Kira, age 15
It was with a sense of profound relief that Kira returned to Konoha. During the two weeks she had spent with her cousins, Nairi and Ares, she had learned just how vicious the world of businessmen was. She was glad that she wouldn't need to run the company herself, as half the time she couldn't even understand what they were saying! Why did lawyers need to make everything sound complicated? It had gotten to the point where she had gotten a headache every time one of them opened their mouth.
Still, it was worth a little inconvenience to now own such a profitable company. Nairi and Ares had agreed with her assessment that everything could be done legally and still make millions of dollars every year. The yearly profit minus the expenses would add a few million dollars to the Hakuo's bank account.
Kira closes her eyes and focuses on the chakra around her. She can't sense Serena anywhere in the village; her sister must be on a mission at the moment then. Her lips subconsciously form into a pout. She had wanted to tell her sister all about her trip, but that will have to wait now. Instead, she looks for her brothers' chakra and finds that they are at the training grounds with their teammates. Opening her eyes, she dashes off in that direction. Perhaps Kakashi will let her join them for today. It had been a while since she got to train with Naruto and Sasuke.
When Naruto sees her, he greets her cheerfully and gives her a hug. "It feels like you've been gone for forever," he exclaims.
"Ah, sorry about that. But I'm back now, no worries," she replies.
"How did it go with the business?" asks Sasuke, walking up to her.
"It went splendidly," she half-lies. "The company now belongs to the Hakuo clan, and I have a feeling we won't be worrying about money for quite a while."
"So they didn't find it suspicious that Gatou left everything to you?" asks Sakura.
"Oh, no, they did. They just couldn't do anything about it. The will was handwritten and signed by Gatou himself. The lawyers had no choice but to accept that Gatou's property was now my own," she replies smugly.
She looks at Kakashi when she senses his amusement and gives him a brief smile. The mask makes it difficult to tell, but she thinks he smiles back.
"So, Kira, what brings you all the way over here?" asks Kakashi.
"I was thinking it would be nice to train with you guys, or at least train near you. I think I need to work on increasing my strength," she says.
Kakashi looks at her curiously. "What makes you say that?"
"Well, it wasn't very easy carrying you to Tazuna's house, and I know it won't be the last time in my life that I have to carry someone to safety, perhaps a teammate or client," she replies.
Kakashi rubs the back of his head, embarrassed. "Ah, sorry about that. Thank you, though. It would have been rather uncomfortable having to sleep on the ground. Also, I don't mind if you want to join us for training," he says.
"Thank you, Kakashi-san," she says with a pleased smile.
She gets out her storage scroll and unseals a few different weights for lifting. The boys have already seen her training equipment, but Sakura has not. Curious, the younger girl walks over to her to see what she's unsealed. "Would you like to lift weights with me, Sakura-san? I think we could both use improvement," suggests Kira.
Sakura glances at Kakashi, who nods in approval. She looks back at Kira and says, "Okay."
Kira has her try out a few of the weights to see which one she should start off with; and while they begin to lift weights, Naruto and Sasuke have begun their daily spar. She notices that Sakura has slowed down to watch the boys, or rather, watch Sasuke, and laughs. Sakura glances at her and blushes before resuming her weight lifting.
"I've been trying to focus more on training but it isn't easy to make yourself not have a crush on someone," says Sakura.
Kira looks at her thoughtfully. "I do understand that. Emotions are difficult to ignore, but you will need to learn how to ignore your emotions to be an effective ninja. Getting distracted on a mission could get you killed. But I think you did alright on the Wave mission; I didn't see any fangirling then."
"About a week after becoming a genin, Sasuke and I had a long talk. He told me why he finds his fangirls so annoying. He said that none of them actually saw him as a person, just a prize to be won. And I realized that he was right. I didn't really know who Sasuke was as a person; I had this fantasy of him in my head and that wasn't fair to him at all," says Sakura. "And then he asked me why I became a ninja. I had joined the Academy before I met him, so he knew my reasons didn't have anything to do with him."
"And why did you enroll in the Academy, Sakura-san?" asks Kira.
"I want to keep my family safe," replies Sakura. "All I knew about ninjas as a kid was that they kept the village safe. I thought, 'that's what I want to do. I want to protect everyone.' I know now that that's not all ninjas do, but I still have the desire to keep my friends and family safe."
Kira stared at Sakura for a moment, a smile slowly appearing on her face. "Our reasons are the same. A lot of what I do is for my clan. I want to keep them safe, and I want them to be happy. It's why I took over Gatou's corporation. They say money can't buy happiness, but it can buy you the things that make you happy."
Sakura looked over at the boys. "You consider both Sasuke and Naruto family, right? I didn't understand that in the Academy, that Naruto isn't just Sasuke's friend, he's also like his brother," she says.
