Gallivanting God

Chapter 7

The remaining Genin teams bolted into the dull forestry of Training Ground 44. Whilst many had sought for a place to come up with some defences and traps, the self labelled "All-out Assault Squad", Team 7 was barrelling through the deadly forest. Their destination was 2km away from them, but what the prey didn't know was that Uzumaki Naruto had a clear read on their position. The remaining two members of Team 7, Uchiha Sasuke and Haruno Sakura were behind their blonde ally, in a triangle formation.

The raven haired Uchiha couldn't help but take full notice of Naruto at the moment. He could tell, the blonde was holding himself back, but still going as fast as they could handle. That irked him. That blonde upstart from the academy had become someone who walked in front of him now, almost like, he used to. At the same time, thinking of the blonde's explosive growth, it excited Sasuke. The Last Uchiha had been looking for someone to measure himself against ,and if he didn't match up, surpass. Kakashi was their Sensei, a Jonin. That was someone too far out of his realm, that much Sasuke would admit. Regardless of all else, Uchiha Sasuke concluded his thoughts. He wished to fight Uzumaki Naruto in an all-out battle.

Haruno Sakura was a girl who had come from a civilian family. And because of that, her talent for the Shinobi Arts was average. So shockingly average, she was mocked by the clan children around her when she was younger. Even those who weren't necessarily from clans but had Shinobi parents mocked her. Her torment turned from her skills to her looks. Namely, her large forehead. That tore her confidence down at a very early point in her life. She began to question why she attended the Ninja Academy in the first place. It was during one of their classes espionage classes, that Haruno Sakura found herself, and her resolve.

But this was not due to her own values or mindset. No, it was because of the one girl who helped defend her from bullies. Yamanaka Ino. She was one who Sakura could call her best friend. On that day, Haruno Sakura swore to become a Kunoichi that could rival and surpass Yamanaka Ino. She was her goal, her idol. And anything Ino sought after, Sakura wanted to snatch it from her to show she was better. Hence, her first infatuation with Uchiha Sasuke. But soon enough, Sakura lost sight of her reason to become a Shinobi and focused on her adoration and "love" for Sasuke. She had been reminded of her true resolve, on her first C-Rank mission.

Team 7's mission to wave, had changed all three of the Genin who worked that job. Uchiha Sasuke emerged physically stronger and more able, with his Bloodline Limit being awakened, the Sharingan. It strengthened the resolve of Uzumaki Naruto, making him find his Ninja Way, and it gave him a wake-up call. For Haruno Sakura, that mission reminded her why she looked up to Ino. The pinkette had no doubt, Ino could have been far more useful than her on that mission. She felt like one of the clients, instead of feeling like the one protecting the client. But Sakura had lost herself to her fangirlish admiration of Sasuke. Even when she wanted to better herself, Sakura gave into her desire to see Sasuke again.

"I'll ask him out again, just one last time." Was what she always thought. But it never came to a stop. And now, in the second stage of the Chunin Exams, Haruno Sakura was about to fight the Kunoichi she respected the most. Ever since she started these exams hours ago, the pinkette had been struggling to find her resolve to truly commit to being a Kunoichi. This fight, Sakura was betting her entire career on this.

Team 7 came to a halt as Naruto threw up a closed fist, the sign for a halt. Looking down into the small clearing in front of them, Team Ten was spotted. Naruto eyed up the team below him, using Analyse on all three. Their stats were far below him. Except one stat. Nara Shikamaru's intelligence and WIS stats were in the thousands. Naruto knew the Nara's were full of smart guys, hell the Jonin Commander of Konoha is Shikamaru's Dad. When they fought, Naruto had to give no room to think for the Nara Heir. Naruto looked over to his squad mates.

"Alright, I'm gonna take Shikamaru. He's the brains of their group, disable the head and the body can't function." The blonde left no room for argument, he was taking down Shikamaru.

"I'm going for Ino. All I ask, is that you guys don't interrupt it. Unless another team comes, but if not, please don't." Sakura looked at her teammates, they took one look at her and understood what she meant; this was important to her. Even if Sakura lost, they were still here to be back up.

