Chapter Twenty
Surviving the Cut! The Rookie Nine Together Again!
"If qualities of Heaven are your desire, acquire wisdom to take your mind higher." Naruto read.
"If Earthly qualities are what you lack, train your body and prepare to attack." Sakura continued.
"When Heaven and Earth are open together, the perilous path will become righteous forever." Naruto said, still reading the words above him. Sasuke didn't read it, but instead chose to look between the two as they recited it.
"This…something…is the secret way, which guides us from this place today." The Haruno girl concluded.
"This 'what'? Or is that a secret too?" Naruto huffed. "It's like there's a word missing or something."
"It's about the scrolls." Sakura explained. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking, Naruto-kun?"
"I think I am." Naruto grinned. "We're supposed to open the Heaven and Earth scrolls now." He stated. Naruto brought them both out of his pocket and offered on to Sakura, but she threw it at Sasuke. The boys got ready to open the scrolls, but hesitated.
"GET IT OVER WITH!" Sakura yelled after two minutes of gulping. She breathed heavily for a moment before composing herself. 'I guess this is when I get more emotional…great.'
"Okay." Naruto nodded. "Here goes nothing."
They flicked the scrolls open and looked at what was written inside. At once, Naruto gasped and then looked confused.
"What…What the hell does this mean?" He questioned. Sakura looked over his shoulder and raised a brow at the scroll before scoffing and looking around.
"A man…? A person…?" Sasuke guessed. The girl frowned and then her eyes widened upon seeing the centre of each scroll rise and emit smoke.
"Drop the scroll! This is a summoning jutsu!" She warned. The boys did as they were told and threw the scrolls to the ground, one landing on top of the other. Sakura watched the smoking scrolls warily as the boys sank into fighting stances, ready for whatever would leap out at them. After a moment, the scrolls exploded into smoke; the pre-teens shielded their eyes from harm.
They looked back with narrow eyes as the smoke began to clear, showing the outline of a man. Naruto was the first to recognise him, his eyes widening as a sign of remembrance. Sasuke was the second to snap out of his shock as he discovered who the man was. It took Sakura a few more moments for her to drop her stance and huff, turning away with folded arms.
"What?" Sasuke gasped. "It's you?" He continued. Standing there, in all his Chunin glory, was the one, the only…UMINO IRUKA-SENSEI!
"Hey there!" He greeted. "Long time no see, huh?"
"Please. I saw you about two weeks ago." Sakura muttered, rolling her eyes as she remembered the genjutsu he tried to pull on her. "Iruka-sensei, what the hell are you doing here?" She frowned.
"Well, it looks like you've all gone through a lot." He smiled, looking over their various wounds.
"Hey, wait! What's the deal with this freaky entrance?" Naruto asked loudly.
"At the end of the second exam, we Chunin are supposed to welcome back any of those who passed the test." Iruka informed him. "And I guess I was just the lucky one who got to be the messenger for you guys, Team Seven." He continued, stepping towards them.
"…Messenger?" Sakura echoed. 'It's official. This test is so different from the one in Yuki.'
'No duh.' Inner agreed. Iruka reached into his pocket and drew out a watch, flicking it open and looking at the time it displayed.
"Whew, and you made it just in time, too." He laughed. "A minute later and you would have been disqualified. And now…congratulations! You've all passed the second exam."
"Wha-?" Team Seven all questioned in confusion.
"To celebrate passing, I would love to treat you all to some Ichiraku ramen, but I-"
"RAMEN?!" Naruto cheered. "Seriously? That's so cool!" He laughed, jumping onto Iruka and hugging him.
"Hey! I'm not done!" Iruka complained.
"So cool!" Naruto said, ignoring him.
"Let me go!" The teacher ordered. Sakura stepped forwards and took Naruto's hand, pulling him off of Iruka; she didn't let go, but instead kept a hold of his hand as he carried on ranting about how great Iruka was for offering them ramen.
"Ramen would be awesome! Iruka-sensei is awesome! I love ramen, Sakura-chan! Ramen! Ramen!" He chanted over and over again.
"I know, Naruto-kun. Ramen is great, but let Iruka-sensei finish." She calmed, patting his head.
