397Disclaimer: I don't own Dragonball Z or Naruto
Because I love you all so much, here's another chapter "3 months early" :D
Anko impatiently watched the youth of apparent memories too terrifying for even a mind reader to endure exit the office; essentially trying to repel him away with her ferociously antsy gaze. The thump of the door shutting completely was sweeter than any track could be at that moment to her.
Without even waiting a second to assure the boy wasn't in range to eavesdrop, she rounded unsympathetically on the thoroughly spooked clan leader like a thunderous wind, "Mind explaining just what the hell you saw in that kid's head?" The small sound of rustling clothes alerted her to the raise of a gloved hand, "Kakashi?!" She caught his eye, filled with patience and understanding, and understood what he was trying to convey with an added shake of the head.
Give him a moment.
…Because he surely needed it.
He was out of it, shaking uncontrollably like his life had just been forfeited with his palms grasping his head. Eyes were stretched to lengths he could didn't even think were imaginable, rattling continuously like a baby's toy, "Those. kids," He said, in between huge inhales, "Are from another planet." And he didn't even mean literally. Just figuratively to summarize the unattainable levels of sheer power they were on above everyone else not just in Konoha, but the world.
Time seemingly slowed to a crawl for Inoichi's audience in the moments the Yamanaka clan leader preciously grabbled up to calm from his near death-like experience. He straightened and placed a palm on his rapidly beating heart before taking in an extended, quiet intake of soothing air.
They watched him with bated breaths as he did.
When he was finally able to look each of them in the eye with some restored clarity, the first piece of information he relayed from his sightings in Goten's head blew their minds, "They have the power to destroy planets."
NANI!
Thunder strokes struck down from the heavens, paralysing the three of Inoichi's audience in their places. Trembling eyes enlarged with disbelief, mouths pried open (even Kakashi's beneath his mask) they were the personification of slack-jawed spitless.
"You're kidding!" Anko said, half-pleading, half-demanding. Her resolve faltered when the mind reader gave her the deadliest serious look she had ever seen with a shake of the head. Sharp as a razor blade and one even a judge would've balked at, "That's… nuts." That declaration felt painfully underwhelming even to her, but every last cell of her brain was so fried to their roots she felt she was due leeway in failing to find the right words to summarize the absolute bombshell Inoichi had dropped on them.
She'd heard and experienced some of the most bizarre phenomenon during her time as a shinobi, and even learnt of the all-time greats in her youth years spent honing her craft in the academy. She was confident nothing of the supernatural or inhuman variety could fossil her in horror, throw her way off her game but that had to take the cake.
Planet busters? The thought was impossible to wrap a head around, even with top notch one hundred percent validation from a mind reader. It was fictional shit found in an action story based around gods. The title itself, which there were such a thing, belonged to gods or godlike entities, not to two kids. Even if those wet-behind-the-ears pups could hang with the big dogs down the lane no other pup had a right to pick a bone with, having the power to erase planets was a step well beyond the realm of believability.
It could not be swallowed at face-value.
Inoichi watched his colleague struggle to come to terms with the explosive information he relayed with an understanding gaze, to his credit. He wouldn't have believed it himself if he hadn't of discovered it in the realm of the boy's suppressed thoughts.
"It would be better if I showed you," He insisted, startling the Jounin specialist out of her struggling thoughts of acceptance. She jolted in a way to suggest she had blocked out her surroundings, fully embracing her own little world like a legitimate absentminded bubblehead would.
"Oh yeah? How're you gonna do that?" She quipped, purely on reflex. When stressed to limits far beyond relief, smash the first defence mechanism button within arm's reach. Just so happened being snarky was one of hers, "With your freaky powers?" She was vaguely aware she had just taken on the role of the pot and brandished Inoichi the black kettle, but at that point she simply didn't care to bullshit herself on hypocrisies.
She just had to cope, by any means possible.
Inoichi was more than perceptive enough to see she meant no harm with her "unintended" dig at his abilities, that it was purely her way of coping with the unfathomable revelation he dropped on them with no forewarning. Part of the benefits of having such an ability tailor-made for exploring the physics of any human without a mental barrier was the better understanding of humans as a whole.
Everyone had their own unique way of coping with astonishing bombshells. Knowing such a thing was small potatoes for a mind reader, "Just relax and place your hand on my shoulder," He just advised on an approach to her, with a comforting smile a father would give his daughter, "There'll be no lasting damages done I assure you."
"Well, okay!" Anko accepted brassily, another witty remark already rolling off the tip of her tongue, "But if this thing screws me over, I'm suing pal."
His smile only softened, "I'll be ready," He assured, jokingly. Business mode swiftly kicked into gear when he glanced over to his fellow Jounin by Anko's right, "Kakashi." Kakashi merely nodded, moving a few inches to the left in front of Hiruzen's desk to grasp Inoichi's other shoulder, "Lord Hokage." He extended a hand like a young person offering to assist the elderly across the street.
Hiruzen hummed with a grave expression hardening his wizened face. One weathered palm found its way atop the infinitely healthier hand.
A deafening silence drowned out all semblance of noise like a small boat being swallowed whole by the ocean, increasing the tension through the roof and beyond like a heater thermometer being turned up to its maximum capacity. A gulp of swallowed nerves from the only kunoichi echoed in the void of thunderous silence they'd surrounded themselves in.
No one dared to make eye-contact.
The seconds clicked down in Inoichi's head.
Five.
Four.
Three.
Two.
One.
But none would be prepared for what was in store.
With a splash of noise reverberating in their ears, they submerged themselves deep into the oceanic abyss of Goten's memories. Worlds fading in the darkness, only partly lit up by the crimson-red fluids of the body before a primal, beast-like roar forced them to pull out as though they were out of breath, wide eyes frozen in petrified shock. Their hearts were completing against each other in an endless marathon of unstoppable speedy beats. They could hear them thundering against their ears like a dong.
A heathy tan would've looked non-existent on their terribly pale faces right at that moment.
Seconds and minutes passed before anyone of them were ready to comment on the unspeakable horrors and bizarre reality they found in the seemingly absentminded boy's head, and even after minutes of recovery there was only really one exclamation that sprung to mind to sum up the sheer absurdity and terror they just watched like a movie.
"Holy shit."
Anko was spokeswoman.
"Seconded," Kakashi agreed, simply. A sheen of pure horrified sweat he wasn't even sure he could produce gleamed over his entire masked visage. He inhaled deeply, slowly raising from his winded position like a defeated warrior self-reflecting, "Goten…"
Leafy-green pupliess eyes beside him were a mirrored reflection of his own, deep in contemplative sorrow, "Yeah." No other words were needed and so, Inoichi spoke no more. They all attended the same theatre of both nightmares and dreams.