"Guess I'll be going after Choji then." Sasuke concluded. With their talk done, the three of them nodded to each other before setting themselves into action. Sasuke was the type of person to confront someone straight up, so he jumped down into the clearing. Sakura, despite her book smarts, was also a headstrong person. She too leapt into the open. Naruto was the only one who didn't. Those two would serve as a decoy for him to remove Shikamaru from his team. All he needed to do was blindside him with a Shunshin.

Team Ten all tensed as they saw Uchiha Sasuke arrive in the clearing. This was the Rookie of the Year and he had found them. Shikamaru thought that maybe they could get away with trying to pal up as allies from the same village.

"Yo, Sasuke." Shikamaru drawled out, his expression stone cold. The Uchiha Heir didn't say anything back to him, the Nara expected that much. "Hey man, look, I know we can't beat you in a fight, so how about we team up? If we find someone with the scroll you need, you can take it." Sasuke smirked at Shikamaru, the Nara thought he had maybe persuaded the Uchiha. But the shadow-user's sixth sense told him something was not to be trusted from that smirk.

Shikamaru didn't have any more time to think about that feeling when he was suddenly grabbed and his world meshed into blurs of browns and greens. Quelling the feel of bile travelling up his pipes, Shikamaru quickly righted himself. The adrenaline unwillingly flowed through him. Quickly taking note of his surroundings, Shikamaru scanned the area for deep foliage or shade to use for the Shadow Techniques of his family. After going over the area in two blinks, Shikamaru grinned at who was in front of him.

"Yo, Naruto. Didn't expect you to be the one to sneak attack me." Shikamaru noticed that as soon as he spoke, Naruto's eyes became more focused. The blonde launched himself immediately forward.

Ino and Choji turned around only to see Shikamaru had disappeared from sight. All they saw in his place were dispersed leaves. Drawing only one conclusion the duo knew Naruto had done something. Ino turned around to face Sasuke again.

"That was a pretty good plan you came up with Sasuke-kun! To distract us and then get rid of Shikamaru like that. I'm surprised that loudmouth Naruto went along with that." From that one action, Choji and Ino understood why they were here. To fight for their scroll. Sakura walked out from behind Sasuke and stood beside him. Her Hitai-ate tied firmly around her forehead.

"Actually, there was no plan. Just that Naruto had decided he'd take Shikamaru." Sakura revealed. There was a certain amount of shock that played across each member of Team Ten's faces at that. But Ino quickly schooled herself, Sakura was nothing to worry about.

"What's the matter Forehead? Wearing your Hitai-ate like that? You finally admit that billboard-brow is an eyesore that should be covered up?" Ino taunted to the best of her ability but got no rise out from Sakura. The pinkettes eyes narrowed even more in focus.

"Ino, I'm taking this seriously. You better as well... Follow me." Sakura walked over through the bushes to her left, the opposite direction Naruto went, and the way they came from. She knew there was a clearing there that she could fight in. Seeing that look in Sakura's eyes, Ino couldn't help but feel compelled to follow. She knew something was up and wanted to see what it was about.

Choji looked absolutely petrified. The Akimichi Heir wondered how he had drawn the short end of the stick, to have to fight Sasuke of all people. Why couldn't it have been Naruto? Sasuke saw his expression and couldn't help but feel a little irked. If only there had been someone stronger. Without further ado, Sasuke charged forward towards Choji who shrieked in fright.

The Last Uchiha closed the gap between himself and the fat pre-teen instantly. Lashing out with a boxers form, Sasuke landed a clean one-two combo to his face, stunning Choji immediately. Following up, Sasuke spun on his heel, building speed from the rotation, he backhanded the Akimichi with a closed fist. Choji's vision began to blur as his legs started to wobble. Chaining into a strong roundhouse, Sasuke's strike connected with Choji's gut, sending the young Genin skidding across the dirt until his momentum ceased and he slumped to the ground.

