A Single Moment

by Insert Valid Author Name

Now on Ao3. A single moment can redefine history. An action can have serious repercussions. A new emotion can raise a hero. And true love can drive a man to destiny. Naruto Uzumaki, adopted son of Anko Mitarashi will never know what could've been - but he'll strive to be the best he can anyways. AU, RinneganNaruto, Naruto/Fuu.

14. III-14) Locked in a Cage, Part 1

Arc III – On Rising Wings; The Chūnin Exams of Team Seven

Chapter 14 – Locked in a Cage, Part One

They were standing in a classroom-sized entrance hall. At the far wall, there was a riddle engraved into the wall, with long balconies running at each side of the room. The double doors behind Team Seven were locked securely, making sure that no one would be able to follow them through. Fu was nowhere to be seen – she'd already met up with her 'teammates' and had entered through another of the entrances to the tower.

Naruto's eyes travelled from scroll to scroll, his gaze returning every now and then to the riddle that was engraved on the wall.

"I still think we should open them," said Sakura, drawing Naruto's attention. The black-clad pinkette was giving the riddle the same amount of thought he had, but she'd reached her conclusion much faster than he had.

"I second that," agreed Sasuke.

Privately, Naruto did as well, but Anko had always drilled the "Be sure before you act" lesson into his head.

"Naruto?" asked Sakura. "Do you sense something?"

He shook his head. "The scrolls are clean," he said. Behind his sunglasses (they'd managed to survive the fight with Orochimaru intact somehow), Naruto struggled to maintain his Rinnegan active. He'd noticed before the sheer amount of chakra it took to maintain them active, but now that his chakra control was out of whack he truly realized the impact. After a few seconds he sighed, deactivating his eyes with a scowl. "From what I could see they're just summoning scrolls. The array is spread out through both of them."

"Then let's just get this over with," said Sasuke. He raised a hand and rested it on the junction of his neck and shoulder, rubbing at the Curse Mark absentmindedly. "I want to get this thing checked out. It burns."

Naruto grew even more worried. Even after years of having known each other, Sasuke was still the kind of person to hide things from people. For him to say that something 'burns' was akin to someone else complaining of appendicitis.

"Alright," agreed Naruto. He handed one of the scrolls to Sakura, opening his and placing it on the ground. Sakura did the same, putting it on top of the other so that they were crossed in a large X. Immediately, the scrolls began to throw smoke.

The genin didn't have to speak, the three of them jumping away from the smoking scrolls. The three genin stood together, weapons out and ready to face whatever threat was coming as there was a small explosion, a human figure visible through the smoke. Naruto tensed, debating whether or not he should activate the Rinnegan and risk the chakra usage-

The smoke cleared, and Iruka Umino was revealed, his hands raised in a non-threatening way as he smiled at his ex-students.

"Hey," he said, smiling at the genin. "Long time no see, huh?"

"Iruka-Sensei?" asked Sakura as the chūnin lowered his hands, putting them in his pockets. "What are you doing here?"

Iruka's eyes went from genin to genin, looking at their dirt-stained attire, tense postures and tired faces. His eyes stayed a moment longer on the bloody patch of darkened fabric of Sakura's jacket. "Looks like you three have been through a lot in this test," he said. "To answer your question Sakura, at the end of the second phase of the exam we chūnin are supposed to welcome you back. I just got the good luck of being able to see you three come in."

"What for?" asked Sakura. "I mean, not that we're not happy to see you, but it seems a bit over the top, don't you think?"

Iruka smiled at her. "Well, not really. I actually have a message for you. A last lesson, if you will." He inclined his head at the riddle engraved on the wall behind him. "You read the riddle, I assume – were you able to understand what it meant?"

Team Seven shook their heads. "I thought it was just an elaborate way of telling us to open the scrolls," said Naruto.

Iruka shook his head. "No, it's not just that," he said. He turned around and looked up at the engraving. "They're instructions that Lord Hokage wrote a long time ago, a set of guidelines that he believes every chūnin should understand and emulate. Heaven stands for your mind, and Earth represents your body – the riddle basically means that if you're lacking in one but strong in the other, you should strive to improve that which requires improvement. 'When Heaven and Earth are opened together, the perilous path becomes righteous forever,' – meaning that if your mind and body are in peak condition, and every day you work on improving them and pushing your limits, then even the most dangerous of missions can become the easiest of all.

"And that empty spot on the riddle, the one where there's a letter missing? That's for you to fill in. 'This blank is the secret way that guides us from this place today.' This phase of the exam was meant to test your abilities as chūnin – your survival skills, your intelligence-gathering, and even the resolve to not open high-value dossiers of information that aren't meant for your eyes to read, they were all tested on these past four days. And I have to say – you three did magnificently.

"A chūnin is a guide, a leader. He or she has to be aware of the strengths and weaknesses of those serving under them, and has to know of the skills and training that they'll need in order to succeed at the mission. You did an excellent job on this 'mission,' and I want you to remember these instructions on your next one."

Sasuke stepped forwards. "You're telling us all of this now," he said, "but what would've happened if we'd opened the scrolls in the forest?"

"As always, you're as sharp as a tack Sasuke," said Iruka. "The other chūnins and I had orders to knock out anyone that opened the scrolls. Some people found this out the hard way."

Sasuke nodded. "I guess it's a good thing we never even thought about it," he said. Though some extra help would've been nice when we fought Orochimaru, he thought.

"Anyways… that's it," said Iruka, his smile still present. "That's all I have to say. I'd even treat you all to some Ichiraku Ramen, but-"

Whatever he was going to say was cut off by Naruto slamming into his chest with a massive hug. "Really? Thanks Iruka-Sensei!"

"Ack-! Naruto, get off!" Despite the rough-sounding words, Iruka's expression was rather fond of the blonde. He laughed, only for the laughter to die off when he realized that Naruto was still hugging him but no longer moving. In fact, he was rather tense now all of a sudden. "Naruto?" he asked.

The blonde looked up at Iruka with narrowed eyes. "You smell like mom," he said.

Iruka felt a bead of sweat form on his forehead. "Is that so?" he asked nonchalantly. "Well we have been working together on this exam-"

"You smell like sex."

Iruka froze, and his lack of answer was telling enough. Naruto opened his mouth to shout, only to blink in surprise when he Iruka was replaced with a log.

Substitution. Naruto looked up at one of the balconies, and sure enough, there was the chūnin. Naruto's glare intensified, though internally he was laughing – someone was getting their ass pranked off today.

Iruka, brave man that he was, ran, and the blonde gave chase. "Naruto, calm down, it's not what it looks like-!"

"You slept with my mother!" roared Naruto amidst the laughter of Sakura and Sasuke. "I'm going to end you!"

"I'm sure we can talk this over-!"

"Oh like you talk it over with mom!?"

"We actually do, it's what usually leads to that-!"

"Usually!? As in more than once!?"

"Ah shit!"

…ooOoo…

Less than an hour later, in one of the offices of the upper levels of the tower, Anko's gaze alternated in between a sopping-wet Iruka and a chagrined Naruto, the Uzumaki's teammates standing behind him as they attempted to hide their amusement. Her arms were crossed, her eyes narrowed in an irritated glare. She kept it up until Iruka shifted nervously, but her son was unfazed, his smirk only widening.

Eventually, she sighed and uncrossed her arms. "Damn it, it's too late for this shit," she muttered. She glanced over at Hiruzen Sarutobi, whose attempts at hiding his amusement were much more successful. "I don't think there's anything against pranking chūnin proctors in the middle of an exam," she said.

"Technically, Naruto had already finished this phase of the exam," said the Hokage, his eyes shining in amusement. He didn't add anything else.

Anko twitched when she realized that he was leaving it all up to her. She gave an aggravated sigh. "Iruka, hon, get yourself dried off," she said, rubbing her forehead. "I'll handle this."

Iruka nodded, but didn't move. "You sure you don't want me to stay?" he said. He glanced over at Naruto, only to meet the Uzumaki's glare. He shivered, but for the rest of his life he would swear that it was because of the cold water, not the look.

Anko smiled at him. "I'm sure," she said. Her expression switched from tender to irritated as she looked back at Naruto. "Little Naru-naru's not such a big deal anyways."

Naruto almost choked on his own spit at the childhood nickname. Behindhim, Sakura and Sasuke's snickers intensified. Even the Hokage was finding it difficult at this point.

I'm never living this down, thought the blonde shinobi, his previous smirk nowhere to be seen.

