The Turning Point
The stadium where the finals for the Chunin exams were to be held was located just outside the central part of the Leaf Village. It was here that Sakura Haruno stood alongside the other finalists in the middle of the stadium as they all waited for the last portion of the exams to begin. The stadium was packed and it seemed as though the entire village had turned out to watch the battles. This wasn't counting the visitors from the other villages that had come to support their individual contenders.
There was a closed off section in the upper right hand side for all the visiting dignitaries and their entourages which included elite protection. Sarutobi sat in an individual area in the middle of the stadium with the Kazekage from the Sunkagure beside him. Sakura couldn't make out what they were saying to each other but to her it seemed as though the Third was uncomfortable.
Sakura rubbed her hands together nervously. She was the only member of Team 7 standing in the stadium. Naruto and Sasuke were nowhere to be seen and it seemed as though everyone was ready to get underway.
Hayate was supposed to be the proctor for the third exam but apparently there were complications and the battles for the final round were to be overseen by a man named Genma Shiranui. He had hardly spoken to them other than to tell them that he was going to be the proctor and then he had ignored them. Genma would glance up every so often at the Hokage for conformation that the exams should start.
Where are Sasuke and Naruto! These exams are ready to start any second and there's no way they're going to hold off just for those two! Sakura thought as she tapped her foot impatiently.
"GAHHHH WHAT THE HELL YOU FREAKY BULLS!?" Naruto yelled as he flew through one of the entrances and landed on the hard stadium floor. Dazed and a little confused the blond boy sat up rubbing his head.
"Naruto?" Sakura called and walked over to her teammate.
"Oh Sakura-chan! Am I too late? Oh right the bulls! Everyone needs to be prepared because there is a whole heard of those guys coming straight for us!" Naruto whipped his head around only to discover there was nothing there.
"Look I don't know what you're talking about but I'm glad you made it. Sasuke isn't here yet though and the exams are about to begin" Sakura said a little anxiously.
"Don't worry Sakura I'm sure the Teme will be here soon he's not going to miss an opportunity like this! I want to fight him myself!" Naruto exclaimed and Sakura relaxed a little.
"Hey you two enough with the chatter you're at a competition remember and people have paid to see you fight. So stand up straight and face the spectators" Genma instructed, removing the senbon from his mouth.
Sakura and Naruto exchanged sheepish glances and turned around to look at the crowd in the packed stadium. They cheered loudly calling out the names of their favourite competitors. Sakura observed her rivals carefully and happened to catch Gaara's eye. She flinched recalling her encounter with him at the hospital and quickly looked away. Naruto followed Sakura's eyes and narrowed his own when he met Gaara's gaze.
Sarutobi noted that the Uchiha boy had not arrived and the third exams were due to start in less than a minute. A Jounin guard came up and whispered something into his ear, Sasuke Uchiha was still missing and the Anbu Black Ops had found no trace of him thus far. Sarutobi's eyes narrowed, were they too late? Was it possible that the Uchiha boy had gone to Orochimaru already?
The third nodded and dismissed the Jounin before turning towards the Kazekage.
"It seems as though we are missing Uchiha Sasuke from our list of finalists. I know how eager you were to see the fight between him and Gaara but I'm afraid we need to begin the exam" Sarutobi said.
"That is a shame but surely you can hold off a little longer before beginning the exams. You must remember Sarutobi that I did travel a great deal to make it here today whilst you had the convenience of the exams being held in your village. I do not want my trip to be wasted and I think the Uchiha boy will make an appearance" The Fourth Kazekage said, his face shielded from view by a veil. The only part of him visible was his eyes.
"As you wish Lord Kazekage I will give Genma the order not to continue the match for another five minutes" Sarutobi replied and gave the Kazekage a controlled smile.
Meanwhile down on the ground of the stadium floor Genma informed the finalist that the matches wouldn't be starting for another five minutes to give Uchiha Sasuke time to arrive. Sakura breathed a small sigh of relief but her eyes hardened, five minutes wasn't a long time for Sasuke to make it especially if he'd left the village to train with Kakashi.
The minutes ticked by and Sasuke still hadn't shown up. Naruto's happy and determined demeanour became suspicious and doubtful.
Sasuke wouldn't miss this for anything so it's not like him not to be here on time, Naruto thought growing concerned that his teammate still hadn't arrived.
The crowd had started to become restless as many had bought tickets purely to see the match between Sasuke and Gaara. Sakura had heard the gossip flowing in and out through the hospital about it; their match was the one people were most eager to see.
