24 Fight, Fight, Fight

Naruto looked back and forth between the two women who were on either side of him. Yugito was smiling, looking content and nothing seemed to be bothering her…and this was in spite of the glares and slight killing intent Tenten was directing towards the blond woman. Naruto had no clue what was going on, even with all the time he had spent around members of the opposite sex, he had never been in a situation like this before.

However even though he was not sure why Tenten seemed so angry, he suspected that it had something to with that kiss Yugito gave him.

He looked over at Tenten who was shooting Yugito a heated glare. The moment his eyes made contact with hers however, she looked away. Naruto frowned for a moment before placing a hand on her and giving it a gentle squeeze. Even if he was not sure why she was so angry, the least he could do was let her know he was there for her. It seemed to work as Tenten's killing intent slowly vanished.

Sighing he looked over at Yugito who noticed his gaze and turned a grateful smile on him, causing him to smile back.

Naruto turned his gaze back to the arena where Lee was standing, waiting for Uchiha Sasuke to show up.

"Sir, Uchiha Sasuke still hasn't shown up," Raido whispered into his Hokage's ear. "The crowd is starting to get restless."

Sarutobi sighed in both disappointment and worry. Raido was right. The Hokage could hear boos being shouted out. People wanted action, especially after seeing such an incredible battle from the previous match.

"It seems we have no choice," Sarutobi said. "Uchiha Sasuke is hereby disqualified from the Chunin Exams for being late."

The Kazekage turned to look at him, "Hokage-Dono, I think you should reconsider. Many of the people here came to see the Uchiha heir; not showcasing him could cost you a lot of business."

On the other side of Sarutobi, the Raikage raised an eyebrow, "Why do you care if the Uchiha shows up so much? He's not your shinobi, if what you say is true then this would give you more business opportunities. Besides, even if he was your shinobi, being on time is a vital task for any ninja. How can you expect someone to react in a timely manner for something more serious like an S-rank mission where he needs to meet with an important contact, or assassinate someone who only becomes vulnerable at a certain time, if he cannot even be on time for something that is important to his own career."

He shook his head before looking back over to the arena floor, his point on the matter made clear. "No, I believe this Uchiha Sasuke should be disqualified, regardless of his clan. Unless the Hokage is into showing favoritism."

"You make a good point Raikage-dono," Sarutobi nodded his head in agreement, "It seems I have no choice but to disqualify him." He looked over at Raido, "Tell Genma." Raido nodded and prepared to disappear within a shunshin.

The Kazekage seethed, Damn it! Starting my plan relied on Sasuke-kun and the Uzumaki to fight! Now I'll have to find another battle to be my signal. He quickly calmed himself as he came up with a new plan.

"Hokage-dono, perhaps as a treat we can have Sasuke battle against whoever wins the Chunin Exams. At least that way, those who have placed a bet on the young Heir to win will not have their money go to waste."

"I did not know you were a betting man, Kazekage-dono," Sarutobi frowned, but did not allow any other feature on his face to change. He looked over at the Raikage with a questioning glance.

Understanding what the aging Hokage wanted the Raikage gave a grunt of assent, "I don't see why not. So long as Uchiha Sasuke is not technically eligible for Chunin I don't care."

Sarutobi nodded and looked over at Raido with a nod, prompting him to shunshin down to the arena floor.

Genma nodded as he listened to Raido. Looked up at the crowd as the man disappeared he shouted, "Due to Uchiha Sasuke not being on time, he is hereby disqualified from the Chunin Exams." Several angry shouts were heard as people who had bet a lot of money got angry. However Genma was quick to quell that anger.

"However, as a special treat for you all, the winner of the Chunin Exams will face Uchiha Sasuke after the exam has ended. But he will not be allowed to get a promotion!"

That seemed to satisfy most of the populace as they all quieted down.

"What the fuck!" Naruto shouted as his hands tightly gripped the railing, "Who the hell allowed that to happen?" he growled as he looked down at the arena floor, "I should have realized that teme would get some kind of special privilege, even if he didn't show up for his battle!"

"Calm down Naruto-kun," Yugito placed her hand on one of Naruto's own and began to rub the back of her hand with her thumb. "There's no sense in getting angry. And at least he's not going to be allowed to advance."

"That's not the point," Naruto grunted, though he loosened his grip on the railing all the same. "If it were anyone else they would have just been disqualified, but because he's 'the last Uchiha' he's still going to get to battle the winner, who by that point will likely be tired enough that they won't be able to put up as much of a fight. That damn teme has had everything fed to him on a silver platter, because people like those bastards on the council are so enamored with that damned monkey eye of his. We're looking at favoritism at its finest."

Honestly it was times like these where he could truly say he disliked Sasuke and the council. The raven-haired Genin was always receiving special privileges like this, even in the academy! Naruto could not recall the number of times Sasuke had been offered special training outside of school by instructors looking to gain favor, there had even been a rumor once that he was going to be allowed to graduate early, though that at least had proven to be just a rumor. Still the fact that the people of Konoha continued to show such blatant favoritism over what Naruto thought was a ridiculous and over rated doujutsu was just frustrating.

Not wanting to upstaged by the blond hussy from Kumo, Tenten grabbed his other hand and held it affectionately, "That may be true but Yugito-san is right Naruto-kun. There is no sense in getting worked up over it."

Naruto sighed, "I guess." He gave them both a smile, "Thanks."

"No problem!" they both said before looking at each other, one looking amused while the other was angry.

The three of them never noticed another set of jealous eyes on them.

"Will Tenten and Temari please come down to the Arena floor!"

"Looks like you're up Ten-chan."

Tenten grinned, "Looks like it, gonna wish me luck?"

Naruto chuckled before he pulled her into a hug, "Good luck." He said into her ear, unintentionally making the bun haired girl shiver and blush.

"T-Thanks!" a red faced Tenten said before making herself scarce and rushing down to the arena floor.

Temari glared after the girl before opening up her fan and jumping on it as she glided down to the Arena.

"So," Yugito drawled out as she looked over at Naruto. "That Tenten girl is close to you?"

"Of course," Naruto answered, not quite understanding where she was going with this. "She's probably my best friend out of everyone in Konoha. In fact, she was the first friend my age I ever made."

