Sorry it took longer then i thought. I had lots of stuff to do this weekend and the chapter just kept getting pushed back. But i got it done... i don't own naruto.
Team Seven met at the little red bridge the next morning at nine. Sakura had shown Naruto where it was the previous day but after thirty minutes of waiting Naruto had not shown up. Kakashi materialized on top of one of the arches at exactly thirty minutes after nine and waved a cheery good morning.
Sakura gave Kakashi her death glare as the gray haired Jounin dropped to the bridge walkway. "You're late Kakashi-sensei and on today of all days!"
"Sorry, sorry. I had a meeting with the Hokage that ran late." Kakashi said. Sakura was about to call him a liar when she realized that this time his excuse might actually be genuine. So instead she turned her wrath on her absent teammate.
"Ok so then where's Naruto?" She asked in frustration.
Kakashi glanced over his shoulder then pointed a thumb back towards the main part of town. "Um...he's right there."
And indeed he was. The blond genin was sauntering down the road towards the bridge as if he didn't have a care in the world. Sakura again came close to an outburst but then she noticed his new attire and color scheme. In place of his white hoody he was wearing a black jacket which he kept open in the front. Flames decorated the bottom and Sakura guessed there was probably a large red swirl on the back just like on the hoody. Naruto had also moved his head protector from around his waist its rightful spot around his forehead.
"Good morning!" he yelled boisterously as he got to the bridge.
"You're late Naruto" Sakura glared but then she lightened up and sighed. "But I guess it doesn't really mater. Kakashi-sensei just got here too."
Naruto laughed and leaned against the opposite rail from Sasuke who was looking rather board with the whole scene. "Sorry, I took some extra time to get prepared this morning. Sensei told me to be ready for anything."
Kakashi smiled beneath his mask. Jiriaya was pretty useless sometimes but he occasionally had little gems of wisdom to offer. Apparently Naruto had gotten one this morning and had taken it to heart.
The Jounin fished around in his pouch and produced three pieces of paper which he handed out to his students. "These are your application papers. Sign your name on the bottom and get them to room 301 at the academy by three."
"Great. So we've got a couple hours to kill" Naruto said. "Who wants to go eat?"
After a brunch of, you guessed it...ramen, Team Seven's genin began making their way to the academy. Naruto was all talk on the way there. He seemed almost to excited, there didn't seem to be a hint of nervousness in the fearless blond.
Sasuke was excited too but unlike Naruto he didn't bother to show it. *Finally I get to test my skills against others ninja. This is going to be very...very good.* If he had bothered to smile it would have been quite the evil smile.
Sakura was the least excited of the three. She knew her abilities and limitations better then anyone and she knew it was going to be a difficult road ahead for the team and her in particular. *I wish I was as confident as you Naruto* she thought as she smiled at one of the boy's comments. *You act like nothing can touch you. You truly are incredible.*
The Academy hove into view and Sasuke led the little group through the gates and into the main complex. Naruto, never having been there, had quieted down and was trying to absorb as much about the place as he could, especially the teams of ninja that they began to pass on their way.
The sounds of a large group of people attracted team seven to a corridor full of other genin. They arrived just in time to see a green clad boy go flying backwards. Two chuunin were standing in front of a door marked 301 as if guarding it. Sasuke quickly assessed the situation. The green boy had probably tried to get past the door guards and gotten knocked back by them. Why the two were there Sasuke had no idea. What he did know was that they were guarding the wrong door. He knew this school like the back of his hand and this was definitely not the third floor. *Genjutsu? But why?*
Sakura spotted the same thing and glanced at Naruto to see if he had seen it too. Naruto was staring hard at the two chuunin. Suddenly his eyes lit up and Sakura could see that he had seen it too. He winked at Sakura who smiled and winked back.
"Huh...pathetic." said one of the door guards. "You plan to take the chuunin exam with that?"
The second one sneered at the assembly. "You should just give up now."
The two seemed to almost be finishing each others sentences. The first one spoke again just as the second one stopped. "You're just little kids."
A girl in a Chinese shirt, probably one of the green boy's teammates, stood and approached the chuunin guards. "Please let us through" she said. Naruto's lip curled up in disgust at her weak response. *Another wimpy girl. Man, don't they screen these girls before they let them become ninjas?*
A punch later the girl was on the ground next to her green friend.
"Listen, we're being kind" the first chuunin said. "The chuunin exam isn't easy."
