Chapter 12: Stunted Growth

Sasuke's scarlet eyes flickered around, taking in all of the projectiles surrounding him. His feet crunched as he shifted; the ground was covered in a thick layer of long, sharp needles of ice. More were appearing, the floating tendrils coalescing rapidly until he could hardly see through them. With a sharp nod, he grit his teeth and crouched, and a moment later the spikes began to plunge towards him.

He moved with grace and was quickly lost in a cloud of frost, whirling with a kunai in each hand. Within the icy dust he twisted, pivoted, and deflected every shard that would otherwise have struck him. It was a blinding dance, one that had Sasuke lost in the shroud surrounding him. By the time the last of the icicles had flung themselves towards Sasuke the haze had begun to thin. After a moment he was visible again, kneeling on the bed of frost and breathing hard.

"One more time," Sasuke panted, rising shakily. "I was too sloppy that time."

"I can't, Sasuke-san," Haku breathed, leaning heavily against a tree nearby. The girl looked exhausted, although she was smiling and shaking her head. "I don't have enough chakra to do it again. Besides, that's your fourth time in a row without taking a hit."

Despite how tired she was, she looked pleased. "It's only been three days since I started going all out; I can't believe you're already able to keep up."

"Like Naruto always says," Sasuke sighed, smirking as he collapsed into the grass by Haku's tree, "I cheat. As much as I hate to say it, there's no way I'd be able to do it without my Sharingan active."

"Maybe," Haku admitted, still smiling, "But you do have the Sharingan."

Sasuke shrugged, closing his eyes and allowing them to change back to normal. Haku watched him for a moment before tilting her head to the side curiously. "Do you three always train this hard?"

"Um...sure? The three of us usually do individual training and then we spar, and the training has always been rigorous. However, ever since we came back from Nami no Kuni it's been...different to say the least." Sasuke grew quiet for a time, dark eyes fluttering open to watch a few clouds passing by overhead. "It was our first time as a team in a life threatening situation; it turned out to be several of them, actually."

At that, Haku blanched slightly and looked away.

"I think we all realized afterwards that in order to ensure such events don't happen again, we'd have to get far stronger than we are currently."

"Each other? Not yourselves?" Haku asked, glancing back curiously.

Sasuke shrugged again, but said nothing. It had been a rhetorical question, really – Haku understood all too well what it meant to gain strength to protect another. She smiled faintly. "I envy you and your friends. To have such dedication and devotion to one another is truly wonderful. I am sorry that I–"

"We've been over this Haku," Sasuke cut in sharply with a sigh, no anger in his voice.

"All of us have spoken to you about it, and it's in the past. We're alive, and you're on our side now. That's all that matters." Haku looked away again, but nodded after a moment.

"And you can have friends like that too now," he continued, closing his eyes again. "You've got three already."

The female turned back towards him and blinked, tilting her head again. "Three what?" she asked blankly, as if Sasuke's words hadn't registered at all.

"Friends, Haku. We're your friends; Sakura, Naruto and I are. Why else would we be here right now?"

Sometimes it was difficult speaking to the girl, who seemed to have little to no understanding of how normal relationships worked. It had taken them most of a week to convince her that they held no ill will towards her, and it still came up occasionally. Trying to explain how healthy, mutual friendships worked was turning out to be a daunting task.

-Much Later-

Time fell into a pattern for the members of Team Four. Days became weeks, weeks became a month, and that month turned into three months. Everyday the martial artist and kunoichi met up each morning for training, which naturally became more and more intense as time progressed. They both sought to teach the other as much as they could, and this led to certain abilities being unlocked or tapped into by both parties.

Alas, this is referring to Goku and Yugao.

As Team Four trained, they went on a blitzkrieg of missions. Goku's appetite demanded it.

The duo ran through thirty-three D-Rank missions, fourteen C-Rank missions, and of course the borderline A-rank to S-rank Akatsuki mission: a record very impressive and rare for a rookie genin squad, let alone a two man team.

However, you could say it is to be expected considering they have Son Goku and an ANBU mainstay.

The Saiyan had grown increasingly bored of repeating the same things over and over and over again, having practically mastered his own new attack; the Kame Sandan. Not seeing the need to develop anymore ranged ki attacks, Goku focused on his other latent abilities. This is where having a sensei actually paid dividends, as Yugao majored in the art of patience.

As a result, both of them meditated at the end of each training session for fifteen minutes straight. And then Goku unconsciously began...to float. Not exactly fly, but just levitate in the air with no gravitational restrictions. And through meditation, his ki control increased far beyond what it had been upon forming Team Four. He was able to do little small things that he could not even fathom possible.

Through an extension of the Kiai wave, Goku could levitate small rocks with his mind and control. He also discovered that he could vaguely sense the intentions or emotional state of anyone near his locale, finding this out upon his interactions with a certain someone. The Saiyan could also use his ki as a shield, able to block attacks with force rather than direct contact. Defense, which is something that Yugao considered not necessarily a weakness but definitely not something formidable about him, was the main point of emphasis in his recent training.

Hax, defense, and versatility.

This also coincided with the fact that his raw power growth began to stagnate once again. There was nothing that served to make him stronger beyond pushing his own limits, as there was no genuine challenge or threat to him that would logically fight him. The Hokage was above sparring, and even then he had his doubts.

