DOWNFALL OF THE LIGHT

Chapter 6: The Real Deal to be a Genin

Disclaimer: For the LAST time, I don't own Naruto or anything that belongs in Warcraft 3! This thing is really starting to bug me A LOT! (Fires Desert Eagle at a HalfLife scientist CONTINUOUSLY in the crotch and head just to ease the rage.) Now with this thing out of the way, please enjoy this chapter for me...

"...": Speech

'...': Thoughts

The Scenario Change description will be listed in the bolded italic brackets, thank you.

AN: THANK YOU all so much for your supportive reviews and comments. You had no idea that I was smiling the entire time when I was reading through those. I'm so happy to have 2 of my favorite authors to check it out. You guys know who you are. I hope I am a good enough writer for this. I'm sure those who read my previous chapter are really excited to finally see some love-triangle action, trust me there will be a lot more so expect some good fiction in the near future. If I happen to suck at this triangle thing or whatnot, please understand that I have no idea how to write a good one. If you want good love triangles, read Live Long Fight or Shikamaru's Woes and Naruto's Love Triangle. I will highly recommend those for suspense. Now for another short Questions and Answer period.

Yes, here it is again! A time where all questions from the last chapter and before will be answered one way or another.

1Q: Is Naruto evil?

1A: The answer is no, if he was evil... well, you could say he wouldn't care about anybody in his life if he was, he would simply kill them for mere entertainment. There is no way I am that good to make an evil and brainwashed person to be able to fall in love. I am simply not that skilled.

2Q: Who will win between the rivalry?

2A: Just keep reading and find out for yourselves. I will spoil it if I told you right here and now.

3Q: Is Kyubi too out of character?

3A: My fiction, my rules. Don't like to sound like a complete jerk who thinks I'm right all the time and all but trust me, fiction isn't suppose to be so... rational. Making some of things a little bit more differently may be a good thing, but I will tell you, most of the characters are nearly the same. So, don't expect any more way too much out of character characters.

4Q: Is Naruto a player?

4A: I don't even know why anyone would think that. Believe me, Naruto isn't one who would like to flirt with girls, he talks to them, it doesn't mean he hits on them. You can say his level of maturity captures the girls attention. He doesn't do it willingly, it's just who he is. If you want, you can say he is a much more opened version of Sasuke.

5Q: Will more girls come in Naruto's life?

5A: Continue reading to find out. There's not too much that I could say. I got a strong feeling some wills say more the merrier...

6Q: Is Naruto dense?

6A: He clearly is not! Trust me, he knows what's going on but he chooses to remain neutral. He doesn't want to hurt either girls since they are his friends and he treasures them both. Eventually, you do know the rivalry would end (Not anytime soon though) and his heart would fall for one of them. As the story goes on, it would become clear to you guys who he would choose. So don't EVER think Naruto is dense.

MORE AN: Thank you all once again, your time and patience that you put in your reviews are well respected, you guys earned it! I might get a little slow on my writing since I still have calculus to deal with. That doesn't mean I won't try to write when I can, so don't get too disappointed. Now as promised, here is the next part of the saga.

(The same day at the same designated waiting area)

Another hour has past by, the Death Knight was bored out of his mind. If it wasn't for his novel Life and Death Paradise written by Jiraiya, he would've killed himself long ago then to experience this boredom. Unlike all those perverted books Jiraiya has wrote all these years, this was the first book that the content had nothing to do with women exposing themselves in any possible reason. However, this book was still rated R. It was a very special novel to Naruto and his younger sister for it was written by their inspiration. (AN: Just like how this story is inspired by something.) The contents were all something to sue with the human psychology, both physical and mental torment. The silver hair genin loved this book, he already read it many times but it caught his attention every time. It reflected him a lot, it explained how people should seek out their lives no matter how down and hopeless it seemed. Forfeiting in the most early stages of the game would hurt your loved ones who always had faith in you. Naruto found that this book Jiraiya wrote for him showed that he cared for him a lot, even though they may bicker at times, he saw him like a father.

Meanwhile, the two girls were sitting at different sides watching him admiringly. As much as Naruto wanted to ignore them, he found the tension and pressure was growing and budding to new heights. It felt strange, he never had two girls liking him before and not to mention both of them were pretty. When he was reading silently, the girls would read with him and taking short glimpses of him. It truly was uncomfortable for Naruto but he didn't have the heart to tell them directly. Even so, he needed to get out of that awkward situation and not to mention fast!

