Chapter 4:Exams?
To Naruto, it was not exactly the perfect day for a funeral. But, he realized at the same time, funeral days were never perfect.
He stepped onto the grass outside his door that morning, after dressing in black garments. Immediately he breathed in the air that was heavy with humidity and made the first layers of his hair cling to his scalp. As if it's already hard enough to breathe in without this humid air…he thought to himself.
The eulogy was held outside; where a few hundred people were gathered in a large circle around one large black ebony casket encrusted with gold around the edges. Naruto went up toward the group and found his place in the gap of people closest to the casket. . He shook off a few apologies that were made by various people here and there, and turned his attention toward the middle-aged Hyūga standing before him. The man suddenly raised both hands, requesting silence. Immediately, the group hushed.
"Today, we are here to say our final goodbyes. We are here to pay our final respects to Hyūga Neji."
(Scene Break)
5 days earlier
One more month …thought Naruto . In a month's time , The Chunnin exams were being held . There he could finally fight some strong opponents , measure his capacity , become a legend !
In Konoha , the villagers and the ninja were all talking about their team , their impressive team work and of course about the little Uchiha genius … Naruto of the Mirage ,they called him .
Today they have received a B-class mission , a simple one in their standards , they were supposed to patrol the border at the Valley of the End . Where recent information led to believing that a new village has been founded there.
Team 9 was speeding towards the border with Neji as the Head , Tenten in the back and Naruto and his sensei in the middle . The perverted sensei still reading his orange book .
"So …Naruto-kun I was wondering , when we get back will you go on a date with me ? "
"Perverted-sensei are we there yet ? " Naruto said totally ignoring Tenten
"Just half a day and we'll be there "
"Naruto … you're avoiding my question "
"And you are drawing attention to your hair away from your non-existent breasts"
"Shut-up smartass ! " came Tenten`s heated response while blushing furiously
"Kind of hard not to be a smartass when you're talking to dumbasses all the time."
A chuckle was heard from the front of the group . In the year and almost 6 months since they became a team , Naruto's insults didn't mean anything now . But they were a lot funnier
Their team was strong while Neji was an expert in taijutsu ,Tenten was the sniper of the team and Naruto the genjutsu expert . But Neji could have sworn that he saw Naruto performing his taijutsu stances ! An UCHIHA using huge taijutsu ! That was unheard of . Of course the guy was a genius ,Neji agreed that he was, but to copy his taijutsu stile , one of the most powerful techniques in Konoha , was incredible even for him . Not even their sensei , the famous Copy-Cat , could not copy it ! The Sharingan user managed to memorize the chakra points in someone's body rending the Biakugan useless !
"Let`s scout different routes , Tenten and me will go to the west border while Neji and Naruto will check the Valley "
Without giving their sensei a reply , they disappeared to their given assignments .
(Scene Break )
"Beautiful isn't it ? " Neji's soft voice carried in the Valley
A low chuckle escaped Naruto's lips
"The Valley of the End … how symbolic ! Wouldn't you say Neji ? "
Neji's eyes widened . Naruto never called him by his name !
"Here two people fought for supremacy , The First Hokage and Uchiha Madara ,the end of the rivalry between the Senju and the Uchiha finally settled and the Uchiha against Huge started "
Nothing was said for a few moments only the wind that ruffled Naruto's hair was heard
"I think it's time for the Uchiha –Huge rivalry to be finished also , don't you think Neji ? " continued Naruto
"What are you saying Uchiha ? " Neji said between clenched teeth .
"I hate wars Neji " continued Naruto totally ignoring Neji " I hate that we have to fight , to kill , to make a living , we are no more than tools . Tools for a village that does not deserve us . "
"I will put a stop to all wars Neji ! I will make them see me more than a tool . I will be a leader ! I will be a GOD ! " Naruto turned his head facing Neji and activating his Sharingan
"For me to become more than I am , I have to measure my capacity ! Thus I have to kill you Neji . You will be remembered ! I will make sure of it ! "
"WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT YOU IDIOT ? " exploded Neji
"I am talking about us Neji ! One of us will die today , and it wont be me "
Byakugan eyes staring intensely into Sharingan ones . A piercing noise from a bird was heard and Neji sprang into action .
