AN: Thank you to thtadthtshldntb for the fact check. The story has been edited accordingly without losing the flow.
Team seven met for one final time on the morning before the exam. While it seemed like it was a good time to do so, most of their year from the academy were spending the day looking for the fourth Hokage's legacy or something like that, leaving them without their instructors for some reason. They didn't ask, didn't want to know either.
"I can't help but be disappointed," Sakura said, shaking her head.
Naruto groaned, almost dropping two of the three spheres he was now trying to move around his body at varying speeds and angles. "It's not like I haven't been doing anything for this past month. I looked for Dosu and I couldn't find much about him. I was kicked out of where Gaara was staying after a few minutes of talking to him and when I tried to go back I was chased away by Kabuto's boyfriend."
"Kabuto has a boyfriend?" Sakura asked, her interest piqued.
"Focus," Sasuke snapped. He looked like he'd had the hardest training out of all three of them. Naruto was sure those bandages that adorned his body weren't for show, although they could have just been to conceal weights. "We need a plan."
Sakura nodded hurriedly. "Of course. Now don't get annoyed with me but the plan is to lose."
Sasuke looked like she'd just stabbed him in the gut and Naruto was confused yet somehow pleased at the same time.
"What I mean," Sakura continued through grit teeth. "Is that, as the Lord Hokage said, the purpose of the exam isn't to win, it's to show ourselves off. So you don't have to beat Gaara, you just have to put up a good fight."
Sasuke didn't seem pleased with the sentiment. "What about you two?"
"Naruto wants to lose for some reason, and I have a plan to win but I'm not entirely sure of its success," Sakura said, making Sasuke scowl more.
"So you're telling me to lose," Sasuke growled.
Sakura shook her head. "If you see a way to win then take it. But if it looks like you can't win it would be better to draw out the fight and show off what you've got." Sasuke seemed satisfied by the answer and grunted his approval, allowing her to continue. "I'm mostly guessing here, but after cross referencing the records from exams in the past they look for three traits in a chunin. The first is initiative, the second is planning and the third is power. A chunin could be very strong, but if they show poor planning or initiative by being too destructive they wouldn't make the cut. In the same regard if everything the nominee does is based on a plan that plays to their own strengths and their rival's weaknesses it would show that they can't handle anything unexpected. So when it comes to Gaara you're going to want to take some of Naruto's seals and fill them with water, when you use them on his sand that'll show planning. When he starts attacking you, show them your speed by dodging and erecting barriers out of whatever the training field. Then when the fight seems to have reached a standstill use whatever it is that sensei has been training you to do as a finisher. Maybe your fireball jutsu would work, but that's up to you. Does that sound good?" she asked hopefully.
"Hn," Sasuke grunted and Sakura beamed in response.
Naruto looked like he'd swallowed a frog. "That was my strategy to lose to Dosu. Now I have to win if I don't want to be made chunin," he grumbled. "I was gonna make it a light show. It was gonna be the most awesome loss in the Leaf's history."
Sakura frowned, turning to Naruto with a concerned expression. "Actually Sasuke and I have been talking," she started, but was cut off by Naruto.
"When were you talking? Where was I?"
She cringed, eyeing Sasuke. "We started the meeting a little early to discuss your lack of desire to be a chunin."
Naruto gasped, looking at Sasuke in disbelief. "Traitor."
"We think that you should do everything you can to pass," Sakura said, drawing his attention back to her.
"Why?" Naruto grumbled, betrayal still etched on his face.
"Because if you don't then you won't be able to go on most missions with us," she said sincerely. "And we don't want to leave you behind."
"Hn," Sasuke grunted in agreement.
Naruto's face fell slack, his brow furrowing a moment later as he thought about it. "Fine," he sighed, then stood up. "I guess I'm not getting a day off. I gotta find Jiraiya. Don't worry about me, I've got a plan, it's just going to need some work."
Sakura smiled. "Go on ahead. We've got a few more things to discuss, but we'll see you tomorrow."
Naruto nodded. "One last thing. Dosu said his ninjutsu was based on sound. I don't know how that would work though, but maybe it's something to think about."
Sasuke perked up at that. "Do you still have those screaming seals you made earlier?"
Naruto nodded uncertainly, reaching for a scroll from his backpack. "I wasn't planning on using them, so go nuts. But they're all my voice so they won't be very effective distractions."
Sasuke smiled grimly. "I'm not using them as a distraction."
Naruto tried to smile in response and failed. "Sounds good. I guess I'll see you then."
"Yeah."
"Bye."
Naruto left, glancing over his shoulder as Sakura started talking animatedly to Sasuke. With a small laugh he headed off to find Jiraiya, happy for once that some things didn't change. Of course, Jiraiya was found by the baths, still conducting his research on the village council and its upstanding members. Naruto couldn't help but wonder how far down the conspiracy went, but then reminded himself that it wasn't his job to think about these things, Jiraiya could handle it no doubt.
"Uh hey sensei," Naruto greeted, making the old man jump in surprise then scowl when he saw it was just Naruto.
"Make some more noise when you walk," he growled, turning back to spy hole.
"But I'm a ninja," Naruto said confusedly. "If people can hear me walk then I'm doing it badly."
Jiraiya's shoulders slumped. "Weren't you going to take today off?"
Naruto nodded although Jiraiya didn't see it. "I was, but my plans changed. I need to pass the chunin exams and become a chunin otherwise I'm ruined."
Jiraiya finally turned to look at Naruto with a wide smirk. "Finally come round, did you?"
Naruto shook his head. "Traitorous teammates insisted I pass with them. They've both got plans to make the crowd fall in love with them and put on a good show. But my performance was supposed to be underwhelming. Now I have to change it up, impress them. You know?"
Jiraiya shook his head. "I'm afraid not. I never made chunin."
Naruto gaped then frowned. "Aren't you a jonin though?"
Jiraiya's eyes hardened momentarily. "Meh, field promotions don't mean much. It was a different time. War makes people desperate. But even the exams don't make a person a real ninja. There's only one thing that makes a shinobi."
Naruto waited expectantly, already used to Jiraiya's dramatic way of speaking. "Tell me sensei, what is it that makes a shinobi?" he asked dutifully when it was clear that Jiraiya was waiting for him to.
"Guts," Jiraiya exclaimed.
Naruto frowned. "Having them or taking other peoples'? Because Sasuke once almost took mine. Does that make him a great ninja? Or am I the great ninja for still having my guts?"
