All characters and story belong to Kohei Horikoshi and Masashi Kishimoto
After saying goodbye to Kabuto's group, Team 7 stared at the red door they were supposed to enter. There were only a couple of minutes left before the five-day deadline Anko had given them. The door was sealed. Sakura opened it, and they went inside. They entered a room that was completely empty. The only thing that seemed out of place in an empty room was a poster hanging on the wall.
"There's nobody here. I don't understand, what's happening now?" Sakura wondered.
"Look at that," Sasuke said, pointing at the sign. Sakura was the first to approach.
"If you desire the gifts of heaven, it will be wisdom that elevates your mind. If you lack earthly gifts, train and prepare to attack. When heaven and earth part, the path will be just forever. This is the secret path that guides us from this place," Sakura read.
"What kind of shit is this? A fucking riddle now?" Bakugo said, annoyed.
"I think it's time to open the scrolls and read their contents," Sasuke said confidently.
Salura took the one from the sky and Bakugo took the one from the earth. They both opened them at the same time. There were strange markings on them, and a strange smoke came out of the scrolls.
"Oh no! It's the Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" (Summoning Technique) shouted Sasuke. "Quick! Throw away the scrolls!"
They both obeyed and threw them to the ground. More and more white smoke billowed from them until finally, out of all that smoke, emerged the figure of Kakashi, his eyes glued to his favorite book, Icha Icha Paradise.
—¿ Kakashi-sensei?—dijo Sakura.
"It's been a while, guys," Kakashi said distractedly. He glanced at his students and noticed Bakugo's condition, especially his scars. He was still shirtless and pale, though not as pale as in previous days. "You look awful, Bakugo."
—Our dear sensei is as kind as ever...—Sakura thought sarcastically, rolling her eyes.
"At least I don't have to hide my ugly face, cyclops," Bakugo retorted.
"Here we go again," Sasuke thought, fed up with the verbal fights between Kakashi and Bakugo .
"Kakashi-sensei? What are you doing here?" Sakura asked.
"It seems you've been through a lot in this test..." Kakashi said, stopping reading the book and focusing his attention on Sasuke's neck, Sakura's hair, and Bakugo's scars.
"What does this entrance mean? Why are you appearing with a summoning jutsu, Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura asked the jonin.
"At the end of the second exam, the team leaders must welcome their students who are taking the exam," Kakashi explained. Then he took a watch from his pocket and looked at it. "You were lucky. If you had been just a couple more minutes late, you would have failed."
"Does that mean...?" Sakura said, holding back her excitement until she was sure she was right.
—Although you arrived last, you passed the second exam. Congratulations.—announced Kakashi.
—Yes! Hooray! We did it!—Sakura shouted, jumping around like crazy.
"Tsk," Bakugo muttered. "I don't know why you're happy, forehead girl."
"Didn't you hear Kakashi-sensei, Bakago? We passed!" Sakura exclaimed with a smile.
"All I've heard from the Cyclops is that we were the last ones to arrive here. That's a far cry from the crushing victory I was expecting," Bakugo protested with a grimace.
"Bakugo's right, Sakura. It's not something we should celebrate," Sasuke said grumpily.
"Well, well. This feels like a funeral. I don't even want to imagine the mood if we had failed," Sakura thought, catching her classmates' bad mood.
"One question. If we had looked at the scrolls in the middle of the exam, what would you have done, Kakashi?" Sasuke asked.
"Good question, Sasuke. If you had broken the rules and opened the scrolls, I would have knocked you unconscious," Kakashi explained.
Bakugo sat down on the ground, his energy nearly gone. He also dropped the Kubikiribōchō on the ground. He hadn't fully recovered and was exhausted from the walk they had taken to get there. Kakashi watched him briefly with some concern.
"What does what's written on the wall mean, Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura asked, pointing at the poster.
Kakashi turned around and saw the scroll Sakura was pointing at.
"Ah, that's it," Kakashi said. "Actually, I've been sent here to explain that very thing. These are instructions from the Hokage, written for the Chunin to follow. The sky in this text represents your mind, and the earth represents your body."
