Chapter 29: Broken Friendship? Broken Relationship?

Shikamaru and his dad was just leaving the Hokage tower when they bump into Naruto.

"Hey Naruto, what are you doing here? Aren't you suppose to be with Sak?" Shikamaru asked raising an eye brow.

Naruto pointed a finger at him accusingly, "I was going to ask you the same thing..."

Shikamaru gave him a bored look, "Nothing really, just finished taking care of some business, can you answer my question now."

"Oh right, Sakura-chan's in the hospital with Sasuke, I told her I'd get Tsunade there... Why so curious?" Naruto asked narrowing his eyes suspiciously.

Shikamaru shrugged his shoulder nonchalantly.

Shikaku coughed. "Er, how are you Tsunade-sama, Jiraiya-sama" he said bowing his head.

Tsunade raised an eye brow, "Aren't you from the Nara clan? Who's that kid? Are you taking care of your deer? They're anthers make good medicine."

Shikamaru leaned towards Naruto and whispered, "Who's the lady with a big attitude?"

"She's the new Hokage, oh and although she looks young, she's really fifty" Naruto whispered back.

Shikamaru's eyes widen. Naruto turned around and saw his company leaving, "I have to go, hey Shikamaru let's meet later, I'll show you my cool new Jutsu" he said with a cheeky grin.

Jiraiya appeared next to the blond haired ninja and grabbed him by the top of the head to drag him away, "Baka, what kind of ninja shows off his Jutsu?"

"So... That woman is going to be the fifth Hokage, huh?" Shikamaru asked unsure what to feel, "Who is she?"

Shikaku wrapped his arm around his son's shoulder, "Shikamaru, she's the world's most powerful and beautiful woman, she's the Kunoichi of the legendary Sannin."

"Troublesome... A woman Hokage... I hate woman, they're selfish and annoying, they always act cordial and friendly, I can never tell whether they're really getting along or not... Besides they think they can boss us guys around, damn I hate girls... Except maybe..." Shikamaru trailed off, he shook his head and sighed.

Shikaku looked at his son in amusement, "Shikamaru... Listen to me, there wouldn't be any men if there weren't any women, men are no good without any women around, even the roughest woman is tender to the guy she loves, you'll understand when you grow up" he said turning around and walking away.

Sakura's smiling face flashed into Shikamaru's mind, "Maybe... But what the hell is he saying, he's always being boss around by Okaa-san."

"Well then let's go home, you're mother is going to scold us if we're late " Shikaku said sheepishly rubbing the back of his head.

Shikamaru sweat dropped, "And then there are men who are whipped because of women..."

Sakura sighed in relief when she felt Naruto's chakra heading towards Sasuke's room.

"May I come in?" A woman asked walking inside the room before Sakura could answer.

Sakura raised an eye brow, "I'm guessing you're Tsunade?"

Tsunade smiled at her and nodded, "Hai..."

"Sakura-chan she's a medic, she can help Sasuke" Naruto said poking his head behind Tsunade.

Sakura gave him an amused look, "I think you missed Sasuke more than I did, are you in love with him or something?" She asked teasingly.

The two adult in the room covered their mouth to stifle a laugh, Naruto's eyes widen like a saucer.

"NANI? I'm not in love with him, he's my best friend and I'm not gay!" Naruto said trying to convince Sakura.

Sakura chuckled, "I know, Naruto..." She looked at Tsunade and asked if she can help Sasuke.

"Don't worry, leave it all to me" Tsunade said reassuring her, she placed her hand on top of Sasuke's forehead.

Sakura stared at the green chakra surrounding Tsunade's hand, "Healing chakra..."

"It's called Shōsen Jutsu... It allows medic to speed up the body's natural healing process by sending chakra from their hands into a wound or afflicted body part. It can also be used to disperse Genjutsu casted on others, only if you know what you're doing..." Tsunade explained without looking away from Sasuke.

"Cool..." Sakura said nodding her head.

"He'll wake up soon" Tsunade said turning around and smiling at her.

Sakura narrowed her eyes, "Aa... His chakra pathways are returning to normal... You're good..."

Tsunade stared at her in shock, "You can see chakra pathways?"

Sakura nodded, "Hai" she said walking towards Sasuke's bed.

"Interesting..." Tsunade muttered staring at the young girl in front of her.

Sasuke slowly opened his eyes and sat up grudgingly, "What... What the hell happened?"