The second one continued where his friend let off. "A lot of the people who take this exam end up quitting being ninja. Some never recover...we've seen it happen many times before."
"Chuunin is the rank of a military platoon captain. The failure of a mission, the death of a solider, all of those are a Chuunin's responsibility. Yet you kids presume to think..." The chuunin sniffed in contempt
"We're just thinning out the ranks a bit. What's wrong with that?"
Team seven glared collectively. *So, they're trying to weed out the weaklings are they?* Sasuke thought. *It's not a bad idea but still...*
"I agree, but..." Sasuke said as team seven stepped forward. "You'll let us through. And while you're at it why don't you remove this crappy genjutsu created surrounding? We're going to the third floor."
Whispers sprang up throughout the crowd. Almost no one knew what Sasuke was talking about.
The two chuunin sneered a bit more. "So, you noticed?" one of them said.
Sasuke spoke over his shoulder. "Sakura, you must have noticed it. Your analytical abilities and genjutsu knowledge are the most advanced of our group."
Sakura smiled. It was a rare thing for Sasuke to complement her. "Of course," she answered. "I spotted it right away since this isn't the third floor, it's the second."
Sasuke looked over his other shoulder at his other teammate. "Naruto?"
Naruto smiled. "Do you even have to ask?"
With that the surroundings changed. The sign above the door transformed from 301 to 201. A startled gasp arose from the collected crowd. Naruto rolled his mental eyes. *Are they all really that thick?* he wondered.
The first chuunin sniffed and smiled cunningly. "Not bad, but all you did was see through it." He launched himself in a flying kick towards Sasuke. Sasuke did likewise. Neither of them connected however.
With amazing speed the green clothed boy placed himself between the two and grabbed their legs in mid kick. A fourth person also interceded. Naruto had seen the green boy crouch in preparation, thinking he was going to join the fight Naruto acted as well. When everything was still again Naruto was standing behind the green boy with a kunai near his throat and another indirectly threatening the chuunin.
Sakura stared wide eyed at the whole thing. *Amazing. He's really fast. He's completely different from the boy who was getting knocked around before. Was he faking the entire time?* She wondered.
No one moved for a moment. The green boy, who looked rather freakish with his weird eyes, large eyebrows, and mushroom shaped bowl cut, was looking rather stunned as he felt the presence of the knife at his neck. Naruto finally stepped back and allowed the green boy to stand and release his hold on the other boys' legs.
Sasuke was stunned for another reason. *Catching my kick...What is this? Chakra in his arms? Fast too.*
Naruto slipped his kunai back into his holster and glared at the boy with the fuzzy eyebrows. *He's faster then me...but not by much* Naruto thought. *Still, being able to catch Sasuke and the other guy's kicks...he's very good.*
The green clad boy was still a little shocked that someone had managed to catch him. He gave Naruto a little look but quickly looked away.
"Hey, what happened to the plan?" asked another boy, obviously one of the green boy's teammates. He was almost as freaky as the green guy. He had pale white eyes and seemed to have the same demeanor as Sasuke. Cold and calculating. "You're the one who said we shouldn't draw attention to ourselves."
"Well..." the green boy said as he looked at Sakura. Sasuke could tell he was preparing for something. The boy's teammates obviously knew what he was doing. The girl in the Chinese shirt covered her eyes and muttered. "Oh no..."
The boy approached Sakura and introduced himself. "My name is Rock Lee, so yours is Sakura."
Sakura was looking very confused. Lee winked and gave her a thumbs up. "Lets go out together! I'll protect you until I die."
Sakura's expression went sour fast. "No..way...You're lame." she managed between shivers. Lee looked crestfallen. He hung his head in shame. Naruto smiled broadly at the saddened Lee. Sasuke muttered something about idiots but Naruto didn't catch it all.
Lee's white eyed teammate spoke up. He approached Sasuke. "Hey you, what's your name?"
"When you want to learn someone's name you should give yours first" Sasuke responded.
Unperturbed the white eyed boy continued. "You're a rookie right? How old are you?"
"I don't have to answer that" Sasuke said, still not caring.
The white eyed boy's cool cracked a bit and he glared at Sasuke. "What?" He turned and looked at Naruto who was watching the conversation with interest. "What about you? What's you're name?"
"Heh, who wants to know?" Naruto said mockingly. His response seemed to anger the boy even further.
