After the Gara incident, we proceeded to paint our wall.
"Sakura chan...look look...we are done!", Says Naruto.
"Another masterpiece," Naruto admires his work as Sakura approaches the graffiti.
"It's..... beautiful and intense", Says Sakura.
Naruto wipes his nose with his thumb with a smug smile on his face. That complement won't leave his brain for at least a year.
What can we do? We men are simple creatures....
Sakura looks at me. Today, we added something different to the art.
A woman with a pink kimono wearing an oni musk looms over the fox's head like a ghost.
Sakura points at it and asks, " Me?"
I nod.
Sakura looks at it and ponders for a second.
"A vengeful spirit that won't rest until her enemies are slain", she says. That's one way to look at it.
"Eh?", Naruto asks in confusion.
"Do you boys want me to be like that?", she asks.
Just a question...there is no emotion in it. She looks at Narut, who has a squinting eye, looking back and forth between her and the one spirit.
"That is not supposed to be a spirit. I wanted to make it look like you ...I mean the oni hugging the Fox with her kimono sleeves....kinda like petting?", Says Naruto.
Way to kill the mood. Now this is embarrassing.
Contrary to my thoughts, I see Sakura hugging Naruto, while furiously petting him.
Look at how happy the basterd is. So, thirsty of affection.
He will remember this moment for the rest of his goddamn life. Does the other person understand how heavy it is?
I feel something speedy coming out way. Whatever it is ....its fast.
Sakura noticed. But she isn't worried to the slightest . I wonder if she can identify individual chakra. I can only get a general sense of it.
A blast and white smoke.
Pakkun has appeared.
"Pakkun chan it's been a while", Sakura abandons Naruto and proceeds to pet Pakkun.
"Hei...who said you can pet....ooohhh....right there....ohhh...yes.....girl you know a dogs weakness.....", Pakkun is on his back with an exposed belly.
After a whole minute of belly rubs...he collects himself with an "ehm" .
"Danna has called you by the lake....at the patriot alter. Don't be late", and he vanishes.
There was a discrepancy in that statement....didn't bother with it.
######
We arrived at the place.
Calm waters reflect the evening sun. A lake .....its a wierd place to have a lake. Why would you need a lake this huge , when you have a river right by the villaige. The one that we have at the south of forest of death.
To my surprise, they don't name rivers here. How can you not name something that provides so much to the nature . So, I took it upon myself to name rivers . I call it "Shinujo" River. Kinda self-explanatory.
Back to the topic at hand.
It seems same question plagued Sakura's mind as well.
"Oh...it's just a crater made by the Nine tailed fox attack years ago", she answered.
"It actually used to be a residential district. But the Fox laid flat on top of it... demolishing the whole area", she adds.
"What? Did they throw it outta the sky or something?", Naruto asks.
She shrugs.
"It seems like the 9 tailed fox not only has blood in its hands .....but also in its ass. No wonder the villagers hates Naruto's ass", I say while yawning.
Sakura has a hard time deciding to lough at or retort at my joke.
"Good thing its locked away in my stomach!", Says Naruto as he sadly touches his tummy.
Setting aside jokes...Kakashi is late.
I throw a kunai at Naruto. He dodges it. But it turns in to shuriken , grinds against the ground and reverses back to the target.
It hit Naruto. But turns out ...he is clone.
Oh my ....he is getting good.
"Let me monologue in peace goddammit!", Naruto transforms out of a rock and proceeds with an hill kick.
"Says someone who has been hiding like a rock for a fucking hour to get a jump on "Ore Sama" ", I retort while rolling away.
I dust myself off and get on my feat.
Naruto goes in for a punch. I welcome it with open arms.
Stops last minute.
"What?", I ask.
"Somethings not right!", he says and changes his stance.
This basterd is developing beast like senses day by day. Like this those Inozuka guys.
Ofcourse he is in a genjutsu and I cast it when his hill connected to my hands. I didn't dodge it , blocked it.
Casting genzutsu while being in direct contact is far easier.
Instead of casting chakra disruption, the bustard just spawned more clones to cover his blindspots.
"I still know the real one though", my illustration declares.
"Maybe?", Naruto says with a smirk.
Oh?... So his individual clones can make more clones. That would make him.....invincible .
In terms of strategy, he beat me.
What about strength? Taijutsu?
"Are you gonna just eat each others ass or come at me?",I provoke.
Clones jump at me with a war cry.
With a single whip of my chain axe, I dispelled them all.
The real Naruto poped out of the ground and caught the chain.
Before he can pull, I shake the chain and the oscillating chain hits him in the nose.
But that is not enough to shake the tank of our team.
He pulls on it. I get yeeted off my feat and fly at Naruto.
Twisting my body to the side I dodge his kick.
As soon as my feet hit the ground, Naruto followed up with a barrage of strikes.
I avoid most of them, some of them blocked.
He goes for a kick...but I kicked his knee before he could get on with it.
An elbow to the solar plexus and a back hand to the jaw.
The guy plops on his ass after taking a few steps back.
He tries to get back up...but falls over again.
Forming the "rem" handsign he disrupts his chakra.