The "dream half" representing the wondrous high-tech futuristic devices and strangely humanoid animals of Goten's world and the nightmare half being everything else ever, from the ludicrously galaxy-height levels of power to where even the weakest "human" of their world could effortlessly rule unequalled in theirs with an iron fist, to the crazed destruction of imagination wrought by the Majin Buu creature (Seriously, that candy segment of Goten's memories were going to haunt them for life) and lastly, to the monstrous demon-like Godzilla thrashing mindlessly in (assumedly) of the mindscape of all Saiyans with a tail, triggered by the sight of a full moon like the long-lost brother of a werewolf.
Its Galaxy-like pool of pure destructive power made the Kyuubi's seem like a puddle by comparison. The Kyuubi, indisputably the strongest living entity in the ninja world until the boys dethroned him, was nothing more than some mindless ape's plaything. The term let that sink in could not be more appropriate.
The urge to lay down became the new unbearable scratch all of a sudden.
"Well, least we know why they're so damned strong," Anko offered, wrinkling her nose in a suspicious grimace. The high-tech devices so suited for extended periods of training and endurance were nothing short of cheat codes.
"They grow as far as their potential allows," Hiruzen was on hand to shoot down any such implications of downplay, almost playing the part of an offended diehard fan of theirs, "We mustn't forget that." Yes, they had convenient training rooms like the Hyperbolic Time (or used to) and gravity chambers enabling them to make the most of their absurdly high potential, but they still had to have possess the inherent talent to abuse their cheat devices so. If anyone could become as powerful as them simply by training endlessly, the superhumans of their world's Special Defence Force would be on their level.
"Yeah, I get that," She acknowledged, meeting him half-way a tad defensively, "But c'mon! They have a freaking room that lets them train for a year in a day!" Arms were decisively locked beneath a gorgeous bosom in finality, "If that's not taking a shortcut then I'm a snake's aunt." Case closed.
Hiruzen handled the suppressing of an awkward blush threatening to flow over his cheeks like a true expert seal master, pressing the tip of his hat over his sheepish scowl, "Duly noted."
The chance to smirk victoriously was a prescription the doctor couldn't have ordered at any better time to reignite the wild flames of her heart that the fear of this whole situation had doused, warming her chilled bones right back up.
Unfortunately, they weren't out the deep woods yet of this otherworldly meeting so Inoichi just had to throw a wet blanket over her parade, "So, what should we do about that?" That was a thing so thoroughly deserving of the "No Further Descriptions Needed" seal of validation.
Its purely animistic bloodshot eyes and monstrously loud roar were distinctive enough that even the smallest hints would trigger one's memory of the Godzilla's gigantic form.
Although, despite the court-like multitude of the action needing to be taken to prevent the awakening of the beast roaming freely in Goten's mindscape, hesitation wasn't to be detected in Hiruzen's demand, "Seal it."
With laser-like accuracy, Anko's askance gaze shot his way, "Really?"
He didn't even blink, "Certainly."
"Well, that would make the most sense," Kakashi took the volunteer work of Mr Reason. Ideally, they would want to add the demon-like ape to their clan archives of bloodline traits. Such power, such water-inducing from the mouth power, had the potential of being invaluable to Konoha in the years to come if he was following the leader of the village right.
This point sailed over Anko's head as she donned the cap of Captain Obvious, "I was just going to suggest we rip that flurry sucker off the kid's ass." Problem solved, but - and there was always a but.
"No, then he would lose the ability to transform," The look she was sending him screamed duh, so Hiruzen knew explanations were needed, "I want him to gain full mastery of the foul beast within," Her eyes cleared of the clouds previously blocking them, but still he finished, "According to his older brother, it's possible for them to maintain consciousness while in the Oozaru state as Trunks' father once apparently demonstrated."
Like a fully assembled puzzle, the pieces all fell into place, "I see."
A nod, "Indeed. If young Goten himself can gain mastery of the Oozaru's power, the likelihood of his children accomplishing such also will triple, which will provide Konoha an invaluable asset in the many years after his passing."
Before the snake mistress of the obvious could highlight the major wrench in Hiruzen's plans, Inoichi guided her on his path of thinking, "I thought as much as well," He mentioned, "From what I could gather in regard to the eternal dragon's power, he can grant any wish, but only in the scope of his creator's abilities. The creator of the eternal dragon and overseer of their world is only as strong as a regular teenage boy." Meaning not strong at all, and since the feat of ripping open a getaway to their world was performed by a creature of immense power, it was safe to assume Shenron would be unable to replicate that.
Her lips took on the form of the beast within the Saiyans in a feral smirk, "Heh! So their one get out-of-jail free card is a dud, huh?" They were banking on Shenron providing them the tickets out of here, putting all their eggs into one account so to speak, but, for as wondrous as that mythical creature was (seriously, what they wouldn't give to have the ability to wish back their loved ones) he also had limitations; limitations they had overlooked because they were, after all, just children, "Guess we can start planning for the future."
"Certainly," Hiruzen nodded, "It is vital Konoha maintains their traits even after their passing, even if we must arrange a marriage for each of them." Especially the Oozaru trait. He knew how unlikely it was that their off springs would ever be as powerful as them. Children rarely inherited the talent of their parents and even if their children somehow do, they still wouldn't have the environment (training chambers in particular) around them to make the most of their potential.
No, there was little to no chance of their descendants ever being as powerful. Hiruzen knew that better than anyone. Even after the decades past since the deaths of the famous Senju brothers, no one had ever come close to even matching Tobirama's power much less Hashirama's. Lord Fourth was a close contender to rivalling Tobirama's power, but beside from making Lord Second's famed Flying Thunder God Jutsu his own, which was impressive in of itself, he could never gain the same absurd chakra levels the younger Senju brother possessed; the kind of oceanic reserves that enabled Tobirama to force a lesser shinobi to his knees just by flaring his Chakra! And his were still barely half the size of his older brother's, the God of Shinobi.
"Heh. So we just get the little turds to spread their seeds, huh?"
"I wouldn't quite word it like that dear Anko, but indeed, that's the bare minimum of it."
"Oh, I don't think that will be necessary," Kakashi insisted, delightfully secretive expression plating on his masked visage, "Goten and Sakura have been growing rather close. I'd let that play out first."
"Then it's settled. I will have Jiraiya summoned back to seal away Goten's Oozaru. In the meantime, no one is to speak of this matter. I'm classifying it as an S-ranked secret punishable by imprisonment."
"Understood, Lord Hokage."
"Dismissed."
They disbanded, heading over to the door. When Kakashi was the last one to make his exit, Hiruzen stopped him in his tracks.
"Oh, and Kakashi."
He turned back.
"Yes, Lord Hokage?"
"Be certain to inform young Goten he is not to leave the premises of the central tower under any circumstance. We would not want him spotting a full moon and transforming now."
