"Jounin-san, the Hokage requests that all jounin with a genin team report to him at once," the chuunin informed Cloud when he and Team Seven had come in for their fifth mission that Saturday, and pointed out the window where a very specific hawk was hovering over the village, occasionally crying out – which caught the attention of all the other shinobi in the village who knew what it meant.

"Ah," Cloud noted. "Alright then. Team Seven, it seems you have the rest of the day off."

The three genin blinked in shock at that. They hadn't had a day 'off' since they had been assigned to Cloud as his genin.

"Ano... Sensei, couldn't you create a clone to supervise afternoon training for us?" Naruto suggested.

"Baka!" Sakura hissed. "An afternoon off? Take advantage of a chance to do something other than train!"

"Like what?" Sasuke asked, his voice soft but his question pointed.

"Uh... um..." Sakura floundered for a moment. "Shopping? A soak in the hot-springs? Or, ne ne, Sasuke-kun, we could go on a date?" she suggested, batting her eyelashes overtly as she made big, starry eyes at him.

"Pfft," Sasuke chuckled, or tried to stifle the chuckle. But since it came from him, it was enough to set off the other two, especially since Sakura had been deliberately mocking how she'd been not that long ago, and they all chuckled quietly for a while.

"Actually, a date is a good idea," Cloud said, a smirk on his lips as his comment cut off the laughter of all three of his genin. "After all, a date is where you get to know more about the other person. We've done a lot of teamwork exercises, and a lot of training, but I don't leave you with much breath at the end of the day to chit-chat."

"Ne, Sasuke, Sakura, want to go for ramen?" Naruto asked his team mates.

Sasuke shrugged. "It's not my favourite, but okay," he agreed.

Sakura nodded. "Sure," she agreed.

But all three of them turned to Cloud rather than leave, waiting for their sensei to dismiss them.

"I'll come find the three of you after the meeting," he said with a nod. "Go."

~oOo~

"I called you all here for a reason," the Hokage informed the gathered jounin solemnly from behind his desk. "You should already know why from the people who are here, though," he added.

"So, it's that time of year again," Asuma, Hiruzen's son, commented. "And I've already seen a few teams from other countries in the village."

"Mn," Hiruzen said with a nod. "It's one week from now."

"That's sudden," was something that none of them said. They were jounin. Experienced jounin. A thing was not 'sudden' unless an AnBu came knocking at your window in the middle of the night with mission orders and you had to leave in five minutes. Besides, all but a few of the jounin present had been working their genin into the ground just for this since the last time.

"I will make the official announcement," the Sandaime said, and pulled his pipe from between his teeth. "Seven days from now, the first of July, we will begin the Chuunin Selection Exam. I will begin with the jounin of the newest genin, as is customary," he said.

The other two jounin with rookie teams stepped forward, having been at the front of the gathered group. Cloud had to come from the back of the gathering, but that wasn't any difficulty.

"Your teams all have the minimum eight missions needed to enter, but it's generally advisable for genin teams to have twice that many," Sarutobi noted, and replaced his pipe to hide the tiny smirk that tugged at his mouth. He knew that all three teams had more than the minimum eight, but teams Eight and Ten only just, while Team Seven had a little over three times as many.

Cloud didn't so much as twitch, remaining stoic. He wasn't the little emo angst-muffin he'd once been (and yes, he could admit it), but he was in 'professional mode' right now.

"Are there any genin you wish to enter into the exam among the ones you teach?" Sarutobi asked them solemnly. "We'll start with you Asuma."

"From the squad that I lead, Ino Yamanaka, Shikamaru Nara, and Chouji Akimichi, I recommend those three to the Chuunin Selection Exam under my name, Asuma Sarutobi," he stated formally. Well, as formally as he could with a bent cigarette hanging from one corner of his mouth.

"From the squad that I lead, Hinata Hyuuga, Kiba Inuzuka, and Shino Aburame, I recommend those three to the Chuunin Selection Exam under my name, Kurenai Yuuhi," Kurenai said when the Hokage silently turned his gaze to her, following the same formal pattern as Asuma had.

Then Hiruzen looked to Cloud.