The Death Knight made a set of hand seals that Hinata was familiar to, she grabbed his wrist quickly and gave him a charming look. He blushed immediately when he saw her needing eyes, her lavender eyes showed both desire and hunger. No words were needed there, he knew she wanted him to stay. He reluctantly gave in to her demands and decided to meditate with his blindfold so he won't be able to see any of the girls. However, Sakura just took it away from him saying his eyes were pretty, there was no need to hide it. At that time, the Death Knight was freaked out beyond repair on the inside while his outside appearance remained calm and still. In truth, he didn't know how much longer he could last, if he couldn't Blink out of there, he didn't know what he could do. He then decided to take a short walk.

"Naruto-kun, where are you going?" asked Hinata as the male genin stood up.

"I'm just stretching, Hinata-chan," he replied obviously lying. The girl obviously doubted his words.

"You like it if I gave you a massage?" she offered timidly. "You did give me one before..." Sakura then wished she offered something first, the last thing she needed was for Hinata to have the first strike. Hinata then started to play with her index fingers nervously with a blushing face, she wanted to make the best impression.

"There is no need for that," he answered giving a no response. "I am feeling fine."

"C'mon, I insist..." said the Hyuga girl ever so seductively while she took his hand and pulled him back down to a sitting position. His eyes showed much surprise, when did Hinata become this... bold? She then went behind him and prepared herself.

"Hi-Hinata-chan..." said Naruto nervously. "Really, there is no need for you to do this for me..."

"But I want to, Naruto-kun." The Death Knight stiffened at her heavenly tone. He was losing it, he didn't know what to do. He had a beautiful girl, in fact two beautiful girls actually who liked him. He tried his best not to get seduced by either of them but that task seemed to be more difficult as each second went by. Once Hinata began her soothing treatment, Naruto's usual cold, hard shell could just melt.

'Holy, this feels good...' thought Naruto trying not to enjoy this too much but it was too good to deny. Sakura was enraged that her new rival was touching him, she was the person that was supposed to do that. Without knowing, the Hyuga heiress slowly removed the jacket that the Death Knight was wearing. (AN: NO, she is not trying to have sex with him for those who had the thought that I would write that! If you were massaging someone, you would ask them to take off any thick clothing. In Hinata's case, she did it naturally.) Naruto hardened a bit but chose to put it aside when Hinata's 'operation' just got that much more relaxing.

"Don't undress Naruto, Hinata-san!" shouted Sakura which made Hinata flush with embarrassment. Deep down, the pink hair girl was secretly agreeing with the idea.

"It's fine..." said Naruto. "Thanks, Hinata-chan."

"You're welcome..." said Hinata with a shade of pink while continuing her treatment. Suddenly, the heiress blindly pushed herself gently onto his back making the dark shinobi felt something soft. He blushed a little knowing what it was. His heartbeat increased as he turned his head slightly seeing the girl's head only inches away from his. Of course, Sakura didn't like that sight right now.

"Hinata-chan..."

"Naruto-kun... I hope I could make you happy everyday..." she said rather blindly. Her eyes were filled with nothing but care, concern, sincerity and possibly even... love.

'Why would Hinata-chan show love in her eyes?' Naruto asked himself in his mind. 'Does she love me? No, I'm fooling myself. I know she likes me but she wouldn't love me, not a half demon especially...' The last thought was quite bitter. 'I must be imagining things. Love? When was it ever something within my reach, it never was, it never will...' He looked at the creamy white face again, her expression didn't change one bit, it was still filled with genuine emotions. He smiled at her and she quickly blushed and looked away. As Naruto began to relax a bit more, Hinata's face got even closer to his like a magnet. Somehow, he had an urge as well. Not realizing what they were doing, their faces were a mere distance apart. As the Death Knight pulled himself together and the split second before their lips met each other's, he could tell this wasn't right. He then reluctantly pulled his head back.

"Hinata-chan... I think that would do it..." he said rather quickly as he removed himself from her. A very disappointed look crept on the heiress' face. The dark warrior then gave her a genuine smile and ruffled her hair slightly. When Hinata returned a smile of her own, he then felt safe knowing she was okay. Just to make sure, he gave her a gentle kiss on the forehead making Hinata blush. Given this big opening, Sakura quickly grabbed his arm and tugged him away from the Hyuga girl. "Sakura-chan, what's wrong?"

"Nothing..." answered Sakura with a blush. "I just want... you want to have a walk with me?"

"A walk?" he asked. She nodded with a cheerful blushing face. "Shouldn't we continue to wait though? I mean, Kakashi would be here any second now." He chose his words wisely, he knew he had to say something that wasn't refusing or accepting the offer.

"I guess you're right..." she said rather down. "Naruto... I want to thank you..."

"For what?"

"For making realize what kind of good person you are..." replied Sakura timidly. "No one has said something so nice to me before, I never had a friend like you."

"I'm glad to be the first." He said with a chuckle.

"May I return the favor?"

