Over the next few days, I both continued training with the Chidori, increasing its power and practising until the hand seals were seared into my brain as instinct just like my fire jutsu and copied water jutsu, and also worked on my physical conditioning, hoping to bring my speed and endurance up at least a little bit for the upcoming chuunin exams. Kakashi also taught Naruto and Sakura some basic wind and water jutsu respectively, so now we all had some decent elemental techniques to throw out. Such techniques were rare among genin due to the difficulty of nature transformation, but thanks to Naruto's clone training and Sakura's natural intelligence, they both picked things up fast. I was just looking for them so we could meet Kakashi for today's mission when something happened. Something I recognised immediately. I heard shouting from down the street, went to check it out, and arrived just as Kankuro tripped Naruto with his chakra threads.

The Sand Siblings. So it's that time already.

"Hey, you with the war paint. Let the kid go," I ordered as I walked up to the group.

"Why should I? The little shrimp's got no respect for his elders."

"Aside from the fact that beating up an academy student is about as pathetic as you can get?" I asked mockingly.

"Yeah, aside from that."

"Because Suna will never find your body if you don't."

"Oooh." Kankuro grinned and dropped Konohamaru. "So the bitch wants to go, huh?" He grabbed the wrapped-up bundle, which I knew to be his puppet, from his back.

"Tell me you're not planning to use the Karasu!" Temari shouted, looking panicked.

"Enough, Kankuro," another voice spoke out from a nearby tree. We all looked up to see Gaara standing upside-down on a branch. "You're a disgrace to our village." Kankuro and Temari both went pale. "Have you forgotten why we came here?" Gaara chastised him.

"But Gaara, the little one started it! He-"

"Shut up before I kill you." Kankuro somehow went even paler.

"Alright, okay! I was out of line."

"We're sorry, okay Gaara? Really, really sorry!" Temari pleaded with the redheaded jinchuriki. Gaara used a Sand-Style Shunshin to get between his siblings.

"I know we're a little early," he told them, "but we didn't come here to play around. Let's go."

"Wait a sec. You three are here for the chuunin exams, right?" I asked.

"That's right," Temari answered. Naruto naturally asked what they were, and she launched into her explanation.

"One more thing," I said when she was done. "What are your names?" I already knew, but was asking for the benefit of my teammates.

"Temari."

"Kankuro."

"Sabaku no Gaara. And you?"

"Uchiha Makoto." For a moment, there was silence.

"Hey! Hey! Don't you wanna know my name?" Naruto asked excitedly.

"No. Let's go." The sand siblings turned and walked off.

"Konohamaru, do I really look like such a loser?" Naruto dejectedly asked his young protege.

"Next to her, Boss? Yeah, kinda. Who is she anyway? She looks kinda like that guy who spooked Ebisu-sensei."

"Naruto." He looked over at me questioningly. "Don't worry about those guys. If they're gonna underestimate you, you can just show them up in the exams, right?"

"Yeah, that's right, dattebayo! Uh, how do we enter the exams?"

"We go ask Kakashi-sensei, I guess. Sakura, you coming?"

"Uh, sure thing!" The three of us set off walking. "Hey, would you actually have killed that guy?"

"And risk starting a war with Suna? No, but I would have broken his legs and left him out in the woods somewhere. I'm sure he could crawl his way to another town or something."

We headed over to the bridge where we were meant to meet Kakashi, and sure enough, he was late again, suddenly appearing atop the torii gate on one side of the bridge half an hour after he was supposed to be there.

"Good morning! Sorry I'm late, but it seems I got lost on the path of life."

"You are such a liar!" Sakura shouted. "Would it kill you to at least pretend to be sorry?"

"Hmm… Maybe it would," Kakashi deadpanned. "Anyway, I know this is a little sudden, but I've recommended all three of you for the chuunin exams." A moment passed. "You don't look all that surprised."

"Actually, we were going to ask you about that anyway," I informed him.

