Match's and surprises

 The arena was abuzz with excitement, the energy from my match still lingering in the air. The next battle was set to begin, with some attention, Sakura versus Hinata.

As they stepped into the ring, the contrast between the two was stark. Sakura, seemed ready to prove herself, especially after watching my performance. Hinata, on the other hand, moved with quiet confidence, her eyes sharp and focused. As She already had her Byakugan.

The proctor signaled the start of the match, and Sakura didn't waste a second. She charged forward, throwing a few throwing stars Which Hinata dodged, She seemed calm as Sakura kept moving closer, her fists aimed straight at Hinata. It was a bold move, If anything really stupid Idea to get close to someone whose clan is known for their Gentle fist. Hinata sidestepped the first punch with ease and seemed to be toying with Sakura not even fighting back just dodging by the last second.

Sakura pressed on, frustration starting to creep into her attacks as Hinata continued to evade her strikes with minimal effort. It was clear that Sakura's aggressive approach was getting her nowhere, but she was too focused on proving herself to see it.

Then, with a single, sharp movement, Hinata struck. Her hand lashed out, fingers extended, and connected with one of Sakura's chakra points. The impact was subtle, but the effect was immediate. Sakura staggered back, her arm falling limp at her side as her chakra flow was disrupted.

The crowd murmured, While Hinata didn't give Sakura time to recover. She was on Sakura in an instant, her movements were fast as she delivered a series of strikes. Sakura tried to defend herself, but Hinata was just far better, It was stupid of Sakura to try doing a close up fight.

Within moments, Sakura was on the ground, struggling to stand. Hinata stood over her. There was no hesitation, no mercy. This was the Hinata who I trained with in private. I didn't regret changing Hinata no, I wanted her to be safe and follow her dream of being a Ninja. So I made sure to get rid of that shy personality she had before.

Sakura, panting and defeated, looked up at Hinata with a mix of shock and anger. She had come into this match expecting an easy victory, but instead, she had been completely and easily toyed with. The proctor stepped in, announcing Hinata as the winner, but the result had been clear long before he spoke.

As Hinata walked away, she cast a glance at me, her gaze lingering for a moment longer than necessary. Which I smiled at and gave her a thump's up which seemed to make her happy.

The crowd's reaction was a mix of surprise while some were bored at how quickly the fight had ended. As I watched her walk back to the sidelines, I couldn't help but feel a sense of satisfaction. Hinata had done great, and she had stronger to the point her clan hadn't been bothering or being disappointed in her.

The next match would begin soon, but the impact of this one would linger in the minds of everyone watching. The Chunin Exams were far from over, but the stakes had just been raised.

The proctor's voice rang out through the arena, calling for the next match. The crowd buzzed with a mix of excitement and curiosity, the energy from the previous battles still lingering in the air. As the fighters took their places, I wanted to know how Naruto would handle this.

Naruto, always eager, was already bouncing on his feet, eyes locked onto his opponent or so he thought. Across from him stood the figure the puppet that everyone believed to be Kankuro himself. Naruto, ever the straightforward fighter, had no reason to doubt what he saw.

Without waiting for any further signals, Naruto charged forward. His strategy was simple: close the distance, land a hit, and take control of the fight from the start. His fist was already cocked back, ready to deliver a solid punch. The crowd leaned in, watching closely.

But just as Naruto was about to connect, something shifted. The figure moved with unnatural speed, blocking Naruto's punch with a force that nearly sent him off balance. Naruto's eyes widened in surprise. This wasn't what he had expected.

"Whoa, this guy's fast!" Naruto muttered under his breath, quickly regaining his footing.

The figure retaliated immediately, lashing out with a powerful kick that Naruto barely managed to dodge. The kick was fast too, fast and something about the movement felt off, And I noticed he also could see that. Naruto didn't have time to think about it as the figure advanced again, its attacks precise and relentless. Naruto jumped back, But Naruto, stubborn as ever, kept trying the same thing over and over again. 

He formed a quick series of hand signs, summoning 100 shadow clones that instantly surrounded the figure. "Let's see how you handle this!" Naruto shouted, his clones charging in from all directions.

The figure didn't hesitate. It moved with an agility that belied its size, spinning and striking with brutal efficiency. The clones were destroyed one after another, each disappearing in a puff of smoke. Naruto watched, his brow furrowing. 

As the last clone was destroyed, Naruto dashed in from the side, aiming for the figure's blind spot. His fist connected, but instead of the solid impact he was expecting, I smiled a bit as I saw the look on his face, not in a mean way but He needed to face people like this so he could become better and not just use three jutsu's.

"What the ?" Naruto gasped, pulling back. I could see the gears moving in his head.

