NOTE: 'READ THIS FIRST, I REPEAT. READ THIS FIRST!' when adopting this from Stormy Rebel, he told me this chapter and parts of chapter 2 were parts of other stories for which he spoke to the respected authors of those fics and they allowed him to use them. 'AGAIN, READ THIS BEFORE READING THE CHAPTER! THANK YOU!'
Chapter 8: Foreigners descend for the exams!
Team 7 was walking through the gates of Konoha with a caravan in tow. They had been on a C-rank mission to escort and assigned to guard it while it was going through a quarter of Hi no Kuni. And once again the Chunin guards laughed at Naruto; his clothes had been singed in a Katon jutsu, and small patches were missing. Some shinobi had decided to try and rob the caravan a few miles from Konoha – rather stupid in Naruto's opinion – and of course he had been the only one hit by the only jutsu being cast.
Naruto dusted some cooling embers of his shirt "of course it was me he had to hit. It would be nice to walk into Konoha once without something having messed up my clothes! Last time it was a Suiton jutsu, the time before that a futon and I don't want to remember the time before that! Is one homecoming with my clothes intact too much to ask!?"
Kakashi waved his right hand in a dismissive manner "Ah, come on Naruto it isn't that bad"
The blonde shot his sensei a glare "Oh, and how would you know, oh great sensei? You never even look up from that damned porn"
The blond Genin didn't get an answer, and as such he just started brooding over his bad luck the rest of the way through Konoha. After they had dropped of their escort in the business part of Konoha, completing their mission, they made their way to the Hokage tower. Mission wise the last weeks hadn't gone bad. They still had the D-ranks, but the Hokage seemed to like their results on the C-ranks as they were getting more and more of those. So far they had completed 4 – 5 with this – C-ranks. They quickly reached the Hokage's office and knocked on the door to mark their entrance.
The old Hokage looked up from his stacks of paperwork "Ah Team 7. Back from another successful mission I take?" he paused at the sight of Naruto and sighed "what happened this time?"
Naruto crossed his arms. "Freakin' Katon jutsu" he answered in a scowl. Hiruzen shook his head in amusement.
Kakashi stepped forward, still reading his little orange book "Team 7 is reporting back from C-rank mission. The caravan have been successfully escorted through Hi no Kuni without any major incidents."
"Easy for you to say" Naruto mumbled behind him, but he didn't react on it. Sakura only giggled while Sasuke snorted amusingly.
The old Hokage nodded and wrote something down. He took a look at the paper he had been working on "I must say, I'm impressed with you. From all the teams of this year, you are doing by far the best." The statement cheered Naruto and the rest of his team up. Hiruzen mused as he puffed on his pipe a few times "Well, I think that will be all for now. Naruto, Sakura, Sasuke, you are all dismissed. Kakashi I have some things to discuss with you"
The Genin of Team 7 responded with a 'Hai', bowed lightly, and disappeared out of the door.
Hiruzen walked up and activated a privacy seal "It has been some weeks since your last report. How is your team progressing?"
Kakashi clapped the book close and put it in his pouch. He looked thoughtful "They are all progressing nicely. Sasuke, as you know, has activated the Sharingan and I have been training him how to use it. His Taijutsu is also improving quite nicely, so is his chakra control. We haven't gotten to the point where we start with the Uchiha clan-jutsu. For now we focus mostly on Taijutsu for him to getting used to his Sharingan" Hiruzen nodded while blowing out some smoke from his pipe.
Kakashi continued "And Sakura, our rosette has really done a 180. She is actually trying. Though I'm focusing most on Sasuke, I have been observing her progress. She sometimes trains with Naruto to get some pointers, but she mostly trains herself. She is a natural at chakra control, so it seems she focus more on the physical aspects of being a shinobi. I haven't seen her train any Taijutsu, rather she trains her strength, doing all kinds of different workouts. Rather clever actually; she was already rather strong for a girl her age, heck for a girl any age, so by training that first she will get an ace." Kakashi paused to think "And when I think about it, she seems to have more energy than she had those first few weeks. It could of course just be from her training, but I think she is eating well now, rather than being on a diet and starving her body".