Sakura sighed in relief, feeling a weight was lifted off her shoulder when she saw her boyfriend sitting up, she wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face on his neck, "Never make me worry like that again, oh so help me I'll be the one to put you in coma..."

Sasuke's eyes soften, he wrapped an arm around Sakura's back and hugged her back, "Aa..."

Naruto has a cheeky grin on his face while watching his two best friend, "Oi, Oi stop being so cheesy, I'm feeling like a third wheel here" he said with a pout.

"I'll leave you three alone..." Tsunade said leaving the three of them with a small smile on her face.

"I'll go with her... Teme, I'll see you later" Naruto said waving at his teammates while leaving the room.

Sakura pulled away from Sasuke and grabbed the back of his head, capturing his lips in a passion filled kiss, Sasuke kissed her back with the same passion, wrapping both his arms around her waist to pull her closer, both of them pulled away breathing heavily.

Sasuke touched his forehead with hers, "What was that for?"

Sakura smirked, "That was me saying I'm glad you're awake, I couldn't exactly do that with audience in the room."

Sasuke smirked back, only for it to disappear after remembering what happened with Itachi.

"The gap between your powers and his... Is as wide as the gap between heaven and earth... You have no idea just how powerful he is, Sasuke... Swallow that goddamn pride of yours while you still can, because if you choose to continue this fight, by all means do so, no one will stop you... But at the end of the day, make sure you're ready to accept the truth and not blame anyone for the outcome of the battle."

"I have absolutely no interest in fighting you right now."

Sakura bit her lower lip when Sasuke pulled away from her with a blank look on his face, knowing that the memory he momentarily forgotten was back, "Sasuke-kun... What's wrong?"

Sasuke gritted his teeth, "Why...?" He asked not facing her.

"What are you...?" Sakura trailed off when Sasuke shot her a murderous look.

"You know what I'm talking about Sakura, just answer this question, have you met Itachi before?" Sasuke asked glaring at her.

Sakura's face turned blank, she stared at him in the eyes and answered, "Hai... I met him when I was 5, he walked towards me with you and introduced himself, remember? Is that what you want to hear? Let me make one thing clear, the only reason I know the difference between your powers and his is because I'm a sensor, I can sense and see the level of your chakra. Now if you're going to accuse me of something else, feel free to do so" she said crossing her arms on her chest, not entirely lying, but not entirely telling the truth.

Sasuke gritted his teeth and clenched his fist before he could say anything else Naruto walked in.

"Hey, are you guys finish..." Naruto trailed off when he saw the two of them with emotionless face, "What's going on?"

Sasuke looked at Naruto murderously.

Naruto's eyes widen in shock, "Na-nani? Why are you staring at me like that?"

Sakura looked down, "Kuso..."

"Naruto... Fight me, Now!" Sasuke demanded glaring at him.

"Nani? What are you babbling on about? You still need to recover" Naruto said trying to understand what the hell is going on.

Sasuke's Sharingan activated, "Shut up and fight me!"

Naruto's eyes widen in disbelief and shock, Sakura sighed.

"You thought you helped me... That foolish fifth Hokage or whatever... Butting in on other people's business..." Sasuke said clenching his fist.

Naruto glared at him for being ungrateful, "Nani?"

Sasuke stood up from his bed and stood in front of Naruto.

Sakura shook her head, "Sasuke, you're acting like a child."

Sasuke glared at her, "Shut up Sakura you're starting to get on my nerves."

Sakura's eyes widen in shock before all the emotions on her face vanished, "Fine."

Naruto pushed Sasuke's shoulder causing him to stumble back, "Why are you acting like a jerk to Sakura-chan, you're not being a good boyfriend right now you know that? If you want to fight me, fine I'll fight you, but don't look at Sakura-chan like that, you want to fight me not her, so stop looking at her like she's your enemy."

Sasuke scoffed before turning his back on his team and walking away, "Hn, come with me."

Naruto looked at his female best friend and gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze, "Don't worry Sakura-chan, I'll knock him back to his senses" he said giving her a smile and following Sasuke.

The two of them ended up on the other side of the roof of Konoha Hospital, Sakura followed them, She looked up and sighed, "Shika's right... It's better to be a cloud than to deal with this kinds of shit..."

"This feeling... This excitement... This shivering..." Naruto thought with a chuckle.

Sasuke glared at him, "What's so funny?" He demanded.

"Funny? Nothing, I'm overjoyed actually... To think how I can finally beat you" Naruto said with a confident smirk on his face.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes, "What did you say? Stop babbling nonsense you loser."

