...I know, I know. 11 months is better than 18 months but this was still a pretty bad delay, huh?

Before anything else a big THANK YOU for anyone still with me, you guys rock! I was really happy with all the reviews and views I was getting even with my fic buried beneath so many other works.

As for what went down with me, it was mostly an unusual combination of job + college. My employment wasn't certain for the first few months so I was extremely anxious about whether they would keep me or not. This lasted until early august, meaning it ate up my no-college period between semesters, and boy that second semeester of 2023 was a doozy, full of group projects of which I was leading all of them. Then in December I got ill, followed up by my mental health going down the drain in January (for reasons that frankly escape me, it was a super calm month otherwise but I couldn't get anything done evne outside the fic).

But February came and went, and I was able to use the month to finish up the chapter with the extremely important support of my beta, NPCrusader. I know this isn't a particularly big chapter for my fic's standards, but you all know said standard is completely absurd since 13k words is a LOT and still worth preparing a sandwich for. (I mean, Chapter 30 had a ridiculous 24,470 words in it, lol)

I hope you'll be able to enjoy it! As a brief reminder, this is just after Naruto's destined duel with Neji.

The Chunin Exams Finals arc

Chapter 35 - Crumbling Façades (v1.0)

'Well, there goes my chance of fighting Naruto in the semi-finals,' Sasuke noted dryly to himself, as he watched the medic-nin taking his teammate and one Neji Hyuuga away in stretches.

"He must have sustained a lot of internal damage," Shino commented from somewhere behind Sasuke. "Will he be alright?

"Oh, he's gonna be up again in no time," Sakura remarked, also unperturbed. There was still palpable joy in the girl's tone.

"Nothing can take Naruto out of commission for long. Trust us," Chouji added.

It made Sasuke frown briefly until he remembered Naruto sometimes had roped Chouji, Shikamaru, and even Kiba into his silly pranks.

"The only question is if he'd rather boast about his victory or whine about how sore he is," Shikamaru agreed, seemingly amused. "That'd be annoying either way, but after this show… guess I could cut him some slack."

Sasuke found himself nodding to that.

"I'm surprised Neji is that worn out though," Chouji said. "The guy only got hit near the end. And sure, that one hit also sent him into the wall and then he fell from a decent height but…"

"Naruto's attack held more power than you think," Sasuke said in his teammate's defense.

The Sharingan could observe the energy build-up at every stage of their clash, and the mass concentrated in Naruto's fist, paired with his boosted speed, betrayed a much stronger blow than normal from their prankster friend. Yet that insight didn't end with Naruto's side of the battle.

"More important than that, though," Sasuke continued, "was that Neji spent a lot of chakra on his final techniques. Especially sustaining that energy dome."

"And if he's anything like Hinata was," Shino spoke, " his reserves ought to be rather shallow at this point, where he's used to the minimal cost of the Gentle Fist. He is exhausted both physically and..."

Sasuke frowned as Shino trailed off. He turned around only to see Kankuro nervously walking backwards towards them, away from the opposite corner of the waiting room.

On that corner stood Gaara, clutching his head and hunched over, hiding his face completely while thick tendrils of sand slowly spun around him.

With the conversation dead, they could hear Gaara in a conversation of his own, mumbling, almost pleading with someone that clearly wasn't there. It was impossible to understand his words, but whoever he was talking to was not pleased.

Kankuro's own nervous ramble was easy to overhear, though.

"Older brother… what the hell, he's not talking about me so why…?!"

Sasuke's frown became a red-eyed scowl. The Sharingan could pick up the chakra present around the sand, both in the air and over Gaara's skin, but there was no signal of genjutsu, and surprisingly no killing intent whatsoever.

'A psychosis attack, maybe…?'

His thoughts were cut down by a loud voice, carried smoothly in the wind.

"May the contestants for the next fight step down, please."

He looked away to see the proctor peering at their room from down below.

That was his cue, and yet… he turned back to Gaara.

Could he really leave Sakura and the others like that?

"Dammit…"

"Hey."

He felt a hand on his shoulder. It was Shikamaru.

"We're in a semi-closed space, it's not dark but there's shadows everywhere. I'll keep an eye on this guy for now, don't worry," he said, punctuating with a nod.

That the Nara didn't dare mention how troublesome the situation was said enough.

Sasuke returned the nod, and prepared to leave towards the stairs, where he could see Shino still waiting for him.

"G-Good luck, Sasuke-kun!" Sakura called out.

He turned his head briefly. She tried to look encouraging, but if her eyes darting back to the corner didn't betray her, her shaken tone did.

"I'll do my best," he said simply, smirking slightly in hopes of calming her.

He soon arrived at the stairs, and Shino began descending them.

It was a fairly big descent, and as soon as they were far enough from the others, his future opponent spoke up.

"Sasuke. Just before we begin, may I say something?"

The Uchiha just nodded.

"My kikaichu are unable to even approach Gaara through his sand. Despite mine and my father's efforts to find counter strategies, there is little to nothing I can do against him. Therefore… my only chance of earning the promotion is in our fight."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "You're not going to ask me to go easy on you, are you?"

"The opposite, in fact. I want to make it clear: I will enter our match knowing there is nothing for me to hold back. Should I win, I will forfeit on the next round, of course. But no sooner than that."

In other words, Shino would fight as if they were in the finals, rather than in the first rounds.

"I see. Then may the best fighter win," the Uchiha said, nodding. With someone like Shino, there was no point in any provocation, so they simply made their way into the battlefield just like that, in stoic silence.

'This was never going to be an easy fight, but it may complicate things a lot when it comes to fighting Gaara later. I must be careful to not disturb my own seal,' Sasuke thought, resisting the urge to clutch at the seal near his neck.

But come what may… Sasuke knew he was ready.

It was impossible to tell by looking at Danzo's perfectly stoic facial expression, but the old councilman was absolutely and thoroughly repulsed by what he was witnessing.

And if one were to stand right beside him, they might see nothing worth objecting to. As the Hokage's official guard for the duration of the exams, Danzo was stationed a fair distance behind the Kage's seats at the upper-most level of the stadium. Too high up for the audience's movements to draw attention, and there was nobody except the proctor at the battlefield itself. And his counterpart from Suna, the jonin Baki, had done absolutely nothing but remain vigilant and still in the opposite corner of their balcony.

No… it was the two robed men right in front of Danzo that were the source of his disgust. None other than the Hokage and the Kazekage… or rather, the Hokage and his former student, the rogue ninja Orochimaru, whose identity was hidden by the masked robes he wore.

Two men whose relationship had become irreparably damaged once Orochimaru's crimes were exposed, two men who were perfectly aware they'd be fighting to the death in a matter of hours… and yet they clung to the past like stupid fools.

Throughout the entirety of the first match, the two spoke in hushed whispers about the ongoing fight between one Naruto Uzumaki, the jinchuuriki, and the Hyuuga clan's prodigy, Neji Hyuuga. They commented on the techniques used, the strategies, pointed out flaws and speculated about what would happen next.

Orochimaru was only doing the bare minimum to keep his disguise intact, and Hiruzen took no opportunity to expose his former student's cover, which he was fully aware of.

They were shamelessly enjoying the moment. Their last possible chance to bond as teacher and student before they had to come back to reality, to the status quo that Orochimaru had upset and that Hiruzen failed to put an end to. They both clung to the past, even though one's duty and the other's ambitions would inevitably require the other's demise.

It was nauseating.

But at the end of the day, wasn't that just another example that sustained Danzo's own philosophies about emotions? There was perhaps no better example to showcase how, to a shinobi, emotions were nothing but shackles, holding them back from their true potential.

'And even at the highest level of our society's hierarchy, that proves to be true. Over and over again… pathetic.'

At least, that particular situation Danzo was forced to watch… that was a story that would be put to an end soon enough.

By his own hands, if it had to be.

'Well. This is… awkward, to say the least,' Neji thought to himself.

Not even a couple minutes before, he and Naruto were locked into a duel, a duel that carried with it more weight than simply victory or defeat.

And now… they were both stuck in the same infirmary room, if you could even call it that. There was little to no medical equipment in the room besides a couple of cabinets on the back, as both himself and Naruto were deemed stable and just in need of rest.

The room was small, with several beds lined up against two opposite walls. Both genin were given their own bed, one in front of the other, although the boys were not face to face. Neji could see Naruto's bed just fine, a small distance away from his own feet, but Naruto would have to turn around completely to do the same.

Neji's wounds were healed, and the medics told him he just needed to rest for a while to recover from expanding so much chakra in such a short time.

