A/N: Please remember that I can't update as frequently as I used to. This is my senior year in high school and I'm aiming to graduate with the highest marks I can manage.

::

He set both hands atop his cane and leaned forward.

"Why do you not wish to kill me even when I'm the reason there is only one Haruno instead of three?"

::

Iwagakure was dry and rocky and full of bamboo.

And honestly, with a heat level that rivaled Suna's even when starting to gain speed towards the end of the year, that was the only reason Sakura tried to avoid the mountainous country as much as she could. In the other timeline, she talked to enough of their people to know the climate wasn't the only difference compared to Konoha.

Shinobi here were rougher around the edges- took less mercy and ranked up as high as they could as young as they got. They also tended to be more outspoken and blunt, more than likely a side-effect of their quick, effective training. Sometimes they even went as far as to appear disconcerting.

Like now, for example.

Sakura, sandwiched between Naruto and Sasuke, could see the challenging grins and sparks of interest aimed at them right from the moment they stepped into the village. The Chuunin Exams was a time for every village to gather and compete despite dissimilarity and disagreements, and was also the perfect moment to size up other country's forces to see what they could be up against in the future.

"These people don't look very friendly, dattebayo," Naruto whispered out the corner of his mouth.

"Competing or not, we're still foreigners," Sakura muttered. "It's only natural when they have a surge of people from all over the world in one place. A small thing goes wrong and they'll be on us faster than Shikamaru on a game of shogi."

Sasuke grunted and shifted his bag against his back, thinking that it probably wasn't a good idea to pack shirts that had his clan symbol on them.

"Meaning that the three of you will be on your best behavior. I don't want you more than one block away from where I am and you'll adhere to the eight o'clock curfew I'm setting up," Kakashi said. He and the other two boys turned to give Sakura quiet, accusing stares to which she responded by placing a hand over her heart in mock hurt.

"Why are you guys looking at me like that?"

"My rules apply to you more than anyone."

She sighed dramatically.

"Ah, but you see, Kakashi, I've already made some plans that don't exactly fit well with your 'rules'. You know, people to see, places to visit. I'd actually like to get to some of it now if you guys don't mind."

Sasuke gave her a stern look.

"This village isn't like Wave and is filled with shinobi that could hurt you if they wanted to. Are you sure you can handle this by yourself?" he asked.

"Yep," she replied. He observed her for a few seconds before looking up at his teacher.

"I believe her," Sasuke said. Kakashi rubbed his eyes in exasperation. Of course. Why would he be so stupid as to think he could actually tell Sakura what to do and get the boys to back him up on it at least once?

"Fine," he exhaled. "Sakura, you can go off and do whatever you're making excuses for. But I want you back at the hotel by eight or else you're not allowed to go on another venture, understood?"

She was already handing her pack over to Naruto and asking the boys if they wanted anything and completely ignoring what her teacher had to say. She made a note to get Naruto the best ramen Iwa had to offer so he could compare it to the incomparable Ichiraku's and to get something ridiculously bitter to satisfy Sasuke's tastes.

"Sakura," Kakashi repeated. She waved a careless hand.

"I heard, I heard. Make it by curfew or you'll kick my ass, I got it," she said. She saluted them and gave a wide grin. "Later."

She disappeared in a cloud of smoke. Kakashi stared at the spot she once was for a few moments before crossing his arms.

"You three only enforce the reason why I hate children."

::

Sakura leveled him with a bored stare.

"I know it wasn't you."

::

Deidara found nothing pleasing about helping out with the Chuunin Exams. He was thirteen and a newly minted jounin and he expected to be sent out on more and more missions through the Explosion Corps, not filling out paperwork and sorting through all the competitors and taking note of the ones Iwa should keep an eye on.

Eighty-seven teams from thirteen countries. Two hundred and sixty-one competitors.

Like hell he was going to be able to pick out the ones that were definitely going to be granted an ascension of status.

"Excuse me? Shinobi with the blonde hair in a half ponytail?"

Deidara, surprised at being called at, turned around in the midst of flipping through his documents. A little girl smiled up at him, short-cut hair neat and pink with her foreign hitai-ate shining in the low sun.

