Chapter 4- The Chunin Exams

Naruto woke up with Haku lying on his chest. Ever since that day, Haku had gotten pretty comfortable with using his chest as a pillow. He smiled at her and made a Kage Bunshin and substitutes himself with it. Then he went out to do his morning workout and meditation, and then he met his team.

He saw Sakura in front of two Suna genin, one of them was holding his friend and declared rival, Konohamaru Sarutobi very tightly. The Jinchuuriki moved quickly with Oathkeeper and Oblivion to aim at the boy's neck and arm holding Konohamaru. "I suggest that you let my friend go now like a good little kitty or else I take your arm and your life at the same time."

The boy didn't believe him at first until Naruto jabbed lightly with Oblivion at his neck, causing a bead of blood was releasing from the broken skin and released his killing intent to prove his point.

"His killing intent…he is really serious about killing me." the boy thought.

He gently set Konohamaru down to the ground and the boy ran to his friends, Moegi and Udon while Naruto sheathed Oblivion and Oathkeeper while he Shunshin beside the kids. The boy growled and took out the bandaged bundle on his back and the girl said, "Kankuro…don't."

The boy known as Kankuro glared at the blond girl and said, "Shut up, Temari…this kid needs to learn to respect his elders."

Naruto raised his eyebrow, "This coming from a boy who plays dress up as a cat and wears his sister's make up. It seems that I am the elder in this one, kid. Plus I really don't think you would do that considering your teammate beside Sasuke is practically glaring at you."

Kankuro stiffened and everyone turned slightly to see a red-haired ninja with green eyes and a gourd strapped to his back. Sasuke was surprised at Naruto's perception since he never sensed the red head at all.

The boy Suna Shunshin downwards to his teammates, "Kankuro, put that thing away….you are embarrassing us since we are representing Suna."

Kankuro said, "But…."

The redhead glared at him, "Do it or I will kill you, Kankuro."

Kankuro immediately shut up and put the bundle on his back. "Come on, we are leaving, you two."

Sakura said, "Wait a minute, you three are from the Village Hidden in the Sand. Why are you here?"

The blond girl turned to her, "Are you serious? We are here for the Chunin Exams. Where the hell have you been at?"

Sasuke said, "You….what is your name?"

The girl pointed at herself, "Who? Me."

Sasuke replied rudely, "No, the red-head."

The boy replied, "My name is Sabaku no Gaara. Yours?"

Sasuke said, "Sasuke Uchiha."

Gaara turned to Naruto and said, "And what is your name?"

Naruto said, "Naruto Uzumaki and may I ask for yours, miss?"

The blond girl said with a blush, "My name is Sabaku no Temari."

Naruto said, "That is a nice name for a beautiful lady, I look forward to seeing you again, Temari-san." Temari had a light blush on her face, which enabled Kankuro teasing material for him to use against her.

Gaara said, "Come on, Temari, Kankuro." Then the boy thought to himself, "Interesting, Mother wants the Uchiha's blood, but what is it about Uzumaki that intrigued me so much and makes me fear his power at the same time. I guess I will have to wait until the exams….I hate waiting."

Naruto turned to Konohamaru, "Are you okay, Konohamaru?"

Konohamaru said, "I am okay, Naruto-nii-san. That was so cool! Where did you get those swords at?"

Naruto said with a soft smile, "Let's just say a great person entrusted them to me. Now run along and try not to bump into anyone on the way either."

Moegi said, "Can't you play with us?"

Naruto thought about it for a minute and said, "Why not? I got time to kill."

Sakura said, "Naruto…we have a team meeting today."

The Jinchuuriki replied, "So? Sensei is usually two hours late anyway."

Sakura retorted, "But he might show up on time this time."

Naruto replied coolly, "You said that three months ago, now if he just so happens to show up early, tell him that I thought he was going to be late like always." Naruto ran off with Konohamaru, Moegi and Udon, leaving Sasuke and Sakura to go to the meeting place on the bridge.

