Author's Note: well, some of you had asked about the Sky's headband…here it is.

This chapter is edited by KarinMS. Thanks a lot, girl.

Chapter Twenty: Complications all around

It should be a happy day for Naruto. After all it would be a special day for his eldest son. The boy would be allowed to venture out of the safety of Soragakure for the first time. It turned out to be a miserable day for the leader of Sky because his son's destination was Konoha; a village that he despised (and the one he encouraged his son to spurn).

The moment he woke up he got a headache. He looked tired and didn't have enough sleep. The man sighed tiredly and forced himself to get out of the bed. He wouldn't be able to go back to sleep again anyway. Normally he woke up at 7 (it was nice to have secretaries and the administration department taking the brunt of his paperwork: more spare time to laze off), 2 hours after his wife rose from the bed, but today he was awakened even before the sun rose. He changed his wardrobe and exited the house, wanting to clear his mind a bit.

He looked better when he was back 3 hours later but there was still a scowl plastered on his face, telling others about his grumpy mood. His wife didn't say anything when he entered the kitchen and sat on a chair. Mamoru was still happily sleeping in his bed while Shugo and Aiko were there, already eating their breakfast, as they watched their father carefully. He usually greeted them.

"Looks like this day has come, huh?" he broke the silence, watching both of his children. They nodded in silence, noticing his mood. "Have you made preparations?"

"Of course, dad."

"Good. You'll be given extra things later before you depart. The ninjas that were chosen to attend Rock's exam will depart at the same time as you. If something happens, I want you to contact me, immediately." Both of them nodded. Yui put a plate of food in front of her husband, and he started to eat, clamming up once again. When the awkward meal was over Naruto, followed by his children, went to Seiken Tower where others were already waiting.

The genins and jounin escorts were given more weapons and medical kits and also other equipments stored into scrolls. They received explanations of what was stored inside the scrolls and also how to behave in the other hidden villages.

"The data pad in your hand have information that we gathered on Leaf or Rock. We have compiled as much data as we could; general information, map, clans and their specialties and bloodlines. When you're there, you're expected to gather more data of both Leaf and Rock for updating our data, but make it subtle," a brown haired jounin informed them. He also presented them each with their new hitae-ate. "These will be our official hitae-ate. They'll be delivered to other ninjas in two days, but since you're representing Sky and have to leave, you get it now." The ninjas were staring at their hitae-ate. There was an upturned triangle and two slashes in front of the triangle (it's like moon/sun behind two clouds, but changes the moon/sun with triangle). They immediately assumed that the slashes were clouds and the triangle the hikouki/flying island. Shugo fastened the headband on his forehead, while Yukito preferred to place it on his arm. "Lastly, you have to listen to your jounin escorts at all time." The man nodded to Naruto who immediately took over the speech.

"I'm not good at speeches even though I have led Sky for decades, so I'll cut it short. Beside, young people don't like boring speeches, so I'll spare you from it," he smiled contagiously. Shugo rolled his eyes, while the others snickered. "Needless to say you already know what you have agreed to enter. The chuunin exams outside our territory will be a good way to gain experience and to get to know other villages and how they operate. You also already know that we will hold our own exam during the time before the last exam in Iwa and Konoha and that you're expected to enter it. Don't slack of training when you're away!" Naruto warned. "I just want to say that you will represent us there. Your action will reflect Sky, so don't make any trouble there… unless it is trouble that is following you, that you can defend yourselves against. Actually, never mind about that! You can make trouble as long as no one knows that you're the one who did the deed," he added cheekily, causing the genins to cheer. His daughter stared at him accusingly, but Naruto didn't react. "But I'm sure that you know where to draw the line. If any of you are promoted to become chuunin in the exam, I'm sorry to say that it won't work that way here… you'll get a bonus though. But if your jounin escorts feel that you're ready to accept the rank, you'll earn it," he sent a look at the assembled jounins who quickly nodded. "Lastly, don't kill yourselves over an exam if you find it too difficult for you or you're out of the league of your opponent. You still have a future and it won't do if you throw it away for an exam that doesn't even affect your rank. And I don't mean to deter you, okay. I also want to tell you that you have to help the others and I don't want any killing amongst you. Ok, that's all. Good luck!"

