Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Glimpses of Fire ❯ Turtles and Shinobi Skill Cards ( Chapter 10 )

Glimpses of Fire
Author: shattered-words

 

Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto, it'd be called `Gaara'. So, isn't it a shame that I don't own it?

Summary: There were many things that shaped the plans of a certain Nukenin, and one was a shinobi that was as destructive as fire. AU/Mentions of Shounen-ai/Yaoi/Yuri

AN: This chapter took a lot out of me to rewrite, and I blame it all on my time guzzling boyfriend. Of course, there were other factors, but it doesn't take away from the fact that today is a good day! -jumps around and cheers- That's all folks, on with the story! (To Neji fans, I'm sorry! I just couldn't resist, haha! >.<)

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~Chapter Ten: Turtlesand Shinobi Skill Cards~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Shukaku's jinchuriki stopped in the middle of the hall and glanced out the window that he'd stopped next to. His older siblings had paused behind him and gave one another questioning glances, but neither dared say anything. Even then, they had noticed that the red head had been acting strange ever since that meeting with Baki before leaving for Konohagakure. They were his brother and sister but were afraid of him, and so found it strange that they were worried about him. After all, he was their younger brother.

 

Meanwhile, Gaara was lost in thought even after he started to move along the hall once again toward the room they needed to report to. As was the case nowadays, Eizan was the cause of his restless thoughts. Many times over the last few days he had wondered why he didn't just kill her and free himself of his burden.

 

However, he had never admitted it until now, but he was incapable of killing the kunoichi. He had realized that she'd become a part of him, and the last shred of his humanity and thus his weakness. Gaara knew that he couldn't afford to be weak and for that very reason had to be rid of her.

 

As he entered room 301 with his teammates his mind uncharacteristically wandered back to the day of the meeting with Baki. He told them they would participate in the Chunin Exam, but that's not all he had said.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The reason why they'd participate in the Chunin Exam had been a bit shocking to them. It was Temari, the elder sister, that had spoken first

 

“Why? Aren't Konoha and the Suna allies?” she had asked as her face twisted into a frown.

 

The room they were in had pictures of past Kazekages'and also of the current feudal lord of Kaze no Kuni. Gaara had to leaning against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest and as far away from his two siblings as possible, and he listened quietly with an emotionless face.

 

Temari and Kankurou had sat on one of the benches in front of their Jonin instructor, Baki as he leaned against the wall just under the mantle that held the feudal lords'picture.

 

Baki rested his head against the wall for a moment before he straightened. “That alliance treaty is the problem,” he said, a single eyebrow moving down in a frown since half his face was covered by the curtain like covering.

“What do you mean?” Kankurou asked a bit perplexed.

“You Genin don't know the details, but after the treaty was signed, Kaze no Kuni's idiotic feudal lord forced Sunagakure to reduce its armaments.” He frowned once again and looked angered by what he was telling them.“He became a client for Konohawhen he should have been giving missions to our village. Also, he greatly cut the budget for our village and greatly reduced the number of ninja for the country as well. To maintain our power, our village had to raise the quality of each individual ninja.” He glanced at the red head then. “That's why ninja like you were created, Gaara.”

 

His eyes narrowed and his features hardened to indicated that he hated to be reminded of this fact. Having to remember that his birth and all his suffering had been an experiment to ensure that Sunagakure wasn't left behind. As he thought about that aperson's face floated in his mind. He recalled words that she had spoken to him long ago.

 

`They don't like me either.'Although, he didn't know why those very wordshad come to him at that moment. Gaara also wondered if she'd alsobeen an experiment to ensure that the village would become stronger.

 

Baki's voice had brought him out of his thoughts, yet his faceremained emotionless. “The security of the Country of Wind is very low right now. But that feudal lord and his attendants don'tunderstand that!” He slammed his fist against the wall, unsettling the picture of the feudal lord.

 

“Kazekage-sama sensed danger in Sunagakure's power decrease. So he has concluded that we need to cooperate with Otogakure and destroy Konoha. This will regain Suna's dignity and we will let the idiotic feudal lord understand the importance of crisis management for this country!”

