27. A Showdown Between the Future Kage

Once Genma announced the next match, Naruto and Kurotsuchi turned to face each other. Due to the excitement of the other matches, the two had forgotten about their upcoming match. Both of the genin silently stared at each other intently for a few seconds.

"… Well, it's about damn time." Kurotsuchi broke the silence as she let a grin develop on her face. "I was getting kinda sick just sitting up here while everybody else gets their turn to kick some ass and fight."

"Heh, you as well?" Naruto laughed lightly in response.

"Don't say 'you as well'. You at least got to go against Risho earlier. I've had nothing so far!" The Iwa shinobi whined.

"You two seem more battle-hungry than usual." Shikamaru noted with a chuckle.

"Hell yeah I am!" Kurotsuchi declared loudly. Naruto nodded excitedly, expressing his agreement.

Both Shikamaru and Hinata laughed at their friends' excitement.

"The two of you should have a good fight. Give it your all: both of you!" Hinata told them with a smile.

"Yeah, do your best and stuff." Shikamaru nodded in agreement.

"Of course!" Naruto exclaimed to his teammates.

"Will do." Kurotsuchi answered confidently.

After saying goodbye, Naruto and Kurotsuchi left the waiting room together. The two of them were moving fast, not making any effort to hide their excitement for their match. Once the two of them had left, Shikamaru and Hinata turned their attention to each other.

"Who do you think will win?" Hinata asked the Nara curiously.

"Hard to say. Naruto's tough, yeah, but so is Kurotsuchi. I don't think we got to see everything Naruto learned during the last month, but we also don't know what Kurotsuchi can do." Shikamaru shrugged in response to Hinata's question. A smile then developed on his face. "All I do know is that the two of them are going to give each other hell down there and probably give us all a show to remember."

Hinata giggled in response to Shikamaru's answer. The two teammates then turned their attention downward to the battlefield as they waited for their friends to arrive and begin their match.

The Hyūga was rooting for both Naruto and Kurotsuchi to do well and look good to all of the people watching. She wanted to watch both of them do well and earn their promotions. However, she had to admit, she had one person she was rooting for over the other…

'Naruto-kun, you can do it!' She mentally wished her crush 'good luck'.

In their excitement for their match, Naruto and Kurotsuchi rushed down the flights of stairs. After they got down to the ground floor, Kurotsuchi stopped walking and turned her focus towards the Konoha genin. She then started to dig into her pockets and pulled out a small pill.

"Hey Naruto, take this." She called out to him.

The blonde turned his attention back to Kurotsuchi. He noticed the pill immediately and gave the girl a curious look.

"What is it?" Naruto asked as he studied the pill.

"A soldier pill." Kurotsuchi answered as she extended her hand further, urging Naruto to take it. "I know your body and chakra levels are probably fine right now after your fight with Risho, but there's a chance you may still be a little tired or weakened from the fight, and I don't want that. I just want to make sure you're completely ready for the fight."

"Hmm?" He gave her a confused look. "Wouldn't you rather me not be in my best condition to fight? That'd give you a better chance of winning."

"That'd give me a better chance to win, yeah, but that win wouldn't mean anything." Kurotsuchi replied, shaking her head. "We're all here to show what we are capable of as shinobi. I want to fight my opponents at their strongest. Anything less is not good enough." The kunoichi brought her hands together, slamming her left hand into her right palm. "I want to see exactly I can do in a fight and see how I compare to the other shinobi here. So, I don't want you to not be in your best condition. I want you to come at me with everything you got!"

Naruto blinked in surprise for a second before he let out a laugh. The Uzumaki really respected Kurotsuchi's logic and thought about the exams and testing herself. With that thought in mind, Naruto took the soldier pill and put it into his mouth.

"Like I told Shikamaru and Hinata-chan, I'm going to give it my all. Don't worry about that." He told his friend with a grin on his face. "You're one of the people I've been most looking forward to fighting for a while, Kurotsuchi, so I'm ready to see what you can do."

"I've been looking forward to fighting you for a while myself, Naruto. I've been interested in what you can do ever since the mission in Kusa no Kuni, and I finally get to see all you can do first-hand." Kurotsuchi replied, matching his grin with one of her own. "By the way, feel free to use as much chakra of the Kyūbi as you want. Trust me, you're going to need it."

"Oh?" Naruto's eyebrows raised in response. "We'll see if you can push me that far. Cause I plan on just simply kicking your ass with or without it."

"I'd like to see you try!" She retaliated.

The two continued to trash-talk each other as they walked the final steps towards the battlefield. Despite the nature of their words, the two had nothing but respect for each other. As a result, they were going to respect the other as a fighter, and fight as hard as they could. Somehow, their excitement for their match increased.

"The blonde… Uzumaki Naruto… I'm curious how he will handle this match." The 'Kazekage' commented from the Hokage's sitting area.

