The forest of death was a fun place to be in. Sakura had her fair memories of this place because Anko dragged her here a couple times. Surprisingly she has yet to come across a single team. She kept her chakra level hidden so no team would try to ambush her.
Knowing this was a bad time to try to do some minor training. Sakura channeled her earth chakra into her left hand. It still wasn't on the level of her other two affinities. But she had a much better grasp of it now. So she put her hand on the ground. Sakura closed her eyes and focused her chakra into the ground. She did not know what she was expecting to happen. But an interesting thing did occur.
She could feel chakra everywhere. Whether it was in the air or underground. The pinkette felt it and pried with it a bit more. A warm feeling was reaching her senses. That's when an small blue flame came into picture. Sakura could see everybody chakra signature in the forest. It didn't matter if they were on the ground or trees.
Eventually she stopped channeling her chakra. "Well that was interesting. I can sense chakra signatures by focusing my earth chakra through the ground. It almost felt like I was in tune with the earth itself. Hmm I'll have to figure out more about this later." The pinkette said to herself.
Sakura decided to hold off on finding her scroll for now. She would set up camp then get some rest.
Of course that meant setting up traps in case anybody tries anything.
The traps did not take long to set up. Thanks to the numerous of books she read. She learned about a few traps to set on enemies.
Sakura slept by a tree. It was only for a few hours. When she woke up, she looked to see no one had came to set off one of her traps which was disappointing to her.
She continued searching for the earth scroll she needed. Finally a team came into view. And they were from Iwa.
'Oh great now I have to deal with hateful idiots.' Sakura cursed herself.
Soon a four came to a halt. "Well look what we have here? A konoha girl all by herself." One iwa genin said.
"Heh you tree huggers are so foolish. Always acting as if you are better than everybody. If it wasn't for your blasted yondaime. My father would still be alive." Another iwa genin voiced.
"Ok how is that my problem? I wasn't even born when the third great shinobi war happened." Sakura questioned.
"It doesn't matter, you're still a konoha ninja. After we kill you, then we'll advance and find a way to kill the yondaime wife Kushina Uzumaki." The last one said.
Well that did it for Sakura. She actually started laughing. "You idiots think you could kill Kushina? HA that's a best laugh I heard all day. You can't even kill me! But humor me a bit. What kind of scroll do you guys have?"
"It's not like it's gonna matter since you're about to die but we have an earth scroll." One Iwa genin answered.
Soon after his answer, his head rolled off his shoulder. Sakura had her katana Shishio in her hands with blood at the top of it. She named it Shishio when Tenten told her a swordsman always has a name for their sword. Plus Shishio had some interesting qualities about it.
The two other Iwa genin were stunned at how quickly their teammate was killed.
"Y-you bitch! You killed him!" One screamed.
Sakura raised her eyebrow. "No shit, you idiots said you were going to kill me. In the world of the shinobi only the strong survive. And you fools made the mistake of insulting someone I hold dear." The pinkette voiced in a cold tone that sent shivers down the backs of the other two genin.
One of them tried to form so hand seals. But he was too slow as Sakura appeared in front of him with just pure speed. She slashed his throat while moving to the last genin. Unfortunately for him he was too stuck into place to protect himself. He was stabbed in the heart a second later.
Sakura flicked her blade so the blood would come off of it. She sheathed it back up. Then went to go check the corpses. She found a bingo book which is a surprise for genin to have. Along with two scrolls. One of them being the earth scroll she needed. Another one was a scroll with earth jutsu's from Iwa.
"Well this is definitely going to be useful." Sakura said to herself.
The pinkette took off towards the tower. Along the way, she sensed that foul chakra again. It was from that lady from kusa she found earlier. Only this time she was not suppressing it. So she decided to take a small detour.
'If I'm right then that girl had to be Orochimaru in disguise. It's the only explanation. Foul chakra with a heavier scent of snakes than Anko. Not to mention this chakra level is around kage level. It has to be him.' Sakura thought as she followed his chakra signature.
It took 20 minutes to find him. But she did, Orochimaru was tree hopping just like she was.
Sakura quickly threw a kunai at him to get his attention.
Ororchimaru dodged the kunai and turned around to see Sakura.
"Hmm whats a child like you doing pursuing me? Do you even know who I am girl?" Orochimaru asked as he directed his killing intent towards Sakura.
To his surprise, Sakura brushed off his intent then looked at him as if he insulted her.
"First off drop your intent. I've faced intent from Tsunade, Kushina and the fox himself. Do you really think your killing intent would faze me? Second of course I know who you are. You're the legendary S-class ninja Orochimaru who was known for his genius in intellect and ninjutsu. You were given the title sannin along with your former teammates by Hanzo the salamander. You are also known for your usage of the snake summons. Along with making the curse seals." Sakura spoke in admiration.
Orochimaru was expecting her to call him a traitor. "This is new, I was expecting you to call me a traitor and say I was sick in the head." The snake sannin voiced with interest.
Sakura just shrugged. "So what if you're a traitor. That doesn't mean I can't respect your capabilities. Honestly though if you would have never went rogue. You probably couldn't been the fifth hokage after Minato-sama died."
"You have a point, but I no longer care about this pathetic village. It will all be destroyed soon." Orochimaru said.
'So he is here for a reason.' Sakura thought.
"I assume you accomplished what you set out to do here?" Sakura asked.
'Hmm this girl is an odd one. She's showing absolutely no form of fear towards me. Like she's not worried about her well-being at all. Now she's asking if I accomplished what I set out to do? Definitely not your typical genin.' Orochimaru thought to himself.
"Yes for now at least." Orochimaru replied.
"Now what reason could a sannin have to infiltrate konoha just go under cover to participate in the chunin exams. The part of the exams where there will be the least amount of jounin or anbu around. Giving you a way to freely roam to find your target. Said target has to be someone special in order to get your attention. Otherwise you would have never made an appearance in the village. You would've just attacked us while we were unprepared. So either you're after a hyuuga or Sasuke. If I were you while the byakugan is a very useful asset to use. I highly doubt you have any interest in seeing long distances or peoples tenketsu's. So that would leave none other than Sasuke. Who has an unlocked sharingan. Along with the ability to copy almost every ninjutsu or actions. Can see their opponents moves before they make them. Cast high level genjutsu. And has the possibility of evolving into a mangekyo sharingan." Sakura deducted.
Orochimaru chucked in vast amusement. "Ku ku ku, you are quite the perceptive girl. To figure out my target without me even saying anything. Yes I gave Sasuke one of my beloved curse marks." He admitted.
Sakura nodded. "Why if I may ask?"
"I want Sasuke to become the perfect vessel for me. I need his eyes but his body isn't strong enough yet. So I gave him the curse seal of heaven to give him the power he desires. Once he tastes it, it will lead him to only wanting more." Orochimaru answered.
"Meaning it will lead him to coming to you." Sakura finished.
"Exactly then I'll groom him into being the perfect vessel." The snake sannin voiced.
"You know he won't just willingly let you take over his body. He'll probably only try to use you until he feels that he's learned enough from you." The pinkette said.
Orochimaru shrugged. "Possibly so, but I'll just have to get to him before he can make his move."
"Hm oh well not that I care about the uchiha. But you do know that if I see him trying to become a rogue ninja. I will stop him." Sakura spoke in a serious tone.
"That is expected of you. By the way are what clan are you from? It's rare to see someone as young as you speak so comfortably with me. Mind telling me your name?" Orochimaru asked.
