WhIP

by footfungus

nederlands verhalen over mijn otp

179. Chapter 179

A Dose of Poisons and Illusions

FonHibari

Summary:

Ever wondered if there was a higher power? Mom used to tell me how God had a plan and never made mistakes. Dad used to tell me that God was watching but it was up to us to do things because of free will. Mom's brother used to tell me that my parents were too religious for his taste and that if God was real, he would have fucked up at least once.

Well, I guess I'm that fuck up

(Reborn as Sakura's one year older sister)

Chapter 1: Academy Days Pt. 1

Chapter Text

After falling down a cliff to my death while on a rescue mission in the mountains, I didn't expect to wake up to the fact that I was reborn. I wasn't awake the moment I came into the world, my other memories were slowly coming back but it all came back when I was eight months old. I didn't expect to be reborn into Naruto, one of my Top Ten Animes, as part of the Haruno family. I had an initial freak out when I saw that I was in Naruto. As in, ninja wars and ninja zombies, Naruto.

My next freak out was when I realized I might have taken Sakura's place since I didn't want to deal with all that baggage. I wondered if I had already changed the plot by being born with strawberry blond hair and being named Momo. However, that changed when, a year later, mom came back from the hospital with a pink-haired baby named Sakura. That's when I freaked out again because what if Sakura had an older sister but was killed in the Nine-Tails Attack?

Those fears were unfounded because it turns out that the Family Tradition of leaving Konoha for a vacation after recovering from giving birth saved us. Our home, not so much. It was in ruins but some stuff survived, like our papers, some photos, a few outfits, my favorite teddy bear, and a few miscellaneous items.

When I saw the mess the attack made, I was determined to become a kunoichi, I was not going to be a civilian who couldn't protect themselves and needed ninjas to save them, I will be that ninja so I could survive what's to come.

I woke up bright and early for my first day at the Academy. It didn't take much convincing for my parents to let me enter the Academy since they were both semi-retired Chunins, they take the occasional mission when they want but are off the official roster. I brushed my hair straight and kept it in place using a purple headband, it was currently shoulder length but I plan to grow it out and put it into a ponytail by the time I graduate. Even if I fail the Jonin Team test and end up in the Genin Corps for the rest of my life, I would still be safer than being a civilian.

Well, actually, I'll try going into the Medic Corp since, as Sakura's sister, I should have good Chakra Control as well since I'm also a civilian with small Chakra Reserves. So, if I failed to get a Jonin teacher, I was going into Medic Corp.

Looking at the time, I quickly grabbed the new outfit mom bought me just for the Academy, a tight black t-shirt, fishnet undershirt, brown shorts, fishnet tights, and black ninja sandals. Mom said that having a single consistent outfit for ninja work would make my life much easier because once people knew me for wearing something specific if I took it off, no one would see me. I'm planning to get a new outfit for when I turn Genin and change it again if I make Jonin so that I could say I achieved something important enough to change my looks.

I quickly ate my breakfast, grabbed my lunch, and made my way to the Academy. Dad was out on a mission and mom had to stay to watch over Sakura who was still sleeping so I was going to school alone today. They were sorry but that was fine, I would feel so embarrassed that a grown woman was being babied like this. Well, my pride has died when my baby body did baby things but my independence wasn't something I was willing to give up now that I have it.

I slipped into the crowd and listened as the Hokage gave a speech, something about new generations and the Will of Fire, but I was too distracted by the small tension flying over my head. A Hyuuga and his son or something on my right and an Uchiha and his daughter or something on my left, I saw the sparks. I'm surprised my hair didn't catch on fire.

"Now I'll be listing people who are in class A, please pay attention." A Chunin said as he pulled out a scroll, "Aburame Juzo…."

I tried my best to listen, waiting for the H section, "... Haruno Momo…"

I guess I was in Class A.

"... Hyuuga Neji…"

Shit.

"...Rock Lee…"

Double shit.

"... Tenten…"

Why my life?

"Okay, everyone I called, please follow me to class." The Chunin said as he started walking into the Academy. The Uchiha and Hyuuga children besides me started walking with me, I guess that means that the Hyuuga was Neji.

After a while, we made it to the classroom. The teacher stood in front of the class and had us all take a seat, apparently, those were the seats we were stuck in for the next two months because the teacher doesn't trust us to choose seats without fighting later.

"Welcome to your first year at the Academy. My name is Karu Hibiki, please call me Karu-sensei for the rest of your time at the Academy. I will be blunt and tell you not all of you will graduate, some of you probably won't even make it to your final year but I hope you will do your best. Now, please introduce yourselves to the class, give us your name and your dream. Aburame, you go first."

I wondered what I should say about my dream. Obviously, my goal is to survive this world but do I have a dream?

"My name's Uchiha Shiori and my dream is to become a Genjutsu Master without the use of my Sharingan." The girl next to me said.

"Good, next."

"My name's Haruno Momo and my dream…" is to live, to see my sister become the great kunoichi she will eventually become, to survive the Fourth Shinobi World War, "to become an Iryo Ninjutsu Master, I guess. I'm not sure if I'll stay with that dream but that's what I want to do for now."

The first week of class was simple, getting to know each other and getting a rundown of where everything was. The Academy was purposely built like a maze and anyone who didn't know the way would get lost. It was built this way so that any enemies that got in and were trying to kidnap kids would get lost, buying enough time for the teachers to evacuate the kids. We were told not to block certain places because they were traps or escape routes.

Karu-sensei said that there would be a review of all the traps, escape routes, and directions every month and there would be a test at the end of the year about them. Those who fail will be expelled because they would be too much of a risk if they couldn't even remember the traps of their own home grounds.

I spent a lot of time in the library looking for and learning about Chakra Control Exercises. They were used to increase your control but they were also used to expand your reserves as well, very interesting. I was surprised that no one came to the library which was a treasure trove of information, but I guess civilian kids wouldn't know how to appreciate a good book and clan kids probably have a clan library and think the Academy library was subpar.

After class ended, I spend a few hours doing basic exercise and laps around one of the school training grounds, I didn't dear try doing more than that because I might make bad habits, running in circles for hours and doing push-ups, sit-ups, and crunches were much safer and learning how to fight the wrong way. This way, I was building some muscle and increasing my low stamina, the curses of being born to first-generation ninjas.

When Kunoichi Classes started a month into the year, I saw that it was only a myth that Kunoichi Classes were only allowed for girls. While it was mandatory for girls, it was actually an extra elective that boys who wanted to go into infiltration could take. It was just that no boy wanted to be in a class made for girls. In the first year of Kunoichi Class, we were learning about Flower Arrangements, how to send messages using flowers, and Calligraphy.

I thought that, since I've been pretty quiet and have been drifting in the background, I wouldn't be the target for petty bullying but I forgot about the stupidity that was children.

"Hey, Strawhead-chan!" A voice yelled, "Strawhead-chan! Is your head so full of straws you can't hear me?"

I heard some snickering. Ugh. Children.

"Hey!" The girl yelled, pulling my shoulders and pulling me to look at her, "I'm talking to you, don't ignore me!"

I sighed, "What do you want? I'm trying to finish the assignment."

The girl froze a bit, I guess using big words would help me get out of this, good to know, "I said don't ignore me while I'm talking to you!"

"You said that the first time. I did not know who you were talking to since you just yelled 'Stawhead' like a loon, how should I know you were calling for me?" I asked.

The girl got flustered and tried to slap me but was stopped when someone grabbed her hand. I looked up and saw the Uchiha girl stopping her.

"What are you doing?" The girl asked, her hand still holding the other girl's wrist.

"N-nothing! Geeze, you Uchihas are so stuck up!" The girl huffed and pulled her wrist out of the Uchiha's grip and marched away with her followers.

"Thank you." I said, I shouldn't be rude.

"You're welcome." The Uchiha said before speaking up, "I knew you had it handled, sorry for budding in, but my parents are part of the police so if there's something wrong, I have to help."

"I understand."

"... You don't talk much do you? I thought civi kids talked a lot."

"You talk too much, I thought Uchiha kids only spoke in 'hn'" I shot back.

We stared at each other before smiling.

"I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship. The name's Shiori, just call me Shiori-chan now tell me how we're supposed to do flower arrangements since I'm pretty sure I slept through the introductions with my eyes open and my clan is not big on flowers, we burn them instead of arranging them."

"Momo. Call me Momo-chan. And first…"

Taijutsu class was basically body training. Running, muscle-building exercises, and the like. Most of the boys were trying to do as many as possible as fast as possible while most of the girls were doing what was the bare minimum and getting grossed out by the sweat. There were a few boys who took things seriously, like Neji, and girls who were doing their best, like Tenten, Shiori, and I, but it looked like we were in the minority.

For the record, I was discreetly trying to avoid the cannon characters. I don't have to get involved with them until Sakura becomes friends with them and I don't want to mess anything up so early in the timeline. It was actually really easy to avoid them, Neji avoided everyone, Lee was avoided by everyone, and Tenten and I were in different friend circles. Or, more accurately, I only hung out with Shiori while Tenten drifted about without coming in contact with us.

I was firmly near the top of the list for girls only, slightly above average when the list included the boys but I want to change this before we graduate. My favorite part of the class was running, I loved running. I may not be the fastest but I was never out of breath when I got to the finish line, I guess I sacrificed speed for stamina, which was an oversight on my part that I should correct later.

"Ugh, how does Strawhead-chan even have the strength to run? Uchiha-san I understand, they're a bunch of monsters in human skin, but Strawhead-chan? Unnatural."

I sighed. Will that girl ever shut up? Even Neji, the ever polite but condescending Neji, muttered about how it was her fate to be abandoned in a ditch somewhere if she didn't be quiet. That would have crushed her if she heard, she was a Neji fangirl after all.

"If I hear one more word about how my clansmen are monsters, I'll show that Airi Fuku a monster she will never forget." Shiori muttered under her breath.

"Don't let her get to you, she's just a kid who's jealous that we're getting praised by Karu-sensei and she isn't."

"Why would she be jealous?" Shiori asked, confused, "It's only natural that those that put in more effort, like us, would get praised while people who barely even do the minimum and focus on their nonexistent looks, like her, would not."

Times like this, I remember that Shiori was only eight years old, and part of the Uchiha Clan of social and emotional duds. She was smarter than the other kids but she was still a kid who didn't know much about emotions.

"Jealousy comes from feelings of low self-esteem or lack of confidence. This makes people unhappy about themselves and when someone is unhappy about themselves, they feel anxious and insecure which makes them lash out." I gave her a textbook answer, she understood facts more than emotions.

"Oh, I see. That makes sense." Shiori said.

I can't believe it. I just taught an Uchiha something about emotions and they actually understood it.

"She can't handle not being the best, not that she ever was, and is acting illogically. What a sad life she lived if she expected everything handed to her." Shiori continued with a sad look in her eyes, "I really pity her, the shinobi life isn't for her."

Never mind. Emotions of others are lost to Uchihas.

Chapter 2: Academy Days Pt.2

Chapter Text

A third way into the year, we had to do a basic test on everything we know. This was to see how much we know already and how much we remember over the year, this was more of a placement test than anything else. Those with the highest scores would go into Class A, next Class B, so on and so forth. In the beginning, there is no stigma about the lower classes but after this test, there will be. Of course, clan kids high up in their clan hierarchy would always be in Class A but that doesn't mean that civi kids can't get into Class A, it's just a bit harder.

The clan kids have probably been training since they were still in diapers while we civi kids have just started training. It's like the gap between clan kids and civil kids is just getting larger and larger by the day. I really need to step up my training so I don't get left behind.

I shared a look with Shiori and could tell we were both hoping Airi would fail and move to a different class. However, I doubt that would happen since Airi's great uncle is on the Civilian Council and would probably pull some strings to keep her in Class A. I found that out when Airi started bragging about how her uncle helped pass some law. This means that, unless Airi screws up and fails miserably, we're going to be stuck with her in Class A until we graduate. Just great. I hope when Tsunade takes over, this corruption will be rooted out.

Though I think she really will end up in a ditch somewhere and buried in an unmarked grave, only someone stupid would go around saying that since people could easily target her since her family has some political power.

"Let's hope this is the last time we'll see her." Shiori muttered.

"Don't get your hopes too high, at most she'll drop to Class B if she drops at all and we'll still need to see her during Kunoichi Classes unless she gets remedial lessons and needs to learn with next year's kids." I reminded her.

Shiori was about to respond when Karu-sensei spoke up, "Everyone quiet down! I will be passing out the test, if I see anyone cheating, they will be transferred to Class D. Immediately. When you finish the test, just stay seated and wait until I come to collect your papers. You will have all day to complete them when lunch comes, you will eat at your seats. Another thing, you are not allowed to talk to anyone for the whole day, understand?"

The class nodded and Karu-sensei started handing out the papers. It was more of a package, to be honest. I flipped over all the pages, there was math, science, language, history, and geography. This was going to be easy but I shouldn't overdo it. I don't know if people were pushing for early graduations but since the Nine-Tails Attacks cut down our military, I didn't want to find out.

Once I finished, I took a nap. I was sure my math and science were good but I'm afraid of language since no matter which language I learn I will always mess up grammar. English, French, Chinese, and now Japanese, I will mess up all the grammar rules and write caveman sentences. There's really no saving me for language.

Lunch came quickly and I was starving. I saw that some kids were still working on the papers instead of eating. Idiots. You think better when you aren't hungry.

History was easy. I still think of Naruto as a story so it was easy to read history books like they were storybooks or a book about fantasy lore. As for geography, I know things I shouldn't, like the location of the secret island in Lighting that Naruto trained on, so I was going strictly on what I read in the library.

At the end of the school day, Karu-sensei collected the papers and shooed us out, telling us that class was over for the next week.

"Do you want to go for dango?" I asked Shiori as we walked out of class.

"Sure, at Midori's?"

"Is there any other place?"

We shared a smile and walked to Midori's, we talked about the test and somehow ended up talking about if a kunai made of wind was feasible if someone who was really good at Wind Release tried to make one. I ignored the looks, sneers, and malicious whispers directed towards Shiori when they saw us walk by.

I invited Shiori over as often as I could, planning dinners since Shiori was never allowed to sleep over, all in hopes she could avoid the massacre. I don't want her to die.

I don't want my friend to die.

In the end, Airi did get dropped down to Class B. It will be a nice two-thirds half of the year, disregarding seeing her in Kunoichi class. Whenever we see her, she gets surrounded by her old friends who were still in Class A. One day, they asked her how she could fail that test because it was super easy.

"My uncle moved me, you know? I could have stayed with you guys in Class A but uncle didn't want me to be in the same class as the Uchiha and Strawhead-chan. He didn't want me associating with the Uchiha because of obvious reasons, they are monsters, everyone knows it, and he doesn't want her controlling me with her Sharingan. He wanted me away from Strawhead-chan because she was so unnatural that it was stressing me out, it's not good to be too stressed you know?"

"That makes so much sense! Do you think I should transfer too?"

"Yeah, should we?"

"No, no, don't do that. If you do that you'll be forcing someone else to endure them. We are shinobi of Konoha, we don't sacrifice our comrades."

Shiori and I shared a look, "Hypocrite."

"If stress was so bad for her, she should drop out. Shinobi always work under stress, if you're looking for a stress-free job, you're trying the wrong profession."

We refocused on our drafts for our final Calligraphy project. I could tell that Airi's words were getting to Shiori, her clan was attacked for no reason other than covering up Airi's own failures and were called monsters with no one to defend them. If Shiori tries to defend her clan, it would come out as biased and if anyone else tries to defend them, they would be accused of being controlled or bribed by the Uchiha Clan.

I really hope the massacre would happen while Shiori is having dinner with my family. I don't want to lose my friend.

"Hey, what day is it?"

"It's the eleventh of August."

"Oh, shoot." Shiori exclaimed suddenly, "Today's your birthday, right?"

"Yeah, why?"

"I forgot to get you something…"

"It's fine. I don't need anything."

"It's not! You bought me that pair of pretty fans for my birthday, I should give you something for yours!"

I bought Shiori a pair of tessens for her birthday. They were of standard Uchiha colors and had a detachable fluff that could hide the bladed edge of the fans.

"I'll… ugh… I'll give you this!" Shiori declared, taking off her necklace and handing it to me, "It's a locket, if you open it, there's the uchiwa fan on one side and a small mirror on the other. I'll get you something better next year!"

"You don't have to…" I said as I tried to push it back to her but she didn't let me.

"You have to! You're my best friend! Now, if you're my best friend, you have to take it!"

I had no choice but to take it. I don't like getting presents, I like company, but the smile on Shiori's face made me wear it.

I have never taken it off, not even with all my outfit changes, that necklace was always on me.

Chapter 3: Academy Days Pt.3

Chapter Text

I woke up excited for the next school year for one reason and one reason alone, Sakura was going to the Academy with me. I was determined to keep her away from fangirl-hood and to get her into Iryo Ninjutsu as soon as possible. I had already been including her in light training and the bare basics of Chakra Control so I hope I can nudge her even further.

"Hurry up, Ane! Ino-chan said she'll be waiting for me at the Academy! I don't want to be late for my first day!" Sakura yelled.

"Coming!"

Sakura and Ino met at the park two years ago, it happened just like the anime. The bully, Ami, picked on Sakura for her forehead and Ino defended her when she was close to tears. Ino has come over for dinners and sleepovers, and Sakura went to her place for dinners and sleepovers. Shiori and Ino never made contact with each other though, probably because Ino's dad always checks to make sure they visit at different times.

If it was just any Yamanaka clan kid, it would have been fine since Shiori wasn't that high up in the Uchiha Clan hierarchy but since Ino was the heiress, because of the political climate, she couldn't even come close to any member of the Uchiha Clan outside of a very public setting or else there would be rumors that she was under Shiori's control. It would be even worse if they meet and Ino decides she wants Shiori to be her friend, rumors would spiral and the Yamanaka Clan would check for Genjutsu which would make more rumors. The rumors would be anchored to how Shiori wants to be a Genjutsu Master and Kami, that would be horrible.

"Stop standing there! Hurry! Hurry!"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm coming. The Academy isn't going anywhere." I said as I caught up to Sakura and made her slow down.

"I know but today's my first day! I'm excited!"

I laughed at her, "I know you are, but you'll wear yourself out before you even get to class at this rate. Ah, before I forget, Sakura, remember, you'll be starting to train with me tomorrow so don't go around making promises to do things tomorrow, okay?"

"Okay!"

The second year of Kunoichi Classes was about Etiquette, Cooking, and Music. Etiquette and Music for infiltration, Cooking because this way every team at least has one reliable cook. This year was a bit different from last year because instead of splitting the year into equal parts for each subject, we were dividing the school year into two for Etiquette and Cooking while Music happens in every other class.

I decided to learn how to play the Koto while Shiori decided to learn how to play the Shamisen because we didn't want to share an instrument, it wouldn't add any variety to any songs when we play together.

"What do you mean I can't play the Shamisen?!" Airi yelled.

"There's no more Shamisens left, Fuku-chan, you need to pick a different instrument."

Shiori and I shared a commiserating look, "We didn't wish hard enough."

"I even went to Naka Shrine every single day of the summer to pray that she would be dropped to the first year's class." Shiori muttered, "So much time wasted that could have been spent on training instead."

"There's always the exams, she could leave for remedial classes." I whispered back.

"Yeah, no. If there's one class Airi won't fail is Kunoichi Class since while we are here to learn how to act like civilian women and what noble women know, Fuku-chan is already from a high-class civilian family so she learned all these before." Shiori answered, "Flowers was the only thing she could have failed since we also needed to know how to turn them into poisons."

"That was a fun class." I smiled.

"Of course, you'd think so, I have never seen you as giddy as you were when you started listing all the poisonous plants, what parts are poisonous, what kinds of poisons they could be made into, and which kinds could be turned into a paste, gas, or liquid. Airi kept six feet apart for the rest of the poison unit and a few weeks after."

"Wasn't that great?"

"It was but you scared a lot of people, our classmates are even starting to call you Doku Momo."

"Poisoned Peach? Ha, maybe that would be what my Bingo Book page will say. What do you think, Shiori-chan?"

"I think it would fit, it would fit disturbingly well."

"But Shiori-chan, you were supposed to say that that wouldn't happen because I was going to be a Medic or something! How could I get the moniker Doku Momo if I want to heal people?" I whined to her as we tuned our instruments.

"I don't think you'll be able to stay on the Medic route for long, did you forget about Tsunade-sama's rules?"

"Ugh, don't remind me. I don't want to not fight."

"See? You won't stay back, it's against your nature, so you have already failed in your dream of becoming a proper Medic, so just embrace your poisonous side."

I pouted. I will admit I like poisons, I did have a pharmaceutical degree Before and was curious about the possibilities Before but I wanted to keep helping people and the only way a ninja could help people without killing them was by becoming a Medic. Besides, with a name like Doku Momo, it sounded like people were getting poisoned by taking a bite out of me.

If I wondered how the people in this universe got used to killing, it is actually really simple, the teachers ease us into it. They take us out to the woods and take out live animals that could be found in the woods and tell us that if we were to survive we were going to have to catch and kill those animals before releasing them.

Slowly, they started killing the animals in front of us and showed us how to prepare them, making sure to not show us all the bloody parts until they started explaining the organs and how they work. From what I heard from the upperclassmen, next year they'll start showing us those organs and how to use a kunai to do it ourselves and in our final year, we will spend a week in the woods where we will be required to hunt our food.

This made a lot of sense compared to what I thought. I thought the Academy just turned out kids who couldn't kill yet and made the Jonin-senseis or whoever ease them into it while getting real-world experience.

"I don't want to kill a rabbit, they're so innocent-like and cute…" Shiori said as we walked back to class from our bimonthly visits to the woods.

I was about to agree when I remembered Kaguya, the Rabbit Goddess, "Yeah, no. They're power-hungry things pretending to look harmless. Once they get what they want, they will turn on you and suck the life out of you."

Shiori just gave me a strange look on her face, "I guess I know how happy you'll be when we start cutting the rabbits up like you had a grudge."

I think Shiori meant to whisper those were to herself but I couldn't deny I'll probably be killing rabbits with a smile. Maybe I should create a poison specially designed for rabbits? I know that if I target their genetic code it shouldn't do anything bad to the humans who eat them…

"Momo-chan, stop. You're doing your dark smile. Stop."

Thought will be copied and placed under the file 'Further Investigation Needed' for now, if that works, I'll try for chakra affinity targeted poisons.

"Momo-chan, you're crackling. Stop."

Oops.

After finishing the mandatory month and a half of weapons safety, we were finally allowed to start learning Shurikenjutsu, but only kunai. I watched as carefully as I could, one wrong move and someone could get really hurt, like 'lose an eye' hurt. Even if these kunai are dull and we won't be touching sharper ones until next year, we should be very careful. Once Karu-sensei finished explaining what to do, he directed us to our own targets, gave us five kunai each, and told us to try getting them to hit the bullseye.

"Look at that girl!' Shiori whispered to me, pointing to our right, "Look!"

I turned and saw chibi Tenten practically nailing the exercise. Well, she didn't hit the bullseye but all her kunai were on the target and two of them are at the edge of the second inner ring. Half the class missed the target entirely.

"She's probably going to be a Weapons Specialist." I said, there was no doubt about it, Tenten will thrive as one.

"Maybe, but I remember during introductions last year that she said she wanted to be just like Tsunade-sama as a Medic nin so…."

"Once she realizes that she has major talent in the weapons department and sees that she can be an amazing kunoichi without trying to emulate Tsunade-sama, she will probably try for a Weapon Specialist apprenticeship or something. It would be a crime to let that kind of talent go to waste."

"You think so? You really think so?"

"Yeah." I answered to the unfamiliar voice, "Of course. She managed to hit the target and got closer to the bullseye than even Neji and everyone knows he always does the best."

"You… you really think I could be an amazing kunoichi while being different from Tsunade-sama?"

"Of course- when did you get here!" I jumped when I turned to see the person who budded into Shiori and I's conversation was the very girl we were talking about.

I felt someone behind me, I always do, one of the perks of being reincarnated is that it's much easier to sense chakra because you never had it in your Before life. Unlike normal people who only knew life with chakra, I knew an entire lifetime without chakra so it's painfully easy to sense it all around me, if I concentrate hard enough, I could even sense Nature Chakra. However, I haven't gotten to the point where I could determine who was who just yet, I still need to fine-tune that skill with more Chakra Control Exercises.

"I started listening to you when Uchiha-san pointed at me. I came here when I heard you say that I could be a Weapons Specialist. What is that anyway?"

"Weapons Specialists are people who can use any type of weapon, they often have many storage scrolls filled with weapons for every occasion. What makes them dangerous is that they can switch to any weapon they have in their arsenal, making them unpredictable. However, they need to become good at Fuinjutsu so they can create those storage scrolls, not every storage scroll is created equal and some weapons need special scrolls to store them."

Tenten made a serious face, "Hmm, if I can't become an Iryo Ninjutsu Master then I will become a Weapons Master!"

"I… I said 'Specialist'…" I said weakly as Tenten marched off, back to her target.

"Well, she seems determined now." Shiori said as we watched as Tenten got closer and closer to getting all her kunai into the second inner ring.

I just nodded, did I kickstart Tenten's growth by accident? Well, at least she'll get stronger than she was in Canon if she starts earlier than when Canon started. Maybe this will make Canon events less heartbreaking? Maybe she'll actually beat Temari?

"Haruno! Uchiha! Get back to throwing! Just observing won't help you!"

"Sorry!"

I turned back to my target and started throwing. If I wanted to go into poisons, if I still want to go into poisons when I graduate from the Academy, I should have good aim so I can throw weapons laced with my poisons. Maybe I should invest in senbons, they're a lot more discrete and easier to lace….

Chapter 4: Uchiha Massacre

Chapter Text

This was not what I thought I would wake up to. I never wanted to wake up to this. I woke up to the news of the Academy closing for the day. I woke up to the gossip of the alarming news that the Uchiha Clan was massacred by the prodigy Uchiha Itachi that left no one but his little brother, Sasuke Uchiha, alive. I woke up to the whispers about how it was all done in the span of a single night, how there were not even yells for help heard, how poor 'Sasuke-kun' was in the hospital, and how he probably needed some cheering up so their daughters should try to be as nice as they could to Sasuke.

I woke up to a nightmare.

I couldn't even find it in myself to feel mad at the civilians. The same civilians who whispered maliciously at Shiori, at the same civilians who looked at Shiori like she was going to snap and attack them at the drop of a hat. The same civilians were now acting sympathetic and sad about the loss of a Noble Clan. I couldn't. Not while I felt so hopeless and hollow inside. Tomorrow was Shiori's birthday.

I dropped Sakura at the park, she was too young to pay attention to what others were saying, she didn't need to know yet.

"Imoto, I'll be going on a small run, okay? Don't leave the park until I come back unless you're going with Ino-chan to buy snacks but you can only leave to buy snacks, after you buy them, you come back to the park to eat, okay?" I said as I placed a pink wallet into Sakura's hands.

"Yes!" Sakura said before running to Ino with an innocent smile on her face, she doesn't know the travesty that happened last night.

I watched for a while longer before running. I ran to the Uchiha Compound with tears burning my eyes red. There were guards stationed at the doors, there were also sounds of people moving about and the smell of blood filled the air. I approached the guards, I had to get Shiori's instrument, we have to hand them in tomorrow for maintenance, she was so upset she couldn't play her instrument on her birthday as she wanted.

"Stop, you're not allowed in." One of the guards said.

"I need to get Shiori-chan's school instrument." I said, clenching tightly on the necklace, "We have to hand in our instruments tomorrow, she's going to be so upset again, she wanted to play her instrument tomorrow to her parents to show them how good she could play the Shamisen since it will be her birthday."

"... is Shiori-chan an Uchiha?" The other guards asked softly.

I nodded, biting my lip. I saw the guards look at each other before one of them disappeared and the other one tried his best to comfort me.

"How old are you, little girl?"

"Nine."

"And Shiori-chan is…?"

"She'll be nine tomorrow. She's in my class at the Academy, you know?"

"The Academy… you're going to be a ninja?"

I nodded.

"You know… Shinobi Rule #25: A shinobi must never show their tears on a mission, but you aren't on a mission yet so you can cry."

With that, whatever was holding back my tears broke and I started sobbing. Why did Shiori have to die? Why did Danzo have to be such a power-hungry Warhawk? Why did Itachi think there was no other option but to kill his clan? Why? Why? Why? At this point, I was only vaguely aware that I was making the guard's Jonin jacket all wet.

"Let it out… better now?"

"Un." I nodded, "Sorry about your jacket."

"You speak well for a nine-year-old, but I guess you have to be smarter than average if you were friends with an Uchiha, they were all little prodigies."

I was about to respond when the second guard came back, "I spoke with the Hokage and he said that you will be allowed to go to… Shiori-chan's house to get anything as long as we take you. Do you know the way there?"

"Yes."

"Good." The guard said before lifting me, "Which way?"

"Fourth Street, third house on the left." I recited before wiggling, "I can walk on my own, you know."

"Yeah, but I cannot allow you to see any of the… remains. I also have to keep an eye on you so you don't run off."

"Makes sense." I nodded, as we got closer to Shiori's home, my eyes started to burn again, why did she have to die?

"Wait here, I need to check to make sure there aren't any blood or traps left in the house." The guard said as she dropped me down on the doorsteps and entered the house.

I just sat there, waiting. I looked around. I came here a couple of times before, for school projects, for sleepovers, and that one time Shiori got sick and I had to bring her the homework she missed that day. I remember Reiko-baasan sitting on her porch, who shared her candy with us, who looked shocked and a bit suspicious to see me hanging out with Shiori but then started smiling fondly at me.

I remember, during my first sleepover at Shiori's home, Shiori's dad whispered to Shiori's mom about how he was so shocked that I actually came. They were sure that I wouldn't even enter the compound and just not show up. I remember being confused until I remembered all the rumors and realized they were surprised a non-Uchiha willingly entered their compound when so many people were afraid of them.

"Okay, it's clean. Go in and get whatever you want to get, I have a storage scroll on me if you need it, to unseal everything, just use the Unsealing Jutsu. Wait, have you learned how to use that Jutsu yet?"

"No, that's next year."

"Of course. Okay, all you have to do is push your chakra into the scroll, with enough chakra, you can get everything out, got that?"

"Yes."

"Good, now, just remember I need to check over whatever you take. Hokage's orders. Also, you need to return to scroll to the mission desk if you use it. Another thing if you take an heirloom or weapons or whatever, you will need to check it over with Uchiha Sasuke at a later date and if he says you can't have it, you can't have it. You understand?"

"Yes. Thank you."

I quickly entered the house and entered Shiori's room, half expecting Shiori to be fiddling with her Shamisen while looking at the new piece of music on the floor, but she wasn't there. The Shamisen was leaning against the wall, the music sheets were messily tucked away in a folder on her desk, and Shiori was nowhere in sight.

I looked around the room, there were no bedsheets, she must have died on the bed…. I shook my head, I moved all the stuffed animals into a pile, added some of her books and scrolls that I liked into the pile, pulled out all the projects she kept, her jewelry that didn't have any Uchiha symbols on it, and… and I faltered. The last thing was the picture frame I gave her as an early birthday present since she found out about it.

It was a wall collage picture frame with eight pictures in it. There were two baby pictures of Shiori, a picture of her parent's wedding, a picture of her standing alone in front of the Academy, a family photo in front of Naka Shrine, and three pictures of us together. A picture of us eating dango that Reiko-baasan took for us, a picture of us covered head to toe in flour from when we tried to bake a cake for Mother's Day that dad took, and the most recent one, a picture of Shiori and I playing a song together that Shiori's mom took.

I took it down and gently placed it against the pile of stuffed animals. I did one last sweep of the room and left to get the guard lady. I was not that close to Shiori's parents so I wasn't going to look around anywhere else, even if they liked me well enough, we never had much of a chance to bond. I found the guard and showed her my haul.

"Well, everything seems fine. Okay kid, move a bit so I can seal this all away."

I moved and watched as all the stuff seemed to disappear into one scroll the length of my arm and the width of my palm. The guard carried me back to the gates and dropped me down, but before I left, she slipped a paper into my hands.

"This is where your friend is buried." The guard said before going back to her post.

I froze, clenching the paper in my hand, I thanked the lady and ran. I ran back to Sakura, it hadn't been too long but it was starting to get late.

I was quiet during dinner, only answering and talking enough not to get Sakura suspicious but I know my parents knew better. They saw the storage scroll in my pocket and the slip of paper in my hands. They heard the news. As soon as dinner was done and Sakura went to shower, they sat me down in the living room and let me cry.

"Is there anything we can do?" Mom asked after I finished crying.

"I… no. I just… I… I don't know. I just… I just feel numb" I muttered it was so much harder to talk to my parents than it was to a complete stranger, "I just want to get all of Shiroi-chan's stuff into my room, everything else… everything else can wait."

"You feel numb? Okay… that's natural… it will pass." Mom said as she continued to rub my back.

Dad spoke up, "Go, I know you want to finish as soon as possible. Just remember, we're right here so just ask."

"Un."

The next thing I know, I was in my room with everything already unsealed and have already started moving things around the room. Shiori had five stuffed toys: a cat, a hawk, a tomato, a sun, and a moon. I placed them on my bed, I hung Shiori's Calligraphy final project next to mine and I placed the arts and crafts projects we made together that she kept with the ones I kept. I moved things around in my bookshelf to make space and placed the new books and scrolls into it. I should get a new one soon, it should be bigger.

I then set my eyes on the wall collage picture frame. I'll have dad help me put it up tomorrow but I should remove some of the pictures. I took out her baby pictures and her parent's wedding photos, which were private, and placed them in one of my photo albums. To replace them, I placed in my photo of standing alone in front of the Academy, a photo of my family standing at the top of the Hokage Mountain, and a photo of Shiori and me in kimonos during last year's Summer Festival.

Once that was done, I collapsed onto my bed. I already showered before dinner so I could just go directly to sleep. Today has been a tiring day. Tonight wasn't much better.

Chapter 5: Failure

Chapter Text

I was still numb the next day, and the day after that, and the numb days bleed into numb weeks and the next thing I knew, I'd been numb for months. My third year at the Academy… was nothing. I don't remember a thing about that year. All I really remember was being numb and just going through the motions for the entire school year. I'm sorry for my parents for needing to deal with me like this but... I couldn't help it.

We got desensitized to seeing dead animals. I learned more in the library than in Karu-sensei's lectures. In Kunoichi Class, we learned about Makeup, Disguises, and Hiding Weapons in all sorts of clothing. We started learning how to throw shuriken in addition to kunai, I managed to hit the bullseye most of the time with kunai but I only hit the bullseye half the time with shurikens, I guess this means I should never use shurikens in my jobs.

This year we started doing the Leaf Exercise and Taijutsu matches. The Leaf Exercise was easy, I've already been planning to move from the Water Walking Exercise since I somewhat mastered the Tree Walking Exercise and Shiori… Shiori promised to show me the best place near the Naka River to practice…. As for Taijutsu matches, I may be faster than most of my classmates, I don't hit the hardest, and I can't take that much punishment. I was still in the top five but I know I could do better if I could just get over those two weaknesses.

Airi was an annoyance like usual but I didn't even spare her words, I just glanced at her if she demanded my attention and ignored her when she finished. I was just numb.

To deal with everything, I threw myself into training. I pushed myself to become faster by buying weights, I pushed myself to take more punishment by training with spinning wooden training dummies and was trying to get used to the metal ones, but I never managed to hit harder. I could never learn how, but I think it's because of my body composition or something. I would try to check books out but I don't want to mess up and get into bad habits so I refrained from doing so, instead, I focused on the things I could do.

I pushed myself to start doing the Fish Exercise earlier than I originally planned, I planned to master Water Walking before this but… this was something I had to do. I killed more fish than I could count, my fish-cooking skills have never been better. I was improving but I was getting frustrated so I switched to Water Walking.

I think the Water Walking Exercise was easier than the Fish Exercise because I did the harder exercise first but I didn't dwell on it. By the time I mastered Water Walking and returned to the Fish Exercise, I was succeeding a lot more than before. I think my success rate was a mix of better Chakra Control and the fact that I was in a more positive place than before.

It took a while but I finally woke up from my grief. I woke up when I managed to revive the fish all the time for a full week. After I woke up, I apologized to my parents for how I'd been acting but they waved it off. I forgot they knew exactly how I felt since they lived through the Third Shinobi War and saw it all, at least from a civilian point of view. I was trying to ease myself out of intense training and back to normal life with days off of training when Sakura marched into the living room fuming and grumbling angrily.

"Stupid, Ino Pig…" Sakura muttered as she walked past me and I grabbed her arm.

"What was that, Sakura?" I asked, raising my eyebrow, "What did you just call Ino-chan?"

She had the decency to look guilty, "I… I called her Ino Pig."

"And why would you call her that?" I asked again.

"I… I'm not her friend anymore!" Sakura declared with all the furry that an eight-year-old could muster.

"Why's that?" I asked, did they get into a fight? Was this their first real fight? If it was, it was no wonder Sakura would go so angry.

"We can't be friends anymore because she likes Sasuke-kun, but she can't like him because I like him!"

I froze. Then I gave Sakura a quick and discrete head-to-toe check and flipped through my memories of the past year. Sakura's calluses were mostly gone, she was wearing civilian nail polish and not kunoichi ones, she wasn't eating as much as before, she flipped through fashion catalogs instead of weapons catalogs. It clicked.

"You… like a boy." I said, silently begging whatever higher power that could hear me that I heard the wrong thing.

"He's not just a boy! He's Sasuke-kun!" Sakura declared with a fiery passion and pink hearts in her eyes.

I failed. I failed again. Sakura was still a fangirl. I couldn't save Shiori from being killed and I couldn't save Sakura from becoming a fangirl. I could only hope that she hasn't fallen too far, that she could still be saved, that she wouldn't be so useless during her first year as in Canon.

"You aren't training as much." I stated, hoping that Sakura would deny it, hoping that what I could see was wrong.

"I do the minimum and I'm not last so it's fine." Sakura said, not seeing what was wrong.

"You're wearing civilian nail polish." I tried again.

"Well, I wanted to see how it looked and if Sasuke would notice."

"If you wanted to wear nail polish, you should have bought the kunoichi brand of nail polish instead of the civilian brand. The kunoichi brands were made to last longer, scentless, and not chip off, it's safer for ninjas who go on missions since there are people out there that can track them using nail polish flacks. The nail polishes are also made to make your nails harder to keep your nails from breaking and can make your nails strong enough to scratch most surfaces." I explained, feeling exhausted that she told me the reasons why she was wearing nail polish.

"Oh, I didn't know that." Sakura muttered, "But it doesn't matter, Sasuke-kun said to Ami to get her hand out of his face when she tried to show him her nail polish so it's pretty obvious he doesn't like nail polish so there's no point in wearing it. I should find something else to get his attention..."

I resist the urge to yell at Sakura. I could tell she liked the nail polish but she didn't want to wear it because Sasuke didn't like it? I'd be less annoyed at this if she wanted to wear civilian nail polish for the sake of wearing nail polish, at least then I'd be able to make her switch to the kunoichi brands, even if they only have solid mat colors.

"You're dieting." I tried once again, hoping again that it wasn't as bad as I thought it was.

"Sasuke-kun doesn't like fat girls." Sakura said matter-a-factly.

"If you train properly, you won't get fat." I tried to show her there was a better way of staying fit than dieting.

"But Sasuke-kun doesn't like sweaty girls either!" Sakura protested, "And training makes people sweaty, I told you I always do the minimum so it's fine."

"You are looking at fashion catalogs instead of weapon catalogs." I tried one last time, fashion catalogs were made and tailored to civilians while weapon catalogs were for ninjas.

Fashion catalogs were used to promote fashion and the latest trends that are coming from the Capital, they were made to ensnare civilians so that they would buy the new clothing and to help them keep up with the gossip and stories from the Capital. While ninjas read them on occasion, it was more so they could blend in during missions or to glean information about the political climate in the Daimyo's court.

Weapon catalogs were used to show ninjas the new weapons created and the newest models of weapons, they are written to explain each new weapon, and to tell ninjas if the newer models of their current weapon are good enough to warrant replacing their current arsenal. They are also used to know how to get around weapons since the catalogs list the strengths and weaknesses of each weapon. Going through the catalogs every now and then will save you if you come across an enemy with a weapon you have never seen before.

"Yeah, Sasuke-kun likes pretty girls, and besides the only weapons I'll ever really need are kunai anyway so I'll be fine." Sakura said, not knowing that what she was doing was going to hurt her in the future, "Are you okay? You're home early for once."

"I'm on a training break and I realized that going 110% every day is doing more harm than good so I decided to ease up on training." I waved her off before getting serious, "But, you have been slacking on your training. I thought you told me halfway through your first year that you were going to be training with Ino from then on but your hands tell me a different story, please don't tell me you've been stalking him with her."

Sakura had the decency to look away, ashamed, but the damage was done. I had to resist the urge to strangle her. She's my sister and I love her. I know she will grow up one day and become just as good as Tsunade one day like her Canon!Sakura counterpart but right now, she is a fangirl, full stop.

"Please tell me you are still doing Chakra Control Exercises." I all but begged, if things follow Canon with her, then she can at least have an easier time when she starts taking training seriously with her excellent Chakra Control.

"Of course." Sakura said which made me sigh in relief.

"Good." I said, thank Kami for small mercies.

"Why are you asking weird questions? Do you like Sasuke-kun too?! Is that why you have long hair and why you're asking what he likes?!" Sakura screeched, looking betrayed.

"No, I don't. I'm asking questions because you changed." I said, hoping there was more to the change than Sasuke, like wanting to look older or something.

"If I didn't change then Sasuke-kun would never like me." Sakura huffed, "It's good that you don't like him, I don't want to lose my Ane like I lost Ino Pig."

I watched as Sakura walked up the stairs, feeling like I failed her. I failed to prevent her fall into fangirl-hood, Sakura was going to be useless during her first C-Rank mission, the fight against Orochimaru, her fight against Ino, the fight against Gaara, and the Sasuke Retrieval Mission. She is going to be dead weight until she wakes up and begs Tsunade to teach her. I can't even be the one who wakes her up since she already lost herself to her obsession with Sasuke.

I sighed. This year was not my year. I should have tried harder to get Shiori to stay over. I should have paid more attention to Sakura. I'm such a failure.

Chapter 6: Academy Days Pt.4

Notes:

School is picking up, so, after today, all updates will be only on Monday.

Chapter Text

I should have paid more attention last year, the four classes from my first year have dropped to only two classes in my final year. Thank Kami that Airi was still in a different class, I would not be able to soothe my headache if I have to deal with the noise that comes out of her mouth if I have to deal with it all year.

Another thing I want to thank a higher power for was that ninja teams were almost always two boys and one girl so there was no chance of me being in the same team as Airi. For the times that this format changed was for when there were too many guys and there were a few all-boys teams or that one time a kunoichi only wanted to only teach girls and pass on her hard-earned techniques that won't work for boys. Other than those situations, there are no deviations from the two boys one girl formation.

In Kunoichi Class, we were getting The Talk and warnings of what all girls should be aware of and how to fight back. The Talk was more of an annoyance than anything else since I already learned it a lifetime ago and from my parents when I got my period, but the warnings were more concerning. From my parents who told me and Before, I already knew most of this stuff but I was surprised at just how much more Junko-sensei was telling a class of eleven to twelve-year-olds.

I was interested when Junko-sensei passed out permission slips for our parents or guardians to sign so we could go to the hospital to get a special medical seal tattooed onto us. It was a seal developed by Tsunade-sama to stop the menstrual cycle, prevent pregnancies, and protect against STDs. Once you get it tattooed, you can turn the seal off whenever you want so it doesn't get in the way with wanted pregnancies.

I could tell that this was taking a lot of the girls by surprise, they had very pink-tinted glasses that their parents never took off. Why would their parents try to keep those glasses on when these girls wanted to become kunoichi, ninjas, killers, is beyond me, it's much better to rip them off in a controlled setting while they're young than on the field and saw too much too soon to just bounce back.

"Strawhead is acting like this doesn't affect her."

"Well, it probably doesn't, who would want to be with her? Even if they're desperate for someone, they won't be that desperate."

I ignored them. I would rather be ugly enough to be passed over than pretty enough to be forced into doing it, it's much safer.

After a week of the Talk and warnings, we moved on to Acting. Well, that was the official term at least. We were actually learning about Seduction and Information Gathering, but it was disguised as Acting. I think this was one of the many reforms to make the Academy Curriculum more palatable to the civilians and the Civilian Council.

Junko-sensei said that Acting will only last until two months before the end of the school year since it was only one unit and there needed to be enough time for any student who failed Acting to get remedial classes before graduation.

We were taken out for our weekly hunting trip and were made to demonstrate our butchering and cooking abilities. I think I scared a few people who looked at me when my control over my face slipped and I started smiling as I killed some rabbits but they deserved it, if it wasn't for the Rabbit Goddess' weird son Black Zetsu then Shiori wouldn't have died.

Black Zetsu caused the fight between Indra and Ashura which made them reincarnate across time to settle things, he caused the Madara's descent to madness, and he caused the knowledge of the Sharingan controlling the Biju's to become public knowledge. Zetsu also caused Rin's death, he caused Yahiko's death, he caused Obito's descent to madness, he manipulated the Akatsuki, and he made Obito kill Minato and Kushina by releasing the Nine-Tails, orphaning Naruto.

Due to the Nine-Tails attack, and the knowledge that the Sharingan can control the Biju, caused Donzo's rumor about how the Uchihas were behind the attack to take root. Pun not intended. They manipulated public opinion which made the Uchiha's think that a coup was the only way to get their pride back, which made manipulating Itachi into killing his clan a lot easier.

Due to the combined effort of Black Zetsu and Donzo, I lost my first friend, my best friend. I miss her, and I'm angry, so if I was going to take my anger out on the rabbits, then I will take it out on the rabbits.

"Haruno-chan, are you okay?" Karu-sensei asked

I blink out of my thoughts, "Yes, why do you ask?"

"Well… some of your classmates are wondering why you were smiling and laughing while preparing your rabbit…." Karu-sensei explained, looking a bit awkward. I guess I was looking like a budding psychopath while covered in rabbit blood.

"I was thinking about rabbit soup, which somehow turned into rabbit puns. I wondered if there was any bunny out there that would enjoy rabbit soup as I do, but then I decided that I carrot all because what anyone else says is just haresy." I laughed, privately thanking Junko-sensei for the lying lessons, it came in handy so quickly.

Karu-sensei ran his hand down his face and sighed, "I see."

As he walked away, I think I could hear him muttering about how he wasn't paid enough for horrible puns and how he would forever be grateful if I wasn't turning into a mini-Anko because he didn't want that on his hands, or else he would have resigned then and there. I shrugged. I think Anko was cool Before, and she probably had a bunch of senbon techniques I could learn. Maybe I should try for a job in T&I once I make Chunin? Some food for thought.

When we started senbons, I could finally get my kunai to hit the bullseye at least 95% of the time, the remaining 5% always ending up in the line between the bullseye and the second inner ring so I was happy. As for shurikens, I could only hit the bullseye 87% of the time, the way you throw a shuriken is different enough from throwing a kunai that my aim was off due to not switching fast enough.

As for senbons, I was so surprised at my 100% accuracy rate with them. At least now I knew that senbons would be my weapon of choice, good thing too since I was already planning on using them Haku-style.

"You're really good with senbons, Momo-chan. Did you learn this already?" Tenten asked, ever since the day I called her a possible weapons specialist, she's been talking to me.

I didn't know how or when I built up the reputation of a studious, quiet but unapproachable student, but it happened. If I had to guess, I would say that it was during my numb year but no matter my reputation, Tenten kept talking to me.

"Kind of. This is my first time using real senbons, but I tried throwing dango sticks to find out how it would feel." I said.

Throwing dango sticks was the first thing I tried to do when I tried dango for the first time. I remembered Anko making some designs on the wall by throwing dango sticks in the anime once and I wanted to give it a try now that I could. Turns out, it was possible, just hard.

"I see, training while eating sweets, huh? No wonder you've always been at the top of the class since the first year."

"Thank you…?" I said, not knowing if it was a compliment or not.

"It's honestly amazing, you know? You got all the Three Basic Jutsus down within the first try and you're still in the top three for taijutsu."

"You are only seeing the results, not how hard I worked to get to this point." I said.

I don't want Tenten thinking I was some genius, that honor was Neji's.

I elaborated, "I managed to get the basic jutsus down because I've been training my Chakra Control since the first year. Day in and day out, I've been training and training to get faster and take more punishment. I'm not a natural-born genius, I just worked really hard."

Tenten left with a thoughtful look on her face while I got back to hitting the bullseye with my senbons. I love throwing senbons.

Since I was finally in my final year at the Academy, I was finally allowed to look at the more advanced books in the library. They probably made restrictions like this so that information couldn't be used by students who were just going to drop out, but I didn't care, I was finally going to be able to get that scroll on Iryo Ninjutsu I wanted, the scroll and book on Genjutsu Shiori said she wanted to read through, and the three books on poisons Shiori and I found together while looking at all the books on the restricted area.

The first thing I did was read through the scroll on Iryo Ninjutsu, it was the only thing in the entire restricted area on Iryo Ninjutsu. When I finished reading, I was shocked. There were two techniques and a jutsu in the scroll: the Chakra Strings Technique, the Chakra Scalpel Technique, and the Mystical Palm Jutsu.

I was surprised that Chakra Stings, a technique from Suna, and an A-Rank Jutsu like Mystical Palm was even in a library in the Academy but then I remembered that most if not all Iryo Ninjutsu were made by Tsunade-sama. Tsunade-sama had probably discovered how to do the Chakra Strings Technique and wanted us to know about it. As for the Mystical Palm… I have no excuse, maybe because it was the most widely known and used Iryo Ninjutsu in the world?

Next, I opened the scroll and on Genjutsu. In the scroll, there were two jutsus: Demonic Illusion: False Surroundings Jutsu, and Demonic Illusion: Double False Surroundings Jutsu. In the book, there were a few minor Genjutsu tricks, like making sounds that aren't there, small flickering lights, and one that could cause vertigo.

I flipped open the books on poisons and started reading. One of the books was on the poisonous plants found in Fire Country, the second book was a general encyclopedia that covers the most prominent poisonous plants all over the continent, and the final book was on poisons, how to make them, how to identify them, and their effects.

I took notes, wrote down the hand signs, and how the scrolls and books described how to do the techniques and jutsus. In another notebook, I wrote down all the plants, how the poisons were made, and whatnot. When I finally finished, I saw that I spent every day after school for the past two months in the library.

I got started on the new jutsu as soon as I could, I was not going to let Shiori's dream about becoming a Genjutsu Master/Mistress die just because I was too lazy to put in the effort.

I will live her dream for her. I'll do it jutice.

Chapter 7: Academy Days Pt.5

Chapter Text

In our final test for Acting, we had to get a piece of information from the boys in our class, they were told a location and we had to find out where it was by the end of the week. Once we found out where the location was, we were supposed to go there on Saturday sometime between nine and eleven in the morning. As an incentive for the boys, if they gave the location to the girls too easily, then they would be forced to sit through a week of First-Year Kunoichi Classes. Of course, the teachers are the ones who will tell us if the boy gave the information up 'too easily' so there's a chance that if you tell the girl, nothing will happen.

While the teachers told the boys the location, we were made to go to the other side of the school so we couldn't eavesdrop. The other girls started sitting next to some of the boys while I just returned to my seat. I don't understand why they started chatting the boys up when the boys were just told not to say anything and the teachers were right there.

Ultimately, none of the boys gave anything up and the class was over. The girls started following the boys, trying to get their information out of them. Idiots, it's much more effective if you wait for a bit, they were just threatened not to tell us anything so that threat was still fresh in their minds, meaning they won't tell anyone anything that easily.

As I trained in my clearing, I thought over my options. Right now, my lack of socialization is biting me in the ass. I barely know who's in my class, I don't even remember their names unless they're standing in front of me so, realistically, I can only ask Neji and Lee since they are the only two guys I know that are in my class.

Unfortunately, all of Neji's fangirls are hounding him and if I try to get information from him, I'd be on the bad side of his fangirls. So, my only real choice is Lee. Now, I just need to figure out how I am going to get the information out of him.

"Youth…! Youth…!" A voice yelled from behind me.

I turned my head and promptly dove out of the way as Lee ran through the bushes and collapsed right where I was standing. I stared at Lee for a few moments before a thought hit me. I used the Transformation Jutsu to transform into a slightly younger student with black hair and blue eyes and started trying to nudge him to get him to stand up.

"Hey, you on the floor, are you okay?" I asked, pitching my voice higher, "Do you need help?"

"Ah!" Lee yelled as he sat up, his face covered in dirt, "I am so sorry for interrupting your Youthful training!"

"It's fine." I smiled as I pulled out the spare towel I brought along, "Here, you should use this to wipe the dirt off your face."

"T-thank you." Lee stuttered as he took the towel.

"Why were you running?" I asked.

"I was trying to train my mental fortitude."

"Why?"

"Because today, we were told by our teachers that we were not supposed to tell the girls something that they want to know and… stuff…"

"Stuff?"

"Yeah, they are doing this test, to get information out of us, I cannot tell them that they are to meet at the Hokage's office."

"Oh?" I asked, surprised how easy this was, "Is it okay for you to tell me?"

"I… I think so…?" Lee then panicked, "I mean, you are not in my class so as long as you do not tell anyone, it will be fine!"

I was about to say something when he stood up and started running.

"I must continue training! Goodbye!"

I blinked and then shrugged. I got my information and I could go on acting like I always do, but I also need to act like I didn't know the information, this was going to be annoying if anyone knew that I knew.

For the next week, I kept going about my routine but I did make an attempt to look like I was trying to gather information. If I saw a boy and girl talking from my class and it wasn't out of the way, I got close and put chakra into my ears so I could hear better. There were a few times when they would stop talking altogether while I got close but I got better at stealth over the week.

Soon, the week was over and I slipped out of the house early in the morning and went to eat breakfast in a restaurant near the Hokage Tower. After waiting a bit, I placed myself under the Transformation Jutsu to make myself look like an old woman taking a stroll and waited for nine o'clock to arrive. Once it was time, I entered the Tower, undid my Transformation, and went straight to the secretary who directed me to the Hokage Office.

"Ah, Haruno-chan, you are the first one to get here." Junko-sensei said as she smiled, "You found the location, congratulations."

"Thank you, sensei."

After waiting a bit, the rest of the girls made it. Junko-sensei told everyone to stand in line and stared at all of us.

"Now, Tell me how you got the information and who told you. Make sure to tell it like you would be telling the Hokage about a mission verbally." Junko-sensei asked before pointing at me, "You start us off, Haruno-chan."

