Pass or Fail: Survival Test l l Team 7 [Invite]

[uzumakinaruto]

Did he just say... that one of them would be sent back to the academy!? Naruto gasped and repeated his thoughts aloud. "That's crazy! We just graduated from the academy!" He couldn't imagine being sent back now, after going through everything that he had to go through just to graduate. But... that wouldn't happen! Naruto was definitely going to get a bell! He hoped Sakura would be able to get one too, so that he could be on a team with just Sakura. Naruto giggled in delight at this thought and blushed slightly. Sakura was smart, Naruto was sure she'd be able to get a bell no problem. So all he'd have to worry about was himself.

"It's the other way around, you teme!" Naruto yelled in response to Sasuke's demand. From Naruto's point of view, Sasuke was the one that was in the way. This was gonna be the day that Naruto would prove his strength to not only himself, but his teammates and this Kakashi-sensei guy as well. With his new Kage Bunshin no Jutsu, Naruto felt like he'd be able to impress everyone. Hell, Iruka-sensei was impressed. Then, the spotlight would be on him for once, and not Sasuke. Having that would be like a bonus after getting the bell.

"Yosh!" Was Naruto's response to Kakashi's statement of using any kind of weapons they wanted. Without being able to restrain his need to get one of the bells first, Naruto swiftly drew a kunai from his holster and twirled it around his finger before gripping the handle and charging at his sensei. "You and me, fair and square! Let's do this!" He let out a sort of battle-cry to add a dramatic effect. He wasn't even aware of his sensei's indication to start. He hadn't heard it at all and probably charged before Kakashi even told them to start. Well, he did say ready, and Naruto was definitely ready.

As he charged at him, Naruto wasn't sure what exactly he was going to do with his kunai. He probably should have thought these things out through before actually acting on his impulses. But he was Naruto, so he didn't bother to. He kinda figured he'd just slash at Kakashi or something, and grab a bell while he was distracted. A simple plan, that Naruto actually thought would work. Perhaps he didn't understand the extent of a jounin's power. After all, that whole eraser incident gave him the impression that jounin weren't all that skilled... or smart, for that matter.

[uchihasasuke]

υcнιнa ѕasυĸe

It seemed to be a pass or fail exam and Sasuke was right. Nevertheless, he didn’t figure that last part till he heard it from Kakashi. "Let me just remind you of this...of the 27 graduates, only 9 will be selected to be Genin. The rest will be sent back to the Academy. This training exam...my training exam, has a failure rate of more than 66%! And I get to decide if you pass or fail."

[/i] Hearing that urked the Uchiha quite a bit, but that still did not mean it would be him failing. It only gave him the feeling that Kakashi was the real deal or so he hoped.

He looked at the ground then back up at his two teammates, and finally at Kakashi. Kunai and shuriken you say… Sasuke has no problem with using them, but since his sensei gave him the approval he would definitely use them. Sasuke then heard Naruto’s poor excuse for a response and simply ignored him. The question was though, whether or nor Sasuke should head at him first. As soon as heard start he saw Naruto charge the Jounin. “What a moron.” He whispered lightly to himself. But this gave him time to identify his opponent’s skills.

He looked at Sakura before heading in his own direction. “Don’t get in my way.” He jumped off into a tree with quick haste to watch the battle from above. Sasuke had an idea, a bone crushing idea, so to speak. The minute Naruto embarrassed himself he would then soar in throwing kunai at Kakashi and kick Naruto in the head. If that didn’t work he would run back into hiding to Naruto gave up. The problem was if Kakashi was truly at the Jounin level, when would he drop his guard? Hopefully, Naruto’s idiocy will give him sometime to figure it out. All their was to do now was wait.[/size][/color][/blockquote]

[Yamanaka Ino]

Only nine of them would be selected to be Genin? That was cheerful; and he was the one to decide their fates. Sakura was having a feeling that Kakashi-sensei wasn’t liking them that much, which was bad. Even if they got the bells, if he had the final word, well, they could loose anyway. But she had gone too far to just be sent back to the Academy now; she was going to show Kakashi-sensei she was a true kunoichi and not some girl with a big forehead. She was going to get a bell, and then help make sure Sasuke got one if he needed it. Not like he was going to need help though; he was the best out of them all. Naruto, on the other hand, probably didn’t stand a chance. As for herself, well, maybe in between them somewhere. She wasn’t a complete failure, but she didn’t have the pure skill Sasuke had. This was going to take effort.

What did surprise her though was that Kakashi wanted them to attack him like they wanted to kill him. Oddly enough, that didn’t make her feel strange at all. After being made to wait for him for all that time, any hesitance in killing him was gone. Inner Sakura was just itching at the chance to knock him down a peg for that, but Sakura just stood there and nodded, showing she understood the message.

Not surprisingly, Naruto bolted off towards Kakashi-sensei just as soon as he said “Ready”. Technically he did say “Start” as well, but Naruto probably didn’t hear it at all. He was such a hothead; he was going to get himself killed if he kept acting like this. It was an easy bet that he didn’t have a plan at all. Well, there was a bright side to all of his idiocy; it would give her and Sasuke a distraction as they ran off to hide. Plus, they would be able to see how Kakashi fought and give them the chance to scout out any weaknesses that he might have. Whether or not they could exploit them would be a different matter; he was a Jounin, no matter what that stupid eraser trick showed. He could have been just acting for all they knew.

