Author's notes:

Before starting this chapter of this story of mine, I would like to say sorry for taking so long with writing the next chapter of it, almost a year now.

In my defense, I can only say that nowadays I have a lot of studying to do, a full time job and very little time to rest, let alone write fanfiction… And to make it worse, I was kinda out of inspiration for quite some time now. But, like I promised before, I will not forsake this story of mine, and I will try my best to keep updating and eventually finish it.

Also, I would like to thank all those wonderful people who reviewed the previous chapter of this story of mine, namely: Kawaii IceCream, Coeur Casse, Flowerperson, SoccerBlossom, mak0-ch1, RuKka (previously known as Sakura's Bloody Lullabye), SpeedDemon315, rikku92, Dreamergirl92813 and angelus-2040. Domo arigato gozaimasu, thank you very much!

IC-chan (I hope that you won't mind if I call you so, ne?), I am happy that you liked this story of mine. I indeed tried to show Sakura improving at steady pace, but not drastically enough to make it unbelievable, and I am very happy that somebody noticed and liked that! And I also wish that more people would review this story of mine… (Although this story of mine is still the most popular story I have written so far.)

And I am sorry to hear about your problems with logging in, Flowerperson (although to tell the truth, myself I haven't experienced any). But I am glad that you took trouble to log in and review the newest chapter of this story of mine, and even more glad that you liked it. As you probably noticed, in this story of mine I wanted to give some emphasis to growing friendship between Sakura and Temari as well as student-teach bond between Sakura and Baki (but Gaara and Kankuro, being themselves, tend to distance themselves from Sakura most of the time), and actually, the scene where Baki defends Sakura was one of my favorite scenes from the previous chapter as well, and I thoroughly enjoyed writing it. Oh, and I must admit that I do like to insert bits of Japanese into characters' speech in my fanfictional stories, because I believe that sometimes it gives more "feeling" to what characters say; for example, to me English "Thank you, truly" just doesn't carry the same feeling as Japanese "Honto arigato", and similarly, Naruto's calling Temari "Sister Temari" just wouldn't feel right to me, while his calling her "Temari-neechan" does. But I realize that there are many people here who don't know Japanese at all, and therefore, I usually try to limit the amount of Japanese in my stories only to where its meaning is obvious… But I have to admit that I went overboard with it in the scene with Naruto and Temari in the last chapter, and I am sorry about this.

And as about your question about what happened to Baki's other eye, SoccerBlossom, I do not know, and I doubt that anyone really does (while I haven't seen all the Naruto episodes released so far, I haven't heard of Baki getting much spotlight after the Chunin Exam Arc). But he is a professional ninja, so it is safe to assume that he has lost one of his eyes on some mission. (And if you are wondering, no, I won't have Baki have his second eye as Sharingan or anything like this; I assume that he has simply lost it.)

Mak0-ch1, I appreciate all the reviews I get, even if it is just 'PLEASE UPDATE!' comment. So, thank you!

Angelus-2040, while I won't reveal any future plot developments, I think it won't come as a surprise if I say that Gaara is seen by Sunagakure's elders as the prime candidate for next Kazekage. Not only he is a son of the late Kazekage, but he is also essentially Sunagakure's most powerful ninja in terms of sheer power. Whether he will actually become the next Kazekage remains to be seen…

Oh, and one last thing, just so that you don't get confused. Parts of this chapter of this story of mine are written in Sakura's point of view; format-wise (and actually, story-wise as well) Sakura's point of view is written as thoughts rather then flashbacks or anything like this, i.e. it is put in "inverted commas" and written in italic type.

Alright, and now without further ado, let's get to…

Meet Your Enemies, Old and New! Chunin Exam in Land of Earth!

"It has been a month since I returned back to Konoha, although my return was nothing like I pictured it to be. I thought I would impress Sasuke, Naruto and Kakashi with my skills, but instead that sound-nin beat me as easily as if I was the same girl who left for Suna over half a year ago… Well, Baki, Temari and Kankuro still assure me that I have done very well, and that they wouldn't have been able to win that battle if I hadn't held that sound-nin for as long as I had, but still, I wish I could have done more.

