Chapter 3: Arrival

"Chidori Stream!"

Waves of electricity shot out of his body. At first glance, it appeared that the boy was under attack. However, it was quite the opposite. He was controlling the waves himself, shooting them out of his body willingly. The distinctive sound of birds chirping still emanated from him, a tribute to the original jutsu that was taught to him a lifetime ago.

The boy's master watched on, astounded by what he sees.

"He picks everything up so quickly, so naturally" he thought. "They called me a genius when I was younger, but he is something else. Of course, all this strength will only benefit me in the end."

He laughed to himself, a snakelike hiss escaping his lips. His plan was coming together nicely. Soon, the sharingan would be his and then he would be unstoppable.

"Sasuke" he hissed, "why don't you take a break, hrmm? You've been training for hours. We wouldn't want you to ruin that body of yours now would we."

Sasuke stared back at Orochimaru, his blood red eyes staring into Orochimaru's very soul.

"I'll train as long as I want. Stop trying to boss me around."

"Now, now. I'm tired of telling you, Sasuke. Speak to Lord Orochimaru with the dignity he deserves."

Kabuto, Orochimaru's loyal assistant, had appeared.

"Well Kabuto" Orochimaru said, ignoring the brief exchange that had just taken place "what did you find out from your travels?"

"Not as much as I hoped" Kabuto sighed, "the Akatsuki are still laying low. Apparently your replacement has been selected. A young man from the Hidden Stone Village named Deidera. He's an explosives expert, possessing a rare kekkei genkai. Oh, and the Chunnin Exams are being held in the Sand Village this month."

"The Chunnin Exams?" Orochimaru replied, with a hint of laughter in his voice "what do you make of that, Sasuke?"

Sasuke had already turned away from Orochimaru and was heading towards the exit.

"Like I care, I'm done with all of that" he said, although his voice didn't sound as convincing as his words.

Arriving at the Sand Village, Kakashi couldn't help but be impressed. The walls surrounding the village were incredibly high and secure and only parted to reveal a narrow passageway. The claustrophobic passage contrasted with the hugely vast village it led to. Standing on top of the highest point of the village, the entire party of travellers stopped to take it all in. Whereas the Leaf Village had houses made of wood and bricks, the Sand Village had dome shaped buildings that appeared to be one with the ground it was on. Everything appeared to be simpler, yet it did not take away from the beauty of the village.

"Welcome" came a familiar voice. " I hope you enjoy your stay in our humble village."

The voice came from a man named Baki, who walked over to them. The last time Kakashi had seen him, they had been enemies. Now however, the Villages were allies once again. It can be difficult to be friendly with someone who had wanted to destroy everything you hold dear, but in the current system it was necessary.

"Thank you" was Kakashi's reply "I'm sure we will. Now, we would appreciate it if we could go to our rooms to get some rest. First, however, I would like to have a meeting with your Kazekage if that's possible.

"Oh" Baki said, looking slightly uncomfortable. "I see. Well, my assistant here will show you to your rooms. If you would like to come with me, I will take you to see our council."

The rest of the group went with nameless Sand Chunnin as Kakashi followed Baki. Once the rest of the group was out of earshot, Baki turned to Kakashi.

"Listen", he said, " we are still currently without a Kazekage. The Village elders and top Jonin have been running the Village ever since Orochimaru murdered the fourth. We haven't been able to agree on any Kazekage candidates. We are hoping to appoint someone soon but as for now any questions you might have can be directed to me."

"Well", Kakashi replied, "I understand. I only wanted to ask on the progress of your Jinchuriki Gaara. I don't want to put my students in danger in these exams, we had quite enough of that last time."

"I understand", Baki said, "but you don't have to worry there. Gaara's changed. Ever since returning from the last exams he has become much more calm and caring. There shouldn't be any problem."

With that, Kakashi took his leave. Tomorrow was going to be a huge day, and he needed his rest almost as much as the Genin did.

The most talented Genin to ever come out of Konoha was what some said. Others said that the Hyuga bloodline flowed strongest in his genes. All agree on one thing: Neji Hyuga is a genius. The boy from the outer branch who figured out the main branch techniques on his own, Neji appeared to have a great future ahead of him and it was expected that he would return to the Village as a Chunnin.

Neji had a lot of confidence in himself. In the past he was arrogant, believing all of the hype that was said about him. Now, he had learned to be more humble and caring towards others. That was the lesson he learned from Naruto Uzumaki. He often wondered what Naruto was doing and how his training was progressing. Now, though was not the time to wonder. He was standing in the room for the exams, waiting for the first test to begin. The room was full of nervous mutterings and chatter. Neji was relaxed, just like the rest of the Konoha Genin. They had been through this before and passed easily enough and they all intended to so again. The only difference was their competition, with some new faces scattered amongst the familiar opponents. Three of those opponents approached them.

"Hey guys", said the tallest who was wearing odd purple face paint, "how you doing? Hope you guys have improved since the last time we met!"

"Kankuro!" Kiba replied, "So, you guys are competing as well huh? Guess I'm not surprised, this is your village after all."

The smallest amongst them spoke next. His voice was softer, barely above a whisper as he spoke.

"Where is Naruto? I thought he would be here with you?"

"Naruto is off training" Lee responded, his loud and excited voice echoing through the room "with Jiraiya, one of the Legendary Sannin." He gave a thumbs up, although it was largely ignored.

"I see" was the reply. The speaker was Gaara, the youngest of the three siblings. His brother and sister, Kankuro and Temari, seemed concerned about him, as they knew he was looking forward to seeing Naruto again. Neji studied Gaara and could see that he to had changed; Naruto was good at doing that. His eyes, that were full of anger and hate, had mellowed. They still betrayed his pain that he felt inside but at least now he wasn't a threat to others.

This train of thought was interrupted as Baki entered the room.

"Welcome" his voice boomed out across the room, "To the first exam. My name is Baki and I will be your proctor. Now, I am warning you. This won't be easy and if you want to leave now is you last chance."

Nobody left, as everyone knew what they were getting into. Baki smiled at this unfolded a parchment.

"Alright then. When I call your name come forward and enter the room behind me. Each person will go through this first test alone, but if you fail then your whole team fails so be aware of that. The Chunnin Exams have now begun."