Konoha's Prodigies || Naruto [Sasuke x Sakura x Neji]

Chapter 4

"Hold up!" Sakura suddenly called out loud, the other three placed their attention on her. "So all we have to do is fight you until you fall?"

"Yes."

The corner of the pinkette's lips curved into a smile of malice. "Alright, I'm ready." Her eyes moved to make eye contacts with her teammates, in hopes that they could catch her silent message. Thankfully, they did in which they nodded in reply. Unbeknownst to them, behind the mask of their team captain, he was smiling.

Once again, he counted to begin the match.

"One, two..three... Start—oof!"

Just a split second before he said start, Sakura pounced on him which caused his fall onto the ground. Neji and Sasuke held either side of him to pin him onto the ground while giving Sakura time to make hand signs. However, before she could finish her hand signs, the Kakashi they pinned down have transformed into a log.

"It's a substitution jutsu!" Sasuke exclaimed in disbelief.

Neji questioned,"When did he do that?" He too, was surprised. Feeling embarrassed for falling for such a lousy trick, he activated his Byakugan.

His white eyes scanned around the area and looked deep into the forest; Sasuke followed suit and searched for Kakashi with his Sharingan. The only girl casted a jutsu which created a blanket of cherry blossom petals scatter into the forest, it was a jutsu specialised in tracking. She closed her eyes and let her senses divide and connect from a petal to another, like a thin web of chakra. At one point, she could feel a body filled with familiar chakra.

The pink haired kunoichi smirked in triumph, 'Found him.'

She quietly gathered her cherry blossom petals to wrap around the figure.

Suddenly, Neji shouted, "There!" And pointed to the opposite direction from where Sakura found Kakashi. It broke Sakura's concentration and she immediately snapped.

"Damn it! I almost got him!"

"What are you talking about? I saw him right there." He argued.

"I sensed him with my cherry blossoms. I almost caught him in my net!"

Both prodigies found the same person in different directions, who was right? Neither of them wanted to back down as they felt their pride was at stake. Amidst the argument, Sasuke spoke for the first time today.

"We shouldn't be fighting here, we're a team. Look at it carefully because it can be a trick."

Both the Hyuga and Haruno cooled down and nodded. "You're right, we have to remain professional." Although they are prodigies, the heir and heiress of noble clans, their experiences are very limited. No matter how many trainings, lectures one goes through, experience is something to gather by time. They are after all, still young and growing.

Once again, they used their methods respectively to search for the man. 'Sasuke was right, the figure I sensed just now was another petty jutsu.. Then where can he be?' Sakura thought. She landed some of her cherry blossom petals onto the ground and grew thin roots; it grew longer as she searched further and deeper. The roots were widely separated to diffuse the chakra energy. At long last, she found the man they had been looking for.

"Neji, Sasuke, I found him." She quietly said.

"Are you sure that's him?" Neji questioned.