"…Fine." Naruto muttered, holding her hand tighter. Iruka noticed this and smiled faintly. "But…RAMEN! RAMEN!" He cheered again, jumping up in the air. Sasuke let himself drop onto the floor, looking up at his two team mates as Naruto began to dance around with Sakura, spinning her exhausted body while she was too tired to complain.
"Where does he get all that energy?" He mumbled to himself.
"Naruto-kun…knock it off." Sakura whined half-heartedly. "I'm tired."
"Alright." Iruka butted in. "Well, I can see that you're just as hyperactive as ever, Naruto. And that you and Sakura have grown…attached." He carried on, seeing the blush on both Naruto and Sakura's faces, and the slight look of jealousy that flickered across Sasuke's.
"So…if we opened the scroll in the middle of the exam…" Sakura began, thinking.
"…What would you have done to us, Iruka-sensei?" Sasuke finished, seeing what she was getting at. Naruto glared at Sasuke for finishing his girlfriend's sentence.
"Well, as usual, Sasuke and Sakura, you're both very perceptive." Iruka sighed, picking up the scrolls. "You've discovered the secret. Part of this exam was to see if you could tackle a very dangerous and important mission, and then see it all the way through without cheating. You all knew that opening the scrolls was against the rules of the mission, and if you opened one…"
"Yeah? What?" Naruto enquired.
"Simply put, you would have been down for the count; get it?" He stated bluntly. "If a scroll was opened, the Chunin assigned to that squad would be the one to knock out the cheaters, and they'd be disqualified. Some ninja found that out the hard way."
"Woah. Thanks Sakura-chan! If you were someone else, I would have opened that scroll. And I guess I owe Kabuto, too, huh?" Naruto sniffled, his big eyes full of relief. Sakura just sighed, and rubbed her eyes.
"Whatever." She muttered.
'Cha! That was too close!' Inner yelled, pumping her fists in the air.
"Oh yeah, sensei?" She called.
"Yeah? What is it?" He replied, looking at her frowning face.
"What does that writing on the wall mean? I think Naruto-kun, Sasuke-san and I get the basics of it, but it's still pretty confusing." She told him, pointing to the poster.
"Well, good eye. Explaining that parchment is one of the duties I've been sent here to do." Iruka smiled. Naruto sniggered to himself.
"Hehe…Iruka-sensei said duties." He giggled. Sakura and Sasuke looked at him blankly, shaking their heads in shame.
"Naruto, this is serious business." Iruka told him with a heavy sigh.
"Really?" Naruto complained.
"Read it well. This here is a guide written by Hokage-sama that he believes all good Chunin should follow." The man said.
"They're guidelines?" Naruto scoffed.
"Yes." Iruka nodded. "Heaven stands for your mind; Earth stands for your body. If qualities of Heaven are your desire, acquire wisdom to take your mind higher. Get it?"
"Hmm. Sort of. So, if your weakness is in your smarts, like me, I guess, then I need to work extra hard to make sure I'm ready." Naruto guessed.
"Exactly. If Earthly qualities are what you lack, train your body and prepare to attack. Do you get that?" Iruka continued.
"Yeah. Like my taijutsu is my weakest element. Meaning, I've got to train harder for missions so I won't hold people back." Sakura sighed.
"You got it. When Heaven and Earth are open together, the perilous path will become righteous forever." He finished.
"So, when you're strong in your mind and body, even a hard mission can become easy." Sasuke concluded.
"Yes." Iruka agreed.
"Well, Sasuke-san, don't get all big-headed. You're strong and smart, but you're not the strongest and the smartest." Sakura told him, bringing him back down to Earth with a dose of reality. Sasuke pouted. "So, that spot with the missing letter. What does that mean?"
"Well, that's actually for you to fill in." Iruka smiled. "It's different for every ninja; it all depends on what kind of shinobi or kunoichi you turn out to be. That symbol on the scroll is the symbol for person; it's a reference to you possible Chunin. These five days of survival were to test your abilities as Chunin and to see if you'd be any good at it, and I gotta say, you guys really did magnificently. A Chunin is a leader, someone who has to know the strengths and weaknesses of those serving under him, and also to know who needs what training in order to succeed. And, well, that's it. That was everything I was supposed to say to you."
