Hinata had never been fond of fighting.
Her opponent who was standing before her was strong. He was apparently from Suna, judging from his headband. He had the ability to manipulate rocks and make them his shield. Not only that; he was also proficient in taijutsu, making him a challenging opponent.
But Hinata was no slouch when it came to taijutsu. It was only her hesitance to hurt others that was her main problem.
As she kept on fending him off with her gentle fist techniques, she chanced a glance towards her teammates. Kiba and Akamaru were busy fighting against the bulky guy who seemed to be two years older than them. Shino, on the other hand, was nowhere in sight. Hinata had an inkling that he was luring the other Suna teammate into his intricately-made traps.
The Suna nins were the ones who ambushed them. She and Kiba had been scanning the perimeter while Shino was laying traps around the forest. They planned on talking about a good strategy first before hunting down other teams for scrolls. However, they were rudely interrupted by a flurry of kunais and they had no choice but to fight back.
Hinata was already beginning to grow tired. She was significantly smaller than her opponent and could not seem to fend him off properly due to their size difference. With a heavy exhale, she flipped backwards, narrowly avoiding a fatal kunai jab.
"Hinata!" Kiba's voice resounded in her head, snapping her out of her fearful and anxious thoughts. "You okay over there?!"
Hinata managed a nod as she barely dodged a fist to her cheek. "Y—Yes, I'm fine!"
There was silence on Kiba's end for a brief moment before he let out an intense yell as he kicked his opponent to the ground.
"I need a little help here!" he shouted, directing his words to Hinata. "Can you finish it up with that lame-ass guy? He ain't even worth your time!"
The Suna nin who was facing Hinata bristled. "How dare you—!"
Hinata caught the essence of his words quickly and sent him a grateful nod. "Got it, Kiba-kun!" Taking advantage of this momentary confidence boost, Hinata activated her Byakugan.
'Please… don't fail me this time…' she prayed to herself, willing her dōjutsu to awaken. 'Please...'
When she opened her eyes in the next second, she could see every chakra point on her opponent's body.
Hinata almost sagged to the ground in relief. 'I did it!'
Wasting no more time, she proceeded to incapacitate her opponent and managed to take him down in just a few strikes.
Kiba saw this and grinned. "Way to go, Hinata! Now help me out here so we can go assist Shino!"
Hinata nodded. "I'll do my best!"
Thank you, Kiba-kun.
• • •
"Where are you going, Neji?" Tenten called out while preparing the firewood.
Neji had his back to her as he slowly jumped onto another tree branch, seemingly looking at something. "I'm not going far," he told her after a brief pause. "There are two teams fighting about a few kilometers away from here."
"Really?" Lee spoke up. "Is it someone we know?"
Neji's eyes narrowed as he analyzed the chakra signatures as well as the outlined appearances of the figures. "It seems to be Naruto's team."
"Wait a second…!" Lee stood up from his position on the ground, his eyes wide in surprise. "If you mean Team 7, then Sakura-san—"
"Yeah," Neji interrupted curtly, "she's battling her own opponent."
"We haven't completed even one out of our two objectives till this time, and we've been running around with no luck," Tenten said, sighing as she plopped the firewood on their campsite. "But at least we can think up of a good strategy and get some rest in the meantime."
"Agreed," Neji said without hesitation. "Fighting in the darkness is difficult for most of us."
The sun had already set a long time ago, and the forest was getting chilly and eerie by the second. Tenten started the fire as soon as possible, with Lee helping her out. Soon, Neji finished his patrol and sat beside her.
"Um, Neji?" Lee said, sounding a bit hesitant.
Neji did not even look at him as he poked the firewood for more warmth. "What is it, Lee?"
"Is… Is Sakura-san in any danger?"
Neji stopped in the middle of his action, his gaze resting on Lee's worried face. "Why do you ask?"
Lee tensed slightly, and Tenten sent him a look, but he ignored her for the meantime.
"I mean, we're all friends, aren't we? Shouldn't we help each other out?" Lee tried.
"There are no friends when it comes to missions and exams," Neji said firmly. "We're on our own. They're on their own. They can handle it."
Although Neji wouldn't say it out loud, he admitted to himself that the chakra signatures of those Rain nins were quite unusual, to say the least. They seemed more developed than the others, and their movements were fluid and unhesitant unlike most genin.