"No need, Sakura-chan," he said sincerely with a smile. "It was nothing, I was happy to help you." However, when his cerulean eyes met her emerald ones, he realized what she meant by favor. (AN: No, it's not sex!) He was in a panic once again. "Sa-Sakura-chan... there is really no need for you to do anything! You don't have to trouble yourself with me!" Currently, he was slowly backing away but the girl's hand caught his refusing him to go.

"Please, I insist." Sakura said ever so seductively. The Death Knight blinked a few times at her words, they were the same as Hinata's, not to mention the soft sound. She slowly placed her hand on his cheek and pulled his face gently towards hers. The Hyuga girl immediately dashed to the two trying to make it in time before Sakura made the final move, however she was too late. Sakura's lips already made contact with Naruto's cheek and she was kissing him with passion. She broke the kiss rather quickly but the Death Knight was shocked at the amount of feeling put into it. He was stunned while Sakura flushed deeply.

'Wow...' was all he could think about as he touched his kissed cheek with his hand. Of course, Hinata definitely didn't like what she saw, her jealousy towards her female teammate increased. It was clear Sakura was feeling the same way.

"Ohayo!" called a familiar voice from the trees suddenly. Naruto looked up with a smirk on his face while the two girls were too focused with another to even notice who the person was.

"Ohayo yourself," said Naruto not pleased to see his instructor at all. "It's about time you showed up, Kakashi."

"What time is it?" he asked resulting a glare from the Death Knight.

"YOU"RE LATE!" shouted the girls reverting their attention to the jounin.

"Yeah, a black cat crossed my path this morning so..."

"LIAR!" the two yelled in unison. Kakashi simply coughed and muttered a whatever under his breath and decided to move on with the day.

"Now," said Kakashi taking out a clock from his knapsack and placed it on a small stump. "I will now explain the task you three must do." Then he took out two bells in his jounin vest.

'The bell exercise?' thought Naruto with a smirk.

"Your task is to take these two bells away from me. Whoever doesn't manage to have a bell in their possession when the time is up will be tied to that log over there and won't have lunch. The others would fortunately." The jounin then pointed to a few logs nearby as the three nodded in understanding. "Now, if none of you get the bells, all three of you would be tied up and guess what would happen to your lunches? I will eat them right in front of you."

"Big deal." said Naruto.

"Big deal is right, Naruto-kun," Kakashi continued with a visible evil grin. "The person who doesn't get a bell will fail." The last sentence struck the girls' minds.

'You fail if you don't get a bell?' thought Sakura. 'Then, I'll have to make sure I actually get one...'

'There's a chance that all three of us would fail...' said Hinata mentally worried. 'This really makes you lose your confidence.'

"Now, you all have 80 minutes to take the bells away from me, I'll allow you to use any type of methods. And by the way, I advise you come at me with the intention to kill me."

"Won't you get hurt, sensei?" asked Sakura worriedly.

"No, I'll be fine." Replied the jounin reassuringly.

"You're in over your head, Kakashi." Said Naruto with a evil grin.

"Call me Kakashi-sensei." stated the jounin narrowing his visible eye to his only male student.

"You haven't been doing such a good job of an instructor for me to call you that, Kakashi." The jounin's eye winced even more as the Death Knight took a glance to the girls. They were already gone. Naruto then grinned and began to walk away. "Kakashi," he called with his back turned. "I will play this little game with you for a little while longer. Don't think that I don't know what you're up to." With that, he made his hand seal of the technique Blink and teleported away.

'Damn,' cursed the masked man to himself. 'I should've copied that move with my Sharingan, it could've been very useful.' However, little did he know that move can't be simply copied, it had to be taught by the original user. Knowing Itachi's Sharingan, Naruto avoided to learn jutsus that could be copied. He dedicated himself to learn most of Kyubi's Hidden techniques which surprised Itachi and Kisame every time they sparred. The only move Naruto possessed that could be copied would be the Kage-Bunshin. (AN: I obviously didn't remove this move for him, it was his trademark after all. Just like his whisker marks.)

(Moments later)

The three genins have all concealed themselves within this time. Sakura was looking for a good opening to strike the jounin, Hinata was waiting patiently for a decent sneak attack while Naruto was observing Kakashi carefully to study his movements and behaviour. The way a person reacts and moves told the Death Knight a lot about the person, that was what he usually did when it came to this kind of games. As he deactivated his Unholy Sight, he quickly leaped silently away from his hiding spot and prepared himself to face Kakashi.

"I wasn't expecting only just you to show up, Naruto." Said Kakashi as the Death Knight appeared 10 feet away from him in a warp. Hinata and Sakura were shocked at what Naruto just did, not that he appeared out of nowhere but his choice in revealing himself.

"Expect it, Kakashi," spat Naruto as a matter of factly. "It's time for this little game to reach the next level don't you think?"