"What the hell!?", he asks in confusion. Since he can't get up despite dispelling any genjutsu.
I sit down by him.
"It's called an Under cut and it ain't no genjutsu", I say while demonstrating on my face.
I see Sakura practicing on her face.
"What does it do?", he asks.
"It basically rattles your brain against the skull", I explain.
"That's.....dope", Naruto says as he is back on his feet from a strike that should've knocked him out for atleast a few hours.
A few minutes, in his case.
He is dusting his pants off...I can literally hear the kunai juggle under those sleeves.
Does he really wanna continue?
Should I go along with his tricks or make him miserable by cutting his sleeve?
Oooohhhh! So, this is what masters of martial arts feel towards noobs.
In the end, that confident smug on his face kept me from out right humiliating him.
Let's enjoy the moments while they last.
Sakura goes in to help Naruto. What a nice girl.
"You got some dirt in here too!", she says as she spanks Naruto's ass.
The large shuriken unfolded from impact and ripped through his pants.
A large shuriken? That would've been interesting.
"Hei....noooo. Sakura chan....", Naruto sulks.
"Oh...sorry. My bad", Sakura puts a knuckle on her forhead cutely.
"Oh...no..no. Its okey ....I can beat this bastered without using any tricks!", Naruto says as he smacks his biceps.
"Kakattekhoi!!", he screams at me.
I tount him a bit by kicking the ground.
Take out a kunai, and pretend to throw it.
He is ....doing great keeping focus.
But his eyes are fixed on the kunai.
I get close. His eyes follow my kunai. Does a palm strike my thrust. If he somehow touches my wrist , he will twist it , grabe my shirt and smack me on the ground so hard that I will be knocked in an instant.
I let go of the kunai. His eyes followed that too.
Poor thing swang in the air as I slapped his face .
He gets up.
"Now what the heck was that?", he asks.
"Just because I am an uchiha , doesn't mean I use genjutsu in my every move. That's racist", I say.
Naruto rubs his face as he looks at the kunai.
He spits on the ground as he looks at me angrily.
Okey....I guess he is feeling offended.
"Look man....in terms of strength and endurance, you got us coverd . All my techniques can outright kill a person or knock them out cold atleast and here you are glaring at me like nothing happaned", I say as I sit by him.
"You just gotta know when you are wrong .... okay?", I say.
Naruto huffs.
"Hei...its not like I'm angry or anything. I just don't like the way you put me down with one move", Says Naruto.
I sigh. What am I to do? I am not his teacher, I'm his friend. I look at Sakura.
"Wanna try her?", I ask.
Naruto looks at Sakura.
"Oh no...my techniques will kill him...I don't know any knock out tactics..!", she says while tilting her head.
Naruto gets green in the face and I can't help but give a wry smile.
"Well....if that's the case , you can try out that undercut. It never kills anyone", I say.
"I will consider", Sakura says as she shrugs.
"Why would I wanna spare someone that wants to hurt me?", she adds a question.
I have no answer to that.
"There are sometimes people who wants to hurt you...but you know they are good. Just not to you . If you kill that person , it makes the the other person sad ", Naruto explains.
"What's it to me?", Sakura asks. She .....is asking these questions out of pure curiosity? Or is she going through some kind of phase?
Naruto gets up and sits crossed legged.
"Would you kill me if I wanted to hurt you, nee-chan?", Says Naruto.
Sakura is taken aback by the sudden question. She has a pained look.
"No", she answers.
"Why is that?", asks Naruto.
"Because I won't...I just ...can't imagine that....why would I?", she asks with a shaky voice.
Naruto gets up and rushes to her.
"Hei...hei...its not like that just a....thought. What I'm trying to say, is that "death", only brings sadness. The Nine-tailed fox killed so many people . I got Jack's shit to do with, heck... I'm the one keeping it locked up. But the villagers treat me as if.....", Naruto stops midway.
Sakura had tears flowing. She wipes them away.
"Okey...I get it Naruto kun", she says.
I sigh of relief. I don't know what she understood, but I have full trust in the talk no jutsu that Naruto does. But...why does it feel like averted some kind of disaster?
"That's some heavy topic for my cute genins ", Says kakashi as he pops into existence.
"You are late", Says Naruto pointing his finger.
Kakashi looks at Sakura.
"We are ninjas and yes we kill people. That is why we are trained and by the order of the hokage, we will lay down our lives. But ...
Before anything we are shinobis of the leaf.... If we can't spare someone just because they wishes to harm us , there is no point In being the strongest shinobi nation ,"he says as he leans towards Sakura.
"Always remember, mercy is a virtue. Not a weakness. But only the strong can hold on to such virtue", he says.
"Hashirama Senju, the strongest shinobi the land has ever seen held this virtue close. That is why villages were able to form", he finishes.
Sakura nods. Naruto thoughtfully shakes his head.
Kakashi looks at me.
I look at the sky with a dreamy look.
"To kill or not to kill...that is the question!", I state.
Then I look down.
" I will stick to sliting throats, thank you very much", I say with a scoff.
