Flashback

"You again?" Naruto glared at Kabuto. Even though the man was disguised, Naruto knew his scent. He could never mistake the wand of the snake, not this lifetime.

What a disturbing bother though. He'd thought he wouldn't have to meet with this problem again. But this visit to Iwagakure was turning out to be a torture. What could he even do in this situation? Naruto had methods to disable Kabuto. After all, while he may lack with the experience, he had the fire power to carry out his dark desires. The only problem was that everything around him would be destroyed. And so, he had no option but just to stomach this presence and hope it went away as quickly as it appeared before him.

"I was just passing by, Naruto-kun," Kabuto replied with a smile.

"Pass by already. Today is the day of the exams, I would rather not spend a second longer in your presence. My performance wouldn't be good as you're already ruining my mood."

Kabuto laughed. "Oh? Perhaps I should stick around, just to see your reactions."

Naruto didn't need this. He didn't want it either. He just wanted to do enough to pass and then become Chunin. He didn't want any trouble, was that too much to ask? Couldn't he be afforded some fresh breath?

"I'm just kidding. I'll depart," Kabuto then walked closer and then leaned into his right ear before whispering. "Orochimaru-sama dug up your mother's remains in Konoha and then used Edo Tensei to revive her. He said to tell you this; Perform well, she will be watching, Naruto-kun."

Naruto knew about that forbidden Jutsu Kabuto had just mentioned. It wasn't the first time this has been dangled in front of him. Orochimaru had once offered to use the jutsu for his sake – to give him a chance to ask the Yondaime why he decided to make him a Jinchuriki.

But to think that they would dig up his mother's body just for this cause. Naruto felt his blood boiling. He was angry, so much that a bit of the Kyubi's chakra started to leak out. He was quick to notice it and quickly cut it off before he caused a scene.

"Now that was a little frightening." Kabuto slipped away.

Onoki stared down at the Genin before him. They were over a hundred. A little less than what he'd expected. He'd thought other villages would take the opportunity he'd given them to spy on his village, but only the minor villages came. Kumogakure had sent teams, but nothing he could even bother to look at. The reclusive Kiri hadn't bothered. Perhaps its once famous bloodline clans had been wiped out during its civil wars that it had now become just a normal nation like the rest of them.

On that thought, Onoki had no other expression to give than joy. After all, the other villages were not his friends or allies. They were potential opponents in case a war broke out. There had been measured responses lately. And maybe this current generation wasn't going to be quick to jump into the death field. But with shinobi, a simple glance could ignite the sparks. Yet admittedly, he was rather enjoying these peaceful days they now lived.

Konoha had only sent just three Genin. An interesting choice, especially given that their sensei was the famous Kakashi no Sharingan. Hiruzen must trust them greatly. Reports did state they were most likely the best in their generation. Either way, they were just brats and Konoha had become weak. It no longer had the mighty Uchiha clan and the man who forced them into the negotiating table was now dead. Hiruzen was just a shell of his former glory. The situation couldn't be better for Iwagakure. The only niggling problem was Kumogakure. It remained strong and that bothered him a little. Granted, like them, they too had two Jinchuriki. And Kumo's were known for being able to fully control the power of their Bijuu.

Onoki's lips parted slightly as he let in some oxygen. He shoved his thoughts back and focused on the brats while floating in midair, his robes flapping. Some of them were impressed to see a flying shinobi. Then again, he was probably the only one who could fly like this in the shinobi world.

"I want to welcome all of you to Iwagakure. You have all been sent by your villages to participate in the Chunin exams we are hosting. As you know, each village hosts its own exams. And these exams are usually to show the strength of future generations. You will all be tested to see if you're capable of being real shinobi. Those who make it, will go home to make their villages proud. Those who fail, will walk back with the shame. To all contestants, my best wishes."

And with that, Onoki finished speaking.

The large number of genin in this unique village with unique structures suffocated Sakura. The killing intent of many people wore her out to the point where she just wanted to either sit down or just flee. It wasn't anything compared to the murderous intents she's been exposed to while on missions but here, it was coming from all angles. There was no place to run. She glanced at Sasuke–thinking of him as her shield. But he wasn't focused on her. She couldn't even tell what he was thinking given the indifferent mask on his face.

Her other teammate was wearing a look she could only define as 'stoic.' It was a strange mask from Naruto. He also seemed to be much occupied in his thoughts–for some reason. Sakura dared not ask what bothered him.

Their sensei wasn't around. Sakura had just the two of them with her. She knew already, it wasn't going to be easy. Maybe they shouldn't have come here. She'd never voice such thoughts. If she had, they wouldn't have come, and she was certain Sasuke would have held a grudge against her.

Inwardly, she smiled bitterly. When was she going to stop thinking like that? Was it every day that she would move because she was afraid of what her teammates would say?

"Nervous that much, Sakura?"

How could someone's voice be stern and yet have some amusement within it? Sakura wondered when Naruto pulled her out of her deep thoughts. Trying to appear strong, she shrugged with a bit of nonchalance.

"Of course not," she gave him a stare, her tone so firm, she danced inwardly at being able to pull it off. "Just a lot more contestants than I would have imagined."

"Everyone wants a promotion. And to test their skills."

"I know someone is dying for that promotion." Sakura gave Naruto a sideways glance. "Sometimes I think you even like fighting a little too much."

"Tell that to Sasuke. I've never been the one to provoke fights."

While Sasuke ignored them, Sakura almost said it was because Naruto had better control over his emotions and couldn't be provoked that easily. But she bit her lip. She dared not slander her beloved like that. But reality was glared at.

Nobody provoked Naruto unless he willingly fell for it. He was the master of his emotions. He didn't have any emotional outbursts. If he did, it was all a play, for his amusement or for some reason. She smiled inwardly. Perhaps her eyes were being opened that she could even admit Naruto's genius like that. Naturally, she'd never utter such words through her lips.

Only he deserved her praise.

"You could have said it," Naruto spoke again with a knowing smile.

Sakura glared, wondering if he really read her mind. That was scary, she thought. She shook her head. It was ridiculous. She was going mental. Since when does Naruto read people's minds? He read the situation well, but no one had the power. And even if someone had it, Naruto of all people shouldn't have it: they would all suffer.

"I must say though… this is quite overwhelming. We are going to have to cut through too many opponents."

The boys, girls and even some who appeared to be too old to be Genin surrounded them. Everybody was an enemy. There was no friendly shinobi in this exam. While not everyone was an enemy, everyone was competition and they had to come out on top. They were yet to be told how the exam was going to be structured. The unknown made him a little nervous because he wouldn't have time to prepare.

"Most them don't even appear to be worth the challenge." Sasuke said, loud enough just for his teammates to hear him. Even he was smart enough to realize that saying something so loudly would earn them some murderous glares.

"You never know with shinobi. Deception is part of the trade." Not everything was as it looked. That was one of Kakashi's favorite lines. "But I must agree with you… at first glance, it looks that way. I hope we will not be disappointed." He said those words purposefully. Experience had taught him better.

"Someone is a little too confident."

Naruto turned around and then smiled, looking at the black-haired teenager. She was a little older, maybe a year or two older, than him. But he was certain – she was not a Genin. Her Iwa headband gave her away and the vest she wore. Meaning, she had come here because she wanted to speak to them.

"When one is confident in their abilities, such is the attitude when facing battle." He replied casually, staring deep into her eyes.

"Hmmph…" Kurotsuchi rolled her eyes. "Riding on the waves of past glories."

"It is not our fault that Konoha has always produced the finest shinobi. But we are not banking on that. We are here because we believe in ourselves and that goes for everyone else who is here."

"Like I said, a little too confident."

Naruto shrugged. Her contempt for them was apparent. If anything, she viewed them as enemies. She was certainly not part of the Genin group, which made her intentions a little curious.

"Most of us are guilty of that." Naruto's lips twirled slightly, a bit of mischief in his eyes. "Of course, when you have been on the top for too long, everything else just looks too small, even taking it seriously feels like a chore."

Kurotsuchi glared at Naruto. There was no way he didn't say those words just to piss her off. There was something wrong with the way he spoke. It irked her that he could press her like that.

"Are all Konoha shinobi like that?"

"Nay…" Naruto waved his right hand. "I was merely trying to press you. I don't even know what it feels like to be on top."

"Umm… you two know each other?" Sakura asked curiously but the main reason she butt in was because she didn't want Naruto to add to the insults.

"No." Naruto shook his head. "But I believe this is Kurotsuchi. The granddaughter of the Tsuchikage."

"You're well informed."

"Not at all. I might have seen you one day. And heard some things…" Naruto wasn't going to give himself away just like that. "You a participant?"

"This is for Genin. I'm already Chunin."

"Unfortunate. You seem like an interesting person. Would have liked to get to know you a little better. And maybe just see just how strong the Tsuchikage's granddaughter is." As his father stomped on Iwa, maybe he could repeat history. With less blood and death.

Kurotsuchi stared at Naruto trying to figure out if he was joking but when she realized he was serious, she put on a look of disgust.

"Am I that offensive?" he was asking that in a serious tone, but Naruto wore a sly smile on his lips.

It was a smile that made Kurotsuchi a little uncomfortable. She had come here because she wanted to see the Konoha team in person and measure their strength. Anything could happen in the exams – even death. She wouldn't have a problem if they died – if only they were Genin who could prove to be too troublesome for her village soon. To say Konoha was an enemy wasn't too farfetched. But was she going to admit it like that?

"Yeah."

"Ouch." Naruto put on a hurt look and then wiped out an imaginary tear. He then asked. "What do we owe for this pleasure?"

"I just came to check on you. I heard Konoha had sent the last Uchiha and a Mokuton user. Came to wish you luck and to say I will be watching you. Don't disappoint me." She said that, and then slipped into the crowd.

"Why would she be cheering for us?"

"She won't be," Sasuke replied, staring toward the direction Kurotsuchi had disappeared off to. "Most likely trying to determine how much of a threat are we going to be for her village."

"But Iwa and Konoha made a truce. They are not enemies now."

Sasuke wasn't going to bother explaining how the shinobi world worked to Sakura. Firstly, because he had no interest – even though he understood it well. Secondly, it was something she should know by now.

"The two aren't friends either." Naruto replied in Sasuke's silence. "Friendship in the shinobi world doesn't mean much. Allies turn on each other. It is merely a matter of convenience. If I think my interests are better accomplished with you, I'll align with you but the moment I see another opportunity, I will stab you in the back and abandon you."

"If it serves Iwa, they may even have us targeted by their Genin," Sasuke added.

Sakura felt as if she'd just received another load on her shoulder. It made an uncomfortable situation just deadly for her. The danger was that none of her teammates considered even quitting. What was she even thinking? The two quit? They'd rather get beat to a pulp than quit. She smiled. This was what made them her beloved teammates.

"Well, at least I have you two." Sakura said with a weak smile. Seriously, if she needed guards, there were no other people she'd hire than her teammates. They were the best.

"Don't go into this thinking like that. You were training as well. We are not always going to have to watch your back."

Naruto thought it was unlikely that Iwagakure would do something to have him or Sasuke killed. An action like that would surely result in war with Konoha. But Sakura was irrelevant. Who was going to go to war for a mere girl who was playing Kunoichi? She had been training with them, but she still wasn't able to act like a proper kunoichi in the face of danger.

"We may have to let you experience some hardships if you have to grow." Naruto said in a cold tone, yet there was a smile on his lips.