"Bold words, but you'll know that I won't be easy prey."

"I have no intention of taking those damn bells from you, little human. As for becoming a genin... I could seriously care less. My only objective right now is to take you down."

"You should start talking after you beat me."

"Gladly." Said the Death Knight as he vanished without warning. The jounin's eyes opened up a notch for he wasn't able to sense it coming. The next split second, the dark shinobi was already next to the masked ninja giving an upward kick. Being a skillful jounin, Kakashi shifted his body as quick as he could to dodge that incoming kick. But even if he did, he barely evaded it. Knowing his kick missed, Naruto turned his body around to perform a 360 degree kick that struck Kakashi heavily in the arm. However, the jounin blocked it but still took full impact. It was then Naruto unsheathed his runeblade as Kakashi took out a kunai, both weapons then struck each other causing a powerful energy clash. The masked jounin then lowered himself in a nick of time and tripped his opponent. Naruto cursed himself for being careless as he fell on his back to the ground. Kakashi quickly dived down still with a weapon in his hand and aimed for a critical spot.

The Death Knight smirked as he himself had a few tricks up his sleeve. As the incoming attack was inches away from Naruto's body, Naruto disappeared again. Kakashi's eye widened when he no longer sensed his adversary's presence. Out of the blue, the Death Knight appeared two feet away from Kakashi with a smirk on his face. First he kicked the kunai away from his hand as if it was nothing, Kakashi's dumbfounded look made the task that much easier. Then Naruto performed a heavy snap kick to the jounin's chin sending him gliding a several meters away.

"What in the hell was that?" asked Kakashi rubbing his chin to ease the pain. Naruto simply smirked.

"It's called Phase Shift," answered Naruto as he prepared himself in his preferred swordsman stance. (AN: Go to the jutsu list to check out the description of this move.) Not giving his opponent any more recovery time, the Death Knight did a high a charge with his runeblade in an attacking position. Seeing Naruto coming quickly, Kakashi made a set of hand seals ready to counter.

"Fire Element, Flame Blast no jutsu!" shouted the jounin as a powerful cone of fire was released from his hands. (AN: I have no idea what kind of moves Kakashi has, all I know he has the Sharingan, Chidori, Zabuza's water techiniques, Kisame's water techiniques, Kage Bunshin... that's really all. Please bare with me!) Naruto merely placed his weapon in a defensive position and took the attack completely. Naruto wasn't stupid, what he was actually doing to split the flames in two to prevent any sort of damage. As the flames cleared, Kakashi's eye twitched when he saw the dark shinobi completely unharmed, not even a sign of a small burn.

"Is that all, Kakashi?" asked the Death Knight looking up with a sinister grin.

"There will be a lot more where that came from, don't worry..." replied the jounin with a visible grin. Kakashi knew he had to go on to the offensive, staying defensive would only work to his disadvantage. Generating chakra into his feet in very short amount of time, Kakashi excelled himself in a speed that surprised Naruto. The Death Knight's eye widened as he sensed the jounin passed right by. He prepared himself for the worst as he dodged a punch aimed for his back. A kick soon followed however the dark shinobi once again avoided the attack. With a slight twist of his body, Kakashi immediately delivered a kick successfully at his opponent's stomach causing Naruto not only to flinch in a lot of pain but also slow down his movement for a short period of time. This period of time was all Kakashi needed to get into a good distance to prepare for his next attack.

Using the Kage Bunshin, 10 Kakashis appeared and performed the Fireball Rain altogether. As a legion of fireballs were headed straight for Naruto, the Death Knight's eyes flashed angrily for he started to avoid them in high agility. This wasn't a good sign to Kakashi obviously, so he increased the number of fireballs. Knowing more was put into this attack, the silver hair genin had no choice but to destroy as many as he could when it came. With his runeblade, it wasn't that hard of a task. However, due to the amount that was fired, it wasn't long before Naruto was starting to get hit by some of them. As one hit, more and more began to inflict more damage.

'I can't afford to take anymore unnecessary hits!' said the Death Knight in his mind making precautions. 'I'll get him...'

Unexpected, Naruto gathered chakra into his feet and dashed towards Kakashi with his runeblade in an attack position. As he past his opponent, all the Kakashi clones were gone in a smoke. 'He's incredibly fast!' thought Kakashi turning around just to see the dark shinobi projected himself right at him delivering a high impact skull bash right into Kakashi's ribs. The jounin couldn't imagine how much damage was inflicted in that single attack. Before he fell backwards, the Death Knight gave an upward kick right at his face sending the masked man into the air. To cause more pain, Naruto charged up his blade and quickly released a Death Coil at his now defenseless opponent. Hinata gasped at what her friend did.

