Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Genin ❯ Chapter 7: Teaam Seven, Broken? ( Chapter 7 )

Disclaimer: Naruto does not belong to me. Nor do Sakura, Sasuke, or any of the other characters mentioned or described herein. I haven't even bothered to get permission from their great and august creator. Feel free to sue me if you wish, but you won't get anywhere. Not only do I have no money, but as a college student, I have LESS than no money. That's right. A negative net worth. Have fun, Mr(s). Lawyer! Also, I will be using adult language in this fic. If you're not supposed to read such language, GO BACK TO SCHOOL!

Genin

By: Flashfyre5

Chapter Seven: Team Seven, Broken?

High in the central tower of the Konoha central offices, over thirty ninja sat and talked amongst themselves, filling the room with a pervasive and loud murmur. Seated in various positions, these ninja were the pride of Konoha's fighting force. Jounin all, the group numbered amongst their members such figures as Hatake Kakashi, the copy ninja, and Maito Gai, the self-titled `Green Beast of Konoha.' One of their number, a fairly nondescript ninja who wore his black hair somewhat long and spiky checked the clock and, with a sigh, stepped up to the front of the room.

"People," he called out, adjusting his glasses. When the crowd didn't quiet at all, he repeated somewhat more loudly, "People, please? We're five minutes late already. Can we please get through this so that I can get home to dinner?" Slowly, the jounin stopped their conversations and paid attention to the man in front. "All right," he said once the noise level had dropped enough. "The jounin exams begin tomorrow morning. As you all know, this is your final briefing before the first section of the test, so pay attention."

"Oh, before we start," he said, motioning to a couple on ninja dressed differently than the rest of the crowd. "I want to thank the representatives from the Hidden Sand, Hidden Cloud, and Hidden Mist for coming. As you all know, they're here to ensure objectivity when we decide who gets to join us." Two jounin, sitting quietly, nodded back to the man in front. One, a woman from Hidden Cloud, was dressed snugly in warm, winter clothes, having just recently arrived. Beside her, the representative from the Hidden Mist was unidentifiable underneath his or her cloak and respirator. The representative from the Hidden Sand, however, had engaged a Konoha jounin in conversation, and had not yet bothered to stop.

"Sorano-san?" the man in front called, trying to get the ninja's attention. The Sand ninja seemed to hear his name and turned to face the front. Unlike most of the shinobi in the room, he was old. At least sixty, his face was wrinkled and leathery from a lifetime in the Sand country. He wore his forehead protector low; so low, in fact, that is obscured his brow from view, and made it look as if his eyes were capped off by the dull brown of the cloth. His hair was an intense shade of red, or had been when he was young. Now, it was liberally speckled with gray strands. He wore it long and swept back; his mane terminated at the base of his skull. His nose was a great hawk-like bill that dominated the rest of his face. Beneath it, his chin came to an almost unnatural point, and was tipped by a goatee, which was almost completely red, despite his age.

His clothing was simple; he wore a white sleeveless t-shirt, which exposed the tattoos he bore on each of his upper arms. Beyond that, he wore only a pair of baggy breeches, secured at the ankle by strips of old cloth. His feet were propped up on a nearby chair. He had kicked his shoes off upon seating himself.

"Just call me Taka, kiddo," he said with a grin, raising a hand to wave at the miffed jounin. Armoring the hand was an odd gauntlet; It was painted white, and offered functionally no protection to the hand, aside from a thick plate on the back of the hand. Hinged, it attached to a bulky, hexagonal armguard that stretched almost all the way to the Sand jounin's elbow. The whole contraption was painted white, and the hourglass symbol of the Sand was etched in the side of the gauntlet. Taka wore another just like it on his other arm.

"Well, thank you for your attention. I hope that I'm not infringing on your conversation time," the jounin at the front of the room said sarcastically, flipping off the room's lights. Taka just laughed, his aged cackle bringing several other jounin to mirth. In the back of the room, a slide projector came on, and the symbol of Konoha was displayed proudly on a screen that had been previously pulled down. Someone in the back focused the projector for a minute, and then the man in front stepped forward again.

"All right," he said, looking down at his notes. "We've gone over the particulars of each of the tests. Now, since it's just about time to leave," he said, glancing up at the clock, "We're gonna look at the statistics of the candidates." In the back, someone pushed the forward button, and the pictures of six people were displayed in two lines. "We've got two teams taking the exam this time. We'll call them Team Haruno and Team Hyuuga."

"Why?" someone asked.

"Because we're lazy, and those were the two last names on each team that come first, alphabetically," the man at the front replied, and everybody shared a laugh. The slide projector advanced again, and Sakura's picture was displayed, alongside an octagonal graph. It was marked with a question mark. Below her picture were several sections, which detailed her known techniques.