Sakura heard Sasuke tell her to not get in the way, but she blew it off. Yes, it hurt he didn’t want her help, but even she admitted that for him, she would be a simple nuisance in a fight. Still, by the end of today, Sakura knew she was going to show Sasuke that she wasn’t a useless weakling like Naruto was. Giving one last glance at the idiocy that was Naruto’s charge, Sakura followed Sasuke’s plan and headed off into the trees to hide. Finding a nice aerial view of the fight, Sakura made herself as comfortable as possible, though she also made sure to be ready to move at a moments notice. Occasionally her eyes would wander a bit, hoping to catch a glimpse of Sasuke. Oooh, he was so good at hiding; she couldn’t see him anywhere. That was some skill, especially for a shinobi.

[Hatake Kakashi]

Kakashi raised an eyebrow in interest. Immediately, they all seemed to take action. However, not together as he had hoped. Sasuke looked as indifferent as ever to the both of them, and even told Sakura to stay out of his way. As far as Kakashi knew, she was more of a Genjutsu-type person, and she might be able to come in handy to Sasuke. However, Sasuke's head was over-inflated as he acted like he didnt need anyone but himself. That, as small as it was, irked him. These three are just a bunch of idiots...they arent working together. And the little 'rivalry' so he called it going on between Naruto & Sasuke reminds me of two shinobi I knew when I was younger... he gave a small chuckle as he let these thoughts swim in his head, but he was snapped out of it fairly quickly. Naruto was taking a stand-up for himself, and demanded a one-on-one fight, mostly drowning out his orders to start. Just the two of them. ...Dont challenge someone alone you're not 100% sure you can beat, idiot...Also, way to jump the gun, kid... Kakashi thought. However, this would give him a bit of time to provide some focus on Naruto and his outward self-confidence.

Waiting a moment before acting, Kakashi noticed Sasuke leap off towards the trees. Good...he's taking action; hiding. A key tactic of shinobi is to conceal their presence. Sasuke seems to have grasped this concept... he noticed Sakura leapt off in a different direction towards the woods. They both seemed to move upwards, perhaps to watch the 'fight' between Naruto & himself? ...and Sakura seems to be following. Maybe they're not as much of idiots as I thought. At least, not those two. This one, however... he turned his attention back to Naruto, who had a kunai raised threateningly and prepped for charging head-on towards him. Kakashi felt himself tense a little bit out of reflex. Though this would be easy enough, it didnt hurt to be prepared. Naruto was about 10 meters away, where he had just started his little charge. Plenty of room.

Naruto had an expression of pure determination on his face, and in his eyes, Kakashi could see just the start of a small fire that wanted to kill and mean it. At least he's determined... thought Kakashi. However, at Naruto's level, Kakashi knew that Naruto's spirit would help him at all. ...Sunshin no Jutsu.... Blinking, Kakashi was gone, right in front of Naruto as though it was nothing. Reaching a hand out, his arm easily evaded getting cut by the kunai that was intended for him, and he grabbed Naruto's fist. Spinning Naruto around, Kakashi planted a hand firmly on Naruto's hair, and grabbed a clump while he twisted Naruto's kunai arm around until he had Naruto pointing the kunai at the back of his own head. "Dont be so hasty. Dont go running blindly into battle when you dont know if you can be counter-attacked or not. However, it seems you're finally prepared to come at me with the intent to kill. Does this mean you've acknowledged me?" Kakashi asked. He paused, letting that sit, before he added "I think I'm actually starting to like you guys."

For the last part, he had raised his voice so that even Sasuke & Sakura, wherever they were hiding in the woods, could hear him. If anything, that'll rile their spirits. Letting go of Naruto's hair, Kakashi spared a thought Geez this kid's short. Then again, he's only 12... the thought was brought on because he noted how must of an angle downwards his arm was pointing when he grabbed the kid's hair. "I'd recommend hiding like the others, and seeing as you came at me head-on, arent you a bit...weird...compared to the other two?" Kakashi asked, pulling a slightly odd expression as he asked. If anything would be able to gun Naruto into trying to go with his teammates, it would be poking some mild fun at him...

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[uzumakinaruto]

Charging in head-on definitely wasn't the smartest thing to do, but obviously Naruto didn't care about what was smart and what wasn't. Once Kakashi revealed that there was a possibility that they would be sent back to the academy, Naruto found himself a bit pissed off. He went through a lot just to graduate, and now he could lose all of that in just one training exercise? Just the thought of going back probably wasn't as daunting to the others as it was to him, so therefore he put himself as priority. Not that he wouldn't have done that anyway, though. Maybe a better way to put it was that Naruto was more anxious about getting a bell. He needed to make sure that he wasn't going back to the academy. And to calm his nerves, he'd have to get one right away.

As he charged, Naruto took notice of his other teammates retreating back into the trees, concealing themselves from either his or Kakashi's view. What the heck are they doing? Naruto thought, in confusion. Didn't they feel the need to get a bell first too? Waiting around in trees wasn't going to get him a bell, that was for sure. Naruto mentally shrugged and figured that it was their loss, and not his problem. Unless Sasuke was gonna wait for Naruto to weaken Kakashi, and then grab a bell for himself while Naruto was in the middle of combat.

