Standard Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Glee. Really sorry about the late update, my internet was down all day, it was a giant pain in the ass.
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xXx-Chapter 18-xXx
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Asuma Sarutobi laughs as Kurenai finishes describing her team's first meeting, before taking a sip of his coffee. It was early in the morning and he and Kurenai were at "the Lounge," a café and bar that acted as a kind of hang out spot for the village's jōnin when they were off duty. They were catching up with each other before they had to meet with their potential teams later in the morning. "Well, it seems like I'm not the only one to get an interesting bunch."
Kurenai smiles at him, "Yes, it doesn't help that poor Hinata is so terribly shy either, if she could just gain a little confidence she could go so far. Assuming they pass I'm going to have my work cut out for me in that area. The Inuzuka boy, however, has confidence in spades. He could use a little of Hinata's humility."
"I don't know about that, those Inuzuka's have always been a rather… confident bunch, mind you they usually have reason to be. Tsume is a world class shinobi and her daughter Hana is quite skilled too, if Hana's any indication I can't imagine that Tsume's let her son's training slip."
"Oh I'm not saying the boy doesn't have reason to be confident or that he doesn't have potential, but until he's tempered down a bit he'll be hard to work with." Kurenai says, taking a drink from her own coffee.
"What about your third member, the Aburame boy?" Kakashi asks as he slides up next to them at the bar, followed closely by his best friend and "rival" Guy.
Kurenai smiles. "He's a quiet one, always listening, always observing. I've done a couple of missions with his father before and he was the same way. It was a pleasure to serve with him though and if the boy is anything like his father he'll go far. Actually Asuma, I'm a little jealous of you, you got Ino Yamanaka and I'd specifically put in a request for her for my team."
Asuma looks a little surprised. "Really, I'd requested the younger sister, Rin."
Kurenai giggles, "Well of course you would pick her, by all accounts she's quite the little fire bug too."
"Isn't she the one that the Third's taken an interest in?" Kakashi asks, catching the attention of everyone listening.
"Yeah, shocked the hell out of me when he did too, I mean dad had pretty much sworn off taking on students after the sannin, and especially after what happened with Orochimaru. But she's got a lot of talent, I'll give her that. I've met her a couple of times, just in passing really but I've watched her and dad train on a few occasions. That one is focused, if she keeps it up she'll make jōnin in a year or two, easy. I think I would have enjoyed working with her and teaching her a couple of my fire techniques and how to supplement them with wind techniques. But someone beat me to her."
"Really, who?" Kurenai asks.
"Don't know, I asked dad about it and he said that someone else put in the request before me. He wouldn't say who though, so there wasn't much I could do about it and it really wasn't that big of a deal. Anyway, you said you wanted my student, Ino?" Asuma asks.
"Yeah, she's supposed to be a bit of a prodigy herself, especially in some of the more subtle shinobi arts. I heard she got a perfect score in her poison and toxins class as well as a perfect score in her interrogation and counter interrogation classes. I thought she would do really well with some genjutsu to help supplement her skills."
"That's not so surprising considering who her father is. Inoichi was that way too." Guy throws in with a grin.
Asuma chuckles. "The poor girl has her work cut out for her though. She's very driven and her teammates really, really, aren't. I mean Shikaku and Chouza are fairly laid back themselves, but their sons take it to a whole other level. I'm wondering what the Old Man was thinking when he made the decision to put them together to be honest. I mean I can see the appeal of recreating that team, but I don't know how successful this incarnation is going to be."
"You don't think they're going to pass your test today?" Kurenai asks.
Asuma shrugs, "It's hard to say. The talent and the potential is there, but they aren't exactly off to a smooth start. Ino is too forceful with them, she's got the right idea, but a gentler hand from her would go a long way to improving things. Then again, those two boys aren't exactly making it easy for her either. Like I said, she's very driven. She wants to be the very best she can be and it shows, she was number two in her class only beaten out by her sister in overall scores, and now she's on a team with two boys who are at the bottom of the barrel, they just barely scraped by with a graduating score. It's got to be frustrating for her, on any other team I'd say she'd pass the test no problem. With those two, well, I'm rooting for her anyways. Hell I'm rooting for all of them, but we'll see."