"First off is Haruno Sakura. She's been a chuunin for two years, and does pretty well on her missions. She's a smart one," the man in the front read off. "The graph here is blank because we have some very badly conflicting data about her. On one hand, she seems to demonstrate a pretty remarkable level of skill in taijutsu. On the other, we've seen her performing very poorly at taijutsu, instead relying on powerful genjutsu and some ninjutsu to accomplish her missions. We're not sure what's going on, but be careful. As long as you don't get surprised, you shouldn't have too much trouble with her," he finished, looking up. "Slide," he said, and the machine advanced.

"This is Uchiha Sasuke," he announced as the named boy's picture appeared. The graph next to his name displayed highly in terms of speed and moderately in terms of ninjutsu, but poorly in almost all other areas. "He's not very good, I know, but I have orders from the top in regards to him. We're going to pass him, period. Apparently," he continued, looking down at his notes, "This boy has come into possession of a very powerful technique. Forbidden jutsu of the highest level." There was some derisive murmuring in the room, but it was quieted by the man's next statement. "We're not talking Scroll of Seals forbidden here, people, we're talking `should have been destroyed generations ago' forbidden. We can not let him use it. If you see the kid pull out a cream-colored scroll, pass him on the spot."

"How bad can it be?" someone interjected, which was followed by sounds of general agreement from most of the assembled jounin.

"If he uses it, the Hokage herself is going to put him down. That bad," he replied flatly, silencing the disruption. The man noticed someone near the line of the projector's light, and sighed in exasperation. "Kakashi, put down the damn book," he demanded, and Kakashi barely spared the man an upwards glance.

"This first team are all former students of mine," Kakashi replied lazily, turning a page. "I know them better than anyone in this room, especially Sasuke." The man at the front sighed, but didn't fight Kakashi on the issue. He nodded to the man in the back, and the slide advanced.

"All right. Everybody in here knows Uzumaki Naruto," the man stated without preamble. Naruto's graph displayed very highly; his taijutsu statistics were fairly high up the graph, and his ninjutsu statistics were all at the highest displaying level. His genjutsu was considerably lower, however. "This kid is an absolute monster in a fight, and I'm not talking about Kyuubi, either. First of all, he's got more stamina than anyone in this room, bar none. His chakra reserves are through the roof too. Do not get into a war of attrition with this kid. You'll lose if you do. In terms of techniques, watch out. He doesn't have too many high level jutsus, but he's very good at those he does have. Watch for the Kage Bunshin and the Kuchiyose. With as much chakra as he has, he can summon anything from any of the three tribes he's allied with. Slide."

"Hyuuga Neji, Hyuuga clan prodigy," the man introduced. Neji's graph showed great talent in taijutsu and ninjutsu. "He's mastered the Hyuuga clan taijutsu style, so watch out for seemingly harmless blows. Since then, he's been studying some of the more specialized Hyuuga clan techniques. We don't know exactly what he's got, so be ready for anything. He'll be a tough fight for anyone he gets matched up against. Any questions so far?" he asked, looking up. Nobody said anything, and the slide was advanced.

"Rock Lee," the man said with a sigh and a shake of the head. Lee's graph was the most unusual of all of the graphs; his showed only skill in taijutsu, but it was at its' highest possible level. "This kid… is nuts. He's got no ninjutsu or genjutsu at all."

"Then why's he taking the test?" Taka asked, his gauntlet obscuring the projection for a minute as he raised his hand.

"Because he's the best taijutsu practitioner we've ever had," the man replied, and a ripple of uneasy murmuring ran through the room. Regardless, he continued, "When Tsunade-sama performed an operation to fix the kid up a few years ago, she triggered something accidentally. Ever since, any training he does seems to pay off double for him. He's already broken every record the village has for speed trials, and he's getting damn close to breaking strength records too. Tsunade-sama's worried that she might have reduced his lifespan a bit by turning up the intensity with which his muscles grow, but we haven't seen any adverse side effects yet, so we've got no real reason to do anything. Anyway, he fights with dai-kunai on chains, and he can perform the Renge. Don't get into close combat with Lee. Just for standards of comparison, he beat Gai in a straight fight about four years ago. Since then, he's only gotten better. Slide."

"Iruka?" Asuma's voice exclaimed in surprise before the man could say anything. Several others also voiced their surprise.

