All right, so, here's segment number two. I hope you all will enjoy this chapter. All in all, I originally finished this chapter earlier, but I didn't like the place where I'd ended and thought it could do with more. This addition brought on another 1k+ words, so whatever, I guess.

I've also had a question concerning the age of these time travelers, and so, when they fought against Pein, they were all approximately 20 years of age. I also very much appreciate the reviews I've received in reference to this fan fiction, and I thank you all very much. Well, enough of my talking - please enjoy the story.

Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.

Chapter Two

"Ah, shit!"

"Naruto!"

"Geez, again?"

Sasuke and Sakura watched as Naruto flew across the training grounds and slammed into the ground some hundred feet away. Sasuke shrugged his shoulders and shook his head, sighing at the blond's antics. He glanced at the rosette next to him, and flinched when he saw her begin to twitch with anger. Stepping backwards a bit, he gave Sakura more room to stomp over towards the seemingly unconscious blond. Naruto winced a bit as he gathered his senses, frowning as he muttered, "Ah, too much chakra…"

He noticed Sakura come stomping up to him, her pale-green eyes growing darker with her anger. He unconsciously scooted backwards in the grass when Sakura put her face right down in front of his. Her eyebrow twitched some, and Naruto knew he was in trouble. She narrowed her eyes, looking him up and down to see if he was showing any abnormalities. Naruto allowed her to check his ribs, neck, and arms before she sighed and moved away, going out of her doctor mode. He blinked at her, and then showed a grin baring all of his shiny, white teeth. Sakura raised an eyebrow at him, obviously not amused. Naruto moved closer to her, nuzzling her cheek and she looked at him from the corner of her eyes. He grinned when she began to loose her tenseness, and thought he had evaded harm.

"Ow!" he said a second later, as Sakura slammed his head into the ground, the vein at her temple pulsing. Standing up, Sakura glared down at the Kyuubi vessel, her teeth grinding all the while. Naruto mumbled something unintelligible in the dirt, though Sakura was too angry to bother finding out what. When he popped his head out from the ground, he asked in a whiny voice, "Why did you hit me?"

"You idiot!" she yelled at him, putting her hands on her hips. " 'Don't use too much chakra,' we said. 'Don't cause too much of a commotion,' we said. But do you listen? No, of course not! Naruto, do you understand our position right now?"

Naruto sighed, standing up as he rubbed the back of his head. Sasuke had walked up to join them, though he said nothing in the slightest. Naruto opened his brilliant, cornflower-blue eyes and looked at Sakura, a frown on his face. She felt her ire die down a bit, as she didn't see him with such a serious expression too much. Naruto crossed his arms over his chest, saying softly, "I'm well aware of our situation. But, it's been a bit compromised now, due to your stunt with Ino."

He then glanced at Sasuke, frowning deeper. "Good thing no one saw your little thing with Hinata, too. Then we would have been called out on it, I think."

Sasuke shrugged, not really caring too much, but understanding where Naruto was coming from. Well, he cared, but, the kiss had been more important to him at that time. It wasn't as if he was going to regret something like that. Sakura shifted her eyes away, remembering her actions. Taking in a deep breath, she said, "I know I was wrong to go ballistic like that, but, she hurt you."

"Life hurts me, Sakura-chan," Naruto consoled softly, "but I will keep living on, because I have you. Don't pay too much attention to what others do to me – they're still growing up. And you know as well as I do that most all the Rookie Nine couldn't stand me initially."

Sasuke put a hand on Sakura's shoulder briefly before letting it fall. "He's right. Now you're going to have to put on the show of your life for that blunder. Even if you have to punch Naruto halfway across Konoha."

Naruto waved wildly at Sasuke, his blue eyes wide with panic. "Hey! Don't put evil thoughts in her head!"

Sasuke smirked at the blond, who only scowled in return. Dragging Naruto back towards the trees by the sleeve of his shirt, he said as he walked, "Despite all that, you still haven't relearned how to climb trees. Don't use so much chakra. Geez, it's like you never learned in the first place."

Sakura followed along behind, her face contemplative as she watched Sasuke shove Naruto over to a tree. She walked up to where Sasuke was and watched Naruto form the Ram seal, his eyes closed as he concentrated. Looking at Sasuke, she muttered, "What are you talking about? You haven't reached the top yet, Mr. Know-It-All."

When Sasuke looked at her with a bored expression, she glared at him and he sighed. Walking over to the tree next to Naruto, he also made the Ram seal and focused his chakra. Both the boys soon had blue chakra spiraling around them, slowly being forced down to be concentrated only on their feet. Coal-black and cornflower-blue eyes opened simultaneously as they both moved towards the tree in front of them. Each placed one foot on the tree, and measured whether it was enough chakra or too much. After a second, Sasuke felt confident enough to place another foot up on the tree, and then another. Soon enough, he was walking up the tree slowly, letting the gravity try and force him down as he walked. Naruto had also begun his trek up the tree, though he was sighing in relief when he didn't go flying away from the tree. Sakura couldn't help but allow a grin to grow as she watched her teammates climb the tree casually. Looking up at the sky, she soon frowned as she realized the time. She looked back towards the boys, her eyes narrowing, but she was surprised to find they were at the very tip of the tree. Naruto stared down at her, eyebrows raised.

"What's up?" he called down.

Sakura pointed up towards the sun, and the two boys looked up into the sky as well, measuring the placement of the sun. Sasuke frowned, and bent down on the tree where he had stood, pushing off of the trunk and flying down towards the ground. He hit the ground lightly, looking at Sakura as she rolled her eyes. Naruto jumped down next to Sasuke, and grinned.

"Time to go meet Kakashi-sensei."

Sakura, Sasuke, and Naruto had just sat down in the required classroom with all the other students, when Iruka came in, carrying his handy-dandy clipboard. He eyed Sakura and Naruto, and was relieved to find Sakura back to normal and glaring at Naruto. Naruto bore a large bruise on his cheek, and he cursed Sakura's acting skills. So he'd gotten a bit close to Sasuke…but did she really have to hit him so hard? Even if it was just in jest? "Not fair," he whined loudly, granting himself yet another hard punch in the back of the head.

