An Eye For An Eye
Chapter 9
I'm sorry about the delay guys! I've been really busy with various things, and such, so once again I'm sorry! However! I just want to say thank you! That was the most reviews I've gotten at once before, and it would be nice if you could repeat that or even add some more onto that, but whatever!
ENJOY THE CHAPTER!
"Character talking"
'Character thinking'
"Kyuubi Talking"
Commentary
Jutsu
-With Someone/ Someplace-
"So do any of you believe your students, to be ready to take the Chuunin Exams?" An old, gentle, and kind voice asked.
"Yes I believe that Team 10, composed of Yamanaka Ino, Nara Shikamaru, and Akimichi Choji, is ready to take the Chuunin Exams, and I greatly recommend them." A man in his mid twenty's said, while holding a cigarette in his left hand, but was quickly put into his mouth, when he was finished talking.
The old man nodded, before his attention was taken by a young woman with red eyes, who had decided to speak up,
"I also believe that Team 8, made up by Hyuuga Hinata, Inuzuka Kiba, and Aburame Shino, to be ready to take the Chuunin Exams, and also recommend them greatly."
Once again, the old man nodded, but this time his attention wasn't drawn by anything, instead he actually had to get the next person to speak up,
"Hatake Kakashi…do you believe your team to be ready to qualify for the upcoming Chuunin Exams?"
Kakashi looked up for a second, but instantly went back to thinking about the current situation. He knew his team was ready 'power' wise, but when it came to teamwork, there was a lot to be concerned about, and that's what was holding Kakashi back. The Copy Nin sighed, as he ran his hand through his silvery grayish hair.
"Hatake Kakashi! What is your answer!?" The old man demanded.
-With Sasuke, Sakura, and Naruto-
The three Genin of Team 7 were currently waiting at their usual meeting place, which was on a small bridge across from the training grounds a little ways away. Naruto had been informed about the team meeting that was supposed to occur in this exact spot, at this exact time, this morning, and that was only, because Sakura couldn't get a hold of him the day before.
Naruto's hand was bandaged from his prior incident, and it didn't go unnoticed by the rest of his team, but they didn't say anything about it, seeing as it was Naruto, and stuff like this happened to him all the time, for unknown reasons.
Naruto yawned, stretched, and sat down with his back against a tree, as he closed his eyes. The blond hadn't got much sleep last night, and it was showing, but Naruto figured that after about an hour's rest he would be as good as new, and seeing as Kakashi was usually two to three hours late it didn't seem to be a problem. In a matter of seconds, Naruto's mouth was slightly ajar, and a slight snoring could be heard, which in turn was quite funny for his two teammates. It was a rare sight to see Naruto this way, seeing as he was always so serious, but this was one of the rare moments when the blond wasn't aware of what he was doing outside of his own mind, and he couldn't keep his 'hate everyone' act up.
Sakura chuckled to herself, as Sasuke just smirked. After a little while, Sasuke got bored, and decided he would practice on his accuracy. He walked over to another tree, and started throwing kunai at a target that he had carved out only minutes before. Sakura, on the other hand, had a different idea as she began to walk up, and down a tree, to better her Chakra control.
Kakashi had recently appeared in a nearby tree, and was watching his students with pride as they worked on becoming better Shinobi, and let out a small laugh as he saw Naruto sleeping with his mouth open slightly. Kakashi stretched, and decided now was as good a time as any to make his appearance. In an instant Kakashi was standing in the middle of the bridge, leaning against a railing, and looking bored. To his surprise though, no one noticed him, and just kept on doing what they were. Kakashi sighed to himself,
'Well I hope they won't train in their free time during missions, seeing as they become totally oblivious to everything else around them.'
The Copy Nin then decided now was an excellent time to get his team's attention,
"So are we going to talk, or are you guys just going to keep ignoring me?"
Kakashi's sudden remark got a different reaction from everyone. Sasuke, who was in the process of throwing three kunai, turned and looked at his Sensei, which in turn threw off his accuracy. Sasuke quickly looked back to see both his kunai soaring through the air, and off into the residential area behind the training grounds. Sasuke cringed as he heard the three kunai hit different things. Sasuke was guessing they were just trees or something close to that, seeing as he didn't hear any screams of pain or see someone run out of the woods towards him, with the intent to kill the kunai thrower.
Sakura's reaction was quite different from Sasuke's seeing, as it didn't involve the risk of injuring or killing anyone. She simply lost her concentration, and fell from the tree, landing head first on the ground. Sakura's reaction was rolling around on the ground, for a good while clutching her head as a visible bump made its way to the surface.
