The only reason I have for taking this long is mostly because I haven't been in the writing mood. Between school and work I've just been run down and tired but I am happy to see that new people have been following and favoriting this story. Which helps spark my interest in it once more. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter and if there are any mistakes please let me know either in a review or PM.

P.S I was able to get two chapters out at the same time. Hopefully I will be able to pick up more in the coming weeks since we are on the Chunin Exams. One of my favorite arcs in the whole series.

'The Earth Style: Pack Ambush Jutsu is a Jutsu that was created for capturing missing ninja or it could be used as a way of throwing pursuers off your track. When you use this Jutsu you must be careful because in order for it to be activated you must pick a certain location that you know your intended target will go through. When they set foot on the seal immediately earth wolves are summoned and they will either simply hold the target in place until you get away or capture them. Or you can command them to kill instead. The Jutsu doesn't cost too much chakra so this is a great Jutsu to have in your arsenal. Now I will take you through the hand signs needed to start.'

I silently nodded my head and waited for him to start, the wind caressing my face with its cool hand. This was the second day Naoki woke me up at dawn to get me started on learning this jutsu, leaving only one day left until the chunin exam began. Yesterday he had me work on my physical training before attempting the jutsu; explaining that earth jutsus required a little more physical strength than a normal jutsu did. Also, he wanted to get a feel for my taijutsu style. Which was helpful since he gave me some really good pointers on my stance and gave tricks on different attack strategies.

'Ready sleepy head.'

'As ready as I'll ever be I guess.' I thought as I stood in the middle of the training grounds.

'First is Tora. The hand sign for tiger.'

'Nezumi. The hand sign for rat.'

'Ushi. The hand sign for ox.'

'Hebi. The hand sign for snake.'

'Inu. The last hand sign which means dog.'

'Then you slam your hands on the ground and call out the name. Did you get everything?'

'Yeah I remember it. Can I give it a shot?'

'Yes that part is next. But first make a clone of yourself, we're going to use it to set off the jutsu."

'Okay.' After creating a clone of myself I walked farther into the forest to find a more reserved place to practice, away from any prying eyes. After finding a nice clearing I told my clone to wait, off to the side, so I could put the jutsu in place.

"Here goes nothing. Tora. Nezumi. Ushi. Hebi. Inu. Earth Style: Pack Ambush Jutsu!" I yelled as I slammed my hands down on the ground. For a few seconds nothing happened until a small, barely visible, kanji sign appeared on the ground. The symbol was for the word released.

'It's set. Make the clone activate it and make sure to keep your distance.' Naoki warned.

'Got it.' Deciding that watching from the trees would probably be the safer option I chose a limb high enough away from the ground but still close enough to watch everything that was about to unfold. I gave my clone the signal to go ahead and watched as she calmly walked towards the trap. As soon as she stepped on the symbol I could feel the earth shake. I could hear the snapping of jaws that reminded me of thunderclaps, their snarls the roll of thunder. They eagerly latched on to their prey and dragged it down without the slightest effort. Their bodies were made purely of the dirt and stones, perfectly molded together to create one of nature's perfect hunters. All together there was three of them and they were larger than any average wolf that I have ever seen before. Their eyes glowed a golden yellow as they waited patiently for their next command. I jumped down from my spot and walked towards them; my body tenses as I see their ears twitch towards my direction but I keep walking. My clone was laid flat on her stomach as one wolf held the back of her neck in it's jaws, the other was on her lower back using its claws to put pressure on her spine, and the last standing over both of her legs holding the back of her left thigh in its mouth.

"Let go." Immediately all of the wolves backed away and moved to stand around me as my clone shakily got up from the ground. The wolves' shoulders were tall enough to reach my hips as one stood next to me, brushing dirt against my pants.

"That was scary." She said as she brushed the dust off of her clothes.

"It looked scary." I answered back.

'You did pretty good on your first try but next time your opponent won't simply walk into it. You're going to have to place the seal in a place where you know your opponent has no place but there to go. That's what we're gonna practice next. Your clone is going to chase you around like an enemy ninja and you need to catch her with the jutsu. Got it?'

