33 Preliminaries

"The first fight is... Naruto Uzumaki vs Yoroi Akado!"

Instead of Sasuke fighting Yoroi, it was Naruto.

I guess the question was answered. Luck and chance would change with every instance. If you went back and waited a second more on something, like an electronic board which chose random names, you would get a different outcome.

I looked toward Naruto, who smiled and fixed his headband before proclaiming out loud,

"Heh! I'll be back in no time. Just wait for me, Sakura!"

"Naruto, you idiot! Just go quickly!"

Sheepishly rubbing the back of his head, Naruto began walking to the platform. On the way, he and Sasuke exchanged words, although I couldn't hear them.

Through lip-reading, however, I made out a bit of what Sasuke was saying.

'Don't lose, Dobe'

Naruto and Yoroi walked to the middle of the arena and without exchanging any pleasantries, Hayate began the match.

While Naruto stood still, Yoroi leaped toward him, thrusting out his hand filled with chakra.

Yoroi could absorb chakra through physical contact, even by grazing his opponent.

He certainly had an advantage over most shinobi while fighting them, but not against Naruto.

Naruto dodged Yoroi's hand before punching him in the stomach. Yoroi used the momentum of the punch to leap backward before speaking. I embed chakra into my ears so I could hear what they were saying.

"Looks like you're not half-bad, squirt. I was hoping for a match with your Uchiha teammate, but you'll do just fine."

"Hmph, if you want to battle Sasuke, you'll have to get through me first! And I have the feeling that that won't happen! Believe it!"

They engaged in combat again.

Naruto wasn't able to dodge some of Yoroi's hits, but it didn't seem to faze him as he kept battling.

Although Naruto kept getting good hits in, he wasn't able to finish Yoroi off.

At this rate, Yoroi would slowly siphon off Naruto's chakra and win the match.

Naruto must have realized that as well because, after some close combat battle, he separated from Yoroi and performed his signature jutsu.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

Five shadow clones appeared, all ready to fight. They each began engaging in close combat with Yoroi, tipping the balance of the battle in Naruto's favor.

Yoroi wasn't able to tell which of the Narutos was the original and which were the shadow clones. While Yoroi kept siphoning off chakra, there were now six Narutos he had to siphon chakra from, not just one. The Naruto kept switching positions so Yoroi couldn't siphon off a significant amount of chakra from a single Naruto.

Yoroi's skill set was geared more toward fighting a single opponent rather than multiple. If he could perform the chakra-absorbing technique in both of his hands, the battle would be more even, however, he could only do it in one.

He did put up a decent fight, though. His Taijutsu skills were pretty good, but in the end, Naruto was the winner.

One shadow clone punched Yoroi in the gut, while the other came from behind and kicked him in the head. Yoroi fell to the ground, unconscious, while Naruto released his shadow clones, panting from exhaustion yet smiling from victory.

Everyone thought the battle was over until the Yoroi on the floor turned into a water clone and dissolved.

"You're not the only one who can use clones, squirt."

Yoroi appeared from the ground before hitting Naruto square on the jaw, sending him flying.

That punch was enough to incapacitate most Genin and some Chunin, but Naruto was still conscious, though beaten.

Instead of chasing after him to finish the job, he started talking to Naruto, thinking the battle was over.

"Heh, as I said, you were pretty good, squirt. Too bad you weren't good enough. You better obediently surrender so I don't have to keep beating you. We are from the same Village, after all."

With great difficulty, Naruto reached into his pouch and threw a smoke bomb on the floor, filling the arena with purple gas.

The gas obstructed my view, so I began sensing with my chakra rather than my eyes.

I could feel both figures in the smoke, though trying to make out what they were doing was difficult.

I sensed another chakra in the smoke with the same chakra signature as Naruto. Probably his shadow clone.

The smoke eventually cleared, showing two Narutos defending against attacks from Yoroi.

Naruto had exhausted most of his chakra at this point. Not only did he just have a battle with Orochimaru and the Amegakure ninja, but he was also battling a ninja that siphoned off his chakra with each hit.

At this point, he could only conjure a few shadow clones, all of which would leave him exhausted.

Yoroi thrust his hand toward one of the Narutos, intending to finish one off before dealing with the other.

He successfully grabbed onto Naruto's head, but instead of panicking, Naruto smirked.

He held on to Yoroi's hand before the other Naruto socked Yoroi in the face, who couldn't defend himself because he was occupied with absorbing chakra.

Instead of being launched away, he was kept in place by the shadow clone whose chakra he was absorbing. Yoroi let his grip on Naruto go, and Naruto proceeded to bear hug Yoroi while the other Naruto began pummelling him. After a couple of punches, Yoroi fell unconscious and the match ended with Naruto's brutal victory.

"Naruto Uzumaki wins by a knockout!"

Naruto released his shadow clone before announcing

"I told you I was going to win! Don't underestimate the future Hokage! Believe it!"

Naruto walked back to Team 7 while Yoroi was carried out on a stretcher. From what I could tell, his injuries weren't very severe: a fractured jaw and some bruised ribs at most. A medical shinobi should be able to heal that in no time.