They both disappeared …Only to appear on the river kunai against kunai , both pushing with equal force
They both jumped back at the same time
Neji took up the trade mark stance of their family and waited for Naruto to attack . When he noticed that Naruto didn't even take a stance , he was just standing there waiting to be hit . Maybe he was having second thoughts ?
Neji charged without hesitation. A firm palm thrust was all it took to break Naruto's shaky guard. The boy genius lost most of his footing and was forced to stumble back. Neji did not pursue him, opting to pose with his striking palm still out stretched. He glared at him menacingly, and his stance appeared to be both a challenge and a statement.
Neji charged again, sending another palm thrust towards the Sharingan user. He narrowly avoided it, dodging to the side. Neji did not falter at this; he slide forward using the momentum of his previous attack. Ghostly, he pivoted on his left foot and jumped. The young Hyuuga prodigy, practically floated in the air with grace, as his new attack was taking form. His right leg began to follow a set path, arcing, towards the Uchiha. Naruto lifted his foot, blocking the blow with his knee. The power he felt made his body go numb. A lift overtook his feet, sending him back.
"Give up…it is not your fate to win this match." Stated Neji coldly. He stood up straight, abandoning his family stance. He sent him a glare that was far more pain inducing then any chakra filled palm strike.
At those words Naruto instantly fell into the same stance Neji took, however, it seemed far more relaxed and loose then the normal Hyuuga fighting position. Neji, merely interpreted the lax stance as a flaw in his technique.
The boy charged forth without a second's hesitation. He gave one of his trademark palm thrusts…only it never connected. Naruto dodged it seemingly effortlessly and now his shoulder was directly next to Neji's chest. The boy was frozen in surprise, leaving himself open, however Naruto did not attack.
He jumped back and regained himself. Sending a kick Naruto's way. He dodged the blow with minimal effort as well. His body moving loose around his leg likes a rag doll. Neji did not relent this time as he threw several strikes with his out stretched fingers, with blinding speed. Naruto just continued to dance around those attacks as well.
Neji let out an uncharacteristic growl. As he sent another palm strike, with far more strength then the 'Gentle fist' was meant to expel, towards Naruto. What happened next would go down as a historical moment
Naruto's hands moved passed Neji's palm down his forearm. His hands barely touching his skin. A notable mix of green and blue chakra danced around his palms. Neji felt the effects instantly. All of his tenseku had been closed in his arm, and most of his major muscle tendons had been cut. His joints were now out of place, and the entire inside of his arm, made it completely impossible for it to function properly.
But Naruto did not stop there. With Neji caught off guard, he struck his right foot with his own, sending him off balance and stumbling forward. He lifted him up off the ground and tossed him over his shoulder. His hands making noticeable movements across his chest as he flew over Naruto.
When Neji landed, he was barely fit to fight at all. As most of his waste was paralyzed and eighty more tenseku points were closed. He could even feel some internal damage to his organs. But he didn't give up
'I WONT DIE HERE '
He lifted himself up the ground and used something every Branch House member is afraid of using . He called some power from his Curse Seal , a power witch should be use only in emergencies and life death situations .
"You know … you fight like a girl " he heard Naruto mocking him
Energized and angered beyond belief he charged …only to stop when he noticed Naruto doing hand signs .
Rat , Ox , Tiger , Ox , Ox ,Horse
"Genjutsu won't work on me Naruto "
"We'll see … Kokuangyou no Jutsu - Journey into Black Darkness Technique"
Neji was immediately surrounded by darkness . He couldn't see anything .