"Sasuke-kun, Naruto, lets go." Sakura said. Sasuke rejoined his team and together they walked off to find a route to the third floor leaving Lee and his team behind. The girl in the Chinese shirt smiled as team seven disappeared. *Those two are cute* she thought. She noticed that her teammate was still staring too. "Do they interest you Neji?" She asked. Neji didn't answer but instead began to walk away. That was enough of an answer for her.
Behind partly closed doors the two chuunin watched the small confrontation as it unfolded. "So those are Kakashi and Gai's prize pupils." One of them said. "I guess they passed the preliminary." The other nodded. "Yeah." With a puff of smoke the two chuunin transformed into much taller men in examiners uniforms. "Looks like this year's exam is going to be fun, especially for us examiners."
Sasuke smiled slightly as he thought about what had just happened. *Man, there's a bunch of weirdos and freaks here. Should be interesting.* Naruto was busy thinking the same thing.
Team seven was passing through a large entryway room when a voice called out from behind them. "You two, the dark eyed one and the blond, hold on."
The three turned to see Rock Lee standing on a landing above them. Naruto smiled, Sakura looked disgusted, and Sasuke looked a little peeved.
"What?"
"Would you fight me here, right now?"
"A fight here? Right now?" Sasuke asked.
"Yes."
Naruto's grin grew. He took a step forward and held up his hand as if the offer was menial and under his notice. "Ha. Why should we fight you Eyebrows?"
Lee jumped over the railing and landed on the floor. He stood and pointed to himself. "My name is Rock Lee not Eyebrows." He pointed at Sasuke. "When you want to learn someone's name you introduce yourself first right?...Uchiha Sasuke-kun.
Sasuke's eyes widened. "So, you knew who I was." he said casually.
Lee nodded and looked at Naruto. "I have introduced myself. Who are you?"
Naruto mimicked Lee and pointed to himself with his thumb. "Uzumaki Naruto" he said proudly.
Lee took up a fighting stance. "I would like to fight you. I want to see how far my moves will go against the progeny of the genius ninja clan. I would also like to find out more about you Naruto-kun. You are the first that has been able to catch me. I do not take that lightly." His gaze shifted to Sakura. "Also..."
The weird boy's gaze sent shivers down her spine. She could see he was blushing.
"Sakura-san...love."
Sakura went ballistic. "Nooo! I hate those eyebrows, those eye lashes, that ugly bowl cut. You're to weird!"
Lee, apparently unaffected by her outburst, continued. "You are an angel." He winked and blew a kiss at her. Sakura screamed and dodged it. Lee seemed impressed. "Very well, try this." He shot kiss after kiss and wink after wink at her but Sakura dodged every one. Finally, when the last one had passed her by she turned on Lee and yelled at him. "Argh. Don't throw those things at me. I almost didn't make it."
Lee sagged and looked depressed. "They aren't that bad."
Naruto by this time was barely able to contain himself. The display was just too much for him. He wanted to laugh, to roll around on the ground and laugh so hard that he cried, but he brought it under control and thought of something else.
Sasuke seemed impressed that Lee was challenging him. "You still challenge me even though you know who I am? Do you know what I am capable of?" *You're either an ignorant fool or a very brave fool* Sasuke thought.
Lee just smiled.
Before Sasuke could answer the challenge Naruto took another step forward and answered his. "I'll fight you Eyebrows." Lee nodded and turned his attention to Naruto. "Very well. I will fight with Sasuke-kun when I am finished with you."
Sakura had the sense to look at the clock and noticed that they only had about twenty minutes to get to room 301. "Naruto, I don't think you should...." Naruto waved off the rest of her sentence. "I'll only take five minutes."
The two fighters squared off and the fight commenced. Naruto charged Lee with the intent of delivering a simple punch to test the other boy's skill. With a quick step forward Lee blocked and turned Naruto's punch aside.
*Ok, so he's fast* Naruto thought as he landed on his hand and flipped upright on the far side of Lee. *He's probably faster then me by a bit. No problem though.* Naruto attacked again, this time at his best speed.
Sasuke was following the battle very closely. He had seen Lee's speed before and was impressed by it. He was a bit faster then Naruto or himself but it wasn't the speed that had impressed him, it was Lee's catching of his kick that got Sasuke's attention. Wanting to know how he'd done it Sasuke was watching using his Sharingan. It was good practice anyway.
