April 20th 2002:

Shadows crawled across every nook and cranny in one spot of the forest in particular. An abundance of starlight and moonlight twinkled downwards upon the Land-Of-Fire and brightened the entire nation.

Seated on the grass of an isolated area in the woods, Ryomen Sukuna leaned his back on the trunk of an old oak tree. An exhausted breath escaped his mouth from the aftermath of his training session.

Five days had passed since his arduous mission to the Land-Of-Snow. Team seven had returned to the village at last, resuming their daily quota of lower-ranked missions and the occasional high-ranked task.

During his battle against Doto Kazahana, Sukuna had landed three Black-Flashes on the man. These three Black-Flashes had given Sukuna an upgrade to his overall understanding of his cursed-energy.

Rock-Lee and Might-Gai had also heard about his adventurous mission to the Land-Of-Snow and had gifted him a second green-themed outfit to reward him. Sukuna snorted at that thought.

Yesterday, after they had completed their missions, Kakashi Hatake had told him, Naruto Uzumaki, and Sasuke Uchiha about the date of the infamous Chunin-Exams—Konoha would host it in two weeks.

Much to their surprise and shock, Kakashi had nominated them to take on this strenuous exam. Sukuna remembered how much Naruto had shaken in excitement and how Sasuke had smirked in anticipation.

Sukuna was somewhat thrilled about the idea of fighting new opponents and seeing what type of abilities other Shinobi used. However, Kakashi had warned them of the many dangers of the exam.

Despite these warnings, team seven had remained unconcerned about the potential difficulty of the Chunin-Exams. Sukuna rose to his feet, ventured out of the huge forest, and then returned to his home.

(-)

Bright sunlight drowned the entirety of training-ground three in an inferno of intense warmth. Naruto and Sasuke had their backs positioned against the trunk of a giant tree in the middle of the area.

At the moment, it was 11: 20—AM and Kakashi had engaged Sukuna in a small spar to test out how much he had improved in Taijutsu. Drenched in sweat, Naruto and Sasuke viewed this light-hearted fight.

Palm lifted to fend off a left hook to the face, Kakashi swept his leg out to disorientate Sukuna's footing on the ground. Jumping away from his teacher, Sukuna clenched his fists and vanished in a burst of speed.

Elbow extended out, Kakashi parried a multitude of well-placed blows from Sukuna and pushed the bottom of his gloved palm into his jaw. Sukuna spat out a minimal amount of blood, grinning in satisfaction.

"I'll never understand why he finds battling so exciting." Kakashi huffed to himself, amused. "All three of them have gotten much more skilled."

Kakashi smacked Sukuna in the nose and hurtled him into the bushes. Flipping out from them, Sukuna entered an animalistic stance and sprinted at Kakashi in a red blur.

Keeping his visible eye on his formidable student, Kakashi moved his hand in a horizontal motion, backhanded Sukuna, and heard him grunt. In retaliation, Sukuna drove his knuckles into Kakashi's solar-plexus.

In the middle of the secluded sector, Naruto and Sasuke watched Sukuna escalate his spar against Kakashi onto a higher level. Snorting, Naruto said. "That four-eyed bastard is such a maniac."

"I guess." Sasuke nodded in response. "Naruto, I've been meaning to ask you about more details of how your fight against Doto went down."

Eye-brow raised in confusion, Naruto grunted. "Huh? Nothing much really happened. Sukuna helped me beat the crap out of Doto."

"That's the best I'll get out of you." Sasuke was unimpressed by his teammate. "Moving on from that, how do you feel about the exam?"

Excited, Naruto grinned. "You mean the Chunin-Exams?! I am so ready for them! Everyone is gonna know the name Naruto Uzumaki!"

Irritated at the volume of his blond-haired friend's tone, Sasuke scoffed. "I hope you haven't been slacking off on your training, then."

"Please!" Naruto rolled his sapphire eyes, scowling. "I don't plan on losing to anyone in that damn exam! That includes Sukuna and you!"

"How are you feeling about it?" Naruto asked him in curiosity. "Just imagine if the three of us become Chunin! Wouldn't that be great?"

