Darkest Before Dawn

The Preliminaries!!: The Chuunin Exams: Part 3

   "There are so many of them..." Minato murmured. There were twenty-four genin all lined up before him all battered and bruised in some way, save for a few select individuals. The siblings from Sand were unharmed probably because of the Jinchuriki that could hold his own against his bijuu. Minato's eyes then skimmed over to Team 7. Naruto and Sasuke had their fair share of cuts and scrapes, but Sakura was unscathed. As predicted.

   As Minato began his speech, two people began to survey the genin from behind the upstairs railing.

   "Well." Jiraiya whistled, crossing his arms across his chest, "There's a hell of a lot of genin this year. This is double what we were expecting."

   Orochimaru nodded in agreement before narrowing his eyes to take a closer look at the batch.

   "It seems so. I can already tell who's going to advance. The Uchiha boy looks promising, and so does that Jinchuriki from Suna. That girl from Suna looks particularly strong as well. And the Hyuuga boy." said the snake sannin. His golden eyes skimmed through the rows. Minato's son was sure to pass due to his insane stamina that could get him through fights even if he wasn't the brightest, and maybe Shikaku's son as well. He had the brains to get through any situation.

   "You're forgetting one, Orochimaru."

   He raised an eyebrow.

   "Who?"

   Jiraiya pointed towards the girl in the second to last row.

   "Her name is Sakura Haruno. She's already a full-fledged shinobi as far as I'm concerned. The brat's been trained by Ibiki Morino himself."

   Orochimaru looked the girl over with a calculating eye. She certainly didn't look like much at first glance, but the longer he stared, the more he noticed the tiny little details. She was standing on guard with a rigid form that just seemed natural to her and had not sustained any injuries. Her chakra levels were probably at 80% unlike everyone else who had theirs at 15%, maybe 20%.

   "A prodigy?" he mused. Jiraiya nodded and watched as the matches began.

~

   "I hope Sasuke-kun and his team are doing well in the exams." Mikoto sighed as she poured herself and Fugaku a cup of tea, "I don't doubt his ability, but I've heard that there are some tough competitors this year."

   "They'll be fine. They'll make it to chuunin, I guarantee it."

   "I hope you're right."

~

   "Good job, Sakura." Kakashi smiled, "I expected nothing less from you."

   Sakura leaned against the wall in the arena, taking deep breaths. Her match had just ended with her emerging as the victor. The fight was unexpectedly lengthy and difficult, he opponent being Kabuto Yakushi. After five minutes of fighting him, it was obvious that he wasn't just some genin. He was to skilled in his movements and knew medical ninjutsu. She eventually got him by knocking him unconscious with a kick to the head.

   "I'm going to the restroom..." Sakura muttered, pushing herself off of the wall. Kakashi patted her on the back and watched her walk away. Once she was in the empty restroom, she started to cough over the sink. Blood spewed from her mouth. She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and looked up at the mirror.

   "This is the girl's restroom, you know."

   "Kabuto didn't give you any injuries that would cause you to cough so much blood. In fact, you're not supposed to be coughing blood at all."

   Orochimaru was leaning against the frame of the door, his eyes glimmering with curiosity. Sakura was quiet for a while before finally sighing and straightening up.

   "Diffuse Alveolar Hemorrhage."

   His eyebrows furrowed. Before he could ask her just how she obtained such a rare disorder, she beat him to it.

   "It was jutsu-induced." she whispered. Sakura washed the blood off her hands and mouth and walked passed him and out the door, throwing him a smile as she did so. Orochimaru stood there for a few seconds before following after.

   By the time they got back, all the matches had been finished and the finalists had been paired up and posted on the wall.

Neji Hyuuga vs Naruto Namikaze

Shino Aburame vs Kankuro Sabaku

Temari Sabaku vs Dosu Kinuta

Sakura Haruno vs Shikamaru Nara

Sasuke Uchiha vs Gaara Sabaku

   Sakura smiled to herself.