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Testing and More Testing

Sakura grinned as she lay back on the roof of Naruto's building. Naruto had the entire building to himself and she meant to take full advantage of that. A cooler of sodas lay next to the lounge chair and her bikini was as close to indecent as she dared. The best thing about the location was the height of the building and that it was far from the mountain so peepers would not get much of a view. 'Not that there was much to see.' she idly thought but it was the principle if the thing.

It had been a week since the extermination of Root. Her first attempt to sunbathe at the local pool had been met with mixed reaction. Too many people had been wary or downright hostile to her the few minutes she had been there. The Sandaime's cover story to get Root to pick up Naruto and her had worked a little too well. Lots of civilians and low ranking ninja actually thought she was dangerous.

Sure, she had gone through an intense six month course that brought her to the best physical shape of her life. Her chakra was many times what it had been in the Academy and her control was nearly perfect. Her taijutsu and hand weapon skills were ranked at chunin but her practical experience was nearly zero. Her ninjutsu was only genin level but that was due to the basic nature of the jutsu she had been taught. Drop her anywhere with a chance to survive and she would survive. The Academy had made low level warriors out of the Elite level genin they put out. The Remedial training had polished that and made her into a soldier on top of it. Even the brief Root training had taught her a lot about how much punishment she could handle physically and still keep going.

But right now was plain and simple Sakura time. Months of full cover uniforms and being in classrooms six days a week had taken its toll on her tan. Her lower face and hands were about the only part of her body that wasn't pale right now. The Hokage had given her and Naruto a week off and she intended to make the most of it.

After the initial problem with the pool, she came over here to see what her teammate was doing with his time off. Going into the building through the open front door had been a shock. The only occupant had been Naruto. In fact, only a dozen or so people lived with two blocks of this building. That led to her dragging a lounge chair and a cooler over here to get the sun she wanted. Naruto had not complained too much but his disagreement was obvious. She told him she wouldn't go into his apartment without his permission but she was going to make use of his private roof.

Naruto had tried to balk but she hugged him from behind and whispered in his ear, "Please Na-ru-to Kun" in a small voice. He just said okay in a choked voice and ran into his bedroom. She would have apologized for that but he had been avoiding her for a couple of days now.

Something tickled the edge of her perception and she had rolled off the lounge and gotten into a ready stance in a single motion. A voice called out, "Not bad. I was only there for a few seconds before you noticed me."

Sakura turned her head to see Cat sitting on the edge of the roof. Sakura relaxed some and sit back down on the lounge chair. The ANBU spoke up, "Since Kakashi is busy with something else; the Boss has asked if you and Naruto are willing to do a simple mission for a few hours. You get paid D rank money to go spar with another genin team since it was a request on your day off and all."

The pink haired girl thought about it for a few seconds. "I'm up for it of Naruto is," she replied. "I was getting bored just laying around by myself."

"He hasn't seen you dressed like that, has he? I mean if he sees you dressed like that, he is going to pass out from blood loss. That bikini is smaller than the bra and panties you had on that evening in the classroom."

Sakura giggled softly. In spite of all her training she was still a young teenage girl deep in the middle of puberty. Then she glanced at the sun to guess at the time. "He should be over at the obstacle course about now. He still insists on beating the record time on that thing. His trouble isn't the time; it's the penalty seconds he gets doing it."

Cat nodded. She had seen the boy missing the record almost daily on her observation assignment. His time would come in just under the record only to see a few seconds tacked on for not completing every obstacle cleanly. He was not willing to give up those few seconds of speed needed to do it all correctly and come up with the same total score. One way or the other he would learn eventually or get good enough to not get the penalty. Cat also noted Sakura avoiding the question she asked about Naruto seeing her. Someting had flashed in the girl's eyes that would need discussing later on.

"I'll run home and grab my equipment. Where are we supposed to meet?"

"Head over to the Hokage's office. He should have enough gear since it will be just a sparring session," Cat replied and then she vanished in a swirl of leaves.

Sakura grabbed her clothes and cooler and headed for the stairs.

