(A/N: Haven't posted in while and I haven't. even bale to work on it lately! Here's the next chapter and thanks for your patience!)

"I want to fight that damn brat," Kankuro muttered. "She still rubs me the wrong way."

"Please, Kankuro, you're only saying that because she managed to detect your chakra strings."

"Shut up, Temari!"

"You shut up, Kankuro!" Thwack!

"Ow! You didn't have to hit me with your fan!"

Gaara sighed quietly, which was enough for his two idiotic siblings to hear and stop arguing. However, Temari was correct. The girl with no surname was able to see his brother's chakra strings. That either took skill, or knowledge. Judging from how pale she was, it was most likely the latter. She seemed like a paper shinobi that lived in the library, spouted mathematics, and was only fit for the intelligence group. Mother doesn't think so, though.

That's right! I say we just kill her! She won't be easy; she seems to have a sort of hidden power...

Hidden...power?

Yes! But it makes it more enjoyable to kill when they struggle! And that blonde boy, he seemed promising. Kinda like Ku—

"Gaara?" A voice brought him back to his thoughts. Fifteen minutes in and he was losing focus?

"What?" His voice was dry and raspy, like the sand he controlled.

"There are three up ahead. Wanna fight 'em?"

Gaara continued looking ahead. "Sure." This will satisfy Mother for now. 

:::

Three genin stopped in separate trees, one in green spandex, another with two buns in her hair, and the last with all-seeing eyes.

"We'll split up, and try and get the scroll we need. I'll go east, TenTen, west, and Lee, you'll go north. We'll meet here in three hours. Go!"

"Yosh!"

All three shot off to find a scroll so they could get out of the forest already.

:::

Lee stopped suddenly, seeing a branch rustle, dropping eleven leaves. They all slowly floated to the ground. His dark eyes shone with determination. If I catch all eleven, I will ask Sakura on a date! If I fail, I will do one hundred laps around the village, on my hands!

Lee set off quickly. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10—! He tore off to the squirrel and removed the explosive tag quickly, and crumpled it in his hand. "You poor squirrel! Only a villain with no youth whatsoever would do that!" Suddenly, the rodent chittered and ran in circles around him. "What are you—Sakura!"

He watched as the squirrel scampered off. "Sakura is in trouble? I must save her with the power of youth assisting me!" Meanwhile, his other teammates pondered about their friends as well.

:::

TenTen slowed to take a short break. "I hope Lee isn't doing something stupid." She shook her head, imagining what the mini-Gai could be up to. "Honestly, if he weren't so tied up with impressing...Sakura..."

The brunette sighed. "Sakura hasn't seen us in forever, it feels like. She seems to be getting along with her new team." Her facial expression soured, then she broke into quiet laughter. "Sakura getting along? She's too awkward for that."

TenTen, now reassured that Sakura would never leave her and Team Gai, left with a happy spring to her step to find unsuspecting genin.

:::

Sakura blinked harder, trying to rid of the sleepiness that overcame her. It didn't work. I can not afford to fall asleep. That is when a shinobi is the most vulnerable. I will not fall aslee—

There was a rustle and a crack, most likely from a branch being snapped. Slowly, she turned her head. The three Otogakure shinobi were there. Sakura knew they had been around the area, like a predator stalking their prey. It was painfully obvious. They want to be found. These Otogakure shinobi want to fight me. I will wait and see if they can make it past my traps.

Above her, the string she set up moved, making her even more alert. They had just entered the thirty-foot radius of where she was. A simple trip wire to tell me when they are here. Next should be...a genjutsu. A simple one, but effective. I do not have enough knowledge on genjutsu, unfortunately.

"Kai!"

They have dispelled the genjutsu; next would be the sound grenade I recently purchased. They emit 130 decibels.

Sakura waited until they came closer, then pulled a string tied to the end of one. A high-pitched screeching sound was heard, but she was prepared. In her pack, she had moldable wax that she always brought in a pinch, and stuffed it in her and her teammates' ears to protect them.

Next up is another Shokuton jutsu. C-ranked, but when used correctly, it is very dangerous. When I cast it, it only reaches about 20 feet in diameter, though.

"Shokuton: Kusakariki no Jutsu," she whispered quietly, and all the grass within her 30-foot range immediately stuck up, sharper than kunai.

"Ow! My damn foot..." A feminine voice yelled out, but was silenced.

"Come out, already...you stupid brat!" The familiar voice belonging to Zaku called out to her. Slowly, Sakura stepped out.

"Greetings, Otogakure amateurs." She nodded to the three.

"Amateurs? Amateurs?! You little brat! We've been trained by Oro—"

"Enough, Kin!" The shinobi with wrappings all over his face finally spoke. "We have been sent to test your skills. We are told you possess a great kekkei genkai—"

Before he could finish his sentence, a blur of green stopped to a halt in between the four. "HALT! I am here to protect Sakura!"

"What—?"

A smoke bomb was thrown, causing everyone there to cough. When the smoke cleared, Lee was standing there in a dramatic pose. "Do not fret, Sakura! I see your teammates have abandoned you. That is a very un-youthful thing to do!" He stepped into a taijutsu stance. "I will protect you!"

"Lee." Sakura watched in a bored-like expression. I ponder if his eyebrows have the ability to move on their own. Perhaps Ramen-boy was correct about them being caterpillars.

"Do not worry about me! I will defeat them all!" He struck another good-guy pose, blinding all with his incredibly white teeth.

"Aa." Sakura turned around to check on Sasuke and Naruto. She had seen Lee's techniques, and was sure he would do fine. However, there are two shinobi that I do not know about. Kin, and the masked one.

:::

"Byakugan!" Hinata's eyes widened further. "There are two teams up ahead!"

"Really? Akamaru's acting kinda weird..." Kiba lifted his best friend off his head. "Hey buddy, what's wrong?"

"My bugs are agitated," Shino muttered, then glanced ahead of him. Why? It must be something very evil if even my kikaichū are getting anxious.

"S-stop!" The Hyūga commanded quietly. "They're up ahead!" All three genin immediately stopped and hid behind bushes, watching two teams face each other in the clearing.

"Those look like Suna's team," Shino said. "Why? Because they have their hitai-ates to tell us so."

Kiba wasn't paying any attention to his teammates. Instead, he worried over Akamaru. "Akamaru, buddy, what's wrong with you?"

The small white dog only whimpered in response and tried running away from the scene that was about to occur.

RUN KIDS, RUN! Just kidding, but you three should seriously run. What will they see?

What did you think of Sakura this chapter?