Sasuke and Naruto also changed somewhat in my absence... Well, it was mostly Sasuke who changed. At the first glance, he seemed to be even more unsociable then ever before, spending most of his time either in Uchiha mansion or training by himself, and even Kakashi doesn't see him often these days. But I met him on the streets once, and immediately realized that he was… Different. He was polite to me like never before, but also cold, and in a way, it was even worse then his usual insults. He used to act as if I was just an annoyance, but that time he seemed to act almost as though I was his… Rival? No, that couldn't be it, I must have gotten the wrong idea.

Anyway, as about Naruto, he appears to be the same as he used to be: fun-loving, carefree and… Well, to be blunt, without too many thoughts in his head. But something about him immediately struck me as different, though it wasn't immediately that I realized that he was no longer chasing me around or stood on attention every time I spoke. I wonder, if half a year was just a bit too long for his crush on me to survive, or if he has met someone else…? Well, in either case, I never really imagined us becoming anything more the friends, although I would be lying if I said I wasn't just a little bit disappointed.

But of course, Kakashi remained the same laid-back pervert I remember him. Hehe, it must be true that the old dog will never change! He took Naruto and me on some training sessions, teaching us a couple new techniques, which was almost like the old times… Except that Sasuke wasn't there with us...

W-well, anyway, Baki and Sand Siblings are also staying in Konoha for now; they are considered as some sort of "envoys" or something like that, for whatever reason Suna needs to have "envoys" in Konoha… I read every book on "Ninja Diplomacy" available in Konoha's library, and even a few from Hokage's own library, but I have to admit that I still don't really get it. The only comfort I have is the feeling that nobody else does either…

Anyway, I am glad that Baki and Sand Siblings are staying in Konoha. Surprising as it may seem, Temari and I became very good friends during my stay in Suna, and I would have really missed her. But now she spends a lot of time with Naruto and me when neither of us is training. Well, actually she teases Naruto quite often like she sometimes teases me, and he doesn't take it very well, and he usually gets embarrassed or angry, or sometimes both, which is actually very cute, but that's beside the point!

Anyway! Despite all this, Naruto doesn't really seem to mind Temari's company. Which is logical, I suppose, after all, Naruto doesn't have many friends, just like me.

And as of me, I still train with Baki every now and then, but most of the time, I…"

"Sakura, concentrate!"

"H-hai!"

"Remember, strength by itself is nothing without the right application. No matter how strong you are, it will do you no good if you just can't hit your opponent. And also, there are techniques that can block physical blow with relative ease, not too many, but there are. Few of such techniques are perfect, but in the least they will hold your blow back for a few seconds or weaken it enough so that it won't do enough harm to disable your opponent; which, in turn, will allow them to counterattack you, and probably – with much more success."

It was on the tip of Sakura's tongue that she knew one such technique as well – Shield of Wind, but she held back from saying it. Shield of Wind was, in many ways, a powerful technique, but if the opponent attacked with elemental rather then physical force, it would be all but completely useless. And Sakura was fully aware of the fact that there were as many ninja who preferred to rely on Ninjutsu as there were those who, like her were better with Taijutsu then they were with Ninjutsu.

"So, what will you do if your opponent prefers to keep his distance and attack you with Ninjutsu from afar?"

Counterattacking with Ninjutsu was out of question for her, and Sakura knew it too well: not only most of the powerful Ninjutsu techniques drained a lot of Chakra, but also her best Ninjutsu techniques, like Blade of Wind or Shield of Wind, were actually the best for melee combat as well. In that case…

"I will simply focus Chakra in my feet to close the distance between us quickly, and once I am in striking range, I will have an advantage over him."

Tsunade seemed to approve, but not entirely.

"Such a direct approach may work, under the circumstances… But a skilled opponent will be able to react quickly to your charge and use this opportunity to attack you at the time when you will be least able to defend yourself. No, what I rather suggest you do is… This!"

With speed Sakura could only wish she would achieve one day, Tsunade slammed her fist into ground hard, hard enough for a wide and surprisingly accurate crack to open in the ground, running in a straight line from Tsunade.

