A/N- In response to someone's review: yes at this point of the story we are caught up to date with the Shippuden timeline (for the most part at least). Please review! –Phoenix
Sakura and Katsu were at Tsunade's office bright and early the next day. The last thing that either of them wanted was for them to be late for their test. They had ten minutes to wait and they decided to wait on the roof of the Hokage Tower. The wind felt good on their faces and they shifted while they tried to get used to their new clothes.
They were both dressed for battle. Katsu wore a red vest that served as armor and black gloves on his paws that were similar to the ones that Ken wore except that they were more light-weight. They were gifts from his mother as they marked a warrior when a fox came of age. Sakura had traded her traditional clothing for tighter clothing. She wore tight, black shorts with a short, white skirt that had slits on the sides over it. She also wore a tight red shirt with a front zipper that had her family's crest on the back. Her weapons pouch was attached to her belt on her back and she kept her two tessen fans attached to her belt.
When it reached nine, they jumped down from the top of the tower so that they were standing outside of Tsunade's window. The Hokage was standing in her office, waiting. When she saw the two she smiled and jumped out of the window.
Startled, Sakura and Katsu fought to keep up with her. They were led silently through Konoha and soon they were outside of the walls. Tsunade continued to lead them and Sakura and Katsu soon found themselves standing in the center of a large stadium. There were bleachers sitting almost a hundred feet above the actual field. Debris was scattered among the field and Sakura wrinkled her nose at the incredibly faint smell of blood.
"What is this place Tsunade-sama?" Sakura asked.
Tsunade smiled sadly. "This is the stadium that we use for our advancement tests. It hasn't been used since the Sound Invasion three years ago."
Suddenly, the faint smell of blood overwhelmed Sakura, making her sneeze. "This is where Hiruzen-sama was killed," Sakura said darkly.
"Yes," Tsunade confirmed sadly. "This is where you will be proving your worth."
A low grumble brought Sakura's attention to the spectator seats. Sakura looked up and saw two old people, one man and one woman, standing in the spectator area with hostile, calculating looks on their faces.
Tsunade glared at the two. "Sakura, Katsu, those two are Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura. They are…I guess you could call them my 'advisors' of sorts. They make up the Konoha Council which runs differently than the council that the head of the clans run. They work directly with me. If you want to bypass the Chuunin Exams altogether, you'll have to show them that you're strong enough because of the general weight their opinion carries in Konoha."
Sakura glared at the two elders. She could tell that they already disapproved of her and Katsu, but it didn't matter to her. As long as they could see that she and Katsu deserved to advance in rank, then she would be satisfied.
The woman, Utatane Koharu, studied Sakura through squinted eyes while the man, Mitokado Homura just scowled. Behind them, Sakura saw two people whom she didn't recognize. One of them was a woman with long black hair and the other was a tall man with spiky black hair and judging by the disgusting smell, a cigarette in his mouth.
"Who are the other two?" Sakura asked.
Tsunade smiled slyly. "The woman is Yuhi Kurenai and the man is Sarutobi Asuma. They are the senseis of the two other teams of the Rookie Nine."
"They're Ino's and Hinata's teachers," Sakura said softly. "Are they the ones we are fighting?"
Tsunade shook her head. "Close."
Before Sakura could ask again, there was a loud barking and the smell of wet dog fur filled her nostrils. Sakura looked over her shoulder and saw six people and a large dog walking into the arena. She recognized Kiba and Akamaru immediately, but it took her a second to recognize her fellow classmates.
They had all changed drastically since the last time Sakura saw them. They all looked older and each wore a different outfit than Sakura remembered.
With a slight pang in her stomach, Sakura recognized her once best friend, Ino. The girl's hair was now at a ridiculous length and Sakura could barely suppress a chuckle at it.
Ino looked at Sakura for a second until a sneer filled her face. "Well, well, well. If it isn't Forehead Girl. What's up Forehead? Still ugly?"
Beside her, Katsu snarled in pure fury at the insult and it was only Sakura's firm hand on his shoulder that kept him from launching himself at Ino. Sakura kept her hand calmly on Katsu's shoulder until he stopped trembling in rage.
"You bitch," Katsu snarled.
"Don't Katsu," Sakura warned.