Iruka chuckled. "Alright," he said. "I'll see you later."

Naruto, already pushing aside his embarrassment, opened his mouth to protest Iruka's words, but found his mouth covered by Sakura's hand. Anko gave her a thankful look as Iruka walked away, dripping wet. Anko's eyes followed his body as he left.

"Now," she said, her expression turning angry as she looked at her son. Naruto gulped. "Naruto Uzumaki, you little shit, I'm going to pummel you into tomorrow-!"

Kakashi Hatake had taught his students well. He'd taught them how to fight, and how to prepare for a fight, but one of the most important lessons he'd imparted onto Team Seven was how to pick their fights properly. 'Better to live incognito than to die famously,' he'd once said to them. One look at his mother, and Naruto knew that he wouldn't be able to get out of this one without injury. So, he performed a strategy that had been proven to work since the days of the Sage of Six Paths – provide a more pressing distraction that would ensure the previous topic would be, at the very least, postponed.

"Sasuke's got a Curse Mark!"

Sure, he felt a little bad for throwing his teammate to the wolves per se, but it was a more important topic anyways, right?

Either way, the stratagem worked, as Anko cut her own words off with a choked sound. It was the Sandaime Hokage, however, the one that broke the silence.

Hiruzen stepped forwards, his visage that of a Hokage commander, not the amused grandfather of less than a few seconds previous. "What happened?" he growled out.

Ignoring Sasuke's glare at Naruto, Sakura spoke up. "We encountered a Shinobi in the forest," she said. "A kunoichi from the Village Hidden in the Grass intercepted our team on the second day of the exams. She had chakra levels and skills beyond those of a chūnin, and a killing intent so strong we were disabled as soon as we felt it. After fighting, she revealed herself as Orochimaru of the Sannin, after which she burned our scroll, incapacitated me, and placed a seal on my teammates, Sasuke Uchiha and Naruto Uzumaki."

Anko made a sound like a whimper. "Curse Seals?" she asked, looking at Naruto and Sasuke with wide eyes. "Both of you?"

Sasuke grunted. "Just me," he said.

"I've got something else on my chest," said Naruto. "It's a Five Pronged Seal, I think. Orochimaru put it on top of the Kyuubi's seal, and ever since then my chakra control's been messed up. I've also lost contact with the Kyuubi."

Anko was visibly relieved at that. Still, Naruto caught the guilty flinch she gave when she looked at Sasuke – probably had to do with the fact that she was feeling happy that Naruto didn't have a Curse Seal while he still did. Not that Sasuke would fault her for it – if there was anyone who knew what having that Seal meant, it was Anko.

"Step forwards, the both of you," said Hiruzen. "Show me the Seals."

Naruto and Sasuke obeyed, the genin taking off their shirts, and in Naruto's case, his armor and coat. It was ironic, Naruto thought, that the armor he was wearing left his belly exposed, and it was there where Orochimaru had put the Seal on him. His upper chest and shoulders were fine, as was his back, but his lower chest and abdominals were uncovered for flexibility. He'd have to find an alternative soon that would cover everything.

Hiruzen checked over Naruto first, which made Naruto frown. Glancing over at Sasuke, he was met with the Uchiha's gaze that gave a clear message – in a sense, the Kyuubi breaking free was a much larger risk than his own little Curse Seal. After all, Konoha already had some experience with Orochimaru's little hickeys, but anything regarding the Nine-Tails was met with more uncertainty and worry. None of this, however, made him feel any better.

Naruto channeled some chakra into his eyes, activating the Rinnegan. The action of moving his chakra made the Kyuubi's seal show, the black markings on his abdominals fading into existence. Naruto ignored the purple blob of chakra on Sasuke's shoulder that the Rinnegan could see in the exact same spot as the Curse Mark.

The Sandaime leaned forwards, looking at the seal. After a couple of moments of study, Hiruzen straightened up and gave Naruto a nod. "It's not just a Five Pronged Seal," he said. "It's a Five Elements Seal. It's blocking off the Nine Tails' chakra being filtered through the seal. As you know, the Seal holding back the Kyuubi is an Eight Trigrams – an even numbered seal. Placing the Five Elements Seal, an odd-numbered seal, on top of the Eight Trigrams causes an imbalance that is affecting your charka flow. There is a simple release, one that I can apply, but we'll get to that later."

Then, he moved onto Sasuke. Placing his hand on the Uchiha's shoulder, his eyes were narrowed onto the three black tomoe burned onto Sasuke's skin. An inch below the seal itself, the two puncture marks that Orochimaru had left behind from his bite had healed over, two little red spots the only evidence that remained of the bite.

The Hokage hmm'd in thought as he looked over the Seal. "Anko, come here," he said. When the Kunoichi approached, he said, "Take a look at this. What do you think?"

As Hiruzen stepped back, Naruto's mother took his place. She, too, took her time in studying the seal. "It looks different than mine," she said. "Maybe… more refined? Kind of like a better version or something. My seal was a prototype, wasn't it?"

"One of the first of its kind, according to the notes we found," said Hiruzen.

Anko nodded. "How's it feel?" she asked Sasuke.

The Uchiha gave a frown. "It burns," he said. "Nothing too strong, unless I use chakra, but the rest of the time it's always burning. And the burning ebbs… it intensifies sometimes, spiking."

"Like a pulse," said Anko, nodding. "Like as soon as you're finally able to get your mind off of it, it starts to hurt again so that you keep thinking about it."

Sasuke nodded, but didn't say anything. Anko smiled reassuringly at him. "My Sensei's a bastard," she said. "But he's a smart bastard. This thing, it's permanent, unless you wanna die in order to get it off. But, that doesn't mean that we can't solve the problem it poses. Has anything happened whenever you use chakra?"

"It turned red," said Sakura. "It also started to spread. Sasuke was screaming, even when he was unconscious…"

"Yeah, it hurts like a bitch," deadpanned Anko. "The seal is placed directly on top of the body's chakra flow, so that every time you use chakra it starts to spread. It's corrosive, but even I can't deny that the power boost that comes with it is insane. Like a drug though, it's also very addictive – the more you use it, the more you want to use it."

Anko then pulled back on the collar of her coat, showing her own Cursed Seal. It was different from Sasuke's in that there was a concentric circle of seals around the three tomoe, which also differed in their own way, looking slightly jagged-like and not as refined as Sasuke's set. The skin around the seal had suffered as well; inside the circle of seals, Anko's pale skin was a sharp contrast to the healthy tan outside of the circle and on the rest of her body.

"That circle on the outside?" Anko spoke up. "That's the safeguard I have in place, the Fūja Hōin, the Evil Sealing Method. It's a suppression technique that relies mostly on the willpower of the recipient, especially when the caster doesn't have much chakra to pour into the technique. It'll help suppress the influence of the Curse Mark by huge amounts."

Sasuke gave Anko a shrewd look. "But not entirely, I'm guessing," he said.

"…No, not entirely," agreed Anko. "Still, it's better than nothing, and you're still able to use chakra."

"So why don't we do this now?" asked Naruto, his shirt, armor and coat back on. "We've already finished this stage of the exam, right? That means there's plenty of time-"

"Not entirely," interrupted the Sandaime. "As it is, we have too many passing participants from the second stage of the exams. We're going to have to run you all through another preliminary set of challenges in order to reduce that number, and if we apply the Evil Sealing Method right now Sasuke will be unable to participate, resulting in his elimination from the exams."

"Then we'll do it afterwards, after I pass the stage," said Sasuke.

Sakura gasped. "What-!? No! Sasuke, you can't-!"

"I have to," he said, looking at her with resolute eyes. "Sakura, we have orders. We've had them for two months now, and we can't back down now. This might be the only chance we'll get."

Sakura balked at the reminder. Even Naruto admitted to himself to having forgotten the command that their Hokage had given them upon their return from the Land of Waves.

A final order for all three of you – I want you three to be at least Tokubetsu jōnin level by this day, a year from now. You three are powerful ninja, blessed with great talent and untapped power, and I will not have you squander either one by being below-average ninja.

Naruto let out a low whistle at how long ago that seemed. Damn, it's really been two months, thought Naruto. Sasuke's right. If one of us misses out on the promotion to chūnin during this exam, we'd have to wait until either the next exam passes or for some kind of field promotion. On top of that, if we don't pass together, then after the exam whoever's left as genin would have to get used to a new team member, which would make passing the chūnin exam much harder. Sasuke can't miss out on this – he'll just have to deal with the pain somehow.

