The Next Level
The next morning on the bridge, Sakura spotted Naruto and Sasuke talking under one of the trees. Naruto sported his new attire—a dark blue shirt and black pants that complemented Sasuke's customary clan outfit. Strangely, the thought that Naruto might have chosen his clothes to match Sasuke's angered Sakura for some unknown reason.
Her own new two-piece outfit comprised a cropped top, the fabric hugging her waist and ending just above her navel, revealing a hint of her toned midriff. featured a shorter skirt than she normally would dare to wear, its hem grazed her upper thighs with every move. Ino had suggested it, claiming it showed off her legs, especially without her biker shorts getting in the way. Her mother and father had stopped her at the door this morning and approved her new look, her mother's comment that it was good she was finally taking her mission seriously really upset her for some reason. Now feeling somewhat exposed with her midriff and shoulders bare, and missing the hug of the biker shorts, she couldn't help but notice the reactions on the boys' faces, confirming the impact on her intended target. Now to keep Sasuke's attention for the rest of the day was going to be the real test.
"Wow, Sakura-chan, you look good," said Naruto, turning to face her as she crossed the bridge.
Keeping her eyes on the target she didn't even acknowledge Naruto's existence as she smiled and gave a little wave to Sasake, gauging his reaction. Sasuke didn't smile back but kept his eyes on her until she joined them. 'Good, one step closer,' she thought as she moved within arm's length.
"What are you guys talking about?" asked Sakura, brushing her long pink hair behind her ear, hoping Sasuke would notice her new earrings shaped like the Uchiha crest.
"There was a Kirigakure Jonin and his Genin team walking past the Uchiha main gate this morning," said Sasuke as his eyes scanned over Sakura's choice of earrings.
"What are they doing here?" Sakura asked, turning her head as if acting shy but taking a half step closer to Sasuke, her new perfume filling his senses.
"That's what I asked," said Naruto, not noticing the subtle attempt as Sakura used all her young womanly charms to get Sasuke's attention. After a long talk with Ino on how to act, her blonde friend seemed to have given up on Sasuke and was willing to help share her tips and tricks.
"ah, I see my cute little Genin are all here," said Kakashi, appearing out of nowhere with his smiling eyes on full display.
Team seven formed a line facing their sensei bracing themselves for another day of useless D-rank missions but Kakashi didn't have any scroll in his hand this time.
"What are we doing today Sensei?", asked Naruto ready to take on any challenge, "Do we have another cool C-Rank mission to go on?"
"No missions for today," said Kakashi pulling out three pieces of paper from his vest pocket, "What I have here are the applications for the Chunin Exams, if you all agree you are ready then sign them and bring them to the address on the bottom of the form. You don't have to do this but I feel you are ready."
"Chunin Exams? What are those?" said Naruto, taking the paper from Kakashi as his team did the same.
"Every six months to a year, all the villages send their best Genin to the host village to take the Chunin Exams and this time Konohagakure is hosting. You might see some foreign shinobi walking around," said Kakashi, pulling out his small orange book. But before he opened it, he glanced at his team.
"We've only been on one real mission, Sensei. Do you really think we're ready?" questioned Sakura as she read the form. The document spoke volumes about potential danger, referencing death and serious bodily harm and how they needed to inform their next of kin and fill out a will. They understood the risks of being a ninja, but this was an exam within the village, was it really that bad?
"How come I've never heard of the exams before?" asked Sasuke, scrutinizing the document in his hand.
"This is the first time in three years that we've hosted the exams. Back then, you were all in the academy, and frankly, the academy's instructors keep students away from such actions until they're closer to graduation," explained Kakashi.
Naruto could see the doubt on his team's faces so burst out, "Come on, guys! We can do this! We're Team Seven. Our first mission was A-rank, so that'll be a piece of cake after that," exclaimed Naruto enthusiastically. Becoming a Chunin at such a young age would propel him one step closer to fulfilling his dream of becoming the Hokage, and he couldn't wait to showcase his ninja skills to the village. The village would have no choice but to notice him then.
