Harbinger

by tigerowl

Naruto's friendship with his teammates Gaara and Haku is put to the test as they prepare to deal with the threat of the Akatsuki. The secrets Jiraiya has kept come to a head, and Naruto must shoulder the responsibility of protecting much more than the Leaf Village. Continuation of Forlorn. AU NaruHina, GaaSaku, NejiTen, ObiRin, OCs *Taoism, Self-Indulgent World Building, longfic

47. Lucky Seven

Note: Holy smokes I did not realize at the last post that this story crept over 1,000,000 words.

Chapter 47- Lucky Seven

Chapter Soundtrack: "Over the Hills and Far Away" by Led Zeppelin

In the morning, Naruto woke to a quiet house. He discovered a note from Gaara on the kitchen table:

Eat. I had to get up early to coordinate with Exam proctors. Report to the village gate by 8:00AM and take your number tag with you. You will see me later. — Gaara

"Hmm." Naruto lifted up a lanyard with the number seven on its plastic tag, "I guess this is how I'm going to get matched with teammates today…"

He riffled around cabinets and the refrigerator to whip up a half-decent bowl of ramen garnished with vegetables. Naruto ate sleepily, cleaned up, and then dressed in his room, snapping weapon clips on beneath his red sage cloak. He tied his Leaf headband with pride.

'Ero-sensei left in a hurry yesterday with the Sand squad Gaara put together…and I think Gaara and his sister still can't believe what that message said…' Naruto remembered they had looked stupefied for the entire day, though they had agreed not to repeat the secret they'd learned.

There seemed to be a buzz around the Sand Village as Naruto zipped over rooftops, watching villagers scurry below. Store fronts opened in the dim light, tents were raised up in rows to prepare for market sales…no Academy-age or younger children to be seen. 'It's still too early…'

It was a rather nice place, Naruto thought to himself. Sunagakure had a sensible layout of streets, tucked in the sheltering cliff of a plateau for defense and shade. He noticed that many of the buildings were older than those found in the Leaf Village. Fewer internal attacks and ambushes had likely spared the city's infrastructure. Newer looking buildings peppered the landscape here and there, shiny and sophisticated, as if designed by artists. Scents of food and cooking oils wafted up from restaurants as the day got underway.

To satisfy his innate, boundless curiosity, Naruto scaled the tall perimeter wall of the village to stand at its top. The view of the vast desert was a cheap thrill, warming his blood. 'I thought the Toad Valley had a view…but this is a tough one to beat.' He smiled, 'This is it! It's been a while since I worked in a group or took an Exam. I can't be too big for my britches. For all I know Gaara designed something to really grind me down…'

He peeked over the ledge of the rampart, seeing the gradual accumulation of Exam contestants below at the gate. Naruto palmed his anchor-kunai, spun it once 'round his finger and then let it fly— sinking into the wood scaffolding beside the gate. He flashed there without a single soul noticing.

Naruto extracted the knife before hopping down to the ground, turning his head left and right to get an eyeful of the gathering. It was a young, soft-spoken group, if he could make a first impression of them. With a few more steps, Naruto understood that Sand Chunin in turbans were lined up with numbered signs held in their hands. He strode over to a kunoichi waving the number seven, who seemed pleased to see him.

"Ah! My first applicant." She brightened at the sight of him, "Name?"

"Morning! Uzumaki Naruto."

"Yes, you're on Team Seven for today." The kunoichi nodded as she glanced over the names on the back of her card, "We'll get started once everyone is here."

Naruto nodded, trying to ward off some of the excitement that would make him twitchy. 'Look at this! There are a lot of teams from Hidden Sand. I think that's a Cloud team over there…' There was no sign of Gaara, though a few Jounin were manning the security checkpoint. The crowd grew denser and louder as the hour of commencement approached. Naruto let himself doze on his feet a little. Then a voice came from behind him, "Oh! Naruto!"

Naruto wiped a spit bubble from his lip and turned around, beholding a young man a few finger lengths shorter than him. He was pale with dark hair pulled into a short ponytail, and had unmistakable white eyes. A number seven lanyard was hanging around the boy's neck.

"Hey there! Do I…know you?" Naruto was a bit more alert, able to recognize a Hyuga from leagues away.

"I'm Fujita! I've never had the chance to talk to you, though it feels like I have because of Hinata-sama's stories." Fujita twiddled his hands in the wide sleeves of his airy, black-and-white tunic, "Neji-sama and Hinata-sama are my second cousins."

"Shoot! You're that little kid—! Well. You're not little or a kid, that was a while ago…" Naruto rubbed the back of his head, "Yeah, I remember. Nice to meet you finally! I'm lucky you're on my team."

"I would say that I'm the lucky one." Fujita disagreed smilingly.

"I heard that a third Leaf applicant might have gotten disqualified." Naruto shared a bit of gossip.

"Where did you hear that?"

"From Gaara. I have best-friend-privileges so he gave me the heads up about a couple of things."

Fujita tapped his chin, "That's helpful. Then we can expect someone else will fill our third slot."

With that comment it was time to begin, and the assembled teams faced a raised platform near the gate where Gaara had appeared, surveying the Exam participants. Naruto felt a droplet of sweat on the back of his neck, 'Wait a second…what if our third teammate doesn't show up? Will we be disqualified? Crap.'

Gaara began an introduction, "Welcome to Sunagakure. I am the Fifth Kazekage, Gaara. All of you are—" He trailed off, frowning at a gangly, androgynous teen running from row to row checking team numbers. Gaara waited for the late addition to settle in with Team Seven's group.

It was a girl, at least Naruto thought so. Her orange eyes were striking against olive skin, sea foam hair chin-length and jagged…with a wide grin on her face. "Hiya! This is our team? My name is—!"

"Shh!" The Chunin attendant silenced the newcomer, "The Kazekage is speaking. You're late."

The kunoichi beside them pouted and complied. Her headband indicated she was from Hidden Waterfall.

Naruto exchanged a glance with Fujita, communicating their questions with eyebrow wags.

Gaara's comments continued, "All of you are here to be evaluated for the chance to achieve Chunin rank. Some of you will be amateurs, and others will be experienced. What all of you can count on is that if you are promoted…you will be accountable for greater responsibilities and missions of terrible difficulty. Prepare yourselves. In this day and age, there are enemies that now threaten all ninja villages collectively." He did not shy away from the red-hot topic, "The Akatsuki is an organization that seeks to harness the chakra of Tailed-Beasts to oppress and destroy any ninja village that stands against them. Every single one of you is at risk. There will be no avoiding the confrontation to come." Gaara provided some reassurance, "Let this day serve as a reminder that we can all cooperate. We can fight together and defend our homes. As comrades."

The message sunk in for Naruto especially, and the corners of his mouth tugged into a grin.

"Some of you are standing with teammates that you've always known…and others will be depending on shinobi they have never met before. You all stand a chance in this Exam." The Kazekage explained, "Listen to one another and pool your strengths. Your aptitude will be judged carefully in a series of tasks you must complete over the next three days. Each task will be issued in subsequent clues that can be discovered in the desert. If for any reason you are unable to continue, each team will be outfitted with a device that can call a Chunin proctor to escort you back to Suna."

The Sand kunoichi with the number seven sign handed Naruto a small transponder with a covered switch. He squirreled it away as Gaara concluded his remarks.

"You will also receive a sealed envelope that can only be opened once the Exam has begun." Gaara went on as the Chunin attendants also handed that item over, "If any of you feel unprepared to spend the next few days in the desert, inform your Chunin monitor now."

No one among the crowd of young ninja quailed at the challenge before them. Gaara only gave the Chunin attendants a nod, signaling them to leave their assigned teams and approach the scaffolding. 45 teams of three stood for an awkward beat, hushed and unsupervised, and gradually realized that a huge dome of desert sand was closing in around them.

As startled teams were corralled into the sandy enclosure, Gaara only imparted the words, "The Exam starts now." Naruto noticed a few seconds sooner than others that several, concealed canisters of knockout gas were billowing a plume into the covered dome. 'This is a weird way to roll things out…' Naruto thought to himself.

Then he was unconscious.

---

Time and space swirled in darkness until Naruto detected a hand slapping his face. Not in the friendliest or gentlest way either…

"Hey, hey…stop." Half-blind, Naruto swatted the hand off. He tried to sit up with a groan.

"Sorry! You and the cute boy have been sleeping for a while." The kunoichi sat back and apologized, "I woke up in no time! I'm too antsy for naps."

"Uh…yeah." Naruto shook off the grogginess and glanced around, surprised by the dimness of the space surrounding them, "Are we still under Gaara's sand dome?"

"Nope! This is a cave. Musty…smells like we're underground." The girl reported.

"Alright." Naruto reached over to shake Fujita back to the woken realm, "Hey kid! We've got to get started. I think we were moved to a new location for the Exam."

"I like that they made it a surprise!" The Waterfall kunoichi chirped.

Naruto regarded her curiously as he rested a hand on Fujita's shoulder, helping him sit up. The Hyuga boy blinked his eyes, disoriented. He shook sand out of his hair and then retied his ponytail, "We were…put to sleep?"

"Yeah, and now we're underground. Seems like something Gaara would pull…" Naruto smiled at the notion and helped Fujita to his feet, "Next we should—"

There was a scraping sound followed by the fizzing ignition of a lit flare stick. Naruto and Fujita turned around to look at the kunoichi, taken aback.

"Where did you get that?" Naruto asked.

"In this bag! It was here when I woke up, waiting for our team, I guess." She held up a black, cross-body satchel, "I opened the envelope too, but couldn't read the paper inside it— it was dark. So I lit this thing for a bit of light."

"Is that…the only flare we have?" Fujita inquired.

"Yeah." The girl said cheerfully.

"We could be down here for a while." Naruto advised, "Try not to use our resources or do stuff without checking with us first."

"Oh." She understood, and only then did a hint of contriteness flicker on the kunoichi's face, "Sorry about that…I get ahead of things sometimes."

"It's okay." Fujita smiled reassuringly, "Let me read that, Miss. What's your name?"

"I'm Fū!" The kunoichi puffed her flat chest when she handed the parchment over, "You guys are Leaf ninja! Takigakure's leader Shibuki-sama talks about friends from Leaf a lot! I'm psyched."

"I remember hearing about Waterfall," Naruto slipped into his friendliest social mode, "This is a good team match! Uzumaki Naruto." He accepted Fū's handshake with a firm grip.

"Ah, I'm Hyuga Fujita." The younger boy shook Fū's hand too and winced at her strength.

"Great to meet you! Also, we've got food, water, and blankets in here…that kind of stuff." She handed the satchel to Naruto, "You don't mind carrying it do you? I'm already loaded down." Fū gestured with a thumb to the red, cylindrical duffle bag slung on her back.

"What's all that?"

Fū patted her gear bag, "Just travel supplies, shuriken, and scales."

Naruto exchanged another look with Fujita when he glanced up from reviewing the envelope's contents.

"Scale powder." Fū clarified, "From my wings! For jutsu."

Right about then Fujita was prepared to sign off on a crazy applicant affidavit if there were any to certify, but Naruto swiftly changed the subject and asked about what he was reading.

"This appears to be instructions for our first task…which is to escape this cavern, and on the surface we must locate a box. Only one box per team, is underlined…it will be covered with reflectors and very noticeable." Fujita reported, "We should also be judicious with our ration bag. It has to last us for three days."

Naruto dusted his hands, "No problem! Let's get out of this cave while we still have that flare going."

Fū enthusiastically gave the lit stick a twirl in her hand as they set out into a narrow, rock-walled passageway. Fujita politely requested she cease doing so. Accidentally extinguishing the tool would leave them flailing around in the dark. While marching single file, Naruto assured his fellow Leaf ninja, "Don't worry if it gets dark. I can feel the way out of here. As long as something is alive above us, I can track it."

"Something alive?" Fujita, third in line, was intrigued.

"I can feel the chakra of living things when I'm in Sage Mode." Naruto explained from the center.

In front of them, Fū was happily twirling the flare again, and only picked up on the conversation when Fujita inhaled in shock.

"Sage—? You mean-! Senjutsu." Fujita stamped his feet, thrilled, "Naruto, you trained in Senjutsu? I didn't hear about that!"

Not wanting to gloat, but still a bit fat-headed about it, Naruto confirmed, "I trained on Mount Myoboku, just like Ero-sennin! It was intense."

Fū asked over her shoulder as the way narrowed further, "What's Senjutsu?"

"It's a type of jutsu used by shinobi that can absorb and mix Natural Energy with their own chakra." Naruto abbreviated the concept, "Once someone masters it they can do pretty cool stuff."

Fujita tittered admiringly over the feat, while Fū commended the idea of sharing with nature. The procession nearly ground to a halt when they had to shimmy sideways through a crevice, and then pick their way up a tall slope of loose rock. At the top, Fū leapt down the sheer drop without fear, landing lightly and illuminating the wider cave mouth below.

"She's not very cautious, is she?" Fujita muttered.

"That was kind of a thoughtless jump..." Naruto agreed in a low voice. As they found their footing along the ledge, the two made a more calculated descent. Naruto thought out loud, "But she did say she has wings."

Fujita had taken a glimpse with his Kekkei Genkai to verify, "I don't see any."

"I've seen Star ninja make their wings out of chakra. Maybe she can use a jutsu like that?" Naruto supposed.

"…she just seems a little odd to me." Fujita whispered as they continued on, Fū far at the front picking the way around stalagmites.

Naruto saw the bright side of it, "She's still nice, though. I appreciate it when people aren't hostile."

