12
Chapter 10
'Bold' - Kyuubi's voice/Flashback titles
'Bold underline' - jutsu
'Bold Italic' - Kyuubi's thoughts/Inner Sakura
'Italic' - Inner thoughts/Flashbacks
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto because if I did I would change many things with the story haha.
Chapter Summary: Team 7 and the rest of Konoha's genin learn about the upcoming chunin exams and start their training for the exams.
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Chapter 10: Let the Games begin
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Konohagakure
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It's been 1 month since Team 7's Land of Wave mission and for Naruto Uzumaki it's been a relaxing time. Well not everything has been relaxing, aside from the normal D-Rank mission that Naruto and his teammates have been doing and his time spent with the Yamanaka family, he is still plagued with nightmares of Haku every now and then.
Aside from doing D-Rank missions, Naruto has upped his training. He still does his normal training with his Kage Bunshin but he has been training non-stop with Sakura. He also sometimes trains with Tenten in kenjutsu, when she isn't busy with her own team's training. So for Naruto, yes, it's been relaxing. Well, up until now it has.
"Is this what I think it is, Kakashi-sensei?" Asked the blonde genin.
"Why yes it is, my student." Replied the silver haired jounin.
"What are these for, Kakashi-sensei?" The pinkette asked while waving the paper around.
"Well, it's your application for the upcoming chunin exams that are taking place a week from today."
"A-are you sure we're ready for this, Kakashi-sensei?"
"I wouldn't have given you the applications if I didn't think you were up to it, or would I?"
"Yes! Another step closer to showing this village how wrong they were about me." Thought the blonde genin to himself. Naruto looks over at Sasuke and sees a small smile start to form as he stares at the application.
"So are you all going to participate, or you could wait another 6 months." The sensei asks his students as he gets up from his spot.
All three genin look at each other, giving each other the nod of approval. Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke each sign the application and hand it back to their jounin sensei with smiles.
"So I'm assuming that means yes?" Ask the silver haired sensei.
"You better believe it, Sensei"
"Of course, Sensei"
"Hn!"
Kakashi smiles brightly at his students, though you can't tell with the mask covering his face. He takes their applications and tells them that they have the rest of the day off while he meets with the Hokage.
"Remember to be at the academy at 7:00 pm in room 305, okay?" Their sensei informs them just as he disappears in a puff of smoke. Sakura sighs and turns towards her teammates.
"Hey Sasuke. Naruto. Do you guys want to train together for a while? Just to get ready for the exams." Sakura asked, with a hint of pink covering her cheeks.
"Like I would train with you guys. I'll train myself, I don't want you two losers to hold me back." replied the Uchiha.
Sakura and Naruto watch the retreating figure of Sasuke, leaving a distraught Sakura for Naruto to deal with. Though Naruto wonders about something, why didn't Sakura run after the ravenette.
"So Naruto, how about you and me train together?" This took Naruto by surprise, seeing her determined face.
"Honestly I would have thought you'd run after the teme." Naruto said, with a smug look on his face.
"I normally would but I just don't want to be annoying him all the time. I want to be by his side and not hold him back. That's why I want to train, so I won't hold you two back in the exams." She admits.
"I guess I could teach you a thing or two." Naruto smirks only to get a punch to the shoulder from the pinkette.
"You better teach me something, or I'll tell Ino about you whispering her name during one of your 'after training naps' huh?" She says with a smirk as she walks away.
"Please don't! I was going to agree to train you but let's just go get some food first. I'm starving." Naruto nervously says as he catches up to her.
As the two genin walk together towards Ichiraku Ramen, Sakura notices something off about the road on their own. She turns around and sees 3 large boxes following them. She looks at Naruto but he doesn't seem to notice them. After a while of walking, Naruto stops and lets out a heavy sigh.
"Okay Konohamaru, come on out." Naruto says.
"As expected of you boss, I knew I could never get one over on you." the brown haired kid laughs out.
"Yeah, as expected boss!" Two more voices yell out as two more kids jump out. One of them is swearing glasses with a bowl cut. He also seems to have a runny nose. The other voice came from a little girl with orange hair that she has tied up in two unique side buns.
"Umm, Konohamaru, who are these two and why are they calling me boss?" The blonde asks.
"These two are Moegi and Udon. They are in the same academy class as me and they want to learn under you, boss." Konohamaru says while pointing at his friends. Naruto just shakes his head as he stares at the trio while also getting a confused look on her face.
"Right, sorry Sakura I forgot you never met him. This is Konohamaru, grandson of the Sandaime Hokage." Naruto says as he ruffles Konohamaru's hair.
"How do you know the Sandaime's grandson?" She asks the blonde.
"Boss here was the first person to see me as me and not as Sandaime's grandson. By the way boss, is this chick your girlfriend? Cause if she is, I'd think twice, I mean look at her forehead." Konohamaru laughed. As he laughs, he feels something scary and he looks up and sees a glowing aurora surrounding Sakura.
"Um Konohamaru, you better run." Naruto suggests as Sakura starts to take a few steps.