Naruto, however, was only kept in the room to rest away from the others. The medics had decided to wait and observe his condition until his next match to decide if he was apt to continue or would require healing, which would disqualify the blond from continuing.

Neji supposed that possibility of being unable to compete further that was keeping the usually-talkative Uzumaki silent…That, or perhaps the younger boy was just as stumped as Neji, whose thoughts were all over the place and somehow absolutely nowhere, all at the same time.

The discomfort went beyond just words, and Neji honestly felt uncomfortable even with the idea of moving.

Yet, unsurprisingly, Naruto could only handle so much silence before he burst.

"Bah, I hate this!"

The blond swung his legs off the bed and propped himself up so he could at least sit up. He exhaled once again and, finally, turned toward Neji.

"Why did you let me win?"

"…What?"

That certainly was not what Neji has expected to hear.

"At the end…" Naruto let his head fall a bit and looked away, "you could have still thrown shuriken or something while I was getting up, y'know?."

"Ah… I suppose I could have. The thought honestly didn't occur to me."

At the time, Neji had been unable to raise himself, but his arms still had been working well enough that such a move was, indeed, possible.

"However, even if it had… I could not do such a thing. I was in no state to continue. It would be a meaningless, petty win. Perhaps it would have earned me a promotion since that would actually be the right call in a real battle, but… you outmatched me."

Those words almost could get past Neji's mouth, but he knew they had to be said.

"I could not take that victory away from you. Or rather," Neji closed his eyes, "I refused to run away from my defeat."

It was Naruto's turn to be taken aback. "…Huh. I uh… well, didn't expect that from you."

Neji swallowed dry.

"I… admit it."

There was no use in stalling.

He met Naruto's eyes, and with slight difficulty, raised himself to sit on the bed as well.

"I was wrong. I was… always wrong," Neji said, breathing a heavy sigh. He then slowly removed his headband, revealing the ugly green marks that stained his forehead.

"That's… your curse mark, isn't it?"

"Yes. This is supposed to let those from the main house control us, the Hyuuga from the branch. You said Hinata-sama already explained how it works, correct?"

Naruto silently nodded.

"This seal shackles us from the branch. But perhaps I let my own mind shackle me more than this thing ever could."

He clutched the headband so tightly his knuckles went white.

"I know I am gifted at my clan's arts, yet I would never be able to fully master them because I was born on the wrong side of history, just like my father, who was forced to die for no reason other than him being born a few seconds too late. I let these talents of mine become my way to defy my fate. As Hinata-sama so succinctly put… I was running away."

"And stomping all over other people, like Lee or Hinata," Naruto reminded with a glare that Neji had to force himself to face head-on.

"That's right. Lee fought his own body's limitations, whereas Hinata-sama… she fought not only her own lack of talent, but the very environment around her. She's no genius, but with the proper support she wouldn't have fallen so far behind the curve for so many years."

"Or maybe those Main house people just expected way too much," Naruto offered. "I dunno man, I studied with her. She didn't stand out one bit, and sure, that meant she wasn't top of the class like Sasuke, Shino or Ino… but she wasn't struggling every year like me or Kiba were."

"…I suppose you could say she was mediocre. Which simply isn't good enough in our clan, yes," he found himself agreeing. "Not for the heiress at least."

"But she still got better!" Naruto exclaimed. "Hinata, me, Lee… you. Like, some stuff really is beyond some people. I could probably be decent if I tried to study genjutsu super hard, but my body's not… suited for it, I guess. I'd never be able to match Kurenai-sensei, and you can call that fate. But I can still try to be Hokage just fine. Even if all my life I was just considered a loser… until today."

"…That's incorrect."

"Huh?"

"You did defeat Tenten in the preliminaries. And from my understanding, in your first C-rank mission which became an A-rank mission, you overcame a foe that was able to defeat Sasuke."

"I… uh, we did work together at first," Naruto rebuked awkwardly, perhaps put off by the unexpected praise.

"I do see your point. I changed my beliefs to suit my needs at any given moment. Even if there's some genuine truth in there, some walls in our life that we are simply unable to climb… it's more nuanced than that."

Neji sighed. Despite how mature he felt he was, things like trying to sum up life itself in such a binary way was proof of how much growing up he still had left to do.

"…And some of those walls, maybe you can climb them if you have the right support," Naruto offered. "Like… in that second exam, where we had to literally climb a massive mountain just to get to the exam grounds. If it weren't for Sakura and Sasuke having my back, I couldn't have done it. And that stuff about your clan… maybe that can change."

"The Hyuuga clan will never change," Neji shot back instantly. "This seal exists for several reasons, and even we from the branch know some are very legiti–"

"That's bullshit."

Neji just halted completely.

"It's just bullshit! Yeah sure, protecting the Byakugan is a good thing, but you don't need to keep over half of the clan on a leash to do it! And… Hinata knows that, you know? She hates that system too, even if probably not as much as you guys do."

"…Even if she hates it, it clearly wasn't enough to stop her from weaponizing it during our match," Neji spat before he could stop himself.

His mind still held on to that bitter memory, the moment in their match where Hinata's fingers were locked into the position to activate his seal.

Somehow his words didn't induce anger from Naruto. The Uzumaki had nothing but raw disappointment in his expression.

"…Dude. With the way you were talking her down for no reason, you were lucky she didn't crack and do it for real before the fight had even started just to make you back off."

Neji looked away.

Even at the time, he was aware that his actions towards her were morally reprehensible. But knowing Hinata was a privileged member of the Main house allowed him to still view what he did as reasonable, justifiable, if not deserved.

And all of it was wrong.

"… Please forget what I just said."

"Hmph," Naruto crossed his arms. "What I was going to say is… she wants to change her clan. And you know what? I want to change it too!"

Neji stopped himself from rolling his eyes. "That's a cute sentiment. But even if she was guaranteed to be Hiashi-sama's successor—which she is not—it would be nigh impossible to make the rest of our clan's government body agree to such a change. Either because they abuse the system themselves, or because they fear a potential rebellion if we are all freed."

"…I'm sure she knows that too. I didn't say it was going to be easy. Just like me: I'll always say I'm going to be Hokage. And I will, you better believe it!" the Uzumaki huffed, "but… I know it'll be tough to get there. And even if I can't do anything until then, I'll do all I can to change the Hyuuga."

As if to punctuate those words—that promise—Naruto held his fist forward. And Neji could see it in his shining blue eyes, a bright flame. Much like he had seen from Hinata during their match… and, perhaps, what he would have seen from Naruto himself when he vowed to defeat him, with his hand stained by Hinata's blood.

Neji hadn't been present to witness that promise , but from Tenten's retelling he could picture it perfectly.

And… somehow, as illogical as it seemed… something about this mere genin's passion made something flare up inside Neji.

'Is this… hope, perhaps?'

A small, amused smile crept across Neji's face.

Because… it wasn't as illogical as it might have seemed.

"I'd almost say I have no reason to believe you. But there is one: you made me face reality again and see the mistakes I made. That's already one Hyuuga you helped change."

Neji raised himself from the bed with some difficulty–he was worse off than he realized–and approached Naruto, whose fist was still held up.

Which was just perfect for Neji.

"Thank you, Naruto Uzumaki. I'll put my trust in you, and not only that," he said, raising his own fist to connect with Naruto's. "I promise I'll help further this goal, as meager as my contributions might be as I am part of the branch myself."

The orange-clad boy smirked, and they both let their arms return to a neutral position.

"You know, you already did help. Like… I think I asked that during our fight but those techniques you pulled off were, like, forbidden for branch members, right?"

Neji crossed his arms. "Yes. Though frankly, I'm unsure if that helps more than it hinders…"

Naruto waved him off. "I'm sure it'll be fine."

"Hmm…"

Neji wondered. His plan was to unleash those techniques against Gaara or Sasuke, hoping that prevailing over such high profile opponents would be enough to safeguard him from any retaliation for his actions… but now? He lost to his first opponent, a nobody.

'Or a supposed nobody, at any rate,' he thought, reminded about that crimson energy that turned their match around. When he paired what he saw, with all the weird things Gaara spoke about that day they met him in the hospital, when the deranged redhead was about to head off to kill Lee…

It painted an interesting picture, to say the least.

Just as he was about to inquire about that, Naruto spoke up. "You know. You shouldn't be thanking just me."

Neji quirked an eyebrow.

"If it just had been up to me, all I wanted was to kick your ass as hard as I could. Even if that meant I wouldn't be promoted this time. I didn't care. But… Hinata made sure I wasn't going into our fight thinking like that. And later on, that made me realize I wanted to try to help you."

"…Me?"

"Yeah no. Actually not you."

Neji frowned, confused.