"Oh yes, Fū is nice." Fujita concurred, "As far as we can tell. Let's see how we feel after we travel together for a few days."

"Hm." Naruto noted to himself that the young Hyuga lad was an astute observer, like most of his kin.

Ahead, there was a bit of a ruckus and they noticed that Fū had dropped the flare on the cave floor, where it burned underfoot. She was grunting and wrestling something in the creeping dark. A large scorpion claw had hooked Fū's red duffle and was pulling back on it, trying to drag her into a burrow.

Fū railed at it in protest, reaching back to punch its eyes, "Mister Scorpion knock it off! Stealing is rude!"

Naruto rushed ahead while Fujita needed a moment to gasp, astonished by the rare sight. In close quarters, it was amusing to hear Fū's scolding of the creature while she tried to pry it off without violence.

"Hold on, this is one of Gaara's scorpions." Naruto employed a bit of strength to wrench the scorpion's arm away, while Fū resisted and slipped her satchel free, "I know he wants to challenge us down here, but I'm not eager to hurt the animals that Gaara can summon. They have feelings, you know?"

The scorpion retreated into its burrow while Fū dusted off her skirt and picked up the flare again. "I didn't come here to hurt feelings!" She announced. She blinked in startlement as Naruto went down, his feet tripped out from under him as another, larger scorpion approached from the rear. It got a hold of him and began to scuttle backwards, ignoring its captive's clamoring. Fujita was already on the case. With a lunge, he pelted the scorpion with Gentle Fist strikes that passed through its exoskeleton. Though the creature staggered, it still tried to line Naruto up neatly between its pincers, swinging its tail-stinger down and narrowly missing his head.

Fū cupped her mouth to shout from a distance, "I bet it just wants the food in that bag!"

Naruto wheezed back, "—could ya give it a whack for me-?"

"You said they have feelings!"

"Even jerks have feelings—!"

There was the sharp zing sound of a blade overhead, where Fujita had cut off the scorpion's hooked stinger. The wounded scorpion squealed and scuttled off into the dark. Panting, Fujita wiped off the dagger and sheathed it on his belt again. Naruto hopped to his feet and dusted himself off.

"Phew, thanks! Too bad you had to hurt it." Naruto was appreciative.

"Better it got hurt than you." Fujita reasoned before he rounded on Fū, who was still at the egress of the cavern mouth, "Why didn't you help Naruto?"

"I was helping! I suggested that the ration ba—"

"You help by taking action, not by shouting directions." Fujita marched on, motioning for her to follow, "If you waste even a moment it can mean disaster for a team."

"I'm sorry…! Uh. What's your name again?"

"Fujita." He rumbled.

Fū nodded, "Got it. I won't forget, Fujita, promise. I'm just not used to acting fast because my teammates from Waterfall are always faster than me. Super overprotective. It's annoying."

"Coddling doesn't help anyone on a team learn." Fujita looked back to Naruto as they picked up the pace, "Right, Naruto?"

"Nope. Doesn't help." He agreed and caught up with them, scaling another vertical patchwork of stone overhangs and boulders. Naruto managed to keep the waning flare in hand as he climbed and asked, "Fū, did you just say you have teammates?"

"Well, they're a team I'm assigned to, but they're not the same rank as me. They're like babysitters." Fū explained, "Shibuki-sama worries about me straying too far from the village."

A few stones trickled down from Fujita's foothold before he took a leap up, reaching one of the tallest accessible spots in the cavern. Fū and Naruto followed his lead. Slivers of light revealed gaps in the cave ceiling, and possible exits. He extended a hand to help Fū, who seemed delighted by the gesture. She hadn't needed the help, but was hoisted onto the plateau anyway. When Fujita did the same for Naruto, Fū assisted, and the two nearly lifted and launched Naruto clear across the standing ledge, "Whoa! You got me."

"So why is your village overprotective of you?" Fujita asked as they proceeded along the ledge, approaching wider cavern gaps.

"They don't want to lose me. I'm the jinchuriki of my village." Fū shared the fact casually.

The flare slipped from Naruto's hand, bounced over the precipice, and then tumbled down into the dark chasm below. In shock, he had nearly laughed nervously in response to the announcement. With sunlight shining down from ceiling vents, the loss of their flare was no setback. Somehow, they kept walking and it was Fujita who commented on the matter.

"You're a jinchuriki?" The boy furrowed his brow inquisitively, "Those are ninja whose villages seal and entrust Tailed Beasts to."

"Yup!"

"Are jinchuriki always so young?" Fujita was curious.

"I don't know. Everyone grows old! Though Chōmei was sealed into me when I was little girl…" Fū tapped her chin, "We've had a lot of time to get to know each other."

"Chōmei." Fujita repeated.

"Yes! The Seven-Tails. He shares his wings with me."

"Oh."

Noting the awkward silence behind them, Fū turned around to behold Naruto's quiet reaction. He was deep in thought.

"In Konoha," Fujita shared an anecdote, "The identity of our jinchuriki is not common knowledge. Before I was born, the Nine-Tailed fox escaped its seal and destroyed a large portion of our village. Many people still live in fear of that experience…and associate bad things with our jinchuriki." He raised a finger and added, "My dad says that's garbage."

"Your jinchuriki is garbage?"

"Huh-? No! What's garbage is that people would treat a jinchuriki poorly when they dedicate their lives to the defense of their homes!" Fujita puffed up a little, "Dad's right. I may not know much because I wasn't there, but I don't feel that way at all. I don't fear or hate someone who's blameless. That's ridiculous!" He sighed, "I'd like nothing more than to be a friend to jinchuriki."

Both Fū and Naruto halted, and Fujita stutter-stepped in between them. It was Fū who seized Fujita's hands in her own, beaming ecstatically, "I've been looking for friends for so long!"

"Oh—!"

"I never get to go anywhere or meet anyone new." Fū was nose-to-nose with the young man, "Please be my friend."

"I…" Fujita turned his face aside for a bit of space, rosy-cheeked, "Of course!"

Fū whooped excitedly while crushing Fujita in a brief bear hug, and then raised her hand for a high five. Fujita was preoccupied catching his breath, so Naruto reached up as to not leave the kunoichi hanging. The high-five echoed in the cavern. She tried to understand why Naruto was laughing softly.

"I understand how you feel." His voice was rough with memories, "I really do."

Grinning, Fū took a step back to get a look at Naruto, sensing a deeper meaning in his admission. She rested a hand on her hip, "Friends?"

"Friends. Let's get to know each other. I know some people who you can also be friends with…" Naruto offered, "But first we need to get out of here…and we just ran out of space."

They had come to the end of the topmost ledge.

"We lost our flare too." Fujita noticed.

Naruto rubbed the back of his neck, "Sorry about that…"

"It's alright…the largest opening in this cave ceiling— just over there— it looks precarious." Fujita observed the feature with his Byakugan, "I believe it's a sink hole. That may be difficult to climb out of—!"

Fū seized Fujita from behind, wrapping her arms around his trunk, and took off. As the pair fluttered through open air and up into the daylight of the gaping sinkhole, Naruto did a double take. Fū most certainly did have iridescent green, insect-like wings sprout from her lower back. Several pairs of them. Fujita's frightened hollering echoed 'round the cave's walls, shrinking over the distance when they made their escape.

"Whew. Okay." Naruto rolled his shoulders, readied his anchor knife, and then launched himself against the nearest expanse of rock wall. He attached himself with chakra for a few moments, getting closer to have a clear shot at the sinkhole. With a flick, the kunai soared free of the sandy opening above and was followed by a flash of movement. Before the knife could plummet to the desert ground, Naruto caught it again and landed on a bent knee. He looked over to see Fujita collapsed, sitting on his bottom with a dazed look on his face.

Fū was crouched beside the boy, speaking softly, "Sorry…I thought I gave you enough warning."

"You did…I just…didn't believe it at first." Fujita cleared his throat, "Thank you."

"No problem! Hey—" She turned to Naruto, "How did you make it out so easily?"

"I used one of my jutsu." Naruto held up the anchor kunai before stowing it.

"Does that knife do something?" Fū stood and cupped her chin, trying to figure it out.

"It just has a formula on it that I can teleport to." Naruto did not want to go into the specifics, "Fujita, can you stand? We've got to get rolling."

"Yeah." He dusted himself off, adjusting to the sunny landscape while keeping his eyes squinted, "Naruto, Fū, look for something shiny on the horizon. The next step is to find that box with reflectors on it."

"That has the next clue." Fū nodded. She shielded her eyes and swiveled 180 degrees on her feet, "Tch. Can't see doodles from down here…" She expressed her Biju's wings again and took off vertically, scoping out the terrain from high above.

Down below, Naruto was chuckling to his Leaf Village companion, "She's going to come in mighty handy!"

"Yes. I didn't expect her to be so outgoing…or adaptable." Fujita admitted.

Fū called down to them, "Over there on that big hill!" She pointed out a southerly route, "Follow me!" She zipped while in flight, dastardly quick, and Naruto tightened the ration bag's strap on his shoulder before following in a sprint. Fujita kept up while they ran beneath Fū's shadow on the ground. The morning had given way to afternoon, and the desert's heat was cut by a merciful breeze that swept and rearranged a wall of sand dunes.

Once at the top, Naruto and Fujita came to a stop beside Fū as she landed, gawking at the view of the sea just down the hill, "Ahhh! It's hurting my eyes it's so shiny! Like Chōmei's dust!" She hopped up and down, "Have you ever seen the southern sea before? I haven't. Let's swim!"

"No, let's get our next clue." Fujita course-corrected her enthusiasm, "Once the Exam is over, come back here to swim if you want."

"Ohh…maybe I'll do that."

Between them the reflector box sat half-buried, but Naruto dislodged its lid with one hand before drawing out its contents, "Huh."

"What is it, Naruto?" Fujita was eager.

"Sandwiches." Naruto announced, drawing out an armful before handing them out, "There's a notecard in here too, hold on…" He lifted the flashcard to read its message, "This is not a clue. It's lunch. Our clue is…underwater." Naruto frowned and read on, "Each team must collect a message in a bottle anchored to the sea bottom. It says here it's pretty shallow and just off the beach."

Ignoring the food, Fujita was already scanning beneath waves crashing against the shore, "I'll look for it."

"See if there any traps down there too." Naruto advised, "There's a warning that this area is moderately dangerous."

"Moderately." Fujita repeated in amusement.

"This sandwich is moderately gross." Fū spoke while chewing, "It melted a little in the wrapper."

"It's hot out. I hope they made these this morning." Naruto gave his sandwich a sniff, "Eh…I think I'll pass."

Fū extended her hand, "Give it here." Naruto handed it over and she stuffed the extra, questionable hoagie in her red duffle. He knew few girls so undaunted by potentially spoiled food. He took a seat and motioned for Fujita to come over, intending to eat any passable food from within their given rations.

After wolfing down the last of the roll, Fū asked, "Hey Fujita, did you spot it?"

"I think so. Do you see that stone arch over there? A few meters away from it are some coral and raised rocks….I am pretty sure I saw it below that." He reported, "If the currents are strong we should be careful. We can get crushed against any of those formations, or dragged to the bottom by a downwelling current."

"Downwelling?" Naruto chomped on an unpackaged rice ball.

"The continental shelf is extremely close. Not even a short paddle from the target…and Dad told me stories of divers here and south of the Land of Fire who go diving for shellfish…" Fujita swept his hand to indicate the long stretch of the drop-off, "Random currents can pull someone straight down to the ocean's bottom without warning. Even shinobi can die that way, if they don't know how to deal with it."

"Hm." Fū nodded along as she listened, "Right…so who's the best swimmer here?"

"Um…" Fujita turned to Naruto.

"I can't say I'm the best, but I swim." Naruto vouched, "I can go."

"I'm just worried you'll have difficulty spotting the bottle." Fujita was also eating a rice ball, "Maybe I should tag along near the surface and point it out to you?"

"That could work."

"While you two make a plan, I'm going over yonder to use the bathroom." Fū pointed out the stone jetty and archway.

They acknowledged her parting and went back to eating lunch.

"What if you do get stuck in a current?" Fujita was predicting the possible threats of a moderately dangerous zone.

"Then I'm a little screwed." Naruto smiled, "But I've got our team's emergency beacon. I don't think we'll need to use it. And I could just leave this with you, if something goes wrong down there." He offered Fujita his anchor kunai.

"Thank you, Naruto, but I don't see how this helps me save your life if you drown." Fujita turned it over in his hands.

"If you have it, you don't need to save my life. I'll save my own life." Naruto corrected him. He peeked into the ration bag longingly. His appetite was still fiery, but it wouldn't be prudent to eat anything more. Naruto pulled the drawstrings of the bag shut and slipped it off.

"You'll…save yourself?" Fujita was confused.

"Here, let me show you." Naruto stood and crossed along the top of the dune. He only gave Fujita a brief thumbs up before he instantly relocated, in a flash that was nearly undetectable to the eye. Fujita blinked and noticed that Naruto had plucked the anchor knife from his hand, "I could probably stick my Hiraishin formula on that big rock bridge in the water, just to save you the trouble. I thought about you and Fū having your hands full if another team shows up after the same thing we are."

"Then we'll…" He gave his head a shake, "Naruto…I think I've seen Hinata-sama use that jutsu."

"She kind of…did." Naruto scratched his cheek, "I let her borrow it."

Fujita was google-eyed with excitement, "Can you let me borrow it?"

