A/N: I'm back with another chapter. I'm sorry it took so long. It took me a while to figure out how this chapter would go, especially with Sakura's battle. It wasn't easy. The chapter ended up being longer than I thought it was. I thought it was going to be short but it's pretty decent sized so I hope you guys enjoy!

I would also like to apologize for the many errors in the last chapter. It looks like it's a little trickier to pick out mistakes produced by Dragon than I thought.

Awesome foursome: I didn't specify about Minato wearing clothes, I admit. I was kind of leaving it to people's imagination. I would say he's not, though… Makes Madara even creepier.

Lady Laran: I think you're going to enjoy the battles that take place during the invasion. Iruka'll get his time to shine.

Bijuu lord: Since I got into medical school, updating has gotten a little harder, especially with boards coming up. I'll try my best to update as often as I can, though.

Spyrkle10: *blinks* I hadn't thought of adding others in aside from the Shinigami and Fate. That's an interesting thought though…

Jaylynn5: Minato having two heart attacks because his sons finding love interests… that's kind of hilarious. Now if Ino found somebody as well… *evil grin*

Lil Miss Morningstar: I'm sorry about the typos. Dragon bit me in the butt. I'm going to be more careful with it now.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

Chapter Thirty-Eight: Sakura's Determination

Sarutobi watched Naruto proudly as the boy reveled in the well-deserved admiration he was receiving at the hands of the audience.

The young Jinchuuriki was finally receiving the acknowledgment he fought for. He could only imagine how Naruto must feel.

He couldn't say he was surprised that Naruto had defeated Neji. He knew he was more than capable to do that. It was how he had done it that surprised the aged Hokage.

Twice now, Naruto had demonstrated an unknown power in front of him. He had hoped Naruto would have shed light on it after the Preliminaries, but the boy had made no mention of it.

They were going to have to talk about it after the Exams…

The power felt familiar and yet, it wasn't Kyuubi's chakra he had sensed. Oddly enough, it had felt like Minato, but that was impossible, wasn't it?

Orochimaru was more than a little pissed as he observed the battle from under the guise of the Kazekage.

He had not expected Naruto to have grown so strong in such a short time.

Uzumaki Naruto was supposed to be an idiotic weakling that was no match in comparison to Orochimaru's desired vessel: Sasuke. The way things were going, Naruto may just leave Sasuke in his dust.

Was the knowledge of his heritage really that big of a motivation to have produced such a drastic growth in Konoha's Jinchuuriki?

If it wasn't for the fact that the Kyuubi would prevent him from possessing Naruto, Orochimaru may have been tempted to take Naruto as a vessel himself.

On the other hand, Orochimaru didn't necessarily need to possess Naruto to gain his power. He would find another way to do so. Wouldn't that bastard Namikaze roll in his grave if he knew what Orochimaru had planned for his beloved offspring?

Minato felt a chill run down his back as a wave of unease overcame him.

'What's wrong, Tou-san?' Naruto queried in concern.

'It's nothing, Naruto… Just a feeling,' Minato reassured him as they ascended to the viewing box where all of the contestants were waiting.

As they finally arrived, Sakura glomped Naruto, excitement shining in her eyes.

"You were amazing, Naruto! The moment I think I had you pegged, you go and do something else that throws me completely off! If only Sasuke-kun was here to see your triumph!" she exclaimed.

'I don't think he would have liked that very much…' Naruto thought to himself, knowing how competitive Sasuke was. "It's his loss, Sakura-chan. I'll just have to show him how awesome I am another time."

"I suppose so," Sakura sighed before looking around in worry. "Where is Sasuke-kun anyways? She should be here already… His fight is next."

"I'm sure he'll be here soon," Naruto said reassuringly. "It's not like him to miss something as important like this. He wouldn't miss the chance to go up against Gaara."

"He'll have to get here soon, otherwise he'll be disqualified," Shikamaru pointed out, glancing at the time. "I doubt he'll be given much leeway for his tardiness… Then again, this is the Uchiha we're talking about. Who knows what kind of concessions he'll receive?"

"Uchiha brat seems to be favored to an excessive degree. I swear this village would even let him get away with murder," Daichi grumbled, piercing eyes observing Shikamaru and Naruto. He hadn't liked how they came to the Exams together. Naruto was supposed stay away from the Nara. "I see you haven't been heeding my warning, Uzumaki."

Shikamaru glowered at Daichi, not liking how he was trying to bend Naruto to his will.

"Naruto doesn't have to do anything he doesn't want to," he asserted, standing in front of the petite blonde protectively. He knew not to was more than capable of defending himself as his amazing battle with Neji had demonstrated, but he would still do everything in his power to keep the blonde safe.

