Chapter 155: The Chunnin Exams…Again

Disclaimer:

Naruto and all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I create.

"Dialogue"

'Thoughts'

-Author notes-

Chapter 155: The Chunnin Exams...Again

"So, when do we leave?" Naruto asked, standing before the Hokage's desk.

Tsunade lifted her weary eyes from the documents piled in front of her.

The dark circles under her eyes revealed she hadn't slept much...if at all.

"In three days. Be ready at first light. Jiraiya will escort your team to the Hidden Sand Village," she replied.

"We're going with a Legendary Sannin?" Chōji exclaimed, his eyes wide with excitement.

"The Sand Village? Aren't they the ones who attacked us? Are we going to be okay there?" Ino asked nervously.

An older woman seated on a couch in the corner of the room decided to speak up.

"That is why we are sending you with a Sannin as an escort," Elder Koharu said, her tone firm. "His presence will discourage any hostile actions against our genin."

"Elder Koharu!" Ino exclaimed, realizing she had failed to greet the elder properly upon entering. "I'm so sorry for not acknowledging you earlier."

Koharu shook her head. "You seemed too excited when you rushed in, interrupting my meeting with the Hokage. I can overlook your carelessness, Miss Yamanaka. However, that boy over there…" She glanced pointedly at Naruto. "He saw me perfectly and still chose to ignore my presence."

He glanced towards the lone Elder. "For as long as we have 'that boy' under our control, the Sand Village can't make a move against us," Naruto said calmly.

Koharu frowned. "That's exactly what Lord Danzo said. You two would get along...he even refers to him as 'that boy', just like you."

"Which boy? What are you talking about?" Ino asked, confused.

The fact that Gaara was being held as a war prisoner hadn't been made public. Only a handful of people in Konoha knew about it.

Tsunade's expression soured. The idea of Naruto aligning himself with someone like Danzo was enough to give her a headache. And she had enough of those already.

"Is it just going to be us?" Naruto asked, steering the conversation back on track.

Tsunade shook her head. "Actually… there's another team I've been considering—"

At that moment, the office door suddenly burst open.

"Lady Tsunade! I'm going too!" Hinata declared, stepping inside.

"Hinata, wait!" Kiba followed closely behind, with Shino and Kurenai bringing up the rear.

"Hinata, I told you to let me go first," Kurenai scolded her immediately after catching up to her.

Tsunade cleared her throat loudly, drawing their attention.

Kurenai paled slightly. "Lady Tsunade, I'm so sorry about this! It's completely inappropriate—"

"Hinata, calm down," Tsunade interrupted, raising a hand. "As it happens, I was considering Team 8 as the other genin team to send. Although I had intended to discuss it with Kurenai in private first."

"You were considering my team?" Kurenai asked, surprised. She hadn't expected this opportunity so soon. Given the location of this exam, she thought they would have to wait another six months.

"Since you're all here, we might as well discuss it. What do you think?" Tsunade asked, glancing at both the Jonin sensei and her students.

"Really? We have another chance so soon?" Kiba's eyes lit up, and Akamaru barked in agreement.

"We want to go!" Kiba added excitedly. He and his team had been training nonstop since they left the hospital.

He was willing to do anything in order to avoid another failure like the one on that day.

"I am ready to try again," Shino said simply. He may not show it, but he was also excited about having another opportunity to prove himself.

Hinata's gaze shifted to Naruto. "Yes, I want to go," she said firmly.

"Oh dear," Kurenai sighed. "Do the three of you even know where the exam is being held? This time, you won't have the advantage of playing at home. You'll be entering hostile territory."

"Hostile territory?" Kiba asked, confused.

"The Sand Village," Ino answered.

While the alliance treaty between the two villages had been renewed on paper, tensions remained high due to Konoha holding Gaara prisoner...a situation indirectly caused by Naruto's refusal to engage with the other Jinchūriki.

"I don't expect it to be too hostile," Tsunade said. "Your group will be escorted by my old teammate, Jiraiya. With him present, I doubt they'll give you any trouble."

"Lord Jiraiya will be accompanying us?!" Kurenai exclaimed.

"That's great! Maybe he can teach me some cool jutsu!" Kiba said, his excitement growing.

Even Shino seemed slightly intrigued, though his expression remained stoic. "The Sannin..." he muttered.

Hinata walked up to Naruto, taking his hand. "Isn't it great, Naruto? We'll get to go on a trip together. You and I alone for several weeks, traveling across the country."

"Hold on a second." Ino grabbed Naruto's other hand, pulling it toward her. "Don't forget about me!"

Hinata glared at Ino, her Byakugan activating. "You want to compete? Bring it!"

"H-Hinata? What the—" Ino stammered, stunned by the transformation in the once-timid girl. "What happened to you?".

"The shy girl I remember is nowhere to be seen," Ino added. She wasn't really shocked to find out that Hinata was obviously chasing after Naruto, since she had a crush on him for years. But it was her bold attitude that Ino found so strange.

"Oh dear, what is happening?" Shizune asked, stepping into the office. "And who broke the door?!"

Tsunade smirked. "Looks like this is going to be an eventful trip."

Once the genin left, Koharu stood and approached Tsunade.

"Are you sure it's wise to send him there?" Koharu asked.

Tsunade raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean? We agreed on this. With Jiraiya present and their Jinchūriki in our possession, they won't dare try anything."

Koharu shook her head. "It's not them I'm worried about." Her gaze shifted to the towering stack of reports on Tsunade's desk.

Tsunade frowned, her tired eyes narrowing. "You don't think—"

"I do," Koharu interrupted. "That stack of papers is going to get much larger soon. Let's hope this will all be worth it."

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