Naruto: A Red Eye Hidden by Shadow

by Tatanka4Life

On the fateful night of the Uchiha Massacre, a girl of Uchiha and Nara blood is spared and left with no memories of her past. Now she must walk on the path left by her family to help her build a new future for herself. Her path will be hard, full of struggles and pain, but as long as she has her friends and family at her side she will keep forging ahead, even if it was a drag.

28. Chapter 27: Lotus Falls, a Dragon Rises

Chapter 27

A Lotus Falls, a Dragon Rises: Blooming of the Cherry Blossom! CHAA!

Within the canopy of the Forest of Death, perched on a branch out of sight, a lone crow overlooked the remnants of the battlefield between Leaf Genin and the leader of the Sound Village.

Smoke hung in the air. Embers from explosions and Fire Nature attacks lingered along charred bark in speckled patterns. Slashes and gouges from Wind Nature jutsus marked the trees like a bear had filed its claws on them. Burned and shriveled leaves fell to the forest floor below, their peaceful lives forever disrupted by the battle.

But there were no corpses. No dead shinobi on either side. No eyes plucked out or dead crows among the carnage. It was a small blessing to be given on this day, but a blessing the crow took without complaint. Far worse could have occurred. Tragedy may yet have struck the Uchiha kunoichi once more had the Sound shinobi been uninterrupted by the crow and her agents.

For now, though, such a tragedy had been averted. Her actions kept the Uchiha child out of the vile hands of one of the Leaf's greatest prodigies turned greatest threat. Even if it accelerated the timetable of her mission, her interference kept the child pivotal to her mission safe. She could take pride in that.

Night was nearly upon them. In but a few hours, the Genin in this forest would rest for the night or begin their hunt for their missing scroll, unaware of the powerful shinobi who had infiltrated their exam. The crow doubted it would be the last appearance. A shinobi of his caliber would not waste time on a trivial attack. He had other plans in the works, plans she could not guess at just yet. But she would report her findings to the Hokage as soon as she was certain the young team attacked by the Sound were safe.

Black feathers sheathed her in the shadows, out of sight of allies and enemies alike as she monitored the surrounding area like a hawk, as humans liked to say. Should the need arise, the wrath of the crows would be felt in its full force to keep the young Genin safe.

Below her, a lone pink-haired shinobi carried her unconscious teammates to the safety of a large tree with a trunk shaped similar to the mouth of a cave. The alcove was a suitable place of rest now that the fighting had come to an end, but the danger was far from over.

More was to come if Orochimaru of the Sannin had returned to the Leaf.

And so the crow watched, vigilant of every twitch of the forest to keep the Uchiha child under her protection safe.

---

The air was calm as the sun rose on the second day of the survival exercise. Somewhere above the canopy of leaves, the sky's soothing dark blue was joined by vibrant oranges bursting across its canvas. Rays of light pierced through the canopy into the unilluminated humid forest, the warm light shimmered and glowed as if sent from the pure lands of the spirit realm to this dark hell.

Down on the forest floor, underneath the protection of a tree trunk overhang, Amari sat utterly still with her back resting against the tree. Her chest rose and fell ever so slightly with controlled breaths; any more movement than this agitated her wounds, not that they weren't agitated anyways. Warm, dull aches thrummed from her bandaged shoulders and thigh despite the pain relieving ointment Sakura put on them.

Unfortunately, ointment wouldn't do her much good here. The wound in her right shoulder was far too deep for simple ointment to be effective. Only Medical Ninjutsu would be able to dull the pain and mend the wounds their enemy dealt to her shoulder. As of now, she could do nothing except bear the pain for as long as they remained in this forest.

Unless we come across Mimi and I can convince her to heal me, I'm stuck with this. Amari sighed deeply then winced as the pain in her shoulders spiked. Owww! Stupid, stupid, stupid!

These injuries were such a pain. Why did she ever agree to this stupid test? It would have been safer for all four of them if she or Sakura refused to come to force their team to forfeit. But nooo, she had to be a troublesome and stubborn girl who wanted to be challenged.

Well, she got her challenge, and now she could barely twitch without hurting herself.

Yay. Way to go, Amari. You found a powerful shinobi to pummel you and your teammates. Troublesome idiot.

Sasuke and Naruto weren't even conscious yet. Their…injuries? Could they even be called that? Anyway, whatever their enemy had done to her teammates left them out cold and unresponsive.

Amari's mood plummeted. This really sucks.

Next to her, Sakura slept soundly, silent and still as anyone who went through the emotional exhaustion her fellow kunoichi experienced. The act of sleeping hadn't come without a fight from her teammate. After Amari woke up somewhere around midnight, she spent the next several minutes convincing Sakura to sleep.

Granted, her teammate had every right to be stubborn about it. Her valid points regarding the current state of the injured kunoichi rang truer than Amari wanted to admit. The chakra she expended in her final two attacks hadn't come close to replenishing itself yet, and her injuries left her in a position where she couldn't fight or move as fast anymore.

But still, Sakura needed sleep to be in peak form for whatever came next. There was no way to know when their boy teammates would wake up, and Amari knew she couldn't help nearly as much as she liked thanks to her injuries. Sakura made it out uninjured, though. She couldn't be fighting off exhaustion when she was the only one who could still fight to protect them.

"Sakura, thank you for doing so much to care for me and my injuries, but you need to sleep. You're right, I'm not in much of a condition to do anything more than play a support role right now. It's highly possible I'll be this way when morning comes, too. But that's even more reason for you to sleep. If Sasuke and Naruto don't wake up tomorrow, it may be you taking the lead as I act as support."

She hated to admit her current weakness. Damn it, she hated it so much. But the truth couldn't be avoided at a time like this. Even though Amari never wanted to place Sakura in this position, Sakura needed to be ready to step up and fight against their next enemies.

"Sleep. I'll keep watch tonight."

Thankfully Sakura saw reason and finally went to sleep. Left alone for the night, Amari kept her senses open to her surroundings as her mind mulled over everything Sakura informed her of regarding the snake lady. A lady who was, in fact, not a lady at all.

Orochimaru…Orochimaru of the Sannin was the one we were fighting.

Amari could hardly believe she crossed blades with one of the Legendary Sannin, though it certainly explained her lack of damage to the man. The Legendary Sannin was a three man squad comprised of Lady Tsunade, the kunoichi who revolutionized medical-ninja, Jiraiya and Orochimaru—three Leaf Village shinobi taught by the Third Hokage and hailed as the strongest shinobi of their time. Shinobi who were without a doubt Kage level.

Of course nothing we could do would hurt him. We're just insignificant flies compared to him.

Shinobi on their level couldn't be beaten by mere Genin or their techniques. They were legends of the Leaf. Shinobi who had fought in wars and acquired strength ordinary ninja could only dream of.

Quite frankly, the fact they survived without casualties or losing an eye was a miracle.

Although Amari knew next to nothing about Orochimaru and his teammates outside of common knowledge of their legend, she did recall seeing Orochimaru's face in her mother's bingo book, listed as an S-rank criminal no less.

Did she mention it was a miracle they survived?

There were asterisks to their survival. First and foremost, Orochimaru hadn't meant to kill them. Had he wanted them to die, they would be dead. Simple as that. However, instead of killing them when he so easily could have, for one reason or another he wanted to test their skills. More specifically, he was looking to give me or Sasuke his "gift" as he called it.

She wished he had kept his "gift" to himself, but she would come back to that particular problem in a moment.

Another asterisk to their survival came in the form of hundreds of crows saving her from losing an eye. Where they had come from and why they appeared, Amari couldn't say. At that point she started to lose consciousness and barely even registered the birds surrounding her or them moving her to Sakura. Her teammate mentioned one of them wore a Leaf Village headband and that Orochimaru shouted something about Itachi.

Amari wasn't sure what to think of it. The headband meant they were allied summoning creatures of Konoha. Someone either summoned them or the crows simply lived in the Forest of Death. Or, another possibility, they were following her team.

If they were summoned, could Itachi really be behind it? Hypothetically speaking, yes, he could be. All he had to do was sign the contract with the crows and he could summon them at his whim. He could have even infiltrated Konoha to be there at that exact moment. But there were too many holes in that hypothetical scenario to make sense.

If Itachi had been there to fight Orochimaru, why did the crows only attack long enough to separate her from Orochimaru? The Snake Sannin clearly had an obsession and a history with the elder Uchiha based on what he had said throughout their encounter—a history that made them enemies. So if Itachi had been there, why hadn't he appeared after the first attack? Why did Orochimaru no longer search around for Itachi afterwards?

If Itachi appeared and summoned those crows, the Sannin would have sensed him and either sought him out or retreated. But Itachi did not appear and Orochimaru did not run away.

No, Amari mentally shook her head. It couldn't have been Itachi to summon those crows. It didn't add up, not to Amari at least. Someone else must have summoned them, or the crows were acting on their own accord. I'm leaning towards the latter, if I'm honest. She pursed her lips. Had another shinobi been there, one with the strength to summon that many crows, we wouldn't have been left to fend for ourselves.

This meant the crows acted at their own discretion, choosing to interrupt the fight for their own reasons without any orders from a summoner. But why? Why then? Had her team traveled into their territory? Or was there more to their attack? Less random and more precise in a purpose she did not know.

"We will protect you, Young Haya."

The voice was feminine and soothing, but foreign to her ears…and somehow familiar. Had the voice even been real? Or had it been a figment of her exhausted and wounded imagination? Possibly even a reawakened memory? She called me Haya…Frowning in confusion at the mention of her old name, Amari could only ponder if it had been a past memory or one of the crows in that moment. It could have been a memory, but then why that phrase specifically?

Yet if it wasn't a memory then that meant one of the crows had known her by name…the name of Haya Uchiha and not Amaririsu Yūhi. It was enough to make her head spin. She almost preferred for it to be a past memory or a delusion created by exhaustion. At least then she wouldn't be left to wonder who she was, where she went and where she had been all this time.

On the other hand, if the crow was real, then maybe she would see her again. Maybe they shared a past and she could learn more about it from her. Maybe they could be friends…or maybe they had been friends before the massacre.

Maybe they could be again.

If she was real.

Amari dared to hope.

In the end, Team Seven barely survived against one of the Legendary Sannin, and neither of the boys escaped unscathed. The "gift" Orochimaru mentioned left a mark on the back of Sasuke's neck. Apparently upon placing it through a bite, Sasuke convulsed in pain and couldn't get a single syllable out besides cries of pain. The mark itself consisted of three black tomoe, similar to that of the Sharingan only placed closer together.