Lee saw his opponent's speed increase and smiled inwardly. This was what he was interested in. He blocked the kick aimed at his legs and countered with a whirlwind kick of his own. Naruto managed to avoid most of it but did catch enough of it force him away again. This time however he didn't wait to jump back in. He knew what needed to be done.
Several seconds later Lee delivered a stunning elbow strike to Naruto's midriff. Instead of Naruto going down though a dented trash can spilled it's contents all over the floor. Lee's eyes widened in shock. A surge of chakra behind him drew his attention. Naruto was charging him from the rear. *Looks like I might have to break a promise Gai-Sensei* he thought.
The blond swung but Lee vanished before the punch could get him only to reappear below Naruto, giving him a kick that sent him skyward. Lee vanished again and reappeared as Naruto's shadow as he sailed through the air. Naruto was stunned. "Is this the Shadow Dance?" he asked in amazement. Lee flexed his hand and the bindings around his hands came loose.
"I win" Lee declared triumphantly.
Before Lee could finish what he was doing however Naruto made his move.
"Not."
With a puff of smoke Naruto disappeared. The smoke screen blinded Lee and prevented him from seeing what was coming.
Sasuke and Sakura had seen Naruto's move. When Lee had destroyed the trash can Naruto had appeared behind him. The blond had quickly created a shadow clone and sent him towards Lee while the real Naruto jumped skyward. He had bounced off of the roof and came screaming back down at high speed towards the now airborne clone and the shadowing Lee.
Lee never saw Naruto coming being as the clone was blocking his view of the roof. When the clone vanished it left an open avenue to the green boy. The blond genin delivered a beautiful punch to Lee's chest that sent the taijutsu user crashing to the ground where he bounced once then rolled away to avoid a follow up strike. It was good he did since Naruto would have landed on him and given him a second helping but instead Naruto landed on one knee.
Lee stood quickly. He looked like he was hurting but didn't appear that he was seriously harmed in any way.
Naruto stood as well and gave Lee a foxy smile. "Weren't expecting that were you Eyebrows?"
Lee made as if to charge Naruto but a pinwheel shot out of no where and pinned the boy's loosened arm wrappings to the floor. Everyone turned in shock to see a large tortoise. Team seven watched in awe and confusion as Lee addressed the tortoise and proceeded to explain himself to it. The appearance of Gai and Lee's strange and disturbing conversation with him only added to the weirdness factor in the room.
Finally Gai took notice of team seven. *These are Kakashi's students.* He looked them over quickly. The pink haired one was of no consequence. The raven haired one Gai knew very well. Gai was surprised that Lee had not chosen to fight him instead of the blond boy. Gai would have thought the result would have been the same either way but Lee had been knocked down by this mystery boy in a very surprising turn of events.
"You. What is your name?" He asked, pointing to Naruto. Naruto didn't like the super eyebrows guy any more then the younger version. The whole set up just weirded him out.
"Um, Uzumaki Naruto."
Gai suddenly realized who the boy was. He had heard that Kakashi was getting a new student so he could finally fill out his team.
In a surprise meeting of Jounin the Hokage had explained the story behind the boy. Needless to say it had surprised Gai to find out that the boy had actually returned. Still he had not seen him before so he could be forgiven for not knowing what Naruto looked like.
"That was an impressive move. You are skilled in taijutsu." Gai said. He gave Naruto a wink and a glittering smile.
Naruto looked even more disturbed. "Uh...thanks."
"You all should be getting to the class room now." Gai announced. "Good luck Lee!" Gai and the tortoise disappeared in clouds of smoke leaving the four genin alone again.
Lee turned to Naruto as he finished wrapping up his hands. "Naruto-kun. I look forward to finishing this fight with you. I also look forward to fighting with you Sasuke-kun. But my main purpose in this exam is to defeat my rival, the strongest genin in Konoha. You are also my targets. Prepare yourselves!" With that Lee somersaulted back up onto the landing and disappeared.
Naruto quickly regained his smile once the weirdos were gone. "This is going to be interesting." he said.
Sasuke smiled in anticipation. He agreed totally. "Sakura, Naruto, lets go."
Sakura looked at her two teammates in wonder. *You two are amazing.*
Together the three marched off, destination...room 301.
Sorry about that. It's alot like the regualar storyline. I didn't see many places i could change things around. Don't worry. I know lots of things to change in the upcoming chapters. I'll update in a day or two.