Konohamaru sees her steps towards him, her eyes full of rage. He takes a few steps back and then sprints out of there. Sakura is following close by as is Naruto and his friends. Konohamaru is running through the back road and turns the corner but bumps into someone as he does. Konohamaru rubs his nose and looks up to see a guy wearing a black cat-like suit with purple war paint. Konohamaru tries to apologize but he is suddenly grabbed by the collar.
"Got a problem, punk?" The guy with war paint says.
"Kankuro, you better stop messing around." The ash blonde next to him suggests.
"C'mon, we've got a bit of time before he gets here. Let's just mess with them.
At that moment, Naruto and the rest of the group arrive to find Konohamaru being held by his collar. Sakura stops both Moegi and Udon from jumping to Konohamaru's rescue. She looks at Naruto and sees him looking cool and collected.
"Hey, let him go, you big bully." Moegi yelled out from Sakura's grip.
"P-please let h-him go-o." Udon stuttered out.
The guy known as Kankuro just laughs as he grips Konohamaru's collar tighter. Sakura looks at both teens and sees the girl's headband around her neck. "So they're from the hidden sand."
"You know, foreign shinobi aren't allowed in other villages without permission." Sakura informs them.
"We're here for the chunin exams, pinky." The ash blonde says while taking out a piece of paper.
"You know you should probably put him down." Naruto finally speaks up.
Both Kankuro and the ash blonde girl stare at each other and laugh at his suggestion. Kankuro brings Konohamaru closer and looks at him as Konohamaru struggles in his grip.
"You know, I hate weakling or runts like this. So when I see a wimp like this start shooting off his mouth, I can't help but want to break them. Am I right, Temari" Kankuro tells the leaf genin as he looks towards Temari. Kankuro smirks and looks at the leaf genin and the two kids and blinks, only to see that the blonde genin isn't there anymore.
"What th-." Kankuro begins, only to stop when he feels a sharp object against his throat.
"I'm only going to say this one time, make-up boy. Put him down before I make you put him down." Naruto whispers while also leaking some killer intent. Kankuro turns his head and sees Naruto standing with his Katana at his neck.
"I didn't even see him move. How fast is this guy?" Kankuro though as he lets go of Konohamaru.
"Wow, he made Kankuro look like a chump. And he's hot. Just my type." Thought Temari as she looked at Naruto up and down.
Naruto watches as Kankuro finally drops Konohamaru and runs towards Sakura, while also removing his Katana from Kankuro's neck. Naruto then disappears from their vision, leaving only a small trail of lightning. He reappears next to Sakura, shocking the pink haired genin. She watches him sigh and shake his head, wondering why he is doing that.
"Teme, if you don't stop hiding, so help me." Naruto slightly yells out.
Suddenly everyone hears a noise up towards the tree and sees a raven haired teen, sitting on one of the branches, while holding a rock. His face is showing a scowl towards the blonde Konoha genin.
"Another cutie? Not as hot as the blonde but still hot." Thought Temari as she eyed the Uchiha.
"Now that this mess is over, why don't you Suna genin get out of here, also take that red haired psycho with you. I can literally smell the blood lust coming off him." Naruto tells the Suna genin.
Both Kankuro and Temari stiffen at the mention of their third teammate. They both slowly move their heads towards Sasuke, who looks confused but turns around to find a red haired, gore wearing Suna genin standing behind him.
"I didn't even sense him behind me. How did that dobe know?" Thought the Uchiha.
The red haired in question jumps down and stares down his teammate while also whispering, "You disgrace Suna, Kankuro. Next time you do something foolish like this, I'll kill you." Everyone practically can feel from the force a his killing intent, forcing everyone to wince. The red haired teen takes a step forward and is surrounded by a swirl of sand, making him disappear and reappear next to the other Suna genin.
"I'm assuming you're all here for the chunin exams?" Naruto asks.
"Yes." Was all the red haired said as his teammates and him show their permission slips.
"Well then I guess we'll see you 3 there." Naruto smirks as he starts to walk away, with Sakura following.
"Hey, you with the blonde hair. I want to know your name." The red haired teen requests.
"Y'know it's rude to ask for someone's name without giving yours?" The blonde replies, with a smug look.
"Sabaku no Gaara." Replies the red head, known as Gaara.
"Uzumaki Naruto." Replies the blonde.
"I'm Uchiha Sasuke. You better remember it." Sasuke says, with a smug look on his face.
Gaara looks at him with a small scowl look as his team take their leave. Naruto shakes his head as he continues walking away, with Sakura following. Naruto looks over at Konohamaru and ruffles his hair as he sends him and his friends off.
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Konohagakure, Hokage's Office
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Sitting in the Hokage's office, the Sandaime Hokage sits behind his desk, listening to the jounin sensei talk about their teams and if they are recommending their genin in this year's chunin exams. After most of the jounin who have had their genin for more than a year all confirm their status, it's time for the jounin with rookie genin to make their decision.
"So, let's hear what decisions the jounin sensei of this year's rookies have to say." The older Hokage says. Asuma is the first to step up and hand in three slips of paper.
