Tournament Start

Thankfully, both Team Kakashi and Team Asuma were able to make it to the final setting of the Chūnin exams within three and a half days. After the split up, they had opened the scrolls which had summoned Iruka. On being summoned, he told them that they had successfully passed and he also told them what would have happened had they opened the scroll when they were still in the forest.

The Academy instructor had also explained to them the chūnin motto that was written on the wall. After that he sent them off to the assembly where the other six teams were.

Kakashi was able to take note of Sasuke's cursed seal after Anko had reported that Orochimaru was after Sasuke.

In front of the assembled genin were the jōnin instructors, some chūnin and the Hokage himself.

"Before I explain the third test," the old man said as he adjusted his hat. "There's something I'd like you to know."

"Originally, this exam was founded to promote the friendships and alliances between the various villages, but…" he looked at them with an unnerving gaze. "Don't think that that is all there is to this exam."

All gathered genin were now eager to hear what Hiruzen had to say. However the old man just cleared his throat and took a step forward.

"The second or should I say the hidden reason behind the Chūnin exams is… a replacement for war among the Allied Countries." All the Konoha genin were now wide-eyed as the Third explained.

"You see, this exam compels the shinobi of the village to risk their lives in order to protect their country's prestige."

Hiruzen chuckled slightly. "You see, watching this exam will be various wealthy and influential people from all the Lands. They make up the clients of the shinobi… They are interested in seeing the various fights to determine who is stronger between the villages. 'What does it have to do with you?' You may be thinking."

"Let's just say that if you put on a great display on behalf of your village, the more the clients will turn their eye to that village. Meaning, the more money the village will earn from jobs."

"Another message that this also sends is that your village is strong. Those are the hidden reasons for the exams." The old man breathed out loud as though he had his pipe with him.

"I don't see any reason why we have to risk our lives," a voice said.

"The strength of a country is in its village. The strength of the village is in its shinobi. The strength of a shinobi is only made known on the border of life and death. That is the life of a shinobi. What good are you if you cannot fight for your own life? How then will you protect the lives of others that are entrusted to you?"

"This is not just a test but a life risking battle with your lives and country's image on the line."

"I apologize Hokage-sama," a voice said, revealing to be a Konoha ninja that just appeared. "Will you please allow me, as the referee, to explain the details of the third test."

"Fine Hayate-san."

"But Hokage-sama," the ninja, now Hayate stated before pausing. "Umm… because of the nature of the first and the second test this year, the number of people for the finals are too much… so, we'll have to have preliminaries to reduce the number of participants."

There was an uproar amongst the genin. They were all upset, regarding the hard work they had put in for the exams only to not get to the main stadium.

"Furthermore, if there is any one amongst you that feels that he won't be able to participate in the test any more, let me know."

There was a silence amongst the students, most of them trying to resolve themselves to continue. That is, until…

"I wish to forfeit," a boy said. He wore glasses and looked like he was a Konoha ninja if the forehead protector was anything to go by.

'That guy,' Sasuke thought. 'Wasn't he the one with various data on everyone? Why does he want to forfeit all of a sudden.'

After Kabuto, as Hayate had called him, had left the field, Hayate continued his explanation.

"Alright," Hayate began as he checked Kabuto off of the list that he was holding. "If no one else is going to forfeit… I shall continue the rules of the matches. The preliminaries will be one-on-one elimination matches, and only the ones that emerge victorious will fight in the finals of the exams. The matchups will be determined by the screen here."

As he said this, the screen began to flash randomly as it cycled through names before stopping on two names. "Yoroi Amado and Sasuke Uchiha… will both combatants step forward."

Both Sasuke and Yoroi stepped forward as they stared each other down. "Every other person should please leave the arena and move to the upper level."

Kakashi made sure to give his final instructions to Sasuke. "Do not use the sharingan or else you stand the risk of dying."

"So you know."

"If you use it, the curse will try to draw your chakra out and… I'll probably have to step in to stop the match."

Sasuke wanted to protest but the silver-haired jōnin was gone. He was handicapped without his sharingan, but nevertheless, he was going to win.

All the Konoha ninjas were interested in watching to see how their comrade will fare. The rest were interested in taking note of his abilities.

Sasuke trembled a bit as he held his shoulder. The seal was taking effect and was causing him pain.

'This cursed seal reacts to my chakra… so that means that I may not be able to use my normal jutsu in this fight. In that case…'

"The first match will now begin."

Immediately, Yoroi made a seal and chakra covered his right hand. His left hand made his way to his shuriken holster and tossed a couple shuriken at Sasuke.

With amazing reflexes, Sasuke took out a scroll and unsealed its content, revealing the Executioner's Blade. The Uchiha was able to casually block the attack with the blade as he stabbed it into the ground.

"Aargh," Sasuke cried as the seal ate away at him again causing him to close his eyes for a moment. Yoroi capitalized on that moment and struck Sasuke with a left hook, sending the boy sprawling on the ground.

He dove at Sasuke with his right hand spread out, but the Uchiha was able to react with his sword as he caused Yoroi's hand to go through the hole in the sword. He flipped the sword, causing Yoroi to turn with it, but he was able to release his hands at that moment before stepping on the sword and touching Sasuke.

The young Uchiha struggled, but he felt his strength draining away. "My chakra… how? You."

"Heh… thanks to my special ability, I can absorb a person's chakra by contact alone. It's over."

Sasuke felt his hands go limp, but he forced in more chakra in a final attempt and was able to knock Yoroi off. He had already begun to expend his chakra. The cursed seal was calling him and drawing on his chakra, but he refused to give in.

"You cannot win," Yoroi said as he made a dash for Sasuke, but the dark-haired teen beat him to it. Using the hilt of his sword, Sasuke struck Yoroi in the chin and sent him into the air.

He wanted to make his way for Yoroi, but the seal began to spread around and he collapsed to his knee.

"What are you doing Dunce face? You better get up and fight, or do you want to lose to me!" Naruto yelled.

