Yosh, the next chapter have been youthfully finished!...O.o Anyway, read it. (I must've watched too much Lee..)

"Talk" 'Think' (Translation/AN)

Replay

Chapter 8

Toboe was walking with team 7 and Haku. It was only one week left before the chuunin exams, and they were currently on the lookout for the sand sibs. "Ne…why don't we use the Kono-kun?" Toboe wondered. Sasuke blinked.

"Kono-kun?" He inquired. Toboe nodded. "Yah! Konohamaru is a trouble-magnet!" She explained. Sasuke frowned. "Well, he is in that box over there…" He pointed at a square paper rock. Naruto sighed and shook his head.

"Still at it, eh, Kono?" He yelled. The box rattled, and exploded with a lot of smoke. "Behold! It is we, the Konohamaru cor-!" A young boy yelled before being interrupted by a coughing fit. The teenagers stared. Haku twitched. "Crazy place." She muttered.

Toboe nodded. "Oh definitely! Hey, Kono-kun! Run in that direction!" She pointed down a road. Konohamaru nodded and saluted. "I shall do as you command, Taicho! (Captain)" He yelled, and began running, Udon and Moegi following.

Naruto pouted. "How come you're Taicho when I'm Boss?" He asked. Toboe grinned slyly. "Candies and jutsu." She replied, snickering.

"Ouch!" Konohamaru's voice came. Toboe's eyes lit up. "What did I say? Now, to the rescue!" She skipped happily towards the trouble. Team 7 and Haku face-palmed before following.

XXX

When Toboe rounded the corner, she blinked. Someone was holding Konohamaru up. This someone had a hood with cat-ears and makeup in his face. She twitched…and began laughing. The boy looked at her bewildered. Team 7 came around the corner too, and sighed in unison.

"Let go of the kid will you?" Sasuke asked with a sigh. The boy huffed. "As if. He bumped into me." He said. Sakura raised an eyebrow. "And…? Did it hurt or something?" She wondered. The boy pouted. "No…but I'm supposed to hit him. You know, be badass." He explained.

Naruto frowned. "How is hitting a small kid considered badass?" He seemed exasperated. The girl behind him sighed. "He's right, Kankuro. How is that considered to be badass?" She asked. The boy, Kankuro huffed and let go of Konohamaru who scrambled to hide behind the still laughing Toboe.

Kankuro pointed at her. "Why is she laughing?" He demanded. Naruto grinned. "Probably because you wear makeup and cat-ears." He replied. Kankuro twitched. "Okay, that's it!" He yelled, and put his hand on the package on his back, when killer intent came crashing down.

Kankuro and the girl stiffened, but Team 7 merely looked at the one causing it. Toboe had quit laughing, and was grinning happily.

"What do you think you are doing?" A dark voice asked Kankuro. "I-I was only g-going to teach these kids a l-lesson!" He stammered. "Hn. You are a disgrace to your village." The voice said, and did a sand shunshin to appear in front of Kankuro and the girl.

The voice was a young boy, with red hair, a gourd, and a tattoo on his forehead… "Fuminsho-kun! (Insomniac-kun)" Toboe cheered and was suddenly latched onto the surprised boy. "…Kureijina-chan? (Crazy-chan)" He wondered.

She nodded happily. Team 7 and Haku didn't bother to hide their disturbed expressions. "Why do you have nicknames for people you just met, Toboe?" Haku wondered. Toboe grinned. "Cuz we didn't just meet. I talked to Fuminsho-kun with my Ghost." She explained.

They were even more confused.

She chuckled. "It's one of my jutsu! Yuurei tamashi no jutsu! (Ghost soul jutsu) It projects a copy of your soul in a ghost form where ever you want it." She exclaimed. Sasuke shook his head. "I doubt we have time to stand here all day, so let's introduce ourselves. I'm Uchiha Sasuke from team 7." He said.

"Haruno Sakura! Also from team 7!" Sakura waved cheerily.

"I'm Uzumaki Naruto! I'm from team 7 as well!" Naruto grinned.

Haku smiled slightly. "I'm Momochi Haku. I'm a chuunin, but I have yet to be placed on a team." She said.

Toboe unlatched herself from 'Fuminsho-kun' and waved. "I'm Toboe, from team 7, 8, 9, and 10."

