Capítulo 17: Chapter 17: Chunin Exams Arc: Part 1
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.
Playing the Role of the Byakugan Princess
Chunin Exams Arc: Part One
Chapter seventeen
I cannot believe that I forgot all about Orochimaru and the Chunin Exams. I have been too focused on improving myself and worrying about the future of my clan. I guess the thoughts slipped my mind since only some events have been accurate and others have been different. Plus, it has been twelve and half years in this universe since I've last watched the anime/manga.
Asuma informed us that the Chunin Exams take place in five days from now. Until then, he is not going to be around much because he has some "important stuff to take care of". I think he isn't allowed to be around us much while we prepare for the Exams just so he doesn't reveal anything about it to us, if he even knows any information, and try to influence to train a certain way.
Well, if we are going to be without our squad leader for the next five days then I am stepping in to temporarily take his place and make sure our team is hundred prepared for these Exams and Orochimaru since I do have prior knowledge, unless things change. It is so annoying that I think those three words a lot.
"This is all going to be such a drag," Shikamaru complains aloud as he shoves his hands into his pockets.
"What should we do now?" Sakura asks to no one in particular. "Should we start training for the Chunin Exams or studying? Asuma was very vague when it came to answering my questions so I don't know what to expect."
"I highly doubt these Exams are just going to be taking tests," I tell her. "If it were that easy to be a Chunin then we would have more running around the village. But, to answer your question, we should probably just start training. All three of us are smart enough to pass most, if any, tests if we come across any during the Exams."
Shikamaru raises an eyebrow. "Why even bother to train? We can't make that much progress in five days."
I roll my eyes. "You are just wanting to be lazy and watch the clouds or nap. We are training because I am not losing to the other rookies."
That caught Sakura's attention. "Do you think the others got recommended as well?"
"It just makes sense because they are just as talented as we are. If we were recommended than they should have been recommended." I lean in closer towards her. "That includes Ino."
I take a step back as Sakura's eyes instantly go up in flames as she raises a fist into the air. "Shannaro! Like I will ever allow Ino-pig to outdo me! She is crazy if she thinks she can become a Chunin before I can! We are training until our bodies collapse!"
I give my comrade a high five. "That's the spirit!"
Shikamaru sighs. "You two are so troublesome, but it would be just as troublesome for me to argue against the two of you over this so I guess I am in."
Sakura points out Shikamaru. "You better take this seriously, Shikamaru! I'm not going to allow you to slack off and hold us back!"
Shikamaru raises his hands up. "Geez, calm down. I just said I was in."
Sakura narrows her eyebrows. "That doesn't mean you will take this seriously!"
Shikamaru shifts his eyes over to me. "See what you've done? Now, I have to walk on eggshells the next few days."
I shrug innocently. "I have no idea what you are talking about."
Sakura's determination calms down a little and she looks at me. "So, what should we work on?"
I am glad that I am able to be seen as the leader without having to force myself into the position. That means they are more likely to follow my lead during the Exams when we have to enter the Forest of Death. I do not have a clear cut plan just yet, but I need to come up with a way to prevent Orochimaru from giving Sasuke the Cursed Mark. That may include getting Shikamaru and Sakura involved and I need to give them a convincing reason as to why we need to be around Team Seven during the second part of the Exams. But, I can come up with that in my own time. Right now, we need to come up with team tactics.
"I think we should split up our time," I reply. "Half of our time should be training as a team and the other half training individually."
"Why individually?" Sakura asks.
"The Exams could be anything," I tell her. "I just want to cover all of our bases."
Sakura glares at Shikamaru. "That means you need to actually train when you are alone."
Shikamaru rolls his eyes. "I can see you have so much faith in me."
"I think we should continue practicing our team formations," I continue, ignoring the little tiff. "If there is a point where teams have to face off against one another then most of them are going to approach the situation both offensively and defensively. We will be doing what our team does best and hiding and planning out strategies to ambush and outsmart the enemies."
"That's a good idea because Asuma told us that all three of us have to agree to take the Exams if we want to participate in it," Shikamaru says. "That just insinuates to me that the majority of the Exams is going to be team based until we are weeded out somehow and there are only a handful of Shinobi left. By then, those who are left will get promoted to Chunin or may have to face off one on one or in battle royale style."
"I wonder how many other teams we are going to be competing against," Sakura comments.
"I don't know, but I know there will probably be some who are older than us that are still Genin," Shikamaru tells her. "We will have to watch out for they because they have probably taken the Exams a few times and have an idea to what to expect verus people like us."
"They might take an opportunity to team up on us rookies because it is rare for Genin fresh out of the Academy to attend the Chunin Exams," I warn my teammates.
Shikamaru nods. "They might get the impression that we are strong or talented so I think we should enter the Exams as weak and scared Genin who are only taking these Exams to avoid disappointing their superior."
Sakura nods. "Yeah. We can just hide and blend in with everybody so we do not stand out. By doing that, maybe the other Genin will not associate us with the other six."
Oh, we are going to stand out anyways because Naruto will most likely holler out my name as soon as he sees me and Ino and Sakura will get in some sort of argument over Sasuke. But, it is smart of them to come up with such ideas.
