Speech
Thought
Jutsu
Darkest Melody: Actualy, Yugito has the Nibi sealed in her if I remember, like Gaara and Naruto. In the Manga, she died after Akatsuki removed it.
From a couple of the reviews, I'll admit, the last chapter probably could have gone a little bit better, but I write as the story comes to me. Only way I can write w/o driving myself nuts.
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"WHERE THE HELL ARE THOSE TWO!?" Sakura bellowed as she stormed around the three wooden posts of Training Ground 7. She and Sasuke had arrived on time, but their sensei was once again 2 hours late. To add to the annoyance, their third team member was also nowhere to be found, "Of all the irresponsible..RAH!" She growled, flailing her arms a bit.
Meanwhile, Sasuke watched her with a bit of annoyance, although he too wished their sensei would hurry so they could get started.
"Ha! See, I told you. If that guy was this late yesterday, then odds are he'd be just as late today!" A cheery voice called out from the other side of the fence surrounding the training ground, a voice that made both of them scowl. They wheeled around to see Naruto jogging onto the grounds with Kasumi riding piggyback
"True, but that doesn't mean we have to, Kasumi-Chan, even if it's to stop for breakfast." The blond responded.
Sakura pointed a finger at them, "Naruto, you baka! You have any idea how late you are!? And what was that about 'breakfast! Kakashi-Sensei said NOT to eat anything! And why the hell is SHE here!?"
"Correction, he RECOMMENDED not eating. As for being late; since I'm here before him, technicaly I'm not since we can't really do anything concerning the test until he does get here." He jerked a thumb towards Kasumi, "Let's just say she's good at negotiating. She probably would have followed anyway so she could watch."
"Aw, you know you like it when I 'negotiate' with you, Naru-Kun. Especially late at night." She purred in a seductive tone right by his ear, sending a shudder through the boy while she laughed inwardly at the shocked look on the sudden blush on the kunoichi as well as the normally broody Sasuke looking slightly surprised.
"Hentai.." Naruto muttered to her with a grin. Sometimes he couldn't help but wonder how everyone would react if they learned the mighty nine-tailed fox that attacked all those years ago and the perverted girl on his back were one and the same.
A few minutes later, Kakashi arrive in a puff of smoke, "Yo."
"YOU'RE LATE!" Sakura yelled, glaring at the man.
"Sorry, I got lost on the road of life."
"LIAR!"
Naruto sighed and gave him a thumbs-down, "Lame, Kakashi-Sensei."
Sasuke simply snorted.
Kakashi cleared this throat before spotting Kasumi, who was sitting on one of the posts, "Excuse me..who are you?" He started wondering why the hell he didn't notice she presence earlier.
"That's my girlfriend, Kasumi, Kakashi-Sensei. Don't worry, she's just here to watch." Naruto said.
Kasumi grinned. "Don't worry about me, you won't even know I'm around." She said before suddenly blurring out of sight
Kakashi's eye widened slightly, "She's fast! Something tells me I shouldn't take her lightly. Anyway, I'm going to tell you about your final test." He took out a pair of small bells and a clock, "Your task is to retrieve these bells. You can use any weapons at your disposal, but you will have to come at me with the intent to kill. If you fail to retrieve a bell, you fail the test and will be sent back to the academy."
"But there are only two bells." Sakura pointed out.
"Which means only two of you will have a chance to pass. So it's every nin for himself." Kakashi gave an eye smile, "The odd one out will not only fail, but be tied to one of these posts and watch as the others have lunch." He wound the clock up and set it atop a post, "You have until noon to accomplish this task Backing up a bit, he watched the three stand, "Ready, and..begin!"
Sasuke and Sakura bolted off into the trees, leaving behind Naruto, who was twirling a kunai between his fingers.
The cyclopian jounin cocked his head to the side, "You know the test has started, right?"
THUNK!
Naruto drove the blade handle-deep into a post, "Yeah, but I don't wanna ruin my coat." He said as he removed the tattered garment, using the kunai for a makeshift hanger.
Now, Sakura Haruno was an adamant admirer of the Uchiha; adamant to the point she considered any action against him, verbal or physical, punishable by extreme violence. That was common knowledge. However, unknown to others, she was constantly at odds with Inner Sakura; an entity who, you could say, was more tolerant than O.S. (Outer Sakura). 'Tolerant' in the fact that she wasn't all that fond of the girl's choice in guys as well as berating her more than once for tossing aside a perfectly good friendship with Ino to pursue a boy who won't even react to all the girls throwing themselves at him.