"I'm more interested in the Shinobi who will be coming from other villages." Sasuke activated his unique eyes. "How strong will they be?"

Having crossed his arms, Naruto smirked. "They won't be stronger than me, that much I can tell ya! I'll beat everyone in that exam!"

Maintaining his line of sight in Kakashi and Sukuna's direction, Sasuke said. "We'll just have to wait and see how strong everyone will be…"

"We still got two weeks to wait for the Chunin-Exams, though." Naruto groaned, placing a palm beneath his cheek. "Man, I'm feeling excited."

Once their small spar had reached its conclusion, Kakashi and Sukuna approached the other two members of team seven. Sitting himself down next to Naruto, Sukuna groused. "So, what now?"

Standing in front of his three students, Kakashi said. "Since there are only two weeks until the Chunin-Exams, we'll focus more on training."

"You three proved how strong you are in the Land-Of-Snows." Kakashi curved his eye up into a crescent. "So I believe you'll ace the exams."

Shoulders slouched, Kakashi spoke. "Of course, there will be other Shinobi from different villages participating in the Chunin-Exams."

"Remember, you three." Kakashi lifted his index finger. "Never underestimate an opponent, that in itself can be fatal in a true battle."

"Not the first time he's told us that." Sasuke pondered to himself, then grunted. "What type of training are we going to be doing, Kakashi?"

Sukuna scratched his bruised nose. "I'm guessing Kakashi will drill in the basics into us again and make sure our skills are good enough."

"You three will be trained by me in separate topics." Kakashi replied. "I plan to teach Naruto more Ninjutsu to expand his overall repertoire."

Gloved hands slid into his pockets, Kakashi elaborated. "Sasuke, I intend to make sure that you gain enough control over your Dojutsu."

Kakashi's gaze flickered towards his crimson-eyed student. "Sukuna, your bloodline limit makes it more difficult to teach you sometimes."

"Your skill in Taijutsu is already formidable." Kakashi said. "But I want you to get even better at it. So, I'll teach you more forms of Taijutsu."

Rubbing the back of his head, Kakashi sighed. "If I remember right, Gai did tell me that Sukuna sometimes trains alongside his team."

Mouth twisted into a wide grin of anticipation, Naruto cheered. "Sick! You better be teaching me some powerful Ninjutsu, Kakashi-Sensei!"

Sasuke rubbed his chin. "I did awaken my Two-Tomoe Sharingan against Fubuki Kakuyoku from our battle in the Land-Of-Snow…"

Nonchalant in his input into the discussion, Sukuna shrugged. "Hand to hand combat is one of my best skills. I'm fine improving it more."

"Good." Kakashi pulled out his favourite novel from a pouch. "We'll meet here tomorrow at 10:00—AM. You three are dismissed, bye."

(-)

Two hours had passed since that small meeting between the members of team seven. Accompanied by Naruto, Sukuna slipped his hands into his pockets and descended upon the streets of the village.

Many thoughts about the Chunin-Exams swirled in Sukuna's thoughts. Suppressing his untameable anticipation for the future, Sukuna went on a random path, glanced around the area, and stepped forward.

Remaining in an uncharacteristic silence, Naruto mulled over his expectations for the Chunin-Exams in his mind. They both turned the corner—where they noticed a few familiar faces ahead of them.

Ino Yamanaka, Choji Akimichi, and Shikamaru Nara had just completed their simple mission of transporting some canned products. Following his three students, Asuma Sarutobi walked behind them.

Despite being old class-mates in the Shinobi-Academy, Sukuna paid them no attention and strolled onwards. Naruto caught up to his teammate, scratching his chin. "You think they're taking the exams?"

"Maybe." Sukuna responded, indifferent about his old class-mates. "But it depends on whether or not their teacher nominated them for it."

"I'm just glad Kakashi-Sensei is letting us do it!" Naruto elbowed Sukuna, grinning and laughing. "This is gonna be pretty fun, isn't it?"

Nudging Naruto on the shoulder in retaliation, Sukuna grouched. "Yeah. I've been wondering, how many Jutsu do you even know?"

