A/N: I appreciate any and all feedback/comments.

Chapter Three

Let the Games Begin

"How much further are they?" Naruto asked, glancing to the samurai at his left.

"No more than five minutes, sir," the soldier replied putting away a spotting scope.

"How many times do I have to tell you all to stop calling me that," the blonde muttered, shaking his head, "you can go regroup with the rest of your team."

"I don't know why you keep trying to convince them," Nagato said, folding his arms as he smiled at the teen's annoyance. He glanced at the samurai's back as he walked away. "I think you're actually beginning to annoy them."

They stood near the borders of Fire County along with the rest of the escort, patiently waiting to take over the job of the protecting the Fire delegation once they had reached Rain. As the delegation drew near, Naruto squinted and saw two large carriages along with several supply wagons surround by the participants as well as their own escort.

"You didn't forget the rosters did you?" Nagato asked, glancing to his left.

Naruto rolled his eyes and pulled out a scroll before waving it in front of the redhead. "No way am I gonna remember a hundred names – I'll leave that to you and Han." He paused and narrowed his eyes, looking into the distance. "I hope they don't expect to bring all those ANBU in here…"

"I'm sure most of them are here just as escorts," Nagato said, dropping his arms to his side. "It's time to greet them."

Ordering the rest of group to stay behind, the two liaisons rushed forward and stopped at the border, just as the delegation halted on the other side. Everyone was still for a moment before the doors of two carriages opened and both the Fire Daimyo and Third Hokage made their appearance.

"My lords," the two shinobi greeted, giving a quick bow as they got closer. "We hope your journey went well."

"So polite," the Fire Daimyo said, his nasally voice almost a whine to Naruto's ears. "Dealing with shinobi is so much easier than the other daimyos. They can be so haughty at times," he finished with a huff.

Naruto had to fight hard not to snort at the irony. Instead, he glanced to his side at Nagato.

"We had a good teacher," Nagato replied, a polite smile on his face. "With your permission, I would like to bring up the rest of your escort."

The Daimyo and Hokage shared a glance before they nodded, and Naruto disappeared with a poof.

"A shadow clone, hm?" the Hokage asked, smiling wryly as the large group of samurai and shinobi rapidly approached.

The original Naruto met them barely minutes later, giving another quick bow as he addressed the two leaders of Fire country.

"I'd just like to confirm that there have been no changes to your delegation, sir," he said, glancing at the Hokage as he unfurled a lengthy scroll, "just in case we need to call in additional escorts."

"A few of our participants fell ill, so I daresay that your escort should be more than enough," the Hokage said. A warm smile reached his eyes as he continued, "And it's good to see you made it back safely, Naruto."

"Do you really have to embarrass me now, sir?" he muttered so that only the Hokage could hear. He rolled his eyes as the old man chuckled before he cleared his throat, looking down to his scroll. "Escorts of the Fire Daimyo and the Lord Hokage – Chiriku, Sarutobi Asuma, Hatake Kakashi, Maito Guy, and a single team of ANBU."

He looked up as those who were called made their way towards him and he frowned as he looked at the ANBU, who remained masked. "I'm afraid you'll have to stay with the Lord Hokage at all times during your visit if you're going to remain masked."

"That won't be a problem," a white cloaked ANBU replied. "But we must insist on searching the carriages."

Naruto brought up a hand up to his left ear. "Incoming ANBU will be searching the carriages," he said, nodding to himself when he received a response. Stepping off to the side, he gave a curt nod to the squad leader. "They shouldn't trouble you, so feel free to move on ahead."

The ANBU swept past him in a flash, who were followed immediately by Kakashi and several of his nin-dog.

He gave a final quick bow as the Daimyo and Hokage walked past him at a much more leisurely pace, the rest of their escort following in their wake, but frowned as he stepped in front of a few genin, gently raising his hand.

"I'll have to ask you to stay where you are until your name has been called," he said, seeing their confused expression. "Standard procedure – you'll be called shortly."

"Jeeze Ino, didn't you hear them calling out names?" someone called out before laughing obnoxiously.

