Another memory appeared. It showed Team 8. They were jumping from tree to tree, they seemed happy and confident. The had gotten the other scroll they needed from the group they had trapped. They voiced their plans to head straight to the tower.
"This seems normal…" Chocho said.
Kiba and Akamaru suddenly stopped, it seemed they sensed something ahead because he had Hinanta check with her Byakugan. She confirmed. Shino put his head to the tree, he guess six people, two team were facing off. Kiba said they should go check it out.
"Why?" Boruto asked. "They have both scrolls don't they?"
Kiba jumped ahead, forcing his team to follow. The scene skipped. It showed Akamaru cowering. Something Mirai wasn't accustomed too.
"Something's wrong." Mirai voice was laced with worry. "Akamaru doesn't get scared easily.
Kiba stopped as well when his partner suddenly became spooked. His team followed in suit.
"What happened?" Hinata asked, "You stopped suddenly."
The white puppy climbed into Kiba's jacket. He was shaking and whimpering.
"Akamaru got frightened all of a sudden." Kiba said.
Hinata asked why the puppy was suddenly so scared. Kiba explained that his ninja hound could smell and sense the power and size of an enemy's chakra, and said it was the first he'd seen the puppy this scared. The wild boy tried to comfort his partner. He said that the people ahead weren't ordinary. They moved forward. Before them were two teams. One were a team of Rain Ninja. The other, were Shikadai's family, His mother and uncles. The two teams stood a good distance away from each other. Kiba question why a small boy like Gaare was picking a fight. Akamaru whined. It seemed he said something to Kiba as the boy's face changed to shock.
"What did Akamaru say?" Hinata asked.
"He said the big guy's dangerous." Kiba answered.
Kankuro told Gaara they should of stalked them, find out what scroll they had to avoid pointless battles.
"It doesn't matter." Gaara said, making their opponents confused. "If their eyes meet mine… I'll kill them all."
Shikadai's eyes widen. He couldn't tell if his uncle was bluffing. Judging his uncle's face, he didn't know. The Rain ninja attacked first. He tossed up a few umbrellas and activated a Jutsu. Hundreds of needles came flying a the redhead and his team. The area was covered in flying dust. None of the Sans team could be seen. When the dust cleared it showed Gaara, surrounded in sand, pierced by dozens of senbon. The Rain ninja tried again to attack with his needles, but Gaara's sand just blocked the needles. Temari and Kankuro stood off to the side, no needles near them.
"That sand." Kiba said. "It smells terrible."
Shino inquired when he meant. Kiba said the sand had a strong smell of blood. Kankuro was explaining Gaara's sand. The it was an absolute defense and that it automatically protected Gaara and the small area around him, even without the boy consciously controlling it. The Rain Ninja leader charged Gaara. He didn't get far as Gaara's sand wrapped around the man's body, preventing his movement. Most seemed shocked, mostly those in the memory itself. The Rain man's umbrellas fell to the ground, near Gaara and his team. Gaara said he could cover the man's mouth and kill him. The redhead picked up one of the fallen umbrellas, he said it would be pathetic. Gaara's face remained impassive as he raised the captured Rain Ninja up. Shikadai took a step back, his eyes wide as he watched his uncle crush the man with his sand. He heard someone throw up. He himself felt sick and turned around, falling to his knees and vomited as well. The sight of the raining blood, turned black from the sand, rained on the man's screaming teammates. The two other pleaded for their lives, giving up the scroll. Shikadai covered his ears and clenched his eyes. It did nothing to block the sound of the terrified Ninjas that Gaara crushed. No one moved. No one spoke. Shikadai still didn't opened his eyes and ears. Gaara stated he wanted to kill more. Kankuro tried to stop him, saying the redhead was putting him and Temari in danger. The painted boy said Gaara should listen to him since he was his older brother.
"I've never thought of you as my sibling." Gaara said.
Shikadai opened his eyes right then when he heard his uncle say that. He turned back to the memory.
Gaara was lightly glaring at Kankuro. Gaara threaten to kill Kankuro if he got in the way. Temari tried to calm Gaara down this time.
Her nervous voice stressed Shikadai out. She asked as a favor for his sister.
Gaara didn't say anything. He brought his hand to face Kankuro. The redhead snapped his hand back to the side, gathering sand. Team 8 started shaking, fearing for their lives as the hand was pointed in their direction.
"Gaara!" Temari yelled.
The redhead clenched his hand. For a moment no one breathed. Nothing happened.
"Fine." Gaara said.
In his hand was the cork to his gourd of sand. He had used the sand to pick it up. In the process he ended up scaring everyone.
The memory faded.
Shikadai was still on his knees. He was shaking at what he saw. His uncle killed three people without even a waiver of emotion. Thoughts ran through his head so fast. Why was his uncle like this? Why was he different now? What changed him? How many had he killed. He thought of the kind, caring uncle he knew. Remembering the calm pale green eyes and small smile calmed him down. His uncle wasn't the monster he saw. He was the Fifth Kazekage of the Sand who had a son of his own, although adoptive. The Nara Genin focused his attention back the others. It seemed at Inojin and Chocho were trying to snap him out of the daze he was in, asking is he was okay once he regained focus.