When he slammed his hand against the wall this time the picture fell and landed with a thud on the matted floor. “If we waste any more time, Suna will lose power to battle Konoha. Now is the time. This mission, Gaara,” he turned to look at him, but the red head didn't even glance at the Jonin, “it depends a lot on your performance.”

 

He didn't give a damn about what happened to this village or its'inhabitants, which were nothing more than clumps of meat strung together by hate and deceit. However, the possibility of going to that exam and fighting against a strong opponent soundeded interesting. That way, he'd be able to feed better blood to his dear mother.

He resisted the urge to placehis hand over the gourd on his back. “Sure,” he answered emotionlessly as he continued to stare straight ahead.

 

The look on Baki's face, or at least the part that was visible, was set into a serious look. “Once the mission is executedwe will go to war with Konoha,” he said as his eyes narrowed.

 

“Another war?” Temarimuttered in quiet shock as she looked down at her hands resting in her laps. Her fingers curled around the material of the dress that came to her thighs, fishnet seen stretching out from under one of her left thigh, and a fishnet on her right leg that started just below her knee and ended at her ankle. The collar was also fishnet and her hair was pulled into four pigtail. Her hitai-ate was hanging around her neck. “The alliance treaty was created after so many sacrifices and now it's going to be voided, and a lot of people are going to die again.”

 

Her brother glanced at her and the Kabuki face paint acceptuated his face even more. “Temari,” he warned her. The light from the single lantern in the roomglinted off the headband at his forehead, tied under the black hat that had cat like ears sticking out. It matched his long sleeved black shirt, with its circle that was separated by a line in the middle where the left of it was yellow and the right side a dark red. His hands were incased in black fingerless gloves, and now rested at his sides ashe sat up.

 

Baki spoke again as he crossed his arms over his chest and frowned toward the two sitting before him. “This is all Kazekage-sama's will,” he said, a finality in his voice.

 

Temari clenched her teeth and her hands that were still resting in her lap before her eyes widen a bit. “Kazekage-sama's?” she muttered before she lifted her gaze to lock on her Jonin sensei.

 

The older shinobi frowned and stood straight now and took a step in their direction. “Ninja are tools of war,” he said, the covering on his face moving slightly from his movements. “The alliance treaty only threatened our existence. This is anA-class mission.” Baki folded his hands behind his back. “Proceed with caution.”

 

Kankurou looked a bit hesitant but after a moment he gave a nod. “Aa,” he replied. Then Temari also responded with an affirmative after a sigh and then she stood as thepuppet masterdid the same. However, Baki held out a hand to stop them before they moved toward the door.

 

“There is one more thing,” he said and they all turned their attention back on him once more. Baki let his gaze settle over the red head as his features twisted in a frown. He hesitated with his next words and thus caught the other's interest. “Otogakure has asked for something to seal the agreement between Suna and Sound.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
 

Gaara frowned and he unconsciously clenched his hands into fists. `Dosh'te?' he asked himself, not understanding why he was making such a big deal about this. It should have been so simple and yet it wasn't. He couldn't understand himself anymore.

 

He turned his thoughts to last night, and he had to close his eyes when he saw the terror flash over Kankurou's face after he'd caught sight of them. Eizan had been shocked by his actions as much as he had been, but the memory of having her body pressing against his own would not leave his mind. He had wanted to brush his lips against her throat but stopped himself at the last instant and had pressed them against her ear. He'd spoken freely in that moment without meaning to.

 

The red head had wanted to reach out and let his fingers touch her face but he'd felt her whole body trembling and he'd frozen. He'd seen her face twisted in fear once before and aimed at him, and he didn't want to see that again as long as he lived. So, he'd turned away and left quickly.

 

Gaara had closed his eyes in concentration after entering the room and now his eyes snapped open as the doors open, but it was Eizan's teammates and not the fire user herself. Amane looked slightly amused and a triumphant smirk was plastered on Iwane's face. A few minutes later, two Konoha Genin entered. The boy glanced at the Erizawa murderously and the girl seemed to be holding back laughter.

