ITS BEEN A WHLE! I know Ive been MIA. Many of you may have given up, but appreciate those of you who continue to read. I'll try to get better about the frequency of updates. I had just gotten over a major eye illness that had me down for a while but Im back! Now enough talking, Hope you all enjoy this chapter.

Disclaimer: I do not own or have any rights to Yu Yu Hakusho or Naruto.

"You're late Kakashi!" Naruto exclaimed pointing an accusing finger at their silver-haired sensei.

Sakura sighed in annoyance but otherwise didn't berate him as she normally would. She had a concentrated look at her face as she stared down the hill towards the large steel boat that would be taking them to their destination. It was apparent she was taking the impending situation more seriously than their blonde teammate.

In the background Hinata heard Kakashi say, "Sorry, I got lost in the path of life…"

"You're such a liar!" Naruto rebuked.

Usually the banter between the two would be amusement for Hinata, but today was weighing heavy on her mind. White eyes took in the crowd of demons gathered at the bottom of the hill ready to board the ship. Some species she recognized, some she didn't. She gently chewed her bottom lip in anxiety as she began to doubt her. Had she had enough training? Would be strong enough to be of some help to her team, to Sasuke?

As if summoned by her thoughts, Sasuke arrived behind Kakashi. He looked a little haggard, as though he had been still training up until the very end. Still, there was a hint of satisfaction on his face and a fire in his eyes.

"It's uncharacteristic that you're the last one here Sasuke, that's usually Naruto," Kakashi commented turning slightly to face the younger man.

"That's usually you!" Naruto snapped.

"My sharingan is stronger than before," Sasuke mumbled, more to himself than the others, staring at his hand. He looked up at his team then down at the crowd of demons they would be boarding with soon. "Hn, competition doesn't seem too impressive."

"Underestimating your opponent is the quickest way to defeat Sasuke-kun" Kakashi warned in a sing-song voice that sent a shiver down the other members of the group.

Sasuke didn't respond, his eyes were half-lidded and glazed. It looked like the intensity of his individual training was finally catching up with him. Everyone observed him worriedly.

"Oi, teme?" Naruto came next to Sasuke's side, waving his hand in front of the dark-haired boy's eyes, "Sasuke?"

Suddenly the Uchiha swayed before falling straight on his back landing with a loud thud. Hinata shrieked in surprise, both she & Sakura quickly ran to opposite sides of Sasuke and knelt on the ground beside him. Everyone held their breath, anxiety washing over them, as Sakura's bright green glowing hand hovered above his body. After a moment, the pink-haired woman released a sigh and sat back on her hunches.

"He's fine. His body is just exhausted. A few hours of sleep & he'll be alright."

"A few hours? That means we'll have to carry him, " Naruto scowled crossing his arms across his chest.

Hinata released a breath she didn't know she was holding. She stared at Sasuke's face. She had never seen him sleeping before. His face didn't look much different, mouth in a straight line, light furrowing of his brows. It seemed he didn't relax even when he was at rest. Something about that bothered her, she wish she could ease whatever he was holding in.

The ship blew it's horn, a man appeared at the end of the ramp leading into the deck and the demons began to shuffle onto the ship.

"Well it's time to go. Naruto let's get him onto your back ," Kakashi announced.

"Why do I have to…" Naruto whined.

"Because I'm a fragile old man," Kakashi sighed shakily, placing a hand on his lower back as though he was in pain.

"You're such a liar!" Naruto accused, but none the less kneeled down while his other teammates placed Sasuke on his back. With a grunt he stood a little awkwardly, clearly uncomfortable carting Sasuke around. "Let's get this over with."

Hinata couldn't help but giggle at the scene. For all their fighting and arguments, Naruto and Sasuke genuinely did care about each other. They were certainly best friends, like brothers really.

"Are you ready, Hinata-chan?" Sakura inquired, having come to her side.

