Disclaimer: I do not own anything or anyone related to Naruto/Naruto Shippuden. I only own Karibi, Riku and Hayase.

Chapter Eight

"You ok?" Karibi opened her eyes as she laid comfortably on the floor, Hana gazing down at her with her hands on her hips. She watched as her recovering teammate grinned, sitting up. Her eyes widened as she jerked forward, Karibi immediately falling back to the ground and wincing.

"Still trying to get some strength back, but I'm ok!" she said reassuringly. "That last jutsu really took a lot out of me."

"You should have told me that before we did it," Hayase snapped as he approached his teammates, having been talking with another passing genin; the Nara and Akimichi families were close.

"If I had told you from the beginning, you wouldn't have let me perform the jutsu."

"Exactly! You idiot," the young man of the team snapped as Hana chuckled at his concern.

"Well, I'm just glad we all made it out of that well enough," the girl with marked cheeks stated as her teammates nodded in agreement.

"Alright, kiddies! Listen closely!" Natsuki suddenly appeared in the large indoor training facility, Kakashi beside her with his hands in his pockets. Karibi glanced at the young boy from her position on the floor, his eye catching hers for just a second before the Uchiha caught the Uzumaki's full attention. "The remaining four teams here are who's left of this chunin exam." An extra team had been disqualified; a chunin had gotten a hold of the scroll by the end of the round.

"First of all, I'll start by saying congratulations," the dark haired jonin said with a fox-like smirk. "I didn't think most of you would make it. But! I was wrong—and that never usually happens." Kakashi's scoff didn't go unnoticed by the speaker.

"Now, in normal cases, the last part of the chunin exam would take place in the next month or so, but this time around, things are going to be going a little differently."

Everyone's eyes widened when the Hokage strolled into the room with the Tsuchikage at his side.

It hadn't been Minato's favorite plan, but it had been the one that he and the Kage of Iwagakure could agree on.

The Tsuchikage had arrived without delay and had been greeted properly by Minato as well as Hiruzen and Danzo. A few of the Fourth's trusted members of the ANBU had joined as well—merely for precautionary reasons. Once the newly allied Kage had arrived to the Leaf Village, Minato had been quick to privately discuss what their future plans for the chunin exams would be. At first, it had been tedious; neither seemed to be able to come to an agreement. It wasn't until they had both agreed that the third part of the exam would take strictly right after the remaining genin passed the second part that the back-and-forth bickering came to a cease-fire.

Minato had been hesitant to agree at first. He wanted to give the genin a chance to recover from the last exam, but the Tsuchikage had been persistent. He wanted to see if the genin had the endurance of true ninja. And so, they had both agreed upon beginning the last part of the exam after a half-hour hiatus for the genin.

Everyone began to bow as they recovered from their initial shock, Minato smiling as his eyes lingered on Karibi—who was now standing to her feet with Hayase's help; she wanted to show as much respect as she could for her guardian.

"Congratulations to everyone who has made it this far in this exam," Minato began with a warm smile, everyone staring at him with admiration and inspiration in their eyes; ninja far and wide had heard of the great strength of the Yellow Flash. "You should all be proud of where you are standing at this very moment. But the end has yet to come. This one, last part of the exam will show not only us, but yourselves if you are truly ready for this next step in your life," the blond stated evenly as the man beside him nodded in agreement, recalling all of the faces of the possible-future-chunin. His gaze lingered on a redhead in the crowd, her eyes glued to Minato's face.

"As Natsuki-san was explaining earlier, usually, those who have made it this far are given a month of training in order to hone their skills and properly prepare for the last part of the exam—which is a one-on-one battle." Minato gazed seriously at the remaining 12. "This year, we will be hosting the last part of the exam today." Murmurs began to fill the silence as the genin gasped and gapped.

"But we've only just finished the Forest of Death!" a feminine voice rang out as others began to nod along with what she had said.

"This is the true test. A shinobi must withstand some of the most trying circumstances. They must have the strength to push forward even when it feels as if they can't," Minato stated as he glanced over at the Tsuchikage, the man pulling his hat off and nodding as he gave the possible chunin somber stares of his own.

"You will all have 30 minutes to rest and recuperate. If you do not feel up to the challenge then you may say so when the time to begin the third and last part of the exam begins." Without another word, the two men walked out of the room.

"30 minutes? No disrespect, but is the Hokage out of his mind?" Hayase snapped as Hana frowned and crossed her arms.

"Alright, you all heard him. You will all get a half-hour. Once the clock strikes one, you will report to the battle arena, you got that? Anyone who's late will automatically be disqualified." Natsuki gazed out at the genin before she smirked. "Good luck."

§

Wincing, Karibi forced herself to sit up as she panted, her body begging her to stop and just lie back down. But she had no other choice, the time for the last part of the exam was quickly coming, and she was going to have to stand sooner or later; she would have much rather preferred later, but she had no choice in the matter.