"Naruto and Sasuke are both strong, though," Tenten spoke up. "I don't know about Sakura since she seems reluctant whenever it comes to fighting, but I believe those two can help her out."
"Naruto and Sasuke are both focused on their own opponents, however," Neji responded, then caught himself. He did not know why he said this. Was he actually considering going over there to help a girl classmate he barely spoke to?
Lee looked more concerned than ever. "Then… Sakura-san…!"
"Lee, don't be rash," said Neji.
"Still…!" Lee clenched his fists. "Whenever I was troubled about not being able to learn ninjutsu and genjutsu due to my unique condition, Sakura-san was always there to help me out and encourage me." He raised his head and looked at his teammates. "You guys don't know this, but there was a time when I collapsed by myself in the field after Academy hours."
Tenten stared at him in disbelief. "After school hours?! But we weren't allowed to train by ourselves after dark! Especially after the strange incidents that happened when we were in the Academy—"
"I know…" Lee looked positively downcast at recalling the memories. "That time, I was depressed because I couldn't pass the ninjutsu test, and I was falling behind on my taijutsu while Gai-sensei was gone…"
Neji looked at him. "Then, did that girl help you out?"
Lee nodded. "Sakura-san saw me while she was passing by. It turned out that she was training after school hours, too." He unclenched his fist and stared at the bandages on his arms, a sign of his unrelenting hard work. "She tended to me and gave me words of encouragement. Nobody ever talked to me much because they saw me as a hopeless failure, but she never looked at me the way some of our classmates did. She looked at me as a normal person and treated me as one, too."
Tenten managed a small smile. "Is that when your crush on her started?"
Lee turned beet-red. "N—No! I—I mean, yes—ah, no!" He flailed his arms in embarrassment. "That's not what I meant, Tenten!"
Tenten giggled. "Oh, Lee. It's so obvious!"
While the two of them bickered playfully, Neji activated his Byakugan once more and inconspicuously looked at Team 7's direction. They were getting farther away now, and because of it, it was hard to observe them because of his limited range.
Neji deactivated his Byakugan after that and closed his eyes momentarily.
-------- a few years ago ---------
Classes were over. Iruka had dismissed all of them early because of the incoming storm, and the kids were rushing to get outside when the sky slowly began to turn dark.
Neji was one of the last ones to get out of the classroom. Lee had been the first to go, apologizing since he had to go visit Gai, the jōnin who saved him, at the hospital since the man had, clumsily, broken both of his ankles for a reason Neji did not care to hear about. Tenten, on the other hand, was absent since she had a fever and cough.
It was almost unbelievable, the fact that Neji, part of the prestigious Hyūga Clan, was able to make friends with two people who were entirely different from him. Lee was considered the hopeless case in class since he could not perform ninjutsu and genjutsu, and Tenten was originally from Suna, hence the lack of her last name. But when he was with them, it felt right, somewhat like he belonged. It was like hanging out with old friends. Their dynamics were not exactly the best, but they fit in somewhat.
"Huh? Neji?"
Neji turned around to see Namikaze Naruto poke his head out from the doorway of the classroom.
He sighed. Naruto was one of those people he cared the least about, and it was not because he disliked him. It was because he was too much of a loudmouth and a prankster. It was embarrassing to know that he was the son of the Fourth Hokage; he was only damaging his father's reputation with his lowly acts.
"What do you want, Naruto?" Neji finally asked, picking up his bag and slinging it over his shoulder.
"I left my umbrella here," Naruto replied with a nervous chuckle. "It started to rain, see?"
When Neji glanced out the window, Naruto's words were proven to be right. Raindrops pattered across the sidewalk, and the glass windows were slapped with water which cascaded down in rivulets.
Neji restrained a groan. He did not bring an umbrella, and the Hyūga compound was a few miles away from the Academy.
"Oh! That look!" Naruto suddenly exclaimed, causing Neji to snap his head towards him in mild surprise. "I know that look!" A knowing, playful look immediately replaced the expression on Naruto's face. "You don't have an umbrella, do you? Heheh!"
Irritation and pride prevented Neji from bursting at the audacity of this troublemaker. Instead, he forced himself to calm down and resorted to glaring at him.
"It is of no matter," Neji said formally and as maturely as he could. "A little rain won't hurt me."