The Sharingan wielder could not help the lack of satisfaction he felt. That was a one-sided beatdown. Choji was even more unsuited to be a Shinobi than Sasuke's old perception of Naruto was. Quickly taking to the trees, Sasuke went the direction that Sakura had gone. He knew Naruto could handle Shikamaru.

As Naruto rocketed towards Shikamaru, the Shadow-User instinctively began to backpedal. He was not a combat type; all Nara's were strategists. That would be the case if he could be bothered to label himself as a combatant in the first place. Despite the black-haired youth's best attempts to run and buy time, Naruto was already on top of him. Naruto let loose a devastating right legged temple kick that made Shikamaru lose consciousness for a moment. Coming down to the ground, Naruto landed an immediate right elbow into Shikamaru's gut, bringing the Shadow-User back to consciousness from the searing hot pain in his stomach. Naruto did not stop his assault. His intent was to knock the Nara out, for a guy like Shikamaru, who the blonde knew was not as physically capable like himself, this would be over soon. As Shikamaru lurched forward, Naruto used his free left hand to deliver a palm strike to the Nara's exposed chin.

The Jinchuriki wished to rattle his brain, to stop him from thinking clearly and to knock him out. But somehow Shikamaru hung on. With his limbs in a tangled mess from the combination he delivered, Naruto briefly backed off.

"You know, Shikamaru, I never figured you for the motivated to fight type, I was sure that should have knocked you out."

The Nara Heir was breathing heavily, a hand over his stomach whilst blood seeped down from his temple.

"And I… never figured you would… have this level of Taijutsu… guess I'll need to revaluate…" Shikamaru replied back through laboured breathing. Truthfully, Shikamaru didn't know himself how he wasn't down for the count already. But something inside, was motivating him to fight. Maybe because it was Naruto? In the Academy they'd always slacked off together, the blonde motivating him to do activities he ordinarily wouldn't have.

The Nara had no more time to think than after he spoke the world "revaluate". Naruto was already coming towards him. Thinking fast, Shikamaru deftly exploded two smoke bombs beneath his feet. The explosion of smoke forced Naruto to shield his eyes and stop his advance, he hadn't expected that. Naruto quickly extended his senses, looking for Shikamaru's Chakra Signature. Looking up towards the tree behind him, Naruto ran through four Hand Seals, ending on the "Tiger" seal as his cheeks swelled.

"Katon: Ryūka no Jutsu!" (Fire Release: Dragon Fire Technique) Naruto inwardly called the name of his only Fire Style technique. Naruto watched as the tree that Shikamaru had hidden behind burst into flames, Shikamaru himself also falling to the ground in front of the Jinchuriki, his clothing having whisps of smoke rising from them. He hadn't put enough chakra into the jutsu that it would burn Shikamaru alive. He was still a Konoha Shinobi after all. Making sure Shikamaru was now unconscious, Naruto checked over his Chakra signature, to see is he was molding Chakra. Naruto found nothing like that going on. Throwing a few Kunai near Shikamaru's head to see if the black-haired youth was faking being knocked out. No reaction.

With that done, Naruto walked up to Shikamaru to see if he had their scroll on himself. Patting the Genin down until he found it. "777 Luck stat I love you." Naruto inwardly confessed as he pulled on the Dark-Blue Scroll. "An "Earth" Scroll, just the one we needed! With this we can get to the tower!" The blonde cheered to himself as he stood up to walk away. The Genin got two steps away from Shikamaru before he couldn't move.

"Kagemane no Jutsu, Success." Naruto heard the voice of a wounded Shikamaru behind him. His eyes widening in shock, Naruto tried to look over his back, but couldn't move his head either. Shikamaru couldn't hold in the smirk that was now plastered over his face.

"I'll admit Naruto, you've gotten stronger, there's no way I could take you in a straight fight. But you've never been the type to use your brain all that much. That being said, I was surprised with how much precaution you showed against me." Shikamaru stuffed his hands into his pockets, which made Naruto do the same, except his pockets were below his Kimono, so it just looked really stupid for him to do that.

