Author's Note:

Hi everyone! I've been a huge Naruto fan for years, and am recently obsessed with Survivor. So I've decided to write a fic where Naruto characters are contestants in Survivor! Obviously AU. For context on skills and relationships, take it such that the whole canon war has just ended, give or take a few days, but some special cosmic force (me) has resurrected a bunch of the ninja just so they could play this game for my amusement.

Survivor: Ninja Edition - Ep 1

Thirty Nine Days With No Ramen

Day 1

They were onboard an old cargo ship for what felt like hours. Nobody spoke to each other, instead opting to size up their competition in silence. There were eighteen ninja in the motley crew consisting of various masters in their chosen fields. Some were glaring at each other, releasing subtle amounts of killing intent. Others masked their thoughts behind an impassive stare. A couple of them seemed nervous and slightly twitchy, while one looked completely uninterested.

Gradually, the large vessel slowed to a halt. Time seemed to stand still for a minute as the eighteen contestants readied themselves for any possible number of scenarios. The lull was only broken by the sounds of screeching birds flying overhead and the rocking motion of the ship in the ocean.

Without any warning, three swirls of leaves signaled the arrival of a new trio of ninja. Newly shunshin-ed into the middle of the ship, stood the Sannin. The tallest one in the middle cracked a wide grin as he addressed the competing ninja, who had all sprung to their feet upon their surprise entrance.

"Welcome to Survivor: Ninja Edition!" Jiraiya bellowed jovially. "The eighteen of you have been hand-picked by us to compete in the greatest game ever played. At the end of thirty nine days, only one of you will remain to claim the million dollar prize and title of Sole Shinobi Survivor!"

There were a couple of cheers and whoops from the gathered contestants, but most of them remained silent and observing.

Without missing a beat, Jiraiya continued, "I am the summoner of toads, the author of literature and super pervert, Jiraiya-sama! I will be your host for this game. Tsunade-hime over here-" he indicated to his busty blonde teammate, "is the game's resident medic! And very importantly, Oro-teme-" he jabbed his other teammate, "will be the one making sure you guys don't literally kill each other during the game."

That last comment raised a few eyebrows, and invoked a few more disappointed glances.

Spreading his arms wide and indicating to their surroundings, Jiraiya declared, "We are here at the island of Uzushiogakure! The Land of Whirlpools will be your home for the next thirty nine days, where you will battle it out with each other - and the elements - to come out on top."

Sure enough, Uzushiogakure's impossibly tall and steep hills could be seen far into the distance, and when the ninja studied the water a few hundred meters in front of them towards the direction of the beach, the swirling tides of whirlpools just under the water's surface became evident. The view was breathtaking - the water was crystal clear, a vast jungle occupied a considerable percentage of the island, and the untouched ruins of the ancient city's skyscraper buildings were just visible beyond the tree line. A number of beaches dotted the island's perimeter.

"Now for your teams," the Toad Sage continued, bringing the attention back to the game. "We've taken the liberty to divide you into three tribes of six, each with an even number of males and females. Your tribes have been chosen according to a trait commonly associated with you in your ninja career."

"First tribe - The Brains Tribe. The ninja in this tribe are known for their intelligence, strategic know-how and wit. Your members are Nara Shikamaru, Uchiha Itachi, Akasuna no Sasori, Haruno Sakura, Uzumaki Karin, and Konan."

There were a few smug smiles with this assessment of their skills, a couple of death glares thrown between the two redheads and one pink-haired member of the tribe, and a quietly muttered, "Troublesome."

"Next tribe! You guys are The Brawn Tribe. These ninja are famous for their strength, stamina and ferocity. Your members are Uzumaki Naruto, Maito Gai, Hoshigaki Kisame, Mitarashi Anko, Sabaku no Temari, and Hyuuga Hanabi."

This announcement was followed by a chorus of enthusiastic cheers, wide grins and proclamations of "youth".

"Finally, the last tribe is my personal favorite. It's The Beauty Tribe!" Jiraiya let out a disturbing giggle. "These ninja are widely praised for their good looks, popularity with the opposite sex, and charm. This tribe consists of Uchiha Sasuke, Hatake Kakashi, Deidara, Haku, Yamanaka Ino and Yuuhi Kurenai."

A flurry of reactions followed this revelation. Kurenai and Ino were secretly and not-so-secretly pleased respectively, while Sasuke, Kakashi and Deidara protested loudly to even louder catcalls from other amused contestants. And Haku was offended as he counted the number of females on his tribe.

