Sakura, Lee, Shikamaru, Neiji, Hinata, Kiba and Naruto all gathered in the field near the forest of death.

Neiji grinned as he looked up at Lee. “Hey…do you remember this place?” he asked.

Lee nodded. “I sure do. This is where I put all I had into saving the beautiful and talented Sakura.” He said.

Sakura blushed at his comment and smiled. She started to say something when Naruto frowned. “I still wish that Sasuke was here…” he said.

“Stop dwelling on the negative.” Shikamaru said with a bored gaze. “At least we’ll get new Chunin this year right? It’s been a while sense we had time to rest and watch others fight.”

“Don’t be so sure.” Kiba said. He nodded towards the group of three heading into the village.

One of them was tall and wore a ninja hood that covered all but his eyes. He looked laid back and like Kakashi he kept his hands in his pockets. The girl next to him had long green hair and she wore a standard kunoichi uniform that was a black top with black shorts. She too was laid back and calm.

“Check him out. Tell me that he isn’t Gaara all over again.” he said.

Everyone looked at the boy next to her. Naruto gasped (Wow…he looks just like the fourth Hokage…what the heck?!) he thought to himself. The younger one standing next to the girl didn’t wear a hood. His hair was spiked and black and styled just like Minato's. His band had the symbol of a skull engraved on it. He wore a body suit that was a dark shade of grey and a black vest. He didn’t wear the original ninja shoes. Instead he wore heavy black boots. He seemed to be irritated about something.

Naruto nodded. “What’s up with that guy?” he asked.

Lee shook his head. “I don’t know…but I see what Kiba means. He is definitely bad news. Maybe we should tell Hokage-sama?”

“No.” Neiji said. “There’s no need. He may be pissed…but his chakra is limited. Right now even a mishap like Naruto could take him.”

“What?!” Naruto shot before everyone started to laugh.

“Look!” Sakura said as the guy started to look at Neiji. His pupils had thinned out to the point where they were no longer visible. “What is he doing?”

"Demon technique...mind burn..." the young boy mumbled.

Neiji held his head as it started to ache intensely. “Argh…” he said frustrated. “What…is going on…”

(I’m going to kill you…) a voice said in his head. Neiji held his head with both hands. It felt like his entire body was going to explode.

“Barutobi!” the tall boy shouted. “Stop. Save any tricks for the exam.” He said.

The young boy closed his eyes and looked away. Neiji released his Byakugan and sat down on the ground.

“Are you alright?” Naruto asked.

Neiji glared at Barutobi. “What kind of…genjutsu was that?” he asked. “It seems like he can hide chakra levels from even me…that’s not something a genin should be capable of.” He said.

Shikamaru frowned. “You’re right. Perhaps we should look into this guy. After all…we’re in charge of this examination. And…Konohamaru will be entering it too. We don’t want to see déjà vu with grandfather and grandson.”

Naruto frowned and turned to Barutobi. He stepped in front of them forcing them to stop. “What’s your problem?” he asked.

Barutobi made a fist. “Get out of my way.” He said.

“Not until I figure out your business here.” Naruto said.

The taller ninja stepped in between them and smiled. “I think it’s best not to upset him.” He said. “I’m Daimen. This is Kiri. She’s my younger sister.”

“Hi.” Kiri said with a smile.

“Uh…I’m Sakura. This loud mouth here is Naruto. I guess you’re here for the Chunin exams?”

“That’s right.” Daimen said. “We’re just here for the exams. We’re here from the village hidden in the valley. “

“You mean Akuma village…” Kiba said as he came over. “That’s the only village I know of with a skull on their forehead protector. But I’ve only heard stories about them. You’re the first I’ve ever seen.”

“We don’t like to use that name.” Kiri said.

Sakura frowned. She could tell that Kiri was forcing a smile and she didn’t feel comfortable with Barutobi’s evil stare either. “I see…”

Everyone gasped as Barutobi knocked Naruto to the ground. “I said move…” he said in a low voice as he started to walk away.

Daimen laughed. “Excuse us.” He said as he went after him.

Kiri laughed. “Maybe next time you should get out of his way.” She said as she ran after them.

Naruto got up and brushed off his cloths. “That guy…who does he think he is?”

“What are you an idiot?” Neiji shot as he stood up.

Naruto looked at him confused. “What are you talking about?”

“You didn’t see what he just did? Obviously he’s not someone you confront like that. Are you really a shinobi?” Neiji shot.

“Hey everyone calm down.” Shikamaru said. “Listen…I’m going to go research this guy. You guys go and tell Tsunade-sama about this. You guys be careful.”

“You too…” Naruto said.

Sasuke grinned and looked around. His sharingan showed him everything in the forest. There was no sign of Itachi.

“Humph…you decided to run after all huh?” he asked.

He gasped as Itachi appeared behind him and kicked him hard. He flew through two trees and landed hard on his side. He coughed up blood and frowned. Itachi appeared in front of him and laughed.

“You almost had me.” He said. “Sorry…looks like it isn’t my time to go yet.”

Sasuke tried his hardest to get up but he couldn’t move. “So…this is it…” he said.

“…you are still no match for me. Even after all that training. Exactly what did you do with Orochimaru? Apparently you didn’t train or you would’ve put up more a fight…” Itachi said.

“Gr…kill me now!” Sasuke shot.

Itachi laughed. “I thought that was your intention for me.” He said. “Listen…there’s something you forgot. Maybe I should remind you.” He said as he pointed to his forehead. “I have the same eyes that you do. So there’s no way that you are going to beat me with just your sharingan alone. So unless you get power from someone or somewhere else that can defeat the sharingan, you will never beat me.”

“Then…you might as well kill me here.” Sasuke said.

“Humph…I guess just like a little baby I’ll have to help you out a bit. If you want the power needed to defeat me. Seek him out.”

Sasuke looked up confused. “Seek him out?” he asked confused. “What are you talking about?”

“You’ll have to figure that out. I’ll tell you where to look….” He said with a long pause.

Sasuke frowned. “Well…what are you waiting for? Are you going to kill me or not?” he asked.

Itachi laughed. “Seek out the one who bares the demon king’s eyes. The last I heard…he was in the village hidden in the valley. No one knows where that place is except for me and the people that are responsible for their existence. That’s right…your old village. You can find out the information there.” He said.

“If you don’t kill me now…I will go and get the power I need to kill you.” Sasuke said.

Itachi grinned. “Funny. I remember hearing that before.” He said as he vanished.

Sasuke looked up with this Sharingan and noticed several ninjas heading in his direction. (Here goes nothing…) he thought.
Kakashi arrived along with several other anbu black ops.

One of them checked Sasuke. “He’s still alive.” He said.

Kakashi nodded. “Well…it looks like Itachi got the best of him even now. Let’s get him back. Don’t move the kunai out of his side. If we do, there’s a chance that he could bleed out before we get there. At least Naruto and the others will be happy that we found him.”

Daimen glared at Barutobi as he walked into their hotel room. The act earlier was uncalled for in his mind. He folded his arms. “Look…if you get too upset you will ruin everything. Understand?” he asked.

Barutobi sighed. “I think this is all boring.” He said. “I’d rather do more S-ranked missions.”

Kiri put a hand to her mouth. “We shouldn’t talk about that.” She said. “We’re Genin after all.”

“Right…” Barutobi said.

“Not to mention. You are never to use your special technique. The exam should be a piece of cake.” Daimen said.

Kiri smiled. “It’s a shame. This is a nice village.” She said.

“Yeah…” Daimen said. “Our village was nice too…”

Barutobi looked away. “Don’t…talk about our village. What it is now is nothing compared to what it was. All thanks to this place…it will only piss me off. I’m on ends just by sitting here.”

“I don’t know.” Kiri said. “I think that one girl caught your attention. What was her name? Hyuga Hinata?”

“Bah…” Barutobi said. “She is way too shy for me.”

Daimen laughed. “I don’t know little brother. One of these days the time will come.”

“I’d rather kill her.” Barutobi said as he made a fist.
“Don’t be too rash. We don’t want to cause any trouble…yet…” Daimen said before he vanished.

Barutobi frowned and vanished as well. Kiri shook her head. “Always left alone.” She said to herself. “Guess I best see the town now.” She said before she vanished.

Tsunade bit her bottom lip. “Are you serious? Are they really from the village hidden in the valley? From Akuma village?”

Shikamaru nodded. “Yeah. He almost caused Neiji’s head to explode. I have no idea what he did but it was powerful. It was similar to the Sharingan.”

“I know what it does.” She said. “It’s like an anti for the Sharingan and the byakugan.”

“What?!” Shikamaru said. “But…how…”

“It has some sort of stronger effect on them than regular eyes. Don’t worry about that right now. We just got word that a friend of ours has decided to show up again.” she said. “Come on. Let’s go and see him.”

“Huh?” he said confused. “What do you mean? Who is it?”

“Come with me. You’ll see when we get there.” She said as she started to leave.
He frowned and went after her.

They reached the hospital and saw several people there. Sakura was rushing towards the stairway. Behind her was Ino.

Lee stopped and looked at them. “Hey Shikamaru. Sasuke’s back. Did you hear?”

Shikamaru frowned. “Really? He’s back? So he decided to drop in now huh?” he asked.

“Yeah…Kakashi and some anbu black ops found him in the woods after his fight with who we think was Itachi. I figured you’d be relieved.” Tsunade said.

Shikamaru shrugged. “I never really hung out with the guy.” He said. “I think I’ll go see if Neiji has recovered yet. After all, we both have to do the first part of the exam right?” he asked.

Tsunade watched him go down the hallway. (Why is there such a distance between him and Sasuke?) she thought.

(Why has he all of a sudden decided to come back? Kakashi and the others spent so long trying to catch him and he’s even managed to avoid them. No…something tells me that he wanted to be found. But…for what reason…) Shikamaru thought.

Tsunade stopped as Shizune signaled her over to the end of the hall. Kakashi and Gai both followed them over. “What is it?” she asked.

Shizune looked away. “There’s something wrong…” she thought.

“What is it?” Tsunade asked.

“Well…it’s Sasuke’s wounds…more like one in particular.” She said.

“One in particular? Which one?” Tsunade asked.

“That one to his right rib correct?” Kakashi asked.

“What?” Gai asked confused.

“What are you talking about?” Tsunade asked.

“Well…it seems that that wound was self inflicted.” Shizune said.

“What? Are you serious?” Tsunade said. “But why? What would make him do that?”
“It seems as if there’s something here that he wants.” Kakashi said.

“So…that might explain Shikamaru’s behavior.” Tsunade said.

“What do you mean?” Kakashi said.

“Well…” Gai said as he turned around. “It looks like he and Neiji are the only two that aren’t here. And we know why Neiji isn’t here.”

“I see what you mean.” Kakashi said. “Perhaps we should go and see what he has to say?”

Tsunade shook her head. “No. You go and see Sasuke. If he notices that you two are out of the room for long he’ll think something has come up. I’ll go see what I can find out.” She said as she started to leave.
“Shizune come with me.” She said.

Neiji looked up and sighed. His head had finally stopped hurting.“Well…why aren’t you up on the second floor?” he asked.

Shikamaru shrugged. “I don’t know. I guess I’m not big on welcome parties. How do you feel?”

“Like I was just set on fire from the inside. Did you figure out who that guy was?” Neiji asked.

“He really is a genin of the Akuma village.” He said.

“By that look on your face, I can tell that there’s more to it than that.” Neiji said.

“Yeah…but I wish it were more than a hunch.” He said. “What do you think of our friend finally returning?”

Neiji shrugged. “Isn’t it obvious? He’s here for something. He’s been hiding and avoiding even the Anbu black ops for several years now. And all of a sudden they just find him beaten? After a battle with Itachi…someone not only that he knows more than anyone else here but someone that is equal to him in power and skill. Itachi wouldn’t have beaten him that easily and wouldn’t have left him alive.”

Shikamaru grinned. “You never know. But you’re smarter than I thought. That’s not all that bothers me. You think you can come to Tsunade-sama’s courters?”

“Ofcourse.” Neiji said as he stood up. “I’m ok now. What is it?”

“Follow me.” He said as he left the room.

They both were stopped by Tsunade and Shizune out in the hall. Tsunade folded her arms. “We need to talk.” She said.