One Punch Saiyan, an unintended crossover event, could very well take place if he didn't severely pull his punches. It was ludicrous how much he benefited from training in comparison to literally everyone else...was he an alien?

He grossly outmatched his sensei in terms of every physical attribute you can think of. Especially raw power, which he severely outclassed her and over ninety-nine percent of all shinobi. The only thing others had over him was experience, but Goku was literally an antithesis to that in the way he could adapt on the fly.

He was born to fight.

Yet Goku felt he could do so much MORE, as if he was not even scratching the surface of his full potential.

And unknown to him, his growth was stunted due to his surroundings being fodder compared to his unhinged ability.

Even though Hinata wasn't apart of his team, she was the closest thing he had to a teammate and thus he demanded the story to talk about her.

The girl increased her chakra reserves drastically due to training with Goku consistently, prompting her to be far more physically adept than ever before. So much so that she was faster than any of the rookie ten besides Goku himself, and the third fastest genin Konoha had overall. By mimicking Goku's ability to unleash his latent ki, Hinata through incredible control and arduous pain, managed to reserve the Jyuken.

Instead of blocking her tenketsu, she unlocked them. While this was unrelated to the Hachimon, the effect and idea were very similar. Unfortunately for her the boost was not particularly safe to use for a long duration of time due to the threat it presents to her chakra network in of itself. If she overdid it she could literally blow a circuit and end her own existence, which Goku would not enjoy.

Therefore, Hinata opted to leave her Chakra Burst, or Chakra Basuto Modo as a clear last resort.

The last development came in the form of her beginning her attempt to grasp the Hakke Kusho technique. Vacuum Palm.

It was easily much more difficult to perform since she was "exiled" from her clan and did not have an instructor. However, Son Goku with the Kiai ability was the next best thing, as the attacks only differed in terms of the energy source executing it. Oh, and Goku's reservoir of energy far outstrips Hinata's, but that goes without saying.

Yugao herself had also improved due to the Goku effect. Everything she was capable of before, she was basically twice what she used to be. Beyond that, the team chemistry between the two was insane. They began to realize that they actually complemented each other well in a fight, with Goku being the light and herself being the shadow. One puts you in misery, the other takes you out of your misery. One is warm, the other is cold.

Goku is loud, Yugao is silent.

Goku fought with good intentions, Yugao fought with bad intentions.

One merciful, the other ruthless.

None of the above mattered to the falcon that flew into Konoha, carrying a scroll on its back.

-The Next Day-

"The Chunin Exams are coming up in a week or less. As a jonin instructor, I'm required to go to a meeting to declare if I think you are ready to take it or not."

Goku stared at his sensei in surprise and anticipation. "So are you putting me in?"

"Of course. In the end, the decision belongs to you, but you and I both know you aren't going to miss this opportunity," Yugao stated curtly.

"Heh, of course not!" Goku said excitedly, his blood flowing at the thought of testing himself against the best of the best. "I just hope there'll be someone strong."

"Don't get your hopes up," Yugao quickly pumped the brakes. "You're one of a kind, nobody should be able to beat you. That being said keep your guard up and never become complacent or be too high on yourself. Ego always kills, even those who are gifted."

"Right, I won't let you down Yugao-sensei," Goku exclaimed with a grin on his face, punching his left fist into his right palm. "Now go ahead and sign me up."

"I know you won't," his sensei replied before making her favorite hand sign and disappearing in a swirl of leaves via the Shunsin.

-Later-

Sakura watched as Naruto smirked while ducking under Sasuke's punch, lashing out with a spinning hook kick that nearly slammed into Sasuke's skull. The young Genin blocked the strike with his palm, which revealed the white bandages around Sasuke's hands, before raising his foot quickly in an attempt to kick Naruto in the chin. Naruto however avoided the blow by tilting his head backwards and shifting his weight, making him transfer almost naturally into a back-flip.

Naruto had definitely improved his taijutsu over the course of the three months of training. However, that was not all of the improvements Naruto had made. He began to learn the art of fuinjutsu along with Sakura, acquiring the knowledge of basic seals and most recently resistance seals, the very thing behind the Yondaime being so fast. He also learned four new jutsu after mastering the basics of wind ninjutsu.

Futon: Shinkugyoku no Jutsu, a jutsu where the user takes a deep breath and then exhales several small blasts of wind chakra in such a manner that they are dispersed over an expansive range, enough to make it difficult to avoid them entirely without taking any damage. Due to the properties of this technique, the expelled blasts are capable of piercing into and potentially through an opponent's flesh when they collide with it. He also learned the Futon: Renkudan, a highly compressed air ball that originates from the user's stomach and is released from its mouth. Depending on the user, the expelled air ball is mighty enough to hollow out the ground, and even level an entire forest. Because of the large quantity of chakra kneaded into it, it explodes the moment it reaches its target, dealing an enormous amount of damage, as well as levelling anything in its path.

However, the next two jutsu were probably his favorite, mainly because they saved him money. They were the Shuriken Kage Bunshin no Jutsu and its counterpart, the Kunai Kage Bunshin no Jutsu. You could throw one shuriken or kunai and suddenly, after performing the jutsu, 100 lethal projectiles could be upon your opponent.

