The Legend of Naruto
Chunin Exam arc
Kurama no Kyubi: Welcome back guys. I can't think of anything to say right now, so let's just get over to the reviews.
Nianque: So... Farore's Wind Shadow Clones Hirashin replica? Have a bunch of shadow clones running all over the place and when you need a teleport a clone activates Farore's Wind then you activate it and bam. Instant hirashin.
Kurama no Kyubi: Well, in this story, Farore's Wind is more of a power-up than just a means of transportation… but I like the idea.
ImagineBreaker7: Awesome chapter I like the things you added to this chapter Din's fire, the Dodongo, and Ventus having a connection to Orochimaru. I can't wait to read more.
Kurama no Kyubi: Yeah, well. I've been planning on Sasuke getting Din's Fire, and Naruto finding Dimitri for a while, though Ventus having a connection to Orochimaru was something I came up with at the last minute.
Guest: you're story's progress quite smoothly but have you considered using my were fox idea yet for this story if so please think about it okay also there is a difference between the elemental channeling of the magister's rod and Naruto's sword gems elemental power for one thing the power of the sword is more direct while the magister rod works more as ranged and trap type of weapon. also as for my erza suggestion recently I would suggest that she should play the role of a weapon master and sword master trainer for naruto to learn new sword techniques and techiniques for any weapon and gear he obtains which could really help him out in a pinch.
Kurama no Kyubi: Well, I have thought about that were-fox idea, yes. But I'm having trouble incorporating it into the story. If I find a way though, I will add it. Also thanks for the suggestion on Erza.
McCree114: Looks like Sasuke got a level up, and the "excuse me princess" reference was pretty clever. You should slip in some references to the CD-I games. When Sakura defeats someone they'll scream "You've killed me!" and she'll just say "Good!".
Kurama no Kyubi: Thanks for the suggestion, but I haven't played the CD-I games before, and I'm not planning to any time soon. I might use that "You've killed me!" reference though.
"Triforce." Normal speech
'Triforce.' Normal thought
"Triforce." Biju and God speech
'Triforce.' Biju and God thought
Sakura: Kurama no Kyubi doesn't own anything but his OCs.
Chapter 9: Death-match in the Forest of Death
Somewhere in the forest were a bunch of Ame-nins in black suits attacking team Terra. The Ame-nins were, however, no more than Genjutsu, though it was apparent that the real ones were hiding pretty close by.
"Freeze!" Chilly said as she extended her hand, and many of the Genjutsu Ame-nins suddenly stopped moving as though they were frozen in place. She then clenched her open palm into a fist "Shatter!" And the Genjutsu Ame-nins shattered as though they were made of glass.
A kunai was then thrown at Terra, but to the Ame-nins' surprise, it just bounced off his cheek.
"Heh. You've gotta try harder than that!" He said as he punched the ground so hard that it caused a small earthquake before columns of earth suddenly burst up from the ground all around them, destroying many of the fake Ame-nins.
"Found 'em!" Ray said as he held his right hand in front of his face in a one-handed hand sign. He then grabbed the metal pole that was on his back and threw it in the direction of the Ame-nins, somehow managing to have it land exactly vertically on the ground.
"Raijin: lvl 1!" Suddenly a bolt of lightning shot down from the sky, hit the metal pole, and knocked the three Ame-nins out which caused the Genjutsu to dissipate.
"Well, look at what we've got here." Terra said as he rose to his feet after having searched the Ame-nins for a scroll "A heaven scroll. Just what we needed."
"These guys were so weak that Raijin: lvl 1 was enough to take them out? Pathetic." Chilly said before noticing that Ray was staring off into the distance "Hey, Ray, is there something wrong?"
"Huh? Oh. No. Nothing's wrong." Ray said as he looked at her, and she just shrugged before walking over to Terra as Ray looked back towards where he had been looking before 'Ventus, what were you thinking trying to take on someone of his caliber all by yourself? You should be happy that you're still in one piece.'
Forest of Death, team 7
Sakura sighed as she looked over everyone before her. Naruto and Sasuke were still out-cold and right now, Naruto's new pet, Dimitri, was curled-up and sleeping on the blond's stomach.
