Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Inner Secrets ❯ Chapter 10

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

Disclaimer: I do not Own Naruto!

Pairings: Check Chapter 9, that has the most accurate Pairings.

Warnings: Once again, please check Chapter 9

A/N: Here's the next installment of Inner Secrets for you all, and you ought know that my updates might be slowly what with classes being resumed... >.< I don't wanna go! What can I say... I 'm a lazy bugger that would rather stay home and write more. Don't tell my instructors I said that, they'd likely flip the kettle at me.
Anyways sorry about the wait on this, my spell checker decided to go bloody mental. The thing was trying ti convince me that Gai-Sensei should be Gay-sensei, that Neji should be called Neil, and when Naruto whines it should have been Naruto whinnied. T.T My new computer has a few issues I've noticed. Not to mention that almost every word that started with a 'g' it wanted to change to gay. Honestly, I did not know Computers had a sexual orientation, but obviously mine is male and is looking to 'hook-up' with another 'powerful' male. Me and my bad puns!


Chapter 10

The smoke rose high in the entrance hall, and all nine of the Genin waited in a somewhat tense fashion. Slowly the smoke began to dissolve, revealing three figures standing before them. "Congratulations! You all have just passed the second part of the Chuunin selection exams!" A familiar voice said in congratulations, causing a certain blond haired male to race forward and embrace the owner of said voice.

"Iruka-sensei!" Naruto exclaimed happily as he clung to the other like a life line.

"Hey Naruto." The brown haired Chuunin greeted him with a smile as he held the other closely. "You did it. You passed." He said before he glanced over at the clock. "Might I add that you made it here really early." He said as he pulled away, brown eyes sweeping over the gathered Genin. "This section of the exam only started about an hour and forty-five minutes ago." He said as he looked on with pride towards his students. "I guess I got to have good luck to be the messenger for this group," he said before looking over at the two other Chuunin that had appeared with him. "You guys can go; I'll take care of them all." He said and the two women nodded before vanishing.

"Messenger?" Sakura asked as she eyed her previous instructor.

"Yes. One Chuunin was assigned to each Genin team to explain further details. Seeing as you nine came together, three Chuunin would not be necessary to explain this, hence now I am the one doing so." Iruka explained with a smile as he looked over the group. Some of them were in a somewhat rough state, while the others looked next to immaculate.

"Explain?" Shikamaru asked, having picked up on that.

"Yes. You see this scroll on the wall." He said as he motioned to the notice that they had all read. "It is one of my duties to make sure you understand this. Any guesses as to the meaning?" He said as he focused on the group.

"It's meaning is quite forward." Neji began, drawing all eyes to him. "It simply says those who lack in one area ought strive to better said area, so that things wouldn't be so difficult for them." Neji surmised simply.

"In other words." Naruto began, "If you are a genius, yet lack physical prowess you ought train your body to be on par with your mind. Hence the Earth symbol, as it represents our mortal bodies. "The opposite of that is if you lack mind power, you must study hard to fill that gap in knowledge, hence the Heaven symbol as it is otherworldly." He concluded, gaining him a proud smile from Iruka, who was somewhat rather astonished from the blonde's intelligent reply.

"On a further note." Shikamaru spoke up with a sigh. "It simply says that if you have both no missions, no paths, nothing will be wrong for you." He concluded as he tucked his hands into his pocket and slouched against the wall. "It's the safest path..."

"What about that blank spot in the hyphens?" Ino asked as she pointed towards it.

"The word that goes there is the perfect description of a Chuunin." Naruto spoke up once again before Iruka could even open his mouth. "Jin. One for all and all for one."

"This part of the exam was meant to test the applicants' basic Chuunin abilities." Neji voiced with a small nod.

"Very good." Iruka said with a smile. "And that was something that you all passed with flying colors. Chuunin are after all the commanding group. The ones who play team leader on missions." He paused, yet was interrupted by Shikamaru, who was oddly enough speaking no matter how troublesome he claimed it to be.

"A Chuunin, as leader of the groups, must have a strong combination of intelligence and strength. It is something that must be lived from the bottom of the heart... so troublesome...” He finished in a muttered sigh.

"So long as you keep that in mind." Iruka added with a smile. "And that is all I am to explain. "Oh... and don't over do it in the Third part of the exams." He advised. "I worry about you all. Especially you Naruto." He finished with a nostalgic smile.

"You needn't worry so much about us Iruka-sensei." Naruto spoke up with a small smile. "They day you gave us our headbands, was the day we were marked as more then just kids. You marked us as ninja. As protectors of all we hold dear. The forehead protectors mark us as mature people, who have devoted ourselves to helping everyone, to protect all we hold dear. You gave us this, and we will not fail you. We are no longer kids." He paused. "We are full-fledge Ninja of Konoha." Naruto concluded earning smiles and nods from the others who all agreed with him on what he had just said.

"Naruto... You have grown so much." Iruka said with a sad smile. "I just wish I had seen you through it all. My apologizes for having doubted you, even in the slightest." He smiled softly. 'It looks like Hatake-san, Asuma-san, and Kurenai-san have all done an excellent job of them.' He thought with praise as he motioned for the group to go towards the stairs that lead to the upper levels of the tower. "Go on. Up there you will be informed of what you are to do for the remainder of Second exam." He stated before he left in a burst of leaves.

- - - - - - - -

In the highest room of the Tower situated at the heart of the Forest of Death sat the Hokage, smoking his pipe, while in the company of one Mitarashi Anko and a few Chuunin. "Does it still hurt?" Saindaime asked as he watched the vibrate woman clasped the burning curse mark upon her neck.

"Much less then before, thanks to you Hokage-sama." Anko said with a smile, though she still looked rather pale from pain.

"This Orochimaru is an S-Ranked Missing Nin in our Bingo books is he not?" A Chuunin asked as he stood there with a contemplative look. "One of the legendary three from Konoha if I am not mistaken." He paused. "A renegade Ninja that even the Black Ops Ninja couldn't handle."

"You know much about him." Anko commented darkly.

"Know thine enemy." The man answered simply as he shrugged. "But the question is, why has he returned?"

"He probably ca--” Anko began, only to be cut off by the Hokage.

"I assume he came for Uchiha Sasuke." The elderly man stated.

"And that is the reason why you shouldn't assume. It makes an ass out of you and me." The woman stated with a smirk. "Though your idea was indeed partially correct, you left out one big thing." She said with a sigh as she leaned back against the couch she was seated on. "His interest isn't simply in one person. He is indeed after Uchiha Sasuke, but not only him. He seeks Uzumaki Naruto as well." She concluded, dropping the bomb-shell.

"What?!?" One of the Chuunin exclaimed, totally loosing her cool.

"That could spell bad news for us." Sarutobi said with a sigh.

"That's not all. When I encountered him, he told me that he had left parting gifts on both of the boys. He gave them cursed marks." She stated with a long sigh.

"Perhaps far worse then I expected..." Sarutobi stated with another sigh.

"Excuse me!" A voice said as a Chuunin walked into the room with a tape in hand. "Sorry to interrupt, but I have word that four Teams have already arrived." The man said, earning him shocked exclamations. "The first was here around an hour and a half after the start of the exam, far outstripping every old record by six hours." He stated, while walking over to the surveillance system before him, where he inserted his tape. "This is them." He stated as they all saw the three sand ninja walk passed the camera. "Below is the time of their arrival." He said while motioning to the bottom left corner.

"Incredible... Not even a scratch..." A woman whispered as she let out a low whistle. "I didn't think that was possible. What with all the enemies, traps and forest creatures lurking about, one would expect there to be at least one scratch." She explained causing all those gathered to nod in understanding.

"Who are they?" Anko demanded hotly.

