The Meetings

by fluffy5469

Naruto has never had a friend before nor has he ever thought that he would befriend the rest of the genin before his own team. He's invited to weekly genin meetings and suddenly everything changes. He's no longer alone as he interacts with Teams 8 & 10 and forges strong lasting bonds between the next generation. Mostly drabbles of the main events, follows cannon but diverges.

9. Chapter 8: The Eighth Meeting

I finally finished up this chapter tonight! Updates are probably going to be really slow from now on because of college and exams, but I'll try to post as I finish up a chapter.

Thanks for the follows, favorites, and reviews! They're always awesome to read! :)

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto...

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The Forest of Death

Sasuke looked at the Forest of Death in apprehension. It looked like Naruto was right about the second exam. He shivered. No one, no matter what Naruto said he saw, was going to bite his neck in there today, not if he could help it! He clenched his fists again.

"Oh, there you guys are!" Shikamaru said, stopping right next to Sasuke. "I don't think our plan of teaming up is going to work," he said.

"Why not?" asked Sakura. Naruto also turned his questioning gaze at the pineapple-haired boy.

"See those gates," Shikamaru pointed towards the entrance of the Forest of Death. "Each team has to go through a different one. And there's 44 gates, so there's no way to tell where in the forest we'll end up."

"We will endeavor to find you in the forest," Shino piped in from behind them, spooking the genin.

"I thought I told you not to do that!" Naruto jumped up and tried to calm down his rapidly beating heart.

"Sorry," Shino said in a monotone voice. "I think I have a way around the gates," he continued, attracting Sakura's and Shikamaru's interest. "I can bug you guys now so we can easily find you in there," he explained. "My Kikaichu can signal me from one end of Konoha to the other. The Forest will not pose a challenge to them." Shikamaru nodded. That could work.

"Sounds good," Sakura also agreed, allowing Shino to place a bug on her. She watched the rest of Team 7 and 10 get the same treatment before she spoke up again. "Oh, and before I forget, here," she handed them each a painted bracelet and told them to place it on their ankles. "Just channel some chakra in them and we will be able to contact each other," she explained. Shikamaru took the deer and pineapple covered bracelet and quickly slipped it around his ankle. Choji did the same with the butterflies and food covered anklet. Shino put on the bug bracelet, while Kiba put on the dog bracelet. Hinata took the moon bracelet and carefully pulled it over her foot onto her ankle.

"Woah, I've never seen anything like this before," Ino remarked, dangling the bracelet between her fingers, smiling at the colorful flowers that decorated hers.

"That's because Naruto made them specially for us," Sakura said, smiling at the blonde whose face flushed pink. The genin took a moment to admire his blush before they thanked Naruto.

"I just wanted us to not get hurt…" Naruto muttered a little flustered. No one had ever wanted something he made before, much less thanked him for it. Whenever they made projects in the Academy, no one wanted to exchange theirs with his. They wouldn't even accept his, calling it unlucky or ugly or just tossing it away into the trash... This was the first time someone had been happy to receive something he worked on.

Shikamaru noticed the blonde's discomfort and steered the conversation away from him. "Alright, so we'll try finding each other in the forest using these bracelets and by relying on Shino's bugs. While we're in the forest, we'll collect all the scrolls we can to reduce the competition. Is there anyone you think we have to watch out for?"

"Kabuto," Sasuke instantly replied. "Kakashi says he's a suspected spy." Seeing the other genin's confusion at how Kakashi had told them that, he elaborated, "He has a bracelet too…"

"Okay, so we'll avoid him. Anyone else to look out for?" Shikamaru nodded and asked.

"Ne-Neji-nii-san's Team is strong. I still can't beat him in a spar," Hinata admitted, twirling her two index fingers together.

If Hinata can't beat him, what type of monster is he? Ino and Sakura thought in unison, not realizing that the last time Hinata fought with him was before the Academy…

"That's Gai-sensei's Team, right?" Naruto asked. Hinata nodded in confirmation. "Yeah, Kaka-sensei said they were strong! Oh, and we have to watch out for Gaara's Team! He's really strong." Naruto pointed out a red-haired boy with a large gourd on his back.

Shikamaru nodded, mentally deciding to find out who the red-head was after the exams were over. "I think those are all the people we should avoid—"

"What? Why should we avoid them? Why can't we beat them in the forest?" Kiba cut him off and Akamaru barked in agreement. Sasuke also nodded his head, wondering why they couldn't fight them.

"Because," Shikamaru rolled his eyes at Kiba's eagerness. "Naruto said someone really powerful was going to try to jump Sasuke, so we have to save up our strength."

"Oh, that makes sense!" Kiba nodded in understanding while Shikamaru just sweat-dropped. And because we don't want to use up all our strength in just the second exam… The pineapple-haired genin thought, testing out the bracelet.

Sasuke scoffed. "When's the proctor getting here, anyways?" he asked, roving his eyes across the restless crowd. "They already told us the rules and gave us our scrolls, so why can't we start yet?" he complained when suddenly a kunai shot forward, barely nicking his cheek. It was attached to a rope that suspended a banner reading: 'Newly arrived second chief examiner officer Mitarashi Anko!' A purple-haired kunoichi dropped down onto the training grounds right in front of Sasuke.

"How could you even think of starting the exams without the strong and beautiful Anko?" she asked staring at Sasuke who averted his eyes. She finally looked at the crowd and let out a whistle, "Wow, 78 people left! Ibiki really let the ball drop on this exam! By the time I'm through with you, only half of you will be left. Get to your gates, the Exam will begin in 15 minutes!" She smirked at the fleeing crowd before her eyes strayed over to a familiar blonde.

"Blondie! You're taking this exam?" she asked, throwing her arms around Naruto's neck. Naruto grunted from the burden of her weight. "You never told me you'd be here, otherwise I would've come by and wished you luck! So, how's the work on it coming along?" she asked.

Naruto realized she was talking about the weird seal on her neck and answered, "I'm almost done deciphering it, and then I'll just need to deactivate the traps!"

"Good, good," Anko nodded her head and ruffled Naruto's blonde locks. "You better not die in there, Blondie, I'm counting on you!"

Then she shunshined away, as Naruto fumed, "My name's not Blondie!" The others didn't know what to make of this display, wondering how Naruto knew the proctor.

Deciding to ask him about it after the exam, Shikamaru said, "Let's go to our gates. We only have ten minutes left over…"

"Right!" Kiba said before dragging Shino over to Gate 16. Hinata followed them after she waved at the other genin. Team 10 also headed over to Gate 27, while Team 7 went over to Gate 12.

"Ready for this?" Naruto asked excitedly, gripping his kunai.

"Hnn," Sasuke smirked as one of the jounin unlocked the Gate, letting them in.

"You bet I'm ready!" Sakura grinned at her teammates, waiting for the signal.

"Part Two of the Chunin Ninja Selection Exam begins NOW!" Anko's voice echoed across the Forty-fourth Training Ground.

---

"Aaaaand, it's a Heaven Scroll…" Naruto pouted, tossing the extra scroll into his pocket seal. They'd just been attacked by a genin team from Amegakure who tried to impersonate him when he went to the bathroom. Of course, seeing through the imposer, Sasuke immediately asked Naruto if he was in front of them through the bracelet. It was easy for them to have Sakura distract the phony while Sasuke trapped him in the genjutsu Demonic Illusion: Hell Viewing Technique. By the time Naruto finished his business, they'd already stripped and tied up the other ninja, waiting for Naruto.

"Aw, that's too bad," Sakura frowned.

Hey, those sensor seals you gave me are going off. Sasuke thought to them.

Naruto tilted his head. Really, let me check… He focused on the seal and felt a disturbance in the bushes next to them. Yup, there's definitely someone hiding there, I think they're eavesdropping on us…

Quick, ask us how we knew it wasn't you! Sakura commanded, formulating a plan.

Why should I— Naruto began but was cut off.

Just do it! Sakura snapped.

Alright, sheesh. Naruto cleared his throat. "So, how'd you guys know it wasn't me?"

"They wore their Shuriken Throwing Stars on their left thigh," Sasuke played along.

"Oh! That makes sense!" Naruto exclaimed, still not seeing where his teammates were going with this.

"Right, if this happens again, we're going to need a secret password so we know who's who," Sakura suggested. This way we'll easily be able to tell who the imposter is. We'll pretend to ask for the password, but secretly check with our bracelets.

Naruto nodded. "Sounds good, what password are we using?"

"Let's use the poem Ninki-Ninja Opportunity. When I ask for the password you say: We thrive in the chaos of the enemy tide. Quiet Shinobi don't need dens to hide. Our only concern is to watch and wait, until the enemy lowers the gate," Sasuke recited, continuing the charade.

"And you expect me to remember that… HOW?!" Naruto asked, forgetting this was fake for a moment.

"You're such a dunce. I've already got it down!" Sakura laughed. Idiot! You don't actually have to memorize it, remember the plan?

"We need a better password. What about Swordfish?" Naruto suggested. Oh yeah, I forgot for a second.

Sasuke stiffened as he felt the sensor seal indicate the spying ninja was retreating. Ok, he fell for it. He's gone now. "Come on, let's get going." Sakura and Naruto got up off the ground, stretching out their backs.

"Yeah! Let's—Ow!" Naruto winced, feeling something nick his cheek. "What the…" he trailed off as a huge gust of wind blew at them. Shit! Sasuke, watch out! I think the lecher from my dream is coming! Guys, where are you? Naruto called out to Teams 8 and 10.

We're an hour and a half away, there's no way we'll be able to make it there on time! Shino replied. Team 10 is closer to you. They're only about 45 minutes away. I'll give them directions to where you are, can you hold out for that long?

We'll try to… Naruto replied back right as there was a huge explosion.

Naruto! Are you guys okay? Shikamaru cursed. They were heading in Team 7's direction as fast as they could, but he still didn't know if they'd make it in time.

Just keep going in that direction! Hurry! Shino urged, as Team 10 sped up.

Kakashi paced in the jounin lounge. He wanted to drop everything and join his genin, but he knew if he did, then they'd be disqualified for outside interference. He continued pacing. Hope they're alright… He thought, clutching the bracelet Naruto gave him.

Sasuke got out from underneath the bush he hid under, coming face-to-face with Sakura. "Stay back! What's the password?" he asked. Is that you?

"Oh right! It's we thrive in the chaos of the enemy tide. Quiet Shinobi don't need dens to hide. Our only concern is to watch and wait, until the enemy lowers the gate!" Sakura recited. It's me!

They both sighed in relief before tensing up again as a blonde came out of the forest. "Yow! Are you guys all right?"

"Not so fast Naruto, the password!" Sakura commanded. Is that you, Naruto?

"Right, Ninki! We thrive in the chaos of the enemy tide. Quiet Shinobi don't need dens to hide. Our only concern is to watch and wait, until the enemy lowers the gate!" the blonde said.

No, it's not me! They're an imposter! Naruto yelled in his mind, as he pushed himself up off the ground. Sasuke immediately launched a Kunai at the imposter, while Sakura powered up her gauntlets.

"Hey, what are you doing? I got the password right!" the fake-Naruto yelled as he dodged.

"Humph. If you were really Naruto, you wouldn't know the password, much less dodge my Kunai!" Sasuke snorted and attacked again.

"Heh," the fake-Naruto's face scrunched up into an evil smirk before dispelling into a long-haired ninja from Kusagakure. "Well done! This is going to be more fun than I thought~!" He licked his lips with his long tongue.

Sasuke shuddered. I think I believe you about the biting thing, Naruto…

Wait, seriously! There's a ninja who wants to munch on Sasuke's neck? Kiba asked in bewilderment. I thought you guys were joking about that!

You're nearing them. At the next copse of trees, take a right and continue in that direction until you reach a cave. Shino continued directing.

Shut up, Dog-breath! Ino thought, in between panting as they rushed towards where Team 7 was.

Everyone, shut up! We're in the middle of something! Sakura yelled back, making the rest of the genin quiet down. She silently shifted in Sasuke's direction, motioning him to start the attack. Sasuke nodded and readied his hands, about to make a fireball when an intense pressure settled on them, forcing them to their knees. Sasuke shivered, bent over, and emptied out his guts. What the hell? He just looked at us and made Sasuke throw up! Sakura thought through their link in disbelief.

I saw it—I mean us—I mean he just killed us! Sasuke stammered, still not able to throw off the illusion.

Stay away from him! Whoever this is, they're not a genin! Kakashi yelled at them, tensing as he heard his genin's fear through the link. I'm going to go ask the Hokage what's going on, stay alive, I'll be there soon! He promised and shunshined out of the room. The rest of the jounin-sensei just stared at the empty spot Kakashi had been in, in confusion, wondering why he'd disappeared.

---

Meanwhile, Naruto wasn't having much better luck. Guys, are there supposed to be really big snakes in this forest? Naruto asked as he backed away from the large green reptile in front of him.

Where are you? Shikamaru asked in frustration from hearing Team 7 in trouble but not being able to help them at all.

He's about five minutes away from Sasuke and Sakura… Shino replied.

Shit! The tail! Naruto thought in a panic, not realizing he was broadcasting to the other genin, who tensed up, waiting to hear from him. Aaaaarghhh! Naruto screamed, shocking Sasuke out of his genjutsu-induced stupor.

Naruto?! He asked in panic, as he and Sakura backed away from the long-tongued ninja in front of them.

It ate me! What the heck? Get me outta here! Naruto raged, pounding on the inside of snake he was trapped in.

Were you just… eaten by a snake? Choji asked in disbelief.

Yeah, now I just got to make it barf… Naruto paused as an idea struck him. That's it! "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" he called out, stuffing the snake full of shadow clones until it exploded into chunks of bloody meat raining down from the sky. Phew, now I just need to find Sasuke and Sakura! Naruto thought, clenching his fists.

Be careful, Kit. Kurama warned, having woken up from all the excitement.

I will. Naruto promised and ran in the direction he thought they were in.

---

"Sas—" Sakura tried calling out to him, but he covered her mouth with his hand.

We need a plan. Team 10 is nowhere near close… We can't fight him head on, and he's way out of our league! Sasuke thought to Sakura who nodded.

We need to out run him. She thought back. I'll use up all the chakra I have right now to punch him out of the way and then we'll run! I just need you to distract him for about 15 minutes so I can charge them up fully… Sasuke stiffly nodded. He didn't want to go back out there, but this was their only chance to escape. "Look out, a snake!" Sakura suddenly yelled, pointing behind him. They both jumped to opposite sides of the tree, landing unsteadily on the bark.

I'm so glad I learned tree-walking… Sasuke thought as he ran alongside the tree, as the snake chased him. "Yah! Get lost!" he yelled, jumping up into the air and launching his remaining Kunai at the snake. The large reptile faltered and fell over. Sasuke and Sakura sighed in relief, thinking it was over when they snake split apart revealing the creep from before.

"For shame, letting your guards down like that! Stay on your toes, like good prey should. It makes the chase so much more rewarding… for the predator!" He smirked at them, dangling his long tongue from his lips. Jumping at the tree, he wrapped around it like a snake, slithering up it to the branch where Sasuke was situated when a shower of Shuriken and Kunai stopped his path.

"Sorry Sasuke, I can't remember that stupid password!" Naruto stood on the tree right next to them, grinning widely.

"Sweet, Naruto! That was awesome!" Sakura yelled out excitedly, as she continued focusing on absorbing the chakra from her surroundings. Maybe we can actually do this, Shannaro!

Naruto, is that you? Sasuke asked, feeling relief course through him when Naruto replied.

It's me! Who's the weirdo? He squinted at the half-snake-man ninja.

"Naruto the hero, huh? You're completely psyched to be saving the day, but now would be a good time to run for your life! You can't fight him, he's too strong. Just give up and leave!" Sasuke sneered outwardly, as he described what was going on inwardly. We have a plan. Team 10's not getting here anytime soon, so Sakura's going to punch him as hard as she can. Kakashi said a full powered punch of hers should theoretically be able to blow away even S-ranked nin. She just needs ten more minutes to fully charge, so we have to stall him until then!

Alright! Don't let him get near your neck! Naruto answered back inwardly but outwardly taunted, "I'm not afraid of this freak!"

"Heh heh, my compliments, on your stunning defeat of the giant snake, Naruto," the creepy ninja smirked and swiveled his body in Naruto's direction.

"You! You sent that snake after me! Who are you?" Naruto yelled back at the man in outrage. How'd he know about that unless… Unless, he has some way to communicate with those snakes! They must be his summons!

What? But there's only one snake summoner who'd try to attack our village! Sakura thought back, shocked. After their C-rank mission, she had gone to the library to read some books about summons. She wanted to know more about them, ever since she met Pakkun. They all mentioned the three Sanin: The Great Toad Sage Jiraiya, The Slug Princess Tsunade, and… the Traitorous Snake Sage Orochimaru…

"You don't recognize me? I'd think after all that time you spent with my beloved teacher, you'd be able to recognize his dear old student," he said in a fake-sad voice, biting his index finger and thumb. "But then again… Maybe sensei didn't mention me because I tried to kill him!" He smirked at them and rapidly went through a few hand seals, summoning an enormous snake! "I am the Great Snake Sage, Orochimaru!" he stated before twisting around to face Sasuke. "And I always get what I want, and Sasuke, I want you!"

Sasuke stiffened, activating his Sharingan in reflex to Orochimaru's words. What the hell? I don't even know you, you sicko!

Sakura gulped. I was right, it is Orochimaru! Teams 8 and 10 who had been listening to Team 7's battle stiffened. They'd all heard from their parents about how the infamous traitor had left Konoha after experimenting on children. Guys, give up on coming here! There's no way you'll get here in time and you can't even help us fight him!

No way we can leave you alone! Kiba immediately replied.

Listen to her! Don't come here. Sasuke backed up Sakura, understanding her intentions. Another group of genin would only delay them. And it's not like they'd make a difference in battling a Sage, even if he wasn't going all out yet.

But— Ino protested, not wanting to leave them on their own.

But nothing! Sakura sternly retorted. If you want to help us, then go and get some jounin, there's nothing you can do here!

She's right. By the time we get there, it'll be too late… Shino agreed.

Alright… Kiba relented, not liking it, but understanding that there was nothing they could do with how far away they were.

We're right next to the tower, so we'll report it to them. Stay safe! Hinata replied.

We're still coming to where you are! Ino said stubbornly.

We might not be able to help you, but there's no way we're abandoning you! Shikamaru solemnly swore.

If nothing else, we can help you fight him until the jounin come! Choji added.

You guys… Sakura teared up slightly, feeling touched that the other genin were willing to risk their lives for them. She blinked back the tears and turned back to the standoff, watching Orochimaru slowly approach Sasuke. Now if only she could finish charging up her gauntlets… Seven more minutes...

"Ah! That one so young could have such mastery of the Sharingan~ Truly a worthy successor to the Uchiha Clan! You really are his brother! When I first saw those eyes, I just knew I had to have them!" Orochimaru licked his lips, continuing his monologue.

Sasuke paled, wanting to dart away as fast as he could from this creepy bastard with an apparent eye-kink and thing for his brother… Nii-san, even if you turn out to be innocent, I'm still going to kill you for this! Sasuke thought as he saw the possessive gleam in the snake sage's eyes.

"I can't wait to see how the world will look with your eyes!" he exclaimed, as he jumped off his snake and stepped forwards in Sasuke's direction. The genin tensed, waiting for his move. "Maybe I should even go after your sensei~ He has a transplanted eye, doesn't he?" Orochimaru grinned at the three of them. "Maybe I won't even kill you or your friends, so long as you come and join me, what do you say?" he smiled genially, as if he'd just offered to take them out to lunch and not betray their village.

Sasuke, don't attack yet, I'm still able to fight. Remember, we need to stall! "Shut up! I'll never betray Konoha!" Naruto snapped, jumping at Orochimaru who just stood on his snake and held out his hand, forming a mini-tornado that smacked into Naruto, making him cough out blood.

"Naruto!" Sakura screamed as Sasuke clenched his ninja wire. He only had one shot at this, so he couldn't mess up. He hated that he couldn't intervene yet to help the blonde.

"Excellent! But let's not take any chances, eat the boy~" Orochimaru commanded his snake, who complied and opened its enormous jaw.

Grrrr! Kurama growled, sending his chakra to Naruto's ribs, mending them as Naruto fell through the air. Kit, when you're about to reach the ground, kick that oversized maggot! I'll even add in some of my chakra to hurt that oversized worm! Kurama vindictively commanded, not liking to see Naruto hurt.

Okay! Naruto agreed, diving forward and aiming his foot at the snake's jaw. "Eat snot, sucker!" He yelled and slammed his heel onto the snake's snout, smashing it to the ground.

How could the brat possibly do that? Orochimaru thought as he stared at Naruto in surprise. The blonde just glared at the snake sage with his red pupils. Those eyes…

Woah, what power! Sakura grinned, seeing him flatten the snake. Alright! I'm almost there, just a few more minutes!

Is that really Naruto? Sasuke thought in shock, wondering when his rival had gotten so strong.

"Ho Ho~ The fun's just begun! If that didn't work… then I'll just take Sasuke instead!" Orochimaru grinned, his snake winding around, aiming at Sasuke now.

Sasuke looked at the snake in horror. There was no way his wire could cover that huge beast!

"Sasuke!" Sakura screamed, fearing he'd be eaten by the snake, when Naruto landed right in front of the snake, stopping it with his back.

"Hey, you okay?" Naruto grinned at Sasuke, puffing as he strained to hold back the snake. Sasuke just stared at the blood dripping from the blonde's lips. How could he be asking him if he was okay, when he was the one who got hurt? This was his fault. Orochimaru was after him, not Sakura, not Naruto, but him! If he wasn't on their team then they would have never gotten hurt by this maniac. Sasuke's fingers shook. That missing-nin on the bridge was right, he wasn't strong enough yet to protect his friends! The image of Naruto lying bloody and skewered on the bridge replayed in his mind. He was useless right now. Even Sakura was useful in their fight against Orochimaru with her monstrous punches, but he? He couldn't do a thing!

"Yaaaaaaah!" Naruto screamed as a long tongue wrapped around his waist and lifted him up into the air, dangling him in front of Orochimaru, before Sasuke could even try to pull the blonde back. "Heyyyy! Get off of me!" Naruto flailed in his grip.

Naruto! Kurama panicked, and sent as much of his demonic chakra as he could into the blonde without frying his chakra network. Naruto thrashed and squirmed, but was unable to escape the snake sage's slimy appendage.