"My team is going to pass." Kakashi says nonchalantly. "Maybe…"
This draws a gasp of shock from all of the surrounding jōnin sensei and Kurenai even chokes a bit on her drink. Kakashi was notorious for failing his teams, he ran the bell test which was specifically designed to turn teams against one another and force them to fail.
All tests performed by the jōnin sensei were designed to inspire teamwork. To really get the newly graduated genin to think of themselves as a unit rather than individuals, they were designed to force them to work together and really drive it home that they were one. Teams that couldn't come together were failed and sent back to the academy.
The "bell test," which Kakashi always ran, was different. It was designed specifically to pit teammates against each other, the goal being to try and get them to put the team ahead of themselves and come together for the mission even if it meant that the team moved on and the individual did not.
"Kakashi! My rival, are you saying that you, you, are going to pass a team!? This is the most wonderful of news! I've always known this day would come, where you would finally help the next generation of shinobi fan their flames of youth! And you'll be teaching my sweet little Sakura as well, we'll have to ask her and see which one of us she thinks is the better teacher, eh Kakashi? I hope you won't be too put out that one of your students will pick me!" Guy laughs.
"Huh? I'm sorry, did you say something?"
"Gah! Ka… Ka… Shi… Ha ha ha, my eternal rival, always so hip!" Guy then gets a little more serious. "But tell me truthfully, do you honestly think this team will pass." He had more than just a passing interest in this, while it was never anything official he still considered Sakura Haruno to be a student of his and not only that, Kakashi was his best friend. Everyone there thought that him taking on a team could only be a good thing for their friend's mental health. A way to kind of re-ground him and help him to reconnect with people.
"I think they've got a shot." Kakashi says with a noncommittal shrug, but anyone who knew him well could see that he was actually fairly excited by the prospect.
"Well considering who you have on your team I'd say it's not all that shocking." Kurenai says, "I mean you have the last Uchiha as well as the Jinchūriki, and from all reports that Haruno girl is quite the powerhouse as well."
"You did a little bit of training with her, right Guy?" Asuma asks.
"I did indeed, and it was an absolute pleasure to teach her, I really wish I could have had both her and my Lee on a team. I've watched her grow from a timid little flower into the beautiful beast that she has become. Ah ha, my Lee has such a crush on her! Oh to be young and in love, truly her flames of youth will continue to grow and ignite a glorious future and I couldn't be more proud! If she can't have me then at the very least she deserves a jōnin sensei of Kakashi's caliber."
The rest of the group chuckles appreciatively, used to Guy's overly exuberant antics. It truly spoke to Guy's character that he could have such a long career and still have such a positive attitude.
"Hmm, yes, I guess they're all skilled to some degree." Kakashi admits, "And yeah, there's a little bit of that political pressure to pass at least Naruto and Sasuke, but that doesn't matter to me. I won't pass any team that doesn't deserve it and quite frankly this is the first team I've been given that shows any potential. Who they are beyond what they can do as a team is irrelevant right now."
"You've failed six teams already, what makes this one so different, if not who is on it?" Kurenai asks. She was certainly getting pressure to pass her team whatever the outcome of her test because it held Hinata and Shino, two clan heirs, and Kiba the son of a clan head. It was ultimately her decision of course, but she didn't have nearly the political clout that Kakashi did to just ignore who her team was.
"Well… the fact that they're already working as a team." Kakashi says with a smile, "Even now my three potential students are at the training ground and setting up "traps" for me."
This gets a laugh out of all of them. "Really? Well that's new." Asuma says.
"Yeah, it's kind of cute actually that they think I don't know about it, but I certainly can't fault them for doing it. I mean I did give them the time and place of the test and if they want to take the initiative like that, why not let them and see what happens. We'll see how long this teamwork of theirs lasts when they learn the specifics of the test though."