Yugito's eyes softened a bit as this as realization set in, she knew what that was like, she may have friends now but it had not always been like that. Jinchuuriki in most villages rarely ever had friends, so the few they did have meant more than anything else.

It didn't mean she wasn't still gonna tease him though.

She gave him a coy smile, "So just how close are you and that girl?"

Naruto just gave her an owlish blink and spoke with an eloquence that only he could accomplish, "Huh?"

Yugito chuckled, "I mean is she your…" She held up her pinky finger and wiggled it.

"Ah…no! Well, I don't think so. What I mean is…she and I erm…" Yugito grinned as Naruto turned bright red, mean while everyone else in the booth just stared at him.

"Aw! You're so cute blushing like that," Despite his blush, Naruto attempted to give the cat woman his best bastardized 'Uchiha' scowl. It didn't work as she giggled, "There's no need to be so worked up." Yugito leaned into his ear and in a seductive voice whispered, "But if she is your girlfriend, do you think she would be willing to share on occasion?"

Naruto actually had to cover his nose as it threatened to send him into blissful unconsciousness from a nosebleed. What the fuck is going on! Girlfriend! SHARING! Is she fucking serious! To say that Naruto was confused would be like saying Orochimaru had a small fetish for little boys, or Jiraiya was a 'little' pervert. Understatement simply didn't begin to cover it. Even with all the social interaction he had been getting recently, nothing could have prepared him for that statement.

'You know, this situation kind of reminds me of Chapter 12 from Icha Icha Tactics,' Kyuubi commented, actually finding herself amused by her tenant's reaction. While she herself had never used seduction to actually tease a human, preferring to go straight in for the kill and bring them under her will, and did not much care for this woman flirting with her container; she could not say that watching her container getting so worked up wasn't at the very least mildly amusing.

Maybe I should try something like that to… she shook the thought off before it could finish forming. If she tried to manipulate the blond in anyway Naruto would no longer trust her, and then there was 'her.' Kyuubi had no doubt she would stop her from attempting anything.

Naruto blinked for a moment, 'You know it actually doe- wait a minute! How did you know that?'

Kyuubi smirked, 'Weeeell, since I'm stuck here all day and you're sometimes busy, I decided to revisit some of your old memories. I must say, for an old lecher, that Jiraiya character writes some good stories.'

'Kyuu-chan? You're not…a pervert are you?'

Kyuubi paused for a moment as she wondered what she should say to push him over the edge. She shrugged for a moment before speaking, 'Naruto-kun, in this world you will learn that everyone is a pervert to some degree or another. It's just a matter on how perverted. But to answer your question, no I never really thought about having sex or being intimate with anyone. I never actually cared for any of the human males I manipulated with my skills in seduction, kitsune illusions and natural charm, and quite frankly, they were so far beneath me that I would never soil myself by sleeping with them. Being intimate with a human is the same as if I had just gone out into the woods and found some random fox to rut with, disgusting. No human could ever be considered worthy of being 'near' me, much less 'with' me.'

Not really sure what that meant he asked again.

Kyuubi sighed; really sometimes the boy was so bright it was frightening even to one such as her. And other times he was as dense as a brick wall. 'I may be a bit of a pervert…' She grinned as a fun and potentially dangerous idea came to her. 'However, if I am, it's not for anyone except you Naruto-sama…'

No matter what personal grudges he might still hold against Kyuubi, he would never deny that she was the epitome of sex appeal. The fact that they were on more cordial terms now only added to the woman's natural charm, and it was because of this that Naruto had no chance to defend himself against the nosebleed that launched him away and into a wall where he hit his head, knocking him out cold.

Everyone else looked over at him and sweatdropped.

"Man Naruto's so troublesome," Shikamaru muttered as he tried not to think about the now unconscious blond.

Yugito blinked before walking over to the passed out blond and attempting to wake him, I wonder what that was about?

"I want a clean match you two," Genma said to the two girls, having noticed the blond one leaking some killing intent at the other. He shook his head as he cleared any curiosity he felt and started the match, "Ready…Hajime!"

The moment the match start, Tenten leapt back and threw several Kunai at Temari. However a quick swing from her fan left the blond Suna kunoichi completely uninjured, I'll show him I'm a better woman than this little girl and that other blond.

I missed? Tenten looked at Temari in shock. But I never miss! She narrowed her eyes as she saw the blond smirk at her, and showing off her iron fan, which was now 1/3 of the way open to reveal a single orb.

"You see this orb on my fan? It's really a star, and the instant it reaches the third star its game over for you little girl," Temari's smirk increased when she saw the snarl on Tenten's face.

I knew it; those wind type jutsu will make it impossible for me to defeat her from a distance. I need to get in close, with that thought in mind, Tenten unsealed a Katana and charged at Temari.

"That won't work!" Temari shouted as she swung her fan and unleashed a blast of wind, as well as revealed the second star.

However Tenten used a Kawarimi to switch places with a log and came at her from another angle. She was too close to Temari for the weapons user to use a Fuuton jutsu. Instead when Tenten swung her Katana, Temari brought her fan up and blocked the bun haired girl's attack.

Tenten glared as the two began to trade attacks, moving back and forth across the arena floor. Despite the fact that her fan was heavy, Temari was able to keep Tenten from getting in close, since her fan had the advantage in size. The bun haired girl tried to use several of her faster maneuvers to close the distance between them but none of them seemed to work.

Coming in with a diagonal slice from the top, only for Temari to move back. She would launch a horizontal slash from the left, but the blond merely stuck her fan out and blocked it. Glaring Tenten made several dazzling spin attacks to try and push Temari's large fan away, before thrusting her sword towards the blonde's chest.

However Temari ducked and used the tip of her fan to catch the blade, closing the fan to lock the blade into it. She pulled and yanked the sword out of Tenten's grip.

The bun haired girl jumped back and grit her teeth, while Temari smirked.

"What are you gonna do now little girl?"

Tenten growled, "I'm going to turn you into a pincushion that's what!" She jumped into the air and pulled out two scrolls behind her back, unrolling them as she called out her jutsu. Since she did not have her weapon and knew Temari would not give her time to retrieve it this was her only option.

"Shoushouryuu!" Volley after volley of weapons rained down on Temari. However like the last time a projectile was sent her way a mere swipe of her fan blew them away, and the fan now revealed three stars.