"Konoha-nin," he returned. "Need me to give you directions to something, un?"

"Actually, I need to talk to you. Think you can spare me a while?" she questioned. He frowned. He'd never seen her before and he was kind of busy with his part in the exams, so he waved his hand and spun back around.

"Sorry, hm. Don't really have the time- ask someone else?"

He began to walk away, but was stopped again by her placid words.

"Deidara: jounin. Member of the Explosion Corps and former student to the current Tsuchikage and retains the Bokuton kekkei genkai," she said. His eyes shot to hers. "You and I share a mutual... ally, and it would probably be in your best interest to meet with me for a few moments. I promise it won't be long."

She definitely wasn't any older than he was and probably came to Iwa as a participant in the exams. Which was interesting in itself because he knew Konoha was too soft-hearted to send such a young candidate to a country that was practically the enemy when not in a time of war.

"... Alright, un. But only for a little bit," he allowed. Deidara followed her down the street, wondering if that ally was exactly who he thought it was.

::

"Oh?" Danzo mused. "And what makes you so sure of your claim? It's not something I expected from you."

Sakura glanced around to make sure no one was around to hear.

"Don't take me for someone who doesn't know what you're doing."

::

Kisame had been sent on a solo mission when he stumbled upon the biggest tree he'd ever seen. It made his curious as to why something so strange and out of place could be stuck in what was basically in the middle of nowhere.

A crudely made opening marked the northern base of the tree, large enough for an average person to slip through but looked unlike anything a human could make. He didn't know what possessed him to do so, but he squeezed through the opening and gazed at the hollowed out inside.

Torches.

Scattered papers.

Writings all over the walls filled with questions- who is here? Who will come? Has nothing changed? What can I change?

Names- Gaara. Yugito. Yagura. Roshi. Han. Orochimaru. Utakata. Fu. B. Kushina. Minato. Madara. Obito. Itachi. Deidara. Kakuzu. Sasori. Hidan. Konan. Yahiko.

There were more. There were so much more. His own being one of the many on there as well.

Theories also littered the space in nearly unintelligible scrawl, frantic and accusing... theories on the nature of time travel and what one could do to try and change the past...?

Uneasiness churned in the pit of his stomach and he took a cautious step back. Kisame twitched as his hand slowly made its way to Samehada's hilt.

'I'm not supposed to be here.'

He felt a shimmer of chakra sway through the tree and rustle the papers on the ground.

Kisame silently ducked out, retreating as fast as he could to put as much distance between him and that tree as possible. Time travel... the only people who were crazy enough to bring up that topic were Sasori and that girl, Sakura.

Did they know about it? Were they a part of whatever that was?

With a head filled with nothing but unsettling thoughts, he failed to notice the pair of eyes that followed him and the whispered words that trailed after.

"No, no, no... this will not do."

::

"And what am I doing, Haruno?"

"You're making yourself out to be public enemy number one," she said. "Anything that happens with no explanation, you take the fall. ROOT takes the fall. People start to hate you for what they think you did without realizing you're doing the dirty work to fix the problems no one else can. If you're taking the blame for what killed my parents, it means it wasn't an accident and you have no clue about what happened that day, do you?"

When he said nothing, her eyes iced over .

"Tell me I'm wrong or tell me otherwise, councilman."

::

"For you," Sakura said. The two of them stood by one of the village's many rock formations where the population trickled by the singles or none at all. She held out the double kodachi she kept hidden in her storage scroll. "I had the request put in a little while ago from our mutual ally. He thought it would be good if you learned how to use it."

Deidara eyed the weapon distrustfully.

"And this ally, un?"

The girl shrugged.

"Red hair. Weird. Sassy. Complete ass. You know who I'm getting at?"

Right out of the blue, he watched in complete surprise as an acorn sailed out from nowhere and hit the girl straight to the side of the head. He pressed her lips together in irritation before she offered Deidara a smile.

"See what I mean? Acorns don't even grow here but he decides to carry them around because he's an old and filled with denial."

Another acorn hit her, this time on her forehead.

"... Seems like him. And he won't show himself, hm?"

