Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

Chapter Sixteen

Karibi had arrived just in the middle of the second round; Shino Aburame vs. Zaku Abumi. From what the redhead could remember, Zaku had been one of the ninja from the Sound; he had been one of the genin who had tried to start something with Naruto and his friends during the first exam. His arms had been placed in slings when she had left the arena to tend to Sasuke, but when she had arrived back beside Naruto and Guy, she was shocked to see that one arm had been held out as if it hadn't been damaged at all.

"What have I missed?"

"Ribi-chan!" Naruto turned to her with a horrified look on his face, his skin pale and ghostly looking.

"...Seriously, what did I miss?"

She had little knowledge of the Aburame clan. What she knew was what she had heard through the grape vine, and what she had heard through the grape vine was that they relied heavily on bugs, much like a shinobi would rely on nin dogs. She'd never had the personal chance to see someone from the clan at work, so when she had arrived back to the arena, she was slightly intrigued by the young boy. So, she continued to watch the match closely, but quickly found herself almost feeling slightly sick.

Watching the Sound genin writhe on the floor, Karibi's eyes flickered over to the Aburame boy. She stared hard for a moment before she let out a held breath and let her shoulders sag. Not once did he pull out a summoning scroll nor did he perform any summoning hand signs. The 22-year-old shivered; there was only one other explanation of where the bugs had come from.

"There's a legend in the Leaf village about a clan of insect tamers." Team 7 and Karibi looked to Guy as he spoke, his eyes glued to Zaku, who was still groaning on the ground; there was no way his arms were going to come back from that attack.

Only twelve and already he's formed a bond with the bugs. That's impressive, the jonin said to herself before she looked to Naruto and Sakura, who seemed to still be shaken by the entire thing.

"...He's a creepy guy, but watching him gets me pumped! I can't wait to get my shot at him!" the blond said as Sakura wore a disturbed expression on her face and nodded.

"I mean, I thought he was a weird guy before but..." Karibi chuckled as she looked over to Kurenai, the woman looked up and catching her gaze. They stared for a moment before Karibi smirked, the jonin for Team 8 smirking back to her before she nodded and turned her full attention to Shino—who had just returned to the upper level.

Suddenly, a presence appeared behind Naruto, Karibi and Sakura. The three turned and watched as Kakashi stepped out from the smog, giving a slight salute to his team. "Hey."

Immediately, Sakura reacted, an extremely worried expression on her face. "Sensei! What happened to Sasuke? How is he?"

"Oh, he's fine," Kakashi assured calmly. "He's sleeping soundly in the infirmary as we speak." Although she had felt a bit more relaxed, Sakura was still worried. And as Karibi watched the young girl, she couldn't help but frown; the constant fear of losing someone important was a feeling that the redhead was familiar with.

As Karibi turned to gaze back to the name panel, she paused when she locked eyes with Kakashi. He stared silently at her for a moment, and as his gaze penetrated through the young woman, she felt a shiver ripple down her back. She frowned at the way he looked at her—as if he were looking at her for the last time. His single eye was enough to send an obvious message to her; something was wrong.

"Misumi Tsurugi vs. Kankuro." Everyone's attention went to Hayate, the sickly jonin reading off the names as he flipped through the remainder of profiles on his clipboard. The air grew tense as the Leaf and Sand genin approached the lower level before the match began.

Stealing one last glance to Kakashi, Karibi sighed quietly to herself before she crossed her arms and glued her full attention to the upcoming fight; her questions would have to wait.

§

Matches had rolled along quickly. Kankuro had won his match, and after that, Sakura and Ino had faced off. The rivals had started off weak, but whatever personal issues they had between them—it had all been sorted out in that match. But at the end, neither one of them had won; it had ended in a draw. Then, the next match had been Ten Ten and Temari—Leaf against Sand. Unfortunately, the odds had been placed against the Leaf kunoichi, her tricks and talent with weapons just not enough to go against Temari's fan and her power. A reaction was quickly stirred out of Lee, and he had nearly acted out. Had Guy not gone out to stop the boy, himself, Karibi or Hayate would have intervened; thankfully, things had not gotten to that point.