Kakashi then sighed, as he caught a kunai that was coming directly towards him, or more precisely his face, as he blocked the other seven. Kakashi then looked over at Naruto who was sitting up, wide eyed, with his hand reaching for another kunai, but stopped as he realized it was Kakashi.
"Damn Kakashi…don't do that!" Naruto half muttered, half screamed at his Sensei. Kakashi just rubbed the back of his head sheepishly as Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura made their way over to him.
"Ok guys I have good news for you!" Everyone raised an eyebrow at Kakashi's comment, very curious as to what he was talking about,
"I have recommended you guys for the Chuunin Exams, which take place starting tomorrow! You will only be able to participate, however, if you complete a task, which I have set up for you three." Sakura's eyes widened, while Naruto and Sasuke just smirked. Naruto sighed, as he decided to speak up, because it appeared that no one else was going to ask the question that they all obviously wanted answered,
"So what's this 'task' you're talking about?"
-Flashback-
"Hatake Kakashi! What is your answer!?" The old man demanded.
Kakashi sighed to himself as he looked up at Sandaime,
"Hokage-Sama…I would like to give my team a test before I give you my answer, is that ok with you?" The old man just smiled and nodded. Asuma and Kurenai, however, were in shock at Kakashi's move. Everyone in the room knew that Team 7 was, by far, the strongest team, and as to why Kakashi was hesitant in entering them into the Exams was beyond them.
-End Flashback-
Kakashi smirked under his mask as he started walking away, and then motioned for his team to follow. Everyone quickly made their way over to their Sensei as he began walking once again.
After walking for a good ten minutes Kakashi suddenly stopped in the middle of Konaha, and everyone was scurrying past them as they were trying to get to various shops before closing time. Kakashi smiled as he turned back to face his team,
"Ok you guys…your task is to make it back to the bridge." Everyone just stared at Kakashi as if he had some unknown creature on his face,
"You're joking right? I mean…there's nothing difficult about that at all!" Sakura screamed in disbelief, Naruto just glared at Kakashi,
"What's the catch?" Naruto asked, as he knew that the task was way too easy to be left as it was. Kakashi just smiled, and pulled out three pills.
"What the hell are those?" Sasuke asked, sort of annoyed. Kakashi's smile just grew bigger,
"These are-" Kakashi was cut short by Naruto,
"Handicap pills?" Kakashi just smirked, and nodded,
"Yeah, good job Naruto, and each of you is going to take one." Everyone gathered around, and did just that. Naruto grabbed the red pill, while Sakura grabbed the purple, and Sasuke grabbed the black. There was still one pill left though, and Kakashi smirked to himself as he looked at the orange pill,
'Well at least they didn't pick this one, even if it would have made things a lot more interesting.
Kakashi just looked at them, with an amused look on his face,
"Go ahead! Eat it!" Everyone then hesitantly put the pills into their mouth, and swallowed.
Everyone just looked at each other confused, as nothing seemed to be happening until Naruto's eyes suddenly shot open, and this sudden action caught everyone's attention,
"Everything's going black!" The blond yelled, as he slowly lost the ability to see what was going on around him. Sakura's eyes widened, and looked over at Sasuke, but he just looked confused, as if he didn't know what was wrong.
"Naruto can't see!" Sakura wanted to yell, but to much her surprise, she couldn't talk. Sakura's eyes grew wide as she looked around, and saw Naruto very close to the ground, using his hand to keep track of where he was going. Sakura then looked over at Sasuke, and began to move her lips, so Sasuke could read them. Sasuke sighed, as he couldn't decipher the code, but an idea quickly came to him, and he then activated his Sharingan. Sakura once again moved her mouth, but this time Sasuke nodded in understanding,
"Naruto we HAVE to work together on this. SAKURA can't talk…I can't HEAR, and you CANT see."
Naruto nodded his head in understanding, even if his teammate's voice was changing tones. Naruto couldn't blame Sasuke seeing as he couldn't hear the way he sounded. Naruto then turned to face Sakura, but was now facing some random villager,
"So how are we going to do this Sakura?" The man just stared at Naruto for a second before he snarled,
"I'm not your 'Sakura' you demon! Now get the hell away from me!" Naruto growled as he took out a kunai to throw, at the man, but decided against it seeing as he had absolutely no idea where he was at the moment. Naruto just sat on the ground until he heard Sasuke's voice,
"Well NARUTO me, and Sakura will have to DIRECT you, until we get to THE Bridge." Sasuke's uneven voice stated.
Naruto just nodded, "Ok gotcha!"