Sakura once again found herself looking at Gaara and noticed he seemed to be shaking a little and wore the same expression he had worn last night in the hospital when he had tried to kill Lee. Did Gaara kill Sasuke? No it would be impossible for him to, Sasuke was with Kakashi and there was no way he could have!
Sakura's thoughts overwhelmed her so much that she didn't notice a dark green leaf spiralling through the air even though there were no trees inside the stadium. The leaf was soon joined by another one and another one. Naruto caught one in his hand and gaze at it curiously.
The leaves gathered in greater numbers and swirled around like a vortex before clearing to reveal Kakashi Hatake and his student Sasuke Uchiha standing back to back in the middle of the stadium. The crowd began to cheer wildly at the arrival of the Uchiha boy and Naruto wore a grin that Sakura thought might split his face in two.
His hair was longer Sakura observed and his genin uniform of blue shirt with the Uchiha crest and white shorts were gone. He now wore an outfit of all black including his ninja sandals but the emblem of his clan remained on the back of his shirt as dominant as ever. Kakashi remained the same and regarded Genma was a guilty smile under his mask.
"Uh I know we're a little late but you're not going to have to do something like disqualify Sasuke from the finals right?" Kakashi asked and rubbed the back of his neck.
"Like teacher like student I see Kakashi. You were never on time for anything from what I recall of our genin days. I was just about to tell the Hokage that Sasuke would be disqualified but you made it with thirty seconds to spare" Genma replied in a bored tone.
"Hear that Sasuke, we're not disqualified hm?" Kakashi stopped and noticed that his student was no longer beside him.
Sasuke had spied Sakura standing next to Naruto towards the end of the line-up of candidates and began to walk towards his teammates. Kakashi shrugged and disappeared presumably to seat himself in the stadium somewhere.
"Hn. Sakura" Sasuke said addressing her and ignoring Naruto. His tone suggested he was pleased to see her. His stare seemed to pierce through her but Sakura held his eye confidently.
"Sasuke. Nice of you to show" Sakura quipped and her eyes danced with mirth.
"Wouldn't miss it" Sasuke responded a smirk growing on his face.
Shikamaru rolled his eyes at the exchange of banter between the two teammates and glared at Naruto who fidgeted persistently beside him. It was obvious Sasuke and Sakura were in their own world of short sentence communication and inside jokes leaving Naruto feeling left out.
"YOU ALWAYS HAVE TO BE THE CENTRE OF ATTENTION DON'T YOU SASUKE!?" Naruto bellowed pointing his finger accusingly at his friend.
"Dobe I see you're as loud as ever" Sasuke responded and Sakura supressed a laugh.
"Whatever just don't slack off and lose to that Gaara guy. I want to fight you remember" Naruto said determinedly.
"Hn. Make sure you win dobe" Sasuke instructed and Naruto nodded happily.
Gaara had watched the exchange between Sasuke and Sakura and he felt the blood lust boil beneath his skin. The girl was important to him that much was obvious and he cared for her, did she play a role in his purpose? Despite Sasuke's knowledge of true loneliness was that girl Sakura Haruno somehow acting as a remedy?
She cared for him too and he cared for her, Gaara could feel it radiating off them and it made him almost physically sick. The sand ninja clutched at his head in pain as flashes of the man most precious to him appeared. Getting a hold of himself Gaara vowed to destroy Sasuke Uchiha and everything he cared about. The demon inside of him rumbled in agreement.
"It seems you were correct Lord Kazekage. Sasuke Uchiha has made it within the five minute time frame and now we can begin the final round of the Chunin Exams. However the decision has been made that the match between Uchiha and Gaara will be pushed back" Sarutobi said firmly.
"As you wish Lord Hokage. I merely requested that the time be extended and I have no quarrel as to when Gaara and the Uchiha boy fight. But nonetheless I do not wish to be bored" the Kazekage replied with a tone of arrogance.
Sarutobi not wanting to push the matter any further rose from his chair and addressed the screaming crowd of people below.
"Welcome all of you to the Chunin selection exams which have been held in the Hidden Leaf Village. We understand some of you have made a long journey here and we thank you for your efforts to come" Sarutobi said loudly and nodded towards the Kazekage.
"To the nine candidates before me I wish you luck and we ask that no one leave until all the matches have been completed. Now please enjoy!" the Third said happily and the crowd erupted into cheers.