Chin cupped one in one hand, Naruto hummed. "There's Wind-Style: Bullet, Burst, Wind-Clones, Great-Breakthrough, and the academy three."

"Now that I think about it." Naruto trailed off, glancing at his friend. "You've never really told me anything about your weird bloodline limit."

"You'll just have to wait and see what other abilities I have." Sukuna shrugged. "I don't really have any plans on explaining everything."

(-)

April 21st 2002:

Team seven had begun their official training regimen for the Chunin-Exams. Kakashi had created two Shadow-Clones to help him in the endeavour of preparing his students for their future difficulties.

Sukuna stood next to a Shadow-Clone of his teacher, copying the odd martial arts stance it had taken. According to Kakashi, the Taijutsu style that he specialized in focused more on striking speed and agility.

The Taijutsu style Lee and Gai used—called the Strong-Fist—concentrated on external damage and breaking bones. However, Sukuna had developed his own fighting style over time.

Ahead of where the two of them stood, the original Kakashi and Naruto were practising Ninjutsu. Once he had mimicked Kakashi's hand-signs, Naruto slapped his palm against the base of a small tree.

Wind exploded from Naruto's palm in the form of the Wind-Style: Gale-Palm. Exploding into chunks of wood, the tree collapsed. Kakashi nodded his head to himself, returning to reading his book.

Sasuke was sparring against the second Shadow-Clone of Kakashi to learn how to use his Two-Tomoe Sharingan on a suitable level. Sukuna dragged his attention back to his own training, pushing a fist forward.

"Sukuna." The duplicate of his mentor spoke. "I've seen how your Taijutsu style aims to deal the most amount of damage that it can."

"But Sukuna." Kakashi's clone said. "I also saw how damaged your body was after you and Naruto had defeated Doto. I've noticed something."

One finger raised, the Shadow-Clone announced. "You don't care about how much damage you receive in a battle as long as you win."

Tapping its head, the duplicate sighed. "That type of mentality can be detrimental, Sukuna. You sacrifice your safety to ensure victory."

"Even when we spar, you never stop to assess your condition." The clone rubbed its chin. "I know your physical durability is amazing."

"But you never know when that can fail you." Kakashi's clone patted Sukuna on the shoulder. "You can enjoy battles, but regulate yourself."

Sukuna blinked his four eyes in mild contemplation. "I'll think about what Kakashi told me about later. I just want to master this style…"

(-)

April 30th 2002:

The last nine days had passed team seven in a flash. Naruto had learned two new techniques. Sukuna had somewhat mastered his new Taijutsu style. Sasuke had gotten used to his Two-Tomoe Sharingan.

To see how much his students had improved, Kakashi slotted them in spars against each other. Settled down on a tree-branch, Kakashi witnessed Sasuke and Sukuna trading a multitude of ruthless blows.

Back in the Shinobi-Academy, Sukuna had been the first one who had defeated Sasuke in a spar. Ever since then, Sasuke had poured more concentration than expected into increasing his physical prowess.

Sasuke lifted both of his fore-arms to defend himself from a punch. A second impact from the unique effect of Divergent-Fist shoved him back. Teeth clenched in focus, the Uchiha cast two hand-signs.

Smoke and flames gathered behind Sukuna, transforming into a Fire-Clone. Snapping his crimson gaze towards this duplicate, Sukuna flicked his three fingers downwards and fired a Dismantle into its neck.

Taking advantage of his brief distraction, Sasuke lashed an elbow out and buried it into the side of Sukuna's head. Enduring it, Sukuna slapped Sasuke's other hand away from his shoulder and grinned.

"Good." Sukuna shrunk his grin into an impressed smirk. "Sasuke's physical power has gotten way better since we were in school…"

Flaring his cursed-energy a little, Sukuna transmitted it into his legs. Sasuke went in to upper-cut his teammate in the jaw—but wasn't fast enough and had his hip roundhouse kicked. Sukuna was relentless.

A palm to the jaw stunned Sasuke for a moment. Sasuke's Sharingan predicted Sukuna's movements as he parried three punches. Flipping upwards, Sasuke was successful in axe-kicking Sukuna's shoulder.