Hayate began speaking again, announcing the next match.

"The first match ended with the victory of Naruto Uzumaki. *Cough cough* we will now begin the second match.

The combatants are... Sakura Haruno and Ino Yamanaka!"

Some matches were still the same.

Sakura and Ino both went down to the arena and began fighting.

Their fight was pretty boring, compared to the others at least.

Their skills were subpar, and so was their determination to win.

Their Taijutsu was slow and unrefined, their Ninjutsu was practically non-existent, and their Genjutsu was non-existent.

It wasn't that I couldn't understand why they were like this. I couldn't understand how they could remain like this.

Ino was the clan heiress of the Yamanaka clan, and she was under the tutelage of Asuma Sarutobi, a sufficiently skilled Jonin.

Sakura was surrounded by the reincarnation of Ashura and Indra, as well as Kakashi, an elite Jonin who became the sixth Hokage.

They both had no excuses for being so weak, yet they were.

The resources available to them weren't lacking, and neither were instructors, it was just their resolve that was lacking.

The match ended similarly to the show, with a double knockout, and Hayate announced the next match.

"Temari vs Zaku Abumi!"

Kankuro smirked at Temari, saying,

"Good luck, Temari."

"Shut up, Kankuro."

They both met in the middle of the arena, though Zaku's arms were both injured while Temari was in perfect condition.

While Zaku attempted to force the battle to close range, Temari wanted it to remain long-range.

Being a wind user, and a wind user amplified by an object, Temari's range was the longest out of all the Genin here, except for me.

Even though Zaku was also capable of some mid to long-distance-range attacks, his range was still inferior to Temari, so his best strategy was to take it to her weak point, which was close distance.

Temari also knew that as she actively made sure that the distance between them was enough for her to have an advantage.

In the end, Temari won after kiting Zaku for the entire battle. She even dealt him a mild injury when she sent a wind blade in his direction and injured his arms even further.

"Winner is Temari. The next battle is *cough cough cough*

Misumi Tsurugi vs Choji Akimichi!"

Choji was finally going. After munching on his chips, he sent a look toward Shikamaru, Lee, and Naruto before going down and standing in the arena.

His opponent, Misumi, specialized in Taijutsu since he could make his bones extremely malleable and stretch his body out.

The problem with this, however, was that he lost out on strength and instead gained on locking and strangling.

"Begin!"

As soon as Hayate spoke, Misumi charged in close while Choji remained in the same position.

"You idiot! The moment I get you, it's all over!"

As soon as he reached within range, Misumi threw a punch at Choji, making his body flexible to wrap himself around Choji.

Before he could do so, however, Choji expanded his stomach, launching Misumi away from him and to the wall.

Impressive! Rather than using his body expansion Jutsu to make his extremities or himself bigger, he used it on his stomach to repel the enemy.

"You fatty! I'm going to kill you!"

"Fatty?"

"Uh oh. He really shouldn't have said that." (Shikamaru)

Ino also looked at Misumi regretfully.

At that word, Choji's face became dark. His eyes focused, his muscles tightened, and his aura became menacing.

"NO ONE calls me fatty!"

Choji started running toward Misumi, expanding his arms and heavily bringing them down. The attack was powerful, shattering the ground beneath it, but the target escaped it just in time.

Misumi got behind Choji, slithering over him and constricting his movements and airway.

"Heh, what are you going to do about it, fatty? Now, you better surrender before I snap your neck!"

From the spectators, Shikamaru scrutinized the situation before screaming,

"His body can only expand till a certain limit, Choji!"

That was certainly true but that limit was still unknown. Misumi stretches his body by using chakra and dislocating his joints. That meant his body only stretches as long as his chakra could supply imbue it with and without injuring it.

Choji closed his eyes for a bit, concentrating, before opening them and exclaiming,

"Expansion Jutsu!"

His entire body expanded greatly, particularly at the torso, forming the shape of a ball.

Misumi, who was wrapped around him, couldn't accommodate the change in shape and size quickly enough, and his entire body ripped as he tried to stop the technique and unwrap himself from Choji.

By the time he freed himself, his body lay limp on the floor from the muscle and joint damage.

"Choji Akimichi wins due to the opponent being unable to continue the match!"

"Yeahhh! Good job, Choji! You did it!!" (Naruto)

Choji looked at his friend and gave him a weak smile before looking back at Misumi, who was simply laying on the floor, his condition unknown.

After watching him get carried out by a stretcher, he walked back next to Shikamaru, who gave him a chip bag and a pat on the back.

Naruto also went over, excitedly exclaiming over his match and giving him a thumbs up before to his original position.

I watched this all from afar. They had all gotten exceptionally stronger and more determined than before.

Naruto's Taijutsu skills were much better, Shikamaru was more proactive and trained, and Choji was more determined and had a stronger resolve.

Rather than lamenting about how I couldn't see their struggles, I felt proud that I could see the fruits of their labor.

They were my friends, and I wished nothing but the best for them, so it made me content to see them strong. I had a different path, however.