Orochimaru caught the blonde genin's chin between his two fingers, forcing Naruto to look him in the eye. Using his thumb, he caressed the blonde's whiskered cheeks and whispered, "Heh heh, the brat of the nine-tails is still alive and kicking…" He smirked at Naruto with his borrowed face. "How fascinating! To see that a bit of the nine-tailed fox trapped within comes through when you become emotional. What an amazing development!" He marveled as slipping his arm into the blonde's waistband, forcing his orange shirt up to reveal Naruto's seal. Orochimaru stroked the seal and said, "There's the proof. The tattoo that seals the monster within you, how I'd like to examine it in depth…" He removed his hand off the blonde's stomach and channeled chakra to the tips of his claw-shaped hand.

Drat! I think he's going to seal me away! Kurama yelled to Naruto.

That's okay! I can unseal it! Naruto reassured, glaring at the snake sage.

Hang in there, Naruto! Sakura thought as she saw Sasuke sneak up behind the snake sage, about to attack. The rest of the genin and Kakashi held their breath, listening intently to see if Naruto was okay.

"It's too bad that you're more trouble than you're worth today…" Orochimaru finally said, digging his hand into Naruto's stomach, causing the blonde to cry out in pain and faint.

"Naruto!" Sakura screamed as the snake sage tossed Naruto's prone body to the side. She quickly launched a Kunai at Naruto's jumpsuit, pinning him to the tree. Sighing in relief that he wasn't falling anymore, Sakura checked her gauntlets again. I still need another minute and a half. Biting her lip, she surveyed the situation again and saw Orochimaru about to turn and see Sasuke. "Sasuke! Naruto needs your help! He might be clumsy and is sometimes a nuisance, but at least he has guts! He's no coward! Right?" she yelled, distracting Orochimaru and giving Sasuke the time he needed to throw the last of his Shuriken at the snake sage.

Orochimaru felt something coming at him and dodged to the side, narrowly avoiding the two Shuriken on either side of him. Not bad! The way he anticipates my ever move and the accuracy of the targeting… He sees me! He ducked his head, getting trapped by a third Shuriken that he didn't see. Wire? He thought, noticing the ninja wires attached to the Shuriken. I see, he flawlessly perceived my escape route and struck along a path I didn't see myself… "Heh, such a shame it won't work…" he muttered, impressed that a genin had outmaneuvered him even if he was just playing around with them.

"Hah!" Sasuke breathed in and rapidly went through the hand signs Snake, Dragon, Rabbit, Tiger, releasing a flame that traveled along the wire, melting off Orochimaru's face. He breathed heavily in relief, before tensing again as he saw the Snake Sage didn't even falter.

"…It's marvelous fun," Orochimaru began, once the fire died down, peeling off his face. "Having you show me all your tricks!" he smirked and paralyzed Sasuke and Sakura again with his magnified killing intent.

We can't move! Sakura yelled, trying to throw off the killing intent. Sasuke snarled, trying to get his legs free, but was stuck.

Orochimaru slithered to them slowly as he spoke, "If you'd ever like a rematch, pass this exam as quickly as you can! I'll see you again if you manage to defeat the three Oto-nin from Sound who only answer to me!"

"Wh-what are you babbling on about!? We never want to see your face again!" Sakura yelled out, stalling for some more time. 30 seconds…

"Perhaps not…" Orochimaru mused, putting his fingers together to form a hand sign. "But wishing won't chase me away!" he yelled as his head detached from his body and stretched out towards them, chomping down on Sasuke's neck.

He did it! He really bit Sasuke's neck! Sakura thought hysterically as she fought against the killing intent.

Orochimaru let go and whispered loud enough for both genin to hear him, "I look forward to seeing you again, Sasuke… In your quest for power!" he finished as Sasuke collapsed, convulsing on the ground as a seal formed on his neck.

Sakura stiffened and found her body finally free from the paralysis and yelled, "What did you do to Sasuke?!"

Orochimaru grinned maliciously at the pink-haired genin and said, "Oh, just a little something to remember me by…"

Sakura glared at him, clenching her fists and sending all her remaining chakra into them. "You bastard!" she screamed and punched him as hard as she physically could.

Orochimaru buried into the ground about to shunshin away when he felt a large chakra signal gather right next to him. He looked up, only to see a fist descend upon him, blowing him away. "Oof," he grunted as he was blown away to the other side of the forest, crashing through the trees. He spat out some blood and winced as he gently fingered his tender wound. That girl… She hits as hard as Tsunade! He thought in wonder. Hmm, how interesting~! He chuckled, his laughter echoing in the empty clearing.

---

"Urghh," Sakura groaned, dropping to the ground. Sasuke twitched in pain next to her and Naruto was still pinned to the tree, dangling limply. She struggled to push herself up into a standing position. Need to move… Can't faint now… She braced herself against the tree and took out a chakra pill, popping it into her mouth. She instantly felt better as she felt the chakra surge through her and fill up her reserves. Shelter, I need shelter… She thought and dragged Sasuke into the roots of the tree next to them. Pulling Naruto down, she set him beside Sasuke and saw sweat building up on Sasuke's forehead. Think, Sakura, think! What did the medic guide say to do when someone had a fever? She wracked her brain and remembered what she read. Water, I need to keep him hydrated! She dug around in her pouch and took out three washcloths. She dipped them into her water supply and put the tips of the cloths inside Naruto's and Sasuke's mouths, using the last one to wipe off the sweat beading Sasuke's forehead. Ok, Naruto seems to just be unconscious, but Sasuke… He's burning up...

Hey! How are you guys? Kiba's voice came into her head. We saw Team 10's sensei and told him about Orochimaru. He said he'd let the Hokage know.

Sakura almost jumped up in surprise. She'd forgotten about the communication seals. We're not so good. The snake creep is gone for now, but he did something to Naruto and Sasuke, and now they're both unconscious. I think Sasuke even has a fever…

Hang in there, Sakura. We're almost there. We just need to get past this other team and then we'll be right over! Ino piped up. Sakura sat down in relief. Despite eating the soldier pill, she still had almost no chakra leftover with the genjutsu she put up to hide them from the forest animals and any ninja after their scrolls. There was no way she could protect her teammates if someone attacked…

---

Right After the Second Exam Started: In the Jounin Lounge

Kakashi grinned behind his mask as he listened to his genin trick the foolish ninja who tried to dupe them by impersonating Naruto. He was proud of his team. They'd easily overcome the mind tricks Ibiki played in the first exam and they'd also already made an alliance in the second exam. Ibiki had even dropped by in the lounge to ask how Team 7 had cheated. Kakashi just eye-smiled at him and said that it was a secret, frustrating the stern man who just reminded him to not let Danzo find out about them. As if he'd let that man anywhere near his genin. That old fossil already had his eyes on Naruto and Sasuke, Kakashi didn't need Danzo finding some other reasons to "help train" his team… Kakashi shifted on his seat, trying to find a more comfortable position to sit in. His orange book was open in front of him, causing the other jounin in the room to think his reactions were to the book.

Asuma watched Kakashi stiffen up and shook his head. He must be at the part where Mako lost his legs in the landslide and Mira and Natsu were worried that he won't ever be able to perform again… He thought in commiseration. Don't worry, Kakashi, Tamiko won't let him be legless for long! She'll use her priestess powers to grow them back!

Kakashi frowned as he heard them encounter another imposter with a long tongue. This new one way deadlier than the last.

He overheard Sakura think through the link in disbelief, What the hell? He just looked at us and made Sasuke throw up!

I saw it—I mean us—I mean he just killed us! Sasuke stammered. There was no way this ninja was a genin, especially if he caused Sasuke to throw up with a single look. The raven-haired genin had at least mid-Chunin level reserves. Only a high-jounin or mid-ANBU level ninja could force him to do that!

Stay away from him! Whoever this is, they're not a genin! Kakashi yelled at them, tensing as he felt his genin's fear through the link. I'm going to go ask the Hokage what's going on, stay alive, I'll be there soon! He promised and shunshined out of the room. The rest of the jounin-sensei just stared at the empty spot Kakashi had been in, in confusion, wondering why he'd disappeared.

---

Kakashi entered the Hokage's office through the window and saw Shikaku and Inoichi sitting next to Hiruzen. "Kakashi, why are you here? I thought I already told you that Kabuto was a non-concern?" Hiruzen asked, frowning.

"Hokage-sama, I have reason to believe that there is a jounin to ANBU level ninja masquerading as one of the genin in the exam," Kakashi reported, clenching his fists tightly as he heard the other genin teams say they were too far away to help Team 7.

"Kakashi, I know that this is your first team and that you're worried about them, but that's no reason to get so worked up about this Exam!" the Hokage chided, as the other two jounin by his side looked at Kakashi in interest. They had never seen the other man so worried about anyone before. It looked like the copy-nin finally had someone he cared about again.

"You don't understand!" Kakashi ran his fingers through his white hair in frustration, before paling as he heard Naruto was swallowed by a snake. "He has snake summons! It's Orochimaru! He must be after Naruto's body or Sasuke's eyes!" Kakashi panicked and started pacing the room in agitation. This caught the others' attentions.

"What? How did he even get here? There's no way he came to the village…" Inoichi began but was cut off by his walkie-talkie going off.

"Hokage-sama, we found three genin with their faces ripped off. This technique is reminiscent to the one Orochimaru uses to disguise himself. Anko is checking out the forest with her team as we speak!" a jounin reported.

Damnit! This must be what Danzo was planning for! Shikaku cursed as Kakashi stopped pacing as he heard Naruto had escaped the giant snake.

Hiruzen focused the Telescope Technique on his crystal ball and used his old student's chakra pattern to track him down. Unfortunately, there was a barrier preventing him from learning their location, but he could still focus the ball on the encounter. Sure enough, it showed Orochimaru taunting Team 7. They tuned in just in time to hear the long-haired ninja say, "You don't recognize me? I'd think after you spent all that time with my beloved teacher, you'd be able to recognize his dear old student." Hiruzen frowned as he saw the student he doted on most sneer at his pseudo-grandson. "But then again… Maybe sensei didn't mention me because I tried to kill him!" Where did I go wrong with him? Hiruzen thought sorrowfully as he watched Orochimaru summon an enormous snake. "I am the Great Snake Sage, Orochimaru! And I always get what I want, and Sasuke, I want you!"

"I knew it! He's after Sasuke's eyes," Kakashi mumbled, glaring at the screen. Sage or not, there was no way he was letting someone hurt his genin! He shifted, about to shunshin out of there when a shadow hooked onto his and trapped him.

Shikaku took the walkie-talkie and commanded, "Tell Anko's team that Orochimaru is in the Forest of Death attacking Team 7. Send all available jounin to find them and help!" Then he turned to Kakashi and said, "Sit down, there's no way you can get there in time. All you can do is wait for the search groups to report where he is. Until then, all we can do is wait…" Kakashi huffed but sat down in the chair, his eyes still glued to the screen. His muscles were all drawn taut as he listened to Sakura tell Team 8 to signal for backup.

"Team 8 is coming to the tower, have someone ask the Aburame where my Team is located," Kakashi directed, remembering how Shino had "bugged" Team 7 before.

"Good idea," Hiruzen nodded and sent a monkey summons to Asuma telling him to take over for Kurenai when Team 8 unsealed their scrolls at the Tower. They turned back to the screen listening to Orochimaru praise the Sharingan.

Kakashi absently touched his own eye when the Snake Sage said, "Maybe I should even go after your sensei~ He has a transplanted eye, doesn't he? Maybe I won't even kill you or your friends, so long as you come and join me, what do you say?"

Inoichi drew in a breath. "He's trying to make them betray the village," he said grimly, as the others stared at the screen. They all panicked when they saw Naruto launch himself at Orochimaru, only to be smacked into the sky and spit out blood. The next moment shocked all of them as they watched the blonde somehow gain enough power to smash the snake summon into the ground.

"How did he do that?" Inoichi asked in disbelief, his jaw dropped open.

"The Kyuubi, he must be drawing on its powers unconsciously," Shikaku answered with wide eyes.

"…" Hiruzen remained silent. Only he knew who "Kurama Uzumaki" really was. The blonde genin had told him in secret about the Kyuubi and how it had become part of his family. He was wary at first, thinking that the fox was trying to trick Naruto, but his misgivings were dissolved when he actually entered Naruto's mindscape and saw how the blonde interacted with the nine-tailed fox. Finding out the truth about October 10th, had been a real shock, but he didn't doubt the Kyuubi's words. He might not like the demon, but he had to admit that it felt reassuring to have something that powerful always protecting the blonde… There was no way he was telling this to anyone. He'd already made that mistake once with the last secret about the Kyuubi. If he let this one out, who knows what the villagers, or worse, Danzo would do? No, it was better making this an S-ranked secret that only Naruto was allowed to share. That way, no one would be able to take advantage of him. The blonde would only tell people he absolutely trusted, and with the Kyuubi's negative-emotions sensing ability, there was no way he'd accidentally tell an untrustworthy person.

Kakashi gripped the table hard, making indentations in it, as he saw Naruto stop the gigantic snake summons from eating Sasuke. He nearly cracked the table when Orochimaru picked up Naruto with his slimy tongue and dangled him in the air. How dare that bastard feel up Naruto! Kakashi fumed, pulverizing the table when he saw Orochimaru use his claws to hurt Naruto.

Shikaku ignored the broken table and asked, "What did he just do? Will there be any complications with the seal?" Kakashi glared at Shikaku for worrying about the seal instead of Naruto.

Hiruzen rubbed his chin and answered, "He appears to have used the Five-Pronged Seal. It should just cut off the Kyuubi's chakra from Naruto's so there won't be any problems with his seal. He should be able to remove it when he wakes up…" Shikaku nodded and turned his attention back to the crystal ball. Kakashi gritted his teeth as he saw Sakura attempt to stall for more time. I should be there, helping them. This never should have happened… He winced when Orochimaru latched onto Sasuke's neck and gave him the same seal Anko had. "That seal…" Hiruzen gulped. They still couldn't remove Anko's seal, and now young Sasuke had one too…

Kakashi grinned in schadenfreude as he saw Sakura punch Orochimaru far away from Team 7. "Yes! Take that you Snake Bastard!" he shouted, causing the others in the room to sweat-drop at the copy-nin's exuberance.

"Change of plans. Orochimaru is no longer with Team 7. Continue searching in the forest for him. If you see Team 7… take them to the tower and offer them medical assistance," Shikaku hesitated but added the last part when he remembered what Sakura just did. They're ready to become Chunin if they were able to go against Orochimaru, an S-ranked nin, for half an hour and still be able to drive him away. They deserve to pass the Chunin Exams even if the proctors help them to the tower…

Hiruzen nodded. In his mind, Team 7 were already Chunin after their A-ranked mission to Wave. The exams were just a way to make it official. He wouldn't stop them from continuing just because they were escorted to the Tower. Their fight today showed that they were more than capable of becoming Chunin. He looked up as Asuma entered the room. "Team 8 has arrived in the tower. Shino told me where Team 7 was, but when I reported it to the proctors they said no jounin were available nearby. All of their Teams are at the edges of the Forest searching for Orochimaru…" Asuma reported back to his father.

Hiruzen sighed and said, "Okay. Kakashi, go with Asuma back to the waiting room."

"But Hokage-sama—" Kakashi began, wanting to go to his Team right now, but was interrupted.

"I know you want to go see your Team, but you can't enter the Forest of Death. We can't tip off Orochimaru that we know he's here yet," Shikaku explained. Kakashi frowned but relented.

"Go with Asuma to the waiting room. You can join Team 7 after they unseal their scrolls in the Tower. They should be there soon," Hiruzen commanded. Kakashi nodded and left the room with Asuma. Hiruzen rubbed his face and sunk down, back into his seat. This was going to be a long month…

---

Team Gai was setting up camp at a clearing with a cave. Tenten was gathering wood to start a campfire while Neji was setting up the tents and keeping an eye out for intruders. Lee was out "training." They'd already gotten their scrolls, so they just had to make their way to the Tower. Neji put down his tools and sighed, "Come out of hiding… unless you're a coward."

How'd he spot us when we hid so fast? Ino wondered as she looked at her teammates.

Stupid pain in the neck, finding us like that… We don't have time for this, we need to hurry! Shikamaru thought back in annoyance.

Since my masterful Plan A—hide until anyone who might hurt us is gone—has failed, time for Plan B! Ino thought as Shikamaru just rolled his eyes at her.

It's not going to work… Shikamaru sighed but followed her lead. He'd do anything to leave this place quickly.

"Oh! What an honor! Lord Hyuuga Neji, last year's Rookie of the Year! Fancy meeting you here!" Ino flattered.

Shikamaru stood up and fawned over him too, "Wow! Can I have an autograph?"

"Oh, it's you three…" Neji recognized them from previous Clan social events in Konoha.

Get a load of this! Ino thought as she undid her ponytail and flipped her hair. "I can't tell you how long… I've dreamt of meeting you!" she winked at him and blew him a kiss.

Neji immediately turned around and walked in the opposite direction. "Get lost!" he coldly said, ignoring her antics.

Why? Why didn't he find me sexy? What's wrong with him?! Ino raged, shaking a fist at him. It makes me so mad!

I tried to tell you he wouldn't go for it… Shikamaru thought back tiredly.

"Hey, does that fist your shaking in my direction mean you want to fight me?" Neji asked without turning around.

"O-Of course not," Ino stammered, rubbing the back of her head. H-How could he know that? Unless… He has eyes in the back of his head!

He does, you idiot! He's a Hyuuga, remember? Shikamaru retorted, while Choji just stifled his laughter.

Oh, yeah… I forgot… Ino said sheepishly.

"Then get lost! I wouldn't demean myself by taking a scroll from losers like you. It would make me a laughingstock!" Neji sneered at them. Humph, they're like cockroaches…

"O-Okay!" Ino agreed as the rest of Team 10 sprinted away. As if we have time or energy to fight you! Ino thought, biting her lips in anger.

It's better this way. Shikamaru consoled. We don't have to waste our time on a meaningless fight…

En! Choji agreed as they continued in the direction Shino had told them to take.

---

Meanwhile, a genin large eye-brows and a green jumpsuit was wandering the Forest of Death in a daze. He kept recalling the genin group that had tricked the Chunin guards and got into the exam by singing a song. He recognized the dark-haired one as Sasuke Uchiha, this year's Rookie of the Year. Lee was looking forward fighting Sasuke as he was Gai-sensei's eternal-rival's student! He was also looking forward to finding out if the dead last blonde was also a Master of Hard Work just like him. And the third member of their team… He blushed. The pink haired girl, Sakura, was really really pretty. He hopped onto the next tree and saw some leaves fall. Yosh! If I can catch all 20 of these leaves before they can hit the ground, then Sakura will fall in love with me! But, if I miss even one… then my love for her will never be requited and she'll probably make fun of my hair! He fired up and shot out of the tree catching 19 leaves in one swift swoop. One more left! Jumping at the last leaf, he was about to catch it, when a squirrel jumped out of the bushes. It's…! He caught the squirrel quickly detaching the paper bomb on its back, saving its life. "Just in the nick of time! A letter bomb on a very short timer… Who would do something so cruel?" Lee frowned and patted the squirrel. I guess I'll find out soon… He thought and ran towards the noises he heard in the distance.

---

"Shit!" Sakura spat out some blood and dodged another kick to her head. This was bad! She didn't have any chakra left over and could only use her normal Taijutsu and remaining Kunai and Shuriken. Hurry up Ino! I'm fighting a bunch of whack-jobs! She swiped at the bandaged boy and lunged to the side away from the girl's attack, only to be hit by the black-haired one's sound waves. "Huff, huff," the pink haired girl breathed heavily and tried pushing herself up off the ground, only to almost fall over again. Her fall was stopped by a bushy-browed bowl-haircut green-jumpsuit wearing man. "You are…?" She asked in confusion.

He gently lowered her to the ground and said, "It is I, Konoha's Second Beautiful Green Beast, Rock Lee!" He stood in front of Sakura and said, "And I'm here to protect you with my life!"

Sakura blinked not knowing how to take in this new development. "Thanks," she nodded slowly, any help was good right now. She could barely move. This would help stall for enough time for Team 10 to get here. Where are you guys?

We're almost there, just give us another five minutes… Ino answered back.

Lee positioned himself in Front Lotus, trying to attack the black-haired one. The other ninja just smirked and shot a sound wave at Lee, damaging his ears. Lee staggered to the side, but still remained in front of Sakura, protecting her.

"Zaku, stop playing around! Finish him off. We don't have time for this, we're here for the boy!" the bandaged boy commanded.

The black-haired boy scowled but agreed, nonetheless. "Got it, Dosu!" he replied and sent out another sound wave at the green-jumpsuit wearing boy. He tried dodging it, but was unable to, his balance being off from the ear damage the sound waves caused. He shut his eyes, waiting for the impact.

Sakura pushed herself up. She had eaten another soldier pill and was ready to fight! She shoved Lee out of the way and snapped three Kunai at Zaku, pinning him to the tree.

"Look at that! Pinkie actually has some fight left in her!" the girl remarked, clapping her hands together.

"Kin…" Dosu growled, warningly.

"Got it, got it! I won't take too long, promise!" Kin held up her hands. Dosu nodded, allowing her permission to go after Sakura. "Come here, you little piglet!" Kin yelled as she rushed Sakura. The pink haired genin kicked Kin to the side and threw a Shuriken at her, forcing Kin away from where Lee was curled up on the floor. Kin clicked her tongue and ran to Sakura's other side. Sakura tensed up preparing to defend herself when Zaku, who had gotten free from before, sent a sound wave at her, knocking her to the ground.

"Urghh!" Sakura groaned from the ground. She'd forgotten to take into account the other member of the team when she was fighting. Kin grinned at pulled Sakura up by her hair.

"Look at you now! All helpless and alone, just like a pig primed for slaughter…" she smirked at the pink haired genin. Sakura tried to move, but could barely remain conscious from the wounds she had received. I can't move… I'm just a burden to them, someone they have to protect! I'm always in the way, never helping… Damnit! I thought this time would be different, this time, I need to help protect the people I care about! She blinked rapidly, trying to will herself awake to help her teammates. They're counting on me, I can't give up now! Her eyes flashed with resolve as she recalled that talk she had with her inner self after that trip to Whirlpool.

---

Flashback to Inner & Sakura

Sakura woke up barefoot to a lush meadow full of stone sculptures. "How did I get here?" she asked herself aloud.

