20 Chapter 20

As soon as the siblings left, Naruto bod a hasty goodbye to Konohamaru and shunshined out of there straight to training ground 6. That team, he noted doesn't train much, so they wouldn't mind him using their training ground. As he created a few shadow clones for sparring, Kurama briefly brought him into his mindscape.

"Naruto…do you know why that boy felt so familiar to you?" he asked, tails swaying behind him as he looked at Naruto.

Naruto folded his arms, "Good to know that it wasn't just me then. I believe that he is another jinchuriki."

Kurama nodded, "Exactly. But be on guard, his bijuu is dangerous and because of who is inside him, it's possible that the boy is completely mad."

Naruto tilted his head curiously. It's not every day that the nine-tailed fox says someone is powerful. "Just who is inside him, Kurama?"

"The one-tailed raccoon, Shukaku. He is the weakest of the tailed beasts, and bat shit insane," he said it with a serious face, at which Naruto would have laughed if not for the fact that he realized that another jinchuriki is roaming unchecked in Konoha.

Jinchuriki, according to the stuff he has read up until now, are usually sent into other villages so they can burn or crush it into the ground. And he didn't see any person with Gaara who was in charge of him. Kankuro and Temari certainly couldn't control him, evidenced by how much afraid they are of him.

Kurama continued, "You noticed the black rings around his eyes? It means that he hasn't slept in years, probably." Naruto went wide eyed at that, "What the hell?!"

Kurama nodded in complete seriousness, "Suna doesn't have any great seal masters, so the seal on that jinchuriki is quite loose, compared to yours. If the host falls asleep, Shukaku will take control and come out. Best be on guard, because he already got you in his sights, no doubt from sensing my presence within you."

Naruto agreed, "Thanks for the warning, Kurama. I'll keep it in mind." With that, he exited his mindscape and focused on the defending exercise. As he blocked and dodged every strike from his clones, he hoped that Kakashi would enter them in the chunin exams. Then another thought came to his mind, more specifically, a person.

He smiled wistfully as he punched a clone in the ribs, dispelling it. He had never seen such a beautiful girl ever before. Then again, there weren't many girls of his age in Konoha, and Ino and Sakura didn't count. He knew from the day he saw them that he wouldn't be liking them anytime soon.

Temari was different, however and in a good way. Her looks were quite exotic, especially her eyes. He had never seen eyes of that color and he had to admit, it was quite easy getting lost in them for him. He knew, from his own observations, that his own eye color was one of a kind in all of Konoha. Her being a blonde like him was only a plus point in his eyes.

From what he had observed and could tell, she and the two other shinobi were siblings, with Temari being the oldest. It was pretty easy to reach that conclusion. Temari and Gaara shared the same eyes and facial shape, but Temari shared the shape of her eyes with Kankuro, not to mention the way she acted with him. Very much like an older sister who was used to bashing her brother's head but didn't because they were in public.

And that smirk, oh kami. He could say with full certainty that it was the sexiest smirk he had seen among the girls of his age, which was quite ironic seeing he created the sexy jutsu. Her smile was not far behind, though it could easily beat her smirk when coupled with the very pretty blush that came over her face while she was looking at him.

He could not wait to see her again.

XXXXXXX

Team seven was standing on the bridge and as usual, waiting for their tardy mess of a sensei. It had been almost three hours, when Sakura finally cracked.

With a scream of frustration that no doubt scared the birds resting a mile away, she ranted, "Argh! Why does Kakashi-sensei always make us wait when he's the one who always calls us?!"

She began ranting about she had woken up late and hadn't had the chance to blow dry her hair. Naruto and Sasuke glanced at each other, sharing a look of shared suffering. While Naruto had just turned up twenty minutes ago, he still couldn't bear Sakura's incessant nonsense.

'Why the hell does she have to be so damn loud every time?' was the thought that went through the boys' heads.

Naruto finally sensed Kakashi's presence heading their way and straightened up. Sasuke, who had learned to read Naruto's body language after a while, straightened up as well, knowing that his teammate had sensed someone coming their way.

True enough, there was a puff of smoke, which turned out to be Kakashi. Waving a hand at them, he had the never to cheerfully excuse himself, "Hello there. I got lost on the road of life today…"

"Only someone like you could get lost on a one-way road," Naruto grumbled, hands in his pockets and giving Kakashi a deadpan look.

"…..I'll pretend you didn't say that and get to the point." He held up three application tickets, "I nominated you three for the chunin selection exams. You are not forced to take it, however. You have a choice whether to take part in it or not." How he managed to say in his ever lazy tone of voice and still sound serious was beyond Naruto's understanding. Must be innate talent, he mused.

"Though if you do decide to take them, go to the academy in six days at three in the afternoon, room 301," he added.

They were dismissed after that. Naruto suggested that they get lunch together, after which they can go their separate ways to train. While they were walking to Ichiraku ramen, Naruto noticed that Sakura looked quite uncertain, which matched the feeling of her chakra.

"Something bothering you, Sakura?"

Sakura blinked and looked at Naruto, a nervous smile appearing in her face, "N-No, Naruto. E-Everything's fine."