Kakashi just sat on a nearby roof, and smiled to himself,
'This shouldn't take long, they have this down already…I really don't even think I needed to do this, but whatever…this could be a good time to see my students do something embarrassing.' Kakashi smirked at the thought of Naruto walking into a woman, and accidentally grabbing one of her breasts, only to be hit over the head. Then grimaced at him overreacting to the whole thing, and attacking the woman or something along those lines. Kakashi just sighed to himself while rubbing his temples,
'I might have to jump in after all.' Kakashi kept walking along the rooftops, watching his students, and it was quite an amusing site. Sasuke was walking ahead of the group, which in turn meant he couldn't see Sakura's lips, which also meant that he couldn't say Sakura's messages aloud. Sakura was in the middle, and trying to yell at Sasuke, but couldn't, seeing, as she couldn't talk. Naruto was in the back, and seeing as he couldn't see, it was the worst possible spot he could be in.
It took awhile, but Naruto finally stopped walking,
"Ok can you guys explain to me why I hear your voices ahead of me?" Sasuke just kept walking as Sakura stopped, and turned to look at Naruto. Sasuke soon figured out that he wasn't being followed anymore, and turned back. Once Sasuke was with Naruto, and Sakura again he looked over at Sakura's lips.
"Well NARUTO from now on we ALL will be walking together side by SIDE." Naruto just nodded and then a second later his fingers were being laced with much softer ones, whom he guessed belonged to Sakura. Naruto let it slide, however, knowing that he needed guidance.
Everything seemed to be going well as the three walked next to each other. They were all in order to help one another. Sasuke was there to speak for Sakura if need be. Sakura was there to guide Naruto along the way, and Naruto was there to listen for anything else that might be coming their way.
Naruto knew for a fact that there was absolutely no way Kakashi would make the test so easy, even if it was already sort of challenging, Naruto knew this wasn't something not just his sensei, but any sensei would do. He was currently holding a kunai in his hand, while walking. No one seemed to say anything to him, and he was glad to know that his team was finally starting to understand the fact that he did everything for a reason, and wouldn't comment whenever he did something that seemed out of the ordinary.
They kept walking until the bridge came into view, and Naruto was actually starting to doubt his own thoughts, but only seconds later, just as he expected, he sensed three new chakra signatures.
Sakura and Sasuke both caught sight of the new ninja as they approached, and quickly took out some kunai of their own. Naruto was trying to think of the best way to approach this battle seeing as Sasuke couldn't hear, and wouldn't be able to tell if someone was behind him or not. Sakura's handicap wasn't a problem as long as she didn't have to yell out to anyone, and Naruto knew he could fight based on his hearing alone.
Naruto agreed to his own plan that he had decided upon, and ran over to Sasuke's chakra signature that he was currently focusing on. Naruto went to grab Sasuke by the shoulders, and quickly flip him around, but instead hit Sasuke in the back of the head, and on top of that had to dodge a couple of kunai thrown by a very surprised Uchiha. When Sasuke realized it was Naruto he calmed down, and stared at the blond's lips. Naruto quickly began talking, and Sasuke just read his lips, and then, nodded in agreement with the plan, even thought to blond couldn't see his teammates confirmation.
Naruto and Sasuke both turned, so their backs were to each other. This way Sasuke would only have to worry about what was going on in front of him, and Naruto wouldn't have to focus on all of the sounds around him. Sakura saw that Naruto, and Sasuke had a strategy going, and just smiled as she fought with the lone ninja attacking her. Sakura had recently been working on her own to become a better Shinobi. Naruto had made it clear to her that, neither him nor Sasuke were interested in someone who was just a fan girl, and wouldn't do anything except mooch over them. Sasuke more than him, but Naruto didn't consider being in a relationship at all, so it didn't apply to him.
-Flashback-
Naruto was sitting at his favorite restaurant/food stand eating, or more accurately, devouring a bowl of his favorite food, ramen. Even if Naruto's attitude had changed, along with his outlook on life, his love for ramen would always be there, and he didn't try to deny it, because, in all honesty, he didn't want to. He didn't think he would be able to survive without his precious ramen. Naruto was so lost in his eating frenzy that he didn't even notice another figure with pink hair walk up, and sit next to him.
After Naruto was finally done with his meal, he began to pay the bill, but noticed his pink tinted teammate sitting next to him, using his peripherals,
"What do you want Sakura?" Sakura just smiled before clasping onto Naruto's arm,
"I just wanted to spend some time with you Naruto-Kun…I figured the more time we spent together the better chance I have of getting you to say yes to a date with me!" Sakura stated, obviously proud of her plan. Naruto, however, just sighed at her antics.
