Chapter 18 Aftermath
Tsunade bent over her student. Sakura was not breathing.
"Damn." 'Ok, she still has a weak pulse but that lightning jutsu stopped her breathing' "SHIZUNE! GET MY BAG!" Tsunade roared out. Tsunade made a few hand signs and pressed her now green glowing hands to Sakura's chest. Medics flowed in from the infirmary and ran to the aid of the Slug Sannin. Tsunade glared at them and all stopped at a massive killer intent from several sources. The often-overlooked Shizune came running down having unsealed Tsunade's emergency medical kit from its storage scroll.
"Shizune, scan her brain. She was hit with a lightning jutsu. Make sure …" Tsunade paused as she pushed more chakra into Sakura. Shizune just nodded and set to her task of diagnosing Sakura's over all condition.
"Don't die. Don't die," murmured Tsunade under her breath. Shizune heard what was being said but kept silent and on her job of stabilizing Sakura.
Within a minute, Sakura coughed loudly as the two doctors got her breathing again. The unconscious genin was breathing shallow and light but was doing it independently. Tsunade stopped with her chakra and pulled out medicines from her bag to aid in keeping Sakura stable. After using what she needed to, Tsunade looked up at Shizune, "Shizune, use a forced sleep jutsu on her if she stirs. We don't need for her to wake up just yet. Then we get her to a private room to take care of that burn on her chest."
"Hai, Tsunade-sama," Shizune got out. "I will stay with her."
Tsunade nodded then turned to glare at the Uchiha who was standing under ANBU guard. The boy was holding a bandage over the gash on his cheek. Jiraiya, Sarutobi and Kakashi were all examining the now revealed seal on Sasuke's neck. Tsunade growled and launched herself toward the boy. Jiraiya caught the spike of killer intent and caught Tsunade before she could shove her fist through the Uchiha's face.
"Tsunade, calm down! CALM DOWN!!" Jiraiya managed to get her attention as Sarutobi also got between the Slug Sannin and her prey. "We can handle things. Since you are not tending to Sakura, I assume she is going to be all right. Sensei is going to deal with the boy. You just need to focus on your student for now."
Tsunade was both annoyed and surprised at the normally irresponsible Jiraiya being the voice of reason in this situation. 'Wait, if Jiraiya is down here …' "Where is the gaki? I am sure he will be going ballistic over this."
Jiraiya looked a little sheepish. "Um, yeah. He already did. In more ways than one."
Flashback
Naruto stood in shock as Tsunade leaped down to the floor and began tending to Sakura. When Tsunade yelled to Shizune, Naruto was trembling and Jiraiya felt a huge spike of chakra coming from the blonde boy. The Toad Sage looked at his pupil and saw that the boy's eyes were red and slit like a fox's. Red chakra began pouring off Naruto in waves and most of the room looked in his direction. The older ninja all recognized the feel of the chakra and began to panic. Jiraiya cursed and reached into a pocket to pull out a small square paper seal. Naruto was about to launch himself over the railing at the Uchiha but Jiraiya slapped the seal onto Naruto's forehead and the boy went down and out like a light being switched off.
"Anko, stay with him. He will need a friendly face nearby when he wakes from that," Jiraiya commanded. "I'll be back soon to check over his seal. Sensei is waving me down there to look at the Uchiha." Anko took Naruto and lay him down by the wall behind the balcony.
Somewhere, a deep rumble sounded over this new complication. Getting free was going to be harder with that one nearby.
End Flashback
Shizune watched the medics load Sakura onto a stretcher and went with them to the infirmary before the girl was transported to the main hospital. She looked back at the group surrounding the Uchiha and knew this was far from over.
A number of people were all talking at Sarutobi at once. Sarutobi looked at everyone and motioned for silence.
"First, I will deal with one thing at a time. Hayate-san, answer in your capacity as the umpire, did Uchiha Sasuke violate any of your orders or the rules of the examination?"
Hayate frowned and sighed then replied, "No Hokage-sama. He had not been instructed to stop and was still acting within the rules of the exam." Several jonin and most of the Leaf genin present soundly disagreed with the judgment but Sarutobi raised his hand for silence again.
"I know it is unpopular but for the moment, Uchiha Sasuke is the winner of his preliminary bout and will proceed to the Finals in one month's time. All genin who advanced will report to the Tower tomorrow morning at 9 am where we will assign bouts for the Finals. We will conduct an inquiry into the situation of this match and why an assassination jutsu was used here. I will have a final determination at that time. ANBU, escort Uchiha Sasuke to the hospital to have his wound seen to, then take him to Hokage Tower and confine him there. We want to get a better look at that cursed seal on his neck and decide on a course of action."