Much like Sasuke, my path was a solitary one. It wasn't the path I originally intended to take, but the path I was forced onto.

Then again, I doubt anyone intends this path for themselves.

No, in the end, the people who take this path are those pushed into it. They might have been pushed by circumstances, by people, or even by the world, but all that matters is whether they are willing to see this path through till its end.

And I had no intention of stopping midway.

I peeled my eyes away from my friends and returned them to Hayate. He had just begun announcing the next match,

"...Hinata Hyuga vs Rock Lee!"

Interesting, very interesting! Lee was going against Hinata, the Hyuga princess, and more importantly, his rival's cousin.

I looked at Neji, who maintained his poker face, though his tightened fists and short breaths gave his emotions away.

The Hyuga clan was a big enigma.

They gave their branch members the Caged Bird Seal, a seal that made the branch members subservient to them.

If any member of the branches defied the orders of the main house, the main house could torture and kill them using the seals.

The enigma wasn't in that matter. After all, it was obvious why they would give only half the clan the seal while the other half remained the masters. It was for power and influence.

If the Caged Bird Seal was truly meant to protect the Byakugan from falling into the wrong hands, the main house would similarly receive the Caged Bird Seal. Rather than that, however, it became a tool to control others and hold dominance.

The enigma was why no one advised them otherwise; the Hokage, other clans, and even the villagers. No one had advised them against enslaving half of the Hyuga clan, whose identities were as much Leaf Villagers as they were Clan members.

The Caged Bird Seal was allowed to occur because no one kept the Hyuga and their egos in check.

Neji Hyuga was the unfortunate byproduct of this happening, prodigious talent limited only by his seal and his status.

Born in the branch clan and shackled by the Caged Bird Seal, which not only bound his fate to the main house but his mind to the seal.

Rather than viewing the world through the lens of positive freedom, he viewed the world through the lens of negative freedom.

Positive freedom is the idea that freedom lies in the possibility of making choices. Even if an obstacle appeared in front of an individual, they could walk around it. It dictated that an individual had the freedom to make any choice they wanted and that the individual was controlling which choice to make.

On the other hand, negative freedom is the idea that freedom lies when nothing is restricting it. Rather than walking around the car, negative freedom would implore someone to destroy it, freeing them from any constraints which infringed upon their choices.

Neji, rather than thinking of the freedom he has to make choices, focused on the constraints which bound him.

And now, he was viewing the manifestation of this constraint. The Caged Bird Seal sealed his destiny to the main house, but it mostly sealed his fate to dying for the main house, or in this case, Hinata.

I turned my attention back to the arena, where Lee and Hinata were standing.

While Lee exhibited resolve, Hinata displayed hesitation. I did not doubt that Lee would win the battle just from this factor alone.

Hinata gained her courage against Neji because she felt she had to prove herself to him, the main house, and her father.

Lee was just a stranger to her. She couldn't muster up the will to beat him; her nature did not allow her to do so.

Naruto helped her overcome her nature, however, here, even Naruto wasn't cheering for her. He wasn't cheering for any of them, instead choosing to play the role of an observant bystander.

"Start!"

Lee and Hinata both stood there, unmoving.

"I suggest you surrender, Hinata. While I am not attempting to mock you, your resolve to win this match is not strong, while my passion burns brightly! You can not hope to defeat me like this!"

Hinata became even more withdrawn, but after looking at Naruto and Neji, said,

"I... I still want to fight."

"Very well. Then prepare yourself, Hinata Hyuga!"

He leaped to action after that, dashing toward Hinata and throwing a punch at her.

She attempted to block, but the punch was only a feint as he kicked her in the stomach. She was launched backward, though she blocked the attack with her arms at the last second.

Hinata wasn't a bad Taijutsu fighter by any standard, it was just her determination to win was lacking.

If her determination to win was lacking, then her willingness to hurt and kill was similarly lacking.

While I hunted animals and fought to the death with other shinobi, I noticed a simple phenomenon.

Animals who didn't hope to win but rather escape were much less a threat than animals who had the hope of killing their enemies.

Hinata was a trapped rabbit at the moment. Her instincts were telling her to run, to escape, but circumstances were not allowing her.

Unless she became a lion who was willing to fight, she posed very little threat to Lee.

The fight, or I should say the massacre, continued. Lee was too fast for Hinata. Though her Byakugan allowed her to see him and where he was going to attack, her body couldn't react in time to his assault.

Still, she put up some resistance, blocking some attacks, redirecting others, and even attempting to attack Lee at times.

Naruto, maybe finally having enough from the massacre, decided to shout some words of encouragement at Hinata.

"Come on, Hinata! You can do better than that. I know you can! Give him a run for his money! Don't give up!!"

Hinata continued the battle with renewed vigor, blocking some of Lee's tenketsu in his arm.

Even though Lee couldn't mold chakra into a jutsu, he still used chakra inside of his body to power his punches and Taijutsu.