Hiruzen smiled "Ah, so we have another aspiring Kunoichi? That's good. I was a bit worried about the new generation's Kunoichi. Most of this year's graduates were not really suited for the life of a shinobi"
Kakashi nodded affirmative "Hai, it seems that way"
Hiruzen got a tad more serious. This was what he really was interested in "And what about Naruto"
Kakashi noticed the difference in the old Hokage's posture and speech pattern "Well, to be honest, I don't know a whole lot. You know that Jiraiya-Sama has taken to train him, when he is around that is. I try to follow them in the shadows, not that I could hide from a Sannin, but they seem to train in an area surrounded by chakra suppression and barrier seals. I have an idea of what they are doing in there, but as I said, I can't be sure"
"You think Jiraiya is training him in using the Kyuubi?"
"That would be my guess" Kakashi let it sink in "When Jiraiya is away Naruto uses one of the more secluded training grounds. He is really using the Kage Bunshin to its full potential. It seems like he has learned a new Taijutsu form, probably from Jiraiya, but I don't recognize it. He also seems to be practicing Fūinjutsu a lot. He is at least on level with someone who can use the restriction seal. He is also finally focusing on something more than just his Shoton. He has taken a liking to Fūton"
A gleam of approval flashed in Hiruzen's eyes "Fūton, huh?" the old man said with nostalgic written all over his face "Just like his father and mother… How adept is he in it?"
"I would say he is at skill level of someone having cut a third of a leaf. He certainly is more adept in Fūton than Doton. He is not really training his Doton as of now. My guess would be that he tried out both Doton and Fūton, and decided to train the element he was better at."
Hiruzen nodded at the information he had gotten "What about the Rasengan? Does he even know what jutsu he is learning yet?"
Kakashi shook his head "No it doesn't seem he does. He is at the final step; suppressing the sphere. It looks like it's almost complete, but he seems to be stuck. He just needs the last push"
Hiruzen leaned back in his chair and breathed deeply "He really is impressive. He isn't like Sasuke; whereas Sasuke is a genius, Naruto just works really hard. Not that I am saying Naruto is not as talented, but I wouldn't call him a genius"
"Hai" though agreeing to it, left a bitter taste in Sarutobi's mouth.
The old Hokage sat back up and looked the silver-haired Jounin straight in the eye "Just one more thing Kakashi. You know about the Jounin meeting this afternoon" Kakashi confirmed with a nod "don't be late. This isn't one you want to be late to"
Kakashi sighed "Alright, alright, I'll be there on time. Just this once"
Hiruzen nodded and began on his paperwork again "That was all. You're dismissed"
As his Jounin left the Sandaime's mind soon wondered as he stops working. Hiruzen's gaze went solemn as his mind recounted Kakashi's opinion between Naruto and Sasuke he leans back in his chair.
"Naruto truly does takes after you Kushina. And I have the nerve to act like his grandfather when I cannot properly acknowledge my own 'grandson'. True talent doesn't come from a clan, natural talent, or genetics. It comes from the drive to be the best at the craft you have chosen. And very much like you Kushina, Naruto has that in spades. Please forgive this old fool Naruto."
- With Naruto -
Naruto was walking through Konoha towards the training grounds. After they had been dismissed the blonde had been around his apartment quickly to change. He had also sent a Kage Bunshin with his burned clothes to Higarashi. Normally he would have done it himself to see if Tenten was around, but he knew she wouldn't be at the store. The day Team 7 was setting out on their mission, she had told him that she and her team was going to participate in the Chunin-exams, and that their sensei would use every moment until the exams with training them. So the chances of Naruto running into her were rather slim.
Naruto frowned lightly when he thought about his own training 'It's so frustrating! I'm sure I'm really close to finishing that jutsu Ero-sennin is training me in, but I just can't give it the last push… And then there's the Shoton Bunshin. I just can't make it. I make the form, it gains my traits, but it's just a dummy, it won't and can't do anything. Maybe if I…'
"Hey Naruto!" a female voice called him.