After Natsuki had dismissed the genin, those who needed a bit of assistance with any wounds and injuries were directed to the infirmary. Medic-nin were present in order to make sure everyone was at least well enough to stand on their feet. Hayase and Hana had been quick to get their teammate to the medics, and although they had helped with most of the pain, Karibi was still low on chakra and her body was exhausted. Still, the young girl had insisted she was well enough and would just lie down until the time came for her to get back on her feet; she had come too far to give up now.

"Come on," the young girl muttered to herself as she slowly began to slide off of the stretcher, but as her feet planted to the ground, her legs gave out. Her eyes widened as she let out a yelp, but before she could hit the ground, a pair of hands grabbed her by her under-arms and kept her in place. She blinked as she looked over her shoulder, a familiar masked jonin standing behind her. She grinned as he kept her steady on her feet.

"Kakashi-san! What are you doing here?"

He had been reading her file over since the end of the second part of the exam. He didn't show it, but he was genuinely caught off guard at the amount of strength she had as well as how much chakra she was able to conjure up in order to pull off that massive sealing jutsu. He knew from his time of trailing her that Kushina had been teaching her a few things, but he hadn't known it was to that extent. And although he was no longer technically in charge of guarding Karibi and keeping an eye on her, he knew just how important she was to Minato and Kushina, and so every now and then he would check on her.

That was why he had approached her now.

He didn't mind so much these days. Yes, at first he thought she was nothing but a brat who was wasting his time. But she was rather strong, and she was a quick learner. Not to mention she had known he was following her all along, since the very beginning when he had first seen her on the bridge. And, although he didn't admit it—even to himself—he enjoyed being around Karibi at times; she made him feel innocent and human again.

She made him forget that he was a monster with blood-stained claws.

"The better question is, what do you think you're doing?" he shot back with a stale stare, Karibi blinking.

"I'm heading to the arena. Where else would I be going?" Kakashi scoffed.

"All of your chakra is depleted. You can't be actually serious about competing still," Kakashi said exasperatedly as Karibi flinched; just trying to adjust in her seat hurt.

"I have to."

"There's a chunin exam twice a year. Don't be stupid and reckless," Kakashi snapped. "Just try again—"

"No!" There was a desperation in Karibi's voice and eyes as she gripped tightly to the sleeve of Kakashi's shirt. Never had the jonin ever seen the usually chipper girl look so scared and so hesitant before; it was almost unnerving.

"Please...I need to do this."

"...Why?" Karibi pulled away from the 12 year old as he eyed her wearily. He watched her carefully as she battled herself before she cleared her throat.

"I need to become a chunin because...I promised myself that..." Trailing off, the redhead released an embarrassed and frustrated sigh. She glared up at Kakashi as he crossed his arms, waiting patiently for the rest of the 8 year old's explanation; he'd get his answer one way or another. "...I promised myself that I would stop being a disappointment." Kakashi hadn't been expecting that.

"Are you talking about Minato-sensei and Kushina-san?" That couldn't have been right. "They wouldn't—"

"No—I know they wouldn't ever be disappointed if I failed this time but—but—" Karibi frowned. "...I told them I would pass, so I'm going to. I won't let them down like I let my mother and father down...I won't be thrown away again," she whispered, the young man standing in front of her with wide eyes.

"I thought you said your parents were killed." That had been what she had told Kushina and Minato.

The young girl's eyes widened as she quickly looked up, meeting Kakashi's narrowed eyes. "I—I—"

"Karibi! How are you—" Hana and Hayase came waltzing into the room, unknowing of the intense air that was building between her and Kakashi. The two came to an abrupt stop as they noticed Karibi's guest. They stiffened when he turned his head to them and glared with just his one eye; even that was terrifying when it was coming from the White Fang's son.

"...Sorry, did we interrupt—"

"Nope! Let's get going to the arena!" Karibi quickly said with a nervous laugh as she motioned for Hayase to assist her. Kakashi said nothing as he stared coldly at the young girl. She was using her teammates to escape the truth, and a part of him wanted to lash out and stop her, but the other part of him—the more rational part of him, forced himself to remain calm. She wasn't going anywhere, and there was nowhere for her to run to.

He'd get to the bottom of this.

§

"What was that about?" Karibi blinked as Hayase looked over at her with a curious stare.

"What do you mean?"

"Hatake-san just seemed really angry about something, is all," he pointed out as Hana smirked at him.

"What? Are you jealous of him?" she teased as the Nara shot his teammate a look before shaking his head.

"Not even a little bit."

"There's just a misunderstanding, that's all." Karibi should have been honest from the beginning, but now it was too late.

When she had first began speaking, Minato and Kushina had been slow with the questions. They asked her little-by-little what they wanted to know, and for the most part, the young girl had been completely honest with them. But there was just one thing that she had lied about. The one thing that she wanted to never think about again. It was the one thing that she wished hadn't been true.

After reaching the stop of the stairs, the three genin glanced around the large stadium, their sensei waiting in a seat just ahead with her legs crossed. She glanced up and then began to grin, her three genin grinning back at her, though one of her students seemed wearier than the others.

"I knew you guys would make it!"