That was enough to snap Sasuke out of it and give him the strength he needed to will away the power of the seal.

'He resisted it,' the jōnin of the sound genin thought as he looked on at Sasuke.

Yoroi had righted himself in mid-air and was coming down on Sasuke, but the young genin remained unfazed. He turned the blade on its flat side and sidestepped as Yoroi came down.

Before Yoroi could right himself, Sasuke batted him with the blade and sent him sprawling on the ground before coming to a stop.

Ten seconds had passed with Yoroi not getting up, Hayate declared Sasuke the winner.

Sasuke collapsed on his butt as his team and comrades cheered him on.

"Yo," Kakashi said as he appeared next to him, his favourite book in his hands. "Looks like you did it."

"Pft." Sasuke made that sound as he smirked.

"What a lame way to win. You're all beat up you dunce."

"That damn moron…" Sasuke said before he clutched his shoulder in pain.

"Uchiha Sasuke, let the medical team attend to you and…"

"That won't be necessary because I'll take care of him… we're going out back to seal up that curse. No excuses."

"Aargh," Naruto said as he held his stomach and ran out of the arena.

Naruto came back to the arena to see both Ino and Sakura knocking each other out.

"What'd I miss?" he asked Kakashi.

"Sakura just tied with Ino. Shikamaru won his match. Both of those Hidden Sand ninja won. Shino beat that sound ninja and Choji lost to that other sound ninja… and looks like it's your turn to have some fun."

Naruto turned to the screen to look at what Kakashi was hinting at. On the screen it read Uzumaki Naruto vs. Inuzuka Kiba.

In an instant, the young Inuzuka had made his way to the field and was waiting for Naruto to come down.

The orange-haired kid made his way down and looked at his self-proclaimed rival. He noticed that Kiba was with his dog Akamaru and he decided to say something.

"I thought using outside help was not allowed?"

Hayate coughed. "That is a ninja dog and hence it is considered a weapon like kunai and not a separate person."

Naruto wanted to mumble something, but decided against it.

"Kakashi," a voice said. The silver-haired jōnin turned around to see a fellow jōnin.

"Kurenai, how's it going?"

"For you to say that means that you believe that Naruto can beat Kiba. I doubt it."

"You might just believe it yourself in this match. Naruto has the potential to surprise anybody."

"Well then may the best genin win," she said as she walked away.

"This match will now begin."

As soon as Hayate said this, Kiba and Akamaru rushed Naruto.

"You are about to witness my amazing taijutsu!" Kiba yelled as he dove at Naruto.

"Right back at you," Naruto said as he met Kiba's attack with a well-aimed punch that sent Kiba into the ground.

"Ow!" he yelled as Akamaru bit him on his wrist. That gave Kiba enough time to recover and nail Naruto with a punch of his own.

"Now… Imitation Beast Ninja Art: Four Legs Technique (Gijin Ninpo: Shikyaku no Jutsu)."

A small chakra shroud was emitted from Kiba as he went on all fours. The Inuzuka shot off with high intensity, his speed increased by a lot as he slammed into Naruto. As the blond boy was sent back, Kiba shot off and appeared behind him. As Kiba slammed into Naruto, the blond boy disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"What the-? Where are you hiding?"

"I wouldn't call it hiding," Naruto said as he appeared from behind the statue of two hands making a seal.

"When did you use the clone?" Kiba asked infuriated.

"Before the match started," Naruto said as he crouched a bit and took out two shuriken each on both hands. "Now we can begin." Naruto shot off as he tossed the shuriken at Kiba. As the shuriken whirled through the air it was intercepted by the other one and that momentarily shocked Kiba.

A bark from Akamaru drew Kiba's attention, but it was too late as Naruto dealt him a series of blows before tossing him to the ground.

"I can't believe it… Kiba's losing?" Kurenai was shocked.

"Naruto-kun… Kiba-kun," Hinata said as she saw Kiba get up and retreat a bit.

"As expected of Naruto… he has improved truly and that is something that Kiba has not. He needs to come to terms with that." This little comment was from Shino. "But… we as teammates must have faith in Kiba and believe he can win this. That is the right thing to do."

Kiba was backed against the corner but he had a trick up his sleeves. He took out a little pill from his jacket and fed it to Akamaru while also consuming one. The usually white dog turned red in an instant.

"What… isn't that cheating?" Naruto asked Hayate.

"No. Soldier pills are Ninja tools like shuriken."

"Damn you," Naruto muttered as Kiba and Akamaru stared at him. Kiba suddenly crouched and Akamaru got on top up of him and barked as he and Kiba spoke simultaneously.

"Imitation Human Ninja Art: Beast Human Clone (Gijin Ninpo: Jūjin Bunshin)."

"What?!" Naruto questioned as Akamaru transformed into Kiba. At that instance, both Kibas shot off as they tactically attacked Naruto one at a time.

"Slam him into the ground."

Akamaru joined both hands together as he smashed Naruto into the ground.

"Gatsūga (Fang Over Fang)."

Both Kiba and Akamaru leapt forward before spinning in the air, almost as if they were like a drill of mass destruction.

"Oww…" Naruto said but trailed off as he saw the incoming attack. "The hell!" the blond exclaimed as he was caught in between the attack and slammed into the wall behind.

"That should show him huh Akamaru."

A bark was heard that confirmed his decision.

Before Kiba could celebrate, a grunt was heard where Naruto had landed. The blond was emerging from a crater with a bloody lip and various minor injuries, but he was healing.

"Still raring to go Naruto," Kiba said as he crouched down to a fighting stance.

Naruto spat some blood before facing Kiba fully. "I'll win for sure." He dug his hands into his scroll holster and took out an orb.

"A smoke bomb… the least effective strategy against someone that can smell his opponents before they strike."

Kiba shot off as he made for Naruto who tossed the smoke bomb which broke once it hit the ground, but it did not release any smoke.

"What was that?" Ino asked as she scanned the arena. "I thought that was supposed to be a smoke bomb, so where's the smoke."

