Let's start this from the beginning
Grand Assembly
- Part 2 -
"Deceptions and Truths"
II
Under most circumstances, it would doubtlessly be a stupid idea to attack an enemy team that outnumbers your own. Sasuke knew that, and so did his team–even Naruto, for all that he acted like an idiot most of the time. When it mattered, the blond could be just as insightful and perceptive as everyone else. Even more so at times, actually.
Not that Sasuke would ever admit that out loud, mind you.
However, while that may be the case, there were always exceptions; cases where such objectively disadvantageous conditions simply didn't matter or could be balanced out by other circumstances.
The situation they were in right now was one such case.
He, Naruto, and Sakura had managed to locate and sneak up on two teams from Sunagakure that had evidently decided to team up. A smart decision considering they would need every advantage they could get in these exams. After all, the environment of this training ground was the exact opposite of what they would be used to from the desert they called home, and with the six of them originating from the same village, the risk of backstabbing was almost non-existent. The added manpower would be advantageous in a fight as well, of course, and it would make the shifts for keeping guard at night shorter, consequently keeping every member of the group both well-rested and safe.
Frankly, Sasuke wouldn't be surprised if trying to catch up with at least one other team was the first thing everyone had done at the start of this stage. Particularly the foreigners. Some of their fellow Konoha-nins might have done the same, but it was just as likely that they, used to the environment as they were, wouldn't think of it until they stumbled into a much larger enemy group.
Maybe we should consider teaming up with some other team as well, he mused. Konoha sent by far the most teams this year, so it shouldn't be too hard to find one or two of them. Well, unless we manage to get the other scroll from those Suna guys, that is. There's no need for an alliance if we finish the exam here and now, after all.
His team had an Earth Scroll, meaning they needed a Heaven one. While it was possible that both Suna teams had the same scroll, they might also have different ones. Either way, if they managed to beat both teams and take their scrolls, they had at least a fifty percent chance of getting the right one they were lacking.
A fifty percent chance of finishing the second stage of the exams before the end of the first day.
With that upbeat thought in mind, Sasuke watched as Sakura put the first step of their plan into action.
They had been tailing the six Suna-nins for a little more than an hour, having managed to catch up to them about twenty minutes after they had destroyed one of Naruto's decoy teams. All that time, they had been scheming while waiting for a good opportunity to strike. Since it was already late and getting darker–or, well, darker than it already was under the thick canopy of the large trees around them–and darker by the minute, it was only a matter of time until their targets would start looking for a suitable shelter for the night.
That was exactly what had happened a few minutes ago, the foreigners choosing the crown of a bunch of trees that were noticeably larger than all the surrounding ones as their camp.
And while five of the six enemies had immediately begun to set things up, the sixth member of their group had stepped away from his comrades to follow the call of nature.
In all fairness, he hadn't gone very far, clearly aware of the risk that was involved in leaving the relative security of a larger group. Unfortunately for the boy, however, that didn't do him much good when the people trying to ambush him were from Konoha and consequently as adept at hiding in dense trees as he presumably was in hiding in the desert.
He didn't have the chance to do as much as scream before Sakura caught him with his pants down, both literally and figuratively, and captured him in a Genjutsu.
He didn't have his team's scroll with him, so they simply knocked him out and tied him to a tree before moving on to phase two.
"Hey," Sakura, who wore the face of the boy they had just taken out, said as they landed on the large branch the rest of the Suna-nins were on, "guess what I found sneaking around? This' one of the kids whose clones we saw before!"
Sasuke scowled as if he was angry at being caught from where he was kneeling in front of her, positioned in a way to appear as if he was being subdued by her with his hands on his back instead of it being the ready posture it actually was.
They didn't need to trick them for long, only long enough for Naruto to get into position without being noticed. That meant a few seconds at most. Surely they would quickly realize that him being still conscious and not tied up meant something was up, so they wouldn't be able to fool them for much longer than that anyway.
"Where there is one, there are more," one of the Suna-nins, a kunoichi whose face was mostly hidden behind a mask not unlike the one Kakashi-sensei used, stated as she jumped to her feet. "This was probably just a scout, but his teammates won't be far behind!"
The remaining group tensed. "Right," one of the boys, the person closest to him and Sakura, said before starting to turn around to search for more enemies. "They have to be close, so we better–"
That was all the opportunity Sasuke needed. The moment the other boy took his eyes off him, he dashed forward. A moment later, the edge of his hand connected with his opponent's neck, throwing him off the tree and possibly even knocking him out instantly.
Naruto would take care of the rest.
There were cries of alarm all around him, but he paid it little mind, well-aware that Sakura was about to attack just as they had planned and therefore very invested in getting the hell off the tree branch as fast as possible before things became ugly.
He couldn't ignore the incoming fist from the nearby kunoichi, though, so he switched to Plan B:
Neither dodging nor redirecting the attack, he instead caught it with his open palm, seized her fist, and pulled her along with him into a free fall down the tree. She was clearly startled by his unexpected counter, but managed to collect herself within a second and prepared to continue her attack in mid-air.