"No, no…I mean Hinata has an ability she can use through her Byakugan to connect with people." He tried to let Fujita down gently, "Unless you can do the same, that's the only way I've ever seen someone use another person's chakra or share jutsu."

"Oh." Fujita shared a mutually bummed out look with Naruto. There was a splash somewhere in the distance.

"Don't tell me—" Naruto craned his neck to look over his shoulder, "She did." There was a bubble ring rising where the kunoichi had dove into the water.

"Fū!" Rushing down the hill, Fujita kept watch of her movements underwater with the Byakugan, "She's going for it— I said we have to be careful out here! She heard me say that!"

"She did—"

"How can she be so reckless—?"

"Fujita, jinchuriki can handle themselves pretty well." Naruto tried to quell the hissy fit his companion was about to pitch, "Even when they mess up!"

As they raced along the slope of the jetty, then clambering up the rock archway, Fujita protested the idea, "How do you know that?"

With a small smile, Naruto came to a stop beside the boy and patted his back, "I know a few personally."

From that height, the breeze whipped Fujita's hair wildly as he stared at Naruto's face. He would not go so far as to question Naruto's experience, but he was particularly concerned about Fū's disregard for strategy, no matter how skilled she was. A relenting grunt escaped him as he crouched down and peered into the churning alcove below with the Byakugan.

"Fū…is close to it." Fujita reported, astonished, "I guess those wings help for swimming too…"

Naruto crossed his arms, slightly smug, "Told ya."

A perturbed sigh, "…she just reached the bottle."

"And no rough currents?"

"Not that I can see."

"Then don't worry so much! Our group is pretty capable." Naruto soothed, "We'll watch to make sure she comes back up—"

Fujita had jumped from the edge of the rock crossing, to Naruto's great surprise. He peered over the ledge as a tumultuous crashing of water kicked up in the cove below. The 4 meter wide, gaping mouth of a gargantuan conger eel had all but encompassed Fū on her frantic flight up and out of the water. It was then Naruto heard her half-horrified, half-amused screaming as she raced by in flight, passing him on the bridge. He sucked wind at the sight of Fujita colliding with the broad side of the eel's head, driving his dagger into the milky white eye of the fish.

Bending and furling, the wounded eel fell back into the water with a splash…but had taken Fujita in with it. Both Naruto and Fū had noticed this crisis in a moment of alarm, but it was Naruto who pointed at Fū to call the next shot, "Stay up here. Like we discussed! I'll get him."

"But I—!"

"Stay and don't lose that bottle!" He leapt in after leaving his anchor knife stuck in the top of the archway. While spinning the start of the Rasengan in his palm, Naruto took a breath before the plunge. He got lucky— landing squarely on the charging eel's forehead and pancaking it flat against the sea shelf floor with the whirling sphere of chakra. It had spared Fujita from being swallowed whole.

Fujita may have been slightly disoriented while tumbling underwater, still oriented face-down. Naruto seized the boy's wrist and flashed out of the lapping waters. He sputtered and coughed after being transported back to the top of the rock formation. After vomiting up a bit of sea water, Fujita was right as rain. He stood and immediately shared his gratitude, "—thank you, Naruto!"

"Just breathe, kid, it's okay." Naruto collected his anchor knife and ushered his teammate forward, back toward the beach.

While stumbling along, Fujita wrung out his tunic and lamented, "I lost my tantō…"

"In that thing's eye." Naruto was mildly impressed.

"Tenten-neesan made that for me." His frown was the pinnacle of disappointment.

"Oh she—" Naruto recalled some of the arrangements in the Hyuga clan that Hinata had spoken about, "She'll probably make you another, no problem!"

"I guess if she isn't busy…" Fujita kicked a rock as they scaled the beach dune, and then his eyes locked on Fū at the top, "Fū! Why didn't you listen to us? We had a plan."

"I got it though." She held up the bottle innocently, her voice nectar-sweet.

"That was impulsive." Naruto had to call a spade a spade, "Don't do that again. Next time, it could force all of us to quit this Exam if something goes wrong."

"Right." Fū bowed her head in regret and handed the bottle to Naruto.

The stopper was stuck so he smashed the glass on a stone and pulled the rolled parchment free. He let Fujita and Fū huddle in to read the next clue with him:

Survive the next two nights in the desert. Teams that fail to do so will be disqualified from future tasks in the Accelerated Exam.

For each team's final challenge on the third day, they are advised to head north until they locate a Jounin attendant of the Sand Village. They will be stationed in various locations throughout the desert. Each Jounin carries one small bell that must be acquired by the team and presented to monitors at the village gate. Doing so will conclude Exam challenges, and allow the successful team to go before a panel for a final evaluation. Jounin carrying bells will not make concessions or exceptions for any team. The deadline for retrieving a bell is the evening of the fourth day. All Genin teams who fail to acquire a bell in this timeframe will be ejected from the Exam.

"Well." Naruto handed the paper off to Fū, "He's recycling the Bell Test."

"The what?" Fujita had never heard of it.

"Some sensei in Hidden Leaf challenge their students this way— trying to wrestle a bell away from a Jounin." Naruto explained, "My team had to do it. I think Sakura-chan's team had to do it too…"

"Easy!" Fū laughed as she stuffed the message in her bag.

"It's really not." Naruto cautioned.

"Just one little bell? Come on! It's not like we have to take down a Jounin like our lives depend on it." She reasoned.

Fujita disagreed, "But I doubt that a Sand Jounin will make it easy for any Genin team. We might have to go after a Jounin with everything we've got."

Fū ground her fist into her palm, merrily daydreaming about what that would look like.

"Okay, maybe not everything we've got." Naruto amended, "Because that's just going to be too much."

They set out on a northerly route away from the coast.

"So then our best bet is adhering to a decent strategy." Fujita supposed.

"I promise I'll adhere!" Fū was preemptively cooperating.

"You'd better." Fujita snickered. He was no longer upset by her rash dive for the bottle. Though he wouldn't admit it out loud, he'd had fun coming to her rescue and going wild.

The long trek into the heart of the desert prompted Naruto to wear his Sage cloak like a turban again. Fū was frustrated that she did not have an extra garment to do the same. Fujita stripped off his tunic into an undershirt during the heat of the day, and he let Fū wrap herself in it as if it were a headscarf.

"Phew! This makes me miss home a little." Fū whined, "We've got the best pools and waterfalls. Even a park for the little kids…"

"I'd like to go someday. Cooling off today would be especially nice..." Fujita was fanning himself with a container lid from a spent lunch.

"You should totally visit! I could show you our cabins and otters and where we have water-balloon fights!" Her enthusiasm put some pep in her step.

"Water balloon fights?" Naruto was intrigued. An itch from his former prankster days had flared up.

"Yeah! We have big water balloon fights against Shibuki-sama sometimes, like— we'll ambush him and other teams when they come home from missions."

"Heh heh!" Fujita was amused.

"One time I joked that I filled up a balloon with The Hero's Water and Shibuki-sama got really mad at me…" Fū tapped her chin as she remembered that scolding.

"We're going to need to go on a vacation to your village." Naruto determined, "I'd love to bring Hinata along."

"You should bring Hinata-sama, Naruto! She would appreciate that." Fujita wholly approved.

Naruto did not want to comment on how he and Hinata could do anything, even something as mundane as shoe-shining, and still have the time of their lives so long as it meant spending time together.

Water reserves were beginning to wane by the end of the day, and so the team elected to refrain from drinking until daytime tomorrow. Naruto navigated the way to an outcrop he had slept beneath with Jiraiya on their initial journey, and they set up camp beneath the stone overhang. They collected dried tumbleweeds and bramble to start a fire with. About five whole minutes were wasted while Fujita taught Fū how to get a spark with flint and magnesium pieces, as starting fires was not her thing. He handed off the strips to her and she whooped when she managed it. Fujita commended her effort.

Naruto handed two boxed meals to his teammates and made no move to eat anything.

"Aren't you hungry?" Fū asked as she dug in.

"A little." Naruto smiled, "We need to watch these rations. We'll have pretty much nothing to eat on the third day, so I'll pass this time."

"Naruto, you really shouldn't do that." Fujita was crestfallen, "Have some of mine!"

"It's okay. I'll…go find a desert hare or something." Naruto volunteered to hunt as Jiraiya had suggested, though he was no fan of the idea.

"What's a hare?" Fū wondered as she chewed.

"A rabbit. Sort of." Fujita informed her.

"We don't see a lot of rabbits where I live." She turned to ask Fujita, "Hey…do you want that dumpling?"

"You can—"

She'd already snatched a dumpling from Fujita's box. Fū then directed Naruto, "How about this! Use a sandwich as a lure, if you want to catch some wild animals."

"I don't think they eat sandwiches." Naruto watched the dwindling sunset on the horizon, "Especially not melty sandwiches."

"No self-respecting desert animal would pass up random food! It'll definitely work." Fū asserted.

If only to humorously prove a point, Naruto accepted the sad sandwich from Fū's bag and then set out with it, laying a snare beneath the gooey lump on the far side of a dune. He laid in wait for what felt like hours, but according to Fujita he had only been gone 25 minutes. Bizarrely, he ended up trapping a large ground squirrel. Naruto could hardly believe the result. He quickly put the creature out of its misery and returned to camp with it.

"That sandwich was the MVP." Fū clapped as Naruto settled down to skin the animal.

"I can't believe that worked…" Fujita was aghast.

"Me neither." Naruto was chuckling. He had traded spoiled food for something much fresher. Fū paid close attention to how Naruto prepared the game, although he prefaced the lesson with the fact that it had been a while since he'd needed to catch his own food. He set up the skinned squirrel on rocks over the fire to roast.

"That smells good! I'm hungry again." Fū grumbled.

Naruto politely reminded her to eat her food more slowly next time to savor it. He made short work of the squirrel after it was cooked. The group hunkered down for the night when full dark fell, stoking the fire before getting cozy beside it. Naruto used the ration bag as an uncomfortable pillow, and could hear Fū excitedly whispering things to Fujita beside her before falling asleep.

---

By morning, the fire pit had burned down to cinders and the first rays of sun did not disturb the sleeping team. As temperatures slowly climbed again, Naruto woke first and shook his teammates awake to begin the next leg of the journey. Fujita rose without complaint, but he had to forcibly hoist Fū to her feet by pulling her up by her bag's straps. They set out sleepily.

"How do you suppose we were transported to that cave so quickly?" Fujita mused aloud as the morning wore on.

"Gaara can probably move a lot of people at once with his sand." Naruto supposed, "I'll ask him for the trick when we get back. I want to know."

"Oh!" Fū exclaimed in surprise, "He's your very best friend."

Naruto turned and fixed the kunoichi with a bamboozled stare.

"Sorry, I'm getting to know you better— so it's easier to read you guys." Fū apologized, "Chōmei lets me read other people's thoughts and feelings sometimes when I get close to them."

Fujita, surprised by the admission, was fit to spin himself into the ground like a top, embarrassed by some of the things he'd thought earlier about being around a cute girl.

"Well yeah, Gaara is one of my best friends." Naruto confirmed, "Can you…really read my mind?"

"It's still foggy. I pick up only recent stuff or on the surface stuff. It's never crystal clear unless I'm asleep…and I'll usually forget what I learn when I'm sleeping!" Fū laughed, "The Kazekage is cool! He cooks."

"Yeah!" Naruto was laughing too.

"He has a girlfriend! He's a jinchuriki!" Fū went on.

Right about there, Naruto asked her to quit oversharing but the damage had been done.

"The Kazekage is a jinchuriki!" Fujita exclaimed, "So that's what you meant, Naruto. I wasn't exactly sure."

"Yep, though that's not the sort of thing you talk casually about, alright?" Naruto advised him, "Not many people outside of Hidden Sand know that. It doesn't matter that much…but some people are prejudiced…and also the Akatsuki are searching for jinchuriki to extract the Tailed Beasts from their bodies."

"That's what…Gaara-sama was talking about before the start of the Exam." Fujita recalled, "Naruto…what happens if a Tailed Beast is removed from a jinchuriki?"

The group pressed forward under harsh sunlight for a while in silence. At length Naruto answered uneasily, "I think that most jinchuriki die…when that happens to them. Having that much chakra ripped out of your body…destroys your system, I'm pretty sure. It's not survivable."

Anxious, Fū wrapped her arms around her stomach while thinking about the consequences. Fujita noticed her reaction and spoke softly to her, "Don't worry, Fū …we'll look after each other. No one here is going to tolerate the Akatsuki coming after any of our friends."

"Thank you." She smiled at the reassurance, "Shibuki-sama is always telling me to be cautious…but Mama said you can never prepare for everything. We've got to walk the line between careful and carefree all our lives."

"We won't let them win." Naruto vowed, "We won't let them hurt villagers or jinchuriki. Whatever the Akatsuki is trying to do…I'll stop them."

Colorful expressions crossed Fujita and Fū's faces after hearing such a declaration. It was heartening.

At mid-day, they took sparse sips of water. The teammates split one of the few last boxed meals three ways, in the hope of having a bit more food until the final challenge was complete. After a few hours, Fū tried her hand at cutting down a prickly cactus, and saved a few paddles of the plant in her bag. She was fairly certain they were edible.

"They probably won't taste good." Fujita was skeptical of the selection.

"You've got to learn how to eat things that taste bad!" Fū marched alongside Fujita, "It's way better than having an empty stomach."

"Then we agree to disagree."

"Don't you like to eat, Fujita?"

"Not really. My favorite food is cherries." He divulged, "But eating too much takes the joy out of it. So I only indulge sometimes."