 

The sand wielding shinobi wondered where Eizan had gone, but quickly realized that she was probably carrying out his order. So he waited and after several minutes the doors opened so silently that not many noticed but him. He felt a familiar presense at his side a moment later.

 

Before they left for Konoha he had instructed to Eizan that she shouldn't kneel in public since that would attract too much attention. So, as he turned to look at her, he noticed that she was standing but leaning in close to him. She inclined her head slightly and he merely turned away as she started to report everything she'd witnessed. Her lithe form was so close that she was almost pressed against him and her voice had dropped almost sensually so that he actually had to fight back a shiver at feeling her warm breath against his ear and throat.

 

Her report was of two Genin and motioned toward the male leaf-nin with the pupiless eyes. The doors opened once again and a boy with a bowl haircut entered, and Eizan immediately identified him as a `Rock Lee'. The information on him was rather intriguing especially since he'd managed to defeat Uchiha Sasuke so easily.

 

Gaara managed to keep his face emotionless as she recounted the rest of her report. When she was finished he nodded to dismiss her but he felt her hesitate. He turned to look at her and saw as she opened her mouth to speak, but she was interrupted as the doors opened once more and three man cell entered. Gaara turned and saw that it was Sasuke's team.

 

As soon as he turned his attention from Eizan she muttered something and quickly retreated. His eyes shifted in her direction as she joined her team members. It was for the best what she had wanted to say to stay unvoiced. All he should need her for was to gather the necessary information, but at times something pulled him toward her. Either way, soon it wouldn't matter one way or another.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“I recognize you”

 

Iwane stifled a giggle as Amane paused and glanced at her with a raised eyebrow. She turned fluidly and placed her hands on her hips. “Well, I should hope you would!” she chastised. “After that beautiful night we spent and you never called me back!”

 

She placed her hands over her cheeks which had reddened as if she were embarrassed. “I get excited every time I remember it.”

 

The boy frowned and glanced at the girl besides him, who just shrugged to indicate that she didn't know what was going on. To the two of them Amane and Iwane looked like two male Genin from Sunagakure. “You must have confused...” he stopped when he saw that the other `boy' didn't seem to be paying him any attention as he continued stare dreamily into space.

 

Iwane glanced around and noticed that a few people had started to stare at them. “Oh my, I seem to have ousted you in front of everyone.” She grinned and scratched the back of her head. “Gomen, but when you give someone that kind of night,” and here she winked, “you should at least remember their face or name.

 

Neji blinked and also looked around. “Er, he's lying,” he muttered as he reddened when he noticed that some of the older male ninja were grinning as others unabashedly eyed him with a bit of lust. He turned to look at Iwane. “You, shut up!”

 

The Erizawa giggled and waved a hand in front of her. “Come one, don't be shy about it. The first step is admitting you have an addiction to hot man sex!”

 

Amane snorted with a laugh and covered her mouth as her teammate turned her gaze at her. The wind user took a bit of pity on the Hyuuga and grabbed her by the scruff of her neck. She dragged her off while Iwane made her hand in the form of a phone and mouthed `Call me' to Neji.

 

Meanwhile, Neji was seething in both anger and humiliation as he stomped in the other direction to get away from the stares. Tenten was at a loss. She didn't know whether to run after Neji and reassure him that no one believed that he was gay, or burst out laughing until her sides split.

Iwane pulled away from Amane as they reached the doors of room 301 and grinned at her. “My distraction tactic worked!” she cheered in a sing-song voice.

 

The Itagaki female shook her head. “You're lucky we're not allowed to kill each other until the exam starts,” she muttered, knowing that the Byakugan user wanted to do just that to the earth user. The other just stuffed her hands into her pockets and shrugged, and an amused smile had slightly curved Amane's lips as they entered the room.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
 A figure had come to watch the fight as it started. Their arms were crossed over an apparently flat chest and head turned to the right to observe the leaf-nin. The face of the person was shrouded in shadow as wild, black strands fell over a head band as a smirk curved their effeminate lips.