"Yes, Sasuke had a lot to say about the way you treated Naruto. He didn't really think jealousy was a good enough excuse, either," replied Kira.
A sheepish expression crosses Sakura's face. "I was a bit of brat, but I'm trying to be a better person now. After spending time with them both, it's difficult to understand how I could have been mean to Naruto. He's just so nice and cheerful all the time."
At that comment, some of the lingering irritation she felt towards Sakura dissipated. As long as Sakura was a genuine friend to her brother from here on out, then she would forgive the girl for the way she had treated him in the Academy. At the very least, the girl had never hit her brother. Perhaps back then, Sakura had enough common sense to know that hitting her crush's best friend would definitely turn Sasuke away from her.
After she finished lifting weights, Kira began her kata exercises. It wasn't as effective as actually sparring, but her preferred sparring partner, Serena, was out of the village at the moment. She would train with Naruto and Sasuke later, but it wasn't the same kind of work out as sparring with an equal.
The training session didn't last much longer than that. The three genin had already done their D-ranks for the day, so Kakashi sent them home. She would have gone with the boys to the clan compound, but Kakashi asked to talk to her. Puzzled, she nonetheless stayed behind to converse with the man.
"What did you want to talk about, Kakashi-san?" she asks politely.
"Well, as you already know, my sensei was an honorary member of your clan. He may not have taught me everything about your clan's customs, but I do remember a comment he made about Hakuos not becoming Chunin before they turn fourteen," he says.
"That's right. It's to prevent our children from dying in wars. Genin at twelve, Chunin at fourteen, and Jounin at sixteen," she says.
He hesitates a moment before responding. "But it is possible for them to get promoted early if given permission by their Clan Head, correct?" he asks.
She stares at him, mind whirring through the possibilities. "You want to enter your team into the Chunin Exams already?" she asks, not sure whether she should be alarmed or not. They had just graduated a few months ago!
She could feel him get defensive. "The Chunin Exams are being held in Konoha this year. It's the safest way to take them, you know, in your home village," he says.
"But do you actually think they're ready for a promotion?" she asks skeptically.
"Not entirely, no. They're close, at least Naruto and Sasuke are. Sakura needs a little bit more work, but she's definitely improved. But I think the experience will be good for them," he says.
She runs her fingers through her hair, unsure how to respond. "You want my permission to enter Naruto and Sasuke into the exam?" she asks for clarification.
"Yes. I know that the Hokage could technically overrule you in this, since they aren't officially Hakuos, but I don't want to make an enemy of you," he says.
She glares at him briefly for that comment before looking at the trees, trying to think. People have died during the exams, she knows that for certain, but it doesn't happen that often, at least not in Konoha. The other villages are less concerned with the lives of their ninjas, thinking of them as tools that should gladly die for their village.
But Kakashi was right to say that it would be good experience for them. They needed the chance to fight against enemies in a controlled setting. Against her better judgement, she decides to allow it. "Very well, you can enter them into the Chunin Exams," she says reluctantly.
Kakashi gives her a smile, eyes closing briefly. "Thank you, Kira-chan. And don't worry so much, the boys and Sakura will be fine," he says.
"Mmhm, sure," she says, skeptically. Concluding that the conversation is over, she says a goodbye and leaves. She wants to find the boys and discuss strategy with them.
But after catching up with them, she sees that strategy will have to wait. There are two Sand shinobi standing in front of Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, Moegi, and Udon. The male Sand shinobi is holding the Hokage's grandson, Konohamaru, in the air, possibly choking him. 'There are already foreign shinobi in Konoha for the exam? Kakashi certainly leaves things to the last minute, waiting until now to talk to me,' she thinks furiously.
She marches up to the group, Naruto pausing in his yelling at the Sand shinobi to look at her. Judging by his suddenly pale face, she can just guess how pissed off she must look. The Sand shinobi also looks less confident, now that she thinks about it. "What," she asks slowly, "are you doing to the Hokage's grandson?"
"What?" he asks, eyes widening, whilst quickly setting the boy down. Konohamaru quickly runs over to their group, standing next to Naruto.
She gives the two Sand shinobi an unimpressed look. "Well, I can tell right now that your village's spy network must suck, if you can't even tell who the Hokage's family is," she says mockingly.
The blond girl frowns at her before scowling at the boy wearing war paint. "I told you not to mess around, Kankuro," she says angrily. "You could have started a war with that stunt."
"How was I supposed to know, Temari? He was just running around, the Anbu didn't even come to his rescue!" says Kankuro.
Kira glances around, startled. Where were the Anbu? Didn't the Hokage have any sort of guard on his grandson? The kid was only an Academy student, how was he supposed to defend himself if an enemy attacked him because of his relation to the Hokage?