"Almost any experienced ninja will be able to dodge such attack, have no illusions about it, but even so, it will usually serve to temporary distract them, and you can use this time to close distance between you, like you originally proposed. Of course, making such an attack requires not only strength, but concentration as well, but I believe you have what it takes to master such attacks, with enough training, that is…"

"Hokage-sama…"

Sakura didn't even notice the ninja, apparently a member of ANBU who suddenly appeared on the edge of the clearing until he spoke; obviously, she still had a lot to learn.

"…There is a matter that requires your presence. I trust you know what I am talking about."

For a moment Tsunade looked like she didn't, but then her face suddenly brightened with understanding.

"Ah, it is already the time, and I have almost forgotten about it! Very well, I will be there shortly."

The clearly dismissed ninja simply disappeared into the thin air, as swiftly and soundlessly as he appeared, and Tsunade once again turned to her student.

"Alright, for now I want you to practice with the technique I've just showed you by yourself. And don't forgot to practice with the healing techniques I have taught you early; you healing skills still leave a lot to be desired. In meanwhile, I have I meeting I have to attend."

The meeting Tsunade spoke of was taking place in the meeting hall in Hokage Tower, and included almost all of Konoha's Jonin, though it was five ninja who were in the center of attention: four were Jonin from Konoha, and the fifth was Baki from Sunagakure.

"As all of you were already told," Tsunade began, "It is time for another Chunin Exam to take place, this time, the village that will host Chunin Exam will be Iwagakure of the Land of Earth. And now, the Jonin who wish to recommend their students for Chunin Exam may speak."

Maito Gai, sensei of Hyuuga Neji, Rock Lee and Tenten was the first to speak, "Of my students, Hyuuga Neji, Rock Lee and Tenten, I recommend all three."

The next to speak was Yuhi Kurenai, sensei of Inuzuka Kiba, Aburame Shino and Hyuuga Hinata, "Of my students, Inuzuka Kiba, Aburame Shino and Hyuuga Hinata, I recommend all three."

She was followed by Sarutobi Asuma, sensei of Nara Shikamaru, Akimichi Choji and Yamanaka Ino, who was a little hesitant to speak, "Since Nara Shikamaru has already achieved Chunin rank, I recommend my remaining Genin students, Akimichi Choji and Yamanaka Ino." Asuma made a small pause, "There wasn't a final team member available in Konoha, so I will try to find one in Iwagakure."

Traditionally, Chunin Exams were taken by three-man teams, and those who have already achieved Chunin rank were strictly forbidden from re-entering the contest. And therefore, the teams that have one or two members who have already become Chunin were forced to seek extra temporary members from the other teams to fill their shoes for the Chunin Exam.

Baki, though as Sunagakure's ninja he wasn't answering to Hokage, was the next to speak, "I would like to inform you, that my team, Sand Siblings will all participate in the coming Chunin Exam. And as Haruno Sakura's most recent teacher, I also recommend her for the coming Chunin Exam and give her back into care of Hatake Kakashi to re-take her place as a part of Team Kakashi.

Kakashi nodded slightly to Baki before speaking himself, "Of my other students, Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke, I recommend both."

"I was told about the Chunin Exam, and, well, I must say that I am more sure in my ability to pass it this time. Even though there are many ninja much better then I am, I am confident that I can compete with most other Genin on equal terms, and after all, if you compare how I am now and how I used to be during the previous Chunin Exam I was at, I have really made a great progress.

But what is more important that my Sasuke-kun and I are together again! Although… He still continues to treat me differently, politely but very coldly, but… He is still Sasuke I will love no matter what, and besides, I am getting used to it… More or less."

"By the way, Kakashi-sensei," Sakura asked as she walked beside her first teacher, "The Chunin Exams in Iwagakure… They will be the same as in Konoha, won't they?"