“Agreed.” Shikamaru said.

Tsunade sat down behind her desk and closed a folder. She knew that the news she was about to hear wasn’t going to be very good news but she was prepared. Or at least she thought she was prepared. Shikamaru folded his arms and frowned.

“Well…” she said. “I know that you have something to tell me about Sasuke. I could sense it when you didn’t’ want to go see him.”

He nodded. “Well…about that. Sasuke has avoided the black ops and even Kakashi. Ever sense we drove back Pain and the Akatsuki he’s been after Itachi. I don’t think that after one battle, with both of them possessing the highest level of sharingan, that he would lose this badly.”

“What exactly are you saying?” she asked.

“I think that he lost. But it wasn’t as bad as the damage shows. Perhaps he’s hurt himself in order to find an easy way into the village. If he would’ve come in with little injuries then he would’ve been brought straight to the interrogation unit correct?” he said.

Tsunade nodded. “True…so you think he hurt himself to have safe passage into the village?” she asked.

“Yeah…” he said as he lowered his head. “Although…I can’t quite figure out what he’s after here. But I have a hunch…”

“Oh? What is that?” Tsunade asked.

“I’ve already told you about the three from Akuma village. Well…there’s one in particular that is stronger than the others but you wouldn’t be able to tell just by looking…” he said.

“You’re talking about that little kid that attacked me?” Neiji asked.

“Yeah…I think he’s a lot stronger than he’s letting on. And I think I have a feeling when he’s going to let it show.” Shikamaru said as he watched people down below from the window.

“The chunin exams!” Shizune shot.

Neiji frowned. “Are you serious? They should know that we’d be prepared for an assault after what happened last time.”

“The question is…Who are they?” Shikamaru said with a frown. “It can’t possibly be the sand village again. At least I hope not. And no one has really seen the Akuma village right? So we can’t rule them out but we can’t say they’re the main suspects. Nothing’s really happened with the Sound or Wind villages. So only one other option is available.”

Neiji lowered his head. “I see…”

“You see what exactly?” Shizune asked.

Tsunade sighed and lowered her head. “Someone from within the Leaf…regardless…the exams have to start soon. You two should be prepared. And don’t tell anyone about Sasuke.”

“Right…” they both said.

Tsunade looked at the team she had formed in front of her. (Shikamaru will protect them with his smarts…) she thought to herself. (Sakura for backup and healing… Neiji and Lee for close combat and defense. I guess I’ll put Naruto in here for good luck…it seems to follow him from mission to mission…I need to know why Gaara has not responded to any of my messages…) she thought. She looked up and frowned as she saw that Naruto was annoyed.

“Hey! Granny! Why do I have to go on a mission like this?! We should be overseeing training or something!” Naruto shot. “I need to get back to helping Konohamaru train!”

Sakura glared at him. “Naruto! Why don’t you be quiet! You’re not in any position to train anyone as a Genin…”

Naruto looked away and rubbed his chin. “Sakura-chan…”

“Leave it be.” Tsunade said. “Look…this mission in a way is overseeing the training of the others. There’s no time for your complaints. Your part in this mission is to watch Shikamaru’s back. Understand?”

Naruto folded his arms. “Humph…this is going to be another boring mission.”

Tsunade closed her eyes but her anger was still noticeable. “Just get moving.” She shot.

Shizune watched as they all ran out of the room. “Tsunade-sama…I don’t understand. Why did you send so many of them?”

Tsunade walked over to the door and slowly closed it. “Shizune…I don’t know if you’ve noticed but the village of sand…hasn’t made contact with us for several months now. And all of a sudden…this truly hidden village sends participants for the chunin exams. Akuma village…”

“What…exactly are they?” Shizune asked.

“Exiles…” Tsunade said as she sat back down at her desk.

“So…they were banned from this village?”

Tsunade nodded. “It’s a long story. One that is still clouded for me. All I know is that it had something to do with the third hokage…but that village has been hidden ever since whatever took place between them. There’s no telling what they’re up to. And now…all of a sudden the village of the sand has stopped communicating with us and Akatsuki is still out there somewhere. Even if they lost Pain…We need to know what Gaara is thinking…Let’s hope that he’s not up to something.”

Everyone kept together as they passed from branch to branch.

Shikamaru sighed. (This is such a drag…why does she want to involve the sand ninja in something like this? They don’t have anyone competing in the exam. Doing this is way too much work…).

“So…Shikamaru…you’re going to tell us why we’re going to see Gaara?” Naruto asked.

“Nope…” Shikamaru said bluntly. “Tsunade said that I can’t talk to you all about it. I’m supposed to see him alone.”

“I know that but what are you going to talk to him about?” Naruto asked.

“Let it rest Naruto.” Sakura said. “Our job on this mission is obviously to watch his back. Let’s just worry about that for now.”

“Yeah…” Neiji said as he frowned. “Right now…we’re being followed.”

“What do you mean followed?” Shikamaru asked.

“Someone is following us.” Neiji said. “He has been for a while now. I thought after we made a few turns he would he would go off in a different direction but…he’s following us for sure.”

“What do we do?” Lee asked.

“We fight him!” Naruto shot.

“Wait a second.” Shikamaru said. (Geez…with Naruto here things will get even more complicated. What was Tsunade thinking? Was she really testing me?) he thought. (Still…something doesn’t seem right), “Everyone stop…” Everyone stopped near him and looked around. (I don’t get it…I know we’ve traveled further than the forest by now…unless…).“We’re in a genjutsu…” he said.

“Huh?!” Naruto said shocked. “Since when?”

“If you think that we will let you get the sand involved…you’re mistaken…” a voice said.

“Tck…to have walked right into this…” Shikamaru said with an annoyed look. “Why don’t you show yourself?”

Suddenly everyone was silent.

(Great…now we’re open to his attack. He doesn’t sound familiar. If it were my guess he’d attack the weakest person on the team…) Shikamaru thought as looked over to Sakura. She was carefully watching the area. (Sakura…Lee…Neiji…and Naruto. That’s it…Naruto…). “Naruto…!” he shot.

Before Naruto could respond a ninja appeared and kicked him into a tree.

He looked up and held his chest. “What the…where did he go?”

Neiji grinned. “Don’t underestimate us.” he said. “Byakugan!”

Lee looked around confused. (Where is he? I can’t see him…) he thought.

“Sakura! Can you dispel it?” Shikamaru asked.

She started to form a hand sign and was hit in the back of the head. Everyone watched shocked as she hit the ground unconscious.

“Sakura!” Naruto yelled.

“You should worry about yourself.” The ninja said as he charged Naruto.

Neiji jumped in front of him and punched him in the gut sending him flying back. He grinned. “I can see you. You should fight someone worthy of a challenge.” He said. “Stop picking on the weaklings and fight me.”

Shikamaru frowned. (Ok…think Shikarmu. Neiji can see him or at least a glimpse of him. Lee should be able to reach him before moves again. Ok…I’ve got an idea. Here goes…) he thought. “Neiji…keep an eye out for his location. Lee, Naruto attack the area that Neiji points out as fast as you can.” He said.

“Right!” Naruto said as he formed a hand sign. “Kagebushin no jutsu!”

Lee followed Neiji’s eyes and used his speed to quickly attack. The ninja dodged his kick and jumped away. Before he could land one of the clones smashed him in the back.

Shikamaru hid in the bushes and grinned. (Good…if this keeps up he’ll have to release this jutsu to conserve chakra) he thought.

The ninja kicked down several clones and then jumped away. Neiji followed him with his eyes and Lee jumped forward to attack. The ninja blocked his attacks easily but was unaware of the clones. He released the illusion and gathered enough chakra to release a temporary barrier that destroyed all of the remaining clones. He started to make a hand sign when his body froze.

“What?!” he said shocked.

“Shadow possession. Geez…no offense…but that was way too easy.” Shikamaru said as he came out of the bushes.



* * *

Ino and Hinata were both sitting down near the entrance to the forest of death.

“Only a few days until the exams. I’m so hyped. We get to supervise the forest of death.” Ino said.

Hinata nodded. “It will be exciting.”

“Who do you think will when?” Ino asked.

“Um…I don’t know. But Konohamaru seems to be a little like Naruto. Maybe with luck he will pull through.”

Ino sighed. “You’re still chasing after that dream eh? Well…at least you have someone to chase after.
Look at me…Sasuke is back but…doesn’t seem to care about anyone or anything. Not to mention…there’s no way I can compete with Sakura.”

“Huh?” Hinata said as she noticed that someone was moving on the cliff just over the wall. “Who…could that be?”

Ino looked up and frowned. “It looks like that new kid that everyone was talking about. Let’s go check it out. Don’t get too close.”

As they reached an area near the cliff Ino gasped. “Wow…he does look just like the fourth Hokage!” she said.

Hinata frowned. “His friends call him Barutobi. Wait…” she said before Ino jumped towards the cliff.




* * *
Barutobi closed his eyes. It has been almost six years since he’s tried a signature Jutsu from his village. He quickly made the hand signs and lowered his head. (The last time I tried this…I almost killed my family…I wonder…) he thought. “Dark Shadow…clone…jutsu…” he said.

Ino watched in awe as a clone of Barutobi formed next to him. (Wow…I don’t understand…what’s the difference between that in a regular shadow clone?) she thought.

“So…” the clone said as he stepped back. “You’ve called me here to do what? Train you?”

Ino gasped. (It…has a mind of its own?) she thought.

Barutobi stood up and folded his arms. “Let’s get started.”

The clone shook his head and laughed. “What is wrong with you?”

Barutobi sighed. “Come on already.”

Ino frowned. (What…are they talking in some kind of code?) she thought herself. She was shocked as they started to fight. It seemed like they would pause in one pose every now and then but they were moving faster than her eyes could trace. (No way…he’s…moving so fast. A lot faster than a genin. I don’t even think Kakashi could trace him without his Sharingan…). Barutobi dodged an attack and glared as his clone came at him faster than he expected. He increased the chakra flow to his body and countered with a power punch that stopped his clone cold.

The clone jumped up and rubbed his chin. “Wow…you’ve really inproved…” he said.

Barutobi frowned and quickly formed several hand signs. “Earth style…mud bullets…”
The clone easily dodged the bullets and formed signs of his own. (Oh no!) Ino thought as she noticed that Barutobi’s back was facing her. (That’s coming for me…).
“Earth style…mud slide!”
(Tck…too easy…) Barutobi thought as he jumped to the side. He panicked when he saw his clone forming hand signs for a fire type Jutsu. He prepared to counter it with a water Jutsu when he noticed that the clone had stopped. He followed the clone’s eyes and noticed that the mud slide had hit someone and was carrying them off of the cliff. After hearing the sound of a female voice screaming he gasped. (Kiri!) he thought as he looked down the cliff. He saw that it was Ino and looked at her confused.

“Who are you?” he asked.

She looked up at him and frowned. “l was just looking to see who was up here…” she said

“What? We aren’t allowed to train?” he asked.

She sighed. “What was that you were using just now? I’ve never seen it before.”

He shook his head. “None of your business. Just watch what you’re doing…” he said as he started back up the cliff.

Ino put both hands behind her. “Uh…if you don’t mind me saying…you don’t fight like someone at the genin level.”
He folded his arms. “Are you a chunin?” he asked.

“Yeah…” she said as she looked away from him.

“You seemed embarrassed? Are you not good at fighting?” he asked.

(Am I…that easy to read?) she thought as she closed her eyes.

“It’s not my problem if one villages level of ninja is higher than another’s.” he said.

“Say…how would you like to learn some basics?” the clone said.

“What…” Barutobi said with a glare. “You expect me to trust someone that I just met? From this village?”

“Well if you didn’t have some sort of thing for her you would’ve pushed her away by now.” The clone said.

Ino frowned. “Um…”

“I can’t tell her what to do in her own village.” Barutobi said before he started back up the hill.

“Could you…” she started to say.

He turned to her as she stopped talking. “Could I what?”

“Isn’t it obvious? She wants to train with you.” The clone said.

Barutobi sighed. “You can’t keep up with me. Why would you want to anyway? You don’t even know me.” He said.

“Then slow down to her level and work her up to your level.” The clone said.

