46 The burden of brothers

I think I've come to a couple of decisions.

As of now, I will try for the Naru/Ino/Hina pairing. If it is to work, I will be giving more focus on Hinata and Ino becoming friends to ensure it's an actual 'proper' pairing. Same as what I said last chapter: If the scenes fight me in being written, I'll revert it to a single pairing without hesitation. I'll still build up a friendship between Hinata and Ino, but it'll only be platonic in that case.

For my SISasuke story, it will 100% be a FemNaru pairing.

Anyway, here's the chapter. I hope you like the POV at the end.

/////////////////

Transcript of report from a survivor of Roshi's forces enroute to Uzushiogakure.

Jonin Sato:"Roshi-sama, we have the Chunin the scouts brought in from the ambush."

Roshi:"Chunin? Chunin?"

Chunin:"Sir?"

Roshi: "Roshi. Commander of Iwa's forces. What happened? Who did this?"

Chunin: "Him. It was mad. I couldn't tell you who it was."

Roshi: "Calm down, son, you are safe now. But twenty of Iwa's Shinobi, all A-ranks, are dead. I want to know how."

Jonin Sato: "He said there was-"

Roshi: "Were you there? Then let him speak. Take you time and tell me. How many were there? Were they Konoha nin? Were they Uzumaki?"

Chunin: "I don't really know how many. Maybe one."

...

Roshi: "One man? Really?"

Chunin: "He was in the flank. All around us. Amongst us. I could barely see him. He was there, then he was gone."

Roshi: "He just vanished? Sounds more like a ghost than a man."

Chunin: "A ghost. He was like a ghost. His eyes."

Roshi: "Enough."

Roshi: "Sato? Take a patrol. Capture or kill this 'ghost' before word of his exploits spread and lower morale."

End Report.

////////////////////

I kept to myself mostly, up until the 5 day mark.

It took several days for me to unwind how tense I was from the fight, and it was made all the worse when I found out why nobody helped me.

My traps evidently fucked me over big time. Unbeknownst to me, Hiruzen had ANBU positioned around the forest in case Orochimaru decided to sneak in, and my traps stopped them from getting there to help.

That little tidbit of information had me questioning all the stuff that had changed because of me deciding to send that damn letter.

"Oh, I'm gonna LARP as the Witch-King and fuck with the Hyuga," I said mockingly in English, no one being near my room, "Then I'm gonna send a letter to the two of them and have a fucking meme as Kakashi's security question." I scowled and flung my sword on the bed, looking at it with irritation.

That sword should have never been in my possession. Zabuza might have canonically had it, but it was never shown.

My paranoia at killing Orochimaru inadvertently shafted me and caused my doubts to start to creep up on me, on whether what I've done has been worth it.

Should I have let Sasuke get marked?

Should I have let the Akatsuki blind side us?

Should I have told Itachi he was sick?

'No.' I growled to myself, 'Don't fucking think that. You made the choice to kill canon, you're sticking to it.'

Fuck canon, fuck Orochimaru resurrecting the Kages, fuck Sasuke turning traitor, fuck Danzo dying later, and above all else.

Fuck Obito.

I'm killing him no matter what. Zetsu getting killed is a given, that thing is an existential threat to the world. But out of all the people that died that can be saved; Hiruzen, Jiraiya, Itachi, Inoichi, and Shikaku, or possibly even Nagato, Obito is the only one that I'm not even going to try to redeem.

If canon is God's word on him being savable, I'll just do what many others have done.

Defy God.

I was already going to prevent the Prophecy from applying to Rin, what's a little defiance of a deistic archetype's will in comparison?

My chakra was itching under my skin as I paced around, trying to get my thoughts to calm back down. It served no use to be angry right now.

But I was also thinking constantly of what I was going to say to Rin, trying not to visualize her running off like I did.

'I don't know you.'

I turned my head when I felt a chakra signature come towards my door, one that was around Chunin level.

A knock on the door came moments later, followed by a voice.

"Time is up on more teams coming in. Head towards the arena section."

'Screw you too.' I thought, the voice sounding dismissive.

I sighed and grabbed the sword off the bed, sheathing it and heading to the door.

Opening it, I walked towards where I sensed several familiar chakra signatures, and some that weren't.

All the rookie teams made it, looking much better than the others thanks to the masking tags.

I spotted everyone else once I got to the arena, the Jonin and Hiruzen there.

No Oto Jonin escort was here.

'Lick your wounds, bitch.' I growled to myself, looking at the others as I walked towards them.

The Sand siblings were separate from everyone else, Gaara eying me as I stood next to Team 7, putting my hands on the ledge.

Rin gave me a smile and turned back to Hiruzen, who was giving a near identical speech about the true reason for the Chunin exams, being a substitute for war and so on.

After Hiruzen finished his speech, I refocused and was prepared to see how the match ups changed from different people being here.

No other Konoha team got through, most of the scrolls being taken by one of my clones. But the amount of feedback I'd gotten from the fight with Orochimaru ended up causing me to lose track of it, evidently.

One Suna team, being Gaara's, the Kumo team, and the Oto team were the only others, meaning there was going to be a decent amount of matches.

I focused when I heard the announcement for the first match.

And the first...was Shikamaru against Kin.

'Hmnn. Out of order, I think. But still the same.'

Could the 'random' selections be rigged? I don't know.

"Do be gentle, Shika." I said to him, the boy rolling his eyes.

"Right." He said flatly, hopping down to the center of the arena.

The proctor asked if both were ready, which Shikamaru just shrugged at, irritating the Oto girl.

I was bored out of my skull as Shikamaru proceeded to beat Kin in all of 5 minutes, the bell Genjutsu she used only being a minor hindrance.

Thankfully, it looked like I managed to light a fire under his ass and made him be serious about improving.

Shikamaru came back up and stood next to me, a smug look on his face.

"What are you grinning at, lazy ass?" I asked with a grin, letting him know it was a jest, "I could've beaten her with a hand tied behind my back."

"You could've done it with both tied behind your back." Shikamaru remarked, his team and Team 7 being right next to each other.

Next up was Sasuke and Kiba, which was a change.

The one genin with the chakra drain ability didn't get through the forest, so stuff obviously changed.