"Got it." Naruto assured, saluting his sensei. Sakura nodded, resting her elbow on Naruto's shoulder.
"We all got it, Iruka-sensei." She smiled, shocking the brunette. When Iruka said nothing back, Naruto's smile dropped and he looked confused.
"Huh?" He said.
"Umm…One more thing." Iruka sighed. "For the third exam…don't push it too far. Especially you, Naruto. I'm worried that-"
"Iruka-sensei." Naruto interrupted. "When I got this headband, I stopped being just an academy student. So, stop worrying about me. I'm a fully fledged Genin—I've passed two tests on my way to becoming Chunin! I may still be hyper…but I'm no kid. Not anymore. You just watch, next time you see me…I'll be a Chunin!"
"Naruto…you're right. I'm sorry for doubting you." Iruka apologised.
Iruka looked down, remembered Kakashi and Anko's words. He looked at the team of misfits, seeing Naruto laughed and Sakura smiling at her boyfriend while Sasuke just shook his head wearily.
'I think that he was right. The one who understands the strengths and weaknesses of these ninja…is no one else but Kakashi himself.' Iruka admitted in his head.
--
In a high room in the tower, Anko was growling in pain as she added pressure to her curse seal. The Hokage watched her pain stricken face with concern as he puffed out smoke from his pipe.
"How is it?" He asked. "Does the curse seal still cause you pain?"
"No…Not really." Anko denied. "Thanks to you, it's much better."
"That's good, but we better get back to business." Kotetsu cut in. "This Orochimaru is one of the Sannin, isn't he?"
"He's supposed to be so incredibly powerful that not even one of the ANBU Black-op units could bring him down. I heard a rumour that he died, but I guess that wasn't true." Izumo sighed. "Why did he come to this village now, anyway?" He asked. Anko gasped in realisation.
"Saku-chan got hers when she was nine and I put that same mark on a young man a little while ago. He's a very promising prospect and no one should steal him away from me like a certain group did with Saku-chan."
"That kid." Anko stated.
"He is after Sasuke." The Hokage stated calmly. Anko looked at him in shock, but a voice broke through her radio before she could reply.
"Anko, we've confirmed that twenty one ninja have finished the second exam." He said. "As for the third exam; according to the rule, we'll have to hold a round of preliminaries first. For the first time…in five years."
The room sat silent.
"Now, for the time being, we'll just continue with the exams." The Hokage said, breaking the silence. "But I do want to keep an eye on Orochimaru's movements as much as possible."
"Yes, of course." Anko agreed.
"Anko!" A Chunin cried as he ran into the room, holding a tape. "You need to see this!"
"So? Put it in!" Anko ordered.
And what everyone in the room saw nearly made their hearts stop.
--
The Hokage stood in the main room of the tower, examiners and guards to either side of him, the Genin candidates in front of him, Jounin senseis behind him and a statue of two hands performing the Tiger Seal behind them. Anko took a breath and began to speak, although everyone could tell that she was glaring them all down; and it wasn't like the rough glare she gave them before, this was the glare you would give someone who betrayed you.
"First of all; congratulations on finishing the second exam." She said through her microphone. 'Seventy eight ninja took that exam; I'm surprised that as many as twenty one passed…I knew that less than half would make it, but I really thought that the number would be in the single digits. Now, who is the one on the tape…?'
"I'm really hungry." Choji whined as he grabbed his stomach.
"How troublesome. There's so many left." Shikamaru sighed. "This is such a pain."
"Sasuke-kun and his team passed too!" Ino cheered to herself.
"Well, of course they did." Shikamaru groaned. 'After all the trouble Lee, Sakura and our team went through, it would have been a miracle for them not to pass.'
"I see your team didn't do too badly, Kakashi." Gai admitted to his life-long rival. "They must've gotten real lucky. Of course, with my team still around your team is doomed to failure. After all, this next test is all about ability and we've got you far outclassed. Well, I guess that growing up is partly learning how to deal with heartbreak, huh, Kakashi?"
"Huh? Did you say something?" Kakashi asked calmly. Gai stared for a moment before he freaked out.
"GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" He cried. 'Alright, Kakashi, you win this round. I can't stand it when you're so cool! I will not let you get the best of me.' He promised.