With a sigh, Sakura turned around so that her old classmates could see her whole face. When everyone, minus Kiba and Akamaru, saw the scars on Sakura's face they grew silent. Horror replaced Ino's sneer and tears of shame began to fill her eyes.
"Sakura," she gasped. "I-I'm so sorry."
Sakura shrugged and turned her head towards Tsunade who was frowning at Ino. "So we have to beat them?"
Kiba scoffed while Akamaru snorted. "C'mon Sakura, like you could take on all of us. We are all Chuunin after all while you're still a genin."
Sakura gave Kiba a fox grin. "I'm a genin for now."
Before Sakura and Katsu could start fighting, Tsunade stepped forward. "Sakura, Katsu, you will fight one Chuunin at a time until everyone here can see your skills. Even if it means beating every Chuunin here. Now, who would you two like to face first?"
After a brief exchanged glance, Sakura and Katsu smiled coldly. "Let's see who the better partner pair is. We'll take on Kiba and Akamaru."
Less than an hour's distance away from Konoha, three figures raced through the trees. One older, two younger. The older man had spiky, silver hair and kept one eye covered. One of the younger men wore black shorts and a dark blue shirt and had black spiky hair. The last one of the group wore black pants with an orange shirt and had blonde hair.
Three years had aged Naruto quite a lot. Ever since he had watched Sakura walk away, he had dedicated himself to his training with the Toad Sage. On multiple occasions, his training had taken him out of the village, but the longest training trip had been six months. Now he was a Chuunin and was on a team with his old teacher, Kakashi and his best friend Sasuke.
They had left on a mission a week ago to help a traveling caravan get to their destination safely. The mission had been painfully easy for the ninja team, and Naruto couldn't help but feel depressed over the time lost that he could've spent training.
Sasuke looked over his shoulder at the blonde who covered the rear in their formation. Even though they still drove each other crazy, they were for the most part, best friends. The last Uchiha had grown even more cold and distant after their refusal to partake in the Chuunin exams, but after he learned that Sakura had left the village so that she wouldn't be a burden he felt something that he hadn't felt in a while…guilt.
The Uchiha had trained extensively with Kakashi until he passed the Chuunin exams and after that he had taken his training into his own hands by studying the scrolls that were left in his family's compound. Now, he was striving for the rank of Jounin and after that he would work to rebuild his clan.
"Hey Dobe," Sasuke said softly. "Are you going to be hiding out at your place for another week now just training?"
Naruto gave Sasuke a half-hearted smile. "Probably Teme. I found a scroll that I want to learn. Since Ero-sannin won't be back for another month, I'll have to keep up on my training."
Sasuke shrugged indifferently. "I expect you to be at top shape for the Jounin exams next year Dobe. It won't be any fun beating you if you're weak."
Three years ago, Naruto would've been aggravated by Sasuke's taunt, but watching the girl you like leave without a goodbye really changed a guy.
I wonder if Sakura-chan even thinks about me, Naruto thought sadly while he continued to follow his team back to Konoha.
As soon as Sakura and Katsu challenged Kiba and Akamaru, they were given the whole stadium. The only restrictions that they had were to not maim or kill your opponent. Sakura and Katsu had grinned when they saw that the comment was basically aimed at them.
Sakura exchanged basic taijutsu blows with Kiba while Katsu bit and swiped at Akamaru. Even though Kiba and Akamaru kept jabbing at them that their skills were weak, Sakura and Katsu didn't rise to them because they were simply testing their opponents out.
Kiba's fighting style with Akamaru was more animalistic than Sakura's was with Katsu. While Sakura and Katsu relied on their chakra connection to sense each other's movements and strengthen their jutsu, Kiba and Akamaru actually fought as one.
They continued to exchange blows for a few more minutes until Sakura and Katsu exchanged a slight nod. Both of them had gotten a feel for their opponent's strength and it was now time to stop playing around.
Channeling chakra into her feet, Sakura formed a hand sign. "Doton: Supi-do no Hashira no jutsu!"
Instantly, twenty pillars rose from the ground around the field. Sakura and Katsu leapt on the nearest pillars while Kiba and Akamaru struggled to avoid them.
"That the hell are these?" Kiba shouted in exasperation.