"Listen…Sakura…if you want to get with Sasuke, then you have to focus on becoming a better ninja, and not follow him around every waking moment. Power is what matters to him, he doesn't care about love or any of that." Sakura's eyes widened, as she just nodded,
"What about you?" The pink haired girl asked, and Naruto just shook his head,
"I told you Sakura if you want someone to be with, then make it Sasuke-" A very angry Sakura interjected,
"But why cant I be with you Naruto-Kun!?" She shouted, as Teuchi and Ayame, both nodded to one another, and walked behind a curtain leading to the back of the shop, figuring this was a personal matter.
Naruto just put his hands behind his head, and sighed,
"Sakura I've already explained this to you, so don't make me do it again." Sakura glared at Naruto before looking at the ground,
'I'll get stronger for both Sasuke-Kun, and you, Naruto-Kun, and you will love me back eventually, but getting you to open up is a lot harder then I previously thought it would be.'
"Ok Naruto-Kun, I'll get stronger for Sasuke-Kun, because I can't have you…well I have some training to do…so bye Naruto-Kun!" Sakura yelled as she ran away, down the busy street of Konaha.
-End Flashback-
Sakura was blocking all of the blows the ninja was throwing at her, but she couldn't land a single hit in return. Sakura was starting to get frustrated as she jumped back, and took out some kunai.
Naruto and Sasuke weren't taking their fights very seriously, because…well they didn't have to. They were both just blocking all of the attacks the ninja would throw their way. Something was getting to Naruto though,
'Why the hell can't I land even one hit on this stupid ninja!? It shouldn't be this hard, and to top it all off we're close to each other, so that lessens the chance of missing. I just don't get it!'
Naruto heard footsteps sprinting at him, and decided on a plan that might just end this, but it might cost him if it didn't work. Naruto figured the ninja was about ten feet in front of him, and he could still hear the footsteps coming at him, at what sounded like breakneck speeds.
Naruto just grinned, and threw both his arms behind him, which in turn placed perfectly under Sasuke's arms as Naruto used all his strength to through his teammate over his head.
Sasuke was shocked by the sudden, extra, contact from Naruto, but quickly got over it as he was flipping through the air, and quickly realized what Naruto had done.
Sasuke was looking towards the ground as he soared over the enemy that, Sasuke assumed, had been running at Naruto. Sasuke's eyes widened slightly when he saw Naruto get stabbed in the arm, but he quickly got over it as he started to fall downwards towards the enemy ninja.
Sasuke was surprised that the enemy hadn't moved from his current spot, until he noticed Naruto holding him in place. Sasuke smirked as he continued to descend towards his friend and teammate. Sasuke got another surprise as he saw the ninja he had been fighting only seconds before rushing at Naruto's wide-open back.
Sasuke pulled out a kunai, and threw it at the ninja Naruto was holding as he flew backwards, the kunai sticking out of the ninja's chest. Sasuke rolled his eyes as the enemy, or more precisely 'clone' poofed out of existence in a burst of smoke, and Sasuke then put the second part of his plan into action as he was still airborne.
Naruto's heart stopped as he realized just what was approaching from behind him. Naruto hadn't even thought about Sasuke's opponent when he thought his plan up, and it was going to cost him dearly. Naruto knew that the only way he would be able to escape was if he dropped his weights, but that alone would take to much time.
Naruto braced for the impact, but as he did, he noticed that he was starting to see blotches of light, once again, even if he couldn't make anything out. Naruto then felt what he was waiting for, but something was off,
'Wait…what? How did he hit me in the face, when he was behind me…unless!-'
Naruto stopped mid-thought as he soared over the enemy that had been approaching from behind him. Naruto whipped out a kunai, and quickly slit the Shinobi's throat, but an unexpected pop was heard as Naruto could sense the smoke surrounding him.
Naruto was finally able to make out figures, but just not details. Seeing as he was used to that from his other eye, however, he knew exactly what was going on, and where everyone was at that time. Naruto sighed as he started to run towards the pink blur that he knew was Sakura. She was doing pretty well against the clone, but she couldn't land a single hit on it, and Naruto could tell she was starting to tire.
He calmly appeared behind the clone, and did a quick chop to the neck as a pop was heard, and a cloud of smoke rose. Sakura smiled as she looked up to see Naruto. Naruto's vision was now almost completely back to normal, and he could see Sakura was sweating quite badly, but it was to be expected from the fight. Sakura sighed, as she collapsed onto the ground panting heavily. Naruto smiled as he helped her up, and began to walk her back towards Sasuke.
