Chapter 11

Naruto and Sakura walked side by side through the streets of Konoha, a few paces behind them were Shikimaru and Temari of the sand village, and about five meters behind the two of them Ide followed behind. The group walked in an awkward silence. The joyful mood of Naruto's return was spoiled as the blonde ninja marched forward, making no attempt to hide his poor mood as he wore a childish pout.

While Kakashi had promised a battle for Naruto Sakura and Ide he decided to give teenagers until that evening under the pretense of allowing Naruto time to rest from his travels tho there was a sneaking suspicion Kakashi just wanted time to indulge in the new book Naruto had gifted him. Ide decided to tag along with the other ninjas his age, meaning to introduce himself to his new squad mate better but this would prove impossible. Ide was immediately aware that Naruto had no interest in getting to know him and he could immediately detect some hostility.

Keeping in my Kakashi's warning, Ide thought it was best for him to just keep his distance for now. Sakura would be the first to try and break the group's tension. "So Shikamaru, Temari. How are preparations for the Chunin Exams going?"

"Chunin exams?" Naruto's ears perked up.

"Yeah, Temari's here helping organize the Chunin exams as a representative for the sand." Shikamaru answered with a half smile. "I was unlucky enough to be assigned to assist her. We've been going back and forth between the cloud and leaf village, it's been a total drag."

"You're telling me." Temari quipped back. "Anyway Naruto, maybe you oughta consider signing up?"

"Huh? What do you mean." The orange-clad ninja muttered back, confused.

"Well, you see." Shikamaru stepped in for Temari to deliver the bad news. "The rest of our classmates have already gone on to be promoted to Chunin, you're the only one who is still a Genin!"

"WHAT!" Naruto roared before turning to his pink-haired teammate with comedic tears in his eyes. "You two Sakura?"

"That's right!" Sakura stood proud as her friend's face turned pale with shock.

Still keeping his distance, Ide couldn't help but smile at Naruto's goofy antics, but his attention was quickly drawn elsewhere. He couldn't help but notice the staring of several Leaf Villagers directed at him and the group. He'd grown accustomed to people staring at him since he returned from his time as a statue. Initially, he chalked it up to mere curiosity. After all, he was the last of his clan in the village, it was like being a rare animal in a zoo but slowly he began to understand that the staring was coming from a darker place.

In the years he'd been frozen, the Uchiha must've cultivated a negative opinion of themselves in the village. It was clear from how people avoided eye contact with him, and how people would often shelter their children as he passed. The Uchiha clan had served as the Leaf Village's police force for many years so they had never been particularly popular in the village but it wasn't nearly this bad when he was growing up and for the life of him Ide couldn't figure out just what had happened to cause this and at this point, he was done searching for answers.

Ide had grown accustomed to having eyes on him, that wasn't the issue. The issue was that the stares of the villagers for the most part weren't directed at them, they were directed at Naruto.

"Hey!" Shikamaru called out snapping his fingers in Ide's face to get his attention.

"Huh? Yeah?" Ide muttered back, he quickly refocused and returned to the conversation.

"Uh….. I was trying to see whether or not you were still a Chunin or if you'd been promoted yet?" Shikamaru asked, raising his eyebrow at Ide's behavior.

"Oh. I'm still a Chunin." Ide answered straight up. He'd lost context for the conversation so he didn't have anything else to add.

"Huh?" Shikamaru muttered back in surprise though you wouldn't be able to tell by his expression. "I could've sworn you'd have been promoted by now."

"Hah! Yeah right, Shikamaru." Naruto called back in a mocking tone. "No way this wannabe Sasuke is anywhere near Neji's level." Ide's eyes narrowed at this comment but he decided to keep his mouth shut.

"Says the Genin." Shikamaru retorted in his typical low-energy voice before turning back to Ide. "Though I guess you have been hard to find after your fight with… you know."

"Yeah…" Ide answered, being reminded of his fight with Itachi was the last thing Ide was looking for and that on top of everything else drained him of energy for conversation. "... Been busy I guess…" Ide's low-energy response and the group's poor atmosphere created the perfect environment for the dreaded awkward silence to re-emerge.