"I wouldn't count them out Kakashi, Sakura and Naruto are already pretty good friends, it's not surprising that they were already predisposed to work together." Guy says.
"Yeah, but Naruto and Sasuke can't stand each other." Kakashi says "And just because Sakura and Naruto can work together doesn't mean they can work with Sasuke. And assuming those two work together, which I am, if they end up excluding Sasuke then they'll still fail because they'll have missed the point of the test. Or even if they include Sasuke, if he refuses to work with them that will earn them a failure as well. It's easy to work with someone you like, I want to see if they can put aside their friendships and differences and come together as a team. Still, I think they've got the best shot at if of all the teams I've been assigned."
"Well, I wish you and your team luck, I really hope everything works out for all of you. And on that note, I should probably head out. I don't want to be late." Kurenai says, standing up.
"Yeah, I should probably go too." Asuma adds.
"I… think I'm going to sit here and read my book." Kakashi says, taking a seat and pulling out the latest addition of Icha Icha Paradise.
"Kakashi! Don't tell me you're really going to just sit there and read that smut while making your cute little students wait for you!?" Guy shouts, scandalized. He was well aware of Kakashi's habits but it still shocked him every time he was exposed to it.
"Hmm, it's no big deal I won't make them wait too long-"
"Phew, for a minute there-"
"Two hours at most… three if the story picks up which considering who the author is, it probably will."
Asuma and Kurenai both chuckle as they wave goodbye to their friends and head out. Leaving Guy to lecture Kakashi, futilely, about responsibility.
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xXx-Scene Break-xXx
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"So, how do you plan to capture me all on your own? And even more importantly, how do you plan to get the information I have without back up. I'm too fast for you to use your mind transfer jutsu on and I'm too skilled for you to take head on in a fight?" Asuma asks. He was actually quite impressed with the young girl standing in front of him.
He'd initially wanted her sister as a student but facing her now he could definitely see the potential that this girl had. She was completely outclassed and alone and yet she showed no fear. She looked confident, even a little cocky and he could respect that. A ninja needed confidence even in the face of certain defeat, you had to go into every mission with the mindset that you were going to be successful.
Ino lets out a cocky little laugh as she adjusts her stance slightly and reaches for a kaiken that she had strapped to her back, "You're right, as a jōnin you outclass me in just about every aspect of being a shinobi. I don't disagree with that, I know my own skills and I know where I stand and I know what I can do, however sensei let me ask you a question, do you?"
Asuma quirks an eyebrow, intrigued. This girl was already going for the mind games, this he had to hear. "By all accounts, you're a fairly competent student but nothing special. Certainly you aren't nearly as skilled in combat as your sister who I've heard already has a B-Rank mission to her name."
Ino doesn't even flinch, which impressed him even more. Her psychological profile read that there might be some jealousy there against her sister, plus sibling rivalry was always a sore spot no matter how close they may be. It was a low blow on his part, but he honestly wanted to see how she'd react.
"You're right, in a fight my sister is in a whole other league than I am, she was picked personally by the Third Hokage to train and there's a good reason for it. My little sis is a genius and I couldn't be prouder of her. But this isn't about her, this is about me and you and quite frankly bringing up my sister is just petty and obvious on your part…" Here Ino smirks at him, "and a little ironic considering the Third chose her as student instead of you too, his own son."
Ouch, okay, now that hurt. Had he been a little younger and hadn't come to terms with the relationship that he did have with his father over the one that he had wanted then that would have thrown him. It was his own fault really for bringing it up, but he was impressed that the girl had seen the opening and known enough about him to use it. It was a shame she was currently likely to fail this test.
The goal of the test was simple, he had the knowledge of where a scroll was located that contained "vital" information. Team 10 was to capture him and learn the location of the scroll, retrieve it, and bring it to a specific location. He'd also placed a couple of traps around where the scroll was located, nothing too serious but enough to make it a little more interesting.