"Oh. Well, good." He dropped down from the torii gate and held out three forms. "If you want to compete, you'll need to fill out these applications and take them to room 301 at the academy before four o'clock tomorrow afternoon. The exams are voluntary, so you don't have to compete unless you want to. The choice is yours. That's all, no missions for today. Oh, and Makoto? The Hokage wants to see you." He Body Flickered away, leaving the three of us alone. Immediately, I addressed my teammates.

"Okay, I'm taking the exams. Naruto, I assume you are too?"

"Damn right I am! I'll ace those stupid exams, dattebayo!"

"And you, Sakura?" She looked unsure for a moment, but then nodded. It seemed like her extra training had helped her confidence a bit.

"Alright. In that case, we should take the chance to get some last-minute training in today. If you're not busy, come by the Uchiha compound later. We can use the private training grounds so no one will bother us. I'll be along after my meeting with the old man."

"Hokage-sama," I greeted with a wave as I entered the office. Hiruzen was at his desk, smoking his pipe and filling in paperwork. "You wanted to see me?"

"I did. Your sensei has been speaking highly of you lately, both your performance and your attitude. And I must say, you definitely do look happier."

"Thank you. I feel happier, too."

"That's good to hear." He smiled. "In light of this, I have decided to proceed with the alterations to your documents." He turned a few forms around to face me and set a pencil on the desk. "I will just need your signature in a few places to complete the process." I happily signed the papers. "Good. From now on, you will legally be known as Uchiha Makoto, kunoichi of Konohagakure no Sato." He stamped the forms and set them aside. "That will be all. And good luck on the chuunin exams."

"Thank you, Hokage-sama."

Naruto and Sakura were already waiting outside the clan compound when I arrived, looking bored.

"You didn't have to wait for me, you know."

"But it's your clan compound," Sakura protested. "It would be rude to go in without permission."

"My clan's dead, Sakura, there's no one left to be offended. Besides, you're my teammates – you two and Kakashi-sensei are the closest thing I have left to a clan." Unless my family back home somehow ended up here along with me, but that was beyond unlikely. Even more unlikely than my being here in the first place.

"Makoto…" She looked quite touched by the sentiment.

"Hey, just don't expect me to change my name to Uchiha Naruto," the blonde joked, but I could tell he appreciated it as much as Sakura did, perhaps even more. He'd never had a clan or family of his own, after all.

"Don't just stand there, follow me," I told them, opening the gate and leading them through the compound. "Sorry about the mess. Aside from my house and the training grounds, this place hasn't been touched since the cleanup after… You know." While the place was undamaged, either because of Itachi and Obito's efficiency or repairs having been made afterwards, looking in the windows revealed that the insides of the buildings were all covered in dust and cobwebs after years of neglect.

"Man, this place is depressing," Naruto commented idly. Sakura chastised him, but I came to his defence.

"Naruto's right. Maybe if we pass the exams I'll put out a D-rank mission and hire some genin teams to clean it up." It might be amusing to get some poor, fresh genin to work on the place.

I ended up taking them through the compound to the lake out back so that Sakura and I had water to use for our Suiton jutsu.

"Alright," I told my team when we arrived, "the first thing we should do is go over the jutsu we all have. You both know what I can do: I can hold a Transformation pretty much indefinitely, even during a low-intensity fight; I can walk and fight on water, again almost indefinitely; and I have the Water Clone Jutsu, the Water Dragon and Giant Waterfall Jutsu I copied from Zabuza, a few close-to-mid-range fire jutsu, and the Chidori. I can also cast genjutsu with the Sharingan and make up to two Shadow Clones, but I don't like using them for combat." Naruto went next.

"I can make a couple hundred Shadow Clones and I heal really fast. I also have the Sexy Jutsu and Harem Jutsu for distracting perverts, and I can make a really strong blast of wind with Daitoppa (Great Breakthrough) and shoot projectiles with Shinkuudan (Vacuum Bullet)."

"Alright, Sakura, what about you?"

