Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Faith in Humanity ❯ Sakura's Adventure ( Chapter 13 )

Title: Faith Arc - Faith in Humanity (PG-13)

Author: Karrafear

Summary: AU. What if Naruto survived a murder attempt on his life at the age of 6 and had to leave Konoha for his protection. Now 12, Naruto and Jiraiya returns to face the genin test.

 

Disclaimer: Naruto is an anime and manga series created by Masashi Kishimoto. It does not belong to me; I'm simply using the characters and plot for my own creative devices.

 

"Demon's talk", /Thoughts/, "Speech", 'Speech emphasis', (FLASHBACK), Titles, (Author's interruptions)

 

Warning: This chapter's timeline will coincide with the previous chapters but it is mainly about Sakura and her training as well as a little snippet of Shikamaru at the end.

 

Pairings: eventually NarutoXHinata.

 

Warning: Naruto OOC. PG-13.

 

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Chapter 13 : Sakura's adventure

 

Sakura walked sedately towards the front desk located on the entry foyer of the Konoha hospital. She had come to see how Sasuke was doing, as well as to talk to Kakashi about her subsequent training and Naruto's departure. “Excuse me,” Sakura asked the nurse, “May I please have the number to Uchiha Sasuke's room?”

 

“Uh… I'm sorry but Sasuke-sama isn't being allowed any visitors at the moment…” The nurse answered demurely.

 

“What?!?, WHY NOT?!?” Sakura asked, suddenly afraid that something else had happened to her teammate.

 

“Uh… it's hard to explain…” The nurse continued when she was interrupted by another's voice.

 

“Sakura?” Kakashi asked as he rounded the corner and displayed himself in front of his only female student.

 

“Kakashi-sensei! What's wrong with Sasuke-kun? Why won't he be allowed any visitors? Has something else happened to him? Is he severely injured?” A stream of questions left Sakura's mouth as her anxiety built up, but she didn't give Kakashi enough time to answer even one question before she launched five more in its place. It wasn't until Kakashi raised his right hand in a sign of silence that Sakura finally quieten down.

 

“No, there's nothing wrong with Sasuke. He's not severely hurt. He'll be fine with a few days of rest. And as to why he's being kept away from everyone else, well, it's classified, so I can't tell you,” Kakashi then leaned down to whisper into Sakura's ear, “But between you and me, I'll just say that it's… for his own good.”

 

Sakura nodded numbly as she digested what Kakashi was trying to tell her. /That weird snake guy must be after Sasuke-kun again… I hope he's gonna be okay… God! I feel so useless again, being unable to help him and Naruto in that fight really bites. I don't ever want to be that weak again…/ Sakura thought determinately, before she finally remembered what she needed to talk to Kakashi about.

 

“Ano… Kakashi-sensei?” Sakura looked up at him with slightly hopeful eyes and a small smile on her face. “Naruto said that he'll be undergoing his own training, probably with Jiraiya-sama. And since Sasuke-kun is hurt, would you be able to train me for the upcoming Chuunin Exam? I mean, I would really like to get stronger, since most of the people who are participating in the exam are already pretty strong too. I don't think I can compete…”

 

Sakura's smile slowly faded away as a troubled expression was present on Kakashi's face. “Actually Sakura… I won't be able to take care of your training. I have some other business to take care of and I won't have the time…” Kakashi drifted off as he shifted nervously looking at Sakura's despondent face.

 

“Ma… Ma… But I did find a very good replacement to look after your training. He's a better teacher than I am, really...” Kakashi tried to cheer Sakura up.

 

Sakura perked up a bit. “Yeah…Who?” /I wonder if this person is really strong or not… Will he be able to help me?../

 

“It's me!” An unknown voice spoke up behind Sakura.

 

She turned around only to see a strange looking Shinobi. He was probably in his late twenties, wearing all dark blue attire (jumper, pants, even his bandana) as well as a pair of round sunglasses. Sakura blinked and sweat dropped. /This is the guy that's supposed to take over my training…/ She thought, completely unconvinced.

 

/MY GOD!!! He NEEDS a fashion sense!!!/ Inner Sakura screamed at the top of her lungs.

 

“Ah. Sakura, this is Ebisu-sensei. He's a special Jounin. He specialises in tutoring the elite students of Konoha. It's actually quite a privilege to have him teaching you.” Kakashi babbled as if he knew exactly what was going through Sakura's mind, and tried to make Ebisu out to be more impressive than he was.