Before the assembled could applaud, Kimimaro stepped forward, "Naruto-sama, may I tell the genins something?" Naruto raised an eyebrow, but nodded nonetheless. "All of you perhaps already know about this, but I'll say it for reminder anyway. You know that Sky have gained curiosity from other villages and countries. Be on your guard for people will try to use this chance to collect data about us. They'll probably try subtle approaches, so make sure you watch what you say. That's all." Naruto nodded at the Kaguya patriarch.

"Before you go; check your belongings again, please. You're not allowed to use the sharns to mail them later," a jounin reminded them. "You have…" he looked at his watch, "an hour to do this, tell your goodbyes to your families, eat etc. After that, assemble here again. Dismissed!" they all dispersed.

The Kazama family went back to their household where Mamoru had already woken up from his slumber. Naruto didn't speak much to his son because they already had a heart-to-heart talk last night and he knew his daughter was able to defend herself, so he only watched them checking on their belongings and adding more things to their backpacks.

"Dad, I'm going to talk to Kaze-nii," Aiko was talking about her best friend that had given her a pair of small fans as weapons to compliment her wind style. The man, Yazuno Kazeki, was Kikumi Shiho's nephew and had the same bloodline as hers; although he worked on Poison and Potion Department instead of Medical Treatment Department like his aunt, with being medic-nin as a part time job.

"As long as you won't be late it's fine by me, princess," he told her affectionately. She thanked him by kissing her father's cheek and bolted out of the room.

"One hundred ryos say that she's going to hook up with him soon," Shugo whispered to his red haired brother, proud that he wasn't as dense as people thought about love life. Mamoru simply blinked.

"Whatever."

An hour later the six genin teams were sent on their way, riding the demon birds. The three genin teams that were sent to Rock had separated themselves and went on their own way. This time Shugo chose to sit on the bird's back, knowing that it would be hours before they arrived at Konoha and their escorts wouldn't let them race. Yukito only had his father to watch him, while he had all three of them watching him like a hawk. He didn't want to deal with Kimimaro, his sister or Shouji for something as petty as a small race. It simply wasn't worth the trouble.

The birds were traveling on average speed, flying above the clouds so they couldn't be seen by people beneath. During their journey, they met a group of Sky jounins who were returning to Wave after their mission. The groups saluted each other before they parted ways.

Hours later, a Konoha sentry guard was yawning when he looked up at the sky. His eyes were looking at the spots in the sky he thought was a flock of birds. Oh, they were birds, alright, but they weren't the small birds he thought they should be. He blinked and rubbed his eyes, but the spots were getting bigger. He snatched a binocular and watched it. By this time the other sentry guards had also noticed the giant birds and were whispering to each other. The birds landed half a mile outside Konoha in the forest, before they took off again after few moments. As fast as they had appeared, the birds disappeared into the cloud.

Ten minutes later a group of foreign ninjas walked into their line of sight casually. Each of them was wearing similar backpacks with color differences. There were nine young ninjas and three older ninjas. They immediately assumed that they were genins from another village that would participate in the exam. The gate guard blinked when he didn't recognize the symbol etched on their hitae-ate.

"Halt! Who are you?"

Kimimaro took out a scroll and handed it to the guard. The brown haired man opened it, read it and then looked back and forth between the scroll and the foreign ninjas. His comrades were watching them curiously.

"So you are the Sky contingent?" Kimimaro and Aiko nodded. "May I see your passes? We should've sent them to you," he said. It was Shouji who handed out the pass cards. He didn't give them to the genins because there was a possibility they'd forget to bring them along. The guard checked the pass cards and compared them with the list given by the admin. He nodded and gave them back. This time Shouji handed the cards to the genins who looked at them inquisitively. "Someone will be sent to escort you to the hotel and give you a small tour so you won't get lost," he said, holding them back at the gate.

Half an hour later said guide arrived at the gate. The guard was a bit disturbed to see that none of them uttered anything during that time, even to their own ninja comrades. It seemed like they were lost in their own world.