"No, they will be different." Was Kakashi's reply; as usually, his voice was calm, and with most of his face hidden behind his mast and forehead protector, it was next to impossible to tell what Kakashi was really thinking or feeling at any given moment, "The final test for all Chunin Exams is always the same – one-on-one combat to see what each Genin is capable of individually. Other then that, however, the contents and even number of tests can vary between ninja villages, and each ninja village used this to give their own ninja advantage during the Chunin Exams. Myself, I passed my Chunin Exam in Konoha, so I know very little about what kind of tests they have in Iwagakure, and only from what I've heard. One of the things I've heard about Iwagakure's Chunin Exams is that they don't include a written test…"

Upon hearing this, Naruto, who also walked beside Kakashi gave out a loud cry of victory; written test was the worst kind of test imaginable for him, and he seemed to completely forget that it wasn't the written test on which he failed during the last Chunin Exam.

"…Another thing I've heard about Iwagakure's Chunin Exams is that they put a lot of importance on ninja's endurance and ability to use his or her Chakra wisely."

Upon hearing this, Sakura's heart sunk; endurance and stamina were easily her weakest points, and although she knew how to use her Chakra wisely, it could only barely compensate for the very small Chakra reserve she had.

"So long to the easy victory…"

"Anyway, our journey to Iwagakure was uneventful.

Upon our arrival, we were given the apartments of our own, like all arriving ninja. The tests themselves will start tomorrow, and until then we were left to our own devices…"

As Sakura, Naruto and Sasuke walked down one of Iwagakure's streets, Naruto couldn't help looking around, it was his first time in another ninja village, and the differences with Konoha couldn't even begin to be compared with a few non-ninja villages he visited.

True to its name, the Village Hidden Among the Rocks took cover under the gigantic cliff that loomed over the entire village, making it look almost as though it was located in a cave. The building were for the most part tree – five stories high, and were all made of stone.

There were lamps along the streets, but even they didn't dispel the dark air that seemed to reign in Iwagakure, and along with nearly everything being made of stone, it gave the village maze-like appearance, and rightfully so: if Sakura, Naruto and Sasuke weren't explained how to get to their apartment complex, they would probably be hopelessly lost by now.

As usual, Naruto was leading the way as three teammates walked, with Sakura and Sasuke content to follow him, almost, but not quite side-by-side: Sasuke was walking a step ahead of Sakura.

Because of this position, it was Naruto who first made contact with another Genin team coming from a street parallel to their, almost running into a taller black-haired boy in light gray clothes. Almost because in the last moment the black-haired boy struck out with his elbow, and instead of crushing into him, Naruto ran into the boy's elbow at full speed, with caused him to half-bend in pain and stumble back. Naruto tried to keep his balance, but failed miserably, landing hard on his bottom.

"Ow, that hurt!"

"Hey, what was that for?!" Sakura exclaimed, as she ran forward to stand before the black-haired boy.

Instead of replying, the black-haired boy turned to face her, which made Sakura take a very quick step back: although she has never seen this boy closely, there was only one person she heard of who wore his hitai-ate over his eyes.

"No way! These are THEY!"

The next moment two more figures joined the black-haired boy at the street: a brown-haired boy dressed in silvery-gray short-sleeved vest and shorts, and a cute girl, whose black hair was done in a short pigtail, dressed in black miniskirt and white sleeveless vest.

"W-what are you doing here?" Sakura stammered in surprise, and she had to admit fear: last time they managed to defeat these sound-nin only with Sand Siblings' help, and even then just barely.

"We've come to the Chunin Exam, of course, what do you think?" The brown-haired boy replied with a smile.

Looking at Sakura's frightened expression, he added, "And don't worry, we won't waste our time on killing weaklings like you. Just don't get in our way at the Exam."

The brown-haired boy way about to turn away, when a voice stopped him.

"Who did you call weakling?!"

The brown-haired boy turned back to the three and smiled at the speaker, the one Uchiha Sasuke. For a long second their eyes met, and then the boy from the Sound was no longer there.

Sasuke's suddenly-red eyes saw the brown-haired boy as he darted forward, and tried to dodge his blow. As first dodging it seemed almost too easy: with Sasuke's Sharingan pushed to its limits, even the brown-haired boy's superhumanly fast movements seemed slow to Sasuke… But his own movements were slower still. As if everything went in slow motion, Sasuke could do little but watch as the boy from the Sound came at him, striking out with his hand… Which stopped a mere inch from Sasuke's throat. There was nothing Sasuke do about a bead of sweat running down his face: he fully realized that if the boy from the Sound didn't stop his attack, he would be dead by now.