Taking this as the sign to proceed Genma turned towards the Chunin candidates. "Alright your terrain is a little different but the same rules apply. Fight is until either someone dies or someone gives up. I can step and stop the fight at my digression and I don't want any arguments. Got it?"
All of the finalists remained quiet and Genma drew out a piece of paper with the match listings on it. "Right the first match is between Naruto Uzumaki and Neji Hyuga. Everyone else who isn't those two moves to the waiting area upstairs"
"You've got this Naruto" Sakura said cheerfully and patted her teammate on the back. Naruto grinned in reply and engulfed his female teammate in a tight hug.
"I won't lose Sakura-chan! Believe it!" he exclaimed and squeezed her tightly. Sasuke's eyes narrowed and coughed discreetly causing Naruto to let go of Sakura.
"Hn dobe don't lose to Hyuga. I still want to fight you" Sasuke said monotone.
"This guy is just a warm up our fight is the real thing!" Naruto exclaimed and Sasuke smirked.
Naruto took his place opposite Neji as Sakura and Sasuke climbed the stairs up to the waiting area for the candidates. They stood away from the other candidates but Sakura could feel Gaara's stare following her as soon as they left the stadium.
Sasuke felt her discomfort and turned around to glare at Gaara who stared at the Uchiha prodigy before breaking the eye contact and casting his bored expression over the battle ground.
"He tried to kill Lee last night in the hospital with his sand jutsu. If Naruto, Shikamaru and I hadn't arrived when we did I know he would have done it" Sakura muttered quietly to Sasuke.
"He's one sick psycho. I'd hate to be you Uchiha having to go up against him" Shikamaru said coming up to stand beside Sakura.
"Hn Nara" Sasuke grunted acknowledging the lazy genius.
"Sakura's right you know you should watch yourself out there. That guy Gaara kills for fun, he told us as much himself. Why are freaks like him even allowed in this exam?" Shikamaru continued.
Sakura had to stop herself from nodding in agreement but Sasuke gave a noncommittal shrug. "I'm not going to lose to him so don't worry yourself"
Shikamaru yawned and stretched his arms lazily above his head. "Well in any case this whole finals thing is a complete drag. All the hype over nothing and I'd rather be sleeping"
"Well the hype must be attributed to something. Why else would the ANBU Black Ops be here?" Sakura asked the two boys.
"ANBU Black Ops?" Sasuke asked and Sakura pointed discreetly to the black hooded figures with animal masks among the spectators. They were just visible to the naked eye from the finalist's area.
"Those guys have been there since these exams started. Look the fight's about to begin" Shikamaru said in a bored tone and Sasuke narrowed his eyes.
Naruto's fight against Neji began with a series of frontal attacks on his part each of which Neji dodged easily thanks to the use of his Byakugan. It soon became apparent to spectators and participants alike that Naruto had no hope of getting a hit on Neji in a close range. Neji soon achieved the upper hand and using his skill for spotting chakra points he was able to almost hit Naruto's shoulder but he missed.
The blond boy seemed to understand that he needed to distance his attacks as Neji could stop his chakra flow completely rendering him useless. Naruto performed the Shadow Clone jutsu and by evenly distributing his chakra, confused Neji's Byakugan by not making obvious which of the Naruto's was real. The shadow clones charged forward and distracted Neji with their multiple attacks and it looked as though Naruto would finally be able to gain the upper hand. But Neji dodged the kick and then destroyed all of the clones.
Naruto attempted the jutsu again except this time created a huge amount of clones. Sakura and Sasuke exchanged impressed glances, clearly Naruto had done what Kakashi had instructed and worked on the fundamentals. He now seemed to have a much greater handle over his chakra control. But Neji systematically destroyed the vast number of clones without breaking a sweat. The Hyuga boy then attacked what he assumed to be the real Naruto but it had been a clone. The real Naruto and one of the shadow clones come from behind to attack but Neji fended them off with his rotational defensive 8 Trigrams Palm Jutsu.
Neji then used his 64 Trigrams Palm Jutsu on Naruto hitting and effectively halting all 64 of his chakra points. Naruto fell to the ground again and Sakura had her doubts as to whether he could continue, after all a lack of chakra meant he was down to taijutsu which involved hand to hand combat and getting closer to Neji was not a good plan.
It was there that Naruto recalled his training with Jiraiya and knew it was now that he could call on the chakra of the 9 Tailed Fox. All the spectators and finalists watched in shock as Naruto was able to draw out the Fox's chakra. Huge swirls of orange surrounded his body before the blond ninja was completely engulfed in orange chakra.