There were different rounds of muttering as everyone wondered what had happened to Naruto's smoke bomb and why it was not filling the air.

Kiba soon began to cough and wheeze as he held his throat. "What is that smell?"

"That is my special stink bomb for prank purposes… and while I would have loved to talk about this, I should end this match in one go."

"Shadow clone technique." Immediately, four Narutos appeared from thin air as they charged Kiba.

"U…" the first clone said as he dealt a kick that picked Kiba up.

"… Zu…" the second clone said as he ushered his own kick that sent Kiba further into the air.

"… Ma…" the third clone said as he dealt his own blow.

"… Ki…" the fourth clone said as he dealt a final blow to Kiba's back, leaving him wide open for the original Naruto who came down on him with a swift kick.

"… Naruto Combo (Uzumaki Naruto Rendan)."

Kiba spat a huge amount of blood as he passed out on the ground of the arena.

"W-winner Uzumaki Naruto."

'I see,' Kakashi thought. 'To confuse and to otherwise catch others off-guard, he had made the stink bomb with the same material that was used to make the smoke bomb containment. Unpredictable.'

'That's Naruto,' Kurenai said to herself. 'The Dead last beat Kiba. Interesting turn of events.'

"Ohhhh!" Lee yelled. "Such a display of youthfulness. I can't wait for my turn now." The eager and excited genin bounced from foot to foot as he threw air punches.

"Hah! That was easy," Naruto said as he ascended the steps.

Few Moments Later…

After ascending the steps, Naruto was approached by Hinata who was in a blushing mess. She had offered to give him a medicinal ointment of his injuries which he accepted.

Thanking her and going on his way, he is approached by Haku who insists on hanging out with him for the remainder of the battle.

"The next match will now begin," Hayate said as the screen displayed two names. "Hyūga Hinata vs. Kurama Yakumo."

A panting Hinata was seen standing over a fallen Yakumo with a bloodied mouth. A drawing board was shattered on the ground and there were also a couple of broken paintbrushes.

"Winner Hyūga Hinata."

Disclaimer:

As much as I had wanted to, I could not come up with a way to write this chapter that would have made it seem realistic enough and not useless. So please bear with me.

On another note, do not think I have forgotten about Team Haku as this chapter has shown.

After the stage was free of any person, Hayate proceeded to call the next battlers.

"Haku Yūki vs. Gaara of the Sand."

In a swift display, Gaara disappeared and reappeared as sand reformed around him. Haku responded by making his way to the arena to stare down his opponent. Gaara was however unfazed by this.

After checking that both participants were ready, Hayate made his move. "Begin."

Gaara stood with his hands crossed as Haku opened a scroll and unsealed a small pool of water from it.

"A thousand ice needles."

The water around Haku reformed into needles made of ice as they flew at Gaara who for some reason stood very calm. As soon as the needles neared Gaara, sand shot out from his gourd to block the attack.

"What the-"

In the Stands…

"That's Gaara's ability," a voice said, startling Naruto.

"The hell…, who are you?"

"Kankuro, Gaara's elder brother."

"You mean you're his brother?"

"Yes and as much as I am sorry about this, that boy is finished."

"How do you mean?"

"Look," Kankuro said as he pointed at the field.

To Naruto's shock, Gaara had not moved in the slightest, yet he was able to block all of Haku's attacks.

"What's the meaning of that?" Naruto asked.

"That is Gaara's sand shield and against it all attacks are meaningless. That's why till today, no one's been able to put a scratch on Gaara."

"You're joking right?"

"Nope I am not and that's why I said that kid is going to lose."

"No way. Haku is pretty fast and I have faith. We Konoha ninjas are very strong."

"You're a funny guy, I like you. Any way let's just watch the battle."

Back at the arena…

"Damn… nothing is working." Haku said as he leapt back to avoid the sand. As soon as his back made contact with the wall, he leapt forward.

"Hurricane ice needles."

He began to spin midair as ice needles flew from his scroll and made their way at Gaara. Once again the sand made to protect Gaara, easily blocking all of the needles.

Haku smirked slightly. "Gotcha."

On Gaara's left cheek, there was a slight scratch from one of Haku's ice needles.

In the Stands…

"He's fast," Lee muttered to himself.

"Aoba you've definitely improved on Haku," Kakashi said to his fellow jōnin.

"Well… what can I say?"

"That kid is fast," Kankuro said as he watched Haku slowly begin to pressure Gaara's shield.

"I told you," Naruto said with a grin as he looked down. "Kick his ass Haku!"

Back at the arena…

Haku shot off once more as he seemingly blurred away before appearing behind Gaara as he tossed three senbon that pierced the red head from behind him.

"That should shut you down for some time."

Unfortunately for Haku, the senbon pretty much fell off of Gaara's body. As did Gaara's face which crumbled into sand.

"What?"

"This is bad," Kankuro said. "He's pressured Gaara enough to use that?"

"What's that?" Naruto asked.

"That is a totally different Gaara and if that your friend gets caught by him, he'll die."

A maniacal laughter came from Gaara as his sand covered his entire body once again.

"The shield of sand," Kankuro began as he noticed the shocked look on both Temari and Baki's faces. "Gaara's second defense…"

"I am starting to enjoy this battle," Gaara said. "Let us resume."

Haku turned his head to look at his sensei. He smiled as he made a seal.

"Ninpou: Kirigakure no jutsu."

Immediately, mist began to gather around the arena with Haku as a medium. "You'll need more protection to have an edge over me."

Multiple sounds were heard from inside the mist as Haku tossed multiple senbon at Gaara retreated to the safety of his sand dome.

Haku smirked as he began the preparations for his technique.

"Suiton," he said making a seal and expelling water from his mouth that soaked the dome around and about. He made another seal again. "Hissatsu Hyōso."

Gaara felt the ground tremble as it exploded with ice spears, huge ones that pierced into Gaara's flesh and shook the entire field.

"Yes!" Naruto yelled. "He did it!"

"How sure are you?" Kankuro said at Naruto's comment.