An eye smile.
"Of course."
Small, delicate bloody hands weaved their way through the pointy thorns of the woods, still unable to stop pieces of its twigs from getting into the crimson hair of their owner, "Ow!" She yelped from a particularly sharp thorn cutting deeply into her digit. The bespectacled girl stared at her bleeding thumb, doubt slowly resurfacing from the furthest reaches of her mind that she had shoved it into and blocked out with delusional self-assurance, "No!" She forced it down again, sucking onto her thumb to stop the bleeding, 'I can't stop now, not when I'm so close to reaching my baby."
She remained fully determined to reach the endless beacon of masculine power she had to call her own. If she was in a better state of mind, she might have called herself out on the hypocrisy of fearing the gigantic wall of power back in the first phase of the Chunin Exams to being enamoured with it once he saved her, but she wasn't! And so, the delusional redhead continued to trudge toward her man.
And she would have him.
New Kids on the Block
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FOURTEEN
Planning Ahead
The scenery was breathtakingly majestic; a clear azure sky and a brilliant sun of a bright summer day, complemented by the whirlwinds of cherry-blossomed petals dancing all around the enticed hybrid. A mesmerised gaze followed the swirling petals gathering in the intensely tranquil breeze with feet stoop atop a colourful array of flowers.
"Wow," The tailed boy murmured, reaching up on his tiptoes. A sakura petal collided soothingly against his palm, which he would hold onto, "It's so pretty."
"Goten." He flinched lightly, slowly turning to a sight far surpassing the pleasant beauty of any cherry-blossomed littered scene. If he had been more confident in himself, he might have told her just what was on his mind, regardless of how cheesy it ultimately sounded. He wasn't though, so he just settled for staring at the beauty before him, breathless at the loving smile she gave him.
"Sakura."
"Why are you staring at me, silly?" She teased him, playfully. She reached over to grab his hand, sending a tingling sensation through him, "Come on! They're all waiting for us."
The butterflies ceased their settling in his stomach long enough for him to wonder, "Huh?" She offered no explanation, only to continue to beam toward him with that same loving smile that made his heart flutter in his chest and gestured ahead to an establishment Goten always would've recognized even colour-blind with one-eye, "Ah!" He gasped, rubbing his eyes with his free hand before looking again, but the sight remained, "I'm home!" The sight of his childhood home, in all its humble glory, "But why come? I thought we were in the Chunin Exams."
"Don't be silly, Goten," Sakura dodged past Goten's question with a giggle behind her hand, "You promised me you'd take me to meet your family."
"I did?" He tipped his head to the side.
"Uh-huh!" She beamed, tugging him along, "Let's go. I really want to meet your Mom."
"Oh, okay," He agreed wholeheartedly, falling in step with the angel beside him; her scent intoxicating to his senses. No other scent mattered but the heavenly smell of the girl by his side. His nose had made hers priority number one, 'Sakura smells really nice.' A blush flowed over his small, shy smile.
He was relieved his embarrassment of enjoying Sakura's presence was derailed by the creaking sound of a door being opened. Eyes shooting forward on reflex, his heart swelled in euphoric relief, pupils glistening like puddles reflecting the bright sunlight. There he stood, in all his smartly-dressed sophisticated glory, familiar raven hair spiked up in a short flat top.
"Go… han?" The name breathlessly left his lips in each syllable, wide eyes disbelieving to the sight of his beloved older brother standing welcomingly in the doorway of their home.
"Goten!" He waved the youngest Son family member over, "Glad you could make it, bro!"
"Yay, Gohan!" He jetted forward, racing into his inviting embrace, "You're back!"
"Of course," He assured, softly. He laid a hand on his little brother's Goku-hair, stroking it tenderly, "Shenron made sure of it."
He giggled, happily nestling against his brother's stomach, "Yeah."
"Goten," An intense feeling of jubilant relief poured through his veins. The voice was unmistakable; kind, warm and affectionate. He was tearing up even before her doting smile appeared from the shadows of the doorway.
"Mom."
"Aren't you going to introduce us to your friend?" She gestured to an affectionately smiling kunoichi, patiently allowing Goten to have his moment.
"Yeah, scamp," An older version of Goten sauntered out beside his mother, arms folded behind his head in a Naruto-like manner of careless insouciance, "We've been dying to meet her for ages now!"
"Daddy!" He beamed. Goku just flashed him their signature family grin and jerked a thumb in Sakura's direction, "Oh right." He spun to the pink-haired kunoichi, his cheeks suddenly resembling her hair at her affectionate gaze, "Sakura!"
"Yes," She answered, lovingly.
He swallowed a huge lump down his throat and pointed over to his family, watching their little boy with prideful smiles. Goku had moved over to ChiChi and embraced with one muscled arm, "This is my family," He beamed at his older brother, "That's my big brother, Gohan."
"It's nice to meet you, Gohan," She bowed respectfully.
"Likewise," Gohan said, returning the gesture.
Goten swept his finger over to his folks, "And those are my Mommy and Daddy, ChiChi and Goku."
"It's a pleasure to finally meet you both, Mr and Mrs Son," She afforded the parents of her love the same privilege and respect of his brother, upper body dipping low and deep in a bow, practically having her entire posture lit up by ChiChi's intensely bright beam of admiration of her proper courtesy, "I've been dying to meet you all for ages now, too. Goten told me such wonderful things about you all."
"Yeah, I bet. The little tyke wouldn't stop writing about you either Sakura in the letters he sent us from the leafy place or whatever."
"Konoha, Dad."
"Yeah, that."
Sakura blushed. Softly said, "I'm so glad."
"Oh, my baby!" ChiChi gushed, biting the hem of her sunshine Chinese dress, tears building up in her eyes. Said baby blushed with the brightest smile of shy embarrassment forming on his lips while his brother and father grinned at ChiChi in an affectionately humorous manner, "Mommy's so proud of you. You found someone so well-mannered!"
The shade of pink lighting up his cheeks darkened while his father pulled his mother into a gentle, comforting hold, letting her cry tears of unbridled joy on his shoulder, "This means Sakura's gonna be Gohan's new sister, right!?" He asked excitedly.
A short series of chuckles bubbled from Gohan's throat, "You got it, squirt."
"Yay!" He cheered, circling his flushed wife-to-be with arms extended back like a bird with wings in the sky, "Son Sakura!"
The older Son men shared a heartfelt laugh while the apparent bride-to-be blushed under Goten's rumbustious attention. ChiChi continued to soak Goku's shoulder.
"C'mon guys! What's say we celebrate the engagement with some grub!" Goku suggested, gesturing them inside with an arm thrown over his spiky head, "Oh, man! I could go for some-." He never got to finish. An malevolently pink-purplish light abruptly enveloped him like a suit of armour, ripping a painful whine from his throat.
"Dad!"