The infuriating thought only made Naruto charge faster, until he was just about two feet from his sensei. Naruto swung with all his might, wanting nothing more than to make contact. But just as suddenly as he swung it, his arm had vanished. "What the-!?" Before Naruto could even blink, he felt a hand on the back of his head. His arm was twisted back behind him, also behind his head. Naruto's eyes widened when he realized what Kakashi had done, and for a moment was in disbelief. The thought of this being a real-life battle and not a training exercise put Naruto in somewhat a state of shock. He would be dead right now, and stabbed in the head no less! Naruto gulped, and could feel himself sweating a bit.

Then, suddenly, Naruto found himself being lectured by his captor. Though Naruto usually didn't listen to these kinds of things, having a kunai pointed to your head might make you pay attention a bit more. A few contradictions were running through Naruto's head in relation to Kakashi's lesson or whatever you wanted to call it. However, Naruto decided against voicing them. He had a feeling all he'd get in return was more of the same. Plus, Kakashi had moved on to telling them that he was actually warming up to all three of them, and Naruto couldn't help but flash his notorious foxy grin.

However, that contentedness was diminished when Kakashi had singled him out as being strange, and basically calling him stupid for not following the others. A vein pulsed in his head. Who was this guy to insult him like that!? Naruto growled and exclaimed, "Shut up! The only thing weird around here is your haircut!" Which was true, the dude's hair was a defiance to gravity and looked ridiculous. Following up his statement, Naruto swung his hips around and extended his leg, intending to kick Kakashi away. He wasn't sure if that was gonna make Kakashi let go of him, so he dropped his kunai just in case.

[uchihasasuke]

, i'll turn the illusion into reality

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I’M GOING TO RESTORE MY CLAN AND KILL A CERTAIN SOMEONE.
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Sasuke waited atop the tree branch he kneeled on, he wasn’t all that far from the action but he got a good view of it. He had his left hand on his shuriken holster getting ready to make his move at any moment. The problem for him was if Kakashi would leave any openings. Just one screw up would make this easier for him to retrieve the bell he needed to pass. Failing wasn’t an option in the Uchiha’s mind, he graduated, he became a genin and surely he’ll pass this exercise.

He continued to observe his surroundings and looked for his other teammate, Sakura. She was of no use for the current issue but hopefully she heeded to what he said, or atleast helped him get more info on his sensei. Soon enough, Sasuke looked back upon Naruto and he ended up getting more aggravated. In the blink of an eye he was caught by their sensei. Of course a frontal assault wouldn’t work on him. Tch, this is getting more complicated by the second. The idiot wasn’t useful at all, however, he did prove that Kakashi really is a Jounin.

[/i] The only way Sasuke thought he could get him was by ensnaring him in a trap he set up.

If only he could have observed some more he wouldn’t have to be forced to come out, he could have launch a simultaneous attack from four angles, and he could’ve saved more chakra. But that wasn’t to be the case; he was against two strong forces, the time limit, and a Jounin who seems to know his stuff. He reached into the holster and grabbed four shuriken and two kunai’s; holding them in ready position to be thrown. Their wasn’t only one person who had the intent to kill on this team, but at least this one had more sense.

Before he decided to throw them he thought of two moves after if this worked. He needed to grab an edge over the situation before it got out of hand, and it was spiraling out of hand fast. He threw the weapons adding a curve motion to their destination, for his legs so he would jump. He jumped from the tree he was on into a bush on the ground about ten meters from the tree he was in. He prepared some hand seals for a fire jutsu he intended to use. “Snake, Ram, Monkey, Boar, Horse, Tiger; Goukakyuu no Jutsu” He ran back out of the bush as he inhaled and as he stood up straight he exhaled; flames came out from his mouth aiming at both his sensei and Naruto.

Hopefully, this worked on him or he would have to resort to close combat, and he saw how that ended up with Naruto. This jutsu alone took quite a bit of chakra, even though he trained on this single jutsu for a long time now. He went back into his holster and grabbed a kunai holding it not to far from his face but in an angle to defend and strike. He decided to catch his breath as he waited, the anticipation sent a chill down his spine.
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Uchiha Sasuke

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Uchiha Clans Prodigy[/font][/color][/SIZE][/center]

Team 7.tag
Outerspace Flow.music
here.wearing
531.words
longest post on here.notes