Naruto was sweating as he eyed his nemesis. The genin level obstacle course was mocking him once again. The chunin in charge of it was waving Naruto off because a team needed to use the facility. Once again he had failed to break the record. Four penalty seconds had raised his finish time over the record once more. He hung his head as he stomped over to the staging area to reclaim his gear.

"Rough day at the office?" a voice called out.

Naruto looked to see Cat waiting next to his equipment. He wondered what was wrong because the Old Man had given him and Sakura a week off after they took his offer.

"The Boss asked me to deliver a message since Kakashi is out of the village on a mission. Another team has requested you and Sakura for a sparring session. Since it was on a day off he gave you, it would get you D rank pay. Sakura already accepted on the proviso that you are up for it."

Naruto perked up at 'spar'. He agreed with no further prodding.

Sarutobi looked over the desk at his two newest operatives. Without their head coverings, the pair looked like a normal genin. Both had apparently gone shopping once more since neither wanted to be wearing the old uniforms from their Remedial training classes. The single outfit each had gotten from Hiro's shop had been recovered along with their personal gear from the Root equipment room. Neither however seemed inclined to use it.

Naruto had gone to wearing a charcoal gray version of his old orange jumpsuit. The only noticeable difference was the neckline was turtleneck instead of wide open. He wore weapons stashed in various accessible points and stood relaxed but alert.

Sakura switched to black capri length stretch pants and a slightly loose shirt. An equipment belt was slung around her waist and kunai pouch strapped to her leg. Fingerless gloves with padded knuckles covered her hands. Her high top ninja sandals were actually men's sandals in her size. She seemed to like the more heavy duty construction since a lot of her taijutsu fighting style included a lot of kicks. The ankle supports also had beaded metal plates on sides. Sarutobi could see Cat's hand in her outfit as it as more like one an ANBU female would pick. If the pink haired girl had chest armor and a mask she could pass as an operative to an inexperienced genin or civilian. 'It seems Cat is finding a protégé in young Sakura. It might do the girl some good.'

The aged leader spoke up, "Team Asuma has asked for a sparring match with your team. It seems my son wants his team to enter the Chunin Exams and he wanted to see how his team does facing a completely unknown team. He asked for you two because he has been curious about you since running into you both that day on the street. I also wanted to have some idea of how you would do in a fight."

Naruto grinned, "So it will be a 2 on 3 fight?"

"Yes, Asuma has some idea of what you both can do and judging by Cat's reports and the bruising you put on each other during your Root mission, you both are capable of handling his team easily," Sarutobi said with a small smile.

The pair walked over to the training areas along the streets. Many active and retired ninja nodded in greeting to the pair while civilians looked nervous. Both were amazed at how fast they had developed a reputation. Naruto was used to the glares but the smiles and respect from other ninja was new. Sakura was saddened by the nervous looks but smiled at everyone who greeted her. Sakura did notice that Naruto had nearly caught up to her in height now. She was stuck at just under 5 feet tall for months now. Naruto seemed to have hit a small growth spurt due to the better diet the Remedial classes had provided during lunch.

At the training fields, they found Team 10 and Asuma waiting for them. Shikamaru was already sizing up the pair. They realized quickly he was the most dangerous one on the other team. They had learned of things to look for and his eyes were too observant.

Ino perked up seeing the pair approach. She had been after Asuma to set this up ever since that night at the restaurant. There was no way that Forehead could have gotten that good since they graduated the Academy. Sakura had been washed back while she had been kept in the Elites and gone on a lot of official missions, even some C rank ones. She watched the pair stroll across the field like they did not have a care in the world. 'Baa, lambs to the slaughter,' she thought.

Choji just munched his chips as he watched Naruto and Sakura approach. His father had talked to him after the whole Root incident in town. He mentioned that Choji should never disrespect either of the pair. They had gone on a high chunin ranked mission with no backup with a strong chance of dying and had gone into it with open eyes. The boy chewed more slowly as he had heard respect in his father's voice when Choji had thought of scoffing at them for failing out of Elite. Someone his father respected was worth paying attention to. He would be careful today.