As he started to leave, Naruto stopped him. "Whoa, whoa! Stop!"
Neji looked at him. "What are you doing?"
Without a word, Naruto rushed towards his seat and took out his umbrella. "C'mon!" he prodded as he went back to Neji. "Let's share this and go home together!"
A twinge of dread blossomed in Neji's gut at the thought of having to put up with Naruto's incessant chatter on the long way back home. "…No thanks."
Naruto, however, took his reluctance to mean embarrassment. "Aw, c'mon, Neji!" he said with a huge grin. "No need to be so shy! We're friends, aren't we?"
Neji almost sputtered in indignation. "You seem to have the wrong idea here," he said as calmly as he could. "We are not—"
But Naruto waved his words off dismissively. "Yeah, yeah! Let's just go!"
In the end, Neji was forced to listen to his ramblings about the lectures and how difficult they were for his poor, rattled brain. Neji resisted the urge to tell him that it was his fault for being a complete idiot. He was a Hyūga, after all. It was childish to get angry at such trivial matters.
If only his father were here…
…Would he have been proud of him?
Neji waved these thoughts away.
'I'm not a little kid anymore…' he thought angrily, but also in resignation.
When they reached Naruto's house, the latter left him his umbrella, telling him that he can have it.
Neji looked at him. "Why?" he asked simply.
Naruto tilted his head slightly, confused. "What do you mean 'why'? It's because we're friends!"
There he goes again… Neji thought dully. Repeating the same old stupid lines…
"And I told you. We're not friends."
Naruto's blue eyes probed at his own. "Of course we're friends," he said with a smile. "We've always been friends."
----------------------------------
"Lee," Neji suddenly said, interjecting in between his banter with Tenten.
His teammates both turned to him, surprised by the slight change in his tone of voice.
"What's wrong, Neji?" Tenten asked, noting the serious expression on her teammate's face.
"Do you really want to help them out?" Neji asked outright, his eyes not leaving Lee's face.
Lee nodded in determination. "Of course! We should all be helping each other out in times of danger!"
"Even though we're in a race right now?" Tenten prodded, a hint of disbelief in her tone. "Lee—"
"You never know," Lee added, "their opponent might have the scrolls we need."
There was silence between the three of them for a moment. Tenten looked a little anxious now, looking back and forth between her teammates. When it was clear that both of them were still mulling over the final decision, especially because it was dark out and with darkness came disadvantages, she stood up from the ground, flexing her arms and letting out a deep exhale.
"Well, then, let's get going," she said.
Neji raised his head to look up at her. "Tenten?"
Tenten sent him a wink. "Let's go help them out and see if either of them have our scrolls or not. It won't hurt to try, anyway!" She then let out a little giggle. "Besides, I believe Naruto owes me one for the huge favour I did him years ago!"
"Yosh!" Lee exclaimed, standing up as well. "Let's go, Team 9!"
Neji picked himself up from the ground, dusting off invisible dirt from his pants. "I guess we have no choice."
• • •
When the smoke cleared, all Naruto could see was fire. It was engulfing the forest, spreading quickly. He could sense Sasuke and Sakura's chakra signatures within the area, but thankfully, they were miles away from him, meaning they would not be severely affected by the fire.
Wind techniques were definitely out of the question. Wind could not defeat fire; it was just his rotten luck that he was pitted against an opponent who held the upper hand in elemental ability.
'What should I do, then?' Naruto gritted his teeth as his mind spun through possibilities.
Sage Mode was out of the question. Jiraiya and Minato would sense him immediately, and that would open a whole can of worms. Nobody should ever know that they had traveled back in time. It would create nonstop ripples which would spiral out of control.
Although, to be honest, graduating from the Academy early was already setting things way out of motion. However, there was nothing he could do about it. Ever since he awakened, he discovered that a considerate amount of his reserves, skills, and power were retained in his younger body. Even though it gave him a lot of trouble adjusting, there was no problem as long as he had the power to protect his friends, especially Konoha.
It was kinda weird that the Rookie 9 and Neji's team graduated at the same time though, but that was a thought reserved for another time.
The next option was Kage Bunshin. It was a forbidden technique, especially to genin like him, and it was only his luck that Kakashi hadn't questioned him about it. 'He probably figured that I learned it from Dad or even Mom using my usual tricks,' Naruto thought to himself. 'As for rasengan… he didn't see me wield it back in that C-Rank mission when we were fighting all those bandits.'