"Shut up, Kiba!"

Naruto glanced at the two genin, almost smiling as their banter reminded him of his own friends. He waved away their apologies and moved back to Nagato, pulling out a copy of his own scroll.

"Start from the top, will ya?" he muttered as he offered the scroll, "otherwise, this is gonna take forever – and I don't want to be stuck talking with them," he added, glancing towards a group of much older shinobi."

"Is that why you asked me to come along?" Nagato asked as he took the scroll. "Sometimes I think I indulge you a little too much," he said, turning around before he started to walk away.

"Well, you're supposed to help family," he quipped. "Besides," he muttered, "you're used to doing all the stuffy talking…"

He moved closer to the large group of shinobi and looked to the bottom of his list before he called out, "Yamanaka Ino, Yakushi Kabuto, Yajima Shin." He glanced up as the kunoichi from earlier walked forward along with two old shinobi stepped forward. "You all received your papers?"

They nodded before each pulled out a tiny scroll, unfurling it in front of them.

"Yamanaka Ino," he muttered, taking her scroll, "first time attending…Yakushi Kabuto, second time attending… Yajima Shin, second time attending."

"Your papers are in order at least," he said as he reached into a pouch, pulling out several square paper seals. "I'll need you to put these against your skin and focus some of your chakra into it," he said, passing one to each of them. He waited as they followed his instructions, watching an identical seal that was beside their name on the roster. "Good," he said, watching as the symbols darkened. "It looks like you're clear, so you can move on ahead."

"Everything is in order," Naruto said before turning to the rest of the ANBU and looked to another white cloaked squad leader. "We'll send word immediately if anything happens."

They returned a curt nod before the entire group vanished.

"Start moving out," he called out as he turned around. "Squads one through eight is on patrol – standard pattern. If you deem unauthorized individuals to be a threat, act first. Our route is supposed to be clear of everyone except for standard patrols."

He moved up with Nagato to the center of the group near the carriages before turning to the redhead with a grin. "So, how was talking with all the –"

"I apologize for interrupting…"

They turned to the ANBU who had appeared next to them, their head slightly bowed. He stood up straighter as he turned to Nagato.

"… However, the Lord Hokage wishes to speak to you," the ANBU finished, vanishing when he received a nod.

"You know," Naruto said, his gaze lingering where the shinobi had been, "I always wondered what it'd like to be in the ANBU." A wistful expression crossed his face. "I bet they get to see the coolest things…"

"You can talk to Han about creating a division if you really want," Nagato said, ruffling the blonde's hair, "but for now, I have to some more talking to do."

After he watched Nagato disappear, he moved up further to the left of the convoy, thoughts drifting to the many genin and the few chunin that the Leaf had brought. He found the demeanor of many of their shinobi odd, with some of them seeming quite capable while others seemed better off living a civilian life.

He slowed his pace to match the convoy as a large group of genin chattered excitedly near him, and he was reminded again of his own friends.

It's so damn busy this time of year," he muttered, frowning as he realized he hadn't had much chance to talk with the others over the past week – even the old man. He was shaken out of his thoughts by a loud voice.

"You know, you don't look very strong."

Naruto glanced to his right and raised an eyebrow at a boy, whose markings he recognized as those of an Inuzuka.

"Akamaru's telling me you are, but I don't see it…"

"Don't bother listening to Kiba," Ino cut in as Naruto was about to respond, "his dog's smarter than he is."

"I was just asking him a question," he growled, "I wanna see how strong I've gotten with Akamaru."

"You'll get plenty of chances to find that out," Naruto said, easily falling into the familiar banter, "that's what the Shinobi Games are about, after all."

"Can you tell us a little about them?" a girl with pink hair asked, "I tried to find out more about them, but there wasn't much in the books..." she trailed off, and then she blushed. "Sorry, I'm Sakura."

"Everyone calls me Naruto," he said, beaming, "well," he amended, scowling at the samurai, "almost everyone…" He looked back to the girl and folded his arms. "But most people would rather go to the events than read about them – and they change every time to try and keep things fair."