"How did you manage to keep yourself from even showing a reaction to those Kunai landing near you? They were right beside your ears." Naruto queried the Shadow-User. Truthfully, he had let his guard down and had forgotten to look around for the Nara's shadow.

"When I was up in the tree, I simulated 400 different ways this would go, and I was prepared to adapt to any one of them. However, I never expected that Fire Jutsu. But it was still apart of one of my simulations to have my footing or cover blown up." Naruto smirked at the Genin.

"With that freakishly large INT stat I'm not surprised. His IQ must be well over the hundred mark." Naruto thought with begrudging respect for the Lazy Idiot. Naruto grinned.

"Well, it's not like this is going to change anything. I know the weakness of your Jutsu, it takes a lot of Chakra to hold me in place like this right? I know you've got a small Chakra reserve too. You should stop this farce while you're ahead, Shikamaru." The Nara heir narrowed his eyes towards Naruto as he grinned.

"That may be true Naruto, but you're forgetting something... geez, this is so troublesome…" Shikamaru ran a hand up the back of his head. "There's a lot of trees around here, and the bark looks solid enough to knock you out." True to what Shikamaru said, they were in a forest, of course there would be plenty of trees around.

"Now that would be a problem." The Naruto who was bound by Shikamaru's stated. As soon as the words left the blonde's mouth, Shikamaru felt a throbbing pain at the back of his head before his vision blacked out. Behind the black-haired youth was another Naruto. "If you weren't fighting a Shadow Clone the whole time." The shadow clone quickly handed over the Earth scroll to the original before dispelling. The blonde set off to join his teammates again.

Ino and Sakura arrived in another clearing in the forest, this one far smaller than the one Team Ten had stopped in. Sakura looked at her surroundings, taking notice of the measurements of the area she was in as a precaution. The two girls stopped in the middle of the clearing, an even 6 metres between them. Ino looked over her long-time friend and rival. She knew, aside from the furrowed brows she was getting, that Sakura was being serious about this. Even going so far as to wear her forehead protector on her head.

"So, Sakura. What is it? I know we're gonna fight, but why take away your only advantage of having Sasuke-kun here to help?" The Yamanaka heiress queried; her expression also serious like Sakura's. Sakura looked over Ino and noticed there was one thing that wasn't fulfilling her need. Sakura clenched her fists.

"Put on your Hitai-ate, Ino. I'm not here to fight about Sasuke-kun. I'm here to fight you, the Kunoichi, Yamanaka Ino." The blonde Genin did not let the surprise she was feeling show on her face. That cry-baby Sakura, was now here, trying to fight her as a Kunoichi. How could she not respond to that? There was no shouting, but Ino felt it. That deep burning flame of Sakura's resolve that trickled over her. Without any further preamble, Ino undid the Hitai-ate around her waist and tied it around her forehead.

Sakura smiled towards Ino. A breeze drafted through their area, the girl's hair swaying in the wind. A few leaves were rustled from the branches they nested in previously. Slowly drifting to the ground, Sakura and Ino stared at each other, a leaf falling in their cone of vision. The lone green object drifted to the ground. When it made contact with the dirt, Sakura and Ino both took that as the starting signal. Flooding their limbs with Chakra, the two girls burst forth. It only took them a couple of seconds to close the gap between them, and then, they both planted themselves into their Taijutsu stances.

Sakura was the first to start the melee, throwing a right straight then trying to connect with a left jab. Ino weaved her way out of Sakura's textbook style and countered with a low-kick to Sakura's thigh, one that the pink haired Genin took the full force of, making her posture wobble. With an opening in Sakura's guard, Ino stepped forward and landed a strong left straight, right hook combo on the pinkettes' jaw, causing the girl to fall to the ground from the pain. Sakura quickly tried to roll over onto her back to get up but was quickly pinned down by Ino. The blonde had mounted Sakura, and even though it pained her to do this, she grabbed her friends long flowing locks and slammed her face into the ground.