Sakura smirked. "I'm not from any clan. I'm a civilian born child. My name is Sakura Haruno."
The snake sannin was wide eyed. 'A civilian born child with a chakra level as high as hers? She can't be no older than 15. Yet she's very smart and fearless. Hmm I should test her.'
"Interesting, well Sakura Haruno how about you face me in a bit of a spar?" Orochimaru offered.
Sakura kept her smirk. "It would be an honor to fight against another member of the legendary sannin."
Not even a second later, she appeared in front of the sannin and punched him. Orochimaru tried to block it but was shocked by the raw power behind it. He was sent through a couple trees.
The pinkette charged at his position. Orochimaru quickly got up to dodge Sakura's strikes.
'She has strength rivaled to Tsunade's!' Orochimaru thought.
The two engaged in a taijutsu battle. Orochimaru had the edge since he had more experience. But Sakura wasn't that far off behind. Fighting Orochimaru reminded her of fighting Tsunade and Kushina.
Orochimaru was really taken by surprised that Sakura was somehow keeping up with him. And her strikes were starting to hurt whenever she hit him at. So she gained some distances then sent a swarm of snakes towards her.
Sakura formed a half ram seal to send out a gust of wind from her mouth. The wind sliced through the snakes as if they were paper.
The snake sannin bit his thumb then summoned a huge brown snake. He thought Sakura might back off seeing his summon.
However Sakura had no intentions of backing down as she took off her shishio from its sheathe. She jumped in the air, channeled chakra through her blade. To cut straight through the snake like it was butter.
Orochimaru hopped off the snake as it dispelled. He took out his kusanagi sword from his mouth.
"Ew how do you keep that in there?" Sakura asked mildly disgusted and intrigued at the same time.
Orochimaru smirked. "You're the first person to ever ask me that. To answer your question, you can learn a lot by experimenting on yourself."
" I guess you can." Sakura replied as she charged straight towards the white snake.
The two blades clashed against each other. Sakura was ever so grateful that she learned kenjustu. Orochimaru was skilled with the kusanagi. But Sakura has faced better.
The snake sannin was able to land a cut on Sakura's arm. While Sakura was cut his waist. They went at it relentlessly. Sakura was having fun. She could feel her blood pulsing through her veins. A savage like grin was on her face the whole battle.
Orochimaru was truly amused by Sakura. He wasn't expecting to face someone of this level when he infiltrated the village. He had have the mind of placing a curse seal on her. But he decided against that. He wanted to see how far could she go.
Suddenly he pulled back. "My my you truly are a cut above the rest. You're definitely a prodigy like me, Itachi and Minato that's for sure. But I'm afraid I'll have to cut our fun short. I've already told this to Anko. But be sure to make sure that old man doesn't cancel the exams. He will regret it if he does."
"You're planning an invasion aren't you." Sakura figured.
"Maybe maybe not only time will tell. I'm looking forward to see you progress in the exams and in the shinobi world Sakura Haruno. I would have put a curse seal on you. But there is no need. We will meet again." Orochimaru started sinking into the ground.
"Oi you snake teme! You owe me a rematch since you're retreating now. I expect you to give me one the next time we meet." Sakura demanded.
"Ku ku ku, very well I look forward to our fight just as much as you do. Until next time Sakura Haruno." The snake sannin completely sunk into the ground.
Sakura couldn't sense his chakra signature anymore. "Damn it I wanted to keep fighting against him. He better not forget our rematch or I'm so coming for his ass!"
Then she sighed. "Looks like he was testing me, he could've beaten me if would have used his full strength. Then again I wasn't completely serious either. Still he probably would've came out on top still. He's a sannin for a reason." She said to herself.
The pinkette headed back into the tree. She healed the cut on her arm. During her trip to the tower. She sensed a few chakra signatures close by. A few of them were familiar.
'Shikamaru, Choji, Ino, Sasuke and Sai? Then there are three others who I don't recognize. Hmm well I guess it won't hurt to check it out.' Sakura thought as she headed their way.
It didn't take long for her to arrive. She saw Ino's team hiding. While Sasuke was unconscious and Sai was standing in front of 3 sound ninja. Then she picked up Tenten's team chakra signatures. She observed Lee about to face the one who looked like a mummy. But suddenly Lee fell on his knees holding his ear.
'Wait why is he holding his ear?' She thought then looked at the gauntlet that was on the mummy guy's arm. Sakura channeled chakra into her ears to listen to the conversation. However she instantly winced then grabbed her off ear as blood started coming out of it.
"So he's projecting vibrations through the ear drum that causes pain or disorientation. Not bad, not bad at all well guess I better go down there since nobody else is stepping up." Sakura said as she was healing her ear.
Once it was healed, she disappeared in a cherry blossom shunshin. When she appeared on the battlefield. Everyone who was there was surprised.
"Ugly?" Sai voiced in confusion.
Sakura punched Sai in the face instantly breaking his nose. Sai held in nose in pain.
"Is that how you greet someone who has come to help your sorry ass? Kami if you haven't noticed Sai. I'm far from being ugly. Now are these three giving you a harm time?" Sakura asked in an annoyed tone.
"Y-Yeah only because I'm low on chakra. We had to fi-" Sai was cut off.
"Fight Orochimaru yes I know. I just saw that bastard not too long ago. Look just stay out of my way. I'll heal your nose after I'm done with these three. Keep an eye out on Sasuke in case that seal on his starts acting up." Sakura told him.
Sai did as he was told. He did not want to have anything else broken by her.
"Oh look this chick thinks she can takes us on all by herself." Zaku cockily spike.
"Hm Kin you want to do it?" Dosu asked.
Kin smirked. "Please this will be easy." She replied confidently as she walked up towards Sakura.
"Prepare yourself pinky. You're going to regret this." Kin voiced.
Sakura couldn't believe that this girl was walking up to her. Just making her job that much easier. Sakura disappeared in a blur of speed. Kicking Kin right in the stomach. Sending her straight through a tree.
Everyone who was watching the fight was shocked by what just happened. Tenten was grinning as she and Neji made their appearance known. "Alright kick their ass Sakura!" She yelled.
Shikamaru was just shaking his head while Choji jaw was dropped.
Ino did not want to believe what she just saw. She was in complete denial of it all.
Neji was watching in interest.
Sai was really grateful he decided to not disobey Sakura.
Dosu and Zaku were shocked to core. Sakura on the other hand was already making her move towards Zaku.
Zaku panicked then jumped back to create some space. He shot his arms out and called out his ultimate technique Zankūkyokuka.
The attack reduced the area Sakura was last seen to dust.
"Ha I got her!" Zaku bragged.
Suddenly he was sent flying from a round house kick to the head. He landed head first into a nearby tree leaving him unconscious.
Dosu started panicking. "W-Wait please don't kill us. W-we were only sent here to kill Sasuke Uchiha!" He pleaded.
Sakura narrowed her eyes. "You were ordered by Orochimaru I assume?" She asked.
Dosu's went wide eyed. "H-How?"
"I just said earlier I ran into snake face before I got here. Now enough questions, you're not killing Sasuke today. It will be a pain in the ass if he died right now. As a matter of fact leave your scroll and get the fuck out of my face. Before I end you." Sakura spoke in icy tone.
That tone sent shivers down Dosu's spine as he left their scroll then went to go pick up Kin and Zaku. He left with them afterwards.