By blocking the tenketsu on his arm, Lee couldn't use it anymore in battle, since he couldn't supply it with chakra. Along with the inability to use chakra in his arm, the Gentle Fist damaged his muscles and tendons greatly, inhibiting him from using his left arm.

After picking up some steam, Hinata tried to ride the momentum and keep striking Lee, however, Lee dodged backward and took it up a notch.

"I won't go easy on you anymore, Hinata! Prepare yourself!"

Lee started moving fast enough to appear invisible to the average Genin. He was definitely a Chunin-level Taijutsu fighter, even without taking off his weights or using the Eight Inner Gates.

Hinata, who could somewhat keep up with Lee before, fell behind and was punched in the gut.

She was launched backward, and Lee didn't stop at that. He appeared behind her, kicking her in the back.

Lee juggled her with kicks and punches until he finally stopped, at which time she fell to the floor in agony and quivered.

"Admit defeat, Hinata!"

She attempted to stand up, before falling back to the floor in agony. Lee watched from the side, either admiring his opponent's determination or unwilling to injure her further.

"I... I... won't give up."

She eventually made it back onto her feet, taking the Gentle Fist stance and attacking Lee.

While her resolve to fight was admiral, it still couldn't make up for the difference in strength from Lee's training.

Lee performed a back kick, launching Hinata into the wall. The impact left her dazed, and Lee took advantage of that.

He raced toward her, delivering one right hook to her face, knocking her unconscious.

"The winner is Lee since his opponent is unable to continue!"

As soon as he said that, Naruto leaped from above, racing toward Hinata. He took out an ointment and started applying it to some of her bruises, at which time her sensei, Kurenai, also came down and implored the medical ninja to hurry up. Hinata's injuries were not severe, however, she did receive quite a beating.

After Hinata was carried out on a stretcher, Naruto came over to Lee, patting him on the back, before punching him in the stomach.

"You didn't have to go that hard on her, Lee!"

"I am sorry, Naruto, but to hold back against a person shining with resolve is disrespectful! She has given me her all, and so have I!"

Naruto seemed to understand a little bit of that.

I watched as Lee walked to the medical unit since the tenketsu points in his arms needed to be unblocked.

Naruto came back up to his team, appearing more contemplative than he was before.

"It seems that you trained Lee well, Gai."

Gai appeared behind Team 7, and I filled my ears with more chakra attempting to listen. We weren't that far from each other in the first place, so I could hear everything smoothly.

"Of course! Lee has inherited my youth, after all! That boy is willing to put it all on the line, and I intend to support him until the end!"

"Don't tell me, Gai. Did you--"

"I did, Kakashi. As his sensei, I must support his dream all the way."

"Even with the risks that come with it?"

"He understands the risks, Kakashi. But that boy has something to prove to the world, and he's willing to do whatever it takes to do it."

It seems that Kakashi has figured out that Lee could do the Eight Inner Gates.

Honestly, I was itching to get that technique.

The Eight Inner Gates required constant grinding and endurance rather than actual strength. It explained why instead of simply wearing heavier weights, Lee and Gai wear lighter ones and do many more repetitions.

It also explained how Gai's father, Duy, who was simply a Genin~Chunin at base power, could explode with Kage-level strength.

His body possessed so much endurance that his training in the Eight Inner Gates was significant even if his raw strength wasn't.

With the use of shadow clones, I had ample time to train my body in strength and endurance daily. If I could get my hands on the Eight Inner Gates, my Taijutsu ability would exponentially rise.

For now, though, that thought was just a pipe dream until I could figure out a way to gain access to the technique.

I turned my attention back to Hayate, who was already announcing the next set of combatants.

"Shikamaru Nara vs Dosu Kinuta!"

Shikamaru buried his head in his hands, groaning.

Dosu, on the other hand, seemed to have no problem with the arrangement and made his way down.

After some encouragement from Choji and Ino, Shikamaru made his way down, adopting a determined expression. Before leaving, I saw Asuma hand Shikamaru something.

'I can't lose now. Naruto, Choji, and Lee have all made it to the finals. We're so close to becoming Chunin and learning more about what happened to Aizen. I'll beat this guy to a pulp." (Shikamaru)

"I was hoping to go against the Uchiha, but you're not bad yourself, shadow guy."

"Heh, I wish I could say the same."

"Smart-ass."

"Takes one to know one."

"All right, I'm about to start the match." (Hayate)

"Wait! Before that, I have a question." (Shikamaru)

"*Cough cough* what?"

"Can I use earplugs?"

"Technically, that's not against the rules. I permit it."

"Nice, thank you."

Shikamaru took out a pair of earplugs from his pocket and put them in. I saw him look back toward Asuma and give him a nod, which Asuma returned.

Asuma must have gotten the earplugs for Shikamaru, or his team in general, just in case they went up against any of the Otogakure ninjas.

"All right, if there is nothing else, then begin the match!"

Shikamaru leaped backward, putting distance between himself and Dosu. Dosu attempted to chase him, but Shikamaru performed the Rat hand sign and said

"Shadow Possession Jutsu!"

His shadow suddenly started contorting, before launching toward's Dosu shadow. Dosu quickly dodged to the side, before attempting to continue his chase.