I clasp my hands together to grab their attention. "Since we already trained as a group today, I think we should spend the rest of the afternoon training on our own. For the rest of the week, we should do group training in the morning and individual sessions in the afternoon. I do not know about you guys, but I recommend in the evenings to eat an energized meal and go to sleep early so you can receive all the rest and energy you can get."
"Is there anything we should be specifically working on while we train alone?" Sakura asks.
I shake my head. "Just do what you usually do as along as you think it will benefit yourself and our team during the Exams. For example, there is no need to start learning a brand new jutsu when you can enhance your other skills these next five days."
Sakura nods. "Gotcha."
"Well, if we are done here I am going to head on home," Shikamaru informs us. "I'm going to see if my dad can give me some advice or anything."
"I probably won't even tell my parents about the Exams until the night before because they still freak out on me about the dangers of being a Shinobi," Sakura mumbles in an annoyed tone.
I wonder what it would be like to be a Shinobi with civilian parents. I can see it being potentially frustrating at times from both ends.
After saying our good-byes, we all depart and I head straight home to start planning. Five whole days to plan against one of the strongest and most sinister Shinobi alive, survive his Sound minions if we come across them, and make it out unmarked and alive to the finishing point. This is not going to be easy and I am going to have to get creative with Orochimaru. I wish I can remember how exactly the whole scene played out in the Forest of Death. I vaguely remember Team Seven getting separated, Naruto getting swallowed alive by a large snake, and Sasuke and Sakura facing off against Orochimaru's killer intent. Everything else is a blur to me.
For the next hour, I lock myself in my room and lay down on my bed, just staring at the ceiling in frustration. Not one good idea, or really any idea at all, is coming to me. Maybe if I train or go for a walk then a lightbulb will go off in my head. I'm not like Shikamaru and can just lay around and come up with a instant detailed plan; I have to be active in order to keep my mind active.
I leave the compound and start walking towards the direction of the Training Grounds before I halt in my tracks. It might be better for me to actually conserve my energy for training tonight and just to take a walk for now. I want to spend my afternoons planning and spend my nights perfecting my Protective Eight Trigrams: Sixty-Four Palms because I finally have the technique down pat to the point that I can emit chakra for about ten whole seconds. I can get a few hours of sleep and then spend the morning with my team. I plan on getting most of my rest before the Second Exam because I want to just go off pure adrenaline until we reach the tower because I do not want to sleep in a forest with people and large animals who are out to hurt and, possibly, kill me.
I change directions and head towards Hokage Rock. At the pace I want to go at, it will probably take me almost an hour to get to the very top. That will give me plenty of time to, hopefully, come up with a foundation for a plan and build something up from there. Plus, my reward for hiking up the mountain can be a breathtaking view of Konoha.
Thankfully, a walk is something that I definitely needed to get the gears in my mind to start rolling. Various ideas and scenarios keep flashing through my head as I begin to remember the ones that I like and cancel out the ones that are bad. My goal isn't to kill Orochimaru, because that would be impossible, but to restrain him or distract him in some way where I can take that split second to get Sasuke to safety. I also have to worry about Shikamaru, Ino, Sakura, and Naruto and make sure Orochimaru doesn't pull a fast one and harm them in the process. However, I think my teammates will follow my lead because they seem to already see me as one at the moment since they agreed with my training schedule I came up with. Or I can be just overthinking things and they were just agreeing with me because it was just a good idea. Still, Sakura and Shikamaru are intelligent and pretty easy to get along with so maybe I can easily convince them to not question me when I tell them, in some way, that we need to team up with Team Seven.
Wait, that also means that I will have to convince Team Seven to team up with us and that team is made up of some of the most stubborn people I will ever meet. I might, might, be able to get Naruto to, but Sasuke's pride will get in the way and Ino will not want to work with Sakura.
Ugh. This whole planning thing is not going to make my life easy.
The next five days went by fairly quickly to my dismay. It is like I blinked and it is the day of the First Exam and I do not feel prepared at all. I mean, I think I have came up with a good plan and our training sessions have been going well. I am just getting nervous.
An odd thing happened though during those five days. It was two days ago and I was taking my afternoon stroll up to Hokage Rock when I was randomly attacked by a Shinobi not from my village. He had on a blue and white jumpsuit that was covered by a long brown robe. His bottom half of his face was covered with a dark blue mask and he had a tan hat on that resembled an upside down bowl that someone would bake a pie in. He stood at an average height, was a little stocky, and had white eyes with no pupils. Kind of like he had rolled his eyes to the back of his head and left it there.
The foreign Shinobi had came out of nowhere and was attacking me with long range weapons. It is like he instantly knew I was more of a short range fighter than a long range one. Luckily, I had just gotten finished training with my comrades so I still had my weapons on me. I activated my Byakugan, threw a smoke bomb, and created a Shadow Clone to assist me. I pulled out one of my scrolls containing a straw dummy and my clone took it and rushed off.
The Shinobi cleared the smoke away with a wind jutsu and began hurling more weapons towards me at at rapid pace as I was starting to struggle to dodge them. The waves of weapons were coming so fast that I could not proceed closer to the enemy and kept wasting my energy by dodging. Finally, I sensed my Shadow Clone poofed away and I knew the plan was ready.
