24. The days get later still, yet these fingers find no rest. Ah, if one could cry out to be heard – then maybe the world would pause and listen. Why does the caged bird sing?


There's no pause for the competitors, no commercial break or the like, let alone a formal opportunity for them to throw in the towel.

Ninjas are not samurai, but they have their own pride. If not for the rightfulness by which they fight, then the way in which they fight and win.

"The first team that I draw from this box will be given free pass to the last round of the matches, which will leave the remaining teams as our next match."

Among the remaining teams are all his students, and he allows himself the luxury of worry.

The three pairs in their holding area, earnestly discussing with each other. No doubt questions of rigging the exams, he taught his team like that.

He's not too worried about who wins or who loses, the audience has a winner in mind, and since majority wins, the ninjas will deliver accordingly.

Looks like they know, already, who will be fighting.

Neji extends his hand towards Naruto, Sakura extends her hand toward Gaara.

While it would have been polite to allow Gai's miniature time to rest, Sakura who healed him probably deserves the courtesy more.

In fact, in being chauvinistic, Sakura and her partner should have been the names drawn first.

Asuma elbows him.

"Your students rigged the exam or what?"

Hayate announces, "Rock Lee and Uchiha Sasuke will be moving onto the finals!"

He scoffs.

"Hokage-sama is not entirely unpredictable. Neither are merchants or nobles. Sasuke is the last Uchiha, naturally he would be favoured."

Not answering directly, but general remarks that should be easy enough to piece together.

Watching the way Asuma's cigarette shifts to the corner of his mouth, lips forming a dark smirk.

Kakashi shifts to a more chipper tone.

"Want to bet? I bet that Sakura and Neji will win."

Gai pipes up, "Yosh, I will take that bet! I am sure that Neji and Sakura's flames of youth will triumph!"

Kurenai, from a few rows behind, looks quizzically at them.

Asuma shakes his head, "If you were talking like you meant it, Kakashi, Naruto and the Kazekage's son will have to win. That's what the audience are itching for. They want a clash of Suna and Konoha's prized fighters."

Slyly, then Kakashi remarks, "But without the mass of his sand, what can the monster of Suna do? Out of his element, protected by a Konoha-nin, for him to move on would be an utter disgrace."

They look back at the towering glass structure and Hayate calls for the two pairs.


The match kicks off with Naruto summoning clones, and as expected, Gaara falls back.

The audience ripples in disappointment.

Gaara and Naruto are similar in many ways.

They specialise, and in doing so, become reliant.

"Kakashi, did you give him anything other than those clones of his?"

"Naruto might just surprise you. There are many things he can do with clones that we can't even imagine."

On command, most of the Narutos disintegrate to form sand.

And following the hand movements of the Kazekage's child, a looming cloud of sand particles coalesce behind them.

"That's not sand is it? It's just an illusionary Transformation Jutsu, the academy E-rank, right?"

He shrugs, because he's not sure himself. Kunai!Narutos can be thrown, and certainly feel like kunai even as they hum with his chakra.

"Naruto has a lot of chakra. His Transformations are quite solid."

Other than that, since the mind is the strongest tool, the Naruto clones could theoretically meld with Gaara's controlling force and act as his sand anyway.

The set-up is all and well, Neji and Sakura look as if they've been placed in a tight spot but they hold their positions.

Naruto sends wave after wave of clones, it would get boring if not for how easily the clones were being destroyed.

Naruto is a miser when it comes to kunai, he can't afford to arm all his clones like he arms himself.

In reply, the clones are each armed with another of their comrades, kunai, shuriken, the occasional alarm clock or sink doesn't matter.

With the benefit of seeing the entire battlefield, Kakashi watches with interest the discreetly shifting grains of 'sand'.

While Sand!Narutos cannot be used as a form of ultimate protection, or be hardened into a weapon, Gaara is a perfect cover to getting more Naruto clones closer to their targets.

Sakura whips a row of her chains diagonally forward, tearing through the clone vanguard.

Kakashi, as their teacher knows that the current battle is at a standstill.

Sakura expends little to no chakra in maintaining or moving her chains, because she isn't extending them or contorting them in weird shapes.

Naruto is a chakra battery with a near limitless amount of energy – his stores are not the type to be fazed by a couple hundred thousand Shadow Clones.

Or not so many; Not so many, but about there.

In a battle of attrition, no one wins.

And both teams are gunning for the finals, they can't show any extra trump cards, nor can they afford to expend too much chakra.

Maybe Sakura should build Neji a wall?