"I'm a boy," Haku deadpanned.

Jiraiya looked mortified as the laughter from the other tribes grew even louder. "WHAT?!" He visibly collected himself. "Oh yes... Of course! We totally knew."

He totally didn't.

"A-anyway," Jiraiya cleared his throat. "Here are your tribe buffs, and it's now time for your first challenge." He threw a map and a handful of colored buffs to each tribe. The Brain Tribe had blue, the Brawn red, and the Beauty yellow for their tribe buffs.

"You've probably noticed you only have the clothes on your back and for some of you, supplies or weapons for your specialized fighting style," he nodded towards Sasori, Konan, Temari, Kisame and Deidara. "That means you have zero kunai, shuriken, exploding tags, senbon, ninja wire... the list goes on."

Indicating to their surroundings on the ship, he continued. "This vessel is loaded with various supplies, such as food and tools. Each tribe has a bag of rice waiting for you at camp, but one small bag doesn't go very far for six hungry ninja. Therefore, you now have two minutes to gather as much as you can from this ship onto your rafts. You'll then follow your map and row your raft past the whirlpools to camp. For this challenge, you're allowed to use jutsu to help you. But no using lethal force or engaging anyone in combat. Or else Orochimaru here will go all pedo-happy on you. Got it?"

A quick scan confirmed that everyone understood. Sasuke looked as queasy as a Uchiha could possibly look after briefly locking eyes with a smirking Orochimaru. Jiraiya nodded. "Your two minutes start now. GO!"

The ship erupted into chaos instantly. A shrill shout of "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" led to a couple dozen of hyperactive blurs of orange scrambling for supplies. They were immediately evenly matched by an army of puppets, courtesy of Sasori who had positioned himself on top of the ship's mast. Ice mirrors surrounded the entire ship as Haku flitted around to collect supplies faster than most eyes could follow. Adding to the frenzy, Konan used her origami papers to obscure her opponents' vision, Shikamaru used his Shadow Possession to halt Gai's speed, and Kisame ran around depleting everyone's chakra with Samehada.

Amidst the action, Hanabi ran for cover while grabbing anything she managed to get her hands on. She let out a frustrated huff when Haku blurred past her, stealing the storage scroll she was reaching for. However, her eyes widened when she realized that a slip of paper with the words 'Secret Advantage' was lying underneath the now-taken scroll. In his haste, Haku had unknowingly missed a game-changing advantage. With a small smile, Hanabi swiftly snatched the paper and slipped it into her pants.

By now, Anko was furiously shouting at Naruto as half of his clones had started to load supplies into the Beauty Tribe's raft instead of theirs. The answer was apparent in a smirking Sasuke with his activated Sharingan seeking out anything blonde, orange and loud. A couple of explosions led to lots of swearing as a cackling Deidara took credit for blowing up a portion of the Brain Tribe's collected supplies.

"You have ten more seconds!" Jiraiya's voice broke through the scrambling ninja, as they gathered whatever they could hold into their arms and began to jump overboard onto their rafts. "And two minutes is up, get in your rafts now! Row to your respective camps!"

Satisfied that all the contestants were now overboard and on their way, Jiraiya turned around to regard his two teammates.

"This is your craziest idea yet," Tsunade said, the corner of her lips quirked up in a smile.

Jiraiya gave a good-natured shrug and grinned. After all, he had to do something with the significant fortune he'd amassed from his bestselling Icha Icha series.

Day 1 - Brawn Tribe

Naruto let out an exuberant whoop of joy as his tribe arrived on their designated beach. "Those whirlpools didn't have anything on us and our awesome ninja strength, dattebayo!"

"Of course, with shark-man Kisame over here you wouldn't expect anything else," Temari replied, earning herself a nod of acknowledgement from the man himself. "He just got in the water and pushed our raft from behind."

"Yeah," Anko added. "You, on the other hand, put a tonne of supplies into the Beauty Tribe's raft! Baka!"

Naruto, however, had already started to run along the length of the beach, completely oblivious to Anko's jibe. He was ecstatic that he would get to explore Uzushiogakure and drink in the sights that his ancestors saw for generations before him. The young Uzumaki was determined to win this whole game. He decided that he would approach this game with the same tenacity as he approached his dream of becoming the next Hokage.

Coming to a stop, he turned back and called to his tribe, "Guys! I found the perfect spot to set up camp!"

