The third part of the Chunin Exams. Yesss.

Guest: Yeah, I can.

The True Not Important: If all the reviewers are as happy as you when they get PM replies from me, I'll only be too happy to send PM replies to everyone :P

Charrmed: I'm glad Sakura-chan amuses you in this story. She's one of my favorite characters, so naturally I have to make her less bitchy ;)

I just realized a lot of you like to thank me for updating. To be honest, it's me who should be thankful for so many readers/reviewers. Thank you all. :)

Thanks to The True Not Important, Guest, Akatsuki no Kyara and Charrmed for the reviews!

"Sasuke-kun... you... are... mine..."

"No!"

"Kukuku..."

"Shut up!"

"Mine... mine... kuku-"

"Fuck you!" Sasuke roared, sitting up and delivering a fierce punch to... the air. Frowning, he was about to throw the covers off, but found that he'd kicked his blankets off the bed.

What a dream, he sighed. Half the time I sleep now, I'm dreaming of Orochimaru. I'm certain it's the mark. Big brother must have a way to suppress it... he must...

He jumped off and landed on the ground softly, to avoid waking up his teammate. Naruto slept below him in a sweet double-deck consisting of two beds.

Team 7 had completed the test in exactly one-and-a-half day, and as a result, stayed in the tower for the remaining duration of the test, which meant the next three days.

It was now the third day, and finally it was time to move on to the next test of the Chunin Exams.

The tower was pretty good, with food, entertainment and basic necessities. Meals were served, too. Overall, Sasuke couldn't have asked for a better place to stay.

A knock on the door sounded and Sasuke opened it, to see Sakura on the other side.

"Sasuke-kun? Are you and Naruto ready?"

"Ready?" Sasuke frowned.

"Yeah. We have to report to the center of the tower in about an hour."

"An hour?" The Uchiha groaned. "Shit. We overslept."

Sakura gasped. "Is Naruto awake?"

"No, he-"

The pinkette stormed past Sasuke, and walked over to where Naruto was happily snoring away.

Sasuke excused himself nervously, muttering something about getting breakfast.

It was the right move, as the raven-haired boy promptly heard yelling and shouting in his room. Shuddering, Sasuke quickened his pace to the kitchen.

Naruto sighed in relief as the Third stepped back. He liked the old man, but sometimes he nagged too much for his own good.

The proctor for the third exam stepped up.

"Because there are too many of you, we are going to have preliminaries to shorten the amount of Genin for the third exam, right here, right now." Hayate Gekko revealed. When groans of protest came, Hayate quickly explained how there would be important people like daimyos viewing the third exam.

"What does the important people viewing this third exam have to do with us?" Naruto quizzed, frowning.

"The third exam will be one-on-one fights against one another," Hayate explained, drawing a few "oooh"s from the Genin crowd. "We don't want to bore the audience by having too many people fight. That would take up at least a whole day."

Itachi and the other Jonin sensei chose to strode in at this time. Sasuke smiled as he saw his older brother, and noticed how firm and serious his expression was.

Has he found out about my mark?

Naruto looked behind him to observe the Genin who'd passed.

The three Sand ninja they'd encountered before, as well as the three rookie teams, including Team 7, were among the Genin crowd. Lee and his teammates were also present.

The Sound team that had tried to attack them in the Forest of Death stood behind the rookie teams. Last but not least was a team from Kusagakure that Naruto couldn't recognize.

"Oh, by the way. From here on out, you're on your own - so, if you decide to quit, your teammates won't be implicated." Hayate spoke. "Anyone?"

"I... I want to quit!"

"Me too."

"Hazuko Minamoto and Kenshin Tsuda." Hayate nodded. "You're free to go."

Naruto turned in surprise to see two of the Kusa Genin walking away to the exit of the tower. Why would they quit at this time? Their teammate, a redheaded female, looked nervous without being in their presence.

The blonde couldn't help but look at her closely. Although he was certain they'd never met before, he couldn't help but feel a sense of familiarity towards this particular girl. Maybe it was because of her hair. It was bright red, a hair color he'd never seen before.

Then again, Sakura had pink hair.

This particular Kusa girl also had glasses on. Naruto briefly wondered if the glasses would implicate her during a battle.

"The preliminaries will start immediately," Hayate started coughing, and pointed to an small electric board as he did so. "This board... cough... will determine who you fight."

"Will people die?"

Hayate turned to look at the Genin who had posed the question. It was a certain whiskered blonde.

"Probably. But I will step in and stop the match if I think the winner has done enough."

He started trembling.

The coughing man raised an eyebrow. Was he scared?

"Alright!" Naruto yelled excitedly. "Let's get it on!"

A small smirk formed on Hayate's face. Trembling in excitement, eh...

Naruto... The Third smiled. It will be interesting to see how you've progressed.

The board began flickering, and finally it stopped.

"Sakura Haruno vs Karin." Hayate read out, and started coughing again.

Me? Sakura's jaw dropped. I never thought I would be up first.

"Go for it, Sakura-chan!" Naruto yelled.

"Do your best, Sakura." Sasuke was more reserved, but smiled and nodded. This was enough motivation for Sakura.

Alright! I've gotta win this battle! Cha!

"The two aforementioned names, please stay here. Everyone else will go up... Cough... cough."

With the arena free of anyone except Hayate, Sakura and Karin, the sickly examiner nodded.

"You may begin."

Neither Sakura or Karin moved. Both waited to get a reaction out of the opposite party, but finally, Sakura decided to move first.