"Did the old man write that poem?" Bakugo asked, raising an eyebrow in disbelief. "He's an idiot, just like his son the gas delivery man. He probably commissioned an intern to do it."
"The only idiot here is you, Bakago!" Sakura shouted, giving Bakugo a whack on the head.
"Hey!" Bakugo said, rubbing the part of his head that had been hit. "Can't you see I'm still hurt, you damn forehead girl!"
"You'll be even more hurt if you continue to disrespect the Hokage!" Sakura warned, clenching her fist.
"Bakugo, the one you're calling an idiot was my teacher when I was your age, and he's the most exceptional ninja I've ever known," Kakashi defended his teacher Minato.
"Was the Fourth Hokage your sensei, Kakashi?" Sasuke asked, his mouth agape.
"Yes," Kakashi said curtly.
—Tell us more about the Fourth Hokage, Kakashi-sensei!—Sakura asked.
"It's a very long story, and if I tell it to you, you'll be disqualified from the next exam for being late. Besides, I don't feel like telling you about my past. Perhaps if you become a Chunin, I'll change my mind," Kakashi said.
Bakugo remained silent, analyzing Kakashi's words. They were practically the same ones he'd used when Kakashi asked about his Sharingan. Kakashi, Minato, Itachi, the unknown masked man during the attack on the Uchiha district... This world was full of people with secrets, and the ash-blond was starting to tire of them. With each new question that formed in his mind, he longed more to become Hokage so he could demand answers.
Not to mention the most mysterious person, the one she most wanted to know about, because he was the one who affected her most personally... Orochimaru. Just thinking about him made her fists clench with rage.
"Well, you'd better go through that door as soon as possible if you don't want to be barred from participating in the third exam. Good luck." Kakashi waved goodbye. Then he disappeared in a puff of smoke.
"Let's go," said Sasuke, leading the group.
Sakura followed him but noticed that Bakugo was still sitting, sweating and panting from accumulated fatigue.
"Bakugo! Don't just sit there!" Sakura ordered him.
"I just need a few seconds, forehead girl. Go ahead," Bakugo said, trying to catch his breath.
"Come on, hurry up," Sasuke insisted, stopping.
"Didn't you hear me, you freak! I said to go ahead!" Bakugo shouted, a vein throbbing on his forehead.
"Yes, but I also heard Kakashi warning us that we'd be disqualified if we took any longer. So get your ass off the ground, Bakugo," Sasuke ordered. Then he approached the Kubikiribōchō and picked it up from the ground with some difficulty. "I don't know why you're still carrying this thing around." He turned and headed for the door.
"Hey! Give Deku back, you damn bastard!" That's what the blond boy called Kubikiribōchō, because of how useless he thought she was. It was a mystery why he hadn't gotten rid of her yet.
Bakugo noticed Sakura crouch down and put her arm around his waist.
"Huh? What are you doing, forehead girl?" the ash-blond boy asked, frowning.
"Help you up, Bakugo," Sakura replied. "And before you complain..." Sakura warned, reading Bakugo's mind. "We're a team. We support each other. So get up, grumpy."
Bakugo chose to remain silent and allowed himself to be helped, a rare occurrence for him. He stood up with the pink-haired girl's assistance and rested his arm on her shoulder, which helped him to stand and walk. The dark-haired boy waited for his classmates so they could enter together through the door leading to the area where the third exam would take place.
"Let go of me, Sakura. I can do it myself," Bakugo said to his partner.
"Are you sure, Bakugo?" Sakura asked, a note of concern in her voice.
"Sure," Bakugo replied, nodding. "I can't appear weak in front of our rivals." Sakura obeyed and let go of him.
"Well then, I'll give you back your sword," Sasuke said, extending the arm that held the sword.
"Well, now you're screwed and you're stuck with Deku a little longer! For sticking your nose where it doesn't belong!" Bakugo exclaimed, unwilling to admit that he didn't feel strong enough to carry Zabuza's sword.