Within the next couple of hours, the six ninja proceeded to work together to build their shelter. With Gai's incomparable stamina, Kisame's brute strength and Naruto's clones, the shelter was set up in record time. The ladies helped to unload the supplies they had managed to procure from the earlier tussle. Their haul included a handful of kunai, a few spools of ninja wire and plenty of fruit. The tribe also had a fire blazing, thanks to a small Katon jutsu executed by Anko. With nothing else left to do, the group sat around the campfire together, as they filled a pot with a small portion of rice and waited for it to cook.

The conversation was carried mainly by Naruto and Gai, with frequent interjections made by Anko. Hanabi would offer up occasional smiles at her fellow leaf nins' antics.

"I can't believe I have to go thirty nine days with no ramen!" Naruto wailed.

Anko was not to be deterred. "Oh yeah? Well I gotta spend thirty nine days without any dango!"

"That's if you two clowns even get past the first couple days out here." Hanabi's muttered retort earned her a boisterous laugh from Gai, who gave her his signature 'Nice Guy Pose'.

As the Konoha nin got progressively louder and rowdier, Kisame chuckled, announced that he would try to go fishing, and slipped away from the group. Confident in the shark man's abilities despite a lack of fishing gear, the others waved him off. He had just reached the shore line when he sensed another presence behind him.

"Mind if I join?" It was Temari. Kisame gave her an affirmative nod, and received a tentative smile in return.

Raising a brow, Kisame commented, "Didn't think a good little kunoichi like yourself would wanna hang with the big blue Akatsuki member."

"Don't get me wrong," Temari replied, as she waded into the water. "In normal circumstances we'd never have anything to do with each other. But we need each other in this game."

Sensing he was still unconvinced, she pressed on. "There are four Konoha nin over there. You and I are the outsiders. You can bet that we'll be the first to go if we have to go to Tribal Council. So we should stick together and try to stir things up if we want a shot at staying in the game."

Knowing reason when it was presented to him, Kisame grinned an held out his hand. Temari grasped it and the pair shook.

"Alright, girly. I'm in."

Day 1 - Beauty Tribe

Sasuke was having a terrible day. He was put on a tribe with people he wasn't particularly fond of, excluding Kakashi, who was so anti-social either way that it really didn't count. If that wasn't enough, the reason for him being on this tribe was because he had a pretty face. Really? He could have easily been placed in the Brain or Brawn Tribe, and excelled. He was a skilled shinobi! One of the best. Sure, he recalled having a legion of fan girls during his academy days, but surely that wasn't the trait most commonly associated with-

"Sasuke-kun!" His brooding was interrupted by Ino, who had thrown herself at him as soon as they washed up on shore. "I'm so happy we get to be in the same team! Makes up for all the lost time during our genin days, doesn't it?"

"Hn," was his response as he pried the clingy girl off his body and walked a safe distance away.

"Oh, come on, Sasuke-kun," teased Deidara, catching up to him. "I don't see why you're so put off by her. I know I wouldn't mind it if she pressed up on me like that." He was eyeing Ino, who had already stripped down to her bikini and waded into the shallow sea water, enjoying the sun.

Sasuke wanted to tell the blonde ponytail man that it was kind of creepy for him to be perv-ing on Ino, considering that she bore an uncanny resemblance to him. But he decided that voicing it would be a waste of his breath, and instead crossed his arms disapprovingly as he saw that the girl in question had managed to convince Kurenai to strip down and shyly join her in the water.

"Let's build our shelter first, shall we?" With an almost indistinguishable jolt, Sasuke realized Kakashi had managed to creep up right behind him. Pretending he knew his former sensei was there all along, the Uchiha grunted his assent.

The shelter took a few hours to build, considering that the tribe seemed to have trouble focusing on the task at hand. Deidara flirted shamelessly with Ino and Kurenai, while the two kunoichi took advantage of the situation and shifted their building responsibilities to the willing male. Being an explosive expert who was far more inclined to demolishing things instead of constructing them, Deidara's progress was slow going. Haku, on the verge of giving up on the three of them, offered to build a shelter made of his ice mirrors instead. Sasuke shot the idea down, not wanting Haku to waste chakra maintaining the structure for extended periods of time. Eventually, the grumpy Uchiha built most of the shelter with some help from Haku. And Kakashi? Kakashi had wandered off into the jungle to gather wood, only to return two hours later because he "got lost on the road of life".