"Yes, Umino Iruka. Unlike the rest of the random crazies we have taking the test, Iruka-san is pretty much your average chuunin," the man continued brusquely, annoyed at being interrupted before he could even start. Iruka's graph showed that he had fairly average skill in all of the varied areas of ranking. "He's not really remarkable in any way, but he does have much more experience than the rest of the candidates. He'll be a factor in the Assassination and Espionage sections. Just keep an eye out, and don't let yourself be surprised." The lights came up, and the projection was dimmed to near-invisibility. "Any questions? No? Good. Go rest up, guys. I'll see you all bright and early tomorrow morning." That said, the various jounin rose and made their way out of the room, either alone or in groups. A few left in pairs, and it was fairly obvious that some of those intended to take advantage of their off-duty night. Once everyone else had left, the foreign shinobi also took their leave, and were escorted to their quarters by a few waiting chuunin. The man who had done the presentation gathered his notes and put them in order, waiting for someone. After a few minutes, Tsunade entered the room.

"You have her information?" she asked simply, walking over to join him at the front of the room.

"Tsunade-sama! Yes, I do," he replied, dimming the lights again and moving to advance the slide projector. "I'm sorry it took so long, but she seems to be going by an alias now. Here we go," he said, advancing the picture. "Toru Masako, also known as Toru Michino, age twenty-six. Graduated from the academy at age eleven, passed the chuunin exams at thirteen, made jounin at sixteen. She went into the Anbu, where she excelled in high-risk single-person assassinations. There, she met Uchiha Itachi, and the two fell in love. Or lust. At seventeen, who knows?"

"Anyway, when Itachi murdered his family, she decided to leave with him. She's listed under her old name as a Class A criminal, not to be engaged in a one-on-one fight unless absolutely necessary. Nobody's seen or heard from her since she left Konoha," he finished.

"That's it?" Tsunade asked in surprise, turning to look at the bespectacled man.

"Well," he said nervously, diving for his records. "It says here that she was good at taijutsu and genjutsu, but these reports are nine years old. I didn't present them to you because they're inaccurate. Umm…" he trailed off, searching through his papers for more information. "The only other information we have about her is that her father was a Class A criminal as well. He left the village shortly after she was born and was never seen or heard from again."

"Odd," Tsunade mused to herself, mulling over that last bit of information. Then, she nodded to the man and left the room, her mind whirling. /What connection is there? This doesn't make sense,/ she wondered as she walked down the hallways and away from the room. /Something about this woman doesn't add up./

* * * * * *

/It's a beautiful morning,/ Sakura thought to herself, a smile on her face. /A beautiful morning to show everybody just what kind of person I've grown up to become./ It was almost seven o'clock in the morning, yet Sakura was already up and dressed, her hair held tightly in place by her forehead protector. Now, she was cinching her sword across the small of her back. It blended in well with her shirt-vest today; she was wearing the black one that Inner Sakura had purchased a week ago. It was an odd setup; the sheath was attached by loose metal bands to a long strip of cushioned metal, which was in turn held in place by the ties she was now tightening. It was almost like there was a sheath for the sheath.

/Let's kick some ass,/ Inner Sakura grinned, sending her waves of encouragement.

"For once," Sakura said aloud as she opened her window. "I agree with you completely." Silently, Sakura stepped through the window, then shut it behind her. That done, she leapt up to her roof, then off to a nearby house. Knowing that she had only half an hour until the jounin exams started, she made her way quickly towards the red bridge where team seven had once met every morning. Now, it was the site of the first section of the jounin exams. /They still haven't told me what they're testing,/ she mused as she pulled a granola bar from her supplies pouch. She ate the largely tasteless bar without complaint, knowing that the carbohydrates in it would help fuel her through whatever test she had to perform.

"Hey! Sakura!" Naruto's voice called out to her. Sakura barely had time to look around before the blonde eased in beside her as she made her building leaps. "'Morning!" he greeted her, a great grin on his face. He was outfitted for combat as well, his kunai pouch strapped to his thigh, and a shuriken pouch hanging from his belt. He was wearing his jacket open this morning, and Tsunade's pendant bounced against his black undershirt as he jumped from building to building.

"Good morning, Naruto. Have you eaten yet?" Sakura asked between jumps. She had a second bar if he needed it, but she had intended to save it for later, just in case.

"Only two cups of ramen!" he returned cheerfully, prompting laughter from Sakura.

"Good," she said as she vaulted over another building. After that, she was forced to return to the ground, since she had arrived at the area where the town turned into a forest, and the paved road turned into a dirt one. She could see, ahead of her, a large gathering of people. In the midst of them all, Tsunade stood, wearing her ceremonial vestments as Hokage.

"Looks like everybody's already there," Naruto noted, and Sakura nodded in reply. The two quickly made their way to join the group, even though they were still quite early.

"Naruto-kun, Sakura-san, good morning!" Lee declared, stepping out of the crowd. He was wearing his training weights today: heavy, segmented boots made out of the incredibly dense metal that his original weights had been made of. On each of his arms was an oversized reel, differing from a fishing reel only in size. Wrapped around each of these reels was a great length of chain. In his hands, Lee carried a pair of massive, three-and-a-half foot long kunai, attached to the chains on his wrist-reels by quick-release carabineers.

