Disclaimer – Kishimoto owns Naruto and the characters therein.

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Memories Of Others

Chapter 30

A Genin Observer

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Naruto stood to one side of the dias, looking over the assembled genin stood in neat ranks in the main sparring hall. On either side of the platform, the Jonin-Senseis stood, two Konoha and one non-Konoha on the left while the other four (two and two) stood on the right.

The twenty-one genin stood in three rows of seven, each team standing in line behind their senior genin, waiting for the final part of the second stage to begin and Naruto almost jumped out of his skin as a hand dropped onto his shoulder.

"Anko?"

"Hey, brat." Anko smirked. "You did good out there. You got the squads in place?"

Naruto nodded, then paused as the Oto Jonin gave him a measuring look. "Squads?"

"Orochimaru tried something in the Forest." Anko shrugged. "Naruto-kun here helped set up the counter-attack that drove him off."

"Congratulations, Chunin." The Jonin smiled. "My name is Raishi and it's an honor to meet the son of the Yellow Flash."

"I'm only a genin." Naruto demurred, then he frowned. "Damn, word's spread that far, has it?"

Raishi nodded, then turned his attention to the other side of the stage where Hiruzen was talking to Ibiki.

"I've got a job to do." Anko stated."And so do you, remember."

"Got it." Naruto sighed as he summoned two clones. "Be back soon."

The world seemed to blink around him, then he was standing in front of Jiraiya.

"Hey, brat."

"Pervy-sage." Naruto nodded back, then he turned to look at the screens. "Any sign of Orochimaru?"

"No." Jiraiya growled as he watched the screen on which Hiruzen was giving his speech, then the ones showing Jonin-Senseis. "And that worries me. When he did apply himself to it, he was a very convincing actor and now he knows that we can be on top of him within seconds of finding out just who he's masquerading as…"

"One of the Jonins?" Naruto asked. "Raishi, Baki or Zabuza? I've met Zabuza before, so…"

"Too obvious." Jiraiya countered. "More likely he's pretending to be one of the ANBU. There should be a dozen of them around, hidden from view. There's probably thirteen ANBU in there, but since they're under orders to conceal themselves unless summoned or something happens that requires intervention… damn."

For a long moment, Jiraiya stared at the screens, then he shrugged.

"Alright. Leave another dozen clones, then head back. Looks like Sensei is finishing his speech and you're going to want to watch your girlfriend do her stuff."

Naruto paused mid-technique to glare at the snickering Sage, then a dozen clones popped into existence around him before he rejoined the two clones that had allowed him to make the Hiraishin jump.

"Good luck finding that bastard." He said before he vanished in a flash of golden light.

"Yeah, luck's the only way I will find him." Jiraiya sighed as he turned back to the screen where all bar two of the genin were making their way to the viewing balcony. Movement caught his eye and he grinned as Naruto shunshined to beside Hinata, who responded by taking his arm and wrapping it around her as they watched the duo squaring off.

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"What did I miss, other than the speech?" Naruto whispered as he gave Hinata a one-armed hug.

"Kabuto quit, saying he hadn't recovered enough from the forest." Hinata replied just as quietly, but with a frown. "I checked, he didn't have any obvious injuries and his chakra levels seemed to be quite high, almost to the level of a Jonin."

"Interesting…" Naruto mused. "I'll tell Jiji afterwards, something like that is… they're starting!"

Below them, Sakura finished adjusting her gloves while the white-haired teen opposite her unslung his sword. The front of the blade was narrow but widened into a cylindrical center while the trailing edge seemed to be covered in tags.

"That's the Shibuki or Blastsword!" Naruto gasped. "I remember Kosuke-Sempai telling me about the swords of the Mist! It deploys exploding tags from the back…"

Hinata inhaled sharply as the teen below spoke.

"Are you a boy or a girl? I mean, you're so flat-chested, it's hard to tell."

"Bad move." Naruto whispered as Sakura seemed almost to glow with fury.

"Not that it really matters, although I have to say, that's a huge forehead you have…"

"Begin!" Hayate commanded as Sakura seemed to be surrounded with incorporeal flames for an instant.

