24 Chapter 24: Meeting the Competition! A Promise is Made!

Naruto had woken up in the morning and discovered to his confusion that he was in the hospital. But when he thought about what had happened the night before, he was able to make sense of what had happened. Then, after finally being let go from the hospital he ran to the training fields to meet up with the rest of team 7. When he arrived, he found Sasuke and Sakura already there.

"Yo!" Naruto called out with a wave as he ran up to them.

"You're late Naruto!" Sakura replied while pointing at him accusingly.

"Haha, my bad, I ran into some problems along the way." Naruto apologized as he scratched his head.

"Hmph, at least you're still here before Kakashi-sensei." Sakura said while crossing her arms.

"Heheheh." Naruto grinned.

"Hmm, seems like you're back to normal now." Sasuke said with a smirk while looking at Naruto.

Naruto looked over at Sasuke and then grinned. "Yup, I'm back to 100% now."

"That's good, but be prepared to be surpassed by me." Sasuke said while grinning as he stood in front of Naruto.

"Hah, I'm not going to make it easy for you!" Naruto replied as he stared back at Sasuke with a grin.

Sakura stared at the two as they grinned at each other. She couldn't help but smile at the two's rivalry.

"Yo, looks like everyone is here!" Kakashi said as he appeared in front of the group.

"YOU'RE LATE!" Sakura shouted at Kakashi.

Kakashi scratched his head as he smiled.

"Well, I saw an elderly lady who need help, and then I saw a crack in the road while I was walking, so I had to take the long way around to avoid getting bad luck." Kakashi replied.

Sakura looked down in defeat as she sighed out. Naruto just laughed while Sasuke remained silent.

"Now then, I have something for the three of you." Kakashi said as he handed out something to the three of them.

"What's this Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura asked.

As soon as Naruto saw the form his eyes widened briefly. So it's that time, huh? Naruto thought. He then glanced up at Sasuke before looking back at Kakashi.

"These are applications for taking the chunin exams this year. I've recommended you three for participation." Kakashi smiled.

"Eh? The chunin exams? Are you sure we're ready for that?" Sakura asked.

Kakashi cleared his throat as he began speaking again. "Sakura, I have absolute faith in your abilities, which is why I recommended you three in the first place. But, the participation is voluntary, so I won't force any of you. The dead line for turning in the forms is tomorrow morning on the third floor in the academy. If you decide that you'll do it, just show up there with the form filled out. Anyways, I'll let you guys decide what you'll do. Later!"

Kakashi then turned into a cloud of smoke as he disappeared, leaving the three of them alone. Sakura frowned as she looked at the form in her hand, it wasn't that she didn't believe Kakashi's words, but she still couldn't help but feel doubt in her mind.

"Hey Sakura!" Naruto called out, dragging her from her thoughts.

"Eh? What?" She asked startled.

"Don't worry about it too much, the answer will come to you on your own. Just go with what feels right!" Naruto grinned.

Sakura stared at Naruto in surprise for a second before smiling and nodding her head. Naruto then turned and started walking away.

"Hey, where are you going? Shouldn't we all discuss about it?" Sakura asked.

"Nah, Kakashi-sensei said it was voluntary, and I already made a promise to hang out with Konohamaru today! See you guys tomorrow!" Naruto replied as he sprinted off.

"Then, what about you and me-" Sakura started to speak as she looked toward Sasuke.

"Sorry, I've already got other things I need to do." Sasuke said while walking away.

Sakura was left standing by herself with the form in her hand. She tightened her fist around as she looked down at the ground. Why was she hesitation? She wondered, both Naruto and Sasuke have already decided to do it. Even when I decided to get stronger yesterday? Why am I still unable to take that single step into the unknown? The other two keep walking head first, while I'm still fumbling around with cautious steps. Sakura slowly started walking as she continued to think to herself. Just what am I going to do? She wondered as she walked.

...

...

...

Naruto was walking down the street heading toward the meeting point he had established with Konohamaru some time ago. While he had agreed to play with him, Naruto couldn't help but think about training Konohamaru properly this time. As he walked however, he couldn't help but notice a box following him from behind.