"Why didn't you tell me that you were taking the jounin exams?" Naruto asked, smacking Lee on the back in a familiar manner.

"I wanted to surprise you both!" Lee smiled, his far-too-white teeth reflecting the morning light in an almost painful intensity.

"Who are you taking the test with, Lee-san?" Sakura asked, stepping forward a bit. Tsunade seemed to have noticed their arrival, and was calling people to order. Much to her surprise, Sakura saw Kakashi among the early arrivals.

"Neji-kun and Iruka-sensei! We can't lose!" Lee declared confidently. Naruto looked back at Sakura in surprise. Her face reflected his own emotions.

"Well, since everybody seems to be here already, let's get started," Tsunade called from the front. Lee nodded to the two and ran forward to join his teammates in a line in front of Tsunade. Behind her was a table, burdened only by a long row of scrolls. Behind the table, almost all of the village's jounin were assembled in a long line. Naruto noted a couple that he knew were from other villages, but he didn't have the time to ask about them. He waited for Sakura to catch up to him.

"Iruka-sensei, Lee and Neji?" Naruto asked out of the corner of his mouth as he made his way forward to join Sasuke, where he was waiting impatiently.

"I know. It's like some sort of sick dream team," Sakura agreed. The two, however, had no more time for conversation, since they had arrived in position next to Sasuke.

"Welcome to the jounin exams. I am pleased to congratulate everybody on passing their first test," Tsunade announced proudly. Before a member of either team could ask, she continued, "The first test was to assemble a team for a series of missions of unknown duration and objective. Both teams have a particular emphasis in one area, but they are well-rounded, and should be capable of accomplishing any mission."

"Now we will begin the second test," Tsunade announced, stepping aside to more completely reveal the long table full of scrolls behind her. "For this test, each of you will act as though you were an Anbu member. Each of these scrolls contain the name and key information of one of the jounin you see behind me. Each of you will select a scroll, and announce that person's name. They will then be given a fifteen-minute head start, after which you will have to track them down and subdue them. You have until nightfall to accomplish this. You may work individually or in pairs for this test." Sakura glanced over at Naruto, who met her gaze. With a smile, they each nodded.

"Now, there is only one rule here: you may not kill the jounin that you are pursuing. If you do, you will be disqualified immediately. Your target will inform you when you have defeated them. They will do their best not to kill you, but it is ultimately up to each of you to surrender when you're outmatched, if it comes to that," Tsunade explained. "Also, it is not up to me to decide weather or not each of you are promoted. Only by a majority vote among the village's jounin is someone allowed to join their ranks. So work hard, good luck, and choose a scroll," she finished with a grin, sweeping her arm towards the line of unmarked scrolls. Neji and Iruka immediately stepped forward together.

"We'll need Iruka's experience later, if there are less… obvious missions later," Neji said by way of explanation as the two advanced to the table. Sakura and Naruto stepped forward too, but did not offer an explanation.

"In that case," Tsunade replied to the brown-haired boy. "One of you chooses a scroll. When you've beaten the first target, return here for the second scroll. You've still got to finish by nightfall. Also, wait until everyone has picked a scroll." Neji nodded, and Iruka picked a scroll.

"Are you sure?" Sakura asked, worried that she would slow Naruto down.

"Don't worry about it," Naruto grinned, grabbing a scroll. Behind them, Lee and Sasuke were glaring at each other.

"Feh. I don't need him," Sasuke snorted dismissively, stepping forward. He snatched a scroll from the table and broke the seal, but didn't open it.

"I'll show you!" Lee declared, flashing a raised thumb behind the hilt of his massive kunai. He shoved it into the ground and retrieved a scroll for himself. "The Green Beast of Konoha will prove that he's the best!"

"Way to go, Lee-kun!" Gai shouted from his place in line. He flashed a thumbs-up to Lee, which Lee returned cheerfully.

"All right, everybody," Tsunade said, nodding towards a man with a stopwatch. He pressed a button. "Open your scrolls!" she announced.

"Maito Gai!" Lee shouted ecstatically.

"Behold the power of the flame of youth!" Gai returned with equal volume before leaping off into the treetops.

"Mitarashi Anko," Iruka announced. The trench coat-wearing woman nodded and vanished into the trees without a word, which was more than unusual for her.

"Hatake Kakashi," Sasuke announced dispassionately. Kakashi sighed from his place in line and took off down the trail, racing towards the monument. There was a bit of uncomfortable shuffling as he left. Some of the jounin looked at each other nervously. They all remembered his attitude from the briefing last night.

"Sorano Taka?" Naruto said, confused. A red-haired man stepped forward from the line and grinned at Naruto. Both Naruto and Sakura could see the Sand symbol on his hitai-ite.