Kankuro raised an eyebrow. "How come you're on so many teams? Anyway, I'm Kankuro. From Suna." He gestured to his hitai-ate. (Forehead-protector.)

Toboe shrugged. "I'm not on a team, so I circulate between the ones we have. I do have a sensei though." She explained.

The girl blinked when everyone's gazes fell on her. "Err…I'm Temari. From Suna. Kankuro is my stupid little brother. Gaara is my smart, homicidal, even younger brother. " She introduced herself. 'Fuminsho-kun' smiled ever so slightly, freaking his siblings out.

"I'm Sabaku no Gaara. I come from Suna, and as Temari said, I'm on a team with my older siblings." He nodded. Toboe grinned. "Yay! Now we can be friends for real too, Fuminsho-kun!" She cheered. Team 7 shook their heads, Haku blinked, Temari and Kankuro looked as if they wanted to run away, and poor forgotten Konohamaru didn't understand anything.

XXX

Toboe and team 7 were walking to the training ground, to wait for Kakashi. Haku had already gone to the lair, wanting to try out a new cookbook she had bought.

"Ne, how come Kakashi is always late?" Toboe wondered. Sakura grimaced. "He used to stand at the memorial stone for hours. Now he just does it to annoy us. It works." She explained.

Toboe nodded. "…Maybe I should do that too?" She mused. "NO!" Sasuke, Sakura and Naruto yelled at once. "Don't you dare!" Naruto growled. Toboe chuckled. "Then I won't…for now!" She declared happily.

Poof!

Everyone looked at the waving Kakashi. "Yo!" He greeted. Sakura huffed and looked away. Sasuke hn-ed. "The papers, now." He demanded. Kakashi eye-smiled. "Now, now, Sasuke. Must you be so impatient?" He wondered. Sasuke twitched. "Yes." He answered shortly.

Toboe slapped him on top of his head. "Kakashi-sensei…may I have the papers, pretty please?" She asked. Kakashi handed her the papers. Sasuke gaped. "You, she, what the hell!" He yelled. Kakashi shrugged. "She asked nicely…"

XXX

Team 7 was dashing from tree to tree. Toboe was walking behind them with a raised eyebrow. "…Why are you doing that?" She asked. Naruto looked incredulously at her. "Because Iruka-sensei doesn't believe we're fit to do the chuunin exams. Which kind of doesn't make any sense, as we kind of destroyed a chuunin in front of him, but…!" He was interrupted by a badly thrown shuriken.

Toboe pointed at a rain nin. "Isn't that him? He smells the same…" She deadpanned. Naruto nodded. "Yep. Ne, Sasuke, Sakura! Operation Go to hell!" He yelled.

They grinned.

Sakura leapt out in the open, danced around Iruka-rain-nin's shuriken, and threw some kunai. Iruka-rain-nin dodged, but was surprised when Sasuke leapt over him, and tied him up with ninja wire. Then Naruto came walking slowly. In each hand, he had five kunai with exploding tags on…

"Boom."

He threw them, and watched as it exploded gracefully. From the other training grounds, the different teams shook their heads at seeing a big explosion around team 7's area…

XXX

A slightly disheveled Iruka came into the Hokage's office, looked around, and pointed at Kakashi. "Your team is insane!" He declared. Kakashi had an air of innocence around him. "Oh? Did they sic Toboe on you? Or maybe they mauled you in their animal forms? Or was it-"

Iruka twitched. "They tried to blow me up! If it weren't for the fact that I'm quite good at Kawarimi (Substitution), I would've been roasted!" He yelled. Kakashi nodded sagely. "Oh yes. Naruto has a fascination with blowing things up after all…they probably used operation Go to hell." He said.

The Hokage, who up till now had been silent, looked interested. "What is this operation go to hell?" he wondered. Kakashi eye-smiled. "Sakura uses kunai to get the target in position, Sasuke ties them up with his special ninja wire, and Naruto blows them up. With at least ten exploding tags." He explained.

Everyone in the room looked pale. 'That's a lot of firepower.' They all thought. The Hokage coughed. "Well, we can at least say that team 7 is good to go to the exams. What about the other two teams?" He asked. Iruka blinked. "Kiba sniffed me out, Shino captured me, and Hinata locked my chakra down for some while."