However, Naruto was obviously not the only one to have grown. Sasuke had become unusually adept with the basics of Raiton and was well on his way into Katon. He had learned new jutsu too, one Katon and two Raiton. Raiton: Raikou Shunshin, Hachidori no Mure no Jutsu which after activation the technique causes various sparks of lightning to appear in the air. Within moments they transform into humming birds, giving off a loud humming sound. The humming birds will then rush the opponent, and can spread out to hit multiple targets, creating between 5 and 10 birds. He also learned the Katon: Karyūdan. Kakashi even taught him a few genjutsu to go along with the Sharingan, although all of them required eye-contact. And above all else, the Last Uchiha began to work on what would be his signature jutsu in the future. After reviewing the juicy details behind the infamous Raiton no Yoroi and seeing what Son Goku can do with his ki, he began looking into ways to not only channel Raiton throughout the cells of his body to provide an aura for himself but also outlet them the same way Goku can release a blast of ki. Though this technique is nowhere close to being perfected and battle applicable, the Uchiha's chakra reserves have increased drastically as a result. His reserves were far above any other genin in Konoha (barring Hinata due to her training with Goku). On top of that, he managed to copy loads of miscellaneous jutsu from his sensei due to his Sharingan.

He also learned how to release the Kaimon gate if the situation absolutely called for it as a result of his intense physical training.

Sakura had probably improved the most out of them. She had mastered water walking and the basics of Suiton manipulation, learning three jutsu in the element, along with one new Doton jutsu. The three Suiton jutsu were Suiton: Hahonryu which created water in the user's hand that could fired off at high speeds, Suiton: Suikusari no Jutsu, and Suiton: Mizu Tate no Jutsu. The first and only Doton jutsu was Doton: Doryūheki, which was a defensive technique. Sakura had also improved her raw strength, taking to wearing weights on her ankles and wrists after seeing how fast Naruto and Sasuke had become. This change happened after Kakashi gave her a iryo ninjutsu book. She had taken to it like a fish in water, learning some basic medical Ninjutsu, and buying a book that gave her detailed explanation on human anatomy, along with more medical ninjutsu knowledge. The book apparently was written by none other than Tsunade Senju. She had also progressed quickly in genjutsu with help from Sasuke and her chakra reserves increased half way as much as Sasuke's had.

Naruto frowned as Sasuke's dark orbs became crimson. 'He was following me without using his Sharingan huh? Let's see if he can keep that up once I kick it up a notch,' The blonde thought, still refusing to take off his fuinjutsu-sealed weights.

Naruto shot forwards, going full speed, or the closest thing he could with his Resistance Seals still active. Sasuke smirked, his brain registering a right hook coming in before his opponent launched the attack. The prediction ability of the Sharingan was extremely scary. Naruto launched the right hook. However, Sasuke knew what to expect, ducking under the hook and launching a right hook with unnatural ease.

Rolling out of the way, he had no chance of avoiding the vicious taijutsu combination Sasuke immediately unleashed upon him, something the Uchiha dubbed the Shishi Rendan. At the end of his taijutsu combination, Sasuke took a split second to channel Raiton chakra through his left fist.

Naruto's eyes widened, but he knew how to respond.

With whatever came naturally to him.

Naruto shifted his weight to the right, and allowed his body to fall that way spinning away from Sasuke's Raiton infused punch before launching a punch in retaliation. Sasuke's eyes widened as he realized he had been played. So it seemed that even the Sharingan couldn't predict everything. Sasuke grabbed a kunai and jumped away, barely avoiding Naruto's punch. He was sure if Naruto took off his seals it would have connected.

Sasuke charged his kunai with Raiton and stood in anticipation for a moment before charging, appearing as a blur to Sakura. She frowned as she noticed it. Her eyes still couldn't keep up Sasuke's speed and she feared what would happen if she fought Naruto or Sasuke and forced them to use anything close to their full speed. She probably wouldn't even be able to see them move. Nonetheless Sasuke swung his kunai towards Naruto's neck as he grew closer, knowing he'd evade it. Naruto's eyes narrowed as he noticed this, ducking under the swipe before leaning his weight forwards and pushing off with his legs, shooting off like a rocket towards Sasuke.

The distance was too small for Sasuke to evade physically. Naruto's headbutt connected with Sasuke's gut, throwing the Uchiha back from the amount of force Naruto had put into it. Sasuke landed on his feet however, rubbing his stomach and groaning.

He frowned, placing his specialized kunai back in it's holster. Then he weaved through hand-seals, his face evidently showing focus. "Raiton: Raimei!" Electricity gathered in Sasuke's hands before he clapped them onto the ground, causing a massive burst of lightning.

Naruto's eyes narrowed before they widened as massive currents of electricity traveled through the ground, tearing it to shreds. Naruto growled, biting his finger before slamming his hand onto the ground. He was happy he kept the formula on his hand at all times, even if the effects were dangerous.

"Bakuhatsu Ishi!" Naruto roared.

The seal glowed before a massive explosion shook the ground, making Naruto's hand tingle as it sent rocks flying into the air. The blonde frowned as he stood on one. Sure, he didn't have to keep a seal formula on his hand, in fact it was undoubtedly dangerous, however it had saved him in many spars. True, he could just make hand signs and then make it explode by signaling chakra to it, but that seemed like too much work in a split second. His way was so much easier. Just bite and go. Then again he did have to get better Chakra control to even use the exercise. He had to use some of his own chakra to protect his hand and even more chakra to make it work. Too much chakra and the explosion wouldn't be as large, but too little and he'd damage his hand. In all honesty, he still hadn't gotten the right amount yet, hence the tingle of pain.