That one second had been more than enough for Sasuke to prepare his move next as well, however, so before she could do more than clench her other fist in preparation for another punch, he pulled her closer, activated his Sharingan, and paralysed her with a Genjutsu.
Now, he was admittedly not yet as well-versed in that art as Sakura, the ability to copy every technique she used not automatically translating into him actually mastering them. He was certainly still a fair bit away from the more advanced techniques she had started to study, like being able to make people move like marionettes while under her illusion. Things might be different once his Sharingan was fully developed–he currently possessed only one tomoe in his left and two in his right eye–and at its full strength, but for now, that was only a pipe dream.
Putting someone to sleep was well within his abilities, though.
The moment the girl went slack in his arms, an explosion rocked the tree branch above him, showing without a doubt that Sakura had thrown a bunch of paper bombs just as planned.
Shortly after, three forms emerged from the smoke cloud, the three remaining Suna-nins having followed Sasuke's example by jumping down the branch to escape the explosion. Meanwhile, he spotted Sakura's pink hair much further away and still on top of the tree, having evidently chosen to escape the blast radius by jumping backwards instead of following everyone else downwards.
Not that it mattered. Her role in their plan had already come to an end.
The much smaller trees than the one their targets had chosen as camp were quickly approaching, so Sasuke prepared himself to take the fall without injuring either himself or the involuntary baggage in his arms any more than absolutely necessary instead of paying the three enemies flying a bit above him any mind. Even when they readied their weapons and began to weave hand seals to attack him in mid-flight, he didn't dignify them with as much as a glance.
Long before any of them could do anything that would harm him, six similar-looking forms came flying towards them from below.
"Fūton: Daitoppa!" (Wind Release: Great Breakthrough)
The Suna-nins screamed as they were blown away by Naruto and his clones with six simultaneous, powerful gusts of wind.
That sound was then replaced by painful gasps as they crashed into the nearby tree trunk, and as Sasuke finally landed on the ground with a roll that stung a bit but kept him and his cargo mostly unharmed, he saw from the corner of his eyes that Naruto and two of his clones had caught their now unconscious opponents.
Not long after, he, Sakura, and Naruto stood over the fallen forms of the six Suna-nins.
"That went better than expected," he commented dryly, unsure of whether he should feel proud of their success or be disappointed by their opponents' lacklustre resistance.
Perhaps sensing his thoughts, Sakura said, "To be fair, the success rate of well-executed ambushes is about eighty percent, and the average duration of fights when one team is caught off-guard is somewhere around thirty to sixty seconds. They didn't exactly do horrible, all things considered."
He gave her an unimpressed look. "That entire confrontation took maybe fifteen seconds, twenty tops."
"I said 'the average duration' for a reason. There are obviously always cases of fights taking several minutes or only a few seconds as well."
"Doesn't mean their"–he dismissively gestured to the fallen Genin–"performance wasn't bad, though."
"At least they weren't taken out instantly."
"No, not instantly." He paused. Then, "Only almost."
At that, she didn't comment. Apparently, even her goodwill to help their opponents save face went only so far.
"Guys!" Naruto suddenly exclaimed, jumping to his feet from where he had been kneeling over the Suna-nins limp forms with a wide grin. "Guess what? They have two Heaven Scrolls! We passed!"
As if proving his point, he proudly held their newly acquired treasure into the air.
Sasuke felt his own lips pull into a victorious grin, and he didn't have to turn around to see a matching expression on Sakura's face. Jackpot, he thought. With that, we pass!
A weight that he had only been vaguely aware of until this point fell off his shoulders. It wasn't as if he hadn't been convinced they would succeed, mind you, because that would be ridiculous. There had never been any doubt in his mind about whether they would complete the exams or not. However, seeing the proof of that in front of him was still a relief.
Itachi had managed to become a Chūnin when he took the exams for the first time. Sasuke would never admit it out loud, but he had long since decided to do the same, so having pretty much passed the second stage already with so much remaining time left almost felt like a validation that his ambition wasn't impossible.
From here on, nothing can go wrong!
He really should have known better than to blatantly challenge fate like that.
Sasuke opened his mouth to reply to Naruto's words and give the command to move out towards the central building when Sakura suddenly let out a soft gasp.
He didn't have to ask what happened, for he felt the chakra signatures–far too close! How had anyone managed to get so damn close? Why haven't we noticed?!–just a heartbeat later.
His reaction alone would have been too slow, however. It was the split-second of advanced notice Sakura had due to her sensor abilities that ultimately saved them:
Sasuke had barely noticed that something was wrong before Sakura grabbed his and Naruto's arms, ignoring the latter's surprised exclamation, and pulled the three of them to the ground.
A moment later, lightning flashed above their heads, so close that the hairs on his arms stood up from the static charge.
They were immediately back on their feet, falling into familiar fighting stances that left them close enough to help each other but with enough space to still move freely, and Sasuke tried his best to ignore his wildly beating heart while searching with his Sharingan for the one responsible for the attack in the shadows around them, mentally cursing how easy it was to hide in the dense forest.