In this battle, Neji has the most, relatively, chakra taxing skill set.

Not that he's using any.

So far, from the Hyuga Clan's rising star, they have yet to see any gasp worthy skills.

The Hyuga Head, a block or two down with his daughters by his side, looks oddly pensive.

As if he's expecting something more.

Combat is repetitive, chakra chains dispelling clones, Juken snagging those which get too close for comfort, but neither side pushes.

Sakura and Neji are more reactionary, and so Naruto and Gaara have to act first.

He watches carefully, sliding his headband up to get a better look.

Small flecks of chakra skittering across the floor, and split seconds before it happens, the battleground is lit up in a bright blue glow.

He smirks, watching from behind the shroud, rotation, chakra, power, combining and then a loss of control – an expanding sphere that explodes outwards, throwing aside all grains of 'Sand', Naruto hastily forming clones to break he and his partner's fall.

The red head scowls, voice carrying.

"If they had stayed still, we would have managed to kill them."

Naruto breaks the moment with a clear laugh, "So it's good that Sakura-chan and Neji-san didn't stay still, right, Gaara?"

Gai hums in approval, "That was well timed indeed!"

He shakes his head, "They lost control."

Asuma offers his two-cents.

"Lost control or not, it worked, and looks like with minimal chakra loss as well. Sure looks like a complete success to me. You helped them with it, Kakashi?"

He attempts to shift into a more comfortable position, but the plastic seat offers little of comfort.

"Nah they trained pretty much exclusively in the Hyuga compound. Maybe once or twice they sparred with me or Gai, but I never saw anything like this."

Gai smiles, "It was a pet project. I'm surprised they got so far without Hyuga-sama's aid."

Kakashi notes that the Hyuga Clan Head's grip on the railing in front of him is knuckle white.

But something in those pupil-less eyes catches him off guard, "Pride?" he finds himself wondering aloud.

Gai beams now, truly happy, "It's not every day that someone reverse engineers a Hyuga oral tradition right? Neji was built for greater, and with Sakura-chan's help, they did it."

The pair recover from their attack, Neji's hands on Sakura's shoulders, their sphere having cut deep grooves in the ground around them.

Her chains settle down and fade out.

Sakura supplies the chakra, Neji handles the shaping.

It's a classique (fancy intonation and all) case of Ultimate Defense v. Ultimate Attack.

The pairs know it well. And the longer they drag, the more they tip the scales in favour of Sasuke and Lee.

The audience shifts vaguely in boredom, and his Sharingan registers pre-movement.

Sakura chances a look in his direction, and it was just faint sorrow.

He's caught off guard, not sure what to make of it.

Then, the feathers began to fall.


Sakura is their team's Genjutsu specialist. She would naturally have been the first to recognise those threads of chakra settling around everyone else's, in an attempt to ensnare.

She pulses once, pulling on Neji, and their sphere builds up again, exploding outwards.

Like a gentle wave breaking against a shoreline, a ripple of chakra swooping through the crowd and shattering the illusion as quickly as it set.

In hindsight, she could have considered such a careless expenditure of chakra risky – but waking the numerous Jonin in the crowd would save more people than her chakra could have alone anyway.

The civilians flail about in panic, but the attackers don't care much for overweight nobles.

Gaara rasps out that, "Sand and Sound are invading."

In that moment, his siblings reappear from the medic stands.

Temari firmly remarks that, "We do not condone the attack. We're in no state to fight anyway."

Kankuro shrugs indifferently, and Gaara seals the deal.

"I will not fight."

The sight of the Suna siblings conversing amicably is enough to give their Jonin sensei pause, for he barks out orders from across the stadium.

It's enough of a pause for Sensei to sneak up on Baki-san, and he goes down.

Had the invasion been more successful in its opening, Sakura would have questioned Sensei's unusual streak of mercy.

But somehow, they can all feel that the invasion faltered in its first steps.

She chances a questioning look at Temari-san who looks simply tired, "Gaara was supposed to release the Ichibi."

The eldest Sand Sibling nearly moves into a more detailed explanation but the lack of surprise in Sakura's eyes brings pause, only Neji asks.

"The Ichibi?"

Naruto smiles, "A bijuu, Neji-san. Konoha has the Kyuubi. I have it."

This is diplomacy in the most basic form, connecting on a personal level, but it is Naruto's best skill.

Gaara throws a hand out and dust lifts itself from the stadium floors.

Sakura wonders, what would a child, who knew only fear, do?

Because Neji takes to the news well, not understanding quite the magnitude of a Bijuu's strength and Kankuro flinches at his brother's movement.