Soon after that match, Shikamaru Nara had been put up against Tsuchi Kin. The match had been quicker than anyone would have expected, seeing as Shikamaru had always seemed like a rather unenthusiastic genin. But he was smart—smarter than people ever gave him credit for. And he also had the advantage of the Nara Clan Shadow Possession; that brought Karibi back to years before.

Finally, six matches later, Naruto had finally been called to the stand.

"Naruto Uzumaki and Kiba Inuzuka. Please come down to the lower level for this next match." Karibi stared with wide eyes at the names on the screen before she began to laugh. She turned her attention down to the blond beside her as he eyed her accusingly.

"Hey! What's so funny?"

"Nothing, this match just seems a little coincidental is all," the 22-year-old said as she smiled up at the names one last time.

"Good luck, Naruto!" Sakura said with a wide smile as her teammate looked over to her. "Do your best!"

"You know it, Sakura!" The blond turned to Karibi as she blinked before smirking and kneeling down to the genin.

"You ready to win?"

"You bet I am, Ribi-chan!" Naruto would have jumped down after that, but arms pulled him into a tight hug. He blinked as a light blush dusted over his cheek. Karibi merely continued holding the young boy as she squeezed her eyes tightly shut. She smiled into his hair and chuckled quietly.

"Win or lose, you're still number one ninja in my book, short-stuff." Naruto's eyes widened before he slowly wrapped his arms around Karibi. He smiled softly before he began to grin, laughing happily as his guardian stood to her feet. She watched as he nodded to her before hopping over the railing.

"Don't you worry, Ribi-chan!" he shouted as he landed solidly on the ground. "I'm not leaving here until I win!" The redhead smirked widely as she nodded her head.

"Go get 'em, Naruto."

§

"How does it feel?" Karibi blinked as she looked over at Guy, the man grinning at her slyly. The redhead's eyes flickered down to the blond as he and Kiba exchanged taunts; they were doing more talking than fighting.

"Well, it is a bit strange seeing him down there," the jonin stated to her friend as she leaned against the railing. "Never thought the day would actually come where I'd be watching Naruto take this exam..." If someone had told her ten years ago that she'd be taking care of Naruto and raising him like he was her family, well, she would have probably lashed out at them.

But she was different these days.

"Wish the little brat would actually get to fighting, though," Karibi muttered as she shook her head, watching as the two Leaf genin snapped back and forth to each other.

Sakura eyed the woman carefully for a moment before she looked down to Naruto.

All of her life, before actually joining Team 7, Sakura had thought that the blond had grown up alone. But then, one day Karibi had been there. She came every day, picking up the boy, and for awhile, Sakura wasn't sure what to think. A lot of her mother's friends gossiped and whispered, and although she hadn't understood at the time, she now realized that they had been talking about the two Uzumaki's. And although her mother had never personally said anything about them, everyone else around Sakura did, and their feelings projected on to her. But as she looked from Karibi to Naruto now, she felt ashamed. She felt guilty that she had ever thought one bad thing about them before knowing them. And she felt terrible for judging Naruto so quickly; Karibi had done a good job of keeping him on the right track.

If only you were here to see him, Minato-san...Kushina-san. Karibi chuckled as the two genin finally prepared themselves for battle. Her eyes flickered over to Kurenai as the jonin looked back at her. Her red eyes were gleaming with confidence—the same look Karibi remembered seeing when she had faced the woman years ago during her own chunin exam; it was slightly irritating.

"Oi, Kurenai?" Said woman looked over to her friend as the redhead smirked at her. "Don't take it too personally when Kiba loses to Naruto. We can't all be winners." Kurenai blinked before she scoffed, narrowing her eyes at Karibi. The competitive air began to fester between the two jonin, Guy and Kakashi as well as Guy's students and Sakura looking from one kunoichi to the other.

"Sorry to burst that bubble of yours, Karibi. But there's no chance of Naruto winning this." Karibi glared for a moment before the spritely attitude returned.

"I—" Karibi stopped abruptly as she felt a large amount of chakra building up. She blinked as she looked to Kiba, the hooded boy on all fours as he smirked devilishly at Naruto. With a rather surprising amount of speed, Kiba darting forward and thrust his elbow into the blond's gut. The 22-year-old stiffened, fighting the automatic reaction to jump down and catch the boy. She made sure to stay planted where she was, watching as Naruto yelled out and hit the ground. She narrowed her eyes as she heard a slight chuckle to her right. Snapping her head over to Kurenai, the red-eyed woman merely smirked before Karibi smirked back to her.