Sasuke rolled his eyes. Then he opened the door, and the three genin entered simultaneously. Once inside, they saw that five other genin teams had passed: Kabuto's team, Gaara's team, Neji's team, and the other two rookie teams from their generation (Team 8 and Team 10).
.
.
In a room in the center of the tower, Anko, Minato and the two chunin who passed themselves off as genin who beat up Tenten and Lee before the first exam were gathered.
"Aah. Ugh." Anko groaned, her shoulder aching. She touched the mark of the cursed seal with her fingertips.
"How are you, Anko? Does the cursed seal still hurt?" Minato asked her.
"A little. But I'm much better than before. Thanks to you, Fourth Hokage," Anko replied.
"Getting back to Orochimaru..." said one of the chunin. "What could he have come for? I don't think it was just to pay a visit to Anko and kill those poor grass genin."
"He's after the heir of the Uchiha clan," Anko explained, recalling the conversation she had with her former sensei.
"I was afraid of that," Minato said, his gaze distant.
A white smoke appeared in the room, and when it dissipated, Kakashi appeared.
"Minato, we need to talk," Kakashi said with a serious face.
"Is it about Sasuke, Kakashi? Did you see the cursed seal?" Minato said, guessing the purpose of his former student's appearance.
"Huh? Yes... But... How?" Kakashi said, somewhat shocked that his former sensei knew that without having seen him.
—Anko was just informing us about what happened in the forbidden forest with Orochimaru and that he is after Sasuke.—Minato explained.
"Anko-sama!" came a voice from one of the televisions in the room. Everyone turned toward the source of the noise. The television showed the image of another Konoha chunin. "We have confirmed that eighteen genin passed the second exam. As for the third exam, according to the rules, we will have to hold a preliminary round first..."
"It had been more than five years since a preliminary round was required before the third exam," Anko said, amazed that so many had passed.
"Good. For now, we'll continue with the exams as planned... But be alert for any possible moves from Orochimaru," Minato said, then approached his former student. "Kakashi, after Sasuke's match in this preliminary round, apply the counter-seal I taught you."
"But, sensei. Wouldn't it be better if you performed the counter-seal? After all, you're better at it," Kakashi questioned.
"Don't underestimate yourself, Kakashi. Your counter-seals are on par with mine, or you might even do them better than me. The only one I know who surpasses you in that regard is my former teacher, Jiraiya," Minato said. "And who knows where that old pervert is..." he thought aloud. "But even if he were here, he'd still ask you to perform it. After all, you have more contact with Sasuke than any of us, and that's important so you can strengthen the counter-seal whenever you see it weakening. But remember, the counter-seal won't be enough to keep Orochimaru's cursed mark at bay. If Sasuke's will weakens, the counter-seal will weaken with him, and the curse will be unleashed in all its fury."
"I'll make sure he understands. Thank you, sensei," Kakashi said, giving a small bow.
All characters and story belong to Kohei Horikoshi and Masashi Kishimoto
Approximately half an hour before Team 7 and Kabuto's team entered the tower, Team 10 (Ino, Shikamaru, and Choji) entered the area of the tower where the rest of the genin who had passed the second exam were gathered.
"What a drag. That weird, eyebrowless guy from the arena and Lee's group passed. I think our luck has run out," Shikamaru complained.
Ino ignored her companion and looked all around the large, desolate room.
"They're not..." Ino whispered, her voice breaking.
"Huh?" Shikamaru said. Before he could ask his teammate what was wrong, he felt someone's weight on his back. "What the...?" It was Naruto, who had hoisted the Nara clan member onto his back like a horse.
"I knew you'd pass, Shikamaru! Believe it!" Naruto exclaimed happily.
"Don't be annoying and get off my back, Naruto!" Shikamaru complained.
"Well, well. And I thought we'd be the only rookies to pass the second exam. Well, at least it was you guys and not that idiot Bakugo's team," Kiba said with a smug smile. Ino snapped out of her daze at the mention of the ash-blond boy's name.
