Naruto was thinking. That in itself was an image that unbalanced Sakura, but his silence only compounded the unsettling feeling in her stomach.

The second stage of the Chunin Exams had gone badly for Team Seven. First, the strange ninja from Grass had absolutely wrecked their team, placed a strange seal on Sasuke that gave off terrifying chakra, and he'd done something to Naruto that had made the boy fall silent, the opposite of his normal, annoying self.

And then they'd been ambushed by those ninjas from Sound, she'd been forced to cut off her hair, Sasuke had flown off the handle and Naruto…had just been there. Mostly cradling his head and trying to hide what looked like one of the worst headaches of all time.

Even now, the excitable blond was squeezing his eyes shut every few moments, and curling and uncurling his fists. Sasuke had easily dealt with his opponent, she'd had to face a humiliating draw with Ino, and the remaining contestants were watching the Sand Ninja systematically dismantle the girl on Gai's team.

Rather, the others were. Sakura couldn't help but sneak glances at her teammate. She'd expected the meatheaded ninja to be the most excited for this round, shouting about how he was going to kick ass and become Hokage, but he seemed content to watch from his place on the balcony.

Cha! Yelled her inner voice. I've got enough on my plate, worrying about Sasuke, I don't need the dumb blond to make me sweat as well!

That was a fair point, Sakura thought. Besides, in situations like this, she knew just the perfect medicine for the blond. She cocked her fist back, aiming for the side of his head -

"Naruto, you idiot, are you even paying attention -?!"

Naruto's hand shot out and grasped her wrist before it could make contact. Sakura's heart skipped a beat.

"Hey, Sakura," his eyes turned to meet hers and she flinched. Naruto was loud, obnoxious, annoying, and many, many other things, but he always wore his heart on his sleeve. His eyes were always blue and expressive, whether it be sparkling when he asked her out on a date, or blazing when Kakashi was always late to their meetings. Right now, it looked like someone had drawn the shutters over those eyes. They looked empty, with no sign of the life that was always burning inside.

Her teammate looked like a stranger. His grip on her wrist was bruisingly strong.

He smiled, squinting his eyes. It looked wrong, like he was in pain more than that he was joking around. "Don't you think it's a bad idea to mess me up before I even get to fight?"

Sakura ground her teeth. The idiot probably thought he was being so cool, but she was going to set him straight.

"Naruto, how dare you? I'm going to -"

"Now, now," the tall form of their Jonin teacher appeared in between the two teammates. "Let's not give all the others a bad impression of Team Seven, shall we?"

With a start, she realised that everyone around them had gone quiet. The match that had been going on had finished, Tenten was being carried off on a stretcher, and her opponent, along with every other ninja in the arena, were looking at them.

Sakura felt the blood rush to her cheeks. She laughed loudly, "Sorry, Sensei! Just making sure the idiot's head is still in the game!"

Team Ten and their teacher, who was standing next to them, frowned so similarly that it would've been amusing if it weren't for how embarrassing the situation was.

It was the Hokage, of all people, who broke the awkwardness. "It's good to see spirited young people looking out for their peers," he chuckled. A wave of weak tittering passed around the room. Sakura wanted to melt into the ground. "You're lucky you've got such good friends, Naruto!"

Naruto turned his head away from her. "You better believe it, grandpa!"

Sakura wanted to beat his head into the ground, both for talking to the Hokage so casually and the obvious fake cheer in his voice, but restrained herself. The proctor wryly asked for permission to restart the matches, and Shikamaru cursed as he was called down to fight the girl from Sound Village.

Kakashi hadn't moved from his spot. "Say, Naruto, you feeling okay?"

"Oh yeah, you bet. I'm just ready to kick some ass and become Chunin, y'know?!"

"No, he's not!" protested Sakura, keeping her voice to an annoyed whisper this time. She felt unreasonably angry that the idiot had to show her up, right after she failed to win her match. "The Snake-lady did something to him in the forest, and he's been acting weird ever since!"

"Is that so?" Kakashi's voice was as calm as ever, but Sakura felt the same edge that had given Zabuza of the Mist pause, in his voice. "And you didn't tell your poor old teacher anything?"

"Hey, I'm totally fine!" Naruto protested, also whispering, but completely failing to keep his voice down. "It's just been a long week, yeah. Once I win my fight and get some rest, I'm going to be as good as new!"