Jiraiya groaned. "You're insufferable. It means having the strength to endure and come out on top even when the odds are stacked against you."
"Huh. So a great ninja is just a strong ninja then?"
"Only if he endures."
"What if he's too strong? Does that mean he'll never become a great ninja because he's too strong? Isn't that a little unfair?"
"A shinobi's life isn't fair."
Naruto sighed. "I was wondering if you could give me some advice on how to wow the crowd tomorrow, while demonstrating enough of my skills to pass but also without demonstrating any level of my actual skills?"
Jiraiya chuckled morosely. "Is that all?"
Naruto shook his head. "One more thing. Do you know how to change the color of the flash tag. I'm thinking of going for a deep red. They'll call me the Crimson Flash, kinda like the Lord Fourth but cooler."
Jiraiya smiled nostalgically. "I think we can work something out."
(O_O)
The final exams plunged straight into the action, Naruto and Dosu being the first combatants. Naruto felt nervous, he hadn't had much time to prepare. In retrospect he probably should have come up with a back up plan to become chunin at the beginning of the month instead of changing his whole game plan the night before. He was armed to the teeth with earplugs which he was pretty sure wouldn't do anything but might stand up to Dosu's ability, although they would be a last resort. He was suddenly very thankful to Jiraiya for teaching him the clone ability as he could now test multiple forms of attack and defense without suffering the aftereffects.
From what he could tell Dosu didn't have a sensory ability, just from the fact that Naruto had been able to bump into him that one time. Also his ignorance of Naruto's explosive tags in the second exam showed he couldn't detect dormant chakra. That was good, it meant that Naruto might be able to make this fight work for him without worrying too much about dying. While he had told Dosu that he would let him win if he told him how his jutsu worked, Naruto was still heavily lacking in the information department and as such would be handing Dosu's butt to him on a silver platter. That was his decision and he would follow through.
Dosu looked annoyed at Naruto, although most of his face was covered Naruto was able to pick up that vibe from him. It most likely had to do with the way he'd interrupted his conversation with Gaara. Naruto didn't feel bad about it at all.
"Hey Dosu, buddy, friend. You'll go easy on me, right?" Naruto asked sincerely. He really did want Dosu to go easy on him.
"I'm going to kill you brat," Dosu spat, which probably just resulted in the accumulation of saliva inside the scarf he wore around his neck. Naruto had to hold back a shiver as the thought flashed through his mind.
Looking up at his two teammates who were sitting bored in the stands next to Kakashi he reminded himself why he was doing this. "That's not a nice thing to say to your best friend," Naruto said, only receiving a growl from Dosu. "Hey, we'll still be friends if you beat me. I just wanna put it out there. I hope you'll offer me the same chance to stay friends if by some miracle I win."
"We're not friends," Dosu said angrily.
Naruto sent him a hurt look. "I see you've already made your decision. Then I guess I'll have to be friendly enough for the both of us."
The match announcer, was chewing on a senbon and looking up at the stands to where the Hokage was sitting, waiting for a confirmation to start. When the confirmation was given he shouted for them to begin and jumped away. Right on time as it happened as Dosu charged for Naruto, only narrowly missing the announcer.
Naruto let out a small shriek and turned tail. Well at least everything was going according to plan.
(O_O)
"Sarutobi," greeted the masked Kazekage. "It has been a while."
"Indeed it has," the Hokage agreed. "If I had known my favorite student would be visiting, I would have made more of an effort to accommodate him," he finished with a sad smile.
The Kazekage stiffened. "Are you speaking of the Sannin Jiraiya? I'm afraid I don't see what this has to do with me."
The Hokage shook his head and took a long puff from his pipe. "I've been thinking of retiring," he said, changing the topic. "I would have insisted on staying in power for at least another five years. But someone got me thinking that maybe it was time I left the world's problems to those of the younger generation. Tell me, have you met Naruto Uzumaki?"
"I don't believe so. Not personally. However my son has mentioned him to me a few times."
"Hmm, the Kazekage's son. Yes I can see it. Naruto is very friendly. He has a gift to see the good in everyone," the Hokage said. "What did he see in Gaara I wonder?"
"From what I can tell, he's convinced that Gaara's mother was kidnapped from the Uzumaki village, making him one of the last members of the Uzumaki clan," the Kazekage murmured distastefully, to which the Hokage burst out laughing. "Is the boy delusional?"
The Hokage shook his head after calming down. "I don't believe so. I think he sees more than anyone else. Team seven reminds me much of the team I taught, all very pigheaded, thinking the world is theirs for the taking and making sure they're first in line. I'm sure you have many such people in your own village."
"Not as many as you would think," the Kazekage replied. "My village is a crucible. Whatever false pride the shinobi have when they come in is gone when I'm done with them."
The Hokage nodded his approval. "A commendable result. The ninja world would be a lot better without any of the lingering false pride." He was interrupted by a shriek and the sound of loud footsteps against the arena floor. Looking down he could make out Naruto shamelessly running away from Dosu with a terrified expression on his face. "Then again-," he continued, flashing the Kazekage a wide toothy smile. "Without that pride we wouldn't be able to appreciate the ninja that don't possess it."
The Kazekage snorted but didn't comment, instead turning his full attention to the fight ahead of him.
(O_O)
Naruto ran like his life depended on it. The running was the main part of the plan. He had taken some of Jiraiya's advice and was making sure that his footsteps were loud enough to be heard throughout the arena which was surprisingly difficult after having walked around silently for so long. He'd had to infuse chakra to his legs for every stomp just to give it that extra kick. On the plus side doing so also allowed him to run faster than normal. There was no doubt in his mind that doing so was probably bad for him but he healed quickly, so there wasn't much of a problem. All of this was a variation of his essential fleeing ability but more of a perversion. The purpose was to confuse.
He had circled the arena three times, it was getting to the point that Dosu would no doubt want to try something different, which also meant that it was time for phase two. He had been keeping a henge up over his face to make him look terrified, but in truth his expression was slightly bored. Glancing back at Dosu he dropped a smoke bomb, making it look like he was fleeing into the smoke, then created a clone, sending it orders to continue with the heavy pace he had been setting while changing his own henge to camouflage to the tree he had just passed. Good thing they had trees in the arena, it would have been much harder to camouflage himself to a patch of floor.
The clone had his full set of orders and would do what needed to be done, while the real Naruto went to work on laying seals about in places he would later refer to as strategic. In other words every flat surface he could fit them on. Even if he didn't use them all now the arena wouldn't be cleaned after every match, so he really had nothing to lose.