As the smoke cleared Naruto touched down, staring across the crater he had created to see Sasuke staring back at him. They both smirked. Neither of them had even begun to go all out yet as they wanted the other to make the first move. However, eventually one of them would force the other to go all out, which in turn would force them both to go all out.

Naruto and Sasuke were about to continue before Kakashi appeared, standing next to the crater. "That's enough. You two have shown me your progress and I must say both of you are excellent, already chunin-material if I'm honest. However, this isn't the time to go all out, nor is it the time to test each other's limits. You DO have an exam tomorrow."

Sasuke frowned but relented and relaxed, still regulating small amounts of Raiton chakra throughout his body. It was a small chakra control exercise that would also help him, as some metaphorical old man would say, become one with lightning. By doing this for two of the last three months with Kakashi's guidance, Raiton had become very natural for him to channel and his body became attuned to it. However, it did cost him chakra, so his reserves had actually improved as well from doing this, as he did this at virtually all times.

All just to try to nip at Goku's boots.

"Speaking of exams, you guys all signed the forms right?"

Sakura nodded, handing hers to Kakashi. Naruto and Sasuke followed suit.

"Good. Be at the academy tomorrow at ten in the morning, room 304. The exams begin then. Dismissed."

Kakashi disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

Naruto frowned. "I wish he'd teach us that jutsu!"

-With The Saiyan-

"Wow Hinata! You really do have a thing for cinnamon rolls," Goku exclaimed. He had learned that this was her favorite food and he had seen her eat one or two before, but he had never seen her eat this many this fast.

The girl stopped eating for a second as her face turned slightly red. In a second, though, the redness faded and a teasing smile appeared on the girl's face.

"True, but you're just as bad when you're hungry." She informed him.

"That's different, you can't just eat a few bowls or plates of food and not continue," the teen retorted.

"And you can't just eat a few cinnamon rolls, no difference," She replied.

A moment of silence passed before the two genin started to laugh.

Conversation carried on from there as the two discussed anything that came to mind: from their daily intense training sessions to things Goku planned to do later in his life to a few books that Hinata was reading to the Chunin exams to other trivial things. The pair talked freely with no limits and it was during this conversation that Goku brought it back to a relevant topic.

"Hey Hinata, you ready for the exams?" He asked.

"Hmm…" Hinata mumbled in thought, a smile appearing on her face. "As long as we don't have to fight you, I like my team's chances. So yes, I am ready."

"Good good," Goku stated with relief. "It would really suck to be there by myself without my best friend."

"If it wasn't for the past few months you might've been alone," she claimed, causing the boy to raise an eyebrow. "Seriously."

"So what happened since then?" was the only natural follow up.

"A cute boy came back into my life and pushed me to my limits over and over," she told him, her eyes looking straight into his ebony irises.

"Really?" The Saiyan asked with curiosity and a minute hint of jealousy. "Who is this person?"

"It's you silly," Hinata replied with a pretty smile, lightly punching him on the arm. "Who else could it be?"

He then started to chuckle. "Uh, I dunno. Now I have another question for you Hinata."

Seeing Hinata look at him expectantly, the Saiyan proceeded.

"Why?" The boy asked, now looking a bit confused. "Why do I mean so much to you?"

"After you left all those years ago, it forced me to stop being timid. Your confidence is contagious," The Hyuga said in an appreciative tone. "Your nindo is admirable, and it makes me want to be a better me. Without your guidance and company there's no way I'd ever be able to get to this point. Even through the toughest training sessions, you've been there the whole time and encouraged me to keep going higher and higher, even when I didn't feel like moving."

"R-Really?" Goku asked. His cheeks were turned a bit pink. "Wow. I didn't know I was all that, I just believe in giving it all I got. Arigato Hinata!"

"Douitashimashite Goku," Hinata responded with her own blush.

The two friends continued to talk from there, even after they finished their food. After another hour, they got up and walked out of the bakery. They then walked towards the movie theater, getting into it just in time with reserved seating for noble clans. Since Hinata was with him, Goku managed to get into the VIP slots for free, able to see the movie better than most.

After enjoying it for the next two hours, they walked out of the theater and back onto the streets of Konoha.

"Well that was fun!" Goku said, a sizable smile on his face.

"Hai," Hinata replied, her joy permeating through her body language.

"So I guess I'll see you tomorrow?" The teen asked.

"Of course," the girl replied. She then walked up and gave Goku a sincere hug, feeling his ever maturing body in the process. "See you tomorrow Goku-kun."

The hug no longer surprised the Saiyan, as he quickly returned it, feeling his best friends ever maturing bust. "See you tomorrow then, Hinata-chan."

-With Yugao-

"Alright, everyone, I think it's about time to start," Sarutobi said. addressing the room of jonin. "As well all know, it is time for this year's Chunin Exams."

All eyes focused on the Hokage. Each shinobi in the room were giving him their full attention.

Sarutobi began the meeting by discussing the nature of the Chunin Exams. Once he finished, he started to go into the true purpose.

"Now, are there any jonin sensei that believe that their genin squads are ready?"