"From the squad that I lead, Sakura Haruno, Naruto Uzumaki, and Sasuke Uchiha, I recommend those three to the Chuunin Selection Exam," Cloud said, and stopped there.

Hiruzen chuckled. He knew Cloud's dislike for being named, or naming himself. He nodded in acceptance even as whispering broke out in the room.

"All three gave recommendation."

"It's been a couple of years since rookies have appeared in the Exam."
"Please wait!" another voice called, distressed.

"What is it, Iruka?" the Hokage asked.

"Permission to speak freely, Hokage-sama?" Iruka requested, and continued when Hiruzen nodded his permission. "Excuse me for interfering, but the nine who had their names called were students of mine at the Academy. I find it hard to believe that, however talented they had shown themselves to be since then, that they are ready for this. Surely they need more experience still?"

"That is why I am entering Team Seven now," Cloud answered. "Like the D-rank missions in the safety of Konoha's walls that teach my genin skills for later in their careers when they have missions in foreign places, entering them in the Exam while it is held in Konoha is the safest place they can experience this. I don't expect it will be easy for them, but to give my students the home-ground advantage for the Exam? Better this than that they should have to go to Kumo or Iwa."

The chuunin winced at the very idea of sending his past students to such places. Yes, there was the possibility that the rookie genin could die, even with the home-ground advantage... but the blonde jounin had a point. Iruka backed down.

The meeting moved on. Cloud moved to the side of the room while other jounin stepped up and nominated their teams, and he listened closely to each nomination. For the week leading up to the Exam, Cloud intended to drill his students on exactly what sort of competition they could expect, well, as far as he would be able to find information to drill them on anyway.

The Hokage motioned for Cloud to stay after he dismissed the meeting.

"What did you do with them Sempai?" Hiruzen asked.

"What did I do with who, Gaki?" Cloud answered.

"My grandson and his friends. They've been acting differently since they got to spend an afternoon with you and Team Seven," Hiruzen said. "I want an explanation."

Cloud shrugged. "We played 'ninja'," he answered easily. "Each one of the Konohamaru Corps was paired up with a member of Team Seven, and told to track me down and attempt to capture me. I also made it clear to my team – and the Konohamaru Corps – that I wouldn't make it easy for them just because they had young civilian handicaps," Cloud explained.

"I'll wager my grandson didn't like being called a handicap, or a civilian either," the Sandaime said with a chortle.

Cloud shrugged. "The boy learned," he said simply, a slight smile on his face.

~oOo~

Cloud was headed for the ramen stand that he knew Naruto went to for dinner every evening after Cloud released Team Seven from training. The boy had suggested ramen to his team mates, and he only ever went to the one ramen stand. He found his team before he reached the stand though. Not only his team either.

"Stop it," a blonde... Suna kunnoichi said as she looked around them nervously. She was clearly speaking to the boy dressed all in black who was holding Konohamaru up off the ground by his scarf. "We're going to get scolded later."

"You're going to get scolded now," Cloud corrected the girl. "Suna Genin, put down the Konoha civilian child before you cause an international incident," he ordered.

"I'm the Kazekage's eldest son. This brat ran into me," the genin answered, even as he threw Konohamaru away from himself.

Naruto caught the boy before he could hit the ground.

"And he apologised," Moegi said, a little fiercely and a lot afraid as she half-hid behind Sakura. "It was an accident!"

"Kankurou," a voice called from within a nearby tree. "You're being an embarrassment to our village."

The two Suna genin tensed and turned sharply, as did the Konoha contingent. A boy with red hair stood, upside-down, in the tree.

"G-Gaara..." the boy said weakly, and seemed to break out in a sweat where he stood. "Th-they started it..."

"Shut up," the red-head in the said sharply. "I'll kill you."

"I was at fault," the other boy said, Kankurou it seemed his name was, and it was clear he was apologising to the red-head rather than to Konohamaru. "I'm sorry. I'm really, really sorry."

The red-head turned his head to see the Konoha group, though he stayed in the tree, upside-down and otherwise still. "Excuse then, you guys," he said, then dissolved into sand. He re-formed in front of his apparent team-mates. "Let's go. We didn't come here to fool around," he said.