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[Yamanaka Ino]

~~~Sakura Haruno~~~
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Getting comfortable, Sakura sat and watched as Naruto took on Kakashi. She didn’t expect it to last that long; Naruto was running straight at a Jounin after all, even if he seemed a little bit of an airhead. All that, however, was thrown out of her mind as she watched Kakashi-sensei take care of Naruto’s assault with absolutely no effort. One moment Naruto was running, the next he was holding Naruto’s own kunai to the back of his head. If this had been a real battle, Naruto would be dead right now, or at least held hostage. It was just as she had expected out of Naruto though. Sasuke-kun would have never been so hasty to attack.

Sakura listened as Kakashi lectured Naruto on not being hasty. Sakura already knew that, and Sasuke would definitely know not to be that way. Wanting to be nice, it seemed, Kakashi did say that he was glad Naruto had the intent to kill. There was even a compliment in there, that he was “actually starting to like you guys.” Of course, since the goal was to attack him like they wanted to kill him, they had to not be thrown off by compliments. Sasuke had no issues with that, but Sakura knew she could get a bit of a big head when compliments were thrown her way.

Remember he was late, remember he was late, remember he was FOUR HOURS LATE!

That little reminder brought back her anger towards Kakashi as he finished his chat with Naruto, calling the kid weird. Apparently Kakashi-sensei did have a good eye for character. Naruto, of course, had to yell back at him and insulting his hair…which Sakura admittedly thought weird. Did he ever comb it, or did he use so much gel it stuck that way? That wasn’t important, however, so Sakura filed it under ‘Mysteries to Solve Another Day’ in her mind.

As Sakura watched, there was a sudden wave of weapons being thrown at Kakashi. Sasuke was planning to attack! Sakura resisted the urge to squee in delight at being able to see her Sasuke-kun fight in his full glory. Doing so, however, would have shown off her position, so she resisted. Instead, she grabbed her own shuriken, and watched for her own opening into the fight. Kakashi was busy fighting Naruto and now Sasuke; she could sneak in and grab a bell of her own in all the chaos. She had to make sure to grab two of them though; one for her and one for Sasuke. Sasuke would probably get one of his own, but it would impress him so much if she got both of them. Then she could use one as an expression of love and…

Sakura snapped out of her daydream as she watched a giant ball of fire being sent straight at Naruto and Kakashi. That seemed a little harsh; Kakashi would most likely get out of the way, but Naruto was, well Naruto. While yes they were in a competition, and Sasuke did say to stay out of his way, burning the poor kid seemed a bit much. Then again, Naruto was smart enough to get out of the way, though he’d also probably be too distracted by Kakashi to even notice it. He was an idiot, but he didn’t deserve to fry for it.

Glancing back and forth between the fireball and Naruto, Sakura sighed. Putting away her weapons, she took aim, and jumped off the tree towards Naruto. She didn’t actually expect him to move in time, and this was a much faster way to get him away from the fireball. Besides, once she tackled him to the ground, she could pin him down and keep him out of Sasuke’s way, and hopefully ‘talk’ some sense into him. Touching down on the ground, she leaped once more towards Naruto, arms out and ready to grab a hold of him and knock him to the ground so the fireball would miss.

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~~~Konoha’s Cherry Blossom Maiden ~~~

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[Hatake Kakashi]

Kakashi had barely finished speaking before he felt Naruto tense at the little insult of being different from the others Kakashi had thrown his way. Sure, Kakashi was only poking fun, but this kid seemed to be over-reacting a bit to everything. Seconds ago, when Kakashi had stopped him in his mid-charge and turned the tables around on him, Naruto had been stilled, probably realizing just how close to death he could be if he was in the real world. However, Kakashi found his fun-poking remark rebuddled by Naruto commenting on his hair. Sure, half the time it looked like he had just rolled out of bed, but it just stood that way...nothing made it like that. However, with a slightly confused look, Kakashi murmured "Okay then...". However, for the next few seconds, everything seemed to happen at once, and everybody moved.

Sasuke ran from his hiding place, throwing some weapons for a ranged assault. Kakashi estimated based on the angle they were thrown and from where they were thrown, it would take them about 5 seconds to get to the target: him. Following this up, Sasuke ran a few steps before performing a series of handseals. Before he even completed them, Kakashi recognized instantly what that was for. His eyes widened in surprise and disbelief. What the...?! Kakashi thought. Thats a Katon jutsu! He shouldnt have enough chakra to use that! Naruto, oblivious or having not noticed what Sasuke had done, twisted around and brought his leg up in an attempt at a roundhouse kick.

Three seconds...

Glancing to the side, Kakashi saw Sakura charge out of the bushes. She seemed to be running straight at Naruto, which was ultimately approaching the both of them. Does Sasuke actually want to kill Naruto along with me? Geez...though, the Katon jutsu still amazes me. He is an Uchiha, after all...

Two seconds

Naruto's leg swung up, and he dropped his kunai to give him a bit more freedom of what to do. With about a second to spare before Naruto's leg made contact with him, Kakashi lowered his hand that had been on Naruto's fist, clenched it, and then blocked that kick. Though Naruto had a bit of decent energy behind the kick, he didnt have enough to send Kakashi stumbling. Glancing up, and then to the side to see the weapons, Kakashi guessed they were going to arrive at the same time...and Sakura would probably be just seconds too late. Well..this IS a bit of a fix... Kakashi thought. He had to hand it to them for this one. He was in a tight situation.

One second

Finalizing his decision, Kakashi turned his fist around and grabbed Naruto by the ankle. Cocking his elbow back, and taking Naruto's foot with it slightly, he fueled enough chakra in his elbow to make the 'spring' motion more effective. Releasing his joint and the chakra, Kakashi pushed forward, meaning to push Naruto. He was aiming to push Naruto in Sakura's direction to prevent either of them from getting punctured or burned. Just before full extension of his arm, Kakashi released his hand, not seeing how far he pushed Naruto, for he quickly performed Kawarimi no Jutsu. Seconds later, the fireball and weapons hit the log, while Kakashi had just barely managed to escape the double attack.

Just feet away, behind one of the trees that Sakura & Sasuke had been hiding in, Kakashi inhaled sharply. He had been close enough to the fireball to feel its heat and inhale some of the smoke it produced, and close enough to getting punctured & stabbed by weapons that he had sweat a little. However, this was no time for relief. He had to act. Sasuke was clearly the most skilled. And he was left tired out from that Katon jutsu he had just pulled off.