'And since there's nobody I know who's around…'
While Naruto was deep in his thoughts, frustrated at having to make a careful decision so he wouldn't get caught and be suspected, Kyo was already in front of him, his silver hair glinting under the moonlight and his brown eyes turning orange from the illumination of the flames.
"Scared already, kid?" he mocked, and in that instant, he slammed a palm against Naruto's stomach. The latter only realized too late that the hand was engulfed with a fire technique.
'Damn…' Naruto thought after being flung against a tree, his head spinning slightly from the impact. 'This guy's fast… He might even be faster than Sasuke in his current state.'
Meanwhile, Sasuke was fighting his own opponent. Hatori, who at first seemed like a careful, calculated fighter, was quick on his feet, and landed blows on him with the intent to incapacitate.
Sasuke had long unsheathed his sword from its scabbard and fought against the metal staff which seemed to be coming at him in different directions every second. Hatori's moves were precise, and even with Sasuke's Sharingan already activated, he seemed to be faster than him in terms of bukijutsu — weapon techniques.
'I can predict his movements, but I can't overpower him!' he thought to himself as he barely dodged a swing to the side of his head. 'He's not a slouch with a weapon, and he switches his staff with his right and left hands as if he's dancing with it.'
Hatori's staff speedily attempt to pierce Sasuke through his shoulder. Fortunately, Sasuke blocked the offense with his blade, and they came to a stalemate once more.
'I am not dealing with a genin here,' Sasuke realized. 'This one's… a professional!'
'What the hell is going on?'
Lightning engulfed Sasuke's hand as he summoned chidori and aimed it at Hatori's chest when the latter came close. Hatori, however, flipped backwards before it could connect.
Sasuke immediately made a few hand seals. "Katon: Ryūka no Jutsu!"
The flames, moving in a straight line and slowly growing in size at the tail end, narrowly focused on their target, charging at Hatori. The latter countered with a technique of his own.
"Suiton: Teppōdama!"
A large, condensed blast of water expelled from Hatori's mouth, extinguishing Sasuke's flames as they came at him. Narrowing his eyes, Sasuke expended more chakra into his technique, soon evaporating Hatori's ball of water and singeing his side when he tried to get away.
"Impressive," Hatori mused as he clutched the burned part of his arm. His gaze rested on Sasuke's red Sharingan eyes. "I now see why you are emphasized as a danger. It seems that I must eliminate you right here."
Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "This has been bothering me for a bit… but you three aren't really here for the exams, are you?"
Hatori's small smirk faded. His lips stretched into a thin line as he said nothing in response, pushing his glasses above his nose.
"I thought as much. You three aren't even genin, am I right?" Sasuke said, his jaw clenched in realization. "You didn't ask us for our scrolls, you fight fluidly even in this darkness, you dodge my attacks even though I can predict your movements, and is it a coincidence that the three of you have opposing elemental affinities to us? Earlier, that silver-haired guy had the Fire affinity, which is stronger than Naruto's Wind. And you have the Water affinity which can defeat my Fire. The same probably goes for Sakura's opponent, as well." Sasuke narrowed his eyes into a full-blown glare. "Who are you people?"
Hatori paused for a moment. "Truly a part of the Uchiha Clan. I am impressed that you have managed to figure it out this quickly."
"I said," Sasuke drawled threateningly, conjuring a chidori in his hand, "who are you?"
"I am not obliged to answer your question," Hatori responded calmly. "If your opponent had been Kyo, he would have told you if you annoyed him enough. Unfortunately for you, I am the most tight-lipped among my teammates."
"I get it." Sasuke gritted his teeth as he also channeled lightning into his sword. "Then I guess I'll have to beat you up until you tell me!"
Sasuke eyed his opponent carefully, then made up his mind and charged at him, both arms wielding deadly techniques. He swung his lightning-charged sword towards Hatori, who dodged it by moving to the right. Sasuke, expecting this, aimed his right hand with the Chidori towards him.
With a grunt, Hatori deflected Sasuke's two arms using his metal staff. Then, he ran up to Sasuke, intent on piercing the staff right through his chest.
Sasuke grabbed the opportunity.
His red eyes evolved into a six-pointed star in an instant, revealing his Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan.
• • •
She really should have been more careful.