 

Sakura still didn't look very impressed but decided to give the guy the benefit of the doubt and looked back at Kakashi. “Um… Kakashi-sensei, does this mean I won't be able to visit Sasuke-kun at all?” She asked in a quiet voice.

 

Kakashi sighed and scratched the back of his head. “Well… I really don't know. He won't be able to take any visitors for a while yet…” /That's because he's being guarded by over 10 ANBU guards 24 hours a day.../ Kakashi thought as he watched Sakura's expression carefully, analysing every twitch of her eyebrows and the biting of her lip. To his surprise, she didn't push the issue any further. Normally, she would have continued to argue against him, telling him that she needed to stay by Sasuke's side, just in case he awoke or something; but the Sakura that stood in front of him now, doesn't seem to be that upset about the arrangement. /Disappointed, yes; hurt, yes; but not overly upset that she wouldn't be able to see Sasuke as often as before./

 

Unbeknownst of Kakashi, Sakura was having an internal battle with herself. /What's wrong with me…/ After hearing that Kakashi would be spending the entire one-month period away from her, she had already realised that his `business' probably had to do with training Sasuke-kun alone. Sakura was feeling agitated and hurt, but not for the same reasons as she would have in the past. Instead of feeling left out and disappointed because she couldn't spend more time with Sasuke-kun, Sakura was actually feeling a tiny bit of jealousy and anger at Kakashi for choosing to train him instead of her. Logically, she could understand why Kakashi was the best choice to teach Sasuke, especially since he's the only one in the village that knows how to handle the Sharingan. But still, it gnawed at Sakura that she was considered second-rate when compared to Sasuke-kun.

 

/I may be weaker than him… but that doesn't mean I'm a pushover!!!/ Sakura thought vehemently. She couldn't understand why Kakashi would willingly push her away like this and completely favour Sasuke-kun instead. /I have my own strengths, don't I?/ Sakura asked herself.

 

/HELL YEAH!! I'M NOT WEAK!!!!/ Inner Sakura cheered loudly inside Sakura's mind. /I'LL SHOW HIM WHAT I'M MADE OF!!!!/ She continued to cheer as she mentally punched harshly in every direction to emphasize her point.

 

Shaking her head to clear all her random thoughts, Sakura looked back up at Kakashi's face and finally surrendered to the inevitable. /I will grow strong… I won't stand aside and let people protect me like I'm a weak little girl anymore. I don't want to relive the situation I had in the forest of death. I'll show Kakashi-sensei, Sasuke-kun and Naruto-kun. I'll show them all that I'm a team player too. I'll show them what I'm worth!/ She thought fervently.

 

Looking back up at Kakashi's slightly nervous expression and Ebisu's indifferent one, she finally accepted her fate. “I understand, Kakashi-sensei. I'll do my best…” She murmured half-heartedly.

 

With all the introductions completed, Sakura started leaving the hospital following her new sensei, Ebisu. However, just before the sliding doors closed behind her, Sakura threw another look over her shoulder and gazed sternly at Kakashi's retreating back. /I'll show you what I'm worth.../

 

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That first day of training was not at all what Sakura had expected, and she wasn't very happy about her so-called `elite' tutor either.

 

It had started out pretty okay. Ebisu had taken her to a near by river and had taught her how to walk on water. It wasn't that hard considering she had always been very adept at moulding and controlling chakra, so it only took her around 2 and a half tries to figure every thing out. After that, they had spent the next hour trying to run, jump and fight on the moving water's surface. Ebisu said that this exercise had to be done for several reasons. One: to gauge how well she was at Taijutsu, Ninjutsu and Genjutsu; two, due to the fact that she had to constantly balance herself while on the moving water's surface and fighting her sensei at the same time, she had to learn how to divide her concentration and focus.

 

After the trial fights were over, Ebisu was quiet impressed with Sakura's overall performance. He had discovered that she had very high potential in Genjutsu, but was only above average in strength when it comes to Taijutsu and Ninjutsu. Sakura's own concentration and focus had rapidly improved as she quickly adapted into the new fighting styles, with much more ease than Ebisu had expected. She had also surprised him with specials jutsus and techniques that he had never even heard of before, namely the Chakra enhanced kunais and the Gen Bunshin no jutsu (Illusionary Replications).

 

When asked where she had learnt these techniques from, Sakura had replied that her teammate, Naruto, had taught her. Ebisu looked sceptical for a long moment afterwards and it took her some time to convince him that Naruto was a really good friend and teammate, as well as a good teacher and influence too. In the end, he took her word as truth though he still looked slightly suspicious.