"On Monday, at around 16:30, I was training in my usual clearing when Rock Lee burst through the bushes and fell face first in front of me, knocking himself out. I quickly transformed into a younger girl with black hair and blue eyes and woke him up. I gave him my spare towel to wipe the dirt off his face and asked him why he was running. Slowly, I twisted the conversation so that I was able to ask what he was supposed to be hiding from the girls and he told me before continuing on with his training. I knew that, if anyone knew that I knew where the location was, I would just be followed so I acted like I didn't know where the location was. Today, I left the house at 6:00 and had breakfast at Midori's before transforming into an old woman out on a stroll and slowly made my way to the Tower like I wanted to put in a job request. Once inside, I dropped the transformation and made my way to the secretary who directed me here."

"So, you got the information by pretending to be a stranger and Rock Lee gave you the information by accident. Why did you drop the transformation?"

"Because me using the Transformation Jutsu made a few people jumpy, they were paying too much attention to me."

"So you sacrificed your disguise to get here easier."

"Yes."

"Okay, Tenten, you're next." Junko-sensei said as she gestured to Tenten.

"On Tuesday, at 16:47, I was helping out at one of the Weapons Stores' like I do every day when Fuji Hibiki rushed in looking for a birthday present for his older sister. He found a katana he liked but it was out of his price range, he saw me and begged for a discount in exchange for the location, which I agreed to. Then I made my way here, but thinking back, I should have come in disguise as Momo-chan did."

"So you got the information by striking a deal and Fuji Hibiki was the one who gave you the information in exchange for a katana."

"Yes."

Junko-sensei went on to ask Yamanaka Asuka and Todo Shiko about how they found out and they said they found out by eavesdropping on Tenten's exchange by accident and being told by her twin brother, respectively.

"Good, you four passed Kunoichi Class, congratulations. The rest of you, you are to spend the next month and a half in a remedial class for Acting."

"What?! Why?!" Airi yelled, shocked, "We all made it here, didn't we?"

"Yes but you were told by your uncle and you told your friends. The objective was to get the information from the boys, not your uncle, and it was implied that you were supposed to show up on your own. While it is right to help your teammates, this was a test on Acting and Information Gathering, which is used to get valuable information from enemy territory back to your village. To simulate a real situation where a slip up could mean death, telling so many people about the location is too risky. Hokage-sama told the Council about this test for two reasons, one so no one would stop you students from entering his office, and to see if any of the councilmen would tell any of their relatives about the test. Your uncle failed this test and will be replaced soon. Also, if you only told one person, it would have been fine but you told too many."

Junko-sensei kept talking while those of us that passed were ushered out by Karu-sensei and told to go home. Instead of going home, I went to Yamanaka's to buy some white lilies and made my way to the burial grounds and sat in front of Shiori's gravestone, telling her about Junko-sensei's verbal smackdown of Airi and how Airi's great uncle was finally getting kicked out of the Council and how Airi was finally going to drop out. We finally got our wish granted, albeit a few years late.

I apologize for not being able to visit over the week since I was supposed to act like I was gathering information and promised I'd tell her before disappearing for long periods of time. I kept talking as I placed down the lilies and took out my water bottle and a piece of cloth and started cleaning Shiori's grave stone.

"I wish you could have seen it, Shiori-chan, Fuku-san's face turned so white it was probably whiter than the clouds in Kumo!" I laughed, "Well, I need to go train, I'll talk to you later, 'kay? Don't get bored without me."

I stood up, put my water bottle and cloth back into my pocket, and turned around to go home to tell my parents the good news but as I walked I saw Uchiha Sasuke standing close enough to have heard the entire conversation. I paid him no mind, he means nothing to me since I don't know him, he will remain nothing to me until something changes but until then, he is nothing. No matter how much Sakura likes him, he means nothing to me outside of the object of her affection.

I ignored the feeling of shock radiating and sadness from his chakra. He was probably unaware that there was anyone other than himself mourning for his clan, even if I was just mourning one person, it was probably nice to see someone else feeling the loss.

Though, if he does end up running to Orochimaru like in Canon, he won't have my sympathy.

Chapter 8: Team Placements

Chapter Text

I got up early to do a quick run around the village before making my way to the Academy. I was wearing a new outfit to celebrate the occasion of finally becoming a Genin. I tied my hair into a ponytail and wore a tight black t-shirt with a light purple vest over it, and black shorts with purple tights under them. I also had bandages tied around my thighs, a black kunai and senbon pouch, a pair of black fingerless gloves, and tall black ninja sandals. I will never understand how Tsunade-sama was able to fight in heels and I don't plan to find out. Before I left the house, I tightened my forehead protector that was around my forehead and touched my necklace.

"Today's the day, Shiori-chan." I muttered before opening the door and leaving the house.

Today we were getting our Team Placements so I woke up too early with too much energy. When I got to class, the rest of my classmates were already talking about who they wanted to be teamed up with and who they didn't want to be teamed up with. General consensus was that they wanted Neji and not Lee, they also didn't want any all-girls teams.

"Settle down!" Karu-sensei yelled, making everyone go quiet, "Listen up. The moment you got your forehead protectors, you were recognized as ninjas of Konohagakure. You are no longer children but proud ninjas that serve our village. I am proud of each and every one of you and I hope to see all of you go far in your careers, who knows, maybe one day we may even go on a job together. These four years were memorable and I hope you will cherish the memories formed in this building and never forget the lessons you learned."

"Thank you, Sensei!" Someone yelled, which prompted everyone else to repeat it, "Thank you, Sensei."

Karu-sensei smiled, "Thank you for being wonderful students. Now, I will be listing the teams the Hokage chose for you. Team 1…"

I paid close attention to Karu-sensei as he listed out the teams. I wonder who was going to be teaching me, which team I'll be on, and if my Jonin-sensei would let me learn poisons under Anko in the future.

"Team 6, Sho, Tenten, and Fugi Hibiki…"

Wait… But Tenten isn't supposed to be on Team 6… no….

"Team 9, Haruno Momo-"

No….

"-Hyuuga Neji and-"

Please, no….

"-Rock Lee-"

Kami, please, no….

"under the Jonin-sensei of Maito Gai."

Kami, why me, please, no…!

The second Karu-sensei finished talking, a man wearing a green spandex and had a bowl-cut hairstyle dramatically entered the classroom.

"Team 9, you're with me!" Gai-sensei said, smiling and pointing at himself with his thumb, "Meet me on the third floor, on the balcony!"

I blinked and followed Neji as Lee ran straight out the door like hell hounds were nipping at his heels. As I walked, I decided to flip through my memories of Canon instead of freaking out since it would be more productive. I briefly wondered if this was the start of a bad habit of pushing concerning things for future-me to deal with but I shook myself out of it and focused on my memories. They may not be as sharp as I would have liked them but I do remember the major plot points and a bit of everyone's backstory.

Lee's backstory was that, during his time in the Academy, Lee proved to have no talent for ninjutsu and genjutsu. He was mocked by his peers because of this but Lee persevered, focusing on taijutsu. After he managed to graduate, he was placed onto Team Gai along with Neji and Tenten. During the team's first meeting, Lee vowed to become a powerful ninja without using ninjutsu or genjutsu. Neji laughed at him, but their sensei, Might Guy, took a special interest in Lee and encouraged Lee to keep at it and, in time, began teaching him powerful forms of taijutsu.

Neji's backstory was that Neji was born the son of Hizashi and a member of the Hyuuga branch clan. When Hinata turned three years old, Neji's forehead was branded with the customary cursed seal by his uncle, Hiashi. Neji's natural talent with the Hyūga's trademark techniques was apparent to his father which made Hizashi resent that Neji was marked with a cursed seal, bounding him to a life of service to the main house when he should be destined for greater things. His anger would often manifest subconsciously, prompting Hiashi to activate Hizashi's cursed seal and punish him with pain, an act that traumatized Neji. This made Neji obsessed with fate and destiny until Naruto knocked some sense into him which will help him find closure.

I couldn't do anything for them, Lee was going to get all the help he needed from Gai, and Neji was going to get help from Naruto and find closure. Tenten did… nothing. Huh. Did I really do much by taking her place? Kishimoto Masashi really did not know how to write female characters. Tsunade was portrayed as a drunk coward at first, Kurenai was made pregnant, Sakura was useless for the first half and was portrayed as always yearning for Sasuke, Tenten and Ino barely had any screen-time, and Karin was the crazy girl in love with Sasuke.

Now that I think about it, I don't feel as bad for taking Tenten's place but I still feel bad that she might not become the best she could be without Gai-sensei guiding her. All I can do is hope to change Neji's death in the war, I refuse to fail a third time. Shiori died, Sakura was a fangirl, I can't fail again. Neji will live, even if I myself will have to die, Neji will live.

"Alright! Introductions!" Gai-sensei exclaimed, "I'll start us off, my name is Maito Gai and I am a Taijutsu Specialist. I enjoy training, competitions with my Eternal Rival, and the Springtime of Youth! I don't have much I dislike and my hobbies are to train and challenge my Rival. My dreams for the future are to make you three become proud ninjas! Now, you on the right, start us off!"

"My name is Hyuuga Neji. I enjoy training. I dislike when people try to fight their fate. My hobby is training. I don't have any dreams for the future."

"Okay, next!"

I admire Gai-sensei's ability to go with the weird.

"My name is Haruno Momo, just call me Momo since we're on the same team. I enjoy training and eating dango from Midori's. I don't have many things I dislike but I do dislike the fangirl phase my little sister, Sakura, is going through and I hope she gets over it soon. My hobbies are drawing and reading. In the past, I didn't have much thought into what I wanted to do in the future so I half-heartedly said I wanted to be an Iryo Ninjutsu Master but now, I am determined to become a Poison and Genjutsu Master. Poison Master for myself and Genjutsu Master to carry on the dream of my friend Shiori who can no longer do so."

Lee looked impressed while Neji looked as if he could care less about my dreams. I don't know if it was because he remembered Shiori and he didn't like it because she was an Uchiha and he still felt the clan rivalry or if he thinks that carrying out the dreams of the dead for them was a waste of time, I don't know.

"An admirable, and Youthful dream! I will do my best to help, but know that Genjutsu is not my strongest area of expertise." Gai-sensei said, "Next!"

"My name is Rock Lee! I enjoy training and the Springtime of Youth as well! I don't have anything I dislike and my hobby is training! My dream for the future is to become a powerful ninja without the use of Ninjutsu or Genjutsu for I cannot use them! I want to achieve my dream by only using Taijutsu!"

"Ha." Neji laughed, condescending, "You can't become a powerful ninja, as you put it, with only Taijutsu. You're destined to fail."

"It doesn't matter! I will fight that destiny and I will succeed!" Lee yelled, determined to prove Neji wrong.

"You can't fight it, just accept it." Neji scoffed.

I wanted to tell Neji that Lee was entitled to his own opinion so don't discourage him and to tell Lee that while it's good to have dreams, he needed a plan first but that would be counterproductive. Neji wouldn't care and whatever bit of respect he might have had for me would have disappeared and made working as a team harder and Lee would just ignore my words and charge on through. I could only wait until Neji gets his Naruto Therapy Session and Lee matures a bit.

"Now, now, settle down." Gai-sensei said, "I must tell you that there is a test to make you an official, Youthful Genins! If you fail, you will return to the Academy for another year or enter the Genin Corp! Meet me at Training Ground 9 for your test!"

With that, Gai shot out onto the rooftops and started running. We were quick to follow with Neji taking the lead and Lee in the rear while I was in the middle. I remember that Canon!Gai's test for his team was just a fight, I wonder if that will stay the same. When we made it to Training Ground 9, Gai-sensei was already waiting for us.

"Now, I want you three to fight me with all the Youth you've got!" Gai-sensei yelled as he got into position.

Neji was quick to run in with Lee hot on his heels while I stood back. I watched as Neji tried to hit Gai-sensei with his Gentle Fist while Lee went for a barrage of punches and kicks. While I can tell both of them are putting in a lot of effort and they were both decently trained, Gai-sensei was still too strong for them.

This was also a very bad matchup for me. Gai-sensei was too fast to be hit by my senbons, which he should know are poisoned due to how I said I wanted to be a Poison Master, and that really limits me to Genjutsu since I only know the Three Basic Jutsus and my Taijutsu isn't up to par, compared to Lee and Neji. The Academy Style does not suit me.

"Demonic Illusion: Vertigo." I muttered.

The effects were not immediate, Gai-sensei didn't even flinch but he was more guarded than before, so that was a plus.

"Kai!" Gai-sensei said as he jumped back from Lee and Neji, "Good job, Momo, that was a good use of Genjutsu, I didn't even know you performed one until I was affected! Even though I was letting my guard down, that was still an excellent sneak attack!"

I said my thanks by sending a volley of senbons at Gai-sensei as Neji and Lee got back up. They crashed into each other when Gai-sensei dodged my senbons. As expected, Gai dodged most of them. Only one touched him but that was barely a graze of his vest, it didn't even cut skin. Frustrated, I ran in for Taijutsu. It may not be my strongest but I was decent enough.

The fight -if you could call it that, it was more like a one-sided slaughter- lasted another twenty minutes. It ended with the three of us punching Gai-sensei in the face, just like Canon!TeamGai ended their fight. It wasn't even a satisfying punch since Gai-sensei didn't even flinch back or have any bruises on his face.

"Congratulations, you all pass." Gai-sensei said, striking his patented Nice-Guy Pose, only Lee was in awe, "We will meet back here tomorrow at 8:00 for our first Youthful Team Training Day! So, see you tomorrow."

With that, Gai-sensei left us. Neji was the next to leave, not even giving us the courtesy of a farewell while Lee decided to keep training in the Training Grounds. I sighed and went to visit Shiori. I'll tell her all about the fight and then do some training (or reading over my notes, whichever I felt like doing) before going to sleep.

Chapter 9: New Style

Chapter Text

I went to Training Ground 9 with a lighter feeling than what I felt last night. I bumped into Tenten who told me she passed her Genin test and the teacher was a Weapons Specialist. I was so happy for her, and for myself since I was glad I didn't mess up how amazing she could have been. When I got there, I saw Lee napping face down on the ground, covered in dirt, while Neji was sitting under the shade of the trees.

"Morning." I greeted Neji as I pulled Lee along with me as I made my way into the shade.

"... Good morning." Neji said, looking as if he didn't want to talk to me anymore but I pushed on, we were going to be a team so we should at least learn how to cooperate.

"Was Lee already like this when you came?" I asked.

"No, the idiot was still training. He collapsed two minutes before you arrived."

"Why didn't you pull him into the shade?" I asked, even if the sun wasn't that bad today, it was the principal of the matter.

"Why should I?" Neji asked arrogantly.

"Because he's our teammate?" I said, sounding a little confused, "And teammates in a team help each other out when they need it. You're going to be stuck with us until you become Chunin so you should at least try to be a good teammate outside of missions and training. Genin Teams are practically for life, from what I heard, and I don't think Gei-sensei would be the type to let his Genin Team fall apart. Especially since I know that he still meets up every other month with his old Genin Team. You might as well accept that you're stuck with us for life."

"... If that turns out to be my fate then I have no choice." Neji said darkly.

I think that was going to be all I was getting from Neji so I turned my attention back to Lee, this situation was suspiciously familiar. I nudged Lee awake and handed him my spare towel, he had a lot of dirt on his face.

"Morning Lee."

"Ah, good morning Momo!" Lee greeted me as he took the towel and whipped his face with it.

With Lee facing me and his face more or less clear of dirt, I could see that he had a cut on his face and he was favoring his right arm. Upon closer inspection, he had a few bruises on his left arm and his knuckles were bleeding.

"Hey Lee, do you mind helping me test out this jutsu?" I asked.

"Of course not! What do I need to do?" Lee asked, standing up fast.

"Nothing. Just stand still." I said, once Lee nodded, I did the hand signs, "Mystical Palm Jutsu."

As soon as my hands started glowing green, I placed one of my hands on Lee's cut and the other on his arm. Once the cut healed, I moved my hand so it could help my other hand heal up Lee's left arm and knuckles.

"Done." I said, "Is everything okay?"

"Yes! Thank you!" Lee said as he bent his left arm and touched his knuckles, "Nothing hurts anymore!"

"You just used the Mystical Palm Jutsu. That was an A-Rank Iryo Ninjutsu. Where did you learn that?" Neji asked, speaking up without prompting for the first time.

"You'll be surprised at how much information is actually in the Academy Library if you look hard enough." I answered simply.

"That is admirable, Momo!" Gai-sensei yelled, appearing out of nowhere, "You have studied so hard and your hard work is paying off! That is the power of Youth!"

"Thank you, sensei." I said, feeling a bit awkward.

"You're welcome. Now, this week, we are going to do body training before doing any missions so I can see where each of you are. The Youthful fight between you and me gave me a general idea but that was simply not enough!"

I listened as Gai-sensei told us that we were going to do ten laps around the village to start the day. For a moment, I think I bonded with Neji on a spiritual level as we shared a look of disbelief before we started running. Lee was ahead of us, already starting while Neji and I bonded, and Gai-sensei was running behind us.

"Gai-sensei," I said as I fell back to talk to Gai-sensei, "I had something I was wondering if you could help me with."

"Of course! What is it? Sensei will definitely help!" Gai-sensei said, beaming with happiness.

"You see, I've never been comfortable with Academy Style, it doesn't fit my body type or something but I could never get it to feel right, so I've been wondering if I could invent my own Taijutsu Style. I already had an idea and I'm sure it could work but I need help actually putting it together and creating the katas."

Gai-sensei was silent, I was kind of worried he sensed something I didn't pick up with my Chakra Sensory skills but then he burst into tears.

"Yes! To think of such an idea to get over your weakness, that is the power of Youth! Don't you worry, Momo! As your sensei, I will do my best to help you in such a noble endeavor! We will discuss it while Neji and Lee spar after the laps!"

I just smiled and nodded as I sped up to catch up with Neji.

As soon as the ten laps were up, the three of us were allowed a five-minute break before Gai-sensei pitted me against Lee in a Taijutsu-only fight. It was a pretty even fight all things considered, while we had about the same amount of stamina, Lee could hit harder than I could, however, I was faster than him. I won the fight but that was probably because Lee over-committed in his last attack and I managed to take him down with his own weight.

"That was a Youthful fight! Lee, next time do not overcommit on your attacks unless you are certain that your attack will hit. Momo, I can see now that the Academy Style is definitely stifling your Youth. It was smart of you to ask for help early. I cannot give you any advice until we find a style that suits you, or until we make that style you wanted."

"Thank you, Gai-sensei." Lee and I said in unison.

"You're welcome. Now, Momo, heal up Lee. Then we will go eat lunch before returning here for Lee to fight Neji." Gai-sensei said as he stood up, "While you two have your Youthful battle, I will be helping Momo create her style."

Gai-sensei took us to a nearby restaurant for lunch. It was a good meal but I could have done without Lee trying to copy Gai-sensei and the two of them started talking about 'Youthful sustenance of Springtime' and whatever else.

"Neji-san - wait, can I just call you Neji? - do you know if I would break any laws if I use Genjutsu to silence them?" I mumbled under my breath.

"You may not call me Neji, and I believe you will get in trouble for using a jutsu, even if it's a Genjutsu, in a civilian setting for something this… trivial." Neji said, but I could tell he wanted to Genjutsu the scene away.

After we finished eating, we made our way back to the Training Grounds and Gai-sensei let Neji and Lee start beating the crap out of each other, or at least, let Neji beat the crap out of Lee while Lee tried to improve himself.

"Now, Momo, tell me your Youthful idea for a new Taijutsu Style!"

"Well, I got this idea from learning about the Gentle Fist. You know how they target the tenketsu to stop the flow of chakra? Well, I was wondering if I could do something similar but instead of targeting the tenketsu points, I want to target pressure points." I explained before pointing to Gai-sensei's arm, "Can I show you what I mean?"

"Of course!" Gai-sensei said, giving me his arm.

I breathed and used my pointer and middle fingers to hit the pressure points as fast as I could, without chakra since I want to show Gai-sensei what it's like before I added chakra into the mix. This Taijutsu Style is basically Tai Lee's fighting style from Avatar but they never really explained how to fight and I'm not confident in my memories to learn without an actual Taijutsu Specialist helping me out. I'm really lucky Gai-sensei is my sensei.

"Interesting! This is most Youthful!" Gai-sensei exclaimed as he tried to move his limp arm, "I can see why you want this as part of your Style!"

"I can hit the pressure point with any of my fingers, knuckles, and even my toes. If I use chakra while I hit the pressure points, it will probably be stronger or last longer or a mix of the two." I said, giving Gai-sensei more information, "So, can you help me turn it into my own Style?"

"I can! This will be such a Youthful Style that it will be passed down in history!" Gai-sensei yelled with a fire in his eyes.

"I don't need it to go down in history, I just need it to work for me." I said weakly.

"Yosh! I can tell you are fast, nimble, and flexible, so we should make sure those Youthful traits shine through!" Gai-sensei declared.

I listened attentively while taking notes in my notebook. Gai-sensei may be very eccentric but he was, without a doubt, The Taijutsu Specialist (if not Master) of Konoha, and listening to him dish out so many ideas for me to try only solidified that image.

It took the better part of the month but by the time we started doing D-Rank missions regularly instead of just training, I had a rough idea of what my Taijutsu Style would look like. I was surprised that I got this far within just one week but I guess this is the power of a Taijutsu Specialist. It was enough progress that Gai-sensei said I should start fighting Lee with my new Style since there was only so much you could do with the theory of the Style without actually testing it out.

"Ready? Begin!" Gai-sensei yelled.

Lee rushed towards me, he got faster but so did I. I jumped back before jumping over Lee, twirling upside down in the sky while using my thumb to hit a pressure point near his right shoulder and push off when he tried to hit me. Lee's movements with his right arm should be slower or restricted somewhat.

"Amazing!" Lee yelled, stars in his eyes, as he jumped back, "I cannot move my arm as quickly as I'd like and there is still a bit of stinging where you hit me! Such a beautiful attack for a Youthful Style that you have made with Gai-sensei!"

"Eh, thank you…?" I said, confused, as I ducked down to dodge one of Lee's kicks and tried to hit the pressure points on Lee's extended leg but he moved away before I could do anything.

I rushed in, cartwheeling towards him. Lee tried to punch me, and it did hit, but I managed to hit all his pressure points in that arm, alarming him. He tried to punch me with his other hand but I hit all his pressure points again. He jumped back and started running but I flung myself into the air and landed in front, cutting off his escape route. He was too close to dodge me by moving to the left or right, so he could only jump over me or jump backward.

Lee chose to jump backward and I dove to hit his legs. He landed on his left leg, the only leg with the strength to stand. I ran towards him while Lee kept jumping back. He made a last-ditch effort to kick me with his remaining leg, which worked and I think I'll find a large bruise on my side as soon as this fight was over, but I grabbed it and hit the pressure points. I then dropped Lee onto the floor and turned to Gai-sensei with the victory sign.

"The winner of this Youthful fight is Momo! Good job to both of you." Gai-sensei said as dragged Lee to the shade Gai-sensei was sitting under, "Lee, you have grown a lot however you still overcommitted on your attacks and have underestimated your opponent because of the underdeveloped fighting style, that is simply unYouthful! Not only is it disrespectful to the budding Taijutsu Style but also to your teammate who has worked so hard to create it!"

"I'm sorry, Gai-sensei! I will do better!" Lee cried.

"It's okay, you are still learning and it is my job as your sensei to bring you into the Springtime of Youth!"

"Gai-sensei! I will make a note of your teachings!" Lee yelled as he wiggled, "As soon as I can move…"

"Sorry, Lee. I've only been working on creating my katas, not the undoing of… whatever I did to you. I'll… uh, write it for you if you want." I said, pulling out my pen.

"Thank you, Momo-chan! My Notebook of Youth is in my back pocket!" Lee said.

I pulled it out and started writing for Lee while Gai-sensei started talking about what I needed to improve on.

"Now, Momo, you need to be faster and more flexible! Instead of dodging you could have just bent backward to dodge so you could be in the range of your opponent's limbs. You also need to be more aware, there were many times you could have hit Lee but you simply did not see it! However, this was a Youthful first fight with your new Style!"

"Thank you, sensei."

"Now, I will go buy us some bentos for lunch while you rest, I don't think Lee will be able to move for another three minutes so we will eat here today!" Gai-sensei said before rushing off to get us lunch.

It was an awkward silence that passed but then Neji spoke up.

"Your new Taijutsu Style is similar to the Gentle Fist." Neji stated plainly.

"Well, yeah. I remembered how the Gentle Fist can disrupt the Chakra Pathway System and do all kinds of damage and I wondered if I could do something similar by targeting pressure points instead of tenketsus." I explained, "I can't do what you Hyuuga's can do with your Gentle Fist, but by targeting pressure points, I can make people go limp, as I did to Lee. Unlike the Gentle Fist where you use chakra to damage the pathways, I enhance my hits with chakra like you would your legs when you run to make my attacks stronger."

"I see."

Neji went back to staring out in space while I did some Chakra Control Exercises with my forehead protector. We both ignored Lee who was yelling about how he would use the Power of Youth to overcome his limp form soon.

Chapter 10: First Poison

Chapter Text

After a full month of just Taijutsu, no missions, I was getting restless. I knew that I was making a lot of progress with my personal Taijutsu Style, I knew that Neji was getting a lot of practice with his Gentle Fist, and I knew that Lee was starting to shape up to the Taijutsu Master I knew he could become but I was getting nowhere with any of my Genjutsu or my poisons. The only hard jutsu I was always practicing was Mystical Palm Jutsu, but that's only because my entire team had unanimously decided that since I was there to patch things up, moderation was tossed out the metaphorical window.

While I did a lot of things to expand my Chakra Reserves, improve my Chakra Control, and have been working on jutsus that I got from the Genin Section of the library, they weren't enough. How was I going to survive the Chunin Exams like this? How was I going to join the Sasuke Retrieval Mission if I wasn't strong enough to help? How was I going to deal with the copy of myself during the Kazekage Mission? How in the nine layers of hell was I going to survive the Fourth Great Ninja War? The answer to the last one was that I probably wasn't going to but I want to at least try, damnit!

"Gai-sensei." I spoke up while Neji and Lee were sparring. No matter what Neji says, Lee was improving a lot, he just couldn't see it because he was also improving.

"What is it, Momo?" Gai-sensei asked, giving me a glance.

"I was wondering if you could get me some books or scrolls on advanced Genjutsus and poisons, I can't get anything higher than Genin level and I already learned everything I could. There wasn't much in that section, so I was wondering…."

"Leave it to your sensei! I will find the most Youthful books for you to study!" Gai-sensei declared before bursting into tears, "Sensei is so proud to have such Youthful students who don't worry about asking questions!"

"Of course we'd ask questions, how would we learn anything if we didn't?"

True to what Gai-sensei promised, he did get me the advanced books I wanted, some of which were even from the Jonin Section, which made me raise my eyebrows. Despite my best efforts, I still didn't have enough chakra to safely do most of the jutsus Gai-sensei got me but I could still make notes and practice the ones I could do.

Neji and Lee were both willing to help me practice, well, Lee was willing, Neji was just told by Gai-sensei to let me use him as practice. Lee was the most affected since, while he can detect and release himself from Genjutsu, it wasn't something he practiced so he sometimes stays trapped. When he does realize he's in a Genjutsu, he struggles to get out. Neji, on the other hand, can use his Byakugan to see through the illusion but he did have some difficulty getting out of my jutsu even if he could identify he was in it, which was something I took pride in.

There were times when Gai-sensei gave me some one-on-one time to help me make and mix poisons, which I was grateful for. I knew Gai-sensei tried to divide his time between all of us equally, even though I knew he had a soft spot for Lee. He and Lee always do one-on-one Taijutsu training time outside of team training, he tried to do the same with Neji but Neji didn't want any. I wonder what they would even do if Neji did agree. With Lee, he focused on Taijutsu, with me, he focused on poisons, I don't know what he'd focus on with Neji.

"Momo, you are spacing out. That is most unYouthful when you are doing something dangerous like poison mixing." Gai-sensei said, bringing me back to earth.

"Oops, sorry sensei." I said as I shook one of the vials, "Sensei, could you pass me the crushed peyote cactus?"

"Here you go. What kind of Youthful poison are you making today?" Gai-sensei asked.

"I did a bit of research and I've created my own recipe for a poison that will cause hallucinations to those who smell it. Theoretically, if they ingest it, the hallucinations would be stronger but I'm not testing that out."

"Ah… Momo, as your sensei, I have to tell you not to create more poisons of your own creation. For any poisons you create, and if you are not of Jonin rank for at least two years, you must get your Youthful poisons cleared and tested at the Poison Section of R&D, which you cannot access as of yet due to the fact that you are still a Genin." Gai-sensei said seriously.

"Really?" I asked, confused, "I didn't know that… why wasn't that taught at the Academy?"

"It's because no one thought that Academy students would be Youthful enough to start creating their own poisons so soon."

"So what do I do now, sensei? I already made it…." I said, looking down at the vials of my aquamarine poison.

"I will get it approved for you, but please do not create your own poisons before you become Chunin! You are full of Youth so don't let this get you down!"

"Thank you, sensei." I smiled, "Wait, am I still allowed to write my poison ideas down? So I could create them later? How about the antidote I was planning to make for this poison?"

"Of course you can! To think of such a solution, that is the Power of Youth!" Gai-sensei said as he struck his Nice-Guy Pose, "As for the antidote, you can make it now, I'll bring it with your poisons to R&D when it's ready!"

"Oh, okay." I nodded.

I closed the poison vials tight and moved them to the side before starting to make the antidote for that poison.

"What are you going to name your Youthful poison and antidote?" Gai-sensei asked.

"Well… I wasn't thinking of any but… how about Springtime in honor of you, sensei? Since this is the first poison I have ever created myself." I asked half-heartedly as I continued mixing, "And Summer for the antidote, since spring ends when summer comes."

Gai-sensei went still for a moment before bursting into tears, yelling about Youth. I guess it's too late to tell him that it was a joke. I quickly finished making the antidote and I handed all of them to Gai-sensei to bring to R&D to get them approved before starting to clean up my workspace. I can't wait to become Chunin. When I become Chunin, I'll be able to create all my poisons and there won't be any stupid logistical reasons to stop me.

Even with my focus mainly being on my new Taijutsu Style, Genjutsu and Poisons, I did not neglect my Shurikenjutsu abilities. Every Friday was dedicated to dodging practice. In the morning, we would run laps around the Training Grounds while Gai-sensei would try to attack us at a level we could realistically dodge.

To my annoyance, every time we managed to go ten laps without getting hit, Gai-sensei would make things more difficult. Of course, I know it was for my own good and that I should welcome this training with open arms, but it doesn't make it any less annoying to end up face first in the dirt with my teammates landing on me or me landing on my teammates.

"Dramatic-"

I bent backward, my hair touching the floor but still running. I probably looked really odd with how I was basically running in the bridge position without my hands touching the ground.

"-Entry!"

I watched as Gai-sensei flew above me, kicking right where my shoulders would have been if I didn't bend. The second he was far enough, I straightened back up and continued running as if my life depended on it. I ignored the wide-eyed looks being shot at me by Neji and Lee and kept running. I never really used my flexibility to dodge but Gai-sensei kept saying I should use my flexibility more so I was using it for dodge practice.

"Good! Everyone, take a Youthful break, it's time for lunch!" Gai-sensei yelled.

I walked another three rounds to cool off before going to the shade to eat the bento I packed for the day. Somedays, Gai-sensei would treat us out to eat, other days, he'd buy us bentos, and there are days like this where we bring our own bentos. After eating and drinking some water, Gai-sensei started talking about our performance.

"Neji, you are as Youthful as always, but remember, while you can see everything, do not rely on your eyes too much. Also, it does you no good if you can see something but cannot react to it, work on going faster!"

"Understood, sensei." Neji said as he continued to sip his tea. It didn't surprise me that Neji brought two flasks, one for water and one for tea. He did strike me as the kind to drink tea whenever he could.

"Momo, you have taken my advice into your heart and used your Youthful flexibility during dodge practice, good job! However, you still need to move faster. You will be joining Lee and will be training with weights, we will get them after team training."

"Okay." I said simply as I did more stretches, I contemplated doing a pretzel, just for the sake of freaking Neji out but decided against it. I already weirded him out while we were running and it wouldn't be fair to Lee.

"And, Lee. You have definitely improved the most, you are practically glowing with Youth when before it was barely a flicker! But remember to keep improving your speed!"

"Gai-sensei!"

"Lee!"

"Gai-sensei!"

"Lee!"

"Can I use Genjutsu now?" I muttered, all but pleading to Neji.

"... Please."

I hid my smile; Neji finally agreed to the use of Genjutsu, "Demonic Illusion: False Surroundings Jutsu."

Neji and I sat alone in my illusionary world that hid the horror that was Gai-sensei and Lee's Sunset. I could sense they were still hugging, and so could Neji since I purposely made this Genjutsu weak enough to break out without much effort. I enjoyed this Genjutsu world, it was quiet and peaceful with only the music of wildlife making sounds.

"How long do you think they'll be at it?" I asked, finishing my round of cooldown stretches for the day.

"Who knows, a bunch of idiots." Neji muttered.

It took about five minutes (maybe more) for Gai-sensei and Lee to stop, and by then I had managed to get Neji to tell me what kind of tea he was drinking, it was Green Tea. Not my favorite tea, my favorite is Jasmine Tea, but it's still a good tea. When I felt that they were done, I nudged Neji and released myself from my Genjutsu.

"Okay, now that we're done with lunch and are all well rested, we will start Youthful dodge training again! This time Neji and Lee will be dodging kunai and senbons that Momo will be throwing. The weapons are blunted so do not hold back, Momo."

"Okay."

"And just because they are blunted, it does not mean you can slack off, that would be most unYouthful! Understood, Neji, Lee?"

"Understood, Gai-sensei!"

"Understood."

"Good, now Neji and Lee will be standing on that side of the Training Grounds while Momo will stay on this side of the Training Grounds to throw these blunted weapons I brought with me at you two. The rules are that neither of you can cross the line marked with white and that you can only dodge, not deflect. Deflection will be for later. Once Momo has no more weapons, we switch sides so Momo can just pick up weapons from the floor and also throw them."

As soon as Gai-sensei finished talking, we got into position. I started with kunai before switching to senbons, when I was out of weapons, we switched sides and I suddenly remembered something. I wasn't at the Academy anymore, meaning I could throw more than one weapon at a time with only one hand at a time. After that revelation, I found it much easier to hit them. It could be because I caught them off guard by switching tactics but that didn't matter, I hit them and I saw Gai-sensei smiling when he saw the switch.

Chapter 11: D-Rank Missions

Chapter Text

D-Ranks missions, while technically are actual missions and are good for pocket money, are basically chores lazy civilians don't want to do themselves. It ranged from anything as simple as a grocery run to something as tedious as rebuilding a shed that was in a small village a few minutes away from Konoha.

Gai-sensei doesn't pick the missions, he lets us take turns picking them instead. Lee always picked missions that required a lot of manual labor or missions that required a lot of running. Neji picks missions based on the process of elimination, he never picks babysitting, dog-walking, or trash-picking missions and he only picks a job after eliminating those jobs from the list. Though, he picks the one that pays the third highest out of the remaining jobs because he believes that the people who are paying a lot are probably expecting perfection and those who are paying the minimum might be underpaying because the job might be harder than the price suggests.

When it's my turn to pick the job, I usually pick the gardening ones because I could use some of them for poison or just general review over what could be edible if we end up staying in the woods for a job and need to cook food. I also pick repair jobs because I don't plan on living with my parents forever and I want to know those things just in case I move out and need to do repairs to my own home. I'm not trusting anyone to fix it but me.

Today was Lee's day to pick a job and he was adamant to be the first ones at the Missions Desk today.

"I am happy you are so full of Youth today, Lee, but you should explain to the rest of the team your intentions or reason for wanting to get to the Missions Desk faster. Good communication is key to everything!"

"Yes, Gai-sensei! I will take note of it!" Lee yelled, pulling out his notebook and writing, "I have been told by Daisuke-san that he submitted a job request for the building materials he stored in his warehouse in the north side of the village to be transferred to his new warehouse on the south side of the village! He didn't know if any Genin Teams would take on such a task and had thought about asking a moving company to move the materials for him but I persuaded him to send in his request so we could do the Youthful job!"

"You… deliberately got us a hard job… why?" I asked, feeling my body getting sore before we even started working.

"Because it is our duty as ninjas to help our village and Daisuke-san needed the help! Also, the job is a job that requires both strength and speed, the perfect job to do because we can train with all our Youth while doing it!" Lee yelled while entering the Hokage Tower.

We got the job, much to Lee's delight, and we made our way to the warehouse. Gai-sensei opened the doors since he was given the keys and we all stared at the sheer amount of things inside it. It was filled from top to bottom and it looked much bigger inside than outside, there were building tools, long beams of wood, cement, a few uncut trees, and many more.

"We have to move all this?" I asked incredulously, how the hell are we supposed to move all this without a storage seal or cutting things down so we could actually carry them.

"Yes! This is our challenge for the day!"

"Gai-sensei, will you be helping us with this job or not?" I asked because he never helped before but we need the extra hands for this job.

"I will be moving the trees and the larger beams, you three will be on your own after those are gone. Do your best and let your Youth shine through!"

"Gai-sensei!"

"Lee!"

"Gai-sensei!"

"Lee!"

"The second I'm Chunin I'm going to make a poison that can mute people." I muttered under my breath as I walked over to the tools, they would be the easiest to move.

Neji walked beside me and nodded.

"Neji-san, please don't hit Lee on the head when you spar anymore." I said as we ran on the rooftops, "I don't think Lee can handle losing brain cells if this job is what we get when he recovers from that minor concussion you gave him yesterday."

"I… though I do not see how this can be my fault, I will try not to give him any more concussions." Neji promised.

We ran the rest of the way in silence since we needed to conserve our strength for the rest of the day. It was a good thing too since it took us all day to finish moving everything. The only good thing about it was we finished sooner than expected so Daisuke-san gave us a bonus since he saved both time and money for hiring us.

Neji was the one who picked the next mission. He spent a good three minutes looking at the scroll of D-Ranks before ultimately picking the one to catch a cat named Tora. It was unusual for him to pick one that needed him to interact with living things so I looked at the scroll and sweatdropped, it was all babysitting jobs except for the Tora mission.

No wonder.

We have all seen Genin's running after the cat, it's hard not to miss it when you start the day by running laps around the village, so we knew that this was going to be a pain. We were wearing wireless radios to coordinate our capture plan, I made sure to set it to the right settings before handing it over to Lee. I didn't need him making my ears bleed.

"Byakugan." Neji said, his eyes activating and his veins showing, "The target is lounging near the fish stores in the grocery district. It doesn't seem like it will be moving for a while."

"Okay, move out team!"

Lee ran straight to the fish stores while Neji flanked left, leaving me with the right. Tora sensed Lee immediately and ran, she ran straight down the streets, causing me to grab onto a pole to swing me to my right so I could follow. I sensed Neji changing directions too. Lee was fast, I was fast as well, but we still had our weights which we increased yesterday so we were at a disadvantage, meaning that Neji was the fastest among us.

"Neji-san, try to cut the target off at the forest, Lee and I will do our best to herd it over."

"Understood."

"Lee, can you start herding it? I need to grab something for my plan."

"Yosh! I will do my best to buy you time!"

"Thank you." I said before turning off my microphone and jumping down in front of Yamanaka's Flower Shop, "Hello, Yamanaka-san."

"Ah, Momo-chan!" The blond man greeted me with a smile, "How's Genin life treating you? How can I help you today?"

"It's been fine, actually I'm here because my teammate chose to take on the Tora Mission to get out of picking babysitting missions so I was wondering if you had any catnip."

"Ah, that cat. Yes, we do, a bundle will be 500 yen please." Inoichi said, passing me the catnip.

"Thank you." I said before paying and leaving.

I used the theory I learned about the Deadly Illness Extraction Jutsu to pull out the water in the catnip, soaking my hands in the water before and placing it into a vial. Then I took the dried catnip, crushed them into a powder, placed it into a small cloth baggy, and attached it to my kunai and senbon pouch before running off to help Lee. Lee was getting close to the area where Neji was waiting for the target.

I turned my microphone back on, "Lee, just run a little further and you'll find Neji-san. Don't make it too obvious to the target that you're moving it to a trap."

"Yosh!"

I was close enough to the rendezvous point to hear what was happening. At first, there was silence but then there was a cat yelling, a yell about Youth, and a dark, dark mutter. I flipped down and landed in front of Tora who ran into my arms and started purring. I petted her as I walked over to Neji and Lee who were in a pile.

"Are you two okay?"

"Yes- How did you get that unYouthful cat to like you?!" Lee yelled, causing Tora to hiss at him before returning to purring in my arms.

"Catnip water and catnip powder." I smiled, "Lee, can you hold out your hands?"

Lee got off of Neji and did just that. I pulled out the vial of catnip water and poured some on his hands and told him to rub his hands so the smell was everywhere before passing the baggy of catnip powder to him. After Lee attached the powder to his own pouch, I passed him Tora and went to the stream we were next to wash my hands.

"Yosh! We have captured the unYouthful cat! Mission accomplished!" Lee cheered before turning to march back to the Hokage Tower, "Now to return the cat and get our reward!"

We entered the Tower and were brought to the room where Madam Shijimi was waiting for us and Lee attempted to give Tora back to her but got scratched viciously. I knew my smile had a dark satisfaction to it, this was revenge for all those Sunsets Gai-sensei and Lee subjected me to. I was not strong enough to get revenge on Gai-sensei but Lee? Lee was easy. From what I could see, Neji also had a dark satisfied glint in his eyes.

"Planned?" Neji asked.

"Revenge for Sunset." I nodded.

No other words were exchanged. At that moment we understood each other perfectly. We just watched Lee flail with Tora in his arms until Gai-sensei took pity on him and helped separate him from the cat.

This time it was my turn to pick the mission. There weren't any of the jobs I usually pick, or the jobs Lee and Neji usually pick either. It was mostly babysitting, dog walking, and tedious letter runs but then I spotted the one.

"We'll take the delivery of bolts of silk to the Silk Road, please." I smiled as the desk ninja handed me the mission scroll, "Thank you."

The Silk Road… I haven't been there in ages. I wonder if anything changed, if Kyoko-san changed the layout like she wanted or if her husband talked her out of it.

"This isn't the usual job we take, Momo. Why did you pick this one?" Lee asked as he gently held the bolt of silk.

"I know the person who sent the mission request. I haven't visited her in a while so picking this job was a good way to visit."

"I see! Then I shall do my best to give your friend a Youthful first impression and if I fail I shall run ten laps around the village on my hands!"

Neji didn't say anything but I could tell he disapproved of using missions as a way to reconnect with an old friend but he was also curious as to why we lost contact. It's good that chakra can give me a little insight on what people are feeling, even if it isn't much, or else understanding Neji would be impossible.

Soon we were standing in front of the Silk Road, a kimono and montsuki shop in the shopping district of Konoha. I took a deep breath and entered.

"Kyoko-san, we are here with your delivery of bolts of silk!" I yelled.

In a matter of moments, Kyoko-san rushed towards us and stopped in front of me, smiling her grandmotherly smile at me.

"Momo-chan, why, I haven't seen you in ages!" Kyoko-san exclaimed before snapping her fingers, "Please take the bolts of silks from the Genin Team, Hotori! Come help these gentlemen into montsukis!"

"There's no need-" Gai-sensei tried to say but was stopped.

"Nonsense! Momo-chan is finally smiling happily again! You deserve the thanks, she hasn't been herself since Shiori-chan's passing." Kyoko-san said before spotting the look on my face, "Yes, I know what happened and why you stopped visiting, your mother told me when I visited to see what was wrong when you two didn't visit. I know what happened to Shiori-chan. How about you and I go to the back, I have Jasmin Tea waiting just for us."

At the end of the day, I was thankful that my teammates didn't comment on my red eyes or the fact that I had a joss paper kimono in addition to my own kimono while they only had their montsukis. I was thankful they visited Shiori with me and burned the incense sticks Hotori-san gave them for her while I burnt the joss paper kimono Kyoko-san prepared for me. I was thankful for their silent support and how they didn't comment on my tears.

Chapter 12: C-Rank Missions

Chapter Text

C-Rank Missions are like D-Rank missions but are usually outside of the village and have a risk of encountering bandits. It also paid more and had the feels most people associate with ninja missions. In order to get C-Rank Mission, you need to complete a number of D-Rank missions and be either in a Genin Team with a Jonin-sensei or a three-man team of Chunins. A four-man team of Genins from the Genin Corp can get a C-Rank mission if they prove to be able to do it and have at least three years of experience each.

These are the missions that Gai-sensei picks for us. We were only allowed to choose for D-Ranks because they were no-risk missions, which are basically chores. C-Ranks are where the real missions start and that's when the Hokage or the mission desk ninjas start dishing out the missions. Missions that are too sensitive for random ninjas to pick and choose like they're picking apples.

The first C-Rank Mission we did was a delivery mission. Nothing too big, just sending a wedding invitation and outfit from a relative in the village who paid good money so it would get delivered fast to a relative outside the village. I didn't bother changing how I looked because we were given a carriage and I was told to stay in it. Actually, the only one who was outside was Guy-sensei and that was because he was steering. I don't understand why we needed to use a carriage but it was part of the mission's parameters so we did.

It was the second C-Rank Mission that got interesting, mainly because it wasn't just a mission with a ridiculous pay that made it go up a rank.

"Okay, team. Our mission is to retrieve some documents from the owner of Fuka village's Thousand Lotus Restaurant. The owner of the restaurant chain 'Thousand Lotus' thinks that that owner is falsifying his documents so she asks that we sneak in and check them over for her, and if they are falsifying the documents, we are to bring them to her! This is the moment to show your Youth! Are you with me?"

"Yes, Gai-sensei!"

"Lee!"

"Gai-sensei!"

"Lee!"

"Gai-sensei!"

"I feel like I'm third-wheeling." I muttered, getting a nod from Neji.

"Yosh! Everyone, pack for a month, we leave tomorrow at 7:00 at the Main Gates, don't be late!"

With that, we all went back home to start packing, have dinner, and rest. I told my family about it and they were surprised that I was getting a month-long mission already. Well, mom and dad were, Sakura was in her room since she was skipping dinner for her diet, a diet that mom and I tried to get her to stop but she was too stubborn.

Her stubbornness is a good trait, it's one of her most defining characteristics but sometimes, she gets stubborn for all the wrong reasons and it's so infuriating!

The next morning, I looked into the mirror, I was all ready to go but I couldn't help but look at myself in the mirror when I saw how different I looked. With my hair up in a bun and my face hidden under a mask, a la Kakashi-Style, I looked so different. My distinctive mole that's under the left side of my lips was hidden by the mask and my long hair was in a bun that made it hard to determine just how long my hair really was.

"Focus, you have to get to the gates." I muttered to myself.

I stopped by Shiori's to say bye before making my way to the gates.

When I got there, I was the first one there, fifteen minutes before 7:00. I sat in the shade and took out a book, it was a book about Fuka village. It wasn't a big surprise to find a book about that village since it is a decently famous trading village, no wonder the restaurant chain owner wants to make sure the owner of that restaurant is telling the truth.

At 7:00, I looked up from my book to see Gai-sensei, Lee, and Neji just standing there, staring at the village.

"What are you doing? I thought we were going at 7:00 exactly." I asked looking around to find what they were looking at.

"Mo… mo…?" Lee asked, staring at me.

"Yeah, who else would I be?" I asked, confused.

My eyes flickered to the rest of my teammates. Neji's usual unflappable, stoic face had a tiny look of shock while Gai-sensei looked as if he was seeing double. It must be the mask. He must be seeing Kakashi because of the mask and my hair looks as if it was sticking up if you squint at it. Whatever, I burnt that bridge, no going back now. I guess the Kakashi-look isn't as popular in this world.

"Do I look that different?" I asked.

"Yes, but it's a Youthful difference, but may we know why?"

"Junko-sensei always said that: A kunoichi's greatest ability is blending in." I parrotted, it was something engraved in my mind, "That's why ninjas always wear the same outfit, so when they take it off we can look like an entirely different person because people have been associating our outfits with our persons so if you lose the outfit they won't recognize you as easily. If I wear a mask and put my hair in a bun, people won't recognize my face if I don't wear a mask and, in a bun, no one knows just how long my hair is."

"So, you are doing this for future benefits?" Neji asked.

"Yes. If people associate 'Momo, the Konoha-nin' with a girl wearing a mask and has her hair in a bun then if I don't wear the mask and put my hair in a bun, people won't know I'm that Momo. They'd put their guard down."

"That is a most Youthful idea! Will you keep this look?" Lee asked.

"Yes, I will."

With that out of the way, we started our journey to Fuka village. I just hope the three of them get used to my newish look soon, their double-takes are getting annoying. My outfit is still the same, the only thing that changed we my head, how is it such a difference?

It took us a week to get to Fuka village but we were in luck, the Thousand Lotus restaurant was having its twenty-year anniversary so we could just enter as if we were here for the festivities and no one would bat an eye.

"Okay, since this is your very first Youthful infiltration mission, I will explain what we are going to do." Gai-sensei said in a hushed voice while we were in the forest on the outskirts of the village, "To begin, Neji will find the document with his Byakugan, then Momo will enter and signal when it is time to enter. Lee and I will enter to check the documents and take them if need be. While this is happening, Neji will be keeping a lookout for all of us, understand?"

"Yes, sensei!" We all said in unison.

"Now, you three are the ones who are going to add the details of this plan. Use the Power of Youth to make this a plan to remember!"

After a bit of debate, it was decided that, once Neji found an entrance for Gai-sensei and Lee to enter from, he and Lee were going to forge a reservation for me and I was going to enter the restaurant, posing as a noble's daughter who came with her father for a business trip with Neji as my servant. He will be wearing a dark veil to cover his eyes so he could use his Byakugan without anyone noticing, the cover story for that is that I don't like his red eyes. Red eyes from the color contacts I brought with me, I didn't have any other colors.

Once inside, I will release a small dose of my Springtime poison into the air, enough that they will ignore things they don't usually see but not enough to start seeing things, and then throw a senbon out the window to signal them to go. I will eat something, acting my part, until Neji sees that they successfully left, he will signal me to go, which is when I get Neji to ask for the bill. Neji will pay and then we will leave and meet back up in the forest.

"The documents we're looking for are in Yoshi-san's office, they should be in the third cabinet from the door, it should be somewhere in the second to second last drawers." Neji reported as I gave everyone a dose of Summer so they don't get affected by Springtime, "You can enter through the window when you get the reservations, it's open."

"Understood, let's get ready, Lee!"

"Yes, Gai-sensei!"

"Momo, we will make a reservation under the name Haru-hime for a private room!"

"... understood." It made sense for Gai-sensei to put the reservation under a name that means spring.

I turned to Neji and passed him a typical black servant uniform, the veil and hat, and the red color contacts. Then I pulled out the new kimono Kyoko-san made me and took off my mask so I could do my makeup the same way mid-high class ladies did them and undid my bun to style my hair into the most popular style these days, both in the same way I saw them in the latest civilian catalogs I spotted in the book stores. I looked into the stream and did a check over, satisfied, I pulled out a fan and covered my mouth.

"Neji-san, are you done?" I asked.

"Yes."

I walked back to Neji and he was dressed in the servant uniform and everything but he left his hair as is.

"This won't work." I muttered, "Neji-san, do you mind if I did your hair? Normal servants don't keep their hair down or have hair that long. Long hair gets in the way of their work so only the wealthy civilians can afford to have their hair that long if they're male."

Neji didn't say anything but he did sit down.

"Thank you." I said and pulled out my hair ties and hairpins, "Also, what should I call you?"

"Just Ne, that should work. I'll call you Hime."

"Okay, all done." I said as I walked away from Neji who finally looks like a proper servant, I became Haru, "Ne, get up, else we will be late."

"Yes, Haru-hime."

"Hmph." I ignored him and made my way to Thousand Lotus Restaurant, walking with purpose while looking disinterested in the people of the village.

"Welcome to Thousand Lotus, Ojou-sama." The receptionist greeted me.

"Ne." I said, my voice sounding detached and with an accent that shows that I came from the Capital.

"Yes, hime." Neji bowed to me before turning to the receptionist, "We are here under the name of Haru-hime. A private room."

"Ah, yes. Follow me, this way please!" The receptionist said, giving us a bright plastic smile. I think I see money signs in her eyes.

As we followed her, I activated the seal on my fan and let the poison enter the air. Gai-sensei found this fan just for me, a fan that has been made with two seals that will disperse either poison or the antidote into the air once activated. I don't know where Gai-sensei got this fan from, or what kinds of favors he had to cash in but I love this fan.

"Here you are! Feel free to call Al-chan when you are ready to order! She will be standing just outside." The receptionist said as she gestured to a bland smiling girl.

I ignored her and entered the room, letting Neji thank her in my stead. I flipped through the menu, mentally counting the seconds until the entire establishment was under the effects of Springtime, before discreetly throwing the senbon towards Gai-sensei and Lee.

"Ne. I will be eating dumplings." I said, lifting up the menu with a privacy seal on it, with a bored look on my face, "Order it for me."

"Yes, hime." Neji said, bowing before going to the girl waiting at the doors.

Neji discreetly placed the seal on the door before going out to hand the menu to the girl. I listened as he talked to her, "Haru-hime will have a plate of dumplings. Please knock and do not enter, hime does not like rude servants. Wait outside until I come to get it."

"Is… is that why you are Ne?" I heard the girl ask, not as bland as before.

No matter how he looks, Neji gets fangirls. I think his only flaw is his personality. It's a big red flag of a flaw but still, only flaw.

"... just do your work." Neji said before returning and activating the privacy seal.

"How are Gai-sensei and Lee doing?" I asked as I kept looking outside, not even turning to look at Neji. I had an act to keep up.

"They are hiding, they finished looking in the second drawer when one of the cleaners entered to clean the room. They are currently waiting on the roof for the person to leave." Neji reported.

"So how is servant life treating you? Not as many fangirls I suspect."

"Yes. You are playing the role of Hime remarkably well. If I didn't know better I'd say you did come from a rich family."

"Thank you." I said, giving him a smile, the only smile someone of my -fake- status can give a servant.

The girl knocked on the doors and Neji took the plate from her, thanked her, and closed the door before bringing me the plate. I used the chopsticks the restaurant provided, passed my personal pair to Neji to use and we shared the plate of dumplings.

"Are they done?" I asked once I finished my half of the dumplings.

"They have located the documents and are going through them." Neji said as he placed my chopsticks into its container, "They have left the building with the documents, they must have been falsified after all."

"Okay, we leave in two minutes." I said and Neji went to ask for the bill.