"The female fan wielder is Temari; the boy with the face make-up is Kankuro, while the red-haired boy with the tattoo is Gaara of the Desert. They are the Kazekage's children if my data is correct." The man with the tape stated. "But the last three teams that arrived came together." He stated as he fast forwarded about fifteen minutes. "They are Nara Shikamaru, Yamanaka Ino, Akamichi Chouji, Hyuuga Neji, Tenten, Rock Lee, Uzumaki Naruto, Uchiha Sasuke and Haruno Sakura." The man finished before he turned to look at the rest of the gathered individuals. "Two teams straight out of the Ninja academy, and the other only less then a year in practice." He paused as he pushed his sunglasses higher up his nose. "Quite an astounding feet for such wet behind the ears rookies."

"Interesting... It would seem we have quite an incredible batch this time around." Sarutobi stated as he took a breath weed from his pipe. "Things will proceed as they are. Just make certain to get an eye on Orochimaru's movements." The Hokage concluded as he slowly stood from the couch and moved over to a window that over looked the forest. 'Things have gotten quite interesting... but I wonder how they will end...'

- - - - - - - - -

"Welcome to the Tower." A woman stated as the three Genin teams made it up the stairs. "This is where you will stay for now." She began while motioning around the area. "This floor has all training rooms and dinning area in it, and the floor just above has sleeping quarters with bathrooms and bathing areas. Please note that each room is designed for three people, meaning you will be sharing your sleeping space with two others. Be they your teammates of just friends from other teams, that choice is yours." She said as she flipped her long dark green tresses over her shoulder. "Now that the layout is set out, on to the rules." She began, narrowing dark purple eyes at them. "Firstly no fighting, sparing is alright, but no one is to die. Failure to abide by that and the rest of the rules will result in your immediate failure of this exam. "Next, you are forbidden to leave the two levels designated to you." She said with a smirk. "And that's it! Have a pleasant stay!" She finished cheerfully before vanishing with a wave.

"Are all Kunoichi mentally unstable?" Naruto mumbled to himself before he grabbed a hold of both Neji and Shikamaru's arms. "I claim dibs on you two being my dorm-mates!" Naruto stated cheerfully before he dragged the two towards the stairs and up to the higher level.

"That... was weird...” Chouji commented as he pulled a bag of potato chips out of seemingly no where and began to snack on them.

"What are the rest of us to do for sleeping arrangements?" Sakura spoke up as she looked around, eyes landing on Sasuke.

"Don't event think about it Billboard-brow." Ino hissed. "There is no way you are sharing a room with Sasuke-kun!" She stated before she donned her superior female look. "The boys." She began as she pointed at Chouji, Sasuke and Lee. "Will be sharing one room, while us girls will be sharing the other." She finished before turning on heel and marching up the stairs.

Tenten blinked once before she shrugged and looked over at the rest of them. "Is that okay with all of you?" She asked curiously and simply received a nod from them all. "We should all go and rest. It has been a long day." She advised before hurry after Ino, Sakura hot on her heels.

"Weird..." Chouji muttered in between mouthfuls.

"Tenten is right!" Lee shouted cheerfully, a fist raised happily in the air. "We ought rest before our youthful spirits begin to dwindle!" He announced as a sunset randomly appeared behind his back. Like teacher like student. With a happy grin, the green spandex wearing Genin grabbed both Sasuke and Chouji and dragged them up the stairs.

- - - - - - - - -

"Was there a particular reason why you decided to drag us off like that?" Neji inquired as he plopped down on one of the three beds in the simply dorm-like room that he would be sharing with Naruto and Shikamaru.

"Can I trust you two?" Naruto asked with a determined look in his blue eyes, causing the two boys to look at him with all their attention.

"Yes." Neji stated firmly, he was not one to betray someone's trust.

"Yes." Shikamaru said with a firm resolution rarely heard from him.

"I want to tell you two my deepest secret. One that I have never before shared." He began, and if he hadn't had their full attention before, he had it now. "Have either of you noticed the significance of my birthday?" He questioned.

"October 10th." Neji stated with a contemplative look.

"That's the day we celebrate the destruction of the Kyuubi." Shikamaru answered.

"Correct, but much of what you celebrate isn't quite true." He began with a sigh a he sat down beside Neji; Shikamaru sitting himself on the blonde's other side. "That day, the Nine-Tailed fox wasn't killed." He admitted causing them to look at him in shock. "No, there was no way to kill him and the Yondaime knew that well. So in a stroke of crazed brilliance he created a technique, one that would seal the creature into a vessel, but at the cost of his own life.

"The vessel of course had to fit a few requirements. It was to be a new born babe, one who still had the umbilical cord attached. For they were considered the purest humans in all the lands. And so the Yondaime sealed the fox, powers and all into a new born child, and on his dying breath wished him to be a hero, for he would be the one to bare the burden for all of Konoha." He paused as he brought his hands together on his lap.

"If that was his request, why do we only know of him and not another hero?" Neji asked quietly.

"Simple. The villagers, citizens and Shinobi alike did not view this child as a hero, but as the demon sealed within. They blamed him for the death of all those lost in the Kyuubi attack, for the destruction of many homes and businesses, and for the life of the Yondaime. He was hated, he was alone, and he was unloved. Such a dangerous path that is for one who holds such an incredible creature within." He explained, eyes staring intently at his hands.

"The boy lived in solitude, being hated for five years before three men decided they could bare his presence no more. They beat him, and poured a vile acid over his flesh, with intention to kill him. But they failed. A man, one you both know well, came forth, stopped the men and nursed the boy back to health; Iruka did not hate the child, for he and the demon were separate entities. But little did anyone know, that night the fox awoke from its slumber and contacted his vessel. And since then the two were always speaking.

"The child learnt much of his tenant. From his techniques, to his abilities, to his past and even the fox's dreams. He learnt the real reason Konoha was attacked, the reason that made the fox innocent of the crimes for the most part. He learnt that the Kyuubi was a hard worker, one who wanted to learn much, and on that quest he was overcome by rage induced by an outside force. Causing him to go crazy, jumping into a bloodlust which he hadn't experienced for a good seven thousand years prior. He was not at fault, but yet he paid the price and lost his freedom.

"The fox did not resent the boy, nor the boy the fox. They became close, formed a bond and worked together, learning, growing and being alive together. The fox tutored the boy, teaching the child all he could, yet the boy kept it all secret. He forged a mask, a fake persona that he showed the outside world. One that made them all believe him to be a useless idiot, a weakling, a failure. But under all that acting lie the desire to be himself, and so he came to a conclusion many years after the fox's awakening. He would lead a secret life. He became the Kage Gesshoku." Naruto concluded as he closed his eyes and awaited judgment with tense shoulders.

"So that's why a supposed dead last beat me." Neji commented with a smile as he wrapped his arm around the small blonde's shoulders in a gesture of comfort. "Tell your fox that he has raised and taught you well. But you and I are still friends. I am glad you told us this." He concluded with an honest smile causing the blond to look up at him with tears in his eyes.

"That would explain many of the troublesome acts you did in the past, and that answers all my unanswered questions to. You have my support and friendship too." Shikamaru added in as he set his hand on the blonde's head and ruffled his hair in a gesture of acceptance and friendship.

"Thank you..." Naruto whispered gratefully as he wiped the tears from his eyes, refusing to let them fall.

"You should tell Iruka, he cares much about you." Neji advised causing the blue-eyed fox vessel to nod.

"He was sealed into you, meaning it should have left a mark, right?" Shikamaru asked.

"Yeah." Naruto said as he pulled away from them and stood, facing the two as he pulled his shirt up enough to reveal his stomach.

"You're just covered with seals aren't you Naruto." Neji teased lightly as he poked his friend in the stomach.

"Since you are the Kage-Gesshoku, you are going to train us to get stronger, right?" Shikamaru asked causing the other two to look at him in shock.

"Did I just hear correctly?" Naruto asked in bemused amazement. "Did Shikamaru, Konoha's laziest Ninja, just ask for training?" He said as he placed a hand over his heart before he fell to the ground, butt connecting sharply with the wooden floor.

"I think so... Unless both you and I are suffering hallucinations...” Neji said quietly as he too looked on at the Nara Genius in shock.