"Can't," she grumbled, glaring at something (someone) in the distance as she rubbed her head. "Chuunin Exams, remember? He's pretty high up in the books and you've got countries here that would have his head if they ever saw him. So take the swords, yeah? A friend got them specially made."

Deidara slowly took it from her grasp, still skeptical of the whole situation, tucked the documents under his arm, and removed one of the blades from its scabbard. His eyes widened in recognition at the steel it was crafted from and the small engraved swordfish near the hilt: the well-known mark of the most renowned blacksmith in all the nations.

"You- this is Oshiro Suzu's work!" he exclaimed. "How did you get your hands on this, un?! She never makes weapons for just anyone!"

The girl shrugged again.

"Friends are valuable in more ways than one. Just put it to good use and we'll be fine. That's all I came here for, so if you'll excuse me..."

She turned around and began her trek down the street. Before he could lose sight of her, he called out-

"Who the hell are you, un?"

She threw a smile over her shoulder.

"Just like you said, a Konoha-nin. See you, Deidara-san!"

As she disappeared, Deidara tucked his new weapon into a loop of his pants and quickly flipped through his documents, scanning for pink. He found her in a team consisting of a blonde boy and an Uchiha her age, their sensei being none other than the infamous Hatake Kakashi.

Her name was Haruno Sakura.

And he marked her as someone he knew would be promoted to Chuunin.

::

Danzo stayed quiet for a few more moments before speaking in something that was softer and nothing quite like him.

"Close your eyes."

She did, and the next second later, she felt a cold chill.

She was back in ROOT Headquarters.

::

Sakura congratulated herself for a job well done. Despite Sasori being a complete bastard by assaulting her with acorns from his hiding spot in the distance, Deidara had obtained something to help him with close-range battle and hopefully keep his mind away from leaving his village and becoming a terrorist that would have soon been recruited into the Akatsuki.

All she needed to do now was pass the exams to gain more freedom so she could hopefully-

"Haruno-san?"

She blinked and looked up, seeing a pair of smiling magenta eyes.

"Hidan-san?"

"I'm sorry to have disturbed you here," he apologized. "But there's something I need to speak to you about. You and Sasori-san, in fact. I left Juugo to stay at a hotel while I'm here, a treat for both of us, really... anyways, if I could borrow your time? In private?"

"Oh, uh..."

Sakura glanced at the sky and saw the sun still shedding light.

"... Sure. I've got the time. Where do you want to talk?"

Hidan waved a hand and guided her through Iwa, making twists and turns with a grace she didn't expect a young monk to possess before they ended up somewhere outside the village in the thicket of bamboo and boulders. Sasori appeared at her side, and the two of them peered curiously at the one who brought them here.

"So what did you need us for?" Sasori questioned. Suddenly, something in the air changed as Hidan's face grew into something older and piercing.

"I'm gonna cut the shit right here," he said. "Ten years ago, I was blown to fucking bits by a Nara bitch and left to fuck off and some goddamn fucking hole in who-knows-where-the-fucking-shit I was. Apparently, I died six months later and woke up in a new shit hole. But this time, it was silver and blue. Sound familiar?"

Sakura's blood quickened in her veins, but he continued on anyways.

"Six months after that or however the fuck time works in the Void, I wake up and I'm eight. I know I'm supposed to be way fucking older, but guess what? I'm not and it turns out fucking time travel in a different world is actually a goddamn cunt because some things aren't the same. I thought it'd just be the two of us, but then you assholes come and-"

"Wait, wait, wait," Sakura interrupted. "There's... There's more who came back? Four?! In total?!"

"Why else would everything be so fucking different? The whole world's been changed since before you two- since before I came back! The fuck did you think this was?!"

Sasori stepped in.

"Just- hold on, Hidan. Not that I'm not glad to see that you're your old self, because I'm really not-"

"Suck a dick, puppet fetish."

"-but, Sakura and I thought we were the only ones who came back because we met each other in the Void. I was in there for eighty years and being the first Akatsuki member that died, I definitely would've seen you. Did you die after the war?" he questioned. Hidan's lips turned down into a confused frown, eyes darting back and forth between the two other travelers that stood before him.

"War? What war?"

