A/N: Sorry I didn't put this up on Wednesday. I've been super busy and fighting with my computer since Sunday trying to shake a couple of nasty viruses. Needless to say, I managed to get very little work done on this story in the meantime. Thanks as always to Leafy for her beta work. Without further ado, here's chapter 9:
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.
Chapter 9
The mood in the Hokage's office was tense as Tsunade listened to Yuugao's recount of the fight with Sasuke. She had, of course, met the caravan at the gates to greet the Daimyo and, after seeing to his every need, ordered the ANBU and Yamato to her office for a debriefing. Despite the gravity of the situation, as a medic, Tsunade first checked over the team for any injuries, healing any that had been overlooked or not completely healed.
"And that's what happened Hokage-sama." concluded Yuugao. Glancing around the room to find the rest of the members nodding to her in confirmation of the story, Tsunade sighed.
"Thank you Yuugao. I'm sorry you and your team were injured. Take the next day off, but I need each of you ready for the Chuunin exams."
"Hai, Hokage-sama" the ANBU team saluted and left.
Turning to Yamato, Tsunade said, "I need you to update the bingo book. While a C rank may have suited Sasuke when he first defected to sound, if I'm to believe Yuugao's report, Uchiha Sasuke must now be treated as a powerful, hostile threat. As Hokage, I declare Uchiha Sasuke an A-rank missing-nin to be killed on sight."
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Nine days before Naruto and company returned to Konoha in a dark room of an underground fortress sat a solitary figure. "Welcome back Sasuke-kun." it said, turning to look at the shadow that had silently entered his chambers. Taking in the appearance of his subordinate and future vessel, Orochimaru couldn't help but smirk. 'Not a scratch on him. Against five seasoned shinobi…and they called me a genius. At his age, even I would have fallen to him.'
"Here is the folder." Sasuke said simply dropping the folder on the table next to Orochimaru. "Now, teach me the jutsu you promised me!"
"Kukuku…Patience Sasuke-kun, patience." he chided. "I have a couple things to take care of; I shall show you in a bit."
With a frown, Sasuke turned to leave. "I'll be in the training room. I would suggest you hurry unless you wish to lose some of your precious few Jounin."
Orochimaru couldn't help but lick his lips in appreciation. He truly loved that boy. He had a mean streak that could rival his own and his one-track mind caused him to train tirelessly, sculpting him into the perfect host for Orochimaru. 'Soon.' he thought, turning his attention to the files Sasuke had delivered.
Opening the envelope, Orochimaru began to scan the documents enclosed. His eyes widened. Oh yes, this was perfect. Standing, he moved out of his chambers-he had events to set in motion.
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Staring down at the file, the massive robed figure couldn't suppress a twinge of excitement. While he may not like the self-appointed Otokage, the man was incredibly good at obtaining information-information that not even the best of his spies could catch whispers of. While he wouldn't trust the snake as far as he could throw him,
Turning to his attendant the Raikage ordered. "Get Nii Yugito immediately." There was little time to prepare, but it looked as though he would be sending a team to Konoha's Chuunin exam after all…
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At around the same time, in another part of the world, the news brought by the Otokage was not met with the same enthusiasm. "Impossible!" shouted an imposing figure.
Rushing into the office at his superior's shouts, the attendant found the normally unflappable Tsuchikage seething in anger, his desk lay in ruins. "What is it sir?!" asked the attendant.
Tossing the file to his most trusted advisor, the Tsuchikage said, "I will be taking my team to Konoha for the exams. That man's blood must be wiped from this Earth!"
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The day before the Chuunin exam, Naruto woke early in excitement. No he wasn't excited about the exam and his nearly guaranteed promotion. No, it wasn't that he was once again backin Konoha. No, today was his first ever date with one Haruno Sakura.
With time to spare before he was to meet Sakura for lunch, Naruto decided to simply wander the town a bit. Though he'd only been back for a day, Naruto could already clearly tell that his confrontation with the villagers when he first returned from his training trip spread throughout the village. Rather than the hate-filled glares he was used to receiving, he found fear in the eyes of most and, in a small subset, apology and shame. None had the gall to approach him, but the change in attitude surrounding him was a pleasant one. Making his way leisurely to his team's training ground, Naruto's keen eyes noticed many shinobi from different villages apparently in Konoha for the exams.
Forming the familiar cross-shaped hand seal, Naruto was just about to form some clones to work on some various tasks for him. Sensing someone behind him, he turned to find none other than Yamanaka Ino. Smiling at her he said, "Ino-chan, what brings you here?"
Quirking an eyebrow at the new suffix, Ino responded in turn. "What am I doing here? What are you doing here? Don't you have a big date soon?"
Chuckling, he continued their little game of questions, "Sakura told you, huh?" Seeing her nod he continued. "Yeah, we're going to Ichiraku in about an hour."
"So I repeat…what are you doing here. Surely you're not planning on training beforehand?" She posed the last statement as a question with a dangerous look in her eye.
"Er, no?…of course not?" Naruto backpedaled. "I was just coming out here to make some clones to work on a few projects of mine while I did other things today."
Slapping herself in the forehead, Ino rounded on him. "Now, you listen here mister!" she yelled, "Doing something so rude is unacceptable! I will not allow you to ruin this for her." Looking him up and down she growled "And surely you weren't planning on wearing that."
Looking down at his attire, Naruto didn't know what to say. "What do you mean, I always wear this."
"Exactly!" she said, getting exasperated. "You have to dress up-wear something different to show that you care." Seeing the clueless expression on his face, she grabbed him by the front of his jacket and began to pull him along behind him.
