"Ah, Naruto, it's good to see you back from the field training" the Hokage muttered as Naruto burst into his room yelling, "oyaji-san!"

"Ano sa, it's good to see you too Sarutobi-sensei! Do you have any missions for our team today?"

It was weird, being back in Konohagakure after so long being away, especially with Sabaku no Gaara, and his siblings in the village. What was even weirder were the faces and hitai-ate of the various visiting shinobi from various villages, who were all waiting in anticipation for the upcoming Chuunin Exams. And, Naruto, like so many before him was already used to the fast paced lifestyle of the shinobi.

"No Naruto, you're supposed to meet with Genma today on training field nineteen for one final team run before the exams tomorrow, remember.

Naruto nodded and said, "hai, but Genma-sensei asked me to check anyway, alright Oyaji-san, arigato!"

"Your welcome, now get..." before Naruto burst into a flume of smoke and the man laughed. "Going."

On the field, Genma and team 5 were already through seven of the ten team battle scenarios that may or may not come up in the Chuunin Exams, and smiled. "Alright, now one final thing regarding the exams. It's tradition for the jounin instructor to teach their first original move to the genin that make it past the second round. But, as I expect each to make it far in the exam, I've already arranged for Naruto to have training with someone else during this time. Naruto, you will officially be relieved of team 5 on the day after the Chuunin Selection Exam second round concludes. At that time, Jiraiya-sama will be training you.

Kimourii and Nushi, regardless of the outcome, I have selected a summoning creature that suits the both of you in both attitude and ability. Nushi, you will be signing the Dog Scroll carried by Hatake Kakashi, and you, Kimourii will be signing the Squirrel scroll held by yours truly. Because you're signing summoning scrolls, you'll need certain things, like the ability to understand your summon, and their mood at all times."

Naruto smiled and gave a yell of, "Yata!" toward his friends, and said, "that's great! Yosh, we'll all have a summon after the exam then! And, what's better, is that Baka Kitsune is willing to work with the other summon bosses, as long as he's treated with his due respect, that's what he said, of course, sensei!"

"Oi, Naruto, Jiraiya wants you to arrive early on the day of your training, but I must ask this before you all leave for the afternoon. Are you all certain you want to be in the exam."

Naruto looked at his friends, and the three of them nodded in unison. "Alright, meet me at room 301 tomorrow morning at seven o'clock sharp. From there, it's up to the individual examiner on who passes and fails."

The three grinned and Genma adds, "and, you'll want to take these forms, their official entrance waivers, because we didn't get to add your forms. Since you were on a mission and just made it back for the exam, Konohagakure will allow you three to take the exam."

The buzzer on his alarm going off was the first thing that Naruto heard as he woke up, anticipation settling in for the start of the Chuunin Selection Examination. He knew well that people from all five major villages, and teams from lesser, minor villages, was all in attendance, and that he needed to look his best.

He had found Kakashi after he left his team, and asked him for advice on a taijutsu move that would make him seem weak, and allow for people to underestimate him at the same time. Kakashi grinned and told Naruto not to move before placing his hand together in the seal of the Ram, speeding behind Naruto and whispering, "Konohagakure Hiden: Taijutsu no Ougi: Sennen Goroshi!".

Next, Naruto's face scrunched up and he flew into the air, holding his backside as he flew, and, though in extreme pain, smiled. That was just the move he needed. Of course, he would get the jounin back, but that was another story.

As he met with his team, Naruto was surprised to see genin backed up in a line, and Chuunin taking names on a piece of paper, a mild genjutsu, according to Kimourii was on the sign stating it was room 301, when they were only on the second floor. Noticing Neji and Lee in the line, as well as Tenten that looked bored from all that waiting, Naruto motioned for the three to come outside with him, and showed them a secondary entrance into the stated room, jumping up onto the third floor balcony, boosting from balcony on up, and going inside the window. Inside, they were the only the second and third team respectively, the first going to the Sand sibling team.