Two hours later, Naruto showed up on the bridge with Sakura and Sasuke. Sakura growled out, "Don't…say…a word."

Naruto smirked at her while Kakashi showed up, crouching on the railing of the bridge.

"Yo." The Jonin said.

Sakura shrieked, "YOU'RE LATE!"

Kakashi said, "Sorry, I was helping an old lady across the street like the gentleman I am."

Sakura shouted, "STOP LYING!"

Kakashi said, ignoring Sakura's outburst, "Now, I have an announcement…..I will be entering you three in the Chunin Exams, which will be held in two days time." He looked at Sasuke's look of anticipation, Sakura's look of indecisiveness and Naruto's look of impassiveness.

"The exams are completely individual choice, so if you don't want to go to the exams, you don't have to do it at all. The exam will be held at room 301 at the Ninja Academy. You are free of all duties until the exams start." Kakashi Shunshin away as did Naruto. Sasuke was seething that Naruto knew the Shunshin no Jutsu before he did and Sakura ran after him to ask him for a date….again, only to get rejected….again.

Naruto- The Kyuubi said, "The Chunin Exams, eh? That means that there will be strong genin there including experienced ones as well."

Naruto replied, "Yeah, I will have to train harder to be ready for the exams."

Kyuubi said, "That Gaara kid…I felt something familiar from him…I sensed demonic power from him, I think you should concentrate some of your training in controlling my youki chakra, so you can get used to it and activate instantly."

Naruto said, "That is a good suggestion, I have a feeling that I am going to need it most likely." Naruto ended the conservation to walk inside his apartment to find Haku inside.

"Oh, hi, Naruto-kun." Haku said with a smile.

"Haku-chan? I thought you were at the hospital." Naruto said.

The Hyoton user replied, "They gave me leave since they have to prepare for something called the Chunin Exams, so I am off for two days."

Naruto said, "So you too, huh?"

Haku said, "Are you in the exams?"

The Jinchuuriki replied, "I am thinking of going in the exams. I would like to test my progress to see if I am stronger than I was when I was back in Wave."

Haku smiled, putting a hand over Naruto, "I think you are stronger than before, Naruto-kun. If you need the exams to convince yourself, then I think you should go. Just be careful, some of the genin are taught to kill their enemies without any hesitation."

Naruto smiled, "Thanks, Haku-chan…..I will be careful." He gave her a kiss on the cheek, making her blush red and hold her cheek in a daze.

Kyuubi thought as he chuckled, "He has a way with words and actions, this kid is going to be a lady killer if he keeps this up."

Over the two days, Naruto sparred with Haku and learned to control Kyuubi's chakra. He was able to control up to two tails only with his youki. After that, he felt that he would lose control if he tried to get the third tail to activate, but he knew that he shouldn't need it at all due to Kyuubi's reassurance of Gaara's demonic level.

He wouldn't need the Demon Fox's cloak at all, but the Jinchuuriki was cautious about it. The number one of all ninja to survive was to never underestimate your opponent, which is why Naruto always lived. He got up and checked his inventory to seal his wooden swords, his trench knives, some of his kunai and shuriken along with the first aid kit that Haku made for him.

He strapped on his two kunai holsters and told Haku good-bye, who gave him a kiss on the cheek for good luck. They were both blushing as Naruto walked out the door with Kyuubi in his head laughing at the two's reactions.

He wore black fingerless gloves brown boots that cover up his ankles, black baggy pants that gave up a slight bulge at the end since they were fitted inside the boots and an indigo collared custom-made muscle shirt. (A/N: Picture Vergil from Devil May Cry without his coat if I didn't describe it enough)

If you had direct chakra to travel into it, it was capable of deflecting thrown kunai and etched on the back was the kanji for honor and ice. The Jinchuuriki met up with Sasuke and Sakura to his surprise, waiting for him. The three of them went inside the Ninja Academy to see that they were a lot of people on the second floor.

