Chapter forty seven- Start of the chunin exams
Disclaimer: No my bros…I don't own Naruto
That Night
Naruto, sitting on his window still, stared out at the night's sky, his thoughts on the chunin exams. He didn't know why but ever since Kakashi told him about their nomination and having met those mysterious siblings, an unease had settled over him. Maybe he was just nervous he convinced himself but somehow, he doubted that was the problem. Sighing, he leaned against the wall, when he heard someone call his name. Without waiting he had a kunai out. Even though he knew an enemy wouldn't call out to him, he knew he couldn't take a chance. However, when he turned, his eyes widened as Ko was plopped onto his bed in a puff. "What...Ko-chan, what are you doing here?" Naruto asked as the little cub rushed into his arms with a laugh.
"The Leader sent me" Ko said, and Naruto frowned. "There's something you must hear" he added before the blonde was sent to the world of tigers, not really given a choice in the matter.
Naruto woke up in the dojo, the last one he had been in, only to see Takao, the High Elder, the Leader and Chie staring at him. "What is going on?" he asked.
"We have a fortune for you" the High Leader said, making a gesture for him to stand up.
"Do you remember what I told you in that forest some time ago?" Chie asked and at the nod, she continued "Members of the Tora clan can look into a person's fortune and the Leader has looked into yours"
"You did?" Naruto asked, his throat drier than it was before. The Leader nodded, though he didn't look him in the eyes.
"Come forward boy" Hisao spoke and despite the edge of his voice, his eyes were softened to the point that Naruto could almost mistake it for concern. "What I'm about to tell you is only for your ears" the tiger said and Naruto didn't like the way the lights around them flickered. "You and your friends are in danger" allowed for fright to glide across his face. "In the near future, you'll meet a large snake, one which will place its mark on your friend, the one with inky hair and sullen expression" Hisao said, starting to pace a little.
"Sounds like Sasuke" Naruto said to himself but Hisao wasn't listening to him as he continued.
"He will also curse you, but unlike your friend, yours may be removed" Hisao said, gazing out at the night's sky. "You and your team will be crushed by this snake. Your friend will betray you so much so, that it will leave a hole in your chest, right near your heart" he added.
"That's..." the words were so meshed together that he couldn't finish his own sentence. He looked at the Leader whose hostility towards him seemed to lessen by whatever he saw.
"The leaf will tremble under the snake's bite" Hisao said, unable to look at Naruto again. "I've seen it, Naruto" Hisao said, and Naruto clenched his fists. "Through your own eyes none the less" he whispered and opened out his hand, the pink flame came to life in his palm. Naruto didn't even have time to react as Hisao blew the flame into his face.
Naruto found himself in a place he didn't recognize. When the leader had blown the flame into his face, he had braced himself for the pain, but instead of getting hurt, he felt like he had been pushed out of his body, only to wake up in a war zone. There were kunai and shuriken scattered everywhere, the streets were washed with dry and stale blood while the buildings around him had been reduced to nothing but piles of rubble. Before he could investigate where he was, he saw it. A bloodied version of himself was standing in front of a man whose face he couldn't see properly. "You…." The other Naruto hissed, but before he could attack, he fell to his knees, clutching his chest.
"Do you fear me now boy?" the man asked, wisps of long black hair whipped against the breeze that blew between them.
"I will never fear you" the other Naruto smirked, blood running down the corners of his mouth. "I fucking hate you" he admitted, coughing up more blood. The man laughed.
"I will make you fear me just as Minato had" the man said before he slunk into the earth, disappearing from their sight. Present Naruto watched the other version of himself stare out at the distance and he knew then, where this was. This was Konoha like he had never seen before. Corpses of men and women were all he could see as he hobbled forward, those who had died where they stood, was a reminder to them all at how close they were to defeat.
"Oro-!" the other version of himself started to scream but he never got to hear it, seeing as he was returned to the present.
Snapping out of whatever trance the flame had placed him in, Naruto found himself kneeling before the large tigers. Hisao, the one who had seen the vision as well, shared his sentiment. "I can't let that happen!" Naruto snarled, not even caring that he had bit his lower lip so hard, that the skin broke under his canine teeth. "I won't" he breathed out.
"No one can defy destiny, young cub. Not even me" the Leader whispered as he looked at the human child. "You can only prepare yourself for when it comes"
Finding himself unable to sleep, led him in front of Riku's dango store. Flashes of the destroyed buildings in the future, caused him to wince. He needed to make sure that everything was okay. "It's going to be fine" he whispered to himself but he knew it was a lie deep down in his heart. He didn't know how long he had been standing there, staring at the store, but he knew it was maybe around midnight. Which meant that Ami and Riku would be fast asleep upstairs. They were safe...For now, his subconscious mocked. As he turned to leave, the front door opened. "Are you going to come inside?" Riku asked and Naruto froze.