"Hokage-sama, wouldn't ANBU headquarters be a better place to hold the boy? It is more secure," one asked.
"Not at the moment. I do not want Danzo to get his greedy little paws on the boy."
"Uchiha Sasuke," Sarutobi said.
Sasuke looked up at the Hokage. Sarutobi continued, "You will go with these ANBU and be held until we can examine the seal on your neck and the circumstances of how you received it. If you fail to remain there until released by myself, all of your clan's estates, goods and standing within Konohakagure will be forfeit. Do you understand?"
Sasuke paled at the punishment for non-compliance and answered, "Yes"
Sarutobi turned to the assembled crowd, "Jonin sensei, take your students to their lodgings or whatever meeting places you find convenient as long as they are out of here. Jiraiya, Tsunade, come with me. Kakashi, turn your remaining students over to Kurenai for now and come with me as well. I have many questions that need answering."
Sarutobi made his way into his office and sat looking at his former students and Kakashi. "It seems we have several problems and they are all tied together now. Orochimaru is making moves against us openly now if this seal on the Uchiha boy is any indication. That he has the temerity to put his mark on a ninja of Konoha is beyond troubling. I had hoped his creating a village had meant he was changing in his attitudes but this shows he has not. We must make some plans now. Jiraiya, I want you to examine that cursed seal closely and see if you can do anything about it. Kakashi, you will go with Jiraiya and aid him. You will find out how the boy acquired such a mark and why his entire team failed to tell us about it upon his arrival. Encountering Orochimaru in the Forest should have been reported as soon as he arrived. Wait, talk to his teammates before you interrogate the boy. Who knows what he might come up with at this point? I fear I was right months ago that the boy would betray Konoha simply for power. Kakashi, you will return once you have the information. I have other questions for you regarding the boy"
Jiraiya and Kakashi both nodded and left the office.
"Tsunade, I know you are worried about your student. You can go check on her shortly but I want to put the medical corps and the hospital under your direct command. I fear we will soon need medical care for many ninja soon. All matters medical would report to you."
Tsunade sat quietly after her teacher's request. Accepting it would mean she was coming back to Konoha on a more permanent basis. She thought back over the last 8 months. The bubbly optimism of her student and distant cousin. The never say quit attitude and energy of Minato's boy. The silent strength growing within the Hyuuga girl. Those children had become more than just some students she was training as a favor to her teacher. More than simply a job she was doing. The events of this past morning had shown to her she had come to care for them all.
It felt … good.
The Will of Fire that Sarutobi always talked about had not burnt in Tsunade since she had lost Dan. But due to those children, it had awoken again. Tsunade found she could not just walk away anymore. The image of her saving Sakura superimposed itself over the one of her losing Dan and lessened the pain just a bit.
"I can do that, Sensei."
Kakashi went back to Kiba and Shino where they waited with Kurenai. The look on his face told the genin that there was trouble ahead. "The two of you have not done anything wrong. I need to know what you do before I go in to talk to Sasuke."
Kiba and Shino both nodded and began telling Kakashi the entire ordeal in the Forest of Death.
Flashback Begins
Team 7 set out from the starting gate and quickly made their way into the forest. Kiba and Akamaru led the way followed by Sasuke with Shino trailing. Shino had dispersed his insects into the area around them for security and scouting purposes. The group moved quickly through the branches and moved about one mile in before turning to one side to seek out other teams.
They avoided an ambush set by a sole Rain ninja. Shino's bugs had found the teen hiding on the forest floor and he fled quickly. Sasuke just smirked at the fleeing enemy. Kiba grumbled that he wanted to fight the boy.
Team 7 traveled several more hours and spied no other teams during their search. They were thinking about getting some rest when the attack came.
A wind jutsu none of them knew blew the three genin in different directions. Shino's bugs on patrol had detected nothing prior to the jutsu impacting them. Shino was knocked senseless against the trunk of a tree and his insects were scattered over a several acres of forest. Kiba and Akamaru fell down to the forest floor and clung to some exposed roots to avoid being thrown too far from the rest. Sasuke managed to dodge a majority of the attack. He had been blown only about 20 yards before regaining his footing and swinging behind a tree trunk to wait out the wind.