"I'll see ya soon, kiddo. Let's see if you measure up to Gaara," he said with a grin, then leapt straight up. The wake of his departure made enough wind to roll several scrolls off of the table, and ruffled even Sakura's rather tight clothing. Naruto opened the scroll further and groaned when he saw his target's skill graph.

"Damn it, he's a speed specialist," he told his partner, and she groaned as well. Iruka was examining his scroll carefully as well. Naruto thought about walking over to talk to his old teacher, but decided against it for now. /I'll talk to him after the test is over,/ Naruto decided, turning back to the scroll. Sakura peered over his shoulder at it, reading off their target's known techniques in a soft voice.

"Kukan no Jutsu, Hayasa no Oto no Jutsu, Hiko no Jutsu… What are these?" Sakura wondered aloud, reading only the first three of Taka's listed jutsus. "I've never heard of any of them," she said, shaking her head.

"I don't like the sound of the Hayasa no Oto no Jutsu," Naruto agreed, rolling the scroll back up. To his left, he saw Sasuke discarding his scroll without looking at anything more than the name. /Dumbass,/ Naruto thought to himself, shaking his head.

"I know. `Speed of Sound,' with a speed specialist? That's scary," Sakura said worriedly as Naruto turned to face her.

"Well, he's old, and this is our home turf. We'll kick his ass!" Naruto declared confidently, pumping his fist into the air. Sakura laughed at this, the tension of the moment dispelled.

"One minute!" the man with the stopwatch announced.

"Already?" Sakura exclaimed, surprised. Naruto grinned at her, and walked up to the place in line where Taka had been standing. The remaining jounin stepped back as Naruto considered the location. After a moment, Sakura joined him. "What are you doing?" she asked curiously.

"I didn't see that Taka guy use any jutsus before he left. That means that he has to be running, even though he jumped straight up," Naruto reasoned, pulling up his right sleeve. "Which means that I can track him."

Before Sakura could ask him what he meant, the man with the stopwatch shouted, "Go!" Sasuke immediately dashed down the main path, following Kakashi's trail directly. Lee too, took off directly after his old teacher. Even Iruka and Neji hurried into the forest, an action that Sakura had intended to take herself.

Naruto, on the other hand, immediately fished a scroll out of his supplies pouch with one hand and bit the thumb on his other hand hard enough for a bit of blood to squirt up. Naruto rolled the scroll open, and smeared a long line of blood across the lines of text. Sakura's eyes widened in understanding when she saw him whipping the bloodied scroll around in complex patters before rolling it back up. He performed a few quick hand seals before raising it up in one hand, then slamming it down into the ground hard enough to crack the hard-packed earth.

"Doton: Tsuiga no Jutsu!" Naruto shouted, and lines of characters erupted from the scroll, inscribing a circle around him. With an explosion of ninja smoke, a pack of six wolves appeared before them. They seemed completely normal, except for the way they calmly regarded Naruto and Sakura. That and, of course, the miniature blue kimonos that they wore, cinched around their waists by black strips of cloth. On each wolf's back was a circle of white cloth, upon which a black spiral was drawn. The pack leader, a bit larger than the other wolves, had his spiral drawn in red. Naruto patted the ground where Taka had stood.

"Five of you, find and distract this guy. You," Naruto commanded, pointing at the pack leader. "Lead us to him. Got it?" The wolves did not answer directly, instead crowding around the patch of earth that Naruto had indicated. After a moment, they howled together, and five of them jumped up and seemed to dive into the ground.

"What the…?" Sakura uttered, confused. The last wolf turned and sped into the forest, moving very quickly. Naruto and Sakura tore off after it, each of them struggling to keep up with the wolf's rather remarkable pace. "I thought that you had to have dogs to use that jutsu," Sakura shouted to Naruto over the noise created by the swishing branches they passed.

"A dog's just a wolf by another name," Naruto called back, and the two concentrated on keeping up with the wolf as best they could. Soon enough, they could hear the sounds of a scuffle. In a small clearing just ahead of them, Taka was doing his best to fight off a trio of wolves while one was already clamped onto his left hand and leg.

"Damnit!" he exclaimed in exasperation, his burdened taijutsu no match for the quickly dodging wolves. "Stupid mutts," he muttered, spreading his arms wide. "Was always a cat person myself."

"Kamaitachi!" Taka shouted, slamming his hands together. Naruto heard a sickening crunch as the skull of the wolf on Taka's left hand collapsed, but then it exploded into ninja smoke. The Kamaitachi blasted outwards, lacerating the wolves, which were unable to escape the huge area of effect of the jutsu. They too, having suffered lacerations all over their bodies, exploded into ninja smoke. Taka kicked the wolf on his left leg hard enough to force it to dispel. With a quiet growl, the pack leader vanished too, dispelling the jutsu.