"Shut up, Naruto," Sakura said, allowing her voice to carry as she clung to Sasuke. Naruto looked at her pitifully, and then glared at Sasuke. "Argh, you stupid bastard! Stay away from Sakura-chan!"

"Don't call me Sakura-chan!"

The number one rookie groaned as the rosette clung even harder to his arm, and he pushed her away harshly, knowing it wouldn't really hurt it her. Glaring at Sakura, he said, "Could you not touch me, you weirdo?"

"Don't call Sakura-chan a weirdo!"

"Damn it, Naruto! Didn't I tell you not to call me Sakura-chan!"

The next thing the class knew, Sakura had smashed her fist into his face and sent him flying straight into the wall in the front of the classroom. Hitting the wall hard, Naruto groaned softly as he slid down to hit the floor with a thump. Sakura was still standing with her fist clenched, breathing in and out quickly. Nodding in content now that she'd gotten rid of the idiot, she sat closer to Sasuke and once again clung to him.

The entire class, save for Shino, Shikamaru, Sasuke, and Hinata laughed at the blond at his expense. Iruka sighed at the kunoichi's words and actions, though he was a bit grateful the girl had returned to normal. The day before had kind of scared him. His eyebrows raised when he heard a sound at the door, and he quickly remembered his duties. Gathering everyone's attention, Iruka said,

"All right, all of you! Your jounin instructors are here to pick you up! When they come in and call your team number, you will then follow them and do as they say. From this point on, I am no longer your instructor. Fare well, all of you."

Iruka turned to leave, casting the groaning Naruto one last look before he walked out of the classroom door. Not too long after, seven jounin walked in, each calling for their team. Soon after, a tall, bearded man who was smoking walked into the room, his hands in his pockets. Casting the left over kids a bored glance, he said, "Team Ten, you're with me. Let's go."

Shikamaru, Ino, and Chouji all rose up to follow after the bearded man. Hinata smiled slightly when a woman with unruly black hair and piercing red eyes came in after the other team had left. The woman glanced over at where Naruto was, before frowning and narrowing her eyes slightly. Looking back over at the other three left, she said softly, "I am the jounin instructor for Team Eight. Would you please follow me?"

Hinata and Shino stood, though both hesitated as Kiba let out a sound of disbelief. He stared at the woman with incredulity, pointing down at her. "We have a woman for an instructor? You've got to be kidding me!"

Shino turned to look at the dog-carrying boy with annoyance, saying softly, "I see nothing wrong with her gender. She's a jounin for a reason."

"Yeah, but, women are weak! Come on, bug-boy! Don't you even know that?"

Naruto and Sasuke flinched slightly upon hearing Kiba's comment, and Naruto slowly looked up to see Hinata's reaction to the statement. His eyes widened, and he pushed himself back towards the wall when he saw a cold expression on the girl's face, her lips curved in a soft smile. Sasuke's eyes were wide as he, too, looked at his fiancé with fear. He and Naruto both looked at one another, each thinking to the last time Kiba had implied women being weaker than men.

Naruto, Sasuke, Kiba, Akamaru, and Hinata were all sitting down in their camp within the borders of the Land of the Wind, each resting from having run so far in one day. Naruto grinned and laughed at something Kiba had said, his entire body shaking with the convulsions. The two had been commenting on some idiot from the Sunagakure who had tried to fight them when Kiba said something that interested Hinata

"You know," Kiba continued, a thoughtful look on his face. "I don't think he would have bothered trying to stop us if Hinata hadn't been on our team."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes, his voice low in warning as he asked, "What are you getting at?"

Kiba smirked, shrugging his shoulders. "I'm just saying – I'm not sure that guy would have tried getting at us if we'd had another guy on the team, rather than a girl. I'm not trying to say anything bad about Hinata, but whenever she's with us, we seem to get a bit more trouble. Like, people are always thinking we're suddenly a lot weaker just because we've got a girl with us. What's up with that?"

Naruto wisely stayed silent as he continued eating his sandwich. Sasuke grabbed Kiba by his jacket collar, growling. "Watch who you're talking to, dog-boy!"

A hand touched Sasuke lightly on the shoulder and he looked up to see Hinata smiling down at him. Naruto frowned when he saw her smile didn't quite reach her eyes, but only took another bite of his sandwich. Kiba looked up at Hinata with a bored expression, sighing when Sasuke finally let go of him. He watched Hinata stand up and move past him, softly saying, "Don't eat anymore, Naruto. I'm going to start making supper."

" 'Kay."

Kiba let out a bark of laughter, raising his hands up in a cheer even as Sasuke continued to glare at him. The boy leaned back to lie his head on the giant dog Akamaru, sighing in happiness. "Man, you're so lucky, Sasuke!"

Sasuke, who had just grabbed the rest of a sandwich out of Naruto's hands, looked at Kiba with annoyance apparent on his face. "What are you talking about?"

"I would love it if I could have a woman like Hinata who's nice enough to make me dinner all the time! Does she do your clothes, too?"

"I do my own."

"What, really?" asked Kiba, sitting up. He looked at Hinata, who raised an eyebrow at him as she skinned a portion of a large pig. Kiba grinned, saying, "I would think you'd be the type to do all the homebody stuff. You know, like cleaning, cooking…woman duties. I mean, I know how hard you work as a kunoichi, but I bet you wish you didn't have to fight all the time. Relax from a mission next time and just stay home and do that stuff. Might make you happy, you know."

Within a flash, Sasuke was standing and holding Kiba up by the coat collar again. His eyes flashed red with three tomoe appearing in each eye as he glared at the other man. Kiba held up his hands in a defensive motion, brown eyes widening. Sasuke growled, his teeth gritted tightly.

"You've definitely barked up your last tree, Kiba…"

"Sasuke!"

Sasuke frowned and turned his head to look at Hinata, who stood in near him. A small smile was on her face, and she waved a hand slowly while saying, "Let Kiba go. He just said what he thought was correct – don't let it bother you."

Sasuke dropped Kiba – his surprise had been that great. "But…what he said… That…wait, you're not mad?"