"And look at that, three stars," Temari grinned.

"I'm not done yet!" Tenten shouted as she manipulated chakra strings on her fingers to lift the weapons in the air, and then launch them at Temari.

"You lose little girl! Kamaitachi No Jutsu (Wind Scythe Jutsu)!" Temari shouted as she unleashed her fans power on the helpless weapons user. The weapons were all caught in the tornado like winds with Tenten in the center and many of them ended up slicing at her skin. Tenten had never been defeated so badly in her life, it was humiliating as well as painful and now she wished it would simply end. It was an act of mercy for her when she blacked out. However that did not stop gravity from taking her back down, sending her back to earth where she would be in for a painful awakening.

Especially since Temari was feeling particularly vicious today, and had set her fan down under the weapons mistress, hoping to add injury to insult. Smiling she waited for the girl to fall on her fan and crack her back…

…It wasn't to be.

Having seen what Temari intended to do, Naruto used the same speed technique that he had saved Ayako with to get to the bun haired girl just in time to catch her. He ignored the feeling of his calf muscles tearing as he cradled the bun haired girl in a bridal style carry.

Temari gaped as Naruto just appeared on top of her fan and caught Tenten. One second the weapons user was all set to fall and the next the whiskered blond had just appeared on her fan. Her astonishment left her as Naruto turned a heated glare on her. It was a look of disgust and anger. He did not say anything, just looked at her before he hopped off the fan and left with the bun haired girl in his arms.

Temari seethed as she watched Naruto leave with Tenten, it angered her that he would get so angry for what she felt was no real reason. She did not even hear the announcement of 'Shousa! Sabaku No Temari!' as she stomped off.

Meanwhile Naruto had just set Tenten down onto the stretcher that the medics had provided for her. He was just about to walk away when a hand snatched his arm, turning around he saw Tenten who was looking at him with a slightly ashamed expression.

"I'm sorry Naruto-kun," She whispered.

Naruto frowned, "What are you sorry for?"

"I…lost. She defeated me so easily, I never had a chance," Tenten looked like she was about to cry.

The blond Hanyou realized how difficult something like being so thoroughly defeated was for her. Tenten had always prided herself on being strong. Her life's goal was to be as powerful as Tsunade one day, to prove that women were just as powerful as men. For her to be so cleanly beaten, without even touching her opponent must be humiliating for her.

Naruto turned around and gently placed a hand on her cheek, "Ten-chan, you have nothing to be ashamed about. You had a serious disadvantage against her wind attacks. The fact that you stuck through with the battle to the end, even knowing you had a disadvantage was admirable. And if it really bothers you that much, take this as a lesson. Rather than just sticking with weapons, learn some jutsu. I'll even help you after the exams are over. K?"

Tenten smiled at him, feeling relieved that Naruto did not think she was weak. She closed her eyes as she let herself drift off again.

Naruto watched her go before sighing and disappearing in a Shunshin. He reappeared right next to Yugito just in time to hear Kankurou forfeit.

"Wow I didn't think you would give up so easily make up boy," Naruto commented.

Kankurou scowled, "How many times do I have to tell you its WAR PAINT!"

Naruto grinned, "You can tell me its war paint all you want, but if it looks like make up, and comes from your sister's make up drawer, then it's make up, no two ways around it."

Kankurou turned red; if this kid hadn't beaten Gaara during the preliminaries he would be as good as dead.

"Will Nii Yugito and Nara Shikamaru come down to the arena for the next match!"

"Finally, I was starting to get bored," Yugito grinned.

"Aw, you were getting bored even with me here Yugi-chan?" Naruto pouted a bit. "I'm hurt."

Yugito smiled, "I just meant I wanted a good fight Naruto-kun. You know I always have fun when you're around."

Actually catching the seductive purr when Yugito said fun, Naruto blushed a bit as he scratched the back of his head.

"So, do I get a hug for good luck like that Tenten girl?" Yugito asked, holding out her arms. Naruto looked somewhat embarrassed but gave her a hug anyway. Had he managed to catch Yugito's slight mischievous expression when she nuzzled into his neck he might not have gone along with it. However he had not noticed that, nor did he noticed the hand that was trailing down his backside, at least, not until it was too late.

"EEP!" Naruto looked absolutely mortified as one hand went to his mouth while the other went to his backside. The others still in the fighter's booth snickered, while Yugito grinned and gave him a wink as she jumped onto the arena floor. Oh NO! Did I just eep!

'Yep! You did! With a capital E! I might add!' Kyuubi held her stomach as she laughed, finding the boy's reaction to that Yugito woman to be highly amusing, she had not seen anything this entertaining in a long time. Seriously if she had been able to see what her other containers had done, and seen them get into situations like this, she may not have been so bitter about getting sealed.

Of course they were both women so maybe they would not have gotten into these situations… Actually the chances were good they would just have had to deal with some sexist pigs who thought with their other head. The vixen sighed at that thought; maybe it would not have been as fun to see through their eyes…

Shaking her head she got back on track to tease her container, 'That was quite unmanly Naruto-kun. I think your manliness dropped to a seven on the man scale when you did that.'

Naruto scowled, 'It wasn't my fault! She pinched me in the ass! I've never been pinched there before! Not even Anko-nee-chan has done that!'

'No, she just slept with you,' that comment caused Naruto to blush.

Trying to ignore the vixen in his head who continued to tease him, the blond looked around before spotting Shikamaru still there, "What the hell are you doing Shikamaru! You need to get down there."

"Man this is too troublesome, I think I'm just going to quit," Shikamaru looked like he was about to raised his hand. However Naruto was having none of that as he smacked him in the back, hard.

"GO GET 'EM SHIKA!" Naruto shouted as the lazy Nara fell down to the arena floor.

Shikamaru looked up from where he was lying to see the blond giving him a large grin, "Damn that troublesome Naruto…"

As he refused to move people began to boo, some even going as far as to throw trash at him. However he did not listen to them as he looked up at the clouds, Man, I wish I was just a cloud. All they ever have to do is go where the wind takes them.

Yugito tapped her foot impatiently as the lazy Nara continued to lie on the ground, "Hey! If you're not going to battle I'm going to come over there and fry you!"