Sakura watched him like a hawk until she felt his chakra signature keep going further. "Alright the rest of you can come out now." She said.
Team 10 made themselves known. Joining the rest of the group.
"Troublesome you've become one troublesome woman Sakura." Shikamaru lazily voiced.
Sakura smirked. "Damn right I have."
"S-Sakura is that really you?" Ino asked.
The pinkette rolled her eyes. "Duh Ino I told you this already."
"What happened to you. How did you get so.." Ino trailed off.
Sakura smirked. "How did I get so badass while you're still taking being a shinobi as a game? Well lots and lots of training plus a little bit of luck. Sorry to disappoint but you haven't seen nothing yet. I'm just getting started. You will never be stronger than me again Ino. Cause I'm aiming for the top." She voiced with determination.
Ino was stunned into silence. The blonde couldn't believe how much her former rival/best friend has changed in only a matter of a few months.
"So wait did you really see Orochimaru?" Tenten asked curiously.
"Yep I saw snake face, got to know him a bit and all that stuff. For a traitor I won't lie that guy is interesting. He could've been the fifth hokage after the fourth died if he never went rogue on the village." Sakura admitted.
Some didn't know what to make of that. However something caught their attention. A dark chakra coming from behind them.
Sasuke was up, purple chakra was swirling around his body. He had black flame marking going across his body with his sharingan activated.
Sakura groaned. "Great, Sai! I told you to keep an eye on him!"
"Sorry but I wasn't expecting him to get up so quickly. He was still asleep while purple chakra started coming out of him." Sai said.
"And you thought it was such a great idea to not say something about it? Kami you're such an idiot." Sakura told him.
Sasuke felt power coursing through his body. He looked up to see both team 10 and Gai there. But his attention was quickly drawn to Sakura. He remembered how she disrespected him and his clan earlier.
"Sakura you bitch, you will pay for disrespecting my clan from earlier." Sasuke threatened.
Sakura scoffed. "Oh boo hoo you act like I'm the only one who has ever had similar thoughts about your cursed clan. You're only feeling all high and mighty because of a power boost from that hickey Orochimaru gave you."
Sasuke growled and charged at mid chunin speed towards the pinkette. To Sakura, he was moving slow. Another benefit from being trained by powerful shinobi.
When Sasuke got close, she easily dodged his attempt to hit her. She didn't even give him the chance to try to attempt his ninjutsu. All in one swift motion. Sakura grabbed the Uchiha's shirt then delivered an strong punch to his jaw shattering it. Next she delivered another punch to his nose. Breaking that as well. She let go of his shirt.
Sasuke backed up and grabbed both his jaw and nose. He was furious as how easily she caused him so much pain.
"Damn Sasuke just got his ass kicked like it was nothing." Shikamaru said.
"That's because Sakura is just that good. She's definitely up one of the strongest genin in the village." Tenten bragged about her friend.
Neji just kept his eyes on the fight. 'So Sakura huh? She may provide a challenge.' He thought to himself.
Lee was also watching the fight while still holding his ear. "Sakura-chan sure is strong."
Sakura was just looking at Sasuke with a bored expression. "Alright I'm bored time to say goodnight again Sasuke."
The pinkette disappeared in a shunshin quickly appeared behind Sasuke. She hit one of his pressure points in his neck to knock him out. He fell to the ground unconscious while the curse seal receded back into his neck.
"Ok now time to seal this thing." Sakura channeled chakra into his finger tips. Blue kanji appearing out of each finger tip.
"Five pronged seal!" She said as she slammed his fingers into Sasuke's seal. Sasuke's jumped feeling the seal being placed on his. But he was still unconscious. It only took a few seconds to apply the seal. "Alright well that's done. We won't have to worry about that now unless someone released the seal." Sakura voiced.
"Umm Sakura what did you do?" Choji asked.
"It's a high rank fuinjutsu seal that seals off his access to that power he just used to put it simply." She answered.
"Who taught you that?" Tenten wondered.
"I'd rather not share that information with everybody. Besides Tenten I'm sure you can figure out who did. I would appreciate if you kept it to yourself you know." Sakura said.
Tenten thought about it then facepalmed herself in realization. 'Duh of course Kushina-sama did. Who else would have?.' The brunette thought to herself. "Oh I got it." She replied.
"Good now I don't care whoever takes that earth scroll because I already have both of mine. Sai makes sure you get Sasuke to the tower. I'll see the rest of you later." Sakura disappeared in a cherry blossom shunshin.
The pinkette made her way to the tower. She knew only 3 days had passed so far. So she would have 2 days to rest at the tower.
It didn't take long to reach it since she didn't encounter any more genin. Once she went inside, she read the massage on the wall. Then opened the scrolls. She realized the scrolls were also summoning scrolls so she put them on the ground. The smoke revealed Kakashi Hatake.
"Oh great why me?" Sakura groaned.
Kakashi was also surprised. "Sakura? I don't remember giving you a form to participate in the exams? I haven't even seen you for a couple months." The copy ninja said.
"Because I've been busy Kakashi. I got permission from lord third to participate on my own. Now if you would please tell me the next part of the exam." I told him in a sharp tone.
Kakashi wanted to questioned her more. But he could tell he wasn't about to get any answers. "After the full five days. Another part of the test will be introduced. So just relax in the rooms available." He answered.
Sakura said nothing. She needed to speak with the hokage. Luckily he was inside the tower as well. So she disappeared in a shunshin to his location.
Kakashi was surprised by the cherry blossom shunshin. "Since when did she learn how to use shunshin? She should not have the reserves to do that. Let alone a personal one at that." He asked himself.
Sakura appeared in front of a door. She knocked on the door.
"Come in."
The pinkette opened the door then walked inside. She closed it then walked up a bit to present herself to the hokage.
Hiruzen was a bit thrown off to see Sakura in front of him. "Oh Sakura-Chan I see you finished this part of the exam. Good job but what brings you here?" He asked.
"Lord hokage I request your audience for some important information. I would prefer if it was just me and you here." Sakura spoke in a serious tone.
Sarutobi narrowed his eyes slightly. He looked over to the corner of the room then nodded. A second later his personal anbu guards were gone.
Sakura made sure the room was enforced with a silencing seal so no one can hear from the outside. She also double checked her senses to make sure no one was hiding in the room. Once everything was clear. The pinkette took a deep breath then looked the hokage straight in his eyes.
"Orochimaru has infiltrated the village if you hadn't already known. He's placed a curse seal on Sasuke Uchiha." Sakura told him.
Hiruzen's eyes widen slightly hearing this news. "Explain."
"During my training I learned how to sense chakra signatures pretty well. I was able to learn two things during these exams. First suna sent a jinchuuriki to participate in the exams. Second Orochimaru impersonated a genin from a kusa in order to participate in the second part of the exams. His target was Sasuke so he could mark him with his curse mark. He plans to use Sasuke thirst for power to draw Sasuke to him. Orochimaru wants the sharingan so he chose Sasuke as his next vessel apparently. I didn't encounter him until I caught him fleeing away. I talked to him to see what was he doing here. Luckily I just ended up figuring out his motive myself. Which he confirmed I was right. Then I fought against him for a bit." Sakura explained.
"You what! How could you be so foolish to fight alone with Orochimaru!" Hiruzen scolded in a sharp tone.
