[(Warning! - Violence, Bad Language, Limes, and mild Lemons!) * Breaking Through to My Heart is influenced by Naruto and Naruto: Shippuden. But, it won't follow the exact storyline. I've changed a couple shinobi's ages around, taken some events and used them, and made some events that never happened. *Notice: All the Naruto characters do not belong to me, nor do the places, except for the Hanahara family, the Hidden Village of the Blossoms, and a few other characters.]


Chapter 11: Neji, Tenten, & Lee

[Kakashi]

Trudging along behind the massive group of my fellow shinobis I tried to forget what had happened a short while ago. But even though I tried I could still feel the impression of Tsuki's body against mine. I could still taste her blood in my mouth. It was intoxicating. "Kakashi... Kakashi..."

I slowly looked up at Yamato as he slowed down to walk beside me. "Hnn?"

He sighed. "You should get focused for the fight."

I shrugged. "I'm focused."

He arched his dark brows. "I'm sure that's a lie."

"Maybe." I slouched down and pulled out my Icha Icha book. It was a subtle hint for Yamato to leave me alone.

He ignored it. "You had to do what you had to do."

"Hnn..."

Yamato sighed and reached out to pull my book away. "You're not normally this silent." I narrowed my eyes and pulled it away from his hand.

"I've never had to do something like that before either."

"Is it bugging you?" He stopped walking and grabbed my arm to stop me as well. "You know you can talk to me, Kakashi. We've been friends for a long time."

I snapped Icha Icha closed gently and looked up at him. "It's not bugging me... it's just... I liked it."

Yamato arched a brow. "Is that bad then? To have liked it?"

"Maybe..." I sighed and rubbed my palm against my eye. I could feel a headache coming on. "She's still the enemy, Tenzō. And now she's my student. I shouldn't like hurting her. I shouldn't like hurting anyone."

Both Yamato and I looked up when Asuma and Genma walked back towards us. The rest of the group had disappeared into the training grounds. Asuma scratched his beard and looked down at me. "Don't worry about it, Kakashi. If you hadn't done something she would have been locked away again... or killed. And she's not technically considered our student... she is more like... our comrade right now."

I nodded and looked at each one of them. "I guess you're right." I sighed and ran my hand through my hair. "Thank you guys for your concern. But I'm really alright. I'm just thinking too much."

Genma chuckled and gently punched my shoulder. "That's what we're here for, Kakashi. We've got your back."

I flashed him an eye smile and shoved him forward. "Move it old man before Tsunade decides to beat all of us to a pulp."

Yamato grinned, and Genma and Asuma laughed while we moved onwards toward the training grounds. When we got to where the group was Tsunade moved out from behind Shizune and gave me a very dirty look before crossing her arms beneath her massive chest. "I suppose you thought it would be funny to be late again, Kakashi."

So much for a break. I sighed and shook my head. "Sorry, Tsunade. I was helping this cute little rabbit who was stuck under a tree root."

Tsunade shorted. "Like I'm going to believe that. I don't even know where you come up with these lame excuses."

Gai and Rikiya flashed me a grin and held up peace signs. Rikiya moved closer to Tsuki and draped an arm across her shoulders. It shocked me that she didn't pull away and it angered me a little. "I thought you had run away, Kakashi. I was sure I was going to get the chance to steal away this lovely little lady. I'm sure I could make her far stronger than what she is now."

Tsuki turned her face upwards to look at him. "I'm stronger than you think, Rikiya."

Rikiya laughed lightly and reached up to flick the tip of her nose playfully. "I know this, little lady. I was only teasing."

Tsuki's light growl made me want to ring Rikiya's neck. He'd always been a flirt ever since he moved to Konoha fifteen years ago. But instead of doing anything about it, I just stared at him and sighed. "Are we going to fight or are we going to flirt?"

Tsuki blushed and slowly moved away from Rikiya. Rikiya playfully glared at me and the others nodded in agreement. Tsunade grinned. "Let's get this show on the road!"


