Chapter 116: Mini Tournament Ends

Giving the remaining eight a quick break, I pulled Iruka-Sensei aside and asked "So, who would be the best matchups?"

Pursing his lips, he glanced at the remaining eight, each taking their break a different way.

Naruto was standing beside Hinata, both talking quietly, the blonde grinning while the bluenette blushed furiously.

Neji and Rock Lee stood together, but the Hyuga boy was silent, staring at the ring intently while Rock Lee just talked and talked, his happy expression as he punched the air making me smile.

Kiba was glowering over at Ino, who was glaring at the Inuzuka boy; after almost being hit somewhere incredibly important and incredibly harmful, he held a minor grudge towards the pretty blonde Heiress.

Sasuke was standing opposite Naruto, chatting amongst the large crowd of boys and girls that crowded around him, all the while casting glances at his rival across from him.

Aki was with her twin, the taller, colder girl staring at Naruto for a moment before turning back to her sister, who was beaming at her.

However, the shorter, warmer girl had hard eyes as she glanced towards the blonde trickster, likely wanting to get revenge.

Shino was standing alone, a beetle resting on the edge of his thumb; because of that, no one was standing by him.

Finally, Ami was still beside Tenten, the cream robed girl still fussing over her head, making the purple haired girl giddy.

"Hmm... well, I think... let's do Kiba and Shino, Sasuke and Neji, Rock Lee and Naruto, and Aki and Ami. Each has a style that makes them challenging, and this way the final rounds will be even more interesting..."

I nodded, before shouting "Kiba, Shino! You're up!"

The Inuzuka and Aburame Heirs stepped onto the ring, nodding to one another.

One was rambunctious, and the other quiet; one relied on force, the other on technique.

When the signal was given, Kiba shot forwards, attempting to finish the spar in a single blow.

His fist hurtled through the air, inching closer and closer to Shino's face, but the Aburame didn't move at all.

Raising a brow, I watched as Kiba faltered, his fist moving slightly to the side, only for his eyes to widen as Shino grabbed his outstretched arm and used Kiba's momentum to toss him out of the ring.

Everyone was silent as they watched Kiba skid a few feet, a cloud of dirt surrounding his body when he eventually stopped.

As for Shino, the boy was staring at Kiba with a tilted head, his expression hidden beneath his high collar and sunglasses.

Walking over to Kiba, I helped him to his feet, watching as he angrily dusted himself off.

He stormed away as soon as he got up, making me sigh.

Hopefully he didn't take this loss too hard...

Next, Sasuke and Neji stepped into the ring, the Hyuga staring seriously at the spiky black haired Uchiha.

Neji raised his hands and held his palms out, while Sasuke lowered himself, his balled fists held close to his sides.

The two boys launched themselves forwards, and Neji had to desperately redirect Sasuke's flurry of blows away from his chest, making the serious Hyuga frown, before he gasped as Sasuke managed to slip past his guard.

With that first hit, a dozen more followed, and Neji was overwhelmed swiftly, before he coughed and was pushed back over the ring.

Neji was pursing his lips as he stood beside Rock Lee, his bruised body healing as I poured medical chakra into him.

HIs quiet contemplation was hopeful, as I sent Rock Lee out to fight Naruto.

That spar lasted a few minutes, as the young boy in a green jumpsuit displayed his immense strength as he continued to bruise and push Naruto away.

However, he was also taking on a good few hits as well, Naruto's kicks keeping Rock Lee at bay a few times, lest he get a foot to the jaw.

Eventually Naruto landed a lucky glancing blow to Rock Lee's throat, making the boy stumble backwards, coughing.

Quickly rushing to his side, I healed the injury, helping him breathe normally again after having his throat hit hard.

With that, Naruto advanced to the next round, and the last pairing stepped forwards.

Ami and Aki stared at one another, smiling before they bowed; the few practice spars that we had had in Kunoichi's class had instilled a certain etiquette into each of the girls.

The warmer twin relied on speed, so she appeared before Ami and slammed her palm towards the purple haired girls chest, only to grit her teeth as Ami ducked under her arm.

Pushing Aki back, Ami pressed her advantage, until Aki sighed as she was forced over the line; not many blows landed, but the pressure that Ami exerted on the shorter girl made it impossible for her to readjust herself inside the circle.

With that, the Semi's was set up; Shino, Sasuke, Naruto, and Ami.

As such...

"Shino, Naruto!"

That spar was another lengthy one, as the two technicians had to try and outwit and out maneuver each other, and Naruto's superior stamina made itself known as he wore down Shino, the Aburame seceding from the spar when he realized he was going to lose.