"Who shall win in this titanic battle of the ages?" I asked grandly, smirking at Kiba who could hear me, "The duck or the dog?"

Sasuke glared at me, but turned it into a grunt, jumping down from the ledge.

"Be vain about it." I shrugged, moving closer to Hinata and Rin as Sasuke and Kiba got to the center.

"Hinata," I whispered, getting her attention, "Ino," I gestured for Ino to get closer, which she did, "If you're paired against Gaara, forfeit."

Hinata nodded sadly, while Ino furrowed her brow in thought.

"Doesn't he use sand?" Ino asked quietly, "Water jutsu would work well, wouldn't it?"

"Ino," I looked at her, "You're better at support and hit and run. You don't have the chakra reserves to be a heavy hitter or have a taijutsu form like Hinata."

I put my hand on her shoulder to reassure her when she looked downcast.

"Sasuke, Rin, and I are probably the only ones that can fight him and win. Lightning can pierce his sand and I'm the only one who can burn my chakra reserves to flood his sand."

I had given an explanation of my knowledge on that by saying the Kazekage used a sand technique, and Gaara had sand in his gourd, logic dictating that he used something similar.

"And you can't use you clan jutsu," I said seriously, "What happened when you did it to me wouldn't even be remotely similar."

Ino shivered at the reminder, Hinata lowering her head from the thought of what happened.

"He's a Jinchuriki with a weak seal," I explained, needing to make sure she understood, "You could very well end up stumbling across the Bijuu itself. It will kill you."

Shukaku was probably the only one of the nine that I'd truly consider a beast, based on how much of a dick he was.

Ino was about to say something, but a loud screeching sound caused us to turn towards Sasuke, who had Kiba on the back foot, the two having their kunai crossed.

Kiba was pretty damn good at taijutsu, but he wasn't good enough to beat Sasuke.

Akamaru was to the side, looking a little injured, with his master barely holding off Sasuke.

Sasuke pulled back from the pressure he was putting on Kiba, kicking at the other boy's ribs.

Kiba shifted to his right and tucked into a roll, making some space to get away from Sasuke.

Kiba whistled for Akamaru, who came running towards him, followed by Kiba grabbing something from his pouch. I saw a small, red pill in Kiba's hand, which he tossed towards Akamaru to eat.

Seconds later, Akamaru transformed into a copy of Kiba, the two standing side by side.

I focused a little more on the fight and pulsed some lightning chakra into my nerves to see if I could see what was about to happen.

Sure enough, I saw several smoke bombs get flung at Sasuke, obscuring him from view. Kiba then used the Fang over Fang technique, he and Akamaru flying straight towards Sasuke.

I could tell Sasuke hadn't moved, based on his chakra signature.

The two spinning opponents to the youngest Uchiha crashed into the smoke cloud, circling back and repeating it.

Eventually, the one that turned out to be Akamaru was hit by Sasuke, who likely was able to track the trajectory with his Sharingan and ended up smashing the ninken into the wall with a well placed kick.

Kiba stopped his attack and rushed to Akamaru, who was slumped on the ground, whimpering.

Sasuke let Kiba get to his dog, but made a few hand seals when Kiba's back was turned.

Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu.

Sasuke blasted a concentrated ball of fire from his mouth, but it was aimed somewhat to the right of Kiba.

The Inuzuka heir was able to grab Akamaru's unconscious form and was able to dive out of the way, his jacket smoking from the heat.

Sasuke, running out of the remnants of the smoke cloud, used a Shunshin to close the distance between him and Kiba.

I smirked a little at Sasuke trying to mimic what I did in fights, incorporating quick applications of the Shunshin to outmaneuver opponents. Pretty much the only people who could do it without hurting themselves were Uchiha, me, speed freaks like Minato, Tobirama, or those who moved at already ridiculous speeds like Gai or Lee in a couple years, if only he weren't hampered by a malformed chakra network.

Sasuke pulled it off and drove a fist towards Kiba, the boy looking shocked at the speed.

Being forced to either drop Akamaru or try and stop the blow with one hand, Kiba chose the latter and tried to stop Sasuke with his left hand. It didn't work and Kiba got his face smashed by Sasuke's fist, knocking him on his back several feet away.

Kiba cradled Akamaru to him and looked up, Sasuke holding a kunai inches from his face.

Kiba spat some blood out of his mouth and said something, looking towards the proctor to submit.

The proctor announced Sasuke as the winner and the raven haired boy reached his hand out to help Kiba up, the Inuzuka accepting it.

Sasuke said something else and gestured to Akamaru, but Kiba waved him off and walked up the steps and towards his team.

Sasuke walked back towards us and I noticed he had a claw mark across his forearm, some blood leaking out.

He saw what I was glancing at and he shrugged.

"He's faster than before." Sasuke didn't say anything else.

"I'd recommend cleaning it," I pointed out, "Do you really think Kiba washes his hands after doing anything?"

Sasuke seemed to still for a moment, before turning to Hinata.

"Hinata." Sasuke began to say, but Hinata was already going through her pouch.

"Here, Sasuke." She handed him a bottle of antiseptic, along with a small bandage roll, "Just make sure to clean the marks thoroughly."

Sasuke nodded his thanks and started cleaning the cut, the sound of the next group of fighters coming up.

I looked at the board and saw the two new names.

Temari and Tenten.

'Well, that sucks.'

Tenten couldn't have been matched against a worse opponent.

I just hoped Tenten had the presence of mind to try and mix some other things that didn't involve the chucking of weapons at a Futon user.

The two kunoichi got to the center and Tenten looked a little nervous, but seemed to gather herself and faced Temari with her head held high.

The proctor shouted for them to begin and Tenten made the choice to rush Temari, breaking open a storage scroll and dropping 5 kunai into her hand, promptly flinging them at the blonde girl.

Temari batted them aside with a gust of wind from her fan, looking bored.

Tenten growled and pulled out a sword, charging at Temari.

A sharp blade of wind went careening towards the brown haired girl, but in an impressive display of reaction timing, she slid under it while skidding across the ground from her momentum and coming towards Temari.

Temari retreated back to keep some distance, noticing that Tenten was probably a close range fighter.

The fight went on like this for another 10 minutes, neither of the two making a decisive difference.