If only she hadn't gotten distracted and cornered—!
"Doton: Doryūheki."
In an instant, a giant wall of earth shot up from the ground at her feet, causing her to stumble and fall hard on her back. Coughing, Sakura frantically tried her best to at least sit up from the ground. If she had thought that her almost-fatal injury on her right hand was the worst she'd ever experienced, it was now becoming clear that more horrible things were to come in her pitiful life as a below-average ninja.
Yuka did not stop. "Doton: Kengan no Jutsu," she drawled, and her left arm transformed into a huge fist made of rock.
Sakura's eyes widened, already expecting what was happening, but was too slow to react.
Yuka slammed her transformed fist into the poor girl's torso, sending her flying to the trees and further injuring her back. Sakura attempted to shriek in pain, but found that she could not produce noise from her throat. Her body was in shock at the painful impact.
When she slumped to the ground under the tree she slammed into, Yuka approached her with purposeful steps, her left arm still consisting of hard earth. A flash of pity appeared in Yuka's expression.
"Poor young girl," she said slowly, delaying her attack momentarily to stare at Sakura's pained face. "You are not used to physical pain."
Sakura said nothing. The pain was almost blinding her.
It was no secret that she couldn't tolerate pain at all; she had only been in the Academy for two years. She never initiated a tussle. She fought friendly, mandatory battles between her classmates and did physical exercises almost robotically and almost hesitantly. She knew what to do, how to act, how to hurt, how to dodge, but she was inexperienced in the field of true pain. Her classmates, thinking she was a frail, shy girl, often went easy on her, seeing her hesitance in fighting. They did hit her, but they didn't batter her to the ground.
It was not like the cases of Naruto and Sasuke in which the two battled in a fiery battle for dominance and victory. It was not like Neji and Lee, who fought each other with clear purposes of defeating the other with all their might, even though Neji would never admit that he sometimes found Lee to be quite a challenge. It was also not like the cases of Kiba and Ino, who battled like they took each other seriously. Even though Ino was a girl and sometimes the rude boys would see girls as sissies, Kiba never discriminated Ino, seeing as the latter was quite possibly the top kunoichi in class. Kiba was very competitive, and so was Ino. They did not hesitate to pummel each other to the ground.
Sakura had almost been beaten up by Ami and her friends, but Ino saved her. When she became friends with Ino, Ami strayed away. Sakura was protected. She was protected from pain.
In battles, she had been pit against Lee, Naruto, Chōji, Shikamaru, Tenten, and Hinata. Lee and Naruto went easy against her, much to her shame and relief, Chōji didn't want to hurt her too badly, Shikamaru found it too troublesome to win, Tenten took pity on her and only knocked her out to win, and Hinata, gentle, equally shy Hinata with her unique yet effective taijutsu, even managed to beat her, yet also without hurting her too much.
She had never been pulled into situations wherein she was hurt so badly that she felt like she was going to go to the hospital, or bleed and break so much that the pain was disorienting. Perhaps it was correct to say that since it was her first time to experience such pain, made it hurt a lot because of it.
At that moment, Sakura wished she had never been complacent in being protected.
Yuka was still staring at her with those empty green eyes. Her shade of green was more on the dull, darker colour scheme, a significant difference to Sakura's own clear, jade-green irises. It was terrifying to look at Yuka's left arm, still in its earthen fist form.
Was this it? Was this the end?
Was she going to die here, after all?
Sakura almost shut her eyes in frustration. 'Am I going to do nothing again?'
'Why can't I find the strength to do anything?'
'Why am I always afraid?'
Ever since the masked man came for her and injured her right hand, she had been terrified. She had a few nightmares about him. She didn't want him to hurt her since she was powerless to stop him.
Maybe she wasn't ready for this exam, after all.
Maybe it was time to give up.
'Sorry Naruto... Sorry, Sasuke-kun... Kakashi-sensei.' Tears pricked the corners of her eyes. 'I can't do anything, after all...'
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"You can do it, Sakura. You can start with what you have."
----------------------------------
'I'm sorry, Kakashi-sensei...'
----------------------------------
"Sakura, you must have noticed first, right? Your analytical ability and genjutsu know-how.. is the most improved on our team."
----------------------------------
'I'm sorry, Sasuke-kun...'
