"...and the Genin have arrived. There are a total of 15 Genin." A Chunin sat at a monitor, speaking into what looked like an old radio. "It's not enough that regulations call for a preliminary round, but..."
"I understand." A monitor flickered before displaying a purple haired woman looking back at him. "You're worried about the strength of the Genin coming up, right? That shouldn't be a problem. You can trust me on that, haha."
"Your arm?"
"Oh, this?" She held up her right arm with her other hand. It was held in a sling and wrapped in gauze. "Don't worry. I just had a small run in with a snake. It let me go after it had it's fun though, haha."
"Ok..."
"Just send them all home according to the regulations."
"Yes, Anko-sama!"
Back at the Forest of Death
Saul was showing Team Seven around the building. Naruto walked by his side excitedly while both Sasuke and Sakura trailed behind.
"And up here is the residential area. There isn't much to do here though, so we've all been sitting here bored waiting for info. How'd you do in the forest of death, Naruto?"
The blonde haired ninja grinned. "It was actually pretty easy, you'd better believe it! We didn't meet many... Oh wait! We fought against Lazy-Shika's team!"
Sakura interjected, "You mean Nara Shikamaru?"
"Yeah? How'd it go?" Saul responded, ignoring Sakura.
"The only hard one to deal with was fatso Choji. He rolled around everywhere like a boulder, slamming into trees and everything! Like this!"
Naruto animatedly slammed his fist into his palm, then from side to side in the corridor walls.
"Sasuke dealt with him. While he was spinning, Sasuke set up a bunch of wire! Once he fell into the trap and got all tied up, he knocked him out in one blow. And that blonde haired one... What was her-"
"Ino. Her name is Yamanaka Ino." Sakura spoke with annoyance.
"Right, Ino! She tried to attack Sakura-chan with that weird jutsu of hers, but I was ready. She had no idea I already had a bunch of clones focused on protecting Sakura from the very beginning!"
"Sakura needed your protection?" Saul incited subtly.
Naruto scratched his head, "Eh... She's trying her best, you know? All she needs is a little help sometimes."
"That's enough Naruto. I don't need to hear that from you, that I'm weak."
"Ahahah, Sakura-chan, you know I didn't mean it like that!"
Sasuke gave her a glance. "If this idiot didn't protect you, I would have had to. Know your place."
Know your place. Know your place. Sakura clamped her mouth shut, looking as if she was about to cry.
"Sasuke! She's our teammate! You shouldn't say things like that!"
Saul was about to 'speak up' for Sakura, but Yakumo spoke up first.
"There's nothing wrong with needing protection sometimes. Saul had my back multiple times during the exams and saved my life." She gave a brilliant smile, "But I saved him too. That's what teammates do. We look out for each other."
Naruto grinned, "Exactly! Hehe~"
Sakura however grew more depressed. What exactly had she done in return?
Sasuke gave her a cold glance before scoffing and not bothering to say anything more.
"So anyway, I blocked it with one of my clones, and she actually passed out! After that Lazy-Shika didn't even fight! He just droned on and on about how this was all so troublesome, and that they'd just give us their scroll and be on their way. That guy..." Naruto snorted.
"Mhmm. So that was the final scroll you needed?"
"Ahahaha... Actually... We had our first scroll stolen from the very start. So we were on the back foot at the time!"
"I see... Naruto, actually I wanted to ask you a question. Did you happen to meet a woman calling herself Orochimaru?"
Sasuke's eyes sharpened. He observed the room more seriously, scanning. His eyes settled on Hinata's neck with instant focus. He brushed Naruto aside,
"You guys had a run in with that snake bitch too, right? Do you know who made the outside look like... that?"
Saul and Hinata both glanced at the delicate Yakumo. She smiled nervously from the sudden attention. "That might have been my fault, yes."
Naruto jumped up excitedly, pushing off Sasuke's shoulders to casually vault off of him. "REALLY!? You must be super strong, right!?"
"Maybe? I don't really think so."
Sasuke glared at her from the side of his eyes. She didn't look like anything special. He opened up his Sharingan to look at the girl, and then suddenly took a step back. Something inside of her... As he looked at her... It stared back. Its monstrous presence made him feel like a mere bug to be squashed.
If he couldn't even fight with some sickly girl his age, how would he ever catch up to that man, the murderer of the Uchiha clan!? Sasuke smirked, trying to hide his instinctive fear behind a confident bluster.