Perfect.. Forming the needed hand seals, Kakashi muttered "Doton: Dochū Eigyo no Jutsu" and vanished underground. He had to move quickly to get to Sasuke, and maneuvering underground was no easy task. A fair few seconds passed and he had made his way to Sasuke. He could tell he was right below Sasuke from the strength of the chakra, and so he reached up out of the ground, and grabbed Sasuke's ankles, saying "Doton: Shinjū Zanshu no Jutsu! loud enough for Sasuke to hear him from underground. And, he pulled, to get Sasuke underground...trapped up to his neck in tight-packed earth.

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[uzumakinaruto]

Okay then? That was his response? It wasn't even a comeback... if it was, it was pretty pathetic. Though, when people usually said that to Naruto, he could tell that they thought he was weird... Jeez! He wasn't that strange, was he? Alright, admittedly Naruto was different for more reasons than one, but it wasn't as if he were funny looking or anything like that. Unlike Sasuke... Naruto joked to himself. He couldn't help but pick on the Uchiha every chance he got, even in his mind. It was people like Sasuke that really got on his nerves. And, let's just say a fireball coming out of nowhere ready to incinerate him wasn't exactly going to put them on better terms.

Naruto saw it too late though; and for a moment felt a horrible moment of fear. He probably could of tried to use the Kawarimi no Jutsu , but there was no time. Plus, he doubted he'd be able to. Naruto tended to freeze up in situations like this. Which he would have been doing, if he wasn't in the middle of throwing his leg at Kakashi.

Naruto's heart fell when his leg connected but had no effect. Now Kakashi had a hold of him, and there was no way he'd be able to escape now! He didn't think this Kakashi guy liked him that much, even if he had admitted to growing fond of them earlier. So, Naruto was shocked when Kakashi had grabbed his ankle. He's so fast! Naruto noticed, his mouth agape through the whole process. Then, he felt Kakashi gathering up chakra in his arm. What the hell is he doing? We don't have time for- whoa! Before Naruto could even finish his thoughts, he was hurled into a random direction. As he flew through the air and into safety, he found Sakura running towards him. Where did she come from? He wondered, but only briefly before he collided with her practically head-on.

"Owch..." He grumbled after they had hit the ground. He would have asked if she was alright, but she was most likely as banged up as he was. Flying head-on like that didn't tend to make soft landings. And as he landed, he heard weapons thunking into the ground. Naruto turned his head, to find out what happened to Kakashi, and found that he wasn't there. He'd used the Kawarimi no Jutsu! Wow, this guy was pretty amazing. Not only had he managed to dodge Sasuke's fireball and apparently weapons, he was able to get Sakura and Naruto to safety. Where was he now? Probably going after Sasuke, no doubt.

But who cared! Naruto was on top of Sakura! He tried his best to hide his blush and racing heart, but doubted it did any good. "S-Sakura-chan." He said as he looked at her, smiling. He often stuttered when he found himself in situations like this, especially if it was with Sakura. He just couldn't help it- stuff like this suddenly turned him shy. "Did you try to save me?" He questioned, making no move to get up. He quite enjoyed being on top of Sakura, though he knew it wouldn't last long. They were in a battle though, so staying like this anyway probably wasn't the best idea. With that reasoning, Naruto scrambled up to his feet, quite flustered. He offered to help Sakura up, then scanned his blue eyes around the training field.

He heard Kakashi announce a jutsu. What it was, Naruto had no clue. He could see where they were, but there was too many trees to actually find out what happened. What was he going to do now? He couldn't just stand here looking like an idiot... He turned to Sakura, knowing she had some leadership skills. "Uh... Sakura-chan. What do we do now?"

[uchihasasuke]

, i'll turn the illusion into reality

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I’M GOING TO RESTORE MY CLAN AND KILL A CERTAIN SOMEONE.
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Sasuke continued to try and catch his breath, even if this jutsu was a strain he could still do it about two more times. He had other jutsu’s he knew as well, but would they be effective against his sensei like the big ball of flame that was still heading towards them. His sharingan wouldn’t be much help either; he never developed it to a level to trace a Jounin. With only one tomoe it wouldn’t even be able to see his handseals. But all he could focus on at the current moment was whether or not he could grab a bell.

Before the ball of flame incinerated his teammate and his sensei he saw Sakura run towards them. What could she have possibly be thinking? Was she attempting to save Naruto or get herself killed? Either way it could have worked to his advantage, she was rather annoying, and he didn’t really want to deal with it. On the other hand, it seemed Naruto got pushed out of the way and into the running Sakura. It looked as if Sasuke got their sensei though. He wouldn’t be able to escape as it the justu was that close to him, would he?

It was too good to be true; as the flames diminished all that was left was steaming weapons, and a log. Damn it! He really escaped. I guess that’s a Jounin for you. Where could he have gone though? This is bad, really bad. As he thought that, he looked in all directions possible not being able to find Kakashi anywhere. It didn’t seem as if Naruto or Sakura was paying attention to the fact that Kakashi-sensei was no longer in view. “Useless.” They truly were in this grave situation, but he didn’t say it loud enough for anyone to hear. He continued his search and tried to prepare for the worst. His grip tightened on his kunai and took his other hand to grab another out of his pouch on his waist.

He doubted Kakashi would come at him head on with fists while he held kunai’s, but he learned never to underestimate his opponent after what he just saw. As much as Sasuke wanted to be strong it wouldn’t matter if he couldn’t connect with his jutsu’s. At that moment he heard a voice, Kakashi’s voice, and it was from underneath him. It was to late and he couldn’t prepare for what was to come. He looked to the ground and saw Kakashi’s hand puncture through it and grabbed his foot. In mere moments, Sasuke was pulled into the ground with only his head on the surface.

Sasuke looked around with a look of frustration on his face and wondered how the hell he would get out of this. The difference is that large. What sort of jutsu was that? I need to figure out how to escape this or I won’t have another chance for a bell. I can’t be held back now or I’ll never get to avenge my clan and kill my brother, Itachi. He couldn’t hope for help from his teammates while he thought of that, he knew Naruto would probably just try and make a joke of the situation, and Sakura might just faint. It wasn’t worth it in the least, so he was forced to think of a way to escape.

Their in his hands laid the two kunai’s he drew beforehand and he thought it would be best to try and make use of it. Maybe he could try cutting the earth a bit if he had enough room, but he was in a tight fix and that might not work. Kakashi got him good and it annoyed him making him want to pound him. “Damn you!” Those words uttered out Sasuke’s mouth as he spoke to Kakashi. All he could do was bide time for the moment before he made an escape attempt.

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Uchiha Sasuke

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Uchiha Clans Prodigy[/font][/color][/SIZE][/center]

Team 7.tag
Bird Walk.music
Here!.wearing
655.words
Sorry for taking so long been busy..notes

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[Yamanaka Ino]

