I might start making the chapters longer, but don't quote me on that. Happy reading!
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Sakura stood at the edge of the forest, bouncing on the balls of her feet. As soon as the rusted gate before her opened, the second test would begin. "Would you please stop doing that?", Sasuke stepped up beside her to voice his complaint. Noticing the way he clenched his hands as he spoke, Sakura decided to comply with his wishes. Both of her teammates were wound up at the moment, and Sakura had no desire to further aggravate them. Admittedly, the girl herself had a bubble of nervousness rolling in her stomach at the thought of entering the forest, but she knew that nothing could be done about it.
"Hey, Naruto?" Sakura turned to her blonde friend to see him pacing back and forth behind her. He stopped and looked at her at the sound of his name. "Come on up here with us, the exam should be starting soon," Naruto nodded and walked up to stand by his team.
"Teme, I bet I'm gonna beat up more ninja then you," Naruto poked Sasuke in the side in a further attempt to rile him up. The Uchiha gave him a quick glare before returning his gaze to the forest.
Sakura bopped Naruto lightly on the head, "Come on, Naruto. We have to be serious here. This isn't going to be a walk in the park, you know?" Her gaze flicked to Sasuke's bare neck before returning to the blue of Naruto's eyes. "Once we're in there we can't let our guard down for a moment. Everyone will be against us, even the people from Konoha." Naruto sobered up as Sakura spoke, nodding grimly at the end of her small speech.
"Okay! I'll do my best!" He turned towards Sasuke, "You too, Teme!" Instead of giving Naruto a snarky reply or look, Sasuke agreed with the blonde. While going against other Shinobi and testing out his strength would be fun, he would have to take this seriously.
The three Genin turned towards the gates, ready to begin. A bell rang as the gates began to open slowly.
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It had been a good hour of jumping through the trees before Naruto asked for a bathroom break. While both Sasuke and Sakura could have continued, they knew that stoping and resting for a moment was a wise idea.
As she fell to the ground, Sakura couldn't help but scan the area with a thin chakra net before landing. In her previous life, this had been around the time that Orochimaru had attacked them. Not finding anything, she still kept her guard up. He could easily be masking his chakra. On the ground, Naruto took off his backpack and began walking towards one of the trees, unzipping his pants as he did so.
"Idiot, not in front of us," Sasuke barked at him, not wanting to watch the other boy piss.
"No, he shouldn't leave out sight. We don't know who could be waiting to attack us," Both Sasuke and Naruto gave her looks of astonishment. "It's only practical. Besides, if we're on a team we're going to have to get used to seeing a lot of each other," Sakura herself had seen way too much of Kakashi after all of the missions they'd done together. Still, she'd gotten over it fairly easily after having seen numerous naked men during her medical training. Skin was only skin after all, and Kakashi was a good friend and she trusted him. "Stop giving me those looks. We're Shinobi, now act like one and just go to the bathroom!"
Grumbling, Naruto turned around to do his business. While Sakura didn't stare directly at him, she watched the area around him for any sign of movement. Sasuke took up a position beside her, looking everywhere else. When Naruto was done, Sakura nudged Sasuke, "You're turn next, and I'll go after," Cheeks turning red, the Uchiha knew that they might not have the luxury of a bathroom break later, so he complied. After Sasuke was done, Sakura stepped up to the tree.
"Teme, don't think I'm going to let you creep on Sakura-chan like the pervert you are!" Sakura sighed as she pulled down her pants, they really were kids. Behind her, she heard two choking noises as both boys saw what she was doing. Really, all they could see was her butt. Such kids.
Once she was finished, Sakura turned around to see both boys beet red, both attempting to avoid her gaze. "Stop it you two. It's not like you've never seen a butt before! Now let's keep going, we need to find an Earth scroll." As she turned to walk up a nearby tree Sakura saw Naruto pick up his bag and follow her, Sasuke not far behind.
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Another two hours had passed and they still hadn't seen anybody else. Sakura's senses were on high alert. Orochimaru should have attacked them by now. Last time she'd been taking care of Naruto and Sasuke's unconscious bodies around this time. True, nothing would happen exactly the same, but usually one would want to attack an opponent quickly. If left alone for too long, unknown variables might interfere with a plan. Yet team 7 continued on unmolested.
Sakura had already dismissed the idea of a Genjutsu. Periodically, she'd used the Releasing Jutsu just in case. She'd also been looking for signs of Genjutsu, like looping scenery and unrealistic sensory information. So far they appeared to be in reality.
Casting out another thin net of chakra, Sakura checked for hidden enemies. She felt three chakra signatures in front of her. "Naruto! Sasuke!" She called to them, stopping on a thick tree branch. They both fell in beside her.
Sasuke had a kunai out, "What is it?" His eyes were flicking around their surroundings, blood red. Naruto had a kunai out too, looking at Sakura's face intently.
"There are three ninja about two hundred yards ahead of us. We should approach silently to identify them and to see if we can spot their scroll." Both boys nodded, "Naruto, you take the right flank, Sasuke, take the left. I'll go up a little higher and take middle, is that alright?" Again, a nod of confirmation. "Sasuke, I want you to use your Sharingan to see if they have the scroll. If they do, whistle sharply once. If they don't, do a horned owl's call and we'll retreat. That's one that we learned in the academy, so you both know it, correct?" While Sasuke affirmed that he did, Naruto looked less confident. "Naruto, just listen for either a whistle or an owl, okay?"
"Uhh, okay, Sakura-chan. But what do we do if they have the scroll?" Naruto shifted his feet nervously.