Barutobi glared at him. “Why did I even bring you out here…”

The clone leaned over to him and whispered. “Why not use this opportunity?” he whispered. “You get close to her and you can find out secrets about this place…”

“She could die…” he said.

“I…am willing to take that chance.” Ino said.

Barutobi shook his head. “Why are you interested? Don’t you have teachers in your village?”

“It’s…personal…” she said.

“Humph…it’s not my fault if you get hurt.” He said as he started to walk again.

She grinned. “Don’t worry about me.”

(Ino…what are you doing?) Hinata thought as she jumped away.



* * *

Gaara rubbed his chin as he heard the message that Tsunade sent through Shikamaru. “So you want us to come in and help supervise the exams?”

“Yeah…I know it’s troublesome but right now Tsunade is trying to cover all of the bases.” Shikamaru said.

“Sorry…” Gaara said as he stood up.

“Huh…” Shikamaru said confused. “Sorry?”

“We will not help you.” He said.

Shikamaru looked away in awe. (Ok…I didn’t expect this…) he thought to himself. “Is there a…”

“We will only be a burden.” Gaara cut in and said. “I don’t have to remind you of what happened the last time there were chunin exams in Konoha that involved sand ninja do I?”

“That was so long ago. Everyone has forgotten about that. It’s Sasuke isn’t it? You don’t want to face him.”

Gaara frowned and folded his arms. “Sasuke? So you finally caught him?”

“More like he came back to us. Tell me Gaara…why won’t you help us? Tsunade won’t just settle for that excuse.”

Gaara sighed. “Right now none of the shinobi here are willing to go to Konoha. Not even Kankuro and Temari.”

“But…why?”

Gaara shook his head. “The shinobi here want nothing to do with Konoha. I don’t understand it myself really. Ever sense you all came to help us fight Akatsuki they have been reluctant to do anything involving Konoha. I’ve even been advised by the council to stop communicating with you guys. It’s confusing…but as the Kazekage I have to look at the interest of the people of the sand before the people of the left.” Gaara said.

“That’s some way of saying thank you you know. I mean weren’t we the ones that saved you from the Akatsuki?”

Gaara sighed. “I can’t force them to go. You know that.”

“I do…but I would still like to know why…”

“We have better things to do than look after kids in an exam.” Temari said as she walked in with a smile. “It’s been a long time.”

Shikamaru frowned. “That’s to the point I guess.”

“Listen…we realize that we’re in debt to you. But right now we’re still in recovery from what happened before. The loss of our ninja during the attack on Konoha, as well as the attacked on the sand village by the Akatsuki. We’re still trying to sort things out. After all…Gaara is still young.”

“Humph…” Gaara said as he started to look out of the window. “It’s as she said.”

“Is it?” Shikamaru asked. “Or does it have something to do with…Akuma village sending genin to participate?” Gaara and Temari both glared at him as if they were exposed. “So…that is it then huh?”

“Look…” Temari said as she sat down. “We don’t know anything about them except that they have a grudge with you guys. We’re not going to blindly jump into something that could possible destroy our entire village.”

“Well…that’s that I guess…” Shikamaru said as he got up. “See ya later.”

Temari watched him leave and lowered her head. “So…you didn’t tell him about the threat huh?”

“No…” Gaara said. “Let’s go…”

Tsunade sighed and closed her eyes. (So…the Sand village has refused to help us. I have no choice then. I have to find out whatever I can about Akuma village. Jaraiya never talked about it. Everyone I’ve asked has pushed it aside as if they didn’t want to talk about it. Now it’s time for them to speak up…).

“Shikamaru…tell everyone at the Jonin level to come here immediately. Then… I want you to do something for me. I want you to go to the fire temple. Ask them for any information they have on Akuma village.”

“Right…” he said.

“Shizune…” Tsunade said as she pulled out a folder.

“Yes?” she answered.

“What do you know about Akuma village?” Tsunade asked.

She rubbed her chin. “Um…I don’t really know anything about it. I’ve heard rumors but that’s it.”

Tsunade made a fist and glared at her. “If you heard rumors…what are they?!”

Shizune gasped. “Uh…just that they were a family that was double crossed in some way and hid away to plot revenge.”

“Did they ever say who they were plotting revenge on?”

“No…” Shizune said. “But I doubt that they would have anything against us. Is that what you’re worried about? I heard their grudge was with the Third.”

“So…you think they’re just here to train genins?”

Shizune nodded. “That’s definitely the case. Whoever they hate, they’re using our exams to train their shinobi.”

Tsunade frowned. (Then why do I feel so bad about this?).




* * *
Sasuke folded his arms and looked around the room. There were two Anbu guards at the door. “Must you two watch me like this? I’ve already told you that I was blinded by my own hatred. I can see that now. I told no secrets.”

“You can stop your pleading.” One guard said. “We’re not leaving your side no matter what.”

“Tck…” Sasuke said as he looked away. (This will make things more difficult…).




* * *
“I don’t get it.” Naruto said. “We can’t see Sasuke, and Shikamaru’s not saying anything about the talk with Gaara. Why are we being kept out of the loop?”

“To be honest…I’d like to know that as well…” Neiji said. “It’s weird…we went to the sand village and then we left. Shikamaru was quiet the whole way back. I have a bad feeling about this…”

Sakura sighed. “And here I thought that they’d welcome Sasuke back…but…no one seems to be happy that he’s back at all. Not even…not even Kakashi.”

Naruto shook his head. “For some reason this whole village is acting weird.”

“Nah…” Lee said as he walked up. “I think that everyone is just up tight because we haven’t held the chunin exams in a while and they want it to go by smoothly.”

They all noticed that Shikamaru was heading towards the front gate.

“Hey…where is he going?” Naruto asked.

“I don’t know…” Lee said.

“Hey Shikamaru!” Naruto shot.

“Geez…” Shikamaru said in a low voice. “What is it?”

“Where are you going?” Naruto asked.

He rubbed his head. “Don’t worry about it.”

“Hey…what’s going on?” Naruto asked. “How come you’re doing all of these missions by yourself?”

“That tends to happen when you’re at my level…” Shikamaru said.

“So you’re going to keep us in the dark…” Sakura said.

“I have no choice.” He said as he jumped away.

“Humph…that idiot!” Naruto shot.

“Hey…” Neiji said as he pointed down the dirt road. “Look…”

Everyone followed his finger to Ino. She was leaning up against a tree and seemed to be out of breath.

“I wonder what she’s been doing?” he asked.

Naruto started to say something when they were all shocked by Barutobi who appeared in front of her. He made a fist in front of her and looked away.

“Hey! What is he doing to her!” Naruto shot.

(Ino…) Sakura thought.

Neiji frowned as they both suddenly vanished. “What! Byakugan!”

“Hey…” Sakura said. “They disappeared…”

Neiji gasped. “No! They didn’t…” he said in awe. “They…are several yards away in the bushes. But…they didn’t disappear…he ran with her on his back…”

“What?!” Naruto said enraged. (I don’t even think that Kakashi sensei could move that fast) he thought.

“Are they…really moving that fast…” Sakura asked.

“Apparently so…” Neiji said. “We should probably…”

“Wait…” Naruto said as he blinked a few times. “There’s Hinata. She’s following them right?”

“Come on let’s go.” Neiji as he chased after her.




* * *
Shikamaru landed in front of the temple and smiled. The elder was there waiting on him.

“Ah…I was told that you would be coming on behalf of the hokage. What is it that you wanted to speak to us about?”

“Well…I was wondering if you had any information on Akuma village.” He asked. He knew that he hit the jackpot when he saw the elder’s sudden frown. “I…can assume that you have?”

“Why…all of a sudden do you want to bring that up?” he asked.

“Well…we’ve recently started up the chunin exams you know. This time we have some young genin from Akuma village.”

“Ah…and you think that they’re plotting against you?”

“Well it wouldn’t be the first time.” Shikamaru said.

“Well son…come on in. Let me tell you truth about that village.”

He followed the elder into the temple. “What do you mean the truth?”

“What information do you have now about that village?” the elder asked as they went down into the vault.

“Hmm…honestly…not much. I know that they were supposedly betrayed by the leaf village or something like that.”

“Well son…you have a lot to learn.” The elder said. “Akuma village didn’t exist at first. The Jugo family was part of the hidden leaf village. But even before that they were part of another village.” He said as he pulled out a file. “This village prides itself on hidden gadgets and jutsus. They are very difficult opponents if you came across them. They also have many techniques that were long forgotten by many shinobi. Now you probably know them as the village of forgotten knowledge.”

“Yeah…” he said with a nod. “I’ve heard of them.”

“Well… much like that boy in your village the Jugo family was an outcast family to them. One night a boy from the Jugo family truly awakened those eyes. I’m pretty sure you’ve seen them.”

“Yeah…those eyes…” he said. “They’re really bothersome…”

“Well…they’re known in many circles as the Demon King’s eyes.”

“The Demon King?” Shikamaru said.

“Yes. You might not hear of them as such now but that’s what they were called then. The boy couldn’t control the eyes and he ended up killing a lot of people because his eyes emitted some strange chakra that seemed to control his body. Some of those that died were merely travelers. Some were members of the village. Once he finally gained control the village requested that they all leave. However…they felt that they had just as much right to the village as the people that started it. Thus a small war almost took place.”




* * *
Ino ducked and tried to counter the attack with a hard kick. Barutobi knocked her leg away and vanished. She looked around confused. (Where did he go?!) she thought.

“Katon …” he said. He paused as he noticed she could not see him. “Goukakyuu no Jutsu…”

She jumped to the side to avoid it. Before she landed a clone of him appeared and kicked her to the ground.

“Kage Bunshin no jitsu!”

They both heard. Barutobi looked up and saw that several clones of Naruto had landed in front of Ino. Seconds later, Neiji and Sakura came out as well. Barutobi’s clone appeared next to him and frowned.

“I thought you were keeping an eye out.” Barutobi said.

“I was. I guess I sort of fell asleep but…no matter. Go ahead. Kill them.” The clone said.

“What?!” Naruto said shocked.

“Do you really think you can?” Neiji asked.

“Hey…you shouldn’t be picking fights with Chunins.” Sakura said.

Ino started to say something when Barutobi cut in.

He glared at her. “What did you say?”

“You should listen to her.” Daimen said as he jumped down. “What are you doing out here anyway?”

“Barutobi…I thought that you were going to stay in.” Kiri said as she jumped down. “Are they bullying you?”

“If they were…they’d all be dead.” Barutobi said.

Once again Ino tried to explain the situation but Naruto’s growling cut her off.

“Why you…who do you think you are?! I could take you in…” Before Naruto could finish his sentence he was knocked several feet away.

“Barutobi! Stop!” Daimen shouted.

Barutobi ignored him and charged passed Neiji and Sakura so fast that they couldn’t trace his movements. Neiji frowned. (I…I can’t trace him…this is speed at Lee’s level…) he thought. Daimen and Kiri both disappeared as well. (Where did they go?). He noticed Sakura rush off after them. He looked to his right and saw Hinata using Byakugan. “Can you see them?” he asked.

“Naruto…is flying through several trees. Barutobi is coming after him with a kunai…he is so…fast…” she said frightened.

“Come on. This could get bad.” He said as he ran off in their direction.

Naruto hit another tree and it gave way causing him to continue flying back. (Crap…how come he hits so hard…I can barely breathe…) he thought. He looked up and saw that Barutobi was heading straight for him. (I can’t…block…) he thought. Barutobi threw the kunai as hard as he could. Naruto had finally hit a large tree and slid to the ground. Daimen snatched up Barutobi and Kiri leaped forward and stopped the kunai inches from Naruto’s face.

“It’s best that you don’t tick him off.” She said. “I thought we told you that already.”

Naruto coughed. (What kind of kid is this?) he thought.

Kiri kicked him away from the tree just as Barutobi broke the hold and attacked again. His fist stopped inches away from Kiri’s face. She glared at him. “Were you planning on attacking me?” she asked.

He glared at her. Her words didn’t seem to reach him at all. He looked down to Naruto. “Do you still want to continue this?” he asked.

Naruto tried to get to his feet. Neiji and the others jumped down next to him. “Naruto…are you ok?”

“Y…yea…he has a knack for catching people off guard.” Naruto said as he got to his knees.