"I know," Kankurou said softly, and he and the kunnoichi followed the red-head, who was the shortest of them, when he started walking away from the Konoha group.

"Ah, let's observe the formalities please," Cloud said, disappearing from behind the group to appear in front of them. "The treaty between Suna and Konoha doesn't let you just wander in our village for no reason. I have a good idea what you're doing here, but I'd like it verified please," he said, and held out his hand for their passports.

The three Suna genin handed over the slips of paper silently, and Cloud checked them.

"I thank you," he said, and handed them back, "and I wish you luck in the Chuunin Selection Exam."

The three Suna genin nodded and continued on their way.

"Chuunin Selection Exam?" Sakura asked, green eyes fixing a curious look on her sensei.

Cloud smiled and nodded. "That's right, and I've recommended you three to take part as well," he said, and pulled out the three passes that would get them in. "Here. Whether you decide to take part or not is up to you, but since the Exam is happening in Konoha this time, I really think you should."

"Hai, Sensei!" Team Seven all answered together as they accepted the papers with bright smiles on their faces.

Cloud nodded. "In that case, we'll get something to eat and I'll tell you what I can about the Exam and who your competition will be," he said.

"Can we come too?" Konohamaru asked. "Please, Taicho?"

Cloud gave the three children a long, considering look, but ultimately gave his permission.

~oOo~

Team Seven took one look at the crowd of genin at the door of the Academy – the first stage of the Exam was taking place in room 301 there at three in the afternoon – and decided they'd rather go through the window.

Cloud had not taught them to use the window rather than the door, either through word or action, but they could use the window rather than the door, and at that moment the window was more appealing.

"Looks like not every Konoha team nominated by their sensei will be taking the Exam," Sasuke said quietly, once he'd gotten over the shock at just how many people there were in the room.

Sakura and Naruto nodded slowly, still taking in the sheer numbers. Cloud had told them that, as well as them and their fellow rookies, a further twenty-one genin teams from Konoha had been recommended for participation by their jounin-sensei. He had even given them names and photos of each of the genin in those teams, including their fellow rookies. While there were enough people to fill the numbers those other Konoha teams though, Team Seven noted that some of the people wearing Konoha headbands weren't people that their sensei had given them the names and pictures of.

"Spies or plants?" Sakura wondered softly.

"Either way, watch them," Naruto answered just as quietly.

Not long after that, Ino spotted them. "Sasuke-kun!" she called out happily. "I found you!" she cheered as she wrapped her arms around him, her whole weight on his shoulders, as she wasn't touching the ground. "I've been eagerly anticipating our reunion since I heard that I could see you for the first time in a long time."

"Ino-pig, you're making a scene," Sakura scolded flatly, her voice level and disaffected.

"Eh?" Ino said, and looked up from her crush to her one-time best friend. "Forehead-girl? What did you do to your hair? And your clothes?" she asked, not releasing her hold on Sasuke completely, though she did let herself drop back to the ground. "You're even uglier than usual, and hiding your big forehead behind your hitai-ate won't make people forget how big it is."

"Sakura is a proper and professional kunnoichi," Sasuke countered flatly, and peeled Ino's hands off his person.

"Are you three going to take this troublesome Exam too?" a familiar voice asked.

"Yo, Shikamaru," Naruto greeted.

"Hai, we're taking the Exam," Sasuke answered. "I'm a little surprised you guys opted to participate."

Shikamaru shrugged. "Ino wouldn't let us skip out," he explained.

Naruto smirked. "And it would be 'too troublesome' to go to another Hidden Village to take your Exam if you didn't come to this one?" he suggested.

Shikamaru shrugged again. "Eh," he agreed with a lazy nod.

"Yahoo! Found you all," a new voice cheered. "So, I see that everyone is here."

"Yo, Kiba," Sasuke greeted neutrally.

"Shino, Konnichiwa," Naruto offered to the tallest member of Team Eight who was standing just behind Kiba.

"Konnichiwa," Shino answered.