"Goku!"
"What's happening to him?"
A grave chill froze Goten's blood solid. He would recognize that devilish beam of sickening sugary delight anywhere. There were nights when the images of the monstrous wave turning a City's population into sweets kept him up, "No, Daddy!" He could only watch on in helpless fright as his father's form shrunk to the size of a cup, skin hardening and darkening to mud-brown, limps pressing together and face converting to that of an action-figure.
The dull thud signalled the drop of what remained of Son Goku.
Suddenly, the bright skies overhead of euphoric innocence was swept over by a sea of malevolent darkened grey, once pristine white clouds now sullied and warped to a devilish purple. Even the serene breeze now roared with spiteful, biting cyclones, tearing up the flower garden in a matter of mere seconds.
"Oh my god," Sakura gasped, breathlessly, hands flying to her mouth.
ChiChi almost fainted.
A familiar sinister chuckle unpleasantly greeted their ears. Eyes blazing with murderous rage, the Son brothers wheeled around sharply, trying to melt the maliciously smiling visage veiled in the shadows of malevolence, "Chocolate! That's what I think I'll go for," He rasped, mocking Goku's earlier attempted desire.
"Buu!" Gohan seethed. Golden rays erupted over his form, shielded in deadly sparks of electricity without any hesitance. He rushed the freakishly tall creature that the scholar in him could only describe as Hell's creation but…
But Buu was faster. A flick of his merciless antenna later and Gohan was shrouded in the same satanic power of sugary malevolence as his father.
"Ahhhhh!" He roared, but his screams were silenced. He, too, dropped to the ground as a bar of chocolate shaped as himself.
"Big brother!" Goten cried, shielding Sakura who cowed behind him.
"Gohan!" ChiChi screamed, which turned out to be the last semblance of any normal thought process running through her mind. She scorpion kicked her defence mechanism button, coating her previously saddened posture in an self-righteous feminine aura of tsundere bravado, "Now look here you!"
"Mom, don't!" Goten pleaded, knowing full well how futile it was. When his mother got this, nothing was stopping her.
She marched right past her son and up to Buu, squaring entirely ignorantly up to him, "I've had just about enough of you hurting my loved ones! Bring back my Goku and Gohan or else!" She punctuated her threat by slapping him audibly across the cheek, drawing visible cringes from Sakura and Goten.
Buu's malevolently wide grin remained etched to his face, "You like eggs again?" A startled blink were her last actions before she, too, was bathed in the sinister wave of edible vitriol, and from the beam emerged an egg, complete with Buu's cruel chuckles.
"Mom!" Goten roared in despair. He reached forward, but it was too late. Buu's heel came crashing down like an executioner's axe, crushing his mother's remains. Sakura covered her eyes, unable to watch the brutal execution of her sweetheart's mother as Goten's heart sunk, "Ah!"
"Hahaha," Buu began to laugh, rising his arms, "And then there was one!"
It was obvious who he was referring to and what the idea was behind his decimation of his loved ones and Goten couldn't let that happen. Overcome with a blinding fury and a desire to protect his last remaining love one, Goten burst into race's legendary state and rushed Buu, "I'll kill you!"
Buu swatted him away with a simple backhand as though he were a fly, sending him sprawling across the now bare dirt ground of the once flower-littered ground that the sinister winds had uprooted and carried away, "Ahhhhhh!"
"Goten!" Sakura cried. An immense fear gripped her heart as if it was grabbed by a bear's paw when an intimidatingly huge shadow eclipsed her body, "No," She stumbled clumsily backward, but the monstrous beast closed the distance, "Please, no."
"What should Buu turn you into?" Buu asked, toying with his prey, "Woo! Buu knows. Gumball, for the sweet little girl."
"No," He granted his thoroughly decimated opponent a sadistically mocking grin over his shoulder, "Stop. I won't let you," He stated, even though he already looked like he had gone through ten rounds with the mighty creature of godlike might. He was ruined, clutching at his severely injured arm and glaring at Buu with one good eye. It terrified him to realize just how much damage he had been dealt just by Buu's backhand alone, never mind a punch. He shuddered to think what would happen to him if Buu punched him with a sample of his true power, but still he had to try, for he couldn't let Sakura die.
She was the only one left in his life right now.
Buu's demonic grin and glowing pupils widened and brightened at him before he turned back to a trembling Sakura, readying his antenna.
"No!" Goten released a war-like cry, forcing his battered body to a sprint – for all the good it did: none. The glow had already encased Sakura before he could get even half way to them to prevent it, "Sakuraaaaaaaa!"
"Ah, Gotennnnnnnnnn!" And the final remnants of her bloodcurdling scream of her beloved faded in the chill winds of the desolate world Buu's mere presence had created, shattering the final fragments of Goten's heart.
Widening eyes of painstaking despair fossilized, he slumped to his knees; the pink petal he had scooped up earlier drifted agonizingly away from his palm, "Sa-ku-ra," He mumbled her name, tears sliding down his cheeks slowly.
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Buu laughed uproariously, "Now you're all alone just like Buu, little man!" He bragged, his bellows thundering in the distance but Goten just didn't have the will to contest him anymore.
...
Goten bolted upright hastily, horrified face drenched in his own freezing cold sweat, "Ahhh!" He let loose a hushed scream in the vast darkness, heavy, accelerated breathing ragged and heart rate racing a mile a minute in his chest.
Small movement stirred beside him, catching his attention. He roamed his startled gaze to the side of his bed to find a lump rustling underneath its sheets, "Hn," The Uchiha's tiredly grumpy grunt floated through his covers. Mustering up the energy, he hurled himself onto his back, stifling a yawn as he glanced over to their team's strongest member, "Night terrors again?" This was the fourth time it had happened, each time resulting in Goten bolting up and disturbing Sasuke from his slumber. Naruto was too much of a heavy sleeper to ever be woken up, unfortunately for Sasuke.
Goten pulled his knees up to his chest to wrap himself into a protective ball of insecurity, "Uh-huh." Sasuke snorted slothfully through his nostrils, sounding irritated. A pang of guilt spiked Goten's heart, "I'm sorry for waking you up again, Mr Sasuke."
"Don't be," Sasuke assured. He wasn't mad at him. Sure, he was annoyed at being awoken up again, but having gone through similar spells in his earlier adolescence when his entire clan was butchered, he was sensitive to Goten's struggles. It was why he hadn't broached the subject of Goten's nightmares because he knew better than anyone a traumatised individual did not want to open up so easily.
Irony tickled Sasuke's nonexistent sense of humour. He thought he would never be able to relate to Goten and his happy-go-lucky goofball persona, but he arguably ended up empathising with him the deepest.
They were both two scarred souls of the same pond.
"Go walk it off," He recommended, as always.