Shikamaru sighed as he slumped back to lie down. "Troublesome..." He muttered as he closed his eyes. "I just thought that training would make us stronger. It is well known that the stronger Ninja get the higher paying wages as they take on the bigger missions. Meaning, the faster I become stronger, the more I make and the sooner I can retire." He summed up lazily, causing the other two to chuckle.

"There is the Shikamaru we all know and love." Naruto teased. "But I think he has a point. The three of us should train together, and become stronger. Let's become the best we can be with each others help?" He half asked half suggested as he stood and moved back over to his spot between the two.

"Sounds good." Neji said with a nod, while Shikamaru merely grunted his agreement.

"Right... So training starts tomorrow morning then?" Naruto asked as he copied Shikamaru and slumped back to lie down.

"Yes." The Hyuuga genius said before he shrugged and joined them in their lie down.

Within minutes all three of them drifted off into pleasant dreams...

- - - - - - - -

"Hey Sakura...” Ino spoke up from where she was seated on her bed brushing her hair.

"Yeah?" The pink haired girl asked as she absently ran her hands through her long pink locks.

"I've been meaning to ask, since when has Naruto gotten so cool?" The blond asked, causing Tenten to look up from polishing her weapons.

"Since the start of this exam he has been different." Sakura admitted with a frown. "But what I want to know is how he became friends with Hyuuga Neji and Shikamaru..."

"They have been friends since that training assignment Gai-sensei assigned us." Tenten spoke up. "I don't know what happened between them, but I do know they spend a lot of time together. Heck, I barely see Neji anymore, when he isn't training or doing missions he is off with those two." Tenten admitted as she resumed polishing her blades.

"I suppose Neji was a good influence on the two." Sakura commented.

"I'm not sure... Even Neji has changed, to everyone he still seems cold, but when he was with those two his gaze was much warmer." Tenten commented thoughtfully, causing the other two to gain thinking expressions.

"Boys..." Ino sighed with a shrug.

- - - - - - - - -

The next morning dawned nice and early for the three close friends, who had all fallen asleep sideways and in the same bed. "G'morning..." Naruto yawned as he sleepily sat up, a hand rubbing his eyes.

"Morning...” Neji said in a normal manner, as though he was immune to looking or acting sleepy after having just woken up, but Shikamaru on the other hand merely grunted as he rolled over.

"Wake up." Naruto said as he began to shake Shikamaru back and forth causing Neji to chuckle.

"I'm awake..." The Nara muttered in annoyance as he slowly sat up, shoulders completely slouching. "What time is it anyways?" He asked, brown eyes looking around the room for any sign of a clock.

"Just after dawn." The blond answered cheerfully as he sprang out of bed and stretched.

"You woke me up..." The lazy boy began only to cut himself off as he couldn't bring up enough energy to chastise the other so early in the morning.

"Yes I did. Don't you remember what we decided on last night?" Naruto asked, earning him a sigh from the Nara. He remembered, but they didn't agree on waking up just after the crack of dawn. "But before we get to the training we should eat so that we are at full strength. We have four days to train before the end of the second exam." He paused as the three of them moved towards the door. "From what I know these exams generally have three parts to them, the first testing the data gathering skills, the second survival skills while the third is physical strength and strategy." He said as they left their room and quietly went towards the stairs that lead to the level below them. "Meaning we have four days to practice strategize battles, so we should go for a head start." He summed up as the reached the floor with the training and dinning area, the latter their destination.

"That's wise." Neji commented in agreement, while Shikamaru inwardly sulked as they entered the dinning room, food already placed out for them.

"Obviously you two aren't the only crazy people up at this hour..." Shikamaru muttered as he eyes the steaming food set up on a buffet like table. "Heck... whoever made this was up way earlier even; otherwise this food wouldn't be ready..." He sighed as they grabbed plates and began pilling food neatly onto their plates before sitting at a random table and began to eat.

"So what is our schedule going to look like?" Neji questioned after having swallowed a bit of his decent tasting food.

"My thoughts..." Naruto began as he tapped his chopsticks against his bottom lip. "Are first just doing some warm up exercises, before we go for a three way spar, the first having a time limit while the second goes on until one person wins. The goal of the three way spar will be to see who gets the upper hand by applying new strategies to the situation." Naruto explained before he took a bite of his food. After swallowing he continued. "Once done with that we will sit down and discus any flaws we may have noticed in each others' battle methods and fighting stances, then we work to rectify them. This will likely take up all four days, but should we have time to spare we will then help come up with new techniques." He concluded before digging elegantly into his meal.

"That sounds like it would be effective, more so than most of the training given out..." Neji commented, his mind jumping to that stupid treasure hunt that Gai-sensei had made his team do, but he did suppose that he was thankful for that one thing. After all, that was how he, Shikamaru and Naruto all came together. "Your thoughts Shikamaru?" He inquired curiously before slowly taking a nibble of his food.

"Keh... Sounds troublesome...” The pre-teen muttered as he gracelessly stabbed a spring roll with his chopsticks.

"Ah... but to you most everything that doesn't include cloud watching and Shogi playing is troublesome." Naruto chuckled in amusement as he finished eating. "I don't know who cooked this... but they suck at cooking." Naruto said as he spat his tongue out. "Thankfully it is not as bad as Iruka-sensei's cooking." He chuckled with a grin as he watched his companions finish their morning meal.

"Let's go." Neji stated as the three of them stood up, one moving more languidly the other two, before they left the dinning room and heading towards the furthest training room. After all, most people would take the first open room, which would lower the chances of being interrupted.


And so they trained, they talked, they worked together for the whole day, stopping only for a few short breaks and meals, accomplishing much more in one day than thought possible, because they all worked well together. Only hours past the sun's setting, did the trio decided to call it a night and headed up to the upped floor, where they had a quick bath before returning to their room and going to sleep.

- - - - - - -

"Neji... did you hear that?" A whispered voice asked from right beside the now awake Hyuuga prodigy, who looked over at his blond companion.

"Hear what?" He asked calmly as he slowly sat up, ears straining for any out of the normal noise.

"Go to sleep..." Shikamaru muttered as he rolled over and glared half heartedly at them through the darkness of their room. "All your whispering woke me up..." He said with a sigh.

"But there was a noise." Naruto stated with a frown.

A suddenly slithering noise was heard, causing Naruto to latch onto Neji's arm as Shikamaru stealthily slipped over to join them, all of them looking for the source of the noise. "Please don't be a ghost..." Naruto mumbled while shaking slightly, placing himself securely between his two friends.

"Don't tell me the Kage-Gesshoku is afraid of a few little specters..." Neji said in a teasing manner, though all jokes were tossed aside as the slithering noise sounded again, this time louder then before.

"Well... I can fight anything physically here... but ghosts... there is no way I could kick their but." Naruto admitted before he latched onto Shikamaru with his other arm causing the blonde's two friends to exchange a look.

"Would you feel better if we were to find the source of that noise, and prove that there are no ghosts here?" Neji asked, though you could hear the amusement in his words.

"Alright..." Naruto said almost hesitantly.

'Kit... How many times have I told you? There are no such things as ghosts, or specters. They are simply thought up monstrosities, intended to frighten little children enough so that they won't try sneaking out to play in the middle of the night.' Kyuubi said with a sigh of embarrassment. If there was one thing that could reduce his host to a bundle of childish nerves it was 'ghosts'. Whether they be stories of ghosts, rumors of hauntings, or actual specters, it would cause the great Shadow Assailant to tremble. But everyone had their fears, some irrational, some stupid, but hey, whatever floats the boat.

"Byakugan!" Neji whispered as the veins around his eyes bulged. He silently turned around, looking carefully in each direction. "From what I can tell... Everyone else on this floor is asleep... Wait... That Sand team is short a member..." He summed up with a frown as he and Shikamaru slowly stood, Naruto going with them as he was still clinging to them.

"Shouldn't we get dressed...?” Shikamaru muttered as the trio made their way to the door, Shikamaru only wearing his pants and fish net top, Neji simple had his pants on and his black tank top which he wore under his beige top, while Naruto was still in his day wear, minus accessories and foot gear like the other two.

