Shi no Mae no Seikatsu: Kaminari Kitsune no Taitō

(Life before Death: Rise of the Thunder Fox)

(死の前の生活：雷狐の台頭)

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Bleach. Masashi Kishimoto owns Naruto and all things related to it, and Tite Kubo owns all that is Bleach. This story is simply a product of envy and admiration towards those with the proper ownership to the two series.

Chapter 4: Not Afraid

After another day of training and doing missions with her team which had ended with Asuma telling them he planned to enter them in the upcoming Chūnin Selection Exams, Naruko was walking towards her house. The team had gotten a lot closer since Naruko opened up to them the day after they got home from Nami no Kuni. She had told them much about herself, more then she had to anyone except Anko, even about the Kyūbi and her parents; of course she had explained that they were S-class secrets and they'd be executed for revealing them without her or the Hokage's consent.

They had taken her revelations surprisingly good, Ino felt slightly unnerved by the fact that her teammate had the most powerful being in the world sealed within her, but it only made her admiration of Naruko grow. Of course the fact that she was the daughter of the Yondaime and his wife was incredible.

Shikamaru wasn't very surprised of either the Kyūbi or her parents. His analytical mind had already guessed her relation to the Yondaime and he knew there was a reason for the glares sent by the civilians to her back.

She had also spoken to the Kyūbi about her parents, and when asked why he didn't tell her who her parents were, he answered. "You didn't ask." This disgruntled Naruko of course, but she let it go as it was true.

Naruko was drawn out of her thoughts when she noticed a rectangular, stone pattern box with two holes in it following her. She sighed before turning and addressing it. "First; there is no such thing as a rectangular rock with holes in it. Second; even if there was it wouldn't be moving around. Third; I'm a sensor, you can't sneak up on me. Get out."

"I should have expected that from the woman whom I have high hopes for and is also my rival." The box said before glowing brightly and exploding in a mass of smoke. The smoke cleared and revealed three kids around the age of nine, hacking and coughing from the smoke. "Hey, you used too much gunpowder." The one in the middle said, before they remembered about Naruko and did a cheesy intro. They were Konohamaru, Moegi and Udon, the "Konohamaru Corps".

Naruko sighed as she looked at them. She had met Konohamaru the day she got her ninja ID, when he had barged in to attack the Hokage, only to trip on his own scarf and blame Naruko for it. She had set him straight and left before being followed by him until she gave in to his request to train him. She had met Moegi and Udon a few days later. "You three again…what do you want this time?"

"Why are you always so cold to us?" Konohamaru asked her.

"Because you keep bothering me." Was her deadpanned answer. "See she's so cold to us." Konohamaru whispered as he leaned on Udon. Moegi stepped forward gaining Naruko's attention. "Well, Oyabun, do you have time right now?"

"That depends on what you want."

"We want you to play Ninja with us!" Konohamaru jumped forward. Naruko was about to tell them no when a very depressed looking Sakura joined them. "What's the point in ninja playing Ninja? She scoffed.

"Nee-chan, who is this big girl?" Konohamaru asked before noticing Sakura's stare. 'She's staring at me so intensely.'

"Oi, what the hell are you staring at? You big ugly!" He yelled at her. Naruko sighed as she saw Sakura crack her knuckles, looking extremely pissed. "Konohamaru." She said, getting his attention before pointing at Sakura. "Run."

And run he did, along with Moegi and Udon, with Sakura chasing them. Naruko gave another sigh; these kids gave her so much trouble! "Guess I better check on them." She muttered to herself.

"That hurt, gaki." Naruko heard someone say as she closed around a corner, this along with the thud she had heard seconds before, lead her to believe that Konohamaru had run into someone. Deciding to take the cautious approach she hid her presence and jumped up on a rooftop overlooking the alley Sakura had chased them in to.

The boy who she assumed had spoken wore a black, baggy, full body suit with a red and yellow circle on the front with a black hood which covered his head completely, and cat-like ears and his Suna forehead protector on his forehead. On his face he had a purple triangular face-paint design. On his back was a strange object wrapped in cloth with a mop of hair sticking out at the top. He was currently holding Konohamaru up by his scarf. 'That thing on his back…a puppet?' Naruko thought, narrowing her eyes.

Behind him stood a green eyed girl with blonde hair, which was gathered into four ponytails. Her outfit consisted of a single light purple-colored, off-the-shoulders garment that extended to halfway down her thighs, with a scarlet sash tied around her waist. In addition to incorporating fishnet worn over her shoulders and legs, specifically on her right calf and her left thigh, she also wore her black Suna forehead protector around her neck. On her back was a big folded fan. 'A wind user huh?'