Lacking in depth knowledge on fūinjutsu meant Amari could only theorize its purpose—none of which solved the problem or could be considered accurate theories. There was only one thing she knew for certain: this "gift" was like a poison in Sasuke's chakra network. His normal chakra could be described as a dark shade of purple; cool and smooth, yet with some edges to it.

What her Byakugan sensed now startled her. The shade remained the same at the moment, but there seemed to be a battle between smooth light and sharpened darkness. As the mark pumped more and more of its powerful chakra into his chakra network, the more the cool became cold, and the smooth became sharpened.

Sakura worried heavily without knowing that information, Amari feared what it might do to their teammate in the long run. Would he fight it or would he let the darkness taint him?

I wish I could do something to help him, Amari thought, dejected by her inability to help.

Without mastery of fūinjutsu, she couldn't hope to actually reverse the effects or halt them. She tried to give him chakra, but it didn't seem to do anything at all because the damn mark kept pumping more of its vile chakra into him. Taking his chakra was too risky without knowing what it would do to her or if it would kill him.

Is Orochimaru hoping to corrupt him?

Highly possible considering the evil she felt in him and how he spoke of wanting to use her as a pawn. But he believed I would reject his so-called gift, which made me useless to him. He was right, she would have rejected it.

Would Sasuke, though?

For now it was a question without an answer, and that frightened Amari immensely. She had only started trying to show Sasuke he could rely on them and find strength in them just as she had. This entire situation could ruin it and…she didn't know what else it could do, but she had plenty of fears about it.

Which left her final worry: Naruto. Orochimaru had slammed some kind of chakra attack into his stomach, and the result left a strange seal in its place.

Could the seal be originally to contain the Nine-Tails? The Nara suppressed a frustrated growl. Damn it, she had more questions than answers here. How the hell was she supposed to take care of her team if she didn't understand a single thing about fūinjutsu? There's nothing I can do now. Her eyes set in determination. But mark my words, Orochi-jackass, I'll learn everything there is to know if it means reversing what you've done to my friends.

She would not let his tainted hands rip apart her team.

For now she would focus on what she did know. It wasn't much, to be honest, but there seemed to be an odd number seal on top of an even numbered one. Even with mundane knowledge she knew that was wrong. How the seal worked, however, was definitely different than Sasuke's. Where Sasuke's was fueling him with the powerful and poisonous chakra, the seal on Naruto's stomach created an imbalance in his chakra—a fact she wouldn't know without her extensive time around Naruto and her Byakugan.

Normally the chakra network system ran like any internal system, which was to say like a well-oiled machine. Over their time around one another Amari witnessed Naruto's chakra network through her Byakugan eye countless times. Never before did it have this kind of imbalance. Certain parts of his chakra network weren't allowing chakra through as it normally did; to put it in simpler terms, if the chakra network was a set of interconnected gardening hoses, certain areas were slightly kinked to slow the chakra flow and create an imbalance of pressure.

With Naruto's lack of chakra control, this new problem would make it even harder for him to climb trees, possibly even make it impossible for him to walk on water. To combat it, he'd end up expending more chakra—or trying to push more chakra through the kinked hose—when he used his Shadow Clones, exhausting him quicker as he tried to get them to be as powerful as they normally were.

On the other spectrum of it, the second chakra that mixed with his normal chakra was gone. Poof, as if it never existed in the first place. Without full access to that chakra, her knucklehead would be left with his normal reserves, which would drain a whole lot faster than normal thanks to the imbalance.

She had no idea what the odd number seal was or how it could do such a thing, but she knew without a shadow of a doubt it was the cause. Right now, what they needed most was to get to Kakashi and tell him every last detail of what happened and what she inspected. He would be able to give her more information on what the seals were and what she could do to help, if anything at all. At the same time he needed to be warned of the S-rank criminal currently skulking in Konoha as if he owned the place.

Whatever game Orochimaru was playing, no way was it as simple as targeting her team and Sasuke. That was too small of an objective for an S-rank criminal of his status. There had to be something she was missing about his true objective for revealing his presence. It wasn't as if he didn't know they were alive. He let them live, and in doing so ensured someone would find out about his infiltration.

Every last move he made was planned. Their enemy was ten steps ahead of them, stringing them along as they inched closer and closer to his real goal. Gaining a new minion in the form of Sasuke couldn't be it. What his overall goal was, however, wouldn't be learned by playing his rules or by thinking about it here in the Forest of Death. Real answers would come later, as soon as they made it out of this forest alive and passed this phase of the Exam.

Speaking of minions, the final problem her team faced—and the reason she coaxed Sakura to sleep—was the Sound team coming to find them. Apparently Orochimaru wanted to fit the bad guy cliché and have his own little squad of punks to throw at them as cannon fodder.

So they had one of the Sannin targeting them, his minions on the hunt, she was injured and two of her teammates down and out. Team Seven was really on a bad streak roll at this point.

Encountering suspicion, a ninja prepares quickly. Hesitation leads to disaster.

So they prepared.

Under the cover of night, prior to getting Sakura to sleep, she directed her fellow kunoichi to set traps. Two were easily spotted by average shinobi, their purpose meant to divert attention from their real traps. Failing that, she and Sakura would fight to defend themselves and their teammates.

As soon as the fighting started, adrenaline would rush her body and dull the pain. Or that was her hope anyways. If she couldn't feel how badly her body hurt, she'd be able to put up a decent fight against their three enemies. Even if she didn't know everything about their jutsu, she could tell they were mostly arrogance and not skill. They would likely rely heavily on their tools, one of which she understood the basic mechanics behind thanks to the mummy man's attack on Kabuto.

Were they truly prepared for them though? Would their traps help at all and would they be able to keep them from reaching Sasuke and maybe get their scroll?

Amari wasn't sure.

No matter the difference of skill between two enemies, all it took was a moment of arrogance or a miscalculation or a single mistake for the fight to change direction. She had done everything she could in her current condition to prepare…yet the numbers were against them and her injuries weren't going to do them any favors.

Nothing could be done about it. She couldn't change her injuries or fix the sealing work on her teammates. All she could do was wait for the Sound ninjas to appear and conserve her chakra.

"Extend your senses across your field of battle," she recalled one of Kakashi's lessons. "Let your ears hear every sound, let your nose pick up every scent, allow your eyes to see everything. If you are able to do this you will see, hear and smell your enemy before they strike. Remember: even a shinobi capable of blending in with their environment makes a sound and has a scent."

By following those instructions, Amari attuned herself to the field of battle. She was thankful for Kakashi and her mother teaching her the lesson around the time Team Seven was first formed. Both shinobi realized her reliance on the Byakugan to sense and watch her enemies. Should she ever overexert her eye, or be in a circumstance where she couldn't rely on her eye, her other senses needed to be sharpened to sense an enemy presence before it was too late.

During the training her mother and Kakashi forced her to rely on her actual senses instead of her Byakugan to find targets. Her sense of smell hadn't seen any huge improvements, but her sense of hearing and ability to sense chakra without her eye did. Both still needed major improvements, especially after Orochimaru was able to sneak up on them twice, but against the average enemy she could count on them to hear their footsteps or sense their chakra.

More skills for her to work on later.

Soon after sunrise Sakura awoke from her slumber, muttering a meek "Good morning," through a groggy yawn. She took in her surroundings, emerald eyes analyzing the state of the two boys and her wounded teammate in detail before sighing.

"Sleep well?" Amari asked.

"As well as you'd expect," she responded. "How are you feeling?"

"I'll be okay."

Sakura didn't take her word for it. Then again, Amari wouldn't have taken her word for it either. Her fellow kunoichi stood up and moved to sit next to her teammate. "Here," she said, reaching into her ninja pouch, "let me replace your bandages. These ones are all bloody."

Amari didn't argue. She readjusted herself and let Sakura remove her original bandages and replace them with fresh ones.

"Ggh!" Her teeth grit and her body tensed when her teammate tightened the bandage around her right shoulder.

"I'm almost done." The Nara nodded and curled her fingers into the grass. The burning pain came in waves. Had she not been awake before, this would have woken her up faster than any amount of caffeine or ice water. "Bandages won't heal a deep wound like this. You need Medical Ninjutsu."

"You— agh! You wouldn't happen to have an emergency Medical Ninjutsu hotline, would you?" she asked in jest, eyes squinted shut and a knot formed between her eyebrows.

Despite the situation, she managed to get a soft laugh out of her teammate.

Small victories.

"No, I'm afraid not." Sakura finished up with her worst injury a few moments later. "There. The worst part is over."

I wish that was true for more than these bandages.

Sakura moved to her thigh next, but her emerald eyes continued to return to her right shoulder and her pain etched features. "What kind of monster does it take to find enjoyment in torturing someone," she muttered.

"One I hope to never meet again."

As Sakura bandaged her thigh, Amari pondered on how one of Lord Third's students could become so evil. Had it always been there? Or did war and circumstance twist him into the monster he became?

When she finally finished bandaging Amari's wounds, Sakura checked on the boys and replaced the compresses meant to lower their fevers. A side effect of the sealing work, perhaps, or their bodies' reaction to the foreign presence. Once done, her fellow kunoichi took her seat within arms distance and looked up at the sunlight coming through the canopy.

"We'll have to carry them if they don't wake up soon," she noted.

"True." They couldn't sit here and wait for their situation to change. For starters, their location wasn't safe. They were still within a hundred meters of where they fought Orochimaru, which would undoubtedly attract the attention of enemy shinobi. And since they planned to still pass the Exam they would need to hunt down scrolls and reach the target area before time was up.

A small smile formed on Sakura's lips. "We have terrible luck, don't we?"

"Yep." She reached over and poked her in the forehead. "But at least we've got each other to rely on."

In uncertain and dangerous times, having at least one friend to rely on could make a world of difference.

Rustling in the bushes snapped both kunoichi to attention. Both grabbed kunai knives out of their ninja tool boxes and turned to face their enemy. Turning hurt a lot, Amari learned, but the jolt of adrenaline kept it in the back of her mind. When they laid eyes on the disturbance, they both deadpanned. "A squirrel," Amari stated flatly.

Tiny and as cute as could be, the little furry animal stared at them with innocent eyes as it chewed away on a nut. What a cutie. But I've not seen a single animal since I've been awake, nor have I heard one. Suspicious timing.

The squirrel ran towards them.

"Sakura." Just through tone alone was her teammate able to understand the unspoken order.

"Right." Sakura threw her kunai with pinpoint accuracy to land directly in front of the animal. The poor thing halted, its eyes widening in panic before bolting off in the opposite direction. No other movements disrupted the forest after. Sakura and Amari's suspicious eyes cast about the area in search for an enemy they could feel lurked beyond visual sight.