Tenten unfortunately kept trying to slip in a kunai or a weapon to try and hit Temari, but it was as futile as trying to carry a river with your hands.

Temari managed to clip Tenten with a wind attack that wasn't dodged on time and sent her into the wall, the crack of her head against the stone being a very unpleasant sound.

Tenten groaned audibly as she slumped to the ground, not getting up.

Temari was announced as the winner, but she at least had to work for the victory somewhat.

Gai leaped down and helped Tenten up, talking to her and smiling like her loss didn't matter. Fighting someone who was a hard counter to your style of fighting, but refusing to give in, was commendable. It didn't matter if you were defeated.

The next two fighters' names showed up on the sign, this one a new one.

Akamichi Choji and Masoni Kaito.

From what Rin told me, Kaito might be able to beat Choji in taijutsu. He was able to charge his fists with lightning and was fast enough to tag her with a few hits.

"Good luck, Choji." Ino said, giving him a hug.

Shikamaru clapped him on the shoulder and didn't say anything, while Asuma ruffled his hair and told him to kick some ass.

Choji walked towards the center, Kaito getting there only seconds earlier.

Choji gave the Kumo genin a nod of respect, one being returned.

The proctor gave the signal and the fight began.

Kaito was on the defensive immediately when the two clashed, Choji having a decent amount of physical strength for someone a couple years younger.

Choji landed a hit on Kaito, but got a kick to his side as a retaliation. Choji tried to grab the leg and hold it, but staggered back and grimaced when his arm got shocked by lightning chakra.

Kaito drove several punches towards Choji's face, but the boy managed to block most, avoiding the last one.

I knew Choji couldn't keep this up, his fingers were twitching and his face was twisted into a grimace from his forearms getting hit from lightning chakra.

Choji used his clan jutsu and expanded his arm and tried to smash his opponent. Kaito was now back on the defensive and was trying to avoid getting crushed.

Unfortunately, his greater speed helped him and he drove a lightning enhanced fist into Choji's arm, causing him to shrink his arm back to normal size and clutch the limb, which had a scorch mark on it.

Kaito blurred through hand seals and launched a respectable lightning jutsu at Choji, who didn't avoid it on time and was struck dead on by it.

Choji fell to a knee and wasn't able to stop a knee from being driven into his face by Kaito, who blitzed him when the opening appeared.

I winced when I saw Choji's head jerk back and fell on his back, not moving.

Choji was out cold, Kaito being declared the winner.

Choji was carried off the ground and the floor was starting to show some damage. Sasuke's fireball blackened part of it, and now Choji's fist cracked some of it.

Shino was next, with Zaku as his opponent.

To say that Shino kicked his ass would be a disservice. It was the fastest one as of yet, with the sight of Zaku's arms practically exploding being rather disturbing.

After the mess got cleaned up and Shino moved on to the next round, Gaara's name came up.

Dosu was the opponent.

Dosu promptly forfeited, eliciting a few looks of disappointment.

I gave a silent prayer of thanks that Lee wouldn't be crippled by Gaara, since this technically was his fight.

With Kakashi being more serious with his training and me being fast tracked to being an S-rank in a couple years, Hiruzen may not have Tsunade replacing him.

If she wasn't here, then she couldn't heal Lee.

Neji's name showed up next.

And his opponent was Omoi.

Neji had a sinister grin on his face that I knew the origins of.

A Kumo nin was within arms reach of him, a Hyuga.

I made eye contact with Gai, willing him to understand what could happen. Gai seemed to notice it and grabbed Neji by the shoulder, whispering into his ear.

The look on Gai's face was something I didn't think could be on his face outside of a fight to the death. His chakra was cold and whatever he had said to Neji had the boy clenching his fists and nodding stiffly.

Neji went down to the center and I didn't need to feel his chakra to know how angry he was.

All the bullshit I did to him seemed to have him focusing more on hating Kumo instead of being resigned to being a servant to fate, which technically was an improvement. Fighting back was better than giving up mentally on wrestling with the 'natural order of things', but he was lashing out against the wrong thing.

I'll just need to do something else. Hopefully Hinata or I would be matched up against him to beat some sense into him in front of thousands of people.

The fight began and Neji was out for blood instantly, his Byakugan activated and his hands glowing a faint blue.

Omoi had his sword out and was trying to use it to keep Neji from touching him. Neji grabbed the blade between his fingers as he got to Omoi and yanked the sword to the side, shocking Omoi.

The Juken ensured that your fingers and palm were protected when going up against armed opponents, the chakra coating acting as a shield.

Omoi avoided a juken strike aimed at his heart, but traded a lethal hit for a hit to his forearm.

He backed away and kept his sword in a low guard, his hand flexing constantly like it fell asleep.

"Did he close it?" I asked Hinata, who was watching the fight as intently as I was.

"Yes." She replied, her Byakugan active, "He missed the nerve, but his tenketsu is closed."

Neji was similar to how Sasuke was initially, an absolute dick, but his behavior didn't take away from how skilled he was.

Because of her training alongside Rin and I for a couple years, combined with Hiashi helping her adjust to a more flexible Juken form, I was confident Hinata could potentially match Neji in taijutsu, her cousin maybe having an edge from being as intelligent as he was.

My focus went back to the fight and I saw Omoi started slashing at Neji, who avoided the attacks by bobbing and twisting away from them.

Neji abruptly stopped his dodging and grabbed the blade, driving a hit into the inside of Omoi's arm.

Omoi yelled and backed away, but Neji offered no respite.

Neji's hands went up and he sped up his attacks into something very familiar to someone who fought Hyuga constantly.

8 Trigrams: 64 palms.

Hinata gasped in realization at what Neji had managed to reverse engineer.

2 hits struck Omoi.

2 more.

Then 4.

The hits sped up, each hit closing a tenketsu point. Eventually, Omoi started to fall backwards, not being able to stand. The final strike included Neji shouting in anger, blasting Omoi back with a massive amount of force.

Omoi was on his back, not getting up.

I saw Neji start to walk towards him, and the Kumo genin was coughing up blood and was moaning in pain.

Being the asshole/good friend I was, I made a decision to prevent Neji from getting a dressing down from Gai for being 'Unyouthful' and attacking a beaten opponent.

Cupping my hands over my mouth, I shouted down towards.