Sakura glared at them. “Why don’t you come clean? You’re obviously not genin. What are you doing here?”

“Actually…” Kiri said as she put a hand on her hip. “We are genin. It’s not our fault if we are more skilled than you are.”

“Barutobi…let’s go!” Daimen demanded.

Barutobi kept his stare on Naruto. “Well…do you still want to try and take me on?”

Daimen sighed. “Look…if you don’t calm down right now things will get ugly. I will get serious.”

Naruto gasped as Barutobi suddenly stopped his violent rage. (Wow…if he can control that monster…what kind of monster does that make him?) he thought.

“Let’s get out of here.” Daimen said. “You have to get ready for the exams.”

“I don’t think we’re done here.” Neiji said.

“Trust me.” Daimen said. “We’re finished here.”

Before they could say anything else all three of them vanished.

“This is bad.” Sakura said. “We should go tell Tsunade-sensei.”

“Wait…” Neiji said. “Ino is gone. What is the meaning of this?”

“Ino…” Sakura said. “What should we do?”

“If we tell Tsunade…chances are she’ll be brought in and questioned. Maybe we should figure out for ourselves?” Neiji said.

“I’ll deal with it. Don’t worry.” Sakura said as she walked away.

“Hey…Neiji…what do you think is going on? Those guys really look like bad news right? Hey…Neiji…” Naruto said. “Huh?!” he said shocked as no one was there. “Why that!…”




* * *
“So…who won the war?” Shikamaru asked.

“Heh…no one. The Jugo clan left that village. Thanks to the eldest of the family. He made a pact with the first hokage of your village before any battles could take place. But…he neglected to tell the first about the legacy of the Jugo family and about what happened in the village of Forgotten knowledge.”

Shikamaru frowned. “And? What happened next?” he asked.

“Someone revealed the secret of their destructive past. It was around the time of the beginning of the third’s rule. They convinced him that the family couldn’t be trusted. The Third had fought off all of their attempts to eliminate the family with talks of peace until that day.” The elder said with a stern look.

“That day? Come on. Just spit it all out.” Shikamaru said.

“Yes…it is getting late isn’t it? Well…it was the night that the nine tails fox attacked your village. Even though there was no evidence of the Jugo family’s involvement, they were a family that kept themselves in hiding and still have a lot of secrets about them even today. So they were the obvious suspects at the time. Being pressured by so many, the third hokage ordered the family to exiled from the village. After all…that attack ended the life of the Forth Hokage when he sealed the demon away. But it didn’t happen that way. The people in charge of delivering that message of eviction were convinced that these people were pure evil. You can hardly blame them though. The nine tails fox terrified the whole village and the Jugo family had developed a bad reputation as well. So…that following night the Jugo clan was nearly completely assassinated. Except for a few that were away on a mission and some that had anticipated the attack and hid away. They swore that they would get revenge. After the family was hit, those few fled in secret and plotted one thing and one thing only.”

“To kill everyone in konoha…” Shikamaru said.

“Close but no cigar.” The elder said. “They vowed to awaken another family member that had the demon king’s eyes. That is the power that you saw in that boy. They create very powerful genjutsus that aren’t matched by another that I’m aware of ad they deal a lot more damage to bearers of the Sharingan and the Byakugan. Also it is very difficult to apply a genjutsu on someone who has the demon king’s eyes. If the genjutsu isn’t strong enough, that person’s mind is usually burned to ash.”

“So that explains why Neiji felt so burned up.”

The elder frowned. “Was he attacked by him?”

“No…just that he used Byakugan and suddenly he started to burn up. Why?”

“We heard rumors of the powerful effects a genjutsu from those eyes can have. The demon king’s eyes is like nothing you’ll ever encounter in your life. For him…the pain was so great that he couldn’t sleep. I would have your friend checked again just to be sure. This is one very dangerous boy.”

“Wait…so this boy is the one from the rumors?” he asked.

“No no no…” the elder said with a slight chuckle. “He is still alive. He is pretty old too. But he’s just as fast and as strong as any shinobi. Maybe even Tsunade…only…from what I’ve heard he’s forgotten his grudges with Konoha ever sense the Third died at the hands of Orochimaru.”

“He’s at that level?” Shikamaru asked.

“I want you to know something just so it won’t hit you pretty hard in the future. Some of your jonin were in that mission group to exile that family.”

“What?! Who?!”

“Do you really want to know that?” the elder asked.

“Yes…”




* * *

Shizune frowned as Shikamaru left the room. “Tsunade-sama…what are we going to do? We can’t let him take the exams.”

“That’s true…if what the elders said is correct then he’s far stronger than any of the genin that are competing. But if we move now…what would he think? Will they try and leave?”

“Let’s get anbu black ops to catch them. They’ll do it for sure.” Shizune said.

Tsunade nodded as one of the anbu appeared in the room. “Well that was quick.” She said.

“Hokage-sama!” the ninja said. “We have bad news! One of the Chunin has gotten mixed up with the three from Akuma village.”

“What?!” Tsunade said shocked. “Tell me everything.”

Naruto, Kiba, Sakura and Neiji sat down with their food at Ichiraku’s and started to eat.

Naruto frowned and looked at everyone else confused. “So…do we all just sit here and wait all day long? There’s no missions for us to do and we haven’t found Ino yet at all.”

Kiba glared at him. “Think idiot…why would they give us a mission if the exams are starting? Everyone’s in the written part now so just sit tight until it’s our turn. Just chill out.”

Naruto looked away and frowned. “Yeah…I’m just really worried about Ino...”

“Yeah…” Sakura said. “It’s strange that Akamaru can’t pick up her scent.”

“Come to think of it Shikimaru very busy lately too.” Kiba said.

Neiji sighed. “I get the feeling that something bad is going to happen here.” He said. “I wonder if it will be around the same time that Orochimaru attacked our village during these exams.”

“Hmm…” Naruto said confused.

“Hey here comes Hinata.” Kiba said. “Maybe she has something new. She’s running like it’s urgent.”

Naruto laughed and waved to her. “Huh?! What’s going on?!” he asked as he saw two anbu ninja swoop down in front of her. He gasped as they carried her off. “Hey!” he shouted

Everyone turned around shocked as Naruto started to run towards the anbu. Kakashi landed infront of him and sighed.

“Naruto…” he said with a serious look. “I don’t think you should interfere with them.”

“Did she do something wrong?” he asked.

Kakashi looked back as they turned the corner. “I don’t know really. But they took Ino earlier. I guess Hokage decided to use the anbu because of the exams going on. She probably doesn’t want to spook the genin.”

“Kakashi-sensei…what did they do? You have to know something.” Sakura asked.

“From what I understand they figured out that Ino and this young genin have been spending time together.” Yamato said as he walked up with Sai. “Sai here will replace Ino in watching over the forest of death.”

Sai smiled. “This is going to be fun.”
Naruto looked away. “That guy…” he said.

Kakashi sighed. “Well I think he’s under control now at least.”

“Under control?” Neiji asked.

“Yeah. We’ve been watching him during the written part of the exam. Of course he’s cheating and passing answers to his siblings but Lee doesn’t seem to be able to pick it up and Shikamaru is too occupied to notice. Or atleast it seems that way.”
Neiji shook his head. “Humph. What was lady Tsunade thinking letting him look over the written exams? He doesn’t even know any gen or ninjutsu.”

“More importantly than that, I wonder what’s happening with Ino and Hinata…” Kiba said.

“You two should get ready for the forest of death exams.” Kakashi said. “Right now there’s only a few more left in the exam room.”

Naruto sighed. “It’s hard to concentrate knowing that they’re in trouble.”

“Well…you don’t have a choice.” Yamato said. “Don’t worry about them right now. Just go and get ready.”





* * *
Ino looked at Tsunade completely intimidated. She lowered her head and sighed. “I’m sorry lady Tsunade.”

“Do you know who that is?!” Tsunade shot.

“He told me what his name was.” She said.

“Are you crazy?! This is the boy from Akuma village. The one that we’ve been watching! As a matter of fact several Anbu are about to go and get him as we speak! Just what were you doing fighting with him?!”

Ino looked away. “I…saw him training and wanted to get better. I didn’t want to be a burden to anyone anymore.”

Shizune looked away.

“You almost got yourself kill!” Tsunade shot.
“Wait just a minute.” The village elder said as he walked into the room. “We just got an interesting suggestion from Danzou. I think that you should consider it.”

Tsunade glared him. “What are you talking about old man?”

“According to what the Anbu have received from questioning this young lady, this Barutobi is quite fond of her. He’s even agreed to train her. So…” he said as he turned to Ino. “We want you to get closer to him and find out what his reason is for being here.”

Ino frowned. “What?”

“Find out if the Akuma village still exists and if so what are their motives? From this information we will decide whether or not to make a preemptive strike.”

“You’re crazy!” Tsunade shot. “You’re asking her to risk her life?”

“She put herself in that position. Lucky for us it is a valuable position.” He said.

“And if he discovers that she is using him and kills her then what?” Tsunade asked.

“We just have to hope that she doesn’t give herself away.” he said.

“Well…you said it was a suggestion. And I won’t do it. Thanks for the suggestion. Is that all?” Tsunade said as she sat back in her chair.

The old man frowned and then walked out of the room.

Shizuen sighed. “Thank goodness you refused. She really could’ve been killed.”

Ino lowered her head. “I…”

“You won’t be overseeing the forest of death part of the exam anymore.” Tsunade said. “I don’t want you anywhere near that boy.”

Ino looked away. “Understood.”




* * *
Daimen sighed and looked at the other groups gathered around the fence. “Hmm…looks like our competition is pretty weak.” He said.

Kiri frowned. “Let’s just get this over with.” she said.
“I’ve explained everything so far. I hope you all were listening because I won’t say it again.” Neiji said. “Team captains come up and get your scroll.”

Daimen walked up to get his scroll and met Konohamaru. He smiled and looked at his scroll. “Hmm … I guess it doesn’t matter in the beginning eh?”

“Be careful.” Konohamaru said “We’re not going to go easy on you in there.”

Daimen laughed and started back towards his group. Neiji sighed and grabbed Konohamaru by the arm. “Remember…the goal is to get a scroll and get to the safe house. Some missions don’t require you to fight anyone.”

“Gotcha.” Konohamaru said before running off.

“Everyone! Begin!” Naruto shot. He smiled as he watched Konohamaru and his team rush off into the woods. “Ah…this brings back so many memories.”

Neiji glared at him. “Are you sure you should be so happy?”

Naruto looked at him confused. “Why wouldn’t I be? I mean I watched him grow up to be a good genin.”

“Yeah…” Kiba said as he tried not to laugh. “And if he passes today, he’ll be a Chunin. Which will be higher than you right now.”

Hinata looked away as Both Neiji and Lee started laughing.
Naruto made a fist. “Yeah?! Well…” he wanted to shout something but couldn’t find the words to say. He shook his head and rushed into the woods.

“Naruto?” Hinata said as she went off after him.

“Well…we have our assignments. And me and Kiba have to watch the three from Akuma village.” Neiji said. “Let’s go to it.”

Lee frowned. “But Sai isn’t here yet.”

“You’ll have to go without him.” Neiji said. “The trials have started.”

“Oh well…more fun for me.” Lee said as she jumped off into the woods.

“Let’s go.” Neiji said.

Kiba nodded and followed him in to the woods.




* * *

Daimen looked around and shook his head. “It’s really gotten dark sense we started in huh?”

“It’s because of all the trees.” Kiri said. “Barutobi, you do remember what we talked about right?”

“I’m sixteen. Stop treating me like I’m nine…” he said as he walked ahead of them. “I just want to get this over with.”

Daimen stopped walking and they both stopped as well.

Kiri put a hand on her hip. “Are you tired already?”

“Don’t be silly.” Daimen said. “Someone’s here.”

Barutobi looked to his right and spotted a man preparing a fire attacked. “There…” he pointed.

They all looked just as the man spit the fireball their way. It hit the ground causing a large explosion. Barutobi frowned. “At least make it a challenge.” He said. The three of them came out and he grinned. “I’ll show you what I mean.”

“Barutobi hold up.” Daimen said. He could tell that Barutobi was about to use something powerful. (If he does something above the Junin level…we’ll be given away for sure.”