Naruto shouldn't have to deal with all of this alone.

Daichi's eyes narrowed as Shikamaru countered him. "I'm going to look forward to crushing you during our fight. I'll make you regret ever pursuing Uzumaki," he promised.

"You can try," Shikamaru reported evenly. "You will never succeed."

"We'll see about that," Daichi hissed.

"All of this mess because of a blonde brat. It's too much trouble to me. He's hardly worth it," Michiru scoffed.

"That's what you think," Sakura declared. She was growing tired of Michiru insulting her friends. First Lee, now Naruto. She couldn't wait to kick her ass…

At that time, Gaara, Temari and Kankurou approached Naruto.

"You did well out there, kid," Kankurou complimented Naruto. "You certainly defy all expectations."

"Thanks, I try," Naruto smiled.

"I had my reservations at first when Gaara began to grow attached to you but I was wrong. You've been the best thing that has ever happened to him. I want to thank you for that," Temari declared.

"Don't mention it. I couldn't just ignore him. He's my kin," Naruto replied before looking pensive. "Now that I think about it, wouldn't that indirectly make you family as well?"

Kankurou and Temari glanced at each other in surprise. He was accepting them into his fold too?

Seeing how Naruto had influenced those around him, they couldn't help being drawn in.

"We'd like that," they admitted with a smile.

'Two more?' Minato blinked. His brood just continued to grow, didn't it?

"Just how many people are you going to make family, Naruto?" Shikamaru wondered, secretly jealous. Naruto seemed to accept so many other people but kept him at a relative distance. Hadn't he proved that he could be trusted?

He sighed. He would just have to be patient. Naruto would come to him on his own time. Shikamaru wasn't going to push him. He wanted Naruto to tell him because he wanted to, not because he was forced to.

Naruto was worth the wait.

"I knew they worked well together but this is ridiculous," Kakashi whispered to Jiraiya as he recalled the way Naruto and Minato had synchronized during the battle.

Jiraiya smirked. "They are just full of surprises, aren't they?"

"You don't say," Kakashi remarked. "It's a pity Iruka wasn't here to see it. He would have been proud of him."

"I'm sure he would have been," Jiraiya agreed. Glancing up at the viewing box there all of the Chuunin candidates stood, he looked a little confused. "Where's the Uchiha?"

Kakashi shrugged. "I don't know. I left him to his own devices after yesterday. At this rate, he'll forfeit his chance of becoming a Chuunin at all. I thought for sure he would be here."

"You don't think Orochimaru got him, do you?" Jiraiya mused.

Kakashi's expression turned grave. "Let's hope not."

Sarutobi frowned as it became clear that the Uchiha was nowhere in sight. ANBU was looking all over for the boy but they have yet to find him.

Raidou, his personal guard, leaned forward to whisper in his ear. "There are still no sign of Uchiha Sasuke. The crowd is beginning to grow restless. At this rate, he will have to be disqualified. For being so late, he's showing that he does not have the qualities of the Chuunin."

Sarutobi sighed. He knew the audience would be displeased if that were the case. Most of the people in attendance had come with the intention to watch the battle between Konoha's Uchiha Sasuke and Suna's Gaara. Disqualifying Sasuke would lead to a great uproar.

"If I may, Hokage-sama, I would request that you push back the battle until everyone else's. Many people are looking forward to this battle. It would be a great pity to let them all down," Orochimaru persuaded his old sensei.

Sarutobi nodded. Many people wish to observe the battle. He would postpone the battle and give Sasuke chance but it would cost the boy. "I will do as you suggest, Kazekage-sama, however I cannot do it without consequences. The battle may go on but Sasuke will lose any chance of becoming a Chuunin in this particular Exam," he declared.

Orochimaru satisfied at this. His plans revolved around the battle between Sasuke and Gaara. It mattered not to him whether or not Sasuke became a Chuunin. If things were to go his way – and they would – Sasuke would not be there long enough for the promotion to matter.

"Fair enough," he agreed. "We should start the next match, shouldn't we?"

Sarutobi turned to Raidou. "Alert Genma to the changes," he ordered.

Raidou nodded and quickly did as he was told.

Genma rolled his eyes at the concession that the spoiled Uchiha received. If it was any other contestant, they would have been disqualified. Nevertheless, he addressed the audience to alert them of the Hokage's decision.

"The battle between Uchiha Sasuke and Gaara will be postponed until after all of the remaining matches. We are moving to the next match. Would Aburame Shino and Kankurou please come down to the arena?" Genma called out.

