A/N: Sup guys, I'm back finally, with another chapter of The Scorched Earth. Now, I said last time that I was going to skip the Wave Arc and cover it in flashbacks where relevant, and you guys seemed to be okay with that, so this chapter will start the Chunnin Exams, an arc I was looking forward to, so bear with me while I write for you.
P.S. I just realized that this is my first A/N at the start of a chapter in this story.
"Don't you dare tell me not to help my most precious person, do you understand, or else I will make you understand why I earned my moniker!" ~Naruto
Death. It was equally the most liberating and restricting sensation a soul can experience. The feeling as the last breath leaves your body, your soul trying so desperately to inhale and take another breath, to last another second, but it isn't be as Death comes to all without question or opposition. One can try as hard as they wish to escape Death or to beat it, but the truth of the matter is that each victory is empty because Death only comes when you can't fight any longer. This was the fate of each and every person that Death claims, the end of the incredible journey called life. The point, you ask, the point was that Death had come and claimed them, Zabuza and her.
Naruto sat up; breathing heavily, sweat pouring from his body as the voice echoed in his head, fading slowly into blackness. The voice had come for the past week, ever since the fight between Zabuza and Haku. Team & had arrived back in Konoha late yesterday afternoon, and had reported to the Hokage, who scolded them for continuing on a mission outside of their capabilities. This was followed by congratulations for completing a mission outside their capabilities.
But that didn't ease Naruto's conscious any, not even the kind words by Hinata had stopped the dull ache in his heart for his dead friend.
You could call him stupid for caring, you could call him weak for showing compassion for the enemy, and you could call him useless for failing to save his friend, because every accusation was true, whether he was stupid, weak, or useless for it was beside the point. Because in Naruto's heart and soul, he knew that being caring and compassionate and weak were bad for the shinobi lifestyle, but as a human being, something the civilians tried hard to make him out to be anything but, he welcomed them with open arms.
Turning to look at his alarm clock, he saw that it was almost 5 in the morning, and groaned as he rolled out of bed, deciding to go for a walk as the sun rose. Stretching his body, his tense muscles relaxed, and his joints popped as they were worked. Giving his neck one final roll, he pulled on his clothes which a Shadow Clone had washed during the night, and left his tiny apartment.
It was somewhat cool outside, so Naruto zipped up his orange jacket, using it as stealth training as he crept through the village, trying to avoid being seen as he reached the outer wall, sitting down on it as he watched the sunrise in the distance, the ball the same shade of orange as his jacket, turning the whole village ginger as it rose into the sky.
Sighing as the light swept over him, Naruto decided to try something out as he closed his eyes, relaxing his body while applying chakra to keep himself stuck to the wall as he mentally opened his eyes, several chakra signatures visible beneath him at the gate, probably the two gate guards and a returning, or leaving, shinobi. He could've pushed out the range of his sensory sight, but the more he pushed it, the blurry it got, and the more of a headache he would end up with.
He opened his eyes again, reaching into his pocket as he pulled out a book. It had been an on-the-spot purchase from a book store after Jiji had mentioned something about a Chunnin Exam coming soon. Naruto didn't expect that they would take part due to Sasuke's health, but you never knew with the Uchiha. So Naruto had bought a book on Kumo.
If he did take part in the Exam, Kumo would probably be the biggest competitor against Konoha, and Naruto had a bit of a grudge to deal with. Kumo had taken part in the attack on his clan, as had Kiri, and Iwa, but Iwa was notorious for not taking part in Konoha's Exams after the last Shinobi war when the Fourth Hokage destroyed their army single-handedly. Kiri didn't have much of an army now, due to the Civil War, so they probably couldn't afford to send very strong shinobi to take part. Suna, they might be able to be strong competition, and rumors were that the Daimyo had cut funding to their village, so this was the perfect chance to prove their worth, but Naruto didn't have an axe to grind with them like he did Kumo or Iwa.
The book itself didn't really have much info on Kumo, probably due to their renowned security. The only villages with tighter security were Taki and Ame, but both were minor villages.
One chapter was in the book that interested Naruto greatly. The Storm Release. After his inability to fight effectively in Wave due to the mist, Naruto had become wary of Water based Kenkai Genkai, and strong Suiton users. Haku's ice release was okay because Naruto could somewhat counter it with his fire, but against someone who could use electrified water in the form of laser. Umm, no.
Naruto was lost in his thoughts when a familiar chakra entered his sensors, his head whipping around to find the owner below himself, his book snapping shut as he pushed it back into his pocket. His sensors all changed from the broad range he usually employed to a more refined field, which was able to stretch from the wall to the Hokage Tower, at the cost that he could only sense a singular chakra signal, but it helped when locating a foreign shinobi in the village. The only real place he could use it was inside the village, because the technique required him to block out all the familiar chakra he sensed around him.
He closed his eyes, letting go as he fell backwards, his body free-falling towards the ground below, his hair whipping around him as the wind cut coldly into his skin as he fell, until he stuck his hand out, the limb lit up with chakra as he attached it to the wall, his fingers dragging furrows into the stone as he slowed his descent until he dropped down silently.