"Okay," Goten agreed, slipping out of his bed wearing a borrowed pair of black shorts and a short-sleeved white t-shirt. Thank heavens they provided clothes for (potentially) wary and ripped up applicants, along with bedrooms to camp in if they arrived way before the deadline like Team 7 and 8 did. Rooms even came equipped with a bathroom, which was convenient since it meant their only female companion could change in privacy. Speaking of their lone kunoichi, Goten's eyes landed on her when he made his way over to the door, "...Sakura," He murmured.
This wasn't the first time he had dreamt about her. He didn't understand why these sexual feelings for the luscious kunoichi were only now blossoming. Ever since she had accidentally crawled on top of him to better search his face for any small alien feature on his person, he couldn't get her off his mind and could barely stand to be near her without going stir-crazy, so he avoided her, standing near Tenten and talking about nothing in particular even when it was clear his time with her greatly annoyed Sakura.
He hurt his conscience to anger the pink-haired kunoichi but he just couldn't be near her.
Before the guilt could entirely devour his conscience, he slipped away, never noticing the open emerald eyes shining hurt through the shadows.
"Goten."
xXx
(Elsewhere - Location Unknown)
xXx
The bruising heavy-handed blow of a fist violently making contact with a face echoed in a peculiar tunnel-like void setting, swallowing the dull thump of the small body the muscled fist had hammered across the stone-like flooring of the void they resided in.
"Ow, Daad!" A younger, smaller version of the lavender haired Saiyan whined, pulling himself up to a seated position with a glowing, fattened red left cheek resembling an apple. Tears gathered in the edges of his eyes like dust bunnies, but his dam held strong. He knew better otherwise. His manly, diehard hater of all things feminine and soft, father wouldn't allow it. He would really give him something to cry about, then his feisty mother would sentence his father to weeks on end on the couch.
Dinners would be awkward, and no one wanted that.
There he was. The king of all Saiyans and Father of Badasses himself, towering over him. Even short by adult standards, his father always felt huger than even the freakishly tall Piccolo and life itself, such was his imposing presence. He could be in another room and everyone in the household would still feel him.
Papa bear submerged his cub in the full force of his intent with a stare infused with dragon-like fangs, making him squirm and whine in his throat, "If you're a real Saiyan, you'll grow this back." As firm as an iron-grip gruff declaration, spoken with all the sophistication of a regal prince as he clutched his son's severed monkey-like appendage as though it was a hand-grip unforgivingly. So very like his father.
Confusion had him blinking his eyes like he was suffering from a close-range flash of the solar flare. Nerves rumbled in his stomach at his father's increasing gaze of impatience, "H-Huh? I don't get it, Dad? Whaddya mean, become a real Saiyan?" He pleaded, but it wasn't to be answered.
A gust of frosty wind flowing over Vegeta's shoulder rolled out the red carpet for his exit.
"Dad, wait!" Trunks begged, falling forward on all fours, "Dad!" But each one fell on deaf ears. The man he looked up to as the pinnacle of what he aspired to be continued to drift away from him like that one boat that had taken off without you. His heart essentially transformed into an anchor with the despair that weighed him down, "Dadddd!"
A sudden flash of white light knocked him out of the void, startled eyes wide gazing up to a ceiling flooded in shadows with his breathing ragged as though he just finished the fight of his life.
"What the heck?" He murmured in turn of a huge silent intake of air. He needed to ascertain his surroundings. The comforting surface and material his body laid on coupled with the blanket gave that away.
"Pssh." His heightened hearing picked up on the quiet whisper of his lone female teammate from across their borrowed room. "Are you okay, Trunks?"
"Yeah." He turned his head both sides to where his male teammates were placed on their own single beds, sleeping in manners wholly contrary to the other as though they were fraternal twins. Kiba loud and ungraceful, Shino soundless and graceful, "Go back to sleep."
"O-Oh, okay," A pause. Then a hesitate apology, "I'm sorry."
"It's no big deal." A murmured lie, hiding his annoyance, "Just go back to sleep. Talk to ya in the morning."
"Okay."
Though, having given that request/demand, Trunks wasn't sure if he could do so himself. That dream had kick-started his line of thinking into overdrive which just spelled catastrophic in red big letters on the great screen. His normal thinking was more than enough to keep him awake for hours on end as it was like he just drank ten cups of caffeine. Going into overdrive was the equivalent of a sugar rush.
No chance of him falling back to sleep now.
'What'd Dad mean by that?' He regarded the shadowy ceiling above with palms tucked beneath his head. It was something which had always ate away at him since its occurrence. As the years went by, he managed to repress the memory, but seeing Goten's regrown tail manage to stir it like a slumbering beast within. Goten was lost in the woods of bewilderment as to how it happened, and his teammates wasn't much help either. Well, at least not at first.
Before he departed to turn in for the night, Sakura caught up to him to have a word alone, filling him in on his best friend's uncharacteristic behaviour during his annihilation of the evil snake monster. Cold and efficient – So very unlike him.
'Dad must've been talking about tapping into my Saiyan instincts,' He scowled, darkening eyes blending into the shadows like bats to the night. He had come to that conclusion long before now, since Sakura clued him in on Goten's bizarre state of repression. He would've made a worthy candidate for captain obvious, such was the easy nature of the answer, so then, why did his heart feel so unfulfilled and bloated with regret and sorrow?
Ironically, this was one thing he just couldn't think about.
"This is so dumb! I'm done thinking about it." He whispered, harshly, roughly turning onto his side.
Emotions were so stupid, girly and should be hated.
Beautiful, clear violet eyes were washed over with sympathetic concern for the powerhouse's struggles to connect with his feelings, "Oh Trunks."
XxX
The remaining days of the duration of the hunter phase of the exam went by at a pace a snail would've breezed past like a cheetah to Trunks. With little to nothing to do to keep his mind preoccupied, he was bored out of his skull, spending most of his time wishing he hadn't rushed through the second phase. If he had been privy to the utter lack of anything of interest in the waiting area he certainly wouldn't have insisted on making a record of fastest team to reach the central tower.
Then again, he should've considered the possibility that the exam would have a waiting area for other teams to catch up.
Wow. For a thinker, Trunks occasionally had the tendency to not think ahead, he learned.
Must be Goten's influence rubbing off on him.
Ugh. Just his luck.
These last few days were some of the most torturous hours he had ever experienced. He oddly wondered if the excruciating boredom he barely endured was comparable in anyway small way to the dull frustration mandatory volunteers face when on community service duty.
Just a snore fest all round. He couldn't even go outside with Goten to spar because he was ordered not to step outside until his Oozaru problem could be taken care of.
"Is it really only us here?" Tenten, the girl Trunks felt bared an uncanny ethnic-resemblance to Goten's mother, noted in a murmur beside her teammates, only picked up by the hybrid's heightened hearing. He found her fondness of his best friend ironic given their cultural similarities. Sakura's jealousy only briefly added to his slight amusement.