The two kunoichi shared a nod of understanding after their search came back with nothing. It was time. Time to mentally and physically prepare for the coming fight. Amari did her best to relax her tense muscles, kunai still in hand as she watched and listened for movement. She could feel the chakra of their enemies out there, though pinpointing their exact location proved to be a fruitless endeavor.

Sakura moved to sit across from her, laying her kunai next to her hand out of sight of the enemy. Her chosen place to hide them when they were unconscious ensured any enemy would have to come at them head-on. The trunk of the tree covered them on all sides because of its arch-like shape.

"Amari…do you think Naruto and Sasuke will be okay?" she asked.

"I… hope so." Her eye fell onto the two unconscious boys. Their bodies remained unmoving, save the rise and fall of their chests. A frown creased her lips. "I wish I could give you a more confident answer, but I just don't know what that bastard did to them."

"Do you…do you think Kakashi-sensei can fix it?" Sakura asked.

Amari nodded. "Yes. Or he will be able to direct us to find the proper help if he can't. My mom also knows fūinjut—" She cut herself off as a spike of chakra touched her senses from the same bush the squirrel came from. "You can come out, you dunces. Your lack of stealth is embarrassing to us real ninja."

Her taunt coaxed the three Sound shinobi to reveal their presence to them. The spiky-haired one wore an irritated look. His ego still hadn't recovered it seemed. He sat down to lounge on a large boulder near the bush, narrowed eyes locked on her. His mummy wrapped teammate titled his head to the side but his mood remained concealed. Their kunoichi teammate, however, couldn't hide her irritation either.

"And the puppets emerge," Sakura drawled.

Eye twitches from their enemies.

"They might as well have chakra strings in their bodies as Orochimaru uses a Puppet Master Jutsu. It'd be more fitting, wouldn't it, Sakura?"

Sakura nodded. "Definitely."

Name dropping Orochimaru had a clear effect on their enemies. Eyes bulged, startled by their knowledge of their master's name and their real reason for being here. Hmm, so it's as I suspected. They're in the dark on his true motives as well. We won't find out anything from them. Amari flicked her eye over to Sakura and shared a small nod. She caught onto it as well. "You poor, poor fools. Left in the dark by your master when you think you're so precious to him. You don't even know about the mark he left on Sasuke's neck."

The spiky-haired one snarled. "You condescending little brat. I've been meaning to pay you back for your little threat before the first test. And now you've given me more reason to kill you. Talking down to us like that. Grr," he stood up, anger in his body language. "I can't stand people like you. First I'll kill you two, and then I'll kill Sasuke."

Even more evidence they had no idea about their master's plan. Puppets. Tools to be used and discarded at his whim without ever realizing how little they mean to him. Amari pitied them, but she held no mercy for those who would threaten the lives of her friends. "I'd like to see you try to defeat us," she jabbed, venom dripping from her words. "You're not even in our league, so go home while your little tools are still intact."

"I'll wipe that sneer off your face," he seethed.

"All you are is a fool with no talent. Even in my injured state I'd make mincemeat of you."

He jumped down, intent on making his threat a reality. That's it, fool. Keep walking right into my hands.

"Zaku, wait," the mummy man warned his male teammate.

Zaku stopped and turned to look at his teammate. "What? Why, Dosu?"

There you go, notice the obvious trap. Dosu thought he had sniffed out their real trap, but he hadn't. Every step they made walked them closer and closer to their inevitable demise. Dosu cautiously approached the obvious trap, kneeling down to reveal it. "It's so obvious. This is the color of dirt that has been recently dug up. And this kind of grass doesn't grow in a place like this. You know," he spoke down to them as he revealed the paper bomb trap, "if you are going to set up a trap, at least make sure it is actually hidden."

"Ha! What a joke," Zaku mocked. "You threw that kunai to stop that squirrel from setting off your trap."

They were right, of course. She and Sakura had done all of those things, but it was their intention. Every move they made had a reason for it, but these fools wouldn't realize that until it was too late. Only when they were in the dirt, groveling before them for mercy would they realize they were facing two of the most intelligent kunoichi's of their year.

"Now we kill them," said Dosu before jumping into the air with his team.

Amari smirked.

"After you, Sakura."

Sakura quickly grabbed her kunai and cut the thin wire attached to the end of a kunai next to her. With the wire cut, the trap released and sent a giant log flying down at the floating trio. This was their final obvious trap. After this they'd be using far more explosive and dangerous traps to put an end to their enemies.

As the massive log swung down at the Sound trio, Dosu brought up his sound wave device and used it to shatter it into splinters. I had hoped he wouldn't do that, but I can't say I didn't expect it.

"Nice try, little girls. But you two clearly have no talent. Kids like you should put more of an effort into being a shinobi, don't you think?" Dosu taunted them.

Devious smiles pulled onto the two kunoichi's faces. Amari lifted her kunai up to the wire next to her, out of sight of their enemies. "Have a blast."

Before she could cut the wire, a shout from a familiar voice froze her in place.

"Leaf Hurricane!"

A blur of green kicked away the three Sound shinobi with ease.

"It's Lee," Sakura said in awe.

There, in all his green spandex and bowl cut glory, was Lee, dropping down in front of the pair to protect them. The Sound shinobi skidded across the grass and recovered from the assault, but they did not charge back in. They may have been arrogant tools, but they weren't without intelligence or caution.

"It appears you also need to make more of an effort," Lee said, confidence in his voice and posture. Interestingly enough, a familiar squirrel sat on his shoulder.

I'm not complaining, but what is Lee doing here? And why is he defending us? We're supposed to be rivals. Amari's train of thought hit the emergency breaks. Wait, no. No, no, no, no. I did not just call him my rival. I will not end up in an eternal rivalry like Kakashi-sensei.

"Who are you?" Dosu asked.

"I am the Handsome Devil of the Leaf Village: Rock Lee!" Lee answered without blinking.

Handsome Devil of the Leaf Village? Sakura and Amari traded a glance. He definitely has confidence, I'll give him that.

"What are you doing here, Lee?" Sakura asked.

"I will always appear anytime and anywhere that you are in trouble, Sakura," Lee proclaimed. He grabbed the squirrel off his shoulder and set it down gently on the grassy floor. "This was really all thanks to you little one, but now it is time for you to run along."

Amari quirked an eyebrow up but kept silent. I guess we owe a squirrel for his timely arrival. That's humbling.

"But Lee…right now we're meant to be your enemy," Sakura pointed out.

Lee chuckled lightly. "Sakura, I already told you: I will protect you until I die." Sakura's eyebrows rose at the reminder of his declaration. "As for you Amari, our Sensei's may be eternal rivals but that does not mean they have not or would not defend one another. The same applies to us. After all," he turned enough to smile at her, "a rival is just another word for a friend."

Troublesome boy had to be so kind and warm, didn't he? Now she was smiling and had no choice but to accept this rivalry business. "I suppose you are right, Lee," Amari said. She bowed her head in gratitude. "Thank you."

"Yes, thank you, Lee," Sakura agreed.

He nodded to them and turned back to face their enemies. Dosu pulled out his Earth scroll, acquiring Amari's attention immediately. The one scroll they had needed, now it was within their grasps. I'll be taking that scroll if it's the last thing I do today.

"It would seem I have no choice. Zaku, you can have Sasuke. I'll deal with these three," he said then tossed the scroll back to his teammate.

"Lee, be careful. He can create and manipulate sound waves using that device and his chakra. He doesn't have to hit a physical blow to hurt you, and blocking his strikes will probably end the same way," Amari warned.

He gave an unnoticeable nod. Lee is far more skilled than this guy in taijutsu, but the problem he will face is getting around that device. To be honest, Tenten or Mimi would have been a better match for him because of their long ranged attacks. But…Amari shifted her body, grunting in pain as she moved herself to face their enemies with her weight braced on her left knee. I can act as support with my Shadow Possession, keeping that device away from Lee and ensuring we can win this without injury.

Dosu charged forward and pulled up his sleeve to reveal his mechanism. Thinking quickly, Sakura and Amari tossed their kunai's at him to force him into the air where he was more vulnerable. Before they could make another move, Lee grabbed at a large root on the surface and pulled it up and out of the ground. Had it been a normal root, it wouldn't have made a difference, but this root was nearly the size of a tree and blocked Dosu from reaching them.

Their enemy had to blast it away with another sound wave, but he wisely retreated afterwards at the display of pure, raw strength from Lee.

"Kami. Lee, your strength is incredible."

"Thank you, Amaririsu."

The tides of battle seemed to turn back into their favor. Amari hoped it would last.

---

Mimi's nerves burned with worry as she, Tenten and Neji stood at their meeting spot with neither sight nor scent of Lee in the area. Her hands curled into fists, nails digging into her gloved palms in a futile attempt to remain calm.

Lee was never late. In fact, her teammate was fanatical about being early because of Guy. Always ready for the next challenge with a fire burning in his eyes, Lee never wasted a single second or minute of his day. For him to be missing now of all times, something had to have happened. Something bad.

Their plan was to rest for the day and seek out scrolls late at night to catch a team who had been hunting all day off guard. As long as they scouted their enemies correctly, they could take them down and capture the scroll they needed for the Exam. But even if none of them found a scroll they were meant to meet right here about ten minutes ago.

Ten minutes passed and Lee was nowhere to be found.

Neji and Tenten had come up short of finding scrolls. Mimi, on the other hand, got a lucky break and took out a team already winded from a recent fight. Punks hadn't stood a chance against her, and now Team Guy was in possession of the Earth Scroll they needed to match their Heaven Scroll.

Had Lee been here they would already be on their way to the end of the test. But he isn't here. Mimi suppressed a growl. If anyone has hurt Lee, they're dead.

The wet and warm tongue of her companion licked her face; an action meant to soothe her visible anger before it spiked too high. Mimi took a deep breath to clear her mind and considered every possibility for Lee's lateness.

If he wasn't here now they were looking at one of two possibilities: first, and more hopeful of the two, was he met an enemy in battle and was running late because of it. Unfortunately that was the least likely to be true because she, Aoko and Neji couldn't smell or see him anywhere in the area.

The second possibility: Lee was currently in battle right now and needed their immediate help.

"You don't think anything happened, do you?" Tenten asked, worry laced in her voice.

Neji's eyes remained closed in thought, but he smiled. "No, I'm sure he is quite all right." His eyes opened and a serious look took over. "But we should go find him regardless."

"Right," Tenten and Mimi agreed.