"I wanted to help Hinata. Even though you were an asshole, she still cares about you, cuz you two are family. I… don't actually know anything about what that kind of stuff feels like," Naruto admitted, wilting in both expression and posture. "But if I could help her get hers back… why not? But to help her I had to help you. So, yeah! hahaha..."

As the Uzumaki trailed off with a weird laugh, it was almost like a switch turning the lights on—Neji suddenly understood.

Naruto hadn't reacted that strongly because he was offended by Neji's words, nor because of his budding attachment to Hinata.

It was because Neji had the one thing Naruto likely had wanted the most for all his life, and Neji had been ready to throw it away like trash right in front of Naruto. In front of someone that had no family, yet held the concept of family in much higher regard than Neji had.

...Neji had to make ammends, his pride be damned.

"I… am aware you're not the only one I owe these words to, but…"

Neji bowed.

"I apologize for my behavior."

Unfortunately, shame quickly overtook Neji so he stood straight again then quickly limped away to sit on his bed, before Naruto could react in any way.

It took the blond boy a while, but Naruto only had one thing to say.

"You know... I think she'll be pretty happy to hear that from you."

A small laugh escaped Neji.

'Somehow, I agree with him.'

As his nephew's match ended, Hiashi knew he would have to talk with him as soon as possible. The other Main house Hyuuga in the audience all but demanded action from Hiashi. Had Neji won, perhaps such a transgression of their traditions would have been overlooked, yet unfortunately that was not the case.

Nobody had actually suggested that Hiashi had to do anything immediately, of course, but that was a convenient enough excuse to vacate the premises.

It took him only a couple minutes to reach the entrance to the backstage infirmary, yet, curiously, he wasn't the only person seeking to talk with one of the injured contestants.

Hiashi had arrived just in time to see his eldest being granted passage by a pair of nurses. The sight made him hesitate and step back into the hallway he came from. What could Hinata possibly want with either of the boys that she chose to not watch her own teammate's fight?

The idea of returning later crossed his mind, but since the nurses were intending to leave the room, Hiashi was given no choice but to announce himself.

Of course, the nurses had made no move to impede the Hyuuga clan head. In fact, they had practically fled, leaving Hiashi alone with his daughter.

"F-Father…?" she stuttered a meek, confused greeting, to which he merely nodded and made his way to stand beside her, just outside the infirmary's door.

He made sure his expression was peaceful as he approached. Despite both of their efforts to mend their relationship, Hiashi still saw signs of fear every time she noticed his presence, as if she knew she had to tread lightly or risk some sort of punishment. Appearing as non-threatening as possible was the only thing Hiashi felt he could do in those moments.

"Are you well, my daughter? I'm surprised to see you here," he said, keeping his voice low.

"I-I'm fine… I was, I was just worried about them," she said in a matching volume, pointing with her head to the door.

"I see."

"…And you?"

Hiashi opened his mouth to answer, however…

"Bah, I hate this!"

He heard a voice that wasn't Neji's. Hinata muttering the Uzumaki's name confirmed it.

"Why did you let me win?"

It only took a few moments for them to realize they were eavesdropping. Hinata glanced up at him a few times, but as Hiashi did not move, neither did she.

Hiashi had figured they were only kids and it really didn't matter if he overheard any conversation they could have.

"… just like my father, who was forced to die for no reason other than him being born a few seconds too late."

Yet those words by Neji and the old, familiar pain brought with them, proved it was truly a conversation worth listening to.

As they talked, his sharp hearing detected more than just the two boys.

Glancing down, he saw Hinata sobbing as she tried to dry her tears. When her arm lowered, he also spotted a shaky smile gracing her features.

"I think she'll be pretty happy to hear that from you."

Hiashi, too, smiled slightly. 'It seems you understand her well, Naruto Uzumaki. Very good.'

It wasn't all good, though. Hiashi wasn't sure if he still had the report on Hinata and Neji's fight, but now he was sure that the report's contents would have something far more unpleasant to read than just a mere Gentle Fist duel.

He simply could not imagine his daughter using the cursed seal in her favor, even as some sort of feint.

…Though perhaps, whatever ugly situation that resulted in that was no longer worth caring about, given Neji's newfound resolution and Hinata's reaction to his words.

The girl's sobs hadn't ceased, so Hiashi drew a handkerchief from within his robe's pockets and offered it to her.

By the time Hinata had recomposed herself, the two boys had gone silent.

"Hinata," he began, still keeping his tone low, "I must talk with Neji. It's nothing you should be worried about," he made sure to add, lest she thinks he aims to punish the boy, "so I do not mind if you take part in the conversation. Do you wish to come in with me?"

The girl mulled over it for a few seconds.

"…No," she shook her head. "They're okay, and that's all I needed to know. I don't want to be in their way," she admitted.

Hiashi couldn't see how or why she'd be in the way, but nodded. It's just how she was.

Before the girl could leave, however, he placed his hand on her shoulder.

"Hinata. In that case, go back to your friends as soon as you can. Please… do not linger."

He expected her to take it as some sort of order and flinch, but apparently his concerns seeped through his usual stoic tone. She eyed him with a hint of confusion and worry of her own, but gave him a small smile and a nod.

"I will," she assured, and promptly left.

…Unbeknownst to her, Hiashi tracked her movements through his Byakugan, watching over her until she had finally returned to the stands.

Hiashi could not help it, knowing what was going to happen later that day. But he trusted Hiruzen's judgment. The man wouldn't have held the Hokage mantle for so many decades if he wasn't worth trusting.

He also made sure there were no other eavesdroppers, before knocking on the door twice and letting himself in.

"Excuse me."

"H-Hiashi-sama?"

Neji's reaction was, predictably, a mix of shock and terror. Both boys were on their respective beds but Neji practically jumped out of his to greet Hiashi with a bow, stumbling slightly.

"Please Neji, just return to your bed," he waved the boy off. "You are meant to rest."

His nephew seemed surprised, yet quickly complied.

On the other hand, Naruto just looked at him curiously.

"You're Hinata's old man? Wow. You look nothing like her."

Neji shot an angry, annoyed look that all but spelled "What the hell are you doing?!" after hearing such an irreverent comment.

Hiashi just wanted to laugh. It was… novel, to be greeted in such a way.

"Naruto, this is not just Hinata's father, Hiashi-sama is the head of the Hyuuga Clan," Neji said through gritted teeth, as if hoping Naruto would get the hint and show some respect.

It didn't work.

"I know that! I'm not that dumb, you know!?"

Hiashi let a small smirk grace his lips, and it was him who offered Naruto a small bow.

"It is nice to finally meet you, Naruto Uzumaki. Especially after such a performance."

"Oh… um, same?" the blond replied unsure, predictably caught off-guard by an adult actually showing him some respect.

Respect that he was due to. Hiashi was fairly aware of how influential the boy was for Hinata's development, due to reports he had received from a few different sources and his own conclusions.

But as none of that included any direct account from his daughter—well, not his eldest—he refrained from elaborating.

Hiashi cleared his throat.

"I came here first to congratulate you both. It was a hard-fought battle and worthy of praise, for the most part."

There had been a few questionable moments, but Hiashi would rather leave that to the examiners.

Neji, however, jumped to his own conclusions.

"Hiashi-sama, if this is about the techniques I—"

"Don't fret over that," Hiashi interrupted. "You learned them on your own, yes? Perhaps with assistance from your father's old notes?"

Neji's eyes went wide. "You… knew about them?"

Hiashi scratched his chin. "It was a reasonable guess. Your father was fond of recording things, among them surely were my embarrassing first attempts at the same techniques you used today, which he was present to not only see but also hear the instructions of."

Due to simply having more free time to practice during their childhood, Hizashi managed to master the techniques first. He never openly said so to Hiashi, of course, but a few snide comments about how and where Hiashi was doing things wrong had been quite telling.

"So, uh… Neji's not in hot water?"

Hiashi once more held a laugh. "He did nothing that breaks our written customs, at least."

Neji's expression didn't change much, but the boy's posture visibly became relaxed.

"There was one more thing I had planned to come here for, however… I must admit I overheard your conversation just now, and I believe I have something of note to add to that."

He flashed his Byakugan to scan their surroundings once more.

"Just remember, this does not leave this room," he declared, staring at the two boys before his eyesight returned to normal as they both nodded.

"…While my daughter, Hinata, does intend to change the clan's traditions if she comes to power, this is not a simple task. I, while far too late, am seeking this change as well. Yet all I can do at this point is sow the seeds, subtly."

Naruto raised his arm. "Kinda like you did just now, letting Neji use those fancy moves basically for free?"