Kira glances to the tree on her right when she senses a new chakra signature. The two sand shinobi notice her attention has wandered and look in the same direction, paling when they see who's there. "G-Gaara," stutters Kankuro, obviously afraid.
"Have you forgotten why we came to Konoha?" asks Gaara, coldly.
"They started it," mutters Kankuro.
"Shut up," snapped Gaara.
"Sorry," says Kankuro before falling silent.
Kira watches this silently, confused by their team dynamic. Until she focuses on Gaara's chakra, that is. The kid was a Jinchuriki, like Naruto, and Gaara's teammates were obviously well aware of this fact. She could feel the terror coming from them and it made her uncomfortable.
Gaara dissolves into sand and reappears on the ground next to his teammates. "We don't have time to be fooling around. Let's go," says Gaara.
The three of them start to walk away but Sakura stops them. "Wait. Why are foreign shinobi here in Konoha?" she asks.
Temari turns condescending eyes on the pink haired genin. "You really don't know? We're here for the Chunin Exams."
Sakura blinks in surprise. "I wonder why no one mentioned that to us?" she wonders out loud, looking at Kira, who just shrugs in reply.
Before the sand shinobi can start to leave again, Sasuke steps up. "What's your name?" he asks.
The red haired genin stares at him coldly. "Gaara of the Desert. And you?"
"Sasuke Uchiha."
The two of them have a brief staring contest, clearly challenging each other. Sasuke is completely caught off guard when Kira comes up to him and grabs the front of his shirt. "Are you completely insane?" she furiously whispers at him.
"What?" he asks, confused.
"I know your sensing ability has gotten better since that mission to Wave. Are you just not paying attention? That kid is a Jinchuriki," says Kira. Sasuke's eyes flicker to Naruto. "Exactly. But Gaara is a lot more murderous. You're not fighting him. If you even try to, I'll drag you to the hospital so they can have you examined for brain damage."
"I get it. Let go already," says Sasuke, prying her hand off his shirt. She steps back from him, then glares at the surprised Sand Shinobi. It looks like they may have heard part of what she was saying, but she doesn't care. Gaara doesn't say anything more to them, instead walking away with his two teammates following behind.
"Hmph. If I had known a Jinchuriki was going to be in the Exam, I wouldn't have given Kakashi permission to enter your team," says Kira, scowling.
"Eh?" asks Naruto. "We're going to take the Chunin Exam?"
"If the Hokage allows it, which he likely will; and only if all of you agree to take it. You need three genin to take the exam, but I don't want you pressuring each other to enter it. If one of you doesn't feel ready, then you shouldn't be forced to take the exam. The tests aren't easy, and you're very likely to get injured," says Kira.
Then she turns her head to where she can sense three foreign shinobi standing on a tree branch. "And stop staring at us, damn it!" she yells at them, causing them to nearly fall out of the tree from the shock.
She growls at them, her eyes flashing light blue, the color of Ravka's chakra, causing them to quickly leave. Her eyes gradually return to their dark blue color as she calms down. She hadn't appreciated their interest in Sasuke; it was very suspicious.
On the day of the Chunin Exam, Kira escorts her brothers to the school, feeling incredibly agitated by all the foreign chakra in the village. It didn't help that a lot of the Genin inside the school building felt hostile. Why had she agreed to this again? Although Naruto's excitement almost made her think it was worth it.
She said goodbye to them at the door and then went to find a tree to sit in. She wasn't leaving until they were done with the test. She knew the first one was just a written test, and she shouldn't have anything to worry about, but she didn't trust those foreigners not to attack her family. Those sound genin had shown too much interest in Sasuke.
Her hand clenches into a fist as she once again sensed that chakra. She didn't know whose chakra she was sensing, but it was strong. And if animal labels could be applied to chakra, she would say that it was snake-like. It was making her uneasy. To distract herself, she got out a book and began to read.
Five minutes later, she was fully absorbed into the book, Chunin Exams forgotten. She had gotten this book from the Void Village's library, and it described different ways to increase your strength using chakra, techniques similar to what Tsunade of the Sanin was known for.
'I think I've discovered what kind of fighter I want to be,' thinks Kira, amazed by what she was reading. Water ninjutsu, seals, and super strength. That's what she wanted. And healing too, she supposed, if she could manage it. She had been studying healing scrolls for the past two years, and had just managed to move onto the intermediate scrolls. Healing was challenging, but it would be worth it if she could save her comrades.
She glanced up, briefly, when she sensed quite a bit of confusion from the genin in the building. Guess the written test must be difficult this year.