"His Taijutsu is better than mine." Sasuke thought to himself. "My Sharingan helps me in keeping up against Sukuna's fighting style."

Dismantle was launched into Sasuke, hurtling him backwards and towards the ground. Spinning through the air, Sasuke landed on his feet. Unworried about the gash on his clavicle, Sasuke forged on.

Sukuna blinked his two lower eyes at Sasuke—who had positioned himself next to Sukuna. Hands clasped together, Sasuke performed five hand-signs and launched a stream of fire in Sukuna's direction.

Having leaped over the straight line of fire, Sukuna hummed. "That reminds me of Piercing-Blood. Instead of blood, it uses flames…"

Cancelling his fire-natured Jutsu, Sasuke tensed his muscles. However, Kakashi appeared in the middle of the spar to stop them. Pleased, the masked man said. "I've seen enough, good work."

Touching his feet down on the rich soil, Sukuna told his teammate. "That technique surprised me for a second. Did you learn it yourself?"

Interjecting into the conversation, Kakashi said. "I taught it to Sasuke. He wanted me to at least teach him one new Jutsu for the exams."

"It's called Fire-Style: Flame-Stream." Sasuke spoke. "It's a straight line of fire used to penetrate whatever it hits—a pretty useful Jutsu."

"Sounds good." Sukuna flexed his fingers on his right hand. "I still wonder if I can learn Yuji Itadori's Blood-Manipulation in this body."

"Since I can use Ten-Shadows, then shouldn't I have the possibility of using Blood-Manipulation?" Sukuna scoffed. "This shit is confusing."

Deciding to direct his attention elsewhere, Sukuna asked his teacher. "Where's the blond dumbass? He was here earlier, but then just left."

"I gave him permission to leave." Kakashi looked off to the side. "I have some business to handle, so you two are dismissed for today."

"Business?" Sukuna snorted, then watched Kakashi vanish in a hurricane of leaves. "I bet he's buying a new copy of those books."

Sasuke traced a hand over the gash on his clavicle. "We should head over to the hospital to get these wounds healed before anything else."

They ventured out of the forest, entered the local streets of the village, jumped across a number of roof-tops, and reached the main branch of the Konoha-Hospital. Sukuna walked up to the receptionist's desk.

Since Shinobi tended to get overzealous in training, there was a separate section in the hospital dedicated to healing them. Sukuna flashed his head-band at the bored lady, who handed him two cards.

Handing Sasuke his permission card, Sukuna and his friend strolled into a familiar hallway. They had been frequenting this hospital a lot. Sasuke opened the door in front of him, letting himself and Sukuna in.

Once they had reached the area designated for Shinobi, Sukuna and Sasuke gave the security guard their cards and sank into two seats. A few other Shinobi ranging from Genin and Chunin were also waiting.

A moment later, Sasuke nudged Sukuna and pointed at a bulletin board. A poster talking about a medical apprenticeship for Genin was plastered on this bulletin board. Sukuna hummed. "What about it?"

Sasuke then responded. "Not much. It just had me thinking about the potential techniques that all our opponents in the exams could have."

"Doto could use Medical-Ninjutsu." Sukuna said. "It was kind of a pain in the ass because he just kept on healing the injuries we gave him."

"I kind of wish I could have fought Doto." Sasuke smirked. "All of his subordinates were nothing. I thought they were more powerful…"

Amused at his friend, Sukuna grunted. "Sounds like you overestimated their abilities or you underestimated yourself, Sasuke."

After some time in the lobby, Sasuke and Sukuna were called up. The doctor guided them into a medical room, had them sit down, and left. Sukuna remained patient, rolling one of his shoulders. "I'm sore."

Sasuke tapped his gashed clavicle in response. "At least you don't have an entire wound running across your collar-bone, you idiot."

"Don't blame me." Sukuna shrugged, flippant and more amused. "You'll survive. That's nothing more than a flesh wound on you."

The doctor stepped into the room. "Is it alright if two of our new apprentices watch me heal you? You are inclined to refuse, of course."