"We're in your mind, Dip-stick!" a voice yelled out.

Sakura jumped, not expecting anyone to actually answer her. "In my mind?" she repeated. She turned towards the voice and saw a second her!

Clone-Sakura rolled her eyes. "Yes, we're in your mind, or our mind, I guess… It doesn't really matter; what matters is that you have to stop what you're doing!"

"Stop what I'm doing?" Sakura blanched.

Her clone nodded. "See, that! We were the smartest Kunoichi in school! How are you so stupid?"

"Stupid? Take that back, I'm not stupid!" Sakura yelled back, a tick-mark forming on her forehead. The wind picked up in the meadow, reacting to her temper.

"Then why are we on a diet? You KNOW that ninjas need more energy to train!" Clone-Sakura lifted her eyebrow at her, provoking the pink-haired kunoichi.

"Because- Because of Sasuke-kun!" Sakura stammered. Surely, her clone knew that she needed to be attractive to date him?

"See, that's why you're an Idiot!" Clone-Sakura complained. Sakura was about to blow up again when her clone interrupted her. "Do you even remember why we wanted to be a strong ninja?" Sakura silently shook her head no, wanting to see where her clone was going with this. "We wanted to become a strong ninja to be Ino's equal. She reached out to us when we were all alone, and how do you repay her? By ditching her when you found out that she also had a crush on Sasuke!" Sakura ducked her head down in shame. She really had no excuse for what she did. "And if that wasn't bad enough, you declared yourself her rival, but you never bothered to take any of the physical aspects of ninja training seriously! Even Naruto the dead-last could beat you!"

"Hey! Don't speak about Naruto that way!" Sakura snapped, the wind roaring with her fury again. She could handle the insults towards herself, but Naruto… He showed her a way to fight back, a way to help Sasuke and Kakashi battle and not be left behind. There was no way she was allowing anyone to mock him in front of her!

"Why not?" the clone asked sarcastically. "You used to punch Naruto whenever you were annoyed at him for telling you that he loved you."

"Th-That wasn't because of…" Sakura stammered as clouds darkened the skies.

"How would you have felt if Sasuke beat you up every time you confessed to him instead of just ignoring you?" her clone sneered at her as it began to rain, wind whipping around everywhere.

"I…" Sakura opened her mouth and closed it. What could she say in defense of her actions? She didn't want to admit it, but her clone was right. "I would feel horrible," she finally said in a solemn voice, mentally kicking herself for how she had treated Naruto. "Kami, I feel terrible. I'm such a bad person," she sobbed realizing the contempt she'd shown the sunny blonde for giving her his heart.

"Good, you've finally realized the truth." The rain stopped and the sky cleared up once more to show the glistening sun. Sakura stopped crying and looked up to see her clone smiling at her gently. "Will you take your training more seriously now? To catch up to your teammates and to stand by their side instead of hiding behind them like a coward?" she asked.

"Yes, I will," Sakura promised with conviction. She was going to train hard from now on, no matter how she looks. She'd do it, to stand by her team and not be a burden anymore. Her clone smiled, her image wavering slightly. "What's happening? Why are you fading?" Sakura asked in panic as her clone started disappearing.

"I was made when you started hiding how you truly felt to fit in, but now that you've accepted everything you used to blind yourself too, I am no longer needed," she explained, turning transparent with a faint outline.

"But, wait! What if I don't want you to go! What if I mess up again? I don't want to go back to being how I was before…" Sakura said the last part in a quieter voice.

"Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere. I'll always be here, guiding you in the right direction. I am a part of you after all," she kissed Sakura's forehead and vanished into thin air. Sakura blushed lightly and rubbed the spot her clone kissed before she felt a tug. She woke up in a hospital bed with the bluest eyes she'd ever seen staring right at her in joy.

---

I'd always thought of myself as a full-fledged ninja, proud to be their equal as I trailed behind my teammates. Crushing on Sasuke and scolding Naruto, watching them safely from the background, while they both would risk anything to protect me. You're my teachers and have shown me what I want to be. So, I'll follow in your footsteps to be like all of you! Now it's your turn to watch my back. Sakura forced herself to grab a Kunai and swiped it across her hair, chopping it off.

Kin staggered back, while the rest of the ninja clearing looked at Sakura in shock. She clenched her Kunai and shouted out, "There's no way you're getting through me! I'll fight you all to protect my friends!"

Dosu laughed. As if this slip of a girl could stop him from carrying out Orochimaru-sama's commands! "Zaku, Kin, take care of her!" They nodded and attacked her in unison.

Sakura dodged the sound waves Zaku sent at her and broke out of the illusion Kin cast. She channeled the last dregs of her chakra and punched both of them, sending them flying into a tree. She turned around and was about to punch Dosu too when she was struck by senbon from behind. She dropped to the floor again, unable to move. Sasuke, Naruto… Even Lee, I'm sorry… Sakura shut her eyes waiting for Dosu to deal the final blow.

"Don't give up, Forehead. No one's allowed to beat you but me! You're my rival after all!"

Sakura opened her eyes and saw Ino standing in front of her, protecting her from the others' attacks. Her strong back overlapped with the one that protected her from the playground bullies back at the Academy. "Ino…"

"You've done enough. Leave the rest to me," Ino said to Sakura, holding her hand out to her. And just like before, when she was little, she saw a blonde girl reaching her hand out to her, shielding her from the outside world… You always have my back, Ino… Sakura took her hand and stood up. Ino led her over to where Shikamaru was checking on Naruto and Sasuke. "Sit here and watch over your teammates. We'll beat them up for you!" she promised.

Sakura nodded, as Shikamaru got up and faced the other three ninja with Ino and Choji flanking him. She knew she could count on them to fight. She leaned her back against the tree and watched the battle commence.

---

How are they? Ino asked mentally as she stood protectively in front of Team 7.

They're okay. Both are unconscious and Sasuke seems to have a slight fever, but otherwise, they're fine. Shikamaru replied, straining as he continued holding on to Dosu's shadow.

That's good. Choji sighed in relief. The larger boy had been worried for Team 7 ever since he heard they were in trouble. He'd barely eaten on their way here and was now starving. His stomach growled as he struck up his fighting pose.

The trio assumed the Boar-Deer-Butterfly formation their Clans were known for and yelled out simultaneously, "Baika no Jutsu!" "Kagemane no Jutsu!" "Shintenshin no Jutsu!" Ino shoved her way into the girl's mind while Shikamaru trapped the other genin as well. He let go of the black-haired genin as Choji used his Nikudan Sensha to slam him into the ground, knocking him out. The bandaged leader could only stand there and watch as his teammates got pummeled. Choji continued rolling after barreling over Zaku and launched himself into the air, flattening Dosu. Ino forced Kin to takeout her poisoned senbon and to stab herself with them before leaving her body.

Team 10 quickly tied up the other team and regrouped in front of Sakura, panting heavily from the fight they'd just been in.

"Yes! We beat them!" Ino exclaimed and sat down next to Sakura, propping her back up against the tree. She waved around the Earth scroll they snatched from the tied-up team and said, "Lucky~ We got the scroll we needed!"

"We better get out of here before they wake up…" Shikamaru didn't sit down and assessed the current situation. "Who's this?" he asked, gesturing to Lee.

"This is Rock Lee. He helped save me from them," Sakura explained, flexing her stiff muscles. The recoil of eating two soldier pills in a short amount of time was really taking its toll on her. Even though she weakened their effects, her "mud balls" still used up a lot of her stamina. Right now, she could only eat one without feeling any side effects. Two pills were still too much for her body to handle without becoming unconscious after they wore off… She didn't know how much longer she could stay awake…

"Oh yeah," Ino smacked her fist on her hand. "Isn't he part of Neji's team? We saw them in the clearing over there!" She pointed in the direction they'd come in, before looking back at the green-jumpsuit clad genin. "What do we do with him?" she asked, scrunching up her eyebrows.

"Let me take him from here!" A girl with two buns on either side of her head dropped down in front of them. Team 10 watched her warily, waiting to see what she would do. She forced Lee into a standing position and then violently shook him yelling, "Lee! Are you alright? Pull yourself together!"

The other genin could only sweat-drop as Lee mumbled, "Wha-?" He blinked his eyes at Tenten, who finally let go of him, and asked, "Huh? Tenten? When did you get here?"

"We came here to rescue you!" she frowned at her wayward teammate, placing her hands on her hips.

"Ugh…" Lee groaned and looked around the clearing. "Where did the ninja from Sound go?" he asked in confusion.

"Team 10 beat them off…" Tenten answered as they both turned and looked at the other genin.

"Oh…" Lee pouted. He wanted a rematch after failing so miserably in the last fight. I need to run a hundred laps around Konoha as punishment… On my hands! He added, thinking the penalty wasn't hard enough.

Tenten, sensing her teammate's thoughts going into a strange direction, scolded him, "What were you thinking, going off half-cocked like that alone?! Look at you! You're a mess!"

"S-Sakura needed me! Saving her was my sacred duty… as a man!" Lee protested,

Tenten narrowed her eyes at him, and looked back at the trio Team 10 defeated. Oh, for crying out loud! If Lee had faced those guys by himself, with no distractions, he could've taken them! If those three: the glutton, loud-mouth, and slacker could've defeated them, then there's no way Lee could've failed unless Pinky got in his way… She incorrectly assumed. "You're an idiot. You know that, right?" she asked in exasperation.

"Your words are so sharp! If I try to answer back, I'll cut myself!" Lee slumped down in defeat to the rest of the genin's amusement.

Sakura pushed herself off the trunk and shakily walked towards the green-clad genin. "Lee… Thank you!" she smiled, staving off her tiredness. "Thanks to your help, I've made some kind of breakthrough. My skills have been taken to a whole new level!"

Sakura! Lee sniffled as his eyes filled up with tears. "…I am not worthy!" he blurted out, wiping away his tears. "They beat me senseless and you saved me!" Next time, I'll beat them! He looked at Sakura with a burning gaze, "Sakura… The Fighting Lotus of Konoha village will grow and flower again! Before we meet again, I'll become a stronger man! I swear it!" And next time, I'll definitely be able to protect you! Yosh! I'll do 500 sit ups after the exams! Lee fired up again.

Sakura blinked at those last words which were so similar to that of her blonde teammate's. "Yeah," she agreed and smiled nostalgically. They both would get stronger, and next time… Next time, Sakura would be able to protect her teammates too! She also fired up.

Seeing both of their passionate burning gazes, Team 10 and Tenten sweat-dropped. Those two… They're on the same wave-length, aren't they...? They thought.

"Alright you two, we need to get going," Tenten interrupted them, already used to strange displays like this from her sensei and teammate. "See you later!" Tenten called out as she dragged Lee away with her to where Neji was standing on a cliff.

Hmm… Seems like they have some fight in them after all… He thought, looking at Team 10 standing next to the downed foes. He was too late to actually watch the fight, but he was surprised those weaklings actually managed to beat another team. He looked away as Tenten and Lee joined him and coldly said, "Let's go." They nodded and left the clearing, leaving Teams 7 and 10 alone.

"Okay, now that that's over, let's go over our plans…" Shikamaru coughed, gaining their attention. "The way I see it, we should find a shelter for tonight and head to the tower tomorrow morning. Hopefully, Naruto and Sasuke will both be awake then," he said, glancing at the two unconscious genin. "For now, let's go in that direction. We saw a cave over there and it's near the tower."

Sakura nodded and helped Ino prop up Naruto and Sasuke against the tree. "Who's going to carry them?" Sakura asked, gesturing at her teammates.

"Troublesome…" Shikamaru muttered, rubbing his forehead. "Choji, do you think you can carry both of them?" he asked, looking at the larger boy.

"I can try…" Choji nodded and slung the two genin over his shoulders. He grunted and struggled to carry them both forward.

"This isn't going to work…" Shikamaru stated.

"He could use chakra to make them less heavy," Sakura suggested.

"Nah, I don't have enough chakra to do that," Choji said in dismay.

"I could takeover Sasuke and force him to walk," Ino added, leering slightly at the thought of being inside Sasuke's body.

Shikamaru shivered seeing her expression and said, "Yeah, let's not do that… Who knows how those seals are affecting them… It's better not to disturb them. For now, I'll use my shadows to walk Sasuke and Choji will carry Naruto as he's lighter. After that, we'll take turns carrying them until we get there." The genin nodded and followed Shikamaru into the forest.

Choji nodded and picked up the blonde, frowning as he felt how light he was. He's not getting enough to eat. He thought, remembering what Naruto said about having to scavenge in the forest for food. After the exams, I'm going to help him stock up his fridge. No one deserves to go hungry! He grimaced at the thought of not eating for a day as his stomach growled.

Unknown to Choji, he'd accidentally projected his thoughts about Naruto through the link. The other genin (and one jounin-sensei) did not take this reminder of the blonde's harsh life well.

Shikamaru almost walked Sasuke into a tree when he overheard Choji's remarks. He knew that the blonde was shorter than usual, and he'd always thought it was genetics, but… Could it be possible that it was due to undernourishment? He wondered, eyeing Naruto's slight frame.

Team 8 did not have a huge reaction, as they'd already discussed the blonde's eating habits before. Ever since Naruto mentioned not having enough money for food, Hinata began experimenting in the kitchen, trying to make food for him. Both Kiba and Shino knew of her crush on him and helped test out her food. Everything she made was delicious! Naruto would definitely devour it if it was placed in front of him. Now, if only the pale-eyed girl wasn't too shy to deliver the food boxes to the blonde…

Sakura felt horrified that Naruto had to search in the woods for food. How did I not know this? I'm his teammate, I should've noticed! She grimaced as she remembered how she threw the food he'd made specially for them onto the ground. No wonder they threatened me and Sasuke… She thought remembering their stay in the hospital.

Kakashi, on the other hand, scowled under his mask. Although he knew that with the increased mission pay, Naruto was able to feed himself now, the thought of his blonde wandering the forest and looking for fruits to eat because he didn't have any money when he was younger really made him angry. Stupid villagers, overcharging him and running him out of their stores! He growled and vowed to get revenge on each and every store that refused Naruto service!

The jounin-sensei in the vicinity of Kakashi all shivered as they felt killing intent leak out of the masked-nin. They didn't even want to know who the unlucky soul was to anger the copy-nin this badly.

Asuma looked at Kakashi and saw him holding his orange book in front of him. Ah, he must be at the part where Miko leaves to become a nun, taking the rest of the harem members with her. He nodded his head in understanding. Don't worry, Kakashi! The ending was worth the angsty decision! He thought, rooting for the white-haired-nin in his mind, not knowing that the other was plotting the demise of all the grocery store owners in Konoha…

---

A New Resolve

A Sharingan spun menacingly, as a raven-haired genin peered into the distance. He walked out of the darkness, only to see the Uchiha District in front of him. He crept along the dilapidated buildings, trying to find the source of his discomfort. There's something off about this place… He thought, continuing along the path, searching for intruders. He spun around as he heard a faint whimper. Running in the direction of the sobs, he yelled, "Who's there!" He closed in on a corridor where the sound was coming from and yanked open the door, only to see a small child sitting in the corner, his back facing him. Is that the Uchiha crest on his shirt? Another survivor? Sasuke wondered but still called out, "Who are you?" The child rocked back and forth, his arms circling his knees, but did not answer. "Why are you here?" Sasuke asked in the ensuing silence.

Not expecting the child to answer, Sasuke was about to walk out of the room to go find the Police Force, when the child finally whispered. "It was my fault."

What was? Sasuke wondered but remained quiet.

The child turned around abruptly and looked at Sasuke, who sucked in a breath, recognizing the other. "Mother and father needn't have died." The me of long ago? Why is he here? "Ultimately without strength, there's nothing you can do. I wasn't strong enough. I wasn't strong enough. Our clan was destroyed. Everyone was killed. Because of you… You let them die, you just stood there and watched, because you're nothing but a weakling!" His younger version suddenly accused him, activating his Sharingan. Crying tears of blood, he said a few words before ducking past Sasuke's stunned form and running out of the room. "Without strength, how can we ever hope to avenge our clan?"

Those last words echoed along the corridor, snapping Sasuke out of his frozen state. "Wait!" He yelled and rushed after his younger form but was too late. Where did he go? He thought, panting heavily in the middle of the road.

"So, you met him, didn't you?" a voice called out to Sasuke. He spun around to see a clone of him. "The little version of us? The one who still blames us for not saving our parents?" The clone continued, ignoring Sasuke's look of disbelief.

"How… This… What?" he stuttered out, trying to make sense of what was happening.

His clone sighed and arched an eyebrow at him. "Wow. You don't remember… I didn't see that coming," he rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

"Remember what?" Sasuke asked blankly. This situation was too bizarre for him to react. He didn't understand what was going on.

"This," the clone said and poked Sasuke's forehead with his finger before vanishing into a plume of smoke.

"What did you just…" Sasuke coughed, wincing as a stream of memories forced their way into his head. "Right, I'm back in my head again…" he finally murmured, once the memories stopped. He clenched his fists, remembering how his clone had kicked him out the other time, saying he wasn't ready to accept the truth yet. Last time, he'd just spent the entire stay watching Itachi leave over and over again. He could even tell them the exact number of tears Itachi cried before abandoning him…

"You've finally made it," another, deeper voice called out to him. Sasuke spun around and saw another clone of himself? No, it's not the same… It's darker this time… He mused, noticing how the clone had pitch black hair and a dark navy-blue shirt instead of the royal blue one he always wore.

"You are?" Sasuke asked, wondering why there were new versions of himself this time around.

"I'm you of course!" He said circling Sasuke like a predator stalking its prey. "Your pride, your anger, your… strength," he whispered the last part and then stepped away.

Sasuke just stared at the other him in confusion. What?

"I can't believe that my outer personality is so weak," he scoffed. "You can't even beat the Dobe in a spar when he's allowed to use his clones. Even Sakura has improved more than you have!" Sasuke staggered back, each of those words hitting at his sore spots. It was true. He couldn't beat Naruto as easily anymore and was genuinely terrified of Sakura's tree-shattering punches. "Afraid of Sakura?" the dark clone scowled in disgust. "Since when have we ever sunk so low?" he mocked. Sasuke remained silent, not knowing what to say, silently taking the clone's words of contempt. "Mother and father would be disappointed…" the dark clone shook his head in displeasure.

"Mother and father loved me," Sasuke immediately said back.

"Oh really? And do you think they'll still love you when you're thinking that Itachi might have been innocent?" he asked cruelly, grinning as Sasuke shrunk back. "You watched him kill them with his own two hands. He murdered them!"

"No! They said-they…" he stuttered trying to remember their last words, but finding his memory getting fuzzy.

"They would want you to avenge them! And you declared you would!" He bellowed, looking down on Sasuke. "But what are you doing now?" He asked in derision as Sasuke fell to his knees. "Do you even remember what it means? To be an avenger?" Sasuke had tears streaking down his cheeks now. "It means to bare your burden alone! Not what you're doing now, making friends with the loser and the banshee," he sneered. "What were you thinking? That they'd help you avenge your family? This is something that must be done alone to have any meaning! You need to get stronger, strong enough to fight Itachi and kill him. Only then will our parents be able to finally rest in peace."

Sasuke looked up from his spot on the floor, meeting his dark clone's eyes, "Peace?"

"Pfft, making friends. You don't need any distractions to hinder you. Look at how you almost gave up on the Written Exam because of that girl."

Sasuke clenched his fists. It was true! He almost gave up on the exams because Sakura wanted to quit. What had he been thinking? How could he let go like that?

The dark clone continued, "And teaming up in the Forest of Death with the other genin? One would think that you don't want to get stronger. How can you when you don't fight alone? How can you test your limits when others are butting in and stealing strong opponents away from you?"

Sasuke unconsciously nodded his head. The clone was right. If he didn't fight strong opponents by himself, how could he get stronger? Teammates and friends… He didn't need hindrances like those. They'd only get in the way when Itachi came and captured them as leverage.

The dark clone smirked, seeing his words affecting the stoic raven. Only one more push… "Ah, but you can keep around that Dobe. Despite him trying to convince you about Itachi, even when he's oh so wrong, he'd still make a good best friend."

Sasuke eyed his clone warily, wondering what he'd say about the talkative blonde.

"As a sacrifice that is…" the dark clone smirked. If he could persuade Sasuke to kill off that annoyance, then everything would go according to the plan. The youngster would fall to the thrall of the seal after killing off that Jinchuuriki and gain the Mangekyo Sharingan, killing two birds with one stone! Then he'd be free to takeover this body and there'd be no angry Kyuubi-brat to stop him like last time. The girl was weak on her own, so no concerns there…

"No! I can't kill—not Naruto!" he stuttered out, a churning feeling in his gut. Naruto was special… He couldn't just kill him! His heart clenched as he remembered the blonde's broken body on the bridge. "Not Naruto," he reiterated in a stronger voice.

"Oh?" the dark clone arched his eyebrow at him. This might be troublesome. He actually has feelings for the container… Tch! How annoying! This isn't good; how can I convince him to join me if he still has bonds to this village? It was hard enough suppressing that inner aspect of himself… This, this would just make everything worse! "He's already a weakness! You need to distance yourself! How can you kill Itachi if you're relying on Naruto?" Seeing Sasuke's stubborn face the clone took another approach. "If you remain close to Naruto, he'll be the first one targeted by other like Itachi…or Orochimaru…" Sasuke's face crumpled. Seeing it working, the dark clone continued, "You better distance yourself now. It'd be better for you to not be friends with him even if you don't sacrifice him…"

Sasuke nodded. He'd stay away from Naruto, if it meant protecting him. He couldn't let Itachi or Orochimaru steal away another family member from him. He'd distance himself from Team 7, so they don't get hurt. It was the only way he could repay them for treating him like part of their family.

Good, everything is falling into place. The dark clone thought. Now I just have to give him a surge of my power once he battles and he'll be addicted. Soon, soon I'll have those eyes and then nothing can stop me! He cackled on the inside.

---

Blue eyes blinked, as the orange-genin regained conscious. Naruto smacked his lips together, smelling ramen. He sat up, noticing Sasuke curled up next to him. Moving slowly, to not wake the raven-haired genin up, he got up and walked outside. He saw Team 10 and Sakura sitting next to a small fire. Before he could walk up to them, his stomach grumbled.

"Naruto! You're awake!" Sakura cried out when she saw the blonde standing at the entrance of the cave.