Neji groaned as Naruto simply opened his glare full swing, and dared the boy to attack. Gaara, who was until that moment calm stalked towards Naruto as if in pain, before the door opened and a smug Uchiha Sasuke strode into the room, the rest of the genin behind him.

"So, we weren't the first to figure out the genjutsu," Uchiha Sasuke said, though smug. Naruto glared and said, "yeah, and I'm guessing you led the others right past the gate didn't you, Uchiha-teme."

The boy glared and said, "Well, it's obvious that they're here to participate in the exams, and if we don't help, what kind of village are we?"

"Obviously, you're too stupid, to realize that was a test, and that anyone that didn't arrive here would fail, in one minute. That would have significantly cut the chances of almost every genin here."

Uchiha Sasuke simply shrugged and said, "Hn" before sitting down. It was then a blue haired genin with the Konoha hitai-ate came toward the two of them and said, "you may want to calm down, you're causing a commotion against the other genin that are here. And, Konoha is outnumbered two to one."

Naruto simply snorted, shrugged and said, "so. We also have home field advantage, and so it would be unwise to attack us here, as any attack will be seen as open hostility against Konohagakure, though I have it on good authority that most of these genin are here to participate for their country, not start a fight. Uzumaki Naruto."

"Yakushi Kabuto, and that isn't so. In the Chuunin Selection Examination, all participating genin are temporarily given status of dignitary, unless they are from that country, and therefore would not be punished except by their jounin instructor. After the exam, barring murder of a civilian, or some other nin not taking their exam, any crime is stricken from their record."

Neji seemed to glare and said, "and, how do you know this?"

Kabuto smiled, "I've taken this examination seven times, and failed each time. The exam changes every year, and the only thing different about each one is that it gets harder to pass. The first time I took it, the Frog Sannin, Jiraiya was giving the first part, and he ordered each woman to" here his nose bled for a moment, "take off their undergarments, and throw them to him. If they didn't, they failed. It wasn't until after the exam was over that those of us that failed realized the purpose of that test was to see our team loyalty, and decide if it was really acceptable to turn on, or expect more of our team than we would ourselves."

Neji simply nodded. "And anyway, Hyuuga Neji, having taken the exam so many times, I have information that could prove useful to you, such as statistics of each person taking the exam this year."

"Really, everyone?" someone asked, from the back. Kabuto pushed his glasses over his eyes, and smiled. "Yes, is there anyone in particular you'd like to hear about?"

It was then Uchiha Sasuke stood up and said, "Sabaku no Gaara, and Uzumaki Naruto."

The man grinned, "of course, Sasuke-kun. I was hoping for these two myself. Sabaku no Gaara has had 30 D-ranked missions, 6 C-ranked missions, and 1 B-ranked mission, coming out of each mission without a scratch. He also participated in the Waterfall's Tournament and came in second place, but that wasn't an official mission, and the winner of the Hero's Water is Uzumaki Naruto, the Yondaime's Legacy.

Naruto-kun has had 25 D-ranked missions, 3 C-ranked missions, 2 B-ranked missions, and the equivalent of an A-ranked Diplomatic mission. Both are known to use unique techniques, and are said to be virtually invulnerable, Naruto only ever being hurt while fighting Sabaku no Gaara and vice-versa. Also, they are both sources of a strange, but different, chakra source that gives them an advantage in most battles.

Sabaku no Gaara's team is comprised of his half brother, Kankurou, and his half sister, Temari. Together, the three genin are the future "Sannin" of Sunagakure, and are feared for their unavoidable wrath when it comes to killing. Their jounin instructor is Baki, last name unknown, and specialty unknown.

On the other hand, Uzumaki Naruto's team is comprised of the team captain, Riyousha Kimourii, a genjutsu elite specialist and Inuzuka Nushi, from the nindog clan, her partner Sutermaru, and himself. They are the only passers of the "Unwinnable" test of Konoha, which decided where in the genin rankings the team stands. Their jounin instructor is Shiranui Genma, who specializes in ninjutsu.

Of the two, I would not be able to guess who's stronger."

Lee smiled, "I would like to know more about Uchiha Sasuke."