"How did you know I was here?" Naruto asked as he finally turned around. Riku smiled and beckoned him inside.
"Because I was never asleep" Riku said as they sat down near one of the tables. "I heard from Saturobi about the chunin exams" he confessed.
"Oh, so he told you" Naruto said and Riku crossed his arms across his chest. "I was going to tell you…but then..." he said but couldn't finish his sentence.
"It's okay, Naruto. I knew that you didn't want to worry us, but you're forgetting that we're your family. It's our job to worry" Riku said.
"I know but I never want to become a burden to you and Ami-chan" Naruto whispered and Riku sighed. "Old man?" he asked and Riku took out a little draw string bag from his pocket.
"This was something I planned on giving you tomorrow, but since you're here, I'll give you it now" he said and Naruto could see the kanji for charm etched on the paper on front of the bag. "It may not be much, but this is the only protection I can offer you" he added.
"It's enough" Naruto said as he stared at it. He smiled and Riku chuckled as he patted his head.
"Now, how about some tea?" he asked and Naruto couldn't help but thank the heavens that he had someone like Riku as his family. So that was why he would protect them with all of his might. He was not going to let that vision come true.
The next day
Naruto hardly got any sleep because once he closed his eyes, the Leader's words and the images that he had seen kept him awake. Stepping out of his apartment, he locked the door. "The snake" he whispered as he eyed his key.
"What are you talking about?" someone asked and when he looked behind him, Anko was staring at him.
"Anko-sensei!" he shouted and she smiled. "What are you doing here? I thought you had a mission or something?" he asked.
"I did, I just managed to finish earlier than I thought" she said, eyeing him. "Did you think your sensei would let you go into that exam room without a little pep talk?" she asked, placing her hand around his shoulders.
"I know you, Anko-sensei. You don't do pep talks" Naruto said and she laughed as they walked down the stairs.
"You've got that right" Anko said with a smirk. "What I really came to do, was to give you a heads up" she said, staring straight at the road ahead of them as they walked to where he was to meet up with the rest of his team. "I'll give it to you straight, gaki. In that exam, whether you're aware of it or not, blood will be shed" she said, causing sweat to roll down his face.
"I'm aware" he grumbled. She nodded.
"All I've got to do is keep your kunai steady, okay?" she asked and when she turned to him, he could see the promise in her eyes. Despite the fact that they fought with each other before he had left for the Land of Waves, she had been the one to approach him. The least he could do was promise her in return.
"I will" he said, and placed his pinky out. She stopped, looked at the finger and then at his face.
"What the hell is that?" she asked, poking his finger a little. He smirked and raised it a little.
"Pinky promise. Come on" he said and she chuckled.
"You're such a kid" she said, yet the jounin wrapped her own pinky around his.
"Look at you, my little cherry blossom" her father said, as she stood outside the door of her house. She had decided to rid herself of her red dress, wore her hair in a bun, opting for a mesh shirt underneath a zipped up jacket. It was a sleeveless, burgundy high collar jacket, with two red stripes running down the front. The jacket went past her waist, all the way to her hips. She wore black pants, with bandages that ran from her knees to her ankles and black sandals. There was a black belt strapped across her waist as well. "You look almost like a real shinobi" he said, as she fastened her leaf headband on her arm.
"I am a REAL shinobi, dad" she said with a roll of her eyes. However her father could only grab her in a bone crushing hug. "Dad?" she asked.
"Just be safe out there, okay?" he whispered and she nodded, watching her mother who was standing far off with tears in her eyes.
"I will" she said as her mother mouthed the words "I love you".
Unknown to Sakura, she wasn't the only one on Team seven that underwent a wardrobe change. One Uchiha Sasuke who was standing in front of his parents' shrine wore a long sleeved blue, Chinese styled jacket accompanied with a mesh shirt and a pair of dark grey shinobi pants that stopped up to his knees. "You'll be able to rest in peace soon, Mother, Father" he prayed and with a bow, he set off to avenge the pride which had been stolen from his clan.
"You two are looking sharp" Naruto was the first to comment about the changes in his team mates. Sasuke stared at Sakura who blushed under their gazes. "It's good" the blonde decided.
"Like I need you to tell me" Sasuke huffed and Naruto flipped him his middle finger before staring at the building in front of him. He couldn't help but shake that forlorn feeling tugging at his innards.