"I think it's best if you talk this through as a team, but don't forget that the exams start tomorrow," Kakashi wanted to tell them to wait but the Hokage had said it was time, and seeing they weren't listening he disappeared in a cloud of smoke, leaving his surprised team staring at the dissipating cloud.
"Tomorrow? That means we have to decide now," said Sakura, her gaze still fixed on the paper in her hand.
"What's there to decide? We're going to become Chunin. Let's do it!" Naruto's voice resonated over the continuous sound of the nearby stream of water as it flowed under the bridge.
"The Dobe is right. I'll meet you in the morning," Sasuke stated as he walked off without a second glance at his team.
"Dammit," said Sakura under her breath as Sasuke walked off. She had planned this whole day out to flirt with him, and now he was gone. She wasn't sure if she was happy or not, but at least he had looked at her this time.
"Sakura-chan, do you want to…" Naruto started as Sakura spun around to look at him.
"No ramen! Stop with the ramen all the time. It's still early morning for God's sake," said Sakura, cutting him off before he could go on about ramen.
"Okay, but I was going to suggest we take a walk and talk about this," said Naruto, holding up the paper in his hand.
She let out a scream of frustration throwing her arms in the air before walking off over the bridge, reaching the other side she said something that Naruto couldn't hear.
"What was that Sakura-chan?" said Naruto, still standing under the tree where all this started.
"I said, if you want to talk, come on." Sakura looked at her hands before walking off, causing a grinning Naruto to run after her.
A short while later, they found themselves standing outside a little bakery shop.
"Why don't we talk here," suggested Sakura, glancing through the window and seeing a couple of her old academy friends eating breakfast.
The smell of warm baked goods wafting through the open door was a welcome sight, she was getting sick of ramen but it was all that Naruto wanted to eat. Walking in she found Naruto staying outside so she grabbed his hand and pulled him in. He wasn't more than three steps into the shop when the owner came running out with a large wooden spoon.
"Get that monster out of my shop!" he yelled, swinging the spoon at Naruto.
Sakura was confused by his words and the look of shock on Naruto's face, it was as if the boy had seen a ghost or was remembering a memory.
"Monster, what are you talking about?" said Sakura pushing Naruto back out the door before the angry owner could hit him with the wooden spoon.
"Haven't you heard, he is a monster.", the shop owner was still yelling at them but was staying behind his counter as if afraid of Naruto.
"I don't know what your problem is but if you are going to be like that, I will not buy anything from your shop ever again." Sakura was pissed and was going to say more but Naruto grabbed her arm and pulled her back outside the shop.
"Hey, hey, hey, I'm fine, it's nothing.", said Naruto as he turned around to make sure they weren't followed, they always attacked when his back was turned.
"Nothing, are you kidding, how can he call you a monster like that," said Sakura, having never seen anything like that before.
"Is this why you never want to go anywhere but to the ramen stand?" asked Sakura, holding Naruto's shoulders in both hands to make him look at her. He didn't answer, and Sakura was pretty sure he wouldn't. His eyes held a sadness, as if they were older than the rest of his face, as if they had seen too much and couldn't forget.
"Fine, it's your business, but I won't go into that shop, ever. How dare he yell at you and call you a monster? He doesn't even know you." Sakura was ranting about the man; she had never met anyone so rude, and the owner should be ashamed.
"Wow, Sakura-chan, I didn't know you cared so much," said a grinning Naruto as they walked down the street. He had both hands behind his head, walking while looking up at the sky.
"CARE?!" Yelled Sakura, spinning around to look at him. "Of course I care…" Then she remembered the plan, the mission—it all came back in a flash, and she stopped dead in her tracks. If one of her father's spies had seen her, she would never go home again. Scanning around, everybody was just walking around, paying them no mind. They were just another pair of crazy Genin freaking out about the Chunin Exams.
Turning up the street, she was caught off guard by a small boy running down the street crying, dragging a long scarf behind him. He slammed into her, knocking them both to the ground, and he ended up on top of her still crying his eyes out. Naruto pulled him off his teammate to stand him on his feet.