Kankurou scowled. Sasuke was supposed to have been there. That battle was then the plan was supposed to take place. Kankurou and Temari were supposed to have the chance to fight their opponents. They wanted to save their chakra.

Not that they were going to follow the plan as Baki expected them to. Gaara had told them that they would not work against Konoha. The invasion was wrong and had no benefit for Suna. They were just pawns for Orochimaru to get his revenge on the village.

Therefore, Temari and Kankurou would do their best to work against the Sound ninja to protect Konoha while trying to minimize the participation of the Suna nin.

They were the children of the Kazekage. They had a certain amount a say in the military plans of their village, Genin or not.

Kankurou knew this would not be easy. He wanted to save his chakra for the invasion. He had no intention of fighting in the Exam. He had known from the very beginning that they would not get the chance to really have a try at becoming Chuunin bring this particular Exam.

He glanced at Gaara, Temari and even Naruto, who he knew was aware of the invasion, before making his final decision.

He raised a hand and called out to the proctor.

"I forfeit the match," he spoke resolutely.

The audience broke out into a cacophony of annoyed jeering and complaints.

They had come to be entertained. First the long awaited Uchiha was MIA and now the next match was lost by forfeit? This was such a waste of time!

Genma raised an eyebrow at Kankurou's declaration but he wasn't going to question the boy's decision.

"Very well. Winner by forfeit: Aburame Shino," he declared. "Would the next contestants please come down for their match?"

"You're up, Sakura-chan," Naruto turned to his teammate, who looked kind of nervous. "Good luck."

"Thanks," Sakura responded, trying to get rid of the lump that seemed to have lodged in her throat. Now that her battle had so suddenly come upon her, she was beginning to feel a little overwhelmed. She had worked so hard to remedy her own weakness this last month and yet, she didn't feel like she would be able to match up against the fearsome Michiru. The thought of disappointing her teammates unsettled her.

Naruto could see how uneasy she was. He couldn't blame her. Sakura had always been insecure about herself. She was doing her best to improve herself but it would take a while for the girl to believe it herself. He would try to help build up her confidence the same way he had helped Hinata.

"You can do this, Sakura-chan. You've been working hard. Don't start doubting yourself now," he told her, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. "If a dobe can beat last year's Rookie of the Year, imagine what the Top Kunoichi of our year can accomplish?"

Sakura looked at Naruto, a grateful look in her eyes. She could always count on him to say the right thing to raise her spirits. Why had she taken so long to see Naruto's true worth? She had been looking at the world through Uchiha-tinted glasses for so long that she had almost missed seeing Naruto for the great friend he was turning out to be. 'I've got a lot to make up for,' she thought to herself. She would make up for the years of being a bitch to Naruto… somehow.

"I won't doubt myself," she promised. "I'll do my best to make you, Sasuke-kun and Kakashi-sensei proud."

"Enough of the mush, come on Pinkie, it's time for our fight. I'm telling you upfront… you're going to lose," Michiru declared, glowering at the poor excuse of a kunoichi in front of her.

Sakura didn't let the hostile Iwa nin intimidate her. She met Michiru's eyes with determination. "I guess we'll find out soon enough," she responded as they headed off to the battle arena.

"Sakura is going to have to be careful," Shikamaru remarked. "While I'm certain she's grown in strength since the Preliminaries, we know nothing about Michiru. Her strengths and weaknesses are a complete mystery."

"Neither do we know just how Sakura has grown as a kunoichi. I'm sure this battle will be a surprise for all of us," Naruto remarked.

The battle started out without giving Sakura even a moment to think up a strategy.

It appeared Michiru wanted to get the battle done with quickly. She was going straight for the kill.

"Doton: Dochubaku!" the Iwa nin yelled, causing a landslide of earth to suddenly come towards Sakura.

Eyes widening in shock, Sakura managed to dodge the attack, but only just.

She hadn't thought Michiru would begin pulling off such large scale attacks from the get go.

She should have figured it out from Michiru's aggressive nature. Fighting like this certainly suited her.

That made things difficult for Sakura, however. All she could do at the moment was dodge Michiru's attacks and with her stamina, she wouldn't be able to last very long doing that.

She had to make Michiru stop using her jutsu. The girl wasn't even trying to conserve her chakra. Michiru was that certain that she could defeat Sakura in little time.

With the powerful jutsus that the Iwa nin was dishing out one after another, Sakura almost believed that Michiru could.

Then she remembered Naruto's words. She couldn't just give up without making an effort. She would find a way around Michiru's unstopping onslaught of attacks.

She could use her Genjutsu abilities but she would need to force Michiru to falter in her attacks first.