“Fire style…” Barutobi said as they started to charge him.

“You think we’re going to let you pull that off?” the man shouted with his kunai ready to strike.

“Dragon Flame Bomb!”

“Too late…” Kiri said in a low voice as she watched the large fireball consume the three guys.

Daimen put a hand on his forehead. “Great move…now how are we supposed to find their scroll? I think you burned it.”

Barutobi frowned. “I didn’t think of that…”

“Right…” Kiri said as she walked over to the remains. “You burned it alright. It wasn’t one we could use though.”

Daimen sighed. “Well…at least no one is around to have seen it. Come on…let’s get out of here before someone else comes.”




* * *

Neiji looked to his left quickly as he heard the explosion. “Huh? What was that?”

Kiba sniffed the air. “Smells like those three. Let’s go. We finally caught up to them.”

They both ran as fast as they could to the smoke that was rising up into the air. They arrived several minutes later to find the ashes and bones of three people. They both gasped as they realized that they were genin.

“Man…they’re burned to a crisp.” Kiba said.

Neiji glared at the remains. “This has to be their doing. Byakugan!” He searched through the trees ahead and couldn’t find anyone. “They’re gone. They’re already gone…can you pick up their scents?”

“Nope…” Kiba said as he shook his head. “All I can smell is burned flesh.” He said.

Neiji sighed. “Come on they had to have gone this way.”

As they were about to leave they were stopped by two anbu guards. “Hey! Have you seen Sasuke anywhere?” one asked.

Neiji frowned. “No…don’t tell me he escaped?”

“That last we saw of him he ran into this forest.” He said.

“Man…so we have another suspect for this.” Kiba said. “I know Sasuke could probably do a fire jutsu this strong by now. Right?”

“If you see him do not engage him. Send up a signal flare immediately or find some other way to contact us if you can’t signal without being spotted.” The man said before they both jumped away.

Kiba looked at Neiji and swallowed hard. “I think I’m starting to get that feeling that you had.” He said.

Neiji frowned. “Come on. Let’s go.”




* * *

Daimen continued to walk down the barely visible dirt road. He was bored and he knew that the others were as well. He frowned. “And they said that this was going to take several days? It’s been hours sense we last saw someone. You think they’re…” he paused and grinned. “Finally…”

Kiri turned to him confused. She started to say something when she noticed that Barutobi was looking into bushes on their right. “So…someone else has come?” she asked. (Man…they’ve both advanced so far…I didn’t notice anyone) she thought to herself.

“Come on out.” Daimen said. “We can see you there.”

Sasuke jumped out and landed infront of them. He grinned. “Impressive…but I guess that can be expected from the likes of you.”

Barutobi frowned and folded his arms. “And just who is this?” he asked.

“Don’t you know? That’s the mysterious rogue ninja Sasuke that killed a ninja from his own village. Orochimaru I think it was. You know…you’re becoming more and more like your brother with each day.” Daimen said.

Sasuke glared at him and activated his sharingan. “What did you say?!”

“Oh great…it’s the sharingan…” Kiri said as she guarded ready.

Barutobi sighed. “Do you think I’m afraid of your little sharingan?” he asked.

He charged Sasuke straight on. Kiri tried to stop him but Daimen grabbed her arm. He shook his head.
“Let’s see what he can do.” He said.

She frowned and looked on. Sasuke dodged his kunai without moving and leaned again to dodge his oncoming kick. He then kicked hard at Barutobi but it was dodged. He attempted a genjutsu. Barutobi watched as he arm started to wrinkle and then dissolve. Sasuke was amazed at his straight face. (So…he doesn’t fall for genjutsu eh? Very well…) he thought. Barutobi broke the genjutsu without even making a sign.

“Listen…” Sasuke said. “I don’t want to fight you. But I have to ask you something…”

“Get real!” Barutobi cut in. “I’m pumped up now. You’re going down.”

Sasuke frowned as Barutobi charged him again. He dodged several kicks and jumped back to avoid an overhead punch that slammed into the ground. (Wow…he’s fast. And he’s strong too…interesting. However…) he thought as he lowered his guard. He powered chakra into his hand. Barutobi grinned as he saw lightning forming in his hand. He didn’t care and charge him anyway.

“Chidori!”

Barutobi jumped up and grabbed his arm as he flipped over his head. He then slung Sasuke into the tree next to them. Sasuke kicked off of the tree and kicked him in the back before he could land. Barutobi hit the ground and spit out blood.

“He’s killing him.” Kiri said in a low voice. “Just when do you plan on jumping in?”

“I don’t…” Daimen said.

She looked at him shocked. Barutobi stood up and frowned. “I have to hand it to you. That Sharingan is incredible. You can read my moves right?”

Sasuke lowered his head. “There’s no way you can beat me alone. And it looks like your friends there are willing to listen to me. So why don’t you calm down and listen to what I have to say?”

“Screw you…” Barutobi said as he got ready to charge. “If you think that I’m going down that easy…you’re wrong.”

Sasuke sighed as he charged again. He caught Barutobi’s arm and shot a small streak of chakra through it. Barutobi gasped as he couldn’t move his arm. Sasuke kicked him in the face causing him to fly back towards Daimen and Kiri.

Barutobi got up and sighed. “I…can’t move my arms…What did you do?”

Sasuke laughed. “You didn’t see it? You’re not as fast as I thought. I blocked chakra points in your shoulders and hands. You’re done now…so listen up.”

“As if I would!” Barutobi shouted as he charged again.

“Katon…” Sasuke said.

“Too slow!” Barutobi said as he kicked Sasuke in the face. He watched Sasuke fly back into a tree. “Looks like…” he gasped as he heard a loud noise behind him. He looked down and saw that Sasuke’s hand had gone through his chest. “Gwah!” he shot as Sasuke pulled his hand out. “You…”

“I’m not done yet…” Sasuke said. “Chidori Current.”

Daimen watched in awe. (What the…).
Kiri gasped. “What just happened…”

Tsunade glared at the anbu as he lowered his head. “How could you lose him?! When did you lose him?!”

“It was a few minutes before the written part of the exam was over.” He said.

“And you’re saying that you searched the entire village and couldn’t find him?” she asked.

“No. Which means that he has to be in the forest of death.” He said.

“But why?” Shizune asked. “Why would he be in the forest of death? There are only genin there.”

“But there is one genin in there that is of particular interest to a lot of people.” Tsunade said. “I just received a lot of letters from futile lords that wish to see his skills. Apparently they still believe that the Jugo family is part of the Leaf…”

“You don’t think that Sasuke could be after him do you?” Shizune asked.

“I don’t know. But get everyone in there to look for him now.” She said.

“I don’t think that’s wise.” Shikamaru said as he walked in. “Sorry to barge in but sending in so many people to look for Sasuke in the forest of death isn’t a good idea. If all of those genin see them then they’ll think something’s wrong. It might even cause this whole thing to be canceled.”

Tsunade glared at him. “Then what do you suggest I do?”

Shikamaru smiled. “I think we can kill two birds with one stone here. It’s obvious that those three have some agenda here in the village. And I’m pretty sure that Sasuke is hunting them for some reason. They may have a common enemy and decide to work together. If we could send someone to track Sasuke we might be able to get information out of them both. I don’t think that the team should be more than two people though.”

“Fine… you and Kakashi get on it now before it’s too late.” She said.

“Well…” he said as he rubbed his head. “I didn’t really…” he stopped when he saw her evil stare and sighed. “I’ll get on it.” He said as he walked out.


* * *

Sasuke watched Barutobi drop to the ground. He lowered his hand and looked over to Daimen and Kiri. Kiri was angry and ready to fight but Daimen was laid back and calm. He sighed and turned to them.

“So…what did you want to talk about?” Daimen asked.

“It’s good that you are willing to listen.” Sasuke said. “Though I find it strange that you barely bat an eye at the death of your younger brother.”

Daimen shrugged. “It was to be expected from an Uchiha.” He said. “After all you’re familiar with killing family.”

Sasuke looked away. After a few seconds of silence he grinned. “You’re testing me. You’re trying to see whether or not I will kill you too. You know that I need something from you. So you assume that I won’t kill you. Well you’re right. But no one is going to stop me from achieving my goal. And I don’t need your friend here.” He said as he pointed to Kiri.

Daimen still didn’t budge. “Well…I’ve already asked once. What is that you want?”

“I want the Demon king’s eyes. I was told that I could get them from Akuma village. You’re from Akuma village. So where is it?”

Daimen looked at him for a few seconds and then started to laugh. “And after you just killed my brother you expect me to tell you that?”

Sasuke frowned. (He’s too laid back not to have something up his sleeve…but what is it? Could he have the eyes? No…if he did he’d have used them already. It has to be something else…) he thought. “If you don’t tell me then I will force it out of you.”

Kiri glared at him. “Just try it.” She said.

Daimen laughed. “Don’t get so worked up over this guy. I can take him. I’ve actually seen his brother in action and he’s no match for him.”

Sasuke made a fist. (Maybe that’s it. Maybe his main strategy is mind games…but that won’t work with me) he thought. “I won’t ask you again.”

Daimen sighed. “Look…I’m not going to tell you where our village is. But I can guess why you want to know. You think that I don’t know about your brother? Uchiha Itachi…I’ve been on a lot more missions than my sister and brother. Like I said before, I’ve seen him in action. I also know that you are hunting him. But judging from your fight with Barutobi…you wouldn’t beat him if you fought him now anyway. So you want to know where our village is so that you can somehow get a hold of Kaemen’s Eyes.”

Sasuke looked at him confused. “Kaemen’s eyes?”

“Yes…you see…we never fascinated ourselves on demons or anything of the sort. Well…some of us anyway. I can’t say the same for my little brother. We were just considered demons because of our past. What you call demon king, we call Kaemen. Only two people have them in the world right now you know. And you just killed one of them. You’re looking at the other. This isn’t something you can get from any jutsu or level of training. It’s something you’re born with. And now that you’ve killed my brother I think you’ve just lost your only chance of getting our help.”

Sasuke frowned. “There is another way. The Sharingan was the Uchiha clan’s only. However a high level ninja of the leaf has the sharingan in one eye. So I’ll just use the eyes from this body.” He started to pick up the body when it vanished into a cloud of smoke. He gasped. “What the?”

Barutobi walked out in front of Daimen and folded his arms. “Please tell me that this isn’t the best you’ve got.” He said.

Sasuke looked at him and frowned. (I don’t understand…it bled and everything. What the heck happened? I know I killed him) he thought.

“I’m surprised that even with the sharingan you couldn’t see that was a fake.” Barutobi said. “Demon technique…Mind burn.”

Sasuke glared at him as suddenly his head started to burn. He tried to release his sharingan but it wouldn’t work. “Argh!” he yelled as he fell to the ground and held his head.

Kiri watched in awe. (So…he was fighting a dark shadow clone the whole time? Wow…) she thought.

Barutobi glared at Sasuke and put a hand to his mouth. “Burn to ash. Katon…Karyu Endan…”

Sasuke gasped as the large bird shaped flame headed his way. The pain in his head was almost paralyzing. He tried to jump away but couldn’t. (That technique is not a genin level one…) he thought as it took everything he had to get up and brace for the attack. He felt something grab a hold of him as he closed his eyes. The flame drove him several yards away before Barutobi stopped it.

“What are you doing?” Barutobi asked as he noticed that Daimen has grabbed him and yanked him backwards.

“There are people coming. More than likely anbu given their speed and how close they got before I detected them. We have to get out of here. If we’re caught here the anbu will never let us finish and we’ll be watched as long as we’re here. Let’s go.”

Barutobi sighed. “I can’t wait till this part is over. Then we’ll have some real fun…” he said as they all vanished.


* * *


Shikamaru frowned as he got from behind the tree. He released his shadow possession from Sasuke and sighed. He walked over to him and assessed the damage. Sasuke was badly burned and bleeding from his eyes and ears. “You really took a beating.” He said.

Sasuke looked up at him and frowned. “So…you found me.” He said.

Kakashi landed in front of him sighed. “Yes…and now we know why you’re here. You’re trying to get more power huh? So it was him that you faced out there in the woods.”

Sasuke looked away. “You won’t stop me Kakashi. I told you…I’m not like you and the rest of them. I won’t stop until he’s dead.”