"Stop it. We're going to get scolded later." The girl told the other Suna-nin.

"I'm sorry, I was joking around, so please let him go." Sakura said worriedly.

"But I want to play around before some noisy people come." The boy said. "Let go!" Konohamaru yelled at him and tried kicking him. "You're very energetic, gaki." The hooded boy said and tightened his grip. The girl sighed before telling him she wasn't going to be responsible for what he did. "Heh, I'll take care of this brat then I'll handle the others." He scoffed and pulled back his arm to swing.

At this point Naruko had had enough, and intervened; in an instant she was standing between Konohamaru and the Suna-nin. Her left hand was squeezing his right wrist in a death grip, forcing him to drop Konohamaru, and her right hand was holding her sword, which was positioned to slit the his throat.

"I'd think about what I was doing closely if I was you, Suna-nin, before I slit your throat." She told him in a calm, cold tone. The Suna-nins eyes widened, the girl reaching for her fan before freezing as Naruko's eyes settled on her and she felt cold steel on her throat. Behind her was another Naruko. "I really wouldn't do that." She warned.

"For attempted assault on a citizen on Konoha, the grandson of the Hokage no less, I could have you arrested, and possibly executed." Naruko told them, making them extremely nervous. The boy was sneakily reaching to the puppet of his back, ready to break free and make a break for it, before a voice stopped him cold.

"Stop, Kankurō." Looking over to the tree next to them they saw a boy standing upside down on one of the branches. He wore black full body suit with t-shirt-like sleeves, ¾-length legs, and an open neck. With this, he wore a white cloth over his right shoulder and the left side of his hips, and a wide leather band system over the left shoulder and right side of his hips. With this leather band, he carried around a gourd on his back. He also wrapped his black Suna forehead protector over the band. He had short, spiky, auburn hair and green eyes with no distinctive pupils, he also had no eyebrows. On his forehead was the kanji for "Love".

"You're a disgrace to our village." He said. Everybody except Naruko appeared shocked at his sudden appearance. "G-Gaara…" The now named Kankurō stuttered out.

"So you finally decided to join us, huh?" Naruko muttered to herself. 'Naruko…that boy is the host of Shukaku, the Ichibi, be careful." The Kyūbi spoke up in her mind. 'The Ichibi huh? No wonder his chakra felt different.'

"Why do you think we came all the way here to Konoha?" Gaara asked Kankurō.

"L-Listen, Gaara, these guys started it."

"Shut up. I'll kill you." Gaara told him. Naruko decided they wouldn't try anything now so she dispelled her clone and put some distance between her and the Suna team.

"I-I got it. I was at fault. I'm sorry. I'm really sorry." Kankurō said fearfully. Gaara, deeming Kankurō properly coved, turned to the Konoha Nins. "Please excuse them."

Naruko and Gaara stared into each other's eyes, measuring each other, before Naruko answered. "It is fine, this time; however make sure it doesn't happen again. I assume you are here for the Chūnin Selection Exams?"

Gaara nodded before using a Suna Shunshin and appearing in front of his team. "Let's go. We didn't come here to fool around." Gaara told his team, and started leading them away. "By the way, what are your names?" Naruko asked them.

"Sabaku no Gaara."

"Temari."

"Kankurō." They introduced themselves. "I am also interested in you. What's your name?" Gaara asked Naruko.

"Uzumaki Naruko." She introduced herself. Gaara nodded, again turning to leave, before Naruko's voice stopped them again. "Oh and tell one that nine says hi." She said cryptically with a grin. Shocking the sand siblings as Gaara froze, before holding his head and glaring over his shoulder at Naruko with a bloodthirsty grin. His eyes flickered for a second, turning into yellow with a black four-pointed star and four black dots around it. In return Naruko's eyes flickered into black-slitted red eyes and tension filled the air. Then Gaara left, closely followed by his siblings and taking the tension with them.

"Let's go." Naruko told the others and turning to leave, casting a final glance at the tree, where she could feel three chakra signatures.

The next day during the team meeting Asuma gave them the Chūnin Exams applications, telling them to fill them in and be at the academy by 3 PM in room 301 if they wanted to be in it. But also said they did not have to if they felt they weren't ready, before giving them the day off. None of them even asked the others, they were going to be in it and become Chūnin. Even if Shikamaru only did it because he knew Ino, Naruko and his mom would never stop harassing him if he didn't.