I weaved handsigns and used Substitution Jutsu to switch places with the straw dummy that my Shadow Clone placed a few meters away from my opponent. The Shinobi turned around, but it was already too late for him. I surged chakra into my hands to use my chakra scalpels and thrust my palm forward, cutting into his shoulder. He curses and grasped his shoulder as I twirled around on my toes and made contact with his chest. I aimed next for his other shoulder, but he just jumped backwards and landed on top of a branch. I get ready to chase after him, but the man held his hand up and I stopped.
"You have done very well," the stranger had told me.
I had furrowed my eyebrows in confusion. "Thank you?" I replied.
The man snickered. "But, the Chunin Exams won't be as easy as this fight. It will be a lot harder and you will be facing some difficult opponents."
I went on the defensive. "Why are you telling me this? Are you going to be in the Chunin Exams, too?"
The man just chuckled some more in response before poofing away. I had expanded my vision, but he was long gone. Being cautious, I had searched the whole village for Asuma, or really any elite Shinobi, to tell what happened but it is like everyone had disappeared for the day.
The next day, I figured out that Shikamaru and Sakura faced off against the same man when I told them what I had experienced. This made me wonder if this was some sort of test set up by our squad leaders to see if we were ready for the Chunin Exams. Though, I do not understand how a short fight like that will determine our readiness.
I push the strange memory to the back of my mind as I make my way over to Shikamaru and Sakura as they wait on me in front of the Academy doors.
"You're late," Shikamaru says to me.
"Hello to you as well," I reply back. "And, I am not late. We do not have to sign in for another forty-five minutes."
Shikamaru crosses his arms. "Technically, you are late because you told us yesterday that we should meet an hour before we have to sign in."
"That was just more for your sake in case you overslept," I tell him. "Or if you had decided to bail out, it would have given me time to go and find you while I allow Sakura to kill you."
Sakura giggles and playfully cracks her knuckles as Shikamaru sighs. "Why did I have to get stuck on a team with these two troublesome girls?"
"Let's just go ahead and go in to scope out the competition," I suggest. "Remember to blend in and not to draw any attention to ourselves. We should act afraid and not talk to anyone. Try not to make any eye contact, but try your best to observe everyone so we can make a mental note of who to stay away from."
Sakura and Shikamaru nod. "Yes!" "Sure."
As we are about to walk in, I hear a voice call out my name. "Hey, Hinata-chan!"
I sweatdrop. There goes our plan for keeping a low profile.
I turn around and wave. "Hey, Naruto-kun!"
"Are you here for the Chunin Exams, too?" he excitedly asks. I nod. "Great! That means we get to take it together!"
"If you're team is here than I bet Team Eight is going to be taking the Exams also," Sasuke points out.
Naruto rests his hands behind his head. "Awesome! That just means more people for me to battle against! Especially against that one guy with the mummy on his back!"
I blink. "A guy with a mummy on his back?"
Naruto widen his eyes. "Oh! I didn't tell you! So, the other day…"
As Naruto tells me the story of running into Gaara and his team, Sakura and Ino decide to exchange some not so friendly words.
"It seems like they will just let anyone take the Exams these days," Ino says to Sakura with a smirk on her face and one hand on her hip.
"Didn't you read the rules? No animals allowed in the building, Ino-Pig!" Sakura retorts back.
A tick mark flickers on top of Ino's head. "Shut up, Billboard Brow! You won't even be able to get inside the building with that forehead blocking the doors! Speaking of your forehead, I see you are starting to develop some frown lines! What a shame."
Sakura furrows her eyebrows and points at Ino. "Arrgh! Leave my forehead out of it!"
Ino responses by sticking her tongue out as Sakura shakes her fist.
Yikes! These two are so vicious.
"Since we are all here, how about we just all walk in together?" Naruto asks after finishing his story.
He sure is oblivious to the tense atmosphere in the air right now. Sakura and Ino do not want to be around each other right now.
"We were actually wanting to keep a low-profile so nobody will notice us," I reply.
Naruto gives me a puzzled look. "So, what does that mean? Is that a yes or a no?"
Ino sighs. "She means that her plan is not going to work if she is around your loud and obnoxious self."
Shikamaru shift his eyes towards her. "You're not so quiet yourself."
"Grrrr! What did you say?!" Ino growls.
Sakura looks over at Sasuke. "I'm so sorry you have to put up with someone like her, Sasuke-kun."
Ino jumps over and wraps his arms around Sasuke. "You don't know what you are talking about! He loves being around me!"
Sasuke glares at her. "Will you get off of me?"
I smack my forehead. This is a disaster.
I look back at Naruto. "We want to enter the Exams appearing as weak and afraid as possible so we can hide our skills. We are already going to have enough attention on us because we are only a few months fresh out of the Academy and already taking the Chunin Exams. That is almost unheard of. If you want to walk in with us, you have to be keep your eyes on the floor and your mouth shut."
I hope that I wasn't harsh with that last sentence, but Naruto seems unfazed. He gives me a big grin. "Oh, I get it now! Sure! I can be quite! Believe it!"