He turned around to see Sakura running towards him waving. He couldn't help but feel butterflies in his stomach. Little by little since they had come back from Nami no Kuni Sakura had accepted him more and more. She didn't call him an idiot or hit him that much anymore – which he was very thankful for. She had even joined him for training sometimes, where she fought against him or his clones. That way she was training her endurance with the never ending clones, and Naruto has been training her in the new Taijutsu style he had learned from a scroll he found. He waved back at the pink-haired Kunoichi "Hey Sakura-chan. Is something wrong?"
She made her way to her teammate "No, not at all. I was just wondering if you were going to train now."
He grinned at her "Do you even have to ask?"
She shook her head smiling "No, I guess not. Can I join you? I have a new trick I want to try out"
"Sure, but what about Sasuke?" Naruto asked while starting to walk again.
Sakura followed him "He is training with Kakashi as usual" she said a little harsh.
"Of course he is…" he said tiredly. Naruto couldn't blame Sakura, since he felt the same way; Kakashi was Team 7's sensei, not Uchiha Sasuke's personal guide. He could understand Kakashi taking some time for Sasuke, him being the only one able to train Sasuke about the Sharingan, but forgetting Sakura and him all together? That was pushing. They weren't mad at Sasuke, though he was sucking it up and not thinking about the team as a whole either, but at Kakashi. He was just glad that he can help Sakura could train by them or they would really be screwed.
They soon enough made it to training ground 43. Sakura politely waited while Naruto made the clones. Naruto made his way to the middle of the field and formed a familiar seal "Tajuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Two-hundred-ish clones appeared. Already knowing what to do they split up; a third of them working on Jiraiya's balloons, a fourth working on Fūinjutsu, a fourth working on the Shoton Bunshin and the last were walking towards Sakura to get ready to train with her. Naruto also made his way to his female teammate.
Sakura looked over at all the Naruto's who had sat down and started writing "Naruto, what are those clones doing?"
The real Naruto looked over at which ones she was referring to "Oh, they are working on my Fūinjutsu"
Sakura eyes widened 'Fūinjutsu! He is working on Fūinjutsu!? I knew he was good; he is by far the best in our class now… Even better than Sasuke. But to work on something that advanced?' She shook the disbelief from her. She should be used to this by now; Naruto kept surprising her from the day they had graduated. If you had asked her in the academy is she would ever willingly train with Naruto she would have smacked them across the classroom for the insult. But now? She would never have gotten this far if it wasn't for him.
"Sakura-chan? Sakura-chan, are you ok?" Naruto asked waving a hand in front of her face
She blushed lightly. She must have spaced out "Oh, yeah I'm ok. I'm just surprised that you're working on something as advanced as Fūinjutsu… Wait, so you're making those sealing scrolls you're using by yourself?" He nodded "How many seals have you learned"
Naruto showed her an embarrassed grin while scratching the back of his head "well, I know sealing scroll, explosion tags, restriction seals and mild chakra suppression seals. But that's all. Fūinjutsu is some of the toughest I've ever done." She nodded at the information, just getting even more impressed. Naruto got into his stance "Well, shall we?"
She grinned at him "Oh, yes we shall". Shivers ran through all the clones around her.
- Later that afternoon -
Naruto patted his behind "Ouch. You really have improved Sakura-chan" he said winching
She smiled proudly "Thanks"
"But how did you hit that hard? I mean, you left small craters for crying out loud" the blond Genin ask with a wondering expression.
"Chakra" she answered simply
Naruto's eyes lit up "Of course. That explains it. So you channel some chakra through your muscles making them stronger while you fight?"
"Yes" she nodded affirmative "but I can't do it for longer period of times, so I need training in that"
"I see…"
"Hey Naruto-nii chan!" a voice sounded behind them.
The two members of Team 7 turned around to see three eight-year olds standing and smiling to Naruto. It was Konohamaru, Moegi and Udon, or as they liked to call themselves, 'the Konohamaru corps'. Naruto kind of liked them. Konohamaru, the hyperactive leader with the longest scarf he had seen, Udon, the math genius/ geek, with a never ending cold, and Moegi the reasonable Kunoichi in training, with gravity-defying pigtails. He smiled back at them "Hey guys. What's up?"
