章節 16: Chapter 16: Uzumaki Naruto

Chapter Sixteen – Uzumaki Naruto

"Give up on me giving up." - Uzumaki Naruto

Naruto was warming up together with Rin. It was half an hour or so until the third round started, and they were simply too bored to wait.

Both were doing slow laps in a circle around the room, while Shisui was warming up together with Ensui, Iruka and Hitomi.

To Naruto and Shisui's delight the other rookie team had managed to get through to the third round, but they had stumbled in half a day ago, barely getting through to the next round with a point score of two hundred and ninety.

The team that came in third was Sarutobi Asuma, Kurenai and Aoba. They had arrived on the fourth day with three hundred points, but looked dead tired and was probably afraid of getting ambushed with so many points on them in the middle of the Forest of Death.

The remaining points had been distributed over the remaining teams. They had entered the fortress and been told either their tally either wasn't good enough, or they would have to wait and see if anyone beat them.

Mizuki, Chou and Shiro came in with only twenty points at the end, and looked furious at Naruto when they were told that unfortunately, that wasn't enough. Their sensei was already there though, and tried to cheer them up for getting out of the forest alive. Though he wondered aloud why Mizuki was only wearing one sandal.

"RIN!"

Naruto turned at the sound of the unmistakable voice, and found Obito coming towards them with a huge smile on his face. He waved eagerly before halting in front of them. "We've been watching the second round on the screens in the back room, you did really great out there!" He exclaimed.

"What are you doing here? Isn't this just for the teams and proctors? Are you a proctor? And what screen?" Asked Naruto confused.

"Nooo. Only Kakashi is a proctor for the exam. I'm here to watch Rin! As her teammate I'm allowed to watch the final round and cheer her on. Sensei and Kakashi is here too!" He explained and pointed to the door behind him. It remained closed.

"Uh… They were right behind me… But they'll be here any moment!"

"What screens?" Naruto repeated the question while looking confused around the fortress.

Obito finally managed to look away from Rin and smiled sheepishly to Naruto. "The Forest of Death is full of recording cameras, and you showed up a few times on the screens! By the way, nice fighting Naruto. I can't believe you took the guy's sandal!" He chuckled to himself while Naruto felt her cheeks heat up. That had been recorded? Would the proctor find her petty for doing that? It had been really childish of her...

"Thank you, Obito! I'm so glad you came." Rin told him genuinely, smiling sweetly before her attention was brought to the door when it suddenly opened again.

Naruto smiled widely when she saw Anko trail in together with Kakashi and Minato. "Anko! You came!" Naruto cried so everyone overheard her.

"I had nothing better to do." The older girl replied with a casual shrug.

"You wouldn't miss this for anything, Anko! Stop pretending to be cool. You're not cool, so deal with it!" Naruto retorted.

"I can be cool..." Anko muttered, her eyes flickering briefly in Minato's direction while her face went a shade redder. But Minato had his head turned away, not seeing anything but the red headed woman who was talking with her three excited students.

When she saw Naruto and Minato looking in her direction Kushina smiled widely and waved energetically. Causing Orochimaru who was walking past her to duck so not to get slapped in the face.

Naruto waved back, because the wave had been to her, not Minato. Which she knew was odd, but couldn't help feel very happy about it. Orochimaru sent Kushina an annoyed look and she smiled sheepishly back, lowering her hand while saying something to him.

"Great job, Rin. I was watching a few of the records. You worked well with your new teammates and showed good thinking and strategy skills. I think this might be your year." Minato said with a gentle smile and squeezed Rin's shoulder. The girl beamed up to her sensei, really happy about his words.

Naruto felt a pang of envy when Minato looked around the room instead of offering her some sort of compliment as well. But Rin was his student, and Naruto was... no one really. Not to him anyway. Just someone he'd met a handful of times.

"Hey Minato!" Naruto said, gaining his attention away from Kushina who he'd been eyeing again.

"Yeah?"

"You should watch me during the finals. I'll make Chūnin and win this for sure." She told him with a glinting eyes.

His hand stretched out, landing softly on the top of her head. "That wouldn't surprise me, Naruto. Only an idiot would underestimate an Uzumaki."

Naruto didn't have time to ask Minato about the use of her family name, because the Hokage stepped into the room and everyone's attention was drawn to him. Minato's included.

After a long speech Naruto was almost bouncing off the walls from boredom. Only Shisui's whispered reminders to stay in line, and the occasional glare from Anko on the sideline kept her from shouting for the old man to hurry up.

After he finished - twenty minutes later - everyone were asked to go up on the stands, to clear up space for the third round.

The final round was exactly how the preliminaries had been in Naruto's first Chūnin exam. Except this time you wouldn't necessary battle only once. If you won, you proceeded to the next round and would again have to fight a new opponent. This would continue until only one was victorious. Just like the tournament, but a lot more low key than last time.

A lot of people had shown up to watch the battles though. Mostly people Naruto didn't know, and while she gazed from face to face, a black haired woman stepped into the arena.

Everyone's attention was drawn to her. The woman was the only one down there and she looked emotionlessly around at the contestants scattered around on the gallery. Naruto was suddenly struck by how familiar she looked.

Her hair, her face, her eyes. She had seen her before. She already knew who she was before she said a word.

"I didn't know aunt Mikoto was a proctor during the exam." Whispered Shisui surprised.

"Aunt?" Asked Naruto, but didn't get an answer because Mikoto started talking.

"My name is Uchiha Mikoto. I'm the referee for the third round of the Chūnin exam. My word is law, and don't forget about it unless you want to get disqualified. A match is over when I say so, and it can happen if one of the contestants forfeits, faints or is unable to continue." Mikoto explained with a kind but firm voice. Naruto was too distracted by the woman to hear half the words, but she guessed they were similar to the first time around. At least she hoped.

"The first battle of the third round is about to start, and contestants should be ready at all times. Please turn your attention towards the screen. The match ups will be picked at random, and winners are the only ones allowed to move up throughout the tournament." Mikoto explained, just in time for the screen to light up.