"Eating builds a greater appreciation of the sport, as does flying!" Fū reported, "If you're not an avid eater, want to try flying?"

"I don't really—"

Naruto heard the two goofballs behind him wrestle and argue, and did not bother turning around to witness Fū taking off with Fujita clamped in her arms. The boy's ruckus died down as they fluttered up and up into the sky overhead.

'I remember when I used to be ultra-hyper and enthusiastic about everything.' Naruto reflected on how much of the rampant energy of his youth had been harnessed for critical thinking and studying jutsu, 'Fū might be…permanently energetic.'

Fujita's cries could be heard from up above.

"Heh." Naruto chuckled to himself, "Someone's gotta deal with it…might as well be the kid!"

A few minutes later, it sounded as if Fujita had adjusted and even marginally enjoyed the flight. He and Fū touched down with news to relay to Naruto.

"We saw another Genin team in the distance!" Fū reported, "Want to chase 'em?"

"No." Naruto replied calmly, "We don't need to chase them. We've got everything we need. No one will have bells until tomorrow, when we start taking them from Jounin."

"But we could take any extra water or food they have." Fū suggested.

"They probably won't have extra anything." Fujita supposed.

"He's right. There's nothing worth ambushing another team for right now." Naruto instructed, "We keep going north until we find shelter, then we'll take a rest."

Later, Fujita wondered if Naruto wanted to try flying around with Fū, but he passed on the offer. He would be a heavier, more cumbersome passenger. They came upon a small canyon of stone and slipped into the shade of the rocky recess. The group had cut off more cactus paddles along the way, and by a majority vote decided to cook the cactus over a fire later. The stress of having less water to consume was weighing on them.

Evening swaddled the desert, and the group roasted cactus paddled over a fire after shaving the needlepoints off, eating strips of the plant.

"It tastes like green beans." Naruto assessed.

Fujita had no qualms with the flavor, "It's not bad."

"Want to catch another squirrel? Maybe they like cactus?" Fū was still peckish.

"You can if you want. I think we should try to take it easy now and rest for tomorrow." After eating, Naruto stretched out on his back.

Fū set out to lure potential prey animals into a trap of her own, but an hour of sitting still was a test of her patience. She gave up and returned to camp, falling gracelessly to her rear beside her teammates with an aggravated huff. Fujita had saved one last cooked cactus paddle for her. With a soft gasp, Fū took his hands in her own before accepting the snack, staring Fujita in the eyes, "You are wonderful."

Flustered, Fujita tried to ride out a few frantic moments of heart palpitations while they locked gazes, unable to say anything. Fū went ahead and stuffed her face with food again. She imagined that the reason why she always wanted to eat was because flying required more physical exertion, and she metabolized like crazy.

"Maybe." Fujita peeped.

The group slept huddled around the fire as night drained the desert of warmth. Fujita dreamt of green landscapes again, moving around the forest with ease the way Fū could. It felt as though he was reliving the same moment repeatedly— chasing his big brother into an open space, and watching a hail of weaponry stick Hikune to death. He had only heard fragments of how his brother had died, but his imagination brought the tragedy to life in his mind. Each attempted rescue and death was visually different, if only for a few minor details. But every time, Fujita lamented his ineptitude, railing and screaming as his brother vanished over and over again in pain.

He bolted upright, chest heaving, startled back to consciousness by the emotional whiplash of his dreams. Fujita dabbed at the corners of his eyes before hearing a soft whimper. Close by, Fū was sitting up as fat tears rolled down her cheeks.

"Are you alright?" He whispered.

Fū shook her head. She ran the back of her hand beneath her eyes.

"…what's the matter? I hope I didn't wake you." Fujita spoke quietly, intent on not disturbing Naruto as he snored on the far side of the fire.

Fū cleared her throat before explaining, "I kept watching him die…"

"Who?"

"Your big brother. I was sharing your dream and it was fun at first, being in that big forest…But he just kept dying in horrible ways and you kept screaming..." Fū sniffled, "That was hard to get through. I wanted to wake up."

Fujita was wildly astonished. He sat there with a wide, pearly gaze, trying to make sense of how she had visited his dream and experienced some of his anguish. He did not know whether to thank her or apologize to her.

"—do you— need a hug?" Fū hiccupped.

"I, uh…" He frowned a little, "Maybe I don't."

"But you're thinking about indulging." Fū relayed her superficial scan of his brain, "Bring it in, cute boy—" She reached out her arms and wrapped him in a tight embrace, relaxing after the night scare.

Fujita was perplexed again, "…did you say cute?"

"Yup! Ahh, I needed a hug too. I feel better now." Fū pulled away and rolled over, "Goodnight! Please have nice dreams. It stinks when you don't."

Startled, Fujita sat and tried to make sense of the exchange, but exhaustion was beckoning again. He settled down and had a slightly better rest for the remainder of the night.

Before dawn, as a sliver of light crept below the horizon, Naruto woke up and stood to stretch. He noticed Fū and Fujita curled up into fish-hook shapes, the tops of their heads nearly touched while they snoozed. He felt a warm, protective feeling for the two. Naruto tottered away from camp and into open space beyond the canyon walls, taking some time to relieve himself while yawning sleepily. His mouth felt dry. He didn't want to take a drink of water until his teammates had their sips first.

'I'll let them sleep in. We've got one more day to go before we're in the bell-zone, I'm guessing.' Naruto thought to himself. He scaled a stone outcrop to its flat top; above the shelf that housed the campsite where his teammates slept. He'd let them get some more rest. Naruto sat and crossed his legs, taking slow, deep breaths in the hope of meditating a little. Part of him wished that Hinata would drop in to say hello. He was probably too jumbled from the Exam to hold a meaningful conversation, but any hint of her presence lifted his spirit.

The peace and quiet lasted a while before the skittering of rocks caught his attention. Fū had fluttered up from the ravine's shelter, stretching luxuriantly a few paces away from him. She toddled over to sit beside him, "Want to see the sun rise? We've got a good view out here."

"I like to watch it," Naruto confirmed, "You don't want to sleep more?"

"Nah. I'm good. Fujita had whacky dreams all night and I couldn't unstick myself from them." She rubbed her temples with her fingertips, "He dreams so loud."

Naruto chortled at the observation.

"I know you didn't want me to say too much, so I'm trying not to read your thoughts or blab about what I see and feel." Fū explained, "This is the first time I've ever gotten to meet new people outside of Waterfall and get to know them." She leaned back on her arms, reminiscing, "A few years back, my village was under attack and I was amped up to jump in and protect everyone…but Shibuki-sama locked me in a cellar and told me to stay put. He was worried that I'd be used as leverage or hurt. Ever since then, I keep trying to get more involved. I'm Waterfall's jinchuriki, so it's kind of my job to keep everyone safe. I just wish they would let me."

"But another way you protect them is by not recklessly endangering yourself." Naruto reminded her, "You don't need to jump into every situation, especially when your leader tells you not to."

"He always tells me not to."

"Then he must care a lot about you." He smiled at the sentiment, thinking of how Tsunade looked after him.

"Your Hokage loves you a lot." Fū sighed, "That's so nice…she definitely won't let the Akatsuki hurt you."

Naruto braced himself for the invasive thought reading, "I know she won't. I should still do my part…whatever she and Gaara need me to do, I will."

"You've been a jinchuriki since you were a baby, wow!" Fū was surprised, "Woops. Chōmei's digging a bit. He says you have the Nine-Tailed Fox!" She muttered under her breath, "Quit being a busybody, Chōmei, at least let him talk to me a little!"

"It's okay." Naruto shook his head, keeping calm, "That's right. I just didn't want you saying that in front of Fujita."

"I won't." Fū assured him, "Hmm…so people in your village are mean to you? Or they were. I feel this heaviness." She patted her chest, "Fujita said the Fox attacked your village once and that's why everyone is so scared."

"That's the long and short of it." Naruto crossed an arm over his knee and propped his chin up with a hand, "I wouldn't change a thing, if I could…but it was hard sometimes."

"That really sucks! In the past, Chōmei protected my village from enemy forces, and ever since my people say that he represents the good fortune of Takigakure." Fū imparted some background to her fellow jinchuriki, "He's my lucky number seven."

"You're making me a little jealous, you know."

"At least you got out to live a little and see the world." She blew strands of hair from her face, "You've made lots of friends, traveled, become a Sage, got a girlfriend…and kicked a lot of butt. I haven't done that."

"That's mostly why I wouldn't change things." Naruto conceded.

"Your girlfriend is pretty and she looks kind of like Fujita…"

"They're related."

Fū bit her lip, "You're, like, cra-aaazy about her! You need to go back to your village and chill out."

"Do you mind…not skimming so much? Can you shut it off?" Naruto wondered in embarrassment.

"Yeah, sure, hold on." Fū slapped her cheeks and muttered to herself again. Then she announced, "There we go. So. I'd like a girlfriend or boyfriend someday, but everyone I've met so far just hasn't been fun enough. They don't want to try any of the things I like, or we don't have much in common. Chōmei will read their minds a lot and tell me that they're not interested in the same way I am, which cuts things short a lot."

"Huh…so you're lucky, but not in every way." Naruto observed, "I was lucky too."

"Heck yeah, you were."

"I almost didn't realize how lucky I was to have Hinata." He tipped his head back and considered it.

"When you get caught up in missions and everything else, it's easy not to notice what's…" Fū held a hand up in front of her face, "Right in front of you. But I know for sure that's not my situation. I thought about maybe dressing girlier or not hitting the buffet at home so hard…"

"Whatever you do, don't change for anyone." Naruto shot down her flaky idea, "Be yourself."

"That's what Chōmei keeps telling me." Fū was bolstered by the claim.

It was somewhat discouraging for Naruto to hear accounts from other jinchuriki who could communicate freely and peaceably with their Biju. First it had been the old man with the Four-Tails, then Gaara, and now Fū, who communicated well with their Tailed-Beasts. Naruto had once believed he was on the verge of a breakthrough, before Jiraiya's injury. These days he felt lost when it came to reestablishing a dialogue with the Kyuubi.

"How do you…talk to him…and not fight?" Naruto wondered, "Why trust each other?"

"Well," Fū tapped her mouth and thought it over, "Chōmei is just naturally nice. That definitely helps. I've been so lonely since I was a kid, only ever seeing the same few people all of my life…I talked to Chōmei a lot and he became the friend I needed. I wanted to be his friend too. I know what it's like to feel trapped, like you can't make your own decisions…"

Naruto's shoulders were slumped, "The Fox doesn't ever want to understand how I feel, or be a friend to me—" He felt Fū press her palm to his forehead, a gesture that seemed to instantly transport Naruto to the wide, dank space where he would go to communicate with Kurama…except that it was a vast and expanded environment of thought that had other occupants. He noticed Fū standing on one of the Seven-Tail's bent wings, or were they tails? Whatever it was, the creature looked like an armored Hercules beetle.

"Hey there!" Fū greeted him from her perch, "I hope you don't mind that I opened a channel."

Naruto puttered around the space, shocked, "How are you doing this?"

"Chōmei's really good at synchronizing people's thoughts! When we hold still, anyway."

Following Fū's explanation, the giant insect concurred, You betcha!

Naruto's mouth was hanging open. It was then he had a heightened awareness of the Kyuubi behind him. He looked over his shoulder to see the same imprisoning bars that had always been there. The Fox stirred behind them and pressed his face to the cage door, alert to the unusual commotion. He looked out-of-place while Chōmei sat merry and unbound with Fū.

Chōmei… Kurama's voice was a soft rumble of a greeting.

What's good furry brother—? The towering insect was outgoing much in the way Fū was.

Kurama wasted no time making demands, You're free. Show me how to be free, unfettered by this seal!

Nah, man! Chōmei and Fū shook their heads in the negative simultaneously, Only you can set yourself free.

Kurama head-butted the bars in frustration, How do I do that?

By being nice! Chōmei suggested blithely, It's just your luck that you got a nice container. Try being friends.

The Fox stared blankly in response, completely dejected by the proposition.

Never was your strong suit, eh? Chōmei gathered.

Naruto raised a finger to chime in, "I've made that request before, but it didn't get far. Would it really be…" He looked back at the Nine-Tails, "That unbearable?"

Be quiet. The Fox grumbled.

"Excuse me, Fluffy Fox, but there's no reason for you to be upset with Naruto or for you to mistrust him." Fū bent her arms and rested them on her hips like a heroine, "We can read his heart and thoughts! Naruto truly wants to understand you better."

I've heard that before from other jinchuriki of mine…Kurama growled skeptically,And they never mean it. They always change their minds.

How unusual! Chōmei noticed something while prodding around in the Fox's thoughts, You've been feeling a lot of love recently, Kurama. That's good. Gentle and calm…keep it up! It's healthy for you.

Naruto was astounded when he faced his Tailed-Beast, "You can love people?"

All of you—! The Fox bellowed, Shut. Up. I want to be left alone!

Jolted from the shared space of collective consciousness, Naruto was cradling his achy head and watching the sunrise again. He glanced over to Fū beside him as she deliberated on the encounter.

"Oof, he's a grumpy one." She concluded with a small shudder.

"Tell me about it."

"He'll come around." Fū predicted as she stood and brushed sand from her skirt.

"But will he?" Naruto heaved himself to his feet, "And what was all of that about him feeling affection? Or…why would he feel like that when he can't stand me? He hates everything."

