Chapter 1: Ninja clash, teams collide!
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, I only own any original characters brought into this scenario.
Sasuke's POV
In a lush green bush, a wary eye wandered around the scene before it. A large, open expanse of grassy land lay before it, yet it could not see what it so urgently sought. Then, the moment of truth, a slight rustling in the foliage nearby, the signal had been given, it was time to act.
Five Kunai knives were gripped fiercely by one hand, while the other readied to launch its owner as fast as it could. He was off, racing through the underbrush, trying to keep pace with a particularly excitable Naruto, which wouldn't be easy. He had been strangely adamant in his plan though, he had sounded so sure.
So, just this once, Sasuke had allowed him to formulate a battle plan. To Sasuke's great surprise and relief it had not been some simple, attention warranting farce, but a solid, effective strategy.
They would each stay a certain distance apart, moving in timed intervals towards their target. But suddenly, the sprinting Sasuke came to a shuddering stop, as if utterly paralyzed by some unknown force. Instantly, he knew what had occurred, he had been spotted.
'Shikamaru!' He shouted in frustration, the shadow possession Jutsu forcing his muscles to remain tight and clenched, this would tax him of his strength greatly.
An irritatingly smug Shikamaru wandered out from his hiding place, a burrow beside a large tree. 'You guys, always rushing, sometimes you've got to take things more slowly.'
Sasuke cursed under his breath, he had been wondering why they had seen no trace of Shikamaru and his squad until now, yet still that was only one of the three squad members, where were the others?
Sasuke only grinned back defiantly, 'Well it's not as though we can count of you and you're squad to come at us, if we'd waited for you we'd be there all day.'
Shikamaru scoffed, 'Not likely, that slave driver Ino wanted us to squash Sakura's team, if it was the last thing we did. She can be such a drag when she get's fired up, especially around Sakura. Anyway, Choji, not to rush you or anything, but my Chakra is running a little low.'
Sasuke's eyes widened; the two of them together? Now that was trouble, especially since his team-mates were no-where to be found.
'Human Boulder!' was all Sasuke heard in response to Shikamaru's comment and in a matter of moments, the vast, bulbous form on an expanded Choji came charging blindly out from the trees. Well, the Shinobi did seem to have some control over his general direction, but it was greatly limited.
He thanked lady luck for the fact that the position he was in was mere inches from the path of what was, quite literally, a "human boulder". Sasuke was lost for a moment, unable to grasp exactly why Choji would choose to avoid him, surely the Ninja would be able to adjust, just enough to deal a deadly blow to his adversary…unless…
The Flag! With Choji's speed using this Jutsu, he would have their flag and win the game before Naruto even reached the other side. Sakura was already probably in a tangle with Ino, those two could sniff each other out in a match like hunting hounds.
Naruto's POV
Meanwhile, the team's number one hyperactive knucklehead Ninja was in fact racing back towards their own side, victorious flag in hand, laughing all the way. He simply couldn't believe his luck, no sign of any enemy the whole way! And when he managed to arrive at the flag sight, no one stood guard. Naruto had heard of negligent Ninja before, but what kind of team where they facing here? All he had to do was find his way back to his team's side of the field and victory was there's, too easy.
He raced across the open field that was the center of their playing field, leaping for joy when he found no-one there to stop him. His kooky grin and overjoyed bounds came to an abrupt end, as he noticed something large, round and out of control, heading right for him, from their side. There was just one explanation for such a phenomenon, Choji Akimichi had gotten a hold of their flag and was now racing back to their side to claim victory, this would never do.
The future Hokage would never admit defeat from someone like Choji, there was just no way. So, with a quick hand sign, a multitude of shadow clones had constructed a living wall, a blockade against the speeding mass.
Choji's formidable Jutsu collided with Naruto's shadow clones, showing some sign of resistance, but the shadow clones quickly dispersed into puffs of white smoke, all that running had left Naruto without the necessary Chakra, he had only just managed to create the number of clones required to block Choji, but he couldn't possibly strengthen them all to the required standard, not been he had that much energy. Choji raced through and, undoing the Jutsu, held up squad seven's flag, Naruto had let them down.
Back at the training area, by three wooden beams, the Sensei from each squad stood waiting. But Choji and Naruto stood proudly together, it was a good match of capture the flag. Besides, Naruto could always claim he had put up an impressive fight in a tooth and nail stand off between the pair, but still, no matter which way he tried to put it, he had lost to Choji, that in itself was a let down.
The pair was surprised to see Asuma and Kakashi standing vigilant watch over an explosive looking Sakura and Ino. Sasuke and Shikamaru were also sitting patiently awaiting the final result.
'What happened with those too?' Choji asked gruffly, pointing at the pair of forcefully separated females.
'It was rather disappointing actually,' Asuma began; his voice stern and ominous.
'Yes, these two were found fighting indecently by every stretch of the word, hair pulling, name calling, you'd think they had never had a day of training in their life.'
Sakura's expression changed from one of rage to one of sheepish cowardice, looking in the opposite direction to her Sensei, Ino wasn't much different.
'Anyway, how'd the other teams go?' Naruto asked excitedly, trying to avoid Sasuke's condescending glance, he was obviously not pleased with Naruto's performance.
Asuma looked up, seemingly forgetting the disappointment caused by his student, 'Yes, now that was interesting…' He drew the sentence out, tugging at Naruto's patience.