Kid's pretty tough. Wouldn't expect less from an Inuzuka. Karibi had seen one in battle, personally.

Everyone gazed down, shocked that Naruto had been knocked down so easily and so quickly. Karibi tried to ignore the voices, her temper flaring for just a moment. In order to keep herself from lashing out, the assistant proctor gripped tightly to the railing before she relaxed and began to chuckle. She caught Kurenai's attention as Karibi continued smiling and quietly laughing to herself. That's right, short-stuff.

Suddenly, the blond began to rise to his feet. He stood up tall as Kiba blinked, staring back at him with wide eyes. His heavy breathing echoed through the silence before he lifted his head, his blue eyes shining with determination. "Don't you ever underestimate me!"

"That's my boy." Karibi smirked widely before looking back to the 24-year-old. She gave the woman a smug look before looking back to Naruto and nodding her head.

"Yeah!" Lee began to cheer for his new friend, Sakura laughing as she leaned forward.

"Go get him, Naruto!"

"You've done a good job with him, Kakashi." Said jonin looked over to Karibi as she smiled widely at him. "He's stronger than he used to be."

"...The credit belongs to Naruto," Kakashi said honestly as he smiled under his mask. "He's stronger because he's pushed himself to this very point." And that was the truth.

§

The rest of the match had been tense. It had been back and forth between Kiba and Naruto. No one had been expecting the blond to rise up to the challenge, but he had. But Kiba and Akamaru hadn't been finished yet, for they still had tricks of their own. And after performing their Fang-Over-Fang combo, everyone had thought it had been the end for Naruto, but he was stronger than they would ever know.

Then again, at the end of the match, it hadn't come down to strength.

It came down to smell.

Karibi frowned as she watched Kiba gasp, covering his face as he coughed. The woman shook her head as she sighed. "I need to ween him off of cup ramen."

Using Kiba's moment of weakness to his advantage, Naruto unleashed his new move he had come up with; Uzumaki Barrage. Karibi grinned widely as she watched the blond kick Kiba to the ground hard, and as she looked to Hayate, he nodded at her before he walked over to the hooded genin. Kneeling down, he checked for any signs of consciousness; the boy was out.

"The winner of this match is Naruto Uzumaki."

"Wohoo!"

"Yeah! That's my teammate!" Karibi tried to contain herself as she watched Naruto climb up the steps to the second level. She blinked, raising a brow out of curiosity when she watched Hinata hand him a circular case. Quickly, the pieces put themselves together in the woman's mind—Hinata blushing constantly around Naruto, Hinata gazing admiringly at him, Hinata losing her nerve around him; it was all so obvious, it was almost embarrassing that Karibi hadn't caught on before.

With a happy "thank you," Naruto turned and began to join his team and guardian, not before he met the woman's gaze and began to laugh. He sprinted up to Karibi, finding a new source of energy, and he pulled his hand back while the redhead held hers out. Their palms clapped loudly together as the redhead began to laugh, Naruto cheering.

"I knew you had it in you, short-stuff!"

"Told you I'd win!" Naruto exclaimed as the others watched the pair carefully.

It was nice seeing those two happy together.

"Saw the little gift she gave you." Karibi smirked playfully as Naruto blinked, looking down at the ointment in his hands.

"Who? Hinata?"

"Who else would I be referring to?" The redhead shook her head as she pried the bottle from the blond's hands; he was as clueless as ever.

"Here, let's get you fixed up a little."

"Thanks, Ribi-chan!" Unscrewing the top open, Karibi knelt down as she swiped her finger into the bottle. She carefully rubbed some of the ointment on to the blond's scar, but before her fingertip even traced over the wound, it began to heal alone. The jonin paused before she quickly applied the ointment to the boy's clammy skin and forced a smile on to her face. She shut the bottle and handed it to Naruto as he gazed down at his already sealed scar.

"Whoa! This stuff works quick!" Karibi remained silent for a moment as she stared at Naruto; some days she would forget that the Nine tailed fox was locked inside of him.

"Looks like the next match is about to begin." Kakashi's voice caught the young woman's attention as she turned to face him. He gave her a smile, and he was slightly relieved to see the woman relax before she smiled and nodded, looking to the name panel.