"What?" Haku said as he saw the crumbling body and was full of dread. 'He must have substituted inside that sand dome.'

The mist slowly began to clear and everyone could see the ice that pierced the sand clone.

"See," Kankuro said as Naruto brought down his hands.

"Well it's not over yet," Naruto said as Gaara began to emerge from his sand.

"I'll kill you," he yelled as multiple arms of sand shot forth at Haku. The ice ninja smirked as he avoided the arms fairly easily before launching more senbon at Gaara who casually blocked them.

"Hyoton: Akuma Senbon (Ice Release: Demon Needle)"

Haku made a seal as the water began to form one large senbon that was of a darker colour than the others.

"You think that can stop me!" Gaara yelled once again as he sent sand at Haku. The ice ninja responded by tossing the senbon which turned to water mid-air and soaked Gaara's sand.

Haku appeared behind Gaara as he stabbed his left hand with multiple senbon, rendering that arm useless. Gaara responded by sending multiple shuriken made of sand at Haku but the ice ninja evaded them.

"I've never seen Gaara on the losing ground in a battle before," Temari said as she watched Haku avoid Gaara's attack.

"It's time to end this," Haku said as he unsealed water from his third scroll while running around Gaara and avoiding his attacks.

"A thousand needles of death."

The water formed needles and all of them were sent flying at Gaara who blocked them with his sand.

Haku smirked as Gaara had fallen for his trick. "Ice Release: Demonic Ice Mirrors."

The water that he had used to surround Gaara slowly lost gravity and began turning into ice mirrors. The mirrors surrounded Gaara and the red head was blocked out from the crowd.

Everyone watched as Haku walked into one of the mirrors and merged with it.

"Welcome…" Haku said as he made a seal. "… To my world." Immediately, thousands of needles flew from each mirror at Gaara. The red head growled as he completely surrounded himself with sand in the form of another dome.

"Futile," Haku said as he made a seal and formed a single ice needle.

"What's with that technique?" Kankuro asked.

"That is Haku's ultimate technique as at when we fought. The mirrors are made of ice and they allow Haku travel within them at light speed…"

"And with my tutelage, Haku can form the ice needles from within the ice using its properties rather than creating it and saving chakra."

"Impressive Aoba," Kakashi said.

The chakra enhanced ice needles pierced through the sand dome and tore Gaara's flesh, eliciting a cry of pain.

"More," Haku said as he prepared them and launched them at Gaara but surprisingly they did not pierce the dome.

"What in the world?" Naruto asked as the sand dome burst open to reveal a grinning Gaara with few scratches on his body.

"Your blood," he yelled as the sand from his gourd shot forward and began to wrap each mirror that Haku inhabited. Slowly but surely, Gaara began to squeeze the mirrors with his sand, but Haku fought back by pouring more of his chakra into the mirrors in an attempt to tire out Gaara.

"Aargh!" Naruto said as he clenched his head in pain.

"What's wrong?" Kankuro asked.

"Gaara… what is he… tell me."

"What are you saying? Get a grip on yourself," Kankuro said as he turned back to the battle in time to see Haku's mirror shatter and the ice ninja escape at the last moment.

When Haku fell to the ground unmoving, Hayate decided to call the match. "Winner Gaara of the S-"

He wasn't able to complete his statement as Gaara's sand formed a huge hand that crushed Haku to the wall of the arena.

"Gaara stop," Temari shouted but the redhead did not pay heed to her words.

All of a sudden, Crows filled the arena and began to surround Gaara. "What is this?" Gaara yelled as he desperately tried to kill the crows but failed. His chakra flow faltered and his hold on Haku was no more.

The arena cleared to reveal Aoba who had Haku on his back alongside Hayate.

"What is his deal?!" Sakura yelled.

"Yeah," Ino yelled back.

'Is he losing control over himself,' Kankuro thought. 'He's usually so calm and collected in battle, but… thank God it's over.'

"Ichibi," Kurama said quietly to himself. "So the host of the One Tailed dunce is here. Interesting turn out of events."

A Few Moments Later…

After taking Haku to the infirmary and getting Gaara who had finally regained control of himself back to the stands, the next match was about to begin.

"Thank God his wounds were done to his sand armour," Temari said as she looked at her younger brother Kankuro.

"It's a good thing or else there would have been chaos in this place," Kankuro said as he turned to Baki. "Forget about that, what are we going to do about what that Sound guy said anyway?"

"I'll be telling the Hokage as soon as the preliminaries are over. That way we will be able to avoid getting caught in the crossfire."

"It better be soon," Temari said as she turned to the field.

"Hyūga Neji vs. Rock Lee."

"Yes," Lee said as he pumped his fists. "The fated battle between me and most likely the strongest genin in Konoha is at hand."

"While you are both my students, I do expect you both to show off your youthful passion."

"Yes Guy-sensei," Lee said as he jumped down to meet Neji who was already on the arena floor.

"Hyūga Neji vs. Rock Lee begin."

"Lee… given the fact that you are my teammate and that I would not want you to get hurt, forfeit the match and save yourself the humiliation of losing."

"Neji-san I acknowledge the fact that you are the strongest genin in Konoha, but it is my desire to surpass you and win."

"Hmm," Neji said with a smirk. "Funny how you plan on beating me with only taijutsu. My eyes can see all and I don't see you winning this. Fate has played my way today."

"True I have only taijutsu," Lee said as he got into a stance. "That's why I am the Leaf's Green Beast and I will beat you using only my taijutsu."

"Well then," Neji began as he settled into the stance for the Gentle Fist. "The winner has already being determined by fate and only needs to be realized."

"They're both pretty tense," Sakura said as she watched both genin face off.

"That's because Lee has always been beaten by Neji and he strongly needs to surpass him," Guy said.

"What was that about using only taijutsu?" Naruto asked.

"Lee is a unique one amongst shinobi. Seeing as he had no talent for ninjutsu or genjutsu, he focused all his time into becoming a taijutsu expert."

"Wow…" Naruto said as he stared back at the two. "Now I can't wait to see how strong he actually is."