"No... We will go, find this noise's source and be back right away so getting dressed would be pointless." Neji summed up.

"Then we'll have to be quite... I wouldn't want to wake the girls..." Shikamaru muttered as he ran a hand through his hair which wasn't in its ponytail and was down, just as Neji's wasn't bond in the back.

"Yeah... they can be scary when interrupted from things..." Neji agreed, remembering all his fan girls who were far more dangerous than any ninja he would ever encounter.

"Neji..." Naruto whined childishly earning him amused looks which caused him to pout. "Shikamaru..." He whined again, though this caused the other two to start laughing quietly, overly amused.

"Naruto... What would your enemies think if they knew your fear?" Neji chuckled as he tried to picture the Kage-Gesshoku fleeing from a ghost while screaming like a little girl.

"They'd think they had the perfect thing for blackmail." Shikamaru stated as he reached out with his free hand to slide the door to their room open.

"Probably." Neji said in agreement, a small smile on his face. "I bet that this 'ghost' is really just the third member of that Sand team slinking around." He added thoughtfully as he looked at the smaller blond haired boy, who didn't look convinced.

"Troublesome...." Shikamaru sighed as he slouched somewhat as the three progressed down the hall, all senses open for the 'ghost' that they were supposedly hunting.

"I can't believe I am willingly going on a ghost hunt in a great dark and haunted tower..." Naruto muttered with a pout as he looked wearily around the dark hall, easily hearing the breathing, snores and other sounds coming through the doors from the other people sleeping there.

A sudden meowing before them sounded, startling the three, but none as bad as Naruto who actually jumped into the air. "It's just a cat..." Shikamaru muttered as he looked down at the fat cat that had a ribbon tied to its ear. "The cat that belongs to one of the Feudal Lord's wife..." He muttered. "I pity the Genin that are being sent after it... They'd have to cross the Forest of Death, while a Chuunin exam is in process... But I suppose that a Jounin instructor would be with them..." He sighed, silently glad that it wasn't his team going after it, which would be far too troublesome for the retrieval of the cat.

"I think that every Genin team has retrieved that cat at least once..." Neji stated as they all watched the cat race off after a mouse.

"Err... Can I just go back to the room...? You two don't need me to find and exorcise the ghost right?" Naruto asked nervously.

"Naruto... Are you sure you want to go back... alone?" Neji asked in a creepy voice.

"Yeah Naruto... Just look at how dark the hall is, who knows just how many specters might ambush you should you walk through it alone...” Shikamaru said in his own creepy voice causing Naruto to pale before he clung even tight to both their arms causing them to exchange an amused look. "Besides... You're the one that woke us up, not too mention you said you'd calm down once we proved the 'ghost' was fake. And the only way to prove that would be to find the 'ghost' while you’re with us." Shikamaru summed up with a smirk.

"Heh...heh..." Naruto laughed nervously. "I know that... I was just testing you." He said as a cover, yet the two didn't believe him.

"Don't worry Naruto-chan!" Neji said dramatically causing Naruto to release him and hide behind Shikamaru.

"We'll protect you!" Shikamaru added as he turned towards the blond. Both of them having twisted grins on their faces.

"Gah!" Naruto gasped as he released Shikamaru while slowly backing away from them. "You've been possessed!" He concluded while trembling, eyes darting each way for an escape. "They have gotten you...” He mumbled before he turned and raced off, vanishing into the dark corridor.

"Do you think we overdid it?" Neji asked after blinking a few times.

"Probably." Shikamaru said with a sigh as he tucked his hands into his pockets. "Tch... we should probably find him before he gets into any trouble..."

"Yeah... but if we find him too soon he'll likely run away again, claiming we are possessed..."

"Meaning... we have to look for him the hard way...” Shikamaru said with another sigh. "Tch.. he's so troublesome..."

- - - - - - - - -

'Kyuu... It's dark... and quiet... eerily quiet... and I'm alone and there are ghosts... and Neji and Shikamaru are both possessed...' Naruto silently ranted as he held his knees tighter to his chest, blue eyes wearily regarding the casing of his hiding spot.

'You're being overly dramatic... It's dark because it is night time, quiet because all sane people are in their beds asleep. You're alone because you ran off from your friends, claiming that they were possessed when they were clearly just teasing you to see your reaction.' The fox summed up with a sigh, he could feel a migraine coming on from this whole affair. 'Now... if you'd stop trembling like a weak child, and calm yourself, you'd realize how foolish you truly are being....'

'Okay... I get the point...' Naruto sighed before taking a deep breath and closing his eyes, just in time to hear the opening to his hiding spot being slid open, revealing a ghastly scene, causing him to scream bloody murder.

- - - - - - - -

"We've been looking for twenty minutes already... can't you just use your eyes and find him so we can hurry up and get back to bed..." Shikamaru muttered causing his partner to sigh yet before he could answer Naruto's scream echoed through the entire tower, surely awakening all its inhabitants.

Exchanging a worried look, the two of them tore off in the general direction the yell had come from. They darted through doors of bath rooms, past many rooms, many halls and finally they were coming close. Skidding around the corner, guard up, the two were greeted with a strange sight.

There stood the second examiner, Mitarashi Anko in a sleepy daze, clutching Naruto to her bosom while muttering about food. Naruto on the other hand was squirming, attempting to break free of the sleepwalking woman's grasp when he noticed his two friends and motioned for them to help him. And help him they did. After about twenty failed attempts they managed to get Naruto free and in his place was now a suit of old armor. "Crazy Kunoichi..." Naruto muttered as he looked on at her. "This just further proves that all female ninja are mentally unstable...” He admitted with a sigh before remembering how he got there, hands instantly latching onto the other two's wrists.

"Can we... go back to the room now?" Naruto asked nervously, earning him sighs before they all retreated back to their room, going to sleep before any other problems could occur.

- - - - - - - - - - -

"Uhh... Gaara..." Temari spoke up nervously as her little brother looked at her with cold eyes. "Last night... did you...” She broke off as the red haired boy's eyes narrowed. "It was just that there was a scream and I thought... Uh... never mind." She finished while she was inwardly berating herself for doing something so foolish as to ask if Gaara had killed someone in the night.

"It wasn't me...” Gaara said as he turned and walked away, heading towards the stairs.

"So he didn't cause that scream last night..." Kankuro said with a sigh of relief.

"That's good." Temari muttered as she wiped the nervous sweat from her forehead.


- - - - - - - - -

"Congratulations to all of you for having passed the second section of the Chuunin Selection Exams." The Hokage spoke up, pipe in hand as he regarded all the Applicants before him, while standing between many Jounin and Chuunin ranked officials for the exams. Anko, who was standing to the left of the old man was looking around at the Genin gathered.

'We had seventy-eight applicants at the start and now we only have twenty-four left. I did say that I would could that number by at least half, but I was only expecting a single digit number.' She thought as she wearily eyed the group. Maybe she had underestimated many of them. There stood four teams from Konoha, two from Suna, one from Grass, and one from Waterfall.

"I guess both our teams made it Kakashi." Gai said with a good guy smile. "I wonder if your team made it on dumb-luck, but I suppose that doesn't matter as my team will certainly beat them hands down." Gai gambled a challenge out to his eternal rival. "At the next level we'll see how much is just pure luck, my team will weed yours out." Gaia said with a loud laugh, causing many eyes to look at him, even a certain aloof Jounin.

"Huh? Did you say something?" Kakashi asked as he turned to look at the green spandex wearing man.

'As cool as ever Kakashi!' Gai inwardly cried as he brought his fist into the air before locking eyes with the silver haired man. "Kakashi, I bet my students will last longer than yours in the last part of these exams." Gai gambled with a shiny smile as he stuck this thumb in the air.

"Whatever..." Kakashi sighed as he turned; ignoring anything else the man had to say so that he could focus on the Hokage who was soon to start his speech.