Once the two minutes were up, I grabbed my fan and activated the second seal, the one with the antidote in it, and it started dispersing it into the air. I walked out while Neji paid before catching up with me. We took a detour into the shopping district and disappeared into the crowd, changing out of our outfits in the forest before returning to the meeting place. Once Gai-sense did a headcount, we made our way back to the village.

"Yosh! We have successfully completed the mission! A Youthful end to a mission, though I am a bit saddened that I could not fight!" Lee exclaimed as we jumped from branch to branch.

"Don't be foolish Lee!" Gai-sensei yelled, "A ninja's life is not just about fighting! You must be familiar with all the aspects of ninja life! Do not be so short-sighted as to think that just because you are a fighter you will only do jobs related to fighting!"

"I see! Thank you for the lesson, Gai-sensei! I will take note of it!" Lee yelled, grabbing his notebook and started writing Gai-sensei's advice.

I can't wait until we get back to Konoha.

Chapter 13: Sakura Becomes Genin

Chapter Text

It's been ten months since we graduated from the Academy and became Team 9. It's only been ten months since we became Genin and Gai-sensei was already standing in front of us asking if we wanted to take part in the Chunin Exams in Kusa this year.

"With all due respect, sensei, I don't believe we're ready for the Chunin Exams yet." I spoke up once Gai-sensei finished asking, "We're still too new, only ten months into our Genin career, to put up a good fight."

Not to mention that would break Canon even more and the Chunin Exams are important because that's when Neji finally gets his ass kicked. I may have built up my Fate Tolerance over the months but I will go Nuke-nin and kill Neji if I have to endure this longer than I need to.

That's a lie but... it would be nice to have a long, normal conversation with Neji without needing to dance around any subjects that might trigger him.

"I see." Gai-sensei said, not showing what he was thinking but I got the feeling of approval coming from his chakra.

"I agree. I would rather not join the exams only to fail. I would also rather wait for the next exams since it will be in Konoha." Neji added his two senses.

"And you, Lee? What do you want?" Gai-sensei asked, the approval in his chakra growing and getting more distinct.

"I… as much as I would like to go and test our strength against the other Genins at the Chunin Exams, I do not believe I am ready as of yet. My Youth is burning strong but I am not satisfied with my current level and I do not want to tarnish Konoha's reputation by not being ready. So, I too believe that it will be best to wait for the next exams. I apologize for our team not living up to your expectations, Gai-sensei!" Lee yelled, bowing.

"No, no, stand up, Lee." Gai-sensei said, his chakra bursting with pride, "This was a test to see if you could see your true abilities and to see if you have learned not to overestimate yourself. You all pass and I am proud to say that I will be entering you in the next Chunin Exams, the one that will be happening in Konoha, six months from now!"

"Gai-sensei!"

"Lee!"

"Gai-sensei!"

"Lee!"

"Gai-sensei!"

"Lee!"

"Told you they'd do it thrice today, you owe me dango from Midori's." I muttered to Neji as I put up a layer of -Genjutsu, it has become second nature now. It was also good training, how fast I can use the jutsu, and I use it often enough that I only need one hand sign now.

"Tsk. I'll bring some tomorrow." Neji said.

Was it a bit sad that Neji and I had no social life and thus resorted to betting on the number of times Gai-sensei and Lee were going to do Sunset? Probably. Did I care? Not really, if he loses, he buys me dango and if I lose I buy him mochi. After waiting a few moments, we broke out of the Genjutsu and Gai-sensei started talking again.

"Now, is there anything you would like to work on while we wait for the next Chunin Exams to arrive?"

"I would like to work on my strength and speed!" Lee declared.

"My speed, my chakra reserves, and the range for my Byakugan." Neji answered.

"My speed, my Taijutsu Style (I still need to give that a name), my chakra sensory abilities, and chakra control."

"Chakra sensory abilities?" Gai-sensei asked.

"Yeah, I'm a chakra sensor, wasn't that on my file?" I asked, confused, "Didn't I mention this before?"

"No, you have not." Neji was the one who answered, which surprised me since he never spoke unless spoken to or when he's telling Lee he was doomed to fail.

"Well, I'm telling you now. My range is currently at fifty meters but I want to extend it further. The reason I asked Neji if you finished during that Thousand Lotus mission is because I was still having trouble differentiating the chakras I was feeling so I didn't bother paying attention to it. I'm a lot better now so I want to work on the range."

"Is your ability passive or active?"

"Passive."

"And when it's active?"

"When it's active I can feel about fifty-five meters if I push it, but that's only if I block out my surroundings."

"I see, that is a Youthful ability, Momo!" Gai-sensei declared, "Now, for the next month, we will spend every morning doing laps like we always do, after laps, we will work on your speed. Then you will have lunch and after lunch, I will help Lee with getting his strength to where he would like it to be while Neji will help Momo with her range!"

"Yes, Gai-sensei!"

In times like this, I wonder if Canon!Tenten ever got annoyed at Gai-sensei's blatant favoritism of Lee. I knew that Lee was his mini-me and everything but if I didn't know better, I would have said that Gai-sensei put more effort into teaching Lee than the rest of us. However, I do know better and I know that Lee needs the extra help since he wasn't academically inclined, meaning that he had trouble learning from books and does better learning through actions.

It's been two months since Gai-sensei's declaration of nominating us for Konoha's Chunin Exams that are happening in four months. My sensory range is almost sixty meters and I was getting faster by the day. I also finally got around to naming my style: Dancing Larkspur Style. I named it that way because it looks like I'm dancing -according to Gai-sensei- when I fight and since I cause limbs to go limp like paralysis, I chose a flower, Larkspur, that causes paralysis.

"Ane, are you listening?" Sakura asked, grumpily.

"Yes, you said you're happy you finally graduated from the Academy and you can't wait to find out who you'll be teamed up with. You also said that you hope one of your teammates will be Uchiha-san and that you don't want Ino-chan being his teammate." I answered, thankful for all my practice at not listening but still catching the important bits. It's an essential skill when you're working with Gai-sensei who yells Youth every other sentence.

I heard from Chunin gossip that if you don't hone this skill, you might get suckered into doing unwanted work. Like that poor smuck who got suckered into working at the mission desk for three months because he agreed to some flowery proposal that sounded nice.

"If I don't end up with Sasuke-kun then Ino Pig can't end up with him. Anyone but her would be fine or else I'd never hear the end of it!" Sakura declared as I walked with her to the Academy for the first time in ages.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't Billboard Brow." Ino said before seeing me, "Oh, Momo-chan! I haven't seen you in ages!"

"Hello, Ino-chan. How are you?" I asked as I walked both of them to the Academy.

"I'm good. I'm finally a ninja, just like you, and I'll be even better once I'm on Sasuke-kun's team."

"Back off, Ino Pig! Sasuke-kun's mine!" Sakura yelled, "Ane, tell her he's mine!"

"Now, now, Imoto. I can't say anything because I have never met Uchiha-san, remember?" I asked.

"Oh yeah, I forgot." Sakura said, "Well, that's probably for the best since I don't want you falling in love with Sasuke-kun."

I just smiled, why do you love that ball of angst? I saw him a few times and all he does is train and act emo.

He doesn't even go to the graveyards unless it's Bon. I understand it hurts but after the first three years or so, it's just disrespectful.

"I don't think I will fall for him even if I saw him."

"What is your type then?" Ino asked with Sakura paying close attention. Hn, I guess this is the first time I did Girl Talk.

"I don't have a type." I said, "And you don't have the time to be asking questions like that since we have arrived at the Academy and I need to get to Team Training. Don't forget to tell me how it goes during dinner. Bye"

I waved goodbye to them and started roof running, as I ran, I sensed them running up the stairs like they were racing. I thought back to the alarm from last night and sighed, it seems like the Plot has started.

When I got home at night, dead tired from a full day of speed training and Taijutsu Only spares, I saw that Sakura wasn't at the dinner table. I looked at mom who just rolled her eyes and gestured to her room. Sighing, I quickly finished my dinner, heated up a rice ball from the fridge, and walked to Sakura's room.

"Imoto, you there?"

"Yeah, come in!" Sakura yelled, I could tell she was very excited.

I opened the door and saw Sakura sitting on her bed, hugging one of her pillows with a happy grin on her face.

"You look happy. Did something happen?" I asked.

"I'm on Sasuke-kun's team! Of course, I'm happy! Sure, there's still Naruto-kun but I'm with Sasuke-kun!" Sakura squealed, before looking at me with a pout, "Also, why didn't you tell me there was a second Genin test we needed to pass?"

"It's against the rules to tell you." I answered flippantly before getting serious, "Why didn't you eat dinner?"

"I'm on a diet-"

"No excuse. You are a ninja now which means you need all the energy you can get and not eating lowers your energy levels! You. Need. To. Eat." I insisted, pushing a rice ball towards her.

Sakura turned her head and tried to push the food away, "But I'll get fat if I eat too much, and Sasuke-kun hates fat girls!"

"You won't get fat if you exercise! Sakura, listen to me! If you don't eat, you won't have the energy to do anything; if you don't have energy, you can't do anything or exercise; if you don't exercise, you won't be able to pull your weight during missions. If you don't have the energy to do things or the ability to pull your weight during missions, you'd just be a burden on your team and if you aren't careful, you can and will die!" I yelled, why won't this stubborn girl just listen to me?

"... fine." Sakura huffed, taking the rice ball.

I didn't leave the room until she finished the food. We didn't speak much that morning except for her telling me skipping breakfast was her teacher's idea and not her's so I wasn't allowed to bring her food because that was against the rules. Since this was the Bell Test she was taking, I think she will come to regret her words soon.

I was alone at home meditating to expand my Chakra Reserves, improve my Chakra Control, and expand my sensory area. Today was a day off and I didn't feel like exercising my body after the hell I put it through yesterday so today was dedicated to chakra. I was lifting myself up using chakra alone when the door banged open, causing me to lose focus and fall down onto the floor. I guess this was the wake-up call that I got too comfortable at home.

"I'm home!"

"Welcome back! How did it go?" I asked.

"We passed!" Sakura said happily, "I'm officially on the same team as Sasuke-kun! I'll tell you the details after I take a shower, I'm all dirty and I stink."

I nodded even though I usually look worse after my training with Gai-sensei. Sakura showered for a good hour, long showers are another habit I need to break her out of, before coming down and telling me what happened.

"So, Kakashi-sensei -he has a mask like you, you know? His hair defies gravity and kinda looks like your hair when it's in a bun!- told us not to eat breakfast so that we'd be hungry while doing the test, can you believe it?! Anyway, we had to get these two bells from him, he said that the one who didn't get a bell had to return to the Academy, which we didn't want so we all tried to get a bell on our own, but that was the point. Kakashi-sensei wanted to pit us against each other. He beat Naruto-kun with Taijutsu, ticked him with a trap, and caught him when he tried to steal the bentos. As punishment for trying to steal the bentos, Kakashi-sensei tied Naruto-kun to a tree stump. He beat me by using a Genjutsu that showed me Sasuke-kun dying, which is cheating-"

"He got you with Genjutsu?" I said in disbelief, I thought I changed that, "I've been teaching you how to get out of Genjutsus since forever, how did you get caught?"

"It was realistic…." Sakura said, at least she had the decency to look embarrassed, "Anyway, so I fainted. Don't give me that look, I know, okay? Then, from what I heard, he beat Sasuke-kun with Ninjutsu, dragging him underground. I saw his head and I thought that Kakashi-sensei actually decapitated Sasuke-kun and fainted again. At the end of the test, Kakashi-sensei told us we missed the point entirely and that it was about teamwork and told us we had one last chance. He gave us the bentos but told us that if we feed Naruto-kun, we would fail before disappearing. Despite that, Sasuke-kun fed Naruto-kun so I did too and Kakashi-sensei reappeared. We were scared but he then told us we passed and that's when I came home."

"Wait, did you leave Uzumaki-kun tied up?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

Sakura opened her mouth before closing it, "I… I think so…."

"Aren't you going to go back to untie him?"

"I… don't want to go out again. I'm tired…."

"I'll go untie him for you, you shouldn't have left your teammate like that." I said, sighing as I pulled up my mask and left the house.

I ran to Training Ground 3 and saw that Naruto was still struggling to get out of the rope he was tied up in. I didn't want to deal with this personally so I threw a senbon to nip the rope enough that Naruto could start getting out. My senbon grazed the rope and then that part of the rope broke, making the rest of it fall with Naruto none the wiser. Satisfied, I used a Chakra String to get my senbon back and turned to go back, but I saw Kakashi standing behind me.

"Hello, Kakashi-sensei." I greeted.

"Maa, you know who I am?"

"Yes, I am Haruno Momo, Sakura's older sister. My Imoto just told me about her bell test and realized she left Uzumaki-kun tied to the tree stump so I came to free him. She was a bit unwilling to come back out after taking a shower."

"I see."

With that exchange, I went home. I interacted with too many core characters today and it wasn't even a Canon!Event where I had to interact with them. I ran three laps around the village to burn off my pent-up energy of staying cooped up in the house concentrating on my chakra before returning home for a shower and dinner. I always sleep better when I'm tired. I don't know if it's just me or a habit I picked up after training with Gai for a year. If this is a habit, I wonder if Neji picked it up too, no need to wonder if Lee picked it up because it's obvious he did.

Chapter 14: Freak Out

Chapter Text

Four months later, it was time for the Konoha Chunin Exams. We stood in front of Gai-sensei as he explained that it was that time of the year again and asked us, once again, if we wanted to participate in the Chunin Exams. This time, there was no hesitation. There was no waiting another six months. This was what we've been training for.

"Yes, Gai-sensei!" We exclaimed in unison, well, Lee and I did, Neji just nodded.

"Good! Since many foreign ninjas will be coming to Konoha, we will not be doing any special training because they might try to gather information. Instead, we will put our Youth into speed and stamina training!"

"Yes, sensei!"

"Good! Now, we will be running laps around the village until lunch. After lunch, Momo will be doing exercises to help her flexibility while Lee and Neji will be practicing their kicks and punches, then we will do a few more laps and call it a day."

"Yes, Gai-sensei." I said unenthusiastically, even after all this time, I still hate the laps.

Lunch was in four hours and Gai-sensei will not accept anything but our best so it will be running for four hours non-stop at near top speed. This was going to be a pain, but at least it gave me time alone with my thoughts to think about Canon. Gaara is going to be here soon, Orochimaru is going to be here for Sasuke soon, there's going to be an invasion soon, and the Hokage is going to die soon. Can I do anything about it?

Actually, maybe I can. I slowly stretched out my senses. As a sensor, I could feel chakra so I could make up a lie -or tell the truth since Gaara's seal was said to be really really bad- that something was wrong and Gai-sensei will investigate it and then… well, then maybe they will get informed about the invasion? It was something at least and-

I tripped and fell. My body was no longer listening to me. There was a monster in my range. I was shivering in the fetal position, hand clenching my head. I felt Gai-sensei, Lee, and Neji stop running and came back for me.

"-mo! Momo! Can you hear me! Momo!" Gai-sensei yelled frantically.

"Y-yes…" I muttered, using Gai-sensei's shoulders to pull myself up into a sitting position.

"Momo, what happened?" Gai-sensei asked seriously, there was none of his usual exuberance, this wasn't Gai-sensei, our Youthful, funny, and supportive sensei, this was Maito Gai, one of Konoha's best and resident Taijutsu Master.

"Sand… there's a monster made of sand." I muttered, trying to tell Gai-sensei exactly what I felt without saying it was a Jinchuriki, "It's bloodthirsty. There's a bloodthirsty monster made of sand-like chakra. It's… it's in a cage? I think it's supposed to be a cage but… the cage isn't closed properly and it's always trying to break out. It's... yelling a lot, it... it wants blood."

I looked at Gai-sensei, fully aware of how scared and small I looked, and saw that Gai-sensei's face held no emotion.

"I see. Lee, Neji, take good care of Momo and go back to Training Ground 9 to wait for me. I need to report this to the Hokage. Make sure to stick together until I get back." Gai-sensei said seriously, dropping a bag in Lee's hands before leaving.

As Lee looked into the bag, there were a few moments of silence before I spoke up, "Can… Can one of you carry me? I don't think I can get up."

I tried, I barely even move my hands from my head.

Lee and Neji had a silent conversation between the two of them using just their eyes before Lee spoke up.

"Neji-san, you carry Momo back to our Training Grounds while I go buy us some bentos, Gai-sensei has given me the money before he left."

"Of course." Neji said, lifting me up and maneuvering me around so he was giving me a piggyback ride.

Neji walked in silence as he brought me to our usual shade and sat me down against one of the trees. I closed my eyes, massaged my head, and wondered how bad it would be if I felt Orochimaru's chakra first. Now that I experienced this, I know what to expect so I should, theoretically, be fine if this happens again but I really don't want to test that just yet. At least I know he couldn't be worse than Shukaku's chakra. Silver linings and all that.

"Momo, are you okay?" Neji asked.

"Y-yeah, I think I will be… once I process everything."

"Will this interfere with the Exams?"

"I… don't believe so. I'm reacting like this because this is the first time I felt something like… like that and it was a… a very unpleasant experience. I should be better when the Exams come around so don't worry about it." I said shakily, I don't know who I was reassuring with that last sentence, Neji or myself.

We sat in silence until Lee returned with the bentos. I gave Lee a grateful smile as I dug into the food, needing some comfort food. Since we were forbidden to train for the rest of the day, I pulled out my deck of cards I kept in my pocket.

"Do you know how to play Cheat?" I asked.

"No, how do you play?" Lee asked.

I started dealing out the cards. It's not surprising that they don't know this game, it did come from Before after all.

"The objective of the game is to get rid of all your cards as fast as you can, and before all the other players. To play, the person that has the ace of spades goes first and places their card(s) face down in the middle of the table and announces their card. The turn then passes to the next player and they're required to throw out the next card in ranking order, in this case, it's a two. If the player doesn't have a two, they must discard an alternative card(s) but still claim it as a two, and hope that the other players believe them. If a player calls Cheat then they're allowed to flip the cards over to see if they're actually what they've been claimed to be. If the cards don't match what the player stated, then the player that discarded them must take the entirety of the deck into his hand. If the cards match what was claimed, then the player that called Cheat has to take the entirety of the stack into his hand. A player may not call Cheat on themselves." I explained.

Neji and Lee picked up their respective piles and Lee placed down the ace of spades. I guess it was game on.

"Lee, you can't just declare Youth as the card!

"Cheat!... Damn it!"

"Momo, here's the pile."

"Neji! It is most unYouthful to try and cheat with Byakugan!"

"Here's the pile, Neji-san. Next time, try to to get caught, we are ninja after all."

"Tsk."

We spent two hours playing Cheat until Gai-sensei returned. He gave us the forms and personally walked each of us home, but he told us that starting tomorrow, we were all going to be staying with him until all the foreign ninjas were gone. When I got back home, Dad was cooking dinner and Sakura was sitting alone on the couch.

"Something on your mind, Imoto?" I asked, taking a seat next to her. I was feeling a lot better than before.

"Kakashi-sensei nominated us for the Chunin Exams and I… I don't know if I'm ready."

"Already?!" I asked, I was surprised even if I knew this was going to happen, "But you've only been Genins for four months!"

"I know but… Sasuke-kun and Naruto-kun want to go and… what about you?"

"Well… Gai-sensei nominated us as well and we are going to participate. "

"Oh, so should I also enter?"

"Well… six months ago, Gai-sensei asked us if we thought we were ready and the answer was no so we decided to wait for this exam. I think you shouldn't enter." I advised, if Team 7 doesn't enter, maybe Orochimaru won't get to Sasuke as easily, "You still haven't completely stopped doing your diet thing and you don't have enough skills-"

"Why is it that whenever I ask you for advice, or even just talk to you, you criticize me?!" Sakura yelled, "I'm going to enter the Chunin Exams, after all, then I'll show you I can do it!"

I blinked and looked at dad. Where did that come from? I was only telling Sakura the truth. She hasn't stopped dieting, sure she ate a bit more but she hasn't stopped completely. From what she told me about her days, all they do is D-Rank Missions and individual training where she did the Academy minimum and watched Sasuke train. She didn't learn any new jutsus or tricks except for the Tree Walking Exercise. All in all, she hasn't progressed much since the Academy. She asked me for my honest opinion and I gave her just that.

I don't want to see my little sister hurt.

The next day, Sakura didn't talk to me. She just ate without saying a sound but gave me a determined glare. I ignored that in favor of telling Mom and Dad that Gai-sensei has declared that we will be staying with him until all foreign ninjas were out of the village for reasons he has yet to explain but was probably for the Chunin Exams.

As soon as breakfast was over, I grabbed my bag filled with things I will need for an indefinite stay at wherever Gai-sensei was going to host us and made my way to Training Ground 9 where Neji just arrived with his own overnight bag.

"Morning." I said, giving Neji a small wave.

"Good morning, how are you feeling?"

I blinked, I guess yesterday affected him more than I thought, "I'm feeling better, though I still have a small headache."

Neji nodded and we fell into silence. Lee was the next to arrive and he asked if I was alright as well. I told him that I was fine and we spent another three minutes waiting for Gai-sensei. I was surprised that Lee wasn't doing laps and was instead sitting next to us. I was also surprised that Neji wasn't making any remarks about how Lee's inaction must be him accepting his fate. I felt guilty, I guess yesterday really affected them.

"Okay, team! Follow me!" Gai-sensei said, gesturing for us to follow him.

We did so. We followed Gai-sensei to restock our supplies, get groceries, and we kept following him until we ended up in the Ninja Apartment District, walking to one of the many apartments. Gai-sensei greeted a few people as he made his way to what I assume was his home, he used us in and activated the privacy seal he had on the wall.

"Welcome to my home! And this Youthful place will be your home for the entire period of the Chunin Exams! Momo, you can have the guest room, Neji and Lee will take my room for now, and I'll sleep on my couch. No arguing. You all need to be at your best for the Exams and as your sensei I need to make sure you are at your best."

"Yes, Gai-sensei."

I entered the room and placed all my stuff down. I took a quick shower and changed into my pajamas. Then I pulled out the dango and mochi I bought from Midori's and sat in the middle of the living room.

"Gai-sensei, I'm going to try sensing again, I don't want to be too scared to do this during the exams. If I start freaking out…."

"Don't worry, I'll be right here." Gai-sensei said, "And if you can't do it, don't worry. There are still three days until the Exams start."

I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. Slowly, I stretched out my senses. I felt Gai-sensei feeling a bit nervous, I felt Neji and Lee entering the room and I felt them move towards Gai-sensei and me, a bit nervously. I could dimly hear their conversation but I wasn't focusing on that. I expanded my range, bit by bit, and I felt the many ninjas living in this apartment.

I pushed a little more, I felt Gaara's chakra as well as Shukaku's, he was staying in a hotel near the ninja apartments, probably for security reasons. I shivered, breathing heavily, and I felt a hand on my shoulder but I lingered there, trying to get myself used to the bone-chilling feeling I get from his chakra. After a moment, I felt comfortable to push on, past Gaara. I was happy I managed to get over it so fast. I think it was because I wasn't expecting it that it affected me so badly.

Satisfied, I pushed through. I felt the friendly and familiar chakra of my fellow Konoha-nins and the standoffish and nervous chakra of the foreign ninjas. I kept going, sixty-five meters, eighty-seven meters, slowly I was nearing my limit of a kilometer. I was nearing my limits and I pushed it a little further and-

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" I screamed.

I pulled back my range immediately and fell to the floor in the fetal position, clutching my head like it was my lifeline. My body was shivering and there were black spots in my vision. I think I was crying and I hit my knees on the table but I didn't couldn't feel any pain from it. I was feeling so much pain in my head that I doubt any physical pain could take my mind off it.

"-rong? Momo, what's wrong?! Answer me!" Gai-sensei was yelling again.

"S-snakes…! Snakes…! Snakes, snakes, snakes…!" I repeated like a mantra.

"What snakes?"

"Tainted snakes, obsessive snakes, poisonous snakes, snakes, snakes, snakes…. Get it off, get it off, get it off!"

I freaked out for a good five minutes, Gai-sensei would tell me later. Those were the longest five minutes of my life. When I was finally coherent again, I realized that someone gave me a blanket and handed me my dango and mochi. I started eating my comfort food. The atmosphere was tense and Gai-sensei had a very, very serious look on his face. If I thought his face during my first freak out was serious, then I was wrong. That look was absolutely expressive compared to this one.

"Sensei…." I said, not knowing what to add.

I turned my head and saw Lee was doing some one-handed pushups with a determined look on his face, he wasn't even counting or yelling about Youth. He was completely serious. My eyes flickered to the tea that was placed in front of me and to Neji who just placed it down. His face was as expressionless as always but his hands were shaking and he briefly touched his forehead. He was probably remembering when the Bird Cage Seal was activated on a family member.

"Momo. I want you to tell me exactly what you felt." Gai-sensei said.

"But sensei!" Lee and Neji exclaimed in unison but were silenced by a single look from Gai-sensei.

"I know you are concerned for your teammate but for a sensor to be that affected this badly, the protocol states that we need to know what happened."

"Lee, Neji-san, I'm okay. I can do this." I said, giving them a slightly shaky but nevertheless determined smile, "I was pushing my limits to a kilometer to my current left when I felt someone with a lot of tainted chakra. The chakra itself felt like I was in a pit of snakes, a pit of poisonous and obsessive snakes. The person with that chakra had just attacked some foreign ninjas and it felt like… it felt like they were shedding their skin."

"I have to report this to the Hokage." Gai-sensei said as he stood up with the gravity of a man who had seen the worst of all mankind, "I am putting this team under house arrest, for now, this is an order. None of you are allowed to leave unless I say so. Stick together as much as you can. Momo, from now until the end of the Chunin Exams, don't push your sensory skills further than fifty meters if you can help it."

"Yes sensei."

With that, Gai-sensei left. I tried to get up to cook dinner but Neji stopped me. The rest of the night passed in silence and when I went to bed, Neji and Lee protested letting me sleep alone so we ended up all sleeping in sleeping bags in the living room.

Chapter 15: Chunin Exam Pt. 1

Chapter Text

The next morning, I woke up to the smell of eggs and the sight of Gai-sensei putting breakfast down on the dining table. There was also some bacon and fresh oranges that I know Gai-sensei didn't have in his apartment when we got here yesterday. I sat up and saw that Neji was sleeping near my head while Lee was sleeping near my feet. It feels like when we have missions that last over a few nights and need to sleep in the forest. The only difference is that I think they slept like this to 'protect' me, well, I gave them a scare yesterday, I guess I'll let them for now.

Though, if this 'protection' lasts even longer than an hour or two, I'm going to poison them. The Chunin Exams aren't today so, as long as I don't put them out of commission for longer than a day, it will be fine. Lee is learning from Gai-sensei to be a chivalrous person and has yet to understand that this chivalry only extends to civilian women while Neji is a Hyuuga, enough said. Basically, they are both soft on women. Not necessarily a bad thing, but it is a slight insult to kunoichi.

Gai-sensei knows very well not to treat kunoichi with chivalry unless he wanted to get hurt. He never treats anyone differently based on gender, unlike a few of the other shinobi I see around the mission desk. Though sometimes Gai-sensei does go over the top with chivalry when he's with his friends, in that case, they know that Gai-sensei is just being Gai-sensei and laugh at his antics.

"Good morning sensei." I greeted as I maneuvered myself so that I had space to do my morning stretches.

"Good morning to you too, Momo. How's your head?" Gai-sensei asked.

"My head is still pounding a bit but it's manageable. I think I'll be better tomorrow. I'm going to go brush my teeth."

I entered the washroom and looked at my reflection. Ah. I guess they do have a reason to be protective... I'll give them an hour after we leave the apartment instead.

My hair was a mess, my eyes were bloodshot, my clothes were ruffled, and I saw a bruise on my leg. I looked like I had a fight with my sleeping bag and lost. I absentmindedly healed my bruise as my teeth and picked out my clothes. Since Gai-sensei probably wasn't going to let us out today, I decided to not wear my mask and just left my hair brushed straight.

I looked back into the mirror. My hair was back to normal, my clothes were ruffle-free, my bruise was gone, and the only thing left that would make it look like something did happen was my still red eyes but those will go away soon. All in all, I look more human. Satisfied, I left the washroom, dodging a still sleepy Neji and Lee who seemed to have decided to use the bathroom at the same time, and sat down for breakfast.

"Feel free to start eating, Momo. You will need to be revitalized with Youth after what happened yesterday."

"Thank you, Gai-sensei." I said with a smile before starting to eat.

While I ate, Neji and Lee walked in and started eating with me. I'm in the middle it seems. Once we were all sitting together, Gai-sensei took his seat. We ate in silence until Lee spoke up.

"Gai-sensei… What happened yesterday?" Lee asked, he had already asked me the same question last night but all I could tell him was that I didn't know and I felt like I was drowning in a pit of snakes out for blood.

I can still feel those vile snakes slithering all over me. I shivered.

Gai-sensei stopped eating and closed his eyes, "I have orders from the Hokage not to tell you and to tell you to forget about last night. However, that just means that you will do your best to watch each other's backs during the Exams because this time's candidates are really something. Stay alert and always be battle-ready."

"Yes, Gai-sensei."

The three of us shared a look. Gai-sensei was almost never serious. I knew what was going to happen and I knew that Gai-sensei and the Hokage probably knew something was going to happen but I can't help but feel anxious. I can't imagine what Neji and Lee must be feeling right now, being in the dark about it all.

I just hope the casualties of the invasion will be less than in Canon, if a single extra life is saved, then the horrible experience would almost be worth it.

I woke up on the morning of the exams in my own room, feeling refreshed and ready. Neji and Lee finally let me sleep in my own room last night. Though they made me keep the door open and entered the room at night to check up on me periodically, it was still a step up from all of us camping in the living room. Neji was the first to back off, taking Lee with him, but I could tell that Neji was the more concerned one of the two. After getting ready for the day and changing into my mission outfit, I grabbed my mission pack that was ready for a month-long mission and sat down for breakfast with Neji and Lee. Gai-sensei left a while ago.

"We should pretend to be weak, it would be good to lull the competition into a false sense of security or superiority." Neji suggested as we walked out of the apartment building.

"No." I shook my head, I was not going to go through the song and dance the Canon meeting Team 9 had with Team 7, not to mention Sakura would just blow up the entire operation when she sees me so I would rather not waste so much effort in something that just won't work, "We don't know when the exams are actually going to start. It may say that exams start in room 301 but we can't be sure that the examiners aren't already watching us the second we enter the Academy. Also, if we pretend to be weak, we will probably be targeted since we look like easy targets. Our best choice should be to blend in."

As we walked, we debated and came to the conclusion that, while we will downplay our abilities to a degree, we won't actively advertise it. We entered the Academy and made our way up the two flights of stairs when we found a crowd standing around a room that had a layer of Genjutsu over it to make people think it was room 301.

"Stay with the crowd, pretend not to notice, slowly make your way to the other side." Neji muttered.

We did just that. However, just as we were about to leave, I heard a familiar voice and silently groaned. Sakura… why? I knew you would be here but couldn't you have waited until I left the area to get here? I guess there are still many things in Canon that I just can't avoid.

"You know them?" Neji asked as Lee ran to intercept the attacks.

"The girl's my Imoto." I sighed.

Neji and I followed Lee as he started interacting with Team 7 and I saw Sakura's eyes widened when she saw me. I guess she didn't know what my team was like, which was odd since I talk about them on occasion during dinner… oh, right, she was never there to listen. When she is there for dinner, she would say jokingly that my team was as trainaholic as I was before telling us about how her day with her team went.

"Hey, this isn't what you promised. You were the one who said not to carelessly attract attention and to blend in." Neji said, making it seem like Lee was the brains of the group.

I guess I'll go with it too. Just need to use respectful speak to Lee while casual with Neji.

"Sorry but…." Lee said, looking at Sakura.

"Oh dear… this again…." I muttered, when will Lee ever learn?

I sighed and watched as Lee approached Sakura, and tried and failed to woo her. Lee has trouble with women, thankfully he didn't try to ask me out since I wasn't his type. I wondered what his type was but if I had to guess then his type had to be the Exotic Beauty Type (since he liked Sakura and her hair color was exotic) or the Hard Worker Type. Though I think I am hardworking, I guess being in a team with him takes me off the list? He didn't go for Tenten in Canon either so I think that theory fits. Thank the Sage of the Six Paths for that, as nice as a guy Lee is, I am not interested. At all.

"Hey, you there, identify yourselves." Sasuke all but ordered.

"When asking someone for their names, it's common courtesy to give your own name first… Uchiha-san." Neji retorted with a smirk. I guess he was listening to me when I told him about Sakura's team when we were waiting for Sunset to finish. That's really nice of him.

"How do you know his name?!" Naruto exclaimed.

I turned to Naruto, fully aware of the double-take he (and the rest of his team, Sakura even has a look of horror on her face, I wish I had a camera on me to take a picture) was doing when he saw my mask, "You have been on the same team as my Imoto for a while and you don't expect me to know and tell my team who you all are?"

"Your Imoto…? You're Sakura-chan's nee-san?!"

"Yes. Did Imoto not tell you?" I asked, glancing at Sakura who was alternating between staring at Lee in disgust and my mask in horror.

"No. You already know our names so tell us, who are you?" Sasuke asked.

"Just ask Imoto, we need to go before we're late. Come on, Neji, Lee-san." I said, faking the same team hierarchy that Neji set up, where Lee was the one in charge, "Be safe, Imoto, I'll see you during the Exams."

We walked away from them and took an alternate route to get to room 301, one that was less crowded which meant less spying. There are so many ways to choose since the Academy is built like a labyrinth in some places, however, we didn't just any of the more obscure halls because of the possible enemies following us. While we walked, I could tell that Neji and Lee were thinking about Sasuke.

"Lee-san, what's wrong?" I asked when Lee stopped.

"You guys go on ahead." Lee said, turning around, "I have something I need to do."

I stared at Lee's back and turned back to Neji who stopped, "I bet he went to find and fight Uchiha-san."

"No bet. It's obvious." Neji sighed.

We continued to make our way to room 301, greeted Gai-sensei, and told him where Lee was so he could go after Lee and make sure he won't be late before slipping into the very crowded room with little fanfare. I'm actually a bit surprised there are so many people. Well, the number of people itself wasn't surprising, but the number of foreign people was. After a while, Lee joined us, his chakra telling me he was happy with himself, so I guess his little spar went well for him. I glanced around the room, I saw Gaara's Team, the Oto Team, Kabuto's Team, the Konoha Rookies and the Kusa team Orochimaru was disguising himself as.

All those snakes...

I nudged Lee and Neji and signed, 'First. Redhead. Suna. Other. Kusa. Ninja.'

I couldn't specify which Kusa ninja but keeping them away from (or at least on guard against) all Kusa ninjas wasn't a disadvantage at all.

Neji and Lee tensed a bit. They knew that, if it was anything for the Chunin Exams, I would just whisper. For me to use the Team Hand Signs Neji and I developed (actually, that I ripped off from the American Sign Language and twisted with the help of Neji) for our team to give a message during the exams could mean only one thing, the people I told them had the chakras I sensed that practically made me go catatonic.

Neji bent over as if to adjust his sandals to hide that he was using Byakugan and moved me closer between him and Lee. I was annoyed that they still thought that I needed protection just because I was a girl. I knew they had their manly pride or whatever but it was still annoying. Still, given the situation and how I practically screamed my lungs dry, I'll let them have it, if only for their peace of mind. My eyes trailed over to the Rookie 9, it seems like Kabuto has finally approached them. Took the guy long enough.

"Neji, Lee-san. Look at the Rookies and listen." I whispered.

Neji and Lee did as I told them to do and paid close attention to the group. Their eyes narrowed ever so slightly. Mostly with concentration and focus but they had a hint of confusion as to why I told them to look in that direction.

"I don't trust him." I muttered, "He shouldn't have all that information and he shouldn't have told anyone that information, especially since he gave up information about us, fellow Konoha-nins, and are currently surrounded by foreign ninjas who might misuse that information. We should keep an eye on him but also stay away from him. His chakra feels a bit... vile, not nice at all."

"Understood."

"AH!" Naruto yelled, catching everyone's attention, "My name is Uzumaki Naruto! I won't lose to any of you! Got it?! If you want a piece of me, come get it!"

"Idiot." I muttered.

As much as I love Naruto's positive attitude towards everything, I really, really feel embarrassed as a Konoha ninja.

Naruto caused a commotion just like in Canon. I looked away when I saw that Sakura and Ino were arguing again. They aren't in the Academy anymore, why are they still arguing like this? The second-hand embarrassment is really strong, Naruto's outburst didn't help.

"Your Imoto-"

"Finish that sentence and you will get poisons coercing through your veins, Hyuuga. I won't kill you but I promise it will hurt a lot." I muttered already knowing what Neji was going to say about Sakura.

I know the current Sakura was weak but I know the future Sakura would be better. I know that it's hard to see it, and as the days go by I find it hard to believe as well, but I know Sakura would become the amazing person Canon!Sakura did. I know, I know I push her hard and argue with her a lot because I always compare her with the phantom of her future self but I couldn't help it. She could be amazing if she only tried. I felt Neji's chakra to see if he was angry but instead, I just found a feeling of commiseration. I guess Neji must have thought I shut him down because I was ashamed of Sakura's behavior like he was ashamed of Hinata.

"Lee-san. What was going on with that attack?" Neji asked, keeping with our charade and bringing me out of my thoughts.

Now wasn't the time to get lost in thought. The Sound ninja just attacked Kabuto.

"There was more to it than just speed." Lee answered, "Some kind of trick."

"I think the trick is in the name of his village, you know?" I muttered, hinting.

"Ah, yes, of course."

Suddenly, there was a big explosion of smoke and a voice boomed across the room, "Silence you degenerates!"

It seems the Chunin Exams were about to begin.

I was seated diagonally behind Lee, three rows back but I had a clear view of him. As soon as I was seated, I sent Chakra Stings to connect with Lee's hands so that his hand would mimic every move my hands made. We practiced enough that Lee knew how my Chakra Stings felt and would not fight it and I think I was good enough not to get caught. I also added a thin, unnoticeable layer of Genjutsu over it so I think it should be fine.

The second I got the paper, I read it over and started writing. It was easy for someone who loved books and/or had graduated from university but this must be difficult for the average Genin. I let my pencil fly across the page, answering every question while making sure that my Chakra Strings don't become visible and the Genjutsu held.

I love this Genjutsu since after it gets put on something, it uses the chakra from the surroundings. That basically meant that I wasn't wasting any of my own chakra. It was really, really weak so it isn't really good on the field sometimes but it was perfect for right now.

I hid my paper and swatted away any and all insects that got close. I don't know Shion so I am under no obligation to help him (no matter how sorry I felt for him for his lack of screen time). Within twenty minutes, I finished all the questions, released Lee from my Chakra Stings, released the Genjutsu, and wrote down my name at the top of the page before discreetly flipping the page over. I looked at the clock, there was a couple of minutes left. I started doodling on the back of the paper. Well, what appeared to be doodling.

I drew the Chinese Zodiac cycle, paying extra attention to the elaborate grey snake that seemed to wear glasses, hiding the letter L and the numbers 7 (with the Konoha symbol near it) and 2 (with the Kusa symbol near it) in the snake's scales. I also hid the words 'Look at Snake' in the drawing, one letter hidden in each animal besides the snake. I looked at the clock and saw that there were three minutes left so I wrote the words 'Do Animals Have Chakra too?' inside the cycle, putting emphasis on the word 'Chakra.' Gai-sensei should be able to understand this, probably.

Hopefully.

I flipped the page back around and waited. I ignored Ibiki in favor of watching Naruto, waiting for him to start yelling in typical Naruto-Style and he did not disappoint. The Protagonist Energy was strong in that speech. Within moments, everyone was determined, Anko crashed through the window and we were ushered out of the room and towards the Forest of Death for the second stage of the Chunin Exams.

Chapter 16: Chunin Exam Pt. 2

Chapter Text

We were standing in front of Gate 41 (a gate we chose specifically since it was the furthest away from both the Suna Team and the Kusa Team), waiting for the Second Stage to start. We were given an Earth Scroll and I had made two fake copies that Neji and Lee would hold on to. I was given the Earth Scroll since I could Genjutsu it into an average Storage Seal if things get really dicey and we get searched by a more experienced team.

"Once we pass these gates, we're on our own." I muttered to myself, looking up at the gates as if to savor the sight.

In a way, I was savoring the sight. The Forest of Death was where Canon started getting heavy. Might as well enjoy the peace while I could.

"Yes. We will show everyone the Power of Youth!"

"Focus. It's about to start."

Lee and I quieted down, falling into a ready position.

"Begin!"

We shot off into the forest and made some good distance before Neji made us stop at the base of a really big tree, throwing a kunai down. We stood in a circle around the kunai, waiting for Neji to explain his plan. A plan that we will say was Lee's idea if we were going to keep up the act of Lee being the brains of this team.

"This is the meeting point, we will come back here after we separate to find the scroll, stay within a fifty-meter radius of here and return in one hour. The code words are the words that Momo signaled to us during the First Stage with the first person returning here saying the first two words while the one who just came will say the rest. The last person who gets here will have to tell us what the chakra Momo sensed while we were in Gai-sensei's home felt like. Do not interact with the ones Momo has warned us about, do your best to avoid them." Neji hashed out a rudimentary plan.

"Yes." Lee and I exclaimed.

Then we scattered. I was flying through the trees, I made sure I focused on my sensory skills so that I didn't miss anything within my twenty-meter self-imposed limit, not even the smallest of insects could get by me. I scouted in a zigzag pattern, doing my best to stay at the edge of the animals' territories so I didn't anger them.

No need to go to more trouble than I need to.

I've been running for about a good twenty-five minutes. I passed a few corpses that I looted but, unfortunately, didn't have any scrolls.

I was a ninja, not a samurai. Leave the honor stuff to people who actually care.

Then, my luck changed. I stumbled across the corpses of two teams, one of the teams didn't have a scroll but the other team had an Earth Scroll. I pocketed the Earth Scroll just in case since you'd never know when you needed to negotiate out of a fight.

I was about to return to the meeting point when I felt Orochimaru's chakra entering the fringes of my range and moving north. North where Lee was scouting. North where I knew Sakura and her team was since I made sure I knew exactly where she was before going to my own gate. North where the Plot gets started with Sasuke's Curse Mark.

"Lee. Sakura." I muttered before turning and running back to the meeting point like my life depended on it.

I knew what Orochimaru would do and I basically did nothing to stop him. I feel guilty but everything turns out fine enough in the end so it's fine, right? Or am I just trying to justify the means with the end? I don't know. Am I a coward? Maybe. I don't have a fancy Kekkei Genkai that can flip the laws of the universe on their head. I'm just a second-generation ninja from two parents who were the first ninjas in their families. Two retired, career-Chunin at best, ninjas at that. What can I possibly do that won't land me in Danzo's clutches for having so much information? The answer was nothing. Absolutely nothing. I already risked changing things by telling Gai-sensei about the chakras I felt, I couldn't do anything other than that.

That is my definition of the curse of knowledge, knowledge that you have but just can't use.

It doesn't make me feel better.

It will never make me feel better.

I arrived at the meeting point with five minutes to spare. It took a while getting here even though I was running at top speed because of the traps the other ninjas created, which were a major pain to get around. Especially the traps made by the foreign ninjas since I was unfamiliar with them. I took a few poison samples when I could though, you never know when those were useful. After waiting three minutes, Neji arrived.

"First. Redhead." I stated, dropping into the typical Academy Style stance, no point in showing off Dancing Larkspur Style yet.

"Suna. Other. Kusa. Ninja." Neji finished, causing me to relax my stance.

"Oh good. Neji-san, we have to go search for Lee." I urged, dropping the act since there was no point if Lee and Sakura were in trouble right now, and might as well put Neji's guard up, "I felt The Chakra heading north to where Lee is supposed to be."

Neji's eyes widened, "First or second?"

I grimaced, "Second."

Without another word, Neji and I started running towards Lee's direction at nearly full speed with Neji guiding us with his Byakugan. Neji had forbidden me from trying to sense Lee and I did not argue. The first time I sensed Orochimaru, he wasn't purposely flaring his chakra but now he was to probably make his Killing Intent more potent.

Neji was surprisingly kind so long as the situation met a set of conditions.

"Lee is fighting three ninjas, the Oto-nins."

"Three on one?"

"Yes."

I cursed and we sped up. We kept running while Neji kept an eye on the situation. By the time we arrived, the Oto Team was beaten by Sasuke with his new Curse Mark and Lee was lying unconscious on the floor.

We were too late…

"Wait or go?" I asked Neji, needing to distract myself, to detach myself from the scene.

"Wait for now."

So we waited. We watched as Sakura, my idiot sister, hugged Sasuke from behind to calm him down like some kind of cliche book trope. I looked away in shame, my regret disappearing for a moment because of this, and I could tell Neji was half disgusted at her for just hugging him without fear of being hurt because Sasuke wasn't in the right mind, and half-amused at my suffering. I sensed movement so I looked back and saw Ino and her team entering the clearing and trying to help Lee.

"I'm going down." I told Neji who nodded, disinterested now that the threat was gone for now.

I jumped down and everyone was on guard, tense, before Ino greeted me.

"Ah, Momo-chan."

"Ino-chan, can I have my teammate back?" I asked, walking towards her, telegraphing all my movements so she didn't get scared.

"Wa- sure." Ino said, handing Lee to me.

I scratched my nails before waving them under Lee's nose, waking Lee up.

"M-Momo?" Lee asked, "I was… Sakura-san!"

I let Lee run for a bit, I was about to stop him but Ino stopped me. I could have ignored her but she was Sakura's friend and a possible ally in this hostile territory. It's smart to build up goodwill in times like this.

"What did you do?" Ino asked, looking down at my nails, "You scratched your nails and now he's awake."

"I made my own scratch-and-sniff nail polish, salt scented. Since smelling salts can wake people up from unconsciousness at times, and since I can't just always carry salt, I custom-made this clear nail polish." I explained, showing my nails off, I was vain about my nails, sue me, "It can't be tracked since the scent released has a very small range and it doesn't release much smell for long, a few seconds at best."

"Can I have a bottle of it?" Ino asked, "Actually, can I have a bottle of it but in purple instead of clear?"

"Sure, but when the exams are over." I replied before making my way to Sakura and started fixing her hair, "Hey, how are you doing?"

"... better." Sakura muttered, talking to me for the first time since her outburst.

"Good."

There was silence.

"... you aren't telling me to quit?"

"No. It's your choice."

"Then why did you tell me not to enter before?"

"I never stopped you. You asked for my opinion and I gave it to you, you weren't ready. I never told you not to enter, I just told you I didn't think you were ready." I explained calmly, brushing out the tangles in her hair.

"... I see." Sakura said, "I… I was scared. I'm still really scared but I… I want to see it to the end so…."

"Okay, but remember to take care of yourself, okay? I'll watch over you the best I can but I can't help you forever."

"I know. Thanks, Ane."

"I'm just looking out for my reckless, lovesick, but strong little Imoto. There, all better." I said, finishing with Sakura's haircut before turning around, "Lee-san! We have to go now, we can't stay! A bigger group means an even bigger target!"

"Oh, right!" Lee yelled and he followed me as I jumped to where Neji was hiding.

Once we regrouped we put a bit of distance between ourselves and the other teams before stopping in a clearing. There was a minor setback (and wasn't that an understatement but I need to move on, don't think about it) but that was no reason not to continue on with the plan since the plan itself can still work.

"Report." Neji said.

"I have not found anything. To my disgrace, I have spent most of the time sensing the danger and going to fight it." Lee said, looking down at the floor, ashamed.

"I passed a few corpses, looted them for extra gear but none of them had the scroll we needed but I did find an extra Earth Scroll," I said, pulling it out.

"I found a team that was passed out with a Heaven Scroll lying against a rock, I checked it over with my Byakugan, it's a real one. Let's get to the Tower." Neji said and we ran to the Tower, dodging ambushes and traps.

Once inside the Tower, we were greeted with a mostly empty room with only a piece of paper framed on the wall.

"If qualities of Heaven are your desire, acquire wisdom to take your mind higher. If Earthly qualities are what you lack, train your body and prepare to attack. When Heaven and Earth are open together, the parlous path will become righteous forever. This 'something' is the secret way is what guides us from the place today." I read, then I remembered what we had to do, "So, let's open the two scrolls at the same time and hope for the best?"

"Yosh!" Lee yelled, taking the scrolls and throwing them out into the empty floor. With a poof of smoke, a Chunin was standing in front of them. It was Karu-sensei.

"Karu-sensei!" Lee and I exclaimed.

"Lee-kun, Momo-chan, and Neji-kun. It's nice to see you again." Karu-sensei said, smiling, "I see you made it to the end of the Second Stage."

"Why are you here, Karu-sensei?"

"Well, at the end of the Second Stage, we Chunin are to welcome the ones who pass it. So congratulations on passing. Of course, we were also given the task of explaining what words up there, the Chunin Motto, is saying." Karu-sensei said, pointing to the scroll, "Do you want to guess what it could mean?"

"I'm guessing 'Heaven' means the mind and 'Earth' means the body. It's saying that if you aren't smart and more physically oriented, you should study and if you aren't strong, you should work out. It's also saying that if you want to succeed, you need to be good with both smarts and strengths." I answered, vaguely remembering what Iruka told Team 7 and putting it in my own words. No need to plagiarize even if what I'm plagiarizing hasn't been said yet.

"Exactly. I'm glad to see that your mind is still as sharp even though you have been spending most of your days running." Karu-sensei smiled, I bet this sensei of ours watched us run around the village without saying so much as hello to us, "Neji-kun, from what I observed from the Academy, you have both Heaven and Earth qualities, so keep working hard. Momo-chan, while you do have both of the qualities like Neji-kun, you needed a bit more work with Earth but I see you have been improving since becoming a Genin under Gai. Lee-kun, you only have Earth qualities and, while I am proud of how far you have come from the small Academy student you were, I wish you take the time out of your day to read and exercise your mind."

"Yes, Karu-sensei."

"Good, now, you still have about three or four days until the Second Stage is over so I'll show you to the rooms." Karu-sensei said as we left the empty room and he showed us around, "Each Team is sharing a room and there are two beds and a futon in each room, there are two communal washrooms -one for boys and the other for girls- and a cafeteria."

We listened and followed until Karu-sensei dropped us off. I claimed a bed while Lee chose the futon, leaving Neji with the other bed.

"I'm going to shower, look after my stuff for me." I spoke up, tying my hair up with two senbons, popping a white pill into my mouth, grabbing the basket, and placing my stuff in the basket: my shampoo, conditioner, body wash, change of clothes in a plastic bag, and a bottle of blue liquid.

"Okay." Neji said, disinterested.

"Hey, Momo, what was the pill for?" Lee asked.

"Antidote for my poison." I said, gesturing to the blue liquid, "We're in a tower filled with competitors, I'm not taking chances of someone attacking me while I shower. So I'm taking two senbons and a poison that, when it touches your skin, will knock you out and give you painful blisters. Do you want to bring some with you when you shower?"

There was a bit of a debate over whether they needed it since they would be looking out for each other in the washroom but then remembered that all our stuff was going to be in one room and one person protecting all our stuff wasn't good protection. In the end, Neji and Lee decided to take up my offer of taking the poison with them.

The faces they made when they took the pill were funny. What were they expecting? I was a little girl who loved chocolate, of course, I was going to make the pill chocolate flavored.

Chapter 17: Chunin Exam Pt. 3

Chapter Text

At the end of the Second Stage, a loud bell rang and we were all shuffled into a large room in front of the Hokage. I looked around and saw that there were seven teams: one from Suna, one from Oto, and five from Konoha. Just like Canon. The Hokage explained that since there were a lot of us, we were going to have a preliminary round. He then started talking about how the Chunin Exams were a replacement for war but I think it wasn't a good description.

War is going to happen. Even if it isn't against an alien lady with a god complex, war is inevitable. If there wasn't a physical war, it will be an economic war. Nothing, not even a really bloody Chunin Exams, can replace war because we are war-driven creatures. As depressing as that sounds. I think we're just using the Chunin Exams as an excuse to scout out enemy territory because it is the one event where we are actually invited into enemy territory without that much hostility.

I was getting ahead of myself.

The Hokage asked if anyone wanted to give up and Kabuto left, but I felt the faint feeling of ANBU Guards following him out. It seems like my little comment did something. I don't know if it's a big something but at least it's something. The proctor told us that the screen behind him was going to determine our fates and we watched as the screen displayed 'Akado Yoroi vs Uchiha Sasuke' as the first match.

"Now then, the two displayed on the screen, step forward while the rest of you move to the watching area and get off the field."

While the rest of us quickly cleared out, Sasuke and the other person started staring each other down. I glanced at Sakura and saw that she was pale.

"Something's wrong with Uchiha-san." I muttered under my breath, eyeing Sasuke, "Something happened in the forest."

I can't know what happened because I wasn't there and I don't have the clearance to know what a Curse Mark was. I can't drag attention to myself. I don't have the power to protect myself. I can't afford to protect someone else when I don't have the power to protect myself.

I spread out my senses and felt Orochimaru's chakra radiating (well, it was suppressed but I could feel it, clear as day. There's no hiding that vile chakra, not even if he dies) off of the Oto Team's sensei. I tensed and jumped onto Gai-sensei's shoulders.

A small part of me, a very small part, was upset that Gai-sensei didn't even stumble. I thought I caught him off guard.

"Gai-sensei, I want a better view, can I sit here?" I asked out loud as I tapped on his shoulders, 'Second. Chakra. Sound. Sensei.'

"Hahaha! Yoshi! I will lend you my shoulders so you can have a more Youthful view! How about we have a little competition, Kakashi, my Eternal Rival? A competition to see who can provide our Genin's the best view?" Gai-sensei laughed boisterously, I don't know what Gai-sensei did but Kakashi's chakra tensed ever so slightly.

"Gai…." Kakashi sighed, "I don't want to be a part of that ridiculous competition. Ask Asuma or Kurenai instead."

"Ask us what?" Asuma asked, his chakra also ever so slightly tensed.

I ignored the conversation between the sensei's about ridiculous competitions and instead marveled at how quickly Gai-sensei was able to get all the Jonin senseis and convey the information I told him. I still have a long way to go to reach Jonin. I turned my attention back to the fight.

"Lions Barrage!" Sasuke yelled as he gave his final blow, I guess I missed his entire fight.

Meh, whatever. I already know what will happen.

"Hey, isn't that your move, Lee?" I asked.

"Yeah." Lee answered, his face serious, "I think he copied it."

"The winner is Uchiha Sasuke!" The proctor said, "Now then… we will get right to it and begin the second match."

Everyone looked up at the screen, waiting for the names to stop switching, and the next match showed up, Abumi Zaku vs Aburame Shino.

"Which weakling is it?" Zaku asked, looking around, Shino didn't give him an answer.