The Yamanaka Heir had thought that would be enough, that the pain would be too much for that little Sakura. That was not the case, Sakura looked over her shoulder, making eye contact with Ino. Sakura's expression was that of pain and anger. "How dare this bitch manhandle us like this!?" Inner-Sakura supplied the fuel for the fire that was Sakura's determination. Summoning all the strength she could muster, Sakura pushed up and slammed her head back. Hearing Ino's pained yelp let Sakura know she did in fact hit her. Quickly crawling away from Ino and getting back on her feet.

"As expected, she's better and faster than me in Taijutsu. But I have no choice! Ino's only other Jutsu is the Shintenshin no Jutsu (Mind Body Switch Technique). She won't use that here. The only thing I can do is hope to get some good blows in on her and hope that my strength is better." Ino was still on the ground clutching her face, which Sakura took advantage of. Running up to her downed opponent, Sakura punted Ino in the ribs, before using both of her feet and jumping on the girl's stomach prompting Ino to let out an unrefined "urgh". Having enough of being hurt already, Ino toughed out the pain and swept Sakura's legs out from beneath her, transitioning into a chakra enhanced donkey kick to the pinkette's gut.

Sakura went skidding back across the ground, the sound of fabric tearing letting the Genin know the back of her qipao had been ripped. The two girls stood up, a fair distance apart again, their breathing was hard and laboured as they both clutched their abdomens. Ino couldn't help the smile that spread across her face. This was that little cry-baby? When had she become such a fighter? Sakura herself was going over that fight, the only thing that could have really been avoided was having her hair grabbed. The only reason Sakura had grown it in the first place was because she heard a rumour that Sasuke liked girls with long hair. Palming a Kunai from her holster, Sakura stared down Ino again.

"Ino, thank you, for this. Everything's becoming clearer to me. About what I should really be doing." Before the Yamanaka could retort, Sakura bundled her hair together, and brought the Kunai she held through it. The wind picked up again through the clearing, causing Sakura's hair to splay about like confetti. "With this, I renounce my affection for Uchiha Sasuke, and swear to you, my rival, that I will become a great Kunoichi, even greater than Tsunade of the Legendary Three. Greater than even the Fourth Hokage!"

Ino's emotions played out across her face. First shock. Total surprise. That Haruno Sakura, who had declared them rivals for Sasuke, had declared she didn't like him anymore? And that she would focus on becoming a Kunoichi first and foremost? Ino wouldn't believe it if she hadn't saw it. Sakura's Veridian eyes seemed to glow in ephemeral light in commemoration of her new resolve. Ino's eyes then shimmered with awe. No longer could Ino see that little cry-baby with the red ribbon tying her hair up, now before her stood Sakura, a growing woman with a bloodied face and fiery eyes.

"That's the spirit… Sakura… Now, what do you say we finish this up?" Sakura nodded, preparing herself to end this fight, and bring her own victory. Dashing towards Ino again, Sakura ran through the Hand Signs for the Clone technique. Ino was irked by this, an E-Rank supplementary Ninjutsu, what was that supposed to do to her? Despite her temper, Ino knew it was best to play it safe and opted for a defensive stance, taking note of anything Sakura would do to tip off the pinkettes' stratagem. Sakura quickly channelled Chakra into her feet and exploded it, giving her a drastic and surprising increase in speed. Whilst Sakura may not have the physical ability of her teammates, her understanding and control of Chakra, alongside it's application, was greater than that of Naruto and Sasuke.

Ino's vision was clouded by the Bunshin dispelling in front of her creating a temporary smokescreen, to which Sakura soared through, her right leg coiled back. As soon as Sakura saw her rival, her attack sailed through the smoke and struck Ino in the head, catching her off-guard and sending her tumbling back a good 5 metres. Ino quickly stumbled back to her feet, getting ready for Sakura's oncoming assault. Sakura closed the gap between them. Knowing Ino was better in Taijutsu meant she had to use feints and other tactics to get Ino to open her guard up.