Kiba began climbing back up to the branches he had been previously and saw Sasuke in a staring match with what looked like a Grass genin. Akamaru however whined to Kiba that the enemy was far too strong to be a genin and was giving off enough tightly focused killing intent to make Akamaru want nothing to do with the enemy. As Kiba approached, he felt the edges of what was being directed at Sasuke. 'If it is this bad out of the line of it, what must it be like as the target?' Kiba thought.
Kiba watched as the Grass ninja casually tossed a kunai at Sasuke's head. The Uchiha managed to dodge it by wounding himself and breaking the hold the jutsu had on him. The boy retaliated with fire techniques and seemed to do some damage but the burnt figure melted into the ground, being revealed as being a mud clone.
Kiba looked around for the original only to see giant snake coming directly at him. Akamaru ran into the Inuzuka's knees from behind making Kiba fall backwards and off the branch. The snake missed the boy completely and knocked the puppy hard into a branch, wounding the dog's foreleg. Kiba hit the ground again hard and managed to look up at a scream from the Uchiha. He climbed up high enough to see the Grass ninja leaving and Sasuke lying on a branch in pain.
Kiba managed to get his comrades to the forest floor and hide the team in a cave alcove in the roots of a fallen tree. The Inuzuka clan technique, Hidden Den, managed to keep the team safe from detection and harm when the Sound team prowled nearby before moving on.
Shino woke after a few hours. He had a mild headache but luckily no concussion. He managed to recall most of his kikai insects over the night but they were being difficult from being exposed in a strange place with no commands. Sasuke moved fitfully while unconscious and both of his teammates observed the mark on his neck develop into a grouping that strongly resembled a fully mature Sharingan.
After nearly a day, Sasuke finally awoke in a burst of chakra. Kiba and Shino were concerned over how long the Uchiha had been out and had been discussing forfeiting the contest to get him medical aid. Akamaru slunk back from the awakened Sasuke in fear as the chakra he gave off felt 'bad' to the dog. When the outburst died down, Sasuke was confused and disoriented. He rubbed at his neck for a few moments before looking at it using his headband as a mirror.
"That is a strange marking and seal on your neck, Sasuke-san," Shino noted. "You appear to have been bitten and the seal formed around the bite mark." Kiba nodded in agreement.
Sasuke sat quietly for a minute; as if collecting his thoughts or remembering something before speaking. "Poison," he murmured. "It is an old Uchiha clan seal to protect against deadly poison. It is only seen when active. It is a Clan secret technique."
Shino could not tell if the Uchiha was being truthful or lying due to the Uchiha's system being so fouled so Shino took the statement as being truth. Many clans had secret means of protecting from poison.
"If you're poisoned, we should quit to get you some help," Kiba put in. "Akamaru's leg is hurt. Shino's colonies are barely listening to him and I have a set of bruised ribs from that tumble from the tree. Getting through this test intact is more important than passing."
"NO!" Sasuke yelled out. "I am not going to quit and neither are you two. It was bad enough that we had to be rescued on our only big mission by the Loser and his team. If we quit over a few minor injuries, how can we show them we are good enough to be chunin? We still have time to rest up and still finish this test without quitting."
Kiba frowned as he remembered how bad his team had looked after the mission in the Wave. Kakashi and his mother had both agreed that his team did well but his own pride had taken a beating over seeming so incompetent.
"If we wait for a full day to rest, that would leave us with approximately 60 hours to find a scroll and complete the mission, Kiba," Shino added. "I find myself loathe to quit as well. We are not in our best condition now but we are functional. We can see how we are in a day's time then decide upon further actions."
Kiba saw Shino wanted to continue along with Sasuke so he agreed to wait. The day passed by in safety and all seemed in better condition after a full day of rest. Shortly after leaving the camp, they had run into Kabuto out by himself. He asked if he could travel with them back to his team since he had been separated from them. After a short debate, Team 7 agreed. A run in with the Rain genin from earlier and his team got them the scroll they needed but left them exhausted of chakra for nearly another day. They were in no condition to fight to get to the tower so they rested again until a few hours prior to the end to make their dash for the finish. Kabuto left them to meet up with his own team at this time. Within an hour of arriving and not having a chance to discuss things with their sensei, Team 7 found themselves in the preliminaries.
End Flashback
Kakashi nodded as he took in the story of his students. He realized quickly that Sasuke had lied to them about the nature of the seal. No Uchiha seal existed to protect against poison like that. It was his own genin's lack of knowledge against a plausible lie that allowed the seal to go unmentioned in the few moments he had with the team before the matches began. He could not fault them for wanting to complete the mission either but he needed to make a point.