"This is a genjutsu created by the First Hokage " he heard Naruto's voice coming from different directions
"It is a Genjutsu technique which causes the ninja's opponent to be enveloped in total darkness. While in the black void, the ninja will be unable to see any incoming attack or threat." The voice was coming closer , coming towards him
"It was specially designed to stop Hyugas . Fitting wouldn't you say ? That I use the same technique the First created to kill you where he managed to defeat another Uchiha ? "
"This wont work Naruto … what will you do when they discover you ? will you tell them I drowned ? " Neji tried to reason with him
"Don't worry your little head with something insignificant as this " There was a slashing noise and Neji fell … and fell … the water consuming him . he looked down and saw a bone …or a part of a bone piercing him in the heart and then blackness …
Naruto carried Neji to shore , he felt something wet on his check . He was crying ! On closer inspection he noticed that he was crying blood !
"You're in the midst of a war: a battle between the limits of a crowd seeking the surrender of your dreams, and the power of your true vision to create and contribute. It is a fight between those who will tell you what you cannot do, and that part of you that knows / and has always known / that we are more than our environment; and that a dream, backed by an unrelenting will to attain it, is truly a reality with an imminent arrival" he told himself
He laid Neji down and satisfied with the way he managed to defeat Slave-kun he passed out .
(Scene Break)
Present time
While people where paying there respects , Naruto though about how he fooled his remaining teammate and sensei . He fed them a story about being attacked by Orochimaru himself and his bodyguard a ninja who has capable of manipulating his bones . They believed him !
The Chunning exams were getting nearer and nearer. Their team received a permanent replacement for Neji , a weird guy in green spandex .
Who was strong in taijutsu, a perfect replacement !
And with his eyes and his mind he will reach Chunnin for sure.
The sun rose from the ground and sent beautiful colors to the people that awaited them.
One of those people was currently reading a book about seals. Not ordinary seals, but the most unique ones.
The current chapter this boy was reading involved a seal on a kunai, a seal the Forth Hokage himself invented.
This boy had long black hair tied in a pony tail; his hair just reaching his shoulder the rest of his hair was kind of spiky in a messy way.
Black orbs read and re-read the same chapter over and over again, a tinge of red appeared in those eyes once in a while.
One of the last survivors of the Uchiha clan was trying to replicate the famous three pronged kunai the Yellow flash used with Hiraishin no Jutsu.
Naruto, that was the boys name, was currently trying to figure out how to un-summon himself.
He made out the part when one person needed to travel from one point to another using the speed of light.
From his calculations the speed of light is relative to the mass.
The mass changes when a person attempts to travel that fast.
The energy that the person uses is the same.
By denoting the chakra energy he has to use with E he figured out the equation
E=mc*c
Naruto managed to recreate the technique that summons him in the void, but he has yet to figure out how to summon himself back.
With one finger he marked the page he was reading and with another he seals the scroll he was currently taking notes in.
He could not afford to be unfocused today.
Today was the deciding day for Naruto, today he is going to prove to himself that he is strong enough, strong enough to become a Chûnin, strong enough to prove to the Hokage he was wrong when he killed all his clan, but more importantly strong enough to defeat a demon.
It was not common knowledge that the Suna Jinchūriki was participating in this event, but Naruto has his ways of finding out useful information.
Those ways involve the power he recently gained in the form of the Mangekyō Sharingan.
The time showed 8:14, another hour until he had to meet Kakashi and his teammates for the exam.
When he walked out his compound, he was a warrior not a scholar. His clothes reflected that of an ANBU, his walk showed the people around him that he was not afraid of anything.
By carefully placing a small genjutsu on the people around him, making their harts beet a little faster, forcing their brain to release endorphins, to make them appreciate him more.
He needed them if he wanted to become a Chûnin.
He needed the crowd on his side.
At 9:05 he was standing before the memorial of lost heroes. Of all the people that were declared K.I.A on their missions.
Of all the people whose names were on the rock, only one name interested him. Two initials were carved at the base of the memorial.
U.I.
A name he will never forget. He couldn't wait to meet him again. To fight him. To defeat him.
A clap on the back, brought him back to reality, his sensei was standing beside him, no perverted book in sight.
"Hey Naruto"
"S-up Perv?" responded Naruto without a twitch in his facial muscles.
That was what worried Kakashi; Naruto could joke and make fun of people with a straight face. Without smiling or laughing
"Are you ready Naruto?"
"The question you should be asking is if you are ready"
"..."