Sakura grinned coldly from her spot on the top of the pillars. "My sensei had high expectations for the amount of jutsu that I was to know."
Kiba growled at her and jumped so that he was next to Akamaru. "I'll just have to tear these down then!"
He formed a hand sign and shouted, "Jujin Bunshin!"
Akamaru was covered in a cloud of smoke. When the smoke cleared, to Sakura's and Katsu's interest, a clone of Kiba stood right where Akamaru had been a moment ago.
"That's cool," Katsu said with a smirk. "But, I don't think that I would like turning into a girl if we learned that technique Sakura."
Sakura giggled and Kiba felt his temper begin to rise.
"This is an Inuzuka technique that would never be taught to ninja outside of our clan!" Kiba yelled while Akamaru nodded. "Just because you think you have a fox for a partner doesn't even give you the hope of rising to the level of partnership that we Inuzuka have with our dogs!"
Sakura stopped giggling and glared at Kiba. "We'll see who's on the higher level."
Without responding, Kiba and Akamaru leapt together and began spinning together at alarming speed.
"Gatsuuga!" Kiba yelled.
They made a sort of tornado that crushed everything in its path. Sakura watched with calculating eyes while Kiba and Akamaru destroyed all of her pillars, scattering rock across the stadium.
When Kiba's attack began approaching the pillars that Sakura and Katsu were on, Katsu nodded to Sakura and leapt down right in the path of Kiba's attack.
From the stands Sakura could hear shocked gasps, but Sakura didn't pay them any attention. She had complete faith in Katsu.
Katsu sat on his hind legs and put his front paws together. He focused chakra into them before splitting them apart quickly. "Katon: Neppa!" he shouted.
Even though Sakura couldn't see it, she could feel it even from the top of the pillar. Coming right from Katsu's paws was an incredible heat wave. When the heat wave made contact with Kiba and Akamaru, the attack faltered and they broke apart, crashing hard into the stadium.
They both stood panting. Both Kiba and Akamaru had burns on their bodies and Sakura could smell the disgusting stench of burnt fur.
Still feeling the effects of Katsu's jutsu, Kiba took off his jacket and tossed it to the side while Akamaru panted desperately in an attempt to cool himself.
"Good job Katsu," Sakura said while Katsu jumped back on the twenty foot pillar next to her. "I think that we could do our own version of Kiba's jutsu."
Katsu smirked and nodded in agreement. "They would have to be restrained of course."
"Way ahead of you," Sakura said while she jumped off of the pillar head first while forming hand signs. When she hit the earth, she went right through it.
When Kiba and Akamaru made a move towards the hole where Sakura had disappeared, Katsu jumped off the pillar, released the claws from his gloves and slashed at Kiba and Akamaru.
Even though it was two against one, Katsu was putting up a great fight. Because Katsu was in fact an animal, the animalistic fighting style didn't bother him as much as it might bother humans. When Kiba made a move to claw at Katsu's flank, Katsu edged his tail with fire and swatted him away as if he were a fly.
When Kiba landed on his feet ten feet away, he laughed. "Is that the best you've got fox?"
Kiba's laugh turned into a yell of surprise when hands erupted from the earth and pulled him underground so that he was only out of the earth from the chest up. No matter how hard Kiba tried to move, he couldn't.
When Akamaru saw the predicament that his partner was in, he withdrew from his close fighting with Katsu and ran over towards Kiba, dispelling the beast clone jutsu as he went.
"Akamaru get away!" Kiba shouted when Akamaru got within ten feet and he sensed Sakura's presence.
Before Akamaru could get away, Sakura's hands grabbed his hind paws and pulled him into the earth as well. Soon, only Akamaru's front half was sticking out of the earth and he had no more luck than Kiba at freeing himself.
Smirking, Sakura emerged from the hole where she had disappeared and brushed the dirt off of her skirt. "Kakashi-sensei used that technique on Sasuke during our genin exam. Be grateful that I didn't pull you both in so that only your heads remained above ground."
Katsu walked over to Sakura, laughing. "Want to give it a shot now Sakura?"
"I don't know Katsu," Sakura said with a grin. "We might actually kill them. It's not like we've ever done it before."