Sakura felt a shiver down her spine as she imagined Naruto abandoning her to face shinobi she couldn't handle with her dear Sasuke nowhere to be seen. Naruto wouldn't go that far, would he? They were teammates and he wouldn't put her life in danger like that. Yes, he wasn't that cruel. He was a stupidly kind person. She turned to Sasuke to see if he supported her thoughts, but he seemed to be considering Naruto's words.

Crushed.

"I won't forgive you if something happens to me." She glared at Naruto, partly because Sasuke's reaction, lack of rather, wounded her emotions.

There were many ways to respond to this. In fact, Naruto felt that he was spoilt for options. His silence had nothing to do with the difficulty in choosing the appropriate response that would please Sakura. At this point, he didn't care what she thought of him.

"It may seem cold, but the worst thing that could happen is your death." Coldly, he asked. "Dead people don't hold grudges, now, do they?"

"What are you doing?" Sasuke asked him with a stare.

"Letting my dear teammate know that if she doesn't apply herself and just simply close her eyes because her teammates are going to save her, she will surely die. We are not home. People can die in the exam. Both you and I may be targeted. We won't always be looking over our shoulders for her." Naruto sighed. Perhaps he said something he shouldn't have said. He then smiled. "You've changed a little, Sakura. But you need to stop thinking that your efforts don't matter because you have us. Sure, we will watch your back. But you need to stand on your own feet."

"Be quiet!" Kitsuchi shouted, elevating himself into the air using a boulder, stretching from the ground. He glared down at the Genin; his killing intent spiked a bit for effect. Even when they became quiet, his gaze did not become soft,

"My name is Kitsuchi and I'm going to be the proctor for this Exam. Your villages already know that whatever happens to you, Iwagakure will not be held accountable. If you are afraid to continue after this, you may quit. But know this, if you continue, you continue at your own risk. We will not interfere in fights between you as there are no rules against it. We will only get involved if there are outside influences."

"Can you quit the exam midway?"

"You can… You just have you to return to the village."

Naruto put on a flat smile. "That just sounds threatening."

Sakura agreed with him. She could follow what the man was trying to say.

"And we haven't even heard how the exam is going to take place!"

Kitsuchi was pleased with the chilling effect on the Genin. There were too many of them. Maybe they'd come here because some of them were curious. And other villages haven't been holding exams either. Either way, he did want to cut down the numbers. It wasn't like the exam itself was going to be easy.

"There are three stages of this exam. The first stage will be a test of your survival skills. It will be very short but dangerous. Very few will make it out. The stage will be held through a cave. There are twenty caves in total. Each team is filled with traps and other encounters. If you make it past the cave, you will be allowed to go into the second stage which is easy. If you cannot make it past the cave, things become simple. Once you make it out of the cave, you will be given a scroll with coordinates to meet someone who will give you a test and if you pass, they will give you the pass ticket the final exam. After you have been given the passing ticket; that is when the stage begins in earnest.

On the side note, you don't have to take the second stage. But the final stage does require you to have the ticket. There are only ten tickets available. But if a team excels, and say, manages to defeat at least ten teams, one of you will be permitted to enter the final stage. How the final stage will be, we will tell you then. Thirty-six hours is all you must complete the first two stages. And the countdown starts tomorrow at 8am. You will be given directions to the caves at 12am midnight. You can go prepare your weapons and consider whether you want to continue or not."

There were giggles from murderous teenagers who saw this kind of environment as the perfect place to practice their sadism. There were good reasons to be creeped out by the kind of layout Iwagakure had made. This was just a practice for war. It was too practical, and the danger was too real. There was the chance that one could die from the first trial. Even if you made it through the first one, there were dangers that others would just attack you to get the passing ticket.

It was a point someone asked. And the Proctor was more than happy to confirm it.

Sakura would have to pull her weight, otherwise she was going to be dead weight. The main objective seemed to be to pit teams against each other. There was no other logical explanation for this kind of format. This was truly, a hardcore battle meant for real shinobi, and designed to make you fail–if you were weak and without luck.

"This is going to be a lot more difficult than I thought it would be," Naruto said with a straight face.

Sasuke didn't seem to share his concerns. The more difficult it was, the more interesting it was for him. He most likely wanted to test himself and battle against different kind of styles. This was going to help him see how far he has gotten. And not to forget, buff up his superiority complex if he was able to assert himself in the battles he would surely fight; that was a problem. But with Sasuke, victory and defeat held negative consequences.

"I prefer it this way." A smirk across his lips. He then added with caution. "We will have to be careful though."

Sakura was torn; it was obvious they were going to be fighting other teams. And if they don't get the passing ticket, they would be forced to defeat ten teams. That was an awful ask considering they just had three days to complete the tasks. She could not possibly suggest they sit this one out. She would be kicked out of the team. She had to pull her weight. She had to show that she has improved.

"Of course, you'd like it this way. I don't want unnecessary dangers. Challenges are welcome but they must he controlled."

Not to mention, he'd seen Kabuto. Chances were that Orochimaru could stick out his ugly face and then try to whisper nice things into Sasuke. Or him. If the Sannin attacked them, they would be at a massive disadvantage. Even if the snake did nothing, but was already feeling itchy because of what Kabuto told him.

"Don't tell me you've gotten all scared?" Sasuke asked in a mocking tone.

Normally, Naruto would have indulged Sasuke. But he was in a slightly bad mood. "I'm going to spread around to check which teams to avoid in the exams and maybe learn a couple of things about others. I will see you later." He waved his right hand, walking away.

"Is he okay?" Sakura asked.

Sasuke merely shrugged and turned away, forcing Sakura to run after him.

The scroll containing directions to two of the twenty caves had been delivered past midnight as promised. But they had realized as morning arrived, some teams had already departed even before countdown started. Maybe they too should have sneaked in behind the rules. None had been wiser. At least with things done this way, not all teams would be going to the nearest cave. The only teams going into caves they were not allocated would the blood thirsty junkies who just want to eliminate the competition before they even get to the passing tickets.

"Isn't it cheating?" Sakura asked of the teams who'd already left.

"You weren't listening yesterday."

Sakura did not talk back because it was Sasuke who told her.

"They did it purposefully. The Proctor said we would receive the directions after 12am and the countdown would begin at 8am. But he never said we had to begin at 8am." Naruto frowned. Stupid. How could they have not read in between the lines?

"If others have already gone in, shouldn't we rush?"

Their pace was slow. But Naruto didn't think it was necessary. It was still past 9am and they had maybe three more hours of travel if they were going by this pace before they arrived at their destination.

"It is unlikely they entered the caves during the night. It was dark and the caves are said to have traps. Nobody is stupid enough to walk into a death trap in the dark. And if they were stupid enough to go in and still make it, then it is likely that they are a team we should avoid, for now at least."

For now, Sasuke didn't care if he had to run from other teams. The main importance was getting the pass ticket. If they got held or wasted energy fighting, they would either fail or be left at a disadvantage if the final exam begins the moment they arrive back to the village. There was no telling they could defeat ten teams in time. The safest bet was to make haste in getting the passing ticket.

"But we cannot forget that there are only 8 pass tickets. Defeating 10 teams seems like the easiest option. Nobody knows if we are going to arrive first." Naruto said.

"I disagree with that."

Naruto raised an eyebrow. "You do?"

"Our priority has to be getting the ticket. I'm sure other teams won't be rushing to get the passing tickets. They'll choose to fight. That just means many will be eliminating each other. We can find room to sneak ahead in the chaos. Once we have a passing ticket, we can do as we like."

"Sure our pass before fooling around, huh?" Naruto smiled. "Very good, Sasuke. And if we don't find it?"

"Plan B."

"Acceptable."

The terrain was just decorated by boulders and lifeless mountains. But it wasn't as breathless as the environment in the Wind Country: that place was treacherously hot and inhumane compared to the Fire Country. But this place gave them an advantage; nobody was just going to attack them out of nowhere unless it was shinobi from Iwa.

The long walk was silent. They were careful not to come across any teams. But hardly there was any team who were actively hunting. It was a requirement to get through the first exam. Once teams make it through the cave, they would start attacking indiscriminately.

Sasuke raised a hand and then jumped onto a boulder. It was an entrance to the cave. There was a Genin standing guard. What? Were they trying to stop others from going through? Looking at it, Sasuke couldn't see where the end of it was. It was only an entrance. It could be miles long or even deep.

"There is someone standing guard."

"Then there definitely are others somewhere close."

"What do we do?"

"Well, we are already behind. And we don't know how long it will take for us to clear the cave. Let us just move into it. But cautiously."

Sakura took a deep breath and then calmed her nerves. She needed to be strong and not waver. Because this was it. The exam was going to begin now in earnest. And she had to play a part. Kakashi sensei wasn't around and everyone else was their enemy. Attacks could come from any angle and she had to respond to it.

"How do we go about it?" Naruto asked, now standing beside Sasuke, looking at the guarded entrance. The cave was underground. They were just going in blind. Without any exit visible, they couldn't set out there to interrogate those who make it out.

"Sakura will go and talk to that person. We will be on the lookout for his other teammates."

"Sound choice." Naruto nodded in agreement. He then turned to face Sakura. "Take the lead, Sakura."

What if it was a trap? What if the moment she walked up to him, she was attacked, or others attacked Naruto and Sasuke? The thoughts ran rampant and Sakura remained frozen. But her teammates didn't move an inch. They waited for her. After a minute, she steeled herself and then stepped forward.

Sakura felt like she was taking giant footsteps even though she was going as slowly as she possibly could. As she grew closer, the dark pit they had to eventually dive in didn't frighten her as much as the teenager who turned to face her, grinning as he did. Her heart was throbbing. She tried to hide her fear, but she couldn't. It probably just gave her away and amused the teenager. He was bigger than her. He could easily beat her up. No, she was already beat at this stage.

"I can smell fear and piss all the way from here."

He was mocking her. Wait till Sasuke-kun appears and beats you up, she wanted to yell. But her fears kept her lips shut until he spoke again.

"Where are your teammates?" He didn't move an inch and kept his eyes on her. The cave was just behind him. It didn't look like there was anyone hiding anywhere closer. She let loose of a short breath and then responded.

"Where are yours?"

"Exploring."

"What?"

"You stupid?"

"I take offense in that!"

"Shut the hell up and answer my question. If you want to live that is. From this range, I can get the jump on you before your teammates get to do something. They are obviously hiding in the rocks."

Sakura refused the perverse urge to look at where her teammates should be. To be honest, she'd not thought those two would completely disappear on her. She couldn't sense them. But she knew they were behind. Even when the devil whispered to her right ear that Naruto had convinced Sasuke to abandon her, she refused to take the bait, knowing Naruto would never do that. As much as she was at loath to admit it, her beloved Sasuke would be the first to try to abandon her before Naruto even entertained the idea.

"Yeah. They are hiding in the rocks."

"Tell them to come here. We don't want any trouble but have a proposal." He said, removing his kunai pouch and then placed it down. "See, I won't attack you."

Sakura snorted. "I'm not that stupid. A kunai isn't the only weapon for a shinobi. I may well be standing on a trap."

The shinobi grinned; his head tilted to the side. Sakura felt a cold chill down her spine. "That could be true. We could have set up traps. We did arrive late night after all."

Sakura held out her right hand. It was not according to plan, but she judged that the others may be inside the cave already. So, there was no need for her teammates to be hiding. She hoped she was right and not walking them into a trap.

Within a couple of seconds, Naruto and Sasuke made their appearance known. Naruto appeared happy, smiling for some unknown reason while Sasuke was his usual 'stern' self.