Sakura didn't flinch at his tone or his raised voice. "With all due respect lord hokage. A part of me respects Orochimaru before he became a traitor. In my opinion if he would've just stayed loyal. He probably could've been chosen as the fifth hokage once Minato-sama died sealing Kurama. But he let his emotions get in the way. Started doing weird things like human experimentations. Orochimaru is a highly intelligent individual. He could've done something greater with his talents than being ninjutsu obsessed." She responded.
Sarutobi was surprised by her response. He also noted how she didn't seem faze at all by his tone when he yelled at her. "You may be right about him probably being the fifth hokage. But it was still dangerous to take him in alone. You should've fled Sakura. You are only a genin."
Sakura had to stop herself from rolling her eyes at the man. "I understand lord hokage. However I wanted to learn his motive for being there. I was pretty confident in my ability to get away from him if he turned out to be way out of my league. I don't know if it's a good thing or bad thing. But I kinda caught his attention during our conversation and fight. He even said he wasn't going to place a curse mark on me because he wanted to see how far I could go in the shinobi world. But that stupid snake bastard decided to retreat while the fight was going good." She pouted at her last sentence.
At this point Hiruzen did not know what to make out this situation. 'For Orochimaru to be interested in this civilian girl. She must be something special. Genin don't fight Orochimaru and live to tell about it. Especially when said genin discovers his motive. Guess I'll have to see what young Sakura here in capable of. I don't know what Kushina did but this girl could be a prodigy of her class. I didn't even sense one lie from her words. So she's got to be telling the truth.' The old hokage thought to himself.
He sighed. "Very well what's done is done. I'll just have to have either Kakashi or Kushina seal it up."
"Yeah..I already did that. I placed a five prong seal on it to completely block his access to it." Sakura informed him.
That almost made fall out of his chair. "A genin knowing how to use such high level fuinjutsu? Prove it." He demanded.
The pinkette shrugged and did the seal with her left hand.
Hiruzen didn't say anything.
"Did I mention I believe he's plotting an invasion soon?" Sakura said innocently.
"Ok I give up already. Sakura thanks you for this information. I will mark it as an A-rank mission on your record. You will be fully compensated as well." Hiruzen told her.
Sakura beamed. "Great! Also don't cancel the exams. That was Orochimaru's warning to you."
"It's not like I could if I wanted to. If I did, it wouldn't sit right with the other villages who sent their genin to participate. Konoha would look weak to the other great nations." Hiruzen sighed.
"I thought about too. Also I think we should be wary of suna as well. Gaara is most likely an unstable jinchuuriki. Kurama told me that Shukaku likes to make his host insane by torturing them in their dreams if they try to sleep. I looked in Gaara's eyes the first day of the exam. I could see signs of insomnia. It's possible he can't sleep or Shukaku may try to take over." Sakura informed him.
"I see well then thank you for the information Sakura. I will be sure to inform the other jounin's of what has happened. You are dismissed." Hiruzen said.
Sakura bowed then disappeared in her cherry blossom shunshin.
Hiruzen sighed once again then rubbed the sides of his forehead. "This just brought on a shit load of more paperwork damn it!"
The pinkette decided to find her a room to stay in. Once she did, she placed her stuff in it. Then went to go take a shower.
After that was finished, she came back to her room. Took out one of her scrolls that had food in it. At 2 things of onigiri. Which resulted in her going to sleep for the rest of the day.
Sakura spent the entire next day looking to see what other teams made it so far. She saw that most of the rookie nine made it except for Sai and Sasuke. Tenten's team also made it. She spent time with Hinata and Tenten for awhile. Before she found a secluded place in the forest to train. It was near the tower so she wasn't too far away.
She decided she wanted to mess around with her earth chakra again.
The pinkette channeled her earth chakra and poured it into the ground again.
The feeling was similar to before. She could sense chakra signatures farther than what her normal range allowed her to. The more she concentrated. Sakura was able to feel the minerals and grains in the ground move. She sat in that position for hours. Trying to learn more about this ability. Eventually the earth began to mold into a shape out of the ground. However it took a lot of control to do this at the slow pace it was forming.
"Hmm let me try a jutsu to see if anything feels different." She figured.
She performed Earth Style: Mud Wall. The results were pleasing while it was a lot easier to perform than before.
"Woah, guess what i have been doing is some type of exercise for manipulating earth chakra. At least the moulding earth part. I'm not sure how can I sense chakra through the earth. But it is very useful. Hmm I sure hope Kushina is able to convince Lord Jiraya to let me sign the toad contract. In the books I read, it's said that summons are able to use senjutsu. So maybe the toads will have an idea of what's going on. I could always try to sense the nature energy in the air. But maybe after the next part of the exams. Right now I should see if my other earth ninjutsu's are easier to use." Sakura said to herself.
Before she went back to He room for the night. She caught Gaara looking outside at the moon.
The pinkette decided to walk up to him. Gaara felt her presence getting closer to his. So he spoke up. "What do you want?" He asked in a cold tone.
His tone didn't bother Sakura in the slightest. "Nothing much just decided to enjoy the view with you." She smiled.
Gaara didn't respond to her. He couldn't help but notice that he still did not feel the urge to kill her.
"So you are Gaara of the desert right?" Sakura asked.
"Yes I am." He replied in the same cold tone.
"Cool I'm Sakura Haruno. Do you mind if we be friends?" She questioned.
Gaara played the word 'friend' over in his head. "Friend? I don't have any friends?" He answered.
The pinkette tilted her head to the side. "What about your teammates you were with in the test room a few days ago?"
"Temari and Kankuro are my siblings. But they fear me." Gaara said.
"But why? Why would your own siblings be afraid of you?" Sakura wondered. She already knew that his teammates were scared. Their posture gave it away that they were nervous when they were standing next to Gaara. Add to the fact, that they always seem to glance at Gaara with some fear in their eyes.
"Because I am a killing machine. My purpose in life is to kill so my existence doesn't cease to exist. Every person who has come near me would come near me would look at me in fear. The children would run away from me. My sand is an automatic defense so it doesn't let people harm me. My father the kazekage sent assassins to kill me ever since I was 6 years old. My mother named me after the phrase self loving carnage. I was born to kill in this world." Gaara didn't know why he was telling her all of this. But he couldn't help himself.
Sakura was shocked by his story. Honestly it made a tear fall down her eye. Gaara saw her tear and was confused as to why was she crying for him.
"That's just terrible, I'm sorry that you had to go through that. I was told that the life of a jinchuuriki was unpleasant. I've even heard some stories from a teacher of mine. But hearing that you had assassination attempts on your life since you were six. By your own father is just fucking insane. Well Gaara if you don't have any friends. You definitely have one now. I will never let you feel alone again." Sakura told him.
Gaara was caught off guard by her answer. "But Gaara I think it's a purpose for you other than just killing. So what if you're a jinchuuriki? The person who taught me is a jinchuuriki herself and she turned out to be the greatest anbu captain ever in Konoha history." Sakura said.
"You mean Kushina Uzumaki?" Gaara asked.
Sakura nodded. "Yeah I'm real close with her. She's one of the craziest people I've ever met. But I love her to death. She's a jinchuuriki who became loved by her village."
Gaara thought about her words. 'Is there really a purpose for me other than killing?'
"Why do you fight Sakura Haruno?" Gaara asked.