One by one, jonin stood and gave their recommendations. After about seven recommendations, a jonin with bushy eyebrows and green spandex on stood up and gave the Hokage a thumbs up.

"I, Maito Gai, recommend my wonderful students, Rock Lee, Hyuga Neji, and Tenten, for this year's exams to showcase the power of youth!" He proclaimed with a grin.

His teeth shined after his words.

The whole room sighed.

After a few more recommendations, it was now time for the sensei's sitting in the back: the sensei's of the rookie ten.

"I, Uzuki Yugao, recommend Son Goku for this year's exams," Yugao proclaimed affirmatively.

Umino Iruka, one of the few chunin in the room, gasped. His attention was now focused on Yugao.

"I, Hatake Kakashi, recommend Uzumaki Naruto, Uchiha Sasuke, and Haruno Sakura for this year's exams." Kakashi stated right after her.

"I, Sarutobi Asuma, recommend Nara Shikamaru, Yamanaka Ino, and Akimichi Choji for this year's exams." Asuma added.

"I, Yuhi Kurenai, recommend Inuzuka Kiba, Hyuga Hinata, and Aburame Shino, for this year's exams." Kurenai finished.

"Interesting," Sarutobi said to himself with an amused smile. "Very well then. Then-"

"Hokage-sama, I beg that you reconsider your decision to let these genin teams in!" Iruka spoke up.

All eyes turned to the academy instructor in the room.

"Teams Four, Seven, Eight, and Ten are still rookie genin and they've only just started their careers as shinobi. I suggest they wait a year to develop further as shinobi. By then they should be ready to take on the exam."

Hiruzen sighed. "While I understand your logic, it is not against any law or rules for rookies to participate in the exams. If their sensei's believe they are ready, then they shall be able to participate."

Iruka, in response to the Hokage's words, turned around to face the three sensei's of rookie genin once again. "Then I ask you three to reconsider the recommendations and give them more time to develop!"

"Relax Iruka," Yugao replied. "I would not have recommended my genin if I wasn't confident he was ready."

"They're kids though!" He retorted.

"I was younger than them all when I earned my promotion," The part-time ANBU reinforced.

"I was the same age of the youngest students in the academy when I passed the exams," Kakashi added nonchalantly.

"They aren't you! They aren't like any of you!" Iruka shouted. "Naruto's not, Sasuke's not, Shino's not, Goku's not; none of them are! People always die in these exams: you all should know that very well!"

Yugao noticed that Iruka's words were more filled with concern than anger. The ANBU member was about to respond and try to quell his worries and assuage his fears, when the Hatake spoke up first.

"Iruka, the second they passed the genin exam, these 'kids' left your authority and are now under ours. Team Four, Seven, Eight or Ten are not your teams, they are ours. If they're truly ready, then we would know it. Don't try to act as if you know better than us," The one-eyed shinobi spoke sharply.

Iruka's eyes widened. He opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. He had no counter argument nor rebuttal.

"I think that's enough of that," Hiruzen spoke up, gaining everyone's attention.

The Hokage continued to discuss details of the exams to everyone. After he finished, he decided to tell everyone one the last bit of information.

"Before we end this, I would like you all to let your genin know to be on their best behavior. Shinobi from other villages have already started to arrive in Konoha," He told everyone.

With those words, the Hokage walked out of the meeting room. Everyone was dismissed.

-Later On That Day-

Naruto smirked as Konohamaru, Moegi, and Udon hid behind the fake sheet of paper that was similar to the gate. However, their feet and hair was showing. Once again, they had terrible disguises. The blonde was about to call them out before Sakura walked up.

"Hey Naruto," Sakura said, surprised to see him here. "What's up?"

Naruto turned to Sakura. "Oh, I'm playing ninja with Konohamaru, Moegi, and Udon."

Sakura blanched. A ninja playing ninja? How childish.

"Speaking of which…" Naruto trailed off, appearing before the sheet the academy trio were hiding behind. He ripped off the sheet, smirking as he did so. "Found you."

Konohamaru smiled. "I would expect no less from my eternal rival." Naruto's face grew stiff.

The child then noticed Sakura who was watching them with an amused expression on her face, however it did have the hint of annoyance.

"Hey boss is she your…" Konohamaru trailed off, lifting his pinkie. Naruto's eyes widened before he noticed Sakura's eyes become hidden by her hair, and her hair begin to rise. Naruto shook his head before she could do anything.

"No, she isn't."

Sakura was about to yell when she heard this. That was…really mature of Naruto. She looked at him with a sad smile. She guessed the fact she wasn't his girlfriend was her fault. In retrospect she probably should have picked the guy who noticed her than the guy who didn't. She was too infatuated with Sasuke's dark and cool demeanor.

Was she still like that? Gradually it would seem the answer is less and less...

Sakura still had to punish the brat for thinking that though.

Sakura rushed towards Konohamaru whose eyes widened before he ran, followed by Moegi and Udon who too were not safe from Sakura's wrath. Only Naruto was, because he said she wasn't. However, that didn't mean he was going to not watch this hilarious event take place. He easily jogged behind them, making sure he wasn't too close, yet not too far away.

Konohamaru somehow managed to keep ahead of Sakura for a while, heading into one the more unused streets, although it was kept well before he ran into someone. Said person wore a black, baggy, full body suit with a red and yellow circle on the front. He also wore a black hood which covered his head completely, and had cat-like ears and his forehead protector on his forehead. He sported a triangular face-paint design.