 

“This looks to be interesting,” Ashikaga Eizan muttered as she observed Rock Lee get through Sasuke's defenses. As the unofficial match dwindled down she found herself frowning. It had been surprising to see the boy's speed when he'd defended against Naruto. In turn, the blonde had shown a bit of skill that had missed every one's notice but her own. He seemed to be holding himself back.

 

On the other hand, the Uchiha had rushed into the fight with too much confidence and had his ass handed to him by the other leaf-nin. She had been a bit disappointed and wondered if perhaps being the only Uchiha left in the village had gone to his head. His clan was regarded with the greatest esteem as had been proved when one of them had become an ANBU commander at the age of thirteen.

 

The Ashikaga frowned as she remembered Itachi and glanced at Sasuke as he soared through the air with Lee under him like a shadow. `Do you think Itachi murdered them?' she mused quietly. It was sad to think that perhaps he did believe his brother to be the murderer that everyone said he was.

 

The bandages had unraveled and the slightly older boy was about to wrap them around his opponent. Eizan lifted an eyebrow as she felt a strange chakra presence she closed her eye to see through one of the torches below her, but left the other one open to keep an eye on the two flying through the air. A moment later a bright colored pinwheel sailed through the air and impaled one end of the bandage against the wall.

“Halt! That's enough!” a booming voice called out. She saw who interrupted the battle, and even she had to blink in surprise as she observed the huge red turtle with the Konoha hitai-ate hanging from its neck.

 

`A summon,' Eizan mused to herself before she moved her complete sight on the two boys. Because most of his bandages were wrapped around his arm, Lee was pulled off balance and forced to the floor.

 

He curled into him self and flipped so that he would land in a crouch before the turtle. As Sasuke fell from her line of sight, she heard the pink haired kunoichi and Naruto cry out his name and then the sound of running footsteps. Eizan closed her eyes and used the torch once again to see both the Uchiha's teammates unceremoniously break his fall. Even from the slightly poor sight of the torch she was able to see that he was trembling as the girl asked him if he was okay.

 

Her attention was brought back to the Taijutsu specialist and saw that he was kneeling before the turtle with a morose look adorning his features. “You...you saw?” Lee asked quietly, though the answer should have been obvious so it was meant as a rhetorical question. While a turtle's face could not be considered expressive, the narrowing of its eyes seemed to convey anger.

 

“You know the rules, Lee,” it chastised the youth as the mentioned boy flinched as if struck. He continued to tremble in either fear or nervousness. “That move is strictly forbidden!”

 

These words captured Eizan's interest. If the move he had been about to perform on the Uchiha was considered a Kinjutsu, then it was bound to be powerful. She'd have to report this to Gaara first and foremost, memorizing the kick he had done before Sasuke had flown through the air.

 

Realizing that the fight was obviously over, she straightened from where she had been leaning against the wall and moved to disappear into the shadows behind her. Through the last glimpse of the torch, she saw as Sasuke turned his gaze in her general direction. He wouldn't be able to see her, but she couldn't stop the smug smirk that graced her features, and then she was gone as though she had never been there.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
 

When she entered room 301, it was done with discretion and knew that very few people had seen her at the speed she had been going. At Gaara's side she only bowed her head slightly and reported. They were surrounded on all sides by foreign ninja so she leaned in close and dropped her voice. She didn't rushed her words and she'd lifted her gaze to watch the side of his head, her eyes seeming to get lost in the silky, scarlet mane of hair.

 

When he nodded she hesitated as she recalled last night's occurrences and she saw as he turned his head to pin her with his expressionless gaze. There was nothing in his eyes as she opened her mouth to speak, yet she didn't even know what she would say to him. It wasn't as if she could really ask him why he had reacted that way.

 

Before she could make a fool of herself, the doors opened, and Gaara's attention turned to the front and his hard gaze was gone so that she almost sighed. That look did things to her, sent irrational thoughts through her so that at times she felt frustrated, and going out of her mind.

 

It was Sasuke's team that passed through the doors and she quickly retreated to her teammate's sides. When they had graduated from the Academy she had been furious that her instructor hadn't placed her on Gaara's team. However, now she was grateful to a point that she almost regretted killing the man. Almost.