The trio took off through the forest with Mimi and Aoko at the front tracking his scent. "This way!" the Inuzuka shouted to her team, changing direction and picking up the pace.

Come on Lee, don't be hurt.

Mimi cared a lot for her entire team, even Neji despite their constant quarreling over his idea of destiny, but Lee…Lee was special to her, in a non-romantic way. For Mimi, Lee was a very bright and warm light in a very dark and cold world.

A light she desperately needed when she first joined Team Guy.

Her hot-blooded teammate hadn't been the most skilled of their team when they first started. In fact, Lee had the least amount of skill. He didn't just lack skill in ninjutsu and genjutsu—he couldn't use it plain and simple. And let's just say his taijutsu back then was sub-par on a good day. Yet he never gave up on his dream to be a shinobi. Even when someone like Neji kept putting him down, he kept standing right back up to prove he could be an excellent shinobi despite only being able to use taijutsu.

His hard work and desire to be great inspired Guy to take him under his wing to teach him all he could. The same attitude inspired Mimi to work harder. Yet it was his genuine compassion and kind heart that inspired Mimi to become a better person.

A person she could be proud of. A person not guided by the anger and hurt she harbored since she was a child.

There were others to help her, her cousin Hana being another major influence on her life as well as the whole of Team Guy, but Lee's brightness and his compassion was special. The world needed more people like him, people who shone brighter than any star in the galaxy.

As a medic it was her duty to heal the injured, yet for Lee she vowed to do everything in her power to keep him alive and on his road towards his goal. No matter how many beatings he received, no matter how many stupid challenges he took upon himself that ended with him injured, she'd be there to heal him and get him back on his feet.

Even if his Forbidden Technique injures him, I'll find a way to fix it, Mimi thought.

Mimi could still remember how exited Lee had been when he successfully pulled off the technique. He shouldn't have been able to move his body, yet there he was, running around in circles on weak legs as he cheered for his success, limp arms hanging at his sides, flopping around uselessly. The rest of them were panting in exhaustion as they watched their teammate, nearly collapsing from the training they just endured.

Against the exhaustion she managed a grin. She was proud of the little fool for getting down a technique none of them were able to pull off safely. The Lotus Technique took a huge toll on the users body muscles. It was a self-sacrificing jutsu that forced the human body and mind to push past the usual twenty percent it used of its muscles.

By using chakra to force the brain to go past its limits, it allowed users like Guy and Lee to achieve an entire new level of speed and strength. However, such great power came with a heavy cost. The body naturally limited the flow of chakra throughout every shinobi's body with eight specific chakra points on the Chakra Network. These gates technically weakened a shinobi, but this natural occurrence kept the body from disintegrating muscles and tearing apart tendons, to name a few complications.

The Lotus broke through these gates.

In other words, the technique was pretty damn dangerous to use. It's why Guy forbade Lee from using it unless a single condition was met.

Has the condition been met? Mimi worried. If he uses that jutsu and it doesn't work he'll be screwed.

And that condition is…

---

"To protect the life of someone precious," Lee said.

Lee's bandages were already unwrapped and ready to use what appeared to be the Forbidden Technique he almost used on Sasuke. As Dosu neared him, Lee disappeared in a flash of natural speed Amari couldn't track without her dōjutsu.

What the hell? Her eyes darted around in search for him as Dosu stopped, confused by his sudden disappearance and astonished by his speed. Then Lee appeared beneath him, his foot landing a solid blow to his jaw to knock him up into the air.

Lee bolted from the ground and up into Dancing Leaf Shadow. This is when Mimi panicked about his Forbidden Technique, Amari thought as she and Sakura watched in awe of their fellow Leaf ninja. It seemed they were about to witness firsthand exactly how frightening and dangerous the technique was.

His wraps tied around Dosu, essentially mummifying him until he was completely restrained by his enemy. Wrapping his arms around him, Lee started to spin and spin and spin until they were a blur of motion shooting headfirst towards the ground. "Take this! Primary Lotus!" Lee shouted.

The whirlwind hit the ground hard, the resounding boom shaking the ground as a plume of smoke formed on impact. Lee, thankfully, remained unharmed, releasing the enemy and flying closer to the two kunoichi.

As the dust settled and the battlefield cleared they were able to see Dosu, chest deep in a mound of dirt with his legs dangling out of it. "Heh, got you just in time," Zaku said, a smirk in his voice. "Without me, that impact could have ended a lot worse for you, Dosu."

Damn, Amari cursed, irritated at herself. I let myself lose focus by watching Lee's technique. Had I kept my head in the fight, I could have stopped him and Dosu would probably be dead or paralyzed from the neck down. Because of her lack of focus his technique hadn't done the damage it should have. She should have known better. Damn it!

Dosu worked his way out of the dome of sand and attempted to stand. His legs caved under him and left him on his knees. "That is a frightening jutsu," he said, shaking his head as he seemed to try to get his bearings. "Nearly took me out even though I landed on this soft dirt."

"Can you still fight, Dosu?" the kunoichi asked. Another attempt to stand, only this time he made it all the way up. When Dosu stepped forward he collapsed forward onto his hands and knees. "Dosu?"

"Give me a minute," he said irritably. His eye squinted at the ground, the gears in his head spinning as he tried to diagnose the problem.

Amari already figured it out. "The soft sand may have spared his life, but it didn't save him. You still landed a hard enough blow to disorient him. I'd even bet he has a concussion," she informed her team.

"But…it wasn't…enough," Lee panted.

For the first time, Amari inspected the boy's appearance. He was hunched over. Exhaustion and pain were clear on his face as he tried to stand ready for the next attack. This must be why it's forbidden. It takes as much out of Lee as it does his enemy. He has one shot with it, and if it fails…

Lee grunted in pain and grabbed at his side.

Not good.

Lee needed to recover. Now it was up to her and Sakura to protect him. Amari spun her blade in her hand and cut the wire next to her without hesitation. From a nearby bush, kunai and shuriken came shooting out with their blades aimed right at Zaku and his kunoichi teammate. "Lee, hit the dirt! Sakura, spring the other trap!" she ordered, hands moving into Tiger seal. He obeyed and dove to the ground as Sakura threw her blade to the tree canopy.

Another swarm of kunai and shuriken launched from the canopy, these particular blades being far more explosive inclined than their predecessors courtesy of Amari's paper bombs.

"Slicing Sound Wave!" Zaku shouted as he blasted the original set of shuriken and kunai out of the air.

So those things in his arms allow him to blast air and sound out of them, Amari analyzed. "Burn out, you bastards!" Fire Style: Fire Ball Jutsu!

As the second set of kunai hit the ground around their enemies, her flame streamed forward directly at Dosu. An instant later the forest shook with a massive explosion, the heat from which shot out in all directions. Her flame was about to engulf Dosu when another Slicing Sound Wave blasted him out of the way.

Amari disengaged her flame and tried hard not to reveal the pain the single attack caused her. My shoulder…Burning, stinging, screaming. Tingles ran down her arm. The tips of her fingers felt numb. What the hell did he do to me?

Lee pushed himself onto shaky legs and tried to take his fighting stance. Dosu did the same, eye focused and intense. He rushed forward right at Lee with his mechanism at the ready without stumbling, whatever disorientation either having passed or not as nearly severe as before.

"Lee, move!" Amari tried to get her feet under her but a shooting pain shot through her thigh and forced her to collapse forward. "Gah!" She braced her weight on her left hand and clutched at the wound with her right. Searing pain thrummed in waves across her thigh.

Lee attempted to dodge the attack, and was successful in dodging the physical blow, but Dosu's device did not need a physical attack to hurt him. The invisible sound wave still penetrated Lee's ear, his legs giving out on him an instant later.

Incensed by her injuries and these punks, the roaring flames of rage and adrenaline shot through Amari's body. "You'll pay for that!"

Chakra flooded her body and she shot forward, kicking Dosu directly in the face to send him hurtling away from her team. Her pain receptors roared in shared agony. That single move, and the pain it caused, left her hunched over, labored breaths attacking her lungs as if she sprinted around the entirety of Konoha without stopping, but Amari ignored it all. She wouldn't sit by and wait for them to come at her. She'd take them down one by one if she had to, injuries be damned.

Behind her Lee puked from the nausea. "My ear," he groaned.

"Amari, he has blood coming out of his ear!"

"His attacks are based on sound, and sound is the vibrations of molecules, which are collected by the ear and directed to the ear drum," Amari explained, teeth grit against her own pain. "You don't have to hit us because you direct the sound wave right into our inner ear, rupturing our ear drums to induce nausea, dizziness, and making it nearly impossible for us to stand because our balance is thrown off."

"Exactly, and you are right," Dosu tried to stand again but collapsed, "I did not escape from his attack without a concussion. That last attack took more willpower than skill to perform. But, it would appear you are in no better shape than I am." He squinted at her. "Your wounds have reopened."

She could feel it. The warm blood, the thrums of agony coming in waves as every breath and movement agitated the wounds. As the smoke cleared from her explosions, she noticed dirt and blood covering the other two. They weren't severely wounded, but if she was lucky they'd be slowed down by those injuries.

"And your little buddy can manipulate air and sound to create supersonic waves that can obliterate hard objects or soften dirt."

"Sharp eye, child," Dosu said.

One long-range to mid-range fighter. Her eye flitted from Zaku to Dosu. One close-range fighter and an unknown. But what does it matter? Amari bit the inside of her lip. Even though I can analyze their abilities, it won't matter if my body can't keep up.

Come on, Amari. Think. Think.

---

"Shikamaru! I see Amaririsu!" Chōji shouted from the tree branch above them.

Shikamaru felt his heart jump into his throat in response to his best friend's words. Hope, concern and a plethora of other emotions too troublesome to describe bundled up at once. Only a few hours ago they barely managed to avoid getting attacked by Neji thanks to him seeing them as weak. The Nara theorized people like him wouldn't attack unless provoked, and he was glad to be right.

If 'Risu had trouble with him, we wouldn't stand a chance.

So far their luck hadn't been all that great. Finding people weaker than them turned out to be an unsuccessful endeavor, and he doubted it would change. To his mind, they needed to change tactic from a false hope to a guaranteed success.

We need to find 'Risu's team. It was the only way they could pass. Not that he actually cared to, but he either found a way to pass or dealt with the ire of his mother and Ino. Passing didn't seem so bad compared to the troublesome affair of angry women.

It had taken the last hour to convince Ino they needed to find Amari and her team. She was too damn proud to take help from the two kunoichi she rivaled with, but pride like hers could be used against her.