Kurenai frowned slightly as she eyed her students, noting that they all seemed to be in a somewhat rough shape. 'Akamaru is acting strange...' She noted, she scanning the gathered group. 'I know it's not caused by Shino or Hinata for a fact, nor Hyuuga Neji, Rock Lee, nor Tenten. That eliminates those two teams, and I've seen them in contact with the other two teams of the rookie nine so that scratches that option. All that is left are two Sand teams, the Grass team, and the Waterfall team. The latter of the four seem to be in poor shape, doubting that it caused by them. That just leaves both the Sand teams....' She noted as she studied the gathered ninja from their allied nation.

"You have all done well to come this far, and before I proceed, I would like to make it perfectly clear to all of you the underlining purpose of having these exams with different countries. It is to promote friendship among allied nations and to raise the standard in the art of the Shinobi. After all, this so called examination is much like a mini-war between all the nations allied with our own.

"If you were to in fact study recent history and consult the maps, you would quickly learn that our alliances are a temporary and mutually beneficial agreement between our lands whose previous existence was one of great strife. Make no mistake. This exam will whittle out those who are not worthy of becoming Chuunin. The third part of this exam will pit you against each other, in a battle to possibly the death. One that will be witnessed before many important guests.

"This is to test your prowess, for the stronger the ninja of the country, the stronger that land will be. Remember, in this part of the exam, not only do you risk your own future, your own dreams but also the dignity and prestige of your home village as well.

"Can you stop with the philosophical talk and get to the life and death stuff..." Gaara said coldly causing Kurenai to focus on him.

"So you insist I explain the third exam?" Sarutobi asked rhetorically, his question earning several nods. "Very well... Hayate Gekko please take over." The man said as he motioned a sickly looking male to walk forward, hand covering his mouth as he coughed.

"Before we get to the actual third part of the examination," he began, coughing ever once in a while though his words. "There will be preliminaries. Why you ask?" He stopped as he suffered a major coughing fit, causing many of the Genin to frown in concern for the man's obviously poor health. "Simple. There are too many of you, and seeing as many higher ranking political people have come to see this, they have no desire to watch so many battles. Meaning we must have short, intense and fast paced battles, but when there are too large of numbers it tends to become slow and boring near the end. The preliminaries will be held now, should you not feel up to it for one reason or another you may quit." He finished just as another coughing fit seized him, but none of the Genin moved or said a word.

Silence filled the room, and many of the Genin had contemplative looks on their features. "Sasuke-kun... Naruto..." Sakura began in a whisper as she looked over at her companions. "Perhaps you two should leave, those marks, though you both hide it, I can tell they are giving you both great pain." Sakura said worriedly as she brought her hands up to her chest.

"Sakura...” Naruto began. "If we give up now, then Orochimaru has won. He will know he has strength over both of us, and that we can't let happen. We must remain strong, and firm willed, lest he use our uncertainties and weaknesses to his advantage." He concluded wisely as he looked down at his own mark, blue eyes serious. "Don't worry; both Sasuke and I can handle ourselves."

"As it seems no one is planning on bailing out...” Hayate began weakly.

"He is right Sakura... We can bare this, I know I can. That's why I'm an avenger." He stated with a smirk.

Anko and the Saindaime leaned close together. "I think we should pull them out..." Anko advised. "Place them in quarantine, directly guarded by the Black Ops."

"Neither of them will do that quietly..." Kakashi spoke up. "After all... Sasuke is of the Uchiha clan, and Naruto is the most stubborn person I have ever met." The man summed up.

"It concerns me what Orochimaru said, and as such we will continue this exam without interference, but that doesn't mean we won't keep a sharp and close eye out for those two." The man concluded quietly.

"All right... now for the preliminaries..." Hayate started once more. "This will be individual... combats, which is like a test run for the third part of the exam as it will be the same... As there are twenty-four of you... there will be twelve matches. Whoever claims victory in there fight will proceed to the final part of this exam... There... are no rules... It is a match that... will last until someone either... dies or falls unconscious or... admits defeat. If you value your... life I suggest you give up when you feel you are being over-powered by your opponent." He said, words breaking here and there due to his coughing.

"Since we don't... want a blood bath on our hands... I can step in and end a match should I feel that someone has already won... Your fate, from this point in lies in that computer..." He explained as he motioned up towards a massive screen. "It will... display the names of who fights who. "The first two are..." He said just as the screen flickered and revealed the names of the first two participants.

"Just my luck..." Shikamaru sighed as his shoulders slumped even more while the rest of the people left to the balcony to watch, leaving him, Hayate and his opponent standing there.

His opponent was tall, standing at the very least at six feet, his build that of a runner, but her was beautiful. He had long cascading silver hair and gentle grey-blue eyes that were observing the lazy Nara. The guy had to be at least nineteen, judging by his looks. 'He doesn't look like a close range fighter...' Shikamaru noted as he eyed the boy half heartedly.

"Begin..." Hayate coughed out, his words causing the other to immediately bring his hands up in a seal. "Jubaku Satsu." He called before he vanished from sight of all of them.

'Crap... He's a Genjutsu user...' Shikamaru thought as he wearily looked around for a sigh of his opponent, after all, he wouldn't try to dispel the illusion yet, not while the enemy's guard was raised so high. A tree suddenly grew up from the ground behind him, its branches holding him in position. Looking up he saw the silver haired Grass-ninja morph out of the wood, kunai in hand and poised at the ready.

Zorian brought his blade down, running a terrified looking Shikamaru through the forehead, only for him to turn into a cloud of smoke. "Kage Bunshin?" The young man asked in shock as his tree vanished, leaving him standing there all alone. "Where..?" He began, gently eyes looking about for his enemy as he held his kunai at the ready.

"Kage Mane no Jutsu." A lazy sounding voice behind him sounded, causing him to spin around, only to find that once he was facing the other he could no longer move. "I have your shadow." Shikamaru calmly stated as he lifted his left hand, causing his opponent's left hand to rise as well, the kunai in it being held tightly as it was suddenly pressed to the pale boy's throat. "Surrender... Or I'll have you kill yourself." Shikamaru stated with an unreadable look, causing Zorian to gulp.

"I surrender..." He said nervously, though the moment the words left his throat he found that he could move once more. Blinking, he regarded his former opponent who was slowly making his way towards the stairs, hands in pocket.

"Winner... Nara Shikamaru!" Hayate called, somewhat shocked that it had happened as it did, for he didn't even notice when the boy had used the shadow clone, but hey what do you expect from a guy that is part of a shadow user clan.

"Nice job Shikamaru." Naruto said as Shikamaru stood beside him and Neji.

"Too troublesome..." He muttered with a sigh.

"Is that why you ended it so quickly?" Neji asked him.

"After all that training I was low on chakra... I knew that if I didn't win quickly then I would have lost..." He answered simply with a shrug as he leaned against the railing.

"Hinata-sama..." Neji whispered as he peered over at the obviously frightened girl, before looking at Naruto.

"Right...” Naruto said, picking up on the look in his friend's eyes, while the blond from the Sand team leapt down to arena floor. "Hinata-chan!" Naruto called, causing the short haired heiress to blush crimson and look over at him. "Do your best! We're all routing for you!" Naruto said with an honest smile, while all the Konoha Genin there nodded in agreement.

"Naruto-kun..." She whispered in a small breath as a small smile graced her face. "Th...Thank ...you...” She stuttered out before she hurried down the stairs and over to stand before Temari, this time standing confident. 'I will do my best. He's watching me, he's finally watching me.' She thought happily as she dropped into the Hyuuga Taijutsu stance while Temari sighed and rested her massive fan on her shoulder in its closed position.

"Begin..." Gekko announced.

"Byakugan!" Hinata said in her quiet voice, the veins on either side of her eyes bulging from the chakra circulation.

"Bloodline...” Temari muttered as she leapt backwards, fan opening in a whirl of air as she landed. 'Judging by her stance... I'd say she is a close range fighter...' Temari summed up with a smirk as the jumped back doing a flip, landing even further from the girl.

"Kamaitachi!" Temari shouted as she swung her fan in a horizontal arch, creating great blades of winds that were flying towards the timid girl, slicing long gashes in the stone floor on their way.