~~~Sakura Haruno~~~
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Sakura hadn’t expected for Kakashi to actually save Naruto. So when she was running towards him, and Naruto being sent flying towards her, she had absolutely no time to react at all. She took his body weight full force, knocking the two of them towards the ground. After a moment of rumbling and tumbling, Sadly, she was the one on the bottom, with Naruto on top of her. She was too banged up to notice what was going on with Kakashi, but she definitely noticed this situation once Naruto started talking.

Looking right up at him with his big, goofy smile, Sakura gave him a rather evil glare that said “I’m going to kill you.” Yes, it wasn’t Naruto’s fault exactly. Kakashi had pushed him into her, so the initial fall wasn’t his fault. However, Naruto was moving way too slow in getting off of her for her taste. At least he had enough decency to be a little embarrassed about it, what with all the stuttering and such. Still, considering he took a minute or so to even begin getting off of her, she was so going to kill him. First, though, she had to take a big breath of air once he wasn’t crushing her lungs. As she took his hand to get up, she finally started. First throw him off guard and then let him have it.

”Not even you deserve to be fireballed like that Naruto,” she replied, with some slight malice in her tone, which soon grew more obvious as she started talking again,”However, you do deserve THIS!”

Her hand went right to the back of Naruto’s head, with all the force and power she could muster. Even with her small size, it was quite a bit. Inner Sakura was raging with, well, rage, and had to let it out somewhere. Most likely that spot was going to be sore for the rest of the day. After venting her frustration, Sakura returned to her normally calm self, and began to wipe off the dirt on her clothing. As she did so, however, she shot another ‘death glare’ at Naruto before whispering off to him again.

”And next time you land on me, I suggest you get off of me immediately.”

With that taken care of, it was time to get back to focus on Kakashi and Sasuke’s battle. She heard Naruto’s question, and just responded with a simple, ”We wait.” They couldn’t really do anything till they knew what jutsu Kakashi was using. Sasuke was the big target right now since he was the best out of all of them and had just used a jutsu, Sakura watched him for any signs of something to happen (yeah, that was the reason she was watching him). Soon Kakash’s voice rang out, but Sakura couldn’t figure out where it had come from. What happened next, however, showed exactly where it came from; underground.

Before they could react, Sasuke was being pulled underground, leaving only his head sticking above ground. Sakura’s eyes grew rather large, and she just had to yell out, ”Sasuke-kun!” as he struggled to get out. It didn’t sound as if he was having any luck in doing so though; he was stuck in there pretty tight. They had to save him, or at least she did. Naruto probably didn’t care less what happened to him. Still, Kakashi was still out there; if they ran, he could trap them. What the heck, she just risked being fried to save Naruto; saving Sasuke-kun from being stuck in the ground was not only easier but had a lot higher benefit to it.

”I’m coming Sasuke-kun! Just hold on,” she said as she raced across to field, hoping to reach him in time before she was captured or something else happens.