"Ah, Sky contingent, is it?" the guide was a smiling red wavy haired woman with green eyes. "I'll give you a little tour with your hotel as your last destination," the Sky ninjas followed her. "My name is Hizagumi Maya. And if you have any questions I'll answer as best as I can. Before I proceed, may I know with whom I'm talking to?"

"Kaguya Kimimaro."

"Yakimaru Shouji."

"Kazama Aiko," the guide perked up.

"Kazama Shugo."

"Kaguya Yukito."

"Kazuhara Towa."

"And I'm his twin, Noa."

"Shinku Ryoga," the brown haired genin adjusted his glasses.

"Yuzu Soi," a blonde genin exclaimed.

"…Nakajima Suou," he nodded at the guide.

"Soryuu Akira," the genin scowled and closed his blue eyes.

"And I am Umogata Momoka," a red haired version of Tenten (they both have twin buns) stated.

(AN: when I write about the Sky genins at Rock, I won't name them all. Jesus! Even as its own author, I have to read my list of character constantly. I really should start considering naming all of my OCs)

The guide nodded. "So, some of you are relatives, judging from the surnames," she baited subtly, but only received nods. Disappointed she tried another way. "Our yondaime was also a Kazama, are you by any chance his relatives?" she asked the Kazama siblings.

"He might be a relative," Aiko answered. "I don't really care much about genealogy," she shrugged.

"Dad had said he was a relative," Shugo, knowing that Konoha already knew about it since his father had admitted it, decided to answer.

"Really? Do you know how close?"

"Uh, not to sound rude or anything, but this is a tour so we don't get lost, right?" Aiko cut off.

The woman blinked. "Oh my, yes, you're right. I'm sorry. It's just the fourth is Konoha's hero."

"That's nice," Yukito elbowed his friend who glared at him.

While the tour went on, Ryoga was busy using his glasses to record everything it could see. He'd be able to compare the data with the map on the data pad and the map the guide had given them later. The tour had been cut short because the sun had almost set in the west. The guide, Maya, had told them that she'd be happy to take them for another tour the next day. The genins immediately refused it, as they wanted to explore on their own. Worried about their genins (Read: they don't trust them to not make any trouble), the jounin escorts eventually declined it too. Although she wasn't happy none of them accept her offer, Maya eventually accepted it, but told them that they had to bring their pass cards along when they were still in Konoha's vicinity.

When they arrived at their designated hotel, they found out that teams from other villages were sent to different hotels to avoid conflicts. Their hotel was located nearby a shopping district, so they would be able to procure items easier. They had five days before the exam started.

"Soi, Noa, hurry up!" Momoka cried out. She wanted to drag both of them on a shopping spree, but the two were reluctant. Soi, because she felt she had something else to do, and Noa because she felt that shopping was stupid. But the red haired girl didn't want to take 'no' for an answer and forced them. In the end, poor Towa was dragged by his sister who thought that if she had to suffer her twin should suffer for her too. The other genins were sweat dropping, as they watched Momoka drag Noa and Noa drag Towa with her forcefully, followed by a sighing Soi. Towa, who was usually a reserved boy, screamed out for help from the other guys but they stood rooted on their spot; not wanting to get involved. The group disappeared from view before any of the jounin escorts was able to follow them. The older ninjas sweat dropped.

Shouji sighed and turned to his comrades. "I'll follow them," he said before he flickered out.

"…I guess that Towa won't be joining us then," Yukito commented, earning him snorts.

The five genins and two jounin escorts walked around Konoha, taking notes and generally having fun while they were collecting data, when Shugo scowled and decided to stop walking and turning around to see a bad attempt of rock disguise… a perfectly square rock was following them. The others, sensing that Shugo stopped walking followed his lead. They had allowed it to follow them around for an hour or so because they detected no threat from it and it was kind of funny in a way. The chakra levels were that of academy students. But apparently the first son of Sky's leader decided that enough was enough and he'd like to get rid of them. They wondered if the kids were following them around as a dare.

"Okay, we already know that you were following us ever since the start. Can you, I don't know, make yourself scarce and go bother someone else?" he tapped his foot on the ground impatiently.

There was a burst of smoke and the sound of children… in a coughing fit. "Damn it, too much gun powder!" the Sky ninjas sweat dropped. When the smoke subsided, the boy who was coughing immediately posed when he saw them staring incredulously at him. "You knew that I was hiding thus you must be a great ninja!"