"I…feel l-like I am," Hinata responded with more confidence than she felt.

"We all trained hard. We'll be alright," Sakura placed a hand on Hinata's shoulder and smiled warmly at her female teammate. "I won't let anyone die."

Hinata returned the smile and nodded. She looked down once more at the group of demons now boarding the ship. With a deep inhale and exhale, her face hardened reflecting her determination not to fail.

"I won't either."

"Is it me or is everyone staring at us…"

It wasn't just Naruto's imagination. Indeed it appeared as though a majority of the passengers of the ship were staring…no, GLARING, at them. The amount of tension on the boat was thick. Demons were making poor attempts to sneak glances at the Human team. Some with hatred, others simply hungry, or both. After a while they began to show their ire more openly.

"It would seem this little group is well known," Kakashi quipped, though his face remained serious.

They had Sasuke sitting down propped against a steel wall. Unconsciously they had all formed a small shield around the currently incapacitated young man. Naruto crossed his arms and returned the glares of anyone who caught his eyes. All the tension put him on edge, his fingers drummed against his arm in an attempt to quell the restlessness he felt.

"I never realized how diverse demon's could be," Sakura murmured with a certain level of fascination.

"But I'm still your favorite right Sakuraaa?" Naruto interjected.

Sakura rolled her eyes, but her lips still up tilted into a smile. "Well Hinata-chan is my favorite. But you're top 3 Naruto."

Naruto looked dejected for a moment but grinned and put an arm around Hinata's shoulder's causing warmth to tint the female demon's cheeks.

"Ahh…I guess if I'm only second to Hinata-chan I don't mind!...Wait, I' am second right!?"

Sakura laughed mischievously but didn't respond. Naruto's face fell and he collapsed in a crouching position looking positively depressed. You could almost see the rain cloud above his head.

Hinata hid a giggle behind her sleeve, looking fondly at her animated teammates. The tension that was previously in the air had ease. The playful bantered between the group always seemed to lighten the mood.

"We should kill them before the tournament," A whispered pierced through the air.

Naruto and Hinata caught it instantly with their highly sensitive hearing. Hinata's expression sobered, Naruto's face hardens with seriousness. Sakura looked between the two, confused but concluded something substantial had happened. Hinata looked towards Kakashi, he seemed to have caught it as well because he appeared more alert than before.

"Yesssss. If we take them out now we won't have to worry"

"We won't be penalized."

"Let's kill them now!"

The voices began to rise in volume as more and more demons chimed in agreement. Hinata shifted uneasily. She never knew how infamous the little group she had joined was. Her eyes darted across the ship deck, mentally taking count of all the demons onboard.

"16…20…23-" 23 demons. Most were in groups of 4 or 5 making a total 5 teams excluding their own.

"Well it seems as though we'll be fighting sooner than expected," Their sensei quipped nonchalantly, as though he didn't feel the pure killer intent oozing off the crowd of demons.

"At least the boat ride will be exciting now," Naruto cheered rolling his shoulder with a smirk.

Hinata couldn't believe how casually the two men were addressing the current situation. She turned to Sakura, hoping to find someone to relate to her anxiety. Sakura, however, looked more annoyed than anything. At this time the Pink-haired girl could put enough together to realize the impending situation, but Sakura still didn't seem too worried.

Everyone believed so firmly in their abilities, while Hinata continued to question her own. Her white eyes down casted off to the side for a moment. Hinata caught sight of the end of Sasuke's foot and diverted her gaze towards his sleeping face. Sasuke had enough faith in her abilities to invite her to join their team. Perhaps she should have a little faith as well. The Hyuuga brought her line of sight back to the gradually moving demons, this time with a more steel resolve.

"You want a piece of me? Bring it then!" Naruto finally challenged provoking a demon to run towards the blonde, hand drawn back with long pointed nails aimed towards the Fox demon.