Konohamaru looked deadpanned at him "Come on nii chan! Can't you remember? You promised to play shinobi with us when you came back from your mission!" Udon and Moegi nodded in agreement
Sakura turned to Naruto with a look that greatly resembled Konohamaru's "Really? A shinobi playing shinobi?"
"Ah, come on Sakura-chan. When you were in the academy didn't you ever want to play shinobi? And what better way to do it than with someone already a shinobi?" he answered not embarrassed at all.
The rosette shook her head smirking.
Konohamaru looked between the two older children. You could really see the wheels turn in his head. His eyes lit up "Oh boss! Is this your" he made a gesture with his pinky finger that all but screamed 'girlfriend'
Naruto quickly shook his hands in front of him in a defensive manner and shook his head "No, no! She is my teammate! Not my girlfriend!" He glanced over at Sakura; she had a tick mark, but seemed to calm down when Naruto denied it.'
Konohamaru took his hand and cupped his chin while nodding "I see. Guess it's because she's so flat-chested, right boss? Or, or! It's because she has that monstrously large forehead, right boss?"
Naruto looked at his little-brother figure in disbelief 'there is no saving you from this Konohamaru.' The blonde sighed "No, it's not because of either of those. Goodbye Konohamaru, it was nice knowing you"
Konohamaru gave him a puzzled look "Why? Are you going somewhere?"
"No, but you are" Naruto said and pointed lightly over at Sakura. Konohamaru glanced over at where Sakura should have been. What he saw instead he could've sworn was the death-god Shinigami.
It didn't take him more than a second to take off, with Sakura right behind him "I'M GOING TO KILL YOU BRAT!"
Moegi and Udon looked worried at Naruto. He sighed "Alright, I'll try to stop her. But if anything happens to me, it's on you guys" he said pointing at them before he took off "SAKURA-CHAN! PLEASE DON'T KILL HIM! HE WAS JUST KIDDING, RIGHT KONOHAMARU!?"
"R-RIGHT! SORRY SAKURA, I DIDN'T MEAN IT! NARUTOOO! HELP ME!" it came from the young Sarutobi as he tried to get away from the spitting image of the death god.
Naruto had caught up to them when Konohamaru turned a corner. He heard a 'humph'. Sakura seemed to have calmed a bit down from the running and looked wondering at Naruto. The blond Genin looked just as confused. They quickly turned the corner as well and saw what Konohamaru had run into. He was currently held up in his scarf.
"Well, well, well, what do we have here? A little brat going where he shouldn't" the boy Konohamaru had run into said. He was wearing a black and baggy full body suit, with a red and yellow circle in front. To top the look off he also wore a black hood with cat-like ears on it. What caught Naruto's attention was the hitai-ate on his forehead. Naruto narrowed his eyes 'Suna… I guess they're here for the Chunin exams. But that doesn't mean they can go around and do whatever they want'.
"Konohamaru" Moegi and Udon cried as they had just also turned the corner.
The Suna-shinobi tightened his grip "That hurt, brat"
"Stop it. We're going to get scolded later. We're not in Suna anymore" a female voice came from behind the foreigner. Naruto took a look at her 'She is rather pretty'. She had dark green eyes, and blond hair, not far from the color he had, though a little darker, which was gathered in four ponytails.
Naruto stepped forward "Your teammate is right, Suna, let go of the boy"
Kankuro looked at the blond boy and saw the hitai-ate. He grinned mentally 'They must be Konoha Genin. Let's have some fun.' He stared hard at the boy in his hand "No, I think I better teach this brat a lesson before some noisy people come around."
Temari sighed "Kankuro, you're on your own with this. I won't be a part of this"
Kankuro ignored it and brought his free hand back, ready to throw a punch. That was Naruto's cue; he took off a lot faster than before. Before Kankuro could react Naruto had wrapped his hand around his wrist and twisted it, causing Kankuro to lose grip on Konohamaru. Naruto wasn't done; he twisted the arm behind his opponents back, while sweeping his feet, causing him to fall on his stomach. Naruto quickly conjured a kunai-like weapon with his Shoton and pointed it at the back of his neck "You should've listened to your teammate."