"Way to go, Neji-chan! I knew you could do it!"

Hinata flinched back from me shouting, but I could almost see her shake her head at what I said.

Neji paused and turned his head sharply towards me, his eyes practically burning a hole in my head.

"Wait," Omoi managed to cough out, sitting up slowly, wiping some blood off his lips, "You're a girl?"

I could hear Rin snickering while Hinata sighed, knowing Neji was about to get pissed.

Neji turned back towards Omoi and looked like he was truly going to murder him.

Kumo owes me for this.

"Don't talk to my Neji-chan!" I shouted at Omoi, "That is my Hyuga! No other shall without my permission!"

Neji growled and ran towards me, ignoring Omoi and the proctor, who already announced him the winner.

"Stop calling me a girl, you idiot!" He shouted, running up the wall.

I made a quick decision and looked at Rin and my friends.

"Shut your eyes and ears." I said, pulling out a flash tag that was fortunate enough to have survived the fight with Orochimaru.

Everyone, including Hinata thankfully, shut their eyes and put their hands on their ears.

I didn't get to use it, because Gai intervened and rushed towards us to grab Neji by his shirt, a look of disappointment on his face.

"I trained you better than this, Neji," Gai shook his head, "Go stand by Lee, now." The last word had authority in it.

Neji gave me a look of hatred, but relented. Gai let go of him and looked at me with a sad look.

"Will you please not say such Unyouthful things, Naruto?"

"Better he hate me and train, than hurt a Kumo nin that did nothing." I replied, acknowledging what I said was rather shitty.

But Neji needed to stop being all pissy about it. Hiashi needs to tell him what really happened with Hizashi and get him to stop being his insufferable self.

I liked how he matured in Shippuden, and that couldn't come any sooner. I want buddies, not people to step on.

Gai sighed and walked back towards his team, the spectacle delaying the next round of fighters.

C'mon, gimme some magic.

Haruno Sakura and Yamanaka Ino.

'Well, okay.'

Ino pumped her fist in excitement, preparing to head down.

I tapped her on the shoulder to get her attention, causing her to turn around.

"She'll be on guard against your Clan jutsu, so perhaps try something else." I advised, unsure if 'Inner' Sakura would cause an issue.

Ino smiled and nodded, but I had another thing to say.

"Good luck and kick ass," I gave her a smile in return, "You can do this."

Ino was more dedicated than in canon, everyone was. Konoha was going to have several rookies fighting with several high ups watching in the finals. If I had to guess, there will probably be more matches than canon, mainly because of Kumo participating.

Ino seemed to brighten at my faith in her, her eyes alight with gratitude.

"Thank you, Naruto." She gave me a quick hug, racing down to prepare for her fight.

///////////////////

'Okay, Ino, you can do this.' She thought to herself, looking at her former friend.

Sakura had trimmed her hair some, almost to the length that Ino had shortened hers after her father and Naruto commented how someone could grab it, and she actually looked like she'd been training since she last saw her, Kurenai probably forcing her to see reason.

"Scared, Ino-pig?" Sakura asked with a grin, hopping on the balls of her feet in excitement at fighting her.

"Scared that it'll take more than 5 minutes to beat you, Forehead." She shot back, pulling a kunai and flipping it into a backhand grip.

She glanced at the proctor, then to Naruto and her team.

Shikamaru, even though he was a lazy slacker, was a good friend and was giving her a reassuring smile, her Sensei having a similar look.

Naruto looked completely at ease, not looking anxious at all.

He didn't believe she could win, he knew she would.

She turned back to Sakura, who was just as ready.

"Begin." The proctor said, backing up quickly.

The two rushed each other and Ino stabbed towards Sakura, the pinkette ducking under the stab and aimed a punch at her ribs.

Ino pivoted on her right leg and avoided the punch, slashing at Sakura as she did so.

Sakura's sleeve got nicked, but no blood was drawn.

The two backed away from each other and stalked around one another for a moment, neither making a move.

"Still not better than me, Sakura." Ino said, looking at the girl.

"Gonna take more than a little bit of training to beat me, Ino." Sakura replied sharply, reaching towards her waist and flinging a kunai with a tag on it.

Ino dashed to the side to avoid it, the tag going off where she just was. She expected it to be an exploding tag, but it turned out to be smoke bomb.

She used her sensory ability to look for Sakura, but didn't feel her.

She realized that something was wrong, Sakura couldn't mask her chakra to that level.

Ino's eyes widened at her oversight and tried to sense beneath her. That was the right choice, as she felt Sakura just under her, slinking through the ground.

Sakura rose from the ground right in front of her, slashing at her with a kunai. Ino back flipped away, charging back at her.

A quick exchange of taijutsu occurred, neither of them getting a clear advantage. Ino still had her kunai and was slashing and stabbing at Sakura, who was dodging or deflecting the attacks, a look of intense focus on her face, which was starting to flush from exertion.

Sakura backed away and flung a kunai at Ino, trying to make some space.

Ino flung her own kunai at Sakura's, managing to knock it off course.

Sakura was surprised enough by it that Ino saw an opening to possibly win already. Making hand seals as fast as she could, Ino pooled some chakra in her stomach and used the one water jutsu she was competent with right now.

Suiton: Teppodama.

The beach ball sized projectile struck Sakura, who got knocked across the ground, getting pushed back some distance.

Sakura was soaking wet now and was coughing up water, trying to get up.

Ino grinned and made a hand seal to jump into Sakura's mind.

Shintenshin no Jutsu. (Mind Body Switch Technique).

Her body went limp and her consciousness shot towards Sakura, who didn't look to be getting up.

Sakura looked up and her eyes widened in realization, her eyes going slack when Ino's consciousness impacted her.

Ino went to control Sakura, but she felt two different personalities.

She'd never felt anything like this before, almost like Sakura had two personalities.

'Are you legitimately insane, Sakura?' She couldn't help but ask, the pinkette's fury raising when she heard that.

'Get out of my head, bitch!' She screamed, trying to fight her off.

Ino couldn't seem to keep ahold of Sakura, feeling like she was trying to grab an eel.

'Or a greased PIG!' Sakura shouted, hearing her try and wrestle control of her body.

Ino growled and decided she wanted to bruise and hurt Sakura for that comment.

