Disclaimer: I definitely do NOT own Naruto. Never before, not now, and not likely ever to in the future.
Hmm… the Astericks didn't show up either… I think I'll just split the sections with extra spaces, all right? I think that should show up.
Chapter 3
Foreign Teams Arrive: A Few Complications!
"Is it really all that bad?" Genma piped up, "I mean, in every Chuunin Exam we've had, we've had foreign teams."
Tsunade pressed her fingers to her temples.
"I know, I know. It's just; we don't want a repeat from last year. Orochimaru has a wide net of contacts, and when it comes to deceptions and false promises there's nobody who's better at it. He could have hoodwinked any one of these countries to work against us."
Tsunade leaned in on her hands, looking seriously at the others.
"And, I've even received some reports that there may be another Jinchuuriki other than Gaara participating."
There were a few collective gasps around the room.
"What? Which one? What country?" Anko asked.
"We're not sure, but… by elimination, we believe it may be the Seven Tails. And it's from the Country of the Rock." Tsunade explained.
"The Rock? I never did trust them. They've been dying to get back on top for years. I figured they'd plan something…" Ibiki commented.
"Hey, why shouldn't they?" Tsunade said, "Let's face it, when it comes to Jinchuuriki, we have Naruto, the Sand has Gaara, the Cloud has that cat-lady person, the Rock may have this Seven Tails, and the Mist… well, I don't know about the Mist, but they had the Seven Swordsman to cause damage for all those years before they all defected, so they're still widely known, even if they're on the way downhill. Speaking of the Seven Swordsman… we may have one of the Seven Swordsman's children coming too." Tsunade finished with an exasperated sigh.
"Children? I didn't know the Seven had children." Asuma said, taking out his cigarette in surprise.
"Well, when they all defected we didn't really hear about them anymore and they were free to do as they pleased… apparently, one of them was quite the ladies' man. He probably didn't want his child to have to experience the same running from Tracker Ninja as he did, or maybe he just didn't want to be burdened by a kid. Either way, he left the kid with the mother, who in turn installed him back into the village by secret." she said.
"And the Mist just let him in? The child of a Missing-nin?" Kurenai asked, outraged.
"Not only that… I bet they think he's their biggest asset…" Tsunade groaned, "Now do you see why I'm worried about this?"
"And what about the Lightning Country?" Gai asked.
"I don't know… I haven't heard anything out-of-the-ordinary from our spies yet. But the Cloud-nin have always been unpredictable and usually pretty strong… I wouldn't put anything past them. And adding to that, most every one of the smaller village has at least one team entered…" Tsunade faltered.
"I think," ventured Kakashi, "That all we can do is keep a watchful eye out and be ready to step in at a moment's notice. We can't quit the exam due to a little paranoia. At least there's no Sound Genin this time."
"That's just the thing that bothers me." Tsunade said, "If there were, we would know who to watch. But Orochimaru knew that… and now we're blind. We don't know who to look for." Tsunade replied.
"We'll all help. Are you sure Orochimaru will try something? And what if it's not even Orochimaru, but Akatsuki?" Shizune asked.
"I don't. He might, he might not. But the possibility puts me on edge. It seems just like him… he never liked losing. As for Akatsuki, they didn't come at the last one when Gaara and Naruto were there… I don't think they'll try again. Then again, I wouldn't put anything past them either."
"So we're besieged on all sides, jumping at shadows from our paranoia, while the real enemy sneaks up on us and stabs us in the back. I don't see how it's helping." Shikamaru said at last.
Tsunade had invited Shikamaru, a mere Chuunin, to the Jounin meeting because of his brain, hoping that he would come up with a few helpful ideas. She didn't want more skeptical criticism.
"Forgive me for being blunt, but we have to have this paranoia! I don't want to offend anyone, but if the Third hadn't been so happy-go-lucky about things he might still be alive!" Tsunade exclaimed.
The room was silent. Maybe she had gone too far.
"You're all dismissed." she said. One by one they filed out, until it was only Shizune left. She looked at Tsunade, concerned, then left as well, leaving Tsunade alone with her thoughts.
And fears.
When the ground gave way beneath them, they weren't surprised.
They were the ultimate scouting team, after all. Hinata had seen them a mile in advance and Kiba and Shino could smell them, even underground.
They leapt backwards in the nick of time, glaring at the three assailants below them, the center of which seemed to be chewing on something.
"Where did all that concrete go?" Hinata thought.
The one in the center who was chewing on something swallowed and burped loudly, patting his stomach. The other two, both boys, glanced at him, then looked up at Team 8. They saw headbands for the Village Hidden in the Stone on their foreheads.
"What was that for?" Kiba asked, seemingly surprised and outraged, even though they had known about it.
"Just testing out the competition." The center one said, flashing a huge toothy grin, "I hope the ninja are more delicious than the concrete."
With that, the three of them vanished from the hole, leaving a confused Team 8 behind.
Neji caught the kunai in mid air in one single stroke.
He twirled it between his fingers a bit before showing it to the others. There was a note attached to the end of it.