"You must be part of the teams that left midnight."

"Apparently only four teams were assigned to this cave. Well, that is as far as we managed to get anyway. I'm Takao by the way." Takao introduced himself in a measured tone.

Naruto watched the teenager. He was probably about fifteen years old. There was nothing in his expression that gave anything away. However, Naruto had been around liars and snakes long enough to know one. There were obviously some hidden intentions here, but he did not let it show.

"There are twenty of these…" Naruto didn't feel like sharing his name. The teenager hadn't asked. So, there was no need to tell. "Your teammates inside?"

"Yes. But they haven't gone far. We came across some difficulty and we decided not to proceed any further. There is nothing discouraging us from working with another team until we make it out for the cave."

Naruto beamed. "I was afraid of going in there without anyone!" He exclaimed. "This is going to be of help. We were also worried about the traps that may lay in there."

"They are as deadly as the Proctor made them out to be."

"But with another team, it is more ears and eyes. We can make it through!"

"By that you mean you agree with us?"

"Well…" Naruto showed the man a foxy grin. "Why not? If you don't plan to walk us into a trap while saving your teammates, we don't have any reason to be fearful."

Takao laughed. "There is nothing like that. We genuinely considered things and thought it best. I'll take the lead and we will talk more once we get to my teammates."

"Of course." Naruto noticed Takao was leaving his pouch behind. There was no way that wasn't intentional. He smiled. "You missed your pouch."

"Ah sorry about that." He replied, turning to pick up his pouch. Once he'd done so, he gave them his back and then asked. "I didn't get your names by the way."

"We didn't give them."

"Can't blame you for being cautious."

Kakashi walked into the Tsuchikage's office with one thought in mind and that was to protect his students. Others may not worry that much but he carried valuable assets to the Hidden Leaf, and they needed to be protected at all costs. He didn't think anyone could manage it, but something could go wrong. Especially with the exams happening outside the village and the Jonin being told to avoid interference. Failure of which would result in the immediate suspension of their teams.

The office was crowded with shinobi. A busy day. The final was to be held in a Coliseum. There would be many people coming from the outside to be of witness to the next generation.

Onoki gave him a stern look. "Make it quick. As you can see, I'm busy."

Kakashi was hardly ever serious but the situation compelled him. "Forgive me for intruding like this Tsuchikage-sama but I am concerned about my students."

"Everyone is concerned about their students. If you didn't think they could handle it, you should have pulled them out."

Kakashi shook his head. "That is not the worry." He would not boast. But both Naruto and Sasuke were already Chunin level shinobi. If Naruto even went all out, he could make trouble for even a Jonin. Mokuton was highly powerful in that way.

"I'm listening."

"Sasuke is the last of the Uchiha in Konoha. And he has been converted by Orochimaru. We have reason to believe that Orochimaru may try to abduct Sasuke as he tried before. I want to be near to stop such from happening."

He couldn't really use Naruto. Not when he could reveal some secrets.

"We have Proctors who can oversee the exam."

"I have already stated the importance of Sasuke. And Orochimaru isn't just a normal shinobi. He is a Sannin. Surely even you understand his power."

Onoki glared at Kakashi. Even to this day, there was no shinobi in the Stone who had gained the same kind of recognition as the students of Hiruzen. If Orochimaru was like Jiraiya, there was no denying his power. But this was not his problem. It was Konoha's problem.

"Konoha should have decided to handle its missing-nin before." Onoki replied in a flat tone. "Are you saying that you can handle him?"

Kakashi shook his head. "I cannot. Orochimaru is too powerful."

"Then what is the point of you going?"

"While I cannot defeat him, I can do enough to keep him from my students."

"Sacrifice?" Onoki snorted. "Well, those two may be more valuable than your own life. But not now. In the future, they can become better shinobi. Of course, nothing like Hashirama or Madara." If he thought that, he'd ensure Orochimaru took them or they were killed somehow. They would only become problems for him in the future.

Kakashi would not dare tell the Sandaime Tsuchikage that Naruto held ambitions to surpass even the Shodai Hokage and what he knew was nothing compared to what the blond could do with his Mokuton.

"Will you give your permission?"

"No. No sensei is permitted to enter the exam grounds. Your team will be disqualified if you go anywhere near. However, I will have my trusted shinobi watch over them. If something happens, you will be informed."

That was the best he could get; Kakashi took it gracefully. "Thank you."

He departed without another word and once outside, he let loose of a long breath. He was really hoping that nothing was going to happen. He could've stated that Kabuto was in the village but that would have created more problems. And put them in question.

No doubt, the shinobi Onoki was going to send would firstly be there to take notes. Shielding his team would come secondary. He doubted they'd even do anything aside from sending him a message. At which case, he may already be too late. Onoki would be blameless. Who could expect his shinobi to take down a Sannin? So, to use his words against him. This was truly not an ideal situation.

Sensing something, Kakashi disappeared in a swirl of leaves and appeared on top of a building. Unlike the roofs of the hidden Leaf, this was all mud. It wasn't strange. Kakashi had seen it before.

"Jiraiya-sama?" The man was under a henge. It was difficult to notice but he could make a guess.

Jiraiya nodded. "Troubled?"

"Kabuto is around and there is a chance that Orochimaru may also be around."

Over his dead body was Jiraiya going to allow Orochimaru to take Naruto again. He'd failed once and he would not fail again. Hell, this time, his corpse would even haunt his former friend if he made such a move. It was good that he'd come here. Of course, the situation could have been avoided if they didn't come for the exams, but that would just be standing in the way of their growth. It was this situation that would help them grow stronger.

In a serious tone, he asked. "Were you denied permission to be closer?"

"Yes."

"That is always the problem when you are not home and in a village that sees everyone as competition." Jiraiya shook his head. "I will go look for them."

"He said they could be disqualified if we go closer?"

"Oi… who do you think you're talking to?"

"Oh…" Kakashi eye smiled. Dare he say, Konoha had no better spy than the Sannin.

"Tell me, how strong is Naruto?" Jiraiya really didn't care about Sasuke. As far as he has heard and seen, there was nothing to like about the Uchiha.

"When he isn't using Mokuton, he is normal. Well, for his case as a Jinchuriki. But when he is solely using Mokuton to his best of abilities, his large pool of chakra starts to show, he becomes an entirely different person."

"I see." It was as his sensei had told him. "Do you think it has anything to do with what Orochimaru did?"

"You mean other experiments to make him stronger?"

"Yes?"

Kakashi shook his head. "Naruto was born with large amounts of chakra. That is something he took from his mother. He is also a Jinchuriki of the most powerful Bijuu. Yamato also uses Mokuton but he does not show the promise Naruto shows. Orochimaru may have given him Mokuton but how he uses it and what he does it is his own skill and dedication. Naruto trains hard. He studies a lot and makes uses of the Kage Bunshin to help his training. He's done more than 10 years' worth of training already by having clones work individually."

Jiraiya smiled; Naruto was Minato's son alright. The potential didn't take away the pain and suffering. But at least, the future looked bright.

"I'll talk to you later. For now, I'll go watch over the kids in secret."

"Of course. You'll let me know when something happens."

"You don't have to worry about anything. I can handle it."

The response was predictable. Kakashi had a feeling Jiraiya would even assault Iwa shinobi or even the Proctor if that was what was required for him to protect Naruto. The man had many regrets. Kakashi smiled bitterly: he too had regrets.

The passage was narrow, and the stairs went deeper and deeper. It even became darker. Sasuke had to use a Fire Jutsu to give them light. If other caves were like this, then others who didn't know any fire jutsu would struggle to move.

Sakura glanced at Naruto and then at Sasuke just wondering what was inside their minds. Naruto had been chatty with Takao. She couldn't tell if they trusted him or not. She did not. She thought they were being led to a trap. There was no logical reason anyone would go that far since they still needed to clear the cave. Of course, some people were just cruel that they'd stab them in their backs just for sport.

"Takao." Someone called where the three different routes spread at the foot of the stairs.

"Yup. It's me. Got a team from Konoha."

"Can they be trusted?"

"Just as we can be trusted."

"Are they any good?"

"They seem to be good. Maybe even better than us." Takao turned around and flashed them a grin.

It was hard to tell where the voice was coming from. It just echoed through the walls. Footsteps alerted them of presences coming. After the dreadful seconds, two more teenagers walked up, wearing headbands from the Cloud. They were both as big as Takao and each carried swords behind them.

"Names?" One of them demanded with a stern look.

Sakura felt like she was staring at a mirror reflection of Sasuke. The boy wasn't asking them but demanding – just as Sasuke would.

His other friend hit him on the side of his chest with his elbow. "You trying to scare them away?"

"What are the terms?" Naruto suddenly asked.

"We've gone through one of the routes. It doesn't have a dead end. But we turned back when we realized that at some point, we were going in circles. There are hints to give direction about the exits. You can't just go straight ahead. This thing is like a maize but with deadly traps. We figured the more we are, the more we have chances of making through to the exit."

The different routes would have been made to ensure that teams didn't take the same way. There was enough detail given for them to move on their own. Sasuke thought that they didn't need numbers; they could simply send Naruto's clones to do the scouting and then move in safely.

Sasuke faced Naruto. "We are going back."

"Why?"

"It will be safer that way. They must have designed this place with the idea that we could work together. And that won't make a difference if we go together."

"Are you sure?"

Sasuke did not respond but simply twisted around. Before he could leave, Takao grabbed him from behind.

"Please consider."

"I have. And we won't be going with you." Sasuke forcefully freed himself from the grip. His Sharingan flashed to life, glaring at the man with a hypnotic feel. "Are we going to have a problem?"

Naruto released a long breath and then waved at the Cloud team. He pushed Sakura ahead as they started to retreat. Nobody said a word until they were out of the cave.

"Explain."

"They must have experienced something bad for them to look for others. But we don't need them. We don't need to take the risk. You can send clones to scout the routes and then we can safely make it out."

"That's a good idea, Sasuke-kun."

Naruto slapped his hand across his face. He was the one with the clones and he didn't even consider this. How stupid could he be? Then again, he hadn't considered it necessary to make such a move as he believed the Kumo team was honest.

Still, he could give this one to Sasuke. He was the genius after all.

"Let us hope your idea works, Sasuke."

No doubt the Proctors were observing the efforts of every team. Every little action was being judged. Kakashi had already told them that pure strength alone wouldn't earn them enough merit to be promoted to Chunin. They needed to do a little more. For survival, no shinobi would enter a death trap. In war games, scouting the enemy territory was always vital for survival.

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu."

It took three hours for three of his clones to clear the cave. Three long hours. He'd sent a hundred inside. The others either got caught up in traps or ran out of chakra while running about in circles. Naruto was glad they'd sent the clones. There were death traps in there. Pits filled with illusions. Pits filled with spikes hidden as puddles of water by illusive Genjutsu. Sometimes, kunai dipped in poison just flung out of nowhere. These people were honestly trying to kill them. The life inside the cave was well and truly a real-life challenge. Naruto could understand why they made only 10 tickets available. They knew very few teams would clear the cave.

It took them about an hours to go through the cave, with a bit of surprises. Since the illusions hadn't been removed, Sasuke went in with his Sharingan activated. He was a little worn out by the time they made it out of the cave. It was already dark.

A Jonin greeted them.

"Congratulations on making it out of the first exam. You now have permission to go through the second test." The man said handing them a scroll. "Once you open it and get the coordinates, the scroll will burn out in thirty seconds. Even if you don't open it, it will disintegrate in ten minutes."