Shikamaru sighed as he got up, and slowly made his way to the center of the arena, "This is really troublesome you know that? Why do I have to be in this stupid exam?"

"If you didn't want to be in the exam, then why did you enter in the first place?" Yugito asked, confused now.

"Because if I didn't than Ino would have thrown a fit, and then she would have told my mom, and then she would have thrown a fit. It was simply less troublesome to enter, and then it was not to enter."

Both Genma and Yugito sweatdropped. How could any Genin ever be so lazy and get this far? However they shook themselves out of it and Genma was just about to announce the start of the match, when Kakashi and Sasuke appeared in between them in a swirl of leaves.

Sasuke had apparently changed his look. He was now clad in a black pair of pants and shirt, with white bandages along his arms, he had elbow pads on and black shinobi sandals.

"I'm sorry, are we late?" asked Kakashi as he rubbed the back of his head. Yugito's left eye began to develop a dangerous twitch while Genma sighed.

"Yes, you are. In fact you were so late that we had to disqualify Sasuke. Maybe next time you'll make sure he's on time."

Kakashi looked shocked; he had thought that Sasuke's Uchiha name would have given him a pass through the usual rules. Meanwhile Sasuke looked pissed, he was angry at how they were denying him the chance to fight in these exams. This was the surest way to test him in order to find out where he stood. How could he test his strength if he was not even given the chance to fight stronger opponents?

Thankfully before he could explode, Genma began speaking again, "He will still get to fight at least. As a treat Uchiha Sasuke will be allowed to fight the winner of the Exams, however he will not be eligible for Chunin."

Sasuke was pretty miffed about that, but at least he would get to fight the strongest opponent here. That would mean he would still get to test himself against the strongest Genin and see where he stood. He decided to keep his peace as Kakashi put a hand on his shoulder and Shunshin'ed them to the stands.

"Now that that's out of the way perhaps we can get to the fight," Yugito grumbled.

"Right…Hajime!"

Yugito burst into action, traveling faster than even Naruto had during his battle as she launched herself at Shikamaru. Having not seen any of her abilities however, the Nara genius had already started back pedaling, changing directions at random as he began hand sealing.

"Kage Mane No Jutsu!" Shikamaru shouted as his shadow extended along the ground. Having seen what his shadow could do before, Yugito began dodging the attack, using her incredible agility to keep out of its way. Shikamaru grit his teeth as he saw Yugito still moving towards him, dodging all of his attacks like they were nothing.

Suddenly Yugito was behind him, striking Shikamaru in the back with a claw swipe. Only for Shikamaru to turn into a log.

Kawarimi! Yugito jumped back and to the left as a shadow came from the tree line. As she dodged the shadow Yugito tracked where it came from before she threw several shuriken and began making hand seals.

"Raiton: Kaminari Shuriken (Lightning Release: Lightning Shuriken)!" lightning burst from the shuriken as they went into the trees reducing several branches to cinders, and forcing Shikamaru to jump out.

Yugito ran at him, dodging the shuriken that came her way, however she caught the last one by sticking her finger in the small center and then sent it back nearly three times as fast. Shikamaru tried to dodge but was cut in the arm. He winced and was about to make more hand seals when Yugito appeared in front of him, using a leg sweep to knock him off his feet.

As soon as he hit the ground Yugito placed a kunai against his neck.

"Yield," She commanded.

Shikamaru muttered a quick troublesome, "I yield."

"Shousa! Nii Yugito!" Genma shouted.

Yugito smiled as Shikamaru got back up and muttered another troublesome before walking off. Yugito used a Rai Shunshin (Lightning Shunshin) to get back to the fighter's booth.

The moment she did Naruto grabbed her, picking her up by the waist and twirling her around, getting an 'eep!' from the blond kunoichi. He grinned as he set her back down, causing her to growl as a small blush formed on her cheeks, the reaction being from both her making such a mouse like sound and from the feeling of being in Naruto's arms in such an unexpected manner.

However Naruto noticed none of this as he grinned at her, "Nice job. I mean, I doubt it was much of a fight for you, but good job anyways."

Yugito tried to glare at the blond, unfortunately his smile was infectious and she ended up grinning too, "Thanks."

The battle had been easy, she wasn't a Jonin-level kunoichi for nothing, but it was still nice to hear praise.

"For the start of the second stage, will Uzumaki Naruto and Rock Lee come down!"

"Yosh! It looks like this is our battle Naruto-kun!" Lee shouted as he pumped his fist into the air and jumped down to the arena floor.

Naruto chuckled at his enthusiasm before looking at Yugito with a grin. Deciding to get back at the blond kunoichi for what she had done earlier he spread out his arms and gestured for her, "How about a hug for good luck?"

Yugito smirked, "Nice try, but I'm not that naive. I do remember the stories you told me about all the pranks you committed after all."

"What?" Naruto pouted, "You don't think I would actually try to get you back for squeezing my ass in public do you."

Yugito smirked, "Yes."

Deciding it might be appropriate, or at the very least nice to get even with the blond Kumo kunoichi for all of the teasing she had done, Naruto took a page from Anko's book and snapped his fingers as he gazed at Yugito's derrière, "Damn! And it's such a fine looking ass too," Yugito blushed as Naruto jumped down to the arena floor.

Lee grinned as his rival made his way towards him, "I have been looking forward to this battle with you Naruto-kun! Today we shall truly test our flames of youth!"

While a lot of the spectators sweatdropped, Naruto just chuckled, "I have to be honest, this was one of the battles I was looking forward to the most."

"YOSH! I am pleased to hear that! I will strive to make this battle my most youthful yet!" Lee pumped his fist into the air. "And if I cannot do that then I will-"

"Let's just get the match started," Naruto interrupted as he got into his taijutsu stance and a more serious expression crossed his face. Lee was a tough opponent, tougher than Neji in his opinion, if Lee ever took off his weights during their spars, Naruto was sure that Neji would lose before he even knew what hit him.

"What do you think Izumo?" Kotetsu asked, "You think that Lee kid has a chance?"

Izumo frowned in thought, "You know, I don't know. With what Uzumaki has been showing us, I'd normally say not a chance in hell, but he's the dead last of his class like Naruto, and he was trained by Gai so…"

"I guess we'll just have to watch," Kotetsu turned his eyes back to the match.