[Same Time – Orochimaru]

Landing softly just outside of the training grounds I watched as Tsuki walked in. She was just as beautiful as the day I'd left her. Her hair was tied up into a high ponytail and fell down to curl around her ankles. She wasn't wearing her normal uniform though; instead it had been replaced with one of the Konoha ones. It was dull compared to her other one. The one that I had given her when she had finally passed the test to become a kunoichi. Her laughter echoed across the clearing and I felt myself grow hard again. Obviously she'd been away from me too long. I wanted to tie her up and make her cry out in pain, just the way she liked it. The way I liked it. I growled silently to myself and slowly sat down on the branch so I could watch what was going on. "You're not getting away from me, little butterfly."

Kabuto squatted down next to me on the branch and watched me silently for a few minutes. "She's not going to be easy to get, Sensei."

I cracked a grin, never taking my eyes of her as she walked beside a few of the younger shinobi. I recognized a few of them from previous encounters. The one I had to watch out for the most was the yellow haired one. He was just as powerful as his father was, even more so after his three year training period with Jiraiya. "I'm looking forward to the thrill of the chase, Kabuto. No one takes away what's mine because I'll always take it back... any way I can."


[Tsuki]

"Alright. Instead of just having all of you lump together to attack Tsuki I'm going to have you proceed in groups. Two today, two tomorrow, and then the last one the day after." I gave a sigh of relief while the Hokage was talking. I had hoped I wouldn't have to face all of them at once. I probably would have been killed. "Also, just a forewarning for everyone, when you attack please don't remove Tsuki's seal during your fight."

Most of the group looked at me with curious gazes. I fidgeted and looked at the ground. Rikiya was the only one to ask the question everyone was dying to ask. "What would happen if we... accidentally broke her seal?"

The Hokage sighed. "Mass chaos, all hell breaking loose, natural disaster... take your pick of one. They are pretty much what will happen." There were a few murmurs but the Hokage shut them up with a glare. "As most of you have already heard, she is the last surviving member of the Hanahara family. She also contains the Earth Master Kekkei Genkai. Every generation one child is born with this hereditary 'gift' along with such a powerful chakra supply that if that child doesn't wear a seal for the rest of their lives, they would go insane and kill everyone. So quite simply, DON'T TOUCH THE DAMN SEAL OR I'LL RIP YOU TO PIECES!"

I jumped when the Hokage started yelling. Rikiya flashed me a wink and raised his hands in defeat. "I understand, Tsunade. I won't touch it."

"Good." She turned to the rest of the group and glared at each one. "Do the rest of you understand?" Everyone nodded their heads rapidly, all except for Kakashi, Asuma, and Genma. The Hokage turned back to look at me with a gentle smile. "Are you ready?"

I slowly nodded. "I guess I'm as ready as I can be."

She nodded. "That's a good enough answer for me." She turned back to everyone else. "First group who's going to fight will consist of Neji, Tenten, and Lee. Second group will be Naruto, Sakura, and Sai. Third, Gai and Yamato. Fourth, Anko and Rikiya. Last group to fight will be none other than Kakashi, Asuma, and Genma." She looked at each one as she said their names. "Any questions?" Everyone shook their heads. "Alright. Each group will have two hours to try and subdue Tsuki. It's the same way for Tsuki; she needs to subdue everyone on the team within two hours. Then the next team will move in until each group has had a try."

I swallowed nervously and looked around me at everyone. They were looking back at me, except for Kakashi... he had is nose in his Icha Icha book again. "Don't go easy on me because I'm not going to go easy on you. Fight me like we're having a real battle."

The Hokage grinned and slapped me on the back approvingly, which sent me stumbling forward. She was a lot stronger than she looked. "Well said." I gave her a weak smile. "Alright, ladies, let's head out!"

Everyone groaned. Gai tsked at the Hokage. "We're not ladies, Tsunade, we are whirlwinds of strength! Let us fight and overcome these new challenges!" He flashed me a blinding smile again as well as a thumbs up. I groaned this time and covered my eyes.

Lee peered up at his mentor with tears in his big round eyes. "You're so cool, Gai-Sensei! I couldn't have said it better!"