Naruto sneered at him, "I'm no longer the loser you once knew me as, I've changed."

"You fucking idiot, why are you so full of yourself?" Sasuke demanded glaring at him with venom.

Naruto smiled at him mockingly, "Eh, what are you losing your cool for? That's so unlike you, are you afraid now that you challenged me to a fight? Huh? Sasuke?"

"Shut up and fight" Sasuke said giving him a dark look.

Naruto crossed his arms on his chest and gave him a pointed look, "Before we start, you better put on your Hitai-ate."

Sasuke scoffed, "I don't need something like that."

Naruto glared at him, "Just do it."

Sasuke pointed at his forehead, "You won't be able to lay a finger on me, let alone my forehead."

"No, I'm saying this is a symbol that we fight as equal Shinobi of Konoha" Naruto said in disgust.

"That's why I said you're full of yourself, do you really believe we're equal?" Sasuke asked incredulously.

"Of course I do, I've never thought of myself as inferior to you, not even once" Naruto said in a matter of fact tone.

Sasuke glared at him, "You're pissing me off."

"That's because you're still weak" Naruto said mocking him.

Sasuke run towards Naruto with his fist raised ready to strike him, Naruto did the same and run towards him. Sakura watched her teammates fight each other in par. Naruto did a hand seal and summoned a bunch of clones to attack Sasuke who managed to get rid of them with the help of his Sharingan, he gritted his teeth as more clones attacked him, he jumped in the air and did some hand seals, "Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu." Fire surrounded the Bunshins causing them to disperse, Sasuke crossed his arms in front of him to block a strong gust of wind, his eyes widen in shock when he saw Naruto holding a ball of swirling chakra, "What is that Jutsu? Kuso..." He thought summoning the Chidori in his hand.

"Chidori!"

"Rasengan!"

In a blink of an eye, Sasuke and Naruto was thrown towards a separate Water Tower.

Sakura crossed her arms on her chest, "Took you long enough to show yourself, Kaka-sensei" she said in a monotone.

Kakashi rubbed the back of his head, "I was trying to see how far the two of them will go... I didn't think they would use those kind of attacks on each other..." He stared at his two students, "That Jutsu... There's no doubt, it's the Rasengan... I wonder what happened, how can Naruto perform that Jutsu..."

Naruto dropped on his knees and pulled his hand away from the Water tower, Sasuke pulled his arm free from the Water tower, smirking with pride when he saw the huge difference between his Jutsu and Naruto's by the damage done on the Water tower.

"Why are so obsessed with your superiority complex, Sasuke?" Kakashi asked sitting on top of the Water tower.

Sasuke looked up and gave him a sharp look.

Kakashi ignored his look and continued talking, "That level of Chidor just now... Isn't an appropriate Jutsu you can use against your own comrade not to mention your best friend..."

Sasuke's look didn't waver.

"Were you trying to kill Naruto?" Kakashi asked in a blank tone.

Sakura appeared next to Naruto, "It's not like he can..."

Sasuke turned his attention to her, "What the fuck is your problem? Why are you siding against me? First Itachi and now Naruto?"

Sakura gave him a blank look, "Because you're side is blinded with revenge and immaturity, you can't accept the fact that there's a chance Naruto's much stronger than you, you were so pissed that Itachi didn't pay any attention to you that day, he was more interested in fighting Naruto rather than fighting you, get this through your thick head, Uchiha. If you want to be stronger, learn how to swallow your pride and accept the fact that there are people who's stronger than you, if you're don't want to do that, then you can forget about getting stronger because there's no way in hell you'll be stronger than Naruto."

Kakashi and Naruto's eyes widen. Sasuke's eyes changed into the Sharingan, his mind was clouded in rage, "Fuck you!" He yelled running towards her with Chidori emitting from his hand.

Sakura appeared behind him in a blink of an eye, striking him away with a single blow, he was sent flying off the roof and would have hit the hard ground if Sakura hadn't used her chakra strings to pull him back.

Sasuke landed on the roof with a thud, he stood up with shaking legs only to be sent sprawling on the floor, feeling a massive pain on his head especially his jaw.

Naruto glared at him, "That was for trying to attack Sakura-chan... What the hell happened to you, Sasuke? What the hell were you thinking? How... How in the world can you even think of hitting the girl you love? Sakura-chan is the best thing that ever happened to you, don't throw away your relationship with her just cause you can't swallow your goddamn pride, you better get your head back together because there are other guys out there who wants her..." He warned, he gave Sasuke a final look before turning around and leaving.

