AN: New chapter up! Hope you enjoy xx

Preliminaries - I

Naruto

It's been a long time since he's felt this.

There's a raw power at the tip of his fingertips – the sort of power that scorches. In the same way killing intent can paralyse, the power at his fingertips is familiar – familiar, but deadly. And dangerous. Not only to his enemies, but to his home. Because the fox inside him is volatile, and he doesn't know if the time comes when the fox chooses to claw himself out of his body, he'll be able to stop it.

After all, their previous power, their previous partnership, had been one forged through gruelling tribulations and shared suffering. It was their unity in the world's disunity that cemented their infallible friendship.

But now he's completely skipped that step, instead, jumping into a relationship based on mutual benefit – one that could easily change in a heartbeat. And all so that he can have the same power on call as Sasuke.

Kami, he's sounding old again. All that poetic speech – sounds like some drivel Sakura would think of. She's the master of spin after all, something she'd perfected in her later years as Root Commander.

Naruto lets out a slow breath and uncurls his fists. He must look like an idiot, standing outside the door.

But it's strange – disorientating, almost. He has the most destructive power, swirling orange just beneath his skin, but he's about to walk into a room full of children. Because, really, that's what they are. Children. And he could slaughter them all in a heartbeat. They wouldn't even feel it. He could level the place. Orochimaru would like that. Sasuke too. And Sakura? Who knew.

"Shit," Naruto breathes suddenly.

Why is he thinking like that? Why did he suddenly think that? Why is he so… murderous? So apathetic? Is Kurama seeping into his head again? Is the fox trying to feed him poisonous thoughts?

Or even worse – is he thinking this himself?

In front of him the door swings open.

Naruto's mouth opens, then closes.

"Hello," Hinata says politely. She's not blushing, or going red at all. The Hyuunga is calm. Poised. She is still the Hinata he knew, but in another way, she is not.

He feels like he's going to be sick but the power, the orange chakra, pulls him back like quicksand.

"Hello," he nods back.

"You've been standing here for a while." Hinata quirks a small smile. "Do you want to come in? Your teammates are waiting for you."

"Oh," Naruto says blankly. "Ok."

Hinata chuckles quietly and steps back from the door, allowing him to pass through. Naruto bites the inside of his cheek – what's so funny? What's so naively funny about Konoha on the brink of destruction?

He doesn't look at Sakura or Sasuke. Doesn't even bother noting where they are in the room. He only sees Kakashi-sensei standing up at the balcony, lounging in a façade of relaxation. But he can sense his sensei's confusion, his frantic analysis of his team's – his ticking time bomb of a team's strange interactions.

Kakashi-sensei is scared. He's scared they're going to snap, and do something reckless.

Maybe he's right.

Naruto doesn't know.

The Hokage steps up. Automatically, all the genin stand in respect, even Naruto. His skin is still tingling from the new power – such a sudden onslaught of extra chakra on his pathways has his goose bumps on high, hair rising as if he's about to fight.

Sarutobi explains the structure and rules of the prelim. Around him the other genin, all congregated with their teammates, are mumbling some comment or another. But Naruto is strangely calm. His young body isn't used to such a drastic change in such a short time but while his body is going haywire, his mind is starkly clear.

He thinks of the preliminaries. He thinks – it would be good if Gaara were to go against one of Team 7 – that way they could avoid deaths. He thinks – it would be good if Hinata weren't put against Neji this time. He thinks – now that Sakura and Ino aren't staunch rivals, what will their matchup be?

But he doesn't think of Sasuke.

Around him the genin turn to look up at the screen. Naruto snaps out of his daze and follows their gaze upwards.

Shino against Kin. Had that happened before? He can't actually remember. But Naruto follows the other genin up to the watching area anyway. Sakura claims a seat next to Team 8, and though he tries not to search for Sasuke, his eyes end up finding his teammate anyway, predictably falling back on his old friends, Shikamaru and Chouji. Letting out a slow breath, Naruto decides to head to the other remaining Konoha team – minus Kabuto's, of course – Team Gai.