He didn't have to search long, though, as the enemy didn't even try to remain hidden, looking down on them from a nearby tree branch.
"Well, well, well, seems like they managed to dodge your attack, Omoi. You are getting sloppy, don't ya?"
The sole boy of the group grimaced while rubbing the back of his head. "I don't think so? I haven't been feeling well since we entered the forest, though. Maybe it's the air?" His eyes widened dramatically. "Hey, you don't think I'm allergic to some of the plants here, do you? What if I–"
The third person, a girl with notably lighter skin than her two teammates, held up her hand, making the other two freeze on the spot. "This is not the time or place for one of your arguments. You may continue once we have relieved them of their scrolls." Then, her eyes narrowed as she focused entirely on him and his team, almost making him take an unconscious step back. "Judging by their joyous reaction upon finding two Heaven Scrolls, they likely possess an Earth one. Once we take it, we can move on towards the central building."
As soon as she had finished speaking, and without giving Sasuke or his teammates the chance to reply, the tree Genin from Kumogakure jumped into action and started their attack.
As Haku jumped from tree to tree, she thought for what had to be the hundredth time that this was probably a stupid idea. No, scratch that; she knew that this was without a doubt a stupid idea. After all, how else could it be called to intentionally part ways with your own team in order to seek out an enemy one?
Regardless, she felt like this was something she had to do. It may be egoistic, but she had to get to the bottom of this.
With that thought in mind, she appeared at the edge of the small clearing that currently served as the camp for one of the teams from Kirigakure.
Judging by the fact that the three Genin were already looking in her direction when she arrived, they had clearly sensed her heading in their direction. No surprise there, considering she hadn't tried to hide in the first place. At least they didn't immediately attack me, she thought with a hint of amusement while letting her eyes wander over their tense forms, with two of the three having their hands on their weapons. It was a good sign that they hadn't drawn them yet. Rather unexpected, too. I wonder if that is because they actually recognized me or because they were curious about an unknown person approaching them this brazenly.
Were this any other team, she would assume that it was probably the latter. Joining up with others was a sensible strategy, after all, so it wasn't much of a stretch to assume that someone who approached them without even trying to hide would be someone who wanted to negotiate an alliance. This wasn't just any team, however. No, this was a team from Kiri, and if her previous encounter with one of its members was anything to go by, they had been interested in her from the moment they had stepped foot into Konoha.
"Yuki-san," Chōjūrō greeted her with a nervous smile. "Ehm, would it be weird to say that it's nice to meet you again?"
"A little bit," she said, returning his smile with a wry, more convincing one of her own. "Most people would probably not be very happy if an enemy landed in their camp."
"W-well, we don't have to be enemies!"
Haku tilted her head a bit in a manner that she knew would make her hair shine in the few rays of light from the setting sun that managed to penetrate the tree canopy above while giving the boy her warmest smile. "Oh, you think so?"
She was satisfied when she saw him blush in return. Good. It seems this approach still works.
"Of course!" he exclaimed before turning towards his teammates, exposing his back to her without a moment's hesitation. Even with the distance between them and his comrades at his side, that was a painfully foolish move, and Haku couldn't tell if he actually was an idiot–unlikely, considering he probably wouldn't have been chosen for the exams if he was–or if was doing it intentionally to gain her trust. "Hey, would you mind checking the perimeter? Just in case anyone else is close by. It would also be good to know the area in case we have to move out on short notice."
Haku noted that even though his voice was still timid, the way he spoke to his teammates was much more confident than when he spoke with her. It was almost as if he was used to giving commands; she hadn't gauged him to be the kind of person to lead a team. However, that wasn't what gave her pause.
His voice might have been a fluke, but the quick way with which the other two boys, both of which were several years older than Chōjūrō, assented without an argument clearly showcased who held all the authority in their team.
Is it just his status as a budding Swordman of the Mist that makes them submit to him or is there something else…?
When he turned back to face her after his teammates had left, his unsure expression did much less to reassure her than it had done just a minute ago. "So, ehm, would you like to sit? I have tea too, if you want!"
Earlier, she would have agreed to at least the first part–who would accept something to drink from another team during the Chūnin Exams, regardless of how polite they were?–to put him more at ease, but no more. Thus, while she still maintained her smile, she shook her head. "Thank you, but I think I would prefer to remain on my feet, and I will have to decline the tea as well. These are the Chūnin Exams, after all. I'm sure you understand."
His eyes widened dramatically. "A-ah, of course! I'm sorry, I should have thought of that!"
"Oh no, it's fine," she reassured immediately. "I'm not accusing you of anything. It's just better to be safe than to be sorry."
"It was still a careless thing to offer, though..."
"I'm sure you only meant well."
He awkwardly scratched his cheek in a manner that would have been much more endearing if she didn't suspect him of at least partly playing his nervousness up to put her at ease, if not outright faking it.