"You wouldn't want to let your parents or Asuma-sensei down, would you? I mean, don't get me wrong, this whole test is a huge drag. So if you want to tap out and be done, I have no problem with it. I'd be glad to go home."

Under normal circumstances that wouldn't be a lie. But he had to find Amari. She needed him, he could feel it.

"What? No way, Shikamaru! We're not giving up!"

"Then we need to find 'Risu and her team. Right now I don't see any other way for us to pass."

"Grr, fine! We'll go find them!"

Her ego really made it too easy.

Anyway, they had been searching for Amari and her team ever since. It took a lot of leg work, and honestly all the running was a huge drag. He almost believed they wouldn't find her, yet right as he started to lose hope, she appeared. That's 'Risu for you.

Shikamaru and Ino joined their teammate on the tree branch. "Over there." Chōji pointed out in front of him. Searching where he pointed, the Nara caught both the scent of smoke on the air and noticed the plume it was coming from. Far in the distance, through the trees and greenery, he could make out the general shapes of people, though he couldn't discern much of their features at first glance.

It took a moment, but then he noticed the familiar head of wild blue hair. Shikamaru squinted, a futile attempt to extend his vision to get a better read of the situation and those involved. Slowly he noticed pink hair then a black bowl cut behind his cousin. Across from them were three shinobi hard to distinguish at this distance, but one had bandages wrapped around his head. Must be those Sound shinobi.

Contrast to the purple tank top his cousin wore were white bandages at her shoulders, a bad sign overall that seemed to prove his fears true.

"That's One-Eye all right. Looks like she took a beating," Ino confirmed.

"Looks like Sasuke and Naruto are down. Lee, too," Chōji said.

"Tch, figures. Trouble shows up and 'Risu is on her own," Shikamaru cursed. He turned to the other two. "Let's go get a closer look." He jumped off the tree in the direction of the fight with his teammates on his tail.

It's going to be troublesome. His face hardened in determination. But I'm on my way, 'Risu.

He wouldn't let his cousin stand by herself.

---

"Mimi, what's wrong?" Tenten questioned as they stopped.

Mimi raised her finger in silent ask to wait as she and Aoko sniffed the air to take in the new scents. Smoke…fire. Her eyes shot open. Lee!

"What's wrong?" Tenten's voice was more worried this time.

"I've got Lee's scent, but there is smoke and fire right next to him."

"Mimi, extend your senses. Lee is not the only one there. I recognize the scent of seven other individuals near him. Four are Leaf shinobi," Aoko barked to her. She sniffed again at Aoko's order and extended her senses to try to find out if they were friendly or enemies her ninken could smell.

"What did Aoko say?" Neji asked.

"There are other ninjas, eight including Lee. Four are friendly. What about the other three?" she asked to her ninken, whose sense of smell outmatched her own.

Her ninken sniffed the air again then answered through a series of barks only the Inuzuka understood. "The three are the Sound ninjas who attacked the Kabuto man and Amaririsu. The four Leaf shinobi with Lee are Team Seven, I am certain of that." Aoko stopped to smell the air as a breeze passed by. Her barks became more urgent. "Lee is bleeding from his ear and Team Seven's male teammates are badly injured as well. The kunoichi's are on their own and I can smell fresh blood on Amaririsu. We must hurry."

Mimi growled lowly at the news. She hadn't liked those Sound ninjas after their little display during the first phase, but this put them at the top of her ass kicking list.

"What is it?" Neji asked.

"Those Sound guys who attacked Kabuto and Amari are there. Aoko says she can smell blood as well on Lee, and Amari's team isn't in good shape either," she answered.

Aoko's keen sense of smell was only surpassed by her special ability to sense the damage done to others. At close range she could pinpoint exactly where someone was wounded to either help Mimi attack or heal them, but the further the distance away they were, the harder it was to accurately sense the damage.

Both Neji's and Tenten's faces turned serious. "Lead the way," he ordered.

Mimi nodded and led them through the forest towards the battle. They were still some distance away but that wouldn't stop them from saving their teammate and Amari's team.

Hold on, Lee. You too, Team Seven. Mimi snarled as all the fun and games slipped out of her. We're coming to rip those bastards to shreds!

---

Amari had a plan. It was a bad plan, but lacking an alternative good plan meant it was the only one she could go with. Man, this is really going to hurt.

Closing her right hand into a fist, she jabbed her thumb into the wound of her left shoulder. Piercing, white hot pain spiked through her at the highest levels. Tears welled in her eyes as she grunted and tried to suffocate every sound of pain she wanted to make.

"Amari! Stop, you're hurting yourself!"

She ignored her teammate, too much screaming pain to explain her reasons for doing this to herself. I need…adrenaline! Without it, she wouldn't be able to ignore this pain. Come on! If I don't get my act together, these shinobi will kill my friends!

Her heartrate skyrocketed.

"Zaku, stop her!" Dosu called out.

"Why should I? She's only hurting herself," Zaku retorted, a cruel smirk on his face. "She'll make herself an easier target."

Amari collapsed to her left knee and let out haggard breaths as she removed her bloody thumb from her shoulder. The pain was numbing. That's it! Come on, it's time to fight! If you don't, the people you care for will die! The Nara blinked away a tear. It's not enough. Stupid body, wake the hell up!

"You don't understand." Dosu forced himself up and stumbled forward. "She's attacking herself to get her adrenaline flowing. If that happens, she'll be able to ignore her injuries."

"And? What's your point, Dosu? She's still a weakling."

"You arrogant fool," Amari seethed. "Underestimating an opponent, even when they're injured, will be the last mistake you ever make!" The Uchiha pulled out a kunai, spun it in her hand and slammed the blade right into her injured thigh.

Wake! Up!

Adrenaline surged through her body, and with it the pain faded away to the recesses of her mind. Rage set her entire body on fire. How dare these bastards threaten the lives of her precious people! Before she pitied them, now all she felt was contempt. The same contempt that drove her to give Gatō to Zabuza willingly.

"You want to fight an Uchiha, huh?" She yanked the blade free from her leg without even flinching and turned her searing red eye to her enemies. "When I'm done with you three, you'll wish you had run away when you still had the chance!"

Bewildered by the sight of her hatred filled eye, Zaku and his kunoichi teammate flinched back as a wave of killing intent brushed against their bodies. Dosu felt it too, but it urged him to try to close the distance faster. He knew. She could see it in his eyes. He knew she couldn't feel any pain. He knew she was the most dangerous enemy left on the field of battle. He knew what she had awoken in herself would end them if they didn't act.

"Zaku, attack her!" he cried out to his teammate.

Zaku lifted his hands and faced his palms right at her. "Slicing—"

He was too late. Amari disappeared from the ground and reappeared right beside him. Zaku's eyes widened when his mind realized her new position, red eye looking right through him as if he were nothing.

To her eyes, he was nothing.

Before he could react, her blade pierced up all the way through his forearm.

His cry of agony was satisfying. Zaku grabbed at his arm instead of attacking her, but had he tried he would have hit air. Amari was already moving, swiftly appearing on his other side with her injured leg cocked back and ready to unleash her next strike. She waited a second long enough for him to look at her, to see the wells of hatred in her eyes before she growled in disgust and kicked him in the face.

She did not feel a single sting of pain.

Zaku tumbled away, not dead or unconscious, but wounded and out of her way for the time being. With her Byakugan activated, she could see their kunoichi teammate move to attack her before she even realized she wanted to. Amari looked over her right shoulder and caught her enemy's eyes as she rushed forward with senbon.

"Now you die!" the kunoichi yelled.

"I refuse to die."

Her right eye widened. Sharingan! Demonic Dragon: Shadowed Death Jutsu!

What the kunoichi saw in the genjutsu couldn't be described as a nightmare or even witnessing her own death before her eyes. What she witnessed was the black scaled demonic dragon visage over Amari, the look of death in their red eyes and its evil irradiating close to the same level as Zabuza's Demon Chakra. It's deafening roar, the way it tore her apart limb from limb, it would have been a mercy to kill her instead of showing her it.

This was her second strongest genjutsu. Not enough strength to knock a person unconscious, but enough fear to leave them stunned.

The kunoichi stumbled forward and collapsed to her hands and knees. Panicked breaths took over as she tried to remain in control. "It's futile," Amari informed, voice cold as she turned around and walked past the kunoichi without a second glance. "Any moment now you'll begin to tremble and wish you were dead."

Amari stood across from Dosu. He was the most intelligent of the three and the one suffering from a concussion. He watched her from a kneeling position, no fear or anger in his eye, but amazement. "I wasn't aware there was another Uchiha outside of Sasuke."

The Uchiha kunoichi disappeared again and forced him flat onto his chest with her foot, pinning him there in the dirt. "You should have done your homework," she said. "Better yet, ask your puppet master to reimburse you for sending you to piss me off."

She placed more pressure on the back of his neck. "Look at your teammates." He did so. One clutched a bloody limb, the other remained stuck in a fear inducing genjutsu. "That's what little mercy I have left to give you three. Either tell your friend to hand over the scroll, or I'll show you a fate worse than death."

"Hmph. No."

Her eye set in a deadly glare. "What'd you say?"

"Your skills are impressive. Had you not been injured, I have no doubt you could best the three of us in one on one combat, as well as three on one." He turned his head just enough to look up at her, a smile in his eye. "But you've run out of time. The leg your pinning me with was wounded before you stabbed it for an adrenaline rush. I can feel it weakening. The pain must be returning."

He was right. Little by little the screeching agony returned. Her adrenaline was fading, and soon the pain would return in full force. Damn it, not now. I need to finish this.

"You are a skilled shinobi, child of Uchiha blood, but your injuries will be your undoing today."

"I'm going to kill you, you little brat!" Zaku roared.

Amari's head shot up to see Zaku crouched, his uninjured palm aimed directly at her. Damn it! She retreated back a step, removing her foot from Dosu and preparation to dodge. As her right foot touched the ground, however, every pain receptor in her leg erupted in an explosion of pain.

"Argh!" My leg! Her leg couldn't hold her weight. She collapsed down onto her left knee and watched, helpless, as Zaku's attack rippled towards her.

Sakura…

---

Horror filled Sakura as the attack hit Amari head-on. An explosion of dust formed on the impact, but her teammate's limp body flew out of it and slammed against the trunk of tree with a sickening crack. Her body hit the ground and remained motionless.

"Good move, Zaku," Dosu complimented as he got onto his feet. "Now, let us deal with the others."

"No way!" Zaku snarled, standing up and aiming his hand at Amari's body. His eyes were wild with anger and bloodlust. "Not until I'm through with her!"