Kurenai smiled and nodded. "Toboe have been a great help. She gave Hinata some confidence, showed Kiba how to amplify his sense of smell, and helped Shino with his taijutsu." She said. Iruka nodded. "Team 10 worked well too. Shikamaru captured me, Chouji nearly mashed me into paste, and Ino took control of my body and undid my henge. (Transformation)" He said.

Asuma nodded. "Toboe was good for the team. They work together much better, and are more tolerant of each other." He said.

The Hokage smiled warmly. "And she have been helping team Gai as well. We have some great teams this year, and I wouldn't be surprised if all of them came to the preliminaries."

XXX

"…Gaara? Are you okay? You're…smiling." Temari asked tentatively. Gaara nodded. "Oh yes. I found Kureijina-chan. And her friends are nice." He replied. Temari blinked. "Oh. Um, you aren't too attached to her are you?" She wondered.

Gaara tilted his head. "We're friends. I will not hurt her. Nor would I be able to." He said. Temari frowned. "What do you mean? I mean, you're a jinchuuriki. She can't be stronger than you unless she is one too." She said carefully, watching for any signs of Gaara going crazy.

"No. She is not. But even half-demons are stronger than jinchuurikis." He answered. Temari's eyes widened. "Don't tell anyone. I trust you not to." Gaara warned. Temari nodded, surprised that he trusted her. "But…what about the invasion?" She dared ask.

"…I shall think about it."

XXX

The week passed, and with it came anticipation, nervousness and joy.

"What the hell Toboe! How can you be so happy? This is a life-changing event!" Sakura scolded. Toboe shrugged. "And? I've had lots of those! It's not that bad…" She claimed. Sakura stared at her.

"Let's just go inside." Sasuke suggested. Naruto grinned. "Yeah! Now we'll show them all!" He yelled, punching a fist in the air. They went up the stairs to the genjutsu and Sasuke scoffed. "I still think that it's stupid to fall for that." He said.

Sakura and Naruto nodded. "I did fall for it though. I was an idiot." The blonde huffed. "Yes, yes you were an idiot." Sasuke agreed. Naruto twitched. Sakura sighed. "Moving on!"

XXX

"Good to see you all he-" "Yes. We know, Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto interrupted, wanting to get in. Kakashi chuckled. "Still hyperactive, Naruto. Well, good luck. Watch out for Orochimaru." He warned.

They all nodded. "We will. Creepy pedo-snake…" Sakura shivered.

XXX

They walked in. Naruto grinned as he felt killer intent pouring out of the contestants. "This'll be fun." He remarked. Sasuke smirked. Sakura smiled deceptively innocent. Toboe narrowed her eyes with a grin.

"Oi! There you are!" Kiba's loud voice yelled as team 8 came over to them. Hinata waved shyly, and Shino nodded. Sakura smiled. "Good to see you're here too. Now where is team 10…?" She wondered, only to stare as Ino was suddenly latched onto Sasuke.

"I missed you so much, Sasuke-kun!" She squealed. Sakura gave Toboe a pointed look. "Sorry, couldn't get her out of it." She shrugged. Sakura sighed. "Get off of him, Ino. He's turning blue." She pointed at Sasuke. Ino laughed sheepishly and let go of him.

"Don't…do that." Sasuke twitched. Shikamaru raised an eyebrow. "You changed your outfits." He pointed out. The others suddenly noticed it too.

Sasuke still had his black ANBU pants, with black wrappings, but he had a tight muscle-shirt without a mask. His scarf was longer, and covered half his face. His hitai-ate was nowhere in sight, but he had the metal plate on the scarf. His sword hung horizontally at his waist by a red rope.

His hair now looked very much like Itachi's, but he let his bangs fall down in his face. He also had black bandages from his elbow and down to some black, fingerless gloves.

Naruto's whole attire now resembled a jounin's clothes, but without a vest, and some straps at the elbows and wrists. He had his hitai-ate around his neck, and his battle chain was strapped to his right hip. His shoes were once more normal shinobi sandals.

He had clearly not cut his hair in a while, because it nearly covered his eyes, and he had two bangs at the sides, making him look more like the Yondaime Hokage.