Kakashi sighed. “That’s too bad because in order to leave this village you’ll have to get through us.” He said.

Shikamaru frowned as he saw more anbu show up. “So…did they mention anything about this village? Or why they were taking exams here? Anything that would explain why they’re here at all?”

Sasuke laughed. “And you think that I’d tell you?”

Shikamaru shook his head and grinned. “That’s right after all. You do need them.”

Neiji and Kiba both jumped down next to them. Neiji frowned as he saw the blood on Sasuke’s face. “What happened to you?”

“The same thing that happened to you.” Shikamaru said. “I watched the whole thing from the bushes over there.”

Kiba gasped. “What?! That’s impossible.” He said.

“Oh? I saw it too.” Kakashi said. “It’s true…he used some sort of genjutsu to attack him. Then they ran off.”

“You have to be mistaken.” Kiba said. “I don’t smell their scent around here at all. Not for miles.”

Neiji nodded. “That’s right. We were just heading back to report to the hokage.”

“Report back?” Shikamaru said confused. “That would mean that those three finished? That quick? They just left here.”

“Nope.” Kiba said as he pointed to his nose. “My nose doesn’t lie.”

“That’s right.” Neiji said. “Neither does Byakugan. I saw that they were the real ones at the check point. They made it there about two hours ago with both scrolls.”

Both Shikamaru and Kakashi scratched their heads. “But…I know I just saw them here. That Barutobi guy just used a Kage level ninjutsu and had I not helped Sasuke along back there he’d be toast. Unless…we’re in a genjutsu right now.” He said as he looked at Sasuke.

“No…we’re not.” Kakashi said as he frowned. His sharingan was uncovered. “We’re definitely not.”

“Then that means…all three of them were clones.” Sasuke said as he looked away. “None of them were real…”

“They couldn’t possibly have enough chakra to maintain a life like shadow clone with enough chakra to take on Sasuke…” Kakashi said.

“He wasn’t using a shadow clone exactly.” Sasuke said as the anbu guards picked him up. “He used a dark shadow clone. I’ve never heard of it before.”

“Hmm…” Kakashi said. “If that’s true and these were clones that were fighting him. There could be clones scattered all over the forest.”

“Yeah…only none of the others have reported anything out of the ordinary.” Shikamaru said. “And that would explain why Neiji and Kiba didn’t report this. They were actually following the real ones. What were they doing when you left?”

“Just sitting and waiting.” Neiji said.

“Let’s get him back.” Kakashi said.


***

Naruto wiped his forehead as he watched Konohamaru and his team enter the checkpoint building. “Well…I guess that’s that.” He said.

Hinata nodded. “Yeah. They did pretty good. Better than I did when I did this…”

“Don’t sweat it.” He said as he turned to her. He looked at her confused as she turned her back. “Hey…what’s wrong?”

“Uh…nothing…I just noticed that those three from Akuma village were in there.” She said trying to hide her face.

“Really? So they made it too? I guess that was expected. We should get back to the granny Tsunade and give her our report.”

She nodded and followed him down back towards the village.


***


Sasuke lowered his head as he saw Sakura enter the room. She had bandages and other medical equipment. She forced a smile and sat down on the bed. “You should be more careful.” She said. “Those guys aren’t your normal genin.”

“I didn’t need you to tell me that.” He said. He watched her force herself to keep smiling as she started to heal him. “Why are you doing this?”

She sighed. “Because…you’re a frien…”

He grabbed her arm and stopped her from finishing her sentence. “Listen…”

Before he could speak she pulled her arm back. “Sasuke…why do you have to keep going after Itachi? What will you gain from killing him? After it’s done what will you do?”

He frowned and looked away. “I don’t know. But I know that as long as I have breath in my body I will kill him. That is final…nothing and no one…will get in my way.”

“Then…atleast let us help. I mean he’s part of Akatsuki right? They’re our enemies as well.”

He sighed. “Itachi is my problem and mine alone.”

“I wanted to tell you this sense the moment they found you. I…meant what I said back then.” She said.

He looked away. “Sakura when are you going to understand that I am not going to change? Let me tell you something. I wanted to be found.”

“What?” she said confused.

“That’s right. I faced Itachi and again I was beaten. We were almost evenly matched and that’s not enough to beat him. But I was given another chance. Which is why I came here. And lucky for me who I’m looking for is right here in this village.” He said.

“I…don’t believe this…” she said as she closed her eyes.

“It’s true. I planned to come in unnoticed but when I realized that Kakashi was closing in I figured this way would be better. When are you going to understand? I’m not like you and Naruto. Yes…Naruto had no family…but he also never had one taken away from him…I will never Forgive Itachi!” he shot. He winced from the sharp pain of the burns. “And as long as I’m alive he will always be my goal.”

Sakura looked him in the eye. “Naruto was right then…” she said. “He said that you were consumed by revenge. I didn’t want o believe it but it’s true. You know…I told myself that I would get stronger…so that you could see me as worthy enough to help you…”

He could see that she was starting to cry. He sighed and shook his head. “I’m sorry Sakura…I appreciate the offer…but you…could never help me.” He said. He looked away as the words had caused the tears to start flowing in her eyes. “The reason is…because you won’t kill. I can’t use anyone…that isn’t willing to kill…not for this…”

She wiped her eyes and stood up. “Well…it seems like you’re a better healer than I thought. Your burns should heal up in no time. I…think I’ll go now…” she said as she forced another smile.

As she closed the door behind her she closed her eyes and cried.


***


Naruto looked around the room at everyone that was there. A lot of Jounin were there including Gai, Kakashi, Kurenai, Anko and Yamato. Everyone but Ino and Sakura was there as well. He scratched his head.

“Hey…why are we all in the old training room?” he asked. “What are we doing here?”

Kiba frowned. “Be quiet. This has something to do with anbu…” he whispered.

Naruto sighed and shook his head. (What we should be doing is going out there and catching those three guys…) he thought.

Tsunade walked into the room with a frown on her face. “Everyone…we have a problem. I brought you here because it was as far away from the checkpoint without looking suspicious. Listen up…it is clear that the genin from Akuma village are planning to start something during the last part of this exam. I know it’s cliché and has already happened once before but there’s no other explanation for it.” She paused when she saw Shikamaru’s hand go up. “…Yes…?”

“With all due respect…I don’t think that they’re going to attack during the exams.” He said. Everyone looked around at each other confused. “I mean…Daimen didn’t say much when he was talking to Sasuke in the forest…but if I believe correctly…and judging by their shadow clone abilities, they could’ve killed a lot of people without even being in the village. They have to be after something else.”

Tsunade rubbed her chin. She hadn’t seen their abilities in action but she did get a brief report from the anbu. “So…what do you suggest we do then?” she asked.

Shikamaru sighed. “Well…it’s hard to say. The reason being is because we don’t know what it is they’re after.”

“True…” Kakashi said. “But we weren’t aware of what Orochimaru would do during the exams either.”

“That’s another thing.” Shikamaru said. “These guys are not like Orochimaru, even though we didn’t know what he would do, we knew that he wanted to destroy Konoha. Same with Pain. The only flaw we had with both of them is that we didn’t know what abilities they had. What do we know about these guys? We know that they have the ability to create a shadow clone that can pass as a another human being and use chakra and powerful jutsus. And on top of that, they’re shadow clones can withstand more than a hit or two without being cancelled out. I think we should try and figure out exactly what they’re doing here or as much information as we can. If only we had someone that was close to them.”

Tsunade lowered her head. “Close to them? Why?”

“Well…we could sort of use them to get information.” Shikamaru said.

“But who can we use? Everyone here just about has been on their bad side. Even Sakura.” Naruto said.

Kakashi sighed. “That is a problem…but it’s not the biggest one.” He said.

Shikamaru nodded and folded his arms. “You’re right.”

Naruto looked at them both. “Huh? Hey what’s the biggest problem then?” he asked.

Kiba frowned. “Naruto…think for a second would ya? If we had someone get close to them and learn what they can and that someone should happen to be exposed, what do you think would happen to that person huh?”

“They’d get killed most definitely…” Shino said.

Neiji frowned. “So there’s nothing we can do until we know why they’re here.”

Tsunade bit her bottom lip. (I know I’m going to regret doing this…) she thought to herself. She looked up at everyone who was lost in thought trying to come up with a solution. Everyone but Shikamaru. He was looking dead into her eyes as if he knew that she was hiding something. (That boy…he’s too smart for his own good…) she thought. “Well…there is someone…” she said finally.

“Oh?” Naruto said. “Who? Is it Sai?”

Sai shook his head. “Sorry…but it’s not me.” He said.

“It’s Ino isn’t it…” Shikamaru said.

Everyone looked at him shocked except for Tsunade. (Is there nothing that gets passed you?) she thought as she nodded. “That’s right. We’ve discovered that she’s gained the trust of the youngest one to the point where he has agreed to train her.”

“Hmm…so what do we do?” Naruto asked.

“You can’t possibly be thinking of asking Ino to get closer to that guy can you?” Chouji asked.

Shikamaru frowned. “Well…there aren’t that many options left.” He said. “Though it is dangerous I would hope that we would stop them before any harm comes to her.”

“Well…is that the plan then? After all…this is why I brought you all here. We need to watch them for the last part of this exam just in case they are planning an attack.” Tsunade said. “But we will need a team watching over Ino as well.”

“We’ll do it!” Naruto shot.

Kakashi frowned. (I’d like to look in on those three…) he thought.

“Actually…” Shikamaru said. “I would like for me and Chouji to watch Ino. After all she’s a close friend of ours and I think that if I could watch him train then I could get information on his techniques as well.”

“Very well.” Tsunade said.

“What!!” Naruto shot. “What are you saying?”

“I’m saying that Shikamaru and Chouji are in charge of watching Ino and monitoring Barutobi. The rest of you watch over the other Genin as they are training. Make sure that these guys don’t interfere with them.” Tsunade said.

“Right!” They all said.

“Aw man…” Naruto said. “What a bummer.”

Everyone glared at him and tensed up. “This isn’t a game Naruto…” Tsunade said. “This is crucial to the existence of this village.”

Naruto shook his head. “Yeah whatever you say…” he said as he threw his hands up.

She sighed and left the room. Naruto turned to the others and made a fist. “So…how are we going to watch these guys?” he asked.

“I guess it has been a while sense you last took the exams…so I’ll give you the benefit of a doubt.” Neiji said. “There were enough to start the final rounds this time. So they have all gone to rest.”

“Oh…so what do we do in the meantime?” Naruto asked.

Kakashi laughed and put a hand on Naruto’s shoulder. “Naruto…how about we go somewhere and talk. I have something I want to discuss with you.” He said.

“Huh? Is it more training?” Naruto asked.

“No…but it might be interesting…” he said as he walked out.

Naruto followed him out with his arms folded. (This had better be good…) he thought.


***

Ino sighed as she walked down the street towards the hotel where Barutobi and his family were staying. (So…they all want me to get information from him…) she thought as she played with her fingers. (I don’t know if I can do that. I’m not as smart as Shikamaru…). She paused when she saw Barutobi walking out of the building. He saw her and frowned. “Were you going to train?” she asked.

He shook his head and sighed. “Going to get something to eat. Funny…you came here just as I was leaving…” he said. “Tell me…where have you been?”

She swallowed hard but kept her expression the same. “I had to take a break…you know after that harsh training…”

He looked away and folded his arms. “Well…you don’t have to worry about that anymore…our goal has been reached.”

“Your goal?” she said confused. She wanted to ask what it was but she didn’t want to seem too obivious.

“That’s right. We reached the final stage in the Chunin exam. I will finally get to face my brother in combat.” He said. “Well…see ya…”

“Wait…” she said quickly. “I know a good place to get ramen and it’s really cheap.”

He frowned. “Really? Sense when has cheap food ever tasted good?”

She laughed. “Trust me. This will be great.” She said as she grabbed his arm. “Come on let’s go.”

Kiri watched from a distance. (That girl is getting very close to him…) she thought as she folded her arms. (I guess I should be happy…but I don’t know…).


***

Daimen folded his arms and leaned against the wall as Danzo walked up to him. He grinned “So…you finally show up. I was beginning to think that you weren’t coming.”