"I'll keep a watch over Sasuke. I trust you all can handle things," Kakashi pulled out his trademark Icha Icha Paradise and waved them off as though it was a normal training session.

The other three nodded firmly before spreading out.

"What happened to the fighting?" Naruto looked around in confusion, he had just finished his last opponent and noticed that it had gotten quiet.

"Everyone's dead or disabled," Kakashi replied casually, looking around at the group of demon's he had disposed of. He wiped the blood on his hands onto his pants, not wanting to get blood on the pages of his book, before casually puling out his Icha Icha Paradise once more.

Hinata looked around & indeed bodies were scattered across the large deck. How they had managed it, she wasn't sure but she couldn't help but feel a little proud that she held her own. Briefly she thought that Sasuke would be proud had be seen it. She began to make her way towards the Uchiha when something caught her eye.

They had missed a demon.

"Sasuke!" Hinata cried as a demon as managed to slip behind their formation and rush towards the incapacitated man faster than an average demon, a sword glinted in the sunlight.

Each of them moved in an attempt to reach Sasuke before the attack but both Naruto and Sakura, as well as Kakashi, had been drawn a significant ways away from Sasuke. Then there was a deathly silence. Naruto and Sakura stared wide eye and had stumbled to a stop in their tracks.

The metal tip grazed the top of Sasuke's nose, but went no further. The demon's eyes were glassy and its body stiff. A few seconds later, it fell over and no longer moved. Behind the demon, Hinata stood in a firm stance with her hand still raised from attack and Byakugan activated. More quick than any of them had ever seen her move, Hinata had managed to cross the distance and intercept the demon before it was too late. With a mere touch of her palm to it's chest, the demon had stopped in it's track. There was a almost…frightening expression on her face, how intense she looked with her chest heaving. Slowly she retracted her arms, allowing them to fall to her sides, and deactivating her Byakugan.

"Woohoo great job Hinata!" Naruto now found it in him to disrupt the awestruck silence to rush over, gathering Hinata into a thankful hug.

"Let her breath Naruto!" Sakura chastised coming up next to the pair. "That was amazing though Hinata! You stopped him with one hit."

Hinata blushed, not used to praise. It wasn't something she had thought about, her body just moved on its own. Her eyes wandered over to the demon she had killed to protect Sasuke. It didn't look like she had done much, the body was in relatively decent condition aside from the trickle of blood trailing from its mouth. However, Hinata could see with her Byakugan the full extent of the damage.

The demon's heart had completely burst.

There was almost no traces of it, most of it obliterated by Hinata's attack. She have never been strong enough to do such a thing before. Being able to effectively destroy an organ was an advanced Hyuuga technique, & she had done it for the first time without thinking. Well, she was thinking, thinking of protecting Sasuke.

For the first time, Hinata realized she may have more potential than she ever thought or knew.

The ship docked and the team, with Naruto getting suckered into carrying Sasuke once more, were escorted to their hotel. The surprise on the attendant's face indicated he didn't believe they would've made it past the boat.

The hotel wasn't the worst, but it certainly wasn't the best. It was rather similar to human world hotels so at least it would be familiar to Sasuke & Sakura. They given two side by side connecting rooms, one for the males, the other for the females, that had a door between the two could be left open or closed at will. Each room contained two beds, a couch, desk, a mini fridge, and TV. Luckily for the boys the couch also contained a pull-out bed.

"Now I actually feel like I'm on vacation!" Naruto exclaimed flopping down on a couch after having roughly dropped Sasuke on a bed.

"Idiot, we're not on vacation," Sakura replied with a slight crease in her brow, sitting on the edge of the same bed Sasuke lied in. After she and Hinata had settled it, they crossed over to the boy's room.

"I know but that doesn't mean we can't have fun, ya know."

"I think that's exactly what it means. We have to be serious."

"Neee, Sakura you're too serious. You have to enjoy life!"

