"You're letting them what?" Tsunade muttered with an exhausted sigh.

"I'm simply suggesting a test of strength between the two" Kakashi explained as he stood in the Hokage's office with Sakura and Yamato.

Sakura wasn't sure why she was standing with them instead of keeping an eye on her two teammates and why Captain Yamato decided leaving Sai to watch the boys would be the best course of action.

"Kakashi. You're back in the village not even a week and already causing trouble" Tsunade rubbed her temple "Before anything, how did training go? Sakura?" The Hokage questioned, purposefully asking Sakura for a reason.

Sakura glanced at her sensei with a mischievous glare in her eyes. Kakashi narrowed his own eyes at her before they widened as she stepped forward.

"It went well, Lady Tsunade. Although, you were completely right. Kakashi Sensei took the liberty of training Sai as well" The Pinkette threw her sensei under the bus.

Tsunade's green eyes snapped to the older Jounin who had begun to sweat uncomfortably.

"But-" Sakura continued with a small smirk, gaining the Hokage's attention "Sai does seem to be doing better even after one session and I noted no mental instability after his session. Either Sensei went easy on him or he's not as fragile as we thought" Sakura explained with precision and confidence.

Tsunade seemed to think over this as Kakashi's shoulder slumped down in relief while Yamato simply watched the interaction. At this point, the Captain didn't rule anything out with team 7 and instead chose to go along for the ride.

"Very well. I'll leave Sai to you then, Kakashi" Tsunade finally stated. Kakashi smiled but Tsunade wasn't done. She slammed her fist into the desk, cracking it. Yamato could faintly hear the soft cries of Shizune at having to buy another desk for the Hokage.

"But you did disobey a direct order" The blonde-haired woman snapped. Kakashi swallowed harshly at the thought of being pummeled by the strong woman, he already had enough trouble keeping Sakura's strength in check.

"I apologize, Lady Hokage. It simply seemed unfair to single him out during training. I'm sure he'd want to improve alongside his new teammates" Kakashi smiled though one could easily see the sweat rolling down his temple.

"I agree, Lady Hokage" Yamato spoke up with professionalism "While Sai and myself are new to the team, he has had a particularly hard time adjusting to his teammates. Having him train with the others can only strengthen those growing bonds" The captain explained as he stood at attention.

Tsunade leaned back into her chair with a thoughtful expression on her features. Her fierce glare suddenly returned as she glared at Kakashi, who stood straighter as he noticed her stare.

"Don't disobey my orders again or I'll pummel you into the ground. Understood?" She snapped.

Kakashi nervously smiled "Hai".

"Dismissed" She muttered and turned around to face the village while the three left.

___

The three stepped out of the Hokage tower, Kakashi looking a little more relieved than the other two.

Yamato turned to Kakashi with a raised brow "It's strange seeing you so...fearful, Senpai" He commented.

Kakashi glanced at him with a disbelieving look "I'd be an idiot if I wasn't." He retorted "That woman beat Jiraiya to a near inch of his death when she caught him peeping on the ladies spring." The Jounin commented, remembering coming to visit the Sannin in his death bed. It didn't look good at the time but somehow he pulled through.

Sakura suddenly came to a halt with wide eyes. The two Jounin males stopped and turned back to look at her with confusion.

The Pinkette swallowed roughly before smiling nervously "We forgot Jiraiya-sama in the sand village."

Kakashi's eyes widened, he hadn't been aware of Jiraiya being involved in the last mission whereas Yamato could feel the sweat drip down his temple. he had known and he had been there after team 7 left but he was in such a haste that he forgot about the man as well.

"I'm sure it's fine" Sakura chuckled, her heart racing underneath her calm exterior "He probably found a woman to keep him busy and is probably back to traveling again" She reassured though she didn't know exactly who she was trying to reassure.

"Naruto should have remembered, he's only been with the man for three years" Kakashi grumbled as they continued walking again.

Sakura shook her her "You know him, he got excited about being reunited that it must've slipped his mind as well" She tried covering for her teammate. He was already going through enough with his fight between Sasuke.

"We can't really blame the kid, we all forgot" Yamato spoke up with a sigh.

Kakashi lead the two as they walked through the village, receiving wary looks from some and proud looks from others. All of which were ignored as they focused on how to deal with their current situation.

"Well, as long as Tsunade doesn't find out" Kakashi mumbled as he walked with his hand in his pockets.

Yamato nodded in agreement whilst Sakura glanced at the two as if they were morons.

"You know he'll come back to the village eventually, right? She's going to find out" The Pinkette revealed causing the hair on both men's neck to raise in anxiousness.

"Kuso..." Yamato muttered to himself.

