Wrath of the Dragon Chapter 1: The True Test Begins! The Chuunin Exam!, a naruto fanfic

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. If I did, then everything would be going as I see fit. All hail Naruto x Hinata!

This takes place after the Wave Country Arc. All jutsu names will be in Japanese. Don't like it? Well too damn bad. Translations will be provided at the bottom.

And forgive the jumping around, if any. I want the readers to see the point, at the point.

"Blah" - human speech

"Blah" – summon/demon speech

'Blah' – human thoughts

'Blah' – summon/demon thoughts

'Blah' – summon/demon thoughts inside human head

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Chapter 1: The True Test Begins! The Chuunin Exams

The sun shone on the shinobi village Konohagakure (1). It was morning, and in a few short hours, shops would begin to open to signal the start of the day.

But let us go to the apartment complex on one side of town. More specifically, the apartment of one Uzumaki Naruto.

Said Naruto, currently a Genin of Konoha rose from his bed, yawning. With his eyes half closed, he sleepily gazed at the floor next to his bed. Scrolls and pens littered the floor, and he remembered that he had been up late studying new ways to make Ninjutsu.

He left his bed and made his way to his table, where a new carton of milk, empty Ramen cups, and buttered toast awaited him. Grasping the milk carton, he held it to his ear and shook it.

The sound of chunks squishing against the ways made him sigh. It was always the same.

You see, Naruto may be a proud shinobi of the Leaf, but he's rather different than the other shinobi in the village. Radically different.

Thirteen years ago, Konoha was attacked by the dreaded Kyuubi no Yoko (2), a massive beast of chakra, ferocity, and raw strength. It was said that one swipe of the Kyuubi's tails could cause tsunamis to rise, and another swipe could level mountains

It was so strong, it could not be killed, but sealed inside the body of a newborn baby, mere hours old, its umbilical cord freshly cut. The sealer was the Yondaime Hokage (3), the strongest shinobi in the village. Using the feared Shiki Fuuin (4), in conjunction with the Hakke no Fuuin Shiki (5) and the Shishou Fuuin (6), Yondaime was able to seal Kyuubi into Naruto, at the cost of his own life.

Yondaime's last words that Naruto be treated as a hero for being the Kyuubi's prison. Sadly, that was not to be. The villagers, along with many shinobi, stayed in denial and kept to the claim that Uzumaki Naruto was the Kyuubi incarnate. So in response, the Sandaime Hokage (7), who had retaken the title of Hokage, made a law that made it illegal to speak of the malevolent Kitsune (8) under pain of death.

That didn't stop the glares and assassination attempts.

So Naruto adopted the mask of an idiot prankster. In reality, he was quite intelligent. Of course, what would the villagers fear, an intelligent "demon", or an idiotic one.

'That's all I'll ever be to them,' he thought, chewing on his buttered toast. 'A baka (9).'

After putting on his god-awful orange jumpsuit, the only thing he could afford at the time, and tying his hitai-ate (10) to his forehead, he locked to door to his apartment, and made his way to the bridge where he'd meet his team.

When he arrived he could see his two teammates already there. 'Okay, here we go,' he thought as he put on his proverbial mask.

"Good Morning Sakura-chan!" he enthusiastically said, but greatly cried on the inside on having to keep up the mask, wanting to only greet one female this way…

Haruno Sakura, his pink-haired teammate, looked at him in acknowledgement, as did his black-haired teammate, Uchiha Sasuke.

'Sasuke,' thought Naruto bitterly. The last of the Uchiha Clan in Konoha, after the rest had been slaughtered by Sasuke's elder brother, Itachi. As such, Sasuke grew up cold, indifferent, and frankly, like an emo.

The two boys glared at each other, then turned their heads away. Sakura, in the middle, looked back and forth between them, then sighed in defeat.

'They're doing it again… They've been acting like this since we got back from Nami no Kuni (11).' Hanging her head lower, she muttered "I feel awkward now…"

Two hours later, the silver-haired mask-wearing sensei (12) of Team 7 appeared. "Ohayo, everyone," said Hatake Kakashi, the famous Copy-nin.

Sakura and Naruto rounded on him and yelled, "You're late!"

Kakashi's eye turned into an upside-down U, indicating a grin. "Sorry, I got lost on the road of life…"

Kakashi grew serious. "Anyway there's a meeting I have to attend to, so you're free for the rest of the day." And with a puff of smoke, he was gone.

Instantly, Sasuke was off towards the village, Sakura tagging after him, pestering him for a date as usual. Naruto watched them go. 'When is she going to get that he doesn't like her.'

'I'm seriously thinking that the Uchiha likes boys,' said a voice inside Naruto's head.

'I hope to god not Kyuubi, otherwise, I'm gonna be watching him out of the corner of my eye.'

Another thing was that after being brutally attacked and left for dead, Naruto came face-to-face with the dreaded Kyuubi no Yoko. Kyuubi had ranted that Naruto was a worthless vessel incapable of defense. In retaliation, Naruto railed on Kyuubi for being the cause of all his misery. After a while, the two reached a grudging respect for one another, and eventually a truce. Naruto would slightly alter the seal in his mind, allowing Kyuubi to offer commentary and aid, and Kyuubi would give Naruto his chakra in times of need.