"Both of you, come forward." The proctor said.

Before the match started, Orochimaru disappeared. I tensed but I felt some ANBU rushing out so it should be fine. Hopefully. I turned my attention back to Shino's match, I am determined not to miss out on this one too. I watched as Shino got blown away by a soundwave but stood up with just a few scratches, he was probably protected by his kikaichu. Shino then let them crawl all over his body to distract Zaku from the swarm approaching from behind.

"Cool but my trypophobia is not liking this." I muttered as I shuddered while I remembered the holes that appeared on Shino's skin that let his kikaichu crawl out of his body.

Zaku surprised everyone that his arm wasn't broken and took it out of its sling. Positioning one hand towards the swarm and the other towards Shino to attack them both at once, making his previous hopeless situation into something less hopeless. However, before he could do anything chakra and blood exploded from his arms, making them practically useless. It turns out, Shino clogged both of the holes in his palms just in case.

"Punk!" Zaku yelled angrily as he rushed in to attack but got knocked out with a single punch to the face.

"That was smart, but he should work on his Taijutsu. That punch wouldn't have knocked out that Oto-nin if he didn't deplete so much chakra." I commented.

"The winner! Aburame Shino!"

I watched as Neji used his Byakugan and got a slightly disgusted look on his face. I guess he saw all the bugs in his body. I thought that Clan kids knew the basic things about other Clan kids but I guess I thought wrong. Or maybe Neji wanted to see the intricate parts of Shion's jutsus for future use in case they face off in the Final Round but got disgusted? I give it an even fifty-fifty split.

"Now then… I would like to get on with the next match." The proctor said and, once again, we looked at the screen, 'Tsurugi Misumi vs Kankuro.'

I only half-heartedly watched the match since things were following Canon so that meant that Kankuro would be winning and I don't really need to think about how to win against Kankuro since I had Chakra Scalpels that can cut Chakra Stings. Besides, he was forfeiting anyway so there was really no point watching too closely.

"Oh. I get it now." I exclaimed, eyes widening, "Morino-san had asked Kankuro-san if he had fun playing with dolls when he got back from the washroom back during the First Stage, he was talking about his puppets and him being a puppeteer!"

I ignored the incredulous look Neji was giving me. He was judging me so hard right now. I was wondering about that for a long time, even during Before, I wondered if Ibiki was talking about how Kankuro used his puppets but now I know that he was actually talking about how he was a puppeteer.

It took me a while (a long while) but I finally knew the answer. Yes, I was a little too proud that I knew now but I do not care.

"The winner, by an inability to continue the match by the opponent, is Kankuro." The proctor said, "There is going to be an intermission. Food can be eaten if you have any and the washrooms are just outside those doors."

I watched as Sakura left to go to the washroom and Ino followed her. I got down from Gai-sensei's shoulders and took out four rice balls, handing them out to the rest of my team as we sat in a circle with Gai-sensei standing guard.

"Did you enjoy the view?" Neji asked, silently asking me why I did it.

"Yep, it was nice to see how the world looks up there. I can't wait to get taller!" I exclaimed happily as I signed, 'Second. Chakra. Sound. Sensei.'

Lee and Neji tensed as they looked around the room and discreetly swept over all the small huddles that the other teams created. Eyes lingered a second longer on the Oto team before paying attention to their rice balls. I don't know where Gai-sensei got me the ingredients and how he put them in our room without any of us realizing but I don't care, we have food to eat.

"I see." Neji muttered.

"Another thing." I whispered, "If either of you ends up fighting the redhead, please forfeit."

"But-" Lee started but I cut him off.

"If you want to try your luck, go ahead, I won't stop you. However, at least promise me you will stop the match if it gets too much, okay?"

"Okay." Lee said, unhappy.

I glanced at Neji who just nodded. We ate our rice balls in silence until the intermission ended.

"Now then, to continue, we will begin the fourth match." The proctor said.

I sighed, this was going to be the fight between Ino and Sakura. A catfight from their Academy years that has evolved into a very green Genin fight. I resolved to hide behind Gai-sensei, my head pressing hard against his rock-hard back, for the entire fight because I don't know them. Glancing at the screen, I resigned myself to my fate of second-hand embarrassment. The names flickered in and out and landed on the next matchup, 'Temari vs Yamanaka Ino.'

I blinked and looked at Ino. This was not Canon. I had already been thinking up strategies to fight and win against Temari. They were just basically throwing some senbons towards her and running in when the fan was blocking her sight from me, then I would render her arms useless so she couldn't use her fan before tackling her to the floor and knocking her out Haku-Style. Now that Ino was fighting Temari, I didn't know who I was fighting.

I ignored the fight, it was obvious that Temari was going to win, and instead looked around at my remaining opponents. There was Shikamaru, Choji, Sakura, Naruto, Kiba, Lee, Gaara, Oto Girl and Oto boy left. I wasn't counting Neji or Hinata because their fight was going to happen, it was stated (or speculated, I don't remember) Before that their fight was likely rigged to happen so that fight was guarenteed.

"Momo, aren't you going to pay attention?" Lee asked, "Isn't Ino-san your friend? Should you not show your Youth by encouraging an ally?"

"While I would love nothing more than to see Ino-chan win, this is a bad matchup for her. She needs to line up for a Mind-Body Switch but she can't do that since Temari-san is beating her around with her wind. Ino-chan can't even get close enough to engage in a Taijutsu match either and I know she doesn't know any long-range jutsus nor does she know any useful Genjutsus to help her." I explained, looking down sadly at Ino, she landed the same way as Canon!Tenten did.

"The winner is Temari!" The proctor said as Ino got taken away by the medics, "Now, for the fifth match…"

I tensed. I can't trust Canon for the rest of them so I hope to god that I don't get Gaara. I relaxed as the screen showed the next match, 'Nara Shikamaru vs Tsuchi Kin.' That match is Canon.

"Using a Genjutsu like that is smart. But I would rather not use bells, they make dodging much easier even if they make the use of Genjutsu easier. What do you think, Gai-sensei? Should I find a way to make that technique mine?" I asked.

"Your Youth is burning strong Momo-chan!" Gai-sensei declared, smiling, "Yes, that seems like a wonderful idea! I can think of many uses for that technique. We will work on it after the Chunin Exams are over!"

"How will you get around the need for a bell?" Lee asked.

"I'm not sure yet but the bell seemed to just be used to make the casting of the Genjutsu easier so I should be able to get around it by perfecting my Chakra Control or by using more chakra then she did when I cast the Genjutsu." I answered.

"Idiot. He should just forfeit." Neji muttered, his eyes glued to the battle.

I glanced down. It seems like Naruto and Kiba's fight -another Canon fight, thank kami- started while I was talking to Gai-sensei.

"Who knows, maybe he has some convoluted plan or idea? He was the class prankster from what Imoto told me, maybe he has something in mind?" I asked, knowing that I don't sound all that confident even as I try to defend Naruto.

"Doubtful." Neji scoffed.

I just nodded and watched the fight. Current Neji would never acknowledge Nartuo no matter what I say. I don't remember much about this fight but I do remember Naruto did something no one thought about to win so I waited.

"That's an… interesting way to win a fight against an Inuzuka." I said slowly as I watched Naruto fart in Kiba's face to win.

"A 'convoluted plan' is not what I'd use to describe that. I'd say that was just dumb luck." Neji muttered.

I couldn't help but nod. That fart in Kiba's face was definitely luck. I tensed again, it was time for the seventh match. According to Canon, Neji and Hinata's match happens after Naruto's match but it was also the eighth match. The names kept switching until it stopped. I blinked as I ignored a few gasps, I was not expecting this match-up.

On the screen, it said 'Haruno Sakura vs Haruno Momo.' I glanced at Sakura as we m ade our way down the stairs. She looked shocked but determined. I felt bad to be the one who would crush my Imoto's dreams but, if this makes her wake up and become a competent kunoichi, then I will crush them and turn them to dust.

Sometimes, you need to completely destroy something to build it back up better than ever.

Chapter 18: Chunin Exam Pt. 4

Chapter Text

Sakura and I stared at each other as the proctor told us to start. Neither of us moved, I could vaguely hear Naruto cheering Sakura on and yelling to us to hurry up. After a few seconds of silence, I spoke up.

"Sakura. Surrender and forfeit." I said calmly, detaching my feelings from my voice.

Right now, I was not 'Momo,' right now, I was acting as a Queen who wanted her foolish sister to stop making a mess of things while trying to do 'the right thing.' A Queen who was so done with her sister but loves her anyway. Kunoichi Class Acting Unit is my favorite unit, you can detach yourself from unwanted situations and let a character talk for you.

As much as I want to break her and rebuild her into someone better, I don't want to hurt my Imoto. So I won't do so as Momo because Sakura is Momo's Imoto, not a Queen's.

Healthy coping mechanisms? No. Useful? Yes.

"N-no. I will not." Sakura said, determined but stuttered at the sudden shift in my demeanor.

"Yeah, Sakura-chan! Fight! Dattebayo!" Naruto yelled even louder, "Don't let her tell you what to do!"

"Sakura, you are still injured from your time in the Forest, you don't have enough experience as a Genin, and you are much weaker than I am." I stated, I was just listing cold, hard facts, "I don't want to hurt you so please surrender and forfeit. Don't drag this out longer than necessary."

"I'm not weak! I'm stronger than before!" Sakura insisted, but I can see in her eyes that she was wavering a bit.

"Yeah! Sakura's strong, dattebayo! Stop telling her to give up! Aren't you her sister? Shouldn't you be encouraging her?!" Naruto yelled, angrily.

"It's because I'm her sister that I'm telling her to give up. I don't want to hurt her." I said to Naruto before turning my attention back to Sakura, "Imoto, there is no shame in forfeiting. I saw how shaken you were in the Forest, I know how hurt you were. Just surrender so I don't hurt you further. You can try again next time when you have a better chance. Continuing here is the height of folly, a ninja knows when the fight is lost and when pushing would just end in more losses. Surrender."

"I'm sorry, Ane, but I won't forfeit and I refuse to surrender!" Sakura declared as she pulled out a kunai and started running towards me with determination in her eyes.

I sighed. Sakura's speed barely improved since she graduated from the Academy and it was so slow compared to what I was used to nowadays. Sakura had nothing on Lee. I threw a single kunai straight towards her and three senbons at a curve to hit her at the side.

"Demonic Illusion: False Surroundings Jutsu." I muttered as she focused on the projectiles.

I didn't put a lot of effort or chakra into the Genjutsu, just enough so that Sakura would ignore me while it was in effect. I didn't actually need it but it was just a precaution, just in case. As Sakura deflected the kunai and jumped back to dodge the senbons, I ran towards her (not at top speed or anywhere close to top speed, I had to keep my cards as close as possible since I don't know who my Final Round opponent would be) and hit a pressure point on her neck, knocking her out with little fanfare. I caught her as she fell and gently laid her down on the floor and looked up at the proctor.

"And the winner is Haruno Momo!" The proctor said.

I nodded to the proctor and gently lifted Sakura up, bringing her up the stairs and towards her team. However, before I could return to my own team after dropping Sakura off, Naruto stood in front of me, he had a determined and angry look on his face.

Save me from shonen protagonists with righteous (read: nosy) inclinations.

(I like Naruto, he's a positive guy and all but, in person, I can't help but think he's a bit annoying. I know he turns into a great person and Hokage but right now? Not there yet. He's just an annoying 12-year-old brat who doesn't know when to stay out of other people's business.)

"Why did you say that?" Naruto asked, his teeth grinding together.

"Excuse me? I don't understand Uzumaki-kun." I said in a bland voice.

"Why did you keep telling Sakura to give up?! She's your sister! She worked so hard and you were just brushing off all her hard work, you didn't even acknowledge her, dattebayo!"

I sighed, frustrated. Naruto was making a scene. Even the proctor guy wasn't announcing the next fight in favor of listening to whatever this was. Hell, the Hokage is watching this -probably because it's Naruto- so I can't just ignore him.

"Uzumaki-kun, I know my Imoto, I know her better then you do. I remember the day mom and dad brought her home from the hospital and I remember the day she came back with a bruise on her forehead caused by a bully where I promised to protect her until she could protect herself. I kept telling her to give up so I wouldn't hurt her. She is my precious Imoto, I don't want to hurt her."

I just want to break her to rebuild her. By showing her how useless she is right now, she would be determined to get better. Whether it came out of a desire to be better or out of pure shame, it doesn't matter. What matters, in the end, would be that she got stronger.

"Well, you could have at least let her show you how much she grew!" Naruto insisted, a lot less angry than before, I guess family talk makes his anger fizzle out, "You just ended the fight without letting her show you anything, she might not need you to protect her anymore, dattebayo!"

"Uzumaki-kun. She hasn't grown at all since the Academy ended. At best she got a bit faster and her rose-colored glasses cracked a bit but that's it." I wonder how deep Naruto's crush on Sakura was that he couldn't tell.

"What?! Sakura-chan did get stronger! She-" Naruto yelled, getting angry again, but I cut him off.

"Imoto didn't get stronger." I said coldly, "She's still going on civilian diets -which is basically skipping meals- that are harming her growth. She does the Academy minimum when you do individual training and after that, she spends the rest of the time sitting in the shade while watching Uchiha-san and cheering him on while he trains. The only new thing she learned since becoming a Genin was learning the Tree Walking Exercise and I know that was the only new thing she learned since she was so happy to tell me during dinner and was giddy the entire week. If she learned anything else she would act like that again."

"But-"

"I'm happy she has an encouraging teammate like you who believes in her, and I know Imoto is probably trying her best in some way. I know she has potential but she isn't ready for Chunin just yet and if she continues like this, she never will. The First Stage of this exam may tell you that Chunin's fight battles that aren't always guaranteed victories but as Chunin you have to know when the fight is worth it and when it's better to leave. If you see a hopeless fight that can be avoided and won't do anything bad to the village if you avoid it but charge in any way wanting to prove yourself, you'd be putting your entire team and your life in danger. That is not a quality a Chunin should have, it's a bad habit that should be broken while you're a Genin."

"You said she has potential-"

"I did but until she stops dieting and starts taking her training seriously, I cannot acknowledge her. If I acknowledge her the way she is now, she will never grow. She will think that where she is now is acceptable when it isn't. If I let her think it was acceptable then I will only be doing her a disservice since I know she can do better and she is only harming herself. I know she wants my acceptance and my acknowledgment of her strengths because she looks up to me as her older sister but I will not give it to her until she earns it. If she keeps thinking that doing the minimum and not striving for more is acceptable then she will only die in this line of work. If she doesn't try to improve then I will force her to stop being a ninja, I refuse to bury my sister because of her own stupidity."

With that, I sidestepped Naruto and rejoined my team. My bad mood from needing to fight Sakura worsened by the public argument caused by Naruto. Gai-sensei stood by me and gave me a comforting pat on the shoulders. Lee gave me a sad understanding look. Lee didn't like how I said that I would end Sakura's ninja career but he also knew that I value hard work -hard work that Sakura just wasn't doing- and he knew that I loved my sister and would rather have her hate me forever because I crushed her dreams then have her dead. Neji just gave me a nod.

"She should have just given up." Neji said, "It was her fate to lose to you. I don't see why you keep insisting that she has potential."

I wanted to tell Neji that Sakura has exceptional Chakra Control and that she can become a Medic-nin later on if she applies herself but I was too emotionally drained so I just sighed and leaned against the wall. I vaguely registered the next matchup appearing on the screen, 'Hyuuga Hinata vs Hyuuga Neji' in bright lights. I was starting to wonder if the matches were rigged so that family members would fight against each other.

"Gai-sensei, I don't think this is going to go well." I muttered.

"... It might not but I'm sure Neji's Youth will shine through in the end." Gai-sensei said.

I didn't comment any further and watched the fight. I knew that Sakura woke up during my talk with Naruto so I didn't look at Team 7's space in case I saw her face. Besides, feeling Naruto's chakra, and listening to his words and voice was enough to know what his face looked like. Anger, determination, and a hint of worry.

I watched as Neji kept hurting Hinata, winching a bit at the sheer brutality that Neji was attacking Hinata with. I could feel the anger that underlined his chakra since the first time I met him simmered up and overwhelmed him. Neji won in the end but… it was brutal and there wasn't a hint of the elegant style he usually fights in.

"You took it a bit too far, Neji-san." I muttered when Neji returned as I watched the medics take Hinata away on a stretcher.

"She should have surrendered when she had the chance." Neji said.

"You're going to get in trouble if she doesn't recover."

"Hanabi-sama is going to be named Heir so it will be fine."

"I see." I muttered, feeling Naruto's anger radiating off of him, "You made Uzumaki-kun very angry."

"What can a failure like him do?"

I sighed and stopped talking. There was no getting to Neji when he was like this. Hopefully, I didn't break Canon too much because I really need Naruto to talk some sense into him. I refuse to deal with Angry Neji for the rest of my life.

(Because Gai-sensei WILL make us stick together for the rest of our lives.)

I watched with my mouth open in horror and my back against the wall as Gaara crippled Lee for life. I knew this was going to happen but… it's one thing to know about it and see it on a 2D screen but it was a completely different thing to see it in real life. The only thing stopping me from going into hysterics was the knowledge that Naruto would Tsunade to help Lee and give him his legs back.

"Lee… I told you to forfeit if you fight him…." I muttered as I watch Lee get taken away by the medical staff.

"This is what happens to those who try to defy the heavens."

"Neji-san, if I end up fighting him in the finals, I'm going to forfeit. Becoming Chunin isn't worth fighting him." I muttered.

"I agree." Neji said, he was a bit shaken from watching the first, "I can see why you reacted like that when you felt his chakra the first time."

"When Lee is cleared to have visitors, will you visit with me?"

"No."

When the next match happened, the one between Dosu and Choji, I was still too shaken up from the last fight but since Dosu dies soon, there was no point in watching. I could tell that Choji did his best but I wasn't in any mood to do, well, anything.

"With this, the preliminaries for the Third Stage are done. Winners, please come down to the arena." The proctor ordered.

Neji and I walked down together, fully aware of the lasers Naruto was trying to shoot out of his eyes in anger at Neji. And maybe me, I was standing next to Neji so I don't know if it was just Neji or if it was both of us. After waiting a moment, all five of us were standing in front of the Hokage like we were in the morning.

"To everyone who has advanced to the Final Round of the Third Stage of the Chunin Exams, there's one person who's missing, but, congratulations." The proctor said.

"Well, I will begin the explanation of the Final Round. The Final Round is where each one of you will show off your battle skills in front of everyone. I want you to demonstrate and show off your ability as representative battle forces of your respective lands. Accordingly, the Final Round will commence one month from now." Hokage-sama explained.

"W-we're not going to do it here, right now?" Naruto asked, "Why?"

"This is so that there's a suitable period of preparation." Hokage-sama answered.

"What do you mean?" Neji asked.

"That is to say…. Along with the announcement of the conclusion of the preliminary match to each country's Daimyo and Shinobi leaders, preparing the summons for the Final Round requires preparation time - not to mention the time it takes for you, the examinees, to prepare."

"I don't quite get what you're trying to say. What do you mean?" Kankuro asked.

"In other words, in order to know your adversary, in order to prepare yourself, time is necessary. Time to analyze what you learned about the adversaries in the preliminaries… time to take stock of your successes. The battles until now were like actual battles - it presupposed situations in which you can't know your adversary. However, this is not the case in the Final Round. Some of you might have already revealed everything in front of your rivals… In the spirit of fairness and equality, you will have a month to train yourself to further your skills." Hokage-sama explained, "Now that that's done, I'd like to let you take your leave… But first, there is one more important matter to take care of."

"Let's get on with it, so we can get to training!" Naruto yelled.

"Now, now, I want you all to calmly take one slip of paper from the box that Anko is holding."

"I'm going to go around in order… take only one." Anko said before going to Dosu first, I hope the matches stay the same.

Once everyone got a slip of paper, Ibiki spoke up, "Good, everyone has taken a number. Then, from left to right, tell me the number on your slip of paper."

"I'm six." Dosu said.

"I'm one, dattebayo." Naruto muttered, sounding a bit confused.

"Nine." Temari stated.

"Five." Kankuro said.

"Three." Gaara whispered.

"Ten." Shikamaru said.

"Two." Neji stated.

"Eight." I smiled.

"Seven." Shino stated.

"Which means, Uchiha Sasuke has the number four." Ibiki said, writing it all down.

"Very well, I will tell you about how the Final Round tournament will work."

"Ehhh?" Naruto exclaimed.

"Is that what these papers were for? Drawing lots?" Shikamaru asked incredulously.

"Ibiki, bring forth the pairings." Hokage-sama ordered.

"Yes, sir."

I looked at the pairings. They were all Canon except Kankuro was going to fight Dosu and I was going to fight Shino. I need to win while conserving my chakra which means not getting in range of his bugs and making a very strong bug spray. Preferably a paralysis one since I don't want to make Shion vulnerable during the invasion. Another difference was that the winner of round five (Kankuro vs me or Shino) will fight Temari and that winner will fight in the last round.

"Could I ask a question?" Shikamaru asked, raising a hand.

"Go ahead."

"Does this mean that there will only be one winner of the tournament? That only one of us will be able to become a Chunin?"

"No, on the contrary. The judges of the Final Round, of which I am one, will be made up of the Kazekage, the Daimyo from various countries who will assign you your missions, and the Shinobi leaders. Through this tournament, these judges will be able to make a thorough evaluation and come to the decision as to whether each of you possesses the qualities needed to be a Chunin. Even if someone loses the first round, they can still become a Chunin."

"So there's a chance that all of us will become Chunin?" Temari asked.

"Correct, but conversely, there's also a chance that none of you will. To 'advance' in the tournament, means maximizing chances to appeal yourselves to the judges. Understood, Shikamaru?" Hokage-sama asked, then he smiled, "Thank you for your patience. We will adjourn until next month."

With that, we all left.

A month to prepare. For both the Final Round and the Invasion.

Chapter 19: Sakura's Introlude

Chapter Text

All her life, Sakura has always looked up to her older sister. She was strong, she knew a lot about everything and always took care of her when the bullies made her cry because of her stupidly big forehead.

"What's wrong, Imoto?" Her sister asked, Sakura could hear her walking into their shared room.

Later, her sister would get her own room but not right now. They were sharing because their parents didn't want to leave her alone just yet. Sakura couldn't wait to get her own room but she knew she would miss sneaking into her sister's bed whenever she had a nightmare without needing to walk through the dark, scary hallway.

"Nothing…" Sakura muttered, still hiding under the blankets, burying herself deeper into the blankets.

There was silence.

Then her blankets were ripped away from her.

"Hey!" Sakura yelled in shock, "Why did you-"

"Sakura. Why are your eyes red? Who made you cry?" Her sister asked.

Sakura shrunk into herself.

Her sister almost never called her by her name. She only did it when she did something bad, like stealing her scrolls to read without permission. And for getting caught doing it. Sakura wonders a lot if she was being scolded more for getting caught, it made sense since they were ninja but Sakura just didn't get it. The scrolls were from the Academy, shouldn't she be more upset that she took them without permission?

"It's nothing…" Sakura tried to insist but she looked up at her sister, she was giving her a Look that told her not to lie, "... Just some mean people in the park."

Her sister's face softened and sat down on her bed, pulling her in for a hug. After a moment of silence and comfort, her sister spoke up.

"Can you explain?" Her sister asked softly.

Sakura nodded. She explained how she went to the park to play while her sister was in class. Ino wasn't able to come today so she was on her own. She told her how, when playing in the sandbox, some mean kids started taunting her about her big forehead again. Calling her ugly because of it. She couldn't even defend herself because Ino was gone.

Sakura started to tear up again.

"Shuu, shuu, it's okay. No need to cry." Her sister rubbed her back, "Imoto, what do you think about your forehead?"

"I think it's too big." Sakura sniffled.

"Did you think like that before the kids started laughing at her?"

"... no."

"Then why do you care now? Is it because they were laughing at it? You shouldn't care about what they say, you're perfect the way you are."

"But… my forehead-"

"Imoto, are you going to listen to the random mean kids who only decided to bully you because they are bored and insecure about themselves, or are you going to listen to your amazing, spectacular, fabulous Ane who practically raised you and knows you better than yourself?" Her sister asked, looking haughty as she pointed to herself.

Sakura giggled.

"Ane."

"Right. Now, let's go get some dango and mochi. My friend, Shiori, and I found this amazing place called Midori's, I promise you'll love it."

Sakura nodded and smiled. She got out of bed, changed, and followed her sister to Midori's. It was the best dango and mochi ever.

Sakura was excited, today was the day she was starting the Academy and Ino was going to be with her! She and Ino were going to have so much fun! They were going to learn cool stuff, get to have sleepovers where they get to stay up later, and complain about stupid people, just like how her sister and her friend Shiori act!

"Hurry up, Ane! Ino-chan said she'll be waiting for me at the Academy! I don't want to be late for my first day!" Sakura yelled.

"Coming!" Her sister yelled back as she locked the door.

"Stop standing there! Hurry! Hurry!" Sakura urged her sister to hurry up

"Yeah, yeah, I'm coming. The Academy isn't going anywhere." Her sister said as she caught up to Sakura and made her slow down.

Sakura pouted, she wanted to get to the Academy right now!

"I know but today's my first day! I'm excited!" Sakura exclaimed.

Her sister laughed at her, "I know you are, but you'll wear yourself out before you even get to class at this rate. Ah, before I forget, Sakura, remember, you'll be starting to train with me tomorrow so don't go around making promises to do things tomorrow, okay?"

"Okay!" Sakura nodded.

Even though it's important, Ane called her by name, Sakura couldn't help but be excited. Her sister made her train with her whenever they had free time and she was also teaching her some cool ninja tricks where she had to spin a leaf on her forehead using Chakra. She bet none of the other civi kids were learning this.

Ino said that clan kids were already doing things like this so Sakura wanted to do everything she could to catch up. She was going to be the best Kunoichi in her year, just like her sister is! She wasn't going to let her sister down!

Sakura stared. She knew it was rude and her sister would scold her for staring so obviously but Sakura couldn't help it.

It was Sasuke-kun.

Sasuke-kun knew the answers to every question like she did, he was the best at kunai throwing, the best fighter in the boys, and the best fighter in the class. Unless Hinata was allowed to use her Gentle Fist, then Hinata would always win.

He was also an Uchiha so he was perfect at everything in every way.

"Sasuke-kun is so cool!"

"I know!"

"Hump, he has to be, he's mine after all."

"Yours?! When did he become yours?!"

"I just decided he was right now. Only someone as cool as me can match Sasuke-kun after all."

Sakura didn't understand this conversation, a person can't belong to another person, that was wrong. However, after listening to the other girls in her class and asking Ino, she finally understood. Those girls had a crush on Sasuke-kun. Sakura looked into the dictionary and it was a form of love, adoration, and worship.

Sakura thought it over, blushed, and nodded. She really admired Sasuke-kun and she thinks she worships his skill, he was also very cute, which means she also has a crush on Sasuke-kun. If Sasuke-kun tells her she looks perfect just the way she does like her sister did…

Sakura's blush deepened.

Sasuke-kun…

Sakura swooned. The more she watched the deeper she fell. Sasuke-kun was just too cool, he could probably already become a genin right now, he was just that talented. Was it wrong to watch him train while hiding behind a tree with the other girls who also love her Sasuke-kun? Probably. But this counts as stealth training, right? Her sister said that everything could be used as training if you think about it hard enough.

"Sasuke-kun is so cool! Did you see that?!"

"I know right?!"

Sakura could only nod. Sasuke-kun was so diligent, he trained every day for hours on end without much rest and kept getting better and better. His muscles were getting stronger, his skills were getting sharper, and he could use so many techniques.

There was a sinking feeling in her that kept telling her she should be training too, that she was lying to her sister when she told her that she would train with Ino. Sakura snapped herself out of it. She couldn't train with Ino anymore because they weren't friends anymore because Ino likes Sasuke-kun too and Ino couldn't like Sasuke-kun if she was her friend because Sakura likes Sasuke-kun. She was doing the Academy minimum so it was fine.

She doubted her sister would find out anyway since she was doing intense training by herself. She's been doing that since Shiori stopped visiting. Briefly, she wonders if they stopped being friends like she and Ino did.

However, she was quickly snapped out of it when Sasuke-kun performed his signature Great Fireball Jutsu.

"Kyaaaa! Sasuke-kun! That was so cool!" Sakura squealed.

"The coolest!"

"He's so hot like that!"

"Eww, that pun was terrible!"

Sakura froze. They were on the bridge, Sasuke-kun was down and only Naruto was left against that Haku person. Kakashi-sensei was doing his best against Zabuza, she was the only one protecting Tazuna.

Sakura wished she could be stronger. Sakura wished Sasuke-kun was standing again. She wished her sister was here to help.

No. She doesn't want her sister to be here.

"You aren't training as much."

"You're wearing civilian nail polish."

"You're dieting."

"If you train properly, you won't get fat."

"You are looking at fashion catalogs instead of weapon catalogs."

"You have been slacking on your training. I thought you told me halfway through your first year that you were going to be training with Ino from then on but your hands tell me a different story, please don't tell me you've been stalking him with her."

"Please tell me you are still doing Chakra Control Exercises."

"You won't get fat if you exercise! Sakura, listen to me! If you don't eat, you won't have the energy to do anything; if you don't have energy, you can't do anything or exercise; if you don't exercise, you won't be able to pull your weight during missions. If you don't have the energy to do things or the ability to pull your weight during missions, you'd just be a burden on your team and if you aren't careful, you can and will die!"

If her sister was here, all she would do is scold her, using this as a way to tell her all her decisions were wrong. Sakura tightened her hold on her kunai and focused. She could do this, Tazuna wasn't going to get hurt on her watch.

Sakura sat down as her sister talked with Ino. She could still remember the last conversation they had with each other

"Well… six months ago, Gai-sensei asked us if we thought we were ready and the answer was no, so we decided to wait for this exam. I think you shouldn't enter, you still haven't completely stopped doing your diet thing and you don't have enough skills-"

"Why is it that whenever I ask you for advice, or even just talk to you, you criticize me?!" Sakura yelled, "I'm going to enter the Chunin Exams, after all, then I'll show you I can do it!"

At some point, her sister came to where she was sitting and started fixing her hair, "Hey, how are you doing?"

"... better." Sakura muttered.

"Good."

"... you aren't telling me to quit?"

"No. It's your choice."

"Then why did you tell me not to enter before?"

"I never stopped you. You asked for my opinion and I gave it to you, you weren't ready. I never told you not to enter, I just told you I didn't think you were ready." Her sister explained, brushing out the tangles in Sakura's hair.

"... I see." Sakura said, "I… I was scared. I'm still really scared but I… I want to see it to the end so…."

"Okay, but remember to take care of yourself, okay? I'll watch over you the best I can but I can't help you forever."

"I know. Thanks, Ane."

"I'm just looking out for my reckless, lovesick, Imoto. There, all better." Her sister said, finishing with Sakura's haircut before turning around, "Lee-san! We have to go now, we can't stay! A bigger group means an even bigger target!"

Sakura watched as her sister left with her teammate. Sakura ran her fingers through her newly cut hair and spun around. She could do this, her sister believed in her, she could make it through this Round. She could do this.

Sakura stared at her sister as the proctor told us to start. After a few seconds of silence, her sister spoke up.

"Sakura. Surrender and forfeit." Her sister said, her voice sounding detached from her feelings.

Sakura shivered. That wasn't the voice her sister usually used when talking to her, even when she was angry with her. It feels like… her sister wasn't her sister anymore.

"N-no. I will not." Sakura said, she was determined but she still stuttered.

"Yeah, Sakura-chan! Fight! Dattebayo!" Naruto yelled, "Don't let her tell you what to do!"

"Sakura, you are still injured from your time in the Forest, you don't have enough experience as a Genin, and you are much weaker than I am." her sister stated, "I don't want to hurt you so please surrender and forfeit."

"I'm not weak! I'm stronger than before!" Sakura insisted.

"Yeah! Sakura's strong, dattebayo! Stop telling her to give up! Aren't you her sister? Shouldn't you be encouraging her?!" Naruto yelled, angrily.

"It's because I'm her sister that I'm telling her to give up. I don't want to hurt her." Her sister said to Naruto before turning her attention back to Sakura, "Imoto, there is no shame in forfeiting. I saw how shaken you were in the Forest, I know how hurt you were. Just surrender so I don't hurt you further. You can try again next time when you have a better chance."

"I'm sorry, Ane, but I won't forfeit and I refuse to surrender!" Sakura declared as she pulled out a kunai and started running.

Sakura knows she can do this. Her sister was strong but Sakura also improved a lot since leaving the Academy. Both Sasuke-kun and Naruto passed, Naruto of all people, so Sakura knows that she could do this.

When she did, maybe Sasuke-kun would celebrate with her after? A date at a fancy restaurant...!

As Sakura ran, she watched as her sister threw a single kunai straight towards her and three senbons at a curve to hit her at the side. Sakura focused on the kunai and senbons, her sister told her she always had poisons on hand so there was a good chance the kunai and senbons were laced with poison. Sakura deflected the kunai and jumped back to dodge the senbons.

Sakura could do this. Okay, next, she needs to get close to her sister and-

The world went black.

Slowly Sakura felt herself wake up. She could hear Naruto argue with her sister but it took her a while to be awake enough to really listen.

"You said she has potential-" Sakura heard Naruto insist but he was cut off.

"I did but until she stops dieting and starts taking her training seriously, I cannot acknowledge her. If I acknowledge her the way she is now, she will never grow. She will think that where she is now is acceptable when it isn't. If I let her think it was acceptable then I will only be doing her a disservice since I know she can do better and she is only harming herself. I know she wants my acceptance and my acknowledgment of her strengths but I will not give it to her until she earns it. If she keeps thinking that doing the minimum and not striving for more is acceptable then she will only die in this line of work. If she doesn't try to improve then I will force her to stop being a ninja, I refuse to bury my sister because of her own stupidity."

As her sister talked, Sakura looked down. Her sister gave up on her. Not completely but she was disappointed in her.

Sakura watched as her sister sidestepped Naruto and rejoined her team. She didn't even look back at her…

Sasuke-kun.

Sasuke-kun would make her feel better.

Sasuke-kun was hurt but he will get better, he always does and… and then he could make her feel better.

Right?

Sasuke-kun…

Chapter 20: Training

Chapter Text

Neji and I walked down the street, bought some groceries, and went to eat in Gai-sensei's apartment. We were told we were to stay there until the Exams were over. There, we cooked and ate in silence until I spoke up.

"Neji, can you use your Byakugan to check if we have any bugs on us? I can't feel anything but I heard that the Aburame Clan's bugs can trick sensors and I don't want to talk strategies if there's a chance that we are being bugged. No pun intended."

"Byakugan." Neji muttered before looking around, "There's nothing."

"Good. So, we have one month to create some strategies for our future rounds." I said, "I think I have the advantage since they don't know anything about me other than I'm fast and I can use Genjutsu."

"Tsk. I don't need a strategy going into my first-round fight." Neji scoffed, "I just need to think of a way to show my abilities and think of a strategy to beat the Uchiha if he, by some miracle, wins against the Suna-nin."

There was a moment of silence as we thought back to Lee's fight.

"Well, against Aburame-san, I need to make a strong poison spray that only affects his bugs, I think they are called kikaichu? Yeah. So, poisons that work on his bugs, then I can go in and finish him with Taijutsu since he doesn't seem good at it or trap him or something. As for Kankuro-san, he's a puppeteer so I need to improve my Chakra Control to make my Chakra Scalpels sharper so they could cut Chakra Strings easier. Once I take away his control of his puppets, I can get in close for a Taijutsu match, I just need to watch out for poisons but I'm also a poison user so I should be fine. Probably. Knowing what I remember from Imoto's rants about the Nara when they were still in the Academy, he will do his best to show everything in the first round so he can forfeit. He wouldn't put in more effort than he needs to, so if he could possibly get promoted after only one fight, he will take that route. So I need strategies for Temari-san."

"I see you have already been thinking about this." Neji observed, "I'm guessing I'm your soundboard?"

"Yes. Anyway, Temari-san. I think I should throw some senbons towards her and run in when she uses her fan to block the projectiles. Her fan is big enough to block her sight of me and she isn't that fast, not compared to Lee, so it shouldn't be that hard to get in close. Then, I will make her arms useless so she couldn't use her fan before tackling her to the floor, or something like that, and knocking her out like I did Imoto. If I win there, I'll probably surrender in the next round since I showed off my poison in my first round, my Chakra Control in my second round, and my Taijutsu in my final round. At that point, I'm probably exhausted and my only skill I haven't shown off is Genjutsu, which won't work on you or Uchiha-san and I don't plan on fighting Gaara-san with anything less than my full strength. Besides, I'd be showing that I know my limit, so that has to count towards something."

"That's true." Neji nodded, "So the winner of this tournament will be either the Uchiha, the redhead, or myself. It's only fate that it would be one of us. However, I have to ask, why are you dismissing Kinuta Dosu so quickly? We have not seen him fight but the punch he did before the Exams started has shown that he has some ounce of potential."

"Kinuta-san..." I did some fast thinking, I couldn't just say that Gaara would kill him since I shouldn't know that, "I just don't see him winning against Kankuro-san. As a puppeteer, he won't get in close and can easily just wrap Kinuta-san up in Chakra Stings to keep him immobile. It takes perfect Chakra Control to cut through Chakra Stings and its variants but, even if Kinuta-san does have it, he'd try to just blast the stings with his metal arm thing before anything else, giving Kankuro-san plenty of time to poison the guy and win the fight."

"I see, that makes sense. And if Kankuro-san doesn't win, you can easily tie him up with Chakra Strings instead."

"Do you think Gai-sensei will help me find a teacher?" I asked Neji, "I know he's probably going to train you since you will be in the same bracket as Gaara-san and Uchiha-san. That, or he's going to be visiting and watching over Lee. Though knowing Gai-sensei, he would probably do both, so I don't want to put more on his plate."

"Probably. You just have to ask."

"That's right! The Power of Youth waits for no one, you must go and grab it! Using Hard Work and Determination to make your Youth Shine through!" Gai-sensei yelled, appearing out of nowhere, "I have called in a favor and found the perfect teacher for you, Momo! You will meet her in three days in Training Ground 38! In the morning, at 6!"

"Yes, Gai-sensei. Thank you." I smiled before getting serious, "Gai-sensei, how's… how's Lee doing?"

I know Lee's leg and arm are very injured, and that Lee would not be able to be a ninja anymore unless Tsunade come but... if there's a chance...

Gai-sensei's face turned somber, the tiny hope inside me died a swift death, "According to the doctors, nothing short of Tsunade-sama returning to perform a very dangerous surgery would save Lee's leg and arm. He will be cleared for visitors in three days so you can visit him in the morning before meeting your teacher. Unfortunately, Lee is still unconscious and the doctors say that he has no future as a ninja, but I know Lee and I'm sure he won't let that stop him!"

Neji looked a little sad for Lee but I'm sure he's probably thinking about fate and how this was what Lee gets for trying to defy the heavens. I flashed back to the moment Lee got hurt, remembering his face and his screams-

"Well, then we just have to get as far as we can to make Lee proud, right?" I asked, smiling.

Was my smile fake or real, I had no idea. I just smiled.

Neji looked away but Gai-sensei smiled. It wasn't a happy smile, it was fake, but it was better than nothing.

Three days later, I walked into Yamanaka's to buy some flowers for Lee and walked out with a simple arrangement that asked Lee to get better, this was one of the few times Flower Arrangement Class was helpful, but before I could get past the front door, I ran into Tenten.

"Ah! Momo-chan!" Tenten greeted me, "Hi! It's been a while, how are you? Who are the flowers for?"

"Hello, Tenten-chan." I greeted with a smile, "I have been doing well. The flowers are for Lee, he's in the hospital but what do you expect from participating in the Chunin Exams?"

"You guys were in the Chunin Exams?" Tenten exclaimed in shock as we walked to the hospital, "I mean, yeah you didn't participate last time and you have Neji-san on your team but… wow! Already? How far did you guys get?"

"We passed the First and Second Stages. After that, there were the preliminaries since there were a lot of teams that passed. Neji-san and I passed the preliminaries so we are going to fight in the Final Stage but Lee didn't."

"I see."

"Well, how have you been?" I asked, diverting the conversation away from me.

"Well, Takashi-sensei told us that he will let us attend the next Chunin Exams and promised that when I become Chunin, I can get a Weapons Specialist Apprenticeship under him! I can't wait! It will be so cool!" Tenten cheered before accidentally going into a short rant about all the different weapons before returning back to the original topic, "He also said that if things go well, I might even be able to become a Special Jonin with Weapons alone a year or two after becoming Chunin!"

"That's great!" I smiled, thank Kami I didn't ruin her future, before turning to enter the hospital, "Well, it was nice catching up with you, Tenten-chan, bye!"

I waved Tenten goodbye and walked toward the receptionist. As I approached her, I felt waves of irritation and just being done with the world radiating off her chakra when she spotted me. I had an idea why (not hard to guess, seeing the fuming crowd of girls who just walked out) so I quickly asked which room Rock Lee was in.

"Room 243." The receptionist said, relief clear in her voice and chakra.

"Thank you."

As I walked, I could hear her mutter under her breath, "Thank god she wasn't another fangirl of the Uchiha boy. Why do they always come during my shift?"

I just kept walking to Lee's room. I knew he was still going to be unconscious when I visited but it felt nice seeing him again, especially since the last time I saw him… let's not go there. I entered his room and placed the flowers I bought in a vase by his bedside.

I wondered briefly why people would leave an empty vase in a hospital room. What if the patient didn't have anyone to visit them? They would just be alone in a room with an empty vase that reminded them of how alone they were. Well, I guess someone could use it as an impromptu weapon. This was a Ninja Village after all.

"Lee. I hope you get better. Gai-sensei is worried about you, you know? You can't keep sleeping forever so hurry up and wake up. There are many things I want to tell you, mainly how I told you that you should forfeit if you end up fighting Gaara-san but I'll save that for when you're awake so you can actually remember. I have to get to training now, so I'll leave first."

I lingered at Lee's side for a while before getting up and putting away the chair. I whipped away a stray tear and left his room. There's no time for tears, I need to meet the person who Gai-sensei chose to train me.

At 6 am, I went to the training grounds to meet my teacher. When I got there, I stared at my teacher, rubbed my eyes, blinked, and stared at her again. Rinse and repeat. I slowly lifted my hands together.

"Kai." I muttered.

"Oi! Brat! I'm not some crappy Genjutsu you can just 'Kai' yourself out of!" Anko-sensei yelled, throwing dango sticks at me.

"Sorry, Anko-sensei. But I didn't know that you knew Gai-sensei, or that Exam proctors were allowed to teach Examinees." I said as I dodged the sticks with a twist.

The dango sticks embedded themselves into the tree.

"Well. I see your fancy, dancy Taijutsu Style Gai was talking about. Anyway, brat, there is no rule against teaching kids so long as the part of the exam you are responsible for is over and, lucky you, my part is."

"So, what are we going to do?" I asked, excitedly. I have always loved Anko from Before, she took her life by the reins even though her sensei turned traitor.

Anko-sensei smirked, "Gai told me you have a… fondness… for poisons so I'll be helping you create some, don't worry about that R&D crap since they know me and won't put up too much of a fuss if they know you've been mixing with me. We'll also work on your dodge training with the help of my… friends."

"Friends?" I asked, tilting my head.

Anko-sensei's smile got evil, "Yes. Friends. Come out, my dear friends."

I jumped back, cartwheeled to the side, and jumped into the air, spinning in a tight ball until I landed upside down on a branch of a nearby tree. I looked down and there were at least ten snakes on the ground and one resting on her shoulders.

"Snakes." I muttered to myself, cursing my luck to high heaven and back.

"Yep!" Anko-sensei chirped happily, "We'll also work on Chakra Control Exercises while dodging to make it more difficult. We will also do some spars so you have no shortage of healing practice, well, self-healing practice."

The words 'self-healing' tells me that I was going to have my work cut out for me.

"Yes, Anko-sensei."

"Another thing. You will be doing all this with your weights on and increase them by… ten kilos. By the end of the month, I expect you to be used to the new weights. When I'm through with you, you will win the tournament!"

"Actually, I'm hoping for second place but sure."

I muttered that last line to myself but judging by the scary look in Anko-sensei's eyes, she heard me and she is planning to make me win. I told her my strategies, most of which she approved of except for the forfeiting one. We decided to dedicate the mornings to poison while the afternoons to whatever else since I needed to win against Shino to move on.

At the end of the day, Anko-sensei and I put together a working training schedule. Poisons in the morning, lunch at Midori's for dango, Chakra Control Exercises while doing dodge training in the afternoons, and running ten laps around the village on my own. We would spar every other day and the number of laps I have to do will increase by ten every week. When that was all said and done, I bid Anko-sensei goodbye and started my run.

On my run, I felt a very familiar chakra, shrouded with self-deprecation and tears. The chakra was Sakura's. I deviated from my intended path and found her crying on a bench.

"Imoto, what's wrong?" I asked softly, sitting next to her.

"Ane…" Sakura cried, "You were right, I am useless! Even Sasuke-kun said I was just a little girl playing ninja ..."

I filed away the Sasuke comment, I won't touch that.

"I never called you useless-"

"It was implied!" Sakura cut me off, "I am useless! My fight against you wasn't even a fight! If it even could be called a fight then it was the most pathetic fight in the history of fights! Even Ino Pig's fight was better than mine even if it was also a one-sided fight! She was able to keep getting back up but I went down with one hit! I'm… I'm… I'm worthless. You were right, I'll end up dead in a ditch! Maybe I should just give up…."

Sakura laughed self-deprecatingly as she continued to cry. I pulled her closer to me and rubbed her back. We sat in silence as I waited for Sakura to calm down.

"Listen, Imoto, I won't say it's okay because, as you are now, it really isn't. You are a kunoichi of Konohagakure so you should have placed more importance on your training and not boys." I said, feeling Sakura tense, "But. It isn't too late for you to start and catch up. I know you can do it, you have excellent Chakra Control, your Chakra Control is even better than mine, and can probably become a Medic-nin if you train hard enough. Who knows, maybe you can get Tsunade-sama's diamond thing and be able to fight on the front lines. You just need to work harder."

"You… you think I can do it?" Sakura asked, eyes red and puffy.

"I know you can." I smiled as I stood up and pulled her with me, "I need to do ten laps around the village. This will be your first step to getting stronger, run with me?"

"Yes!"

Sakura could only manage three laps, doing one for every three I did, but, when I walked her home, she was happy. Mom saw the tear stains on Sakura's face, her puffy red eyes, and her red cheeks and didn't comment.

Chapter 21: Chunin Exam Pt. 5

Chapter Text

A month later, the morning of the Final Stage finally arrived. I got up early and went for a quick run to burn off steam and cool the adrenaline running through my veins before eating breakfast. It was fine to run before this big day since my match is second last on the list, well, actually it's second since Gaara and Sasuke's match is going to be proposed and Kankuro isn't going to fight Dosu but the run wasn't anything too extreme so it should be fine. I should be in top condition by the time my round comes around.

I decided to spray the special poison that Anko-sensei and I worked on the second I finished eating breakfast. Even though it would probably be a big red flag to Shino when he realizes that his spy bugs weren't coming back with any information, I was not risking the possibility of having a chakra-sucking bug on me when there's an invasion on the horizon. At first, the poison would only dissuade the bugs from getting close to me but if they push closer, they will faint. If they still try and somehow land on me, they will die. It was cruel to do so to a fellow Konoha's shinobi's teammates (for lack of better words) but it was necessary.

"Do you want to spray yourself as well?" I asked, holding the spray bottle towards Neji as if to spray him as we walked to the arena.

"Why?"

"If I lose, then Aburame-san will win against Kankuro-san since he will probably have his bugs eat his puppets and I think he has a good chance of beating Temari-san, seeing as she would be exhausted from fighting Nara-san."

"Tsk. No need. The chances of you losing to him are nonexistent." Neji waved me off.

"I see." I smiled, this was Neji's way of telling me I was going to win.

That or he was saying Shino was talentless. I like to believe that it was the first meaning since the second meaning was just mean to the silent boy who didn't deserve it.

We walked in silence as we made our way to the wide-open field in the middle of the giant colosseum where all the other examinees were waiting. All except Sasuke, Naruto and Dosu, I guess Dosu did die. I glanced around the area, we were probably going to fight here. There were a few trees to the southwest and a pool of water to the east. We all stood in silence, facing the proctor for a minute when we heard a loud yell and we turned to face the entrance. I blinked as Naruto came flying in.

"What kind of entrance is this kid making…?" Shikamaru asked before pulling Naruto up to his feet, "Mendokuse."

Naruto started saying something about a stampede of bulls from the depts of hell that was chasing him around the village or whatever but none of us believed him, or rather, none of us cared. If there's a stampede of bulls rushing into the arena then we can just jump onto the walls or chase them away, we are ninjas after all. A stampede of bulls is nothing. I ignored all the commotion and instead focused on the crowd. I felt all of the different chakras, each distinct from one another. I felt how different people who live in different parts of the continent have different chakra patterns. It was fascinating and slightly overwhelming.

Fascinating because, even if someone shares the same Chakra Nature, they feel different. It wasn't just their personality that is imprinted on their Chakra, but because of where they lived. How could someone with Fire Chakra who lived in Konoha feel so different from someone who also had Fire Chakra but lived in Suna? I was feeling overwhelmed because of the sheer amount of people (and therefore their Chakra) surrounding us.

"Everyone, thank you very much for coming to Konohagakure's Chunin Exams." Hokage-sama said as his voice reached everyone, he was either using seals, technology, or some kind of Loud Voice Jutsu, no one could convince me otherwise, "We will now begin the Final Stage matches for the nine who made it through the preliminaries! Please watch until the end!"

"I have something to tell you before the matches start." The proctor said, pulling out a piece of paper, it was a copy of the matchups, "Look at this."

"Huh?"

"There was a slight change to the tournament. Check who you'll be facing one more time."

I looked and saw that nothing changed. The only difference was that Kankuro was moved from fighting against either Shino or me to fighting against Temari. Well, technically, he has to fight the winner of the fight between Temari and Shikamaru but Shikamaru will forfeit after showing his stuff so Kankuro will fight Temari.

"Listen up, you guys. The terrain you're fighting in is different, but the rule is that there are no rules, the same as the preliminaries. The matches will continue until someone dies, acknowledges defeat, is unconscious or I decide to end it. If I do end up stopping the fight, there will be no arguments. It's done and over. Don't fight me on it or things will get ugly and you wouldn't want that. Understood?"

"Yes."

"Good. So the first match is… Uzumaki Naruto. Hyuuga Neji. Just those two will remain and the rest of you go to the waiting room." The proctor said, pointing to the stairs.

"Well, this is where we part, so good luck and have fun!" I said as I walked off the soon-to-be battlefield.

Neji just nodded and turned to face Naruto as I made my way up the stairs. Though I kept a good distance away from Shino, I didn't want to accidentally kill his bugs outside of our match, they would just be cruel.

"Come on, Neji-san! You can do it!" I yelled, cheering Neji on, more out of obligation than anything since I would be a bad teammate if I didn't.

"Why are you cheering for a guy like him?" Shikamaru asked as he came up to me, "You know, Naruto asked me to pass along a message."

"What is it?" I asked.

"Naruto wanted to say that you both have younger siblings who look up to you guys and want your acknowledgement, and you both are much stronger than those siblings. However, you love Sakura-san and don't acknowledge her to protect her and you made sure she went down as painlessly as possible, while that jerk hates Hinata-san and won't acknowledge her and almost permanently crippled her. How could you like a guy like that?" Shikamaru quotes.

"Well… all I can say is that we all have our stories and I can like him - and cheer for him - because he's my teammate, simple as that." I answered, turning my attention back to the fight, Neji still had the upper hand.

The fight was happening just like Canon.

"He's a terrible person."

"He's still my teammate."

"Mendokuse."

I yelled one last cheer of encouragement to Neji and spent the rest of the match smiling down at them. I wasn't 'Momo' anymore, I was a vindictive woman who was finally seeing the comeuppance of someone who wronged her. Neji may not have wronged me - much, he insulted Sakura - but I think this role is a perfect one to play at this time. I was feeding this role with my feelings of just being done with Neji's obsession and fatalistic ideology.

I also think I freaked Shikamaru out at how I was just smiling and not reacting to anything but I couldn't help it, today was the day Naruto was going to get Neji to finally stop being so obsessed over fate and destiny. I've been waiting for this day since I ended up on this team. This was the day one of the only thorns in my side was going to die a painful death, I couldn't wait for the proctor to announce the winner.

"And the winner is Uzumaki Naruto!" The proctor yelled, causing the crowd to go wild, the underdog won.

I clapped happily for Naruto's win but stopped when Shikamaru spoke up, "You aren't angry or upset that Naruto won?"

"Why would I be?" I asked, tilting my head back while keeping my smile on my face.

"..." Shikamaru was quiet, "You have one hell of a poker face. Does it bother you that your teammate lost?"

"No. I knew he was going to lose like this someday, with all his beliefs broken." My smile deepened, "I told him not to take this fight lightly, to think up a plan, but he didn't listen to me. It's only natural he'd lose if he went in without a plan. I would say this was fate but it's more karma than anything."

"You are one vindictive bitch." Shikamaru smirked, "I like that."

"Why, thank you." I smiled sweetly before hearing my name being called, "Well, that's my cue, see you, Nara-san."

I walked down the stairs, using the opposite stairs from Shino and sprayed myself one last time with the poison and entered the arena, ignoring the disappointed noises from the audience. Honestly, we were going to fight soon, stop mooning over Sasuke, his emo ass won't come faster because you lot are complaining. He was taken by Hatake 'always late with bad excuses' Kakashi, what were they expecting? Shino and I stood a respectable distance away from each other.

"Aburame-san." I greeted him, the crowd was upset about Sasuke's postponed fight so the proctor was waiting for them to calm down before starting our fight.

"Haruno-san." Shino nodded, "I have tried to attach my kikaichu onto you. Why? Because we are going to fight. They have not been able to do so, may I know why?"

I pulled out my spray bottle with clear liquid in it, shaking a bit to let the liquid swish about, "This is a special poison I made specifically to repel and kill kikaichu. It took a lot of research and experiments but I managed to make it in time for the fight. Don't worry though, I won't use it during the fight, I don't want to kill too much of your kikaichu because you're a fellow Konoha-nins."

"I see, that is greatly appreciated. May I ask to have some of the poison? Why? My clan would want to study it so we can make our kikaichu resistant to it."

"Sure. After the Exams are over." I said as I placed the bottle back into my pouch and readied my chakra.

"Now, for the second fight of the first round, Alburame Shino vs Haruno Momo! Begin!"

"Demonic Illusion: Hell Viewing Jutsu." I said.

