Chapter 26 – The Chunin Exams Arrive.

Sakura stomped through the village, angry as she had ever been. Those who saw her gave her a wide berth. She wanted to hit someone so bad and this time, it wasn't Naruto. Sakura had left her team's training ground and what Kakashi said to her.

***Flashback***

Sakura had just finished some laps. It was something she did willingly. That's when she walked up to Kakashi, who was reading his book. She saw that he saw her but it did not stop her. She opened her mouth only to be cut off by Kakashi.

"The answer is still no Sakura." He said, making her frown. A month ago, Sakura took Naruto's advice and went to speak with Iruka. Her former instructor was not kind when it came to telling her the truth. It depressed her somewhat. That's when Iruka picked her up. He said that she had the best chakra control of the class and she had very deceptive strength. Sakura blushed because of the punches she hit Naruto with. He recommended that she worked on her basics while focusing on genjutsu, taijutsu and the medical arts.

The next day, she expressed her wish to learn these things to Kakashi. He was quite proud and handed her two scrolls, one on genjutsu and another on first-aid. It didn't take her long to learn everything on the two scrolls. Sakura then asked to learn a jutsu or apply what she read. Kakashi told her to just keep reviewing those scrolls. Sakura didn't complain at first but she was starting to wonder if Kakashi did not want her to get stronger.

"Why not sensei? I understand the need to review but how can I show my improvement if you won't let me?" Sakura argued.

"Sakura, right now you are at the beginning stage of improving. You shouldn't rush things because it can lead to injures to you and those trying to help you. Trust me, I know that you are working hard. Just keep reviewing those scrolls and soon, we can move on to jutsu." Kakashi explained with an eye smile. Sakura looked at him for a while before frowning.

"You know, I use to think that Naruto was just being childish in his opinion of you. Now I see that he was right. You are a bad sensei." With that, Sakura turned and stormed off. She did not look back, missing the stunned look of Kakashi.

***Present***

Sakura continued her trek, still pissed and frustrated. So pissed, she did not see the person until she ran into them.

"Oh, I'm so sorry." Sakura said, her mood quickly changing. She looked to see that she ran into Konoha's new resident, Haku. The feminine, yet handsome, teen gave her a disarming smile.

"It's quite alright. You seem to be in deep thought. Is something wrong?" Haku asked. At first, Sakura was going to say that she was fine but then she thought about it. While a little intimidated due to the fact that they were enemies in the Wave Country, she needed to let out her frustrations. With a huff, she gave him a serious glance.

"Was Zabuza just as bad a sensei as mine?!" Sakura exclaimed. Haku blinked owlishly at the question.

XXX

Kurenai watched as her students were training. Shino was meditating while Kiba and Hinata sparred. Kurenai was very proud of her team and thought that their strength could only get higher. It was one of the reasons she stopped mothering them. It turned out to be a wise decision. She turned her attention to the sound of Kiba grunting. He was on the ground, groaning after he got dropped on his butt. She smiled at the downed boy.

"What have we learned today?" Kurenai asked.

"Just because I'm fast doesn't mean I'm unbeatable." Kiba said with a groan. Akamaru was chuckling at his master, earning him a dirty look. Hinata was concerned but a reassuring hand calmed her. That's when Kurenai heard the cry of a hawk. She looked up to see the bird circling. She turned her attention back to her team.

"Okay team, training is done for the day. You are all dismissed for the rest of the day. I will be busy and will not be in contact until tomorrow." Kurenai explained.

"Alright sensei." They all said. With that, Kurenai vanished.

XXX

Asuma also saw the hawk. He let out a stream of smoke.

"So, it's that time huh?" he said to himself. He turned his attention back to his team who were finishing a mission. He could hear the baker praise Choji.

"If you ever need some extra cash, you can work for me." The baker said.

"Thanks for that and thanks for the recipe." Choji said and joined his team. Asuma walked up to them and smirked at their state.

"You guys look like you had fun. Well, one of you did." Asuma joked as Ino was covered in flour. Shikamaru was as well but not as much. "Anyway, I'll report the success of the mission. You guys can get cleaned up." He used the Teleportation Jutsu to leave. Ino was the second to leave, not even saying good-bye. Choji noticed that this was a theme with her lately. He wondered if she was angry about something.

Shikamaru could care less about Ino's attitude. Since he told her what he thought about her, Ino had decided to ignore him and Choji. Choji tried to talk to her but she ignored him. Shikamaru thought that Ino was being childish and didn't care if she was angry. He told her the truth and if she couldn't handle it that was her problem. Shikamaru just turned and headed home after wishing Choji well.

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Kakashi arrived in the Hokage's office on time. Like every jonin, he also saw the hawk. He dismissed his team, who were starting to get what he was saying. Well, Naruto and Sakura were starting to get it. They started to work together a bit more than they usual would. Granted, the two worked together only due to the fact that they agreed that he was a bad sensei. Naruto did not stop cheering and mocking him for at least five minutes. He only wished that their coming together wasn't due to the disrespect that they showed him. Another thing that he noticed about Sakura was that she was steadily improving her skills. Her accuracy and her taijutsu were crisper than he remembered.

He put his thoughts in the back of his mind as the Hokage was taking nominations for the upcoming Chunin Selection Exams. It was a bi-annual exam that genin could take to become chunin. The Hidden Leaf Village was going to host it this time. Hiruzen had just finished taking three nominations. That's when Kurenai spoke up.