Later that day a masked Ame-nin tried attacking her, but he was made short work of before he ran away. Naruko had simply sighed; she could tell it was her former academy sensei Iruka. He had probably asked to test the rookie nine to see if they were ready.

Five days later and her team was walking into the academy and after walking up two stairs, saw a crowed of Genin standing in front of a door that had two people guarding it. On the room number it said 301. "It's a genjutsu; we're only on the second floor." Ino said, getting nods from her team. "It's probably to weed out the ones who don't stand a chance." Shikamaru added.

"Then let us leave Kotetsu and Izumo to it shall we?" Naruko asked rhetorically before leading them past the crowed and up the stairs unnoticed.

"So you all did show up." Asuma said as they stood in front of the door to room 301. "You can now officially register for the Chūnin Exams."

"What does that mean?" Ino asked.

"This exam can only be taken by teams of three."

"So you lied when you said we could choose not to enter without repercussions." Shikamaru said. Asuma nodded.

"If only one or two of you had shown up I would have prohibited them from taking the exam. I told you that so none of you would be pressured into it by the others, or pressure yourself into it for the others. But the three of you came here of your own free will. Ino, Shikamaru and Naruko, I'm proud of being your sensei. Now, go." He said before stepping aside, allowing them to walk through the door.

Stepping through the doors they halted. Inside the room there was a big crowd of aspiring Genin, all glaring at them. Ino gulped nervously as Shikamaru got Naruko's attention. "Naruko, do you mind?"

Naruko glanced at him before giving a small smirk. "My pleasure." Turning to the crowd she raised her voice. "Look at all these people…so many people to KILL!" She said her voice becoming demonic at the end as her eyes grew red and a wave of killer intent swept across the room, causing many of the Genin to experience visions of their own death. Most immediately flinched and quickly looked away, only a few kept their gaze on them, Naruko noted. One was Gaara, and the others was a team from Kusagakure, and a team from Kumogakure.

Satisfied Naruko lead her team to a corner, where they settled in and Shikamaru fell asleep. A few minutes later they saw Team 8 enter and quietly move to a place to wait. Later once the time to register was coming close to ending they saw an odd looking team enter, the one in the lead had long brown hair and pale eyes, leading Naruko to believe he was a Hyūga. The other boy on the team was even odder looking, with huge eyebrows, big eyes and a bowl-cut haircut and a green spandex with orange legwarmers. The only girl on the team had brown eyes and hair with a hairstyle that made her look like a panda. Naruko narrowed her eyes at the girl, feeling a sense of familiarity.

Once there were only a few minutes left they saw Team 7 enter, only to be glared by a much larger crowd than they had. Ino looked at Naruko pleadingly, who sighed before nodding. Ino lit up and almost flew to Team 7, jumping and landing on Sasuke's back, where she embraced him and drew their attention, effectively taking their mind of the big crowd.

Shikamaru and Naruko followed after Ino at a slower pace, and interrupted Ino's and Sakura's insult fight. "What, are you three going to take this troublesome exam, too?" Shikamaru said, more of a statement than a question. "Ohayo, Shikamaru, Naruko-san." Chōji greeted them and walked up to Shikamaru while Naruko decided to lean on the wall by the door.

"Yeah! Found you all! So I see that everyone is here." A loud voice exclaimed. Turning to their right they spotted Team 8 walking up to them. "H-hello." Hinata said.

"What? So you three made it too? Geez…" Shikamaru said.

"Heh, so all nine Genin rookies this year are going to take the exam." Kiba said before turning to Sasuke. "How far do you think we can get, Sasuke-kun?"

"Hn, you seem to be confident, Kiba." Sasuke stated.

"We trained like hell. We won't lose to you." Kiba boasted. Naruko tuned the rest out until a new voice called out to them.

"Hey, you guys. You should quiet down a little." A Konoha shinobi a few years older than them with ash-grey hair and glasses walked up to them. Naruko frowned at him; several factors about him were off. First, he smelled of snake, only Naruko and Anko should smell of snake within Konoha. Secondly he had way too much chakra to be a Genin, it was about the same amount as Asuma had, and he wasn't a Jinchūriki.

"So you're the Rookie Nine that just graduated from the academy, correct? You're all fooling around with those cute faces…Geez this isn't a field trip." He said.

"Who are you to tell us that?!" Ino asked him angrily. "I am Yakushi Kabuto. Look around you…" Kabuto answered.

Doing as he said they saw most of the people in the room glaring at them. "The ones behind you are from Amegakure. They have a short temper. Everyone is tense since it's right before the exam. I warned you so that you won't get picked on." Kabuto explained to them.