"Just Sakura is fine. I fight to protect those who I hold dear to my heart. I lost my parents a few months ago. I couldn't save them from burning inside of our home. Because I was too weak and didn't know how to save them. I resolved after that to become strong enough to make sure I don't lose any precious to me again. That pain I felt was unbearable. However I know in the life of a shinobi. Death is sometimes unavoidable. But that's why I'm training so hard to make sure I can prevent that from happening if I'm around." Sakura answered him.
Gaara was quiet again. He didn't speak for a few minutes. "Prove it to me. I want you to show me the power to protect. I only know how to love myself. If you can prove to me that your way is a better way. Then I'll try to change my purpose in life."
Sakura perked up. "I'll definitely prove it to you. In fact I hope I get to fight against you at some point. I can tell you are really strong."
"I can say the same about you. The look in your eyes holds power in them. I am interested to see if you can really prove me wrong." Gaara replied.
"Alright so if you want. I can take a look at your seal for you. I also know someone else who could fix it who is better than me with seals." Sakura offered.
Gaara's eyes widened slightly. "You can?" He hesitantly asked.
Sakura nodded with a smile. "Definitely, I can tell you barely get any sleep. Shukaku must really torment you if you try to sleep."
"I'll think about your offer. It was...nice to meet you Sakura." Gaara voiced as he disappeared in a sand shunshin.
Sakura sighed. "So that's Gaara huh? Well he's not as bad as I thought he was going to be. I really hope I can change his mind about his purpose." She said to herself.
The next day was the day the second part of the exam ended. Now every team who made it is standing on a platform. The room they were in hand a spectators area above. It was a giant screen with some rock hands in front of it. The hands were forming a hand sign.
The third hokage was giving his introduction. He explained the meaning behind the exams then was later cut off by Hayate.
"Excuse me lord hokage. But I believe as proctor I should continue on from here." Hayate said.
"Very well Hayate, you may proceed." Hiruzen agreed.
Once Hayate was done explaining how the next part was a preliminary match up. The screen turned on, shuffling through names for the first fight.
Sasuke Uchiha vs Yoroi AkadÅ
Everyone who wasn't participating made their way up the stairs. When I made it up, I saw both Kushina and Tsunade were there looking at me with a knowing look.
"Uh oh." Sakura said.
"Uh oh is right you dummy." Kushina hit Sakura on top of her head.
"What the hell were you thinking going up against Orochimaru?!" Tsunade demanded.
Sakura sheepishly rubbed the back of her head. "Well I wanted to talk to the guy. It's a good thing I did to. I ended up helping out the village big time."
Kushina sighed. "Yes you did, but that still doesn't mean it was ok for you to chase after Orochimaru on your own. Now we have to worry about him being interested in you."
The pinkette shrugged. "I don't mind, besides snake face owes me a rematch anyways. He even agreed to it." She told them.
Both Kushina and Tsunade facepalmed themselves. Anko who was listening to the conversation didn't know what to make out it all. Sakura willingly wants to fight Orochimaru. She didn't know whether to be proud or scared.
"Well at least you did good in sealing Sasuke's curse mark." Kushina acknowledged.
Sakura beamed. "Yep its all thanks to you Kushina-sama."
Kushina didn't like being called sama by Sakura at all. It just felt too weird. But it was necessary for right now. "I didn't do much. I just helped you out if you had any questions. You mainly achieved that on your own Sakura." Kushina said.
"She's right Sakura, you got this far with your own hard work and dedication. I can't wait to see how you perform in your match." Tsunade added.
Sakura blushed at their praise. It always meant a lot to her when those two acknowledged her strength. "Thanks im gonna go over to Hinata and Tenten now." She walked over to her friends.
Tsunade sighed. "Just what are we going to do with her. To fight Orochimaru one and one as a genin. To be able to live to tell about it is mind boggling."
"Hehe it just means that Sakura is taking after me. You know how reckless she can be sometimes. But I am proud of her either way." Kushina smiled.
Tsunade couldn't help but smile herself. "Yeah yeah I am too."
Sakura stood next to Hinata. "Yo Hinata, are you excited for your fight?"
"Eh not really, you know I'm the fighting type Sakura." Hinata replied.
"You can still kick ass when you're are serious though." Sakura said.
"I agree with that." Kiba voiced.
Shino nodded in agreement.
Hinata just blushed. "Y-you guys are embarrassing me." She whined.
Sakura laughed at her. Then she noticed Sasuke just won his fight. Yoroi was taken away by the medics. When Sasuke made his way up, he shot Sakura an angry glare.
Zaku Abumi vs Shino Aburame
"Is there a problem Sasuke?" She asked.
He walked up to Sakura with his sharingan activated. All of the higher ranking ninja were watching to see what would happen.
"Yeah you're my problem. You got involved with something you shouldn't have." He said.
Sakura rolled her eyes. "What's you're mad I sealed away you're little power up? It still wouldn't help you beat me so suck it up already." She told him.
He pointed his finger in her face. "Learn your place! You're nothing but a clan-less orphan. You should be groveling at my feet. That's what your whore of a mother used to do when she was still alive. It was probably the only thing she was useful for. Considering you were probably a mistake." Sasuke spat out venomously.
That particular comment pissed off quite a few people. The jounin had their eyes narrowed at Sasuke except for Kakashi. Tsunade and Kushina were using all of their will power to restrain themselves from ending Sasuke's existence. Ino was shocked at hearing about Sakura's parents. Hinata had her byakugan activated, looking at Sasuke with anger. Tenten had a kunai in her hand ready to send it straight to Sasuke's head.
All Sakura did was look at him with a bored expression. "If thought that would make me start crying then think about Uchiha." She then grabbed his finger. Crushed it in her hand, snapping it in multiple areas.
Sasuke gasped in pain. He snatched away his hand.
"Sakura! That's not how you treat your teammate. I am very disappointed in you!" Kakashi scolded her in anger.
That made the other jounins in the room look at Kakashi as if he had two heads.
Sakura just scoffed. "As if I give a flying fuck! About your opinion of me. You go straight to hell for all that I care Hatake. Go fuck your precious Uchiha in the ass while your at it."
That had Kiba, Anko, Tsunade, Kushina, Choji, Shikamaru, Tenten and Hinata all laughing. Even Asuma and Hiruzen were chuckling.
Kakashi just disappeared with Sasuke in a shunshin.
"How unyouthful of Kakashi." Gai said.
"Seriously did he not hear what Sasuke said to Sakura? He must really favor that Uchiha over his other students." Kurenai voiced.
"Sorry to break it to you Kurenai-sensei. But he's no longer my sensei. He hasn't been for two months now. He neglected me purposely for the first few months on team 7. But I found some other people to teach me." Sakura informed her.
"I see, good for you then." Kurenai said.
Shino won his fight by making Zaku implode his arms with chakra by plugging the holes in his hands with bugs.
Ino Yamanaka vs Choji Akimichi - Winnner: Choji
Kankuro vs Misumi Tsurugi - Winner: Kankuro
Tenten vs Temari - Winner: Temari
Shikamaru Nara vs Kin Tsuchi - Winner: Shikamaru
Kiba Inuzuka vs Sai - Winner: Sai
Hinata Hyuga vs Neji Hyuga
The fight started off pretty evenly. Hinata was able to match up to Neji.
Neji was surprised by how long Hinata was holding out. Eventually 10 mins had passed, Neji hand landed more hits on Hinata. He even gave her a hard strike to her chest.
Sakura was watching the fight becoming more pissed off by the second.