"Oh…well do you have any advice for us?" she asked. "We just graduated from the academy this year, so..."

He blinked in surprise. "Really? You guys must be pretty well trained then. Most of the shinobi are fairly experienced genin or recently appointed chunin."

"Kakashi-sensei thought we could use the learning experience," she said, a brilliant smile on her face, "we have our chunin exams coming up soon."

"Are you going to be in the games?" a sullen voice asked.

Looking to the Uchiha, he shook his head. "Wouldn't be fair – I'm one of the proctors, ya see," he added, seeing the boy narrow his eyes.

"So you are strong," Kiba said, a fierce smile on his face, "Heh, I wonder how I'd do against someone like you…" he trailed off as he glanced down at Akamaru, who had let out a small whine.

"I can't believe I'm agreeing with Ino, but your dog really is smarter than you," Sakura said, huffing as she folded her arms. "Naruto would crush you like a bug."

"And how would you know that?" Naruto asked, looking rather amused. "I don't think I've seen any of you before today…"

She pointed to his forehead protector. "There wasn't much about the games, but there was a lot about the Forbidden City." She paused. "I saw your tassels…you're one of the jinchuriki, aren't you?"

A wide smile spread across his face as he nodded.

"Fight me."

He glanced again at the Uchiha whose eyes geld an odd gleam in them. "What?"

"Fight me when we get to the Forbidden City," he watched as the boy blinked and two crimson eyes bored into his own, "testing these eyes against someone like you would be perfect…"

"I don't think that'd go so well with your leaders," he said, frowning as he noticed Sakura and another boy looked oddly uncomfortable.

"Naruto's right, Sasuke."

"Kakashi-sensei!"

He turned towards the lazy voice and saw that the jonin had appeared right behind them.

"He'd get in trouble if he started beating up our genin, you know," he said, a friendly smile reaching his eyes.

Naruto watched as it only served to make the Uchiha scowl darkly.

"Did you need anything from me, sir?" the blonde asked, looking back to the jonin.

"Nope," he said, still smiling. "Just came to check up on my students."

"You know," Naruto said, glancing to the book in the jonin's hand, "you might want to put that away when we get reach the city…"

The man just kept smilling.

"Don't say I didn't warn you," he muttered before looking back to Sakura. "And he's your sensei? Maybe I'm underestimating you guys…"

He was surprised when she just snorted. "He's not that great…he's a pervert and he's always hours late to everything."

He opened his mouth but he was interrupted as a voice rang in his ear.

"Multiple contacts at two o'clock."

Several clones appeared in a cloud of smoke, and they immediately dispersed in every direction while Naruto disappeared to the other side of the carriage, watching as three teams of the samurai broke off, thumbing open their swords as chakra bristled over their armored forms. He nodded in satisfaction as the gap they left behind was immediately filled.

Three of his clones set off immediately in the direction the sensor ninja had pointed out, with two more following a short distance behind. He grabbed a spotting scope from a samurai and peered through it as someone dropped down next to him.

"I only see a ton of smoke," he said, putting down the scope. He frowned at Nagato. "Any idea of what it is?"

"None whatsoever," Nagato replied, shaking his head, "we only have standard hunter teams out here."

A dull boom was heard as a plume of blackened smoke drifted into the sky, smeared with bright orange.

"Well, that –" Naruto stopped as he suddenly straightened. "It's Hanzō," he said before turning back to the samurai. "Regroup with the convoy!"

He and Nagato moved ahead of the group as a lone shinobi rapidly approached from the north.

"You're not supposed to be here," Naruto said, crossing his arms with a frown as Hanzō reached them.

The man just snorted as he looked down at the teen. "Remember whose country your old man's little city is in, punk." His eyes narrowed. "I'll go wherever the hell I want – you'd do well to remember that."

"Hanzō," Nagato greeted, stopping Naruto's retort. "Trouble?"

