After Naruto’s match, Sakura is shocked by Naruto’s brutality toward Neji, but Kiba reminds her what he did to Hinata.
It’s mentioned again that Kakashi was disappointed by his team’s poor showing in the Chunin Exams, although he had canonically considered the Chunin Exams a possible reality check for the team (which it was, albeit for reasons that Kakashi couldn’t have predicted at the time). Apparently, it’s seen as a reality check for Kakashi in this fic, and somehow cures him of his tardiness and reading Icha Icha books.
Hayate lays into Naruto for his assault on Neji, and Naruto argues with him over how he didn’t say anything (in canon, Hayate shouted to Neji that the match was over when he tried to attack Hinata). Naruto contemptuously says that people already hate him for stupid reasons, and that nothing he does will change that; in canon, it did change that, as many of his former critics were subtly impressed by how he did, including Genma, the proctor.
The Hyuuga clan is outraged over the results of the match, but Iruka manages to con them out of their money before returning to stay with his “cousin” Umino Iruka. It seems like a bit of a risk to use his real name at any point, even if it’s the name of an imaginary relative.
Naruto’s somewhat surprised by the clapping for him, even in the face of the previous paragraphs indicating the disapproval. He bows in gratitude, which seems to be less of an exuberant celebration than his running around like he did in canon. I wonder if the author is, consciously or otherwise, forcing Naruto to have better manners.
If you’ve read the manga, you’ll notice that, at this time, he was also scanning the crowds for Hinata, and wondering if she came to see his fight with Neji. It turns out that she had fulfilled her promise to come watch his match, but passed out from her injuries in the course of it. Unfortunately, that means she also didn’t hear him declaring his intention to avenge her, and saying that she is the one who fights against her destiny. For all Naruto canonically interacts less with Hinata than in this fic, the latter statement was a simple, yet powerful indication of how well Naruto understands her, even if he didn’t yet know how much he factored into her efforts. Unfortunately, none of his statements here are quite that powerful.
Kurenai is pleased that Naruto won, and hopes that she realizes that the preliminaries had consequences, which I hope doesn’t mean that she rubs what Hinata did in her nose again.
Naruto meets with Shikamaru and confirms that he did what he set out to do. Shino then declares that he’s willing to do what it takes in response to harm befalling a team member, "from coercion, influence and tactical intelligence, to, as needed, extreme levels of physical violence." Naruto offers a more succinct question to Shikamaru- how would he feel if Ino was put into the hospital for three weeks? Considering how he reacted when Hidan killed Asuma (although it should be noted that he was mainly motivated by a desire to finish the mission in which Asuma lost his life), this question hits close to home.
Shikamaru makes the reasonable observation that messing around in Hyuga clan politics will have consequences, and Shino points out that if that didn’t deter them, there is little they will not do. An argument breaks out with Temari over whether Hinata is weak, and Shino seems to indicate that he sees Hinata’s determination as a positive trait. Finally, Gaara ends it by threatening to kill anyone who disrupts the matches.
Naruto notices that Gaara and his siblings don’t act like siblings, although Kankuro and Temari got along decently before Gaara’s Heel-Face Turn (oddly enough, none of the siblings use Japanese Sibling Terminology on each other, although I think Kankuro called Temari “sis” once in the dub).
Shino vs. Chouji begins, and Chouji regrets hurting Yoroi as badly as he did, considering dropping out of the exam in remorse. Of course, 1)Chouji killed Jirobo in canon without batting an eye(although Jirobo pushed all three of Chouji’s berserk buttons, and 2)Yoroi, like Kabuto and Misumi, is a traitor and in league with Orochimaru, although Chouji probably doesn't know that.
Chouji puts on some metallic bracers, prompting Naruto to notice that the Akimichis use armor. Chouji activates Human Boulder, and Shino’s kunai and parasitic insects prove useless. This is also a nice way of showing how much their fighting styles contrast.