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~~~Konoha’s Cherry Blossom Maiden ~~~

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[Hatake Kakashi]

Kakashi had a strong grip on Sasuke's ankles, and after announcing his jutsu, pulled Sasuke underground. The action was so sudden...he had the feeling that Sasuke was unprepared to be attacked from underground, and so his reaction was pure shock. It was the type of shock that didnt scare people, but more or less made them immobile for a few seconds. In this case, the few seconds were greatly needed for secured success of the technique. Due to his lack of movement, Sasuke was beneath the ground in seconds, and Kakashi was out from underground. He crouched and gave Sasuke an even look and couldnt help but smirk at Sasuke's reaction. 'Damn you!' was the only reaction Sasuke could muster?

Kakashi spared a few seconds to let loose a small chuckle and say, "Sasuke, I must give you some credit. I didnt expect you to use a Katon jutsu. As a newly-graduated Academy student, you shouldnt have near enough chakra to use that. But, I'd recommend escaping your little...predicament quite soon. you've got about 15 minutes left to get a bell. Hurry up."

Kakashi glanced to the side. Naruto had found his way off of Sakura, and Sakura was running towards he and Sasuke. Naruto looked like he was going to do something, but Kakashi wasnt quite sure. However, for good measure, he took a bell off of his beltloop and jingled it in front of Sasuke. "Wouldnt want to fail, now would you?" Kakashi asked. Sure, it was rude to taunt Sasuke as such, but he needed to amuse himself in some way.

Before Sakura was even fifteen feet away, Kakashi used the Sunshin no Jutsu again and planted himself in a tree. Naruto was still...just standing there...? Calculating his options, Kakashi tried to decide on the most effective course of action. Sure, straight-up attacking him would definitely accomplish something, but maybe give it a little bit of challenge? Sakura was making her first appearance, and Naruto had stayed out in the field. Sasuke had given Kakashi the most challenge so far...with the combined effort of Naruto.

Naruto had given Sasuke an opening, but Sasuke had been willing to sacrifice his teammate to get Kakashi. Effective, but beyond irrisponsible. Kakashi's eyes narrowed in disgust. Dont tell me he's that kind of person...not like I was... he thought. In fact, it almost seemed like he was begging it. If he had someone like that on his team, they deserved a long lecture on their...pitiful performance. Kakashi had to admit that they, for the most part, had kept him entertained, but their teamwork was yet to be desired.

Letting out a small chuckle under his breath, Kakashi knew what he was going to do, and who was going to be his target. Focusing his gaze on Sakura, about ten feet away from Sasuke, Kakashi waited merely a second before continuing Lets try you instead of one of the guys. How well do you fight? Time to scare her a bit. Grabbing a kunai, he swung it around on a finger before holding it in an offensive position, the blade facing to the outside of his hand. Leaping out of a tree, he pushed himself towards Sakura from an aerial angle of attack, the kunai raised to intercept her rush to save Sasuke. If he were to ensue in a kunai duel, so be it. However, he doubted that would be the case. Should I trap her in a Genjutsu? That might work... Kakashi thought.

Before he reached Sakura, he noted how thoughtlessly Naruto had just stood there after she rushed off. Sakura had prepared to cook to save him from a fireball...the least he could do was offer her some backup to assist Sasuke. "Sakura!" Kakashi shouted "Prepare yourself! Show me your intent to kill!" Kakashi challenged, just seconds away from intercepting Sakura, planning to land just infront of her before she reached Sasuke. However, he would keep his senses well aware so he could back off and avoid anything Sasuke might pull..provided he could free himself from his earthen captor.

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[[ooc: I think maybe two more posts for all of us before the bell rings? what say you all?]]

[uzumakinaruto]

Naruto was happy when Sakura admitted that even he didn't deserve to be incinerated. Sure, that sounds bad, but he took any compliment from Sakura he could get. It was usually the opposite, which is why he treasured these precious positive comments. It didn't last long though, and soon Naruto found himself with a larger-than-normal bump on his head. Naruto cried out and held his head, attempting to contain the headache that had quickly spread. Sakura seemed like a harmless girl, but she could punch, and she could punch hard. If he told that to someone, they'd probably just laugh and call him a wuss, but he knew the truth. He knew that Sakura had some sort of inner strength that was capable of injuries such as this one. He knew why she'd hit him- it was obvious. He was a bit upset about this for a second or two, then he decided it was worth it and put the event behind him.

Sakura's suggestion of waiting didn't appeal to Naruto, and to display his silent disagreement, he crossed his arms. What was he going to accomplish by waiting? It wasn't as if he had all the time in the world to grab a bell, he had to get one now! He'd just been hoping that Sakura, as smart as she was, would have some sort of plan. After all, Naruto wanted both himself and Sakura to get a bell, and not Sasuke. And by the looks of the situation now, that seemed to be what was going to happen. After all, himself and Sakura weren't the ones neck-high in dirt at the moment. Sakura had heard Kakashi's voice first, and had also witnessed the jutsu before Naruto had the time to turn around. Therefore, Naruto was a bit dumbfounded when Sakura decided to run after Sasuke in her concern. "W-Wait, Sakura-chan!" He reached out a hand towards her and was about to move, when he realized it wasn't worth it. She was the one concerned about Sasuke after all, Naruto didn't really care.