"Nagato," Hanzō said a bit more respectfully, giving a curt nod. "Ibuse felt something funny when he was stretching his legs. Turned out to be more missing-nin – small group that came from the south-east." He frowned and folded his arms across his chest. "It's the third group in the past week, same direction." Glancing between the two, he added, "Your little games always bring out the cockroaches…"

"River Country was having problems when I went to get their roster," Naruto said, looking worried. "Were they from Valley?"

Hanzō shook his head. "Missing-nin from the Mist. The others didn't have headbands and weren't in the Bingo Books."

The trio started walking as the convoy caught up, each caught up in their own thoughts.

"Did you get anything from interrogation?" Naruto asked.

"The earlier groups had suicide seals on them," Hanzō answered, "makes me think that someone sent them to take out one of the arriving delegations." He suddenly looked amused. "As for this group – I don't waste my time with small fry. Nothing left of 'em."

"We'll let security know," Nagato said. "They should increase patrols to the south-east."

"Just hurry up and finish your games so my country stops getting unwanted visitors," he said. An instant later, he vanished.

"He has such a huge stick up his ass," Naruto grumbled, but he grinned when Nagato tried to hide a smile. "Sometimes, I think he's actually related to Han…"

Naruto couldn't help but grin in excitement as they neared the Forbidden City, getting caught up in the dull buzz of the first timers behind him before they were rapidly drowned out by the noise ahead. The first gate stood wide open, and he saw people from all over the Elemental Nations walking the streets.

Glancing up at the commemorative plaque, he silently recited the words before the group passed underneath it, their excitement becoming more audible. He watched as the crowds parted for the samurai and shinobi escorts who surrounded the Fire delegation, ever vigilant.

"Man, I've never seen so many people before… and there's so many new smells!"

Naruto glanced back at Kiba, who was looking around wildly along with his dog, who was yipping loudly as he squirmed in the boy's shirt.

"Ooh, Asuma-sensei, can we go there to eat later? I've always wanted to try stuff from the other countries!"

"Chouji, think about something else besides food for once!"

He smiled at Ino's words when they reminded him of another kunoichi, but he shook his head as he walked on, glancing at the samurai that patrolled the streets as he passed them by. Turning his head to the left when he felt someone appear, he tilted to his back meet Han's gaze.

"Naruto," he said, giving the teen a nod.

"You got my clone's message?"

"Yes," he said. "Nothing else happened on the way?"

The blonde shook his head. "The rest of the route was clear."

"Good," He looked over the blonde's head, eyes searching. "Where's Nagato?"

"He's probably still talking with the Hokage," Naruto said, pointing a thumb back to the second carriage.

"Very well," Han said, frowning. "Tell him to come find me when he's done."

"Will do," Naruto said, giving a casual salute that Han scowled at before the man disappeared.

"Was that another jinchūriki like you?" Kiba asked excitedly, "I've never seen anyone like that before, that guy was huge!"

"Didn't you see his uniform?" Sakura said, "You could tell just by looking at him!"

He ignored them they neared the second gate, frowning when he saw another large escort group. Bringing a hand of to his ear, and muttered, "Hold position."

The lead samurai held up a small fan and the group immediately halted.

He moved forward ahead of the group towards the second gate, passing by what looked like the Water Country's delegation. Reaching the gate, he saw two familiar people waiting as the Water delegation's papers were checked once again.

"Mifune," he greeted, nodding to an older samurai who wore more traditional armour and only a single sword and gourd at his waist. He glanced to his fellow jinchūriki and gave another nod. "Utakata."

"Naruto," they both replied, the samurai giving a small bow while Utakata smiled.

"Was there a delay with your group?" he asked, glancing over his shoulder. "I just got here with the Fire delegation and was expecting to head in right away…"

"Not when they were with me and Fu," Utakata answered, crossing his arms. "Some missing-nin caught up to them while they were going through River Country, though."

"Hanzo caught a group of them too," Naruto said, frowning. "Looked like they came from River and were heading north. Ex-Mist. He mentioned there were others over the week too."

"They might have been trying to catch up to the delegation then," Mifune said, looking thoughtful. "I'll have send word back to Iron Country for additional support." A frown marred his usually calm expression. "We weren't expecting this many attempts."