Some time ago, there was a massive storm blowing, several trees were even knocked down. They had been lucky to find this tree which had its roots above ground, almost making a small cave. And the three Fairies had used their combined powers to hold up a barrier which just barely managed to out-last the storm, however, keeping up the barrier for so long had led the three of them exhausted, and they just collapsed after said barrier went down.
'His breathing is improving, but his fever's still so high.' Sakura thought as she examined Sasuke before thinking 'I… I've… I've got to protect them… all of them.'
What she didn't realize, however, was that the three Oto-nins were watching her.
"Heh heh… There they are. As Orochimaru-sama commanded, we'll strike at dawn. And our target is Uchiha Sasuke." Dosu said.
"If the other two get in the way, we can take 'em out, right?" Zaku asked.
"Of course." Dosu replied.
As time went on, Sakura started getting sleepy, but she shook her head to keep herself awake before she looked up through the trees.
'I can't let myself sleep…. Oh! It's already dawn?' She thought before hearing something behind her, and she quickly pulled out a kunai before slowly turning around… only to see that it was a squirrel 'A squirrel…?' "What are you up to, scaring me like that?"
The squirrel then ran towards her, getting dangerously close to one of the traps, so Sakura threw her kunai at the ground just in front of the small animal.
'That was close. That was too close.' She thought as the squirrel ran away.
"She's pretty tightly wound. I wonder if she noticed the explosive tag we stuck on the squirrel." Zaku said.
"No… that's not it…" Dosu said.
"What then, Dosu? What's going on?" Zaku asked.
"… We'll have to get closer to find out. So… what are we waiting for?" Dosu said.
Forest of Death, Lee
A few minutes ago, the three members of team Guy had decided to split up to individually look for opposing teams, though no matter what happened, they all had to be back at the rendezvous point in 30 minutes.
Lee was currently jumping from branch-to-branch through the forest until he eventually stopped at one of the branches as he saw 20 tree-leaves falling down.
'If I can catch all 20 of these leaves before any of them hits the ground, then Sakura-san will fall in love with me! But if I miss even one… then my love for her will never be requited. And she'll probably make fun of my hair.' He thought before leaping down towards the leaves and he started catching them, one-by-one.
'Just one more try…' He thought as he reached for the last leaf, but then he noticed something out of the corner of his eyes 'It's…!' He saw a squirrel that had an explosive tag on its back.
BOOM!
As the smoke cleared, Lee lied on the ground with the squirrel in his left hand and the explosive tag in his right.
"Just in the nick of time. An explosive tag… on a very short timer. Who would do something so cruel?" Lee said as he crunched the tag.
Forest of Death, team 10
Shikamaru, Ino and Choji were hiding behind some bushes as Neji passed them.
"Come out of hiding… unless you're a coward." Neji said.
"How'd he spot us when we hid so fast?" Ino whispered before looking at the other two "My masterful plan A – hiding until anyone who might hurt us is gone – has failed. Time for plan B."
"What a drag… finding us like that." Shikamaru whispered before the three of them came out of the bushes.
"Oh! What an honor. Hyuga Neji-sama, last year's rookie of the year… fancy meeting you here." Ino said.
"Wow… can I have your autograph?" Shikamaru asked.
"Oh! It's you three…" Neji said.
'Get a load of this.' Ino thought before she pulled off her hair-string and she said "I can't tell you how long… I've dreamt of meeting you."
"Get lost." Neji said as he walked away.
'Why? Why didn't he find me sexy? What's wrong with him? It makes me so mad!' Ino thought as she angrily raised a fist in Neji's direction.
'I tried to tell you he wouldn't go for it.' Shikamaru thought.
"Hey… Does that fist you're shaking in my direction mean you want to fight me?" Neji asked.
"Heh heh. O-of course not." Ino said before thinking 'H-how could he know that… unless he does have eyes on the back of his head?'
"Then get lost. I wouldn't demean myself by taking a scroll from losers like you. It would make me a laughing-stock." Neji said.
"O-okay." Ino said as she and her teammates jumped back into the bushes.
"Hmph… They're like cockroaches." Neji said before he continued walking.
"Let's go see if we can pick off some weaklings." Ino said.
'I doubt we'll find anyone weaker than us.' Shikamaru thought.
Forest of Death, Aqua
'There's no way that storm earlier was just a coincidence!' Aqua thought as she jumped from branch-to-branch as she continued thinking 'Just what are you doing, Ventus-kun?'
