Hello again everyone I'm back once again to bring you another chapter of my story; if you are enjoying it, please keep on supporting me and my other works. Now with nothing else to say lets begin.
Sabaku no Kitsune: Chapter 17
On a boat: Off the shore of Kiri
Naruto, Obito, Kurumi and Karin were all standing on deck of the boat they were on waiting to approach Kiri for the chunin exams; Naruto was bouncing eagerly as they approached land and Kurumi looked at him.
"Menma calm down" Kurumi said and Naruto looked at her from behind his face covering "you are acting like a hyper monkey" she said and Naruto paused and huffed.
"Hey it's been a month since Temari left to help organize this thing" Naruto said crossing his arms "I missed her every day" he said and Obito sighed.
"I feel that" Obito said from behind his mask "I hope my Sango is ok; I hate leaving her all alone" he said.
Back in Suna
Sango slid though the door frame of the living room wearing only an extra-large T-shirt and her socks while dancing to the music playing on the stereo (I don't own the scene the movie "Risky Buisness does and Bob Seger owns the song)
[Verse 1]
Just take those old records off the shelf
I'll sit and listen to 'em by myself
Today's music ain't got the same soul
I like that old time rock and roll
[Verse 2]
Don't try to take me to a disco
You'll never even get me out on the floor
In ten minutes I'll be late for the door
I like that old time rock and roll
[Chorus]
Still like that old time rock and roll
That kind of music just soothes the soul
I reminisce about the days of old
With that old time rock and roll
Sango finished her dance and looked up with a smile 'oh boy 1 month by myself; I got so much to do' she thought with her new found freedom rushing through her 'I wanna take a bubble bath and not get dressed afterwards' she thought as she ran upstairs.
Back to Naruto and the group
As the boat docked Naruto, Kurumi, Obito and Karin all exited down the walk way and as they did Naruto saw Temari and Mei waiting down on the docks below. Naruto rushed down and ran up to Temari.
"Hey babe" Naruto said hugging Temari who hugged him back "I missed you so much; how you been" he said and Temari smiled.
"I've been fine Menma" Temari said as she gave him a kiss on the forehead; as they broke apart Naruto turned and looked at Mie.
"Hey Mei; you look as pretty as ever" Naruto said and Mei smiled.
"Menma such a flatterer" Mei said as she gave Naruto a hug which he returned "welcome back to Kiri" she said; Naruto broke the hug and brought his team forward.
"Mei this is my team" Naruto said pointing "that is Tobi sensei, Kurumi and Karin" he said pointing at each of them who smiled and waved not that she could see Obito's face.
"Nice to meet you I'm Mei Terumi the Mizukage" Mei said with a smile "any friends of 'Menma' here is a friend of Kiri" she said.
"Holy crap you're the Mizukage" Kurumi said looking at Mei "wow Naruto wasn't kidding when he said you were beautiful" she said and Mei giggled.
"I know I catch a lot of people off guard; especially men" Mei said "not to brag or anything but I use my 'feminine charm' to sway a lot of deals and alliances my way; I mean who would say no to a pretty lady" she said with a smirk.
"Kunoichi everyone; they're like a poison dart frog" Obito said "you get distracted by the pretty colors so when you touch it you die from its poison" he said and Mei nodded.
"Exactly" Mei said "now enough with all the introductions; lets get you 4 settled, the exams start tomorrow after all" she said and they all nodded. "Follow me I'll show you to the hotel you will be sleeping at" Mei said; Mei led the way with Naruto and the others following.
Naruto walked by Temari holding her hand making her blush from the contact.
At the hotel
Naruto and the others got settled into their rooms and were now walking out wit Temari to get a bite to eat "so Temari what have you been up too" Naruto asked "I mean have you seen Katsu at all since you been here" he asked and Temari nodded.
"Yeah, we have been working together a lot" Temari said "we have been growing a lot closer since we met up again; I guess you can say I have a girlfriend now" she said.
"Hey" Kurumi and Karin protested at the same time.
"Another girlfriend" Temari said and Naruto chuckled at this.