Chouji and Shino exchange some friendly banter regarding their techniques, which is a nice change from most of the more hostile matches. Of course, it’s also a different match from most of the others. In canon, Sasuke vs. Yoroi, Shino vs. Zaku, Tenten vs. Temari, Shikamaru vs. Kin, Lee vs. Gaara and Chouji vs. Dosu involved one of the Leaf Village( the good guys) against someone involved in the conspiracy against Konoha (the bad guys), so there’s little love lost between them. Sakura vs. Ino and Hinata vs. Neji had fairly deep personal grudges on the part of one or both combatants. As for Kankuro vs. Misumi, both were fairly ruthless and determined to win. Most of the fic’s original matchups- Chouji vs Yoroi(good guys vs bad guys) Shino vs. Kiba (rivalry), Shikamaru vs. Misumi(good guys vs bad guys) and Sasuke vs. Naruto (rivalry) followed this mold, so it’s good to see one that’s different.
Of course, even if Chouji and Shino are friendly to one another, they are both determined to win. Chouji uses the Expansion Jutsu to enlarge his arm (although it should be Partial Expansion) and tries to smash Shino, albeit with an apology, but Shino retaliates by swarming over Chouji with chakra-draining bugs, defeating him. Chouji eats chips in the aftermath of the battle, and offers Shino a bag.
Shino’s parents are impressed by his conduct. Some of their fellow spectators do not share their opinion, as they are disappointed with the lack of carnage in Shino’s match, but they start to reconsider whether Naruto is a “brat” considering that he saved the Hokage’s grandson. I hope that, like in the Pain arc, people will look back on Naruto’s accomplishments, recognize him as a hero, and be willing to die for him, with that backing helping Naruto stand against his foes on the Council.
Shikamaru vs. Temari starts next, and Naruto is initially quite bored. The match goes as it did in canon, although Shikamaru apparently takes advantage of the holes Naruto made from his weights, rather than the tunnel Naruto dug against Neji, in order to win. He also claims to be bored, rather than having exhausted too much chakra (which might be an excuse, but which Izumo and Kotetsu found believable, and a good enough display of strategic aptitude to suggest that he be promoted to Chunin)
When Naruto confronts Shikamaru, he claims it was too troublesome, and observes that Temari was conserving her strength. Naruto makes the astute observation that this means Shikamaru will have to retake the exams (although a logical rebuttal is that doing so in six months is less onerous than becoming a Chunin and leading a squad), surprising him with how thoughtful he is, and he quickly credits Kurenai with that expectation. Naruto wonders if Temari is conserving her strength for the next match, but Shikamaru notes that he’s “not that pathetic.”
Asuma is upset at his students losing to two of Kurenai’s, costing him the chance to see Kurenai in a swimsuit. This seemingly forgoes their canon romantic relationship, and the fact that they had sex at least once by the time he died. Asuma wonders if Shikamaru suspects something is up.
In the infirmary, the medics tend to Neji, who has lost a lot of blood. Hiashi asks if Guy is satisfied that Neji lost after refusing his assistance, and Guy simply replies that it was his choice, and now, it is up to Neji to learn the appropriate lesson. Hiashi declares that Neji will make amends for his failure, that he will activate his seal if he learns Guy’s lessons of youth, and demands to be informed when Neji regains consciousness.
The canonical scene could not be any more different. Hiashi informs Neji about what really happened concerning his father’s death (whether it is still the case here does not seem to be likely). In the manga, he points out that he’s telling him this as his uncle, and in both the manga and the anime, prostrates himself before Neji, deeply moving Neji and causing him to overcome his resentment and despair. It not only is a turning point for Neji, but also shows there’s more to Hiashi than there first seems; he has realized the point of his brother’s final decision- that the main and branch families will need to make amends and start treating each other as families, and he will take the first step.
Unfortunately, Hiashi not only remains a one-dimensional villain, but also a tyrannical overlord of the branch families. It seems unlikely that Neji will be motivated to make any conciliatory efforts toward the main family if Hiashi is acting this way; at best, he will view Hinata as the exception to the rule.
Kankuro withdraws immediately when faced with Gaara, saying he can’t hope to face Gaara (which is clearly true, and there’s the canonical fact that he doesn’t want to reveal his trump cards). Naruto suspects something, although it does stand to reason that Kankuro knows how powerful and psychopathic his brother is, and would be least willing to face him.