'So, that's Gai-sensei's old rival, huh?' Tenten mused with a smile. 'Well, if I had to judge them on looks alone, I'd have to say, Gai-sensei would lose.'
'Gai-sensei is just the coolest teacher ever. I mean, he is so cool, he practically glows with cool.' Lee nodded with fire in his eyes. "You watch, Gai-sensei! Some day, I shall make you proud of me!" He said, remembering the fight in the forest and how Sakura had looked so destroyed when she was caught by the hair. 'I do not want to see that look on the face of anyone close to me again. That is a promise!' He thought with clenched fists.
'As expected…all the best are here.' Neji thought, looking around at the competition. 'Haruno and Uchiha…huh?'
"Sakura-chan passed." Juhi smiled.
"Duh." The twins sighed in union.
"I think…it's time we dropped out." Taiyoo smiled. "She's doing fine, and obviously doesn't need us anymore."
"And she's found Naruto…I think they really like each other." Juhi smiled slightly. Tsuki clenched his teeth and fisted his hands.
'I will not let that Fire Country brat take my Sakura-chan away.' He promised, glaring at Naruto.
"Hey, look. All of the rookie nine passed." Sakura mused, looking around her. "And Hinata-chan too…thank Kami-sama." She sighed. Looking towards the Jounin, she caught a glimpse of two things—two people she really didn't want to see. Snake eyes and an Evil-God rosary.
'It's hard to believe that so many of them got through the second test, and so many of them are rookies.' The Hokage mused, looking back towards the Jounin teachers of all the rookies. 'I guess that's why they fought so hard to recommend them. But who is it on that tape?'
"Alright, now pay attention. Hokage-sama is going to explain the third exam to you. You'd better listen carefully, maggots." Anko warned. "Now, Hokage-sama, they're all yours."
"Hmm." He nodded, stepping forwards and clearing his throat. "First, before I tell you what the third exam is all about, I want to congratulate you on making it this far and tell you something about the test itself. You better listen closely, now, it's something important. I'm going to tell you the true purpose of these exams."
"True…purpose?" Sakura echoed.
"Isn't it to become Chunin?" Naruto asked in confusion.
"Why do you suppose our country holds these exams in conjunction with our allies?" The Hokage questioned. "To raise the ability levels of shinobi and to increase the power of the bonds between allied nations, sure, but it's important that you understand the true meaning. These exams are a representation of the battle between allied nations." As soon as the words left his mouth, people began to mutter.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Tenten voiced.
"Look at our history! Many years ago, all of our allies were neighbouring nations fighting for power. In order to stop needless killing, these nations picked champions to battle in a mutually selected location. That was how the Chunin selection exams originally began." He told them.
"Well, that's great and all…but why do we have to do these exams?" The blonde Uzumaki boy asked. "I mean, it's not like we're doing this to pick Chunin to go fight."
"On the contrary, the point of these exams is to weed out the shinobi who aren't worthy to become Chunin and to promote those who are." He informed them. "These are also exams where a shinobi may carry the pride of their nation on their backs and fight against other ninja for their very lives."
"Pride of their nation?" Juhi frowned, looking at the Hokage in question of his words. "I never heard of that in Yukigakure."
"Many leaders and visitors from prominent countries are invited to attend these exams. This is a way for them to choose the best shinobi to work for them." Sarutobi continued. "This exam could determine the course of your ninja work from here on out. And more importantly, they will watch the battles to see which ninja and which nation are the strongest. This way, the countries deemed weak will lose work and those deemed strong will gain it. It's a constant battle for strength, even now."
"Old man!" Sakura yelled impatiently. "We appreciate the history lesson, but this exam needs to carry on! When are we going to start the third exam?"
"Very well." The Hokage nodded. "Listen closely, I'll tell you what you'll be doing for the third exam!" He told them. A ninja appeared in front of him, kneeling on the floor.
"Hokage-sama, before you do…please allow me, Gekko Hayate, Proctor of the third exam to speak first." He said, coughing.
"So be it." The Hokage allow. Hayate got up, his back facing the Genin.
"It's nice to meet you all." He greeted, coughing yet again. "There's something…I would like all of you…ehe, ehe, ehe…to do before the third exam." He choked out, turning his head to look at them.