Team 7 rushed over to see that there were 2 genin that were up in front, blocking the door to room 301. Naruto looked at the two and recognized them as the Chunin guards. "They must be the ones who are trying to weed out the weaklings for the competition," thought the Jinchuuriki.

Before Naruto could tell anybody about the disguise, the ever arrogant Uchiha said, "Yo, release the genjutsu on the sign, I got business on the third floor." The disguised Kotetsu attacked Sasuke and the Uchiha relented by sending a kick of his own, but a bowl-haired kid came in the nexus of their kicks and stopped it.

Then a bun-haired girl dressed in a pink Chinese-style shirt and green pants came over to the green spandex-wearing kid to knock him upside his head. "Lee, I thought we agree on not revealing our skills."

Lee said, "But Tenten…"

He looked at Sakura and Tenten followed his gaze to see Sasuke and Naruto. She sighed and then a new voice called, "Hey, you with the scowl."

Sasuke turned to see a Hyuga with a smug look on his face, "What is your name?"

Sasuke said, "Uchiha Sasuke."

The Hyuga replied, "Neji Hyuga. I look forward to see you in the exams. Lee, Tenten, let's go." The team went upstairs and soon afterwards, Team 7 followed them. As soon as they were proceeding upstairs, Lee called down to Sasuke, "Sasuke Uchiha, I challenge you to a duel."

Naruto said, "Sasuke, we have no time for this."

Sasuke said, "I have plenty of time to beat this freak."

Naruto said, "Sasuke, never underestimate your opponent."

Sasuke didn't listen and Naruto sighed, "Fine, but don't say I didn't warn you at all." Naruto left to go upstairs to see Tenten waiting for Lee.

"Hello, you are Tenten, right?" Naruto asked.

Tenten said, "Yes and you are?"

Naruto held out his hand, "Naruto Uzumaki, nice to meet you."

Tenten took his hand and gave him a firm handshake, "Do you mind if I see your swords?"

Naruto smiled, "No, not at all." He unsheathed Oathkeeper and Oblivion with a ring and held out the hilt of Oblivion for her to inspect. "I have never seen a sword like this before, what is her name?" she asked curiously.

The Jinchuuriki replied as he took it back and gave Oathkeeper to her, "Oblivion and this one is Oathkeeper."

Tenten said, "Both of them compliments each other, Oathkeeper seems like a defensive weapon to protect and Oblivion seem like the offensive. Together, they are unstoppable if they are used correctly."

Naruto said, "You seem to know your weapons, Tenten."

Tenten said, "I have to….I plan to become a weapons specialist after all."

Naruto said, "I hope to see in the exams then, Tenten."

Tenten said, "As do I, have you seen Lee?"

Naruto said, "Preferably, he is probably kicking the Uchiha's ass now due to the speed he did display against those chunin."

Tenten said, "Chunin? Those were genin."

Naruto replied, "No, those were chunin, preferably the ones that you see guard the gates."

Tenten said, "How?"

Naruto said, "The Henge no Jutsu." Tenten slapped her forehead, not realizing that the chunin fooled them with a simple Henge. Naruto said, "Well, we better wait for them by the door way." Naruto and Tenten walked together to the doors leading to room 301.

Kyuubi said, "She is cute, I bet she will be even cuter with those ridiculous buns on the top of her head. She reminds me of a panda or Mickey Mouse."

Naruto said, "Kyuubi, is that really all you think about? Women?"

Kyuubi said, "No, I think about booze and how many ways I will kill, maim and/or torture that snake bastard when we find his slippery ass."

Naruto sweat dropped as he said, "I should have never even asked about it."

He was disturbed when Tenten waved her hand in his face, "Hey, Naruto, are you okay?" she asked.

Naruto said, "I am fine, I am just thinking about the exams."

Tenten said, "You are nervous, aren't you?"

The Jinchuuriki replied, "I am a little, this is my first time taking these exams."

Tenten said, "Don't worry, I am sure that you will be fine, plus if things go wrong, we will bail you out."

Naruto chuckled, "It is more like the other way around, Tenten."