Sasuke too noticed her behavior, but kept quiet. As long as she was ready for the chunin exams, it was fine. Naruto on the other hand, had doubts.

He knew that chunin exams were no joke. Ninja from all the villages participated and at times, death happened. He would be scared too, if he didn't train his ass off every day. 'Hope this exam teaches you a lesson Sakura. The world of Shinobi is not a place for fangirls,' he grimly thought to himself.

They went into the bar and were greeted by Teuchi with a warm grin, "Oh Naruto and his team! Come and have a seat!"

Naruto grinned. Old man Teuchi never failed to bring a smile on his face. His amusement grew when he heard Sasuke mutter, "Stop saying it like he is the leader of this team."

As they sat down on the stools, Teuchi asked for orders. Naruto was the first to speak, "I'll have two miso ramen, please."

Sakura spoke next, "One Toriniki ramen, please."

Sasuke was the last, "I'll have a Tonkatsu ramen, thank you."

Naruto envied the way Sasuke ordered his food. The arrogance came so natural to him, Naruto wished that he could do it as well. He turned to Sakura, who looked worried about something.

'Come to think of it, she has been acting strange ever since the topic of chunin exams came up,' he thought.

'It's not that strange for weaklings to feel this way when they are faced with the unknown,' Kurama offered his view.

Naruto rolled his eyes and ignored the comment, though he didn't deny it either. So, he decided to talk to her. Speaking in a low tone, he asked her, "Sakura, how do you feel about the chunin exams?"

Sakura was startled when he suddenly spoke to her. Calming down herself, she was about to tell him to mind his own business when she met his eyes. So full of sincerity, and he seemed to genuinely want to listen to her.

She hesitated, not sure of how she should say it. "I…it's kind of scary, you know? Right now, I know that I'm not ready, but….when will I know that I am?" Her thoughts were very much jumbled up right now to be phrased properly.

Naruto said nothing until their order arrived. He separated his sticks and as he waited for it to cool a bit, he spoke, "I won't sugarcoat my words Sakura, but you haven't trained seriously since the academy and even then, you probably did the bare minimum of what the instructors told to do, didn't you?"

Her silence and shameful expression told him that his deduction was spot on. A side glance also told him that Sasuke was eating his food quietly, not paying any attention to them. But that did not fool Naruto, who smirked when he observed Sasuke's body was tilted towards their side.

He continued, "Ever since the academy and even after when our team was formed, you kept neglecting your training in favor of pining after Sasuke, even going on a diet in the process." He didn't stop eating his food at all, looking as if talking about the weather.

Sakura felt like she wanted to find a hole and climb into it and never come out. She wanted so badly to tell Naruto to shut up, but bitter truth in his words stopped her from doing it. She would be lying to herself that she did not know what Naruto was talking about.

Naruto kept a careful eye on the pink haired girl. Now that she had seen her situation laid bare in front of her instead of being buried deep inside her mind, it was time to let her know of the consequences.

"Now look at yourself. You don't have the physique required for a strong kunoichi, your neglect of training means you have no grasp of the basic skills to improve further upon them. Your weapon throwing is mediocre at best. All you have is excellent chakra control but let's face it, you aren't the only one who does. Kakashi-sensei said that you are a genjutsu-type, but you don't know any genjutsu, nor can you dispel one, as proven in the bell test. In short, one hit is all what anyone needs to take you out," he finished his meal and was now looking straight at her. He won't stop now, Sakura needed to hear this. It was time she faced the facts.

Sakura was barely keeping from bursting out in tears. Everything Naruto said was true and while she hated to admit it, the facts made her sound pathetic. Ever since the academy, she had only increased her efforts in impressing Sasuke instead of bettering herself. She had repeatedly told herself that Sasuke would save her whenever she would be in danger. Her being with Sasuke on the same team only reinforced that belief. But in the C-rank turned A-rank, she felt for the first time, that she was the one who was utterly useless on their team. What was worse, was that she did not do anything to change it after returning, still hoping to get together with Sasuke.

'O-One hit?! Am I really that pathetic and useless?' She knew the answer to that question. While she did have some natural strength, it was useless to her if she did not know how to use it. Naruto and Sasuke were strong too, but what made them strong that they had the strength to take a hit and get back up, only to dish it back with even greater ferocity.

Sakura could dish it out, and even that was questionable, but couldn't take the punishment. She couldn't take a punch to her gut and have the strength to get up.

Naruto had been quietly watching Sakura and he had to say, the girl looked just one more truth away from bursting into tears. He had, while Sakura was wallowing in guilt, quietly motioned Sasuke to leave. The dark-haired boy had looked outraged that Naruto was waving him away like a servant and had almost tore into him when he saw the serious and somber look in his eyes.

Naruto had mouthed to him that Sakura would be heartbroken if she were to learn that Sasuke saw her in her moment of weakness. So he quietly finished his food and went outside, leaning against the wall and waiting for them.

Now that the tough part of learning about the consequences was over, it was time for some motivation. He changed the topic of the conversation.

Idly spinning the chopsticks between his fingers, he said, "I saw team ten the other day." He quietly cheered when he saw the tiny spark of interest in her eyes. On team ten was Sakura's rival, Ino.