"I guess it can't hel-" He continued before being interrupted by Naruko. "Didn't they learn the first time?" She muttered as she pushed of the wall and walked in front of the Genin. Then once again she sent out a wave of KI. The once who had already experienced it and seen it coming had looked away as soon as she moved, but the new ones that had arrived after she did it the first time took it full force.

Closing her eyes and turning back after seeing the room properly coved, she went back to her spot on the wall. Feeling several sets of eyes on her she opened her own to see the rest of the rookies except her own team stare at her fearfully, even Kabuto looked unnerved by the display.

"What?" She asked, shaking them out of their stupor. "What the fuck was that?!" Kiba demanded. "Killer intent." She answered bluntly, looking bored. "Honestly if you've never encountered KI before you probably shouldn't be in this exam."

This made Kiba bristle; he had felt KI before but never like that! And what he just felt was muted since Naruko hadn't been facing them! He didn't even want to imagine what that felt like from in front of her.

"To be fair, in all the times I've taken this exam I have never felt KI like that." Kabuto said, bringing attention back to him.

"Kabuto-san, was it?" Sakura asked him. Getting an affirmative she asked him. "How many times have you entered?"

"This is my seventh time. This exam only takes place twice every year, and it's my fourth year." He said somewhat abashed.

"That means you know a lot about this exam, right?" Sakura asked.

"Yeah."

"But he hasn't passed it." Shikamaru interjected. "Is the Chūnin Exam that difficult? This is getting even more troublesome."

"Maybe I should give my cute underclassmen some information, then…with these recognition cards." Kabuto said and pulled out a deck of orange cards.

"Recognition cards?" Ino asked.

"In simple terms, it's a card that has information burned into it using my chakra. I've collected information on this exam for the past four years. There's about 200 cards total." He explained as he crouched down and put the deck of cards down before flipping one over.

"It looks white, but…" He continued as he put a finger on the card. "To get information from this card…" He said and started spinning the card with his finger.

"What are you doing?" Sakura asked as they looked on. "It's made so that you can't view it without my chakra. Like this." He explained before a puff of smoke came from the card and information appeared on the card, showing the exam's total number of examinees and countries participating, as well as the number of participants from each hidden village.

"Let me ask, why do you think we do the Chūnin Exam together?" Kabuto asked them.

"It's a substitute for war." Naruko stated.

"That's the very short and blunt way of putting it, but yes that is in a way correct. First, it's to deepen the friendly relationships with the other countries. Next, it's to heighten the level of the shinobi. That is what they say." Kabuto said.

"That is what they say?" Sasuke asked.

"Yes, the real purpose is to confirm the level of the shinobi in each adjacent country to try and balance out the power."

"And why do they go through such a troublesome task?" Shikamaru questioned.

"If they don't do that, the weak countries will be invaded and dominated by the strong ones. So they need to check and restrain each other's powers. So yes it's a substitute for war in a way." Kabuto finished. Naruko meanwhile was in deep thought, there was no way this guy was a Genin, his chakra level and knowledge was way too high. A normal Genin don't have this kind of information, even if they had participated in the Exam seven times.

"Are there any cards there that have detailed personal information?" Sasuke asked.

"Yes. Is there someone who interests you?" Kabuto said. "The information of this exam's examinees is not perfect, but I've burned and saved them. They include the information about the nine of you, as well. Tell me whatever you know about the people you know that interests you. I'll look it up for you."

This made Naruko even more suspicious, knowing the number of participants and countries participating were one thing, but personal files? There is no way a Genin had that kind of access.

"Gaara from Sunagakure, Rock Lee from Konoha and Uzumaki Naruko from Konoha." Sasuke said and glanced at her, breaking her from her thoughts. So the Uchiha wanted information on her did he? Well he could forget it.

"Oh you know their names. Then it won't take much time." Kabuto said and drew three cards. "Here we go. First let's see Rock Lee." He said and put down on of the cards.

"He's one year older than you. Mission experience, 20 D-rank ones and 11 C-rank ones. The squad leader is Gai. His Taijutsu combat skills have increased dramatically this past year, but his other skills are terrible. He got everyone's attention last year as a skilled rookie Genin, but he didn't take the Chūnin Exam. This is his first time taking it, like you. His team is composed of Tenten and Hyūga Neji."

'Tenten…' Naruko thought to herself, as she looked at the picture of the girl. Then it clicked. She had been friends with Tenten when she was still in the orphanage; she had been the only one to be nice to her. 'Losing her as a friend was the only thing that was bad about leaving the orphanage.'