"The Fourth Shinobi World War," Sakura informed quietly. The now-monk paled considerably at the title as she turned to address her friend. "Him and Kakuzu died a year before it started, eight years before my death. If he was in the Void, you would've met him before me."

Sasori rubbed his face with his hand. Well, the Void wasn't necessarily a concrete space and he was never able to find an end or beginning the years he spent wandering aimlessly. Time never really mattered there, and he supposed exactly when they all were sent back acted on pure chance, him being extremely lucky in having to wait for his killer to be returned to the living alongside him.

"The Fourth Shinobi... who the hell was strong enough to start that?"

"Tobi, who was actually an Uchiha in disguise. And Uchiha Madara. Kabuto. It was a whole mess, really, and the war lasted seven years. Thousands died," Sakura replied. Hidan scratched his head and muttered a few curses.

"That's... real fucking terrible. Maybe that's why that bastard wants to achieve peace so damn bad. Didn't sound too shitty until he went bat shit crazy. I split after he came back from Kiri a fucking basket case."

Sasori was silent for a few moments as he pieced together Sakura's mission from the Mizukage and his past and current experience with the Akatsuki. Once realization hit, his expression turned sickly as the identity of the fourth traveler slipped into his head.

Someone powerful had come back with them.

Someone powerful, who had lost his mind far worse than he had in the other timeline.

"Knowing you, it takes a lot for you to get overwhelmed. You were able to withstand the old Akatsuki and the things they made us do," he said. Sakura glanced at him. "What did he do for you to make the decision to leave?"

Hidan's jaw tightened.

"Like I said, he lost his fucking marbles. Whoever he murdered fucked him over big time- if I stayed any longer, Nagato would've killed me too."

::

She followed Danzo through the empty hallways of the base until they were back into the cold, hollow room that was his office. She sat down in the chair nearly splintered to pieces from her last visit and he took a seat on the other side of the desk, lacing his fingers together and looking at her with something akin to wonderment.

"I do apologize for taking the blame of having everyone in that building killed, but you were correct. It wasn't an accident, and we have reason to believe it was a carefully orchestrated terrorist attack where all the leads had led us to a dead end," he explained. Sakura's lips thinned into a hard line.

"I understand, but why confront me and lie about this to my face?"

He leaned back in his chair.

"I had to test you."

::

Kakashi's irritation slowly bled into worry when eight o'clock turned to nine, and nine to ten. Two hours from curfew had passed and Sakura still hadn't shown back up at the hotel. Naruto and Sasuke had already fallen asleep, assured with themselves that Sakura was safe wherever she was because she wouldn't do anything remotely stupid without good reason. That, and if she ever set her mind to something, she'd ignore them and do it anyways.

But he wasn't convinced about that. Something must've happened for her not to show up right on time just to humor him.

Another hour trickled by, and as the hour struck eleven, Sakura finally came up from down the road. He was about to chastise her on being three hours late and completely ignoring what he told her earlier- that is, until he saw the look on her face.

Her brows were pulled together in deep thought and she walked with a slump to her shoulders and a worried edge to her fingers tapping against her arm.

"Sakura," he called out. "You're three hours late."

She ignored him completely, eyes shifting from individual pebbles on the ground and nearly passing him. Kakashi's posture straightened in concern.

"Sakura," he repeated, a little louder. Finally, she gazed up at him and blinked rapidly like she was adjusting to a new light.

"Huh?" she mumbled. "Hey. What's up?"

"It's eleven o'clock," he replied evenly. She granted him an expression of surprise and disbelief before searching all around her and staring at the pitch black sky. Kakashi crossed his arms as she offered up a sheepish grin, but he could immediately tell that it wasn't as genuine as it should've been.

"Ah, sorry about that. Some... things came up and I lost track of time. And because I broke curfew, I won't be going off on my own anymore, so you don't have to worry about that either."

That caught him off guard and set him on edge more than he'd like to admit. Sakura didn't just give in to his rules- she lived to break them and laugh in his face when she did so. So something had happened and shaken her up so much that she returned to the hotel late and empty handed, completely forgetting about Naruto's ramen and Sasuke's bitter treat.