Sasuke bristled and said, "I'm sure that his information, wherever gathered from, is invalid."

"Not at all Sasuke-kun. Uchiha Sasuke has 15 D-ranked missions and a single C-ranked mission, involving the Gatou Corporation in Wave Country. He is the current holder of the Sharingan doujutsu, and said to have two tomoe acquired. He specializes in fire jutsu, regularly using the Katon: Housenka no Jutsu, and the Katon: Karyuu Endan techniques to win battles. His teammates are Haruno Sakura, who has perfect chakra control, and Inuzuka Kiba, with his nindog Akamaru. His jounin instructor is one 'Sharingan' Hatake Kakashi."

"Wow, he's almost as good as you, Neji-san." Tenten murmured. Neji simply 'hn'd and said, "as if. It is his destiny to lose."

"What about you, Kabuto-san. Are you willing to share your own information?" a girl with a note on her hitai-ate asked. She was obviously being sarcastic with the -san but, that didn't matter. Kabuto smiled, "I'm afraid that my information is classified information. Not that a Sound-nin like yourself would find it useful. I don't expect sound to do too well in this examination."

A guy with bandaged hands glared at the Konoha-nin and attacked him, his hand caught by Kabuto, who threw him away and said, "such attacks are meaningless."

It was then his glasses shattered and he fell, blood pouring in from his ears. Naruto and Neji both stood before the genin from the sound smirked. "Oops, did I do that?"

As the door flew in, a voice rang out, "alright you scum! No fighting, or I'll have each participant expelled before the exam starts. Now, get in here and take your assigned seat. As you pass me, take a card number out of this box and sit where your number matches. If you are within a seat of a teammate, switch with someone on the left of yourself, and make sure that you don't cheat.

When you are in your seat, hold your number out in front of you. If you find yourself without a number, you'll be forced to stand up. Anyone not sitting when this exam starts will find you failed!"

As each team drew, a ninjutsu was used on the box, making sure each team drew numbers away from each other, so no one would be near a team member.

When all was said and done, Neji and Kimourii were still standing when the exam started. They walked outside, and Naruto, Nushi, Tenten and Lee were all stuck inside. A piece of paper, with questions decidedly too difficult about trajectories was placed in front of each of them, the tenth place left blank.

"Now, listen you gaki. This test determines who will pass on in the Chuunin Selection Examinations, and so each of you will carry the responsibility of your entire team. I have rules that I expect to be followed at all times, if they are not, then you fail. The first rule, no cheating. You each start out with one hundred points, each time a Chuunin sitting along the wall sees you cheating, you will lose twenty points. When you hit zero, you are failed.

If you needlessly talk, you fail. If I think you are even thinking of cheating, you fail. Are we understood?"

Each team nodded. "At the end of forty-five minutes, I will give each of you the last question. Be prepared for that question. If any question is left unanswered, you fail. Remember these rules, and get to work."

Naruto sighed and looked around the room. It was obvious from the start that these questions were at least Jounin level, if not higher Chuunin, and that to study would have been pointless. So, his problem was whether or not he wanted to be an idiot and guess, or cheat. Cheating was banned, and if he was caught five times, he failed.

Suddenly, a bark, and two whimpers came from across the room. Looking around, but not looking as if he were cheating, Naruto saw Nushi, Sutermaru on her head.

Soon a chorus of whimpers and barks came from the dog, and the examiner asked if the dog was alright. She blushed and said, "no, Sutermaru is sick. He ate some bad chicken last night, but as he's a part of the team, I had no choice but to bring him."

The man nodded and grinned, a scar running along his eye. She gasped and whispered, "Ibiki."

Soon, Sutermaru began a series of whimpers and barks, and Naruto's eyes widened. As he began to listen, Naruto made the "tora" seal with his hands, and whispered, "Onijutsu: Kitsune no Mimi" and scratched his hand, doing the seals, calling forth a six tailed fox, outside. The Chuunin all ran to the window, and Naruto called forth a smaller summon, who went over to Nushi, and whimpered to her. She smirked and handed it a piece of paper, while the guards were distracted, and told Sutermaru to just take its lead from Naruto.