"Um… thanks?" Shugo replied unsurely.

"I'm Konohamaru!"

"Udon!" a kid who looked as if he needed to be administered to a doctor quickly because he seemed to have bad cold shouted and posed.

"And I'm Moegi!" a young girl tried to pose as a sexy kunoichi but only managed to make a fool of herself, not that she knew it.

"We are the Konohamaru Corps!" the Sky group blinked. "And we've decided to make you as our rival!"

"Uh… no thanks, kid," Shugo immediately scurried off. If there were people to be avoided, they were the enthusiastic (and seemingly crazy) people. Who had the right mind to suddenly challenge someone like that? Obviously these children didn't.

"Hah, I knew it! You're afraid of my greatness!"

"…whatever. Let's go, guys," he grabbed Yukito and dashed off.

"God damnit, Shugo! Don't leave us with these crazies!" Akira shouted and followed suit. The others sighed and left the stunned children.

"Uh, leader, they're all gone," Udon sniffed.

Konohamaru who was still pointing his finger to the sky immediately snapped out of his mind and laughed outwardly, while he was seething inside. "Ha! Ha! They must be afraid of me!" How dare they ignore me! He had eavesdropped on his grandpa's conversations about how mysterious Sky was and was curious to see them. They had researched (more like nagging others) about Sky and now that they had spoken to them they seemed like a bunch of rude people.

The group was relieved when they were able to escape those insane brats.

"Sheesh! What's up with those kids?" Akira grumbled. "Don't their teachers teach them to not approach strangers or something? Especially from other hidden villages?"

"They must have forgotten about that lesson," Suou shrugged, not really caring about how Konoha ninjas worked.

"Come on, we have a city to explore!" Aiko dragged her brother around.

"Aneki, lemme go!" the blond protested at the rough handling. "I can walk on my own, thank you very much. Beside this is undignified!" he flailed his arms.

"Okay," she dropped him on the ground.

"What did you do that for?" he asked angrily.

"You asked me to." Shugo fumed at his sister as he dusted his pants.

"Ok, enough of the… family sap, we have things to do," the elder Kaguya dreaded that these two would cause them problems.

"Ne, tousan!"

"Hm?" he looked at his son.

"We have five days to prepare for the chuunin exam, right?" Kimimaro nodded. "Where should we train?"

"Saa, but I'm sure they'll let us to use one of the training grounds. I'll sort it out later. Come on, the others have left us!" he pointed to the shouting Shugo in distance who waved for them to come quickly.

Shikamaru was bored out of his mind and looking out the window of the restaurant, waiting for Chouji to finish his 10th barbeque plate and ignoring Ino who was ranting at him when he saw a group of genins around his age he had never seen before. He wondered if they were from other hidden villages, coming for the chuunin exam, when he saw their hitae-ates. He didn't know the symbol of their village.

"Ne, Asuma-sensei, where do you think the group come from?" he interrupted Ino in the middle of her ranting.

The smoking jounin turned around to see where his student pointed at. He blinked when he saw their symbol. It wasn't something he knew of either. "Eh… must be Sky ninjas. The other unfamiliar village is Sound and their symbol is musical note. So Sky has chosen that symbol as their village's icon? When their letter arrived they had yet to have an icon," he muttered to himself.

"Sound? Sky?" Ino asked with a frown. "Never heard of them."

"That's because they are new villages. Hm, I think Sound came from Rice Country… their letter was sent from that country. Then again it could be a hoax to protect their location. Sky is located in Wave Country. I think Kakashi's team 7 and Gai's team had met their Sky ninjas on their C-rank mission about four or five months ago," he mulled over.

"Eh? Sasuke-kun had met them? Wait, Wave Country? Uh… where have I heard of it before?"

"It was a poor archipelago country on the south of Water Country and Fire's East… well, until five months ago when Sky killed one of the biggest Water's crime lords to date, Gatou, who had taken over Wave for years in exchange for permission to set up their village there, anyway. Now the country is prospering. It was big news, so perhaps that's where you've heard of it," the huge jounin wondered how much he should say about the newest hidden village to exist.