When the three genin entered the school building, Sakura noticed the genjutsu on the second floor; so the three of them walked around the quarreling genins and ascended to the third floor. Before they could reach the room where the test was taking place, they were stopped by a genin in green spandex.
After proclaiming his devotion to Sakura and getting politely rejected, Lee challenged Sasuke to a spar. "Why?" asks Sasuke.
Lee stared at him confusion for a moment, clearly not expecting that answer. "I want to see which is stronger, those who are called geniuses or those who are hard workers," said Lee.
"And you think because everyone says I have natural talent means that I don't also work hard?" asks Sasuke. "I train everyday with my team and my family. And even if I wanted to spar with you, I'm literally about to take the Chunin Exams. Do I look like I have time for this?"
"You don't have to be rude about it," says Lee.
"Not trying to be; I just think you have bad timing. You know, I've heard one of the tests in the Chunin Exam involves fighting against each other. We might get a chance to fight then," says Sasuke.
Lee grins, "I'm looking forward to it!"
Lee's teammates finally catch up to him, so the six of them enter the room together. Lee's team separated from them, and Naruto's team went over to where the rest of their graduation class was hanging out. To Sasuke's annoyance, Ino comes over to them and clings to him whilst starting a verbal fight with Sakura.
Sasuke watches as Naruto chatters happily with previous classmates. He wasn't as close to the others as Naruto was, preferring to spend his time with the blond or Kira and Serena.
"You guys should quiet down. You're drawing a lot of negative attention from the other genin."
"Who are you?" Naruto asks the silver haired genin that's just come up to their group.
"I'm Kabuto Yakushi. It's nice to meet you."
The longer Kabuto talks and shows off his chakra cards, the more hostile Sasuke feels. He doesn't know what about the other genin is making him angry, but he can't help but feel that the silver haired genin is an enemy. His instincts are screaming that this guy can't be trusted. If he were more outgoing like Kira, then he'd probably imitate the growl she made at those sound ninja that were spying on them earlier. Instead he just scowls at the other man, waiting for him to go away. He knows that Naruto has picked up on his mood, and is also eyeing Kabuto with suspicion.
He wishes he had enough control of his sensing abilities to figure out what's causing him to distrust Kabuto so much; but he has yet to learn how to pick out individual emotions from someone. So far, people's emotions just blend together, giving him a general impression of whether they mean him harm or not.
Surprisingly, the other genin seems to pick up on his mood. First, Sakura notices the suspicious looks Naruto and him are giving Kabuto, then Ino followed by her teammates. He thinks Hinata notices Naruto's attitude towards Kabuto, giving the silver haired genin a frown. Shino and Kiba notice their normally shy teammate frowning at Kabuto and give the other man hostile looks.
When all nine genin are giving the man unfriendly stares, Kabuto stammers out a good-bye and wanders off. No doubt, the man is confused by their behavior, but Sasuke is just relieved that he's gone. "What was that about?" asks Kiba in a whisper.
Sasuke looks at him. "Are you aware that the Hakuo clan has a Kekkei Genkai that allows them to sense emotions?" At the other genin's nod, he continues, "I have Hakuo blood in me. I'm still learning how to sense individual emotions, but I got a general impression that Kabuto couldn't be trusted."
"It is troubling that we can't trust a fellow Konoha nin," says Shino.
"Kabuto is a competitor for the Chunin exams. Could the distrust have come from that?" asks Shikamaru.
Sasuke thinks about it for a moment before shaking his head. "It felt stronger than that; like he was an enemy not just competition for a test."
Sasuke glances at the door as Kiro Yamada and Hiroki Saito from Kira's team and Natsuo Nakano from Serena's team entered the room. Naruto noticed them as well and waves them over. Seeing Sakura's curious expression, he explained, "Those three are from our cousins' genin teams. They didn't make Chunin when Kira and Serena did, so now they're taking the test together."
Surprisingly, the next team to enter was Kenta's. He would have expected his cousin to inform him if he was going to be taking the Chunin exams with them. Perhaps he had wanted it to be a surprise? On Kenta's team was Sofia Koizumi and Hiraku Inuzuka with his dog, Luna.
"Hiraku didn't tell me he was taking the exam too," said Kiba. After seeing his teammate's curious looks, he says, "Hiraku is my cousin, the son of my mother's brother. He's two years older than I am."
Akamaru and Luna sniff each other in greeting while Kiba and Hiraku chat before the test starts. A few minutes later, a man appears in the front of the room, and tells everyone to quiet down. Everyone is given a piece of paper with a number on it, which tells them where they're supposed to sit. He ends up seated away from Naruto and Sakura, which means they won't be able to help each other during this test.