Sasuke's only solace was the significant amount of supplies they had managed to collect. Naruto's genjutsu-ed clones had given them a considerable amount of food, and the storage scrolls snagged by Haku would help to preserve some of the freshness. They also had gotten a decent amount of ninja tools to set hunting traps in the jungle and possibly catch fish.

Tending to fire that he had started with an easy Katon jutsu, Sasuke glared at the figures of Deidara, Ino and Kurenai splashing each other in the water. Kakashi and Haku were off in the jungle setting snares to catch unsuspecting animals. If he had his way, he'd get rid of the three deadweights in the water first.

Day 2 - Brain Tribe

Shikamaru woke to the first sounds of heavy rain. Cracking an eye open, it seemed as though the rain had also roused his female tribe mates. Sitting up slowly, the lazy genius gave a nod of greeting to Itachi and Sasori, who looked like they had been awake for a while, as they joined the rest of the tribe in the shelter.

Stifling a yawn and reaching for his water canteen, Shikamaru vaguely registered the soft chorus of "good mornings" from the freshly woken group. Apart from the muted greetings, silence prevailed in the shelter as the six sat together, avoiding each others' gaze as they listened to the rain falling.

Shifting his eyes to the extinguished fire, Shikamaru inwardly sighed. There would be no cooking until the storm died down. The heavy rain, coupled with the strong wind, had already coated his being with a layer of cold water within minutes. He could already see Sakura and Karin shivering. Not daring to touch Karin, the shadow user lifted an arm around the pink haired medic's shoulders, bringing her closer to him to share body warmth. She gladly accepted his offer, leaning into her friend's embrace. Only the Akatsuki members seemed immune to the rain. Sasori, he guessed, didn't even feel the cold as he was made of wood, while Konan was probably used to getting pelted by rain day and night, seeing as she had spent years in Ame. As for Itachi... Well, he'd always seemed invincible.

With the lack of conversation becoming more unbearable by the minute, Konan and Sasori muttered an excuse to check their traps for any animals and disappeared into the jungle. Left with a silent Uchiha and the two medic nins, Shikamaru allowed his mind to drift to the fight that had almost broke out at camp yesterday upon their arrival.

"You!" Sasori had snarled at Sakura the minute they set foot ashore. "Don't think I forgot our fight in that cave."

In response, Sakura unconsciously gathered chakra into her fists as she settled into her fighting stance. "That was years ago," she said.

"I'll be happy to put you in your place now that Chiyo-baa is'nt here this time," Sasori threatened, as he formed chakra strings.

Jumping into the fray, Karin rounded on Sakura. "I remember you too," she spat. "Pathetic, lovesick, useless bitch."

Sakura's expression turned positively feral. "Are you delusional as well as ugly?" she snapped. "As I recall, you were the one begging Sasuke to -"

The confrontation was interrupted by Itachi, as he materialized in between the feuding ninja. "Enough," he commanded, sharingan activated. "Settle your differences outside of this game. I will not allow your foolishness to hinder our tribe."

Shikamaru was brought back to the present by Sakura's voice. "Karin-san," she said, her voice soft and cautious.

"What?" came the curt response.

"I apologize for starting off on the wrong foot yesterday," Sakura continued. Sensing Karin was about to retort, she held up a hand and kept speaking. "I don't want to fight you, or be rivals. Sasuke-kun is someone very dear to me, and he always will be, but I have changed and so has he."

Her voice was gentle and placating. "The childhood crush I had on him was merely that. An infatuation," she explained, beseeching the other girl with her gaze. "I respect your skills as a kunoichi, and I hope we can get along."

Shikamaru held his breath as he studied Karin's reaction. Her eyes were narrowed and her lips pursed as she considered Sakura's words. Finally, after what seemed like hours, but was in fact a mere minute, she let out a huff. "Fine," she conceded. "I suppose I can hold off insulting you for the next however many days we're out here for."

As the girls shared a tentative handshake, Shikamaru allowed himself to breathe again. Having two loud girls at each other's throats at camp would have been way too troublesome for him. Shifting his gaze away from the pair, his eyes landed on Itachi, who he swore was smiling for a split second before his features shifted back to a casual mask of polite indifference.

Huddled under the shelter and soaked to bone with rain water, the Nara heir could only hope that this truce would last long enough to give him some peace and quiet.

Day 3 - Immunity Challenge

"Come on in, guys!" Jiraiya hollered as he stood on a gigantic beach, signaling the entrance of the eighteen contestants. They formed up in their teams, standing on the colored mats corresponding to their tribe.