Everyone watched the screen as names started flashing too quickly for anyone to catch them. Naruto almost whooped loudly when she saw the screen stop on two names, one which was her own and the other none other than Hitomi.

"Don't go too hard on her." Shisui said with a mischievous grin and patted Naruto on the back.

"I won't make any promises!" Naruto replied and jumped over the railing.

Hitomi took the stairs, using a little more time to get to her place while Naruto looked expectantly from the proctor to her opponent.

Naruto was gathering herself at the same time, trying not to let her confidence get the better of her. It would be very humiliating if she lost to Hitomi. But she was confident she could do this without too much trouble.

Hitomi had never shown much skill in fighting, but Naruto didn't know what she had learned since they became genin. She also had none other than Kushina as her sensei. And Naruto was not about to underestimate Hitomi the same way people had underestimated Naruto during her first time in the Chūnin exam.

Mikoto held up the flag, looking pointedly from each contestant in turn. The flag fell towards the ground, and Mikoto said steadily; "Hajime." before jumping back to a safe distance.

The two girls stood locked in place, both waiting for the other to act first. Hitomi was the one to lose her patience first, and she went through a series of hand signs before taking a deep breath, puffing out her chest. Next moment a haze of dark smoke came shooting towards Naruto.

She jumped backwards and attached herself to the wall with chakra to gain some time before the gas was around her.

Next moment a flash of wind countered what Naruto believed to be poison, and forced it back at Hitomi with much greater speed. For a moment the dark gas engulfed Hitomi, making it difficult to see what was happening. Slowly it cleared.

Naruto wasalmost surprised to find Hitomi on the floor unconscious. Knocked out from her own attack. But the gashes from Naruto's wind ninjutsu might also had something to do with it. She had several cuts up her arms, exactly what Naruto had been going for, and on the floor a number of pills had spilled out.

Mikoto raised the flag, indicating that the match was over. "Hitomi is unconscious. The winner of this first match is Naruto."

"That was pathetic!" Shouted Anko from the stadium, Shisui smacked his forehead at her proclamation, but didn't seem to disagree. Naruto on the other hand made her way casually up the stairs. Not in a hurry and feeling quite happy with how efficient she'd taken down Hitomi.

On the arena the medics had hurried over to Hitomi, already using poison extraction techniques to get out the poison she'd probably inhaled.

"Good counter attack, Naruto. I told Hitomi not to go for such a risky move. The poison creates a fog which doesn't only hinder her opponent's sight, but her own as well. And you tore her antidote pouch off her belt. She probably didn't find out which one was the right pill in all that smoke..." Ensui muttered dejectedly.

Kushina smacked Ensui on the head. "Show your teammate more faith, Ensui. She was up against someone with unknown skills, and she made a simple mistake. Sometime a small blunder is all that's needed to turn a battle from favorable to unfavorable. Naruto was a bad match up too." She explained, but sent a nod to Naruto when she caught her looking at them.

"Great wind ninjutsu, Naruto. There was a lot of punch in that technique." Kushina said kindly. Naruto felt a little bad. She'd just taken out one of Kushina's pupils, which probably displeased her, but the red head was already gone to check up on her student when Naruto was about to speak up.

High up on the wall the screen was in full roll again, and Naruto turned just in time to see names flash up in yellow letters. Uchiha Shisui vs. Yūhi Kurenai.

"Good luck, Shisui!" Naruto said as she passed him on her way to team Minato, Anko and Orochimaru. She was very curious how that would go and hurried to get to her spot so she could catch the match.

"Good counter attack, Naruto-chan." Minato said as she took a place next to Anko.

"Thanks, Minato!" Naruto looked expectantly at Anko and Orochimaru. Waiting to gain some kind words from them, but both rolled their eyes in sync.

"That was not very impressive. You had it way too easy." Anko replied drily.

"You did a little too much. I think you could have saved more energy if you'd used less chakra on the wind technique, and then taken her out with taijutsu once the smoke had cleared. You have good stamina, and it builds up faster than chakra does in the long run. From her physical looks Hitomi doesn't have the muscles for any great speed or strength. There was numerous ways to win, but I guess yours was the second to quickest one. You could have attacked first after all." Orochimaru said without batting an eye. Naruto sighed.

It wasn't like she cared if Orochimaru approved or not, but it would've been more encouraging if her teammates had some positive feedback for her.

Rin looked like she agreed with Naruto, because she lglanced uncomfortable from Orochimaru to Naruto, biting her lip as if she was about to say something.

"I think you did well, Naruto." Said Obito reassuringly from behind her, just as Mikoto lowered the flag, and Shisui and Kurenai started their battle.

Shisui attacked first, testing out his opponents by using his tantō instead of any jutsu.

Kurenai was slower than Shisui, but good at dodging attacks. She preferred kunai, and used it to keep Shisui at a distance. Shisui dodged as Kurenai threw several kunai, attempting to force him away, but with minimal luck.

"Take him down, Kurenai!" Shouted Asuma from the sideline. Hiashi, their sensei, was standing behind Asuma, his brow furrowed while he watched the match. He didn't look pleased.

"You better win, Shisui!" Shouted Naruto, just to drown down some of Asuma's shouts. It worked. Naruto had a lot more volume than Asuma could ever hope for.

Shisui dodged them with simple sidestep, while Kurenai was using the time to go through hand signs. She finished the row of signs and her chakra activated.

But nothing happened.

"Activate your Sharingan, Shisui." Anko whispered quietly so no one but Naruto and Orochimaru overheard it.

For over thirty second nothing happened. At all.

Naruto was growing restless at the unusual long break in the battle, and looked curiously over to Kurenai's teammates. Wondering if she could learn anything from how they were reacting to this sudden stop.

Asuma was worried. He was frowning while he shifted from foot to foot. Aoba was impossible to read at all. His black glasses and impassive face made it seem he was simply waiting for the ball to drop.

Suddenly Kurenai stumbled backwards.