Judging from the look on Sakura's face, she'd arrived at the same conclusion as he did. That didn't mean she had to like it, which was also obvious from the look of displeasure she directed to the ground. Sasuke, on the other hand, looked as if his decision was the only course of action and that because of that fact it was no longer worthy of thought.

"I'll have the Evil Sealing Method applied on me after the preliminary phase," said Sasuke. "But what about Naruto?"

The blonde in question looked at Sasuke with an impassive expression. "What about me?" he asked. "If you're not going through the procedure then neither am I."

"Okay, Sasuke I can understand," Sakura spoke up, "but you're just being an idiot. There's no problem in your case, you should just get that seal removed-"

"Oh, like you were going to get that chest wound checked at," said Naruto. "Let's face it, you weren't going to head over to the infirmary after this, were you?"

"How about you both shut up and get your problems checked out?" said Sasuke. "While you're at it you could also get the seal removed and your chest looked at too."

"Oh, so we're the ones with head cases-"

"What do you mean, get my chest looked at!?"

The Sandaime and Anko glanced at each other in both exasperation and amusement at how the three genin descended into childish bickering, insults and barbs exchanged as if they were talking about the weather. Apparently, this would take a while. It was the norm, after all, whenever Team Seven was involved – things got done, but never in the way they were planned.

After a minutes' worth of bickering, the Hokage cleared his throat, and the genin fell silent.

"Application of medical treatment would be cause for disqualification for this next phase of the exam," he said. "Removal of the Five Elements Seal would also fall under that same ruling."

The three genin glanced at each other. "Well," said Sakura, "that simplifies things."

"Hn," said Sasuke.

"Yeah, I agree," added Naruto. "We'll just go through with the phase as we are then."

"Very well," said Sarutobi. "In that case, your sensei will meet you tomorrow morning and guide you to where you'll take the preliminary phase. In the meantime, head on over to your assigned quarters and get some rest. You three most definitely deserve it."

"Thank you, Lord Hokage," said the three genin, bowing once at the waist.

The Sandaime cleared his throat. "Cat," he said, and the Cat-masked ANBU with long purple hair appeared kneeling before him in a Body Flicker technique. "Escort Team Seven to their quarters; you are free to resume to your previous duties."

"Yes, Lord Hokage," came the answer.

"Anko," the Sandaime continued, "Come with me. There's still teams out in the Forest, and I need you to continue to supervise the exams. We'll also talk about the use of S-ranked Suicide techniques since you seem to need a reminder."

Naruto felt as if his heart stopped for a moment. His body posture remained ramrod straight, but his eyes were on his mother. Suicide Technique? What could've possibly…? Why'd she want to kill herself!? What the hell happened!?

"Yes, Lord Hokage," said Anko. Naruto noticed her tense posture and tried to catch her eye, but the special jōnin refused to meet his eye.

With a nod, the Third Hokage dismissed Team Seven and Cat, and Naruto was forced to turn away from his mother as his ANBU bodyguard began to lead them away.

While a small part of his mind was keeping an eye on their route so as to not get lost later, most of his head was filled with scenarios that could possibly involve his mother using an S-ranked Suicide Technique. She'd never told him that she'd known of any such technique, but then again he very much doubted that his mother would bring up something like that voluntarily. That being said, the fact that she'd attempted to use it – and failed, considering that she was still alive, thank the Sage – meant that she'd been in a situation where she'd been forced with no other choice, a situation where she'd wind up dead no matter what she did.

Shinobi villages operate on secrecy. Unbidden, an early lesson with Kakashi came to mind. More often than not, what you see is merely a single scratch on the surface of the true mystery at hand. As genin, you will never be privy to more information than what is necessary – ever. Not even when I was ANBU captain did I really know what was going on behind the curtain. The only one who knows absolutely everything that goes on the village is the Kage, and it is their burden alone.

Naruto shook his head, dispelling his thoughts on the matter. What Kakashi-Sensei said then applied now, as much as he didn't like it. Whatever it was that happened, if the Old Man ordered his mother to not tell him, then she wouldn't, just like when she'd obeyed the law regarding the Nine-Tails. On the flipside, the Sandaime had brought up the matter when he was there; that could either mean that he was dangling the knowledge in front of him or he was simply being cruel, and Naruto doubted that the second option was the right one.

So he wants me to figure it out, he thought. Alright… It's possible, actually really likely that mom encountered Orochimaru in this forest, and that she tried to use the technique with him. Orochimaru is the only person that mom hates enough to consider killing herself while taking him with her. She's listed in the Bingo Book as an A-rank ninja; there aren't that many ninjas out there who could take on mom and live.

Naruto's eyes then fell on Cat. There's another thing – when we went into the forest, mom said that Cat would stay with her, so if she fought Orochimaru… yeah, her sword's gone.

Cat's Katana was missing from the sheath on the ANBU's back, as if the woman was refusing to believe that it wasn't there. Few people could say that they knew an ANBU in passing, much less that they knew one well, but Naruto had been around Cat long enough – if two weeks were enough – to know that the woman loved her sword; the fact that she was still wearing the empty sheath was telling enough. The sword, after all, was unique – Cat had confessed to him that it was made with chakra-conductive metal, meaning that she could use it to perform chakra-based techniques, something she'd proven when she'd somehow cut through a Wind Style: Gale Palm technique.

If her sword is missing, then it's either damaged or broken beyond repair. Cat is top-tier ANBU – the Old Man wouldn't choose some random ANBU to keep an eye on me, as vain as that sounds. Like mom, it's not going to be some everyday ninja that's going to be able to go up against her. And didn't Orochimaru have a sword of his own when he was fighting us? It's possible that Cat lost hers against that thing – it was strong enough to hold off my gauntlets ignited with Kyuubi-enhanced foxfire.

Finally, there was one last piece of evidence: the Hokage himself. I doubt that the Old Man would be waiting for just any group of genin, he thought. He was waiting for us – if mom and Cat fought Orochimaru, then they'd have gone straight to him with the news. It's likely that they fought him after we did – Orochimaru could've said something. Case in point, Orochimaru is the most likely conclusion as to what the fuck happened.

"We're here."

Naruto blinked, and he was surprised to find that they'd reached a small wooden door that was as nonchalant as the stone walls around it. Naruto let no outwards reaction, but out of the corner of his eye he saw Sakura shake her head at him – his teammates had noticed his pensiveness, which meant that he was going to be in for it later. Meanwhile, Cat had gone ahead and opened the door, revealing a small room with three beds, one at each wall, and a round table in the center with three chairs around it. On the ceiling, a single light bulb lit up the room with a white tinge while revealing a closed door on the right side of the room.

Cat stepped to the side, motioning for Team Seven to enter the room. "After lunch tomorrow, your Sensei will arrive to escort you to the venue of the Preliminary Stage. I'll bring your dinner and breakfast here, so I ask that you do not leave this room at any point. If you require access to the bathroom, go through the door there," she said, motioning at the door in question. "Lunch tomorrow is up to you. I will be nearby, so you may sleep and relax; no one will disturb you."

Sasuke went in first, hand on his sword as he inspected the room, Sakura and Naruto right behind him. Cat waited patiently as the genin combed over the room for any hidden surprises before they headed into the bathroom and did the same. The only surprise they found was that the shower had hot water.

Team Seven, as one, nodded together and turned to Cat. The ANBU made a half-turn, as if she was about to leave, but Naruto spoke up. "Before you go," he said, "we believe there's a Stranger in Our House."

Cat stilled, her porcelain mask turning to look at them. "Explain," she said, and Naruto told her everything about what had happened before the first stage, when Kabuto Yakushi had given out details on both him and Sasuke that he doubted anyone would have. Naruto emphasized on the fact that Kabuto had somehow gained access to his file, the one that was redacted with all the black marks of secrecy.

When he was done, Cat nodded once. "Thank you for this information," she said. "I will ensure that Lord Hokage will hear of this." She paused. "Is there anything else?"

Sasuke and Sakura shook their heads, but Naruto stepped forwards. "Orochimaru," he said. Cat's body language didn't change, he noticed, but she did focus her gaze on him, her mask turning to fully face him. "You fought him," he said, not asking but making a statement, fishing for information. "How'd it go?"

Cat didn't answer immediately. Instead, she turned around and walked out of the room, stopping right at the door. "He is a Sannin," she said, not looking at the genin.

"But…?" Naruto prodded.

