Naruto walked across the bridge to where Konohamaru, Moegi, and Udon waited. They grinned as they saw him waved.
"Naruto niichan!" Konohamaru balled his fists in excitement. "Let's play!"
"Sure." Naruto smiled. "I don't have any missions today, so I'll play with you guys!"
"Yay!" They cheered in unison.
"Huh?" Naruto blinked and a man appeared suddenly behind Moegi, then looked down at her.
He grabbed the girl and quickly leapt up to stand on the Torii as Naruto's eyes widened.
"Leader! Konohamaru!" Moegi struggled and cried out. "Help!"
"What're you doing with Moegi?!" Konohamaru pointed at the stranger and clenched his fist.
"Hey, you! Let Moegi go!" Naruto glared up at him.
The man quickly turned and ran off without a word and Naruto gritted his teeth.
"Darn it!" Naruto looked at the boy beside him. "Let's follow them, Konohamaru!"
"Y-Yeah!"
"W-Wait!" Udon quickly followed behind as they maintained a steady pace.
Naruto moved faster through the trees, glaring ahead at the mysterious man as he pursued him. The man glanced back at him over his shoulder and furrowed his brows.
"Well well... so you can keep up at this speed, huh?"
"Wait for me, Moegi!" Naruto moved faster, leaving Konohamaru and Udon behind.
The boys stopped on a branch and looked around as they caught their breaths.
"Naruto niichan... where'd you go?"
"I think we're lost..." Udon sniffed as his nose dripped and pushed up his glasses.
"No! Let me go!" Moegi cried and kicked as the man tied her to a tree.
He chuckled as she struggled and looked down at her. "Even the strongly fortified Hidden Leaf Village is mine if I slip in the middle of the Chunin Exams' chaos."
Naruto emerged from the trees and the man turned to him.
"So, you've caught up already? That was fast..."
"Hey! You old fat man!" Naruto pointed at him with a hard stare. "What're you going to do with Moegi?!"
"What am I going to do, you ask?" He chuckled again and held a Kunai near her throat. "You want to know?!"
"Wha—?!" Naruto's eyes widened and the man narrowed his eyes.
"Don't make a move!" He warned. "If you do, the brat's dead meat!"
Naruto clenched his fists and gritted his teeth. "Y-You! Why're you doing this?!"
"I want the Hokage's Scroll of Sealing! If you bring it to me, I'll release the brat!"
"The Scroll of Sealing..." Naruto repeated slowly and swallowed.
Moegi wriggled against the rope and tried to call out, but was muffled by the cloth over her mouth.
"What're you doing?" The Ninja narrowed his eyes at Naruto. "Hurry up and bring me the Scroll of Sealing already! Don't you care what happens to her?"
"What'll happen if... I say heck no?" Naruto smirked slightly.
"So, you really don't care what happens to this brat, then?"
"Heh!" His smirk broadened and he rubbed his nose. "I'm fine with whatever happens to that bunch of straw, I say."
"Wha—?!" The Ninja turned quickly to look behind and his eyes widened at the straw substitute tied up. "When did he do that?!"
He looked up into the tree where another Naruto stood with Moegi, smirking.
"I've taken Moegi back from you, thanks!"
"As expected, great leader!" The girl grinned up at him. "I really respect you!"
"Damn it! The Clone Jutsu, huh?" The Shinobi scowled and clenched his fist.
"You don't know when to give up!" Naruto threw a net over the Ninja, before he could attack. A group of other clones jumped on the man to pin him down. The clones vanished in a puff of smoke and Naruto remained sitting on the Ninja.
"Naruto niichan!" Konohamru ran into the clearing, closely followed by Udon.
"Hey! You're late, Konohamaru!" Naruto grinned and turned to him.
"Konohamaru!" Moegi ran to him and hugged him. "I was so scared!"
"There there..." He patted her head with a smile.
"Leader, did you catch him?" Udon looked down at the Ninja, then back up at Naruto.
"Yup! As you can see!" Naruto stood and looked down at the man, and his eyes widened. "Huh?! He's gone!"
"Substitution Jutsu?" Konohamaru muttered and eyed the boulder beneath the net.
"Darn it!" Naruto held up his hand, looking around. "When did he switch?!"
"I see..." The Ninja watched Naruto from where he hid behind a tree. "He's better than I anticipated..."
Sakura sat on the small balcony with her legs drawn close to her chest and sighed as she looked up.
"The Chunin Exams, huh...?"
"Yo." Sasuke called up to her from the street with his hand in his pocket.
Sakura jumped and turned, blinking. "S-Sasuke? What's up?"
"How about we go for a walk?"
She blushed and grinned. "No way! For real?!"
"Um..." Sakura looked over at Sasuke after walking for a while, breaking the silence between them. "Sasuke? What's up all of a sudden?"
"Sakura..." Sasuke stopped walking and kept his back to her. "Give up on the Chunin Exams... it's too early for you."
"Is it?" Sakura sighed and stared at the ground. "...I thought so."
"The Chunin Exam is a gathering of top dogs... you might die if you're not careful."
