INSIDE THE CASTLE
Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura stood inside a large, high ceiling room with tow balconies on either side. Between the two balconies was a portrait containing a paragraph of kanji. It was quite a quaint room but the only problem was…
"Nobody's here," said Naruto. "This is kind of a let down."
"Look at that," said Sakura, pointing out the framed paragraph.
If you lack heaven, seek wisdom, be prepared. If you lack earth, run in the fields, seek advantages. These rules will guide a ______ extremes.
"What the hell does it even mean?" asked Naruto after reading the text. "It looks like some of it might be missing."
"It's probably referring to the scrolls," answered Sakura. "I think it's telling us to open them."
"Alright," said Naruto, taking out the two scrolls and handing one over to Sakura. The genin team paused in anxiety and suspense before puffing out their chests and unfolding the scrolls.
"A summoning type scroll?" thought Sasuke after seeing smoke rising from the scrolls. "Naruto, Sakura, let go of the scrolls!"
Naruto and Sakura complied, throwing the scrolls away from their bodies before a large burst of smoke arose from the scrolls. A familiar silhouette stood in the smoke before it cleared.
"Iruka-sensei!" called Naruto in surprise.
"Long time no see, guys," said the scarred instructor. He then examined the three genin. "It looks like you guys had a lot of trouble."
"But why are you here, Iruka-sensei?" asked Naruto.
"At the end of the second test, we chunin are supposed to meet up with the exam takers, and I was allowed to be the one to greet you." Iruka then examined a pocket watch. "You guys made it just in time. Congratulations, you three have passed the second test. Usually to celebrate your achievement I would buy you each a round of ramen but-"
"We did it!" interrupted Naruto, tackling his former teacher in excitement.
Sasuke and Sakura slumped to the ground in exhaustion each thinking, "Well, it's good to see that someone still has energy left."
"You're just as excitable as ever, Naruto."
"I get it now," said Sasuke with a slight grin. His teammates looked at him with confusion. "So, Iruka, if we had opened the scrolls during the test, what would have done?"
"It's good to see you haven't lost any of your keenness, Sasuke," complimented Iruka. "As you may have been told, this test's rules are set up to test your team's ability to follow the orders given to you on a mission. So if you were to break the rules by opening the scrolls, the examinee would have been knocked out for the remainder of the test."
"Then it's a good thing you guys didn't open the scroll," said Sasuke.
"Thank you, Kabuto-san," thought Naruto and Sakura.
"By the way, Sensei, what's the meaning of the writing on the wall?" asked Sakura. "It seems like there are parts missing."
"Yes, my other job was to explain that," began Iruka. "This is the motto of the chunin. The 'heaven' in the paragraph refers to the mind and 'earth' refers to the body. 'If you lack heaven, seek wisdom, be prepared.' For example, Naruto's weakness is his brain, so he should get smarter and prepare himself better. 'If you lack earth, run in the fields, seek advantages.' Since Sakura's weakness lies in her stamina, she must continue to train hard. Having both heaven and earth will make missions easier and safer for you."
"And the bit with the missing word?"
"On the scrolls was the word 'person.' That is the blank word there. 'These rules will guide a person's extremes.' These past five days of survival were testing your abilities as a chunin. Chunin are at the rank of military captains, and you may have to lead a team. Knowledge, stamina, and balance are essential to carry out those duties. I want you guys to challenge the next step with this motto in mind."
"Yessir!"
"However, this is the last test. Don't push yourselves too hard."
"Sensei, from the moment we received these headbands we were no longer students of the academy, so you're not allowed to worry about us. These are symbols of our growth not just as ninjas. We're not kids anymore."
"Well said Naruto," thought Iruka. "Maybe the one who really has the best comprehension of their skills is you, Kakashi."
LATER
Six teams had passed the second test and were now standing in a large enclosed room with a statue of two hands forming a Hitsuji seal. In front of them were their jonin instructors, the proctors for the exam, and the Hokage himself. The six passing teams were Team 7: Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura; Team 8: Kiba, Hinata, and Shino; Team 10: Ino, Shikamaru, and Choji; Rock Lee's team; the Sound ninja team, and the three Sand siblings.
The old man stepped forward. "Before I explain the third test, there is something else I'd like you to know. It concerns the true reason behind the exam. Now, why do all the allied countries take the exam together? Is it to promote friendship between the countries? No, the exam is a replacement for war among allied countries. If you go back far enough, all the current allies were enemies. They would fight for dominance in the ninja world. But now we have shinobi representatives, fighting with their lives on the line to protect their land's prestige. The third exam will be watched by several leaders, daimyos, and influential individuals who come from lands that are clients of the participants. If the strength of a country is clear, then that country will receive more clients, but if it is weak…"
"But why do we have to risk our lives?" interrupted Kiba.
"The strength of a country is the strength of its village. And the strength of a village is the strength of its shinobi. And the strength of a shinobi is born only through risking one's own life. Before we continue I would like to say one last thing: this last test is not a test at all, but actually a full-out battle with our lives, dreams, and country's prestige at stake. Now I would like to explain the third test to you but…"
A sickly-looking Konoha shinobi stepped forward. "Hello everyone, my name is Hayate Gekko, and there's an important matter at hand. Usually we're only supposed to have three or four teams remaining after the second exams but as you can see, we have six. Before the final test we'll need to narrow down the amount of participants. As Hokage-sama said, there will be many important guests at the third test, so we will be pressed for time. So, uh, if anyone wants to give up, please do so now, because we'll be starting the preliminaries right away."
In the back of the group, Sakura and Sasuke began to have a little chat.
"Sasuke-kun, you should quit now," advised Sakura. "Ever since that weird guy attacked us you've been weird. That bruise on your neck still hurts, doesn't it? It's not worth it to see you in so much pain over a silly exam."
"Sakura, shut up. This isn't just a test to me. I could care less whether or not I became a chunin. 'Am I stong?' I won't be able to answer that question unless I fight the strong people here."
"Sasuke, quit with the cool guy act," ordered Naruto, butting into the conversation. "Sakura-chan's worried and-"
"I also want to fight you, Naruto."
"Sasuke…"
"Well, it seems like no one's giving up, so let's begin," coughed Hayate. "There are eighteen entrants here so there will be nine one-on-one battles. Being a shinobi battle there are no rules. The match will end when someone dies, is K.O'ed or forfeits. We don't want a pile-up of corpses so I'll stop the fight if I deem fit." Hayate then pointed to a screen situated behind the Hitsuji statue. "That electronic scoreboard will pick two names at random to decide the match-ups. And without further ado, start the selection."
The eighteen genin stared anxiously at the scoreboard until two names were flashed: Zaku Abumi and Sasuke Uchiha.
"Looks like I can get payback for my arms," thought Zaku grinning evilly.
TO BE CONTINUED…