The figure lashed out again, this time with a series of rapid punches that Naruto had to scramble to avoid. He was on the defensive now, trying to figure out what was going on. 

Naruto's eyes flicked to the bundle on the figure's back, my grin grew bigger as I knew he figured it out, that the real Kankuro was hidden in plain sight. But Naruto didn't have time to process this revelation. The puppet was relentless, and it wasn't giving him any time to regroup.

The crowd watched in suspense as Naruto continued to dodge and weave, trying to find an opening. But the puppet was fast, too fast, and its attacks were coming from every angle. It was all Naruto could do to keep up.

As Naruto struggled against the puppet, the crowd murmured, some older Ninja's realizing the truth of the situation while others remained oblivious.

But then, just when it seemed like the puppet had him cornered, Naruto did what he always did best, he turned the situation on its head. With a determined look in his eyes, he formed another quick series of hand signs.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" he shouted, and in an instant, the arena was filled with a hundred more shadow clones.

The crowd went wild with cheers and gasps, reaching a new level of excitement. The puppet paused for a moment, its movements hesitating as it tried to figure out the new threat. That was Naruto's moment to strike.

The clones swarmed the puppet from all directions, their sheer numbers overwhelming its ability to counter. The puppet lashed out, slicing through the clones with its sharp claws, but for every clone it destroyed, another took its place, pressing in closer and closer.

Kankuro, hidden within the puppet's wrappings, I could sense he was struggling to maintain control. I bet He hadn't expected Naruto's unorthodox strategy, and now he was paying the price. The puppet's movements grew slower, more erratic, as Kankuro's focus wavered under the relentless assault.

Naruto, sensing his moment, broke through the mass of clones, charging straight for the puppet. His fist connected with the puppet's body, but this time he didn't stop there. With a determined shout, he delivered a flurry of punches, each one cracking the puppet's hard exterior.

"Jump no Jutsu!" I couldn't help but mutter with a smirk as I watched Naruto's clones launch into the air, coming down on the puppet from above with all the force they could muster.

The combined weight of the clones and the relentless barrage of punches finally did the trick. The puppet crumpled under the assault, its limbs collapsing as it fell to the ground in a heap of broken wood and metal.

Kankuro, realizing his cover was blown and his puppet destroyed, scrambled to free himself from the wreckage, but it was too late. Naruto was already there, his clones pinning Kankuro down before he could fully escape.

With a final, triumphant punch, Naruto ended the fight. Kankuro was down, unable to continue, and the proctor stepped forward to signal the match's conclusion.

"Winner: Naruto Uzumaki!"

The crowd erupted in cheers, their excitement reaching a fever pitch. Naruto stood over his fallen opponent, breathing heavily but grinning from ear to ear. He had done it this was the Naruto I loved watching as a kid on Earth.

As the proctor called for the next match, I found myself leaning back a bit, my interest gone. The next set of matches felt more like filler than anything else.

The first match was between two genin One from the land of waves and another from the land of iron, their techniques and skills nothing out of the ordinary. One of them, a tall, lanky boy with a blade strapped to his back, faced off against a girl who seemed to specialize in wind style jutsu. They traded blows and ninjutsu back and forth, but it was clear neither was going to pull off anything spectacular at least for me.

The boy's attacks were straightforward slashes and stabs with his blade, each one met with a gust of wind from the girl that deflected the blows harmlessly. They moved around the arena in a predictable pattern, neither really gaining the upper hand. After what felt like an eternity, the boy managed to disarm the girl and force her to yield. The crowd offered excited applause.

Next up was a pair of fighters I really didn't care to remember. One was a burly guy, while the other was a kunoichi. The big guy charged in, swinging his fists with reckless abandon, but the kunoichi Just put him into a Genjutsu.

The fight dragged on as the big guy tried to land a solid hit, only to swinging in place. The kunoichi kept her distance, looking bored but not really being able to get close, so she just kind of sat there waiting for the guy to tire out. Eventually, he collapsed to the ground, defeated.

So there was this fight between two Hidden Grass Village shinobi. One had a sickle and chain, and the other used a bunch of poisons. They were good fighters, but they were taking their sweet time, like they were playing chess instead of having a real ninja battle. Eventually, the one with the sickle outsmarted the poison guy and won, but I was already zoning out by then.

Each match passed in a blur of half-hearted punches, weak jutsu, and fights that seemed more like a formality than anything else. The crowd's energy dipped as well, their cheers turning to murmurs and side conversations as they waited for something more exciting to come along.

I couldn't blame them. After the high stakes and fierce competition of the earlier matches, these fights were little more than background noise. My mind wandered, thinking ahead to the matches that really mattered, I had yet to see Sasuke fight.

 "Sasuke vs Gaara" 

Oh well speak of the devil.