She abruptly broke the connection, making it as loud as possible of an exit.

Sakura pitched forward and clutched her head, blood coming from her nose.

Ino opened her eyes seconds later and bolted upright, seeing Sakura be affected so much.

She grinned and dashed towards her, pulsing chakra into her feet to stop her from slipping on the water left from her Suiton jutsu.

She drove several punches towards Sakura, who barely managed to get her hands up in time to prevent her from being struck in the face.

A punch slipped through and hit her in the eye, causing her to lose sight of Ino.

The blonde leaned back and spun 360 degrees, driving a kick into Sakura's temple, knocking her unconscious.

Breathing heavily, Ino saw that Sakura really was down for the count.

"Haruno Sakura is unable to continue. The winner is Yamanaka Ino." The proctor declared, coughing slightly at the end.

She heard Naruto clap and whistle, Rin whooping as well.

The other Konoha genin didn't cheer, given that it was two Konoha fighters, but she didn't care.

She won.

She let the Iryo-nin attend to Sakura, while she rushed back to her team, a wide smile on her face.

"Good job, Ino," Asuma clapped her on the shoulder, "I knew you could do it."

Ino smiled at her Sensei, which turned into a smirk.

"You think Kurenai-san will be mad at you for making her student lose?" She saw Asuma's eyes narrow slightly.

"Very funny, kid." He ruffled her hair, causing her to growl in anger.

She pushed his arm away and stomped over to Naruto, her hair a mess.

Naruto snorted as she got within earshot.

"Asuma not find the joke funny?" He asked simply, glancing at her hair.

Ino turned her nose up and made a pointed effort to not look at her Sensei.

"I make a little joke and he dares touch my hair."

"Oh, the inhumanity," Naruto swooned, clutching his own hair, "How dare he do such a horrible travesty?"

Ino giggled, knowing Naruto didn't care about vanity, save for his hair.

Naruto then adopted a more serious look.

"You did amazing," He smiled, his eyes shining bright, "You've gotten so much better."

Ino preened at the praise, feeling warm inside.

Naruto then turned towards the proctor, the newest names coming up.

/////////////////////

'Ino has gotten much better.' I thought to myself, seeing her expression be almost radiant in how happy she was.

The newest names were about to be announced, the possibilities running through my head.

Me, Rin, Hinata, Karui, Kankuro, and Lee were the only ones left that could be chosen. Unless Lee went up against me or possibly Rin, he was in the clear to the finals. Karui was almost guaranteed to lose, while Kankuro needed to be against Hinata to have any chance of pulling out a win with his puppet.

I looked at the first name on the board, being Lee's. But it was the next that caught my attention.

Uzumaki Naruto.

'Lee, this will be fun.'

"Wish me luck." I said cheekily to Hinata, who was to my right.

Hinata then proceeded to do something that had me freeze for I don't know how long.

She kissed my cheek.

I felt the softness of her lips touch a whisker mark on my cheek, causing me to shiver. I slowly turned to her, seeing her look beet red in embarrassment.

"Good luck, Naruto-kun." She whispered, averting her eyes.

I was still trying to understand what the hell just happened when Ino followed that and gave me a hug, discreetly kissing my other cheek.

"Kick his ass, Naruto." She whispered in my ear, letting go of me and smiling.

I was still blinking in surprise at what happened, not moving at all.

It took Rin walking up to me and smacking my head to get me out of the stupor that afflicted me.

"Get down there, Naruto," Rin scolded me, a grin on her face, "You're gonna get disqualified."

I robotically walked down the steps, my mind running through what just happened.

Hinata plucked up the courage to kiss me, even if it was just a 'good luck' one. Then Ino decides to be funny and does it as well.

My mind may not read into it all that much, but this insufferable flesh suit liked it far more than I wanted.

Fuck puberty.

Lee better put up a damn good fight, because I needed to get my mind off of having to deal with the affections of girls that were my physical age. It'd be welcome if it was at least a few years from now. But as it was, it was weird.

I got down to the center and focused on the fight at hand.

Lee looked absolutely giddy at fighting me, his weights still on.

"Lee," I said, looking at him seriously, "I refuse to fight you unless you're at your best."

Lee looked at me confusedly for a moment, but it shifted to an absolutely glowing smile moments later when he realized what I meant.

"Take them off." I instructed, returning the grin.

'Yep. Problem solved.' Nothing solves troublesome things such as girls like the prospect of punching the shit out of your buddies.

Lee pulled his weights off and flung them to the corner, the absolutely obscene boom of them impacting the ground was ridiculous, the crater causing dust to rise.

I saw the look of shock on the faces of the Kumo and Suna genin, relishing in it.

They must think I was a lunatic for demanding that Lee go at me without those weights on him.

"Are the fighters ready?" Hayate asked, coughing slightly.

I nodded, not even drawing my sword.

My arms were up and I had lightning chakra flowing through the nerves in my brain. I wanted to see everything.

"You don't have permission to give up until I say you can, Lee." I commanded, "Your youth will burn bright, even if I must force it to."

Lee had his hands up and body positioned in a classic Goken stance.

"Yosh!" He shouted, his entire body still with focus, "I will overwhelm you with the fires of my youth!"

The sickly proctor stepped back and signaled us to begin.

To say we shot towards each other at a fast pace would be an understatement. We both were going at about Jonin speed.

Our first exchange was literally nothing but punches and counters, our fists a blur. I pushed one punch aside, darting my fist out to strike his face. Lee ducked under it and blurred as he spun his whole body and lashed out with a kick towards my head.

I caught the kick, my palm stinging, and flung him away. He twisted in the air and landed with no problem.

I tested out his speed and made one hand seal, shaping some water chakra in my stomach.

Suiton: Teppodama.

Who needs massive, complex jutsu when you can overcook regular C-ranks into being able to smash trees?

I blasted a massive ball of water at Lee, easily dwarfing Ino's. Lee completely avoided it by sprinting to the side, being a green blur to most people viewing.

The water crashed into the wall and exploded, raining down on the Kumo nin and the Sand siblings, Gaara only being spared getting wet because of his sand armour.

I was able to track Lee's movements from my sensing and sped up mind processing. He leaped over me and straightened both his legs out to kick my head. I simply pivoted and blocked the kicks with my forearms.

