Chapter 51 – Chūnin Exam III

"Talk"

'Think'

Flashback

Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Kishimoto sensei.

"Now I know why I've got reports that the training logs were unusable" said Shisui.

"Am I being reprimanded?" asked Noriko solemnly.

"No. You used them for training, and I was just pulling your leg" Shisui grinned and asked "What are you working on?" Noriko told him.

"I see. You know, I've been sitting in the office too long, I think I need a workout. How about a spar with me?" asked Shisui "You can use everything in your arsenals…minus Kyūbi-san of course" he added with a wink "We don't want to cause panic"

"You asked for it" Noriko attacked with Hakke Kūshō which Shisui jumped to avoid and was met with Noriko clawed at him with Rajah's paw. Shisui jumped again and at the last moment, he noticed the claws elongated.

Looking down at the rip of his shirt, Shisui jested "You reminded me of the Nibi jinchūriki. Now, activate your sharingan" Noriko obliged.

Shisui unsheathed his tantō and said "Zanzō Bunshin".

Noriko eyes go wide and she activated her byakugan. With both sharingan and byakugan, she can see Shisui's real body but- "So fast"

Instinctively, she produced her chakra barrier, only to find the tip of Shisui's tantō a few inches from her chest.

"Good. Kakashi told me he has taught three of you Shunshin no Jutsu. It's time I passed this technique. I used tantō to inflict damage, but you can personalize it with Rajah's help" Shisui said as he attacked relentlessly.

Noriko can only defend using kunai, despite that, she received many scratches from the tantō as she could not defend fast enough.

"Being able to see is an advantage. You have double of the advantage since you have two dōjutsu but it is useless if you cannot dodge fast enough!" at that point, Shisui paused as his tantō was on the skin of Noriko's neck.

Noriko eyes widened, a bit terrified of her uncle. Shisui smiled and sheathed his tantō "You know, you are strong for a rookie, but you think too much. Remember, you have your team mates to cover your weaknesses. From what Kakashi has said, all of you trained so hard because none of you wants to be the dead weight. I'm proud of that. But you take things so serious, relax, go have some fun. Take one day off"

"We haven't had our cooked out for a while. Why don't you find your friends? Go tell Naruto, too. In fact, I think I'll inform all the sensei of the rookie team" said Shisui "Now, I need to discuss with Kosuke and buy groceries…" he continued muttering before shushin off.

Noriko just stared at the spot where her uncle had been.

Noriko looked at the scene in front of her, feeling content. She had gone to the Hyūga Compound after her uncle had left her to invite Hinata.

"Hinata, my uncle invited all the rookie genins to our house for dinner"

"What?!" Noriko turned at the yelling and saw Maito Gai and his team "The Hokage invited us for dinner?! I, Maito Gai shall accept this and if I'm late, I'll climb Hokage Mountain using my bare hands 100 times!"

"Gai-sensei! If I'm late, I'll climb Hokage Mountain with my hands 200 times!"

"Lee!"

"Gai-sensei!"

"Lee!"

"Gai-sensei!"

Noriko stared at the sunset blankly 'Where's that coming from?' Then she turned to the other two team mates who looked embarrassed "Is that Lee, Gai-ojisan's otouto?" she asked.

"Gai-ojisan?" asked a girl with two buns on her head

"Yeah, I knew him since I was four, so…"

"Lee is our team mate. He idolized Gai-sensei" answered a Hyūga boy with long brown hair.

"Neji-niisan" greeted Hinata.

"Hinata-sama" greeted Neji back.

"You're Hinata's cousin?" asked Noriko.

"Who are you? I'm Tenten" introduced the girl with two buns.

"I'm Noriko. Hinata and I went to the same Academy" answered Noriko.

"You are the team that went on a long-term mission that caused you guys to miss the Chūnin Exam?" asked Tenten.

"Yeah. How do you know?" asked Noriko. Hinata then explained to her what had happened during the first round of Chūnin Exam.

Neji was staring at Noriko. He knew of her. His father had said that the future of Hyūga clan lies on her. She could be the end of the Hyūga Sōke no Juinjutsu.

"Am I interrupting?" asked Itachi.

Noriko smiled at him "No, please" she gestured a place next to her "I'm just treasuring the moment. It's not every day you can see this"

Itachi smiled "How's your training?"

"Okay. Today I learnt two new jutsu. Now I have to practice them" answered Noriko.

"Whenever you want a sparring partner, I'm available most of the time" Itachi offered "Clan's head rarely goes out" he explained further.

Noriko glanced at him 'He look normal, why do I got the feeling that he's not happy?', squashing down her thought, she said "Sure, once I've got these jutsu down, I'll find you"

Itachi smiled and asked more of her recent mission.

Shisui smiled to himself as he noticed from the corner of his eyes that Itachi and Noriko were talking 'Both of them cared too much about their younger siblings, stuck with responsibilities that neither wants in the first place and they take things too seriously. It's nice to see them on a break'

Kinuta Dosu was looking at the gathering and asking himself, 'What have I gotten myself into?'

Initially, he was looking for the jinchūriki of Sunagakure for a fight. When Dosu found him, the jinchūriki was talking to a blond boy. The blonde boy was talking about 'cooked out' and 'friends' when he noticed Dosu.

Then the blonde boy said "Hey! You also made it to the final right? Come on. Shisui-ojisan is cooking"

'Shisui? Isn't that the Hokage's name? Ojisan? They are related? I though the Hokage got a niece, not a nephew? He's cooking?' unable to think of a reason, Dosu tagged along with the blonde who introduced himself as Uzumaki Naruto and asked Dosu about his Chūnin Exam and how he likes Konoha so far.

"Ok" was the only answer Dosu gave to both questions which was accepted by Naruto who then continued to talk about Ichiraku ramen which has the best ramen in the world before listing of ramen that he likes the most.

"So, what does Otogakure looks like?" asked Naruto.

'Mostly underground' thought Dosu though he said "It's different"

"Where is it located? It's a new Hidden Village right? Must be cool…do you think we can visit Otogakure?" asked an excited Naruto.

'If you want to be lab rat' though Dosu while he said "It is in Oto no Kuni, previously known as Ta no Kuni"

"Can you tell me more? I've only been to Sunagakure, Nami no Kuni and-" said Naruto but was interrupted by Shizuka "Naruto, let your guest eat. I'm sorry, Dosu-san, right?"

"Right" answered Dosu.

"Ack! I'm sorry! Come, let me get you something" offered Naruto.

Meanwhile, Shisui and Kakashi had the same thought "Ta no Kuni now is Oto no Kuni? Orochimaru was reported seen in there on multiple occasions. Could it be-?"

End Chapter 51

Hyūga Sōke no Juinjutsu – Hyūga Main Family's Cursed Seal Technique

Niisan – Elder brother

Oto no Kuni – Land of Sound

Otouto – Younger Brother

Ta no Kuni – Land of Rice Fields

Zanzō Bunshin – Afterimage Clone