“Not so loud…” Danzo said. “Listen…everything is going according to plan. Just don’t foul up at the exams. I don’t want you and your brother to over exert yourselves during your match. If you do then we will have to push everything back a few days.”

“Sorry…” Daimen said with a smile. “But it’s been my dream to fight my brother and see who’s the strongest between us. Our whole lives we’ve been unable to see…now we finally can. I can’t wait but I won’t hold back on him. So you’ll have to think of another way to get things started.”

“Do you not realize what this would mean for your family back in that wreck of a place?!” Danzo shot. “There will be plenty of time for sparring but now is not it. Listen…I’m trying to help you here. Just work with me and I promise you won’t be disappointed.”

Daimen sighed. “Well…if you say so. But don’t go back on your word.”

Danzo watched him vanish and smiled. (This is great. Everything is going according to plan…) he thought to himself.

Several days passed with no incidents at all. All of the Genin in the exam were ordered to meet with guy for a physical checkup. Afterwards Gai headed to Tsunade’s office to report.

Gai stood up straight and grinned as he held up one thumb. “All of the genin are accounted for and in good shape.” He said.

Shizune sighed. “That’s good right Tsunade?” she asked.

Tsunade looked over to Shikamaru who shared the same annoyed expression. “Maybe…but what is going on? I thought that she would’ve gotten more than that…” she said.

Shikamaru frowned. “Honestly…I know Ino. She’s a bright person…so I don’t know why she hasn’t gotten anything from this guy. It’s been three days and she’s been with him the whole time. Unless…”

“No…” Shizune said. “Ino wouldn’t do something like that. I don’t even think he is her type.”

“Well he’s not fat and he’s not boney…so that puts him in the possible category…” he said.

Gai scratched his head. “Uh…yeah…so…what are we talking about again?”

Tsunade stared annoyed as he kept his grin and his thumbs up. (Honestly…is that really necessary?) she thought to herself. “Um…nothing Gai. Thanks for the report.”

He nodded and left the room. Shizune looked Tsunade in the eye. “Seriously…you don’t think that she is falling for him do you?”

“That’s not the worst that could happen…” Shikamaru said with a frown. “Just imagine…if he actually fell for her…”

“How is that the worst? He wouldn’t destroy a village that she lived in if he fell for her right?” Shizune asked.

“Shizune you have no grasp at all about emotions do you?” Tsunade asked. When she saw the confused look on Shizune’s face she lowered her head and sighed. “If he did fall for her and realize what she was doing with him then the pain will be even worse once he finds out. This could lead to the merciless killing of innocent people…”

They all looked up as the two elders walked into the room. Tsunade closed her eyes. (Great…this is the last thing that I need right now…) she thought to herself.

“We have to talk.” The old woman said. “We just got vital information from our spies. It appears that someone has threatened the destruction of the Sand village.”

Shikamaru gasped. (So…that’s why Gaara was so reluctant to help us…) he thought.

“What? Who would do that?” Shizune asked.

The old man shook his head. “We don’t know who sent it but we know this much. The threat stated that if they aided Konoha in their exams they would kill the innocent of the Sand village.”

“Wait…” Shikamaru said. “They specifically said the exams?”

“That’s right.” The old woman said. “So I think we should postpone the exams until we find out more about these genin from Akuma village.”

“It’s too late for that…” Tsunade said and she looked away. “Some of the feudal lords have already arrived. The final exams will start in less than twenty four hours.”

“What do you plan to do about this…Tsunade?” Danzo asked as he walked out into the room.

“Look who creeps from the shadows. Another old bag…” Tsunade said with a glare. “I’ve heightened security as much as possible. To bring in more guards would make it obvious that something is wrong.”

“May I make a suggestion?” he asked.

“What? Why would you want to make a suggestion now?” Tsunade asked.

“Well…I see that you took to my earlier suggestion regarding the girl. So you know there is some sense in what I say. I suggest we decrease security around the arena and put guards at the edge of each gate. We should also put at least ten jounin at the top of the mountain. We know that it has been attacked once already.” He said.

Shikamaru glared at him. (Hmm…he’s always got something up his sleeves. I wouldn’t be surprised if he were working with these guys. Wait a minute…if we put security all over the edges of town…that would leave a lot of empty room in the center of the village. There is an evacuation route that goes from the center to the edge of the village. And that exit isn’t near any gates. He could be trying to leave a way for ninja to come in for a surprise attack. But…it bothers me that threatening letter specifically mentioned the exams. That definitely was put there to put your attention on the exam but…any smart person would know that there is something else. That they mentioned the exams just to make us think that they were going to attack during the exams…hmm…).

Tsunade smiled. “Sorry…but I don’t see your view here. Putting security at the gates and on the mountain top will leave little to no one to watch the people…and no one to watch me…” she said with a glare. “Are you attending on someone killing me during this exam?” she asked.

“Tsunade!” the old lady shot. “Must you always think ill of Danzo? He’s only making a suggestion.”

Danzo sighed. “Listen Tsunade…I have a bad feeling about this. Yes…I have a different view of how Konoha should be run but I don’t think that the entire place should be slaughtered to death. Swallow your pride and listen to me for once. My Root agents are top notch.”

“I said it before and I’ll say it again Danzo…your suggestion was heard but that’s all it is. I have in mind what I want to do about this. And I’m going to do it my way…” she said.

He turned his back and grinned. “I see…” he said. “You are the Hokage after all…there’s nothing that I can do to change your mind it seems.”

They all watched him leave the room. The old man frowned. “I hope you know what you’re doing Tsunade. The last thing we need is another incident like what happened with Pain…”

Tsunade frowned and looked away. “I’m working on it already…Shizune…here’s a list of people I want you to get for this assignment.”

Shizune nodded and left the room. Shikamaru closed his eyes. (This just doesn’t seem right at all…There’s something about that letter that just doesn’t sit right with me. I can’t figure out what it is but I will…) “Hokage-sama…I’d like to see that letter…” he said.

The old lady handed him the letter. “I’ve heard about your intellect. You make a fine ninja. One day you might even become Hokage yourself.”

(Nah…) he thought as he forced a smile. (Being Hokage is way too much work…).


***

Kiri sat on the bed and crossed her legs. “Wow…I can’t believe it. This is the most cheerful you’ve been sense we made this trip.” She said as she watched Barutobi flop onto his bed. “What’s gotten you in such a good mood?”

“Two things…” he said as he sat up. “One…I finally get to fight Daimen. I’m going to pummel him in front of so many people.”

She laughed. “Well…don’t be so sure of that. Daimen is a lot stronger than he lets on.”

“We’ll see…but another thing…hey…” he said as he looked at her confused. “What do you think a Kunoichi would like as a present?” he asked.

She laughed. “Are you kidding? Who would you be buying a present for?”

“Just asking…” he said as he sighed.

“Well…I don’t know. Depends on the girl I guess. What is this one into?” she asked.

“Huh? What makes you think that I like a girl from this village?” he asked.

“I can see right through you.” She said. “Now who is it? It’s that girl you’ve been training right?”

He looked away and frowned. “You’ve been following me?” he asked.

“Well I had to make sure you didn’t kill anyone.” She said.

He sighed. “Whatever…”

She laughed. “So…from the looks of it, she has a lot of hair. Maybe something to tie it up with?”

He rubbed his chin. “Hmm…maybe…I’ll be back in a second.” He said as he rushed out of the room.

Daimen dodged him as he ran passed him in the hallway. He walked into the room and shut the door. “What is he in such a hurry for?” he asked.

Kiri sighed. “He’s eager to fight you in your match. He also has a girlfriend that he wants to impress.”

“Well that’s where the problem comes into play.” He said as he sat down. “I overheard this blonde kid and his fat friend talking a few minutes ago. It appears that this girl that he’s with…is trying to use charm to gather information from him about us and why we’re here.”

Kiri looked away. “You’re kidding…right?”

“Nope…” he said. “That’s why he has to stop hanging out with her.”

Kiri frowned and made a fist. “This is just too much. We can’t stop them from seeing each other. Imagine what would happen to him if he knew…”

“Yeah…that’s where our problem comes in. If we tell him…he might lose control and the Kaimen would take over. That would destroy everything. If we don’t…then he might give away our plan. I have to think for a minute about what to do.”

“There’s only a few more hours before the exam starts back up again. If only we can hold out until then.” She said.

***

Barutobi sighed once he saw Naruto and Chouji heading their way. Ino closed her eyes. (Good…I feel a lot safer with Naruto and Chouji here…) she thought as she looked at the river in front of them.

“What are you guys talking about?” Naruto asked.

“None of your business…” Barutobi said.

Ino shook her head. “He was just about to tell me about his family.”

Naruto grinned. “Cool. So let’s hear it. What happened to them? Are they still alive?”

Barutobi made a fist. He put the small box he had next to him back in his pocket. “My parents are dead. Both of them.” He said.

They all frowned. “Dead?” Naruto asked. “From a battle?”

Barutobi eyed Naruto “They were assassinated…”

Ino looked away. “By who…”

“The third Hokage of this village…” he said with a cold stare.

They all looked at him in awe. “No way…the third hokage would never do something like that.” Naruto shot.

“And my elders wouldn’t lie to me!” Barutobi shot back. “He ordered my entire family killed.”

“So…if that’s true…then why would you want to take exams here?” Chouji asked. “I mean…I wouldn’t take exams in the same village that murdered my people.”

Barutobi sighed. “My village can’t do exams. And we’re not going to travel two hundred miles to take one.”

“So…your village is close by then?” Ino asked.

He sighed. “My village is closer than you think simply because my village is everywhere.”

Naruto looked at him angrily. “What do you mean everywhere?”

“My village is nothing more than a band of homeless people and a few ninja who do odd jobs to get money for them. We can’t get higher pay for higher jobs unless we have a higher rank. We can’t continue to do B and A rank missions and get paid what a genin would.” He said.

“So…why don’t your people come here?” Naruto asked. “There’s plenty of room in Konoha.”

“Humph…do you study your history at all? We lived in this village before. According to my ancestors and elders we were told to leave this village by the third hokage. And when they were getting ready to leave a group of ninja from the leaf, swooped in and started killing everyone.” He said.

“I don’t believe that. It has to have been one of Danzo’s people. I know the Jounin here wouldn’t do that.” Naruto said.

“You believe what you want to believe…” Barutobi said as he stood up.

“I’m sorry about what happened to your clan…” Ino said. “I wish I could help you somehow…”

“Humph…don’t worry about us.” Barutobi said. “We’re getting all the help we need.”

Naruto watched as he walked away. “So…what did you get from him?” he asked.

She stood up and lowered her head. “Enough I think…” she said. “I have to go.”


***

Ino walked down the street towards her house. The night sky was clear and the moon was shining down on the village. Earlier she saw several anbu agents leaving the village in search of the ninjas that they believed to be waiting for the exams. She saw Sakura sitting down on a bench and walked over to her confused. “Sakura? What are you doing out here this late?”

“I couldn’t sleep…” Sakura thought. “This is where he left me…all those years ago…”

“Really…interesting…” Ino said. She thought about Barutobi and how he might feel if he found out about her. “Well…how is he?”

Sakura shook her head. “He’s not the same person that grew up here…that’s for sure. I guess I have to face that fact. He’ll never see me as anything other than just being in his way.” She said as she laughed. “You know…I even offered to go with him that time. He still rejected me…”

“Well at least you got that far with him…” Ino said. “I didn’t even get a second glance from him. But I guess in the end I never really had a thing for him. It was all just to compete with you…”

“Is that why you’ve been with that guy training?” Sakura asked.

Ino lowered her head. “Not really.” She said. “It’s more than that…”

“Then what is it? Don’t tell me that you actually like him…” Sakura said.

Ino laughed. “He’s not interested in someone like me. But if he was I wouldn’t mind…” she said with a grin. Her smile then turned to a frown. “Who am I kidding? Right now Akatsuki has the three tailed beast all because of me…”

“What?” Sakura said confused. “What do you mean?”

Ino laughed again. “Don’t play dumb. We couldn’t seal it because I was the weak link…I couldn’t do anything at all…not then…and not when we needed to help Asuma. All I could do was watch him die…”

“No one could’ve helped him. Not even…”

“Don’t try and make excuses for me…” Ino said. “I know when I’m at fault. That’s why I wanted to train with him. I never expected him to let me but he did. Now I’m stuck doing this…”

Sakura lowered her head. “You can’t forget the reason why he’s here. It’s to destroy this village.”