Genma looked between the two opponents as he raised his hand, "Hajime!"

Lee shot off like a rocket, blasting towards Naruto and attempting to hit him with a right hook. However Naruto had been fighting Lee for a while now, and recently had been fighting Jiraiya. That combined with his recent demonic changes made it seem like Lee was moving much more slowly. As soon as Lee's fist shot out, Naruto was in motion, swatting the fist away and knocking Lee off balance as he leaned in and sent his own fist into Lee's ribs.

"OOF!" Lee stumbled back, holding onto his ribs, which felt like they had been compressed by the blow. "That was an excellent shot Naruto-kun, you have gotten much faster I see."

"That's right," Naruto said in a more serious voice. "Which means you can't afford to hold back on me Lee, release your weights."

Lee looked at Naruto in surprise before turning his eyes towards his sensei. However all he got for that was a punch to the face.

"Don't look away from your opponent Lee," Naruto said. "You can't go to Gai for answers when you're in the middle of a battle. In the middle of a battle your sensei won't be there to hold your hand, and it will be up to you to make the call on when you release your weights. You know that as you are, you won't be able to defeat me. With your weights on I'm simply faster than you."

Lee frowned for a moment, he had always been told to only unseal his weights when he had to protect many important people. It was the only reason he had not fought Neji without his weights. However Naruto made a valid point, Gai-sensei would not always be there so he would need to use his best judgment when in battle.

"You are very right Naruto-kun. Very well." Lee pulled up his orange leg warmers to reveal a set of weights with the kanji for guts and determination, the motto for the Goken style.

Up in the fighter's booth Kankurou snorted. "What does he think a little weight is gonna do. That blond beat Gaara, I hate to admit it, but I don't think any of us would stand a chance against the blond bastard."

BOOM!

A loud crash was heard as Lee threw his weights behind him and they destroyed an entire section of the arena wall.

"So Kakashi. What do you think the chances of your Genin are for winning this fight?" Gai asked as he saw Lee take off his weights.

Kakashi turned around from the battle for a second and looked at Gai, "I'm sorry Gai, did you say something?"

"Grrr! Curse you Kakashi and your hip attitude!" Gai muttered as he turned away from his 'eternal rival'.

Naruto smirked as he looked at the destruction, "You upped your weights didn't you?"

Lee grinned back at Naruto, "Yes I did. Now let us begin!"

This time both of them took off, their speed having increased past what they had been before. The two met in the middle and began to clash furiously; their bodies were merely a blur, untraceable to many even when they stayed grounded.

"Uh…Izumo are my eyes deceiving me?" Kotetsu asked, rubbing his eyes to make sure he was not seeing things.

"I don't know," Izumo stared entranced as he watched the two 'Genin' battle at near Jonin-level speeds. He could barely even see them, "What are you seeing?"

"Are they really moving that fast?"

"At least low Jonin-level speeds."

"…Damn."

The fight began to get even more furious as the two literally smashed into each other. Naruto got right into Lee's guard smashing a fist into his torso. However Lee merely grunted as he launched a devastating kick to the blonde's stomach, chest and then his face. Naruto was sent flying back and skid along the ground. He looked up to see Lee already in his face.

The blond cursed as he ducked under a punch, and attempted to launch an elbow into Lee's ribs. However Lee merely caught the elbow in between his arms, before kicking Naruto in the stomach. Wincing the whiskered blond realized that whatever Lee had done over the past month had made him even better and faster at taijutsu. Better than Naruto was anyway.

Gah! This guy's fucking insane! And people call me a demon, Naruto thought as he ducked under kick and rolled to the left. Kipping back up on his feet the whiskered blond spun around with an axe kick, only for Lee to block it who grabbed onto the leg. With a grunt the bowl cut boy spun in a circle and tossed Naruto, sending him flying through the air before he landed on the arena wall and stuck to it using chakra. Shit! If I hadn't taken off my resistance seals before this fight I would've been toast.

Leave it to Lee to become even more ridiculously strong during the course of one month, rather than waste time on pointless taijutsu when he knew he might not win that way, he began forming his hand seals.

"Fuuton: Kamikaze Seiken!" Naruto sent a fist shaped blast of wind towards his opponent who was currently running towards, however Lee continued his charge and smashed the wind fists away with a well-placed kick.

Unfortunately for Lee, that attack had slowed him down and Naruto was able to close the distance between them striking out with fists and elbows, making the green clad Genin stumble back. Naruto managed to get in several more good hits before Lee recovered and began to block them and make his own assault.

Naruto blocked a punch from the left, and then from the right, however he missed the kick that smashed into his stomach and sent him flying back. Flipping around the blond hit the ground, and looked up to see Lee charging him.

When the bow-cut Genin came in with a high kick, Naruto ducked under it, grabbed the extended leg, lifted the green clad genin up and then threw him into the ground. There was a loud crash as Lee's body created a decent sized crater. The blond shinobi then jumped into the air and attempted to smash an axe kick on Lee. But said boy just rolled out of the way, making Naruto foot smash into the ground, creating another smaller crater. Before he could get back up, Lee smashed a heel in the blonde's face, sending him sailing again.

As Naruto skidded across the ground he flipped through several hand seals, "Fuuton: Renkuudan!"

He smashed a fist on his stomach, blasting out a compressed ball of air. It went sailing towards Lee who tried to hit it away, however the Renkuudan was much stronger than his other jutsu, and it smashed into Lee and tossed him away and sending him sailing into a wall, which he crashed right through.

Naruto used that moment to catch a breather. He looked around to see a lot of craters from their battle.

Man Lee and I are really tearing the place up, a loud crash alerted his attention to the fact that Lee was back in the game.

As Lee charged back in Naruto began more hand seals. "Fuuton: Renkuudan!" This time when the ball of air came at him, the spandex wearing Genin rolled to the side before getting back on his feet and shooting off. Cursing Naruto got back into a taijutsu stance, knowing he would not have enough time to use another jutsu.

As his opponent came in Naruto shifted his head to the left, feeling the air move past him as he dodged Lee's fist, he ducked under another punch before launching an elbow into the other Genin's stomach. Lee grunted and moved back a bit, but did not do much more then that before he was on Naruto again.