Kakashi sighed "Nothing we can do now" He said before glancing at Sakura "How do you feel about going rogue sometime in the future?"

Sakura gave him a deadpanned look "Tsunade's not going to hunt us down, she doesn't even like Jiraiya" She sighed.

The small group of three neared the outer forest of the village, where Naruto and Sasuke waited with Sai.

"She may not like him but he's still her teammate and-"

"As Hokage, she could get away with it" Yamato finished Kakashi's sentence with horror in his eyes.

Sakura eyed the two with a blank look "Babies" She muttered before moving ahead to greet Naruto and Sasuke.

The two stood away from the other with Sai leisurely standing between them, everyone could feel the tense atmosphere.

"To, Ke" Sakura greeted with a firm nod. She was angry at them, she thought they were closer than stooping down to academy level fighting for dominance.

Naruto ignored her but Sasuke gave a slight nod back in greeting which was enough for the Pinkette to turn away with a small smile.

Maybe she wasn't that angry at them, more worried.

"Sai, thank you for watching them" Kakashi smiled though he knew there wasn't much the boy could have done but call for help if they decided to be impatient and start early.

Sai returned the smile. If the Jounin didn't know any better, he'd say that smile on the pale boy was becoming more real by the minute. Then again, it's been at most a week since he joined the team. Kakashi wasn't holding out much hope just yet.

"Now then" He called, gaining the attention of the group "The Hokage has approved this on the pretense that it'll be classed as a training exercise which means-" Kakashi suddenly glared dangerously at the two teenagers.

They flinched at the sudden change but otherwise stood tall.

"-You stop when I say stop" The Jounin muttered but the whole group heard him loud and clear.

Naruto and Sasuke glanced at one another, wondering if they really would stop in the moment but otherwise nodded at their sensei.

Kakashi straightened up before wordlessly leading the group deeper into the forest, further away from the village.

Sakura watched her two teammates with anticipation and worry, she hoped her medical ninjutsu would be enough to keep them alive if it came down to it.

The whole team made their way deep into the forest. At first, Tsunade suggested using the forest of death as the battling grounds but Kakashi quickly ruled it out as he knew the two men wouldn't stay in one particular spot when they fought. They needed a larger area.

That only left Konoha's vast forest land. It was a risk to suggest it as the land deep within the forest has always been respected in the past by leaving it be. Now, they would be using it to settle a score.

Tsunade wasn't entirely aware of the destructive power behind Kakashi's students which is why she agreed to it in the first place.

Meanwhile, Kakashi could only hope they would end it quickly and come out alive.

The way into the forest had been quiet. Too quiet. No rogues were waiting for them. No ill intent from the forest but too much ill intent between the two young males.

Sakura wondered where it all came from, they'd always been quite close. Hardly did they fight and when they did, they understood their wrongs and worked together but this time was different.

As they jumped through the trees, Sakura stared at Sasuke. She hoped he knew what he was doing. He wasn't the type to dive headfirst into battle without reason. As the Pinkette glanced away from the boy, she quickly looked back.

Perhaps it was her imagination but she could have sworn there was a mark on his neck. Though she couldn't be sure now, his clothes covered his neck as he shifted.

The Pinkette glanced at her sensei but found he was busy focusing on Naruto and most likely didn't notice the mark. If it were ever there.

Finally, the group arrived at the battlegrounds. An open field with a small river greeted them. Thousands of trees littered around them. They were far enough away from the village and borders that may raise suspicion.

Kakashi sighed "Alright, let's get this over with" He stated before he and Yamato slammed their hands into the ground.

Large wooden fences appeared out of the ground. High enough that in case Kurama made an appearance, they'd be able to subdue him long enough to seal him again, hopefully...

Sasuke and Naruto hardly noticed the commotion around them as they focused on each other.

Naruto wasn't sure what it was but he felt an intense amount of anger towards the Uchiha. So much so that he simply couldn't ignore it anymore.

The comment Sasuke had made about pining after his dead family had simply been the domino effect for everything else to fall into place.

Sasuke, on the other hand, didn't feel like himself.

He felt anger, just like Naruto had but didn't show it as clearly as the blonde.

The two had been given the go-ahead to start but they simply stood still, staring each other down.

The tension between the two young males shook everyone to the core as Naruto suddenly grunted. His glare hardening as he focused on Sasuke "You're going to have to do better than that, Sasuke" he muttered with a growl.

It seemed Sasuke had already begun by placing a fairly strong Genjutsu on the Jinjuuriki. Then again, the Uchiha forgot how much time they truly spent together, training, and combating each other's strongest abilities.

He should have known the blonde would be more perceptive to Genjutsu than others.