"Will you be alright for the Chuunin Exams?" he questioned. "If you're having second thoughts-"

"Whoa, no need to go that far, Kakashi. What happened wasn't jeopardizing," she said, holding up her hands in front of her. "I'm totally fine and we'll go through with the exams no sweat, I promise."

Sakura slipped passed him and into the building, knowing fully well that her teacher didn't believe a damn word she said.

::

"Test?"

"You're far smarter than most take you for and you know about things that shouldn't even be considered by your generation. Hiruzen is the only one to know where I truly stand in Konoha, and if you don't believe me, you can ask him for confirmation. But before I can say anything on this matter, you must realize that anything and everything spoken here will not leave here."

Sakura mulled it over.

"Everything?"

"Everything."

"Then I want those words written and signed in your blood so I know you won't be lying to me again, councilman."

::

Kakashi and the other jounin sensei were allowed to watch every inch of the exams pan out through cameras, as the first two part of the test were taken in an enclosed space. All eighty-seven of them sat in an enormous room with high ceilings, one whole wall covered in screens that each focused on six candidates at a time.

The first was the written portion. The genin would be given two hours to complete a hundred question test and a combined score of forty-eight was required to pass, meaning that each team member would need to give at least sixteen correct answers to be allowed to the next section.

The purpose of the assessment was to test total team competency. A group was only as strong as its weakest link, and if one person couldn't adhere to the lowest chuunin standard requirement of intelligence, then they wouldn't be able to survive out on the field.

Kakashi wasn't particularly anxious over his team. From what he knew, Sasuke had this sort of information ingrained to him from being part of a noble clan and Naruto had been tutored by both Sasuke and Sakura since he met them. He was confident they would give nothing short of a notable performance.

Two and a half hours later, the screens switched to black and a list appeared in order of the team with the highest score to the team with the lowest.

The team with second place had a score of seventy-one.

But incredulous murmurs shot through all the jounin as much of their attention went to well-known and well-feared Hatake Kakashi.

His team had a staggering score of one hundred and fifty-three: one candidate scoring a twenty-one, one scoring a thirty-two, and the last scoring a perfect hundred.

One of the Iwagakure shinobi that lined the back of the room smirked.

He had a pretty good idea who that was.

::

Danzo spared no time in rolling out a blank scroll between the both of them and biting his thumb so that his blood seeped out enough for him to use as an ink. As he wrote the contract, his eye flickered up to her.

"I do hope you realize that your knowledge must be kept away from Kato Dan as well, because even he doesn't know of my true nature," he said. After signing his name, he pushed the scroll closer to her so that she would do the same.

Sakura nicked her thumb and pressed her bleeding finger against the paper.

"I see no problem with that."

::

The second part of the exams was something vaguely reminiscent of capture the flag that took place in an underground maze. One person in each team would wear five flags around their waist. Their goal would be to take three other flags from three different teams and have at least two of their own remaining.

The forty-four remaining teams would have one whole week to make it through attacks from the other teams, wild animals, and a few strategically placed genjutsu to reach the center of the labyrinth in the allotted time and be able to participate in the finals.

Kakashi noted in interest that Sakura was the one to wear the flags rather than the other two. For her, it meant the least mobility and the one to be protected. Sasuke and Naruto would have to work extra hard to fend off the other teams set to steal their flags.

But it was a smart tactic.

Sakura knew she was strong enough to carry the entire team by herself, but if she was the one who needed the most protection, she would allow her boys to be exposed to the true nature of the exam with the least of her interference as possible.

His team needed three days out of the seven to make it to the center and pass on to the third portion.

The first two days went by with teamwork regarded as even more than exceptional. Sakura hung back and defended herself when necessary, but Naruto and Sasuke fought together with the grace of calm ocean waves. They knew the other's styles and complimented what each lacked.

But if apart, their weaknesses could be played off on and used for the enemy's advantage. And Sakura, still was hiding her true potential from the rest of the competitors.

It was on the third day the Konoha genin encountered a fourth team whose flag they didn't need.

The screen showed a brutal looking trio from Kumogakure, baring their teeth with mocking smiles as they immediately launched towards the ten year olds with a killing intent that the audience was sure had swallowed the corridor.