"I've mastered the academy three, and I also have Water Clones and two water-based ranged attacks: Mizu Shuriken (Water Shuriken) and Teppoudama (Gunshot). Sensei taught me some genjutsu, as well." I was already getting some interesting ideas just from hearing about their techniques, and I was sure I'd have more after actually seeing them used.

"Okay, first thing that comes to mind: we should see if we can put water inside a storage seal. That way, Sakura and I can use our water jutsu no matter where we are."

"Oh, I can make storage seals!" Sakura eagerly informed us. "I think if we had waterproof ink and scrolls we could do that. I'll go out first thing tomorrow and get some, and fill as many scrolls as I can with water before we meet up to take the exams."

"Great, that would be really helpful. I'll pay you back half the cost myself, since I'll be using some of the scrolls too. Now, my second idea was combination ninjutsu."

"Combination ninjutsu?" Naruto repeated, looking confused.

"Right. If we combine our jutsu together, we could do a lot of damage. For example: if I cast a Great Fireball or Dragon Fire Jutsu and you cast Great Breakthrough, it could make a massive firestorm." Judging by their expressions, they definitely liked that idea almost as much as I did. Not for the same reasons though – I was, admittedly, mostly thinking about blasting Orochimaru with the fire/wind combination attack I suggested. If we had to burn down half the Forest of Death to get him to fuck off without cursing me (there was no way we could kill him at our level, I wasn't arrogant enough to think that was possible), then so be it. "Alright, let's get to work." The competition, and that bastard snake, wouldn't know what hit them.

We arrived at the academy the following afternoon and were greeted by the sight of two teens punching a certain green-clad shinobi to the ground. One had spiky hair and a pair of long blades on his back, the handles of which resembled those of kunai knives. The other had a backpack and wore his hitai-ate as a bandana.

"Is a talentless failure like you really planning to take the chuunin selection exam?" the former asked in a mocking tone. "Bunch of brats."

"You said it," his friend added. Tenten stepped forward.

"Please, we're begging you to let us in!" She was rewarded with a punch from the spiky-haired boy. Someone in the crowd commented on their cruelty, to which the boys shook their heads.

"You misunderstand! We're only trying to spare you," the spiky-haired boy explained.

"The chuunin exam is brutal," his companion continued. "We should know – we've failed three times so far. There are people who made it, then immediately gave up on being shinobi. Others were crippled, some reduced to vegetables… We've seen it all."

"And besides that, chuunin need to be capable leaders," the other boy added. "The responsibility for failed missions and dead shinobi rests firmly on their shoulders. And you little punks have the nerve to apply?" He snorted. "We're saving a step by weeding out the obvious losers beforehand."

"What a generous service you're providing," I piped up sarcastically, strolling through the crowd to reach them. "But my teammates and I would like to reach the third floor, so would you please drop the genjutsu and let us through?" There were murmurs of confusion in the crowd. Apparently few if any of the other applicants spotted the genjutsu. In fairness, it was pretty good, and I had the advantage of already knowing it was in place beforehand.

"Heh, so you figured it out?" Bandana boy asked.

"Of course. Sakura, I'll bet you noticed it even before I did, right?"

"Right," she confirmed. "We're still on the second floor."

"That's right," Naruto commented with a nod. Internally, I wondered if he'd actually noticed it or if he was bluffing. He wasn't exactly book smart, but Naruto could be quite observant when it mattered.

"Not bad," the spiky-haired boy commented. "But seeing through the genjutsu isn't enough!" He blurred forward in a kick, but I didn't react. I didn't need to, as Lee appeared and caught it, just as I expected. The fake bruises and marks he had applied to his face earlier to fool the crowd were gone.

Damn, his speed is even more impressive in person than it was in a manga or on a TV screen.

"Hey, that wasn't what we agreed," Neji spoke up, chastising Lee. "You're the one who insisted we avoid drawing attention to ourselves." Lee began to speak up in his own defence, but trailed off when he spotted Sakura. Ignoring his teammate, he came over to introduce himself.