His test was designed to test them on the exact kind of missions that team 10 would be trained for, which were capture and interrogation missions. The test really was fairly straightforward and conceptually should have been easy enough to complete, he wanted to give them the best chance at passing they could get. Asuma figured that they could learn to get along better as time progressed… he'd been wrong though.
Team 10 had started of fairly good, things were tense but they seemed to have reached a decision to at least work together. It didn't last long, Ino and Shikamaru started arguing right off the bat, and couldn't agree on a plan on how to handle him. Ino favored a frontal assault, between his shadows and her and Chouji she felt that it was the best way to handle it. Shikamaru wanted to retreat into the forest and make him come to them, stating that they were no match for him and that it was their only shot.
She called him a coward, he called her and idiot, and all the while Chouji looked on torn, he ended up siding with Shikamaru in the end and followed his friend into the woods. And now here she was, all alone and yet she looked as confident as ever, she was planning something, that much was obvious, he just didn't know what.
He hears a twig snap off in the distance, 'Ah, so that's it, very clever. Once this is over I'll have to ask them how they pulled it off. I've got to admit they had me fooled.''
"Let's get this show on the road, believe it or not I have better things to do than stand here in a field all day with some brat." He says dismissively.
"I'm going to make you eat those words." She says with a scowl, before her hands fly into a sequence of hand signs that looked familiar but he couldn't quite place. "Poison Art! Poison Mist!" She calls out before she spits out a poison fog that comes racing towards him.
The attack catches him by surprise, Poison Mist was an incredibly dangerous B-Rank jutsu that converted the users Chakra into a chemical that upon contact with the air turned into a deadly mist. The mist was so potent that even the slightest inhalation would kill the target in minutes, if not seconds. 'Where the hell did she learned a technique like that!?' He thinks to himself as he jumps out of the way, he was really going to have to take her more seriously.
Wait, something wasn't right here, the toxin's in the cloud should be killing all of the organic material that it was coming in contact with but the grass being consumed in the cloud was fine… a genjutsu? However before he can contemplate it even further a shadow out of the corner of his eye catches his attention.
"Human Bullet Tank!" Asuma hears Chouji call out and he sees a large spinning human boulder come shooting out at him. So he was right, the boys were here. He manages to move out of the way of the boulder as well, but before he can do anything else he finds he can't move. A quick glance down confirms that he's been captured, even if just briefly, by the Shadow Bind Technique.
So that was the plan all along, impressive, Ino acted as a distraction keeping him occupied until the other two were in place and then once they were, she attacked forcing him into moving into a position that would give Chouji his best shot with his technique, which even with him being a jōnin and Chouji a genin the technique would still hurt if it connected. They had known he would be fast enough to dodge Chouji's attack however, and were actually counting on him to dodge it, forcing him right into Shikamaru's technique.
The plan was almost perfect, however the difference in chakra between himself and Shikamaru meant that he could break free of the technique almost instantly. As he's doing that however, he sees Ino charge through the dissipating cloud she had created, her kaiken in hand and she slashes at him, he moves out of the way just in time to avoid any serious injury and suffers only a slight scratch to his hand.
He smiles as the three genin come to stand before him together, all of them looking ready for a fight. "Not bad, but still not quite good enough, you gave it your best shot though and you should be proud."
However his three students ignore him, "Did you get him?" Shikamaru asks.
"Oh yeah." Ino smirks, and with that the three of them all relax their stances and just stand there casually.
"What do you guys think you're-" Asuma pauses, his arm was suddenly numb. He looks down at the cut on his hand and is struck by a realization, her blade had been poisoned. And suddenly Asuma felt like the world's biggest idiot, just this morning Kurenai had told him that the girl had gotten a perfect score in her poisons and toxins classes, of course she would utilize them.
Asuma whistles appreciatively. "Alright, you got me. Care to hand over the antidote?"
Ino blinks at him innocently, "What antidote?"