Shisui shot forwards, Kurenai got her footing back just in time and tried to punch him. But her aim was off and Shisui managed to kick her hard in the stomach. A clean hit. The girl flew backwards, her eyes wide as she hit the wall and slid down like a rag doll.

Naruto stood tense while Kurenai moved shakily to her feet. She was looking widely at Shisui with worry in her eyes, and Naruto didn't think it was from being kicked into a wall either. Slowly she closed her eyes and shook her head. "I forfeit." She muttered dejectedly.

"Yūhi Kurenai forfeit. Uchiha Shisui wins this first round match." Mikoto proclaimed, a slight smile on her face while she shot the flag into the air. The winner turned and smiled brightly up to his team, sending them all the thumbs up before walking over to the staircase.

"What happened?" Asked Naruto confused.

"Kurenai lost in a genjutsu battle." It was Kakashi who'd replied. He looked impressed where he stood cross armed while looking down at the arena.

"Oh..." Naruto nodded slowly, understanding why the two had suddenly frozen in place.

"Hmmm… Shisui is really something when it comes to genjutsu… Kurenai is good, but he still won. And he didn't even use his trump card." Anko said and smirked to Naruto. "That was a better battle than yours."

"How was that better? They were just staring at each other for ages!" Naruto pouted while shaking her head. "Shisui can do a lot more than that."

"He's keeping his cards close to his chest, Naruto. There are more matches to follow, and the less you reveal the better chances he has of succeeding in the later rounds. And unlike you he doesn't have an endless amount of chakra. He's fighting smart." Orochimaru explained.

That moment Shisui reached them, taking a place next to Naruto who gave him a high five. "Good job, Shisui!" Naruto exclaimed while Shisui waved his hand as if to say it was nothing.

"Good job as well, Naruto. Hitomi will probably think twice about bad mouthing you again." He answered and patted Naruto on the shoulder.

"Hey, next round is Ensui-kun against Tokara-kun!" Exclaimed Rin, drawing all of their attention back to the screen.

Naruto immediately started shouting encouraging words. She had no idea who this Tokara was, but knew she wanted Ensui to win.

The fight between Ensui and Tokara was a long one compared to Naruto and Shisui's matches. Technically Ensui was at a disadvantage.

He didn't know how Tokara fought. But Shikakau was Tokara's sensei, meaning he knew everything about the shadow possession technique.

Ensui also fought differently to the Nara Naruto was most familiar with. His style of battle was more physical than Shikamaru had ever preferred to be and Ensui used shadows to a lesser extent. Which in this instance was to his advantage.

Iruka and Naruto were having a match themselves – seeing who could shout the loudest – while they cheered the Nara on.

In the end Tokara lost.

He made a blunder and got caught by Ensui's well aimed senbon. That in itself wasn't enough to stop him, but the shadow that bound him a second later was. The Nara had a bunch of senbon in his hand, while Tokara had none. "Forfeit or I'll bolt these senbon into you." Ensui said confidently. His throwing arm ready while he looked steadily at Tokara's blustering face.

Ensui and Shikamaru had the same calm about them though. Ensui had complete control of the situation. He'd made his move, and had already won the game.

Tokara forfeited, leaving the arena together with Ensui, neither of them talking.

Next up was Iruka against Asuma.

Naruto was almost standing on the railing during the battle. The only thing restraining her from falling over was Anko's grip on her jacket, preventing her from tumbling over. "GO IRUKA! Hit him where the sun don't shine!" Naruto cried, earning herself some annoyed looks. Not just from her fellow spectators, but from a few down in the arena too.

But Iruka didn't win.

Asuma was good with his blades, and fought Iruka into a corner. For a horrifying moment Naruto thought Asuma was about to cut Iruka's head off. But instead Asuma's commanding voice carried up to them from down in the arena. "Forfeit."

And Iruka did.

After them followed the flashiest fight so far. Ibiki and Aoba were both ninjutsu users. They were also close to one another in skill. Naruto followed the battle with interest, half listening while Anko kept a steady commentary about what she thought of their ninjutsu.

"Ibiki is being too sloppy. He knows Aoba is good at long range, and Ibiki is better at taijutsu than Aoba…. There! What did I tell you? Now Ibiki's pants is half burned off. I swear Aoba has some Sarutobi blood in him. His fire ninjutsu are really dangerous…. That idiot! Aoba just need a clear hit in with his genjutsu and Ibiki will halter. Ibiki is good with genjutsu, but not at Aoba's standard…. That must have hurt!…. Hahaha! Ibiki doesn't have any pants!"

This last comment was a result of Aoba's kunai flying across the room and catching the remainder of the waist band keeping Ibiki's trousers up. It didn't seem to faze Ibiki much though. He just looked annoyed he had to continue the battle in his underwear.

After a fifteen minute battle Ibiki came out victorious. But only barely. He managed to summon up some type of prison, catching Aoba after backing him slowly into a corner of the arena. They received the loudest applause so far. After releasing Aoba, Ibiki's first agenda was to run over to his backpack and retrieve some new pants to wear for the second round.

So the last battle of the first round was Rin against Hayate. Naruto was biting her fingernails as Rin took her place down in the arena. Kicking away some burned garments before pinning her opponents with all the determination she could muster.

"Go Rin!" Shouted Obito and leaned over the railing.

"Do your best, Rin!" Shouted Naruto nervously. She had no idea how Hayate fought, but he'd been a proctor during her own exam, and this time he wasn't coughing every other minute. Mikoto gave them to start signal.

Naruto quickly found out that Hayate was fast. One moment he was on his side of the arena, and next a clang rang out in the arena as his katana clashed with Rin's kunai. Rin had only had time to draw her blade, while Hayate had covered the entire floor in the same amount of time.

His face was unreadable while he fought, while Rin was gritting her teeth from the force Hayate was putting into his katana. "Get away! Attack from a different angle!" Naruto shouted. Already knowing Hayate was far above Rin in close range just by how little strain he was showing. If Rin wanted to win this, she would have to get creative.

