Lotus Of The Leaf ~Book One~

Chapter 31! The Sealed Rain Maker

~*****~

We eventually made it to the tower where Kabuto's teammates complained about him being late. We said our goodbyes and thanked him for his help. I shifted my weight a little as I adjusted Sasuke leaning against me. Sakura was on the other side. He was adamant about only needing my help, but in the end, Sakura got her way. "Hey, Sakura. I'm fine now." Sasuke said, and Sakura let him go so he could walk on his own. I slipped out from underneath him arm and steadied him, smiling when he gave me a grateful look.

"Say, what're we supposed to do now?" Naruto asked, looking around for some sort of clue.

"Look at that!" Sakura called, pointing to the wall.

On it, was a large banner with writing painted on it. Fairly new, and probably part of the exam. We all walked a bit closer. Naruto began reading what it said, becoming confused and irritated. "Without... heaven... I don't get it at all..."

"If 'Heaven' doesn't exist, enrich your knowledge and prepare for the chance. If 'Earth' does not exist, run the fields in search of an advantage. Open the series of Heaven and Earth, and the perilous way shall be redressed. This is namely the secret of the one that guides it." Sakura read.

"What's that?" Naruto asked.

"It means we gotta open the scrolls now." I state, pulling them out of my pouch. I tossed one to Sakura and stood by her side. "If my gut is right, this means we've enriched our knowledge, hence the heaven scrolls, and we searched the field for an advantage, the earth. If we open them together, then that means the trial is over. It means the secret of the scrolls will be made clear." Sakura and I peeled it open and were dumbfounded with the kanji for 'man' was written inside. Then, a huge lump began growing before the smoke released from it.

"This is... a summoning jutsu?" Sasuke questioned before his eye's widened. "Sakura! Ren! Let go of the scrolls!" We did as we were told and tossed them ahead of us. A figure of a man appeared in the smoke. As it faded the figure became clear.

"Wha..."

"Are you kidding me?!"

It was Iruka-Sensei! "Hi." He smiled, his arms crossed and looking down at us. "It's been a long time."

Everyone stared at him in confusion. "What's going on?" Sakura questioned.

"It appears you guys have had a rough time, huh?"

"Huh?! Why are you appearing with a summoning?"

Then, it clicked.

"Ohhh, that's why we couldn't open the scrolls. We'd break the seal and whoever was assigned to us would appear to see we didn't finish and use that genjutsu as punishment!" I declared, giggling when Naruto yelped in astonishment. "Good thing I stopped you, huh?"

Iruka started to chuckle. "I guess some things never change. Naruto's still scatterbrained, and Ren's still a genius." I giggled and rubbed the back of my head.

"Sensei? What're those letters on the wall? They're kind of weird and we don't understand their meaning at all." Sakura pointed out.

"Never mind that! We passed!" Naruto cheered before being punched in the face by Sakura.

"What did I tell you earlier!? Shut it!"

Iruka laughed awkwardly at the deadly aura Sakura had surrounding her. "No, Naruto. Explaining that is one more of my duties. Give it a look." He asked. "These are Chunin instructions the Hokage recorded. Heaven in this test refers to the mind, Earth refers to the body. 'If Heaven doesn't exist, enrich your knowledge and prepare for the chance'. In other words, if your weakness if your knowledge, Naruto, learn various logics in preparing for your mission." Sakura and I began to giggle a little while Naruto complained.

"If Earth does not exist, run the fields in search of an advantage. If your weakness is in your physical strength, Sakura, it means you mustn't slack off in your daily training." I started to giggle at Sakura while she flinched in embarrassment, shushing me with a heavy flush covering her cheeks. "And if you combine both Heaven and Earth, any perilous mission will become a safer and less risky mission." He finished.

"Is that final character supposed to represent, the person, or in this case, 'Chunin'?" I hum, pointing at it.

"Yes!" Iruka praised while ruffling my now short hair. "These five days of survival were to test the test-takers fundamental abilities as a Chunin. And you guys cleared it in fine style!" He said, lifting his hand to form a sign. "Chunin of a unit with leader responsiblity. They have the responsibility of leading a team. Be more deeply aware of the necessity of physical strength and knowledge in missions. I want you to take on the next step, never forgetting these Chunin instructions." He smiled sincerely at us. "That is all."

"Got it!" Naruto grinned at his teacher as his smile began fading. When he noticed this, he pressed on.

"But as for the final, third exam, don't push it too far. Especially you, Naruto. You're the biggest worry-"

"Iruka-Sensei." Iruka stopped short. "From when I received the Leaf Headband, I was no longer an academy student, ya know?! There is nothing to worry about! Trust me! Also, this is proof you gave me that I'm a full-fledged ninja, right?!" Naruto grinned, holding the metal with the leaf symbol engraved on it's surface. "I'm scatterbrained, that hasn't changed. But I'm not a kid anymore! I'm a ninja now!"

Silence filled the room after Naruto had finished.

"I see," Iruka began. "I'm sorry, Naruto." I smiled at the blond before Iruka started urging us to continue to the main hall. He stopped me before I could leave the room, a worried expression on his face. "Ren, how are you feeling?" He hummed, rubbing the back of his head.

"Hm? Oh, I'm fine, Iruka-Sensei!" I grinned, hitting my chest with a closed fist. "I feel more than fine, I'm great!" His eyes trailed down to my stomach and his eyes clouded with worry. I looked down at the black markings over the flat plane of my stomach, my heart tightening. "Oh, sorry. I've been concentrating on replenishing my chakra." I let out a sigh and the markings disappeared from sight.

Iruka sighed and  ruffled my hair again. "I need to inform the Hokage about this, but please, try not to let 'her' run wild." He sighed again, walking away from me. I inhaled a little and pressed my hand against my stomach, hating that he looked at me; like I was.... not me.