"In truth, your actions sound about reproach. With your teammates down like that, Kiba acted correctly when you got them to a safe place and holed up while you could rest and heal. Sasuke lied to you about the seal on his neck but you had no way of knowing that he did. You completed the mission within the time allotted and would have been fine if there had not been a preliminary for the finals. Individually, you both performed well and as a credit to Konoha. It is your teammate that is the problem," Kakashi frowned as he left.
Naruto stirred then came fully awake with a jolt. "Sakura!!" He lunged up only to be caught by Anko.
"Whoa, slow down there, Naruto. She is ok." Anko said to him as he struggled.
Naruto finally stopped to see that he was no longer on the balcony looking over the preliminary arena. He looked at Anko very confused. "What happened? Where did everyone go?"
"When Sakura went down, you started tapping into IT's chakra and were about to attack the Uchiha with it when Jiraiya slapped a chakra seal on you. You have been out for a couple of hours. The old pervert has been back since to check on your main seal before removing it. He would have stayed but he is going with Kakashi to interrogate the Uchiha."
"Its chakra. The Kyuubi? I thought that it couldn't get through the seal?
"It can't but its chakra can to small extent. Your chakra is what keeps the seal intact so that means you can pull some of its chakra out through it. It is very dangerous to your body but small doses will have no lasting effect, at least according to the old pervert. He figures if you pull too much chakra out, it can control your actions to an extent so it is not something you want to do that often, if ever. Although, the amount you pulled out in your anger was enough to make several chunin wet themselves."
"What happened to Sakura? You said she is ok?"
Anko nodded to Naruto, "Yes, Tsunade was down there as soon as the girl hit the floor. She and Shizune got her fixed up and off to the hospital for a checkup." 'What the checkup will show is something I don't know yet,' Anko thought. 'Lightning jutsu are very dangerous things.'
"When can I get to go see her and Hinata-chan?"
The Konoha hospital was in an uproar. The Forest of Death and preliminary matches in the Chunin Exam had left many seriously wounded genin. Deaths in this exam had been the highest in a long time. Medics were over worked and tired from dealing with many crippling injuries.
The true problem was not in the patients. It was in the form of a distraught middle-aged woman who was screaming at every medic in sight, "WHERE IS MY BABY?! WHERE IS MY SAKURA!?" Medics and patients alike scattered before the wrath of Haruno Sumomo. Eventually, the brown haired woman found the Intensive Care Unit and was about to storm in when Shizune appeared in front of her.
"Sakura is resting right now. She has had a bad ordeal and does not need to be hearing yelling especially from her mother," Shizune said with forced calmness.
Sumomo turned red with rage and got extremely scary looking as Shizune was speaking. "WHAT?! I AM HER MOTHER AND I WILL SEE HER WHEN I WANT TO!!" Sumomo swung a fist at Shizune who simply caught it and continued to look calmly at the older woman.
"I would not advise you to swing at a ninja again, Haruno-san. I have been patient with your rants. I have seen how you treated the people who tried to help you today. You will stop such childish behavior in this hospital." Shizune's face darkened and her eyes seemed to glow red for a moment at Sumomo. As Shizune lightly squeezed the captured fist of Sumomo she quietly said, "Have I made myself clear?"
Sumomo paled at the pain in her hand and the look on Shizune's face. She just nodded silently and backed off when Shizune let go of her fist. Shizune then smiled pleasantly and commented, "Sakura will be able to see visitors in about an hour or two. If you could wait quietly, I will see if I can speed that up."
Hinata stirred and looked at the white ceiling for a few moments before the pain in her head made her remember exactly why she was there. She sighed lightly at the fact that she lost her match. Her father would not be pleased with that. If she had not faced Neji, both likely would have advanced.
Slowly, she sat up to look around the room. There were two other kunoichi in the room, the girl from the Sound and one she did not recognize. The Sound girl had her head wrapped in bandages and was still unconscious. Hinata idly wondered what had happened to her. The other girl had her leg in a cast and raised up in the air. From experience, Hinata knew that was a bad break and there might be more damage judging by the elaborate setup.
A few minutes after she sat up, a nurse came in. The nurse smiled at Hinata and left to return with Shizune
Shizune smiled tiredly at Hinata. "Well, it seems one of our girls will be getting out of here today. How do you feel, Hinata?"
"Sore. It feels like a panda sat on my head," Hinata replied.