His voice, amplified, roaring through the stadium, a hint of gravel and the Suna-nin stall in fear.

"Cease."

Rocks grinding themselves to sand grains – a cloud of actual sand growing behind him.

Then his gourd, scattering into sand, joining the same cloud.

Amassing, reminding the Sand ninjas of his ability to murder, bringing them from loyalty to his father, to fear of him.

He turns to Naruto.

"Your grandfather and my father are fighting on the roof I think. We should go."

They ascend through the open ceiling on a cloud of sand, like saints floating off to heaven.

Neji remarks faintly, "Your teammate is built for greatness."

She smiles, "He is, isn't he?"

He follows, "Fate smiles on him."

She has a laugh at that, "It's the least she could do, given what she took from Naruto-chan. Is it an equal exchange? Arguable, Neji."

Sasuke and Lee on the opposite side of the stands, gesturing for them to hurry over.

Sensei's lazy slouch – his mission completed.

"The main force has been subdued, however, this Invasion was supplemented by Oto nin. We still have a team unaccounted for. Hokage-sama drew Kazekage-sama away, our job is to track down, capture or eliminate the remaining enemy ninja."

The drawl in his voice – the lack of urgency, and Sakura cocks her head aside.

"Sensei, you aren't going to help Hokage-sama?"

Ah, his shoulders humming, tense.

A pleasant smile, "The ANBU are working to pull down the seal barrier around them. Jiraiya-sama is dealing with a snake infestation by the Northern Gate."

He shifts his body to hide the gaping hole off in that direction.

"Nothing for you all to worry your heads over."

A distant groan, trees falling over in groves.

Sakura openly laughs.

"I will go out and find the stragglers. Please protect them, Sensei."

Discreetly, he makes a clone to accompany her.

The real Sensei herds Neji and Sasuke into rounding up the Suna captives in the stadium.


"So it's not Sand, is it? It's the Sannin, Orochimaru-san, right?"

He pats her on the head as she casts a look around.

"Maa, so polite, aren't you, Sakura-kun?"

Chains batting kunai away from popping sensei's clone, and clone!Sensei steals a kunai off her to plant in the attacker's neck.

When they reach the corpse, she starts, hands glowing green, calling out, "Shiore-san?"

Kakashi-sensei looking over her shoulder, tapping into some kind of communications system, "This is a notification. Hatake reporting, Kusa is on the Sand-Oto side of the attack."

Eyes opening a fraction, and a different voice, "Orochimaru-sama…"

She frowns, before the healing stops on its own, Sensei pulls her back, out of the trajectory of more kunai.

His teammates throwing themselves at the pair.

"You killed him?"

Even tone belying her shaking hands, "We did," nodding with false confidence, and Sensei launches more kunai.

Left, to drive them to the right, shuriken to the top-down, pinning them, one going off course, burying itself in Shiore-san's forehead.

Sakura exhales, turning away, remarking mildly, "Sensei, now I have to replace so many more weapons."

That is his student's best gift.

She has an impenetrable poker face in a non-traditional sense – it's open to interpretation.

He's never sure what is and what is not.

The 'is' are a bundle of unsettling conclusions he would much rather not make.

Things along the line of, traitor sympathy and non-devotion to Konoha. The kind of things that Minato-sensei protected him from, but he cannot protect Sakura from.

"Are we going snake hunting, Kaka-sensei?"

He shakes his head in disagreement, "Let's not. I rather not get bitten."

She seizes his hand then, deceptively light, "Then let's go find Naruto-chan."

"Careful, Sakura-kun. If you squeeze my hand any tighter, I'll pop."

She tugs him in the general direction, urging him to return towards the stadium, and the clone gives in.

They begin moving, only for Sakura to stop – surprised.

Chains materialising, one glowing and her fingers run along the links.

"Sensei, can you tell where Hinata is? She's hurt."

He frowns, Isn't Naruto v. a Kage more important?, but complies, summoning Biscuit.

Sakura is focussed, not asking too many questions, pulling a cord out from her sleeves.

"The lavender scent. I'm guessing you work by scent, right?"

The nin-dog looks troubled, but takes his best shot.

"Pakkun would have been better, but I will do my best, Kakashi. Doesn't look like you have enough chakra for him."

Running away from the stadium, clone!Kakashi is struck by how human he is.

He – a clone, is worried.


She monitors the chain closely, but no more damage appears.

That though, could be even more dangerous.

They burst in through a clearing and Sakura's vision zooms in on the rucksack by the foot of a tree.