Sasuke stares at the questions on the test for a while, wondering how anyone can expect a genin to know the answers to these questions. And, then, he realizes that maybe they're not. Kira had mentioned that one version of this exam was meant to test your spying skills. But knowing the purpose of the test doesn't actually help him accomplish it. If he had the Sharingan, maybe he could copy someone else's answers, but he doesn't so he can't.
Well, he may not be able to answer every question, but one of them is about math, which he's fairly good at. There are some types of seals that require math, so Aunt Yumiko had taught both Naruto and him quite a bit of the subject. Hopefully answering just one of the questions would be enough to let them pass.
Sasuke is initially worried when Ibiki says that failing the tenth question will force you to stay a genin, but one look at Kenta's unconcerned face has him calming down. When Kenta notices his look, his cousin smiles at him briefly before looking back at the instructor. Well, then, if Kenta is so calm, it might mean that Ibiki is lying about having the authority to permanently make them genin. Naruto, too, has noticed their cousin's laid-back attitude and gives the instructor an unimpressed look. He can see that Sakura is confused by their calm demeanor, but it causes her to keep her hand down, which is good.
About a third of the people in the room have left, some of which Sasuke knew were actually Chunins pretending to be genin. When it became clear that no one else was leaving, Ibiki announced that they all passed, which was sort of anticlimactic, in Sasuke's opinion. Apparently all they needed to do to pass the first test was sit in their chair. He guessed that whoever designed this test cared more about bravery than intelligence or spying ability.
His eyes flicker to the window an instant before a woman in a tan trench coat burst through it. She introduced herself as the proctor for the second exam and commanded them to meet her at Training Ground 44, otherwise known as the Forest of Death.
"Alright, brats, listen up," says Anko once everyone is assembled before her. "Each team will be given either a Heaven or Earth scroll. If you get a Heaven scroll, then you have to steal an Earth scroll from one of the other teams and vice versa. You have five days to do so, and you can't leave the forest during the test. After you've gotten both scrolls, head to the tower in the middle of the forest. And don't open the scrolls before then. You don't want to know what will happen to you if you do."
Anko points to the tent off to the side. "After everyone has signed a waiver, saying that we're not responsible if you die, then your team will be given one of the scrolls."
The woman calls the teams up, one by one, to go into the tent. After everyone has gotten their scrolls, they spread out, each team going to a different gate. Kenta's team pauses by their gate.
"I've discussed it with my team, and we were thinking we could help each other out during this test, seeing as how the proctor didn't say there were any rules against it," says Kenta.
Sasuke glances at Kenta's teammates, surprised, but none of them look upset by the idea. After glancing as his own teammates to make sure none of them have objections to the plan, he says, "Alright. We'll meet up in the forest then?"
"Yep. My team will find yours. We can discuss our plan and what scrolls we need to find then," replies Kenta. "Later." With a wave, Kenta leads his team to their own gate.
Right before everyone enters the forest, Anko cheerfully calls out, "Try not to die!"
'That woman is crazy,' thinks Sasuke.
Kenta and his team find them a few hours after they enter the forest. "Alright, first things first, we need to know which scrolls we're going after. My team has an Earth scroll. Yours?" asks Kenta.
"We've got a Heaven scroll," replies Naruto. "So we need one of each."
"Now we just need to figure out which team to go after," says Sasuke.
"We should leave Hinata and Ino's team alone. There's no reason for Leaf shinobi to fight against each other if we don't have to," says Sakura.
"And I don't particularly want to fight against my cousin," says Hiraku. "I live right next to him; and I'm sure his whining would be annoying if I took away his chances of becoming Chunin."
"Should we leave Serena and Kira's teammates alone as well?" asks Naruto.
"That would probably be a good idea. Even if you ignore the fact that Kira and Serena are now friends with their teammates, I think they might be stronger than us. Naruto and I have seen their two teams training with each other," replies Sasuke.
"What about that Sound team that was spying on us earlier this week?" asks Sakura.
"You were being spied on?" demands Kenta. "No one told me about this."
"Just like you didn't tell us you were taking the Exams this year?" asks Sasuke, drly.
"….Touché," says Kenta. "Still, if this team has an unhealthy interest in you, we should take them out before they strike at us."
"And after that?" asks Sofia. "Are there any other teams we should avoid?"
"The sand shinobi, the red-haired one, Gaara, is a Jinchuriki. And a bloodthirsty one at that," replies Sasuke.
Kenta points off into the distance, "The sound shinobi are that way. If we head out now, we should catch up with them in a couple hours."
Sasuke doesn't need sensing abilities to tell that the sound nin are surprised to see them; and the look of shock on their faces is actually kind of funny. However, the fight itself does not go as smoothly as he would have liked. The sound team have some sort of ability to control sound waves, disorienting them all. Hiraku and Luna, with their enhanced hearing, are the ones most affected by this ability. He finds himself feeling concerned when he sees the blood coming out of Hiraku's ears.
