❝𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑺𝒂𝒈𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝑲𝒐𝒏𝒐𝒉𝒂❞

𝑪𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒕𝒆𝒓 5: 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑪𝒉𝒖𝒏𝒊𝒏 𝑬𝒙𝒂𝒎𝒔: 𝑷𝒂𝒓𝒕 𝑰𝑰

One month had come and gone faster than any of the participants could have imagined. After the night Sakura had kissed Naruto's cheek he had disappeared from the village along with the just recently returned Jiraiya of the Legendary Three Sannin. The blonde and the super pervert hadn't been seen inside Konoha at all that month and many people had to speculate what was happening. Did Jiraiya leave and take the boy with him? Did Naruto run from the village and since he is a Jinchuuriki Lord Third was forced to send Jiraiya? Or is Naruto Uzumaki receiving training from the Toad Sage himself? People could only guess a speculate although option three was rapidly gaining popularity. All one needed to justify their reasoning would be found by looking at the rest of Team 7. Sakura Haruno was receiving training from the genjutsu master Kurenai Yuhi and she was becoming deadly with it was the rumors going around. Sasuke Uchiha was being trained by the one and only Copy Ninja of Konoha, Kakashi Hatake. Rumor there was Sasuke was learning a very powerful jutsu but no one knew anything else.

The other finalists had trained extraofdinarily hard to grow on their already impressive skills. It was the day of the finals and yet Naruto was nowhere to be found. Sakura, Sasuke, and Kakashi all searched high and low but still couldn't find him.

"Well I guess the dobe blew his chance. I'm not going to miss my opportunity though." With that said Sasuke disappeared in a swirl of leaves soon to be followed by Kakashi. Sakura took one last look around his apartment before she turned and closed the door, only one thought weighed heavily on her mind.

'Where are you Naruto?'

Everyone was present besides one unpredictable knucklehead ninja named Naruto Uzumaki. He had five minutes to show before he was removed from the tournament. Kabuto was waiting patiently on the field with a smug grin on his face. The other Genin, excluding Gaara, anxiously scanned the stadium for their friend. It was Gaara who surprised everyone by speaking.

"He's here."

True to his statement, the air began to twist in a violent funnel that eventually connected with the ground. The sheer force of the twister was enough to pick up dirt and other items and throw them around the stadium. Finally the twister dispersed in a shockwave of air and revealed two figures. The entrance would have been amazing if the two hadn't begun to talk.

"See Ero-Sennin, THAT'S how you make an entrance!" The blonde figure looked pretty much the same except his robe now had orange tipped black flames along the hem of his cloak.

"Are you kidding gaki?! It would've been much better if we used Chief Toad!" The white haired man was yelling at the enthusiastic blonde who all but ignored him. With a sigh, Jiraiya disappeared in a cloud of smoke only to reappear beside the Hokage.

The proctor stepped forward and glanced at the blonde. "Are you Naruto Uzumaki?"

"The one and only dattebayo!" The mega smile could be seen in the contestant bunker.

"Ok then let the match..." He looked at both contestants, "BEGIN!" He dropped his hand and jumped back. Naruto didn't move but watched as Kabuto activated Chakra Scalpels on either hand. He grinned as he pointed at Naruto.

"Hey you destroyed that card of mine. That wasn't polite." Naruto still didn't flinch as he seemed to be focussed on something else entirely. He completely ignored the mindless chatter that came from Kabuto and continued to focus. Finally Kabuto had enough and charged Naruto. Sakura knew what those Chakra Scalpels could do to you and yelled at the immobile blonde.

"Naruto watch out! Those cut you from the inside!" He didn't even acknowledge the voice and maintained his focus. Just as Kabuto reached him the blonde's hand was suddenly clamped onto Kabuto's forearm and the blonde was already air born, using Kabuto as a balance and pivot for his motion in air. Naruto's eyes snapped open and a murmer of shock spread throughout the stadium. Jiraiya sat smirking next to the Third Hokage at everyone's reactions.