"It's just because the Fox feels love for the same reason you do." Fū's explanation was unhelpfully cryptic. She fluttered down into the shade of the ravine to fetch Fujita.

Naruto paced the canyon top for a minute, trying to make sense of what he'd learned. It could be that he was at a slight disadvantage in some sense, having to deal with a cantankerous Tailed-Beast. Chōmei's attitude seemed too good to be true, and yet Fū's success was proof of their harmonious relationship. 'But why? Why would the Fox feel anything good if he tried to kill Ero-sensei, or tell me I'm worthless trash, or try to wreck the Toad Valley?' It was mind boggling, 'Why does the Fox feel love…just because I do? That's not how this works!'

He raked a hand through his hair, inhaling slowly with his eyes shut. 'For the same reason I do…' When Naruto followed that thought to its logical end, he recalled his insatiable pining for Hinata, his reactions to her visits, and so forth. Surely that wasn't it?

"Naruto!"

He heard his teammates calling to him. Naruto skipped down into the ravine and found both Fujita and Fū fretting over the water container they had been sharing.

"We're out." Fujita reported, "We need to find water."

"No surprise there..." Naruto lifted the ration bag and slung it onto his back after stuffing the canteen inside of it.

"How about I take a look around and you two wait?" Fū suggested, "Or we can start digging—!"

"Hold on, let's stick to something more practical." Naruto settled down to sit again, "I'll meditate for a bit to use Sage Mode, and then feel around for living things out here. My guess is— the denser the Natural Energy is, the more likely we are to find water around the life it's coming from."

Fujita was enthralled, "Yes! Do you need some space?"

"Just a bit of quiet, if you don't mind." Naruto settled his hands on his knees, exhaling slowly. He shut his eyes and tuned out trivial distractions. Purely for courtesy, Fū and Fujita had exited the canyon's shelter.

The warm rush of Natural Energy fused successfully with his chakra, and after a short time Naruto stood up and brushed sand from his pants. The environment was deceptively active. 'Let's see…well there's a team or two to the south of us…' Naruto scratched his head while feeling around, calculating, 'Sunagakure is that way. We're not that far from it now. Hmm. Water. I dunno. There are plenty of those ground squirrels and snakes all over the place…' He shut his eyes to concentrate, 'Something brighter…more alive…'

Naruto hurried out of the shady shelter and motioned for his teammates to join him, "I think…I can feel something good."

Fū bobbed her head, "Uh huh. What's good? Is it edible or drinkable?"

"No…I mean there are a bunch of teams gathered." Naruto smiled, "In one spot. I can feel their chakra. Seems like there might be plants and animals there too."

"An oasis?" Fujita presumed.

"Maybe! I think it's worth a shot. It'll be a bit of a hike there…but we won't be good for much if we don't have anything left to drink." Naruto pointed the way enthusiastically, "Let's move it!"

The cooler temperature was forgiving as they made haste in the direction Naruto had established. He explained to his team that in a few minutes, Sage Mode would wear off. If they needed to reestablish the course, he could use it again. He also posited that they would likely be close enough for Fujita to spot their desired location with the Byakugan.

On the way, the sky was tinged with lavender as the sun rose. Naruto moved a faster, stirred by the heavenly hue and the feelings that came with it; as if Hinata were cheering him on from home.

"There." Fujita narrowed his eyes, pulling the group east as he took the lead, "There are other teams ahead. And some trees."

"That screams water almost as loud as my village does!" Fū lifted off the ground with excitement. She tucked her wings away before her team slowed to approach the oasis.

A spring had welled up into a pond of remarkable size, turquoise-blue, tucked against a tall sand dune overshadowing hardy trees and shrubs. Upon arrival, Naruto watched another team set out back into the desert, as if fortified to start the next task. Two other teams were loitering around in the shade of palms. Naruto was about to draw out the canteen to unscrew and refill it like a civilized being, but Fujita and Fū dropped to their knees ahead of him, lapping up cool water face-first. Naruto shook his head at their antics. Fujita snapped his head up for a break, and a string of water whipped off the end of his ponytail and splashed Naruto in the face. It reprogrammed him. 'Oh yeah. I am super dehydrated right now.'

Naruto bent down and submerged his entire head into the spring. Fū was laughing as she shucked off her red duffle and rolled into the water to float around. Fujita took that as his cue to pick up their discarded thermos and refill it. From behind them, a team of amateur Sand Genin snarked, "Are you guys idiots? You're going to spoil that water for everyone else!"

Fujita ignored the comment and Fū had missed it completely. Naruto raised his head and gleefully shook droplets from his hair and face, "Ahh!"

"Hey morons! Can you hear us?" One of the Sand youngsters repeated.

"Fujita, is he talking to our team?" Naruto lightly nudged Fujita with his elbow.

"I think so. The idea that we might foul this spring is complete nonsense, but they insist that's what we're doing." Fujita brought Naruto up to speed, taking a gentlemanly sip of water from the thermos cap.

Naruto sat and stretched his arms, turning to regard the rude Sand team, "Hey! Have you guys lived in the desert all of your lives?"

"Yeah." A kunoichi grumbled.

"And is this the first promotional Exam you've ever participated in?" Naruto shouted over to them.

"Yeah…?"

Naruto pointed an accusing finger at them, "Then no one cares about your opinions, ya babies!"

Fujita sputtered over the canteen, amused by Naruto's countercharge, while Fū cackled in delight from the pond behind him. The Genin team from the Land of Moon, a bit older and wiser, watched from their place in the shade. One of the Sand Genin sprang to his feet and marched up to Naruto, who was still relaxing on the bank of the spring.

"You should care." The boy ground out from between his teeth, "Or I'll teach you the value of water out here by lighting you on fire."

"Light me on fire?" Naruto raised a brow, leaning back to fold his arms behind his head.

"With my Blood Limit." The boy puffed his chest. His teammates fidgeted uneasily from their spot on a log.

Naruto had a single, raspberry-blowing laugh before he sealed his lips and stopped. 'That is some big talk coming from a greenhorn…'

"Do you really want to laugh at the Shakuton?" The boy hissed, conjuring up a floating orb of flame from thin air.

"No, your attitude is funny." Naruto twirled a kunai around his finger, "You don't want to fight us, no matter what kind of Kekkei Genkai you have."

"You're better off saving your strength for other important tasks, like the Bell Test." Fujita reminded the Genin.

Fū chimed in from the background, "Want to be friends?"

"No! Are you stupid?" The boy was bristling, "You're competitors! There won't be enough bells for everyone to pass. We should trim down rival teams."

"Kid, let me give you a clue, since the Bell Test was originally from my village." Naruto shut his eyes contently, "Worrying about if other people are going to pass or not doesn't help. The trick is working together."

Such a sentiment did not fly with the aggressive participant, and he swung his fist, fiery hot, at Fujita's head since he was nearest. Fujita easily ducked the swing and poked 16 chakra points along the boy's arm, all without rising to his feet. The attacker balked at how his chakra had been diverted, and staggered backwards. Naruto cracked an eye open at the offender, "You didn't just try to smack Fujita, right?"

"Don't worry about it, Naruto." Fujita waved it off and fitted the lid back onto the thermos.

"Hey." Naruto sniffed impatiently at the Shakuton-user, "Say you're sorry."

The Sand Genin was ready to lunge again, "He messed with my chakra points! All of you can go to hell—!"

The anchor kunai whizzed past the boy's face, and Naruto relocated behind him, kicking the aggressor's legs out from under him. He face-planted while drawing out a fistful of shuriken from a leg holster, though he didn't get to do much with the projectiles. Naruto whistled a tune as he shoved the child into the pond with his foot. Fujita sighed wearily, standing up to relocate to some shade.

"Quit splashing so much!" Fū chided the floundering Genin in the pond.

The Sand Genin righted himself, snapping shuriken off of a wire with force, but his target was gone again in a flash. With the same kunai-trick, Naruto had reappeared behind the boy and, with a degree of severity, round-kicked him across the clearing and into his Sand teammates seated on a log. The three toppled over with grunts of pain. Naruto stood on the water's surface and looked down as Fū floated by. She raised her hand for a high-five again.

Understandably, the Sand team scampered away from the oasis after that. The Moon team was howling with laughter from their seats on the periphery, "Guess we found out who the real morons are!"

Naruto shrugged at them and then returned to Fujita to divide up the last boxed meal of their rations. Fū clambered out of the pond and gave herself a shake, still dripping wet when she accepted a few morsels of food. She hovered on her feet while eating, "Good thing you didn't beat them up too bad…or they'd go crying to your Kazekage friend."

"His name is Gaara." Naruto reminded her.

"Oh yeah."

"That was a rare Kekkei Genkai, though." Fujita conceded, "I thought it had died off in the Wind Country, for the most part."

Naruto crunched on a mouthful of pickled carrots and zucchini, noting, "What good did it do him?"

"No more good than a flute-player on a deer hunt." Fū reckoned.

Fujita just stared at her in fascination. "How does your brain work?" He asked in all seriousness.

"Electrical impulses." She frowned at him and he frowned back, "Right? Isn't that how bodies work?"

"He's just amazed by your creativity." Naruto helped her out.

"Oh." Delighted, Fū smiled again and sat down beside him, "You eating that, Fujita?"

He crammed the last of the shumai in his mouth. She nodded to him, "Good, you've learned."

When gasps of surprise came from the Moon team, Naruto followed their eyeline up to the cloudless sky: three Genin in flight were descending on transparent, violet wings. Naruto sprang from his seat in shock, "Star ninja!"

Fū and Fujita chorused in a question, "Star ninja?"

The Star team landed beside the spring and had come amply prepared. Each Genin had their own canteen for water, hastily filling up at the pond's edge. Naruto jogged over to the group, recognizing them, "Long time no see!"

Sumaru lit up at the sight of him, "Naruto!" He stood and shook his friend's outstretched hand, "I saw you at Suna's gates and tried to get your attention! You didn't see us."

"I didn't?" Naruto scratched his cheek sheepishly, "Sorry about that!"

Hokuto and Mizura also greeted Naruto, though Mizura admitted that he did not know him all that well, "I was sick for most of the time you were in Hoshigakure, Naruto-san, but I'm doing a lot better now thanks to Sakura-san and the Hokage."

Naruto was thrilled to hear that. Out of curiosity, both Fujita and Fū approached to learn more about these Star ninja that Naruto already seemed to be acquainted with.

"Hey team! This is Sumaru," Naruto introduced Sumaru, who bowed in greetings, "Hokuto," The kunoichi mirrored the gesture, "And…" Naruto couldn't quite remember Mizura's name, but the boy gladly introduced himself. Naruto went on to introduce his teammates, "And these are my temporary teammates for the Exam: Fujita; he's from the Hyuga clan in Hidden Leaf," Naruto gestured to his companions, "And Fū from Hidden Waterfall."

"A pleasure." Sumaru nodded to them.

Fū took lilting steps around the Star bunch, cupping her chin and scrutinizing their backs. She said off-handedly to Hokuto, "I'm just checking to see where you put them."

"Put what?" The Star kunoichi asked.

"Your wings."

"They're made of chakra. Our wings dissipate when we stop using our techniques." Sumaru enlightened her.

Fū nodded and gave them a carry on hand gesture, muttering to Naruto as she shuffled behind him, "I shouldn't show them, right?"

He took that to mean that Fū would like to show off her wings, but was also aware it might startle others, "Maybe not."

In the short time Naruto got caught up with Sumaru and his companions, the Moon team vacated the oasis. The Leaf and Star teams sat huddled in the stretching shadows of palms. It came as no surprise to Naruto when Sumaru explained his team's decision to wait for Mizura's full recovery, and skip Konoha's Chunin Exam. It was fortuitous that Natsuhi, the Hoshikage, had learned first-hand from Gaara that Suna would host its own Exam soon after.

"That gave me extra time to practice shape manipulation and finally learn how to fly." Mizura recounted, "I won't continue my training near the star…but I'll have plenty of other ways to develop my jutsu."

Hokuto and Sumaru were both straight-backed and beaming at their teammate, who they had once feared would forever trail behind them in terms of skill.

Hokuto handed out packaged biscuits to everyone seated, which Fujita politely declined.

"It's alright. These weren't part of our rations." Hokuto assured him, "They're just Sumaru's guilty pleasure. He's got a million of them in his saddle bag."

Sumaru cleared his throat in annoyance.

"Thanks!" Naruto was happy to accept charity now that his team was officially out of food.

"So maybe I missed something…" Fū motioned with her cookie, "But how does one train near a star? I've been told that I need to catch up on idiomatic expressions and all that, but I don't quite get how—"

"No, no, it's figurative. We use the term star to refer to the fragment of stone that still radiates ancient chakra." Sumaru corrected, "I ought to have explained that…"

"I was wondering as well." Fujita seconded the notion.

"How would you know the difference between ancient or…recent chakra?" Fū was still processing.

"All chakra originally came from one source." Hokuto passed along a bit of history, "When it escaped from the princess of the Otsutsuki clan and her shinju, and scattered from the possession of her sons, chakra entered the world to be harnessed by humans."

"Our star might be a piece of the former shinju, the original vessel of chakra." Sumaru fished another biscuit from his hip pouch, "Tailed-Beasts are also thought to be manifestations of ancient chakra, born of the Sage of Six Paths."

"Ho ho!" Fū began laughing wildly.

Mizura exchanged confused looks with Hokuto and Sumaru. Likewise, Naruto wished the Waterfall kunoichi would tone it down a little. He wasn't sure if he had misheard Sumaru, but he couldn't get a word in edgewise.