When the six-tailed fox left, Naruto heard a voice say, in a howl, "well, I'm done here, summoner. I hope I caused a good distraction for you."

And, when the baby summon disappeared close to Uchiha Sasuke, each eye turned to the young man, who blushed, though Ibiki swore he saw Naruto smirking.

As he rounded off the fourth question, which was, "a combat situation has arrived where nin's of several smaller nations have formed an alliance. They have decided to attack your enemy, and wanted support from the larger nation. Do you voice your opinion? And if so, what would that be? Give valid reasons, or you lose thirty points on this question."

Naruto blushed and looked over at the Iwa-nin, who came from Iwagakure. They were of the Stone, and had a bias against his father, the Fourth. If several nations got together and joined an alliance, asking him for help against a nation that wanted him dead, Naruto didn't know what he would do.

The problem, he realized, is that a Chuunin was a warrior, plain and simple. They did the jobs, such as infiltration, and security, all too well, and simply listened when told what to do. As a genin, Naruto was used to following orders, but would he be willing to relay orders that he didn't agree with.

Tapping his pencil, Naruto placed it low enough for Sutermaru's ear to catch. Sutermaru fell into Nushi's lap and onto his back, before whimpering and barking. Ibiki again looked up, but when he saw the dog was in pain, simply ignored the girl, again.

When Sutermaru's "objection" was over, Naruto wrote what Nushi and he had discussed on the paper.

Question seven, too, was different. It stated, "Warring villages are nearing the borders of Fire Country, and each has requested the aid of several jounin and Chuunin. They have both asked whether or not we would take official assassination missions, guard missions, to fight against the other. If you were a Chuunin, and your opinion asked, would you do the mission and why, or why not?"

Naruto tapped again, hearing the reply, which was what he figured. He wrote. "In this situation, I would request that I not be placed in a situation where I may have to fight against a comrade, or potentially sets up for an ambush to Konohagakure, depending on who sent the message, and how many are bought out. This is why Konoha doesn't accept missions between warring countries."

As the forty minute mark passed, Naruto had just finished with his tenth question. Though there were two set of nindog, Akamaru and Sutermaru both, neither genin was ever thrown out of the room because Sutermaru had a valid excuse, and Akamaru was a puppy, and by the rules of raising nindog, you couldn't leave a puppy nindog alone.

And, it was also weird, considering that twenty of the original ninety teams had been thrown out. Sixty genin in all. Though the rookie nine, Genin teams Gai, and Genma, and the Sand Siblings all passed, as well as that weird Kabuto kid, and the Sound nin.

"Now, it is time for the tenth question. Though this isn't really a question, it's a choice. You can either choose to take this test, and go on to the Chuunin Exam's second phase, or you can choose not too take it, and remain genin until the next exam, in Sunagakure.

Though, there are stakes to this examination. If you choose to take this test, and fail, you will be forbidden from taking this exam, in any country, for at least five years.

If you don't want to take the tenth question, leave the room, now."

Confident in his ability, Naruto decides to stay in the room. He looks at Nushi and smiles, before looking around at Kimourii, telling her to stay in the room, too. Then, he remembers that she wasn't ever allow to take the exam, because she wasn't sit down. Nushi, though, hadn't forgotten and, when Sutermaru whispers, "those who disobey the rules are trash, but those that betray their friends are worse than trash" Naruto stands and says, "my team and I choose not to take the exam."

The man nods and says, "alright, leave the room."

It was a few minutes later that Tenten and Lee come out, followed by Kiba and Sasuke, who was furious. Then, of course, came a tall, gangly boy with a ponytail, a chubby kid with a bag of chips. After them came a girl with pale lavender eyes, a Hyuuga, and Shino, the bug kid. It was a few minutes later, when Temari and Kankurou walk out, with fearful looks on their faces.

After the Oto-nin team, two Iwa-nin and one more Konoha-nin team walked out and joined them, each of them furious in their own ways, that someone in the room says, "you all fail!"

