Author Note: I would like to thank everyone that reviewed the last chapter and had added this to their story alerts or favorite story.
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto
It had been one week since Naruto had seen Gaara and his teammates as well as the ghosts that followed him. She had tried her hardest to figure out a way to help the redhead boy but nothing seemed to work for her. All of the ideas that she had made it seemed like she was pretending to be something she was not.
She didn't want to follow him around or praise him when she herself did not know him that well and she really didn't want to look or act like a fan girl. They were a disgrace to Kunoichis everywhere.
It also didn't help that the Yondaime Hokage was pushing her to train even more hard for the Chunin Exams. Apparently he had seen Kakashi nominated her and her teammates for the Chunin Exams. The bastard of a sensei didn't even tell them until the last minute.
Looking in the mirror, Naruto had to wonder if it was truly a good idea to change from the outfit that she usually wore. She always wore the orange jumpsuit but Minato or Sensei as she liked to fondly call him had insisted that she wore something different.
She won't admit this to the deceased Hokage but she did like the outfit that she wore. Wearing the red kimono blouse with a dark colored orange obi and the dark shirt under her kimono as well as the stockings seemed more comfortable to wear then that of the jumpsuit. It also didn't help that the Hokage told her that she looked like her mother when she wore that outfit.
"You are going to be late for the Chunin Exams if you don't go now." Minato pointed out to the blond girl.
The blue-eyed girl sighed at her sensei and answered, "I have a bad feeling about this examination."
"I see but what are can you do, Naruto-chan? Your teammates would be very disappointed with you if you don't come."
"Disappointed? Furious is the better word to use, sensei. Have you seen how violent Sakura can be? Or how big an ego Sasuke has?"
The Yondaime chuckled uneasily at her words but didn't disagree with what she said about her teammates. She sighed at the Hokage and apologized to him about her tone. She seriously was under a lot of stress and her teammates weren't helping her either.
"I am going," Naruto informed the ghost. It became her habit to tell the ghosts that visited her when she leaves.
"I am coming with you." Minato said. "You would at least need some help during the first part of the Chunin Exams."
The blond haired girl raised her eyebrows at him but didn't dare question the Hokage. If there was one thing she learned from hanging around ghosts, it was that when they offer her help it meant that a challenge was coming or they wanted something in return. With the Hokage, it always meant the first.
"Alright but I can't speak to you with my teammates around." Naruto informed him. "Don't want them to think anything bad of me."
He raised his eyebrows at her in disbelief and the blond haired girl just simply gave a shrug as her response. He chuckled as they made their way through the door and headed to meet up with Sasuke and Sakura.
Much to Naruto's amusement, her teammates did not seem to notice the change of attire. Frankly, the blue-eyed girl knew that the only way that it would ever get Sakura's attention if she simply transformed to Sasuke or to do something equally as amusing or embarrassing. Oh well, it wasn't like she wanted her to recognized her.
Sasuke, on the other hand, had noticed the change but just did not say anything because he was brooding. Through she could almost sworn that she had seen him blush but it must have been her imagination.
She sighed as they walked towards the room where they were supposed to turn their applications in. There had been a test on the second floor where people were tricked into thinking a different room was the right one and Sasuke nearly spilled the beans but hadn't due to her suggestions.
"That had been a close one. You would had more competitors if you hadn't told him not to do it." Minato said as he decided to stand beside Fugaku Uchiha. The Uchiha head looked ready to disagree with the Yondaime but decided against it, knowing that his son would have done it.
Naruto chuckled at her sensei and Fugaku. The two of them don't get along but yet for some strange reason those two are still friends. Their behavior towards each other reminded her of another pair but for a life of hers, she couldn't think whose.
Her train of thought was broken as they walked through a large arena-like room that seemed oddly misplaced in the Academy.
"Hey, guy with dark eyes!" a loud voice yelled as they reached the center of the room.
Looking up, Naruto saw a boy wearing a repulsive green spandex jumpsuit standing on the balcony that surrounded the room.
"A mini Gai!" Minato and the rest of the Uchiha clan yelled in horror.
The blond haired girl tilted her head at them and looked at them in confusion, not understanding why they seemed so fearful. Who was this Gai? And why were they seemed so fearful at the fact that this guy was a mini version of him? It made her wonder what else the ghosts are afraid of.
"What is it?" Sasuke asked, looking at the spandex wearing boy in annoyance.
"Will you fight me right here?"
The blue-eyed girl looked at the older boy in curiosity and then with griminess before looking at her teammate to see what he planned to do. He is an idiot! Thought Naruto in disbelief, knowing now what he planned to do. They are not supposed to get into a fight during the Chunin Exams any person with common sense will know that.
"A fight right now?"
"Yes."
