Author's note: I don't own any of the characters. They belong to Masashi Kishimoto. The original characters belong to me.

Chapter 20: Hellish Exams Part 4

Team Menma's location

Nashiko and her friends had just managed to take out a trio of gutless Grass ninjas. Apparently, those ninjas had the enthusiasm, but they also lacked talent in their abilities, all the more reason, for Team Menma to take them out by using their basic techniques. Now they were one their way through the jungle, while those Grass ninjas only lied on the ground unconscious.

"Geez, those ninjas sure were boring!" Nashiko groaned while resting her hands behind her neck. "And they didn't even have a key to give us. How boring and annoying" she added irritably.

"Well what did you expect? They were nothing but talk to begin with" Takeda said while Arata barked in agreement. "Honestly, I don't get how those clowns even passed the first phase" he added with surprise.

Shunsuke lightly chuckled by hearing this. "Well, I guess we're gonna have to keep searching for a key, even though we don't know a thing about this jungle" he suggested and his teammates agreed, considering that they were stuck on this island.

As the trio continued walking they could see that the sun was beginning to go down, even though it was impossible to see it thanks to the large trees and their bushes. But as they walked, Nashiko suddenly stumbled upon a rope lying hidden among the flourishing ground. The pinkette expressed surprise at this.

"Huh?" she stated in confusion as she could hear something behind the tree.

"NASHIKO, WATCH OUT!" Shunsuke cried as he grabbed the girl's left arm to drag her away. It was a good thing did he did that. Otherwise, Nashiko would've met her death at the hands of the deadly trap that suddenly appeared behind the tree. She and Shunsuke fell on the ground after this moment, with her lying upon him. "Nashiko are you alright…" Shunsuke was stunned once he saw his teammate lying upon him. His cheeks reddened.

Nashiko only smiled at him sweetly in return. "Thanks for saving my butt, Shunsuke. I owe you one" she said in return, and the black-haired boy did not know how to reply.

Takeda and Arata on the other hand, were horrified by what they saw. They actually saw a dead Rain ninja being stuck in the trap, with the trap's spikes piercing through his body. Nashiko and Shunsuke were also horrified, and they almost had to puke.

"OH MY GOD, WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO HIM!?" Takeda shouted in disgust while trying not to puke.

"I can't believe it…I was this close in being dead" Nashiko uttered out words with uneasiness. Her face soon shifted into that of anger. "Those jackasses, they never mentioned anything about deadly traps lying in the jungle!" she expressed her anger about this when thinking about Konohamaru and the other jounins told them back on the blimp.

"Actually guys, this trap doesn't seem that old to me" Shunsuke said while studying the wood material it was made of. "From what I can tell, this trap was built recently" he said.

Takeda gritted his teeth in anger over hearing this. "If what you say is true, then it's pretty obvious that this is the work of one of our competitors" he said. "I think this route is far from safe. We must find another one" he suggested to his teammates.

"But what if those other ways also contains traps? It was impossible for me to spot the rope because it was well hidden on the ground" Nashiko pointed out to him, making Takeshi smirk in return.

"Oh I'll handle the navigation, with the help of Arata's nose and my Byakugan that is" he said and closed his eyes before opining them up again. "Byakugan!" he activated the Hyuuga clan's infamous Kekkei Genkai as he was granted the ability to see what lied ahead of them. "Okay, this way" he said while pointing his finger towards another direction. He walked first with Nashiko and Shunsuke following after.

"Wow, I can't believe that Takeda has activated his Byakugan" Shunsuke remarked in his head, amazed by his teammate's talents in navigating. He then fixed a humiliating look on his face. "If only I could activate the Sharingan….." he said, feeling a bit let down as he couldn't activate the Uchiha clan's infamous Kekkei Genkai yet.

As he led his teammates through this unfamiliar territory, Takeda realized that the second phase was definitely gonna be way tougher than the first one. "I pray that we'll make it out this test together, I really do" he said.

Team Ayumu's location

Inojin, Shikaien and Chouta had arrived on the snowy tops, where there was no sign of fauna or growth. Everything was either ice or snow. But it was more than that. It was cold, but actually less windy than by the cliff where they first began the second phase. Chouta however, shivered by standing here.