Hinata let out a laugh, her eyes softening at Kiba. "Hmm…well, that's an interesting question. I'm not so sure I know how to answer that right now. I don't think I am. Oh, and by the way, Kiba…"

Kiba looked at her, and made a hesitant grin when he saw her smile grow a bit. "Yeah, Hinata? Oh, and by the way, I hadn't meant any of that stuff in a disrespectful manner."

"Yes, yes, I'm well aware," Hinata said, her smile still apparent. "But, did you know? You're standing in my divination circle."

Kiba barely had time to make a vocalize his obvious confusion before Hinata's fingers were jabbing into his body, and hitting his tenketsu. "Two strikes!" she called out as she hit two tenketsu. Bringing her other hand forward, she said, "Four strikes!"

"Eight strikes! Sixteen strikes! Thirty-two strikes! Sixty-four strikes!"

The last strike struck Kiba hard and he went flying as Hinata yelled out, "Hakke Rokujyuuyon Sho!"

Naruto and Sasuke's mouths were agape as they saw Kiba fly through the air and hit the ground a bit farther away. Their faces were pale as they stared at the now frowning Hyuuga matriarch, and they were frightened to see her eyes were cold and frosty. When she looked at the other two men, they felt as if a blizzard had begun to wrap around them and cover them in a snow blanket. Naruto made a sound close to that of a whining puppy when Hinata had turned around and looked at them. Her eyes lost their frostiness and she said softly,

"Dinner will be ready in a bit. Could you wait a bit longer?"

Both men nodded as they escaped the frigidness of the area and retreated with an unconscious Kiba.

Both Sasuke and Naruto shuddered more and more as they saw the smile grow on Hinata's face. Kiba looked up at her with a bored expression, and Hinata shook her head, remembering to do a stutter as she said, "…I-I t-think she'll b-be a g-good instructor, K-Kiba-san…."

Kiba scowled at his new teammate before he rose up and started walking down the stairs, with Shino following behind. Hinata made a slight grin as she passed her fellow time-travelers. Though Sakura looked back at her with some curiosity, Sasuke and Naruto looked at Hinata, horrified.

She remembered!

Giggling softly, she walked out of the room behind her teammates and jounin instructor. The last two males in the room slid to the floor, relief completely overtaking them, though Sakura continued to look confused. Popping up quickly, Naruto crawled over to the desk in front of Sakura, and hefted himself up on it. Sakura looked at him with a small frown, though she said nothing to discourage him. Sasuke just sat back in his seat, resting his head back on his hands.

"Sakura-chan," Naruto began. "How much time do we have left until he shows up?"

"Probably close to an hour, or so."

Sasuke blew some hair out of his face and said in a bored tone, "Then maybe we should set some more ground rules meanwhile."

"Good idea," Naruto said, and Sakura nodded in agreement. "First things first – no more mistakes. We can't have people wondering what's wrong with us every time we open our mouths."

"That and," Sasuke continued in Naruto's stead, "our abilities must always be hidden from everyone. When we have that test with Kakashi tomorrow, we can't let him think we're holding back. He'll think we're spies or something similar."

Sasuke met Sakura's eyes and she narrowed her own, impatiently swiping hair away of her face. Adopting a thinking pose, the pink-haired kunoichi thought over when they had been on Team Seven the first time, and found herself wondering if they could put up such a front. Of course, Naruto could, she concluded, watching as he continued looking at anything and everything that caught his interest. Sliding her gaze over the Uchiha, she realized that it wouldn't be too hard of a task for him to follow accordingly to either, but what about her? Could she really play the part of the idiotic, Sasuke-loving fan girl who couldn't fight to save her own life?

"This…may prove to be a bit more difficult for me," Sakura conceded, closing her eyes in frustration. "If nothing else, I'm the one who's made a complete 180 degree turn, and I'm not so sure I can go back to being that silly girl anymore."

Naruto shrugged, grinning at her. "We'll cross that hurdle when we get to it. Meanwhile," he said, eyebrows narrowing slowly, "do we tell the Hokage?"

"No!" said Sasuke harshly. "We tell no one of our current circumstances. I already discussed this with Hinata, and she firmly agrees. Aside of that, time jutsus are strictly forbidden and we'd already be considered traitors by going forth and explaining our situation. Not to mention that we'd have to prove we were who we were claiming to be."

Sakura and Naruto frowned more deeply, each sighing over the problems that lay in front of them. Naruto leaned back and allowed himself to do a backwards flip to land on his feet on the ground. Stretching, he jumped up and touched the ceiling, allowing chakra to flow around his feet as he clung. Though Sasuke was amused, he said, "No more of that either. At least not until a little after we trained on trees."

"Geez, you're like my mom, Sasuke," said Naruto, a pout on his face. He dropped to the ground, doing a back flip to land on his feet once again. Sakura chuckled before a thought struck her. "Hey, Naruto. You're not going to play any tricks on Kakashi this time?"

"What?" asked Naruto, giving her a strange look. "What do you…oh! Oh, oh! I totally forgot about that!"

Dashing to the chalkboard, Naruto grabbed an eraser and raced to the classroom door. Sasuke placed his head in his hands, sighing softly. "Did you have to remind him of that?"

Sakura laughed softly, her eyes softening as she watched Naruto set up the eraser precisely in the door. The grin on the blond's face was more than enough to alleviate her of her earlier worries, and she had always thought it to have been a funny event. Naïve, and a bit immature, but funny nonetheless. Naruto jumped down from the door, and looked at it with a critical eye. "Perfect," he exclaimed. "Now when that guy comes in, he'll have a surprise waiting for him!"

Again, thought the three simultaneously. Naruto glanced at Sakura, smiling bright enough to light a darkened room. "How long 'til he comes? How long, how long?"

"Geez, you don't even have to act like a kid, do you, idiot? It just comes naturally, doesn't it?" Sasuke said, annoyance creeping in.

"Better than being an asshole with a stick up his butt. You know…like you!"

"What was that? You aiming for a fight, idiot?"

"You want to bring it? I can't wait to take your ass down!"

Sakura glanced from one of the boys to the other, her annoyance starting to pique. "Would you both just shut the hell up!"

