Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. Naruto is the property of Masashi Kishimoto. If I did own Naruto I would be rich, and not let any characters that could have been developed more die. Also Naruto wouldn't be a naïve fool or stupid at times. I am just doing this for fun and in no way making any money off it.

This will be rated M for safety reasons and now let's get this party started.

(Thoughts)

BOLD: Kurama speaking or Naruto in Biju form.

Chapter One

A Teachers Nightmare

Iruka Umino couldn't believe on what he was hearing right now. The Chunin Exams were now coming close soon and Kakashi Hatake, Kurenai Yuhi, and Asuma Sarutobi wanted to allow the Rookie Nine to enter into the exams which caused him to wonder what these three were thinking?

In his honest opinion none of the Rookie Nine should be going into the exams as they only had about six months experience and he doubted they had killed anyone yet. He had talked with Naruto before when Naruto let him know about his C turned A Rank mission and the young Chunin couldn't believe how stupid Kakashi was in continuing the mission and that he ignored the proper protocols that all Jonin should go through when a mission has increased in rank. Deciding enough was enough he started to protest against his fellow shinobi's decisions.

"Lord Hokage wait a minute I protest to this decision!"

The three Jonin and the aged Hokage looked over at Umino which caused Hiruzen to voice the question that came to his mind.

"Yes Iruka what is it?"

"Hokage-Sama while I understand that all three teams have gained enough of the required missions in order to compete in the exams it is too early for them to enter and they should wait until they have more experience!"

The group silently listened as Iruka continued to make his worries known to the aged Hokage.

"Another thing you should know is that I was their teacher and I know more about them as they were once my students, so if anything they are not yet ready for these exams. They need more time or these exams will destroy them."

After he was done talking, Kakashi decided to speak his mind on the Chunin's opinion about the decision he and his fellow Jonin made about their students.

"When I became a Chunin I was six years younger than Naruto is now."

"Naruto is nothing like you!" Iruka stated heatedly as he couldn't believe the gall of this man in front him and stepped forward before demanding an answer.

"Are you trying to get him killed?"

"Well they are always complaining about not being challenged enough so maybe wiping them out in the exams will teach them a lesson. A little pain is good."

"W-What did you say?"

"Oh nothing fatal of course, but seriously Iruka relax."

Iruka growled at how casually the Copycat Ninja spoke as if he were discussing the weather to him and couldn't believe the nerve of him.

"Listing I understand how you feel. It is very personal to you and it upsets you but…"

"All right Kakashi back off you said enough." Kurenai spoke up as she could be more sympathetic toward the young Chunin since he was one of the few to be kind to Hinata and try to help encourage her to be better because of the problems the young girl had with her clan.

Kakashi however would not let up as he wanted to make his point across to both the Genjutsu Mistress and Iruka.

"On the contrary Kurenai, Iruka needs to hear this. He needs to realize that they are not his students anymore, they are mine."

Asuma could only shake his head at Kakashi and wish that he would lay off already. Kurenai couldn't help but frown since she understood Umino's feelings in the matter. Iruka however was not going to back down; even if the Hokage demanded him to stop he would get his point across.

"Well so far you have been ANYTHING but a teacher to Naruto or Sakura! From what I heard you've been favoring Sasuke over them and you barely trained them in anything except for one chakra control exercise, which you should have taught them after they passed your test but didn't teach them until a MONTH later!"

This caused everyone to look at Kakashi wondering if Iruka was telling the truth or if he was overreacting as none of the shinobi in the room could think that the Copycat Ninja was that lazy. As for Kakashi he couldn't help but frown at the way Iruka was questioning his teaching methods and before he could reply Asuma decided to speak.

"Wait what do you mean Kakashi taught his students a month later and who told you this?"

"Naruto told me this and it was a day after he came back from his mission to Wave Country which I learned became an A-Ranked Mission when it was supposed to be a C-Rank mission. I honestly didn't believe him at first and decided to ask the Hokage about it to see if it was true."

"Wait a minute; Kakashi had his student's continue an A-Ranked mission?" Kurenai couldn't believe what she heard and looked to the Hokage to see if it was true and she wasn't the only one as all eyes came on him.