Cat turned around, one hand on the door. This time, her body language radiated smugness. "He is not a swordsman," she said, before closing the door.

Translation: she lost, but she bested him in her art.

Naruto turned around to look at his teammates. "I guess now we know what happened," he said.

Sasuke frowned. "How'd you know that she fought Orochimaru?" he asked.

Naruto shrugged. "There aren't that many people that mom would use a suicide technique against," he said. "The evidence just cropped up."

"You know the ANBU then?" asked Sakura, already lying down on one of the beds and peeling off her upper clothes.

Naruto nodded. "We met a couple of weeks ago," he said. "The Old Man assigned her to me. She's my bodyguard."

"You mean babysitter," smirked Sasuke.

"Ha, ha," said Naruto. He pulled off his coat. "Unless Sakura's showering first, I get first dibs."

"Such a gentleman," said the pinkette, her upper body clad in nothing but bandages and a black sports bra. A part of Naruto was appreciating the rare sight of Sakura half-naked, but most of him was thinking about how Sakura was thirteen years old and how she'd have a really nasty scar on her side.

"How's that feeling?" asked Sasuke, nodding at the wound.

"It stings," came the answer. "I don't think it'll open up again, but I'm going to have to be careful tomorrow. Hopefully I can get a good night's sleep and get a chance to replenish my chakra naturally so that tomorrow I can heal this up."

Naruto nodded, pulling off his coat and throwing it onto the last free bed – Sakura had taken the one on the right and Sasuke the one in the center, so he was on the left. "Dinner should be in about a couple of hours," he said, beginning to unstrap his armor. "Sakura, like I said you can get the first shower, I'm going to fill Sasuke in about what I think happened with Orochimaru."

"Okay," said Sakura, reaching down and unlacing her boots. "I won't take long."

"That means she'll take about three hours," said Sasuke in a deadpan. Lazily, he lifted a hand and caught the boot that Sakura had thrown at his face. "Actually, you can take those three hours, if this thing stinks you're probably ten times worse."

The other boot was aimed at his crotch. That one was also caught.

"Girls, stop fighting," said Naruto, upper body completely bare and his arms free of armor. He grinned at his teammates. "You two act like a married couple, it's pretty cute."

Naruto was forced to duck as a pair of boots flew in the spot where his head had just been, catching one and letting the other fall to the floor. By the time he looked up Sakura had ducked into the bathroom.

"So," said Sasuke, "Orochimaru?"

Naruto nodded, previous humor put to side. "Right," he said.

…ooOoo…

Kakashi had dropped the information bomb on them when he picked them up the next day: Preliminary Rounds were randomly generated one versus one eliminatory fights.

Naruto rolled his eyes at the simplicity of the event. Honestly, he figured that the upper echelons of Konoha Command could come up with something more elegant, but no, a brawl it was. Standing straight with Sasuke and Sakura in line behind him, Team Seven was surrounded on both sides by seven other genin cells, leading to a grand total of twenty-four genin, themselves included, listening to the Third Hokage's speech about the true purpose of the Chūnin Exams. Idly, Naruto noticed that the team from Kumo hadn't made the cut; with Iwa's team having been eliminated by his own team, that left four teams from Konoha, one from Sand, one from Sound, and one from Taki.

And all the teams were high-caliber.

Naruto had paid close attention at the speech the Sandaime was giving about the Chūnin exams, and he had to admit that no matter how much the genin complained about how tough it was, it was definitely a better alternative to outright war. Even now, standing with two rows of people in between them to the right, he could still feel the tension coming off of Gaara and his team. A glance to his left revealed that in her spot, Fu was also feeling the bloodlust unique to the Sand Village jinchūriki.

These exams may be tough, thought Naruto, but it's like the Old Man said: the only way for us to get stronger is by pushing our limits. And in this exam, I'd be lying if I said that I wasn't pushed to mine. Orochimaru really did a number on us.

"…and it is for this very reason that your forerunners fought in this exam. It is truly a dream worth striving for!"

A voice that Naruto hadn't heard in a while sounded through the chamber – Tenten, the daughter of the weapon's shop owner he and his mother frequented. "But then why did you use the word friendship before?" she asked the Hokage.

"You have only remembered half of what I said," answered the Sandaime. "You mustn't lose sight of the true meaning of the exams. This is a custom in which balance is preserved by fighting and dying, and in the ninja world, that is friendship."

Yeah, thought Naruto, because being enemies means that you kill your enemy plus their parents, children and dog before stabbing your ally in the back. Eh, Kurama?

Oh, right, can't talk to him right now.

"The Third Exam is a fight for your life with the pride of your village and your own dreams at stake," added Hiruzen. "That is what you will face." His speech concluded, the Hokage took a step back.

Naruto smirked. "Well, he's convinced me," he said.

"Any test is fine." To his right, Gaara of the Sand continued speaking, "Just give me the details of the exam already, I can handle anything you throw at me."

The Sandaime actually chuckled. "Very well then," he said. "Listen closely and I'll tell you exactly what it is you'll be doing."

Just then, a ninja appeared kneeling in front of the Hokage, head bowed in respect. "Please, Lord Hokage," he said, "before you do so, allow me, Hāyate Gekko, appointed proctor of the Third Phase of the Chūnin Exams, to speak first."

The Sandaime nodded. "So be it," he said, and Hāyate stood, turning around to face the assembled genin.

Hāyate then explained, amidst horrible coughing fits that gave explicit detail on the state of the man's lungs, that there were too many genin for the Third Test and that there would be a preliminary round to 'cull their numbers'. It was nothing that Naruto didn't know before, considering the fact that Kakashi-Sensei had already them. Still, Naruto had to appreciate the irony of the offer that Hāyate gave them:

"If there's anyone who doesn't feel like they're in top physical condition-" Cue some nasty coughing, "-uh, sorry about that. As I was saying, if any of you feel like you're not up to this, now's the time to bow out. Otherwise, the Preliminary Round will start immediately."

"No offense, Hāyate Gekko,"whispered Naruto, "but you should definitely include yourself in the 'not in top physical condition' category."

Behind him, he heard Sakura giggle.

After Hāyate gave his statement, the genin (read: Ino and Shikamaru) began to complain about how tired they were and how they weren't being given a chance to rest for the phase.

"Does he really think that anyone's going to bow out at this point?" Naruto heard Sasuke mutter. "By now, they might as well- ah!"

Naruto glanced behind himself in worry, and was privy to the sight of Sasuke clutching at his shoulder. "Sasuke!" whispered Sakura, reaching for the shoulder.

Sasuke let himself get treated by Sakura. "It just flared up all of a sudden," he hissed quietly. "The waves of pain, they're coming sooner and sooner now."

"Can you handle the pain?" asked Naruto, quietly so as to not let anyone else hear. "Do you want me to try…?"

"No," answered Sasuke just as quiet. "Too risky. I'll deal with the pain, I can fight."

Naruto hesitated before nodding. The night before, they (as in the whole team sans Kakashi) had discussed using the Preta Path to absorb the chakra stored in Sasuke's Curse Seal, but in the end it was deemed too risky – who knew what could happen to either of them.

"If you're sure…"

"I am."

"Sasuke," said Sakura, "I don't know about this…"

"Sakura, we've discussed this," said Sasuke, "I can't afford to give up. Not today, not tomorrow, and especially for some stupid mark- argh!"

"Shit," said Naruto, his eyes on the now-red curse mark. "That's not good."

"Oh no," said Sakura, green eyes wide and worried. "It's starting to flare…"

Sasuke had his eyes closed, jaw clenched in an effort to not let a sound. Naruto cursed, pulling back the right-hand sleeve of his coat. "Screw it," said Naruto, reaching into his coat and putting on his sunglasses. "I'm doing it. Sakura, hold him still."

Rinnegan, he thought, eyes awakening. Ignoring the curious glances of the genin surrounding them – they wouldn't see anything important anyways – Naruto reached for Sasuke's shoulder, placing two fingers on the mark. For a moment, Naruto thought about how hot the mark was, as the burning was so strong even Naruto could feel it. Then, he began to absorb the chakra.

It felt like battery acid was entering his body through his fingers. Naruto hissed in pain at how acidic the purple chakra felt. But no, not acidic… it was strange. Like frozen acid – icy cold, yet burning sharply like acid, any acid. Still, whatever he was doing was effective enough – the Curse Mark, which was in the initial stages of spreading onto Sasuke's neck, receded back to its normal state. After a few more seconds, the mark went from red to black, and Naruto felt his teammate relax.

