Chapter 25 -
She rose and smiled.
'Twenty bucks says he can't dodge for shit.' Sakura's inner laughed.
'We'll see. I probably don't even need you.'
'True...'
"Sakura-chan?" Sasuke looked at her skeptically. "You awake."
"I wasn't really, no, but you should've taken that chance and gotten your bell. If you want one you'll need to come at me with the intent to kill. That's right, I want to see your best."
Sasuke nodded and launched into attack, with a steadily aimed kick.
While Sasuke was moving incredibly fast, Sakura could sense and aprehend his chakra.
Twas becoming quite the handy trick.
She side stepped and took his ankle, twisting it and throwing him into the ground.
'That probably wasn't necessary...' Sakura thought retrospectively.
Sasuke groaned and started to get up.
"It's mighty impressive you can get up... Neji had far more dificulty..." Sakura turned around and was walking away to get some distance.
Sasuke took the opurtunity to attack from behind.
Sakura made slight enough movements that she wasn't hit, but seemed to slow to avoid Sasuke's hand at her waist, grasping a bell tightly.
Sakura frowned.
"Well done." She said and disappeared.
'How strange...' Sasuke thought, even when we fought I could barely sense her chakra... Perhaps she's tired...' He walked toward the same clearing as his Sensei.
He was shocked to discover that he too had a bell...
'More curious than that, Sakura had thought Kakashi little challenge, even recieving a bell?' Sasuke was stumped.
'Two down...'
'Aha. I'm just a little scared, Naruto could be more dificult than the others... Infact, he's a whole other level.'
'Because of the demon, or because he might figure you out?'
'Both.'
She found him in the clearing where the other two were waiting.
"Typical! Waiting in the open for my attack... Good to see you havn't changed Naruto-kun." Sakura ran, at the boy, ready to strike the non-vital point in his arm.
She struck, blood spilling from a wound that smoked away simeltaneously.
"A shadow clone." Sakura said.
"Hn, maybe I changed a little?" Naruto chuckled, jumping from tree behind her.
They began fighting, dodging, deflecting and attacking all at once, the movements almost invisible.
"Why, Sakura-chan, would you attack my clone the way you did, if I am supposed to get the bell?" Naruto asked comically.
"Uh, well... um.. Because, I wanted to measure myself against you I suppose."
"And how are you going so far?"
"Well, you're so strong..." Sakura said.
'Don't insult him.'
'We both know I'm stronger, but that's not why we're here is it.'
Sakura dodged one final attack before back flipping to a safe 5 meters away.
She looked up and saw him with a bell clenched in his fist.
Naruto was livid. "Why!?" He growled angrily.
"Naruto-kun... Why what?"
"Why are you letting us win!?