Make no mistake, though. It was barely much of a distraction. He was still bored stiff.
Digressing from the hybrid's incomparable boredom, the numbered-name girl brought up a good point. Of all the plethora of teams from different neighbouring villages once gathered in the first phase of the Chunin exams, the only ones present now were all from Konoha. His team, Goten's team, Ino's team and those guys; the wuss who earlier surrendered his scroll to him for Ino, baring the same eyes as his teammate, the ChiChi-like girl and the kid with the bushiest eyebrows ever who seriously looked like he needed to lay off the green.
"Are you really surprised?" The boy with eyes like crystal rhetorically asked. A gesture of his head in the direction of Konoha's winning weapons, "With those two in our ranks, they would have been fighting a tedious battle they were fated to lose."
Her stare of mystified fascination lingered on Goten's spiky head from across the line up, "I guess so," She sighed. Shivered. The image and noise of the destructive blast that had eclipsed the entirety of the village sent chills down her spine, "I mean, if Goten wasn't on our side, I probably would've turned tail and hiked it out of here too."
They were sure either he or his fellow associate in overwhelming chakra capacity were responsible for the blast even before Tenten got the answer out of him herself. There was literally no one else other than them who had the immense oceanic reserves neccessary to produce such an explosion of power, and yes, Neji was counting the Hokage. Even the leader of the village was outmatched in pure Chakra levels by the two.
The tail raised the most question marks, but beside Goten and his team just insisting it was a long story, they didn't budge on the matter. They raked their brains for hours and days ascertaining just what the hell Goten was, but their closest guess was that he was a part of some animistic clan and even that they weren't entirely sure of.
Meanwhile, on the senior side of things, they were all stood in front of the four teams, completely transfixed.
"Incredible." Kurenai breathed.
"Now here's a sight I thought I wouldn't see." Asuma murmured beside her.
"Well, at least now I can use the 'I told you so' line on Iruka next time I see him." Kakashi reasoned.
"Haha! The springs of our youth burns even brighter than any other village in the nation. Way to go, Lee!" Gai praised.
"Thank you, Gai-sensei!" Lee accepted.
"Un-fucking-believable." Anko said with a deep sigh, 'I knew the brats were freaky strong, but this is too much.' No one else turned up (beside theirs) but Kurenai's and Gai's squads, and they were both from Konoha. It was the Konoha fest. "Ah…"
She supposed she shouldn't look a gift's horse in the mouth considering she was the one who insisted the numbers would be trimmed by more than half after Mr soft-hearted let virtually everyone pass the first phase of the exam, but it just didn't feel satisfying.
The fat wasn't trimmed by anything she did or influenced. No, the unworthy were all scared yellow by the presence of Konoha's aliens. Granted, if she was participating in the exam as an applicant at the same time Goten's signature family attack eclipsed the village she probably would've taken for the hills too with her tail wrapped firmly between her legs.
Hiruzen was glowing, both with pride for the strength of their youth and hysterical relief at their own fortune. Needlessly to say, he realized Ino's team had a free pass via being escorted by Trunks, but he'd argue that was the whole point of being ninjas – finding clever ways to dig themselves out of tight solutions.
No one in the world was like those Saiyan boys, having enough power where they could brute force their way through any situation. In that case they had to get creative and strategically or connivingly plan their route to safety and they did the latter admirably, in his humble opinion.
It was better them than another team from a rivalling nation that would've meant sending invitations to their Kage to watch the next round of proceedings. For obvious reasons, he was glad to avoid that. Now no other village could scout their Saiyan prospects. They could be told of their prowess by the Genins they sent to the village to take place in the exams in the first place, but word of mouth wasn't nowhere near as invaluable as on-hand observation.
"Welcome." He greeted, wholesomely. They quietened down among themselves, eyes forward to give their full leader their full attention. His smile warmed like a warm spring day, "And might I say congratulations for passing the second phrase. You have all demonstrated a remarkable combination of cunning and strength to reach this point and it is with great pride I welcome you to the Third and final phase of the Chunin Exams."
He allowed them to relish in the praise he showered them in and the reactions which emerged from tem were like a box of different flavoured chocolates; full of variety, from cheerful, to cool or just indifferent.
"Woo!" Naruto whooped, hopping excitedly in place like a grasshopper. Grinning, he confidently issued, "Bring on the final test old man!" One arm was swung wide around Goten's neck, "Me and my team can take anything you throw at us."
The other teams gave firm nods to express their own confidence for the final trial lying in wait for them, though most looked quite appalled at the way Naruto casually addressed their Hokage with seemingly no semblance of respect
Hinata looked appropriately embarrassed for his sake, "Oh Naruto."
Completely contrary to the reaction everyone other than the members of Team 7 and Trunks thought Hiruzen was going to show to Naruto to the offhand manner of which he addressed him with, he smirked with a sharpened edge of playfulness, "Oh? I'd say that is quite inconvenient for you then, young Naruto."
Deflated, Naruto's arm plummeted from Goten's shoulder, "Wait. What?" His spider-like ninja senses were sending him all kinds of unpleasant vibes being indicated by his grandfatherly-figure's cryptic smirk.
It did not falter either, "It just so happens this next trial you will all undertake is an individual one. You will be comple-."
The thunderous thump of a metal object slamming aggressively against the concrete wall of the arena-like hall they were assembled in silenced Hiruzen mid-sentence. Stiffened, the youngsters and the seniors all looked over (their shoulders) and forward respectively to find a silhouette standing tall in the open entrance the intruder had pried open.
"Holy crap!"
"There you are!"
Paled, Trunks gaped, 'Oh crap! It's her!' He quickly righted his head, pinning his gaze anywhere but the petite red-haired girl marching toward them, though unfortunately, his unnatural reaction did not go unnoticed by his girlfriend, but he didn't notice her narrowing her eyes on him, 'How the heck did she find me? I thought I ditched her!'
"Trunks." Ino's voice could've frozen over magma, such was the dangerously high-level of its frosty warning, "Who is that?"
"Nobody!" He unintentionally yelped. He mentally booted himself through a mountain to his utterly uncool response to Ino's assertion. He wasn't supposed to react like that, but he was terrified of blowing his chance with her. Put a ballsy girl trying to step to him, he would beat her down easily, but this wasn't Anko trying to throw her weight around. It was a girl who wanted to be with him and beating her down wouldn't exactly inspire her to.
Sadly for Trunks, his loud unnatural answer had gathered much unwanted spectators. All eyes and heads turned his way.
"You know her, Trunks?" Goten asked, innocently enough.
"Shut up, Goten."
"Wait." Naruto bared the full force of the enraged Saiyan's ire with a squinted eyed shield of askance nonchalance, arms tucked over his chest, "So you have Ino and this girl too!"