A shockwave pushed Naruto to the floor, almost dispelling his henge. With an annoyed glance he saw that Dosu had pulled out all the stops and was using his sound at range in an attempt to hit the fleeing clone. From the way the ground exploded wherever the invisible soundwaves hit, Naruto suspected that ear plugs would most likely be ineffective. There was that plan out the window.
Shaking his head he got back to work, manipulating chakra strings around the field and making sure to keep any of the suspiciously floating tags out of the view of Dosu. He activated a normal flash tag, signaling his clone to end the distraction. Immediately the clone threw down a smoke bomb and dispelled once he was out of sight, sending a rush of mostly meaningless memories to Naruto's skull which were quickly shoved to the side as there was nothing of use within them that he hadn't seen for himself.
Stepping out from behind the tree and deactivating his henge, Naruto yawned loudly. "Hey Dosu. Do you want to start taking this seriously? I'm getting bored."
Dosu halted next to the smoke cloud and turned to look back at Naruto in confusion, no doubt wondering how Naruto had managed to shunt himself across the field so quickly. "Maybe if you stopped acting like a coward and faced me, I wouldn't have to treat this like a joke," Dosu responded, sounding more than annoyed.
Naruto grinned. "But don't you want to showcase your ability to catch a fleeing target? Or are you just not ready for being a chunin? You could resign now I suppose."
Dosu snapped his arm backwards and somehow propelled himself towards Naruto, crossing the distance between them in seconds. Dropping the casual smile, Naruto darted away, making use of another normal flash tag to disorient Dosu mid-flight then dropped another smoke bomb to cover his escape. Pulling down his goggles he readied himself and created a clone sending it into the smoke, making it stomp around loudly in what may have sounded like running away, then he activated the specialized tags. Flash after flash of a dark red lit up the entire arena, each illuminating the battle field for a small instant, forcing Dosu to rely on his ability to hear. Of course, he was chasing after the clone making the loud stomping noises who was consistently setting up more smoke bombs as it moved, coating half of the arena in a smoky cloud and blocking out the examiners' view.
Pushing chakra to his feet in the same way he would apply the water walking technique, Naruto sprinted silently towards Dosu, knowing he was only going to get one shot at ending the fight before Dosu realized what he was doing. He had a knockout tag readied in his fist, he just needed to place it on Dosu's forehead and the match would be over. He was close now, just another second and he would be able to touch Dosu, suddenly Dosu's head snapped towards him and Naruto's mind went blank, all plans flying out the window. Instead he shoved forward with a snarl, all the speed and momentum pushing his fist into Dosu's face at a speed that he felt break all the bones in his fist and sending Dosu careening across the arena.
Rolling to a stop, Naruto tried moving his fingers and winced, biting back a cry of pain and instead he channeled the bulk of his chakra to the broken appendages, controlling the chakra to align the bones like a convoluted three dimensional jigsaw puzzle and once that was done, to start healing that which was broken while he waited for the smoke to dissipate and the match to be called.
It was going to take at least a few more seconds, so he decided to retrieve the tags he wouldn't be using anymore, using a few chakra strings to retrieve the explosive tags he had attached to Dosu's back. They were a last resort and wouldn't have been strong enough to kill him, not unless they were all engaged in one shot, but they would definitely have been enough to take him out of the fight. Letting out a sigh as the tags made their way to him he felt a huge weight taken off his shoulders. They couldn't fail him after that, he displayed every quality a ninja should have, unless of course none of the instructors had seen anything. Frowning he slipped the tags back into his pack and started waving as the smoke finally cleared, seeing his teammates cheering for him before anyone else knew what had happened. He kept his other hand at his side as the announcer called the match and the rest of the crowd started to cheer. Naruto smiled grimly as he made his way back up to the stands, this hadn't been what he'd planned when he started on the road to ninja life and it wasn't a welcome experience. But he supposed that some things were worth it.
(O_O)
Sakura's fight took place after a resignation from Kankuro and a long fight between Shikamaru and Temari wherein after winning he resigned. He had spent most of the fight avoiding Temari and when he'd finally been in the right place to win, he had given up. Absolutely ridiculous, one might almost think that he didn't want to be a chunin. Why was everyone backing out of the exams all of a sudden?
She didn't have time to worry about that now however, she had much bigger problems on her hands, and all of those problem had one name, being the scorned Hyuga, Neji.
She had done some research about Neji, asking around about him, both to Hinata and to his teammates, piecing a story together of Neji's life. What motivated him, what he loved and what he hated. The Hyuga cage curse seal was no secret in the village, it was made common knowledge to dissuade enemy ninja from kidnapping Hyuga, after all, no one would bother trying if they thought their efforts wouldn't yield any results and Neji resented his more than any other branch member because it was what had gotten his father killed in place of Hinata's father, the lord of the Hyuga.
Sakura had spent many hours considering how to use the information she knew to win her fight but ultimately decided against it, knowing that she may make some enemies of the Hyuga which wouldn't be a good idea for the future Hokage. Instead she was going to play to her other strengths and hope it would be good enough to prevent her untimely death.
Making her way down to the arena her eyes locked with Neji's for a moment. He wasn't looking at her, he was looking through her. He had already activated his byakugan, most likely trying to figure out if she was concealing anything. Sakura might have felt complemented that he was taking this so seriously if she didn't feel really uncomfortable about Neji looking through her clothes at her naked body. Not that she didn't find him attractive, it was just uncomfortable, almost as bad as realizing that Naruto had probably seen a lot when he'd applied his emergency first aid on her. Then again it was Naruto, if there was any human in the universe that was asexual it was Naruto. He showed so little interest in either of the genders that Sakura was sometimes convinced he wasn't human.
"You should resign while you still can," Neji called out to her. "I don't want to hurt a little girl but I will if your force me to."
Sakura grimaced. He was doing the same thing he had done with Hinata in the prelims, trying to rattle her. She wasn't going to fall for it though and not just because she knew what he was doing. "I think I'll be okay," she replied.
"Surely you realize that you have no chance of winning?" Neji said. "The fate of this match has already been set. A weak civilian girl like you will lose to me. It's inevitable."
Sakura cocked her head to the side and smiled coyly. "But I don't need to win. I just need to impress the examiners for long enough to make them realize that I should be a chunin."
Neji frowned. "You have accepted your fate then?"
"I didn't say that."