She then came to a halt as she sensed something through the moisture in the air.
"Huh? That feels like…!" She then turned to her left and jumped off in that direction.
Forest of Death, team 7
"Heh heh… You've been up all night standing guard, eh?" Sakura heard a voice from behind her and she turned around to see the three Oto-nins.
"As of now, you're off duty. Just wake Sasuke for us. the three of us want to take him on." Dosu said.
"Wh-what are you talking about? I know that some guy named Orochimaru is the one who's pulling all the strings… so what do you want?" Sakura yelled, shocking the three Oto-nins before she continued "What does this mark on Sasuke-kun's neck mean? With Sasuke-kun in this condition… now you want to fight him? Get out of here! Go!"
"Hmm… I wonder what Orochimaru-sama's up to?" Dosu said as Sakura was wondering what he was talking about.
"Whatever… I can't walk away after hearing that. I'll destroy you, girl… and your little Sasuke-kun, too." Zaku said.
"Wait, Zaku." Dosu said.
"Wait? Why?" Zaku asked before Dosu took a few steps forward before kneeling down.
"It's obvious… freshly turned stones, exposed soil… grass in a place it would never grow… someone's been setting booby traps… but what's the point of laying them if you leave evidence that warns your prey?" Dosu said as he ripped away the grass that Sakura had laid down.
"It's amateurish. So… the person who threw the kunai was trying to stop the squirrel from springing the trap?" Zaku said.
"Well, the girl is no use to us… so let's eliminate her first." Dosu said before he and his two teammates jumped into the air.
They didn't notice however that they were walking straight into Sakura's trap as she cut a string with her kunai while smirking, and a log suddenly swung down towards the three.
"A log? The trap was above us all along!" Dosu yelled before he put his right hand on the log and said "Very funny." He then made a one-handed hand sign with his left hand and the log suddenly blew up to Sakura's surprise "To be honest… you know you're a complete no-talent, don't you? Stop dogging it and start working at it. It's an insult being underestimated by slackers like you."
"Konoha Senpou!" The three Oto-nins were suddenly kicked back as none other than Rock Lee landed in front of Sakura.
'Whoa… it's that guy who…?' Sakura thought.
"Look at who's talking… Try taking your own advice." Lee said.
"Wh-who are you?" Dosu asked.
"Konoha's handsome blue beast… Rock Lee." Lee said.
"Where did you come from?" Sakura asked.
"I came... because you needed me. And I always will." Lee said before he put down the squirrel which had just been on his shoulder while thinking 'Actually, it's thanks to my little friend here…'
"I don't know how to thank you. You're a lifesaver." Sakura said.
"I promised when we met to protect you… until death do us part." Lee said and Sakura thought back to what he had said when they met.
"I'll protect you with my life!"
'Yes. I understand. I get it, Guy-sensei.' Lee thought.
"They're as good as dead!" Dosu said as he got ready to attack.
'From the looks of it… Sakura-san doesn't have any more fight left in her, either.' Lee thought as Sakura started to pull out a kunai from her weapons pouch.
'This unibrow kid is obviously a virtuoso of Taijutsu. He'll make an excellent plaything.' Dosu thought as he ran towards the two Konoha-nins.
Sakura then threw the kunai, but Dosu jumped into the air and came down towards Lee, who punched his right arm through the ground and he pulled up the roots of a tree to block Dosu's punch.
"This is some kind of illusion, right? So, I'd be wasting my time ducking as though your attacks were real. I've seen you use these moves before." Lee said.
'He's… so strong!' Sakura thought.
'But there's three of them and one of me, so they have the advantage. It's a gamble, but if I take them one at a time… my strength should be enough to beat them.' Lee thought.
Forest of Death, team 10
"Gah! How can we pick off the weak when we can't find any weaklings?" Ino asked.
"Well… besides Naruto's team, of course." Shikamaru said.
"What are you talking about, you baka?" Ino yelled.
"What?" Shikamaru asked.
"Naruto and Sakura are total losers… but they're teamed up with Sasuke-kun, the best of the best!" Ino yelled.