Sasuke turned, and smirked as his teammates. Naruto smirked right back,
"Hey Sasuke you know you could have hit me in a different spot, other than my face right?" Sasuke's smirk just widened as he nodded,
"Yeah, but if I would have hit you in a different place then you wouldn't have flew back over his body, and been able to take him out in one swift motion, like you did." Naruto just sighed, as he nodded in understanding.
Kakashi slowly made his way over to his team, and did one of his famous eye smiles.
"Good job team! You guys passed the little test I had for you! Congratulations, you can now officially take the Chuunin Exams!"
Naruto just smirked along with Sasuke, while Sakura seemed uncertain. Kakashi then turned to Sakura, as he noticed she seemed to be unsure of her choice.
"Don't worry Sakura, if you don't want to participate then you don't have to, but I'll be waiting for whoever decides they want to attempt it." Kakashi then gave a small wave, and vanished in a poof of smoke.
Naruto looked back at Sasuke and Sakura with his, now less usual, uncaring look,
"Well I think I stand for me and Sasuke when I say I'm in, but what about you Sakura?"
Sakura's head shot up as though she had just joined the conversation, and looked over at Naruto's emotionless gaze, which she hated, because it made her feel as if she hadn't made any progress with him at all, as far as feeling towards others.
"Well…I-…I'm not quite sure…I'll have to think about it." Naruto nodded, and turned to Sasuke who simply nodded as well, before giving a quick wave, and walking towards the Uchiha Compound.
Sakura began to walk away, but Naruto's hand around her wrist stopped her. Sakura turned her head, and a blush was clearly visible on her face as she smiled at Naruto. Naruto sighed, and let go of Sakura's wrist,
"Sakura listen to me…if you want any shot of being with Sasuke then I suggest you go with us to the Chuunin Exams, and try your hardest." Sakura smiled, and nodded, and was about to ask another question before Naruto turned, and walked away, but not before saying over his shoulder,
"I'm not up for grabs, sorry Sakura." Sakura sighed, and walked away, but not towards her house, no, she was heading for the training grounds,
'I have to get stronger for Naruto-Kun and Sasuke-Kun! I won't let them down!'
-At The Hokage's Office-
"So you're saying that they passed, and you now recommend them for the Chuunin Exams…is that correct?" Sandaime asked, with a knowing smirk on his face,
"Yes Hokage-Sama, I believe my team has proven that they are worthy of being entered." The old man chuckled as he nodded,
"Very well Kakashi, as long as they all show up they're in the Chuunin Exams." Kakashi nodded,
"You may leave Kakashi." Kakashi once again nodded, and mumbled,
"Hokage-Sama" Before leaving in a gust of wind.
Sandaime sat back, and smiled to himself,
'This is going to be one interesting Chuunin Exam.'
-With Naruto-
Naruto was walking over to his apartment, so he could get some rest before the Chuunin Exams, which would be starting first thing in the morning. He was walking for a good while, but the whole time noticed that some kid was following him. Naruto wasn't sure who the kid was, but he seemed to not grasp the fact that, in order to be sneaky you have to hide.
Naruto turned a corner, and simply jumped up onto the tall wooden fence waiting for the boy to turn the corner, and just as he expected the boy did just that. The strange boy was wearing some very strange attire, seeing as he was wearing a very long scarf type thing, along with a pair of green goggles. The boy instantly stopped, and started looking around, for, what Naruto guessed was, himself. The boy continued to look in various directions until Naruto got annoyed.
"What the hell do you want kid?" The boy looked up suddenly, and looked, wide eyed, at Naruto. Then in an instant, the boy started to rant,
"Wow! How did you get up there so fast!? Are you a ninja or something!? I just noticed you, and you seemed cool so I thought I would see if you were worthy of something, I've been needing, and as of right now you seem qualified!" Naruto sighed,
'Why the hell can't everyone just mooch over Sasuke! I hate stupid things like this.'
Naruto jumped down next to the boy as he noticed two more kids walk out from behind the corner. One was a girl with orange hair that shot out in two different directions behind her. The second was a boy who looked like he was sick, and needed to wear it off, but came outside regardless. They were both also wearing the weird goggles, which the first one was wearing. The annoying first boy, however, captured Naruto's attention,
"Hi! I'm Konohamaru, and these are my friends Udon and Moegi!" To this the other two, now known as 'Moegi and Udon' nodded, in response, to confirm what Konohamaru had just said.
Naruto just started to walk away, but turned back to look at the trio,
"Umm…nice to meet you…I guess…" Naruto turned back again, and kept on walking.
