~Scroll 28~

"NOW?!" Kiba yelped in surprise while the other applicants murmured amongst themselves.

Sakura stared at Sasuke in fear, mentally wishing that the raven-haired teen would step forward and step out of the preliminaries.

Naruto stilled as he heard the traitor's Heart Song screeching within the room. His blue eyes stared at the Oto-Jounin and wondered if the Snake would be truly that daring to be in the presence of so many Konoha Nin when suddenly...

"Well..." Kabuto's voice broke through the petite blonde's thoughts, "I'm outta here."

"What?!" Sakura gasped when she heard her fellow Konoha shinobi volunteering to step down, "... Kabuto!"

She then looked at her otouto and her one time crush, both of whom just looked coolly at the grey-haired Nin.

"Ummm..." Hayate coughed as he looked at his roster, "Aren't you... *koff* Yakushi Kabuto of Konoha? Okay. You can go. Uhhh... *koff* In case I forgot to mention it, from here on in, you fight as individuals... *koff* not as members of teams. So you can make the decisions that are right for you without worrying about anyone else. So... *koff* anyone else want out? Show of hands...?"

Kuso! Shisui cursed, startling Naruto as the blonde cast a curious glance to his ghostly companion. No wonder he looked so familiar... years ago, there was a battle at Kikyo Pass. A member of our medical corps took in the lone survivor of that battle... and he's that kid...!

Naruto took a deep breath as he looked at the ninja, who while adjusting his glasses gave the blonde a dark and hungry look. The petite Genin looked away and suddenly felt a strong need of a long cleansing shower. The small teen was unaware of his Otousan's and his sensei's concerned looks at the youth's sudden and odd behavior.

Kabuto let loose a low chuckle as he looked forward to the day that he would meet the Uchiha heir again... as well as his newest obsession in the small, lithe blonde.

While Sasuke watched the grey-haired shinobi walk away, the dark haired teen was unaware of the deadly glower coming from Kabuto's remaining teammate. Suddenly the Uchiha breathed in deeply while he clutched his neck. Grinding his teeth together, the teen wondered about the increasing frequency of the pain that wrecked his body.

"So, uhhh... *koff*," Hayate asked, unaware of the drama unfolding amongst Team 7, "looks like no one else is bailing out."

"S-Sasuke..." Sakura whispered while anxiously looking between the proctor and her teammate, "Maybe you should quit, too!"

Sasuke growled as he leveled a dark glower on the pinkette.

"Ever since that Orochimaru attacked you," She pleaded, "you haven't been yourself! That mark on your skin is hurting again, isn't it? And it keeps getting worse!

"Please... please... withdraw... I... I'm afraid..."

Naruto watched as his 'neechan bared her heart to the dark haired teen, who remain emotionless.

"You're in no shape to fight, Sasuke!"

"Shut up..." The raven-haired teen ordered.

"Sasuke, I know that you've barely been able to contain the pain all this time!"

"I said..."

"You leave me no choice." She interrupted, "If you won't listen to reason, I'm going to tell all the teachers about that mark! And then..."

As Sakura began to raise her hand, Sasuke's hand snapped with speed akin to a striking serpent. She let out a quiet whimper in pain as she felt the Uchiha's grip.

"Keep your mouth shut!" He ordered, "Not a word about the mark!"

He then released his hold.

Sakura gently held her bruised wrist close to her chest.

"I'm an Avenger." He growled then immediately let out a groan as another wave of pain coursed through him.

I was afraid of this... Shisui mourned as he watched his kinsman helplessly then stared at the small blonde, who stepped forward.

Naruto gently placed a hand over Sasuke's hand.

Dark eyes looked up, slipping his hand from beneath Naruto's smaller one then covering the blonde's hands with his own. Instantly he felt the pain fade and disappear. He found himself being able to breath easier and think clearly. Only his dobe could make him so focused and make him feel so powerful. He would show his blonde that he was strong and powerful to not only win this exam but also to achieve his goals...

"Ahhh..." Hayate spoke, "well then... we'll now begin the preliminaries... which will consist of individual combat matches, as though this were part of a tournament."

The applicants watched the proctor, with the exception of Sasuke, whose only focus was on his dobe.