"Yeah," he nodded and sat down beside her. "What happened?" he asked after accepting a bowl of ramen from Choji.

"You slept through the night. It's lunch time now. We're planning on heading to the tower in another hour if Sasuke doesn't wake up," Shikamaru explained as he munched on his grilled fish.

"Is he okay?" Naruto asked, looking back at the cave with furrowed eyebrows.

"He's alright for now. He had a fever before, but it's gone now. He should be waking up soon," Ino said, putting another fish on a stick over the fire.

"You were right about the biting thing. That seal Orochimaru placed on him, did a number on him…" Sakura explained, flicking her empty stick on to the fire absently.

"A seal? Maybe I could go check it out," Naruto got up eagerly, when Sakura pulled him back down.

"Sit down and eat. You just woke up!" she scolded him, and he pouted like a puppy.

"But Sakura—"

"No, buts!" Sakura cut him off and glared. He gulped and sat back down.

"Speaking of seals, didn't Orochimaru put one on you too?" she asked in concern.

"Oh, yeah," Naruto rubbed his stomach, tracing his seal. "I forgot… Let me remove it." He pushed up his tattered orange shirt, exposing his tanned skin, not noticing the rest of the genin suck in a breath.

Seeing the golden unmarred skin, Shikamaru gulped and shifted, suddenly feeling thirsty. Choji was drooling. Whether it was because he saw Naruto's flat stomach or because his food was done grilling, we might never know… Ino's and Sakura's faces flushed pink as they averted their eyes from the blonde's toned six-pack. Neither of them could understand why they were affected by Naruto's body. Sasuke! Got to remember that I love Sasuke! They both repeated in their heads.

Naruto channeled some chakra and grimaced seeing the angry seal on his stomach. This is going to hurt… He frowned and tensed up, sending chakra to his fingertips. "Five-Pronged Seal Release!" he yelled and bit back a scream as he slammed his fingers onto his stomach.

The other genin snapped out of their trances when they heard the piercing scream coming from Naruto. While releasing the seal, the chakra fluctuations activated his bracelet, allowing the other genin hear his held back screaming. The looked at Naruto and could only see the slight tightening of his facial muscles, a paler face, and some sweat forming on his forehead. Other than that, there were no other outer signs of his pain. Naruto slumped over, feeling drained from the unsealing.

Yo, Kurama! You there? Naruto asked.

Yeah, I'm here little one. Kurama purred, sending some of his chakra down to Naruto's stomach to heal the burns there, soothing his pain.

Good. Naruto sighed in relief, smiling widely. The other genin watched him carefully for any sign of discomfort.

"Is it gone?" Sakura asked, tentatively. Naruto nodded. "Did it hurt to remove?" she asked remembering the haunting scream.

Hey, are you guys okay? Kiba asked through the bracelets. We heard someone screaming!

"Yeah, it wasn't that bad compared to some other stuff!" he smiled brightly at her and flashed her a thumbs-up. It really hurt to remove the seal, but now that it was gone, he felt way better than that time he accidentally drank some 'expired' milk. Sakura frowned slightly, but accepted it and pushed a bowl of Ramen to him.

We're fine. Shikamaru replied as Sakura distracted Naruto with another bowl of Ramen.

Ok, that's good. Hinata sighed in relief and Shino relaxed once again, hearing this. Kakashi also felt relief course through him. He'd been worried Orochimaru had found them again.

Shikamaru deactivated the bracelets and studied the blonde in front of him. He's smiling again right after enduring a great amount of pain. He didn't even make a sound even though it sounded like it hurt so much… He frowned. How many times has he been in pain but we didn't notice? How many times has he smiled in pain and had no one there to comfort him? How much pain must he have gone through to ignore something of that degree and still be able to say that it "wasn't that bad"?

His train of thoughts was interrupted by Sasuke's arrival. The raven-haired genin looked at Naruto and then relaxed his tense posture. That scream must've been a dream… "How long are we staying here for?" he asked, dropping down next to Naruto and plucking a grilled fish off the fire.

"We'll leave as soon as we're done eating…" Ino answered flirtatiously, winking at Sasuke.

He ignored her and directed his gaze at Shikamaru. "Anything happen while I was unconscious?"

"After you guys fought off Orochimaru, a sound team attacked us but we beat them off. Then, that creep from before, Kabuto showed up and said he'd escort us to the tower but we declined. He traded an Earth scroll for the extra Heaven scroll you guys had, so now we both have complete sets. The tower is only about five minutes in that direction, so we should be alright…" Shikamaru replied, pointing towards the tower.

"How have we not been ambushed by the poachers at the tower yet?" Sasuke asked after devouring his grilled fish. He was starving after not eating for a whole day.

"I used Naruto's scroll of traps after Kabuto found us. I didn't want to take any chances," Sakura answered her teammate. "They were brilliant! No one's been able to get to us yet" she praised the blonde who grinned at her, rubbing the back of his head.

"Yeah, those Level 2 and 3 traps should've taken care of anyone up to jounin level!" Naruto boasted. "Even Iruka-sensei said they were good!"

"Wow! I guess pranking is actually good for something," Ino joked, but was still amazed by the blonde's achievements.

"You know," Naruto said in a conspiring tone. "Back in the day, Iruka-sensei used to be a Master Pranker as well!"

"Eh? No way!" their eyes widened in disbelief.

"Yup! He told me so himself," Naruto confirmed, remembering what Iruka had said to him the night Mizuki betrayed Konoha.

"Your traps must be on a whole another level if they were inspired from your pranks. I still can't believe you managed to paint the Hokage Monument in full daylight," Shikamaru lazily pointed out.

"Yeah, how did you do that anyways? With that orange jumpsuit and all, you must've been visible…" Sakura asked trying to figure out how he'd done it.

"A prankster never reveals his secrets!" Naruto exclaimed, grinning when he saw Sakura pout. He'd actually used his secret hiding jutsu to keep hidden from the prying eyes of the jounin in town. It was exhausting covering the whole Hokage monument in his special Henge while concealing himself at the same time, but it was so worth it! After all, no one found out until the end. That reminds me, I haven't taught Sasuke or Sakura my secret techniques yet… He pondered it over in his mind, before finally deciding. I'll teach it to them after the exams. I don't want a ninja from another village finding out about it while they're practicing. But, I think it's time to teach them it. They've both changed a lot after Wave…

While Naruto was lost in his thoughts, Team 10 packed up all their things and Sakura disabled Naruto's traps, resealing them into his scroll. Sasuke put out the fire and shook Naruto until he snapped out of his daze.

"You alright?" Sasuke asked him, placing his hand on Naruto's shoulder. He was sure he heard the blonde scream in pain, but couldn't place it. Probably was just a dream…

"Yeah. I was just thinking about the end of the exams! Let's go to the tower quickly and become Chunin!" Naruto beamed at Sasuke who returned the smile before remembering he was supposed to be distancing himself from the blonde.

He stepped away and coughed awkwardly when he saw Naruto staring at him in confusion. "Ahem… Let's go!" he agreed and looked away right as Sakura walked up towards them.

"What're you guys doing?" she asked, her hands on her hips. "Come on!" she looked at them exasperatedly and turned around, walking in the direction of the tower. Naruto shrugged and followed her, Sasuke trailing behind him like a little duckling (and not just for his hairstyle). Both teams walked through the Forest of Death in silence, reaching the Tower in a brief five-minute walk with no other encounters.

When they entered, Shikamaru only had to briefly stare at the inscription before solving it. "We have to open both our scrolls…" he said. Sakura and Ino nodded, opening both their scrolls at the same time. There was a pop as the summoning seals on the scrolls activated, and then a burst of smoke filled the room. By the time they could see again, the genin could vaguely make out two figures standing in the smoke.

---

The Waiting Room

"What do you mean I can't go and see my team?" Kakashi agitatedly asked, suppressing the torrent of killing intent he wanted to release on the Chunin.

"I mean what I said," the Chunin repeated dully in a bored tone. "Another ninja has already applied for that position so you cannot go…"

"But I am their jounin-sensei, Hatake Kakashi," Kakashi glared at the Chunin who just scoffed. Asuma laid his hand on Kakashi's shoulder, afraid that the other man would attack.

"Yeah, and I'm Bekko, but you don't see me complaining!"

"At least tell me who's taken my place," Kakashi insisted, a small trickle of killing intent leaking out.

The Chunin shivered and looked down at his list. "Umino Iruka has taken over your spot. But I don't see why, that Kyuubi-brat is on your team and who would want to see him? H-He s-should've been k-kicked out the day he stole the s-scroll," he stuttered as the killing intent ramped up. Asuma tried pulling him away, but Kakashi didn't budge.

"What did you say?" he asked, lacing each word with killing intent. His mask slipped down, revealing his spinning Sharingan glinting dangerously.

"I-I said t-that um they s-should've k-kicked out the K-Kyuubi-brat?" he squeaked, almost wetting himself.

"Hey! Don't call Naruto that!" a voice called out. Asuma slumped in relief. He was glad he didn't need to stop Kakashi from starting a fight with the other Chunin who was now trembling like a toddler in front of a tiger.

"Umino."

"Hatake-san," Iruka greeted.

Kakashi eye-smiled and said, "Why did you take my spot to see MY genin team, hmm?"

"Hatake-san, I wasn't aware that it was your spot. Aren't they free for whoever comes first," Iruka shot back, also smiling genially.

"That's true…" Kakashi admitted. "But it's tradition to have their jounin-sensei meet them at the tower, so we usually get first pick."

"Usually, but not always," Iruka pointed out. "Besides traditions are meant to be broken, and I want to congratulate Naruto and his team personally."

"Yeah? But I want to see MY genin team too. It's been such a long time since I last saw them, we've never been apart this long. Don't you think you should let their loving sensei see them again?"

"Well, that's too bad, because there's only one ticket and I'm keeping it," Iruka bluntly refused Kakashi. No way was he going to give up congratulating Naruto! The blonde was like a little brother to him.

"I really think that I, as their jounin-sensei, should be the one meeting them. You didn't even believe that they were ready for the exams. Do you really think you should be the one who's meeting them?" Kakashi pressured Iruka. There was no way he wasn't going to see how they were doing. He needed to see them in person to make sure that they were still alive after fighting that traitorous Snake Sage.

Iruka scowled. Kakashi's words stabbed at his weak point. "Really? I think that I as their academy teacher for three years should see them. How long did you have with them again? Only a couple of months? And I bet you were late to every meeting, so you only really known them for about half that time…" Iruka smirked at Kakashi. He was going no matter what and the jounin couldn't stop him!

"Yes, but our bonds are as deep as a family. You taught over 25 children. There's no way you could get as close to them as I did one-on-one. I am now their most trusted sensei," Kakashi retorted, his eyes blazing.

Asuma sighed as he watched the two bicker over the ticket. Before the killing intent from the two could grow any stronger, Asuma stepped forward and suggested, "Look, there are two teams approaching the tower, and one of them is mine. Kakashi, why don't you use my ticket instead? That way both you and Iruka can see your team!"

Kakashi immediately snatched the slip of paper from Asuma, not willing to let go of his chance to see his team again after their encounter with Orochimaru. He clutched the ticket tightly, almost growling at Asuma who just held his hands up in surrender and backed away from the copy-nin. "I wasn't taking it back," Asuma said. "It's yours to keep…"

"Good," Kakashi nodded, pleased. Iruka watched this interaction and was satisfied that his ticket wasn't being threatened anymore. Suddenly the two slips glowed, activating and taking Kakashi and Iruka away from the waiting room to the tower.

With a burst of smoke, both men stood in front of Teams 7 and 10, surprising them.

A familiar figure stepped out of the smoke and said, "Hey, kids… It's been a while, eh?" His cool entrance was ruined by Kakashi, who lazily sauntered out of the smoke, his nose buried in an orange book.

"Kaka-sensei! Iruka-sensei! You're both here!" Naruto yelled, launching himself at them. Iruka merely ducked out of the way, already used to dodging his student's tackles. Kakashi, on the other hand, sealed his book away and spread out his arms, catching the blonde.

"Yo!" the masked-nin greeted the genin. They sweat-dropped as they watched Naruto cling to him like an octopus.

"Congratulations! You've all passed the second exam," Iruka addressed Team 7, looking straight at Naruto, forgetting about Team 10 for a moment. "You're on your way to becoming Chunin!"

Wow, what are we? Chopped liver? Team 10 thought in unison, feeling left out. At least Sasuke and Sakura had their sensei here… Not that he was doing much other than reading… But seeing Naruto's smiling face, they couldn't hold on to their annoyance any longer. If they could, they would stare at his smile all day.

It's way better than watching clouds, Shikamaru accidentally thought across the link as Ino and Choji nodded their heads unconsciously.

"YESSS! Yes! Yes! I'm so happy!" Naruto cried out jubilantly, squirming his way out of Kakashi's grip and cartwheeling across the clearing.

Sakura sighed and slumped down to the ground with the rest of the genin. "He just keeps going and going…" Sasuke muttered from where he was sitting cross-legged on the ground. Inside, they were all wondering how the blonde still had all that energy eft over to be bouncing around everywhere.

"You haven't slowed down a bit! Eh, Naruto?" Iruka said fondly as Naruto came to a stop in front of his team.

"Humph, exactly," Sasuke smirked. Being hyperactive was a part of Naruto's nature. He was a whirlwind of energy. It'd be wrong to see the blonde lying still, unmoving. He frowned slightly as he remembered Naruto's still body in the bridge.

"Oh, right," Sakura looked at Iruka, remembering her earlier questions. "Why are you both here anyways? Was it just to tell us we passed?"

"We're here to tell you the meaning of the scroll on the wall," Iruka continued, seeing Kakashi had no intention to speak up. "The Third wrote it himself. Do any of you understand what it means?"

"Yeah. Genin's are either smart or strong; Chunin are both," Shikamaru lazily yawned.

"Correct! Heaven refers to the mind, while Earth refers to the body. Chunin are the commander unit class responsible for leading their teams. They can only do so by a combination of intelligence and strength. I can't emphasize it enough. Learn it, live it, and believe it from the bottom of your hearts! Keep the Chunin directive in mind for the next part of the exam," Iruka cautioned. The genin stared at him, letting what he said wash over them. "That's it… That's the entire message!"

"Yes, sir!" Naruto saluted and grinned at Iruka who frowned.

The academy teacher couldn't help but say, "…But…About the third exam… Don't overdo things. Especially you, Naruto… I worry about you."

Kakashi glared at the other man. He'd thought that after letting Iruka test his genin, the Chunin would've let go of his doubts by now. His genin were ready for everything the exams could offer! Well… Except for traitorous infiltrating Snake Sages, but that technically wasn't part of the exam… he amended.

"The day I got the Konoha graduation headband, I stopped being a student! No need to worry about me! It's proof of my maturity… And I got it from you!" Shikamaru noted this fact down. He was curious as to how Naruto actually passed him exam when he failed the test. Considering Mizuki was absent the next day, he had his suspicions, but he wanted to hear the story directly from the source. Besides without any proof, he couldn't just assume what had happened. "My temper hasn't changed, and maybe I'm impulsive and full of energy, but I'm not a kid!" Naruto's eyes burned in determination, meeting Iruka's eyes. "I'm a full-fledged shinobi! You got that?"

Iruka couldn't look away from Naruto's passionate eyes. More than anyone, I know what these kids are capable of… He berated himself. I need to let them grow. I can't keep holding them back, thinking I'm protecting them. They're ready. Seeing Naruto's resolve, Iruka finally relented, "…I see. My apologies Naruto…"

"Heh heh!" Naruto grinned, feeling happy he got Iruka to finally acknowledge him as a ninja and not a little brother that needed to be coddled.

Kakashi looked on in pride, holding back tears. My little genin are growing up! Soon, they won't need me anymore! He wailed.

Iruka smiled wistfully, seeing the conviction in Kakashi's one good eye. Well Kakashi... It looks like it's you and not me… who understands just what these kids can handle…

---

Meeting Gaara Again

Naruto followed his nose to the cafeteria, ignoring his rumbling stomach. "I hope they have Ramen!" he anticipated, forgetting about the instant noodles packs he had stored away in his food seals. Joining the line, he frowned seeing they were only serving fried rice. "Well, guess you can't have everything," he shrugged, trying to console himself as he picked up his tray and walked to the tables looking for someone to join. Teams 8 and 10 were fast asleep as they were both exhausted from all the fast-paced traveling they'd done. Sakura decided to join them because she was still feeling the after effects of her chakra pills. Kakashi had taken away Sasuke saying that he needed to check out the seal that snake creep gave him. Naruto pouted at this thought. Sasuke wouldn't even let him look at the seal to see if he could help him, saying that he wanted to rely on his own power or something to pass the test which didn't really make any sense because this was a team test… Naruto shook away his thoughts and focused on where he was. He spotted a familiar looking red-head and slid in the seat next to him. "Hey!"

"Hello… Brother," the red-head finally answered the blonde. The make-up wearing boy sitting next to him choked when he heard Gaara greeting the other genin. Never in his life had he ever heard Gaara talk to anyone so casually! He usually just crushed them with his sand or… Actually, he just usually crushed them with his sand… He couldn't believe the blonde's guts to just plop down next to Gaara, shoving him aside to make room, and then brazenly stealing Gaara's food while he gorged on his rice.

"Who're you with?" Naruto asked in between spoons of his rice. Although it wasn't Ramen, it still was pretty tasty!

"This is Kankuro and that is Temari," Gaara explained pointing at his siblings who just goggled at him.

Is this really Gaara? Temari wondered, eyeing her younger brother. Same love tattoo, same frowning face, same murderous presence… Yup, it's still Gaara. She confirmed, mystified at why her usually bloodthirsty brother was behaving so welcoming. She looked at the blonde, quirking her brow. Maybe it's because of him?

"Cool! I'm Naruto! We're brothers!" Naruto introduced himself, grinning widely at them. The Sand siblings blinked rapidly, seeing his shining smile.

"Wait! You can't be his brother! I'm his brother," Kankuro accused after a moment in confusion, not really knowing why he felt strangely jealous at how the other boy was getting along so easily with Gaara.

"Well, I'm not really Gaara's brother," Naruto admitted. "I'm Kurama's bother and Kurama's brother is Gaara's brother so we're both brothers!" he explained and Gaara just nodded, confusing the sand siblings even more. Who the hell is Kurama? They both thought.

"O-kay," Temari rolled her eyes, not really wanting to know what was going on. "So…" she couldn't think of anything to say, so she looked at Kankuro, figuring he'd know what to say considering how much he liked to socialize. She always saw him with the girls in their village.

"So…" he picked up. "Seen any hot chicks around here? Oww! What was that for?" he whined at Temari who just scowled. Apparently, she was mistaken. He obviously only knew how to be a horn-dog! That would explain why he always had red hand marks on his face… I always thought it was a weird new make-up trend of his…

"Idiot. Those aren't the type of things you make small talk about!" she reprimanded him. Just wait until they go back to the hotel room! She was going to lecture him on the use of appropriate small talk until it finally got through that thick head of his! It was bad enough he talked to his puppets as if they were real people. Then again…Gaara still talks to his 'mother'…

"Well, what else am I supposed to talk about?" Kankuro whined, sensing an imminent lecture from his bore of a sister. "Baki won't let us do anything fun… It's not fair!"

"Maybe that's because your idea of fun is to wear make-up while you run around the village to play with your dolls," she hissed at him, making his face turn a deep red.

"They aren't dolls, they're puppets. And it's not make-up! It's face paint to represent how noble I am!" Kankuro complained. "Women always go weak in the knees for the cool, elite type, not that you'd understand," he replied petulantly to his sister.

"Did you just imply that I'm not a woman?" Temari asked in a low voice, glaring at her brother who shrunk in his chair. "And that I wasn't cool or elite?"

"Uh, that is—I mean—" Kankuro floundered, desperately trying to think of something to say to get back in his sister's good graces. He already had one murdering psychopath of a sibling, he didn't need another one after his guts! "I mean, that if you were a man then you'd be a super cool elite one that'd attract all the ladies with how tough and manly you were?" He tried, and then immediately regretted it when he saw Temari's thunderous face.

"That's it! We're going back to the room to have a nice talk," Temari smiled at Kankuro who shivered at the look on her face. The last time she gave someone that look they ended up running around town in their underwear extolling the virtues of women and how he'd never ever accidentally call them buff ever again.

"Wow, they're very spirited," Naruto commented to Gaara, watching Temari drag Kakuro out of the cafeteria by his ear while lecturing him. Gaara nodded in silent agreement. "So, have you talked to Shukaku yet?"

"Who?" Gaara asked wondering why the name sounded familiar.

"You know, Shukaku, the voice in your head?" Naruto prompted, only to still see Gaara looking at him blankly.

Shukaku likes to pretend to be his mother… Kurama interrupted, remembering how Shukaku had… issues after his time with that messed-up priest who forced him to be stuck in a tea kettle and have tea parties every day with his stuffed teddy bears and the other little girls in the village. Poor Shukaku… No wonder he went crazy…

"Your mother…" Naruto tried again, smiling when Gaara seemed to recognize who he was talking about.

"Mother's name is Shukaku?" Gaara asked in confusion. He vaguely remembered his uncle Yashamaru mentioning his mother in front of him before he tried to kill him. But he was sure he heard him call her Karura…

"Yeah!" Naruto nodded his head. "Except he's not really your mom and is actually a guy but close enough…" Naruto shrugged. Maybe he's like Haku and likes pretending to be a girl… Kurama made a weird choking noise in the back of his head hearing this stray thought.

"Un," Gaara grunted figuring it didn't really matter what his mother's name was. Shukaku sort of sounds like a boy's name… Maybe mother was a crossdresser? He wondered, remembering the deep chuckling that vibrated in his mind whenever his mother commanded him to kill someone. He ate another spoonful of his rice, contemplating how his mother could have died in childbirth if she was actually a guy named Shukaku?

"Yeah, so have you talked to him yet?" Naruto asked again, nabbing some of Gaara's side dishes.

"No. Mother usually remains quiet unless she wants to kill someone," Gaara answered back.