"Indeed," Hiashi confirmed with a small smile. "It will be up to my successor to lead the charge, whichever of my daughters that may end up being. My youngest isn't as sympathetic to the branch's plight, but now that she's becoming old enough, I'll ensure she is properly educated, and that both will be equally apt to continue what I'm starting and to support the other sister as best as possible."

Neji lowered his head and refused to meet Hiashi's gaze.

"That's precious, coming from a man who ordered his own brother to be put down just to save himself."

Hiashi closed his eyes, barely hearing a soft gasp from Naruto's direction.

Neji's skepticism and accusation were expected. Hiashi was forced to vanish for about a month after the Hyuuga Affair, until the deals with Kumo were finalized and Hizashi's body had been delivered. That much time allowed for rumors to spread, further damaging the frail bonds that keep the Hyuuga clan whole.

And so, Hiashi drew a scroll from his robe's inner pocket.

"Hizashi chose his own fate. He even attacked me in front of the Hokage himself to stop me from opposing his choice to save me... not as a branch member, but as my brother. This scroll contains this truth, Neji. If you truly managed to learn our clan's techniques from your father's notes, you'll recognize his handwriting here."

He offered the scroll to Neji, who reached for it, but hesitated.

"Even if this is true," the boy argued, "why are you giving this to me only now?"

"Because I felt you were too young to fully understand what your father chose, and why. As a child, the world is merely black and white, and the scroll covers more topics than what we just discussed. I had planned to give this to you today, regardless of a promotion or victory. You are mature enough now."

Neji accepted the scroll then.

Perhaps it had been a mistake, waiting that long. But Hiashi had always distanced himself from Neji, and it wasn't until overhearing his nephew's conversation with Naruto that Hiashi understood who the young prodigy was a little better.

…Perhaps that had been his true mistake, much like he had erred with Hinata.

'Just another poor decision to add to the pile, I suppose.'

"Um… should I be here?" Naruto asked, visible unconfortable.

"Ah, my apologies, Uzumaki-san," Hiashi said. "I didn't mean to drag you into my family's issues."

"I… I can read this later," Neji added as he placed the scroll inside his hip pouch, though he winced at the motion.

"I mean, I think I'm better enough to leave actually," Naruto argued.

"It would not surprise me, but you ought to wait for the nurses to give you clearance," Hiashi replied. "In fact, I've overstayed my welcome. Both of you ought to keep resting. But… before I go. Neji.

Hiashi sank to the ground, bowing as low as he could. "I hope that one day you'll find it in yourself to forgive your uncle for his mistakes."

"…Please don't bow to me, Hiashi-sama."

Finding none of the frost from before in the boy's tone, Hiashi rose swiftly despite his back's complaints, and dusted himself off.

"Then… I'll be taking my leave. May you both recover swiftly."

Once the door was closed behind Hiashi, he sighed.

'Another mistake, but also, yet another chance to fix things.'

And as he left the infirmary area, he added another thought.

'At least they should be safe for the day. The nurses will not discharge them even if they're apt to leave.'

If only Hiashi realized the fatal flaw in that idea…

"Back already? C'mon, Akamaru's keeping your seat warm"

To no one's surprise, Kiba was the first to detect Hinata's return. He motioned for his partner to jump to his lap, and Hinata approached to reclaim her seat.

"That was fast," Ino remarked. "So they're not that banged up after all?"

"Oh, uh… they're fine," Hinata muttered, earning weird looks from her friend. "I-I wasn't allowed to go in, but the nurses told me they were okay," she explained.

That was the lie she had come up with on her way there. There was no way Hinata was going to bring up meeting her father or the talk they overheard together.

'I have to remember to fake it when I next meet Naruto-kun, too,' she noted to herself.

That stray thought was like a drop of blood in the ocean, inevitably drawing in a certain blonde shark.

"So… No kissing Naruto's wounds to make him feel better then?"

Hinata's face went ablaze instantly as she let out a loud and undignified noise.

"Hey, hey, if you keep this up she'll faint and miss Shino's match," Kiba warned, though Hinata could easily picture his teasing smirk.

She was too busy hiding behind her hands to actually see it.

"Speaking of which, I don't think you missed much. They're mostly playing the ranged game for now," Ino moved on, as if she hadn't just casually set Hinata's head on fire.

The embarrassed Hyuuga peaked between her fingers. From so high up, she still could get a good view of the battlefield while her face cooled down.

What she saw brought a small smile to her face, which she soon uncovered.

"We did a good job, huh?" Kiba nudged her.

"Mmhm. Sasuke-kun seems to be having some troubles."

Shino attacking from afar was nothing new, but he had a critical weakness when forced to engage in close-quarters. He was an easy target to anyone that could bypass his bugs, which was a key consideration in Team 8's formations: Kiba and Hinata could defend Shino while he forced gaps in the foe's defenses at range for them to breach.

Therefore, a great part of Shino's training for the finals focused on speed. More specifically, how fast he could move in and out of Sasuke's favored range. It had cost the Aburame quite a few scratches and sealed chakra points throughout their training, as well as the opportunity cost of not learning significantly new jutsy, but he was far more agile than when the exams started.

Perhaps he would have been able to reach even greater heights, had Hinata been a better teammate and aided him more often… though Shino himself had insisted that Naruto needed more help than he did, the guilt had eaten at her during her rare moments of downtime.

But at that moment, such negative thoughts were far from Hinata's mind. Her one thought was far simpler and positive.

'Come on, Shino-kun! You can do it!'

As for someone whose thoughts were quite negative albeit similarly simple…

'Hngh… what a pain in the ass!'

Sasuke gritted his teeth as he jumped away from another wave of bugs and shot a kunai at Shino, which was easily deflected.

It was not the first time Sasuke had fought Shino. In past spars, The Aburame had always presented a decent challenge on how Sasuke could manage to get in melee range safely. Yet even while holding back as to not do widespread damage to Shino's hives with explosives or fire, Sasuke's natural speed had always been enough to weave around the incoming swarms and claim victory.

This time around Shino was fighting far more defensively than before, using his waves of bugs mainly to stop Sasuke's approach rather than to pursue. Despite Sasuke's training under Kakashi, the speed gap was narrower, and these two factors together made it clear that Sasuke wasn't as prepared as he should have.

And if that wasn't enough…

"..."

"Nngh...!"

His neck—Orochimaru's seal—pulsed as Sasuke moved. Almost as if to scold him for not making use of his more destructive ninjutsu.

Unfortunately for whatever specter of the snake Sannin that dwelled within, Anko had helped him have a much tighter grasp on his limits. The seal could weaken both by using too much chakra in a short time span, or by depleting his reserves.

Sasuke knew he'd teeter close to that edge against Gaara. Shino, unfortunately, would need to be dispatched with taijutsu, tools, and smart use of low-power jutsu.

He continued to dash and hop around the swarms, periodically casting a simple, weak Lightning jutsu around his body to dislodge any kikaichu that found their mark, all while Shino continued to dart around the battlefield to keep them as far apart as possible.

Despite his kunai failing him earlier, Sasuke launched a couple more.

'Let's put these eyes to good use.

As soon as the blades flew, he followed-up with two waves of shuriken… not aimed at Shino, but at the sky, and began to flash through seals.

The second wave of shuriken had much more force behind them than the first, and just as Shino once again deflected the kunai, many shuriken collided midair.

Except, instead of intercepting themselves, they changed trajectories and gained even more speed. The second batch flew back closer to Sasuke, slaying a few bugs that were hot in his trail… and then the first batch rained down on Shino.

A perfect sequence that only a Sharingan-user could hope to perform.

'Damn,' he thought as the blades made contact. The Sharingan could faintly detect the shell of chakra around Shino just as it exploded into a cloud of insects—a substitution with a bug clone.

Regardless, Sasuke committed to his jutsu.

"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"

He had shamelessly borrowed the technique from Naruto, but with his much higher skill in chakra control, Sasuke could launch a much tighter blast of sharp winds, consuming far less chakra at the expense of range and power.

…Which was a perfect trade-off when the attack was aimed at frail insects, instantly downing many of the ones pursuing it and barely catching a few that Shino had used to swap with.

'This should give me more breathing room. Now where did he go?'

The Sharingan's high-sensitivity to movement would let catch even something as subtle as Shino's breathing under his coat, but he could sense nothing except the bugs flying around.

'Behind a tree, then.'

He flew forward, once again sending a brief jolt of Lighting chakra all around his body while his mind raced to form a plan.

One quickly came to mind, and it began with him dropping a smoke cloud by his feet, just in case Shino could somehow watch him.

Then four immaterial clones burst forth in different directions… and that is all anyone from the outside would see.