Dosu sighed and worked his way over to his kunoichi teammate. He released the genjutsu still on her before turning back to face Sakura. "Just do it and be done, Zaku. She's not even conscious."

"Fine. Slicing Sound Wave!"

Sakura's body moved on instinct. Before she even realized it, she was diving to cover her teammate's body with her own. She clenched her eyes shut in preparation for the pain, but she never felt it. Her eyes shot open at the sound of Lee crying out in pain, head jerking up to see Lee's body crack against the tree as well.

"Lee!" she cried out.

He did not remain down and out. "I…" His body trembled as he began pushing himself back up. "I won't let anyone harm you two," Lee declared through his pain. "My body has not yet recovered from the Lotus, but if Amaririsu can push herself beyond her pain and fatigue, then so can I!"

"Lee…"

Why? Why was he doing this? Why was he vowing to protect her? Why…why couldn't she find her strength to fight too? Amari, Naruto, Sasuke and even Lee, they all pushed themselves to their limits. They kept sprinting ahead into battle while she…she continued to be protected.

"I swear," Lee moved in front of her again as a human shield. "This time I will defeat them!"

"Such a grand speech, yet one you have no hope of fulfilling," Dosu taunted.

"We will see about that! Sakura, move Amari back under shelter. I will cover you."

She obeyed without argument, yet she knew she should have. In her heart she knew she should have told him to move Amari and she would cover him…but then why didn't she? Why couldn't she stand up and fight?

By the time she was able to get Amari's limp body back under the tree and return her attention to the fight, Lee was blocking Dosu's mechanism. "Do you hear that? This device amplifies the vibrations of the impact, transforming them into a wave of sound. A sound wave I can channel with my chakra and focus on any target I desire."

The sound wave drilled into Lee's injured ear. He groaned in pain but by sheer force of will he remained standing, wobbly but still on his own feet.

I can't just sit here and watch like a coward.

Cha! That's right! We trained super hard with Amari! It's all up to us now to stop these guys! Now get moving! Inner Sakura shouted.

"You…will not…touch them!" Lee said. He swung a wild blow at their enemy but missed by a considerable margin.

"Still standing, I see. Your resiliency has been noted but it's time to finish you off."

Again on instinct her body moved. Sakura grabbed a set of kunai in her left hand and a set of shurikens in her other. "Lee, dive to your right!" Without hesitation Lee dove. "Now stay the hell away from him!" She tossed the kunai at him first, forcing their concussed enemy to dodge away.

He's not stumbling as much anymore, she noted. Had his symptoms lessened?

Her eyes picked up a stuttered step and she knew she had her opening. She threw her shurikens next. "Take these!"

The shurikens were right on target, and Dosu seemed to realize he wouldn't have enough time to move. Before any triumphant could come over her, Zaku slid in front of Dosu and blasted the shurikens away right back at Sakura.

She lifted her hands in front of her face, and for a brief second her eyes shut as the sharp weapons cut past her arms.

"Stop closing your damn eyes! How do you expect to see your enemies next move if you close your eyes every time they attack?" Amari's scolding voice woke her up.

Sakura's eyes shot open and she spotted Zaku and Dosu in the midst of moving. With Zaku around, I won't be able to rely on shuriken and kunai. He's a long-ranged fighter, but he's down to one hand. If I close the distance on him I can finish what Amari started!

"You can use the Body Flicker Technique too, you know? It's not a kekkei genkai or anything, and with your chakra control you could increase your speed significantly."

Chakra flooded through her body, but just as she was about to launch her assault, a hand intertwined itself into her hair, tugging and pulling until she was pushed down to her knees. "My my, what soft and shiny hair," the kunoichi member jeered.

Damn, I lost track of her when I closed my eyes.

"You know, if you spent less time shampooing and a lot more time practicing your jutsu you might not be in this position." She tugged her head around to prove a point, but Sakura refused to cry out in pain. "Hey Zaku, I have an idea that could be fun. How about we make little miss useless beauty queen watch as you kill that blue-haired brat and then that Sasuke punk?"

Zaku smiled viciously. "Why not. It sounds like fun to me," he responded.

You stay away from them. Sakura tried to lean forward to escape and attack only to have her hair and head pulled back. "Don't even try it."

"Sakura," Lee's pained voice made it to her ears. She glanced over to see him on all fours, looking earnestly over at her through his own pain. "You have to fight. You can do it! Your team…needs you!"

Yes, they needed her, but what could a useless shinobi like her even do?

"Get…the hell…away from her."

Amari's cold voice snapped everyone to attention. The kunoichi member snapped around with a gasp, but the sight they all saw made it clear there was more fight in her voice than her body. The Nara remained prone as she clawed and kicked herself forward towards her teammate.

Amari…

Zaku approached Amari wearing an ugly smile. "Still got some fight in you, huh? Good, I want you to feel every bit of pain I put you throu—agh!"

A senbon pierced his thigh and then Amari was up on one leg, the back of her head colliding into Zaku's jaw and knocking him onto his back. Her onyx eye was red with fire again. "Get…the hell…away from Sakura!"

She hopped forward and landed on Zaku's stomach with her left knee. She slammed her head down again to nail his forehead. Using her hands to pin Zaku's down and keep his weapons pointed away, she rained down head-butt after head-butt until blood soaked through her bandana and caked her face in her own blood.

"Amaririsu hasn't given up on you! I haven't given up on you!" Lee forced himself onto his feet and charged forward with a howl. "You have to fight, Sakura!"

Why…why do they keep getting up? How can they actually believe in me?

Dosu swung his arm out and clocked Lee with his mechanism, this time putting the bowl-cut shinobi down for the count. Rushing to the aid of his teammate, Dosu then slammed his mechanism into the side of Amari's head to send her flying to Sakura's knees.

"I swear I'll kill her! I'm going to blow her head off!" Zaku roared as he bolted upright.

Labored breaths attacked Amari, the fire in her eye replaced by cool onyx as crimson leaked out of her ear.

I'm not strong like them…I'm just so useless, Sakura thought as tears formed in her eyes. Her body quivered as she tried to hold back her tears. Way to go Sakura. You let everyone down again. What good are you? Even now when the others really need me, I cave.

How many times have they saved my neck? You would think when they really need me that maybe, just maybe for once in your life you could come through for them.

"Sa- Sakura." Amari began forcing herself up again. Her entire body trembled viciously from the pain. Quiet whimpers left her lips, sounds she was sure the Sound shinobi would call pathetic despite the great strength of will she showed.

"I will not…let you…harm them." Behind Amari, Lee began to push himself up too, motivated by his rival's will to protect. "I swore…to defeat you. And I will. No matter what."

Dosu looked between the two in astonishment. "It's not possible. You pesky brats shouldn't even be able to move."

"I don't…expect someone like you…to understand," Lee panted in exhaustion and pain. Blood streamed down his cheek from his ear. "As long as…Amaririsu continues to fight…So…will I. She is my fellow Leaf shinobi…my comrade and…my rival! We share a bond…as Leaf shinobi that…cannot be severed by the likes of you. As long as there are…precious people I have to protect…I won't stop fighting!"

"Even if my body is broken…" Amari spoke, almost as if she were in a trance. "Even if you kill me…you'll still lose. You'll never break our wills…Even in death, our spirits will keep supporting each other. That's what it means…to be a Leaf Shinobi."

Sakura's shock overcame her as she watched her teammate sit back on her knees. Her onyx eye was unfocused, tired and dull. She didn't even appear to be in the Forest of Death. Based on those familiar words, it sounded as if she were back in the Land of Waves, fighting Zabuza in a futile battle she knew she couldn't win.

Then, for a brief moment, the eye awoke and locked with Sakura's emerald eyes. Blood coated her bandages and trailed down her arms, her face and thigh. She reached her right hand forward. It trembled like a leaf caught in the wind as it reached towards Sakura.

Two unsteady fingers suddenly poked into her forehead. Amari smiled at her. "Believe…in yourself for once. You can…do this. I know you can."

Those words, they reminded Sakura of something Amari told her at the ramen shop.

"No matter how strong an enemy is, as long as you have people precious to you, you'll never give in. You will fight harder than your enemy because you can't let down the people who depend on you."

Everything Lee and Amari had just said, and those past words, they were the reason they kept fighting. They were why Amari kept fighting Zabuza even if she knew she couldn't win.

Because they were fighting to protect people precious to them, people they couldn't let down.

Unconsciously Sakura grabbed at her ninja tool box and pulled out a kunai as Zaku stalked closer and closer to Amari. "Come on! It's pointless, that won't work on me," the female Sound ninja chided in arrogance.

People Sakura had to protect. People she considered precious. People who needed her right now.

An animalistic smile made its way onto Sakura's face as she turned to look at the kunoichi. "It's not meant for you." Moving swiftly, she brought the blade behind her head and cut straight through her hair right below the hand holding her in place. The action stunned her enemies into paralysis. For Sakura, as the pieces fell into place around her, time felt slower.

She felt her ninja headband fall out of her hair. She could feel the breeze against her neck and the sudden lack of long hair she cared about so much before today. I always considered myself to be a true ninja, Sakura thought bitterly. I claim I'm madly in love with Sasuke, I'm always lecturing Naruto like I know so much more and I used to think myself so high and mighty over Amari as if I was truly strong enough to face her.

Sakura shook her head mentally. It was always just empty words…Those three, they were always in the lead, ready for the next fight as I…as I watched from the background.

All the way back to the Land of Waves she had been letting everyone always protect her. Either too frightened or too unskilled to do anything worth noting. When those two Chūnin attacked, she acted on instinct to stand defiantly in front of Tazuna as her heart hammered against her chest in fear.

But as the enemy neared to cut her down before Tazuna, Sasuke appeared in front of her, arms spread out to use himself as a shield to protect her.

"It's okay, I've got you covered," he had told her.

In their first fight with Zabuza, she watched from the background as Amari, Sasuke and Naruto worked together to free Kakashi from the Water Prison. She could still see Amari and Sasuke using their Fire Ball Jutsu's together, Naruto passing the Demon Wind Shuriken to Sasuke and Amari appearing out of her kunais as Naruto appeared behind Zabuza.

"This is the beginning of the end Zabuza! Don't mess with Team Seven!"

No matter what, they were always there—protecting me. Amari even offered to train me and tried her hardest to help me become as strong as her.

That first day after training when they were at Ichiraku, the words Amari said to her had filled her heart with so much warmth and happiness. To have someone actually believe in her and want to help her…it meant more to her than words could describe.

