All the Genin were gathered in a giant colosseum, surrounded on all sides by gigantic walls that extended upwards almost 50 ft. Surrounding the walls were gigantic stadiums that overlooked the entire space. Each was filled with people from all walks of life, some for the villagers, others for the nobles, and finally, the podium that overlooked them all.
Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Third Hokage, stood on that overlooking podium. He stepped up to the railing and addressed the entire area, his voice somehow overtaking the chatter and noise of the crowds.
"Everyone! Thank you very much for coming to the Village Hidden in the Leaves' Chunin Exam! We will now begin the "final round" matches for the Ninja that have made it through to the final stage!"
"Raaaaahhhhhh!!!"
The sound of clapping was heard throughout the entire colosseum.
As it went on though, one of the attending ninja looked over the Genin. He coughed into his arm before addressing the group.
"All of you were randomly matched. The first one will be..."
He looked down at the paper he held in his hand lazily, before looking back up to address the group.
*ahem* "Haruno Sakura vs Hinata. In 15 minutes those two should be the only two left in the arena. Everyone else should find a seat in the stadium. Don't make me have to remove you guys myself." *Cough, cough*
Sakura's face immediately fell. What the heck? She would have to face this monster in her very first match? And where was Sasuke? Why hadn't he come yet?
She scanned the area for the sight of Kakashi Sensei but didn't see him. Was that going to be it then? Would she not even have the chance to show off her progress to Sasuke-kun? No... There was one other tactic she could use.
Sakura smiled at the expressionless white eyed girl before moving over to Saul's side. She hugged his arm and looked up at him with wide, emerald green eyes.
"Saul-kun~! I'm ready to show you the results of my hard work, ok? Wish me luck!"
She stood up on her tip-toes and kissed the confused man on the cheek. Then she backed off with a cheeky smile. Brushing a lock of pink hair from her face, Sakura gave him her most beautiful practiced smile.
"I'll win this match just for you, ok~? Believe in me, Saul-kun!"
Her actions however, didn't just draw the ire of Hinata like she expected. A blonde haired sand ninja gave her a disgusted glare, a brown haired ninja holding a tulip smiled at her in a way that seemed almost threatening, even Naruto stared at her with wide, shocked eyes: his mouth open and twitching.
Hinata though, was the worst of them all. She was still expressionless, but... Sakura's provocation had not gone unnoticed. Her Byakugan were activated as the entire focus of her incredible eyesight looked at only one thing, Sakura. There was an invisible pressure radiating off the girl, a deep malice that made Sakura's hair stand on end and her skin prickle into goosebumps.
"Go easy on her, Hinata." Saul spoke casually, looking at the pink haired woman from the corner of his eyes. "I don't want to see you killing her."
Hinata smiled at the sound of his voice. The pressure on Sakura increased over tenfold, making the woman sweat bullets. What kind of monster had she provoked!?
"Don't worry, we will." Saul smiled weakly. "Just don't take too long, alright?"
Awwww... Her perfect Saul-kun was trying to say he'd miss her company while he was up there! She must have misunderstood him earlier. Saul was always thinking for her benefit after all. What if she ruined her reputation by slaughtering that pink haired bug? That would be no good, right?
"Okay~💗 Don't bother saving me a seat. When I'm done with this match, I..."
I want to be sitting in your arms...
Saul nodded. Then he and Yakumo both body flickered out of the arena.
Hinata turned to the only one left, the shivering Sakura. She glared at her before closing her eyes, waiting for the announcement to start the match. Soon, Hiruzen's booming voice sounded over the arena.
"As many of you may be unfamiliar with the contestants fighting, I will personally give you all a brief introduction to both fighters beforehand. The first match is Haruno Sakura vs Hinata!
These two Kunoichi actually graduated from the same class! They are both women of the same age, rivals who have competed side by side. Sakura was the top student in theory at the ninja academy - her intelligence is not to be underestimated! She mastered all three of the academy ninjutsu as well in record time - her chakra control was also the first of her class. Who knows how far she has progressed under the tutelage of the Legendary Copy Ninja, Hatake Kakashi!
Hinata however, many of you might find her name familiar. She was once the heiress to the strongest clan within all of Konoha, the Hyuuga! Born with their legendary Dojutsu, monikered the All Seeing Eye, Hinata is in possession of the Byakugan! Due to her dishonorable performance within the academy however, the Hyuuga clan disowned her. Despite this, Hinata later showed resolve befitting a true Kunoichi!
Under the tutelage of the foremost Genjutsu expert of Konoha, Jonin Kurenai Yuuhi, Hinata has shown exceptional performance during the Chunin exams. For her incredible feat of hunting down and slaughtering over six teams of a similar rank, this rising rookie star was fittingly named the Byakugan Huntress!
Who do you think will win? The genius brainchild of the Civilian Ninja? Or the rejected heiress of the foremost clan of Konoha, the Hyuuga? The fight will commence shortly!"
Saul had to admit, the third Hokage knew how to hype things up. He somehow made a match that Saul knew would be a complete and utter stomp seem like something that could be anyone's win.
"Bets, bets, place your bets on who will win!"
A blonde haired Kunoichi, with hair parted so it covered half of her face, shouted mock enthusiastically. She carried around a bucket filled with Ryo. Ino? What was she doing?
Saul walked up to her. "Hi. I'd like to place a bet on Hinata winning."
Ino looked at him, then did a double take. "Aren't you on her team or something? That wouldn't really be fair for you to bet, would it?"
"It's not like I'm the one fighting. Should be fine, right?"
*Tsk* "The current odds are five to one in The Byakugan Huntress's favor. Still betting?"
So he'd earn at most 120% back if he bet on Hinata. No surprise there. Saul pulled out his wallet and took out 50,000 ryo.
"Should be enough for a small bet."
Ino smiled. "Okay, here you go!" She handed him a card with Hinata's moniker on it, along with the amount of Ryo he gave her written on the front.
"Just take this to me or a Yamanaka Clan Betting Stall if you win. We'll be taking a 5% betting fee out of your winnings, but rest assured if you win we'll always be good for the money. Thanks for betting!"
"You're welcome..."
Saul wondered if he should have complimented her appearance or something like that, but he figured now was not the time for that sort of thing. Ino was working. Any advances like that might actually have the opposite effect than what he intended.
His eyes refocused on the match below. It seems things were about to begin...
Author's Note: Yes, you saw that right. One of the attending ninja is Hayate Gekko (the coughing dude), the man who was 'killed' during the month-long break preceding the final stage in canon. There will be more on this later, but...
Well Kabuto doesn't have as much of a reason to kill Sasuke any longer. Before he thought about doing so before eventually chickening out. This was because by doing so, he would cut off Orochimaru's future. In this case Orochimaru has two options, so by killing either Hinata or Sasuke, he still would not have done anything of significance.
In addition to this, Kabuto was on the fence about the whole thing to begin with. This is the reason why Sasuke survived even after Kakashi arrived so late. Kabuto just didn't follow through.
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