"Next, let's see Sabaku no Gaara." Kabuto said, putting down the next card. "Mission experience, eight C-rank ones and…This is amazing! He did a B-rank as a Genin. He is a foreign shinobi and it's his first time taking the exam, so I don't have any more information on him. But…it seems that he has returned from all of his missions unharmed."

"He did a B-rank mission as a Genin, and was unharmed?" Shikamaru said in disbelief.

"Shikamaru…you've done an A-rank mission and was unharmed, don't be so surprised." Naruko reminded him. "Even if we were two teams."

"Next, is you Naruko-san." Kabuto said and put down the card, however right after he released the info it was snatched from the floor before he could take it. Looking at the Rookies he saw Naruko with his card in hand, reading through it.

Naruko's eyes narrowed as she read the information on the card. How the fuck did he find all this out? Even her Jinchūriki status was on here! This guy was no Genin, he was probably a spy. She'd have to inform the higher ups somehow.

Finishing with the card she ripped it into pieces, before throwing it in the trash. Expecting Kabuto to at least be disgruntled, however when she looked at him she saw him wearing an amused smirk. However Sasuke and Kiba definitely was angry about not finding out more about her.

"Don't want your opposition to have information on you do you?" Kabuto asked, amused. When he didn't receive and answer he shrugged and put down another card.

"Konoha, Suna, Ame, Kusa, Taki, and Oto. This year, many talented Genin from these hidden villages have come here to take the exam. Otogakure is a village of a small country that was just made recently, so I don't have much information on them. Either way, all of them are powerful hidden villages." Kabuto explained.

"I'm starting to lose confidence…" Hinata said nervously. "It's too late to say that!" Ino told her.

"In other words, the examinees here are all…" Sakura trailed off. Kabuto nodded. "Right…it's not only Lee or Gaara. All people here are top elites chosen from each country. This isn't easy."

Feeling the uneasy in the rest of the rookies Naruko stepped forward. "Oi!" She called, getting the attention of the room. "You think you fucks are though?! Then come at me…I'll kill every one of you!" She exclaimed with a vicious grin, provoking the room and raising the morale of the rookies.

In the crowd of people Gaara stood next to his siblings. "Kankurō, Temari, when we meet her…don't get in the way, or I'll kill you too." He warned them.

In a different part of the crowd Team 9 sat. Tenten looked at the girl who had proclaimed she'd kill everyone who dared challenge her and felt a sense of familiarity. "I think I know that girl." She said.

"I'll kill every one of you"? You talk big." Kiba said.

"Baka, she just made everyone here her enemy…now they'll be coming after us, how troublesome." Shikamaru bemoaned, yet even as he said that a small smirk could be seen on his face, realizing why she'd done that.

Naruko tensed, sensing movement in the crowd, before spotting three Oto shinobi dashing towards them. Giving a subtle sign to Shikamaru and Ino she moved. Just as one of the Oto-nin appeared in the air in front of them she was in front of him, grabbing his extended arm that he had planned to throw a pair of kunai with, and throwing him down into the floor. She landed on top of him, her feet landing on his arms, with one of his kunai against his throat.

The other male Oto-nin appeared in front of Kabuto, with a weird device on his arm which was cocked back to launch a punch, only to find himself unable to move courtesy of Shikamaru's Kagemane.

The final member of the Oto team was stopped by Ino appearing behind her and pulling her arms behind her with one arm and holding a kunai to her throat with the other.

"Didn't you just hear me? I told you…I'll kill anyone who comes at me." Naruko said as she applied more pressure to Oto-nin's throat, enough to make it bleed.

"Quiet down! You punks!" A voice yelled as the front of the room exploded in smoke, drawing all attention to it. Once the smoke cleared it showed several people in grey clothing, with a scarred, bandana wearing man in a black trench-coat in the front.

"Sorry to keep you waiting. I am the examiner of the first test of the Chūnin Selection Exam, Morino Ibiki." He told them before pointing at Team 10 and the Oto-nin. "You six over there don't think you can do anything you want before the exam. Back away from each other or you'll be failed already."

Naruko smiled devilishly at the Oto-nin beneath her. "You're lucky you weren't actually going for me, or you'd be dead." She removed the kunai from his throat and tapped it on his check before dropping it and standing up and away from him. As she did she saw her team release their captives as well before she turned to the proctor. "Sorry about that, Morino-san. But to be fair they attacked us, we simply defended ourselves." She said.

