Vision of Truth I: Cat and Fox (Naruto)

The Chunin Exams

"You treat life like a picture
But its not a moment frozen in time
It's not gonna wait
'Til you make up your mind, at all

So while this storm is breaking
While there's light at the end of the tunnel
Keep running towards it
Releasing the pressure that's your heartache
Soon this dam will break"

- "Feels Like Today" by Rascal Flatts

Chapter 17: The Chunin Exams

An altercation nearly took place before the chunin exams even began. Two older Leaf ninja attempted to block the rookie ninja from all the lands from entering the exam room. They even used genjutsu to trick us into going to the wrong floor, although Sakura figured it out right away.

"So, you spotted an illusion," one of the ninja said. "Now let's see you deal with this!"

The ninja swung his leg at Sasuke, who readied to block. Then suddenly, a figure in a green jumpsuit moved between them, catching their legs. I let out a breath of relief. We did not need to be fighting when we would not even get points for it. The two aggressive ninja disappeared, and the ninja in green approached Sakura.

"My name is Rock Lee," he said. "You are Sakura, right?" Sakura just stared at him in confusion. "Please be my girlfriend." He winked and gave her a thumbs up. "I vow to protect you with my life."

I burst out laughing. "Say yes! Please say yes!"

"Definitely not," Sakura deadpanned. "Because you're a weirdo."

"Don't be so quick to judge," I said with a grin. "He could be the love of your life."

Sakura glared at me. "You don't even believe in love."

I smiled. "I'm open to being wrong."

The other ninja had already started for the correct floor, so we followed suit. Lee, however, was not so placated and followed us into an open room. This time, he challenged Sasuke to a fight. "Everyone is always talking about the Uchiha clan and how great they are. I want to see if it is true. I figure you will be a good test for me. And also-" He looked at Sakura and blushed. "Oh, Sakura! I love you!"

I resumed laughing while Sakura started freaking out. "This guy is a keeper."

"You are an angel sent from heaven." Lee blew her a kiss that turned into a heart, which she dodged. "That was a good move but let us see you doge this." He blew more kisses that she successfully avoided, though she ended up falling on the floor.

"This is great," I said in between breaths of laughter.

"Hey!" Sakura shouted at him. "Keep your creepy little valentines to yourself! I was dodging for my life there!"

I snorted. "Don't be so dramatic."

Lee reiterated his interest in fighting Sasuke. Before Sasuke could respond, however, Naruto attacked Lee. The strange ninja easily knocked him to the floor and turned back to Sasuke. Lee and Sasuke began to fight using mainly taijutsu. They were well-matched, and it was an amazing fight to watch. Unfortunately, they were stopped by Lee's sensei, Guy. It was time for us to focus on the chunin exams.

I left with my team, and we finally reached the exam room. We were immediately met with hostile looks from the numerous ninja. This was going to be interesting. After catching up with the other rookies, we ran into an older ninja named Kabuto who was still trying to become a chunin. He offered to help us by showing us his ninja info cards. My mind drifted until he started to talk about Gaara, showing us his card.

"Mission experience, eight C ranks," Kabuto said, "and get this - one B rank as a genin. There's not a lot more information on this guy. He was a rookie from another land, originally, but there is this: he survived every mission without getting a scratch on him."