"Did I hear that right?" a soft voice gently cut in. "Don't tell me that I'll have to thank that old brute…"

Naruto turned to the voice before he quickly bowed. "Lady Mizukage, I'm sorry for not seeing you there."

"Nothing to worry about," she said, smiling warmly, "after all, you must be busy, what with escorting the participants of all these countries." She paused a moment and looked the blonde over before her gaze settled on his face. "Hm. I think you'd get along with Chōjūrō quite well…"

She shifted to the side and he instantly knew that he was looking at her personal escort. His gaze immediately went to the bandaged face of Momochi Zabuza and the massive sword that poked out from behind him. Glancing at the other three – two younger and one older – he noticed that they too wielded swords.

Naruto couldn't help himself. "You brought four of the Seven Swordsmen?" he asked incredulously. He paused and scratched the back of his head, chuckling sheepishly. "Uh, no offence meant, Lady Mizukage…"

She laughed delightfully and he saw the younger shinobi with glasses blush. Personally, he couldn't blame the boy – he thought the Mizukage was rather pretty…

"Chōjūrō and Haku are still in training," she explained, a smile still gracing her features.

He glanced at the one who had blushed and to the massive blade that was wider than the boy. Then his gaze shifted to the innocent looking girl, who he also thought also was rather pretty, and the thin sword that was visible across her back.

"I'm Uzumaki Naruto," he said, giving a nod to the group, "it's nice to meet you all."

"You can call me Haku."

Naruto glanced towards her and

"M-my name's Chōjūrō" the boy said, raising a hand, "N-nice to meet you, Uzu – "

"Call me Naruto," he interrupted, flashing the boy a grin.

The boy just bobbed his head, laughing nervously. "Then nice to meet you, Naruto!"

"Chōjūrō," the oldest of the group chastised, "what I have I told you about being so –"

"Hush, Ao," the Mizukage called out politely. Her tone was almost motherly, but her eyes held a dangerous gleam in them as she smiled. "Or I'll put you to sleep… permanently. Let them have their fun," she added with a much warmer expression.

Naruto took a nervous step back at the killing intent that had briefly filled the air, watching as the man paled.

"O-of course, Lady Mizukage…" the man stuttered.

Zabuza snorted. "Way to practice what you preach," he drawled, crossing his arms as he shook his head. "Sometimes, I think the kid's manlier than you are."

Naruto watched them, bewildered. He glanced back at Mifune and Utakata, both who had looks of amusement on their face, apparently used to this behavior. He shook his head in wonder as his image of the Seven Swordsmen was completely shattered. Still, he was aware of exactly how dangerous these individuals were.

"Well, we won't keep you much longer, Naruto," the Mizukage said, giving him another warm smile before she turned and offered her papers to the guard.

"You know," he said, waving to his new acquaintances before facing Utakata, "they're definitely not what I expected."

"The Mizukage is a gentle person," he said, smiling fondly. "She didn't make any fuss you know, when the master offered to take me away."

"She can be scary as hell though," Naruto muttered, giving her another quick glance.

"That," Utakata replied slowly, a smile creeping up his face, "is also true. She only gets like that if you get on her bad side, so you should have nothing to worry about."

The blonde snorted, glancing to Ao. "I just met the guy and I already feel sorry for him."

"I'll see you at the meeting though – I have to show the Water delegation where to go," Utakata said, waving goodbye.

Returning the wave, he turned back to Mifune. "Have there been any other incidents with the other countries?"

"Grass reported a few missing-nin, but nothing else," he answered. "It seems there's only trouble brewing in the south."

Naruto blew out a breath. "River Country was having some trouble…their village was on the verge of collapse, so it's no surprise."

They fell into silence that continued as they watched the Water delegation continue through, allowing those of Fire Country to finally reach the gate.

"Crap," Naruto muttered, smacking his head. "I forgot to tell Nagato…" He glanced at Mifune. "Sorry, Mifune – have to go pass on a message."

The man just nodded in understanding, giving him a quick farewell that was returned.

