Chapter 56: Finals Part II

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

"Hmm…."- Bijuu

"Hmm…."- Flashback

Chapter 56:

Finals Part II

Hikari knew that she was in a really tough situation at the moment. At first, she hadn't been pleased when she had learned that she would be fighting against either Minato or Shikaku right after their match, depending on who won. Mainly because the winner would have already exhausted himself in his first match. And unlike the others, he wouldn't have a break. So she would basically be fighting against a weakened opponent. The Hyuuga girl did know that such things did happen in the shinobi world at times. Which resulted in deaths. It was the uncertainty of the world she decided to be a part of. However, this was different. Hikari already knew what this tournament was all about. It was to showcase their skills to the rest of the world. And unlike with Shibi, Hikari wanted to show what she could do. But she knew that she would have a hard time doing that against a weakened opponent. Some might feel blessed by that. But she didn't. She wanted a fair fight. With Shikaku's unexpected, but not really surprising, apathy towards his match, the Hyuuga girl now found herself fighting a Minato at one hundred percent, just like she had wanted all along.

However…

"Too slow, Hikari!"

Sometimes the wishes you wanted were granted, which resulted in you perhaps rethinking those dreams.

That was Hikari's situation as she found herself skidding back as a powerful fist came in contact with her cheek. Even with her byakugan activated, she still had a hard time catching sight of the person who the fist belonged to.

Minato was smiling as he reappeared in front of her. But to Hikari, that smile was anything but pleasant at the moment. As she was learning firsthand, her eyes weren't all that much useful when her opponent was too fast for her to even react to his attacks. Heck, she couldn't even catch sight of the blond until it was too late. Although Hikari had known of Minato's speed from all those years in the academy, this was the first time that the girl was experiencing it firsthand. And because of the blond's speed, Minato had taken command of the match ever since it had begun.

But Hikari wasn't planning on going down so easy either. Even if her chances of victory were looking slimmer, it didn't mean that she was about to roll over and let the blond win just like that. She still had her pride as a kunoichi.

Minato's smile became even bigger when he saw the girl take another defensive stance. Good. That was what Minato liked. He didn't want to fight any opponents who lacked passion. That was why he had been disappointed in Shikaku. But the Namikaze knew that he should have expected that from his lazy friend. But that didn't matter right now. He could at least fight his heart out here.

That being said, he wasn't about to lose either. He planned on winning this tournament, become chunnin, and then get the summoning jutsu from his master. That was his goal.

Hikari frowned when she noticed the blond take a step forward. In this situation, there was only one thing that she could do.

Minato disappeared into another blur again, only that instead of trying to react to his attacks, Hikari went for another method.

"Kaiten!"

In the face of the powerful shield, Minato knew that he couldn't go in halfheartedly. It was why the blond stopped himself midway from continuing with his attacks, opting instead to putting some distance between himself and his opponent.

Hikari frowned even more as she noticed this, coming out from her technique as she picked up on Minato putting some distance between them. She had been expecting to catch the blond off-guard with that. But now she had lost that option. Next time, the blond would be expecting her to pull that off.

'Just how can I stop him…..'

Most of her techniques only worked in close combat. But Minato was suited perfectly to fight her head on like that too. His taijutsu was impressive, even by her standards.

Hiashi frowned as he continued to watch the match from the stands. This wasn't looking good for Hikari, that was for certain. His eyes went towards Minato, his frown amplifying even more.

'Minato….you're really something else, aren't you?'

"Impressive," Arashi said as he continued to stroke his beard, gazing down at Minato. "This boy's senses are higher than anyone else I've seen so far. Not even that Takao boy had such keen insight. Not to mention that he has the correct mindset to put them to good use."

Kaito nodded, agreeing with his father. "Yes. He was even able to stop himself from attacking even though he had been going in with one hundred percent. His speed is also commendable. Unlike with Kushina's opponent, this speed is pure. If he had some way to amplify it….."

Kazumi chuckled. "I don't think we've seen everything he has to offer yet. But one thing is clear. That Hyuuga girl is in trouble if she can't figure out a way to keep up with the boy. Or at the very least to fend him off. Her strategy from before failed. She won't have a second chance with it now."

Arashi's thoughts drifted elsewhere for a moment, though, remembering how Naruto had told him that this Namikaze Minato was to be with his precious Kushina sometime in the future. Needless to say, he already had a negative bias towards the boy. Even though Naruto was the end result of his love with his precious daughter, Arashi was too overprotective like that. He had always known that he would have to fend off a lot of idiots from his Kushina. But already knowing who she would end up with….well, that was a tough thing for him to come to terms with as a father.

'I have my eyes on you, brat…'

Down below, for reasons beyond his comprehension, Minato suddenly felt a cold chill go down his spine. But the Namikaze shook that off, labeling it as nothing more than his mind playing tricks on him.

Smiling again, Minato reached into his kunai pouch strapped behind him, making Hikari take a step back in apprehension. The girl wouldn't admit it, but she was a bit afraid of what Minato could do. She was certain that she wasn't the only one.