Seconds passed where Naruto and Sasuke ended up just glaring at each other, before switching their glare over to the pink-haired girl. Sakura felt their stares and glared back, feeling herself stand to gain more leverage over the two. She focused in on Naruto, and he met her gaze defiantly. She grinned evilly at him, saying, "What was that, Naruto? You don't want to touch me anymore? Well, well, that's news to me. I mean, sure, if you want."

Naruto stared at her, gaping at her sheer audacity of her blackmail. "That's…that's cruel, Sakura-chan!"

"And you," she said, glaring next at Sasuke. "I'm sure Hinata would love to hear of your immature battle with Naruto. I mean, it wouldn't waste her time to date an immature jerk at all. Nah, I bet she'll still love you…just won't date you anytime soon."

"That's low," muttered Sasuke, putting his hands in his pockets as he looked away from the kunoichi. Sakura cackled softly, though she immediately stopped when the door to the classroom slide open quickly. The sound of an eraser bouncing off the silver-haired jounin instructor left her blond teammate in fits of laughter as he rolled back and forth on the floor. Hatake Kakashi stared at the three children who had been left in his care, and found himself not liking them at all, really.

"Hmm, how should I say this?" Kakashi began, looking up at the ceiling. "My first impressions of you guys are…I hate you."

No matter whether they had heard it before or not, it still felt a bit bad.

"In any case," Kakashi continued, "meet me on the roof and we'll go on from there."

Making half a seal, the three shinobi watched as their teacher vanished before their eyes. Naruto blew a raspberry at the spot where the jounin had once stood and walked over to the door. Looking back at his fellow teammates, he made a grin, saying, "This…is going to be fun."

"Or boring as hell," Sasuke added, following behind his teammates.

"Let's see," said Kakashi, looking at the three kids sitting a small distance away from him. "Why don't you all introduce yourselves? You know, likes, dislikes, hobbies, dreams. That stuff."

"Why don't you go first, sensei," said Sakura, leaning forward in anticipation. Not like we don't already know everything about you, pervert.

Kakashi looked at them with his one showing eye, and in a bored tone said, "I have no intention of telling you my likes and dislikes. As for my dream…hmm. I have a few hobbies."

Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke all deadpanned at Kakashi's answers, realizing they once again would hear nothing more about their teacher. Naruto grimaced at his teammates and sighed, saying, "My name is Uzumaki Naruto. I like ramen. I hate Sasuke. I have tons of hobbies. Everyone knows my dream."

Sakura shrugged, and said, "My name is Haruno Sakura. I like…well," she paused, glancing over at Sasuke, while Naruto helped by glaring at the raven-haired boy. "My hobbies are… My dream is…"

Sakura remembered what one of her goals actually was and her face flushed red as she turned away from the two boys. Kakashi sighed, believing her to be too far gone to become an efficient kunoichi. Frowning, though the three couldn't tell due to his mask, he said, "And? What do you hate?"

The kunoichi realized she couldn't really lie and said instead, "Idiots. And perverts."

"Well, how interesting. Now, you."

Sasuke glared up at his sensei, softly saying, "Uchiha Sasuke. I hate a lot of things, and don't like many things. And my dream…no, ambition, is to kill a certain man and restore my clan."

Kakashi stared at Sasuke, his right eye narrowing slightly as he thought, I thought so.

"Interesting as you all are, I have more important matters to talk to you about. We have a mission tomorrow, and you guys are going to performing it."

Sakura glanced at Sasuke, though he made sure to ignore her. Her right eye twitched a bit, but she ignored him for the lack of nothing better to do. Looking back at their instructor, she asked, "What kind of mission?"

"An exercise – survival training."

"What for?" shot Sakura in return. "We already learned survival training back at the academy. There's no need for us to do more of it. Besides, what kind of training could it possibly be?"

"This is not ordinary training, kiddies," Kakashi said, beginning to laugh softly. He waved his hand in apology as he explained, "Sorry, sorry. Just, when you hear this, you're going to flip. I mean, after all, out of the twenty-seven graduates, only nine actually become genin. In other words, this exercise has a sixty-six percent dropout rate."

Now that he'd heard the rating of the test again, Naruto didn't have to fake his surprise. "What! Are you serious? But we're already genin! What was that other exam for?"

"That just chose those that were qualified enough to become genin. Anyway, tomorrow, I'll determine if you're truly good enough to pass. So, bring your ninja gear and meet me at the training grounds at five tomorrow morning. Dismissed. Oh, and one more thing," the jounin said as he readied himself to leave, "don't eat breakfast tomorrow. You'll throw up. Now, see you!"

The three shinobi let out a large sigh as the ninja vanished from their sights and senses. "Fuck that," declared Naruto. "I'm totally eating this time, and I'm definitely not showing up 'til ten."

"Yeah, no joke," agreed Sakura, stretching her torso. "Last time definitely hurt me, and I need to be at my best for tomorrow. What are we going to do anyway?"

Sasuke smirked, waving for the two others to come in closer. Each moved towards Sasuke, and he whispered, "I've got a plan."

The next morning at ten, Sasuke, Sakura, and Naruto all showed up, having rested well and ate a hearty breakfast. Naruto sniffed the air and grinned, watching as their instructor appeared in front of them. Sasuke glared at him, and Sakura felt bestowing him with her attention was too difficult a task. The blond, Kakashi found, was just grinning dangerously at him. Of course, he didn't really care why, but it made him ponder just what the village idiot was thinking. He walked over to a nearby wooden post and placed an alarm clock on it. "The alarm is set for noon. Your task is to acquire one of these two bells from me," he said while holding up two bells attached to strings. "Whoever can't will end up not having lunch, being tied to one of those three posts over there, and failing automatically."

Kakashi tied the bells to his waist, and put his hands on his hips as he looked at the genin-wannabes. "Of course," he continued, "you won't get them unless you come at me with an intent to kill. Anyway, let's get started, since none of you seem to have any questions."

Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura all stood near each other as he finished his speech, before bending down and jumping out of Kakashi's sight. The silver-haired jounin looked at the empty space in front of him in surprise, muttering, "I didn't even say to start yet…"

The man turned around, concentrating on chakra signatures, and was happy to see his team had hidden itself well. That is, except for the black-clad blond standing not too far away from him. Naruto chuckled as he stood in front of Copycat Kakashi, his arms crossed over his chest. "Let's have a match fair and square!" exclaimed Naruto, his grin widening to show his sharp incisors. "How's that sound, Kakashi-sensei? Then I'll show you how good I am!"

Sasuke and Sakura couldn't help but let out a few chuckles from where they hid. That Naruto, thought Sakura endearingly. He's enjoying this far too much.

Kakashi frowned at the blond, saying, "You're a little weirder than the others."

"The only thing weird here is your hair!" yelled Naruto, charging forward as he unsheathed a kunai. The boy grinned as he saw Kakashi pull out a little, orange book and he jumped up to throw a kick. Chuckling when he was blocked, Naruto spiraled around towards his left and touched the ground with his right hand as he threw up a hard kick towards Kakashi again. Of course it was blocked, but Naruto was nonplussed as he continued throwing more and more combos. Swirling around in the dirt, Naruto's eyes narrowed dangerously as he pushed chakra from beneath his feet and swung his legs up towards Kakashi's arms. Kakashi jumped back, but not without a small repercussion. Naruto hit the ground hard and jumped up while grabbing the small, orange book. The jounin stared at the blond in disbelief and horror. The future Hokage looked back at the jounin with a malicious grin before running off into the dense vegetation.

Kakashi, after gaining back his senses, raced after the blond and stopped short when two shuriken sank down into the ground in front of him. A flash of black appeared in front of Kakashi's eyes, but he easily blocked the downward kick that Sasuke threw at him. Making a sound of irritation, Sasuke bent backwards and hit the ground on all four limbs, pushing with his legs towards the jounin.

"Fight me!" he yelled at the jounin, throwing a large amount of punches and kicks. "Forget that loser and concentrate on me!"

Seeing no choice in the matter, Kakashi grabbed Sasuke's left leg and spun in a circle, holding Sasuke out to his side. The Uchiha grimaced as the world spun around quickly until Kakashi suddenly let go and he was flying out across the ground. Readying himself for a lot of pain, Sasuke stretched a hand out over the bypassing horizon and felt his entire body shift as he grabbed hold of a patch of grass. His body flipped over and he shouted at in pain when he felt his arm being pulled away from his body. Inertia kicked in and Sasuke continued to fly until he hit the ground rolling, curse words flying out of his mouth as he went. Climbing to his feet even as he continued to slide, Sasuke pushed himself forward with a blast of chakra and charged towards the jounin again. Meeting the silver-haired instructor kunai on kunai, Sasuke felt his irritation grow as he yearned more and more to rid himself of the stupid façade.

Sakura continued to look on from where she still hid, and was hardly surprised when Naruto appeared right beside her. They both looked down at the fighting Sasuke, and Naruto sighed, saying, "He's getting annoyed. We'd better finish this up quick."

"Right," Sakura agreed, her voice soft. "It's my turn now."

She took out two shuriken, and vanished from her position beside Naruto. The blond stuck his book inside his back pocket, and vanished as well. Sakura appeared next to Sasuke, turning clockwise rapidly as she held her arms out while carrying the kunai. Soon enough, Sakura was spinning fast enough to create a small, yet sharp, tornado as she spun towards Kakashi. He looked down at her, apparently not grasping the meaning of her little tornado. Readying himself to jump back, he was surprised to find both Naruto and Sasuke behind him, each wielding a kunai as they charged towards him. Seeing the man focus instead on them, Sakura stopped her revolutions and jumped up on Kakashi's back, her kunai going for his neck. Kakashi grunted at having her weight suddenly thrown on him, and was readying himself to throw her off when Sasuke reached for the bells. The young jounin switched direction and saw Sasuke fall flat on his face. Everything came to stop, however, when Kakashi saw Naruto holding a kunai up near his favorite book.

Kakashi stared at the smirking Naruto, fear running through his veins. "You wouldn't…"

"In a heartbeat," Naruto began, but frowned when he heard the bell ring. "What, two hours already? No way!"

Kakashi chuckled, and pushed the unprepared Sakura off of him as he grabbed his lovely book. Turning back towards the group, he said, "Well, time's up, and none of you have bells. I guess you all fail."

"Check again," said Sakura, her voice low as she smirked at the teacher. "I think we definitely passed, since we have the bells."

"Oh?" Kakashi inquired, reaching for the bells still at his waist. With two puffs of smoke, his bells disappeared, and he stared down in complete shock. Looking up at his students, he saw each one look at him with a smirk on their faces. "How?"

The Naruto in front of him disappeared with a puff of smoke, and Kakashi saw another one come out from the underbrush, holding two jingling bells. Naruto walked up to his two teammates, and gave them each a bell. Looking at the bewildered sensei, he said, "Underneath the underneath. I originally came at you only for the book you decided to pull out. Seeing it as a way to hinder your concentration, I took it and hid in the underbrush. While I was hiding, I made a Kage Bunshin and gave the book to him."

Sasuke continued with, "After he hid, I took it upon myself to fight you. You'd already lost your concentration with what Naruto did, so keeping you in that state was no hard feat. All I had to do was give Naruto and Sakura the time they needed to do their parts."

"I," Sakura began, "was to hide until the very end where I would again distract you from the noticing the fact that Naruto was coming up behind you to grab the bells. From then on, Sasuke-kun and the Kage Bunshin distracted you from noticing the real Naruto running back into hiding."

"And the rest as everyone says," said Naruto, grinning, "is history."

A grin came to Kakashi's face, and he looked down at the little hellions who had passed his test with flying colors. "Well, well. I never saw it coming. Guess I can truthfully say you three are the first to pass my survival test. Congratulations."

"Yes!" shouted Naruto, jumping up in the air. "We passed!"

"Do you know why?" asked Kakashi, and sighed upon seeing blank faces. "The object was not to acquire the bells, but to have good teamwork. After all, those who disregard orders are considered scum, but those who disregard their friends…are trash."