 

However, all good things had to come to an end. It was then that a young village girl (in her early twenties) accidentally stumbled upon their training ground, interrupting Sakura's training. Immediately, Ebisu had changed from being simply an `elite' tutor to a closet pervert/gentlemen trying to subtly flirt with the village girl and insisting he should help her carry her laundry and such.

 

Eyebrows twitching, Sakura had shouted at him, asking what about her training. Ebisu had simply answered back that it was a man's duty to help any damsel in distress (even though the village girl was completely unharmed and in no danger anyways). Ebisu then followed up by telling her to finish the days' lessen by doing a hundred push-ups and then going home. Sakura fumed silently as she watched her supposed teacher walking away chatting merrily with the oblivious village girl.

 

Even though Sakura was angry at how she was dumped by her replacement teacher, she still did as she was told, being the obedient student that she was. After finishing the push-ups (which had become one of her more prominent exercising routines at home), she opted to go to the hospital instead of heading home.

 

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Returning to the Hidden Leaf village, Sakura wandered around the streets aimlessly. Her mind was still unable to understand why she had reacted the way she did towards Kakashi's news and Ebisu's behaviour. If Sakura compared the way she acts and thinks now, to the way she had acted when she had just become a Genin, it was surprising to her how much she had changed. It wasn't just the physical changes (building muscles); she had also become far more mature and confident in herself.

 

The old Sakura wouldn't have battered an eye at Ebisu's seeming flirtatiousness. Oh, she would have complained, most definitely, but she wouldn't have felt disappointed that the training session was cut short. The old Sakura would have hammered Kakashi none stop until he gave up and promised to train both her and Sasuke together just so that it was the two of them together, not feel angry at being put aside because the teacher favoured one student among the three of them. She couldn't understand why she had changed so much in such a short amount of time, so Sakura decided to review everything that had happened to her since becoming a Genin.

 

She had first met Naruto when they were waiting for the name list for team 7 and she hadn't really thought much about him except that he was quiet, antisocial and probably annoying. She had also met Kakashi, and her first impression of him was less than favourable too. In fact, during the first few weeks of being part of team 7, anything that didn't have to do with Sasuke, she had ignored completely. She hadn't even helped Sasuke and Naruto capture any of the bells in the first place, all she had done was faint. /Damn… What a good impression that must have made.../ She thought to herself sarcastically.

 

Then there was the mission to the Wave country. /Yes… that was the mission that changed my life…/ Sakura thought. After watching how helpless she had been in protecting Tazuna-san against the Demon Brothers and the first time they had met Zabuza, Sakura truly felt as if she was worthless, useless to the cause. Of course at the time, she had always believed that Sasuke-kun would come to her rescue if she were ever truly in danger. /What a moronic fool I was back then…/ Sakura thought to herself sadly as she remembered how Naruto had stripped her of her ego so easily.

 

(FLASHBACK)

 

"You have no right to call yourself a Shinobi." Sakura blinked in shock at his announcement and was about to rebuff when he interrupted again. "You have been nothing but a burden on your teacher and classmates. You have done nothing to earn the title of Shinobi. Until you earn the right to bare that title, you are nothing, Haruno-san, nothing but a waste of space and time." With that said Naruto turned around and walk away with his clones and Kakashi trailing behind him.

(END FLASHBACK)

 

/Naruto certainly doesn't mince words… He just told me the truth without sugar coating it./ That had been the turning point for her, Sakura thought. It was at that moment in time when she started `wanting' to become stronger, to become better than before, to force herself to concentrate on other, more important things. The two weeks of intensive training had done wonders for her, physically and mentally. /I started feeling a lot more confident about myself./ Sakura thought as she remembered all those sparring matches she had with Sasuke. /I really thought I was catching up to Sasuke-kun and Naruto-kun. I thought that I had finally become an equal…/ Then came the actual fight with Zabuza and once again, Sakura had stayed in the sidelines, though she had an important task to perform as well - protecting Tazuna-san.

 

/I thought I had lost Sasuke-kun... / Sakura remembered how she had cried out in joy at seeing her crush alive and well. /And then, Naruto was the one who collapsed… because of the Tenkun no buki…/ Sakura may not have voiced her opinions, but in truth, she hated the Tenkun no buki weapons. Every time Naruto had dared to use one of them, he was rendered more hurt and injured than ever before. First was against Haku and then in the Chuunin Exam against Orochimaru. She knew it must have been another Tenkun no buki, or else Naruto would never have managed to fight evenly against one of three Sennins in such a manner. She hated how each time Naruto would have to sacrifice more of himself just to use the damn things. She simply hated the dreaded weapon, no matter how powerful it was.