I stifled my laughter when Tenten and Neji grabbed Lee by his arms and dragged him away from Gai. They disappeared into the woods seconds later and then suppressed their chakra. Tsunade turned to me and gently reached out to touch my arm. Her golden eyes flashed confidence at me. "Good luck, Tsuki. Don't hurt them too bad."

I smiled up at her. "I'll try not to." I popped away using my Body Flicker Technique and headed into the woods as quick as possible. I needed to find out a good place to make my base and form a plan, and then I needed to stake out the grounds to try and find the three shinobi.

I ran for a few minutes before I found the perfect spot to use as my base. It was on a hill and there was a circle of trees at the top of the hill surrounding a small clearing. I could easily defend it if possible and I would spot anyone coming... that is if they decided to waltz in, but I knew they wouldn't. I had a feeling that Neji, Tenten, and Lee were pretty strong as a group. I needed to be weary of them. Especially when I didn't know any of their strengths. After staking out the place to be sure that there weren't any traps I set a few of my own and left a few chakra seekers that would warn me if there was any flares of chakra nearby.

Finally finished fortifying my position I quickly climbed one of the larger trees and sat back against the trunk of the tree near the middle. I closed my eyes and slowed my breathing. Focusing on my surroundings I spread my chakra out into the trees and plants throughout the training grounds and searched for some sign of chakra. It didn't take me long before I found what I was looking for. I felt Neji's faint chakra signature on the far side of the training grounds. So you went to opposite direction of me, huh. I grinned and hopped down from the tree. Time to play.


[Neji]

Setting up a few substitutes to try and throw our target off our scent, I tagged along behind Tenten and Lee as we headed for high ground. We knew this land like the back of our hands since we'd trained here when we were still genin. Tenten immediately set about putting up traps and exploding tags all over the place while Lee helped. I quickly climbed one of the tallest trees and stood at the top while the wind blew back and forth. I silently activated my Byakugan and focused on finding Tsuki's chakra signature. Down in the far clearing I could clearly see the other's chakra flowing around them. It was a normal sight. I turned my attention farther away to the far side of the training grounds. A flash of silver chakra caught my attention. Found you! She had staked out the other side of the training ground and was making preparations to defend the place.

I deactivated my Byakugan the second Tenten landed next to me. "Did you find her?"

I looked over at her and slowly nodded my head. "She's at the far end of the training grounds."

"She took the other high ground then?" I nodded again. "I guess she's got some brains. But she's doing exactly what we expected her to do."

"I think we should be cautious."

Tenten shrugged. "She's never fought us before so she doesn't know our weaknesses."

I sighed and rubbed my hand across my face. "True, but the same goes for us. We've only heard what she's capable of. We haven't actually seen it."

Tenten grinned. "Don't worry, we'll get her. You alone are the most capable at capturing her."

"You don't know that. Lee is equally as strong as me."

She shrugged and began hopping down the tree. "But he doesn't have a Kekkei Genkai like you and neither do I." She disappeared into the foliage.

I sighed again and absently pushed my hair back behind my ear. I activated my Byakugan again and turned my attention back to the far side of the training grounds. "I hope you're right, Tenten."


[Tsuki]

Slowly making my way to where Neji and the other two had stopped, I avoided contact with Neji's clones. He had done a good job of preparing for my attack but I was better. Orochimaru had taken me on many missions after I had become a kunoichi so I knew what to expect in situations like this. Knowing that they would probably be scouting for my position I had left my own clone back at my base so that they would think I wasn't stalking them. Just outside their base I stopped and crouched in one of the smaller trees to watch Tenten and Lee talk in a huddle. I didn't see Neji but I could feel him close by.

"When we attack her I need you to use your brute strength against her so that I have time to activate my scrolls and pull out enough weapons to drown her with. We'll have Neji slip in while the both of us are distracting her and find her major chakra points. He'll be able to disable her that way and then all we have to do is drag her back." Lee intently listened to what Tenten told him and nodded his head rapidly.

I grinned. "Not a bad plan. Only problem is it won't work." I slowly stood up and turned to head back to my base. I stopped immediately when I spotted Neji.

He was watching me silently from a branch just above my head, his long brown hair flicking back and forth in the light breeze. His cream-grey uniform with its black wrap around apron stood out against the dark brown of the branch. "I thought you might scout us out."

