Chapter 18

Naruto walked toward the academy with his hands in his coat pockets. He decided to wear the trench coat that he got from Anko as it held more stuff. It would be something that he needed for the Chūnin Senbatsu Shiken (Chūnin Selection Exam). He decided to do the exams mostly to keep that teme for getting himself killed. Truth be told, he would have left the moron to his fate but he wasn't that much of a jerk to allow a teammate die. He was fully stocked and prepared to do everything to protect the smug bastard.

As he neared the building, he caught sight of the teme (bastard) but also of another person that he didn't recognized. The person did have pink hair but it was short, not long like Sakura's. When the person turned around, Naruto was shocked at what he saw. He rubbed his eyes a bit just to make sure that he wasn't seeing things. Said person was a little nervous by the shock look that Naruto was giving her.

"W-What are you staring at?" Sakura asked nervously.

"S-Sakura, is that you?" Naruto asked.

"Of course it's me! Who did you think it was?!" Sakura exclaimed.

"B-But, you cut your hair. You loved your hair." Naruto said.

"Oh, that. Well, you said that I should cut it as it could be a liability in a fight." She said.

"Yeah but I didn't think that you would listen to me. The day I suggested it, you hit me with an uppercut and sent me about a hundred yards." Naruto stated, making Sakura blush. He looked her over and gave her a thumb up. "You look good. You look more professional and a little cuter. You're still a…" he was about to continue but Sakura put her hand on his mouth.

"Just stop, you said something nice. Don't ruin it by being you." Sakura said. Naruto nodded and just grinned. Sasuke scoffed and entered the building. Naruto scoffed and followed him in with Sakura. They walked up to the second floor where they caught sight of a group of shinobi. They witnessed a boy on the ground, begging to others to let them through. Sakura saw that there was something wrong and whispered it to Naruto. Naruto was about to tell Sasuke but he wasn't fast enough as Sasuke flat out told everyone about the genjutsu that was around the room. Everyone was confused by his words but Naruto was pissed. He walked up to Sasuke and glared at him.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Naruto hissed.

"They are delaying me for going to the real room dobe (loser)." Sasuke stated.

"You moron! Why in the hell would they put a genjutsu up here unless they were testing people? You just gave us more competition that we didn't need!" Naruto exclaimed.

"Bring it, I can handle them all." Sasuke boasted.

"Is that so?" Naruto said. He then turned to the crowd. "Hey everyone, this jackass thinks that each and every one of you is not worthy to lick the dirt off his feet. He considers you all a stepping stone to the real competition because you couldn't figure out a simple genjutsu. Because he is so great, he believes that you should bow to him for allowing you to get to the real room. Let us all praise the great and powerful, Uchiha Sasuke." Naruto announced. Sasuke growled at his mocking. He also noticed and felt the killer intent from the others.

"So you're Uchiha Sasuke? I've heard of you but I think it's all hype if your friend there is mocking you like that." One of the chūnin said. Sasuke snarled at the chūnin and launched a kick. He did the same as him but both kicks were caught by the genin who was on the ground earlier. That caused a chain reaction. Naruto was quick to put a kunai to the throat of the genin with the bowl cut. He flicked out a kunai and had it in the face of another genin with white eyes. The white eyed teen hand his palm aimed at Naruto's heart, chakra glowing. A girl with her hair tied in two buns had two kunai on the chūnin's neck, ready to cut his head off. Sakura had the other chūnin in a choke hold and a kunai to his kidney. Everyone watched the scene with wide eyes.

After a while, Naruto suddenly got a smirk on his face.

"This is some type of standoff. How about we all calm down before someone loses a limb or organ?" Naruto asked.

"That would be a wise decision." The white eyed boy said. Everyone released their captors and began to relax. Naruto and the white eyed boy stared at each other for a while before Naruto was dragged away by Sakura. The white eyed teen looked at the retreating back of the blond, which got the attention of his teammate. She looked at the blond and then back at him.

"What's your interest in the blond? I figured that the Uchiha would be a more interesting." She said.

"That boy, he is the reason for the change in her. I don't see anything so important about him." He stated. The girl was a little confused but that's when she realized that her other teammate was missing.

"Hey, where's Lee?"

XXX

"That was a smooth move. Why do you always cause trouble Naruto?" Sakura asked.

"Why are you blaming me? It's the teme's fault that happened. If he wasn't so in love with himself, we could have easily passed by the genjutsu and gone to the real room. But no, I have to be seen, I have to be heard, his damn superiority complex is going to get us killed." Naruto countered.

"I'm getting sick and tired of your mocking dobe." Sasuke said hotly.

"Get ready teme because the mocking is going to get a lot worse. You have to start thinking with your head rather than your ego. You might think that your Sharingan makes you something great but in my eyes, it ain't worth shit. If you want someone to stroke your ego, go to Kakashi. In these exams, you're lower than dirt. When you start to act like a ninja, then maybe I'll stop mocking you." Naruto stated. Sasuke looked ready to explode at Naruto's words. Sakura saw that this would not end well and looked ready to step in. Before she could however, someone made himself known.