Hinata, who had settled on the edge of the bed next to Sakura, was only half listening to Naruto and Sakura's conversation. While she was in her room, she had noticed something odd. The same oddity seemed to be occurring in the boy's room as well. She noted there was quite a few insects inside both the rooms. It wasn't that it bothered her, but she had learned not everything was what it appeared. The hotel wasn't bad enough to have a insect problem like this & not have done anything about it.

"There is an unusual amount of insects here…"Kakashi observed, his sharp eyes examining the various bugs.

"Probably cause this hotel is a cheap dump!" Naruto complained.

Hinata subtly activated her byakugan, just enough to get a better look at the insects. Her breath hitched. These insects were painfully familiar. She would have never imagined they would be here. What could their reason's be? The dark-haired demon chewed on her lip in deep thought, debating if she should inform her team of the situation. Loyalty to her team won out however, and after a moment, she made her decision.

"Kakashi-Sensei," she said quietly.

Kakashi turned his attention on Hinata. He seemed to be able to read her thoughts, before she could say anything he had already interrupted.

"These are no ordinary insects."

Hinata nodded in confirmation. Suddenly, as if it had heard them and understood, an insect flew off the wall, making a beeline towards the door before slipping out the room through a crack.

There was a knock on the door that followed shortly after. Too close to the insect's departure to be coincidence. The rest of the team, sans Sasuke, were instantly on guard. Sakura made motion to answer the door but Hinata stood first. If her assumptions were correct, it would be best if she answered the door. Thankfully Sakura didn't comment on it and allowed Hinata to handle it. Hinata slowly made her way to the entryway, not sure what to expect. With a deep breath, the Hyuuga curled her fingers around the door handle and pulled the door open.

"Hinata."

"Shi-"

"It really is you Hinata!" Another voice cut in, barking accompanied it.

Hinata was wrapped up into strong arms and pressed against a large, warm body. Despite her face steadily turning red in embarrassment, she tentatively returned the hug.

"K-Kiba, Shino…it's been so long."

Hinata took a step back from the man holding her to look at them. There were two men, one with a large coat that obscured part of his face paired with dark glasses, the other looked more demon-like with canines and face markings, spiky varying brown hair topped both their crowns. They had grown, both taller than her now and filling out like strong men. Her eyes widened as she was now able to see a large white dog behind the two as well.

"Is that…Ak-Akamaru!?" Her eyes widened in disbelief.

"Ahh yea. He's grown huh!" Kiba exclaimed patting Akamaru's body. The dog was as well as him. Akamaru retaliated by sloppily licking the side of Kiba's face, much to his dismay.

Hinata was overwhelmed. She had not seen her two childhood friends in three years. Both were from renown clans of demons, Kiba was a dog demon, and Shino…she never was exactly sure what kind of demon Shino was. His clan made contracts with various demon insect to live off their body in exchange to utilize them as weapons..

When she turned thirteen, her family didm't want them to 'interfere' with her training, believing they were only hindering her, not helping. In their eyes she was already behind, and forced her to cut ties with the two. It had been heartbreaking. She had few positive interactions as it was, but to get cut off from her only friends resulted in a very lonely existence in the Hyuuga compound.

A throat being cleared jarred her from her thoughts. Hinata looked towards her teammates sheepishly. So thrown off by the sudden re-appearance of her friends she had completely forgotten her manners. She stepped aside, allowing the two men and large dog to enter the room.

"Th-there two…I grew up with them," she explained, "This is Shino Aburame, and Kiba Inuzuka."

"I"m familiar with the Aburame clan. However, it's rare to meet one due to their secrecy," Sakura took the initiative to be polite first, "I'm Sakura."

"Naruto," Naruto announced with a lazy wave. His previously rigid form had relaxed, but not completely.

Kakashi said nothing, already engrossed in his book having lost interest in the conversation. Shino nodded in silent acknowledgement. Both men briefly flickered their eyes towards the sleeping form of Sasuke, just as quickly Kiba returned his attention to Hinata.