The blond was having other thoughts as he weighed his options. 'Given what I saw in the preliminaries, it seems that Hikari isn't able to pull off that super powered thrust that Hiashi did. And given how our match has proceeded so far, it's safe for me to assume that she still can't do it herself. That's one less thing to worry about. I guess my counter strategy for that was unnecessary. Either way, I'm sorry to say Hikari. But you're not the one I'm itching to fight.'

Said Hyuuga girl narrowed her eyes when she noticed Minato pull out a lone scroll from his pouch which was tied in a perfect knot. Her mind instantly went to some sort of weapon. And her guess was proven true as Minato instantly opened up the scroll, a set of chains shooting out from it and straight for her.

Realizing what the blond was trying to do, the girl took another step back before she took off running in an effort to avoid the incoming chains. She could already see it with her byakugan: these chains seemed to be infinite!

"What kind of sealing scroll is that?" Kaito muttered as he looked down at the scroll in Minato's hands.

"It's doing something to the chains, that's for sure," Kazumi commented with a curious look. "They've been stretching for some distance. They should have hit a limit already."

Arashi didn't reply, keeping his eyes on the match.

Hikari gritted her teeth as she sidestepped the chains. All this time, she had been working on her speed and gentle fist the most. Given how the matches had been structured, Hikari knew that her biggest obstacle to overcome would be Minato. But even after a month of intense training on her part, the blond was still faster than her. And here he was, pulling something else that she hadn't known of. It was frustrating.

'This is something Jiraiya-sensei and I developed together,' Minato thought, gripping the scroll in his hands even tighter. 'It's a set of seals that extends the sealed chains indefinitely, something that I never would have done without his help. Compared to him, I'm still a novice when it comes to fuinjutsu. Kushina is probably even better than me already too. But that's something I plan to rectify after the exams are over. For now, this will have to do!'

Hikari's eyes widened when she noticed Minato's chakra spiking up. Knowing something big was coming, she was proven right as lightning engulfed the chains, effectively amplifying their range and power.

Knowing she didn't have much of a choice, Hikari stopped as she began to gather her own chakra before spinning like before.

"Kaiten!"

On the other side of the field, Minato smiled. It had worked like a charm.

The lightning coated chains clashed with Hikari's technique, resulting in quite the explosion that engulfed Hikari completely, effectively shielding her from view of the others save for Hiashi who now had his own byakugan activated.

Minato for his part set the scroll down on the ground before bringing his hands together, going through a seat of handseals at a speed that surprised a lot of jonin present in the arena.

In front of him, the cloud of dust that had been caused due to the explosion began to die down, revealing a panting Hikari with battered chains lying down on the ground around her.

Up on the viewing level with the remaining genin, Kushina narrowed her eyes. Even though she was rooting for her friend, she felt that something was off.

'Minato must have seen what Takao did to Hizashi when he used that same technique. So why didn't he do the same here?'

"It looks like the blond brat is planning something else. I would keep my eyes opened for it."

Kushina had already been planning on doing that from the beginning.

Back with the match, Hikari felt her victory short lived as the battered chains began to glow. Thanks to her byakugan, the girl was instantly able to pick up the fact that Minato's chakra was still connected to them.

It was also at that moment that Hikari realized that she had fallen inside a trap.

"I was really amazed when Kushina did exactly what I had been planning, except in a more grand scale," Minato muttered, bringing his clasped hands closer to his chest. "This is the end, Hikari."

Already knowing that escape wasn't an option for her, Hikari prepared what was left of her chakra as she planned to go down fighting. But instead, the young kunoichi felt her entire body stop. She couldn't move.

'This is-!'

"A binding seal!"

Hikari had no time to react as Minato appeared right in front of her, his left hand stretched towards her. The girl could feel that she could move her body again. But it was already too late. While it had only lasted for a few seconds, it had given the blond the opening that he had been looking for.

Before everyone's amazement, Minato's hand formed a small blue sphere which collided straight with Hikari's chest, sending the girl flying back towards the wall. Many in the audience flinched when they saw this, most of whom were civilians. The shinobi portion understood that such sights were what happened in a battle between two shinobi. But they were mostly trying to understand just what Minato had done at that last moment there. It had almost looked like an actual sphere of chakra.

The chunnin came to his senses when he noticed that Hikari was not getting up after that blow. "The winner of the fifth match is Namikaze Minato!"

Slowly, the crowd began to cheer for the blond who looked proud at his accomplishment and also a bit ashamed at what he had pulled against a fellow Konoha shinobi. Although, in his defense, it had been a watered down version which lacked most of the power of the original. He had already picked up on what Takao had managed to do against Hizashi in the preliminaries. But Minato wasn't one to copy others unless completely necessary. That was why he had tested a weaker version of the technique on Hikari in order to see just how effective it could be. Although in the end, he had pulled off something close to what Kushina had done in her match. He hadn't known that Kushina was going to do such a thing, though. Even so, he was going to the semifinals.

The final four had been decided.

Kushina felt her embarrassment skyrocket as her mother gushed all around her.

"My daughter is going to the semifinals of the Chunnin exams! I always knew you were amazing, of course. But now everyone else gets to see it too!"

