Wildflower Book 1 | Naruto Fanfiction

Chapter28: New Ventures

"We're here! We're finally here, Karin-chan!", Akira screeched as she and Karin finally entered the tower. Tama had sent them back, dressed in more comfortable clothes, and left them near where she had found Karin. From there, they fought to stay hidden and advanced towards the tower without getting into an altercation. Luckily enough, they only had to fight twice, and both times they managed to escape. Barely. They still had their scrolls, at least, beaten up as they were.

"What do we do now?", Akira asked as they entered the waiting room, where a whole lot of other genin were waiting as well. The looked for an isolated corner, where no one would bother them.

"We open them.", Karin said, rather uncertain herself. They each took a scroll, and counted to three before rolling them open on the floor. A cloud of smoke rose between the two of them, and quickly began to settle. In its place, Konoha shinobi appeared, startling the girls.

"Congratulations! You've passed the preliminary round!", the woman said beamishly, casting them a satisfied gaze. She paused, frowning.

"Why are there only two of you?", she asked. Akira was quick to answer her.

"Our teammate sacrificed himself to keep us safe. A chakra beast bear killed him.", she said solemnly. The woman paused, her frown switching to a look of sympathy.

"I see. That's unfortunately how some things work in this world. If you can't save yourself along with those you seek to protect, then a sacrifice might be your only choice. I commend you girls for continuing until the end, it couldn't have been easy. Your teammate must be proud wherever he is.", she said softly.

So long as he was dead, they were happy.

"Thank you.", Karin said softly. Akira only dipped her head in mock thanks.

"Now, you have to wait here until the very last moment of the round, which will be announced soon. Until then, you can get medical attention for any injuries you have. You two seem spent, so please wait here while I get a medic for you.", she said before walking away. The girls sat in silence, taking the chance to just relax and finally catch their breath.

In truth, they barely made it to the tower, it was a miracle. They even doubted that the next round would be kind to them. Heck, they might not even survive the next round. Considering the fact that this was a preliminary round, the final round was bound to be more difficult.

The Konoha kunoichi eventually came back, as she had promised, a medic in her wake. They were attended to immediately, and were fixed up in no time.

"Would it be possible for us to stay in Konoha?", Akira boldy asked as their kunoichi stood to the side. By now, the medic was long gone and they were left alone with her again. The woman paused, seeming to think for a moment.

"Of course, Konoha is open to everyone! You'd have to register for citizenship at the Hokage Tower first, though.", she said. The girls nodded in understanding, and immediately fell silent. They opted to wait for the end of the round before doing anything.

Hours later, the Hokage himself entered the tower, along with a few more shinobi. He was hard to miss, what with the signature hat and haori, which was labeled sandaime Hokage.

His appearance marked the end of the round, and he proceeded to announce the date for the finals. The girls litsened carefully to his speech. They had a month to prepare, at least. During that time, they would have to ask Tama for help with both training and a change of citizenship. Hopefully, things would work in their favour from then onwards.

Meanwhile, at that exact moment, Tama watched on from above, her face hidden behind her Anbu mask. Satisfied with her efforts, she followed after the Hokage as he left the tower.