If this Hashirama guy ever heard what his student did to my clan, I'm sure he would flip. Pretty sure he is turning in his grave right now.
I would rather not hold onto a virtue that requires you to beat a Gigantic fox clade in indestructible armor. Naruto is rubbing his temple. Kakashi has a wry smile and Sakura is looking between me and sensei being all confused.
"Sakura-chan...just take it with a grain of salt. As long you are here among us in one piece nothing matters..... at least not to me", I say with a shrug.
"Hei...I want her to be alive too. Sakura chan...you can do whatever you want. You have my full support ", Naruto says with a thumbs up.
I can see Sakura beaming with a smile.
Kakashi sighs.
"Okey...now that you have decided that it is all right to kill, as long as it ensures your survival...I will get on with today's main agenda", Says Kakashi as he brings out 3 forms.
The paper has a large headline " Annual chunin exams".
Our names are in it and a blank space for signs.
"I am enrolling you for chunin exams", he says.
"Oh hell yeah!", Naruto is overjoyed.
Sakura tightly gripped the paper.
"Here we go again", I sigh." When is it?"
"Tomorrow?", he says as if not sure.
"The first venue will be at the academy building. Don't miss it and just a reminder if any of you doesn't wanna participate ....the whole team won't", and he then he Shunshinned away.
I look at Naruto. He is down for it.
And then Sakura.
"I will participate!", she says firmly.
All righty.
"That settles it. Let's become chunin and get Kakashi off of our backs".
######
"Down da down da down
We go down..da da boom boom chip Chika chik..
Boh boh...bha...chi chi ....", I practice my beatboxing as I make my way back to the compound.
It's night like mid night.
What did I do for so long that it got to mid night?
Well here is the thing.
Someone's been following me and I am not letting him catch me.
It's an Anbu agent. It's been a while since we were chased across the forest of death after sending the Hokage a paint bomb for a present.
We were what....like 7 years old then?
I lost him 4 to 5 times already.
Lead him back to me when he hears my beat boxing.
Why would Anbu be on my ass?
Doesn't look like he wants to kill me.... at least not initially. It has been 5 hours...I'm pretty sure he will break my neck the moment I come out.
I sigh. I've been sighing a lot lately.
It's just that...Sasuke Uchiha this world wants was a much deeper character. Not some goody two-shoes like me.
Despite being an ideat, I am a deep character.
"Have you ever seen the other side of the moon?", I ask the anbu a deep question after sneaking by him on the bench, he sat to take a break.
The anbu looks at me. Didn't feel any bloodlust.
He is just surprised.
"Maybe I did?", he say. What a deep voice.
"Wanna talk about it?", I ask.
He shakes his head.
"We anbu don't have anything to "talk" about", he says.
He juggles a kunai. Not deciding what to do with it.
"And it's not something you wanna know", he adds.
'Don't we all have something that others don't wanna know?", I ask.
The anbu gives me a paper.
"It's an ID for the chunin exams. I was to test you in accordance with Kakashi's approval under the Hokage's order...it is if I could catch you?", he says.
I raise my eyebrows.
"Oh my...I am very sorry. I don't have a good history with the anbu so....", I scratch my head.
"That was the test", he says.
"What?", I ask.
"If I caught you, you would be out of the test", he says.
"Oh...thanks ...I guess?", I shrug."Wow....hard to imagine Hokage Sama sending veteran Anbu to chase a genin nowadays".
"I thought that too. But....meeting you...now I know why he did", he says.
"Oh...I hope I provided you with good entertainment ", I muse.
"That you did....", he says as he gets up.
"I will be looking forward to working with you", he says.
"Hei....I will be a chunin at best this year. It will be a decade before I can meet you on the field", I say.
The anbu shakes his head.
"Something tells me I will be seeing you soon among my ranks", he says with a chuckle.
"Oh....I thought they didn't take autistic Uchihas in anbu", I say.
"Oh boy...you have no idea what freaks we have there....you will fit right in", he says while grabbing my shoulder. That is some fine grip.
"Just so you know.....I usually have a tracker with me to.....find my pray. Don't expect this to be over ", he says as he let's go.
"I will enjoy hunting you next time ", and then he melts into some kind of gray dust.
No....it wasn't a genjutsu.
A kekkei genkai? Oooohh.... it's the dust release jutsu. Or maybe it was blackpoweder?
Anyway, it's refreshing to see something new, but also terrifying.
Wahh....what am I getting scared of?
Got a Naruto who has a leveled head for my sake.
Got a Sakura who has a cheesy backstory and can kill.
Got Sharingan. The single biggest plot armor the Narutoverse has ever seen.
I've got nothing to be scared of.
#####
A little side dish:
I get back to the compound.
Slipped though the sliding door.
I see Haku peeking through the kitchen door.
"Oh, Okairinasai, Sasuke san!", he says.
It felt odd.
"Tadaima...", I say awkwardly.
I see Jabuja is back in his corner.
"Why don't you take a sit? I will heat up the dinner", Haku moves around the kitchen as I enter.
"He is a guy....he is a guy....I ain't gay..."
"What was that?", Haku asks.
"Nothing....nothing....what's for dinner by the way..."