"That's why if you had to protect us, you would continue to get back on your feet no matter what. Because you have real strength in you. Because you have an indomitable will and you care deeply about each of us regardless of how knuckleheaded Naruto can be or how late Sensei is or how much you wanted to pulverize me. You are strong, Sakura. You are a valued member of Team Seven, a valued friend and I will do everything within my power to help you become stronger."

Sakura looked over to Lee, who remained braced on one knee. And Lee…you didn't just say you liked me, you proved it!

"Sakura, I already told you: I will protect you until I die."

We're not even teammates and you put your life on the line for us. All this time you've all been teaching me something.

In her mind she could see the four of them, unharmed and happy. Naruto with his arms behind his head and a grin on his face, Lee standing with his straight posture and a kind smile, Sasuke with his hands in his pockets and a confident smirk, Amari smiling shyly as she gripped her left mesh covered arm behind her back.

It's about time I learned the lesson, Sakura thought, determination finally settling in. Her headband clinked on the ground and she poked Amari in the forehead. Okay. No more caving. Now it's my turn to take the lead, and this time I will be the one protecting all of you!

Lee smiled at her. "Sakura, be careful." He collapsed back to the ground, unconscious before he landed.

"Show them the power you hold," Amari said before her body too gave way, onyx eye falling shut.

"Kin! Finish her!" Zaku shouted.

Sakura didn't waste time. Her body was flooded with chakra as she ducked underneath a strike and grabbed Amari's falling body. As soon as she had a good hold on her, she was one with the wind, gone from sight and skidding across the ground next to Lee's downed body.

No more running. No more letting everyone else fight her battles for her. This was her fight now. This was her chance to pay them all back for risking their lives for hers time and again. And she refused to fail them!

"What the?" Dosu questioned, turning around in search of her. His two teammates rushed out from under the tree and tried to charge her.

Sakura knelt down and wrapped her other arm around Lee, eyes never leaving her enemies as she tracked their movement. Again she Body Flickered away with the two in tow, reappearing again underneath the tree to drop them off.

Her ears caught the sound of kunais slicing through the air right at her. Not this time, she thought, brow set, body awake and alive. Kunai in hand, she spun and released, canceling out the weapons and causing them to fall to the grassy floor. Sakura refused to wait for them to attack again. This time she was going on the offensive, and she would make them regret attacking her friends!

She created two Illusion Clones and darted forward directly at Zaku—the long-ranged fighter and her biggest problem. The arrogant Sound shinobi smirked viciously and aimed his unwounded hand at her.

I've seen this technique already. How about I show you the flaw in using it too many times! Sakura timed her movements and breathing. Her emerald eyes watched every last move her enemy made. The problem Zaku had—besides an ego the size of the sun—was he used this attack far too many times. It was his single attack, and because of that she knew how to read it without dōjutsu.

The moment the muscles in his arm tensed, the attack would come.

Now! Chakra flooded her body and launched her diagonally—that way she could advance closer and dodge the attack simultaneously. Her feet touched the ground and continued in their breakneck sprint directly at her enemy. Zaku, who clearly underestimated her, looked on stunned at first, but then his lips began to curl in a growl as he tried to readjust to target her again.

Unfortunately for him, he was too slow. Sakura pulled a kunai from her ninja tool box and dashed in and under his arm. Another problem with his technique, the attack had a limited range of where it hit otherwise it would hurt him as well. Up this close, under the pipe sticking out of his palm, he didn't have a hope in hell of touching her.

Sakura's full momentum collided into his body, and with it her blade imbedded itself into the shoulder of his unwounded arm. Blood sprayed through the air and splattered across Sakura's determined face and hair, but she did not care. A fire was burning inside of her and they would find it impossible to extinguish.

This was the gift her comrades had given. Their wills were here, supporting her even as they lay unconscious so she could defeat these enemies in their stead.

Their bodies fell to the ground, Sakura on top using her legs to pin her enemy in place. "This is for Lee!" A blue hue formed around her right hand mid-statement. She punched her chakra fueled fist across his face. "And this one is for Amari!" Another chakra fueled punch, this time a left hook. "And this one is from me for threatening to blow her head off! CHAAAA!"

One final punch that left his face bloodied and bruised, but she couldn't pummel him into the dirt yet. With Dosu and Kin around, she needed to keep moving and re-evaluate the field of battle. Grabbing another set of shuriken, she jumped off to the side of the dazed Zaku and set her eyes about searching for her enemies.

"Knowing the field of battle is key when you are outnumbered. If you can't separate them, you can't stay focused on a single enemy for too long otherwise you'll be taken by surprise by another enemy. It's a troublesome situation, but anyone smart and quick enough can make it survivable," Amari's lesson rang in her mind.

"First step is to find your targets."

Sakura found her targets. Dosu no longer was impeded as much by his concussion symptoms. He had been close to reaching her at her last position while Kin reached for her ninja tool pouch. "Second step is to identify the biggest threat among them, and from there you find the one who is wide open for a strike."

With Zaku writhing on the ground as he grabbed at his shoulder and face, he wouldn't be an issue. Not for now at least. She'd need to check on him soon so she didn't get blindsided like Amari did. That left Dosu as the biggest threat to her due to his mechanism and recovered state. She couldn't get too close to him lest she risk him ending the fight before she could take out his other teammate.

Kin, of the pair, stood alone and didn't seem to have any enhancement like them. As far as Sakura was concerned, the kunoichi was the weakest one here.

"Third step: plan ahead five moves, ten moves if you're facing intelligent enemies. If you know by going for the weakest that the strongest will meet you there then you need to ensure the toughest is too busy to stop you. You don't use any Nature Transformation ninjutsu, but sometimes even I have to create an explosion without ninjutsu."

Emerald eyes darted around as her brain plotted her next moves. Okay. Tossing my shuriken at Dosu won't be enough to stop him from reaching me as I reach Kin. However…A smile formed on her lips as her eyes caught the glint of light bouncing off the wire of their final trap. If I use that, I'll get my opening. I just have to get him in position.

"Step four: initiate your plan but keep a watchful eye to make sure you can still back out if it is about to fail."

Sakura tossed her shurikens individually at Dosu, every single one aimed in a way to give him no other choice but to dodge in the direction she wanted him to. When he was finally in position, she grabbed a kunai in one hand and shurikens in the other, tossing the latter pair immediately at her enemy's face as he slid across the grass. Thinking quickly, Dosu used his device to block her shurikens by placing it front of his face. Her weapons bounced off harmlessly, yet his action was everything she could have hoped for.

With his vision impeded, she tossed her kunai at the wire and cut right through it.

"Dosu!" Kin shouted, noticing the trap she just sprung.

A shout wouldn't save him.

One giant log lined with paper bombs came swinging down right at his side. The impact sent him flying, and the explosion that followed propelled him even faster into a nearby tree. This is my chance!

Sakura surged ahead in a blur of speed. As she neared her target, Kin tossed a set senbon at her but she had seen the attack coming. Sakura slid onto her knees and bent backwards to let the senbon fly right over her.

"And when in doubt, use the overconfidence of others to your advantage. Because we are girls, and in my case because I look like I have one eye, we will be underestimated by a lot of other ninjas for that simple fact. That is our great advantage and if used properly it can turn the tides."

Amari was right. These people had underestimated her because she had allowed herself to cave so easily, but Sakura Haruno was done caving. She was ready to fight, to walk with her teammates instead of watching them from the background.

As Sakura reached her target—who had frozen in shock—she came out of her slide with a fist full of chakra aimed right at her gut. "And this for all the pain your master caused my teammates! CHAAAAA!" Her fist buried itself in her opponent's stomach, the impact of which made her double over and cough up blood before the force sent her flying back into the tree, rendering her unconscious.

"I've had enough of you worms! Die!" Dosu's voice shouted.

Stricken by horror, Sakura spun around to see Dosu with his mechanism prepared to swing right at her. His other arm was scorched and bloodied, as she planned, but he recovered far faster than she was ready for.

Move Sakura, move!

Suddenly he froze in place a single step away from her. "Wha- what is this?"

"Get out of there, Forehead!"

Sakura didn't hesitate to listen to that voice. She jumped back up onto the tree trunk behind her and then shot herself towards her downed teammates and Lee. As she sped through the air, she noticed a long shadow holding Dosu in place. Amari? Looking to the tree, she noticed her teammate still lying on the ground, breathing but not moving. Following the shadow led her to a very infuriated looking Shikamaru and his teammates.

"Shikamaru? Ino? Chōji?" Sakura questioned their appearance as she landed. Grateful as she was for their appearance, she could scarcely believe they were here, or that Shikamaru was capable of exerting so much anger or energy.

"Sorry we're late, Sakura," Shikamaru apologized, eyes glancing over to her and then to his wounded cousin. A knot of anger and worry formed between his eyebrows before returning his attention to their enemies.

"What are you three doing here?" she asked.

"Let's just say I had a feeling you four needed some help. Been searching for a while now. Luckily Chōji was able to spot 'Risu. Sorry we didn't step in sooner. Took us a while to get here, and when we did you were pummeling that guy." He lifted his chin to Zaku. "Figured it'd be best to wait, see if I could analyze more of their techniques so we could put them down faster."

Zaku forced himself onto his feet while Dosu was still paralyzed in place.

"It's okay. I'm sorry I let it come to this."

If I had believed in myself more and fought by her side, we could have taken them on without making her wounds worse, Sakura thought bitterly at herself. Looking at the scene in front of her and how well she did, plus what Amari and Lee had done on their own, together they could have stopped so much from happening.

"She'll be fine," Shikamaru said. "'Risu is a tough girl, body and soul. That's a proven fact."

Yes, yes she was. Sakura had seen it many times, and today only proved it even more.

"Don't worry, Sakura. We'll take things from here," Chōji said. Even kindhearted Chōji appeared angry about what the Sound shinobi had done to Amari. "You ready, Shikamaru?"

"You bet, Chōji. Just like old times, huh buddy?"

"Hehe, yeah. Only this time we don't have to hold back."

"Sakura, check on your team. We'll handle these chumps no problem," Ino said confidently.

"Who the hell are these three? The second string?" Zaku questioned in pain.

Sakura moved back to the tree to check on her team. Sasuke and Naruto remained unconscious, their fevers still prevalent, but nothing new about their condition. We're going to fix what that Orochimaru did to you two, I promise.

Moving from them to Lee, she found him in a peaceful state of either sleep or unconsciousness. She couldn't rightly tell, but she patted him on the head in thanks and moved to Amari. Of everyone, her fellow kunoichi was in the worst shape. Crimson red stained her bandages and trailed down her face and limbs. As she knelt down next to her and rested a hand on Amari's right hand, the Nara's eye cracked open a little.