"Hey," he says noncommittedly. Tenten turns to him in surprise, a look of suspicion on her face, but Naruto ignores her and simply leans over the railing, observing the match. He and their team didn't get off to a good start, but it wouldn't be good to be too antagonistic to them, especially considering his friends were already all snatched up by his other teammates.

Lee seems to open his mouth to ask a question but Tenten elbows him the same time the match below starts and Lee shuts his mouth.

Whatever.

Naruto blankly watches the match below for a few moments before his eyes drift over to Kabuto. The genin hadn't withdrawn this time around, probably because of the changes they made to the timeline, and had instead gotten his teammate Misumi to withdraw. Kabuto's eyes meet his before he smirks, light suddenly glinting off his glasses and hitting Naruto in the face.

For a second, the breath catches in his throat. Then Naruto retches back.

What had happened? What had he been thinking before? Brushing over Sasuke and Sakura like that? He had been so empty inside and he – he isn't Naruto anymore! Where had his passion gone? He had been so passionate before he died but now he was just uncaringly watching Shino and Kin slaughter each other and he hadn't cared – god had Jiraiya and Kurama shaken him up so much? What was happening? Who was he anymore?

He's acting like Kabuto this is sick.

Kabuto smirks even harder, and below Shino is declared the winner but neither genin pay attention.

"Hey Naruto!"

Naruto's head whips around.

"Sakura," he breathes, and Sakura stares pointedly at Kabuto before her gaze returns to him. "Oh," he says, "Uh, hi."

"You excited for the next round?" she smiles at him softly, and even though it's her standard medic nin smile that she gives to all her patients, even the really annoying ones, Naruto will take what he can get.

"Yeah," he says, even though he hasn't even looked at the next matchup yet. But it doesn't matter – it's a show of solidarity in front of the snake.

"I hope Hinata wins," Sakura admits. Immediately Naruto's head whips around to the screen.

Hyuuga Hinata vs. Uchiha Sasuke

Fuck.

No.

"Sakura," Naruto breathes, and this time there's no faux politeness.

"I know," Sakura replies hollowly.

"We have to do something," Naruto says, but even he doesn't know what to do. He looks over Sakura's shoulder – Kiba is giving Hinata words of encouragements while she tries to pull away to make her way downstairs.

"I'll talk to him. You can talk to her. Or- or I can talk to her and you can talk to him. I- I don't really know."

Naruto looks back at Sakura and she does look confused. She looks young. And scared.

"Let's talk to him," Naruto says quietly.

"But I don't want him to think we're ganging up against him – choosing her over him." It's an uncharacteristic show of emotion from Sakura – especially since she'd started to associate emotions with weakness.

"We can't give up," Naruto says slowly, and immediately after he says it he realises – these are the words he needed to hear. He can't give up.

So before Sasuke can slouch into the shadows and slip downstairs, Naruto calls him over.

"Oi Sasuke-teme!"

Sasuke's back stiffens before he rigidly turns around, a strange look on his face. Naruto motions him over and Sasuke pauses before cautiously walking towards him. Sakura, to her merit, has managed to school her features and shows no surprise at his actions.

"What?" he snaps, but Naruto doesn't hold it against him. They're all on edge.

"Just…" he pauses. He can feel Sakura waiting with baited breath next to him and even Kurama is probably on his hackles right now.

"Give her hell," he finally says, and Sasuke's perfectly controlled expression drops in a second, replaced by pure surprise. "Do your best alright teme."

And Naruto tries his best to send him his signature smile, and even though he's sure it's not as infectious or rambunctious as it usually is, he thinks he's somewhat successful. But once Sasuke's done looking surprised, his gaze slides over to Sakura and he almost curls in on himself as if waiting for a scolding.

And Naruto waits in tandem too – because even he's never been able to quite perfectly pinpoint what the third component of his team is thinking.

"You're our teammate," Sakura finally says, perfectly schooled features melting into her natural half-cautious, half-tired smile. "So don't embarrass us, alright? We want all of Team 7 in the finals shannaro!"

Sasuke gapes, but then Hayate begins shouting from downstairs for him to hurry up because Hinata is already waiting and Naruto laughs and pushes Sasuke off the balcony and Sasuke lets him and Kabuto's scowling and maybe- maybe things aren't so bad.