Sakura had changed completely. She had a black jacket that ended just below her breasts, with dark pink straps at the elbows. The arms widened further down, covering half her hands. She wore her gloves too. Under the jacket, which was open, she wore black bindings, and a dark pink fishnet shirt. She had short black shorts, and her shoes were dark pink, and were the same as the ones she had after Naruto came back from his training trip.

Her hair was cut, so the braid only reached to her lower back, and Toboe had helped her brush her bangs to the sides, having one bang to the left with two hairclips. Her hitai-ate was black, and at it's normal place.

Toboe had a dark grayish-black top with a high neck and without arms. It had a blood-red paw mark in the middle. She still had her black gloves with metal plates, and she had darker grey shorts. Her hair was put into a low ponytail with some wrapping. Her bangs were still in her eyes though.

Sasuke nodded. "Yeah. And? Were we supposed to notify you or something?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. Shikamaru shrugged. "Nah. I just wanted to point something out. Why not point out the obvious?" He said. Naruto glared at Toboe.

"Toboe, have you been giving Shikamaru lessons in your logic again?" He demanded. Toboe grinned innocently. "…No."

"Hey, you rookies should quiet down a little." A mild voice said. Team 7 stiffened. "Being too loud only gains attention. Of the bad kind." They all turned to see a purple-clothed genin with white hair. Toboe's cheerful mood was washed away in an instant.

"We act how we act. Who might you be, huh?" She demanded, even though she already knew it, having read team 7's thoughts. "I'm Kabuto. But instead of that, look behind you." He advised. Toboe narrowed her eyes, while the others looked back to see some irritated genin.

"They are from Ame, easily irritated." Kabuto explained. Toboe glared at him. "So am I. And I am by far the most dangerous one." She replied, voice cold, and dark. Over at the other side of the room, Temari and Kankuro shivered. "Her voice sounds like Gaara." Kankuro whispered. Temari nodded.

Kabuto twitched slightly, but smiled. "Well, how about I share some info with you cute little rookies?" He said, and pulled forth some cards. Kiba raised an eyebrow. "What do you do with those?" He wondered. Kabuto pushed some chakra into them and showed them a map.

"I have lots of info on both contestants and countries." He said. Ino pointed at Sasuke. "What about Sasuke-kun and his team?" She smiled. Sasuke scowled, while Kabuto spread three cards out on the floor. "Uchiha Sasuke, rookie genin. Teammates are Haruno Sakura and Uzumaki Naruto, with additional genin Toboe. His abilities are-!" The purple-clad boy started as Sasuke's eyes turned red, and his cards began to burn with black fire.

"I do not appreciate others having info on me, or my team." Sasuke growled. Just as they were about to say something else, mist began to seep in trough everywhere.

"Shut up and listen!"

XXX

'…Zabuza?' Sakura blinked. Toboe nodded her head. "Hmm…so that's where he's been all week!" She exclaimed. The mist eased up a little, and Zabuza became easier to see. "The first test will happen NOW! Anyone don't like it, they leave. Before they die." He barked.

A couple teams quickly ran out the door. Zabuza grinned, and you could see it trough his bandage-mask. "Good. Now that the losers are gone, we may begin! Your test happens to be like this: The whole academy is covered in mist. Thick mist. There are traps everywhere, and some exits are locked. Your task is to come trough it all, to the outside. With all team members alive." He explained.

Some people looked nervous. Others looked excited. Team 7 was of the second option. "Yes! No written test!" Naruto exclaimed. Sakura rolled her eyes. "No written test, just a life-endangering stroll trough a misty terrain that you can't see." She said sarcastically.

Naruto missed the sarcasm on purpose.

"Yeah! Just what I need!"

XXX

"So we have a plan then?" Naruto wondered as he looked at the now open doors with mist seeping trough. Sasuke sighed and nodded. "Yes. You can take the most harm, so you go first. Toboe goes second, because she can smell out other dangers. Then comes Sakura, because of her genjutsu, and she is medic. Lastly is me, who can protect her should the need arise." He explained.

Naruto nodded. "So…let's go!" He yelled, and dashed into the mist, the rest of the team following swiftly.