I didn't give Lee time to do anything and charged at him as he landed, pressuring him with a furious assault. Gai should be proud, watching Lee keep up with me, an Uzumaki Jinchuriki and prodigy.

His guard was hard to get through. He was like a rock, pun not intended. He felt like a piece of iron, unbroken and unbent.

My punches and kicks were being straight up stopped by him, the thud and heavy breathing being the only thing heard. No words were needed, an entire conversation practically occurring as we exchanged blows.

I managed to slip a punch through and felt his head jerk back from the impact. He recovered faster than any other genin that wasn't me would have and kept stopping my punches.

I growled in exertion and kicked out at his head, my leg impacting his forearm.

Finally, I got a wince out of Lee, the kick actually being felt.

I withdrew my leg and let Lee attack, knowing I could outlast him.

He started speeding up, me responding in kind. A green and orange blur that was his leg drove towards my chest like a spear, but I avoided it on time. I pushed the leg away with my palm before he could pull it back and caused him to lose his balance. The retaliatory kick to his ribs sent him flying back, barely avoiding his ass hitting the ground.

With the opening, I made a hand seal to make about a dozen shadow clones with orders to try and slip some gravity seals on him once he started opening a Gate or two.

The chakra blast from opening a Gate would fry most seals, but slipping it on after the initial blast of opening one had a chance of sticking.

Besides, it only needed to stick for a few seconds to be helpful.

The clones Shunshined a short distance to the edge of the battlefield, sticking to the walls with chakra.

I then drew my sword.

"Come," I beckoned Lee to charge, "If so certain of victory," I flourished the blade in challenge, "why wait?"

Lee smiled and charged at me again, looking gleeful.

I swung towards his head with one hand on my sword, the other tucked towards my chest.

He pulled a kunai from his holster and diverted my sword strike to the ground, driving his other fist towards my face.

I pushed his arm away, swinging my sword up again at his head, trying to land a hit. The blade ghosted over the top of his head as he ducked and stabbed at me.

The stab brushed across my shirt as I shifted my body to avoid it, throwing several punches at him, not even bothering to maneuver my sword when we were so close to each other.

Lee ended up missing one of my punches and got another hit to the face, but retaliated with several of his own, each one seeming to whistle from their speed.

I caught the last punch and tried to stomp on his foot, but he shifted around to not get stepped on. In this close of range, his kunai had an advantage over my sword, so I simply dropped it and grabbed at his wrist as he stabbed at me.

We started grappling and trying to shove the other off balance, the two of us relatively equal in strength.

Eventually, Lee started straining some, his face tightening. I put on a show of using all my focus to keep him still, but pressed my foot to the sword that I dropped.

Lee looked more shocked than pained when I let go of his empty hand and fell backwards, swinging the sword stuck to my foot at his shin.

I opened up a sizable slash on his lower leg, him barely avoiding tendon damage by jumping away at the last second.

He landed on his good leg, wincing from his leg jostling.

I arched my body and flipped back to my feet, pulling the sword off my foot and readying it.

"Sometimes, an opening is too good to be true, Lee." I said to him, pointing at his leg with my sword.

Lee didn't expect me to disengage from our battle of wills or drop my sword intentionally.

That crap only worked once in a fight, so you best make sure it works. And judging by the dark stain slowly growing on Lee's lower leg, it was worth it.

"I will not give you the right to give up until you beat me into the ground, Lee!" I shouted, wanting him to prove to himself that he could push me, "You trained until your bones cracked, don't tell me that little love bite has you whimpering away from the fight!"

Lee gave me a look of determination.

"I will never give up!" Lee shouted, shifting his legs and putting his hands in a familiar position, "I will become a splendid Shinobi able to stand beside you, Naruto!"

I turned to Gai, who had tears of joy in his eyes.

"Lee!" He shouted to his student, "I give you permission to use them!"

I saw Kakashi give Gai a look of surprise, glancing towards me.

I watched Lee, how his entire body seemed to freeze at the display of trust his Sensei had in him.

I was not going to let him misunderstand.

"You see, Lee," I shouted to him with genuine passion in my voice, "Your Sensei has faith that you can do this. Show me your might! Show me you will!" I dug deep and flared my chakra, "Show me your Youth!"

Lee's chakra flared in a way only mine and Gai's did as he tensed his whole body.

Gate of Opening: Kai!.

I felt his chakra shift as the first Gate was opened, his chakra almost visible.

Gate of Healing: Kai!.

His chakra flared even more, feeling like a whirlwind of power.

This was it.

"Come!" I shouted, pulsing chakra into my legs.

He let out a shout and charged at me with so much speed it left an after image.

I Shunshined at him and we clashed, the ground cracking from the impact.

Lee was now temporarily out pacing me, his hits being strong enough to seriously hurt. I avoided them, slipping in punches where I could.

My sensing was shut off because the chakra halo from Lee was almost blinding. I landed a punch to his face, but I didn't avoid the punch in retaliation.

I felt the air be driven from my lungs as I got bodily sent back, smashing into the ground.

Lee seemed to blur behind me and drove another punch into my chest as I barely stopped myself from falling down from disorientation.

The next one was dodged as I expected it. His speed started to slow down a bit, meaning he was trying to pace himself.

I growled and swung my blade at him, twirling it towards my blind spot as he jumped over the first.

He managed to knock the blade aside and sent a spinning kick towards my head.

I ducked under it, being almost horizontal to the ground, my hand swinging my blade back towards him as I jerked my upper body back up.

Lee actually caught the sword and wrenched it from my grip. He then swung the hilt at my head, which I ducked.

Lee was going to have to hit me with something harder if he was going to beat me.

Knowing I needed room to use the match enders, I backed away and waited for one of Lee's attacks to get through that would knock me back.

'Damnit, c'mon.' I thought to myself, avoiding punches or knocking them aside with my forearms. I needed a kick that wasn't too strong to knock me back.

That kick came and I threw my arms out to let it hit me. Lee realized too late what I did and already kicked me.

I groaned at the impact, but I managed to tense the muscles in my gut to not get winded.

As I flew through the air, I shouted at my clones to delay. They all Shunshined towards Lee, none of them using a Chidori or Rasengan.

Lee started tearing through them, but not fast enough.