Hiruzen could only sigh as he feared he would be asked about this and could only tiredly rub his forehead from the minor headache that was starting before answering the question everyone wanted the answer to.

"In case all of you are wondering yes it is true. Kakashi continued the mission to Wave when he found out he was lied to and had asked his students on the matter of whether or not to continue. Unfortunately they chose to do so, something I might add was the wrong chose in the matter as Kakashi should have called for backup before his confrontation with Zabuza Momochi."

"They ended up facing Zabuza?"

This came from Anko Mitarashi who was a beautiful but deadly kunoichi whose hair was purple and in a pineapple style. She also wore a tan overcoat with an orange mini-skirt along with a mesh body suit that covered her body. Her eyes were light brown pupil-less and she had a large bust.

"Yes it is true Anko and with Naruto's help he managed to not only save Kakashi but it helped give Kakashi time to defeat Zabuza and would have landed the final blow had it not been for some outside interference."

Hiruzen couldn't help but be proud of Naruto for his quick thinking and then continued on were a masked Hunter-Nin who in actuality was Zabuza's accomplice. The Hokage then told the events that took place on the battle at the bridge were they faced off against Zabuza once more with his associate who was called Haku and the battle that happened on the bridge. Everyone became shocked when they learned that Naruto had unintentionally used the Kyuubi's chakra in order to defeat Haku and the ending result of the mission were Haku died protecting Zabuza and The Demon of the Mist killing Gato for his betrayal and afterwards the bridge becoming complete. After the elder Sarutobi finished his story Asuma was the first to speak.

"Kakashi, just what the hell were you thinking on that mission? You took a bunch of newly minted batch of Genin on an A-Ranked mission and didn't even call for backup? Not only that you just started teaching them the Tree Walking exercise after a month? What is wrong with you?"

The student of the Yondaime Hokage didn't like the way everyone was looking at him and questioning him. While it was true he did bend a few rules he believed that he was capable enough to handle the mission and protect his students as he felt that a real life experience would help make them grow closer together so he decided to speak out in defense.

"With all due respect I felt that I could handle the mission and my students needed to learn to work together since they hardly get along with one another. Being out in the open has actually made them closer and better as a unit plus with the Chunin Exams they can learn what the world is like and that is to kill or be killed."

"You are just being lazy and not taking your duty as a sensei seriously!" Iruka spoke out as he didn't like Kakashi's attitude and wondered if he didn't realize the danger Naruto and his team would be in if he lost control to the Kyuubi.

"I am being serious, and perhaps you would like to tell Asuma and Kurenai why they can't let their students compete in these exams?" Kakashi spoke in a cold tone to Umino.

Hiruzen didn't like were this argument was going and decided to put a stop to it before things got out of hand.

"That is enough, both of you! Iruka I understand your concerns about Naruto and the others but you need to understand that the choice is not yours to make for them. They are considered adults now by shinobi law and now fall under my jurisdiction."

"Hokage-Sama with all due respect maybe we should listen to Iruka since he raises a valid point. I held my students back from entering the exams since I believed they needed more experience."

Everyone turn to see Maito Gai who was the Jonin-sensei of Team Nine. He wore a green spandex suit with orange leg warmers and his hair was in a bowl style and he had the largest eyebrows anyone ever seen but he was one of the most powerful Taijutsu users there ever was.

Hiruzen considered Gai's words and looked to Asuma and Kurenai for their response with the two nodding as they wanted to know what faults their students held and might reconsider entering their students for the exams. Looking to Iruka he spoke to the young man.

"Iruka I would like to hear your opinions regarding all the rookie genin that Kakashi, Asuma, and Kurenai want entering the exams and if your answer is sufficient enough than I will give my answer regarding the matter."

Iruka was a little nervous with everyone in the room staring at him but he wouldn't back down now as it was his hope that the Hokage and the others would understand his concerns for his students, especially Naruto. With a deep sigh he began to speak his opinion regarding the Rookie Nine.

"I want everyone to know that I've been keeping tabs on the teams mentioned who managed to pass the test to become Genin and I have my sources which I will not share at this time but I will start with Team Ten."