This happened when Naruto was six.

vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv

Kakashi poofed to the Hokage's office, where he saw other Jounin waiting. On one accord, they filed in to find out what the Hokage wanted.

"I called you all here for a reason," said the Hokage. "You should already know why from the people, though."

The eldest in the village, Sandaime Hokage was the current strongest shinobi in the village. After Yondaime sacrificed himself, he took on the title again, with great resignation. Unlike many of the shinobi, he actually cared for the well-being of Naruto. It was he that persuaded the landlord of the apartment complex that housed Naruto to give it to him, along with giving Naruto an allowance of sorts.

But he couldn't be all watchful, though. 'One of the downsides of being old.'

"So it's that time of year already?" asked Kakashi.

A cigarette-smoking bearded Jounin spoke next. "You have already reported to the other countries?" This was Sarutobi Asuma, the adult son of Sandaime Hokage. "Because I've seen a few shinobi in this village."

"So when is it?" asked the red-eyed black-haired Yuuhi Kurenai, a new Jounin, and a Tokubetsu Jounin (13) at that; she was a Genjutsu specialist.

"One week from now," replied Sandaime.

Kakashi furrowed his brow. "That's sudden."

Sandaime blew smoke from his pipe. "I'll make the official announcement…" At this he looked at all the Jounin. "Seven days from now, on the first of July, we will begin the Chuunin Selection Exams."

vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv

Naruto was in a bad mood.

First, he had been followed by a badly disguised Konohamaru, along with his friends Moegi and Udon, begging to play Ninja with him.

Then Sakura showed up, glumly asking "What kind of shinobi plays Ninja?", giving Naruto the impression that Sasuke rejected her. Again.

Then Konohamaru opened his big mouth and asked if Sakura was Naruto's girlfriend. With the threat of impending doom, Naruto quickly declined Konohamaru's claim. As if to add insult to injury, Konohamaru then said that his "boss could do better then some flat-chested forehead girl."

Fearing for his life, Naruto and crew ran from a raging Sakura, but halted when Konohamaru ran in a shinobi from Sunagakure (14). In an effort to save his little friend, Naruto rushed the black-clad shinobi, only to discover the "cat-hat-wearing" shinobi used chakra strings as he tripped Naruto.

Then Sasuke showed up and saved the day, by throwing a rock at said shinobi's hand, and earning the eying of his blonde-haired female teammate.

On top of that, a mysterious red-haired shinobi, wielding a gourd on his back and rings around his sea-green eyes appearing out of nowhere and effectively scared the crap out of his two teammates. An exchange between Sasuke and the shinobi, who was the same age they were, revealed that the three Suna-nin were Genin from Sunagakure, in Konoha for the Chuunin Exams.

The red-haired kid said that he was Sabaku no Gaara (15), and his two teammates were Kankurou and Temari, both two years older than Gaara. Naruto was effectively ignored, and the Suna-nin disappeared, resulting in Naruto's bad mood.

'I suppose it's what I get for playing the weak idiot though.'

"Now that we're going to start the Chuunin Selection Exam," went Sandaime, "those in charge of new Genin, step forward."

Only three came forth: Kakashi, Kurenai, and Asuma.

"Are there any Genin you wish to enter into the Exam among the ones you teach?"

Kakashi started. "From the 7th Team I lead, I recommend Uchiha Sasuke, Uzumaki Naruto, and Haruno Sakura. I wish to enter them into the Chuunin Selection Exam under my name: Hatake Kakashi."

Kurenai went next. "From the 8th Team I lead, I recommend Hyuuga Hinata, Inuzuka Kiba, and Aburame Shino. I wish to enter them into the Chuunin Selection Exam under my name: Yuuhi Kurenai."

Asuma went last, as predicted. "From the 10th Team I lead, I recommend Yamanaka Ino, Nara Shikamaru, and Akamichi Chouji. I wish to enter them into the Chuunin Selection Exam under my name: Sarutobi Asuma."

Sandaime grinned a little. "All three have given their recommendations. It's been a while since we last had rookies appear in the Chuunin Exam."

And so, it was done. Of course, the present Umino Iruka, the only other person in the village to care about Naruto's well-being (that knew about the Kyuubi, of course), was indignant to the Rookie 9's recommendation, saying that they were too young. He was put down by Kakashi, who said that the Rookie 9 were no longer Iruka's students.

As the sun begin to set, many other Genin began to arrive in Konoha, such as a team from Otogakure, a team from Kusagakure, and a team from Amegakure.

vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv

As the sun rose to a new day, it the Rookie 9 meeting in the Chuunin Exam Test Room. Once again, Naruto was annoyed, and it had been by Sasuke. First, Sasuke had gotten the name of the previous Rookie-of-the-Year, who was Hyuuga Neji. Then Sasuke had gotten into a fight with Neji's teammate Rock Lee, and had gotten his ass handed to him.