"Hn, this is a good chance to say this. You're not allowed to fight each other during the exam unless given permission by the examiners. Even if permission is given, you are not allowed to kill each other. Pigs who go against me will fail immediately, understood?" Ibiki warned them.

"We will now begin the first exam of the Chūnin Selection Exam. Turn in your applications; take one of the number tags, and sit where the number tells you to. Then we will pass out the papers for the written exams." He continued.

As they all went and did as told Naruko grumbled under her breath. Of course it'd be a written test, just because she sucked at them. Naruko sat down at her number, noting that she sat next to Hinata before her attention was once again drawn to Ibiki.

"This First Exam has a few important rules. I will not accept any questions, so listen carefully. First rule is you all are given 10 points at the start. The written exam consists of 10 questions, and each is worth one point. This test is a deduction based test. If you get one problem wrong, you will get one point deducted. If you get three problems wrong, your points will be reduced to 7.

Second rule, the pass-fail decision will be determined by your team's total points." He explained, getting several outbursts.

"Shut up! There is a reason for this. Just shut up and listen." He told them before continuing to explain. "Now that you know, let's move on to the next rule. If an examiner determines that you cheated or do so something similar during the test, each action will cause you to lose two points.

In other words, there will be people who will be forced to leave this place without their tests being graded. Those who try to cheat without thinking carefully will only hurt themselves."

Kotetsu who was one of the examiners spoke up. "We'll "check" you at any time."

"You are all trying to become Chūnin. If you are a shinobi, act like a first-rate one. Also if anyone in a team gets a zero, everyone on that team will fail. The last problem will be given 45 minutes after the exam begins. You have one hour for the exam. Begin!" Ibiki finished explaining.

Naruko flipped over the paper and read through the questions, her eyes narrowing as she did. 'What the hell? These questions are way above most Genin, only the ones like Sakura could answer these. There must be a reason.' She thought to herself. Unbidden what Ibiki said passed through her mind. 'If an examiner determines that you cheated or do something similar during the test, each action will cause you to lose two points.'

'Why would it only reduce two points? Normally you'd be kicked out for cheating even once.' She thought before another thing Ibiki said appeared in her mind. 'Those who try to cheat without thinking carefully will only hurt themselves. If you are a shinobi, act like a first-rate one.'

'Wait that's it! They want us to cheat without being detected! Now, how would I do that?' Naruko thought and gave it some thought before smirking and making the seal for Kage Bunshin and then made a few more under the table. Unseen and unnoticed a Bunshin fazed into existence in front of her, she had combined the Kage Bunshin with the Meisaigakure no Jutsu, resulting in a cloaked Bunshin. The Bunshin expertly made its way to Sakura, who had written down all the answers already. After memorizing the answers it dispelled without any smoke, just as Sakura slumped a bit before straightening, allowing Naruko to gain the answers. Looking over at Ino she saw her slumped over. 'Clever girl, using the Shintenshin no Jutsu on Sakura.'

After writing down the answers she turned over the page and wrote down her suspicions of Kabuto, hopefully Ibiki or someone would investigate it. Once again she flipped it over, not wanting anyone to see what she wrote, but left a note for Ibiki to flip it over.

She didn't even flinch when a kunai flew over her shoulder, and hit the desk and paper of someone behind her. "W-what is the meaning of this?" The shinobi stood and demanded.

Kotetsu, who had thrown the kunai, explained. "You screwed up five times. You fail. Teammates of his get out of here! Right now."

After that the examiners started calling out numbers, failing people left and right until one Suna-nin was called out and got mad. "Hey, man, do you have any proof that I cheated five times?! Are you really able to watch over this many people?" He yelled before being slammed into a wall by an examiner with bandages over his head which covered everything above his nose whose name was Tobitake Tonbo.

"Listen up. We are Chūnin that were chosen for this exam. Elites, so to say. We won't miss a single thing you do. My strength is the proof." Tonbo said. Smirking Naruko decided to have a little fun and stood up.

"Your strength is the proof? What does strength have to do with observation skills? I actually think he asks a valid question, how are you able to watch over us, when you have bandages and a hitai-ate covering your eyes?" She goaded him. She proved successful when he tried to pull the same move he had on the Suna-nin on her. She however was ready for it and stepped aside before grabbing the back of his head and slamming it into her desk, knocking him unconscious.

"Strength doesn't mean shit without speed." She grinned evilly.

"Uzumaki! What did I say about fighting? You want to be failed?" Ibiki yelled at her. Turning towards him she had a surprised look on her face.