"Anyway, well, what do you want?" As soon as the words left his mouth, he apparently realized how they could be interpreted as dismissive, for he hurriedly added, "Not that I'm not happy to see you, of course! Ah, not happy, maybe, but, ehm… not unhappy?" He grimaced before apparently managing to calm down a bit. "W-what I meant to ask is what you approached us for."
For just a second, Haku considered dropping her pretence of being a harmless airhead in favour of a more appropriate, serious attitude, but in the end, she decided to merely tone it down a bit into a more distant, yet polite one. "I was hoping to continue our conversation from the last time, actually."
"Yeah, ehm, I thought as much, to be honest."
Outwardly, she didn't react, but if that didn't sound like a red flag, she didn't know what would.
"You did?"
"Well, kind of?" he chuckled nervously, barely meeting her eyes. "I mean, I think we didn't quite get off on the right foot, a-and I might have given you some sort of wrong impression as well, maybe?"
I'm more worried that the impression you gave me seems much more likely to be right than not the longer I talk to you, to be honest, she thought. However, when she spoke, none of that showed on her face. "And what kind of impression would that be?"
Chōjūrō didn't answer immediately. He opened his mouth, but no word came out, so he snapped it shut again. Then, before Haku could decide whether it would be a good idea to move the conversation along herself instead of waiting for him to find his voice, he let out an exhausted sigh and ran his hand through his face, making himself extremely vulnerable in front of a potential enemy for the second time in a matter of minutes. "I'm so bad at this," he muttered, barely loud enough for her to hear. Then, a bit louder, he added, "W-would you mind if I just tell you what's going on? Without all this"–he helplessly waved with his hands as he searched for the right words–"posturing and carefully chosen words and stuff?"
She took a few moments to think about that. On one hand, that statement alone was already enough to prove that there was something else going on regarding Kiri's interest in her. Her suspicion was no longer just that, but a fact. She didn't need to know more. In fact, this should make her retreat more than anything else because there was every chance that this was a trap.
On the other, this was also the perfect opportunity to learn more. Chōjūrō was pretty much offering the information she wanted for free. Even if his next words were nothing but lies, even that could give clues as to what Kiri's true intentions were.
Ultimately, she decided to stay a little bit longer, justifying her decision by reminding herself that she had already walked into a potential trap anyway and therefore might just as well milk it for all it was worth.
With a gentle nod, she gave her consent and urged him to continue.
He slacked for a moment in what Haku thought was relief before straightening up again, suddenly appearing much more serious and attentive than before even though he still looked nervous and even had a blush on his face. "Basically, well…" He paused, visibly steeling himself, before looking her straight in the eye. "Mizukage-sama is very interested in you, Yuki-san, and she asked me to talk with you during my stay in Konoha."
No surprise there. She had concluded this much herself already. However…
Well, she thought, we're beyond subtility and word plays anyway. I may just as well be as blunt as he. "So she is interested in me," she said. "And of just what kind of interest are we talking about?"
"About whether you're happy in Konoha and if you're being treated fairly."
Now, Haku was great at hiding her true thoughts behind a gentle smile that gave nothing away, but his words, no matter how similar to what she had been expecting, still nearly surprised her enough to make her mask slip. I know he said he would be blunt, but this is a bit much, isn't it?
"That's very gracious of the Mizukage," she said after a pause that was probably just a tad too long to sound natural, choosing her words carefully. "She must truly be a kind person to worry even about people from other nations outside her jurisdiction."
He broke into a wide and, if she was being honest, goofy grin at her comment, and were it not for his next words, she would have thought he had missed her subtle reminder of where her loyalties lay entirely.
"Of course she is! Mizukage-sama is amazing, and she cares about every person born in the Land of Water!"
A simple statement born out of, as far as Haku could tell, honest admiration for his leader, but which held dangerous implications for her, a native of that very country that lived abroad and was sworn to another kage.
Perhaps sensing some of her uneasiness despite her best efforts to hide it, his grin dimmed a bit. "D-don't misunderstand, though," he said, suddenly once more as nervous as at the start of their conversation. "She doesn't mind you living here! She said she wouldn't have agreed to the deal in the first place if she didn't, and that even if she were to dislike it, she wouldn't risk our alliance with Konoha over it! I swear she really just wants to know if, ehm, 'a fellow victim of the bloody mist', I think she called you, found happiness!"
Haku absently noted that she had just gotten the confirmation that her stay in Konoha was indeed part of some sort of deal between Kiri and Konoha, something she had long since suspected but never truly cared enough about to investigate, but didn't think much more about it. There were more important things to consider.
"In that case, you may tell the Mizukage that I am happy here and am treated fairly. I certainly never felt like an outsider."
Itachi-nii, his family, and Anko-nee had seen to that.
"That's great!" Chōjūrō exclaimed. "I'm glad to hear that!"
For the time being, she was willing to tentatively believe that he, at least, genuinely had no hidden agenda beyond checking on her well-being. The Mizukage, however, was an entirely different topic because there was simply no way things would be this simple. Was it simply intelligence gathering in preparation for later actions? Was she trying to lure her into a false sense of security? Was there something else she wasn't seeing?