That was not at all quite. "I hope you can because the plan starts now!" I look at the four remaining Genin. "That goes for everybody." We all start to walk in as Sakura and Ino give each other one more staredown.
I swear to Kami I will kick Sakura and Ino's ass if they freaking argue during our future fight with Orochimaru.
Asuma told us that we had to meet in room 301 so we begin heading up the stairs until we were on the third floor. As we enter the hallway, we see a few Shinobi scattered around a doorway as two Shinobi that looks a few years older than us blocked anyone from going in.
Sakura stops walking and holds her arm out. "Wait," she mumbles. "This is not the third floor."
Shikamaru narrows his eyes. "What do you mean?"
"Those two guys over there has casted a False Surroundings genjutsu to confuse people," Sakura explains. "We are only on the second floor."
"Ah, good eye," I compliment Sakura.
I remember this scene now.
"Agh!" I hear a male grunt. We all focus our attention to the center of the crowd. Rock Lee seem to have gotten hit and is laying on the ground while Tenten bends down to check on him. Off to the side stands Neji with his arms crossed.
"You're taking the Chunin Exams, but you can't even get passed us?" one of the guys with a brown goatee taunts. "Why don't you just go ahead and run along before you get hurt?"
"Yeah, I think I hear your mommy calling ya," the other guy with black spiky hair remarks.
Geez, I know these two are just Chunin under disguise, but could they not come up with better comebacks?
Sakura looks at the group. "The questions now is how are we supposed to get through without causing any attention us? It doesn't seem like they are not going to let anybody through."
"Can we not just politely point out the genjutsu?" Ino asks.
Sasuke shakes his head. "I highly doubt they are going to just let us on through. They are standing there for a reason. Probably to scare off any Genin that are trying to check in. You see how those two are knocking around the boy and girl."
"Tch, how troublesome. Hmmm. Why don't you just cast your own genjutsu on top of the one that is already there?" Shikamaru asks Sakura.
No matter how much I tease Shikamaru, I will always be grateful for his genius mind.
Sakura nods. "Oh! That's a good idea. Let me try that."
She lifts up two fingers and I watch as the sign reading 301 changes into 201. I see Ino open her mouth to make a snide comment, but she seems to remember the plan and keeps it closed. The two guys guarding the door doesn't seem to notice the slight change, but someone from the group of loitering Shinobi does.
"Hey! The sign just changed!" the male points out. "You guys were tricking us this whole time?!"
The two Chunins blink in surprise before glancing up and they frown.
"Now is our chance to get through while everyone is rioting without anyone paying attention to us," I tell everyone.
They all nod and we begin to nonchalantly scurry our way down the hall like a bunch of frightened Genin. Suddenly, a kunai whizzed by my ear and Sasuke quickly catches it and hurls back towards the attacker. Goatee Man blocks it with another kunai while Spiky Guy poofs over right in front of us, causing us to stop dead in our tracks.
The black haired man smirks. "One of you screws up our illusion and then tries to escape? What a bunch of cowards."
How does he know that one of us specifically messed up their illusion? Well, they are Chunin in disguise so I shouldn't be shocked.
"W-we don't know what you are t-talking about, but we are just a bunch of c-cowards who are t-trying to check in," I reply meekly, trying to channel my inner anime/manga Hinata. "P-please let us through. W-we do not want a-any trouble."
Spiky Guy raises an eyebrow. "For a Hyūga, you don't have much confidence in yourself now do ya?"
I play with my fingers and avert my eyes downward. "I-I'm sorry," I squeak.
"We really don't have nothing to do with what just happened," Shikamaru protests.
"We are just trying to sign in before the deadline," Sakura adds in.
"Give me one good reason why I should allow a bunch of weaklings like you through?" the Chunin in disguise questions in a more serious tone.
Is this a test? Does he really want us to prove in some way that we are capable enough to at least check in? I guess that is understandable. To weed out the weakest before they even get the chance to take the Exams. Survival of the fittest.
Sasuke steps forward. "Alright, cut the crap. Let us through or else."
I sigh. Well, I thought Naruto would be the one to ruin our plans, not Sasuke. His pride prevents him from avoiding a challenge.
"Heh," Spiky Guy grunts. "I will rather take the or else, please." Sasuke grits his teeth and clenches his fist. Good! Keep yourself restrained! "Hmm? All talk, huh? I guess I will have to be the first to take action!"
The guy slings his leg out to throw a roundhouse kick towards Sasuke as he brings up his own leg to return his own kick. Neither leg collides as two hands reach out to stop them. Both males recoil the legs back as Lee let's go of them.
Wow, he's even faster in person. I didn't even see or sense him come over here. And, he was all the way on the other side of the hallway!
"Sasuke! We were suppose to be quite!" Naruto hollars.
"No, that was only you, dobe," Sasuke shots back. "We were suppose to just blend in and not stand out."
Naruto crosses his arms. "You still screwed up the plan, teme!"
Sasuke glances over at me and I shrug. "Hey, don't give me that look. He's right. You really did."
"Hn," Sasuke grunts as focuses his attention on Lee and begins to study him.