However, now that they know what the sound team's abilities are, it is easier for them to counter the sound nin's attacks. Sakura stays by the injured Hiraku to keep the sound nin from getting to him. Kenta goes after the man with the bandages covering his face, Naruto and he attack the other man, and Sofia takes down the female.
"They were definitely Chunin level," says Kenta, frowning at the unconscious sound nin. "Still not sure why they were spying on you, though."
"It might just be because he's an Uchiha. You know a lot of villages are interested in stealing Kekkei Genkai," replies Sofia. "They might have been trying to see if he has the Sharingan."
Sasuke frowns, unhappy. "Well, they're out of luck. I haven't figured out how to activate it yet."
"Ugh, my ears," mutters Hiraku, getting up from the ground. He glances down at Luna, concerned. "You alright?" Luna barks in reply, causing his worried expression to turn to relief.
The Inuzuka rubs at his ears, grimacing at the sight of blood on his fingers. He can still hear, but it's a bit muffled. He looks up to see Kenta and Sofia's worried faces. "I'll be fine, guys. Don't worry so much," says Hiraku.
"Still, we should try to get the second scroll as soon as possible and head for the tower. I want a healer to look at your ears," says Kenta. He holds up the scroll they acquired from the sound team. "We've got an Earth scroll for Team 7, now we need a Heaven scroll for ourselves." He tosses the scroll to Naruto, who seals it away into a storage scroll.
After that, Kenta tracks down a team from Amegakure. Luckily, this team has a Heaven scroll, which they acquire after knocking the Amegakure team out. "Now we can head to the tower, right?" asks Sofia to Kenta, but he can't concentrate on her words when such a large chakra signature is coming their way.
"Someone's coming," says Kenta, eyes wide. "He feels like a Kage. Who on earth is he?"
"What?" asks Sakura. "How could someone that strong sneak into the Chunin exams?"
Before her question can be answered, not that anyone has an answer anyway, a strong guest of wind blows through the area, pushing them off their feet. It seems like the wind tries to blow Kenta's team away from Sasuke's, but everyone grabs onto a tree and sticks there with chakra. There's no way Kenta is allowing his cousins and their teammate to fight such a strong opponent without back up!
Once the wind dies down, the six of them look up to see a man standing above them, on one of the tree branches. Kenta frowns at the stranger, wondering why his appearance looks so feminine when he knows the other is a guy by the feel of his chakra. He glances at the enemy's headband and sees the symbol of Grass.
"Hmm. It seems like you already have the scrolls you need," says the stranger, "But we can still have fun." The genin's eyes widen in fear as two very large snakes slither out of the forest and head straight towards them.
"Hiraku, you're faster than Sakura; make sure she doesn't get eaten," orders Kenta.
Sakura frowns at that, hating the idea of needing to be protected; but she knows her speed and strength still need work. She's honestly not sure why Kakashi-sensei thought she was ready to take the Chunin exam yet.
Naruto creates several dozen shadow clones, who then leap at the snakes. A few of them get eaten, then poof out of existence. Seeing this, Sasuke gets the idea to hand an explosive tag to one of the clones. Naruto's clone gets the idea, and jumps at the snake, allowing it to eat him and setting off the tag. The force of the explosion kills the snake, sending snake organs flying every which way.
"Gross," laughs Naruto, "but effective."
The other snake is defeated when Kenta throws several dozen kunai into its open mouth, making it bleed to death from the inside. Kenta glares at the stranger when he starts to laugh. Before he can say anything, though, the Grass nin rushes at him. Kenta tries to bring an arm up to block, but the enemy is too fast. The force of the blow to his stomach expels all the air from his lungs. Gasping, he tries to jump back, but the enemy grabs him, then flings into a tree.
"Kenta!" calls out Sofia, horrified. She stares at her teammate for a moment, hoping he'll get up, but the force of the tree hitting his head has knocked him unconscious. Furious, she sends several shuriken at the Grass nin, who dodges them all effortlessly. She strikes out at the enemy with taijutsu, but less than a minute later, she is also being flung at a nearby tree. She feels a sharp pain in her chest, accompanied by a crack noise that lets her know her ribs have broken.
She looks up from the ground when she hears a growl and sees the blond genin charging at the Grass nin, followed soon after by Sasuke. She catches a glimpse of Naruto's eyes and are surprised to see that they are red. It doesn't look like the Sharingan, and the pain is distracting her. If she survives this fight, she'll try to figure out what's going on with the blonde genin. Her vision darkens, her head throbbing from being hit against a tree, and she loses consciousness.