Shikamaru was sizing up every movement that Sakura and Naruto made as they walked over. The pair seemed too relaxed. They had been invited to a spar but Shikamaru knew it would be more than that. Ino had been badgering Asuma for weeks. They both looked professional and carried themselves more like chunin or jonin than genin. When they were close enough, he could see their eyes. They were dangerous eyes and had been evaluating his team the entire time. Naruto's eyes focused directly on his own and the blonde boy gave a small nod. Naruto knew he was being sized up. Shikamaru suppressed a shudder and turned to Ino and Choji.

"Guys, this is not going to be easy. I think Asuma-sensei was right when he said they could take us out," he said in a low voice to his teammates. Choji just grunted and nodded slightly while Ino looked at him and just said, "As if"

Choji looked at the blonde girl. "Ino, my father told me to give them respect. That should tell you something."

Ino looked shocked. Choza was a classic Akimichi in that he respected strength of body and character. For a pair of genin to have that from him was something she did not expect. She just nodded slowly after Choji spoke and decided to not say anything after that. She remembered some of the things that Asuma had said that night about the Legions and how Sakura had faced being sent to that without flinching. Ino knew she would have been whining like a three year old if she had to face that.

Asuma greeted the incoming pair and the genin all greeted each other. Ino just said "Sakura" in a normal tone but Sakura picked up on that Ino was intimidated by the fact the blonde did not insult the pink haired girl.

Sakura bowed and spoke to Asuma. "Hokage-sama said you requested a spar with our team. We are still a person short but we will give it our best effort. Are there any specific rules you require?"

Asuma smiled at the politeness. "Just no one try to cripple the other side."

Naruto looked at Choji then back to Asuma, "Full contact?"

Asuma chuckled, "No lasting wounds. Bruising is fine."

Naruto nodded.

Ino was again shocked and barely kept her mouth from falling open. How were Naruto and Sakura being so cool about this? They were bantering with Sensei like they were discussing groceries. He was not even trying to cow them like he did to their team when giving instructions. He was speaking to them like professionals.

Shikamaru pulled the team back from their teacher and opponents. "We need some space before this thing starts," he hissed. He watched Naruto and Sakura turn to be able to see each other out of the corner of their eyes and both raised a hand to hide their mouths from view.

Choji glanced to Shikamaru as they backed away dragging Ino. "What is the plan?" he asked.

Shikamaru needed more information to come up with something. He needed to see them fighting some to find weaknesses. "Choji, you engage in hand to hand. You'll have to absorb some damage to give me an idea of how to defeat them. Sorry to use you like that but these two are total strangers to us now. Ino, you engage from a distance with throwing weapons. I'll see if I can catch them by surprise with my shadows."

Choji just nodded. He knew that was a large part of his job on this team. They were primarily an intelligence and support team and not meant to engage in heavy combat. But the Akimichi jutsu were well suited to heavy combat and when used in defensive situations were very difficult to beat. Their size allowed them to take a few hits that would disable most ninja.

Asuma leaned back on a tree and watched for a minute before he would call start. He had a good idea of the training Naruto and Sakura had gone through. He had a few friends years ago go through Remedial and later worked their way onto ANBU. They were all dead now. The few times he had thought he was all that and sparred with them, they had handed him his butt. They had convinced him to start using his trench knives as more than a simple tool. His new seriousness in the military basics had led to his being invited into the Twelve Ninja Guardians at the same time ANBU had invited him to join. He took the position with the Guardians but also accepted the Bear mask that ANBU offered and still kept it in reserve to use it for the Hokage when needed.

He wanted his team to learn that lesson before their first Chunin Exam. They had potential to be great but they still thought they were invincible. He needed to break them of that idea and using someone they saw as a peer would be the best way to achieve that end. The fact that Ino looked down on Sakura right now was more of a blessing because the girl needed a wake up more than Choji or Shikamaru.

Asuma called out, "Fight until one side is disabled. If I call someone out, you are out. Round 1, begin."