"Comrades should not fight like that." A voice said. Everyone turned to see that same boy that was wearing the green spandex and orange leg warmers. His fists were taped and he had the hugest eyebrows that they ever saw. Naruto was the first to speak.

"You're that guy from before. Look, if this is about the kunai to the throat thing," Naruto began but he was cut off by the boy.

"Oh no, you were only expressing your youthful energy to protect your teammate." He said which gained him some odd looks.

"Okay, what can we do for you?" Naruto asked.

"I came for two things actually." He then turned to Sakura and looked at her. Sakura was a little put off by the look and wondered what he wanted. He suddenly took her hand and got on one knee. "You are the most beautiful girl I have ever seen. My name is Rock Lee. Please go out with me and I will protect you for the rest of your life." Sakura looked at the boy in shock and surprise. Naruto did the same. After a few seconds, Naruto dropped to the ground, laughing his ass off. He laughed so hard that his sides hurt. Sakura glared at Naruto who was banging his fist on the ground.

"As flattered as I am, I will have to decline. I am focusing more on my growth as a kunoichi." Sakura said. The boy look sad but he quickly brightens up.

"I understand but I will not give up. You are perfect and I will protect you forever." Lee said excitedly, Sakura blushed at the praise while Naruto continued to laugh.

"Oh my god, stop it, you're killing me!" Naruto laughed. Sakura growled and kicked him in the gut. Lee then faced Sasuke.

"You are Uchiha Sasuke right? You are the Rookie of the Year of your class?" Lee asked.

"What's it to you?" Sasuke demanded.

"Please do battle with me. I would like to test the power of the Uchiha." Lee said with confidence. Sasuke gave Lee a cocky grin. Naruto stopped laughing and sat up with concern in his eyes.

"You know who I am and you still want to fight me? You must be as stupid as the dobe." Sasuke said before stepping forward. Naruto stood up to his feet.

"You sure that this is a good idea teme? Your ego is going to get bruised some more if you fight this guy." Naruto stated. Sasuke scoffed at Naruto and readied himself for a fight. Naruto sighed and made his way to the room. He didn't need to stay to know what was about to happen.

XXX

Sakura tried to help Sasuke but the blacked haired boy would just ignore her help. Sakura would just sigh and follow him. When they reached the room, they saw Kakashi and Naruto. The two were looking at each other and it looked like that Naruto had said something to him again. Kakashi turned his attention to his remaining students and saw that Sasuke looked a little beat up.

"So, I hear that you had a run in with the student of an acquaintance of mine." Kakashi said.

"More like his face met his fist." Naruto commented. Sasuke looked at Naruto with a glare. Sakura just sighed.

"Naruto, don't start. You could have told us that Sasuke was in trouble when he accepted that challenge." Sakura said.

"You know that he would not have listened to me. Besides, with all the private training he has been getting, I would think that the great Sharingan no Kakashi (Kakashi of the Sharingan) would have taught him to observe who he's fighting. To think, Sasuke was so arrogant to believe that he could have beaten a genin with a year's worth of training." Naruto stated.

"Perhaps you should have been a good teammate and stopped him before it got any farther." Kakashi countered.

"Maybe you should have been a good sensei and competent jōnin to realize that we aren't ready for the exams." Naruto returned right back.

"Then why are you here Naruto?" Kakashi said.

"I'm here to help Sakura. She shouldn't have to suffer because of you. If I happen to go up in rank, it's a win-win for me because I don't have to be under your command anymore." Naruto stated bluntly. Kakashi narrow his lone eye at the blatant disrespect. He ignored him and turned to the other two.

"Either way, I'm glad that all of you came because I would not allow you guys to pass beyond this point if one of you did not come. With all three of you here as a team, you can all enter and take the exam. I wish you all luck." He said. Naruto didn't say anything and walked toward the room followed by Sasuke and Sakura. They entered the room and the doors closed behind them. Kakashi looked at the door for a little while. He hoped that they did well and hoped that they could pull it together to pass. He was a little concerned about how Naruto would come into play for their chances to do well.

Kakashi was not a fool. He could understand why Naruto had such an issue with him. He admitted that he focused on Sasuke the most but it was because he was very concerned about him. Naruto had friends and comrades that he cared about in Konoha. Sasuke had none. He was someone who only cared about gaining power to kill his brother, Itachi. He wanted to give Sasuke a reason to stay in the village and to make roots in the village. He also believed that Naruto would form a bond with Sasuke, making them friendly rivals and they would push themselves to become greater shinobi. That plan backfired on him horribly.

Naruto did not respect, like or try to bond with Sasuke. He considered him and Sasuke nothing but thieves and hypocrites. He would go out of his way to insult the both of them and point on their mistakes without any restrain. It was a problem and it was one that had to be taken care of. He couldn't go to Anko as he believed that it was because of her that Naruto was like that. He also couldn't go to the Hokage who sided with Anko and told him to get his team in order. He did not want to be labeled as a bad sensei as several jōnin was questioning his teaching methods. He sighed and decided to go to the jōnin lounge. He just hoped that Naruto would not cause any trouble for the team.

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Authors' Notes: New chapter, new chapter. I considered having Naruto not take the exam but I decided to let it happen. It was a part of the original and I couldn't just change it. Anyway, I hope you enjoy it and review.