"Feeling better?" asked Sakura, who was still holding onto Sasuke.

The Uchiha nodded. "Yeah," he said. "Thanks."

Naruto returned the nod. "Anytime," he said, taking off his fingers from the mark. Surreptitiously he glanced around – on Team Seven's left, Team Eight was watching with confused gazes, but on the right Tenten's team was ignoring the proceedings – though Naruto could see that the Hyuuga on that team was channeling chakra to his eyes, meaning that he had his Byakugan active.

Naruto looked at the back of the Hyuuga's head. Kakashi-Sensei said that my glasses should block anyone from seeing my eyes, he thought. But will they work against the Hyuuga's eyes?

"I think you took something that doesn't belong to you," said Sasuke, bringing back his attention.

Naruto winced; that meant that he'd absorbed some of Sasuke's chakra as well. "Oops," he said. He patted Sasuke's other shoulder twice, transferring some of his own chakra back to Sasuke. "The Hyuuga's watching."

"Hn," said Sasuke. "We'll deal with it later."

"I guess you caught me!" Team Seven looked over at Kabuto Yakushi, who had his hand raised as he smiled with chagrin. "I'm out."

"So are we," spoke up an unfamiliar voice. Naruto looked to his left to see Fu's two 'teammates' raise their hands as well.

At the front, Hāyate checked their names from a clipboard he'd gotten from who-knew-where. "Kabuto Yakushi from the Hidden Leaf Village," he read. "And Kegon and Yōrō from the Hidden Waterfall Village. Alright then, please step back and exit the premises."

The three ninja nodded, stepping away from their respective teams and walking straight out. Naruto kept his eyes on Kabuto's back. He's a Stranger in Our House, he thought, knowing that his teammates were thinking the same thing. He's gone through this exam seven times including this one, he's got access to high-level top-secret information, and his charka pathways are full of chakra. He's not tired – if anything, I think he's got more chakra than Kegon and Yōrō combined. Naruto mentally compared the sights of Fu's teammates walking next to Kabuto. And from what Fu said, those two are jōnin.

"Is there anyone else that wants to leave?" asked Hāyate.

Naruto glanced around – while everyone was looking at the three 'genin' that were leaving, no one else looked like they were thinking about leaving.

"If no one else will leave, then it's time to begin," said Hāyate. "There are twenty-one of you left, so we're going to have ten matches with one of you getting a free pass onto the next Round. As for the rules, there are none – you fight until one of you dies, concedes defeat, or is rendered physically incapable of continuing the contest. Naturally, those who are losing are urged to concede defeat promptly in order to avoid a fatal outcome. Furthermore, as proctor I'm given a certain amount of leeway in judging the matches." A pause and three coughs later, Hāyate continued. "I might occasionally intervene if a match seems hopeless to save as many lives as possible.

"Now, it's time to reveal what fate has been chosen for you." His speech finished, he turned and nodded at Anko who spoke into a microphone headset she was wearing.

"Then that's that," said Naruto, turning back around and facing the front of the chamber, where the Hokage, the proctors – his mother included – and all the jōnin-sensei were standing on an elevated stone platform placed in front of a massive statue of a pair of arms holding the snake seal. "If this is about having one-on-one battles, who do you guys want to fight?"

"You," said Sasuke immediately. "Fu is another."

"That team from Sound owes me," said Sakura. "I'll take any single one of them and beat them into the ground. Then there's Ino – my old friend needs a wake-up call on what it means to be a real ninja. What about you, Naruto?"

Naruto glanced back at Sakura with a grin. "Sasuke," he said, and his teammate returned his grin. "Fu, you… we haven't really had a fight where we're holding nothing back. Though I'd make some special time for a fight against Gaara."

"They're starting," said Sasuke, nodding at a display that was revealed from behind one of the panels above the statue. And indeed, names in bright yellow were cycling quickly, stopping on two familiar ones:

Naruto Uzumaki Mitarashi
VS.
Tenten

Naruto couldn't help but laugh. "Wow, that was quick," he said. "They didn't waste any time!"

"Yeah, no kidding," answered Sakura. "Well, good luck, and go easy on her."

"Hn," said Sasuke.

"This'll be over quick," said Naruto, "believe it."

A few minutes later, Naruto was facing off against Tenten, standing alone as the rest of the genin had moved up to a level of balconies where they'd be 'safe' from the ensuing battles. The proctor nodded at the two genin about to fight.

"The first match of the day will be Naruto Uzumaki Mitarashi versus Tenten," he said. He paused before looking at Naruto. "Kid, shorten your name, it's a mouthful."

Naruto blushed. Behind and above him, Sakura yelled, "Yeah, seriously Naruzumitanami, shorten your name!"

Naruto turned around and pointed at her. "Dammit Sakura, I don't tease you about wanting to be Missus Sasuke Uchiha!" he yelled.

"Why you-!"

"Um, excuse me, not to interrupt or anything, but we're about to have a fight here," said an annoyed Tenten.

Sufficiently embarrassed, Naruto looked back at Tenten with a chagrined smile, holding a scroll he'd palmed from inside his jacket when his back was turned to Tenten. "Hehe… sorry," he said.

Tenten frowned at the sight of the scroll, but made no more comment, other than a, "Whatever."

Hāyate glanced from genin to genin. Without preamble, he said, "Let the match begin."

Immediately, Naruto jumped backwards – as did Tenten. Keeping his eyes on the girl, Naruto held his scroll in between the Clone Seal his hands were in. Two shadow clones blurred into existence next to him and began to pelt Tenten with thrown shuriken and kunai while the real Naruto unsealed the contents of the scroll – his mother's gauntlets and a chain that was six feet long.

Tenten nonchalantly blocked all of the incoming weaponry that his clones had sent at her with her own pair of kunai. "Aww, not going to use my own blades against me?" she asked.

"Nope!" he called back. "I don't want to hurt your feelings too much." As he spoke, he attached the ends of the chain to each gauntlet.

"Ha! As if you could win!" Tenten grinned at him before throwing the kunai at his clones, dispelling them quickly.

"I already have, Tenten," was all he said. Naruto slipped on one of the gauntlets, leaving the other free to hand and swing at his leisure – an art that Ikorina had been teaching him in the past month or so. Mastering it would mean being able to chain both gauntlets to his wrists so that he could detach and retract them independently, but for now this would do.

Suddenly, Naruto's chest was peppered with senbon – Tenten had jumped upwards and thrown them at him in less than a second. The girl's victorious smile vanished when the clone popped.

"What-?" she exclaimed, "How did he-?"

"Pure skill, Tenten!"

The girl glanced behind her, and sure enough, there was Naruto as airborne as she was. She was too late to do anything however as by the time she'd turned around he'd thrown and wrapped his chained gauntlet around her midriff, trapping her. The girl attempted a substitution technique, but her concentration was thrown off when Naruto yanked on the chain.

"Get over here!" he yelled, pulling her towards him. When she was close enough, he punched at her with his free hand, simultaneously releasing her from the wrapped gauntlet. Tenten hit the stone floor hard.

A half-second later, Naruto landed nearby and swung his chained gauntlet so that it would land on top of her, but the girl rolled right out of the way. Tenten stood up and threw a pair of kunai in the process, but Naruto simply leaned out of the way.

The girl grimaced, holding one arm with the other as she looked at him warily. "Okay, I didn't see that coming," she said. "You're pretty fast."

"Thank you," said Naruto, pulling at his gauntlet – only to find that Tenten had thrown a kunai into the links, jamming it against the stone floor.

Tenten grinned, having jumped upwards with a scroll in hand. "Gotcha," she said, and almost fifteen feet in the air, she twirled open her scroll, spinning the paper around her in an elegant twirl. As she spun she unsealed weapons and throw them at Naruto – only to find…

"Wind Style: Air Bullet!"

…that he was blocking the hits by firing Air Bullets at the incoming projectiles, throwing them off course and making them miss. When she ran out of weapons to throw and landed back on the ground she also found herself onset by another pair of shadow clones, who didn't give her a moment of pause as they attacked and watched each other's backs while the original freed himself.

What kind of clones are these? Tenten wondered. They're solid, but they're not made out of any particular element – they just pop into smoke when they're dispelled!

Suddenly, for no reason, the clones jumped backwards and away from her, dispelling by themselves. Tenten blinked in surprise, looking around for the original and found that she was far from her starting point – in fact she was almost against the far wall opposite to the stone arms at the front.