He rushed back to the second carriage to see that the Hokage and Nagato were outside, idly chatting to pass the time.

"My apologies for interrupting, sir," he said, giving a short bow, "but Han asked that Nagato meet with him as soon as possible…"

"Hm, then I'd like you to keep me company, Naruto," he said after taking a puff of his pipe. He leaned forward and winked, whispering, "Or else I'll have to go and start talking with the Daimyo, which is something I'd like to avoid for a little while." He paused. "And drop the formalities – it's all I've been hearing since we left the village."

"It that's what you want, old man," the blonde said before laughing at the old man's amused expression.

"You've certainly grown quickly," the Third said, letting loose a small cloud of smoke into the air. "Jiraiya told me of his spar with you – I think he was more impressed than he let on."

"I don't think I even scratched him," Naruto said, grinning despite the fact, "it was fun though, sparring with someone new. Even if he did just beat the crap out of me…"

"Every good shinobi goes through that at some point," the Hokage said, emptying his pipe. "He said you'd be growing out of it soon, with the few things he taught you." Putting the pipe away, he looked at the blonde thoughtfully. "You wouldn't indulge an old man's curiosity would you?"

Naruto just put his hands on the back of his head and grinned. "I can't just go around giving out my secrets, though I might let you in on what I can do if you're willing to trade…"

The old man burst out in laughter, drawing the gazes of several people around them. A smile still graced his features as he settled down. "Bargaining with the Hokage like that… Jiraiya said you were a cheeky brat, but I didn't expect this! I guess it's been that long since I've had a chance to talk with you."

"You seem to having an awfully fun time here, Lord Hokage."

They both turned to the lazy voice, and Hatake Kakashi gave them a small wave.

"I hope I'm not intruding…"

"Of course not, Kakashi," the Hokage said gruffly, as if appalled at the thought. "I was just laughing at Naruto's cheek."

"I just came by to see what was going on – this is taking a little longer than I expected…my students are getting a little impatient," he explained as he put his book away.

"Yes," Naruto said, grimacing, "the Water delegation was supposed to arrive earlier, but they were briefly delayed."

"No trouble I hope," the Hokage said, frowning.

The teen almost snorted but stopped, remembering they weren't alone. "Nothing major…I doubt the Swordsmen had any trouble dealing with whoever it was."

They fell silent as the guards started checking their papers. Fortunately they didn't have to wait nearly as long with so many guards helping, and once everyone had passed through the gate, Naruto led the eager group to the back of the second circle, near the third gate.

"You'll be staying in the same lodgings as the previous years, sirs," he explained as they approached a large, five level pagoda that was surrounded by a high wall.

Passing through the gate, he greeted the samurai who stood guard and waited in front of the doors to the building, watching the gate close behind the last person. He cleared his throat and waited until he had everyone's attention.

"For those of you who are here for the first time, this will be your lodgings during your time here. The first three levels are where you will find your rooms – the final floor is strictly forbidden to all except for the Lord Hokage, the Fire Daimyo, and their personal escorts." He looked around to make sure he had their attention. "Samurai will be stationed on the fourth floor – and they will cut you down if you attempt to pass them. No exceptions. Do you understand this?"

He watched as they collectively nodded, a dull murmur reaching his ears.

"Secondly, do not attempt to leave or enter over the wall – you'll probably be crippled, or at the very least, you risk your career as a shinobi. Is this also understood?"

They nodded again, but none of them spoke this time.

"Thirdly, no guests are allowed here. The city has more than enough places for you to mingle with others. Finally, if you are not with one of your senior ninja, your identity will have to be verified at the gate. Please don't give them any trouble, as they are ordered to detain any suspicious individuals – and are permitted to kill if you are deemed a threat."

Then a smile threatened to split his face.

"Welcome to the Forbidden City. I suggest you all rest up – you're going to need it."

The lights went out, and a startled Uchiha Saskue nearly fell off the wall, barely managing to catch himself in time. As his Sharingan unconsciously activated, his gaze darted around the room as he jumped down to the floor, landing in a crouch. He moved next to the door in a flash, and opened it just enough to peek through the crack.