Then she heard Hinata say that Neji is the one who is in pain. Neji was berating Hinata for being weak. But Hinata kept talking. It caused the older Hyuga to snap as he charged towards Hinata.
All of the jounin were about to move in to restrain him. However it was no need as Sakura appeared in front Neji then gave him a hard punch to his nose. The brunet Hyuga fell onto the ground holding his nose in pain.
"Y-You broke my nose!" Neji yelled in anger.
"The match was over. You were trying to kill my friend. I don't care what your issues are. That doesn't give you the right to try to kill Hinata. You must be stupid if you think you would've gotten away with it. Don't be foolish Neji. You are a branch member of the Hyuga. The main branch would have killed you if you killed Hinata." Sakura told him.
Neji lost his anger hearing her words. He said nothing as he got up to walk back into the spectators area.
Sakura turned around to go check on Hinata. Hinata was on the ground breathing heavy. The pinkette perform the diagnostic jutsu.
'Hmm her injuries are severe but not life threatening. Good thing he didn't put more force into the strike on her chest. Otherwise Hinata would have been in cardiac arrest.' She thought as she began healing Hinata.
Those above were watching in interest. "She's a med nin?" Asuma said out loud.
"Seems like it, I'm grateful that she's helping Hinata." Kurenai voiced.
"Actually she's not a med nin." Anko spoke up.
"She's not?" Kurenai asked.
"Nope, the brat is more than a simple med nin. But I don't wanna spoil anymore. You'll see what I mean when she fights." Anko answered.
Asuma and Kurenai were confused by her words. While Gai was intrigued. He couldn't figure out what is was about Sakura that was sticking out to him.
Tsunade was watching Sakura heal Hinata with a proud smirk.
Hinata was eventually fully healed. "Thank you Sakura." The blunette said.
The pinkette waved her off and led her back to the spectators area. "Don't worry about it. What kind of friend would I be if I didn't heal you after that?" She voiced.
Gaara vs Dosu
That match ended quickly and brutally. Dosu was trying to bait Gaara but he was quickly silenced by the sand that encased him into a cocoon.
"You're in my way." Gaara said in a cold tone then sent shivers down some of the gennin's neck.
He closed his palm, which ended up resulting in Dosu being crushed. Blood splattered onto the ground.
"W-Winner Gaara" Hayate announced.
Sakura sighed, she knew it was going to be tough trying to convince Gaara to change his path in life. However she didn't get much time to wander as the blood was quickly washed away and her name appeared on the screen.
Sakura Haruno vs Rock Lee
"Of course Sakura's match would be last." Kushina said with a small smile.
"Well save the best for last I guess." Tsunade added.
Alright Lee go give it everything you got! Your opponent is a youthful one. So make sure your youthfulness burns brighter than the sun itself!" Gai yelled.
"Hai Gai-sensei!" Lee has fire burning in his eyes. As he made his way to the platform.
Sakura was shaking. Tenten and Hinata were concerned.
Kushina had an raised eyebrow but quickly formed a smirk.
"Are you ok Sakura?" Tenten asked.
Sakura didn't say anything until a few seconds later. She pumped both of her arms into the air. "Yosha! I get to fight a strong opponent! Kami-sama herself has once again blessed my undeserving soul! I'll make sure to give her a show!" She yelled out as he eyes were brimming with excitement. A smirk appeared on her face letting everyone who saw her know that she was ready.
She jumped over the ledge and landed on the ground. She made eye contact with Lee while keeping her smirk.
"I am glad you think highly of my skills Sakura-chan." Lee said.
"Before we start, don't you dare think I didn't notice you bastard!" Sakura yelled.
Lee had a confused look on his face. "Come again?"
"You're using weights you dumbass! Don't you dare think of holding back against me. Cause I sure as hell won't hold back against you. It's disrespectful to me Lee as a shinobi if you hold back against me because I'm a girl." Sakura told him.
"Oh! I would never disrespect you like that Sakura-chan! I am quite surprised you noticed them to be honest. But as you wish I will not hold back against you." Lee told her as he took off his weights. He held them in the air then dropped them. Causing the ground to crack from how much weight he had.
Sakura was impressed. "Damn well guess I have to not use my gravity seal. I wanna see who is faster between me and you." The pinkette lifted her shirt showing her toned stomach. Making all of the male genin except Gaara and Shino blush. She bit her thumb, drawing blood from it. Sakura swiped her finger on the seal on her stomach. She had two but her chakra expansion seal isn't visible unless she makes it visible.
She made a half ram sign which made the seal glow blue. The glow only lasted a few seconds. "Ok all done." She said.
Sakura didn't release all the restrictions of her gravity seal. Normally her seal was up to level 6. She didn't adjust it in her fight with Orochimaru because Orochimaru wasn't using his full speed when they fought. So now she's on level 3. Sakura didn't want to be a hypocrite and hold back against Lee. But she wanted to test his speed. If he proved to be faster than her current speed then she will release her full speed.
Lee and Sakura both got into their respective stances. Gai was watching this fight like a hawk. He didn't want to miss anything. Same could be said for everybody else. Everyone besides Kushina and Tsunade were wondering just how strong Sakura is.
When the match started, both Lee and Sakura threw shuriken at one another. When their weapons collided. Both charged at each other in blurring speed. Lee threw the fist punch which was dodge by Sakura. Who in turn tried to deliver a sweeping kick to Lee.
Lee jumped in the air, he spun to give add force to the kick he aimed at Sakura. To his surprise, Sakura blocked it with her forearm. He quickly backed up to gain some distance.
Sakura however wasn't about to let him get away. She ran straight at him at high chunin speed. The pinkette started attacking her with her taijutsu style.
Lee engaged her, he would not back down from a fight involving his specialty. The two were fighting head on. Sakura throwing punches at Lee. The bowl cut genin doing his best to block her attacks. His arms were starting to sting from the force behind her attack.
Suddenly he disappeared in a blur of speed to get behind her. Sakura was caught off guard. Unfortunately that led to her taking a roundhouse kick to face.
She staggered for a second before immediately realizing that Lee was circling around her in pure speed.
Most of the spectators were amused by what was happening.
"Hey Gai wasn't your student dead last in the academy when he graduated?" Asuma asked.
"That's right Asuma." Gai answered.
"Damn you sure trained him hard." Asuma replied.
"Why are they only using taijutsu though?" Kurenai wondered.
"That's because Lee can't use ninjutsu or genjutsu. So his specialty is taijutsu. Sakura on the other hand I don't really know myself. I have to admit so far she's showing to be a remarkable ninja. She's keeping up with Lee's speed. I can tell her hits are hurting Lee more than Lee's is hurting hers." Gai responded.
Asuma whistled. "That girl is something else."
Kushina was smirking at the battle. Sakura was doing well so far. She had no doubt that Sakura was going to win this. But a tiny part of her wondered if Gai was crazy enough to teach Lee the 8 inner gates.
Little did she know, Tsunade was having similar thoughts. She was somewhat worried because she didn't know if Sakura could handle that yet.
Lee decided to make his move. He appeared in front of Sakura to deliver a kick to Sakura's chin. She was thrown in the air. Lee kept kicking her higher and higher in the air. His bandages started unraveling from his wrist.
Gai started silently praying. 'To think he would have to use this. You've got to finish this here and now Lee. The lotus puts an enormous strain on the body.
Lee felt the pain in his body for a brief second causing him to close his eyes. Sakura capitalized on that second.
