True Potential By DryBonesKing

Part 25-26

Disclaimer: If I did own Naruto then I wouldn't be in my room yelling at randoms in Among Us

Author's Note: I'll save my excuses for my absence in the author's note at the bottom of the story. You've all waited long enough, so here's the chapter. I hope you all enjoy.

"Naruto-kun! Congratulations!"

Almost immediately after arriving in the waiting room, Naruto was greeted by Hinata. The girl rushed over to him and gave him a hug with enough force that she nearly knocked him over. The blonde's eyes widened in response before he returned to the hug.

"Heh, thanks Hinata-chan." Naruto smiled. He then started to wince a little as he the Hyūga tightened the hug. "Um...Hinata...you are kinda hugging a little tight..."

Hinata quickly let go of the boy, a blush on her face. "S-Sorry..."

"Nah, don't apologize." The blonde chuckled. "Heh, I didn't know you could shout that loud. I could hear your cheering all the way down there in the arena!"

Hinata's blush seemed to brighten in color, but a smile also graced her lips. "Well, what can I say? You fought amazingly!"

"Fought like a true tactician." Shikamaru commented with a smirk as he walked over to greet his friend. "I don't think I've ever seen you fight like that."

Naruto then turned his attention to Shikamaru. The two proceeded to high-five each other.

"Hey, I learned a few things over the month break. And there's more where that came from!" The blonde informed him.

"I'd hope! It means our match will be a lot more fun!" Kurotsuchi exclaimed as she walked over to the members of Team Three with a grin on her face.

At seeing Kurotsuchi, Naruto frowned as he remembered the words Risho spoke during their fight about his family situation.

"Hey Kurotsuchi, Risho's going to be alright, right? His clan isn't actually going to do anything to him, right?" He asked quietly.

Kurotsuchi's grin immediately fell as she shook her head. "Honestly, I don't know. The Kurogane clan is weird and their clan head is even weirder. It wouldn't surprise me if something like that actually happened." The kunoichi then developed a scowl on her face. "They better not try and remove him though. He fought well! He definitely doesn't deserve that!"

"..." Naruto sighed. "I'm kinda starting to wonder his home-life was like. His clan sounds like a bunch of jackasses."

"Honestly, I'm wondering the same thing." The Iwa genin agreed with a sigh of her own. "...but I at least know all of this now. I'll definitely be there for Risho if things go bad for him back in Iwa. And I know Roto and Han-sensei will help him as well!"

Naruto let a small smile develop on his face. "As long as some people are there for him, then he should be okay..." Naruto, feeling a little better about Risho's future, started to think about his next match in the chūnin exams. His smile then turned into a cocky grin. "But for now, you should be focusing on our match and trying to last longer than a few minutes!"

"Heh, dream on!" Kurotsuchi scoffed with a similar cocky grin. "You're gonna have to try and keep up with me!"

Naruto and Kurotsuchi continued to banter between the two about their upcoming match. Shikamaru and Hinata watched, listening to their colorful language in amusement.

The back-and-forth arguing between the two genin ended when Genma started to speak loudly from the center of the arena towards the crowds of people. "It is now time to start the next match! Will Aburame Shino and Nara Shikamaru please come forward?"