"I'm curious myself." Hiruzen commented with a smile on his face. "Naruto-kun really impressed me with his fight against Risho-san earlier, so I want to see what else he is capable of."

"Hate it to break it to you two, but the blonde isn't going to do well this match. He's going to get his ass handed to him." Ōnoki spoke up. The Tsuchikage had a smirk on his face as he watched the two combatants enter the battlefield. "My granddaughter is going to give him absolute hell down there."

"Oh yes, she is your granddaughter." The 'Kazekage' noted in response. "How confident are you in her?"

"I already know she has more skill than the average chūnin. Maybe even more than that if she got better this month." Ōnoki answered proudly. "This exam is just a formality for her to get her promotion."

"You speak very highly of her, Ōnoki." Hiruzen commented with a chuckle.

The Sandaime Tsuchikage nodded in response. Although he would be the first person to comment about how Kurotsuchi can be an annoying, stubborn brat, he also knew just how capable she was. He also knew that she was going to become a great shinobi in a few more years. Ōnoki was proud of his granddaughter, and he was excited to watch her fight and, in his mind, earn her promotion.

Hiruzen continued to chuckle. As he looked at both Naruto and Kurotsuchi in the battlefield, he recalled the circumstances of the Third Shinobi World War. Years later since the end, Konoha and Iwa shinobi were now together again, ready to fight in a non-fatal battle. Seeing both Naruto and Kurotsuchi together made the Hokage think that both the people of Iwa and Konoha were ready to put the war to the past and focus on the future.

The Hokage also noticed a coincidence in the opponents and chuckled to himself. 'The granddaughter of the Sandaime Tsuchikage versus the son of the Yondaime Hokage… this match should be the most exciting one yet!'

The Sandaime Hokage gave the two genin his full attention as he was ready to see how the fight would go.

"Did Kurotsuchi's training go well, Rōshi-san?" Roto questioned the Yonbi jinchūriki.

"Of course it did." Rōshi exclaimed in response. "Gotta say, though, Kurotsuchi is a natural. She's amazing with the Lava Style, and she picks up on general lessons and theories faster than most shinobi I've ever worked with. She's going to be an absolutely lethal shinobi one of these days."

"I would agree with that." Han nodded in agreement. "I must thank you for the assistance with her, Rōshi. I knew you would be able to train her in her specialties more than I would be capable of."

"Hey, don't thank me. I'm glad to help out the next generation of shinobi whenever I can!" The red-haired man laughed in response.

Roto remained quiet as he watched Kurotsuchi stand on the same battlefield that Risho had fought on. The genin was imagining himself standing there in her place against Naruto, or some random other shinobi.

He was proud of his teammates for making it this far, and he was not upset that Hinata had beaten him in the preliminary exam. However, the civilian-born shinobi was starting to feel like he was not as skilled as his teammates. Both Risho and Kurotsuchi came from prestigious families in Iwa and managed to make it this far, a task he was unable to do. Although Risho lost, he knew that he performed better than Roto would have if he made the finals and, according to how Rōshi was talking about her, it sounded like Kurotsuchi would do better as well.

'… I'm not going to get too far behind.' Roto shook his head in frustration. '… Do your best, Kurotsuchi. Just know that I'm not going to far fall behind you are Risho any longer!'

"Remember Naruto; give me your all or I'll kick your ass. Hard!" Kurotsuchi declared to the blonde as they faced each other on the battlefield.

"And again, I'd like to see you try." Naruto replied with a smirk.

The two genin stopped conversation after their brief trash-talking and got into position to fight. Genma realized that the two shinobi were ready to face each other and, as a result, raised his hand into the air.

"Let the final match of the first round, between Kurotsuchi and Uzumaki Naruto, begin!" The proctor exclaimed as he lowered his hand.

Naruto and Kurotsuchi responded immediately by jumping backwards and making hand signs.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

"Earth Style: Earth Clone Jutsu!"

Twenty shadow clones of Naruto appeared directly in front of him in a poof of smoke. As his clones were formed, five clones of Kurotsuchi were created as mud from the ground forged itself into her clones. Upon their creation, all sets of clones charged at each other while the original versions of Naruto and Kurotsuchi remained back.

Naruto's clones outnumbered Kurotsuchi's, but hers appeared to be stronger. The first clone of hers was punched by one of Naruto's clones but, instead of dispelling, it grabbed the clone's hand and pulled it closer to her and delivered a punch of her own. It dispelled immediately. The clone then joined the remaining clones of Kurotsuchi's in the group of fight against Naruto's.

Her clones were a lot more durable, being made from the ground, and took a lot more attacks before they were destroyed. A few seconds passed the battle of the clones ended. All of Naruto's clones were destroyed by the stronger clones of Kurotsuchi's. Two of hers remained, still able to fight. Once they had finished attacking the clones, they proceeded to charge at the real Naruto. The Uzumaki quickly brought his hands together and made hand signs.

"Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!"

Naruto released a giant gust of wind from his mouth that collided with the clones. A second upon impact, the two earth clones fell apart back to mud. Once her clones were destroyed, Kurotsuchi proceeded to charge Naruto herself.

By the time Naruto finished his jutsu, the kunoichi was already right in front of him. He was barely able to block a punch to the face. He retaliated by trying to punch the girl in her face, but she was able to block his attack as well. She responded by trying to do a sweeping kick and knock him to the ground, but Naruto jumped up and avoided the attack. He then continued to jump backwards and toss shuriken and kunai at the girl. Kurotsuchi quickly pulled out a kunai of her own and used it to block the incoming weapons. She them immediately tossed her weapon at Naruto, who was able to roll out of the way of her kunai just in time.

"Fast reflexes." Naruto complimented with a smirk.

"That's what I should be saying to you." Kurotsuchi returned his compliment with one of her own. She then started to make more hand signs as she charged him once again. "But let's see just how fast they really are. Lava Style: Quicklime Jutsu!"

Kurotsuchi breathed out the corrosive quicklime gas from her mouth. The gas floated through the air towards Naruto quickly. Naruto, in response, made hand signs of his own.

"Wind Style: Wind Release Stream!"

Naruto blew out a stream of wind from his mouth that collided with the approaching quicklime gas clouds. The wind's force was strong enough to halt the gas and reverse its direction, causing it to flow back towards Kurotsuchi. The Iwa kunoichi, in response, made another set of hand signs.

"Water Style: Water Trumpet!"

Kurotsuchi released a jet of water from her mouth towards the approaching quicklime gas clouds. The water both created enough force to stop the wind that was propelling the gas forward and hardened the corrosive gas into a wet cement-like substance. This new substance flew in the air towards Naruto. His eyes widened and he jumped out of the way just in time. The gas made contact with the ground instead, causing it to harden further and dry.

"I'm not falling for the same tricks you used during the preliminary matches!" Naruto informed Kurotsuchi sharply.

"Good! I'd want to have more of a challenge." The Iwa kunoichi replied with a smirk.

Naruto responded to Kurotsuchi's comment by pulling out another shuriken from his pocket. The Iwa kunoichi immediately did the same, waiting for him to strike first.

"Well, like they said, they're going at it hard." Shikamaru commented with a chuckle. "I don't think they have let up once since the fight started."

"They're incredible…" Hinata commented in awe as she continued to watch her friends. The two of them had just tossed their shuriken at each other. Both weapons made contact with each other, effectively canceling each other out.

"They're good, I'll give them that."

The two members of Team Three turned their heads to see Sasuke approaching them. The Uchiha had kept mostly to himself during the matches as he watched the fights in one of the corners, but he finally felt like approaching someone to talk about the current match.

"Sasuke-san." Hinata greeted their fellow genin and former classmate. Shikamaru acknowledged him with a nod.

Sasuke nodded back, returning their greeting and acknowledgment. He then started to speak again about the fight. "What's really impressive is that neither one of them have made a single hit on each other. They're fighting carefully, yet intelligently."

"Yeah, I get the sense that they're just playing around and feeling each other's fighting style out. They're waiting for somebody to make the first mistake." Shikamaru noted.

"The question is though, which one will make that mistake?" The Uchiha wondered aloud as he turned his attention to the fight again.

'Naruto… I always saw your as our class' dobe, and I can see you aren't now… You better win this. I want to see just what you're capable of for myself.' The Uchiha told himself with a grin on his face.

"Damn…"

Han, Rōshi, and Roto turned their attention away from the fight at the sound of a newcomer's voice. Walking towards their area in the stands was Risho. The Kurogane shinobi was walking slowly, but he eventually made his way and took a seat at the edge of the area.

"Risho, how are you doing?" Han questioned immediately.

"The medics gave me the okay to leave the infirmary. I'm fine. I just need to take myself a little easily for the rest of the day." The Kurogane sighed in response. "… I see got out just in time to watch Naruto fight my teammate."

"Yeah." Rōshi nodded. "They're pretty even so far. It's actually an interesting fight."

"I've noticed…" Risho sighed in response.

"Risho… About your clan-" Han started to speak.

"Han-sensei, can we not talk about that now? The match is going on." Risho stated sharply.

Han remained quiet for a few seconds before he nodded in understanding. Even though he was making more an effort, the Iwa jōnin was still bad with human interaction and didn't really know how to approach truly 'comforting' somebody. Therefore, if Risho wanted to not talk about it, he would not force the issue. He would wait until he wanted to say something. All he could hope for was that he'd be of actual help.