"Lay off her already, kaa-san," Kaito said with a sigh as he stood next to his mother. Arashi was on the other side of his happy wife, having a smile of his own. The Uzumaki family was currently in one of the halls inside the arena. After Minato had won the match against Hikari, a thirty minute break period had been announced. This was mostly for the genin's benefit so that they could rest for a bit before jumping right back in towards their matches.

"But she's part of the final four!" Kazumi exclaimed, her excitement growing even more. "That's something to be proud of!"

"Your mother is right, Kushina," Arashi said, his smile still in place. "We're all proud of you."

Kushina beamed at that. "Thanks." But then she frowned. "I still can't celebrate, though. Especially at my next match."

"Hey, now. You were trained by us. Have some confidence!"

The Uzumaki group turned back to see Tsunade and Kagome walking towards them, the latter of which had spoken. There was also a smile plastered on the Uchiha's face.

"You're finally going to go toe-to-toe against Mikoto, just like you've always wanted," she continued. "So don't get all jittery now."

Tsunade nodded in agreement. "That's right. Besides, just like with Mikoto, you got all the way here thanks to your skills. So hold your head high. No student of mine is going to be so pitiful. Understood?"

Kushina nodded. It wasn't exactly that she had the jitters. She couldn't really place what she was feeling right now. She was thankful for what the two older kunoichi had just told her, though. It did ease her feelings more.

Kazumi smiled when she heard the two Konoha kunoichi giving even more encouragement to her daughter. Kushina had already told her and Arashi how she had asked Tsunade for help in the finals, mainly for the woman's knowledge of taijutsu. Although Kazumi highly doubted that Kushina was trying to acquire Tsunade's monstrous strength, the Uzumaki matriarch knew that there was much Tsunade could teach Kushina. The Senju woman had risen to stardom in the last war for her skills, after all. So she had much experience. Kazumi would never have expected that an Uchiha would also volunteer to help her daughter as well, however. But she wasn't complaining either. And, even though this was just their first meeting, Kazumi felt good vibes from the Uchiha.

Times did change, after all.

Their pleasant exchange came to a halt when they noticed the other members of Kushina's team, Sakumo included, making their way towards the young redhead. There were also two other girls mixed in the group too.

Kazumi noticed how Kushina's face lit up even more when she caught sight of them. It looked like her daughter had really made some genuine connections in the village.

That definitely brought a smile to the older woman's face.

Rasa felt his body twitch in annoyance as he looked at Itsuki's grinning face.

"You have something to say, don't you?"

The younger boy shrugged. "Do I? I don't really know."

What in the world…..

"Then what are you doing up here?"

Unlike with the others, Rasa hadn't left the waiting area for the genin. He didn't know anyone here. And he had been certain that Itsuki would go and check up on Karura first. It seemed as if he had been wrong.

Itsuki sighed. "It's about your next match."

"What about it?"

Itsuki could tell that there was some annoyance in the boy's tone. But that didn't deter him in the slightest. "Well, given as I've already fought the guy, you're looking at the toughest fight you've ever had."

Rasa sighed. "Yes, you've made that abundantly clear already."

"I'm saying it again because you're still underestimating him."

Rasa frowned. "And what gives you that idea?"

Itsuki grinned. "You can't lie to me, Rasa. We've been on the same team for a while now, after all. That's why I'm warning you as much as I can. Both Karura and I lost because we had the same mentality as you. But unfortunately, these guys aren't as weak as we had thought. They're more than a match for us. Soon, you might even find yourself back on your ass, especially if you keep this superiority complex of yours. Contrary to what you believe, that sand of yours isn't invincible."

Rasa didn't respond as his teammate began to make his way towards the stairs. "That's some pep talk you got there," he commented at last, his voice laced heavily with sarcasm.

Itsuki shrugged, his back to the sand wielder. "I guess you could say I'm a bit annoyed with you right now. I'll give Karura your regards."

Rasa merely closed his eyes.

"You have some nerve, Shikaku! Even after everything I told you, you still gave up! What kind of shinobi are you!"

Said Nara sighed. He was currently cornered in one of the many hallways by Yoshino herself.

"I did what I wanted to do," he replied. "Besides, it's not like I'm hurting anyone."

"But you're hurting yourself," Yoshino retorted with a shake of her head. "This isn't the academy anymore. We're not going to be kids forever either. When are you going to grow up and realize that already? You're only jeopardizing your future."

"And that's where you and I are different," Shikaku said in return with some irritation. "I appreciate your concern for me, Yoshino. But I'm not like you. I'm not like Minato. Right now, I'm happy where I am. I don't feel like I'm ready for the responsibilities yet. I do things my way. It's how I've always been. Why would I start changing now?"

"That just sounds like an excuse to me," Yoshino said with a frown. "How are you going to judge whether you're ready for the tasks ahead other than to forge towards them and actually do them? At this rate….you're going to be stuck in the same spot forever."

Yoshino didn't allow him to get another word in as she turned the other direction before walking away, a heavy scowl on her face.

Shikaku could only scratch his head as he muttered, "Troublesome."

"You know she's only like this because she cares about you."