'Naruto-kun... you said that was a healing technique...' she thought as she held her hands to her chest. Then she nearly shrieked as her instructor looked completely lifeless after the Death Coil consumed him. 'This is definitely not a healing technique,' thought Hinata determinedly. 'What are you hiding from me, Naruto-kun?' As the jounin's body fell helplessly to the ground, Naruto frowned in anger. Then the body disappeared in cloud of smoke, Naruto knew it was a replication.

'So, he ran away...' thought the silver hair genin calmly as he glanced over his surroundings. 'I better regroup with the others, I can't pass this test if they don't participate.' With that thought in mind, Naruto leaped into the forest hoping to find Hinata and Sakura.

(At the mean time in a hiding vicinity)

Meanwhile, Kakashi was currently hiding in the trees holding both his face and ribs. He was in a lot of pain and panting a little as well. 'Damn it...' he thought trying to calm down. 'That boy managed to lay enough direct attacks on me, who would've thought he would be that strong? If I continued to fight him... I know I would've lost for certain... I need to come up with a plan, I can't hide here forever. If I know him well enough, I'm sure he knows that I'm here. His eyes are just like the 4th's... ' As Kakashi was thinking of a plan, the Death Knight was on his way to gather reinforcements. (AN: Not like he really needed them)

"Hinata-chan," whispered Naruto making the Hyuga girl turn around. When she saw him, she immediately hugged him passionately. Naruto wasn't really expecting that. "Hi-Hinata-chan, what's wrong?"

"Nothing... I was just worried." She answered timidly but still embracing him.

"About me fighting Kakashi?" he asked ruffling her hair a little. She nodded slightly and enjoyed his warmth. Despite how much he liked her touch, Naruto reluctantly broke the embrace. "Where's Sakura-chan?" he asked suddenly. The lavender eyed girl's happy face dropped as he mentioned Sakura's name.

"I don't know... we went different ways after we got our instructions." Naruto sighed in exhaustion and decided to look for Sakura. He told Hinata to wait for him but she clearly refused. The last thing the heiress needed was for him to be alone with her rival. With the Byakugan user here, it wasn't too difficult to locate Sakura. As Naruto went up to the pink haired girl, she immediately attached herself onto him making Hinata's anger level increase dramatically.

"Don't hug Naruto-kun like that!" shouted Hinata unable to control her anger.

"He's not yours, Hinata-san." Retorted Sakura with her tongue sticking out. The Hyuga girl groaned in annoyance and pouted. Naruto couldn't help but chuckle at his best friend's cuteness, it was adorable. However, he needed Sakura to remove herself first.

"Sakura-chan, I need you to let go..." stated Naruto. "We need to discuss a plan now."

"You could discuss it with me, you don't need to..." The pink hair genin then slowly removed her arms away from him when she saw he was serious. She knew this must be important.

"Okay, my plan is simple," explained Naruto while the girls paid close attention. "We need to fight as a team, it's that easy."

"What?" the two female genins said in unison.

"Why do we need to work together?" asked Hinata not understanding this at all.

"You were kicking his butt just fine!" added Sakura.

"Trust me," said Naruto with a grin. "If I took the bells with the method I was using, we all would fail. I just wanted to piss that pervert off" The girls gave him a blank expression, Naruto just sighed. "Whether you understand or not, just follow my lead and attack with me. Never attempt to take him alone, always go in pairs, okay?" The girls then nodded in agreement and commenced the plan as a team. The trio then came out of the forests knowing Kakashi was nearby. The jounin could obviously see them since he was on higher ground, he didn't expect Naruto to gather the other two though. Hinata activated her Byakugan and scouted the area very efficiently, it wasn't long before she found the jounin's hiding spot. Knowing he has been seen, Kakashi quickly attempted to escape. Unfortunately for him, he wasn't expecting Naruto to bring the other two to his aid, now his plan has been completely messed up. In truth, he didn't have enough time to even think of a plan, all he could do now was to go with the flow and hoping he would get out of it in one piece. The jounin then immediately made a break for it.

"You won't get away," said Naruto as he generated energy within his blade. "Unholy Aura!" Then a black fog composed with energy began to surround the Death Knight, it looked somewhat horrific to the girls. However, they felt the aura very distinctively, it felt like it affected them too. The feeling was strange but also beneficial.

"How come I feel different, Naruto-kun?" asked Hinata with an uneasy feeling.

"You are in range of my Unholy Aura," explained Naruto. "As long as you are in radius of 10 meters around me, your healing and movement will increase. If we attack together will our agility increased, we would stand a better chance. Now, stick close to me and let's hunt down that masked freak." (AN: To check out this move, please read the jutsu list for further details.) The girls nodded promptly and followed Naruto's lead into the forest. Kakashi knew he was slowing down as he felt pain in his ribs.