The shadow, however, prevented him from closing in on Dosu.

Getting frustrated, Dosu pulled out some shuriken before launching them toward Shikamaru, who stopped his shadow possession jutsu and dodged.

"Heh, maybe I overestimated you, shadow boy."

Shikamaru didn't speak, opting to try and use the Shadow Possession Jutsu again instead.

"Enough!"

Dosu aimed his right hand at Shikamaru and launched a wave of sound, which ultimately did very little because the earplugs blocked most of the sound.

What little that did impact Shikamaru, however, disrupted his concentration since the Shadow Possession Jutsu dissipated.

Shikamaru took a kunai from his pouch and threw it at Dosu, who transformed into nothing but a rock from the ground that Choji broke before.

This time, Dosu used the Body Flicker Jutsu to reach Shikamaru, launching a punch toward his head with his right hand.

The punch struck its target, hitting Shikamaru right in the head as Dosu activated his sound waves, sending sound straight into his head.

"Got you!"

'See that, Orochimaru! I'm not a mere puppet for you to mess around with!'

I smirked under my mask, though, unworried about my friend.

Shikamaru, squirming from pain, transformed into a shadow, wrapping around Dosu as the real Shikamaru came from underneath the ground.

"Now! Shadow Strangulation Jutsu!"

The shadows from the clone bound Dosu down as Shikamaru punched him in the gut.

"Complete!"

Shikamaru's shadow started wrapping around Dosu as a hand formed from it. The hand extended to Dosu's neck before strangling him.

"Bet you didn't expect that, did you?"

"Yeahhh! Nice one, Shikamaru!!" (Naruto)

"Omnomnom, he got him!" (Choji)

While the shadow continued choking him, Dosu began resisting the technique, attempting to use his right hand.

"Shit, why is this guy so strong!"

Shikamaru punched Dosu in the stomach, trying to stop him from resisting, but Dosu didn't stop. No matter how many times Shikamaru punched Dosu in the stomach, he kept trying to raise his right hand and strike with it.

Dosu's face, or at least what could be seen of it, started turning purple from the lack of oxygen flowing into his body. He resisted even more, fueled by the fear of death and unconsciousness.

Eventually, Shikamaru lost some of his control over the Jutsu, probably because he was punching and strangling Dosu, which split his attention.

As soon as that happened, Dosu hit Shikamaru in the stomach, attacking him with sound waves that reverberated throughout his body.

"*cough cough cough cough*."

Dosu went into a coughing fit, clutching his throat while coughing his lungs out.

After recovering, Dosu straightened his back and started shouting,

"You almost got me, you crazy bastard! That was close! But now, it's my turn!"

Dosu looked down at Shikamaru, who was still getting up from the floor. The sound wave which traveled throughout his entire body left him disorientated and weak.

Kicking him in the face, Dosu sent Shikamaru's body tumbling into the wall.

Shikamaru tried to get up, but Dosu followed behind and kicked his face again, flipping him on his back.

He then began stomping on his chest before picking Shikamaru up by the throat and slamming him into the wall.

"How does it feel to be the one getting strangled this time, shadow boy!?"

Shikamaru used his arms, delivering punch after punch to Dosu's face and arms, but Dosu took them all and kept strangling him.

"I'm going to enjoy this one." (Dosu)

"Come on, Shikamaru! Do something!" (Naruto)

Choji started furiously munching on his chips, worried about his friend but powerless to do anything.

Shikamaru's face started turning purple, much like Dosu's before.

Before he lost consciousness, Shikamaru kicked forward with his leg, unaware that it would be a critical hit.

Hitting Dosu right on his... jewels, Dosu finally loosened his grip on Shikamaru, allowing him to free himself from his grip as he fell to the floor.

Dosu recovered quickly, going to kick Shikamaru again, but before he could, his movements suddenly froze and he stopped moving.

"*cough cough* *cough cough* Shadow *cough cough* Possession Jutsu *cough cough* successful!"

At the last second, Shikamaru did the Rat hand sign and completed the Shadow Possession Jutsu.

Shikamaru stayed on the ground for a while, recovering, before strengthening his control over Dosu and getting up.

"I'm the one who's going to enjoy this, mummy."

Shikamaru started walking forward while Dosu did the same.

Dosu was about two steps away from the wall when Shikamaru stopped, looking back and seeing the distance between Dosu and the wall.

"That should be good enough. Now, get ready, mummy."

Shikamaru raised his right hand and put it on his left shoulder before backhanding the air.

He was simply striking the air, but the same wasn't true about Dosu.

His right hand repeatedly hit the wall, and the tool he was wearing to amplify his sound waves cracked before breaking into pieces.

"Time to end this."

Shikamaru winded up his head before launching it forward, which made Dosu hit his head on the wall, hard.

He didn't fall unconscious, though, and instead continued attempting to resist Shikamaru's control.

"Tough bastard, aren't ya?"

Shikamaru made Dosu hit his head three more times before Dosu finally fell unconscious.

"Shikamaru Nara is the winner due to his opponent being unable to continue the match."