Neji and Tenten walks over and approaches Lee. "Hey! What do you think you are doing?" Neji snaps. "I thought it was your idea to keep a low profile so no one will figure out our skill level?"
Lee looks down. "I know, but-"
Tenten shakes her head. "Nevermind. It's over. Just forget it."
Lee ignores Tenten comment as he stares at Sakura and his face flushes red.
Sakura leans into my ear. "Why is he looking at me like that?"
Before I can answer, Lee strides over towards her. "Hi. My name is Rock Lee. You are Haruno Sakura, correct?"
Sakura blinks. "Yes, but why-"
Lee flashes a nice guy smile, winks, and sticks his thumb up. "Please be my girlfriend! I vow to protect you with my life!" His teeth gleam as he speaks.
Wow. I want to know his secret for doing that.
Sakura gives him a horrified look. "No… way."
I hear Ino burst out laughing in the background.
Lee's face drops. "Why?"
Hmm, maybe because she's never meet you before and you are being to upfront with her right now.
"Because you're a weirdo."
Damn. Brutal much? My answer was nicer.
Lee drops his head. "Awhhh."
Naruto chuckles in amusement over this whole scene.
Neji comes over and stands beside of me. "I'm surprised your squad leader even recommended you for the Chunin Exams." I give him a strange look. Is that suppose to be a jab? Neji notices my expression and shakes his head. "Let me clarify. I mean that I do not think you guys have enough experience to take the Chunin Exams. Even though I believe our team was ready last year, my sensei explained to us that there is a difference between a talented Shinobi and an experienced Shinobi."
I give him a reassuring smile. "Thank you for your concern, but I believe I will be just fine. I do not think that Asuma-sensei would recommend us for the Chunin Exams if we were not ready."
Neji doesn't seem convinced. "If you say so."
I don't know if I should feel offended or not. He either doesn't think I am capable enough yet to the Exams or he truly is just worried about me.
Neji flickers his eyes over to Sasuke and strides over towards him. "Hey, you! Over here!" Sasuke turns around and gives my cousin a bored glance. "What's your name?"
I smack my forehead. Why is Neji trying to appear intimidating all of a sudden? He doesn't live under a rock. He's heard of the famous Sasuke Uchiha.
Sasuke shoves his hands in his pockets. "It is common courtesy to give your own name first before asking for someone else's."
Neji ignores his smartass comment. "You're a rookie, aren't you? How old are you anyways?"
He's my age, Neji! My! Age!
Sasuke gives him a deadpanned stare. "I'm not obliged to answer."
Neji narrows his eyebrows in annoyance. "What's that?"
"Is it my turn to ask stupid questions now?" Sasuke taunts. "I am assuming you are Hinata's cousin. Well, I am pretty sure you know all the answers to those questions then."
Oooo, Neji just got burned!
"Hey! Do you want to know my name?!" Naruto shouts.
Neji gives him a strange look. "I already know who you are. We've met before."
Naruto stops jumping up and down and ponders for a moment. "Oh, yeah. I forgot."
Ugh, this is getting out of hand.
I clap my hands together to get my friend's attention. "Alright, alright. I think we should head on over and check in before we are to late."
"Alright! Let's go!" Naruto cheers as he runs on head.
Me and everyone else just look at each other and shrug before sprinting after him, leaving Neji and his team behind. As we run up the stairs, I notice a small smile resting on Sasuke's face.
"What are you so happy about?" I ask.
"I'm just excited for the Chunin Exams," Sasuke replies. "There are some many strong people to fight against. It is a freak show."
I try to think of who he is talking about: Gaara, Lee, Neji, maybe even Naruto?
I nod. "I would like to see some of these people's skills." Sasuke just nods back in agreement.
As we reach the top of the stairs and are about to go through an archway, we all hear a voice echo from behind us. "Hold on!" We all turn around and Lee perched on a ledge right above us. His thick bushy eyebrows are narrowed and he is giving us a serious look.
Ugh, stop staring at us. Your eyebrows give me the creeps.
"Ah! He's following us!" Sakura screeches as she takes a few steps back.
Ino shoves her foreward. "Quit being rude and say hi to your boyfriend."
Sakura gets in her face. "Shut it, porker!"
"What do you want?" Sasuke questions.
"I want to fight! Right here! Right now!" Lee hollars.
He wants to fight Sasuke? Hmm, this might be interesting to watch.
Sasuke gives Lee a look of slight interest. "Right here, right now, huh?"
Lee jumps off the ledge and onto to the ground. "Yes!" He stands up and points at himself. "My name is Rock Lee. You said it was common courtesy for a challenger to give his own name first, right Uchiha Sasuke."
Shikamaru whispers in my ear as Lee and Sasuke continue to talk. "We shouldn't stick around for this. We have less than thirty minutes before we have to check in."
I wave my hand. "We will be fine. We wanted to scope out the competition anyway, remember? Well, this guy appears really strong and fast and I want to study his skills."
Shikamaru sighs. "You're such a drag. Tell me, why do I even bother to listen to you again?"
I shrug. "Because I'm a charming girl?"
Shikamaru rolls his eyes. "More like a troublesome girl."