"How many teams have crossed the line?"

"About 18 teams. 21 more should make it through soon."

"That's a lot more than I anticipated." Naruto replied with a slight frown. "What exactly is the second test?"

The Jonin smiled. "You'll see when you get there. A warning, depending on who you are, it may be more difficult than the first. First impressions are everything. If you're lucky, you make it without difficulty." He crumbled into dust after saying those words.

At least there was a forest on the other side. But Sasuke couldn't tell which side the village was. The cave was deceptively long. They could be anywhere within the Earth country at this stage. And by the looks of things, no where near the Stone village. Time was ticking away. But they still needed to rest.

"We should rest for a couple hours or for the night. Other teams coming out will also be too tired to move out. We can move again just after midnight and grow closer to the second test and just watch."

"Fair enough, team leader."

Sasuke glared. "If you have a problem, come with a better plan."

Naruto waved his hands. "I have none. I'm not as smart as you."

That said, they went and found a good location, set up a fire for cooking. They didn't stay in the same place, just in case other teams saw the fire. They moved deeper into the forest before setting up camp.

Sasuke insisted on taking first watch.

Boom!

There had been no warning before the explosion abruptly woke Naruto. He jumped out of his tent, and was welcomed by a smoke screen. It was so thick, he couldn't see a damn thing. But he could sense multiple chakra signatures. Where was Sasuke? Sakura? Wasn't the Uchiha supposed to be keeping watch? Hadn't he seen the enemy? He had the damn Sharingan! Naruto couldn't move, not when he didn't know what awaited if he jumped out of the smoke. But to think they'd get attacked like this. Ridiculous. It tempted a rather unpleasant side of him to come out for a dance with whoever dared to play shinobi tricks on him.

"Don't move."

If Naruto didn't recognize Sasuke's cold voice, he'd have frozen there and then. The Uchiha had managed to sneak in behind him. It was splendidly done. But he would not be so gracious as to give him the credit.

"Sasuke."

"They dropped some things. Traps. Explode on contact."

Sasuke had his Sharingan activated.

"How are we in this position?" Naruto demanded, ignoring the fact that they were surrounded by a thick smoke and he couldn't sense his other teammate.

"Not the important thing at the moment."

Naruto glared at the Uchiha with sharp eyes but he was ignored. He let it slide, for now. But there was negligence in someone's part. They should have allowed him to take the first watch. He had the stamina and his clones could have done this without any problem.

When the smoke cleared, they were surrounded by six Iwa shinobi. It was entirely predictable that the home side would target them. It wasn't that they were the weakest team. It was just devious from Iwagakure. They must have been told that they needed to test the Konoha team.

Worse, they had Sakura. Out cold. Another predictable situation. Anyone who looked at their team could see if she was the weakest link.

"We don't know what awaits us in the second stage of the trial. Get us two pass tickets and you can have your teammate."

"And if we refuse?"

"We'll kill her and do this to another team."

A needless death. Kakashi had often spoken about such things. The need to protect friends. Scums, he would say. Shinobi missions sometimes made them choose on what to do. To save a teammate or continue with the mission. They could abandon Sakura. But that was morally wrong and against the teachings of their sensei. For Sakura, it would be a good lesson but for them, it could mean failure. There were only ten passing tickets and they would be against time. Was there even a guarantee that Sakura would be returned to them?

"Give us the location."

"The exit of the cave you used. You have until tomorrow afternoon. If you give chase, we will slit her throat."

And just like that, they disappeared.

Naruto stared at Sasuke, who stared back. "Before we get to how we deal with this, explain yourself."

Sasuke was silent. He looked embarrassed. "I dozed off…" he replied in a flat tone.

Naruto stared and despite the situation, he laughed hard. So hard he fell on his butt, laughing until his stomach hurt. Sasuke just glared murderously.

"That is a classic. The shinobi fell asleep…" He stopped laughing, and then glared. "I'm normally nice with you but this was just plain negligent and a dangerous blunder. If something happens to Sakura, it is your fault. You killed her."

Sasuke ignored him.

"We have to look for the tickets. There isn't much time left and I'm not going to fail this exam because I fell asleep!"

"You should have thought of it before you decided to sleep on duty!"

"You're not helping!" Sasuke replied furiously.

"I wonder if I should help. But Sakura is a teammate and as much as I want you to make up for this blunder, we must do what we can for Sakura. And save her." Naruto said firmly. "We have to move out now. There is no time to rest. We'll have to face other teams along the way."

"Where?"

"The location of the second test. We have to take it now and then ask if any other team has taken it. If not, we will have to set up an ambush for teams that pass. We need to get one more ticket for ourselves."

"This is unusual."

It was past 3am, and both Naruto and Sasuke stood in front a sleepless, armored shinobi. It had taken some search to get the exact location. They were aided a bit by the rising fire deep into the night.

Sasuke was more than ready to attack the man, disregarding anything. Naruto had to hold the Uchiha from taking any reckless move.

"Don't be stupid." He admonished sharply.

Sasuke glared.

Naruto considered slapping him across the face but as much joy as it would give him, it would just further antagonize the Uchiha. He was already high over his lapse that saw Sakura being captured.

"That man is way more powerful than you. We don't know what surrounds us. Your recklessness will get us killed. Besides, nobody said anything about the need to fight this man. Start thinking and stop acting beside on your god damned emotions for pete's sakes!"

It took a couple of moments, but Sasuke calmed down and deactivated his Sharingan but kept his eyes on the man.

"We have come to take the second test."

"Your teammate?"

"Irrelevant. Nothing about the rules say we must all come along."

"It doesn't say the other mustn't come either. You are shinobi, you must always expect the unexpected. Right here, I can fail you for leaving a teammate behind. I make the rules for the second test."

Naruto frowned. This was unexpected. He honestly didn't know how to handle this scenario.

"In any case, since you are who you are and appear to be strong enough, I shall pass you."

"Just like that?"

"If you want to take the test. You can. But I must warn you, you may not survive it."

Sasuke gritted his teeth. He felt like he was just being handed victory. But he could do nothing but accept it. There was no need to take the second exam if they didn't have to.

"Can we also ask for another passing ticket? They didn't say we can't ask for another."

"You can ask but if I had to give it you, I would have to make you take the second test." The man said, throwing a scroll toward them. Sasuke caught it with his right hand. "But in order to pass, you'd have to use that other power."

To this, Naruto smiled and then thanked the man before dragging Sasuke away.

"What did that man mean? He was talking to you at first and simply just passed us."

Naruto was unsmiling as he sat by a tree branch. His clones were already all over the place. Watching and waiting to alert him of any team that passes the second test.

"He is a Jinchuriki like me."

It was unusual to be meeting someone like him. But Iwa was just reckless to make its two Jinchuriki keys to the second exam. Who was going to pass their test? That was hardly his biggest concern though. The man had certainly known he was a Jinchuriki. But whether he would inform his village was another matter. It posed a threat to his life and to his secret. If Iwa found out about this, it was going to publish it and there could be a major threat to his life.

There was nothing he could do. That man was beyond his limits. If he was not, Naruto would have attacked him there and then. He would have permitted Sasuke to even take the first step.

"He most likely let us pass because of it. I assume the first tests survival skills. The only way to pass the second test is a display of strength. And the third unspoken test is a combination of both. You use your survival skills and strength to take you back to the village because there will be teams attacking for the passing ticket. And some just for the fun of it."

"We could use that to our advantage."

Naruto stared for a long minute before grinning. He understood what Sasuke meant. "I'm also a little frustrated that we have come to this situation. We came to test ourselves and so far we haven't done so."

"Yeah."

"But I hope you just don't want to beat people just to make yourself feel good."

Sasuke shot him a glare but said nothing about it. "Are we going to stay here for the night?"

"Yeah. We will strike whatever team passes. But I'm sure other hunters will be thinking like us."

"If we fail to get another ticket?"

"It comes to a choice whether we abandon Sakura for the pass or give up our ticket to save her." Naruto paused, frowning deeply. "I guess we must consider this because it is a possibility. Once morning draws closer, we'll be running out of time."

"We'll have to least try to rescue her. They didn't look that strong. If they are in the cave, we can close them in."

"I'm shocked. You'd risk losing to save Sakura."

"It is not so much about rescuing Sakura. I just want to get a higher rank. If we abandon Sakura, Konoha won't give us a higher rank and we'll be stuck doing crappy missions."

Naruto shook his head. "Ever so rational with a bit of coldness. But you are right. I nonetheless care enough to consider rescuing her. But I won't deny that if I don't and it becomes known in Konoha that I let her die, it is going to be hell."

"And I might get off it…" Sasuke admitted bitterly.

"Of course. The blame will be on me. The villagers would never think evil of their precious Uchiha."

Sasuke snorted with disdain. "Which makes me question why you still loyally fight for the village."

Naruto smiled mysteriously. "That is a good question. But not up for debate." His expression turned cold. "Let us relax a bit. I haven't had the best of times since my arrival in this village."

"I've noticed. I'm surprised you are still calm."

"I have to be the adult here. If I'm not calm enough for both of us, we lose Sakura and maybe more than that. I don't want to live with the idea that someone died because I couldn't control myself."

Shinobi moralist loved to claim there was something unnatural about killing. But Naruto thought such idealists were out of touch with reality. Humans were like the animals they ate. They were just one step short of cannibalism. They were trained killers. Shinobi weapons weren't made for the simple purpose of grazing others and fancy clashes. They were made to cut through human flesh. The questionable act was taking joy in being murderous. People like Orochimaru only saw value in their own lives. He would most likely piss on himself and beg if he ever saw certain death. But the same corrupt reptile gleefully tortured and enticed others to kill. So many more even die on his experiments beds. And he saw no wrong in it.

Naruto was having such thoughts while his right foot was on the throat of a kunoichi. She was still very much alive–just broken that even trying to resist his touch was impossible for her.

He could simply increase the weight and crush her throat or just suffocate her. Killing someone was simple. This was a world of the strong devouring the weak. The truly animalistic rule of the wilderness.

What was his role in this world? Naruto had such thoughts in this moment of time.

"We got ambushed again because you seem to take joy in toying with your opponents."

Naruto glanced at Sasuke. The Uchiha had dispatched two other Genin quite quickly. At this rate, the other teams were just attacking anyone they came across. Passing tickets were a rare commodity. And there was another method of passing. This was the 11th team since morning. Five they'd attacked and the others had attacked them. Each battles ended as swiftly as it began. Weak. There was no challenge at all. Perhaps it was because they were used to fighting higher ranked shinobi. In any case, it was disappointing and Naruto saw no crime in taking things slowly, as long as they were moving within time to save Sakura.

"I'm not a sadist."

Sasuke glanced at the person below him and then snorted.

"Unlike you, some of us pause to consider some philosophical questions in life."

"It is detrimental if it gets us ambushed."

Naruto shrugged. "Saves us the effort of having to hunt down teams. We wouldn't have the time. Now we have done enough. If we are careless people, we'd even abandon Sakura and then move onto the next level."

"We do have to consider our actions before we face them. We don't want to do anything that might threaten the whole team."

Naruto removed his foot from the kunoichi and then started walking away. He only took three steps before two genin appeared from thin air, flanking both his sides. They grabbed him as the ground below opened wide and swallowed him whole.