He locks eyes with Sakura and she gives him a lopsided smile.

Sakura

Perhaps it's his own way of saying thank you.

Because the match goes on for seven minutes – a good, proper, fight. He holds back, but he pushes her too. She fights, with more ardour that Sakura's ever seen before, and Sasuke even lets her get a few good hits with her jyuuken before he finally ends the fight, hitting her in the head and knocking her out.

Turns out Sasuke knows Hinata better than Sakura'd suspected. He jumps back up onto the balcony and mutters to her – "I knew she wouldn't stop fighting until things got bad. So I had to make the decision for her."

And in return, Sakura inclines her head in silent thanks. A few other matches go on after, and she and Naruto and Sasuke are exchanging looks like school kids with crushes on each other. Soon there're only a few left – Kankurou, Zaku, Kabuto, Gaara, Shikamaru, Tenten, and of course her and Naruto.

The next match up is Kabuto against Gaara, which will be interesting. Both are on the side of the invasion, but she's not sure if Gaara is aware of Kabuto's involvement. And of course, the blaring problem:

Gaara will obliterate Kabuto, and may in the process force Kabuto to reveal his hand to do the same to the jinchuuriki.

Kabuto, seemingly reaching the same conclusion, withdraws. Kiba argues vehemently against this for a few moments, and Hayate similarly looks down at the genin but Kabuto simply shrugs and says-

"Maybe I'm better suited for staying genin after all. I've got no guts." He smirks at Sasuke as he says this and Sakura can feel the rage bubbling slowly in her stomach.

And Gaara gets a free pass into the finals.

Sakura surveys the remaining genin who have yet to be called on – Naruto, Kankurou, Tenten, Zaku and Shikamaru. She remembers their fights clearly in her head – the prelims first time around had been a chilling experience for her, especially considering the recent developments with Sasuke's cursed seal.

Hayate gestures up to the screen. "Next match is…"

The remaining names flitter across the screen. In the brief millisecond before the results appear, Sakura wonders what would happen if she and Naruto were pitted against each other.

But it never comes to fruition.

"Haruno Sakura v Nara Shikamaru," Hayate finishes. "Could the contestants please make their way down to the arena."

This will be interesting, Sakura muses. Chouji claps Shikamaru on the back but the genin simply smiles, giving Sakura a lopsided smile. Sakura smiles back – this may actually be an interesting fight. She knows that she'll win, based on the fact that she could overpower him purely physically due to her element of surprise. But he'd be a real intellectual challenge. After all, he would be the greatest thinker in all the shinobi countries by the time she died.

By the time she died. She's becoming desensitised to that now, she finds. She died, sure, but she's… it's just become another fact.

"Good luck," Naruto murmurs to her. She inclines her head in thanks. She hadn't expected Naruto to encourage her – especially when there's obviously so much going through his head right now – but it's a nice gesture nonetheless.

On the other hand, Sasuke nudges Shikamaru and mutters something in his ear. The genin sighs before standing up and making his way towards the stair case.

"Hey," Sakura nods as she meets him there, the two Konoha ninja making their way together down in unity.

"Hey," Shikamaru shrugs back. "Think you're gonna win?"

Sakura shrugs. An innocent question, sure, but Shikamaru's always been able to extrapolate information – either about the physical or mental state of his opponent – from such questions. And while Sakura doesn't really need to evade them, it's a fun game she hasn't played in a while.

Instead, she asks him – "What'd my wayward teammate say to you?"

"Wayward," Shikamaru sighs. "That's a way of putting it. He told me to prepare myself for defeat."

Shikamaru's eyes slide over to her.

"He thinks you'll beat me."

"Do you think I'll beat you?"

Shikamaru grins at her question. "We'll see won't we?"

He pushes open the door into the arena. Hayate gestures them to come towards the middle to face each other for the beginning of the battle.

"You ready?" Hayate intones.

"Yeah," Sakura smirks.

Shikamaru simply sighs but nods.

"Begin," Hayate announces before stepping back, allowing them space.