Shikaku turned his gaze the other way to see both Inoichi and Choza standing before him.

Seeing that he had the lazy boy's attention, Inoichi continued, "You guys have been together ever since you were in diapers. I'm sure that she's only hurt by your blatant disregard for anything that doesn't have to do with napping."

"I've been like this ever since I was born. Why would she expect me to be any different now?" Shikaku asked.

Inoichi shrugged. "Maybe because we're actually shinobi now? I can't say I was surprised when I saw what you did back there. But some part of me was also hoping that you would at least try out there, even if you didn't win. Hell, you saw what that Suna guy did to me. Regardless of what you would like to believe, you have the ability to stand up there with Minato if you actually tried. That brain of yours isn't anything to scoff at. Trust me."

Choza nodded in agreement. "That's probably what Yoshino is feeling right now. I'm sure she can see what you can be capable of. But instead, she feels like you're only wasting your potential. To her, you're only hurting yourself. And I'm sure she can't stand to watch that because she cares about you."

Shikaku t'ched as he looked the other way. "All of this because of a simple match…."

Inoichi chuckled as he walked closer to the Nara before patting his shoulders. "Girls have the habit of making us realize our mistakes when we can't see them ourselves, my friend. But that's what you get for grabbing a hold of her heart, you sly dog you."

Shikaku shot the Yamanaka an irritated look. "I seriously hate you right now, Inoichi."

Inoichi simply smiled with Choza following suit.

"You really shouldn't be this worried. It wasn't anything serious….."

"B-but he was so strong! And he even knocked you back like that! How can I not be worried!?"

Hikari laughed uneasily as Kimi flustered around her inside her temporary hospital room within the stadium. Karura was also there, who was watching the scene with a mixture of amusement and pity. The other occupant was Takao, but the boy was still unconscious.

"I'm awake already, right? That should tell you that I'm fine. So there's no need for you to worry so much."

But Kimi was adamant about the situation, which only made Hikari that much more embarrassed with what was happening. Especially since Karura was watching the whole thing.

This was the scene that Hiashi walked into, making him blink for a moment. "Am I interrupting something?"

Kimi squeaked in surprised, turning towards the doorway. "N-no….."

The girl was still remembering her encounter with the future clan head earlier in the day. It still made no sense to her whatsoever. Hiashi had just been…too nice. And normally she would never say anything so spiteful. But that was just how bad Hiashi had been up to this point. Especially to her. Which was why she was still trying to cope with the boy's new attitude.

Hikari raised an eyebrow in surprise as she looked at Hiashi. "Hiashi? What are you doing here?"

The boy made his way over towards the two girls, making Kimi take a step back. But unlike before, it wasn't because she was afraid. It was because to her, this new Hiashi was still sort of like a ghost to her. So she was trying to observe him as much as possible before coming to any conclusions.

This was something that Hikari noticed but didn't comment. To her, it was simply her sister still being too afraid of the boy.

"I'm here to see you. Obviously."

It was Hikari's turn to blink. "What?"

Kimi was also looking at Hiashi with wide eyes.

Hiashi coughed, taking in their reactions. "Um. Is it that surprising?"

Both Hikari and Kimi nodded without hesitation.

"Ah." It was the only thing that Hiashi could say in this situation. He honestly hadn't thought that his visit was going to be this awkward. Well, he hadn't really thought much about it honestly. He was still trying to understand the new feelings that he currently had. It was why, to others, he might seem like a completely different person now.

But then Hikari waved her hands in dismissal. "But…thank you. For coming to see me."

Both Hiashi and Hikari locked gazes, making Kimi look on between them in even more confusion. Her sister had told her that she had defeated Hiashi in the previous part of the exams. But to her, it seemed like something else was going on between them. And that confused her even more.

'The world…it really doesn't make any sense anymore…..'

As for Karura, she merely watched the scene unfolding in front of her with even more amusement.

Mikoto sighed, stopping in her tracks. "You really should stop following me already, Minato."

Said blond stood behind her with his arms over his head. They were currently in one of the many other hallways in the stadium. Mikoto had set out without a specific destination in mind. She only wanted some peace and quiet for herself. But a certain blond was preventing her from having that.

"Is it so bad to want to give a teammate some company?"

"It is when said teammate didn't ask for it," Mikoto replied without hiding her irritation.

Minato smiled. "Well, too bad I guess. We're the only ones from the same team that have made it this far. I think we should feel a bit proud of that. We might even have to face one another. Now isn't that exciting?"

Mikoto turned around to face him. "Not really. It was only by chance that you and I ended up in the same team. And if we do face each other in the finals, then I'll simply take you down as well."

Minato sighed. "You really don't think of Yoshino and I as teammates, do you?"

Mikoto turned her gaze to the side. "What would be the point? If you don't have the power yourself, you can't do anything. All those happy feelings you and the others focus on…..there's no point to them."

Minato was silent for a couple of seconds before he replied. "I won't deny that, as an individual, one has to have strength. But at the same time, no matter how much strength you have, there are some things that you just can't do without having support from others. Even you yourself will hit a roadblock one day if you isolate yourself."