At that moment, while Naruto was removing his coat, she was trying to ignore O.S's grumbling about 'bakas' and finding 'her Sasuke-kun' when she caught sight of the blond putting the coat up. Then she saw what was under it; naruto had on what looked like a pale grey long sleeved martial arts shirt, the front half open to show the mesh shirt underneath, his left hand had a fingerless leather glove with a metal plate on the back. Below that was a pair of shinobi pants dotted with pockets and a pair throwing knives holstered at his left knee. A pair of shinobi sandals finished the outfit. However, the outfit wasn't quite what caught I.S's attention; it was the fact said outfit was somewhat...form-fitting on the young ninja, showing a fair bit of muscle through the fabric.
"HELLOO NINJA!" I.S drooled at the sight, "You idiot! Ditch the emo prick! All he ever does is brood and scowl at everyone! Naruto's got a hell of a lot nicer disposition..and other aspects too. Hehehe..." She added in a slightly perverted manner
Sadly, Inner Sakura's call fell of deaf ears as Outer turned to search for the Uchiha.
"You ready, Sensei?" Naruto called out as he lowered into a fighting stance, "You did say to come at you with the intent to kill, right?"
"That's right." Kakashi nodded, "So he's going to try and come at me head on, huh? Guess I'll have to show him the hard way that's not a smart move." He thought, reaching around into a pouch. As he did, however, he saw Naruto doing the same. A flick of the wrist later, both were holding a pair of books, except while Kakashi's was orange and looked slightly worn as if it had been read several times, Naruto's was a light red, almost pink color, and still shrink-wrapped.
The man's eye nearly bugged out of it's socket when he saw the book, "N-Naruto! Is that what I think it is??"
"Mmm-hm. 'Icha-Icha Yuri Collection.' " Naruto had to suppress a laugh when Kakashi let his own book fall, "Actually, Kasumi gave it to me on my birthday. I haven't really had the nerve to open it yet, though." A smirk crossed Naruto's face, "Tell ya what, Kakashi-Sensei. Let me have a bell and you can be the first to read this one. This team's pretty much failed anyway since I seriously doubt those other two are going to be willing to work with me."
Kakashi was almost ready to tackle the boy for that book when his last sentence stopped him dead in his tracks, "Has he figured out the real meaning? Oh? And what makes you say that?"
"Come on, man. What are the odds of three genin, who've been out of the academy less than 24 hours no less, beating a jounin one-on-one? And the fact that I know from personal experience that teams never have less than three members. Granted, I've got a few things you don't, but you're a seasoned vet most likely. I might be able to catch you with something, but if it failed, you'd be on the lookout and I'd loose any advantage I might've had. The bells are a distraction, aren't they? This whole test is to get us to work as a team."
Kakashi grinned behind his mask, "I'll be damned. Someone finally saw through the ruse. Maybe I'll have a team after all this time " He scooped up his book, "Maybe...you'll have to get the others and find out them."
"Yeah, but first.." Naruto grinned and charged straight at the one-eyed shinobi, going through seals as he ran, "Can't help to see where I stand anyway! Doiton: Magmatic Fissure Jutsu!"
"Whoa!" The man yelled as Naruto slammed his palm into the ground, forcing him to leap out of the way from the lava that had spewed up from a 10-foot long crack under his feet that the blond's strike opened up, "Shit! Lava?! Where the hell does a GENIN learn that kind of move!? And what the hell is THAT!?" He screamed to himself as he watched Naruto's right forearm transform into a 2-foot long sword blade, this time without the serrations. It even had a pair of curved spikes forming a guard.
"Say hello to my Nanoblade, Sensei!" Naruto said, forcing the jounin to go on the defensive.
Meanwhile, Sasuke was watching from a nearby tree, his face twisted in barely contained rage, "How DARE that loser have abilities like that and not an Uchiha! I deserve that kind of power to kill him! Me; not some clanless freak!"
A few trees over, Kasumi rolled her eyes and took a moment to make some rude gestures at the 'avenger' before going to find a better seat to watch.
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If you though that the lil bit with Inner Sakura was a hint towards possible redemption, weeeelllll..you'll have to wait and see.