Struck in the head, Naruto looks at Kimourii who smiled, and as the dejected failures of the examination left the room, Naruto noticed a few teams glaring at those that had left the room.

"In all my years, I've never failed almost fifty teams at once. Those of you in the hall, meet me at the Chuunin Examination training grounds, in one hour. Once there, I will explain what the purpose of that meeting was, and give you all a chance to get refreshments before you meet your new instructor. Dismissed, and good job."

As he disappeared, a voice shouts, "Uchiha Sasuke, I wish to fight you!"

Each genin turn to the proud holder of the Sharingan and towards Lee, in his now common spandex green training suit. Sasuke 'hn's and walks over to a field where Sakura and Kiba were watching in amusement. Across the field, Neji and Tenten were standing with Naruto, Kimourii and Nushi, also grinning while the other Chuunin made bets on which the winner would be.

Naruto, grinning also, placed five thousand yen, at ten to one odds, and simply sighed, knowing the outcome before anything else happened. "The rules are simple, you may use anything at your discretion, and I will only use taijutsu. The first to land a disabling blow to the opponent where they cannot move after a full minute wins. Self-inflicted wounds will not count, so if I hurt myself to the point I cannot move, but I still knock you out, I win."

Sasuke simply sighs, and says, "acceptable."

Neji, seeing Lee, places five thousand on Lee, with the same odds. "Alright, Hajime!" and with that, Lee was off. Sasuke, who had the Sharingan activated moved as Lee's foot came across the other's direction, copying the kick and retaining it to memory. "Not fast enough, green-baka."

Lee bristled and said, "you shall not win, Uchiha that was just a warm up kick. Konoha Senpuu!"

With that he jumps and twists so fast that even with the Sharingan, Sasuke had trouble spotting it. When the kick hits his face, Sasuke flies back, and through three trees. Neji smirked and Naruto said, "and that's without his weights

Sasuke though, wasn't finished. He stood up and flashed through a set of seals so fast that Naruto had trouble following them, until he ended up with the "tora" seal and a shout of "Katon: Housenka no Jutsu!"

The fire swept across the training field faster than anything, but Lee jumped. As the genin landed, Lee flashed out of existence, only to appear, in front of Sasuke, and kick him up. At the flare of chakra from Lee stunned even Neji.

"Omote Renge!" Lee shouted, as he kicked Sasuke in the face, and sent him into the air. As Sasuke flew up, Lee jumped and started a combination of punches and kicks that shattered the Uchiha when they struck his ribs. When they landed, Neji sighed and said, "at least he didn't use that technique."

As Sasuke stood up, the others in the stand that bet against Lee sighed as one and Sasuke smirked, "you really are a dobe, aren't you?" And, as he ran forward, Lee jumped up, spinning faster than before and shouting, "Konoha Senpuu!"

Sasuke flew backward, his head hitting the wall with a sounding crack. As he fell, a genin with a watch sighed as it counted down to "zero" and the minute was up.

"Just like Naruto-kun, I strive to be acknowledged through hard work. I am not a genius of birth, but one of Hard Work. I have gained the friendship, and rivalry of my two best friends, one of Hyuuga Birth, and the other, my eternal rival! We haven't had any competitions, but I would say at the moment, Naruto and I are equally great!"

As Naruto collected his winnings, a whopping fifty-thousand yen, he smiled and said, "no, you're one ahead of me now, Lee. I just collected on your victory, thanks."

Lee jumped and said, "YOSH! MY ETERNAL RIVAL BET ON ME AGAINST A GENIUS! I HAVE BECOME A GENIUS OF HARD WORK! THANK YOU GAI-SENSEI!"

Neji, after seeing that display, smartly remained quiet. "Come on, Lee, I'll treat you to Ramen!"

Lee's eyes shown with a fire that was strong, but he declined. "I cannot, Naruto-kun. Gai-sensei says that I must be back before going to the station, so I can practice more taijutsu!"

Naruto nodded and, after snickering at Uchiha Sasuke for a moment, helped him up. Just as a tendril of sand was hit away with a kunai.