The bandages wrapped around her body. With Lee taking hold of her, spinning head first into the ground. He quickly moved out of the way once he was close enough. Letting Sakura slam head first into the ground.
An explosion of dust flew into the air as the ground cracked. When the dust cleared it revealed a fatigued Lee who was on the ground trying to catch his breath.
Sakura was on the ground not moving a muscle. Kushina and Tsunade were a bit worried. Almost everyone assumed the match was over. Until Sakura's body exploded. Catching Lee by surprised. He was forced to move his strained body to avoid most of the blast. In the end he ended up getting some burns. But nothing too severe.
"Wow Lee I gotta admit that would've definitely hurt if I taken that head on. Although it wouldn't have been enough to keep me down. Still would've hurt like a bitch." Sakura voiced was heated.
Everyone looked up to see the pinkette levitating in the air as it was an every day thing. Sakura has her arms crossed with a small smile on her face.
This particular action surprised mostly everybody by surprise. Kushina and Tsunade were just glad that she didn't get caught in the rest of that attack. Sakura flying was new to them, Anko or Ibiki. However everyone else had was different.
"S-She can fly?" Kurenai asked.
"Apparently so." Gai said in an amused tone.
"Woah forehead can fly." Ino was amazed.
"Like I said, she's a troublesome woman." Shikamaru said.
Hinata and Tenten were also shocked. Sakura never told them that she could fly.
"Did you know she could do this?" Tenten asked.
"No this is my first time seeing this." Hinata answered.
Tenten rolled her eyes. "Jerk could've at least told us."
Hinata giggled. "You know Sakura, always full of surprises. I doubt this is the only thing she hasn't shown us."
"You're probably right about that." Tenten mused.
"Well I'll be damned. Pinky can fly." Kankuro voiced.
"That is impressive." Temari admitted.
Neji and Shino didn't say nothing. They just kept watching to see what would happen.
Gaara also didn't say anything. He was becoming more curious about Sakura.
'Well I can understand why Orochimaru is interested in her now. She may be the prodigy of the decade.' The hokage thought.
Asuma was amazed. "She's using wind chakra..." he muttered.
Gai and Kurenai snapped their heads at him.
"How could she have such control over her element as such a young age. Her chakra control must be incredible." Kurenai said.
"I agree, her reserves also must be much larger than I originally assumed. To be able to do such a thing must be require a decent amount of chakra." Gai assumed.
Lee was just staring in awe. Sakura brought herself down to the ground smirking at Lee.
"Y-You can fly?!" Lee asked.
"Yep I learned it about a month ago. But that's not important. Right now we have a fight to continue. Oi proctor-san are solider pills against the rules?" Sakura asked.
"No they are not. They can be considered as a weapon for shinobi." Hayate answered.
"Good." Sakura then reached into her pouch to take out a small pill bottle. She took out a solider pill then tossed it to Lee, who in turn caught it. "Eat that it's a solider pill, it'll give you some energy." The pinkette nonchalantly told him.
"You're giving your opponent a solider pill? But why? Why not take clear advantage that you have?" Lee asked confused.
Sakura put a hand of her hip. "Because I want a good fight. Yes I know it's not something a chunin would do. To be honest I don't give a damn. Some stupid ass rank isn't going to stop me from making myself known to the world. Other villagers will learn to fear the name Sakura Haruno." She finished with a confident smirk.
Lee was once again in awe of Sakura. "You truly are a remarkable shinobi Sakura-Chan." He felt his stamina return once he ate the pill.
"Such a youthful shinobi she is." Gai said.
"She had a clear advantage. That wasn't a smart idea." Kakashi noted.
"Maybe not but it still shows her character." Gai retorted.
Lee and Sakura went at it again. Fist meeting blow for blow, kick for kick. Lee sent a kick to Sakura's head which she countered with her own. Both of their legs collided causing a mini shockwave from the impact.
They were in a stalemate. Neither could land the crushing blow. Until Sakura caught Lee with a right hook to the jaw. Causing the bowl cut genin to gain some distance.
Lee was slightly out of breath. He had never faced an opponent as strong as Sakura before. Normally he was used to being the stronger one of his opponents.
"Sakura-chan what taijutsu style do you use?" Lee asked.
"It's not a particular style, it's more of a mixture of how I learned how to fight. Like a brawler if you will but I added some moves I read from taijutsu scrolls." Sakura answered.
"How long have you been training?" Lee wondered.
"A few months, I was nothing but a weak shinobi who could barely beat an academy student just a few months ago. But I was told I had an unnatural growth rate. Also can adapted fairly quickly." Sakura shrugged.
"I see, well Sakura I'm here to tell you that from here on out I'm going all out. The leaf village's lotus blooms twice." Lee said.
Sakura raised an eyebrow. 'Where have I heard that term before? Hmm oh shit no way!' She internally gasped.
"You can use the 8 inner gates?!" Sakura freaked out.
Lee smirked. "I'm surprised you picked that up so quickly.
Up in the stands, the spectators were truly entertained by this match.
"Gai you didn't seriously teach that boy how to unlock the 8 inner gates did you?" Kakashi questioned.
"Yes I did Kakashi because unlike you I want my students to succeed the best way possible." Gai said.
Kakashi narrowed his eyes. Tsunade and Kushina were now worried.
"Damn it why does this brat have to know the 8 inner gates?" Tsunade groaned.
"Who knows? But I'm still putting my faith in Sakura. The hell with the gates, she will come out of this on top somehow." Kushina tried to reassure Tsunade along with herself.
"Why do I feel like they are about to become more troublesome." Shikamaru said lazily.
"Probably because they are." Asuma replied.
Lee's arms formed an 'X' in front of his face. An energy started to engulf his body in a pillar. Causing pieces of the ground to crack and rise in the air. Chakra started to come out of his body. As his skin was turning red. His black pupils were gone. Veins coming out of his forehead.
Sakura had to hand it to Lee. He was definitely one for surprises. She was glad she gave him that solider pill. Now the pinkette was about to really enjoy the thrill of battle. As she felt a smirk come onto her face. With her blood boiling from the excitement. "To think you really know how to use the 8 inner gates is nothing short of amazing Lee." Sakura admired.
"I want to say this match is over. But Sakura doesn't look worried in the slightest." Gai said to himself. He didn't know what the pinkette had in store.
Hinata looked over to Tenten. "Any ideas on how she can win?" She asked.
Tenten shook her head. "Nope not the slightest of clues."
'To think Lee had such strength this whole time.' Neji thought to himself.
"Well I guess I can't hold back anymore either. I really didn't want to use this here. It's not complete. I also don't want to win using ninjutsu or genjutsu. This was the ultimate test of my taijutsu. I truly thank you for that Lee." Sakura informed him.
'Great just great, now I have to reveal this. I was hoping to save it to show it off later. Kushina and Tsunade are gonna be all up my ass on why didn't I show them this.' She mentally groaned.
Sakura closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She was focusing her chakra into a single point in her stomach. During her training, Sakura was able to discover an interesting ability on accident while she was meditating.
With Kurama's purified chakra being well mixed in with her body. It allowed her to do some interesting things. Things that she normally would've never thought someone like her could actually do.
She clenched her fist. "Haaaaaaaa!"
Chakra started to produce wildly from her body. The chakra she was building up in her stomach was the key to releasing her power. Sakura no longer have any restrictions holding her back.