"Hello, my name is Rock Lee. You are Sakura-chan, aren't you?" He gave a thumbs-up. "Please be my girlfriend, I will protect you with my life!"

"No way. You are way out of hand!" Sakura's response left the poor guy speechless.

"Hey, you." Neji stepped toward me. "What's your name?"

"Uchiha Makoto. And you? By your eyes, I'd guess you're a Hyuuga, right?"

"That's right, I'm Hyuuga Neji. I had heard the last Uchiha was a boy."

"You heard wrong then."

"So it would seem. You're a rookie aren't you? How old are you?"

"Does the Hyuuga clan not teach manners? You should never ask a lady her age." He narrowed his eyes at that remark, turned around, and left, gesturing for his teammates to follow.

"We should get going too," Sakura suggested, and Naruto and I both agreed.

We were passing through an empty room on our way to register when, as expected, Lee called out from behind us.

"Hey you, Uchiha-san. Let us fight." We turned around to see him dropping from the balcony behind us.

"You want to fight me? Right now?"

"Yes! My name is Rock Lee, and I want to test my techniques against the last survivor of your legendary clan! And also…" He winked at Sakura. "Sakura-chan, you are an angel!"

"Gah, no way! Those eyebrows, that hairdo, that outfit! You creep me out!" she shouted.

"Aw, don't be like that…"

Should I accept his challenge? I asked myself whilst Lee was getting shot down by my teammate. I suppose it would be a good way to compare my skill level to that of canon Sasuke at this point… "Alright Lee-san," I answered, activating my Sharingan. "But let's keep this to a friendly spar, okay? We can't take the exams if we're in the hospital, after all."

"Of course," he agreed. "It would be most unyouthful if one of us were to be disqualified by injury."

"Hold it," Naruto interrupted. "Let me handle Bushy Brow. It'll only take a minute."

"I have no interest in fighting you," Lee told him. "Only Uchiha-san." Naruto charged anyway.

"Oh please, give me a damn break! Everyone's always going on about the last Uchiha, it's really pissing me off! Don't underestimate me just because I don't have a clan!" Lee easily deflected his punch, throwing him to the side, and followed up with a spinning low kick that launched him away.

"Konoha Reppuu (Leaf Gale)!" He returned to his normal fighting stance, one arm extended in a 'come at me' gesture. "Mark my words, none of you can beat me. I am Konoha's top genin." I stepped forward, dropping into a combat stance of my own.

"I'd prefer it if you didn't dismiss my teammates so easily. You haven't seen anything from us."

"Makoto, we have less than half an hour to make the exams! You shouldn't do this!" Sakura protested.

"Relax, Sakura. If the fight goes on that long, we'll just cut it short and finish it another time," I assured her. "Let's go, Lee-san."

Lee moved first, his movements incredibly fast, but still clearly visible to my Sharingan eyes. Not only could I see his movements, in fact, but I could also predict them instinctively.

"Konoha Senpuu (Leaf Whirlwind)!" He came in with a backwards high kick that I blocked with my arms, and followed up with a low sweep that I jumped over, lashing out with a kick of my own that he caught with one hand, using the momentum of his kicks to toss me aside. I managed to land on my feet, and found myself grinning, anticipating a good fight. As much as I wasn't a particularly competitive person (the bet with Naruto had primarily been for his benefit rather than my own), I'd always enjoyed a challenge, and the budding taijutsu master before me definitely qualified. I moved in to attack, dodging the rising kick he lashed out with and retaliating with a low kick, which he jumped over. He struck with an axe kick that I barely blocked in time by crossing my arms, the force of the blow almost knocking me down. I grabbed his ankle and spun, throwing him a short distance away, though he landed gracefully. Our eyes met, and I took my chance.

Genjutsu: Sharingan! Lee's chakra flow shifted, and I had him caught in the same subtle genjutsu I'd used against Kakashi way back in the bell test. Let's see how you handle this! Lee came at me again, oblivious to the sensory manipulation.