Naruto is then pitted against Gaara next, although this doesn’t seem to make sense with the current tournament brackets. In canon, Naruto(1) vs. Neji (2) first, since the two were on the left, and the next match was supposed to be Gaara(3) vs. Sasuke(4) but it skipped over to Kankuro (5) vs. Shino(6 ), and again to Temari(7) vs. Shikamaru (9) after Kankuro forfeited, much to the displeasure of everyone who wanted to watch Sasuke’s match. It seems as though Naruto should be facing Shino.
Iruka is pleased that his plan worked, but concerned about how Naruto will fare against Gaara. The Fourth Kazekage is interested in seeig how Gaara fares against Naruto, although he oddly doesn’t acknowledge him as his child in canon.
Naruto’s fight with Gaara begins, and Naruto is excited to have everyone watching him. He tries his water jutsu on Gaara, not unlike what one Filler Villain tried against Naruto, the way you Water Magic makes the monsters vulnerable in the Sunken Desert or Luffy’s strategy for defeating Crocodile. Naruto succeeds in slowing down the sand as Gaara forms his Ultimate Defense, but it doesn’t work nearly as well as either of those other examples.
Naruto manages to avoid the pounding sand, and unleashes Swamp of the Underworld on Gaara. Gaara needs to escape, even if it means leaving his protective bubble. Naruto goes on the offensive, using his speed to run to Gaara, and punching him in the face, in spite of the Armor of Sand (which, as Kankuro pointed out, is a last resort, as it not only isn’t as effective as the shield, but makes his body heavier). It also doesn’t seem to fit that Gaara would turtle under a sphere of sand as much as he does, which he only puts up against those who can outmatch his sand blocking in some way, unless he's preparing to transform.
Kurenai and Iruka are cautiously optimistic. Naruto injures Gaara, who retaliates with a partial transformation.
At this point, as in canon, the genjutsu kicks in, and Kurenai, Hinata and Shino immediately take precautions to respond to it. It’s somewhat interesting how the entire scheme happened in the background in this fic, with fewer scenes devoted to showing more about Orochimaru, Kabuto and the Sand Villages’ plotting. The author mentions in passing that Hayate is still alive because the Sand Village was under too heavy surveillance to meet at night, which doesn’t explain how they were able to coordinate all this.
Gaara’s siblings evacuate him, as Baki curses how Gaara deviated from the plan. Hayate then plans on dealing with Baki, who killed him in canon. Genma joins the battle, and tells the Leaf Genin to pursue Gaara and his siblings.
Iruka fights off the enemy ninjas, with weapons he gained from those nearby, to protect the helpless civilians.
The Genin report to Kurenai, and seem unusually cognizant of the plot by the Sound and Sand ninjas against the Leaf village. Naruto uses a Chakra Pulse large enough to wake the entire stadium, which seems to stretch belief. This comes just in time to save Iruka from his foe.
Kakashi gives his team their orders in an unusually stern tone, telling them to help evacuate civilians and stand guard until relieved. This doesn’t seem as uncharacteristic, however, as the author seems to equate his Bunny-Ears Lawyer status with actual incompetence, and is in the process of forcing him out of it.
Naruto’s Chakra Pulse disrupts the ritual, and seemingly causes them to summon thousands of snakes, rather than one giant snake, killing all of them. This doesn’t make any sense, given that summon jutsus happen almost instantly, and there is no proof of them being interruptible.
Naruto and Shino prepare to pursue Gaara; Shino couldn’t put a bug on Gaara, but could put a bug on his allies. Hinata insists on accompanying them, and the chapter ends.
What I liked
- Shino vs. Chouji was a good match between two people with contrasting fighting styles.
- People warming up to Naruto.
- Iruka’s fight was fairly amusing in how he got his weapons, and an interesting show of what he can do when improvising
What I didn’t like
- Hiashi forfeiting any chance to show a sympathetic side of himself toward Neji.
- Some slight plot holes regarding the invasion.
- Naruto’s Chakra Pulse was a Deus ex Machina
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