 

/The Chuunin Exam…/ Sakura smiled slightly at remembering all the ups and downs they have had with the first test. /It's where I first met Lee-san…/ At the mention of the name, Sakura stopped walking abruptly. /I should visit him at least./ Looking around at where her mindless walking at led she, she found it ironic that she was standing outside of Yamanaka's Flower shop, the shop owned by Ino's parents.

 

Deciding she might as well go in since she's here now, Sakura walked into the shop without hesitation. That is, until the voice of her rival startled her. “It's rare to see you buying flowers from our shop.” Ino's voice rang out behind her.

 

Hesitant, Sakura slowly turned around to face her one time friend and now rival, mind wondering how she should act around the other girl now. /Shit! Would she hate me? Are we still rivals? Is she going to kick me out just because I beat her??/ Questions continued to scroll inside her head without any answers in sight and Sakura gave Ino a tentative bow of respect before deciding it would be best to leave before any explosion happen between the two.

 

Just before she was able to make it out of the shop though, her arm was grabbed firmly by Ino and she was roughly dragged back into the shop. “Now What the hell was that?! Is that anyway to treat your rival!!??” Ino yelled angrily at the pink haired girl.

 

Sakura gazed at the other girl with wide, confused eyes, and Ino frowned in response. “Just because you beat me in one battle, I repeat `ONE' battle, doesn't mean you win the war! I'm still your rival Sakura, and I swear that next time I WON'T LOSE TO YOU!!!” Ino screamed and Sakura flinched but a small smile was finally displayed on her face.

 

Feeling more confident, Sakura replied back smugly. “Really, then I guess I'll just have to beat you again.” Her tentative smile turned into a smirk at Ino's outraged expression. /Good. At least we're back to what we were before./ Though Sakura never admitted to anyone, especially Ino, but her rivalry with her one time friend was still precious to her. Even though she had beaten Ino in the previous fight, Sakura still saw Ino as her eternal rival, someone to aspire to…someone to run after.

 

Turning back to the flowers on display, Sakura decided on the perfect gift. “I would like one of these Daffodils please, without the roots of course.” Sakura directed.

 

“Hm? If it was me going to see Sasuke-kun, I'd personally go for a `rose' for love.” Ino taunted while cutting off the Daffodil as requested.

 

Sakura's smile faded. “It's not for Sasuke-kun.” Ino looked at her in confusion so she decided to explain. “It's for Lee-san. Sasuke-kun isn't taking any visitors, and I doubt he'll be staying in the hospital for long, knowing him.” Sakura murmured in a slightly depressed tone of voice.

 

Ino looked at her in shock, and then she displayed a sad expression on her face. “Ne… Sakura...Did you hear about Lee-san?” She asked.

 

Sakura looked at her also with a gloomy expression in her eyes. “Yeah, I've heard. The doctors say that Lee-san will never be able to live as a Shinobi again…”

 

Trying to let go of the depressing atmosphere, Sakura decided it was high time to leave. She paid for the single Daffodil silently then left without another pause. A few minutes of walking alone to the hospital, Sakura was surprised when Ino suddenly appeared beside her.

 

Ino smiled encouragingly at Sakura's confused expression. “I'll go with you to visit Lee-san. I may not know him very well, but I do feel sorry for him.” And so, both girls walked towards the hospital in comfortable silence.

 

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Upon reaching the hospital though, both girls stopped abruptly as they heard a commotion originating from somewhere in the gardens.

 

“Lee-kun! Stop this! Your body isn't ready for this kind of stress!!” A female voice rang out from the middle of the garden.

 

Hearing the name, Sakura quickly rushed off towards the origin of the sound. Upon reaching the garden's clearing though, Sakura stopped hastily and gazed on with wide eyes filled with sympathy, shock and admiration all at the same time. Ino stumbled to a stop next to Sakura (having to catch up to the fast girl), following Sakura's intent gaze; she too, stood still and watched the scene in silent horror.

 

Lee was performing one-handed push-ups with his good arm while his severely injured left one was still bandaged heavily. With each push of his arm and elbow, Lee's body shuddered in fatigue and stress, sweating profusely at the strain of movement. Gasping through his haggard breath, Lee grunted out the number of push-ups slowly while he was doing them. “198….199…” With a final yelp of pain, Lee collapsed onto the ground, falling immediately into unconsciousness as the exhaustion finally set in.

