Sasuke lay unconscious on the ground with Sakura kneeling beside him as Shiore ran at them, smirking as he held up a Kunai. Naruto's eyes widened as Shiore lunged at Naruto to bury his Kunai into his stomach.

Naruto woke up screaming, sitting up quickly to hold his head as it pounded. A large knot formed on the top of his head, and Choji and Shikamary knelt beside him, as Choji held a large stick. Naruto's scream tapered off and he blinked, then looked around. To see Sakura and Sasuke sitting together. He blinked again, and looked over to see Ino half-carrying Lee, and his eyes widened.

"That guy?!" Naruto started to stand. "Everyone, hide!" He shook his head quickly, then threw himself to the ground to crawl. "No, lie down quick! W-Where's that guy at?!"

"Naruto...?" Sakura blinked and turned to look at him.

Ino stopped walking and puffed her cheeks as she furrowed her brows at the blond. "That fool. He finally woke up."

Choji prodded the lump on Naruto's head with the stick, now standing with a frown as Naruto blinked.

"You're sure one of a kind." Shikamaru let out a sigh and stuck his hands into his pockets as he stood. "Actually, you're getting on my nerves."

"Hmph." Naruto made a face and looked back at Sakura and Sasuke, staring intently at Sakura for a moment before his eyes widened. "S-Sakura! Y-Your...!"

"What?"

Naruto ran up to her and skidded to a stop as he sat beside her. "Sakura, your hair!"

"Oh. This?" She lifted a piece of her hair between her fingers and looked at it. "I'm just... changing my image." She stroked the back of her hair with a slight smile. "I liked it better long, but... when I move around in a foret like this, it just gets in the way when it's long."

Choji and Shikmaru approached and looked down at Naruto with matching frowns, and Naruto looked over at them over his shoulder.

"By the way... why are you guys here?!"

"Heh... It's too much of a drag to explain it to you." Shikamaru put his hand in his pocket and let out a breath.

"Everyone helped out." Sakura said softly.

"Huh?" Naruto turned back to her.

Ino smirked slightly. "Hmph. Sakura's putting on a show of bravado..."

Tenten jumped down in front of Ino and met her eyes. "I'll take care of him from here."

"Oh. Okay." Ino nodded and gently slid Lee's arm from around her shoulders, and Tenten gripped Lee's arms, then started to shake him hard.

"Hey! Get it together, Lee!"

Lee dropped to his knees and Tenten put her hands on her hips as his eyes opened slowly and he blinked.

"Oh? Tenten? Why are you here?"

She knelt in front of him and smiled. "I came to help."

"Help?" Lee repeated and looked around. "Those guys... where are the Sound Village Ninja?"

Tenten furrowed her brows. "That kid named Sasuke drove them away!"

"I see..." Lee turned to looked toward team seven and watched Sasuke, and Tenten frowned and poked his forehead sharply.

"Why did you hastily decided to act on your own?! Besides! You got really beaten up!" She let out a hot breath as she shook her head and crossed her arms. "Well...?"

"S-Sakura was in danger. So, as a man, I..."

"You've got to be kidding me. If it were Lee alone, he absolutely wouldn't have lost to the guys." She furrowed her brows and met his eyes. "You're such an idiot."

Lee sighed and hugged his knees, drawing his legs closer. "I can't argue with that."

"Hey, Bushy-brow!" Naruto ran over to him and pointed at him.

"NARUTO!" Sakura glared and drew back her fist, running up quickly to hit him hard in the face, throwing him across the clearing. "Don't say rude things to Lee!"

Naruto hit the ground hard and blinked as he lay there for a moment. "What... in the world... happened while I was asleep?"

"That Naruto, he's completely out of the loop." Shikamaru sighed and crossed his arm, keeping his eyes on the blond.

"He's not the type to be the protagonist of a story, that's for sure." Choji mumbled and made a face.

"Lee-san..." Sakura looked down at him as he sat and he met her eyes. "...Thank you."

His eyes widened slightly and she smiled.

"Because of you, I was able to wake up. I feel like I've gotten a little stronger!"

Lee blushed and his eyes watered as he pouted. "S-S-Sakura-san..." He sniffed and wiped his face with his forearm. "It looks like my efforts were not enough!" He turned to Sasuke, who stood beside Sakura. "Sasuke... just what you'd expect from the Uchiha clan." He frowned slightly and looked down. "To chase off those Sound Village Ninja... it's just as I thought. You posessess amazing strength. I was beaten to a pulp."