The Konohamaru-corps and the Suna-Genin looked in disbelief. Sakura, not so much, after all, she had been on the same team as Naruto for months, and trained with him. She looked hard at the two shinobi from Suna "Suna, why are you here? It's true that Konoha and Suna are allies, but you need a passport and reason if you want to be in Konoha"
Kankuro laughed lightly "How pathetic. You don't even know that the Chunin-exams are coming up?"
Naruto tightened his grip on Kankuro's arm, causing him to wince "And you are one to talk? We will have to take a look at your passports anyway"
Temari frowned "And why is that"
Naruto didn't look happy and half-glared at the girl "Even if you are here for the Chunin-exams, it doesn't give you right to go around and do whatever you please. As a shinobi of Konoha I can ask any foreigner to show their passport if I find suspicion that they are a danger, or do crime in Konoha. Your friend here" he nodded at Kankuro "have attacked a shinobi-in-training, the third Hokage's grandson none the less, a shinobi, and resisted giving your passports. So now, please, hand over your passports!"
Temari could see the boy wasn't kidding, and felt chills run down her spine when she heard who the boy her brother had almost mugged was "Kankuro, see! That's why I told you not to do it. I'm sorry Konoha" she said bowing "please let my brother go"
Naruto hesitated a bit, but did as she had asked. Kankuro stood up and dusted himself off. Naruto still was less than happy with her "And now your passports. Also the redhead up there" he made a gesture with his head towards a tree nearby. All the people around him looked surprised up at the place.
A red-haired boy were standing upside down in the tree "Temari, Kankuro, you are a disgrace to our village".
Temari looked a little scared "Gaara"
Gaara jumped down between them and handed over his passport to Naruto. Kankuro and Temari quickly did the same.
Naruto looked through them. As they had said, they were here for the Chunin-exams. Naruto's right brow lifted when he saw that they were the Kazekage's children, but that wasn't going to get them any special treatment. He searched his pouch and pulled up a pen. He channeled chakra through it to make ink and made a few notes. He handed the passports back "This will be reported. I will suggest that you hold a low profile while staying in Konoha. If you pull a prank like this again I can't promise that you will be able to stay"
"I'll make sure that there won't be any more problems" Gaara said bowing lightly. The dark green eyes met the bright blue. Naruto could feel something, maybe something familiar? He couldn't be sure.
He shook it off quickly and regained his serious face "Make sure of it". Gaara nodded before taking his team with him.
Naruto held his 'though guy' pose until he could feel the Suna-teams presences leave. He exhaled and turned towards the others with a smile "Konohamaru, are you ok?"
Konohamaru and his corps looked at Naruto with stars in their eyes. Konohamaru stepped out from his hiding place behind Sakura "Yeah I am. Boss, that was so cool!" Udon and Moegi quickly praising him with compliments, how he was a hero and how they bet he could kick those Suna-shinobi's asses if he wanted to.
Naruto grinned embarrassed, but stopped abruptly and looked up in another tree "Sasuke, you enjoying the view?"
Sasuke just replied with an 'hn'. He looked over the people there standing on a branch "I just came to tell you that for tomorrow we will have to meet Kakashi at the bridge". And with that he disappeared.
Naruto sighed 'Don't you ever get out of that asshole phase?' the blond swore he heard a loud scoff from his tenant, but nothing else.
He turned around to Sakura to see her clutch her hands near her heart, making his own break slightly "Don't worry about him". It didn't seem to help "Oh well, I'm going to get something to eat now, so see you tomorrow Sakura-chan."
"Yeah, see you tomorrow" she replied distantly
"HEY! What about us playing shinobi?" Konohamaru asked rather irritated
Naruto shrugged "Well, you can come with me, you paying for your own food of course, and we can do it after" he said and started to walk towards Ichiraku's. The Konohamaru-corps quickly ran after him while chattering about how cool he was.