----------------------------------
"I know how much pain you're in because of Sasuke.. I can understand. Don't worry! I'll bring him back! Promise of a Lifetime!"
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'I'm… sorry… Naruto...'
Sakura's eyes, which were half-lidded from her pessimistic thoughts, flew open in an instant.
Yuka was only given one second to react before Sakura's hands rapidly made seals.
'Tiger – Ox - Tiger - Rat.'
'I'm sorry... for putting myself down!'
"Suiton: Suidan no Jutsu!"
As she quickly kneaded chakra inside her stomach, Sakura expelled a considerable quantity of water, splashing Yuka's face with it and momentarily distracting her.
'Those unfamiliar memories… So weird…' Sakura shook her head, saving that confusing thought for later. 'No matter what happens, I will come out of here alive!' she promised to herself. 'That jutsu took a lot of my reserves, so I'll have to resort to a different fighting method.'
When her opponent recovered quickly, she angrily swung her earthen fist at Sakura, but she was no longer there.
Making a dissatisfied noise at the back of her throat, Yuka proceeded to look around to search for her opponent when she suddenly spotted Sakura behind the tree.
"Got you," Yuka whispered before starting to bolt towards her.
Sakura's lips stretched into a thin, grim line. Then, she pulled.
To Yuka's surprise, she slumped face-first onto the ground. When she came to, she felt wires grip on her ankles, immobilizing her movements.
'Chakra wires?! When did she—?'
Sakura bit her lip, seeming to hesitate for a moment before throwing an explosive tag at Yuka.
Yuka's eyes widened fractionally.
The sound of an explosion resounded in the surroundings, and Sakura peeked out from behind the trunk to scrutinize her opponent.
Only, when the smoke cleared, the chakra wires were revealed to have gripped tightly onto a tree log.
'Kawarimi!'
When Sakura came back to her bearings, she was slammed into a tree again from behind, causing her to cry out in pain. Yuka regarded her with a colder look in her eyes as she approached.
'If she hits my back again with that fist,' Sakura thought to herself, 'my spine might break!'
This time, Yuka did not waste any time talking. She proceeded to punch Sakura in the gut, then a sideway punch to her left cheek, and then an uppercut. Sakura was thrown mercilessly to the side, coughing up bile mixed with blood as she accidentally bit the side of her tongue.
'She hits hard, and her speed is above average,' Sakura thought as she tried to analyze her opponent's movements. 'She doesn't hesitate in her strength. She reacts quickly. She knows where to hurt and how to hurt even more.'
Sakura tried again. She threw an exploding tag in Yuka's way, only for the latter to speedily dodge it in the nick of time.
Taking advantage, Sakura made a seal behind her back.
When the smoke cleared, Yuka unhesitatingly slammed her earthen fist into Sakura's stomach, catching the latter in surprise at her speed and also causing her to clutch the part in pain. Relentlessly, Yuka kicked her again, and again, and again, until Sakura finally went limp on the ground.
"The master told me to kill her," Yuka chanted slowly to herself, her left arm turning back to normal as she took out a kunai from her weapon pouch. "An effective way to kill is a sharp blade between the eyes."
Yuka launched the killing blow.
• • •
Sasuke sensed it. His Sharingan was active after all, and his senses were very keen. He whipped his head towards the direction of Sakura's fight.
'Her chakra movement is slowing. What's happening to her?'
He chanced a glance at Hatori standing before him, his eyes dull as his mind was overtaken by the genjutsu. Sasuke immediately incapacitated him by stabbing his legs so he couldn't walk afterwards. Thankfully, the illusion he cast on Hatori was powerful enough to keep him dazed even though he was hurt.
'Luckily, I found his weakness. Genjutsu was all it took.'
"Ugh!" Sasuke grunted in pain as he felt his temple throb from the strain in his eyes. While it seemed that he had retained his Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan — Itachi's original eyes — the power was taking a toll on his younger body. He kept forgetting that his smaller stature, reserves, and only moderately-trained body was still unused to successive bursts of power. This unfortunate flaw in the time-travel phenomenon was a distraction to his goals. How was he supposed to change anything, to become more powerful to protect his family, if he couldn't even handle using his dōjutsu?
'I bet that idiot is feeling equally restricted as I am,' Sasuke thought, his mind momentarily wandering towards Naruto. 'He can't even use Sage Mode let alone Kyubi Mode, because his seal hasn't been taken off yet.'