"AHHH! THOSE EYEBROWS CAN'T BE REAL!" Sakura's sudden loud yell distracts me from Shikamaru.
Alarmed, I shoot a glance over at Naruto. "What happened?"
"Bush Brow just told Sakura he loves her," Naruto replies in a slightly jealous tone.
Ino cups her hands around her mouth. "She loves you, too!"
Sakura shudder. "No, I don't! You hairstyle is horrible, those eyebrows are so bushy, and you're such a weirdo!"
I sigh in disappointment. I had thought that being around Shikamaru and I has dialed down Sakura's cattiness and slight mean streak just a little. Then again, Lee is being a little to brash right now so I am siding with Sakura on this one.
"You are an angel sent from heaven!" Lee remarks. He winks and blows her a kiss.
Sakura insults you and you give her a compliment back? Okay...
A floating heart comes out of Lee's eyes and heads straight towards Sakura.
Wait a minute… how the hell is he doing that?!
Sakura screams and dives towards the ground for her life.
Shikamaru loudly sighs. "While this is entertaining and all, and I love seeing Sakura in a frantic like this, can we just get on with this fight so we can check in?"
Ino crosses her arms. "You shouldn't even be challenging Sasuke-kun in the first place. He can totally kick your butt."
"It isn't smart to underestimate your opponents, Ino," I warn the blonde. "No matter how strange they may appear."
Ino shrugs. "I'm not. I'm just speaking the truth."
Sasuke takes a step forward. "Well, if you want to know more about my clan then I will teach you… the hard way!"
Lee smirks in anticipation from Sasuke accepting his challenge and he gets into his standard fighting stance. "Bring it on!"
"Hold it!" Naruto yells. Everyone turns to stare at him. "I get him first. This weirdo is mine!"
I wrap my arms around Naruto's shoulder to half comfort him and half restrain him. "Naruto! I know you want someone to notice you for once over Sasuke, but now isn't the time to be acting like a fool. I'm not trying to be mean, but Lee clearly wants to fight Sasuke. Just save your energy for the Exams."
"Your friend is right," Lee adds. "I am only interested in fighting with Uchiha."
Naruto clenches his fists. "It's always about Sasuke Sasuke Sasuke."
"When the Exams starts, I am sure you can find someway to make it about Naruto Naruto Naruto," I tell him. "You're pretty good at getting people's attention." In a positive and negative way.
Naruto grumbles, but eventually calms down and gives in. While I would love for Naruto to get noticed by someone, I know Lee can knock aside Naruto with one swift kick. No need for him to embarrass himself.
Sasuke steps forward. "Let's get this thing started."
"While I would love to watch you kick this weirdo's butt," Ino begins. "We have to register by three! You don't have time to fight him, Sasuke-kun!"
"Don't worry," Sasuke says to her. "This will only take five seconds."
Sasuke takes off running towards Lee as he just stands there.
What's up with people just running head on towards their enemy? I've always wondered that.
As expected, Lee quickly zips out of the way as Sasuke ends up punching thin air.
Lee spins around behind Sasuke and kicks his leg out. "Leaf Hurricane!"
Sasuke starts to barely dodge Lee's attacks, but he is going to slow. Lee is clearly outdoing in the agility department. Sasuke raises his arms up to block and attack, but Lee quickly goes through with his kick before Sasuke could get his arms up in time and hits him straight in the face. If I didn't know of Lee, I would have guessed he used some kind of ninjutsu to attack Sasuke just now.
"Sasuke!" Ino and Sakura both yell as Sasuke soars through the air and crashes to the ground.
Watching Lee fight in person versus a television screen like in my past life is two different experiences. In reality, he is so quick that an untrained eye would not be able to follow his movements, and he is not even going at top speed! For that, I would have to watch him with my Byakugan just to pick up on his chakra force in order to watch him fight.
"I've been waiting to try this out," I hear Sasuke say, breaking me out of my thoughts.
I look over at him and gasp. His eyes are blood red. He just activated his Sharingan! Woah, so cool! Still, I don't know if even that is going to help him in this fight. If I remember correctly, I don't think it does because Lee doesn't possess any ninjutsu or genjutsu. I wonder if I should warn Sasuke that all of his opponent's attacks have been purely taijutsu up to this point…. Nah, he needs to figure it out himself.
Sasuke takes off towards Lee again. This time, instead of evading Sasuke's attack, Lee sweeps his leg around and kicks it upwards, sending Sasuke flying through the air once more. I hear Ino, Sakura, Naruto, and even Shikamaru gasp in disbelief from Sasuke not being able to read Lee's next attack. Lee zooms forwards and kicks Sasuke's side and punches him in the gut. Sasuke grabs his stomach and tries to catch his breathe.
"Do you get it now?" Lee asks. "I am not using any ninjutsu and genjutsu, only taijutsu. I am not using any tricks and that is why you cannot see through my attack, Sasuke!"
Sasuke responses by gritting his teeth in annoyance.
Lee moves suddenly behind Sasuke, making it look like he almost teleported. Sasuke swings his right arms backward, but Lee dodges it back performing a backflip and lands perfectly on his feet.