"Well, I'm glad" Naruto said before becoming serious "have you seen Shikamaru since you been here" Naruto asked; Temari told him about their interaction at the summit a while ago and he was pissed at his former comrade's actions.
"Once" Temari said her smile gone "he didn't approach me but I knew he wanted to" she said and Naruto nodded. "He's changed a lot over the years; I don't even recognize him" Temari said "it'll probably be best if- "she began but a voice called from the distance.
"Hey Temari" came a familiar voice that made Naruto freeze in his place; Naruto turned around and saw 4 faces he hasn't seen in a long time. Sakura, Kakashi, Hinata and Lee were all walking up with smiles on their faces "Temari I knew I saw you how have you been" Sakura asked and Temari immediately put up a façade.
"I'm great Sakura; wow I barely recognize you" Temari said looking at Sakura; Sakura now had her shoulder length pink hair done into a small pony tail. She wore a red shirt with fishnet armor underneath, blue anbu pants and most strikingly her headband cloth was now orange.
"Yeah, I change my look a little bit" Sakura said taking off her head band "I thought to honor Naruto it would be nice to wear his favorite 'kill me' orange" she joked and Temari chuckled. Sakura then looked and saw she was holding hands with a boy wearing a hood and face covering "oh Temari; I didn't know you had a boyfriend" she said.
Naruto gulped and made a hand sign to change his voice "yeah my name is Menma; me and Temari met about 2 years ago" Naruto said reaching out his hand to shake Sakura's.
"Nice to meet you Menma; I'm Sakura Haruno" Sakura said introducing herself and shaking his hand.
"I'm Rock Lee" Lee said in a boastful voice "nice to meet you Mr. Menma; I hope we get to have a useful battle in the exams" he said.
"Nice to meet you Lee" Naruto said shaking his hand.
"I'm Hinata Hyuga; nice to meet you Menma" Hinata said bowing.
"Nice to meet you Hinata" Naruto said bowing himself.
"And I'm Kakashi Hatake their jonin sensei" Kakashi said "this is a mismatched team since my other 2 students are… absent" Kakashi said with a little hesitation. "Hinata and Lee here wanted to take the exams as well so I made a deal with their sensei's" Kakashi said with an eye smile; Kakashi then turned to Obito who tried not to flinch "are you their sensei" he asked.
"Yep, that's me " Obito said using his Tobi voice "I'm Tobi, jonin of Suna; nice to meet you all" he said trying to keep up his goofy façade.
"Oh god pa" Kurumi said slapping her forehead "I'm Kurumi, his daughter; please excuse my pa, he's a little immature for his age" she said casting an eye towards Obito.
"Aww my wittle baby girl is embarrassed" Obito said in mock hurt "let me give you a huggy hug" Obito said trying to hug Kurumi who put out her hands trying to stop him.
"No, pa, stop" Kurumi shouted trying to push him off making Naruto, Temari and Karin sweat drop and other chuckle.
"And I'm Karin" Karin said "it's nice to meet some friends of Temari; hope we can become friends too" she said.
"Well, it's good to see you all; we have to go now though, we are heading out to get a bite to eat" Sakura said as she walked up to Temari "it's good to see you again Temari" Sakura said as she hugged Temari. "Let's talk more later ok" Sakura said and Temari nodded.
Sakura and her team walked away into the streets of Kiri "it was good to see Temari again" Sakura said and everyone nodded.
"It's a little strange though" Lee said catching their attention "the Menma guy seems a little familiar" he said with a puzzled look. "I wonder if he was in the exams in Konoha back then" Lee wondered.
"And that Tobi guy" Kakashi said looking back "I feel… I don't know how to explain it" Kakashi said. "Maybe I'm over thinking it; I probably met him but didn't realize it" Kakashi said as they all continued their journey.
Back with Naruto
Naruto looked at his old friends and Sensei walk away; his hands began to shake and Temari saw this.
"Naruto are you ok" Temari whispered; Naruto nodded with tears falling down his cheeks getting soaked up in his mask.
"I never thought I'd see them again" Naruto said wiping his eyes.
"Neither did I" Obito said 'Kakashi… my friend' Obito thought sadly.
