Chapter Eight
Jounin Exam and New Team
"So why are you here?" She asked again.
"Oh, well I'm the Jounin overseeing your Exam today. My duty is to judge your ability to see whether or not you are performing at a Jounin level. In addition, I can step in at any time to make things harder. In that case, not only would you have to reach the other side of the battle arena but you'd also have to defeat me," he explained.
"I see. I'm going to go out on a limb and assume there are booby traps setup everywhere," she said.
He nodded, "Yes there are. Let's get started."
They walked inside and Kakashi went up to the viewing level. The entire building was pitch black. It was zero visibility. She carefully attempted to asses her surroundings. Focusing, she closed her eyes and focused on the sounds around her. She started inward taking her time. So far, so good. There weren't any traps activated. She decided to proceed on her tippy toes. Maneuvering around she was able to avoid the traps.
Kakashi stepped in after about five minutes. She heard his heart beat closer than it was when she started out. He started out with a simple attack; kunai and shuriken being thrown her way. Staying focused she dodged each and every one of them. Her eyes stayed closed. When she dodged the last one, a trap was activated. She opened her eyes and quickly dodged it.
Once she was out of the way Kakashi activated his Chidori. She got her lightning palm ready. They charged at each other.
"Lightning Palm!" She yelled and nailed him in the chest.
He flew back a few feet. Her attack would definitely had done a lot less damage than his. She defeated him and it only took one attack. Continuing on, she ended up making it to the other side of the building and completing the exam. Kakashi passed her. She was officially a Jounin.
Zemaria reported back to Tsunade with Kakashi about the exam. Kakashi informed her that Zemaria had the capability and battle skills needed to be at the level of Jounin. Tsunade accepted his decision and she became the new leader of his squad which she was formerly a part of. Kakashi was dismissed and Tsunade placed a photo of a young boy around her age on the front of her desk.
"You'll be leading Team Kakashi formerly Team 7 from now on. There has since been a member added. I'd like you to keep an eye on him. His name is Sai," she told her.
"Is there a specific reason why you're requesting my keeping an eye on him?" She asked.
Tsunade nodded, "Yes. He came direct from the Foundation an extension of the Anbu Black Ops led by a man named Danzo. The Foundation was supposed to have been dismantled a long time ago back when the Third Hokage first took leadership of the Village. Apparently it's still around."
"So you're saying you don't trust Sai," she deduced.
"That's right. I don't trust him. Danzo hated the Third. Because of my being a former student of his, Danzo doesn't like me either. He'd do anything to prove I'm a bad Hokage," she told her.
Zemaria took in all of the information, "All right Mother, I'll keep a close eye on them."
Tsunade explained her first mission with her old squad. They were to investigate some recent movements of the Akatsuki. They were plans she hadn't been informed about during her mission. Two of the Organization's members were spotted not far from the Land of Fire. She wanted them to gain Intel on why they were poking around in the area.
After being dismissed, she met up with Naruto, Sakura, and Sai. They were unaware about the leader change. She waited by the main gates for them. Kotetsu and Izuma were there keeping an eye on things like always. They were happy to see her.
"It's so good to have you back here in the Village Lady Zemaria," Kotetsu smiled.
"I'm glad to be back. You know, I'm a Jounin now," she smiled back.
"Really? Well that's great news!" Izuma congratulated.
Naruto, Sakura, and Sai finally made it to the gates. They were surprised to see Zemaria there. Sai was confused as he hadn't met Zemaria before.
"Zemaria? What are you doing here?" Sakura asked.
"I've been appointed your new leader for the squad. I took the Jounin test yesterday and passed. Mother wanted me to take over for Kakashi," she explained.
"Is something wrong with Kakashi-Sensei?" Naruto asked.
She shook her head, "No, he just has a lot of other important things he's been asked to do so he'll be unable to lead the squad for a while."
