Lotus Of The Leaf ~Book One~

Chapter 38! Final Exams! Part One!

~*****~

The Hokage began to speak, "Welcome all, and our deepest thanks for coming here to the Village Hidden in the Leaves for this years Chunin Selection. We have come to the final competition between the twelve candidates who made it through the preliminaries. We ask that no one leaves until all the matches have been completed. Now everyone, enjoy!" The Hokage finished, and the crowd burst in cheers.

"Oh, there's one more thing before we get started." Genma started, pulling out a paper from his vest. He held it out, and we all gazed at the match line up. "Look it over." Genma snapped. "There's been a slight change in the match ups. But now it's set, so everyone take one last look at who you'll be facing."

The list went as follows;

1. Naruto Uzumaki Vs. Neji Hyuga
2. Gaara Vs. Sasuke Uchiha
3. Kankuro Vs. Shino Aburame

4. Suzumoto Yukimura Vs. (Ren Yukimura Vs. Shikamaru Nara)
5. Reina Yukimura Vs. Temari

I gazed over at the two girls that were supposedly from my clan. They both glared at me, and I couldn't help but notice that we looked like. Aside from the lighter hair color I had, it was uncanny how our traits were almost identical. 'So, whoever wins the match between Shikamaru and I will fight an extra match with Suzumoto, huh?' I stretched my neck muscles just a little bit before smiling. 'This should be fun.'

"Uh, question!" Naruto asks aloud, raising his hand. "Question."

"What is it?" Genma mumbles, stuffing the paper back into his vest.

"I was just wondering what will happen to Sasuke?" Naruto admits, looking behind him. "I mean, if he doesn't show up?"

"If a candidate is not here in the arena at the time his name is called, he forfeits the match." Genma explains, flicking his toothpick up with a snap of his teeth.

'Sasuke'll be pissed if he misses his match....' I look back at the open doors Naruto burst through. 'And then, it'll most likely be me and Naruto dealing with his moody butt until he calms down.' I placed my hand on Naruto's shoulder. He looked over with a hum. "He'll make it. You know Sasuke as well as I do. He wouldn't miss this." I reassure my teammate. Naruto smiles a little before nodding.

"Alright, listen up!" Genma snapped. "The terrain's different, but the rules are the same as before. That is; there are no rules. The match continues until one candidate acknowledges defeat or dies." He explained. "That bein' said, if I determine that a match is over, I can step in and stop it at any time. And no arguments permitted. Understood?" We all remained silent, staring at Genma in determination. "These are the opponents for the first match. Naruto Uzumaki, and Neji Hyuga. Those two stay. The rest of you can go to the waiting area." Everyone turned to leave and I gave Naruto's shoulder one last pat before following after Shikamaru.

~*****~

I leaned against the railing by Shikamaru and stared down at the two genin. "I feel kind of bad. Lee's always telling me how Neji is very strong." I say to Shikamaru. He just nodded and leaned against the railing as well.

"It feels like an uneven match up, if you ask me." He states gently. Naruto holds out his fist, and I feel a bit proud. 'After what they told me about Hinata and Neji's fight, I can understand why Naruto's so determined to win this match.'

"I believe in Naruto." I hum, smiling at my friend. "I have no doubt in my mind that he'll beat this sour puss." Shikamaru just rolls his eyes and we watch the match intently.

The match seemed like it would've ended with the first round of Neji's Gentle Fist, but Naruto came back from the brink, and I was sure that he used the tailed beast within him to reactivate the chakra flow. After a particularly large explosion, Naruto lay in a crater, seemingly defeated. Just as Genma is about to call the match, Naruto sprung up from underneath the ground, using the clone as a cover for the hole he'd dug. He hit Neji straight in the jaw, sending him backwards and onto the ground.