"Sasuke!" She blushed again and looked at him, smiling faintly. "So, you're worried about me, right?"
"Yeah... kind of..."
A cackling laugh echoed around them and a man appeared on one of the posts from the thick mist around them.
"What a touching display of affection, eh?"
"Don't talk as if you know everything!" The man growled and jumped into the air, launching a volley of Shuriken at him. Sasuke knocked them away easily with his Kunai, then narrowed his eyes at the enemy.
"Don't make me angry!" Sasuke ran at the Ninja with his Kunai readied.
"Sasuke!" Sakura held her fist close to her as she blushed. "He's so cool!"
The Ninja grabbed one of the metal umbrellas from his back and threw it down at the Genin.
"Don't take me lightly!" Sasuke threw his Kunai to knock it away, and it burst open, spilling out hundreds of Shuriken at him before he could dodge.
Sakura's eyes widened and she paled. "Sasuke!"
She gulped and covered her mouth as she trembled and he lay motionless. "S-Sasuke...?"
She gulped and covered her mouth as she trembled and he lay motionless. "S-Sasuke...?" She ran over to him as her eyes spilled over. "Sasuke!"
Sakura threw herself on Sasuke's body and cried, and the Ninja chuckled and walked over to her slowly.
"If you don't want to end up like this, you'll give up on the Chunin Exam, too."
"Sasuke... don't die!" She whispered and buried her face in her arms. "Please..."
She stopped crying abruptly and sat up with a slight smile. "You're making a big mistake if you'd think I'd do that. I was aware if this Genjutsu right from the start!"
"What?!"
Sakura stood and stared at the man and put a hand on her hip. "The real Sasuke wouldn't do something like invite me to go for a walk! Don't make me say such frustrating things! This kind of elementary Genjutsu won't work on me!"
"Did you say elementary?"
"That's right!" Sakura nodded. "Incidentally, I've seen through that you're also an illusion and aren't really here!"
The Ninja laughed loudly to himself and narrowed his eyes. "I don't know about... that!"
He threw this second umbrella weapon at her, and she furrowed her brows, walking directly into its path. It passed through her and vanished, and she smiled.
"See?"
The man laughed again. "Just what I'd expect of Kakashi's student... however, this will become reality in the Chunin Exam! I wonder if you can endure that?"
He disappeared, along with the false Sasuke, and Sakura balled her fists.
"I'm not scared! I'll take them on anytime!" She pumped her fist into the air. "The Chunin Exam isn't...!" She slouched forward and sighed heavily. "I... I'm still not sure if I can really do it..."
Sasuke glared and kicked the Ninja, sending his flying back several meters before he skidded to a stop and slowly sat up.
"That was a stupid thing to do... attacking me."
Kakashi sat on a roof overlooking the village with Natsumi quietly.
"Hmm... he should be here about now..." He muttered to himself.
The mysterious Ninja appeared nearby and Kakashi turned slightly to acknowledge him.
"How was it?"
"We went to the trouble of having a special preliminary exam for each of the rookies, but all nine passed." With a cloud of smoke, the Jutsu was undone and Iruka stood in his place. "Just as you said, it appears that their skills have definitely improved."
"Well, the actual Chunin Exam won't end just at this, but..." Kakashi turned slightly at him. "I'm sure they can handle it."
Iruka nodded, then looked at Natsumi. "Natsumi? You're here, too?"
She nodded with a smile. "I'd heard about all of this from Kiri, who heard it from AIto, who overheard Lord Third. I was curious to see how it would go, so I asked if I could wait here to hear what you had to say." She glanced at Kakashi, then back to Iruka. "But, I'm glad to hear that Naruto did well! I knew he would."
Iruka smiled. "I thought I would have to worry more about him, but it seems he's becoming a fine Shinobi."
"Of course. He has a dream, and he absolutely won't ever give up on it." Natsumi nodded. "His Ninja Way is ironclad." She giggled. "And, he's also just stubborn."
"I can't argue with that." Iruka laughed and scratched his head. "It's late, so I'll be going now. Bye, Kakashi." He looked at Natsumi. "Don't stay out too late. I'm sure Naruto's wondering where you are now, and it's important for kids your age to get plenty of sleep."
"I know, Iruka-sensei." She waved her hand and drew her legs in close. "You worry too much, sometimes."
"Sorry." He smiled and waved. "See you later, then."
Natsumi waved back as he left, then looked at Kakashi. "Since they did so well, do you still want to go ahead with the exercise?"
"Hmm... might as well." He shrugged, then crossed his arms. "We've already prepared for it... not to mention, I've been curious as to what the outcome of it would be for a while."
Natsumi blinked and blushed slightly. "R-Really?"
He's really been planning this for a while... involving me?
"Well, it should be interesting to watch, at least." He looked up at the clouds as they obscured the moon briefly, and then stood and looked down at her. "That's all for now. Come to that spot in the morning as planned."
She nodded and he left, and she smiled to herself as she leaned back to lay on the roof.
Naruto, are you ready for tomorrow? I'm curious to see what will happen, too...