Zabuza looked at them with a raised eyebrow and grinned. "Don't disappoint me, brats." He let the mist carry it over.

XXX

"…I miss my minions." Kakashi sighed wistfully. Asuma chuckled. "They're not minions, Kakashi. Besides, why would you miss them? They're so troublesome…" He complained. Kakashi smirked. "And yet you have taken up Shikamaru's lifestyle." He teased. Asuma glared slightly.

"How do you think they'll do? It's a hard test after all." He wondered. Kakashi shrugged. "They have Toboe. And I believe in them too…sometimes." He replied. Asuma grinned. "Yeah yeah. Zabuza is a nice fellow, even though he's kind of…gruff and sadistic." He said.

Kurenai frowned. "I've heard of him. Is he really that bad?" She asked, concerned. Kakashi shrugged. "Sometimes. It really depends on his mood. He's good at playing drums though."

Kurenai and Asuma blinked.

XXX

If glares could kill someone, the Ame nin would be dead. That's what Sakura thought anyway, as she looked at Sasuke's burning red gaze. The stupid ninja thought that he could ambush the next group coming trough…that obviously failed.

Naruto had 'accidentally' walked on a trap wire…launching a mass of kunai the wrong way, which was at the maker of the trap. Then Sasuke blew a mini-fireball at the nin's not-very-good hiding place, making him come forward.

So now, Sasuke was glaring. "Get lost, or die. Preferably both." He said. The Ame nin nodded frantically, and scrambled into the mist. Seconds later, they heard a scream. Sasuke blinked, surprised. "He actually did both." Sakura raised an eyebrow.

"You didn't hypnotize him, did you?" She asked skeptically. The red-eyed teen shook his head. "No I didn't!" He exclaimed, sounding scandalized. Someone poked him. He twitched. "What?" He grumbled. Toboe grinned. "You're too angry! Now come, I found the way out, and this game is boring now." She said.

Sakura and Sasuke deadpanned. "Game…"

XXX

Once outside, they were surprised at the small amount of people that came trough. "…This was much more effective than the written test…" Sakura remarked. Naruto nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah! Told you so! But now we'll get…ah! Anko!" He yelled when she appeared right next to them. She smirked. "Ne, something wrong? Anyway, head over to the forest, you know where." She said.

She then appeared in front of the whole crowd. "Attention you maggots! The next test will begin straight away! Head over to training ground 44, affectionately called Forest of Death!" She chuckled at some terrified faces before dashing away.

Toboe grinned. "Let's go!" She yelled, and disappeared in her lightning shunshin. Her team was touched by it, and came with too.

XXX

They appeared a split second before Anko, who smirked at them. "In a hurry, I see?" She chuckled. Toboe grinned. "Oh, but this'll be fun!" She exclaimed. The rest of the crowd came after some while, glaring at the shunshin-using team.

Anko coughed. "Alright, those who haven't come yet are disqualified! For the rest of you, welcome to hell." She smiled.

"This test is an survival exercise. You'll spend five days in that forest, hunting each other." She got two scrolls from one of her many pockets. "Half of the teams will get a heaven scroll. The other half gets earth. You need both to pass the exam, and get into the tower in the middle of the forest." She explained.

Chouji threw his hand in the air. "What about food?" He wondered. Anko grinned predatorily. "Lots of things in the forest are eatable. Lots of things might eat you too though, so you might want to be careful…" She warned.

"Anyway! Some papers will be passed around. Write your name on them and give them to us in the shack. You will get a scroll there as well." She pointed at a shack with some curtains around. Papers were given out, and team after team got their scroll and which gate to stand at.

Team 7 got a heaven scroll and gate 17.

"Ready? … GO!" Anko yelled, and fired some small fireworks. They all set into the forest.

XXX

"We'll hunt actively." Team 7.

"We shall let them come to us, and turn the tables." Team 10.

"Time for trap-making!" Team 8.

"We'll get some distance from the gates, and split up. Don't engage team 7." Team Gai. (9)

"I'll kill anyone that gets in our way. But be careful, something is brewing." Sand Sibs.

These exams are for real!

Done! By the way, the first exam was inspired (not copied! inspired!) by a story that I read...the genius losers? No...something like that. It's in my favorites anyway...

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