Shizune chuckled at the small joke, "Well, we didn't get the name of the panda but he didn't leave any noticeable damage. You'll be able to get out of here soon. We are overflowing with injured genin from the exam. If you have any strange symptoms or vomiting, come right back to see someone. Besides, with you up and around you can distract Naruto. With Sakura's injuries, he is driving everyone in the place insane."
"Sakura's injuries? What happened to Sakura?"
"Oh, you were out when it happened. Sakura faced Sasuke in a preliminary bout and he beat her badly. He used a lightning jutsu of some kind on her that really messed her up. But Sakura got in a few good shots of her own. The pretty boy is not so pretty anymore."
Sasuke sat in the holding cell with his arms crossed. He was furious that he was being held like some kind of criminal. Everyone was making such a big deal about him hurting the pink haired harpy. No one had said one word yet about the damage she had done to his face. When he arrived at the hospital, he was forced to wait while other, less important, people were seen to before him. The medics even all claimed to be low on chakra when his turn arrived and they merely stitched his wound closed like they were civilian doctors, not medical ninja. The wound would scar quite badly now. 'When are these idiots going to let me out of here? I have training to get to. He is getting stronger while I just waste away in this hole.'
Kakashi and Jiraiya watched the Uchiha boy merely sitting in the holding cell like he owned the place and that he was being inconvenienced by waiting there. Jiraiya spoke quietly to Kakashi, "I have seen Orochimaru's curse marks before. I helped on the one he put onto Anko and I have seen a few more over the years. They keep becoming more and more complicated. None of them has responded this aggressively to the person it has been put on before. It has already worked its way deep into his chakra network and it is going to be difficult, if not impossible, to block at this point. It has a strong feeling of Orochimaru's chakra to it as if he infused a piece of himself into the thing. If I did not know better, I would think it is alive in the way it reacts to stimulus. It's time to talk to the boy."
Kakashi and Jiraiya entered the holding cell only for Sasuke to ignore them.
"You do realize that if you do not answer our questions or you make things difficult, you will spend more time in here?" Jiraiya asked Sasuke.
Sasuke finally turned his head to look at his interrogators. "What do you want to know?"
Jiraiya spoke again, "We need to know the circumstances in which you received Orochimaru's curse mark on your neck."
Sasuke sat quietly for a moment before asking, "Who is Orochimaru?"
Jiraiya knew the question was a ploy for time to think so he responded, "You just need to answer the question put to you before you get any of yours answered."
Sasuke grumbled at being talked down to. It was not something he had much experience with. "Fine, the team got ambushed in the forest. A very strong Grass ninja bit my neck and it appeared. Now who is Orochimaru?"
Jiraiya looked over at Kakashi and motioned with his head to the door. The two men stood and began to leave. Sasuke frowned and called out, "What? I answered your question."
Jiraiya stopped and looked back. "You answered what you were willing to answer with as little information as possible. We will return in a few hours and I hope you will answer our questions completely. Further reluctance to answer is not in your best interest at this point. Neither is your attitude."
The door made a loud squeal as the ungreased hinges closed. The final working of the lock followed and left Sasuke alone with his thoughts one more.
Darkness slowly lifted from Sakura's eyes. A white ceiling hovered overhead as she tried to focus. She hurt all over but mostly in her chest. Breathing just hurt. She made herself breathe deeper and found she could but it still hurt. She tried to remember how she got here.
A fight, she remembered a fight then nothing but pain and darkness. She was fighting Sasuke. She was losing badly. He made a comment that upset her and she cut him. Then her chest exploded in pain and she woke up here.
Sakura slowly looked at the room. She was in a private one and no one else was present. The nurse call button was clipped to the blanket over her chest and she weakly lifted an arm to it. A nurse appeared within seconds of her pressing the button.
"Oh good, you're awake. I'll fetch Tsunade in a moment. Is there anything you need first?"
"Sore. Thirsty," Sakura croaked out of a dry throat.
The nurse nodded and left. Sakura waited in silence as the minutes passed before Tsunade walked in with a smile. The nurse followed with a small pitcher of water and a cup. Tsunade waited while the nurse poured for Sakura then helped the girl drink a small amount. Once the nurse had left, Tsunade spoke.
"You gave us all quite a fright young lady. You were very lucky because a few minutes later and you would be dead."
Sakura nodded and just whispered, "Sorry sensei."
"Well, it is not your fault entirely, Sakura. That rat of an Uchiha is the one who used a lightning jutsu on you. He is being held right now for questioning. Do you remember what happened? He said something then you slashed at him with an old style kunai cutting him. Then he hits you with that jutsu."