"Now, why is that? Maybe your precious Sasuke-kun is better in theory than he is in practice." Shikamaru said, but when he saw the mad look on Ino's face, he said "All right, all right, sorry for dissing your idol!" '… That girl is a total drag. Every time I open my mouth about Sasuke, she goes off on me.'
"There's no way anyone here is going to beat Sasuke-kun. But Sakura? She's a complete wimp!" Ino said as Choji saw something on the other side of some bushes.
"Hey! Sasuke's unconscious. And Sakura's defending him." He said and Ino and Shikamaru looked towards where Choji was looking.
Forest of Death, team Guy
Neji and Tenten were both back at their rendezvous point, but there were no sign of Lee anywhere.
"It's not like Lee to keep us waiting. It's odd… he's usually such a stickler about punctuality. … I wonder if he ran into trouble…" Tenten said.
"Not him. No way. But we should still look for him." Neji said.
"Right." Tenten said before they shunshined away.
Forest of Death, team 7
'Guy-sensei, the time has surely come for me to use the forbidden move you taught me… and not hold back.' Lee thought as he unwrapped the bandages around his arms 'I'm defending the life of someone who means the world to me.' He then crouched down before disappearing.
'Where'd he go?' Dosu thought just before Lee appeared under him and with one powerful kick to the jaw, sent him high into the air before jumping after.
"I'm not done with you yet!" Lee said when he came up behind the Oto-nin and his bandages suddenly wrapped themselves around Dosu and the two of them spiraled – head-first – towards the ground.
"He's wide open… can't make a move to defend himself. Oh, crud!" Zaku said as he weaved a series of hand signs.
"Take this! Omote Renge!" Lee said just before they hit the ground.
He then jumped away at the last second, but as he landed he saw that the ground that Dosu had landed on had somehow been turn to a pillow of soil.
"Whew… looks like I made it…" Zaku said before he pulled his hands out of the ground.
"No way." Lee said when Dosu got back up on his feet.
"… What a terrible technique… I managed to land on a pillow of soil… and it still almost wiped me out. But now… it's my turn…" Dosu said as he got ready to attack.
'Oh… this is not good… that last move I did just toasted me. I've got nothing.' Lee thought just before Dosu ran towards him and swung his right arm. Lee barely managed to dodge it, but then he fell down on his knees.
"Your moves may be fast… but ours are super-sonic. And muscles alone can't break down this wall of sound." Dosu said and Lee suddenly vomited.
"LEE-SAN!" Sakura yelled.
'My left ear…' Lee thought as he felt an intensive pain in said ear and he brought his hand up to it.
"It's this appliance on my arm, you see? It prevents you from breaking my attacks." Dosu said.
"What did you use on him?" Sakura asked.
"Heh heh heh… It's sound. Even if you block my fist, the sound waves reach you." Dosu said.
'Sound?' Lee thought.
"Do you understand the fundamental nature of sound?" Dosu asked.
"Vibrations…?" Sakura guessed.
"Precisely. When you hear a sound, it's actually those vibrations displacing the air, which trembles against your eardrum. And the human eardrum – the tympanic membrane – ruptures when exposed to sound levels in excess of 150 phons. Moreover, if the sound is powerful enough to upset the semi-circular canals of the inner ear, it becomes impossible for you to maintain your balance. Heh heh… And it will be some time before your equilibrium returns." Dosu explained.
"So, you see, crude, old-fashioned Taijutsu simply won't work against us. You did start out very well, though. It's rare for a foe to force me to reveal the nature of my techniques. But now the tide has turned against you. I can wield sound waves as a weapon… with enough force to crush entire boulders. And with a mere thought I can use sound waves to force air into the earth beneath me, transforming rock-hard soil into the softest kind of cushion… a far more elegant and effective art than your crude application of brute force." Zaku said.
'Blast him…' Lee thought as he remembered what Guy had told him after he had learned the Omote Renge.
"The only time you may use this technique… is to protect someone very dear to you."
"… To protect… someone dear to me…?"
"But even if you never employ it, I'm very proud of you for mastering this technique. Good work, Lee."
'Kuso…' Lee thought.
"And now… it's your turn." Dosu said as he charged towards Sakura.
"Kuso…!" Lee said.
'He's coming.' Sakura thought as she prepared herself, but then to her surprise Lee jumped in front of her.
