The Anachronism

Chapter 12

Today marked the start of the second part of the annual chūnin exams. Tatsu was currently wishing his younger brother good luck as the younger male set off, unknown to him that his elder brother would be watching over him the entire time. Technically he wouldn't be breaking any rules since he was one of the assigned medic-nin on standby. 

As the older male watched the raven-haired boy leave the confines of the compound he felt the same chakra that'd been tailing him days before, he'd narrowed it down to several possible conclusions; 1: It was an Anbu assigned to spy on him. 2: It was any enemy-nin gathering intel for future reference. 3: He had a secret admirer. 

Let's just say he was hoping for a secret admirer, he needed the confidence boost after seeing Asuma show a little more than kindness to Kurenai. It didn't hurt his feelings as much as it hurt his pride and both Itachi and Kakashi were quick to point that out. 

As the male made his way through the village he'd seen Kakashi along with several other senseis bragging about their pupils, without stopping Tatsu unintentionally gained the attention of the others causing the one whose name means scarecrow to follow him. 

"When are you planning on moving in, I'd like to clean the house before you arrive?" The older male questioned. 

"I'll probably begin moving my things when the exams are over, I'm on the clock non-stop until they are." The brown-haired male explained.

"Is that really what you should be doing, that can't be good for you?"

"Kakashi, I'm a medic-nin, the best we have right now at that, don't you think that's all the more reason to be working more during a time like this. There foreign-nin here, chakra signatures I do not know yet, by surrounding myself with other shinobi of the leaf I can easily keep myself safe while doing my job."

"But is this good for your body?"

"Do not worry about my body, you should be more worried about Gai," Tatsu stated, pointing towards the rapidly approaching man. 

"Why hello Tatsu, do you mind if steal Kakashi for a bit?" The man asked, his voice chipping away at Tatsu's kind nature.

"Sure I don't mind, have fun acorn." The younger male said, muttering the last part under his breath. 

As Tatsu began approaching his stationed point he felt two chakra signatures that utterly soured his mood. Orochimaru and the Ichibi's jinchūriki, he'd heard stories about Orochimaru from both Tsunade and Jiraiya, he'd even had the displeasure of meeting the man during his childhood. As for the Ichibi's jinchūriki, he had a pretty good guess on who they could be based on Sasuke's brief analysis of the competition.  

Even if he felt the presence of Orochimaru, he had no proof, so he couldn't risk anything until he had confirmation. Moving into the trees and hiding his presence Tatsu sat down and waited for the trial to begin. With him being a medic-nin he needed to be on standby, but also due to him being a sensory type he was also assigned to look out for interference with the exams, the trees were his best option. He was out of the way, he could move around easily undetected, and he could watch as the battles between the young genin unfolded. 

Not much time passed before he heard a loud sound that signaled the start of the exams, sitting among the trees the long-haired male watched the little genin, specifically his brother, as they progressed into the forest. Keeping his senses sharp caution of both Orochimaru and the Ichibi's container, who he'd discovered was a redhead named Gaara, son of the Fourth Kazekage. 

"My skills have yet to fail me so do not question them now Anko." The younger male stated as the woman revealed herself behind him.

"Tatsu, it's not that I don't trust your skills, it's just that you tend to overwork yourself and that could cloud your view of things." She said reaching her hand out to him stopping midway when she saw him side-eye her. 

"Clouded vision is not an issue for me Anko, I'm a medic-nin, self-preservation is one of the many things I have extensive practice in, plus the Byakugan comes in handy with you know seeing."

"Okay, well at least tell me why you're watching them like a hawk."

"The Ichibi's jinchūriki is down there, oh nevermind he just finished, only a little short of Minato-sensei's record. Either way, you'll have to wait if you want to find out about the second reason, maybe because I could be completely wrong."

He lied, one of the many perks of having memories of the future is that you know about some things before they happen, and he knew for a fact that Orochimaru would make a move on his younger brother. Sasuke is of the main family within the Uchiha clan, his Sharingan is almost destined to be powerful. The snake may want the Sharingan, but he knows where and where not to pick up a kekkei genkai, side branch members and halfbreeds won't suffice when power is what you're after. 

Even though he knew exactly where that snake was, exactly what he was planning he could make a move without interrupting the exams and potentially harming the future he needed to come to pass. Until the snake showed his face, this protective brother would have to stay on standby. 

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A/N: We breathing, we living, and we getting juicy, but still correct me where I'm wrong because I wrote this at 4 am, and both my eyes and my brain never function the way I need them to so yeah. Congratulations on making it this far or something.