Team Seven met at the little red bridge the next morning at nine. Sakura had shown Naruto where it was the previous day but after thirty minutes of waiting Naruto had not shown up. Kakashi materialized on top of one of the arches at exactly thirty minutes after nine and waved a cheery good morning.
Sakura gave Kakashi her death glare as the gray haired Jounin dropped to the bridge walkway. "You're late Kakashi-sensei and on today of all days!"
"Sorry, sorry. I had a meeting with the Hokage that ran late." Kakashi said. Sakura was about to call him a liar when she realized that this time his excuse might actually be genuine. So instead she turned her wrath on her absent teammate.
"Ok so then where's Naruto?" She asked in frustration.
Kakashi glanced over his shoulder then pointed a thumb back towards the main part of town. "Um...he's right there."
And indeed he was. The blond genin was sauntering down the road towards the bridge as if he didn't have a care in the world. Sakura again came close to an outburst but then she noticed his new attire and color scheme. In place of his white hoody he was wearing a black jacket which he kept open in the front. Flames decorated the bottom and Sakura guessed there was probably a large red swirl on the back just like on the hoody. Naruto had also moved his head protector from around his waist its rightful spot around his forehead.
"Good morning!" he yelled boisterously as he got to the bridge.
"You're late Naruto" Sakura glared but then she lightened up and sighed. "But I guess it doesn't really mater. Kakashi-sensei just got here too."
Naruto laughed and leaned against the opposite rail from Sasuke who was looking rather board with the whole scene. "Sorry, I took some extra time to get prepared this morning. Sensei told me to be ready for anything."
Kakashi smiled beneath his mask. Jiriaya was pretty useless sometimes but he occasionally had little gems of wisdom to offer. Apparently Naruto had gotten one this morning and had taken it to heart.
The Jounin fished around in his pouch and produced three pieces of paper which he handed out to his students. "These are your application papers. Sign your name on the bottom and get them to room 301 at the academy by three."
"Great. So we've got a couple hours to kill" Naruto said. "Who wants to go eat?"
After a brunch of, you guessed it...ramen, Team Seven's genin began making their way to the academy. Naruto was all talk on the way there. He seemed almost to excited, there didn't seem to be a hint of nervousness in the fearless blond.
Sasuke was excited too but unlike Naruto he didn't bother to show it. *Finally I get to test my skills against others ninja. This is going to be very...very good.* If he had bothered to smile it would have been quite the evil smile.
Sakura was the least excited of the three. She knew her abilities and limitations better then anyone and she knew it was going to be a difficult road ahead for the team and her in particular. *I wish I was as confident as you Naruto* she thought as she smiled at one of the boy's comments. *You act like nothing can touch you. You truly are incredible.*
The Academy hove into view and Sasuke led the little group through the gates and into the main complex. Naruto, never having been there, had quieted down and was trying to absorb as much about the place as he could, especially the teams of ninja that they began to pass on their way.
The sounds of a large group of people attracted team seven to a corridor full of other genin. They arrived just in time to see a green clad boy go flying backwards. Two chuunin were standing in front of a door marked 301 as if guarding it. Sasuke quickly assessed the situation. The green boy had probably tried to get past the door guards and gotten knocked back by them. Why the two were there Sasuke had no idea. What he did know was that they were guarding the wrong door. He knew this school like the back of his hand and this was definitely not the third floor. *Genjutsu? But why?*
Sakura spotted the same thing and glanced at Naruto to see if he had seen it too. Naruto was staring hard at the two chuunin. Suddenly his eyes lit up and Sakura could see that he had seen it too. He winked at Sakura who smiled and winked back.
"Huh...pathetic." said one of the door guards. "You plan to take the chuunin exam with that?"
The second one sneered at the assembly. "You should just give up now."
The two seemed to almost be finishing each others sentences. The first one spoke again just as the second one stopped. "You're just little kids."
A girl in a Chinese shirt, probably one of the green boy's teammates, stood and approached the chuunin guards. "Please let us through" she said. Naruto's lip curled up in disgust at her weak response. *Another wimpy girl. Man, don't they screen these girls before they let them become ninjas?*
A punch later the girl was on the ground next to her green friend.
"Listen, we're being kind" the first chuunin said. "The chuunin exam isn't easy."