For a few seconds, the brown-haired boy studied Sasuke's face with a smile upon his own.

"That's today's lesson: you are no match for us, neither me, nor any of my teammates. Remember this lesson if you want to live long enough to become more power."

With that said, the brown-haired boy took his hand from Sasuke's throat and turned his back to him. With an air of superiority about him, the brown-haired boy started to walk away, silently followed by his two teammates.

"Damn you!"

"Hm, I wonder what Iwagakure no Sato has to offer in terms of entertainment?"

"Well, let's find it out!"

The siblings looked very differently: he dressed in black robe-esque clothes from head to toes, and her in her both effective and practical white dress. Yet it would have been apparent to anyone who watched them for a while, that the siblings had much more in common then not.

"Hey, looks who's coming!"

Ahead of them, two boys were coming into view, going along the same street that Temari and Kankuro were walking now, but in a different direction. Both of them looked to be a couple of years younger then the Sand Siblings, twelve or thirteen years old at the most – the more or less recently made Genin. Perfect sport material, in the siblings' eyes.

Both boys were dressed in light gray, almost white clothes, with hitai-ate displaying the symbol of the Hidden Rock Village upon their foreheads, but there the similarities ended. One of the boys, with black hair and dark blue was notable taller then the other. His pants were cut at his knees, and he wore short-sleeved t-shirt. In contrast, the shorter boy, with brown hair and eyes, wore long-sleeved jacket, and his pants went all the way to his sandals.

Nodding slightly to each other, Temari and Kankuro spread to block the narrow streets. With the siblings' intentions rather obvious, the two boys from the Rock stopped, eyeing the two siblings, seemingly without a hint of worry.

"They look pretty calm about it," Temari noted with slight annoyance.

It was true that killing fellow ninja who gathered for the Chunin Exam was strictly forbidden, the fights between the Genin from the rival villages before the Chunin Exam were still a common thing, and were accepted by the villages' leaders as a necessary evil.

"You want to fight, is that it?" The smaller boy finally asked, as the two sides were eying each other; if he felt slightest concern about facing older and more experienced sand-nin, he hid it well.

"Well, if that's the case, we can arrange that," the taller boy said, making a step forward…

Kankuro has been waiting for that. Some people knew him as a puppet master, and more would recognize him as one from his appearance, but very few thought about how puppet masters controlled their puppets. They did it with Chakra strings, and in skillful puppet master's hands, these strings could be used not just for controlling the puppets…

And as the boy from the Rock stepped forward, Kankuro pulled at the Chakra string he already place across the street, making it spring upward to cut at the boy's legs like a tiny but very sharp edge. Over a year ago, he used similar tactics to all but disable now-famous Naruto from Konohagakure…

But this time, it worked completely differently: instead of cutting at the boy's legs, making him stumble or even fall, Kankuro's Chakra string snapped as the boy from the Rock walked forward, seemingly without even noticing it. Kankuro raised his gaze from the ground where his Chakra string has been a moment ago to look at his opponent, and his eyes widened slightly in surprise: the boy's previously light skin has became rocky-gray in color, it looked almost as though his body was made of stone now…

Seeing Kankuro taking Karasu off his back and preparing for an all-out fight, Temari immediately realized that the fight is going to be more serious then they thought it would be. It was her cue to act. Taking her fan off her back with one fluid motion, Temari stepped forward, preparing to act as Kankuro's shield if she had to be.

Or at least, she tried. For when Temari tried to move her legs, she with a surprise realized that she couldn't do that: it was as though as her legs were enclosed in…

A quick glance down revealed to Temari exactly what has happened: her legs were enclosed in a mass of rock, only a think layer of air was left between her legs and rock, so that she didn't feel anything until she tried to move.

Temari's gaze went to a smaller boy who remained where he stood, seemingly doing noting. He caught Temari's glance and gave her a smile in return.

"I know that there's no love lost between Iwagakure and Suna, but… Attacking rock-nin in their own domain wasn't the brightest thing you could have done."