"Konoha Otoshi (Leaf Drop)!" He jumped and delivered a falling kick, which I slipped around easily thanks to him being slightly off-target, and I responded with a solid punch to the face, which he failed to block, his hand just millimetres to the left of my strike. He rolled with the blow, using the momentum to move into a spinning back kick. I ducked, swept his leg out from under him, and followed up with a falling kick of my own to his side, then jumped back to gain some distance. He stood up, rubbing his cheek briefly before returning to his stance. "You are as good as I expected, Uchiha-san." He came at me again, going in for another rising kick. "Konoha Shofuu (Leaf Rising Wind)!" This time, even despite the genjutsu, the attack struck home hard, launching me into the air, and I barely managed to keep my Henge intact after the blow. Lee was soon behind me, arm wrappings untied.

He adapted to the genjutsu! Luckily, just as in canon, a pinwheel pierced his bandages, sticking them to a nearby wooden pillar and preventing the Front Lotus.

"That's enough, Lee!"

Lee yanked on his bandage to pull himself into a landing, while I barely managed to turn over midair and land on all fours. I deactivated my Sharingan and released the genjutsu as Naruto and Sakura ran over to me.

"Are you okay, Makoto-chan?" the former asked. I nodded, and we turned our attention to where Lee was getting reamed out by a big red turtle with a Konoha hitai-ate around its neck. "What's the deal with the turtle? Can a turtle be a ninja?"

"It must be a summon animal, like Sensei's dogs."

"But where's the summoner?" Sakura enquired. The question was answered when Might Guy appeared in a puff of smoke.

"Ah, the fires of youth burn brightly in you all!" Naruto and Sakura's reactions were priceless. Watching Guy and Lee interact was… less so. We watched on in silence as he punched his apprentice, then hugged him, then ordered him to do 500 laps around the village after the exams.

"Whoa!"

"He's looking at us!"

"By the way, how is Kakashi?" Guy asked us.

"You know Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura asked back.

"Do I know him?" I blinked, and Guy was behind us. "I should say so! Kakashi and I are eternal rivals! The score stands at 50 to 49." He grinned, his teeth sparkling somehow. "In my favour."

"As you can see, Guy-sensei is totally amazing!" Lee shouted.

"I know Lee started this fight, but please take pity on his old teacher. For the sake of my own self-respect, forgive him."

"Ah, don't worry about it, I agreed to the fight as well," I answered.

"A most youthful answer! Now, you should head up to the classroom. Good luck, Lee! Later!" With that, he vanished in a Shunshin.

"By the way, Uchiha-san," Lee spoke up, wrapping his bandages back up. "I was not entirely honest with you earlier. I really am here to prove my own strength in combat, but I am not the top genin in Konoha. The strongest genin is a member of my own team, and I intend to take him down."

"Hyuuga Neji?"

"That is correct," he nodded. "But I also intend to defeat you as well."

"I look forward to a proper fight, Lee-san. If we meet in the exams, we can go all out."

"Indeed we can. I will see you then." He headed out. I waited until he was out of the room, then exhaled a sigh of relief.

"Damn, that guy's something else."

"But you could beat him if you went all out, right?" Sakura tentatively asked, and I shook my head.

"I doubt it. The only reason I even managed a clean hit was because of genjutsu, and he now that he knows about it, he'll be trying to avoid eye contact next time. If he went all out, I don't know if I could even hit him with my ninjutsu, and there's no way any of us could take him in taijutsu."

"Yeah," Naruto agreed. "Did you see his hands under those bandages? He looks like he's worked himself raw, day after day."

"Right. Hopefully there aren't too many more guys like him here, or we might be in for a difficult time."

"Do you think we might be in over our heads?" Sakura was clearly worried.

"Nah. I doubt there are many other genin at that level. We just need to be careful and work together." I laid a reassuring hand on her shoulder and gave a confident smile. "Hey, don't forget, we're not exactly average genin ourselves. How many rookie teams can say they've fought one of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist and won?" That seemed to help bring some of her confidence back.

"Right," she agreed. "We can do this."