Naruto charged straight for Neji tearing through the ground under his feet with the strength of the chakra he now possessed. Neji activated his palm rotation jutsu again and both ninja collided and a huge explosion followed. The dust began to settle and Sakura peered out onto the battle ground anxiously searching for a crop of spiky blond hair.
Neji pulled himself up from inside one of the two craters left in the earth from the explosion. Kakashi sighed from his position in the stadium and Sakura looked disappointed. Immediately the stadium erupted into whispers and murmurs which grew louder. Genma rolled the senbon around in his mouth before stepping forward to call the match. That was until Naruto broke through from beneath the earth to land an upper cut to Neji's jaw. That sent the Hyuga boy sprawling onto the ground and unable to move.
"The winner of this match is Naruto Uzumaki" Genma announced, impressed with what Naruto was capable of.
"Way to go Naruto!" Sakura yelled loudly as the stadium erupted into cheers.
In just a month he gained all that power and strength, and he still acts like an idiot with all that energy afterward. He'll be an interesting fight, Sasuke thought and smirked.
"HECK YEAH I DID IT!" Naruto announced and grinned before tearing around the stadium lapping up all the cheers and applause.
Maybe not the most humble way to go about a victory but then again those villagers have never clapped in support and appreciation of him before, Sakura thought happy for her teammate.
Naruto ran up to the finalist area and almost knocked Sakura over in his excitement. "Sakura! Teme! Did you guys see that! I totally blew him out of the water! You're going to have to bring your best if you want to beat me Sasuke!"
"Dobe watch where you're going" Sasuke said angrily.
"It's alright I'm fine Sasuke. Congratulations Naruto, you've really worked hard this past month and it shows" Sakura smiled at her teammate.
"See Teme that's the response to give to someone who just won a tough match like that!" Naruto exclaimed.
"Alright you won we get it. No need to rub it in our faces" Shikamaru interjected.
"Shikamaru you're so lazy I'm surprised you even made it to the exams" Naruto retorted.
"You're such a drag kid it's a wonder anyone can stand you" Shikamaru replied icily.
Naruto made to lunge at Shikamaru but Sakura caught him by the scruff of his neck. "Alright Naruto I've been patient enough with you but you're really starting to push it. Lay off Shikamaru already and watch the rest of the competition" Sakura hissed in his ear, fist cocked.
"Isn't your match up now?" Shikamaru asked turning to Sasuke.
"No it's at the end as a consequence for my need for a time extension" Sasuke replied evenly.
"That means according to the roster Kankuro and you are next to fight Shikamaru" Sakura stated peering at the sheet of paper tacked up on the wall.
"I know I know don't remind me" Shikamaru huffed and gazed at the clouds in the sky.
"Hey Sakura that also means your match against that fan lady is coming up soon!" Naruto exclaimed.
"Yeah it is" Sakura said quietly already thinking about her match.
The crowd began to grow restless and began to yell out for the start of the next match. A few began to shout out Sasuke's name clearly impatient to see the match between the Uchiha boy and Gaara. Genma sighed but moved to announce the next match.
"Next to fight are Kankuro and Shikamaru Nara" Genma announced and the crowd groaned.
"Well that's just great" Shikamaru complained at the thought of having to fight.
"They really want to see you fight huh Teme?" Naruto asked in a slightly jealous tone, his moment of glory forgotten by the spectators.
"All of the great lords and skilled shinobi are here to see Sasuke's match. At least that's what I heard around the hospital. They want to see what the last of the Uchiha clan has to offer, especially the Kazekage" Sakura added.
"Tch it's annoying" Sasuke replied not in favour of all the attention.
Kankuro stared out at the stadium, with the change in plans there was no longer a need for him to fight and an even greater need for him to keep his skills with the crow until they were needed.
"Proctor I withdraw from the fight. You can announce the next match" Kankuro said raising his hand.
Sasuke, Sakura and Naruto looked towards the sand ninja in shock. Why after going through the entire first and second exam would he withdraw from the final rounds? He hadn't been admitted to hospital and seemed now to suffer no dire injuries. So why withdraw? Shikamaru seemed just as shocked but remained silent.
"Fine, since his opponent has withdrawn Shikamaru Nara wins by default" Genma announced and the crowd erupted into angry yells.
"A win is a win I guess. Still I wonder why he withdrew" Shikamaru spoke up hands resting behind his head.