"Rin is going to lose." Kakashi stated with a sigh. Obito and Naruto rounded on him immediate, both furious at Kakashi's comment.

"She can win!" Naruto exclaimed.

"No. Hayate is a much more advanced fighter. Kenjutsu is his specialty. She simply doesn't stand a chance." He retorted as if it should be obvious.

Naruto gritted her teeth, but before she could reply Obito got ahead of her. "Rin can win this, and we should encourage her to win. She has grown a lot this last year, and I believe she can do this. If you'd stopped to look properly you'd notice Rin has grown exceptionally, and without either of our help. Show your teammate more faith, Kakashi." He looked like he wanted to say more, but instead turned his back to Kakashi and continued watching the match.

Naruto cheered and patted Obito on the back, also focusing on the match instead of Kakashi fuming in the back.

Rin had gotten away during the small conversation, and was good at keeping her distance from Hayate now.

She threw a series of kunai, but Hayate ducked past them. Rin then did an enormous jump, getting high up on the wall while Hayate looked confused behind him. The kunai she'd thrown had explosive tags on them, and next moment an ear numbing explosion went off from multiple directions all around Hayate.

The whole building shook with the explosion, and Naruto peeked nervously up, not sure if the construction could take this sort of damage without falling on top of them.

The smoke was everywhere, and Naruto squinted to see anything. A series of clangs ran out from the smoke, which meant at least the contestants had found each other within the mess.

Finally things cleared up.

"GO RIN! You have him now!" Shouted Naruto excitedly. Because she did.

Hayate looked really banged up from the explosion. He was bloody and bruised, while Rin barely had a scratch. She smiled brilliantly while Obito and Naruto continued cheering her on. Even Shisui came with some encouragement.

"Darn… Rin got better." Anko muttered next to them, but smiled despite her biting tone.

Rin attacked, but again Hayate had his katana up, meeting Rin's kunai with force. But he was too slow to stop Rin's leg hitting him in the side. The boy stumbled sideways, having to catch himself with the hand holding his katana, and Rin saw her opening.

Her kunai shot forwards, aiming for his neck while Hayate was on the floor. Naruto was wide eyed and gleeful whiles she shouted excitedly.

But Hayate kicked up so fast Naruto didn't see it coming. Rin was right over him, and his foot hit the hand holding her kunai. She cried in pain as a faint crack indicated her hand had broken. Hayate jumped to his feet while Rin tried to heal it quickly, but the boy wasn't giving her time to rest.

And before Naruto had time to realize how it had happened, Rin was forced to the ground. Her good hand bent awkwardly behind her back, while her injured one was lying limply at her side. Hayate's katana pressed to her neck while he used his weight to force Rin forward.

Rin had lost.

"Congratulation to those who's won their first round. We'll resume battles in fifteen minutes." Mikoto told the audience in the hall while a couple of ninjas were running around the arena, cleaning up and fixing some of the damages that had been inflicted to the building during the battles.

"Ah… It sucks that you had to fight Hayate… He was a tough one." Naruto said comfortably when Rin made her way disappointingly up to the stadium.

She had tears in her eyes and Obito ran over to her at once.

"You did great, Rin. You just got unlucky." Obito explained gently, his face worried while he checked out the bandage on her arm. "Are you well enough to see the rest of the battles? Maybe you should sit down?" He asked concerned.

"I'm fine, Obito… I just… I trained so hard for this. It was my turn this time. I wasn't supposed to go out in the first round. Again! It's so frustrating." Rin muttered and burrowed her face in her good hand.

"Hayate was a bad opponent for you. You're both close range fighters, but unlike you he specializes in it." Kakashi told her reassuringly. "I think you actually have a shot at making Chūnin. A lot more than Naruto does at this point." He added and pointed at the blonde standing right next to him.

"Thank you, Kakashi-kun..."

"Hey!"

"It's true. Rin showed much more than you got to, Naruto. Winning isn't everything in the Chūnin exam, and if all the matches was over this instance very few of you have shown enough skill to get promoted. Rin and Hayate are probably high up on the list at the moment. The fact that Rin held out so long and nearly won against someone who's a front line battler is remarkable on its own." Anko told her with a smile to Rin.

"I'll show everyone in the next round! Whomever I'm against will get pulverized, dattebayo!" Naruto exclaimed heatedly.

"No. You'll do what's required." Orochimaru interjected with exasperation.

For the first time in a long while Kakashi was feeling entertained. The Chūnin exam was a lot more fun to watch than it had been participating in. It was a great way to gather some inspiration too. To see what other people used their time on and how they fought.

He felt bad Rin had gone out so early. He'd seen her during training and believed she was good enough to make Chūnin. He just hoped the judges had seen that as well.

He'd been surprised a few times too. Ibiki and Aoba's battle had been entertaining, if not a little wasteful when it came to chakra. Shisui and Kurenai's battle had also been an eye opener.

He'd never actually seen a genjutsu battle in action before now, and he was speculating on asking Shisui for the details. It was boring watching a genjutsu battle, they just stood there and stared after all. But it was a lot different being one of the participants. Kurenai also specialized in genjutsu, which he suspected Shisui wasn't. His movements told more of stealth and combat than illusion work.

Kakashi also had to admit to himself that he was curious about what Naruto could do.

Hitomi hadn't been a very good opponent, and the battle had been the quickest and the most anticlimactic. But judging from the many rumours he'd heard lately concerning Naruto, she had a lot more hidden up her sleeve than he'd been previously aware of. And though the girl was annoying he always appreciated seeing a good brawl. Even Kakashi could admit that.

Kakashi's attention was drawn to the arena when Uchiha Mikoto walked back in, drawing everyone's attention though she had yet to speak.

"Next round is about to begin. Contestant - stand at the ready." Mikoto told them before shifting her gaze to the screen. Everyone in the arena did the same.

The rapid sound of names switching out was heard when the screen started picking the next set of opponents.

Uchiha Shisui vs. Naruto.

The names blinked out like a fire alarm, and Kakashi looked curiously at the two kids in front of him. They were staring mutely at one another. Neither seemed to have anticipated this specific match up.