"Shino said his insects found ya, but I didn't believe him. What are you doing here?" He inquired.

"I'm apart of team U-Uchiha," she responded shyly.

"Your Dad allowed it!?"

"Sasuke-san rescued me when…when I had been taken. I-I was asked to join the team so…"

Kiba's brow's furrowed in worry, he looked incredibly frustrated. "I wish I could've been there…"

Hinata gently placed a hand on Kiba's arm and gave him a warm smile. "It's the past. It is good to see you now my friend…"

The dark look that had clouded the dog demon's features cleared. His face softened and he returned the smile with his typical large grin.

"Likewise!"

"I hate to interrupt, but I have to ask, why were you spying on us?" Sakura spoke up once more. Although Hinata was friendly with these two demons, she still held some concerns.

"Oh, because we wanted a leg up on the competition," Kiba responded easily with no hint of remorse.

"So you were cheating!" Naruto accused pointing a finger towards the pair.

Kiba gave Naruto a flat, annoyed look. "Its not cheating, its bein' smart."

"Sounds like cheating to be," Naruto responded with a similar expression.

"Just because you're not smart enough-"

"What!? Im plenty smart you mutt face-"

The rest of the room's occupants looked on as he dog and fox demon engaged in a heated argument. The two were trying to over talk each other, almost toe to toe getting in each other's faces. At some point Kiba had gotten Naruto in a headlock, a moment later Naruto had Kiba's arms behind him. This went back and forth with no end in sight.

Sakura rolled her eyes and turned her attention to Shino. He looked unapologetic as he responded to the silent inquiry.

"It is wise to know one's enemy."

"Are we m-matched against each other?" Hinata questioned.

Shino gave a slight nod. "Our teams…fight today."

"You mean they matched us already!? We just got here!" Naruto butted in having heard this new information.

"Tuh. The committee doesn't care. Plus you're 'special guest' or whatever. People want to see you die," Kiba chimed, he said this lightly but it weighed heavy on the room.

"They're right. I just looked at the schedule. We fight in a few hours," Sakura murmured looking over the piece of paper they had neglected earlier. It was an list of all the teams in the tournament as well as the team match ups for the first round.

"Who-who else is on your team, Shino?"

"A member each from the Yamanakas, Naras, and Akimichi."

Naruto's brow dipped just a bit.

"So many clans…" he mumbled. As long as he could remember he had been alone. His last name held no weight in the Makai like the group of demons here. For a moment, he felt a bit sad, but shook it off. He was carving his own place in the world.

"Well it doesn't matter cause there's no way Im losing!" His thoughts were spoken out loud, he laughed sheepishly in embarrassment.

"I bet you won't even last 5 minutes, " Kiba jeered.

"I bet I beat you into the ground!"

"Try it loser!"

Before the fighting between the two could resume, Shino interjected. "It's time to prepare. Hinata, I wish you luck."

The smile he gave her was very slight. If Hinata didn't know Shino as well as she did she would've thought she imagined it. She returned it fullheartedly.

"Thank you, Shino."

The Aburame gave her a nod before turning on his heel and quickly exiting the room.

"Hey wait up! Come on Akamaru."

Akamaru, who seemed to taken a liking to Kakashi and had settled on floor next to the older man, rose and padded towards the door. The large dog stopped by Hinata, and rub his large head against her. Hinata petted him lovingly placing a kiss on top his head. Kiba came after Akamaru, wrapping Hinata into a tight hug and a promise to talk more later before he too took his leave.

Kiba caught up with Shino and matched his teammate's pace. Although he was used to limited conversation with his friend, the other man was being usually quiet at the moment. Kiba had been around him long enough to be able to tell the difference in silences. However, he waited for Shino to speak knowing if he asked he wouldn't receive a response anyway.

"…The man on the bed. He did not stir once."

Kiba linked his hands behind his head and frowned.