"Sensei!" Riku opened her arms and pulled the three into a warm hug before she stopped, stepping away when she noticed Karibi's weak state. She frowned as the redhead smiled sheepishly up at her teacher.

"How do you expect to fight like this?" Riku asked incredulously as Karibi waved the woman's concern off.

"It's not a problem! It's not like I'll be first—"

"The third part of the exam will now begin!" Natsuki stood in the center of the stadium, her sandals leaving print in the dirt. "If there are any of you who would like to forfeit before we begin, speak now! You don't get a second chance," the Uchiha stated evenly as she looked around the arena, bright lights giving her sight through the darkness of the night. She waited for a minute, staring out carefully to those sitting in the stands. When no one raised their hands or stepped forward, she continued on.

"Alright then. These next fights will be one-on-one, knock-out style. Last person standing is the winner. But winning doesn't mean you've passed on to being chunin. The Hokage and Tsuchikage will ultimately have the last word." The genin glanced over at the their leader and his ally, the two sitting beside each other in the Hokage's personal seating area.

"Any questions?" Even if someone had one, Natsuki would have ignored it anyways. "Good! Then, the first battle will be between Kurenai Yuhi and Karibi Uzumaki."

Karibi blinked with wide eyes as her teammates turned to look at her. She tried to overcome the shock she was feeling as she glanced across the stadium and watched as a young girl, perhaps a few years older than her, hopped down to the ground, her red eyes gleaming in the light. The redhead gulped as she glanced to her sensei, the woman smiling and nodding her head reassuringly.

"Go get 'em." Karibi chuckled weakly before she took a deep breath. She forced herself to her feet before she cleared her throat, hopping up on to the ledge of the railing. She nearly fell but caught her balance before she looked back to her teammates.

"Here I go!" With that, the young girl jumped down and tried to land on her feet; she ended up stumbling to a knee.

"So that's the Uzumaki." Minato glanced over at the older man, his expression remaining neutral. "What was her name?"

"Karibi," Minato said calmly as he looked out to the young girl.

"What strength she must hold..." An awkward and stiff silence fell over the pair as they stared down at Karibi, neither forgetting that she once had been captured by the Iwagakure ninja. Still, no one bothered to bring attention to the past; they were now trying to move forward for their people.

Before the tension could worsen, Minato looked over his shoulder, his last student appearing behind him. He raised a brow from curiosity, noticing the way Kakashi seemed to glower and the way his muscles clamped and relaxed. There was something bothering the 12 year old, but he didn't know exactly what.

"Kakashi, what is it?" the Yellow Flash inquired as the jonin bowed to both of the Kages before quickly approaching his former sensei's side.

"There's something you need to know, Minato-sensei," the silver haired boy said in a low voice. Minato frowned at that as he watched Kakashi stand at his side, his visible eye wandering on to Karibi.

He had to tell his sensei that she was lying. She had been withholding information from them for a year-and-a-half now, and that meant that she couldn't be trusted. Whatever she had told Minato and Kushina and the Third Hokage—it had been a lie. Kakashi wasn't sure what the truth was, but he was sure that not knowing it could be dangerous for everyone one. Perhaps Karibi had been allies with the rock ninja all along. It would all make sense. If the village hidden in the rocks wanted to plan an attack, now was the perfect time. The Tsuchikage was already inside the village, and the treaty between the two villages had created a false sense of comfort for the leaf; now was as perfect as any time to rekindle unfinished business the Iwagakure had.

"Kakashi, what is it?" Minato glanced from his student to Karibi, who was now speaking with Natsuki and Kurenai. "Kakashi?"

Said young man merely continued to stare at Karibi, and as he did so, he could feel doubt eating away at his accusations. Something about the scenarios in his mind didn't match up with anything. Yes, Karibi was hiding something, but did that truly mean that she a danger to the village?

Kakashi didn't want to believe that.

"It's nothing," the young man said as he turned his attention to the Fourth. "I was just wondering if it was a good idea to let Karibi fight in her condition." Minato blinked as he glanced over at the young girl. It would be a lie if he said that he hadn't sensed the lack of chakra and energy in the redhead's body, but she was still able to stand, and he knew better than anyone else that she was stronger than most people gave her credit for; he believed in her completely.

"If she wants to continue with the exam, I'm not going to stop her," the Hokage stated with a smile. "You should have a bit more faith, Kakashi." Said boy merely nodded, mentally berating himself for not being able to will himself to say what he needed to say to his sensei.

The man had no idea just how true his words were.

The chunin exam arc is almost to a close. Not much to say today! I've been doing my best trying to update as frequently as possible, but with my schedule and lack of internet access, updating is a bit difficult. I'll do my best to update soon again. Kakashi and Karibi will be having many more moments to come, so don't worry about those two ;) And the action will be coming with a sudden punch. So just keep your patience and all will come with time!

Thank you for reading, following and favoriting :) I appreciate everyone who has taken the time to read this story. And I'm very thankful that people are enjoying this. I hope that you all can see my hard work through the writing. I'll continue to work hard and I hope that future posts will be enjoyed!

Thank you again!