"Damn Hokage-dono! How much protein are you feeding these kids?" The Raikage asked, looking at the battle going on in shock. While they were moving in slow motion to him, and Yugito was much faster at her highest speed, the fact that 'Genin' could move this fast was ridiculous.

"You would have to ask their sensei's that," Sarutobi watched the battle with growing pride. To think Naruto-kun would come this far, your parents would be proud of you.

The Kazekage did not comment, and instead just opted to watch the battle.

Naruto had to use a Kawarimi to get some breathing room as he appeared on the other end of the arena. Knowing it would not be long before Lee charged again, he began forming hand seals, "Raiton: Iakazuchi Hakai (Lightning Release: Lightning Current)!"

Smashing his hands on the ground Naruto shot several volts of lightning, which tore up the ground as they made their way towards Lee. However the green clad Genin merely jumped over the attack.

Unfortunately for Lee this was what Naruto wanted. Lee was fast and powerful, and while Naruto was as well, Lee was simply just that tad bit better that made a difference. However while Lee could fly across the ground, in the air he was vulnerable. Going through several hand seals the blond called out another jutsu.

"Suiton: Teppoudama (Water Release: Water Bullet)!" Naruto shot a canon sized bullet of water out of his mouth, and with Lee still in the air it connected, sending the boy even higher into the air.

At the apex of Lee's ascent Naruto appeared in a Shunshin, dropping down on the Genin with an axe kick. Lee was sent sailing back towards the ground where he smashed down and created a large cloud of dust. Naruto landed on the ground and dropped to one knee as he panted a bit. He was starting to get tired, using so many jutsu and fighting for so long was something even he barely had the stamina for. He looked into the large cloud of dust, trying to see where Lee would come out, since Naruto knew that would not put him down.

Before the dust even had a chance to clear Lee shot out, coming towards Naruto at insane speeds. Grunting Naruto stood up and just as Lee launched a punch, he sent his own. Naruto grunted as he and Lee were launched away from one another thanks to the force their punch generated.

As Naruto looked at himself he had never been so glad for his healing factor, if he did not have it he would probably look like Lee now. Said boy had bruises on nearly every part of his body, his face was slightly swollen and he had a broken nose that had blood trickling down from it.

Naruto had to hold in a grimaced. His clothes were almost gone now. His cloak had long since been ripped away, his shirt more revealing than Anko's fishnet, his pants had changed into shorts with one side going up to mid-thigh, and his beautiful orange gloves had been destroyed sometime during the last half hour. He was glad he had sealed his gauntlet or it would be destroyed too.

Many of the girls up in the stands blushed at seeing Naruto's toned, half nude body. A few even ended up passing out from nosebleeds. While others, namely Yugito licked their lips and grinned.

"You…really are…an incredible fighter Lee," Naruto fought to regain his breath as several of the bruises on his face healed. "Honestly had you ever taken those weights off when you fought against Neji in those spars of yours, you would have kicked his ass hands down."

Naruto was glad he had released all of his resistance seals before the fight or he would not have even had time to do so during the battle. No doubt he would have gotten his ass kicked if he had gone with that route.

Lee grinned, "Thank you Naruto-kun! You are a most youthful fighter yourself! Which is why I have declared you as my new eternal rival!"

Naruto sweat dropped. "Uh, thanks Lee, I guess."

"Yosh! You are most welcome my youthful comrade! Now come, let us unite our flames of youth!"

As Lee shot off again Naruto cursed, I need to find some way to neutralize him! This is getting insane!

Naruto made quick use of a Kawarimi to dodge Lee's attack, and needing some time to think Naruto put his hands in the ram sign, "Tajuu Kage Bunshin No Jutsu!"

There was a large puff of smoke before several hundred clones appeared on the arena floor. Lee looked at all the clones and grinned, right before he disappeared and began destroying clones left in right.

However while Lee was busy with his Bunshin bashing, Naruto was busy coming up with a way to neutralize Lee's speed. Coming up with a quick plan the blond waited until Lee was finished with his clones.

As soon as the clones were gone Naruto launched several dozen shuriken, forcing Lee to dodge the attacks. However these were just a distraction and when Lee jumped into the air a clone of Naruto's jumped with him and threw a kunai attached with steel grade ninja wire, catching the green clad Genin in it and then kicking him to the ground.

Naruto sighed in relief as he saw Lee struggle with his bonds, "Looks like I win this one Lee. I had that ninja wire specifically designed for someone with your insane strength. You won't be getting out of those."

Lee looked up at Naruto before smiling, "This match still is not over Naruto-kun. Remember, the lotus of the leaf, blooms twice."

I will not lose here. Gai-sensei acknowledges it. Now is the time I must prove and protect my nindo.

"Kaimon: Kai (Gate of Opening: Release)!" there was a massive surge of chakra at Lee's shout. Along with the surge in chakra, Lee seemed to gain a surge in strength, for he snapped the ninja wire with ease. Standing up Lee put his arms in a cross guard.

Kakashi whirled on Gai who was watching the battle with a very serious expression, "I can't believe you taught him how to open the gates."

"I wanted to help Lee achieve his dreams Kakashi," Gai said in a rare serious voice. "That boy is willing to risk everything for his dreams. And so I helped him. I do not regret it."

"Kyumon: Kai (Gate of Healing: Release)!" at Lee's exclamation a massive surge of chakra was released as the ground under him began to splinter.

"Seimon: Kai (Gate of Life: Release)!" Lee's skin began to turn red as more chakra started shooting around his body.

"Shomon: Kai (Gate of Pain: Release)!" Naruto almost cringed when even more chakra shot out of Lee. Not only was he now completely red, his eyes were now all white.

Naruto paled as he felt Lee's chakra match his own reserves and then pass them, Oh Shit! Oh shit oh shit oh shit! 'Kyuubi!'

Knowing what Naruto wanted Kyuubi immediately began channeling her youki through him, 'Naruto-kun I can't give you any more than one tail. You may be a Hanyou, but anything else right now would send you into an uncontrollable bloodlust.'

'That's fine, it should be enough,' Naruto said as Kyuubi's youki entered his system. The red energy began oozing out, his eyes changed from their normal blue to red, his whisker marks thickened and his already long canines elongated some more. Then the youki began to take shape, forming two fox ears on top of his head, and one swishing fox tail behind him.