Narrowing the Field: Sudden Death Elimination!
"Uhh…We have to have a Preliminary exam before we can move on to the real one." Hayate told them.
"You have to be kidding." Sakura growled. "Haven't we all worked hard enough?" She twitched, trying to hold down the emotion that was trying to work its way up.
"Preliminary?!" Shikamaru yelled out. "Just what do you mean by that, huh?!" He asked. Sakura's fists clenched and her eyes turned a vivid red.
"WE'VE JUST WORKED OUT BUTTS OFF FOR THE LAST FIVE DAYS AND NOW WE HAVE TO FIGHT A POINTLESS PRELIMINARY?! WHY NOT JUST KICK A FEW OUT AND GET IT OVER WITH!?" Sakura screamed, panting hard when she was done. Her eyes faded back to green and everyone was staring at her. '…Shit.'
'Damn, that's hot!' Kankuro drool.
"Ehe." Gekko coughed. "Well, you see, the first and second exams might have been too easy. The fact is, we never expected so many of you to still be here. According to the rules of the Chunin exams, a Preliminary exam may be held at any stage, in order to reduce the number of candidates remaining."
"But…Is that fair?" Ino asked with desperate eyes. "Everyone here's already tried so hard to make it this far!"
"It just that; we have to try to speed things up a bit and get the exams going faster when we get to this stage." He offered as an explanation. "As Hokage-sama said, a lot of important guests will be watching; we can't afford to waste their time. They've come to see only the best. So, if any of you feel you're not in top physical condition, now's your chance to…ehe, ehe, ehe, ehe, ehe…"
'Talk about not being in top physical condition.' Ino thought, raising a brow at the coughing Jounin.
'That proctor doesn't look so good himself.' Hinata, always being the concerned girl she is, worried.
"Ehe, ehe, EHE…Sorry about that. Anyway, now is the time for you to back out." He managed to say. "The Preliminaries will be starting immediately."
"Come on! You mean, right now?" Kiba barked.
"We've just finished barely surviving the last exam; don't we get a break?" Ino whined.
"Man, this is so troublesome." Shikamaru groaned.
"Urgh. When do we eat?" Choji complained.
'No way! I'm in for the long run!' Naruto thought in determination. 'I promised Kabuto!'
"Oh yeah…the winners will be determined though one-one-one combat; sudden death." Gekko added. "So, like I said, if there's anyone who's not up to the challenge, raise your hand; now or never."
'Does he really think anyone will quit now?' Sasuke grunted, but stopped when a sharp pain flashed through his shoulder. He quickly grasped the mark and turned his head to look at it, but saw Sakura's frown. She was sweating lightly and he knew that she was suffering pain also.
"Sasuke." She whispered, getting his attention. "If the pain is too much, back out. If not, suck it up." She told him coldly. Sasuke knew that she was just telling him the truth, and he turned back to the front.
"It's just as I fear." The Hokage said to Anko and Ibiki.
"What do we do with him?" Ibiki questioned. Anko was quick to answer.
"We take him out of the exam, hand him over to Black-ops and let them keep him locked up." Anko said, glaring at Sasuke and Sakura. 'And if my suspicion is right, we should do the same with that girl.'
"Oh, and he's just going to quietly go along with all of this, huh?" A voice cut into their conversation. "You really think so?" He asked. Anko turned and faced Kakashi. "You're forgetting that he's of the Uchiha clan."
"I don't care what he is! If he stays, he's a danger to everyone!" Anko yelled. "Don't you see? As he gets stronger, so does the curse mark! That thing his feeding off his chakra! It's a forbidden jutsu that devours the one who bares it." She trailed off, grasping her neck and looking back at the two pain-ridden twelve-year-olds. "It's incredible that either of them are still standing."
"Either of them?" Kakashi echoed. "Isn't Sasuke the only one who was bitten?"
"Today, yes. Overall, no." Anko smirked. "It seems that Pinky got the curse seal when she was younger too." She told him, enjoying the shock that crossed Kakashi's face. "By now…both should be dead. Hokage-sama!"
A head went into the air.
"Huh?" The Hokage grunted, along with a few others. All looked towards the owner of the hand in shock.
"Okay, you got me." Kabuto smiled. "I'm out."