Sasuke's eyes widened, then he furrowed his brows. "What?! He was beaten to a pulp?! What is he talking about? Were those guys really that strong?"

"Sakura!" Lee looked back at her. "The Lotus of the Leaf Village blooms twice."

"Huh?"

Lee smiled and furrowed his brows. "When we meet again, I will have become a stronger man. I pledge it."

Tenten looked at Lee and put a hand on her hip and Sakura blinked, and then smiled.

"Okay!"

Naruto made a face as he lay on his belly, kicking his feet in the air as he rested his cheek in his hand, watching Lee and Sakura. "Hmph."

"Hey, Sakura!" Ino called out and she turned to her. "Come here, come here! I'll fix your hair for you!"

"Okay!" Sakura smiled and walked toward Ino. "That'd be great." She sat in front on Ino, who knelt behind her and started to carefully cut her hair with a Kunai.

"Hmph." Ino furrowed her brows as she cut. "You're really sneaky. Hugging him like that, you little Billboard Brow."

"Heh." Sakura glanced at her from the corner of her eye. "It's called first-come-first-serve, Miss Ino-Pig."

Neji stood on a branch overlooking the group, his hand on his hip as he kept his eyes on Sasuke in silence. "Sasuke Uchiha... in any case, he's a strong opponent."

Akamaru trembled and whimpered on the floor in front of Kiba, who frowned and reached out to gently stroke his head. "Are you okay, Akamaru?"

"Is he still shaking?" Shino glanced downward at the dog. "It's already been half a day."

"Poor Akamaru..." Hinata knelt beside him to gently pat his back.

"I don't blame him... it's all because he saw that... monster."

"Yeah! This will be a piece of cake!" Kiba grinned as team eight moved quickly through the trees and pointed a thumb at himself. "After all, brains are most important in survival! Right, Akamaru?"

The small dog yapped in agreement as he jumped beside Kiba.

"Heh. Lucky for us, the guys who got caught in that trap had an earth scroll!" Kiba laughed. "We'll be the first to the tower at this rate!"

"Don't get too full of yourself." Shino glanced over at him. "That's dangerous. No matter how small an insect is, it has to guard itself at all times. We have to pay attention to avoid coming across any enemies...This is safety."

"I know that!" Kiba frowned and turned to him. "As always, you're speaking in a way that's difficult to understand, bug-nerd."

Shino furrowed his brows as Kiba raced off ahead, and Hinata looked over at him.

"Um... b-but... what Shino said... he has a point."

"I know! C'mon." Kiba rolled his eyes. "Don't you get on my case, too, Hinata."

Hinata pressed her lips together. "Naruto... I hope nothing's happened to him..."

Akamaru yapped softly and Kiba furrowed his brows and sniffed the air, stopping on a branch and holding out his arms to the side.

"Hey, you two. Stop." They stopped and stood beside him, and he straightened and sniffed the air again. "We're bein' careful not to come across enemies, right?" He turned to Hinata and pointed. "Then, Hinata! Can you see one kilometer in that direction?"

"Mhm." Hinata's eyes followed his finger and she nodded. "Yes, I'll have a look." She stood and formed a sign, closing her eyes for a moment before reopening them again as the veins around her eyes bulged. "Byakugan!"

Her vision focused ahead and, through the trees, she caught sight of the red-haired Sand Genin standing in a clearing. "There's someone there."

Shino knelt and pressed his ear to the thick branch they stood on. "Evidently... there are six people..."

"Okay!" Kiba smirked and clenched his fists. "Let's go look!"

"W-What?!" Hinata deactivated her Byakugan with a jump and turned to him quickly, then swallowed.

"Kiba!" Shino stood and frowned at his teammate. "What are you saying? We're not doing that."

Kiba smirked, emphasizing his elongated canines. "The Proctor told us to bring one Heaven and Earth scroll as a pair. She didn't say to not take more than that." He held out his arms and chuckled. "If we take more, that means some other teams will be left out."

"B-But..." Hinata swallowed again and held her hand out.

"We'll just see what's going on at first." Kiba grinned at her. "If it looks too dangerous, we won't jump in for now reason. Well, enough talking; let's go!" He jumped ahead with Akamaru and Shino and Hinata looked at him.

"W-Wait!"

Shino crossed his arms and let out a short breath. "He's an irritating type, that one."

Hinata and Shino followed behind until they caught up to Kiba, then quietly hid behind a thick cover of bushes. Akamaru began to tremble and whimper softly and Kiba looked down at him.