'Well, at least we can take the exam in peace now,' thought Naruto as he, Sakura, and Sasuke walked through the doors.

Inside, they caught the sight of every Genin in the room. "Clearly, I was mistaken," muttered Naruto, as he and Sasuke glared at the Genin glaring at them.

The massive glaring contest was broken by a female voice squealing, "Sasuke-kun, you're late!"

Naruto turned his head to see Sasuke get glomped by one Yamanaka Ino, a pale-blonde with her hair in a ponytail, completely oblivious to the leer Sasuke was giving her, as well as Sakura's cries of "Get away from Sasuke-kun, Ino-pig!"

Behind Ino were her teammate, the pony-tailed Nara Shikamaru and rotund Akamichi Chouji. Shikamaru gave off a sigh and said, "You three are taking this troublesome exam, too?"

'Time for the mask.' Naruto grinned. "Hey it's the idiot trio!"

"Stop calling me that. How troublesome…" retorted Shikamaru.

Chouji just kept eating.

"Yatta, found you all!" came a loud voice. Naruto swiveled his head, as did the other five.

Inuzuka Kiba, with his puppy Akamaru stood before them. At his side, the imposing sunglass-wearing figure of Aburame Shino, the heir of the Aburame Clan, the bug users of Konoha.

Slightly behind Kiba was the shy Hyuuga Hinata who, upon Naruto glancing at her, glanced down at her feet.

'Dammit, why can't she look at me? I wish I could say how I felt, but…' Naruto's thoughts were interrupted by Kiba's voice.

"It looks like all nine Rookies are taking the Chuunin Exam this year." Smirking, Kiba added, "I wonder how far we can get, Sasuke-kun."

Sasuke grinned and countered with a "You seem confident, Kiba."

"We trained like hell," replied Kiba. "We won't lose to you."

"Shut up," said Naruto. "Sasuke aside, I won't lose to you, dog-boy."

"Gomen (16) Naruto-kun, Kiba-kun didn't mean it that way," murmured Hinata, poking her fingers together.

"Eh?" Naruto tilted his head to see Hinata, only to see her glance away again.

vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv

On the other side of the room, three shinobi watched the silver-haired Genin Yakushi Kabuto make his way toward the Rookie Nine.

The shorter one wore a white hoodie with the hood down, the sleeves torn off at the elbows, with the word "Seirei (17)" on the front in hiragana. He had grey shorts with his shuriken pouch on his left leg. Around his neck was a hitai-ate bearing the symbol for Kumogakure (18), and on his head was a set of goggles. In addition, he wore fingerless gloves on both hands, and traditional shinobi sanderu (19).

The tallest of the three wore a black trenchcoat, and a charcoal vest beneath it, which bore the kanji "Shi (20)" in red. He wore the black Jounin pants, fingerless gloves, and shinobi sanderu. On his forehead was his Kumo hitai-ate, and he wore glasses and a bored look.

The last one was the most bizarre of the three. He had a headpiece similar to the one owned by the Suna-nin Kankurou, except his had Kumo on it. He had baggy black pants, sanderu boots that went up to his shins, and no shuriken pouch at all. He had red armor that molded to his chest, and red armor on his right shoulder, and his right forearm. He wore fingerless gloves that had the sleeves extend to just before his elbows. But his face got the most attention: He had intricate patterns on his face, no eyebrows (think Kankurou's make-up without the mouth make-up, and red instead of purple), and his skin was a tanned brown.

The shorter one said, "Ready to go introduce ourselves?"

The taller of the three yawned and said, "Sure, why not?"

The apparent leader grinned, showing off an impressive bunch of fangs. "After all, it pays to know one's enemies."

With that, the Kumo Trio made their way toward the Rookie Nine and Kabuto, who had just put away his Nin-info cards.

Translations:

Konohagakure – Hidden Leaf Village

Kyuubi no Yoko – Nine-tailed Mystic Fox

Yondaime Hokage – Fourth Fire Shadow

Shiki Fuuin – Dead Demon Consuming Seal

Hakke no Fuuin Shiki – Eight Trigrams Seal

Shishou Fuuin – Four Symbols Seal

Sandaime Hokage – Third Fire Shadow

Kitsune – fox

Baka – idiot

hitai-ate – forehead protector

Nami no Kuni – Wave Country

Sensei – teacher

Tokubetsu Jounin – Specialist Jounin

Sunagakure – Hidden Sand Village

Sabaku no Gaara – Gaara of the Desert

Gomen – sorry

Seirei – spirit

Kumogakure – Hidden Cloud Village

Sanderu – sandels (what the shinobi in Naruto wear)

Shi – Death

Whoo! That was good. There reason I put up definitions is because I didn't want people asking what stuff meant. And I'm not insulting anyone's intelligence.

Now please review!

Next time on Wrath of the Dragon: The Three Kumo-nins reveal themselves, and the first two parts of the Chuunin Exam begin. What's in store for our Rookies? Next time on Wrath of the Dragon: Three Kumo-nin, Two Exam parts!