- At Konoha's main gate -
The Chunin-guards were having a busy day. The Chunin-exams were coming up, and Genin from all over the elemental continent were heading to Konoha to participate, and because of that there was a lot of extra work for the gate-guards. Yet another team was heading towards the gates of Konoha. But this was from Kiri, the first one they'd seen so far.
"So this is Konoha, huh? It's a lot different from… from home" Haku said. She was still getting used to the idea of having a home, and not just being on the move all the time.
"You're right. It's a lot different" Zabuza replied looking at the big gates. "The village of the tree hugging hippies," the Jounin chuckled being glared at by the guards.
Haku smiled "I hope I get to see Naruto while we're here"
"M-me too. You have t-talked a lot about this guy" it came from one of her teammates. His name was Kurosuki Chojuru and he was the same age as her; thirteen years old. He has short, tufty blue hair, and dark eyes. He also had pointed, shark-like teeth; a trait that Haku knew he was shy about, and wished he didn't have. He wears square, black-rimmed glasses connected to ear protectors, a blue pin-striped shirt, and camouflage pattern pants. Over his shirt he wears his forehead protector on the front of his holster, which he uses to carry his sword. Haku was rather impressed by how well he was handling his sword; it was a big broad one, one that couldn't be light. Many had talked about that he could be the next wielder of Hiramekarei. He also had a sharp mind for tactics. But as he was now he couldn't put it to full use; he was rather shy, even with all his talent.
"Bah, as long as you stop talking about it every five minutes! He can't be that remarkable" it came from her second teammate. His name was Ringo Kouhei, descendant of Ringo Ameyuri, one of the former Seven Ninja Swordsmen. He was slightly older than his two teammates; sixteen years old to their fifteen. In his year he was one of the best shinobi, but according to his clan, he is not something to boast about. He was rather short for their age-group, but had a very elegant build. He had large brown eyes, framed by long coffee-colored hair worn in a style that could resemble a waterfall. Kouhei was more of a Taijutsu expert, using a modified form of his clan's Taijutsu. His form emphasizes tormenting one's opponent and using blocks and counterstrikes. Although he was very proficient in it, he was not without weapon; he was always wearing a whip at his side, and he knew how to use it. He was also a very skilled in trap-laying, a skill which had saved them a few times. But because of his clan looking down on him, he was not quick to acknowledge others strength.
"That's where you are wrong" Zabuza said to his student "Not only did Naruto go toe to toe with Haku here, but he beat her. Given, he was rather beaten up himself; he came out of it victorious. And you both know how strong Haku is; you have only been able to beat her when you teamed up, and even then you lose when she uses her mirrors. Naruto beat her mirrors."
"He sounds s-scary… I hope I d-don't let you guys down" Chojuru said a little dejected
Kouhei didn't believe a word of it. That Naruto guy must just have been lucky "You're not getting to me with any of that crap. When I see him I'll decide whether he is strong or not"
Haku shook her head as her team made its way over to the booth and showed their passports. After they had gotten their approval they made their way into Konoha to find their hotel.
- Half an hour later -
"BY THE GODS OMOI! YOU ARE NOT GOING TO DIE!" a voice sounded from the forest-line making the guards winces. They turned to look where the gods-awful voice came from. It was a dark-skinned Kunoichi with long red hair and amber eyes. She looked to be around thirteen or fourteen. She was wearing a long, short-sleeved dress with frilly edges and a flak jacket in Kumo style, two simple yellow earrings and fishnet stockings. To finish it off she had thigh-high boots with white soles and she wore her hitai-ate as a bandanna. It didn't take long for the guards to conclude that the team coming was from Kumo. The Chunin frowned; Kumo and Konoha had severed all but the most basic communication lines, after Kumo had used what was supposed to be a peace-treaty to attempt a kidnap on the Hyuuga heir.
"But Karui, what if Kono-" Omoi tried
"NO!" she yelled at him before slamming him on top of the head. Even if he was from Kumo, the guards couldn't help but feel sympathy for the poor guy. He had just as dark skin as his teammate, and looked to be the same age, but he had short, spiky, white hair and dark eyes that curved slightly upwards. He was wearing a dark outfit consisting of an overlong shirt with a hood, red bandage as hand guards, shin guards Kumogakure style and a black hitai-ate. He also seemed to have a thing for lollipops, as he had just finished one, but it was replaced within a second.
