Another Take (A Naruto Fanfiction) (Complete)

Ch. 28: It Has Begun

~But nothing could ever stop us from stealing our own place in the sun. We will face the odds against us, and run into the fear we run from~

Third POV

The stadium was packed, the crowds were cheering, and the sun was bright. It was time for the final round of the Chunin Exams, the third-round one-on-one battle tournament. Arguably the most exciting of the three rounds.

People from all over the continent were waiting for the fights to commence, placing bets on who they thought would win based on rumors they'd heard about each contestant. And if you listened close enough, the favorites to win the whole thing were both competitors from the Hidden Sand, siblings Gaara and Kaizen. Though the rumors of an Uchiha fighting were enough to make some seriously heavy betting get going.

Most of the Genin planning on participating in the fight were standing in a line on the arena floor, staring into the crowds with varying degrees of nervousness displayed on their faces. But five of the original twelve were missing, a worryingly large number.

These five were Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha, Kiyomi Himura, Taishi, and Dosu Kinuta.

Apparently, the bodies of the two Sound ninja had been found the previous night, both brutally murdered. It was worrying, but understandable, as the Hokage knew some of the competitors were rather bloodthirsty. They didn't know for sure who did it, but Hiruzen had an idea.

Their deaths brought the number of matches down to five, and also reduced the number of competitors. It also affected the bracket, but no one was worried about that now. The Genin were really worried about surviving the first match. Well, some of them were. Others could care less.

"Get out of the waaaaaaaay!" someone yelled as a cloud of dust rapidly approached the entrance to the stadium. Only after the leading figure circled around was it visible that the person was Naruto Uzumaki, and he'd been chased by a herd of bulls.

"What did you do now?" Shikamaru asked with a groan. "Idiot. You were almost late."

"But I wasn't!" Naruto grinned happily. Then he managed to get a look around, and frowned, the happy expression dropping from his face. "What happened to all the other Genin? Weren't there more than this?"

The Nara nodded seriously. "Yeah, but four people haven't shown up yet. Including two of your teammates."

"Seriously? Kiyomi and Sasuke aren't here yet?" Naruto exclaimed, looking around frantically to see if he could try and spot them. "That's weird! I bet Kakashi-sensei made Sasuke late, but Kiya-chan's not one to be late to something as important as this!"

"Well, neither of them have shown up yet," Shikamaru shrugged. "Honestly, I'm fine with that. I don't want to go against either of them."

Naruto pouted. "But I do!" Then the blond grinned. "Oh well. They'll show up! Believe it!"

Shikamaru rolled his eyes, but didn't argue any more. It was useless, as Naruto was incredibly stubborn.

Further along the line of Genin, Kaizen and Gaara exchanged a glance. Neither of their opponents were here yet, which was worrying. The plan must succeed, at all costs. But it wouldn't if the brothers were forced to fight each other.

After all, one of Kaizen's special abilities, besides the Steel Release, was his skill in fuuinjutsu, the art of sealing. It was why their father trusted the older boy to be around Gaara, as he could hold back Shukaku if it was truly necessary.

Once it appeared that no more people would be arriving, Lord Hokage stood up in his special seating area. Another man was there, one who had the bottom of his face covered. The Kazekage.