Morino Ibiki stood staring at the genin before him. Other than the Uchiha who looked worse for wear, they all looked as if they were all excited and ready to begin. Ibiki smiled as a few of them fidgeted when they looked at the woman beside him, eating her Dango happily.

"Alright you little runts, first things first. This here is Mitarashi Anko, and she's the second head examiner. After I finish, she will tell you where to go for the next examination, and what to bring.

First, I would like to congratulate each of you on passing the first phase of the examination process. I am proud that you are all ready to take that next step in the process and become Chuunin. The test you took an hour ago relied on three things from each person. The first, was trust. Trust in your team, and trust in yourself. The second, stealth. In case you didn't get it, the main order of that test was to, ahem, test your information gathering skills, and stealth.

Some of you didn't know what to do, and others, who did, didn't know how to go about it. In fact, other than me, and the participants, did anyone else realize there was open communication going on between two genin?"

The genin gasped. "Yes, I noticed, but as I'm the only Tokubetsu Jounin knowledged in morse code, I ignored it, for it was very effective.

And the third was acknowledgement. Each member of a three-man team is expected to pull their own weight. If any person should falter, the team may be broken. That was the purpose of withholding certain members of each team, to test how well you acknowledge your teammates. If any member should not understand, let's use this example.

When the Yondaime Hokage was about to face the Kyuubi no Kitsune, he ordered his students, Hatake Kakashi, Haruno Sakume, and a Chuunin named Rin, to make sure the Ninja Academy was evacuated properly. As he sent his team away, Hatake Kakashi told Rin, a Chuunin a the time she left Konoha, to make sure each classroom was clear of any students, and the teachers.

She disagreed because, in the world of shinobi, the Chuunin are the ones that are supposed to question their orders unless those orders are from their Kage. Chuunin make life or death situations every day, because if even one of those decisions is wrong, the Chuunin will end up dead. This is because, while their missions aren't overly dangerous, they are often outnumbered 20:1 on the field of battle.

Rin asked why, and when Kakashi turned to her, he smiled and said... but was interrupted by a man appearing in a puff of smoke. He smiled and said, "I sneezed, so I thought to come here. And, my exact words were, 'looking underneath the underneath that Arashi-sensei ordered, Rin-sama, it is clear that he wants us to do a thorough search of the academy, because if any of his precious people were to die, his sacrifice would be in vain.'"

A few people murmured and Kakashi said, "my nose itches, ah-choo! Well, I'll go look underneath Gai's underneath and see what he wants! Ja ne!"

Ibiki growled at the interruption but sighed and continued, "She nodded and went off, finding very quickly a room where Yuuhi Kurenai was laying on the floor unconscious and the roof about to cave in. When Rin got back, Kakashi smiled and said, "I am glad you are not considered trash, but I am glad you thought you'd become worse than trash for abandoning me, Rin-sama."

That afternoon, our village mourned our Hokage, but three jounin mourned their sensei.

A Chuunin must make the choices that the jounin expect, but whether or not that choice is made, remember that you must make a choice with the information at hand.

Now, Anko will tell you where to meet for the next phase."

The woman previously eating Dango jumped and smiled. "HI! I'm Mitarashi Anko, and I'm the sexiest woman in Konoha! And, you're all going to die in the next few days because we're going to be at Akagahara for the next phase of the examination! So, get your wills ready! Ja ne!"

Just before the woman disappeared, Kiba sighed. "You don't have to be so happy about it!"

She turned and threw her kunai at Kiba, a scratch appearing on his cheek. She ran over and said, "don't be so mean." After that, she licked the dripping blood off of his cheek and smiled when a long tongued man handed her kunai back.

With that, they were dismissed.

Genma met his team, and after showing Naruto where Jiraiya was, the group of four went to a clearing where he instructed then in further use of their elemental manipulation.

"Kukuku, my, what a wonderful house you have here, Sasuke-kun." a man smiled as he entered the doors of the Uchiha estate. Sasuke looked up to see the nin that handed back the crazy woman's kunai standing in front of him.