"I, Kurenai Yuhi, leader of team eight, hereby nominate my team for the Chunin Selection Exam." She said confidently.

"I, Asuma Sarutobi, leader of team ten, hereby nominate my team for the Chunin Selection Exam." He said non-chantlantly.

"I, Kakashi Hatake, leader of team seven, hereby nominate my team for the Chunin Selection Exam." He said lazily. It was his nomination that got a reaction.

"Lord Hokage, I must protest that nomination." A voice said. Everyone turned to see Iruka. Kakashi wasn't too concerned. He had a thought as to why he was against it and why he was signaled out.

"Are you talking about me or all of the rookie teams?" Kakashi asked in his usual aloof tone.

"I just mean you. While I have an issue with the rookies entering the exams, I trust jonin Kurenai and jonin Asuma decision more than I do yours." Iruka said with an annoyed tone.

"I don't know what Naruto has told you during your meetings but I am confident that my team will pull through. Or it will break them, which over comes first." Kakashi joked.

"You irresponsible bastard! Do you think that this is a joke?! I know for a fact that only Sasuke and Naruto are trained well enough to take these exams! Despite what Haku was able to do with Sakura in one week, she is not ready!" Iruka shouted at him. Kakashi's lone eye widen at that.

"What does Haku have to do with Sakura?" Kakashi asked confused.

"Did you really think that her recent improvement was because of the scrolls that you gave her? She can only learn so much from them. How can she know that she learned if she doesn't apply it? Haku has been helping her with that under my supervision." Iruka explained. This actually angered Kakashi.

"You and Haku had no right to do that." Kakashi argued with a hard tone.

"How can you claim any right when you have focused all your attention on Sasuke? Don't Sakura and Naruto deserve the same respect that you give him? Are you telling me that the great 'Copy Ninja' isn't skilled enough to train three genin, the man with over a thousand jutsu?" Iruka mocked. Kakashi did not enjoy being mocked by the instructor. He didn't like some of the looks that his fellow jonin was giving him. He was about to put this chunin in his place but Hiruzen interrupted.

"That's enough, both of you. While I understand your concern Iruka, it is their choice. If Kakashi wants his kunoichi to meet a terrible faith, that is his decision. Perhaps his new kunoichi will take up his time and he would respect her." Some of the jonin snickered at the jabs at Kakashi. The masked ninja just stood there and took it. "Either way, it is the decision of the genin if they want to participate. Hopefully, a sensible choice is made." Hiruzen said, looking dead at Kakashi.

The nominations continued but Kakashi was not listening. He was very annoyed and he needed to talk to some people. There were some things that needed to be said.

XXX

Naruto and Sakura watched as a teen in a black, baggy, full body suit with a red and yellow circle on the front, a black hood which covered his head completely and had cat-like ears and his forehead protector on his forehead. Held Konohamaru by the scruff of his shirt. The teen was about to hit him, something that Naruto was not about to allow. He rushed forward to help his friend. The teen smiled at that and wiggled his fingers with his free hand. However, this was not the Naruto of old.

Naruto vanished and reappeared in an instant behind the teen. The boy and the girl who was with him was surprised. Naruto launched a punch and the teen had to release Konohamaru to catch it. Naruto smirked before exploding into leaves. The teen was acting franticly, trying to get the leaves out of his view. When the whirlwind of leaves died down, he looked around to find both Naruto and Konohamaru gone. It was when he heard the little brat that he found the two back with the oink haired girl and his two friends.

The teenage girl couldn't help but be impressed with what she just saw. The blond haired girl, who had four ponytail, looked at the spiky haired Naruto. She did not know what he just did but she knew that it wasn't the Teleportation Jutsu. She knew of it and that was something else. On the plus side, her teammate was just made a fool of by someone he deemed useless. That's when she saw her teammate reach for the package on his back.

"Are you really going to use that?" she asked.

"That punk needs to be taught a lesson." He snarled. Naruto turned back to face him and got ready for a fight. That's when a voice came out of nowhere.

"That's enough Kankuro." The grave voice said. Everyone turned to where the voice came from, which was a tree that they were near. They saw Sasuke, who was just a shocked to find someone behind him. The young teen was wearing a black body suit with an open neck, t-shirt-like sleeves, and almost full-length leggings. He also wore a white cloth over his right shoulder and the left side of his hips. He had a wide leather band from his left shoulder to his right hip with which carried a sand gourd and around, which he had his forehead protector wrapped. "Do not embarrass us any more than you have."

"G-Gaara," Kankuro muttered in fear, something that was not lost on Naruto. He turned to look at Gaara who was also looked at him. Naruto flinched at the look he saw in his eyes. It was one of madness. Seeing the fear in the eyes of his teammates, he knew that this new character was dangerous. He also felt something familiar with him. Naruto did not like the situation that they found themselves in.

XXX

Haku looked over the children at the academy. He sighed when he did not find Konohamaru, Udon or Moegi among them. He would applaud the three for their escaping ability but he wished that they did not do it during his time watching. They were also going to miss the lesson that he was sure that they would enjoy. Well, it was their lost. He was about to get on with the lesson when someone appeared. Haku saw that it was Kakashi. He also saw that Kashi was not carrying himself with that same aloofness that he knew him for. In fact, he could see annoyance and a little anger in his lone eye. That's when Kakashi spoke.

"We need talk now." He ordered. Haku only steeled himself for what could happened.

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