Mikoto shook her head. "And I just don't believe that. Either way, we still have to get by our other opponents before we can face one another. But for now, leave me be. I don't wish to be around anyone right now."

Minato didn't reply as Mikoto began to walk away from him. As much as he wanted to change Mikoto's beliefs, this wasn't the time. He would simply do it in the finals if need be.

Although his teammate still had to get by a certain redhead. And given that girl's enthusiasm, Minato knew that they were all in for one hell of a match.

Mikoto on the other hand was focused on something else entirely. This wasn't the first time that someone had told her those things before. Another annoying blond had also nagged her with the same things already.

Flashback: Start

"Hahaha well, that was certainly better than the first time. Your speed is getting better and better."

Mikoto, who was panting heavily as she crouched over, looked at Naruto who didn't even look a bit winded. This only served to aggravate Mikoto even further. She had sent the blond everything that she had. And he had avoided them all like they were nothing just like during the first time that he had asked her to spar with him.

"You…..just how strong are you?" Mikoto couldn't help but ask that question again.

Naruto shrugged. "There's no need for you to worry about that. This isn't about me, after all. Besides, that's the whole reason you asked for my help, right? Because you already knew that I was stronger than you."

Mikoto already knew that. But she still couldn't believe that the gap between their abilities was this wide. Hell, she was positive that not even Minato could defeat him. But could Sasuke?

The Uchiha let those thoughts drift away. For now, all she needed to know was that Naruto outclassed her. The only thing that she hadn't tried was genjutsu. But that was because her sharingan was still incomplete. Not to mention that she had yet to focus on that aspect of her clan abilities.

"I will defeat you one of these days, though," Mikoto stated with a low growl.

Naruto laughed, sending her a thumbs up. "That's what I'm talking about! It's always best to try and improve yourself, even if the improvement is small. Although there are some walls that you will never be able to overcome by yourself."

Mikoto shot the blond a strange look. "What? How can you of all people say that? I'm sure you could defeat anyone else around."

Naruto smiled. "Maybe I could. But that's not what I'm talking about. How do you think I was even able to become this powerful to begin with?"

"With training."

Naruto nodded. "Yes. That is true. But I didn't train by myself either. I had others help me along, guiding me. It's thanks to them that I was able to achieve this level."

Mikoto didn't know how to respond to that. Needless to say, Naruto's words were the exact opposite of what her clan emphasized. Even if she didn't like to admit it, Mikoto knew that some of her father's lesser qualities had reached her in the end. And one of them was believing that relying on others was a sign of weakness. If you couldn't do it yourself, then that simply meant that you were doomed to fail. One had to stand all by himself. And that was exactly how Mikoto had been living her life all this time.

"I…..can't believe that."

Naruto sighed. "No, I didn't think that you would. But like they say, a shinobi learns best while in actual combat. One of these days, you will see. But enough with the serious talk. There's a certain jutsu I want to pass on to you too as my certified pupil, Miko-chan!"

Mikoto's eyebrow twitched at the nickname, but her mind still remained with the blond's words. Was he right? Would she reach a wall that she couldn't overcome? The Uchiha also knew that she was being a bit hypocritical with her mindset. After all, she had reached out to Naruto for help with her training. And the blond must know that too. But he hadn't pointed it out either. It was a bit confusing to her honestly. Although the same could be said about a lot of the blond's quirks.

For now, Mikoto focused on her training at hand.

Flashback: End

The Uchiha girl sighed. No matter what, it seemed like she had no luck whatsoever when it came to blonds.

But like before, Mikoto didn't let that bother her. Right now, she knew she had to focus on her coming match. Kushina had certainly become more dangerous than Mikoto had expected. But that wouldn't matter in the end.

She would win.

Sarutobi coughed into his hands as he looked at the audience returning to their seats. The last thirty minutes had certainly passed by quite fast. And now, it was finally time for the semifinals. Sarutobi knew that he was about to witness some more interesting matches.

'Kushina versus Mikoto, eh….'

The strongest kunoichi of this new generation would certainly be decided after the match was concluded. Already Sarutobi could tell that a lot of people were placing bets to see who would come out on top. Mikoto was the clear favorite, mostly because her record was more impressive and she was also a part of the Uchiha clan.

But Sarutobi knew that Kushina had a good chance of winning too. Either way, he would soon have the answer to this dilemma as would everyone else.

He ceased those thoughts as the now sitting crowed erupted into cheers and both Mikoto and Kushina began to make their way towards the middle of the arena.

It was showtime.

Kushina could feel her heart pounding hard against her chest the moment she and Mikoto faced off.

"Oi, brat. You need to calm yourself. If you get too carried away, you'll lose any shot you have at winning here. Especially since she has those annoying eyes."

If there was one thing that Kushina had learned about Kurama, it was that the bijuu despised the Uchiha with every fiber of his being. She had asked him once why this was during their time in training, but he had never actually answered her question. She would simply get it some other time.