Hinata's eyes widened slightly before she calmed herself down and channeled chakra into her palms. With deep concentration and great speed, her hand connected with the wind blades as she forced chakra in a reverse swirl through them, sending them flying backwards, the occasional blade slightly nipping at her, while Temari jumped up into the air to avoid the returned blades. 'Okay... Close range unless reflecting my attacks...' She summed up with a frown, as she attempted to figure out how exactly the girl had managed to send her air blades back at her. 'Must have something to do with her bloodline....’ She concluded as she landed back on the scarred stone floor.

"I will not loose." Hinata stated with a firm nod as she took a deep breath and went back into her beginning stance, white eyes locked onto her opponent.

"Keep dreaming...” Temari muttered as she raised her fan once again. "Fuusajin!" She shouted as she waved her fan, causing all the debris caused in her last attack to swirl up in a blinding dust storm before she closed her fan and rushed through the dirt, fan raised for an attack. She moved unscathed through the flying debris, and spotted the outline of her adversary, before she leapt into the air and silently brought her fan down, only to have it deflected to the side. 'How did she..?' Temari trailed off as she felt a gently hand press quickly against her stomach sending her flying back as great pain swelled in her belly.

Temari skidded back several meters, knees and fan holding hand against the floor, while her free hand clenched at her stomach. 'Just how did she...?' She trailed off as the dust settled, showing the girl's back facing her. 'Even from behind... does she have eyes on the back of her head?' She thought with a frown as she forced herself to stand once more, waving her fan to cause a mass surge of wind to fly, sending her opponent back, crashing into the wall behind her with great forced.

When the wind let up, Hinata fell to her knees breathing heavily, before she shakily stood back up, blood trailing from her lips. "I will not loose." She stated yet again, the same resolve there before she rushed forward, and thrust a palm at her opponent, who dodged in the nick of time, leaping into the air.

"Dai Kamaitachi!" Temari shouted as she swung her great fan again, this time creating far larger wind blades, forming at a close distance to Hinata. With determination, the girl rose her hand up and pressed her palm into the nearest wind blade, causing it to explode, sending both girls sailing in the dust filled air.

Silence reigned through the arena, as all observers looked on with batted breath, awaiting the dust to clear. And slowly it did clear, revealing the hazy outline of two figures standing off. Settling, the dust vanished, revealing two heavily breathing girls looking at each other with determination.

Temari began to wobble, unsteady on her feet, bring her closed fan down as a crutch just as Hinata crumbled to the ground, eyes closing as she passed out.

"Winner... Temari." Hayate called as he motioned for the medical team to go and grab the unconscious heiress, while Temari walked slowly towards the stairs and up to her team, looking worse for wear.

"What the hell was that?" Kankuro demanded as the blond girl joined them.

"She has a bloodline limit. I'm not sure of what it did, but it was rather impressive." Temari said as she caught her breath and leaned against the railings, ready to watch the next battle.

Naruto and Kiba looked over at each other before both placed a hand on the railing before jumping over and landed on the stone floor, staring each other down. "Looks like we lucked out Akamaru!" Kiba said confidently over to the small white puppy at his side. "He has to be the weakest link here."

"Don't be so cocky Kiba." Naruto said calmly, not the reaction the dog owner would have expected from the blond dead last.

"Whatever. Akamaru and I will take you down!" Kiba said as he raised his fist into the air, while wearing a cocky smirk.

"Begin."

"Two against one, I do not like those odds..." Naruto said before biting his thumb, his action catching all of the Jounins' attention. "So how about I event hem out?" He asked rhetorically as he formed some seals then slammed his palm down against the ground. "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" He called as he was engulfed in ninja smoke.

Once cleared, the blonde's summoning was revealed.

There at Naruto's side stood a two tailed wolf, its fur as black as night and its eyes an eerie silver. Stretching over its muzzle was a long scar, belaying the fact that the creature was no foreign beast to battle. With a mighty growl the wolf narrowed its eyes at the white puppy, who had taken a step back and was shaking slightly. "So you’re the kid Yukio was boasting about." The wolf said as he took a deep sniff of the air. "I take it you need help with these two." The wolf stated before he released a loud howl that sent shivers down many of the spectators spins. "The name is Kaizamaru."

"Nice to meet you, I'm Uzumaki Naruto, but pleasantries aside, we have battle to win." Naruto said with a wolfish grin that matched the one the dark wolf wore.

"Holy shit..." Kiba muttered, as a bead of sweat trailed down his cheek. 'Maybe I underestimated him....'

"Kokoro wa Tsunagari!" Naruto shouted, linking his mind to that of his summon.

"Akamaru! Juujin Bunshin!" Kiba shouted as he crouched down, back high in the air as his hands met the ground while his puppy leapt onto his back before transforming into an identical version of Kiba. "Gatsuuga!" The real Kiba shouted before the two leapt towards Naruto and Kaizamaru, spinning in two horizontal tornados, crashing straight into the boy and wolf, sending them flying backwards, Kiba and Akamaru in clone form both landed with a smirk, which was wiped away when both hound and blond vanished in a smoke cloud. "What?!? Kage Bunshin!" Kiba exclaimed as the two began looking around, nose trying to pick up their scents.

"Shinjuu Zanshu no Jutsu!" A voice called out as two hands and a fanged mouth came out of the ground and dragged the two down, stopping only when the two's heads were the only thing sticking out of the ground. Kaizamaru and Naruto then reappeared, standing before the two as Akamaru transformed back into his dog self, though still stuck in the ground. "Orioke no Jutsu!" Both Naruto and the wolf cried, both turning into sexy females of their species, smoke clouds covering all the desirable unmentionable parts, causing both Kiba and Akamaru to pass out from overload.

"Ahem..." Hayate coughed as he wiped blood from his nose. "Winner: Uzumaki Naruto..." He announced, eyes noting that many of the males in the stadium had bleeding noses, along with a few females.

Naruto on the other hand dismissed his Jutsu and his wolf summon before vanishing from the arena floor and reappearing between Neji and Shikamaru. "You just had to use that technique.... so troublesome..." Shikamaru muttered with a sigh, one of the few males who hadn't gotten nosebleeds.

"Though it was vulgar it was effective." Neji said with a nod, he being another that hadn't gotten a bleeding nose from the demonstration.

"Naruto!! What the hell do you think your doing?!?!" Sakura cried angrily as she waved her fist menacingly towards his teammate. "That's not decent!"

"Decent, no. Effective, yes." Naruto stated simply, ignoring all eyes on him as he looked down at the arena as a medical team took Kiba and Akamaru away on stretchers.

Chouji silently went over to the stairs and went down, somewhat apprehensive, even with his teammates cheering him on. Haru, a tall, broad and bald male with crazy face paint leapt down and handed on the arena floor with a giant thud that echoed through the building, his landing having caused various cracks to cover the already several damaged floor.

"Begin..."

Haru reached into his picket and pulled out a handful of tiny brown shriveled lumps before tossing them at his opponent, who jumped back, the shriveled things hitting the floor before being absorbed into it. "What?" Chouji asked in shock before the arena floor began to tremble.

Vines suddenly grew out of the ground, encompassing the floors with green, before dark red flowers began to blossom here and there. "Beautiful... isn't it?" Haru asked as he noted Chouji looking around. "But beautiful often means deadly..." He added with a smirk before the vines suddenly began to move to try and wrap around the boy.

"Baika no Jutsu!" Chouji shouted as his body expanded, hands then moving to form a second set of seals. "Nikudan Sensha!" He yelled as his arms, legs and head vanished into his torso, making him look like a giant circular ball.

"What the--" Haru said as he watched the ball begin to spin on spot. "Heh... It's useless." He muttered as his flowers then turned a dark orange as it began to drain Chouji's Chakra.

The fast rotating ball slowly slowed in its spin before going up in smoke, once cleared, showing an exed out Chouji.

"Winner: Asa Haru."

"That..." Naruto began.

"Was..." Shikamaru continued.