Jiraiya smiled warmly. "How's everybody doing so far? Naruto," he singled out his young apprentice. "What has the first couple of days been like for the Brawn Tribe?"

"Awesome!" Came the immediate response. "We eat lots of fish thanks to Kisame, and everyone gets along!"

Jiraiya nodded. "And what about the Beauty Tribe? Deidara?"

"It's been a blast, yeah," he replied. And, with a cheeky smile as he sneaked an arm around Ino, "Betcha wish you were surrounded by these beauties!"

"Believe me, I do," the toad sage chuckled lecherously, earning a glare from Kurenai. He cleared his throat. "Brain Tribe, Itachi. Same question."

"It has been acceptable."

"Wonderful!" Jiraiya clapped his hands. "With that, it is time to get to your first Immunity Challenge. Tribal immunity is what you covet. The first two tribes to complete this challenge will win this pretty little thing," he gestured to two freshly revealed idols. They were identical wooden carvings of a scroll containing various kanji symbols atop a whirlpool. "And," Jiraiya continued, "You are also playing for reward. I know it's been raining. The first tribe to finish wins two tarps; one for your shelter and one for your fire. The second tribe to finish wins a tarp for your shelter. The losing tribe gets nothing but a hot date with me at tribal council."

"Now, for your challenge," the expression on the super-pervert's face turned devious. "The first two members of each tribe will race into the jungle to retrieve a key each, and come back to the beach. No engaging other teams and no chakra usage, except to enhance your running speed. The trek is two kilometers. Along the way there have been hidden trip wires set, and if you trigger them, they'll launch a paint ball at you. For every paint splatter on your clothes, you'll incur a ten second time penalty before the next two tribe members start on their leg of the challenge. Got it so far?"

Seeing everyone's comprehension, Jiraiya continued his instructions. "The next two tribe members will water-run for a kilometer out to sea, dodging whirlpools on the way. Again, no engaging others and chakra is to be used only for water-walking. You'll then dive down five meters to untie a key each and return to shore, where the final two tribe members will use the four keys to unlock a chest containing puzzle pieces, and they will put together the puzzle in the shape of the Uzumaki spiral. First two tribes to complete their puzzle will win immunity. Have a minute to strategize, and we'll start."

...

"Alright!" Jiraiya shouted. "Racing into the jungle we have Gai and Hanabi for Brawn, Itachi and Konan for Brain, as well as Kakashi and Sasuke for Beauty. Survivors ready, GO!"

The six ninja disappeared in a blur. Gai was the fastest of the lot, having taken off his weights for this challenge. He made a direct beeline for the area which Hanabi had determined their keys were located, thanks to her Byakugan prior to start of the challenge. Gai was unconcerned as to whether or not he tripped the wires, seeing as he was quick enough to trip them all but be well out of the way by the time the paint reached his previous spot. Hanabi wasn't slow by any means, but she still lagged behind Gai's monstrous speed, although she compensated for it with her Hyuuga bloodline that made all the wires visible to her eyes.

All three Sharingan users had the bloodline activated, making it considerably easier to dodge the incoming paint whenever they tripped a wire. Out of the six, Konan was having the toughest time avoiding the paint while keeping up to speed with the group.

In the end, Gai was the first to arrive back with his key, completely paint-free, and proclaiming 'youth!'. A spotless Itachi was second, closely followed by Kakashi and Sasuke, who both had a total of four paint splatters between them. Hanabi was next, and as she was also untouched by the paint, the Brawn Tribe was the first to start on the next part of the challenge as the Beauty Tribe had to wait out their forty second time penalty.

"Kisame, Naruto, GO!" Jiraiya signaled to the pair, which wasted no time in rushing off to the sea.

Moments after the pair had left, Konan returned to the beach with her key. She had three paint splatters, incurring a thirty second wait for the Brain Tribe.

Naruto and Kisame were powering through the water, sidestepping and leaping over whirlpools. While the duo knew they didn't have the best chakra control, they knew that no one else in the competition came close to having as large reserves as they did. Pressing this advantage, they attacked the waves at a full sprint.

Quickly arriving at their destination, Kisame made very quick work of retrieving his key, taking mere seconds to complete the dive. Naruto took twice as long, but still managed to claim his key swiftly. As the pair began their run back to shore, they spotted the pairs from the other tribes making their journey to collect their keys.

"Let's leave 'em in the dust, blondie," Kisame growled.