"Are ready to see you student shine among others, are ready to show these people that the ninja you trained will be spectacular, are you ready to sit there and feel smug about yourself when you see me and Panda-chan and Fuzzy-brows kick some ass."
A laugh escaped Kakashi's mouth. How this kid made him laugh even in moments like these was lost on him. Of course he was telling the truth, he had no doubts that Naruto will mop the floor with the rest of the competition.
"Not just mop the floor, I'm going to do it in style."
"How did ..."
"Know what you were thinking? You're too obvious Perverted-sensei."
And with that they were off to another adventure.
Scene break
"YOSH!! My youthful teammates, what a fine day to battle in our youthful way," the green haired weirdo yelled.
Team nine was currently in front of the Ninja Academy, where the Chûnin exams were taking place. Tenten was dressed in a Chinese outfit, her loose clothing gave her the opportunity to hide most of her weapons. Naruto himself was keeping his throwing projectiles in his right hand, or rather underneath the bandages that were wrapped around his right hand.
Those bandages were there for the purpose of fooling his competition that his hand was injured, not because he wanted to copy his green weird friend who was raging about his cool threads around his youthful hands.
Naruto glanced his way, Fuzzy-brows was a strong ninja. He was the apprentice of the Green Beast of Konoha, while not as impressive as the Sannin; he was equal and maybe stronger than two of them.
Naruto had heard about Maito Gai from Shisui, he was one of the former teammates to the Yondaime. It was said that while in ANBU the weird ninja had never failed a mission. Never!
In ANBU it is expected to fail once in a while, because the mission rank is extremely high, but to never fail a mission is something that not even the Sannin or the Yondaime can claim.
Fuzzy-Brows was clearly a taijutsu specialist. Naruto could easily spot the weights that his teammate wore around his legs.
"Fuzzy-kun, in this exam you will do well to remember to follow orders. All of us are going to go far. Our objective in this exam is not to beat the other ninja coming to participate in it, it is to beat the Konoha teams that taking part in this exam."
Leaving his surprised teammates behind Naruto pushed the doors to the Academy open and walked in hoping that he wouldn't have to kill Sasuke in the exam.
The first floor of the Academy was full of young ninja some looking more ugly than the others. With his Sharingan active, Naruto took in all their faces to remember them. Sensing their chakra Naruto observed the only three teams that were above the skills of a Genin. The team from Sand, he expected, a team from sound comprised of two weird looking guys and a pretty girl, and the last team was from grass.
This team worried Naruto because the Grass didn't have very strong Shinobi, they were more interested in agriculture than the Shinobi arts. He had to keep a close eye on this team.
With Tenten and Lee by his side he started walking to the other side of the room, where the rest of the Konoha rookies were.
The moment he reached Sasuke's team he noticed a change in their demeanor.
Sasuke clenched his fist and tried to glare at him
The pink haired girl had stars in her eyes and was currently blushing furiously
And the last one...
"Hey Sasuke, this guy looks like you, are you related? Is he a bastard too?" the blond girl yelled.
"Yes he is." Was Tenten's immediate response.
"Now, now children, just because I'm superior to you in every way does not make me a bastard. My mother and father were very much married when they had me. Hello cousin how are you on this fine morning?"
Sasuke clenched his teeth hard. This bastard, this Uchiha wasn't even from the main branch and he was considered the strongest Genin from Konoha, and he was younger than him.
"Hmn," was the only sound that came from the Avenger Uchiha
Naruto wanted to make Sasuke suffer more but a loud explosion got his attention. In the middle of the corridor stood a woman wearing a trench coat. Under the trench coat you could clearly see hear assets which were covered by fishnet.
"ALL RIGHT MAGGOTS, I AM THE MOST BEAUTIFUL KUNOICHI OF KONOHA,THE NAME IS MITERASHI ANKO, AND I WILL BE YOUR PROCTOR FOR THIS EXAM"
Everybody was taken by surprise by the woman's outburst. Some of the Genin were openly staring at her, nobody made a sound until…
"My God that has to be the ugliest women I have seen in my life," said Naruto with his eyes directly at the woman's chest.