Sasuke could only watch as Naruto plunged deep into a pit. He couldn't react in time to try to save the blond. Did Naruto even need his help? Unless there were explosives buried deep within the pit, the blond would be fine. Trying to jump in would maybe leave both trapped. Sakura's survival chances would dim, and much worse their chances.

He cursed Iwagakure and everything that was making this difficult than it should be. There was no Genin who'd proved to be much stronger than them. In fact, he could say with his chest puffed up that they had decimated all the teams they had faced. Tactics. Brutal tactics that they didn't apply had now left them with just him standing.

This was a lesson to be learned. Power wasn't just everything. He was still bitter about it. So much that he would even consider incinerating any Genin that tried to attack him. How could inferior shinobi back him into a corner like this?

If he thought things couldn't get worse, the pit suddenly closed, with Naruto swallowed deep within its belly. Leaving him sweating. He marked the area by throwing a kunai to the spot.

The suspects didn't waste to reveal themselves once Naruto was out of the picture. Had they been watching and realized that in terms of offensive, Naruto was most brutal? Not mention, his defensive capabilities made him invisible to the power of mere Genin.

"Do Iwagakure shinobi have something against Konoha shinobi?"

Sasuke surprised himself by asking the question in a curious tone.

"We are simply taking out the main suspects for the final test. Besides," the leader, seemingly, grinned murderously, "taking out someone from the Leaf is extra motivation for us. The Rivalry between our villages permits us to act in such a manner."

Sasuke snorted. "There is no rivalry between Iwa and Konoha. Just as there is no match between my team and any other team." He dismissed them with a nonchalant wave of his right hand.

"Says someone who has lost two of his teammates."

Sasuke nearly lost his cool, but he imagined Naruto scolding him. He spat at the thought. It was ridiculous. But true. If he acted rashly and allowed himself to be provoked, he would only worsen the situation. He didn't even know about Naruto's condition.

"What happened to my teammate?" If they'd just buried him, it would be fine. If they had set up explosives beforehand, it was a deadly situation and there possibly wasn't anything he could do since he didn't know any Earth Jutsu.

"Likely suffocating. We buried him quite deep. So, he can't dig up."

Sasuke glanced down for a moment. He would murder them all if he had to fight. But, he had to be strategic about this. The more he laboured with them, the more time went away. And if Naruto wasn't safe, it was just going to be hell. He was just going to have to act in the safe side even though it bitterly crushed his pride.

He would have to mark them. He would pay them for this. Nobody was going to force him to make this decision and then get away with it. If he couldn't save Naruto, he at least had to try with Sakura.

"I have a passing ticket." He started in a cold tone, not displaying any fear, but just pure restrained anger. "I can give it to you and you can leave me alone."

"We'd prefer to just take it."

"You think I'd allow it?" Sasuke questioned with a scoff. "I'd burn it up than allow you to have the ticket."

Uchiha Gods, saying such words was humiliating. Even if he had to say them through gritted teeth. He wasn't going to forgive this.

"We could take it and then kill you."

Sasuke smirked. "If you think you can kill me, try it. I'm only offering you the deal because I want to save my teammates. I don't want to waste energy fighting you. I've already wasted enough."

He would reach his limit soon enough. Even though he was beating up other teams, he was burning chakra, and he did receive some hits. If he fought now, against these three all at once, he may not make it for Sakura and he'd fail this exam. He'd become a laughing stock and just take a step back toward his goal of enacting his vengeance against his traitorous brother.

The three looked at each before the leader stepped up. He walked over to Sasuke but kept a fair distance. "Hand it over and we'll promise to leave you alone."

Sasuke took out the scroll and then tossed it over to the Iwa Genin.

"Thank you, mighty Uchiha. We will keep our word. Good luck." He bowed mockingly and then took a step back.

As the Iwa Genin tried to twist away, roots burst out from the ground around him. As quickly as they protruded from the ground, they had attached themselves to the Genin, binding him into a stand still.

"What the hell, Uchiha!" The Genin shouted.

It was Naruto's jutsu. Sasuke smirked and turned to the Kunoichi who Naruto had been stepping on moments ago. His smirk disappeared, replaced by a look of contempt. She was getting up from the ground, a sly foxy smile that could only belong to Naruto.

He glared murderously.

"Don't look at me like that." Naruto responded, undoing his transformation jutsu.

"You tricked me!"

But Naruto didn't get to respond as the other two stepped into the view. "How did you escape from that?"

"Simple enough." Naruto smiled. "But there is no need to inform you." He narrowed his eyes to Sasuke. "You take the one on the left; I will take the one in the right."

Sasuke responded by disappearing from view. He did the opposite of what Naruto had said, attacked the one on the left side of their trapped teammate. He flashed behind the Genin, holding a kunai with a thread attached to it. The hurled it toward the Genin before he could even react to his presence. The thread wrapped around the Genin's upper body, binding his hands.

That was enough, but out of frustration, Sasuke released a quick fire jutsu. The Jutsu ran through the threads before igniting on the Genin. Flames burst, and that followed then was a pained cry that rang through the morning.

"Now, that is just very Uchiha acting on a wounded pride."

Not given a chance to see if his work had achieved its intended consequence, Sasuke turned to Naruto. The blond had simply tackled his opponent using a clone while the original jumped over the Genin before driving a wooden spike through the right shoulder, pinning him to the ground.

"I don't need to hear from you."

Naruto shrugged. "Let's get out of here. Chakra output will have already attracted other people. We need to disappear quickly before others come."

"Ticket."

"Already got it."

Sasuke nodded and the two fled from the scene. They hopped through boulders before finding shade in a good distance. Once they were there, the Uchiha faced Naruto with a look of contempt.

"You made me act in such a disgraceful manner while you were fine!"

"Nothing disgraceful about thinking smart. You did the right thing. If you had acted any differently, I'd have requested a team change. Can't be teammates with someone who has no regard for the lives of his teammates."

The words were said in a stern tone that made Sasuke believe Naruto was dead serious. This baffled him. Naruto was his friend and rival. Their friendship was not the usual were they hanged together 'playing' or just 'chilling' but they were friends. To hear that the blond say he would have rather requested to be separated from him was shocking to the core. He was left speechless.

Naruto did sometimes disapprove of his actions. Even if the blond hated Sakura and found her useless, he would never abandon her. It was simply out of principle more than any emotion. Was this a test? This whole exam felt like a test to him?

"I never thought I'd hear you say that."

Naruto waved his right hand and then spoke in a cautiously quiet tone.

"I have experienced too much, Sasuke. You are my friend. But I won't hesitate to do what is best for me. You are so focused on your revenge that you sometimes dismiss other things. I am glad that you have displayed this maturity. And don't tell this to Sakura, but I wish they do beat her up a little, just so she can get the message across that she can die at any moment."

"Why do I get the sense that if this hadn't happened, you would have plotted for this to happen?"

"Now, I'm not that devious." Naruto responded with a laugh. "But I think we have all learned some valuable lessons."

"We still have to save Sakura."

"We'll do that. If they haven't killed her yet."

"You think they'd do that?"

"We are going to walk in blind into enemy territory. I told you before, we must consider all possibilities. They know we are coming back, they might kill her, thinking they can box us in and take our tickets. Accidents even happen. Someone might hit too hard. We must go there expecting anything."

Naruto thought it a little chilling that he considered Sakura might be killed with a clear mind.

"You're awfully calm about the whole issue."

Naruto stared. "You want me to shed some tears? She is not dead yet." He smiled, a very flat smile. "I'm hopeful that she still alive. That is why I'm calm."

"And if she's not?"

"Well, Sakura is our beloved teammate. We'll have to cause some damage. Let us hurry to the destination. This talk is making me anxious. I don't like myself when deeply worried. The calmness I have now will slip through if I stay like this."

Sasuke zoomed around the cave with anticipation. They were here. Worried, a little he was for Sakura. But what these people had in store for them made him curious. This was a dangerous situation–far more deadly than what they've encountered thus far. Their very lives could be threatened. If Sasuke could make it with flying colours, then he could proudly claim he was moving toward the right direction.

Training with Naruto helped him a lot. Even though at times it shot holes into his pride, releasing a stink of jealousy. Naruto's raw potential was frightening. Even without Mokuton, Naruto's chakra reserves could make the impossible possible. He had to cultivate his Sharingan. For all his hopes were on the eyes. But he felt like there was doom if he did not take the path Itachi wanted him to take, to evolve his eyes farther.

Sasuke didn't deactivate his Sharingan. He didn't want to miss anything. He was so far satisfied there were no visible traps. And he could see Sakura's chakra. She was fine. That made him release a short breath of relief.

The bigger issue at hand was that there 9 Genin before them. They'd asked for two tickets though. Either way, that was a bigger number than what they had anticipated. If they decided to just use force to take their tickets, it would be a difficult task – considering they had been fighting since morning. He frowned slightly. They didn't even bring out Sakura from where they hid her.

"You made it far quicker than we thought."

"The wellbeing our teammate made us work in a hurry." Naruto replied in a casual tone.

Someone snorted in the group. "That useless girl?"

"Useless or not, she is a teammate of ours." Naruto replied firmly. "We've done what you requested…" he said taking out two tickets. "Can we get the exchange?"

"Sure… but say, we've been watching you. The Uchiha must be close to his limit… and so should you. You're skilled. But we are all fresh, and if we decided to just attack you, how would you respond to that?"

Hardly surprising they would consider such options. They were smart. Naruto was going to give them that much. They must have figured out what they wouldn't simply trust them and would come with a plan at hand in case they planned to betray their word. Were they trying to see how they would react to this threat?

"We have few options…" Naruto scratched the back of his head, smiling in an embarrassed manner. "We may be able to defend ourselves but we would most certainly not be able to defend our teammate if a fight broke out. Which is why we would like to avoid such a scenario."

"Then give us your ticket as well. You wouldn't want to fail like this. Surely, you also get a ticket for yourselves."

"I thought you said you were watching us…" Sasuke asked.

Naruto smiled, shaking his head. "Sasuke, you're not supposed to point out such things. You'll get us in trouble."

"Idiot!"

"Ouch!"

They both heard.

"Are you going to give us the other ticket?" One of the nine went behind the shadows and came back with Sakura. She was unconscious, a little beaten, but alive.

Naruto stared at the girl with an expressionless mask. It was dangerous being a kunoichi. He was glad that they were dealing with a bunch of Genin. Who knew, had she been older, unspeakable things could have happened to her. It would have crushed her spirit. But such was the danger of being a Kunoichi trapped in enemy camps.

"Even if we had it, we wouldn't have brought it with us. But we do not have it. We couldn't have taken such a risk. If we truly had it and you put a knife on Sakura's throat, we would have been forced to go back and get it. But we do not, so, we can only plead with you to release our teammate and we will be on our way out of here."

"We have changed the rules. It would earn a promotion to get rid of an Uchiha – who would surely become a threat to Iwagakure in the near future."

Naruto sighed. His eyes sharpened.

"Nuisance. But highly predictable." He replied in a sharp tone that caught the Iwa Genin off-guard. He put away the tickets and then spoke once more. "I suppose you think because you outnumber us, you can do as you please. We are not pleased to be in such a situation but would have just given you the tickets and walked away. There is no more room for negotiations now." Naruto was doing hand seals while speaking.

"You think you are in a position to say that?"

"Yes. I'm a little annoyed at the moment. I think I will release some chakra."

"Don't! We will kill her!"

"Kill her and you won't get the tickets. I'll burn the damn tickets. After which, you'll be next." After saying that, Naruto started to release an excess amount of chakra, containing that of the Kyubi. It was so dense and frightening that the nine were left motionless, paralyzed by fear.