"Well I think they're just about ready."

After finally savouring the moment, Lee and Neji made a dash for each other. They met and began exchanging blows that Neji had a hard time keeping up with.

"Take this," Lee muttered as he punched Neji in the gut, sending him hurling back. The bowl cut teen pumped his fist as he waited for Neji to get up.

"Nice shot," Neji said as the veins around his eyes began to bulge slowly and his eyes began to look more focused.

"What's that Kakashi-sensei?"

"The Byakugan, a dojutsu just like the Sharingan, but in terms of sight, it sees better compared to the sharingan."

Neji was the one who charged Lee this time and they began another exchange and this time Neji's hits were faster and lighter but they seemed to be tiring Lee out as he evaded all the attacks from Lee and landed each hit perfectly.

"What's going on?" Sakura asked as Lee pulled back a bit.

"It seems Neji is gaining the upper hand."

"How?" Naruto asked.

"I can explain that," Guy said. "As opposed to both me and Lee's destructive taijutsu fighting style or as you can call it, 'An Iron Fist Style', the Hyūga clan has developed another form of taijutsu that involves flowing chakra into the user's inner coils. As a result they do not need to use force for the attack, hence the name 'Gentle Fist'. A small strike is necessary to cause the chakra flow."

"You see," Neji said as he smirked. Lee was panting heavily as he clutched his right hand. Neji had already hit three of his points and he knew that the Hyūga was holding back.

He looked up at Guy who smiled before nodding. Lee turned his eyes to the field just in time to see Neji coming at him. He easily avoided the strike with a backflip before standing atop the statue's hands.

"Neji-san I acknowledge you as a truly strong opponent, and I will need my all to be able to beat you." As he said this, he bent down to remove some weights that were attached to his leg bands.

"So you are serious?" Neji asked.

"What is Lee doing? Removing little weights will do nothing in this bat-" Naruto was silenced when the weights hit the ground and created a crater while throwing up a dust cloud. This little turn of events shocked everyone that was present.

"Neji-san prepare for your defeat," Lee said as he jumped forward, seemingly disappearing from sight before appearing to strike Neji. The Hyūga was able to catch the strike but with difficulty.

Before he could do anything once again, Lee shot off and appeared above him to deliver a kick that the Hyūga was able to avoid, but he was slightly disoriented from that and Lee took full advantage from it.

He delivered a kick to the Hyūga, sending him into the air before jumping and hiding in his shadow. At that instance, the bindings on his hands began to loosen as he tried wrapping Neji.

'He intends to finish me off with the Primary Lotus… a futile attempt.'

Neji spun himself slightly mid-air as he repelled Lee.

"What just happened?" Naruto asked.

"I have no idea," Guy replied.

Lee landed with a flip as he watched Neji land graciously on the ground though there was a little trace of shock on his face. Lee took advantage once again as he made his way for Neji. He disappeared midway as he appeared behind Neji to deliver a kick, but to his surprise, the Hyūga blocked the attack with ease.

"I have read your patterns Lee," Neji smirked as he forced Lee's leg back before hitting the opening points on each arm. "It's your fault for showing off to me every time we clashed."

Neji shot off as chakra escaped his palms. He made a thrust as he caught Lee's shirt, pulling back he struck his chest with an open palm.

"Aargh," Lee said as he pulled back to regain his bearings. He coughed blood slightly before going into a stance once again.

"That Neji kid is pretty strong," Naruto said as he watched the match.

"The Hyūga are naturally strong and fierce opponents but even amongst the Hyūga, he is referred to as a genius," Kakashi replied as he watched the match with interest. "He might even be a match for our Sasuke."

"Pfft…" Naruto said as he folded his hands. "Fat chance… Sasuke can take this guy any day, any time and besides why was I not mentioned? I am definitely the strongest ninja in the Leaf."

"True you have grown… but that in itself is not enough."

"Fate did not favour you in this exam," Neji said as he approached Lee slowly. "You said it yourself… I also believe that I am the strongest Leaf genin and facing me means you've run out of luck."

"No," Lee said as the air around him began to rise. "I refuse to lose here… and if you truly are the strongest, I will surpass you." His voice had taken a different tone as the chakra around him was made visible.

"Guy," Kakashi said with a raise of his eyebrows. "What did you do?"

"I only offered power to one of my students… is that wrong my eternal rival?"

"Nope… but to teach him the gates at such a young age… how many can he open?"

"He can open five of the eight gates," Guy replied casually.

"This is the fruit of my labour!" Lee yelled. "Kyūmon: Kai (Second Gate, Gate of Rest: Open). Seimon: Kai (Third Gate, Gate of Life, Open)!" as he said this, the air around him warped as he his skin turned red and his pupils disappeared. Lee's hair stood on all ends as the veins in his body began to bulge before he shot off at blinding speed, becoming barely as a blur to the untrained eye.

"So fast," Shikamaru said as he didn't notice when Lee punched Neji. Before the Hyūga could react in the air, a vicious kick launched him into the ground, creating a crater.

"These genin are quite something," Hiruzen muttered to himself.

Neji slowly got to his feet as he tried to process how the hell Lee had gotten so damn fast. He widened the field of vision of the Byakugan to try and pinpoint Lee, but it proved futile. He was met with another punch, but this time he did not let Neji land and he continually punched the Hyūga before sending him into the ground with an axe kick. Neji spat blood as he made contact with the ground.

"I've never seen brother Neji so beat before," Hinata said as she watched the match.

"This match is on a whole other level," Kiba said as he looked at Lee whose bandages had begun to loosen further.

"Neji-san," Lee said as he got into a stance. "This is the end."

'How could I be losing this badly,' Neji thought as he got up. "No!" Neji said as he increased his chakra output. "It's now or never," Neji stated as he got into a stance. The veins around his eyes increased in bulge as Neji applied more strain, taking his chakra output to the max; his limit of about a kilometer was achieved as he did so.

