Vision of Truth I: Cat and Fox (Naruto)

The Preliminaries

Chapter 19: The Preliminaries

"What's wrong with Sasuke?" I asked Sakura at the end of her story. She told me how she and the others had been attacked and nearly killed by someone named Orochimaru who also inflicted Sasuke with a strange wound. While the boys rested, Sakura defended them in the morning until fellow Leaf Ninja arrived for backup. "I sense something different about him."

Sakura bit her lip and shook her head. "I - I don't know. He fought the sound ninja that attacked us, and he had strange markings that started from the place where Orochimaru bit him. And he-he brutally maimed and killed one of the ninja. I - I stopped him from hurting the other two by embracing him. He returned to normal after that."

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath as I thought. I should have been there. Even if I could not have prevented it, maybe - No, I couldn't not think about that. I had to focus on the present. I opened my eyes and met Sakura's concerned gaze. "We better get out of here quickly. Kakashi will be able to help him."

Sakura nodded. "Right. Now will you tell me what you were up to?"

"Yeah, I want to know that too!" Naruto shouted as he arrived with Sasuke, fish and berries in hand.

So, I told them the story while we sat in a secluded area eating breakfast. When I got to the part about Gaara, Sasuke did not look impressed. "That was incredibly reckless of you, Katsumi," he said at the end. "You can't do crazy stuff like that without thinking. You're better than this. Naruto is rubbing off on you."

"Hey!" Naruto exclaimed.

I snorted. "How kind of you to assume I wasn't thinking, Sasuke. I'll have you know everything I did was completely deliberate, and I only took action after carefully considering the risks and benefits."

Sasuke gave me a look. "You could have died. Have you forgotten the reason for this exam?"

"No, I haven't forgotten. I just find some things are more important." I glanced at Naruto. "I've got to follow my ninja way, right? I pursue truth and justice. Gaara was in trouble, and I had to help him. I had to show him the truth."

Naruto grinned at me. "I support you, Katsumi! And it worked out, didn't it? That means you were right."

I smiled slightly. "Thanks, Naruto."

"Fine," Sasuke muttered. "But we don't have time for any more of your diversions. Don't wander off where I can't see you."

I gazed at him, wondering at his motivations, but he was as unreadable as always. "Same to you."

"Alright, I think it's time we get back on mission," Sakura said. The rest of us agreed.

***

Three days passed with no further progress. Although my teammates needed the time to heal, we were running out of time to finish the exam. While we sat around, considering what to do, Naruto suggested we open our scroll so we could forge a new one. Not having any better ideas, the rest of us agreed. Naruto nervously held the scroll in his hands and placed his thumb on the flap.

Suddenly, someone appeared beside him and placed his hand on the scroll, stopping him. "I wouldn't do that if I were you," he said. He lifted his head, and I recognized him as Kabuto from the beginning of the exams.

"Why not?" I said.

"There have been others who have broken the rules and tried to peek at the scrolls. I've seen what happens to them. They're protected by a powerful hypnosis jutsu, a kind of booby-trap for anyone unwise enough to try to read them. It will knock you senseless. And by the time you wake up, the exam is over."