"Son, you can't get into a fight right now! Not when you are about to enter the Chunin Exams!" Mikoto yelled at her son's ear, forgetting that her son couldn't hear her. She looked at Naruto for help to convince her son not to do something so reckless.
"My name is Rock Lee." Lee introduced himself as he did a front flip off of the balcony and landed gracefully "When you want to learn a person's name you introduce yourself first, right?"
"Uchiha Sasuke." Scoffed Sasuke. "Heh, so you know?"
"I want to fight you." Lee said as he did into a taijutsu stance. "I want to test my techniques against the off-spring of the genius ninja clan."
"You hear that Namikaze, he called my clan a genius!" Fugaku said in glee.
Minato sweat-dropped at this change of behavior while Mikoto simply chuckled at her husband's enthusiasm.
The blue eyed girl sighed and said, "Sasuke, normally I am all for it for you get into a fight but…" she nodded her head at Lee. "I don't think it is the time for you to get into a fight especially when the Chunin Exams do not allow competitors to fight outside of the exams. You can get us disqualified!"
"We also got thirty minutes as well." Sakura added.
"Challenging me knowing the Uchiha name," Sasuke said, not paying attention to Naruto's warning and Sakura. "Frankly you are a fool."
"You tell him!" Fugaku said, encouraging his son to continue on with the insults.
The blond haired girl scoffed at his words. Naruto had also paid attention to Lee and can already tell the outcome of this battle. The stance that he used and the speed that he had done to be in his taijutsu stance told her how outclass Sasuke was.
"You got something to say, dope!" Sasuke growled.
"Yes, milady do you have something to say!" Fugaku growled at the girl. Normally he got along with the girl just fine, as she had been trying to help his son with his other son.
Naruto smiled sweetly at him and answered, "Yes, you are the fool not him!" he glared at her but the blond didn't stop there. "Think carefully, why would he done such a thing? Why would he go to great lengths to do something as risky as this? I doubt someone would do that unless they are confident to win and look at his fighting stance and compare it to yours."
Minato looked at his daughter in proudness and pride. He was happy to see that she had taken his words of wisdom and used it for her teammates. Through he honestly doubt that this time her words will work on him. The mini Gai had insulted the boy's family.
"So what! I would be the one to be disqualified not you guys!"
The blond haired girl twitched her eyebrows at him and said, "I rather prefer it if we are all in there like a team!"
"He insulted my clan! Thick brows must learn what this name means!"
"Please…" Lee said, not helping Naruto with what he just elder boy then proceeded to make a "come hither" motion with his hand.
The blue eyed girl stomped her foot at them and the whole building started to shake. Sasuke and Sakura looked at her in shock, both of them knowing that the blond only do that when she is loosing control her temper. Which almost rarely happens.
"You are testing my patience, Sasuke! He may have insulted your clan but that does not mean you pick a fight with him!" Naruto growled. She then sighed and said, "However you seemed really stubborn to continue this fight so fine you do the fight but I want this fight over in five minutes, if not I am going to personally finish it for you."
Sasuke nodded numbly while Sakura looked at her teammate in anger for threatening the Uchiha heir. How dare she threaten Sasuke-kun? He could beat her up less then ten minutes and the same goes for the thick brow boy.
Unbeknownst to Naruto and her companions, Gaara was standing on the balcony watching them. His eyes gleamed in excitement at the shockwaves that Naruto had produced.
Karura frowned at the craze look on her youngest son's face. She knew that look all to well in his face but she wasn't worried about him killing the girl. She didn't know why but something told her that it would be hard for him to do such a thing to her.
"Why waste your time with the monster? He killed all of us, there is no redemption for him. He won't stop killing innocent people not until he is dead." One of Gaara's victims asked her.
The brunette woman narrowed her eyes and boldly said. "He will stop it! It is my husband and Suna's fault that he is this way! Not once had you shown him any kindness and treated him with hate!" She then added to them. "And his change will be from Naruto!"
The ghosts scoffed at her words and Karura frowned. She looked down to see Naruto and silently prayed that what she has just said was right. She didn't want to see her child like this.
"I am really sorry about my son!" Mikoto apologized to Naruto as her son got beaten up by Lee. The blond was sure that the woman would have blushed if it weren't for the fact that she was dead.
"If this was a mission, your son could have gotten them killed because he did not listen to the words of his teammates!" Minato informed Fugaku, who was watching the match between his son and Lee with avid interest.
"Teamwork is not that important."
The rest of the Uchiha clan agreed with Fugaku, all except Mikoto. The Uchiha matron shook her head in disapproval at her husband words while Naruto and Minato gave him a heated look.
Now, the blond haired girl knew where Sasuke got his lack of teamwork and his ego from. Honestly, the boy looks more like his mother but acted more like his father. She wondered whom does Itachi act like, hopefully like his mother.