"As there are a total of 20 combatants remaining, we will hold a total of 10 bouts. Ummm... and the victors of those bouts will advance to the third exam.

"This is no-holds-barred combat. Each pair of combatants will fight until one of them is dead or unconscious... *koff* admits defeat. As soon as you sense that your opponent is overpowering you, immediately concede your loss... if you value your life.

"Uhhh... *koff* since we don't want a total bloodbath on our hands, there may be cases... where we ascertain that there is an undisputed winner and step in to end the match. But don't count on that. From here on out, the key to your fate is held in..." A rumbling echoed throughout the room as a scoreboard. "At the start of every round, we will display the names of the two combatants competing in that match... *koff*

"So, ummm... not to hurry you all to the slaughter... but let's begin. We'll now announce the first two names."

Immediately the applicants eyes were drawn to the scoreboard.

Sakura let out a gasp when the names appeared as she looked nervously at her teammates.

Naruto frowned, but Sasuke smirked...

UCHIHA SASUKE VS. AKADO YOROI

"Will the individuals whose names are listed on the board come forward now...?" Hayate called.

Sasuke moved away from his blonde. He shivered when he felt the sudden loss of his dobe's warmth. He would have to defeat Kabuto's teammate quickly in order for him to feel Naruto's warmth again.

"Akado Yoroi, Uchiha Sasuke..." Hayate confirmed, "You two have been selected to compete in the first bout. Any objections?"

"None..." Yoroi grunted.

"I'm good..." The Uchiha replied.

"Uhhhhh... It's time for the first round to commence... all right?" Hayate stated. "Everyone other than the two combatants should move to the upper gallery now."

The applicants and their Jounin-sensei shuffled and made their way to the upper gallery.

At Naruto's nod, Sakura relucantly followed the other applicants while the blonde stayed with the raven-haired teen. With a slight tilt of his head, the small Genin heard his sensei's Heart Song, which sounded wary and apprehensive.

"Kakashi-sensei..." Naruto greeted with a soft smile on his face while the Uchiha scowled at the silvery-haired ninja.

Kakashi's dark eye immediately focused on his bundle of sunshine, looking for any signs of unattended injuries. The Jounin frowned when he saw how exhausted his Naruto still was despite the several hours of reprieve. But it was not just exhaustion that haunted those beautiful oceanic blue orbs, there was also pain, lingering in the teen's eyes. It was not pain of the body but of the heart, and it made Kakashi want to kill the bastard, who put that pain there.

Unfortunately, now was not the time to follow and embrace his murderous desire... He had another worry to contend with...

Even though the Uchiha heir was not looking at him, Kakashi knew that the brooder was paying attention.

"Sasuke..." The older shinobi plainly and quietly spoke, "Don't use the Sharingan."

Sasuke stilled as he tried to figure out how the Jounin knew. At first, he had thought that the pinkette had ratted him out, but he quickly dismissed the idea since she did not have enough time to do so. And he doubted that his blonde would betray him so that begged the question... how did he know?

"If the spell-mark on your neck is allowed to run rampant," The silvery-haired Nin continued, "the consequence will change your life."

The teen snorted. The Jounin did not know what he was talking about. The spell-mark was giving him power, and it will give him more power once he mastered it. This was the power he was looking for to kill Him and make Naruto his!

"If they see any sign of that, the match will be suspended." Kakashi said, unaware of the dark thoughts coursing through the Avenger's mind. "And I'll be forced to stop you. Please don't forget that... come, Naruto, let's go upstairs."

Sasuke was frozen at the mere thought of his fight being suspended. His blood boiled in anger when suddenly familiar warmth coursed through him. His dark eyes flittered over to his dobe, who was watching him in concern. The Uchiha took a deep breath as he mentally went over what he had available to him. Despite the few hours of rest, his chakra was not at 100%, and even if he had all of his chakra at his disposal, it appeared that the curse mark responded to his chakra. He frowned. Not only was his Sharingan out of the question, the teen was limited in using his chakra even for the normal arts.

Up in the balcony, Naruto leaned against the railing and his sensei as he watched his teammate prepare to fight with such a heavy handicap.

"Sasuke..." The blonde whispered to no one, "don't overextend yourself... please..."