"Yeahhhh! Good job, Shikamaru! You did it! You beat him!" (Naruto)

Shikamaru finally released the Shadow Possession Jutsu, acquiring a huge grin as he did so.

'I did it! We all did! We're one step closer to finally understanding what happened to Aizen. Though, that guy knows something. I'm sure he does. There's no way those words were a coincidence.'

Shikamaru raised his head and looked at me, squinting as he did so.

I similarly stared at him before tilting my head and giving him a thumbs up. The action wasn't reciprocated, though, since the medical ninja came in and dragged both Dosu and Shikamaru away. Both had sustained some injuries in the match, Shikamaru from all the strikes to his ribs and Dosu from that slamming his head on the wall.

The match was the most interesting one of the day. Not only was Shikamaru stronger than he was in the show, but he had also developed a jutsu of his own. I haven't seen that clone technique before, at least not in the show.

I wonder what it's called.

The shadow clone? That would make the most sense, but I'm afraid it's already been taken.

Tobirama might rise from the grave and sue him if he did name it that.

I chuckled out loud, amused by the thoughts running through my head.

Dosu was also pretty strong, resisting the Shadow Possession Jutsu a couple of times and getting some pretty good licks in. If he hadn't chosen to take his time and strangle Shikamaru rather than sending a sound wave straight into his head, the result would have greatly differed.

"Since the match has concluded, I will announce the next match.

The next combatants are... Neji Hyuga and Kankuro!"

"All right, let your flames of youth burn bright, young Neji!" (Gai)

Neji donned a stoic face at that, walking down the arena.

Kankuro was already there, waiting for Neji in the middle.

"I suggest you surrender. Your fate had already been sealed the moment your opponent was me."

"Fate sealed? You're the one who better obediently surrender freak eyes."

"Very well. I shall show you, then, the unfairness between our destinies."

Neji took the Gentle Fist stance, similar to the one Hinata took earlier.

"Begin!"

Neither Neji nor Kankuro moved, instead choosing to stand still. After a short standstill, Neji finally made his move, activating his Byakugan.

"Byakugan!"

After doing so, Neji immediately lept into battle, going straight for Kankuro. Kankuro did the same, throwing his puppet to the side and defending the blow with his arm.

At the last second, however, Neji changed targets from Kankuro to the puppet wrapped in bandages on the floor. The 'puppet' moved, dodging what would have been a blow to the head to a blow to the leg.

The bandages unraveled, revealing Kankuro with a pained expression, holding his injured leg.

"Did you really think that you could hide from these eyes of mine? I told you from the beginning your fate was sealed the moment you had me as your opponent!"

Kankuro controlled the puppet to stand in front of him before making him attack Neji.

A long sharp metal ejected from the puppet's arm, pointing it straight at Neji. Neji stepped to the side, but another piece of metal ejected from the puppet's side, aiming at Neji.

The distance was too close to dodge, and Kankuro yanked the puppet right at Neji.

"I got you!"

The metal suddenly stopped moving, stagnating a couple of centimeters away from Neji.

He had ejected chakra from his tenketsu, stopping the metal from going further.

"Hmph, did you think that could get me?"

Neji palmed the puppet in the chest, launching it backward and destroying some of its chest too.

The puppet came right back, unaware of the damage that it had sustained.

"You control your puppet through chakra strings, right? Let me show you why your destiny is to lose while mine is to win."

Neji dashed toward the puppet, and just before they were about to clash with one another, Neji stepped to the side once again and dodged it.

With its back facing him, he made a chopping motion in the air, and the puppet fell as if its strings were cut.

"You cut my puppet's strings?!"

The puppet fell because its strings were cut.

While Kankuro started reattaching the strings, Neji had already closed in on him, striking him twice simultaneously.

"Eight Trigrams: Two Palms"

Another two

"Four Palms"

Another four

"Eight Palms"

Another eight

"Sixteen Palms"

Another sixteen

"Thirty-two Palms"

Another thirty-two

"Eight Trigrams: Sixty-Four Palms!"

At this point, Kankuro was already spitting blood and falling to the ground.

His body was already his weak point since he focused on puppet arts rather than Taijutsu, and Neji took full advantage of that.

"This is reality, Kankuro. Your destiny was to lose to me here."

"Can you shut up about all this destiny bullshit?" (Kankuro)

"Heh, you can try to deny it, but the results are clear."

"Are they?"

The puppet suddenly ejected its head, sending it flying toward Neji. A piece of metal also extended from its mouth, coated with a purplish substance, probably poison.

"Rotation!"

Neji started spinning around and ejecting chakra from his tenketsu, creating a dome of chakra around him that blocked the puppet head and sent it flying.

After stopping the technique, he looked down at Kankuro before saying

"They are."

He then struck him once more, knocking him out.

"Winner of the match is Neji Hyuga."

Neji walked back to Team Gai while Kankuro was carried on a stretcher to be treated for all his internal injuries.

It was a quick match.

Neji was a counter to all of Kankuro's methods.