"Who are you?" the Uchiha demanded and was surprised when he got a laugh for his trouble.

"My name is not important, but if you'd rather I tell you, I'm Yamashi Sune-ku, and I'm here to wish you all the luck in the world on your examination. I heard that Uzumaki Naruto is very hard to beat, and is expected to take the top spot this year."

Sasuke snarled, "that dobe was dead last in his class, though I expect it was out of pity for real genin, like Hyuuga Neji, that he even passed, had to have someone make him look good!"

"Oh, I agree, Sasuke-kun, but I've heard unspeakable horror about Akagahara and, I don't know if I want to risk getting hurt by anyone."

Sasuke smiled, "stick with me, tomorrow. That dobe won't even lay a finger on me, and his friend was just lucky, I'm still getting used to my Sharingan, so I won't lose to him again."

The man smiled, his face like that of a girls.

And, you too, Sasuke-kun. I hope you aren't too traumatized tomorrow, I look forward to seeing you in the examination."

Sasuke nodded and watched as the stranger walked out of his estate.

'Genma-sensei is the best,' Naruto thought as he looked at the five summoning scrolls that adorned his belt. 'I mean, if we showed this skill to that fa... chubby kid on Kurenai-Chan's team, we'd make a bundle.'

They had just finished with a small team run through an obstacle course, which lasted almost ten minutes, fast by their standards, but an improvement over the fifteen minutes they posted a month ago, and he was walking back to his estate, when a killing intent caused him to stop.

He turned and saw Sabaku no Gaara sitting on a wall, eyeing him with a very distinctive look. How he found Naruto's house, the genin would never know, but since he was there, Naruto shrugged and said, "you might as well come in, Gaara no Teme, or I'll just have to kick your ass again."

Gaara stood up and in a flash of Sand appeared in front of Naruto. As the two stepped beyond the barrier, Gaara placed a cork on his gourd and said, "Uzumaki Naruto, tomorrow, I wish not to fight you. I want to face you in the finals, and therefore would like for you to do the same."

Naruto looked at the Sand jinchuuriki and sighed. "Why do you want to fight me, I've already proven that I can beat you, no matter what you do."

Gaara glared, "mother wishes that I spill your blood, Uzumaki Naruto, where everyone can see. She is unhappy with the way I was defeated, and does not want me to experience that pain again. So, I must fight you where it will matter more, and instill the proper fear that mother derives off of."

Naruto sighed. "Why does the Shukaku believe that I you can defeat me. Why do you let her torment you so much?"

Gaara simply shrugged and said, "mother is all I know, Uzumaki Naruto. She cares for me, but expects me to bath in blood for her. She feels your demon and tells me to fear you, but that the battle is not yet won, and if I can find one that is precious to you, I can defeat you."

Naruto glared and said, "You will not touch my precious people, Gaara. I will kill you before I allow even one of them to be hurt by you, or your mother. You seem to forget that I have a demon too, a demon that ranks above yours, who carries nine of the sacred tails, and is considered the strongest of the tailed beasts. I do not hate, or fear you, Gaara. You are like me, and I feel pity to what I know you went through. I was lucky, and can only think that you are what I would have been without my precious people.

As Gaara was about to open the door, it burst open and he was flung back, hitting the couch, stopped by the sand that protected him. Kimourii was standing there, Nushi behind her. They had told him that they were coming to see him, but timing was horrible.

"That... was unexpected. Uzumaki Naruto, I will see you later."

Naruto sighed once the sand jinchuuriki left, and couldn't help to snicker at the fear on Nushi's face as she saw the red headed sand kid that caused her friend so much pain. "Um... Naruto-kun, that... was Sabaku no Gaara. Ano... what was he doing here?"

"Oh, he was simply wishing me luck tomorrow, says he wanted a rematch, Nushi-chan! It's alright."

And, with that, Sabaku no Gaara, listening at the door of his rival, felt something that he'd never felt before. Hope.

End Chapter

A/N: So, how did you like the Gaara/Naruto interaction? Ja ne!