"Your eyes may be quick enough to stay one step ahead of me, but your body is too slow," Lee explains to Sasuke. "If your body cannot keep up, what good are your eyes against me?"
"Rrrrrghhh," Sasuke growls.
"You know what? This is what I believe," Lee begins. "I believe that there are two different types of Shinobi: those like you who are born with talent and never have to work at it. And then, there are those like me, the ones who have to train everyday of our lives."
Sasuke shakes his head and runs after Lee in pure anger and blindly punches him while Lee gracefully dodges it. Sasuke keeps on throwing a barrage of punches as Lee keeps on dancing around them. In a split second between punches, Lee leans back and kicks Sasuke into the air. He jumps upwards and hovers his body just below Sasuke's as the bandages around his arms begin to unreveal. Lee and Sasuke seem to be talking up there, but I can't make out what they are saying. Whatever is going on, all I know is that I think Lee uses this move on Gaara once and it is a very dangerous one.
"Sasuke! Move your body! Get out of there!" I shout, even though I know it is hopeless. Everything is going to fast for Sasuke's body to react right now.
Suddenly, a kunai attached some pink ribbon appears out of nowhere and pins Lee's bandages against the wall, causing him to not finish his attack. We all look around in shock before noticing a random red turtle that wasn't there before just chilling in the corner.
"That's enough, Lee!" the turtle shouts.
Lee jumps away from Sasuke and lands on the ground while Sasuke free falls to the ground in a laid down position. I rush over towards him, but Sakura and Ino have the same idea in mind. Not wanting to collide with them, I take a step back and allow them to fight over who wants to catch him. Sakura wins out at the end and hops on top of Ino's shoulders and pushes off, causing her to collapse to the ground, and safely catches Sasuke.
"Sasuke? Are you okay?" Sakura asks. He ignores her and just glares at Lee. "Sasuke!"
I sadly shake my head. His pride is destroyed right now. He needs to be left alone. "Just leave him be," I call out to Sakura.
Sakura gives me a hesitant look. "But-"
I give her a knowing look. "Sakura…"
Sakura sighs and gently let's go of Sasuke, but doesn't leave his side.
As Lee and the random turtle talk to one another, Naruto runs over to me and Shikamaru. "Guys, am I the only one that thinks it is weird that Bushy Brow is talking to a turtle and it is talking back?"
Shikamaru shrugs as I widen my eyes and nod. To be honest, I do think it is weird because I've never seen an animal speak before! Even though it is totally normal in this universe.
"I wonder if that is Bushy Brow's sensei? He keeps apologizing to the turtle and everything so it must be true!"
"Are you prepared to take the punishment for your actions?" the turtle asks Lee.
Lee looks down. "I… yes, sir."
The turtle looks up. "Alright, please come out, Guy-sensei!"
A poof of smoke appears over the turtle's shell and a man who looks exactly like Lee pops up in the most goofiest pose ever with two fingers forming a circle around his left eyes, his right arm raised up, and his legs spread out and twisted in a weird position.
"Hey! What's shaking?! How you doing everybody?! Life treating you good?!" Guy greets to everyone.
Everybody, including me, stares at Guy with widen eyes and mouths agape. "Ahhh whaaaa?!"
"He's got the biggest eyebrows yet! They are almost alive!" Naruto shouts in horror.
Guy ignores out reactions and points at his student. "Hi, Lee!"
"... Too weird," Sakura says.
"Tell me about it," Ino says to her, agreeing with her for once.
"I knew we should've left," Shikamaru mumbles.
"I see where Bushy Brow get his soup bowl haircut from now and those big bushy eyebrows," Naruto comments, shuddering.
Lee spins around and raises a fist. "Hey! Do not insult Guy-sensei! He's one of the greatest men in the entire world!"
"Well, excuse me for not knowing his greatness! I was too busy watching him crawl out of a turtle!"
"He did not crawl out!"
Guy waves his hand. "Give it a rest, Lee." Lee turns around and nods. Guy nods back and raises his fist up. "Now, for your punishment!" He punches the shit out of Lee! "You little fool!"
Lee is sent flying through the air as we all gasp in horror again. This guy is crazy!
"I'm sorry, Lee. But, it was for your own g-good." Is… is he choking up?
"S-sensei…" Wait, why is he getting all choke up as well?!
Tears begin to stream down Guy's and Lee's face. "Oh, Lee."
"O-oh, sensei! I am so sorry!"
Suddenly, a sunset and a beach appears behind the two crying males… Where the hell did that come from?! This is not a genjutsu!
Guy and Lee spur out some more creepy heartfelt words before crashing into each other's arms in a strong embrace, crying on one another's shoulder. Even the damn turtle is crying!
I give Sasuke a weird look. "How did you lose to someone like that?"
Sasuke shakes his head. "Don't speak about it ever again."
"Now, take off!" Guy yells, pointing at nothing in particular. "A hundred laps around the practice field! Show me what you got! But, don't mess up your hair."
Lee clenches his fist in determination. "Yes! No problem!"
Are they really leaving now?
"Wait!" I call out. "You can't leave now! We all have to check in at three, which is fifteen minutes from now!"