They faced off, staring each other down, Sakura trying to hold back shivers at the sight oof his byakugan. From the few times she had sparred with Hinata she thought she had gotten used to the byakugan, but Neji's murderous glare that looked through her as if she wasn't there made her want to run and cry. It was only through sheer strength of will that she managed to hold her ground while waiting for the announcer to let them start.
Sakura didn't wait for an opening, throwing a few shuriken and jumping back as soon as the fight began, created some distance between herself and Neji. She knew his attack style and she couldn't let him get close. He dodged the shuriken easily but they had their intended results.
She threw some caltrops on the ground in between them hoping that would at least slow him but knew that it would be a distraction at best. Her plan didn't have many facets, she couldn't do anything to deceive him as his eye could see everything that she would eventually do, which basically meant that almost ninety percent of the jutsu she knew were useless, the rest were either too chakra consuming to be used in a fight. She only had one option and that was to bombard Neji with knives, hoping that one could cut him and send him into a deep sleep, thus winning her the match, easier said than done though.
She tried to circle him, throwing caltrops down as she moved to surround him all the while trying to nail him with a shuriken. She had invested so much into buying weaponry that it would be eating into her pocket money for a few months of D rank missions, but if she got to do B ranks after this she wouldn't have to worry too much. The problem with her strategy was that Neji was just too good. He had been training with Might Guy and Rock Lee for far longer than she had and his other teammate was Tenten who was an expert at using ranged weaponry. The plan had been good but it was looking like it was going to fail. At least she had tried.
Chakra strings had theoretically been Naruto's idea but she had a radically different way of using them to Naruto. Grabbing the weapons that had bounced on the floor around Neji she made two of them attack him from opposite angles. He didn't even move out of the way, instead just batting them aside like they were nothing. Clenching her teeth she summoned more chakra to her fingers, casting the strings out in an attempt to make more of the weapons attack him. He saw what she was doing and smirked then he proceeded to spin so fast that she wasn't able to make out his true form and his spinning form batted away every last projectile, acting as a perfect defense.
Sakura yelped and had to duck down as half of her projectiles were sent careening her way. As she rose, she could see that Neji hadn't moved an inch from his original position, even his taunting smirk was still in place, making some part of her want to smash his face in until he wasn't able to smirk anymore. That wasn't the plan though.
"Are you ready to give up now?" Neji asked calmly. "As I said, you were fated to lose. You're not even giving me a challenge. How you managed to get this far in the exams was obviously just luck. Trust me little girl, you would have been better off staying at home," Neji prattled, making Inner Sakura want to do something reckless.
With a sigh, Outer Sakura let Inner Sakura take charge. It was time for something reckless. Neji didn't seem to be taking her seriously yet which was good, as soon as he started taking the fight seriously Sakura was doomed.
She threw a few projectiles at Neji again, this time instead of backing away she charged, hoping they would distract him long enough for her to get a small nick on his skin. He saw her coming though and immediately started rotating, creating a small tornado that pushed everything away, Sakura's attack included. Luckily his attack only fell against her kunai and she wasn't immobilized but the strike did send her tumbling head over heels, making her land on her caltrops which wasn't an enjoyable experience.
Biting back a scream, she pushed herself up slowly to eye Neji. That hadn't worked. It looked like plan B was quickly becoming the primary plan. With a grimace she started forward, she wasn't going to like this.
Neji's smirk changed to annoyance as he saw her charging again. "Haven't you learned? You're useless. You'll never become a chunin like you are now. Go back to working in the farms village girl."
Sakura gritted her teeth and shoved her kunai towards Neji's stomach. He easily sidestepped her, disabling her attacking arm with three quick taps. Not missing a beat, Sakura pulled out another kunai and started attacking with her functioning arm while the other hung uselessly at her side. He still wasn't taking her seriously and was dodging her attacks easily but wasn't countering, no doubt wishing to make her look a fool, well he was in for a surprise.
She waited, waited. . .and. . .there. Her disabled arm flew towards Neji's unprotected side, being pulled along by chakra strings. Sakura smirked, it was over, she had won.
As if the world had slowed down, Neji's eyes widened and with one hand he severed the chakra strings, the other landed itself in Sakura's stomach. Her arm dropped uselessly to her side and she coughed, her vision going fuzzy. Was that blood coming out of her mouth? She swayed in place her legs having locked up, she would fall soon though and then it would all be over.
"You should have resigned." Neji said sadly, finally letting down his guard and facing her. "A civilian like you could never-," Neji was cut off by Sakura spitting a globule of blood straight into Neji's mouth then falling face first to the floor. Neji spluttered and spat before looking down at Sakura with murder in his eyes. "You're disgusting," he muttered, then turned his back on her to face the examiners. "The match is over," he shouted, his breath catching in his throat on the last word. His body stiffened suddenly and eyes rolled back into his head as he collapsed onto his back.
The arena, that had been somewhat noisy beforehand, had descended into silence. Sakura grinned and used her chin to move herself, slowly moving inch by inch. When she came across a kunai she gripped in her teeth and carried on, inching herself closer and closer until she was perpendicular to Neji's body, her kunai laid against his throat. With one move she could wrench her head back, cutting his throat with ease.
She waited with baited breath, her vision clouding again, turning to darkness.
"Sakura Haruno is the winner," the announcer called, and Sakura relaxed, letting the kunai fall from her mouth. Then, knowing that she wouldn't be fighting for some time, she let the darkness take her, the last thought in her mind was that it would be such a shame to miss Sasuke's fight.
(O_O)
"Are you entertained?" the Hokage asked the Kazekage sitting beside him.
"That Nara boy could have been a little quicker about everything," the Kazekage commented dryly.
The Hokage laughed good naturedly. "He received the reputation for being the dead last in his academy class and is renowned for being lazy."
"The dead last?" the Kazekage asked, eyes widening slightly. "A boy like him was the lowest in his class?"
The Hokage nodded, taking another puff of his pipe while watching the fight between the pink haired girl and the Hyuga prodigy. "Indeed. The instructors think he may have faked his grades but there's no way to tell for sure."
The Kazekage was silent for a moment. "The other three were also in his class in the academy, correct?"
"Naruto, Sakura and Shino were all in the same class as him, yes."
"It makes you wonder," said the Kazekage thoughtfully. "Are any of the others hiding such juicy secrets."
"I'm sure a scientific man such as yourself would love to find out. Unfortunately my ninja are off limits to one such as you before they give their consent. Until then you'll have to content yourself with old men like myself," the Hokage said absentmindedly as he blew a smoke ring that depicted a snake eating its own tail.