'I'm ready.'

I instructed my clone of what the plan was going to be and also told her to throw weapons at me to make it feel even more real. This went on for the rest of the morning and into the early afternoon. It was more difficult than I imagined trying to predict exactly where to place the seal so my clone would activate it. In the first hour I was only able to capture her a few times, and I was quickly getting irritated, then I thought to use the terrain to my advantage. I lead her away from the forest and more towards the mountainous area of the village. With the rocks to cover my hand signs and the limited space we had to run on I was able to catch my clone a lot more than I did before. Like an enemy would act though she threw different weapons towards me and tried to divert my path out of the mountains and back towards the forest. A few of the weapons nicked me in my arms and my legs but with the rush of adrenaline I was able to ignore the sting. I kept up along the mountains before I quickly ran back into the forest towards the training grounds, my clone right on my tail. I ran through the trees like a fish swimming gracefully around rocks in a river, leading my clone right into an ambush. Just before I made it to the training ground I jumped and grabbed onto one of the lower branches and hoisted myself up. My clone, who was running too fast to stop, stumbled into the clearing her foot setting off the seal. I panted heavily as I watched the wolves pounce on her and held her down. Settling down near the base of the branch I released both my clone and the jutsu, my chakra worn out.

'Not bad at all princess, you've improved drastically over just one day. You may not have mastered it but you did more than I expected. How about you go and get something to eat? Replenish your strength because starting tomorrow you're going to need every ounce of it.'

I sat up straighter when I heard his advice, slightly confused.

'Are you sure that was enough? Shouldn't I practice a little more with the jutsu? There's going to be a lot of ninja at the test who have different skills and abilities I probably haven't seen before so I should be preparing everything I know to face them, right?' I asked.

'You give yourself too little credit Akina. How is it that you weren't afraid to face Zabuza, the Silent Killer one of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist, and yet at the thought of the exam you're tucking your tail in-between your legs?' He asked sarcastically but I could hear the disbelief as well.

'The Land of Waves mission was different; we only had two opponents to worry about and we had Kakashi, an experienced jounin with us all of the time. I'm just worried about making sure we're all going to make it. The stakes are higher this time Naoki, I just don't want anyone to die.' I admitted, slouching completely against the tree trunk. He was silent for a few moments and after awhile I thought he had left me completely.

'You have nothing to worry about little wolf. You are stronger and smarter than you realize for and your team have some of the most determined kids I have seen in a long time. If you just stick together and watch each other's back you'll do great things trust me Akina.' I released a sigh in relief. I can't believe I had let myself doubt the others' abilities and my own.

'It happens to all of us Akina, it's okay to be a little scared sometimes. Being scared for them shows how much you value them and your team as a whole. A good trait for a leader to have.'

'I'm not a leader yet, there's still so much I have to learn.' I heard him gruff in annoyance but when he spoke his tone was gentle.

'Go and eat Akina, you're putting too much pressure on yourself. This isn't the Mist Village, you don't have to be alone anymore. Here you have real friends and a team, a family. Here you have a pack. Let them be there for you.' I felt his presence leave me alone to think about what he told me.

To say I was stunned was an understatement because everything Naoki said was true. I wasn't alone anymore. After my family was murdered and I was discovered as the only survivor the Tsuchikage believed that secretly moving me out of the country would protect me from my family's murderer; if he was still in the Earth country. I was setup in an apartment in the Mist Viilage, far away from the earth country where most of the villagers didn't know much about my family, near the center of the village. Close enough to the Mizukage's office that if something were to happen I would be close enough to be saved and they could secretly keep a close eye on me. Of course I wasn't living on my own since when I moved I was only five, I was being looked after by caretakers the Mizukage had hand picked himself. But they always reminded me of dolls because all of their smiles and 'affection' seemed to be painted on as if they didn't have the ability to express natural emotion. The other kids were worse though. Much like Naruto's past we were the constant source of name-calling, harassment, getting knocked around, or just being ignored. I learned then to close off any emotions, to not let myself get attached to anyone there. As I became older the bullying and teasing had died down to almost nothing, they stayed away from me and I stayed away from them. I remember how I used to dream about going somewhere else, to a place where people weren't fake with their emotions, the sun actually showed itself more than once every few weeks. A place where I didn't have to be closed off from people.