It took Naruto a few moments to realize he was out in the open all by himself. Sakura was heading over towards Sasuke, leaving him wide open for an attack. However, Naruto was shocked to find that he wasn't the target in Kakashi's next attack. He went after Sakura... Naruto breath caught in his throat, and without a moment's hesitation, he was running as fast as he could towards them. As he ran, he performed his signature jutsu, though he only created two clones. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" After the cloud of smoke dissipated, two perfectly identical Naruto's were running right along the other one. His first clone drew a kunai, and jumped on Naruto's back, pushing off of him with the force of his legs. Then the clone was in the air, charging straight for Kakashi-sensei. He wasn't sure if he'd made it in time, but he hoped to at least distract Kakashi long enough. The other clone followed in suit, but his goal was the bell. Naruto's plan was that the first one would distract Kakashi by intercepting him, and the other one would take advantage of the situation to grab himself a bell.

[uchihasasuke]

, i'll turn the illusion into reality

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I’M GOING TO RESTORE MY CLAN AND KILL A CERTAIN SOMEONE.
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How to escape? This boggled Sasuke’s mind quite a bit, like a shogi game he had to make the best move possible; even though he never played it. Sasuke only had one idea in mind and as crazy as it was he would just have to endure it. He turned his head slightly; he looked over at the tree he set a trap on when he first arrived. The kunai with exploding tags would work great right now. I wanted to use this against Kakashi, but if it can break the ground alittle bit it would be fine. For this to work he needed assistance from his teammates, or rather assistance from Sakura rather than being helped by Naruto.

In the meanwhile, all he could do was try to cut the ground bit by bit. He tried moving his hands; the slightest movements would be fine if his kunai would scratch the ground. The damage he was foreseen to take from the explosion was little if it would help him receive a bell. This was now a life or death matter since time was almost out. He hastened his hand movements as he was able to cut it some. Somehow though, he needed to get Sakura’s attention, he needed her help since he couldn’t make any handseals.

What could he do to get a bell afterwards though? The pain might weaken his ability to perform to the upmost of his abilities. His sense of urgency alone wouldn’t help him slow down the Jounin. Naruto’s reckless moves wouldn’t help either. He turned his back at Kakashi, he could only listen to his taunts, but not for long if this plan worked. But when he heard that they only had 15 minutes left, it was less than he thought, luckily, Naruto’s sudden desperation attack could divert Kakashi’s eyes.

With all the pawns in set, the only thing left was for the King to take flight. He looked in Sakura’s direction and quickly yelled out to her. “Sakura, the tree, send a kunai 45 degrees towards the lower area! Theirs no time for me to give an explanation, but you’ve got to hit that thread!” He took a breath after raising his voice, and looked in the direction of the tree he wanted her to hit. Hopefully, she listened and did that. All that was left was to brace for the impact of earth being blown away.

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Uchiha Sasuke

[/color]
Uchiha Clans Prodigy[/font][/color][/SIZE][/center]

Team 7.tag
Go.music
Here!.wearing
389.words
This really made me think for a bit. If this doesn't work Sasuke's stuck..notes

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[Yamanaka Ino]

~~~Sakura Haruno~~~
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As Sakura dashed towards Sasuke, she had completely forgotten about Kakashi. So when the Jounin appeared out of nowhere (from her perspective), she was scared out of her wits. He was running at her, talking about her intent to kill. Her mind rushed to figure out something; she didn’t have any fancy jutsu like Sasuke or Naruto, and she doubted he would for the basics. All she had were kunai or shuriken to throw at him or defend herself with. Yeah, that would work, right? Grabbing a hold of some shuriken, she hastily threw them at him in hopes of at least getting him to back off long enough for her to grab a kunai knife.

When one of Naruto’s clones jumped over her and attacked Kakashi, Sakura was a bit surprised…after she was a bit upset about him not waiting. Considering the situation, however, she was glad that he had ignored her. If his clones had intercepted Kakashi, she would have had to fight him alone. Such a proposition had been rather frightening, and Naruto had shown he was at least competent. Sure, not Sasuke level of competency, but at least enough he could serve as a useful distraction. Glancing between the clone and Sasuke, Sakura decided to go after him. Obviously she wanted to be on a team with Sasuke, but he was also the only one who stood a chance against Kakashi. Still, she had to give Naruto some credit.

”Thank you Naruto. Keep him busy, all right?” she yelled off as she used the delay to run around Kakashi and the clone as best she could.

Approaching Sasuke, Sakura found herself being given orders. Sasuke wanted her to throw her kunai at the lower part of the tree…and more specifically a thread. Her accuracy wasn’t that great, but all she needed to do was to hit it, right? Taking aim, and praying all she could that it would hit, she listened to Sasuke’s order without question and threw it. Within one second the kunai cut the thread. Sakura, however, was not prepared for the explosion that came afterwards. She barely had time to brace for impact, but found herself covered in dirt and grime as the smoke began to clear away.

”Sasuke-kun, are you all right?” she worriedly asked, trying to look through the smoke to see if he was safe yet. They were starting to run out of time; they needed to get this done quickly so they could get a bell from Kakashi.

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~~~Konoha’s Cherry Blossom Maiden ~~~

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