"What's wrong, Akamaru?"

"What's wrong?" Hinata glanced at Kiba. "You stopped suddenly."

"Akamaru suddenly got frightened." KIba frowned slightly and the dog crawled into Kiba's jacket to hide.

"W-Why is that?" Hinata hugged her arms close and watched the small dog shaking.

"Akamaru can sniff out the level of enemy Chakra and tell his strength." He reached up to gently rub Akamaru's head. "But this is the first time I've seen him this scared." Kiba frowned and narrowed his eyes as he glanced ahead. "Those people over there aren't ordinary guys..."

The three sand siblings stood across the clearing from a trio of Rain Ninja.

"Sand village kids coming to challenge us forthright." The Rain Genin with facepaint chuckled. "It's foolish."

Gaara glared at the trio with his arms crossed in silence and Kankuro chuckled and put his hands in his pockets.

Kiba narrowed his eyes as he watched from behind a thick bush and looked at Gaara. "What's that little guy thinking to get involved with those guys?!" Akamaru whimpered and buried his face in Kiba's shirt, and his eyes widened slightly as he looked down at the dog.

"W-What's Akamaru saying?" Hinata glanced over at him, and Kiba gritted his teeth.

"He's saying that big guy is dangerous."

Hinata gulped and turned to look back out to the Shinobi as they stared at one another intensely. "They certainly look like bad news... They seem really strong."

"Hey, you kids should really pick your opponents more wisely..." The tallest Rain Shinobi furrowed his brows, then smirked. "You're all going to die."

"That's enough from you." Gaara spoke up and met his eyes. "Let's do this quickly... old man from the Hidden Rain."

The man gritted his teeth and glared at the boy.

"Which scroll do you guys have...?" Gaara asked, and Kankuro turned to the redhead.

"Hey, Gaara! Doesn't it make sense to follow them and gather information before hunting them? If they have the same type of scroll, there's no need to fight. Unnecessary battles are—"

"It doesn't matter." Gaara interrupted. "If their eyes meet with mine... I'll kill them all."

Temari and Kankuro's eyes widened and Shigure froze in place and then narrowed his eyes, his expression darkening. Team eight's eyes widened from where they hid and Kankuro gulped quietly.

"That's why I don't want to be with this guy..."

Shigure titled his head down slightly and clenched his jaw. "Tch. Well, let's do this, then. Quickly!" He reached up to grab the umbrellas on his back and held them out in front of himself as they snapped open as shields.

He tossed the umbrellas high into the air and Kankuro looked up at them.

"H-Huh?"

"Die, kids!" Shigure furrowed his brows and formed a hand sign. "Ninja Art! Senbon Rainstorm!"

"Hidden Senbons!" Hinata gasped as she watched the umbrellas begin to spin rapidly and large needles rained heavily down on the area. Gaara blinked and Shigure smirked.

"Up, down, left, right... there is no blind spot in this Jutsu. In addition to that, all the Senbons are controlled by my own Chakra and all have perfect aim on my intended prey!"

The Senbon concentrated on Gaara's location and struck him at once, creating a small cloud of dust and earth on impact. Shigure smirked. "Too easy." As the dust settled, his eyes widened. "W-What?!"

Sand encased Gaara in the shape of an egg, the Senbon sticking out and littering the ground around him. Gaara blinked and glared at the man.

"Is that all?"

"I-It can't be!" Shigure stepped back and stared at him. "Not even one...? No wounds...? Impossible!" He gritted his teeth and formed another sign, sending another volley of Senbon raining down. Gaara's sand shifted to block the small gap and intercept each needle.

"Tch!"Shigure's brows furrowed and a bead of sweat rolled down his face

"Senbon Rainstorm, huh...?" Gaara's brow furrowed as he met the man's eyes. "Well, I'll make it rain blood."

"What a huge Chakra..." Kiba gulped as Team Eight watched from the bushes, with Akamaru still trembling and whimpering. "And, that sand... it smells terrible."

"Smell?" Shino looked at him.

"A strong smell of blood..." Kiba clenched his jaw and scrunched his nose at the metallic scent.

"A wall of sand...?" Another bead of sweat rolled down Shigure's face and watched as parts of the sand's shield cracks and fell to the ground. Theremaining sand slowly sunk back to rest in piles around Gaara's feet and theSenbon scattered uselessly around.