The redhead did acknowledge the fact that Mikoto's sharingan would be problematic. The sharingan could see chakra, after all. So the moment she tried applying any seals, Mikoto would catch wind of it. It was a lot different than with Takao, that was for sure. And unfortunately, she didn't have as much speed as Minato did when it came to her seal layout. It was only through her chains that she could bypass that. But the redhead knew that Mikoto would pay much focus to her chains throughout this whole ordeal.

Mikoto herself didn't look like she was about to underestimate her as her sharingan spun to life just as the chunnin announced the beginning of their match.

Just like with Takao, though, Kushina didn't get caught up with all of the cheering from the crowd. Instead, she took a defensive stance, opting for Mikoto to make the first move.

It was something that Mikoto picked up on with a tilt of her head. But the Uchiha had seen what Kushina had done to Takao before. Mikoto couldn't dive in without a plan. After all, the redhead could very well have other seals ready as a way to combat her sharingan.

It's why, instead of running in, Mikoto reached for her kunai pouch, making Kushina narrow her eyes. In an instant, a barrage of shuriken came flying her way.

But it was a situation that was easily remedied as she dodged to the side. To her amazement, though, Mikoto was already in front of her, fist stretched out. Kushina managed to block the punch with her own wrists, placing them in front of her.

Mikoto frowned for a second. She had thought that she had caught Kushina off guard back there. But it didn't seem that way. The Uchiha came out of her stupor as Kushina aimed for a low kick towards her. Seeing it with her sharingan, Mikoto took a step back, crouching down before sending a sweeping kick towards Kushina's feet.

The redhead instantly jumped up, her hand reaching back towards her own kunai pouch. Realizing what the girl was about to do, Mikoto did the same thing, the two sending another barrage of shuriken at each other.

The confrontation eased down after that, the two kunoichi putting some distance between one another and never once breaking eye contact with each other.

"She's learned well," Kagome said with a smile as she watched the fight from her seat.

Tsunade hummed. "Yes. But she's lucky Mikoto isn't well versed in genjutsu. Otherwise, this would have been an even tougher fight."

Kagome smiled at that. "Come on now. You know you're proud of her. She had to bounce a lot of things. And she even managed to get some elemental chakra training in too. That's pretty impressive. You're just being a tough teacher now."

"But it worked," Tsunade said with a huff. "Although this isn't the same with that boy from before. Thanks to her sharingan, Mikoto won't be as surprised with any fuinjutsu that Kushina throws her way. Unless she has some way to get around that."

Kagome frowned. From the looks of things, she doubted that Kushina was that high level with fuinjutsu to the extent that it could even fool the sharingan. That was why Takao had been an easier target. While the boy had been fast, he hadn't had the knowledge of fuinjutsu to know what to look out for. Nor did he have the sharingan or the byakugan to clue him to those details either. That was why he had been caught. Mikoto did, however. So Kushina must have another plan for this.

Down below, Kushina sent an irritated look down towards the sand at her feet. It made her feel a bit unbalance if she were honest with herself. And because of it, she couldn't pull the first plan that she had in store for her Uchiha opponent.

Kurama hummed in agreement. "Yes. All the water mixed with the sand would make for an unpleasant…..situation. Not just for her, but for you as well. I suggest that you use the sand to your advantage here."

On the other side, Mikoto narrowed her eyes, seeing Kushina's face crunched up. It was almost like the girl was having a conversation with someone. But that couldn't be possible. She was just imagining things. Anyhow, Mikoto knew that she couldn't end things with a stalemate here. Kushina had proven that she could handle herself in close combat. Which was surprising. But that only meant that she would have to deal with long range attacks, especially since the redhead also had her chains with her.

Coming to an understanding, the girl reached for her kunai pouch again. But she stopped midway when a familiar set of gold glowing chains shot out from Kushina's body and down through the sand. Realizing what the redhead was trying to do, the Uchiha instantly jumped back as the chains reappeared down below the spot she had just been standing. Now knowing what the redhead intended to do, Mikoto growled softly, jumping from one spot to the next as the chains kept popping up from the sand.

"Well, it looks like Mikoto is going to have a hard time here," Emi said as she glanced over towards a grinning Tsume. "You're enjoying this, aren't you?"

"Hell yes I am."

Emi could only grin in response.

"Kushina actually does have a shot here," Hizashi muttered. "She's even using the terrain to her advantage."

Fugaku grunted in respect. The Uchiha now understood that his teammate down there had gotten a lot smarter than before. That only made her jutsu that much more deadly.

Back to the fight down below, Kushina was crouched down as she let her chains do all the fighting. It was cheap, no doubt about it. But so was the sharingan. So Kushina would use anything she had at her disposal.

'Enough of this!' Mikoto thought in irritation as she ran through a series of handseals in midst of her evasion.

"Katon: Hosenka no jutsu!"

Kushina frowned as the volley of fireballs came her way. And with her chains currently attacking Mikoto, she couldn't use them for defense. It was why she was forced to duck sideways as a result of this.

But it gave Mikoto the opening she was looking for as she dashed straight for Kushina. Unlike last time, though, Mikoto was able to connect with her punch, sending Kushina flying back.

Mikoto had successfully scored the first hit of the match.

"It seems like her speed is making this difficult," Kurama said from within her mind.