"He tried to trash talk Sakura… what an idiot!" Naruto whispered as the kunoichi below exploded into action even as Suigetsu attacked.

Suigetsu swung his sword, only for Sakura to deliver an uppercut to the side of the blade that sent the blade flying into the air, embedding itself into one of the rafters.

"…the fuck?" Suigetsu managed before a second punch sent him slamming into the wall where he exploded in a shower of water, his hip-gourd clattering to the ground.

"…huh?"

The water flowed together and reformed into a scowling Suigetsu. Ignoring the shocked looks, he picked up his gourd, opened it and drank deeply before glaring at the wide-eyed Sakura.

"That hurt." He growled.

"And I'll make sure you hurt even more!" Sakura growled as she pulled out a kunai. "No-one makes fun of my forehead! Shannaro!"

"Damn, she's good." Naruto noted as Suigetsu frantically threw himself backwards to avoid the blade that threatened his crotch. "She fights dirty, too."

"I blame you for that." Kakashi noted from behind them, causing them both to jolt in shock. "After that wake-up call you gave me at the bell test, I took a long look at myself and what I had allowed myself to become. I also considered how to train my genin better. Sakura studies for two evenings a week with Anko. It was expensive, but I think it was worth letting Anko see underneath my mask."

"No wonder she's been looking smugger than usual for the last few months." Kurenai groaned as below them, Sakura threw a trio of kunai that impaled Suigetsu's arm briefly before he turned it into liquid just long enough to let the kunai drop to the ground.

"Interesting." Kakashi mused. "I haven't seen any wielders of the Hozuki bloodline in years, although I did hear that one was in the previous iteration of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist. I wonder if…"

A crackling noise interrupted his musing and Kakashi glanced below, noting the sprawled form.

"Well, looks like she found out how to use that nerve-stimulation jutsu in combat. Clever girl."

Down below, Sakura kicked the jelly-like form of Suigetsu, causing ripples to travel over his entire body.

"My forehead is not that big!"

"Winner, Sakura." Hayate stated. "Medics!"

The white-suited medic-nins bustled in, then paused as they tried to figure out how to lift Suigetsu onto the stretcher.

"Haku." Zabuza commanded and Haku vaulted over the railing to land by his team-mate, his hands already blurring through a string of seals. A moment later, the spilled water around Suigetsu froze and shifted, turning into a stretcher made out of ice.

"It will last for about five minutes." Haku explained as the medics picked up Sigetsu.

"Thanks." The head medic said, then he followed the others back into the medical bay adjacent to the sparring chamber. Turning, Haku paused, then leapt first to the balcony and then to the wall. Running up to the embedded sword, he grabbed it in a reverse grip, then pulled it out and dropped back down to land beside Zabuza, who took the sword from him as if it was a regular occurrence.

"Next match is *cough* Inuzuka Kiba against Abumi Zaku."

"Yes!" Kiba exulted from beside them. "A chance to show how good we are! Let's get him, Akamaru!"

"He seems more excitable than normal." Naruto chuckled as Kiba vaulted over the railing, dropping to the ground with practices ease while his opponant walked down the stairs.

"Interesting shirt." Naruto muttered and Hinata took a closer look at Zaku's outfit, noting the three red kanji for Death printed on his beige top.

"Are you *cough* all ready?" Hayate asked and Kiba nodded enthusiastically while Zaku just smirked.

"Yep, Akamaru and I are ready." Kiba exclaimed. "Right, bud?"

Akamaru barked in agreement.

"I need a new scarf, your mangy mutt'll do."

Kiba snarled, his hand pulling a small pill out of his pouch.

"Begin!"

Kiba tossed the pill straight to Akamaru, who snapped it out of the air, then leapt sideways as something blasted out of Zaku's palm, shattering the stone where Akamaru had been crouched. A second blast clipped Kiba, sending him tumbling.

"Hinata?"

The veins around Hinata's eyes bulged briefly.

"He has… devices built into his arms, they seem to react to his chakra… they fire blasts of chakra-infused air!"

"…allowing him to adjust it to create blades, blasts or other techniques." Naruto concluded, looking at the gash in the opposite wall. "That is a strong skill."