"And Orochimaru didn't do anything to you? Something like the seal he gave Sasuke?"

Naruto snorted. He was still keeping an eye on the fight going on beneath them, so he didn't turn around to answer their teacher.

"Don't worry, he tried but you can never keep the Number One Ninja of the Leaf down! I'm just perfect, Teach!"

He was lying, Sakura realised. Kakashi seemed to come to the same conclusion and reached out to grasp Naruto's shoulder, but Shikamaru's fight had finished, and it was Naruto's name on the board.

Along with Kiba. Naruto had come a long way, but Kiba was from a renowned clan, and was probably second only to Sasuke at Taijutsu. It was a pretty bad matchup for Naruto, who'd already been run ragged in the second phase.

"Naruto, you better win, okay!" She found herself saying. Despite everything, despite how annoying she found him, Naruto had gone from the dead-last of their Academy to a full member of Team Seven. "Show everyone why our team's the best!"

For the first time, the clouds around the boy seemed to clear. He smiled, and gave her a thumbs up, and for a second, his eyes were as blue as the summer sky.

"Heh, you better watch me, Sakura, Sensei! This is going to be another step on my way to becoming Hokage."

"Naruto -" Kakashi tried again, but the blond had already vaulted over the railing and into the arena. The jonin turned to her, instead. "Sakura, tell me everything about what happened to Naruto in the forest."

Downstairs, Kiba and Naruto were talking smack to each other.

"The Snake ninja hit him in the stomach with some sort of technique, Sensei." She wracked her mind, trying to sort through the sheer terror of that encounter. "She called it the Five Elements Seal, I think."

"The Five Elements Seal, you're sure?" At her nod, Kakashi closed his lone eye, the tension visible. "To think Orochimaru managed to subdue that power so easily. Sakura, Naruto's in more trouble than we could've thought."

"You're joking, right, sensei? Naruto can be a little dense, but he's not a bad ninja." Said Ninja was currently protesting the use of Kiba's dog Akamaru in the fight, and rather embarrassingly being educated about a clan from his own village.

"The way I see it, Sakura, with his Chakra sealed and his control blown away…"

The two genin readied to fight, and Sakura turned her full attention to the arena.

"...the only things Naruto has at his disposal are Taijutsu, and the basic Ninja Skills."

The proctor called the match, and before Naruto could move, Kiba barrelled into him like a meteor. Naruto was sent flying, all the wind blown out of him.

In an absolute insult amongst ninjas, Kiba turned his back on the blond and asked the proctor to call the match.

"Don't count me out yet, dog-face!" Beneath them, Naruto stood up on shaky legs, his hands in the seal that she'd seen every day since they'd become teammates. "I'm going to become Hokage, and one little hit won't keep me down!"

There was a massive puff of smoke, and for a second the entire arena was hidden from her eyes. When it cleared, Sakura couldn't hide her gasp of shock.

On the ground around Naruto were tens of useless clones. Some misshapen, some missing limbs, some with no face.

The Shadow Clone was Naruto's signature, and often, only technique. He seemed to have an endless army of clones at his disposal, it was the one move you could count on him to have on hand every time.

And now, around Naruto, lay his best move. In shambles.

Kiba laughed, loudly and cruelly. "And this is the next Hokage of the Leaf? You couldn't even do a Bunshin in the Academy, and you're thinking of trying advanced techniques? Just give up before you embarrass yourself in front of the other countries, Naruto! You're not fit to fight a civilian, let alone an elite genin!"

Next to her, Ino was laughing loudly, and even the Hyuga from Team 9, and some of the ninja were laughing along. Even Kurenai had a smirk on her face that set her teeth on edge.

Naruto was staring at the ground around him in disbelief, his hands shaking. His eyes darted from one failed clone to another, as if unable to process what he was seeing, squeezing open and shut like he was having trouble focusing.

"They're laughing at you, Naruto!" Kiba seemed to revel in the mockery, spreading his arms like a two-bit villain in an action movie. "You think you're such hot shit, but listen up, that's all you're ever going to amount to! A joke!"

"Shut up!" The scream rang around the room, echoing off the high ceilings. Sakura heard herself yelling, her ears warm from the force of her anger. "Don't let him talk you down, Naruto! So what if you can't use Ninjutsu right now? You're a member of Team Seven, so you better not give up!"