"Um..." Anko said dumbstruck next to them.

Rin seemed to have gotten distracted from wallowing in self-pity too, since she was now looking nervous instead of bitter.

"What are you two waiting for? Get down there." Orochimaru snapped after they showed no inkling to move. Wordlessly they headed for the stairs, neither looking at one another while they descended down to the arena.

"Woha… I'm lucky I never got in that position. It would have been hard fighting one of my teammates." Obito muttered while leaning over the railing. Following their movements closely as they found their spots.

"Not even Kakashi?" Asked Anko with a smirk. But her eyes looked worried while she observed her two teammates.

"No! I mean Rin and Minato-sensei! I'd fight Bakashi gladly!" Obito exclaimed while his cheeks heated up.

"Hah! As if you would have a chance against Minato-sensei." Chuckled Anko and cracked a genuine smile.

"First battle of the second round is Uchiha Shisui vs Naruto." Said Mikoto from down in the arena, and everyone's attention zoomed back to the battle about to begin.

"Hajime!"

At lightning speed Naruto and Shisui clashed. Kakashi blinked in surprise. He hadn't expected the quick opening, and was confused by the speed the two genin were displaying. It was difficult to see which one was the fastest.

"Kick his ass, Naru!" Shouted Anko, slightly uncomfortable after the exclamation but far from guilty.

The sound of metal hitting metal rang out through the stadium. Naruto had a kunai up against Shisui's tantō. Their hands shaking from the force they were putting into the attacks.

Suddenly Shisui ducked. Naruto lost her balance when the weight she was pressing against was removed, and Shisui did a low sweep with his foot, kicking Naruto's feet from under her.

"AH!" Naruto cried, but somehow – Kakashi had no idea how – rolled away before Shisui could get another hit in. She retreated a safe distance. Shisui letting her while he trailed her movements with red eyes.

No one had registered Shisui's Sharingan before now, the close battle and fast movements had taken the focus away from their faces. And a round of gasps echoed around the room from the sight of them.

"That's the Sharingan!"

"Shisui has the Sharingan?"

"Oh wow! And he's so young!"

"Heh, I guess this battle is already decided then."

Anko sent Asuma a dirty glare at his last comment, but didn't seem able to tear her attention away from the match. Orochimaru had stepped up to the railing, his hands resting on the surface while he watched his student's battle. He didn't appear to like what he was seeing though.

"You should get serious. Stop holding back." He said in a normal indoor voice, but the words carried around the room as if he'd shouted it.

Neither of the fighters looked up at him, but Kakashi could see they had both heard.

Shisui's shoulders relaxed. His posture lowering while his eyes spun in their sockets. Kakashi had to give credit to Naruto for not falling into his genjutsu yet. He'd been quick with Kuernai, but for all he knew Shisui had tried genjutsu on Naruto before.

These two knew each other's fighting style, and was probably going to attack accordingly. Though Orochimaru's words indicated they were going easy on each other.

"Kage bunshin no jutsu!" Naruto shouted and ten clones appeared around her. Creating a clone shield. Three of the clones sprang forward, and Shisui went through hand signs faster than Kakashi could read them.

"Katon: Great Fireball Technique!" Shisui shouted, creating a huge fireball. One that was many times his own size that rushed towards the clones. They popped instantly, and the fire continued towards the real Naruto and her backup clones.

The sound of popping clones filled the arena in the confusion of fiery hot flames, and Kakashi was wondering if the match was over. The only reason he didn't know was how tense Shisui had become.

A tearing sound rang through the arena half a second after Shisui threw himself into the air. The reason was obvious when suddenly the ground underneath him cracked, and Naruto came rushing up from it.

His eyes widened further as Naruto's bellowed for anyone in a ten mile radius to overhear. "Futon: Gale Palm!"

Shisui was probably one of the fastest kids he'd ever seen.

Somehow, in midair, he was already counter attacking. What the fire technique was called Kakashi didn't hear in the roar of Naruto's wind technique, but the fire colliding with the wind which sent a heat wave throughout the room.

Kakashi hurried up to the railing. Attempting to see through the smoke that was covering the whole arena. But another gush of wind appeared soon after, and the smoke was forced away just like Hitomi's gas had during Naruto's first battle.

Shisui was on the offensive, in the smoke he'd gotten very close to winning, but Naruto must have sidestepped him somehow. They were again in a kenjutsu battle. Shisui was forcing Naruto up the wall. Literally. They were now fighting vertically.

Shisui's left hand was getting something from his weapon pouch, while Naruto was distracted dodging and countering his tantō. She was being slightly impressive when she stopped Shisui's tantō mid slice by trapping the blade between the palms of her hands. She was forced to let go though when Shisui finally fished out what he was looking for and shuriken came flying towards Naruto.

"Get out of the way!" Cried Anko in panic. Now more in front of the railing then she was behind it because of how much she was leaning over it.

Naruto did an extensive front flip from the wall. Flying over Shisui's head and spinning until she hit the hard concrete floor. Another series of shuriken followed her, and Naruto rolled sideways to dodge. The shuriken were just missing her wherever she tried to move.

It was first then Kakashi noticed the wire attached to the shuriken Shisui had thrown, and so it seemed Naruto had. From up on the wall Shisui jabbed at the wires end. The shuriken closest to Naruto followed his movement perfectly, jabbed in her direction while he jumped down to join her.

He used the wires as a slide for his feet, following its descend while throwing more in Naruto's direction. Kakashi realized he was preventing Naruto from doing any ninjutsu. He was keeping her on the defence with every move he made, while at the same time tripping up the entire arena with ninja wire.

One wrong move and Naruto would get caught. And the small halt would be all Shisui needed to win the match.

Kakashi didn't realize he had joined the rest of the spectators in leaning over the rail. Following the match with rapt attention.

Naruto finally made the mistake Shisui had been waiting for. Her foot caught on a wire, she fell forward, and Shisui took his chance. Leaping over ten meters in one jump he put his tantō against the girl's neck.