"That's it, I know you're under there! Come out!" Naruto shouted.

"As expected of the man I see as my rival!!"

Suddenly the box exploded in front of his eyes.

Eh? Isn't that too much? Naruto thought as he was slightly dumbfounded toward the scene before his eyes.

"Cough, hack, cough"

"Jeez, I knew it was too much, Konohamaru!"

"Cough, cough, it's fine right?"

"Hey, this smoke is getting into my eyes, it hurts!"

Naruto sighed as he had guessed the identity of the people coughing within the smoke. As soon as the smoke cleared, three individuals appeared.

"With the sexiness of an adult! I'm Moegi!" She said as she posed.

"I love factoring! I'm Udon!" He said as he got into a different pose.

"The greatest ninja in the village! I'm Konohamaru!" He said as he got into his own pose.

Then the three of them chanted together. "And together, we form the Konohamaru Gang!"

Naruto stared at the trio like they were idiots. Then he sighed to himself before speaking. "So? What are you guys doing? I was on my way to meet you anyways, so why do this?"

"Heh. Heh. Heh. But of course, we needed to test your abilities to make sure you haven't been slacking on your training!" Konohamaru declared.

"Shouldn't it be the other way around? I'm a genin after all, and I only recently came back from a mission too." Naruto replied.

"Geh! That's right!" Konohamaru said in shock. Then he got onto all fours in defeat.

"By the way Konohamaru, what's with the goggles?" Naruto asked.

Konohamaru jumped up as he held his goggles out for Naruto to see it better. "We're just doing what you used to do boss!"

"I see...." Naruto replied.

"Eh? What's with the cold reaction?" Konohamaru complained.

"Cold? How else should I respond?" Naruto asked.

"See? There you go again! Giving us the cold reaction!" Konohamaru shouted.

"Sorry, sorry, anyways, what did you guys wanna do today?" Naruto asked.

"Lets play ninja!" The trio shouted.

"But I'm already a ninja, why should I play that?" Naruto asked as he tilted his head.

"Ah, he's right!" Konohamaru shouted in shock.

The three kids then gathered around as they began discussing among themselves. Naruto placed his head behind his head as he looked up at the sky and got lost in his own thoughts. It was nice to be able to just relax without worrying about anything in particular. Suddenly, he noticed a figure walking up behind him, when he looked to get a clearer look, he saw it was Sakura.

"Eh? Sakura, what are you doing?" Naruto asked.

Sakura looked up as she was slightly startled. "Oh, it's just you Naruto. It's nothing, I was just thinking about some things."

"Well, if you need someone to talk to, I'm always willing to listen." Naruto grinned.

"You and Sasuke did help me out yesterday with my own thoughts after all."

Sakura smiled as she nodded her head.

"So what are you doing?" She asked looking behind him.

"Oh, I'm just hanging out with Konohamaru and his friends." Naruto replied.

Konohamaru suddenly walked up next to Naruto and tapped his shoulder.

"Hey, boss, who's the ugly chick with the big forehead?" Konohamaru asked.

Naruto stared at Konohamaru as if he had just committed the worse sin possible. Then he turned his head toward Sakura only to see her shaking as she began letting out an evil laugh. Sakura looked up while grinning evilly at Konohamaru. Konohamaru felt a shiver run down his spine as he saw the way Sakura was staring at him. Naruto moved in an instant getting in Sakura's way.

"Run Konohamaru!" He shouted.

Konohamaru nodded repeatedly as he turned and ran in the opposite direction. However, before he could get far, he ran into someone. Konohamaru fell and landed on the ground.

"Ouch!" He said as he rubbed his back as he slowly got back up.

"Oi, watch where you're going punk!" The figure said as he picked up Konohamaru by his scarf.

Naruto stopped paying attention and focused on the newcomer that showed up. His eyes widened briefly before returning to normal. He saw that it was Kankuro, and Temari who had shown up. Kankuro held Konohamaru up while glaring at him. Naruto walked over and grabbed Kankuro's wrist.

"Hey, let go of Konohamaru." Naruto said as he watched Kankuro.