Konohamaru's eyes widened as he ran to catch up with Naruto, Moegi and Udon close behind.
"Wait! You never told us your name!" Naruto inwardly sighed as he turned back around,
"…Uzumaki Naruto." Naruto then, once again, started to walk away, but not before Konohamaru clasped onto his arm.
"Boss wait up!" Naruto raised an eyebrow, and turned around to face the boy,
"Boss?" Konohamaru just nodded,
"Yeah boss! You're going to become my new Sensei! My old one doesn't do anything for me, and I bet you could even beat him!" Naruto just sighed,
"Listen Konohamaru…what makes you think that I'll teach you anything?" Konohamaru just smirked,
"Because I'm the Hokage's Grandson, and I'm going to be the next Hokage!" Naruto, once again, just raised an eyebrow, while Moegi and Udon smiled,
'So this is Ojiisan's Grandson, huh? Well I guess I could teach this kid some stuff, just because of what I owe Ojiisan.'
"Pfft! You think becoming Hokage is that easy? Yeah right! You don't just get the position kid. The Hokage is the strongest ninja in the village, not something that is passed down from generation to generation. If you think you can just have the position then you're in for a huge shock." Konohamaru just frowned, and then suddenly became angry,
"You're wrong I'm going to become Hokage, because my Grandpa is the Hokage as of right now! You, also don't have the right to talk to me that way!"
'Man this kid is stuck up!'
"Yeah! Like I give a damn who you are! I can talk to you however the hell I want to! Now shut the hell up, before I beat some sense into-" Naruto was cut off by a rather strange looking man. He was dressed from head to toe in blue, and had the darkest pair of glasses he had ever seen. They even beat that of Shino Aburame.
"Most honorable grandson! Stay away from that beast! You don't want to get involved with him!" Naruto's teeth were instantly clinched together, as he tried to contain himself from tearing the man limb from limb.
"No Ebisu-Sensei! I don't want to be trained by you anymore! I found a better teacher! Boss is going to make me better then you ever could! I bet he could even beat you!" Ebisu just started to chuckle,
"Yeah! As if that beast could beat elite ninja like myself!" Naruto was about at his limit, as his hands were now balled into a fist, and blood was actually starting to come out of the puncture marks that his nails were leaving. Ebisu then turned to look at Naruto,
"If your 'boss' wants to have a fight to prove who is stronger, however, I will humbly accept." Konohamaru looked over at Naruto hopefully. Even though Naruto wanted to beat the living shit out of Ebisu, he knew that it wouldn't look good for him,
"Sorry Konohamaru, but I don't see a point in fighting." Konohamaru's eyes went downcast as a very disappointed look made its way to his face, Ebisu just smirked however,
"Good choice…it's not like you would have been able to touch me anyway. I'm surprised you can even control yourself." Naruto had, had it. He instantly pulled out a kunai, and charged at Ebisu, but Ebisu saw it coming, and was ready for the attack. What he didn't expect, however, was for Naruto to vanish from right in front of him.
'W-What!? There's no way he's this fast! He's just a Genin!' Ebisu was cut out of his thoughts by a kunai piercing his arm.
Ebisu let out a small scream of pain as he swung around to find a very pissed off Naruto.
'Dammit! The demon will be more of a hassle than I originally had thought!' Ebisu took out a couple of kunai, and waited for Naruto to approach him. Then Naruto once again vanished from Ebisu's line of sight. He just smirked though, as he turned around to meet Naruto's blow, but once again, something was unexpected. Instead of just one Naruto, there were about twenty, and they were all armed with a kunai.
"Call me a beast again you bastard!" The real Naruto screamed as all of them piled on top of Ebisu, and the visibility of the area was cut off, by a huge cloud of dirt.
Naruto was on top of Ebisu, and it was back to only him, the original. Naruto however was going to work on Ebisu, until suddenly he stopped, and looked at the unconscious figure, which was bleeding heavily. Naruto stood up slowly, and made a clone, which walked over, and picked Ebisu up, then suddenly vanished.
'This isn't going to turn out all that well for me…I just assaulted another ninja of Konaha. Well he did attack me first, but then again its me who fought back, and that alone is enough for them to say guilty, and sentence me to something.' Naruto was still lost in thought when a beaming Konohamaru, Moegi, and Udon ran up to the blond.
"Man! That was awesome Boss!" Naruto just came back to reality, and was very confused,
"Umm….huh?" Konohamaru was still beaming, while Udon was simply staring in awe, and Moegi was blushing.