I wanted a home.

'I can have one now.' I thought to myself.

"Well well what do we have here? A little girl all by herself in the woods. That's not very safe you know." A slimy voice said.

My eyes flew open, I hadn't even noticed that they had closed, and looked down to see an old guy in a gray and blue outfit covered by a black trench coat, his face was covered by a mask similar to Kakashi's,he wore a straw hat that had the metal plate from the Village Hidden in the Rain on it.

'Who the hell is this guy? I've never seen him before.' I thought as I calmly remained on the branch but was ready to move at a moments notice.

"What do you want?" I asked with no emotion.

"I'm here to challenge you to a fight. I want to see what Konoha's kunoichis have to offer before I enter the chunin exam." He explained as he pulled out a couple of kunai and threw them at me. I saw them coming so I quickly leaned back and, dodging the kunai, used my hands to grab onto the branch to propel myself towards the unknown ninja. While in the air I pulled a couple of kunai out and aimed them at him. He dodged them and jumped back to put some space in between us as I landed on the ground.

"Impressive you were able to dodge that but lets see you dodge this!" He yelled as he pulled what looked to be an umbrella from off his back and threw it towards me. But I knew that that wasn't a regular umbrella it was actually filled with kunai. I quickly ran back into the forest and hid behind a tree, barely missing the kunai that flew by me and embedded in some of the trees.

"Show yourself little girl! We're not finished yet!" He screamed and I felt his chakra signature come closer.

'Alright then. Let me show you exactly what this little girl can do.' I thought as I lead the guy on a chase through the forest and back to the mountain range from earlier. I weaved through the rocks just like I did with my clone and prepared the jutsu, praying that he falls for it.

'Here goes nothing.' I thought as I laid the seal on the ground. I ran forward a few feet and turned around and waited for him to come, settling into an offensive stance. He came a moment later and stopped a few feet from the seal.

"So you've decided to stop running and face me head-on now? I'll teach you a lesson that running from an opponent won't do you much good in the chunin exam!" He yelled out.

"How about you stop talking so I can show you why you shouldn't mess with Konoha kunoichi." I taunted and I held my stance. It seemed to get him worked up as he ran towards me with a battle cry. Not even a few seconds later the ground rumbled as the seal was activated, causing the enemy to pause as the savage snarls filled the air.

"What's going on? Ahhhh!" He screamed as the wolves appeared out of the ground and grabbed each one of his limbs, one of them stood on his back and held his neck within its powerful jaws. I walked over to him and kneeled in front of his face.

"Now you have seen the strength of Konoha's kunoichi. When you poof away you go ahead and tell the original ninja all about us and to never mess with us again. Is that understood?"

"Hmph so you noticed I was a clone huh. Alright you may have won this time little girl but let me warn you that the chunin exam will be a lot harder than anything you have ever faced. So I suggest you get ready for tomorrow." Suddenly smoke surrounded the clone, leaving nothing behind. I released the jutsu and stood up looking at the sky. The early afternoon sun standing high in the sky, with only a few clouds slowly drifting by.

'I'm ready Naoki.' I said with renewed confidence.

'Glad you finally realized that princess.'

LATER THAT NIGHT

(No One's POV)

The night was silent as the village slept peacefully in their beds, the young genins in particular making sure to get as much rest as they can. Not knowing what tomorrow would bring. Kakashi reveled in the peace as he sat on the roof to his apartment building, appearing to be enjoying the full moon, and wasn't the least bit surprised, or alarmed, when another ninja appeared behind him. It was the same Rain ninja who had attacked Akina but Kakashi knew that he was not here to fight.

"So how did everything go?" Kakashi asked nonchalantly.

"They all made it, your squad and the others. All ten genin proved themselves ready for the chunin exam." A distinct poof was heard as smoke shrouded the Rain ninja, only to reveal Iruka standing there instead.

"You were right Kakashi, they're good. They've all developed very impressive skills since they've left the academy." Iruka commented with disbelief and awe.