"Nani?" Dosu yelled in surprise before thinking 'Impossible!'
'Lee-san!' Sakura thought as Lee moved in for a roundhouse kick.
"Konoha Senpou!" He called out, but he then felt great pain in his left ear and Dosu managed to jump over his kick.
"My last attack is finally showing some effect. You startled me at first… but now, where's that fast, laser-sharp attack of just a few moments ago?" Dosu said as he attempted to slam the underside of his arm on Lee's head, but said Taijutsu user managed to block it.
"This arm of mine magnifies every little sound from within to the utmost limits. It's an amplifier… and it goes to 11." Dosu said as powerful waves of sound came out of his amplifier and went into Lee's left ear "And not only that, but far from relying on the momentum of my arm's swing… I can use my chakra to direct its power toward my chosen prey, wherever he may lie."
"LEE-SAN!" Sakura yelled as Lee fell down to the ground.
"Now… for the coup de grace." Dosu said.
"I don't think so!" Sakura yelled as she pulled out several kunai and shuriken. She then threw the kunai at Dosu, but said Oto-nin easily blocked it with his amplifier.
"… Oh… my…" He said.
Forest of Death, team 10
"Running away sounds like a good plan. Those guys are getting creamed." Choji whispered as they watched the battle that was going on.
"It looks like Sasuke and Naruto are just unconscious… but… the famous Lee's obviously had his butt kicked, and Sakura's all alone… what are you going to do Ino?" Shikamaru whispered.
"Why… why are you asking me?" Ino asked.
"I mean, Sakura's in deep. We can't just leave her… can we? Wasn't she, like your best friend or something?" Shikamaru whispered and Ino suddenly thought back to when she and Sakura first became rivals.
"Um… Ino-chan?"
"What's up, Sakura?"
"I heard someone saying…"
"Saying what?"
"Saying that you like Sasuke-kun, too."
"Nani?"
"If it's true… that makes us… rivals."
'Why am I remembering that now?' The Yamanaka heiress thought.
"Hey, Ino. What's it gonna be?" Shikamaru asked.
"There's nothing we can do. If we blunder in now… we may just make things worse." Ino whispered, trying not to yell before thinking 'Those guys would take me out in about 10 seconds flat. Not even I… can beat them.'
Forest of Death, team 7
Sakura threw the shuriken, but Zaku came up in front of the throwing-stars before sending them back towards Sakura with a wave of sound.
'My shuriken… were repelled by a wall of air!' Sakura thought as she dodged them, but then Kin grabbed the Konoha kunoichi's hair.
"Lovely hair… so much more bounce and shine than mine has. What ninja technique is that, Deep Conditioning no jutsu? You're a disgrace to all shinobi… fussing with your looks when you should concentrate on your training." Kin said before looking at Zaku "Zaku… why don't you finish of Sasuke or one of her other fallen heart-throbs… right in front of this lovesick little pig? The least we can do… is entertain her."
"Hah! Good one." Zaku said before walking towards where the others were lying.
'No! They wouldn't…!' Sakura thought.
"Hold still." Kin said.
'S-Sakura-san…' Lee thought.
"All right. Let's do it." Zaku said as he got closer to the two sleeping Genin.
"Hey. Sasuke and Naruto are in deep trouble." Shikamaru whispered.
'Wh-what'll we do?' Ino thought.
As Zaku approached them, however, Dimitri's eyes opened as he woke up, and he instantly sensed danger and looked towards Zaku.
"Well, well. Looks like the little guy's awake… whatever he is." Zaku said.
"Dimitri, you need to get out of here! You can't beat these guys!" Sakura yelled.
"Heh heh… Say good-night." Zaku said as he raised his arm towards Dimitri, but just then, the small Dodongo jumped up and head-butted Zaku in the gut so hard that he was sent skidding backwards.
"Rrgh! You little…!" He said as he held his arms over his stomach as Dimitri landed in front of Naruto and Sasuke while growling.
Forest of Death, team 10
"A baby Dodongo?" Shikamaru whispered surprised.
"A baby-what?" Choji asked.
"Dodongo. They're a species of dinosaurs that live in the warmest parts of the Land of Earth. What would one of them be doing here?" Shikamaru whispered.