Sasuke gritted his teeth and punched the floor, "Kuso..."

Kakashi's eyes soften at the sight of his student, but like Naruto he was pissed at him for trying to harm the only female of their team, he gave his student a final look before disappearing in a puff of smoke

Sakura opened the door to her apartment and went inside, she closed the door before walking towards her room and laying down on her bed, "What the hell is happening to my life..."

She sighed and pulled something out of her holster, she stared at the Konoha Hitai-ate Shikamaru gave her, "Equal Shinobi of Konoha... I'm not even a citizen of Konoha..."

Sakura let herself fall off the roof and back flipped, landing on the ground with a soft thud. She was about to walk inside the hospital when she felt Shikamaru's chakra. She turned around the moment Shikamaru landed on the ground, "Where's your father?"

Shikamaru rubbed the back of his head, "He's using the stairs like a normal person..."

Sakura shook her head, amusement shining in her emerald eyes, "What do you want?"

Shikamaru looked away from her with a hint of blush on his cheeks, "The reason I was in deep thoughts earlier was because... I can't decide whether or not I should give you this..." He said pulling something out of his holster and giving it to her.

Sakura stared at the Black Konoha Hitai-ate Shikamaru gave her, "I... Have my own Hitai-ate, why are you giving me a new one?"

Shikamaru shrugged, "You stopped wearing your Konoha Hitai-ate after you came back from Ame, I thought you might need a new one... And the Hitai-ate they gave you was for temporary use only, the Hitai-ate I gave you is yours to keep for as long as you want."

"You do know I'm not a citizen of Konoha, right? I'm only here because of the Chūnin exam, the only reason Sasuke and Naruto's my teammate's because I don't have my own team in Ame and they needed a female teammate..." Sakura pointed out.

Shikamaru nodded, "I know... I gave you that Hitai-ate because right now you're a member of a team from Konoha and every member of a team needs a Hitai-ate... Just accept it, Sakura, you can have that as a souvenir, I know sooner or later you'll return to Ame and leave Konoha, especially now that we're going to be officially promoted as Chūnin tomorrow... At least you'll have the Flak Jacket and Hitai-ate to bring back to Ame" he said nonchalantly.

Sakura gripped the Hitai-ate and smiled at Shikamaru, "Arigatō, Shika."

Sakura stood up and placed the Hitai-ate on her bed side table, she narrowed her eyes when she felt 4 familiar chakras with Sasuke, "You better not do anything stupid..."

The next day, Team Asuma, Team Kurenai, and Team Gai was gathered on the roof of the Hokage tower waiting for the final team to arrive.

"Where the hell are they?" Tsunade asked, a vain popping on her forehead.

Asuma sighed, "Looks like Kakashi's lateness rub off on his team..." He trailed off at the sight of team 7 walking towards them.

Kiba's eyes slightly widen, "The hell's wrong with them?" He whispered to Hinata.

Hinata shook her head, "I don't know..."

Jiraiya raised an eye brow at the sight, "Who died?"

Naruto smiled a fake smile, "What are you talking about, Ero-sennin?"

"Naruto-kun..." Hinata thought worriedly.

Tsunade stared at the newly arrived team wondering what happened to the team that was acting like a family yesterday, the team in front of her looked like someone died, Sakura has a blank look on her face, Sasuke looked lost and confuse, Naruto's smile is as fake as her appearance, Kakashi has a sad look on his visible eye.

Shikamaru caught Sakura's eyes, "You ok?" He mouthed.

Sakura shook her head, "No" she mouthed back.

Tsunade cough before Shikamaru can say anything, "Alright, now that all teams are here, I would like to start the agenda and officially promote, Haruno Sakura of team 7 and Nara Shikamaru of team 10 as a Chūnin level Shinobi."

Shikamaru and Sakura walked towards Tsunade who handed them their Flak Jacket, all the teams in the roof clapped their hands, their respective team being the loudest except for Sasuke.

Naruto run towards Sakura and gave her a bear hug, "Congratulation Sakura-chan... I would have prepared all three of us to be a Chūnin together, but I'm still glad at least one of us was promoted."

Kakashi walked towards the two of them and placed a hand on top of her head, "Congrats kid" he said ruffling her hair.

Sakura swatted his hand away and glared at him playfully, she looked at the final member of her team who was standing a couple of feet away from them with a thoughtful look on his face. "Oi, Sak" her attention turned to Shikamaru who was looking at her expectantly. "Nani?" She asked raising an eye brow.