"Tenten!"

The girl turned to the front – and gulped in nervousness. There were eleven Narutos standing in front of the stone arms, ten of them in a single line and the eleventh – most likely the real one – was standing behind them, alone.

"You should give up!" yelled Naruto, arms crossed as he smirked confidently.

"Never!" she yelled back. "You're too far to throw any techniques effectively, and if you get any closer I'll just use you as target practice! Your plan has failed from the start!"

Naruto shook his head. "That's because you have no idea what it is I'm planning," he said. "Start phase one."

As one, five of the ten clones, raised their hands and quickly went through fifteen hand signs. "Wind Style," they yelled, holding up their hands and pointing the palms towards Tenten, "Great Breakthrough!"

Immediately, the combined air pushed Tenten back. She realized, of course, the purpose of combining the five techniques – it was like a giant fan was slowly but steadily blowing against her. If she threw anything at Naruto, not only would they not reach him, but there was also the risk of them flying back at her.

"Tenten!" yelled Naruto, "Surrender now!"

"Never!" came the yelled answer. I just have to wait, thought the girl desperately, his clones have been using the technique for almost five seconds, so they'll either run out of breath or chakra soon. Once that happens, I can use Twin Rising Dragons and end this fight.

"Well, I hope you've got a shield somewhere in that arsenal of stuff!" called Naruto. "Start Phase Two!"

The five remaining clones raised their hands, and this time they went through seventeen hand seals, ending on the Tiger Seal, which was commonly used for Fire Nature techniques.

"Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!"

The five clones breathed in, and when they breathed out, the combined fire was added to the winds created by the five Great Breakthroughs. The result was a literal wave of fire that was propelled towards fire, bright and hot that most of the genin standing on the balconies had to shield themselves.

"What the-!? Fire and Wind nature transformation jutsus!?" Asuma Sarutobi, the jōnin-sensei of team 10, was gaping at the combined techniques. "Just who the hell is this kid!? And at that magnitude of devastation!"

"To have enough chakra for ten shadow clones, plus the equivalent of throwing ten high-impact jutsus, is incredible," said Kurenai Yuuhi, Team Eight's jōnin-sensei. "He has to be a literal juggernaut of chakra – even I don't think I'd be able to throw out chakra like this kid is doing."

Standing next to Kakashi, Maito Gai, Tenten's sensei, was gritting his teeth in worry. "Kakashi, just what have you taught your students?" he asked. "There's no way that this is normal!"

"It isn't," acknowledged Kakashi. Next to him, Sasuke and Sakura were looking down at Naruto's technique with passive expressions. "It's just Naruto. Though it seems that your student is just as resourceful."

And she was – down in the pseudo-arena, Naruto could see that Tenten was holding aloft a massive metal shield the size of a refrigerator door to block out the continuous wave of fire heading her way. She was using it to push forwards, as staying at the back of the room was a recipe for getting killed; the fire was hitting the wall and curling on itself, and smoke was quickly filling the room.

"Tenten, surrender!" yelled Naruto one last time.

The girl somehow had the bravery to yell, "Never!"

This time, Naruto hesitated before stepping forwards. "Then so be it," he said. He lifted his gauntleted arm, and pointed it at the conflagration. "Foxfire," he intoned, and the gauntlet lit up in blue-colored flames. He then dipped it into the stream of fire being produced by the nearest clone, and the flames went from red to blue in an instant – a wave of Foxfire that was headed straight for Tenten.

She didn't have a chance – as soon as the fire hit her shield it sent her flying backwards in an explosion. Tenten's scream was lost in the sound of the explosion.

"Stop!" Hāyate Gekko yelled, stepping forwards and up to Naruto. "Stop the fire!"

Immediately, the ten clones dispelled themselves, ending the continuous technique. Previously unnoticed fire sprinklers activated, dousing the fires and leaving the bottom of the room bathed in black smoke. Naruto immediately dove into the smoke, not waiting for Hāyate's to stop him.

Up in the stands, Hiruzen spoke up. "An impressive technique," he said. He glanced at Anko, "Did you teach him the Great Fireball?"

She shook his head. "I haven't had the chance to teach him anything recently," she confessed. "I haven't had the time… I was working on the chūnin exams so much…"

"Hmm." Hiruzen refilled his pipe with tobacco and lit it by breathing softly on the tobacco with a fire-chakra-enhanced breath. Puffing it twice, he continued, "You wanted my permission for something?" he asked.

"Please allow me to teach him the Earth Style Shadow Clone," said Anko. "I know that it's a technique that Orochimaru created, but it would really benefit his kit. If he's that lethal with normal Shadow Clones, the Earth Style type would help him greatly."

Hiruzen smiled. "You want to teach him a technique that allows him to create a clone that has all the benefits of the basic Shadow Clone," he said, "but that has a higher durability and an even higher chakra cost than the Shadow Clone. Anko, my student taught it to you, and you passed it onto me. I think you can make that decision on your own."

Anko bowed. "Thank you, Lord Hokage," she said with a smile.

"Also, teach him the other variation of the Shadow Clone Jutsu," said Hiruzen. "I'll provide you with the notes."

Anko straightened. "The… the Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu, you mean?" she asked.

"The very same," said Hiruzen. "He's ready. Ah, it seems like Tenten is just fine."

True to his word, Naruto had just emerged from the dispersing smoke with an unconscious soot-covered Tenten in his arms. "She's fine," he said. "She's got some burns that look pretty nasty, but I think she actually passed out from oxygen deprivation and not from the explosion. She's okay… but I can't say the same for her shield."

Next to Naruto, a clone appeared, holding Tenten's shield, or rather what remained of it – the outer edges were completely warped and melted, and the whole front was completely blackened. Hāyate whistled at the damage the shield had sustained – Tenten was lucky to have survived.

"Tenten is unable to continue," he said. "The winner of the first match is Naruto Uzumaki Mitarashi."

"Whoo!" yelled Sakura. "Yeah Naruto! That's right!"

"Yeah!" yelled Fu. "Way to go, Naruto!"

"Go baby!" Anko added her own cheer from her spot. "That's my boy!"

Naruto blushed at his mother's yells, but smiled at the praise. He turned to the approaching medical ninja and placed Tenten on the stretcher they brought. Suddenly, there was a green blur next to him, and when Naruto looked up he was facing Tenten's sensei, a man dressed in a green jumpsuit with a jōnin flak jacket thrown on top, orange legwarmers and a bowl-like haircut over very thick eyebrows. Naruto was immediately reminded of the genin he'd seen wearing similar attire at the beginning of the second stage of the exam.

"Will she be alright?" asked the man, looking down at Tenten in worry.

"It's like the kid said," answered one of the ninjas. "She's just knocked out from the lack of oxygen. She's got some third-degree burns that'll need treatment, and her hair's going to be growing out for about a year or two before its back to the length it was, but otherwise she's fine."

Tenten's sensei sighed in relief. "That is good to hear," he said. He then turned to Naruto as the ninja took Tenten away. "Thank you for sparing her."

Naruto chuckled nervously, rubbing the back of his head. "I had a clone on standby to get her out of the way," he confessed, "but it wasn't necessary – when the explosion sent her flying she covered herself with the shield and just hunkered down. I found her under the shield."

"As resourceful as always," said the jōnin. He smiled at Naruto. "Your fires of youth burn brightly, young man. Tenten will take this defeat and learn from it proudly – you fought with honor."

"Umm… thanks, I guess," said Naruto. "You're Maito Gai, right? Kakashi-Sensei's rival?"

"Indeed!" smiled Gai (Naruto mentally winced at the glint of his teeth, it was just too bright). "It is good that my eternal rival trains his students well! I shall strive to do the same, and not allow this competition fall to Kakashi's victory!"

"…right," said Naruto. "Anyways, I gotta go. It was nice meeting you, er, Bushy-Brow Sensei."

"Likewise! May your flames never wane and may your youth burn brightly!"

Naruto nodded his goodbye and headed up to the second floor/balcony where his team was waiting. Instead of going around for the stairs, he walked straight up the surface of the wall, sticking to it with chakra. Upon vaulting over the railing, he was attacked by a ferocious beast that tackled him and refused to let go his midriff.

"That was awesome!" exclaimed Fu, hugging Naruto and squeezing him. "That fire was so bright and hot and there was so much chakra! I'm glad you're my friend, I don't think I'd ever want you as an enemy! That girl never stood a chance!"