'Earth Release: Headhunter Jutsu!'

The ground swallowed Sasuke whole, but he was in control. He moved the dirt directly around him to propel himself forward while blocking off the path he took so that no bugs could follow him.

'I don't sense any movement in the ground besides my own.' It meant Shino was either perfectly still behind a tree, if not atop one or even on the arena's walls.

He moved as fast as he could underground, expending very little chakra to do so, for only a few seconds.

Taking not even an instant to doubt his mental map of the arena, he shot upwards until darkness gave way to light and he was launched from the ground.

Being caught in midair was one of the worst positions a ninja could be in, but Sasuke had done so to get behind the trees at the edges of the arena closest to where Shino had been.

With no time to change his momentum or seek his foe, Sasuke launched a special set of shuriken toward as many treetops as he could while rising in the air. He then pulled back with his right hand, and as soon as he felt the hidden wires tug back, he wove more seals.

"Fire Release: Dragon Fire Jutsu!"

His breath became blazes, traveling down the wires toward the shuriken they were tied to, and inevitably, several trees. The flames weren't strong, but would soon set fire to all the nearby trees, adding to the destruction that his teammate's oil shenanigans had caused all around the arena.

Finally, Sasuke landed, and stabilized himself just in time to catch Shino jumping from one tree to the center of the battlefield. He gave chase and wove seals for yet another useful but cost-effective jutsu, the Water Release: Pressure Shot that he copied from Hinata.

'Sooner or later, you won't have anywhere to hide,'

"Alright then, good job. Dismissed!"

"Yes, sir!"

Sunlight shone inside Jiraiya's tent for a few seconds as three shinobi from a reconnaissance squad moved to leave.

Jiraiya huffed a heavy sigh, knowing none of his subordinates could see him in the privacy of his tent.

"Look at you, Jiraiya. At war, once again…"

There wasn't much inside the tent, just a couple of portable chairs and a table with maps that had several notes about the surrounding geography and, most importantly, the general location of the Kazekage and his men.

Rasa was sighted just a couple kilometers away from the border of the Land of Fire, protected by an entire battalion. Far more security than a Kage would require to merely visit an allied nation, which at least confirmed that Danzo's intel about Suna's intentions was true.

Nonetheless, he could not authorize an attack until Rasa crossed the borders, since the Land of Rivers stood between the two countries, and more importantly, the terrain of the southwestern Land of Fire was more advantageous for Jiraiya's troops, with densely forested valleys that were already contributing to the plans by hiding their camp. His security seals could only do so much work, after all.

Not marked on his map were the positions of several squads in key areas along the border. Now that Jiraiya knew exactly where the enemy would come from, these squads would be crucial to execute a pincer maneuver, striking the Kazekage from two sides or, at worst, staving off enemy reinforcements. Jiraiya had the locations committed to memory, knowing just how essential it was for these plans to not be found out by enemy spies… or Danzo.

He looked over the maps, just one more time going over his mental checklist of preparations… only to conclude he had done all he could. He just had to wait.

Jiraiya sunk into his chair. "…I guess the brat's fight should be over by now, come to think of it. Should I summon one of the toads to know what happened?"

He mulled over the thought for a couple seconds then chuckled to himself. "Nah, if things go the way I think they did, he's gonna relish the chance to tell me how he beat that genius kid, hehe."

Jiraiya's mind went back to cherished memories from the past month… Naruto summoning a tadpole for the first time, after dozens of failed attempts to get anything done. Him brawling with the Inuzuka kid and laughing about it afterward, regardless of who won. The proud and gleeful look he wore after showing off his newly mastered Great Breakthrough jutsu. Having lunch together...

His smile died. Actually that had been traumatizing; Jiraiya had already been scarred after inviting the kid to eat ramen the first time, but not even living through that could prepare him for how much the dainty Hyuuga heiress could devour let alone the resulting bill, which he footed.

"Damn, both of them have black holes instead of stomachs… what a pair."

He couldn't resent the girl too much, though. Had Hinata not scolded him as harshly as she had earlier in the month, Jiraiya was sure he'd have missed a fair few of the precious bonding moments that he really should not have tried to run away from.

"Man, I really was more scared of talking to a kid than I am scared of fighting the Kazekage… oh, Jiraiya, you're such a riot," he chuckled at himself, although it wasn't entirely bitter. "Well. Guess I might as well pack this all up before we leave."

At least, he finally had something to look forward to once he got back.

"Truly impressive. Worthy of the Uchiha Clan's legacy….! I can hardly wait for my cherished son's match against him."

Controlling one's emotions… Hiruzen had never agreed with his councilman's extremist stance on the subject. But to some extent, Danzo did have a point, and the way those words slipped from the supposed Kazekage's mouth were evidence of that.

There was nothing in his tone but barely-concealed lust.

Nothing.

Had Hiruzen been unaware of who, exactly, was seated beside him, he would've been alarmed at such a commentary aimed at not just one of his shinobi in the presence of his kage… but a child.

Yet, for better or for worse, Hiruzen was aware. More so than his opponent, in fact, and this foreknowledge was perhaps the only reason he was able not just to keep his cool, but to reply appropriately.

"Perhaps your focus ought to be on your older son's match instead, no? His is the very next, after all."

He even kept his tone friendly.

"…Perhaps." Now there was a more careful edge in his voice. "I don't believe there is any cause for concern on that front."

That was the sort of response he would've expected from the real Rasa, despite not knowing much about the man's personality. Hiruzen was more familiar with the Sandaime Kazekage, with whom Hiruzen had secured a military alliance. Since then, Hiruzen's contact with those from Suna was limited to diplomats and other such envoys, though most of them were in fact representatives of the greater Land of Winds rather than its hidden village itself.

He and Rasa had never met personally, not even in previous Chunin Exams. Sometimes due to internal issues, like the aftermath of the Kyuubi's release, sometimes due to the exams being on an untrustworthy location for either village, or even due to one of them simply not qualifying.

Such seemingly random occurrences, all adding up to this unfortunate situation…

No. Hiruzen could not deny, he had taken Suna for granted. His negligence was at the root of this conflict that was about to explode.

He suppressed a sigh, waving off those thoughts just in time for the proctor down below to make an announcement.

"Kankuro of Suna withdraws from the exams."

Hiruzen narrowed his eyes. From his peripheral vision, he caught no reaction from the supposed Kazekage.

Whether that meant he wasn't surprised or simply didn't care, Hiruzen couldn't tell.

"Therefore," the proctor continued, "Sakura Haruno progresses to the next round and we will now move on to the final match of the first round: Dosu of the Sound versus Chouji Akimichi!"

"Interesting," the Kazekage finally said.

"I take it you weren't aware, then?"

"No. I suppose my… son might have faced some difficulties repairing his puppets. Your little kunoichi got lucky."

"...Did she now?"

That last remark hadn't been entirely neutral. 'Resentment over being caught in a genin's genjutsu, perhaps?' Hiruzen wondered, with faint amusement.

"Either way, this next match should be quick. We will be getting to the main event soon enough…"

With that foreboding comment, the farce sitting beside Hiruzen went silent.

'Soon enough, indeed. Yet I wonder if you are truly prepared for it, my foolish student.'

"Forehead's gonna be pissed."

"Oh, for sure," Kiba grimaced as he agreed with Ino. "Wouldn't want to be that puppet guy right now."

Hinata nodded. Kankuro's puppeteering required very specific training to go up against, especially for someone like Sakura with a generalist fighting style leaning towards supporting allies rather than winning duels.

It was a lot of work, now frustratingly wasted.

"That guy's a pain to fight against, but him being such a unique opponent would give forehead a good shot at proving she's good enough to be chunin… oh well," Ino sighed. "Guess it's better than ending up like me… oh, I'm seeing Chouji!"

The Akimichi heir appeared in the arena, and soon his opponent came into sight as well.

"That guy… Hinata, what do you think?" Kiba asked. "You fought him and his team in the second exam right?"

"I did… Chouji even came to ask me all about it soon after I was out of the hospital a couple weeks ago, but…"

She trailed off in silence.

"But…?" Ino made a rolling motion with her hands.

"I don't… I couldn't give him any meaningful help," Hinata confessed with a small sigh. "Even with Shikamaru-kun there with me to help theorize things, my strategy was too reliant on my abilities as a Hyuuga."

She remembered when Chouji had joined her and Shikamaru's joint training sessions one day. He had been very hyped about his chances until they realized that none of the information Hinata could offer would be useful without the Byakugan or the Gentle Fist.

Hinata felt Ino's hand squeezing her shoulder.