"Wow, really? He sounds crazy! Well, I guess I'd want to kill people too if I was stuck having a tea party for 60 years too…" Naruto shivered in horror at the thought of having to do something so boring and not be able to escape. "Why do you call him Mother anyways instead of Father? Since he's a guy and all…"

"Mother is male?" Gaara asked in confusion. He was sure Kankuro once said that you had to be a female to give birth, but perhaps he was wrong. It wouldn't be the first time his brother was wrong…

"Yup!" Naruto answered, finishing off his meal. "But I guess it doesn't really matter… Maybe you can ask him about it later on and see which one he prefers? I mean, in the end, it's up to you what you want to call him" Naruto suggested, shrugging as he tried to help out his lost friend. It must be confusing to have to figure out if the chakra beast sealed inside you was a guy or a girl considering they look nothing like humans. He could see how Gaara could've mixed it up… Heck, even Kurama sort of looked girly!

I heard that brat! I'm not girly! If anything, you're girly! Kurama retorted back.

Hey! No, I'm not! Naruto replied indignantly. He wasn't girly!

Kurama snickered. It's okay, Kit. You probably get it from your father. I remember that your mother used to call him unreliable and girly. He tried to mollify the blonde's ego.

Really? Naruto asked forgetting about Kurama's teasing, wanting to hear more about his parents.

Yeah. He even used to cook dinner in a pink apron when he cooked! Kurama grinned feeling Naruto's happiness through their bond. He'd have to tell his blonde more stories about his parents if it made him this happy.

Gaara didn't know what to make of his new… brother suddenly gasping for air and he laughed, struggling to sit up right. He didn't know what was so amusing, but found he didn't care. It was… nice, having someone to laugh with him and not be alone anymore. His lip twitched slightly as Naruto slipped off his seat onto the floor from laughing too hard.

Once the blonde stopped laughing, he pushed himself off the ground and brushed off his pants. He sat back down and talked with Gaara for another hour about their likes and dislikes. Apparently Gaara really loved salted tongue and gizzard, whatever that was! Finally noticing how late it was getting (and seeing the dark bags under Gaara's eyes), Naruto decided it was time for to go to bed. "It was nice seeing you again. Have a good night!" He called out to Gaara as they walked down the corridor to their rooms.

"…You too," Gaara replied figuring it was the right thing to say even though he wasn't actually going to sleep. Seeing the blonde's shining smile, he knew he made the right decision. Both of them waved goodbye to each other (Naruto using his hand, Gaara his sand) and went to their respective rooms, eagerly waiting for the next day to come.

---

The Eighth Meeting: A New Addition to the Family

"Hey! It's you!" a glasses-wearing red-headed girl yelled in the corridor. "Wait! Stay there, don't move!" Naruto looked up and saw a girl running towards him. "Good, huff, I finally caught up to you!" she heaved heavily, leaning against the wall.

"You know me?" Naruto asked, tilting his had in confusion. He didn't remember this girl and from the looks of her headband she seemed to be from Kusagakure? How did she know him?

"Yeah! I'd never forget my savior!" she looked up at him with fervent eyes. "I'll always remember the taste of your chakra!" she licked her lips.

Great, he attracted another weirdo… First it was the emotionless brat, then came the dango lady and later with the Exams came Shukaku's carrier and now this stalker? Kurama shivered, sensing the other girl's presence. Something about her feels familiar… He thought, wondering why he was feeling wary?

Ignoring Kurama's ramblings Naruto replied, "Um… Hello?" He had no idea what to say to this girl who started fawning over him. She's almost like one of Sasuke's fan girls! He thought in growing alarm, inching away slightly from the frantically gesturing girl.

"It was just so big! And I thought I was going to die and that it was going to rip me open from the inside out! But then, you reassured me and promised that you wouldn't let me get hurt! And that's when I knew I loved you! After that night together, I searched everywhere for you and I finally found you. Please don't leave me alone again! I have nobody else in this world but you," she implored, looking deeply into Naruto's eyes.

"Um…" Naruto was drawing a blank, not knowing how to respond. It wasn't everyday a stranger came up to you and confessed to you! Is this a prank? He thought absently.

This chakra… Why does it feel so familiar? Kurama wondered, searching his memory for the answer.

"And I know that we don't really know each other, but I'd be willing to stay with you forever and ever. I'll do whatever you want like cleaning the house, or the dishes, or the laundry. I'll even call you Master if you want!" she continued fervently, gazing at Naruto as if he was her god.

"Wait! Hold on," Naruto finally interrupted her. "Just call me Naruto. My name's Naruto Uzumaki, nothing else. Now, who are you?"

"Uzumaki?" the red-head whispered. "You're an Uzumaki?" she asked with wide-eyes.

By now a good chunk of the genin and Chunin in the tower were watching the two interact as if it was their own personal drama, making bets left and right. They mistakenly believed that the two genin were together after misunderstanding the first part of the red-head's speech.

"I bet she's carrying his kid and that they both were doing it in the Forest of Death!" a genin voiced out, pacing 500 ryo in the pot.

"Ooh, kinky! I bet that they met each other before the exams when they were on a mission deep undercover and they only reunited now, realizing their true love for each other!" A Chunin bet 1500 ryo on his theory, convinced he'd win the bet.

"Hah, as if! It's obvious that they were childhood friends that were separated because of their parent's longtime family feud and they're only now finding each other again after 10 years of solitude!" Another Chunin scoffed, betting 2000 ryo on her theory.

By now, the rest of the genin had come downstairs for brunch and were watching the spectacle Naruto had unknowingly inserted himself into the center of. "What is he doing there?" Shikamaru groaned, rubbing his face. This was obviously a misunderstanding and the crowd of betters were only making things worse. No way would Naruto actually be able to do anything with another girl when he was still so dense that he couldn't even see Hinata's obvious crush on him.

Ino glared at the blonde. How dare he not tell her this juicy gossip! She should've been the first one he consulted when he found a long-lost childhood friend that he loved! She had great advice, just look at Sasuke… Okay, maybe not the best example, but she was still a girl. He should've came to her for guidance!

Sakura watched the display in disbelief. She couldn't believe Naruto had someone else all along when he practically told her that he loved her almost every other day at the academy. Is this why he's no longer asking me out? She glared at the red-head. What does she have that I don't?

Hinata sulked from behind the pillar, Kiba and Shino shooting her looks of concern. She twirled her fingers together in distress. She'd wanted to ask Naruto something today but there was a huge crowd blocking the way and she was still feeling a little shy even without the seal. She was planning a way to get Naruto on his own, unmindful of what the commotion was about and her teammates' watching her. After all, she was just as oblivious as Naruto, if not even more…

Choji just moved away from the girls. All of them were radiating very powerful, scary vibes and he wanted to be nowhere near them when they were unleashed!

"Yeah, I'm an Uzumaki! I'm actually the Clan Head in Konoha!" Naruto puffed out his chest in pride. Even though his clan was small, it was still his family and he loved it dearly.

It's her! The she-demon! Kurama hissed, suddenly recalling who she reminded him off. Run away before the red-head corrupts you and you fall for her schemes! Saying it was the red string of fate to connect them, bah! I don't believe it! RUN BEFORE SHE CAPTURES YOU TOO!

The red-head's eyes widened even more. "I'm an Uzumaki too! My name's Karin Uzumaki!"

KIT, get away from the creepy lady before she devours you whole! Kurama yelled, recognizing that look in her eyes. It was the same one Kushina made in the mirror whenever she thought about Minato… or Ramen… Either way, both were wolfed down until there was nothing left for anyone else. He had to get his innocent little blonde away from this pervert in disguise!

"What? Really!" Naruto ignored Kurama and asked excitedly as the red-head nodded in affirmation. "Cool! You totally have to join our clan! Even if you don't live in the village, you can still be part of it!" Naruto excitedly bounced on the balls of his feet. He was getting a new clan member! How exciting!

"I'm so joining Konoha! There's no way I'm going back to Kusagakure when you're here. I've got nothing left back there anyways. It must be the Red String of Fate connecting us," Karin agreed grasping Naruto's hands in her own. How soft, for a ninja. She marveled, rubbing small circles into them.

That line! It's the same one the she-demon used on her unsuspecting blonde. Oh no, it's already started! Kurama wailed, wishing he had his body so he could take Naruto far away from this place and its perverts.

Meanwhile, as Naruto and Karin discussed their plans to have her join the village, the crowd still hadn't forgotten their bets.

"Pay up!" a shaggy-haired genin held out his hand, waiting for his money.

"Aww, damnit! I was so close! How was I supposed to know that they were related? They look nothing alike!" a genin complained handing over the 600 ryo he'd bet.

"That's what you get for gambling when you suck at games of luck!" his teammate smirked at him while pocketing his winnings. He'd bet that the two were long-lost siblings that were separated at birth only to find each other again in the Forest of Death.

"Che, kids these days… Having relations before marriage, how shameful! They keep going at it younger too," an elderly Chunin remarked in distaste.

When she noticed the elderly woman wasn't going to say anything else, the Chunin next to her couldn't help but ask, "That's all you're going to complain about? Not the fact that they both were related?"

"Humph, that didn't matter back in my day! How do you think the Uchiha and Hyuuga were able to keep the bloodline in the family? Why do you think the Senju have died out by now? They refused to marry each other saying it led to medical problems. As if! Incest is a part of culture! Long live the bloodlines!" she cackled, making the Chunin who asked her go green. She was sorry she'd ever asked.

Hearing the old woman's speech, the surroundings stared at the Hyuuga in the room. "It's not—We don't—Our clan doesn't practice incest!" they sputtered, hurriedly denying the old lady's words as the rest of the ninja just looked on upon them in suspicion.

Ignoring the crowd, Naruto finalized his plans with Karin and waved goodbye to her, promising to meet her after the exams were over and to introduce her to the Hokage. That way she could permanently leave Kusagakure forever, something the red-head was really looking forward too. She never wanted to go back to the village that forced her mom to work to death. Life as a healer there sucked. They were just taken advantage of and used as a tool to be thrown away. She couldn't wait to leave that hell hole behind. Having a family member just sweetened the deal! Not that she'd ever leave her precious Naruto-sama of course! The moment she saw his dazzling chakra when he took down that bear, she knew instantly that she would follow him anywhere. His chakra felt warm and safe and practically radiated peace, why would she ever give that up to go back to a lifetime of servitude? No, she was never going back there and if she had her way she would stay by the sunny blonde's side forever.

Naruto pushed through the crowd to where Teams 8 and 10 were waiting with Sakura. "Guys! You're awake!" he whooped, coming to a stop right next to Choji. "Let's go eat lunch, I'm starving!" He dragged Shikamaru with him to the cafeteria, Choji eagerly following him.

"W-Wait a moment! Don't leave without us!" Ino snapped out of her thoughts and rushed to follow the rest of her team. Sakura also shook of her murderous rage and ran after Ino, not wanting to be left behind.

Kiba and Shino relaxed once the girls had gone, taking their scary auras with them. "Hey, Hinata—" Kiba began to speak, only to notice the shy girl wasn't hiding behind the pillar anymore. What? Where'd she go? He wondered and looked to where Shino was standing, "Shino—" Only to see no one there either! He scratched his head wondering where everyone had gone. "Looks like it's only you and me, boy," he muttered to Akamaru who just shook his head at his owner's ignorance. He barked once to get Kiba's attention and then took off in the direction he saw them go in. "Hold on! Wait for me!" Kiba yelled, chasing after his friend. Throwing the doors to the cafeteria open, they both burst in and spotted the rest of the genin sitting at a table. Breathing heavily, Kiba plopped down next to Shino in relief that he'd finally found his teammates. He looked around the table and noticed two of them missing (other than Sasuke). "Hey, where's Naruto and Hinata?"

"Hmm? Oh, they went off to find her cousin. Something about a cursed seal?" Shikamaru answered lazily, reaching across the table to grab the water only to have Ino grab it instead. He glared at Ino, but she didn't notice, too busy scowling at her cup. Shikamaru quirked an eyebrow at her, "What's got you in a mood? Are you jealous or something?"

Ino roughly shoved her jug at the table and pouted, "No, I'm not jealous that Naruto didn't come to me for help to ask that girl out. It's not like I'm one of his only good friends that's a girl or anything… All that juicy gossip I missed!" She looked forlornly at her glass of water.

"If anything, he should've asked me to help! I'm his teammate and a girl! I even joined his clan!" Sakura interjected, interrupting Ino's wailing. "And I don't understand what he sees in her anyways… Her hair's messy and who chooses to have red hair the color of a tomato anyways?" she grumbled, stabbing her food with a little more force than necessary.

"Like you can talk, forehead," Ino scoffed, pointedly looking at Sakura's bright pink hair.

Before a fight between the two could break out, Shikamaru quickly defused the situation, "Weren't you both listening at all? She's not his girlfriend, she's an Uzumaki and wants to join Konoha…"

"Yeah, and despite what that old granny said, I bet Naruto isn't into incest. Not that he'd like either of you two flat-chested loudmouths anyways," Kiba bluntly voiced out his thoughts, making Akamaru whine and cover his face at his owner's stupidity.

"What did you just say?" Ino asked in a sickly-sweet voice, promising great pain coming his way.

"Uh, I said that Naruto d-didn't like you?" he gulped seeing a tick-mark throbbing on Sakura's forehead while she clenched her fist, bending the fork in two. "A-And th-that you're veryprettyandawesomeandpleasedon'thurtme!I'msorry!"

"Too late!" Sakura smirked wickedly at him, nodding to Ino as they both chased after him. Akamaru just sweat-dropped. At least his owner finally found his self-preservation instinct and decided to run away from those two murderous banshees.

Shino snickered into his coat, feeding his Kikaichu a strawberry as a reward for the good work they'd done, satisfied at how they'd been able to sneakily slip a loss-of-inhibitions capsule into Kiba's food. Hah! That'll teach him not to make fun of my sleep-talking! Sipping his warm drink, he watched the two girls chase Kiba around the cafeteria, cackling in glee.

Shikamaru just ate his brunch and pretended that nothing out of the ordinary was happening. He didn't even want to know what was going on. There was no way he was getting involved in something so troublesome. Naruto, Hinata, come back soon and get your crazy teammates under control. He despaired wishing his blonde-haired friend was here.

---

Unsealing the Seal

"I believe this is the room they are staying in," Hinata said stopping in front of room 9. "Thank you for agreeing to removing the seal," Hinata began bowing, when Naruto stopped her and hurriedly pulled her to her feet.

"No worries! Of course, I'd help your cousin! You're my friend!" Naruto quickly reassured the shy heiress. "Besides, it's not even that hard to remove, so stop thanking me for it. One time was enough," Naruto smiled at her and knocked on the door.

Hinata blushed and nodded. This was a dream come true! Not only was she finally able to remove that cursed seal form Neji, but she was also spending time with Naruto! And he said they were friends!

Before Hinata could hyperventilate anymore, the door opened revealing a genin clad in a green jumpsuit. "Bushy Brows! Is Hinata's cousin in there?" Naruto asked while shielding his eyes from the brightness of Lee's smile.

"How youthful! To find Neji to wish him good luck in a competition! I should go do 100 pushups for not wishing you good luck! No, I should walk around the village 50 times on my hands! Or I can—" Lee began but was cut off by another voice.

"Who's at the door?" Neji asked, coming out of the bed room to see what was going on. He stopped walking when he saw Hinata. "Humph, what does someone the main house want with someone from the branch house?" he sneered seeing his shy little cousin and her unmarked forehead. Perhaps she wishes to command me to drop out of the Chunin Exams and give her a better chance of winning. But that is the fate of someone from the branch house. They'll have their wings clipped by the main house, being held back so they can never actually reach their true potential, only to die as tools for the main house. Humph, even if she forces me to step down today, that'll mean nothing because fate has decreed that I'll be a prodigy while a loser will always remain a loser.

"N-Neji-nii-san," Hinata stuttered nervously, interrupting his inner monologue. "We're here to r-remove your Caged Bird Seal." She shifted slightly, seeing Neji's blank expression, but was encouraged to continue when Naruto nodded at her. "I-I also have permission from Father, if that is what you're worried about… Naruto is going to be the one removing it. It'll hurt at first, but it's worth it in the end. Father says he's going to hire Naruto to do the rest of the branch members when he's free, so probably after the exams…" She trailed off looking at Naruto.

The blonde sent her thumbs up and then raised his hands up to scan the seal, before flashing a few hand signs and yanking the seal apart. Neji, who wasn't expecting this as he was still in shock, gave a small shout in pain and crumpled to the floor, twitching slightly. He rose to his feet shakily, ignoring the spasms of pain running through him and felt his forehead in wonder. It's gone. I don't feel it anymore! And it's all thanks too… He looked at the breathless blonde in front of him in awe. Staring into those teary crystal eyes, he felt the world was lighter.

"Are you okay, Naruto-san?" Hinata asked in concern. Naruto. His name is Naruto. Neji thought dazedly.

"Phew! That took a lot more chakra than I thought it would… But it still was easier than the time I removed yours," he said looking at Hinata.

Hinata? Neji looked back and forth between the two genin. Right! Hinata was the one who asked the blonde to remove his seal. Neji stared at his younger cousin, mixed emotions churning in his gut. He wanted to blame her for being part of the main house, for being able to have the privilege to learn the clan's special techniques while he was nothing but a tool, for being timid and shy and weak when she was born the heiress, for not being strong enough to fight of the Kumo-nin, for indirectly causing his father's death… But, looking at her flushing face, seeing the blonde who freed him standing next to her, he found he couldn't hate her. She freed him, when all he wanted to do was hurt her. If fact, he had hurt her, whenever he could. In practice matches he'd never held back against her even though she was younger than him by a year. He interrupted her time with Naruto by sending her caretaker after her even though he saw how crushed she looked afterwards. And… He stole away her father's attention from her in revenge for causing his father's death. He knew it was wrong and petty, but he couldn't help but feel satisfaction when he saw how devastated she looked whenever Hiashi would criticize her and leave to train with him instead. But now, seeing that innocent face, the familiar flame of anger refused to ignite. He felt… at peace, for the first time since he'd been branded. I'm finally free… He thought, watching the two genin in front of him. Squaring his shoulders, he knew what he had to do.

Hinata smiled hesitantly at her older cousin. She was glad he was finally free from the curse that had haunted her for so many years. He looked so open, so calm, like the weight of the world was finally off his shoulders now. It was a good look for him. If she could help it, she never wanted him to go back to feeling like a disposable tool ever again. How someone could believe that they were worth nothing except as a sacrifice for someone else, she would never understand. Neji-nii-san, you're finally free… Were her last thoughts before she met Neji's eyes and watched in shock as he bowed to her! "Neji-nii-san! Pease stand up, you don't need to be doing this!"

"Hinata-sama, I don't understand why you've freed me from this seal but I believe it must've been our fate to led us together this way," Neji struggled, trying to get his feelings across. "You may not be strong, but you've shown me that everyone can make a change in this world if they try hard enough and stick to their beliefs. Thank you for releasing me from this burden, I don't know how to ever repay you other than swearing my service to you for the rest of my life."

Hinata couldn't stand to take this anymore. Her proud cousin was kneeling to her, for removing his seal! She couldn't let this continue, this had to stop. No one deserved to be branded, to be controlled against their will, and now her cousin was thanking her for removing it from him. As if he thought that he truly deserved to be a caged bird for the rest of his life. He was just exchanging one gilded cage for another. She could see he didn't want to bow to her when he thought she was still so weak. This wasn't right. "Neji," Hinata spoke in a stern voice leaving of the nii-san. "You don't need to serve me. Get up!" she commanded as he stared at her with mixed emotions. She was going to get this through his thick skull no matter what! "You're my cousin, not a tool to be used and discarded. I want you to be free. Live your own life the way you want to, not the way you're dictated to. I will always be here for you. No one deserves to be controlled against their will," Hinata finished, staring directly into Neji's lost eyes.

"You know, I once had a friend named Haku," Naruto interjected, making everyone turn to gaze at him. "And he devoted himself to his one precious person because he saved him from a lifetime of loneliness. He followed his savior and did anything for him even though he knew it was wrong. He thought that ninjas were just tools to be used and thrown away…" Naruto trailed off remembering Haku's devotion to Zabuza. "But in the end, he knew, that you're only truly strong when you're protecting your precious people! He was able to save his, costing him his life. That's why you should treasure the bonds you have with your family. They will look out for you and in return you'll care about them, becoming even stronger to protect them. You don't need to devote yourself to one person, you can be your own person, make your own decisions and choices. If you really want to repay Hinata, do it with your friendship and kindness, don't deny your relationship with her," Naruto finished his speech. He knew the importance of bonds and how they helped you become stronger and he wanted to convey that to Neji. The older boy just looked so confused as if he couldn't understand why Hinata didn't want him to serve her after she helped him. He knew how it felt to be unsure about your place in the world and how it felt like to be treated as a weapon rather than a human. There was no way he could let someone else feel the same way without helping them understand the truth like he did with the help of Iruka-sensei, Haku, and the Hokage and everyone else.

Neji was bewildered by the two younger genin in front of him. He couldn't believe that Hinata would refuse his service. Maybe I was wrong about her and the main house wanting to control everyone from the branch house… Or maybe it's just her who's different… He nodded to their words and stood up, "Alright. I shall keep that in mind. Thank you for everything." He shifted, unsure of what else to say so he just bid them farewell. "Ahem… Good luck for the rest of the exam. I look forward to facing you both in the future." Turning around, he flushed slightly and went back to his room, not saying anything else.

There was an awkward silence before Lee interrupted it, "Ah! To see cousins getting along together, how youthful! I'm so glad my eternal-rival has someone like you in his life looking out for him!" he pumped his fist in the air. "I feel energized at seeing such a youthful display! I need to go train before my energy leaves me!" And with that he took off to the training hall planning to do 300 sit-ups in 3 minutes, and if couldn't then he'd do 500 pushups as a punishment!

Hinata and Naruto stood in the empty corridor in shock, watching the bushy-browed genin rush out of his room, forgetting to close the door. "Wow! He's super-fast!" Naruto said with wide-eyes. Hinata nodded, also surprised by the genin's speed. "I'm going to need to train even harder if I want to catch up to everyone else!" Naruto exclaimed, his eyes burning in determination before he grabbed Hinata's hand and dragged her away. "Come on! Let's go back to the others to eat so then we can train. I'm starving!"

Hinata blushed bright red. Naruto is holding my hand! And followed the bubbly blonde to the cafeteria, internally trying really really hard not to faint at the close contact with her crush. Remember to breath… 1… 2… Don't faint! She thought, her heart fluttering as they continued their journey to meet the others.

---

"Oh, hey, you guys are back! How'd it go with Hinata's cousin?" Shikamaru asked seeing Naruto and Hinata sitting at the table again.

"T'was goo'," Naruto replied with his mouth full of food.