Iruka looked over at the son of Hiruzen Sarutobi and began with him.

"Asuma I noticed that Choji spends most of his time eating instead of getting motivated to train more with you and his teammates. While I understand that the Akimichi must consume a lot of calories in order to perform their jutsu's but Choji eats far too much. Then there is Shikamaru who hasn't been taken his training seriously and I heard he would rather spend his time watching clouds instead of training plus I have a feeling he is a lot more intelligent than he lets on. And finally we have Ino who barely trains at all, wasting her time trying to look pretty and is on some ridiculous diet. She's stuck living in some fantasy world where she expects Sasuke will come and save her if she is ever in trouble. Ino really needs to grow up before she ends up getting killed on a real mission or worse."

Iruka paused to catch his breath before addressing his comrade once more.

"I have talked with Choji a few times when he goes out to eat at the ramen stand I go to Naruto with and I learned that you don't interact with them much and just have them go to their respective clans for training. Ino, Shikamaru, and Choji are not their fathers and should learn to think outside the box so to speak because they could end up getting separated or Shikamaru could end up becoming overstressed if the others become too reliant on him since he's been friends with them longer."

Asuma honestly didn't like how he was being addressed like some newly minted Jonin but he held his tongue for now and he knew he would be hearing it from his old man later on about handling his students. Iruka then turned to Kurenai to address her.

"Kurenai I don't question you're teaching methods but I learned that Hinata, Kiba, and Shino don't interact with each other much and that you act more as an overprotective mother toward Hinata rather than a Jonin-Sensei. Now before you argue you should know that while those traits are good they will not help Hinata develop at all and she will only continue to lack the confidence she needs."

Kurenai bit her lip to keep her anger in check but decided to listen since she wanted to hear Iruka's opinion about her students and maybe change her mind if the reason was sound so with that in mind she decided to ask about her last two students.

"And what about Kiba and Shino?"

"Kiba is very brash and reckless in which he tries to exert his leadership to be the alpha male of the team as most Inuzuka members do which could lead to problems between him and Shino as he is calm, collected and makes decisions through logic like every member of the Aburame Clan. Like Asuma you have them focus on their clan techniques instead of thinking outside the box so to speak. You need to be more firm with them to keep them in line and you mustn't be soft with Hinata a lot. She is a shinobi now Kurenai and is no longer a child in our eyes."

The Genjutsu Mistress wanted to argue with the Chunin before her as she felt insulted and a small part of her felt that because she was a woman that she was being questioned about her methods and though she honestly didn't wish to be too strict with Hinata considering her clan looked down on her.

Iruka finally turned to Kakashi to address the wielder of the Sharingan with a frown.

"Finally there is you Kakashi as your team is by far the worst. Every day you show up to your students two hours late and only have them go through team training drill exercises and perhaps only three or four D-Ranked missions before dismissing them. You haven't taught them any other chakra control exercises other than the tree walking exercise which you should have trained them in the first place after they passed your test. Not only that you do not provide the motivation for Sakura who has still been on some diet like Ino and I honestly believe she would take her training more seriously after what happened in Wave Country."

"Iruka I shouldn't have to tell my students what to do every time we finish a mission or a training exercise since I'm sure they are old enough to do that by themselves now."

"You are supposed to be guiding them to be ninja Kakashi, not babysit them! Another thing I learn is that you are not balancing the team and have been focusing more on Sasuke Uchiha than you're other students. I understand the fact that you are the only one who can train Sasuke in the use of the Sharingan but Naruto and Sakura shouldn't have to suffer because of your favoritism, especially when Naruto wants to become a ninja and is taking his training more seriously."

Kakashi could only frown at the accusation that Iruka was giving and even having the nerve to question him thinking he was incompetent in his training of his own students and decided to lay down his own verbal assault.

"If you have such concerns for Naruto Iruka, then maybe you SHOULD HAVE let him pass on his second attempt at the academy instead of holding him back. After all you allowed Gai to take a student who was better off being kicked out since he couldn't perform a simple jutsu at all."

This caused everyone in the room to frown and it made Gai glare at Kakashi for using such a remark about his student since he knew no one supported Lee and he was made a Genin thanks to him sponsoring his student and a part of him wished that Naruto was sponsored by someone who could look passed his status as a Jinchuriki.