Naruto ran directly at the charging Choji while Sakura shadowed her teammate. Choji prepared for a collision but was surprised when Naruto leapt to the side and he practically walked into a kick in the face from Sakura. The hefty boy fell over as Sakura pushed off him to race at Shikamaru.

The pink haired girl threw a kunai with a smoking tag at the ground next to the lazy genius. Shikamaru leapt off to one side away from the blade. He realized his mistake in midair as Naruto tackled him as he landed. The blonde's shoulder drove him into the ground and knocked the wind out of him.

Sakura dodged a hail of shuriken from Ino as the blonde kept backing away from her one time friend. 'The fight was not supposed to be like this,' Ino thought. 'We were supposed to win. I made Elite not her!'

Sakura closed when Ino noticed Naruto moving to one side of the blonde and stopped looking at Sakura. A fast punch to the gut stole Ino's breath and the metallic sound of a kunai being drawn was followed by the cold touch of it on her neck.

Asuma breathed a light whistle. It had taken Naruto and Sakura less than 30 seconds to dismantle his team. All three would have been dead if it had been a real life and death battle.

The sound of a firecracker went off as the tag on the kunai sounded. Sakura walked over to pick it up from the ground then held out a hand to Shikamaru. The lazy ninja took it and was helped up. Naruto had already gone to Choji and was checking on the large boy's bloody nose. Ino just remained on her knees with her head in the same position it had been when Sakura had laid the kunai on her neck. Everyone else came up to her while she remained still.

Sakura knelt next to the blonde and gently spoke to her, "Ino, you're all right."

Ino looked at Sakura with tears in her eyes. "No, I'm not. I thought we were so great. Then you come in and beat us like we just started the Academy. How?"

Sakura smiled gently at her old friend. "A lot of sweat, a lot of bruises and a lot of times being in that very position you are in right now. But the best thing about training is you can die as many times as it takes to learn how not to."

Sakura stood and held out her hand. Ino reached out and took it and pulled Sakura into a hug when she had stood. "I missed you, Forehead."

"Same here, Piggy," Sakura replied.

Asuma walked up to the one time classmates, "Now Team 10, what did you do wrong in that one?"

That night Sarutobi was strolling home and saw Asuma waiting outside the clan compound.

"How did it go today, Asuma?" the Hokage asked.

Asuma chuckled, "About how I expected it to go. My team got beat four out of five spars. The fifth was a draw but I think your team threw that one. You know something; it might be a good idea to run future Academy classes through that Remedial style training before making them genin."

"Convince the clans and I'll authorize it. They like the current system. Only the fact that I insist on at least half the Academy be made of non clan students is the only reason the Elite is not more unbalanced than it is now. So how did my team do?" Sarutobi asked.

"They were good, Pop. They were confident. They never fell for the same trick twice and most importantly; they were humble about it when they won. I hate to admit it but my team had that 'I am part of a clan so I am better than you' attitude. Naruto and Sakura just beat that out of them today. It was exactly what I wanted," Asuma finished with a laugh.

"I seem to recall a certain son of a Hokage that had that same attitude once," Sarutobi smirked.

Asuma nodded. "And I had it beaten out of me the exact same way. I really should thank the Hokage for setting me up for that beating but somehow I think he knows already."

Sarutobi nodded sagely and gestured Asuma inside, "You have got to hear what your nephew tried to pull today."

Genin from many villages filed into the Academy room 301. Team 10 ran into Team 8 and they stood together against the pressure of all the other genin in the room. The tense atmosphere in the room was made worse when the proctor, Morino Ibiki arrived with a dozen chunin in a burst of chakra smoke.

The genin were sent racing to their seats and the testing began. Within minutes, cheaters were being called out and dismissed from the test with their teams.

"Number 42, you fail!" came a cry. "Number 101 and 17 go with him." This brought out a loud roar of anger from Uchiha Sasuke as he was thrown out along with his cheating teammate.