I'm not the battle type, Karin gulped. I don't have much of a chance to win a fight if it isn't a team battle, but this pinky doesn't look that strong too. I have to try.

Sakura got out three shuriken, and tossed them towards Karin.

The redhead dodged the throwing stars, just as Sakura attacked her with a kunai. Drawing out her own, the two girls engaged in a short kunai battle, but eventually Karin kicked Sakura away.

Her grip on the kunai tightening, Karin flung it at Sakura. Dropping low, the pinkette managed to duck as the kunai swished over her.

From what I've seen so far, we both don't have any special jutsu. Sakura analyzed. I only have the Earth Style: Headhunter Jutsu but it isn't for battle. Unless...

Sakura swung to the left to avoid a thrown kunai, and winced as the short weapon managed to nick some of the flesh in her right elbow.

If I can scare her enough and threaten to behead her after she's caught in my jutsu or something... then maybe she'll give up, and I'll win. Is that worth a shot? I'm not exactly the beheading type...

Another kunai flew over her head.

Bah. It's worth a shot. Now I just have to find a good time to execute the Headhunter Jutsu.

Sakura looked up to see Karin charging at her. A fist was thrown, and Sakura was hit in the cheek.

Not one to be a sitting duck, Sakura recovered quickly and punched Karin right in the face. Bullseye, she thought smugly, and kneed the redhead in the stomach.

Groaning in pain, Karin collapsed to the ground.

Whipping out a kunai, Sakura was about to press it to Karin's neck as a threat, but unfortunately, Karin had other plans. She swiftly made a single hand seal.

A hand seal? Is she going to use a technique? Sakura pulled her arm back.

"Mugenhoyo!"

A pink beam of light surrounded Sakura, and she found herself unable to move.

What... is this?

"Woah. Billboard Brow's caught in that weird jutsu," Ino commented.

"This fight is boring," Choji complained.

"It'll get interesting soon! Just you watch!" Naruto yelled defensively.

Sasuke stood behind Naruto, watching the battle. What's that technique?

"Sasuke."

Said Genin turned, to see his brother. Itachi smiled at him, nodding.

"Oh... big brother."

"How was your time in the Forest of Death?"

"Uh..." Sasuke chuckled nervously. "Pretty bad." He gestured towards the mark.

"I know," Itachi placed a hand on the mark. "Does it hurt?"

"Ouch."

"I presume it does." The Jonin withdrew his hand.

"What are we going to do about it?" Sasuke asked nervously.

Itachi turned to keep his eyes on the battle. "We'll talk about it after these preliminaries are done."

In the arena, Sakura was in a bit of a tight spot. She willed herself to move, but she just couldn't.

Naruto frowned. "Itachi-sensei. What's this Mugenhoyo thing?"

Itachi cast his gaze towards the pink beam of light surrounding his pink-haired student. "I've read about it in books. The Mugenhoyo is a kind of chakra absorption technique that serves to paralyze. However, the main nature of this jutsu..." Itachi paused, just to let himself feel amused at Naruto's impatient expression. "... is how it can drain it's target's chakra away."

"So it's a paralysis jutsu as well as a chakra absorption jutsu," Sasuke concluded.

"Yes."

"Isn't Sakura-chan in big, big trouble then?"

"Technically," Itachi nodded. "But if she's mentally strong enough, she will be able to break out of this."

I... I feel weaker... Sakura struggled. What is she doing to me?

"This jutsu drains your chakra," Karin revealed. "Just a few more minutes and you'll pass out from chakra exhaustion."

So that's why I'm starting to feel weak. Sakura growled. There must be a way to break out of this... I have to try. She closed her eyes, hoping it would bring her better concentration and focus. I just have to channel as many chakra as I can to my limbs...

"Are you trying to break out of this?" Karin grinned. "The Mugenhoyo is classified as an A-Rank jutsu. It's almost impossible to break out of if you don't have perfect chakra control..."

Sakura's eyes flew open. "Let's see about that."

Karin snorted. "You can't do anything else. Just give up and you won't pass out."

"No."

"Fine."

Itachi smirked. "Unfortunately for you, Sakura has perfect chakra control." He said softly.

True to her sensei's words, Sakura suddenly disappeared.

"Where did she go?" Karin frowned, adjusting her glasses as the technique ended. Did she break out of my technique? The Mugenhoyo?

"Earth Style: Headhunter Jutsu!" A muffled voice called from beneath.

"Oh no!" Karin screamed as a hand reached out from the ground to grab her ankle. She felt herself being pulled down, and suddenly, Sakura's toes were right in front of her face.

"Well done, Sakura-chan!" Naruto yelled from the sidelines.

Crouching down, Sakura got out a kunai, positioning it at Karin's throat. "How does it feel to be paralyzed, huh?"

Growling, Karin answered honestly. "Bad. It feels bad."

Satisfied with the answer, Sakura carefully let the little weapon dance across her opponent's throat. Inner Sakura screamed in victory as she heard Karin starting to shiver.

"Please... don't kill me..."

"Give up, and I won't."

There was a moment of hesitation, but Sakura decided to encourage her by playing with the kunai around her throat.

"Y-Yes! I give up! Just don't kill me!"

Smiling, Sakura got up, pocketing the kunai. Immediately, she knew she would never belong in the village's Torture and Interrogation Force. Just threatening to kill someone had made her sick to the stomach.

"Winner: Sakura Haruno!"

Who do you think should be paired up against one another? There are 17 people left, and 1 of them is going to pass the preliminaries without fighting someone - who do you think that should be? In the next chapter, the preliminaries continue. See you all then!