The Kazekage stiffened. "I don't know what you're talking about," he said slowly, hand reaching down to a pocket in his robe.
The Hokage sighed. "No need to be dramatic Orochimaru. I'm not starting a fight just yet. I want to talk before you commence any invasion plan that you have in the works."
The Kazekage's fist relaxed after a moment and the oblong item was placed back inside his robe. "How did you know?" he asked, his voice suddenly changing to the coarse yet silky voice that so defined Orochimaru.
"Your spy is not nearly as inconspicuous as he believes. Kabuto I believe his name is, the eternal genin. I like it. It has a ring to it."
"What do you want sensei?" Orochimaru asked, cutting the Hokage off while still keeping his tone casual.
"I want to resolve this without any of my shinobi dying."
"That's not going to happen," Orochimaru said.
"Why? Your invasion is over. Even as we speak I have assigned anbu to every single Sand shinobi that may pose a threat. At the first sign of trouble they are to assassinate them, ending the invasion before it can begin. Your teammate is hidden amongst the crowd and has already erected a barrier around the village preventing any army from invading. The Leaf will endure, no matter what you have up your sleeve. Even a tailed beast would have a problem doing much damage in a state of preparedness as this."
"Why are you telling me all of this?" Orochimaru asked, lounging in his seat. His attention was momentarily taken away from the Hokage to see the pink haired girl was crawling with her chin towards the prone Hyuga. "Clever girl," he commented, then refocused his attention. "Why not just let me try and spring your trap afterwards?"
The Hokage clapped as Sakura was announced the winner, smiling jovially until she was taken off the arena in a stretcher. "Because even then, the peace would be broken and for what? It would only show the strength of the Leaf in our ability to repel any form of invasion, we will be able to exercise control over Sand, pushing them further into poverty and desperation, crushing them without any issue. What would be the point?"
"Perhaps I want to help strengthen the Leaf," Orochimaru suggested laughingly.
"You've long ago given up on the Leaf. Orochimaru. I've heard too many lies in my life to start believing something like that."
"So what then?"
"Call off the invasion. Stop this madness before it gets out of hand and let the exams run till their logical conclusion. If you agree then I will live another day to rescind the orders I have placed to imprison Sasuke in a place you will never find him. And-," the Hokage paused, hesitating slightly. "I will step down as the Hokage immediately following the exams. Making Jiraiya acting Hokage until Tsunade can be found and convinced to lead in my stead."
Orochimaru stayed silent for a good few minutes and the Hokage looked away from his student to watch the two new contestants make their way down to the field. Gaara of the Sand and the Uchiha. "If I don't pursue the invasion," Orochimaru started slowly. "You will let me go? Just like that?"
The Hokage nodded, not taking his eyes off the match.
"And you will not do anything untoward to prevent me from reaching Sasuke?"
"Nothing that you haven't planned for," the Hokage answered.
The match announcer was looking up towards the Hokage, waiting for a confirmation to start the attack.
"If it's any comfort, you can feel free to try again with the next Hokage," the Hokage said. "I always encouraged my students to try again, no matter how many times they may fail."
Orochimaru was silent for another minute more then started laughing throatily, the voice of the Kazekage back in place. "You have yourself a deal Lord Hokage," the Kazekage said holding his hand up and forming a series of hand signals.
The Hokage watched him and nodded to himself when it seemed the Kazekage would be following through with his intentions, then held up his hand to allow the announcer to begin the next match. "In the meantime, tell me my dear student, how have you been? And what have you done with the real Kazekage?"
(O_O)
Sasuke felt nauseous watching Naruto and Sakura's fights, each of them plaguing him with worry that he had to work to suppress. He didn't have time to worry, he couldn't afford to worry. He wanted his team to pass of course, it would be wholly advantageous for all the parties involved, they worked well together and rounded out the team well enough to keep furthering his experience. Their relationship was purely that of acquaintances that needed to work together. There was no friendship, no kinship, no family.
If that were the case then why had he needed to restrain himself from murdering Neji when he had seen Sakura start coughing blood? If that were the case he wouldn't have cheered quite so loud when Sakura turned the tide and won. Ultimately he was glad she hadn't told him her plan as he might have worried more. No, not worried, maybe felt some stress. He wanted to keep the team together after all.
Regardless of whatever feelings he had on the matter, this wasn't a time to dwell on them. His fight had been announced, he would be facing Gaara, the pride of the Leaf going against the pride of the Sand. The whole competition was rigged of course in an attempt to showcase Leaf's power over Sand and the strengths of their clans. Neji Hyuga had been set up with a civilian because they didn't want to risk his loss in front of the entire Sand, the joke was on the Leaf after Sakura won. Naruto had been set up with an outsider as he was most likely believed to be the offspring of foreign refugees so they didn't make him matter. The other two matches had been with similar principals although less focused, both showcasing strong clan ninja against the prides of the Sand. If Sasuke won this battle it would send the Sand ninja running back to their village with their tails between their legs, it would show the strength of the Leaf. No pressure.
"You ready?" Naruto asked worriedly. His hand was mostly healed now and he was using it to retrieve something from his pack. "I made this for you, after you suggested the water thing I figured I'd make you one of these. It's one use only though, so make sure you have a good shot when you do use it."
Sasuke took the proffered scroll and grunted his thanks.
Naruto smiled encouragingly. "Sakura will be alright. Don't worry."
"I wasn't worried. She's strong," Sasuke said nonchalantly.
"Sure you weren't," Naruto said, shoving him forward and waving as he walked off.
Sasuke growled but didn't say anything else. This wasn't the time to start a fight. As he made his way down to the arena he tuned all other sounds out, the chattering of the crowd, Naruto's shouting that he wasn't going to support anyone in the fight so as not to show favorites, he tuned out the pointless advice his classmates were offering him and the encouragement of Ino. All he could hear as he reached the sandy pockmarked arena was the beating of his heart and the electricity that reverberated through his body. Gaara was slower to reach the ground but he too looked just as concentrated. In fact he looked like he was concentrating so much that his head was hurting. It was no matter, Sasuke was faster now and he was confident that he could've matched Rock Lee at his current level, most likely even beaten him. His opponent wasn't Rock though, it was Gaara, a boy whose expression said murder and whose abilities guaranteed it. Sasuke wasn't letting his guard down.
