"Sit still, Naruto!" orders Naruto's grandma, who is currently trying to brush his hair.
"But my hair is fine, Grandma!" Naruto tries to tell her.
"Nonsense! You need to look your best for the exam finals!"
"But I'm just gonna get all dirty and messy once my match starts, dattebayo!"
"Well, you still need to look nice for the opening ceremony."
Naruto sits still, with his arms crossed and a scowl on his face. What's the point in brushing his hair, anyway? It still sticks up everywhere.
There is a crash followed by a "DAMMIT!" and a cloud of paperwork bursts out of Grandpa's study. An instant later Tobiuo, Grandma's kitten, skids out of the office, her fur all puffed up, followed by an angry Grandpa. "Get back here, you silly animal!" growls Grandpa, trying to grab the frightened kitten.
"Arashi, that is not how you put the cat out," says Grandma, trying not to laugh. She leaves Naruto's hair alone long enough to scoop Tobiuo up, calm him down and shove him out the door. "I can't wait until that cat door is installed."
Naruto takes the opportunity to shunshin out the window.
Sasuke deactivates her sharingan and the jutsu Kakashi sensei just finished teaching her. "We should go to the arena," she says. She is worried about the impending invasion. "I need to be there on time."
"Well, I suppose I better not work you too hard," says Kakashi. "But put your training weights back on and don't take them off until your match."
They head back down the cliff to Kakashi sensei's house. Tenzou is waiting for them by the door.
"We are ready to leave now," says Kakashi sensei. "Are you coming?"
Sasuke does not think that is a good idea.
"Of course," says Tenzou. "There is no way I'm missing the opportunity to watch kids beat each other up."
"But you're not going to bring Aki and Minoru, are you?" blurts out Sasuke. "The chunin exams is no place for babies."
"I'm bringing Minoru," says Tenzou. "But we're dropping Aki off at the daycare on the way to the arena. She is old enough to understand what's going on, so I don't want her seeing that."
"But…" Sasuke tries to protest, in a desperate attempt to stop Tenzou bringing a baby to a future battle zone.
"Honestly Sasuke," says Kakashi sensei. "Minoru will be fine. It's not like he can sense chakra yet, so only the noise is likely to upset him."
Sasuke realizes Kakashi sensei doesn't know about the invasion. "But…"
"Hush," says Tenzou. "It's not like he'll be in any danger."
Sasuke wishes she was allowed to tell them about the invasion.
Madoka zips up his vest and tightens his ponytail. Then he checks his weapons' pouches and nods firmly. He is ready. This last month of training under Itachi, or her parents if Itachi was throwing up her guts, better have paid off. Itachi's mother didn't know much genjutsu, so those training sessions were focused on kenjutsu. Madoka only trained with Itachi's father a couple of times, and he only did it because Itachi had a mood swing and started crying when he refused to help. Those training sessions were intense. Apparently, Madoka is not nearly strong enough. You would think Lord Fugaku was trying to train him for an invasion, not an exam. Madoka doesn't feel or look particularly stronger.
But he is determined not to make a fool of himself. He knows he is the weakest shinobi in the finals.
Madoka straps his new arm guards into place and sets off for the arena.
"No, Itachi, you can't come," says Fugaku firmly. "You are grounded."
"Fugaku, she will be safer at the arena with me," says Mikoto. "You wouldn't want to risk her getting hurt because she is alone, would you?"
"What is going on?" asks Itachi, dryly.
"We are under threat of invasion," says Mikoto. "Your father wants to use you being grounded as an excuse to leave you at home. But for the plan to really work, you should be at the arena supporting your little sister. Besides, I will be there, half the clan will be there, and I am sure Shisui will protect Itachi with his life."
"He better not," says Fugaku, thinking Shisui better not get himself killed. "Or I'll bring him back and kill him. My grandbaby will not grow up without a father."
"Fugaku, you did not word that very well," grins Mikoto. "I will take care of Itachi. You go protect the Hokage."
"I'm actually more worried about the village," admits Fugaku. "Be safe, you two." He scoops up Eizo and heads off.
Upon reaching the T and I department, Fugaku lets himself in and finds Ibiki.
"Ah, Lord Fugaku," says Ibiki. "You're right on time. Hey little pirate," Ibiki adds, patting Eizo's head.