Because there were many, putting them all under an illusion would prove a little difficult for Sasuke. If there were three, they could do that without him resorting to using an imperfect jutsu he'd learned.

The cave started shaking and within seconds, Deep Forest Bloom emerged from the ground. The dense forest, not so mass, but big enough to completely cover the entire ground. Some roots even burst into the roof of the cave.

The Iwa Genin panicked as they ran for cover, but there was nowhere to go. Fortunately for them, the forest didn't do anything hazardous upon emerging from the ground. However, the movement had caused them to be separated. And by the time they'd settled, they were all in different positions, their majority advantage gone.

"Hand her over." Sasuke glared to the Genin who was holding Sakura. When the Genin hesitated, his Sharingan spun hypnotically and the Genin dropped Sakura before jumping up. Sasuke caught her and then flashed away.

He found Naruto sitting at the foot of the forest he had created, eyes closed. He glared. "I've never seen you do this before."

"Learned it recently. The flowers are supposed to release highly flammable substance and a quick fire jutsu ignites everything. But I can't seem to get it right." Naruto frowned deeply. "In any case, this is enough." He held a single hand seal. Hundreds of clones appeared in a huge cloud of smoke. "We should go before this place explodes and then cave in."

Sasuke just nodded and then started dashing toward the exit while holding Sakura as gentle as he could.

"I don't know if you're doing it purposefully but if Sakura wakes up and sees you holding her like that, she is going to flame red like Hinata."

Sasuke glanced at Sakura and then frowned. He was indeed holding her bridal style and at this point, would knock her out if she stirred. He didn't want her waking up like this and he would not even take the blame of having being the one to carry her out of the cave.

"If you tell her, I'm going to kill you."

Naruto laughed and then snapped his finger. Behind them, there were explosions, the cave shaking, and chunks of earth caving in, dust chasing after them as they headed for the exit.

"It went rather smoothly than I anticipated."

"We had concrete plans." Sasuke replied.

They had played various scenarios. Even if they had not tried to go back on their word, they would've made an attempt to attack them. The first plan was on giving up the scrolls, but planting explosive tags on them. Once they were in possession of Sakura, they would have set them off. Another was having Naruto go in there alone, have a clone transform into a ticket, then plot a surprise attack.

"Yeah… a good test nonetheless. And if this doesn't make Sakura serious, nothing ever will."

They were already out of the cave. Sasuke placed Sakura down and them took a breather, and then looked back at the entrance of the cave. He glanced back at Naruto. The blond was surely making some inroads with getting a handle on his Mokuton. It was more than what he displayed in that Snow mission. It was making him nervous. He needed to do more. And more. He needed his Sharingan to evolve farther. He couldn't afford to be behind Naruto. His pride couldn't allow it.

"Wake her up, will you?"

Sasuke hit Sakura on her forehead, causing her to shoot up in pain. Before she could fully grasp what was happening, she immediately crawled back, taking a defensive position while a frightful look on her face.

"Now that is just sad."

Sasuke found himself nodding in agreement as he stared at Sakura's pitiful state.

Sakura recognized Naruto's voice. Her pounding heart slowly stalled, her eyes sat on him. She fell on her knees, relieved. Never in her life had she ever been so happy to see him. She cried. Never had she ever thought she would admit that she was grateful to have him as her teammate. Despite everything, he was the one who made her stand firm in that she would be rescued and the torture would stop. But even then, considering how she had treated him, she did think, maybe he would say it was better if she wasn't around. She was no good after all.

If Naruto was around, then Sasuke was there as well. She glanced at him, and smiled happily, wiping out her tears. She felt like she was home already. She was glad, that he too was around, to save her. To rescue her.

"I…"

"There is nothing to say. We are just happy you're alive, Sakura. We'd worried. We haven't been able to rest because we worried for your safety."

"We can't afford to stay here. Others may have heard the sound of the explosion. We need to move away and head back to the village…" Sasuke was quick to add. "Have your clones secured a clear route for us?"

"Yeah."

Naruto created a clone to carry Sakura. The moment she was on his back, she mumbled a thank you, before drifting back to unconsciousness.

"Must have been rough with her."

"I noticed." Sasuke replied sharply. "But nothing too bad. It is just flesh wounds."

"Such incidents leave mental scars. You of all should know better that mental scars can be rather difficult to heal…"

Orochimaru frowned seeing Jiraiya appear before him. This was the last person he expected to see in this village. But he supposed Konoha would have informed his former teammate about his appearance before Konoha's prized assets. Either way, Jiraiya hadn't quite forgiven him for taking Naruto. Orochimaru amused himself by thinking that they would be shocked when they do learn the truth about the incident.

"Jiraiya-kun…" did he even have to ask how the Sannin even tracked him? Finding people was his specialty.

"Orochimaru…" Jiraiya growled.

And to think this had been his friend. They went to missions together. They were brats together when they were learning under the Sandaime Hokage and yet Orochimaru had turned into this person. Who was he kidding? There had always been a dark cloud following Orochimaru wherever he went. They'd just never been willing to admit it. And as their sensei had admitted, people become blind to the faults of those they love.

"Leave this country."

"Why should I do that?"

"I'm not going to repeat myself, Orochimaru. It is because we were once friends that I am not even attacking you now. However, if you want to make a move, I will hunt you down and kill you with my own hands and spare sensei."

"Kukukukuku…" Orochimaru chuckled darkly. "Haven't you tried that before?"

"No." The Toad Sage replied in a cold tone. "I've never actually tried to kill you despite the deeds you've done. Things are different now. You crossed the line. And your days are numbered now."

Orochimaru narrowed his eyes.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"Exactly what I said…" Jiraiya replied with a sad smile. "You would have become a great asset for Konoha. Only if you had morals."

Orochimaru's wasn't so much as concerned about Jiraiya's last words but the warning. When the man said something like that, you had to take it seriously. He was conscious that his life was a little easier because Konoha made no effort to hunt him down. But it Konoha sent people like Jiraiya after him, it became a life of running and he wouldn't have the time to conduct his experiments. Was Konoha going to be taking measures against him?

He laughed.

Who in Konoha could even defeat him? The Village didn't have the shinobi of such calibre. Not to mention, the Third was old. The Uchiha were dead and he had an army of his own. What was he going to do about this? If Konoha was making move against him, then Orochimaru had to respond in kind.

He'd already thought of plotting to take down the Leaf anyone. It wasn't an impossible task.

Kakashi smiled, happy that his students were back safe. One of the Proctors was with him and had filled him in on the happenings of the exam. He was pleased. But if the Proctor didn't admire his skill, he wouldn't have even said anything. He would have been anxiously tossing and turning. Worried. His students were capable, but they were still kids. Smart, yes, but they were still inexperienced and there were just some odds that one could not go against.

Battle signs were visible but more worriedly was Sakura. He'd already heard what happened. But could only think proudly of both Naruto and Sasuke. The proctor had admitted that a more logical choice would have been to abandon her as they could have been walking into the unknown and besides, the girl didn't look capable. Kakashi had been confident his students wouldn't go against his teachings.

"Congratulations, Leaf shinobi. You have made it to the final round of exams. You will be permitted to rest today. Tomorrow, be at the Coliseum at 10am. You will be disqualified if you're not there at that time."

"You don't want our tickets?"

The Proctor smiled. "We know you have them and who you got them from. We have watched every second of your time outside this village… but do bring those tickets tomorrow. They are your tickets."

"If we lose them? And another team happens to find them?"

"The only way to enter the final round is to have the ticket or must have met the special condition. We will only collect the tickets at 10am tomorrow."

"Treacherous rules…" Naruto commented dryly as the Jonin disappeared. "This means that one can still get attacked in this village. We could even be attacked on our way to the Coliseum."

"Indeed. But at least you have them now. There is nothing that prohibits me from defending you…" Kakashi eye smiled. "You two head to the hotel to rest. I'll take Sakura to get some medical care. We'll talk later about the exam."

Naruto handed Sakura over to their sensei who quickly disappeared. The narrow streets and the village gates became all too apparent now that it was just him and Sasuke once more.

"I'm going to fill up my gut before resting."

"I don't have the energy." Sasuke replied tiredly.

"Make sure you don't get attacked along the way."

"Even if we lose the tickets we have gained, we have met the other requirement… but I'm still not going to give up what I fought to gain."

"How very Sasuke." Naruto replied, as he walked away from the Uchiha. "Will join you in about an hour. Can't sleep with this hunger."

"Don't lose our tickets."

"Of course, My Lord."

Naruto wasn't that adept to genjutsu, but when his vision suddenly changed, after a glance at crimson eyes, he knew there was something wrong. A world shadowed by a blood-red moon. The sound of craws cawing. He felt so aware, yet cut off from the space he'd occupied while trying Iwagakure ramen. There was no panic. He could do so. But what would that solve. Yet the question lingered–who? Certainly not Orochimaru. Such means were beyond the Sannin.

"This is the first time we meet like this."

Naruto turned around. Red clouds. Black hair. A stoic expression filtered by those hypnotic eyes. The Sharingan. An evolved one for that matter. Sasuke's elder brother? Just by looking at the man, Naruto could assume this was the infamous Itachi.

"What is this?" He wasn't in any trouble, was he? He couldn't sense any malice. But who could say just by looking at that indifferent expression on the man.

"Is that what concerns you the most?"

"Well, I'm trapped in this place… shouldn't it be my most concern? If I know what this is, then perhaps there is a chance to escape and I don't have to hear whatever you want from me."

This was an enemy of the Hidden Leaf. He couldn't take chances. There was no malice, but he still had to worry. He was caught up in this world. Trying to disrupt his chakra wasn't making any difference. He was just caught up in a web within which there was no hope of escape. It felt frustrating. He'd never been in a situation where his thoughts ended with just giving up. Naruto settled down to calm his chaotic thoughts. He stared at Itachi. Eye contact. Had he gotten that close to him? Displeasing. How could such a dangerous man get so close to him without him even noticing it?

There was so much to learn. Much to discover and much to improve. Did he even have a tomorrow after this? No, Naruto shook his head–he was being ridiculous now.

So calm and mature. Itachi was impressed. Sasuke's reaction would've been different. Then again, with Naruto's experiences, such growth was a necessity. The same could be said about his younger brother, but such was the difference in their mental strength.

"I don't want to hurt you."

Itachi didn't see any outward reaction from Naruto. Not even a slight twitch. His expression was so unreadable, he thought he was looking at the mirror. Did Naruto not believe him? Did it matter though? Naruto had no choice but to listen to him. And there would be no one to interrupt and nothing the blond could do to escape from here.

"I'd sensed as much, but you can never be sure. Especially when you're trapped in a peculiar genjutsu. Pain usually does it. But I've tried biting my tongue, no escape. Disrupting chakra seems useless. I cannot even get the sense of my body, yet keenly aware that I'm not in reality. Sharingan Genjutsu? But much more powerful than what Sasuke uses. Nobody told me they could become so deadly."

Was Naruto trying to get information out of him? Itachi wasn't so careless that he would tell Naruto any secret. Even if he considered the blond to be a friendly.

"I'm not going to tell you anything about the Genjutsu. Aside from that you can't escape."

"No need to state the obvious. " Naruto stared at the Uchiha. "What do you want from me?"

"To talk about Sasuke."

"What of him?"

"What is your view of him?"