She knew what she'd done was technically cheating, and from the side-eye that Kakashi gave her, she was aware of it too. She hoped dearly that Naruto wasn't stupid enough to miss her hidden message, that his chakra control was finished, that he'd have to rely on his strength and his mind alone.

"You hear that, Kiba?" Naruto said, his face as grave as a stone. "That's the sound of someone who believes in me. No matter how much you laugh at me, no matter how much you mock me, no matter how much you ignore me, I'm never going to give up! That's my ninja way!"

Sakura wanted to cheer, she wanted to yell at him to keep going, but once again, she was overcome by the same feeling. Naruto had yelled these words, in many different ways, over the last few years, but never had he sounded so bitter, so angry.

"Troublesome," Shikamaru muttered, from next to her.

"Bring it," said Naruto, settling into his stance. With a snick, he palmed shuriken into his hand. "They'll be laughing at you when this is over."

With a roar, Kiba charged again. Naruto was sent flying back, but this time, Kiba didn't stop to gloat. He kept going, over and over again, coming at him from every angle. Naruto was caught like a ragdoll in a storm.

"Kick his ass, Kiba!" Ino screamed from next to her, before lowering her voice. "Show that idiot his place," she muttered.

Naruto fell to the ground with devastating finality, his clothes ripped, bleeding from multiple places over his body. Kiba stood at the feet of his fallen opponent.

"Give up, you fucking loser," the Inuzuka said. "Stay in the ground, where you belong, and forfeit the match before I kick the last brain cells out of your head."

"Real Leaf spirit you've taught your genin, Kurenai," Kakashi commented casually.

"Well, at least I've taught him something, Hatake." Sakura clenched her fists at the jonin's smug words, but her heart seemed to shrivel up inside. There was no way Naruto could win this.

Kiba was of the same mindset. "Give up, idiot!" He smashed his fist into Naruto's fours, as the boy was trying to get on all fours to get up again. "I said, give up!" Another punch that sent Naruto down on his face. "You're never going to beat me, you're never going to be a real ninja! I don't even need Akamaru to turn you into paste!" His words were punctuated by more blows to his opponent, until his knuckles were red with Naruto's blood. "Nobody in the Academy liked you, nobody in the village likes you, no ninja will ever like you so just - give - up!" The last three words were emphasised with three devastating blows that cratered the ground under Naruto.

Hinata let out a quiet scream from next to her.

"That's enough," said the proctor, jumping down to the ground. "This match is -"

"Isn't over," came the trembling voice of Naruto from the ground. Sakura watched, frozen with horror, as Naruto brought his trembling arms together under him. The idiot hadn't gotten her message at all.

The proctor leapt away as another huge puff of smoke exploded around Naruto. Once again, only deformed clones appeared around the ground, all fallen over like their creator. This time, no one laughed.

"You bastard!" roared Kiba, pulling his fist back again, but there was another puff. And another, and another. And then another.

Chakra smoke enveloped the entire arena, so thick and dense that Sakura couldn't see her own hand in front of her face. And still there was that hissing, puffing noise that told her that Naruto was still trying, and failing, at his technique.

And then, the temperature around the arena dropped like a rock. Sakura's throat clenched up as Naruto's voice rang around the arena, cold like she'd never heard it.

"Larynx. Spine. Lungs. Liver. Jugular. Subclavian. Kidneys. Heart." Sakura, frozen like a deer in a trap, was transported back to the terrible C-rank mission to Wave that they'd undertaken. This pressure, this feeling, crushing and deadly, was just like what facing Zabuza had felt like. Like the Grass ninja in the forest.

She felt icy fingers crawl up her spine, reaching to grab her throat and she was helpless, powerless to do anything.

"Killing intent," Kakashi said, his hand an anchor on her shoulder. "You're safe, Sakura. But how? With the nature of his chakra, without using that power…"

Sakura couldn't care less what her teacher was talking about. Down in the haze, Naruto was speaking again.

"You're right, Kiba. Nobody does like me. Not the villagers, not the people at the academy, not even Sasuke and Sakura or Kakashi. I know I'm just a nuisance to them."

Kakashi's grip was painfully tight on her shoulder. Slowly, the smoke was clearing from in front of their eyes.

"All my life I've been hated, cursed at, left alone. I'm the loser, the dead-last, that kid."

Sakura blinked the water from her eyes as the two fighters came into view. Kiba seemed paralysed in place, Akamaru lying in a dead faint at his feet.