"Come on, Pinkie, don't tell me you're going to run all day!" Michiru scowled. "I always knew you were a coward… just like that bastard teammate of yours, Sasuke. I bet he chose not to come because he's too scared to go up against that freak Suna nin. Everyone on your team is pathetic… you, the Uchiha, Blondie, and even that lazy sensei of yours. You are worth nothing… I'll show everyone that!"

Anger flared within Sakura. She was seriously having enough of Michiru badmouthing those that she cared about. She wouldn't let Michiru get away with calling Sasuke a coward or calling Team Seven pathetic. She would prove her wrong.

Letting out a battle cry, she surprised Michiru by rushing at her head on, her determination and anger helping spur her movements onwards. Kurenai hadn't only helped her with Genjutsu, after all. Fighting with and alongside Kiba had helped her build up some agility as well and it came in handy with dealing with Michiru's offense.

Sakura found an opening as she grew close to the Iwa nin, preparing her attack.

"Shannaro!" she yelled as she punched Michiru with all of the strength she could muster, causing the Iwa nin to fly back.

Naruto almost felt a flash of sympathy towards Michiru. He knew Sakura's hits hurt… through seeing the other victims of her punches. Nowadays, he was too fast for her to hit him but before Minato never let her lay a hit on him.

"With the proper training, she could probably become another Tsunade," Shikamaru mused.

"I wouldn't be surprised," Naruto agreed.

Daichi scoffed. There was no way the weak pink-haired girl could ever match up to one of the Sannin. He may hate all of the shinobi that had come out of Konoha but even he had to admit the Sannin were some of the most powerful shinobi present. The Namikaze and his cowardly boyfriend were delusional.

'Now!' Sakura thought to herself as she found her opening.

Forming the snake hand sign, Sakura prepared one of the Genjutsu techniques Kurenai had taught her.

"Magen: Hanagasumi."

Michiru blinked as she found herself in the middle of a large pink flower before the petals suddenly closed up on her.

"Let me out!" she yelled, feeling rather clausterphobic in the dark space.

Seconds later, she was engulfed in an explosion.

While the flower had been an illusion, the explosion was very real and she was sent skidding across the floor painfully, adding painful abrasions to the new burns that marred her skin.

Now Michiru was angry. She had underestimated Sakura.

"You're going to pay for that bitch," she spat once she managed to climb back onto her feet. Her body hurt all over. Who knew the pink bitch could pull off such an effective offensive maneuver?

She had underestimated her… but no longer. The Pinkie was going to get what was coming for her.

"Doton: Dosekiryuu!" she yelled, and a gigantic earth dragon shot out at Sakura at break neck speed.

The girl who was already exhausted from all of her running and her current chakra use wasn't able to get out of the way in time.

Sakura screamed in pain as the devastating attack struck her, bruising her from the front and then from the back as she impacted the stadium wall with enough force to make it crack.

"Sakura-chan!" she heard Naruto yell from above, sounding worried for her.

Michiru sneered as she approached the fallen Konoha kunoichi. "You may have had a few decent tricks up your sleeve but you've got to do a lot better than that to beat me. You're nothing more than a second rate kunoichi with no chance of becoming a Chuunin."

Sakura glared at Michiru from where she lay, trying to get the strength to get back onto her feet. She hurt so badly. How could she be put down so easily? She thought she'd gotten stronger. She was proving nothing… She was weak.

"Don't listen to her, Sakura-chan! She has no idea what she's talking about. You're a lot stronger than you look. Don't let her get away with the last laugh!" Naruto called out to her in encouragement.

Michiru glanced up at where Naruto was. The blonde brat certainly didn't know when to keep his mouth shut. Son of the Yondaime Hokage or not, he was no where near as smart. She was going to be happy when Daichi finally silenced the little shit up for good.

"Don't worry, Pinkie. I'll finish this up nice and fast. I'll take you down and Daichi will take care of that stupid blonde. We'll show you that your beloved Team Seven is worth nothing," Michiru promised, a sadistic gleam in her eye.

"Shut up…" Sakura scowled, anger providing her with a second wind as she forced herself back onto her feet. "I've had enough of your bullshit. Let's finish this."

Michiru looked amused. Did the girl honestly think she stood a chance against her? "I agree with you. Let's end this."

Sakura let out a loud battle cry and lunged at Michiru, engaging the girl in a Taijutsu match to prevent her from being able to cast any jutsu.

"Sakura's really trying hard," Kiba remarked from the stands, where he sat with Hinata.

"She trained long and hard this last month," Hinata commented. "She's fighting to prove herself. She won't give up so easily anymore."