Naruto laughed. "Thanks Fu," he said. The girl let go of him, teal-colored eyes shining as she smiled brightly at him.

"Well done, Naruto," said Kakashi, the man's one visible eye narrowed in his trademarked masked smile. "I'll say, that was quite impressive to look at. You used more chakra this time than the last."

"My chakra control's still messed up," admitted the blonde. "Still, I figured it was about time I used that whole 'multiple chakra nature' thing."

"Tch," said Sasuke. "That doesn't stop you from being a copycat."

"Says the Uchiha," said Naruto. "Besides, you taught me the Great Fireball."

"I'm guessing you had a clone hiding with the Double Decapitation Technique, right?" asked Sakura.

"Yup," said Naruto. "Three Nature Transformations in a single fight, and I still feel like I could go another round."

"Don't be so overconfident," chided Kakashi. "You never know when you could just run out of chakra. I think you and I need another tour of the Gymnasium."

Naruto paled. A tour of the Gymnasium meant seven days of endurance training at the Gymnasium, also known as Training Ground One, starting from five in the morning to almost nine at night. Normally, Kakashi forced his team to go through the Gymnasium three times a week with fourteen hour workouts, but a whole tour was even worse. Kakashi had punished them twice with tours already – it was no joke. Even Naruto by the seventh day would be feeling the pain.

"No, no, no, no, no, no!" said Naruto, waving his hands back and forth. "I'm good, Sensei, it's not necessary!"

Kakashi smiled at him. "If you're sure," he said. "Oh look, they're picking the next two fighters."

Team Seven plus Fu turned to look at the panel, which was once more cycling through names until it finished with:

Shino Aburame
VS.
Akado Yoroi

"Akado Yoroi?" asked Sakura. "Who the heck is that?"

"I think it's one of Kabuto's teammates," said Naruto. He glanced over at Sasuke, wondering if his teammates had spoken to Kakashi about Kabuto being a Stranger, and the Uchiha nodded, knowing his thoughts and confirming that yes, he'd taken care of it.

"This will be interesting to watch," said Kakashi. "Watch closely, you three. Sorry, four," he added, smiling at Fu. The girl smiled at him in forgiveness.

"No worries!" chirped the mint-haired girl. "Isn't there a legend about the Aburame clan, about how their techniques based off of insects of some kind?" she asked.

"There is," confirmed Kakashi. "But you'll see exactly how."

Down in the soot-covered arena, the two genin were facing off. Both genin's features were covered heavily, with the two of them wearing sunglasses, but while Shino's coat covered his lower mouth with its high collar, Akado was wearing a cloth mask over his lips that performed a similar function.

Next to them, Hāyate Gekko began to speak. "The second match of the preliminary round will be Shino Aburame versus Akado Yoroi," he said. "You may begin."

What followed was short and to the point. Apparently, Kabuto's teammate had a technique that performed a similar function to Naruto's Preta Path, without the ability to give out chakra. Everyone could see the blue glow of chakra on Akado's right hand, and so could Shino, the Aburame not letting the genin get close enough to use his technique. In the end, all Shino had to was to swarm Akado with his chakra-leeching beetle army, and Kabuto's teammate went down.

"Huh," said Fu as Hāyate called the match, "I'll admit, I don't have control over bugs like Shino does, I just have techniques that act like one. He's pretty cool."

"There aren't that many people who'd say that." Next to Team Seven, Team Eight's Kiba Inuzuka had spoken up with a smile. "If anything, there are people who get creeped out by the Aburame and their bug-based techniques. After all, they use their own bodies as hives to care for the bugs."

"It's a symbiotic relationship, a sacred pact between the bugs and the bug master," said Kakashi. "When a bug master is born, the pact is made, and the user allows to bugs to inhabit their body, feeding off of their chakra, in exchange for fighting the master's battles and taking down their foes. It's a strange relationship, no doubt, but an effective one."

Just then, the screen flashed for a third time.

Choji Akimichi
VS.
Sakura Haruno

Sakura gasped, then cheered. "Yes!" she crowed. "It's my time to shine!"

"Poor Choji," said Naruto. "He has no idea what he's in for."

Sasuke smirked. "This'll be quick, I think," he said. "You've got your work cut out for you, Sakura, but you'll win."

"Cha! This'll be over in a second!" grinned Sakura.

"Have fun!" said Fu. "And good luck!"

"Thanks!" said Sakura before vaulting over the railing. Luckily, she'd been able to heal up her wound earlier with some help of Naruto's Preta-Path-given chakra, so she'd be able to fight against Choji without worry.

As Sakura took her place in front of Choji with Hāyate at the side, Naruto heard Ino scoff. "Forehead's not going to win," Naruto heard her say.

Shikamaru answered, "You didn't tell Choji to say that, did you?"

"Of course I did! Sakura's not going to be focused properly after that, she hates it when someone mentions her chest!"

Naruto, and next to him Sasuke, froze. "Um, Ino," Naruto called, "you really didn't tell Choji to mention her chest… right? You're only joking, right?"

Ino smirked confidently at him. "Why? Worried that Choji's not going to go easy on little Forehead?" she asked.

"If Choji says anything, you'll be lucky to get enough of your teammate back to be able to bury him," answered Sasuke with a deadpan. "You have no idea what you're going to unleash."

Again, Ino scoffed. Shikamaru, however, gave them a wary look. "Choji's going to lose, isn't he?" he asked.

Naruto nodded. "Badly," he said.

Shikamaru sighed. "What a drag," was all he said.

"Have some faith in your teammate!" Ino berated him. "What is wrong with you?"

"Ino, you saw just as we all did that technique that Naruto was able to pull off, and he's still afraid of Sakura. What do you think is going to happen?"

For the first time, Ino looked worried.

"The third match of the preliminary round will be Choji Akimichi against Sakura Haruno," said Hāyate just then. "You may begin."

"Umm, before we do, Sakura," said Choji, putting away his bag of chips, "Ino wanted me to say something…"

Sakura blinked in surprise. "Oh? What does she want?" asked Sakura.

Choji took a deep breath. "That you'll never compete with her in the chest department and that you're as flat as this floor," he said in a rush, blushing heavily.

On the other side of the room, the Temari and the girl from the Sound Village team burst out laughing. Naruto, on the other hand, grabbed Fu by her shoulders and gently pulled her backwards, away from the railing.

"To get out of the blast radius," he said at her questioning gaze. Next to him, Sasuke was hiding behind Kakashi (though he would later swear that Kakashi had stepped in front of him and he just didn't want to complain).

In the arena, Sakura had gone completely still. She was facing away from Team Seven, so Naruto couldn't see her expression, but he could see Choji's. The rotund boy's face went from embarrassment, to confusion, and then to abject terror – whatever Sakura looked like it was terrifying, and Naruto and Sasuke as her teammates knew her rage firsthand.

Suddenly there was whoosh of something heavy flying through the air, a small explosion and fragmented stone hitting the genin on the stands. Sasuke whistled, feeling impressed, terrified and awed at what had happened – in less than a second, Sakura had turned around, unslung her hammer from her back, and threw it at Ino, the weapon flying just past Ino's ear and embedding itself in the wall behind her. Ino, blonde hair framing her pale and terrified face, was making a strange noise like she was screaming while sucking air into her lungs. It reminded Sasuke of a high-pitched wheeze.

Silence predominated in the arena, the genin's laughter choked off at the spectacle. Naruto looked over at Ino and Shikamaru. "Did I mention that Sakura killed an Iwa genin at the start of the second phase because the poor bastard mentioned her chest?" he asked nonchalantly.

A pause. "Shit," was all Shikamaru said.

At the far end of the stands Anko burst out laughing, and Asuma cleared his throat nervously amidst the sound. "Isn't there a ruling about attacking the spectators?" he asked.

"Nope!" said a nonchalant Kakashi, who was smiling behind his mask.

"Hāyate did say, and I quote, 'there are none', unquote," said Kurenai. The woman was looking at Sakura with an appraising eye. "I don't know what you've taught her, Kakashi, but while I admire her strength, you might want to focus a little on restraint."

"Oh, she restrained herself," said Kakashi. "Ino's still breathing, after all."

"If you can call it that," said Naruto, looking over at the blonde, who was shaking in fear and still not making proper breathing sounds.

"Semantics," said Sasuke, grinning at the spectacle. Well, it was more like a wide smirk, but for the stoic Uchiha it was more than usual.