Next – the bald, Kumo-nin hovering nearby.

Biscuit digs his teeth into the man's leg, ripping through the grey fabric.

Sakura's chains materialise fully, she draws her hand back forming a spade shape and the chains sharpen to form points.

Hurling them forward like a spear, catching the male with a glancing blow, "Sensei, please get Hinata-chan!"

The sight of Sensei is enough to scare the lone attacker, Sakura doesn't miss again, driving the chains through his chest, tangling with the chakra network as it goes.

He dies quickly.

Sakura looks down at the dog who only then lets go of the leg in his mouth.

Then, Biscuit pops.

Sheer reflex and her chains sprouting fresh from her back, blocking the kunai aimed at her neck.

She retreats a few paces but the other ninja is faster.

Grey, she registers in the corner of her vision.

Chains flicking up, batting kunai and shuriken away.

Like a game of cat and mouse, Sakura is aware she will tire if she lets herself be played.

She makes a lunge for the bag with Hinata, chain making it through and pulsing green strongly.

Landing gracelessly, her back to the bag, she's comforted by the fact that Hinata appears to be physically well.

At that, she supresses a sneer.

Of course she'd be in perfect condition. They want her eyes.

Half her chains form a shell around the bag, flattening out to protect their sleeping princess.

"You have good chakra control, kid. But what if I muck it up?"

Slipping through her guard, a fired spark too quick for her remaining chain to absorb.

Irony.

It's Sensei's chain.

Her fingers spasm, and she can't help but bait him, "My teammate can electrocute people whole. Yours feel like flies."

Because from experience, Kumo nin tend to be the most hot-headed, egoistical of the ninja bunch.

The forest is not a conducive place to fight, but the clearing is a field advantage for the Kumo ninja.

She backs into the bush, walking up the tree to move out of range of his bolts.

He begins firing blindly, and she eggs him on.

Please, please, someone see it. Sensei… please say that was a Shadow Clone and not an Elemental Bunshin.

"Oh missed me again!"

He fires them larger and larger.

One catches her on her knee and she stumbles.

Hastily healing the nasty burn, she hides it with a laugh, "Poor tree… Come next fall, he'll be good as new."

She stops moving entirely, part trying to intimidate him with the silence, part trying to get used to the loss of sensation from her right knee down.

Her Senpai chain does its best, forging new nerves to replace the fried ones, accelerating healing rate and shedding the thin stripe of blackened skin.

A more serious, but localised version of Sasuke-chan's wounds from that time in Wave.

Within the silence, the male changes tactics.

She knows this the moment she feels electric sparks ripple through her frame, can see the lightning chakra being conducted in minute amounts near Hinata's prone form.

At the risk of making it more brittle, she expands the protective dome of chakra.

Dropping down from the trees and taking up a defensive stance in front of Hinata, kunai ready.

"How is it that you aren't running out of chakra yet, boy?"

"I could ask the same of you, Mister."

"Aren't you a polite child? I guess it would be polite to give you my name. My name is Sekiei. The unfortunate man you killed was Choku."

Sakura shifts here and there, attempting to see if she can try and enclose herself with Hinata.

But we don't know if anyone is coming.

She breathes, keeping calm.

"What's your name, Cherry-head?"

She tries to lull him into a relaxed mode, smiling, "That's my name, Sekiei-san."

"What, Sakura?"

She nods, "Yeah. That's my name."

He lunges at her, as she expected, but her feet are rooted to the ground, "Earth Style?"

She ducks in time for his arm to go soaring above him.

Coating her hands in green, prepared now, grabbing hold of him and using her chains to attempt flinging him away.

"Not bad, you even foresaw that I would be humming with lightning chakra. I'm glad you think so highly of me."


"You talk too much," comes the dry retort, and the clearing is quiet again.

Like a patterned dance, the male sidesteps Sakura, and the shadow in the forest takes a side step.

Both forward, both turning, stepping towards each other, one two, and Sakura takes a heavy swing at the man who drops like a pile of rocks.

"ANBU. I think Ibiki will be quite pleased to see you."

She half bows in her stuck state, "Shikaku-sama."

"Where's the accomplice?" he asks, bending down to remove the chakra reinforced mud around her feet.

She gestures back, but he doesn't look at her – she can't see his face either.

"In the future, if this technique catches you again, channel chakra to your feet. Feel for the cracks the mud made as it dried and blow it apart."

The girl stumbles as her legs are freed. Like her, the shield around Hinata falls.

The Nara Clan Head catches her, jarring her knee in the process.