He'd won!

"Forfeit Naruto." He said calmly. He was poised to strike at any moment, while Naruto had frozen in shock.

"Damn..." Anko muttered.

"Nope." Naruto replied. And then the clone popped.

Everyone felt a moment of dread as they watched Shisui stand alone down in the arena.

Where was Naruto?

Kakashi was combing the arena with his eyes for an answer, but had as much luck finding her as Shisui seemed to have. He had frozen where he stood, but was now turning his head rapidly from side to side. Trying to relocate Naruto along with the rest of the spectators.

For no apparent reason, Shisui threw himself backwards and cast away the tantō in his hand hard towards the opposite wall.

There was no one bursting out from the ground underneath him like last time, and Kakashi wondered if the nerves was getting the better of Shisui, making him imagining things.

While Shisui was falling backwards, the tantō popped. A cloud of smoke appeared and Naruto was the one being thrown backwards instead. She threw three kunai at Shisui while they both were falling. Shisui was not able to move quickly this time. The kunai hit his arm and grazed his stomach, before he landed painfully on his back.

"Holy crap. When did Naruto switch with Shisui's tantō? How the hell didn't he notice the weight difference?" Asked Obito next to him. Kakashi couldn't answer that either, but he guessed Naruto had a very clever trick to fool Shisui to that extent.

"Ah… You managed to dodge that one too?" Asked Naruto while getting to her feet. Shisui was doing the same, looking a lot less composed with his hair wildly to every side and bleeding from his arm. The worst of the damage to his stomach was the torn T-shirt.

"Nah'." Shisui answered, a small smile on his lips while he shook his head.

"Want to forfeit yet? I'm just getting warmed up over here." Naruto said cockily, her sharp teeth displaying while she smiled innocently to Shisui. The Uchiha returned the smile, but it was not as confident as Naruto's.

"Not yet." Shisui replied calmly.

"Good." Naruto retorted, and stretched out her arm. In it was Shisui's tantō. She twirled it once – cutting over numerous tightly stretched wires – before pointing at its owner. Shisui scowled.

"You're holding it wrong! If you're going to attack me with my own tantō then at least have the decency to use it with some professionalism!" He shouted indignant.

"Eh' I prefer kunai to be honest." Naruto replied unaffected by the scowling Uchiha. They ran at each other. Shisui bent down as he ran past one of Naruto's fallen kunai, and they clashed again. This time with their weapon of choice switched.

Naruto was the one with the upper hand this time though. The wound on Shisui's arm was slowing him down, and it was showing against someone with Naruto's stamina and speed.

Naruto was clumsy with the tantō, so to gain the advantage again she jumped up in a pirouette kick that was worthy of Gai's praise and kicked Shisui square in the face.

The boy still looked dazed from the hit as Naruto put the tantō against his head.

It was a ringing silence that followed the action. Kakashi was counting in his head, and came to five before Shisui lowered his head. Careful not to get slit by his own tantō. "I forfeit." He declared in frustration.

"Uchiha Shisui forfeit. Naruto is the winner." Mikoto said, her expression impassive while she raised the flag.

"Whoa!"

"No way!"

"Go Naruto!"

"YES!"

The last one was Anko. She was jumping up and down with a huge smile on her face. Kakashi straightened up and looked baffled at his sensei. "I didn't see that one coming." He told Minato honestly. His sensei glanced sideways, Kakashi following his gaze over to Kushina.

"Hmm… Well, you shouldn't underestimate an opponent Kakashi. Shisui didn't, and yet he lost. Uzumaki women seem to have the gift of being unpredictable." He said casually, before looking back down at the stadium where Naruto was helping Shisui back to his feet. Fuzzing over his arm and asking if he was okay. A medic had joined them and was asking Shisui to follow him to the sideline.

"I guess I couldn't expect much better of them… I didn't want them to kill each other out there either. They did plausible, but they're still too soft though. I thought they both were too competitive to let their friendship get in the way of a match..." Orochimaru muttered to himself. He then shrugged and looked down at his oldest student. "From now on I'll start putting you three up against one another more often."

Anko nodded in understanding, but clapped her hands together when Naruto joined them. "Great job! That was a lot more entertaining than your match with Hitomi! When the hell did you switch with Shisui's tantō? And how did he not notice it?" She asked at once. Naruto grinned proudly and started explaining at once.

"Wind chakra of course! I was running it constantly through my weapons, which Shisui picked up on, so he got used to the constant chakra from the beginning. When the smoke erupted I managed to loosen his grip on his tantō for a moment, which was when I switched. I used futon to keep me levitated, easing the weight enough for Shisui not to take notice. I'm also really awesome at transformation, and the weight wasn't that much off! He understood what was happening after I popped though, and he realized my wind chakra was still around him and coming from his own tantō. It's annoying, because I was just about to end the battle when he threw me at the wall."

Kakashi was baffled that Naruto had thought so far ahead, he didn't think the girl was able to. "Great job, Naruto-chan! That was a great match!" Rin said and looked her up and down. "Are you hurt?"

"No, I'm fine! Thanks though, Rin!" Naruto replied.

The rest was still talking about the battle when the next match up was announced.

Ibiki vs. Asuma was up, and the conversation died down while the two boys made their way down to the arena.

The day had been long. Naruto was exhausted when the final battle was over.

After her battle with Shisui, Ibiki had won over Asuma, followed by Hayate who won against Ensui. And the conclusive battle of the tournament was between the three winners of the second round. All three up against one another simultaneously.

Ibiki and Hayate were teammates, but the injuries they had sustained through the tournament were substantial enough for Naruto to take them on though they had teamed up against her.

Her clones were a blessing too.

And as promised, Naruto went the whole way.

She won the Chūnin exam.

The victory came as a great surprise to most. Kakashi's face had been highly amusing. Ibiki was out of chakra but Hayate had been the one to crack first. His injuries after the battle with Rin was still bugging him, and afterwards he'd barely scraped a victory over Ensui, leading him to be dead on his feet in the final battle.