"I don't give a shit." Sukuna nudged his friend on the shoulder. "How about you? Don't want anyone seeing how much I beat you up?"

"You sound like Naruto." Sasuke rolled his eyes, then answered. "No, we're fine having your two new apprentices watch us being healed."

Much to their shared indifference, Hinata Hyuga and Shino Aburame entered the room. Although, Shino adjusted his sun-glasses in a bout of mild surprise. Hinata was less shocked, watching the doctor.

Once he had put on his gloves, the doctor applied a simple variation of Medical-Ninjutsu onto their wounds. Bandaging and plastering Sasuke and Sukuna up, the doctor pulled himself away and dismissed them.

Exiting the hospital, Sukuna and Sasuke checked out their bandages and plasters. This was more of a precautionary action the hospital took. Ripping off a plaster on his face, Sasuke binned it and grunted.

At the moment, the time was 2: 00—PM. Sasuke and Sukuna had no other activities to engage themselves at for the time being. Wasting their time on a useless stroll, they meandered around the village.

Sasuke and Sukuna had turned the corner of a random area—where they stopped in curiosity at the odd sight ahead of them. Naruto had grabbed the collar of someone who wore some type of facial paint.

Behind Naruto, Konohamaru Sarutobi had been shoved to the ground. Tended by Moegi Kazamatsuri and Udon Ise, Konohamaru cradled his shoulder. Naruto had his teeth clenched, irritated and unamazed.

"Who the heck do you think you are?!" Naruto growled at him. "He said sorry for bumping into you! Why'd you push him down, huh?"

"When the hell did he even meet Konohamaru?" Sukuna shrugged to himself. "Whatever, I'm kind of curious to see how this will turn out."

Kankuro pried Naruto's hand off of his collar. "So many irritating brats. Listen, you little pest. I don't have any interest in hearing your voice."

Naruto smirked at him in mockery. "Don't think I haven't seen your stupid head-band. You're here for the Chunin-Exams, aren't you?"

Eye-brow lifted in response, Kankuro snorted. "Oh? I didn't realize you had at least some intelligence. Yeah, I am. What about it, you pest?"

"I'll take you down there." Naruto snarled, blue eyes frustrated. "You keep talking and acting like you're some bigshot for some reason."

Kankuro's hand twitched. "You've been riling me up more and more. Do you want to fight here and now, you nuisance? You'll regret it."

From behind Kankuro, Temari sighed. "If you're going to fight, hurry up. We still have to check into the hotel we were given, Kankuro."

Kankuro's hand reached for the bandaged puppet on his back. "Yeah, yeah, yeah. Stop nagging me so much. I'll have this one handled."

A weakened Dismantle was launched into Kankuro—who stumbled back. Sukuna walked forward. "No point of making a scene here."

Hands slid into his pockets, Sukuna heard a bored voice speak. "Kankuro, disengage. You're being a nuisance to our village…"

Someone had somehow gotten behind the crimson-eyed boy. Gaara crossed his arms. "We're leaving, we have no business here now."

Kankuro gulped a little—but nodded. "Right, yeah, you're right. Come on, Temari. We still have to head over to the hotel we were given!"

Gaara paused for a moment, rubbing his head and acting as though someone had spoken to him. "The blond one is the final one, is he?"

Taking a look at Naruto, Gaara spoke in a bland tone. "Mother has taken an interest in who you hold. I hope your blood can satisfy me."

Once their gazes had connected, Naruto's eyes flickered red in rage and then melted back into an oasis of blue. "What the hell was that?"

"Wait a moment." Sasuke stepped forth. "Would you mind telling us your names? Since we're all going to be competing in the exams."

"My name is Gaara of the sand." Gaara had responded, voice bored. "Those two disgraces are my siblings—they're Kankuro and Temari."

No longer interested in these stale introductions, Sukuna disappeared in a crimson burst of speed and landed on a random street. Hands inserted into his pockets, Sukuna soon ventured towards his home.

(-)

May 2nd 2002:

Two days had passed after Sukuna and his team had met those odd individuals from what they assumed was the village called Sunagakure—if the symbol on their head-bands were to be believed.