"It's s-so c-cold here!" she exclaimed while shivering. "How c-can t-those jounins e-expect us to survive in this e-environment!?" she asked in utter disbelief.

Both Inojin and Shikaien only ignored her complaining and were rather focused on searching for a key. But as the sun was going down, there was no doubt that the tops would be plagued by winds at night. The trio, including Shikaien and Inojin, both knew that they couldn't stand long in such weather.

"These winds keep getting colder" Shikaien noted while he could feel them. "We better seek shelter for the night. Otherwise, we'll freeze to death" the punkish kid suggested to his teammates.

Inojin turned her head towards the chubby girl, who was confused by his look. "Chouta, you do possess some knowledge in earth style jutsus, correct?" he asked her. Chouta could only nod in reply, thus making Inojin smile in return. "Then how about you erect a dome all around us? But make sure you do it while you're inside. I'm sure you can handle it" he said to her.

Chouta was then feeling lifted once she heard Inojini's suggestion. But Shikaien was confused at this. "So we will lock ourselves inside a dome of earth. But how are we gonna keep us warm inside?" he asked Inojin, who only blew a small chunk of fire from his mouth, thus surprising the dark blonde-haired boy. He then mused by seeing this.

Chouta gained enough confidence to do a few hand seals before landing her hands on the snowy ground, or more specifically the rocky ground beneath it. This was a technique she had actually learned from her mother who happens to be a kunoichi from the Hidden Stone Village. But she had not mastered it perfectly like a real earth style expert would.

"Earth Style Barrier: Earth Dome Prison!" she exclaimed loudly. She then used her chakra to raise the earth from the ground and erect a dome over her and her teammates. It functioned as a roof for the harsh weather.

As she was finished, Shikaien and Inojin expressed their satisfaction of her work and took their time to view how it was to be inside a dome of earth. It was almost like being in a real cavern. But the ground beneath them was filled with snow.

But Chouta was still feeling cold and she froze on her hands. "Oh god…my hands won't stop shaking!" she exclaimed while trying to warm them up.

"Okay…..so what do you propose now, Inojin?" Shikio quizzed him. "I don't think my wind style jutsus will be of any use to us in this tiny place, but your fire could perhaps do us a favour" he added while studying the dome's size.

Both she and Shikaien could see that Inojin was putting some woods to make a small bonfire. "I know that, which is why I will use flames to create a bonfire. It should give us enough warmth to survive inside this dome" he said before blowing some fire from his mouth.

"Did you bring that wood along with you?" Chouta asked him as she sat near the bonfire. Inojin only nodded his head in return. The chubby girl smiled at him. "Well that was very thoughtful of you in doing so, Inojin. You sure are smart" she praised him, causing him to nod in appreciation. She suddenly modified her hand palms to be big and put them against the wall of earth to give some chakra to it. "I best be giving some chakra to this dome, it may not hold out long, but at least we'll get some well-deserved rest" she said.

The trio eventually put out their sleeping bags, but not before clearing out the snow that was lying on the ground. The bonfire made it easier for them to melt the snow and the ground of dirt was shown.

"I think we better start early tomorrow. Who knows, one of the keys can be taken before us" Shikaien explained while sitting on his sleeping bag. He suddenly smirked in amusement. "But on the other hand, it doesn't hurt stealing a key from a competitor. I mean, we now have permission to fight one another" he added while chuckling lightly.

Inojin had his eyes closed but he did listen to Shikaien's words. But the raven-haired boy was thinking about something else. Maybe his team should actually challenge Nashiko and hers, so that he may get to fight either her or Shunsuke. But Inojin thought he was too judgemental about them being worthy opponents. No, there were other ninjas who proved to be as serious and calculating as him.

Chouta on the other hand, hoped that Inojin wouldn't succumb to the darkness like he did before in test Ayumu sent them on. She could still remember it and it sent chills through her spine. But the young girl refused to consider her friend and teammate as a monster. And neither would Shikaien. All they hoped was to get a key and search for Shimbala as quickly as possible, even if finding it was a challenge.