Naruto appeared to still be mad at Zemaria over her mission. It wasn't like Naruto to hold a grudge for more than a few days. Zemaria knew something was wrong with him. He hadn't really said anything since he realized she was leading the squad now.
"Why did Grandma Tsunade pick you to lead this squad?" He said a hint of anger in his voice.
Zemaria's voice was gently for once, "Naruto, you don't understand. When I left the Village it was for a high ranking mission. It wasn't a real betrayal. If it were, I wouldn't have come back and the circumstances would have been far worse. If I were to betray the Village, I'd have tried to kill Mother. Not because I'd be following Father's suit but because she'd be the only one that could successfully apprehend me."
"I still don't get it! Why not just go on the mission and gather the information without staging a betrayal?" He asked.
"That wouldn't have worked. It was the Akatsuki and they're too smart to let someone gather intelligence without getting caught. They had to believe I betrayed my Village and was wanted by them. The explosions that went off that day were only made through an elaborate Genjutsu. It was activated using a secret technique through paper bombs. Trust me, I knew what I was doing. It was highly thought out," she explained.
"I guess I understand better," Naruto said.
"Come on, we have a mission to do," she said.
They left the Village. Zemaria at first didn't acknowledge nor did she ask about Sai. She wanted to silently observe him during part of the travel. She also wanted to see how he interacted with Sakura and Naruto. The three of them had been on the team together for only a few weeks. Zemaria had been back in the Village for a couple of days. Within that time she never came across Sai.
"Um- if you don't mind my asking, is there a reason why you haven't asked about me yet?" Sai asked walking next to her.
"I'm a silent observer. I was told you were recently placed in the same squad as Sakura and Naruto. I just figured I'd see how you interact with them is all," she told him.
"I see. Zemaria, was it? You're no older than myself, Naruto, and Sakura," he noticed.
"That's right. I was on this team a while back. We were the only squad with including Kakashi-Sensei; five people. There was one extra person in the group that graduated and that was me. Since they needed to place me with a group, I was placed in Naruto and Sakura's along with Sasuke," she explained.
Sakura randomly asked, "Oh I forgot, do you want us to call you Zemaria-Sensei even though you're the same age as us?"
Zemaria smiled, "You can keep calling me Zemaria."
Sai asked, "What about me?"
She glared at him, "You can call me Lady Zemaria."
"It appears as though you do not like me very much," he said without emotion.
"I have trust issues. It'll take time before I start to trust you... Sai," she said.
Zemaria explained the mission to them. She directly and openly made it clear to Sai that if he did or said anything to upset or piss Naruto or Sakura off she'd kill him. They were her friends and she'd protect them with her life. After explaining the mission, they continued on their way. Two of the Akatsuki members; Hidan and his new partner Zetsu had killed Chiriku of the Twelve Guardian Ninja.
In normal circumstances a mission like this would have been given to Asuma and his squad. However, they were off on another mission. It was up to Zemaria and her squad to find Hidan and Zetsu. They had killed Chiriku because he had a bounty on his head. Asuma too had a bounty on him as he was part of the Twelve Guardians.
After they took care of those two, they were to follow up on a lead in concerns to Deidara and Tobi. Zemaria knew that these missions would be dangerous. She was chosen for them because of her extensive knowledge on each member. The only one she wasn't sure about was Tobi. She hadn't been around him as much as the others.
Sakura noticed Zemaria looked a bit down or worried, "Zemaria, is every okay? You seem a little down or maybe a little worried about something."
"Oh, I was just thinking about the mission and who we'll be up against. These Ninja are no joke. You found that out the first time you and Naruto fought them. Mother chose me for this and the next mission because of my extensive knowledge of the Akatsuki members. But still, that Tobi guy concerns me. I wasn't around him long enough to find out a lot about him," she said concerned.
Sakura didn't know what to say. She and Lady Chiyo had fought Sasori while Naruto and Kakashi took on Deidara. Sasori was dead but Deidara was still alive. They had been walking for so long that they hadn't realized they already made it to the rendezvous point where Hidan and Zetsu were to claim the bounty. Just as they arrived, the two came walking out of the building. Zetsu was holding a briefcase.