"But…Kabuto…" Naruto said in amazement. Hayate flipped through the papers on his clipboard and stopped at Kabuto's name with a cough.
"Yakushi Kabuto of Konohagakure, right?" He coughed. "Okay, you can go on and step back."
"Gotcha." Kabuto nodded, walking out of the line.
"Kabuto! Hold on a second, you can't quit!" Naruto told him. "I don't get this; what's going on?"
'Pathetic.' Gaara sneered mentally.
"Oh, Naruto. I'm sorry; my body is too beat up to continue." He excused himself. "The fact is, ever since everyone first arrived and that fight with the Sound Village team, I've had no hearing in my left ear. And now to put my life on the line? To fight again without a break? I can't do it."
"Seems to me I've seen him before." The Hokage noticed as he, and everyone else, watched Kabuto. "If my memory serves, this isn't the first time he's dropped out before a battle. What kind of game is he playing?"
"Anko?" Ibiki called.
"Oh, right." Anko snapped back to reality, flipping through the papers on her clipboard. "Yakushi Kabuto…says here he's failed six times in a row."
"What do you have on his background?" The Hokage questioned.
"His time at the academy was not what you'd call impressive." She told them as she read. "Average grades; took him a full three times to pass the graduation exam. As for the missions he's done since then; three C-ranks and fourteen D-ranks. Not exactly a battle record to write home about. However…"
"Go on." Sarutobi Hiruzen prompted.
"There's something before his time in the academy." She told him. "Do you remember the child? The one who was found after the battle of Kikuyu Pass? The only survivor?"
"I remember the story." The Hokage nodded.
"That's him; Yakushi Kabuto." Anko nodded.
"Kabuto, what're you doing? Have you forgotten Orochimaru-sama's orders?" A team mated of Kabuto's asked him.
"I'm leaving that to you." Kabuto told him. "What's wrong? It should be no problem for you. This is your chance to prove yourself. After all, you've always wanted to take my place, haven't you? Go for it."
"Hm." He grunted. "You may be Orochimaru-sama's favourite, but be careful you don't push it too far."
"Thanks for the advice; I'll keep it in mind." Kabuto smirked, walking past him and looking over to team seven. He waved to them, but was wondering about Sakura. 'It's odd. She's knows me. She's seen me and been around me while I was with Orochimaru-sama. And yet…she says nothing to her team and doesn't even try to rat me out. What an odd girl, indeed.' He mused as he walked out of the door. Hayate coughed.
"Now then…is there anyone else?" He asked. Instantly, two more hands shot up.
"We do!" Juhi called out, looking a Taiyoo, who also had his hand raised; the twin wasn't looking back, but frowning at his brother. "Tsuki, what's wrong with you?" He hissed. "Raise your hand! Now!"
"Not gonna happen." Tsuki sneered stubbornly.
"Haruno Juhi and Hoshi Taiyoo of Yukigakure. You're both free to leave now." The proctor permitted.
'Haruno?' Several of the contestants thought in shock, as well as the Hokage, Anko, Ibiki and Kakashi.
"Umm, sir? Our team mate wants to quit too!" Juhi yelled.
"No I don't!" Tsuki growled. "I'm staying!" He told everyone. Juhi and Taiyoo left, glaring at Tsuki the whole way.
"We were supposed to drop out. She's fine." Juhi muttered to Taiyoo.
"I know. I think Tsuki might still have that tiny crush on Sakura-chan; the same one he's held on to all these years." Taiyoo sighed as they walked out of the door.
"Is that all?" Hayate coughed, looking around. "No one else?"
'To drop out, or not to drop out?' Sakura mused to herself. 'Inari-chan's fine with the neighbours…but he does get really anxious when I'm away for too long. Did Kakashi-sensei check up on him like I asked?! What if the neighbour's dog ate him?! I-! No! Panic needs to shut up now; Inari-chan is fine.' She sighed, shaking her head. 'But…I only took the exam for Naruto-kun and Sasuke-san…' She frowned, preparing to raise her hand only to have it pulled back down. "Eh?"
"Don't even think about it." Sasuke growled, wincing in pain. "You aren't who you appear to be…I know that much after seeing how you reacted to that man back in the forest."
