Chapter 17

The next day, Karma, along with Kushina and Ailane arrived at the exam hall in time to watch Rock Lee confess to Sakura. Karma quickly moved to the stairs, heading for the test room. He knew Sakura would say no, and he wasn't going to involve himself.

"No way. You're too unique for my taste-eh? Karma?" She responded, noticing Karma as he tried to sneak by. He couldn't really run straight through, since he wasn't sure if he had to wait for Kushina if he did, and carrying her would definitely get him caught.

"Sakura! What a coincidence! I'm very busy right now though, so if you'll excuse me-" he started.

It was at this point Ibaraki arrived with her team. "Wait!! Ka-chan!!!" She called out.

Naruto started, "Ka-"

"-Chan?" Sasuke finished. They were both clearly trying to hold back their laughter.

"Ka-chan!! I'm also taking the Chunin Exam this year! Aren't you happy you get to play with your older sister like when we were kids?!" Ibaraki asked as she used shunpo to rush in front of the still escaping Byakuya.

"Yeah, Ka-chan! Don't you want to play with her like when you were kids? Eh? Older sister?" Naruto joked, though he began to question the 'older sister' part immediately. He had known Karma since they were 3, almost 4, and not once had he ever heard of an older sister.

"Yeah, yeah, Ka-chan. Don't you want to play with your-older sister?" Sasuke mimicked, also questioning the 'older sister' part immediately.

"Eh? You don't know who I am? I am the amazing Ibaraki Nekotsume! Older sister of Ka-chan and Ai-chan!! How could you not know about me? Ka-chan! Were you too shy to tell everyone about your awesome older sister? Aww, it's okay! Come, Sai, Rin! Let's walk my siblings and their teammate to the exam room!" Ibaraki introduced herself before grabbing the despondent Karma and Ailane the arm and dragging them with her. They could only sigh since neither wanted to hurt Ibaraki unless it was necessary.

"Wait!!" Rock Lee called out. "My name is Rock Lee. I wish to challenge you to a fight, Karma Nekotsume!"

"Nope!" Ibaraki replied for Karma, not even stopping for a second.

"What's with them? More importantly, who was that guy with the red hair and cat ears?" Tenten asked.

"Don't mind it, Lee, Tenten. It's how they are. You'll have your chance during the Chunin Exams." Neji sighed before walking to the exam room too.

"Neji? Do you know them?" Tenten asked.

"My cousin, Hinata, likes the boy. They are part of the Nekotsume Clan, you should know them."

"Eh? The Nekotsume Clan? Those freak cats? I heard all the prominent members of their clan can combine several natures!"

"Yes. And it's likely true. Be prepared for anything with those three. That clan would easily be able to form its own village on par with the Hidden Leaf in terms of power if they wanted. The Third Hokage tried giving the Hokage Seat to the current Clan Head, but her response was that she's too lazy."

"""WHAT?!""" Sakura, Tenten and Naruto yelled in shock.

"Hey, who are you? You said you're Hinata's cousin?" Sakura asked Neji, making him stop.

"I am Neji Hyuga. My father is the younger twin brother of Hinata's." Neji replied.

"What do you mean when you say be prepared for anything?" Sakura asked.

"There's not a single thing that clan hasn't pumped out an expert on except having a dojutsu, and defense. Their ability to blend the elements is one of the most important things to pay attention to. I wouldn't be surprised if one or all three of them could already use some sort of nature transformation Kekkei Genkai." Neji explained before continuing his leave. This time Tenten and Lee followed behind him.

"Hey, do you guys think that's true?" Naruto asked.

"It is. We can only hope we have some time to strengthen ourselves during the Chunin Exam, or we can avoid fighting them. Otherwise it's very likely one of them will come out on top." Sasuke said.

"Hey, Sasuke. You used to always be really mean to Karma because you thought, now you think he's the strongest?" Naruto questioned.

"When I went back home after our first time training, I asked my mom how Karma could be so good at chakra control. He slept all the time. She told me about the training his aunt put him and his sisters through. He's also trained hard. We'll definitely be able to beat him, though, Naruto." Sasuke said.

"Of course! Who do you think I am? Naruto Uzumaki, the future Hokage!!" Naruto laughed.

"That's only if you can ever beat me." Sasuke joked before following after the other genin, Naruto and Sakura right behind him.

====

"Ibaraki, you can let us go now." Karma said.

"You two will try to run away." Ibaraki replied.

"We can't. The only place to run is the same place you're headed, unless we want to drop out." Ailane said.

"Ok!" Ibaraki released the twins. "Sai, Rin, this is my little brother Karma Nekotsume, his twin, Ailane Nekotsume. These are my teammates Rin Nohara and Sai. We're the two strongest teams! Rivals!! I hope you've been training, Ka-chan, Ai-chan because we're strong!"

"Don't just ignore our teammate, Ibaraki. This is Kushina Uzumaki, and I believe our team will easily win the Chunin Exams." Karma responded to the challenge. "Kushina, how has your training with Himari gone?"

"It's gone great! I learned-" Kushina started.

"Don't. Getting excited is fine, but you can't give out free information like you almost did. Once we are away from others, we'll each go over the results of our individual training and our current abilities." Karma said.

"Oh, right! Then, I'll just tell you, I'm really strong now!! I might even be able to compete with you!" Kushina hyped herself up.

Authors Note: Why would Sasuke encourage Naruto? He was a happy kid before the Uchiha massacre, since it didn't happen, he's brighter. I figured out a better way to have him unlock Mangekyou than hating and killed anyway. Sorry, I missed yesterday, btw, I got busy. And Rin is there while the one that died on Kakashi's team is that one chick from the Kurama Clan, Yagumo or whatever her name is, idk.