"That's right. An absolute defense of sand!" Kankuro closed one eye, narrowing the other at him. "He manipulates sand inside of that gourd and hardens it with magnified Chakra. It defends the circumference of Gaara's body. It's a technique that only he can do. Futhermore... it's somehow always automatically done with Gaara's intentions. Which means that all attacks aimed at Gaara fade into nothing and fail."

"T-That little...!"

"You guys can't beat our Gaara." Kankuro tilted his head up slightly.

"Don't underestimate me!" Shigure ran directly at Gaara, who brought his hands together in a sign.

"This guy's a goner..." Kankuro chuckled under his breath and Temari smirked.

"That's what you get for rebelling against Gaara..."

"Sand Coffin!" Gaara held out a palm toward Shigure as he approached and the sane wrapped around his legs, appearing as hands, covering him entirely until only his face was visible. Shigure wriggled and strained and the sand constricted around him.

"I... can't move!"

His teammates' eyes widened and they stepped back. Shigure's umbrellas fell from above and stuck out of the ground, and he glared at the boy.

"T-This won't...!"

Gaara stepped forward and reached out to grip the handle of an umbrella. "I can cover your mouth to shut you up when I kill you." He pulled an umbrella from the dirt, then snapped it open and held it above his head. "But that's too pathetic." He held out his palm toward the man, raising his hand slightly.

The sand responded and lifted Shigure above the clearing and Gaara closed his eyes briefly as he focused, then reopened as he glared darkly at his opponent, balling his hand into a tight fist. "Sand Burial!"

The sand crushed Shigure before he let out a scream. Blood splattered everywhere as his body was finely crushed.

Team Eight's eyes went wide as they watched, paralyzed in place as their faces paled and their stomachs turned.

Baiu screamed as blood rained down, covering him. He stared, shaking violently at his blood-covered hand and Midare held up his arms to lessen the spray on his own face.

"There's no pain." Gaara lifted the umbrella slightly to look at Midare and Baiu, who quickly stepped back. "I knocked him even harder than was necessary. The bloody tears of a corpse merge with vast sinking sand and provide more power to the demon of war."

"T-The scroll!" Midare stammered and took the scroll from his back pouch to set it on the ground. "We'll give it to you! Please! Just let us go!"

Gaara tossed the umbrella to the side and narrowed his eyes at the pair, holding out his palms toward them. Sand gripped them both, covering them completely as they screamed and struggled to break free. Gaara closed his fists and the screams stopped and blood splattered.

"T-This is bad..." Kiba gulped and whispered, and Hinata hugged her arms close, shaking as she bent over. Kiba nudged her, then turned around. "Let's escape quickly! If he finds us, we're dead!"

Shino, Kiba, and Hinata began to quietly crawl away slowly through the underbrush, and Kankuro walked over to the scroll to pick it up, chuckling as he smirked.

"Luckily, it's just the scroll we needed; A heaven scroll." He turned to his brother. "Alright, let's go to the tower now."

"Shut up." Gaara scowled and looked toward the bushes. "It's still... not enough for me!"

Team Eight froze and trembled, feeling Gaara's eyes on them.

"D-Damn!" Kiba clenched his jaw and gulped. "Did he really notice us?!"

Kankuro put his hand on his hip and furrowed his brows. "Let's be done with it, Gaara."

Gaara glanced toward him. "Are you afraid... you coward?"

Kankuro's eyes widened before they narrowed and he glared back as he walked toward him. "Gaara! It's certainly no problem for you, but it's too dangerous for us! One set of scrolls is enough! More than this is—"

"Weak people don't get to give me orders." Gaara held his palm out to the side at the bush where Team Eight hid behind and narrowed his eyes at his older brother.

Temari and Kankuro clenched their jaws and a bead of sweat rolled down Temari's face.

"That's enough, I said!" Kankuro raised his voice and gripped the strap of Gaara's gourd. "How about you listen to what your older brother has to say?!"

"I've never thought of you as my siblings." Gaara met his eyes and frowned. "If you get in my way... I'll kill you just the same."

Kankuro kept his eyes locked with his brother's until Gaara knocked his hand away, raising his hand again to the bush.

"H-Hey!" Temari held up her hands and took a step forward. "G-Gaara, cut it out! Please? Don't say something so cold. As a favor to your sister... okay?"

Gaara turned his hand toward Kankuro, who froze and grimaced, then Gaara pointed his hand at the bushes once again. Sand began to accumulate around his hand and Temari and Kankuro's eyes widened.

"Gaara!" Temari held her hand out, taking another step forward as his fist closed suddenly. Kankuro flinched and Gaara stared at him unblinkingly, then glanced at the cork in his hand.