"He did it without a fan," Sakura noted in a whispered tone, impressed. Naruto nodded solemnly, studying his opponent as Taka looked around the clearing. Sakura glanced over at Naruto; this was unusual for him. She couldn't remember the last time he was this quiet and focused.

Suddenly, a lancing pain drove through her skull from two points in the front: her pupils. Sakura gripped her head, biting her lower lip in a desperate effort to keep herself from crying out in pain. Naruto looked over at her in concern, wondering what was happening to her. The pain intensified, consuming the front of her head in its' entirety, but still focused mostly on her eyes.

"Sakura, what's wrong?" Naruto asked in a hurried whisper, his hand lightly resting on her bent back. He could feel her whole body shiver with pain.

"I… don't… know…" Sakura replied, doing her best to keep her voice in a whisper. Then the pain intensified, and she arched her back. Sakura's mouth opened, and out of it issued an ear-wrenching scream of pain.

* * * * * *

Sasuke skidded out of the forest, stopping in the clearing in front of the monument of fallen ninja. Kakashi was calmly squatting next to it, running his hand over a name.

"You didn't go very far, Kakashi-sensei," Sasuke said, walking up behind his old teacher.

"I'm not supposed to," Kakashi replied, holding his hand over the name of his best friend, his head bowed. "I'm just supposed to pass you after pretending to fight you."

"What?" Sasuke exclaimed his eyes widening.

"You've got something you're not supposed to, it seems," Kakashi explained, standing up. He then turned to face Sasuke, a very serious expression on his face. "A scroll with a dangerous jutsu."

"How did you find out?" Sasuke asked, his hand slipping protectively into the pocket of his jacket, where that very scroll was resting. Kakashi noted this.

"You can't get much by Tsunade-sama," Kakashi smiled wanly, the motion barely noticeable through his facemask. Then his face hardened again, and he addressed Sasuke seriously again. "Don't use that thing, whatever it is. Earn your promotion the hard way," Kakashi told his old student. "You've got what it takes." Slowly, Sasuke withdrew his hand from his jacket, and Kakashi smiled.

"Fight me for real, Kakashi-sensei," Sasuke quietly said, his head bowed. It was almost a command, in the tone he used. Then he snapped his head up, his Sharingan eyes whirling. "Show me what you've really got!"

"I wouldn't dishonor either of us by doing anything less," Kakashi smiled, pulling up his headband to reveal his own Sharingan eye. Then, both of the combatants leapt away to the side, moving in opposite directions. Sasuke rebounded low off of a tree and shot upwards toward Kakashi, while Kakashi rebounded off of another and shot straight towards Sasuke. Each f them reared back and punched the other hard. Sasuke's blow landed from above on Kakashi's shoulder, sending the older ninja tumbling down, but Kakashi his Sasuke hard in the stomach, which sent the raven-haired boy tumbling into the upper trees. Evan as he tumbled, however, Sasuke was forming hand seals, then brought his right hand to his mouth.

"Katon! Goukakyu no Jutsu!" Sasuke shouted, exhaling into his fingers. A great gout of flame burst downwards and engulfed the vast majority of the large clearing. Kakashi seemed to be within the radius of the blast, but Sasuke's Sharingan eyes saw Kakashi's hands moving. When the fire cleared and there were only the smoldering remains of a log, Sasuke was not surprised in the least. Not even the grass was singed. He landed lightly on a tree and jumped off, landing himself firmly on the ground underneath it.

"Very nice, Sasuke-kun. You're almost as fast as I am!" Kakashi complimented him, his voice seeming to call out from everywhere and nowhere at once. Sasuke recognized what Kakashi was doing, and calmed himself, while forming a quick hand seal.

Summoning both his chakra and the strength of his Sharingan eyes, he shouted, "Kai!" The world seemed to waver a bit, then dispelled. In its' place, Kakashi stood, performing hand seals quickly. The grass all around him was burnt badly, and even some of the trees at the edges of the clearing were smoldering. Sasuke dashed forward as fast as he could, forming quick hand seals along the way.

"You forgot the grass, sensei!" he called, finishing his seals. "Raimei Genkotsu!" Sasuke announced, his hands crackling with electricity. He punched Kakashi hard in the shoulder. His teacher absorbed the blow well, the flow of his hand seals uninterrupted. Then his body convulsed a bit as the Raimei Genkotsu discharged, and his hands missed the seal that they were about to make, ruining the jutsu.