There was no way of knowing; no way to reassure herself.
She remembered what Itachi had told her when she had told him about her first meeting with Chōjūrō. Basically, she was supposed to remain calm–a given for a kunoichi, really–and composed while trusting in the security Konoha and her own abilities offered until they knew more, and that he would look deeper into it on his front in the meantime. Well, she now did know more, but the new information only raised even more questions!
That only meant that his advice still held value, though, and with that in mind, she regained her composure.
"Anyway," Chōjūrō continued, "with that out of the way, do you think we could–"
Haku had felt and recognized the approaching chakra signature already, so she didn't react as startled as him when one of the other two Kiri-nins appeared at his side.
She did tense when she heard his words, however:
"There is a group of enemies about ten minutes south from here. We didn't get close enough to get a good look, but we think there have to be at least two teams. Probably more, though. We need to leave now!"
That was all the information she needed. Therefore, she didn't bother with a goodbye before turning around and running away as fast as her legs would carry her, not reacting in the slightest when Chōjūrō called after her.
She had gotten what she wanted. While there were still questions that needed to be answered, she doubted that little Swordsman-to-be would be of much help. Thus, she had to be content for now. Besides, the Chūnin Exams were still ongoing and both her sensei and the Hokage himself had told her just how important her performance in them would be.
For now, that was what she should be focusing on.
An alliance of at least two teams, huh? she mused, not liking that idea very much. I suppose it's a good thing my team waits to the north of here with much more distance between them and us than that Kiri-team. If we're particularly fortunate, they might even serve as a good distraction while we retreat…
Naruto had no idea who the hell these people were beyond the fact that their headbands identified them as Genin from Kumogakure, but no matter who they were, they were good!
Unfortunately, he couldn't find much joy in that.
He usually liked a good fight and could appreciate opponents who pushed him to his limits. Heck, while he would never ever admit it out loud, especially not to Sasuke, he even liked it when he fought someone who was clearly stronger than him! There was no better feeling than overcoming an opponent who had haunted you for ages.
This was different, however; not only were these the Chūnin Exams he had every intention of winning rather than a simple spar, but he and his teams were also the victims! They had been caught by surprise and were almost eliminated by an ambush none of them had seen coming even though his clones should have made such a thing impossible. Had that one surprise attack actually hit, they would have been kicked out of the exams immediately.
And Naruto couldn't even be mad about it because they were immediately put on the back foot again the moment those three continued their attack, leaving him with no time to do anything but defend himself.
He ducked beneath a sword slash of the dark-skinned, red-haired kunoichi in front of him before jumping back, his throbbing ribs reminding him that the supposed opening in her defence he could spot from that position was merely a faint meant to lure him into a trap.
Even so, her following swing came close enough to cut off some loose strands of his hair as he leaned back at the last possible moment to avoid being decapitated.
He backed further away and raised his hands, ready to make a hand seal, but just like every other time he had tried that before, the kunoichi was upon him again before he could get through with it and forced him to abandon the attempt in favour of drawing a kunai out of his sleeves to block her next strike.
The girl grinned at his obvious annoyance. "Sucks to be too slow, eh?"
Before he could reply, she took a half-step back and brought up her leg for a kick.
There was no way to dodge, so Naruto brought his own left leg up to his chest to weaken the blow instead. He wasn't dissatisfied with that lackluster block, though, and judging by the widening of his opponent's eyes when she noticed his grin, she had realized her mistake as well.
It was too bad for her that the realization came too little too late.
He allowed the attack to throw him backwards and even increased his trajectory by pushing off the ground with his right leg at the same time, finally managing to get the distance he so desperately needed.
A pink flash out of the corner of his eye forced him to change his plans, however, and instead of weaving hand seals to turn his own battle around, he twisted in mid-air and threw his kunai.
A second later, the katana that would have sliced Sakura's arm open from wrist to shoulder was thrown off-track, missing her by a hair.
Naruto had just enough time to breathe in relief and watch his teammate use the opportunity to throw some dirt into the boy's face to make him retreat before he had to focus on his own fight once more.
Throwing his open palm up, he pushed the blade that came at him from his right upwards to make it fly harmlessly over his head before throwing a punch towards the girl's guts.
She deflected the blow by tilting her body. Then, she moved backwards while bringing her sword back down, but Naruto didn't let her get away that easily and immediately followed after her, one hand grasping her wrist to stop the attack while throwing yet another punch. Unfortunately, she did the same as he had done with her sword arm and caught his fist, resulting in a stalemate.
She twisted his arm, and he used the opportunity to try something risky–or, as he liked to put it, creative:
Instead of trying to break free and retreat or trying to resist, he went with the flow and jumped, twisting around until he was in the air with his legs up and his head down without breaking his grip on her or breaking out of hers. He had partly pulled her along, too, catching her off-guard with his unexpected movement and only letting go of her wrist halfway through when she had already lost her balance and stumbled forward.
There was nothing she could do to avoid his kick to her head that followed.