Iruka didn't like the remark on how Kakashi was accusing him of purposefully holding back Naruto and before he could say anything else the Hokage decided to end this before things really got out of hand.

"That is enough of this right now! Kakashi you had better not ever accuse Iruka with something like that ever again considering I could accuse you of weakening our forces from the Genin Teams that you had failed over the years."

Hearing that from the aged Hokage caused Kakashi to become silent as he felt that was a low blow from him since he believed none of the previous teams understood the values of teamwork. Hiruzen then looked to Iruka.

"Iruka you have made your point and once more I understand your concerns for the Genin that were your students but you can't always be there for them including Naruto so you must trust in their judgment if they wish to take these exams."

"Hokage-Sama I'm sorry if I am out of line but are you serious? Do you honestly believe that a bunch of rookie Genin who only have six months of experience and most likely have never killed before are able to take on other Genin who probably have more experience and have even killed before be able to survive in the Chunin Exams?"

Everyone within the room began murmuring about the question Iruka posed to the Hokage and some even wondered the same thing as they knew the chances of newly minted Genin becoming Chunin was one out of a hundred chances. The Hokage decided to end this debate with an idea that came to mind that would work in everyone's favor.

"I have decided on how to end this debate and there will be no arguments to my decision. As of this moment I will have a couple of my best Chunin test out the current rookie's to see on wither or not they are ready for the Chunin Exams. Iruka I want you to stay for a moment while the rest of you are dismissed."

Every shinobi had left the room except for Iruka as he wondered if he was in trouble for his outburst toward Kakashi and the others. When the last person left it was just now Iruka and the old Hokage who calmly walked up to him and gave him a stern look.

"Iruka I understand on why you do not wish for the newest graduates from the academy to enter into the exams, especially Naruto but you can't always be there for him and your outburst may have caused you to lose some respect from your peers. Now why did you act the way you did?"

Iruka could only hold his head down as he knew he angered the Hokage as his emotions had gotten the better of him. With a resounding sigh he looked to the aged shinobi and began to explain himself.

"I'm sorry for how I acted Hokage-Sama. There was no excuse for my behavior as it was unprofessional and I should have been more understanding of your decision along with the others. As for the reason I acted the way I did I won't make excuses for it either since my reason is childish."

"What was your reason's then Iruka?"

"I had a nightmare Hokage-Sama and it had something to do with Team 7."

Hiruzen stared at the young man in disbelief and wondered if he was serious? Looking into his eyes he could tell that Iruka meant every word and wanted to know more about this.

"I'm sorry Iruka but what doe's having a bad dream have to do with the Chunin Exams and with Kakashi's team entering into it?"

"What I saw in it frighten me Hokage-Sama. So much so that it felt real and it felt like a bad omen."

"What exactly was it you saw though?"

Iruka took a deep breath to collect himself before sharing his nightmare with the God of Shinobi.

"I was standing in the Konoha cemetery and it was at night with the weather being filled with storms. I was wondering why I was here when I saw Kakashi, Kurenai, Asuma and you along with everyone I knew standing before a grave shedding tears for whoever it was I made my way over and I tried to speak but I couldn't for whatever reason. I stood before the grave but there wasn't any name on it except for a blood stain and the symbol of the leaf. That is when I noticed that Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura were nowhere among the crowed and that was when I realized one of them must have died. The next thing I know I heard a hissing sound coming from somewhere. It grew louder by the minute and when I turned around I saw huge white snake with glowing yellow eyes and…it had a Hitai-ate in its mouth that was covered in blood."

Hiruzen Sarutobi became slightly pale when he heard this from the young Chunin before him since this could only mean one thing and it involved his traitorous student.

"Hokage-Sama are you all right?"

Shaking his head to clear his thoughts Hiruzen looked at Umino before replying to him.

"I'm all right Iruka I was just surprised by what you said as it reminded me of something from my past."

Iruka wondered what he meant by that until he realized on what or rather who the Hokage was speaking about but before he could make a reply Hiruzen held up a hand silencing him.