The energy she was releasing was forcing people to look away from the wind she was generating. An blue greenish aura started to surround her form. Veins started popping out of her forehead. Her long pink hair was rising in the air. Sakura's eyes were glowing a brighter version of her normal emerald eyes.
The ground was cracking in multiple areas. It was truly astonishing to see just how much energy she was putting out. The pinkette's muscles also bulked up a bit. With the aura surrounded her completely. Sakura gave out one last battle cry.
"CCCHHHHAAA!"
An explosion happened after that. Once the dust cleared, most of the spectators were baffled at what they were seeing.
Sakura was encased in a blue-green aura. It was a sparkling aura with mini streaks of electricity going through it. The reason why Sakura calls this form incomplete is because she knows it can be taken up a level. And she wasn't all the way used to fighting with it yet. Her hair was flowing through the wind she was causing. The pinkette's glowing emerald eyes were narrowed at Lee. But she was smirking at him.
Lee was yet again in awe of his opponent. He definitely wasn't the only one.
All of the spectators were shocked by this development. Asuma cigarette was on the ground. Kurenai was amazed. Kakashi didn't know what to make of it. Gai was absolutely worried for Lee.
The genin were shocked to the core. None of them ever witnessing anything like this.
Gaara was fully invested into Sakura now. He never assumed for her to be this strong.
Kushina and Tsunade were surprised as well as the others.
"Did you know she could do this?" Tsunade asked.
"No I didn't and I'm definitely kicking her ass for hiding something so cool from me!" Kushina voiced.
"Definitely the prodigy of the decade. Sakura Haruno is truly an unique shinobi." Hiruzen commented.
Lee decided to quickly open the 4th gate before Sakura attacked. Once he did that he charged at her with a level of speed only the elite shinobi could follow. Kakashi, Gai, Hiruzen, Kushina and Tsunade.
Sakura met him half way as the two began their clash of taijutsu. Lee bounced from wall to wall. While Sakura was flying in the air. Lee kept throwing fast punch after punch. But Sakura countered them every time with ease.
Eventually she got tired of playing defense so she started attacking Lee without holding back much of her strength. She delivered a bone crushing punch to his ribs. Shattering 2 of them. Then she kicked him in the back sending him straight to the ground like a bullet.
Lee felt the pain of her hits and threw up some blood. He quickly got up to continue his attack.
Sakura blocked every single strike he aimed at her. Lee was amazed at how outclassed he was.
The pinkette dodged another one of his attacks to knee him in the stomach. Then gave a strong chop to his back. Lee disappeared in blinding speeds to kick Sakura in her stomach. He sent her to the wall. Making her go right through it.
However Sakura quickly recovered get him back. The two continued their high speed taijutsu bout in mid air. Lee was bouncing all over the place. Sakura knew it was only a matter of time before she ran out of steam.
The same could be said for Lee as he delivered a shattering punch to her stomach. He had his bandage wrapped around her waist so he could pull her back towards him.
He released the fifth gate in doing so. Sakura didn't intend on letting him finish her off like this. So when Lee pulled her back up. She maneuvered herself around Lee. This caught Lee by surprise as he quickly turned around. But it was too late.
Sakura had charged her chakra into her right fist. The look she was giving Lee let him know that this was the end.
"SSSSSHHHHHAAAAANNNNNAAAARRRRROOOOO!" She roared as she delivered an ground breaking attack to Lee's stomach. Sending him straight to the ground. Creating a huge dust storm.
Everyone covered their eyes until the dust was cleared. When the look to see the results. They saw an unconscious Lee in a huge hole in the ground.
"D-Damn that was intense." Kiba croaked.
"Arf!" Akamaru barked in agreement.
"It would do well for you to never get on her bad side Kiba." Shino told him.
"H-Hey I'm not an idiot you don't have to tell me. I like being alive. So of course I'm gonna try to stay on her good side." Kiba retorted.
"So where's forehead?" Ino asked.
The spectators looked in the air to see Sakura still levitating in the air with her aura surrounding her.
Sakura was breathing a bit heavy. She lowered herself to the ground. When she looked at Lee and saw he was down for the count. Then she looked up at the audience to see most of them had their jaws dropped.
She smirked as she ran her left hand through her hair. While her right hand was on her hip.
Hayate coughed. "Winner Sakura Haruno."
Sakura proudly raised her left fist in the air with the biggest smirk of her face. "YOSHA!" She cried out in joy with excitement still laced into her voice. The aura around her disappeared.
No one but Kushina and Tsunade were clapping for her. Everyone else was just too stunned at what just happened. Not that Sakura minded as she went to go heal Lee.
When she started healing him. She went over his injuries. "Broken collar bone, 4 ribs shattered, torn muscles and just pure exhaustion to top it all off. You really pushed my taijutsu to the test Lee."
Gai appeared next to her. Sakura smiled at him. "Gai-sensei!"
The bushy brow jounin was surprised by her excitement. "Hello there Sakura, thank you for healing my student and also giving him the best fight he's ever had." Gai said.
Sakura waved him off. "Don't worry about it, I'm glad I was able to fight a strong opponent like him. But do you think you could teach me about the 8 inner gates one day?" Sakura asked.
Gai went wide eyed hearing her question. "I'm afraid not, the 8 inner gates are a dangerous move. It's only to be used as a last resort." He informed her.
"I'm not asking you to teach me how to perform it. I'm asking you to teach me about it. It will be real helpful to my incomplete form you just witness me use." Sakura corrected him.
Gai thought about her words. "Hmm fine, come find me one of these days and I'll teach you about it Sakura." He agreed.
Sakura beamed at him. "Thank you Gai-sensei."
It didn't take long for her to finish healing his broken and shattered bones. "Alright he's for the most part healed. He's just exhausted, he will most likely feel very sore from the strain he put on his body. Also he should give his ribs more time to naturally heal before he starts overworking himself." Sakura said.
Gai picked up Lee. He carried him on his shoulder. "Thank you once again Sakura." Gai said with respect in his voice. He went to go take Lee to the infirmary.
"That concludes the preliminary rounds. Those of you who have won your matches. Please come down here for further details. The rest of you are free to go." Hayate said.
The finalist came down to the platform. The hokage congratulated them and informed them that the finals will take place a month from now. Because the daimyos and other important people have to make their way here. They were told to pick a number from a box to determine the finals match up.
Neji Hyuga vs Sasuke Uchiha
Shino Aburame vs Kankuro
Choji Akimichi vs Sai
Temari vs Shikamaru Nara
Sakura Haruno vs Gaara
Sakura and Gaara made eye contact with each other. Neither one of them backing down.
"I can't believe we actually get to fight each other in the finals Gaara! I'm so looking forward to it!" Sakura said excitingly.
Gaara didn't know how to exactly react. "I am also looking forward to it. You have shown me that you are indeed strong Sakura."
Sakura blushed a bit. She decided to give Gaara a kiss on the cheek. Which made the red head go wide eyed. Temari and Kankuro thought Sakura had a death wish.
They assumed Gaara was about to kill her. But was shocked when he just stood there.
Gaara touched his cheek. "Why did you do that?" He asked with confusion mixed with his cold tone.
"Because I wanted to that's why. Also make sure you give me a good fight." Sakura leaned into his ear. "Because in definitely going to not disappoint and fixed that seal of yours." She whispered to him.
Gaara was surprised that she was still willing to fix his seal. "Very well then Sakura." He replied.
Sakura winked at him then disappeared in a cherry blossom shunshin.