"Hoh, and what are you going to do kid?" Kankuro asked, refusing to let Konohamaru go.

"I asked nicely, ya know, so don't blame me for getting rough." Naruto replied.

Kankuro was about to laugh as if he heard the funniest joke, but suddenly a kunai appeared right next to his throat. When he looked over, he saw another Naruto standing behind him while the other Naruto holding onto his wrist was still smiling amicably. Kankuro could feel sweat drip from his forehead, when the hell did this kid get behind me like this? He thought.

He loosed his grip, allowing Konohamaru to drop to the ground. Naruto let go of Kankuro's wrist and started walking away. Kankuro felt ashamed as he had been the one to provoke them first but we instantly put in his place. He couldn't just simply swallow that as he grabbed the large wrapped up object strapped to his back.

"Oi, do you think you can simply walk away after humiliating me?!" Kankuro exclaimed.

Naruto turned back and stared at Kankuro for a moment, his eyes narrowed. "I don't see how you have any right to complain, you provoked us first, you should be grateful I didn't kick your ass in front of your team mates."

Everyone stared at Naruto in surprise. Sakura was especially stunned, since when did Naruto have this side to him? She wondered. Konohamaru, Udon, and Moegi stared at Naruto with stars in their eyes as they clenched their fists together, that's our leader! They all thought. Kankuro grit his teeth in frustration as he felt like he'd just had to swallow a bug. Temari was surprise as she hadn't expected any of the leaf village's genin to be like this.

Naruto grinned in his head while he kept a straight face on the surface. Man, Sasuke had taken the glory last time this happened, I can remember clearly how frustrated I felt in that moment perfectly. It was a pleasant feeling for Naruto since he was finally able to look cool in front of the people he cared about.

"Oh yeah? Well let's see your smug expression after I've beaten you into the ground!" Kankuro yelled.

"Stop Kankuro."

Kankuro stopped in his tracks as he turned his head to see a person standing upside down on a tree branch. Looks like he's here, Naruto thought as he looked over at the familiar figure.

"G-Gaara.... it's a misunderstanding.." Kankuro tried to explain.

"You're an embarrassment to the sand village." Gaara replied.

Kankuro stared in shock toward Gaara's words. Naruto thought back to the different encounters he had with Gaara before. He also remembered the time they fought against each other. He wondered if he'd have to fight Gaara again, or if he could reason with him this time around. But when he looked at Gaara, Naruto knew deep down, that the only way of getting through to him would be to beat him into submission like last time. Which caused him to sigh a little inwardly.

"B-but that blonde threatened us first!" Kankuro tried reasoning again.

"Shut up..... I'll kill you." Gaara glared at Kankuro.

Kankuro took a step back as he gulped in fear.

"Sorry..... y-you're right..... I'm sorry." He quickly stuttered out.

Gaara then turned over to look at Naruto.

"I'm sorry about that." He apologized.

Gaara jumped down onto the ground and landed in front of Naruto.

"What's your name?" He asked.

"Uzumaki Naruto." Naruto answered.

"Uzumaki Naruto...." Gaara mumbled to himself.

"I'll remember it."

Gaara turned around and started walking away followed by Kankuro and Temari. Naruto watched the trio walk off, while Sakura walked up to his side.

"What was that all about?" She asked.

"They're Sand shinobi, probably here for the chunin exams that's coming up." Naruto answered.

Sakura nodded her head as she agreed with him.

"Sakura, I won't lie, the chunin exams will be dangerous, and we'll be going up against those guys and others like them." Naruto suddenly said aloud.

Sakura stared at Naruto as he spoke.

"But I promise, I'll protect you!" Naruto grinned as he gave her a thumbs up.

Sakura was surprised by Naruto's words, but found them comforting to hear. She nodded her head and grinned. She decided at that moment, she was going to participate in the chunin exams, and she would contribute to the team more this time.

"It's the other way around, this time, I'll protect you and Sasuke, Naruto!" She said while smiling.

Naruto looked surprised to hear her words, but grinned shortly after.

"It's a promise then!" He laughed.