 

Being in his team would have been torture for her at this point as she tried to hide her feelings for the red head. She knew for sure that he would either not understand them, or be disgusted. So, she chose to leave them unvoiced where they would surely wither and die one day, though she really doubted it.

 

Her attention was turned to the gathering of Konoha cells around the Uchiha's team. She had managed to get a bit of information from a really pesky Konoha Genin that had tried to bully her the other day after she had already been in a bad mood. There were actually three rookie teams that would be taking the exam, and Sasuke's instructor was Hatake Kakashi.

 

Eizan was more than a bit interested to see what the team could do now. The blonde was clearing holding himself back and the pink haired kunoichi had a sharp mind and the eyes for observation. Although, she was still a bit interested in Lee and his other teammates. He'd gotten past the Sharingan user's defenses.

 

Her eyes narrowed on the first team that had approached them. The blonde girl that jumped on Sasuke was Yamanaka Ino, the bored looking one with the hapi was Nara Shikamaru and the one eating the chips was Akimichi Chouji.

 

The second team also had two boys and one girl. The shy looking kunoichi was Hyuuga Hinata, which she had been surprised to realize that the other boy in Lee's team also possessed the Byakugan. The wild looking boy with the dog was Inuzuka Kiba, and his dog was Akamaru. Another thing that had surprised her about this team was the boy with the glasses, Aburame Shino of the bug clan.

 

The fire user wondered what type of skills they had besides the obvious ones. She only wished the ninja she had fried had more useful information, but she guessed that it was either that or attack a Jonin and she wasn't keen on that idea.

 

As she watched the girl clinging to Sasuke as Sakura rolled her eyes and engaged in conversation with Hinata, she noticed the blush on the Uchiha's face. It seemed that he was annoyed but embarrassed and Eizan smirked as she wondered if he was the type that was still shy around the opposite sex even underneath his cold exterior. She chuckled quietly as she realized something else and wondered if the prodigy had confused her and her team mates with boys.

 

Amane and Iwane looked at her in confusion before she quietly explained her, and the taller of the two merely smirked as the second tallest, being Iwane, laughed a bit too loudly that some Genin around them gave her a strange look. Eizan shook her head in amusement and turned her attention back to rookies once again. They were speaking so loudly that she was able to hear them without having to ask Amane.

 

“The kid with the shades?” Iwane asked her quietly as she stifled a yawn. The Erizawa certainly seemed to be the laid back of the group, and also the one that wouldn't be as hostile if approached. However, even she had her moments where she'd kill someone if they even looked at her funny. “He's the bug user I met.”

 

The Ashikaga nodded to indicate that she already knew and that the girl would've seen the bugs leaving him where they wouldn't. Her sight far surpassed Eizan and Amane's, while the Itagaki had the greater hearing.

 

“He's also rude and interrupts people's meals,” Iwane grumbled as the shorter girl lifted an eyebrow and glanced at Amane who shrugged since she was use to it.

 

Eizan could sense the tension in the air as the other shinobi observed the conversing rookies. Her blood boiled and she suddenly wished someone would start trouble so she could entertain herself. A moment later, she was horrified at her thoughts. She sighed softly and shook her head. Thoughts like this had started to invade her mind more and more these days.

 

Amane indicated the leaf-nin that approached the three cells. He had silver hair that was pulled back into a messy ponytail, he wore the Leaf headband displayed on his forehead, and glasses. He had a white shirt underneath a black body suit and blue ninja sandals. There were white bandages wrapped around his waist and only a pouch at his left side. His black fingerless gloves had a metal plating on the back that was of the same material as the hitai-ate metal.

 

“Would you do everyone a favor and pipe down,” he said to them, his voice smooth but still distinctly male. He came to stop before them, resting his left hand on his pouch as if by pure instinct alone, or maybe if he were to receive negative responses from the amateurs he addressed. “You're all rookies, aren't you?” The answer seemed obvious as the nine had now turned their full attention on him. Eizan saw that many Genin from other villages were also observing the interaction. “This isn't a school field trip, you know.”

