Before the Valley of the End battle in the original series, if you asked who was the strongest among the Konoha 12, Haruma's answer would undoubtedly be Rock Lee.
In the final battle of the Fourth Ninja World War, even Madara with the power of the Six Paths in one eye was forced back by Might Guy's Eighth Gate, that single world-shattering kick that warped space itself.
Together with Edo Tensei and the Flying Thunder God, the Eight Gates were hailed as one of the Three Great Jutsu of the Shinobi World and these three ultimate techniques were exactly the ones Haruma most desired to master.
Even before opening the Gates, Rock Lee could toy with Sasuke Uchiha, who had yet to obtain the Curse Mark of Heaven. With the Gates unlocked, even Gaara was forced into a defensive position.
If not for his body's lack of durability and limited stamina, Rock Lee would have been the true final boss of the chunin Exams.
Even so, Rock Lee and Gaara stood as the two great bosses of this exam. The only pity was that their legendary battle happened not in the official finals, but in the preliminaries.
The outcome was just as it had been in the original story.
Lee shocked the entire audience when, after being underestimated, he unstrapped his massive weights, sending them crashing down and stunning everyone. His speed broke through Gaara's Sand Armour, and with that, he unleashed the Front Lotus, only to leave his body weakened.
Opening the Gates to nullify the Lotus' side effects, Lee pushed on, opening the Fourth Gate, performing aerial steps akin to "Moonwalk" from the pirate world, kicking Gaara around like a ball.
But when he forced open the Fifth Gate and prepared the Reverse Lotus, his assault faltered for just a heartbeat. That pause gave Gaara enough time to transform even the gourd on his back into sand.
In the end, Gaara, with what little chakra he had left, used Sand Coffin to snap Lee's arm and leg. Only then did Might Guy intervene to end the fight.
This battle shattered the worldview of the Konoha 12 and elevated Gaara's presence to its absolute peak.
Even Naruto Uzumaki, before the moment when he had to defeat Gaara, was utterly terrified of the One-tailed jinchuriki.
Only Sasuke, who hadn't truly witnessed the fight, remained as arrogant as ever.
With Lee vs. Gaara concluded, the remaining preliminary matches held little spectacle.
For Haruma, the only point of interest was Ino versus Sakura.
Unlike in the original story where they tied, this time was different.
Compared to Hinata, Ino had spent far more time with Haruma, several more times in fact. Back in their fourth year at the Academy, when Haruma's talent in genjutsu and sensory techniques began to surface, he even taught genjutsu to Ino in private because, like Haruma, Ino possessed Yin-nature chakra.
As for Haruma's extraordinary sensory ability, it was in part thanks to feedback from Ino, through the Yamanaka clan's own sensory arts.
So when Ino fought Sakura, she didn't even use her clan's secret techniques. With just her genjutsu training, she easily defeated Sakura, who still only knew the three basic Academy jutsu.
The Final battle was between Choji and Dosu which had been relatively, Choji having bulldozed Dosu with his Human Bullet Tank, securing the win. Thus, Team 8 joined Team 10 as a full squad advancing to the finals, one of three teams with all members passing. The third, of course, was Gaara and his Sand Siblings.
By contrast, Team Guy, the class that had graduated a year earlier, was wiped out completely.
Had Rock Lee not been so gravely injured, Kurenai might have laughed outright.
During our last jonin dinner, you all ignored me, yet my students were the first to have a full team advance. Kakashi and Guy, the strongest among us, one only got two through, the other lost them all. Let's see if you still dare look down on me next time!
With the preliminaries finished, the official match ups were revealed:
Sasuke Uchiha
Hinata Hyuga
Haruma
Shino Aburame
Kankuro
Temari
Gaara
Shikamaru Nara
Naruto Uzumaki
Ino Yamanaka
Choji Akamichi
Next came the draw for the official tournament.
The first to draw should have been Sasuke, but since he was hospitalised, he would automatically take the last slot.
So Hinata stepped forward first, drawing number 10.
Then Haruma went up and drew number 2.
Haruma's brows twitched. No way…
And sure enough, as the draws continued, his opponent was revealed.
The one who had drawn number 1, was none other than Naruto Uzumaki.
"Crap, my opponent is Haruma!"
Staring at the number in his hand, Naruto clutched his head in despair.
If it had been Sasuke, Naruto would have burned with fighting spirit. Sasuke had told him even before the preliminaries that he wanted to fight him in the exam.
But against Haruma? There was only despair.
Six years of being classmates had left scars. Haruma hadn't just crushed Sasuke; he had crushed everyone.
The entire Konoha 9, including Ino and Hinata, had been beaten by him at some point. Taijutsu, kenjutsu, Haruma had overwhelmed them all and unlike Sasuke, Haruma wasn't arrogant, wasn't competing with Naruto over Sakura, and wasn't the reincarnation of Indra. Naruto had no rivalry or bond with him, only a shadow in his heart, carved from childhood.
If even cocky Sasuke couldn't beat Haruma, what chance did he have?
So it was no wonder Naruto looked the way he did.
When the draw ended, the official match ups for the finals were:
Naruto Uzumaki vs Haruma
Kankuro vs Shino Aburame (the winner would fight Choji who had no opponent)
Temari vs Shikamaru Nara
Ino Yamanaka vs Hinata Hyuga
Gaara vs. Sasuke Uchiha
"Ino, remember to go easy on me when the time comes," Ino teased Hinata with a sweet smile.
Facing this gentle rival, Ino felt no hostility as she had with Sakura in the original story over Sasuke. With Hinata, even speaking harshly made her feel guilty.
Had she not been so proactive herself, she knew she'd never have stood a chance against Hinata.
Strength-wise, too, she had no hope. Against the Byakugan and Gentle Fist, Ino could not win.
In every match up they'd had over the years, Hinata had always beaten her and those were with Hinata holding back. Just as Haruma had once said, if Hinata fought seriously, few in the class could defeat her.
So Ino was already prepared for defeat.
Hinata, unaware of Ino's thoughts, simply assumed she was teasing and whispered shyly, "Let's both do our best, Ino."
After the draw, the Third Hokage announced the date and location for the final stage, one month later, at the chunin exam finale stadium.
Delighted, Kurenai led Team 8 out to celebrate over dinner.