"But wouldn't it be such a nice compliment to test a technique on the ones who inspired it? Even if it did only take us five seconds to think about it."
Sakura laughed and nodded. "Let's do it. But, try to avoid killing them."
Katsu rolled his eyes. "You should take your own advice."
Still laughing, Sakura formed a long sequence of hand seals. "Doton: Nameoryuu no jutsu!"
"Katon: Houka no jutsu!" Katsu yelled.
Right in front of Sakura's feet, a puddle of mud formed and from it came a brown dragon that was made up of solid rocks. The dragon launched itself towards the trapped pair of Kiba and Akamaru.
As soon as the dragon headed towards Kiba and Akamaru, Katsu launched a thin stream of fire from his mouth. The fire coiled itself around the dragon, engulfing the dragon in fire. Once the fire was surrounding the dragon, it looked very similar to Kiba's double piercing fang technique.
Kiba and Akamaru stared in horror as they watched an attack that would surely kill them get closer and closer. When the deadly attack was within ten feet, the closed their eyes and waited for unimaginable pain.
When the pain never came, Kiba and Akamaru tentatively opened their eyes. The dragon had dispelled and its remains of rubble and ashes fell to the ground not three feet from them.
Kiba's and Akamaru's sighs of relief quickly turned into growls when they felt something sharp poke the back of their necks.
While everyone had been focused on their new technique, Sakura and Katsu had snuck around and were now standing behind their opponents. Sakura had a kunai pressed against Kiba's neck while Katsu had his steel claws against Akamaru's.
"We win," Sakura and Katsu said together.
As soon as the words were out of their mouths, Tsunade leapt down to the field. "Good job you two, though that dragon fire technique was a bit much. Now, please release Kiba."
Once Kiba and Akamaru were out of the ground they glared at Sakura and Katsu before leaping up to the stands with their fellow Chuunin so they could treat their wounds.
When Sakura and Katsu looked up at the elders they noted that they still had scowls on their faces.
"Let me guess," Sakura said softly. "They want to see more."
Tsunade nodded. "They want to choose your opponents from now on. But, I told them that if you beat three more then you deserve the rank."
Sakura and Katsu nodded. "Three more we can do. Who do we fight next?"
Tsunade looked up at the stands and shouted, "Choji! You're next!"
Up on the stands, Sakura saw Choji hand his trademark bag of chips to Shikamaru and leap down to the stadium. The boy that Sakura had graduated with still had spirals on his cheeks, but his hair was longer and wilder than Sakura remembered. He had also taken to wearing armor and Sakura could tell that even though he was still thickset, he was incredibly well-muscled.
"Hey Sakura," he said cheerfully. "You look different. And I don't just mean the scars."
Katsu growled but Choji's frankness was like a breath of fresh air to Sakura. "It's nice to see you Choji," she said with a half smile. "You look different too."
Choji grinned and began cracking his knuckles. "You ready for this?"
Sakura grinned and got into an offensive position. "Whenever you are."
Tsunade returned to the stands and crossed her arms. "Begin!"
Naruto remained quiet the remainder of the journey. They slowed down to a walk when they saw the village gates and continued on slowly. He was already thinking about the next scroll and his training schedule when they arrived at the guard post.
One of the Chuunin on guard smiled brightly and gave Naruto a thumbs up. "Hello Naruto-kun! How was your mission?"
Naruto smiled at his friend, Rock Lee's, enthusiasm. "It was a success. Anything interesting going on in the village?"
Next to Lee sat a kunoichi with brown hair that was put in two buns. She twirled a kunai around on her fingers, obviously bored. "There's this big fuss over at the old stadium," she told them.
"What's the big fuss Tenten?" Kakashi asked curiously.
Tenten put her kunai down and gave them her full attention. "Some genin came back and they're testing her to see if she's ready to be a Chuunin."
Sasuke scoffed. "Why can't the girl wait until the Chuunin Exams like the rest of us?"
Lee's insanely thick eyebrows were twitching in excitement. "From what Shikamaru-kun told me, she was being trained by a very powerful warrior and she's expected to be the Hokage-sama's apprentice."
Naruto's ears twitched and he felt his heart skip a beat. "Who is this genin?" he asked, harsher than he meant to.