"Race ya back, blue-y!" Naruto laughed as they pushed to increase their speed. "Hi Sakura-chan!"

The girl in question gave a quick wave, but otherwise paid her comrade no mind. She had to focus at the task at hand, carefully calculating how much chakra she could spare for each step. One miscalculation could get her sucked into a whirlpool, losing valuable time and energy. A quick glance to her left told her that Karin was doing the same.

The girls had started on their portion of the race roughly at the same time as the Beauty Tribe. Unfortunately for them, Haku and Deidara were slightly faster and had larger chakra reserves, eventually taking the lead over the two girls. By the time Karin had managed to claim her key on her second dive, Naruto and Kisame were already seconds away from hitting the sand, and Haku and Deidara were a considerable distance in front of them already.

Gritting her teeth in annoyance, Sakura added more chakra to her feet. "Come on, Karin! We can't lose." Without waiting for a response, she picked up her speed and pushed herself forward as hard as she could.

Back on the beach, Anko and Temari had just unlocked their box of puzzle pieces. It didn't take them long to figure out that the puzzle was in the shape of a circle, and they began to work quickly from there. A few meters away, the puzzle solvers from the other tribes took the chance to sneak a quick look at their progress, hoping to glean a small advantage when it was their turn to start putting their puzzle together.

Deidara and Haku arrived soon after, panting lightly, followed by Sakura who was a few seconds behind them. The Brain Tribe was forced to wait for Karin to catch up before they could proceed. Knowing the members of her tribe were not the type to cheer and be over exuberant, Sakura took it upon herself to cup her hands around her mouth and shout, "You can do it, Karin! Just a bit more!"

The exhausted-looking redhead, spurred on by Sakura's words - out of gratitude or annoyance, she did not know or care - picked up her speed as she finally reached the shore and handed her key over to Shikamaru and Sasori, and proceeded to collapse on the sand as she caught her breath.

By now, the Brawn Tribe had only a few pieces left to fit, while Ino and Kurenai had the first third of their puzzle complete for the Beauty Tribe. Making quick work of the locks, Shikamaru and Sasori began to frantically put their puzzle together. If she weren't so worried, Sakura would have found the lazy Nara's swiftness rather amusing. He probably thought that going to tribal council would be more troublesome than hustling to finish a challenge.

A serious of loud cheers caused a few heads to turn towards the celebrating Brawn Tribe. "Brawn Tribe has it! Brawn wins immunity and two tarps!" Jiraiya announced as Gai picked up both Anko and Temari in a bear hug. "We're looking for one more tribe to finish!"

Glancing back at her team's progress and comparing it to the Beauty Tribe's, Sakura was pleased to see that they had caught up and were now neck-in-neck. Both tribes were only a few pieces away from completion. That happiness soon gave way to nerves as she willed her teammates to go faster. She did not want to go to tribal council, especially with Sasori still being openly hostile towards her and only having formed a fragile truce with Karin half a day ago. She knew she could rely on Shikamaru to vote with her, but she was equally certain that Konan would align with Sasori against her. Itachi and Karin were wildcards.

Her musing was interrupted by Jiraiya's announcement.

"And by a split second difference, the Beauty Tribe wins immunity and a tarp! I will see the Brain Tribe at tribal council tonight."

Well, shit.

Day 3 - Brain Tribe

"That challenge was disappointing," Konan sighed.

"I'm sorry I let us down, guys," Karin said softly. Konan shook her head an placed a comforting hand on her back.

"Don't worry about it," Shikamaru shrugged. "We were at a disadvantage. That challenge almost felt like it was custom made for the Brawn Tribe to dominate."

They had just arrived back at camp, and the atmosphere was equal parts morose and tense. Konan and Sasori mumbled something about refilling everyone's water canteens, while Itachi went to collect more firewood, leaving Shikamaru, Sakura and Karin to tend to the fire.

"How are you feeling, Karin?" Sakura asked tentatively as she poked the embers with a stick.

"Not great," the bespectacled girl admitted. "I mean, I slowed us down in the challenge. That could get me voted out."

"I don't want to vote you out," Sakura assured her. "If I had my way, Sasori should go."

Karin considered it. Pressing on, Sakura added, "I know he'll be gunning for me, and he'll pull in Konan. They both have hardly spoken more than a few words to me over these few days. Besides, he's bad for tribe morale. He just glares daggers at me all the time and keeps to himself."