The grunt she let out as she went flying was probably the sweetest sound he had ever heard in his entire life.
"Too slow my ass!" he gleefully called after her. "How did you like that, you–"
"Naruto, duck!"
He reacted without hesitation to Sakura's call, and an instant later, a katana cut through the air where his neck had been a moment earlier.
The only reason he didn't suffer the same fate he had inflicted upon his opponent a few seconds ago and got kicked in the face was that the boy who had attacked him was forced to retreat his leg to avoid it getting impaled by a bunch of shuriken–a courtesy from Sakura, Naruto assumed.
Not wasting that chance, he put some distance between them while putting one hand into his weapon pouch. "Sakura," he yelled without turning around. "Double Trouble!"
She didn't have to reply for him to know that she had heard the codeword; the fact that she rushed past him to engage the male Kumo-nin was proof enough.
While Naruto grabbed one specific kunai, Sakura ran towards the boy. He, in turn, readied his katana and prepared himself to cut her down, only to blink in surprise when Sakura suddenly jumped to the left and weaved hand seals after having crossed two-thirds of the distance between them.
"Mizu Bunshin no Jutsu!" (Water Clone Technique)
A moment later, she spat a stream of water out of her mouth that then proceeded to turn into a clone of herself.
Naruto watched Sakura flanking her clone in a manner that would appear to an enemy as if she was trying to attack them from two sides simultaneously. He knew better, of course, but no one could blame the Kumo-nin for falling for it.
Not that this stopped the giddy feeling inside his chest, mind you.
In the split-second during which the water clone obscured the boy's view of Naruto, he drew the kunai he had been holding out of sight and threw it.
A piece of paper spotting a whole bunch of kanji, the largest and most prominent of them being the one for lightning in the middle, attached to it followed in its wake.
The boy didn't hesitate even when confronted with two opponents instead of just one, his only reaction being a slight narrowing of his eyes. Taking a step forward, he changed the grip on his sword before swinging it sidewards in a straight line that cut smoothly through the clone's torso and continued to fly towards the real Sakura afterwards.
Or, that's what it would have done if Sakura had actually joined her clone in battle instead of jumping backwards a mere moment before she would have gotten into range.
The sword went through the clone and continued to fly through empty air without anything else to cut. Then, the body burst into water that sprayed in every direction, and just as that happened, Naruto's kunai made contact with its target.
More precisely, it made contact with the remains of the just destroyed clone.
The moment the paper attached to it got wet, it began to glow before suddenly discharging an enormous amount of electricity that immediately travelled through the water and engulfed everything it touched.
Everything, including the dark-skinned, white-haired Kumo-nin.
"Hell yeah!" he called, lips curved into a wide grin. "I knew Ero-sennin's gift was super awesome! That–"
The boy's body dissolved into a flash of lightning before it even touched the ground.
"…sucks," he finished, expression falling.
"Cut the crap!" Sakura snapped, appearing at his side with a serious expression that stopped him in his tracks before he could complain about her being allowed to cuss even though she always reprimanded him when he did it. "We don't have time for this! We have to find Sasuke!"
That immediately made him sober up. When the fighting had begun, Naruto and Sakura had managed to stay close to each other. Sasuke, on the other hand, had quickly been pushed back by who Naruto thought had to be the leader of the enemy team. They had no idea what happened to him, and the fact that he hadn't managed to return yet wasn't exactly encouraging. The only good thing was that the girl that went with him hadn't returned yet either, meaning their fight had probably yet to come to an end either way.
However, if Sasuke's opponent was anything like his and Sakura's, well…
She seemed mostly alright, lacking injuries apart from a cut on her cheek he honestly didn't think she was even aware of and some bruising on her bare forearms, but her eyes, serious as they might be, were wide with what he thought was panic. Controlled panic, yes, but panic nonetheless.
One of the first things Kakashi-sensei had taught him was to keep his emotions under control during a fight, and so far, he liked to think he had managed to do so just fine, but the look on Sakura's face was nearly enough to make his self-control crumble. It just wasn't right for Sakura to have such a look on her face! She shouldn't have to look like that, all panicked and scared!
He swallowed those thoughts down, however. Sasuke had priority right now. His friend might not admit it, but Naruto was sure he would need their help.
I will totally hold that over his head later, though!
"Okay," he said, turning around to leave in the direction where Sasuke and the girl had vanished earlier. "Let's–"
"Raiton: Amigumo!" (Lightning Release: Spider Web)
The voice came from their right and was accompanied by a stream of lightning that quickly enclosed on their position, engulfing the ground in a lair of electricity.
Naruto cursed under his breath as he leapt into the air to avoid being hit, with Sakura doing the same to his side with an unnecessary call of "Jump!" on her lips.
"Raiton: Gian!" (Lightning Release: False Darkness)
That voice, which was noticeably more feminine and consequently belonged most likely to his previous opponent, came from their left, and Naruto's eyes widened as he saw the spear-shaped lightning beam heading straight for them.
"Dammit!"