'And Sakura…'
Sasuke did not even hesitate. Sakura was seemingly somewhere far away from him. Perhaps her opponent intentionally led her there in order for him and Naruto to be too far to help her out. But that didn't matter. Sasuke had no choice but to leave Hatori here in the meantime; at least, with those injuries of his, he wouldn't be getting away anytime soon.
Sasuke was about to use shunshin to get to Sakura faster when he suddenly sensed a familiar chakra signature arriving behind him.
"What do you want?" he demanded.
Lee stared at him in determination mixed with panic. "Sasuke-kun!" he exclaimed. "Where is Sakura-san? I must go to her right away!"
Sasuke frowned. "Why?"
Lee gritted his teeth. "She's in danger!"
"How do you know that?"
When Lee told him what Neji saw before they arrived here, Sasuke's blood ran cold.
'No way...'
• • •
Naruto recovered quickly and flipped backwards to avoid Kyo's fire jutsu. 'Just how many techniques does he know?!' Naruto thought to himself as he barely dodged another fireball. 'This is never-ending! I have to do something!'
First, he needed to put out the circle of fire around them. Naruto couldn't concentrate enough on fighting because of the smoke coupled with the darkness of the night. Also, whenever he neared the flames, the temperature seemed hot enough to singe him even though he wasn't in direct contact.
'Not only is he fast, he's also smart.' Naruto's jaw clenched. 'Man, he's really talented.'
Naruto began to mold a great amount of chakra in his stomach. "Ressenpū!"
His lips parted to expel a powerful stream of wind, aiming it at the fire. Naruto concentrated on making the technique massive enough to put out the flames.
----------------------------------
"Remember, don't use too much chakra with this technique. You might burn it out," Kushina lectured him. "I'm only teaching you this just in case someone takes advantage of the weakness of your Wind affinity."
Naruto blinked up at her, confused. "What do you mean, Mom?"
"Since your affinity is Wind, your natural elemental weakness is Fire," Kushina told him. "You won't be able to counter the jutsu if it's the Uchiha Clan's signature giant fireball, but if it's a lower rank, there's a possibility that you can neutralize it through a more powerful technique."
"I get it!" Naruto exclaimed. "Since I have huge chakra reserves, I can make this Wind technique you taught me stronger than any low level Fire techniques, right?!"
Kushina nodded, grinning. "That's right. You can even manage a mid-level Fire technique if you have the ability to do so."
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When Naruto succeeded, he made a little cheer inside his head. 'Thanks for teaching me, Mom!'
A manic grin spread across Naruto's features as he made a familiar seal with his hands. "Tajū Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"
• • •
"On second thought," Yuka drawled, throwing her kunai to the ground. "I'll do this instead."
She made a hand seal. "Release!"
The Sakura who had been lying on the ground before her disappeared, and Yuka rapidly elbowed the figure sneaking up on her from behind right in the gut.
"Agh!" Sakura cried out, falling to her knees in pain. Her teary green eyes stared at Yuka's apathetic features. "How... How did you know...?"
"You picked the wrong opponent to use genjutsu on," Yuka said simply, watching as Sakura's eyes clouded over. "It's Hatori's weakness, not mine."
'No...' Sakura wanted to cry. She wanted to cry out for help. But for some reason, she just couldn't. 'No way...'
"Give up now, little girl," Yuka said dully, placing a hand on her hip as she gazed at Sakura's semi-conscious form. "Die, and find eternal peace in the afterlife." She stepped closer to her. "If you want, I will make it painless for you."
Sakura's eyes grew wide in fear. "N—No! S—Stay away!" she cried out, forcing her body to lift itself up. "Stay away, I said!"
Yuka stopped in the middle of reaching out to her, shaking her head in mild disappointment. "What are you even fighting for?"
"H—Huh?"
"There's no hope for you," Yuka reiterated in a matter-of-fact tone. "You can't even stand up properly on your own, and your reserves are pitifully low at the moment. Not that they were anything impressive earlier." Yuka folded her arms across her chest. "With that kind of state you're in, you can't defeat me, Haruno Sakura."
Sakura coughed, willing herself to stand up. "Why are you doing this? Why are you three doing this?!" She glared at Yuka. "You're not even after our scrolls, are you?"