Kakashi had left them to their training without supervision since the Chunin-Exams were in only two more days. Seated on the ground, Naruto closed his eyes and felt the chakra inside of his system.

When he had battled Doto, Naruto's intense emotions had drawn the chakra of the Kyuubi from his seal. Despite this, Naruto hadn't been able to access the Kyuubi's chakra and its incredible capabilities.

Clicking his tongue to himself in annoyance, Naruto turned his head towards his two teammates and viewed their actions. Sukuna had been engaged in a spar against Naruto's tenacious Shadow-Clone.

Kakashi had taught Naruto this Jutsu for no particular reason. One of the greatest boons of this technique was how the clone's memories would transfer back to the original. Naruto looked at his other friend.

Sasuke and Naruto's second Shadow-Clone were concentrating on their Ninjutsu. After mastering his Two-Tomoe Sharingan to an acceptable degree, Kakashi had decided to teach Sasuke some lighting-style Jutsu.

Fist clenched and enhanced by cursed-energy, Sukuna slammed it into the Shadow-Clone's jaw before it was dispelled. Naruto grunted, feeling the memories of the spar invade his mind and settle itself in.

Sukuna cracked his knuckles, bored and impressed. "I'm glad he's learned about the memory trick that the Shadow-Clone Jutsu has."

A smirk crossed his face a second later. "Whatever his Shadow-Clones learn, Naruto will also learn once they dissipate."

Transferring his attention to Sasuke, Sukuna thought. "And Sasuke has become a jack of all trades in Ninjutsu, Taijutsu, and Genjutsu."

"In short, they can become monsters in the future." Sukuna folded his somewhat muscled arms. "Of course, I'm not discounting myself…"

"I have to learn Reversed-Cursed-Technique soon." Sukuna sighed. "I still haven't grasped the true essence of cursed-energy, have I?"

"Black-Flash helped me understand some of it." Sukuna flexed his fingers. "But truly understanding cursed-energy is something else…"

"Gojo learned it on the brink of death." Sukuna looked up for a minute. "But I've never really been in a position like that yet, nor do I plan to."

Laughing a little to himself, Sukuna pondered. "I've been training the Ten-Shadows in secret. I feel like I'll use it sooner or later."

"Hey, Sukuna!" Naruto cut into his friend's moment of self-reflection. "We're heading over to Ichiraku-Ramen and Sasuke's paying for us!"

"A free meal after training?" Sukuna smirked. "Sure, I'm on board."

Having left training-ground three behind them, the members of team seven travelled over to Ichiraku-Ramen and sat down on its stools. Teuchi stared at them, smiling. "Another day of training, you three?"

"You betcha!" Naruto shouted in response, grinning. "We'll all be having some Miso-Ramen, old man! I want extra toppings on mine!"

"Coming right up!"

Sasuke fished out his wallet, paid for their meal, and said. "Two more days until the Chunin-Exams. How are you two feeling about it?"

"Great!" Naruto pumped his fist in excitement. "The three of us are going to pulverize anyone who fights us! Ain't that right, you two?"

"Of course." Sasuke hid his wallet in one of his pockets. "But that also means everyone else who's competing has also been training for it."

Sukuna snorted, then said. "I just wonder how strong everyone is. If we do have to fight against each other at some point, don't hold back."

"I'm still wondering if any of our old class-mates will be there." Naruto noticed Teuchi place their bowls down on the table. "Eh, whatever."

Picking up his chop-sticks, Sukuna ate his meal while Sasuke replied. "I wouldn't be surprised—Kakashi did nominate us three for the test."

Naruto slurped in some of his Ramen. "Of course he'd nominate us! Don't forget that we saved the Land-Of-Snow from Doto, that moron!"

"You sure let that victory get to your ego." Sasuke grunted. "If only I could have fought Doto myself, he sounded powerful enough…"

Once their meal time had concluded, they left Ichiraku-Ramen and returned to their homes. Sukuna was seated on his mattress, a book in his lap and a discarded Kunai on the other end of his bed.

The exams were soon.

A/N: Thanks for reading.