"If you uncover anything at all," says Fugaku. "Contact me immediately. Also, make sure Eizo eats a healthy lunch at 12, has a nap straight afterwards, and make sure his nappy is always clean - he gets grumpy if it's not. He still has a bottle, but he also drinks water as well as milk now - there is formula in his bag-"
"Chill, Chief," grins Ibiki. "I know how to look after him. Eizo will not experience any change in his routine. Invasion or no."
Fugaku hands his baby over to Ibiki and heads off to the Hokage tower. Upon arrival, he organizes the Hokage's guards, and briefs the ANBU on their role one last time. He is counting on deputy Kinoko to brief the police and have them in their places. And he is counting on Sasuke to arrive on time for her match.
Naruto arrives at Training Ground Seven to find Hinata, in her invalid clothes, already there. "Hey Hinata!" Naruto calls.
Sparky, who is perched on Naruto's shoulder, squawks. Sparky hasn't let Naruto out of his sight since he got home from the hospital.
"Oh, um, hi Naruto," says Hinata shyly.
Naruto trots up to Hinata and grins. "So are you better now?" he asks.
"Um, yeah," she says, wringing her hands. "What brings you here?"
"I was just coming here to settle my nerves," admits Naruto. "This is the place where I became a genin, so yeah…" Naruto scratches the back of his head. He feels unusually awkward around Hinata.
"Oh."
"Hey Hinata?"
"Yes, Naruto?"
"How strong is Neji really?"
"I...I don't know. He was holding back against me…"
"Oh." Naruto looks down. He might not be able to beat Neji. What if Neji is as strong as Haku? Or even stronger?
"Naruto, I think you can win!" Hinata says encouragingly.
"Really?" asks Naruto.
"Yes," nods Hinata. "Neji is strong, and more experienced than you, but…"
"But what?"
"Well, when I was fighting Neji, you know, when he was saying all those things about me, it hurt so bad." Hinata stares at the ground. "But when you cheered for me, I felt stronger than ever. He's right, you know. I am weak. But when you cheered for me, it made me feel strong. I know you can beat him, because you have so much strength that you can lend it to other people."
"Hinata…" says Naruto, looking down. "Do you really think that's true? I might seem strong to you, but I'm really not. I can use a lot of fuinjutsu, but I mess up a lot, and I make mistakes. My taijutsu is terrible and I hardly ever hit the target with my shuriken. I can only do a few ninjutsu, and it takes a lot of concentration for me to do them. I act tough, but I'm just trying to hide that i'm a huge failure."
"NO! That's not true!" says Hinata, stepping forward. "Sure, you mess up. But when you do you pick yourself up again. From my point of view, you are Proud Failure. That's what true strength is, I think. The courage to keep going no matter what! That's what make you strong, Naruto."
Naruto stares at Hinata in surprise.
"I admire you so much for that," Hinata finishes, blushing.
"Thanks Hinata," says Naruto, hugging his friend. "You really helped me."
"I'm glad," says Hinata.
Naruto releases Hinata and heads off to the arena. Before he's gone very far, Naruto calls back, "Make sure you come watch me kick Neji's butt!"
Sasuke is wearing a new outfit. That is all Shino can think about. Instead of her blue dress and white tights, Sasuke is wearing a black, knee length dress with a high, wide collar like most other Uchiha wear, and sleeves that reach halfway to her elbows. Her hair is sky blue and she has rings in her ears. Instead of her usual white tights and wristwarmers, Sasuke is wearing mesh armour leggings, brown elbow guards and bandages on her left arm. She has a belt around her waist to hold her shuriken and kunai holsters. Shino cannot stop staring.
Sasuke sees Shino staring and jerks her head in the direction of their new proctor, Genma. Apparently Hayate's illness got too much for him and he is currently in hospital. Genma has the lineup on a crumpled piece of paper he keeps in his shirt.
The first match is Naruto VS Neji. Shino has a bad feeling about this.
The contestants not participating in the first match are sent up to the waiting area. Shino walks beside Sasuke. He hasn't seen his best friend in a month. Neither of them say anything, but Sasuke seems to be moving slower than usual. Not much, but enough for a shinobi to pick up on.
Once all the contestants are in their assigned places, Genma announces the first match. "Neji Hyuuga VS Naruto Uzumaki. BEGIN!"