Kushina understood this well as she stood back up, her chains retracting back into her. But she had dealt with this kind of speed before with Takao. In fact, the boy had been even faster. The problem here laid with Mikoto's sharingan. With it, she was more proficient than Takao. And unfortunately, she didn't have anything in the fuinjutsu department to catch Mikoto off guard.

This was…annoying.

"Mikoto's taijutsu has improved by leaps," Kagome muttered with a frown. She had noticed the same thing when her fellow Uchiha had fought against that Suna kunoichi. Mikoto was more…..quick on her feet than before. There was also a factor of unpredictability there that the girl had never had before. This certainly spelled much trouble for Kushina.

"Is this all you have?" Mikoto questioned in a calm tone. Needless to say, it infuriated Kushina even more. "You know, as far as I could remember, there's always been someone that's trying to bring me down for whatever reason," Mikoto continued. "But with you…I don't understand your reasoning. I could feel your dislike towards me from day one too. Why are you trying so hard to bring me down?"

Kushina sighed, her hands clenching to fists at her sides. "It's because you remind me of someone I once knew. She's no longer here. But for some reason, I can see bits of her in you. And that….infuriates me."

Inside her mind, Kurama chuckled. The bijuu knew the other part as to why his new partner didn't particularly like the Uchiha. Mainly, the implications of what she was saying. Were they unfounded? The bijuu wasn't sure. But what he did know was that this was just how humans were. More often than not, their fears were irrational and without merit. Even so, they clung to them like it was their life support system despite their insisting otherwise. To the bijuu, it was, in some ways, amusing.

As for Mikoto, the girl didn't know how to respond to that. In all honesty, she had been expecting reasons similar to Tsume. Something along the lines of "I want to be the strongest." But this…..

Kushina then shrugged. "I guess that's why I'm so excited to fight you. I was never able to prove myself against her. Even though I had it all, she was still happier than me. No, I take that back. I didn't have it all. In the end, she was the one to have what I wanted most. But I was too childish at the time to realize it. Now…well, after staring death straight in the face, I guess I've managed to grow up some. And that's why I want to defeat you. To prove myself against you. To have you acknowledge me. That way, I can perhaps accept that she might have acknowledged me as well."

The audience, who had heard all of this, was silent. Most had no idea what Kushina was talking about. Even Tsume was looking at Kushina with a curious look, wondering just whom the redhead was referring to.

Kazumi and Kaito on the other hand already had an idea what Kushina meant by that. Arashi was a bit lost unfortunately, something that he was quietly ashamed of.

With Mikoto, she looked at Kushina in a new light, no longer seeing her as the simple loudmouth girl from before. Even so….

"That was…..surprising," Mikoto admitted. But she then shook her head. "It doesn't matter in the end, though. I'm still going to win."

Kushina grinned. "Is that so? I guess you're not entirely like her, after all. She at least had a better attitude than you!"

Mikoto furrowed her eyebrows as Kushina rushed at her. But already aware of the girl's chains, the Uchiha brought her hands together instead.

"Katon: Gokakyu no jutsu!"

Kushina narrowed her eyes before she brought her own hands together.

"Suiton: Suijinchu!"

To Mikoto's amazement, water shot out from Kushina's lips, forming a circular barricade around her which completely shielded her against Mikoto's fireball.

'What is this?' Mikoto thought, obviously surprised. 'I thought her element was wind…how can she-'

Her train of thought halted. There was only one thing that made sense here. The redhead could use both elements. But that was surreal! Even mastering one was difficult enough. But two already?

'This will be annoying…..'

Arashi smiled from his spot, noticing the annoyed look on Mikoto's face. "It seems that Kushina's opponent has misunderstood the situation."

Kazumi also noticed the same thing with a nod. "Yes. Kushina's first match sprung an interesting trap."

To Mikoto, it was like Kushina had already mastered two different elements when in reality that wasn't the case. It was true; Kushina had trained in trying to master the wind element. But only the basics of the training in order to make her lose less chakra when she performed wind based attacks. A month wasn't enough time to master an element, after all.

But Mikoto didn't know that.

'So, I have to worry about both water and wind techniques,' Mikoto thought with a scowl. 'This is really going to be annoying.'

At least Mikoto knew that Kushina using wind techniques would only be counterproductive for the redhead since she possessed the fire element. But that still put her at a disadvantage with the water element.

'Close combat it'll be then,' Mikoto thought, reaching back towards her kunai pouch again.

Kushina narrowed her eyes when she noticed this.

"Oi, be careful. Now that your water style has been revealed, she'll be on the lookout for it at all times. And if she's only mastered the fire element, then she isn't going to make this a ninjutsu fight but a taijutsu one. Which means….."

'Yeah, I know,' Kushina thought in return. Less than a second later, she rushed for the Uchiha again.

On instinct, Mikoto threw another barrage of shuriken. This time, though, they were engulfed in flames, just like she had done during her previous fight with Karura.

But Kushina didn't bat an eye as she saw this, her hands already clasped together.

"Suiton: Suiryuben!"