Temari grabbed Naruto's hand and Kurumi patted her dad on his back "lets go and eat; we have a big day tomorrow" Kurumi said and they all nodded.
Naruto and the others both exited the hotel unknown to them being watched by another team from Konoha; they were all wearing black shirts, pants, sandals and had Tanto's on their backs.
"So that is the team from Suna" one of the boys said.
"Lord Danzo was clear on his orders" the female of the group said "eliminate them as soon as possible" she said.
"In due time" the leader also a boy said "lets report in to lord Shikamaru; we need the intel he gathered to ensure our victory" he said as he and the others began to walk off. "Tomorrow will be the day Konoha bares the fruits of it's labor" he said; as they walked off no one knew that behind-the-scenes dark forces were looming.
The next day: Kiri training grounds
Obito was looking at his team and spoke "You 3 have trained hard in the past 2 months" Obito said "and I just want to say, win or lose I'm proud of each one of you" he said making them all smile. "Now go in and kick some ass; I'll be watching from the jonin lounge" he said as he vanished in a vortex.
Naruto turned and looked at Kurumi and Karin "ok girls" Naruto said with excitement "lets rock this bitch" he said sticking out his fist.
"Hell yeah" Kurumi said putting in her fist.
"For team Tobi" Karin said with a smile.
"Let's go" Naruto said as they all walked into the training ground; Naruto, Kurumi and Karin walked for about 10 minutes until they found a large group of candidates and stood in the middle of the crowd "looks like this is the place" Naruto said.
"I wonder what the first exam is going to be" Kurumi said.
She didn't have to wait long as a tornado appeared spinning around before dying down and Temari appeared holding her fan "ok people listen up; I'm Temari of Suna here to administer the first test of the chunin exams" Temari shouted.
"That is so hot" Naruto said before getting slapped in the back of the head by Karin.
"Focus Menma" Karin said and Naruto rubbed the back of his head grumbling.
"For the first exam we are going to have an obstacle course" Temari shouted gaining everyone's attention; Temari then pointed towards the east of the training ground "about 1 mile to the east there is going to be a large fenced off area; that is the Kiri anbu training grounds" Temari said. "Once you arrive you will be assigned a gate number; go to your gate and wait for the signal to enter the training grounds" Temari said "any questions" Temari asked.
Sakura standing with Hinata and Lee raised her hand "what are the rules of engagement" Sakura asked.
"Live fire; you are free to use any and all means to eliminate the enemy teams" Temari said "there are a total of 54 teams present and by the end of the course there should only be 27 or less remaining" she said making the crowd nervous. "Any more questions" Temari asked and a Spring ninja raised her hand "yes" she said pointing at the spring Kunoichi.
"Is there a time limit" She asked and Temari nodded.
"Yes; you all have 2 hours to make it through the course" Temari said "any other questions" she asked; no one else raised their hand. "Great get a move on" she ordered and everyone began to make their way to the testing ground.
At the training ground
Naruto, Kurumi and Karin were all waiting patiently for the exam to start; Naruto was checking his equipment to make sure he was well stocked. As he did so a puff of smoke appeared startling Naruto and his teammates; they all saw a small weasel with a note on its back.
"From mistress Temari" the weasel said before vanishing; Naruto picked up the note it left and read it.
'Good luck Naruto; I love you, Temari' Naruto read; he then saw a kiss from Temari marked on the note from her lip gloss. Naruto smiled and folded the note putting it in his wallet for safe keeping.
"Ok everyone listens up" a voice over a loud speaker announced "we will begin the exam in 15 seconds; 15…14…13…12…11…10" he counted down as Naruto and his group got ready.
"9…8…7…6…" the count down continued as Sakura, Hinata and Lee all prepared to enter the exam.
"5…4…3…2…" the countdown continued as the 3-leaf ninja targeting Naruto and his team calmly waited to begin the exam.
"1… go" the announcer said; the gates to the exam opened up and all the examinees rushed in.
"Ok girls" Naruto said as he took point with Kurumi and Karin running at his sides "lets win this thing" he said.
Ok another chapter done I hope you all enjoyed it; if you did please like, comment and share with your friends. and until next time bye.