She coughs to hide her wince, limping over to Hinata and pulling the rough cloth off her head.

The girl is sound asleep, a check confirms that it is medically induced.

Sakura gathers the Hyuga heiress in her arms, chains patching the cut half hidden by the bulky jacket, the original wound she felt.

Sending chakra to support her knee, she bows once more, "Thank you, Shikaku-sama," before heading for the Hyuga compound.

He doesn't offer to carry Hinata, he knows her well.

"I've already talked to Kakashi-san. If anyone asks, I killed the other ninja."

"Choku."

He arches an eyebrow.

She gives him a half smile, "His name was Choku."

He nods in acceptance.

Tapping, once twice.

Commander announcing, the Invasion has officially ended. Belligerents have all been apprehended.

A series of Roger, in reply.

He can feel, that tightly coiled chakra headed Sakura's general direction.

He pities that man sometimes.

Some days.

Today is another of those days.

Unlike Hiashi, he can't put the village's safety over his own child's.

Maybe it's because he only has Shikamaru left.

He forgets, some days that Hiashi is a man who has seen his brother die for the village.

Shikaku doesn't have siblings to lose.

Doesn't have a kid with a bloodline so valuable people would kill for, and therefore,

Cannot understand.


They saw each other from opposite ends of the alley, and yet they paused.

Sakura knows, he saw her from kilometres away.

She goes half the way, waiting for the Hyuga Head to meet her in the middle.

Past the guilt of a father who was not there to save his own daughter, past the shame of his prideful clan name, those folded arms.

As if Sakura could not already tell that his hands were locked together, joints stiff and in pain, just hidden by the sleeves of his yukata.

She stretches her hands out, knowing even just Hinata's weight is too much for her to hold like that.

"I think a clan somewhere is missing its princess, Hiashi-sama."

Restraining himself, politely receiving his eldest child, "Thank you… Lady Sakura."

He uses the honorific as a type of shield, she smiles not exactly at him but at Hinata.

"Hinata is my friend, Hiashi-sama."

She walks past him, through the alley.

"Hinata is my daughter, Lady Sakura."

She's happy, that he declared such a thing.

Rather than label her an heiress of their clan, claiming Hinata as his own.

It makes Sakura genuinely happy.

Sakura pauses a moment, to contemplate his back-straight figure.

"The village may not understand the pain of someone who has sacrificed everything for the village. But there are some things that one shouldn't have to sacrifice for the village. The village doesn't deserve such sacrifice, Hiashi-sama."

The father is swayed, but the Clan Head remains unshaken in his beliefs.

Something that Sakura, in lacking loyalty like the Hyuga have towards Konoha,

Cannot understand.


I had more things to do this chapter (scratches head), but there's not enough space for me to write it up, so next chapter it is.

Next chapter, will be tying up on the results of the Konoha (not) Crush(ed), physical and politically - I'm going to theorise more reasons why Orochimaru attacked, and why he would not have wanted to.

I'll allude to, but not describe their battle (Hokage v. fake Kazekage), and I am going to shade Lord Hiruzen a bit greyer, and more misguided, so that Orochimaru-san can be more of a grey!Villian rather than a monster. If you watched Hello Monster/I Remember You, he'll be like Lee Joon Young/Ho. [If you haven't watched it, I recommend it.]

Back to what we did this chapter, I decided to emphasise more on the background of canon that the actual invasion. Because we all know Gamabunta is OP and Manda did not make it for KC anyway. (Gj Jiraiya!)

Yes, it's canon that Hinata was kidnapped again (poor princess) by Kumo.

Canon wise, Neji + Hiashi + team saved Hinata, but I'm not going to say that the Kumo ninjas would fight Hinata.

No, they wanted a capture and retreat. They wouldn't fight her, just knock her out and make a break for it.

One guy's name was Quartz, the other was Chalk.

Names have power. Knowing who you kill and not are different things.

I had almost wanted Shikaku to have to Shadow Possess her to stop her from killing Sekiei because Sakura wouldn't see quite the importance of keeping the man alive in favour of hurting someone who was trying to take Hinata away.

I hope you all aren't too disappointed that we never saw Sasuke and Lee fight, I was really intending on writing Chidori+Gates combi hmm…

Also, the POVs swapped more this chapter, hope you were able to keep up.

Housekeeping wise, I'm trying to find and make constant the spellings of some things. I'll stick with Jonin, Kyuubi, Hyuga and Bijuu from now on

Review and make my days to come (cough, I'm also early this time, so even if it's just hi, don't be a ninja ;)

Kayo.