"I didn't expect to be found though." I slowly stepped back when Neji jumped down lightly onto the branch I was on.

He cocked his head to the side and shrugged. "You're not the only one who knows how to suppress their chakra."

He took a step forward, I stepped back. "I wasn't assuming you guys didn't. I just didn't know that you were this good at it."

"I am a Hyūga."

I arched a brow. "And that's supposed to mean something to me?"

He crouched down into his fighting stance and smiled ever so slightly. "I have a Kekkei Genkai as well." I watched as the veins around his eyes popped out while at the same time his chakra grew stronger.

Just as I stepped back to the edge of the branch I stepped on an exploding tag. Neji lunged at me but just as the tag exploded I disappeared into a puff of smoke. Landing a short distance away from the tree I did a back flip just as another tag caught my foot and exploded. "Damn it!" I opened up my Kekkei Genkai and searched through the trees for suitable places to land. When I was far enough away from the base I stopped moving and slumped back against a tree trunk. I was breathing a little heavy and I felt my muscles ache from lack of use. "I'm getting too old for this."

"You're not much older than I am."

I rolled out of the tree away from Neji just as his hand struck against the tree, the chakra focused in the palm of his hand exploding a hole in the wood. It would have been me if I hadn't moved. I glared up at the persistent young man. "And how do you know that?"

The sound of a blade whistling through the air gave me enough warning to dodge to the right. My attention was drawn away from Neji by Tenten. Another blade was thrown at me with dangerous speed but I slid into the splits so that the blade could sail over my head to bury into the tree trunk next to the previous blade. "The Hokage told us."

I sighed and slowly stood up. Opening my Kekkei Genkai again I called out to the roots underneath me. The ground split seconds later and roots flew out towards Tenten. She cursed very unladylike and slashed out at them while running in the other direction.

Knowing that Lee was going to attack I turned and caught his foot just inches away from my chin, the force of it shoving me to my knees. He'd been going for a combo attack but I was more experienced than him so I was able to predict his movement... but just barely. He was quick. His next hit proved that he was fast because I didn't have enough time to react. His fist moved forwards in a blinding flash of speed and caught me in the chest. I was sent flying backwards to smack into a tree hard enough to crack it. I slid down to the ground with a groan and a small cough that brought up blood. I was pretty sure I had a few broken ribs because I could feel their jagged edges.

Tenten appeared behind Lee while he was grinning at me and smacked him upside the head. Obviously she had escaped the roots I'd sent after her. "Damn it Lee, you're not supposed to kill her."

Lee rubbed at his head and pouted up at Tenten. "But you said to distract her with my brute strength. I was just listening to you."

Tenten sighed and rolled her eyes. "I guess it couldn't be helped. You are pretty strong. But next time, draw it back enough not to cause her to cough up blood, ok?"

I slowly stood up, holding my side. It didn't hurt but the broken ribs were annoying and on top of that Neji wasn't going to give me a break. He appeared in the tree above me and jumped down, intending to strike me. Substituting myself, I quickly zigzagged my way away from the three of them. I needed to find a place I wouldn't be disturbed so that I could heal myself.

I ended up digging into the ground, creating a small cave for me to sit in so that I could focus on healing. I closed my eyes and allowed my silver chakra to flow over me, touching and healing the wounds I'd sustained so far. Thankfully they weren't many, most importantly was the need to heal my ribs. Breathing was important when fighting.

I had just finished when I felt my three opponents above me. The ground shook as Lee punched downwards into the ground, his brute strength cracking it open much like Sakura and Tsunade. I quickly popped out of my small cave as it crumbled behind me and I was left facing Tenten above the rumbling earth. She twirled, her scroll flowing around her, as hundreds of shuriken and kunai flew outwards at me. I pulled out my own kunai and either dodged or struck out at the flying weapons. She distracted me enough to allow Lee to do his signature whirlwind kick, knocking me to my knees. I rolled as he arched his foot downwards, barely missing, dirt flying into my face as I continued to roll.