Sakura knows she has the huge advantage here – she knows his technique but he knows nothing of hers. But at the same time, Shikamaru had been an extremely valuable chuunin so it'd be a shame to lose him in the promotion if she wins. When she wins.

Wait.

Sakura's eyes snap up to where Kabuto is lounging. She can't give away her techniques, not with an Orochimaru spy present and an impending invasion – they need all the tricks they can keep.

"Kagemane no Jutsu," Shikamaru says, and Sakura quickly jumps out of the way of his impending shadow. Shikamaru is obviously strategizing while buying himself time and Sakura tries to do the same.

Orochimaru already knows about Inner and therefore her proficiency with breaking genjutsu. But he doesn't know about the seal on her forehead, her medical ninjutsu or her strength. Which means she has to win this battle without utilising any of those techniques, or using purely genjutsu.

And Shikamaru's sensei is Asuma-sensei and she's pretty sure he hasn't started dating Kurenai yet, not to mention the lack of genjutsu proficient kids in their generation meaning that, pretty much, Shikamaru would have very little experience with genjutsu. Of course, that's not counting Sasuke's sharingan. Speaking of…

Orochimaru was right in the sense that she was extremely proficient at dispelling genjutsu. Casting it on the other hand, she'd never spent much time trying. What she had done, had been a few sessions with Kurenai.

She looks up at the sensei. Would it be weird for her to spring Kurenai's technique…?

Sakura ducks as a kunai whirls over her head. Shikamaru was always a faster planner.

He launches forward, weapons in hand, and Sakura scoots back again, aware of his darting shadow. She's not very fast, nor does she have the best stamina, so she should hurry and end this quickly.

"Sorry," she says to Shikamaru, "This will be a quick match."

Because Shikamaru is smart, she knows he'll have discounted the possibility that she knew genjutsu, especially with a sensei like Kakashi known for his ninjutsu rather than one like Kurenai. Not to mention she'd never showed any interest in it as a kid.

"Demon Illusion: Tree Binding Death."

Shikamaru tries to twist out of the way but a genjutsu isn't like a ninjutsu – you can't dodge it like you dodge a physical technique. A tree grows out of the ground and curls around him, stopping him from moving and Sakura vanishes from sight.

"What?" Shikamaru mutters in surprise, trying to pull himself free from his body's automatic immobility. There really is no tree, but he can't break free without recognising it as a genjutsu, and even then, he probably wouldn't be able to without prior practice.

Sakura emerges from the trunk of the tree above him. Admittedly, it looks a bit macabre but it's the only way the technique works – as it allows the victim to stay conscious during the genjutsu it was a technique used for interrogation.

Shikamaru looks up at her head protruding from the tree above him and his eyes almost bug out.

"Genjutsu!" he whispers.

"Yep," Sakura nods. He was fast, but as she'd expected, he can't break free.

She pulls a kunai out of her pouch and holds it against his neck. "Sorry Shikamaru. Surrender?"

Shikamaru sighs in defeat. Tactically, he knows he's defeated and unlike Naruto, isn't brazen enough to try nonetheless. Even though the tree is an illusion, the kunai against his neck definitely isn't.

"I forfeit," he sighs. Sakura releases the genjutsu and Shikamaru staggers away, unhurt at least.

"Winner, Haruno Sakura," Hayate declares.

Sakura manages a small smile but before she can make her way up stairs, Kurenai drops down.

"Sakura, right?" the jounin asks with a smile. But it's one of those smiles Sakura is all too familiar with – perfect motions but completely devoid of emotion. "I'm-"

"Kurenai," Kakashi interjects, and Sakura's never been more grateful in her life. Well, maybe she has. But physically she's a teenage girl so she's allowed some leeway.

"Kakashi-sensei," Sakura breathes, smiling brightly up at her sensei. He smiles back, but then his hand falls on her shoulder and tightens and Sakura knows that she has to be the adult in this situation – she needs to reassure Kakashi that Naruto and Sasuke aren't going to blow up and attack each other and burn up the building.

Because they won't.

Right.

"Kakashi," Kurenai nods, lips pursing in displeasure.