"Eww, don't talk when you're eating," Sakura wrinkled her nose in disgust as Naruto swallowed. She was glad her blonde teammate was finally back. She felt a little lonely without him or Sasuke by her side. The raven-haired genin was still stuck with Kakashi examining his seal. He still hadn't let anyone look at it yet and was being stubborn, saying that he could handle it all by himself. At least Kakashi had made him promise to let him put another seal over it so it wouldn't flare up unless he directly tried to use it.

"Don't be so controlling Forehead!" Ino retorted before turning to Naruto, her eyes glinting dangerously. "Soooo, anything you want to tell us about? Anything interesting happen lately?"

"Hmm, no, not really?" Naruto frowned trying to figure out what the heck she was talking about.

"Really? So, you didn't meet a girl who may or may not be your long-lost cousin or something?" She asked, arching her eyebrow at him.

"Oh yeah! You mean Karin!" Naruto snapped his finger, understanding what she was talking about. "I met her in the forest when she was about to get eaten by a bear, so she wanted to thank me. Apparently, her teammates dropped out so she's stuck waiting in the tower until this part of the exam is over before she can leave. And she's also an Uzumaki! So, she's going to join the village and my clan!" Naruto explained happily.

"Why's she joining the village? Doesn't she like hers?" Kiba asked in confusion as he fed Akamaru some scraps from the table.

"It's not a good place…" Naruto's face darkened as he remembered what Karin had told him about her mother and their shared bloodline. If he had anything to say about it, she was never going to go back there again, and as luck would have it, as her clan head, he could stop them from trying to take her back.

Shikamaru noted Naruto's tense posture and steered the conversation away from the subject, mentally jotting it down for later. "So, are you ready for the next exam? This one ends tonight," he reminded them.

"Almost forgot about that! I need to go train! The next exam is tomorrow!" Naruto energetically downed the rest of his cereal and got up, licking the milk mustache off his upper lip. "Time to go train!" he whooped pulling Shikamaru up with him.

"Alright, alright, I'll come with you! Stop dragging me," Shikamaru held his hands up in surrender and walked alongside the blonde, Choji closely following behind them.

"But, Shikaaaa," Naruto whined. "You're sooooo slow… And I wanted to test out the new seal I have!" His eyes shined as he recalled the seal he was researching for the Dango-Lady. "I think I almost solved it! I just need to twist the squiggly line and put the swirl in a triangle thingy to block out the stabilizer and make it unravel! I almost got rid of all the traps too!" he energetically prattled on about the seal.

"Yeah, I have no idea what you're talking about," Shikamaru deadpanned. He was shocked to see how far the blonde had gotten in his study of seals. He almost couldn't believe that this was the same boy that couldn't stay awake in class and pranked the Hokage monument. Then again… No one could even catch him even when he was in his orange jumpsuit… In the middle of the day... In front of the whole village… Maybe he really is a genius, Shikamaru rubbed his chin as he contemplated the genin next to him. He had to give the blonde credit where it was due. He had made his own original jutsus, even though some of them were a bit…on the eccentric side (cough-the Orioke no Jutsu-cough), but Shikamaru had to admit that a gender swapping jutsu was genius for infiltration (and at nabbing perverts…). The blonde was a genius and if his suspicions were right… Then Naruto was even more special than he thought. If the villagers and teachers were sabotaging him all along…

"Shika, Shikaaaa, are you listening" Naruto interrupted his line of thought, and he quickly pushed them away.

"Yeas, yes, I'm listening. You said you wanted to figure out how to make a smoke that can shock people?" Shikamaru answered as the blonde nodded and smiled at him. If his suspicions were right and the villagers and academy teachers were sabotaging him, then he had a lot more work to do to protect that smile. Nothing will ever hurt him again, so long as I'm by his side, he vowed.

---

The Preliminaries

"Congratulations to all 21 of you for passing the second exam!" The Hokage announced, smiling at the genin in front of him. He was proud of all of them for making it this far. Still, it's astonishing that most of them survived. And that the majority of the survivors were culled from the ranks of the rawest recruits! All the rookie genin made it this year... No wonder the instructors vied for the right to nominate them for this exam. His eyes hovered on Naruto's team for a moment. I hope that curse mark won't affect young Sasuke… What are you planning, Orochimaru? Hiruzen quickly shut down that line of thought and looked back at the crowd, preparing his speech.

"Your students have made an impressing showing! I wonder how much of it was dumb luck…" Gai smirked at Kakashi, trying to rile him up. "…Not that it matters, my team is bound to knock them out in the next round. At the next level, it'll be all about their abilities or lack thereof. Ah, well… Sometimes being young is all about learning to deal with heartbreak. Eh, Kakashi?"

Kakashi just looked at his so-called eternal-rival and bluntly replied, "Huh? I'm sorry… Did you say something?" Getting on Gai's nerves was one of his favorite pastimes.

Gai just turned around and shook is fist in anger thinking, Heh… Good one… As annoying as ever, Kakashi. You always did try to get under my skin with your aloof act.

As if hearing Gai's thoughts, Kakashi grinned under his mask. He was getting annoyed with all the other jounin underestimating his team. Just because he never passed one before and Naruto was the dead last while Sakura was a fan-girl and Sasuke was bent on revenge, didn't mean they weren't a good team! They really grew in the past few weeks, especially after that last mislabeled mission. Naruto was incredible at sealing and his trapping and stealth were on a whole another level, while Sakura was steadily becoming a medic-nin with the strength of Tsunade, and Sasuke was a budding genjutsu and kinjutsu expert! They all also had learned their elemental affinities and were practicing them every day. Some Chunin he knew didn't even train that hard. They were ready for this exam, ready to become Chunin, and no one could tell him that he was wrong.

Meanwhile, Gai would cry if he knew Tenten was thinking that Kakashi was hotter than Gai, no competition. At least he could take comfort in the fact that Lee still saw him as the coolest man ever. Neji, on the other hand, couldn't care less about his teacher's rivalry and was eyeing Sasuke, wanting to fight a strong opponent. He definitely wasn't itching to fight him because the Uchiha was too close to his blonde teammate. No, he was just looking for a good fight to…test himself and get stronger, yeah…

Sasuke shivered as his shoulder throbbed, feeling someone watching him. I have a bad feeling about this… He thought, looking at the jounin standing in front of him.

Naruto followed his line of sight and saw Kakashi standing next to Gai and the Hokage. Old man Hokage, Iruka-sensei, Kaka-sensei, and Mega-brows guy are all gathered there! Wow, it's like a dream team!

While Naruto was lost in his thoughts, Sakura surveyed the crowd to see who their opposition was. What the…?! All the applicants from Konoha are here! She thought in growing suspicion as she narrowed her eyes at the white-haired glasses-wearing creep from before. Why is he still here? Wasn't he a spy?

"Now Lord Hokage himself will explain about the Third Exam. Listen up and take every word he says to heart! They're all yours, my Lord" Anko announced, deferring to Hiruzen who nodded.

"Very well. The Third Exam is about to commence… But before I go into the specifics of how it will be conducted, let me make one thing perfectly clear! The underlying purpose of this exam," he paused and glanced at the crowd seeing their confused faces. "Why do you suppose an examination of this nature is being jointly conducted by all of the nations in our mutual alliance?"

"Um, actually Sound isn't in your alliance..." the jounin from Oto voiced out.

Ignoring him, Hiruzen continued, "Be very clear about these fine-sounding phrases actually mean: 'To promote friendship among allied nations and raise the level and standards in the art of shinobi.' This series of so-called examinations is, in fact… A war-in-miniature between all out allied lands!"

"Ugh, not this again," Naruto groaned and face-palmed while the other genin watched him in curiosity. "Jiji! Have you been listening to the Mummy-man again? Because that's the stupidest thing I've ever heard!" Hiruzen coughed, his face flushing slightly. He had been talking to Danzo before he came here to see if he knew anything about Orochimaru… That probably wasn't the wisest thing he could do, now that he thought about it. "Friends should be allies and allies should be friends, otherwise we'd all just betray each other and die from a stab in the back… I'm pretty sure the point of this exam is to become Chunin… It's called the Chunin Exams for a reason…" Naruto looked at the Hokage as if he was dumb to not understand something this simple.

"Ahem," Hiruzen coughed sheepishly. "Make no mistake, when this exam is done, it will have had the side effect of winnowing out any applicants unfit to ascend to the level of Chunin…" The Hokage decided not to finish up with how 'the essence of friendship in the shinobi world was actually preserving the balance of power at the risk of lives'. Yeah, he doubted that would go over well with this crowd, especially with Naruto here… He really needed to stop talking to Danzo before making speeches or big decisions. There was just something about that man that made him want to do whatever he suggested. Good thing he didn't continue with his prepared speech… "You will have to risk your lives in the Third Exam and fight in front of our honored guests. Our clients will be watching how well you do to see who they'll want to hire for jobs after you become Chunin. But before you can do that, you must first pass the preliminaries!" There, that was good enough for an improvised speech, right? Whatever, it'll have to do. He gestured for Hayate, the proctor for the Third Exam to announce the rules.

"Alright! Before we begin, anyone who doesn't feel up to the challenge either physically or mentally can walk away. Just take one step forward, because the preliminaries start right now!" A sickly looking-jounin jumped out of the crowd in front of the genin who warily looked at their opponents.

"I'm outta here," the genin's glasses glinted as he stepped out of the crowd. The rookie genin glared at him as he walked out of the crowd. They couldn't understand how he wasn't taken to T & I yet as everyone knew he was a spy…

"Okay, you are… Yakushi Kabuto from Konoha? Alright, you're free to leave," Hayate coughed and waved him away. "Anyone else?" No one moved from their spots. "Alright let's start then! The board above will display who is fighting who!" The genin turned their attention to the board, seeing it spit out: 'Uchiha Sasuke vs. Akado Yoroi.' "Will everyone but our two competitors go to the stands? We will begin the first round in five minutes," Hayate announced as the rest walked to the stands.

"Kick his butt Sasuke!" Naruto patted his shoulder and then moved next to Kakashi as Sakura approached him.

"Yeah! He's that Kabuto guy's teammate, so beat him down!" Sakura encouraged him.

"Good luck, my cute little genin!" Kakashi eye-smiled at Sasuke who grunted and then looped his arms around Sakura and Naruto and shunshined with them to the stands.

Sasuke watched them wave from the stands and smirked at them before turning to his opponent. He was ready for this, there was no way he was going to lose this fight!

---

Sasuke vs. Yoroi

"And…Begin!" Hayate started the match and quickly jumped out of the way of the two charging genin.

The genin Sasuke was facing threw out his shuriken and kunai at Sasuke. There was no way he'd be beaten by an experiment. He was worth more to Orochimaru, and he'd prove it by beating Sasuke down. Smirking, he threw down a smoke bomb as Sasuke fended off the throwing weapons with his kunai.

Damnit! Sasuke coughed, as he inhaled some of the smoke and looked around the arena for his opponent. Where'd he go? Surveying the battle field, Sasuke didn't notice the other genin looming behind him, until he was almost upon him. He ducked out of the way of the chokehold and slammed his heel into the other genin's side, knocking him off balance. Yoroi quickly compensated and flipped over, smashing his palm into Sasuke's side and toppling him onto the ground. No one noticed his hand glowing blue before Sasuke kicked him away.

Both genin looked at each other and saw that they both were out of weapons. Up close and personal, it is… Sasuke thought, remembering how Kakashi had told him he wasn't allowed to use any chakra for this fight. Apparently, the curse seal was still too finicky for him to access his chakra without it taking over him. Not that he needed his chakra to defeat this poser… He quickly glanced at his team and felt something stir inside when he saw them cheering for him. It felt… nice to have people who believed in him unconditionally again. Running at his foe, he held his hands up and prepared for a Taijutsu match.

Yoroi grinned seeing the other boy fall into a Taijutsu stance. Think of all the chakra I can steal! He leered, nearly crowing at the thought of his victory.

They exchanged a flurry of punches and kicks before breaking apart to opposite sides of the arena, panting heavily. Sasuke scowled. He wasn't able to use any chakra to enhance his strength and speed, so he was relying on only his body's physical prowess right now. After this exam, I'm going to train my body to make it faster! Sasuke vowed as he ducked past another punch. He kicked the other boy away, grimacing as he felt Yoroi stroke his leg as he was blown away. "I know what you're doing! Stop it already! Secretly trying to brush against me whenever we're fighting, you think I wouldn't notice?" Sasuke accused as the other ninja shakily got up off the ground.

Yoroi wiped off the blood dribbling from his mouth and winced. Damn, for a shorty, this kid kicks hard! Keeping his pain to himself, he smirked at Sasuke and said, "Oh? So, you know what I've been doing? How each time we fought I'd touch you?"

"Yeah! You're a pervert!" "I've been stealing your chakra!" Both genin said at the same time.

There was an awkward silence as they both digested what the other had said. Sasuke flushed slightly. He had not realized the other had been stealing his chakra! Maybe he was a little more traumatized by what happened when he was in the forest than he thought… Well, it's a good thing I can't use my chakra today anyways. So, it doesn't really matter if he's stealing it…

"I'm not a pervert!" Yoroi snapped, twisting his head towards the crowd to yell at his snickering teammate. "Shut up Misumi! Stop laughing! Don't think I won't come up there and beat you up!" His lack of attention proved to be his downfall as Sasuke rushed up to him and delivered a powerful blow to his neck, directly knocking him out while he was still distracted.

"And that's the end of Round #1! Winner: Sasuke Uchiha!" Hayate announced as the medics dragged the fallen genin off the stage. Sasuke joined his team in the stands silently as the board displayed: 'Zaku Abumi vs. Shino Aburame.'

As he sat down next to Naruto, the blonde put a hand on his shoulder and said, "Sasuke… Not everyone is after your body… Only the creep in the forest was and the other fangirls at the academy. Oh, and Ino and Sakura too. Actually, now that I think about it, I think the Mummy-guy wanted you too. Maybe you were right to be paranoid…" Naruto trailed off realizing how many people were actually after the raven-haired genin.

"…" That doesn't make me feel better at all! Sasuke deadpanned in his mind as Sakura tried to punch Naruto but missed.

"I'm not after Sasuke's body! I just want to marry… I mean be friends with him," she snapped.

"Sure, you do," Kakashi said in a patronizing tone of voice and patted her on the head.

Yeah, not helping, at all! Sasuke thought, sweat-dropping but still feeling happy to be next to his ridiculous teammates again.

"Woah! Look at Shino go!" Naruto pointed down at the match as the other genin's arms were blown off. They congratulated the quiet boy as he walked up the steps and sat down next to their team. Turning back to the board they saw it had two people they didn't know, so they ignored it for now. "Hey, how'd you blow his arms off anyways?" Naruto asked, trying to figure it out.

"I plugged his arms up with my Kikaichu so when he tried to fire at me it backfired and blew his arms off," Shino explained as Kurenai just stared at him in wonder. I think that's the longest sentence I've ever heard him say… She thought in disbelief.

"Why did you plug him up anyways?" Kiba asked his teammate wondering what had gotten him so angry to be that ruthless with his opponent when he could've used his paralyzing stingers instead.

"…He called my friend a monster," Shino said in a low voice.

"Ouch! I would've ripped him apart to if he called Akamaru a monster," Kiba added in sympathy. The genin nodded, figuring that he was talking about his Kikaichu.

Only Shikamaru noticed that Shino had said "friend" and not "friends" to refer to whomever it was that was called a monster. Catching a wisp of blonde hair, his mind rapidly churned out an idea. Could it be…? He looked at Shino, who gave him a small nod. Shikamaru scowled, but said nothing seeing Shino's dark mood.

Shino didn't correct the other genin. He was still pissed that someone from their village would refer to Naruto as if he was a monster. He was used to being called names by the civilian children back at the academy. Unlike the other ninja of the village, they didn't understand his clan's symbiotic relationship with bugs and how beneficial it could be to have such a partnership. In fact, they didn't even try to understand, just calling it "gross" and "yucky." Although he was used to such words, it still hurt to be called them for just existing, but he could deal with it. After all, it's not like they knew better. But to hear a ninja, and one from their village at that, spit out such hurtful words about his friend? He couldn't handle that. The blonde did nothing to them and yet they still insulted his every step, mocking him with monikers of "dead-last" or "monster" or some other hurtful word. He could ignore the villagers. Despite their callous words, they couldn't actually hurt Naruto as they were too afraid to say these words to his face (and the mysterious consequences that would befall them whenever they dared to mock Naruto where one of his Kikaichu could overhear). But there was no way he was letting off this other ninja! He'd just snapped when he heard Zaku call Naruto a "good-for-nothing monster that was only good as a human body shield and nothing else." Luckily, Naruto hadn't overheard the other genin due to the sound barrier Zaku had put up. If he had… Well, missing arms would be the least of Zaku's worries right now.

---

Ino vs. Sakura

When the next names popped up on the screen, the boys gulped, staring at the two girls who just looked at each other with fire in their eye. "You're going down Ino-pig!" Sakura sneered at the blonde girl.

"As if! You wish! I'm going to beat you so hard!" she retorted, feeling her excitement build up as they walked down to the arena.

"We can finally settle our long-time disagreement!" Sakura added as they stood across from each other, waiting for the proctor to say start.

"About who's going to get Sasuke?" Ino asked in confusion, wondering why Sakura was bringing that up when they were already over it.

"No," she said, rolling her eyes at Ino. "About who's the better Kunoichi!"

"Oh!" Ino nodded and got ready to attack Sakura, just as Hayate announced the beginning of the match.

"Shintenshin no Jutsu!" Ino yelled making the hand signs to takeover Sakura who ducked out of the way only to have to jump up to avoid the senbon Ino shot at her. She hissed as one of them nicked her and she felt her body grow clumsy. "Hah! You didn't really think I'd use a jutsu that left me helpless, would you?" Ino smirked at her. She knew Sakura would easily be able to break out of that jutsu due to her "inner" from training together. There was no way she'd ever try to use it on her in an actual match!

Sakura cursed herself at having fallen for her rival's trap. She ignored the effects and channeled healing chakra through her body to combat the effects of the drug. She gritted her teeth and yelled, "It's going to take more than that to stop me, Ino-pig! Take this! Butterfly needle fire!"

"As if I'd fall for my own technique!" Ino shouted and brought her hands together to form Kai, but nothing happened. "What the?" Ino's eyes widened as she realized the butterflies weren't paper bombs but were actually kunai! She threw a shuriken at Sakura who just dodged it, and switched places with it using Kawarimi. Although she was out of the way of most of the projectiles, a few had still gotten her and she could feel herself growing drowsy. Poison! She realized she had to finish this up fast!

"Now we're both poisoned. Only mine's a fast acting one, so you'll have to use your trump card if you want to take me down!" Sakura bellowed and channeled the rest of her chakra into her gauntlets, figuring she had one last shot at this. Since she couldn't hold back the effect of the poison for much longer, she was going all out.

Sensing Sakura's thoughts, Ino grinned and used the rest of her chakra to make what she called her "Mud Mittens!" They were the only thing she had that could actually stand a chance against Sakura's gauntlets. They both looked at each other before dashing forward at the same time to deal the final blow.

"Yaaaahhhhhhh! Eat my Mud Mittens!" "Hyaaaahhhhhh! Feel the power of my Gauntlets!" They yelled, rushing forward to meet each other's blows. The shockwave reverberated throughout the stadium, as both girls stood there panting heavily, and almost leaning on each other.

"Huff-T-That w-was a g-good fight, Ino-pig," Sakura said in a soft voice, trying not to succumb to the poison.

"Puff-Y-You t-too, F-Forehead!" Ino replied in a hushed voice, before they both slid to the ground losing consciousness.

"And… It's a tie! Double knock-out!" Hayate announced as Asuma and Kakashi hopped down and picked them up.

"It's okay," Kakashi said.

As Asuma finished, "I've got you."

"Hey, Ino… Sakura… Are they going to be all right?" Naruto asked Kakashi who nodded.

"Yeah, they'll be up and about in half an hour…" he replied.

"Neither one is badly hurt enough to require help from the medics and the paralytic poison will dissolve in another five minutes, leaving their systems," Asuma spoke up. The rookie genin sighed in relief their worry dissipating, but didn't leave. Even knowing that neither Ino nor Sakura would ever actually permanently hurt the other despite their jabs, they felt they had to stay by their fallen teammates' sides for now.

"Wow, Kakashi, Suma! What have you been teaching those two? That was incredible for a genin match! Was that Healing chakra and Elemental training?" Kurenai asked in shock, coming over to where her genin were crowded around. She had expected a fight between two fan girls that were barely ninja, not this. It was way beyond her expectations! She looked at Hinata intensely, suddenly wanting to see what the shy girl could accomplish. She'd heard that girl had been training with the other two, and if this was how much they'd improved, she couldn't wait to see what her genin could do!

"Maa maa," Kakashi eye-smiled, rubbing the back of his neck. He knew that Sakura had been training with the other female genin of her year and he knew she was studying healing on her own, but he was surprised to see her come so far by herself. He was so proud of her! It looked like those chakra building exercises he'd been teaching her came in handy after all. There was no way she could've held onto her healing chakra for that long without them. When she first started, she could only hold on to it for a few minutes before she became drained. Now, she actually could hold it for a good 15 to 20 minutes!

Asuma, on the other hand, was stunned silent. He didn't know Ino could use poisons or that she knew the faults of her clan's jutsus. He'd written her off as a simple-minded fan-girl that was only a loud mouth. It looked like he had to re-evaluate his team. If Ino could fight that well, who knew what his other genin were hiding? He suspiciously eyed Shikamaru, wondering if the genin could've orchestrated this in revenge for forcing him to accompany Ino shopping as a training punishment. Nah, he's way too lazy to do something like that… He dismissed, missing the pineapple-haired boy's vindictive smirk when he saw his teacher looking so confused.

"Sakura was so cool! And Ino was super awesome too!" Naruto praised as Sasuke nodded his head in agreement. He couldn't believe that this was the same wimpy Sakura from the academy. Maybe I don't need to leave them after all… No! They're still not strong enough to be able to stand up against S-ranked nin! I can't get close to them, I have to stay away! He struggled, trying to justify his reasons to leave them as the voice in his head was urging him to.