The hallway was dimly lit by candlelight, and he could see that the other Leaf ninja were also cautiously peering out of their rooms, their faces telling him that they too were unsure of what was going on. Gingerly opening the door, he left his room in a crouch and saw Sakura coming out of hers as well.

"What's going on?" she whispered, glancing around. "And where's Kazuo?"

"Right here."

She flinched and whirled around before hitting the boy's shoulder. "Dammit, don't do that!"

"Sorry," he said, laughing sheepishly.

They looked down the hallway as others began emerging from their rooms and saw some of them heading towards the stairs.

"What should we do?" Kazuo asked. "Kakashi's on the top floor…should we see if he's headed down here?"

Grunting, he shook his head. "You heard what the blonde said – the samurai will cut us down." He glanced to the other end of the hall. "We should head outside."

The others nodded as he led them down the stairs, and they met the others of their graduating class on the way.

"The hell is going on?" Kiba grumbled, rubbing his eyes.

"This is likely part of the games," Shino said, unperturbed. "The proctor did tell us to rest when we got here, after all."

"But we spent like days walking here!" the Inuzuka exclaimed, looking miffed.

"Exactly."

As they left the building, they saw that the rest of the grounds were also engulfed in darkness, and that the only lights were the small pinpricks near the compound's gate.

"I guess we keep going out, then?" Kazuo asked quietly.

Quickly agreeing, they moved swiftly in the moonlight, leaving their residence behind them before they followed the other shinobi that were heading towards the second gate, sticking close together.

"This is so troublesome," Shikamaru muttered. "Why couldn't they just tell us where to go?"

"Quit complaining and keep moving," Ino snapped. "I'm already creeped out at seeing a whole city go dark…I don't want to have to listen to you whine, too!"

As they neared the second gate, they saw several ninja gathering on the other side. Three walls had also been put up, and the shadows they cast made the area look oddly foreboding.

He felt like he was walking into some sort of slaughterhouse.

The group slowed as they reached the gate, but didn't go through.

"Hinata," Shino asked, his voice calm, "can you use your Byakugan?"

Nodding, she brought her hands together and the blood vessels along her temple bulged as she activated her dōjutsu.

"I-I only see the others around us and the walls." She focused more chakra into her eyes. "It's hard to make anything out on the other side…"

Sasuke didn't bother waiting around after her words. Instead he just moved ahead of the others, and his teammates quickly followed suit along with the rest.

Then everyone except Hinata paused as they passed through the gate.

"Holy shit," Kiba whispered, glancing the near around the area. "Is this gonna be a thousand person brawl or something?"

He observed the gathered shinobi and saw that while some looked to be fairly calm, most looked jittery and a few looked even downright terrified at what was going on.

"If this is a free-for-all, we should stick together in the beginning," Shikamaru said, looking oddly serious for once. "It'll increase our chances of lasting until the end…"

They all silently agreed as they moved to the walls, putting their backs to it as several more shinobi entered through the gate. None of them spoke as tense minutes passed, which they used to gauge the other shinobi, but then everyone went quiet as the gates started to creak shut before they closed with an ominous boom.

Pained cries were heard as they were flooded by bright lights, and he felt his heart hammer against his chest as a sudden roar washed over them. Blinking, he still saw nothing but the walls that surrounded them.

"What the hell…?" Kiba yelled, barely being heard over the roar.

They saw the other shinobi begin to turn around, and when he followed suit he saw the nine jinchuriki standing with them in front of the massive gate.

Silence swept over them all as the middle figure stepped forward.

"Welcome to the shinobi games," the enormous man said, his voice booming from several speakers. "For those of you who are participating or observing for the first time, I will start with its purpose and general rules."

"You have all decided to become shinobi for one reason or another, but you've been lucky to experience peace considering that our history is wrought with war." He paused, letting the words sink in. "The games are an alternative way of showing force; providing the world a glimpse of up and coming talent from each village that participates. Here, you will experience a tiny fraction of what it means to be a shinobi – as well as to find out whether this is the life for you."