The Iwa swordsman had many thoughts running through his head based on his fight with Naruto and his view of Konoha. Naruto had beaten him soundly, but after the fight, the Uzumaki managed to compliment him. While he knew his cousin and the rest of his clan would be ashamed with his loss, Naruto saw him as an honorable fighter and even expressed an interest to fight him again one day. The same blonde who had defeated him was now fighting Kurotsuchi. Risho had to admit that the girl was stronger than him and probably was the best shinobi Iwa had in their generation, yet she and Naruto were even. What was more curious to the Kurogane was that, based on the expressions on their faces, the two of them were having fun. They were having a fierce fight, an Iwa shinobi and a Konoha shinobi, but they were enjoying every second of it.

For the first time in his life, Risho was seeing a fight between Iwa and Konoha that seemed truly friendly. And, based on the reactions of the audience members around him, everyone seemed truly interested in it, not to root for the Konoha or Iwa shinobi, but to simply see who won.

'… Maybe there is hope for Konoha and Iwa…' Risho wondered to himself as he continued to watch the fight. He had many thoughts running through his mind, but he wasn't going to let them stop him from watching a fight that he was heavily interested in.

Naruto and Kurotsuchi continued throwing shuriken and kunai at each other, trying to land a hit on each from afar. Each weapon collided with the other, canceling their attacks. They were locked into a stalemate.

Once again, both Naruto and Kurotsuchi pulled out a shuriken and tossed at the other. This time, however, Kurotsuchi made a series of hand signs.

"Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

Immediately, fifty clones of the shuriken appeared next to the one Kurotsuchi tossed. All fifty of them were flying in the air towards Naruto. The original shuriken Kurotsuchi tossed made contact with Naruto's shuriken, canceling each other out, but the other forty-nine continued on their path towards the Uzumaki.

'What the fuck? That's a jutsu? I need to learn that!' Naruto made a mental note to look up the jutsu. He then shook his head and scolded himself as he made a hand sign. 'But that's for later, Naruto! Gotta get out of the way!'

Naruto quickly disappeared right as the shuriken was about to make contact with him. He then appeared directly behind Kurotsuchi, using the shunshin. A grin developed on his face as he attempted to deliver a kick at the Iwa kunoichi.

His grin immediately faded from his face as she disappeared, just as he did, right as his kick was about to make contact.

'Wait, she can use the shunshin too?' Naruto realized, his eyes widened. 'Shit, I should have-'

Naruto's train of thought was interrupted as he received a direct punch to his face. Kurotsuchi had used the shunshin herself behind Naruto to land a hit on him the same way he did. The Uzumaki was hit with enough force that he was knocked into the ground hard. Kurotsuchi responded by rushing up to him, making hand signs of her own.

The Iwa kunoichi released another quicklime gas cloud from her mouth. She then proceeded to make more hand signs and released another jet of water from her mouth. The water, once again, combined with the gas and formed a cement-like substance that was flying towards Naruto, who was still getting up.

'I need to get out fast!' Naruto realized as he made a quick set of hand signs. 'Earth Style: Headhunter Jutsu!'

Naruto's body proceeded to sink into the earth. He was completely underneath the ground when the cement-like substance hit, causing it to harden and dry once again.

"The Headhunter Jutsu?" Kurotsuchi said the name of his jutsu with a frown, realizing he had saved himself.

She proceeded to pay attention to the ground, waiting for Naruto to come out and preparing for whatever his next attack was going to be. A few seconds passed by, however, and Naruto was not coming out from the ground. The Iwa kunoichi was now starting to become impatient.

"I'm not going to wait forever, Naruto." She grumbled in response as she made hand signs. "If you aren't going to come out and fight me face-to-face, then I'll just force you out!"

Just as Kurotsuchi was about to finish her jutsu, the ground underneath her broke up and Naruto jumped out of the ground and tried to deliver a punch to her jaw. Kurotsuchi's eyes widened as she jumped backwards, reacting just in time. She proceeded to reach forward, grabbing Naruto's jacket with her right hand and pulling him closer to her before he could jump away. She tightened her grip and brought her left hand into a fist.

"Thought you could sneak attack me, huh?" Kurotsuchi questioned with a grin. "You were close, but not close enough."

Despite the situation he was in, Naruto didn't outwardly respond to Kurotsuchi's taunt. Instead, he simply smirked in response. 'Sure about that?'

The ground, once again, broke apart underneath the two. Another 'Naruto' jumped out, attempting to punch Kurotsuchi in the jaw. This time, the attack connected, knocking Kurotsuchi upward and releasing the 'Naruto' from her grasp. The kunoichi coughed up blood slightly from the attack. The 'Naruto' that had been freed proceeded to jump upwards and deliver a kick to Kurotsuchi's stomach, knocking her back down to the ground hard face-first. Once again, she coughed up blood, staining the ground slightly.

"Ah… fuck…" Kurotsuchi hissed in pain as she pulled herself upward quickly.

She managed to stand up just in time to avoid attacks from the two Narutos. She delivered a kick to the stomach to one of them, causing it to disappear in a poof of smoke. Once it was just her and the original Naruto, she got back into position to fight.