"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura yelled, drawing the ghosts and Naruto's attention back to Sasuke. The blond shook her head at the sight of Sasuke falling down to the ground before looking at the clock to see how many more minutes she had before she had to finish the fight for him. Hmm, four more minutes to go before she does her job.
She then looked around the area to see if they were being watched. Her eyes widen when she saw Gaara and the ghosts behind him. She gave him a small smile, causing him to frown.
She gave him a small wave and gestured for him to come down but his response from her was a nod as a greeting before he left her and Sakura to watch the match.
"Anything going on between the two of you?" Minato asked, glaring at the retreating form of Gaara.
The blond haired girl frowned and then shook her head at her teacher in confusion. Why would there be anything going on between them? They were nothing but acquaintance but Naruto hoped to change that. She needed to help him and being friends with him was the only way.
"How could this happen? Sasuke-kun is unbeatable!" Sakura said, looking at Sasuke and Lee in confusion and anger. "He must be cheating!"
"Why do you say such a thing, Sakura?" Naruto asked. She watched in boredom as Lee wrapped Sasuke with his bandages. Right from the beginning, she knew the outcome of this match.
"Because Sasuke-kun is unbeatable!"
The blue-eyed girl frowned at her teammate's response and then gave her teammate a dark look. What she was about to say would get Sakura angry but it was time she tell her the harsh reality.
"No one is unbeatable not even Sasuke! He is a rookie Sakura not a jounin, it is expected that he would loose to someone that has more experience. Not only that, Sasuke may be the Rookie of the Year but I bet you that compare to some of the competitors here, he is easy for them to kill or defeat." Said Naruto.
"How dare you say that about Sasuke-kun!" Sakura said. She then raised her hand and was about to slap the girl when Naruto took her arm and put it behind her back.
"I am your teammate Sakura but even I have a limit to my patience," whispered Naruto coldly in her ear. "Raise your hand at me again and I will break your arm, got it!"
The pinkette fearfully nodded at her teammate and the blond nodded and then released her arm. Sakura couldn't help but stare at her teammate in fear. That was the first time that Naruto had ever done such a thing to her, she had seen her do it to Ino but never to her. She must have really pissed her off.
It was in that moment a pink, paper, windmill flew in between the two soaring ninja, pinning the bindings against the wall.
"That is enough Lee!"
Naruto and Sakura turned around and were shocked to see a huge turtle in front of them, wearing a Konoha headband around his neck.
Rock Lee changed his direction, controlling his fall so that he fell to the floor immediately. He twirled in the air, holding onto the loose binding until he landed. While Sakura called out Sasuke name as he continued to fall down to the ground.
The pink haired girl barely reached to him on time but was still able to catch him. She glanced at her blond haired teammate, who simply shook her head at Sasuke before walking towards them with great reluctance. She scowled at her teammate's behavior.
"Are you alright Sasuke-kun?" Sakura asked.
The blond haired girl was the one to answer the question. "He isn't injured but his pride must have gone real down for being beaten by Lee-san." She answered, smiling at her teammate. "Now what did we learn today?"
"Shut up, Dope!"
The blue-eyed girl shook her head at his threat and continued to talk. "I did warn you that you were going to be beaten but you didn't listen to me so it is only fair that I say, I told you so."
"Naruto-baka stop talking." Sakura yelled.
Naruto shook her head at her teammate and said, "I will not stop talking because Sakura, he needs to learn the hard cold truth that he isn't better then anyone! I am not going to be like you and tell him that he is so cool and strong; I am going to tell him the harsh reality that is he isn't the strongest genin in this whole village! There are many genins stronger then him!"
"Naruto!"
"She is right! Your son deserves to know the hard cold truth!" Minato said to his friend.
"Someone has to tell him." Mikoto agreed as she looked at her son in worry.
"Oh by the way is it possible for a turtle to become a ninja?" asked Naruto, looking at the turtle in front of them with curiosity.
Sakura looked at her in disbelief and yelled, "How would I know!"
"No, Naruto-chan a turtle summon can not become a ninja." Minato answered, smiling in amusement at his child's question.
"You think you can get away with an excuse like that? You already know what it means for a shinobi to reveal his special techniques!" The turtle yelled at the terrified Lee.
"Yes!" screamed Lee.
"Are you prepared to pay?" the turtle asked.
Lee reluctantly nodded his head and hunched his back before saying, "Yes."
"Then here comes Gai-sensei!" The turtle yelled as he disappeared in a cloud of smoke, revealing the freakiest thing Konoha had to offer. Maito Gai.
"Oh no, please god not him!" The ghosts yelled. It had never been so amusing for Naruto to see the panic looks on all the ghosts face including the rigid Fugaku Uchiha, who looked ready to run away.
"Geez! You guys are the epitome of youth!" Gai yelled. Naruto face turned pale as she noticed the pronounced feature on his face and the clothes that he was wearing.