Back to Team Menma's location

After wandering around the jungle, the group stumbled upon something they did not expect to see. Right before them was a pristine waterfall running from the mountain's wall, forming a lake at the bottom. A river could be seen carrying the water throughout the jungle. In addition, the waterfall created mists at where it ended. The team saw also birds and other lizards flying around it and the area was paradise to the three genins' eyes.

"Whoa…" Shunsuke gasped in amazement. "Such…..beauty" he added while studying the waterfall.

"Damn…first we stumble upon some deadly trap, then this?" Takeda asked with a raised eyebrow. "Still, something doesn't feel right" he added with uncertainty in his voice.

Nashiko only scoffed at this and took a few steps towards the lake and dropped her bag, much to the boys' confusion. She took off her sandals before turning around with a gleeful smile on her face. "I have an idea. It's getting late, so why don't we forget about all that stress and have ourselves a nice midnight bath?" she asked them with a wink.

Shunsuke's cheeks reddened at her suggestion, while Takeda only raised an eyebrow at her sudden change. The two boys had completely different reactions to what Nashiko just said.

"What…..a midnight bath…..with you?" Shunsuke asked while trying not to sound perverted or anything. Nashikio only nodded her head in return, making Shunsuke even more awkward.

"Why would we do that? First you were so keen on finding a key and now you wanna bath all of a sudden?" Takeda asked her with disbelief.

Nashiko ignored his question with a huff and turned around. But she also forced a mischievous grin on her face. "Oh I see. You know, for being such a tough guy, you sure act more like a scaredy-cat" she said mockingly, much to Takeda's anger.

"What did you just call me!?" he asked, feeling very angered by this taunt.

Nashiko turned around to face her smugly, even sticking out her tongue at him. "You heard me. You're just a scaredy-cat. You don't even wanna go swimming in this wonderful lake" she continued to tease him.

Takeda gritted his teeth in irritation and began to undress himself starting with his jacket. "Oh really!? Well, I'll show you that I love water! And so does Arata" he hit back while his dog stood on the ground eyeing the commotion puzzled.

But as Takeda had just gotten off his jacket, Nashiko raised her voice commandingly. Both he and Shunsuke could see her sudden sweet face while speaking to them. "I think you boys should go changing clothes behind that large bush over there" she said while pointing her finger towards a large bush lying nearby. "I will change clothes here. And don't you even think about taking a peep at me. Because if you do that….." she suddenly fixed a dangerous look on her face, causing the Shunsuke and Arata to widen in fear. "I will punch you until your bones break!" she warned them angrily before reverting back to a sweet voice. "Now off you go" she said to them nicely.

Shunsuke smiled in return with a nod, but Takeda only smirked at the pinkette about what she just warned them about. "Yeah, we'll go, because we've got better things to look at instead of your flat chest and scrawny….." Takeda got a taste of Nashiko's fist in his face and she sent flying towards one of the trees. Both Shunsuke and Arata dropped their jaws by seeing this.

"Na…..Nashiko…." Shunsuke uttered out words in shock.

Takeda was lying on the tree's root after he crashed into the tree. Stars circled over his head, while he tried to come back to his senses, as quickly as possible.

"Man…..now I understand why dad hates Nashiko's dad so much" he remarked in his head while lying on the root. "But I wonder…..how exactly does dad hate him" he added to his thoughts.

On-board the blimp Jiraiya's Wisdom, inside a locker room

The crew on-board the blimp was now heading towards Shimbala, but it would take some time before they could land and unload the crew, including Naruto and his assistants.

But right now, the blonde-haired man was in a locker room just for men. He was feeling very sweaty, so he decided it would be nice to take a refreshing shower. It helped him a lot in thinking things through. But unfortunately, he was not alone in the locker room, as someone else had been taking a shower. It was Kiba.

While Naruto was putting on some clothes he had been given by Sakura, Kiba exited the showers and expressed shock by what he saw. The blonde-haired man only faced him briefly before refocusing on finding his clothes. Kiba only headed for his locker, which was actually lying a few meters from his.