I stopped a few feet away and pressed my hand against the earth, summoning the roots of the surrounding trees to aid me. They struck out at Lee as he whirled around dodging left and right up and down, deftly avoiding the roots. I jumped to my feet and flurry-punched him at the same time the roots went for his legs. He guarded with his forearms, making my knuckles crack as I hit. I grimaced as he flashed me a smile, but that was his one mistake. A root grabbed his ankle as he guarded again against my flurry of punches and started to wrap around his body, holding him like a mummy. I heard his cry for help as he was swallowed up, but focused back on Tenten as she whipped out one of her giant sealing chains intending to bind me. I whirled to the side leading into a handspring as she struck out at me. I had barely made it to the trees further into the training ground and finished climbing one when I realized she'd pushed me into Neji's trap.

A snap to the left of me made me flip downwards so that I was hanging to the underneath of the limb I had been standing on. Neji landed above me and peeked over the edge. "Your chakra spikes when you heal yourself. I felt it pull at me."

I growled and flipped away from the tree, landing into a crouch on the ground below me. Neji followed. "You're a persistent bug." I moved forward to strike out at him but he dodged away in a whirling motion, striking a blow against my extended wrist. It didn't hurt.

I pulled out some invisible wire and began weaving it in between my fingers. When I was satisfied with the little web I'd created I fake dodged to the right, making sure that he followed me. I let a few lines of the wire drop behind me as I did, then I pulled back and attacked to the left. He ducked my roundhouse and struck upwards with his hand, striking it against my ankle. I allowed the wire to drop onto his hand. I stumbled away from him and did a few back flips until my back was pressed against a near tree. "Is that all you've got? Striking my wrist and ankle lightly?"

Neji gave a small smirk and without a word continued to strike out at my arms and legs, going for my chakra points in a whirlwind of attacks. I avoided most of them, but I could feel the loss of some of my chakra. But only for a few seconds, because once I got some distance from Neji I re-pressed them in the order they'd been pressed, releasing my chakra to flow again.

Neji stepped back in shock, his Byakugan disappearing for a moment and his grey white eyes widening. "How do you know how to counter my attacks on your chakra points?"

I gave a small shrug and huffed and puffed, trying to catch my breath. "I studied on how to seal and release chakra points. It is important to know during real battles against people trying to kill you. But, I'm not as talented as you are, Neji. To put it bluntly, you're pretty badass!" I gave a tiny smile.

He stood taller and almost looked down his nose at me, but I could see the glint of pride in his eyes at my words. "It has been taught to me since childhood."

I stood up, almost fully recovered. I'd fought in many battles thanks to Orochimaru but going this long, still a little bit before the two hour limit was up, would be exhausting for anyone. "Guess I'll have to keep on my toes then, Neji."

I didn't bother waiting for an answer. Reaching in front of me I jerked the wire towards me. It tightened around his hand and his feet where he'd been stepping on it. His eyes widened as he flew forwards, pulled off of his feet. I slid in close to his body and slammed my knee into his chest hard. He curled inwards as his breath rushed out in a huge puff. When he slid against the tree I had been standing in front of, I began weaving the wire again, this time to keep him attached to the tree.

As he tried to catch his breath he meekly struggled against the wires. "What are you trying to do, cocoon me like a spider?"

I stopped weaving to look down at him. "No. I'm just planning on keeping you here while I finish your friends off."

He sighed and gave me a small smirk. "It takes more than wire to keep me down."

There was rustling off to my right as Lee, who'd obviously broken through my roots, came charging in and while I was distracted with diving away from his charge, Neji closed his eyes and focused his chakra throughout his entire body. Lee pounded down on me with his whirlwind fists but even through the entire ruckus I heard the twang of the wire as it was snapped all at once.

I looked back and watched as Neji stood up, dusting his pants off. That was a bad choice on my part. Tenten slipped up behind me and slid one of her many blades against my throat while her arm snaked under and around one of my arms, holding me tight. Lee kicked out at one of my knees, making sure not to break anything this time, and dropped me to the ground. "You're not supposed to look away from your attacker."

Tenten's words whispered against my ear while her kunai pressed against my neck. I paid her no mind because I was focused on Neji as he slowly walked over to stand in front of me. He kneeled down and touched his fingers against the center of my chest. "What are you doing?"