Shikamaru shook his head and opened his arms, Sakura smiled, she walked towards him and gave him a hug, "You're an idiot..." She said after pulling away from him.

Sasuke watched the two of them interact, hating the fact that Shikamaru hugged his girlfriend before he did, he suddenly remembered what Naruto told him yesterday, "There are other guys out there who wants her..."

Tsunade tapped her foot on the ground causing the tower to shake, after successfully catching all their attention she started speaking, "Alright, there's another reason why I called your teams here... I want to see just how skilled the new generations are... Which is why I'm going to ask the 12 of you to participate in a challenge I'd like to call The Hidden..." She said with a smirk.

Sakura raised an eye brow, "Hidden?"

"Challenge?" Neji asked narrowing his eyes.

Tsunade nodded, "Hai, before I explain anything else, I want you guys to find a partner, it can be from another team or your own team, whichever you like as long as the two of you are balanced..."

"There's only 11 of us..." Ten-ten said looking at her injured teammate.

Lee shocked everyone when he stood up without his crutches, "Tsunade-sama gave me an antidote that can regenerate my body for a day so I can participate."

"Alright then, I call dibs on Lee" Ten-ten said grabbing Lee's arm.

Neji raised an eye brow.

Naruto and Sasuke both grabbed Sakura's hand.

"Oi Teme let go, Sakura-chan's my partner" Naruto said pulling Sakura's hand while glaring at Sasuke.

Sasuke glared back and pulled Sakura's hand, "She's my partner."

"She's my best friend" Naruto said smiling smugly.

Sasuke smirked, "She's my girlfriend."

The rest watched the two of them bicker on who gets to have Sakura as their partner.

Naruto raised an brow mockingly, "Is she? After what happened yesterday do you really think your relationship still exist?"

Sakura looked down, the others looked confuse except for Kakashi.

Sasuke gritted his teeth, "Yes I do actually, I want her to be my partner so I can make it up to her."

Before Naruto could say anything Sakura cut him off, she pulled her hands away from them and faced them, "Drop it, I already have a partner" she said crossing her arms on her chest.

Naruto and Sasuke looked at each other, "Who?"

Sakura smirked and looked at Shikamaru, "Him."

Ino's eyes grew as wide as a dinner plate, Chōji winked at his best friend, Lee looked like he wanted to cry a river, Kiba laughed at Sasuke and Naruto's expression, Hinata looked down to hide her smile, Gai was comforting Lee, Asuma has a smirk on his face, Kurenai, Tsunade, Jiraiya, Kakashi, Neji and Ten-ten looked amused.

Shikamaru's eyes widen, he shook his head frantically, "You are not dragging me into this."

Sakura looked at him in amusement, "What are you talking about? It's only fair if the two of us are partners, it wouldn't be fair if only two Genins have a Chūnin for a partner, besides, Tsunade-sama said the partners should be balanced. We're already balanced Shika, I'm violent, you're not. You fight logically, I go by instincts. I like fighting, you try your hardest not to get involved in fights, it's a win-win."

Tsunade nodded in agreement, "She's right..."

Sakura gave Shikamaru a pointed look.

"Troublesome woman..." Shikamaru muttered.

Naruto sprinted away towards Hinata, "Hinata-chan will you be my part-"

Sakura's chakra strings wrapped around Naruto's neck, she moved her fingers and controlled him to walked back to where Sasuke is quietly standing due to the chakra strings wrapped around his neck, "You two are partners."

Sasuke gave her a look, "You can't decide our partners."

"You're right I can't, but the two of you don't have much of a choice, the rest already has their partner even Hinata" Sakura said releasing her teammates.

Naruto and Sasuke looked away from each other with their arms crossed on their chest.

"I'm not working with this jerk" Naruto grumbled.

"Hn"

Sakura narrowed her eyes, "If you two refuse to work with each other I am going to make both of you choke on your blood and make you burp out your intestines, got it?" She asked innocently, her eyes piercing into their soul.

Sasuke and Naruto's eyes widen, "Hai."

Sakura smiled at them, "Good."

Tsunade nodded her head after making sure that everyone has a partner, "The partners are Shikamaru and Sakura, Naruto and Sasuke, Ino and Hinata, Kiba and Neji, Shino and Chōji, Ten-ten and Lee... Now that you have your partners, I'm going to explain the mechanics of Hidden..."

I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter.

Please please for the love of cheese please Review...

Shōsen Jutsu - Mystical Palm Technique

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