"So, I take it when you went down underground with the Headhunter Jutsu, you made a shadow clone, knowing that I would only expect one attack from underneath the ground?" The girl questioned him about his strategy.

"Yup, and it seemed to work. I got you to let your guard down for just a bit." He stated with a smirk.

"… Heh. Heh! Hahahaha!" Kurotsuchi laughed cheerfully. "I gotta say, Naruto, I haven't had this much fun in a while from a fight. This is exactly the type of match I was wanting to have!"

Naruto grinned in response and couldn't help himself but laugh as well. "I feel the same way. You're really pushing me and keeping me on my toes. I gotta say, Kurotsuchi, but I hope we get to have this fight again one day when we're both kage!"

"Hell yeah we will!" The Iwa kunoichi laughed in response.

The laughter soon stopped and both shinobi entered stances again, ready to continue with their fight. They then immediately charged each other.

"Oh? Your granddaughter wishes to replace you, Ōnoki?" Hiruzen questioned the Sandaime Tsuchikage with a light chuckle.

"She does, yeah." Ōnoki sighed in response. "She probably has the raw talent to do so. She's got great chakra reserves, good variation in ninjutsu, a tactical mind in battle, and a real love and dedication to Iwa. However, she's also rather naïve when it comes to how the world works. She's too much of an idealist in my mind to be an effective leader. She's still young and needs to mature more before I can say for certain that she will become Tsuchikage."

"I can't say I know her well, but I'm starting to think that maybe she will accomplish that goal." Hiruzen spoke up with a sincere smile. "I can't speak about her goals, but she seems to have a good heart and a sense of pride that I think any shinobi would be lucky to serve under. She'll make a great successor one day."

"Hmph." Ōnoki grumbled to himself.

He partially agreed with his fellow Kage, but he didn't like really imagining Kurotsuchi as his successor. He wasn't ready to hand-over his hat just yet and Kurotsuchi, in his mind, really needed to 'grow-up' before he would ever truly consider letting her replace him. However, in the back of his head, he knew he might be too hard on her. Still, he wasn't going to think of the issue for too long. He had, at least, another ten or fifteen years left in his mind and he wasn't going to bother worrying about a successor!

In contrast to Ōnoki, Hiruzen was looking at the two as definite successors to them. He didn't know if Naruto or Kurotsuchi would be the immediate successors, but he knew that at some point, the two of them would be seen as 'Hokage' and 'Tsuchikage' respectively. And, from what he was observing of their interaction, it seemed as if they would be able to do what he had been trying to do these past few years and fully restore relations between Iwa and Konoha.

'These two are what their generation needs…' Hiruzen smiled as he continued to watch them fight.

Naruto and Kurotsuchi continued their fight with taijutsu. Naruto blocked a punch from Kurotsuchi to his stomach, and then jumped up to avoid a sweeping kick. He tried to kick her from above, but she managed to grab his foot. Immediately, he made the hand sign for the shunshin and disappeared just as Kurotsuchi was about to punch him. Naruto appeared right behind the girl and attempted to punch her. The Iwa kunoichi managed to turn around just in time and catch his fist with her right palm, stopping him from making contact with her. She then moved to punch him with her left hand as Naruto proceeded to use his free hand to punch her. The two attacks hit, causing both Naruto and Kurotsuchi to get knocked back further. They, however, caught themselves before falling to the ground.

Both genin were breathing hard and starting to really feel the exhaustion. Both Naruto and Kurotsuchi were also starting to bruise and they both were starting to also bleed on their face. Despite their conditions, the two of them were grinning at each other.

"Looking pretty tired Naruto. Had enough yet?" Kurotsuchi asked between some heavy breathing. "Or do I still need to give you more of a pounding?"

"I can go on for days. It's you who might want to call it quits. You're looking pretty exhausted yourself." Naruto informed between his own breaths.

"I'm not quitting until either you lose or the proctor forces the match to end." The Iwa kunoichi replied as she started to make hand signs rapidly.

"Likewise." The Uzumaki exclaimed his agreement.

Naruto had been paying attention to the hand signs Kurotsuchi had made for her other jutsus in order to recall what signs went with what techniques so he could predict her next attacks. This time, however, he couldn't predict what she was doing. She was going to use another new style of attacks. Therefore, he got into a defensive position, preparing for whatever jutsu Kurotsuchi was going to unleash at him.

"Lava Style: Scorching Rocks Jutsu!"

Kurotsuchi opened her mouth and released large balls of lava from her mouth. They hardened into molten rock before being sent flying toward Naruto.

"Holy shit!" The Uzumaki cursed as he jumped out of the way just in time. The lava made contact with the ground, lighting the area on fire. He then turned to the Iwa kunoichi in surprise. "Are you trying to kill me or something?"