Then there was Sasuke and Ami, which...

The boy grinned arrogantly as he stared at the purple haired girl, who's cocky grin only grew as she heard Sasuke say "Well, guess Naruto and I will be seeing one another in a few moments..."

All of the other boys chuckled at that, while the girls all held back smirks as they saw Ami raise her brow.

Well, all but one girl...

"You can do this Ami! Beat him up!"

Hearing Tenten's shout, Ami stiffened for a moment before her grin widened.

"Nah, think I'll be sparring Naruto instead, duck hair~!"

Sasuke's grin faltered, and anger appeared in his dark eyes.

"What'd you just call me?!"

Tilting her head innocently, Ami gave him the widest grin possible as she repeated "Duck hair~!" in the most singsong voice possible.

Sadly, Iruka-Sensei shouted "Begin!" before Ami could add more fuel onto Sasuke's childish rage, resulting in the Uchiha launching himself forwards.

Throwing a fast punch towards her face, he smirked as she remained still, mirroring what Shino did earlier.

However, instead of grabbing his arm, Ami simply pivoted, letting Sasuke continue forwards before kicking him in the back, sending him stumbling.

Sasuke just barely managed to stop himself, his toes barely above the rings edge as he swayed, but...

Casually walking behind him, Ami give him a gentle push, the boy falling forwards as the push ruined his balance.

"Too bad duck hair~! Seems like you got a little too arrogant~!"

Standing on the edge, Ami grinned down at the Uchiha, enraging him.

"I'll kill you!"

Getting back to his feet, Sasuke tried to charge at Ami, only to find himself in the air as I lifted him by the back of his neck like a kitten.

He tried to wriggle free from my grasp, even turning to try and hit me, but I applied a good amount of pressure to his neck, making him gasp.

When he finally calmed down, I stared at him silently for a few moments before turning to glare at Ami; riling up an opponent before a match was alright, but continuing afterwards was rude and distasteful...

Not that I particularly cared though.

Ami walked off, back towards a beaming Tenten, scratching her cheek as she relished her crush's praise.

As for Sasuke, after I let him go he let out a growl, staring at the purple haired girl with hate in his eyes before he also stormed off, ignoring the boys and girls that tried to comfort him.

In fact, he even pushed passed Sakura, the pink haired girl biting her lip as he continued on, walking further away from her.

When he finally reached the small grove of trees, he sat down on the swing and watched on, his expression unreadable.

Narrowing my eyes, I decided to deal with that later, instead having Ami and Naruto step into the ring.

Grinning at one another, they bowed before taking their stances, the crowd of students looking on in silence.

Many were surprised by the final matchup; most didn't think that one of the girls would get this far, and others were surprised at how confident and carefree Naruto appeared as he stood there.

The opinions on the trickster were slowly shifting, and I hoped that this younger generation would come to view the Uzumaki boy as a friend and comrade, not some demon.

Giving the signal, I nodded to myself as I saw the two familiar students of mine cross kicks in the center, Ami grunting as she tried to endure Naruto's superior strength.

So, she instead focused on her agility, dodging and weaving around his multitude of kicks and some jabs, trying desperately to find an opening.

As the seconds turned into minutes, both aspiring Shinobi were sweating and panting, their eyes hardened as they stared at one another, standing still.

With a shout, Naruto rushed towards Ami, leading with a sweeping kick before launching himself up towards her midriff.

She tried to redirect his body, but the boy was too heavy and too fast for her, and she was pushed from the circle.

They collapsed on one another, and I nodded to myself as I said "Naruto wins!"

They both fought well, and while they could still improve, I was impressed by their progression, as well as how they handled it.

Ami was helped up by Naruto, who was grinning at her as he said "That was a good spar!"

She nodded, her grin matching his as she dragged in breath.

Shaking hands, I glanced at Hinata, who was frowning as she saw Naruto beaming at the other girl; her white eyes were slowly growing dangerous the longer his hand remained on Ami's.

As for Tenten, she was watching on with a smile, and when Ami returned to her side the cream robed girl comforted her, resulting in Ami blushing slightly.

With that, the 'unofficial' tournament was over, and Iruka-Sensei and I needed to grade everyone properly.

Naruto had handled his victory with humility, but when he came over to the compound next...

Following the students inside, Iruka-Sensei and I talked for awhile, assigning grades and writing the reports on the individual students, listing their strengths and weakness', as well as ideas on how to improve them over time.

When that was done, I asked Iruka-Sensei to take the reports to the Headmistress for me, and I went to go grab Kurenai, smirking as I told her that today was the day.