I knew that Genjutsu wasn't going to work for long on Shino, both because he was Kurenai's student and because he was an Alburame, meaning that Genjutsu are less effective against him. As soon as it hit Shino, I dropped my weights and ran to the west side of the stadium. I needed to do this quickly or else Shion would retaliate. Thank you, Gai-sensei, for making us the fastest Genin team in Konoha.

"Ninja Arts: Poison Fog Jutsu!: I yelled, blowing the purple fog towards Shino.

This was perfect, the winds were blowing west to east like always at this time of day which means that the fog won't come close to me and will hit Shino sooner. I made sure that I didn't use too much chakra in that jutsu, only enough to paralyze him and his bugs. I then threw two kunai attached together with ninja wire towards him. The wire will wrap around and trap Shino since ninja wire is thin enough to (theoretically) pass through any Insect Clones and is (again, theoretically) strong enough to pop any other types of Clones he could make at his current skill level.

I waited a moment for the fog to dissipate enough for me to safely walk into. I already took the antidote but I wasn't risking it. I approached the fallen Shino slowly with a kunai in hand, he was surrounded by his fallen kikaichu, some of which are still able to move but won't get close to me. Once I was certain he couldn't fight back, I lifted him up by his shoulder and placed the kunai against his throat with enough force to cause discomfort but not enough to cut him.

"Forfeit." I stated, "You can't do anything. If you do not, I will be forced to kill more of your kikaichu with poison."

"I know." Shino sighed, "Proctor-san, I forfeit."

The proctor nodded, "Winner by forfeit, Haruno Momo!"

I sprayed myself with the concoction I created to cancel out my Kikaichu Poison, undid the ninja wire, and popped the antidote pill into Shino's mouth, letting him move again. He quickly let out the rest of his swarm to help carry his paralyzed members back to him; as he did that, I put back on my weights and we walked up the stairs and back to the waiting rooms together.

"That was a good fight. I will visit the Aburame Clan Compound some time this month to hand over some samples of the poison, the antidote and a copy of my notes and thought process while creating them." I said to Shino as we watched Naruto push Shikamaru off the balcony.

"That would be much appreciated." Shino said.

"Are you upset?" I asked.

"A little. Why? I was not able to show off anything, meaning that I will likely not get promoted. However, I commend you for your win. Why? Because you are a fellow Konoha Shinobi and were a good opponent."

"Ah, thank you and sorry, but you are a dangerous opponent, so dangerous that I need to create a whole new poison just to fight you, so I needed to finish the fight quickly while saving enough chakra for my next battle. I was banking that the disorientation between going from Genjutsu to a purple fog that causes paralysis would make it easier to capture you in ninja wire. Also banking that it can cut through any clones. I'm lucky it worked. If you managed to dodge the wire, I was planning to engage you in a Taijutsu match because that is your major weakness, you should get that fixed by the way."

Shino pushed his glasses up, "I will do my best to improve. Thank you for your assessment of my abilities."

I nodded and looked back at Shikamaru and Temari's fight and smiled. Finally, a fight where they are using strategies instead of going berserk. Well, Shikamaru was using strategy, Temari was doing calculated moves that would keep her on top.

"If anyone asks, I'm going to visit Neji-san." I said, waving goodbye to Shino, and walking down to the infirmary where I feel his Chakra is flickering like a signal flame.

I walked down the long hallway and made my way to the first room, I knocked on the door.

"Come in." Neji said, his voice sounding a bit coarse.

I opened the door and saw Neji sitting on a bed, his hand clenched around a scroll and his eyes red and puffy. Silently, I walked toward him and hesitantly sat next to him.

No reaction. A good thing since he didn't usually react when I sit next to him and he didn't shoo me away.

"... Do you want to talk about it?" I asked.

"No."

"How are you feeling now that you lost to Uzumaki-kun?" I asked instead.

"Like my world had fallen apart." Neji sighed, "Nobody is destined to fail after all."

"... Lee is going to be so happy." I snickered, "I can see it now, he will be shocked then he will smile and start screaming for Gai-sensei and instead of Sunset, they will be running in a field of flowers. They will pick the best ones and create a flower crown for you to congratulate you on your new-found Youth and-"

"Stop. Please." Neji said, sounding very pained.

I laughed, "Whatever you say, Neji-san."

"-ji…" Neji muttered.

"What?"

"Just call me 'Neji.' You already call Lee, Lee so it's fine."

"Okay, Neji then." I smiled, "Do you want to go outside? I think I need to take a walk before my next match, it's against Temari."

Neji nodded and we left through the window of his room. We were enjoying the breeze while we walked when the ground shook.

I took a second to silently curse Kami, couldn't the invasion waited until we finished our stroll?

Chapter 22: Funeral

Chapter Text

After circling through every god and deity I knew and ending on the Sage of the Six Paths, I blinked in shock as I saw a giant three-headed snake popping into existence and starting attacking the village.

The village was being attacked.

There was a giant three-headed snake.

It was wearing a bib.

The village was being attacked by a giant three-headed snake was wearing a bib.

What?

... at least Orochimaru couldn't be accused of being unoriginal but seriously... why a bib?

"Neji, I could be wrong and have pricked my finger on my senbon that was laced with Springtime but is the three-headed snake attacking our village wearing a bib for each head?" I asked incredulously as I pointed at the snake, shaking myself out of shock and disbelief.

"You are not wrong, there is a three-headed snake attacking our village wearing a bib for each head. Can you sense any civilians nearby?" Neji asked, at least one of us wasn't stuck on the idea that snakes wear bibs, "I used up too much of my chakra during my match and can't use Byakugan for a while. Protocol says that all Genins have to help evacuate the civilians during cases of emergencies."

"Give me a second." I muttered, sitting down crossed-legged to focus and differentiate between ninjas and civilians, "Shit!"

I shot up, grabbed Neji's wrist, and ran as fast as I could. Neji stumbled a bit but I didn't relent and kept pulling him as I ran, there was no time to stop.

"What?" Neji asked as he regained his composure and pulled his wrist away from mine, choosing to run beside me than being dragged.

"Kumo-nins decided to take advantage of the situation and kidnapped Hyuuga Hinata! Inuzuka Kiba is in pursuit but he isn't strong enough to deal with this alone! Your Clan Elders have failed! We can cut them off if we keep running, so hurry! Hyuuga-san isn't strong enough to escape on her own right now!"

Neji's face paled, he looked sick. I guess he blames himself because, well, it was his fault. If he didn't injure Hinata so much, she wouldn't have been such an easy target. It's the truth, I wasn't going to sugarcoat that. In light of that, Neji sped up. We ran and ran until we were in front of the two Kumo-nins that kidnapped Hinata, cutting them off. They stopped running and tried to turn around but were cut off by Kiba and Akamaru.

Perfect timing on their part.

"Grrr, Summoning Jutsu!" One of the men yelled.

The man slammed his palm onto the ground and summoned a pack of wolves and stayed while the other one darted off with the unconscious Hinata still in his arms. We tried to go after him but were cut off by the man and wolves who were snarling at us.

"Inuzuka-san, Neji, you go and save Hyuuga-sama. I'll deal with the wolves." I ordered as I got into a stance, it was time to dance. Thank god for foresight since no one knows what I could do and I was still in top condition.

"You sure?" Kiba asked.

"Yes." I said as I started gathering my chakra, "Go, or else the other Kumo-nin will get further than he already is! Demonic Illusion: False Surroundings Jutsu!"

Without another second to spare, I rushed in, dancing around the perimeter. I used the Genjutsu to hide Kiba and Neji's movements in addition to the fact that I was making a cage around us using Chakra Stings. I then got in close, right in the middle of the pack of wolves, and started attacking. One pressure point at a time. One limb, two, four limbs. One wolf down, two, four, eight, the entire pack. All that was left was the man. I breathed. I was a kunoichi of Konoha, I will not be scared of a Kumo-nin who dared to kidnap one of her people and a Clan Heiress at that. His sentence is death, death is what he deserves, but it will be better to capture him alive.

"You're the only one left." I stated plainly, staring at him with a blank expression.

"Bitch!" The Kumo-nin growled and unsheathed his sword before rushing toward me, "Die!"

I dropped my weights, jumped over the man, landed on one of my strings, and pushed a Pain pressure point on his back. The man flinched and turned around to hit me but I ran up my string and flipped in the air, landing behind him and hitting the pressure points of the arm with his sword before backflipping away.

"One limb down." I said in a monotone voice.

The Kumo-nin didn't say anything, he just stared at his limp arm and fallen sword in horror. I felt a flash of amusement come over me. I wasn't a Hyuuga, my normal eyes told him that and my Taijutsu Style didn't mess with the Chakra Paths so this must be a surprise. A Hyuuga was known to wreck with limbs of their enemies, I was no Hyuuga but it doesn't mean I couldn't do the same. There are many Taijutsu Styles in the world but I'm sure that my Dancing Larkspur Style is the only style that can stop even fingers from twitching. I threw a barrage of senbons at him, all laced with Springtime, and got in close as he tried to dodge them all. He still got a scratch or two.

"Two." I reported as his left arm went limp.

The Kumo-nin tried to run but he ran face-first into the cage I made with my Chakra Strings, I pulled the strings and contorted my body so it didn't get trapped as well. Once he was down, I rendered his legs useless and stuck two senbons laced with a paralyzing agent into his neck, putting him into a death-like state. The paralyzing agent won't do anything except keep him from moving until he's given the antidote.

I sighed, "This guy didn't even try to use any Jutsus, I guess he thought I was some bastard Hyuuga who kept messing up the Gentle Fist so he decided not to bother trying to use chakra since it would be a waste of time. The idiot, I don't even have the right eyes."

I pushed my senses to scan around and couldn't feel anything abnormal (or well, as abnormal as it could get given that being in the middle of an invasion is abnormal) so I undid my Chakra Strings and tied him up with ninja wires. Once that was done I approached the fallen wolves.

"I apologize for this, but I need to kill you. It's nothing personal." I smiled.

I sliced the necks of the wolves open, just like how the Academy taught us to but using Chakra Scalpels instead of kunai because it's faster. After they were all dead, I pushed my sensory abilities to the limit to figure out the situation. Neji and Kiba got Hinata, Naruto was on the ground inching toward Gaara with his chin (so that fight was over and Gaara got his Talk no Jutsu session. Good on Naruto, he's two for two), the three-headed snake was gone, and most of the fighting was over. I opened my eyes and started dragging the Kumo-nin behind me. I think he will be the perfect 'thank you' gift for Anko-sensei but I should get some dango to go with him.

Gifting someone with a prisoner and dango. This is my life now. I laughed with a touch of hysteria.

I hope Shiori would enjoy this story more than I enjoy living it.

I stood in silence in the rain. My black slip-ons were soaking wet. The rest of my outfit -my black kimono that was bought the day I graduated by my melancholy mom- was only dry because of my black umbrella. I wasn't wearing my mask and my strawberry blond hair was brushed straight, the ends of which is just above my butt. I was standing near the back of the crowd, away from my family and teammates because I was attending Hokage-sama's funeral as a civilian girl. Partly because I didn't want to wear a mask during a funeral but mostly because, as a civilian, I was allowed to cry my eyes out. Pathetic, given my profession, but I needed this.

If I attended the funeral as a shinobi, I wouldn't be allowed to cry. I was supposed to be this unmovable protector for the civilians, a weapon of the village, and whatever else is needed of me so I would be obligated out of social pressure not to shed a tear. However, as a civilian, and a girl at that (societal expectations of girls can die but, right now, it was mildly appreciated since I can use it to my advantage), I was allowed to cry. So I cried. I cried for the lives lost, both shinobi and civilians. I cried for the poor people they left behind. I cried for the emptiness the dead left in the ones who lived. I cried because I was attending another funeral when the wound of Shiori's funeral had yet to recover, just barely scared over and was still tender to the touch.

I stood there, unmoving even after the funeral processions were over. I stood there until everyone left. There were only a few stragglers left but I ignored them and approached the memorial. I placed down my bouquet, keeping a single flower for myself, and prayed. I didn't pray to any kami, shinigami, or any other omnipotent being up there, I just prayed for the sake of praying. After a moment, I left the memorial and made my way to Shiori's grave, the single flower still in my hand.

"Hey, Shiori-chan. I'm sorry I couldn't visit for the past month and a bit, it's been really busy." I whispered to the stone, not trusting my voice not to break if I talk louder and not wanting anyone to overhear my conversation with Shiori, "For one thing, I was nominated for the Chunin Exams by Gai-sensei. I know, I know, it was pretty exciting to know that sensei thought we were ready. But things… kind of went downhill from there. Honestly, it was a mess!"

I quieted down and sensed the people around me. There were a few people who were still standing around, visiting gravestones and the like but none of them were within hearing distance (at least civilians and I know most Shinobi wouldn't try to listen in during private conversations with gravestones like this, especially not today of all days) so I kept talking.

"First, we went on a routine run but I, like an idiot, decided to multitask and try to practice my Chakra Sensing and I felt this… angry, bloodthirsty, sand-like chakra and collapsed. The malicious feeling was just too much, ya know? I should have taken that as a sign that things were going to be really bad. That's when Gai-sensei decided to keep us all in his apartment for the duration of the Chunin Exams to keep us safe."

I stopped, I felt someone familiar standing at the edge of the graveyard. I didn't feel like focusing on anything so I waited for them to get closer but they didn't so I ignored them and continued talking to Shiori.

"The next thing was feeling a second chakra that was much viler than the sand one. It felt like snakes and I only just found out that I was sensing freaking Orochimaru! I can never feel clean again... We still ended up participating in the Exams anyway. Don't yell at me, you'd do the same. Moving on, the First Stage was easy, it was just a written test where you had to either be smart enough to do it or smart enough to cheat without getting caught. The Second Stage was where we had to survive in Training Ground 44 for five days while also getting a scroll. It was a lot more complicated than that but that's what it was basically about."

I felt the chakra start tensing as I got closer to the Third Stage and the invasion, but I ignored them, talking about this is good and healthy. Dealing with an invasion so early into my career probably wasn't good for my psyche, especially since I had to deal with an enemy ninja instead of evacuating the civilians like a Genin was supposed to.

I can already tell that Gai-sensei would probably hint loudly about us visiting the Psychiatric Department before just signing us up when we end up not doing it. It's always harder to talk about things the first time around, so I was getting it out of the way right now, to someone who wouldn't judge me. To someone who'd... care.

"After the Second Stage, we had to do preliminaries since there were too many of us who passed. I won, Neji-kun won, but… Lee got really hurt. The person with the sand-like chakra was a Suna-nin named Gaara and Gaara-san was a little crazy. Okay, a lot crazy, did you know he tried to murder Lee during the month prep period while he was unconscious in the hospital? He was only stopped because of Uzumaki-kun and Nara-san. I should thank them later."

The chakra spiked in alarm. I smirk, can't take a simple 'thank you,' eh?

"So, anyway, we had a month to prepare for our matches. Neji lost to Uzumaki-kun, which was the shocker of the century! And, to quote you, he finally got that stick out of his ass." I laughed, "He stopped talking about fate and stuff. He even told me to just call him 'Neji' instead of 'Neji-san' because he wanted to be better. I think you'd have a massive heart attack if he said that to you, wouldn't you, Shiori-chan? Okay, okay, I'll get back on track. I won my match against Alburame-san using poisons and now I need to remember to pass along my notes for my poison that specifically targets kikaichu. After that, I went to visit Neji."

I went quiet as a small family walked past me. That family was pushing a teenage boy in a wheelchair who was holding a picture frame. I glanced at it and saw it was a picture of the teen boy and a girl who looked just like him. The girl was missing from the family. The boy's eyes were vacant, I think she died in the invasion.

Once they walked out of the cemetery I continued, "We decided to get some air before my next match and then the ground shook. By Kami, you won't believe what we saw! We saw a three-headed snake wearing bibs! Bibs! So, I started to look for any nearby civilians to evacuate -protocol and all that, ya know- but then I felt Neji's cousin getting kidnapped by Kumo-nins who were taking advantage of the situation and so we ran to save her. We ran into Inuzuka-san who was already chasing the Kumo-nins and one of them broke off to deal with us. I told them to let me handle things and ordered them to hurry and catch up with the other ninja."

The winds blew strong for a second and a stick would have smacked me right in the forehead if I didn't catch it.

"Yeah, yeah, I know it was dumb to engage an enemy ninja without backup since I was a Genin, don't hit me!" I said, waving the stick around in the air, "But I won, so it's fine! But… as I dragged the man behind me to bring him to T&I, I passed a lot of bodies. Both allies and enemies. I had chakra left so I started healing some of them, only those I knew how to save though… Am I a bad person? Healing those that wouldn't bleed out instead of those who needed it? I'd like to think I'm not a bad person, but I prioritized some lives over others. I didn't have many chakras to spare on the more heavily injured ones but that sounds like an excuse, what do you think, Shiori-chan? Am I a bad person?"

I didn't wait for an answer and stood up, feeling the chakra trying to hide in the trees.

"Well, goodbye, I'll talk to you later. I need to help out with the rebuilding, clearing, and other stuff." I smiled and started walking out of the cemetery.

With an umbrella over my head, no one could tell who I was.

After going home to change, I decided to take a walk to Midori's to buy some dango in my Civilian Mourning Girl outfit (another black kimono but one that looked more traditional). I walked past Shikamaru, he didn't recognize me.

Chapter 23: Neji's Interlude

Chapter Text

Neji sat alone in his room, rereading the scroll that contains his father's last words to him once again. He couldn't help it, this was the closest thing to talking to his father again. Even after years, Neji still misses his father.

This was also the first time he had to himself where he could fully process what the words actually mean. What they truly mean to him. When he first read it, he was too overcome with emotion. When he calmed down, there was the Invasion and the subsequent clean-up, so there was no time to appreciate the scroll until now.

Neji took out a picture from his drawers. It was a picture of his father with the Bird Seal displayed on his forehead. It was the only picture of his father where the seal wasn't covered. The one picture that gave Neji a sense that his father was listening to him, one that was saying I'm listening, Neji. Neji doesn't know if it was the angle his father was standing, how his father was looking into the camera, or if it was just Neji's own imagination, he didn't know.

"I… I miss you, father." Neji whispered.

Even if he had a room to himself, even if Hiashi-sama discreetly gave him a Permanent Privacy Seal that he activated, Neji didn't want to make too much noise. Especially when he was doing something private like this.

"I'm a genin now, just finished my first attempt at the Chunin Exams. I… My life… I was not in a good place after you left." Neji muttered, "I was… really angry, really frustrated, a… a ball of hate and anger if I was to use Gai-sensei's ridiculous idioms. I… I obsessed over fate and destiny, how everything was stuck as it is. I… I lashed out at everyone. The people I thought were weaker than me, Hiashi-sama and his family, everyone. I beat down Hinata-sama's already fragile sense of self-confidence and self-worth, I also sent her to the hospital out of pent-up rage… She was also almost kidnapped because of her inability to protect herself due to those injuries during the invasion."

Neji closed his eyes. He and Inuzuka worked together to take down the person who decided to take advantage of the chaos of the Invasion to kidnap Hinata-sama. They had to leave Momo to deal with some wolves so that they would perform a pincer attack or slow them down.

"They almost took her, because I injured her too much for her to fight back… I almost rendered your sacrifice meaningless…" Neji muttered.

Neji shook himself out of it.

"I… I know, I know I did it because I wanted… I wanted a feeling of control. A feeling of superiority. A feeling that I was at the top, not the one being oppressed. I know that it wasn't the… healthiest… mindset and that it wasn't right of me to lash out and hurt others like that but… but it gave me a sense of stability. I remember how you told me how I should be kind, how I should help those who couldn't help themselves just yet, but I turned my back on those words. I'm so sorry, father. It is no excuse but I was just so angry."

Neji saw something dripping onto the photo.

"Why did you leave me like that? Why did you let the bastards from the Main Family do whatever they wanted? Why didn't you fight harder? Why couldn't you… just stay with me…? I asked myself these questions every day, wishing that you would just… come back to me… but now… now that I read your letter… I understand now. You left me to protect the village, to protect me. You didn't let the Main Family do anything, you chose this, that's why you didn't fight. You couldn't stay with me because you wanted to choose how you die…"

Neji took a moment to whip away his tears from his face and off the photo. He thought he already cried enough when he first read the letter but it seems he was wrong. The silence in his room was deafening. It felt like his father was waiting for him to continue. Neji hasn't even tried to talk to his father's grave after he died, he was too busy training and getting stronger, as well as feeling he shouldn't out of protest since Hisashi-sama kept telling him to go visit his father's grave. Maybe Neji has neglected his father too much.

"I… I'm thirteen, turning fourteen now, and I am part of the Genin Team, Team 9. My sensei is Gai-sensei and my teammates are Rock Lee and Haruno Momo. Gai-sensei is very, very eccentric, to put it mildly." Neji gave a slightly pained, but nevertheless fond sigh, "He wears an obnoxious green jumpsuit, bright orange striped leg warmers, and the normal Jounin Vest. He goes around shouting about Youth and… other things I do not wish to remember. I never gave him a chance before but I believe he is a good sensei."

Neji's face twitched, still pained and fond but also a bit solemn, "Lee is like a miniature version of Gai-sensei. In fact, Lee styles himself in Gai-sensei's image, right down to the leg warmers. He also yells about Youth and is equally eccentric. Now I am able to admit that he is a hard worker and would have one day become a good Taijutsu master if… he got himself injured during the Chunin Exams, they say he will never be able to walk again, forget about active duty. However, Senju Tsunade-sama has returned to become the Fifth Hokage so there's a chance that he could be healed.

"Now Momo… she…" Neji trailed off, not knowing what to say.

Neji took a second to really think about his only female teammate. Gai-sensei and Lee were simple enough to explain, they were simple creatures who only like to train, get stronger, and yell about Youth among other things. Momo, on the other hand, was… different. It wasn't until just now that he really thought about it.

"At first, there wasn't much to say about Momo. The only notable thing about her was that she was one of the few girls who didn't try to stalk me and took her duties and training seriously. There were worse options for a teammate, and she was someone I could commiserate with when Gai-sensei and Lee's antics became too much. However…" Neji glanced at the team photo Gai-sensei made them take, citing it was tradition, "However, she never sees people."

Neji struggled to find the words.

"However, the way she looks at people is wrong. I didn't notice until now, when I look back but she looks as if we were all puppets acting out a play. It isn't like how experienced, veteran ninjas look at newborn, baby civilians, it's like how you would view an inanimate object or something. She would look at Gai-sensei and Lee with annoyance but also amusement. Like their antics amuse her the way a pet's antics would. She would look at me, listen to my rants, and look bemused at times. It was like… she was with actors playing out a play."

Neji dropped his voice down to an even shallower whisper, "There are few people who she doesn't dismiss immediately as people, however, at best she seems to view them as actors playing out a role. At worst, pets. It doesn't make sense, she seems to be a normal person, someone with normal emotions but…"

Neji isn't too sure anymore.

"She tried to comfort me but…" Neji trailed off.

Neji wonders if Momo was just acting out the motions of a concerned teammate. He knows that Momo is an excellent actress, so it isn't a stretch. Momo can act like a loving, exasperated sister perfectly. She could act as an understanding, perfect teammate. She can act like a cold-blooded, veterinarian ninja if needed.

Neji flashed back to their first kills. He and Lee threw up multiple times, not able to sleep for a while but Momo only threw up once and managed to sleep. She was the first among them to return to normal. Neji remembered Lee asking how she did it. Momo explained that Momo the Konoha Ninja killed them, not Momo of Team 9. She then asked, rather amusingly, why should she feel anything for something she didn't do? Neji felt a chill when he realized that Momo had completely removed herself from the situation by creating another persona and wondered briefly if she would kill a fellow Konoha ninja if she created a persona for that situation.

Neji feels like there was something wrong in her head, it doesn't seem like a bad thing but there was definitely something wrong. Something fundamentally wrong with her. However, Neji wants to give her the benefit of the doubt. Her family is as normal as it can get, so it's possible that Momo was just born this way and is trying her best to fit in despite how she doesn't understand normal human emotions and doesn't see the value in humans.

It's like something in those psychological books he read before.

At least Neji is mostly confident that Momo won't do anything to harm anyone, and she was doing her best to appear normal.

Oh, that's not to say she doesn't have her moments of genuine emotion. She is as vindictive as you could get and her expression when she gets annoyed when Gai-sensei and Lee get too much even for her standards were as genuine as far as Neji could tell. Neji believes that she does adore her sister and like their team however, there was just a glass wall between her and everyone else.

Neji vowed to observe her more and to offer her his help if she needs it. Kami knows Gai-sensei and Lee wouldn't catch on. Well, Lee wouldn't catch on, Gai-sensei probably wouldn't care due to his own eccentricities.

Though, Neji doesn't know why his gut is telling him he was wrong.

"Sorry, father. We were talking about my life as a whole, not Momo, I got sidetracked." Neji said, shaking his head.

Neji continued his (one-sided) talk with his father. Telling him all about the missions he went on, the Invasion, and everything he could think of. By the time he finished, it was time for dinner. As he left his room, he felt lighter. Like there was a weight off of his shoulders.

The happy and haughty look on Hanabi's face, the gentle, if melancholy, look Hiashi-sama greeted him, and the hesitant welcoming look Hinata-sama gave him made him feel warm. Warm like he hasn't felt in a long time.

He offered them a small smile as he sat down.

The food tasted wonderful.

Chapter 24: Save Sasuke Team, Unite

Chapter Text

A few days later, I was in Lee's hospital room, rearranging the vase of flowers Sakura bought for him and opening the curtains to let the light in. I debated for a second before pushing open the window, if Lee decides to escape again, it wasn't my fault. He needs fresh air and if he decides to escape through the window I opened, it's all on him. Naruto had returned with Tsunade-sama and she already talked with Lee about the surgery. All that was left was for Lee to choose whether or not he was going to take the chance and go for it.

"So, will you do it, Lee?" I asked quietly after moments of silence passed.

"I… I do not know." Lee said looking down, "Tsunade-sama said that there was a fifty percent chance of it succeeding, but there is also a fifty percent chance I would die during the surgery. Gai-sensei said that no matter the choice, so long as my Youth burns bright, I will not regret it. However, I am still indecisive, what should I do, Momo?"

I looked out the window, the village was still being rebuilt but it was still beautiful. It was still my home. I thought about Lee and the future. I could tell Lee not to do it, I could stop Lee from continuing to be a ninja and save him all the pain he would be in in the future. He would never need to get so injured when fighting the Akatsuki, Obito, Madara, or the Jubi. I could, but Lee… Lee wouldn't be happy.

That Lee would be a Lee only half alive. Alive in body but not in spirit.

"It's your choice." I said after minutes of silence, "It's your choice and you shouldn't let anyone choose for you so listen carefully and do what your heart is telling you to do. However, if you still want my opinion, I will give it to you."

I looked down at Lee and saw that he was staring expectantly at me. He wanted my opinion.

I stood taller, "You have a fifty percent chance of succeeding and reaching your dream of becoming an amazing ninja, and you have a fifty percent chance of failing and dying in the process. However, if you don't do the surgery, you have a hundred percent chance of never reaching your dream. It's your choice in the end, Lee-kun, but I have a feeling I know what you'll choose."

I looked back at Lee, he was clutching his blanket and had a determined look on his face as he stared at his broken leg.

"I see. Thank you for your words, Momo, I will take them to heart." Lee said.

I turned to leave, "Well, whatever you chose, remember that I will support you. So will Gai-sensei and Neji. Just know that I want you to choose the one that will give you the most happiness."

With that, I walked out of Lee's room and closed the door. I turned to walk down the halls when I bumped into someone.

"Hokage-sama!" I exclaimed before bowing, "Good morning!"

I felt there was someone but I didn't recognize them, who would have known it would be Tsunade-sama of all people? I kept my head down, waiting for either her to walk away or dismiss me. I waited and waited but she didn't move. I didn't move. The silence dragged on.

"So." Tsunade-sama said, as she started talking, "You're the Genin girl who healed a few people during the invasion while dragging a prisoner to T&I."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Are you planning to be a medic?"

"Apologies but no, ma'am."

"Why?"

"For one thing, my dream is to become a Genjutsu Master in memory of my friend who is no longer with me. For another, I know the rules you have laid out and I do not believe I will be able to sit back and let others fight. I know medics are very important but… I would rather be fighting with my teammates than healing. I mean no offense, but that is how I feel."

"... I see." Tsunade-sama said, her voice not showing anything but her chakra had a hint of disappointment in it, "Carry on."

"Thank you, Tsunade-sama." I bowed again, turned, and left.

I didn't dare look back since Tsunade-sama was still there. I should start pushing Sakura harder towards Iryo Ninjutsu now that Tsunade-sama is finally in the village. I sighed, things were speeding up and soon… terribly soon… Sasuke was going to desert Konoha and leave Sakura a crying mess once again.

Briefly, I wondered if I should have tried to do something to help Sasuke avoid his fate before shaking my head. I had no connection with Sasuke before he landed in the same team as Sakura, it made no sense if a random girl, who wasn't even in the same year group as him, started talking to him out of nowhere. I could have connected with him through Shiori but I didn't want to use my friend like that.

Shiori is worth so much more than that.

All that sounds like excuses but I shook my head. No time to think about that, I still have things to do.

I hope Sakura can get through this.

I glanced at a fruit stand where Sasuke, newly released from the hospital, was buying a basket of tomatoes. I closed my eyes and walked home a little faster.

A week later, I got the news that Lee chose to do the surgery and survived. I breathed a sigh of relief when Gai-sensei told me and Neji that Lee will be having a full recovery. A little while later, I was called to the Hokage Tower. I was confused but I quickly entered the Hokage office, finding Shikamaru already there.

"Good morning, Hokage-sama, Jonin Commander-san, and Nara-san." I greeted.

Tsunade-sama just nodded before talking, "Nara Shikamaru and Haruno Momo, do either of you know why you are here?"

"No, ma'am."

"Well then," Tsunade-sama smirked, "let me be the first to congratulate you on your promotion to Chunin."

I blinked, "I'm sorry, Hokage-sama, but what?"

Tsunade-sama placed her elbows on the table, knitted her fingers together, rested her chin on them, and smirked, "You two are getting promoted to Chunin. So congratulations on being the only two out of ten to get promoted."

"Mendokuse, why?" Shikamaru asked, he was slouching but I could see the calculative glint in his eyes as he tried to analyze the situation.

"For you, Shikamaru, it was because you showed enough during your match to earn your promotion. You showed off your ability with your Shadow Possession Jutsu, your ability to plan and think on the fly, and your ability to know when you needed to stop. By forfeiting, you showed that you knew where you stood and that you knew you didn't have enough chakra to continue. By considering all that, you were given the promotion." Tsunade-sama explained, gesturing for Shikaku to pass Shikamaru his new Chunin vest.

"Mendokuse." Shikamaru muttered as he put on the vest, the glint was gone.

"As for you, Momo, it was because you showed good planning during your match, even if there wasn't much to observe since you ended it quickly, which was a point towards your promotion. We also took into account your stealthy use of Chakra Stings on Lee during the First Stage. It takes a lot of control to do so and I know that no one would teach you a skill found in Suna."

"I thought the other stages were for elimination." I spoke up without thought, "Oh! My apologies, Hokage-sama I-"

"It's alright. While it is true that the first stages were for elimination, we do keep track of what each participant does during that stage in case we need to see if they warrant the promotion and there wasn't enough shown in the Final Round to make a clear decision." Tsunade-sama explained, "We also took into account your argument with Naruto."

"That too?" I asked, shocked, "Why?"

"Because my predecessor liked what he heard. You showed us that you were able to make hard decisions for the sake of your comrades and aren't afraid to point out flaws, even if they are the flaws of people closest to you. You also showed that you knew when it was time to stop fighting so that was another point to you."

Lord Third... you really were going senile if you thought my words to my sister were reflective of my character. I was only doing it because I wanted to crush Sakura's spirits to rebuild her into someone better while keeping Naruto off my back with words of family and protection and stuff.

"I see… Thank you very much, Hokage-sama." I bowed, taking my new vest from Shikaku and putting it on.

"Good, now both of you scram, I have work to do." Tsunade-sama said, waving us off, "Shizune! Where's the sake!"

Shikamaru and I quickly left.

"Congratulations on your promotion, Nara-san." I said as we walked out of the Tower.

"Congratulations to yourself. And don't call me by my last name, that's my dad."

"Alright, then you may call me Momo. See you later, Shikamaru-san." I said before waving him goodbye as I smiled, "I need to go tell Neji-kun about this!"

Neji has been looking at me in an observing way and I don't really know why. It seems like he was searching for something but he gave up after a bit. He muttered something about not caring as long as no one got hurt and to talk to him if I needed anything, confusing but I agreed. On the plus side, I could tell that Neji was focusing more on psychology and things related to that field. Maybe he was thinking of going into the Psychiatric Department later?

I started making my way towards where I felt Neji's chakra was, today was the day we were going to be visiting Lee. I should stay with Neji for the time being since the Sasuke Recovery Mission Arc is going to happen soon and I don't want to be sidelined like the other girls were in Canon. I hummed a happy tune as I thought about showing Neji and Lee my shiny new vest, they were going to be so jealous! Oh, and I need to-

I paused as I felt Sakura's chakra near the gates, her chakra filled with sadness, self-loathing, and desperation.

It was time. My hands clenched into a fist.

"Breath. Ignore it, Momo. You don't know anything. The only thing going on in your mind right now is your promotion and you are happy about it." I muttered to myself, putting on my persona that slipped temporarily. I still need more practice.

My fist unclenched and a smile returned to my face.

I barely had time to find Lee and Neji, show them my vest, and start up a conversation when I was summoned back to the Hokage Tower. When I got there, I saw that Shikamaru was already there but I ignored him in favor of feeling Sakura's sad chakra again. Sasuke made her cry. My hands clenched into a fist for a second before I relaxed, getting angry won't do us any good. I focused on Tsunade-sama, waiting for her to explain and give out orders.

"I'll cut to the chase, Uchiha Sasuke apparently slipped out of the village late last night. And there is almost no mistake that he is heading to Otogakure!"

I felt my face twitch with anger but I quickly regained my composure. Again, getting angry would only make things worse.

"Slipped out?!" Shikamaru exclaimed, "Why…"

"Because he was enticed by Orochimaru!" Tsunade-sama declared.

Shikamaru was shocked while I cursed, "No wonder Sakura's crying."

"W-wait a moment! What does Sasuke even have to gain for talking to someone as deranged as that guy?!" Shikamaru exclaimed, freaking out.

No matter how calculating and how brilliant his mind was, Shikamaru was still a kid. A kid who didn't know why his comrade betrayed his village.

"The reason doesn't matter. Or rather, there is no time to explain. You two will perform your first mission as Chunins."

"So all we have to do is bring Sasuke back?" Shikamaru asked.

"It won't be easy, Uchiha-san left on his own, meaning he will fight us every step of the way." I reminded him.

"Yes. Not only is this a time-sensitive mission, but it will also be very dangerous because there is a strong possibility that those under the control of Orochimaru are guiding Sasuke." Tsunade-sama said seriously, "Shikamaru, you will be the Team Captain."

I grit my teeth. I knew this was going to happen, I knew he was going to leave Konoha for Orochimaru and I did nothing to stop him. I know I resolved not to do anything -what could I have done without gaining suspicion and possibly getting thrown into T&I or into the clutches of Danzo (information purposes) and Orochimaru (reincarnation purposes)?- but I didn't like this situation at all. This was going to wreak Sakura and Naruto emotionally, hurt Neji and Choji so badly that they would be put into intensive care, and affect Shikamaru's psyche for failing his first mission as a Chunin.

"In that case, please give us a four-man team composed only of Jonins and Chunins." Shikamaru insisted.

"I'm afraid I can't do that…" Tsunade-sama shook her head.

"Huh?! Why?" Shikamaru asked.

Tsunade-sama was about to answer but I spoke up, "We're still getting over the invasion, Shikamaru-san. Most of the Jonins and Chunins are working to get more money for the village to use for reparations and the like. The few that aren't on jobs are stretched thin to keep the village protected because the other villages might take this time to attack us while we are still weakened. The village can't spare any to help us."

"That's correct." Tsunade-sama said, "Within the next thirty minutes, I want you to gather all the Genin you think will be the best for this mission and leave the village!"

"Yes, ma'am." I said as I followed Shikamaru who was already leaving.

"This is going to be such a drag but I know the guy, so I can't just let the matter go. What shall be, shall be."

"There's one guy I want to recommend." Tsunade-sama said.

"Is it Uzumaki-kun?" I asked.

"Yes. This is a time-sensitive mission so go!" Tsunade-sama ordered.

We left the room and were about to leave when I spoke up, "I'm going to get Neji and Lee, I know you might not like Neji much as a person but he is a good teammate, a skilled fighter, and we work well together. When you make the attack plan, make sure I'm near him. We'll meet up with you once I get them."

"Okay, I'll get Naruto and whoever else I find."

With that, we separated. I ran to the place I left Neji and Lee, it seems they haven't left the area yet so it made my job much easier. I decidedly ignored the fact that they were walking at a much slower pace than they usually were because Lee was still recovering from the surgery. He was getting better and that was all that mattered.

He's still alive and that's all that mattered.

"Neji! Lee!" I yelled, dropping in front of him and Lee, "Emergency mission!"

"What?" Neji asked, falling into Mission Mode.

"Tsunade-sama gave Shikamaru-san and I an emergency mission, we are to round up the best Genins because that's all the village can spare right now. I'll explain the rest on the way. Lee, can you come or not?" I asked.

Lee was silent and let go of Neji's shoulders, "No. I will not come. I have only just been cleared for light training, I am in no condition to go on a mission, nor am I in perfect condition. Until I am able to climb these stairs on my own, I will not be in any condition to go on any mission. However, I hope you bring my Youth with you and succeed!"

"Of course. Get better soon, Lee." I said before Neji and I started running.

"So, mission?"

I explained to Neji all that Tsunade-sama told us in the mission briefing. About Tsunade-sama summoning Shikamaru and I to give us the mission of getting Sasuke back from Orochimaru's clutches and about how I felt the sadness in Sakura's chakra as we ran towards Choji's home, that's where I was feeling Shikamaru's chakra. We soon met up with him with the rest of the ragtag group he put together.

"Sorry it took a while, Lee can't come but Neji's here." I said, dropping down as Kiba approached us, "I already filled him in, did you tell the rest of them?"

"No, I'm planning on telling Kiba and Choji on our way to the gates." Shikamaru said, "Okay, let's go!"

We all started running with Shikamaru filling in Kiba and Choji. He planned to get anyone else we ran across but there was no one. I waved to Lee who stood at the bottom of the stairs with a determined look on his face. I guess he wasn't kidding when he said he was going to try to climb all those stairs alone.

I wish him luck before focusing on the mission.

I doubt we'd actually save Sasuke but that's fine with me. My only goal in this mission is to make sure that no one gets as hurt as they did in Canon.

Sasuke... Sasuke made his choice.

Chapter 25: Sasuke Retrieval Mission Pt. 1

Chapter Text

Within moments, we were standing in front of the gates, the doors opening for us to pass through. Everyone was wearing a determined look on their faces, even the ever-smiling Choji dropped his more idealistic view of the world to look more serious and he gave off a determined feel. The only people who deviated from this were Kiba and I. Kiba was snarling while I was just smiling pleasantly.

I think I was getting side-eyes from my new temporary teammates but it's fine. Neji understands me. I think. Maybe. He wasn't giving me weird looks at least.

"All right! Everyone, follow me!" Naruto yelled, pumping a fist into the air.

I laughed. So energetic in face of this serious situation.

"Hey..." Shikamaru said in a deadpan voice, "Hey, Naruto…. I'm supposed to be the Team Captain, though it's a drag, and Momo is second in command. And Momo, just call everyone by their first names without honorifics while we're on this mission, it will be easier."

"Of course, Shikamaru-taicho."

"... just Shikamaru."

"Of course, Shikamaru."

"Momo, can you find Uchi- Sasuke?" Neji asked.

I nodded with a smile, then ignored Naruto and Shikamaru in favour of stretching out my sensory range to find Sasuke and the Sound Four. While my sensory skills have gotten better, it's still a major pain because Nature Chakra is everywhere and I wasn't familiar with Sasuke's chakra. I sat down crossed legged and reached. I should be able to pinpoint the direction they were heading towards, or at least find where Orochimaru was waiting for them.

Finding Orochimary was ridiculously easy because, unless he was suppressing his Chakra a lot, his distinct and vile Chakra would give him away every time.

I would never forget his Chakra for as long as I live

I suppressed a shiver. Now was not the time.

"Found them." I said, opening my eyes, "They're southeast from here, and they're heading to the Valley of the End where Orochimaru is waiting for them. We need to stop them before we get there because there is no way we can win against a Sannin. If they get there, we need to retreat. No matter how close we get to retrieving Sasuke back, we will withdraw. No arguing, no protests, just run."

The last line was directed at Naruto, not that he noticed. He was too focused on the direction Sasuke was instead of the orders of retreat.

"Mendokuse." Shikamaru cursed, "Whatever, for starters, this is a rescue mission, we will be in the position of pursuit. In other words, the enemy can easily gain the initiative. Therefore, I will decide on a deployment formation that will respond quickly to any enemy assault. If you ignore me and move of your own accord, we will all die."

The group stiffened.

We all gathered around Shikamaru as he started explaining a plan.

"We will go in a single file formation. First of all, the all-important spearhead will be Kiba, that's you. You and Akamaru go on walks all year round and are therefore well-versed in the terrain and geography of the Land of Fire. And since your nose is very sensitive, you can track Sasuke with your sense of smell, and you can distinguish booby traps that carry the enemy's scent which makes them easy to find. And moreover, you and Akamaru as a pair will be extremely efficient in compensating for the weakness of a single file formation to assault."

"Got it, you can count on us, right, Akamaru?"

"Arf!"

"And second in line will be me, the Team Captain. I can give orders as required in any situation from my position directly behind Kiba and can give orders to those behind me using only hand signals. And the one behind me in the third position is Naruto. The middle position is the best for you since you're capable of executing quick moves and are able to respond immediately to anything in front or behind. You're the cornerstone and you have your Shadow Clones too."

"Leave it to me, dattebayo!"

"And fourth in line is Choji. You. You don't have speed, but your ability to strike is the best among the team. Kiba, Naruto, and I will launch a surprise attack and I'll use you to launch the deciding blow. In other words, your role is to attack the routed enemy."

"I won't let you down, Shikamaru."

"The next one is Momo. You can attack at long range with Genjutsu and your poisoned senbons and kunai. As my second in command, you can make calls if you see things I do not, so positioning you away from me will help me get a different perspective on the situation. It also places you close to Neji as you wanted."

"Smart." I muttered, even if this formation is going to fall apart the second we get into the actual fighting, it was a good idea.

"And lastly, Neji. You are assigned to the most difficult position as rear look out. You will use your Byakugan to constantly check ahead for weakness in our ranks. You're also positioned close to Momo, I don't know how much of an advantage that would be but she insisted on it."

Neji nodded.

"Well, of course, I insisted. Apologies in advance for my language but in Team Gai, Neji fucks with the chakra, Lee fucks with the body, while I fuck with the mind, making the perfect team. Kind of like your Shika-Ino-Cho formation but less intel-oriented and more combat-oriented. Of course, both Neji and I can also do Lee's part if need be so we make a perfect duo if Lee isn't there." I kept smiling as Neji nodded with a smirk.

"... Do not smile while saying that." Naruto muttered, "It's creepy as hell, dattebayo."

I just directed my smile towards Naruto. Reveling in the sight of Naruto shivering and inching away from me.

"Anyway, you understand the formation? Good. Now, take a careful look at this." Shikamaru said as he took out a scroll and started drawing, "Use this diagram to verify which part of the perimeter you're assigned to watch. Kiba watches the front, I'm responsible for a wide forward view, Naruto watches the left, Choji the right, and Neji, using your Byakugan, you cover the entire area to the rear. Momo, you are responsible for telling us any incoming attack you can sense, I know it takes a lot of concentration so leave seeing what's around us to us while you focus on possible attacks."

Everyone studied the diagram like their lives depended on it. While they did that, I absentmindedly kept track of Sasuke's group. They were still somewhere in my passive range of sixty five meters.

"I want to familiarize myself with our current military potential. Let me check all the Ninja Equipment each of you currently has, I will commit them to memory straight away. Any questions?"

"No, just a few comments." I spoke up, before passing along a few pills, "I will not be sharing any of my poisons for you to use because I don't want to cause any casualties in our group. You have to use my poisons in a specific way or else things will get ugly and I doubt any of you know the basics of poisons which involves more than what the Academy taught us. Another thing, these pills I'm giving you are the antidotes to the poisons I currently have on hand. Take them before we go. I don't want to accidentally poison anyone on the team."

"That would be bad." Shikamaru nodded as he took the pills and handed them out.

Shikamaru started talking again but I ignored him, partly because I knew it was going to be sentimental but mainly because the group Sasuke was slowing down. Meaning that they were going to stuff Sasuke into the coffin soon.

"-Because I am responsible for your lives." Shikamaru said, seriously.

"And I'm here to help him." I added my two senses. I can't have Shikamaru knowing I wasn't listening to him.

"Wow… You're actually acting kind of like a Chunin, aren't you?" Kiba commented.

"Okay then, as soon as he checks over our equipment, we'll depart." Neji said and the rest of us quickly pulled out our pouches.

I knew that was in my pouch, a bunch of senbons and kunai - laced or otherwise - and many vials of poisons. As Shikamaru looked at them, I removed my weights and placed them by the gates but froze for a moment when I felt Sakura and Lee approach us.

"All right! Let's go!" Shikamaru yelled.

"Wait!" Sakura stopped us.

The rest of the group turned around to face her but I didn't. I kept facing the road, ignoring how Shikamaru ruthlessly cut into her. I feel like my talk with her, the laps we ran together, the Genjutsu practice I did with her, the nights I spent going over Chakra Theory with her to help her with Iryo Ninjutsu, all of that meant nothing to her. The second it became clear Sasuke was going to leave, she should have run as fast as she could to the Tower when he went to attack her. I know she could have been able to throw off the Genjutsu like I taught her, I trained her enough for her to be able to disrupt up to mid-rank Genjutsu with enough effort.

If she didn't do it to Sasuke's Genjutsu, it meant she wasn't even trying.

I felt Sakura's chakra start crying before I heard her cry. I ignored her plea to Naruto to bring Sasuke back. I ignored it all.

"Ane-"

"Save it for when we get back." I shot her down, not even turning around, "We'll talk when I get back. Don't do anything stupid until we get back."

"All right! Let's hurry up and go!" Naruto yelled.

"We've lost a bit of time, let's hurry!" Shikamaru said and we all took off.

I felt bad for Sakura but I feel more upset at her than feeling the need to pity her. Besides, now was not the time for feelings. I have a mission.

We were jumping from branch to branch in the dark forest, going at top speed as we followed Kiba's nose when I stiffened.

"Bad news. Sasuke has just been put into a death-like state. Presumably to make bringing him to Orochimaru easier but, judging by how the chakra in and around him is acting, I think it has something to do with his Curse Mark. It seems to be… getting stronger and much darker. Evolving, maybe? Well, whatever's happening, it's bad and is corrupting his chakra even further."

I heard a string of curses coming from in front of me.

"More bad news, the five people including Sasuke are moving away from the two new ones and they smell of blood! What should we do?!" Kiba asked.

Well, if they smell of blood, it means that there was a fight. Since there's a fight, it means that our enemies are slightly weaker at least. That's a good thing.

"Just as I thought, he has guides." Shikamaru muttered.

"Let's hurry up and pursue Sasuke!" Naruto insisted.

"Shut up, Naruto!" Kiba yelled, "That's for Shikamaru to decide! He's the Leader! Don't play the boss!"

The Inuzuka hierarchy is very strict. Naruto shouldn't push to act as the leader with Kiba around.

"Shikamaru?" Choji asked.

"The fact that there was the smell of blood probably means that a battle occurred somewhere. If we go to that location we should be able to gather information." Shikamaru decided, "We must be attentive as we near the location, so we would have to switch over to a reconnaissance pattern and approach by walking slowly."

"However, if we take the time to do that, Sasuke will most definitely cross the borders and out of our hands!" Neji countered.

"What are we going to do, Shikamaru?!" Naruto yelled.

I could tell all this pressure isn't doing Shikamaru any good. Should I speak up and tell them we should go to where the blood was? At least we'd get some Chunin or Jonin help, I don't remember who exactly got attacked but I do remember they weren't Genin so we'd get back up. Even if it breaks Canon, it would be better since there would be a smaller chance we'd get so beat up. Making up my decision, I was about to speak up when Shikamaru cut me off.

"Alright! Let's continue to pursue Sasuke!" Shikamaru ordered, I bit my lip but chose to speak up anyway.

"I think we should go to see if the ones who got attacked were fellow Konoha-nins. If they are, they should be Chunin or Jonin rank so it would be a good idea to heal them up so they can help us. It might take time but it should be worth it."

"No! Shikamaru said we go after Sasuke and that's what we're going to do! He already made the right choice and gave the orders so let's hurry up!" Naruto yelled, speeding up.

"Listen, the fact that there was a battle means they'll have their guard up. Unless they're complete idiots, they'll certainly be aware of the fact that there might be more ninjas on their trail." Shikamaru warned, I felt his chakra twitch in response to my words but he didn't comment on them, "In other words, the odds are high that there will be traps or an ambush. So from this point on, we proceed with caution. I want everybody, not just Akamaru, to put all your senses on full alert. If you catch a trace of anything suspicious, sound the alarm. We want to find these guys before they find us."

"Alright! When we find them, I'm going to use my new jutsu to clobber them!" Naruto exclaimed, trying to speed up again.

"Um… I sense something weird. So, one of them has two heads and another one has six arms. I could be wrong, or it could be some kind of Kekkei Genkai but yeah. I also feel there's another person with them, a sixth person but they are suppressing their chakra a lot. I could only feel them because I can feel the curse mark on them." I lied, I couldn't feel them but I knew they were there.

Giving this much information was the least I could do.

I felt Shikamaru's chakra ripple with worry but he pressed on, "That changes nothing. We keep moving."

"Hey!" Kiba yelled, alarmed, "The enemy's smell is everywhere!"

"Everyone stop!" Shikamaru yelled.

We all came to an abrupt stop on a tree. I took a second to stifle a laugh when I saw Neji standing on the tree trunk instead of the branch like the rest of us. In Canon, the entire team managed to fit on the branch but not anymore.

"Take a careful look above you." Shikamaru gestured, it was a tag.

"Paper bombs…? And in five other places too." Neji observed, "The placement of them seems to indicate a Perimeter Barrier."

"Perimeter Barrier?" Choji asked.

"It's a type of Booby Trap Ninjutsu." Shikamaru answered, "Perimeter-type traps have a time lag and are activated when one enters the area that has been marked by the enemy. It's advanced Ninjutsu. It was in one of the books that my father made me read."

"Darn, now our only choice is to make a detour." Kiba cursed.

"Standing around means nothing. If we go left-ish we can cut them off, or at least catch up but that's what I feel, Neji, can you check for me?"

Neji nodded, "Byakugan…. It's mostly safe, I see some traps though. We should stick to the ground."

"Okay, let's go." Shikamaru ordered.

On a silent signal, we started running again.

I hope no one gets hurt worse than they do in Canon when we start fighting.

Chapter 26: Sasuke Retrieval Mission Pt.2

Chapter Text

I cursed silently, we walked right into this trap. I felt the chakra in the spiderweb but thought they were regular old ambient Nature Chakra instead of the enemies chakra and now we were stuck in a chakra-sucking earth dome because they ambushed us. I mean, I knew this would happen but I forgot about the details. The boys were trying to break out while I kept an eye out for the enemy, freeing up Neji to help since he needs to use chakra to see through the walls and the dome isn't helping that drain. I pulled out my bottle of Chakra Pills and passed them out. We need the energy for when we get out.

"Thanks."

"No problem, so what's the plan, taicho?" I asked, "Just know that only the round guy is still here, the rest have just left, they're still in my range but they are moving towards the borders. Not at top speed, but close."

Shikamaru cursed, "We need to get out but how? The Dome is draining our chakra and using it to repair any damage we do to it. Tsk."

Shikamaru went into his thinking position, crouched down and fingertips touching each other. I sighed, at least he didn't try to trick Jirobo into thinking that he was going to betray us, that was just a dick move by Canon!Shikamaru. Seriously, smart as he was, that was just mean and useless since everyone knows eight point five times out of ten, the person is only pretending to betray their comrades. I ignored the group around me, keeping track of the moving group of enemies and the guy - Jirobo - was just outside. Now that I felt their chakra at close range, it was much easier to keep track of them. They were tired from their previous fight, that was clear in their chakra. Frustratingly, Jirobo's chakra feels smug.

"-In other words," I heard Neji say, "it's useless unless we can attack it with a Taijutsu that has enough power to destroy this wall with one blow."

"Someone that has a Taijutsu with greater destructive power than mine would be Choji, but… At this rate…"

There was a very loud silence that was only interrupted by Choji's chewing and the crunching of his chips. It was obvious that they were all looking at Choji right now. Choji, who was eating his chips like his life depended on it. I hope it was because he was gaining strength and not stress-eating.

"Darn, what do we do?" Naruto asked, frustrated.

"Momo, can you mark the place?" Shikamaru whispered.

I was confused until it hit me and I grabbed one of my not poisoned kunai, "Oh! Okay, sure, give me a second."

"What are you talking about?!" Naruto yelled, irritatedly, as I stabbed the kunai into the wall behind Neji and Choji.

"Choji, are you ready?"

"Yes. Ready when you are."

"Alright, let's do this."

"What's happening? Let's do what?" Naruto asked.

"As I said earlier, the wall surrounding us is infused with chakra. However, the strength of the chakra won't be consistent everywhere, there must be some points in the walls that are weaker than others. No Jutsu is perfect after all. That's what Shikamaru speculated and what Momo found." Neji answered him.

"How… how did he get that?"

"Think about what happened while we were attacking the walls. Because he noticed that there were areas that were restored quickly and others that didn't. In other words, he guessed that those areas that didn't restore quickly probably don't have a lot of chakra. So now he is utilizing Momo's ability to feel chakra to find the weakest point in the wall for Choji to attack, he also must know that Momo would stay away from the enemy which means that any place she chooses will give us enough coverage when we break out." Neji explained.

"That's correct." Shikamaru said before turning his full attention to Choji, "I'm depending on you, Choji."

"Yeah!" Choji yelled, gathering his chakra, "Expansion Jutsu: Human Bolder!"

Choji turned into a giant ball and rolled towards the point where my kunai was. Crashing into the walls with so much force that he broke through the wall, freeing us. It took some effort but Choji did it. We quickly ran out and watched as the dome crumbled to dust.