"Hey, how are you feeling tonight?" Naruto asked him, although it was not necessarily pleasant. Kiba didn't seem to give him a response and Naruto didn't necessarily seem to care. But the blonde-haired man was not above in scolding him for no response. "Not answering when someone asks you? You really don't have any manners, do ya?" Naruto asked him again, this time with a raised eyebrow.

After hearing this, Kiba finally turned his head to face him with a not-so-pleasant look on his face. "I don't need lecturing from the likes of you. So do me a favour: shut up" he said rudely.

Naruto couldn't stand being treated with such disrespect, but he knew that he needed to control himself. Beating up Kiba was something that he really didn't want. As he put on a t-shirt and some pants, he finally spoke up again. "How's your sister?" he asked him.

Kiba sighed deeply and wanted to ignore him, but he surprisingly answered while he was putting a white tank top. "She's doing great. Hana's got a husband, several kids and a great family. But we don't see each other that often than we used to" he told him lowly. "The last time I heard from her, she said that she was hoping to become the next head of the Inuzuka clan. But her husband also want that role" he added although he aslo grumbled.

Naruto was still focusing on his clothes, but he decided to ask him another question, just this once. "I see. But what about Hinata's family? Do you get along with Hiashi and the others?" he asked him, with a smirk.

Kiba sighed before answering. "No, we don't. And the same goes for Hanabi" he answered with no emotion. "To be honest, I used to like them in the beginning, but now they are a huge pain in my neck. I mean, they always ramble about some old traditions which are completely new to me. They also keep urging Hinata to file a divorce with me. But I support her and the kids, so she will never let go of me" he explained to him.

Naruto only closed his eyes as he listened to Kiba's words. For him, it was as if the brown-haired man did not care about everyone except himself, and that he manipulated anyone, even Hinata and their kids. Naruto still considered Hinata to be a close friend of hers, and they had been dating for only a brief peroid. But in the end, neither Hinata nor Naruto felt any connection between each other, and ended their relationship as a result. That is why he felt somehow responsible for the pain Hinata had to go through after the war ended many years ago, even though Hinata herself had told him to not pin the blame on himself.

After putting on an orange sweater, he opened his eyes and faced Kiba to say something serious. "I've heard Hinata has been stressed for the last months. She told me how nice it would be if you spent more time with her and your children. I must admit that she speaks the truth" Naruto told Kiba while facing him sternly.

Kiba slowly turned away from the locker to face Naruto with an irritated look on his face. "Hey! What's with your fucking attitude?" he rudely asked him with low anger in his voice.

"Nothing. Just forget about it. I was only being sarcastic" the blonde-haired man lied and focused on his locker again, but Kiba was not done with him yet. The brown-haired man was putting on a jacket.

"Are you telling me that I'm not supportive …..of my wife and children?" Kiba asked him again.

Naruto turned his face towards Kiba's angry expression. The blonde-haired man only gave him a disapproving glance. "When you say wife, do you mean Hinata, or do you mean some woman you met at the bar?" he asked him lowly.

Kiba couldn't control himself and angrily grabbed Naruto by his collar and forced him against the locker. They stood now face to face, with Kiba pissed off while Naruto kept staring at him disapprovingly. This only worsened the situation between them.

"You got some idea how Hinata's pussy's supposed to smell!?" the brown-haired man angrily asked him while confronting his former friend.

"Kiba…get your hands off me" Naruto requested from him, but Kiba ignored his statement "Don't make me repeat myself! Get your hands off..." before Naruto could say that one more time, Kiba interrupted him.

"Shut your ass up! Answer me, do you know how Hinata's pussy's supposed to smell!?" he asked again.

"Just what the hell ails you, Kiba? Are you seriously being that delusional? I'm already committed to Sakura and I'll never cheat on her" Naruto said to him. "But I do care for my friends and don't wish for them to feel depressed and lost, and that includes Hinata. And not just here, you as well" he added with a short explanation.

Kiba could see that Naruto had now put his hands on his arms and the blonde-haired man tightened the grip around them. It hurt a little, but Kiba still didn't let go and continued facing Naruto.