Forest of Death, team 7
Dimitri's cheeks then puffed as though he was preparing some kind of breath attack, but when he opened his mouth to unleash it, there was a burping sound and smoke came out his mouth instead.
"What the hell was that?" Inner Sakura yelled as her outer self had a dumbfounded expression on her face.
"Heh. Were you trying to gross us out to death by burping?" Zaku asked before raised his left arm and pointed it towards Dimitri.
"Dimitri, get out of there!" Sakura yelled, trying to get free from Kin's grip.
"It's no use. No matter how hard you try, you can't get free." Kin said.
Just then, however, a spear of water came out through Kin's stomach before said spear morphed into Aqua's upper body. The blunette then swung her right arm at Kin so hard that the Oto-nin was sent flying as the Tani-nin jumped out of the Oto-nin and landed before Sakura.
"Ah! Y-you're…!" Sakura started, surprise evident in her voice.
"I can't just stand by and watch as a defenseless girl is getting beaten up." Aqua said as she assumed a fighting stance.
Dosu looked the girl over, she was clearly different from any of the others here. Right now, her body looked like it was some kind of liquid, with some areas transparent, almost like water. There were also countless of drops of water which seemed to come from the girl, hanging suspended in the air around her.
"Hmph. Great. Here's another pest." Zaku said before pointing his right arm towards Aqua.
"Zaku, wait!" Dosu said, but his fellow Oto-nin didn't listen.
"Zankuha!" Zaku called out, and a powerful sound-waves shot out of the tube in his palm.
"Water Shield!" Aqua said as she raised her hand with the palm out before a shield of water appeared before her, blocking Zaku's attack.
'Water?' Zaku thought.
"… And now… Water Spears!" Aqua said, and suddenly came several spears made out of water out of the shield, and they shot towards Zaku.
The Oto-nin managed to block the spears with a shield of air, however. But then, Dimitri bit the Genin's left arm, and Zaku started shaking his arm, trying to get the Dodongo off, but to no avail. He then rather grabbed Dimitri's tail, and pulled him off instead.
"All right, that's it! You'll be the first one I'll kill." Zaku said before Aqua suddenly appeared in his face, and she gave him a double-palm-strike to the gut followed by a vortex of water which sent him flying into a tree as he lost his grip on Dimitri who was then caught by Aqua who proceeded to hug him like a child that had just found their favorite toy.
"Oooh, a baby Dodongo! Aren't you just the cutest? Yes, you are." She said before two senbon suddenly right through her, causing some water to come out of her and splatter onto the ground.
She then looked towards where they came from to see Kin standing there with three more at the ready. Aqua then held Dimitri in her right arm as she extended her left towards Kin as a ball of water suddenly formed out of the moisture in the air before her palm.
"That hurt, y'know. Water Pulse!" The ball of water then shot towards Kin, and as it hit, it sent her flying into the trunk of a tree.
"Impressive. I've never even heard of someone with powers like yours before. Clearly neither Zaku nor Kin stand a chance against you." Dosu said.
"That's right. So you better just surrender while you can… and leave your scroll while you're at it." Aqua said.
"However, I'm in a totally different league then them. And with my powers, I may very well be the only one in these exams capable of defeating you." Dosu said.
"Be careful, he uses sound to attack." Sakura said.
"Sound?" Aqua asked before Dosu charged towards her. Aqua then jumped back just in time to avoid getting hit as she also put up a shield of water in front of herself.
'Nani? It's just water, yet it feels like I'm hitting a steel wall! But even so…' Dosu thought as he smirked at the last words before the sound came out of the holes in his amplifier and straight through the water before hitting Aqua in the stomach.
"Kh… kyaaaaaaaaaaaaa!" She screamed as it felt like her body was turned inside-out before collapsing down on the ground, hardly conscious.
"Sound-waves travel through water, and since your body basically contains nothing but water, I might be the only one in the exams that you can't even hope to defeat." Dosu said before extending his arm to his right as he was getting ready to charge at Sakura "Now then…"
'What shall I do? What can I do? Naruto, Sasuke-kun, Lee-san, Aqua-san. They're all knocked out… I'd always… thought of myself as a full-fledged ninja… proud to be an equal as I trailed after my teammates, crushing on Sasuke-kun and scolding Naruto… watching them… safely from the background. While they would both risk anything to protect me. Lee-san says he likes me, too… and he risked his life to come between me and danger. And Aqua-san too, even though you're supposed to be our enemy, and even Dimitri tried to help. You're all my teachers… and you've shown me what I want to be… like all of you. Now it's your turn to watch my back.' Sakura thought as she rose to her feet and the Triforce mark started glowing as she closed her eyes.