Ino also realised that Taijutsu was her strength in this match. Instead of playing on the defensive, the blonde decided to take the initiative. As Sakura came within her striking distance, Ino immediately launched a straight, which the pinkette narrowly weaved out of, settling into a defensive and reactive form. Ino pressed the advantage, kicking the same area of Sakura's thigh that she did before causing the girl to drop her guard and hiss in pain. Ino immediately barraged Sakura with punches to her stomach and face. Ino started a spin kick, but Sakura had been waiting for this. Recovering as best she could, Sakura grabbed Ino's long flowing ponytail and yanked the blonde towards herself as she brought her knee up, ready to connect it with the blonde's lower Yamanaka was thrown off balance as she fell over, causing Sakura's knee to contact with back of the Mind-Hijacker's skull.

Ino crumpled to the ground in a boneless heap. The pinkette let out a sigh of relief and flopped to the ground on her ass, heaving for breath despite the intense pain that racked her body. After a minute, she checked over Ino's body to see if she had their scroll, but her scavenging held no yield. The pinkette was happy with herself, she managed to best Ino, her goal and rival. Sakura turned around and walked back to where she left Sasuke and Choji. Sakura did not take a single step before she was caught in a headlock, whilst an arm pressed into her throat, choking her. Sakura tried to muster the strength to fight off the person choking her but was completely drained. Within seconds, the pinkette faded from consciousness, as the Yamanaka Heiress stood over her in defiant victory.

"Sorry, Sakura. But I had to win this one…" Ino began to hobble towards the clearing their team stopped in before. Her efforts were halted as two people dropped in front of her. Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke stood in her patch, with not a single scratch on them. Ino couldn't help the sardonic chuckle that escape her lips. "What? Can't a gal catch a break around here…?" With that, Ino collapsed to the ground, completely unconscious. The two male members of Team 7 saw the state Ino was in and then looked over to Sakura. The two of them quickly dashed to her side. Seeing that was bleeding from her nose and cheek. Naruto rolled up his left sleeve and poured Chakra into one of his Seals, causing a med kit to fall out. It was nothing fancy, just a few bandages, plasters and disinfectant.

"I'll clean up her wounds, you should go hide the other members of Team Ten, don't want them getting killed or anything whilst they're knocked out." Naruto ordered Sasuke as he splashed disinfectant on to a wipe.

"What about their scroll? Choji didn't have one, and I'm fairly certain Ino doesn't have it?" The Uchiha survivor questioned. Naruto put the wipe and the disinfectant back into the med kit before activating another Seal on his arm, which caused both the "Heaven" and "Earth" scrolls to pop out.

"No problems about that Sasuke, Shikamaru was the one who had it. Now go." Sasuke nodded to the blonde, not getting irritated when the blonde ordered him to hide the unconscious members of Team Ten. The Uchiha came back after two minutes to see Sakura on Naruto's back, her face plastered and cleaned of any dirt or blood. She was still out of action.

"Alright, let's get to the tower. It's still about 9km from here, but I'm pretty sure you and I can go the full way without rest, right?" Sasuke nodded towards Naruto, confirming what he thought. Truthfully, going the full 9km would leave Sasuke in an exhausted heap, but they had the scrolls, and Sakura needed proper medical attention to see if anything else needed to be properly healed.

AN: This chapter and the next one were orginally going to be one big chapter, but I decided to split them. As such, there will be no note at the end of the next one.

The words of encouragment in the reviews made me smile, and some guy who called Temari and Ino Naruto's "fuck buddies", that one made me laugh. That's not the case. Why can't girls and guys check each other out without the need to try and get into their pants?

Another dude said something about Lee's Mission stats. I got that from both, the Manga and the Anime. That's his official stats as of one year as a Genin, which I find to be pretty impressive.

As for adding Gamer Stats to the end of every chapter? No thanks, I don't want to inflate the word count. But it's also because I don't want you guys to know exactly how strong Naruto is at all times. That means you guys create expectations, and when you see an antagonists stats, you'll see who has the higher one and decide the victor there and then. I don't want that to happen.

Finally, some guy wasn't getting turned on by my Author Notes. That irks me. These notes are supposed to be the pinnacle of erotica. If you don't want to read the Author Notes, don't. I can't turn everyone on, smh.

Thanks for reading and hope you enjoyed

Adios.