Tenten playfully shoved him, "Hey, don't get cocky, I bet I could beat you with one hand behind my back."

Naruto said, "I guess that we have to wait and see, Tenten."

The two went up to find Kakashi waiting by the door and Tenten was allowed inside. Naruto said, "This wasn't individual choice, was it?"

Kakashi said, "No, it wasn't. Where are Sasuke and Sakura?" Sure enough, Sakura and a beaten Sasuke came up to them.

Kakashi said, "What the hell happened to you two?"

Sakura said, "Green spandex, sunset, rainbow…..so….much….hugging."

Kakashi's lone eye widened and Naruto became confused, "What?"

Kakashi said, "It seems that they met Might Gai."

Naruto said, "Who is that?"

Kakashi said, "You know Rock Lee?"

Naruto nodded and Kakashi said, "Picture an older version of him talking out the flames of youth." Naruto shuddered at the thought of it, but he had no idea what were the flames of youth. "But it doesn't add up with Sasuke's bruises." Kakashi continued.

Naruto said, "I can answer that, Sasuke-teme answered a challenge to Rock Lee and got his ass kicked. Judging by Lee's speed, I think that Sasuke's body couldn't keep up with him." Sasuke sent a glare at Naruto as Kakashi said, "That seems understandable, now good luck to you all."

Team 7 nodded and went through the door, but Kakashi whispered to Naruto, "If you get into trouble, Naruto, don't hesitate to do everything in your power to survive."

Naruto said seriously, "I got it."

Soon Sasuke was glomped by another one of his fan girls, Ino Yamanaka of the Yamanaka clan, who specializes in jutsu that affect the aspects of the mind. Sakura began to yell at her and the two started their feud as usual. Then Team 8 came up with Kiba announcing their presence.

"Hey, where is Naruto at?" the Inuzuka asked.

Ino noticed that the blond-haired prankster was not around them and asked, "That is right, where is he?"

Naruto shook his head and said, "I am right here, Ino."

The rookies turned to see him and their mouths dropped especially Ino's. Hinata blushed at her crush and how handsome he had gotten. "Jeez, I can't believe you guys didn't recognize me…well, except Shino. I can tell he knew who I was by my chakra." Naruto said as he reached behind his neck and pick out a bug on his finger.

The bug flew off his finger and went straight to Shino. Naruto turned to Hinata and said, "Ohayo, Hinata-chan." Hinata blushed and almost fainted to the ground, but Naruto grabbed her before she hit the floor and helped her steady herself.

Ino, Sakura and Kiba shouted at the same time, "Since when you call her Hinata-chan?"

Naruto said, "Since now, after all, she is a princess….a cute one too."

Hinata blushed as she whispered, "T-Thank you."

Naruto put a hand on her forehead, "Are you okay, Hinata-chan? You look a bit red, you don't have a fever, do you?"

Kyuubi warned, "Kit, you are going to make her faint with all of this attention on her and I think mutt boy just might attack you." Naruto replied, "He wouldn't dare, if I find one scratch on Hinata-chan because of that, I will rip him apart."

Suddenly Kyuubi started to growl and Naruto asked hesitantly, "Kyuubi, what is wrong?" The demonic fox answered, "That silver-haired kid….he is reeking of the smell of snakes." Naruto said, "Really? That is not the one who placed the genjutsu on you, but he might be working for him or that lady we saw at the dango shop." Kyuubi replied, "No, her smell is faint and covered with dango instead. This one is laced with it." The Jinchuuriki said, "Calm down for now, if he shows any sign of being a spy, I will take him out in the exam."

He focused on the newcomer, who introduced himself as Kabuto Yakushi. Naruto instantly searched his memory for that name and remembered that he is a medic, trained by his adoptive father, who was one of Konoha's finest. If he was a spy, he would be essential to a person who hated Konoha.

Sakura asked, "Is this your first time, Kabuto-san?"

Kabuto said, "Nope, this is my seventh, but I have gotten some good information over the years. Want to see my ninja info cards?"