Naruto watched as Mitarishi Anko led 48 genin towards the Forest of Death. The boy was doing sit ups while he hung under a branch by his feet holding on with chakra. He saw Team 10 and Team 8 in the group and whispered, "Good Luck guys."

Naruto met Sakura and Kakashi for a brief mission to the border to pick up traffic reports. They would travel one day to the border, two days along it to visit various stations and sight verify that each team was who they were supposed to be and one day to return to Konoha. Kakashi viewed it as busy work so that the Hokage could deal with the second phase of the Chunin Exams but for Naruto and Sakura it was an adventure.

"Come on, Kakashi-sensei! This is our first time past the walls. It's exciting!" Naruto cried out.

Sakura chuckled at her friend's antics but she was excited as well. Technically the mission was C ranked because it left the village. She didn't care about that because it was another actual mission. It got them away from the stares and glares the civilians kept giving her.

At least her mother wasn't suffering from Sakura's new found reputation. Her mom had lost her job when the plan to infiltrate Root had begun. However, after the destruction of it, a different employer called her mom in for a better job. Sakura knew it had something to do with Hiro and some of the mysterious blue masked ninja people had mentioned but she couldn't prove it. She did not push the issue either way.

The pink haired girl had to admit that long distance tree running was an exciting thing at first but once you got used to it, it got dull quickly.

Kakashi was pleased with the time they made on the journey out to the border. He was not sure what to expect from this better trained pair. He realized that Sakura was more than he had seen for the few hours he had tested Team 7 six months earlier. Once she had been forced to shed her fan girl attitude, she turned out to be a much stronger individual. He felt shamed that he had not seen that before failing the team.

On the other hand, Naruto was still an enigma to the jonin. Kakashi knew who the boy was and had helped keep him safe years ago. He knew the boy had a lot of issues still but the last six months had changed the blonde as well. He was calmer and much more focused. The focus brought his intelligence out more as he had been taught to take the time to think before acting. The boy was still loud and brash at times but Kakashi realized that was for emotional self protection.

Once outside the village and with people he knew he could trust, the loud boy faded and the quiet one emerged. He was not moody or sullen, just quiet. It was as if the boy knew he did not need to prove anything to either Sakura or Kakashi. Sakura had earned that trust recently and Kakashi had it for years.

One other thing that worried him was how close the pair seemed. There was something underneath going on with them he had no part of. He recognized it as something he felt with a few of his old ANBU teammates who had survived a terrible battle alongside him. Something developed down in Root with them but neither one was talking about it, something more than friendship but less than romance.

Kakashi pulled himself out of his thought just in time to avoid leaping into a tree trunk. He chuckled at himself and focused back on the mission.

The rest of the mission went as planned. They got to see the border stations and get a look at some other ninja who had not heard of the Root incident yet. The border guards were military ninja and they recognized both Naruto and Sakura as one of their own. The fact that they were working under one of the most famous Elites boosted how many of them felt about their own potential for the future.

After four days, the tired and dirty trio returned to Konoha and reported in to the Hokage.

The mission report was easy enough. They simply turned over the traffic reports and informed the Hokage that all the people who should have been at the locations were there. The Hokage was looking haggard as he dismissed them so they just left without asking how the second test of the Chunin Exams went.

Sakura hurried over to Ino's house to get the latest word on that. She even invited Naruto to come along. But when they arrived at the flower shop, they found it closed. An elderly neighbor told them that Ino was in the hospital. The pair took to the roofs of Konoha and ran all the way there.

The waiting room in the hospital was packed with people. It seems this Chunin Exam had been a bloody one. Sakura spotted the blonde hair of Ino's mom and walked over to her. The flower shop owner saw the pink hair of Sakura and pulled her daughter's once again friend into a hug. Sakura was confused but hugged back.

"What's wrong?" Sakura asked. "I just got back from an out of town mission and went to the shop but it was closed."