 

“Lee-kun!” The nearby nurse yelled.

 

“LEE-san!!” Sakura yelled and all three females rushed to Lee's side to check his vitals.

 

After confirming his steady breathing, the nurse quickly ordered the other girls to stay with him while she went and called for a doctor. The two girls readily agreed.

 

Once the nurse was gone, Sakura looked upon Lee's unconscious form and smiled sadly. “You know, Ino… I've always wondered why boys… try so hard…” A small tear slid down Sakura's right cheek and Ino stayed silent for a time, contemplating the statement.

 

“I don't know, Sakura… I'm just a girl… I don't know…” Ino finally replied in a soft voice.

 

“I do.” Sakura's calm voice interrupted. Ino looked up at Sakura in shock. No longer was Sakura looking sympathetic with a sad expression on her face, the Sakura that sat in front of her now had a very determined glint in her eyes, her mouth was set in a thin line and she had already wiped away the stray tears.

 

“Why?” Ino questioned, wondering at the changes happening with Sakura.

 

“Because... they want to be strong… strong enough to be acknowledged, strong enough to prove their worth… strong enough to protect the people they love…” Sakura explained slowly, her eyes glazed slightly as if she was seeing things far away from here. “Lee-san, Sasuke-kun, Naruto-kun… even Haku-kun... all had their reasons to want to become stronger…” After a short pause, Sakura finally realised. “We should do the same too.”

 

Her musings were cut short when many other nurses and doctors appeared on the scene, carrying Lee's body off on a stretcher, leaving the girls to ponder on their own what they should do from now on. Silently, Sakura followed, with Ino by her side towards Lee's room. She dropped her daffodil off in a small vase and left the sleeping boy's side as it was time to head home. Along the way, Ino too left on her way home, leaving Sakura to brood over many issues silently in her own mind. It was later that night that Sakura finally decided she should take matters into her own hands if she wanted any real results.

 

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The next morning found Sakura heading to the hospital for the third time in less than two days. She quickly approached the nurse on the front desk. “Excuse me. Can you tell me where the medic ninja named Haku is at the moment?”

 

Looking over the day's notes, the nurse behind the counter replied that he should be in the Southern wing of the hospital somewhere, watching over some of his patients. Sakura nodded, thanked the nurse and left.

 

Upon reaching the southern wing of the Konoha hospital, it didn't take Sakura long to find Haku at all, since the said Shinobi was having a break sitting on a bench located in the middle of the corridor.

 

“Haku-san!” called Sakura as she reached his side.

 

Haku smiled at Sakura, surprised at this impromptu visit. “Ohayo! Sakura-san! What brings you here?” Haku asked the slightly panting girl.

 

Sakura blushed slightly and shifted nervously on her toes. “Ano… I was kinda hoping that…” Sakura paused in mid-speech before she launched straight into her question, puppy dog eyes out in full force trying to convince Haku to agree. “That you could help me out with my training?”

 

Haku blinked. “You want me to train you? What happened to Kakashi-san?” Haku asked curiously, wondering why she would come to him of all people.

 

Sakura's shoulders slumped at the mention of the name. “Kakashi-sensei is busy training Sasuke-kun. And Naruto has gone on his own training expedition, probably with Jiraiya-sama. So that leaves me alone.”

 

Haku frowned. “Kakashi-san doesn't strike me as the type of person to keep people hanging like that though. He must have organised someone to teach you, right?”

 

One of Sakura's eyebrows arched upwards as her mind wandered for a bit. /Not let people hang?! HA! That bastard makes us wait three hours for him to even SHOW UP for every mission or training session!/ Inner Sakura snorted ironically, but outer Sakura shrugged her shoulders again. “Well, Kakashi-sensei did ask Ebisu-san to take over my training for the one-month period. But I just don't like that guy! He's a pervert, though he doesn't admit to it. And he hasn't taught me a single thing yesterday at all! Hell, he walked off after seeing a pretty village girl stumble into our training session!!” Sakura continued to complain and list out all the bad points of this teacher, until Haku held both hands up in a sign of surrender.

 

“Okay! Okay!! Sakura-san! I'll see what I can do for you, is that all right? But I can't promise anything either. If there are emergencies, then my first priority is the hospital and my patients. Not to mention, I probably only have a few half day breaks during the week where I can teach you because I too, need to work for a living. Most of the time, you'll still be on your own.” Haku stated out the conditions and Sakura quickly nodded in return, happy to have at least someone she respected teach her.