Sasuke asked, "Do you have information on individuals?"

Kabuto said, "Why yes."

The Uchiha said, "I want information on Rock Lee and Sabaku no Gaara."

Kiba said, "I want information on Naruto Uzumaki." He grinned as he thought, "I bet his record is humiliating and then Hinata will go out with me."

Kabuto pulled out three cards and said, "Rock Lee, he has completed 20 D-Rank and 11 C-Rank missions, his taijutsu is off the charts, but his ninjutsu and genjutsu is non-existent. Sabaku no Gaara, he has completed 14 C-Rank and 1 B-Rank, his abilities are unknown, but it is said that he has returned from every mission without a scratch. Lastly, Naruto Uzumaki, he has completed 24 D-Rank and 2 A-Rank missions…"

Sakura said, "Wait, that is wrong, we only did one."

Kabuto said, "Oh, you didn't know, he happened to catch a chunin, Mizuki Touji, from taking the Scroll of Sealing and killing Iruka Umino. Anyway, he seems to know the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu and his taijutsu has improved along with his kenjutsu."

Naruto said, "You seem to know a lot about that mission despite the fact that it was classified to the Hokage's eyes only. On top of that, you are Ishide Yakushi's adopted son, who is a chief medical ninja in the ANBU, who was one of Konoha's finest medics at the time. Since he is your father, he taught you everything you know….which means you are a spy."

Kabuto laughed, "What makes you think so, Naruto-kun?"

Naruto replied, "The fact that you failed this exam six times despite the fact you are an accomplished medic and the fact that you smelled a lot like snakes….a smell that is known to only one person who could possibly have the motive to destroy Konoha….Orochimaru, the Snake Sannin and S-Rank criminal."

The place was silent until Kabuto laughed again, "You are quite the comedian, Naruto-kun. Me affiliated with Orochimaru? That is very humorous of you to think so."

Naruto laughed as well, "You are right, Kabuto. To think that you caught me that fast."

The Rookie Nine sighed in relief, but Kabuto thought, "That boy….I am going to have to take him out when Orochimaru-sama separates them from the Uchiha."

Naruto thought, "I got you, traitor."

A man shouted, "Okay, genin, pipe down and shut the hell up now. First rule, there will be no fighting whatsoever or I will have to kill you." That man was Ibiki Morino, Head of the Torture and Interrogation Division. Ibiki said, "Good, now everyone will come in a single order fashion to get a paper from one of these chunin and draw a number. The number will indicate where you will be sitting for the remainder of this part. I will explain the rules when everyone is seated."

Soon all of the genin were seated down and Ibiki said, "Okay, now here are the rules. This test had a grade point system, each question is equal to one point. If you get one wrong, you lose a point. Now if you even think of cheating, you lose two points, which means there are chances that you will be disqualified. Now this test also depends on your teammates, your points must meet the requirement of 20 points or more. If you don't, you along with your teammates will be thrown out of the exam."

Sasuke and Sakura immediately started to glare at Naruto, but the Jinchuuriki smirked as he leaked killing intent and both of his teammates felt a chill running down their spines whenever they looked at Naruto.

Ibiki said, "Now begin…"

There were a rustling of papers and Naruto looked at his paper to see that the questions were very hard to answer. Naruto thought, "Ibiki gave us enough chances to cheat…why would he do that unless…he wants us to cheat. Usually if you are caught cheating in the Academy, you would be thrown out immediately. Now who has the answers?"

Naruto's eyes darted around to see Shikamaru two rows ahead of him, but he was sleeping on top of his test, Sakura was 3 rows to his left behind him and then he noticed that Hinata was beside him. Hinata used her Byakugan to cheat and then looked over to Shikamaru to see his paper, which was filled with the correct answers. She wrote them down quickly and deactivated it before anyone could see.