"They won't kill you." She shook her head as she made more hand signs. She was making an effort to not use the jutsu as lethally as it usually would be. "However, they're going to win me this match, Naruto."

"So this is what you working on with her Rōshi." Han noted as he noticed Kurotsuchi's jutsu.

"Yup." The Yonbi jinchūriki nodded. "If the kid's gonna work with lava style ninjutsu, then she needs to stop working with that 'corrosive gas' all of the time and start practicing on some real lava techniques."

"… Is Kurotsuchi really sure that her techniques aren't going to kill Naruto?" Roto asked with a slightly pale face. "Because that shit looks like it'd melt his face off!"

"Nah, it won't kill him. I trust Kurotsuchi knows what she's doing. She knows the limits with the jutsu and what is lethal and what is just painful. Besides, she'll probably douse the poor boy with water before anything truly burns him." Rōshi answered with a hearty laugh. "However, if that was an enemy that she had to fight to the death, I'm assuming she'd roast the poor guy before he or she knew what was happening."

Roto's face paled even further at how much destructive capabilities Kurotsuchi's lava style ninjutsu had. In contrast, Risho, who had been quiet for most of the entire match, seemed further interested with the fight.

'She'd melt through my armor…' The Kurogane realized. '… So, how are you going to get your way out of this mess, Naruto?'

"Hinata, calm down. You know Kurotsuchi wouldn't try and kill Naruto. And you know that if it turned life-threatening, the proctor would step in anyway. Everything's fine." Shikamaru told his teammate.

Hinata nodded in understanding. The girl had started to sweat nervously for her teammate's life at the sight of the lava, but she knew, in the back of her mind, that Kurotsuchi wouldn't kill her friend. Disregarding the fact that they were friends, the Iwa kunoichi wasn't the type of person to even consider something like that!

"Naruto-kun…" She mumbled her crush's name. While she was not nervous for his life, she was nervous for his chances in the match now. "… Be careful. You can still win this…"

'Hmm… literal lava style ninjutsu, huh?' Sasuke was now staring at Kurotsuchi with even more interest. 'I'll want to look into this…'

The Uchiha Clan, when they were alive, had a policy of not using the Sharingan outside of combat to copy other people's ninjutsu. While not every shinobi followed this code of conduct, and even Sasuke's father was somebody who broke this policy, it was still strongly discouraged as it was considered dishonorable to copy the techniques of somebody who wasn't a threat or enemy. Sasuke, to honor his clan, remembered this oath and resisted the urge to activate his Sharingan. However, in the back of his head, he was starting to hope Kurotsuchi won.

'Whether it's today or some other day, I'll look forward to fighting against you one day Kurotsuchi-san.' Sasuke told himself as he continued to watch the match.

"Lava Style: Scorching Rocks Jutsu!"

Kurotsuchi continued to unleash balls of hardened molten lava at Naruto. The Uzumaki was running around frantically, trying to avoid each attack. Each lava rock would get closer to hitting him and would get the ground caught on fire. Finally, one of the lava rocks managed to make contact with Naruto's left leg. He hissed in pain as he cut off the part of his pants that were on fire as fast as he could. He managed to remove the part of his clothing fast enough to avoid getting heavily burnt, but the now-exposed part of his leg was indeed burnt and was not in its best condition. Naruto still winced in pain.

It was then that Naruto also realized what Kurotsuchi had done. With each use of her jutsu, Kurotsuchi had caught different areas of the ground on fire. All these areas were now connecting and formed a circle that surrounded the Uzumaki. She had trapped him in the center. And, thanks to Naruto's injured leg, he wouldn't be able to jump high enough to get out of the center.

"Dammit…" He cursed.

"And that's game." Kurotsuchi smirked in response. The girl's face was red from using her jutsu multiple times and she was sweating profusely. She was also breathing heavily. Despite her utter exhaustion, the girl was excited. She had managed to trap Naruto and, in her mind, was about to win.

"Not yet, it's not. No way in hell." Naruto shook his head, denying Kurotsuchi's claim. "I'm not finished yet."

"Then show me what else you have left." Kurotsuchi informed as she made another set of hand signs.

'I'll just force him down with my quicklime jutsu and water trumpet combination. That way he won't get too much more injured than he already is.' She thought to herself.

Kurotsuchi quickly performed both of her jutsus in succession, creating the cement-like substance. She launched her attack towards Naruto. The substance managed to pierce the flames and headed straight for the Uzumaki to pin him down on the ground. As planned, it collided directly with Naruto.

Unlike Kurotsuchi's plan, however, 'Naruto' dispelled.

'What?' Kurotsuchi's eyes were wide in surprise. She then scanned the entire battlefield, looking for the blonde. 'No fucking way! That couldn't have been a shadow clone! How did it not dispel from the burn then? No, he must have substituted with a clone or something. When the hell did he have time to make one?' A realization then crossed Kurotsuchi's face. '… Wait, then where's the original Naruto?'