"Sa- Sakura?"

Sakura squeezed her hand. "It's okay, Amari. I was able to wound them pretty badly, and now Shikamaru's team is here to help us finish it."

Amari's body twitched but didn't move very far. "Can you…help me sit up?"

"You shouldn't move around too much. Your injuries are really bad."

"I know…but I want to make sure Shika…stays safe."

Sakura wanted to argue, but resigned to defeat, smiling softly at her friend. "All right."

Using her legs and torso as a cushion, she braced her teammate's upper body against her so she could monitor the fight. Sakura placed her hands on Amari's biceps and began transferring some of her chakra over to her. It was the least she could do in their current situation.

Two fingers jabbed her forehead and drew her attention down to Amari beaming tiredly up at her. "I told you…you could do it."

Sakura smiled softly. "Thank you for believing in me."

"It's what…friends are for."

The sound of a single caw made Sakura's eyes dart to the source. Above them, in the canopy of the trees, crows were beginning to gather. The crows again?

"Do you really think you three can beat us?" Zaku sneered. "Even with one arm I could defeat you flunkies."

"From a second rate village," Dosu added on.

"Huh. That's pretty tough talk from someone about to die," a new snarling voice entered the conversation.

Wait a minute, I know that voice. Sakura's eyes flitted up to a nearby tree where Neji, Tenten and Mimi all stared down at the gathered group. Mimi's softer features no longer existed, replaced by a murderous glare. "I'm going to enjoy tearing you ignorant bastards' limb from limb!" she seethed.

"You amateurs think picking on injured shinobi makes you powerful? Tch, you won't last five minutes against us," Neji finished.

"I wondered when they'd get here," Sakura said. Hope blossomed in her chest. "Once this fight is over, we can have Mimi take a look at your injuries and heal them, Amari."

"That's good. This pain…is such a drag."

"Lee," Tenten's voice carried deep concern for their unconscious teammate as she spotted him next to Sakura.

There was a short series of barks from the ninken of the group. "He'll be okay, Tenten. Aoko says he used the Primary Lotus and a ruptured eardrum, but it's nothing I can't fix. He'll be back to his usual hot-blooded self in no time," Mimi soothed. The ninken began barking again. "What did you say?" She barked again and this time pure fury crossed the Inuzuka's face. "Sakura! Which one of these bastards did the damage to Amari?! Which one?!" she demanded.

Startled by her voice and piercing glare, Sakura couldn't get a word out in time to explain anything.

"We all got our hits in on that little brat and the idiot in the green spandex, you stupid mutt," Zaku taunted.

Something visibly snapped in Mimi. Pupils shifted into slits as her entire body began to tremble with rage. She crouched down onto all fours. "Nobody will be able to recognize your corpses when I'm done with you!" Aoko barked in agreement.

Neji's Byakugan activated in his own anger. "No one is allowed to use our teammate as a punching bag for their own twisted enjoyment!"

"If you don't like that then you're going to enjoy this. I'll take care of your buddy and all these Genin's right now in one fell swoop!" Zaku brought both hands up and aimed them right at the tree full of Genin. "Supersonic Slicing Wave!"

Out of his hands came a huge wave of energy barreling right at them. There'd be no time to grab everyone and escape, no time for even Shikamaru's team to dodge the attack. Sakura, prepared to at the least take the brunt of the damage for her teammates, started to move to protect Amari. But then a flash of red below her caught her eyes. Glancing down, her eyes widened at the sight of green chakra enveloping her teammate. Then she felt Amari's weight disappear, the only sign she had even been there being a green flash.

"Ultimate Defense: Dragon Shield!" The voice that roared those words was a low rumbling mixed in with Amari's voice.

The supersonic wave hit the surge of green chakra and created a blinding light. As everyone tried to cover their eyes and heads, their panicked screams drowned out by the noise of the collision, Sakura recalled a conversation she had with Amari during their week of training she hadn't thought anything of.

"Damn it."

"What's wrong?"

"Huh? Oh, I was…I've got this idea in my head to try to get my chakra cloak flowing fast enough to have defensive properties. I'm trying to give it a shape, but so far I haven't figured out a way to do it that works."

Had Amari finally figured out a way? Was that why nothing was touching her or Shikamaru's team? Or had her teammate just sacrificed herself for all of them?

Please…don't be dead.

When the wind died down and the blinding light faded, Zaku could be seen in his original position panting from the chakra his attack took. Directly in front of Shikamaru's team, however, was Amari, standing on one leg with her hands held out in front of her.

"'Ri- 'Risu?" Shikamaru's stunned voice echoed their thoughts.

"Wha- What is that?" Dosu questioned in fear.

Encased around Amari was a large green dragon head. The head was made of purely chakra; the counter-clockwise rapid flow could be seen as it slowed down and began to fade. Four spiked horns pointed backwards at the top of its head; the right eye was crimson and the left a pale white, mirroring its originators eyes perfectly. Even its razor sharp teeth were defined.

"The chakra coming off her is incredible! Is this some sort of Barrier Ninjutsu?" Ino asked in shock.

"No," Shikamaru answered, calmed down now that they were safe. "The purpose is similar, but the shield is purely 'Risu's chakra."

And every last drop went into saving us, went unspoken.

Amari's chakra cloak faded and she began to fall forward, her muscles going slack from exhaustion. It was then two crows swooped down from the trees and landed on her shoulders. Chakra glowed at their talons, a note that surprised Sakura immensely. They're transferring chakra to her. But…why?

Amari's body stopped falling. Her leg steadied and her strength returned. "I warned you, didn't I?" Amari spoke, her voice deadly as her body remained upright. "I told you I would make you wish you had run away when you still had the chance. That if you laid a hand on another Leaf shinobi, I would break your toys…and then you tried to kill my friends. Again! One last chance: hand over your scroll, or I will make good on my promises."

"Oh yeah? You want to die first then, is that it? Fine, I'll grant you your wish," Zaku retorted.

"Zaku, no! Just give her the scroll!" Only Dosu realized the situation at hand, his eyes darting around to see the hundreds of crows now congregated around them, and the killing intent beginning to chill the air.

"Heh, what's wrong, Dosu? Lost your nerve? Don't worry, I'll finish her off right now!"

"As you wish," Amari's voice was murderous. Sakura blinked and then Zaku collapsed onto his hands and knees, trembles seizing his body up as pure terror pulled onto his face. "Demonic Dragon: Shadowed Death Jutsu is my second most powerful genjutsu. And look at you, trembling like a leaf. After this next attack, you'll beg me for mercy. But you'll find that any mercy I had left has withered away."

"Go…to…hell!"

"Ninja Art: Shadow Dragons." Her Shadow extended ahead of her, splitting first in to four separate tendrils and then shifting again into dragon heads with the same four horns on them as her ultimate defense.

As they reached the frightened Zaku, two of the dragons wrapped around his feet and up his calves to his knees; they chomped down on his knees and continued to squeeze their sharpened shadow teeth around them until their enemy was screaming in pain. The other two spiraled up his forearms to his elbows and did the same there as well.

"These toys of yours, they don't make you a shinobi. Your arrogance does not make you a shinobi. Your lust for blood does not even make you a shinobi. You're a fake, a fraud, a coward who targets the weak and thinks it makes him strong. And after I'm done with you, you won't even be able to use those precious arms of yours without Medical Ninjutsu. But I don't have to tell you that, do I? Because my genjutsu showed you your fate."

Zaku's eyes bulged as he stared in terror at Amari. "No! No! Stop, let go of me! Leave my arms alone!"

"See? Begging for mercy. But remember what I said? My mercy has withered."

Her Shadow Dragons lifted off the ground and force his arms back and up at an awkward angle. Dosu could only watch in horror, unable to move his body at what the kunoichi was doing to his teammate.

"Say goodbye to your arms."

"Nooooo! Nooo! Stop! Please!" Zaku cried out for mercy.

He found none.

The Shadow Dragons pulled on his arms until they broke. The crack of bones made Sakura gasp in shock and bring her hand to her mouth as her teammate extracted revenge. Amari…

Zaku screamed as his arms broke but when her shadows receded, the once cocky shinobi fell silent and face first in the dirt unconscious. Amari's head turned ever so slightly to look directly at Dosu. The man was already trembling in fear, taking a single step back upon her gaze meeting his. "You. Dosu. Your toy or the scroll. Your choice."

"The scroll is yours, child of Uchiha blood." He maneuvered over to his teammate and took the scroll from his unconscious body. He hesitantly stepped closer to place the Earth Scroll between them as a peace offering. "What is your name, child?"

"Amaririsu Yūhi. I am a proud member of the Nara Clan and the Uchiha Clan. That is all you need to know."

"I understand. We were sent to test Sasuke Uchiha, but you are an Uchiha as well—that is a loophole I see as acceptable." He moved back to Zaku and picked him up. "It would seem we underestimated you and your teammate, but this killing intent and your skills are far more chilling than I believed possible from a young girl like you." He picked up Kin next. "If Sasuke has that mark you mentioned, then it may be as you say: we may have simply been puppets sent to a slaughter. And these crows…I dare not say more in their presence."

"Very wise, Sound shinobi," a foreign voice called from the trees. "Should you attack again, you will feel the wrath of the crows. And I assure you none have survived it."

"I understand," Dosu said. He cast one last glance at Amari. "For the moment, we are even. But should we ever meet in combat in the future, we won't run or hide."

"Neither will we. Now go while you still can."

Dosu nodded once and disappeared into the forest. The crows in the trees dispersed to follow after him.

"Please…tell your leader: thank you. For yesterday and today. I couldn't have performed those last two techniques without your help," Amari said to the two crows.

The crows cawed and left her. Without the steady flow of chakra fueling her and the adrenaline gone once more, Amari collapsed backwards. No fight left in a single cell in her body. Sakura was already on her feet rushing over when Shikamaru caught her in his arms and sat down with her.

Worried, Sakura slid down onto the grass next to them and place her hands on her to start giving her chakra. The amount of chakra she just expended to save them…She was on the knives edge of absolute zero.

Shikamaru nodded once to her, but she noticed the faint smile on his face as he looked at his cousin. "You always push yourself too far, 'Risu."

"And you're…here." Amari nuzzled into him. "Took you long enough…lazy bones."

"We'll take care of you from here, 'Risu. You just rest."

"This test has been such a drag."

"Told you it would be."

Despite the tense situation they just went through and all the emotions it brought forth, just to hear the small banter was enough for Sakura to begin giggling.

Some things never change.