 

Naruto frowned slightly and asked his name. The older boy, who appeared to be between 15 and 18 years old, smirked slightly. “The name is Yakushi Kabuto,” he responded and motioned toward the shinobi behind them. “You kids need to open your eyes.”

 

As they turned, the Ame Genin openly glared at them, the hostility seeming to soak the very air around them. “Watch out for them. They're from Amegakure and they've got very short fuses.” He shrugged before shifting the pouch a bit to the back. “Everyone's on edge, waiting to take the exam. I wanted to warn you before someone snaps and beats the crap out of you.”

 

Sasuke turned to observe the rest of the Genin that were in the room, some staring back and others completely ignoring everything around them. His gaze came to land on a pair of familiar blood-rimmed black eyes that seemed to glint as they met his.

 

He held the look and wondered just how good the Suna Genin was. `Ashikaga Eizan', had been the name he had given him before he left him standing in the forest the other night. As he continued to stare the other down, Kabuto was telling the others some information on the Chunin exam and the number of applicants that had applied.

 

Sasuke had ignored him but he was interested in what he was saying as he pulled out some cards from his pouch, and told them they were Shinobi skill cards. He demonstrated what they were by bringing out one and applying his Chakra, and the information on it seemed to pop out of no where.

 

Eizan was also curious about these Shinobi cards of his and knew that Amane would be the one that would hear every word spoken by Kabuto. A slightly malicious grin had almost graced her features when Sasuke's gaze had come to land on her own, but had left it neutral.

Her attention went to the card that Kabuto had extracted from the pile but she couldn't see it completely from this distance. Giving a nod at Iwane, the other girl smirked and narrowed her eyes.

 

“It's a map and it shows the number of applicants for each village that are taking the exam.” She asked her how many. “Thirty-three from Suna, ninety from Konoha, three from Oto, twenty-one from Ame, six from Kusa, and six from Taki.” She bit her lip in concentration and it was obvious that she was trying to add it all up.

 

“A hundred and fifty-nine applicants,” Amane muttered dully. When it came to complex equations or strategy, she was usually the more competent. The slightly shorter girl pouted at being beaten by her and Eizan wondered how she would do on the test. While she was pretty well versed in some areas at Eizan's insistence, there were still a lot of gray areas she was lacking in. It wouldn't be true if they called Iwane the weakest member, since she really had no idea who would win in a fight against Amane and her.

 

Sasuke approached Kabuto. “Do you also have cards for each individual applicant?” he asked him and the older one questioned if he was interested in a particular someone. He frowned and stuffed his hands into his pockets, but didn't answer him.

 

“These are far from complete, but I have burned a set of dossier cards for the current pool of applicants, including your team. In the event of someone reapplying, I just user some of my older cards for them.” He flipped out a blank card out before replacing it into the deck. “If you share any data you have on this person, then I'll be happy to look him up and let you know what I have so far.”

 

He made no comment about providing information. “Sabaku no Gaara and Ashikaga Eizan of Sunagakure, and Rock Lee of Konoha,” he responded, his eyes narrowing on the cards in Kabuto's hands. He was interested in seeing what useful information he could provide on the three Genin.

 

“You know their names? Then it'll be no sweat,” he muttered and swiftly extracted three cards from the pile. Naruto was paying close attention when he heard Suna, knowing that most likely it was the two shinobi that they had encountered the other day. “First is Rock Lee. He's a year older than you three.” He held the card before them so they could look at it, the symbol at the top signifying that he was from the Fire Country. There was a small picture of the boy, along with smaller ones of three people.

 

“Missions to date: 20 D-ranked, 11 C-ranked. His team's mentor is Maito Gai and his Taijutsu skills have grown exponentially this past year.” He flipped the card around so he could take a quick look before turning it back toward Sasuke once again. “He has no other talents worth mentioning, but he was considered a standout among last year's Genin. This is the first time he will be taking the Chunin Exam though. His teammates are Hyuuga Neji and Tenten.”

