Various (Jiraiya's) POV (Iron Stadium - Land of Iron)
His eyes widened as he saw the jutsu in action. Tsunade's eyes widened as well at the rapid developments. But it was all worth seeing Jiraiya's mouth hanging open as if he was a man who had attempted to catch flies.
She smirked while saying," What? You did teach him that month, right?"
He shut his mouth while coughing into his hand," Of course I taught him. Don't forget we're talking about the prodigy of the great Jiraiya here!" He spoke while guffawing like a madman.
"He totally learned that from a different person!" Tsunade exclaimed while laughing at his expense. "I can't believe he decided that his master of a Sannin was no good master!"
Jiraiya regained his bearings and pride before explaining, "No, he didn't learn that from any other master. He mastered it himself."
Tsunade's eyes gleamed at the information. Even more than any jutsu, she really liked the boy's eyes. Those determined eyes….. Maybe he really was Minato's kid.
X-X
Naruto's POV
At the peak of his ascension and at the apex of his victory, he was utterly ignorant of it. Instead, his staring match held all of his intentions. The small on his face felt almost forced as both projected their intent unknowingly. The indescribable bond of jinchuriki allowed them to be practically linked. It wasn't focused on communication but more of a projection of experience and emotions. Their wills clashed, ideals combated, lives compared, wills pushed upon each other.
Naruto was shocked by the amount of pain he felt from Gaara. Naruto had never been the type to measure the struggles of his life upon others, yet he could tell Gaara had struggled in a way that Naruto was ignorant of. It was as if he could taste the betrayal, loneliness, and despair from Gaara. It seemed to be tempered by a cold intelligence, a mind that had been forged by pain. But at the end of this wave, Naruto felt malice. The negativity of his life had made Gaara aim it outwards. He had rejected his humanity; he hated humans. He intended to change the world for those who suffered his burden. Yet it was done not out of any love or sense of justice. Gaara intended to do so by any means necessary. Violence wasn't a drastic measure for the redhead. Gaara used it as a mere tool. He wanted to make Naruto see his logic in joining him as a brother. Not only to help him reach his goal. But Naruto could almost swear he could feel Gaara needed companionship.
Naruto felt almost smothered by the presence; his jutsu even flickered. He growled as he focused and sent out his own wave. Just as Gaara had done with him, Naruto sent a primal wave of intent. He showed the love he had experienced, the side of humanity that Gaara had never been exposed to. Happiness, loyalty, and the most human of all emotions; hope. His will flared, and his chakra seemed to do the same. He sent his defiance, refusal to allow Gaara to continue, and his wish to be there for the lonely monster. He saw Gaara blink as if shocked. Their momentary link, unintentional as it was, had faded. But Naruto's full power did not.
Chakra is powerful, plentiful, and seemingly suffocating. It surged throughout Naruto, its power weighing on everyone present as if it was imbued with Naruto's power and pain.
He felt odd as his full power flew through his chakra pathways. In the month, it seemed his chakra had become more powerful, his mind sharper, and a cold focus would cover him. He felt it now, his mind becoming more focused and logical. Naruto's eyes almost glowed as if they had spotted his goal and knew how to reach it. The same mindset that had taken him in training settled over him now. Naruto welcomed it.
It was time to show them.
X-X
Tenten's POV
She barely crawled to her feet glancing upon her shield as she did. Tenten winced as she saw it was dented and nearly fragmented. It had been her strongest shield… and the blonde had somehow kicked it apart… she was low on chakra, and Naruto had seemed to somehow become even stronger. He had been holding back this much? Why did he seem like a different person? Were his eyes always this intense?
Tenten decided his eyes unnerved her. This was a completely different person from what she had seen before the Chunin exams. That person was…terrifying. Still, she regained the gleam in her eyes. As much as she would have liked to say, she was afraid. The adrenaline running through her veins wouldn't let her back down. She formed a desperate plan as she resummoned her goblets. She flared her chakra into them overloading them, Danzo had always approved of sacrificial plans afterall.
Naruto landed and slowly marched forward. He had deactivated that absurdly powerful wind technique, likely realizing the goblets may cause such to backfire. But Tenten was under no illusion they were on even ground. Naruto seemed to be fresh as ever and had shown that he was much more of a threat than she had believed. He knew this as well, clear from his cautious yet confident approach. Tenten grimly smiled as her goblets bubbled menacingly. Naruto's eyes widened as he somehow caught on. He managed to form a simple seal but that was all.
Her goblets spilled over in a more enormous explosion than any previous ones.
Hundreds of blondes flew through the cloud. Most were crushed and burnt by the explosion but Naruto had somehow summoned hundreds to effectively smother the explosion. Her mind warned her but it did little good. Naruto grabbed her by her shirt. With a grunt of effort he hauled her around to build force before spiking her into the ground. Tenten did not even feel the impact, just an explosion of darkness in her vision. Tenten was sure she was dead at first before the shock wore off. 'This… new technique… must make me more durable…' her tired mind decided. Naruto landed slightly behind her in a slow controlled fall. Tenten somehow crawled to her feet instinctively.
Her world was spinning with all the blood rushing through her mind. Her balance was gone. She stood up on wobbly feet…before a silhouette of the man came into view, whispering ..." You're in the way."
That was all she got before she was knocked unconscious by his blade.
X-X
Naruto's POV
Naruto sighed as he lowered Tenten onto the ground gently. He had intended to make her surrender, but she had pushed his hand and forced him to knock her out gently. So out of it, the shockingly powerful Tenten had been, that he merely jabbed his handle of Riptide into her gut.
Kakashi poofed behind him with his classic orange book in hand and looked at it all as if uninterested. But Naruto could see the eye smiles the man somehow communicated with. He was even prouder than he had been.
Naruto smiled, but the moment was somewhat ruined by the stony silence of the audience. Some muted applause came from shinobi in the crowd who had no choice but to respect a battle that was clearly Chunin level, but there was a silent minority that seemed to only spotlight the majority silence.
Kakashi crouched down to check on Tenten, gingerly doing so in case she was injured before nodding, allowing several medical officials to come onto the field and aid Tenten off it.
Kakashi then stood straight and flared his chakra to get the crowd watching.
"The first round of the Chunin Exams Finals is complete. The victor: Naruto Uzumaki!"
Hiruzen's POV (Kage Box - Iron Arena)
Hiruzen smiled slightly, proud of both Genin. They had fought well, conducted themselves proudly, and ended a battle as Hiruzen wished all fights would with smiles and companionship being found in battle. His happy mind was interrupted by Yagura this time.
"So that is your jinchuriki then? He acts as if he's human. Nor did he show its power. How odd." Yagura offered as the fight wrapped up.
"As always, you damn tree huggers make everything so emotional." A complained. "And your weapon has a bleeding heart like that? He could've ended the fight before it began if he hadn't held back."
"It is certainly a foolish trait for shinobi." Rasa agreed.
"One could argue he is saving some techniques for later. Wouldn't be the first time that's happened in these exams." Onoki countered.
"The strong have no need to hide their strength." A countered.
"True, only the weak need such a strategy." Yagura seemed to agree.
Hiruzen barely paid attention, seeing yet another one of his was up to bat. "It seems the next match is set to begin." The other Kage all locked eyes on the next match.
Gaara of the Sand VS Kiba Inuzuka