Sakura's eyes widened as Konohamaru slammed into the person, while holding Moegi and Udon back.

There was a beautiful girl behind him. She had teal eyes and blonde hair, which was gathered into four ponytails. She wore a single, light purple-colored, off-the-shoulders garment that extended halfway down her thighs, with a scarlet sash tied around her waist. A fishnet was worn over her shoulders and legs, specifically on her right calf and her left thigh. She wore a black forehead protector around her neck. A quick glance at the forehead protector showed they were both from Sunagakure.

The male picked Konohamaru up by the scarf, slowly strangling him.

"Hey brat what the hell is wrong with you!? You ran into me for no reason! How about you watch where you're going!"

The girl sighed. "Calm down Kankuro, we don't have time for this."

The presumed Kankuro turned and glared at the girl. "No way Temari, I'm gonna teach this brat a lesson."

Sakura put her hands up. "Please, it was an accident."

Kankuro rounded on her. "Shut up," he said, raising his fist to hit Konohamaru. Naruto decided to interfere.

The blonde blurred past Sakura in a yellow flash, putting his hand on her shoulder as he did so.

"You should stop," Naruto said casually.

Temari's eyes scanned Naruto, smirking as she did so, apparently thinking Naruto was cute.

Kankuro turned to Naruto, his eyes alight with annoyance. "Who the hell do you think you are? You're just some overgrown pipsqueak."

Naruto smirked. "A pipsqueak who will embarrass you."

Kankuro's eyes narrowed as he dropped Konohamaru, who ran behind Naruto.

"Naruto-nii's gonna kick your ass!" The young boy yelled.

Kankuro growled, grabbing the large object covered in wrappings on his back. He shrugged it off, before slamming it on the ground. "Care to repeat that, brat…" the man whispered dangerously.

Temari's eyes narrowed. "Kankuro, we don't have time for this."

Kankuro smirked, as did Naruto. "Don't worry, this will only take a second."

Suddenly Naruto disappeared, reappearing behind Kankuro with a kunai to the teen's neck. The latter hadn't even seen him move.

"You're right," Naruto said. "It will only take a second," he said, his voice dropping dangerously low. "Threaten him again."

Kankuro's and Temari's eyes widened at the burst of speed.

And then two pebbles shot from a nearby tree, one hitting Kankuro and Naruto catching the other. They people gathered looked over to see Sasuke sitting on the tree, his customary scowl on along with his calm, cool demeanor.

"Get lost."

Temari smirked again, looking at Sasuke. She liked what she was seeing.

Kankuro sighed as Naruto backed away, walking back over to Konohamaru and kneeling to get eye-level with the boy.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

Konohamaru nodded. Naruto smiled.

"Good, pay attention next time though, okay?"

"Will do Naruto-nii."

Naruto smiled, standing before he turned to Kankuro who was putting the object back on his back. "It's a good thing you didn't hit him, for your case. He is the Hokage's grandson."

Kankuro's eyes widened to unfathomable sizes. "W-W-What!?"

Temari sighed. "Good going Kankuro," she said sarcastically.

"You're a disgrace to our village."

Everyone turned to see a teen standing upside down on a tree. The teen was a little shorter than the average height of males his age. He had fair skin and short, spiky, red hair. He had pale, blue-green eyes. He had no distinctive pupils or eyebrows. He had two very notable traits in his appearance: firstly, the tanuki-like black eye rings, and the kanji for love that was on the left side of his forehead. He wore a full black body suit with a t-shirt-like sleeves. He wore a white cloth over his right shoulder and the left side of his hips, and a wide leather band system over the left shoulder and right side of his hips. The gourd on his back was held up by the leather band. There was a black forehead protector over the band, marking him as a shinobi, specifically one from Suna.

"Have you forgotten the reason we came all the way here?"

"I-I know, I-I mean, they challenged us, they started the whole thing really. See, here's what happened-" Kankuro tried to say.

"Shut up," the teen interrupted. "Or I'll kill you."

Naruto and Sasuke tensed, the teen didn't seem to take notice or care.

"Ah, right, I was totally out of line. I'm sorry Gaara, I was totally out of line," Kankuro stuttered.

"I'm sorry, for any trouble he caused," the blood haired teen said coldly.

Gaara then turned to look at Naruto and Sasuke. 'These two are people to watch out for. The blonde is fast, and the other one is skilled, I can see it in his posture.'

The then teen turned into sand. The Uchiha's eyes widened before he hopped down to land next to Naruto. The sand flew towards Kankuro before solidifying back into the form of Sabaku no Gaara.

A Shunshin with sand.

"Let's go," the youngest brother said. "We didn't come here to play games."

"Alright sure, I get it." Kankuro said.

They began to walk away, but Sakura still had some questions for them.

"Hold on." They kept walking. "Hey!" They stopped.

"What?" Temari called.

Sakura smiled. "You three are here for the Chunin Exams aren't you? That's the only reason I would think you were here, as I doubt you're here for a mission or just because we're allies."

Temari smirked, turning, as did Gaara and Kankuro, although the smirks did not go on their faces.

"Well aren't you the perceptive one?" Temari mocked. "Yes, we're from Sunagakure, and we're here for the Chunin Exams, what of it?"

Before Sakura could answer, Naruto answered the question for her. "Just wondering whose asses we have to kick."