As soon as Kurotsuchi reached her realization, the ground under, once again, broke apart. Naruto jumped up and managed to grab the kunoichi by her arms and legs, making her unable to move. The girl's eyes were wide.

"H-How… Did you get underground? How did you replace yourself with a shadow clone?" Kurotsuchi asked in surprise.

"Simple." Naruto responded with a smirk. As he spoke, four more clones jumped up from under the ground. "When I went under the ground the last time and made that one shadow clone to sneak attack you with, I made a few more down there that I didn't have come up."

"You… Made… Extras?" Kurotsuchi's eyes somehow grew wider. 'How did I not think about that? I thought they would've all attacked me if he made more! Dammit, I fucked up!'

"Yeah. I wanted them under the ground, though, in case I needed to substitute with them. I could've maybe attacked you with them earlier, but I thought it was better for me to be safe and leave them down there in case I needed to use the substation jutsu." Naruto explained. "… I think it is game now."

"No it's not!" Kurotsuchi replied as she struggled to get out Naruto's grasp. "You didn't surrender when I had you trapped, so I'm not doing the same!"

The Iwa kunoichi continued to struggle to get out of his group, but her attempts were failures. Naruto realized that she wasn't going to stop until she was unable to stop fighting. Therefore, he had to end this match the hard way.

'… I got an idea. This should end it.' The Uzumaki thought.

Naruto quickly released his grip on Kurotsuchi and pushed her forward. Three of Naruto's clones immediately rushed forward and proceeded to kick the girl upward before she could move away.

"Na-

"-ru-"

"-to!"

Since the original Naruto still had a burn on his leg, the final clone of Naruto immediately rushed forward and jumped on the original's shoulders. It used his shoulders as a stepping stone to help him jump even higher, above Kurotsuchi. The clone then proceeded to kick the girl in the face, knocking her downward into the ground.

"Uzumaki Barrage!"

Upon impact, Kurotsuchi proceeded to cough up even more blood onto the ground. She tried to pull herself up off the ground, but her attempts failed. The girl had barely any control of her body.

'Something's broken… no, scratch that, a ton of things are broken.' Kurotsuchi realized as she closed her eyes, wincing from the pain. 'Damn, I was so close…'

Genma rushed over to check up on the condition of the girl from Iwa. He quickly came to the same conclusion and realized that there was no way she was going to be able to continue fighting. As a result, he raised his hand and pointed towards Naruto.

"Winner, Uzumaki Naruto." He declared.

The applause was instantaneous and louder than it had been all day.

"NARUTO-KUN!" Hinata nearly screamed after Naruto's victory was announced.

Shikamaru immediately grabbed his ears and winced. "Holy shit, what happened to the quiet Hinata I used to know."

The Hyūga blushed in response, but quickly turned her attention to her teammate and smiled. "Sorry, but how could I not be excited? Naruto-kun won and did amazing. He was amazing! And so was Kurotsuchi!" The girl's smile turned into a slight grin. "There's no way they both don't get promoted after that."

Shikamaru nodded in understanding. "Yeah, there's no way they don't." A smirk then developed on his face. "They definitely kicked ass out there. I'll be stunned if they aren't promoted."

'Good job Naruto…' Shikamaru thought as he looked at his blonde teammate, who was still in the battlefield. He then turned his attention towards the Iwa kunoichi, who was still lying on the ground as medical approached her. 'Good job out there Kurotsuchi.'

'… How is he the Naruto from the academy?' Sasuke told himself as he recalled the events of Naruto's last fight. A few seconds passed before a grin developed on Sasuke's face. 'You really have gotten stronger Naruto. You'll be the perfect test to see where I stand right now.'

"… Motherfucking hell yes!" Anko breathed out in relief.

The tokubetsu jōnin had been surprisingly quiet as she watched the match. She was just that heavily interested in a fight that seemed so evenly matched. Once the fight was over, though, and Naruto was declared a winner, she was finally able to be as expressive and loud as she felt.

"He won. HE FUCKING WON AGAIN! AND KICKED SOME MAJOR ASS!" She screamed. "I mean, HOLY SHIT!"

"Anko, this may or may not be the last time we associate with each outside of the T&I Department." Ibiki grumbled, feeling annoyed and embarrassed by Anko's behavior.

"I'm sorry, but come on! Don't you feel excited after watching something like that? That was intense as fuck!" She screamed excitedly. "NARUTO, YOUR PROMOTION IS IN THE BAG NOW! YOU TOO KUROTSUCHI!"

"Don't be too hard on her Ibiki. She's excited and getting even more excited with each match. Her students have all performed well." Kurenai informed her co-proctor. "Aren't you proud of Naruto as well? Cause I certainly am at least."