I made a hand seal and shifted some chakra to the first Gate.

Gate of Opening: Kai!.

My body felt much lighter and stronger, my chakra flaring deliciously.

Lee was now moving visibly slower, courtesy of a couple gravity seals stuck to his arms and back.

I made a hand seal and sent another ball of water at Lee and Shunshined to the left.

Lee dashed away from the water, predictably, and ran straight into me.

My speed surpassed him when I used the Shunshin, and it was all the more apparent when my fist struck his face and drove him into the wall, cratering it.

I was riding the rush of my chakra flowing throughout my body at a higher level, but managed to keep myself restrained and let Lee regain his composure.

Lee groaned and got back up unsteadily, looking a little dizzy.

I glanced at Gai, who didn't look to be too concerned, meaning he trusted Lee not to overdo it with the Gates.

I was courteous and let Lee shake away the cobwebs and refocused his gaze on me.

"You are an amazing Shinobi, Lee," I said sincerely, "and I am proud to call you a comrade."

Lee had tears in his eyes and still looked ready to keep fighting.

"Will you honour me and still fight?" I asked him, wanting him to know I respected so much.

Lee nodded, wiping his eyes.

"Yosh!" He shouted, his chakra flaring again, "My Youth burns hot!"

Gate of Life: Kai!.

His skin turned red and his hair stood on end, the fact that his pupils were gone struck me when his eyes opened.

I grinned and pushed chakra towards the right hemisphere of my brain, jabbing at a specific tenketsu to force it open.

Gate of Healing: Kai!.

Instantly, the minute amount of exhaustion I had disappeared, my entire body shaking like I was on a sugar high.

We both let out a war cry and charged again, the ground breaking under our footsteps.

An Earth shaking boom that nearly deafened me occurred when our punches clashed.

I ducked under his second punch and sent a kick at his face, his head blurring out of the way.

He was moving really fast, now that the third Gate was opened.

Each punch that made contact felt like a hammer smashing into me, but I muscled through the pain and was actually laughing as I landed my own hits.

Lee ended up getting the first face shot in and I felt my nose break from the hit.

I staggered back and I felt my lower teeth clack as he did a back flip, driving both feet into my head from below.

I went airborne and realized what he was going to try.

Primary Lotus.

He flicked his bandages loose and wrapped them around me, jumping towards me.

There was no chance I could get my chakra to stick to him and reverse our positions so that he'd get smashed into the ground rather than me.

I saw the ground get closer and everything started spinning as he started twisting us around faster and faster.

I refused to get bodied by him.

I pulsed a chakra blade into my hand, cutting through the bandages. I then stretched it as far as I could, even getting it to shoot out of the tenketsu in my arm. It freaking hurt, but I managed it.

The slowed down perception from the lightning enhancement had me freaking out as I was looking at the ground get closer, but I broke out of the bandages and grabbed ahold of Lee, kicking him away from me.

I still ended up hitting the ground hard, but I managed to avoid my head hitting first.

The ground still cratered under me, my legs going numb from the impact.

Groaning, I wobbled a bit and looked towards Lee, who was breathing heavily several yards away.

"Anybody else would have been in Dreamland after that, Lee." I winced and massaged my leg, trying to ignore the pins and needles feeling in the extremity.

Lee looked ready to keep going, but I raised my hand to stop him.

"I know you can keep going, Lee," I said kindly, my voice then shifting to a serious one, "But opening anymore will hurt you. I don't want to see a friend hurt over something as trivial as a tournament."

Lee looked mutinous, but I gave him a stern look.

"I must prove that I can be a truly great Shinobi with just taijutsu." He said, looking almost lost at me telling him to stop.

I walked towards him, closing the two Gates I could open currently, not being able to hide the shiver as my nerves started twitching for a few seconds.

"Lee," I said softly, giving a look of pride, "You have nothing to prove that hasn't already been. You showed everyone who called you a loser and a failure that you can become great in spite of something you had no control over."

I put my hand on his shoulder, not caring that his chakra was causing my hand to shake.

"This day will go down in history as the day that the dead last of his year used only taijutsu to fight the future Hokage." I smiled, almost choking up at the look on his face.

Lee teared up, but nodded and closed the three Gates he opened, his chakra reverting back to normal.

He began to collapse, but I caught him.

"Proctor," He said weakly, "I cannot continue."

"Rock Lee is unable to continue," Hayate announced, "The winner is Uzumaki Naruto."

I didn't let go of Lee, helping him over to the Iryo-nin.

"Look at your Sensei," I whispered to him, not caring that he was a little heavy as I carried most of his weight, "Look at his pride. Who gives a shit about bragging rights when you have a Sensei like that?"

Gai had jumped down and rushed towards us as I said that, the man hearing the last part.

"You are a lucky man to have such a good student, Gai-sensei." I said with all the respect I had for the man in my voice, "You have given Konoha a splendid and beautiful Shinobi that I will proudly serve with."

Gai sniffled, before a face splitting grin appeared on his face.

"I knew you wouldn't be corrupted by Kakashi's hip and Unyouthfulness, Naruto!" He shouted, pulling me into a hug.

If I wasn't already certain that there was life after death, what happened next would have proven it did.

And the afterlife was Hell.

To see the Sunset of Youth Genjutsu on a television screen was one thing, but to be an unwitting member of it was a million times worse.

I couldn't feel anything aside from me, Gai, and Lee. My chakra sensing was useless. Something that wasn't chakra, but something that was transcendental, was surrounding me.

I then heard an ethereal voice echo all around me.

'Youth is what gives a Shinobi his power. It's an energy field created by all living things. It surrounds us, it penetrates us, it binds the universe together.'

'Let me out!' I screamed in my mind, unable to escape Gai's grip. 'Let me out!'

Kurama, being the unlucky son of a bitch he is, decided to see what all the commotion was about.

"About time you opened up a connection," He grumbled, "I wanted to see you figh- What the fuck is going on?!" He shouted, seeing through my eyes, "Kill me. Get us out of this."

Kurama started trying to flash his chakra to disrupt mine and get out of whatever hellscape I was in, but it didn't work.

The Genjutsu from hell finally ended with Gai letting go of me, taking Lee with him, the medics right beside them.