'Damn, that skull bash actually broke a few of my ribs... it's good that it's not critical... but it's really dulling my senses...' thought the gray hair jounin holding his chest area a little. Not knowing his students had a powerful aura aiding them, he was shocked to see them within his vision. His eye immediately twitched as he saw his only male student already charging at him with his blade ready to strike. 'They're fast... too fast...' thought the masked jounin in a slight panic. He prepared his own taijutsu stance ready to take on anything ahead. Once Naruto was a few feet in front of his instructor holding his weapon in preparing to attack, he smirked and vanished. Kakashi quickly looked around trying to detect the boy however he found that he suddenly had his hands full dealing with the Hyuga Heiress and the pink hair girl.

'He was acting as a decoy?' said Kakashi mentally as he blocked one of Sakura's kicks and Hinata's gentle fist. 'I am at a total disadvantage here...'

"Mana Burn!" shouted Hinata as she fired her most lethal attack on her instructor. As Kakashi tried to dodge it, Sakura managed to punch the jounin to get him back into the beam's range knowing what kind of deadly effects the beam could really do. The jounin cried in pain as he felt a major chunk of his chakra has been tore away very forcefully. Seeing how much pain Kakashi was in, the girl didn't hesitate at all to continue with their pursuit. Unfortunately for Hinata, her Mana Burn missed her opponent's chakra organ since he was able to dodge it. If it wasn't for Sakura, the beam wouldn't have hit at all. The Hyuga girl secretly thanked her rival, of course she would never admit it to her. Even though the Mana Burn did hit, it wasn't enough to weaken Kakashi completely. He still had a lot of fighting spirit left within him. Naruto made sure that wouldn't happen for he soon joined in the battle.

At this time, the masked jounin knew he was in trouble. He found himself even more cornered when he saw all three of their movements have increased by a notch. With his weakened self, he found it extremely difficult to keep up so he decided to put the two girls out of the picture first. As Hinata's palm came, Kakashi grabbed it and swung the Hyuga heiress right to Sakura causing both to collide to each other. Even though they weren't unconscious, they were knocked a fair distance away. This gave the jounin enough time to deal with Naruto.

"Kage Bunshin no jutsu!" shouted the instructor as 6 more clones of himself came out. He was surprised at the few amount that was created but it didn't matter, 6 was good enough. Sensing not enough chakra within himself, all the Kakashis took out their kunai and charged trying to make a final attempt to win this battle. Naruto on the other hand gathered a considerable amount of chakra into his blade also ready to intercept with a collision. It was 6 on 1. As the two went past each other with much killing intent, all Sakura and Hinata could do was watch in awe. Both of them were eager to know who was left standing. The jounin's clones disappeared while Naruto deactivated his aura, both of them were still up on their feet. Hinata squeaked when she saw Naruto had 6 kunais stabbed into his arms and one on his shoulder. Blood was dripping down from his forehead to his face while Kakashi seemed to be fine and unharmed.

"Who do you think won, Sakura-san?" asked Hinata worriedly dropping the rivalry act.

"I don't know, Hinata-san... I really don't know..." replied Sakura choking a bit with her words. It all happened so fast that none of them knew what actually happened. At that second, the Death Knight turned around with a wide smirk on his face to look at Kakashi who didn't move a muscle. As Hinata took a closer observation, he could see the masked jounin's face was deathly pale. Both girls shrieked.

"How do you like my Death Pact, Kakashi-kun?" asked Naruto in a taunting tone. "It was life draining wasn't it?" He then painfully pulled out the 6 kunais out of his body, it was covered with blood. "I know you can hear me, you just don't have the strength to even talk. It doesn't matter, I understand. My attack gives me health by 300 of the damage that I dealt to the target. By the way that you collided with me, you should know you gave me a perfect opportunity to give a 90-degree slash. You were foolish to come at me using a close range method, little human. I would say more but I'm not going to bother talking to lifeless statue." The Death Knight then walked to the jounin and gave a gentle tap. With no sense of retaliation, Kakashi fell face first to the ground.

"Naruto-kun!" shouted Hinata running to him followed by Sakura.

"What is it?" he asked rather emotionlessly.

"Are you okay?" asked Sakura checking his wounds. "You're bleeding..."

"I'll be fine, Sakura-chan..." he said with a smile. "It's just a flesh wound..." 'Yeah, painful flesh wounds...' he added sarcastically in his head.

"Naruto-kun..." murmured Hinata holding his hand. "What should we do with Kakashi-sensei? He seems pretty out of it..." 'Dead if you want my full opinion...' thought Hinata.

"Let's nurse him back to health first." The two girls agreed while Naruto took the lifeless Kakashi on his shoulders and put him in a good place to rest.