The match announcer was taking longer than he should have to announce the match. Sasuke couldn't help but look at him to figure out what the problem was, then in turn look up at the Hokage's box. It was odd, it almost looked like the Kazekage was tensed in his seat, ready to attack while the Hokage sat in his own with the casual calm of an old man. The feeling was over quickly however as the Kazekage seemed to relax. Perhaps he was worried for his son. Sasuke had promised not to kill Gaara if he could avoid it and he intended to keep the promise if only because he didn't want to start a war over something so petty. The Hokage signaled the announcer and the match was finally begun.
Sasuke rushed in immediately before Gaara could put up his guard, but Gaara was faster, or rather his sand was faster, intercepting Sasuke's attack before he was even within striking distance. Sasuke dodged the sand, driving forward again and again, each time the sand met his attack and each time he was brought a step closer to Gaara until eventually he hit him dead center in the face, his hand passing through his body as it collapsed into sand. A clone then. But Sasuke was fast and had planned for this, choosing to activate his sharingan he could see where Gaara was going to move and followed, coming up behind him and catching him by surprise as his fist rocketed for the real Gaara's head.
Sand rose around Gaara, forming a ball that cut him off from the world. It was too late to pull his hand away and Sasuke's fist hit what felt like a brick wall. He darted away before the spikes that rose out of the ball could impale him and huffed. Gaara hadn't pulled this out in the prelims even though it would have been useful against someone such as Lee. It must have been one of his more difficult techniques which likely meant that Gaara was fighting slightly more desperately. That was good. It looked like it was time to bring out his trump card.
Dodging sand projectiles, Sasuke made his way to the wall, finally standing on a surface that wasn't all sand he could let his guard down. Crouching he held his hand out in front of him and began gathering the energetic chakra into his palm. It fought to break free but he was able to control it, to push it down and make it serve him. He was stronger than it. The chakra manifested physically, forming a blade that crackled and sung, the miniature explosions it sent off made the sound of birds chirping, as if leaning out of a window in the early morning. He directed the energy then, letting it flow towards his target like an arrow fired. Only his sharingan was able to keep track of his own movements as he was propelled along the arena and his hand sliced through Gaara's ultimate defense, lodging itself inside the hard sand sphere. Once the lightning chakra around his hand faded Sasuke channeled chakra to the scroll that had been hanging from his wrist and released the water seal.
He was immediately pushed back, the air being forced from his chest as a massive wave destroyed the sand ball. Sasuke was thrown to the other end of the arena and was only barely able to stop his head from colliding with the wall by throwing himself above the wave. As he turned to survey the damage he could see that Gaara was flat on his back, his body half submerged in water while he screamed some inanities about love and his mother. Sasuke was impressed by the effects, that had gone much better than he thought it would. How much water had Naruto shoved in there?
Sasuke shook his head, this wasn't the time to get distracted, he could finish this quickly. Maneuvering himself to stand on the wall, he made sure there wasn't any part of him that was touching the small river and started charging up his chakra again. Once he was ready he could just shove his arm into the water and it would finish Gaara for him, no problem.
"Stop," a voice sounded, breaking his concentration and his chakra faded to see that the girl from before, Temari he thought her name was, had jumped down to the arena and was helping her brother up. "End the fight," she shouted. "Gaara resigns."
The announcer appeared before her in a flash, floating above the water uneasily. "Don't interfere with other ninja's fights. Do you resign?" he directed to the seething boy that was clutching his head and muttering something about blood.
Gaara ignored him and faced Sasuke, a crack showed in the perfect porcelain armor he wore and blood pooled there. Sasuke sighed in relief. He had pulled his punches but it seemed he had still accidentally managed to strike Gaara. At least he hadn't killed him, Naruto would have been a pain if he had.
"I'll kill you," Gaara then screamed, clearly showing his lack of desire to resign. His sister flinched by his side and tried to whisper something to him but for a clump of mud that was sent her way which she barely managed to dodge.
"Gaara please, it's over," she moaned.
Gaara ignored her. "Mother help me kill him," he stage whispered, loud enough for Sasuke to hear him from the other side of the arena. Gaara's body then began to contort, his arm and part of his face growing into a strange mix of sand and sinew, his eye changing to become bigger and more veined. Sasuke didn't like the look of that. Why had the sister gotten involved? He would have won if not for her stupidity. Looking at the monster Gaara was turning into he wondered if it wouldn't have been that easy after all.
Sasuke looked towards Naruto who was watching worriedly, he no doubt realized that if Gaara was going to go nuts on Sasuke he would have no choice but to fight with intention to kill. After a moment of watching Naruto he sighed heavily and raised his hand. "I resign," he called, hating the words as he said them. The things he did for friendship. But it wasn't worth losing his team over something like this. Besides, Sakura likely wouldn't be able to fight for a few days at least.
"No," Gaara screamed. "I don't care. I'll kill you anyway." With that he leaped at Sasuke, suddenly displaying incredible strength. Sasuke ran to get out of the way, not liking his chances at all and was relieved that he'd been out of the way when Gaara managed to break right through the arena wall. His relief didn't last as a tendril of sand wrapped around his leg and pulled him through the hole before he even had a chance to cry out, not that he would have cried out, but it was the principal of the thing.
(O_O)
Naruto watched in disbelief as cool and relaxed Gaara lost it and went mad with rage, striking the arena wall with such strength as to break it. If that hadn't been enough the two sand siblings followed through the hole before anyone could get a word in.
Why wasn't anyone doing anything? Although there were hundreds of shinobi in the arena, none had made a single move to follow save for the Sand siblings. Most of them had stiffened, as if expecting an attack. Why would they be expecting an attack? Were they afraid? Should he be afraid?
Naruto vaulted over the bannister, channeling chakra to his feet and allowing him to run down the arena wall. A glance back showed that Shikamaru was following in tandem which also meant that Ino and Choji would probably be following as well.
"Wait, stop," the match announcer called, moving to block him from leaving. "If you leave you'll be disqualified."
"I don't care," yelled Naruto, sprinting around the announcer and making his way to the hole. "I resign." Then he was through the hole and following the trail of terror that Gaara led. While Naruto had thought Gaara might be delusional about the demon being sealed inside his body thing it was clear that he had been telling the truth. Was that why he had headaches all the time? Was it the demon trying to wrest control from him? If so that made Gaara much stronger than he could ever be, having a demon in his head would be terrifying.
It seemed that Gaara was making way to the training grounds and not the village center which was good, there was still some semblance of him in there that cared, some part of him that was fighting the demon. Hopefully he would be able to hold out until Naruto arrived.
