Once he did so, he linked his shadow to Kin's and forced her to slam the back of her head into the concrete wall of the room. The impact knocked her out cold, awarding Shikamaru simultaneously thrilling and anticlimactic victory. As Kin's body was carried away by medical staff, the board shuffled once again. This time, the results were meaningful. From Naruto's perspective, at least.
"Naruto Uzumaki will now face Kiba Inuzuka!"
The slightest hint of interest flashed across Gaara's unresponsive features as Konoha's most audible genin made his way down the stairs of the observation deck to face Kiba. The preliminary round had been exceptionally dull, and virtually nothing interesting had occurred. Those who were expected to win won, and those were expected to lose were defeated. Predictability was the theme, and no one genin had done anything to change that narrative.
"You know, other than the fact that I actually recognize the name 'Inuzuka', I don't know a thing about either one of these two" Temari commented as Kiba and Naruto faced one another and received a rundown of the ruleset they would be competing under. Kankuro nodded in agreement.
"Yeah, that's true. I think the clan name is enough for me to pick Kiba, or whatever his name is, to win this" he said. Gaara, much to the surprise of her siblings, spoke up.
"I'll play devil's advocate. Naruto will win within ten minutes" she proclaimed calmly. Temari raised an eyebrow at the prediction and gave her sister an odd look.
"What makes you say that?" she asked skeptically, conscious of her tone so as to not aggravate the redhead. Gaara rested her elbows on the railing and tucked a strand of crimson hair behind her left ear.
"Clan recognition or not, Inuzuka-san has no business facing off against a being like Naruto" she said vaguely. Before either her brother or sister could question her further, Genma's voice broke the silence in the room.
"Begin!" He ordered Naruto and Kiba. The early stages of the match were not confidence-building for those favoring or rooting for the blonde. Kiba, alongside his ninken named Akamaru, battered Naruto pillar to post. For every punch the excitable genin landed, he was hit with three in return, often from both directions. This pattern lasted for nearly three full minutes.
"Are you sure he's going to win?" Kankuro asked as Naruto was doubled over by a driving knee to his midsection. Gaara, who's facial expression had not changed one bit since the beginning of the fight, simply nodded.
"Yes" she said shortly. As the puppeteer opened his mouth to protest, Naruto realized his first major moment of success. As Kiba charged forward to strike him, the blonde planted his feet and swung a wild right-handed punch. The strike connected squarely on the Inuzuka boy's jaw and wobbled his knees. Naruto then followed up by kicking aside Akamaru, who had transformed into a copy of Kiba via a strange jutsu.
"Kid's got some serious fight in him, that's for sure" Temari said with an approving nod as Naruto made a hand sign. A hoard of clones then appeared in the arena, nearly fifty in number. From that point onward, it was a brawl. Kiba and Akamaru were able to defeat nearly thirty before the ninken was forced to revert to his form as a simple puppy. The fall of Akamaru instantly turned the tide in Naruto's favor, as Kiba seemed to prioritize the safety of his dog over his own victory.
"This fight is over" Gaara said bluntly as Naruto's clones assaulted Kiba from all directions. Her bold statement was proven prescient less than a minute later when the blonde's doppelganger's launched Kiba high into the air before spiking him back into the floor. The impact made Kankuro and Temari flinch.
"Geez. He mauled him once the ninken dropped. That was a thrashing" Temari said with a whistle. Genma, who looked as surprised as the fan wielder was, checked Kiba's body for a moment before shaking his head and opening his mouth to announce the victor.
"Kiba Inuzuka is unconscious! The winner is Naruto Uzumaki!" he stated. The blonde remained down on the floor for a few moments, seemingly to make sure that Kiba wasn't severely injured as he was tended to by the medical staff. Once the health of both Kiba and Akamaru was assured, he turned and began his trek up the stairs. Gaara followed him with her eyes as he stepped up onto the observation deck and leaned on the railing for support. Despite having won decisively, Naruto wore the memories of the match on his face. His cheek was leaking blood from a gash underneath his left eye, and his jaw was colored black and blue from the punches he had absorbed.
Gaara took note of his injuries and glanced back at the board on the wall, which was shuffling once again. After a few moments of waiting, the board stopped shuffling. Interestingly enough, the names that had appeared shared a common feature.
"Hinata Hyuga will now face Neji Hyuga!"
Naruto clenched his jaw and tightly gripped the railing as he looked on helplessly. A mismatch was raging below, and it was becoming difficult to watch. Hinata, despite a valiant effort, had been comprehensively brutalized for the better part of seven minutes by Neji. Every exchange favored the elder of the two Hyuga, and the clashes were becoming more and more one sided.
"Just finish her off already. You could have done it two minutes ago" Naruto growled as he fumed at Neji's cruel extension of a match well under his control. Unfortunately, the blonde didn't get his wish. For several more cruel minutes, Hinata was knocked around the metaphorical ring by whatever technique Neji felt like employing. Eventually, and mercifully, the branch Hyuga struck her in the chest with his palm, sending a spew of blood from her mouth and dropping her to her knees. At this, Genma stepped between the combatants and waved off the match.
'That went on for way too long' the blonde lamented angrily as Neji stood proudly over his crippled cousin. The look of shameless satisfaction on his face elicited a burning rage from Naruto. Before either Sakura or Kakashi could stop him, the excitable genin leapt over the edge of the railing and down to the ground. He landed roughly twenty feet from Neji, who cast him a sideways glance. The boys stared at one another silently for several moments before the tense stretch of soundlessness was broken.
"Have something to say?" the Hyuga asked confrontationally. Naruto took a step forward and narrowed his eyes.
"You took that way too far. She was done five minutes in" he hissed. Neji raised an eyebrow and chuckled.
"And what does it mean to you? To my knowledge, the two of you haven't spoken before" he asked. The blonde shook his head and threw up his hands in frustration.
"It doesn't matter! That was cruel and uncalled for! I don't need to be close to her to have an issue with it!" he yelled angrily. The Hyuga boy smirked insensitively.
"Well, unfortunately for you, there isn't a thing you can do about it. What's done is done" he said coldly before turning around and briskly walking away. The blonde stared him down as he walked up the stairs.