"I'm sorry Ibiki-san but I heard you say that the participants weren't allowed to fight each other. I have done no such thing; I simply defended myself from being attacked by a non-participant." She defended herself. Ibiki narrowed his eyes at her dangerously, but he had to concede to her point.

"Very well, you're lucky you are smart, but one more thing from you and you're done. Now sit down." He told her. With a winning smirk she did so.

Once 45 minutes had passed only about half remained and Ibiki spoke up. "Okay. I will now give the 10th problem!"

'Finally.' Naruko thought to herself.

"Yes, but before that, there's one thing I must say…There will be one special rule for this last question." Ibiki said but was stopped from continuing by Kankurō returning from the bathroom. "You're lucky. Your puppet show didn't have to go to waste." Ibiki said, shocking him.

"Oh well, sit down."

Once Kankurō had sat down Ibiki spoke up again. "I will now explain. This is…a hopeless rule."

'A hopeless rule?' Naruko though amused. Because of Anko, she wasn't affected by Ibiki's mind games, but she could tell others were.

"First, you are all going to choose if you wish to take this tenth problem or not."

"Choose? So what happens if we don't take the tenth problem?" Temari asked.

"If you choose not to take it, your points will be reduced to zero. In other words, you will fail. Your two other teammates will fail along with you." Ibiki smirked, getting several yells of outrage.

"And here is the other rule." Ibiki continued, unfazed by their yelling. "If you choose to take it and you get it wrong, you will…lose the privilege to take the Chūnin Exam forever." He proclaimed.

"What kind of dumb rule is that?! There should be those here who have taken the Chūnin Exam in the past!" Kiba exclaimed with Akamaru giving a few agreeing yips. To this Ibiki started to chuckle ominously.

"You were unlucky. This year, I am the rule. That is why I gave you the option of quitting. Those who are not confident can choose to not take it, and take the exam next year, or the year after that." He told them. "Let us begin. Those who will not be taking this tenth question, raise your hands. After we confirm your numbers, we will have you leave."

It was quiet for a while, before the person sitting next to Naruko stood up and raised his hand, saying he couldn't take it. After him many followed, standing up and raising their hands, making the number of people staying drop drastically. Naruko looked around, finding her teammates to gauge their resolve, what she found in Ino however made her concern. Ino looked very unsure and nervous and ready to raise her hand.

Sighing she leaned forward, resting her head on her hands. She had preferred to let the numbers drop more, but it seemed she'd have to intervene so Ino wouldn't give up.

"If you take the problem and fail…you lose the privilege to take the Chūnin Exam forever"? Ibiki-san, I have a few problems with this statement. First; you don't have the authority to make this a reality, even the Hokage doesn't. At the most you could prevent it in Konoha, but there is no way you can stop someone from taking it in a different country. It is as you said, this year you are the rule, but you probably won't be next year. Secondly; Even if you could do that, it wouldn't matter. There are more ways than one to become a Chūnin, like field promotion. So give me this problem, I'll take it, and if I fail I'll become Chūnin some other way." Naruko stated raising the morale of the whole room with her logic.

Ibiki narrowed his eyes on her. 'Damn brat, she completely dispelled the mood I had set and wiped out everyone's uncertainty.' He thought and gave an inward smirk. 'Maybe I should ask Anko to bring her with her to one of our interrogations, she's good.'

"I will ask one more time. If you want to quit, now is the chance." He warned them in a final attempt. Seeing nobody backing down he gave a small smirk. '78 students, eh? There's more left than I expected. Looks like there's no point in waiting any longer.'

"Nice determination. Then…for the First Exam, everyone here…passes!" He announced to their confusion.

"Wait, what's the meaning of that? We pass already? What about the tenth question?" Sakura questioned. Ibiki grinned and laughed.

"There was no such thing to begin with. Or you can call the two-choice question the tenth question." He told them.

"Hey! So what were those previous nine problems? It was all a waste!" Temari exclaimed.

"No it's not." Ibiki denied. "The nine problems accomplished their purpose. The purpose to test each individual's information gathering skills."

"Information gathering skills?" She asked.

"First, this test's purpose lies in the first rule, your pass-fail decision is based on your three person teams. By giving that idea, we have given you and unprecedented amount of pressure to try and not be a nuisance to your team." Ibiki explained.

"Clever." Naruko commented to herself.

"But these test problems cannot be solved by you Genin. So, most of the people here must have come to the conclusion, "I have to cheat to get points." In other words, this exam assumed that everyone was going to cheat. So we snuck in two Chūnin who knew the answers to be targets of cheating." He continued, pointing out the two Chūnin.