"I don't remember exactly," Tenten said, somewhat curious at Naruto's tone. "But, I've heard that she has pink hair and has a fox for a partner."
As soon as the words were out of Tenten's mouth, Naruto sprinted away from the guard booth without a word.
Sakura is back! he thought excitedly. The idea of talking to her again completely pushed aside the hurt that he had been harboring for the past three years.
He sprinted as fast as he could towards the stadium where the Sound had invaded all that time ago. The only thing that was running through Naruto's mind was the idea of seeing Sakura again. He wondered how strong she had gotten, if she was even more beautiful and if she even thought about him at all.
When he saw the stadium within his sights after ten minutes of running, Naruto pushed chakra through his legs for the final stretch. He ran through the door to the stadium and stopped short when he saw that the stadium was in even worse condition than it had been previously.
His heart skipped another beat when he saw who was standing in the center of the stadium.
Among all the rubble and facing Hinata and Ino was none other than Sakura. Then, something appeared on Naruto's face that no one had seen in the past three years. A true smile.
"Sakura-chan!" he shouted joyfully.
He saw Sakura flinch and turn her head in surprise. "Naruto?" she gasped.
It was then that Naruto saw the scars. Sakura's once flawless face was now covered with scars on one side. The sight filled Naruto's stomach with rage. No one hurt Sakura and lived.
"Not now Naruto!" Sakura shouted while she dodged Hinata's gentle fist technique with grace. "I'm a little busy!"
Naruto stood dumbfounded on the spot for a moment. He saw Ino collapsed on the ground and a large fox that he assumed was Katsu biting at the air. It didn't take a genius to figure out that Katsu was trying to throw off Ino's mind body transfer technique.
From the stands, Naruto saw Tsunade looking at him impatiently. "Naruto get off of the field!"
Naruto shook off his surprise and leapt to join his fellow Chuunin in the stands. He landed next to Shikamaru who was watching the match with a calculating look on his face.
"So what's going on Shikamaru?" Naruto asked.
Without looking away from the match, Shikamaru said, "Sakura and her fox have to beat four opponents. They already beat Kiba and Akamaru and they beat Choji a few minutes ago. If Sakura and her fox beat Hinata and Ino then Sakura advances to Chuunin."
Naruto looked around and noticed Kiba and Akamaru leaning against the door, covered in burn ointment and Choji with his leg in a splint sitting down so that he could still watch the match.
"Why are Sakura and Katsu fighting both Hinata and Ino at once?" Naruto asked.
"Is Katsu the fox?" Shikamaru asked. At Naruto's affirmative nod Shikamaru turned to look at the elders. "The elders would've been happier to see Sakura fight all of us, but Hokage-sama would let them push Sakura into fighting more than four. The elders agreed, but decided to pit Sakura and…Katsu against Hinata and Ino. I think that the elders are hoping that Sakura will lose. If you had arrived two minutes sooner I have no doubt that they would have forced you to fight Sakura."
Naruto frowned in the direction of the elders. "I wouldn't have done it."
Shikamaru shrugged. "Troublesome. Just watch the match, I think that Katsu is about to throw off Ino's jutsu."
When Naruto turned his attention back to the field he saw that Shikamaru was right. Katsu was biting his leg furiously and fire was beginning to cover his fur. He gave one loud howl and Naruto felt Ino's jutsu shatter. His suspicions were confirmed when Ino's body gave a jolt and Ino gasped for breath.
Before Ino could get back on her feet, Katsu sprinted over towards her, his black eyes dangerous, and pounced on her, with metal claws poking at her throat so that small drops of blood began to drop.
Naruto saw Katsu lean forward and whisper something in Ino's ear, but he couldn't hear what. Whatever it was though, Ino nodded fervently once Katsu removed his claws. Katsu growled something else and hit Ino on the side of the head with his paw just hard enough to knock the girl out.
"Ino," Shikamaru sighed. "You can be so troublesome."
Once sure that his opponent wasn't getting up in a hurry, Katsu looked over to where Sakura was still evading Hinata. "Hey Sakura! Hurry up already! I beat mine!"
Sakura looked over to Katsu and smirked. Despite the two previous battles that they had fought, Sakura only had a few bruises and cuts. "Fine, I'll finish this."