The next match was unclimactic, as Temari just blew Tenten and her weapons away with her gigantic fan. It was boring to watch after such a fast-paced fight. Naruto pouted, looking at the board, wondering when it'd be his turn. The next names that popped up were: 'Shikamaru Nara vs. Kin Tsuchi.' Shikamaru groaned seeing it was his turn. "Aww I wanted to go next. It's no fair you get to go Shika," Naruto whined as the pineapple-haired genin was about to walk past him.

Hearing Naruto moan, Shikamaru felt strangely mischievous bent down and whispered to the blonde, "Really? Then I guess I'll just have to finish this fast so you can have your turn…" He then hopped onto the stage and faced his opponent.

Naruto blinked rapidly, still surprised by what the pineapple-haired boy had done. "What did he say?" Sasuke asked with a scowl. He didn't like how close the other boy was to his best friend. Asuma also listened in wondering why Shikamaru had acted so out of character for himself.

"Nothing. He just said that he'd end this fast…" Naruto replied, looking back at the match which had started. He winced as he saw the senbon stab Shikamaru while the Bell-lady dodged his shadows.

Asuma raised his eyebrows wondering why Shikamaru was fighting so destructively. Choji just munched on his chips. He knew exactly why Shikamaru was acting this way. The reason was sitting right next to him.

"H-Hey!" Naruto shouted as he saw the shuriken get closer and closer to Shikamaru's neck. His hands tightened on the rail as he continued following the fight. The other genin were also watching the match tensely, waiting to see what Shikamaru would do. Naruto sighed in relief as he saw Shikamaru do a backbend to avoid the shuriken, subsequently knocking out his opponent.

"A good shinobi uses everything to his advantage, even the terrain…which includes the architecture as well! You were locked into the same movements as I, but only one of us was close enough to the wall to give herself a concussion! The shuriken were just a distraction so you wouldn't notice where you were standing," Shikamaru explained to his downed opponent, rubbing the back of his neck and looking up at the crowd.

"Nice one, Shikamaru!" Ino cheered, already awake again.

"Awesome!" Choji dutifully supported his best friend.

"And the guy acts totally humble… Man, that was cool!" Naruto exclaimed, grinning at Shikamaru. He was impressed by the other's planning. The way he trapped her by the wall and got her to knock herself out by using mind tricks! It was just too cool! "Nice job. Shika!" Naruto patted Shikamaru's back.

"Thanks!" Shikamaru said dryly, but still smiled at the blonde, sitting down next to Choji.

"How come you let him call you Shika, and not me?" Ino pouted.

"Troublesome…" Shikamaru grumbled, wondering how she'd noticed. "Just because…" he hedged not really answering. "Oh, hey look, the next round is starting," he distracted her.

They looked at the board and saw: 'Uzumaki Naruto vs. Inuzuka Kiba.' Naruto whooped when he finally saw his name, "Well, it's about time! Thanks for being patient everyone, I'm gonna make this worth your wait!"

Kiba gulped as Akamaru whined. Once upon a time, he'd be thrilled to be going up against Naruto, but training together showed him that the short blonde was no pushover. He couldn't even count the number of times Naruto had defeated him in practice, while he hadn't beaten the other even once... The closest he'd gotten was the first time they'd sparred. But even then, Naruto was able to perfectly imitate Akamaru enough to bite him and then later on knock him out with a bodily release of noxious fumes… He was never going to live that fight down! Anyways, this was going to be hard!

"Ooh, tough luck Kakashi, but Kiba's going to take Naruto down," Kurenai remarked looking down at the genin in the arena.

"Mm, we'll see," Kakashi just eye-smiled at her and turned to watch Naruto fight Kiba. He couldn't wait to see what the orange-genin came up with.

---

Naruto vs. Kiba

"And… Match start!" Hayate coughed out before moving away from the two genin. Naruto grinned widely as he carefully watched Kiba and Akamaru to make sure he didn't pull of any combo attacks before he was ready. Seeing that neither were moving, Naruto threw his kunai at them, and summoned sixteen shadow clones while he watched them weave and duck to avoid the kunai.

"Okay, Akamaru, I've got a plan! We can't go at him directly so we have to trick him and then hit him with a combo!" Akamaru yipped, understanding what Kiba wanted him to do. "Alright, it's now or never! Four Legs Technique!" He yelled and crouched down on all fours. Launching himself at the cluster of clones on his left, he swiped through them with his clan's Passing Fang Technique. In an instant, all the clones were popped, leaving only the original Naruto in the middle of the arena. "That all you got?" Kiba asked, breathing heavily.

"Nope!" Naruto laughed and threw down a smoke bomb, disappearing from Kiba's sight.

"Damn, I didn't want to have to rely on this, but we have no choice. Akamaru, catch!" Kiba yelled throwing a soldier pill over to him. Chomping down on it, he felt his reserves surge and he became energetic again. "Earth Releases: Flying Throwing Stones!" He yelled sending rocks hurtling in all directions as he tried to force Naruto out of his hiding place. Hearing a yelp, he rushed towards that direction with Akamaru, only to have a pepper bomb explode in front of them. "ACHOO!" he couldn't stop sneezing! With his senses magnified and the pepper in the air, he was stuck sniffling. Shit, now I can't find him anymore… "Come out from- Achoo! -wherever you are! Don't hide like a coward!"

"I'm no coward!" a voice yelled from behind him. Kiba turned around and saw Naruto standing there and scowling at him.

"Really? Then why don't you fight me like a man? Fist to fist?" he goaded, knowing it was his only chance to catch Naruto off guard.

"Take this!" Naruto yelled and ran at him.

Kiba could hardly believe it. His plan was actually working! He might actually beat Naruto for once! He waited for Naruto to be right next to him before he used Kawarimi to move towards the wall. "Heh heh, you were too slow to catch me!" he boasted, before ducking out of the way of Naruto's next swipe.

"Will—you—stop—dodging—me?" Naruto lashed out Kiba in between each word, but the other genin was too fast and ducked out of the way of each punch.

"No way! It wouldn't be a challenge otherwise!" he grinned, leading Naruto right next to the wall. He waited for Naruto's back to be to the wall before commanding, "Now!" Akamaru jumped out of his hiding place and became a clone of Kiba. They both shouted, "Fang Passing Fang!" and descended upon Naruto who didn't move in shock.

The other genin watched in horror as Naruto was ripped apart by Kiba and Akamaru. Sakura was gripping the railing so tightly that she accidentally left behind indents in it. Ino but her lip in worry while Hinata gasped and covered her mouth with her hand. She couldn't believe what was going on. Sasuke just remained silent. He knew that Naruto couldn't be taken down that easily. Shikamaru smirked. He knew what was going on. Choji just calmly munched on his chips. If Naruto was actually hurt, Shikamaru wouldn't be smiling that way…

Neji glared at Kiba. He would rip the other genin apart limb from limb if his savior was hurt in any shape or form. He activated his Byakugan and sighed in relief as he saw the blonde unhurt and still whole.

"Wow, Kiba, I didn't think that you'd actually rip me apart! What if I'd actually been standing there?" Naruto complained from behind Kiba.

"Nah, you're too good. There's no way you would've been caught by something like that…" Kiba replied, making Kurenai raise her eyebrows at her student. It sounded like he truly believed that he couldn't beat Naruto, the dead-last of the academy… Maybe looks were deceiving in this case. After all, it wouldn't be the first time someone downplayed their abilities to trick their opponents, she thought, glancing at Asuma.

"Oh? If you knew that, then why did you attack my clone anyways?" Naruto asked stepping forward.

"I did it so you'd fall for my plan! It's time to Detonate!" he grinned and activated the explosion seals Akamaru had secretly placed all around the arena when he was fighting with Naruto. The bombs all exploded at once, covering the arena in smoke. When it cleared up, Kiba eagerly took down his Earth Release: Practice Brick Technique and looked around to see if he'd finally defeated Naruto, when he felt a Kunai being held to his throat.

"That was a pretty good plan," Naruto admitted. "And it would've worked too, if I was actually standing over there and not here instead…"

"What-But-Huh?" Kiba stuttered in confusion. He didn't understand what was going on. If the Naruto in the explosion was a clone, then the Naruto that got hit by Fang Passing Fang must have been the real Naruto, but he wasn't hurt… Were there two clones? But then where was Naruto hiding? "How did you do that?" Kiba asked in frustration. He'd thought he'd actually did it this time, but it looks like Naruto was one step ahead of him like always…

Naruto laughed as he explained, "So, you remember when I threw my kunai at you in the beginning?" Naruto asked. Seeing Kiba nod, he continued. "Well, those weren't actually Kunai. They were all shadow clones Henged into kunai. After I summoned my other clones as a distraction, they were able to take care of the explosion seals Akamaru put everywhere and replaced them with duds that only released smoke instead. Then I had a clone pretend to fall for your trap and get ripped apart." Naruto winced and absently rubbed his ribs, remembering how that dismemberment felt like. He shuddered. If he could help it, he was never feeling that in real life…

"But that still doesn't where you were or how you got behind me," Kiba prodded, prompting Naruto into finishing the story.

"After I released the pepper bomb, I used Wind Release: Great Breakthrough to launch myself into the air and used Tree Climbing to stick to the wall and the Cloak of Invisibility to hide. When you thought you defeated me, I dropped to the ground behind you with my clone and trapped both you and Akamaru," Naruto explained.

"Woah," Kiba sucked in a breath. He couldn't believe how complex Naruto's plan was. He definitely deserved the win. "Proctor, I surrender," he announced and Hayate proclaimed Naruto the winner of the match. He felt a little empty when the blonde let go of him, but quickly shook off that feeling. "That plan was amazing! I can't believe you thought up all of that in the short time before we started!" Kiba praised, deeply enjoying it when he saw the blonde blush bright red.

"Thanks," Naruto flushed, but still managed to beam at Kiba. No one had ever congratulated him on a plan well done before. But considering that most of his plans were actually for pranks and not for winning fights… He could see where they were coming from. He walked back to the stands with Kiba and Akamaru, his face turning even redder as the rest of the genin complimented his plan. It felt amazing to finally be acknowledged for his ninja skills and not as the dead-last or the Kyuubi-brat.

"Nice job Naruto, I knew you could do it! Kiba, you also were great!" Sakura said with a smile.

"Hnn," Sasuke grunted, but grinned at the two of them, showing his appreciation of their fight.

"Congratulations Naruto. It is good to see you will be going forward in the exams, although it is a pity Kiba will not be joining us," Shino spoke up.

"Y-You both were amazing," Hinata shyly added.

"That fight was so cool, but you were lucky that your plan worked! Otherwise, what if Kiba looked up and noticed you, or what if he saw you behind him and fought you off?" Ino said, making the rest of the genin nod. Thinking about it, it was actually really lucky that Naruto's plan had succeeded with all those factors in it.

Shikamaru interrupted them with a scoff. "You guys don't even know half of it. He only explained the parts we saw, not his real plans. He wasn't even planning on attacking Kiba from behind. It was a split-second decision, right?" he asked, looking over at Naruto who sheepishly scratched the back of his head.

"Yeah, actually, my clones filled the arena with traps and seals to beat Kiba. But then I remembered that Iruka-sensei thought my Level 2 traps were way too hard for genin and most Chunin, so I had to stop you from going out there before my clones replaced them with the easier versions… I didn't think that I'd actually catch you both off guard and make you surrender," he explained. "And if my traps plan didn't work, I was going to activate the paralyzing seals that my clones placed on both you and Akamaru. Oh yeah, I should probably get those off you right now…" Naruto trailed off and held up his hands, channeling his chakra to remove the seals he had placed on them. "But, how'd you know about that Shikamaru?"

"I didn't know about the seals, but I knew about the traps. You wouldn't have made those clones for no reason and just let them get dispelled so easily…" the pineapple-haired genin explained easily, as the rest of the genin took in what Naruto had just said. Even Kakashi was surprised at how intricate the blonde's plan was. Luckily, he didn't use those Level 2 traps… Who knows what would've happened if he set those off… The masked jounin shuddered, remembering how dangerous the Level 5 trap he got caught in was.

"Oh, hey, look! It's Hinata's turn. And you're up against your cousin!" Naruto pointed at the board, distracting the genin. "Good luck Hinata! I believe in you!"

The shy girl flushed, but smiled at him nonetheless, "Thank you. I'll try my best to win." Walking down the stairs, she stood at the center of the arena waiting for her cousin to come.

---

Hinata vs. Neji

"Nii-san," Hinata greeted her cousin.

"Hinata-sama," Neji nodded at her stiffly, still feeling awkward from their last encounter. "I won't hold back. Not because I hate you, but because I respect you" he clarified, seeing Hinata smile back at him.

"Thank you for taking me seriously," Hinata replied as Hayate started the match. Neji dipped his head at her before falling back, making sure his back was against the wall. The crowd watched on in anticipation, wondering what Hinata would do. The Hyuuga Heiress didn't disappoint them as she quickly went through her hand signs and released a fireball at Neji. "Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"

Neji narrowed his eyes at the incoming fireball and spun, shouting, "Eight Trigrams Palms Revolving Heaven!" A dome of chakra formed, surrounding Neji and destroying the fireball. "Is that all you can do?" Neji yelled as he stopped spinning.

"Get ready Nii-san," Hinata warned before unsealing five colored balls and throwing them at Neji. He skillfully dodged them and threw his shuriken back at her. Hinata ducked out of the way and grinned to see Neji had fallen for her trap. "Detonate: Candy Explosion!" The balls from before glowed and exploded, showering the arena in crystallized senbon.

Neji cursed and began his rotation once more, fending off the attacks. Hinata dashed forward and unsealed her water supply. Sneaking into Neji's blind spot, she yelled, "Water Needles!" Neji noticed them flying at him and fended them off with a kunai. He did not expect Hinata to suddenly destabilize them, turning them back into water and soaking him. Grimacing, he swiped at his face with his hand, wiping the water away. "Was this your plan? To wet me?" he asked, incredulous. He didn't understand where his cousin was going with this. Why would a little water stop me? He thought, trying to figure out her motives.

Hinata nodded and rushed forward, taking Neji aback. He quickly went through the motions for his Eight Trigrams Sixteen Palms. He knew how to do the other versions, but he didn't want to hurt her too badly. She did unseal him after all… Hinata ignored his preparations and continued rushing forward straight on. Just before she entered the range of his divination, she feinted to the right, but actually dodged to the left, aiming at his blind spot again. "Lightning Release: Chakra Pulse!" She called out and channeled all her remaining chakra into a shock wave, striking Neji's wet body, electrocuting him.

Twitching, Neji bit back a scream, and turned around using his Eight Trigrams Sixteen Palms to strike Hinata, and cutting off her chakra supply. Both genin were on the verge of unconsciousness. I underestimated her. I never expected that those bombs were a distraction for the water to have the electricity affect me even more. I should've went all out from the start instead of waiting to see what she would do. She truly is a strong opponent…

Hinata shakily stepped forward, trying to land just one last strike on Neji before she collapsed. Although the electricity had damaged him significantly, he still wasn't out for the count yet. Knowing she wouldn't be able to strike him, Hinata took out her last colored ball and threw it at him with all the chakra she could muster. Neji paled seeing the incoming glowing projectile and tried using Eight Trigrams Palms Revolving Heaven to block the attack. He was only able to push it off course, making it explode and shake the whole arena. Panting harshly, he rushed forward and delivered a chop to the back of Hinata's neck, knocking her out instantly and winning the match.

"Neji Hyuuga is the winner of the eighth match!" Hayate announced as Neji stumbled forwards, about to fall when Gai caught him and shunshined back to his team. Looking up, Neji relaxed once more when he saw Hinata's sensei take Hinata back to where his blonde savior was. Noting that she was safe, he let go and succumbed to unconsciousness, the fight taking its toll on him.

"That was incredible!" Naruto gushed, proud of Hinata's fight. He was especially happy that the Candy Bombs Hinata used worked well. He'd helped her make them and was surprised at how good she'd gotten at using them. Looking at Hinata's resting body, he felt happy he was able to help one of his friends become stronger. Even if she didn't win, he still thought her fight was super awesome!

"Yeah, she did great!" Sakura agreed. "I still don't get why she didn't use the wrappers though… Then she could've tricked Neji and immobilized him without getting hit and having her chakra blocked…"

"Oh, I know why she didn't use them," Kiba spoke up, after double checking that Hinata was all okay. "She used them up in our rush to reach the tower because we didn't have time to fight people. I think she also used up all her paralyzing senbon too in the Forest of Death."

"Oh, that makes sense," Ino nodded her head. She's also been wondering why Hinata didn't use her special moves in the fight. If she had her special equipment, the fight might've gone her way after all. Ino winced remembering the many, many beatdowns she and Sakura had suffered from Hinata. She shivered at the memory of all that pain. Yeah, if Hinata had all her weapons, she'd have been unstoppable. Returning her attention to the board, she noticed the next names were up. "Who are Rock Lee and Gaara?" she wondered aloud.

"It's Gaara's turn?" Naruto perked up in excitement, leaning against the railing to see the fight better. "He's awesome and is my brother! Well, borrowed-brother," he amended, watching Gaara use his sand to levitate himself down to the arena. "Oh, and look! Bushy-brows is up there too!" Naruto grinned knowing that this would be a fantastic fight!

---

A Father's Perspective

The Kazekage watched as his youngest walked to the arena in a daze. Narrowing his eyes at the fight, he wondered why Gaara was throwing the fight. Although it looked like he was fighting, Rasa knew that his youngest was just going through the motions while his sand automatically protected him. The furrows in his forehead creased further, when he saw Gaara's opponent release his weights, causing two giant craters in the stadium floor. What is that foolish boy doing? Why isn't he fighting back? Where's his usual bloodthirsty nature? Rasa questioned as he watched Gaara's Sand Armor crack. Maybe he's really lost it this time… Not that I'd blame him for it. The Kazekage thought, sighing and running his fingers through his hair. Perhaps it wasn't the best of ideas to send assassins after him, but if I didn't do that the council would only get on my case even more about exterminating him for mindlessly slaughtering the villagers… I tried to see if Yashamaru could change his ways, bet it seems even that plan fell through when he went off script and said he hated him, messing him up even more. I mean, what the hell? I only told him to hurt him physically to see what would happen if an attack ever got past his Sand Armor, not to make friends with him and then betray him by saying you hated him and wanted to kill him for forcing his mother to death! How on Earth does that even help anything? Rasa scowled remembering how his dear wife's brother screwed up Gaara's chances of ever having any normal human interactions. He turned his attention back to the match just in time to see Gaara encase the other genin in a Sand Coffin, surprised to see that the red-head hadn't killed him yet. He watched in growing confusion as Gaara didn't leave the arena even after he as declared the winner. What does he want now? Don't tell me that his blood thirst wasn't satisfied so he's going after the proctor now? The next few words that came out of Gaara's mouth shocked him and the entire stands into silence.

"So, all this time… Mother was actually Father!" he heard the red-head spout out. What the fuck? Rasa thought in stunned silence. He didn't even know how to retort to that statement. It wasn't helping that the rest of the jounin in the room were eyeing him suspiciously after his son's statement. Okay, so your imaginary friend had a sex change, probably because of puberty and your hormones not wanting to have a 'Mother' hover around you while you went out on dates, but why do you have to bring me into this?! Rasa thought, rubbing his face tiredly and glancing at the wary crowd. He groaned as he saw Temari's glare. This was going to be a long day…

---

Gaara vs. Rock Lee

"And… Match begin!" Hayate jumped out of the way of the two genin after announcing the start of round nine. Lee whooped and ran at Gaara, using his Taijutsu prowess to fight with him. Gaara just stood there in a daze, his sand automatically defending him and not letting any of Lee's hits land on him.

Gaara was still pondering over what Naruto had told him. Mother is a man so it should be Father, but Naruto says that Mother isn't actually Mother and is someone named Shukaku instead. But is it actually that Mother was just a crossdresser like Kankuro when he pretends to be a puppet? In that case should I call Mother Father because she…he is a man right now? This train of thought repeated over and over in his head trapping him in an endless loop. He hadn't had contact with his 'Mother' for the past few days. He'd only heard 'her' say that 'she' was going off to visit 'her' brother and that 'she'd' be back later… Suddenly Gaara heard a rumbling voice in his mind. Mother? He asked tentatively.

Yooooo, Kidddd! Whaaat's going on? Shukaku slurred as he reentered Gaara's landscape. He'd been off with Kyuubi getting drunk in his Kit's mind mansion and was still feeling the after effects. Who knew mind liquor was so potent? He sure didn't…

Mother… Gaara asked hesitantly. Are you actually a man named Shukaku? He finally just blurted out his question, figuring knowing was better than being left in the dark.

Ohhhh, Kiddd, you found out! Yeahhh, I'm actually a giant raccoon dude named Shukaku, but you can call me Ore-sama! Shukaku announced half-haughtily, half-drunkenly.

So, Mother really was a man after all this time, and I never knew… He thought dazedly, ignoring the raccoon's last words, as he fended off another one of Lee's Konoha Hurricane with a casual wave of his sand. So lost in thought, he didn't notice the other genin remove his ankle weights and get ready to fight again. Gaara paid attention to the fight when he felt his Sand Armor being breached by one of the attacks. He scowled and let the sand reform around him. He just wanted to think right now, not to fight. He wasn't feeling the bloodthirsty rage that usually clouded his mind when he was urged by his Moth-Shukaku to kill someone. Gaara grimaced. Calling his life-long voice Shukaku instead of Mother just didn't feel right even though the voice itself admitted it was a racoon. How did a raccoon even get stuck in my head anyways? Maybe Temari was right… I am going crazy… He fretted, ignoring the bushy-browed genin's new Lotus stance. He momentarily refocused on the fight when he felt himself being picked up, but slipped away allowing the genin to crush his shell instead. Argghhh, this is getting annoying! Maybe I should finish up this fight so I can actually get some peace and quiet to think. Gaara thought, lashing out at Lee with a wave of sand.

Lee merely flipped out of the way and yelled, "You're a worthy opponent! This will be my last move! Reverse Lotus: Fifth Gate Open!" His hair spiked up as his body rippled, his muscles straining as blood pumped rapidly through his veins.

…What? Gaara thought in confusion, wondering when the fight even began. Maybe I should've been paying a little more attention… He dodged out of the way of Lee's ferocious continuous attacks, his Sand Armor peeling little by little as Lee got faster and faster. Okay, this needs to stop. Like right now. Gaara thought right as Lee grabbed him and smashed him into the ground, destroying his gourd. He growled and clenched his hands in a fist, trapping Lee in a Sand Coffin, but not crushing him yet.