"You should be disappointed you lazy idiot!" Naruto said angrily to Shikamaru
"Take it down a notch kid; his withdrawal is good for all of us. Less people to fight in the coming rounds and a chance for me to take a nap" Shikamaru replied and Naruto had to bite back an angry retort.
"It is interesting Lord Kazekage that the genin from your village Kankuro should withdraw from the final rounds. I witnessed his battle during the preliminaries and he is quite skilled" Lord Hokage asked a tone of suspicion present in his voice.
"I do not know. What the boy chooses to do is up to him entirely but I do not doubt he had a good reason for withdrawing. Nonetheless I do believe we are finally getting closer to the match everyone wishes to see. I believe we should proceed" Lord Kazekage replied.
"As you wish" Sarutobi replied and nodded to Genma to continue on.
"Alright listen up the next fight is about to begin" Genma began and Temari withdrew her fan, using a gush of wind she propelled herself down to the battle ground upon it.
"My turn right?" Temari asked placing the fan behind her back.
"Eager aren't we? Alright the next match will be between Temari and Sakura Haruno" Genma announced.
It's my turn at last I guess time to see if I've got what it takes to be a Chunin, Sakura thought and clenched her fist in determination.
"Good luck Sakura! You can beat her!" Naruto decided happily.
Sasuke felt himself involuntarily stiffen when Sakura's name was called. Sakura had been working at the hospital Sasuke knew that much. But she had said all of her training was being done herself. Sasuke had Kakashi and Naruto had Ebisu but Sakura hadn't mentioned anyone who had helped her train for the finals.
"Hn. Watch yourself out there and don't lose" Sasuke forced out and tried to hide the concern he felt for her safety.
"Right got it. I want to be a Chunin as much as the two of you so there's no way I'm going to lose" Sakura replied and jumped from the finalists area to the battle ground smoothly.
Sasuke's eyebrows drew together and he subconsciously bit his lip. Naruto watched his teammate with a mixture of surprise and confusion. Sasuke appeared to be worried and Naruto was confused, the Uchiha boy was confident in all aspects of his ninja life and training. Worry wasn't an expression normally present on his face, following his gaze Naruto found Sasuke's eyes were trained on Sakura's back which displayed the Haruno crest fiercely. The crowd cheered loudly for her as a representative of the Leaf Village.
He's concerned about Sakura. I've never seen him looked as worried as he does now, Naruto thought and placed a hand on Sasuke's shoulder.
"She'll be fine you know. Sakura-chan's a lot stronger now, you didn't see her preliminary fight and who knows what she's learnt since then. Have a little faith in her teme I think Sakura could even beat us" Naruto said in a serious tone.
"Hn beat you, you mean. But thanks dobe" Sasuke replied but his eyes never left his female teammate.
"I've been looking forward to this match for a while. You seem like a worthy opponent at last" Temari said and unfurled her fan from her back.
"Thanks I could say the same about you. Let's get this thing started then" Sakura replied and pulled on her black gloves.
"Alright when you're ready you can begin" Genma said and stepped back.
"I guess I'll go first not that you'll mind" Temari quipped and charged forward with her fan, using the metal portion of it Temari flung it at Sakura who dodged it immediately.
Falling back Temari then opened the fan fully and created a huge torrent of wind straight for Sakura who once again dodged it effortlessly. Sakura was grateful now for all those objects Tsunade had thrown at her to increase her speed. It was working, she could get out of the way of those gusts of wind quickly.
"Sakura-chan is fast!" Naruto exclaimed and Sasuke nodded. Sakura's increase in speed was certainly noticeable.
"Running around like a frightened little animal isn't going to help you win. You can't dodge and hide forever" Temari declared and readied her fan for another attack.
She's right I have to focus and figure this out. Remember what Tsunade said I need to take her fan out of the equation. Either I destroy it or throw it so far across this stadium she can't get at it, Sakura thought determinedly.
"I guess you're just going to run then. Well you might as well have something to run from right? Ninja Art: Wind Release Jutsu!" Temari taunted and used her fan to create a huge wind gust. Sakura dove behind a tree for cover.
This wind gust was different it left visible scratch marks in the tree and if she wasn't careful that could be her. Getting to her feet still covered by the trunk of the tree Sakura decided there was only one plausible cause of action.
"Come on Sakura attack her!" Naruto yelled from up on the balcony and Sasuke pinched the bridge of his nose in annoyance.
"Quiet can't you see she's trying to figure out what to do" Shikamaru lectured Naruto.