"That may be but the chunin exam has the power to break even the strongest of ninja. We'll just have to hope that they can tough it out."

THE NEXT MORNING

FRONT OF THE ACADEMY

(Akina's POV)

I tried to stifle a slight yawn as Naruto, Sasuke and I waited for Sakura to arrive. We still had plenty of time to register but I was slightly worried that she wasn't here yet since usually she's the first one at any meeting spot.

"Jeez I wonder what's taking Sakura so long? She knows what today is doesn't she?" Naruto asked getting slightly annoyed but I knew he was just as worried as I was about her lateness. Sasuke didn't appear to be all that worried though, he simply seemed bored. Looking around at the other students, that were waiting for their teammates as well, I tried to find the iconic pink hair. A few moments later I saw it walking towards the academy at a slower pace than I was used to seeing. I focused harder on Sakura's face, thanks to my heightened eye sight, and she seemed to be contemplating something; she looked as if she was already defeated.

'Maybe she is simply nervous of how the test will go, that would be understandable. But even so she usually looks at challenges with a brighter outlook.' I thought as I announced, to Sasuke and Naruto, that she would be arriving soon.

"Wow Akina you must have binocular vision or something! I still can't tell that's Sakura walking up the road." Naruto said with awe.

"I've always had pretty good eye sight, it's nothing much."

A few minutes later Sakura finally arrived and before I could say good morning Naruto blurted out the obvious.

"Hey Sakura, you're late."

"Uh right. I'm sorry you guys. Good morning Akina." She said with a small wave, and I simply nodded in return with a small smile. The atmosphere became slightly awkward as she turned to Sasuke and gave him a look as if she was debating saying something to him.

"Good morning Sasuke." She said slowly.

"Hey." He replied and I could tell he was wondering what was wrong with her as well. Before another awkward moment could happen I decided it was time that we started to move along.

"If everyone is ready we should go register now while we still have plenty of time. That way we won't be rushing." Everyone simply agreed and we walked into the academy. We all walked to the stairs since the test was being held on the third floor in room 301. When we reached the second floor though we could hear something was going on and for some reason a lot of genin were waiting around the door to a room.

"Hey Akina I thought Kakashi-sensei said the test was on the third floor why is everyone down here?" Naruto whispered to me, which was a good thing.

"I'm not sure why everyone is down here though you're right the test is on the third floor. Do you guys wanna stop and observe or keep going?" I whispered to everyone.

"I say let's investigate." Sasuke suggested as he started to walk down the hall of the second floor.

"Teme didn't even give us a chance." Naruto mumbled as we followed after Sasuke. We walked through the crowd of people where they were all situated in front of a couple of doors that had the sign 301 written on the top. In front of the doors were two chunin who seemed to be guarding it. Both belonged to the Leaf Village and wore similar outfits; grey shirt, tan pants, and both wore white scarfs around their necks. Except one had bandages on both sides of his cheeks and one on his chin while the other had a mask similar to Kakashi's except it only went up to his chin. Lying in front of them were two genin; one boy, who was wearing an abomination of a very bright green jumpsuit and had the bushiest eyebrows I have ever seen on a person, who was sitting on the ground with a bruise on his face. The other was a girl, assuming to be his teammate, since she stood next to him in a defensive position.

'That sign must be a genjutsu this is only the second floor. That isn't the right room but how can no one else see this?' I thought as my team stood back and watched the scene play out.

"Ha you want to take the chunin exam and yet you can't even get past us. Why don't you just give up now before you get hurt." Remarked the one with the bandages.

"Yeah I think I hear you're mommy calling for you."

"Please let us through we're supposed to go in there." The girl begged as she got up to go to the door. But much her teammate they struck her causing her to fall on the ground as well. The surrounding genin gasped in disgust from the display of violence to the young girl. Murmurings of their harshness floating through the air.

"Did I hear someone say harsh? Don't kid yourself we're being nice by comparison. The exams are going to make this seem like a picnic." Said the boy with the bandages.

"Some of you won't survive the exam while some of you will be messed up for life. Or maybe you'll just go crazy. For chunin it's always life or death."