While all this was happening, in the arena Sakura had turned to speak to Choji, her voice as frosty as winter. "You were only listening to your teammate," she said, glaring heavily at her opponent, "so I'll go easy on you. But unfortunately for you, I've had a lot of stress built up from the past few days, so I appreciate you volunteering to be my, ah… feedback board."

Choji gulped, answering by going through hand signs. "Ninja Art: Expansion Jutsu!" he yelled, crossing his arms. With a small burst of smoke, Choji's body expanded enormously, like an overinflated balloon, with his arms, legs and head still the same size. Choji grinned at Sakura. "Try this on for size! Secret Art: Human Bullet Tank!"

Choji then pulled his limbs and head into himself, large amounts of chakra beginning to expel from the orifices. The chakra pushed Choji forwards, and before Sakura knew it there was a giant rolling ball of Choji headed straight for her.

"Chubbies ruuuuule!" came the war cry from the rolling ball, charging at Sakura. The girl immediately dodged to the side, flipping away a couple of times as Choji kept going right past her and slammed into the wall. The Bullet Tank technique kept the boy going, still spinning but now digging a hole into the wall.

He barely has any control over himself when he's like that, thought Sakura. I could just keep dodging and he'll eventually tire himself out, but what's the fun in that?

Sakura grinned evilly. "Heh," she said, "I'll admit, I didn't expect you to become an actual stress ball for me, Choji! That's kinda sweet! I guess all that fat really is working out for you!"

"I'M GOING TO PULVERIZE YOU!"

Sakura's grin became a tad more evil as Chojiball began to spin faster, finally managing to dislodge himself from the wall and turning towards her, twice as fast as the last time. Sakura readied herself, arms and legs in her Muay Thai ready stance, her eyes narrowed onto the oncoming Chojiball.

This'll take some special timing, she thought, focusing her chakra to her arms, legs and back. Not too soon, and especially not too late…

"Run her over, Choji!" yelled Ino from the stands. "Don't let her get away with calling you fat!"

Choji was ten meters away. Closer…

"Shut up, Ino!" was the yelled answer from Choji.

He was now five meters. Three…

Now!

When Choji was less than five feet away from her, Sakura reached towards the stone, channeling chakra into her hand, her hand crunching into the stone as she reached into the floor-

"Shannarō!"

-and ripped the floor upwards with a roar, creating an impromptu ramp over herself for Choji. Choji immediately went flying over her with a surprised yell, and Sakura jumped upwards, kicking off from the ramp, and twirled backwards, slamming her foot into the back of the Chojiball with a textbook-perfect bicycle kick. The blow added to Choji's momentum, and this time when he slammed into the wall, five feet above the floor, he immediately stopped spinning. Sakura landed from her airborne kick, facing away from Choji in a perfect stance, arms ready and legs bent at the knees, her left leg in front and slightly raised from the floor, the girl panting slightly from the effort. Two seconds later, Choji fell from the hole in the wall, completely knocked out.

"Hell yeah!" yelled Naruto. "That's my teammate! Go Sakura!"

Sasuke smirked over at the pinkette, clapping lightly. "Well done, Sakura," he said, but even from her position Sakura could hear the words. Fu was cheering loudly, clapping and jumping, and Kakashi was smiling proudly at her.

Hāyate Gekko cleared his throat. "The winner of the third match is Sakura Haruno," he said. He glanced over at the unconscious Choji. Jeez, just what is with this team? he thought. Both kids have seriously damaged the place. I really hope that Uchiha kid doesn't do any more damage when it's his turn, or we won't have any arena left for the rest.

Upon the proctor's declaration, Sakura stepped out of her ready stance and grinned. Resisting the urge to squeal like a little girl, she instead ran over to the other side of the room and jumped up to where her team was waiting.

She was immediately beset by Naruto and Fu. "Damn, that was awesome!" grinned Naruto. "Great job, Sakura!"

"Hn," said Sasuke, though he smirked at her in congratulations.

"Wow, that was so cool!" said Fu, grinning at her.

"Thanks, guys," answered Sakura with a blush, grinning wildly as she breathed rather heavily.

"I don't think I've ever seen you do something like that, Sakura," said Kakashi, eyeing her curiously.

Sakura's blush intensified, her cheeks matching her hair. "It… was on the fly," she admitted. "In the forest of Death, I'd killed a snake summon by pinning its head with a thrown branch…"

Even through the man's mask, Sakura got the feeling that Kakashi was raising an eyebrow at her. "How big was it?" he asked.

"The snake or the branch?"

"Both."

"Umm… the snake was big enough to swallow all of us whole and still have space," said Sakura. "And the branch… umm, about three feet thick, maybe five to seven long? When I did it then, I could feel how my chakra was spent on the throw, so this time I just remembered how it felt and went with the flow."

Kakashi glanced at the raised stone. "Well," he said, "I'd say that it is very effective. You seem to have accidentally discovered the secret to Lady Tsunade of the Sannin's own special style of fighting. I'm proud of you, Sakura."

By now, Sakura's face was beyond her hair color and completely red. "You… you're not going to get mad about me using incomplete techniques on the battlefield without being completely sure that they're going to work?" she asked.

Kakashi smiled at her. "Well it worked, didn't it?" he asked rhetorically. "I don't see why we should go with the lecture… this time."

Sakura grinned at the statement, and Naruto slung a congratulatory arm over her shoulders. "Two down, two to go!" he said, grinning. "And once Sasuke and Fu win their own fights we'll be over with this thing, believe it!"

"Hn," said Sasuke. "Don't get too ahead of yourself. I don't think we'll be as lucky in having our fights over and done with soon. I get the feeling that we're going to have to wait for a while."

Fu giggled. "I don't mind waiting," she said, "as long as it's among friends. Still, I can't wait for it to be my turn, I'm pumped!"

Suddenly, there was the sound of a throat being cleared. The five individuals turned around to see what looked like a miniature clone of Maito Gai holding out Sakura's maul in one hand for her to take.

"Excuse me!" he said. "My name is Rock Lee, and I came to return this weapon to its rightful owner! I am awed to say that it took me a good amount of effort to pull it from the wall, which tells me that you are a very strong kunoichi! Please, honor me by being my girlfriend! I vow to protect you with my life!" Rock Lee then gave Sakura a nice-guy pose, smiling brightly and giving her a thumbs up, teeth glinting in the light.

Sakura blinked in surprise. "I… what?" she asked, completely confused by the random statement. Behind her, Naruto was stuffing his fist into his mouth so as to not burst out laughing, Fu was looking confused, and Sasuke was completely stone-faced. Kakashi, for his part, was reading from his book, looking completely unruffled from the proceedings.

Sakura blinked again, shaking her head free of the confusion. "Umm… yeah, I don't… think that's possible," she said, reaching out for her hammer and taking it from Lee's suddenly limp hand.

The transformation that overtook Rock Lee's made Sakura feel bad, the poor kid looked so downcast. "But… why?" he asked, eyes wide and hurt.

She couldn't help it – she smiled gently at him. "I'm sorry," she said, "but I… it's not a good time. I… my heart's already taken."

She ignored the glances at her back. "I see," said Rock Lee, still looking downcast. "I apologize. I did not mean to offend-"

Sakura couldn't help but giggle. "Offend? Not at all!" she smiled at him. "On the contrary, I'm flattered!" She glanced at her teammates once before continuing. "Heh, where are my manners… Rock Lee, these are my teammates, Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha. And this is Fu – she's a friend from the Village Hidden in the Waterfall."

Looking as though he'd shaken off his depression, Rock Lee smiled. "It is good to meet you all," he said. "Naruto, your fight against my teammate was very impressive! I hope to be able to prove myself against you at some point!"

Naruto grinned. "Thanks, Lee," he said.

"Guys," said Sasuke, "they're starting again."

Immediately, the genin's attention went back to the screen, where it flashed through several pairs of names before giving its answer…

…ooOoo…

Sorry for the abrupt ending, I couldn't think of another way to move on to the next chapter.

So, next up in Part 2, you'll get the end of the Preliminary Round, plus some development on Anko and Iruka's relationship. Yes, there will be some funny parts in there, but the way I see things going down it'll be nice, I think. Also, more Cat. 'cause for some reason I really like her character.

As usual, any questions can be directed to me through reviews or PMs. I'm at your service.

FOR THOSE WHO READ MY OTHER STORIES: I'm going to work on the next chapter for "Somewhere North of Here". It's due an update. As for Harry Potter fic… I've got bad news. Look at my profile for news.