(Several long hours later)

"You're awake, sensei," said Hinata with a cute smile on her face. "How are you feeling?"

"Huh?" was all Kakashi could muster. "Where am I?"

"You are still in the memorial grounds, Kakashi-sensei." Answered Sakura who was on his other side.

"I was thinking you wouldn't wake up, Kakashi." Said Naruto crossing his arms while standing.

"Of course I would wake up... by the way I passed out, I'll assume you took the bells away from me?" questioned the jounin with a visible grin.

"Yeah, why wouldn't we." Replied Sakura happily.

"Which one of you doesn't have the bell?" he then looked at the girls only. However, to his surprise both girls were holding the bells and ringed it in front of him with a smile.

"I don't have one," stated Naruto in a neutral tone.

"Why did you give the them the bells, Naruto?" asked the jounin narroeing his visible eye. "You do know what it means right? Tell me, you defeated me with the help of your friends which seriously impressed me. But in the end, you know I still make the rules. I could fail you, you know that."

"Yeah I do."

"So why did you sacrifice your only chance of passing?"

"Because I don't want Hinata-chan or Sakura-chan to fail." Answered Naruto truthfully.

"So you knew the meaning of this test right from the start didn't you?" questioned Kakashi.

"It's all about teamwork."

"Teamwork?" asked the girls in unison completely confused.

"If teamwork was the case, why did Naruto acted alone at first?" asked the pink hair genin.

"He wanted to piss me off." Replied Kakashi that made Naruto laugh out loud.

"How was the test suppose to be done then?"

"You three should've came at me together. But who knew Naruto was that good to get me this badly. I shouldn't have held back when I still had the chance." Naruto smirked a little but the jounin continued. "Even if Naruto wasn't the strong genin he is, a genin team should be able to take something from someone who is a jounin if they put team effort into it."

"But how is it teamwork if there are only two bells?" asked Hinata finally catching on. "Even if we worked together, one of us would still be left out."

"Not to mention more bickering." Added Sakura in a clear tone.

"Of course," explained Kakashi. "This test was designed to fight amongst yourselves. But why do you think we work in 3 man teams? It's all about teamwork. In the previous exercise, the main goal of it was for me to see how each of you co-ordinate with another. About the two bells, that was for me to see who's willing to sacrifice something important and interests for the sake of the team and work together."

"What do you mean, sensei?" asked Hinata timidly. Naruto just sighed to himself.

"Hinata, Sakura, think about it carefully," said Kakashi kindly. "A normal genin in any circumstances doesn't have the ability to fight one on one with a jounin. If you went for me alone, you should know your chance of getting the bell is extremely slim. However, in this case there was a cost behind it if you didn't achieve your goal. So what would you do? Any smart person with common sense would know that you have to team up with your teammates to help you. At the same time, you know that the choice of teaming up may also result in not be able to pass since there are only two bells for three people. If you don't work as a group, you definitely won't pass. But if you do work together, there is a chance that you might not pass either. It's a tough decision. That's where the selfish people come in, they don't care about anyone other than themselves. In the end, they would mess up for the entire team."

"I understand now..."

"I'm not done," said Kakashi. "It's important for a certain individual to be powerful but what is even more valued is teamwork. Missions are completed with teams all the time. Selfish actions that destroy the group spirit bring danger to your teammates and that could get them killed because of your recklessness. The cost of teamwork failure can resolve to a lot of tragic things. For example..." Suddenly, the jounin appeared right behind Naruto and held him into a dead hold with a kunai aimed at his throat. "Hinata!" shouted Kakashi with force. "Kill Sakura or Naruto dies!" The Death Knight didn't even react but the girls on the other hand were freaked out.

"But... but..." Hinata couldn't even speak properly. Sakura was just as scared.

"Well, that's what could happen." Said Kakashi spinning his kunai and slid it back into his pouch.

"That scared me..." said Sakura relieved while holding her chest.

"Not only did you mess up the teamwork, you allow the enemy to grab hold of the hostage. When this happens, you might be forced to make impossible decisions before you die." He then released Naruto out of his hold. "I will give you all the last bit of advice. A ninja must always read what's underneath the underneath. In this world, nothing is always what it seems. Always look further beyond the requirement and your chance of success would be higher. A ninja must always follow the rules, those who don't follow the rules are trash. But to me, those who don't care about their friends are even worse than trash." Naruto grinned at his words, Kakashi really wasn't a jounin for nothing. Hinata's eyes were sparkling with most delight while Sakura was smiling with glee. 'HELL YEAH!' shouted Inner Sakura. 'I knew we could do it!' "The second test is officially over, missions will begin tomorrow." Kakashi finalized his words with a smile.