Kira paces outside the fence of Training Ground 44, agitation rising every minute. She could feel that her brothers were fighting against someone way stronger than a Chunin and that her cousin had already been knocked unconscious. To her left, Anko was eating dango and watching her pace, amused.
"You look ridiculous," says Anko.
Kira scowls at her. "What's ridiculous is that there's a Kage level shinobi taking the Chunin Exam!" she half-shouts.
Anko's eyes widen, muscles going tense. "What?" she asks, incredulously.
"You can't sense it?" asks Kira, confused. "It's a really weird, powerful chakra. Kind of snake-like too."
Before Anko can response, a Jounin appears next to them. "Anko-san. We've found the bodies of one of the teams supposed to be taking the Chunin Exam. There's something weird about the bodies. Please come with me."
With a sinking feeling, Anko follows him to the corpses of a Grass team. Absently, she notices Kira following her and wonders if she should tell the red-haired genin to go back. She's not sure how gruesome the bodies will be, or how much bloodshed the girl has seen. She glances at the girl and gets a stubborn look in response. Alright then; if the girl thinks she can handle it, then Anko isn't going to waste time arguing with her.
'Their faces look like they were melted off,' thinks Anko with a hand on the curse seal on her neck. She thinks back to the Grass nin she had met earlier that day and how the genin's tongue could extend, unnaturally long. 'Why is he back in the village?'
"Tell the Hokage about this and send two team of Anbu into the forest," orders Anko. The three take off to follow her orders, and Anko rushes into the forest. She notices the girl following her and sighs. The girls speaks up before she can.
"There's an intruder in the forest, right? It isn't cheating if I protect my family from someone who isn't legally allowed in here," says Kira.
Anko, pauses, thinking about the rules of the exam. "Yeah, I suppose that would work as a loop-hole, but that wasn't my main objection. The man who killed those genin is way too strong for you to handle."
Kira scoffs in reply. "He's stronger than you, as well, but that isn't stopping you. Whoever the man is, I'm not just going to sit by while he attacks my family!"
"Tch. Stubborn kid."
When they reach the intruder, who Kira is pretty sure by now is Orochimaru of the Sanin, the sight she sees has her teeth grinding together. Everyone, except Sasuke, has been knocked out; and Kira senses something interfering with the Kyuubi's seal. Orochimaru has Sasuke pinned down and is biting into her brother's neck, channeling his foul chakra into her brother.
For a moment, all she can hear is the ringing in her ears as molten hot rage pours through ever vein in her body. Before she has time to ask, Ravka is already giving her chakra. The soothing feeling of Ravka's cool, calm chakra filling every cell in her body reduces her anger to something manageable.
Anko watches, stunned, as the girl begins to glow blue. The girl's chakra has suddenly started to feel demonic, but also nothing like the Kyuubi's. 'I guess those rumors about the Void were true, after all,' thinks Anko.
The tree branch under Kira's feet cracks as she rushes at Orochimaru, Ravka's chakra giving her increased speed and strength. Out of the corner of her eye, she can see Sasuke looking at her, his eyes the color of blood. Her lips press together tightly. Now that her brother has activated the Sharingan, she knows that Orochimaru will try to take him from her.
Her fist lashes out, attempting to break the stupid snake sannin's nose, but her fist is regrettably blocked. She pushes against the hand holding her wrist, Orochimaru's eyes widening as she begins to push him back. He digs his feet into the feet, refusing to be moved by a genin. When Anko's snakes wrap around him, he dissolves into a mud clone. From off to the side, he chuckles at the sound of Kira's annoyed hiss.
A gentle wind blows through the area, bringing with it a strange pink dust that only comes near him. Suspicious, he tries to avoid it, but the wind brings it straight to his mouth, forcing him to inhale it. The world around him blurs in and out of focus; the colors of everything around him seem to blend together until all he can see are blobs of browns and greens. 'Is this poison or a genjutsu?' he wonders.
Spiking his chakra doesn't dispel the illusion, but he doesn't feel sick or tired as he would from a poison. 'What did that pink dust do to me?'
Seeing that her jutsu has worked, Serena jumps down from the trees and heads straight towards the injured genin. Kira and Anko can deal with Orochimaru now that he's disoriented, which leaves her free to focus on healing the genin. Using the chakra boost from Serata, she creates six shadow clones, sending one to each genin.
On Naruto, she discovers that Orochimaru has placed a seal to block the Kyuubi's chakra. It only takes her a moment to remove it. He only has minor injuries, scratches and bruises, which she quickly heals. Sofia and Kenta both have concussions, which take longer to heal, but are still within her abilities. She's puzzled by the damage to Hiraku's ears; she has just enough to medical knowledge to begin repairing his ear drums. When he wakes up, she'll recommend he visit a more experienced healer just in case.