"I, Sarutobi Asuma, leader of team 10 recommend Nara Shikamaru, Akimichi Choji, and Yamanaka Ino to participate in the chunin exams. Nara Shikamaru will also serve as squad leader during the exams." The bearded jounin confidently says. Kurenai is the next to step up and hand in her own papers.
"I, Yuhi Kurenai, leader of team 8 recommend Aburame Shino, Hyuga Hinata, and Inuzuka Kiba to participate in the chunin exams. Aburame Shino will also serve as squad leader during the exams." The red eyed kunoichi says, stepping back in formation as Kakashi steps forward.
"I, Hatake Kakashi, leader of team 7 recommend Uzumaki Naruto, Uchiha Sasuke, and Haruno Sakura to participate in the chunin exams. Uzumaki Naruto will also serve as squad leader during the exams." The one eyed jounin lazily says as he hands in his papers.
The whole room is filled with whispers and mutters from all the different jounin in the room. They all stare at the three jounin with rookie teams, wondering why they would nominated their rookies to participate so early.
"Now hold on just a second!" Everyone turned to see Iruka burst from his seat.
"Is something wrong, Iruka-kun?" The Hokage asks.
"I apologize for the outburst, Sandaime-sama, but if I may speak." Iruka waited until he received a nod and continued.
"These genin were all my students at the academy, sure they are very talented for their age, but isn't it a bit too early for them to participate in the chunin exams? I don't even know how skilled Naruto is since his return. I think they need more experience before they are ready to take the exam." Iruka suggest as mutters are heard through the room, agreeing with him. Kakashi steps forward after a few seconds and puts in his own opinion.
"I'm sorry but I disagree with you, Iruka. I became a chunin at 6 years old and then a jounin by the time I was 12 years old. I can tell you without a doubt that my team is well above low chunin level. In my opinion, Naruto, as of this moment, is already at a high jounin level." Kakashi's words rang through the room as the other jounin couldn't believe his words.
"I understand where you're coming from, I really do, but they aren't your students anymore. They're our students and since graduating from the academy they are also my shin-" Kakashi was interrupted by a fist colliding with a desk.
"That's enough!" The older Hokage yells out.
"I'm sorry Iruka-kun, but Kakashi is right. They aren't your students anymore, so it's their jounin sensei's choice if they participate or not." Hiruzen softly speaks as his anger disappears.
"I Apologize for speaking out of term, Sandaime-sama." the chunin apologizes as he returns to his seat. Sarutobi sighs as he turns back to his papers and then looks up at his jounin.
"Now, it's time we talk about security measures for the exams. This is the first time in many years more than two of the five nations come together for the exams. Since we host the exams this time; Suna, Kumo, and Iwa will all be sending genin and their Kage will also be coming during the finals." Sarutobi says as he hands each of the jounin a paper.
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Konohagakure, Ichiraku Ramen
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After their little spat with Suna, Naruto and Sakura are both sitting inside Ichiraku Ramen. Sakura is staring at Naruto as he slurps up his 9th bowl of miso ramen, surprised that he is still in shape after all those bowls. After finishing his bowl, Naruto turns his head to the entrance of the ramen stand and sees Team 10 popping their heads in.
"Yo." Naruto calls out to them.
All three members of team 10 walk in and take their seats by both members of team 7. Ino quickly takes the seat next to Naruto, just before Shikamaru could take it. Ino finally notices that it's only Sakura and Naruto and quickly pouts.
"What's wrong, Ino?" The blonde asks the other.
"Why is it only you two, huh? Are you two on a date?" Ino says with a pout on her face. Naruto just laughs as he shakes his head.
"So what if it is?" Naruto whispers in her ear, with a teasing grin on his face. All he gets is Ino turning her bright red face away. Sakura and Naruto both burst out laughing as Ino looks at them with a red face.
"We're just getting something to eat before we start training, Ino." Naruto says through his laugh, only to get smacked in the back of the head.
"So I'm assuming your team is also participating in the chunin exams, Naruto?" The genius asks his friend. Naruto gives him a large grin as he nods.
"I would offer to train together but don't want the competition to know all my moves. Can't let my guard down, especially around you, Shikamaru." Naruto says while taking a slurp of his 10th bowl.
"Yeah, we can't either." Shikamaru agrees as he gets his food.
After a few more minutes of small talk, both teams say their goodbyes, each heading their own way. Naruto leads Sakura to his clan's compound to get her ready for the chunin exams.
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Konohagakure, Namikaze Clan Compound
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Sakura and Naruto finally arrive at his clan compound, leaving the pink haired kunoichi stunned. She hasn't ever seen a clan compound this big, even the Hyuga's compound isn't as big. Naruto leads her to his private training ground in the back of his house.
"So, are you ready for this?" Naruto asks his teammate.
"Yes. I want to train and get stronger, so that I won't hold you guys back." Sakura responds, with a fire in her eyes.
"Then let's get started."
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Author's Note: Sorry for the long wait. I had to rewrite some of the other chapters and plan ahead. So far I have 15 chapters for Part of the story. I plan to make no more than 25 chapters. After Part 1 is over I'm going to be working on the MHA story that is up. It's called "Across the Sea." If you could check it out and leave a review it would be appreciated. See you next time, Ja-ne.