"Thank you for coming to congratulate my student on my win, but I assure you it isn't necessary. Remember your manners, Sakura."

Sakura blinks at Kakashi before quickly recovering.

"Thank you," she says quickly. Kurenai opens her mouth but then Asuma appears behind her, having returned from checking in with Shikamaru.

"Let's go," he murmurs, and Kurenai relents, tossing Kakashi a suspicious look.

"Thanks Kakashi-sensei," Sakura whispers, but Kakashi just shoots her a pointed look.

"This isn't over Sakura," he murmurs, "I trust you'll keep them in line?"

His gaze floats up to the top of the stairs where Naruto and Sasuke are standing.

"I will," Sakura answers confidently, much more confident than she actually feels inside.

"Hey," Hayate calls, "Clear out already, the next match is starting."

Kakashi sighs and jumps away, back to where all the other teachers are waiting. Sakura glances quickly up at the match board before leaping up too. The next match is Kankurou against Tenten, which means the last will be between Naruto and Zaku.

By the time Sakura gets up there, Hinata is the first person by her side.

"Good work Sakura-chan!" her best friend smiles, "I'm glad you got through."

"Thanks," Sakura grins. "You did good too. It's not your fault Sasuke's an asshole."

"He's not!" Hinata says quickly, and Sakura's eyes widen in surprise. She'd just been joking, but is the Hyuuga actually looking passed her clan-ingrained hate?

"I-I mean," Hinata stammers, noticing Sakura's surprise, "He was a lot better than I thought he'd be. He was… kinda nice."

Sakura simply blinks in response, her eyes drifting over to Sasuke's figure. He seems completely nonchalant but the tops of his ears have turned red - he must've been listening in on their conversation. Next to him, Ino turns around and death glares her. For a second, Sakura is confused, but then she remembers that she'd just beaten Shikamaru.

"Ino-san looks angry," Hinata says quickly, changing the topic.

"Yeah," Sakura muses. Maybe her and the blonde can actually strike up a connection after this – that is, if she manages to remove herself from Ino's bitch list.

But now that both of her teammates are accounted for, Sakura turns to look for Naruto. She'd seen him just a few moments ago, from the bottom, but now the blonde seems to have vanished.

"Hey Hinata," Sakura asks, eyes quickly darting around. "You see where Naruto went?"

Hinata looks around. "No, sorry. I can check with my byakugan if you want?"

Sakura's gaze drops back to the Hyuuga and categorises her injuries. "No, that's okay. You've just recovered from your fight. I'll see you in a bit, okay? I'm gonna look for him."

Hinata nods and Sakura turns away, beginning to search for Naruto's chakra signature. Luckily all of the snake's minions are still present – Kabuto included – which means that Naruto isn't locked in some fight.

But it's strange of him to disappear like this, especially considering his match is next.

Sasuke

Okay seriously like what the fuck.

Both his teammates are missing, right before Naruto's match no less, and he has no bloody idea what they're up to. And it is completely out of character for Naruto to just go MIA right before his match. As for Sakura chasing after him? Well, that seems to happen a lot.

But still, this isn't normal.

"Oi, you alright?" Shikamaru asks.

"Yeah," Chouji nods. "He's right. You're being kinda weird."

"Does it have anything to do with the fact that your two teammates are missing?" Shikamaru adds.

Sasuke grunts. "Shut up."

"You know Sakura was talking with Hinata just a bit before – maybe you should ask her?"

Sasuke frowns even harder. That would be awkward. Plus, he'd eavesdropped on their conversation anyway and the Hyuuga doesn't know anything he doesn't.

How frustrating. How could they just up and leave like that? Not to mention Kabuto keeps on smirking at him even though he knows the snake has nothing to do with their disappearance. All of Orochimaru's minions are all accounted for.

Sighing, Sasuke peeks over the rail at the fight below. Tenten has just executed one of her fatal moves, with all the weapons landing onto Kankurou. He falls, but Sasuke knows it's just the puppet – Kankurou will reveal himself dramatically yadda yadda ya.