"The exam isn't over yet, Kiba!" the blonde said, glaring at Kiba. Akamaru barked at Ino in response to her attitude.
"What's gotten into you now, Ino?" Kiba asked, annoyed.
"She's worried about Bakugo," Choji replied, taking out the last bag of chips he had grabbed for the exam.
"I'm not worried about that idiot!" Ino shouted at Choji.
"Yes, you are, Ino," Shikamaru said, rolling his eyes.
"I'm not!" Ino defended herself, red with embarrassment.
"Did you see Bakugo in the second exam?" Hinata whispered, fidgeting with her fingers.
"It took longer than I would have liked. It was a drag," Shikamaru replied.
"And the best part is, not only will that idiot fail, but that conceited Sasuke didn't pass either!" Kiba said. Ino glared at him with even more hatred than before.
"Ino was right about what she said earlier, Kiba. The time for the second exam isn't up yet," Naruto said, touching Choji's cheeks.
"There are less than five minutes left, Naruto! I'm telling you, they're not going to show up around here!" Kiba said, pointing to the entrance of the large hall that connected to the doors where the successful students entered through the tower.
"There's a saying that goes, 'Don't count your chickens before they hatch, Kiba,'" Shikamaru said, pointing to one of the entrance doors that was opening.
The other five rookies followed the direction of his finger and their eyes widened in shock. But to Hinata and Ino's dismay and Kiba's delight, Kabuto and his two bespectacled companions entered through that door.
"Ha! I knew it couldn't be them!" Kiba exclaimed happily.
The worst thing that could have happened to Ino. To regain hope of seeing Bakugo again, only to have that hope immediately shattered and feel even worse than before.
Kabuto approached the six rookies and greeted them with a smile.
"I'm glad you all passed. Especially the three of you, after everything we went through out there," Kabuto said, referring to Ino, Shikamaru, and Choji.
Ino stared at the ground, on the verge of collapsing.
"Well, there are only 15 of us left for the third exam. Have you ever gotten this far before, Kabuto?" Kiba asked.
—15?— said Kabuto, surprised.
—Eeehhh... yes. Don't you know how to count, Kabuto? With the three of you, there are 15 genin in this room— said Kiba.
"It's true that there are 15 of us right now," Kabuto agreed.
—Right now?—said Naruto, confused by the gray-haired man.
"Yes. Right now. What I forgot to add is that there's still one more team to show up," Kabuto explained with a smile.
Ino's hope was rekindled by Kabuto's words. She stopped looking at the ground and gazed at him with a pleading expression. He understood Ino's expression and pointed with his thumb toward the door where the remaining group was expected to appear.
The six rookies remained silent, watching the door Kabuto was pointing to. The gray-haired man seemed like some kind of magician at that moment, as the door opened and Sasuke, Sakura, and Bakugo entered. Gai's group and the Sand Village group also noticed Team 10's entrance.
"Thank goodness. It would have been a shame not to see that handsome boy again," Temari thought, looking at Sasuke. Then she glanced at Bakugo. "Ugh. I forgot that annoying brat was on his team."
"Well, well. Looks like I'll be able to get my revenge on those brats," Kankuro thought. Then he glanced out of the corner of his eye at his brother Gaara, who wore a sickly, sinister smile. "On second thought, I won't get in Gaara's way. It's better he takes them out than him taking me out for interfering."
—Sasuke Uchiha... Katsuki Bakugo...— Gaara thought excitedly, that sinister smile still on his face. —Mom... I'll finish them off. I promise you...—
"I knew the power of youth shone brightly in Bakugo and Sakura's hearts!" Lee shouted, clapping his hands loudly.
"Even if this means more competition, I guess I'm glad. After all, Sakura helped you during the exam, Lee," Tenten said.
Neji wasn't as happy as his two teammates. He was the first to notice that Bakugo was in very bad shape. He activated his Byakugan to make sure.
"He barely has any chakra left, and his body is completely exhausted. If I had to face him, I don't think he could withstand even one of my blows. The only one I'd have a chance against is my useless cousin. Why did the Fourth Hokage make the exam so easy, allowing talentless people like those two (referring to Hinata and Bakugo) to pass?" Neji thought.