"Whatever," said Sasuke. "I passed, so I'm out of here."

Naruto stared at the raven-haired boy as he walked away. Watching Sakura follow the Uchiha in 'glee,' Naruto sighed and looked at the ground. "Hey, Kakashi-sensei," he said softly, gaining the jounin's attention. "What do you do when you love a girl so much, but her parents hate you and think you're not worth the gum stuck to their shoes?"

"Hmm," murmured the Copycat Jounin, frowning. "Well, you'll just have to find a way to either gain their acceptance, or go with your instincts. Anyway, I have to tell the Hokage I'm passing you guys so, I'll see you later with our mission details."

Naruto watched him disappear and sighed. "Instincts…huh?"

Haruno Minoru glanced up from his paper as Sakura came in through the front door, a smile on his face. Sakura glanced up and saw him, and forced a smile to her face though she quickly looked away. Confusion marred Minoru's features until he remembered what had take place the other day, and it left him filled with an unbridled anger. It was all that Kyuubi brat's fault for his daughter's behavior towards him. Feeling his temper rise, Minoru rose up from where he sat and walked over to his daughter, smiling brightly. "How's my girl?" he asked, bending down. "You have fun with your team?"

"Yes," Sakura began cautiously. "We're officially genin now."

"Oh? Well, who's your instructor, and who are your teammates?"

Though she knew the question was going to come, that didn't make the mentally twenty-year-old Sakura any more prepared than before. "Ah," she started. "My instructor is Hatake Kakashi."

"Copycat Kakashi?" Minoru said, eyes widening in surprise. "That's an interesting guy you've got. And? What about your teammates?"

"Uchiha Sasuke, and Uzumaki Naruto."

Minoru had been nodding at the mention of the last Uchiha being on his daughter's team, and was in a relatively good mood until he heard the name of her second teammate. He stood up straight until he reached his full height and glared down at his daughter. Sakura met his glare with her own. Really, just what was with her father anyway? So Naruto had the Kyuubi – what was the big deal? Honestly, she could go into the past one thousand times and still never understand what made them hate the boy so. Taking a risk, she said softly, "I don't understand why you hate him. What has he ever done to you?"

"You will not cross me right now, Sakura," Minoru began, his voice taking on a dangerous tone. "Nor will you question me. I am your father and I know what's best."

"Yes, you most certainly do," Sakura began, her anger beginning to come forth. "After all, you know it's best for me to witness you beating down a boy less than half your age. I mean, since you condone violence and everything. Perfect father material, I'd say."

"Do not question my actions, young lady!" the man nearly shouted. "I have your best interests at heart! Being with that…that thing will only harm you in the end!"

"Yes, because he's just some crazy dragon demon sent out to burn my body to a crisp and stuff it into some lost cavern!" she shouted back. "Face it, you've got nothing on him but your own insecurities!"

"You dare to question your father?" roared Minoru, dark green eyes darkening even further.

"I dare to question a fool who doesn't know when to let go of his prideful attitude!"

A slap rang through the air, and Sakura's eyes were wide in shock as she found her cheek burning with pain. Her eyes turned up to look at her father and found him looking at his hand in shock. He looked down at her, and she stared at him. Her eyes, once darkened with anger, became dull and lifeless as she stared up at him, and she abruptly turned around and walked up the stairs to her room. Minoru looked up after her, and clenched his hand into a fist. "I…I hit her," he whispered as the front door opened again, but this time to a woman with long, dark pink hair wearing a chuunin vest. Her golden eyes looked up saw her husband staring at his clenched fist. Minoru looked at his wife and saw her confused, yet worried expression.

"What happened?" Haruno Michiru asked, eyes wide and searching. "Is Sakura okay?"

Minoru cleared his throat, and clenched both his fists in newly gained anger. "Sakura is on a team with that demon!"

"What!" exclaimed Michiru, shocked. "We've got to do something! We can't have her being poisoned by that demon!"

"I'll go talk to Iruka," Minoru said, eyes narrowed. "You just returned from a mission, so you go ahead and rest. I'll take care of everything."

Iruka was sitting down and readying himself to grade some papers when a man with dark brown hair burst in, forest-green eyes blazing. Recognizing the man as Haruno Sakura's father, he smiled and asked, "What can I do for you today, Haruno-san?"

"Umino-san, why did you pass that demon?" Minoru said, slamming his hands on Iruka's desk. "Don't you know what repercussions could come from such a deed?"

Iruka stared at him, not fully understanding what was going on. Both men turned their attention to the door when they heard another person come in. The man had shoulder-length silver hair and malicious-looking eyes as he glanced in on the two others. Minoru rose up off Iruka's desk and went straight towards the other man. "Finally, a man with sense! Mizuki! Tell me why that demon passed!"

Iruka rose up, anger apparent on his face. Mizuki raised up a hand to warn off Iruka as he said to Minoru, "Uzumaki-san, right? Come with me, Minoru, and I'll tell you the details concerning the boy."

Minoru stared at him in disbelief, though Iruka relaxed visibly. A smile was on the teacher's face as he looked over at Mizuki, trusting the silver-haired man to handle the Haruno. Mizuki smiled at Iruka and turned to guide Minoru out the door. Outside of the classroom, Minoru was ready to explode at his friend, but Mizuki just glared at him and pointed him down the hall.

"Let's go to a place where we can talk without worry."

Though still greatly upset with his friend's actions, Minoru pursed his lips and marched down the hallway after Mizuki. The two walked down the corridor, bypassing several doors as they took a right into a staircase corner. Moving up the stairs, only the clapping of their sandals hitting the wooden steps could be heard. Again, the two walked down a long corridor, only stopping after another two minutes. Mizuki slid open a door, and gestured for Minoru to go in before him. After the man did the task, Mizuki went in as well and slid the door closed behind him. His eyes having looked somewhat warm before, turned freezing cold as he addressed Minoru,

"That demon wasn't supposed to pass."

"Then why is it running out there showing off our village hitai-ate like some proud fool?" Minoru demanded. "And did you know? That beast is teamed together with my daughter and the last Uchiha!"