"See what I mean?" Kakashi grinned, leaping away from Sasuke. Sasuke landed on the still-hot grass and leapt towards his mentor. /I've used up too much chakra,/ Sasuke thought worriedly as he flew towards his gray-haired mentor. /I can't keep this up for much longer. I've gotta bring him down quickly!/

"You're smart, and you can figure out a way to counter almost any move with the techniques that you have," Kakashi complimented him, leaping upwards. Sasuke landed where Kakashi had landed a moment ago and leapt up as well, chasing the gray-haired man as he talked. "You've got the best kind of power already, Sasuke. Between your friends and your skills, you can beat anyone," Kakashi finished, turning to face Sasuke and smiling, even while meeting the top of his jump's arc and beginning to descend. Sasuke's eyes widened in surprise.

He thought of Naruto, grinning over him, a hand on either of his Honshitsu Bunshin clones. He thought of Sakura, on her knees and weeping after their last meeting. He'd walked away so casually, so coldly. He thought of all the times he'd pushed them away, rejected their pleas for friendship. Kakashi landed and waited for Sasuke to land as well, the Sharingan draining from his eyes and the Raimei Genkotsu fading from his fingers. The raven-haired boy landed heavily next to his mentor, and Kakashi put a comforting hand on Sasuke's shoulder.

"You've already passed the important tests, Sasuke. I'll pass you on this one too. You earned it," Kakashi smiled at Sasuke, his facemask wrinkling around his mouth.

"You're wrong, sensei," Sasuke said quietly, his head bowed.

"What?" Kakashi asked, his smile vanishing. Sasuke suddenly reared back and punched his teacher hard in the face, sending the gray-haired shinobi stumbling backwards, then eventually falling to the ground. Kakashi worked quickly to get up, but Sasuke was already moving. With the hand that he hadn't punched with, he'd pulled out a small, cream-colored scroll, and flipped it into the air. While it hung suspended, he performed hand seals, and the world seemed to slow down.

"You're wrong, sensei. I wasted my friends and my strength," Sasuke explained calmly as the scroll reached its' apex. His eyes were narrow, and resigned. "You haven't seen me in too long. I'm not who I used to be."

"Sasuke, don't!" Kakashi shouted as he gathered himself to dive towards his student.

"This is the only way I'll ever be strong, now," Sasuke said, catching the scroll cleanly between his thumbs. Then, he continued to make hand seals, balancing the scroll over each one. /If I can't beat Kakashi for real,/ he thought as he finished the last hand seal, /I'll never be able to beat Naruto. If I can't beat Naruto… Then Itachi will kill me for sure./ His eyes closed for a moment, then they flared open.

(A/N: If you have "Need to be Strong" from the Naruto soundtrack, play it now.)

"Shijuukaigan Sharingan!" Sasuke shouted, and the world seemed to explode around him with color. He saw nothing but chakra, in the grass around him, in the rocks in the path that he'd used to come here, and in Kakashi's body as his former teacher jumped towards him. Then, something seemed to force itself into his mind, and everything changed. In the scroll, and beyond anyone's notice, the name `Haruno Sakura' melted, reforming itself into `Uchiha Sakura.'

/He's out to get me,/ Sasuke thought, panicked, as Kakashi flew towards him. /He wants to kill me, I'm sure if it!/ He dodged to the side as quickly as he could, and amazed even himself at the speed of his dodge. It seemed like Kakashi was moving in slow motion. The gray-haired jounin fell to the ground, skidding to a stop. His hands came together in front of his body, and Sasuke's eyes widened again. /He's going to use a jutsu. It's probably the Chidori! He's trying to kill me with the Chidori!/ Sasuke thought, his mind beyond all semblance of reason.

As fast as he could, he ran over to Kakashi's position and made a little jump, coming down hard in a crouch with his heels on Kakashi's fingers. Sasuke heard the crunch of breaking bones, and he couldn't help but smile at his accomplishment. /He can't kill me with broken fingers,/ Sasuke thought smugly, but his smile soon faded. /But his fingers will heal. Then he'll kill me when I'm not looking, when I'm not ready!/

"I won't let you kill me!" he shouted into Kakashi's face.

Kakashi did his best to keep from crying out pain from his broken fingers, but when he heard Sasuke's declaration, he couldn't help but exclaim, "What are you talking about?"

"Don't try to confuse me!" Sasuke shouted again, hopping off of Kakashi's fingers. He kicked the gray-haired jounin hard, in the chin. Kakashi's head snapped back hard, his jaw clacking shut hard. Sasuke kicked again, this time catching Kakashi in his freshly exposed chest. As he reeled back, Kakashi couldn't help but notice Sasuke's eyes. They glowed a malevolent red, and were surrounded by four Sharingan pupils, whirling around the center, true pupil of Sasuke's eyes.