Lee shot off and as Neji picked up on his movement, he began to spin. "Hakkesho Kaiten (Eight Trigrams Palms Revolving Heaven)." Neji got into a stance as he spread his arms out and immediately began to revolve at high speeds, causing chakra to escape his body and form a dome around him.

"Isn't that…" Kurenai started but Hinata did not let her finish.

"Kaiten," the Hyūga said as she looked at her cousin. "How did brother Neji learn that technique?"

"What's that?" Kiba asked.

"I can't fully explain but… Lee's in trouble."

Lee slammed against the spinning dome of chakra, and that coupled with the force of his impact and the damage his body was taking from opening the gates, was enough to instantly cancel his attack and repel him instantly.

"What the?" Lee said as he bounced off of the dome, but he could be sent flying, Neji caught him with his left hand as his fist flared with chakra.

"Hakke Sanjūni Sho (Eight Trigrams Thirty Two Palms)."

"Impossible," Hinata muttered as she saw Neji enter the stance for the eight trigrams sixty-four strikes.

"Two strikes… four strikes… eight strikes… sixteen strikes… thirty two strikes." As Neji finished, Lee was carried back by the power of the final strike until he skidded to a stop.

"That Neji kid is one of a kind," Kakashi said as he eyed the Hyūga.

"Why do you say that?" Sakura asked.

"That technique is one of a kind. Only the leaders of the Hyūga clan and the heirs are allowed to know that technique. Most jōnin in the clan don't even know of it. It's a tradition that has not been broken, so how does that kid know it?"

"It doesn't mean anything to me," Naruto said as he looked at Neji.

The Hyūga was panting slightly as he approached Lee's fallen form. "Like I said, fate has played my way. It is a path that cannot be changed. Instructor en…"

"I won't end the match just yet," Hayate said as he looked at Lee.

The taijutsu expert was struggling to stand.

"Why do you get back up?" Neji asked, a bit shocked at Lee's actions.

"I refuse… to lose t-to… you," Lee said as he got up albeit slowly and took on a rather shaky stance. "I will… prove here that… h-hard work can beat genius."

"Shomon: Kai (Fourth Gate, Gate of Pain: Open)." And Lee charged at Neji who responded by charging also. Time seemed to slow down for the both of them as they approached each other.

"Lee no!" Guy yelled albeit too late.

Lee's body seemingly shut down at the last second as he was about to attack Neji. This left him defenseless to the Hyūga's final attack. A single palm strike to the chest.

Lee coughed up blood few seconds after the palm strike, before falling back first to the ground. Neji's world slowed down as he looked at his teammate. Even Hayate announcing him the winner could not strike him out of his stupor. Even Guy's arrival to the scene did nothing to his expression, that is until Naruto punched him in the face.

"You bastard… at least have the courage to face your actions."

Neji blinked once, twice, as he recovered his calm after taking the punch just in time to see the medical team and Guy take Lee away from the field.

"Are you suggesting that I be blamed for what is happening to him?"

"Yes… you did that to him," Naruto said as he stared Neji down.

"True… but fate played my way. I told him to stand down, but he defiantly refused all under the guise that hard work will beat genius. You seem like a dunce so I guess you won't understand. In this world hard work means nothing in the face of genius and as a result of that you…" he turned his head to the stand as if to look at them, but his eyes were fixated on one person. Hyūga Hinata, and then he turned back to Naruto. "… failures will never win against a genius."

"Say that again," Naruto threatened as he made a seal.

"Even in this weakened state I would be too much of a match for you," Neji said as he turned away and proceeded to leave the field.

"Please leave the field so that the next match can proceed," Hayate said to Naruto who immediately left the field.

"Neji vs. Tamaki will now begi…"

On hearing her name, Tamaki knew she had to act fast. "I forfeit!" she yelled.

"Tamaki," Aoba said as he looked at the girl. "Why?"

"Are you kidding me Aoba-sensei? Just look at what he did to his teammate. Imagine what he'll do to me. I'm sorry but I can't do that. I forfeit."

"Tamaki has forfeited the match, hence the winner is Hyūga Neji." The Hyūga smirked as he walked off of the stage.

Hayate cleared his throat as he took a peek at his clipboard and began drafting some things. He made his way to the Hokage and spent about twenty minutes with him before heading back to the field.

"With this, the preliminary matches have been completed and now Hokage-sama will explain the main event to you."

Hiruzen cleared his throat as he looked at the genin. "Like I said before, the finals will be seen by everybody present in the village. Lords from far and wide will come to witness the amazing battles. You are expected to put in your all and that's why the finals will be in one month."

"The reason is because necessary preparation has to be put in place for the event… even so it is a time to know your enemy. A time to prepare yourselves against an enemy that might just decimate you in battle."

"Most of the fights you had now were loosely based on assumptions. This break will give you time to prepare against your opponents based on their abilities and also for your opponents to prepare against your counter."

"That will be all but…" he motioned for Anko to come.

The snake mistress was holding a box as she walked up to each member who placed their hands in the box and took out a piece of paper with a number written on it.

"Those numbers represent your fate. The battles in the finals will basically be between even and odd numbers. Ibiki."

Ibiki, the proctor for the first exam stepped forward and revealed a small draft.

It showed the matchups for the final exams.

Uchiha Sasuke vs. Aburame Shino

Kankuro vs. Hyūga Hinata

Nara Shikamaru vs. Temari

Uzumaki Naruto vs. Hyūga Neji

Gaara vs. Dosu

The present genin glared at each other, but none beat the intensity that Naruto and Neji displayed.

"I wish you all the best of luck."

Hiruzen stepped out of the arena after passing knowledge to the genin present and soon enough they began to leave themselves.

Naruto jumped to the top platform to meet with Sakura.

"I need to get stronger," Naruto said as he reached her.

"Aren't you plenty strong right now?"

"I'm not so sure," Naruto said as he remembered Gaara and Haku's battle, and Neji and Lee's fight. "If I want to take on these guys I'll need all the help I can get… I am going to pay Kakashi-sensei a visit."

"You want him to train you?"