"Well, we've got a lot of work to do!" Temari declared as she decided it was time to make her escape. "Let's go Shikamaru. We're swamped." Putting up no resistance, Shikamaru eagerly joined the Sand Village rep and the two escaped the awkward situation.

With Temari and Shikamaru gone, Naruto, Sakura, and Ide remained. The three of them stood in a circle of silence and since neither boy was willing to break it, once again it came down to Sakura to try and liven things up. "Hey, I know! How about we all go get some ramen?"

"Really?! That sounds great!" Sakura knew how to play to her audience as Naruto's mood was immediately lifted but then he remembered that Sakura wasn't just talking to him. "Does HE have to come with us?" Naruto asked, glaring daggers Ide's way.

"Nope…." The black-haired boy, who was quickly getting fed up with Naruto's attitude, turned to walk away.

"YES! He does." Sakura growled, grabbing Ide by the back of his jacket before he could escape. "We're going to need to work together to beat Kakashi Sensei. We need to develop a little comradery, C'mon guys!" She declared passionately but neither of the boys seemed to share her enthusiasm.

"What? Sakura, don't tell me you're okay with this guy coming in and just replacing Sasuke like that." Naruto started getting loud as he let his frustrations be known. "Why should we have to work with some guy who just came up outta nowhere? He could be another spy sent by Orochimaru or those Akatsuki guys who are after the nine-tails. Where did he come from?" Naruto went and got in Ide's face as he continued. "Sealed in stone for twenty years? Yeah right, why don't you tell us who you really are?"

Naruto poked Ide's clan symbol on his jacket as he accused him and this got Ide steaming. "Trust me I'm the real deal." Ide's Sharingan flashed in his eyes as proof of his origin and this got Naruto to shut as he'd recognize those eyes anywhere. "Kakashi already told you I'm not replacing Sasuke, I'm just filling in for him. I'm very sorry for what happened to your friend."

Ide took a step back and exchanged looks with both Naruto and Sakura. "Trust me, I know what it's like to lose someone you care for but you can't let him dominate your thoughts and affect your judgment. Sasuke left, and our duty as ninjas is to the people who live here and their interests. For now, you need to leave Sasuke behind so we can do our job." Ide kept his calm for the most part but he wasn't willing to coddle Naruto but the tough love approach may not have been the right call.

"What do you know anyway…" Naruto muttered aloud as he broke eye contact with Ide who's eyes were still burning red. "I'm not someone who'd ever abandon their friends, unlike you... scum." He threw in under his breath and Ide's eyes went wide.

Seeing the meltdown that was unfolding right and front of her, Sakura had no choice but to step in between the two. "Hey guys, this is the opposite of building comradery." She said in a jokey tone trying to keep the mood light. "Why don't we take a second and cool off and then we can go chow down on some ramen?"

"What did you say?" The dark-haired boy growled back, completely disregarding Sakura. With the blonde boy's last comment, Ide's patience was destroyed. He'd tried being kind and understanding but he'd had enough of the disrespect and was ready to put Naruto in his place.

He stepped forward aggressively, pushing past Sakura as he reached back for the hilt of his katana. The threatening movement by Ide made Naruto flinch slightly before bracing himself for conflict. Before Ide could grab his weapon he took a second thought and reconsidered an act of violence.

"Haaahhh… Whatever." With a deep breath and a sigh, Ide regained his composure and turned away from the rest of team seven. "Sorry, I overreacted. See you around." Ide lowered his head and softly muttered without facing either Naruto or Sakura before he walked away.

(Later, on the training grounds)

Kakashi, Naruto, and Sakura had gathered around an open area surrounded by forest where three bare wooden posts stood, the sky dyed orange and purple as the sun sank into the horizon. "I'd apologize for being late but it seems like I'm not the last to arrive." Kakashi said in an upbeat tone, sporting a smile underneath his facemask. "Naruto, Sakura. It seems there is a member of your team missing."

"Hehe…. Well, you know sensei…." Sakura laughed nervously as she tried to think up an excuse. Meanwhile, Naruto remained silent with his arms crossed defiantly.