No one was underestimating her anytime soon though. Naruto was just glad it was over, though her confidence had grown considerably in the last few hours. It was now well into the early morning hours and it was very difficult to keep her eyes open.

Luckily the adrenaline had kept Naruto aware and energetic during the matches. But now all she could focus on was her bed back at the orphanage, and the injustice of keeping tired and wounded children waiting in a hallway for the old guys to discuss who would be promoted. They had comfortable chairs in there, while in the hallway they had to settle for the floor.

Naruto was sitting with the other contestants of the third round in a half lit corridor. They had made their way out of the Forest of Death and into the Hokage's building after the matches were over, and was asked to wait for an unknown amount of time.

Shisui had fallen asleep next to her. At first he'd been sitting with his head resting against the wall behind him, but as he fell into a deep sleep his head had tilted sideways onto Naruto's shoulder. Before she knew it Shisui was sleeping with his head in her lap - and looked quite comfortable too.

Naruto was annoyed but she couldn't push him away either. She still felt guilty about beating him in their match after Shisui had helped her through the first round.

The door to the Hokage's office opened, and Hiruzen looked in a sweeping motion over the kids sitting in a silent row on the floor.

"Good job everyone. It was a tough competition this year, and you all did admirable to get as far as you did." He explained.

Naruto shook Shisui, trying to wake him up, but the boy only groaned and swatted at her hand away. "Get up." Naruto hissed, to no avail trying to keep her voice down.

"Get up." She said again, and tried to shake him more. Shisui only turned in her lap. Now sleeping with his face turned in towards her stomach. Naruto felt herself blush slightly at the intimate position.

"WAKE UP SHISUI!" Naruto shouted and pushed him so hard Shisui was swept out of her lap and collided with the opposite wall. That at least did the trick, and groggily Shisui sat up and looked confused around.

Hiruzen was the only one to laugh outright at the display.

"Now that everyone is awake and aware I am going to thank you all for waiting patiently, but I'm afraid not everyone made Chūnin this time around. Your efforts during the exam were admirable though, and everyone in this final round was very young. There will be many opportunities to redo the exam in the future." The Hokage told them all warmly.

The finalists were getting to their feet now, waiting to hear who got promoted and who would have to go home disappointed.

Hiruzen looked down at a scroll in his hand and started calling out names as he read them.

"Gekkō Hayate, Morino Ibiki, Nara Ensui, Nohara Rin, Sarutobi Asuma, Uchiha Shisui and Naruto – could you please come into my office. The rest of you can return home and get some well-earned sleep." Hiruzen explained.

A wave of excitement and disappointment ran through the hallway. The ones who hadn't been called into the office were disappointed, and were already turning towards the staircase. Iruka waved to Ensui, Naruto and Shisui with a small smile, but his eyes looked sad as he followed Hitomi to the staircase with the rest.

Once inside the office Naruto and Shisui knelt on each side of Rin, the rest in the same position while they waited for the Hokage's verdict.

"Congratulations. I'm happy to declare that you all have passed the Chūnin exam." He told them with a fond smile.

His eyes moved over each and every face with interest. Naruto's hand grasped around Rin's arm and she yanked it lightly in excitement. Rin looked emotionally back at her, her relieved expression so genuine Naruto felt she could read the girl's thoughts.

Ensui and Shisui were grinning to one another next to Rin, while the rest were still focused on the Hokage. The energy in the room had gone up a few notches in the last few seconds.

"I'm proud of you all. But before I can give you your new Chūnin vest and exam report I have a few more words to say. You have all proved yourself skilled and talented enough for the rank of Chūnin. But you've done so in times of war. Your new positions will put you into increasingly more challenging and dangerous situations. As your leader and fellow shinobi, I wish you all good and successful missions. But the risks are high. When you now take this step, I want you to remember your time as a genin. I want you to remember your time as an academy student. I want you to take everything you've experienced and learned to get where you are now and cherish it. Keep it in mind when you're out in the field and danger is close. Remember our village and the bonds you've made, and use it to become better and succeed your missions." The Hokage said seriously. Naruto had problems keeping her face turned down. She wanted to see his face while he spoke. See the warmth and his gentility while he spoke.

For a moment she dearly missed the Hiruzen she knew. The one she was allowed to joke with and who genuinely cared for her. This Hiruzen cared for her too, but not the same way he had back then.

"Please step forward, Gekkō Hayate-kun." Hiruzen said, and from the other end of the row Hayate stood up and stepped up to the Hokage's desk. He was handed a piece of paper and a green vest.

"Congratulation on becoming Chūnin, Hayate-kun. Konoha will benefit from your kenjutsu expertise and observation skills. You revealed a keen intellect and highly effective plotting through your exam. You'll have bright future if you keep that up." The Hokage told the young boy with a small smile.

He continued calling the next person in alphabetic order. Mentioning a few traits which were unique to the specific person. Naruto was peeking through her hair when Asuma was called up. It was by far the most awkward exchange, but both looked very happy about the promotion.

"Uchiha Shisui-kun, you're unique even amongst your clansmen. You fight as someone with more expertise and maturity than your age calls for. You remind me of my old friend Kagami, and I have great faith in you." Hiruzen said when Shisui got his promotion.

Shisui blushed scarlet at the praise, and ducked his head with a sheepish smile. "Thank you… But I am nowhere near his caliber." He said so low everyone had problems overhearing him.

At the very end was Naruto.

She didn't have a last name, so she was always last. "Naruto-chan. Please step up." Hiruzen said, and while Naruto got to her feet the Hokage was turned towards his desk as he picked up her piece of paper and her Chūnin vest.

"You might not have been born in this village, but your spirit and charisma shows what it is to be a true ninja of the Village Hidden in Leaf. The will of fire is already burning at full force in every step you take. Go out and spread the will of fire to those you come across, Uzumaki Naruto-chan." Hiruzen said with a glint to his eyes.

Naruto stiffened at his use of her real name. "What…?" Naruto asked breathlessly.