"Che. So what? Gonna rat me out?" Sakura glared at him, pulling her wrist away from his grip. "What my past contains and my future holds is none of your concern."
"My brother." He grunted. Sakura froze and her heart felt like it stopped for a moment.
'Does he…Does he know?' She gulped slightly.
"You asked me who I wanted to kill once." He continued and Sakura let go of a breath she didn't know she was holding. "It's my brother."
"Why tell me now?" She questioned, crossing her arms. Sasuke shook his head.
"I've noticed recently that you don't like being close to people at all; what you like is trust." He stated, seeing the confusion on her face. "That's why our team work's messed up and that's why you choose Naruto over me; you trust him because he gave you reasons to. He's open about everything—especially with you."
"Sasuke-san, do you really think now is the time for a dramatic epiphany of why I like Naruto-kun more?" She scoffed. "I like trust because when you share that kind of bond, you don't have to expect the person you share it with to hurt you. Just because you want me to trust you doesn't mean I wont drop out of the exam."
"YOU'RE DROPPING OUT?!" Naruto had apparently heard them talking and couldn't contain himself. "Sakura-chan! No! You're really strong and you need to show everyone that! You can't drop out now!"
"Naruto-kun!" Sakura scolded, seeing that everyone was looking at her curiously. She winced internally. 'If I stay in this exam, you could get hurt…I don't want that for you, Naru-kun.'
"Don't drop out." She heard a quiet, but strong voice, demand. Looking to where it came from, Sakura was shocked when she saw Hinata's determined eyes. "If you drop out, I'll loose any courage I have!"
"See?! Hinata-chan will drop out too!" Naruto whined.
"Fine, fine." Sakura surrendered. "Yo! Procter dude! We're good over here; you can continue!"
"Right." Hayate coughed. "Then let's let the preliminary matches begin. It will be one-on-one battles; just like real combat. There will be ten matches and the winner of each will proceed to the next round. There are no rules; you will fight until the opponent is dead, unconscious or admits defeat." He turned and nodded to Anko.
"Open it." She ordered down her microphone. A section of the wall behind the Hokage opened to reveal a screen.
"This screen will show two names; they are the fighters." Hayate paused to cough. "It will determine your battles. Everyone understand?"
"Hai!" Came the chorused answer.
"Then the preliminaries will now begin!" He announced as the screen began to generate random names. When the two names appeared, Naruto frowned.
Uchiha Sasuke
Vs.
Akadou Yoroi
'I won't fight Sasuke this round then.' He sighed. Everyone except the opponents leapt up onto the balconies attached to the walls and observed the match. Both opponents used good moves, but Sasuke was the victor in the end.
"Winner; Uchiha Sasuke!" Hayate announced. Almost as soon as he said that, Sasuke collapsed and Kakashi took him away from the building. No one objected, and so the next two names were displayed.
Aburame Shino
Vs.
Abumi Zaku
Sakura could only roll her eyes. It was obvious that Shino was the superior fighter, even if Zaku's arms weren't broken. Deciding that it was pointless to waste her time observing battles, she excused herself to the bathroom to check over the wounds she'd received. She heard the faint sound of mocking laughter and rolled her eyes.
"Pathetic ninja are cocky ninja." She sighed.
"Are you implying something?" A deep voice from behind her question; the girl turned and narrowed her eyes.
"Don't worry, Itachi-san; you're arrogant, not cocky." Sakura spat at him, turning again and walking away. He used his speed to get in front of her and grasped her upper-arms.
"I spoke with Deidara and Sasori." He stated. "Leader-sama is not happy with your delaying tactics and felt that you needed to be punished. Not only that—Kisame-san and I will take over getting the Kyuubi from here."
"Punished how?" Sakura asked, a slight quiver in her voice. Itachi only smirked.
"They're calling for you." He told her before he disappeared.
"Sakura-chan! There you are!" Naruto called. "Come on! Your match is starting!"
"Wh-Who am I up against?" She asked, seeing Naruto's face fall slightly as he sighed. "I'm not fighting you, am I?"
"No…it's worse." He gulped. "Come on."
"Wha-?" As soon as they entered the room, Sakura's breath caught in her throat.
Haruno Sakura
Vs.
Hoshi Tsuki
"Oh no."