Gritting his teeth, Sasuke glances back at the door where Sakura and Naruto have disappeared to. Fuck this, he'll just go after them. He stands up from his seat, ignoring Chouji's questioning look, and makes his way through the crowd of spectating genin.

"Winner, Kankurou," Hayate declares from below, unsurprisingly. Tenten had used all her weapons in that attack, allowing Kankurou to take advantage of her defencelessness.

Sasuke opens the door to be greeted right in the face with Sakura.

"Sakura-" he begins, but she grabs him by the arm and pulls him through, slamming the door behind him right as the screens settle on the last match.

"What the hell?" he hisses, but then he takes in Sakura's frantic expression and pauses. "Where's Naruto?"

Sakura bites her lip and doesn't respond.

"Sakura," he grunts.

She lets out a shaky breath. "Listen. I'm going to need you to trust me."

Her words immediately put him on guard. "Where the fuck is Naruto."

"Going to his match!" Sakura almost shouts. "No, look, just- I need you to turn on your mangekyou."

Sasuke stills.

What?

"What's going on?" he asks quietly.

Sakura glances desperately at the door behind him before her eyes snap back to his.

"Naruto made a deal with Kurama – an unfair, dangerous, deal. All to get on the same fucking level as you. And it's playing up on his body. Bad. And if Kurama takes advantage of that – because this is the old Kurama, the hateful Kurama trapped inside a person he hates living in a village he hates-" Sasuke grasps her arm with one hand and she lets out a shaky breath.

"I need your mangekyou to stop him if he does anything. If Naruto does something."

Sasuke takes a deep breath.

"I can't."

Sakura's eyes snap to his.

"What?" she says quietly. "No wait. I see. This will help Orochimaru, right? Further his plans along? Yay for him Konoha gets destroyed?"

"You know nothing. Orochimaru would hate for his plans to be disrupted by something like this," Sasuke hisses. "No. Wait. Look – I didn't- I meant that my body like this wouldn't be able to take something like that. Plus, do you really want me to give that little secret up to Orochimaru?"

Evidently Sakura is stressed because the normal Sakura – the Sakura he knows – would have never been like this.

"Ok," Sakura finally says, "This is what we'll do." Behind the door, he hears Hayate announce the beginning of the match between Naruto and Zaku.

"We'll go out there. You'll activate your mangekyou. I'll weave a genjutsu around your eyes and heal them periodically with my chakra. You can't worry about anything except Naruto okay?"

Sasuke opens his mouth to answer but Sakura seems to sense something in his eyes because she rips passed him and throws the door open, hand finding his and pulling him over to the rail of the balcony.

Sasuke looks up, at Sakura's pink hair and the annoyed look of the genin they'd pushed passed. And then Sakura slides to a halt at the rail overlooking the balcony and Sasuke can see that she's right – there's something different about Naruto, something wrong.

Suddenly, he feels Sakura's calming green chakra envelope his pathways and he looks down at Naruto, whose normal blue eyes are infected with flecks of gold.

"Go," Sakura whispers, "I've got you."

And Sasuke turns on his mangekyou.

AN: And that's the end of this chap :) It's a bit shorter than usual but I thought this would be a good place to end it because otherwise it would just open a whole other can of worms. Next chap will probably be a bit of a filler - end of prelims, sorting out beginning of finals, the kids finding trainers etc. so apologies for that but it's needed.

Thanks to all who reviewed - Enigma infinite, greymouser, Sagemodeman, NarutoXHonoka, zigmas, Illuminated, Catcrazzed, pucflek, Shadow-Shinobi666, Loner Kid, lumutness, XxNamastePeoplexX, Lamelinam, Guest, Shen, Guest, ZombiePilot, YSPM, sauskaepanda, Guest, ChaosTheVoid, BOR3DBLOGG3R, Duesal Bladesinger, aayouthere, Alice, PredatorPuck, The Last Deathly Guardian, Analatelle, The One and the Five, Sir Rizzle, BlightIncarnatec and Bananarock509. You all make my day!

Also still haven't read Naruto Gaiden... the epilogue of Naruto both made me super excited and super scarred so I've just kind of being avoiding it...

Anyways, hope you all enjoyed and please leave a review xx