 

“Hm…” Haku tapped on his fingers as he thought to himself what type of training he should give her. “From what I remember of seeing you fight in the Wave country and what ever little tibits that Naruto actually told me about your strengths and weaknesses, I'll just assume that you still have a rather small Chakra reserve. You have high potential for Genjutsu, above average for Ninjutsu and average for Taijutsu, am I correct?” Haku asked.

 

Sakura grimaced slightly at all her weaknesses. “Well... pretty much. That's what Ebisu-san said about me yesterday too. Kakashi-sensei has been concentrating on teaching me Genjutsu skills, but they're not very strong though. He taught me how to do the Kyousei Suimin no Jutsu (Forced Sleep Technique), the Nemuri (Sleep) (1)…”

 

“Wait a minute, aren't the Kyousei Suimin no Jutsu and the Nemuri the same kind of jutsu?” Asked Haku curiously, having never learnt the differences between the two sleep Genjutsu.

 

“Well... yes and no. They both forces the victim into a deep slumber but the Nemuri Genjutsu is weaker because it can be cancelled with using the `Kai' seal, while the Kyousei Suimin no jutsu is unable to be cancelled. You just have to wait until its effects wear off on its own. However, the Kyousei Suimin no jutsu can't be used for a long period of time. Unlike the Nemuri which can stretch to however long, the Kyousei Suimin has a limit of 1 full day at its absolute maximum.” Explained Sakura.

 

Haku nodded in contemplation. “Okay. I get it. Go on.” He stated as his mind mulled what else she had learnt.

 

“Naruto taught me how to do the Gen-Bunshin no Jutsu (Illusionary Replication technique) and the special Invisibility Genjutsu that I can place on myself and one other person. Kakashi had taught me one other high level Genjutsu called the `Kishibari no Jutsu' (Tree Binding Technique) (2) Other than that, I haven't learnt much else.” Said Sakura despondently.

 

“Okay, I've got it.” Haku exclaimed as he thought through exactly what he could do for the younger Genin within the time period of one-month. “There really aren't many Ninjutsu or Genjutsu skills I can teach you, because most of my techniques are Mist Jutsus that either coincide with my Bloodline limit or are too Chakra-consuming for you to preform anyway. So this is what I can offer you, Sakura-san. I can teach you how to use metal-needles to the best of your ability. They're very light and have little to no residence in the air when thrown. With practice, you can learn to wield them better than kunais, I promise you that. I can also teach you about the human anatomy, so that you can aim for the weakest areas with much more accuracy. I think I can probably teach you how to perform the high level Genjutsu technique called `Mukaku no jutsu' (Blind Senses Technique) (3).” Haku said as he continued to list down what was appropriate to teach and what wasn't in his mind.

 

“What's the Mukaku no Jutsu (Blind Senses Technique)?” Sakura asked.

 

“It's a Genjutsu technique that attacks all five senses of a human body and shuts them down for a very short period of time. Basically, it renders the person blind, deaf, numb to whatever their touch, unable to smell and without any taste buds at all for a maximum period of 15 minutes. To them, it'll feel like they are in some kind of vacuum, moving and yet not feeling anything at all. I know it sounds like a very short time span, but if you consider using it in a fight, 15 minutes could mean a person's death. It is a very Chakra consuming technique if you want to make it last but it also requires precise chakra control on the user's part, and another disadvantage is that it's a slow moving jutsu.”

 

Sakura contemplated all that Haku had said and she finally nodded in acceptance at the terms and conditions. “But what about Taijutsu?” She suddenly asked, having remembered that Haku never implied anything about teacher her any physical attacks.

 

Haku gave her a crooked smile. “I don't think I have the time to teach you all about Taijutsu. Not to mention, I myself was never such a good Taijutsu expert anyway, I'm just good at speed, that's all.”

 

“Oh...” Sakura said as her shoulders sagged again. She had really hoped Haku could help her with her Taijutsu.

 

“However, I can think of one person who would be a good teacher in Taijutsu. In fact, it's probably the only thing he's good at. And he has plenty of time on his hands to help you.” Haku smiled brighter. Sakura didn't notice the glint in his eyes, if she had, she would have been more suspicious.

 

“Really! Who?” Sakura exclaimed, hope rekindled.

 

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A few minutes later, Sakura found herself standing next to Haku, watching him talk to Lee-san about helping her with her Taijutsu.