"I'm here." Ide's voice drew the eyes of the three ninjas to a tree near the edge of the clearing where he was sitting on a sturdy branch with a bored expression on his face.

"How did you find this spot? Did you follow us?" She asked with a twinge of concern in her voice, feeling understandably uncomfortable about the potential of being stalked.

"No, he followed me." Kakashi answered Sakura and got Ide to raise his eyebrow. "He tracked me down about an hour ago and has been surveilling me ever since. In an attempt to gather intel before our match. Good idea but you may need a little work on your stealth skills."

Having been found out, Ide dropped down from his perch and rejoined Naruto and Sakura. Naruto turned away from Ide and his pouting intensified. "I hoped that you'd decided to send Ide to spy on me as a group but it looks like your teamwork could use a little more work. That might be a problem for you." Kakashi continued as he began fishing through his bag before pulling out a set of small silver bells. "Naruto, you and Sakura should know by now that without proper teamwork you have no chance of passing the Bell Test."

As soon as the bells came out Naruto's mood quickly perked back up. "Oh, that takes me back." His eyes brimming with excitement and nostalgia, naruto began to adjust his headband. A small smirk formed on the blonde ninja's face. "You should know sensei, I'm a hell of a lot stronger now than I was last time."

"He's not the only one." Sakura chimed in as she tightened a pair of black gloves over her fists. "Just a warning, if you think any of your old tricks are gonna work on us this time around then you've got another thing coming."

"Don't you worry about me? I'm well aware that the two of you have improved dramatically. That's why, this time around, I won't be holding anything back." Kakashi declared as he straightened his headband, unveiling the Sharingan he kept hidden.

The reveal of Kakashi's Sharingan was enough of a sign to Ide that Kakashi was taking things seriously and this prompted Ide to activate his own Sharingan in response. "The rules are simple." Kakashi explained as he put the bells behind his back. "Get the bells by any means necessary, you have until sunrise. Are you ready to get started?"

Naruto, Sakura, and Ide shared a unanimous nod before Kakashi vanished in a blur of movement, disappearing into the forest. "Let's go!" Naruto roared but before the three of them could rush off after Kakashi, Naruto threw up his arm and caught Ide. "Not you!" Naruto growled as he glared at the red-eyed ninja."We don't need you, you're not part of team seven. Not now, not ever."

Ide narrowed his eyes but rather than fighting back, he deactivated his Sharningan and took a step back. He decided that Naruto wasn't worth arguing with and that if he didn't want Ide's help then he didn't need it. Ide simply took a seat down on the grass with his back up against the middle of the three wooden posts but he refused to break eye contact with Naruto. He stared the blonde ninja down until he disappeared into the forest. Sakura sent Ide a sympathetic look but in the end, she sided with her long-time friend and disappeared into the forest after Naruto, and just like that Ide was left alone.

He sat back and relaxed propping his back up against the post as he stared at the sky above, watching the colors of the sunset flash above his head. The hours flew by as the sun sank fully under the horizon and stars began to sparkle in the night sky. More than once Ide nearly dozed off but every time he felt his eyes grow heavy he quickly snapped his head back up to keep from falling asleep.

"MMMM…." Ide groaned as stood up and stretched out his back as he tried his best to ward off sleep. When he stood up he took a look around and found a raven perched on the post to his left.

Ide narrowed his gaze the presence of the bird making him feel uneasy since he associated it with bad memories. He quickly reactivated his Sharingan and cast the bird under a genjutsu. The Raven immediately fell unconscious onto the ground, proving that it was just an innocent bird. This allowed Ide to relax as he freed the poor animal and let it fly away before violently shaking his head to help resharpen his thoughts.

"I'm done waiting," Ide muttered to himself before dashing off into the forest in pursuit of Kakashi. He used the tree branches to keep himself off the ground as he moved, using his Sharingan to scan for any movement but he wouldn't have to wait long.

Ide's eyes went wide as he leaped off the branch he was standing on to dodge three incoming Kunai. Ide landed in a three-point stance on the forest floor and quickly began searching for his attacker with his Sharingan.