"… No, I am." Ibiki admitted. He let a small smirk develop on his face. "The kid's tactics are phenomenal now. He'll make a great chūnin, and I have no doubt he'll move up the ranks again rather soon."

"I can't believe it… Kurotsuchi lost." Rōshi mumbled with a frown. "Damn. Wish I got here sooner so I could've trained with her more."

"There's nothing to be ashamed of, Rōshi." Han told his friend. The Gobi jinchūriki looked downward at the two fighters proudly. "She fought well Rōshi. They fought well. They surpassed my expectations."

"… Eh, she did yeah." The Yonbi jinchūriki sighed. He then looked over at the match. "No, she did really well overall. And so did Naruto. I'm still looking forward to meeting him, you know?"

"We'll introduce you two soon. You'll enjoy each other's company I believe." Han chuckled.

Han then turned his attention to the battleground and let a small cross his lips underneath his mask. 'Excellent work you two. Simply excellent.'

'… Naruto won.' Roto realized. The Iwa genin knew Naruto was a jinchūriki, a concept that actually intimidated him slightly. Still, Roto knew that Naruto was not from a shinobi clan. In his mind, that made Naruto a civilian like him. The civilian-born Iwa genin looked at Naruto with a light in his eyes. '… If you can get to where you got without the help of a clan, then so can I! I'll reach your level and Kurotsuchi's level! Just watch!'

Unlike the other Iwa shinobi, Risho was paying attention to something other than the match. He was listening to the crowds of other people around him.

"That was a close match. Intense as hell! Can't believe that brat managed to pull that off."

"He's better than I thought he'd be. He's better than I think anybody thought."

"Still, that girl from Iwa managed to do great."

"Honestly, she's a real kunoichi. Somebody I'd love to have on my team."

"She's a real strategist, just like Naruto. They both earned my respect."

Each random person Risho listened to, he heard more and more praise given to Naruto and Kurotsuchi and their fight. The Kurogane realized that the people of Konoha were putting aside their feelings for Iwa and respecting Kurotsuchi. They were starting to respect an actual Iwa shinobi, despite the war.

'… If they can put the war to the past, then maybe I should to. Naruto's right.' Risho told himself as he let a smile grace his lips. He then proceeded to clap with the other people in the audience. 'Good job Kurotsuchi… Good job Naruto.'

After a few seconds had passed since he was announced the winner, Naruto waked over to Kurotsuchi slowly. His leg was still burnt and his whole body was sore. He couldn't really move that fast. Nevertheless, he didn't let it stopped him and reached the Iwa kunoichi just about the same time as the medical shinobi.

"Hey, Kurotsuchi." He called out to the girl.

Kurotsuchi looked at the blonde and smirked at him. "Hey, how are you doing? I don't know about you, but I feel like absolute shit. Can't really move anything in my body."

"I'm not that bad enough, but I've definitely been better." The Uzumaki responded with a slight chuckle.

"I'd hope. I'd be pissed if I was like this and you were all perfectly fine and stuff." The Iwa kunoichi commented with a slight eye roll.

"No, that's not the case. That was the hardest I've ever worked in a fight. You really pushed me hard during the match." Naruto complimented his friend. He gave her a small thumbs up. "One of these days, you're going to be the best Tsuchikage Iwa has ever had."

Kurotsuchi's eyes widened at the compliment. She opened her mouth to respond to it, but she couldn't form the proper words. She only regained her ability to speak once the medical shinobi put her on a stretcher and she was about to get escorted off the battlefield.

"I'll… do what I can to be the best." She told him with a smile. "And you're going to be the best damn Hokage Konoha will ever get. Congrats on the victory Naruto…"

With those words, Kurotsuchi was escorted out of the battlefield, towards the infirmary. Naruto proceeded to walk off, having never felt prouder in his entire life after that match.

"Your granddaughter truly is impressive, Ōnoki." Hiruzen complimented the Tsuchikage on Kurotsuchi's performance.

Ōnoki shrugged in response. "The exam was really a formality for her. Kurotsuchi is good enough to be chūnin and I always knew that. Her match just proved that point." A smirk then developed on his face. "She did put on a good fight, though. I'm impressed with her. And the Uzumaki kid."

"I would agree with that. Naruto was indeed impressive." The 'Kazekage' added his thoughts.

Hiruzen smiled as he thought about the match and the display of tactics and techniques Naruto could use.

'You're on your way to becoming Hokage, Naruto-kun.' The Hokage told himself as he imagined the shinobi Naruto would become in the future.

Ōnoki and Hiruzen continued to discuss about the match and their own shinobi. The 'Kazekage' listened in with feigned interest. Underneath his mask, the man had a sinister grin on his face as he slowly turned his attention towards the battlefield, once again.

'My, what interesting shinobi we have here today. It's a shame that most, if not all, will have their bright futures taken away from them.' He noted to himself. 'It's almost time. Gaara's match will be starting soon. And once it does, the plan will finally begin.'