"I'm sure he and Asuma-sensei came up with something," the blonde said with a smile. "They did have a whole month after all!"

By the time they finished speaking, Chouji and his opponent, Dozu, were in position, and yet Hinata's gaze briefly wandered, and so did her mind.

When returning from her brief trip to the infirmary, Hinata had spotted several shinobi from the Sand sitting in a secluded spot by the stand's walls, and though her seat was quite a distance away she had a perfect angle to peer at them from above.

Hinata could easily spot Temari. The rest were mostly younger shinobi, it was easy to guess that those were the teams that survived but failed the first two exams.

She had found it a bit curious at the time—wouldn't they be better off serving their village in missions elsewhere? Temari's presence was easy to understand given how her teammates were still competing, but the rest?

Something else spoke to her.

'They're all just quietly watching. No chit-chat, no murmuring, nothing… not even Temari-san.'

With one of their genin surrendering at such a critical juncture, there had to be some reaction to Kankuro forfeiting. Everyone was calmly watching as if nothing important had happened, as if there was nothing to be surprised about.

But if there had been a reaction, it had been far too subtle for Hinata to catch and it had clearly come and gone. Something about it all nagged at her, but..

'It's probably nothing anyway.'

Hinata shook her head and let the thought die so she could watch Chouji's match properly.

As his bout against Shino dragged on, it was becoming all the more clearer to Sasuke how much of an impact a full month of dedicated training could have on a match-up.

At first glance this seemed like a cat-and-mouse type of duel, where Sasuke had to approach Shino successfully while avoiding his foe's swarms. With Shino being inferior at taijutsu and his few known Earth Release techniques being defensive in nature, like creating walls, the Aburame seemingly had only two win conditions: to force Sasuke to make a mistake, or merely wait for one.

The battle would prove to be more than what it seemed when Sasuke heard a certain sound, multiple times in quick succession. A hissing, as if someone had just doused a campfire with water.

His eyes quickly scanned the battlefield, to shocking results. 'What… how did he do that?! The fires are gone!'

Somehow, Shino had undone Sasuke's plan of torching the arena's trees to limit his options for cover.

Grunting, the Uchiha re-set his sights on Shino and sent a pulse of Lighting chakra through his own body, just in case any bugs slipped by undetected. That was barely enough time for Shino to finish his next move.

"Earth Release: Earth Wall."

Sasuke had seen that tactic before. Shino would raise a wall, send a clone in one direction while going in another, while his swarm hovered above the wall to prevent a frontal approach.

Thinking fast, before the wall had finished forming, Sasuke launched two waves of shuriken just ahead of where he predicted the Shinos would go and blazed through seals.

"Fire Release: Great Fireball!"

The flaming projectile crashed near the top of the Earth Wall. Sasuke used just enough chakra so that some flames would scatter upward and force the cloud of kikaichu to disperse.

He made a mental check of how many explosive kunai he still had and let one fly toward Shino's wall all while dashing toward the arena's borders, choosing one direction that had no trees and bushes, just burnt remains of grass from Naruto's fight.

The explosion rang out at the very moment Sasuke put his feet on the arena's wall. With no threats in sight, he was free to move his head and watch as several clumps of burning dirt rained down on the battlefield.

"That ought to have confused his bugs some more," he noted to himself while continuing to climb.

Once he was certain there wasn't a swarm coming towards him, Sasuke stopped to collect his thoughts and survey the battlefield.

"I don't know how he put out the fires earlier… maybe this will show me how, but I'm not even sure this is the right play anymore," he admitted to himself.

There were several areas on fire, but they were spread apart and small. It limited how much area Shino had to hide but didn't eliminate cover.

That was what his next jutsu was for, and he began to channel and mold chakra.

Not without cost.

"Hnngh," he grunted, feeling a dull throb in his neck. It was not yet a sign of danger, but vexing nonetheless.

While he gathered energy, physically he also stopped to gather a few kunai. Infusing them with his chakra, Sasuke took careful aim and launched them down below, enhancing his throw with chakra.

The blades blitzed through air, coated in electricity, some of them even striking the swarm of bugs that was rising to chase him.

"The one thing I do know… is that you used water."

Sasuke smirked and, pumping chakra into his legs, he jumped off the wall, slightly sideways, both descending and circling the wall to avoid the kikaichu.

He kept careful watch over the arena, and could see a group of kikaichu flying away from one of the trees that Sasuke had targeted.

'That's the Bug Clone down!' he cheered.

Knowing the location of the clone informed the likely location of the original, so Sasuke once more blazed through seals.

"Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Jutsu!"

He spat an array of fireballs in the opposite direction of where the clone had been, all while channeling chakra for another skill and planting an explosive kunai on the wall, with its seal lit.

'Body Flicker Technique!'

A mere instant later, and Sasuke was at the very center of the arena once again, touching the ground faster than the incoming flames

His head panged.

His neck burned.

And his mind…?

"..."

Yet he did not falter.

The Body Flicker wasn't difficult to do but it cost a decent chunk of chakra to perform, especially at the altitude Sasuke had been at. He was also hoping to keep the technique a secret to unveil against Gaara, but Shino proved to be worth the early reveal.

Sasuke gave his system a brief respite, opting to throw another explosive kunai just as the first one burst on the wall high above.

Knowing it would draw Shino's attention to his former location, and thus to the incoming rain of fire, Sasuke pulsed Lighting Chakra around his body as a brief precaution and flew forward, his Sharingan eyes spinning wildly, seeking their prey.

It took only the slightest of twitches for him to lock-on.

'This time you can't escape!'

…Or so Sasuke hoped.

With the only noises in the corridor being that of two pairs of steps and a wheelchair's continuous squeak, Tenten couldn't get over the feeling that the stadium's so-called infirmary area was far too empty.

Off-puttingly so.

"Alright!" Lee pumped his uninjured arm then pointed to a specific door in the distance. "That should be the door the nurse spoke of".

"Indeed Lee! We are almost there!" Guy boomed… well, perhaps that was just how it felt to Tenten due to the surrounding silence.

'To their credit, they've lowered the volume considerably since this is an infirmary,' she thought as she continued to push Lee's wheelchair. 'Well. Supposedly, anyway.'

"I wonder if Sasuke-kun and Shino-kun's match might be over by the time we're back," Lee mused. "I didn't consider that visiting Neji would lead us this far from the stands."

"Don't worry Lee," Tenten said with a bit of a smirk, "It was just bad luck that our seats ended up being so far away from the infirmary. And I've got a feeling that they're having a pretty annoying and drawn-out duel right now. We'll be back in time."

Though none of her teammates were aware, Shino had sought her for a bit of training earlier in the month preceding the exams. The Aburame had come to shop for supplies and had shared with her that his plan was to go all out against Sasuke as his skills matched especially poorly against Gaara.

Shino had shared with her a pretty ambitious plan involving using some of his tougher flying bugs carrying explosive kunai in midair to drop at Sasuke from above, and wanted some guidance from her as someone that played with such explosive traps reasonably often.

Unfortunately, her family's shop had no explosive tags with a timer long enough for Shino to make his plan work, since the bugs could not activate the tags themselves and required Shino's input. She only managed to adapt Shino's plan to incorporate the paper of a sealing scroll containing buckets of water, for him to disable any fires Sasuke might force during the fight.

'Well, we will see if it amounted to anything when we get back,' she decided just as they reached their destination.

Guy-sensei knocked at the door twice and unceremoniously barged in.

"How's it shaking, you two!?"

Tenten grimaced. "Guy-sensei, please keep it down," she muttered, drowned out by Naruto's loud exclamation of "Bushier brow sensei!?"

She pushed Lee in as soon as Guy waltzed inside the room. To her surprise, it looked like Naruto and Neji had just been… talking.

"Neji! Naruto-kun! You both look well!" Lee said, his smile radiant enough that Tenten could see a shining reflection on the window across the room.

"Bushy Brows! They let you watch the matches!" Naruto replied with a similarly blinding smile. "Hey Tenten!"

She waved at him with one hand. "While you two had a month to train, Lee had a month to beg the nurses to let him go."

"Even in my current state," Lee motioned to his light green hospital clothes, "they could not deny my youthful drive to support you guys! And… my curiosity too," he admitted with a slightly sheepish note to his usual energetic laugh. "But we had to come see if you two were okay."

"Thank you for checking up on us," Neji said. Tenten caught a hint of a smile in his otherwise neutral expression. A surprising positive mood coming from him, considering his loss and that Naruto and him were in the same room.

'Curious.'

"Yeah, thanks guys" Naruto agreed with Neji. "I'm fine, I think I just used a bit too much chakra."