Shikamaru and Chouji stare at her horrified while Asuma gives her a deadpanned look. "Seriously kid, the antidote, please." The numbness in his arm was starting to spread through his entire body, and while like every other jōnin he had some resistance training to a variety of poisons, this girl had obviously mixed up something special for just this occasion.
"The test's not over yet, we're going to need you to tell us where the scroll is located first." Ino says with a bright smile.
"Ah, c'mon kid, you've won, you've passed alright, now hand it over."
"No can do, you told us to treat this like we would a real mission and until we have and can verify the location of the scroll, you're an enemy combatant. Sorry." Ino says with a nonchalant shrug, not sounding sorry at all.
Asuma's shoulders droop, "That's cold." Meanwhile Shikamaru and Chouji are both thinking one thing 'Scary.'
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xXx-Scene Break-xXx
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"Damn it! This guy is intense, our traps were all useless!" Naruto growls, frustration seeping from every syllable.
Sakura takes a deep and calming breath before shaking her head. "No, not useless. They've bought us some time to plan."
"Not that it matters," Sasuke sneers at her, "Even assuming we get both of those bells, one of us won't pass anyway."
Naruto glares at Sasuke who glares right back, neither one of them would be heartbroken if the other boy did not pass Kakashi's test. They had been arguing almost nonstop since last night when they got together to plan out what they were going to do and also all morning while they were setting up the various traps.
"And none of us will pass if we don't get them!" Sakura snaps, finally having enough of Sasuke's bad attitude. The situation was grim, best case scenario was only two of them passed, but they couldn't worry about that right now, they needed to take things one step at a time and right now, they had at least one thing that must happen. They had to get those bells and they had to do it soon. They were running out of time, they had to get them before noon and that meant they had barely a half an hour at most to get them. Once the bells were in hand, then, they could decide what to do with them.
"Alright, here's our situation. We have, at the most, a half an hour before the alarm rings and out time is up. Our target is two bells attached to the hip of a guy who is… well there's no other way to say it, he's kicking our ass. He's faster than us, stronger than us, and way more experienced than us." Sakura says.
"Geeze, way to look at the bright side." Naruto grumbles, before sending her a playful wink.
"Shut up," Sakura says, rolling her eyes, a smile tugging at her lips before she goes serious again. "We do, however, have three advantages."
"Really, what?" Naruto asks, while Sasuke looks at her curiously as well.
"One." Sakura says holding up a finger, "We've set the field to our advantage. We still have a few of our traps set up, and while they haven't stopped him the way we hoped, they have still provided a distraction that we can use."
"Two." Sakura says holding up a second finger, "We out number him. Individually we are no match for him, but together, maybe, just maybe we can pull off a win, but we'll have to be smart, quick, and work in perfect unison."
Sasuke scoffs, "Yeah, because both of those things have helped us so much, so far."
Sakura scowls at him, "I realize that, which brings me to our third and final advantage and in my opinion the most important one. He isn't taking us seriously. If he were this fight would be over and we'd all be back at the academy. He's toying with us and that's what's going to make the difference. We don't have to be better than him, we can't be, he's too strong, we just have to be good enough to catch him off guard."
Naruto gives her that foxy grin of his that he gets when they're about to do something sneaky. "Alright Sakura what's the plan."
"I'm the fastest one here, which means I'm the only one who has a chance of actually grabbing the bells."
"Uh-huh." Naruto nods his agreement and even though it looked painful for him to do so, Sasuke agrees as well.
"Sasuke, of the three of us, you're the most well rounded, you can use Taijutsu, Ninjutsu, and Genjutsu, all with quite a bit of skill, correct?"
"Correct."
"Then that means you're going to be the one that engages him head on, Naruto you and a couple of shadow clones will back him up. Now, Naruto is that seal you've been working on ready?"
"Yeah… but, he'll just tear it off, it won't slow him down for long." Naruto says.
"It doesn't have to, it just needs to surprise him and distract him. You're sure the seal will work?"