"I don't wanna fucking hear you say anything about my wife. And don't even say her name" he threatened him before letting go of his hold on Naruto's collar. The blonde-haired man was about to walk away, but Kiba still had something to say to him. "You may have won everyone's hearts to be the Hokage, but you're still an ungrateful piece of shit!" he added with hateful words.

Naruto glared at him in return and slowly began greeting his teeth. But he remained cool. "Tell me something. What is a Hokage to you?" he suddenly asked him, thus making Kiba's eyes widen. "Is a Hokage someone who makes sure that his people are protected and taken care of, or is a Hokage someone who only cares about nothing but his fame, his power, his authority and his own shitty dreams? You may wanna have those thoughts in the back of your head, assuming that have some decency that is" the blonde-haired man asked Kiba seriously before exiting the locker room, leaving Kiba all by himself.

The brown-haired man eventually punched one of the lockers in anger to realise his frustration. This was perhaps the first time he had seen Naruto being so strict upon him. But on the other hand, Kiba had to admit that he was relativley weaker compared to Naruto. The fact of thinking about this only made things more miserable for Kiba.

"You still think that I would do something so foolish as to worship you. And don't you dare even lecture me about being a father and a husband. My marital issues is my business alone!" Kiba growled, yet he soon found himself getting distressed. After all, the ongoing issues with his family had taken a toll upon him. But Kiba was not selfish, as he knew that his actions had affected his wife and children as well. "I guess I really am such a screwup" he then admitted, only willing to do this when he was by himself and not in front of other people.

Somewhere inside a cave

Konohamaru and the six jounins he had taken along with him had decided to stay inside this cave, located somewhere among the deadly cliffs. As far as they could tell, it was located in a place where no one would dare to venture. He had created a small bonfire in the middle of the cave, and they all sat around it, enjoying its warmth.

But Konohamaru had decided to use this as an opportunity to question each of the jounins' confidence in their roles as teachers. He eyed each one of them strictly, even his own cousin Ayumu.

"Alright, buddies. Now that we're sitting our ducks away from civilization, how about we use this time to get to know each other better?" he asked them with

Ayumu surprisingly chuckled in amusement by hearing this cousin speaking as if he was in charge of them. "Heh, you already know me, cuz!" he said and vanished from his spot with the blink of an eye. He suddenly appeared before Konohamaru and was holding two trench knives empowered by his own chakra. Surprisingly, the brown-haired man managed to stop Ayumu's charge by grabbing his wrists. The two cousins smirked at one another, while the others only watched this with raised eyebrows.

"Man, you sure have gotten better with those blades, Ayumu. I commend you for that" Konohamaru praised his cousin. "However, you're gonna have to practice more, if you wanna try matching my reflexes" he added with a little taunt.

Ayumu smiled at his cousin's words. "Oh I definitely will, Konohamaru, don't sweat it!" he said in return before returning to his place near the bonfire.

Menma nudged his long-time friend with a smile. It was apparent that he liked Ayumu's trick. Even the mysterious Kaito had also been amused by his while Kazue, Hideki and Shinichi only expressed annoyance at this.

Konohamaru chuckled before continuing. "Okay, now you all have been given an impression by Ayumu Sarutobi, who happens to be my cousin. Now who's next in telling about….." the brown-haired man was interrupted by the voice of Menma.

The light brown-haired man with a ponytail stood on his feet while facing him with a grin on his face. He then did a hand seal. "Let's see how good you can manage in combat! Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu!" he exclaimed and millions of clones charged towards him.

Konohamaru only smirked by what he saw and prepared his fighting stance. "This again, well you are one of Naruto's student after all" he remarked before beating up clones one by one. But as the clones vanished, the brown-haired man was surprised by what he witnessed. The real Menma was preparing a Rasengan, with a Shadow Clone helping him load the wind chakra. Once he was finished, Menma charged towards him with the ball of chakra in his hand. This only added to the excitement of Konohamaru. "Now we're talking! See if you can hit me with it!" the brown-haired man called out to him.

Menma only smirked and used his fast speed reach Konohamaru faster. He knew that his opponent had also mastered the Rasengan, but right now, he wanted to see whether Menma was worthy of being able to use it. He neared the brown-haired man and was about to land his attack on him, but Konohamaru swiftly dodged him. But something unexpected happened between them.