On the other hand, the reactions of each of the six rookies were also very different.
—Noooo! Damn it, this is an injustice!—Kiba complained.
"Heh. All nine of us passed again. Believe it!" Naruto said happily.
"Bakugo..." Hinata whispered, alarmed by the ash-blond's condition. Even though they were over 100 meters away, his eyesight was by far the best of the group of rookies. The only genin with better vision was Neji.
—Yum. Yum. Yum. —Choji gobbled up the last of the potatoes, happily watching Team 7.
"What a way to rush things until the very end. Don't you think so, Ino?" Shikamaru asked his teammate. She was frozen, unable to react to his question. Shikamaru smiled and placed a hand on the blonde's shoulder.
—Huh?—Ino snapped out of her trance upon feeling Shikamaru's touch and turned her face towards the pineapple-haired boy.
"Go, Ino," Shikamaru said, tilting his head in the direction of the Team 7 trio. She nodded and ran off in the direction Shikamaru's face was pointing.
A few seconds earlier, Sakura felt her anxiety rising again.
"Why are you all staring at us? I feel like a lamb that's just been led to the slaughter!" Sakura said, frightened.
"Yes, especially because of him," Sasuke agreed, referring to Gaara. Bakugo glanced for a moment in the direction Sasuke was looking before focusing on Neji.
"That son of a bitch isn't far behind either. He seems to be underestimating me. I'm going to beat the crap out of him," Bakugo announced, taking a few steps forward and separating himself from his classmates.
He only took a few steps toward Neji before stopping, perplexed, as Ino sprinted toward him. When she was less than a meter away, the blonde leaped, wrapping her arms around the ash-blond's neck. Bakugo nearly stumbled from the force of Ino's embrace, but he managed to regain his balance.
"You're alive..." Ino whispered in Bakugo's ear, more to convince herself than for the blond to hear. Tears from Ino fell onto the scar on the ash-blond's shoulder.
Bakugo was in shock for a few moments, not knowing how to react, but finally, and to everyone's surprise, he returned the hug, tightly wrapping his forearms around the blonde's waist.
It was Bakugo's way of letting Ino know he was grateful for her saving his life, since he would never express it verbally. He never said thank you.
He remembered nothing, but he learned from Sakura and Kabuto that without her he would be dead right now.
—I really didn't expect this.—Sakura commented with a shy smile.
The magic lasted a few more seconds until Ino pulled away from him, to check that it wasn't an illusion and it was Bakugo.
"Did you miss me, flower freak?" Bakugo asked with a mischievous grin.
Ino's eyes welled up again and she wrapped her arms around Bakugo once more, but this time she wrapped them around the ash-blond boy's waist while resting her head on his good shoulder.
"You're an idiot..." Ino whispered, hiding her smile on the blond boy's shoulder.
"Only sometimes," joked the blond man, returning the hug.
"What do you mean, only sometimes?!" Ino exclaimed, shoving Bakugo away. "YOU'RE AN IDIOT, ALWAYS! I TOLD YOU TO WAIT! I ONLY ASKED YOU FOR ONE THING! ONE!" she yelled angrily, her index finger raised to emphasize her words. Then she punched him hard in the chest with her fist. "BAKA! BAKA! SUPER BAKA!"
"Ow! I'm still hurt, you idiot!" Bakugo complained, puzzled by the blonde's bipolar behavior.
"YOU'RE THE ONLY IDIOT, BAKAGO!" Ino yelled, digging her index finger into Bakugo's collarbone.
"Hmm... Ino looks a lot like you, Sakura," Sasuke commented, remembering that Sakura had said practically the same thing when Bakugo referred to the Fourth Hokage as an idiot minutes earlier with Kakashi.
—Huh? I don't look like Ino-pig at all!—Sakura retorted, gesturing wildly with her hands.
—Damn it! Only that idiot Bakago could make Sasuke-kun think that Ino and I look alike!—Sakura's inner self thought angrily.