Mikoto frowned as an orb of water formed in front of Kushina instantly, several whips of water emerging from it and heading straight for her shuriken and knocking them off to the side with relative ease. It was a moment later that Mikoto noticed the gold chains from before shooting from under the ground beneath her before wrapping around her legs.

'No way,' the Uchiha thought with wide eyes as the orb of water in front of Kushina dispersed, revealing the girl's form with a strand of her chains shooting out towards the ground.

'She used that moment I was distracted with her previous technique to capture me…..so fast!'

"It's over!" Kushina stated as she ran through a familiar set of handseals.

"Futon: Kami Oroshi!"

Seeing the familiar vortex of wind shooting from Kushina's hands should have made Mikoto panic. Instead, the Uchiha merely closed her eyes. Kushina picked up on this, making her suddenly realize that something was off here.

Also picking up on the same thing, Kurama screamed out, "Move! I'm now certain that that has to be nothing but a shadow clone!"

And true to Kurama's observation, the Mikoto in front of Kushina suddenly disappeared into a puff of smoke the moment the wind technique hit her.

The redhead's senses went off as a figure jumped up from behind one of the trees.

"Katon: Gokakyu no jutsu!"

Tsume instantly jumped up from her seat as the fireball shot straight for her best friend. The other genin, sans Rasa and Itsuki, had similar reactions to this. The Uzumaki family were also looking worried now.

"Kushina, it's now or never!"

To Mikoto, victory was assured. There weren't any seals anywhere that she could spot through her sharingan. And her fireball was already on top of the redhead. Even if she tried to evade now, Kushina still wouldn't come out unscathed.

Needless to say, things didn't exactly go as planned as red chakra erupted from Kushina's body, surrounding her completely. Without hesitation, the redhead let out a massive roar that shook everyone's ears in the stadium, also dispersing Mikoto's fireball with ease.

"What is this," Kagome muttered with wide eyes. This was the first time that she had seen something this surprising. And that was saying something. Tsunade was in a similar state as well.

Sarutobi was now standing up from his seat, looking down at Kushina's form with wide eyes. This wasn't how things were meant to go. Despite what Naruto and Sasuke were in the midst of planning, the Hokage wasn't comfortable with letting the other nations know that they possessed a jinchuriki. It would paint a large target on Kushina's back, one that Naruto wouldn't be pleased with. But in all honesty, Sarutobi should have expected something like this. Naruto had informed him how the Kurama of this time period was already on their side before he and the others had left. With the bijuu cooperating, it wasn't surprising to see that Kushina would use the bijuu's power if need be. And here it was.

'This fight is about to go to a whole new level…..'

Will Mikoto handle it, though?

The other Konoha genin were in a state of shock of their own, wondering just how Kushina could do what she was doing. This was much more surprising than her chains from before.

Itsuki had his eyes narrowed, instantly recognizing the aura that the chakra emitted just like the one that the redhead had been releasing all throughout the preliminaries.

'So this is the cause of it…..'

Rasa was having similar thoughts as well.

Mikoto took a step back in shock, having already landed from her ambush from before. This went beyond anything that she could have imagined. What kind of power was this?

Kushina took a step forward, her chains having already retreated back into her again. This was something that both Kurama and she had been planning on doing from the beginning. They had showcased the Uzumaki clan's might with the first match. With this match, they would be showing just how powerful of a shinobi Konoha possessed in its ranks even without the need of fuinjutsu, even more so than before.

With that in mind, Kushina instantly disappeared into a blur, making Mikoto's eyes widened. The redhead was much faster than before. It was why she didn't have the time to react as Kushina reappeared in front of her, fist stretched forward towards her cheek. The moment it connected was the moment that the Uchiha was sent flying back in a similar fashion that she had sent Kushina before.

Up on the viewing area for the genin, Minato was surprised to see that Kushina was closer to his speed than ever before. This wasn't something that he had been expecting, that was for sure.

Down below, Mikoto stood back up on one knee, holding her punched cheek. That punch had been powerful, extremely so. The Uchiha attributed it to that red chakra surrounding the redhead. It was the only thing that made sense here.

'This is bad,' she thought in aggravation. 'This goes beyond anything that I could have imagined! How exactly am I supposed to defeat this!?'

"This isn't something that you can overcome, Mikoto," Kushina stated, her voice surprisingly calm. It didn't fit her current wild appearance. "You only believe in what you can do yourself, right? Well, that's the exact opposite of what I put my trust in. That's why I'm here right now, ready to defeat you."

'I'm going to lose here?' Mikoto thought in shock. No, that couldn't be right. This wasn't where she was meant to fail. She was supposed to win this tournament. That had been her goal. It would certainly get her one step closer to Naruto. And yet, she was going to lose to Kushina?

'No…that can't be it…..no! I can't lose here! I won't accept that!'

It went unnoticed by just about everyone in the arena other than Kagome. But at that moment, Mikoto's sharingan matured to its max, her third tomoe appearing in both eyes.

"No, that's not entirely true, Kushina."

The redhead paused, feeling the air around Mikoto shift. To Kushina, Mikoto looked even more menacing than ever before.

"This fight has only just begun!"

Mikoto's sharingan spun wildly.