"I wonder who's gonna be next!" Naruto said as he gazed up at the screen. "There's only a few people left." Everyone stared as the names flashed on the screen. And it wasn't until the flashing stopped that all the Leaf ninja stiffened.

"Hinata Hyuuga vs. Neji Hyuuga."

§

Neji had been harsh—not only with his fighting technique, but with his words. Even for those who were not Hinata, his words were like kunai to the chest. But it had been Naruto's words that had protected her from Neji's wrath. He had given her the strength to stand where she stood, unafraid to meet Neji's cold gaze, and he had given her the courage to face the young boy and fight against him.

Karibi watched carefully as the two Hyuuga's fought against one another. They were neck-and-neck for a while, but the jonin knew Guy had worked Neji to the bone. He didn't train him specifically with his Byakugan, but the endurance and hard work Guy had put him through was enough to indirectly give aid to training Neji's Byakugan. He was also more experienced and older; there was an automatic advantage for Neji, there. And just as the boy had said, Hinata was gentle. She was sweet and she was kind; her personality wasn't the type for this kind of environment.

It was nearly painful to watch. Hinata was giving her all, and yet it still didn't seem to be enough. But she still didn't give up. She had nearly moved everyone with her dedication—and from Karibi's perspective, she could tell she had moved Naruto the most.

Cringing slightly, the redhead watched as Neji slammed his palm up and into the younger Hyuuga's chin. She winced as well when the young girl skid away, crumpling over and coughing. "...He needs to call this match." The others around Karibi blinked as she concentrated, focusing on Hinata's chakra flow and Neji's. She shook her head as her hand wrapped around the railing and squeezed. "Hayate needs to call this match," she repeated more urgently before her amethyst eyes flickered over to the proctor.

"Hay—" Karibi stopped when she caught sight of Hinata and Neji launching back at each other. Nearly everyone gasped when Neji's hand slammed into the younger and inexperienced genin's chest, a burst of chakra coursing through her. Slowly, she fell to the ground, and for a moment Karibi frowned. Her heart lurched when she watched Hinata force herself to her feet once more.

"She's going to die at this rate..." Karibi whispered as she glanced to Kurenai, the woman looking back at her with the same gleam in her eyes.

Hinata panted as she did her best to stand on her feet. Her vision was blurred and her head was spinning. Her chest burned and even just breathing hurt her, but she wasn't ready to give up. She had been inspired. She was tired of being the same girl who always gave up and always let others fight her battles. She wanted to prove she could do it. She wanted to prove that she was a fighter too. And so she would continue. She would fight, even if Neji were to kill her.

That was her nindo.

Karibi raised a brow as the Hyuuga's exchanged words. She glanced to Hayate as he looked back to her before turning his attention back to the pair. The redhead stiffened as she felt a burst of chakra from Neji. "Call the match," she snapped, catching everyone off guard. A panicked gleam shined in her eyes before she leaped over the railing. "Hayate, call the match!"

Within seconds, Karibi was crouched in front of Hinata. The young girl blinked as she wavered on her feet, though managing to stay standing. The jonin before her held her right hand out, palm facing Neji. She kept her left hand in front of her face, her index finger and middle finger up as she focused her chakra to her outstretched hand. She narrowed her eyes at the 13-year-old as he continued forward, lost in a fit of rage.

She was trembling. Karibi could tell that Neji was going in for a kill-shot. The way his chakra coursed through him—she could feel it. Even with her own chakra enforcing her hand and arm, the second he hit he would probably break the bones in her hand and her wrist with ease—maybe even her forearm. Not to mention that all chakra flow through her would be completely cut off because of his attack. Still, she remained planted in front of Hinata; there was no way the girl would survive a hit like that.

Narrowing her eyes, the woman focused, keeping an ample amount of her own chakra flowing through her right hand. Her concern lessened when shadows appeared in front of her, though she remained as she was.

Hayate kept his left arm extended out, the tips of his fingers placed against Neji's head. The proctor glanced to Kakashi—who had a firm grasp on Neji's right arm, and Guy, the man's arm wrapped around his neck. As for Kurenai, she was knelt to the older Hyuuga's left, holding back his jabbing arm.

The crisis had been averted.