"Wasn't there a mercenary group named Sky? They're said to be the best of the best," Shikamaru added a cent in. Chouji blinked as he gobbled down his food and asked for another plate. Asuma was looking at his wallet in sorrow. Why couldn't he have more students like Ino? Sure, she was bitching every time, but a kunoichi on diet wouldn't empty his wallet as quickly as this… vacuum cleaner.

"No way! Konoha is the best!" she shouted.

"Well, it was said that they had never failed a mission before," Asuma shrugged and turned back to the window to see the ninja group was arguing about something. The ninjas were then splitting into two groups. One of them was heading toward the restaurant they were currently in. "According to the rumor when they were still a mercenary group they didn't accept any mission lower than B-rank. Not sure that they'll keep their policy when they are now an official hidden village though."

(AN: the missions that were done outside village were high missions, so no genin was assigned)

The ones who entered the restaurant were four people: three genins and one jounin. The red haired woman muttered something about 'Ramen addicted brat' in annoyance, leaning against the couch.

"At least he isn't as bad as when he was younger," the brown haired genin with glasses and observant eyes said to the older ninja.

"That was because our mother specifically told him to reduce the amount of ramen he and father ate. Honestly I thought she said that because she—and I actually—were heartily sick of serving and smelling ramen in every breakfast, lunch and dinner. She was worse off when she was pregnant with Mamoru. And unless they wanted to be thrown out of the house for making her puke every time she saw and smelt ramen, they had to trim down the amount of ramen they ate or face her ire. Shugo got it worse than father because she decided that eating ramen was hazardous to his health and would stunt his growth, thus she monitored him constantly, only allowing him to eat it from time to time," the female jounin rolled her eyes.

"Why were they so crazy about ramen anyway?" Suou asked, intrigued.

"Saa. I know that father likes spicy food, especially after he ate mostly bland food in his younger days, so perhaps that's the reason, but I don't know about Shugo. Must be one of his quirks," she shrugged and turned to the waitress who gave them menus. "I'd like to have a beef yakiniku, please," she said to the waitress. The others followed suit by choosing their meals; dismissing their questions about Shugo, their supreme leader and ramen obsession.

"Ne, Aiko-sama," the teen would have winced years ago, but she had gotten used to it. "We still have four full days before the exam, are we going to train as a team or individuals?"

Aiko was thoughtful for a moment before she spoke, "I guess that we'll just have to request the use of one of Konoha's training grounds. After we meet with the others, we'll go to the administration. And about training… let me see your charts," each genin took out a small white device that had a big screen and several flat buttons and inserted a chip inside its small opening, before giving the chip to her. She accepted them. "Thanks, I'll look at them later," the genins nodded appreciatively. "We'll train as a team. I don't think you guys have had enough team training before now."

The Leaf ninjas looked over Sky ninjas intriguingly, even the lazy ass Shikamaru. They wondered if they had noticed them there. The Sky ninjas were three tables across from them. Asuma, who was a jounin and thus was asked to keep an eye on Sky, was trying to find out more about them, but it was pretty difficult since the group didn't talk loudly.

"Aiko-san, what can you tell us about the upcoming exam?" Ryoga asked, as he took out his laptop and switched it on.

"Hm… well there will be three parts of the exam. The last part will be a battle tournament, obviously. There is always a survival exam included, so make sure you always bring your packs because there is a possibility the examiner won't give you the time to pick them up. Shinobis are expected to be able to survive in the wilderness, but I think you'll breeze over this part, unless you meet tough opponents. I'm not really sure about the other part. It can be ranging from teamwork test, information gathering, interrogation countering… the list is endless. One thing you have to know though, the test won't just be about taijutsu, or the others. Ninjas have different abilities, strength and weakness. It won't be fair for those who are weak in hand-to-hand combat to have a pure taijutsu battle as an exam. These tests will determine your wits, knowledge, abilities, endurance, how to act under pressure, how to make swift decision, resolve, courage and craftiness among other things. My advice to you is to not buckle under pressure, don't let your pride blind you, don't rush blindly, you have to remember that not everything is truly what they look like. I want you to use your brain rather than just your brawn. Look underneath the undernea—Ryoga-kun, you're recording my words?" she looked at the brown haired boy, startled and somewhat incredulous.