"So, you dodged my blasts, but there's more where they came from!" Zaku sneered, unleashing a two-handed blast at Kiba, who barely managed to scramble out of its way.

"Your aim is as lousy as your threats!" Kiba taunted and Zaku snarled as he fired alternating blasts at Kiba, then the Oto-nin suddenly folded over with a high-pitched scream as a red blur impacted just below his waist.

"Gotcha!" Kiba snarled as he delivered a rising spinning kick. As the Sound Nin somersaulted backwards from the power of the kick, Akamaru released his grip on Zaku's groin and Kiba snatched him out of the air, redirecting him so that when he landed, Akamaru was perched on his back.

"…kill… you… both…" Zaku sobbed as he rolled away from the duo.

"As if." Kiba scoffed. "Shikyaku no Jutsu! Jujin Bunshin!"

Kiba's nails and teeth seemed to lengthen, his face taking on a more feral cast while wisps of chakra flared around him, then Akamaru vanished into a cloud of smoke, dissipating to reveal a second Kiba.

"…the hell?" Zaku frowned as he managed to stagger to his feet, one hand still pressed over his groin.

"Let's do this!" Kiba snarled as Akamaru dropped down beside him. "Let's cull the herd!"

Both figures burst into motion, running in opposite directions and Zaku's eyes widened as he tried to gather enough chakra to fire another blast, then he was send flying by a double-footed kick from behind, followed by a spinning backhand that halted him in mid-air. Before he could fall, both Kibas grabbed his ankles and in a well-rehearsed movement, swung him down to slam face-first into the ground, then up and over with twice the effort, leaving him face-up in a small crater.

"Ouch." Naruto winced as Hayate ended the match. "I hope he never does that to me."

Kiba and Akamaru (transformed back into his normal form) jogged up the stairs to rejoin Team Eight.

"Whoo! We did it!" Kiba cheered. "We were awesome!"

"Next match is about to start." Naruto pointed out andKiba turned.

"Rock Lee and Tsuchi Kin…"

"YOSH!" Lee shouted as he somersaulted over the railings and landed in a perfect three-point crouch in front of Hayate. "At last, I have a chance to show my youthful prowess!"

Kin shook her head as she descended, the bells at her waist jingling with each step she took.

"Uuuurgh, something… odd about those bells." Kiba grumbled, shaking his head.

"They're infused with her chakra." Hinata noted as she deactivated her byakugan.

"Are you ready?" Hayate asked, getting two nods in reply. "Then… begin!"

Lee blurred straight bast Kin, causing her hair to briefly stream in the breeze, then he collided with the wall, embedding himself into the stonework for a moment before he pulled himself out, blinking owlishly.

"That was a very youthful dodge." He said as he turned round to face Kin, who hadn't moved but was staring at him in disbelief. "However, I can be even more youthful!"

Lee blurred forwards again and Kin ducked, but once more he completely missed her and ploughed into the wall.

"What is going on?" Neji muttered, just loudly enough for Naruto to overhear.

"You can't dodge forever!" Lee declared as he started to walk towards Kin, then he staggered sideways. "Whoah! Doton techniques now? I will not let you defeat me with these unyouthful tactics!"

Kin swallowed as she shifted into a defensive pose, senbon appearing in her hands and the bells at her waist chiming louder. Lee staggered for a moment, then launched himself, passing straight past Kin once more and slamming headfirst into the wall. Kin threw a discolored senbon at Lee, embedding it in his thigh, and a few seconds later he collapsed.

"He's knocked out." Kin shrugged. "I think I won that."

"How…?" Naruto wondered as Kiba stopped rubbing at his ears.

"That sound's stopped."

"The bells!" Hinata gasped. "She was using a genjutsu carried on the sound of the bells! She must have been casting it even as she walked down the stairs."

"Oh hell." Naruto groaned as he looked at the names on the screens above the dias. "I was right."

Hinata followed his gaze, then her head turned. A few meters away, Neji returned her gaze impassively.

"Hyuuga Hinata and *cough* Hyuuga Neji, please come down."

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Authors Note- Yep, this chapter stops here. Ain't I evil?