"Konohamaru, what happened? Why are you crying?" asked Naruto once he got the small boy back on his feet, doing his best not to look as Sakura pulled her shirt back in place and fixed her skirt that had given him a view he would not soon forget.
Konohamaru had a large black eye and many other cuts and bruises on his face and arms.
"There were some shinobi back there and I kind of hit one of them. Then this puppet-like thing came and hit me. After that, this blonde girl punched me and told the other one to stop playing around," said Konohamaru between sobs.
"Who did this to you?" Naruto asked, gently holding the small boy to steady him.
"I did!" came a voice from down the street. Naruto turned to see a trio approaching: a shinobi dressed in a peculiar one-piece outfit resembling a baby's sleepwear, accompanied by a blonde girl carrying a large fan and sporting distinctive fishnet stockings, but it was the short redhead with the oversized gourd on his back that caught Naruto's attention.
"Why'd you attack him?" Naruto asked about getting between them and Konohamaru.
The trio exchanged glances, a sense of aloofness about them. "He challenged us so we were just testing his skills," the oddly-dressed shinobi replied, a mischievous glint in their eyes. "That's what ninjas do, isn't it?"
Konohamaru, drying his tears, attempted to appear unfazed. "I wanted to see how strong I am," he said, trying to mask his apprehension.
Naruto's expression darkened as he felt an underlying threat almost like a killer intent coming from the redhead in waves. "Leave the kid out of your tests next time," Naruto warned, his tone serious.
The blonde girl's smirk widened slightly, an undertone of menace in her demeanor. "Noted," she replied coolly, her voice carrying a chilling edge as she ran her hand down the side of her fan.
"Who are you guys anyway, I have never seen that type of forehead protector before.", asked Naruto pushing Konohamaru behind him and into Sakura's arms who just pushed the small boy away whispering into his ear to run for help.
"We are from Sunagakure for the chunin exams, who are you?" said the tall blonde as she continued running her fingers down the side of her fan as if thinking about pulling it off her back.
"I am Naruto Uzumaki, the next Hokage, Believe It!", yelled out Naruto as they stood there laughing at him.
"Enough, we have to go," said the short redheaded boy as he walked out from behind the other two, they both jumped back as soon as he spoke.
"I am Gaara of the Sand, and I'll kill you next time we meet," stated Gaara, his voice carrying a chilling tone. With that warning, he turned away, the other two Sand shinobi trailing close behind.
Naruto stood there, dumbfounded, his mouth agape, as he watched Gaara walk away. Suddenly, the sound of running footsteps reached his ears, and he turned to see Ebisu racing down the street, chasing after Konohamaru. As they halted, they watched the foreign shinobi vanish around a corner.
Ebisu immediately recognized Gaara and, more importantly, understood what he was. In an instant, he grasped Konohamaru by the back of his shirt and hoisted him up, giving him a good shake to get his attention. "Are you insane, picking a fight with foreign shinobi? They're dangerous, and they don't care who you are, or who you are related to. They could have killed you without a second thought," Ebisu's voice was stern and filled with a little panic, causing Konohamaru, who often used his grandfather's name to get his way, to fall silent.
With Ebisu holding Konohamaru high in the air as he walked off, still yelling at the small boy, Sakura brushed the dirt off the back of her skirt like a nervous habit and asked, "This is going to be crazy. Are you sure you want to take the exam this year?"
"Dattebayo! I will show them all who Naruto Uzumaki is, and guys like that baker will never tell me to leave again!" yelled out Naruto, shaking his fist in the direction that Gaara and his team went. He had no idea who Gaara was, but the look in his eyes told him everything he needed to know. Gaara was like him, only he had chosen a path Naruto had rejected years ago. Hate was not the solution, but Naruto was determined to make them respect him, one way or another.
….
Next up is the Exam, I'm just kidding I not rehashing that old story but maybe a change in the outcome would be fun ;-)