Naruto: Rise of the Uzumaki by X009

Chapter 14

Naruto checked the bandages wrapped around his wrists before rolling down his sleeves. He zipped up his tracksuit before looking in the mirror with a confident grin.

A month had passed since the prelims ended. A month of harsh training, time spent with friends old and new and talking with the man who'd trained his father. Now the time had come. Today, he and his team would make chunin. He knew it!

Satisfied that he was all set to go, the blond left home. He'd rarely seen so few people on the streets as at this moment. He bet the arena was packed.

He took to an alley, bounding up the walls to the roof. From there, he could see a large procession of people going down the main road, lined with onlookers. The VIPs were here, alright.

He hopped back down to the streets and made his way to Konoha's arena. He'd always wondered what went down in there. He found his team waiting for him at the side entrance, away from the crowds.

"Hey guys," He greeted Sasuke and Sakura. "Looks like I'm the last one, huh?"

"Draw up some last-minute tricks?" Sasuke asked.

Naruto grinned, "Something like that. You guys ready to show everyone what we're made of?" He asked, punching his open palm with his fist. He got two nods, with a look of determination from Sakura and a smirk from Sasuke.

The three of them then walked inside together.

Fuu looked down from her rooftop vantage point, her legs hanging off the edge as she watched the line of visitors to the village trail onwards toward the arena.

She'd gotten up and prepared for her big day bright and early so that she knew she wouldn't miss this.

Despite how long she'd been waiting here, she watched no less attentively than when she first arrived. She watched the people eagerly, looking for the person she hoped to see.

"Fuu!" The mint-haired girl turned around to see Giichi appear. "How long are you going to wait up here? You're going to be late!"

"Don't worry about me," Fuu replied with a smile before gazing back into the crowd. "I know what time it is. I'm not going to let Shibuki down by being late."

She wasn't sure she'd be able to look herself in the mirror again if she did.

"And that's why you're up here, right? You're waiting to see if he's going to be here," Giichi guessed with a raised brow as he crossed his arms.

Fuu just giggled and closed her eyes. At least he knew her that well. She wondered if maybe he was starting to warm up to her. He had considered meeting her new friends a few times. And he and their sensei asked what she'd been up to with them.

It was nice that they were looking out for her, even if she couldn't tell if it was because they cared or just because of her importance to Taki.

Giichi sighed, "Well, I might as well wait up here too. It'd be nice knowing he's cheering us on."

The mint-haired girl briefly looked back at him with a beaming smile before looking back at the crowd.

"You know, I half expected you to cause some big scene as you did at the tower. You get everyone back home up in arms enough..." Giichi noted.

"Eh, that's because they don't like it when I go exploring. And, well, you know..."

"Right, like the time you decided to vanish for a whole day to make the chunin play hide and seek with you?" Giichi asked dryly, getting another giggle from Fuu as she sheepishly rubbed the back of her head.

It was then that Fuu's eyes widened. She shot to her feet with a beaming smile as her hands formed eager fists in front of her. "Look! There he is!"

Down below, walking amid the arrivals was a trio of Taki shinobi. At their head was a young man just out of his teens. The man had black eyes and long, dark brown hair. He wore gray pants with a green shirt and had a gray shoulder pad on his left shoulder with a brown strap across his waist.