Nodding her agreement, Karin watched as Sakura added sticks to the small fire that was now burning brightly. "Yeah, that makes sense. I'm willing to vote with you. But I need to suss out what Itachi wants to do as well. Don't really want a tie vote to happen and have to draw rocks."

With that, Karin stood up, offering a small smile to the Konoha nin as she made her way into the jungle. When she was safely out of earshot, Sakura addressed her friend.

"I don't trust her. I think she'll vote for me," she groaned, burying her head in her hands. "Maybe I need to go hunting for a hidden immunity idol."

Shikamaru shook his head. "I have an idea," he said. "I'll talk to Itachi. Leave it to me."

...

Meanwhile, the three Akatsuki members and female Team Taka member had gathered at the water well in the jungle.

"Sakura's going home," Sasori said bluntly.

Konan nodded. "I've got no issue with that. I don't know her, and she doesn't strike me as particularly valuable in terms of her skills."

Itachi wanted to say that it was actually Konan and Karin that cost them the challenge, but he wisely kept silent.

"She told me to vote for you, Sasori," Karin smirked. "But I want her gone."

"Oh?" The puppet master had a curious glint in his eyes. "Didn't you girls kiss and make up or whatever you call it?"

The young kunoichi scoffed. "All for show," she said dismissively. "She needs me. If she didn't, we all know she'd still be fighting over Sasuke-kun with me."

Sasori seemed pleased by her statement. But there was one more thing to make sure of. "Does she have an idol?"

Karin shook her head. "I doubt it. She is way too scared and desperate to have one."

Seeing no reason to disagree with an easy first vote, Itachi declared, "Sakura it is, then."

...

An hour before they were due to leave for tribal council, the Uchiha prodigy was by the shore doing his laundry when he was approached by the Nara genius. Sitting down next to him, Shikamaru began washing his own laundry.

"Itachi-san," he greeted, which Itachi returned by inclining his head.

Shikamaru began to weave his web. "You are voting for Sakura. I'm going to tell you why that is a bad idea."

Itachi wasn't sure if he should be impressed or irritated by the younger ninja's boldness.

"Do tell."

"I'm sure you're well aware that the majority of players in this game are loyal Konoha nin. I know that you yourself are included in this list, despite what is widely perceived."

Itachi paused from his laundry for a fraction of a second before resuming his actions. So the Nara was aware of that.

Shikamaru continued. "Sakura is a very precious person to your brother, even though he doesn't always show it. She, in return, truly loves and cares for him. Surely you can see how re-aligning yourself with Konoha will set you up favorably in both the game and in your personal relationships." Seeing that he had Itachi's attention, Shikamaru went in for the kill.

"Of course, using the term 're-align' is rather inaccurate. You've always been protecting Sasuke and Konoha. Now is the time for everyone to finally realize it. I know that Sasuke would wish to see your name cleared. This time, you can protect him without having to hide."

Itachi decided that he would be impressed. The young genius certainly deserved his reputation. He allowed a small smile to grace his features as he held the Nara's gaze, and his amusement grew when Shikamaru's eyes widened in mild surprise.

"Say I do align with you and Sakura," Itachi said. "That would only result in a tie."

Realizing that the Uchiha now had his attention entirely on him, Shikamaru sensed that he was being tested. Itachi knew what had to happen, but he wanted him to say it.

"Karin," Shikamaru said. "You're Sasuke's older brother. She'll listen to you."

"What about keeping the tribe strong? Sasori did well in the challenge today."

That statement caused Shikamaru to raise an eyebrow. "Are you suggesting we vote Konan instead?"

"Hn," was the only response the shadow user received. Sasori might like to think otherwise, but tonight's vote was entirely his decision to make.

Night 3 - Tribal Council

Night had completely fallen by the time they had made it to tribal council. There was a blazing fire in the middle of the hut, with two sets of benches on either side of it. Jiriaya stood in the gap between the benches, his gaze fixed on the shinobi making their entrance.

"Welcome to the first tribal council of the game," Jiraiya greeted, his voice unusually somber. "Before you sit, grab a torch from behind the benches, dip it in and get fire." He gestured towards the large fire pit in front of him.

"In this game, fire represents your life," the Sannin continued. "When your fire is gone, so are you."

As he dipped his torch into the fire, Itachi had to hold back a scoff. So what if his torch got snuffed; he could amaterasu this entire hut into oblivion. But as usual, he wisely decided to hold his tongue.

Once the six ninja had lit their torches and settled on the bench, Jiraiya opened the discussion.