Ino's mom wiped her eyes and looked Sakura in the eye. "Ino got hurt during the tests. Shikamaru and Choji told me most of it but I am sure they left some things out. Her team made it past the test and taken to an arena because Choji was saying something about too many people finished. She had to fight in a solo match against a boy from the Sand village. He could manipulate sand and wrapped her in it. Ino tried to use a family mind jutsu on him instead of surrendering. Shikamaru said she just screamed and has not woken up since. She is catatonic right now. Inoichi and a few cousins are trying to help her but they haven't been able to do much."

Sakura was shocked. Naruto looked at all the people in the waiting area. Many different clans were represented. A Nara was sitting staring at the ceiling. A Hyuuga sat stoically apart from the rest. An Inuzuka sat with a trio of dogs. An Aburame stood off in the corner. It did not take a genius to know something bad had happened. Naruto noticed Choji coming out of the bathroom with a few bandages on. He walked over to Choji.

"Hey, Choji. I just got back from a mission. What happened?"

Choji looked at Naruto for a moment before nodding. It was as if he had to think about what Naruto had said before he could respond.

"It was horrible, Naruto. Fifteen people, five teams made it through the second stage of the exam. The Hokage gave a little talk and we ended up having to fight an elimination round before we could move into the finals. Ino got matched up against a redhead from Suna. He was going to crush her with sand. He kept asking her if she could prove his existence. She used her mind jutsu on him even while Shikamaru was telling her to give up. I saw her smirk appear on the boy's face for a moment before both of them screamed. The boy collapsed and Ino was just … she ended up on the ground just staring out straight and twitching. Both got disqualified. Neither one has woken up yet. The Yamanaka's will not even try to work on the Suna boy after trying to get into Ino's mind. One muttered Shukaku and almost spat at the boy after looking into Ino's head."

Naruto was saddened. He never knew Ino that well but she had never been mean to him. Well, outside of being a Sasuke fan girl kind of mean. He looked around the room once more. "Choji, that explains what your team's family is doing here. Why are Team 8's clans here?"

Choji looked down at his feet. "They never finished the second part of the exam. They got ambushed by a foreign heavy combat team who were wearing stolen Leaf headbands. The foreigners used lightning jutsu so people think they might have been from Cloud but no one can prove that. Kiba said they zapped Shino with a lightning strike that fried most of his destruction bugs and nearly killed him. They jumped Kiba next and he ended up taking a hit in place of Akamaru. The attack would have killed the pup but it broke both of Kiba's arms instead. Then the team went after Hinata."

Choji stopped and shuddered. "Kiba said something happened to Hinata. You know how she has always been this shy quiet girl, right? Well, Kiba got a look at her face as she attacked them. He said it was like she was a completely different person. Her hands were literally glowing with chakra as she tore that team to pieces. I mean parts were scattered as far as twenty yards away. But the last one died after he managed to impale her on his sword. All three are in intensive care right now but the medics say all should recover."

Naruto was shocked. The idea that gentle Hinata could lose control like that was easy for him to understand. She had so few people as kind to her as her teammates that she would overcome her shyness to save them. "So if they are going to recover, why the vigil and evil looks between the members of their clans?"

Choji looked down then back into Naruto's eyes. "The Hyuuga elders were furious at the fact Hinata got hurt like she did even though it was received protecting her team instead of ensuring her own safety. One said outright she makes the clan look weak. They were demanding Hiashi put Hinata into the branch family and brand her with their seal. Hiashi has been reluctant to do that to either of his daughters. The Inuzuka and Aburame both claimed blood debt on Hinata and said that it the Hyuuga even attempt it, they will not leave a single other main branch Hyuuga alive. Both clans have formally requested permission to adopt Hinata away from the Hyuuga to keep that damned slavery seal off her forehead."

Naruto was quiet about that. He knew nothing about the Hyuuga other than Hinata was supposed to be the heir. He would have to find out more and soon. No wonder the Old Man looked so worn out. "How are you doing Choji?" he asked.

Choji looked down at his bandages. "A few bumps and bruises. I made it into the finals next month. I had to fight a girl from Suna who used a giant fan and a lot of wind techniques. She was really good but she was distracted by that red haired boy not waking up. I wouldn't have won otherwise even though I was not doing so well because of Ino," he said.