"Ice Prison Jutsu!" the voice of Kazue could be heard as she pointed her finger on the solid ground. As a result Menma was caught by ice, controlled by Kazue's chakra. This also ceased Menma's Rasengan. But the young man was eventually freed by the spell.

Menma caught his breath before facing Kazue with an irritated look on his face. "Hey, what's the big idea trapping me in ice?" he wanted an answer to this.

Kazue only stared at Menma and Konohamaru with displeasure. "I'm sorry to interrupting, but if Menma would have carelessly used his Rasengan here, it would've caused the cave to collapse" she sternly told them. "You do remember that the Rasengan is a powerful attack, right?" she asked them both, who only sweated in return.

The white-haired woman returned to her place by the bonfire, only to receive a whistle from Kaito, who was impressed by her ice prison. "You madam, sure has talent" he remarked while facing her. Kazue only closed her eyes to ignore his words, but Kaito was not finished yet. "Still giving me the silent treatment, huh? You really need to work on interacting with people" he added with a taunt.

Kazue snapped in irritation, and she threw a chakra-empowered kunai towards him. Surprisingly, the bandaged man used his blade to slice the kunai into two pieces. The blade resembled that of a samurai sword, only much longer and deadlier. The white-haired woman widened her eyes, making Kaito chuckle in return.

"You like what you see? This is my own blade. It has only one name and one name only. I call it: Yoarashi" he revealed the blade's name, before his body began forming into water. This surprised everyone by the bonfire.

"What sorcery is this!?" Hideki demanded an answer.

"Wait…this is a…Water Clone" Kazue uttered out the words in surprise.

Sounds of clapping could be heard nearby. It was the real Kaito, who was leaning against the wall of rock while facing Kazue. "Nice work there, madam. You just figured it all out" he praised her while continuing clapping his hands for her. He then returned to his place on the bonfire. "I made that Water Clone while all of you were distracted by Kazue's little ice show" he revealed to them.

Konohamaru only listened to this with suspicion. "Holy hell, how in the world didn't I notice him using a Water Clone!?" he wondered loudly inside his head. But his expression changed into that of amusement. "I must say, some of these jounins do show promises, and not just those from the Leaf" he remarked with a smirk on his face.

Back at Team Menma's location

Takeda and Shunsuke had managed to put on some clothes they could use to swim in the lake. Shunsuke wore blue shorts while Takeda wore brown shorts, and had their torsos exposed. They were just finished changing and was about to go back to the lake. But suddenly, Shunsuke stopped his teammate from going any further, much to Takeda's confusion.

"What's wrong, Shunsuke?" he asked him.

"I think we shouldn't just walk straight back to where Nashiko is. She's probably still changing into a swimsuit or whatever" he suggested to him.

This hit Takeda in the head, as he just remembered what happened 10 minutes ago. "You know, you're probably right. I just can't stand getting my face beaten up to a pulp by her" he said, agreeing with Shunsuke's suggestion.

"I'm sure Nashiko will be happy again once she gets her midnight bath" Shunsuke assured his teammate. "I wonder what kind of swimsuit she wears" he suddenly wondered, making Takeda almost laughing his ass off. Shunsuke only stared at him confused.

"Seriously? Man, are you someone who stalks Nashiko or something?" he mockingly asked him while trying not to laugh loud.

Shunsuke's cheeks reddened once again and he snapped in embarrassment. "What are you talking about? I'm not a pervert or anything!" he fought back.

But he suddenly froze once he and Takeshi could hear Nashiko calling to them. "Okay boys, you can come out now" she called out from over the bush. Takeda then shrugged and began moving.

"Well, we best not keep her waiting, loverboy" he said with a taunt, thus making Shunsuke snap in anger once again.

"Cut it out, Takeda! I told you, I'm not a pervert!" he fought back.

As the two boys returned to the lake, they were given a view of how Nashiko's swimsuit was like. Takeda only eyed this with confusion, while Shunsuke was getting his cheeks warm by just getting a glimpse of the pinkette's beauty.