"I can count on one hand the number of people who give a shit about me," Naruto's beloved jumpsuit was torn to shreds, exposing the mesh vest under it. His face was red and blue and lumpy from the assault he'd faced, his hair was matted with blood that was leaking down his cheeks like water. Sakura was terrified. "Far, far more people hate me than those who care. You probably hate me too, because I'm loud, I'm annoying, I'm always making chaos, I'm so desperate for attention. I'm pathetic."

Kakashi's hand was creaking her bones, but Sakura couldn't seem to find the words to protest.

Naruto walked up to Kiba. He tossed the shuriken aside, and reached into his pocket. Kiba didn't - couldn't - move, only rolling his eyeballs helplessly.

"The question is, Kiba -"

Naruto pulled out a roll of exploding tags. Like a mother fussing over her child on the first day of the Academy, he pasted them all over Kiba. On his chest, on his arms, he even bent down to get his legs.

"- what are you going to do about it?" Almost lovingly, Naruto took the final seal and pasted it, almost caressing it, over his mouth.

Silent tears rolled down Kiba's cheeks.

"Larynx. Spine. Lungs. Liver. Jugular. Subclavian. Kidneys. Heart." Naruto brought out a kunai and touched each spot as he crooned, his voice almost sing-song, walking around Kiba in a slow circle. He got the location of the subclavian artery wrong. Nobody said a word. "You know, this might be a little overkill. But that's me, Uzumaki Naruto…"

The icy fingers were clawing at Sakura's eyeballs, they were going to pull them out, rip them to shreds-

Naruto brought his hands into a Ram seal. "I like to do things with a bang -"

"Kiba Inuzuka forfeits. Uzumaki Naruto is the winner." The Hokage stood in front of Naruto, his gnarled hands over Naruto's own.

Instantly, the pressure around the arena fell. Sakura collapsed to her knees, taking in deep lungfuls of breath, every muscle in her body shaking. All around her, many other genin did the same, all left a shaking mess from Naruto's fearsome killing intent.

"Yes!" her head shot up, to see Naruto jumping and cheering around beneath them. He caught her looking and laughed, "Hey, hey, Sakura, did you see how awesome I was? Dog-breath couldn't even move! Oh yeah, he totally fell for it! Like I'd ever harm a fellow Leaf ninja! Hey Sakura, tell me how cool that was!"

The other genin looked at Naruto like he was insane. The Hokage himself was looking at the boy like he'd never seen him before, his hands still over the boy's. "That's enough, Naruto. Go up and let the matches finish."

Naruto bounded up the stairs, acting every bit like the idiot he'd always been. He put his hands up for a high-five from Lee, but turned it into an awkward fist pump when the other genin shrank away. To every observer, he was exactly like he'd always been, cheerful and unassuming, always with a smile on his face.

Every youngster in the room gave him a wide berth as he came up next to Kakashi. Even Sakura edged away, unable to reconcile her thickheaded teammate with the monster she'd just seen.

But Naruto seemed to pay no attention to it. "Hey Kakashi, did you see how cool I was? Did you see my badass new technique?"

Even Kakashi took a moment to reply. "Yes, Naruto. It was certainly…something."

Naruto cheered again. "Oh yeah, Hinata," the Hyuga heiress still seemed to be in shock, flinching away from him. Again, Naruto didn't seem to notice. "Get down there and win as awesomely as I did, yeah!"

Hinata shuffled down the stairs, almost dazed, helped along by her teacher, who threw Naruto a look of utter loathing as she passed.

Naruto watched the fight with them, cheering Hinata along when she stumbled. He vowed to kick Neji's ass when he put Hinata down, and even the apathetic Hyuga didn't manage to look unflappable at Naruto's challenge. Only Gaara, who crushed Lee and almost killed him before the jonin intervened, looked up at Naruto and smiled.

"Uzumaki Naruto," Gaara said, looking directly at her teammate. "I will have your blood before this tournament ends."

Naruto rose to the challenge in his usual brash manner, telling Gaara he'd totally wreck him, before the redhead was subdued and the final match started.

If not one other person spoke to him, he didn't notice, or didn't comment on it. He just kept smiling.

As soon as the preliminaries ended and the matchups were revealed, he was taken away by Kakashi and the Hokage. Sakura went home and didn't sleep that night.