Sakura tried to think of everything said before it cleared up. "He had me up in the air and was getting ready to slug me. I said 'don't' and he told me that I needed to say please like I made him do in the Wave country. I wouldn't and I pulled my dad's kunai and swung at him. It gets hazy after that."
Tsunade smiled, "You gave the boy a cut and soon to be scar that would have most ninja telling lies about for decades. He freaked and hit you with a jutsu that looked a lot like Kakashi's Chidori. Where the kid learned it, I have no idea. None of your class has had any nature manipulation training."
"Kakashi sensei had used a lightning jutsu in the Wave. I saw it and I know Sasuke did as well. I was too busy taking care of Shino at the time to notice much else."
Tsunade nodded and made a mental note to pass on that tidbit. "In any case, there is a line of people waiting to see you. You up for a few visitors?"
"I think so. Who is there?"
"Your parents, your teammates, a few friends from your Academy class. Also there have been a surprising number of well-wishers from the shinobi ranks and number of minor threats from civilians. It seems the Uchiha still has a fan girl base among the villagers who want to marry up."
"Ugh, my mother. I just know she is going to make trouble. I might as well get it over with."
Tsunade went to the door and made a motion. As Sakura's parents entered the room, Tsunade said "5 minutes"
Sumomo rushed over to the bed. "Oh my poor baby. I always knew you being a ninja was a bad idea, Sakura. You should listen to your mother more than you do. We are going to get you out of being a silly ninja and find you a good husband"
"Mom."
"I think I could still get you engaged to that nice boy of your father's boss."
"Mom!"
"You would be set for life and I could be getting grandbabies in a few years."
"MOM!" Sakura finally yelled.
Sumomo finally stopped at the yell and looks abashed. For nearly a minute, Sumomo's brain processed the situation. Her daughter had raised her voice. To her own mother! "Where did I go wrong, having a disrespectful child? And you cut up that boy's face too."
"Sumomo! That is enough." Shukei now raised his voice to his wife. The woman had the nerve to look shocked at her husband now as he continued in harsh tones, "You will not carry on like that in front of our daughter. She has made her choice in life and we shall support it. I have allowed you to try to talk her out of this for years now but I have never stopped you before. It is high time that I did. You will not take my daughter's dreams away. I am well aware that our own marriage was arranged and if you continue like this I will be forced to send you back to your mother. It is within my rights as Sakura has been a legal adult once she became a genin."
Sumomo just stood staring at the man she called husband. She had felt the man was a weak slug under her thumb for many years. "You … you would do that to me? After all these years?"
"If you keep pushing; yes, I will."
Sumomo now realized where Sakura had gotten her strange determination. Her husband looked at her with more steel in his eyes than she had ever seen. His green eyes seemed to flash as he protected his daughter. She finally wilted under his gaze and small tears ran from her eyes before she broke down and sobbed. "I only want what is best for Sakura. For her to have a safe future."
Shukei wrapped his arms around his wife and spoke in a comforting tone, "I know dear, but you never know when to stop." He looked over at Sakura, "We will be back later. You get well sweetie."
"I will Dad, and thanks"
Shukei guided his sobbing wife out the door and took her home. The couple would be talking most of the night for the first time in years.
Naruto, Hinata and Anko piled into the room after Sakura's parents left. As normal, Naruto was loud and Hinata was quiet.
"Hey Sakura, your looking almost ready to get out of here and get back to training." Naruto cried out.
"Baka," Sakura said in reply. "It will be a few days at least. You must not be paying that much attention in Tsunade-sensei's classes."
Naruto spoke in a quieter voice, "Oh, I pay plenty of attention. I was just trying to make you feel better about it."
Hinata smiled but kept her voice low to begin with. Her head still hurt in spite of the painkillers, "You get better Sakura. It seems Anko-sensei is going to give us your part of the workouts until you get back."
Anko beamed in her own way, "Yup Pinkie. Naruto gets extra laps and meditation time until you can get back into PT. Oh and I have a little gift for you." Anko pulled Sakura's old style kunai from inside of her coat. It had some dried blood on it. "Genuine Uchiha. You are the first person since the Kyuubi to make an Uchiha with an active Sharingan bleed in battle. Um, not counting Itachi of course. I figured you could use a souvenir. You got that boy good."
"I'm not so sure I should crow about it, Anko-sensei. He got me back for it."
"True, true. But your scars will fade and be covered up and his will be in his mirror forever. You get better so I can run your butt into the ground some more. You need more training with that knife of yours also."
"I will Anko-sensei," Sakura smiled as the team filed out.