Without thinking, he twisted around and used Sakura as a springboard to simultaneously push her out of the way and dodge the attack himself as well.
Unfortunately, that left him defenceless against the incoming pincer attack as both Kumo-nins rushed at him from two sides with their swords pointed straight at him.
"Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu!" (Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique)
Naruto didn't even have time to think of a possible way to defend himself before a large torrent of flames appeared in front of him and cut off his view of the kunoichi, and barely a second later, a new figure appeared in the air next to the male Kumo-nin and kicked him away before he could react.
A moment later, he, Sakura, and their newly arrived support landed on the ground.
"Sasuke!" he exclaimed, unsure about whether he should be relieved that he had been saved by his friend or annoyed about the very same thing. However, neither of these things mattered once he actually took stock of the other boy's appearance. "Are you alright?!"
Considering his battered form, Naruto thought that was a reasonable question; Sasuke's shirt was cut in several places, revealing swallow but nonetheless bloody gashes underneath, his left sleeve was missing entirely while the skin on the arm itself was bright red and even smoking, and judging by all the dirt, he had probably been dragged through the mud quite a bit. For some strange reason, Sasuke didn't seem to appreciate the question, though.
"Shut up," he said between gritted teeth without even looking at him, his Sharingan hectically scanning their surroundings. "I'm fine." Then, with a short glance at him, he added, "More so than you would have been if I hadn't saved your ass, at least."
Now, Naruto would usually not let him get away with such a comment. It didn't even matter if it was true or not; reason didn't exactly matter in their arguments, after all. However, he didn't really feel like arguing right now. Not when he was reasonably sure Sasuke was only trying to push his buttons to distract him from his injuries.
Ultimately, he didn't comment on it, only grunting before turning around to stand back at back with him.
Then, before he could ask if he had a plan, Sakura appeared at their side, her body a bit too tense to excuse it as mere weariness and a bit too much turned towards Sasuke to truly fit their triangle formation. Her eyes were focused on their surroundings, though, so Naruto remained silent on the issue once again. "Do you need healing?"
Despite the panic that he knew she was most certainly feeling, her voice was steady.
"I can manage for now," Sasuke said with a slight shake of his head.
"But–"
"I doubt we would have enough time for that, anyway."
As if they had only waited for an appropriately dramatic time to turn up, the three Kumo-nins slowly walked out of the cover of shadows, trees, and oversized roots that had kept them hidden until then from three different directions, forming a loose triangle around them.
Naruto felt something heavy set in the pit of his stomach when he saw that the kunoichi Sasuke had been fighting didn't look any worse to wear than before, not spotting as much as even just a speck of dirt on her clothes. Heck, she wasn't even breathing heavily and had the gall to look bored!
"You should have realized by now that you're outmatched," she began, her voice painfully neutral. "If you give us your Earth Scroll, we will let you leave undisturbed. There's still plenty of time left, so you might very well find another team to get yourself a new one and proceed to the next round. This would be the most beneficial approach for both our teams."
And with that, whatever dread Naruto had begun to feel vanished and was replaced by anger. "Shut up!" he exclaimed, finger pointed at her in a rude manner he knew Sasuke's mother would disapprove of. "No way we give up! If anyone's outmatched, it's you!"
The other girl, the one he had been fighting earlier, snorted. "Really? Don't tell me you actually think that. Are you an idiot or what?"
He turned his glare at her. "Remind me who got kicked in the face and thrown away again?"
That quickly changed her grin into a glare mirroring his own. "One lucky hit hardly counts as a victory!"
"Still better than not hitting at all!"
"I did hit you, you idiot!"
"What, you call that a hit? I barely even felt it!"
"I cut you as well!"
"Oh, that?" He raised his arms, the only places where her sword had actually connected. "You barely even cut my skin! Look, it even already stopped bleeding!"
Naruto didn't feel like pointing out that the Nine-Tails had probably more to do with that than how deep the wounds had been. There was really no reason to explain that to her, now was there? His argument worked much better this way.
"You–"
"That's enough, Karui," the other kunoichi said, making the girl's mouth snap shut immediately. "We talked about this."
The girl, Karui, scoffed but kept silent.
Then, turning towards him, the apparent team leader continued, "Neither of us would benefit from having to fight another team later after having exhausted our stamina in this confrontation. Your team is clearly in worse shape, though, so you will suffer more from continued hostility between us than us. It's in your best interest to agree."
"Maybe we should take the offer," Sakura muttered before he could respond. "I mean, she does have a point, doesn't she…?"
He vigorously shook his head without leaving their enemies out of his sight. "We can't give up! Besides, we have no guarantee that they will actually keep their word!"
"But–"
"Shut up!" Sasuke interrupted them, and while Naruto opened his mouth to complain about his bossy attitude, the look on his face made him stop. "I'm trying to think!"
That comment annoyed him only even more, though. Sure, Sasuke had kind of leading their team since they had entered the forest, and until now, Naruto hadn't really minded because nothing super exciting happened yet on which they could disagree, but this went too far. If he was considering surrendering to their enemies, he had no right to lead anyone, much less him!