Temari smirked, as did Kankuro.

Kankuro wanted payback against the blonde first and then the raven haired one, but Temari just wanted to see some interesting competitors. She had found them in this team. However, she also realized the threat they could pose. They seemed like a dangerous team. The only one who didn't seem dangerous was the kunoichi, although Temari knew better than to judge a book by its cover. In all honesty, perhaps the team as it was could possibly beat them, if it weren't for Gaara.

Gaara slaps everybody.

They turned, beginning to walk away before Sasuke stopped them this time. "Hey, you! Identify yourself." They stopped, turning around.

"You mean me?" Temari asked.

"No him, the guy with the gourd on his back."

"My name is Sabaku no Gaara. I'm curious about you too, what is your name?"

"Uchiha Sasuke."

The air instantly tensed at that, and a gust of wind flew by.

"So he's here. That could prove troublesome," Naruto heard in his mind.

'What do you want fuzzball?'

The Kyuubi growled. "Shut the hell up."

Naruto mentally rolled his eyes before he zoned back in on the conversation. Gaara turned to him. "You. I would like to know your name as well."

"Uzumaki Naruto," the blonde said with a smirk.

The air tensed again, possibly even more.

-With The Saiyan-

Goku had left the movie theatre in a great mood. Even though he had spent plenty of time with Hinata before, each time hit more and more differently. He was so damn happy, beyond the norm for even him. Just like his ki could be felt most prominently at the core of his body, he had an intangible tingling whenever he saw, or thought about her for an extended period of time.

He didn't really know how to the describe it: the feeling was completely foreign to him.

The Saiyan was in such a grandous mood that he didn't pay attention as he walked back home, leading to the Saiyan bumping into someone: a boy that had war paint on, wearing a black full body suit with a hood and carrying on his back some object wrapped up in white bandages.

"Sorry about that," Goku said to the other guy before turning to go back on his way.

"You little shrimp! Watch where you're going!"

Goku's eyes narrowed. "Look, I already apologized. Again I'm sorry."

The Kame style practitioner started to walk away once again, but the other guy strolled in front of him and blocked his path.

"Not gonna happen kid. Shrimps like you need to learn to give respect to their superiors!" He informed him, cracking his knuckles.

"Get out of my way sir," Goku retorted, trying to maintain his manners.

"Kankuro, don't make a scene!"

The two turned their heads in the direction Goku had come from. They both saw a girl wearing a white garment that went from her shoulders to her thighs. Temari.

Goku then noticed that the guy in front of him, Kankuro, was wearing the same forehead protector. Which village was this?

"I'm not starting anything Temari! I'm just giving this punk a life lesson." Kankuro informed her.

"Don't think there's anything you can teach me," the Saiyan replied with a grin.

Kankuro turned back to the palm-tree haired boy, his eyes red with anger. He immediately moved a hand to the object on his back and started to unwrap it. Goku in response slowly slipped into a casual fighting stance.

He then cleansed his mind and started to pay attention to the environment around him, ready for any possible attack. It was at this moment that he sensed the ki of a third figure that hadn't made himself known.

"Is that guy with you?" He asked the Suna shinobi, pointing to a nearby tree.

Kankuro and Temari took a look at the tree and were surprised at the sight. Standing underneath a branch on the tree was none other than Gaara.

"G-Gaara!" Kankuro gasped.

"This is the last time you will embarrass us." The boy, Gaara, spoke in a monotone, cold voice. The makeup wearing shinobi was about to respond, but Gaara cut him off. "Say another word and I will kill you."

Kankuro said nothing: only shivering in response.

Goku watched the scene with the sudden primal urge to kill the one producing such killing intent. He was the apex predator, not him.

The boy with red hair disappeared in a spiral of sand and reappeared on the ground in front of Goku. Up close, the Saiyan noticed that the boy had the kanji for love written on his forehead.

"I apologize for my brother's stupidity," He told the extraterrestrial.

"It's fine, no worries." Goku replied, building up his ki slightly in case the creepy sand guy tried anything. "Who are you?"

"My name is Sabaku no Gaara," The blonde stated. "I'm curious about your name as well."

"Mine?" The Saiyan questioned, then with a smirk a replied. "I'm Son Goku."

"Son Goku…" Gaara repeated the name. "I'm also curious as to how you were able to sense me. Very few shinobi are capable of doing so."

"I have better senses than your average shinobi," Goku shrugged, talking casually but not dropping his guard. "I meditate a lot and can sense the life energy of anything around me."

"Meditation…" Gaara seemed disappointed with the answer. He continued to stare at Goku until a small, sadistic grin appeared on his face. "I sense a deep well of power within you. You aren't like me but at the same time you are like me."

"…What?" Goku gave him a strange look. 'What is he talking about?'

"Are you participating in the Chunin Exams?" Gaara asked.

"Of course I am," Goku replied. "What is it to you?"

"Oh nothing. I look forward to seeing you then," The redhead stated, his grin wider than before. He then turned away and started to walk. "Kankuro, Temari — we're leaving."

The other Suna shinobi nodded obediently before following him out of fear. Kankuro made sure to glare at the Saiyan before he and the other shinobi disappeared.

'What's his problem?' Goku asked himself. 'I may have to take him down a peg.'