Hidan saw Zemaria, "Well now if it isn't the spy. Zemaria are you here to try and stop us?"
She prepared for a fight, "Absolutely. You've killed for the last time Hidan!"
"Hidan, do you want me to sit this fight out? Will you be okay against her?" Zetsu asked.
"I'll be fine. She can't kill me anyway. Her vines don't scare me," he said.
Zemaria told Sai and the others to gather around. She needed to give them details on the two standing before them. She told them Hidan was an immortal. As far as she knew, nothing could kill him. Zetsu was able to consume whole bodies after they've died. He was dangerous just with that ability.
After giving them the needed information, she took lead in the plan since they knew her and their most powerful attacks would be from anger towards her. She didn't need her friends getting the brunt of their anger when it wasn't them they were mad at. She started off with a few immortal clones. Her vines were ready to be used if needed. She wondered if maybe her poison would kill Hidan. Since it wasn't a physical attack it could possibly work.
Yeah, she could try that if she could get her vines to inject the poison into him. Zetsu stood there wondering what she was up to. Fortunately for Zemaria, she had never shown them too many of her Jutsu or her tactic methods. Right now she had the upper hand.
Hidan laughed at her, "Do you honestly think you can kill me?"
Zemaria responded, "I'm sure I could. There's no harm in trying!"
"Bring it on traitor!" He yelled getting his scythe from his back.
"Whatever you do, don't let him get your blood on his scythe. That's how he uses his main Jutsu. If that happens... you're dead," she told the three of them.
They all nodded together, "Right."
She did hand signs, "Earth Style: Earth Dragon Jutsu!"
It was a Jutsu the Third Hokage had used during her and Orochimaru's fight with him. An Earth dragon formed from the ground. Hidan impatiently charged at her.
She did more hand signs, "Fire Style: Earth Dragon Flame Jutsu!"
The dragon flame Jutsu came from the Earth Dragon she created. This was different than the Third Hokage's Jutsu. The flames hit Hidan directly. Of course that wasn't going to kill him. She was trying to slow him down. It worked but it wouldn't for long. Hidan was on fire.
"Let's cool you off shall we?" She asked and did hand signs, "Water Style: Weeping Water Jutsu!"
The sky turned dark and cloudy. It started to rain. The fire went out that had engulfed Hidan. He was more infuriated than he was before. The one thing about him was that he never thought before acting or speaking. In a way he was like a bad guy version of Naruto; cocky and over confident.
"Let's make things interesting!" He swung his scythe at her.
She dodged it, "Ooh so close."
"Don't you dare mock me!" He yelled and swung again.
She kept dodging while Sakura and the others put their parts of the plan into action. The rain stopped and the clouds disappeared. Sai opened his scroll and drew lions. It was his super beast scroll technique. This was pretty much his specialty and main Jutsu.
The battle raged on. Naruto used his Shadow Clone Jutsu. His clones created the best distraction for Sakura to get close enough to use her monstrous strength to knock him down. Zemaria's immortal clones worked on getting his scythe away from him. For getting back together after so long, they were working very well together.
Even with the addition of Sai and the loss of Sasuke, their teamwork and flow with strategy had never been that great. They'd mess up or get in each other's way. It was never this flawless. Sakura and Naruto had truly grown as Shinobi. Their training was amazing.
"You both will die here!" Zemaria yelled.
Naruto had Rasengan ready and went in for the attack, "Rasengan!"
Hidan's eyes went wide. What was that? A ball of Chakra? Hidan tried to avoid the impact of the blow. He shifted just enough to avoid any serious damage but in doing so, his arm was severed at the shoulder. Now he knew how Deidara felt when he lost his arms.
"Awe man! Come on! I need that arm!" He was more pissed off than before.
"You picked the wrong Shinobi to kill!" Sakura yelled.
