Can't Be Tamed Rewrite

Chapter Nine Preliminary

Chapter Nine: Preliminary.

"Are you okay?" Sasuke questioned for what Naru figured was the umpteenth time as they entered the tower entrance.

"Stop asking." Naru snipped, she wiped sweat from her brow.

"This is where we split up." Shikamaru commented, Sakura looked at Ino and smiled.

"Thank you Ino, for the help and the trim." She twirled her short strands, Ino scoffed.

"Don't think that was a surrender, you're still a billboard brow that will lose." Ino teased, Sakura snarled at her before spinning around with her nose in the air and a blush on her cheeks.

"Same to you, Ino-pig!"

Sasuke let Naru slide to the floor next to him as he and Sakura produced their scrolls and opened them, throwing them as smoke started to expel from them, they flinched as Iruka appeared with a proud smile on his face.

"Been a while kids..."

-o0o-

"They made it." Anko commented while looking at the camera screen Hiruzen, Ibiki and Kakashi stood in the darkened room.

"Told ya." Kakashi commented as he read the pages of his orange book.

"I still think we should pull the plug..." Ibiki piped up.

"Kakashi, make sure she is aware at the slightest use of that power she will be disqualified." Hiruzen ordered, and he bobbed his head in response. "We'll hold steady for now... I requested Jiraiya to come so he can seal that bite and we have anbu stationed all over to find Orochimaru. Now let's sound the alarm and begin the next step." Hiruzen stood adjusting his hat and led them out of the room.

Kiba turned to see Naru stumbling in with Sasuke supporting her. 'Knew you'd make it Naru!' Kiba grinned as they stood next to his team.

"Pay attention you all!" Anko's voice sounded, they turned to find their sensei's, Hiruzen, Ibiki, Anko and two additional jounin standing before them. "I first will say congratulations on surviving. I expected single digits, but still." Anko waved her hand.

A jounin with brown hair that framed his pale face that had dark bags under his eyes stepped forward giving a cough.

"My name is Gekkou Hayate and now we will move to the preliminary rounds."
"Preliminary? Why?" Sakura asked.

"Yeah, we've all worked to the bone, why can't we just participate?" Shikamaru seconded.

"There are too many, it seems this year's tests were too easy." Hayate explained earning a dirty look from Ibiki and Anko alike.

"Chunin exams gather people from afar who wish to see the promising new chunin from villages, if we moved on with the 24 of you the exam would take days and people would lose interest." Hiruzen explained.

"From this point on, teams are not required, so if you've had enough of this you may quit now and will not affect your teammates."

"Naru, go." Sasuke whispered, she turned looking at him confused. "You need to quit, your body can't take much more, you just woke up and -"
"Sasuke, I know what I can handle, so just stop."
"I know you can handle it, but I don't want to see you hurt. Who knows what that thing could do to you...I can't - I mean."
"Just stop." Naru turned back and suppressed a flinch as the mark pulsed.

'Kurama, what is this thing?'

"You mean the pure darkness that you willingly gave into?" He sneered. "From what I can tell it's a mark that corrupts the users energy, making it double in power but also corrupts the users mind and chakra."