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Just over an hour later, Naruto found himself seated in front of the hospital waiting for Sakura to get on her break. The previous 60 minutes was a swirl of colors and fabric as Ino took him on his first ever shopping-with-a-girl experience. And so, it was a dazed Naruto that Sakura found waiting for her. Noticing the look on his face and the new attire he had on, she couldn't help but laugh. "Let me guess, Ino?"
Noticing her for the first time, he turned and with a sheepish smile said, "Yeah…that girl's a nightmare! Are all girls so terrifying when shopping?"
Laughing at him, she slugged him lightly on the shoulder. "Don't call her a nightmare, she's a good friend. Besides, you look great…she did you a favor."
"You look great too Sakura-chan!" he said automatically making her smile. Then, actually looking at her attire he noticed she too had dressed up for their date. With a smile, he silently thanked Ino for her assistance. "Really though, what's the occasion?" he asked with a wink indicating her outfit.
With another laugh and slap on the arm, the two headed to Ichiraku.
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Entering the tent, Naruto couldn't help but grin. While training with Jiraiya, he had managed to kick his complete dependence of the stuff, as far as he was concerned, ramen remained the single greatest food on the planet. Waving towards the friendly old owner, Teuchi and his daughter, he steered Sakura towards a table in a corner where they could have some privacy. Passing a group of Cloud nins, Naruto had a peculiar feeling. Turning to look at the group more closely, when he focused on the sandy-blond-haired Jounin with them and he could hear Kyuubi inexplicably growling in his cage. Unable to contain himself, Naruto uttered a deep, quiet growl. As if sensing his eyes on her (which likely, she did), the kunoichi turned to him and snarled at him with a raised lip.
With a light tug on his arm from Sakura, the moment passed and both looked away, turning back to their respective business. "What was that?" asked a surprised Sakura.
Blinking, he answered, "Sorry about that. I honestly have no idea. I've never seen her before. But, there's just something about her that rubs me the wrong way." still unable, to fully shake the feeling of aggression the kunoichi inspired. "It's strange though, I didn't think Cloud nins attended our Chuunin exams, at least…not since the Hyuuga incident."
Shrugging, Sakura replied "That's true, but it's not like they're not invited. It's been over 10 years; I suppose it was bound to happen eventually."
"Yeah…" said Naruto, his thoughts interrupted by the waitress coming to take their order. With the moment passed and the hairs on the back of his neck settling again, Naruto turned the conversation back towards topics more befitting a date. "So, Sakura-chan, you heard about my journeys, but I've yet to hear about how you spent the last few years. Fill me in."
Smiling at the question, she obliged. "Well, for the sake of time, I'll give you the short version. After you left, I was the only remaining member of Team 7 still in Konoha. For the sake of team dynamics, I was assigned to Team 10. Although, we were really only a team in name-we never took missions together or anything. Ino and I had a long discussion the day after you left. We both realized that our approach to shinobi life up to that point just wasn't cutting it. In the end, I approached Tsunade-shishou and basically demanded to be made her apprentice and, for whatever reason, she accepted. Training under Tsunade-shishou was brutal, but I certainly can't fault the results. Sadly, between my training and Ino's own, we missed the next two Chuunin exams. Those were both held in Kirigakure and only Neji and Shino made Chuunin that year even though Lee finally beet Neji in their fight in the finals. It wasn't until the exams in Tsuchigakure when Tsunade-shishou actually allowed me to participate in the exams again. Since Ino was content in her ANBU duties and decided to wait for your return to take the exams again, Chouji and I joined Tenten under Gai-sensei for the exam. I actually managed to get to the finals in that exam, defeating a Grass nin in the preliminaries. It's a good thing I had Tsunade-shishou's training in medical jutsu or the poisons she used would have done a lot more damage." Sakura laughed thinking back on the look of shock the Grass kunoichi showed as she removed the poison-tipped senbon with apparently no ill effects.
"Unfortunately, my first match in the finals, I fought Hinata. She and Lee made Chuunin that exam and I learned first hand just why the Jyuuken is so feared. I made Chuunin along with Kiba in the next exam which was held in Suna. I actually won the tournament-style finals, beating Kiba for the title." She made a peace sign sticking out her tongue in victory. "After that, I've just mainly spent my time training with Tsunade-shishou and working in the hospital. I've actually started thinking about taking the Jounin exams soon."
"Wow Sakura-chan!" exclaimed an impressed Naruto when she finished. "That's amazing; you've really become strong haven't you?"
Her eyes shining with emotion, Sakura nodded and said with conviction, "Yeah…I've been training hard. Next time I see Sasuke-kun, I will bring him back to Konoha!"
The smile on Naruto's face immediately disappeared and his voice gained a dangerous edge to it. "You should really forget about that traitor. If I have anything to say about it, the only way he'll be coming back to Konoha is in a body bag."
Looking as though she'd been slapped, Sakura faced Naruto. "How can you say such a thing?! He was your best friend we're supposed to bring him back and reunite Team 7!"
"Was being the key word." spat Naruto opening his shirt. "There are some wounds that never heal and cannot be forgiven." he said, indicating the scar adorning his chest above his heart. Anything more that the two may have had to say was cut short as a massive killing intent washed over them.
A/N: A little bit of a cliffy. The next chapter will be out on Monday. Though I haven't progressed very much over the last couple weeks, I did manage to pump out a detailed outline for the next many chapters, so hopefully progress will be faster now.
Jutsu Library:
None for this chapter.