One by one, the other genin she had in class came in and wished her well. Even Ino got in a jibe and mentioned her forehead. Sakura smiled as that meant Ino felt everything was going to be all right.
Neji lay in his own bed as he waited for the poison used against him to work its way out of his system. The hospital did not have a cure for the paralytic but his body was clearing it out and he could leave the hospital in the morning. His limbs responded now and while weak, he could at least enjoy movement once more.
A light knock sounded at the door before Hiashi strode into the room. Neji tried to sit up but Hiashi waved him back down. "You are looking better Neji. I was briefed on your contest with Hinata and I was delighted to hear how well the both of you did. Hinata has come along well in her new variant of Gentle Fist and you have surpassed all members of the Branch house by teaching yourself the techniques of the Main house."
"Am I to be punished for that, Hiashi-sama?" Neji inquired.
"No, Neji. In spite of your preoccupation with destiny, you are your father's son. He would be proud of the man you are becoming. He too railed against what other people imposed on him."
"Hinata-sama spoke of you and he arguing about things and always being brothers in spite of your differences but I recall you using the seal on him."
"Yes, not one of my prouder moments. That day I was frustrated at Hinata's lack of skill for her age and when I felt his glares I reacted. To think that mere days later he would be gone from us."
"Hinata-sama also said some other things during our bout that have made me think and I have many questions if I may ask."
Hiashi nodded, "We can talk in private back in the estate. For now, I have brought you a letter your father wrote for you before his death. He wanted you to have it when you were ready. I think you are now. Next week, we will begin your training on the Kaiten. If you are going to be doing that move, at least you should be doing it properly."
Neji was shocked but just lowered his head and answered, "Yes, Hiashi-sama"
It was evening when ANBU guards brought Sasuke to a meeting room near the Hokage's office. Waiting there for him, he saw the Hokage, the 2 Sannin, and Kakashi. Morino Ibiki was sitting quietly off to one side with a notepad. The ANBU guards had Sasuke sit in a lone chair before the Hokage.
"Uchiha Sasuke, since you are reluctant to answer the questions put to you by your teacher and Jiraiya; it falls to me to inform you of your last option. You can answer the questions put to you now or you will find your status as a ninja revoked with no recourse. Your future and your foolish idea of revenge are in your own hands now based on how you cooperate. Do you understand?"
"Yes, Sir," Sasuke said. He was angry that these people were willing to treat him like a criminal but he recognized that the Hokage held his future in the balance so he would have to jump through their hoops like a good soldier.
Kakashi started off, "Back to the question you were asked this afternoon. How did you get the curse seal on your neck? What were the circumstances?"
Sasuke frowned but answered, "We were in the forest and got ambushed. Kiba and Shino were blown away by a wind jutsu and I managed to get behind a tree trunk before traveling too far. Once it passed, I tried to find the person who cast it and was found myself by a Grass ninja. She radiated some genjutsu at me that froze me up and attacked. I managed to break free and attacked in reply with several fire jutsu and a few spools of wire. The ninja survived a Grand Fireball strike full on and came back for more. I was tired and that is when she bit me. I blacked out soon afterwards."
"Did this Grass ninja identify herself?" Jiraiya asked.
"No, I only saw her in the area before the second test began. The team she was with was nowhere in sight when I was attacked."
Kakashi spoke again, "You lied to your teammates about the nature of the seal. You claimed it was an Uchiha seal to resist poison. Why?"
"I did not see the seal itself as a detriment to us. I wanted to pass the test and both Kiba and Shino were inclined to quit in fear of my health. I was beginning to feel power from the seal and I did not want to quit. I needed to advance and become chunin to get more training so I can go after Itachi."
"We will come back to that point shortly," Sarutobi put in.
Kakashi nodded "Why was no one told about this curse seal when you arrived?"
"We arrived with only a short time before the bouts. I had not thought of it much since I had woken up. It was just a slight feeling of power when I would do certain things."
Jiraiya grunted and made some notes.
Kakashi continued, "Now, when did you copy my Chidori? I know I have only used it around you once in the Wave Country but you said that your Sharingan was not active at the time."
Sasuke looked nervous, as he had been caught in a lie. "It activated during the battle against the Mist ninja and the mercenaries. I saw you do your jutsu and I copied it before I knew what was happening. It was not intentional."
"But you kept quiet about it and lied on when your Sharingan activated, giving it's activation a day about a week later. I know just copying the jutsu will not give you the ability to convert normal chakra to elemental chakra. How did you go about doing that?"