“I wonder if that’s true…” Ino said.

“Maybe…you could persuade him to stop…” Sakura said.

Ino frowned. “I thought of that. But…I don’t think I can.”

“There’s only one way to know how he feels about you. That’s just to ask him.” Sakura said. She saw that Ino was looking afraid and then shook her head. “No…I’m not going to ask him for you.”

Ino looked away and shrugged. “Never hurts to ask. Well…I’m going to get some rest. You never know what’s going to happen at the arena.”


***

Everyone in the stands was on edge as they had finally come to the match that they had anticipated. Tsunade was seated in the Hokage’s chair and next to her were the two elders and Danzo. Daimen sighed and put his hands in his pockets. He looked at his younger brother who was ready to strike. (Hmm…I wonder what he’s thinking right now…) he thought as he looked into the stands. He spotted Ino who was watching with a guilty look. (Hmm…he could be trying to impress her. This could get ugly after all. If I let it…). He shook his head and then looked up in to the sky. (I should try and drag it out as long as I can though…just in case…). He started to summon chakra when Barutobi charged him. (Heh…he didn’t even wait for the signal…) he thought as he prepared. Barutobi kicked at him expecting him to dodge it. Daimen dodged it as expected and jumped back.

“You’re making this too easy…” Barutobi said as he vanished.

(Hmm…a shadow clone…) Daimen thought as he looked behind him. He dodged the shadow clone’s attack just in time by jumping away again. Just as he hit the ground Barutobi charged him and swung for his head. He leaned back just enough to avoid the swing only to have to jump back further to dodge the swing of the kunai from this second hand. (Is he really trying to kill me?) he thought as he jumped away.

“Stop running!” Barutobi shot.

Daimen sighed. (Does he not understand the plan at all…)? He dodged another attack and threw down a smoke bomb.

Shikamaru looked around as the crowd started to complain. (What is this guy thinking? It’s like he’s prolonging the fight. So…they were planning on doing something during the finale after all) he thought as he looked over to Tsunade. She happened to be looking at him at the same time. She nodded to him and he started to move into position.

Naruto stood up and shook his head. “What’s with these guys? They’re not doing anything!”

“Let’s see some action here!!!” a man shouted.

Naruto blinked as he looked across the arena and saw a black shadow vanish behind a house. “Huh?! What the…” he quickly turned to the others near him. Neiji was standing next to Shikamaru at the top of the stands, Chouji was eating chips, Ino seemed too focused on fight and only Shino and Hinata noticed him looking their way.

“Is something wrong Naruto?” Hinata asked.

“Well…” Naruto said as he looked back across the arena. “I saw something over there. A shadow…uh…more like a figure…”

Shino looked up shocked. “Are you serious? Hmm…”

“What is it?” Naruto asked.

“Guys!!” Kiba shot as he rushed over to them. “You have to come quick! I have to show you something.”
Shikamaru frowned. “You guys go on ahead. We have to stay here.” He said.

Everyone but Ino got up and followed. Neiji shook his head. “These appear to be the real ones.” He said.

“Yeah…” Shikamaru said. “But where is their sister?”

Daimen frowned. “Fine…if I don’t so something they’ll get upset.” He said as he drew a kunai. “Let’s go for real this time.”

Barutobi didn’t respond. He just charged forward. He created another shadow clone and it ran to the side. He then jumped up over Daimen’s head and glared down at him. “I’ll do what it takes to beat you once and for all!” he shot. Daimen looked at him shocked. “Goukyaku no jutsu!”

Tsunade gasped along with the rest of the crowd at the size of the fireball that went down towards Daimen. “What the! That thing is huge!!” she shot.

Danzo started to sweat as watched it as well. (Idiot! What are you doing!!) he thought as he sat up in his chair.

“No choice then…” Daimen said as he stood ready. He summoned a small amount of chakra and used Kaimen’s eyes. He lifted his hands up towards the flame and it died out in a few seconds leaving a small pillar of smoked.

Everyone watched in awe. Tsunade bit her bottom lip. (What kind of jutsu was that? Was it his eyes? The demon king’s eyes? Oh no!) she thought. She turned to the anbu next to her and frowned. “Tell the others not to use any genjutsu right now. It’s too dangerous.”

Daimen frowned as Barutobi landed next to him with a kunai ready. (What are you doing? It’s way too early to end our fight but…if I let this continue then he might just go out of control like last time. I have to finish him now…) he thought as he pulled out a kunai. He charged Barutobi and shifted from left to right to confuse him. Barutobi saw threw his technique and thrusted forward. Everyone gasped they both had pierced each other and blood shot out of both of their wounds. They both jumped back and fell to one knee.

Daimen laughed. “Wow…you did well…” he said with a low voice. “Tck…I didn’t expect you to take it this far.” He said.

“You can’t fool me remember?” Barutobi said as he pointed to his eyes.

Daimen stood up and sighed. “I should’ve known…” he said as his wound vanished. “Your wound is pretty deep…you should surrender…” he said. “Think about what we talked about.”

Barutobi shook his head. “Are you kidding…I’m going to beat you here.”

“I can’t understand for the life of me why you’re so determined…” Daimen said. “But if you come at me again…I will put you down…”

“We’ll see!” Barutobi shot as he vanished.

Everyone gasped in awe again. Shikamaru frowned. “So that was a shadow clone after all.”

Neiji shook his head in disbelief. “I don’t understand…that couldn’t have been a clone. He had a complete chakra network and everything.”

“Yeah?” Shikamaru said with a blank expression. “Well there is one good thing we’ve learned. You’ve been using your Byakugan even though both of them are using the demon king’s eyes. That means that they can’t hurt you automatically. So there is a way around it. We just have to be careful…”

Daimen sighed and put his hands in his pockets. “Sorry…but I’ve seen this trick too many times…” he said as he blocked high and forced Barutobi to the side. “You’ve shown too much…” he said in a low voice.

“Huh?” Barutobi said confused. He started to attack when he noticed that Daimen was standing still. He started to say something when he passed out.

Daimen stood over him and closed his eyes. “It’s over…” he said.

Tsunade glared at Daimen and made a fist. (That guy is no genin…just as we thought. But just how high a level is he? None of them used Kage level jutsus but there’s no telling what they can do when pushed…I have to do something. If they…) her chain of thought was cut off by Danzo who stood up and started to clap.

“Superb!” he said. “What a superb fight! I would expect nothing less from the one who uses the Demon King’s eyes.”


Sasuke frowned as he watched from the rooftop. (So…that’s the demon king’s eye? It canceled that jutsu with almost no effort at all. It almost seemed automatic. I don’t understand but…you made a big mistake by showing me this power…Itachi…) he thought as vanished.


An anbu agent jumped down next to Tsunade and kneeled down. “We have a problem…” he said.

“What is it?” she asked.

“There are several fresh footprints at all of the gates.” He said.

“And what is so special about that?” she shot.

“Well…there have been reports from some of the Jounin. They’ve spotted shadows leaping the walls and running on the buildings. We’ve searched for them but we saw nothing.”

“You thought to bother me over some footprints?” she asked.

Danzo frowned. “This could be serious Tsunade. We should send my root forces to see just what it is these people saw.”

“I have it under control.” Tsunade said. She turned to the anbu agent and frowned. “Go back to your post.”

“Y-yes Hokage…” he said before he vanished.

Tsunade sat back in her seat and frowned. “Before you say anything I already have people on it. So there’s no need for any suggestions. I’m fully aware of what you plan to do…” she said.

Danzo looked away. “I see…if you say so…”

***
Everyone stood up shocked as both Barutobi and Daimen vanished. Shikamaru frowned and looked to Neji. “It’s just as I thought. They’ve been using that dark shadow clone technique the whole time.”

“Which means that they could be anywhere right now.” Neiji said.

“We should start looking for them.” Shikamaru said.

“There’s no need…” Kakashi said as he appeared next to them. “We found them both. Sitting in their rooms sleep…”

“What?!” Shikamaru said stunned.

“How can that be?” Neiji asked.

“Isn’t it obvious?” Shikamaru said as he looked away. “They’ve been playing us this whole time. Apparently…this dark shadow clone…has a mind of its own.”

“How could we have possibly known that?” Neiji asked.

“We couldn’t have. But I know someone who did…” Shikamaru said.

Kakashi followed his eyes over to Ino who was confused and searching for Barutobi and Daimen. He sighed and shook his head. “This can’t be…”

“I’m afraid so.” Shikamaru said.

“Why did it have to end this way?” Neiji said with a frown.

“Let’s not jump to conclusions.” Kakashi said. “We aren’t even sure that they meant to harm us. No one has been harmed yet and you have to admit that this technique even fooled Byakugan. If anything these two deserve to be given the rank of chunin. But still…the hokage will have to talk to her unfortunately.”

Shikamaru frowned. “Sadly enough…”

Naruto landed next to them both out of breath. “Kiba searched the whole area and couldn’t find anything. But he says that there were definitely people that have just entered the village.”

Kakashi nodded. “So then someone did slip into the village then. But where could they have gone?”

“No clue.” Shikamaru said. “How hard do you think they’re going to be on her?”

“Pretty hard…” Kakashi said as he looked over to Ino again. Two anbu black ops were grabbing her as he spoke. “After all…she with held very vital information.”

“What?!” Naruto shot angrily. “She couldn’t do that. Ino loves this village!”

Shikamaru made a fist. “Will you stop it already?! It’s obvious she held back information. She probably assumes that they’ll be killed or something. Which means she must really like this guy. I’ve worked closely with Ino. She’s very smart. The only reason that I could think of for her holding back is that she doesn’t think that he is a threat and she doesn’t know how to explain it to the Hokage so she just kept her mouth shut.”

“Still…” Kakashi said. “She’s pushing Tsunade to her limits of patience…” he said.

***
Ino gasped as she was forced into a seat in a dark room. She knew that she was in a lot of trouble. (I wonder what everyone is thinking about me right now…) she thought.

“I’m very disappointed…” Ibiki said as he walked into the room. “You do realize that you…will be the only one of the new generation to actually witness my techniques first hand.”
She felt the sweat starting to drip from her forehead. “What…what do you mean?” she asked faintly.

“You didn’t tell us everything you gathered from that boy. Ino…do you not realize how dangerous these people are? Do you not understand how dangerous a foreign ninja clan infiltrating the village is? Tell me…why? Why did you hide information from us?”

She lowered her head. “I…didn’t hide any information from you.”

“Tell me…did you know about this shadow clone technique that has a mind of its own?” he asked.

She sighed and looked away. “Maybe…”

He shook his head. “What else are you hiding?” he asked.

She closed her eyes. “There is nothing else.”

“Really? Then tell me now…why is he here?” he asked. “What is their goal for coming here? They’re way above genin level so we know that they’re not here to pass an exam. So tell me…”

She shook her head. “I don’t know…”

He sighed heavily and closed his eyes. He then turned to her and folded his arms. “You know you leave me no choice…Yamanaka…I hope that you can forgive me. You do realize…that I have a direct order from the Hokage to use…WHATEVER MEANS NECESSARY…to get that information from you.”

She gasped as he turned his back to her and started to pick something up off of the floor. “I told you everything I know now! Honestly I don’t know anything else. That’s all he told me.”

He shook his head. “That’s not going to fly. I have to be sure…”

She felt her heart stop beating as he turned around with what looked like a kunai with serrated edges. “N-no…I’m serious. Listen…I don’t think they want to harm us at all. I think they have someone bigger in mind. Someone that isn’t connected with Konoha at all.”

“That’s not true. You’re trying to steer the conversation in another direction. Why else would they come here if they have a bigger person in mind? Why not go straight to that person? Why go through all of the trouble of taking this exam up to the this point!”

She bit her bottom lip as she couldn’t find an answer to any of the questions he had just asked. She jumped back in her seat as he leaned over to her with the blade pointed at her.

“Ino…I am sorry but this is going to be the worst day of your life…I’m sorry…but I have to do this for the good of Konoha…and to do this…I have put aside any feelings of mercy that I might have had. It’s how an interrogator must operate.”