"Nice of you to join us." Kakashi appeared behind Ide with a kunai aimed at the back of his head. Ide smirked, with his hand still touching the ground he quickly twisted his palm and transformed the ground behind him into quicksand.

Kakashi had moved quickly, he jumped forward before the sand could drag him down past his ankles. As Kakashi flew through the air, Ide drew his sword and dashed forward as he planned to intercept the silver-haired ninja as he landed.

Right before he landed, Kakashi performed a series of mid-air hand signs and when he landed he let his hand slide across the ground as the momentum carried him forward. Suddenly a path of jagged rocks erupted from the forest floor where Kakashi's hand had touched.

This did little to impede Ide as his Sharingan was able to alert him of the attack before it'd even happened and he adjusted his course accordingly. He dipped around the spikes and circled back to Kakashi. Ide lowered his sword as he ran, preparing to slash. CLANG!

Kakashi Managed to catch Ide's sword with his Kunai as the Copy Ninja's Sharingan shined back at Ide. "You're not the only one with Visual prowess." Kakashi reminded as the two Ninja's blades struggled against one another.

"Maybe not but two eyes are better than one!" Ide declared as he made eye contact with Kakashi and cast another Genjutsu.

"AAHH!" Kakashi cried back as he recoiled. His Sharingan provided him with an innate immunity to most genjutsu but with only one eye there was only so long he could hold off the effects of Ide's Dual Mangekyou Sharingan. "GAH!" Before he could fall victim to the Genjutsu, Kakashi slid his Kunai across his palm drawing blood but the pain was enough to ward off the illusion.

"Nice moves…." Kakashi acknowledged as the blood dripping from his palm slowed. "Now it's my turn." Kakashi tossed his Kunai at Ide who simply knocked it away with his sword before looking back at Kakashi with disappointment but the veteran ninja simply tapped his nose in response.

Ide looked back at the Kunai that had landed a few meters away and saw that two explosive tags had been attached to the projectile. Knowing it was too late to evade the explosion Ide quickly braced himself by crossing his arms out in front of his body. KABOOM!

The initial impact blast forced Ide to slide back across the ground before sweeping him up into the air and sending him flying backward, knocking his Katana out of his hand. When Ide landed smoke had flooded the forest but Ide's eyes let him see clearly through the fog and he demonstrated this by catching Kakashi's incoming punch through the dark clouds.

He used his opponent's momentum to lift him and slam him back down into the dirt but as soon as Kakashi hit the ground he disappeared with a poof. "A Shadow Clone?" Ide muttered to himself and after taking a quick look to his left and his right, he quickly performed a few hand signs before unleashing a powerful gust of wind from his mouth.

The wind quickly dissipated the wind throughout the forest but in doing so it revealed that Ide was surrounded by ten Kakashi clones one of whom had picked up Ide's Katana. Ide narrowed his eyes and pulled a kunai from his bag as he waited for the Kakshis to make their move.

All at once, the ten Kakashi clones rushed Ide a few of them pulled out Kunai of their own and one of them lunged to stab Ide who caught the Kunai with his own before knocking him backward and leaving him open. Ide took advantage of the opportunity and through the Kunai straight through the copy's chest making it disappear.

With one clone down, two more Kakashis charged in from the left. Ide's Sharingan caught them and he turned towards them and brought two fingers to his lips. "Firball Jutsu!"

The orange flames consumed the two clones immediately and they were reduced to smoke but as the flames were streaming out of his mouth, Ide's eyes went wide. One of the clones came up behind him and got him in a Nelson Hold then another clone ran up and drop-kicked him in the side, forcing him to stop the stream of fire pouring from his mouth.

"Gah!" The kick forced Ide to spit up all the saliva in his mouth and made his body slump forward as he recoiled but he was still held up by the arm lock. Ide would have no time to recover as his Sharingan quickly had him look up and his eyes went wide as the Kakashi who picked up his sword was now charging at him ready to strike.