"Would you two please calm down! We are representing Kumogakure, and Konoha and Kumo haven't exactly been best friends the last few years" a third voice sounded, drawing the guard's eyes away from the bickering couple. Their mouths instantly watered; behind the two dark skinned shinobi were standing what they only could describe as beautiful. It was another girl, probably around sixteen or so. She had long, straight, blond hair, close to the color of the Yamanaka's hair. It was bound with tight bandages in a ponytail, before falling free to around her waist. She was wearing a short-sleeved black and purple blouse, black pants, both of which had cloud-like designs on them. Around her hands were purple fingerless gloves, and a chain of white beads wound around her left hand. Around her arms and legs she wore bandages, and around her waist a red belt. Around her forehead, keeping her hair from falling into her face, she wore the Kumo hitai-ate.
"Yugito is right you know" a fourth voice sounded. The team was finally together "Raikage-Sama has sent us here to make the relation between our villages better. Whether Konoha wants to acknowledge it or not, the Hyuuga incident wasn't on his orders, though I can't blame them that they don't believe it. If it had been the other way around I can't say we would have reacted as well as they did. So you guys are not only here as participants in the Chunin exams, but also diplomats."
The guards had all but forgotten Yugito now. The last member of the Kumo team seemed to be as older than Yugito by two years. She had fair skin and tall of stature, with lots of curves, especially her breasts. She had blue eyes and straight blond her, framing her face with a shorter cut in the back, and the front bangs reaching her shoulders. She was wearing a very low-cut outfit with mesh underneath, a short skirt and red hand-guards, high boots and what the guards guessed to be a modified Kumogakure flak jacket that only covered her stomach, not very different than that of a girdle.
"Yes, yes Neechan" Karui answered with a dismissive wave "I know that you have already taken the exam and all, but I can't understand why B-sensei couldn't come himself"
"Because of Yugito. I mean, try to imagine two of her kind, no offense to you Yugito, in a foreign village. Add to it that Konoha also has its own, I mean, what if they all lost control, and they wiped Konoha from the map. The other villages would demand them executed, and we wouldn't have a choice, and then there would be another big War, since Hi no Kuni would be unprotected, and then-"
"Gah! I get it already Omoi!" Karui cried out
"You two, stop it now! Act more cool, more like a shinobi of Kumo!" she said to them before going over to the booth and handed over the passports. She quickly got them back, and took her team to downtown Konoha, where they would be staying.
- In the Jounin meeting lounge -
Hiruzen Sarutobi was sitting in his chair looking over all the Jounin-sensei's. He had already declared the Chunin-exams a little over a week ago, and there was only one more thing to do. He puffed a few more times on his pipe "Now that the Chunin-exams are soon upon us, will the Jounin-sensei with this year's Genin step forward". Three Jounin in the front row walked forward "Kakashi, Kurenai, and Asuma. As you know, any Genin who has completed more than twelve missions is eligible to enter the exam, though the new Genin's can only do it through your recommendations. But, as I'm sure you all know, it is rare for new Genin to be in the exams. Normally the Jounin-sensei in charge waits till they have completed at least a year of training" he paused, puffing on his pipe again, and letting what he had said sink in "Is there any Genin on your teams, who you think are ready?
Kakashi moved his right arm up in a half ram seal, a tradition when nominating someone to the exams, and began restate the words for nominating "From Team 7 that I lead, Uchiha Sasuke, Uzumaki Naruto, and Haruno Sakura. I recommend those three to the Chunin-exams under my name, Hatake Kakashi".
Murmurs ran through the room, but were soon silenced as Kurenai took the same position as Kakashi had "From Team 8 that I lead, Hyuuga Hinata, Inuzuka Kiba, and Aburame Shino. I recommend those three to the Chunin-exams under my name, Yuuhi Kurenai"
The crowd didn't have time to start again, as Asuma took the same pose as the others "From Team 10 that I lead, Yamanaka Ino, Nara Shikamaru, and Akamichi Chouji. I recommend those three to the Chunin-exams under my name, Sarutobi Asuma".