"Yes, I know. I was certain he would fail, so had planned to have him steal the Scroll of Forbidden Jutsu for me as a way of earning his genin rank."

Minoru stared hard at Mizuki, his green eyes narrowing slightly. "You weren't going to pass him."

"Absolutely not! But, I would have had that scroll in return. But, I think I can still do it…and have that demon exiled from this village, or killed. Killed, preferably…but whatever gets rid of him."

"I'm all ears," Minoru said, causing Mizuki to smirk. The silver-haired man clapped a hand on the dirty-blond-haired man's shoulder, saying, "Good. All we need is your daughter's help."

"My daughter?"

Two hours later had the two men tying a sleeping Sakura to the trunk of a large tree, making knots too difficult for even an experienced shinobi to undo. Minoru placed a hand on Sakura's head, his green eyes staring down sadly at his daughter. "I'm sorry, Sakura," he said softly, stroking her pink hair tenderly. "I really am, but that demon…"

Mizuki was looking off into the dense vegetation, calmly waiting for his partner to finish whatever he needed to say to the unconscious girl. When Minoru came up to Mizuki, the latter nodded with a smirk. "All right, you're clear on the plan? Get that beast over here, and then we'll goad him into getting the scroll. Then we'll go from there."

"Roger," Minoru said with his own smirk as he vanished in a swirl of leaves.

Flashing as he landed on a rooftop, the man narrowed his dark, forest-green eyes and sped forward, the wind racing in his wake. Hitting one roof after another, the man finally saw the blond brat at the demon's favorite restaurant: Ichiraku. Minoru landed right outside the restaurant, and mussed up his hair as if he had been in a tussle. Running through the flaps, a frightened expression on his face, Minoru spotted a frowning Naruto looking back at him. The Haruno breathed in and out quickly, reaching for large gulps of air, while Naruto's right eyebrow slowly rose up. Clapping his hands on the demon's shoulders, Minoru said, "Sakura! H-he's got her! He…! Help me!"

Naruto had spun around quickly, cornflower-blue eyes narrowing. "Sakura? What's happened, Haruno-san? Who's got her?"

"Just come with me!" Minoru exclaimed, moving to jump on the rooftops. To his surprise, he found Naruto was right behind him, and keeping up with every step. The two in flashes of yellow leapt from roof to roof, and raced across Konoha. Minoru kept glancing back at boy, frowning as he saw the demon wasn't even winded in the least. Naruto met his gaze, realized his mistake, and found himself tripping off of the last rooftop from his realization. The Haruno chuckled, blaming the speed on the demon's overwhelming amount of stamina. If nothing else, the Kyuubi vessel had guts, stamina, and chakra, but that was all.

Naruto rubbed his head as he pushed himself off the ground. Damn it, he thought glaring down at the dirt as he bent down. I was so upset about Sakura that I didn't even think to slow my pace down. Geez, I'm such a hypocrite.

With a small blast of chakra, Naruto pushed off the ground and landed on the rooftop next to Sakura's father. Looking up at the man, and feeling slightly inferior due to his small stature, Naruto nodded sharply. With that movement, Minoru blasted off with Naruto trailing behind slightly. Ten minutes later, due to Naruto's slower pace, led the two to a forest on the outskirts of Konoha and landing in front of a still-unconscious Sakura. Naruto gritted his teeth and made a move forward when Mizuki came into the scene. Seeing the silver-haired chuunin, Naruto bared his teeth in anger and took a kunai. Holding it in front of him, Naruto yelled, "What have you done to her, you bastard!"

Haruno Minoru glared at Mizuki as well, saying, "Let go of my daughter, Mizuki! What do you want with her?"

Mizuki glared at Minoru and smirked at the blond vessel. "I have her as a type of…ransom. Tell you what, you get me that Scroll of Forbidden Jutsu, and I'll give you this girl, right here."

Naruto took a step forward, eyes blazing with anger. He swung his kunai around his right index finger before gripping the handle tightly in a fist. "How about I just kill you now, and take her anyway?"

"Oh, no, I don't think you want to do that," Mizuki said snidely, flicking a kunai towards the unconscious girl's throat. "That is, if you still want her alive by the time you actually get to me."

The blond's eyes widened, and he glared at the teacher as he sheathed his kunai. "What…and you want me to get you that scroll? I won't do it! I'll just save her instead!"

Minoru stepped into Naruto's path, his eyes sorrowful as he looked down at the demon. "Please, Uzumaki-san. If you care for my daughter at all, then please get the scroll, so I can have her back at home safe with her parents. Please."

The vessel looked up at the older Haruno, eyes widening slightly as his head fell. Without another word, Naruto vanished from the site and landed on a tree, facing away from the two men. "I'll get that scroll," said Naruto, venom laced in his words. "But you had better not lay a hand on Sakura, Mizuki. Or I'll kill you."

Looking back towards the pink-haired girl, Naruto gritted his teeth and jumped from the tree branch back towards Konoha. Racing through the trees, he ran through the open gates of Konoha and jumped straight up to reach a rooftop. Bouncing from one roof to another, two crystalline tears were swept away from Naruto's eyes as he cut through the wind. "Sakura," he murmured, eyes hardened. "I'll save you…I promise!"

Sasuke slurped his noodles as soon as he had grasped them with his chopsticks. Soon after, he was digging again into his bowl of ramen and slurping up more noodles, much to Hinata's pleasure. She smiled down at him as he ate her homemade ramen with a vehemence. His coal-black eyes caught her own lavender ones, and he grinned up at her, the soup broth all around his mouth. Thinking he was too cute for words, she bent down to kiss his lips.

Suddenly, without warning, the two shinobi jumped to alert as an alarm sounded through the village. They looked at one another with a small grimace and stood up from the grass where they had sat. The hill the two were on was one that oversaw most of Konoha, so Sasuke could easily pick out a numerous amount of shinobi running around when he activated his Sharingan. Frowning, he looked at Hinata and saw she, too, had activated her Byakugan. Narrowing her eyes, she shook her head in annoyance. "I haven't developed my Byakugan enough yet. I can't see far enough."

"Yeah, I can't see too much either. All I can tell is that the village is really busy," Sasuke said softly, his red eyes narrowed. "Let's head back."

