sent careening backwards as the dense ball of water crashed into his face. The audience groaned as they watched Sasuke fall backwords. Fú chered loudly at her new freedom and began racing through handseals once more.

"Hidden Technique: Hiding in Scale Powder!" And she once again unleashed the gigantic cloud of the shining dust. Sasuke was pulling himself to his feet and heard the technique. His eyes widened and he cursed, deactivating his eyes and shutting them as the cloud engulfed him. Fú smiled wide, victory in her sights, she raced into the cloud at full speed. What happened next no one could see. Once moment, low murmuring of speculation was the only sound to be heard, the near silence was pierced by Sasuke's cry of pain. The Uchiha was catapulted up toward the sky by Fú's apparent crushing blow. He burst through the top of the cloud. As he reached his apex he shook himself from his daze. He looked down, gravity started to do what she does best. He blitzed through a set of hand seals, plan in motion.

"Lightning Release: Racing Currents!" The Uchiha called out. Lightning erupted from his hands and raced towards the ground. The second the lightning hit the cloud of shining dust, Fú's agonizing scream of pain sounded throughout the arena as the cloud illuminated to near impossible levels. Everyone in the arena was forced to close their eyes, the sound of Fú's screams the only thing anyone could focus on. Her cry cut off, and the blinding light behind our eyelids began to dim. People around the stadium tentatively opened their eyes. The cloud was slowly dissipating. The arena completely silent. Everyone held their breath, waiting to see the final results. Two shapes began to emerge in the shadow of the dust. One standing, the other laying on the ground.

Finally the dust had cleared enough and the stadium erupted in cheers. Sasuke was standing next to an unconscious Fú. He was looking down at her, eyes filled with apprehension. Hayate rushed over and checked on the small, mint-haired girl. A few seconds later he stood up.

"Fú of Taki is no longer able to fight. The winner of the second match is Sasuke Uchiha! Medics!" Hayate announced.

I immediately flickered down to the field, my heart in my throat and fear gripping my stomach. I knew firsthand what lightning could do to someone. I brushed past a stammering Sasuke and knelt down beside the girl. The first thing I noticed was her chest rising and falling. Good sign. I took her pulse, not noticing any irregularities. My fear lessened slightly, but I was no medic.

"Medic! Now!" I screamed. A voice answered immediately.

"Here dear. We're here, calm down she's going to be OK." A kindly, older looking female medic assured me.

"Please, please tell me she's ok. I checked her pulse and breath and-and-"Her warm hand laid itself on top of mine, calming me down for a second. I looked up and she was still smiling warmly.

"I will tell you right now, dearie." She said, and her hands ignited in the gentle green glow of healing chakra. She held it over Fú's heart for a few seconds before smiling once more at me. "Unconscious and minor electrical burning. I assure, Young Lord, we will have her up and about in time to watch your match." The kind woman replied.

The sigh of relief I breathed must have been heard by all in attendance. "Please, take care of her. If she asks, tell her I'll be down as soon as I can."

She pat my cheek, her assistants already working to get her on their stretcher. "As I said Young Lord, she'll be up about before your match." And with that they carted her off towards the medical facility in the compound.

"Kenta, I-"Sasuke's voice sounded behind me.

I stood up abruptly and whipped around, smile in place. "It's a competition. You weren't intentionally trying to hurt or kill her. She clocked you good and you retaliated. Medics assure me she will be fine." I stuck out my hand to the Uchiha. "Good win, Uchiha. You and Naruto next round, that'll be a fight to witness. Forgive me if I root for my teammate though." I finished with a smirk for the UChiha.

He quickly composed himself before throwing me his own cocky little smile. "Cheer all you want, the idiot won't know what him."

Hayate was shooing us back upstairs, getting the third matchup ready while the Kage in the booth talked over the match. "How did you know that her powder was lightning conductive?" I asked the boy as we made our back to the observation deck.