Guy scratches the back of his head. "Er, yeah. I forgot about that." He drops his goofy expression and gives all six of us a more serious stare.
Sakura raises her hands up. "Ugh! He's looking at us!"
Shikamaru shifts his eyes other towards her. "Will you knock it off already?"
"The three of you, on the right, how is Kakashi doing?" Guy asks.
"Do you know him?" Sasuke asks.
He wouldn't be asking how your sensei was doing if he didn't know him…
Guy gives a smug look and rubs his chin. "Do I know Kakashi? Well, I guess you can say that he and I are arch rivals… for all eternity."
"No way!" Naruto and Ino both yell.
"If Guy-sensei says it is true then-" Lee begins to yell back.
Guy rests his hand on his favorite student's shoulder. "Let it slide, Lee. A Shinobi's actions always speak louder than words."
I glup. What is he about to do?
I didn't even blink and he's gone.
Wait! Where did he go?
I sense a presence appear behind us as Guy pops out of nowhere, startling everyone. "My track record is 50 wins and 49 losses, which is one better than his by the way."
We all spin around.
"You're kidding! How did you beat Kakashi?" Naruto asks in disbelief.
Guy jabs a thumb towards his way. "The fact is I am stronger than Kakashi. Also, I am faster."
Team Seven all gasp in surprise while our team just stare at him.
"Anyways, I'm sorry for all the problems Lee cause you," Guy continues, giving us a huge grin. He sure doesn't seem sorry. He's probably happy inside that Lee is capable of kicking Sasuke's ass. "Look into my eyes and accept my sincere apology. Also notice my handsome manly features."
I sweatdrop. Someone's conceited
I hear Sasuke growl to my left and I glance at him. What is he pissed about?
Guy hurls a kunai towards Lee trapped bandage, releasing it from the other weapon holding it hostage. "Lee! Why don't you accompany these fine Shinobi to the classroom?"
Lee doesn't say anything as he wraps his hands back up. That is when I notice how bruised his hands arm. Damn, he has been working hard.
"Remember to give your best! Lee, farewell!" Guy gives everyone a wave and departs into thin air along with his turtle summoning.
"Hey, Sasuke," Lee says. "I have not been totally honest with you. I said I wanted to test my skills, and that is true enough, but you are not really the one I want to test them against."
Sasuke's eyebrow twitches.
"When we were fighting before, I told you I was the best Genin here. But, there is another top Genin. Someone from my own team. I came here to defeat him. You were just practice. Though, now you are a target and I will crush you. There you have it! Consider yourself warned."
I sniffed and roll my eyes. I can't take him seriously. He is one of the kindest Genin in our bunch.
Lee gives me an odd look. "You are Neji's cousin, correct?"
I nod. "I am."
Lee suddenly changes his expression to glare. "I can tell. He's giving me that same reaction many times. Just like Sasuke, you can be born with talent and that makes you think that you can look down on people like me. But, I have worked hard to get to where I am today and nobody can ever convince me otherwise."
I stare at him in shock. Wait a damn minute! That is not my thought process at all!
"I think you are mis-" I begin but he doesn't listen as he jumps back up to the ledge and leaves the room.
I pinch my nose. Thanks a lot Neji. Now, I've created an enemy.
"What did you do to him, Hinata-chan?" Naruto asks, confused.
I shrug. "I have no clue."
The atmosphere in the group remains tense. Well, Lee sure knows how to shake people up it seems.
From behind me, I hear Ino and Sakura attempting to confront Sasuke as he broods.
"You saw Bushy Brows hands right?" Naruto asks everyone. Oh, so I'm not the only one that noticed. I'm actually a little surprised he did notice. "He must work hard, day in and day out. He's clearly works harder than you so I don't know why you're so upset right now."
"Naruto! What are you saying?! Knock it off!" Ino shouts, but Naruto just ignores her and rests his arms behind his neck.
"What I'm saying isn't bad," Naruto replies. "I'm just speaking the truth."
Sasuke turns towards us and smirks. "Fine. I won't let that stop me. These Chunin Exams are starting to get interesting. I can't wait to see what's next." Suddenly, everyone brightens up and feels motivated again, well except Shikamaru, as we all smile back at Sasuke. That's the spirit! No need to brood. "Come on, let's get this thing started."
"Yeah!" Naruto cheers.
"Whoohoo!" Ino cheers.
"Shannaro!" Sakura cheers.
"Alright!" I cheer.
"Yippie," Shikamaru mumbles.
We all walk through the archway.
Author's Note: I know this chapter was a lot of canon, but I tried to add in my own things. I feel that the Lee scene is necessary because I feel like that is the kicker that got Sasuke off his high horse that there may be better people than him here. I also feel like the Lee scene is an important opener to the thought that even if you are not born gifted, you can still be just as good if you work hard, which kind of reflects off Naruto and Sakura since they improve greatly over the course. Plus, the whole Lee scene is one of my favorite moments because I think it is funnier than hell. The whole interaction is. The next chapter will include Chunin Exam Part One and preparation for the Second Exam and next chapter is when you will learn about some of Hinata's plan that she came up with. I hoped you enjoyed it!
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