Tenten quirked an eyebrow at that absolute understatement. The Uzumaki had used so much chakra it had been visible to the naked eye, on top of using the famously-costly Summoning Jutsu midway through the match.

"As for me," Neji followed-up, "I fortunately avoided hitting my head on the wall and on the ground when I fell, so my injuries were relatively easy to heal. The medics want to keep me in observation until my reserves are restored, but that's the extent of it."

"Wonderful!" Guy-sensei bellowed. "It seems we have nothing to worry about, physically. However," his expression shifted to a rare, serious one aimed at Neji. "I hope you were able to learn some valuable lessons, my dear student."

The Hyuuga closed his eyes for a moment, and replied with a slow nod. "...I believe I have, Guy-sensei."

Tenten caught Neji's gaze dropping toward Lee, and the silent nod exchange between them made a smile bloom in her face. She would not ever understand all the nuances about guys nodding at each other, but that one was easy to guess.

"I am glad to hear it, Neji," Guy said. "And I must congratulate you both! That was an impressive bout!"

"It was a joy to watch!" Lee added, and turned to Naruto. "You have improved so much from when we first met, Naruto-kun! I'm looking forward to a chance at fighting you once I recover!"

The blond grinned, basking in the praise. "Thanks Bushy Brows! I'm looking forward to it!"

'...These two truly are alike,' Tenten thought with some amusement. Their voices brimmed with sincerity, a faith that Lee would recover and be in fighting shape once again.

After seeing his exams, though… Tenten could only hope to fake half the confidence they displayed.

Thankfully Neji spoke up before her negative thoughts could take center stage.

"Guy-sensei, if I may ask, do you believe our performances were good enough for a promotion?"

"Ah…" the green-clad man struck a thinking pose, with a finger scratching his chin. "That's a very difficult question. Both of you have shown a slew of positive traits in combat, with strategy, adaptation, execution and determination… but those might not be exactly the youthful traits the examiners are looking for. In fact some may even be counter-productive."

"Wait, what?" Naruto jumped from his bed. "You mean, fighting too hard could make us lose our chance?"

"That'd be so unfair!" Lee exclaimed, but Guy just shook his head.

"Consider this: what if your duel had been in the middle of a mission? Both of you went all out, but the end result is that neither would be in shape to return home," Guy said, motioning at the beds all around them. "Perhaps if you were truly alone one would eventually recover enough to retreat, but in enemy territory you'd get caught and finished off by someone sooner rather than later."

"Ugh," Naruto groaned, sinking into his bed once and falling over. "Man… seriously?"

"But I suggest not dwelling on it," Guy continued, smiling positively. "Even seasoned shinobi could have drastically different opinions from your fights. You can never truly predict the outcome of these exams! Plus both of you have certain abilities that are innately useful in a leadership position. Either way, that was a fight to be proud of in my humble opinion! Hahaha!"

Neji seemed to accept that in stride, but Naruto looked down enough that Tenten decided to offer her two scents. "Don't look like that, Naruto. You'll still have another fight to work with. Right?"

He straightened himself somewhat. "Yeah, I think I'll be fine for round 2. Wait, round 3 right? I'm... skipping round 2, yeah. That's Sasuke or Gaara, huh."

"Do you believe Sasuke-kun will prevail, Naruto-kun?" Lee asked.

"We were talking about that just now actually," Naruto pointed a thumb at Neji, to which Tenten let out a small sigh of relief mixed with exasperation.

'They were at each other's throats minutes ago and now they're buddy-buddy enough to theorize on fights… boys are so simple.'

"Sasuke's been training with Kakashi-sensei all month," Naruto continued with a frown, crossing his arms and huffing. "And I mean serious training, without waiting hours for him to show up… so I dunno. I'm sure he's a lot stronger, but well, who knows if what he learned will actually work?"

Lee then struck a similar thinking pose to Guy's. "I see. I suppose that with Sasuke-kun's specialty being ninjutsu, my fight with Gaara may not have given enough relevant information to him..."

Guy guffawed at their musings. "My Eternal Rival is nothing if not crafty. I'm sure they found techniques suited for the situation."

"The question is," Neji interjected, "if his preparations for Gaara came at the cost of not preparing well enough for Shino."

Tenten opened her mouth to retort, but the sound of the room's door opening silenced her.

"I believe you could say his preparations were sufficient."

"Shino!" she ended up saying in surprise, echoed by the others.

Tenten maneuvered Lee's wheelchair so that he'd be up to the wall, right beside Guy, giving them both a better view as the Aburame walked into the room. Shino did not look wounded, just a bit worn out and sweaty–judging solely from his brow, at least.

"I apologize for the intrusion, but the nurse instructed me to rest in this room until further notice."

"Do you need assistance, my boy?" Guy moved to help, only for Shino to wave a hand dismissively.

"Thank you, but I haven't suffered any wounds," he replied, making his way toward one of the unoccupied beds in the room, across from where Neji and Naruto were.

Speaking of Naruto, the blonde seemed deeply confused. "You aren't hurt, but you also lost…?"

"To be more precise," he said as he sat on one of the empty beds, "I surrendered."

The Aburame's answer made Naruto's jaw drop. "You gave up!?"

"No. Do note my wording: surrendered."

Naruto just stared, befuddled once more. "There's… a difference?"

"He means to say that he accomplished whatever goal he had during the fight," Neji clarified.

"Exactly," the bug-user confirmed as he adjusted his glasses. "I demonstrated my skills and strategies as best as I could. Continuing the fight would be mostly a waste of energy and chakra both for me and for Sasuke, who undoubtedly needs to be in as good a condition as possible for his next opponent."

"How considerate of you, Shino-kun!" Lee praised. "Such mindfulness is quite youthful, right Gai-sensei!?"

"Indeed my pupil!" Guy agreed with a thumbs-up aimed at Shino. "There is no shame in retreating from a situation that is too unfavorable to be worth fighting for."

"I was not at a significant disadvantage," Shino argued, "but I could not find any advantageous positions to exploit. At first that had been enough as Sasuke couldn't make progress offensively, but once he showed he was capable of fighting defensively from significant distances the situation proved unsustainable in the long-term."

"He couldn't make progress offensively…" Naruto repeated Shino's words, pondering them. "That's weird, I was so sure Kakashi-sensei would teach him some strong jutsu."

"I am sure that is the case," Shino assured, "and perhaps exactly due to that, he was holding back. He attacked me with tools and basic elemental jutsu. Prolonging our duel would just eventually force his hand, he'd bring more advanced jutsu and ultimately result in a decisive loss for me."

"Hmm… yeah, I guess I can see it," Naruto muttered, though he seemed unconvinced by Shino's decision.

It did not surprise Tenten, after seeing how persistent the Uzumaki could be in a fight the idea of quitting midway through a match seemingly just didn't register well for him.

What did surprise her was Lee almost jumping in his chair.

"Wait! If Shino-kun's match is over then… now it's Sakura-chan's match!"

"Unfortunately, no."

Shino became the focus of the conversation once more.

"I had barely made my way out of the battlefield when the proctor announced that Sakura's opponent gave up without a fight."

"The puppet guy?"

Shino nodded at Naruto. "The very same."

"What the hell!? He could've just not shown up!"

While the boys discussed Kankuro's withdrawal, Tenten, by chance, glanced up at her sensei and caught a rare grim look in his face, yet before she was able to question his well-being…

"Excuse me," someone said, knocking on the door.

It was a nurse, who quickly entered the room and motioned for someone in the corridor to follow… which turned out to be two nurses, carrying none other than Chouji Akimichi on a stretcher.

"Chouji-kun!" Lee gasped. "Is he alright!?"

While the two nurses handling the stretcher moved Chouji onto an empty bed, close to Shino, the remaining nurse turned to Lee.

"He's been struck by some sort of sound-based taijutsu, but it appears the blow was meant to incapacitate rather than seriously harm him. He just needs some rest, but we will do more tests once he awakens."

"Speaking of more tests," Neji said, motioning to himself, Naruto and Shino. "We've been told a similar story. It seems like I am the only one that still needs some time to recover."

This time, one of the nurses that was handling Chouji was the one to reply. "Indeed, we will do another brief examination before clearing Uzumaki-san and Aburame-san, plus a few more tests in your case, Hyuuga-san. However… none of us are meant to be in charge of those proceedings. Just to be sure, there haven't been any changes in any of your conditions, correct?"

"I'm fine," Naruto said, "it's just… I'll be able to go to my next fight, right?"

The nurse just waited for Neji and Shino to reply before addressing Naruto. "I can't give you any confirmation, but most likely, yes. I've seen contestants far more wounded than you still being allowed to proceed."