"So? Maybe he's an idiot. He IS human."

"A human that Rekai chose to serve them. It would be wise to be cautious."

"As if I'd lose."

"Are you sure he's not dead?" Naruto was next to Sasuke prone form making ugly faces towards him, he stretched his mouth open or mushed his face together occasionally crossing his eyes.

"Obviously I can tell the difference," Sakura snapped, but checked the dark-haired man's pulse regardless, "He really is just sleeping."

"What are we going to do if he doesn't wake up in time?" Naruto directed this question towards Kakashi.

Their sensei was silent for a moment, "We'll cross that bridge when we come to it. Im sure you three can handle things."

"You're apart of this team too!" Both Naruto and Sakura yelled furiously.

"But a brittle old man like myself is just the alternate," Kakashi placed a hand against his head dramatically.

"You're just an old perv," Naruto grumbled.

"Hinata," Hinata met Sakura's emerald gaze, the concern swam in its depths."Are you going to be alright?" The silent question: Will you be able to fight?

Hinata nodded firmly. Although she would find it difficult to face against her old teammates, she knew they would want her to give her all.

"I can fight."

Sakura smiled. "Well personally I could use a nap. What are you going to do before the match?"

Hinata paused in thought, "W-well…I think I'll go warm up."

"Alright, but don't over do it."

"Ne Hinata-chan I'll go with you. Im hungry!" Naruto hopped up, and practially bounced over towards the Hyuga. The fox demon's stomach growled right on cue to which he laughed sheepishly and scratched the back of his head, "Guess Im more hungry than I thought. Hope they have ramen!"

The three went their separate ways. Sakura entered the room she and Hinata shared and closed the door connecting the rooms while Hinata and Naruto exited the suite, leaving just the sleeping Uchiha and Kakashi.

Kakashi sighed and finally chose to move from his standing position to lay out on the unoccupied bed, propping his back against the headrest. One eye flickered over to Sasuke, then back to his book. His mind was elsewhere though. He found himself curious of the type of training Sasuke had endured to place himself essentially in a coma. He thought back on Naruto's question, "What are we going to do if Sasuke doesn't wake up?"

He didn't want to tell the team he wasn't sure how far they'd go without their leader, Sasuke was a powerhouse they couldn't afford to lose.

However he had also found after growing to get to know the young man somewhat, that he wouldn't have picked his teammates if he didn't think they would be able to handle themselves and benefit him. They may have not been the most intimidating bunch of individuals, but they weren't to be taken lightly. Kakashi turned a page of his book.

Well, They'll just cross that bridge when they come to it.

"Welcome to the very first match of the highly anticipated Dark Tournament! I will be your host with the most, the lover of gore, and always wants some more, Koto!"

A roar of excitement rolled around a large arena. It was a circular dome with stadium seating with the exception of a few box seats midlevel. In the middle of the area was a large slab on concrete surrounded by grass. A pretty cat demon stood in the middle of the slab, large ears sprung from her curly bob and a fluffy tail twitched behind her. The large TV screens showed her greeting the crowd, a microphone near her mouth.

"Well if you're like me you're ready to hear some bones breaking so let's get this party started! First match of the first round is…" She pointed towards the largest screen that flashed from showing her face to showing eight smaller pictures, four on each side with the team's names above it.

"The first match will be between the well known combo clan group of demons, Team 18!-"

The crowd grew loud in their cheers as Shino, Kiba, and their three unknown team members entered the stadium through a large opening on the left side of the field. Shino lead the way with Kiba and Akamaru close behind. After Kiba was a beautiful blonde woman adorn in purple clothing. She flashed a bright smile to the crowd and waved obviously basking in the attention. Walking side by side was a plain looking young man with a spiky top ponytail, he yawned a few times before even reaching the ring, and a large, heavy set man who was frequently dipping his fingers into a bag of food and feeding himself.