"Sakura-chan, you must guide the wielders of Courage and Power, and discover who your real friends and enemies are. This is something that only you can do with your great Wisdom!" When Sakura opened her eyes, she found herself in an unfamiliar place. (Kurama no Kyubi: It's identical to the place that Sasuke found himself in the previous chapter.)
She walked towards the pedestal which was in front of the large gate. As she approached the pedestal, she looked at the six holes in it before recalling something her mother had told her a long time ago.
"Sakura-chan, a long time ago there existed a Golden Power which could make whoever possessed it capable of doing the most amazing things. Travel through time, create world-peace, or even bring back the dead. However, this power was so great in fact that countless wars were fought over it. But then one day, a hero – wielding that same Golden Power – stepped forth to end all wars, and afterwards, he built a great temple, the Temple of Time."
"Temple of Time?"
"Hai. He sealed away the Golden Power along with a great treasure within the temple."
'Kaa-san, that Golden Power you spoke of, it was the Triforce, wasn't it?' Sakura thought as she looked up at the gate 'The Temple of Time…' She then looked down on her hand where the Triforce mark was still showing 'But if what kaa-san said was true, and the Triforce was sealed away, then how come I, Sasuke-kun, and Naruto have its pieces?'
"Welcome, Sakura-chan, or should I say Hylia-chan?" Sakura then turned around to be faced with none other than the Goddess of Wisdom, Nayru.
"You're… Nayru-sama, aren't you?" She asked.
"You were quick to figure it out. Yes, I am Nayru." Nayru said.
"Tell me, is this the Temple of Time?" Sakura asked.
"Well, it is a representation of it, yes." Nayru said.
"Then… what's behind that door?" Sakura asked as she gestured towards the gate.
"The bane of all evil… The Master Sword." Nayru said.
'"A great treasure"… could that be the Master Sword?' Sakura thought before asking "Earlier, you said I must discover who my friends and enemies are. What did you mean?"
"Well, you see, the world isn't as simple as good vs evil, it's a lot more complex than that. There might be people among the enemies ranks who could turn out to be your friends, while at the same time, there might be people you consider allies who could turn out to be your enemies." Nayru said and Sakura recalled Zabuza, Haku, Terra and Aqua who both seemed to be nice people.
Sakura was then about to open her mouth to ask more questions, but Nayru cut her off.
"I'm afraid we don't have much time, so I've got to give what was planning on giving you quickly." She said.
"What you were planning to give me?" Sakura asked before Nayru held out her hand as a blue spherical light appeared.
"This is Nayru's Love. It contains but a fraction of my power, but it should be more than enough to get you out of a tight spot. Hylia-chan, take it." Sakura then took the light before bringing it to her chest before it entered her.
"When you're done with the second exam, you must look for the Book of Mudora." Nayru said.
"The Book of Mudora?" Sakura asked, and Nayru nodded.
"It's hidden somewhere in Konoha, I'm certain it will help you." She said as Sakura returned to the outside world.
When she opened her eyes they started to glow in a bluish light as an aura of the same color appeared around her.
Dosu then approached her, about to strike.
"Ah! Sakura watch out!" Ino suddenly yelled, but as Dosu's attack reached Sakura, a blue shield suddenly appeared around her, blocking the punch.
'Nani?' He thought as his eyes widened before jumping back 'Impossible, not even my sound got through that barrier! If she had a technique like that, why didn't she use it earlier?'
Sakura then suddenly appeared in his face, surprising him before she punch him in the face so hard then he was sent skidding backwards.
'She's fast… Where did she get that speed? And when did she become so strong?' Dosu thought before surprising Sakura by putting his earth scroll down on the ground.
"You're pretty tough after all. Obviously – as you are now – I have no chance of defeating you. Please accept this as some reparation for your trouble, and allow us to leave in peace." He said before going over to pick up Zaku "After what we've done, it may seem a lot to ask, but something big is afoot that merits further investigation and confirmation." He then went to pick up Kin before walking away.