"I'd like to see how you fare against my eyes. If we meet in the third stage, you'd better be able to show that you're not just all talk."
Yakumo gave him a refined smile, "I'll look forward to it then. What's your name?"
"Uchiha Sasuke. Yours?"
"Kurama Yakumo. Good luck, Sasuke-san! Let's meet again in the 3rd stage."
"Hmmmph, I won't need luck."
"That's Sasuke for you, hehe~! Saul-sensei, how strong are you compared to your teammates?"
"That's hard to say, Naruto. It really depends on how the fight begins."
"How the fight... begins?"
"Correct. For example, if I began a fight against Hinata at either long range or close range, she'd probably win almost every time. But at mid range, I might have a chance due to a new technique I've learned. Against Yakumo, I'd win if the fight began at short or long range, but at medium range she'd crush me."
Naruto scratched his chin, "But if you're stronger than someone, you're stronger right? That means you'd win every time! Aren't you just making excuses?"
Saul deadpanned. Naruto, this guy, is it because he had so much trouble comprehending effective range that he was always shut down by his opponents and beaten up continuously? It seemed he needed someone to tell it to him directly.
"When you're referring to an absolute difference in strength, sure. If someone can overpower you regardless of the tactics you use, then there is no use comparing strengths in this way. But Naruto, let's use you as an example. We've sparred before, so I think I have a pretty good idea of your strengths and weaknesses.
Right now, your strongest range is mid range. It gives you time to set up your clones, throw giant shuriken, and send your clones out to engage with your enemy. In addition you have a lot of durability and strength. Close range is your second strongest range, being able to take a lot of punishment and deal a lot of damage. Unfortunately your lack of combat technique really shows at this range, so you aren't really able to use your strength properly.
Long range however, you have almost no options. Your throwing weapons won't reach far enough, and unless you've learned the Body Flicker Jutsu I tried to teach you, you wouldn't even have enough mobility to close distance with your opponents."
"I learned it already, dattebayo!"
Saul smiled, "Well that's good then."
"What about me, then?" The arrogant Uchiha interjected as he smirked. "How do you think I compare to Naruto?"
Saul glanced over. With Orochimaru's curse mark and having seen him use his Sharingan, Saul had a fairly accurate estimation of Sasuke's strength. However, he should not know such knowledge. It would be foolish to give Sasuke accurate advice here.
"No clue. I haven't seen you fight since the Academy. Considering my own growth," Saul flexed the muscles in his arms that were bulking up, "it would be foolish to judge you based on how you were at the academy."
"Hmmph."
Sasuke looked away. He didn't care too much about a man who had been so mediocre. Even if he had grown stronger, could it compare to awakening the Sharingan? It seemed Naruto had learned the body flicker Jutsu from him, though. Sasuke wanted to learn this Jutsu, but didn't know how to ask him without lowering his pride.
"Your words might be true. After all, you were able to teach Naruto such a useful Jutsu."
Saul's right eye twitched. Was Sasuke trying to hint at something? Or was he just trying to show goodwill in his own, arrogant Uchiha way? Just then the intercoms within the building rang out.
"The second stage of the Chunin exams is over. The next stage of the Chunin exams will take place one month after today. All Genin, please head to the first floor entrance for an escort out of the Forest of Death. Please head downstairs as soon as possible - we will depart in half an hour."
Author's Note: Alright, the butterfly effect of Saul's actions was written behind the scenes of this chapter. With Saul on the loose exterminating a multitude of teams on the very first day - Team Asuma did not get the chance to obtain their scroll like they did in canon. Thus, they had a motivation to fight against Naruto's team, but then understandably failed.
Ino is basically a weaker version of Shikamaru at this point, becoming useless the moment she uses her mind body transfer Jutsu. She didn't have any good targets for her Jutsu either. It would fail on Sasuke due to his Sharingan, Naruto due to his multitude of fake clones and the nine tails, and Sakura is too weak in comparison to do really anything.
Shikamaru can only deal with one target at once. Maybe in a solo fight he'd have a chance at winning against Sasuke at this point. Naruto however is a huge counter to him. Choji was their only wild card - but there are too many methods to deal with someone who rolls at you directly with their body.
Overall team 7 is much stronger - so they'd trump them every time. Also since not as many teams made it through, no prelims.