Temari considered trying to launch her Cutting Whirlwind at the boy from the Rock from the spot, but the boy's voice quickly stopped her.

"And I wouldn't try to attack if I were you… It will take my but a thought to make the stone crush your legs."

"Damn it!" Temari swore mentally, "Just a thought? Indeed, I haven't seen him performing hand-seals or speaking words of the technique. This must mean that… This is Kekkei Genkai! This would make this boy…"

"You. You are a Stoneshaper from Kakoichi Clan, aren't you?"

"Looks like our fame stretches as far as Suna," the boy from the Rock said, smiling, obviously pleased with himself, "And from your rather unusual choice of weapon, I take it that you are a Windcaster. But even so…" The boy from the Rock held a short pause, "Your techniques are the normal ones. Mine come from my Kekkei Genkai, and thus, both faster and more powerful then yours."

He had the truth of it, Temari knew, and what was worse, he already had her in his mercy. No matter how long she thought, Temari simply couldn't see a way out of the situation she and Kankuro got themselves into. Luckily for her the help came from a rather unexpected source…

As the taller of two boys from the Rock continued advancing at noticeably nervous Kankuro, a figure suddenly jumped down from the rooftop and landed at the street between two of them.

"Enough. Make one more step, and you will die."

Although the figure was notably smaller then the boy from the Rock, there was something in his voice that made the taller boy stop dead in his tracks: the coldness that suggested that the newcomer truly meant what he said.

"Gaara!" There were few times Temari was as glad to see her younger brother as now.

"I trust you two have had enough fun for today, didn't you?" The mentioned person said, half-turning to his siblings and teammates.

Without waiting for answer, Gaara turned his attention back at the rock-nin, especially at the smaller boy, "You. Release your technique at once, unless you want to see how quickly I can crush your legs."

A little reluctantly, the smaller of the two boys from the Rock complied with Gaara's demand, letting the stone cocoon around Temari's legs crumble and melt back into the stones of the street it was made of.

With that done, Gaara suddenly turned sideward and said, "And now, you. Come out, unless you want to pick this up at where your friends left off. And the next moment, to everyone but Gaara's surprise, another figure jumped down to the street from the rooftop, landing beside two boys from the Rock, who immediately recognized her.

"Tehiko!" It was the taller boy who spoke, "What were you doing up there? I thought of all people, you'd be the first to join in!"

The girl who has just jumped to the street shrugged, "The odds were already in your favour. It was more fun to just watch."

Then the girl from the Rock turned from her teammates and looked at Gaara, "You are..?"

"Sabaku no Gaara"

The girl from the Rock nodded and then turned to her teammates, "Alright, let's get going. We still have to prepare for tomorrow's exam."

"Who died and made you the boss?" The smaller boy complained good-naturally, but the girl from the Rock simply ignored him, starting to walk down the street, and without further objections, both boys followed her.

They were already some distance away from Sand Siblings when the girl from the Rock suddenly turned and said, "I am Tehiko from Iwanori Clan. I am looking forward to facing you at the exam, Sabaku no Gaara."

"She says it as though we should know of her family," Temari half-whispered to Kankuro.

Kankuro only shrugged, he knew all the most powerful ninja families from Iwagakure, and Iwanori wasn't one of them.

The next day

All the competing Genin teams gathered in the caver in the far end of Iwagakure, where the village was contacting with the base of the cliff under which it was built. Sakura noted that Sarutobi Asuma's Team 10 filled with a fifteen years old Genin from Iwagakure, apparently, the only one from his team who couldn't pass the Chunin Exam, and she silently wished her old friend Yamanaka Ino good luck.

"Alright, everyone," the speaker was an older ninja from Iwagakure, apparently the testing officer for the current Chunin Exam, "Now I will explain to you the rules of the first test…"

Preview of the next chapter:

At least, the day I've waited for so long! Today, I'll show them all, both my fellow villagers who have always looked down at me, and those from other villagers as well. Soon, my name will be on everyone's lips. Who am I? Coming next, "Through the Labyrinth, The Chunin Exam has begun!" I am Iwagakure's best ninja. Are you Konohagakure's worst?