Upon seeing this many people who knew what it was gasped. Many people who didn't also gasped, especially because of the bloodlust and feeling of power it gave off.

"What the hell!" Kiba shouted, "What is that chakra!"

"It's the same as when he faced Gaara," Hinata whispered, trembling a bit at the power.

"I can't believe he can use that much of its chakra already!" Kakashi gaped. The other Jonin were silent, staring at the scene openmouthed and wide eyed, while the Genin stared between their sensei's and Naruto who was now hunched over.

Sasuke clinched his teeth as he watched Naruto and Lee go far beyond him in power. A part of him was confused; he had come to consider Naruto as something of a friend, or at least a begrudgingly respected rival. Yet at the same time, watching pure power pouring out of the blond Genin was frustrating. Ever since he had joined this team he had always felt inferior to Naruto, yet at the same time, it was Naruto who had helped him grow stronger several times in the past, tree climbing, trying to protect him against Orochimaru. Because the blond Genin was always helping him, at least, when he was not torturing him and Sakura, Sasuke did not know what to think.

But he could not deny he was jealous.

His curse seal pulsed before the seal Naruto had created did its job.

"He's using even more than before," Yugito whispered as she looked at the blond shinobi.

'I had not realized the boy could use that much of Kyuubi's youki.'

'Well obviously he can.'

The others in the booth were also staring very intently at the blond, some wondering what the hell that feeling was, while others were already starting to guess.

"You never told me that boy was a Jinchuuriki Hokage-dono," The Raikage said.

Sarutobi watched Naruto intently, "The same could be said for you and the Kazekage with Yugito-san and Gaara-san."

The Raikage grunted as he conceded the point, "Yes, I suppose that is true."

"Tomon: Kai (Gate of Limit: Release)!" Cracks began to burst from the ground. Chakra was pouring in all directions from both Genin. Many of the people in the stadium gawked at the sight of 'Genin' being capable of releasing this much power!

Naruto and Lee looked at each other one last time.

Then they disappeared.

Explosions now began to sound all around the arena as the fighting reached an all-time high. The only ones now capable of even watching the battles were the Kage's, Yugito, Kakashi, Gai, Asuma, Anko and a few other Jonin.

Craters began forming in the landscape as the two destroyed everything in their path. Their strength was fairly even, and both of them pounded into each other with near reckless abandon then had their wounds heal right back up. However while the battle was even, there was a difference in power. Lee had opened the Hachimon gates, limiters placed on the body to keep a person's chakra from destroying them. His power, while amazing, was also completely human and had a limit for how long it would last before his body became incapable of handling that power. Naruto was using the power from Kyuubi, a near unlimited source of energy that, so long as it was not above the limit where he could no longer control himself, could potentially last him forever.

Lee's speed began to waver. His power began to fade, and his wounds began to ache. Finally, Lee collapsed, panting heavily from his efforts.

Naruto stopped, cutting the flow of Kyuubi's chakra and returned to normal near instantaneously. The feeling of power and bloodlust vanished as if it was never there.

Walking over Naruto kneeled down next to Lee, "Hey, you alright Lee?"

Lee looked over at Naruto and smiled, "O-of course, thank you…for your…con-cern."

Naruto gave Lee a smile, "You did an excellent job Lee. You are truly a splendid ninja."

Lee's smile widened even more. "T-Thank you," His eyes closed and then he fell asleep.

Naruto slumped to the ground, landing on his butt as he heaved a sigh, "Holy shit! That was utterly ridiculous! Man I'm spent…screw this test, now I just want to go back to my shitty ass apartment and sleep."

"Hey! You ok kid?" asked Genma, who had been forced to get the hell out of dodge while the two had destroyed the arena.

Naruto waved a hand, "Other than being sore as hell and feeling like someone dropped the Hokage Monument on my chest, I'm good!"

Genma chuckled in disbelief before announcing the winner, "Shousa! Uzumaki Naruto!"

"Holy shit!" Kotetsu said.

Izumi didn't even look at his partner, "You can say that again."

"These kids are getting ridiculous," Kotetsu said. "First they have Jonin-level speeds, that Lee kid can open five gates, FIVE GATES, a GENIN! Then the Uzumaki kid uses that chakra…"

"Things are getting rather intense. I think Gai decided to make a clone of himself and hopped him up on steroids. And let's not even go into Uzumaki's performance. Who would have expected this from a pair of dead lasts?" Izumo agreed.

"So what do you think?"

"Well, Lee is definitely good, really good. He could easily be a Jonin even without ninjutsu or genjutsu However he didn't win, he used a last ditch trump card, granted Uzumaki pulled out that chakra, but it was only after Lee started using the gates. Had this been a real battle Lee would have died."

Kotetsu looked at his partner, "So…a no go then?"

"We'll put him on the maybe list."

Naruto had taken to lying down on the arena field, ignoring the cheers that were coming. He was too tired to care. A shadow filtered across his vision, causing Naruto to look up, "Hey Yugi-chan."

Yugito looked at him in amusement, "Hey there. You alright? You look like shit."

"Thanks for that Yugi-chan, you always say such kind words to me," Naruto grunted. "And I look like shit because I feel like shit. I knew Lee was strong, but damn, who would have thought he would have actually been able to open five of the Hachimon gates. Ugh…I'm friggin exhausted, I need sleep."

"Well you can't sleep here, there's another match coming up," Yugito bent over and grabbed onto Naruto's arms, helping him stand. She slung his arm around her shoulder and secured hers around his waist before beginning the trek back to the fighter's booth. As they walked up the stairs Yugito could not help but cope a small feel of the blonde's body, she could not deny she rather liked the Adonis like body, the kid was only around thirteen, but he had muscles that most people twice his age did not possess.

Deciding to have some fun she grinned and she leaned into his ear while whispering, "You know you've been putting on quite a show for me and the other girls out there."

Naruto despite not really knowing what she was talking about blushed as her hot breath hit his ear, "Huh? What show? You mean the fight?"

Yugito rolled her eyes, "No I mean…" She let her eyes trailed up and down Naruto's body. He immediately got the hint and blushed bright red. Thankfully he had been dealing with her, Anko and Kyuubi, so by now he was not nearly as affected as he had been.

"Perv," he muttered.

Yugito grinned, "You're one to talk."