"This guy is quite cool... somewhat..." whispered the Death Knight to himself as he began to walk away from the memorial grounds. Suddenly, he felt a pair of arms wrapped around his neck giving him a soft passionate embrace. "Sakura-chan, hello..." he began stuttering.

"I'm so glad that we are officially genins!" exclaimed the pink hair girl happily.

"I'm glad too..." He then stopped talking when he felt Sakura pressed herself a little against him. He was blushing slightly and Hinata noticed it. The silver hair genin turned his head and saw Sakura's green eyes, they were filled with joy and satisfaction. He knew she was loving this moment right now, he didn't had the heart to make her let go.

"You want to have to lunch with me?" asked the emerald eye girl timidly.

"Uh... I don't see why..." Before Naruto could finish, Hinata quickly got hold of his right arm and held it with passion. A slight shade of fuchsia appeared on the Death Knight's face as he felt the Hyuga girl's touch.

"Naruto-kun..." Hinata cooed soothingly. "You want to go with me instead." Now, it would be a good time for our hero to panic.

"I... I don't think..."

"Yes, you can!" declared the Hyuga heiress giving him a seductive look.

"Hinata-san, let go of him!" demanded Sakura angrily. "I got to him first!" She broke the embrace and took his other available arm. 'What kind of mess did I get myself into?' he cursed mentally.

"You didn't had the initiative to take his hand, you hugged him."

"You didn't ask him first!"

"I did take the initiative first to hold his hand, pink hair girl!" snapped Hinata angrily.

"How dare you, no pupil eyes!" Sakura returned her words with more force.

"Big forehead!" For the first time, Ino's words were very useful. The two girls gritted their teeth sending each other death glares as each second went by. Naruto felt the dangerous aura had reached another new level, Kakashi's so called teamwork was already falling apart. How long have they been genins for? 3 minutes for crying out loud! He needed to get outta here, he needed to go fast.

"Sorry, girls..." he said breaking their attention from each other. "I kind of forgot that I promised to have lunch with Jiraiya-sensei..." he lied with skill. "Jiraiya said he wanted to congratulate me for being able to pass the genin exam yesterday."

"Could I come?" asked a hopeful Hinata with a blush.

"No can do, Jiraiya is only expecting me. He doesn't like things go unplanned." 'If you come Hinata, I am sure Jiraiya would start looking at your body...' though the dark shinobi with a sigh. "Sorry, I'll have lunch or dinner with you guys next time, okay?" Both girls looked disappointed but cheered up when the boy gave them both a soft kiss on the cheek. Obviously, the girls blushed deeply. With that taken care of, the Death Knight waved a goodbye and ran out of the memorial grounds as quick as his legs could carry him. Soon, he teleported away using his cunning ability, Blink. As the girls watched him leave, they knew Naruto was lying, he left because the situation became too much for him.

'Naruto-kun would've had a great time if he went with me...' thought Hinata. 'And it's all Sakura-san's fault!' She then glared at Sakura who was in deep thought as well.

'Hinata-san...' said Sakura in her mind. 'How dare you interfere with my love life... I won't lose to you!' After that thought, she also flashed a stare at the heiress who was glaring at her already.

"You do know he's gone because of you, right?" asked Hinata bitterly.

"My fault now?" Sakura returned the question. "Who's fault is it for pressuring him?"

"When did I do that? You were the one who pulled him when I already claimed his hand."

"Because I claimed him first."

"Forehead girl!"

"Pupiless eyes!" The two fired death glares again before they pouted and walked different directions towards their home. Little did they know the Death Knight was in the trees listening to them closely, he didn't had the heart to leave just yet.

'What am I going to do now?' he thought as he covered his face with his hands until nightfall. For once in his life, he wanted to run away not thinking such troubles. He cared a lot about Hinata of course but he couldn't do anything that could possibly hurt Sakura now. Naruto shook those thoughts out of his mind however his conscience failed to agree with him. Whenever a smiling Hinata or Sakura appeared in his vision, a sense of pain seemed to sear through his heart. He cursed himself for being so soft all of a sudden but this was a time to allow his genuine self to take action. Yet, he just felt so lost.

AN: Another long chapter done. Looks like the Hinata/Sakura rivalry is intensifying as each chapter goes by. I hope you all liked it, I certainly had a lot of fun writing it. Now, our hero struggles with himself not knowing what to do. Even though he has matured a lot, when it comes to these situations, who actually has a clear idea of how to proceed? I am sure no one does, at least I don't. Personally, I choose death over this. Anyway, please, please REVIEW! I really want to know your opinions on how you guys like it so far. It helps me a lot. Also, please tell me if you want the Wave Country incident in here. Your opinions could always come in handy. However, if I type it, it would take me a lot longer to update. If you want quick update, choose wisely. Later for now!