Another Nine-Tails?!

Helping Out a Friend

The final day of the second part, the pair came across Naruto's team again. They hid in the trees, watching them from above. Sasuke had left his teammates to their own devices, which Uta was worried about. And she quietly voiced her concerns to the ash-haired boy beside her. "Was it a smart decision to let Sasuke go off on his own?"

"He's your brother, isn't he? He'll be fine." They watched as the blonde boy pulled out his team's scroll. The red-head gasped, shoving Kabuto forward slightly. He stopped the boy, placing a hand over his to stop him from opening the scroll. "I wouldn't do that if I were you. Don't you remember the rules?!" He glared up at them slightly. They both panicked a little before realizing who was near them. Sakura stared at Uta as she appeared before her eyes moved to the forest. Sasuke emerged moments later.

Alarm shot through him. Soon enough, the blonde boy and pink-haired girl were looking down as they fessed up to what they were gonna do, shame running through them. They were gonna look inside the scroll, thinking maybe it'll help them pass the round.

"You both are hopeless! I can't even turn my back on you for a single minute!" Sasuke scolded his teammates.

"That was too close." Uta muttered, earning a nod from Kabuto.

Sakura mumbled out an apology, Naruto nodded beside her. "Those who disobey the rules will find themselves in a situation where they will be forced to withdraw from the exam, remember? The last time I took the exam, any and everyone who peeked at the scroll was hit with a Genjutsu the moment they looked inside. They were all unconscious on the Forest of Death until the second test was over."

"Your name is Kabuto, right? Are you two on a team? If so, why are you wandering the forest by yourselves? Where's your third member?" Sasuke questioned, his eyes narrowed.

"We aren't after your scroll, if that is what you're implying."

"I figured that you probably weren't. Otherwise you could have just stolen it from Naruto when you stopped him from opening it. But you still need another scroll, don't you?"

"Nope. We already have a set. As for our other two teammates, we got separated from them. We were on our way to join them at the tower, but Uta felt your familiar chakra and wanted to see if you needed help." All three kids looked surprised for a moment, Sakura's eyes softening slightly. "We'll see you around." The pair turned, aiming to disappear into the forest. Uta stopped for a second and smiled softly at her brothers.

"Wait!" Sasuke suddenly shouted. Kabuto glanced back at him in confusion, sharing a look with his red-haired partner. "Fight me."

"Oh, wonderful. He's lost his mind." Uta shook her head.

"Fight you? And why would I do that?" Kabuto questioned, placing his hands on his hips. He watched the three teammates argue with each other for a moment. "Do you know what you and your brothers have in common... you're all very reckless."

"Shut up..!" She hissed at him, earning a chuckle.

"Are you joking?" The medic dropped his arm back to his sides when he noticed the young Uchiha wasn't, in fact, joking.

"There's no other way. Challenging him is the only way we'll make it out of the forest in time."

"That's where you're wrong. You're more interested in making a big gesture than reaching your goal. If you really wanted that then you wouldn't go through the trouble of initiating a formal challenge. You put me on guard to assure yourself a fair fight. You could have just blindsided me, though I doubt you would have been able to. Being able to blindside your enemies is what being a shinobi is all about." He pushed his glasses up his nose. "I don't think less of you for being that way. In fact, I'll show you how to do it. But, we should move while we talk." He turned his head, watching as Uroko unraveled herself from Uta's neck.