"Matte!" Sakura yelled as the blue aura vanished "You've got to tell me. Who is Orochimaru? What did he do to Sasuke-kun? And… why was Sasuke-kun the one he chose?"
"I don't know… We were just following orders." Dosu said before continuing to walk away as he thought 'You ordered us to murder Sasuke, but you got to him first. And if what that girl says is true, then – instead of killing him – you marked him with that curse. What's your game?'
"Hey, Sakura. Are you all right?" Ino asked as she, Shikamaru, and Choji came out from the bushes.
"Huh? Ino…?" Sakura asked before she was suddenly glomped by Ino.
"Thank Nayru. I didn't think you'd make it." Ino said.
'You've got no idea how much I have to thank Nayru-sama for that victory.' Sakura thought before pulling away from the embrace as she said "By the way Ino-pig, I've got a much better chance with Sasuke-kun than you do."
"Oh, yeah? How so, Bill-Board Brow?" Ino asked.
"I found out that I'm descendant from royalty." Sakura said.
"Nani?" Ino said, shocked.
"Yeah, so from now on, you can refer to me as "Princess Sakura"." Sakura said.
"In your dreams Bill-Board Brow!" Ino yelled.
Land of Valleys, Tani, cliff above the village
A woman was sitting on the edge of the cliff, looking down on the village. Her features were hard to make out though since she was covered by a blinding light despite the light which came from the morning sun.
"Seems Aqua-chan decided to help the heroes after all. Good, this way she might finally get herself some real friends." The woman said before noticing something and she looked over her shoulder to see two people standing there, one adult, and one kid "The Demon of Kiri, Momochi Zabuza, and the Ice Child, Yuki Haku. Did Yami-kun send you?" (Kurama no Kyubi: Yami-kun is what she refers to Kaiza as.)
Chapter preview
Navi "This Tani-nin. Do you really think we can trust her?"
Aqua "Kyaaaaaaa! Spiders! I hate spiders!"
Sakura "These are… those Ame-nins. The ones from before the first exam started."
Sasuke "Next time on The Legend of Naruto: Gohma's Lair."
Aqua "Queen… Gohma."
Character status
Naruto: Level: 13
Hearts: 4 3/4
Chakra Level: Divine.
Techniques: Henge, Kawarimi, Oiroke, Harem, Kage Bunshin.
Weapons: Hakko Chakura To, kunai, shuriken, vine-whip.
Race: Hylian.
Triforce: Courage.
Sasuke: Level: 15
Hearts: 5 2/4
Chakra Level: Divine.
Techniques: Bunshin, Henge, Kawarimi, Katon: Goukakyo, Katon: Housenka, Katon: Ryuka, Din's Fire.
Weapons: kunai, shuriken, Din's Fire.
Race: Hylian.
Kekkei Genkai: Sharingan, Mangekyo Sharingan.
Triforce: Power.
Sakura: Level: 7
Hearts: 3 2/4
Chakra Level: Divine.
Techniques: Bunshin, Henge, Kawarimi, Nayru's Love.
Weapons: kunai, shuriken, Nayru's Love.
Race: Hylian.
Triforce: Wisdom.
Rock Lee: Level: 17
Techniques: Konoha Reppu, Konoha Senpou, Omote Renge.
Weapons: kunai, shuriken.
Race: Human.
Aqua: Level: 17
Techniques: Water Shield, Water Spear(s), Water Pulse, Water Cannon.
Weapons: none
Race: Hylian.
Dosu: Level: 16
Techniques: Bunshin, Henge, Kawarimi, Kyomeisen.
Weapons: melody arm.
Race: Hylian.
Zaku: Level: 14
Techniques: Bunshin, Henge, Kawarimi, Zankuha.
Weapons: kunai, shuriken.
Race: Hylian.
Kin: Level: 11
Techniques: Bunshin, Henge, Kawarimi, Kage senbon.
Weapons: senbon.
Race: Hylian.
Kurama no Kyubi: Dun dun dun! Who can that woman that Zabuza and Haku approached be, I wonder… maybe Zabuza's looking to get himself a girlfriend? Well, anyway it seems that Aqua might turn out to be an ally in disguise Now see you next time, and don't forget to review.