Flooding chakra to his legs, feet, and eyes Naruto sped forward, knowing that Shikamaru likely wouldn't be able to keep up but knowing he would also be able to follow him. He was thankful for Shikamaru, he was a good friend even if he was boring to hang out with. The chakra in his legs strengthened his muscles, allowing him to run faster, the chakra in his feet allowed him to land softly enough that he wouldn't break his legs and the chakra in his eyes was to make sure he didn't crash into a tree. If there was anything Naruto trained more than his sealing ability it was his ability to run away of which he was proud. He was almost as fast as Kakashi when it came to the mad village dash from his apartment, although Kakashi might have been going easy on him. Nonetheless Gaara and his siblings would be no match for him. He could only hope that Sasuke could run faster than them.
He passed the tree line a moment later and had to slow to keep track of the trail as it was harder to follow in the forest which were specifically kept dense to make it harder to follow a trail, growing up as a Leaf ninja had given him some advantages though and he wasn't totally lost. From what he could tell the Sand ninja were trained to handle terrain like a forest, or at least the Sand siblings may have been, Gaara had charged through the underbrush as if it weren't there and if that wasn't enough the noise signaled exactly where he was. The demon inside Gaara was clearly not a ninja.
He could see them clearly now. Sasuke had activated his lightning arm thing and had cut Gaara's arm of sand off only for the arm to reform. Putting on an extra burst of speed, Naruto arrived in the clearing just as Gaara was getting to the climax of a rousing speech. His two siblings were nowhere to be found and Sasuke was getting angry from what he could tell.
". . .you're just like me," the demon said. "To kill you will prove my existence," the demon cackled in a very summarized version of its twisted logic.
"Don't listen to him Gaara. You're stronger than him. You can beat him," Naruto shouted cutting the demon off. "Show him what the Uzumaki are made of."
The demon turned to Naruto, wearing Gaara's frozen expression of confusion. "What are you doing here brat?"
"I'm here to help my friend," Naruto announced proudly.
"Will you die with him as well?"
Naruto shook his head. "I don't intend to. I know you're in there Gaara. If you can hear me I want you to know that I believe in you."
"Naruto," Sasuke growled. "Stop encouraging the monster."
"It's a demon Sasuke. Not a monster and it's holding Gaara prisoner. We have to help him," Naruto said.
Temari chose that moment to appear from nowhere apparently. "You can't," she informed helpfully. "He'll only calm down once he's tasted blood."
Naruto groaned. "Is there an amount we could give him?"
"I meant that he has to kill someone."
"Oh."
"Yeah."
The rest of the team arrived just then, bringing Shikamaru, Choji, Ino, Kankuro and Shino, all looking slightly bewildered.
Naruto waved to them. "Thanks for coming guys. There wasn't much point though, he only wants one of us. You can go back to the arena now." Then as an afterthought. "Could one of you also get a medic here as soon as possible. I have a feeling we'll need one." None of them moved however and with that he turned to the demon. "I know you're in there Gaara, I know you're stronger than this. You don't have to prove yourself to anyone." He stepped in front of Sasuke, shielding him with his body. "If you think some blood will prove how great you are, demon, then try it. Get a taste of Naruto Uzumaki."
The demon laughed, the sound like sandpaper. "Do you want to die?"
"No. I don't think you would be able to kill me though. Gaara might, but you're just a foul demon that's leeching off his body. You wouldn't know strength even if it hit you in the head."
The demon growled. "We shall see," he said then charged to attack Naruto.
Naruto didn't move to dodge, instead he held his hands open in an embrace. The talons of the demon ripped into Naruto's stomach, emerging from the other side. Naruto coughed onto the long sand arm that held him aloft. "Is that all you've got? This is nothing," he managed as blood leaked from his mouth. With that Gaara's form became more normal as he stared at Naruto in wonder, stared as the body slid off and slumped onto the ground, remaining immobile even as the life left it.
"Now that he's dead I can deal with you," Gaara directed to Sasuke who was having trouble holding himself up. The joint forces of Shikamaru, Choji and Shino took Naruto's place in front of Sasuke while Temari and Kankuro backed away. Where had Kankuro come from anyway?
Sighing, Naruto emerged from the tree line to join his teammate, diffusing the clone as he went and biting back the pain at the memory of the impalement.
"Naruto? You're alive?" Shikamaru asked, half surprised and half relieved.
"He just killed a clone. I was testing the whole blood thing that Gaara's sister told us and I don't need to tell you how wrong she was."
Shikamaru nodded. "What's your plan for getting us out of this?" he asked.
Naruto smiled widely, making Shikamaru falter. "Do you know any earth jutsu?" he asked, ignoring the question.
Shikamaru nodded. "Mud wall. Why?"
"Show me."
Shikamaru showed Naruto a few hand seals and Naruto noted them, practicing them once or twice before pushing past his friends.
"You might want to get back for this," he muttered then turned to the demon. "You have one chance to release Gaara before I humiliate you," Naruto declared.
"I am Gaara," the demon responded angrily.
"Then why do you need to prove your existence? Everyone knows Gaara exists. It's the demon inside that no one knows about. I get it you're lonely but that doesn't mean you have to make others lonely as well."
The demon growled. "Die already brat," he screamed and flung his arm towards Naruto again. Naruto lowered his goggles and flared his chakra. There was a bright red flash, a roar from the demon and the talon missed.
"Is that all you've got?" Naruto taunted from a tree behind the demon, making him spin in rage.
"Where-,"
Another flash and Naruto was gone, leaving the demon to wince in pain.
"You're not going to get me unless you put all your power into it," Naruto called lazily from overhead then dodged another projectile while setting off a tag.
The demon grew more enraged by the minute, morphing and growing around Gaara's body. With each attack it grew slower and bigger, its punches becoming more powerful and its body less human until it was clear that this wasn't Gaara but in fact a sand demon. Gaara's body wasn't even visible anymore, having been completely consumed by the sand. The demon was truly fearsome, standing taller than the Hokage monument it dwarfed Naruto so much that he was a grasshopper in comparison. Hopefully that would make the demon underestimate him.
He kept the flash tags going, forcing the demon to keep its eyes closed while he maneuvered his way around the battlefield. He didn't have the resources to allow a fair fight and this was going to be the only chance he got to end it. When he was ready he stopped with the flash tags and paraded out into the open, noting that his four other clones were doing so from different angles. He would have created more but he couldn't afford to use up the chakra, not when he was going to attempt something on this scale.