As the pair got into the fighter's booth only Kankurou still there, Shino and Temari were already on the field, and Shikamaru had decided it was too troublesome to stay.

"Yugi-chan can you set me down over there?" Naruto pointed over to the wall. Yugito nodded and moved him over to the wall and set him against it, "Thanks, could I ask another favor?"

Yugito smiled, "Sure."

"Wake me up when my turn is up," Naruto did not even wait for Yugito to agree before he passed out.

The blond Kumo kunoichi stared at Naruto for a second, giving him a once over. Her eyes then locked onto his face, or more specifically, the six whisker marks on it. She knew it was his symbol of being a Jinchuuriki, much like her feline eyes. Ever since she had seen them she wondered if they were like a scar of some kind, or if they were just perfectly smooth lines like tattoos. Reaching out a hand she lightly brushed her fingers along one of his whiskers; it had a slightly rough texture, showing they were more like scars then anything. As she continued to stroke them however, another thing caught her attention. Naruto was purring.

"Kawaii…" Yugito was tempted to squeal, but managed to force herself into a whisper, though she could not keep the giggle that escaped her as Naruto began to rub his face against her hand.

"Will Nii Yugito please come down to the arena floor for her match!"

Yugito looked up and noticed that Temari had just beaten that Shino kid. She sighed. Standing she cast one last look at the peacefully sleep Naruto before heading out.

The match between Temari and Yugito was fairly one-sided. Though lightning was weak against wind, Yugito also had loads of fire jutsu as well. She was faster and stronger then Temari, and had been trained since she was three to be a ninja.

And so while Temari was able to put up a decent fight, even managing to land a few hits on the blond kunoichi, she still lost in the end.

"Will Uzumaki Naruto come down so we can get the next match started!" Genma shouted as he looked over at the fighter's booth.

Yugito smirked as she looked up at the booth, "He's still asleep, I'll go get him." she made her way back towards the fighter's booth and over to where Naruto was still sleeping.

"Naruto-kun, wake up," Yugito gently shook his shoulder. "C'mon, our fights up, you need to get up."

Naruto mumbled a bit, saying something about a tub of ramen, but otherwise remained impassive.

Yugito sighed as she tried to think of a way to wake up Naruto. She thought about teasing him some to wake him up but in the end she just decided to hit him on the head.

"ITAI!" Naruto shouted as he grabbed onto his head.

"C'mon Naruto-kun, it's time to get up, our battle is supposed to start now," Naruto looked up at Yugito before grinning.

"Alright," Naruto stood up and stretched himself out, unknowingly giving Yugito and Temari, who had joined her brother, a good show. He looked over at Yugito and grinned. "I hope you're ready for me Yugi-chan."

Yugito gulped a bit at her fellow blond unknowingly using double entendre, especially since he was still wearing his nearly destroyed clothes. However she quickly shook it off and gave him a feral grin, "I think the real question should be, are you ready for me, Naruto-kun."

Naruto just looked at Yugito and smirked, "I'm ready for anything you can throw at me Neko-chan." He looked down at himself and blushed, "Just let me get into a change of clothes…"

Yugito laughed as Naruto rushed out of the booth, before making her way down to the arena.

_________________________________________________________________________

Raiton: Kaminari Shuriken (Lightning Release: Lightning Shuriken) – C-rank elemental jutsu. Casts lightning onto thrown projectile weapons, normally shuriken, to add more power to the projectiles.

Raiton: Iakazuchi Hakai (Lightning Release: Lightning Current) - the user channels lightning chakra into the ground to create a current that travels towards an opponent and blasts them with a high concentration of lightning.

The eight Hachimon Gates - The Eight Gates are eight specific points on a person's Chakra Pathway System. They limit the overall flow of chakra within a person's body. The basis for the idea of the chakra gates comes from the body's limits on the functions within it. This makes the body much weaker, but it keeps the body from expiring too soon. By opening these gates, the user can surpass their own physical limits at the cost of extreme damage to their own bodies.

Rock Lee is able to open the first five gates. Might Guy, who taught Lee the skill, is able to open at least seven. Kakashi can open at least one gate, as shown during Kakashi's one-handed rock climbing where a shot of his brain shows the relevant point activating, as well as in his usage of the Front Lotus.

The state of having all Eight Gates open is known as Eight Gates Released Formation (Hachimon Tonkō no Jin; English TV "Eight Inner Gates Formation"). Any shinobi who activates this state will temporarily gain powers greater than a Kage, but they will die because of the damage done to their body

The Gate of Opening (Kaimon), located in the brain. This gate removes the restraints of the brain on the muscles so 100% of their strength can be used whereas normally, a person can only use 20% of their muscles' strength to keep them from disintegrating. Unlocking this gate allows the user to use the Front Lotus.

The Gate of Healing (休門, Kyūmon; English TV "The Gate of Rest"), located in the brain. Forcibly increases one's physical strength and temporarily re-energizes the body.

The Gate of Life (Seimon), located on the spinal cord. Allows the user to use the Reverse Lotus. The increased blood flow turns the skin red. In the video games, it allows the user to perform the Leaf Hot Wind.

The Gate of Pain (Shōmon), located on the spinal cord. Increases the user's speed and power. May cause muscle tissue to tear on use.

The Gate of Limit (杜門, Tomon; English TV "The Gate of Closing"), per above. Located in the abdomen.

The Gate of View (Keimon; English TV "The Gate of Joy"), per above. Located in the stomach. Allows the user to perform the Morning Peacock. Opening of this gate releases such large amounts of chakra that it can cause nearby water bodies to form a vortex around the user.

The Gate of Wonder (Kyōmon; English TV "The Gate of Shock"), per above. Located below the stomach. Allows the user to perform the Daytime Tiger. Those who open this gate pour glowing green sweat from every inch of their body, which immediately evaporates from their own heat energy, creating an aura which people would mistake as a green chakra coating. In the video games, allows the user to perform the Eternal Chaotic Dance. The aftereffects of opening the gate are that the user's muscle fibers are ripped to shreds, causing intense pain if anything or anyone touches him.

The Gate of Death (Shimon), located at the heart. Releasing this gate uses up all of the body's energy. It makes the heart pump at maximum power and exceeds the power of every other gate. Opening this gate assures the user's death shortly after.