The second one continued where his friend let off. "A lot of the people who take this exam end up quitting being ninja. Some never recover...we've seen it happen many times before."
"Chuunin is the rank of a military platoon captain. The failure of a mission, the death of a solider, all of those are a Chuunin's responsibility. Yet you kids presume to think..." The chuunin sniffed in contempt
"We're just thinning out the ranks a bit. What's wrong with that?"
Team seven glared collectively. *So, they're trying to weed out the weaklings are they?* Sasuke thought. *It's not a bad idea but still...*
"I agree, but..." Sasuke said as team seven stepped forward. "You'll let us through. And while you're at it why don't you remove this crappy genjutsu created surrounding? We're going to the third floor."
Whispers sprang up throughout the crowd. Almost no one knew what Sasuke was talking about.
The two chuunin sneered a bit more. "So, you noticed?" one of them said.
Sasuke spoke over his shoulder. "Sakura, you must have noticed it. Your analytical abilities and genjutsu knowledge are the most advanced of our group."
Sakura smiled. It was a rare thing for Sasuke to complement her. "Of course," she answered. "I spotted it right away since this isn't the third floor, it's the second."
Sasuke looked over his other shoulder at his other teammate. "Naruto?"
Naruto smiled. "Do you even have to ask?"
With that the surroundings changed. The sign above the door transformed from 301 to 201. A startled gasp arose from the collected crowd. Naruto rolled his mental eyes. *Are they all really that thick?* he wondered.
The first chuunin sniffed and smiled cunningly. "Not bad, but all you did was see through it." He launched himself in a flying kick towards Sasuke. Sasuke did likewise. Neither of them connected however.
With amazing speed the green clothed boy placed himself between the two and grabbed their legs in mid kick. A fourth person also interceded. Naruto had seen the green boy crouch in preparation, thinking he was going to join the fight Naruto acted as well. When everything was still again Naruto was standing behind the green boy with a kunai near his throat and another indirectly threatening the chuunin.
Sakura stared wide eyed at the whole thing. *Amazing. He's really fast. He's completely different from the boy who was getting knocked around before. Was he faking the entire time?* She wondered.
No one moved for a moment. The green boy, who looked rather freakish with his weird eyes, large eyebrows, and mushroom shaped bowl cut, was looking rather stunned as he felt the presence of the knife at his neck. Naruto finally stepped back and allowed the green boy to stand and release his hold on the other boys' legs.
Sasuke was stunned for another reason. *Catching my kick...What is this? Chakra in his arms? Fast too.*
Naruto slipped his kunai back into his holster and glared at the boy with the fuzzy eyebrows. *He's faster then me...but not by much* Naruto thought. *Still, being able to catch Sasuke and the other guy's kicks...he's very good.*
The green clad boy was still a little shocked that someone had managed to catch him. He gave Naruto a little look but quickly looked away.
"Hey, what happened to the plan?" asked another boy, obviously one of the green boy's teammates. He was almost as freaky as the green guy. He had pale white eyes and seemed to have the same demeanor as Sasuke. Cold and calculating. "You're the one who said we shouldn't draw attention to ourselves."
"Well..." the green boy said as he looked at Sakura. Sasuke could tell he was preparing for something. The boy's teammates obviously knew what he was doing. The girl in the Chinese shirt covered her eyes and muttered. "Oh no..."
The boy approached Sakura and introduced himself. "My name is Rock Lee, so yours is Sakura."
Sakura was looking very confused. Lee winked and gave her a thumbs up. "Lets go out together! I'll protect you until I die."
Sakura's expression went sour fast. "No..way...You're lame." she managed between shivers. Lee looked crestfallen. He hung his head in shame. Naruto smiled broadly at the saddened Lee. Sasuke muttered something about idiots but Naruto didn't catch it all.
Lee's white eyed teammate spoke up. He approached Sasuke. "Hey you, what's your name?"
"When you want to learn someone's name you should give yours first" Sasuke responded.
Unperturbed the white eyed boy continued. "You're a rookie right? How old are you?"
"I don't have to answer that" Sasuke said, still not caring.
The white eyed boy's cool cracked a bit and he glared at Sasuke. "What?" He turned and looked at Naruto who was watching the conversation with interest. "What about you? What's you're name?"
"Heh, who wants to know?" Naruto said mockingly. His response seemed to anger the boy even further.