With little time to react Ide took a powerful step forward and summoned all of the strength he could lifted the clone behind him and flipped him forward just as the other clone was in range to attack. The sword-wielding clone cut through his doppelganger in a single strike taking another clone off the board and freeing Ide but he wasn't out of the woods yet.

The sword-wielding clone slashed at him again and Ide weaved out of the way using a maneuver his Sharingan had copied from Itachi. Ide then grabbed the clone by the wrist with one hand and twisted it, getting him to drop the weapon that Ide grabbed with the other hand. With his sword returned to him Ide was able to cut the clone down with ease, leaving yet another puff of smoke behind.

With the clones being reduced to half their initial numbers, Ide turned and faced the remaining five but he wouldn't have to take them down alone. "Shadow-Clone jutsu!" Naruto called out from the bushes and nearly 50 clones erupted from the forest swarming the Kakashi clones right in front of Ide, resulting in a massive puff of smoke as all the clones were destroyed. Meanwhile, from a nearby set of bushes, Sakura poked her head out and gestured to Ide to join her.

Ide complied, diving into the bushes he found Sakura and the real Naruto sitting next to one another on the ground, the blonde ninja looking not particularly happy to see him. "I thought I told you we didn't want your help." Naruto growled as shot a glare at Ide.

"And I can tell by the lack of bells you've gotten in all this time that without me you're never gonna complete this test." Ide glared back, bolts of electricity darting back and forth between the two boys' eyes.

"THAT'S ENOUGH!" Sakura let out a fiery roar that made both Ide and Naruto recoil in fear. "We've tried doing things separately but like Kakashi said if we don't work together we're not going to pass. We need to put our heads together and think of a plan."

"Haaah…" Ide sighed, as he got the feeling that It'd be up to him to put his ego aside to cooperate with Naruto but to his surprise, it was Naruto who spoke up first.

"Fine…" Naruto relented in a groaning tone of voice before looking back at Ide. "We can figure stuff out later, let's just get those bells." He said as he extended his hand.

Ide was taken aback by the sudden display of maturity from Naruto, a complete contrast to the personality he'd come to know in the short time they spent together. "Fine by me." Ide agreed and the two shook hands.

"Now all we got to do is figure out how to get those bells from Kakashi." Naruto crossed his legs, sat up, and began massaging his chin as he struggled to find an answer.

"The cards are all stacked in Kakashi's favor." Ide pointed out as the three brainstormed. "For him, it's just a game of keep away until sunrise and his Sharingan allows him to see our moves before we make them. On top of that, he's got a good enough understanding of the Sharingan that even my visual prowess does little to even the playing field."

"He also understands all too well how Naruto and I fight." Sakura added. "Combined with the hundreds of Jutsu he's managed to copy over the years he's likely to have a counter for anything we could throw at him. Even if we can execute our attacks with perfect coordination, it'll still be an uphill battle."

"I could try rushing him with Shadow Clones." Naruto suggested. "Having so many targets at one time could overwhelm his Sharingan."

"I doubt it." Sakura shot the suggestion down in a way that deflated the blonde ninja's pride. "Kakashi's eye can see right through those clones and even if he didn't have a Sharingan, that's exactly the move he'd expect from you Naruto."

"I could try to cast him under Genjutsu again." Ide threw out. "Though I doubt he'd give me another opportunity."

"That won't work either…." Sakura groaned as she began scratching her hair in frustration. "We need something unexpected, something unorthodox…. Unorthodox! That's it, I've got it!" Sakura exclaimed with excitement before gesturing for the other two to come in closer. "Now listen up."

(Later)

Kakashi casually patrolled the forest, book in hand as he strolled. "You're sure that's him?" Naruto whispered to Ide, the two Ninja were perched on a tree branch just out of earshot of the silver-haired ninja.

"Yeah…." Ide whispered back. "That's no Shadow Clone." Ide confirmed with the help of his Sharingan. "Alright, you remember the plan-"

"Alright, lets get to work!" Naruto roared as he jumped down from the branch and ran right at Kakashi before Ide could even finish.