"...Fine." He returned the cork to seal the sand inside of his gourd and his siblings let out small sighs as he turned to begin walking away.

"Tch." Kankuro gritted his teeth. "This is why I hate bratty kids."

Akamaru whimpered and Team Eight took in large gasps of air after the Sand Ninja had left. The dog yapped quietly and Kiba looked down at him where he hid inside of his jacket.

"What? So, that's it, Akamaru?" Kiba let out a deep breath. "C'mon, you should've said something sooner."

"Nobody's here?" Hinata looked around the tower's main floor as crickets chirped loudly outside under the moonlight, and Kiba laughed.

"We must be the first ones, huh?"

"No, I sensed someone a little while ago." Shino stuck his hands into his pockets.

"More importantly, is Akamaru okay?" Hinata reached over to gently scratch the dog's chin. "He's been scared ever since."

"Now that you mention it, what exactly did Akamaru say before?" Shino looked over at Kiba, who turned to look at him.

"Oh... Akamaru said that it was dangerous because that Sand kid would kill that big Rain guy."

"Sheesh! Just like I thought, there's no other place to go!" Kankuro's voice echoed from down the hall, and the three's eyes widened.

"They've already made us wait for half a day!" Temari crossed her arms and complained. "How much longer do we have to wait?"

Temari, Kankuro, and Gaara turned and walked into the large room. Temari and Kankuro smirked and glanced over at the Leaf Genin, as Hinata gulped and kept her eyes down, and Kiba and Shino quietly watched them pass. Gaara looked at them from the corner of his eye and they stayed still, a chill shuddering down their spines.

Kiba swallowed and watched as they exited through a door on the opposite side of the room, then slowly let out a breath. "That Sand Village kid... I don't know what he is, but, that guy... he's too dangerous.

"It's becoming a real disaster, but we can't cancel this test." Anko sighed from where she sat on a sofa and looked between the two ANBU agents.

"What do you mean?" The bird-masked man put a hand on his hip and looked down at her.

"Excuse me!" A Chunin opened the sliding door and addressed Anko.

"What is it? We're talking about something important!" Anko frowned at him and he blinked sheepishly.

"S-Sorry. But... uh..." He held up a VCR tape for her to see. "Please take a look at this!"

"A video?" The tallest ANBU man crossed his arms, and they turned toward the television.

Iwashi knelt in front of the television and stuck the tape into the player. After a moment, the recorded security footage of the main floor of the tower began to play, and he pointed to the top right corner. "Ready? Here! Look at the time!"

Displayed on the screen were Temari, Kankuro, and Gaara as they entered the tower, and the time read 16:07. Anko's eyes widened and her mouth gaped slightly as she looked at the time.

"This is a recording of the security footage from just inside the tower, only one hour and thirty-seven minutes after the start of the second test!"

"Three Ninja from the Hidden Sand Village broke through the second test!" A chunin announced over the tape, and Gaara turned to look up at the security camera with a glare.

Anko's eyes widened further and she stood quickly. "It can't be!"

"In a mere ninety-seven minutes..." Iwashi furrowed his brows and paused the tape. "This has never happened before." He looked back at Anko. "This is an anomaly. Those guys are not Genin level." He turned back to the screen. "They've beaten the fastest time by four hours..."

"It's not just that." Anko furrowed her brows.

"What do you mean?"

"It's ten kilometers from the test entrances to the tower." She turned to walk toward the window and gaze out at the forest. "Ferocious animals, poisonous insects, the rugged forest path... And, as if those were not there... especially that red-haired boy right in the front..."

"What about him?" Iwashi stood and looked at Anko.

"You didn't notice?"

He knelt and rewinded the video, watching Gaara enter the building several times and look at the camera.

"I see." The bird-masked man tilted his head slightly. "This is quite a surprise."

Iwashi turned to look at the man over his shoulder. "What about that kid is so...?"

"Look closely at his body." Anko glanced at him from the corner of her eye. He did as she said, looking over Gaara once again before he smirked faintly and closed his eyes for a moment.

"I see."

"He doesn't have a single scratch on him." Anko turned her eyes back to the window. "What's worse, there's not even a smudge of dirt on his clothing."

"Even I... No, any of the other Chunin... It's impossible for us to make it to this tower without a scratch." Iwashi's brows furrowed.

"It's likely that it has something to do with his ability." The cat-masked ANBU man crossed his arms. "After a long time, a strong candidate has appeared... Even though he's got evil eyes."