I guess I walked back towards the others, because I didn't remember doing it.

Kakashi ended reaching me as I just stared dumbly around.

"Naruto," He asked, looking concerned, "Are you okay?" He looked genuinely worried.

I just looked at him with a faraway look, not being able to respond immediately.

"I think being born was less traumatic." I mumbled eventually, blinking a few times.

Ino looked downright concerned as she sensed my emotions, probably shocked by how much the Springtime of Youth had affected me.

"Well," Kakashi grimaced, patting my shoulder, "You're now acquainted with the power of Gai's Youth. You've taken your first into a larger world."

That last sentence shook me out my stupor, my shock being replaced with irritation.

I should never have published that damn book.

"I hate you." I said simply, walking back towards Teams 7 and 10.

/////////////////

Rin stared at her brother in wonder, the fact that he was that fast shocking her.

Sure, she knew he was much better than he let on, but he actually beat Lee in taijutsu and broke out of the older boy's Primary Lotus.

She now understood how he was able to fight Orochimaru on his own and actually hurt the traitor.

The blonde couldn't help but smile as she heard Naruto talk to Lee and Gai, the look of joy on Gai's face at Naruto saying he was proud to have fought Lee.

She ended up gawking at the disturbing display of Youth that Naruto was trapped in by the two spandex wearers.

She could actually hear the Kyuubi screaming, it was that bad.

Rin started giggling when Naruto wondered back towards them, looking traumatized.

After Kakashi said something to him, she walked towards him and gave him a hug.

"Don't worry, oniichan," She whispered softly, rubbing his back, "I won't let the big bad, Youth get you."

Naruto scowled and pushed her away, grumbling under his breath about troublesome blondes.

"Don't be like Shikamaru," She stated flatly, "You're more troublesome than I am."

"I'm not a blonde." Naruto said simply, as if that was all that was needed to be said.

"Shika," Rin looked at the laid back boy, his gaze going to hers, "Am I troublesome?"

Shika sighed and seemed to debate for a moment, but finally answered.

"Is the sky blue?"

Rin felt a tick mark form on her head at what he said, stomping towards him.

"Rin." Sasuke said, not wanting to have to deal with her being in a bad mood.

"Lazy ass." She growled at Shikamaru, who didn't flinch at all.

Shikamaru flicked his eyes towards Naruto.

"She's quite literally the female you." He said to her brother.

Before she could respond with a biting comment, Naruto mimed like he was retching.

"No," He begged, "I can't fathom being a blonde." He shuddered like it was the worst thing he could imagine.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Ino asked irritably, stepping forward.

"It means I have a much higher calling in life, Ino-chan." He laughed, both her and Ino now glaring at him, "Something befitting my status."

"You're a baka." Rin grumbled, annoyed with her brother.

"Better a baka than a blonde." Naruto said in their language, a toothy grin on display.

"But not all blondes are the same," Naruto offered, acting like he was trying to find a middle ground, "You and Ino are very different creatures."

'I'm going to kill him.' Rin vowed, Ino's expression saying the same thing.

The arena was still getting cleaned up, but it was almost ready.

"Rin," Naruto addressed her, "You and Ino may be girls with blonde hair, but that is where the similarities end."

Rin was not looking forward to what he was going to say, especially with that mischievous grin on his face.

The moment with Gai and Lee probably rattled and humiliated him, so he was likely trying to save face.

"You're hair is a blonde shade that looks like a mote of sunshine, almost like it were spun from gold." Naruto said poetically, looking starstruck, "Furthermore, your eyes are a piercing violet that look like fresh cut amethysts as the light strikes them."

Rin snorted, knowing Naruto was having a blast doing this.

"Ino-chan," He looked at the Yamanaka girl, repeatedly using the 'chan' suffix, "Where Rin's hair is spun from gold, yours is of platinum, and your eyes are the most radiant of turquoise, matching perfectly with your flowing mane of hair."

Rin had never seen Ino get that red faced in her life, almost looking as embarrassed as Hinata was at times.

It was when Naruto turned to face Hinata that Rin realized why he was giving grandiose descriptions of them.

He was getting back at them embarrassing him by replying in kind.

"While Hinata-chan is cut from a different cloth," He tilted his head, the girl looking at him with with her face reddening already, "Hair as dark as the night sky, with luminous eyes that shine like the full moon, two gorgeous pearls. A perfect contrast."

Hinata started to sway like she was going to pass out, but Naruto then looked at Sasuke.

"Don't make any stupid jokes about 'Satsuki-chan' or whatever you're going to say." Sasuke glared at Naruto, taking the initiative.

Naruto scoffed. "I'm pretty sure if you used the Henge like me, you could surpass the Sexy jutsu I made."

Sasuke made his typical 'Hn' sound and turned away.

Kakashi walked over to them and cleared his throat.

"As amusing as it's been listening to you sound like Jiraiya-sama when he hits on women," Kakashi said, eliciting a scowl from Naruto, "Rin's name got called."

All of them turned and looked at the screen, seeing her name and the one Suna Shinobi, Kankuro.

She smirked and went to leap over the guardrail, but Naruto grabbed her by the waist to stop her.

Her eyes widened in surprise, wondering why he stopped her.

"What?" She asked, looking to her right to see his face just inches from hers.

Gone was her bright eyed and energetic twin. In his place, was someone that fought Momochi Zabuza and beat him, the 13 year old boy that fought Orochimaru, an S-rank.

She shivered at how cold his gaze was, before he leaned closer.

"He's a puppeteer," He whispered into her ear, "expect poison and distractions."

She nodded, but he said one more thing.

"Don't use the Rasengan." He finished, letting her go.

Not knowing why he was that worried about it, she shrugged it off and assumed it was him being his usual self.

Rin went down towards the center of the room, hearing her footsteps echo off the walls.

Kankuro was there already, his clothes looking weird and the makeup on his face made it look weirder.

Rin stretched her arms and legs, giving the older boy a predatory smirk.

"Are the fighters ready?" The proctor asked, looking at the two of them.

Rin intentionally giggled girlishly, flicking her hair.

"I'm ready for another victim." She gave a grin that had her baring her teeth.

Kankuro flinched a bit, but he grabbed what was his puppet from his back and had it ready. He then gave a nod towards the proctor.

"Begin!