 

“Of course I'll help! I've got nothing else to do and I'd love to be able to help train Sakura-san!” Lee exclaimed happily, performing his `Hero' pose with a bandaged arm and several bandages on his face while he smiled as wide as he could. Sakura only sweat dropped, but figured she could do worse. /Yeah. At least it's not Gai…/ Sakura physically shuddered at imagining herself being taught by Gai. /At least Lee-san isn't as bad… I hope…/

 

The next day, Sakura had informed Ebisu of the changes to her training arrangement and after a short talk with Haku, he finally agreed to leave her training in the medic Nin's hands.

 

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For the next four weeks, Sakura's training session had steadily become heavier and heavier. Only two days after Sakura started training under both the tutelage of Haku and Lee, Ino suddenly showed up and demanded that she be trained as well. Her reasons: “I won't lose to Sakura again!” Haku decided that it wouldn't be so bad to train both girls at the same time, considering their rivalry; they would probably push each other to their limits and more. And indeed, that was what happened.

 

Each day, they had to practice many exercise routines as `warm-up' before Lee oversees their Taijutsu training. These may range from 500 rope jumps, to 200 push-ups to 1000 sit-ups or more, all done with small weights strapped to their arms and legs to increase the difficulty of movement and increase their stamina. After that came the punching and kicking exercises where both Sakura and Ino had to perform over 500 punches and kicks within relatively high speeds. They were timed too.

 

When they eventually finished their daily practice sessions, they would then engage in one-on-one combat between the two girls to see how much they have improved. It was always a very evenly matched fight when no Genjutsu or Ninjutsu were employed. Sakura had exceptional skill with chakra control and therefore was able to perform short bursts of speed and power whenever she needed it. While Ino on the other hand, was physically stronger and she had a natural grace and fast reaction time able to counter all of Sakura's attacks.

 

During the days when Haku had breaks in between his checkups on patients, he would come over to help train both girls in the arts of the medical ninjas. He hadn't taught them any true medic-nin techniques, just more about the human anatomy and where most of the weak spots are on a human body. He had also trained Sakura on the proper use of needles, not just for throwing, but also as small hand held weapons. For Ino, he concentrated on sword style techniques instead. Unbeknownst to most people, Haku was also very adept at using a sword (since Zabuza had always been a swordsman too), but he had never carried a real sword around because he could always make one out of water or ice instead.

 

As the training continued through the days and weeks, Ino and Sakura steadily grew in strength but were always on par with one another. While Sakura had learned many different attack patterns from Naruto, Sasuke and Kakashi, Ino had more ingenuity and came up with a few original combinations of attacks. All in all, they both enjoyed fighting each other as rivals but they would never admit it to themselves, let alone each other.

 

As for the Ninjutsu and Genjutsu training, Sakura had slowly but surely mastered the new Mukaku no jutsu (Blind Senses), as taught by Haku, as well as any of her previously learnt jutsus such as the Invisibility Jutsu, Gen Bunshins (Illusionary Bunshins), Kyousei Suimin (Forced Sleep), Kishibari no Jutsu (Tree binding) and the Chakra enhanced kunais or needles. Ino had mainly focused on learning her own family techniques and was experimenting on a new, original jutsu that she had been concentrating on making. She too, had also learnt how to enhance her sword (one she bought) with her own Chakra, making it sharper and stronger than before.

 

Overall, by the end of the one-month period, both Sakura and Ino were very happy about their improvements in ninja skills. Whether she becomes a Chuunin or not was no longer her main goal, Sakura just wanted the world to know that she had become stronger and will continue to pursue strength. She wanted to become strong enough for her to be acknowledged as a worthy Shinobi as well as gaining enough power to protect her loved ones. She never wanted to be involved in another situation like the Chuunin Exam against Orochimaru, where she was close to worthless again.

 

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The other Leaf participants of the Final Chuunin Exam were also busy training to become stronger, some more reluctantly than others. Shikamaru had spent days and days being either tortured by his Sensei or by his parents. He felt slightly betrayed by his best friend, knowing that Chouji would do anything for a free lunch, even if it meant helping Asuma-sensei torture poor Shikamaru.

 

Shikamaru gave a heavy sigh as he looked up towards the clouds once again. “How troublesome…” /How I wish I was a cloud, floating in the unending sky. No worries, no responsibilities.../ He thought until he was brought of his musings by an unfamiliar shadow overcasting his eyes. /Eh… Who's that…/ Shikamaru slowly turned his head towards the stranger.