"He's the only one here, like Momo said." Shikamaru clicked his tongue, "Tsk, just when we thought we caught up."

Jirobo clapped, "Everyone, you did well… for some losers."

"What?!" Naruto yelled, getting riled up.

"Who are you calling losers?!" Kiba added.

The two idiots started running towards Jirobo but Neji yelled at them to stop. I barely listened to them, instead, I dedicated all my energy to following the others. I felt Kiba and Naruto attack the guy but got easily deflected. They were too weak from the dome, even with the help of the Chakra Pills I brought along.

Tsk. Should have known.

"Be careful everyone!" Shikamaru yelled, bringing me back to the fight, "He's preparing another trick!"

I snapped my eyes open and saw Jirobo slam his hand onto the floor.

"Earth Style: Earth Dome Prison Jutsu!" Jirobo yelled, trying to trap us again.

Before any of us could react, Choji sprung into action again, "Expansion Jutsu!"

Choji started spinning, disrupting the Jutsu and creating a large smokescreen for us to use to distract Jirobo as we ran to hide. We regrouped in the forest, close to the clearing but far enough away that Jirobo couldn't easily find or hear us as we planned our next move

"There's no time." Shikamaru said, "We're going to split into two groups!"

"Is that smart?" I couldn't help but ask, "If we work together, sure it will take a bit longer, but it's a guaranteed win and we won't leave anyone behind. Sure, we'd be a bit tired, but I'm sure we could make up for it with a bit of teamwork."

If we leave anyone behind like in Canon, they will get really hurt. Emergency Room levels of hurt. Please, Shikamaru, we can minimize damage. Sasuke was going to leave anyway, there's no point in chasing that flight risk and getting really hurt only for him to try to run away again.

"Not possible, every moment we spend here is time we aren't using to get Sasuke back, which is the goal of our mission. So this is what we need to do." Shikamaru turned my idea down. Well, I tried to save him from the heartache of an injured Choji.

"Besides, even at five against one, with our chakra taken away, he's not someone we can easily defeat. Not to mention the other people guarding Sasuke, if we take them into account, that's another fight at the very least, which means Sasuke will most definitely cross the border," Neji said, his Byakugan in action, "If that happens, we won't be able to continue this mission. So we split up, one team to stop him and one to go after Sasuke, right?"

"Yeah-"

"Everyone, jump back!" I exclaimed, cutting Shikamaru off, "Jirobo is preparing some kind of attack!"

"What?" Naruto asked.

Everyone but Naruto jumped into the bushes before Jirobo could spot us, leaving Naruto alone and exposed.

"Ah, I found one of you." Jirobo smirked, "The rest of you can come out, I know you're close to your blond friend."

"Tsk. Momo!"

"Yes?"

"You take Neji, Kiba and Choji and continue on with the mission, Naruto and I will take on this guy." Shikamaru ordered.

"Yes, taicho." I nodded, I waited a bit for the perfect moment to leave, helping to track Jirobo and dodge his attacks as I waited, but before that moment arrived, Choji yelled.

"He's mine!" Choji yelled with a determined look on his face, "I will… take care of him!"

Everyone paused and turned their attention to Choji. I closed my eyes and sighed, I knew this was going to happen. Everyone started to try and persuade Choji to reconsider but he was determined to do this so there was really no stopping him. He's only going to get himself hurt.

"In that case, I'll stay with Choji-" I tried to say but was cut off by Choji.

"No! I can do this!" Choji said before handing Shikamaru a pouch, "Shikamaru, take these food pills for everyone."

"Choji…! You're not…!"

"That's right. I have that secret weapon of mine." Choji said, confidently.

"But Choji, that is…!" Shikamaru exclaimed as he took the pouch.

I eyed the pair, they were probably talking about the special food pills Choji took in Canon that put him in critical condition. I watched as Choji walked toward Jirobo.

"Huh, losers, I won't let any of you pass!" Jirobo yelled, "I'll get rid of all of you here!"

Jirobo ran to attack us but Choji quickly placed himself between us and him to intercept him.

"Go, everyone!" Choji yelled as he took a green pill before stopping Jirobo, "Shikamaru, take everyone and go!"

"Choji…"

"What did we gather for?" Choji asked, before yelling passionately, "If we lose Sasuke, then we will end up like he said, the stupid leader and his loser team members!"

I could see that Shikamaru was struggling internally, unwilling to leave his long-time best friend alone with a powerful enemy, but he ultimately gave in, "Okay, but you better catch up with us, Choji!"

"Yes!" Choji yelled, "Everyone, go!"

"Alright! Let's go, everyone!" Shikamaru ordered.

"Right!" We all yelled.

We jumped up into the trees and onto the branches and we started pursuing Sasuke again at full speed. I spared a glance at Shikamaru who slowed down, he was watching Choji. I slowed down to grab his attention.

"Taicho, get your mind back into the game. We can't have our leader distracted while we're on a mission like this." I scolded gently, "If you're worried about Choji, focus on finishing the mission so we can go back to him sooner."

Shikamaru took a deep breath and nodded, "Yeah, let's hurry."

Shikamaru quickly ran back to his position behind Kiba and I sped up to return to my place in front of Neji. This was going to be a very long mission. I looked at Neji and clenched my fist for a moment, I was not leaving him alone to deal with Kidomaru. I will be staying back to help him with the spider guy.

I was not leaving Neji. I have no emotional attachment to Choji so it wasn't hard to just go when ordered, he was irrelevant to me and the only thing I wanted was to keep him relatively safe as a fellow Konoha Ninja. He was not Neji. Neji was my teammate and I have some level of emotional attachment to him. I pledged on Shiori's grave that I wouldn't fail again. I couldn't save her from Canon, but I could save Neji. I have to. For her sake.

Breath.

"Here! Parting gift from Choji!" I heard Shikamaru say.

I looked up and saw him throwing the pouch Choji gave him to Naruto who took a pill before throwing it to Kiba.

"Shikamaru, that pill Choji took earlier…. It seemed like some sort of trump card, but does he have a chance of winning?" Neji asked.

"He said that he has a secret weapon." Kiba commented as he fed a pill to Akamaru.

"Choji… Choji brought the Akimichi Clan's Ultimate Secret Pills on this mission." Shikamaru revealed, "The pills are the Triad Colour Pills of Green, Yellow and Red. If you take it, you can gain explosive powers. The energy that each pill contains is enormous!"

"I see! I see! So that's why he was so confident!" Naruto exclaimed happily.

"Momo!" Kiba yelled, interrupting the conversation.

I reached my hand up and caught the pouch and picked up a pill before turning to Neji

"Neji, catch!" I yelled as I threw it towards him, "Give the pouch back to Shikamaru when you're done."

"Hn."

"But…" Shikamaru muttered, he probably didn't know I could hear him, "there's always a side effect to any pills that work too well."

I heard Akamaru whimper. Kiba told us about Akamaru's ability to smell the power of an opponent and how he was worried about Choji and the group started to whisper about Choji's chances against Jirobo, whether he'd win or not. I kept my mouth shut, Shikamaru was already stressed about Choji, there was no reason to remind him of his friend that stayed behind to stall. All I could do is keep an eye on Choji while he's still in range.

It's the least I could do. For his sake as well as Shikamaru's.

"True…" Neji said, "If we were to assess the situation objectively, that giant's ability is unknown, so that means that the possibility of Choji being able to defeat him might be close to zero. But, that is how a battle is."

"Neji is right. It's how a battle is." Shikamaru said solemnly, "From the start, this mission wasn't for recreation. It's life or death."

"Hey, Shikamaru…" Naruto spoke up but Shikamaru cut him off.

"I already anticipated the worst-case scenario in which we would be fighting separately on our own. And at this point, if we're not prepared for 'one person, one kill,' we might not be able to catch up to Sasuke." Shikamaru said before pausing a bit, "Choji is a good guy but he doesn't have the confidence. He thinks that he's the weakest of all of us."

"He actually is weak." Kiba said, "Anybody can see that. That's why he was the first to stay behind to try to be useful."

"Ha." Shikamaru laughed, "Just as I thought, so everybody thinks that, but, I know, more than myself, Neji or Momo, or any of us here, he is stronger! And I believe it!"

"Choji just took another pill." I spoke up, causing everyone to tense and pay attention to me, "His chakra spiked up, which is good because so did Jirobo. I think Jirobo has activated his Curse Mark, I felt it pulse with energy before he got stronger."

"Choji…!" Shikamaru exclaimed, sounding very concerned as he (probably) subconsciously started turning his head toward where Choji was.

"Relax and focus on the mission, Shikamaru!" I yelled, "Choji is fine! In fact, with the help of the second pill, he is now stronger than Jirobo."

"Really? Choji''s that strong?" Naruto asked, sounding pleasantly surprised.

"Yes. Choji is a little stronger than Jirobo right now. So let's trust Choji and focus. However, this just means that everyone should remember the Curse Mark, okay? It will give our opponent a second wind of sorts and make them stronger." I warned them, "So if we have to split up again, the groups will be Neji and me, Kiba and Akamaru, and Naruto and Shikamaru. Is that okay with you, Shikamaru, or do you want to change something?"

"No, that's fine. Everyone, stay in your assigned groups. It's safe to pretend that everyone we are about to fight has another person with them, so instead of a two against one, think of it as a two against two. Understand?" Shikamaru asked.

"Yes."

We ran for a bit when I felt Jirobo's powers spike again, he was in the Second Stage of the Curse Mark. I internally debated whether or not to say anything to the group but decided against it, seeing how much faith they had in Choji right now. I would only bring the mood and morale down and cause them all to worry again. Instead, I resolved to just go back for Choji after Neji and I beat Kidomaru to lessen his injuries and improve his chances in the hospital.

Under the pretense of dragging a prisoner, if I could. Of course.

Chapter 27: Sasuke Retrieval Mission Pt. 3

Chapter Text

We were running for a while when Akamaru barked, indicating that they were closing in on the enemy. The group was getting suspicious about the lack of traps so Neji activated his Byakugan to see ahead. I kept an eye on the still moving Chakras as well as Choji's Chakra. Choji's Chakra was still strong but it was a bit fuzzy. I don't know if it's an after-effect of the pills he was eating or if it was because I wasn't focusing on him. I should ask Gai-sensei, this was something to experiment with when we get back to the village.

"Still no traps… Shikamaru, what do you think?" Neji asked.

"We're being underestimated." Shikamaru said, "Those guys think the only one following them is the big guy. They don't need to set traps on their own teammate."

"How dare they underestimate us?!" Naruto yelled, enraged.

I shushed Naruto. Even if the enemy was a fair bit away, they could still hear us if they were enhancing their ears with Chakra. We don't need to make ourselves targets just because Naruto wasn't capable of being quiet for a few hours. He could have just muttered, not yelled if it was that important to get off his chest.

"It seems like you're right." Neji said, adding his two senses, "We are being completely underestimated. However, this is our chance."

"You're thinking…" I trailed off.

"Yeah, we'll take them by surprise." Shikamaru smirked.

After a bit of debate, Shikamaru was chosen to impersonate Jirobo while the rest of us followed at a distance behind them. He created a backup plan (Plan B) in case he was discovered and made sure we all knew our parts before enacting Plan A. Shikamaru quickly transformed into Jirobo, caught up to the enemy team, and things were going well until he was exposed by not acting like Jirobo. I have a feeling I should have been the one to impersonate Jirobo (being the better actor and all) but there wasn't any time for regrets, Kidomaru told the other two to go on while he dealt with us so it was time to switch gears.

"I see." Shikamaru said, signaling to us that we had switched to Plan B, and smirked as he kicked him only to get into a tree.

"Ninja Arts: Spider Web Net Jutsu." Kidomaru said.

He spat out a spider web out of his mouth and trapped Shikamaru on the tree and laughed. However, before he could get too much enjoyment out of it, a barrage of Narutos got close and tried to crush him. Smirking, Kidomaru jumped backward, free-falling down as he prepared to attack the group of Naruto Clones.

"Ninja Arts: Spiral Spider Web Jutsu!"

He created a giant version of the web he used to catch Shikamaru, catching all the Naruto's because of its stickiness. As he fell, Kiba and Akamaru tried to attack him since it would be very difficult to dodge midair but it turns out that Kidomaru wasn't free falling, he had attached strings to the trees and used them to pull himself up and stood upside down. Dodging and trapping Kiba and Akamaru on the branches they landed on in the process.

"You!" Kiba yelled in outrage, "It's too soon for you to think you captured us with a stupid thing like this!"

"Ha!" Kidomaru laughed, "Shut up!"

Neji and I jumped and tried to attack him from behind but he cut the strings supporting him and dropped down, dodging our attacks. We used our momentum to turn around but were attacked by Kidomaru and got stuck in his web. We struggled against the restraints, I know I can break out using Chakra Scalpels but doing so while his attention is on me isn't smart. If he couldn't restrain me, he'd just kill me and I doubt I'm able to defend myself so quickly with my current skill level.

"I'm going to cocoon you two." Kidomaru commented before wrapping us with layers upon layers of spider thread.

I gave a token struggle to keep up the act before stopping once Kidomaru focused his attention on the Naruto Clones. Perfect. I breathed deeply as I used Chakra Scalpels to get rid of my nerves. I was Haruno Momo, the Konoha Ninja, it was no time for nerves. It's much harder without the hand signs, not impossible, just hard. It took a while but I managed to get the scalpels I needed. I'll need to redo the Jutsu once I get out but it's good enough to break me out. I felt Kidomaru attacking the last clone outside, good, he was still distracted, and I started cutting myself out.

I broke out at the same time as Neji, we shared a glance and nodded. I went to free Kiba and Akamaru while Neji went to free Shikamaru and save Naruto when he got caught for real this time. I quickly redid my Chakra Scalpels and cut Kiba and Akamaru out of the sticky web that was keeping them stuck on the branches and bringing them to a safer one. There, we watched as Neji saves Naruto from Kidomaru and brings him to us.

"You… how…?!" Kidomaru asked.

"Substances with chakra base are meaningless in front of Gentle Fist that destroys by pouring chakra through." Neji answered.

I gave a little wave with my Scalpels, my smile ever-present on my face but with a mocking glint in it this time, "Chakra Scalpels can cut through Chakra Strings, I assumed it would work the same as your sticky spider threads and it does. Aren't I just the luckiest?"

"That guy's jutsu… evidently Momo and I are the only ones who can fight it. Go! We will take care of this." Neji ordered as we took stances in front of the other four.

Akamaru started whimpering.

"What's wrong?" Kiba asked as Akamaru took refuge in his jacket, "Hey, Akamaru."

Akamaru gave a wimper and Kiba paled.

Shakily, Kiba said, "Apparently, this guy's stronger than the fatso from before. Quite a bit stronger."

I glanced at Neji who understood the look I was giving him and he started talking. He got everyone in on the conversation, talking about what Shikamaru said, about our mission, what we need to do, and about bonds between comrades. All the typical things other ninjas think Konoha Ninjas talk about on a daily bases, stereotyping is rude but using it to our advantage isn't above us. We are Ninja after all. Neji did all this while keeping Kidomaru's attention on him while I prepared one of my strongest Genjutsu I have in my current arsenal.

"-Look, Sasuke is heading towards Orochimaru." I heard Neji say as I waited for the right moment to unleash my Genjutsu onto Kidomaru, "We can't let Orochimaru get a hold of someone from our village. Absolutely not. And… Naruto… your eyes are better than mine. Right now, Sasuke is… in the darkness. Hurry up and go! We'll catch up with you all!"

Neji, I love you like the brother I never had but your eyes are better than Naruto's. Naruto's eyes might be able to see the good in everyone, your eyes are the ones we need for this mission because Naruto's eyes can't see traps. However, I won't say anything because it isn't important right now. Though, that won't stop me from ranting about it in the privacy of my head because this just needs to be said.

"Gotcha."

"You and Choji better be sure to hurry up and catch up, or we'll leave you in the dust!" Kiba said cockily.

"Okay, let's go!" Shikamaru ordered.

That was my signal, "Demonic Illusion: Double False Surroundings Jutsu."

"What?" Shikamaru asked.

"Hurry, go!" I whisper-yelled, "I don't know when he'll disrupt the Genjutsu so go!"

Without any further urging, Shikamaru, Naruto, and Kiba left.

"Heh, think I'll let them get away?!" Kidomaru asked, throwing webs towards the illusions of our teammates.

"Byakugan!" Neji yelled and started cutting the webs, making a show of it so Kidomaru wouldn't see through the Genjutsu so easily.

As he did that, I made my way to the tree perpendicular to Kidomaru. I had to cut a few stray webs but once I was there, I breathed a sigh of relief. This Genjutsu was one I had Gai-sensei work with me the most because of how useful this was. Not only was it a two-layer Genjutsu, but I could also make it so that the enemy would feel inclined to ignore me in favor of Neji at the same time.

I don't know if it's because of the universal thing of looking down on Kunoichis, because he believes that a Hyuuga is the more dangerous than a non-name ninja, or a combination of both, all of Kidomaru's attacks were focused solely on Neji. Even if he was affected by my Genjutsu, it wouldn't have made him so focused on Neji that he wouldn't even send a single attack toward me.

Well, it gives us the advantage. So, no matter how much it grates on me, I will use it to my advantage.

"It's useless." Neji declared as he cut apart another web.

"Well, that's fine. It seems you're the strongest out of the lot." Kidomaru said, acknowledging Neji's power. "Aw man, now I wanna play…. It's such a waste if a game isn't played little by little."

That was something I can agree with.

As Kidomaru talked, I attached Chakra Strings to my poisoned senbons and threw them at him before pulling them back to throw again. The poison I used was a deadly one, one of my strongest in fact, but it was a slow-acting, undetectable one that would kill Kidomaru within an hour or so if I was lucky and he wasn't immune to poison. Well, even if he was immune, he can't do anything about the muscle relaxant part of the poison. I only grazed him, cutting enough to get the poison into his bloodstream but not enough to break the Genjutsu and focus on me. As Neji and Kidomaru got ready to fight each other, I moved to another location. Even if he isn't focused on me right now, it isn't smart to stay in the same place after revealing it.

"For starters, I'll play and kill you in three minutes. Then, I take another two minutes to play and kill the little girl." Kidomaru smirked before sending a volley of webs to Neji.

I silently cursed, I was trying to get to my next location but a lot of webs Kidomaru was spitting out were trying to hit me. I silently thanked Tsunade-sama's scroll on Chakra Scalpels that she left in the library for the future generations as I sliced through the webs. As I moved, I saw that Neji got himself caught so I quickly ran and freed him before disappearing back into the Genjutsu.

"Oh, Genjutsu, huh? I knew something was up but I couldn't put my finger on it, you must be a Genjutsu Specialist, girly. Release." Kidomaru said as he released, "I just let my guard down, I wasn't expecting a Genin to know much about Genjutsu, my mistake. You won't catch me again, girly, I know enough about Genjutsu from Tayuya to not get caught."

I saw the look Neji shot at me and raised a single finger before clenching my fist, my thumb on the inside. The finger indicated that Kidomaru only broke the first layer while the fist indicated that I used my deadly poison. Neji nods, he knows all we have to do is stall, we can stall until he dies of poison or He gets too weak to fight and we can kill him.

Kill him.

I took a deep breath. We might have to kill him. The Academy desensitized us to killing and I may have killed before but a part of me, the primal part of my Before part, was still screaming at me for thinking about killing a fellow human being. I closed my eyes and let my breath go. There was no time for a morality check, it's kill or get killed right now, and I… I will kill.

My other kills were easier since those I have killed weren't even remotely part of Canon. However, Kidomaru was different. I remember him, I know him enough to see him as, if not a person then a living thing. Those I killed didn't even register as living to me.

Wow, I need to look into my own psych one of these days. Not now though, we were on a mission.

I opened my eyes and looked around and saw that Kidomaru was about to summon his spiders. I cursed as I ran up the tree, stopping on a branch right above him. I spent too long in my own head, I shouldn't have gotten so distracted. I redid my Chakra Scalpels and waited for his spiders to come out. It takes a few moments at most to do anything after summoning something so that will give me an advantage. I need as many advantages as I could get, especially since Kidomaru had activated his Curse Mark.

"Summoning Jutsu!" Kidomaru yelled, summoning a giant orange and black spider, smirking at Neji, "Your ability… I'll find a way to defeat it."

That was all I allowed Kidomaru to say before I dropped down from my branch, cutting the spider straight through the abdomen, sending it back to wherever it came from, and cutting the spider web it was standing on. Kidomaru was surprised, which let me disable four of his six arms as we fell with my Taijutsu Style. I had to cut any stray threads on the way down, I ignored the scratches the branches were giving me, hitting Kidomaru's pressure points was more important.

"Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms!" Neji exclaimed, sending the flailing and falling Kidomaru into a tree as I landed beside him.

"Demonic Illusion: Tree Binding Death!" I said, trapping him.

As we got close, I could see the dark circles under Kidomaru's eyes, clear signs of the poison doing its job. I glanced at his hands, his nails were ashy white with black dots, showing that he didn't have much time left. He was trapped, low on chakra from the Summoning Jutsu, half his limbs were useless, and he was very poisoned. Even if we didn't finish the job, he would die in half an hour.

"Fuck you! When I get out of here, you'll be dead!" Kidomaru yelled, glaring at us, but if he was trying to be intimidating, it was a fruitless attempt. He was coughing too much to glare long enough at us to make us scared. There was no shortage of bloodlust and hate in his eyes but… seeing how pathetic Kidomaru was, there was nothing to be afraid of. Especially when he started coughing out blood.

I pulled out my kunai laced with my deadliest and fastest-acting poison and held it against Kidomaru's neck, preparing to slit his throat. I stopped for a bit before turning to Neji.

"Ne, ne, Neji, do you want to help?" I asked in a peppy tone, smiling brightly, "We did do it together, so we should share the kill."

"What? C-Can't do it on your own... bitch?" Kidomaru asked.

I beamed at Kidomaru but making sure he could see the thinly veiled madness that dances in my eyes. He froze and tensed. Good boy.

"I can, but this is a bonding experience!" I exclaimed.

"Of course, Momo." Neij nodded as he made his way to me.

Neji placed his hand over my hand and gave me a look. I just smiled and nodded. Tightening my hold on my kunai, we lit his throat together. Killing Kidomaru.

My first kill that actually feels like a kill.

If Neji asked, I would claim I did it for a last-minute psychological attack because I didn't get to do much when he was physically fighting him.

Not because I needed help with my first real kill.

Chapter 28: Sasuke Retrieval Mission Pt. 4

Chapter Text

We sat down in the clearing, Kidomaru's body safely sealed in a Body Scroll. It was given to us for free when we bought our first official mission pack back when we went on our first C-Rank. A little morbid but not a bad marketing deal if you think about it in a purely utilitarian way. As we sat, we drank some water and ate a few mission rations, trying to regain the energy we lost and I patched up Neji and myself up using bandages instead of chakra. I needed to keep my chakra levels as high as I could for Choji.

Speaking of Choji... oh. That was expected but it wasn't good.

"How are you feeling, Neji?" I asked once I was sure everything was taken care of.

"I feel fine. I can keep going." Neji answered, standing up.

I bit my lip, "I should go back to Choji."

"But the mission-"

"From what I can feel, Choji killed his opponent but his own chakra is very, very low. If we don't do anything, he will die. I can feel the others have just caught up to the enemy, from what I can tell, they are doing very well. You can go on while I go back to Choji, you can help with the fighting while I heal Choji, or at least give him enough First Aid to keep him alive."

He would survive without me, just be really close to death, however, if I could prevent that or at least increase Choji's chances of survival... it would mean that Canon wasn't some unstoppable force. It would mean that I could stop Neji from dying if I tried hard enough.

It would also be proof that I could have saved Shiori if I only tried harder. It would be a hard pill to swallow but I think it would give me the sense of closure I need. It is something I really, really need.

However, if Canon was some omnipotent being that makes every single step towards changing the predetermined path pointless then it would make it easier to resign myself to my fate. It would also be a sign that I should slowly distance myself from Neji to save myself the heartache.

I can't handle another Shiori.

Neji closed his eyes for a moment before opening them, "Let's go check on Choji, if it's as bad as you say, we don't have much time."

"Thank you, Neji." I smiled.

"Let's go."

We jumped back into the branches and started running back to the place we left Choji, we used the exact route we came from, in case Choji was following the markers the others left behind. I think he ended up resting by one of the markers in Canon but I wasn't sure. I felt his chakra slowly but steadily fade away.

We need to move faster.

"He's sitting at the base of the first marker, he's leaning against the tree. He's still awake, by some miracle, but his chakra isn't doing good." Neji said.

We dropped down in front of Choji, he was struggling to stay awake and keep breathing. Luckily, he was lucid enough to recognize us, if the widening of his eyes were any indication. Without further thought, I flashed through the hand signs and got to work.

"Mystical Palm Jutsu." I said, starting to heal Choji.

"Mo… mo…?" Choji asked, breathing heavily, "And… Ne...ji…? Is… the mission… over…?"

"Don't talk." I scolded him, "Conserve your strength and let me work. We don't want to make this worse than it already is. What would Shikamaru do to me if he knows I let you get worse?"

Neji decided to speak up after I lightly scolded Choji.

"No, we came back because we just finished fighting another member of the Sound Four and were worried when you didn't show up since you should have reached us by then. Momo also felt that your chakra was fading away while the others were still going on strong so we decided to come here as fast as we could." Neji answered him, pulling out his Body Scroll and sealing away Jirobo who was a few meters away from where we were.

"You… should… have… kept… going…"

"I told you not to talk." I scolded him again before turning to Neji, "Neji, we need to bring him back to the village, like now. All I can do now is keep him from getting worse, what he needs is something only the equipment in the hospital can provide. I won't be able to do much so we have to hurry."

"Okay." Neji agreed, lifting Choji onto his back to piggyback him back to the village. It dawned on us when we realized how easily Neji was carrying him. Choji lost too much weight, way too much to be healthy, especially for an Akimichi.

This was really bad. The anime and manga really, really undersold how skinny Choji got at the end of this fight. It was unhealthy for him. Very unhealthy.

"Don't jostle him, I'll be behind you to keep using Mystical Palm on Choji to keep him stable so you have to keep an eye out for the traps." I said, standing behind Neji.

We need to get Tsunade-sama to put out a Low B-Rank mission to clean up the forest, leaving enemy traps in our own home was just wrong.

"Understood."

With that, we started running back to the village as fast as we could. We were careful not to trigger any of the traps and keep Choji as comfortable as possible. Thank Kami that Gai-sensei decided that balance training was something that should be practiced regularly with weights, it really helped transporting Choji without too much readjusting. It took a while, a very long while, to reach the village gates but we were lucky, the Medical Corp were already there.

"Medic!" Neji yelled, catching their attention, "We are from the Chunin-Genin Team that was ordered to bring Sasuke back, we need urgent Medical Care for our teammate Akimichi Choji!"

"Mission Code?" Someone I could only assume was the head medic of the team asked us.

"The dark snake has taken raven black, sunshine fox and deers and friends chase. Dark time falls to earth tomorrow but hope forever flares in flames." Neji ratted off the Code Tsunade-sama gave us in case we needed to come back quickly.

Personally, I don't think it was much of a code since it was just our mission but using symbols instead of names and stuff but it wasn't any of my business.

"They're clear! Everyone, help the Akimichi!" The person ordered and three medics quickly came to get Choji while another one started checking Neji and me over for any serious injuries, but we waved them off.

"We're fine, we need to get back." I said as we tried to leave.

"Hold it." Tsunade-sama said, appearing in front of us.

"Hokage-sama." Neji and I said as we stopped and bowed in unison.

"Tell me the current status of your teammates, then tell me the situation, Chunin."

"Choji is most likely in critical condition because he took all three of his Triad Colour Pills, an Akimichi secret technique if I remember what Shikamaru said correctly, and we had just passed him over to the medics so I hope he will be fine. Neji and I aren't too injured, just a few scratches. We are a bit low on chakra but we are still in fit enough condition to continue with the mission. From what I remember, Shikamaru, Naruto, Kiba and Akamaru just had a few scratches but were overall okay when we separated." I relayed the information to Tsunade-sama.

"That's good, and the situation? Start at the beginning."

"Yes. In the beginning, we tried to ambush them but they counter ambushed us and trapped us in a chakra-sucking earth dome. Choji broke us out and engaged Jirobo - the one who stayed back to deal with us, we have sealed him in a Body Scroll - so we could go on. While we were in pursuit of them, we came up with groups to stay in to make the fighting easier since we hypothesized that they would only send one person to stop us at the time so it would be easier to fight in those groups. We tried to trick the enemy into thinking Shikamaru was Jirobo but Shikamaru didn't act like him and got found out. Neji and I stayed back to occupy Kidomaru because we were the only ones capable of cutting through his jutsus. We also have him sealed in a Body Scroll. Once we won our match, I felt Choji's chakra fading fast while the others were still going strong so we decided to get Choji back to the village before going back to help."

Tsunade-sama motioned for one of the nearby ninjas to step forward and passed the two Body Scrolls I gave her to them. She then ordered the bodies to be thoroughly examined to see if we could glean any information from them. Like how Orochimaru modified them and if we could reverse the transformation.

"I see. Okay, before you leave, take them with you. No complaints." Tsunade-sama ordered, pointing behind her.

I looked and saw Kankuro, Gaara, Temari and Lee, "Lee-kun, you're coming too?"

If I remember correctly, this was Canon so I wasn't too surprised.

"Yes! Tsunade-sama has created the most Youthful medicine that has brought me back to my Springtime of Youth! I can now help my comrades and see their Youth burn just as brightly!" Lee yelled, determined.

"Lee and the Sand Siblings will be going with you as backup. This is Suna's way of repaying their debt to Konoha so use them as you see fit. They will follow Momo's orders until you reach Shikamaru, understood?"

"Yes, Hokage-sama."

"Good, now go."

"Yes, Hokage-sama!"

We jumped into the branches. With a few words exchanged, it was decided that Neji would be leading us with me just behind him. Gaara was protecting the rear while Lee was keeping him company since I didn't want to push Lee so hard when he just recovered. Kankuro and Temari were somewhere in the middle. It wasn't much of a formation but it was fine, all we were doing was getting back our injured.

Oh, and fighting Kimimaro.

I hope my poisons that inject the bone would work on Mister Bone Man himself.

I sighed in relief as I watched Shikamaru and Temari defeat Tayuya together and spotted Neji carrying Kiba and Akamaru towards me. I quickly made my way toward them and started healing Kiba. However, before even a scratch could be fixed, he pushed me away from him and pushed Akamaru to me. I think he wants me to heal Akamaru first.

"Please, do Akamaru first, I can handle the pain a bit longer." Kiba said weakly, looking worriedly at Akamaru.

Guess I was right. Dog owners, always putting their dogs before themselves. This is why I'm a cat person.

"I can't do that, you're the one who's most injured, Kiba." I reminded him.

"Yeah but… Akamaru-"

"Is fine, just unconscious for now." I cut Kiba off, "Once I'm sure you won't bleed to death due to the many holes and cuts you have all over your body and check over your other injuries, I'll heal Akamaru. Besides, what would Akamaru think if he woke up without a single scratch and you were still bloody?"

"... fine." Kiba said, trying his best to stop struggling as I did my best to fix him.

As I healed Kiba, I looked at Neji. He ran ahead to help Kiba while I stayed back to help Shikamaru with Tayuya's Genjutsu so I didn't know if he got any new injuries from helping Kiba and Akamaru.

"I'm fine. Just a few new scratches, I did not do much, Kiba had already tired him out before I reached him." Neji said but I see him favouring his left side.

I gave him a stare before refocusing on Kiba, "I will check you over after Akamaru."

"I am-"

"Neji."

The smart boy regained his intelligence and kept quiet. I wonder if prolong proximity with Naruto dulled his intelligence as well as his sense of self-preservation, I don't think my hypothesis was too far-fetched.

"Why are you letting the Sand Siblings fight our fight?" Kiba asked."

"Don't talk yet." I scolded, "And they are fighting because they haven't fought yet, meaning they have more strength than us right now. Also, they were sent over to repay their debt to Konoha. By letting them fight, we are acknowledging their strength and letting them show that our mercy towards them was something good since they are helping us now."

I looked over Kiba one last time before nodding. I took care of his most important injuries so he wasn't at risk of bleeding out, his ribs were reset in the correct position, and the bindings should hold long enough. He needed to wait until we get back to the village to get everything fixed properly. I turned to look at Akamaru next. The puppy was fine, given the circumstances, a few bruises, a broken leg and a broken rib, bad but not the worst that could have happened. I quickly healed the rib and reset the leg before turning to Neji. He looked away for a bit before my staring got to him and pulled up his shirt. There was a big red mark on his right side, it was a big bruise and he bruised three ribs too.

"How…?"

"He got headbutted by the second head." Kiba snickered, he winched from the pain but he kept snickering, "It was hilarious. Oh man, I wish I took a picture of your face! Neji got all close and looked cool while he was about to give a finishing blow when the second head popped out of nowhere and slammed into Neji! Neji got pushed away and the second head got a red mark on his forehead but... Ha!"

Kiba curled into himself, still snickering and still in pain. I commend his determination to prioritize laughing at Neji over feeling the pain that was all over his body.

I looked at Neji who just looked the other way with an irritated look on his face, and giggled, "Well, you have three bruised ribs from that headbutt but, other than that, you're fine."

I then helped Kiba stand up, but Neji took him from me and gestured to Shikamaru. I felt he was low on chakra so I placed Akamaru in my arms before helping him to stand. Once that was all sorted out, we made our way to the advancing Medic Corp. It took some time, and a bit of trap dodging, but we managed to bring them to the medics without any difficulty. Well, Kiba and Shikamaru fainted due to Chakra Exhaustion on the way but that was to be expected. They weren't Jonin-Level yet, but they will soon enough.

"Okay, that's everyone except Naruto." I sighed as I sat down to take a sip of water.

"We are the only ones able to continue, we should hurry up and regroup with him." Neji suggested.

"No." The head of this team of Medics said, "On Hokage-sama's orders, you are to stay and get medical attention."

I closed my eyes, fuck Canon, and nodded, "Okay, is anyone going after Naruto, though?"

"Yes, Hatake Kakashi. Now hold still." The medic said, "You are very close to Chakra Exhaustion, you have many bruises and cuts, and you have a bruised rib."

I nodded as the medic listed my injuries. I knew how injured I was so this wasn't much of a surprise but I was a bit annoyed when he started telling me what I can and can't do. I knew it was necessary but I couldn't help but feel annoyed by all the things I couldn't do for the next month. I know that Chakra Exhaustion wasn't something to joke about and it will take two weeks at minimum to get my Chakra Reserves back to good levels because of how depleted it was. However, telling me over and over again not to do anything for a month really is annoying.

I looked over at Neji and sighed when I saw his equally annoyed face. At least I wasn't going to suffer alone.

Oh and Chakra Exhaustion causes your Chakra Reserves to grow so that was also a plus.

Chapter 29: Sakura Confrontation

Chapter Text

It's been a week since the failed Sasuke Recovery Mission and I was spending the day lounging around the house. I was still on mandatory medical leave for another three weeks, but I will be cleared for light training in a week so I just need to tough it out until then. I wasn't even allowed to do Chakra Control Exercises, it's so weird not doing anything after training non-stop for years.

However, I wasn't wasting my time. I was studying new scrolls on poisons and Genjutsus I now had access to as a Chunin Rank Ninja. The ones Gai-sensei got me were good and all but he got them from the section allowed for Jonin-sensei's to take to teach their students, not the more obscure and dangerous ones. The obscure and less-read scrolls that are collecting dust at the back of the shelves are more often than not hidden gems. It's because they are forgotten that they are so useful. The most dangerous thing is the unknown, after all.

That doesn't mean I've been taking it easy and only catching up on my reading. I have been visiting Lee, Choji, and Naruto in the hospital, Neji, Kiba, and Shikamaru at their homes, and keeping an eye on Sakura. The ones in the hospital were the cheeriest group, much to my eternal dismay since it meant everyone else was brooding. They were brooding so much that they were out brooding Sasuke at this point. However, Sakura was also silent. She should be yelling, crying, and blaming someone or herself so I know Sakura was probably planning to do something stupid and drastic, and I was right. I took a deep breath and walked up the stairs.

"What are you doing?" I asked her as I walked into Sakura's room while she was packing her backpack.

She was packing her kunai pouch, a package of shurikens, chakra pills, food pills, a map, a standard navigation package, and a few changes of clothes. She wasn't packing enough for a standard C-Rank - she would need more than a few kunai and a single package of shurikens for that - and she was packing way too much for a D-Rank. My guess is that she was packing to go after Sasuke, as her Canon counterpart planned.

"I'm going on a mission." Sakura lied, not looking up at me.

Jokes on her, I can sense her emotions based on her Chakra. I can't do it all the time, only for those I've known for a long time and I've known Sakura all her life. I'm nowhere close to perfecting this empathy thing for field use but I'm working on it.

"There are no D-Ranks that need a map, a standard navigation package and a change of clothes. I should know." I said, slowly poking holes into Sakura's lies.

"It's a C-Rank." Sakura lied again, I saw her start to fidget.

"Genin are not allowed to do C-Ranks alone. Your sensei is busy making up for our dip in personnel due to the invasion by taking solo B-Rank and A-Rank missions while helping out with patrols and Naruto is still in the hospital." I countered, poking more holes into her lies while also staying away from mentioning Sasuke, I wasn't that cruel.

"I'm going with a different team." Sakura lied for the third time.

"Okay, Sakura, no more lying." I said, looking down at her, feeling very annoyed, "Hokage-sama has ordered that all Genin weren't allowed to do any missions outside of the village because we are in semi-lockdown. You have no need for a map, a standard navigation package or a change of clothes for D-Rank missions in the village, ergo, you are planning to go after the Uchiha." Like an idiot. Which was left unsaid.

Sakura looked scared and was about to speak up but I cut her off. I didn't want to hear any of it. This. This has gone on long enough. It seems I was too soft on her.

"I told you we'd talk when I got back and not to do anything stupid. This is something stupid." I gave Sakura a last glance before turning around, "Walk with me to Training Ground 9, we'll talk there. If you aren't coming, I will drag you there myself."

I started walking to the Training Ground with Sakura scampering to follow me. We walked in silence the entire time. Sakura was fidgeting and hesitating to strike up a conversation to get rid of the awkward silence while I was going through my thoughts. I couldn't help but be mad, Sakura was planning to leave for Sasuke. She was planning to leave Konoha, our parents and her team for an emo boy who abandoned the village and almost killed her other teammate for power.

Sasuke does get a semi-redemption but, if it was any other person, redemption would have ended in death. If Sasuke wasn't an Uchiha and Naruto wasn't insistent that Sasuke was still his friend, the Hokage would have placed a bounty on his head and ordered his death.

We need to get Naruto a therapist or something. You don't just call your almost-killer your friend unless you have some major trauma and I know he probably has a lot of that because of the villagers shunning him.

I couldn't help but see red. Whatever, I don't have time to think about Naruto, I have to deal with Sakura. Sakura's obsession with Sasuke was not healthy. I don't care if Canon Sakura and Canon Sasuke get together in the end, this was not healthy and I refuse to let my little sister end up in an abusive relationship. It may not be physical abuse or emotional abuse but it was emotional neglect since Sasuke was never around, which is still a form of abuse. Soon, we reached Training Ground 9 and I turned to face Sakura.

"Sakura, I love you, I do, but you're acting so stupid. I can't even- ugh!" I yelled in frustration, dear Kami, I couldn't even form words anymore.

"Ane-"

I cut her off, my voice dripping in venom as I listed her faults, "As you are now, you are no good to anyone. You can barely fight, your Taijutsu is completely pathetic since it's literally the Academy Style, you can only identify Genjutsu and release E-Rank Genjutsus, you only know the Three Basic Jutsus, your Shurikenjutsu was at the average range for newly graduated Genins, and your stamina and strength are horrible because of your diets. Your speed is getting a bit better because of the laps we do together but it is still abysmal! The only exceptional things about you are your Chakra Control and your intelligence, but your intelligence never seems to be used when the Uchiha is involved. Think! The Uchiha is going to Orochimaru for power, the Orochimaru who only cares for his own power and the usefulness of his subordinates, if you go, you will be killed for being so useless!"

I didn't feel anything as I talked. I watched as Sakura wilted and came close to tears but I couldn't feel anything for my little sister right now, this was what she needed to hear. These are the weaknesses she needed to overcome. And she will either overcome them or give up. I was not going to bury my sister.

"You need to wake up, Sakura. Wake up and start taking your role as a Kunoichi of Konohagakure seriously or else return that forehead protector. If you can't decide for yourself, I will fill in your retirement forms and return the forehead protector for you." My eyes narrowed before softening, I placed my hand on Sakura's head, "I'm not telling you to give up on the Uchiha - but I do encourage you to think about it, he isn't worth you and you should find someone who cherishes you - but I am telling you to think before you do anything that would hurt others because if you leave, you would be leaving me to comfort our parents, telling them that you left them and we may never see you again. You would be leaving me to tell Uzumaki-kun and your sensei about how they lost not one but two teammates in the span of, not even a single month but a single week. So, think, okay? Stop thinking about looks, diets and the Uchiha, and start thinking about how to get stronger, how to live longer, and how to break all your bad habits so you don't die before you even hit your twenties. This may sound cruel but I'm only looking out for you."

I gave Sakura another pat on the head before turning to leave her alone in the Training Ground to think. As I walked away, I spotted Neji leaning against one of the polls at the exit and made my way toward him. Was he eavesdropping on us or did he just get there?

I must have really been upset if I didn't feel him.

"Did you need something, Neji?" I asked as I walked beside him.

"I am planning on visiting Lee since he is being released from the hospital today. I was wondering if you wanted to come with me." Neji asked.

"I have nothing planned today so, okay." I agreed.

After walking for a bit, I spoke up.

"So… how much of that conversation did you hear?" I asked, knowing that Neji was too polite to say anything himself.

"... I heard you say the only exceptional thing about her was her Chakra Control and her little-used intelligence."

I winched, my conscience waking up, "I feel like I was a bit too hard on her, she just lost her teammate but all I did was criticize her without comforting her and helping her cope with the loss."

"However, if you didn't do that, she would never grow up." Neji countered, I think he was making an attempt to make me feel better.

"I understand."

We walked some more in silence.

"Did she really plan on following the Uchiha to Orochimaru?" Neji asked under his breath, initiating the conversation.

"Yes."

Neji took a sharp breath, "Is she insane? Not only would she have been labelled a missing-nin as a genin with no skills but Orochimaru would sooner use her in his experiments than allow her to train with the Uchiha."

"I don't think so. Just… desperate." I answered lamely, "She loves him, at least, that's what she says."

"There's a fine line between love and obsession. What she has is not healthy if she is willing to do all that for him." Neji retorted, "Sure, we are all co-dependent messes but this is too far, she needs a sense of self-preservation as well as a dose of reality."

"I know." I muttered.

I must have looked so pitiful because we spent the rest of the walk in silence and Neji didn't make us go back to that conversation afterwards.

A month after my talk with Sakura, Sakura confronted me. I was a bit surprised since she had been avoiding me for the past month, looking like a kicked puppy and running away whenever I got close to her. Well, it isn't hard for her to avoid me since all the Genins were ordered to help with the continued clean-up and rebuilding of Konoha while I was ordered to help the other Chunins with border patrol and guarding the gates.

Surprisingly, there were only three attempts to sneak in, five attempts of bringing contraband into the village, and one ANBU slipping under the desk to take a nap. The other Chunin didn't say anything about it (even though he did kick the ANBU in the shin) so I didn't either.

So I was only a little surprised that the second I returned home from a long week of border patrol was Sakura standing at the top of the staircase waiting for me.

"Hello, Imoto." I greeted, I wanted to shower and eat warm, home-cooked meals and sleep in my own bed as soon as humanly possible but if Sakura wanted to talk to me after an entire month of ignoring me, I had to give her a chance.

"Ane, I… I asked Tsunade-sama if I could be her apprentice." Sakura told me and I nodded. I expected this because Canon Sakura did the same thing.

"That's good." I said, smiling, "You're finally taking your life seriously. What did she say?"

"Tsunade-sama… she accepted me!" Sakura said, looking at me expectantly and a bit of worry in her eyes.

I smiled and walked up the stairs before patting her shoulder, "That's good. Work hard and prove to yourself that you deserve it. And Sakura, this is your first step to becoming the strong kunoichi I know you can be."

"You really think so?" Sakura asked, her voice soft and wobbly like she was going to cry.

"I know so. Why did you think I'm being so hard on you? You have potential, so much potential and you were wasting it. So work hard, I know you can do it." I said before leaving Sakura by the stairs and going to shower.

In the washroom, I ignored whatever Sakura's chakra was feeling in favour of just relaxing in my first shower in days. I already knew what she was feeling and there was no reason to be invasive when she was feeling like that.

However, I doubt Tsunade-sama would willingly give Sakura this chance. Most likely, Tsunade-sama felt Sakura's potential, knew that Sakura was one of Naruto's friends, and told Sakura that she would be dropped if she even thinks about slacking before agreeing to help her. Though, it doesn't matter now.

Time to have a proper night's sleep.

Two days later, Gai-sensei scheduled a Team Meeting in Training Ground 9, our first Team Meeting since the start of the Chunin Exams. Even though I got there bright and early, I was not surprised that I was the last one there. Neji was sitting under the tree and Lee was doing push-ups.

"Morning." I greeted Neji and Lee with a smile.

"Good morning."

"A Youthful morning to you as well, Momo!"

I nodded at Lee before making my way to the shade next to Neji.

"Was Lee already like this when you came?" I asked, feeling a bit of deja vu.

"Yes."

We sat in silence, waiting for Gai-sensei to come. I took a short nap since I was still tired from patrol. It wasn't the patrol itself, it was the fact that a few ninjas from the minor villages were trying to stir up trouble which interrupted my sleep. It was easy to make them stop since they do when we show up but there was a small scuffle which ended as soon as it started but it was still a lot of work. When I woke up, Gai-sensei still wasn't here but Lee had joined us in the shade. We waited a bit more before Gai-sensei arrived.

"I apologize for being late! I had to hand in a Youthful mission report and it took longer than I expected!" Gai-sensei yelled.

"It's okay, Gai-sensei. We understand." I said. I now understand the pain of doing all the paperwork for harder missions on my own.

Gai-sensei beamed, "Now, on to business! First things first, let's give a Youthful congratulations to our Momo-chan for being promoted to Chunin! This is a truly Youthful occasion! A Youthful congratulations for you, Momo-chan."

"Thank you, Gai-sensei." I smiled.

"Congratulations, Momo."

"Thank you, Neji."

"A Youthful Congratulations, Momo!"

"Thank you, Lee."

"Now, to celebrate, I will be treating you all out for a Youthful lunch! But that is for later, right now, we will be figuring out your Chakra Natures!" Gai-sensei yelled, pulling Chakra Papers out of his kunai pouch and handing them out to us.

"How do these work?" Neji asked.

"You push your chakra into the paper and, depending on the Youthful reaction, it will tell you what your Chakra Nature is." Gai-sensei explained before looking at Lee, "I do not know if it will work for you, Lee-kun but do you still want to try?"

"Yes, Gai-sensei! I will do my best, and if I do not produce any results, I will do a thousand push-ups on each hand!" Lee yelled, determined.

"Lee-kun!"

"Gai-sensei!"

"Demonic Illusion: False Surroundings Jutsu." I muttered, weaving the weak Genjutsu around Neji and me like always. No need to wait for Neji to give me permission, he gave up on that front a long time ago.

"You're getting faster." Neji commented.

"Thank you."

We waited a bit more for Gai-sensei and Lee to get it all out of their system before returning to reality. At Gai-sensei's signal, we all pushed chakra into the papers. Lee got nothing and immediately dropped to the floor to do his push-ups while Neji's paper caught on fire, signalling that his Chakra Nature is Fire. My paper, on the other hand, the top half got wet while the bottom half crumbled to dirt, telling me that my Chakra Nature is a mix of Water and Earth.

Once that was all figured out, we went for lunch, then we started doing spares for the rest of the day. All in all, a relaxing day. Before I went home, I went to the library and Hokage Tower and used my new Chunin Clearance to get scrolls and books on Water Release, Earth Release, and more complex and useful Iryo Ninjutsu and Genjutsu before returning home and calling it a day.

Naruto was leaving soon which means I can finally relax. He'll bring trouble back in a few years but that's no reason not to enjoy these slower days.

Chapter 30: Shippuden: Prologue

Chapter Text

It's been three years since Naruto left and he was due back any day now. This means Canon was going to start again soon, meaning that the Kazekage Rescue Mission was going to be on its way in a few days or weeks. I sighed, my carefree days were coming to an end.

It was amazing while it lasted. Three years of peace was better than no peace at all.

I changed my outfit over the years, I was now wearing a black crop-top over a fishnet t-shirt, black shorts, bandages tied around my right thigh, a black kunai and senbon pouch, black ninja sandals, black fingerless gloves, and my forehead protector around my forehead. I was still wearing my mask and my hair in a bun.

While I have been enjoying a relatively stress-free career, I haven't been slacking off. I have been promoted to Jonin along with Neji and have been going out on many missions over these two years of waiting. I went on solo missions and group missions, I even led a few group missions. Those group missions where I had to lead were the most stressful missions because I was in charge of people who were placing their lives in my hands. It was really nerve-wracking. It's not like when I led Chunin-level missions, those were a lot lower risk than the Jonin-level missions.

Not to mention those missions near our border with Kumo... If I didn't know Canon was going to happen, I would have suspected that we were going to have another war with Kumo soon.

I looked up at the clear blue sky and sighed when I heard a loud, familiar voice yelling at the top of their lungs. It seems like Naruto was back in the village.

Akatsuki, Pein, Tobi/Obito, Madara, and Kaguya. I just need to live through all that, make sure my parents, Sakura, and Team Gai live through all that and I'll be happy.

Chapter 31: Fighting Kisame

Chapter Text

As I expected, within two days of Naruto's return, Team Gai was called to Hokage Tower for an emergency mission. We stood in Tsunade-sama's office as she briefed us on the situation. It was exactly like Canon, the Akatsuki had kidnapped Gaara the Kazekage, Team Kakashi went to save him and asked for backup, and we were chosen as the backup team.

This means we were going to face a powered-down Kisame. I think I remember he used a clone to fight us and it was not as powerful as the actual Kisame but I wasn't sure.

"Understood?" Tsunade-sama asked, looking very serious, "We absolutely cannot fail this mission or else our alliance with Suna might be at stake."

I hope she told this to Team Kakashi because they were the ones who were going to do the actual talking but, knowing Naruto, it wasn't needed to be said. Everyone who knew Naruto on an acquaintance level knew he wouldn't abandon anyone he calls his friends so Gaara was safe. Naruto's inability to give anyone up spoke a lot of trauma. Seriously, Tsunade-sama needs to force him into the psychiatric department and not let him go around because she believes Naruto was fine.

Actually, does Naruto even know about the psychiatric department and what happens there? I mean, he skipped school a lot and Kakashi wouldn't even mention it for fear of Yamanaka-sama personally leaving the T&I department for a one-on-one session with him.

I should bring this up to Sakura later and have her deal with it.

"Understood, Hokage-sama!"

"Good, now get to the gates, I will be there waiting for you to give you the coordinates. You will meet in ten minutes, now go!"

We left the tower in a flash. I ran home and grabbed my emergency mission bag, throwing in my poison kit and extra packs of kunai and senbons, before rushing to the gates. Gai-sensei was already waiting. Moments after I got there, Lee came to a halt in front of Gai-sensei. Neji was the last one to arrive but when he got there, Tsunade-sama gave us our orders one last time, it really showed how important this mission was.

That and the fact that Gai-sensei and Lee weren't yelling about Youth as much. However, I'll really get worried when those two stop talking about Youth and stay silent.

"Remember, I'm giving you guys a very important mission. Head for Suna and complete the mission by providing backup for Team Kakashi and the others. Got it?!" Tsunade-sama asked.

"Yes, ma'am!" Gai-sensei said, giving her a Nice-Guy PoseTM.

"Please leave it to us!" Lee yelled.

"Understood." Neji and I said.

"Alright." Tsunade-sama nodded.

"Team Gai heading into action." Gai-sensei said before sneezing.

"You caught a cold?" Tsunade-sama asked.

I think the real question is wondering if Gai-sensei can even catch a cold. Wasn't there a saying about fools not being able to catch colds or something? I'm sure that saying is something that transcends the multiverse. Not that Gai-sensei is a fool in the traditional sense but he is a fool nonetheless.

A fool for Youth.

"No, my hay fever started acting up from before…." Gai-sensei laughed, "Alright, we'll make it to Suna in a day!"

"Gai-sensei, let's make it in half a day." Lee proposed, causing me to lean back. I refuse to go that fast, even if I am a Jonin, there's something called Human Limits Lee and Gai-sensei refuse to remember.

"It'll take three days no matter how fast you try to run." Neji said, trying to get the two of them to act seriously.

"Please take this seriously, Gai-sensei, Lee." I begged, please be reasonable human beings and think about your not-training-crazy teammates.

Well, Neji and I do train a lot harder than most but that's beside the point. We don't train as hard as those two Youth obsessed banshees.

"Alright, we're leaving! Together with me, everyone. The Dash of Youth!" Gai-sensei yelled, fist pumping the air before turning to run.

"Yes, Gai-sensei!" Lee yelled as he followed Gai-sensei.

"Idiots…" I muttered, I pushed off the floor and started sprinting, trying to catch up to them.

"Agreed." Neji muttered beside me as he matched my pace.

Soon, we managed to catch up to Gai-sensei and Lee so we were able to slow down a tad. We were using the Konoha Ninja Express (which was the branches), running southwest, towards the Land of Rivers, the fastest route to the Land of Wind.

"It's been a while since we saw Naruto." Neji commented.

"I'm looking forward to seeing how much he's grown." Lee added.

"According to Imoto, he has grown a fair bit. I'm sure he won't disappoint you, Lee."

Sakura also said his maturity hasn't grown at all but that was a minor detail.

We kept running, not slowing down until nightfall when we had to set up camp. We stopped to set up a quick campsite at the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of River. It's much safer to spend the night in familiar territory after all. In case we were ambushed, we can jump for the trees and have the home field advantage.

"How do you think Naruto-kun is handling this?" Lee asked as we ate dinner once everything was set up for the night.

"Probably not well. Uzumaki-kun is very close to Kazekage-sama because of their shared connection as fellow Jinchurikis. For Kazekage-sama to be kidnapped by the Akatsuki, a group known to be targeting Jinchurikis, it must be hitting Uzumaki-kun hard." I answered as I looked up at the stars, wondering if Sakura cured Kankuro yet. I'm sure she did it faster than in Canon, I made sure her Medic-nin skills were the best and made sure she never slacked off.