"If they have the scroll, Naruto, I want you to rush in there and activate your Kage Bunshin. I'll attack once they're distracted. Sasuke, after we're both down there, you come in and target the one with the scroll, okay?" Again, they nodded in confirmation. "Good. Try not to kill anyone. But if you have to, don't hesitate." Naruto swallowed while Sasuke took a deep breath, but they agreed. "Are you ready then?"
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Crouching high in a tree, Sakura couldn't help the frown that crossed her face. Why did it have to be them? Of all the people it could have been...Below her, Team 8 were walking towards the forest's center. Sakura sighed. Why couldn't it have been the Sound Trio?
Gnashing her teeth together, Sakura stifled a groan. If they had to attack, Naruto would surely have trouble fighting Hinata. He always did have trouble fighting girls. Even in academy training, he would always hesitate a little when sparring with a female. Well, if it came to that, Sakura would have to take Hinata down herself. Still, Sakura was slightly relieved. There was no way they would have to kill Team 8, so her boys were spared that little hurdle for now.
As she waited, Sakura noticed that the three members were rather tense. All hands hovering over their kunai pouches. Well, Shino must have spotted them with his bugs, although he might not realize that it was Team 7 specifically. While attacking them without the bonus of surprise would be a little difficult, Sakura knew they had a good chance. The sound of a whistle interrupted her thoughts.
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When he heard the whistle, Naruto leapt. He didn't think about the fact that the people he was attacking were his friends, he didn't stop at the shocked look on Hinata's face as thirty Naruto's descended upon Team 8, and he tried his best to ignore the outraged cry of Kiba as Naruto's clones surrounded the Inu. Sakura-chan said that this test was serious, and he'd be damned it he let his team down.
Hitting the ground, the real Naruto ran towards Kiba. He couldn't bear to attack Hinata, and he felt guilty attacking the quiet Shino. Kiba had always been a good rival of his, so Naruto decided to pretend that this was just a sparring match.
Taking out a kunai, Naruto swung it at kiba, knowing that it would miss. As expected, the Inu dodged it with a snarl, "So, you're really gonna fight us then, eh?" Naruto ignored the jibe. He aimed a kick for Kiba's head. While the brown haired boy tried to dodge, the blow still managed to graze him. The other boy knocked off balance, Naruto continued his attack.
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After a couple of minutes, Sakura knew it was her time to jump in. She leapt, aiming straight at Hinata. As she fell, Sakura decided to give the girl some warning with a war cry, "SHANNARRO!" Gathering chakra in her fist, Sakura struck.
Because of her warning, Hinata managed to leap away, falling back into a battle stance. As Sakura's fist hit the ground, she let her chakra disperse into the dirt to create a small crater. This way Hinata could up her guard and defend herself appropriately. Sakura really didn't want to hurt the other girl, only weaken her as Sasuke grabbed the scroll. Hopefully Hinata wasn't the one holding it.
Surprisingly, the Hyuga struck first, driving her palm at Sakura's chest. While Sakura managed to dodge, she had to keep deflecting the other girl's blows as they rained down upon her. Grimacing slightly, Sakura realized that she might have been the one doing the underestimating.
As she jumped away from Hinata to gain more room to move, Sakura saw Sasuke jump down to attack Shino. That worked out well, she thought. Naruto had Kiba, Sakura herself had Hinata, and Sasuke had Shino. It was a weird sort of lucky.
Turning her gaze back to her opponent, Sakura saw Hinata looking at Naruto with a worried expression on her face. Even in the middle of a fight against him, she was still worried for the blonde boy. Sakura smiled, wishing she could have a love that pure. Instead, she pooled a small amount of chakra into her fist and feet, and flashed towards the distracted girl.
Hinata saw her too late, and Sakura's blow hit it's mark in her stomach. A tiny gasp escaped the short haired girl as she flew into a tree, creating a rather large dent. She did not get up. Somewhat worried, Sakura jumped to her and checked her vitals. She was only unconscious, with minor internal bruising. Good. After a few hours rest she should be fine.
"HINATA!" Kiba's shout echoed across the forrest, the boy rushing towards his teammate. His mistake. Naruto ran up beside him, kunai in hand. Hitting the Inu with the blunt end, Naruto caught him as he fell. The remaining clones disappeared. Turning to see how Sasuke was doing, Sakura saw Shino handing over his Earth Scroll. It was over then.
After their transaction was done, Shino hurried over to his unconscious teammates. His eyebrows were pinched in concern, so Sakura decided to relieve him, "Don't worry, they're only sleeping. We didn't give them any serious injuries, so they should be able to move in a couple of hours." Closing her eyes, Sakura drew out a big net of chakra and cast it over a large area surrounding them. She didn't find any chakra signatures. "You should be safe here for a while, but keep your guard up regardless." Shino nodded and thanked her.
Looking at her own teammates Sakura asked, "Are either of you hurt?"
Naruto grinned, "Nope! I've only got a couple of scratches on me!" Sakura saw him glance at Hinata with a sad expression, but he covered it up with another smile.
"Don't worry, she's only got a little bruising." Naruto's smile widened at her words.
Sasuke stepped up beside Naruto, "I'm good too. Are we ready to go then?" Sakura nodded. While it was good that they'd gotten the scroll so fast, she knew they still had a long ways to go until they reached the center. "Alright." He turned and started walking up a tree. Sakura gave a quick goodbye to Shino and followed, Naruto close behind, after his own boisterous farewell.
Sakura sighed as they started their journey again. Hopefully they wouldn't run in to too much trouble. Although, knowing Team 7's luck, they had a couple battles in store for them.
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Hopefully you guys aren't squeamish about the whole bathroom thing. I mean, they've gotta do it but they're in dangerous territory so...yeah. My idea of realism.