"Shut up, dork."
"Dude," And there was Kiba, joining in on his embarrassment. Difference was, his needling was intentional, "I knew you were a bit of an asshole but I didn't think you were a two-timing scumbag too."
"Shut up, dude!"
"Man, it's not fair!" Naruto whined. Slumped over, he complained further as if karma had it out for him, "First Goten gets Sakura and Tenten and now Trunks has two girls," A comical rain cloud hovered over his head in sync with the beet red curtains of embarrassment sweeping over the faces of the former trio he mentioned, "When am I gonna get lucky, huh?"
A pair of lithe index fingers pushed against each other, mirroring the blushing bridge forming over the nose of the Hyuga maiden. A very murmured attempt of a persistence, "Naruto, I-." Hinata was cut off.
"What?!" Sakura roared.
"Shut up, dork!"
Goten frantically swatted Naruto's shoulder in a manner of persistence as if he had just spilled milked over his shoulder and was desperately trying to scrub it off, "Naruto, stop it!" Ears burning hotly at the pair of curious emerald eyes on his person, the volume of his voice lowered to almost mouse-like proportions, "You're embarrassing me."
Neji turned toward his own team, particularly the lone female whom the fool in orange implied had a fling with his walking chakra-vessel of a teammate, "Is there something you are not telling us?"
Tenten's previously awkwardly blank expression of the bizarre proceedings froze in startled surprise, "Uh." The Byakugan-wielder didn't even need to fully elaborate. The implications were plain to see in his smirk, "Don't ask me! I don't know what that idiot's talking about!"
"Yes! Clearly this is a sign of eternal love and it is our duty as Tenten's loyal teammates to support her choice of companionship!" Lee incited, either disregarding or not seeing Tenten's fiery expression of annoyance, flashing his progenitor a thumbs-up and a flashy tooth, 'How is that Gai-sensei?'
Gai mirrored his actions, 'Nice one, Lee!'
"Would you cut that out?!" The supposed lovestruck bun-haired girl demanded, "I don't even.-" She ceased her clarification when it dawned on her just how badly she had been played. The flames of her fiery gaze dried to a shimmering annoyance, which she aimed at her only other normal teammate, "Happy? Now you've got them going." Neji's smirk didn't waver.
What an asshole.
Back on the senior side of things, they didn't know quite what to make of anything. They had to assume the petite girl was obsessive compulsive or just plain obsessed with Kurenai's young "disciple" (in the bare definition of the word) if she really went through the implied trouble navigating her way through the dangerous woods by herself, if her torn rags and messy hair were any indication, just to see him. They were equally silenced. It all just had that slice of eccentricity that kept them from taking it seriously.
"Uh," Asuma attempted to point out, "Hate to play captain-obvious, but think we should, you know, step in?"
A deliciously satisfying smile of completed vengeance curled Anko's lips, "Nah! Let the little turd suffer," She cackled, savouring every single second of the arrogant asshole worriedly tearing out his hair, 'Let's see you muscle your way out of this one tough-guy!"
"Ouch! He must've been kicked your ass harder than I was told, I presume."
"Hmph."
"Told you I'd find you!" The little redheaded initiator of the wacky on-goings bragged, still marching over to the teams of shell shocked stricken Genin. By now, it was blatantly clear who her target was, which didn't bode well for the hybrid's sanity. He could practically feel his girlfriend's displeasure as if she was powering up, "And now you won't be able to resist my sexiness!" And just sent her anger levels through the roof.
The crimson fluids flowing rapidly from the noses of Naruto, Kiba, Choji, Shikamaru and Lee to her implications only exasperated Ino further.
"Oh my god! Go away!" Trunks almost begged. He was about half-way from dropping to his knees. It didn't have to come to that though, fortunately enough.
A blur materialized behind the approaching girl, trapping her in place.
"Hey, let me go!" She commanded, desperately squirming her shoulders underneath the stern full nelson hold an adult shinobi had her in, kicking out her legs when she could no longer feel them on the ground.
"I'm… sorry," A sickly paled young man in a bandana-leaf marked headband coughed apologetically, moving away from the four Konoha teams, "But this is… only for… teams who have… passed… the second phase." He erupted into a coughing fit.
"I said let go!" She continued to struggle in vain, thrashing against the larger body pressing against hers, "And stop coughing on me! It's gross!" A seed of deluded inspiration blossomed in her head like a flower, "Baby, help!"
Her plead wasn't to be answered. Rising his hand, Trunks wriggled his fingers at her in a mockingly parting gesture, deep scowl of cold irritation burned into his face, "So long, nutjob," He said sarcastically.
The last remnants of the decidedly unhinged girl were before she disappeared in the captured hold of the body flicker activating shinobi was an unbearably loud ear-screeching dramatic cry of – "Noooooooooooooooooooooooooo!" Echoing in the windy breeze of leaves and clouds of the mundane shinobi jutsu.
"Ouch! That's loud!" Naruto shouted, plugging up his ears.
Shikamaru wasn't one to miss irony where he saw it, "Yeah, no kidding, and coming from you, that's saying something."
"What was that?"
"Forget it!" He returned, just as snappishly, eyes lulling over with lazy annoyance, "I'd rather get this over with then to have to sit through some other troublesome woman trying to get in this guy's pants."
Trunks didn't have in him to return Shikamaru's sass, instead burying his head in his hands, "This is so embarrassing."
XxX
The teams of Konoha's own exited the assembly hall, some in excitement, others in nonchalance and a few in lazy irritation.
"This is such a drag," Guess which category Shikamaru fall into, craning his neck out with hands stabbed into pockets, "Can't believe we gotta fight each other."
"Well, look on the bright side," Choji offered, shining a ray of bright positivity on his best friend's view of darkened gloom of negativity, happily munching on another bag of crisp, "At least we don't have to fight Trunks or Goten in the first round."
That was a break but Shikamaru would still argue no matter who he got he was screwed either way. Choji could put up a good fight against anyone not named Trunks or Goten, but he himself was another can of weak worms altogether. He had no speed, no finesse, no strength and no motivation to grind out results when the going got tough. Why didn't he just surrender when Ibiki offered him the chance again? He would've saved himself the headache.
Oh right. Because Ino, Miss Team Leader, would've given him an earful, which would've been just as bad.
"Right, but I doubt my opponent's just gonna roll over and let me win anyway," He surmised, slothfully glancing over to his opponent.
To her credit, Tenten wasn't playing her hand. The wave and the smile Shikamaru got from her were as good-natured as a warm spring-time day, "May the best shinobi win."
"Right."