The other team's leader lunged towards Naruto and slashed a kunai against his midsection.

Kakashi shot to his feet.

The blonde boy flew a few feet backwards with a startled cry as the orange of his vest very rapidly turned a dark shade of red.

A split second later, that same leader was smashed against one of the maze walls by Sakura's foot before she crouched down and tore open Naruto's shirt, her hands glowing a florescent green.

"Hey, how did you like the taste of that ramen you tried a few days ago? Maybe Teuchi-san really does have some competition," she said. The cameras in that hallway zoomed in to the image of her holding in the boy's organs and hastily sealing over the skin of his torso. He coughed and hacked up blood and phlegm and gave a weak smile.

"Te... Teuchi-s-san...? Nah... he's... h-he's still..."

Sakura placed a palm on his forehead and sent him into a chakra-induced sleep. With four flags still on her waist, she hefted Naruto onto her back and turned in time to see Sasuke in the midst of two unconscious bodies. Their opponent's flags were in his grasp, shrouded in an orange flame.

"Is the dobe going to be alright?" he asked. He faced his teammate with his left eye now sporting three tomoe.

"He'll live," she informed. "It'll take him a few days to recover, even with how fast he heals."

His eyes returned to their normal murky black.

"Hn. Then let's go."

The three of them made it to the center of the maze a few hours later and Kakashi left the room of jounin to rush over to the hospital as quickly as he could.

::

After writing her surname, she bit her thumb again to draw more blood.

"Because it seems that we're the same, councilman."

Sakura pressed her finger back onto the paper and met his questioning gaze.

"There's a lot of other people who don't know about the things we've done."

::

When the second exam wrapped up, discomforting whispers spread around the village. The number 'four' was spoken many times amongst the competitors and testers alike when that particular exam finished during the fourth Friday of the month.

Because four is the number of death and even shinobi can afford to be superstitious.

Kakashi isn't one to believe in silly things like that, but even he had to admit that four had appeared in an odd line of coincidences. The second exam started with forty-four teams. His genin had four flags when they encountered their fourth team in the maze, and they became one of the four teams to survive and compete in the finals.

Anyone else that wasn't him probably would be pulling out their whole team from the competition.

A week was given in between the second and third exam for rest and recuperation before the one on one fights began.

"Hey, sensei?" Naruto called from his cot. Kakashi, who was seated in the chair beside him, looked up from his reading.

"Yes?"

"Can I, um, can I... forfeit?"

The jounin paused for a moment before he tucked his book away and moved his full attention to his student. Naruto squirmed under the blank gaze ducked his head as he offered a strong explanation in an unexpectedly soft sort of tone.

"I... I didn't think the exams were gonna be as hard as they were. Are. I thought if I had Sakura-chan and Sasuke then it was gonna be okay, but... I didn't expect to end up here so early, eheheh..."

He scratched the back of his head.

"... um, I don't think I'm ready to be a chuunin. Sakura-chan and Sasuke might, but... I shouldn't compare myself to them and go at my own pace. Right? I-I don't wanna disappoint you too, sensei..."

"I'm not disappointed," Kakashi answered immediately. "There's nothing wrong with thinking you're not ready for something. You don't have to force yourself to do anything, and I know Sasuke and Sakura aren't going to regard you any differently."

"But I-"

"But nothing. You're just as important and anyone else and if this your decision, I'll honor that. Understand?"

Naruto raised his head and nodded, a wide grin spreading over his face.

"Yeah!"

With the count including Naruto, a total of four candidates dropped out.

::

Sakura finished signing her name and leaned back in her chair. Her eyes trained themselves on a random spot on the ceiling and she sighed.

"And that just means no one's going to know about what we will do, does it?"

::

Four matches were set in the first bracket and some shinobi refused to set foot in the stadium when they realized the dreaded number had made another appearance. All that remained were eight contestants: two from Konoha, three from Iwagakure, two from Nadeshiko, and one from Tanigakure.

Sakura was part of the first match of the day. She could see Kakashi and Naruto seated on the east side in one of the front rows, the latter cheering as loudly as he could and the former silent with his arms crossed over his chest. To the north was Sasori in his Akatsuki hat and pure black cloak, but she could clearly see the teasing smile on his lips. And on the west side was Hidan and Juugo in their monk garb looking like a couple of interested passersby.