"Wow Choji, good for you. Who else made it?" Naruto asked.

"Besides me; Shikamaru, Hinata's cousin Neji and the guy's whole team, a guy from Suna who uses puppets and two guys from the new Sound village. They cut off the preliminaries when only 8 people were left. The girl on Neji's team, Tenten and one of the Sound guys had their fight postponed so they start things off in the big tournament. The only person not to fight was the crazy spandex kid with the eyebrows you see running around town; Lee. Turns out he is on the team with that girl Tenten and Neji."

Naruto nodded and the silence after Choji finished just went on. Naruto then noticed something. "Um Choji, I gotta go take care of a few things. I just got back from a mission and I am a little ripe. I'll stop back in later on to see how things are going."

Choji nodded. He had not wanted to tell Naruto he reeked but was glad the blonde was developing social skills and noticed it himself. "Thanks, Naruto. Take care."

The blonde headed out to go get cleaned up and eat.

The following morning, Naruto and Sakura stood next to Kakashi in front of the Hokage.

"I have been considering who would make a good fit as a third person on your team. There are not many at the moment. For now, I want to evaluate Uchiha Sasuke as possibly being the last member of your team. He requested being moved and everyone else on his current team endorsed it. He has been disruptive and is not a team player but he is a highly skilled genin. Kakashi, I know you failed the genin on Team 7 six months ago but I want to see how the originally planned Team 7 works out."

Kakashi nodded but all three people facing the Hokage had a bad feeling about this.

Next Chapter: Rage of the Uchiha

End Notes:
For the new outfits, make Naruto's classic orange outfit a dark gray and used the Shippuden neckline on it. Sakura is basically in just below the knee black spandex pants with very little equipment on her legs. She has the standard kunai and shuriken pouches but more of her stuff is in the equipment belt and chest area pouches. This frees her legs since most of her taijutsu attacks are kick based. She is also wearing the ninja equivalent of hobnailed boots for increased impact.

I cut this chapter off sooner than I had originally planned because the build up to the possible reunification of the planned Team 7. I try for 5,000 word chapter with some overrun. It took much longer than my outline called for to get to the point I stopped at. I wanted to show the underlying tension in Konoha around Naruto and Sakura as well as show off a few of their skills. They are by no means 'uber' but they are much better than the average genin. If they fought Kakashi full out serious, they might surprise him for a few seconds but would still lose. In skill, I would place them at low chunin in hand to hand since that is the main area of their military training. Together they would be able to take down a solo chunin easily or have a reasonable chance of defeating a rookie chunin in a one on one situation. They still lack the flashy or high powered jutsu we normally see in the manga with having learned smaller more useful ones.

For anyone wanting to keep track, the five teams that made it through the second part of the Chunin Exam were, Sand Siblings, Team 10, Team Guy, the team from Sound and a military ninja squad from Konoha. Sadly the obscure team got some kudos for getting there but they got beat down by Neji, Kankuro and Dosu.

Review Notes:
Gashi (Sai) will not be back any time soon. He has a long visit with the guys in the white coats and some I love me time before they can get him working enough mentally to not be a Root minion.

Once the Team 7 in this story had been failed, I did say that Sasuke had been used as a replacement in an existing team but never said which one. There had also been that snipe hunt the troublesome Uchiha got sent on. People against his joining the team should know he will not be there for long. I have other plans for him.

A few members of Root survived and escaped capture. Some were simply not there to be captured. However, the leader, the support network and most of the internal spies were taken out. Sarutobi is not starting a witch hunt for the remaining few but going to get what he can out of the prisoners and help the ones who were not fully brainwashed. Some survivors might not even know the identities of other survivors. Like the French resistance in WW2 or more modern terrorists, the Root was drawn from locals so they can blend back in unnoticed.

Danzo captured was indeed the real one. Sarutobi did not kill him outright because he needs information out of the warhawk. It would have been easier to do so but only Danzo knows all the shadows Root was working in. The chance to learn what he was up to is for the moment all his life is worth.

Posted 05/29/09