Her forte is long range attacks as well. That's evidenced by that fan she needs a long distance to propel all that air. So she works better that way huh? Well my chakra infused taijutsu is more of a close range style. I guess we could try and change her mind, Sakura thought and smirked.
"Hell yeah let's hit her where it hurts! From the ground up!" Inner Sakura cheered. Stepping out from behind the tree Sakura tightened the black glove on her right fist and began channelling her chakra.
"Ready to give up yet? I'd just admit defeat if I were you. I mean you're already running scared" Temari teased.
"Not so much but I'll reward you for your patience. I've been working on this move and it's finally going to do me some good. Take this! CHA!" Sakura yelled and threw her right hand to the floor.
The entire earth floor of the stadium shook and eventually. Chunks of rock and earth broke apart leaving the stadium floor a shattered mess and a completely broken terrain. Finally all the training had paid off, her earth style chakra punches went from becoming tiny cracks in the ground to what lay before her. Sakura smiled, there was not an inch of the floor that had not been affected. The technique had reach and damaging consequences.
"WAY TO GO SAKURA THAT WAS AMAZING!" Naruto cheered.
"Wow who knew she could do that?" Shikamaru wondered aloud, completely impressed.
"It looks like she's got a few tricks up her sleeve. Things we didn't see in the preliminaries" Shino added.
That technique. The first time she used it was during the bell test and the best Sakura got out of it was a tiny crack in the earth. Now she's completely levelled an entire stadium floor, Sasuke thought in surprise at Sakura's mastery of chakra control.
The crowd cheered loudly and began to talk to each other excitedly. It was almost comical, the tiny petite little pink haired girl who managed to rip great chunks into the earth with her fist. But Sakura had little time to celebrate her success. She had to act fast to make the most of the purpose of her using the earth shattering technique.
Temari had been shocked by the eruption of the floor and the attack had taken her off guard. Unable to manoeuvre herself out of the way in time she fell off balance. Seeing this Sakura charged forward aided by her newly acquired speed and gave Temari a direct chakra infused punch to the cheek.
The crowd gasped collectively as the punch connected and the fan wielding ninja was sent flying backwards into the shattered ground. Kankuro gripped the railing in front of him tightly, he was concerned for his sister but knew she would make the right call. All three of them needed to be ready for what was coming. Gaara's face remained expressionless but his eyes watched the battle closely.
Sakura jumped back a little and prepared herself as Temari got to her feet. Having just performed the earth shatter jutsu the punch Sakura had delivered to Temari didn't pack as much force. But the female Sand ninja's lip bled profusely and the makings of a bruise had begun to form. Temari moved for her fan but Sakura didn't try to stop her, she knew what was coming and focused all of her energy into getting the chakra balance in her feet just right.
Temari opened her fan angrily and swept a huge vortex of wind straight for Sakura. The air whipped around her and began to cut into her skin but Sakura didn't move from her position despite the stinging. Using the same chakra technique she had used to climb the trees with Team 7, Sakura was able to keep her feet planted firmly on the ground and not get blown away from Temari's wind assault.
Seeing her opening Sakura began to run head on into the wind, using the chakra in her feet as a grip to the shattered ground. Before Temari could even close the fan and then open it again to defend herself Sakura had used her developed speed and chakra control to hit her again. Except this time the pink haired teen took a hold of the fan and threw it behind her where it hit the wall.
"She got close enough to Temari to hit her again and now that Sakura girl has gotten rid of the fan. This is not looking good" Kankuro worried.
"My fan! What have you done with it!?" Temari demanded completely outraged.
"It's behind me but of course you'll have to fight me to get it. Close range combat isn't your forte is it? Well that's a shame because it just so happens to be mine" Sakura declared dropping back into a fighting stance and Inner cheered.
Sakura's improved so much it's like I'm not even looking at the same person anymore! When did she get this strong? Naruto thought in shock.
"Sakura's stronger yeah but she's also got the brains behind the strength. Taking Temari's fan away was a good move. She knows how to think and strategize which makes for a good Shoji partner" Shikamaru said and yawned again.
This isn't what the goal is here at all. If Temari gets injured or worse than it could jeopardise the whole plan, Kankuro thought.
Sakura and Temari began to fight in close combat with Sakura clearly coming out as the superior fighter. Her training with Tsunade over the month had focused on taijutsu which meant she could anticipate moves and give them back as well. Temari wasn't completely useless either and their spar continued for some time.