Sakura has a broken arm and a concussion, as well as bruises and a sprained ankle. And although Sasuke is awake, she thinks he received the most damage. He may not be as beat up as them, but she would consider the foul, corruptive chakra spreading throughout his veins to be infinitely worse than a broken bone. After healing what injures he does have, Serena examines the seal on his neck. Right away, she can tell that it's going to take a while to remove such a complicated seal, but that's not going to deter her. She's sure that her and Kira can figure it out eventually.
Speaking of her sister, Serena glances over to see how the fight with Orochimaru is doing. It's quite interesting, actually. Orochimaru may not be able to see very well, right now, but he can still sense Kira and Anko's chakra. They have managed to get a few hits in, though; nothing major, just a few cuts and bruises. Though judging by Orochimaru's emotions, he's not fully paying attention to the fight; most likely, he's trying to figure out how to dispel her genjutsu.
Too bad for him, he's going to have to wait until all the dust in his system is gone before her illusion will disappear. She can sense his irritation and frustration increasing, and is thus unsurprised when he creates several clones to distract Kira and Anko while he escapes.
By the time the clones are dispatched, Orochimaru has already fled Training Ground 44. Serena ignores her sister's cursing to concentrate on the seal on Sasuke's neck. Sometime during the fight with Orochimaru, the seal knocked Sasuke unconscious, which she finds to be somewhat alarming. What exactly is this seal doing to her brother?
Her clones dispel as the genins begin to wake up. "They'll need to get to the tower themselves, if they don't want to be disqualified," says Anko to her and Kira. "I only allowed this much because it's the proctor's fault for not realizing we had an intruder."
"We'll get to the tower, no problem," says Naruto, coming up to them. His eyes dart to Sasuke, looking concerned. "But what did that guy do to Sasuke?"
"It's a curse seal," says Anko. "When you get to the tower, we'll deal with it then."
"I don't suppose by 'deal with it' you mean remove it?" asks Kira.
Anko sighs. "Unfortunately not. If we knew how to remove Orochimaru's seals, I would have had mine taken off years ago. But there's a seal we can place over it, to suppress it. The seal will depend on Sasuke's will, however. If he wants to use the corrupted power, then the seal can't do anything about it."
Kira places her hand against Sasuke's seal and looks into his eyes. "I hope you're aware of how dangerous it could be to use this thing. Orochimaru wouldn't give you power for free; and we have no idea how much this seal could influence your mind if you let it."
Sasuke nods his head, looking determined. "I'll be careful, I promise."
"Good," says Kira with a relieved smile.
Kira, Serena, and Anko leave the forest after making sure that the genins are all awake and uninjured enough to travel. "And don't mention to anyone else that you helped them out. I'll give a full report to the Hokage, but I don't want anyone else calling favoritism," says Anko.
They separate outside the Forest of Death; Anko heads to the Hokage Tower to give her report while Kira and Serena head to the Hakuo clan compound. They need to get in contact with their relatives from the Void; everyone needs to know that Orochimaru has declared war against their clan by attacking their brothers, Sasuke and Naruto.
Author's note:
Here's some information about Kira and Serena:
Kira and Serena's grandmother, on their father's side, was a Yokai, making the twins a quarter Yokai. The Yokai instincts show up more strongly in Kira than Serena, which is where she gets her bloodthirsty nature from. Although Kira doesn't know it, being a quarter Yokai will save her life someday.
Serena is better at genjutsu and medical ninjutsu than her sister, though Kira won't let that stop her from learning how to heal people; it's just going to take her longer. Serena is more charismatic and charming than her sister. Serena has taught her sister how to apologize to people while making it seem like her actions were only logical. This has allowed Kira to get away with things that she normally wouldn't, like hitting her teammate for his sexist remarks.
Kira and Serena are both good at seals, but Kira has slightly more natural talent. It is easier for Kira to come up with complex seal designs on the fly, while Serena needs time to plan it out. Both of them are just as fast at deciphering the purpose of a seal that they've just seen.
Serena's favorite colors are green, pink, and purple; and her favorite season is spring. Unlike her sister, Serena isn't actually that fond of the idea of having children. She's willing to have one to satisfy the deal with Serata, but Serena doesn't intend to be a house-wife.
Kira loves the colors red and blue. If winter wasn't so cold, it would be her favorite season because she likes the look of snow. Instead, autumn is her favorite; it's not too cold, and she likes seeing the leaves turn red. Unlike Serena, Kira likes the idea of having children. She likes the idea of creating a new person who is half her and half of whoever she falls in love with (genetically that is, she doesn't expect her children to be exactly like her).