Sasuke was getting upset at all these questions probing into his business but he knew the price of not answering. "I studied it from scrolls in the Uchiha library and developed the ability on my own. I have not completely learned how to convert my chakra so the jutsu is not damaging enough to penetrate the skin of the target dummies."
"You are lucky that you have not learned it so well, Uchiha Sasuke," the Hokage said on low tones. "If you had, this would be a trial for the murder of a fellow Leaf ninja, not merely an investigation. The Chidori, like the more powerful Raikiri, is first and foremost an assassination jutsu."
Sasuke paled slightly at hearing 'trial for murder'. There was only one punishment for murder of a fellow Leaf ninja: Death.
Tsunade spoke up now, "Why did you use the Chidori on Sakura?"
All the people present looked at Sasuke. He felt their collective gaze and flinched. Each one of the people here could take him out. It made him feel weak and he hated that feeling. His anger rose up. "It happened because she cut my face. I got cut and I lost my temper. She could have taken out my eye with that kunai. I got cut and I got angry, the power I felt from the seal grew and I lashed out in pain and hurt. If she had not cut me, she would not have been hurt. IT'S HER OWN FAULT!!"
Tsunade looked coldly at Sasuke, "Her own fault? Then who was the one showboating and trying to make Sakura beg? Asking her to 'say please'?"
Sasuke was beyond reasoning on this. The harpy deserved her injury! "She should not have made me beg for training in the Wave Country. I need to get stronger and everyone seems intent on holding me back! I need strong jutsu. I need more power if I am to defeat Itachi! Making me beg to learn how to climb up trees! I am an Uchiha; we are not supposed to beg! We are the elite of Konoha! I should be the one training under a Sannin, not some pink haired harpy who has good chakra control or some loser orphan with no clan or some pathetic slip of a Hyuuga! A dead end clan that the Uchiha clan deemed unworthy to be Uchiha when ours struck out on its own!"
During Sasuke's entire rant the curse seal had been spreading slowly across his body until flame like black marks reached halfway across it. The white of his left eye had turned black and his Sharingan had activated.
Sarutobi had heard enough. "Sasuke, you will calm down and be quiet. I am ready to pronounce my judgment in this matter."
Sasuke was breathing heavily and standing by this time. Slowly he calmed down and sat. As he relaxed, the seal retreated to its dormant state on his neck.
Sarutobi waited until the boy was quiet and listening.
"First of all, we are going to apply a containment seal over that cursed one. Jiraiya here will se to that. Then you are going to be placed on probation. There will be no training for you without a jonin level ninja present. That means no training within the walls of the Uchiha compound at night. If you are caught doing so, your chakra will be sealed for the first offense."
"Next, you will receive counseling for your apparent difficulties in facing reality. You think that simple power can defeat Itachi and that you are somehow a match for him. He was an ANBU level ninja 5 years ago when he killed your entire clan. He was the same age you are now. He was nowhere near his full growth and power physically. He has only gotten stronger since that day. I believe that now he could give a serious challenge or defeat myself, Jiraiya or Tsunade in a fight before resorting to his Sharingan. Do you honestly believe that you are on that level?"
Sasuke glowered and quietly said, "No, not yet."
"Now, in regards to your participation in the Chunin Exam finals. In spite of my efforts to the contrary, word has already been spread that you will be competing in the Chunin Exam finals in one month's time. I am loathe to pull you out of them now due to already a dozen daimyos have sent word that they will attend simply to see you battle."
"IF you obey the rules I have set and IF you show progress in regards to your self control, you will be allowed to participate in the Exam finals. Failure will result in your being disqualified and circumstances will dictate your punishment."
"ANBU, you will remain on guard while Jiraiya applies the containment seal. Afterwards, escort Sasuke to his home. He is freed from confinement once he reaches it."
"Uchiha Sasuke, be in the arena tomorrow morning at 9 for assignment in the Exam finals. This is your only last chance. It is up to you on what happens from here. You control your own future, no one else."
Next Chapter: Moving Onwards
End Notes: Not a lot happening review wise that needs addressing but my life is getting complicated again so my free time for writing suffers. I spend more time editing lately than actually adding new material because it just is not sounding right to me. For the moment this chapter needs to be more like filler as I tie up a few loose plot points and move into the next portion. The points I have not tied up are still dangling for a reason.
Yes, Gaara will be the major antagonist in the next portion as Sasuke is forced to keep his head down or risk it being chopped off. (Thanks Jerrac and it is corrected)