THE TRININJA TOURNAMENT - CHAPTER 1: ENTER ANBU CAPTAINS 1, 2, AND 3!

Naruto was happily slurping away at his ramen. It had been two years since he had officially become a ninja, and everyday, to the bafflement of most, he grew more and more like the Yondaime. Sure, his hair was a bit shorter and a slightly different shade of yellow, and his infamous whisker marks were still there, but he still was remarkably like him. Maybe it was the charisma that drew people to him like moths to a flame?

Well, he certainly wasn't the same number one hyperactive ninja he had been before. Definitely not as short either…if anyone asked him about his height, he probably would have proudly declared that he was actually taller than Sasuke! (Even though it was only three-quarters of an inch…)

Actually he had become quite goodlooking over the years. Despite all odds, he had actually become quite popular with the girls! He had grown out of the orange jump suit; instead he wore an orange t-shirt with his trademark swirl on it (uzumaki, get it?) over a fishnet shirt. He wore black pants that were tucked into the white bandages he wrapped around his shins. You could say that he had changed a lot.

"Ramen, ramen, all my ramen…" he hummed softly.

Well…there are some things that can't change.

Just before Naruto was about to finish his 13th bowl of ramen, a hawk soared overhead and dropped a leaf on his head. He glanced at the leaf for a moment before chugging down the rest of his ramen -miso this time- and slapping some money on the counter.

"Kuso, what does that hag want now?"

Deep in a clearing in one of the many forests surrounding Konoha, a raven-haired teen closed his eyes and breathed in deeply. On some invisible signal, he suddenly opened blood red eyes and leapt into the air. Taking out six kunai with speed even surpassing Lee with out his weights, he threw the kunais towards six targets on the surrounding trees, each target the size of the end of a pencil.

He did this amazingly gracefully, and all before he reached the ground. He went to each of the targets and smirked satisfyingly when he discovered that all six had struck dead center, even the one in his blind spot.

Oh, and if you didn't realize this already, this is Sasuke. He's pretty much the same, but his hair has grown longer and he keeps it tied in a ponytail, so he looks a lot like Itachi, his hated older brother. It's to remind him that he's an avenger, though he'd hardly tell you that. Yup, our favorite Uchiha was still the same unsocial bastard he's always been. He now wears a black t-shirt over fish net and on each of the sleeves is the Uchiha fan. He still has bandages around his wrists and shins, and he switched his white shorts for black ones. . Other than that, he's the same. Same smirk, same eyes, same pale skin.

Sasuke's smirk turned into a frown when a certain thought crossed his mind. Itachi could do this when he was 13…

He growled in frustration. Ever since that humiliating encounter with him two years ago, he had trained like a mad man. His progress surprised everyone in the village (at least everyone who he knew). After all, not everyone can even come close to catching to up Itachi's path. Sasuke knew that he could do this exercise perfectly, but there was that gnawing thought in his mind that he was still one year behind. Itachi…you bastard, wait until I- Sasuke stopped his train of thought, recognizing the signs that nearly did him in two years ago. Stay calm…think this through rationally… Sasuke thought to himself, willing the raging sea of hatred boiling beneath his skin to calm and sink back within him.

Yes, his lifetime goal was to kill Itachi and avenge his family. However, he had long since realized that charging blindly throughout the continent looking for him wasn't the best way to do things. After the last time he saw Itachi, he had been wallowing in self-insecurity. Add a couple of snakes to the mix and Sasuke had made a stupid, stupid decision. He knew now that joining with Orochimaru would have been the coward's way out, probably ending with his body being taken over by the Sannin. He had never used the curse seal again, determined to use his own power to fulfill his ambition.

The sound of hawk wings interrupted Sasuke's thoughts. He looked up and caught the leaf that was floating over his head. The smirk returned. A mission? I hope it's enjoyable for once. His hands formed a couple of seals and there was a -poof!-. After the smoke cleared, the clearing was empty.

Sakura looked at the different flowers on the stands. It was funny, that after all these years; she still went to the Yamanaka flower shop. Some things never did change, after all. Other things…

Naruto really did change a lot, didn't he? Sakura mused. New wardrobe, new skills… you can hardly tell it's the same ninja that nearly flunked the entrance exams. Sasuke too… This thought came unaccompanied with a blush. After the 'incident', her raging crush on him was recognized as just that: a crush. Now, she enjoyed Sasuke's company just as a friend. Sasuke seemed to be much more relaxed around her when she wasn't jumping him all the time, too. Seeing a flower catch her interest, she brushed the loose strands of her long pink hair behind her ear and picked up a red rose from one of the stands.

"Hey big forehead girl!"

Sakura whipped around and yelled out, "SHUT UP INO-PIG! YOU KNOW MY FOREHEAD ISN'T THAT BIG ANYMORE!"

Yep, that's our Sakura. It seems that over the years, Inner Sakura had started to merge with Outer Sakura, forming a Sakura that almost had multi-personality disorder.

How charming…

Thankfully, her appearance was much more appealing (and stable) than her interior. Her hair had grown out to her waist. She still wore her red dress, but in a slightly different style and with sakura blossoms embroidered on the bottom. She also wore her Konoha forehead protector on her not-so-large-anymore forehead, instead of the way she wore it before. She was one of the most attractive females in Konoha, as long as you didn't get her pissed off…like she was now.

Just before she was about to leap onto Ino, a leaf fell in front of her face. She looked up just in time to see a hawk soar into the distance. So Hokage-sama wants us now eh?

"Humph, Ino you get off today. I have some business to take care of." Placing the rose back into its container, she strode out of the store.

Tsunade looked at the three teens in front of her. It had surprised her that it had only took them two years to become ANBU captains. Their growth was astonishing, especially Sasuke's and Naruto's, who had become the strongest Konoha ninjas, even minus the Kyuubi and Sharingan factors.

"ANBU captain 1, Sasuke,"

He nodded his head a fraction as a response.

"ANBU captain 2, Naruto,"

"Aw, hag, get on with it!"

"ANBU captain 3, Sakura,"

She snapped to attention. "Yes Hokage-sama?"

Tsunade paused, then stated, "You are to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, in the Triwizard Tournament. This is an order by the Hokage."

tbc…

Ah, finally cleared up that chapter. I think it explains much more than the original of the time before the present. Of course, you'll also see little snippets of the past throughout the story.

And the favorite Uchiha line…that is certainly debatable (ha). I might post my character sketches sometime later, so you can visualize them a bit better.

Yes I know I'm blatantly ignoring many things, but you can't make everything accurate in a crossover.

Next time: the nins get the details for their mission! Why is Konoha participating this year?