"O-Oh?"

"Yeah, and Ino challenged me to a spar. Can you believe that?" he gave an amused shake of his head.

Sakura too, gave a small chuckle at that. Ino had no chance of defeating Naruto when Sasuke had trouble just trying to match him.

"She was a bit less pathetic than you, but pathetic all the same. Isn't she your rival, Sakura?"

By now, she found it easier to concentrate on the conversation than her guilt. "Ye-Yes, she is."

Naruto adopted a look of confusion, "Then why are you not trying to beat her? You don't want to lose Sasuke to her, right?"

That did catch her attention, because her eyes now held a little panic, "Wh-What do you mean by losing Sasuke?"

Naruto debated whether to tell her or not. This was the true key to motivating a person with a rival: bring a common goal in between them. Ino and Sakura were still competing for Sasuke's attention, which was the perfect way for him to take advantage and motivate her.

He fully turned to face her, "You might not know this, but Sasuke's the last Uchiha alive who is still loyal to Konoha and as such, he has to repopulate his clan. You know what that means, right?" He gave her a pointed look.

A dark blush came over her face, but she nodded. She couldn't believe how Naruto could talk about it without feeling the least bit awkward. She didn't know that he did, but he just hid his awkwardness better than others.

Naruto continued, "To do it, he will need strong women in the future. It all comes down to this: If you don't get strong enough, he will pick Ino over you and you will be left behind."

The desired effect was achieved when he saw a fire light up in her eyes. Yep, she definitely couldn't stand losing to Ino. Oh, he almost forgot…

"One more thing. The answer to your question: You won't. There is no one to tell you that you are ready. It's a leap of faith." He got up and put some money on the counter. "That's all it is Sakura; a leap of faith," he softly finished. Just before he left, he saw something he had definitely not seen in her eyes ever before.

Fierce determination.

Unknown to the team, Ayame and Teuchi were quietly listening in on their conversation. By the end of it, Ayame looked amazed at the way Naruto had successfully managed to motivate her. 'He was born to be a leader. I know it,' she thought with a smile.

Teuchi was smiling like he was the proudest man in the world. He had been attending to Naruto for years and he always knew that Naruto was destined for great things. After witnessing firsthand Naruto's motivational speech, it only reinforced what he already knew.

'Naruto, you will become a great… no, the greatest Hokage this village has ever seen.'

Walking out, he immediately silenced Sasuke who opened his mouth, no doubt to rant at him for bringing him into this, and motioned him to follow him. They jumped onto the opposite rooftop and crouched.

"What are we waiting for?" Sasuke whispered.

"Just watch," Naruto said, pointing to the ramen bar. A few moments later, Sakura walked out and Sasuke could definitely see that she was different.

Her fangirl was still visible in her eyes, but was now overshadowed by a fierce look of determination.

He watched, amazed that she did not even seem to look for him, instead, turning around and heading towards the training grounds.

He turned to his blonde comrade, who was watching Sakura go away with a smile and no small amount of self-satisfaction. "What did you do?" Hell, even his voice was filled with stupefaction.

Naruto gave an innocent shrug, the smile still on his face, "Nothing, just pointed her in the direction of success."

He left after that, leaving a speechless Sasuke behind.

XXXXXXX

Naruto was just roaming around the training grounds, having finished his training fifteen minutes ago. He felt really good after motivating Sakura to become stronger today.

Just as he was turning to leave, he sensed it. Three chakra signatures, two hundred meters away. One was was average, other a bit above average and the last, which was faintly familiar, only a bit above a civilian's.

He had already sent a few clones home to prepare dinner and since there was still time, why not train his stealth skills a bit.

He jogged on his toes, cautious not to make any sound. When he was just fifty meters away, he stopped and made a half ram seal. A puff of smoke later, a small, light brown fox was standing in his place. Lowering his chakra signature by a significant margin, he moved forward.

'This should allow me to get close,' he thought as he hid two trees away from the the chakra signatures.

"-you heard? The upcoming chunin exams will have rookies for the first time in five years."

The fox's eyes narrowed. 'I know that voice. It's Rock lee, the kid I met during one of my morning rounds!'

"No way. The jonins must be trying to look good," another voice joined in. This one held confidence, bordering on over-confidence.

Lee spoke again, "Three of them are from Kakashi's unit as well, you know."

The last voice finally spoke. But unlike the previous two, this held a sort of arrogance not unlike Sasuke's, "That's interesting."

"Either way," the girl spoke, who Naruto finally identified as Tenten from the Higurashi weapons shop.

"That's quite pitiful for them," the arrogant voice spoke as if he already knew who was going to win.

Naruto decided that was enough and turned to go back, but he cursed when he stepped on a twig. He could not even sense, since he would be molding chakra and alerting them was the last thing he wanted to do.

"Don't worry," the arrogant one spoke, "It's just a fox."

Naruto inwardly sighed in relief and ran away and did not turn back into himself until he was out of the training grounds. The thought didn't cross his mind that how did he know that it was only a fox.

'One thing is for sure. These chunin exams will definitely be interesting.'