"An immature child with no self-control. A loose cannon, really. Dangerous with no loyalties. No, he is loyal – but only to his hatred for his traitorous brother." Naruto paused, trying to read Itachi's expression – there was nothing for him to read. "Well, that is a cold reading of him."

"But the truth."

"I am becoming uncomfortable. Sure, I would like to know why Sasuke's brother killed everyone and made Sasuke hate him like this… because I want to help the poor bastard, but when talking in a place that I feel 'trapped' it becomes uncomfortable for me."

"We are in an enemy territory with many people around. You're being constantly watched in this village. In this world, time moves slowly. A second hasn't passed in the real world. It makes it safer for both of us to talk."

Naruto frowned. "A truly dangerous genjutsu. My sense of time as well? You may as well say my mind is under attack… so, if it is so, if I develop a jutsu that forces my mind to become 'unconscious' would that help?"

"It would leave your main body open to attack."

"Ah," Naruto smiled wryly. "I'll try to be comfortable."

"You were with Orochimaru for a while. I know he performed various experiments on you and Konoha is aware of some of it. But my question is, do you know what he did do you? You have so far displayed only the use of Mokuton. But this is at an advanced level that not even someone who was experimented on as a child has displayed so much capabilities."

A reminder. A constant one at that. There was always a demon laughing at the back of his head when he thought of the days with Orochimaru; an insane one at that. It was his past. But a past he wanted to give. For it gave him no rest. No peace of mind. But merely haunted him in his sleep. Honestly, there were nights he feared he'd get snatched again and become stripped in a bed.

"I wish you'd not make me remember such things. Those torturous days. Orochimaru would have me stripped in a bed, chakra sealed, and then cut me open. He was so obsessed with my healing powers. I have no scars, because flesh wounds, my body would regenerate them. There was even a time he considered chopping me up just to see if my body would re-attach itself and still function the same way. The best part came when he started with his Mokuton experiments. I had things injected in me. I was once put in a liquid cube, butt naked, and my whole body at war with foreign elements. My body started to deform. I was slowly morphing into a tree. There were leaves! It wasn't until later that Kabuto suggested that this was happening because my chakra was sealed. So, my body couldn't dominate the Hashirama cells. I'd tried to flee before. Removing the seals meant I could do it. What did Orochimaru do? He promised me that if I didn't try to escape, he'd tell me about my parents."

Raw emotion. Itachi gathered as much.

"Well anyway, that's not what you asked, is it? To answer your question, I don't know. He and Kabuto sprouted about the Sage of Six Path's. About the Sharingan. There were talks of him taking over the body of an Uchiha. But that apparently ended up in failure. He adores the Sharingan. No, obsessed with it. He is obsessed with its ability to enable him to learn all things. He understands that an implanted one has limits. But if he could get his hands on it, he'd do it. He is apparently trying to find a way if he can genetically build an Uchiha. It is all for his grand plan to become all powerful and of course, immortal. He viewed me as a perfect subject. Because my body could take whatever he was dishing out." He paused, smiled a little. "Mokuton has nothing to do with Orochimaru. It is an ability of o my own. I show such promise because of this. The experiments just gave me another layer upon which to build."

Itachi was silent. This was concerning. Had Orochimaru succeeded? But he was mostly still going to go after Sasuke. Did Naruto even know about his parents? Either way, Orochimaru had to be stopped. No doubt, these experiments were going to be made on himself once he was sure things could be perfected. And that was worrying.

There was always something fishy with the Sannin. For now, what bothered Itachi was his interest in Sasuke. If Naruto hadn't been taken away from the Sannin by Konoha–there was the possibility that the blond could've become Orochimaru's host.

"You know about Orochimaru's ability? You said he spoke about 'taking over' someone."

"I don't know anything about it. And I'm not entirely interested in knowing." What Naruto wanted to know was a sure method to kill Sannin. He could make it his lifelong mission. Hell, he would even go against the Leaf in order to shred Orochimaru to pieces. Nothing more would offer him the peace of heart.

"If Orochimaru manages to get Sasuke to follow him, what would you do?"

Naruto was silent. "Not entirely impossible…" he said to himself in a flat tone. "Actually, this is one of my worries with regard to Sasuke. My growth and his obsession with power, has the possibility of leading him astray. For power, Sasuke will do anything. But if Sasuke leaves the Leaf and joins Orochimaru, it would be difficult for me to look at him. My personal thoughts are irrelevant in this matter anyhow. I can only do what the village instructs."

"Say, Sasuke were to turn against the Leaf…"

"Sasuke is capable of anything." Naruto paused. "You speak as if you know your brother well enough… as if you've been watching him. But for what reason? You're the one who drove him to this… why do you ask such actions… no, on whose interests, do you act?"

In Itachi's view, Naruto would do what needed to be done. He cared for Sasuke. But he seemed aware of his younger brother's state of mind. A ruthless friend? But a good one. He got what he needed. Yet, some part of him was a little sad that Naruto seemed like he'd abandon Sasuke. But perhaps the lines only blurred if he joined Orochimaru. The hatred toward the Sannin seemed pure. A good thing? No. But it wasn't the reason Itachi had come to this village.

"We will talk again."

Itachi's cold tone was like an echo. His body exploded into a murder of crows. And suddenly, Naruto was staring into his steaming noodles. Chopsticks at hand. It indeed seemed like a second had passed. He dropped the chopsticks. He couldn't help it.

He closed his eyes and searched for a bit. There was nothing. He couldn't sense the Uchiha. Eye contact. That was what happened. The Uchiha had to have been close enough if he worked in the same way as Sasuke. Or maybe not. Either way, Naruto wasn't about to go around searching for a criminal.

He wasn't about to talk about it either. There were many things he didn't talk about. This wouldn't be first nor the last.

And so, he continued eating his ramen in peace.

A moonless night. Whispers below the streets. Lights flickering to illuminate the night. A cool breeze danced within the atmosphere. Whether Konoha or Stone, night was night. The world continued to cycle. Adding more days to their years. Another experience. Good or bad; the day always brought each. No one with the power to predict or dish out only good fortune. At nights like this, they could all stare into the darkness and reflect on the hours before. The words spoken. The decisions taken. And suspicions suspected. Some did not. What was done was done. Life was like that. For the many indifferent.

Beside him, in the rooftop, Sasuke lay. Those hateful eyes in a staring contest with the darkness above. Who would win was a good debate. The pit of darkness within the Uchiha seemed to be without a bottom. Perhaps he could even swallow the endless darkness above.

Naruto glanced away, closed his eyes. And focused on his ears. His smell. Different sounds. But mostly humans. He could sense some spikes of chakra. The shinobi moving around. The stillness that was forced upon by the night. Hunters like Orochimaru pounced on such times when the prey was at rest.

Footsteps on the mud roof. You didn't hear the sound. But felt the slight tremors of the movement with each step. This weight. Without even looking, Naruto could tell it was his sensei. His eyes did not open.

"Everything fine with Sakura?"

Kakashi glanced between his students. Tomorrow was the big day. The finals. He was proud of his students. They'd made it. They would not return to the Leaf with a cloud of humiliation. Sakura couldn't participate. She was fine physically. But emotionally, not so well. But the biggest problem he now faced would be when Naruto faces Sasuke in the grand stage. If Naruto won. There would be a negative reaction from Sasuke. There was a lot more that Naruto didn't show to Sasuke. And if he showed to overwhelm his opponent, it was going to be a problem. One that would result in the Uchiha needing some panel beating.

The Jonin folded his hands across his chest.

"She is fine. Will be fine tomorrow. I had her remain at the hospital just for safe measure."

"I suppose she won't play tomorrow."

"Play?" It was Sasuke who responded. His tone flat. A slight glare. "You're not taking this thing seriously, are you? You were even willing to make us fail."

Chunin exam finals? Who cared about such trivial matters? Maybe they were advertising the strength of the Leaf. But Naruto had no desire to show his strength to these people at this time. Besides, he thought he'd done enough to earn a promotion. That was the main important thing. The finals were just for show. Exhibition matches really. Naruto wouldn't enter into such a spectacle wholeheartedly.

"A Necessary measure at that point." Naruto shrugged. "We most likely would have failed. But we didn't. We came with a plan."

Kakashi didn't want to see an argument. He spoke quickly before Sasuke could reply.

"Sakura won't take part. Its better this way." Kakashi said.

"Better this way?" Naruto's eyes snapped open. A look of amusement flashed through. "You don't want us getting humiliated in the grand stage? The girl has a mouth, but skills? She'd just get mutilated in any battle with those who made it through to the final rounds."

"It's not that." Kakashi wasn't going to admit anything of that sort. "Just be ready for anything tomorrow."

"I'm ready." The confidence in Sasuke's tone was unmatched.

"Be sure you don't get beaten with that attitude. You'll be surprised. Take sensei's words to heart; always expect the unexpected."

Should he say? No, Sasuke was just going to get riled up and attempt to look for his elder brother. It would just inconvenience tomorrow's matches. There was no benefit in talking about it. Or to Kakashi. Naruto stared up for a moment and then released a short breath. He stood up. Talking to Itachi had brought up so many memories. Deep cruelties that scarred him.

"Going somewhere?"

"Need more fresh air." Naruto replied in a flat tone.

"I'll join you." Kakashi said. "Sasuke, don't go anywhere. Rest up. Tomorrow is going to be a big day. And I won't be able to assist you."

Sasuke rolled his eyes. As if the Jonin offered that much help. Well, he couldn't deny that the Jonin had taught him more than he had taught his other students. Chidori. Some use of the Sharingan. Admittedly, it was lot more help than anyone. But there was still a lot more that the Jonin could teach him.

"I hope you get your head in order."

"Are you talking to me?" Naruto asked with a raised brow.

"Who else am I talking to?"

"Your demons? One can never be sure with you." Naruto responded with a slight shrug of his shoulders. "My state of mind should not bother you." He jumped down from the building.

Home was home. Yet, even when he was in a territory that was at odds with his home, Naruto didn't tense as he walked along the streets. Nothing was going to happen. Not unless they were in the exams. While safely strolling through the streets, the Stone would make sure nothing happened, to avoid diplomatic troubles with Konoha. There would be no glaring eyes. No whispers following him along the streets. These people had no opinion of him.

Kakashi appeared beside him silently. The Jonin walked with him along the silent street.

"Do you know how to keep secrets, Kakashi-sensei?"

Kakashi wished Naruto hadn't said that. It was just telling him that whatever he was being told, he had to keep it a secret from everyone, including the Hokage. He was a little conflicted but not doing anything for Naruto, keeping a secret was the least he could do, wasn't it?

"I understand that the village has its priorities and shinobi are supposed to ensure that such a met. Ultimately, we are tools for the shinobi. Yes, we are its valued assets. But the moment we decide to turn against it, we become traitors. Tell me, I don't have any other choice but to live the life of a shinobi, do I?"

Everyone else joined the shinobi academy on their own violation. Nobody is truly forced unless you're born in a clan. But for others, it is a choice. What about Naruto? A Jinchuriki. A Mokuton user. Even the peaceful Sandaime Hokage would think it madness if he allowed such an asset to fold his arms and turn to serving tables at a bar instead of fighting for the village. The Third did want Naruto to live a normal life, but in the shinobi confines.

"Owing to your situation, it would not be acceptable." Kakashi glanced at the blond for a second and then looked at the road ahead. "But you're not actually thinking about quitting, are you?"