"I mean, not just ugly, if we called her ugly we would offend the ugly people. She has the ultimate level of ugliness, her boobs are all over the place, no wonder she doesn't wear a bra."
By now Anko`s eye began to twitch. She would teach this brat a lesson. With one hand she threw a kunai in Naruto's direction
He just stood not even flinching when the kunai gazed his cheek.
Anko suddenly was right behind him, with another kunai at his throat. She gently brushed the kunai against his bleeding cheek and started to lick it.
"What delicious blood you have Uchiha-san, I hope I can get a good taste of it later."
"Are you done speaking to yourself Hebi-chan?" a voice broke her musing.
Anko looked down on the Uchiha to see he wasn't there. The blood on the kunai disappeared; the other kunai she had thrown earlier was in her trench coat. What happened to her, she could have sworn she got the punk.
She turned around and saw to her embarrassment everyone was looking at her like she was crazy, like he just attacked an invisible enemy.
"So you used genjutsu on me did you punk? Well I'll show you.." She reach for a kunai, keeping in mind not to look the brat in the eyes.
Naruto calmly raise a hand and pointed at her. To her amusement his hand had nail-polish on them. The Uchiha symbol was polished and two of his fingers. Just when she was about to make fun of him, she realized that she couldn't move. Not even a muscle.
The Uchiha started walking to her, every ninja in the room were focused on their interaction.
When Naruto arrived in front of her, he raised a kunai and gazed her cheek, blood started flowing on his kunai. He gently took it to his lips and lick the blood off.
"What delicious blood you have Hebi-chan."
"Naruto that is enough." Tenten didn't want their team to be disqualified for attacking a proctor.
Anko sensed that the paralyzing technique wore off. She was stunned. This kid put her in a genjutsu without even activating his Sharingan, with just one finger he defeated her .
"Your Kakashi's team right? Well for showing off you will be the first to take the exam . The point in this test is to see how you face in difficult moments. Will the leader of your team go in Class 101 and the rest in Class 102 and 103. After them every team is going in the order I send you ."
Naruto locked eyes with his teammates and sent a nod their way. They were ready.
With confident steps he entered the class room 101. Only to find that he was in total darkness, he couldn't see a thing.
A sudden light appeared behind him, he could see his shadow going bigger and bigger and noticed that in front of him was Chûnin with the symbol of Konoha on his forehead.
The wall in his left disappeared only to be replaced by three people. Kakashi, Tenten and Lee they all looked worse for wear, like they been in a fight.
A sudden realization hit him, he couldn't move. His shadow was under the Chûnin's feet who was smirking at him.
"So this is how it goes. One of your teammates is an imposter. You have to ask them a question and guess who the imposter is. This exam is testing your knowledge of your teammates ."
Naruto calmly looked at his teammates and activated his Sharingan. He could see their chakra and the chakra that was holding them. It wasn't different from their teammates Chakra. So the intruder must be hiding using another technique besides genjutsu or henge.
He looked at the Chûnin. He was from the Nara clan, probably Shikamaru's father. He was famous for a lot of things, but mostly was his team's teamwork. That means that the intruder was Ino's father. And was currently in one of his friends mind.
"Panda-chan, when was the first time you had your period?" Naruto asked
"What kind of question is that Naruto?"
Typical for Tenten to not answer personal questions. But the Yamanaka was inside one of their brains so he could see their memories and act like them. That means they had only one chance to get out of this one
"Fuzzy-brows how long have you known Maito Gai?"
"YOSH, My YOUGHTFULL SENSEI TOOK CARE OF MY SINCE I JOINED THE ACADEMY."
"Did he ever touch you? Abused you sexually?
"Naruto-kun don't say such unyouthfull things about Gai-sensei."
"I don't know he kind looks like the type to strap a kid on to a bed and do him."
Every part of Lee trembled, when he looked up he had fire in his eyes. Naruto prepared for the worse.
One minute Lee was in the shadows captivity the next he was running towards Naruto
"Never insult Gai-sensei."
Naruto closed his eyes when the blow came. The punch threw him in a dark corner of the room.