As the last of the new Jounin-sensei's finished the crowd erupted in talk. Stuff likes 'all three gave their recommendations!', and 'It's been a couple of years since rookies have appeared in the Chunin exams' ran through the Jounin. Some looked less pleased than others, but none interjected. The old Hokage nodded "Very well. It's settled then, Hatake Kakashi's Team 7, Yuuhi Kurenai's Team 8, and Sarutobi Asuma's Team 10, will be given the chance of joining the Chunin-exams." He nodded to himself "Now that that's settled, let's move on to…"
- Next morning at the bridge -
The Genin of Team 7 had only waited for about 20 minutes when their sensei appeared in a puff of smoke on the top of the bridge. All quickly tensed, as their sensei only ever showed close to be on time when something serious was going on. When Kakashi saw this, he lazily waved "Relax, relax. Nothing is going on, you can get out of your stances" when he saw them relax he continued. "Well, I'll get right to the point. I have recommended you all to the Chunin-exams, so…" he searched his pouch and took out three application-papers "Here, take these applications. But as I said, I have only recommended you, so it's up to you guys if you want to give it a go or not." The three Genin took the applications as he continued "If you want to participate, then you sign the papers, and meet at the academy the first of July 3p.m, and go to room 301. That's in three days."
The Genin nodded and took a look at their applications. Kakashi continued "furthermore, because the Chunin exams are held here, I can't train or help you before the second exam is complete. Due to the number of foreign shinobi in the village, more Konoha-shinobi has been called to duty as patrols. So, decide well. C-ya" and with that he puffed away.
Before Sakura and Naruto could even talk to him, Sasuke had also disappeared, causing Sakura to sigh heavily. She leaned on the railing beside Naruto, whom seemed to be in deep thought. She looked at him wonderingly "I thought you would be jumping up and down in happiness. This is just what you want, isn't it?"
Naruto breathed deeply and looked up in the sky "Yes it is. But, I'm not sure if I'm ready. Tenten and her team are also in the exams, for the first time, and they have had a lot more training than we have. We will most likely be the most inexperienced Genin there, unless the others from our year join the exam, but even then, they too are some of the most inexperienced."
"Oh" was all Sakura could say
"Yeah" Naruto replied, still looking at the clouds. "But on the other hand, this is our chance to show what we got. I mean, I want to show everyone from our year that I'm not 'dead-last' anymore. I can't take how condescending they talk to me, well apart from Shika, Chouji, Hinata, and Shino. And I bet you want to show Ino how strong you have become?"
Sakura smiled when she thought about how Ino would react "Yeah, can't wait to see her face when I beat her"
Naruto got up and started walking, but stopped halfway off the bridge "I guess it's something we have to decide for ourselves. Let's just agree on that we won't blame the other for whatever we chose. Deal?"
Sakura nodded "Deal"
XxX ~ xx ~ XxX ~ xx ~ XxX
Chakra suppression seal: A seal that suppresses chakra. It can either be put on a person to suppress the individual's chakra, or put in a formation around an area to prevent any chakra to leak out, or being detected.
Barrier Seal: You set up seals in a formation around an area to prevent anything or anyone to get in or out without 'the key'.
Restriction Seal: A seal that makes it harder for the user to walk around. It has 100 levels, each level being a lot harder than the previous. The user can use it as training, forcing the body to use a lot more energy on walking around.
Rasengan - Spiraling Sphere: The Rasengan is a powerful A-rank technique invented by the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, which he created by observing the Tailed Beast Ball. Minato spent three years developing the Rasengan; his plan was to take the shape transformation of one's chakra to the "highest possible point" and then combine it with his chakra's nature affinity, creating a technique that did not need the aid of time-consuming hand seals to control. He died before he could accomplish this, but on shape transformation alone, the Rasengan is still a very useful, powerful, versatile, and difficult technique to learn and master.