His Byakugan let him predict sneak attacks, his Gentle Fist allowed him to cut the chakra strings, and his Rotation defended him from all attacks.

"The next combatants are... Gaara and Kin Tsuchi!"

They both walked down, although Kin had a smirk on her face while Gaara's face didn't seem to change.

"Begin!"

Kin jumped backward, throwing three senbon at Gaara.

Gaara stood still with his hands folded as a wall of sand appeared and blocked the senbon.

"What!?"

She took three senbon and threw them at Gaara again, this time throwing them at three different spots rather than the one.

Again, a wall of sand emerged, blocking the senbon, before falling back to the ground.

She tried throwing four senbon this time: two with bells and two without.

She was probably trying to confuse Gaara, making him miss one of the senbon, but she didn't know that Gaara's sand was automatic and not controlled by him.

No matter if the senbon had bells or not, the wall of sand blocked them.

Frustrated, she threw a senbon with a bell at the floor next to Gaara.

The sand didn't block it since its intent wasn't to hurt Gaara.

She moved the bells with a string, using sound to inflict a Genjutsu upon Gaara.

The unmovable Gaara started stumbling, losing his sense of balance from the sound.

Even though he had his 'Ultimate Defense' sand armor, he couldn't block the sound from entering his ear canal and affecting his mind.

Kin hurriedly stepped back, throwing more senbon with bells and making Gaara fall to the ground. Even though he's never been physically wounded, Genjutsu was another matter. It didn't require physical contact, which meant there was no way for him to block it.

She threw three senbon at Gaara, but like the other times, his sand shield, or his automatic defense, blocked the senbon before they could reach him.

Maybe deciding it was getting dangerous, Gaara guided the sand with his hand, sending it rushing toward Kin.

Although she tried to dodge, the sand was too fast and caught her foot. By itself, the sand was already quick, but with Gaara using his hand to guide it, it became two times faster.

It held her still as more sand accumulated on her leg, eventually gathering on her other leg as well.

"Sand Coffin!"

The sand gathered on both her legs and merged before Gaara said

"Sand Funeral!"

The sand contracted, squeezing Kin's legs to the point that her muscles started breaking and blood started leaking from the sand.

"AGHHHHHHH! I FORFEIT! PLEASEEE!"

Gaara didn't stop, however, and kept squeezing her legs until everyone in the arena heard an audible snap.

Kin couldn't take the pain and passed out, while Hayate flashed to Gaara and warned,

"Kin has forfeited the match. You are to *cough cough* stop your Jutsu now!"

Gaara finally stopped, getting up from the ground and collecting the sand back into his gourd. Some of his sand became dyed red from Kin's blood, but he didn't seem to mind as he returned it to his gourd.

"The winner is Gaara. We will take a short break before continuing the rest of the matches."

Looking around, I could tell why he chose to give us a break rather than continue. Most of the Genin were horrified by what they had just witnessed.

Sakura and Ino had already returned from the infirmary, though I bet they wish they hadn't.

Both of their faces warped in horror at the sight of Gaara breaking Kin's legs and the sound of her bones being crushed into pieces.

Not many were different.

While the ten-minute break passed, everyone was processing the dangers of fighting against Gaara.

After the ten-minute break was over, Hayate announced the next combatants.

"All right, our next fighters are... Kira and Tenten!"

Poor Tenten.

I walked down to the middle of the arena and watched as she walked down as well in a mix of trepidation and confidence.

Remembering Danzo's words, I decided to let her use her techniques a bit before defeating her rather than just blitzing her with my speed.

"All right, begin!"

Tenten jumped backward, putting some distance between us, before throwing four shurikens at me.

I simply took out a kunai and blocked the four shurikens before putting the kunai back in my pouch.

"Hmph, let's watch you block this!"

She took out a scroll and threw it in the air before jumping after it and summoning a ton of weapons from it.

Tenten wasn't exactly weak right now, just easily countered.

Her entire fighting style revolved around weapons, yet her close combat ability wasn't outstanding.

She only threw the weapons at me, which limited her fighting style and options during a fight.

She started chucking the weapons at me one by one, and I watched as a barrage of weapons made their way toward me.

I stomped on the ground and made the snake hand sign, making an Earth Release: Earth Wall rise from the ground and block all the attacks.

The wall blocked all of the weapons coming at me as the arena became filled with the noise of metal clanging against the ground.

"Next."

I willed the Earth Style: Earth Wall to return to the ground and looked at Tenten, who was red from anger.

She summoned two scrolls before doing a series of hand signs, Tiger, Dragon, Monkey, Hare, and Snake, and shouting,

"Twin Rising Dragons!"

Smoke filled the arena as dragons made of smoke emerged from it.

The dragons were just scrolls as Tenten jumped in the middle and did the same thing she did before, taking out weapons and throwing them at me.

I made the Snake hand-sign again since I didn't have many other options: The Water-type Jutsu I knew needed me to gather and shoot out the Jutsu in my mouth, while Lightning-type Jutsu wasn't the best defensive type.

Another earth wall rose from the ground, blocking most of the weapons aimed at me until Tenten ran out of weapons from her scroll.