"I know what it is you are about to say but I rather you didn't. Do not worry though I will make sure to add extra security during the exams to make sure nothing happens to anyone whatsoever."

"Thank you Hokage-Same, if that is all I will take my leave and I hope it was just a bad dream."

With those words Iruka bowed to Hiruzen before taking his leave, leaving the aged Sarutobi with his own thoughts.

(I hope that you are right Iruka and that all it was for you was just a bad dream. I just pray that it is and Orochimaru does not take the life of Naruto or anyone for that matter.)

To Be Continued…

Authors Note

This is the first chapter to my newest story that is a challenge from Notgonnasay09's Death of Sakura Challenge. I'm sorry for not updating my story's or starting on my crossover's I mentioned before since I have too many ideas and real life is anything but kind and simple. Anyway I hope you will all like this newest story and I hope you read and review along with my other stories. I also want to thank my friend and fellow author KingKakashi for helping me with the title to this story as I couldn't have done it without him.

I would also like to thank another friend and fellow author Leaf Ranger since I asked him for suggestions as well with one of his rants on his profile. He made a point that none of the Rookie's including Team 7 where ready for the exams as they couldn't have had that much experience and I mean no offense but I have to agree with him that Kakashi was lousy sensei to Naruto and didn't help him out much until the Shippuden series.

Before I explain what the challenge is I want to talk about the manga in Naruto and Chapter 691 had me in tears at the end as it was a touching scene between Naruto and his Dad. I figure the series would end and everyone would be free from being trapped in the plants but then Sasuke being the piece of shit that he is decides he wants to kill all the Kages and control all the tailed beast to create a new world. I hate to say this but I thought he changed for the better but he is still the gay ass douchebag who wants dishonored Itachi's memory. I hope Naruto kills him and Sakura better not get in the way. Also in the Bleach manga I really wish that bastard Mayuri Kurotsuchi would just die already and I hate what's been going on in the series. But enough about that stuff as now is the time to talk about the rules to the challenge.

Rule number one Sakura must die at some point during the exams before the invasion. Exactly how she dies is up to the author but Notgonnasay09 gave some suggestions. He wants us to be creative about her death and another thing is Sakura must stay dead and there must be no revivals to keep her alive as it would defeat the point of the challenge but we can have it were Kabuto would use the Edo Tensei to torment Naruto but she has to stay dead.

Rule number two Naruto, Kakashi, Ino, and Sasuke must be affected in some manner of Sakura's death and it's up to how the author writes it but keep in mind there is more than one way to react to death. We got to be creative with how everyone's reaction is and not have everyone be all emo or a homicidal maniac.

And finally rule number three which is in regards to pairings. Naruto can have one woman or even a harem but the only restriction to this is that it must be a woman, who was at the Chunin Exams in canon, which also means the max limit on the harem is the number of women at the exam. If you don't know who was there, here is the list Notgonnasay09 has.

Hinata Hyuga, Ino Yamanaka, Tenten, Temari, Kurenai Yuhi, Anko Mitarashi, Karin, Kin Tsuchi, Ayame, Hanabi Hyuga, Hana Inuzuka, Tsume Inuzuka, Yugao Uzuki, and finally Tayuya.

The last five are a bit of stretch as it is; also you cannot change someone's gender just so they can be paired with Naruto-i.e. Female Gaara or Female Neji, nor can you just include whoever you want to the exams just to get the pairings you want-i.e. no adding Fu, Samui, or Female Haku.

One more thing is how you deal with the issue of the Kyuubi or rather Kurama is up to you. For more information about this challenge please see Notgonnasay09's profile.

Now just so everyone knows I will not be pairing Naruto with Tsume, Hanabi, or Ayame. As for Karin I'm honestly not sure about pairing her with Naruto since I have no idea how far related they are to each other as I hate incest. If you think I should pair Naruto with Karin then please let me know in your review or if I shouldn't. I plain to let Naruto have a harem and Anko is definitely going to be in it because she's one of my favorite shinobi babes and Hinata as well.

I'll post the next chapter when I can and I'll try to update my other story's when I can and I want to say thank you to all those who read and reviewed my story's. Until next time everyone.