Sasuke's blow knocked Kakashi upwards a bit more, and Sasuke rushed in, delivering a witheringly powerful kick to Kakashi's chin, which sent the jounin flying into the air. Sasuke crouched for a moment, then followed Kakashi into the air, taking up a position behind the battered man.

"I won't let you kill me, ever!" Sasuke declared, his wild eyes wide. "I'll kill you to keep you from killing me!" With that, he kicked Kakashi on his left side. Kakashi, recognizing the jutsu, and the presence of mind to bring his arm up to guard, and readied his other arm to defend himself from Sasuke's next kick. Instead of rolling to the other side to kick, however, Sasuke hooked his foot around Kakashi's arm, then pulled hard. The gray-haired jounin was sent spinning by Sasuke's unexpected maneuver, and as he spun, he noticed that Sasuke had pulled a pair of kunai out of his holster. As Kakashi spun, Sasuke sliced his arms, legs, and torso along key points, cutting his most important muscles.

Then, with a grin, Sasuke flipped backwards, landing with both feet on Kakashi's chest from above. The jounin plummeted to the ground and landed hard. Then, the two kunai that Sasuke had been using thudded into each of his shoulders, the force of Sasuke's throw sending them through his chest and into the ground beneath him. As Kakashi watched, dazed, Sasuke clutched his right hand, chakra flowing into it.

"Chidori!" Sasuke shouted as he plummeted towards his teacher. He reared his hand back as he fell, crying, "Tatsu rendan!"

"But I didn't…" Kakashi managed to say before Sasuke buried his hand in his former teacher's throat. His hand went through cleanly, and buried itself into the ground beneath Kakashi, until he was up to his elbow in Kakashi's neck. Blood spurted out of the already dead jounin, splashing itself onto Sasuke's face and body. Slowly, the raven-haired boy pulled his hand from the corpse and stepped away.

A scream rang out through the trees, and Sasuke looked towards it. /Sakura,/ he thought, then his face darkened. /And with her is Naruto. He'll try to kill me too, if I don't stop him,/ Sasuke mused grimly. /I won't let him./

Paying no mind to the blood that coated most of his body, Sasuke made his way into the forest and in the direction that the scream came from. He did not use his full speed. /After all,/ he thought, /I have to fight Naruto at the end, and he's better than Kakashi-sensei was./

Behind him, the mutilated corpse of a jounin who had lived such a hard life stared sightlessly at the skies. Then, his mouth seemed to twist into a smile.

Like a whisper, the wind seemed to say, "Obito-san," but nobody was there to hear it.

*** Author's Notes ***

Wow… I just killed Kakashi… Waaaaaaaa. ::goes off into a corner and cries:: I'm sorry about that, guys, but there just wasn't any way around it. Anyway, another nine pages down, and another chapter in the bag. Finally, things get to where I've been leading for the whole fic, and they do so in a rather admittedly dramatic fashion. Again, I want to thank everyone who's reviewed the fic so far, and I'll do my best to keep to my weekly schedule here. I also want to give AdrianNiku a big shout-out for his emergency preread of this chapter when two of my prereaders went of vacation. Thank you! Wow… I'm gonna go rest for a while. ::Can be heard whimpering:: Kakashi… why?

A very, very sad,

~Flash (Flashfyre5@msn.com)

P.S.: Has anyone figured out the deal with Masako-san's name? I've had correct guesses on her first name, but nobody's given me a translation for her last name OR her connection! Keep going!

The Number One Song on Naruto's Playlist:

"Gotta Knock a Little Higher," by The Seatbelts, Cowboy Bebop OST. This song is more than a little sad, and is very fitting for my favorite masked ninja's last fight scene. If you disagree, just replace this suggestion with "Need to be Strong," of the Naruto OST. It fits as well.

Character Themes:

Kakashi: "Fukai Mori," Do As Infinity, Inu Yasha OST. This is a nice, wistful and happy song. It fits Kakashi, while being a bit sadder, considering his role in the fic.

New Jutsus:

Tatsu Rendan- Dragon Combo: This combo is used as a dramatically definitive way to kill one's opponent, without the hope that they will survive. First, the fingers of the target are crushed, to prevent them from using jutsu to escape. Then, they are kicked high in the air. After that, the user uses their foot to twist the target into a spin, allowing them to slash critical muscles all over the body with their kunai. Next, the target is knocked to the ground and pinned there by the user's kunai. Finally, the target is finished off by a charged Chidori to the throat, heart, or brain.

Translations:

Sorano Taka: "Hawk of the Sky," literally. When I named Taka-san, I decided to maintain the great Naruto tradition of pun names.

Kukan: "Void," literally.

Hayasa no Oto: "Speed of Sound," literally. Scary, huh?

Hiko: "Flight," literally. Even scarier, huh? Whee!

Tatsu: "Dragon," literally.

Rendan: "Combo," literally.