Neji didn't participate in the conversation but he did nod during my explanation, showing that he agreed with me.

"Momo, why do you call Naruto-kun 'Uzumaki-kun' instead of Naruto-kun? I understand why you would call Gaara-san 'Kazekage-sama' but what about Naruto-kun?" Lee asked.

"I am not familiar with them, Lee." I answered, after a bit of thinking. How do I word this without telling them I wanted to be as removed from the plot as possible? "I'm not you, who could just be friends with anyone I fight. I have never held a real conversation with Uzumaki-kun and I haven't asked if I could call him by his name, hence he is Uzumaki-kun."

Seeing as the longest 'conversation' I had with the guy was just him trying to push his ideas of the perfect family onto me and me showing him my point of view, I am not his friend.

"I see, yosh! When this mission is over, I will have my own Youthful mission of making Momo and Naruto-kun friends!" Lee yelled.

I just nodded awkwardly as we got ready for bed. We didn't set up any tents since it was a clear night. We fell asleep under the stars in the sky and Gai-sensei took the first watch. I was taking the last watch so I allowed myself to fall into a deeper sleep than I usually let myself take during dangerous missions like this one. It was fine since I trust my team to protect me and a deeper sleep helps me get ready for the day ahead.

Early the next morning, we were jumping from tree to tree again. We stayed in the forest area of the Land of Rivers to make the trip easier for us since trees are very familiar territory. A lot of self-control on my part not to throw poisoned kunai and senbons at all the White Zetsu's that are scattered all around the forest. Black Zetsu probably placed them around like that to act as some type of surveillance system so they could know if there is anyone getting close to their base. If I show any indication that I could sense them then they might use something more annoying during the war. Another annoying thing was that Lee and Gai-sensei were speeding up a lot.

"Lee, in front of you." Neji warned, causing us all to stop and, in a few moments, Pakkun appeared in front of us.

"Wait, Gai!" Pakkun yelled.

"Pakkun!" Gai exclaimed, recognizing the pug, which made the rest of us relax and approached Pakkun.

"Kakashi ordered us, the Eight Ninja Hounds, to fan out in every direction to follow the Akatsuki Organization's scent. While we were doing that, we realized that those guys were heading towards the Land of Rivers which is situated between Konoha and Suna."

"The Land of Rivers? Where we are now?" Neji asked.

"That's right." Pakkun nodded, "In other words, you guys are closest to the Akatsuki at this point in time. You, who are heading from Konoha to Suna."

I took a deep breath. I knew this was going to happen but I forgot it was so soon. Team Gai is going to be the first to engage the enemy. We are not the backup right now, right now, we are the assault team and Team Kakashi is the backup.

"I see…" Lee muttered seriously, probably coming to the same conclusion I came to.

"Follow me, I'll explain the details as we run." Pakkun urged.

"Alright! Let's go, everyone!" Gai-sensei yelled and we all took off.

It took everything I had not to throw a poisoned kunai at the White Zetsu watching us specifically. I bet it was already transferring the information to Black Zetsu. I consoled myself by chanting in my mind that, when the war started, I could kill as many of them as I wanted. We kept on running and soon, we were running across a large sandbank in the Land of Rivers when Pakkun started sniffing the air around us.

"What is it?!" Gai-sensei yelled.

"Someone's coming!" Pakkun told us.

We all tensed up and kept on high alert. I paid closer attention to my sensory abilities and felt the chakra of the person Pakkun was probably smelling. The Chakra Reserves of that person were a lot larger than your average Jonin. It must be someone from the Akatsuki if they were running to meet us, but we could also be lucky and it was an S-Rank Suna Ninja we never heard about who came to help but I wasn't going to hold my breath.

"Byakugan!" Neji yelled, even after all this time, Neji was better at pinpointing people on the go, I need more practice, "Behind us!"

We stopped and turned around, we all stood still and in a ready position. Suddenly, a large wrapped object sprung up from the ground like a sharkfin in the water and carved a path towards us. We jumped out of the way and let it hit the boulder behind us, but we never let the thing out of our sight. Once the dust settled, we saw a tall blue-skinned man with a large thing on his back that was wrapped in bandages standing where the boulder used to be. It was Kisame. And I'd bet my life savings that he came so quickly because of Black Zetsu telling him to.

"You…" Gai-sensei said in recognition.

"Do you know him, Gai-sensei?" Lee asked.

Gai-sensei was quiet for a moment, completely serious, "Who are you?"

I stared at Gai-sensei in disbelief, did he seriously forget Kisame? I know he fought him before Naruto left, which was three years ago, but he forgot so quickly? How do you even forget an enemy you fought who is as blue and as big as Kisame is? With a freaking giant sword too!

"This guy has a ridiculous amount of chakra." Neji observed using his Byakugan, "I've never seen anyone besides Naruto with that amount of chakra."

"That much…?" Lee asked, shocked.

"Are you really saying you don't remember?" Kisame asked.

Gai-sensei's face tensed up in surprise, "Don't tell me you're…!"

Kisame smirked, "It appears that you've remembered…"

"Have we met before?" Gai-sensei asked again.

"Ha, it looks like the freak beast's intelligence is at the level of a beast too." Kisame laughed, insulting Gai-sensei, "Well, I'll make you remember soon."

"So this is the Akatsuki!" Neji exclaimed

Kisame just laughed before throwing his sword up into the air and preparing a jutsu, "Water Release: Exploding Water Shock Wave!"

"Get ready!" Gai-sensei warned, making us all tense up.

"Yes!"

Kisame let a huge amount of water out of his mouth. He stood at the top of the giant wave he made, caught his sword and laughed before sending wave after wave at us, making us jump around like monkeys to keep above water. It took a while for the waves to calm down but, in the end, it turned the sand bank into a lake.

"Where is he?" Lee asked, looking around.

"I don't know, his chakra is still in the water, it's making it hard to sense him." I responded, feeling more than a little annoyed.

Suddenly, another geyser erupted from the water and we all had to jump again. However, this time Kisame was riding the waves toward us. He went after Gai-sensei but Gai-sensei kicked him in the face, however, it turned out to be a Water Clone. Kisame laughed at Gai-sensei's shocked expression and swung his sword, but Gai-sensei dodged while Lee snuck up from behind.

"Leaf Rising Wind!" Lee yelled, kicking Kisama's hand that was holding his sword, causing his sword to fly away from him.

"What?!" Kisame yelled, shocked.

Once the waves died down, Neji was standing a good distance in front of Kisame.

"Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm!" Neji yelled.

He attacked Kisame, sending Kisame flying back but, unfortunately, allowed him to reunite with his sword, which he used to slow himself down. But I didn't let him get his bearings and attacked from behind.

"Water Release: Water Scorpion!" I yelled.

Giant insect-like claws made of water formed on my arms, extending the range of attack. I then used Chakra Flow to increase the attacks' sharpness and penetrative force. I swung my claws towards Kisame's back but he managed to deflect it at the last second and fell into the large body of water with a big slash, making it hard to find him.

"Where did he go?" Gai-sensei asked as we looked around at the still waters that we were standing on and surrounded us.

"Neji, can you find him?" I asked after I cursed the water again for being so saturated in Kisame's chakra.

"No. He's in the water but I can't find him. He's not staying in one place so be alert." Neji warned before speaking up again, "Ah! In front! He's coming."

"I found him!" Lee announced.

Slowly, Kisame rose from the water like a zombie or a ghost.

"Seriously, what troublesome brats." Kisame complained, "It's so bothersome."

Gai-sensei suddenly had a look of realization, "The Water Release Ninjutsu and that big sword… you are…!"

"It seems like you have finally remembered." Kisame said, dare I say it, happily.

"I do feel like we have met somewhere."

I felt my left eye twitch. How does Gai-sensei not remember a member of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist or a member of the Akatsuki? On the other hand, does it even matter if Gai-sensei remembers Kisame or not right now?

"You really are good at hurting people's feelings." Kisame commented, "Until you recall, I will take my time putting you through pain."

We stood in a ready position, prepared to attack, defend or just respond whenever Kisame was ready. I could already tell this was going to be a troublesome fight.

Chapter 32: Fighting Kisame Pt. 2

Chapter Text

It's been a minute and my team and I were still staring down Kisame and nothing happened yet. None of us wanted to make the first move, and it seems like Kisame didn't either, so we've been having a tense, minute-long stand still. So when he started talking we got tenser, waiting for whatever it was we felt was coming to come.

"Let's see…" Kisame said, eyeing us like prey.

"It's time for a counterattack." Gai-sensei said, creating a rudimentary plan, why we didn't start talking about plans before this moment was beyond me but I will be blaming nerves, "First, I'll get him off guard. If I succeed, don't hesitate to attack."

"Understood!"

Not much of a plan but it's all we got. In face of an S-Rank missing-nin, complex plans are more likely to fail unless you have a lot of experience and power, a Nara, or have an ungodly amount of luck. Basically, you need to be a Kakashi, a Shikamaru, or a Naruto to survive. Or have Canon on your side, which is all we have.

"Do you really think you can catch me off guard so easily?" Kisame asked, sounding a bit offended, "I will quickly change your mind."

Kisame and Gai-sensei sprinted toward each other at fast speeds. Not Gai-sensei's fastest, but I doubt Kisame was going at his full speed either. Gai-sensei jumped, probably planning to kick Kisame but he ended up dodging Kisame's sword instead and landed back on the water. Neji quickly appeared in front of Kisame to attack with Gentle Fist but Kisame blocked it with his sword.

Neji jumped back and let Lee try to hit him with his wooden tonfas but Kisame broke them with his sword, causing Lee to flip backwards and discard his tonfas while Kisame laughed. I tried coming at him from behind again, my Water Scorpion claws still outstretched and sharp and tried to slice him up but he blocked again.

"I see, you swing that heavy sword so easily and you don't get caught off guard." Lee said, listing the things he observed out loud.

"Oh yeah! That sword…!" Gai-sensei yelled, sounding like he finally remembered. I didn't get my hopes up, Gai-sensei always dashes them when it comes to these kinds of things.

"Did you recall?" Kisame asked.

"That's your weapon, huh?" Gai-sensei asked, triumphantly as he pointed at Kisame's sword. I looked away in shame. Gai-sensei… why…?

"You can tell by looking." Neji said, slowly, also feeling the shame I feel.

"But there is a big difference between knowing it and really knowing it." Gai-sensei said, sounding as if he was imparting some big wisdom to us.

"As expected of Gai-sensei, each word holds a deep meaning." Lee said in awe.

I shared a look with Neji before looking into Kisame's eyes, trying to share with him this feeling of… I don't even know. The sad thing was, I felt like the three of us bonded for a moment. A shared look of pain and understanding flashed over our faces and I bet that if I had Protagonist Energy TM, I would have been able to make friends with Kisame after this shared experience. Unfortunately, it wasn't meant to be since as soon as the second passed, any connection between us died a swift death and it was back to the fight.

"Let me take back what I said." Kisame said with a glint of amusement in his eyes, "It seems like your intelligence is less than an animal."

"Here we go!" Gai-sensei yelled, getting us all ready for another round of attacks as he jumped into the air, "Dynamic Action!"

Gai-sensei engaged Kisame in a big Taijutsu fight while the rest of us waited for his signal or an opportunity to attack. Kick after kick, punch after punch, Gai-sensei never relented, never stopping his onslaught of attacks to let Kisame so much as breathe. Gai-sensei went in for a punch which Kisame caught but Kisame played right into Gai-sensei's hands. Gai-sensei used the leverage to kick Kisame, knowing he'd dodge, hook his leg around Kisame's sword's hilt, and used the momentum of his other foot hitting the blade's edge to pull it away from Kisame, removing the shark's main weapon.

"Now!" Gai-sensei yelled.

The three of us jumped up from behind Kisame, all ready to attack but we gave Kisame too much time to counter.

"Water Clone Jutsu!" Kisame yelled, creating three clones, one for each of us and they caught our attacks.

"What?!" Neji yelled.

"Water Prison Jutsu!" Kisame yelled as he turned the Water Clones that had a hold on us into Water Prisons to trap us. How did I forget this?

"Damn it!" Gai-sensei yelled as he ran towards Kisame with the intention of using his own sword against him but spikes suddenly erupted from the hilt, injuring Gai-sensei's hands and causing Gai-sensei to release the sword.

I didn't have the time to think about Gai-sensei right now. I had to focus on myself, hold my breath, and figure a way out of this Water Prison. Thanks to Chakra and a lot of practice with my own Water Nature Chakra, I can reasonably hold my breath for around ten to fifteen minutes, but since I'm tired, I'll only be around ten minutes at best. Okay, I don't think Gai-sensei can break us all out anytime soon while he's dealing with Kisame so I have to break out myself.

I did a bit of thinking and came to a realization. There are two ways to break yourself out of the Water Prison. One I remember from Canon and one I thought up through remembering all the long nights of frustration Water Release scrolls and books. The one from Canon is, ironically, when Kisame broke out of it by increasing the volume of water in the prison to make it burst. I can't do that without wasting a lot of chakra, which wasn't an option and will never be an option since I will never be able to do that with my chakra levels. I mean, I could, depending on who was trapping me but, in combat, the only ones who could trap me were much stronger so it wouldn't make much of a difference. The second option is by creating a Water Clone of my own. The theory behind this is that Water Clones need to use actual water to be able to form and the only water around me - literally, in this instant - is the water used for the Water Prison.

With all that in mind, I quickly did the hand signs and pushed my chakra hoping it would work and it did. The second my Water Clone started forming, it used a lot of the water from the Water Prison, it took so much water that the Water Prison shrunk to the point my limbs weren't able to stay inside and I broke out with minimal effort.

The second I landed on the artificial lake's surface, I felt Neji escape but I didn't spare him a glance. Instead, I used his surprise breakout to take out one of the clones, leaving Neji with the other two, his Gentle Fist was better for multiple opponents anyway. Lee escape once the prison was weak enough. Once that was taken care of, I knelt down to the water surface to catch my breath. I still had adrenaline keeping me going but that felt awful.

"Are you okay, Momo?" Neji asked as Lee took guard in front of us.

"Yeah. Just, remind me that using water from someone else's Jutsu to make a Water Clone is a bad idea. The mixing of my chakra and Kisame-san's lingering chakra in the water was not a pleasant feeling and I don't want to experience it again. I mean, I would if I had to but it was still horrible." I said, taking a deep breath before standing up again, "I don't think we'll do much to help sensei though…."

When I said that, Neji looked at Gai-sensei who was engaging the real Kisame in combat and grimaced once he saw that I was right. We may be the same rank as Gai-sensei but Gai-sensei was in the zone right now and anything we could try might interfere with whatever Gai-sensei was planning. So all we could do was watch and hope for the best.

We watched as Gai-sensei seemed to teleport right in front of Kisame, dodge the swing of Kisame's sword, and kick him straight in the face. It was no ordinary kick either, Gai-sensei's leg caught on fire. The kick sent Kisame up into the air, causing him to drop his sword in the process. Gai-sensei got back into Kisame's face and gave him a barrage of flaming punches.

"Asakujaku!" Gai-sensei yelled, never relenting.

Gai-sensei sent one last punch to Kisame's face before letting him fall. At this point, Kisame's entire body was on fire due to Gai-sensei's punches. I don't know if it was the lack of oxygen but I caught myself wondering if Kisame was smelling like cooked fish instead of a cooked human while he was on fire. Kisame landed in the water with a huge splash and the heat was so hot that the water started evaporating. Either that, Kisame was defeated so the water was disappearing or a combination of the two.

"Looks like it's over." Pakkun commented, reappearing after the fight was over. I wondered where he disappeared to.

"Should we go check the body, Gai-sensei?" I asked, feeling a bit unsure as to what to do.

Usually, when we kill an enemy shinobi in battle, we'd go over the body as the protocol says but this was Kisame, the Tailless Tailed Beast. Even if I knew this body was a fake body, we shouldn't approach it carelessly.

"Yes." Gai-sensei answered after catching his breath, "Let's go, team!"

"Yoshi!"

Slowly, we made our way to the body and looked at it for a second.

"I do get the feeling I fought him somewhere before but…" Gai-sensei said, I can't believe he's still hung up about that.

"You really don't remember?" Lee asked.

"What's going on?" Neji asked, his Byakugan focused on the corps.

This caused the rest of the team to look closer at the corps and take a sharp breath in shock.

"H-He's…!" Gai-sensei exclaimed.

"What is this?!" Lee asked, "What in the world does this mean?!"

"I think the Akatsuki found -or even made- a Jutsu that allows them to take over someone's body to use as their own. If I had to guess how I think it involves giving the person a portion of their chakra so they could feel like them and use their signature Jutsu. " I answered, trying to remember what it was from Before without giving too much away, "Though, I don't know if this guy was forced into being their human dummy or if he gave them consent to use his body."

"Either way, it is disturbing." Neji said.

"That could be true but there is one thing I can say…" Gai-sensei said, making us all look at him expectantly, hoping he could give us some insight into this situation, "I don't know this man at all!"

I took a deep breath and held it in. Gai-sensei was still thinking about that?! For the love of Kami, why?!

We quickly followed Pakkun through the sandbank and forest. As we ran, I could tell that Gai-sensei was really tired due to the fight. However, he pushed through, not showing it even when Lee asked, though he did get hit in the head by a branch for his effort of trying to distract him. Normally, it wouldn't have done anything to him but the branch caused Gai-sensei to fall onto the ground.

"He's not okay." I said as I healed the scratches on Gai-sensei's face when we jumped down to help him.

"It can't be helped, he just used Asakujaku after all. We should rest somewhere, it's no good going into a fight exhausted." Neji suggested.

"I suggest we spend the night here as well, that way we can get more rest and don't need to stop again." Lee said, raising his hand.

"Good idea."

We made camp, ate dinner and I took the first watch. We decided to just let Gai-sensei sleep the rest of the night since he was so tired. However, halfway through the night, during Neji's watch, Gai-sensei woke up.

"Alright, break's over!" Gai-sensei declared, waking Lee and me up in the process.

"Gai-sensei, are you sure?" Lee asked, sounding concerned.

"Yeah, I'm totally fine. I woke up feeling Youthfully refreshed." Gai-sensei reassured him.

"Neji." Pakkun said, silently asking Neji if Gai-sensei was really as okay as he made himself out to be.

"There's no problem." Neji answered, "He has amazing recuperative powers."

I wonder if by 'recuperative powers' Neji meant Gai-sensei's ability to push through anything due to willpower alone. It wouldn't be a lie.

"Alright, now to make up for the time we lost resting, we're going to double the pace!" Gai-sensei ordered.

"No, let's make it triple!" Lee insisted, "If we do that, we'll arrive earlier than first planned!"

"I see." Gai-sensei said as he nodded, "Alright guys, let's make it quadruple the pace while we're at it."

Neji, Pakkun and I stared at Gai-sensei and Lee incredulously. We could not believe what they were saying.

"What's the matter?" Gai-sensei asked.

"That's impossible, no matter how you consider it." Neji said flatly.

"The math just won't work." I denied the idea.

"Gai-sensei, that's why I said triple the pace." Lee insisted, clearly not realizing we weren't sold on that idea either.

"Lee, that's a bit off, too." Pakkun muttered.

"Let's get going."

We took to the trees again. We ran and ran, not stopping until we reached our destination. The only upside to all this was that I wouldn't need to clean sand out of my sandals for a while.

Chapter 33: Kazekage Rescue Pt. 1

Chapter Text

We made it to a body of water that surrounded a large boulder behind a red torii with a tag on it. We landed on the water and started inspecting it. The boulder seemed to be taller than the village walls, not by much but it was close. Not surprising since they need to hide the giant body of the Jubi.

"This is the place, huh?" Gai-sensei asked.

"Gaara is on the other side of this boulder." Pakkun said, pointing to the giant rock.

"It looks like they put up a barrier." Gai-sensei said.

"Feels like it too." I added, "So what's the plan, Gai-sensei? This doesn't feel like the standard Konoha Barrier Seals."

"Let's just bust through!" Lee suggested.

"No!" Gai-sensei said, refusing to take Lee's suggestion.

I felt someone's chakra flare from behind me and turned around. There were four chakra signatures coming toward us. Three of them were familiar while one of them is clearly a lot older and from Suna. Within seconds they arrived, Team Kakashi, late like its namesake.

"You're late, Kakashi." Gai-sensei greeted him.

"Well, you see, we got caught up in something troublesome along the way." Kakashi said.

"Naruto-kun! Sakura-san!" Lee greeted them.

"Uzumaki-kun, Imoto." I nodded.

"Kakashi… By troublesome, you certainly don't mean me, do you?" The old woman asked, I think she is Granny Chiyo.

I did my best to commit how Granny Chiyo looked to memory, for what she will do to keep Sakura alive during their fight with Sasori, she deserves to be remembered. After this mission is over, I resolved to paint a picture of her in her honour and place it next to the one I painted for Shiori when I get back home. Or I'll give it to Sakura. Yeah, I should give it to Sakura, she'd appreciate it more.

"Hey!" Naruto greeted us, his eyes red like the Nine-Tails' eyes, he was really mad.

"Naruto…" Neji said, staring at Naruto. I knew it's been a while since he last saw him but did Naruto really change that much? I looked at Naruto and tilted my head. I don't see anything too different about him, or maybe it's because I knew how he'd look after the timeskip from Before.

"We were just a step behind you guys, huh, Ane?" Sakura asked as she walked toward us.

"Yes." I said, nodding before turning to Granny Chiyo, "Greetings Chiyo-sama. My name is Haruno Momo, it's an honour to meet such a prestigious Poison Master like yourself. As a kunoichi who is also walking down the path of poisons, it's a blessing to meet someone like yourself who has paved the way for poison usage."

"Giving me praise even though I'm from a different village?" Granny Chiyo asked, sounding a bit amused.

"In the face of skills, villages mean little." I countered, "There are very few accomplished kunoichis in this male-dominated society. Most kunoichis are placed to act in support roles and in healer roles, there is no shame in those roles, however, I do not wish to be in those roles. I am a user of poisons, Genjutsu and Taijutsu and there are few accomplished kunoichis in those fields so when I meet one, even if they are from a different village, praise is necessary."

"I see. Good answer." Granny Chiyo said, "Limiting yourself to fit your village's ideal shinobi is a waste of talent. If you find a weapon you want to learn or are good at in the hands of an enemy shinobi, steal it for yourself. If there's a technique that would work well with your fighting style, learn it on your own and use it. We are shinobi, not samurai."

"Naturally." I smiled.

"Now, shall we do this, Kakashi?" Gai-sensei asked.

"Yeah."

"Okay, Neji." Gai-sensei said.

"Understood, Byakugan!" Neji said, activating his Byakugan.

I stretched out my senses as well but I wasn't getting a clear picture of what was happening behind the barrier. All I knew was Gaara was already dead and that was because I knew from Before that he died before we could save him.

"It looks like there's a large cave inside, but…." Neji muttered.

"But…?" Gai-sensei asked.

Neji tensed up, focusing intently on whatever he was seeing, "I can't really see clearly what's going on inside…. It looks like there are several people inside…."

"What about Gaara, Neji?" Naruto asked before pushing Neji, "What's happening to Gaara?!"

"Uzumaki-kun, I understand you are worried and upset but Neji can't focus or look for Kazekage-sama if you push him like that." I said, gently pulling Naruto away from Neji.

"Oh, yeah, sorry…" Naruto apologized.

Neji tensed again. This caused Naruto to shake him again.

"Hey! How's Gaara?!" Naruto.

"Wh-what's… that…?" Neji whispered in shock.

"What is it?" Naruto asked, still shaking Neji, "Hey! What's in there, Neji?!"

Neji quickly came to his senses, "Let go of me…."

I stared at Neji, feeling concerned. I knew what he saw inside that cave… wasn't anything good, to put it mildly.

"What was in there?" Sakura asked.

"It's hard to explain in words…" Neji muttered.

"Which means we just have to check it out directly for ourselves, right?" Lee asked.

"That makes things simple." Gai-sensei said, putting a hand on Lee's shoulders.

Gai-sensei then backflipped away from the boulder, ran towards it, and punched it. The punch was strong, it was so strong that it made the barrier do a ripple effect like a stone was thrown into the water but it wasn't strong enough to break it.

"It's a really strong barrier." Gai-sensei observed as he walked back to us.

"What's the plan?" Lee asked.

"First, we have to remove the barrier, Lee." Gai-sensei answered.

"We need to figure out what kind of barrier it is, right?" Sakura asked.

"Correct. From what I can tell, the barrier has to have at least four or five tags keeping it up because it's so strong. Neji, can you find them?" I asked.

"Yes. Byakugan." Neji said.

"This looks, no, this is a Five-Seal Barrier." Kakashi said, "Neji, you need to find the four other tags."

"Understood." Neji said and he started searching.

As Neji searched, Kakashi explained what a Five-Seal Barrier was to the rest of the group. I only knew since I remembered from Before, but I wonder where Kakashi found his information. Maybe from Minato? Probably. He was a Fuinjutsu protege and Kakashi was his student.

"Which means the only way to break the barrier is to remove the tags, right?" Gai-sensei asked.

"Kind of, we can only break down the barrier if we remove the tags in all five locations simultaneously." Kakashi answered.

"It has to be done simultaneously?" Sakura asked.

"That's right. The barrier can't be removed unless the five tags are removed simultaneously. That's how it's been set up." Kakashi answered before turning to Neji, "Neji, did you find the other ones yet?"

"Yes."

"Where are they, Neji?" Naruto asked.

"There's one on a boulder about five hundred meters northeast of here. The second one is on the tree trunk growing along the river bank three hundred and fifty meters to the south-southeast. The third one is on a cliff about six hundred and fifty meters to the northwest, and the last one is in a forest a little less than eight hundred meters to the southwest." Neji reported.

"If so, then they are pretty far away." Sakura commented, "What will the signal be?"

"There is no need!" Gai-sensei declared as he rummaged through his backpack, "At that distance, we should be able to use wireless radio. This way, we can still communicate while we find the tags with Neji's directions!"

I took out the radio Gai-sensei gave us back in the village and wore the choker part of the wireless radio, but I didn't put the earpiece in just yet, I vaguely remember something happening involving Lee but nothing concrete. So I decided to play it safe for now. You can never be too safe in face of Lee's accidental chaos.

"We'll remove the tags in the four surrounding locations, my team is probably the fastest one between our teams after all." Gai-sensei said, giving them the Good-Guy Pose TM .

"We're counting on you!" Naruto declared.

"Alright, you head for the northwest forest, Lee!"

"Yes, Gai-sensei!"

"I leave the northeast boulder to you, Neji."

"Roger."

"And you take the south-southeast, Momo."

"Understood." I smiled, my earpiece still not in my ear.

"I'll head for the northwest cliff." Gai-sensei said, "I'm sure that one will be in the location most difficult to remove."

"What's the frequency?" Neji asked.

"174." Gai-sensei answered.

I adjusted the frequency and made sure the volume of my microphone was at acceptable levels, but I still didn't put on the earpiece.

I watched with a smile gently as Lee took a deep breath and started talking, "Can everyone hear me?"

Everyone that was wearing the earpiece winched. I could even hear the damnable noise coming from my earpiece.

"Ah, so this is where my bad feeling was coming from." I said, still smiling gently as I ignored the looks of betrayal the others with the earpieces were shooting at me, I turned to Lee "Lee, you have the volume of your microphone up too high."

"Oh." Lee exclaimed as I smiled, knowing where this was going, Lee quickly bowed, not fixing the actual situation, and apologized to everyone, "I'm sorry!"

Everyone started twitching and winching again. I laughed in absolute subterfuge, eyes twinkling with mirth.

"Lee… Lee…!" Gai-sensei stuttered, still twitching from the screeching of the earpiece as he pointed to the radio, trying to signal to Lee to fix his volume.

Lee quickly fixed his volume, "I'm sorry…."

"It's okay Lee, we know you didn't mean it." I said, putting my hand on Lee's shoulder in a comforting manner and flashing him a pleasant smile.

I skillfully ignored the looks of everyone who got subjected to the consequences of Lee's mistakes and put on my earpiece. Why should I suffer with them? It's as Granny Chiyo said, we are shinobi, not samurai.

"My wireless radio's settings are okay." I said, after checking everything.

"Mine are okay as well."

"Alright, Team Gai… hmmmm." Gai-sensei said as he placed out his hand in the center of the circle.

"Huh? R-right!" Lee said, catching on and placing his hand on top of Gai-sensei's.

"Oh, we're doing that?" I asked, laughing, Neji was not going to like this which means this is perfect revenge for leaving me alone to deal with that client on our last mission together where there were just the two of us, "Well, okay. Just this once."

I placed my hand on top of his. Gai-sensei and I turned to Neji who was giving us judgemental looks. I could tell Gai-sensei was staring intently at Neji who just kept judging. I smiled at him when his eyes locked on mine, dread clear in his eyes. Neji's despair is always the sweetest thing. Neji subtly shook his head but I kept smiling, twitching my fingers. Neji turned his attention back to Gai-sensei.

"HMMMMMMM!" Gai-sensei hmmed.

I was getting tired of this and attached Chakra Stings onto Neji's hand and jerked it onto mine. He looked at me with betrayal in his eyes but I just kept smiling. I mouthed the word 'revenge' and his left eye twitched.

Gai-sensei's smile blinded us, "With the power of Youth! Fight!"

Neji and I stayed silent while Lee yelled, "Yeah!"

"Fight!"

"Yeah!"

Gai-sensei and Lee went on for a while, but I didn't join in. I may be putting my hand in the circle for revenge against Neji but there is a limit on how much I am willing to pay for that revenge. Joining the crazy everyday antics of Gai-sensei and Lee like this chanting? Yeah, that's crossing the limit. Neji didn't piss me off to that extent yet.

"Scatter!" Gai-sensei yelled and we all ran to our assigned locations.

I ran towards the tree trunk. I know that this was going to be a hard fight.

Chapter 34: Kazekage Rescue Pt. 2

Chapter Text

It took a few moments to get to the river but when I got there, I started running alongside the river walls. After a while, Gai-sensei's voice boomed out of the earpiece.

"Verifying operation." Gai-sensei said, "All four members of Team Gai are to stand by once they find their tags! After all members have reached their positions, we'll remove the tags all at once on my signal! Got it?"

"Yes!" Lee said.

"Of course, Team Kakashi will remove their tag at the same time we do. When we finish this, the Five Seal Barrier will be removed." Gai-sensei continued.

"The moment the barrier is removed, Sakura will destroy the boulder at the entrance." Kakashi said through the radio, "That will be our signal to break inside and recover Gaara."

After a moment, I came to a stop in front of the tree, staring at the tag. This was it. As soon as I take off that tag, Shippuden officially starts. Well, it had started the moment Gaara got kidnapped by the Akatsuki but it would start for me.

"This is Neji. I'm in position." Neji's voice said, coming out of my earpiece and snapping me out of my thoughts.

"I've found mine too! I'll be arriving at my position soon." Gai-sensei reported.

"I'm in a position as well." I said, holding on to the tag.

I proceeded to ignore the conversation about Lee's tag, making a mental note to help with Lee's tracking abilities when we get back to the village. Finding things count as tracking, right? I shook my head, this wasn't the time for thoughts like that, instead, I focused on observing my surroundings. There's a lot of water around for my Water Jutsus and a lot of rock for any Earth Jutsus, but I don't think I should use Elemental Jutsus while fighting my copy.

"Kakashi, how's it going there?" Gai-sensei asked.

"We're ready when you are." Kakashi answered, "We'll break in using the Button Hook Entry."'

"Alright, everyone! Remove the tags on the count of three!" Ga-sensei ordered, "Here we go! One… Two… Three!"

I ripped off the tag and dropped to the ground in my stance. I looked around, waiting for my copy to appear. As I listened to the boulder getting broken apart by Sakura, I saw the water in the river start to rise and start to take my shape. It was as if I made a Water Clone, except I didn't make any clones.

"Neji." I heard Gai-sensei say through the radio, "Can you see what's happening to me here?"

"Yeah…." Neji answered, "The same thing is happening with me."

"Ah, the water just took my shape, is it the same for you?" I asked, purposely making my voice as airy and disinterested as possible.

"A strange shadow appeared in the forest as soon as I removed the tag." Lee said.

"I thought so…"

"Team Kakashi has infiltrated just as planned." Neji reported.

"This tag thing is probably an enemy trap." Lee said.

I stopped listening and started attacking. I rushed in and started attacking my copy the moment it fully formed. This was going to be a Taijutsu-only fight. My copy and I can't use poisons because any poisons we carry, we have the antidote and we are most likely immune to those poisons. Well, it was also made of water so I doubt poisons would work anyway... I can't use Genjutsu because I'm not sure if my copy can even be affected by Genjutsu since I don't know if it has a Chakra System to affect.

"Can't answer, started fighting already." I said into the radio as I dodged a jab to my jugular by my copy when Gai-sensei asked if I was still there. I didn't have time to finish sentences or help with trivia about the barrier right now.

"Okay, keep fighting!" Gai-sensei said, encouragingly.

I didn't reply. I just kept going. I remember how Canon!TeamGai won, they forced themselves to be stronger than when they tore off the tag, which means I had to do that too. I had to hack Canon and pray that I had at least the same amount of Plot Armor as Tenten did. I went faster, hit harder. This copy may have copied my skills, weaponry, and so on, but it doesn't have my memories. I went in for a typical strike to the shoulders to paralyze it but I changed it into Chakra Scalpels and stabbed my copy in the chest.

I watched as my copy returned to the water as I slid down the tree trunk. I caught my breath before undoing the blocks my copy did. It wasn't too much damage, all things considered, I can't use my left leg or my right arm from the elbow down but I expected to get off with so little damage. I did have a few scratches from my copy's senbons but there was nothing wrong with me yet so I think it was one of the many poisons I'm immune to, if my copy used poisons at all, but I took one of the general antidotes I made just in case. The antidote that will either cure or lessen the effects of the poisons I have on me. I guess trying to push myself and finish the fight before I got tired helped keep me from getting hurt. It probably also helped that I didn't give my copy time or space to set up any Jutsus.

I turned on my microphone, "Momo here, just finished my fight. I'll be making my way to Team Kakashi after catching my breath."

"Good job, Momo!" Gai-sensei praised me.

"How did you win?" Neji asked, "They seem to be getting stronger, or, more accurately we are getting weaker. This Jutsu…. It copies precisely at the moment, the abilities and form of the person who removed the tags, and then they attack. That is why the rest of us are having trouble finishing them off. And, unlike them, we are flesh-and-blood humans. If the fight drags on, we get tired. And the execution of our Jutsu and our movements worsen. So it feels like the enemies have gotten a lot stronger. This means that Momo finished her fight fast. But that is also rather difficult to do."

"Yes, I did. I attacked the copy as soon as it appeared. I-"

"I know how to beat them!" Lee suddenly exclaimed, interrupting me, "We just have to get stronger than we were when we first encountered these guys."

I ignored Lee, I knew where this was going. Once I ate a protein bar, I started running back to the entrance of the Akatsuki temporary base thing. If I'm lucky, I'd get there before Granny Chiyo and Sakura leaves. I wasn't arrogant enough to think I'd get there while they were fighting Sasori.

I didn't make it back in time to meet up with Granny Chiyo and Sakura, I wanted to follow Kakashi's chakra as soon as I realized I was alone but Gai-sensei told me not to wait for them at the entrance so I started running. When they met up with me, I was pleasantly surprised that I was the one who was least injured, or dirty.

I was a bit smug, just a bit.

"How did you beat your copy so easily, Momo?" Lee asked as we ran towards the blinding light that was Naruto's chakra, "You must be so full of Youth to do that so fast!"

I smiled mysteriously as I tried to come up with an answer without saying that I already knew what was going to happen.

"Well, when I first pulled down the tags, I thought it was too easy. So I kept an eye out for anything strange." I stated, the best lies always start with a grain of truth to it after all, "That's when the water started moving and transformed into a copy of me. I thought that, since it was a copy of me, I should be careful. That I should expect that she could do everything that I could, maybe even better than I could. Just like a normal clone. So as soon as I thought that, I attacked. I didn't let her think, I just kept moving so I could take control of the situation and so that she couldn't plan anything. I saw that nothing I did was working so I decided to stop with my usual attack and stabbed her in the chest with a Chakra Scalpel. It worked but I think it's because she didn't expect it."

"I see! So you got stronger than you were yesterday as well! The Power of Youth really does connect us all!" Lee exclaimed as we continued jumping through trees.

I'm sure it's the Power of Plot, not Youth, Lee. However, I'm a good teammate so I won't break your delusions.

"Did you have a plan other than 'attack'?" Neji asked, sounding a bit put out.

"Well, she had the same poisons as me, which means the same antidotes. I didn't know if Genjutsu would even work on her since I don't know if she had a Chakra System so I ruled out using Genjutsu, if she uses Genjutsu it would be fine since it would be stupid if I wasn't equally as skilled at releasing myself from Genjutsu than using Genjutsu. So, realistically, Taijutsu was the only way I could fight. Other than that, yeah, my only plan was just 'attack.'" I answered.

"Kakashi! Can you hear me? Hey, Kakashi!" Gai-sensei yelled fruitlessly into the earpiece he was still wearing, "Just as I thought, the radio isn't working. Neji, can you tell what's happening with Kakashi and the others"

Neji activated his Byakugan, "It looks like they're still fighting a member of the Akatsuki. But it seems they've succeeded in retrieving the Kazekage. However…."

"However?!" Gai-sensei asked.

Neji looked upset and a pit grew in my stomach. I knew this was coming. I knew that Gaara was going to die and Granny Chiyo was going to sacrifice her life -and some of Naruto's chakra- to bring him back to life. There was nothing I could have changed here.

Unlike the other times when my consciousness would tell me what I could have done. Reach out to Naruto and Sasuke when we were kids, push Sakura a little harder, things like that. Here, I really couldn't have done anything since Gaara was already doomed by the time I was deployed.

Soon, we reached Team Kakashi and cut off Deidara who was trying to sneak away. Gai-sensei was at the front with Lee, with Neji and me behind them. Gai-sensei and Lee were the Taijutsu Specialists while Neji and I were there in case he somehow managed to get past them.

"Good work, Neji!" Gai-sensei praised him, causing Neji to smirk a bit.

"I haven't worked at all." Nei commented.

"I see…." Deidara said, "That must be the Byakugan, the dojutsu Konoha is so proud about and the only dojutsu it has left. You used those eyes to approach me from my blind spot, huh? It's the first time I've seen the real deal. I'd like to see how it's different from Itachi's Sharingan. But I think escaping from this situation comes first now."

As they talked, I slowly weaved an area-wide Genjutsu to trap him in this area. I wasn't dumb enough to try to attach Chakra Stings onto him, he was partnered with Sasori after all. The Puppet Master of his generation. If Deidara couldn't recognize Chakra Stings being attached to him after spending so much time with Sasori then I'd be seriously rethinking his S-Rank status. So I created a big cage around us with Chakra Strings instead. It took a while, I started the moment Gai-sensei told us the plan, but I finished it.

"Heh!" Gai-sensei laughed, "Now that Team Gai, the strongest team in all of Konoha, is here, you can't escape!"

"Exactly!" Lee agreed with him.

"Good luck, miss." I said, in an airy manner as I gave him a smile dripping in venom.

Deidara's eye twitched in anger before relaxing and smirking. He jumped into the air and started fighting us within the large cage I created. Well, not that anyone knew about that. As I threw poisoned weapons at him, I silently wondered why Deidara wasn't saying anything about the Genjutsu I weaved but then, I realized he probably wasn't taking us seriously enough to even think we were trying to use Genjutsu on him.

He works with Itachi, why is he like this? Was it because I started cursing Canon and referencing the Plot? If that's so, I demand the changes be related to something more useful than anything Deidara-related. Like, killing Orochimaru or Danzo via heart attack or something similar.

Honestly, I got a bit annoyed at being so underestimated. Suddenly, Deidara dropped down to his clay bird thing.

"We don't know what he's planning. Don't lower your guard!" Gai-sensei warned.

"Understood!" We replied.

"Be careful everyone!" Kakashi yelled as Deidara crouched down beside his clay, "He's a long-range fighter who uses explosives!"

We all landed a good distance away from the clay and watched as he ate the clay.

"I don't think that's good for your stomach, miss." I said, making sure to sound understanding and kind, "I know you must be worried about your body but, like I told my sister, it's not good for a kunoichi to diet. Especially dangerous diets like eating clay."

Deidara walked towards us, looking annoyed and angry, "First, I'm a man! I'm not a weak kunoichi! Second, I'll be showing you my ultimate work of art!"

Suddenly, Deidara swallowed the clay and started puffing up. I got ready to jump back, knowing an explosion was going to happen.

"He's concentrating his chakra in one spot all at once! Don't tell me…" Neji muttered before yelling, "Everyone! Get back quickly!"

I jumped back the second Neji yelled.

"Art is an explosion!" Deidara yelled.

"We won't make it in time!" Neji yelled.

I wrapped us all with Chakra Stings and pulled, giving us a bit more room but we were still too close to be completely safe. Suddenly, the entire explosion disappeared. I breathed a sigh of relief, it seems Kakashi made it in time. I ignored everything around me, Kakashi collapsing, the whole 'sending the explosion into another dimension' thing, and focused on finding Deidara. I calmed myself down and sharpened my senses.

There!

"Ninja Arts: Spider Cage Jutsu!" I yelled, pulling all the Chakra Stings to capture Deidara who was hiding in the ground.

I ignored the confused look on everyone's faces, the ones that quickly morphed into shock as my Chakra Stings became visible and started cutting up everything. Trees, the ground, everything it touches. The ground burst open, a figure was pulled out, and there was Deidara, tied up in my Chakra Stings like a fly in a spiderweb.

Thank you Dolflamingo. A sentence I never thought I'd ever say in any life but I did anyway. I think my copy did poison me after all. That or blood loss.

"Gai-sensei!" I yelled, watching as Deidara thrashed in his restraints before Gai-sensei knocked him out cold.

I looked at Gai-sensei who nodded, "It's safe to put him down, however, do not release him until we get a better way of restraining him."

"Understood." I said.

I slowly lowered Deidara down and watched as Gai-sensei slapped a Chakra Restraint Seal onto his forehead. I gave an apologetic smile to Neji and Lee for not telling them what I was doing before looking up at the blue sky, watching the birds fly free. For once in this life, the heavy weight on my shoulder finally felt a bit lighter.

Another instance where Canon changed, I can do this.

Chapter 35: Going back to Konoha

Chapter Text

I stood between Lee and Neji as Granny Chiyo started to 'heal' Gaara. I watched with a calm smile on my face but the way I was clutching Neji and Lee's hands like they were lifelines was telling a very different story. Neji probably knew what was happening since he could see how… dead… Gaara's Chakra System was. Lee probably caught on by the way we were acting.

It hurts. Seeing everyone so hopeful that Granny Chiyo could save Gaara but not knowing what price she will have to pay. It hurts so much. I could tell that some of the more sensitive sensors were able to feel what was happening like I was and were slowly reaching the correct conclusion (if I was reading their expressions right), but they were in a very small minority that was being overlooked in favour of concentrating on the still lifeless Gaara.

It was horrible. I felt all of Granny Chiyo's life and chakra being slowly taken away from her and forced into Gaara. Like someone had tied a string around your heart and was slowly pulling it out of you but your spirit was away from your body but you could still feel it happen to you. Gaara felt like a hungry voiding that just kept taking and taking from Granny Chiyo's limited supply. It felt like, if I concentrated too much on Gaara, my life and chakra would be taken as well.

I know that wouldn't happen but the void... I know this wasn't how dead people felt but what if this was how dead Jinchuuriki felt? I hope I never have to find out.

It got even worse when Granny Chiyo started faltering and Naruto gave her some of his chakra to use. Naruto's chakra transfer made me feel like someone finished pulling my heart out and decided to pull someone else's heart out from them and through the hole left in my body. It also felt like Granny Chiyo was a ghost letting things pass through her. It was that ominous feeling that, while she was there, she wasn't there at all.

I clenched their hands tighter. I saw the looks they were giving me and so I whispered what I was sensing under my breath to them. Once they understood, they squeezed my hand in silence, letting me know that they were there for me.

I kept my closed-eyes smile on my face as everyone celebrated Gaara's return from the dead but I let it slip once I felt sadness radiating from Naruto and everyone else when they realized that Granny Chiyo was dead. I silently placed Deidara in front of Granny Chiyo's brother - Ebizo - who looked at Deidara like he was the scummiest thing on earth and gave Ebizo a kunai. I told him in hushed whispers that it was coated with a painful but non-lethal poison so that Deidara wouldn't die. Ebizo used the offered kunai to slash Deidara's face, giving him scars like Ibiki and possibly blinding him.

"Thank you." He muttered as he handed me back my kunai, somehow cleaning it only moments after getting it bloody.

I guess, once a ninja, always a ninja.

"You needed it." I said taking my kunai before handing Deidara to him.

Gai-sensei already said they would negotiate the right to the information Suna manages to get from Deidara so it was okay to hand him over to Suna. I looked back to Naruto and Sakura and was glad that they didn't see what Ebizo did to Deidara, they would see it as an act of revenge and get reminded of Sasuke.

However, Kakashi was watching. I gave him a plastic smile, complete with an equally plastic wave which he returned. He did not approve but he also didn't not approve. He had no opinion on what I did, it was clear in his eyes.

After a long briefing and a longer prisoner exchange agreement, we were finally allowed to leave two days after we got to Suna. There were the funeral proceedings that happened yesterday for Granny Chiyo, so before we left, we visited her grave. I told myself that I would visit if I can whenever I have to make a stop at Suna, it was the least I could do for the old lady.

"Ane, Chiyo-sama wanted me to give these to you." Sakura said, passing me some scrolls.

I thanked her with a smile and opened them. I blinked in shock as I read them, they were scrolls on poisons! Well, there was one scroll on antidotes but four out of five scrolls were on poisons. At least I knew where her expertise had laid.

"Is this okay?" I asked, turning to Gaara and Ebizo, "It won't cause any trouble for me to take these scrolls from Suna to Konoha, Kazekage-sama Ebizo-sama?"

"Yes, it is fine." Gaara answered, "Granny Chiyo herself wanted to give them to you, we are simply honouring her wishes. It is no trouble at all, we have already copied all the contents of the scrolls into different scrolls in our archives."

"Besides, my sister wouldn't give them to you if she wasn't impressed. She always wanted more kunoichis learning the Art of Poisons and become more like her, not to become an Iryo Ninja like Tsunade was." Ebizo said, his eyes were a little glazed over, probably getting a bit lost in memories.

"Then, I thank you very much for giving me these scrolls. I will do my best to perfect whatever I learn from these scrolls to make Chiyo-sama's memory proud." I said before bowing to them.

I was silent as we walked away from the grave with my team. I didn't really know what to think. Why would she give me these scrolls? Sakura was the one she connected with, not me, so why would she give them to me?

"You are the Poison Specialist." Gai-sensei said, standing next to me as we waited for Naruto and Sakura to catch up.

"What?"

"Chiyo-sama may have bonded closely with Sakura during their fight with Sasori but Sakura is firmly Tsunade-sama's disciple, focusing on strength and healing. You, on the other hand, were a Poison Specialist, focusing on poisons, illusions, and precise strikes. Three things that Chiyo-sama excelled at during the wars in addition to puppetry. She gave them to you to make sure her legacy lives on, to make sure that there would be more Poison Specialists like you."

"I see, thank you, Gai-sensei." I said, giving Gai-sensei my first genuine smile since we separated to take down the barrier.

"No problem, it's what senseis do!" Gai-sensei said, giving me a thumbs up.

"Yeah." I smiled.

Soon, Naruto and Sakura were with us again and we stood at the gates of Suna with Gaara seeing us off.

"See you…" Gaara said.

"Un… yeah…" Naruto replied.

There was an awkward silence as Gaara and Naruto stared at each other.

"Normally, I think people are supposed to shake hands and say goodbye…" Naruto said, a bit embarrassed, "But I'm not really good with that kind of stuff, so I'll just leave it at this…"

However, Naruto stopped talking when Gaara outstretched his hand to Naruto, indicating that he wanted a handshake. It took Naruto an embarrassingly long time to connect Gaara's outstretched hand to wanting a handshake but he managed.

This was the one adorable scene in Canon that I wanted to see. So heartbreaking and wholesome despite everything they have been through.

Soon, we were trekking through the desert, going at a snail's pace because of Kakashi. We turned to wait for our teachers. Looking back, I could tell that the slow pace was killing Gai-sensei. Not only was it on Gai-sensei's face, but it was also a known fact that Gai-sensei was someone who lived to move and train so going so slowly wasn't for him. It might actually kill him.

"Uh, I'm sorry, Gai." Kakashi said, "When I use that new Sharingan, it takes a toll on my body for a while."

"Hurry up!" Lee yelled, "Use your Youth Kakashi-san!"

I watched as Gai-sensei's face scrunched up in annoyance and Kakashi's face got more concerned for his friend. Gai-sensei finally had enough and threw Kakashi into the air, moved his backpack to his front, and caught Kakashi on his back. I would have clapped if it wasn't so ridiculous.

"Pff-" I started laughing as everyone else gave them a disapproving look.

Suddenly, Lee stepped forwards, "I see! It's training, isn't it?!"

"Now this way, it'll be faster!" Gai-sensei exclaimed before running towards us, "Haaaaaaa! Move! Move! Move!"

We all moved aside as Gai-sensei ran between us.

"You guys… you think you can keep up with me?!" Gai-sensei asked as he continued to run at full speed.

I continued to giggle as everyone looked disguised. Lee then moved his backpack to his front and bent forward in front of Neji.

"Neji." Lee said.

"I refuse!" Neji exclaimed, rejecting Lee's invitation to give him a piggyback ride.

I laughed when my mind came up with a plan. This is going to be fun. I quickly attacked Chakra Stings onto Sakura, Naruto, and Neji. Ignoring their looks, I threw Sakura onto Naruto's back and manipulated them so that Naruto was carrying Sakura piggyback style. I then jumped onto Neji and made him carry me piggyback style.

"Uzumaki-kun, please make a clone and let Lee carry it, then we can have a piggyback race back home!" I said, smiling, "And we will be doing this, I can make you. All of you."

After I said that, I moved Naruto's hands into the hand sign he uses to create Shadow Clones while also making Neji start walking. Gai-sensei suddenly returned to us.

"I agree!" Gai-sensei exclaimed, "It will not only be a fun demonstration of your Youth but also a great training opportunity!"

"Yes! Let us do it!" Lee yelled, looking at Naruto.

"Okay." Naruto agreed but he was a bit off center as he created a clone for Lee.

"On the count of three!" Gai-sensei declared, "One… Two… Three!"

With that, Gai-sensei, Lee, and Naruto started running. After a moment, I started making Neji run with the Chakra Stings.

"Why?" He asked as I made him run faster.

"Partly for more revenge. You left me alone with that pig of a client, even if I could take care of myself, you purposely left me because he was making you feel uncomfortable when he switched from talking to me to talking to you." I said, pointily.

"... Fair. Anything else?" Neji asked as he started running on his own, silently telling me that he knew that wasn't the real reason I was doing it.

"You're face was funny." I tried.

Neji's silence told me he was waiting for the truth.

"Mainly for Imoto." I said, sobering up and listening to Sakura yell at Naruto, "She's upset about Chiyo-sama. As ridiculous and annoying as this may be, it will get her mind off of it and maybe even help her deal with the loss. In the little time they spent together, they truly bonded. Imoto… she hasn't been on any missions that took people from her. The only loss she felt was Sasuke and she has the… benefit, I guess… to know that he isn't dead, just far away. Granny Chiyo is actually gone and won't be coming back to her no matter what she does."

"How has she managed not to lose anyone on missions?" Neji asked, "A good fifth of our year group has already…."

I was silent, Neji wasn't wrong. A few others have retired because of injury or decided that there was no point in continuing since they were stuck in Genin Rank for a while. However, some of our classmates weren't around anymore because of a mission gone wrong, be it false information, risky situations, or even just bad luck.

We were the lucky ones who managed to raise above and thrive.

"She's Tsunade-sama's disciple. Apprentice. Legacy. However you define it, she isn't someone Tsunade-sama would send on missions unless Imoto's health and safety are guaranteed. Or the mission forces her hand, like this one." I answered, pushing past the bad memories, "Besides, Imoto wasn't all that close to the people in her year because of… well… you know. Kind of like me but with different reasons why."

"Yes, you stayed quiet because our classmates were idiots, you were dealing with loss, and your reputation precedes you. While your sister was a die-hard fangirl who pushed everyone away so they didn't get close to the Uchiha."

"... Am I a bad person to be glad that Imoto wasn't close to any of them so she didn't need to feel the loss?" I asked quietly.

"... No. You are glad your sister doesn't have to suffer as you did, it's a good reason to be glad so don't feel bad."

The rest of the trip back was silent, we were the last to return to the village. As we walked through the village after the debriefing, we remembered the classmates that were no longer with us and visited the memorial stone. It was a melancholy ending for a mission that was just as sombre.

Chapter 36: Saving Asuma

Chapter Text

I ran leisurely through the trees. I finished a very tedious delivery mission from a major noble from the Capital to give a letter to a Suna Jonin who will send it to another noble in the Capital of the Land of Wind. No fighting, just a lot of running. I even managed to get the letter there a bit ahead of time so I was taking my time to return to Konoha. This was a nice vacation-like mission.

I don't think I'm supposed to take delivery missions to relax but I couldn't find any ability to care about that in me. Ever since Naruto came back, things have been getting hectic so a nice, normal, shenanigan-free delivery mission with low chances of injuries was just what I needed.

Suddenly, I felt something and stopped. It was Ino's chakra and it felt defeated. Quickly, I turned left and ran towards it, reaching out my senses. I felt Ino, Choji, and Shikamaru's chakra feeling desperate and defeated surrounding a fading chakra. Asuma's chakra.

"Oh shit." I cursed as I sped up.

This is when Asuma dies, isn't it? I ran even faster, flaring my chakra in the standard pattern so I didn't startle them as I approached.

"Ino-chan!" I yelled, jumping down from the trees and running towards them, "What's happening?"

"Momo-chan!" Ino cried, turning her head to me, "It's Asuma, please…! I can't…!"

"Breath, and scooch over." I said, "Let me see the damage."

I looked and quickly used Chakra Stings to stitch up the arteries, veins, organs, and skin. This wasn't what Chakra Stings were meant to be used but thankfully it worked. Unfortunately, Asuma went unconscious during the whole emergency first aid process. Once I was sure Asuma wouldn't bleed out because of the wound, I started preparing a Jutsu.

"Medical Water Release: Jellyfish!" I exclaimed.