"Definitely, but I've only got the one right now, I haven't had time to modify any more."
"That's fine. Sasuke, you're entire goal in this fight is to provide an opening for Naruto to place his seal on Kakashi. Naruto, when Sasuke provides that opening, you have to attach it to his upper back shoulder, on his left side. His left, got it? The bells are hanging off of his right hip, so if he wants to remove the seal he'll have to leave himself open there. That's when I'll make my move and go for the bells."
"What kind of seal are we talking about here that's going to make that guy leave an opening?" Sasuke asks, genuinely curious.
Naruto grins. "I've done some modifications to a weight training seal, normally they only work if the person who they're applied to channels their own chakra into it, I've figured out how to bypass that. If I can attach the seal to them, they're instantly feeling an additional fifty pounds concentrated to one small area. Really distracting, assuming it doesn't just drop them on their ass." Naruto chuckles.
Naruto had really taken to fuuinjutsu. He wasn't developing his own seals yet, but he certainly seemed to have a flair for seal modification. Most people believed that you had to be book smart to be able to accomplish anything in fuuinjutsu, and to some degree they were correct. But Naruto was proving that creativity and imagination were just as important. You could study hard and acquire the intelligence necessary to perform fuuinjutsu. You couldn't, however, teach the creativity and instinct needed to excel in that art, both of which Naruto had in spades.
"Alright, let's assume a miracle happens and Naruto's seal works, is that really going to make a difference against this guy?"
"My seal will work you bastard, do you think you can actually get me an opening or are you all talk?" Naruto growls.
"This will work." Sakura interjects before they can start fighting again. "The seal won't stop him but it doesn't have to, it just has to slow him down a bit, once it does I have a little trick of my own that should make me fast enough to surprise him and take advantage of the opening to grab those bells. But this is our last shot, if anyone of us screws up, myself included, that's it. We're done and none of us will pass."
"And what happens after we get the bells. Why should I help you guys, when you and Naruto will just take them and I'll fail anyway?" Sasuke asks.
"You rat-bastard!" Naruto snarls.
"I'm just being realistic here. You and Naruto are friends." Sasuke says, completely ignoring the fuming Naruto. "It stands to reason that once you have both bells you'll just give the other one to him and keep one for yourself. This means, whether we get the bells or not, I still fail, so again, why should I help you?" Sasuke asks, arms crossed.
"You can have one and Naruto can take the other." Sakura says.
"No! Sakura-"
"It's okay Naruto, Sasuke is right, it isn't fair to him to do all this work for nothing and you have your dream of becoming Hokage right? It's not fair that you should be sent back, not when this is such an important first step for you besides… another year at the academy won't be so bad. I'll use the time to train up and get even stronger." Sakura says with a smile.
"Fine, deal. I'll help." Sasuke says.
"What!? No! No deal! Sakura what about you!?" Naruto asks, very upset.
"It'll be okay, really. Don't worry about me. I can't ask Sasuke to just help if there's nothing in it for him. And as for you and me, of the two of us, I'd rather see myself fail than you."
"But Sakura, I-"
"There's no time, if this is going to happen, we've got to go now." Sakura interrupts, as she gets up and heads towards the clearing where Kakashi was last seen.
"Fine, let's get this over with." Sasuke says, following after her.
"But Sakura… I feel the same way about you too." Naruto says quietly to himself before going after them.
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xXx-Scene Break-xXx
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Standing by, hiding and watching Naruto and Sasuke fight was harder than Sakura imagined it would be. She was desperate to get out there and help her team but she had a job to do. She had to wait for them to provide that opening for her. She had to admit that Sasuke was pretty skilled, more than she had realized. She was just so used to Rin, Ino, and Lee that she had kind of forgotten about him, but he really did have a lot of talent and he was certainly putting everything he had into this fight.
