~Scroll 35~

"What has happened to my Pink-Haired Goddess?!" Rock Lee exclaimed from the balcony as he immediately recognized a sense of wrongness in the pinkette's baring.

Bright blue eyes just stared at the dark-haired teen in confusion while Kakashi arched a brow at the youth's remarks.

"The energy from Ino's Shintenshin Mind Transfer technique struck her head-on." Kakashi explained.

"Mind transfer…?!" Lee questioned then looked back at his beloved pinkette, "Then… Sakura's not even…"

"Exactly…" The silver-haired Jounin confirmed, "Sakura's psyche has been overtaken and supplanted by that of Ino.

"So… her goal is probably to…" Kakashi trailed off as he noticed his pink-haired student's body raise her hand while at the same time, Naruto straightened himself to stand tall.

"I… Haruno Sakura…" The not-Sakura began, "wish to withdraw from the match…"

"NEE-CHAN!" Naruto's voice rang out throughout the arena, "REMEMBER WHO YOU ARE! DON'T LOSE YOURSELF! YOU ARE HARUNO SAKURA!"

The not-Sakura sneered as she glared at the petite blonde. Oh please! Give me a break! The not-Sakura mentally snipped, shut up, you idiot. You can't help her. Suddenly the not-Sakura shuddered as she felt something breaking free from her control, while she watched the Dead-Last Naruto smile in satisfaction.

Naruto… Sakura's voice whispered as her inner self slowly woke up from Ino's mental attack, remembering who she was and why she was there.

Sakura?! Ino's own mental voice gasped in surprise. No one had ever woke up from the Shintenshin technique while the blonde still had control of the host's body, and yet she found herself struggling against the pinkette's psyche to maintain control.

"What's wrong?" Hayate asked while he watched the impressive struggle being waged within the young Kunoichi, "Are you withdrawing from the match?"

"I'M STAYING IN!"

For one brief moment, Sakura had control of her own body as she made her determined declaration.

Hayate blinked in surprise but took a step back, letting the match continue.

The mental battle raged on for a few more minutes before the not-Sakura clasped her hands together.

The pinkette's body slumped down in exhaustion.

Ino's own body gasped to life but not unaffected by the mental battle.

"There were two different psyches inside you before I got there!" Ino gasped, "What… what on Earth are you?!"

"I am…" Sakura gasped, catching her breath, "Haruno Sakura… Big sis' to Uzumaki Naruto… Teammate to Uchiha Sasuke… Kunoichi of Konoha…"

Up in the balcony, Kakashi blinked when he sensed a pleased hum coming from his blonde sunshine. Looking at his precious student, he noted that Naruto reminded him of a very satisfied kitten, causing the Jounin to arch his brow.

"You know something." The silver-haired Nin accused, making the blonde to look at the older Shinobi curiously.

"Once a victim has been possessed by that technique, it's almost impossible to drive the invader out."

Naruto frowned while Kakashi looked thoughtful.

"Perhaps Ino's weak was part of it…" The Jounin remarked as an explanation but trailed off when Naruto shook his head.

"It might have played a small part," The blonde whispered, "but it was all 'nee-chan… Ino-kun has an awful technique, but as long as you have a strong sense of self, you can beat it."

"… 'A strong sense of self'?"

"A center… a hard and unshakable center of who you are."

It was then that Kakashi understood why his blonde had shouted his words.

"And Sakura has this 'sense of self'?" He asked, not quite believing since he knew that she was still struggling with her unreasonable crush on the Uchiha heir.

Naruto nibbled at his lower lip before finally answering his sensei's question.

"When her Heart Song is clear, it's very beautiful." Oceanic blue gems looked at the Jounin, who only looked at the blonde with rapt attention, "It's how I know she has it… a sense of self."

"Okay." Kakashi replied. He had faith in Naruto, and if Naruto believed it then so will he.

"But in any rate," The silver-haired Nin began as he looked at the two girls, "at this point, I doubt whether either of them has much chakra left… this last charge will be the end."

Naruto followed his sensei's gaze and watched as Sakura and Ino charged at one another.

Each knocking the other out with a vicious right hook.

Hayate looked left, looked right and sighed in disappointment at the anti-climactic end to the match.

"Neither candidate is able to continue." He announced, "As a result of simultaneous knockouts… neither combatant in the fourth battle moves past the preliminary round!"

"WHAT?!" Rock Lee bellowed in surprise at the ruling.

Asuma and Kakashi immediately appeared next to their respective students and carried them up to the balcony.

"Hey… Ino!" Choji exclaimed as he and Shikamaru rushed to their teammate' side.

"Are you all right, my Pink-Haired Goddess?!" Rock Lee shouted as he too rushed to the pinkette's side.

Naruto knelt beside his 'nee-chan and gently cupped her cheek. He smiled as Sakura let out a content sigh and leaned into his touch. The blonde carefully let a small pulse of his chakra flow through him and into her. It would not heal her wounds but it will give her much needed boost once she wakes up.

"Neither one is hurt badly enough to need treatment from the Medical Corps…" Asuma remarked, "They should both regain consciousness within the next half hour."

The Hokage's son looked at his colleague.

"I'm impressed…" The Sarutobi stated, "By both of them."

Naruto looked at his sensei when the blonde heard the other's Heart Song play proudly at the complement.

"Yeah…" The silver-haired Jounin smiled beneath his mask, "They all have shown amazing growth. I'm glad I enrolled them all in the Chuunin Selection Exam."

Asuma turned back to the arena with a nod of his head.

"Looks like the next match is up." He remarked, drawing everyone's attention.

Rock Lee rushed to the railing and gave a shout out to the dark-haired Konoha Kunoichi.

"YEAH! TENTEN! GO!"

Naruto smiled at the other teen's overwhelmingly positive attitude but the smile vanished as he stared at the blonde from Suna.

"The fifth match of the preliminaries…" Hayate announced, "Tenten against Temari. Please step forward."

"Hey look… another candidate from the Land of Sand." The long-haired Hyuga drawled, "This should be fun."

"Kakashi-sensei…" Naruto's voice was soft.

"Hmm…"

"You better get the Medical Corps."

"What?" The silver-haired Jounin was startled, "Why? Sakura is fine…"

"Not for 'nee-chan…" Naruto's whisper became even softer, "For her."

The petite blonde nodded toward the arena.

Kakashi turned around and his eyes grew wide at the fight he had apparently missed when he looked at his beautiful blonde. The only thought coursing through the Jounin's mind was how did Naruto know the outcome of the match?

"They shouldn't be here…" The blonde continued to whisper, "They're stronger than Genin so why are they here?"

Kakashi turned to the Sand ninja and truly looked at them. His blonde was right… the three Suna students were stronger than the average Genin. The silver-haired Nin did not doubt that they were already Chuunin-level in skill; therefore, why had they not already been promoted? Kakashi would bring this up with the Hokage once the preliminaries were over. They bear watching…