"The way you beat Ebisu-Sensei with that cool move, and left him unconscious!" Naruto just rubbed the back of his head, sheepishly,
"Well I really didn't use a move…I just sort of overpowered him." Konohamaru started shaking his head,
"No, no! Not that! I'm talking about where you made all of the clones, and they were able to inflict damage on Ebisu-Sensei!" Naruto's eyes widened slightly, as realization dawned on him, but he quickly went back to his normal self,
"Oh yeah…well yeah…" Konohamaru looked over to see a certain pink haired girl walking towards their little group. He instantly started waving,
"Sakura! Hey Sakura! Come here!" Even from the distance, Naruto could hear Sakura's sigh as she continued onward in their direction.
"What do you want Konoham-" Sakura stopped as she noticed someone she was very familiar with,
"Naruto? What are you doing here?" Naruto just laughed slightly, while rubbing the back of his head,
"I'm still trying to figure that one out for myself." Sakura was shocked by Naruto's actions. He was acting so casual, and somewhat goofy.
Naruto had recently made another one of his 'great' decisions that would effect his relationships. He decided that around his team and people he felt he could really trust to never betray him; he would try to act normally. Or more precisely, like he had been before the attack.
Sakura, however, didn't know exactly how to respond,
"Umm Naruto…are you feeling alright?" She asked as she placed her hand on his forehead to find no difference in the temperature from what it should be. Naruto just smiled,
"Yeah Sakura I'm fine, don't worry about it." Sakura, even though she was still worried, nodded in understanding. Both members of Team 7's vision was captured by Konohamaru,
"Hey boss! We were wondering if you and Sakura wanted to play Ninja with us…" He stated more than asked. Naruto took a glance over at Sakura, who just shrugged, before saying,
"I don't see why not." Naruto in turn, turned back to the trio, and smiled,
"Ok, sure we'll play." Moegi smiled,
"Ok, but you guys are the ninja, so that means you have to catch us!" With that Konohamaru, Moegi, and Udon took off running.
Naruto looked over at Sakura, who was smiling, as he walked over to pick up the weights that he had dropped in order for him to be able to move at the speeds he had earlier,
"How about we give them a thirty second head start?" Sakura just nodded,
"Seems fair enough to me."
After a good thirty seconds was up both Naruto and Sakura took off after the three. It didn't take long to find them, however, seeing as Konohamaru was yelling about something that neither could make out. They both came closer to Konohamaru's screams until they turned a corner, and saw two people, who Naruto quickly noticed were from Suna, the first was a girl who was wearing what looked like a purple robe, which had a red string to hold it closed. She was wearing her forehead protector around her neck, and her hair, which was blond was pulled back into four buns type things, except that the hair shot out. The most noticeable thing, however, was that she had a giant fan attached to her back. The second person was a male, and was wearing a black jumpsuit, with a weird design in the middle. His face was covered in strange markings, and he was wearing a hat type thing that made it look as thought he had cat ears. Now this guy had a giant bandaged thing on his back, and Naruto instantly knew what it was.
'A puppet huh? That would be pretty interesting to fight, but that will have to wait.'
Naruto walked towards the two as he noticed that the male was holding Konohamaru up by his shirt, while the girl seemed to be protesting against it. Naruto couldn't make out exactly what they were saying, but he didn't need to as he saw the male draw his hand back, which was balled into a fist, and it was pretty obvious that he was going to hit Konohamaru.
"Hey! Put the kid down." Naruto said, as he continued walking towards the two. The male just looked confused then frowned,
"Why the hell should I listen to you?" Naruto showed absolutely no emotion as he stopped about ten feet from the Suna Shinobi,
"Because, if you don't…I'll just have to save Konohamaru, and kill all three of you freaks at the same time."
The girl wouldn't have admitted it, but she was terrified of the whiskered blond in front of her. She knew that the boy was absolutely serious, and wouldn't hesitate to kill both of them on the spot. What scared her the most, however, was the likeness between the boy that stood in front of her, and her younger brother. What she couldn't understand was what the boy meant when he said 'all three of you freaks' when it was only her, and her brother. Then she felt it, his chakra, and it caused her to freeze on the spot.
The male only smirked as he went to take the puppet off his back,
"Oh really!? Well looks like I'm going to have to show you, who will kill who!" The girl next to him quickly turned, and looked at her brother in horror,
"No Kankuro-" She was cut off by another voice. One that a lot more eerie than then rest,
"Kankuro…you're a disgrace to Suna, now stop it before I kill you." The male visibly froze when he heard the voice, and slowly turned to look at the newly entered boy standing upside down on a nearby tree. He had reddish brown hair, and he was wearing a black shirt and pants with a white strand of cloth wrapped around his waist. He also had a large gourd attached to his back, and his headband was attached to the handle type thing that went around his body to hold it in place.