He looked up at me with his pale whitish-grey eyes. "I'm sealing off your chakra so you won't fight. We need to take you back."

I shook my head and growled out at him as I felt his chakra spike, bucking a little against his hand. "It might not be wise to try and do that. It will backfire."

Tenten pressed the blade a little harder against my throat, cutting off my words. "Excuses won't help. You told us to make it like a real fight and this is what we do. Now just shut up."

Neji's chakra slipped into me and I could feel it form a barricade around one of my strongest chakra points. So this is what his power is? I sucked in a deep breath and shivered against the cold feeling. It had been awhile since I felt my chakra shut off, even if it would be for a short moment. You all are so naïve.

The ground started shaking underneath us. I felt Tenten's kunai slide against my skin and I enjoyed the prick of pain. Neji pulled away from me and his eyes got bigger. "What is this?"

Tenten grunted with the effort to stay standing. "What the hell are you doing, woman!?"

"I warned you." That was the only words that were able to slip out from between my lips as my chakra slammed against Neji's barricade and busted it. Him, Tenten, and Lee were thrown backwards quite violently.

The ground split and roots wove themselves around me, seeming to hug me. I closed my eyes and reached out to them with my returned chakra. They were whispering my name. Tsuki… Tsuki… Tsuki… I smiled and pushed them back away from me so that I could touch the ground. Go back to rest, my little babies. I'm fine now. I stopped long enough to watch them weave their way back into the ground. They had only wanted to protect me.

Neji was the only one conscious. The other two had been knocked unconscious by the immensity of my chakra. Neji struggled to stand, but kept falling to the ground. His hair was undone and fell around him in a dark brown curtain. His hitai-ate had been blown off, exposing the seal tattooed into the skin on his forehead. "What…" He shook his head and tried to get his thoughts back together. "What was that?"

I gave a little sigh and walked over to Neji who had stopped trying to stand. I knelt down in front of him and touched the seal on his forehead, curious about it. "It's like a failsafe for my chakra. It can't be sealed off."

He peered up at me through his hair. His eyes were beautiful as they caught the sunlight from above. "I've never seen anything like that before."

I gently pushed back his hair, tucking it behind his ears so he could see me better. "I'm not like anyone you've ever met."

He gave a weak chuckle. "I'll remember that next time I try to seal off your chakra."

I flashed him a smile before pushing a little of my chakra into him, searching out anything that was hurt or possibly broken. His right leg had been cracked, which explained why he hadn't been able to stand. I healed that, making sure no evidence was left that he'd broken a bone. There was a nick in his lung from where a rib had scratched it when they had smashed inwards from an impact with a tree. I made sure it was patched. On the outside I watched as the cuts and bruising from his tumble closed and disappeared. I finished and scooted away from him. "That should take care of everything."

He tested his arms and legs, bending them back and forth before moving to stand. When he was on his feet he looked down at me. I felt like there was a new air of respect floating around him. He reached down and offered me his hand. "We should be getting back, it's almost time."

I nodded and took his hand gently. He pulled me up effortlessly and when I was standing he gave me a slight smile. I slowly walked behind him and pulled his hair into my hands. When it was all gathered I summoned a root from the ground and snapped a piece of it off so that I could form a small tie for his hair. He turned around and arched a brow at me. I shrugged. "I figured I could replace the one I made you lose." He gave a small nod and reached down to retrieve his fallen hitai-ate before walking with me to where to other two were passed out. I did a check over on them and healed their cuts and bruises. Tenten had received a broken jaw so I made sure to heal it. Lee didn't have anything broken. He amazed me.

I looked sideways at Neji while I gently wrapped Tenten and Lee in protective roots. "You take her and I'll take him?"

Neji arched a brow. "Why not the other way around?"

I gave a short laugh and shrugged. "I like making things different."

He shrugged and reached down to gently pick up Tenten, the roots bending with the movement. He cradled her against his chest and turned to watch me effortlessly pick up Lee. He was a little awkward to pick up because he was taller than me, but I made it work. Neji cracked a grin. "Ready?"