And even in this tense situation Naruto was still fun to watch. If Sakura had thought him an unconventional and crafty opponent before it was nothing compared to how he was now. Shadow Clone jutsu seemed to have been created specifically with Naruto in mind. Naruto's fighting style was already very unpredictable, even she had trouble reading him when they went all out, but once he truly mastered Shadow Clone jutsu he was going to be a nightmare. She could tell that he was still a little uncertain with the technique and that he was having some trouble utilizing it as smoothly as he would like, but even now in combat conditions he was adapting remarkably fast.
Unfortunately, Rin had been very correct in her assessment of Kakashi, he really was one seriously powerful ninja. At the very least he had been forced to put away that stupid orange book of his under the ferocity of Naruto and Sasuke's assault, but otherwise he seemed more than equipped to deal with both of them.
Sakura glances over at the alarm from her position, two minutes left, if the boys were going to provide her with an opening now was the time. And as Naruto and Sasuke jump back from Kakashi to give themselves some breathing room it seemed they had noticed the same thing.
The two boys share a glance and nod at each other, it was certainly the most civil she had ever seen them behave towards one another. Naruto then creates two shadow clones who rush Kakashi from both sides, meanwhile Sasuke's hands are quickly going through the seals necessary to perform Phoenix Flower jutsu. You couldn't hang out with Rin and not recognize that jutsu, it was one of her favorites.
Sasuke's was a little different though, when Rin did it, small fireballs would appear around her and shoot off like rockets at the opponent or opponents, wherever she directed them, Sasuke spat his out from his mouth. Though the technique was the same, Sasuke and Rin utilized them very differently. Rin went for mobility with hers, she could literally launch her flames in any direction, and with her sensor abilities, be very accurate, however, Sakura could tell that Sasuke's had more power behind them, but they were limited in their range to Sasuke's field of vision on where they could go.
As Sasuke completes the seals for his technique and launches it at Kakashi, Naruto's clones have attempted to grapple Kakashi into place. Kakashi quickly dispatches them and jumps back avoiding the four fireballs he launched in quick succession, each of the flames exploding against the ground, forcing Kakashi to the edge of the river. From the water four Naruto's shoot out at Kakashi, he quickly side steps the first one and then the second. The third one aims high and Kakashi has to duck to avoid it, that's when the fourth one strikes, going low and aiming for his left leg. Kakashi turns and raises his leg to avoid it.
That's when Sakura sees Sasuke charge in, he runs past the real Naruto, who had been the first Naruto to shoot out of the water, seamlessly passing the weight seal off to Sasuke who doesn't break stride at all. Now was her moment, she starts to activate her technique, releasing the first Gate, the Gate of Opening. It was the only one she'd managed so far and Guy-sensei had been furious with Lee for teaching it to her without his supervision. Once she had demonstrated that she could use it safely he had calmed down, but had stressed to her just how dangerous this technique was.
Opening the first Gate essentially made you stronger, it removed the restraints that your brain places on using your muscles. Normally you can only use about 20% of your muscles strength, your mind placing subconscious restrictions on you so you don't hurt yourself. Opening the first Gate removes those restriction allowing you to use 100% of your muscles strength. However, this was incredibly hard on the body and if done wrong you could potentially give yourself a career ending injury. Sakura knew she couldn't use it for long and that she was going to be feeling this later, but the increased strength available would make her much faster, fast enough to grab those bells with the right opening.
An opening that Sasuke had just provided. In his awkward position, Kakashi's shoulder was exposed to Sasuke who manages to place the seal perfectly, activating it as he does so. Sakura rushes forward from her hiding spot in the bushes as Kakashi is violently jerked off balance even further. He reaches for the seal on his shoulder just like she knew he would, and as he does she passes by him.
*BRRIIIIIIIIING*
*BRRIIIIIIIIIING*
*BRRIIIIIIIIIING*
The alarm goes off as Sakura shuts off the technique her muscles already aching from even that brief moment of overexertion. She no longer has the enhanced strength to maintain her speed and so Sakura loses her balance and trips, skipping across the river, barely catching herself and staying above the water. Both bells clutched securely in her hand.