"O-Oh…G-Gaara, I w-was just g-going-" Kankuro was cut off by the boy know as 'Gaara.'
"Shut up before I kill you." Kankuro did just that before he put his puppet back onto his back.
Naruto and Sakura had both been watching this 'Gaara' the whole time. Naruto longer than Sakura, but that didn't matter. All that they knew was that, well for Sakura, she was terrified of this character, and for Naruto, well…he just wanted to beat the hell out of this guy, and prove he was more dominant, since this guy seemed to be a good ninja.
Naruto watched as the boy vanished in a swirl of sand, and appeared before him. Naruto hadn't noticed it before, but the boy had dark rings around his eyes, which meant he probably was unstable, and didn't get much sleep. For most people that would scare the living hell out of them, but for Naruto it just fueled the fire.
'You know…with those marks he sort of looks like a raccoon-' Naruto stopped thinking altogether, as realization dawned on him, and a new, blood thirsty, smirk made its way to his face.
Sakura was getting worried now, because she had noticed the look on Naruto's face, and as of lately it almost never appeared, but Sakura knew that he wanted to kill the kid standing in front of them, and she was pretty sure that the kid wanted to kill Naruto also.
"You-" Gaara said, as he pointed to Naruto, "What's your name?"
Naruto just scoffed,
"Like I'm going to tell my name to you! Tell you what…when I'm about to finish you off in battle, I'll give you the pleasure of learning the name of your killer."
Gaara grew a blood thirsty if his own,
"Pretty confident aren't you? I think mother will be happy with your blood." Everyone, excluding Naruto, eye's widened,
'Dammit! Gaara's found someone he wants to kill! This isn't good!' Kankuro thought to himself worried.
'I knew this was a bad idea! Dammit…well maybe this kid will quench Gaara's thirst for a while.' The female noted to herself.
'I don't like this at all! Naruto's getting really worked up over all of this!' Sakura thought, panic brewing inside of her.
"I don't know who the hell this 'mother' is you're talking about, but I prefer my opponent's blood over giving it to someone else, and I have a feeling yours is going to be great!" Now this time everyone's eyes widened, including Gaara, but he quickly regained his composure.
"I look forward to killing you." Naruto just smirked,
"Ditto" Then Gaara turned to his two teammates,
"Let's go…" Then, they all jumped away.
Sakura looked over at Naruto who was over by Konohamaru, asking him various questions concerning his health. She didn't like how Naruto had become, when that kid had showed up, because that Naruto, scared her to death.
Naruto turned and, with a smirk still visible on his features, walked away.
Konohamaru, who was still getting over the shock of being attacked by a strange ninja, was picking himself up off the ground as Moegi, and Udon ran up to him,
"Konohamaru are you alright?" A worried Moegi asked as Konohamaru just stood up, and looked at the fading figure of Naruto.
"Y-Yeah…don't worry about it…but did you see Boss!?" Everyone including Sakura nodded,
"That was so cool! The way he went, and wasn't afraid of-" Sakura drowned out Konohamaru's babble as she started to walk back to her house to get some rest for the big day coming up.
She quietly waved goodbye to the trio as she headed for her house. After about a five minute walk Sakura was at her doorstep, as she quietly stepped inside, closing the door behind her. She went straight for the stairs before she heard a familiar voice,
"Sakura?" The pink hair girl sighed to herself,
"Yeah mom?" Sakura stood on the third step of the stairs as an older looking woman came into view. She had red hair, and from her appearance, looked to have been a ninja at one time or another.
"Where have you been? You missed supper." Sakura just got a tired look on her face as she slowly continued up the set of stairs,
"Sorry mom I had to meet with my team, and then I hung out with Naruto for a little while." Sakura couldn't see it, seeing as her back was to her mother, but she visibly froze when the blond's name came up. Her neutral look on her face, quickly turned into a scowl,
'I wont say anything tonight, because its so late, and Sakura appears to be tired, but in the morning…we need to have a talk.'
--
I really don't know what to tell you guys…I couldn't think of what to write for this chapter at all, and for some reason I didn't want to start in on the Chuunin Exams yet, but next chapter that's the start! But in all honesty could you tell me if I'm slipping? Cause I don't feel this was a very good chapter AT ALL, but that's just me, and once again sorry for this, I know it's shorter than the rest of the chapters, and not very good, but I had a VERY hard time with this one.
Well until next time, which I hope to be sometime next week, peace!