She inwardly applauded him for his good acting.

Their proctor stepped out into the cheering crowd with a smirk and long blonde hair spilling over his shoulders.

"Welcome to the Chuunin Exam Finals, un!" he shouted for the whole stadium to hear and they were hushed into quiet. "I'm Deidara and I'll be proctoring the matches today! First there will be four matches in the first bracket, two matches in the second, and then finally, the championship! The rules are simple: fight until one person is unable to and end as quickly as you can, un!"

He looked at the Tanigakure shinobi, then at Sakura.

"Ready, hm?" he asked them. With no protest from either genin, Deidara stepped back and raised an arm. "Begin!"

The point of the match was to end as quickly as possible.

So, that's exactly what Sakura did.

Before the other competitor could even think of moving, she appeared behind him and hit the pressure point between his shoulder blades. Her opponent fell forward with a faint thump and she was met with the hundreds of pairs of eyes in a dead silent arena.

Well, near dead silent. If Naruto wasn't present.

"WOOHOO! GO SAKURA-CHAN! YOU'RE THE BEST, DATTEBAYO!"

Deidara coughed and walked back onto the field.

"Winner: Haruno Sakura!" he announced. A squad of medics trooped to the grounds and lifted the unconscious genin onto the stretcher as Sakura walked back to the finalists' room and sat right beside Sasuke. He bumped her shoulder and leaned against her.

"If I make it to the next round and have to go against you, I'm going to forfeit."

"Aw, why?"

"You would end me," he answered simply. "And I live living."

His match was third and he lost with a grace that only an Uchiha could possibly retain. His opponent was from Iwagakure and was more adept in taijutsu and was literally swept off his feet and pinned against the ground so that he couldn't move. Sasuke refused to rely on his sharingan in the exam that tested pure skill alone.

"Why won't you use it, Uchiha?" the Iwa genin snarled. Sasuke blinked at him and answered in a voice that ran over like cool silk.

"My kekkei genkai will not be my crutch. If I lose to someone like you without it, I know that I'm not ready to be promoted."

Deidara stepped in and stopped the match, recognizing the forfeit and declaring the winner.

::

The councilman stared at the blood-stained pages, a contemplative look on his worn and weary features.

::

After the display of power and competency in Sakura's first match, it was no surprise to the spectators that she was the one to come out of the finals victorious without breaking a sweat. Her teammates, though, weren't as fortunate as her in being granted the title of chuunin- something her and three other candidates shared.

Sasuke and Naruto weren't at all bothered by keeping their genin status and instead huddled around her as they walked the road back to Konoha, asking question after question that more concerned their status as a team.

"I mean, you can still train with us, right, Sakura-chan?"

"He knows us. He should."

"I should be able to, but you know how the old man works. Now that I'm chuunin, he'll probably slot me in a regular spot at T&I so I could probably only see you guys a couple of days a week, I don't know. I'll bribe him or something."

Kakashi stayed a bit back from his team, his usual book in his hands and his upper body as well-postured as they always were. They were so close, he thought. It didn't matter how much failure or power or status or standing separated who the world thought they were, they didn't let that stop them.

They were a family that refused to part, and sometimes, when he saw that, the darker corner of his heart pulsed regret through his veins.

To think he tried to tell them that protocol stood over morals. That orders from a leader were the only orders to be followed. That relying on one another would do nothing but make it harder to be alone.

"-ue. Right, sensei?!" Naruto exclaimed. Kakashi glanced down at them.

"What?"

"Going deaf with old age, Kakashi?" Sakura grinned. "He said that when we get back to Konoha, we should go get some barbeque at Yakiniku Q. You're coming with, right?"

Three pairs of eyes moved up to him, shining with a hope that had never been put upon him before no matter how trivial the request was. Six months ago, he would have told them no because he had more obligations to babysit a team he never wanted.

But he looked back to his book and turned a page.

"Only because you need a chaperone to make sure you don't bother any of the villagers."

::

"No," Danzo answered. "I suppose they won't."