"Yes. I think that I'll be benefited from recording this, so I won't forget them," said the genin. Shouji snorted, while she rolled her eyes. "Beside, I know that the others will want to hear it too. This way you won't need to tell it twice."

"Riiighht. Anyway I just don't want you to risk your life needlessly. Like my father said, back off when you feel the battle is not worth it. You have another upcoming test between the second and the third exam and you won't be able to attend it if you're crippled. And you know which exam is the most important," she warned. The three boys nodded simultaneously.

"What if we face each other in the tournament?" Akira shot out his question.

"Well, it'll be up to you. You can either give up or battle each other. But don't reveal too much, unless you want to tell every one of your trump cards. I have an advice, by the way; don't prolong the match more than necessary, your opponent might use that time to plan and pull out an ace against you," the genin around her nodded.

Meanwhile Shugo was busy stuffing his stomach with ramen in Ichiraku Ramen. His father had told him that he always ate ramen there when he was a kid and the owner was nice to him, not to mention the ramen he served was really good. Although his father mostly hunted and cooked his own food, because no matter how cheap ramen was compared to other dishes, he still had to pay for his other needs.

"Ossan, your ramen is good," he complimented and put the 5th bowl to a pile on the table. "A jumbo sized miso ramen, please!" he cried out. The cook smiled happily, while both Kaguyas were sweat dropping and rolling their eyes.

"Jumbo miso ramen coming up!" Another two bowls later, Shugo patted his bloated stomach lazily. Kimimaro paid their lunch with a sigh and led them to the meeting point, when they heard shouting nearby.

They investigated the source and found the mad kid was struggling against an older ninja's hold, while his female comrade was staring at him with annoyance. His friends were shouting and trying to get him down. The ninja who wore a suit that reminded them of a black cat mocked the kids.

"Oh. It is them," Shugo stated and turned his back. "Come on, we have to meet the others," he decided to take a longer route, not wanting to get involved in the spectacle.

"Shouldn't we help them?" Yukito frowned.

"Nah, they're Suna-nins, right? They won't dare to make ruckus in a rival village, lest they want to be thrown out of the exam," he said out loud purposely. The Suna kunoichi noticed them and elbowed her partner. Grumbling, the ninja put Konohamaru down. The kid kicked his leg and ran behind the Sky group. Shugo shooed at them, but they didn't budge.

"Sabaku no Temari and Kankurou," Kimimaro stated, earning him suspicious glances from the two ninjas.

"Eh? You know them, tousan?" Shugo turned, forgetting about the kids.

"Just from the data. They're Sabaku no Gaara's sibling," he answered.

"Who?"

Shugo racked his mind. "Uh…" he flicked his finger when he remembered, "Hey, he's Suna's jinchuuriki, right? The one that holds Shukaku, The One Tail?" Kankurou's and Temari's eyes widened in alarm, while Konohamaru corps stared in confusion.

"Shukaku? That Tanuki bijuu? Is that guy up there him?" the next second a red head showed himself. He was staring at them blankly.

His father nodded. "Yes, that's Gaara. Come on, kids, we have to meet the others," he steered the two, leaving the Leaf academy students alone. Konohamaru and his friends made themselves scarce, not wanting to face the foreign ninjas alone.

"H-how did they know about Gaara?" Kankurou stared at their backs.

"Worse yet, it seems that it is a general knowledge among their group," Temari added with a frown. "We have to tell Baki-sensei about this."

"Who are they anyway? I don't recognize their headbands. And did you see one of the genins knew about Gaara's presence?" the puppet user was anxious. He turned to Gaara to see what his reaction was, only to find that he was already gone.

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Sarutobi was rubbing his forehead tiredly. This chuunin exam would be different from previous ones. The presence of the mysterious Sky-nins, not to mention the palpable tension among the ninjas, especially the Hyuugas because Iwa and Kumo had accepted his invitations (for politeness sake). Even Mist sent 3 of their genin teams although they were still facing difficulties. The news of Sky being there in Konoha's chuunin exam was spread widely. And now the village was in high-alert.