"Fast..." Neji concluded, all three of them then exchanged looks.

"That was creepy...." Ino commented...

Shino slowly made his way down, while his opponent merely leapt over the railing with a voiced 'boing' sound.

"My name is Toyo Botan!" He guy said as he pointed to himself with smiling brightly. "I am so going to win!" He cheered causing a few of the people watching to sweat drop.

"...Begin...”

Shino brought his arms out to his sides and let the bugs within fly out.

"Wait!! Time out!" Botan shouted as he made a big 'T' shape with his arms. "No one said anything about fighting a creepy bug dude!" He yelled, eyes fearfully looking at the bugs. "I quit! I don't do bugs!!" He cried before he fled from the arena screaming like a girl.

"... Winner is... Aburame Shino." Hayate coughed out.

"What just happened?" Sakura asked as Shino went back to his spot on the balcony.

"Botan... has a major inexplicable fear of insects..." A female Ninja from his team said with a sigh.

"So... it's you and me Sakura..." Ino voiced, her face marred with a nostalgic look as the two moved down to the center of the arena, eyes looked.

Reaching up, Sakura untied her forehead protector before removing it from her hair, eyes never once leaving Ino. "Do you remember that day?" Sakura began, green eyes filled with determination. "That day I returned your ribbon to you?" She asked as she held her forehead protector before her. "I told you that I would only wear this head band the traditional way when I was certain I could fight squarely against you." She said as she tied it to her forehead, never once blinking.

"I do remember that day." Ino began as she removed her forehead protector from her waist, blue eyes fierce. "For I too said I would only wear mine as such when I was certain that I could stand evenly against you. It would seem... that day has come at last." She stated as she firmly tied the cloth and steel plate to her forehead, never once blinking. "To me you still seem a struggling bud." Ino added with a smirk.

"I am no bud, I have blossomed." Sakura said with a frown. "And I will prove it."

"Fine. Let us do this fair and square!" Ino added as the two dropped into simple Taijutsu stances.

The two then charged, Sakura forming old, well used seals. "Bunshin no Jutsu!" Sakura shouted as two more of her appeared on either side of her. Smirking, she then channeled her chakra into her feet, causing her to run at a high speed towards Ino, landing a firm punch to the other's jaw.

Ino flew backwards, flipping in mid air to land on her feet, a hand carefully rubbing her cheek. With narrowed eyes, she sprang back up and raced forward before engaging the other girl in a hand to hand combat. "Are they really that weak..?" Neji asked with a frown.

Shikamaru just shrugged while Naruto yawned, just as the two landed solid blows to each others' faces, sending them flying back and out cold. "It was pathetic..." Naruto sighed as medic Ninja moved in and removed the two girls from the floor and set them back on the balcony.

The black jumpsuit wearing Genin from Sand moved down to the heavily damaged arena floor, a red headed girl hot on his tail. Standing off, the two examined each other.

The girl was tiny, short thin, and mini-featured, her green eyes shinning with an intelligent light. "Though I am small I will not loose." The girl said in an adorable tone before she placed her hand son her hips, drawing attention to the many tiny vials attached to her waist.

"Begin...”

In a flurry of movement, the girl removed a vial containing a dark purple liquid and tossed it to the floor before jumping just as the glass shattered and ominous purple clouds rose out from the vial, clouding the air in a strange smoke screen. Kankurou frown before he pulled out his puppet and sent him out of sight, using his mind's eye and his chakra threads to keep track of his pet.

The sound of shattering glass rang out again as neon green water began to cover the floor near Kankurou causing him to leapt high into the air, feet connecting with the ceiling and holding him there as he eyed the area, noting that the smoke wasn't rising. 'Compound user...' He thought with a frown, his fingers moving as he directed his puppet through the smoke. 'There.' He smirked as he ordered his puppet to attack.

Attack it did, causing a blood curdling scream to sound out, the sheer volume enough to cause even the spectators to flinch and grasp at their ringing ears. 'Damn... She's a banshee...' Was the thought of many.

The smoke vanished suddenly, as though it had never been there before, viewing the small girl lying in a puddle of her own blood. 'I didn't get her that bad...' Kankurou thought with a frown before he made his puppet leap back several feet, just as the girl exploded in a blast of light, fire and grey smoke. Shattering glass suddenly sounded to his side, just as neon pink goo covered him in a sphere of slime. 'Crap... It cut my chakra threads.' The puppet user cursed as he tried to force the goo to move, yet it didn't, he was slowly running out of air.

Everyone watched on, all seeing as the boy in the pink goo filled bubble stopped moving, body going limp. "That was easy." Akari muttered as she appeared standing on the ceiling, a hand rubbing beads of sweat from her brow. Suddenly arms wrapped around her, arms not made of human flesh, causing her to look back at the puppet that was holding her in a deadly hug.

"You let your guard down." Kankurou commented as he reappeared on the ground, hands up as he controlled his puppet into squeezing the girl harder.

"How?" She sputtered out while attempting to wiggle herself free, yet it was in vain.

"Now, now." Kankurou tsked. "A puppet master never reveals his secrets." He said with mock hurt in his voice. "But they do love to put on a good show." He chuckled cockily, a wide smirk on his lips.

"Damn... it..." The girl muttered under her breath as her vision began to grow spotty, her hand slowly reaching for her belt, fingers brushing a vial with clear liquid, but it was in vein. Deprived of air, the girl passed out and the puppet's grip loosened as he leapt down to the ground and set her down before vanishing, while the puppet-user looked up at his lifeless self up in the goo bubble. With a flick of his wrist his unmoving double was gone and he looked over at the judge expectantly.

"Right." Hayate coughed. "Winner: Kankurou." He announced.

"Good luck Neji." Shikamaru and Naruto said before they exchanged a disgruntled look.

"We all got to stop doing that." They said simultaneously before sharing amused looks. They had some rather interesting moments... With grace known to be of the Hyuuga clan, Neji leapt over the railing and landed with cat like grace, not even wrinkling his pristine clothing in the process. "Show off." Naruto called with a smirk causing the white-eyed boy to look up at his friend's with an innocent questioning look. This of course earned him identical skeptical looks, courtesy of Naruto and Shikamaru.

A tall girl, dressed in the grabs of a shrine maiden slowly moved before him, her brown eyes clear, while she held her hand still at her sides. "Your aura is clear." She stated in a mystical voice as she brought her hands up in front of her chest, with hand motions that seemed to flow like water. "Your heart is pure." She added as she bent her knees, eyes never once blinking. "You have a great future ahead." She promised before smiling a tiny smile, eyes watching as the boy dropped into his own battle stance.

"Start." Hayate said, having grown tired of saying 'begin' so much.

Kyoko clapped her hands together, the sound echoing eerily before beads of water appeared around her, forming out of the air itself before falling down all around her and her opponent. Rain. It was raining; slow at first then it slowly began to pick up speed as water continuously fell, flooding the floor and shocking many of the on lookers. "Byakugan." Neji said quietly, eyes snapping into focus as he regarded the strange phenomenon of rain appearing out of thin air. Of course his eyes proved that wrong for he could see the chakra strings trailing out around the girl, morphing the very air itself into water.

"Daibakufu no Jutsu!" She called, hands moving through seals before the water on the floor quivered and rose in one move, joining the particles of water in the air to itself before it surged forward in a tidal wave towards the white eyed Hyuuga. With narrowed eyes Neji began to swirl in a blur, hands glowing with chakra as he repelled all the water that meant to hit him, before he was buried underwater, as a glowing air filled orb that hurriedly vanished as a perfectly dry Neji appeared on top the water, facing his adversary, noting that they were just below the balcony's level.

"You like spinning things." She commented as she formed several new seals. "Mizu no Tatsumaki!" She cried, causing the water before her to swirl into a great whirlpool before it rose up in a spinning wall of water and shot towards Neji.

The dark haired young man did not move, and instead rose his dominate hand to meet with the great spinning water column, his hand glowing white as it pierced through the water, splitting it in two halves that promptly fell back to join the rest of the water. "It would seem you have a powerful special ability." Kyoko nodded as a bead of sweat dripped from her brow and joined the liquid floor below.