She was wearing a red bikini which showed them her shaped body. Shunsuke had always considered Nashiko to be the most beautiful girl he had met. It was not only her face which was attractive. She had a flat waist, but the black-haired boy didn't care about such things. It was her strong and clean legs, as well as her stomach.

Nashiko winked at her teammates while they were given a glimpse of her swimsuit. "Well, how do I look?" she asked them while doing a confidential pose.

Shunsuke's eyes snapped out of his wet thoughts, as he knew that he had to reply. Although he was shivering, he managed to speak up. "I think you look…s-stunning and beautiful" he uttered out words, not knowing what else to say.

The pinkette giggled in return at her friend's compliment. "Why thank you, Shunsuke" she said in return, still giggling by seeing Shunsuke behaving this way. "It's actually a new bikini" she added while spinning around her body.

Takeda only yawned in the middle of this flirting and eyed Nashiko with eyes of boredom. "So it's a new bikini, so what? Do you expect me to get turned on by…" Takeda paused once he saw the fiery eyes of the pinkette and he gulped before clearing his throat. "You know what, I think you look cool in that bikini" he finally complimented her.

Nashiko immediately fixed a sweet expression on her face. "Thanks for the compliment, Takeda" she said with a smile. She then turned around towards the lake. "So what are we waiting for? Let's do this!" she said with confidence and she immediately jumped into the lake.

Her teammates and Arata also did the same, although Shunsuke was having minor difficulties given how cold the lake was. But still, he began swimming to be in activity, thus making him feel less cold.

Takeda and Arata were lying on the water on their backs while floating. To them, it felt refreshing. Takeda really hoped that Nashiko would not try any stupid pranks on him, now that he was just beginning to enjoy himself in the lake. His long brown hair floated in the water.

"Ah….this is refreshing, wouldn't you agree, pal?" he asked Arata, who barked in agreement. "Heh, you said it" he remarked in return.

Shunsuke was swimming around, but he suddenly began to notice that Nashiko was nowhere to be seen. This made him feel concerned, and he wondered if she had been captured or something. But unbeknownst to the raven-haired boy, someone was grabbing his feet and dragged him downwards into the lake. At first he thought that someone was abducting him, but he was filled with surprise once she saw Nashiko swimming over him with a mischievous grin on her face. This made Shunsuke laugh and both he and the pinkette headed to the surface.

As they got up to the surface, they both laughed at what just happened. Takeshi only smirked by hearing them playing, as he was still enjoying floating in the water on his back.

"Gosh, you really scared me there, Nashiko" Shunsuke said while catching his breath. "I first thought you had been abducted and then I thought I was being taken by a monster or something" he added while smiling at the pinkette.

Nashiko was still laughing. "Sorry about that, Shunsuke. But I couldn't resist. You are so much fun to surprise" she exclaimed while continuing laughing.

The raven-haired boy was blushing by just looking at the pinkettes emerald eyes. Even though she was known to most of her friends as a prankster, Shunsuke didn't see her as such. Sure, she had a mischievous side, but her face and smile made him to consider her as a cherry blossom princess. Her beauty was breath-taking.

Nashiko noticed her teammate acting all weird and raised an eyebrow. "Ummm…..are you okay, Shunsuke?" she asked him.

The raven-haired boy snapped out of his thoughts. "Oh it's nothing, I was just thinking about something Mamuro-sensei said earlier!" he lied, but he tried to make it sound real.

But all of a sudden, the area around them started to shake. The trio got cautious by what they saw and noticed that somehow, the shaking came from the waterfall. This wasn't an earthquake.

Nashiko faced the waterfall grimly before standing up on her two feet in the water. "What the hell is going on here?" she wondered.

To be continued…

Author's note: This chapter was a great one. We got to know how Team Menma, Konohamaru's group and Team Ayumu were doing, although it was mostly focused on Team Menma. The next chapter might focus on Itachi and his friends, or Minami and her friends. This chapter also showed us a confrontation between Naruto and Kiba. When writing that scene, I was inspired by a fight between Rust and Marty from the True Detective-series, especially its dialogue. I hope to continue soon. See ya!