At one point Temari managed to escape the close combat situation and made a desperate dash across the field towards her fan. Sakura was taken aback by the unexpected move and quickly reached into her ninja pouch for her kunai. But Temari was one step ahead and deflected the kunai Sakura had sent in an attempt to stop her. Reaching her fan Temari sent a huge vortex of wind straight for Sakura who was caught off guard.
The female Leaf ninja was sent hurtling into the wall of the stadium, her body hitting the cement with a sickening crunch. Sasuke had both hands on the railing, something was compelling him to leap over it and to step in. Naruto felt a similar way, it was in both of their natures to want to protect their teammate.
"Sakura's been doing so well there's no way she's going to give in and lose now" Naruto declared trying to reassure himself and Sasuke.
"Hn you're probably right dobe. She is stubborn" the Uchiha boy added recalling the heated arguments between himself and Sakura during the Land of Waves mission.
Crap she took me completely off guard and what's worse is that she has the fan back in her possession, Sakura thought and stood up even though her bones protested painfully.
"That was quite impressive throwing my fan away. But I can promise you that this fight is over right now" Temari declared angrily.
"Really now? I wouldn't count on that" Sakura said and ran straight for Temari again.
"This again! There's no way you're getting through!" Temari exclaimed and sent a torrent of wind towards Sakura again. There was a loud poof and Sakura turned into a log.
Substitution huh? That was a good move Sakura, Sasuke thought and folded his arms in front of his chest.
"A substitution jutsu! How could I fall for such a basic technique! But that means!" Temari started and whipped around just in time to take a chakra infused kick to the stomach.
Temari hit the ground again but slowly stood up again and Sakura had to give credit where it was due at least this girl wasn't a quitter. But Sakura's reserves were slowly dwindling and with the other rounds she would have to fight it was best to end this one now. Reaching into her kunai pouch Sakura pulled out the senbon laced with poison that Shizune had given her for the finals. To anyone else they appeared to be ordinary senbon, Sakura knew Temari was quick on her feet and definitely not beaten yet.
The poison senbon were an option but if that failed Sakura would have to resort to the jutsu she had worked on with Tsunade. The one she would practice at home alone in secret. She didn't like the idea of revealing it too early into the matches but it seemed Sakura would need to keep her options open. But none of this mattered when Temari looked at Kankuro before raising her hand.
"I wish to withdraw" Temari announced in a clear voice.
The crowd reacted angrily and began to hurl insults at Temari, through the course of the fight a lot of people had become very interested in Sakura and her abilities. Sasuke and Naruto looked at each other and knew Sakura would be disappointed with the outcome.
"What?" Sakura asked completely shocked.
"I do not wish to fight anymore so I withdraw" Temari explained as if Sakura were an idiot.
"I know the definition of withdraw I want to know why. You have a chance to beat me as I have a chance to beat you. Furthermore you don't seem to be vastly injured and from a check on your vitals you still have chakra to spare" Sakura demanded getting more worked up.
"What's the problem kid you won. We'll have another chance to fight sooner or later" Temari said and walked past Sakura to collect her fan before returning to the finalist area.
"Due to withdrawal the winner of this round is Sakura Haruno" Genma announced.
The crowd called out a mixture of cheers and insults, the fight was interesting enough for them but most would have preferred for it to continue. Sakura stood on the stadium floor feeling disillusioned and confused.
Was I not good enough to continue fighting against? I worked so hard and I would have won. Does it mean that I'm still not strong enough? If I'm still that weak that I can't even get an opponent to bother with me how do I have a hope in the world of going after my parents? I wanted to show everyone what I could do and prove myself a strong opponent at last.
"You fought well Sakura but we need you to return to the finalist area. Someone has to come out here and repair the stadium floor" Genma said in an annoyed tone that indicated the job was up to him. Sakura nodded despondently.
"ALRIGHT SAKURA THAT FIGHT WAS TOTALLY AMAZING!" Naruto yelled as soon as Sakura was within distance. He hugged his teammate happily but Sakura didn't reciprocate and Naruto pulled back.
"Ne Sakura-chan what's wrong?" the blond asked quietly.
"Are you hurt? Do we need to send for a medical ninja?" Sasuke questioned a little overprotectively.
"I am a medical ninja if you haven't noticed" Sakura snapped angrily and stalked over to the balcony where Shikamaru stood healing the cuts on her arm as she went.
But she turned back around feeling extremely guilty and approached her teammates. It wasn't their fault they were only concerned for her welfare.