And just like that, their battle began as the two dashed forward and collided their forearms together, testing the other's strength. They quickly analyzed their opponent all in the span of seconds through that one interaction before quickly moving into throwing attacks that could slow the other down or injure.

The two weren't yet giving it their all but they were beginning to attack with more strength and precision as they realized how on par they were with each other.

Yamato's eyes bulged out of his head almost as he watched the two fight, their abilities far beyond what the Jounin could ever have imagined.

Sai, too, was enthralled at their skill but also the amount of anger they held toward each other. It came as a surprise that a person could hold so much emotion in their bodies, Sai found it unnatural.

As Sasuke charged up his Chidori and Naruto, his Rasengan, the two charged with fierce velocity toward the other. Their attacking hands outstretched as their two powerful attacks collided. Their chakra created a ball around them and no one could see within. the ball was black before it turned white and the two suddenly emerged from the chakra dome toward the ground.

They caught themselves as they stood still for a moment, eyeing the other as if something had been said between them before dashing forward once again.

Sakura sighed in worry and agitation causing Kakashi to glance down at her.

"Why are you worried?" Kakashi questioned in a mutter as he watched the fight with crossed arms, analyzing their skills for himself as well.

Sakura almost turned and slapped the tall man but sighed with anger in her breath instead "My two teammates are fighting to, what looks to be, death." She grumbled as she eyed the two and all the cuts and bruises making its appearance over their bodies.

Kakashi sighed "Do you not trust in your own abilities?" He asked with a raised brow, almost mockingly so.

Sakura turned to him in frustration "What do you mean? My abilities have nothing to do with this"

"It has everything to do with this. You're a medical ninja, are you not?"

That made the Pinkette pause. She was a medical ninja now, she could easily heal the boys of their cuts and bruises from what she could see on them now.

So why was she worried, exactly?

"I...Suppose. I worry about their relationship after this fight." Sakura sighed with sadness as the two fighting punched each other across the face at the same time. Both flew back and landed into Yamato's barrier.

Kakashi glanced down at her with narrowed eyes "You're not telling me something" He accused with a scolding expression.

Sakura's head moved back in surprise as she glanced up at her Sensei "W-What do you mean?"

Kakashi simply raised a brow at her bad lying. She was always bad at lying when it came to her team unless it was telling Naruto that there were worms in his ramen.

Sakura sighed in defeat as she glanced back at the fight, the two now resorting to the basics of their inner powers such as the Susanoo and the Nine-Tails Chakra.

"Sasuke's comment to Naruto. It was so unlike him...Then there's this mark on his neck but I think it may have been my imagination" Sakura answered, almost muttering to herself more than her Sensei.

Kakashi's eyes snapped to her in surprise "What mark?" He asked in an almost frantic way.

Sakura frowned in confusion "There was a mark on his neck, black with three tomoes, I think. I didn't get a good look" She explained.

Kakashi looked back at the fight with a serious expression on his features. An angry expression.

As the two continued their fight, their outer chakra powers becoming stronger and bigger as they easily towered over the forest, Kakashi created a clone which ran off without a word to anyone.

Sakura watched the clone leave in a rush with furrowed brows before she looked at Kakashi.

He paid her no mind as he continued watching the fight.

Naruto flew into Yamato's barrier once again for the hundredth time, it felt like, and before Sasuke could continue his attack, his Susanoo suddenly disappeared.

The teenage boy, without the power to keep him in the air, fell back toward the ground with confusion and anger blinding his sight.

He felt himself being caught before being placed down on the ground. The Uchiha glared up at the one that stopped their battle with a venomous stare. Something akin to an Uchiha but unlike Sasuke.

Kakashi stared down at him with his Sharingan activated, his back turned to Yamato and Sai to make sure they didn't see his eyes.

"Enough, there's something we need to talk about" He ordered.

Sasuke grunted as he glanced back at Naruto who had pulled himself from the rubble of the barrier and now breathed heavily as the chakra receded back into his body.

Sasuke felt his teeth grit against each other as he watched Sakura rush over to the blonde, healing his injuries first. Though the blonde had sustained more injuries in their battle, not by much, Sasuke felt anger boil in his veins as Sakura knew the Nine-Tails would heal their teammate. Sasuke, on the other hand, had nothing to heal him.

It shouldn't bother him but it did, extremely so.

Kakashi noticed his attention on the other two and sighed "I told her to attend to Naruto first. As I said, we need to talk" He explained, knowing the Uchiha's thought process.

Sasuke grunted in surprise as he wasn't aware his Sensei had been watching him nor had he been aware, he'd been watching his teammates.

"About what?" Sasuke spat as he stood up.

Sasuke frowned as his Sensei eyed him with none of the usual laid back behavior the older Jounin seemed to usually enjoy.

"What?" Sasuke asked.