I nodded and took off running. Neji followed, carefully keeping Tenten tucked against his chest so she wouldn't be tossed around. We made great time and finally walked out of the woods and over to the large group gathered at the training ground entrance. We'd made it on time.


[Tsunade]

It was right on the mark when I saw Tsuki walk out of the trees carrying Lee over her shoulder, wrapped like a mummy in roots. I gave a small laugh. Following beside her was Neji carrying Tenten, who was also wrapped like a mummy in roots.

Tsuki gently placed Lee on the ground in front of me and waved her hand, releasing the roots, Neji doing the same with Tenten so she could remove the roots from around her. Tsuki was glowing with victory. "Tsunade."

I gave an approving nod. "Perfect timing, Tsuki, and wonderful work." I looked down at the Tenten and Lee as they slowly stood up, dirt and blood covering random parts of their body, to stand next to Neji. I gave all three a nod. "You three did a wonderful job as well."

Neji didn't say anything as he walked over to stand by his other friends, but I could see the slight disappointment in his features. He hated losing, but he knew in doing so he needed to become stronger. That's what made him a great shinobi.

Tenten stood and walked closer to Tsuki, offering her hand. Tsuki took it with a smile. "Thank you, Tsuki. You are a great fighter and I hope you become a great Konoha shinobi so we can work together in the future."

Lee was already standing next to Gai, praising Tsuki for the ability to deflect some of his strongest hits. Gai was beaming down at his ex-student. Tsuki walked over to where Kakashi was standing and stood tall with a smile.

I sighed at all of them and waved my hand to catch everyone's attention. "Now that the first round is over, we will take a small break to allow Tsuki to recover. She has fought hard and proved herself in the first round."

Tsuki blushed slightly. "Not without great effort. They are all three formidable shinobi."

Gai beamed brighter at her words, nearly blinding everyone in eyesight. "I trained them well, indeed! Ahh, the strength and beauty of youth!"

I sighed as a large mass of the fighting group swarmed Tsuki, shoving Kakashi out of the way. Naruto was among that group. He slapped Tsuki on the back hard enough to rock her forward on her feet. "I KNEW you could do it!"

Tsuki cringed at his loud voice. "Thanks for the vote of confidence."

Sakura reached up and pulled a twig out of Tsuki's hair. "I could feel your chakra from all the way out here." She flashed Tsuki a bright smile as her green eyes sparkled. "I can't wait to fight you."

Laughing, Tsuki shrugged away Naruto's hand as he kept thumping her on the back. "You won't have to wait too long. Your group is fighting me next."

Sai, who shocked us all by speaking up, stood in front of Sakura and Naruto and offered Tsuki a little bow. "Fight just as hard with us."

Tsuki, embarrassed, hid her blush behind her bangs. "I'll try."

I moved towards Tsuki and shoved everyone away. Rikiya snuck up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, placing his chin against her shoulder. I growled, he chuckled. "Rikiya, will you get away from her before I punch you into the ground?!"

"But…"

I cracked my knuckles and moved forward threateningly. He released Tsuki and moved away quickly. I gave a small sigh, allowing my hands to drop back to my hips while I grinned. "That's some good fighting you did, girl. Keep it up. A few of these guys need their heads knocked together."

Tsuki lowered her eyes and shuffled her feet. "Thank you, Hokage-sama."

I stepped back and called out to everyone. "Break for ten and then we will start the next round."

Tsuki quickly spoke up, her hand reaching out to try to catch my sleeve. I stopped walking and looked back at her. "I don't need a break, Hokage-sama. I can fight the next group."

I eyeballed her as she spoke. I could feel the strength of her chakra and knew she could. "Are you sure, Tsuki?"

She nodded. "I'm sure."

I nodded. "Then team two, Naruto, Sakura, and Sai, it's time for you to fight. Are you ready?"

Naruto raised his fist in the air. "I am!" Sakura and Sai just nodded and started walking off into the woods without a word. Naruto called after them. "Don't leave me behind!"

I walked over to Tsuki and touched her shoulder, looking her square in the eyes. "Naruto is kind of stubborn, so don't hurt him too bad."

She blinked up at me, fully understanding. She nodded. "I won't."