Fū caught her breath, "Chōmei says that's pretty much how it happened!"

"Who?" Hokuto canted her head.

"He's my—"

Fujita clapped a hand over Fū's mouth, "A good friend of hers! Very learned in history."

"Hold on, how do you know that?" Naruto was stumped, "I think Gaara may have mentioned that Sakura-chan read some book in your village, but how did the author confirm that's all true?"

"It is." Sumaru said simply, "Some records were kept by vassal families who tended to the strongest and most powerful shinobi clans in history. In my village, those record-keepers were the Hoshizora clan. In Stone, the Kamizuru clan. In Cloud, the Yotsuki clan. In Sand, the Shirogane clan. In Mist, the Abe clan. In Leaf, the Taketori clan. There were many. The oldest records in their possession, for the most part, were lost. But not in Hoshigakure," He smiled, "We've avoided many conflicts and preserved that knowledge."

"That's—" Naruto raked a hand through his hair, "Kind of nuts."

"I agree. Maybe it's even crazier to try to harness raw chakra and use it for jutsu," Hokuto concurred, "But my dad always said we never could find a better hobby, being wilderness people."

"I know the Taketori clan very well." Fujita was up to speed, "They are vassals of the Hyuga clan."

"Huh." Naruto twitched his nose. Was the world really this small?

"Well." Fū reached to accept another biscuit from Sumaru, "Sounds like I'll be vacationing in Star Village while these two Leaf boys vacation in Waterfall!"

Hokuto and Mizura proceeded to give her the tourism pitch, minus the bit about toxic gas vents in the Bear Country's canyons. Great food, unspoiled forests, glaciers, streams, a giant crater, and the clear night sky— the Star Village was definitely worth a visit. Fū was doubly convinced afterward.

Both teams took deep drinks of water from the oasis spring before parting with pleasantries.

"We will stay briefly in Sand before going home, once the Exam is over." Sumaru clued Naruto into the plan, "We should go out to eat and talk more! Have your friends join us."

Naruto shook on it once again with the Star ninja, "We will. See you then!"

The teams parted ways, and as Sumaru's team took off on a western route, Fū shielded her eyes and watched them go. From beside her, Fujita determined, "They were very nice."

"They were! Seems like they're trying not to bicker while they're out here." Fū had skimmed some unspoken information, "That Mizura boy is jealous of his teammates because they're dating."

Naruto about-faced and kept walking backwards, frowning at Fū, "Chōmei dug that up for you?"

"Yup! Like, those two are walking on eggshells to keep their teammate happy, but he's always trying to hide how annoyed he is." Fū reported, "Third-wheelin' it re-eeaal hard..."

"Sumaru didn't tell me they were dating." Naruto grumbled.

"That's because it isn't our business." Fujita reminded them both.

"Yeah, I know." Naruto spun around again and continued heading the procession, "Let's go north from here. I remember a plateau that Ero-sensei and I passed. We'll take a break and then I'll try to sense if any Jounin are close by."

All was quiet on the march, at least for a while. Naruto noticed Fū muttering random facts about herself and giggling as they hiked. He tuned in a listening ear.

"My dad died when I was little, but my mom's always been tough." Fū flexed one of her arms, "I take after her!"

After another beat of silence, "My favorite? Oh, it's a tie between katsudon and crayfish."

"Crayfish?" Fujita muttered incredulously.

Naruto asked over his shoulder, "What are you two doing?"

"Nothing!"

"—when he thinks questions I tell him the answers!"

It was silent again after they gave conflicting replies. Naruto stopped and cocked a hand on his hip, "Playing twenty questions and excluding me, eh?"

"You can play next?" Fū shrugged and kept marching.

"Who likes to eat crayfish?" Fujita was still grossed out as he tagged along.

Naruto shook his head and then took up the rear of the team. He overheard again as Fū tittered and shook Fujita by the shoulder.

"Your parents are so sweet! And funny!" After glimpsing Fujita's memory of them, Fū had to give a compliment.

"Thanks," Fujita puffed up a little, "I'll never be as funny as my dad, even though he's teaching me about punchline delivery and sarcasm."

"There are funny people in the Hyuga clan?" It shocked Naruto.

"Well, just one person— my dad." Fujita clarified, "He's the clan steward of the Main House."

"Are stewards some kind of cook?" Fū was unsure.

"No…they are the standby heirs in a clan, in traditional practice." Fujita informed her, "Should anything happen to Hiashi-sama, Neji-sama, or my cousins, my father would step in to lead the Hyuga clan as a last resort. Someday I might do the same." He noticed Naruto had fallen into step with him, looking dumbfounded, "Though I really wouldn't want to! It's almost unheard of. I think only twice before in the history of our clan has an acting steward had to do such a thing. We're sort of like a safety net."

"How come I never heard of any of this stuff?" Naruto stomped a bit in the sand, "Was I just not paying attention?"

"It's archaic, to be honest. Most other clans in Leaf will elect a replacement or candidate heir in an emergency like that." Fujita assured him, "Someday…if we no longer use the Caged Bird Seal…we can move to such a system. Then anyone, even someone from the Branch, could be chosen to lead the Hyuga clan if we lost a leader abruptly."

Naruto rubbed his nose and wondered, "What are they waiting for?"

When the rocky plateau came into view, Fū excitedly took off, flying speedily until she was crouched down in shade again. Naruto and Fujita hustled to keep up. The group took a sip of water while regrouping.

"Do you think a Jounin target would hide from us or try to escape?" Fū was prognosticating, "Maybe we should split up or organize an ambush?"

Naruto held up a finger while he sat down, "Let me see what I can feel with Sage Mode, then we'll come up with a plan. An ambush is always a good default…" He shut his eyes and fell still. A moment later, he cracked an eye open again, unchanged, "Did you hear that?"

Fujita was tense, "Hear what?"

Naruto motioned for his teammates to not move or make noise. A faint sound carried in the air. Eyes wide, Naruto rose to his feet and announced, "That's a bell."

"You can hear a bell ringing?" Fū hopped up while cupping her ears, "Hm. I must be hard of hearing..."

Fujita scanned the area with the Byakugan and gasped, "There's a Jounin close by! A kunoichi!"

"It better not be Temari." Naruto mumbled under his breath, "Uh…Fujita, can you describe her?"

"Tall and skinny like a willow tree! Flak vest, short hair like a boy's…" Fujita frowned, "Looks to be…practicing a color guard routine."

"I have no idea what that is, but I'm guessing that's not Temari." Naruto felt secure in that line of deduction.

"Ohh! That's when dancers wave flags or poles around for parades and stuff!" Fū was familiar with the description, "I bet it's a weapon."

"I think it might be." Fujita agreed.

Fū cracked her knuckles, "Let's beat her over the head with it!"

"Hold your horses." Naruto hooked a finger in the loop of Fū's bag before she could strut away, "Fujita, give me details on her position. Let's assume she's hard to sneak up on, since we're out in the open. This will probably be a head-to-head confrontation."

Fujita nodded and relayed the west by northwest position, 38 meters away. He and Fū listened to Naruto's plan.

"I'll send Shadow Clones ahead disguised to look like us, and try to draw her attention. We can get into position if we do that, and jump on her from the rear and flanks." Naruto rested his chin in his palm, pondering, "Something tells me this one probably knows plenty of jutsu, and is better suited for melee combat. A lot of ninja in Hidden Sand are experts in weapons or puppets…so we'll have to try to disarm her, or risk getting smashed."

"Yup, yup." Fū was nodding.

"Okay, so here's the part where we lay our cards down on the table." Naruto rested his hands on his knees, "I need to know what kind of techniques you guys can use, especially to stun or disable our target. You've seen mine already— the Hiraishin, Rasengan, Sage Mode, and Shadow Clones…maybe a fireball if we really need one…"

"I'm a sharp-shot with shuriken." Fū boasted, "And I can blind enemies with a flash from my scale powder! Make a sticky string net…I know a little bit of Water Release…which is no good out here. I've got one Wind Release technique that can help, and Chōmei will lend me as much chakra as I need to get beefy!"

"I've got four quivers of senbon. I know a few advanced forms of Jyukken," Fujita shared, "And I can use Heavenly Rotation for defense… I've also been working on Lightning Release too." He smiled at Fū beside him, "My Lightning Release can make your Wind Release stronger, if we work together."

Fū began patting his back enthusiastically, shaking with anticipation.

Naruto reached over for a fist-bump, "We can work with that. Let's grab that bell and high-tail it back to Suna!"

The youngsters tapped their fists together.

---

The disguised trio of Shadow Clones did very well when it came to sneaking within a few meters of the Sand kunoichi. That cover was blown when the woman fell still and pointed a metal staff in the direction of the dune they hid behind.

"Don't be shy." The woman spun the bar in her hand, "I'll talk to you like a civilized lady first. There are rules to go over…"

The phony Naruto, Fujita, and Fū clones popped up and approached cautiously. The real team had taken a roundabout route west, moving in silently from behind, and beyond earshot as the Sand kunoichi made some announcements. She was olive-skinned and lovely, her white blonde hair trimmed close to the scalp, dressed in dark, form-fitting fatigues of Sunagakure. When she blinked her cat-like eyes, her irises gleamed peony pink in the sunlight.

"I am Zeriko." She stuck her staff into sand, where it stood about her height beside her, "It looks like you are Team 7, if I recall the roster lists…interesting." Zeriko smiled, "I have a single bell that only one team may take in exchange for entry back into Hidden Sand. I am permitted to use any technique against you that I see fit. And that is true for your team as well— anything goes." She had no idea the original team was creeping up in her blind spot, "Before we begin, are any of you ill or injured? Or do you need water stores replenished? This is a courtesy extended by the Kazekage."

Naruto's Shadow Clone gave a clipped but merry, "No thanks!" when it charged forward in time with its disguised counterparts. An odd chain of events unfolded as Zeriko took a timely leap backwards to avoid the lunging group…and crashed straight into the real Fū who had snuck up behind her. Beetle wings spread, Fū cinched her arms and legs around Zeriko's shoulders and waist, relishing the woman's astonished squeak of surprise. Nearby, Naruto and Fujita groaned at the reckless attack.

"Flying Suplex!" Fū flapped up and took a back-bending dive down into sand, burying Zeriko head first.

Naruto wanted to bark an impatient what the hell do you think you're doing?! but at first glance it appeared that Fū had single-handedly taken the opposing kunoichi out of commission. A breeze rolled across sandy hilltops in a moment of stillness. Fū released the Jounin and stood, dusting her hands off, "Whew! What a thrill—!"

One of Zeriko's legs lashed backwards and kicked Fū squarely in the mouth. The girl sputtered and fell. In a kerfuffle of sand, Zeriko unearthed herself, unscathed by the assault, and shook dust and gravel from her outfit. She strode past Fū on the ground before lifting up her staff, spinning it round her forearm, "Don't dish what you can't take, girl."

Fujita gaped at the display, but Naruto's command to take the right flank snapped him out of it. The remaining Shadow Clones shed their transformations and surrounded Zeriko, she handily bashed them apart with a whirl of her metal staff. Fujita dove in as Fū simultaneously threw herself forward; the two hoped to catch the Jounin in a pincer move. Zeriko was there one moment and gone the next in a blink of the Body Flicker. Before the two charging teammates crashed into one another, Fujita slipped sideways with thoughtful footwork.

Naruto whistled, signaling a need to regroup, "She's running away! The real trick is going to be catching her…"

Fū was stewing and rattling off profanities, but she relaxed as she watched Naruto hand his anchor knife to Fujita, bidding them to go ahead.

"I'll catch up as soon as I'm in Sage Mode." Naruto took a seat, creating two Shadow Clones to assist him in gathering Natural Energy, "Fujita, track that Jounin; and Fū: blind her or slow her down!"

Acknowledging their orders, Fujita darted off like a bullet, and Fū kept pace beside him while flying low. Her speed built momentum, eventually overtaking Fujita as he watched their target racing over a sandy flattop, "Fū! She's due west!" His directions faded as he fell behind, and Fū bolted ahead in full flight, with a fresh jolt of chakra from her Tailed-Beast.

She rushed through hand signs and took aim at Zeriko below, "Net Shaped Prison!" And Fū spat a sticky mass of webbing the stretched and smacked the Jounin down to the ground. With a web string in hand, Fū landed hard on her feet and called to Fujita as he barreled ahead, "Do that pokey-hand-thing to her, Fujita!" She pulled back on the string, tripping Zeriko again as she stood and struggled in the net.

Fujita closed in, skidding over sand, spinning into a brutal short-form of Gentle Fist once the Sand kunoichi's tenketsu were in range. He'd drilled chakra into 14 chakra points before recoiling, bouncing his fingertips off of a hard, impenetrable surface. Zeriko's skin— her whole body from top to bottom, was coated in brushed metal armor. In the second he took to evaluate what ability he was witnessing, Zeriko jabbed the end of her pole in Fujita's stomach to push him off. She thrashed and writhed until the web net fell away in stringy pieces. The shiny, sleek armor on the kunoichi's body remained; not a product of a jutsu, but of a natural gift. Fujita was on his feet again, testing to see how strong his strikes had to be to penetrate through the metal surface. Only one hit seemed to reach, and it was nearly a waste of chakra and precision. Zeriko's Taijutsu was swift, clocking him several times in the head and knees. "Where did that third teammate of yours go?" Zeriko was suspicious.

Fujita retreated when he spotted Fū diving in his field of vision, getting in close to Zeriko while holding the Tiger sign, "Scaled Sneak jutsu!" Fū clapped her hands and Zeriko saw only twinkling light, flash-blind from the scale powder tossed in her face.