Suddenly, a large water blob appeared on Asuma's chest in the shape that vaguely looked like a jellyfish. I pumped a lot of chakra into the blob to help heal Asuma but it wasn't doing much, so I turned to the still relatively frozen Team Asuma. When they realized I was looking at them, they snapped out of it. Well, Choji and Ino did, but Shikamaru was still in his own world.

"How… How is he?" Choji asked, bracing himself for the worst.

"Asuma-san needs to get back to Konoha as soon as possible. I can keep him alive until then but if we don't get him to Konoha Hospital soon, he will not make it. There's only so much we can do without better equipment." I said seriously, I looked at Shikamaru and saw he was in no condition to take control so I took over, "Choji-san, if you aren't too tired, I need you to carry Asuma-san. I can do it if you are too tired, but we will need to move slower since I can't carry Asuma-san while running and powering the Jutsu and Chakra Stings at the same time."

"I-I can do it." Choji said, sounding shaky at first but got confident.

"Really?"

"Yes." Choji said, and I can see the determination in his eyes so I nodded.

"Good, Ino-chan, I need you to keep using Mystical Palm, understand? It will help his chances of surviving, so stay close to Choji-kun, okay?"

"Yeah… yes. I got it. I can do it." Ino said, keeping her hands above Asuma's wound.

"Shikamaru-san, I need you to get your head back into the game. We do not need your self-pity right now. I need you to pay attention, you will be our guard, if anything comes up on our way home, you deal with it. Bandits, missing ninjas, enemy ninjas, any of it, you are on your own. You are the only one who can fight right now without risking Asuma-san's life. The rest of us are focusing on keeping Asuma-san alive so you need to keep the rest of us safe until Choji-san can hide Asuma-san somewhere safe before going to help you."

Shikamaru snapped out of it, the madness and dark shadows in his eyes receded but was still there, dancing at the edge. He took a deep breath and nodded. Slowly, he helped maneuver Asuma into Choji's arms and started looking around.

Once I was sure he wouldn't fall back into his own mind, we set out. It was a race against the clock and a race against the plot so every second counts.

Team Asuma and I stood in Tsunade-sama's office as we waited for her to get back from the emergency room. Team Asuma was silent, I stood next to Ino while we waited, silently supporting her through this.

"It's going to be okay, Tsunade-sama is the best of the best, Asuma-san will be cleared soon, I'm sure of it. You did what you could and he made it back to Konoha breathing, so don't beat yourself up too much, okay?" I asked, trying to get Ino to feel better.

Ino was Sakura's best friend so that meant she was important to my little sister. She was Sakura's only real, genuine friend which means she was important to me. Sakura got bullied and was saved by Ino when they were kids, even when Sakura started pushing everyone away - because of her attitude or because she believed they were 'using' her to get to 'her' Sasuke (which is frankly rediculous since she was never close with Sasuke, to begin with) - Ino stayed with her, albeit as rivals but she did, even when she didn't need to.

Ever since I became Momo, there are few people I actually care about. My parents, my little sister, my team, Shiori, and Ino, since she is Sakura's best friend. They are the only ones who are important to me, the plot-relevant people and a few of my year mates are the next levels down, and everyone else is collateral. In all honesty, I don't care if Asuma died. Outside of seeing if the plot would allow him to live, I really don't care. However, if he dies then Ino would be sad and I can't have that.

Call me heartless but, in a world where death is the norm and expected, you don't connect with too many people. You are setting yourself up for too much heartbreak. I think my morality died, or at least drastically changed, after being here for so long. Before, I think I would have been mortified about letting Asuma die without so much as a tear but… I really don't care. Sure, I'd be sad about losing another comrade in the line of duty but we were ninjas, it's in the job description and there was nothing we could do about it.

"Y-yeah. We did. I did my best, but I hope it was enough…." Ino muttered as I pulled her into a hug.

"Listen, promise me you will not drown yourself in guilt." I said, "No matter what the results are, you will not start blaming yourself for what happened. Promise you will find a healthy way to deal with any grief or guilt, if you cannot find one on your own, ask a friend, family member, or someone just as important. Another thing you can do is start thinking about ways to prevent this. Or a plan to take down whoever did this to Asuma-san. I do not condone revenge, you probably know why, but if making a plan and intense training will help you deal with grief and guilt, then do it. Make your brain hurt and wreck some training grounds but do not lose yourself."

"Okay, I understand." Ino took a deep breath, "I'll talk to dad later."

"Good girl."

"I'll ask dad for more training too." Choji said.

I smiled and nodded at him. Even if I really don't care what he does or if he'd listen to my advice, Choji training some more would help Ino so I was happy that he was training more. A moment later, Tsunade-sama entered the room. The surgery was over.

"Hokage-sama!" We greeted her.

"Is Asuma-sensei okay?" Ino asked, ignoring all protocol.

"Yes, Asuma is alive and out of danger." Tsunade-sama said, letting Team Asuma let out a huge sigh of relief, "However, he is stuck in a coma indefinitely and, if he ever wakes up, he may never be a ninja again."

Team Asuma stiffened before Choji spoke up, "What do you mean 'if he wakes up'?"

"The injury was very severe. He lost a lot of blood, not to mention trauma. We don't know if he will ever wake up, but the silver lining is that if he wakes up, to him, it would probably feel like waking up from a short nap." Tsunade-sama said, "Okay, now that that's over, can someone tell me how this happened?"

I looked at Tsunade-sama expectantly and she gestured to me to talk, "I was on a B-Rank mission to deliver an important letter from a noble to a Suna Jonin. Nothing happened on that mission so I was ahead of schedule. On my way back, I felt Ino's chakra and it felt depressing, so I became alarmed. I stretched out my senses and sensed Choji and Shikamaru surrounding a dying Asuma so I rushed over and started healing him, as per Emergency Medic Protocol. I did all I could do at the moment, Asuma needed to get to the hospital, and they were emotionally compromised so I took charge. I told Choji to carry Asuma while Ino and I focused on healing him, or at least keeping him from getting worse. Then I told Shikamaru to be our lookout and we made it back to Konoha."

Tsunade-sama nodded and turned her attention onto Team Asuma. They each gave their own versions of events, depicting everything from the moment they left the village to right now. They were probably omitting a few details that would be found in their written report but they gave enough information to make inferences on the powers of the S-Rank ninjas they fought.

"I see… you are dismissed." Tsunade-sama said, directing it to me, "Don't forget to submit your report on your mission and add an attachment for this."

"Yes, Hokage-sama." I said, bowing before I turned to leave.

And if I internally flinched at the dark look and insanity I spotted dancing in Shikamaru's eyes? Nobody needed to know. They don't need to know I got scared of how Shikamaru was starting to get motivated about killing Hidan.

It's been months since my last 'encounter' - if you can call it that - with the Akatsuki. My team and I were coming back from an A-Rank escort mission to Suna. Honestly, it was only A-Rank because we had to escort Madam Shijimi, the wife of the Fire Daimyo. It was a fairly easy mission, with a few bandits and three B-Rank missing ninjas, two from Kumo and one from Iwa. It was a nice mission and I got to visit Granny Chiyo's grave so I had a decent time.

As we walked back to the village, something was nagging at me. I didn't know what it was so I stretched out my senses and felt nothing. Nothing. The world was still. All the animals were still. I tried to find a patrol team but there was nothing.

"There's something wrong." I spoke up, "Really, really wrong."

"What is it?" Gai-sensei asked on high alert, Lee and Neji have stopped walking and fallen into a deceptively relaxed stance.

"I can't feel anything. The animals aren't moving and I can't feel a single patrol team." I said as my body started running cold.

I… I don't want to think about what I know was probably the cause of this. Pain's attack on Konoha was coming soon. I knew that. People temporarily died. I knew that. Gai-sensei was going to temporarily lose his Eternal Rival. I knew that. Neji was going to lose a large portion of his clan. I knew that. Sakura was going to be hurt. I knew that. My parents might be dead right now. I knew that. How am I supposed to look at them? Even if they were going to be alive in the end, they still died. I knew that and I did nothing.

Gai-sensei placed a hand on my shoulder, stopping me from hyperventilating, "Breath, Momo-chan, you are okay."

"But Imoto might not be." I retorted but I felt myself calm down, panicking did nothing, I am of no help to anyone if I'm emotionally compromised.

"Neji."

"Right. Byakugan." Neji said.

I held my breath as Neji looked around. Suddenly, he focused on something.

"Naruto's summon is over there and the toad is hurt. This is not good." Neji muttered.

"Let's go!" Lee yelled, "Where is the toad?"

We rushed over to the toad and I vaguely recognized it as Gamabuta. He grabbed his sword but relaxed when he saw our forehead protectors. He quickly told us about the attack on Konoha by the Akatsuki which made us go running to the village at top speed.

"I knew something was happening." I muttered as we looked down on the wreck that used to be Konoha, "It looks like the fight is over, we should look for survivors. Both on our side and the enemy, if they're still here."

"Let's go." Gai-sensei said seriously.

We all ran down and started helping the survivors get everyone out of the wreckage. Living or otherwise. This was going to be a long day. We kept doing it, until a huge green glow started hitting all the corpses, bringing the dead back to life. Everyone held their breath, wondering what Naruto did to get everyone back but that turned out to be pointless. Naruto came back without a scratch and we celebrated like the attack never happened.

We had to do a lot of reconstruction work but it was worth it.

If I spent the day in disguise with my chakra suppressed to civilian levels crying in relief in front of Shiori's grave, no one would know.

Chapter 37: Frustration and Poisons

Notes:

I wrote this about two years ago (back in 2020) and stopped right before Shippuden. It's been sitting in my docs for a while but I wanted to give it justice and post it I edited it and gave it a rushed (but mostly complete) ending. I'm sorry if you expected more from this but, as much as I loved writing this story and gave it a piece of my heart and soul, I'm the type of person who drifts from one story to the next so I can't write more chapters for a story when I already moved on to another story.

(A TWST story and a TWSTxBNHA story)

Chapter Text

A few weeks later, Naruto called all of us to talk. Team Gai, Team 8, Team 10, and the remains of Team 7. We gathered between two large stacks of wooden pillars. Naruto stood in the middle, behind him was Sakura, probably to support him in whatever he was planning, and behind her were Hinata and Ino. Shikamaru stood in front of him with Choji beside him, Shino made sure to stand in Naruto's line of sight so he wasn't forgotten about again (actually, Shino was in almost everyone's line of sight). I stood next to Neji who was leaning on one of the stacks and Lee was sitting on top of it. Kiba and Akamaru wanted a stack of their own so they're sitting on the other stack.

We listened as Naruto told us what happened during his time outside of the village, specifically about Sasuke and what he's been up to. I glanced at Sakura and Ino, Sasuke's ex-fangirls (well, I hope they're ex-fangirls, if they're still fangirls then I need to have a very serious talk with them), and they had blank looks on their faces. Not giving anything away.

Well, we were ninjas after all. We'd be dead if we couldn't do that much.

"Sasuke did that?" Shikamaru asked seriously.

"It's an unbelievable situation." Shino commented.

We were all silent, slowly taking in what Naruto just told us. I don't blame them for being like this, Sasuke was their classmate for years and it's still a bit strange to remember the brooding kid they used to know with this missing nin who might attack them at any moment, but this was something they had to come to terms with as soon as possible.

"That's why I want you to let me handle Sasuke." Naruto said, sounding determined.

"We cannot let you do that on your own, Naruto. Even if we disregard protocol, most people have a conscience that will be telling them not to let their teammate go after a traitor alone without backup." I said.

I know that he was talking about all of us but this blond idiot should know that Sakura won't let him do it alone and if she comes, is he expecting her to just stay out of it? I wonder if he's selectively blind when it comes to Sasuke, if he thinks that Sakura is weak, or if he's belittling kunoichis. Personally, I'm hoping for the first option, I've been training Sakura whenever we have free time together so it would be an insult to my investment and I would rather not think that Naruto became sexist during his time with Jiraiya.

"Momo-san is right, Naruto." Shino said, agreeing with me, "We can't just give in to your stubbornness. The reason is because this is a big problem for the village."

"I'm not being stubborn." Naruto insisted but we all know he was lying.

"You said you'd give us all the details when we got home, but I never thought this is what you'd say!" Kiba exclaimed angrily, "We've all made up our minds to kill Sasuke!"

"Hey Naruto, don't tell me you're saying you'll get Sasuke all by yourself when you're actually planning to protect him." Shikamaru said, narrowing his eyes.

"No. I have no intention of protecting Sasuke." Naruto said, as he talked, I saw Sakura's eyes start to water. She still hasn't gotten over him.

"After all that fighting at the Five Kage Summit, and fighting Donzo…. If Sasuke was weakened at that time, why didn't you take him out right then and there?" Neji accused.

I looked at Naruto expectantly, silently backing Neji up. Sasuke was a traitor, he willingly left Konoha and he hurt Sakura, there is no sympathy for him. He chose to leave for revenge even though Itachi got strong in Konoha first, and even Orochimaru got strong in Konoha first before going off on his own, but he left anyway. Naruto could argue that he was coerced into doing it by the Curse Mark but Anko had the Curse Mark and didn't defect so Sasuke could have fought it if he wanted to. He had no excuse.

"Madara was there too!" Sakura yelled, speaking up, "It's not as simple as it seems! Besides…."

"That's no reason to let him get away so easily!" Kiba insisted, "Hey Naruto, you're strong. You're the hero who took down Pain, aren't you?!"

"Hero?" Naruto asked.

"Yeah. You could take Sasuke down like you took down Pain!"

"That's not true." Naruto said.

"Huh?"

"I wouldn't be able to beat Sasuke with something like that now." Naruto said sadly, "That's what I found out after talking to him again."

"What is it you found out?" Choji asked, sounding confused.

"In any case, nobody should take on Sasuke as he is now." Naruto insisted, ignoring Choji's question.

"Uzumaki-kun, no matter what you say, if I see him, I will aim to capture him and make him incapable of continuing on as a ninja." I said, I saw Kiba about to speak up so I added, "I would aim to kill but Imoto still, for some reason, cares for him and I do not want to be the one who makes her sad. So I will maim him and drag him back to Konoha if I ever get the chance. Even if the Uchiha is better off dead."

Ino started crying but Kiba started criticizing her. The group started fighting before Naruto made everyone stop by saying he will be the one who will fight Sasuke and that no one else was allowed to interfere.

"What do you mean?" Neji asked.

"I'm the only one who can fight him. That's what I mean."

"Explain it in detail, Uzumaki-kun. What happened? We can't do anything without all the information." I said, "Giving us information on what Sasuke can do will increase our chances to survive a fight with him if we encounter him."

"I said I'd tell you when the time comes, and don't do that." Naruto said, dodging the question.

"Hey! There you go again! Stop dodging our questions!" Kiba yelled.

"Well, please leave it to me." Naruto said flippantly before walking away.

This irritated me. I know some of the things Sasuke was capable of due to remembering Canon but everyone else here would be going in blind. I understand that Naruto is taking this personally but why couldn't he understand that holding out on us would only get us killed?

"What- Hey! Naruto!" Kiba yelled but got ignored.

"Naruto." Shikamaru and Neji called out but Naruto kept walking, not acknowledging them.

Sakura followed him and that was the signal for us all to slip up. Lee went to help Gai-sensei with whatever he promised to help him with while Neji followed me to the lab I rented out to help me with my new poison.

After Orochimaru defected, the Third Hokage made it a law so that no one could have individual labs unless they fill in piles of forms, do a lot of paperwork monthly, consented to both regular and sporadic inspections, and give detailed reports on what was happening or what was created in the labs every two months. So, the Third constructed rentable labs, all underground and could be used as emergency hideouts since they were built to withstand anything. Naturally, all Clan Owned Labs weren't closed but they had to give detailed reports to their Clan Head who would send a condensed version of them to the Hokage every month.

While he was at it, he created separate labs for poison creation purposes. To use those special poison labs, you needed to get certified as a Poison Specialist, meaning you needed to go through a test and show off a poison you created yourself, with its antidote, or create three difficult existing poisons and antidotes by memory. I did the test and passed with flying colours, which was how I got the Special Jonin promotion before becoming a full Jonin.

I can't help but curse Orochimaru. Without him defecting, I could have had my own personal poison lab by now instead of using rentable labs where I need to send in a report about what I'm doing every time I'm here. I mean, I could get a personal lab but doing all that paperwork would be too much of a pain since I'm not even in the village full time as an active ninja.

"What is this poison supposed to do?" Neji asked, passing me the green vial.

"Well, this is a special poison for a special person." I said, smiling venomously as I half-heartedly deflected the question.

"Is it for the Uchiha?" Neji asked.

"Oh my! How did you guess?!" I asked, sounding shocked and I knew my eyes were twinkling with amusement, "Pass me the indigo vial."

"He hurt your sister, you always do get… motivated when she gets hurt. Whether you choose to force her to change or go after others depends on the situation, and right now, you are going after the Uchiha for hurting her."

"Naturally." I scoffed, "If this turns into a warm colour, pass me the teal vial, if it turns into a cold colour, pass me the scarlet vial. If it turns clear then pass me the clear vial."

I stuck my nose up as I poured the green liquid into the indigo liquid and watched as it turned orange. I will never understand why or how mixing green and indigo will make orange or any other colour but I'm chalking it up to chakra bullshit or chemical bullshit and leave it at that.

"So, what does it do?" Neji asked, passing me the teal vial.

"Well, when it turns clear, I'll mix it with the other clear liquid and it should turn a pure white colour. When that happens, I need to mix it with the black liquid and, if I did the research right, it will go back to clear." I said as I watched the liquid go clear and smiled, "This is a special poison, once it gets into your bloodstream, it will start attacking the marrow. In small doses it will act kind of like bone cancer, damaging your bones and making them very frail. In stronger doses, well, you can say goodbye to the nearest bone because it will disintegrate. Though, if you throw it on plants, the plants will start wilting and wither away to nothing, or as close to nothing as possible."

I wonder if it would work on Zetsu? Didn't the forums from Before say he was part plant or something? Whatever, I hope he wilts. I mentally reminded myself to test it out the second I encounter a Zetsu, if it works then I'll start creating gas bomb versions so we can kill them in mass more easily during the War.

"... how does that even work?" Neji asked, subtly making sure no substances got onto him.

The last time he got any substance from my vials, he had to drink a bitter detox, burn the outfit he was wearing, spend hours in the shower, and days in the hospital. Luckily for him, I was making an antidote instead of a poison so nothing too bad happened.

"I have a list of plants and their poisonous properties that I've been studying since I was in the Academy, not to mention the scrolls Chiyo-sama gave me were a big help. I could show you the research, planning, misshapes, and failures if you want later." I said, pointing to the mountain of paper I brought using the storage seal that I saved up a lot of money to buy.

"No thank you, I have learned from my mistakes and have chosen never to read your notes on poisons again." Neji said.

"You were the one who wanted to know how Springtime was created." I said in a singsong manner.

"And I have regretted knowing ever since. There are too many plants that we have learned were safe to eat that could be turned into hallucinogenic agents."

I laughed, "As for the antidote, it will only stop and destroy the poison. You need to let the bones recover naturally - or with the help of Iryo Ninjutsu - because the antidote can't fix the damage the poison did. When neutralizing small doses, you need to get the antidote within the first two weeks. However, in cases of large doses, you need to get the antidote within the first five minutes. Don't worry, I will give you, Lee, and Gai-sensei three antidote pills when I get them approved."

"Good."

"I'm thinking of naming this special poison Disable since it will disable any enemy that gets in contact with it." I said, thinking out loud, "As for the antidote, I'm thinking of naming it Dove, since it starts with a D and doves symbolize good things."

I decided against telling Neji that I also named them this way so that I could call the poison and antidote my D-Day Combo. He wouldn't get the dark historical joke about war.

Chapter 38: War Pt. 1

Chapter Text

I was running beside Sakura and Lee as we ran towards the red flare that belonged to the Surprise Attack Division platoons. The red flare was a signal for help. We were placed in the Third Division with Gai-sensei and Kakashi, where most of us were short-to-mid-range fighters. I think I was positioned here mainly because of my Taijutsu but I'm sure my other abilities were factored in.

"That's Sai's group…." Sakura muttered as we ran, "I hope he's okay…."

"Do not worry, Sakura-san! We will make it there in time! Just believe in the Power of Youth, the power is in you and him!" Lee yelled encouragingly.

"Momo, what is the situation?" Gai-sensei whispered.

"... not the best." I admitted after doing a quick sweep of the area ahead of us, "Many dead, only a handful are still alive, one squad short of a platoon."

"... Kakashi."

"Yeah." Kakashi nodded before yelling, "Pick up the pace!"

Our division ran faster, soon we reached a crowd of reanimated ninjas, Zetsus, and dead bodies surrounding a makeshift hideout with what remains of the two Surprise Attack Division platoons. We charged, cutting a path towards the hideout. I pulled out my makeshift grenade filled with my Disable poison and threw it at a crowd of Zetsus, killing them and all the grass within the radius. A Zetsu tried to step in the affected area only for its leg to start to wither. Unfortunately, it seems like after a while, the Zetsus could walk on the blacked area again.

"Kakashi!" Someone yelled, I turned my attention to see a reanimated Zabuza talking to Kakashi.

I jumped back to dodge a punch from a Zetsu. I then hit all the pressure points and let the thing wilt with a quick jab from my poisoned senbon.

"Yo, Leaf girl! How are you killing those things like that?" a Kumo ninja asked as we switched enemies, him to fight the reanimated Mizu ninja following me, and me to fight the three Zetsus chasing him. Good call since he couldn't keep the Zetsus' down.

"Special poison!" I answered, throwing senbons at the Zetsus, "I will be passing it out to everyone when we catch a break! Today was the experiment day!"

"You brought experimental poison to a war?! What kind of poison user are you" a Suna ninja yelled, ducking under some of my senbons, "You never bring experimental poisons if you're fighting with allies! That's like, rule number one!"

"The kind that knew that the Zetsus are plantlike in nature and sees that a poison she was making wilts plants on contact!" I shot back while spitting some rock bullets at a reanimated Konoha ninja, "I had gotten my Poison Master License and gotten Hokage-sama's approval to test the poison on field. If you don't believe me, survive this fight and I'll shove my license in your face if you want!"

"Gah! I swear! Your Hokage allowed that? You Konoha ninjas are crazy!" the Suna ninja yelled as he sealed away the reanimated ninja, "Did you know after Kazekage-sama was rescued, the elders decided to categorize 'Will of Fire' as a trigger for impulsive decisions, unhealthy positivity, mental instability, among other things?"

"No. I did not." I answered, blinking owlishly at the Suna ninja while dodging some Water Bullets, "I understand that some of my comrades are whimsical at best, eccentric at worst, but surely they didn't need to label our Will of Fire as some kind of mental problem."

"What about you?!" The Kumo ninja yelled.

"What about me?" I asked.

"What kind of crazy person brings experimental poisons into the war and just decides to test them during the war?!"

"I do not follow. It worked, did it not?" I asked before nodding to myself as I jumped into the air to throw another makeshift grenade and watch the beautiful fallout, "It did, so it is fine."

"Oh my god, fucking Konoha ninjas…." Someone grumbled.

I ignored the grumbling to focus on Gari and Pakura, who jumped back to a safe distance and were starting to do hand signs. I was about to yell for Gai-sensei but it was too late. The two slammed their hands down on the ground and summoned the previous generation of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist and Zabuza enveloped the area in a thick mist. It was irritating since Zabuza's chakra was everywhere and hampering my sensing abilities. I could still sense things but it took a bit more effort than normal.

"Gah!"

"We can't see!"

"What's going on?!"

"Great, just great. Over a hundred shinobi and not a single one of them knows a Jutsu that can disrupt mist?" I muttered.

No, even if someone knows a Jutsu that can disrupt Zabuza's Mist Jutsu, Zabuza can just cover the area again so we need a way to hide that it's gone….

"Am I or am I not a Genjutsu Specialist?" I muttered to myself, feeling embarrassed, "Demonic Illusion: Double False Surroundings Technique!"

I waited for the illusion to settle in and checked to make sure no one would dispel it before making my way to Kakashi while letting them break the first layer of the Genjutsu.

"Kakahi-taicho. You know over 1000 Jutsus, do you not know a single Jutsu that can disperse the mist?" I asked, pitching my tone as flat as possible, trying to convey the sheer disbelief I was feeling about this.

"I know a few but Zabuza-"

"If it is about the possibility of Zabuza enveloping the area in mist again, I have already placed them under a subtle Genjutsu, so it is fine." I cut him off.

"Okay." Kakashi nodded.

Kakashi quickly got rid of the mist and people could see again. I think they caught on to the fact that the Swordsmen were under Genjutsu so they kept up the act with yells, spins, missed attacks, and the works. Ninjas can become the best actors if given the incentive. Since I was powering the Genjutsu, I wasn't allowed to do any Jutsus that needed a lot of chakra so I was relegated to poisoning the Zetsus. Fun but I wish I wasn't sidelined. I wasn't even allowed to heal people because it might mess with the Genjutsu.

I did, however, kicked a few people away from me when they started trying to but a guard around me. I don't mind being given less chakra intense work to do but I refuse to be protected.

Come nightfall, we were all tired but I pushed forward and started giving out my Dissolve Poison, relaying the effectiveness of it to Headquarters, and giving shots to give them temporary immunity to Dissolve for two months. There were a few people who took the needle and gave themselves the shot (paranoia of foreign shinobi cannot be removed so quickly, war or not) but most were too tired to do it themselves. Sakura has already left to help out at the Medical Encampment to deliver the poison to the other Divisions.

I hope that Headquarters sent out a message to all the Division Captains that my poison worked. They all have a decent size bottle of powder and Neji had his own bottle just in case. Hopefully, this will lower the casualty rate of the war.

"I can't believe we won against the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist…." I heard a Mizu ninja mutter to her friend, "Like, for the love of Kami, the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist! I idolized them and they were said to be monsters and we won! Like holy shit! We won! Against legends!"

"I know!" Her friend squealed, "Dream come true! But did you see that guy with Zabuza-sama? I think his name was Haku, and, by the mist Kamis! He was too pretty to die!"

"I'd tap that, undead or not." An Iwa ninja said as he sat down by the Mizu ninjas.

"Necrophilia is illegal." His friend muttered as he followed him, "War or no war, it's still illegal."

"Does it really count if he was technically not a corps anymore?" One of the Iwa ninja asked out loud, "He was reanimated, right?"

"Well-"

I turned away from the arguably strangest conversation I've ever heard and ran into the Suna ninja from the field. I did take out my sealed license and shoved it in his face.

"Hello." I greeted him after putting away my license.

"Hi. This might be late but my name's Kenji. Your name is…?"

"Momo."

"Hello, Momo." Kenji smiled, "So have you realized that the Elders of Suna were right to label the Will of Fire as a cause of mental problems?"

"No, why would I?"

"You just overheard two kunoichis from Mizu fangirl about fighting the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist, fangirl about that Haku guy, a shinobi from Iwa talk about wanting to fuck the Haku guy, and a debate over whether or not it counts as necrophilia if the dead person is being reanimated! All that after we just had the first fight of the war! How are you still in denial?!" Kenji exclaimed.

Huh. Kenji must have really good hearing. A tracking type ninja?

"Fangirling over surviving a dangerous opponent is strange but I will not judge how they cope with fear. Haku is visibly pleasing so it is not a surprise that they would like him. As for the debate, Anko-san already said it does not count." I shrugged.

"... Anko-san?"

"There was an argument while I was visiting T&I where Anko-san was arguing to Ranka-san that if she uses the Reanimation Jutsu and… has intercourse with Nidaime Hokage-sama… it will not count as necrophilia because technically it would not be his corpse. The Reanimation Jutsu binds the soul of a deceased person to a living vessel, restoring them as they were when alive, so by a technicality, it is not a corpse and therefore not necrophilia."

"I… I can't even… why?"

"It was Mitarashi Anko." I shrugged, that's really all he needed to know, Anko was just being Anko, "Why did you even bring this up? They are not from Konoha."

"Yeah but Kazekage-sama gave that speech. He used words that evoke the Will of Fire placebo effect, which probably caused all this… this… this reckless abandonment, unnatural positivity, and sporadic and insane debate topics!" Kenji exclaimed, waving his hand around.

"I still do not understand but I hope, after the war, Suna can see that they are being unreasonable and remove the Will of Fire from the list of triggers of mental problems." I said before making my way to Lee and Gai-sensei.

I was tired and I needed to sleep, it's been a long day so I ignored Kenji's yell of frustration. I can deal with it tomorrow. Or never. I was okay with that too.

Honestly, some people are so superstitious.

Early the next morning, Kakashi ordered us to hurry up and get ready to leave effectively immediately for reasons unknown but I think I could make a reasonable guess that it was Naruto-related somehow. We quickly packed up our encampment and hit the road, going as fast as we could towards the Valley of the End.

"What's wrong, Kakashi?" Gai-sensei asked as we followed Kakashi.

"We were ordered to help Naruto and Killer B, be careful, we are heading to where they are going to be heading." Kakashi said seriously, "We will be meeting up with the rest of our forces and head straight to Madara himself. The real one this time."

The Division went silent and everyone became tense, even the veterans. This was Uchiha Madara himself. A god among shinobi, the equal of Senju Hashirama, the First Missing Ninja, the Leader of Akatsuki. I took a deep breath, this was going to be a hard fight.

As we ran, Headquarters filled us in. They were coordinating all the Division of the Allied Shinobi Forces to fight with Naruto and Killer B against the Ten-Tails which is under the command of Uchiha Madara and his body double.

Soon, we made it to the battlefield. The battlefield wasn't at the Valley of the End but it was very close to the valley. It was really more of a crater with two strong monsters in the center standing on a poor, sentient statue bent on destruction. I sighed, I was no good in a fight like this. Genjutsu won't work on Uchiha fucking Madara, neither will Taijutsu, and poisons won't work either since he's just a reanimation. Realistically, only Jutsus will work on him but even then, he was in an immortal body so he could just tank them. As for the Ten-Tails, Genjutsu and Taijutsu are out but I want to see if Dissolve will work on it. It was made of wood, right?

Maybe I should stick to healing after I check to see if there's anything else I could do to help.

"We may not all survive this, but have confidence and faith in your comrades. We will win and those who die will live on through those who live. To victory!" Someone said, causing everyone else to cheer. I wonder who had the balls to take command from Kakashi.

No matter. Not the time to wonder who was brave enough to make the speech for Kakashi. We lunged forward to join the fray. The screams began.

Chapter 39: War Pt. 2

Chapter Text

As soon as the order was given, I charged forward, running with Lee and Sai. I couldn't help but stare at the sheer absurdity of the monstrous things - clones, I know they are 'mini' Ten-Tails clones but they look horrid - was ridiculous. I used Taijutsu and Chakra Targeting Poisons against those clones, Genjutsu might do next to nothing against them (given that, I have no clue what Genjutsu would do to these things) so I decided to save my chakra.

Then, I felt a bright, warm, pure chakra signature that burned like the sun suddenly appeared.

"Ah, Naruto is here." Sai commented as he sent out another one of his living paintings to attack the clones.

"I see him too! I am glad Naruto and Neji are okay!" Lee exclaimed as he kicked a clone that tried to get close.

I turned and saw Neji, Hinata, and Hiashi standing guard in front of Naruto, deflecting whatever got too close. I had a bad feeling. I shot Lee a look and he nodded so I ran towards them. Lee could handle himself, I knew that. Neji had developed a self-sacrificing streak, Lee also knew that. I was a good enough Medic to keep him alive if he tried to sacrifice himself, Lee also knew that.

As I got closer to them, I felt the Ten-Tails chakra prepare to attack and had a flashback moment. This was when Neji died in Canon. Not on my watch. I stretched out my senses, ignoring the pain of the Ten-Tails malicious chakra (and wasn't it saying something how I would rather feel this painful chakra than Orochimaru's disgusting snake-like chakra?), and sped up. I felt several volleys of woodlike projectiles flying from the Ten-tails towards Naruto.

It all happened within a few milliseconds. The volleys were in view but Naruto wasn't looking in their direction. Hinata rushed in front of him. Neji rushed in front of her. I couldn't hesitate now.

I couldn't afford to hesitate.

Not again.

"Medical Water Release: Water Scorpion!" I yelled, jumping into the air and cutting down and shrinking some of the projectiles with the biggest water claws I have ever made, "Water Release: Water Prison Jutsu!"

I landed in front of Neji with all the remaining projectiles trapped in a large Water Prison. I was breathing heavily. I overpower the two Jutsus to make them bigger to cut and trap all of those things the Ten-Tails shot at Naruto. Not to mention all the chakra I pumped into my legs to run faster, I'm pretty sure if I wasn't as careful I would have burst a chakra vein with all the chakra I pumped into them. That was also excluding the 'mini' Ten-Tails clones I had to evade or take down on my way here, I feel completely exhausted.

"I… kami… made it… in time…." I huffed as I fell to my knees.

Neji didn't die... Not like Shiori.

"Momo!" Neji exclaimed, "What were you-"

"Neji. Shut up." I glared, I was tired but I put on an act, right now, I was the boss and they had to listen to me, "Naruto, keep us safe for a while, kay? I need to talk to these two self-sacrificing idiots for a moment."

"Um... but-"

I levelled a glare at Naruto. It wasn't a malicious glare, but it was one that I saw Tsunade-sama give Naruto when he did something and needed to be scolded. Naruto, seeming to recognize the glare, straightened up.

"Yas, ma'am." Naruto said, creating a ring of clones around us as I sat up, "So, I'll just be going now, be careful you guys!"

Naruto then left as fast as he could run. I think he wanted to join the fight again but I could be wrong. I could vaguely hear him mumble about how Sakura probably got scary because I taught her to be scary but I didn't care, all I cared about was the idiots in front of me.

The idiots who think dying was a perfectly good option to do things.

"Okay, I'm all ears so tell me, Neji, Hinata, what were you two thinking?" I asked, glaring at them as they opened their mouths but I cut them off, "Do not answer that. I am sure I know what you were thinking. The thing was, you were not thinking at all. Hinata!"

"Y-yes?!" Hinata jumped.

"You just rushed in front of Naruto! You could have yelled, pushed him out of the way, and used your Gentle Fist to intercept the projectiles! You did not have to put yourself in danger by using your body as a shield like that!"

I could yell about how dying would just mean that she could never confess to Naruto or something along those lines but Naruto's clones were here and I'm not that tactless enough to expose Hinata's decade-plus long crush like that.

"I… I'm sorry."

I nodded, accepting Hinata's apology, "Naruto, you can let Hinata go."

"Ok!" One of the Naruto clones exclaimed, letting Hinata pass.

"Thank you. Now, Neji." I glared at him, taking in a bit of pleasure seeing the ever uptight Neji flinch back, "I have many words for you but they can be said after the war is over. However, what were you thinking when you threw yourself in front of Hinata? If you had died, what would Lee, Gai-sensei or I feel? You could have done all that I told Hinata she could do, but why did you not do them? You were planning to die and leave everyone behind. Is the freedom given to you by death greater than any happiness you had with us while living? Tell me Neji, do we mean so little to you that your first thought was to die instead of finding another way to stay with us?"

"No-"

"Save it." I shut him down, "I need you to carry me to the back lines, I used up a lot of chakra in a short period of time and I can't get up right now. You will be staying with me until the war is over, it's clear I can't trust you not to take care of yourself and I'm not above emotionally blackmailing you with my own health and safety to keep you from doing stupid things. We will talk more after the war, and the aftermath if we need to do a lot of reconstruction."

"Okay." Neji said quietly, placing me on his back.

"Naruto, you can go." I said.

"Okay, bye!" the Naruto clones said

I could tell that this talk with Neji affected Naruto in some way, he was probably thinking about Sasuke but whatever. That problem is not my problem and I refuse to let it be my problem.

After a moment of rest near the rear, Neji and I suddenly got enveloped by a cloak of red chakra, Naruto's Version 1 chakra. The effects weren't immediate but I was regaining my chakra a lot faster than normal and I was feeling rejuvenated when just moments ago I felt tired.

"I'm feeling much better." I said, standing up, "I'm still mad at you, but we have a war to fight so let's go."

"Understood."

We looked at the situation in front of us, most of the clones were being… dealt with by the other shinobi and there was no way we could do anything about it the Ten-Tails but Naruto and Killer B seem to have that handled for now.

"All we can do is get the injured out of the way." Neji advised, "We aren't at full power so playing support is the only thing we can reasonably do right now. If we try to help more than that, we'll be more of a liability than an asset."

"Right, let's go. Do you mind playing the protector to my healer?" I asked.

"Not at all."

I spent what felt like an eternity healing up anyone I found, sometimes Neji would carry them away or I'd use Chakra Stings to move them out of the way as I went off to find another patient. We had to make a few body scrolls but we were in a war, we'll mourn for them later. After a while of playing medic, Neji and I heard a yell from Naruto.

"Did you hear that?" I asked, not looking up from my current patient, instead, using my senses to feel the Ten-Tails and the glowing yellow sun of a chakra signature that I was Naruto.

"Yes. I think Naruto needs help."

"What?" I exclaimed, I quickly finished healing the patient and got up, "What are we waiting for? We need to go! If Naruto is asking for help, it means that Imoto is probably going to do something reckless again!"

"We are too far away to get there, not to mention the clones." Neji reminded me.

"Well, we should get as close as possible, just in case." I retorted and we ran off.

As we ran, we found Gai-sensei and Lee. Gai-sensei was hurt while Lee was trying to defend Gai-sensei. Neji quickly jumped in and helped Lee clear the area while I kneeled down and started healing sensei. It wasn't as bad as I thought it was but it still hindered him.

"Gai-sensei, you need to be more careful."

"I will, Momo, but I cannot rest now! My Eternal Rival needs me! Kakashi! I am coming to help you!" Gai-sensei yelled, jumping back on his feet and running towards Kakashi.

"I will accompany you as well, sensei!" Lee yelled.

Lee quickly followed Gai-sensei, leaving Neji and me behind. I felt my left eye twitch, this was too much for one day. The only good thing is that I was less worried about Lee and Gai-sensei. If they can act like everything was normal, then they were fine. I turned to face Neji.

"Were you really going to leave me with those two idiots? It is hard enough to wrangle them with the two of us, leaving me alone to take care of them is a cruel and unusual punishment. What have I ever done to deserve that?"

"I… will strive to make it up to you."

Just as I was about to say something, a giant brown-coloured gourd dropped from the sky out of nowhere and landed a little way left of us.

"What the-"

"I've got it!" Tenten yelled, surprising me as she pulled out a scroll, "Just follow your idiots, Momo! I can deal with the gourd! It's a weapon, my specialty!"

"Thank you, Tenten!" I yelled back, pulling Neji, "Let's go!"

As we ran, we managed to catch up with Gai-sensei and Lee. However, as we ran together, I felt a change in the chakra in the air. Madara was powering a strong Jutsu and, judging by the tower the Ten-Tails became, he was powering the Infinite Tsukuyomi right now.

"Gai-sensei! Lee! Get here right now!" I yelled, my voice sounding panicked as my hands flashed through signs, "Hurry!"

Gai-sensei and Lee quickly turned around and gathered around me. Both of their faces were unusually serious.

"What is it?"

The flower on the top of the tower was opening.

"No time, just trust me." I said, "Earth Release: Earth Dome!"

Within moments, a dome was around us. It wasn't big but it was big enough for the four of us to sit down comfortably.

"Neji, look outside. I had a feeling Madara was powering a very strong Jutsu and had to act fast."

"Byakugan." Neji muttered, looking around.

As he did that, I used one hand to power the dome and the other to continue to heal Gai-sensei's right leg. I heard Neji curse.

"What is happening outside, Neji?" Lee asked, his voice sounding very serious but worried at the same time.

"It… it seems like we have almost lost." Neji admitted bitterly, "Everyone has been wrapped up in some kind of wood-like binds and have been strung up onto the Ten-Tails tower like cocoons. The only ones not trapped are us and Team Kakashi. We weren't affected because we didn't look up at the moon, while Team Kakashi is safe in Sasuke's Susanoo."

"So, we're stuck here then. We cannot help." Lee muttered.

"That is correct. The second we leave or Momo releases us from the dome, we will also be captured." Neji said.

"Momo, stop healing me, focus on conserving your chakra and keeping the dome up. Neji, keep us updated. " Gai-sensei ordered.

"Yes, Gai-sensei." We said.

"Do you have anything you want to do before you die?" I asked, trying to fill in the silence, "I mean, what will you guys regret if we end up captured as well?"

"I would regret not surpassing Gai-sensei." Lee answered after a while.

"I would regret not being able to see my Youthful students flourish into the Youth of their Adulthood." Gai-sensei said, giving us a sad smile, "However, do not lose hope, my Eternal Rival will be able to help take the enemy down!"

"I will say this now but I think this is complete bullshit-"

"Momo!" Lee yelled at my curse, I probably surprised him since I don't curse often.

"-that Naruto and Sasuke are able to go against a literal goddess. I mean, Uzumaki genes, the Nine-Tails' chakra, and the Yondaime Hokage's Rasengan? Naruto's entire existence is a literal cheat. Sasuke on the other hand has Uchiha genes, the Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan, and whatever utterly ridiculous powers his magic eyes give him." I huffed.

"I will not argue that what you said isn't true. They are utterly ridiculous." Neji said, "I would regret not seeing Hinata-sama get married. Though, I wouldn't regret not seeing Hinata-sama pin after Naruto until he got a clue."

"I would regret not talking more to Shiori before I left." I said, clutching onto my necklace that I never took off, not even during infiltration missions.

The next two hours were the longest - and tenses - two hours of my life. Gai-sensei and Lee took out their remaining Chakra Pills and gave them to Neji and I so we could keep going. Neji so he could keep up with the situation outside and tell us when it's safe or if the situation is lost and me so I could keep the dome up.

"It's over…." Neji muttered, slumping down, "It's over, I don't know what Naruto did but everyone is free now. It's safe to leave the dome."

I sighed in relief and dropped the dome, letting us out. It was nice to see the sky again, it was hard to imagine that we were only in there for two hours.

"Momo, how did you know that was going to happen?" Lee asked after we sighed with relief.

"I'm a Genjutsu Specialist and a sensor. It was obvious that he was powering a strong Genjutsu so I acted fast." I answered.

That's a lie but it was the only explanation I could come up with.

If what just happened didn't happen, people could have started poking holes in my explanation but right now, we were all tired. I can't wait to get home.

Chapter 40: Home and Marriage

Chapter Text

I looked out the window of Gai-sensei's hospital room back in Konoha. Neji, Lee and I finally found time to visit Gai-sensei as a team. It's been a hectic month, a month of missions, reconstruction, negotiations, patrols, and just pure chaos. Many people, like Gai-sensei, were hospitalized after the war so there was a big shortage of shinobi throughout the continent. Unfortunately, spoiled nobles don't understand that and are still insisting on getting special treatment despite how much we tell them we just can't afford to send people to act as their escorts/bodyguards.

However, there were a lot of good things that happened during this month as well. Asuma finally woke up, Naruto was finally getting a clue, and our alliances with the other villages were the strongest they have ever been since their creation. This means that we didn't have to worry about being invaded any time soon which was a huge plus and something to cross off of Konoha's List of Concerns.

"So, is Gai-sensei going to be okay?" I asked, today was the day we were going to get the verdict.

In all honesty, statistically, Gai-sensei should not have been able to survive opening the Gates. I know that in Canon, he did survive but not unscathed so I wanted to know if this version of Gai-sensei would be better or not. I managed to help Neji, maybe Gai-sensei's fate would be better too.

"He will have an almost full recovery. However, his right leg can no longer support his weight for longer than three hours and it cannot kick as hard as before." the doctor said, "I suggest not to strain it from now on and to use a wheelchair unless there's no other option.

"Sensei!" Lee yelled, crying, it must be devastating to Lee, knowing that Gai-sensei will never get back to his top form.

"Don't cry, Lee!" Gai-sensei ordered.

Lee looked up with tears in his eyes. I could see Gai-sensei's reflection in them. I quickly gestured for the doctor to leave, which he did without protest and very quickly. I guess he was one of the ones who knew Gai-sensei or at least heard about his reputation outside of his fighting prowess.

"Even if the bright days of youth end here, there is still a future for me!" Gai-sensei yelled passionately at Lee, I'm afraid he was going to hurt himself with all that yelling, "The sun that shines bright! The sweltering heat! The red hot days of summer are here!"

"Gai-sensei!" Lee exclaimed, causing me to slowly inch away from him and Gai-sensei's hospital bed, "I'm inspired! What a brilliant way of thinking!"

I turned to Neji, who was ignoring me and the rest of the world. I slowly walked away from Gai-sensei and Lee and pulled Neji along with me. We walked in silence until we reached the roof of the hospital where we looked out at the rebuilt Konoha. It's a slow process but the market was up and running again and children were running around, playing on the streets. It was a beautiful scene. Not aesthetic wise but it was nice.

"I am still angry, you know?" I asked, breaking the silence, "You could have died and it would not have even been because of an enemy, it would have been caused by your own lack of thinking. I know you are intelligent but where was that intelligence when you decided that sacrificing yourself was the best course of action? I am not planning to accuse you of anything but just…. Please, please just walk me through your thought process."

"I… I did not want Hinata-sama or Naruto-san to die. I must admit, I was not thinking about anything other than that." Neji admitted, "It was then that I finally understood my father's feelings…. The feeling of freedom he must have felt when he chose to die to protect his loved ones."

"Did you think about us? About Team Gai?"

"... no. I was not. I did feel sad that I was going to leave you three when I realized I may never see you guys again but…." Neji shrunk into himself.

"Did you think about how we'd feel?"

"...no."

"Neji…" I sighed, "We… okay, I'm not the touchy-feely type and I'm definitely one of the furthest people from their emotions in Konoha but, we love you and we will be sad that you died. Think before you choose the self-sacrificing route, okay?"

"Okay."

"Promise?"

"...Promise."

We talked a bit more before I left him on the roof. I think I have fulfilled my quota for emotional conversations for the next month and a half at least. I need to save some energy for when I need to talk with Sakura about Sasuke, something I've been putting off for a long time now.

Years passed since the Fourth Great Shinobi War. I kept up my training by incorporating more Kata's into my style and increasing my reservoir of Genjutsus and poisons by... borrowing... information from other villages when possible. Neji, Lee, and I kept our schedule of training together for a full day every two weeks with Gai-sensei supervising. Not that we needed supervision but it was a good team bonding exercise, no matter that we were no longer an official team. From what I was seeing, most of the other people were slowing down and hit a plateau in their growth now that there wasn't anything pushing them to be stronger.

I get it, there wasn't a looming threat of war and, with all the major villages allied, there wasn't going to be a war any time soon so we were living in a very safe time. However, I remember there was a sequel involving Naruto's son and, if there was a sequel, it means there was some kind of monstrously strong bullshit going to happen in the future and I refuse to die because I decided to slack off like everyone else.

At least with Lee and Gai-sensei as part of my team, my illogical drive to train and get stronger didn't seem weird. Even if dragging Neji to do the same got me some weird looks from him, it was better than letting his talent rot away from never pushing himself to go higher.

Kiba was in the Sensory Department and he was training his tracking but he wasn't putting much effort into fighting. Shino was still going on missions but he was also taking classes to become a teacher. Hinata was helping her sister with her transition to become Clan Head and date Naruto. Choji and Ino were working to become Clan Heads of their respective Clans and were focusing on the paperwork part of their new position. Shikamaru was also becoming Clan Head but he was also working as Kakashi's part-time advisor and was moving to become Naruto's advisor when he takes the hat. I was also somehow dragged in to help but Shikamaru took the bulk of that advisor work.

Sasuke was on some self-appointed redemption pilgrimage so I don't know what he's been up to other than sending little messages to Sakura. Naruto has been stuck doing paperwork for a long time and didn't have any decent sparing partners. As for Sakura, she still went on the occasional mission but those were mostly close-to-home delivery-style missions. She was mostly working in the hospital, as expected of Tsunade's apprentice. It was nice working with Sakura in the hospital from time to time but I would like to take a nice, bandit clearing mission with her from time to time.

I mean, there's nothing wrong with what they were doing with their lives and what they were doing was very important but I just wish they trained more than an average of three hours a week.

On a separate note, it was a hectic week this week. Naruto and Hinata's wedding was happening and Kakashi gave all of us the secret mission of finding the best gift so he could decide who to let take a day off for the wedding based on the gift. I would have been frustrated at that statement since the requirements for what makes a gift the best gift is subjective but I was exempted from the mission because I was Neji's date to the wedding and since Neji is the cousin of the bride, he didn't need to choose a fancy gift either.

I'm pretty sure he asked me to be his date because I was on his team and because it was his way of apologizing for all the therapy I had to force him into to get him to stop being so self-sacrificing all the time. I'd like to think he didn't have this problem before the war and it was a byproduct of the war but I'm not completely confident in that assumption. At least I know he's doing better now, so I guess I can count that as a win.

The only downside to it all was that I also had to go through therapy with him but since I've been a mess since my birth as Haruno Momo, my baseline is already wonky and I was labelled as completely fine and normal. Much to Neji's surprise. He hid his surprise but his Chakra can't lie.

I had to sit through Sakura's rant about how Kakashi cancelled the mission and instead hired foreign ninjas to do the security stuff for the wedding. She wasn't frustrated about the possible security leaks but was frustrated about how the stress of picking a good present was completely pointless. Which, I understand, but shouldn't she be more worried about security leaks?

Sakura, no matter how old she got and how mature she has grown, was still the same at her core. A naive girl. A jaded girl, yes, but still naive at times.

"So, what did you get them?" I asked as we walked away from the gift table.

"A new tea set. I am sure they will be given at least three other tea sets but they plan to have children and children are children and so they might end up breaking them." Neji answered, "You?"

"I couldn't find anything that told me it was a good gift on store shelves so I looked around for commission work. I found this amazing woodworker who made a custom music box based on my design. It has a Naruto figurine and a Hinata figurine with room to add kid figurines when they get to it. The music is a song I wrote called Blue Bird which the worker recorded to place into the music box."

"That sounds nice."

We looked out at the invitees - or more accurately, the party goers. Gai-sensei and Lee were juggling dumbbells, the Raikage punched his brother into a tree, Team Konohamaru was in charge of one of the tables, and Asuma was indulging Mari in a piggy-back ride on his shoulders while Kurenai was intimidating Kiba to do something for her. Shikamaru and Temari were off in a corner talking about who knows what, Choji was making eyes at the wedding cake, Ino and Sai were together, and… Sakura just got a message from Sasuke. Again.

At least he's alive...? I could honestly care less.

"We have to go." Neji muttered, nudging me to where Naruto and Hinata were waiting.

"Okay."

We entered the room and greeted Naruto and Hinata, telling them it was time for them to make their grand entrance.

"Neji, will you be marrying any time soon?" Hiashi asked, looking at me.

"No."

"How about you, Haruno-chan?"

"No, unfortunately, Imoto ruined romance for me. Not intentionally, but I cannot forget what her love for Sasuke almost made her do, or did make her do."

"I see."

I turned my attention back to the couple about to get married. This was their day, the war is long over and we finally finished fixing everything that got destroyed during the war and built the alliance between the five major powers into something that would take a lot of effort to make collapse. I can finally take a moment to rest before Naruto's gremlin of a son gets born. I should slip away to go talk to Shiori before taking a long-term, solo mission. There was no way Neji was going to rope me into babysitting Naruto and Hinata's children.

Actually… I'll help him babysit if he helps me track down and beat up Sasuke. Yeah. That sounds like a plan.

Now… time to grab Neji. He would never forgive me if I left him to babysit alone with Lee and Gai-sensei.

Chapter 41: Epilogue

Chapter Text

I leaned against the wall of the hospital, listening to Sakura yell and curse. I looked to my side and levelled a look on Sasuke, who decided that outside the window was very interesting right now.

As soon as Sakura was two months away from giving birth, I grabbed Neji and bullied Naruto into giving us permission to hunt down Sasuke and drag him back to Konoha for the birth of his kid. Officially, Naruto gave us permission to go on a short training trip, which isn't strange since every shinobi is allowed to go on training trips if they go with a Jonin or were at least Special Jonin rank. Unofficially, I told Naruto how sad Sakura would be if Sasuke weren't there for her child's first moments in the world and how Sasuke would feel so sad about missing those precious moments with his kid even if he would never say anything. Unsurprisingly, Naruto agreed without hesitation.

I would have grabbed Lee and Gai-sensei but Gai-sensei and Lee have decided to give the Academy Students a week to indulge in the Youth of Taijutsu or something along those lines. I stopped listening when they started crying about passing the Spirit of Youth to the next generation.

So Neji and I spent a month tracking Sasuke down, who was on the other side of the continent in Earth, and dragged him back with a week to spare. For someone so strong and paranoid, he really should have seen that those tiny pebbles that fell on him while he walked through the canyon weren't just rocks and could have been used to poison him. Whatever, it made my job easier since transporting a sleeping Sasuke was easier than an awake one.

He woke up after a bit and Neji had to deflect a fair amount of kunais and shurikens but he was more or less cooperative when I started telling him about Sakura's due date which was coming up and how he should be there to hold his own child and how I was just being a good sister-in-law to him because he was part of the family now.

Neji's chakra told me that he couldn't believe I pulled the Family Card on Sasuke but what works, works so Neji could take his complaints elsewhere.

Granted, Sasuke was very standoffish and it took a lot of nagging from me, looks from Neji, and a lot of friendly poisonings to drag him back to Konoha in time but it was fine.

Soon, there were the sounds of a baby girl crying from the other side of the door. Sasuke relaxed a bit before tensing up again.

"Family can enter now." The nurse said as he opened the door.

Sasuke and I both moved to the door. We were both in front of it when I pointed a senbon at him. Sasuke, whose intelligence seems to be slowly returning, let me enter first. I quickly made my way to Sakura's side and looked at the beautiful baby girl in her arms.

Would have been a lot cuter if it wasn't Sasuke's spawn but no one could be perfect.

I smiled gently at Sakura, "She's adorable, Imoto."

Sakura beamed up at me, exhausted but happy, "Thank you, Ane."

"So, what's her name?"

Sasuke took that time to slide to the other side of Sakura's bed and stare at his kid in unconcealed awe. I could see his Sharingan turning on to capture this moment.

Sakura looked at Sasuke for a moment and he nodded.

"If our child was a boy, we would have named him Itachi but Ane... I know I wasn't the best sister. I didn't think about you or anyone else, just myself. I got better but that was mostly because you pushed me so hard. So I wanted to do something for you. I... I realized I didn't know anything about you so I looked through the school work you did and stuff like that and... I already asked Sasuke and he said it was fine so... I want you to meet your niece, Uchiha... Shiori."

I froze, my eyes wide open and both slightly open. In my frozen state, Sakura handed over her child and I held her in my arms.

Shiori...

"It's perfect." I said quietly.

Shiori, your aunt can't promise to always keep you safe but she does promise she will teach you to be able to protect yourself.