"Yes… it's not like he can say no to his favourite student."

Moments Later…

"No," Kakashi said as he tried to leave the hospital, but Naruto blocked him once again.

"But sensei," Naruto said with pleading eyes.

"No. I have my hands full training Sasuke," Kakashi said.

"I knew it. It's always that Sasuke, Sasuke. I can be a genius too."

"It's not like that," Kakashi said. "Sasuke is just like me. He has the lightning affinity and he has the sharingan. There is no one in Konoha with the sharingan except me and it is my duty as his sensei to show him how to use it."

"You're also my sensei. Who's going to train me?"

"What about Ebisu-sensei?"

"That pervert. If it's him then I am fine training myself," Naruto said as he left the hospital.

"He's a handful," Kakashi muttered to himself. "Oh… fancy seeing you here."

With Naruto…

"Just how am I going to train for the finals," Naruto said to himself as he walked towards Training Ground Seven.

"Wait a minute… why don't I chat with the Kyūbi." The young blond sat cross-legged in the center of the field. Slowly but surely he drifted into his subconscious.

"It's been long since you came here… Naruto." The massive fox was as usual in his "prison". He was lying down with his face towards the bars of the seal.

"I had a feeling that we were in need of a chat, and I just remembered that there was something that I wanted to ask you… something you said to me the last time we spoke."

"What would that be?"

"You said you hated humans… I would like to know why."

Kyūbi laughed a rather cocky one. "True… I hate humans. Ever so selfish and always thinking about themselves. They are power hungry beasts that behave no less than a mad animal. I won't say anymore but no that it is something I will never come to accept. I have been alive for a long period and I have witnessed the rise and fall of many humans and honestly you lot are a pitiful race."

"Hey!"

"But… I have begun to see that some of you might not all be so bad." 'Uzumaki Kushina… even while I was sealed in her did not resort to using my power, but that damned Hokage… could not let me roam free but decided to seal me in this blond idiot. Oyaji-sama I just hope you help me out on this one.'

"You decided to just space out on me."

"You fool… I was reminiscing about how I hate humans. Besides," Kyūbi said as he looked at Naruto. "Why are you here?"

"Well… the finals of the main event is in a month's time and I need to train. I came to see if you could help me out with that."

"Training huh? I can only do little to assist and that is only in guidance. The seal restricts me a lot." 'Come to think of it… that seal the snake sannin put on me has restricted my influence a lot more and our chakra can't intermingle properly. Anymore exertion and I could kill him.'

"No way," Naruto said.

The Nine tailed Fox just chuckled before smiling. "Smart move brat. As for training tips, I may just be able to augment you slightly with my chakra so that you can move faster."

Naruto grinned. "I definitely agree to that," the blond responded.

"The process will be take some time to complete. If my chakra does not merge with yours well, your body will eat at you."

"Hmm… I don't have any opposition to that. The sooner the better," Naruto replied. "And as payback for all these help, I'll help you get over your hatred of humans."

"As if a little brat would teach an elder such as myself," Kyūbi said in reply to Naruto's remark.

"I don't go back on my word," Naruto said as he locked unto Kyūbi's gaze before breaking contact.

"Uzumaki Naruto… time will tell," Kyūbi said as he got into a meditating stance.

"How come you know my name and I don't know yours. Tell me your name."

"I'll tell you if I think you are worthy to say it."

"Must be a really disgusting name if you don't want to speak of it," Naruto said but before Kyūbi could retort, he continued. "However, no matter how disgusting a name… someone gave it to you so to them it is worth something." The blond turned to look at the large fox with a grin.

'This kid…' "Well I suppose we should get started on the merging."

For the next about thirty or so minutes, the nine tails gradually pooled a very tiny and minuscule fragment of his chakra into Naruto's surprisingly large chakra pool.

Alright, Naruto said as he awoke from his subconscious. I feel a bit strange, then that means it worked.

Somewhere close to where Naruto was…

"Looks like the boy has been coming in contact with the fox a lot," a white-haired man said. "What say you Kakashi?"

"Jiraiya-sama… I don't know if it is a good thing or a bad thing that he has the Fox's backing. It has proved useful in a lot of ways and it will definitely help Naruto if he can control it in time for the finals."

Jiraiya laughed. "Such wishful thinking Kakashi. Tailed Beasts are nigh impossible to control especially this one. He won't be able to tame it in time for the finals but it would help him greatly if he can tap into its power. It's what the Fourth wanted."

"Well… I have to go check on Sasuke. I'll leave Naruto in your hands then." With that Kakashi left the white-haired man.

With Naruto…

"Now I can't help but feel as if I am missing something," Naruto said before he noticed a man approaching him.

"Hello," Jiraiya said as he reached the blond boy. "You seem to be in a bit of a bind. Anything I can do to help?"

"I'm not sure you'll be able to help me," Naruto said as he looked at the man. No offence but you look like an old geezer."

"Well this old geezer may be able to teach a few things," he said as he sat down on the ground in a cross-legged manner.

"I get the feeling that I am missing something in my combat style," the blond said.

"This old geezer… I sense a familiar presence within him," Kyūbi muttered to himself.

"Haha… you amaze me brat, and I even feel I get what you mean but to be clear, when exactly did you start feeling this… mishap."

"Well ever since a friend of mine got this really cool sword from a… I get it now."

"Glad I was of help," Jiraiya said as he rested his cheek on his hand.

"What do you mean? I figured it out myself."

"On your own? You wish. If I hadn't come here you would to still have that troubled look on your face."

'True… in a way he kind of helped me.'

"So basically what you need is to figure out a weapon of your own. That leads to another question. Which weapon are you best at using?"

Naruto kind of faded into his thoughts as he ran over the different weapons he had heard about. "I'd rather say the shuriken."

"The shuriken?" Jiraiya asked with a raised brow. 'I don't think I have seen any Uzumaki using shuriken before… but if he is anything like Minato then he may just be able to use multiple weapons.'

"I think I should just get on with my practice then," Naruto said as he took out a couple shuriken. 'Hmmm… I thought he'd at least say something.'