"This isn't some joke you know chunin are qualified to lead missions. The lives of your squad members lie in your hands so you better be strong enough to take the heat. Delicate little girls don't belong here."

"We're just doing our job to thin out the herd, you won't pass anyway. So why don't you go home and play with your dolls."

It seemed Sasuke had seen enough as he barged through the crowd to stand in front of the two chunin. Naruto, Sakura and I followed right behind him to give him back up if he needed it.

"That was a real nice speech now how about you both step aside and let me through. And while you're at it why don't you reverse the genjutsu we can see through your illusion anyway. We need to go to the third floor." Whispers of confusion ran through the crowd, none of them realizing that they were currently on the second floor.

"Well, well. So you noticed the genjutsu huh?"

"Go on Sakura tell them. I'm sure you saw it before anyone else did. You have the sharpest eyes and the best analytical skills on the squad surely you must have saw it coming from a mile away." Sakura was so surprised by the open complement of her abilities she almost let it slip that she didn't know about the genjutsu at all.

"Well of course I did, I noticed it right from the get-go. This is only the second floor." Sakura stated with pride.

"Yeah that's right!" Naruto answered though I'm not sure he totally understood the situation at all. The sign above the door changed to reveal the true room number 201.

"Well aren't you just the clever one but let's see you deal with this." The boy with the bandages replied as he went after Sasuke with a kick attack. Immediately Sasuke responded with a kick of his own but the attacks never met their intended targets. Standing between the two stunned ninja was the boy who had been kicked around by the chunin not too long ago.

'This guy is strong to have stopped jumped in between Sasuke and a chunin and stopped their attacks without getting injured. Did he allow himself to get beat up earlier? We should definitely keep an eye on him in the future.' I thought as everyone also watched with amazement. The boy in the green jumpsuit released their legs from his grip just as the girl, who protected him earlier, and another boy walked over to him. The second boy had long brown hair, pale skin, and bandages wrapped around both his right arm and leg. His eyes were very familiar though, they looked like Hinata's. Meaning he was part of the Hyuuga Clan.

"What happened to the plan? I thought you were the one who said to keep a low profile and don't show anyone our skill level."

"I know that but-" Before he could continue the girl interrupted him.

"Just forget about it it's over." Before she finished her sentence though the boy in the green jumpsuit turned to face our group and started to blush, while holding his fist up.

'Why is he looking at us like that? Wait, is he looking at Sakura? Does he know her?' I thought to myself though I made sure to keep my expression neutral as he walked towards Sakura with a calm and determined expression.

"My name is Rock Lee. You are Sakura correct?" Sakura still seemed to be in a state of shock still as she could only respond with a confused 'Huh'.

"Will you please be my girlfriend? I vow to protect you with my life." He smiled, showing off his shiny teeth, and gave her a thumbs up.

"Definitely…not." Sakura responded.

"But why not?" His smile dropped along with his confidence at her answer.

"Because you're a weirdo." Sakura stated causing Naruto to laugh at Lee's defeated look.

"Hey you, over here. What's your name?" The Hyuuga called out to Sasuke, ending Naruto's laughter.

"It's common courtesy to give your own name before asking for someone else's." Sasuke replied back in his usual high-and-mighty tone. But the Hyuuga didn't pay attention to Sasuke's answer and just kept asking questions.

"You're a rookie aren't you? How old are you anyway?"

"I'm not obliged to answer your questions." This time I could the Hyuuga kid was getting fed up.

"What was that punk?" The Hyuuga tried to bait him but Sasuke turned around and walked towards us.

"Let's go Naruto no more sulking." I turned to call out to him. He was leaning against the wall right next to Lee, upset that no one seemed to want his name.

"Hey Naruto, Sasuke, Akina. Come on let's go." Sakura called out with her usual optimism back in her voice. She reached out grab Sasuke's arm and my hand. I quickly grabbed onto Naruto before Sakura whisked us towards the stairs. I was surprised that Sasuke was letting her drag him along but didn't say anything about it since this was probably going to be our last bit of team fun before the exam.

'I can finally say I am truly happy that these people are my teammates and my friends.'