"Sasuke-kun, Naruto, lets go." Sakura said. Sasuke rejoined his team and together they walked off to find a route to the third floor leaving Lee and his team behind. The girl in the Chinese shirt smiled as team seven disappeared. *Those two are cute* she thought. She noticed that her teammate was still staring too. "Do they interest you Neji?" She asked. Neji didn't answer but instead began to walk away. That was enough of an answer for her.
Behind partly closed doors the two chuunin watched the small confrontation as it unfolded. "So those are Kakashi and Gai's prize pupils." One of them said. "I guess they passed the preliminary." The other nodded. "Yeah." With a puff of smoke the two chuunin transformed into much taller men in examiners uniforms. "Looks like this year's exam is going to be fun, especially for us examiners."
Sasuke smiled slightly as he thought about what had just happened. *Man, there's a bunch of weirdos and freaks here. Should be interesting.* Naruto was busy thinking the same thing.
Team seven was passing through a large entryway room when a voice called out from behind them. "You two, the dark eyed one and the blond, hold on."
The three turned to see Rock Lee standing on a landing above them. Naruto smiled, Sakura looked disgusted, and Sasuke looked a little peeved.
"What?"
"Would you fight me here, right now?"
"A fight here? Right now?" Sasuke asked.
"Yes."
Naruto's grin grew. He took a step forward and held up his hand as if the offer was menial and under his notice. "Ha. Why should we fight you Eyebrows?"
Lee jumped over the railing and landed on the floor. He stood and pointed to himself. "My name is Rock Lee not Eyebrows." He pointed at Sasuke. "When you want to learn someone's name you introduce yourself first right?...Uchiha Sasuke-kun.
Sasuke's eyes widened. "So, you knew who I was." he said casually.
Lee nodded and looked at Naruto. "I have introduced myself. Who are you?"
Naruto mimicked Lee and pointed to himself with his thumb. "Uzumaki Naruto" he said proudly.
Lee took up a fighting stance. "I would like to fight you. I want to see how far my moves will go against the progeny of the genius ninja clan. I would also like to find out more about you Naruto-kun. You are the first that has been able to catch me. I do not take that lightly." His gaze shifted to Sakura. "Also..."
The weird boy's gaze sent shivers down her spine. She could see he was blushing.
"Sakura-san...love."
Sakura went ballistic. "Nooo! I hate those eyebrows, those eye lashes, that ugly bowl cut. You're to weird!"
Lee, apparently unaffected by her outburst, continued. "You are an angel." He winked and blew a kiss at her. Sakura screamed and dodged it. Lee seemed impressed. "Very well, try this." He shot kiss after kiss and wink after wink at her but Sakura dodged every one. Finally, when the last one had passed her by she turned on Lee and yelled at him. "Argh. Don't throw those things at me. I almost didn't make it."
Lee sagged and looked depressed. "They aren't that bad."
Naruto by this time was barely able to contain himself. The display was just too much for him. He wanted to laugh, to roll around on the ground and laugh so hard that he cried, but he brought it under control and thought of something else.
Sasuke seemed impressed that Lee was challenging him. "You still challenge me even though you know who I am? Do you know what I am capable of?" *You're either an ignorant fool or a very brave fool* Sasuke thought.
Lee just smiled.
Before Sasuke could answer the challenge Naruto took another step forward and answered his. "I'll fight you Eyebrows." Lee nodded and turned his attention to Naruto. "Very well. I will fight with Sasuke-kun when I am finished with you."
Sakura had the sense to look at the clock and noticed that they only had about twenty minutes to get to room 301. "Naruto, I don't think you should...." Naruto waved off the rest of her sentence. "I'll only take five minutes."
The two fighters squared off and the fight commenced. Naruto charged Lee with the intent of delivering a simple punch to test the other boy's skill. With a quick step forward Lee blocked and turned Naruto's punch aside.
*Ok, so he's fast* Naruto thought as he landed on his hand and flipped upright on the far side of Lee. *He's probably faster then me by a bit. No problem though.* Naruto attacked again, this time at his best speed.
Sasuke was following the battle very closely. He had seen Lee's speed before and was impressed by it. He was a bit faster then Naruto or himself but it wasn't the speed that had impressed him, it was Lee's catching of his kick that got Sasuke's attention. Wanting to know how he'd done it Sasuke was watching using his Sharingan. It was good practice anyway.