"Wait! Naruto!" Ide called out but it was too late. "Damn…." Ide cursed as he dropped down and followed after Naruto.

"Get ready for it Kakashi Sensei!" Naruto called out as he burst out from the forest behind Kakashi. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Naruto created another 10 copies of himself and blitzed Kakashi.

"Shadow clones again Naruto?" Kakashi asked as he caught one of Narutos punches and through it into another clone, eliminating two in one move before performing a set of hand signs. "Fireball Jutsu!"

A ball of red fire erupted from his mouth and began consuming the clones, it nearly consumed Naruto as well but before the fire reached him a wall of stone rose from the ground and shielded him. "Where in Sakura's plan did it say run in like an idiot?" Ide asked from his position crouched down with both hands on the ground.

"What did you call me?!" Naruto roared back but Ide ignored him.

"Well, would you look at that? The two of you working together if only you could've followed Sakura's plan, you might've been able to get the drop on me." Kakashi said sporting a grin under his mask. "Speaking of Sakura, I assume she's sneaking around these woods somewhere planning an ambush?"

"Oh, crap…" Ide muttered knowing he was the one who brought Sakura up in the first place.

"Who's the idiot now?" Naruto quipped back in frustration.

"Oh!" Kakashi's Sharingan quickly picked up on some movement in a bush to his left. "That must be Sakura now."

Ide quickly unsheathed his sword and charged at Kakashi who blocked his blade with another Kunai. "Naruto!" Ide called out to his teammate, with Sakura's plans falling apart at the seam, he knew they needed to improvise. "We need to distract Kakashi and buy time for Sakura"

"Right!" Naruto nodded as he pulled out his own Kunai and threw it at Kakashi, forcing him to jump backward and create an opening.

Naruto rushed in and unleashed a taijutsu flourish, firing off punches and kicks that Kakashi either dodged or blocked. Ide rushed in too, sheathing his sword to not accidentally injure his comrade.

Ide and Naruto took turns pressing the offensive against Kakashi but their moves were poorly coordinated. It was clear they didn't have much chemistry which made it all the easier for Kakashi to evade to the point where it was almost sad. Eventually, Kakashi had enough.

He ducked underneath one of Naruto's punches in a way that let the fist fly straight into Ide's jaw. "Huh?" Naruto called out as Ide was sent tumbling backward. "Hey, what's the big idea getting in the way of my attack jerk?"

"Me?!" Ide roared back as he massaged his cheek. "You're the one who just punched their teammate, you moron!"

"I'm the moron? You're the one with the fancy eyes, shouldn't you have seen that coming?" Ide and Naruto exchanged glares charged with electricity once again as Kakashi buried his face in his hand.

"Jeez…" He muttered as his Sharingan quickly refocused on the movement in the bushes and after a series of hand signs he announced. "Octopus Snare Jutsu!" And from his hand erupted eight prehensile streams of water that he shot out into the bushes and used to retrieve Sakura. "I'm sorry Sakura, it's clear your and Naruto's skills have improved but it just doesn't seem like you're ready for the next step."

Sakura struggled silently in the water snare but she couldn't break the Jutsu, suddenly she stopped fighting and stuck her tongue out at Kakshi. "Huh?" The Copy Ninja muttered in disbelief as the illusion faded and Sakura transformed back into Naruto. Kakashi looked back to see the Naruto who had been arguing with Ide smiling and waving before disappearing in a puff of smoke. "A shadow clone!"

Kakashi's eyes went wide as he looked down to see the ground below him rippling before Sakura exploded out from the forest floor and grabbed hold of the bells around Kakashi's waist. "Got'em!" She cried out with joy as Kakashi fell back down on his but in amazement.

"You tricked me? So I guess this was the plan all along?" Kakashi said happily as Sakura helped him back to his feet, behind her Naruto stood grinning ear to ear and even Ide had a small smile on his face.

"Well, I'm convinced." Another voice called from behind a few nearby trees and soon after the 5th Hokage, Lady Tsunade emerged with a smile on her face. "Looks like these three have what it takes to be elevated to the next level. I'm proud to present the new Team Kakashi!"

(end)