"Educated guess. When she hit me in the face with the initial blast, a few of the particles seemed to irritate my skin. I stuck out my hand and rubbed my fingers and it felt like small abrasive particles. I didn't have much more time to ponder as it was that moment my jaw felt like it shattered into a million pieces and I was set flying. I test my theory. Worst thing that could have happened was I missed." He finished with a shrug.

"Very nice. But know if you do somehow manage to beat Naruto, I'm avenging my woman in the finals." I play shoved him. We bickered back and forth as we walked back up the stairs.

******************************* Fú Bae I'm sorry!***************************************

"Oh Fú, you tried so hard. You've gotten much stronger since I've last seen you." The Young Taki leader said wistfully.

I glanced over at the young leader and frowned. The utter lack of respect his shinobi had shown the young girl was repulsive and left a horrid taste in my mouth. Shibuki at least seemed to care for her. I swallowed my distaste and analyzed the situation logically. If I took an honest view of the situation, replaced myself with Shibuki and Fú with Naruto, he was in the same boat as me. My grumpy attitude vanished and I smiled at the young leader.

"She did do quite well didn't she? Both of us knowing she wasn't going full out, she still gave Sasuke a run for his money. Tell me, Young Shibuki, your thoughts. Be honest with Sasuke, I need varying opinions on my shinobi." I smiled kindly at the young man.

He thought for a moment before answering. "I will start with Fú. While she showed the required strength and quick mind to be a Chunin, she was on the defensive most of the fight. She was playing to her opponents tune and only really reacting to the plan he had in place. As far as strength, Fú is well above the requirements for a promotion. However, she needs to work on her tactical mind and planning if she wants to lead her team to success. I would not promote her this cycle. I am just happy that she got out of the village and got more experience."

I nodded in agreement. Lord Shibuki's assessment was right in-line with my own.

"Now Lord Sasuke had a plan from the start. He executed that plan flawlessly, countering all of Fú's counters to his plan. He clearly has the required strength. I mean being able to use two nature transformations at his age? Remarkable. And even when his plan was derailed by Fú's surprise at the end, he was able to turn his misfortune into his victory. As Lord Kazekage recommended for Lord Naruto, I will also say that I tentatively agree on Sasuke's promotion, admitting that I'm leaning in favor of rather than against. His match against Lord Naruto will allow us to see how he deals with an incredibly crafty opponent." He finished with a slight bow of the head to me at the end.

Once again, exactly as I was thinking. Young Kenta's analysis of the young leader was spot on. In a fight, nothing to write home about. But his sharp mind and leadership skills made him worthy of his office, despite the young age.

"Once more, I couldn't have said it better myself. You hit all the pros and cons of both competitors." I smiled at the young man once more. His flush of embarrassment at my praise was endearing. "Lord Rasa, do you have anything to add or say?"

'Lord Rasa grunted.' "Shibuki's analysis covers most of what my own thoughts were. Though I would personally say no to Sasuke at this time. I will make a decision after his fight against Naruto. He has the talent yes, but the thing that Naruto has that I didn't see from Sasuke was the ability to think a few steps ahead on the fly." He finished by turning towards the arena, his 'daughter' was about to fight and he had to play the part of interested father.

"I thank you for the additional insight. I value both opinions. We will see what round two holds for us." I laughed jovially. Turning my attention to the arena as Shikaku's boy had just tumbled unceremoniously to the ground.

*************************************Forgive me!**************************************

"The third match of the Chunin exam finals will now begin." Hayate called once more.

After an eventful showing, which consisted of an excitable Naruto pepping talking Shikamaru a little too enthusiastically, saw said Nara catapulted over the railed by an overeager back slap via Naruto. After a quick shouting match between the two that Shika gave up due to effort, the Nara stood across from his opponent.

Temari stood tall and proud. The picture perfect showing of confident kunoichi ready to go to war. She had a confident smirk on her face, but her sharp eyes were analyzing every twitch the Nara heir made.

"This is going to be a long match." I said suddenly.

"Why do you say that?" Ami asked curiously, eyes now back to studying the two opponents.