"He has got even thicker eyebrows!" yelled Sakura, voicing out loud her teammates thoughts.
"That isn't the bad part!" Minato said, looking at Gai in weariness. "The bad part is the fact that he always talked about youth or his insane training methods."
The rest of the ghosts nodded in agreement with him and Naruto looked torn from laughing at their expression or asking him about the insane training methods.
"Did I mention that I had never seen eyebrows like them?" Naruto asked her teammates.
They shook their head and added their own comments about Gai and Lee's eyebrows. She smiled in relief at the fact that she wasn't the only one that found it disturbing.
"Hey! Stop insulting Gai-sensei!"
"Well excuse me for not knowing how to react! I mean first it was you then that summon turtle and now him! Do we attract weirdoes or what!" said Naruto, trying her best not to shout at Lee for saying that to them.
"What did you say?"
"Lee!" Gai said, waving his hands to his student to come closer.
"Oh yes…" Lee asked, going closer to his sensei.
"YOU FOOL!" Gai slammed his fist into Lee's face sending him to the ground causing all three genins to gawk in shock. Naruto looked at the ghosts who simply shook their head as if it was a normal thing and it might be if they had been seen them around a few times.
"You are…you are…"
"Sensei…" both student and teacher had tears in their eyes.
"Sensei…. I…. I"
"That is enough Lee, you don't need to say it."
"Gai-sensei!"
"Lee!"
"Gai-sensei!"
Both ninja hugged each other making Team Seven gape and the ghosts to turn even paler if possible at the sight in front of them.
That is so wrong in so many levels. Thought Naruto, paling at the sight in front of them. If she had thought the hugging was worse then it became even worse when she saw the sunset jutsu. She tried dispelling it but to her horror it didn't work.
"Sakura, do me a favor."
"What?" asked Sakura.
"If it doesn't end in the next ten minutes, please kill me."
The pink haired girl nodded and said, "Alright but only if you do the same for me."
Naruto nodded in agreement and was grateful that her teammate would do something as kind as that. She even has limits on what was considered to be affectionate but the sight in front of her was so wrong and in so many levels.
"You think it is going to end anytime soon?" Sakura asked, looking at the clock.
Naruto frowned and then asked, "Why are we even still here? Let us go when we have the chance."
The other two members of Team Seven nodded in agreement and walked as quietly as they could to the stairs but were stopped by Gai. How he came from the other side of the room to the stairs so fast she didn't know! But she did know if they didn't get out of their soon, she will get sick.
"How is Kakashi-sensei doing?" Gai asked.
The blond frowned before sighing at the fact that their sensei knows this weirdo as well. Was it too much to ask for a day without weirdoes? Well to be fair she was one as well but not by choice.
"You know Kakashi?" Sasuke asked.
"How can he not! That man always challenges him!" Minato said, smiling at them. "Their challenges are quite insane if I do say so myself."
"You got to be kidding me." Naruto muttered as Gai began to tell them about how their eternal rivals and how much stronger he was then Kakashi. The blond didn't doubt the man but she did doubt about how sane he was.
Still she had never been more glad to be in Kakashi's team till now. She shudder at the thought of her sensei being like Gai or even worse if that was possible. Thank Kami for giving her Kakashi and not Gai.
It was another ten minutes before they were finally allowed to go to the classroom to do the exam. She was very thankful that they reached five minutes before the exam as being late was not something she liked or patient about.
Naruto was surprised to see Kakashi standing in front of the classroom where the first exam was taking place. She grinned at the sight of Obito Uchiha, who gave her a wave.
"Long time no see, Naruto-chan!" Obito said, grinning at her. "And here I was thinking that you would never want to see me again."
She silently made hand signs to tell him that it was his fault for not seeing her and not the other way around. He pouted at her and told her that he had been too busy keeping an eye on Kakashi.
"Still no excuse not to see Naruto!" Minato informed his student.
"Now we can properly take the exam." Kakashi said, returning her attention back to him.
"What do you mean?" asked Sakura.
"Probably means that this exam is meant to be taken by teams of three." Naruto answered, smiling at her teacher.
"But he said taking the test was an individual choice. You lied to us?" Sakura accused their sensei.
"Probably didn't tell you because he was very lazy to or to busy reading those books of his!" Obito assured the girl. Naruto arched her eyebrows at him and he was reminded again that he was dead.
Kakashi then went on to explaining why he didn't tell her the truth and Naruto was glad that he didn't tell her because of the reasons that Obito suggested. Seriously reading those books of his would make him forget to tell the girl! The boy got to think of better reasons.
None of them noticed that a mysterious figure in the shadows that was watching Naruto with interest or the gleaming look on his eyes as he watched them enter. No, they had never realized that the moment that they entered the doors their lives would change and not for the better.
Author Note: Please review.