"Dear adoring fans, I hope you will attend my next concert- that is, the Chuunin Exams. Your favorite rock star, Krazy Kazmo."
"What the heck?" Tenten asked.
"Rock star, eh?" Lee commented, "Never heard of him."
"THAT'S IT! LET GO! I CAN'T STAND SUCH EMBARRASMENT!" came a yell from a nearby alley. They rushed into the opening to see two identical looking women holding back a man by the arms. They all had Cloud Village symbols on their forehead protectors.
"How can they not know me? How, how, how!" the man was yelling.
"Kazmo, please-" one started.
"-don't do anything rash!" the other finished.
With that they let go of him. The man, who seemed to be Kazmo, looked at Team 9, puzzled.
"No pre-show viewings, please! I said no paparazzi!" he exclaimed.
"Uh, Kazmo…" the first began the sentence.
"Hmm… would you like to give them a demonstration performance?" the second ended.
This seemed to brighten Kazmo up.
"YES! ABSOLUTELY! Are you ready, twins? Lights!"
The first twin snapped, and the alley was suddenly all dark except for a spotlight out of nowhere that was on Kazmo.
"Camera… Action!" he yelled.
The second stepped into the spotlight, holding up an imaginary microphone, and said.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, please welcome… the one and only… Krazy Kazmo!" she said, seeming to be falsely enthusiastic about the whole thing.
"YEAH!" he shouted, "Be sure you, my loyal fans, come and watch my winning performance through the Chuunin Exams. It will be one to remember, you can be sure of that!"
With that, there was a blinding flash and when they could see again, the three had vanished.
"What the heck?" Tenten asked for the second time in a row.
Neji shook his head.
"Never put anything past Cloud-nin I suppose…" he muttered as they continued on their way.
Nothing could have startled Sakura more than when Chouji suddenly launched at her to punch her. She ducked down, narrowly dodging his punch.
"Chouji? What are you doing!" She screamed.
Ino was standing a little to the side, laughing. Sakura could barely see her clearly in the mist that had suddenly enveloped them.
"Heh, look at this! This is priceless! So pathetic!" she said, laughing.
Sakura felt rage wash over her as inner Sakura screamed in anger and she ran towards Ino with a Tsunade-strength punch. Ino moved out of the way narrowly as Sakura put a dent in the wall she had hit.
"How- how did she see through it?" Ino asked, much to Sakura's confusion.
"What?" she blinked dumbly.
"Partial Expansion Jutsu!" came Chouji's voice, and Sakura was startled to be thrown to the ground by two huge hands.
"And look at that fatso over there. Even more pitiful." Ino was doubling over in laughter now.
Chouji heard apparently, from however far away he was, the taboo word.
"INOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!" Chouji exclaimed.
"Oh great…" Sakura thought.
"Human Boulder!" he cried.
She dove to the side into a building as a huge mass rolled past her. Apparently Ino hadn't dodged it, but seemed to be holding it back with a sort of barrier… it was see-through and glistened like… like ice…
Chouji kept rolling, even though he slowed down a bit. Ino looked like she was struggling, and then finally as Chouji gave a final effort, Ino was thrown back onto the ground. Chouji returned to normal, a fire in his eyes.
The mist suddenly cleared, and Sakura blinked. She no longer saw Ino on the ground in front of Chouji, but some weird guy with a Rain-nin forehead protector. Further up the alley, Ino was fighting hand-to-hand with another Rain-nin girl.
"Take it back, Sakura! Take it back!" Ino said, landing a punch straight on the girl's cheek. The girl flew back into the wall and Ino stopped for a second and realized what she was really looking at.
"Wait, what?" she asked, confused. She saw Sakura peeking out of the building.
"You must have used a Replacement Jutsu!" Ino exclaimed, running at Sakura, "I'll make you take it back, even if I have to pummel you!"
"You called me fatso!' Chouji exclaimed, chasing after Ino.
"Wait, stop! It's not what you think!" Sakura protested, connecting the dots at once.
"Heh. You three really are pathetic." said a voice on the roof above them.
They looked up to see a third Rain-nin, this one with blades that he held from his hand, blades that curved outward and up until it was parallel with his arm a few inches away from it, ending a little below his shoulder.
"It was a Genjutsu all along." Sakura explained, to save Chouji or Ino further questions.
"At least one of you is somewhat intelligent." he said, laughing, then glared at his two fallen comrades.
"Ryuna! Kyban! Come on, get up here!" he yelled. The two stood to their feet and jumped to the roof to join him.
"Sorry." said the girl, apparently Ryuna.
"We let our guard down." said Kyban, the boy.
"What was all that for!" Chouji yelled up to them.
"Yeah, no fighting is allowed before the Exam starts!" Ino added.
"Heh. We were just testing you. If this is all the Leaf Village has to offer, I will be sorely disappointed." said the lead Rain-nin, laughing.
With that, they vanished.
"Damn it… we'll have to prove them wrong next time they show their faces, Sakura!" Ino exclaimed.
"That much, at least, I agree with you on." said Sakura.