Looking around, he took to the roofs, leaping from one to another as he headed for the familiar chakra, his senses alerting him to the proximity as he went back to his broader spectrum once he had pinned down the location.
Coming to a stop on a nearby rooftop, he bent down, catching his breath as he watched the meeting happening below him.
"Move, pinky! That brat needs to watch where he's going!" A male crowed as he made a move to go around Sakura. He was wearing a full body black jumpsuit with two pointed ears like cat ears. He had several purple lines on his face which Naruto took as war paint. A large bundle was beside him, but Naruto could detect several chakra strings between him and the bundle.
"Huh, maybe I should've read that chapter on Suna after all." Naruto thought as considered pulling the book out to check, but his curiosity at Sakura's skill overriding the idea.
Previously, he wouldn't have been concerned, considering Sakura's skills, or lack of therefore, but she seemed to have jumped in skill since Graduation, her reserves not anything remarkable, but they were easily as large as one of the clan heirs like Kiba or Shino. It made Naruto excited for the Chunnin exams to see how his classmates had taken to being 'real' shinobi and kunoichi.
Back to the confrontation on the dirt street, Sakura moved to block the male, who scowled as he tensed up and started to brush past her, only for Sakura to grab his arm and push him back slightly, the boy caught off guard only for a second which was all it took for Sakura to make several hand seals and cast a Genjutsu over the boy.
"It seems that she's taking after her sensei." Naruto noted as the girl accompanying him walked up and punched him over the head, dispelling the Genjutsu.
She had sandy blonde hair pulled into four ponytails. She wore a pale blouse which was loose and hung long enough to pass for a dress. Her headband was around her waist and she had a large metal weapon on her back which made Naruto wonder how strong she was to tote it around all the time.
But neither one of them had the chakra signature that Naruto had sensed, and a quick pulse through his range revealed that a third shinobi, the one he was looking for, was hidden in the trees above.
"Baka, don't just antagonize a kunoichi when we're not here to fight!" The blonde said as the male rubbed his head, looking something akin to embarrassed as the girl admonished him.
"Yes, Temari, I won't do it again." The boy said; although it sounded sarcastic, the girl didn't seem to notice.
"Kankuro, Temari, shut up before I kill you." A third voice said as a young redhead jumped down from the trees, landing silently beside his fellow Suna-nin as his gaze swept over the street with an apathetic glare, his arms crossed.
"What are three Suna-nin doing in Konoha? Even if we are allied, you can't just waltz in here whenever you please!" Sakura demanded, and Naruto sighed. It seemed old habits died hard.
"They are here for the Chunnin Exams, Sakura-san. Think, would the gatekeepers allow two Genin without a sensei, and a wild raccoon, into the village?" Naruto stated as he dropped down, the two Suna ninja and Sakura turning on him in surprise. Well, Sakura was surprised; Kankuro and Temari were just shocked that this boy knew about Gaara's burden.
"Well, what if they kill them, or they snuck into the village unnoticed? Honestly, Naruto-baka, you tell me to think, but you don't consider all the facts." Sakura said, looking at Naruto with a superior attitude. Okay, so maybe she hadn't changed much in personality, but at least she wasn't useless in a fight.
"Sure, two shinobi that I sensed from the wall, snuck past two trained Chunnin, and the Hokage is just letting them wander aimlessly around the village. And if I'm not mistaken, not even three nameless shinobi, but the Kazekage's children. Yep, totally snuck in." Naruto said, and Sakura at least had the decency to blush, although she didn't admit that she was wrong. But Naruto didn't push it.
The two older siblings were practically shell-shocked at this point. Not only had they been caught off-guard by a Genin who had located in the massive village, but he also knew of Gaara's burden, and their true identities. But Gaara, well the redhead seemed almost gleeful as desired to fight Naruto now. He would make a wonderful offering to Mother.
"That said, I have to go, Kakashi-sensei should out of the Jounin meeting on the Chunnin Exams, and with my luck, Team 7 is probably signed up, despite Sasuke's hospitalization." Naruto complained, which made Sakura shut up as she raced off towards the hospital. "Well, that was quick. Anyways, see you guys later." Naruto said apathetically as he walked off, Konohamaru trailing behind him.
Little did Naruto know that he would look back on this meeting as the first time he couldn't sense Kyuubi's hatred directed at him. And when he realized that, he smiled a soft smile.
A/N: Hey guys, I finished another chapter after much deliberation on how I want this arc to go. As many of you have noticed by now, I tended to stick to the canon plotline, but his time, I'm going to try and mix things up quite a bit for you. One such thing I hinted at earlier in the story, if you know my style of writing by now. That said, I'm really looking forward to this, and so it is with regret that I inform you guys that I'm going to uploading every other week now due to my Senior year at school being troublesome. But, hopefully, I can still provide you guys with the entertainment you deserve.
Now then, in a review, post which you think is cooler: The Magnet release or the Storm Release.
Also, I've been rewatching the war again, and I just saw where Naruto had his bad-A moment releasing Kurama from his cage. I'm sad to say that I was clapping and squealing like a fan girl, *downcast sniffle*.