"Woohoo! Go Gaara!" someone shouted from the stands. Gaara looked up to see a blonde leaning over the railings cheering for him. He relaxed his grip on the Sand Coffin, not even noticing the proctor declare him the winner and announce that there'd be a short break while they fixed up the arena for the next match. Thoughts twirled around in Gaara's head as he remembered his discussion with the blonde about how he could call his voice whatever he wanted. Right, he confirmed that he was male and since calling him Shukaku sounds weird, I'll just call him Father from now on! Gaara relaxed, his mind finally at peace until a thought struck him. Wait… Was he pretending to be a girl all this time? Or did he change genders? Can raccoons even do that? Well…I know Naruto can and he's human, so maybe raccoons can too…? He wondered, not realizing that Shukaku could hear him.

Hehehe, silly little human. I just thought it was funny to see you call me Mother when I was actually a male, Shukaku giggled as he remembered how awesome his prank was. He loved how disturbed the Kazekage looked whenever Gaara would speak to his 'Mother.' The old man was convinced that Gaara had an imaginary friend that he dubbed his Mother and used as an excuse to murder people. Messing with that man always made him feel happier. Serves that bastard right! Humph, sealing Ore-sama away. The nerve of that man, what was he thinking? And he didn't even get me a good seal. I want a mansion too! Shukaku hiccupped as he whined, remembering how glorious Kyuubi's mansion was.

Not noticing everyone watching him, wondering why he was still standing in the middle of the arena for no reason, Gaara said, "So all this time… Mother was actually Father!" His words echoed in the quiet stadium, as the jounin and Chunin blanched and turned around to look at the Kazekage who was sitting next to the Hokage.

---

Temari just glared at her father. All along, he was the reason her little brother was so messed up! They used to be happy together. When Gaara was a baby, he was so cute and fluffy, but then the sand reacted to him and their father took him away to receive 'special training'. Ever since then, he'd become this cold emotionless husk of a brother who only lived to kill on the orders of his so-called 'Mother', whoever she was. And now he finally revealed that his 'Mother' was actually their father all along! This was low, even for that man. She knew he sent the people who worked for him that he wanted to get rid of as 'assassins' after Gaara to dispose of them, but this? Telling Gaara to go and kill random people in plain sight just because he wanted them gone and didn't want to dirty his hands was pushing it. She thought that after the whole Uncle Yashamaru fiasco he'd have stopped meddling with their lives, but it seemed like she'd been too optimistic. The next time she saw him, she was going to give him a stern talking-to and while she was at it, she might as well get him to ditch his stupid plan of invading Konoha. Kankuro may not have understood what the blonde meant by him and Gaara being brothers, but she did. And if she was correct, the only Jinchuuriki he could possibly be was that of the nine-tails, and they stood no chance against that force. Heck, they barely could deal with Gaara's one-tailed beast when it was on a rampage, let alone the nine-tails. Even Konoha's Fourth Hokage had to sacrifice his life just to seal it away. Frankly, she'd never liked the plan and thought it was a death-sentence to attack Konoha. Yeah, the next time she saw her father, they would be having words. She looked at the stands across from her and glared at her father.

---

Gaara made his ways up the staircase, only to be tackled by an energetic blonde. "Gaara! Your fight was so cool!"

Taking a moment to prop himself up with his sand, Gaara found himself holding Naruto up. He carefully detangled Naruto's limbs from his frame and set the orange-clad genin on the floor, crossing his arms. "Thank you?" he replied, wondering if it was the correct response. By the smile on Naruto's face, he figured it was.

"Come on, let me introduce you to my friends!" Naruto dragged the red-head with him to the stands where the rest of the genin were waiting. "Guys this is Gaara!" Naruto announced happily. "Over there are Sakura and Sasuke and they're on my team with Kaka-sensei!"

The masked-jounin eye-smiled at the Jinchuuriki from Sand and waved at him, "Yo!" Sasuke just stared at the red-head, making no move to greet him. Sakura smiled but didn't say anything, waiting for Naruto to introduce the rest of the genin.

"And over there is Team 10. Shika's the one with pineapple-hair, Ino's the girl with a pony-tail, and Choji's the one eating chips," he introduced with a grin.

"Shikamaru," the pineapple-haired genin corrected and shook Gaara's hand. "Nice to meet you," he said as Choji continued eating. Ino waved at Gaara happily.

"The last team here is Team 8. Their members are Shino, Hinata, Akamaru and his pet Kiba," Naruto joked as Akamaru barked happily, liking the statement.

"Traitor," Kiba shot a dirty look at Akamaru but couldn't help grinning a little.

"H-Hello. It is nice to meet you," Hinata shyly greeted. Shino just nodded at Gaara, wondering why his Kikaichu were more aggravated than usual by the genin's presence. It's weird, they're reacting the same way they were when they first met Naruto…

Gaara stared at the genin stoically and finally said, "Hello. It is nice to meet Naruto's friends. He speaks highly of you." He watched in interest as the genin flushed various shades of red at his words. Hmm, it seems Naruto's affection for them is returned…

Ha, you got that right boy! Shukaku's gravelly voice echoed in his head. I was talking to Kyuubi and he told me that those genin practically worship that brat. He's even got Kyuubi wrapped around his finger! He's so overprotective of the blonde. He wouldn't even let me threaten to fight him a little. Said he'd go all Protocol #10 on my ass if I even tried. Shukaku pouted, the last time Kurama had unleashed that it had taken all eight of them working together to stop him. To this day, he still didn't know what had set the fox off, but he knew that he never wanted to have to go through that ever again...

Kit, pay attention. One of your buddies is about to go on stage to fight, Kurama yawned sleepily. He'd stayed up late last night, partying with Shukaku. The overgrown raccoon had drank too much and ended up passing out on his sofa, making Kurama take care of him until he was finally sober enough to re-enter Gaara's mindscape.

"Wow, it's already the last fight! Hey, check it out, it's Choji's turn!" Naruto replied back to Kurama, unknowingly saying it out loud as well. Gaara turned around to see the larger boy he'd been introduce to earlier, move onto the stage. "This'll be cool! We've been helping Choji learn some new moves. I can't wait to see how he does," Naruto bounced excitedly, anticipating the next match.

---

Dosu vs. Choji

Right as the match started, Choji immediately used his Baika-no-Jutsu to enlarge himself and catapulted himself at the other genin with a battle cry. Dosu ducked out of the way and launched a sound wave at Choji, launching him into a wall. The genin winced as the wall cracked but cheered as Choji didn't give up and pulled himself out of the wall. He quickly made the hand signs for Boar and Ox, using Earth Release to shoot a Tearing Earth Turning Palm at Dosu, sucking the other boy into the ground. Choji shakily let go of his jutsu, shrinking down back to normal, thinking the match was over. He was unprepared when Dosu dragged himself out of the hole and used the last of his chakra to shoot one last sound wave at Choji. Before hitting the wall, Choji converted his chakra to Flame Release and sent a Flame Bullet at Dosu, knocking him out just as he lost consciousness.

"Double Knockout: No Winners!" Hayate announced, ending the match as Asuma grabbed ahold of Choji and shunshined back to the stands. Asuma stared at the unconscious boy in a stupor, wondering what had riled up the normally calm and peaceful boy. His opponent hadn't even had the time to call him fat before he'd attacked! He couldn't believe that Choji was the one to launch an all-out attack against the Oto-nin.

Noticing his teacher's dilemma, Shikamaru confided, "He went all-out against the other guy because he attacked us in the Forest of Death and tried to kill off Naruto's team."

Asuma nodded. Threatening his friends would definitely ignite the gentle boy's rage. No wonder he was attacking so aggressively! Too bad the match ended in a draw. He'd been looking forward to winning the bet of the most Chunin-hopefuls he'd made with the rest of the jounin-sensei. Damnit, looks like Kakashi is going to win again… Not that I expected to have more than Shikamaru in the finals, but I thought that Gai's students would pass for sure! They even had a whole extra year of training…

Choji groaned and slowly regained consciousness. "Asuma-sensei, since none of us lost, are you still treating us to dinner?" the larger boy drooled at the thought of the all-you-can-eat buffet his teacher had promised them.

"I only promised to pay if all of you won," Asuma answered hurriedly. There's no way my wallet can feed you bottomless pits!

"Actually sensei, you promised to treat us if none of us lost. And Ino and Choji didn't lose, they got a double knockout," Shikamaru smirked at his teacher, happy to see him sweat.

"…" My money… Asuma's face turned teary as he remembered his empty wallet. How am I supposed to fund that victory feast now? He thought, cringing at the hungry looks his genin team were sending his way.

"Yeah, you shouldn't back out of a promise, A-su-ma-san~" Kakashi eye-smiled at him sadistically. He knew that the other had bet on Gai's team to have more passers than his. Payback was sweet.

"Fine, fine! I'll treat you guys," Asuma surrendered, seeing himself outnumbered. He glared at Kakashi, cursing the man under his breath. And now that scarecrow is the one with the most passers! (Other than Sand, but they don't count as they're from another village…) But really, who'd have expected the dead-last to pass? Remembering that only Kakashi bet on his team having the most passers, Asuma seethed in jealousy. That bastard! He knew this was going to happen! And he didn't tell me even after I generously gave up MY ticket just so he could see his genin? How ungrateful! Asuma pouted, thinking of all the earnings he could've gotten if he'd betted on Kakashi's team instead of Gai's, his own, and Kurenai's (she'd make him sleep on the couch if he didn't bet on her team). Actually, now that he thought about it, the only rookie team he hadn't bet on was Kakashi's… No wonder the man has been giving me the stink-eye since the test has started…

---

Kakashi had no idea that Asuma was currently cursing him right now for his good luck. He'd been engrossed in listening to what the proctor was saying about the next exam. So, the next test will be in a tournament and is in a month? That means that I'll have the time to train them before the next exam. Typically, the jounin-sensei are supposed to teach their genin in the month, but problem is, I have two kids who've passed… Sakura can take advantage of the free month to learn about medical-ninjutsu at the hospital, but that still leaves Naruto and Sasuke… And knowing the council, I'm probably going to be forced to teach Sasuke about the Sharingan in that one-month time-frame. Kakashi groaned at this thought. Not that he didn't like Sasuke or anything, but he was a jounin. He could easily make a shadow clone to train one of them and still have time to teach the other, not that Danzo would let him. He'd probably say something like it was unfair to the students to have their teacher's focus split between them or something and try to take one of them to train. Most likely he'd ask for Naruto. Ever since the Uchiha massacre, he'd been staying far away from Sasuke. He probably didn't think of the Uchiha as a threat anymore, considering how few of them were still alive… Seriously, that man just needs to take his mummified butt and keep it out of my team! How many times do I have to tell him, "No!" before it finally gets through that thick skull of his? Still, Kakashi rubbed his chin. He needed to find a teacher for Naruto, and he needed to find one fast.

---

Ending the Second Stage of the Chunin Exams on a Light Note

"So, did you decapitate anyone in your exam?" were the words that greeted Naruto when he entered his house.

"No! Why would I even want to do that?" Naruto wrinkled his nose at Sai and flopped onto the couch. He'd never get used to seeing the other boy cooking in his pink apron that read: 'Be nice to me, or I'll poison your food!' Sai had taken a marker and crossed out 'me' replacing it with 'Naruto.' He'd thought it was a joke until he heard his neighbors say his landlord and some of the mouthier villages were in the hospital suffering from food poisoning… After that incident, he'd banned Sai from gifting others food.

"Strange, I was sure that decapitation was one of the core tenants of Chunin training… Or maybe it was actually castrat—"

"O-kay, you're way off!" Naruto stopped Sai from finishing his sentence, having a premonition about where it was heading. I knew I shouldn't have let him read that book! Naruto cursed inside his mind, but continued explaining, "We had a written test that everyone who stayed passed and had a survival test in the Forest of Death! Then we had to fight each other in the preliminaries."

"Did you meet anyone new?" Sai asked, wondering if the sunny blonde had made any new friends. He'd already heard about the red-head that the orange-clad genin had taken a liking to and figured anyone special enough to catch his attention was a cause for concern. He did find me after all…

"Yeah, I met these two creeps. One of them was named Kabuto and he was totally a spy from somewhere and the other one was a pervert named Orochimaru! He even gave Sasuke a hickey! You better watch out for him. You kind of look like Sasuke, so he might be after you too…" Naruto took a moment to look at him seriously.

Sai felt strangely warm from the concern, no matter how misplaced or odd it was. "I'll be sure to keep that in mind," he tried to smile at Naruto, but ended up copying Danzo's creepy smirk.

"Good," Naruto nodded in satisfaction, before recalling something. "Oh, and I almost forgot! My cousin, Karin, joined the clan! She doesn't have anywhere to stay so she might be living with us after the Chunin exams."

"Where's she going to sleep? We don't have any extra guest rooms," Sai pointed out, wondering if he'd have to sleep on the couch to make room for her.

"Actually… Recently, I've been reading about storage seals and how they work and stuff. I think that if I play around a little more with them, then I can use one indoors to expand the space we're in!" Naruto puffed out his chest in pride. "But, it's still a little messed up right now, so I'm still testing it out. I don't want it to accidentally collapse on us or something," Naruto laughed and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. The last time he didn't test a seal before using it, Training Ground #4 ended up becoming Crater # 4… Yeah, he was never using a seal without testing it ever again… Shaking off his thoughts, Naruto continued speaking, "Anyways, I was planning on getting a piece of land to set up an actual clan compound, but I need to make at least Chunin to do that…Until then, we're stuck here."

Sai wondered if he could help Naruto get a clan compound since he was technically listed as an ANBU, albeit a secret one. Although he like the apartment, the landlord was really messing with his ability to make rational decisions. He suspected the landlord was a missing-nin because whenever he got near him, a genjutsu would cover his mind, making him act rashly. Acting on his suspicions, he "tested" the landlord along with a few other villagers he suspected as being spies. Unfortunately, Naruto had found out and banned him from conducting further "tests." The one he was able to conduct, showed that the victims were either normal civilians or a lot better at undercover work than he had thought. Considering the fact that they were all mysteriously admitted to the hospital for "food poisoning" right before the poison could be dissolved, led him to believe the latter. Seems like poison isn't enough… To flush them out, I'm going to need to arrange a few more "accidents." After all, Danzo always said that it's better to cut a suspected diseased tree branch than let it infect the whole tree.

"…Why do I suddenly feel like you're misunderstanding something?" Naruto sweat-dropped, seeing Sai's creepy half-smirk he used whenever he was about to do something stupid.

"It's a figment of your imagination," Sai quickly answered as the blonde just narrowed his eyes at Sai in suspicion.

"Right…" Naruto nodded his head in fake agreement while mentally deciding to keep his eye on Sai. Who knew what the socially stunted boy would do if he was left to his own devices? Last week, Naruto had asked him to go buy groceries and Sai had come back five hours later empty-handed with only a bill for all the damage he'd caused trying to "communicate" with people. Whoever taught the boy to interact with others, really did a bad job, in Naruto's opinion. And considering the fact that almost all the villagers hated him to some degree that was saying something! Either way, he'd taken it upon himself to teach the other boy how to talk to someone without accidentally insulting them to the point they wanted to kill you. It was going well so far. They'd only gotten three death threats on their last attempt! A vast improvement from the five death threats, two attempted assaults, and six attempted murders. Sai really knew how to get on one's nerves. Not that Naruto was much better at this, but at least he'd been able to tone down the villager's reactions to annoyance rather than the physical harm Sai instigated.

"So, who are you training with?" Sai asked, changing the subject.

"Don't know yet," Naruto answered lazily. "Kaka-sensei is going to tell us tomorrow what we're going to do for the rest of the month. I'm going to train super hard and then beat the Chunin Exams and become a Chunin!" Naruto pumped his fist in the air.

"I'm sure you will," Sai said in a light tone, but believed it deep inside. The sunny blonde was ready to become a Chunin. They'd been sparring almost every day and even he found it hard to predict some of Naruto's Taijutsu attacks. They had to limit their spars to only using Taijutsu to not destroy their surroundings, and since Taijutsu was one of Naruto's worst subjects (other than genjutsu and chakra control), it really was an accomplishment for the blonde to almost tie with him in nearly every match. If he was able to actually use seals, traps, and shadow clones, then there was no doubt in Sai's mind that Naruto would pass the Chunin Exams. He was ready for this promotion and Sai would see to it that his friend would get it without the council interfering. Naruto deserved to be a Chunin, and nothing would stop him from accomplishing it.

---

Replies to Reviews:

Star1x: I mistakenly said in my last reply that the head of the Uzumaki Clan was Arashi, but it actually was Ashina. Sorry about that, I was too lazy to actually look it up before replying. Luckily, hennessyswagg83 caught it, so I could fix my mistake. :)

Meresdreams: Haha, sorry but that's for next chapter, so you'll have to wait a bit before seeing that happen. :) P.S. Your profile pic is really cute! Is it Kakashi?

duchessliz: He's sort of claivoyant? Like he has dreams about the Toad sage seeing the future of an alternate world, which is what would've happened if Shikamaru didn't pull Naruto into their daily team meetings, effectively changing the future. So things, based on chance or stuff not affected by the ripple effect (or by me the author lol), will stay the same mostly. I sort of want to just make Sai know everything about Danzo and turn him in, because that would be a super easy way to get rid of him, but I feel he deserves a more...intricate(?) ending. Like, I don't want it to end so easily, without him ever changing. I don't really have a plan about what to do with him yet, so if all else fails, I might just have to have Sai be super sneaky and get the drop on Danzo. :) I didn't actually get that far in the series, so I'm relying on wiki for most of knowledge and it says, "For his final business in the village, Itachi visited the Third Hokage and reported his mission completed, much to the Third's surprise and disappointment. Itachi requested that the Third look after Sasuke, which the Third vowed to do. Itachi left the village publicly a traitor but secretly with a new mission: to infiltrate Tobi's organisation, Akatsuki, and keep it from moving against Konoha." So, I think Itachi was a spy for the Hokage, but not even Jiraiya knew, and Sarutobe took the secret with him when he died. Yeah, it was definitely suspicious how Itachi suddenly couldn't beat Jiraiya when he could beat Orochimaru! Haha, yeah, I could never see how they didn't suspect Kabuto when he literally took the test so many times and always opted out right after the second part ever single time! How is that not suspicious?! The invasion is next chapter, and I still haven't written it yet so I have no idea how it will go yet. :)

Manaliac: Glad you liked the chapter! The Team Rocket thing was a nod to my cousin. He's super obsessed with pokemon, so I was watching it while writing that part, and somehow that's what happened! Haha :)

YamiSlade: Sorry for ending? Here's another chapter (look above) ;) Haha, but really, I thought it was a pretty good stopping point? And I didn't think it was a cliffhanger... At least you get to read a super long chapter here today! Sorry if the ending feels like another cliffhanger...(I thought it was an okay place to stop).

Wyrtha: Yeah, I'm really bad with OCs so it might be better if you write about it (especially since I have no idea who Shizuka or Shion are...) I haven't actually done anything to Kabuto yet, so anything can happen to him. I sort of want to convert him, but he just has so many issues... Tsunade isn't in this chapter yet, but hopefully she'll be in the next chapter. I honestly think Naruto has surpassed Jiraiya in sealing at this point, but I loved the relationship the two had! So he's definitely going to be one of Naruto's teachers but probably not the only one (Kakashi and Iruka definitely won't let him hog Naruto all to himself, lol) :)

Pabloshi33: Thanks! Glad you liked it! I was trying really hard to make the relationships flow naturally, so I'm happy you thought they did!

hennessyswagg83: Haha, I laughed reading your review! I can so see Sai and Hinata teaming up to stalk Naruto! But, honestly, this is probably going to be gen with no main relationships for Naruto until way way later, because I have no idea how to write actual romance. There'll be hints of fluffy love with every character, so there'll definitely be some NaruIno time scattered in there with everyone else. Right now it might seem like Ino (and Sakura) are still super obsessed with Sasuke, but I actually have a plan for that, so that'll change soon. As for Tenten, Naruto doesn't really know her that well yet. I don't think they've actually ever met each other yet in the story, so he has no plans to bring her into the clan. She probably won't join either, because I don't think they really interacted with each other much? I feel like if Team 9 ever visited, Naruto would be either hanging out with Lee or being followed around by Neji. I feel like Sasuke would try to get to know her more because he's actually into weapons, and Sakura is just on a whole another wave-length so who knows what she thinks...lol P.S. I fixed the part about the Uzumaki Clan. I looked it up again, and it really was Ashina not Arashi. I accidentally typed the wrong name because I was too lazy to look it up before... But, yeah, it was Ashina Uzumaki who was the clan head of the Uzumaki Clan.

HalfwayParanoid: Haha, sorry about that. The chapters are suuuuper long, but I think that's a plus point :) I actually looked up the Team Rocket theme song for that part, so it should be accurate :) It was actually inspired by my little cousin who I marathon watched pokemon with. He's obsessed with the show, so when the idea hit me, I just had to put it in! Glad you like the chapter and character development! Thanks!

Ash0011: Haha, I've got plans for the next chapter for that! And yup, you're right, it totally was Karin! :)

scarlet00500: Lucky for you, I actually finished up the chapter today so you get an update! Woohoo! (But future updates are going to be super slow, sorry about that, but college comes first...Sadly... ;( ) Cool! I'm glad you found my humor funny! I didn't know if my jokes only worked for me and others were like, "Oh, wow, that was weird, let's ignore it and keep reading..." It's great to know people got them! :) Yeah, I love borderline angst because full on angst makes me cry so there's no way I can write it. But, I remembered some of the stuff that was bugging me while I was reading the manga and I decided to try and fix them and this is what happened... Haha, everyone keeps commenting that Naruto is a cinnamon bun, and I had no idea what that meant, so I looked it up after reading your review to find out that it was an actual thing! I just thought everyone meant that Naruto was super sweet but still spicy at the same time and that everyone wanted a bite out of him... But I totally agree! Naruto is cinnamon bun, bad things happen to him and yet he's still super sweet! :) Wow, I'm really flattered by you're phone refreshing comment. I know how that feels (I literally do the same to the yellow dyad and quickly wear the face of the devil which updated today, yay!), so I'm glad you're finally getting a chapter! But this makes me feel bad telling you this, but the next update will probably not be anytime soon, I don't want to say a physical date because I have no idea when I'll finish, but probably not anytime this month... So sorry about that, but hopefully this extra long chapter will make you feel better!