He gestured to four shinobi at his sides.

"The nine of us will be the proctors for the games – our word is law, and we ask you not to forget this. You are guests, but we will remove you if need be – and that brings us to the rules for the duration of the games."

"First, being a shinobi means putting your life on the line. You have all signed your waivers, but I will reiterate; there is a chance you will die. If at any point you wish to withdraw, you are free to do so without punishment. However, killing for the sake of killing is greatly frowned upon – and with that said, I will point out that the games run on an individual point system based on performance in each game. Unnecessary killing will result in point deductions."

"Second, there is to be no poaching. There exist bloodline limits, weapons, and knowledge that are sought after, and if you make it your purpose to take such things, you will be hunted down – and I can guarantee you will not leave this place alive. Every country and village has agreed to this."

Sasuke swallowed nervously as the unpleasant thought of someone plucking out his eyes crossed his mind. He glanced at Hinata as the girl looked particularly frazzled by the words.

"You will jeopardize your country's standing and future chances to partake in any games. Countries in the past have turned over those foolish enough to break this rule without a second thought, so keep that in mind."

"Now, as for what the Shinobi Games actually are, it is four different competitions which are randomly chosen and whose specific details vary year by year."

He watched as the shinobi stepped back and the two at the far left stepped forward – a redhaired boy who looked to be in his mid-teens and a blonde woman who looked to be in her twenties.

"The first event is the Shadow Games," the boy said, his soft voice drifting over them from the speakers. "There will be a change to the rules for this game – there is to be no killing or permanent injury allowed. If this rule is broken, you will be disqualified immediately."

"As a shinobi," the woman continued, "you will more often than not find yourself in the dark. The Shadow Games will give you a taste of what this means. Soon, each of you will pick up a scroll, and you will open it at the twelfth chime of the bell – exactly at midnight." She glanced down at her hand. "That is in exactly one minute."

Sasuke jerked back when a large scroll almost landed on him, and continued to dodge for several more seconds as the area was filled with them. As he glanced around, he noticed that they all looked exactly the same. He picked up the one at his feet.

"They're not going to tell us anything else?" Ino asked, glancing around. "That's way too –"

"Quiet," Shikamaru said as he began to think. "We only have a minute…Shadow Games…"

"The proctors might impersonate us," Shino suggested. "Or some form of sensory deprivation."

"What about the no killing?" Kiba asked.

"Doesn't matter," Sasuke said before lowering his voice. "Do you all have code –"

The bell started to chime, and the crowd started roaring in excitement as they counted down.

Every ninja moved towards the walls and put their backs to it, all the while glancing around nervously, their hands prepared to open their scrolls. None of them bothered to say anything – the crowd was loud enough to simply drown them out.

He had to admit that he was a little nervous; he'd never been on a battlefield like this before with so many other shinobi – but at the same time, he felt a small amount of exhilaration at the thought.

He would finally be able to prove that the Uchiha were the strongest.

"Three!"

"Two!"

"One!"

Tearing open the scroll, he prepared himself, and then –

Silence.

As he leapt out of the smoke, he wondered for a moment if he'd gone deaf – and whether that was part of the game. As he started to calm, he realized that wasn't the case, and his attention shifted to the fact that he now found himself in the moonlight.

He was also completely alone.

Glancing up, he saw enormous metal skyscrapers, but didn't have time to stare as he leapt into the shadows as something noisily approached. A few seconds later, he saw what looked to be a genin nervously stumble around the corner and he glanced at their forehead protector, frowning when he didn't recognize the symbol. Waiting until he was sure things were clear, he examined the scroll he'd been given.

"Standard storage seal…"

He placed his hands on it and focused smoke chakra, releasing its contents. With a burst of smoke, two more scrolls were revealed and he opened them before he raised an eyebrow at what he saw.

"A red turtle…and is that supposed to be lightning?"

He glanced between the two scrolls, feeling a little lost.

"What the hell am I supposed to do with this?"

Then the sky rumbled and it started to pour.