Dark Phoenix of Konoha by White Angel of Auralon

Part 28 - Fights Three and Four

Fights Three and Four

Kakashi sat in his box watching the first two fights attentively. Next to him were the again retired Sandaime Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi and the Kazekage of Suna. Of course there were also two body guards for each kage. The participants were the best of the new generation from Konoha. There were of course still deficits that needed to be worked out, but considering that all three teams that had passed the second exam from Konoha were the three rookie teams it spoke a clear language. Konoha's upcoming youth was stronger than all previous years.

Sakura had performed great against Kiba. She had come a really long way since he had taken her on his team. The former fangirl could now truly be called a proud kunoichi from Konoha. The training she had done with Shizune had brought her a major step forward. Kiba was strong, but he needed to plan his battles better and not let himself or Akamaru open for sneak attacks. He wouldn't get promoted this time, but there was a lot of potential for the future. Kurenai could train her team more till the next exams and then the promotion was a serious possibility if his improvement kept on.

Sakura was a definite chunin candidate. She had planned properly, not let her opponent use his strengths against her and taken out his partner early on. She hadn't dragged the fight out for a long time, but countered her opponent's strengths in smart ways before landing the decisive blow. If tasked to lead a team she would find ways to keep them out of danger until they could succeed with little to no loss.

In the second fight it showed that the academy needed to give fangirls a harder time and ensure that they at least needed to build up physical strength. Ino had come around from what Asuma had told him, but contrary to learning jutsus if you have enough chakra, you didn't get over years of neglecting physical working out, not to mention dieting, in a few months. Ino was the one that had had most problems with the resistance seals and had progressed slower than her teammates. Kakashi had seen the same with Sakura, but his merciless attitude and training regime had got her farther than Ino had come. Not to mention that Naruto and Sasuke were training nuts and Sakura had to push herself more to not fall too far behind them. Shikamaru and Choji weren't as ambitious and therefore they progressed slower.

Not to mention that Ino had the problem that Hinata's taijutsu style was hard to go up against. There was a good reason that the Hyuga clan was feared. Ino's strategy had been a sound one and it might have worked if not for Hinata's jutsu and trickery. And seeing how Hinata had managed to combine water manipulation with a new gentle fist technique was inspiring. Hinata had used her advantages well and acted when she saw an opening. He didn't know that Kurenai had taught her to combine genjutsu with gentle fist, but it was a great technique. He could only hope that the Hyuga clan would see it similarly. Hinata deserved to be praised for that fight.

"Your genin seem to be really good this year, Hokage Sama." The Kazekage complimented. "I wouldn't have expected to find this many strong kunoichi in particular."

"Thanks, what can I say; this year's candidates are very good. I'm of course especially proud of my own student Sakura." Kakashi replied with an eye smile.

"I'm looking forward to seeing what the other two can do. If you saw fit to reveal Naruto Namikaze's heritage you have to be convinced that nobody could kill the boy easily. And the reputation of the Uchiha clan will be tested for the first time in years again." The Kazekage mentioned.

"That's true, but I'm sure that Naruto and Sasuke are up to the challenges before them. I hope that your son Kankuro is well-prepared. Sasuke really wants to get to the finals to fight against Naruto." Kakashi revealed.

"He would have to beat Gaara too first and that is a very difficult task. Gaara is the best genin we have in Suna." The Kazekage boasted.

"We'll have to wait and see then." Kakashi stated. "What do you think about the promotion prospects of the first four?"