"Not at all. I was just thinking about the life of a shinobi and the service to the village. What choice do we have? Are we forced or is it simply our love for the village that makes us do what we do? Those kind of questions. But hardly a matter for one to lose sleep over…" Naruto shrugged, as if to dismiss the subject. "You could say that I have a reason for saying this, or I am trying to cover my tracks, but ever since Orochimaru appeared, and his not subtle threat, I felt I should say this. Because, eventually, he will say it in an effort to drive me away from Konoha. When Orochimaru kidnapped me, I wasn't within the walls of Konoha."

For a second, Kakashi's mobility froze. He wanted to move. But his brain refused to give the command as it processed the shock. Naruto didn't have to say it. The words suggested it. If this became known, if it had become known, it would have been difficult for Naruto to leave the village without a squad of Anbu following him from behind. Kakashi had never quite imagined Naruto was keeping something like that. Did he not trust the Sandaime with this?

"I suppose the Third doesn't know?"

"He feels he doesn't need to tell me things I should know… I also feel he doesn't need to know."

"Why do I get the feeling you know the things the Sandaime isn't telling you."

Naruto smiled. "Now, that is curious. But who knows?"

"I don't think you plan on leaving Konoha. What you said doesn't change anything. How old where you when it happened? You were just a little child. You had no one to talk to and the entire village was against you. Things could have been handled better, but the Sandaime chose his ways, and that was the consequence."

Naïve. Hiruzen had said it so himself. He had been naïve. Naruto was the child of the former Hokage. Not just a Hokage but a man who died to protect the village. The least the Third could've done was to ensure that Naruto was protected, but he failed at that. Knowing Naruto was going to be hated, he could have looked for someone who didn't hate Naruto to raise him. But even when the village had made known their hatred, the Sandaime had thrown Naruto into the orphanage. Did Naruto think like that? He was smart enough to think deeply.

"I have no such thoughts. But people who don't know you can never be too sure. I'm not exactly an open book for that matter."

"Well, anyone who 'knows' you calls you trustworthy. You're closed to just certain people."

"Keep your windows closed… dust enters…" Naruto said with a smile. "I was hoping I could relieve my thoughts a little bit. I want to be thinking perfectly tomorrow. But that doesn't seem like it will be possible."

The Following Day

A mud coliseum. A round arena designed exactly for battle. The crowd was cheering. Roaring in anticipation of thrills. Young children and adults who refused to grow out of being genin. They would all be glaring down at the arena, with slight tension. Surely, they were now making bets. The kids were at the centre of the arena. The residents of this village only had one hope – to see their future Jonin crush the others of other villages. To finally display that the Stone was ready to stand atop of the Great Five Nations.

Onoki knew it wasn't going to be so easy. He could hope. But there was reality. And looking at it carefully, having been told about the exploits of the Team from the Hidden Leaf, he worried that they would humiliate his Genin in their own backyard. He couldn't have the world laughing at him. Not like that. The real exam was over anyway. This was just for the clients. The eyes that liked to gather information and for entertainment. To display future strength to the other Hidden Nations. No doubt, they all had their spies watching the exams.

For this reason, he was going to play smart.

Onoki held up his right hand standing from his seat. He hovered into the air. Displaying his unique ability to defy gravity and nature. To fly like a bird. No, even better. Birds were always in constant move. They could not stand in one place as he could. With the raise of his hand, the murmurs turned into silence. For a second, he enjoyed the power. The silence.

"Congratulations to all of you who have made it to the final round!"

A round of applause from those who came to be entertained. The spies, no doubt, just kept observing. They could be hidden within the civilians. Or watching like many potential clients. You could never know with those trained in the art of deception.

"We chose not to tell you anything about the final round because this doesn't make much weight on your potential to become a Chunin. Of course, there are those who could've made it because they were carried by their teammates. We have noted as such. In the event you made it here, without your fighting skills being tested, this final round will test it. And we will determine whether you pass or fail.

"The real test outside of the village tested not only your teamwork, but your resolve, survival skills, and leadership qualities. All of which are necessary for a Chunin. Sometimes, you will be leading a team of Genin. Sometimes, when the team leader isn't around, you will have to take charge, as was in this case. Some failed. Some made it. In this round, you're not fighting to prove that your success outside was not a mere fluke, but you're also fighting to raise the flag of your village. This is a final round dedicated for your village. You will be fighting to make your village proud. Shinobi live and fight for their villages. I hope, all of you Genin will take this to heart as you take part in this round.

"This will be a tournament. There will be one winner, one who will walk out of here as the strongest… We have counted all of your, there will be five matches. Matchups will be selected randomly. In the matchups, you will fight until your opponent either gives up or is unable to continue fighting. There are no rules. Shinobi battles are not based on rules. You use what you have to win. Use that. Anything to your advantage. Any questions?"

Naruto raised his right hand.

"You said there are no rules. And we can use anything to our advantage. Are you sure about that?"

Onoki stared down at the blond. Was he questioning him? A brat. He was no doubt without courage. But what did he plan on doing. "Do you suppose that could work against anyone?"

"Yes. For example, Iwa Genin. Say I had the power… let me use Earth style for example. If I threatened to collapse this place, or just throw explosive tags to the civilians, if they didn't yield, wouldn't that give me an advantage? According to what you say, that falls within the confines of using any means to gain an advantage… yes?"

There was a collective gasp within the crowd. They all stared down at him in shock. But Onoki wasn't shocked. There was a bit of anger. He was being challenged. Was he going back on the rules? Or did he stand his ground. But what kind of a message did that send to his villagers? He glared down at the blond. A brat. No, quite a clever brat. Hostage situation wasn't a foreign concept. It happened. There was no village that went to war without protecting its village because it wanted to avoid a scenario where its village was held hostage for a surrender.

Before Onoki could speak, Naruto speaking again.

"Well, I was just speaking out loud." He had a wide smile on his lips. Quite enjoying the reaction. "I doubt there is any Genin with that kind of power. Besides, even as shinobi, we have limits. Who would go as far as to threaten the lives of innocents? Then again, there are no rules…"

Onoki was silent. To be put in this situation. Was the brat threatening to hurt his people just to win? Well, it was the easiest way to win. Even weak people could win in this way. There was no pain. No blood shed. No battle. Just the waving of a white flag because of fear. Had the dice been cast already?

"Is that how Leaf shinobi fight?"

Naruto shook his head. "Is that was how Leaf shinobi fight? I wouldn't have stated such words. You were clear; no rules, use anything to your advantage. If I'd did such during the course of my match, you couldn't use it against me because I'd be acting as per your instructions. I pronounced such words to help clear something. Setting such an environment creates such a climate where anything happens. We are shinobi, and we live by rules. Without rules, we are lawless, and are no different from animals."

"Then there is no need to worry. If we must protect our civilians against vile shinobi, we will."

Naruto smiled.

"Well. Let us hope it is clear to everyone that nobody makes the Sandaime Tsuchikage break his own word spoken in front of thousands."

Onoki chose to ignore Naruto. "Kitsuchi will be the proctor in this final round. He will hold the draw for the matchups."

The Iwa Jonin stepped forward holding a small ball with balls within. He did his thing and the five matches were drawn.

'Arashi Vs Tsukume'

'Naruto Vs Sasuke'

'Yoshino Vs Itsu'

'Takemi Vs Yashiro'

For a moment, Naruto stared at the man who made the matchups.

There was no random draw about it. There were only two genin from Kumo and they were all separated but the fact that he and Sasuke were drawn together meant that they could not dominate the tournament. The battle between them would surely tire of them. And they would be easy pickings to the others – if they were strong enough. They had to knock out each other, in the first round.

Well, If Onoki was to be believed, then they had done enough for promotion. If he was denied promotion, then there was politics involved. Naruto didn't need to expose himself to any more pointless battle. Here and now, it was only Sasuke and an exchange of fists with others. Fight for Konoha at this point? Naruto could do it.

He turned to his teammate.

"I guess that is it… I've run my race. You can have some fun."

Sasuke glared. "What is that supposed to mean."

"I'm waving the white flag. You win."

"You're going to runway from battle, just like that. I didn't take you for a coward."

Naruto laughed. "Your attempt to entice me into battle is pathetic. You should know better. But like always, the bigger picture is not visible to you. I won't spoon feed you. You can just enjoy being the best in the tournament. Bring glory to the Hidden Leaf.' He waved his right hand, walking away from the arena.

Even from outside, one could feel the roars. The Genin were truly at it. Fighting their best fights. For the pride of their villages. To best the others. Naruto didn't even look back, hands inside his pockets, strolling through the streets. There were few people outside. But still people. His destination was the hospital. He had no interest in the tournaments. Whether Sasuke lost or won. For him, it was irrelevant.

"Naruto."

He glanced behind, seeing Kakashi rush toward him. A clone? The Jonin couldn't have left the arena. "Sensei… something amiss?"

"Sasuke told me you don't want to fight."

"Needless. I believe I have already done enough. Besides, if I fight in the finals, I'll do something ridiculous. No holding back. On the other side, I'd rather not crush Sasuke's fragile pride. Kabuto is within this village. Better not do anything to tempt the devil."

Forget about Kabuto. He already knew about that. But there was the 'finality' in how Naruto spoke about crushing Sasuke's pride that bothered him.

"You think you can crush him? Not beat him?"

Naruto smiled – the kind of smile that made one feel uncomfortable. "I've been sparring with him for a while. I know his limits. The full extent of his Sharingan abilities. If I was a little stupid, he'd outsmart me in battle. The Sharingan is rather useful in battle. Being able to predict movements. He may be faster. But does not have quite the firepower to break me. Even if I lack skill, I have overwhelming strength. But that is still not quite it. I know all of Sasuke's weak points, how he fights and thinks. I've observed him long enough. In this grand stage where I'm seriously fighting, I would simply break him down, little by little…"

The carelessness in which Naruto those words would have made Kakashi worry if he didn't know him well enough. "You didn't amuse the Tsuchikage and now you leave his tournament. I'm sure he isn't going to be impressed. Don't provoke anymore troubles." The Jonin disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Though a winner, Sasuke didn't quite feel like it. Without defeating Naruto, he could never be at ease. Sure, he'd battled some tough opponents, it was still not enough. Nobody had pushed him in the way Naruto pushes him. The day he would thoroughly defeat Naruto, Sasuke could finally say he was getting there in his dream to be strong enough to kill Itachi. While he would never admit it loudly, he knew he was nowhere near the strength needed. He couldn't even hurt his sensei.

What was next for him? The method of unlocking the Mangekyo Sharingan was dreadful. But he didn't need to move in the same way as Itachi. He could do things on his own.

"For a winner, someone is brooding a little too much…" Naruto commented dryly. The team was heading toward the Tsuchikage tower, their bags behind him. Ready to depart the Stone after a successful tour of the village.

Sasuke tossed a sharp glare toward Naruto. "It's not satisfying since you ran away from battle."

"Didn't wish to humiliate you in front of people." Naruto replied in a dismissive tone. "But don't worry, you'll get to test things with me. That was not the correct time. If we had battled in the first round, none of us would have won the tournament. I took a decision that guarantees Konoha wins."

Humiliate? Naruto did often such things casually. Could he even do it? Sasuke wondered. But more and more they fought side by side, he was seeing a lot more of Naruto that frightened him. Truly in Gai's words, this was his eternal rival.

"The good thing is that you won, Sasuke-kun and we can go home being proud." Sakura interfered between the two.

Kakashi agreed with the girl. "Sakura is right," said the Jonin firmly. "Let's just be happy."