Yuka's expression did not change. "Oh, you've only just noticed? Yes. The three of us were sent here to kill you, Team 7."
The revelation hit Sakura hard in the chest and she found herself holding her breath. "What…? Why?"
Yuka shrugged. "I don't know anything. Our master only emphasized that it's important we kill the three of you before you cause any more trouble."
Tears pooled in Sakura's eyes out of frustration. "Trouble…? We're only genin! We're not dangerous kids like you three keep saying we are! We're—"
"That's where you're wrong," Yuka interjected. "Namikaze Naruto. He's dangerous because of the Kyūbi that's inside him."
"He's not—!"
"Uchiha Sasuke," Yuka continued on, drowning out Sakura's denial. "He's dangerous because of his Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan and Rinnegan."
Sakura stared at her in disbelief, unable to process what this girl was saying. "What on earth—"
"And lastly," Yuka said, "you, Haruno Sakura." In a flash, she appeared before Sakura and grabbed her by the throat, causing the latter to thrash about in her grip. "You're dangerous because of your Byakugō seal and monstrous strength. We must kill you before you even begin to develop your powerful abilities. This exam is the perfect opportunity, what with the waivers and all. Killing is not prohibited."
While she was speaking, Sakura could not contain the numerous confused and frustrating thoughts popping inside her head.
'Byakugō seal? Monstrous strength? What is she talking about?!' Sakura wanted to cry again, and she cursed herself for her own pitiful weakness. 'Why is this happening to me? Why is this happening to my team?'
'Are we really as dangerous as they all say we are?'
'But I don't understand what they're even talking about! I don't understand! I don't!'
Then, at that moment, an unforgettable, painful memory came to mind.
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"I have to kill you," the man mused, "but I have a slight issue with murdering a little brat like you. I'd rather have you suffer instead and incapacitated." She could feel the malicious smile playing at his lips as he retracted his fist. "This will show you three," he said, picking up a stone on the ground nearby, "especially that Kyūbi brat, for being a nuisance!"
Sakura could see her whole world spinning and moving in slow motion. She could see the man grip the stone in his hand, and then swoop it down towards her right hand.
She screamed, but no voice came out. The pain was too much.
"Now you won't be able to punch the ground into oblivion!"
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That man… was he their master? Dread suddenly pooled Sakura's gut.
'Punching the ground…'
'Being a nuisance…'
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"You're dangerous because of your Byakugō seal and monstrous strength. We must kill you before you even begin to develop your powerful abilities."
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Powerful abilities… did she even have those in the first place?
What was going on here?!
And those weird memories she had earlier—
Yuka's empty green eyes stared at her without blinking. "After I kill you, Kyo and Hatori will need my help eliminating your other teammates."
Sakura's heart stopped.
"Or perhaps they may be dead already," Yuka admitted. "Kyo and Hatori may be dumbasses, but they get the job done." Her grip on Sakura's throat tightened. "Well then, please die, Haruno Sakura."
…
…
…
'…Die?'
'…No.'
…
…
'No...'
Sakura's hands loosened from her clutch on Yuka's wrists, limping at her sides as if she were sapped of strength.
'She has stopped resisting so suddenly,' Yuka noted. 'Has she already given up this early? How disappointing of a kunoichi.'
'Although if she really wants to escape, she can just cry out for help and get disqualified from this exam.'
Suddenly, the ground beneath her trembled.
Yuka's eyes widened. 'This feeling…! It can't be!'
'The cause of this can only be one thing—'
"Agh!" Yuka cried out as she let go of Sakura's neck and fell to her knees on the ground. The earth was still shaking; not in a violent way, but it indicated an unmistakably concentrated chakra pressure.
'But this is impossible…' Yuka thought incredulously as she managed to lift her head to look at the small girl she had been strangling to death earlier. 'She's not yet capable of something like this… The master told us—!'
Yuka's breath instantly caught up in her throat as she took in exactly what she was seeing.
Haruno Sakura was glaring down at her, her fists clenched at her sides. The wind was picking up around them, blowing the strands of her hair. Her green eyes seemed to be glowing in the darkness, her tears already evaporating.
As the shadows of the trees moved to the sides from the gusts of wind, the moonlight seeped into her features.
And Yuka saw, with startling clarity as Sakura's bangs lifted from her face…
…a Yin seal on her forehead.
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tbc