He was berating himself for even inviting them. He thought they would just ignore it like usual. Rock hadn't extended an invitation to Leaf for their own chuunin exam though, and for that Sarutobi had to deal with the ire of an insulted council. He should've retired years ago. Without the need of power to protect Naruto since the boy had disappeared, he should've retired. As of now with the power as Hokage, he still had his ninjas to be in the look out for Uzumaki Naruto and to bring him back alive and unharmed.

Because of the threat Konoha was now facing, he was recalling every possible spare Leaf ninjas out there. He even recalled those that had retired back to their duty temporarily. He was too old for this.

The door to his office was slammed open. A man younger than him, but older than his students entered the room with narrowed eyes. "Two of my ANBUs squads will enter the exam," he stated. It was not a request.

"Fine," Sarutobi didn't want to argue with him. He knew that it was necessary.

The man was still not satisfied. "You should know that the others would be curious of Sky and yet you still invited Iwa and Kumo."

"Yes, I know that it was a gross miscalculation that I made, Danzou. And it seems that you still haven't disbanded Roots like I thought," he said in annoyance.

The man snorted. "It's not like you don't know about it already. But we're not talking about my ninjas here," he sneered.

Sarutobi sighed. Yup. He had a headache.

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"…Neji," Tenten looked at her livid teammate worriedly.

"Wow, our teammate is really burning with spirit today," Lee exclaimed, as Neji destroyed a dummy with vehemence. Gai had a frown on his face.

"The news about Kumo also entering the exam reminds him of his hatred," he said quietly. "We can only hope he won't loose his head over it."

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Hinata was biting her bottom lips nervously. Her mind was elsewhere. Shino and Kiba stopped their spar to watch her worriedly.HHH

"Why is she—"

"Kumo has entered our chuunin exam," Kurenai said even before he finished talking.

"…Oh," Akamaru whined above his head.

Leaf is in high-alert right now. Not only Kumo but Iwa has also entered the exam. We know that Iwa still holds grudge against us because of their loss in the last Great War. In fact all major villages are here now. Mist has also sent their teams."

"Why now of all times?" Kiba asked in confusion.

"There is… a new village called Sky that had made all villages, both major and minor, intrigued."

"But it's just a new village!" he said incredulously.

"…I have heard of this Sky from my father," Shino commented quietly.

The female jounin nodded. "They first started as a mercenary group, an elite one. Their change into an official village will affect all of the countries, no matter how slight. Sky is shrouded by mysteries and people want to know about them. Hopefully Iwa, Kumo or other villages won't try anything in the exam. Sandaime has warned us to be on guard. By now, I'm sure that all jounins have told their genin teams." Kurenai sighed. She wondered if she shouldn't retract her genins from the exam. It would be more dangerous than ever.

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Orochimaru was wondering whether he should continue his plan to invade Konoha. There were too many unknown factors that he didn't anticipate. And all of this because of that blasted Sky. He had heard that its leader was Arashi's relative. Oh, how he hated the man who stole the Hokage title from him. Why couldn't his family follow him to the grave!

Still… Iwa and Kumo weren't in good relation with Konoha. Perhaps he could convince them to help him. He wasn't sure that they would accept though. And if they didn't accept it, they might as well tell Konoha about his intention and that would ruin his plan. Unlike Suna, he didn't have enough time to sway them. One small mistake and his plan could be all for naught. He had waited years for this. He couldn't take any chance!

…Or… could he?

TBC…

The chuunin exam in Rock won't be important here. And yes as you can see it'll be pretty complicated with all Iwa, Kumo, Mist, Sand, and Leaf in the chuunin exam. I wonder if people are surprised about this twist in story. I can only tell you that this exam will be different from canon (like I usually did in my other stories. I don't like to follow canon if I can). Shorter than previous chapter, but I'm sure all of you had waited for this chapter already.

Btw, I have written in Stranded that Stranded 12 was the longest chapter. I had a look at Soragakure's previous chapter (19) and noticed that it was actually the longest one (17 A4 pages, Times new roman 10, single space).

I also have announcement that I'm holding challenges that I have put in my profile. You should see it. So far they're all crossovers. Planning to add more ideas (both crossover and non crossover).