"But those who just cheated like a fool failed, of course. Why?" He said as he pulled of his bandana, showing numerous burn marks, screw holes and cut marks, scars of torture. "Information can have greater value than life at times, and in missions and battlefields…information is contested with the lives of people!"

Putting his bandana back on, he once again started speaking. "The information that an enemy gets after being noticed by a third person will not necessarily be accurate. Remember this; getting incorrect information can cause great damage to your teammates and village. So, we made you all gather information in the form of cheating.

We kicked out those who were lacking in that field. That's what went on."

"But I still can't agree to that last question…" Temari said.

"But this tenth question was the main question of this First Exam."

"What do you mean?" Sakura asked.

"Let me explain. The tenth question was a "take or not take" choice. Needless to say, it was a painful two-choice problem. Those who did not take it failed with their teams. If you chose to take it, and could not answer it, your right to take the exam would have been taken away forever. It was a very insincere problem." Ibiki said.

"How about this two-choice problem, let's assume that you have become a Chūnin. Your mission is to capture a secret document. The number of enemy ninja, their abilities, and armaments are unknown. And there may be traps that the enemy ninja have set up. Now, will you accept this mission or not? Just because your life and the lives of your teammates may be in danger, are you able to avoid dangerous missions? No." He told them.

"There are missions that carry heavy risks, but cannot be avoided. The ability to show courage to your teammates when needed, and the ability to get through a bad situation…that is what we look for in a Chūnin, a squad leader. Those who cannot bet their fate in a critical situation, those who give up when given the chance because there is a next year, and let their minds sway over an uncertain future. Fools who only carry a light determination like that have no right to become a Chūnin. That is what I believe."

"I am saying that you here who have chosen to take it gave the right answer for the difficult tenth question. You can deal with the difficulties you will face. You have broken through the entrance. The First Exam of the Chūnin Selection ends now. I wish you luck." Ibiki said before looking to the window to his right.

Naruko having done the same smirked, recognizing the chakra signature heading towards them. A round cloth object broke through the window before two ends attached to kunai flew up into the roof, unraveling the cloth to reveal a banner that said "Second Examiner, Mitarashi Anko is here!"

In front of it stood a female shinobi with light brown, pupil-less eyes, and violet hair which is styled in a short, spiky, fanned-ponytail. She wore a tan overcoat with a purple in-seam, with pockets on both sides, and complete with a fitted mesh body suit that stretches from her neck down to her thighs. She wore a dark orange mini-skirt, as well as a hitai-ate, a small pendant that looks like a snake fang on a thick cord rather than a chain to prevent it from being easily torn off in combat, a wrist watch, and shin guards. She also wore a dark blue belt around her waist that connects to her skirt that has an appendage-like sash.

"Everybody, there's no time to be happy. I am the Second Examiner, Mitarashi Anko! Let's go to the next exam! Follow me!" She exclaimed and put her fist in the air. For a few seconds the room was quiet before clapping was heard.

"Nice Anko-nee, way to not grasp the atmosphere." Naruko told her, getting a bashful blush as Ibiki walked around the banner.

"Shut up you brat!" Anko yelled at her before doing a quick headcount and turning to Ibiki. "78? Ibiki, you let 26 teams pass? The First Exam must have been too soft."

"You can thank your little protégé for that, but it looks like there are a lot of excellent students this time." Ibiki answered. Anko exhaled before appearing in the chair next to Naruko. "You fucked with Ibiki's test huh?" She asked her. Naruko just nodded. Anko smiled and gave her a one armed hug. "That's my girl!" She exclaimed before appearing in the front of the room again.

"Oh well…I'm going to make more than half of the teams fail in the next exam." She said seriously, making the Genin nervous. "I'm getting excited." She murmured before raising her voice. "I will explain the details tomorrow. We will go somewhere else, so ask your Jōnin sensei about the rally point and time. That is all. Dismissed."

Later once everyone had cleared out Ibiki was looking through the papers when he came to Naruko's. Seeing the note to turn over the paper he did and his eyes widened. "Better get this too Hokage-sama." He muttered and disappeared in a Shunshin.

An: Ho-ly shit! Over 7000 words! This chapter is by far the longest I have ever done and oh my god my fingers hurt after writing most of it in two sittings! So we have arrived at the Chūnin Selection Exam and got passed the First Exam! As you can tell Naruko has opened up quite a bit, especially in showing her bloodthirsty side. Not much action but there should be a lot more in the next chapter. Oh and I started my new story Ginsa no Naruko so go check that out if you haven't.

Till next time, Cuius of Caelum