The attack was only the first part, however, as she used the strings attached to the weaponry to throw them at me, both the ones blocked by my wall and the ones behind me that weren't.

Since I was surrounded by weaponry attacking me, I decided to go escape and performed the Snake hand sign for the Earth Release: Hiding Like a Mole Technique.

Most Earth Release Jutsus needed the Snake hand sign, so most people who shortened their Jutsu to only one hand sign did the one associated with their element type.

For example, Earth Release is associated with the Snake hand sign while Water Release is with the Dog hand sign.

I sunk into the ground before burrowing under the ground to where Tenten had landed.

After reaching her, I did the Earth Release: Double Suicide Decapitation technique.

The Jutsu just entailed that I soften the ground around Tenten's feet, drag her down, and then re-harden it.

After doing so, I emerge from the ground and stood above Tenten's head.

Usually, this attack would be followed by a quick decapitation, but since there was no need for that, I just pointed a kunai at her as Hayate announced me as the winner.

I re-softened the ground, allowing her to get up, before returning to my position while she returned to hers.

After a short lull, Hayate began announcing the next and final match.

"It looks like we have one extra person here. The person who doesn't get matched in the upcoming fight can move on to the final stage of the Chunin Exams without having to fight in the preliminary.

The final combatants are... Kiba Inuzaka and Shino Aburame!"

It seems like Sasuke got lucky. He doesn't have to fight anyone in his beaten-down state. He is exhausted from fighting consecutively in the Forest of the Death and isn't allowed to use chakra in case his Curse Mark activates.

Kiba and Shino made it down to the arena and made the Seal of Confrontation. This was the first battle where the people made that seal, probably because they were teammates.

"Begin!"

Surprisingly, Kiba was the one to put distance between them first. I guess even he realized that engaging in close combat with someone that has chakra-eating insects is dangerous.

He took out six shurikens, three on each hand, and launched them at Shino.

Shino took out two kunai and defended himself from all six.

Before he could get a chance to breathe, however, a kunai with an explosive tag arrived at Shino's location, promptly blowing up as Kiba exploded it.

Kiba was serious about winning this match.

After the smoke cleared, Shino was revealed with a few minor burns on his arm but nothing else. Insects were crawling over his body while corpses of insects collected on his arm. It seems he gathered a large number of insects and used them to take most of the impact from the explosion.

Groves of insects from Shino's body started marching toward Kiba.

Sensing the dangerous situation, Kiba fed a food pill to Akamaru and performed the Man-Beast Clones Jutsu.

Two Kibas appeared, both feral and on all fours.

"Fang over Fang Jutsu!"

They started rotating at fast speeds, creating enough wind to push the insects away while also launching themselves toward Shino.

Shino didn't dodge, instead taking the hit directly.

Instead of getting injured, however, Shino dissolved into countless insects, all of which landed on Kiba and Akamaru, sucking their chakra away.

Before long, Akamaru came out of his transformed state and weakly lay on the ground while Kiba chased Shino around and attempted to end it before his chakra was drained.

It didn't work, however, since the more the battle dragged on, the weaker and slower Kiba got.

Eventually, he too lay on the ground weakly from chakra deficiency, and Hayate announced the end of the final battle.

"Shino Aburame wins! The combatants moving on to the final stage of the Chunin Exams are Naruto Uzumaki, Choji Akimichi, Temari, Lee, Shikamaru Nara, Kira, Gaara, Neji Hyuga, Sasuke Uchiha, and Shino Aburame. Please make your way down."

We made our way down and stood in the now-ruined arena. Lee and Shikamaru, who were in the infirmary, were also summoned since their injuries are healed. As we stood waiting, the Hokage appeared from the entrance, walking in front of us and amiably saying,

"It seems we have a good batch of Genin this year. 10 combatants."

He adopted a more serious expression and tone before continuing,

"Now, I shall tell you about the final stage of the Chunin Exams. All of you will showcase your battle skills in front of an audience. Since we want you to be prepared for the exams, the third stage of the Chunin Exams will only commence a month from now. That should give you plenty of time to not only recuperate but also prepare for your prospective matches."

Anko and Ibiki also came from the entrance with a box full of white cards.

"Now, we shall decide on the drawings for the final exam."

Anko passed the box as we all picked up a white card.

"Please announce the number on your card."

"2" (Temari)

"10" (Neji)

"5! Believe it" (Naruto)

"7" (Gaara)

"1" (Lee)

"4" (Kira)

"8" (Shikamaru)

"9" (Choji)

"6" (Sasuke)

"3" (Shino)

Ibiki started took out a paper and started writing.

After about a minute, he turned the paper around and showed us the tournament bracket.

Woah.

The matches would be quite interesting.

After all, the first match was between Lee and ...

----------------------------------------------------------------------------Sorry for the long chapter time. Just with college applications and everything things were prettyy hectic. Another cliff hanger :)

I hope you enjoyed the chapter at least! If you so happen to like, please

leave a comment!

Gimme a power stone!

Put it in your collection!