"I'm sorry that wasn't fair of me. I just… I didn't like the way the match turned out. I shouldn't have won by default and I could have beaten her and showed everyone how far I've come but I didn't because she obviously didn't think I was good enough to continue fighting" Sakura babbled trying her hardest not to breakdown.
"But Sakura-chan you did! You showed everyone and they're all talking about how strong you were! You should have heard them! That Temari girl quit because she was scared!" Naruto exclaimed and Sakura couldn't help but smile.
Naruto hadn't seen that apart from a few bruises here and there Temari was in perfect shape to continue fighting but Sakura appreciated the sentiment.
"Hn the dobe is right. The crowd couldn't stop their idle chattering about you. I… I think you fought well. Your techniques have come a long way" Sasuke said feeling awkward about complimenting Sakura. Shikamaru raised an eyebrow but said nothing.
"Thank you both but I'm still not happy with how it ended" Sakura said and smiled at her two teammates.
"Well you don't have to be remember that this match is supposed to be a series of rounds so you'll probably get another chance to fight" Shikamaru said from where he stood and Team 7 joined him.
"Yeah remember old man Hokage said that the more you fight the better chance you have of becoming a Chunin and you don't even have to win! Just show your skill!" Naruto added brightly.
"I guess you're right then" Sakura said feeling a little better but looked over to where Temari stood and felt annoyed.
"Alright Teme you match is totally up next! You better not lose!" Naruto exclaimed to Sasuke as everyone watched Genma repair the training field using a jutsu.
"With any luck maybe that guy will withdraw too" Shikamaru said watching Gaara.
"Just because you're too lazy to fight doesn't mean everyone is!" Naruto exclaimed angrily.
"I don't think he's withdrawing anytime soon" Sakura said as Gaara disappeared in a cloud of sand before reappearing on the newly repaired training field.
"Looks like you're up then" Shikamaru said and Sasuke nodded smirking.
Sasuke's been looking forward to this fight he told me as much himself. But with the cursed mark and Orochimaru plus the fact that Gaara possesses a demon within him what kind of a chance does Sasuke even have? Sakura thought the feelings about her match almost forgotten and replaced with concern for Sasuke.
"Hn. Dobe you better be ready to fight me" Sasuke said and Naruto grinned.
"Sasuke be careful. This guy Gaara isn't an average opponent so don't let your guard down not even for a second. I don't want to be wasting my chakra healing your broken body" Sakura teased to lighten the mood but her face betrayed her and showed her obvious worry.
Like he had in the hospital Sasuke grabbed her wrist and held it gently. The sudden action made Sakura turn a little red and Naruto and Shikamaru watched with shared expressions of amusement and slight shock. No one had ever seen Sasuke actively reach out to someone before let alone a girl.
"Hn you worry too much. I'll win. Keep the dobe under control I don't want him throwing me off" Sasuke said in a gentle tone Sakura hadn't heard before.
"HEY TEME WHAT THE HELL DO YOU MEAN BY THAT!?" Naruto bellowed and Shikamaru face palmed.
Talk about ruining the moment, Shikamaru thought and muttered something about Naruto being a drag.
Waking up to himself Sasuke snatched his hand away and the tips of his ears were red. But his face and eyes held a softer expression looking at Sakura.
"You can count on me" Sakura said and winked conspiratorially. Sasuke smirked and jumped down onto the battle ground.
"You and the teme both worry about each other too much. He was worried before your match too" Naruto said quietly to Sakura.
"Well we're teammates and friends. That's what you do when you care about the people around you; you worry for their safety and wellbeing. I was worried for your match too Naruto, so was Sasuke even though he'll deny it" Sakura stated and Naruto looked pleased.
Does she seriously not see the way that Uchiha looks at her? And she thinks they're just teammates and friends. Man relationships are a drag, Shikamaru thought.
Sakura couldn't help the feeling of dread that grew within her as Sasuke faced off against Gaara. There was more to it than just a simple fight, things weren't fitting together in her head and it had something to do with those three genin from Suna.
Hi guys!
I think I might make my update day Wednesday of each week now AEST because that seems to be when I end up getting it done :3 So this chapter is special because it's all my own original dialogue apart from Genma's parts and a couple of other bits. I hope to continue like this because I've gotten a few reviews encouraging me to put my own dialogue in so I'll try and do that from now on ^^
As always please review and so on if you've enjoyed the chapter and are enjoying the story! I'll see you all next Wednesday ^^