"No matter... Mizu no Muchi!" She called as she knelt down, left hand plunging into the cool water before reemerging with a long cord of water in hand. Bringing the whip up she then struck out, the thunder crack sound echoing through the area as her whip struck the water where the boy had just been as he dashed to the side. With great skill she began whipping at a great speed, the Hyuuga prodigy managing to just barely side-step each assault as he slowly, but surely drew closer and closer to the girl without her realization.

"You are within my divination." He stated causing the girl to gasp as the boy appeared behind her. "Hakke Rokujuuyonshou." He said before he moved in a flurry of movements as he utilized the Hyuuga Taijutsu stance, palm connecting to the girl in sixty-four various places before he leapt back with a flip and eyed his enemy who stood there blood slowly dripping down her chin as she eyed the boy apprehensively.

"Your skills far outmatch mine." She admitted as she dropped to her knees, a small smile playing about her lips. "I surrender." She said before all the water evaporated, sending them back onto the arena floor which was perfectly dry.

"Winner: Hyuuga Neji." He called as a medical team rushed in and helped the girl onto the stretchers before carting her away as Neji slowly rejoined his friends back up on the balcony.

"That was... interesting." Neji commented, glad that he was perfectly dry.

"Sure was... One day I bet she will become a great water -mistress." Naruto commented blue eyes bright with ideas.

Gaara closed his eyes before vanishing in a swirl of sand, only to reappear at the center of the arena before the computer had a chance to even display the next match. "That guy is strong." Naruto noted with a calculating look.

"Facing you so soon." Lee began before he sprang over the railing and landed smoothly, an honest smile on his features. "Makes me truly happy." He admitted with a small nod as he stood straight and brought his right hand forward, palm flat and facing him while his fingers were pointed towards the ceiling. "Please do not rush things." Lee stated as his hand moved in a blur and caught the cork seal that was once in place on Gaara's massive gourd.

"Alright." Hayate began. "Commence the Ninth match!"

Gaara narrowed his eyes as the green spandex wearing, bowl cut, fuzzy eye browed boy. He would crush him.

Lee, taking the initiative raced forward and directed a punch directly at the face of his cross-armed opponent. Instead of fist meeting face, his fist connected painfully with a solid wall of sand causing him to leap backwards before circling the other at a fast sprint then attempting to land a blow to the boy's back, but once again he met with the sand wall. 'What is this?' The Taijutsu user silently questioned as he began firing a barrage of kicks and punches at his opponent, not one hitting.

"Konoha Dai Senpuu!" Lee called as he went in for a windmill swirl kick barrage, each one striking that sand wall that would appear at the last second. "That didn't work." He said, stating the obvious before he leapt up and back, dodging a hand made of sand that hand just sprung from the ground where he last stood. 'That was close.' He thought as he landed on the ninja arm carvings that covered the fall wall from the red haired boy.

"I am truly honored to be fighting you." Lee admitted as he stood from his crouch upon the carvings fingers, dark eyes honest. "I believe that you are my strongest adversary yet." He stated with a nod, eyes looking over to his sensei who nodded before he reached into the bright orange ankle warmers and pulled out two separate strands of weights. "I will not insult you by not fighting at full strength, the gloves are off." He concluded before dropped his weights, which crashed into the ground with tremendous force. The ground trembled and shook while dust rose from the ground, wafting from the two craters made by his weights.

Many of the spectators looked on in shock. That boy had moved with such speed and ease, yet he wore weights on him that most if not all of them couldn't handle. "Incredible..." Was voiced by the many people.

Lee flickered before vanishing from sight. The boy ran, ran to his fullest potential. He moved so fast that the naked eye could not track him, yet he circled his opponent with ease, aiming strike after strike at the red head, only to have it barely blocked by his sand defense. Gaara was shocked. Never before had someone penetrated his sand protection, yet this green clad wearing individual was slowly pounding it down.

Changing tactics, Lee began to run around in a complete circle around his opponent. The sheer force of his speed causing the dust to rise, and a wind to brew. He was making his own tornado. In a fast paced move, Gaara was suddenly flung up into the air, a figure behind, bandages loose on his arm. 'I can't loose. I must fight and win, that is my purpose.' Gaara thought as his pupils narrowed. Before Lee could complete his aerial technique a great amount of sand slammed into him, knocking the boy away from its host, allowing both of them to land smoothly.

With determined eyes, Lee sprung forward, vanishing once more from sight, before landing a punch on his opponent’s fair cheek. He used all the force he could in that punch, the result being various cracks covering the skin. 'What?' Lee asked before he did several back springs, eyes observing as sand crumbled from the boy's pale cheek.

With narrowed eyes, Gaara regarded the first person to have cracked his sand armor in a long time. A sudden crazed look entered his emerald eyes, before Lee was suddenly gripped in a massive sand hand which was slowly closing more and more.

A grunt of pain escaped Lee, as he was squeezed tighter and tighter. A great cry of strength escaped his lips as he forced his arms out in a wide spread manner, flinging the sand from him with great effort, only to have a second hand hit him from behind, slamming him to the floor before the red head. "Time to die..." Gaara whispered coldly as he looked on at the unconscious figure sprawled inelegantly as his feet, right hand rising to prepare the killing blow.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you..." A voice whispered in his ears as a hand gripped his wrist tightly. Green eyes snapped to the side, locking onto clear blue ones. "No need to kill him, you’ve already won." Naruto explained as the other slowly withdrew his wrist, unblinking eyes never leaving the fox vessels.

"You stopped me." He stated more then asked. "I will kill you, and him." The sand ninja promised darkly, his voice more cold then snow before he vanished in a swirl of sand and reappeared next to his teammates just as medical Nin rushed over to the felled Rock Lee.

"Ahem..." Hayate said to regain everyone's attentions. "Winner: Gaara." He concluded before succumbing to a fit of lunge wrenching coughs.

Naruto jumped up, rejoining his two friends just as the two girls descended to the ruined arena floor. "That was fast..." Neji commented quietly as he focused on Naruto.

"And stupid..." Shikamaru added in with a sigh.

"That was foolish and could have given away your full potential from everyone here." Neji berated in a whisper, white eyes looking for anyone stupid enough to eavesdrop, but noted all attention focused to the battle bellow. "But... You saved the life of my teammate. For that I am grateful." He concluded with a tiny hint of a smile which caused a certain pineapple headed young man to mutter something along the lines of troublesome people.

"Winner: Mai." Hayate called, though by one look in his eyes he was starting to bore.

"That was fast..." Neji muttered before looking over at the battle floor, nothing the hundreds of weapons lying everywhere.

Sasuke and a darkly cloaked girl descended the stairs, Sasuke tense from the pain in his neck, and the girl mysterious with not being able to see anything save for the glow of her crimson eyes from the shadowed hood of her dark purple coverings.

"Commence."

Bringing her hand up, Haya turned to look at the examiner. "I have no desire to fight this child." A twinkling voice stated, before she looked back at the boy. "I forfeit." She said calmly before turning and walking back up.

"Okay... Uchiha Sasuke is the winner by default." Hayate explained, eyes observing a clearly pissed off Uchiha heir, who broodingly made his way back up the balcony only to be dragged away by Kakashi.

The two teammates looked at each other with a cold look as they both moved to the floor. The brainier of the two had various machines on her person, eyes hidden behind dark framed glasses, while Kohanna was a quiet girl with simple and plain features.

"Begin."

With a small brainy smirk, Hisa pulled off a tiny device from her person and dropped it to the floor, mouth opening to order her next move before her eyes rolled to the back of her head and she collapsed.

"What happened?" Was the dominating question ringing through the air.

"Genjutsu..." Shikamaru commented with a sigh, glad that the preliminaries were finally over. And to be honest, they did not end with a bang. It finished off rather pitifully...

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End of Chapter Thanks for reading! Please Review! Ja!

Kokoro wa Tsunagari : Chain Mind Link