As the powder cloud thinned, Fū and Fujita attacked the jounin from both sides— reaching for the small bell on a string fastened to Zeriko's belt. She had tossed up her staff and completed hand signs, unfortunately, "Spike Rock jutsu!" Jagged boulders jutted up from the ground beneath their feet, warding the Genin away. Zeriko caught her weapon without an ounce of effort, observing, "The two of you aim to test me—"

Fū was unceremonious about her volley of shuriken, which cut off the Jounin's remarks on their teamwork. Fujita charged in with that covering fire, ducking under the first few swings of Zeriko's staff before rotating in defense, "Kaiten!"

The dome of chakra heaved Zeriko up, where Fū soared above and extended a hand— brushing the cool bell with her fingertips. Zeriko was a whirlwind of kicks and punches again, using Taijutsu in mid-air to fend off Fū as they descended in a flurry. On the ground, Fū successfully blocked another kick to the head, but screeched when the Jounin improvised and grabbed one of her wings. Fū struggled before Zeriko's reverse kick clipped her forehead, sending her face-first into sand.

Without a second to waste, Fujita was following up on the attack, spinning and jabbing as he called to Fū on the ground, "Are you alright?" She gave a weary thumbs-up while rising to her hands and knees.

Fujita wanted to try his luck with a 32-point strike and see if that could slow her, but Zeriko rushed at him with a burst of strength, her staff held lengthwise in order to mow him down, "Steel Train!" He barely somersaulted out of the way of the unstoppable lunge. It kicked up dust and debris that made his eyes water. Fujita gulped when Naruto abruptly appeared next to him in a flash, his eyelids tinged red.

He extended a hand and pulled Fujita up, "Rough going?"

"She's not the type to be caught off-guard or give us an opening." Fujita assessed. He handed the anchor knife back to Naruto.

"Got any long range attacks, then?" Naruto inquired.

"A few." Fujita motioned to Fū to take the left side and wait for an opportunity, "Let's try to make her use Earth jutsu again. I'll be better prepared."

Naruto saluted him and rushed ahead, swinging wide, indirect punches at the Sand kunoichi that battered her. Zeriko was not in the mood for a throttling, and with some coaxing; Naruto did manage to earn another Earth Style attack from the kunoichi. Fujita waited for the rocky spikes to rise up from the ground when he made his move. He slipped several senbon from his sleeves, snapping them forward and stuck them into the rising boulders, draining the Earth Release chakra into his Lightning technique, "Static Noose!"

When the technique flared with an overabundance of chakra, lightning crackling wildly, Naruto had the good sense to throw himself to the side and duck for cover. Zeriko yelped and staggered away as her jutsu had been usurped, and a Lightning counter easily coursed through her metal armor. Dizzy and slightly fried, the Sand kunoichi turned to make another escape…and walked straight into one of Chōmei's great tails as it lashed out from Fū's back. Zeriko was tossed to the dirt once more.

Hands still protecting his head, Naruto looked up to see the lightning field had died off, and Fū had thwacked their target with a tail that resembled her smaller set of wings. With Zeriko pancake flat, Fujita swooped over her and snatched the bell from her belt.

He toddled away and panted heavily, pausing to rest his hands on his knees and breathe easy again.

"Woo hoo!" Naruto was rising nearby and cheering the accomplishment. On the far side of the sandy plain, Fū did a little hip-wiggling dance.

Zeriko's metal body ability flickered, and she shed it as she stood up and rolled her shoulders. Fū stopped dancing at the sight. While Fujita had his guard lowered, Zeriko easily hurled her staff with a spin, whacking Fujita from behind and knocking him down like a bowling pin. Naruto dared protest in an angry shout, and the Sand kunoichi sped over to him while baring her teeth, "Who says I can't take that bell back?"

By all accounts he should've dodged the punch to the face— he felt it coming. Naruto was still punched in the face by an angry Jounin.

Fū sprinted over to Fujita on the ground, hooked her arms around him, and took off. The boy was coming to and still in possession of the bell. Naruto could forgive her for trying to make a run for it. While he picked himself back up, still seeing triple of everything, Zeriko was after the thieving Genin like a runaway steam engine. Naruto sent several Shadow Clones ahead before joining the chase.

"Fujita, say something if you're awake!" Fū demanded as they climbed higher.

"Don't drop me!"

"I won't! I bench weights that are heavier than you!" She shouted some reassurance.

Then, she heard Fujita's yelp of fright and looked down in time to see Zeriko's metal staff could extend, lengthening and carrying her up to a height great enough to leap for them. The Sand kunoichi's arm was coated in metal again, swinging at Fujita like a war-hammer, but Fū's barrel-roll spared him as she purposefully dropped her passenger. She dove down to catch him again, cringing as his caterwaul rattled her ears, "Fū! I told you not to—!"

"You're fine—!"

A gasp, "I think I lost the bell!" They glanced down again, watching the tiny glint falling through air. Zeriko was after it, swiping her staff 'round to defend against pestering Shadow Clones.

Though she closed her hand around the bell and retrieved it, two of Naruto's clones were petulant and detonated beside Zeriko. The explosion flung her and her magically extending staff apart, where the real Naruto, Sage Mode refreshed for a second round, crushed the weapon to smithereens with a Big Ball Rasengan. Zeriko quirked a brow at the move, "I can't replace that. It's priceless."

"Should've had that insured!" Naruto barked.

Zeriko stuffed the bell in her pocket and formed hand signs, and to Naruto's surprise— her jutsu wasn't aimed for him. Behind Naruto some dozen meters, Fū and Fujita landed…and were instantly swallowed up in four gargantuan walls and a roof of metal, enclosing them in a great box. The Sand kunoichi brushed sand from her outfit and hair, sighing. Naruto backtracked to strike the box with a mighty Sage kick (no good) and tried to call in vain to his imprisoned teammates.

"You had better decide what to do soon." Zeriko warned him, "They won't be getting out of that Steel Labyrinth Box for at least an hour." With that, she turned tail and ran again.

Sweat streaked down the side of Naruto's face, sliding his hands along the steel wall. There was no give, no rumbling or disturbance from the interior. He backed up and rammed a fully-formed Rasengan into it, which could only scuff the surface. 'Shit!' Naruto fretted about their target Jounin disappearing on the horizon, 'I can't get them out…it'd take me too long to gouge a hole with a ton of Rasengans, even with a hundred Kage Bunshin at it…she'd be long gone.' Gritting his teeth, Naruto took off running, 'I'm sorry Fujita! Fū! But Ero-sensei and Gaara told me not to let anyone hold me back!'

Naruto gained ground at a grueling speed. He hurled his anchor knife to cover wide distances instantly, collecting the kunai again and again as he progressed. A stab of guilt nagged at him, 'Even if I get this bell, then what? Zeriko could chase me again, unless I knock her unconscious or something! Her box isn't going to expire anytime soon.' He could see the kunoichi as he closed the distance, 'No, I've got to do this. I can go back for them! I won't leave them behind. They're going to pass this with me!'

He was down to his last charge of Sage Mode when he pounced, knocking Zeriko over and trading vicious hammer-fists and high kicks while they skidded in sand.

"You're not quite like the other two," Zeriko noticed, "Such a shame you had to leave them…but you've got to look after number one, right?"

"I'm never going to be number one." Naruto ducked a right hook and skimmed Zeriko with Frog Kumite, blasting her into the side of a dune like a hydraulic press, "This is for them!"

She emerged in full steel-armor again, smiling. Zeriko charged back, weaving and jabbing with enhanced Taijutsu, only to mistakenly go after a Shadow Clone again— which seized her in a full-nelson when it detonated. She skipped like a stone over sand and bramble, aggravated, unaware of the Rasengan coming up from behind her until it had already pulverized her into the ground again. In that moment of bleariness, Naruto extracted the bell from Zeriko's pocket and dashed out of the dust cloud. Like the terminator she was, Zeriko got up again faithfully. She began to form hand signs as she reprimanded Naruto, "I have a box for you too, young man!"

Heart pounding, Naruto watched the walls rise up around him in the millisecond after he let his anchor kunai fly. Zeriko dodged the knife as it whizzed past her cheek, and blinked in shock as Naruto reappeared beside her in a flash. Her second Steel Labyrinth Box slammed shut with no captive inside, and Naruto let a follow-up Rasengan with the last of his Sage strength crash over Zeriko's head. It leveled the area and slowed her for a solid 20 seconds, which was an improvement.

With his Sage chakra spent, Naruto sucked in a deep breath and prepared to make a break back in the direction of his team. Zeriko wobbled to her feet. He'd had yet to meet someone who could take half so many direct hits and keep going. A great tremor shook the ground under their feet. The Jounin exchanged a questioning look with Naruto before settling her eyes on the first giant Labyrinth Box. The top and sides were blown off in an earthquake of energy, astounding the two witnesses as a behemoth blue and green beetle emerged— seven massive tails stretching out around it like wings. Zeriko's shoulders sagged at the sight of it.

"Well…" Naruto dusted his hands, positively jolly, "I guess someone can break your super-strong box."

"My jutsu isn't foolproof." Zeriko understood that.

"Time for me to go…unless you'd like to take another shot at us?" He was inching his way toward his teammates.

"It was challenging enough facing a jinchuriki one-on-one while he went easy on me," Zeriko got candid, "But I lack the confidence to try and stop a Tailed-Beast in all of its glory, unrestrained." She waved him off, "Take that bell. Now that my segment is over, I can go home and make a nail appointment."

Naruto was grateful, "Thanks lady! You're one of the toughest people I've ever smashed with a Rasengan."

"No one with Metal Body Shock is dainty…though I try to look it." Zeriko bade him farewell and set out into the desert.

With that parting, Naruto hurried back towards the enormous beetle, and halfway it spotted him and closed the distance. Covering his eyes to squint up at the towering beast, Naruto saw Fujita atop Chōmei's horn, "You okay up there, kid?"

A voice echoed down, "Yeah! Did you get the bell?"

"Sure did!" Naruto stood beside the Tailed Beast and patted a greenish tail-wing, "Um…is Fū okay?"

Better than okay! We're just flexing our muscles again. Chōmei turned slowly, about-facing to make the way to Sunagakure, Climb on, Naruto.

He did so, finding the way up carefully along the sleek shell of the beast. Never before had Naruto's proximity to a Biju been so benevolent, though he was quickly adjusting. He sat on Chōmei's head and Fujita slid down to join him, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed.

"I felt bad about leaving you guys in that box." Naruto confessed, "Sorry. I had every intention of coming back…"

"I know, I could see you." Fujita patted his shoulder, "Fū told me she was sure that she could break us out, so I trusted her. This could be…one of the most amazing things that has ever happened in my life."

"Yeah…this is pretty high up there, even for me." Naruto conceded.

Chōmei's flight pattern evened out, carrying them north over dunes and rocky outcrops. Suna had not been far away to begin with, but the Tailed Beast delivered them a short walking distance to the outer gate. With a polite farewell, Chōmei traded places with his jinchuriki again, prompting Naruto and Fujita to leap off as the form shrunk back into that of Fū's thin frame.

"Whew! Nice workout." She stood between her friends waiting for two simultaneous high fives, which she got, "Good job, fellas."

"I love flying." Fujita decided.

"See?" Fū laughed as they strolled up to the gate entrance, "You didn't know what you were missing! Now you just need to try some all you can eat buffets."

"I'm ready for a buffet now." Fujita did some back stretches while walking.

Fū poked his exposed midriff when his shirt rode up, "What-? Those Star Village biscuits didn't fill you up?"

"Better than the cactus paddles did." Naruto wagered.

A Chunin greeter welcomed them and held out a hand for their bell, "Well done! Team number?"

"Team Seven!" Fū hopped up and down in place.

Naruto gladly forked over the dinged and scratched bell.

"You can proceed to the final stage of the Exam, which is a review by panel." The Chunin pointed out a passageway covered by tarps for shade, "Follow that path to the end and to the plaza. On your right you'll see the pavilion tent and be given directions there. You'll be reviewed one at a time."

They did as instructed, though Fū did not get a straight answer if there was a restroom near the plaza, "I've had to pee since noon…"

"Why didn't you?" Naruto was feeling like a beleaguered parent, "You had like a thousand opportunities to go before we tracked that Jounin down!"

"I forgot. I was too excited."

From behind them, Fujita blew a small raspberry.

Fū resorted to power breathing to control her bladder. At last, they came upon the large, tented pavilion and stopped outside of it, finding another attendant asleep on a bench. An old woman dressed in gray robes snored quietly while balancing a clipboard on her stomach. Fū gave her a gentle shake.

"…get…your…filthy mits off of me White Fang!" The old woman leapt up with a screech, disoriented as she woke. She noticed the shaken Genin team waiting for acknowledgment.

"Oh. Early birds." Chiyo wiped her mouth on her sleeve, then flipped through a packet of competing teams to pull their profiles to the front, "Listen up…everything you have done up until this point can be used against you, or in support of your promotion to Chunin Rank. You were under surveillance during every stage."

"We were?" Fujita was surprised. He hadn't noticed anyone watching.

"Did I stutter, boy?" Chiyo sniffed, "Yes, you were. Team Seven, is it? Ho, what a handful…" She wiped a bit of crust from her eyes and then pointed out another bench behind the large tent, "Wait there. Go in once it's your turn. You—" Chiyo pointed to Fū, "First."