Hinata looked back at the picnic they had laid down on the grass before shaking her head and ignoring it. "Let's go then," she said as they disappeared from the hill.

Ten minutes later had them back in mainstream Konoha and looking around in confusion. One jounin passed them and Sasuke grabbed onto the man's green, flak vest. The man glared back at the Uchiha, barking, "What do you want, kid? I'm busy!"

"What's going on?" asked Sasuke, staring into the man's eyes with his own red ones. The man flinched slightly and shook his head. "That kid Naruto took the Scroll of Forbidden Jutsu. God knows what he plans to do with it!"

"The Scroll of Forbidden Jutsu?" Hinata said, completely aghast. Looking at Sasuke, she narrowed her eyes more and said, "We have to find him!"

Nodding and letting go of the other man's flak vest, Sasuke waited for Hinata to locate Naruto chakra signature. The heiress closed her eyes and concentrated deeply, only opening them upon finding Naruto's signature. She nodded curtly at Sasuke and then jumped onto another roof as she went towards their destination. The last Uchiha jumped right after her, staying close on her heels as they ran across the city, hopping from one roof to another. Then, just as quickly as she had started, Hinata stopped in the middle of a street with a frown on her face. Turning her head back and forth, she said, "I lost his trail. He was here, but now I can't sense him."

Sasuke turned his eyes toward his right and caught a flash of black running towards them. Jumping in front of Hinata, he clenched his hand into a fist and slammed it forward, hitting something solid in the meantime. The thing he hit yelled out in pain as it flew back and hit the ground some distance away. Hinata ran towards the object and looked down at it, frowning as she murmured, "What are you doing with that scroll, Naruto?"

Naruto rubbed his left cheek as he rose up from the ground, glaring at Sasuke all the while. "None of your business. Just leave me alone – I know what I'm doing."

"Wrong, idiot," said Sasuke, coming up and slamming another fist into the blond. "What are you doing stealing that scroll for? That's considered treason!"

"I have my reasons! Just leave me alone, I said!"

Naruto and Sasuke growled at each other, neither giving the other space. The blond bared his teeth, growling, "This isn't your problem, so just go away!"

Hinata slapped him across the face, much to his, and Sasuke's, disbelief. She glared at him, yelling, "What is wrong with you! We're in this together, and we can't afford to let your damned ego get in the way of that! If something's wrong, then we fix it together! So, tell us what's going on!"

Naruto stared at her, not sure of what to say. Sasuke didn't help either as he continued to gape with disbelief. Hinata looked from one boy to another, her irritation growing. Turning to Naruto, she yelled, "Now!"

The Kyuubi vessel looked up into the sky, his blue eyes narrowed as he sensed around him. "Fine," he conceded, "but we've got to move as I explain. Follow me."

He jumped into the air and landed on a nearby rooftop. The other two landed behind him and as one, they moved forward from one rooftop to another, while Naruto explained,

"Our first time around, I originally didn't pass the genin exam. So, as I watched everyone gather with their parents while being so excited about passing, Mizuki came to me with a proposition. If I stole the scroll and managed to learn something from it, he'd pass me as a type of special examination kind of thing. I hadn't realized that he was just conning me and trying to get me evicted from the village. Luckily, Iruka-sensei had come along and fought with Mizuki. However, Iruka-sensei got hurt and I ended up getting pissed off and tromping Mizuki with my Kage Bunshin no Jutsu. I ended up passing due to my actions against a then-branded traitor."

Touching down on another rooftop, the three accelerated forward, Sasuke and Hinata with serious expressions on their faces as they listened. Naruto cleared his throat and his eyes saddened slightly. "This time around, I passed the genin exam with flying colors and didn't have to worry about doing all that crap. I thought that since I had passed, I wouldn't have to deal with Mizuki anymore and he'd give up trying to kill me and stuff. Unfortunately, this time he's just gone a step further. He stole Sakura from her home and is apparently keeping her hostage. I think he's ransoming Sakura's dad for the scroll, so Haruno-san pleaded with me to get what Mizuki wants, or Sakura would die. I know what this scroll is for, and I know that it can mark me as a traitor, but Sakura…"

Naruto's eyes flashed red before reverting back to their normal blue as he gritted his teeth. "I won't let her die!"

Hinata frowned softly, her Byakugan eyes reflecting sadness and firm determination. "We won't let her die, Naruto. Don't worry."

Naruto smiled at her softly before slamming into a firm object. Falling back, Naruto cried out when his black shirt was grabbed and he was lifted up into the air. His blue eyes met the angry gaze of Kakashi's one black eye. Naruto's eyes widened slightly, and Kakashi said, "Never pegged one of my students to become a traitor."

The jounin looked down and saw the two other genin looking up at him. "Sasuke, too. That's two of mine. Ah, and the young Hyuuga heiress. Won't Kurenai be happy."

Sasuke glared at the jounin, yelling, "As if you would understand! The circumstances require us to have this scroll!"

"Oh?" asked Kakashi, dropping Naruto and letting the boy hit the rooftop with a loud thump. "Then you mind telling me the circumstances? Before I have to take you to the Hokage as traitors, of course."

"Sakura-chan," Naruto muttered, rising from the tiles and catching Kakashi's attention. "Mizuki has Sakura…she's going to die. I have to get this to her…"

"And what were you planning to do after Mizuki got what he wanted? He'll just kill her anyway, and take the scroll as well."

Naruto clenched his small fists, not meeting the jounin's eyes. Sasuke and Hinata refused to turn their eyes away from Kakashi, each feeling adamant in their own ways. Sighing, the jounin grinned, though the other three wouldn't have known. "That's my team. Never abandon your comrade, ever."

Naruto, Sasuke, and Hinata all stared at the jounin with surprise, and he cracked his knuckles. "So, where's Mizuki? No one hurts a member of my team."

The blond grinned, his sharp teeth apparent to all. Looking back at Sasuke and Hinata, he nodded and made to jump off the roof as he glanced at the jounin.

"This way."

Hakke Rokujyuuyon Sho – Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms

First completion: 12/17/2007 1:42:34 PM