"And special invited guest, all the way from ningenkai, Reikai tantei, Team Uchiha!"

Team Uchiha did not receive the warm welcome that Team 18 did. The demons were not shy is expressing the hate they had for the Spirit detectives. Most of the demons had heard about Koenma's 'guard dogs'. Even if they had never personally encountered the team, the resentment was still there. As the team exited the opening on the right side of the field the booing only grew in volume, more violent. Naruto and Hinata tried not to let the cries of -"Demon traitors!" "Kill the traitors!" effect them. Sakura held her head up high as always and Kakashi seemed indifferent as usual. Once more Sasuke was on Naruto's back.

He had yet to awaken.

As soon as Team Uchiha arrived on the opposite side on the fighting area, Naruto spoke up-

"Hey we need to use our alternate. Our teammate can't fight."

"Ooh sorry but team changes have to be made in advanced, " Koto responded nonchalantly.

"We just got here!" Naruto yelled.

The cat demon flinched a bit but recovered and glared at Naruto.

"Rules are rules buddy!"

Naruto scowled but didn't argue further. "They're really stacking against us" he grumbled playing Sasuke on the ground.

Koto ignored Naruto, the irritated expression on her face was replaced once more by the host persona.

"Teams send in your first fighters!"

The blonde hair women immediately strutted into the ring. There didn't seem to be a hint of unease on her face. Along with the clear confidence she held in her bright blue eyes, there was a hard underlining of determination. She stopped in the middle of the ring, placing a hand on her hip. A smirk curled her lips as she stared at the opposite team.

"Yamanaka Ino up first!" She said clearly.

Once more the crowd roared in support. Spatters of "We love you Ino!" and other similar statements rose occasionally. She obviously had a large fan base coming from a well known clan of demons. Sakura's eyebrow twitched at the attention. Something about Ino's attitude rubbed her the wrong way. She didn't want to think it was because she saw the similarities between did this girl think she was…

"Hmph. I got this." Sakura stepped forward, heading to the ring. A hand on her arm however, paused her movements. Sakura looked toward the owner, meeting white eyes.

"S-Sakura…are you sure?" Hinata softly asked, "Yamanaka's specialize in mind t-techniques, and Ino is their heir, she can't b-be taken lightly"

Sakura gave Hinata a confident look. "Well good thing I'm a genius, my mind won't lose so easily" she responded tapping her temple and winking.

Hinata still appeared worried but released her teammate. She gave her an encouraging smile. "A-alright. Good luck!"

"Good luck Sakura-chan! You're way better looking than her anyway!" Naruto cheered.

Sakura rolled her eyes, but smiled slightly when she turned away from her teammates and entered the ring. If Naruto saw it she'd never hear the end of it. She approached the blonde, her chin lifted and no trace of fear in her eyes.

"Haruno Sakura," Sakura announced curtly, her demeanor was all business.

"Alright the first match will be Yamanaka Ino from the demon clan of mind walkers, the Yamanakas, versus human psychic Haruno Sakura! First one to step out of the ring, is unable to fight, or dies loses the match. Dirty tricks and brutal techniques are encouraged. Mostly everything else goes and if it doesn't, I'll call it! Now on my mark, begin the match." Koto paused dramatically, her hand raised in the air. "Annnnnd….FIGHT!"

Sakura and Ino rushed towards each other, excitement glinting sharply in both their eyes, and the first round of the dark tournament had begun.

Now we've introduced one of the teams and reunited with some old friends. I apologize if some parts seemed rushed, I may have been a little excited to start the matches.

Next chapter will cover the first round of the tournament, as well as introduce other new characters. They won't be as friendly as Team 18 however. (P.S I chose Team 18 for the simple fact Team 10 + Team 8 hahaha) What teams do you think Team Uchiha will be facing in the tournament? I already have them out together but I'd like to see you guy's predictions!

Also, Sasuke finally awakens! What new powers will he have?