"Hey demon," he shouted and waved, trying to catch the demon's attention. "You want me, come get me."
The demon was fast, grabbing Naruto and hoisting him into the air where he could look at him. "You dare challenge Shukaku," the demon said slowly, eyeing Naruto carefully. "You have fought and now you will die. How pointless."
Naruto stared back defiantly. "So the demon finally reveals its name. Now that you have admitted your existence can you get back inside Gaara and behave?" he asked, wriggling and trying to get his arms free.
"No. I have been trapped for so long. I will not give this up."
"I was afraid you were going to say that." Holding up his hands and wiggling them he smiled sadly. "For what it's worth, I acknowledge you Shukaku of the Sand. You don't need to prove anything to me. For telling me your name I will reveal the name of the one that will beat you. I am Naruto Uzumaki and you have already lost." Then he formed a series of hand seals and slammed them down on the massive fist of sand holding him aloft, then with all his might he channeled every single last ounce of chakra he had into the sand being's body. As he did so he could see his four clones having jumped onto the demon's back were doing the same. Soon they all puffed into smoke save for the real Naruto and the jutsu activated. The entire mass of sand that had surrounded Gaara was suddenly reformed into a giant mud wall, which Naruto hurriedly sealed away in a scroll.
Then they fell, Gaara above Naruto, his eyes closed in what looked like a peaceful sleep. This wasn't the time for him to be sleeping though, he needed Gaara to wake up and save them both from an untimely death or at least untimely massive injury. Spreading his arms, Naruto attempted to slow his descent, letting Gaara catch up to him whereupon Naruto shook him with all his might. "Come on Gaara, wake up, we need you. I need you. Wake up," he shouted, glancing at the quickly rising ground.
Gaara stirred suddenly, his eyes opening and looking directly into Naruto's own with rage and hatred. Was Shukaku still in control? He hoped not because if he was then Naruto was dead. Instead of pushing the angry boy away, Naruto reached up and held him closer in an embrace that would make it easier for Gaara to save the both of them when he actually decided to do so.
"Save us," Naruto screamed, getting desperate when Gaara didn't act. "If you really want to prove your existence then save us."
Gaara's nose flared at that but he moved, reaching out with both of his hands to the ground. Sand came up to meet them, arresting some of their momentum but not much and the two boys smacked into the ground, bouncing against it and each other more times than Naruto could count before finally coming to a stop.
Naruto groaned. He thought he may have had a few broken ribs and he was pretty sure his leg wasn't supposed to move that way, but the pain was good, it meant they were alive. "We are never doing that again," he muttered into Gaara's ear. "Next time you want to hang out we're doing it on the ground, alright?"
Gaara shifted away from him, trying to pull his arms off him but failing, most likely as he was probably in as much pain as Naruto. "Why didn't you kill me?" he managed finally, his voice morose. "Why didn't you let me die?"
"Is that the demon talking or Gaara?"
"Does it make a difference?"
Naruto thought about it for a long moment. "No, I suppose not. I guess I didn't want to die because you proved yourself to me. Gaara and Shukaku aren't demons. They're friends. We're not going to let them die if there's another way, even if that way brings great bodily harm. Do you understand what I'm saying?"
"No. Get off me."
"I can't move. Why don't you just move?" he asked, already knowing the answer.
"Is this what pain is?" Gaara asked finally.
"Yeah. Sucks huh? But it reminds us that we're alive. If you want a greater proof of existence its pain. Sasuke likes to prove I exist everyday. I have no doubts about my existence, trust me."
"Pain is existence?" Gaara asked slowly, sounding at least slightly confused.
Naruto tried to nod but quickly realized he wasn't able to move. "Yeah."
"Can you show me more?" Gaara asked, his breath catching in his throat.
"Sure. I guess. It's really not that hard."
Silence.
"Do you think anyone's coming to get us?" Naruto asked.
"How should I know?"
(O_O)
Sakura woke in a hospital bed. A clean hospital bed that wasn't covered in death and blood, which also smelled nice. She smiled to herself. The exams had probably finished by now and Sasuke would probably be coming to visit her along with the rest of her team. She couldn't wait to hear how the rest of the tournament went.
A groaning sound, prompted her head to turn where she could make out at least five other beds in the hospital wing, each of them containing a familiar face. In the bed directly next to her was Neji, still comatose from her paralysis draught. Next to him was Dosu with more bandages around his face than had been before. Those weren't the surprises. The following beds containing Gaara, Naruto and Sasuke made her feel like she had missed something important.
She stared at the beds in bewilderment for a few minutes before a jovial Kakashi sauntered in reading his little book and giggling to himself. Giggling which immediately stopped at the sight of Sakura as he put away his book. She swore he did that on purpose.
"Sensei, you're late" she coughed, suddenly realizing how weak her body actually was. "What happened?"
Kakashi smiled at her or at least appeared to. "There's so much that you've missed I don't know where to start," he said gleefully. "I suppose we'll start from the least important and move to the top. Gaara of the Sand has decided to stay in the Leaf and as per orders from the Hokage is now part of team seven. I believe this is Naruto's fault somehow. The Hokage stepped down from his position, making Jiraiya the substitute Hokage until such a time as a better candidate can be chosen. The Hidden Sand almost invaded after the Sannin Orochimaru killed the Kazekage and took his body. He's gone now, but we now have a stronger alliance with the Sand for the joint task of bringing Orochimaru to justice. Now is there anything I'm forgetting?"
Sakura's eyes widened, she didn't bother to ask the meaning behind the information though, she had a feeling it would all become evident soon enough.
"Oh yes," Kakashi continued, his eyes brightening. "Sakura Haruno is the crowning champion of the Chunin exams by default."
Sakura's eyes widened then narrowed suspiciously. "This is a joke," she managed hoarsely.
Kakashi held up his hands in protest. "No joke. After you passed out Sasuke resigned once Gaara's sister tried interfering in the match. Gaara disqualified himself by running off with Sasuke in a murderous rage. His sister disqualified herself by following. Naruto resigned to go and help, followed by Shino for the same reason."
Sakura gaped at him.
"That's why I was a little late in visiting," Kakashi finished, making Sakura scowl.
"Does this mean I'm a chunin now?"
"Who knows? Did you at least have fun?" Kakashi asked.
Sakura frowned. "Maybe. I guess. Besides for the awful bits."
"So it was worth it then."
Sakura giggled. "Yeah. I guess."