"It looks like Naruto's begun to rub off on her," Kiba mused with a smirk as he pet both Akamaru and Sakuya who were staying with the two of them.

Naruto had requested for them to watch out for his little fox kit because he didn't want to use her in the Finals, especially against Neji. Sakuya still needed more training before he would feel comfortable using her in the more intense battles.

"Naruto has a way of inspiring the best in people," Hinata commented with a soft smile. He'd certainly helped her out a lot..

"I'm beginning to see that," Kiba agreed. Without his jealousy to blind him anymore, he was beginning to see what Naruto's real power was and it wasn't his guardian angel. It was his ability to influence the people around him and bring out the best in those he chose to believe in. "Now if only that bastard Uchiha gave into Naruto's power and stopped acting like such a dick…"

"Kiba-kun, that wasn't very nice!" Hinata reprimanded him.

"You know it's true, Hinata-chan," Kiba responded. "He needs to get knocked down a peg or two."

Hinata couldn't exactly argue that point. Sasuke wasn't developing into the type of shinobi any of them would trust working alongside. He didn't seem to care for anything but obtaining the power to get his revenge, no matter who he walked over to get it.

"Do your best, Sakura-san!" Lee called out from the stands. He had healed well from his battle with Gaara. Watching everybody battle was causing his Flames of Youth to burn even brighter.

First Naruto had defeated his greatest rival so spectacularly and now his beloved Sakura was fighting hard to prove herself as a capable kunoichi. If only he had made it to the Finals…

He shook his head. There would be other chances after this one. He was just glad that he had gotten the chance to meet so many brilliant shinobi. When these Exams were over, he would definitely seek them out for spars. He couldn't wait!

For now, he would continue to encourage the beautiful kunoichi fighting in the Arena to do her very best.

"When are you going ot learn to quit, bitch?" Michiru scowled as she exchanged vicious blows with Sakura. She was growing tired of this farce of a battle. She should have won by now.

"I'll never give up…" Sakura responded stubbornly. As long as she was still standing, she would continue to fight. She wasn't going to be weak anymore.

"You're so annoying," Michiru spat. She wanted to end the battle quickly but Sakura wasn't letting her form the seals for her jutsu. It looked like she would have to beat Sakura down with fists alone… while avoiding Sakura's. The pink-haired girl had an insanely strong punch. The last one had almost knocked her silly.

'I have to find an opening soon,' Sakura thought to herself. She could feel her body fatiguing. It wouldn't be easy. Michiru was guarding herself too well. She needed to find a way to knock the Iwa nin off balance.

Her eyes fell on the holes that had been made by Naruto's seals exploding and an idea began to form in her head.

She intensified her attack and began to lead her unsuspecting opponent towards the desired location, ignoring the ache she felt from her protesting muscles.

Michiru's eyes widened as her foot suddenly slipped as she reached the edge of one of the holes.

"Shit!" she cursed as she began to fall, only to take a brutal punch to the face that sent her flying over that hole and into another one. When her body finally skidded to a halt, she didn't get up.

Sakura smirked. "Take that, bitch." Her eyes rolled back as she fell into a dead faint.

"Sakura!" Naruto, Ino and Lee cried out in worry.

Genma assessed the two fallen opponents waiting to see if they were both down for the count.

He raised his hand up to declare the battle a tie when one of the girls began to stir.

"Wait."

There was a large cry of dismay that filled the air as Michiru clambored back onto her feet.

Genma blinked in surprise at the sight of the girl's resilience. Shrugging his shoulders, he called out the outcome of the battle.

"Winner: Michiru."

Michiru smirked. She knew the younger kunoichi would lose.

She watched as Naruto leaped down to check on his fallen teammate alongside Kakashi.

"Will she be okay?" Naruto asked his sensei as he looked Sakura over.

"She'll be fine. She's just bruised and exhausted. She's not used to this type of exertion," Kakashi stated as he assisted the medical nin in getting Sakura onto a stretcher. "She did well, though. She improved a lot."

"She'll continue to do so," Naruto commented. Sakura may have lost but she'd fought her very best and pulled off a decent strategy. With greater stamina, and more training, Sakura would become an excellent shinobi.

"Don't make me laugh," Michiru butt into their conversation. "The girl doesn't have any potential. She should quit while she's ahead."

Naruto glanced at Michiru so coldly that the girl couldn't help but shudder instinctively in fear.

"You know nothing," the Jinchuuriki responded simply before he returned to the waiting area.

Michiru stayed frozen where she was.

For the first time, she could see how Naruto could be the Yondaime's son. Who knew he could instill such fear into her?