Fū's wary smile was the last thing Naruto and Fujita saw before moving to sit and wait to be called in.

Inside the tent, Fū was very amused to see a television monitor set up on a rolling cart beside a long table of children. At the center the two eldest children sat, a boy and a girl, about ten years old by Fū's estimate. They had very serious looks on their faces. On either side of the centered children were a pair of younger children who were distracted with paper folding projects to pass the time. Most of the six-person panel looked up and noticed Fū, then called on each other to focus on the task at hand.

"We," The ten-year-old boy announced, "Are a panel of students from Sunagakure's Academy…classes B, C, and D represented. We will judge your proficiency in this Exam based on recorded footage and notes."

The girl beside him added, "It's for project credit."

A young boy of six years at the edge of the table whispered, "Whoa, you guys sound really grown up readin' that script…"

"Shhh!" They hushed him.

"Name?" The eldest boy tried to sound bored.

The girl on his left whacked his arm, muttering, "It's on the placard, dunce. Chiyo-baasama flips it over when an entrant walks in!"

Fū announced herself anyway, "I'm Fū of Takigakure!"

This greeting invigorated the children, who then chorused back, "Hi Fū!"

"Heh, heh…hi." She stifled her giggles.

"Fū of Takigakure, during this review you are required to answer our questions." The head boy prefaced the evaluation.

The youngest boy at the edge of the table piped up again, "You're dirty."

"We were in the desert for three days-ish. We're all gonna be gross." Fū checked her top and skirt and found streaks from cactus paddle juice, and dried blood droplets from when she'd been kicked in the mouth.

A playback of filmed events rolled forward and rewound on the screen as two younger children quarreled silently over the remote control. The eldest girl confiscated it from them, "The recording shows that Fū was the first member of her team to wake up and figure out what was going on."

All children nodded in agreement and scratched their pencils onto notepads. A few minutes went by as footage was reviewed, played back multiple times, paused, and children bickered over the significance of what they were seeing.

"See? She respected water rations and fairness, that's worth a point on the rubric." A nine-year-old boy grumbled.

"She worked really well with her teammates." A younger girl pointed out, "It was…explerary…er…example…exemplary!"

A boy on her right muttered, "That's a tough word, it's okay."

"She is able to use…a variety," The youngest boy pronounced carefully, "Of Ninjutsu."

"Competence in Taijutsu!"

"Strategy!"

"Takes orders!"

"Improv…isation."

"One of four shinobi in this Exam…that was able to fly." The eldest boy noted, "There are points for uniqueness, I think?"

Scratching on paper pads continued.

"So…" The eldest girl had a hard edge to her voice, "Why should we promote you?"

Put on the spot, Fū blinked rapidly before piecing together a truthful answer, "You…can if you want to. I just came here to make friends, actually!"

The children cheered at that comment.

"Want a juice box?" The youngest girl offered one.

"Yes please!" Fū approached the table to accept the drink, and tapped the straw's wrapper on the table to free it.

"Don't forget," The nine-year-old boy snapped his fellow panel members back to reality, "That Fū jumped recklessly into the surf for a clue, and could have endangered herself and her team."

The kids muttered about the point deduction and scribbled subtractions onto their notebooks.

"Yeah, she also used up some supplies carelessly…"

More scratching.

"I don't know how serious you are about being a ninja, to be honest." The eldest boy turned his nose up at her.

"Me neither. It's a job that I'm good at." Fū gave a sincere answer, "Making friends is more important to me. I remember the Kazekage talking about working together, so it made me believe I could."

Soft gasps.

"As long as I can protect my village, that's enough for me." The kunoichi did not care much either way if she was promoted or not.

The silence hung in the air until the youngest boy asked the important question that all of the panel wanted answered, "…are you…that giant bug?"

Fū rubbed the back of her head, abashed, "Sort of!"

"Points! Points for that!" The boy yowled. He and the other children frantically scrawled on paper.

"Do you have any other comments you would like to make…advocating…on your own behalf?" The eldest girl inquired with new vocabulary.

"Nope!" Fū was done, "Where's the restroom?"

"Just across the courtyard." The girl filled her in.

"Chiyo-baasama!" The eldest boy summoned the village elder while he got a final count of points that the panel had tallied up. When Chiyo poked her saggy face in, he reported to her, "Pass."

Fū thanked them with a wave, accepted a promotional certificate, and then hurried out. Chiyo yawned, "I'll…go get the next one."

One of the children reversed the recorded footage until a young man popped into the tent, glancing around inquisitively. Chiyo hooked a new name on a display placard before toddling out.

"Hyuga Fujita." The eldest girl read the name aloud.

The eldest boy went over his script again, "We are a panel of students from Sunagakure's Academy— classes B, C, and D represented. We will judge your proficiency in this Exam based on recorded footage and notes."

The girl added, "Fujita from the Hidden Leaf village: be sure to answer any of our questions as best you can."

He was momentarily confused by the sight of the panel, but nodded when addressed. A young boy pushed 'play' on the remote, which cued up at an unflattering shot of Fujita screaming in the cavern as Fū took off with him for the first time. A few children snickered.

"Well," A little girl tried to redeem the applicant in front of them, "He cut off a scorpion's stinger before this. Go back a little…"

"That's worth some points."

"Initiative!"

Scribbling began on their notepads.

"Look at that, pause it!" A child gestured at the screen, "He can spin and deflect stuff! Like Gaara-sama's shield, but without sand!"

The children liked the look of it as their pencils scratched again.

"Good cooperation!"

"Put a knife in that eel's eye…"

"Speaking of eyes— his are weird."

"It's the Byakugan, you idiot. Don't you read?" A girl snipped in annoyance.

"He's got great Taijutsu…and that Lightning jutsu put Zeriko-sensei down."

"Not for long…"

The eldest girl was critical of the candidate, "He wants to lead…but is not very good at it."

"He's not the worst."

"How long have you been a graduated ninja?" The youngest girl asked.

"About four years." Fujita estimated. He tried not to take offense to verbal assessments bouncing around.

"Hmm…"

The pencil scratching slowed down.

"Why do you want to be a Chunin?" The eldest boy asked.

"I know I'm not the best." Fujita understood their reservations, "And that is why I'll always be motivated to improve. That's the way I want to serve my village alongside trusted comrades."

Quiet fell after that comment, and children leaned over each other to compare notes and scores. Someone pointed out to the youngest panel member that he'd been writing upside-down in his notepad. He did not see a problem with this, "My characters are still neat."

"Chiyo-baasama!" One of the children seated at the center called the elder back and nodded to her, "Pass!" The same child handed a promotional certificate to Fujita, mentioning that it needed to be presented to the Hokage.

"Good. You," Chiyo motioned with her head, "Run along. Restroom's across the courtyard on the left."

"Actually, is there somewhere I can get something to—?"

"There's a shave ice cart over there, whippersnapper." Chiyo hurried him out.

Fujita exited the tent to find a snack, flummoxed that a bunch of Academy students had been the ones to promote him.

Chiyo flipped the display placard to the final team member's name. She scrunched her face at Naruto, briefly staring after she ushered him into the pavilion. Then, she returned to her bench.

After seeing how quickly Fū and Fujita had been processed and expelled from the tent (both with certificates), Naruto had an inkling that some strange mechanism was in place. That hunch was validated when he walked in and discovered the panel was comprised of six children. It figured that Gaara would want to be make an evaluation as unorthodox as possible. Gaara had always been privy to how brutally honest and unfiltered the opinions of children could be, juxtaposed to the politicized and biased views of adult evaluators.

A child at the center of the table was reading scripted lines about being Academy students, that they were running the panel for project credit, so on and so on until another kid pitched a fit about stupid, repetitive lines, and a ruckus broke out, knocking the start of Naruto's review off the rails. One child pitched the remote control for the television and clocked another child in the head with it. Crying ensued.

Hoping to get some help, Naruto poked his head out of the tent flap to inquire with Chiyo, "Excuse me, Granny…I think the panel is in crisis?"

She was already out cold on the bench. Naruto ducked back into the tent to watch two younger children chasing each other. The eldest girl stood up on her chair, bellowing "Everyone knock it off!" and then the two racing youngsters slammed into one another and began wrestling on the floor.

"Whoa— whoa!" Naruto got in between them, lifting each child, boy and girl, by the scruffs of their shirts, "You guys are supposed to work together! This isn't constructive!"

"I'm just…! Tired!" The little girl wept, "I don't like this stuff. Class is easier."

The little boy wriggled wildly in Naruto's grip.

"And Tomio hit me in the he-eeeaaaaad!" The girl sobbed.

"I wasn't aiming for you, Jurina!" The boy tried to pry Naruto's hands off, "Your fat head was in the way! Haruo is being a big jerk!"

At the table, Haruo jumped up from his seat, "I'm following directions! You new kids can hardly keep your eyes open through a full day of school! Cranky little blisters…"

The eldest Academy boy had talked the eldest girl down from her soap box, and those at the table seemed to cool off. Naruto sat down on the floor, keeping each child stuffed under his arms on either side, "Okay…let's just relax everyone…"

By some miracle, cranky students Tomio and Jurina had settled down in whimpers, hugging Naruto for moral support as if he were a stuffed animal. Fuddled, he patted their heads and soothed them.

"Sorry, Uzumaki-san. That was unprofessional of us." The head boy bowed in apology, a gesture that the head girl student mirrored.

"It's cool. Even Kages have bad days." Naruto extended a thumbs up and then looked down at the cuddlers, "Do you two want to go back to the panel now?"

"No. Here's fine." Tomio tucked his head under Naruto's sage cloak.

At the table, a girl reminded them, "You two still have to watch the footage and help us with scoring, if you sit there." Both children nodded and Haruo grudgingly walked their notepads and pencils over to them. Naruto sat passively and held the sniffling pair while the screen flashed with events from the Exam.

At one point Jurina tugged on Naruto's tunic to get his attention, "You smell sweaty."

"Sorry about that…"

"It's okay. I like your whiskers...and butter-color hair." She turned back to watch the screen. She was doodling a whiskered face on her paper pad.

Naruto pressed his lips together and reeled at the peculiarity of his situation.

"Did you see those clones explode? Rewind that!" The eldest boy had the footage turned back, before asking Naruto, "Is that real?"

"Is what real?" He missed the comment.

"Can you really make clones explode?"

"Sure, but I'm not demonstrating in here." Naruto confirmed with a shrug.

Pencils pattered on notepads again.

"Hm…" Muttering from the center of the table, "Good reflexes, strategy…"

"You're so fast I don't even see you move on the screen!" A kid frustratedly tapped on the remote. Some felt that it was worth points, although they were unfamiliar with the idea of teleportation jutsu.

"He kept everyone on track…" The eldest girl observed, "But then he left his teammates in Zeriko-sensei's box."

The face of every child in the tent fell.

"Why did you do that?" Tomio asked in a small voice.

"I didn't want to…but that was the best way to help them. I had to get a bell while I could." Naruto explained, "We would've missed our chance if we let the Jounin go. I'd never abandon Fujita or Fū. They became my friends! I was going to go back for them, but they were able to break out of that box."

The kids seemed satisfied with his line of reasoning. Someone tried out the word rational to describe it.

Naruto overhead muttering about resources and cleverness, and the clatter of pencils dropping. Tomio and Jurina turned in their pads at the table for a tally of points, slumping tiredly back in their chairs.

"Baa-sama…" The eldest boy called in a weak voice. There was no reaction. He called a second time, louder and more noticeable…but the elder did not respond. Annoyed, the Academy student pushed back his chair and stomped out of the pavilion to fetch Chiyo.

Several seconds dragged by and Naruto envisioned what it would be like if experienced ninja were the ones scrutinizing his performance. There would be a degree of pomp and circumstance, maybe even flattery. Perhaps bias or unfairness, and other mercenary motivations that grown shinobi had. To that end, Gaara had likely done away with the partisan views of adults as an experiment, as he had seen the self-serving attitudes on Leaf's Exam review board. The children were straightforward with their interpretations, simple though they may be. Naruto got the gist of the impetus behind arranging such a young panel.

He shook out of his thoughts as a cardstock edge prodded against his arm.

"Here, take this." The eldest girl of the panel was handing him a certificate, "You need to show it to your Hokage to be officially promoted. We won't get Chiyo-baasama to wake up for a while…so you can go now."

The children of the panel wished him well, and Naruto, a bit dazed, gave them a small wave before seeing himself out. He exited the pavilion and spotted his temp-teammates beside a shave ice cart.

"I've probably lived through weirder stuff…" Naruto guessed as he joined Fujita and Fū, "But I never did think I'd make Chunin that way."

"Likewise." Fujita agreed before a bite of cherry ice.

"I wish every test was like that." Fū had no objections whatsoever.

"Do you guys want to tag along with me while I look for Gaara? He's got to be close by to oversee the Exam." Naruto offered, "Maybe he can tell me if Ero-sensei made it to the Tide Village."

Fujita nodded while squinting due to a bit of sour syrup.

"Sure!" Fū bought an extra cup of ice, "I'll give this to him a gesture of good-will. I hope he'll let us shower somewhere, because woo-boy—! I'm ripe."

---

Note: Grooved to Led Zeppelin for this one! A cute, easygoing entry to offset the calamity to the south. Sorry in advance, it won't be pretty. Let's eat snacks. It's pretty evident how often I think of munching. Thanks for sticking with me constant-readers and new readers alike! I want to drop you down a rollercoaster plunge next, so please keep your arms and legs in the ride at all times.

Chapter 48- Anagnorisis