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Chapter 43- The end of the Preliminary Matches!

Naruko shook her head and took a deep breath. "Forget it...Kashi-sensei."

Kakashi sighed and petted her head. "It's okay, Naru. I will never let this happen." And with that he let go of her and walked towards Gai. "Gai. I was kind of being preachy up there, but after thinking about it... If I were in your position... I would have done the same."

Naruko's eyes widened at that. 'Kashi apologized to someone? Wow! I have to mark this in my calendar!'

Kakashi sighed. "Gai, you're in the way for the next match. Come on, let's go back up."

'And there he is, back to normal...' Naruko deadpanned. She walked towards Kakashi and hit him on the back.

"Wha? Naru?" Kakashi looked at her in surprise.

Naruko pouted at him. "That was rude, Kashi-sensei!" She walked to Gai and took his hand and gave him a small smile. "Let's go back up, Gai-san. And just ignore this baka right there."

Gai just looked at her surprised as she could really drag him upstairs.

Kakashi shook his head in fondness as he walked after them. 'That's Naru-chan how I know her... Always trying to cheer people up...'

"The 10th and final match." Hayate said seriously after Gai, Kakashi and Naruko finally left the fighting area. "Fighters, step up."

Dosu and Choji faced each other.

Dosu chuckled cheekily. "So, finally it's my turn."

Choji looked seriously at his opponent. 'I'm going to win and eat barbecue!'

'I need to advance to the main matches and fight Sasuke-kun.' Dosu thought seriously. 'Otherwise, Orochimaru-sama, I won't be able to live up to your expectations. I already have an idea of what's going on. You made contact with Sasuke-kun before we met him...and gave him a cursed seal instead of killing him. We were just test subjects to see Sasuke-kun's abilities during the exam. He does not want Sasuke-kun's life, but Sasuke-kun himself. I have been taking lightly.'

"Now..." Hayate coughed. "10th match, begin."

"Do your best!" Shikamaru cheered him on.

"Fatty!" Ino shouted at him.

A tick mark appeared on Choji's head and he gritted his teeth angrily. "Damn it, they're going to get it! I'm going to finish this match quickly and then I'm going to beat them to a pulp!"

"Then, I'll finish this match without fooling around as well..." Dosu said calmly. "Mr. Fatty."

Choji looked at him utterly pissed, an angry fire appearing in his eyes. "Are you talking to me, you bandaged imp?!" He clenched his fist. 'I know about your weakness from the last battle we had. He releases sonic waves from those holes on his arm, so...' "Ninpou: Baika no Jutsu!" Choji did a handsign and expanded to almost quadruple his size. "And Konoha-style Taijutsu..." His arms, legs and head sunk into his body and chakra flowed out of the holes. "I just have to protect my ears! Nikudan Sensha!" He rotated very quickly around himself and rolled fast towards Dosu. "Hurray for big-boned people!"

Dosu narrowed his eyes.

"Alright! Crush him, Choji!" Ino cheered him on.

'That guy attacks with sound, so he doesn't have to make direct contact...' Shikamaru summarized. 'But that's only if the ears are exposed. Choji has his head sunken into his body, ear plugs in place and is rotating.'

Dosu jumped out of the way of the quickly spinning human-ball.

'How will you attack that meat ball with sound?' Shikamaru narrowed his eyes.