Lee saw his opponent's speed increase and smiled inwardly. This was what he was interested in. He blocked the kick aimed at his legs and countered with a whirlwind kick of his own. Naruto managed to avoid most of it but did catch enough of it force him away again. This time however he didn't wait to jump back in. He knew what needed to be done.
Several seconds later Lee delivered a stunning elbow strike to Naruto's midriff. Instead of Naruto going down though a dented trash can spilled it's contents all over the floor. Lee's eyes widened in shock. A surge of chakra behind him drew his attention. Naruto was charging him from the rear. *Looks like I might have to break a promise Gai-Sensei* he thought.
The blond swung but Lee vanished before the punch could get him only to reappear below Naruto, giving him a kick that sent him skyward. Lee vanished again and reappeared as Naruto's shadow as he sailed through the air. Naruto was stunned. "Is this the Shadow Dance?" he asked in amazement. Lee flexed his hand and the bindings around his hands came loose.
"I win" Lee declared triumphantly.
Before Lee could finish what he was doing however Naruto made his move.
"Not."
With a puff of smoke Naruto disappeared. The smoke screen blinded Lee and prevented him from seeing what was coming.
Sasuke and Sakura had seen Naruto's move. When Lee had destroyed the trash can Naruto had appeared behind him. The blond had quickly created a shadow clone and sent him towards Lee while the real Naruto jumped skyward. He had bounced off of the roof and came screaming back down at high speed towards the now airborne clone and the shadowing Lee.
Lee never saw Naruto coming being as the clone was blocking his view of the roof. When the clone vanished it left an open avenue to the green boy. The blond genin delivered a beautiful punch to Lee's chest that sent the taijutsu user crashing to the ground where he bounced once then rolled away to avoid a follow up strike. It was good he did since Naruto would have landed on him and given him a second helping but instead Naruto landed on one knee.
Lee stood quickly. He looked like he was hurting but didn't appear that he was seriously harmed in any way.
Naruto stood as well and gave Lee a foxy smile. "Weren't expecting that were you Eyebrows?"
Lee made as if to charge Naruto but a pinwheel shot out of no where and pinned the boy's loosened arm wrappings to the floor. Everyone turned in shock to see a large tortoise. Team seven watched in awe and confusion as Lee addressed the tortoise and proceeded to explain himself to it. The appearance of Gai and Lee's strange and disturbing conversation with him only added to the weirdness factor in the room.
Finally Gai took notice of team seven. *These are Kakashi's students.* He looked them over quickly. The pink haired one was of no consequence. The raven haired one Gai knew very well. Gai was surprised that Lee had not chosen to fight him instead of the blond boy. Gai would have thought the result would have been the same either way but Lee had been knocked down by this mystery boy in a very surprising turn of events.
"You. What is your name?" He asked, pointing to Naruto. Naruto didn't like the super eyebrows guy any more then the younger version. The whole set up just weirded him out.
"Um, Uzumaki Naruto."
Gai suddenly realized who the boy was. He had heard that Kakashi was getting a new student so he could finally fill out his team.
In a surprise meeting of Jounin the Hokage had explained the story behind the boy. Needless to say it had surprised Gai to find out that the boy had actually returned. Still he had not seen him before so he could be forgiven for not knowing what Naruto looked like.
"That was an impressive move. You are skilled in taijutsu." Gai said. He gave Naruto a wink and a glittering smile.
Naruto looked even more disturbed. "Uh...thanks."
"You all should be getting to the class room now." Gai announced. "Good luck Lee!" Gai and the tortoise disappeared in clouds of smoke leaving the four genin alone again.
Lee turned to Naruto as he finished wrapping up his hands. "Naruto-kun. I look forward to finishing this fight with you. I also look forward to fighting with you Sasuke-kun. But my main purpose in this exam is to defeat my rival, the strongest genin in Konoha. You are also my targets. Prepare yourselves!" With that Lee somersaulted back up onto the landing and disappeared.
Naruto quickly regained his smile once the weirdos were gone. "This is going to be interesting." he said.
Sasuke smiled in anticipation. He agreed totally. "Sakura, Naruto, lets go."
Sakura looked at her two teammates in wonder. *You two are amazing.*
Together the three marched off, destination...room 301.
Sorry about that. It's alot like the regualar storyline. I didn't see many places i could change things around. Don't worry. I know lots of things to change in the upcoming chapters. I'll update in a day or two.