 

He replaced the card into the deck after the information had faded, and then presented the second card. “Next, is Gaara of Sunagakure from the Wind Country. He has eight C-ranked missions, one B-ranked and an A-ranked mission!” Kabuto seemed impressed and even turned the card to look at it, to make sure he wasn't mistaken. “Not may rookie shinobi get B and definitely not A ranked assignments!” He frowned and concentrated on the card a moment. “Since he's from way out in the desert, I have less on him, but it's interesting. He's come back from every mission completely unscathed. Without a scratch.”

 

Sasuke frowned and wondered just how good the guy was. “His teammates are Kankurou and Temari. There's no more information on him, or his team's mentor.” Kabuto replaced the card as the information faded from it like the other. Now he withdrew the last card. “Next is Ashikaga Eizan...uh...are you sure you got the name right?” he asked as he peered at it with a frown.

 

“Of course. Why?” he questioned. The older Genin flipped it over to show and he was about to say that he didn't see anything wrong and stopped. The information on the card listed him as `Deceased'. Moving his hand forward, Kabuto allowed him to take it as he scanned the information. This also listed him as a Chunin, but that didn't make any sense. Looking at the picture, he was sure that this was him. “This can't be right because that would make him a ghost.” He motioned his head in the direction of the Suna Genin. Sasuke had also noted that there were other teammates on here, not the same ones he was with now.

 

Kabuto glanced in the direction the Uchiha motioned and blinked in confusion as his gaze came to land on the boy. That was him alright, or at least someone almost identical to the one in the picture. “This is actually an old record,” he muttered as he took the card back and then nodded before indicating the date of death. “It says here that Ashikaga Eizan died almost eight years ago.”

 

The older Genin shrugged in confusion. “And that he took the test the same year he died. There's no cause of death or anything on family members.” He glanced at the boy again. “The heights don't match. This has him as five feet, two inches.” He turned it so Sasuke could see it. “And he looks to be Naruto-san's height, maybe an inch shorter. Also, he doesn't look to be 103 pounds heavy.”

 

He narrowed his eyes as he glanced at the boy they spoke of and wondered if the name had been a fake. His lips pulled back to reveal his teeth in a growl as he saw the other meet his gaze before smirking.

 

Sasuke felt his face flush with anger, once again ignoring Kabuto as he spoke of the villages that were participating in the exam. His last words diverted his attention from glaring at Eizan, if that really was his real name. “They're like Lee and Gaara...elite, hand-picked shinobi, the best young ninja in the world. They have to be! The test is pitiless.”

 

Eizan had stopped listening to their conversation and her eyes shifted toward the blonde that had pestered her a few days ago, Uzumaki Naruto. His whole body was trembling as he looked at the ground, and his hands were clenched into fists before him. `Is he scared?' she wondered as she saw Sakura ask him what was wrong.

 

He suddenly lifted his head as a wide grin split his features and pointed into the crowd of Genin. “My name is Uzumaki Naruto!” he yelled at the top of his lungs. “And none of you are gonna beat me!! Got that?”

 

Ino blinked and demanded to know what his problem was. Sakura sighed and shook her head, but there was a slight smirk on her lips. “Yeah! That felt great!” Naruto folded his arms behind his head in an Iwane-type stance and Eizan really hoped her teammate wasn't on the same path. Although, she had to admit that he was certainly amusing.-

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Translations:
1.Jinchuriki: literally “Power of Human Sacrifice”; person whom a biju has been sealed at birth.
2.biju: literally “tailed beasts”, are the nine giant beasts (demons) that once plagued the Naruto world.
3. Ninjutsu: refers to almost everything a Ninja uses in battle from his/her techniques, spells, and skills/abilities.
4. Kagebuyo: shadow of the dancing leaf; this is one of Konoha-style's taijutsu where the warrior visualizes his opponent as a wind-tossed leaf and pursues that leaf by moving as though he were its shadow.
5. Kinjutsu: Forbidden Skill; there are techniques and spells created that were forbidden from using because some of the affects were too dangerous to use such as techniques that were used for evil deeds or have fatal effects on the user.

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End Chapter Ten