"Neji! Get a hold of yourself!" Karibi slowly began to relax while Guy dealt with his student. She took that moment to glance back at Hinata as she stared at her opponent intently, though the redhead could see the girl was struggling to stay on her feet. "You promised me you wouldn't let this whole head-family thing get you riled up." Guy glanced to Hinata as he frowned before looking back to his student.

"Why are you and the other jonin getting in the way?" Neji snapped viciously. "The head family gets special treatment, huh?!" Karibi rolled her eyes but her attention was taken by Hinata, who began to cough and fall forward.

"I've got you!" The 22-year-old quickly twisted her body and caught the girl, gently laying her on the ground as Kurenai tensed. She sprung to her feet and rushed to her student's side, Karibi standing to her feet and gazing down sympathetically to the 12-year-old.

"Hinata!" Kurenai brushed some hair out of the young girl's face as she tried to smile down at her. Her red eyes fluttered up when she heard another voice call out her genin's name—Naruto, Sakura and Lee rushing to the scene.

"Hinata! You ok?!" Naruto quickly knelt down beside the timid girl as she slowly turned her head to him. She tried to smile but failed, coughing more as her eyes began to flutter shut.

It had all been thanks to Naruto that she had finally found a bit more faith in herself.

"That was too close of a call," Karibi said quietly to Hayate as he nodded his head.

"Next time—"

"There won't be a next time," the former Anbu trainer snapped as she shot the proctor a stern glare.

"Right."

Looking over at Kurenai, Karibi watched as the woman called over for medics. She shot a heated glare at Neji, who merely smirked before he turned and began to walk back to the steps for the upper level. He only stopped when Naruto caught his attention, the blond holding up a fist with blood in his hand. His blue eyes burned through Neji's faded eyes, the two staring intently at one another.

"...I vow to win." Karibi stared at the young boy before smiled widely.

She didn't doubt that he would.

Hello, all! Yes, I'm back! I'm so sorry for being gone for as long as I have! I had been planning on updating much sooner than this, but there was a lot that just kept popping up, and before I knew it, I had nearly forgotten all about this project of mine :( It's been a rather busy time for me, but I had a bit of free time so I figured I would update while I could! I'm unsure of when I'll be able to post another chapter, but I just wanted to reassure those who are reading and waiting patiently that I have not given up on this story at all! I have so much that I have planned and am very thrilled to unfold all the ideas in my head with this story! So, please, just be patient with me. I know it may be a lot to ask, but I'm counting on whoever's reading to just understand and not chew me out XD

So, here we are! Getting closer and closer to one of the bigger moments in Naruto! For me, the hardest part about writing this is what will change and what will remain the same since I'm writing with Karibi in the picture. My intentions are not to change too much, yet I want it to be believable with a new character in the mix with already existing characters! So, I've been working hard on finding a balance between all of that. Of course, things are bound to be different, much like this chapter was slightly different than the original plot, itself. Yet, there are things that are inevitable, no matter how many characters someone may plug in. So, hopefully whoever's reading this likes the changes that I've been trying to add and I hope that these changes are believable to the series itself! Little or big, I hope that it will flow well once it's all written and that the plot will continue on correctly! If anyone has suggestions or a preference as to how much change they would like to see, please feel free to say something! As some of the readers here may already know, I truly do take into consideration what you all have to say :) So if there are those who truly believe that something drastic should happen, please say so! And if you think that Karibi's existence truly doesn't change much that happens, also speak up. I'm trying to decide, myself, just how much Karibi's is going to effect the series over all, so any input is welcome!

Thank you so, very much for waiting as long as you have for the updates! Like I said, there is no guarantee of when I'll be back after this, but I will definitely try to update sooner than I did for this chapter. And rest assured, I am NOT giving this up or throwing this story aside!

Enjoy this chapter!