An Hour Later…

'He's been silent for an hour… what's going on?'

For the past hour Naruto had been practicing his shuriken techniques and he was tired. But what bothered him the most was that the old geezer had not said a single word.

"I thought you were going to offer me pointers," Naruto said only to turn and see Jiraiya looking at a magazine.

A confused look dawned on his face as he sneaked behind Jiraiya only to find out what he was captivated by. It was an erotic magazine.

"A perverted geezer," Naruto muttered as he turned away with a blush on his face.

"Who are you to judge me? This is for research. I am novelist and this is how I get information." As he said this he brought out a book. "Come Come Paradise."

"That… That's Kakashi-sensei's book."

"You know about it?" Jiraiya asked with a proud look on his face.

"That is a nasty book!" Naruto yelled.

"Shut your mouth. There's no way in hell my best-selling novel is a nasty book!"

"That book is filled with all sorts of garbage and…"

"Besides this book isn't for children, how the hell do you know its content."

Naruto was silent. "Curiosity took away my innocence… damn you Kakashi-sensei!"

"You should be proud. Not many can handle such a thing as this. Maybe you should me on one of my peeping adventures."

"Yeah right," Naruto said as he tried to erase the images from his head but could not. "Now you've got me thinking about it and…"

"Furthermore," Jiraiya said as he cut the blond off. "Take off your clothes."

"Why?" Naruto questioned but he reluctantly took them off as he noticed the seriousness on Jiraiya's face.

He took off his top and trousers, leaving him with only his boxers.

"Try to mould chakra," he commanded the blond boy.

'Who does he think he is?' Naruto thought as he started to focus chakra. Jiraiya looked carefully at the seal that was used to seal the nine tailed fox and he apparently noticed some foreign entities.

'The five pronged seal technique… this must be Orochimaru's doing.' Jiraiya took his right hand and concentrated chakra on the tip of each finger.

"Five pronged unseal." He slammed the seal with his fingers, reversing the seal's effect.

"What was that for?" Naruto asked as he recovered from the force of the strike.

"How's your chakra now?"

Naruto pause for a second. 'My chakra is moving more freely than it did a couple seconds ago. Was it because of the strike? This geezer sure is strong?'

"Well that should be all for today," Jiraiya said as he turned to leave.

"Wait ero-sennin… please train me." Jiraiya was a bit surprised at what Naruto had used to address him.

Jiraiya looked at Naruto with an indifferent expression. "Why should I train you… what's the point in that?"

"Just now you said that you came to give me pointers, so why are you now going?"

"Like you said… I came to give you pointers and I am done with that. So I am leaving."

"But…"

"But nothing. What do I gain from training you? I only like women and hot girls."

"You really are a pervert."

"No. I am a Super Pervert."

"You'll be famed for having trained the strongest Hokage of the Leaf," Naruto said with a grin.

"I don't need that." 'I have already trained a Hokage once and he thinks he can bribe me with that.'

'Uhhh… I am losing him. I need to speak his language. Ah I will use that technique.'

"Oiroke no jutsu (Sexy Technique)." Immediately Naruto transformed into a beautiful girl that had her private areas covered with a thin layer of white smoke.

Immediately Jiraiya achieved ecstasy. "Yes… yes this will work just fine. I Mt. Myoboku's Holy Sage Master, the Toad Sage of Konoha, one of the Legendary Sannin, the great Jiraiya-sama accepts you as his disciple."

Three weeks later…

The three weeks of training had really been beneficial for Naruto. He had improved in his shuriken jutsu and even learning the Shuriken Kage Bunshin, and his taijutsu had increased also. He hadn't learned any exceptional ninjutsu in the past week but he had worked on his previous ones to make them stronger.

"Naruto," Jiraiya said as he called him. They were in Jiraiya's training spot. A nearby stream where girls usually came to bathe.

"What Ero-sennin?"

"I'll be teaching you a technique today."

Naruto sighed. "I'd love to see how," he said as he looked at the man who was balls deep into his "research".

"Fine," Jiraiya said as he approached the blond. The white-haired man bit his thumb, drawing blood before smearing it on his hand and weaving seals.

"Kuchiyose no jutsu (Summoning technique)." He slammed the hand with the smeared blood on the ground, causing a seal to spread from his hands outwards. There was a large puff of smoke that died down to reveal a toad.

"Amazing…"

The Toad was carrying a scroll in its mouth which it lowered to Naruto.

"That is the contract of the toads. In order to summon any animal to your aid, it is required that the user form a contract of blood with such animals. That scroll is for the toads. You first write your name in blood and then you sign with your bloodstained fingers. The requirement to be able to call them after forming the contract is a sacrifice of blood."

"The seals required for the technique are boar, dog, bird, monkey, ship."

Naruto did as instructed as he signed his name and finger print on the contract.

"Try it out."

"Boar… dog… bird… monkey… sheep. Summoning technique." Naruto slammed his hands on the ground and waited patiently to see what he had summoned.

"A Tadpole!" Jiraiya shrieked.

"Nope it has hind legs."

"You were supposed to summon a toad and not that."

Two Days Later…

"Why are we here?" Naruto asked.

"This…" Jiraiya said as he sent Naruto hurdling down a bottomless pit.

"Aargh!" Naruto screamed as gravity took effect. He kept on screaming the words I am going to die over and over again in his mind.

'Sometimes I wonder why I help this stupid blond. If he dies I will be free but I don't want to let him go…' "Naruto I am lending you chakra."

The blond nodded as he felt his chakra surge and he wove through seals. "Summoning technique."

Jiraiya was looking down at the chasm when he felt a surge of power and noticed a familiar presence. He heard a loud scream and made a run for it.

The Day of the Finals…

All the genin had arrived in time for the finals. The arena was filled with spectators, Lords and Ladies of great wealth and fame around the world.

"Welcome everyone… welcome everyone to the Hidden Leaf Chūnin Selection Exams," Hiruzen said causing an uproar of excitement.