Naruto breathed out a sigh of relief.

"Someone will come to check on you soon enough, just remain patient. Now if you'll excuse us…"

The nurses all left, unaware of Tenten's narrowed eyes following their moves. 'What a wishy-washy way of handling things… sheesh.'

She kept those thoughts to herself, not that she'd be able to speak up faster than Guy did.

"Very well then," he tapped Tenten's shoulder. "We should also be leaving, or else we will miss the next battles. Allow me to push Lee this time."

"Uh, sure thing," she weaved out of the way. She saw no reason to deny Guy's sudden request.

"The next battle," Lee murmured, his thick brows creased in concern. "That's Sasuke-kun against Gaara, isn't it?"

"Exactly," Shino confirmed. "I can only hope I haven't worn him down in a significant manner. It has only been a few minutes."

"Don't worry about that," Naruto waved him off. "Sasuke will be fine. Or, well, he'll be fine until we duke it out in the semi-finals! Hahaha!"

"That's the spirit, my young genin!" Guy said, with his classic thumbs-up and smile combo aimed at Naruto. "But now we must make haste lest we–"

"Aahh!"

"–Lee!"

Amidst a few gasps and shouts of worry, Tenten could do nothing but watch as one of the wheels from Lee's chair rolled out across the room. Her wounded teammate had almost fallen, if not for Guy's strength and reflexes keeping him steady.

"Are you alright?" Tenten said as she rushed over to Lee.

"I-I'm fine… it was just a scare, but…" he twisted his body to take a better look at the wheelchair.

"Whoa… the whole thing came out!" Naruto exclaimed, hopping from his bed to grab the wheel. "It's busted…"

The wheel's metal frame was all bent, as if it had withstood a great blow.

"And it's not just the wheel," Tenten murmured as she crouched to examine the wheelchair itself. Some of the metal bars that kept the wheel in place were similarly damaged. "I don't think this can be fixed, Lee."

It was a baffling sight. The damage was too extensive for her to not have noticed anything while it was her turn to handle the wheelchair earlier.

"Not to worry, those nurses can't be too far," Guy said. "Tenten, help me put him on one of the bets. Careful now!"

They quickly got the job done, and as soon as Lee was sitting safely Guy dashed toward the door, turning to them just before leaving.

"I'll find another wheelchair! In the meantime… just remember:all of you stay here until I return! Do not leave the room!"

"Uh…"

There was an abrupt shift in tone in those last few words. That was not Guy-sensei being his usual friendly self—it was him barking an order as a commanding jonin.

"I'll be back, bye-bye," he waved dramatically, with a matching jolly tone as if that previous oddity had never occurred.

Wide-eyed, Tenten traded a glance with Neji who seemed to be similarly wary, and Lee who was visibly confused.

"That was… weird, was it not?" Lee questioned, eyes bouncing between his two teammates.

"Yeah. Yeah, it was," Tenten grumbled, while Neji just nodded.

Naruto, too, nodded. "Yeah, the wheelchair was just fine until now, right? If it was damaged or something I think we'd at least hear some noises."

While Shino offered his observations, following up on Naruto's logic, Tenten crossed her arms and pondered to herself.

'That's not what I was talking about but… could it be related?'

She felt the telltale sting of a blooming headache, and with a sigh, climbed on one of the remaining empty beds.

'Maybe I'm overthinking things but… I guess going over the weapons I have on me can't hurt. Just in case.'

Of course, in case of what, exactly, she didn't know.

Yet the answer to that would present itself to her and the remaining genin soon enough.

A/N:

And so we end yet enother chapter. More of a transition, cooldown chapter this time around. Perhaps a necessity given how action-packed the last one was, but only peopel reading these back-to-back need that sort of break huh...?

I just wanted to apologize again for the delay. I've adjusted to my new work-college cycle, but I guess I simply don't have the energy I had back during the fic's first couple years where I was going for my first graduation.

And of course, I wish to thank you all for sticking with me and this story. I'm frankly eager to finish up this arc and move on to something more focused more on interpersonal dynamics in the next arc.

We still have some combat sequences left to cover before that point, and as the Sasuke vs Shino fight shows, many of these will be on the shorter side now. I do think there's more long, detailed fights in the fic's future like Naruto vs Neji or even Hinata vs Neji, but the upcoming fights won't be like that, though they will be happening at around the same time so the overall amount of action might prove to be equivalent. The effort won't, since being able to have big breaks within fights makes them much easier to cook.

Regardless, this chapter was very needed to set up the final happenings of the arc, and I hope y'all will be there to see it! Please do drop a review! Like always, I'm eager to hear your thoughts, hopes, suggestions, grievances or even just getting some mistakes pointed out! FFnet has changed how it operates in some ways regarding email notifications, so if you are expecting a reply from me you are better off checking the site than relying on an e-mail. And honestly same thing for new chapter notifications, but for those in my experience the FFnet mobile app has been working very well.

I'll see you all next chapter! Follows and favorites are good too, if you haven't done so already...!

(And by the way, if you had problems with the Naruto vs Neji fight, in particular when contrasting it to canon as far as power levels go, you might want to check out the final guest review I replied to at the end)

Guest (chapter 4 . Apr 23): The Sakura I'm more familiar with is, precisely, the anime. But the idea always was to try bridging the two interpretations of her. Thanks for the review tho!

Booger: Yes, Team Guy had its own number! I made a loose reference to Guy just denying the number somewhere, haha. Might not be in the early chapters. Thanks for reviewing!

Guest (chapter 34 . Feb 27): Ah, I dunno I think only one Toad had a clumsy gimmick? Plus if you're a video game fan, you might have realized the white frog with a red bandanna named Gamaryu refers to someone who is not at all clumsy... either way, it was a lovely idea, thanks for sharing!

Guest (chapter 27/28 . Feb 28/29): Assuming you're the same guest due to timing. Thank you for reviewing, especially if it really is your first review ever haha! I'm honored! Indeed the characterization is pretty loaded, I'm glad that people feel true to their canon selves while also showing new sides to them, that was a huge goal for the fic. As was the slow burn Naruhina! Baby steps, haha. Thank you for the two reviews! The Team 7 scene in C28 was a tough cookie!

Guest (chapter 34 . Apr 23): Had to leave this one for last, there's a lot to go over for such a short review.

As someone who isn't much of a fan of action scenes anymore, I have no problem with you finding my Naruto vs Neji fight dull. It's a big scene and I knew the risks. But the comparisons you made with the original Neji vs Naruto fight I take issue with, in part because it doesn't seem like you account with the original fight's issues.

Yes, my Naruto is stronger and better trained while Neji isn't... because I needed their fight to actually feel possible for Naruto to win. Canon Naruto's win felt extremely unearned and is frankly just a bad fight. Naruto attacks blindly with little strategy, he uses his clones smartly once early on but his physical stats aren't high enough to convert that into an advantage. There's a LOT of exposition from Neji until Naruto just starts using the Kyuubi charka to undo Neji's damage, they clash once, and he pulls a mechanically unbelievable trick to one-shot Neji. He didn't even try the technique he spent most of his training on (summoning).

Then we have to account that outside of spawning clones and the Rotation, it was a raw taijutsu battle. This is the same deal as my version of the Hinata fight: there needed to be more options available to justify looking at the fight again, and the story beats I chose demand these duels. A purely taijutsu duel is boring as sin to write and, in my opinion, to read. At least as someone who is not a professional, I personally can do little with that.

Neji, in video game terms, has a significant stat lead on Naruto in every way that matters for their fight while also being a hard counter to his Shadow Clones. Naruto needed both more tools and a better implementation of clones to make the match-up feasible without copy-pasting canon with him being a punching bag until the Kyuubi made up for the stat difference.

I'd say it's not that my interpretation of a long attrition battle, flawed as may be, is unrealistic because of canon. I'd say that it is the canon version of the fight to be the one that isn't realistic. And it's also too short, strip away Neji's huge backstory dump and Naruto's few retorts and you got so, so little content. My characters moved their ideological conflict to a prior scene in the hospital. There needed to be more in the fight.

The length I agree is problematic, but it's a double-edged sword if the intent is a close fight with Naruto's skillset not naturally lending itself to dealing with Neji. Naruto needed to maximize what value he got out of clones and bring as many tricks as possible to close out the distance. Making it long was the only way I felt this could be accomplished, with my skills at least.

So that is my reply to you, and overall my defense regarding my choices on that fight. I hope the rest of the fic remains enjoyable, and as I mentioned somewhere up above fights of this length will be very rare from now on. And some reading this might think otherwise but I'm glad you dropped the review!