Unfortunately, he did not get to vent his anger before the ground around not only them, but the three Kumo-nins as well explosively rose into the air, the earth turning more and more into sand the higher it got as it surrounded them completely.
A second later, it came all crashing down, trying to bury them alive.
Hinata stopped dead in her tracks, making Kiba and Shino do the same while simultaneously pushing their respective skills to their limits to search for whatever it was that had alerted her.
"What is it?" Kiba whispered without looking at her, muscles tense in case he had to suddenly move and nose raised high in the air while Akamaru did the same on top of his head. He didn't smell anything, though.
Normally, that wouldn't be anything to worry about. Depending on the direction of the wind, it wasn't at all unusual for Hinata to notice something long before he did, after all. His skill set was more suited for tracking anyway. However, the fact that she remained silent instead of explaining what was going on at once made things a bit more worrisome. Whatever it was that had such an effect on her couldn't be anything good, so he would feel much better if he had a read on the situation as well.
He shared a short, worried look with Shino.
"Hinata?" the other boy asked, the worry in his voice all but undetectable to anyone who didn't know him well. "What's the situation?"
With a shudder, she finally turned to look at them–physically, at least. Considering her Byakugan was still activated, she was clearly keeping track of whatever it was that bothered her.
Kiba didn't like the worried look on her too-pale face at all.
"There is an enemy team ahead of us camping in front of the tower's entrance," she said, her voice sounding much more timid than it had done since the early days of their team. "They have just taken out another team from Konoha."
He grimaced, and judging by the slight increase in the volume of the insects buzzing around them, Shino shared his unease. "Anyone we know? And are they alright?"
He didn't outright ask if they had to rush in and help, but Kiba knew she would understand the unasked question anyway. With how antagonistic some of the foreign guests were towards Konoha, there was no telling in which condition their comrades might be.
She shook her head. "It's one of the older teams, and they seem to be okay. Battered and unconscious, but not too injured."
That's something, at least, he thought, relaxing a bit.
"You are tense," Shino stated from his left. "Do you think we should avoid this team?"
Kiba didn't like it, but he could understand that fighting every enemy they came across simply wasn't an option. The team Hinata had spotted was right in front of the central building they were heading to, though, so the situation was a bit different. After all, it wasn't much of a problem that they would be exhausted and an easier target for potential other teams once the fight was over if they could finish this round of the exams immediately after. Therefore, they could be more reckless at this stage than they could have been earlier on.
If the enemy team in question was strong enough to make Hinata worry this much, on the other hand…
"I do," the girl said, her voice slowly regaining her usual confidence. "Fighting them would be… not good."
"They're that strong?"
Hinata hesitated for a moment. Then, "I saw one of them use Crystal Release."
For a moment, everything stood still; there was no rustling of leaves in the wind, no cries of animals in the distance, and not even the sound of his own breath registered to Kiba.
The moment was gone as fast as it had come as he forcefully regained most of his composure, resolutely ignoring his shaking fists and Akamaru's whine. "Are you sure?"
She swallowed before nodding affirmatively. "He used purple crystals that broke out of the ground to knock all three of his opponents out before using them to immobilize them."
Kiba wasn't sure what he should reply to that. Heck, he wasn't even sure what he felt about the entire situation! Fighting Gouzen, the missing-nin from Iwa he and Shino had encountered during their first C-Rank mission had been an impactful experience, so hearing that there was another member of his supposedly extinct clan just around the corner threw him out of the loop.
He was glad for the distraction Shino offered with his next question, the other boy being clearly as shaken as he was if the slight tremor in his voice was anything to go by even as he managed to focus on the situation at hand:
"I assume we're dealing with a team from Iwa, then?"
It was hard to believe it was possible, but Hinata's face became even more grave as she nodded once more. "It's the team of the Tsuchikage's granddaughter." She paused. Then, "They have five scrolls in their possession, too, six if we include the one they just got, but I can't see any injuries or signs of a hard battle on any of them."
Of course it is, he thought while cursing under his breath. And of course they managed to beat a bunch of teams without much trouble. I mean, we did the same, sure, but that was only one team! Just our damn luck to run into them, isn't it?
For a few seconds, no one spoke as they let that sink in.
It was Shino who broke the silence first:
"We retreat for now," he said, obviously–at least to Kiba–trying to regain his usual cool. "They won't camp outside the entrance forever. Sooner or later, they're going to enter. For now, we keep our distance and wait. We should be able to avoid other teams as long as we remain cautious, so there's no harm done."
Neither he nor Hinata put up a fight at that decision, and without much fanfare, the three of them turned around and delved back into the forest.
So much for us being the first team to arrive at the tower, huh?
Not only is this the longest chapter I've ever written, it's also the one that finally brings the word count to over 400k! Not gonna lie, I'm kinda impressed with myself. Like or dislike the story as much as you want, but I think being dedicated enough to invest the time necessary to reach this point is impressive!
As always, I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Please leave a comment and tell me what you think!