The moon eyes of a defeated warrior stared ahead in calmed clarity, "It seems my journey is at its end," Neji concluded, no shame to be detected through his gaze of acceptance. He had accepted this as a foregone conclusion from the moment he learned of their presence and the immeasurable power they each possessed. Whether he draw one first or last it would've made no difference in the end, "Fate has decreed my failure."
An awkwardly dry grin curled Tenten's lips, "Yeah, tough luck getting Goten's friend on the first round," It brightened with a sassy spark as she offered him a mockingly encouraging smack-pat on the shoulder, "Better luck next year?" Satisfaction settled snuggly in her stomach like a warm soup. That should teach him not to tease her about liking some boy.
"Hmph."
"Ah, Neji!" Lee gasped, grasping his cheeks. He held up a clenched fist with honour as though he were holding the Olympic touch, "I am most appalled. You can simply not imply you are planning to concede to Mr Trunks even before the battle has begun. I admit he is a most formidable opponent, more daunting than anyone we have ever faced, but you must not yield without first giving it your all, because even in defeat we can find inspiration to better ourselves!"
Eyes bulging, Shikamaru and Choji stared in paled silence of the spandex-wearing youth giving his opinion in such an unnecessarily heartfelt passion manner, "Uh," Choji recovered first, "Is he always like that?"
Tenten humoured the younger shinobi with a sigh, "You wouldn't be the first one to ask that," They gave her dry nods in return, "You'll get used to him."
"Great." Shikamaru said sarcastically.
Neji wasn't swallowing any of Lee's opinion, "You have your ideology and I have mine."
His cheeks ballooned in a pout, "Very well. Then I will just have to shoulder the burden of representation of our squad for the both of us."
"As you wish."
"Ino, come on!" Trunks pleaded, doing everything in his power to keep himself from the proverbial dog house. He had his palms facing his chest in the typical plead of innocence posture, facing his infuriated girlfriend as they walked along with the rest of the remaining Chunin applicants, "What did you want me to do? That girl's nuts! You musta got that much from her. Do you think she's the type of person to take no for an answer? I had to bolt just to get away from her."
Ino wasn't hearing any of it. Trunks almost shivered from the freezing cold frost billowing forth from Ino's shoulder, "Hmph." She turned the other cheek from him, arms crossed over her chest in a posture of no-nonsense impatience, "You got a lot of making up to do, bub, and you can start by taking me out to dinner."
He tuned out everything after her declaration of making-up, already assuming whatever she proposed he could probably handle. Probably. He wasn't exactly confident in his capability to assuage Ino's ire but he would be damned if he didn't try, so with a heavy relenting sigh and falling shoulders, he accepted, "Fine." Until his brain actually registered her proposal and his face blushed up a storm, "Wait! What?"
Ino giggled, skipping girlishly down the hall before stopping by the end of it, pirouetting elegantly on a heel and stopping in a half-turn with her upper body leaning forward; the perfect pose of sassy confidence, "You hear me. And it better be somewhere classy, too, you got that?" She extended a palm to her bosom and rose her head high with all the pride of a regal princess, earning a shake of Tenten's head in disapproval at her dramatics, "I'm a classy girl."
"Aw, c'mon-! Hey, wait up!"
Bug-eyes were on full display again with the male duo of Ino's teammates awkwardly watching the pair's interaction of pleading and compensation; the larger one pitying the boyfriend and the intelligent one just finding the girlfriend and her gender in general a nuisance.
"Poor guy."
"Women are such a drag."
"I heard that!" Tenten stated, offended, "Not all girls are the same, you know?"
"Yeah, yeah."
Unfortunately for the unmotivated genius of Team Ten, his lazy dismissal of the bun-haired girl's annoyance to his slandering of her gender only proceeded to rub her the wrong way, and just like a domino effect that played into her increasing motivation to hand him his behind on a silver platter, 'Oh, you little-! Just you wait, pal! Now I'm really going to kick your ass.'
"Get off me, idiot!" Kiba's roaring voice draw everyone's attention to the predicament he was in; namely his neck and head tightly imprisoned and drilled into like a nail into a wall by the orange-wrapped arm and knuckles of the loudest member of the team 7.
"Never! Not until you admit I can kick your ass!" Naruto yelled back, not budging an inch either on his demands or of his hold on Team Eight's barkiest member, loving every minute of being the dominator instead of the one dominated for once. There was just something inherently satisfying about being on top to him when he had been on the end of countless losing wars against Trunks.
"Dream on! Like yo- OW!" The tightening and added acceleration of Naruto's headlock/noggin combination ended Kiba's retort before it even got off the ground.
If their eyes were bulged before, now they were ready to fall out of their sockets watching Naruto – whom they had always looked down upon as the least skilled of their grade – casually manhandle Kiba like an older brother smacking his younger brother about. They stopped, stared, mouth hanging open ready to fall off at the depiction of the so-called dead-last of their year group effortlessly pulling a competent graduate down the hall like a rag doll.
"Uh," Choji tried, lifting one chubby bandaged-wrapped hand out of his packet of crisp to point in Naruto's direction, "Has Naruto always been that strong?"
"Naruto's always been strong!" Goten declared defensively. Holding Kiba's puppy in his arms, he glared back with his puppy-dog fury at the two's bamboozled expressions.
A predominantly potent scent he had been trying to avoid since last week wafted irresistibly into nostrils, followed by a warm giggle tingling his ear, "That's right!" Sakura bragged, smirking back at the enlightened duo of her old rival's team, "And don't you forget it!"
"Uh-oh." Shikamaru nodded listlessly.
She turned to Goten wearing the kind of secretive smile that echoed 'I got your back', though it was wiped off almost instantly when Goten didn't return it. In fact, he looked almost terrified to see her.
"What's wrong?"
"Sakura," He said.
Then he ran off.
"Goten! Hey, wait up!"
1st match: Trunks vs Neji - 2nd match: Tenten vs Shikamaru - 3rd match: Rock Lee vs Choji - 4th: match Sakura vs Hinata - 5th: match Ino vs Sasuke - 6th match: Naruto vs Kiba - 7th match: Shino vs Goten.
And that should do it for this chapter and yeah, on this altered version of canon it's the Konoha fest. Orochimaru's henchmen of Dosu, Kin and Zaku were fodderized for the brief appearance of Hashirama and Tobirama (the remaining one was just killed outright), Kabuto and his team no longer care about the exam so they jumped out, and Gaara's team were off-screened - note last chapter Trunks when said he had to fight a raccoon guy, that being Gaara. Don't worry, I'll be getting to that in the final instalment of Trunks' adventures next chapter, but for now, lemme know what you think of the changes I've made and the main boys' development.
And of course, the whole an Oozaru being in the mindscape of all Saiyans and them needing to tap into their instincts to regain their tails, that's all my unique take on it. It was never really fleshed out in canon so I feel free to take it in its own direction. I have plans for this. Look forward to it.
Until next time guys and gals.