"You're of Uzumaki decent. It's only fitting you use the name now that you know. As long as you're not opposed to it of course?" Hiruzen said with a good natured smile while he stretched for his pipe and tobacco.

Naruto wasn't sure how to respond. She barely registered as Hiruzen had to push the vest into her hand. She had forgotten to receive it.

"Please rise everyone. You've had a long week and you need to rest. Tomorrow you'll all be Chūnin and I want you fresh for duty." He called to the rest.

Anko had lost faith that they were ever going to come out.

She was sitting on a bench outside the Hokage office together with Kakashi, Obito, Minato, Kushina, Iruka, Hitomi, Kurenai, Tokara and a bunch of others. All of them wondering when the hell the finalists of the Chūnin exam would be finished in the office.

Kakashi had the foresight to bring a book, and was reading it as if it was the most awe inspiring thing he'd ever come across. The title was; 'Knots and their Properties.' Anko was just impressed he'd gotten through the first page without falling asleep. Far less being half way through the book already.

Anko was stretching her legs when the door – at last - opened. Everyone looked up to see Rin flustered face with a green vest clutched in front of her. Her smile was reaching from ear to ear. Obito sprang up from where he'd been lying on the ground.

"YES! I knew it! Congratulations, Rin!" Obito shouted and engulfed the girl in a hug. Behind her more people emerged, and Anko gave a shout of excitement at the sight of both Shisui and Naruto clutching a package each.

"You made it! We're all Chūnin now!" Anko shouted while people where exclaiming congratulations on top of each other.

"I know! Finally, dattebayo!" Naruto answered so excited she had problems keeping a straight face.

"Finally? This was your first try, Naruto!" Shisui chuckled and accepted Anko who uncharacteristically reached out and hugged them both.

"This needs to be celebrated!" Anko said excitedly while releasing her teammates.

"Thanks Anko. I'm glad you're happy for us, but can it wait a day? I'm about to fall asleep on my feet." Shisui said and dragged a hand through his messy hair.

"Sure, sure. But tomorrow we'll hold the celebration alright?" Anko said and looked from one to the other.

"Guess what Anko! I got something else in there too! I'm now officially named Uzumaki Naruto!"

"What?!" Anko called shocked, causing a few to turn their heads in their direction. They quickly lost interest though, and instead went back to their previous chats.

"Yes! I have a family name now!"

"You have the best damn family name in the world, Naruto-chan!" Said a voice behind them. And the three turned to find Kushina and her team standing there.

"I know, dattebayo!"

"I'm so glad to find a new family member, dattebane!"

"I haven't met another family member since forever, dattebayo!"

"But now you have me! And I'll take you out to ramen to celebrate, dattebane!"

"Really?! I think I love you, dattebayo!"

"You are just precious, dattebane!"

Anko looked shocked back and forth between Naruto and Kushina, a small shiver going up her spine at how frighteningly similar the two were. She had never seen it before. But with them both in ramen heaven and crying their similar verbal ticks at the top of their lunges Anko was shocked she hadn't seen it before.

"I always thought Naruto looked a lot like Kushina. I just now realized I didn't notice half of it." Mused Minato and came up to stand next to Shisui and Anko. He was smiling fondly while Naruto and Kushina were talking a mile a minute.

"Huh… I always thought she looked like you, sensei." Kakashi said with a shrug of his shoulders. Minato titled his head, trying to see what everyone else had pointed out too. But despite Naruto's coloring being entirely wrong, and he understood why people joked he had a long lost little sister, all he really noticed was how much she looked like Kushina.

"Maybe sensei and Kushina had a love child they haven't told us about?" Obito suggested and laughed out loud at his own joke.

"Stop joking around, Obito. That's not possible." Rin said but was chuckling behind her hand.

"Hey Naru!" Anko cried and interrupted the two Uzumaki before they went skipping together into the sunrise. Without her.

Naruto looked around, her smile still beaming. "You can catch up with long lost family members later, okay? Orochimaru-sensei wants us up early tomorrow for training, and I'm supposed to make sure you don't forget to go to sleep because of your new promotion."

It took Anko some time to detach Naruto and Kushina from one another. But with the help of Shisui, Ensui and Minato they managed eventually.

What had her upset though was how Minato distracted Kushina. He leaned into her, his mouth close to her ear and whispered something that made the red head blush.

Anko felt her whole face heat up at the sight, and sadness filled her at the display. They were together?

Though she knew it was a long shot, she couldn't completely lose hope that Minato one day would notice her. When she was older. But Kushina, Naruto's clan member, had apparently gotten ahead of her.

Privately she mourned the loss, but felt it would be unfair to drag down everyone's excitement by showing how upset she was, and instead put on a smile.

They waved goodbye to Shisui together. He resembled a ghost with rings around his big, dark eyes, paler than normal skin and black attire. It was almost as if he was detached from his body when he waved groggily back with a silly smile before starting on his way home.

Anko and Naruto talked excitedly for five minutes while they walked towards Anko's apartment. Naruto telling her all the details the cameras hadn't picked up inside the Forest of Death. She also heard how Shisui had helped her through the first round of the exam, and had to laugh.

At their destination the chatter didn't stop. While she found the sheets Naruto always borrowed when she slept over, Anko tried to figure out how to word the question on the tip of her tongue.

Naruto was not looking tired anymore, so she wasn't afraid she'd fall asleep for a while. Giving Anko time to find a good way to ask.

But in the end she was Anko, so she asked quite directly without preamble while Naruto was searching for a pillow in different drawers. Not guessing that Anko had been using two pillows to sleep with instead of one. The pillow she was looking for was out in the open on Anko's bed. They were both old and really flat so using two was just so much more comfortable.

"Hey Naru. Since my lease here expires in a month, and you're still looking for a place to live, do you want to become roommates? We could find a place and split the rent. It would be cheaper than living alone anyway." Anko blurted out.

Naruto looked startled up from the drawer. It didn't take long for her to come to come up with an answer though.

"Hell yes, dattebayo!"