Hinata raised her eyebrows at Sakura. "You're very confident Sakura-san," she said softly. "B-but I am not a Chuunin for nothing."
"I didn't mean to imply that your skills were poor Hinata," Sakura said with a small smile. "But, just because you out-rank me doesn't mean that you are the stronger ninja. Hinata, the Hyuuga style of fighting is completely dependent on the gentle fist. What would you do if you had no more chakra or couldn't use your Byakugan?"
Hinata frowned and continued her attack. "I have other skills Sakura-san," she said hesitantly.
Sakura smiled and pulled out a senbon. "Then show them."
Faster than Hinata thought possible, Sakura ran forward and ducked between Hinata's palms and jammed the senbon into Hinata's thigh. Once the senbon was in Hinata's thigh, Sakura leapt back with a triumphant grin on her face.
"Let's see these skills then," she said confidently.
Before Hinata could respond, she felt her Byakugan deactivate and her chakra begin to diminish from her palms. Soon, Hinata couldn't summon chakra at all, but she didn't feel drained at all.
"What did you do Sakura-san?" Hinata demanded.
Still grinning, Sakura pulled out another senbon from the same pouch the first one came from. "That senbon as well as this one are covered with an interesting paralytic. I got it from a plant in the Land of Rivers. It paralyses a person's chakra when it enters the bloodstream for an hour. Now, show me these other skills when you can't use your chakra."
Hinata stood, dumbfounded, as she realized that Sakura had actually done it. She had actually rendered the Hyuuga fighting style…useless. After quickly checking her weapons pouch Hinata realized with dread that it wasn't even full.
Sakura's grin began to fade into a disapproving frown. "Hinata, are you seriously saying that even though you're a Chuunin you only excel at one fighting technique?"
"You wouldn't be useful without your chakra either!" Hinata shot back.
The grin on Sakura's face came back, but this time it was colder. She looked up at Tsunade and the two elders. "Hinata is my last opponent right?" At Tsunade's affirmative nod and the elders' begrudging nod Sakura dug the poisoned kunai that she still held in her thigh.
Hinata's eyes widened when Sakura shivered slightly and put the senbon back in her pouch. From the side of the field, Katsu sighed in exasperation and muttered something that sounded like 'showoff'.
"Now," Sakura said with a slightly feral fox grin as she drew her warrior's tessen. "Let's see who the helpless one is shall we?"
Without her Byakugan, much to Hinata's horror, she was helpless. She felt blind and she could barely follow Sakura's movements as she cut at Hinata with her tessen. A couple of times the tessen nicked Hinata's skin and soon it was only Hinata's natural grace that was keeping her from getting sliced in half.
It didn't take long for Hinata's body to start burning as it was forced to move in different positions than it was used to while Sakura continued to attack. Hinata noticed while she was evading, that Sakura was smiling thoughtfully.
With a final push forward, Sakura forced Hinata on her back and pointed her tessen at her neck.
"I win," Sakura said softly. "Hinata, if I remember correctly then you are the Hyuuga Heiress. I realize that it is not my place, but relying on one style of fighting when you do not have to is a mistake. The poison that I coated my senbons with is not an uncommon poison, and most likely it will be used against you in the future."
Hinata was so shocked that Sakura had proved her Clan's fighting style seriously flawed that she didn't even hear Tsunade declare Sakura and Katsu the winner. She shook her head when she saw Tsunade walking towards Sakura and left the stadium. It was time to do some serious thinking.
After Tsunade watched Hinata leave the stadium she turned to smile wryly at Sakura and Katsu. "You weren't exactly gentle with your opponents. But, you didn't maim or kill them so you didn't go against your restrictions. Congratulations Sakura, you're now a Chuunin and Katsu you are Konoha's first ninja fox. I expect great things from the both of you."
Sakura and Katsu smiled at each other, each with a glint in their eyes. After a month of training...the hunt would begin.
A/N- Writing three descriptive battles in one chapter didn't appeal to me so I cut Choji's and part of Hinata's and Ino's fight out. From this point on I plan on having the POV switch between Sakura and Naruto even though it is still focused on Sakura. And as always, if you think of a possible partner for Naruto and I like it I will consider using it. Please review! -Phoenix