 

A man, whose face was completely covered in bandages and wore black all over stood before him. “Are you Nara Shikamaru?” The man's soft and calm voice asked.

 

Shikamaru blinked but gave a short nod in reply; voicing his affirmation was too much trouble anyway.

 

The stranger's emerald green eyes gazed avidly into Shikamaru's nonchalant ones, as if analysing the Genin's very soul before also giving a short nod, as if in acceptance. “I am Kaga.” Shikamaru raised one delicate eyebrow, as if silently asking the man why he should care.

 

Underneath the bandages, Kaga smirked. “I want to teach you a special jutsu. That's all.” Shikamaru's other eyebrow rose to his hairline, again, asking again without words why he should care.

 

“Have you ever tried walking through shadows?” Kaga asked.

 

Shikamaru blinked. “What are you talking about?” He drowsily asked.

 

“If I told you, you had the ability to walk through shadows. Would you like to learn how?” The stranger detailed. (4)

 

“And why should I want to learn such a technique from someone like you?” Shikamaru battered back, suspicious written on his face.

 

“Because I am the only one who can teach it to you.” Kaga answered simply.

 

“Who are you?” Shikamaru narrowed his eyes at the stranger. “You're not a leaf Shinobi.” He stated the obvious as the man wasn't wearing any head protectors at all.

 

Kaga nodded in acknowledgement. “I am known as Kaga, the last of the shadow masters.” At this point, both Shikamaru's eyes widen in surprise. “I am a Shinobi of the Air, here to accompany my mistress, the Lady Oracle at the public event of the Chuunin Exam.”

 

“The Hidden Village of Air? Why?” Shikamaru whispered his questions, as the awe of seeing a real shadow master alive was still too shocking to accept.

 

“To watch Naruto-sama's fight, of course.” The man stated simply, as if it was obvious.

 

Shikamaru's eyes narrowed in confusion again. “What does this have to do with Naruto?” He demanded.

 

“Naruto-sama is an Air Shinobi. He will be fighting as a representative of the Air.” Kaga explained, proudly.

 

“He IS?!!” Shikamaru jumped to his feet, blinking in astonishment at the man standing in front of him.

 

“Yes. He is. But let's not talk about that right now.” Kaga interrupted, knowing that if he started on this conversation, they would never get to the part he wanted to engage in. “So, are you or are you not interested in learning this technique?” He brought the conversation back to the original topic at hand.

 

After a long pause in silence, Shikamaru finally sighed, shoulders slumping in defeat though there was a clear glint of anticipation in his eyes. “How troublesome… Guess I might as well see what this technique entails...” He grumbled as he looked back up at the strange man. “So... What's it called anyway?”

 

“The Kage Michi (Way of the Shadows) (5) - The first stage in creating your own Akukan (Space) (6)” Kaga said smugly while Shikamaru blinked. /Damn… Looks like I just made it more troublesome…/ Shikamaru sighed internally.

 

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(1) First used by Kabuto in the Chuunin exam - he places his hand on a person's shoulder (the person sitting in front of him) and forces them to sleep.

 

(2) Used by Kurenai against Itachi in chapter 141.

 

(3) Original Jutsu. Mu means `nothing or void', while Kaku is short for Kankaku which means the human `senses' (ie. Smell, touch, taste, sight and sound).

 

(4) This jutsu's idea was originally inspired by the abilities of one of the characters in the manga Houshin Engi (I LOVE Outenkun-sama!!!). He doesn't actually uses `shadows' but he can create his own `shadow-space' or `mirror' in which he can travel through like a teleportation jutsu. It seems that this idea was also incorporated into the story of There Where When is Now Book 2 by TokehGecko. That's why I'm writing a disclaimer here. I don't own the idea but I didn't exactly steal it from TokehGecko, if it seems that way, then I apologies profusely to anyone confused.

 

(5) `Kage' means `shadows'. Michi means `way/path/understanding', in Chinese it is called the `Dao' or `Tao', a Taoist philosophy on the `way of life'. In this story, it just means `a way to travel through shadows.'

 

(6) Completely copied off Houshin Engi, it's a technique used by all the Juttenkuns (10 Warriors), including my favourite Outenkun. Aku - `Kong' in Chinese, means empty/hollow/void/blank, or air/space. Kan - `Jian' in Chinese, means between/among. Together, Akukan (`Kong Jian' in Chinese) means `space' or `area'.