"I'm fine." Shikadai said. "I remember that the Women told be to remember who they are now, not from what we see and that calmed me down."
Despite his words Shikadai was still shaking.
Another memory appeared.
They were in a room. Team 7 seemed to of just walked in. There was a sign up on the wall. Sakura deduced that they probably had to open the scrolls now. They took the scrolls out. They seemed to be nervous about opening them.
"Why are they nervous?" Inojin asked.
"They might of ran into someone who opened the scroll. It might of done something to them." Inojin theorized.
The two opened them up, inside was a the word man. It was simple yet confusing. The scrolls started smoking. Sasuke told his teammates to drop the scroll. The compiled by throwing them away. They exploded into smoke. The smoke faded to reveal Iruka. Iruka explained what was happening, that he, as a Chunin, were to welcome the test takers. He just happened to be assigned to them. He congratulated Team 7 on passing the second exams.
The memory faded there.
"So they passed the second exams." Sarada said. "This is nothing like ours."
"Yeah." Mitsuki said. "We didn't have so much death."
"Oi!" Metal Lee said. "Don't say that so casually!"
Another memory formed. This time in a much bigger room. Seven squads had passed. They were lined up in the middle of the room. Squad Jonin and other Sensei and Chunins stood at the front of the room. The Third Hokage was there along with other proctors from the first exam. Some of the passing Genin looked worse-for-wear, others barely had any damage to them. Anko congratulated them on passing the second exams. The other genin looked at eachother. Either seeing who passed or sizing up their potential opponents. Some were talking to each other while they waiting.
"Only seven teams passed!" Shikadai said. "That means 21 of 78 people made it through that forest."
"26 teams cut down to a mere seven." Mitsuki said. "This exam is indeed brutal and much more harder than what we did,"
"Well I bet their's weren't interrupted like the end of ours." Boruto said, not really caring that his parents exam seemed harder then his. "Now we have to wait for the next one."
Anko announced that the third exam would be explained by the Third Hokage, turning the attention to him and letting him take over the talking.
The Hokage coughed and then said he was going to explain something before explain the next exam. The old Hokage explained the reason why they allowed other village's ninja to participate in exam away from their village. To promote peace and alliances. He explained it was to show the strength of each village's ninja so one nation doesn't crush another's military.
"I see, to keep the powers in balance." Sarada said.
When asked the Hokage explain that the reason they had to fight for their lives was because the strength of a nation is its people, Ninja specifically are the strength of the nation. He said a ninja will truly fight if his life's on the line.
"So this was just to push them to their limits?" Chocho asked.
"Seems like it." Shikadai said.
Someone asked about the meaning of friendship between the nations. The Hokage repeated that the friendship, in term of the allinced, meant fighting and removing lives.
"Harsh." Inojin said. "So some of the killing was intentional. They wanted people to die in that forest."
"To pick off the weaker to leave room for the strong, it seems." Mitsuki said.
It seems question was over. The Hokage mention the third exam again. But he seemed to want to say something else before that again. A man crouched in front of the older Hokage, asking to take over man's name was Hayate, he seemed sick as he coughed every few moments. The Hokage let him take over.
"Why don't they just talk about the Third Exam already!" Boruto exclaimed. "What else is there to talk about."
"Shh." Sarada shushed him. "Maybe if your quiet we can find out!"
The waitied for Hayate to speak.
"That's a preliminary to the Third Exam." the coughing Ninja said. "With participation in the main battle on the line."
"What?" Metal Lee said. "They want to thin them out more?"
The 21 genin didn't seem that happy either, asking questions on what he meant. Sakura asked why they weren't just taking the next exam with those who remained. Hayate explained that the first and second exam might of been too easy. He said that there were too many of them remaining. Hayate explained that the reason was because many people would come for the final exam, they could have long, pointless matches and that it was a time sensitive matter. He said those not is the best condition could drop out now, with no ill effect on their teammate. The memory skipped ahead.
"Only one person dropped out." Sarada said. "It's that one guy, Kabuto."
Hayate started the primary. He explained it would be one on one battle from here on out, in an actual battle format. Thanks to the one drop out there was an even 20, making the primary 10 rounds. Winners moved to the third exams and a match only ends when collapse, admit defeat, or dies. Hayate explained that if they didn't want to die, to admit defeat. He added he didn't want bodies to be to the current death count and that he may intervene and stop a match that he has judged to be over.
A screen appeared on the left side of the room. Hayate explained that two names will appear in the screen and those are the ones who fight each other. Hayate went right into is. Names shuffled by the yellow. They stopped a moment later. It was Sasuke verse a name named Yoroi Akado. Hayate had the two cme forward and agree to the match, he then had everyone not fighting moved to two upper walkways. Most of the leaf ninjas went to one side, those visiting went to the other walkway. Squad Jonins joined their teams. Sasuke and Yoroi got into position. Hayate started the fight.
"I hope this is good!" Boruto said in anticipation.
The memory blackout.
"What!" Boruto yelled "I want to see the fight!"
(All right. Let me know which fights you want to see. I won't be doing Sakura V. Ino because it's literately a pointless cat fight. Also fun fact. I wrote this at 4 am. I will be doing the Hyuga V. Hyuga and Gaara V. Lee)