"Looks like I have to use Hinata-chan for my answers. Gomen, Hinata-chan, but I have to pass."Naruto looked down at his test, pretending that he was thinking and concentrated on focusing his chakra. Near the lamp where there were mirrors, Naruto used the moisture in the air to form an ice mirror and directed it to Hinata's paper.

Naruto smirked and began to write the answers down quickly before anyone caught on to his scheme. He noticed that Sasuke used his Sharingan to copy the person's pencil movements, Tenten used the mirrors to help her and Lee with the answers and Gaara used sand to blind and looked a random genin's paper.

Naruto found Hinata was glancing to her left to watch his movements, so he decided to turn his eyes on her and winked at her. Hinata blushed and turned away while doing her occasional habit of pressing her pointer fingers together.

Kyuubi said, "Naruto, stop teasing the poor girl or she will die of blushing."

Naruto said, "What? I just show her that I am okay."

Ibiki said, "Okay, now for the tenth question….this depends on your answer with a few more rules. If you answer this question incorrectly, you and your team will automatically fail and never be able to take the exam again."

Kiba shouted, "That is some bullshit, there are many genin here that were here from last year."

Ibiki said, "Too bad, they were lucky enough that they didn't have me. This is my classroom and my rules are law here. Got it, puppy?" The proctor continued, "But I will be nice, if you don't want to answer this question, then you can quit and will be able to take the exam again. Now for those of you, who don't want to take the tenth question, raise your hand now."

Many hands rose up in the air in silence as various ninja and their teams failed due to their fear. When Naruto noticed that the room was almost empty, he started to laugh, making Ibiki look at him.

"What is so funny, Uzumaki?" Ibiki asked.

Naruto replied, "The fact that you fooled the idiots who left about being able to ban them from the exams. You used the fear and caused turmoil in their minds to torture themselves. No wonder, you are dubbed as the Mind Reaper, but I don't think it is going to work on us….we are smarter than that."

Ibiki thought, "This kid….he is very smart to catch on and with his words, he diffused the atmosphere I just created."The proctor said with an evil smirk, "Just for that, Uzumaki…you have just sealed this room's fate….as a result, you all….pass the first part of the exam."

Sakura said, "What? What about the questions and what was the point of the tenth question?"

Ibiki replied with a smirk, "You can say that the decision to stay or leave was the last question. The other nine questions were there to test your information gathering skills. You had to cheat in order to pass, so there were 3 chuunin disguised as genin in the room with the correct answers. Those of you who cheated poorly were eliminated and the team suffered. Sometimes, information is more valuable than life itself. People risk their lives on missions and certain information can be the difference between life and death. People will do anything to acquire it."

He revealed the scars in his head, "You must be vigilant if the enemy happens to capture you and endure any pain."

Sasuke thought, "The aftereffects of torture."

A black form burst through the window, laughing at the examinees. All of the students' eyes went wide as the newly revealed kunoichi threw two kunai into the ceiling, pinning the black cloth that previously surrounded the kunoichi to the ceiling of the room.

The figure wore a tan trench coat, a fishnet bodysuit and orange skirt. She started to speak in a demanding tone, "I am Mitarashi Anko, your second examiner for the chuunin exams! Now everyone get off your asses and follow me to training ground 44!"

Omake- "Is this your first time, Kabuto-san?" Sakura asked.

Kabuto said, "No, this is my seventh time, but over the years, I have defeated some people and gained powerful cards. Want to see my Pokemon cards?"

Naruto took out Oathkeeper and Oblivion to cut off Kabuto's head.

Sakura yelled, "Naruto, why did you do that, he just wanted to show us his Pokemon cards."

Naruto said, "You are so stupid, Sakura."

Sakura said, "What?"

Ino said, "Kabuto was a spy."

Sakura said, "What? How?"

The rest of the Rookie Nine said, "BECAUSE THIS IS YU-GI-OH TOWN, MOTHERFUCKER!"

Hakureisaiga: I would like to thank goku90504 for sending me the incorrections on this chapter. Note that chapters 4-10 will be revised and/or corrected. Sorry for the mistakes.