"No matter what, we look after each other" Naruto said, placing his hand out towards his team mates.
"Seems like Kakashi's words got to you, dobe" Sasuke teased but placed his hand on his nonetheless. "Sakura?" he asked, and even Naruto could see the light blush on the Uchiha's face as the rosette looked at him.
"Y-yes" she said, placing her hands on theirs. "Protect one another" she said, looking at them and couldn't help the smile on her face.
"Let's go and conquer this exam" Naruto said, walking off. Behind the hood, a smile was poking free.
"Show off" Sakura called, but followed after him anyway.
Having entered the building, the crowds immediately parted a way for Team seven. They could feel some sort of camaraderie radiating around the three genin as they passed by, and the figure they were cutting made even in the disguised jounin edgy. "Let us through" a voice caught their attention. Some of the genin were standing in front of a door labeled "Room 301"...shouting about how they wanted to get through so they could take the exams.
"This is the chunin exams?" Sasuke asked, and all heads turned to him. "What a disappointment" he commented.
"You just had to make an attempt to look cool, ne Sasuke?" Naruto asked and Sasuke glared at him.
"Oh, and who are you?" one of the disguised examiners stepped forward. Sasuke shot him a smirk and Sakura who didn't know what to do, decided that she would observe from far.
"Someone who is not falling for that little trick of yours" Sasuke said, glancing at Sakura. "You see it don't you, Sakura?" he added and the rosette couldn't help but feel flattered at his praise. She smiled and looked at the sign.
"Genjutsu" she breathed out and Sasuke gave her a nod of approval. Naruto on the other hand, noticed Lee and Tenten in the distance.
"So you saw through it. Impressive" the disguised examiner said, as whispers started to surround the Uchiha and the rosette.
"Naruto-kun!" Lee shouted as he darted through the bodies that had accumulated in the hallway.
"Oi, Lee, slow down!" Tenten shouted after him but the green clad boy ignored her as he ran up to Naruto who braced himself for the impact that was Lee.
"You're here for the exams, too?" Lee asked as he gave him a fist bump and a thumb up. Naruto shook his head, happy to see his eccentric friend.
"Yeah, my team and I were nominated" Naruto said and nodded to Tenten that had joined up.
"You're better than I thought" Tenten said, as she placed her hands on her hips. "Congrats by the way" she added and Naruto chuckled.
"Are these your friends, Naruto?" Sakura asked, and waved at the girl she recognized as Tenten from before.
"Yeah, this is Rock Lee and Tenten" Naruto said. He watched as the smile slipped off Lee's face only to be replaced with fierce determination.
"You must be Haruno Sakura" he said, stepping forward. "A pleasure to meet your acquaintance, lovely cherry blossom" he added, and Naruto turned to Tenten who shrugged.
"You too, Lee-san" Sakura politely said, despite the goo goo eyes the boy was sending her.
"Don't even go there, Lee" Naruto said as he placed a hand on his shoulder. "That's your competition" he whispered and nodded to Sasuke who just folded his arms across his chest.
"Ah, yes. Uchiha Sasuke, I've heard about you" Lee said and Tenten sighed somewhere in the background. "In order to win the affections of such a beautiful maiden, allow me to fight you, Sasuke of the Uchiha clan" he added, taking his stance.
"Lee" someone else spoke up and emerging from the crowd was a long haired, pale eyed boy. "I thought we decided not to draw attention to ourselves" he added as he walked up to them.
"Neji..." Lee was saying but the other boy cut him off. Naruto didn't like the way this Neji was treating his friend.
"And picking a fight with these genin" Neji said, making sure they could see the sneer on his face as he looked at them.
"Shut up, Neji" Tenten huffed and the boy looked away. "Forgive him, he's suffering from what I call asshole syndrome" she added and Naruto snorted while Sakura giggled.
"Would you do me the honor, Uchiha Sasuke of fighting me?" Lee asked and Sasuke frowned.
"I don't that's such a good idea, Sasuke" Naruto spoke up and Neji looked at him. "Lee will kick your ass" he said and Sasuke just huffed while Lee shot him a grin.
"That weirdo over there will kick my ass?" Sasuke asked, jabbing his finger in Lee's direction.
"Sasuke-san, you should know that I'm one of the strongest Konoha genin right now" Lee said. Naruto could see how Sasuke's hands tightened and the way his body was tense with excitement.
"I accept your challenge" Sasuke announced and Naruto sighed. Of course he would.
Woohoo! Wardrobe changes for the rest of the members of Team seven, hurrah!