Reviews:

WindyCitySlayer1: Hi there! Sorry for the long wait in this update, I am back though! Like you may have read above, I'm unsure when I'll be back again, but I hope that it will be sooner than later! So I apologize if I make you wait longer than the time before this ^_^; I just ask that you bear with me until I can come up with a more consistent schedule to update. Thank you so much for reading and keeping up with this story for as long as you have, and I truly hope you continue to enjoy reading this! Thank you!

ajwehri: Hello! I'm so glad to hear that you liked how the last chapter went and Karibi's reaction to Orochimaru. With her past with him, I felt that it was sort of necessary to show that. She's sort of made a firm wall around herself for so long, which helps her remain strong as a ninja and person, but when it comes to Orochimaru, he's the kind of person that is able to sort of break that down in a negative way! There will definitely more to be seen with that pair, so I hope you'll like what I have in store for you ;D I know there hasn't been a lot of Karibi in action when it comes to jutsu, but there will definitely be more action with her once you get to further chapters! I only hope that you'll enjoy what I write! Thank you so much for reading and reviewing and I hope you will continue to read :)

lizyeh2000: Golden eyes...hmm...Orochimaru? Well, I don't want to give anything away, but I'm sure you may already know where this might be headed ;) You'll have to continue to read in order to really get a grasp of what's going to happen! Thank you for reviewing and I hope that you enjoy this chapter! Thanks, again!

bored411: Yes! There will be so much more with Karibi and Orochimaru as the story progresses! I hope you like what I have in store with those two :D Sasuke and Karibi will also have more interactions as this story goes on, so I hope you look forward to that, as well. With her personal experiences and just her time spent with Naruto, I feel like naturally it would be hard to not really involve herself with someone like Sasuke, but I don't want to say too much so I'll leave it at that! Thank you for reading, reviewing and for keeping up with this! Your support is genuinely appreciated and I hope you like this chapter!

LilyVampire: Hi! You may or may be correct on your assumptions about Sasuke and Karibi ;D Who knows! You'll only know for sure once future chapters are released LOL As for Sasuke's seal, seeing as Karibi is the one who administered the seal for Kakashi and she's rather skilled in fuinjutsu, I would like to say that it may hold longer than versus the seal in the show, but like I said, it's hard for me to truly differentiate things I want to stay the same and things I want to change with Karibi existing in this version of the series. I suppose the way I write when it comes to plot points like that is almost like a "choose your own adventure" sort of mentality, if that makes sense? Things will progress naturally and whatever happens happens? LOL sorry if that is confusing you more! Any who, sorry for babbling and thank you so much for reading! I'm so glad that you've been liking this story thus far, and I can only hope that you will continue to like it! Thank you!

GoTherka: Hello, GoTherka! Yes, especially in the earlier part of this story, there were a lot of tense moments and a lot of nail-biting scenes. With the way things happened for Karibi, there was a lot more drama. This part of the series is sort of like...the calm before the storm XD I won't say too much just because I'm not one for spoiling things, but there will definitely be a rise of drama as this story goes on! What story is good without a little bit of tension and angst LOL I apologize for the longer wait in this update. I usually don't take so long to post new chapters, but as you may have read above, things have been a little hectic for me. I hope to not take as long for this next chapter, but if I do, please don't hate me! I will definitely be updating! And I'm so, sincerely happy to hear how invested you have become with this story and with Karibi! It makes me happy to know that you like reading this story! I've put a lot of hard work into this, and I hope it continues to show and you continue to read and like this! Thank you!

lilmsglam16: Hi there! I'm so happy to hear that you like this story and what I've come up with so far :) I'm so sorry that it's taken me this long to update, but hopefully the next update will not take nearly as long! Thank you for being patient, though and I hope you will continue to read! If there's anything you'd like to say about this story about my writing, please feel free to let me know! I'm always open to criticism and growing as a writer! Thank you, and enjoy this chapter!

Mayumi Yuki: Hi, Mayumi Yuki! Thank you so much for your kind words! It honestly is always such a relief when readers say that I'm getting canon characters correct! Especially someone like Kakashi. You may not know this, but keeping characters in character is one of my biggest things that I pay the most attention to and try to get right, so you saying that Kakashi is written well makes me so happy, so thank you for that :D There's going to be a lot of progression with Karibi and her relationships with everyone, but especially with Naruto and Kakashi, so I hope that you'll look forward to that! I'm glad you like Naruto's little nick name XD It just felt right coming from her, and I just had to make it stick LOL And I'm also glad to hear that you like Karibi/Kakashi. It's always a little nerve-racking to write an OC story with a canon character, but I've put a lot of thought into their relationship and the directions that it will go in, so I hope that it will all make sense and fit with them as characters and the series as a whole! Thank you so much for reading and reviewing and supporting! I hope you read this chapter and enjoy :) Thank you!