"So, Brain Tribe. You guys are the first to come see me at tribal council. What happened in the challenge, Konan?"

The blue-haired nin in question gave a nonchalant shrug. "The challenge didn't go our way. I believe everyone tried their best, but the other teams out-performed us this time."

Her comment drew out a low growl from Sasori. Noticing the reaction, Jiraiya directed his attention to the puppet master. "You don't seem too happy about that, Sasori."

"I am dissatisfied by some of our members' incompetence," he grumbled. "I didn't like waiting as long as I had to start the puzzle. But," he reigned in his frustration, "how I am voting tonight is completely unrelated to how the challenge went."

"Hm?" Jiraiya's eyes lit up in curiosity. "What are you basing your vote on, then?"

Sasori let some of his killing intent leak out. "Payback."

Karin rolled her eyes and smirked. "Let's cut to the chase," she said. "Yes, having a strong tribe to win challenges is very important at this early stage of the game. But it's no secret that Sasori hates Sakura cuz she bested him in that fight near Suna years ago."

At her comment, everyone nodded. Jiraiya addressed his teammate's apprentice. "Sakura. Your name was just thrown out there. Does that make you worried?"

"Of course it does," she replied immediately. "Sasori has been pretty hostile towards me this whole time. Tonight kind of feels like a long awaited rematch between us," she admitted with a humorless laugh. "All I can do is hope that I come out on top again."

Sasori scoffed. "You won't."

Jiraiya let out a low whistle. "Alright, then," he held up his hands in a placating manner. "I'm fairly certain that the vote tonight is between Sasori and Sakura. Shikamaru, what are you basing your decision on?"

"It's a bit of a drag," the shadow user said slowly. "You can't make a decision based on your personal preferences alone. You need to weigh up who is better to keep for challenges, tribe harmony, and your long term game."

"Wise words," Jiraiya agreed. "With that, let's get to the vote."

...

"Okay, I have the votes," Jiraiya announced as he held the urn containing the slips of paper that would decide tonight's fate. "If anybody has a hidden immunity idol and would like to play it, now would be the time to do so."

There were a few subtle glances exchanged, but no movement otherwise.

"I'll read the votes, then." The toad sage reached into the urn to pull out the first folded parchment. "First vote: Sakura."

Shikamaru stole a quick look at his friend. She looked nervous.

"Next vote: Sakura."

The girl in question covered her face with her hands. It was going to be utterly embarrassing to be the first person voted out. Team 7 would never let her live it down.

"Sasori," came Jiraiya's voice, as he held up the third vote. Reaching back into the urn, he pulled out the next paper. "Sasori. We're tied; two votes for Sakura, and two votes for Sasori."

Shikamaru closed his eyes. The next wote would determine Itachi's choice.

"Fifth vote: Sasori."

At this, Sakura's head snapped back up, her expression filled with careful hope. Sasori's eyes widened for a fraction of a second, then they narrowed.

Jiraiya unfolded the final vote of the night.

"First person voted out of Survivor: Ninja Edition," he paused for dramatic effect. "Sasori."

The reactions were immediate and varied. Sakura let out a noise that sounded like a cross between a relieved sigh and a fangirl's squeal while pulling Shikamaru in for a hug. Over her shoulder, the Nara genius locked eyes with the Uchiha prodigy, a silent understanding passing between them. Konan's mouth fell open as her eyes darted back and forth between the other members of her tribe, while Karin studiously avoided meeting her gaze.

Sasori let out a formidable wave of killing intent as he brought his torch to Jiraiya. Turning his head around to glare at his pink-haired nemesis, he hardly registered the Sannin snuffing the flame out after telling him that "the tribe has spoken".

"This isn't over," the Akatsuki redhead threatened.

"On the contrary," Sakura giggled happily, "I think it is. For you, that is."

Adding insult to injury, and informing Sasori of just who was in-charge of his elimination tonight, Itachi placidly intoned, "Sakura, two. Sasori, nil."

Author's Note:

Thank you so much for reading! Please review and tell me what you think. I also welcome any ideas for challenges, future alliances, game twists, etc etc. For your convenience, below are the age groups of the players.

42 - Sasori, Konan
36 - Kisame
34 - Kurenai
33 - Kakashi, Gai
31 - Anko
26 - Deidara
24 - Itachi
23 - Karin
22 - Haku, Temari
19 - Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, Shikamaru, Ino
15 - Hanabi