The Saiyan continued to walk towards his apartment. Even when he arrived home, his mind replayed the events that he just witnessed.

'What did he mean we're different but the same? We're completely different people.'

-The Day of the Exams-

Team 7 were just hanging out on their usual meeting place, a bridge in the middle of the village. They had lunch and generally enjoyed themselves, things were much better since Sasuke stopped being — quick so much of — a hard ass.

Haku and Sasuke were talking while Sakura was watching Naruto practice his fuuinjutsu with intrigue.

"I thought Kakashi-sensei was over his lateness issues but it appears as if it was wishful thinking..." said Naruto with a sigh. Sakura just giggled a little and patted him on the shoulder before beginning to speak.

"I agree, he always has some lame excuse! However, it is Chunin Exam week so he may have important business to run, after all he is a jonin. They don't always foresee what they need to do," the rosette said disarmingly. Naruto just smiled and shook his head.

"Why is it so hard to stay angry at people when you try to calm me down Sakura-chan?" He said, somewhat jokingly.

Sakura however just blushed a little and smiled. "Who knows, maybe I'm just a good influence on you Naruto."

Naruto just laughed and looked towards the sky.

"So, do you think you're ready Sasuke-san?" Haku asked while playing with her long straight hair, looking at the Last Uchiha.

"Of course Haku," Sasuke responded with the usual "to cool to show emotion" face. "With the training we did, I expect nothing less than to be promoted by the end of it."

"You sure our training together was enough?" The kunoichi questioned, doubt creeping into her mind. Ever since Zabuza had been killed, Team 7 and mainly Sasuke filled that void for her. Because of this, she didn't want to disappoint one of her most precious people at anything she did, especially training.

"Have a little faith," Sasuke replied, looking into Haku's coal black eyes with his own. "Without you I admit I wouldn't have been so assured about this. But you've helped me achieve the third stage of my Sharingan."

"Really?" The girl questioned with a hint of a blush on her cheeks. "I've been that helpful?"

"Definitely, that was never in question Haku. You've done plenty for me since you came to the village, and I...I'm thankful for it. I'm glad we didn't kill you." He said almost casually, not used to saying such simple phrases like "thank you" or that he was "glad" for something.

Haku however was at a loss for words. She had no idea she had such an impact on the boy's life in just the 3 months she had known him, and she definitely wasn't aware he thought so highly of her in his own "Sasuke" way.

It made her heart soar to here those words from him and she couldn't help but hug him, "Arigatou Sasuke-kun."

The Uchiha, not used to displaying any sort of affection ever since that happened, used his common sense and wrapped his arms around her as well; returning the hug.

"Yo." Came a lazy voice from above. The Genin turned to see their sensei perched on one of the arches of the bridge.

"Hey sensei, what's the excuse this time? I assume you have one?" Naruto said extremely bored. He'd waited long enough.

"I was going through last minute preparations for the Chunin exams. I came to remind you guys that the exams will be taking place in room 304 today at the academy," He said. And then he was gone, again.

"Well, guess we better get right to it then... Sakura-chan, Sasuke, lets go." Naruto said, earning nods from the both of them.

However as Naruto and Sakura departed immediately, Haku caught Sasuke's attention by throwing a quick barrage of senbon at him.

Using his sharpened reactions, Sasuke deflected those senbon with a kunai. Looking back at the approaching smirking girl who shot the needles at him, Sasuke felt a blush coming when the deadly but gorgeous Haku walked over to him.

"Good luck Sasuke-kun," Haku whispered in his ear before swiftly and sweetly kissing him on both cheeks.

Feeling warmth rise to his cheeks, he quickly nodded at her before turning the other way and leaving to follow his team.

-With Team 7 Moments Later-

With that they walked through the door. Naruto rolled his eyes and turned, only to see Kakashi looking at them.

"Good, you all came."

"Of course," Sakura said. "Why wouldn't we? This is our chance."

Kakashi nodded in agreement. "So, are you all ready? This is the last time I'll see you guys in a while."

They nodded.

Kakashi smiled. "Good. I've never been one for good motivational speeches so I'll just say these two things. You guys are the best genin team I've ever trained, and good luck."

Naruto blanched. "We're the only genin team you've ever trained."

Kakashi eye-smiled.

"Kick some fucking ass for me," Kakashi said.

They nodded and turned. "Will do."

Kakashi disappeared in a puff of smoke as Naruto stood in front of the door, Sasuke and Sakura at his side.

"You guys ready?"

"Hai."

"Let's kick some ASS!" They all roared at the same time they walked through the threshold.

-With The Saiyan-

The lone genin of Team Four walked up the academy: the location for the start of the Chunin Exams.

He walked inside and headed up the stairs towards the third floor. Not even registering the genjutsu's existence, Goku continued walking up another set of stairs and avoided the commotion on the second floor.

On the third floor, he found the room for the exam. He also noticed another person standing outside: his sensei.

"Yugao-sensei?" Goku asked.

The sensei of Team Four smiled. "Sensei's were required to make sure their teams arrived. I'm just doing my job, everyone knew you'd show up. I know you don't need any further words or motivation, so I'll spare the effort. Get in there and show the world what you're capable of."

Yugao then used her patented Shunshin and disappeared in another poof of smoke.

"Finally, I can test myself against the best," Goku declared, doing his routine stretches before walking into the room.

It was now time for the Chunin Exams!