"How've you been, Hinata?" Sakura asked softly, dismissing Ino in favour of talking with the shy girl.

"A-ano, I've been... alright," Hinata answered hesitantly, and cut a quick glance at Naruto. A blush bloomed on her cheeks as she looked quickly away again.

"Still have a crush on Naruto?" Sakura asked in a whisper.

Hinata's blush deepened and she pressed her index fingers together shyly.

"What, you three made it too? Geez," Shikamaru complained.

"It looks like all the genin rookies this year are taking the exam," Kiba announced with a grin, stating the obvious. "How far do you think we can get, Sasuke-kun?" he asked, teasing Sasuke a bit by adding the '-kun' that his fangirls had always added when they were in the Academy. That Ino still added with such fondness.

She didn't appreciate the jab, or that Kiba had Sasuke's full attention when he'd brushed her off, and quite literally at that.

"You seem confident," Sasuke allowed.

"We trained like hell," Kiba answered with a proud smirk. "We won't lose to you."

"Hey you guys, you should quiet down a little," said another 'genin' in a Konoha headband. He was one of the ones that Team Seven hadn't received the name and picture for from their sensei when he told them who-all from Konoha would be participating, so they were suspicious. "So you're the nine rookies that just graduated from the Academy, right? Geez, this isn't a field trip where you can fool around with those cute faces of yours."

"Who are you to tell us that?!" Ino demanded, outraged at being scolded.

"I'm Kabuto Yakushi," the grey-haired, glasses-wearing shinobi answered. "Look around you, everyone here is tense, and that group behind you? They're from Rain, and Rain nin are notoriously short-tempered. If you're not careful, you'll be targeted. But then, I suppose it can't be helped with rookies who don't know anything."

"Kabuto-san, was it?" Sakura asked.

"Yeah," he agreed.

"Is it right to assume you've taken the Exam before?" she asked.

"This is my seventh time," Kabuto answered. "The exam takes place twice every year, and this is my fourth year."

"And you haven't passed it yet?" Shikamaru asked. "Is the Chuunin Exam that difficult? This is getting even more troublesome," he complained.

"Maybe I could give my kohai a few tips?" Kabuto suggested with a smile, and pulled out some cards from his hip-pouch. "These cards have information burned into them using my chakra, information about the Chuunin Exam that I've collected over the past four years. There's about two hundred cards, and they look blank without an application of my chakra specifically," he explained as he knelt and set the cards on the ground.

He flipped over the top one, showing that it was white, then added his chakra. The front changed to show a map with bars raised out of the card in a glowing, translucent green, like a strange graph.

"This card shows the total number of examinees and countries participating in this year's Exam," Kabuto explained.

Team Seven all narrowed their eyes at that slightly. Their sensei had been able to tell them how many Konoha genin could potentially be participating because he'd been at the meeting where they were recommended to take part. They had also been made aware of every team that they saw enter the village, which was not all of them, because they'd been busy training as well. Why and how would a genin have access to these statistics?

They listened as Kabuto posed a theory of why the Exam was held the way it was (to keep the balance of power. Shikamaru declared it all 'troublesome'), and then Sasuke asked a loaded question that he knew his team-mates also wanted the answers to.

"Are there any cards there that have detailed personal information?"

"There are," Kabuto agreed. "Is there someone that interests you? The information of this year's examinees is not perfect, but I've burned and saved them. I've got information on the nine of you, as well."

"Eh?" Sakura exclaimed softly, her eyes going wide. "Even about me?" she asked innocently, and pointed to herself.

Kabuto chuckled, nodded, and pulled the card out of his deck. "Sakura Haruno, the kunnoichi that got perfect scores on all of her tests in the Academy. On a team with Sasuke Uchiha and Naruto Uzumaki, completed two C-rank missions and twenty-eight D-rank missions. Your sensei is Kakashi Hatake."

Sakura and the rest of her team blinked in surprise. No, their sensei was not Kakashi Hatake. They'd met the man when they came back from Wave though. Strife-sensei had introduced him to Team Seven and they had spent one afternoon learning from him, but that didn't make him their sensei. Then again, Strife-sensei probably didn't let anybody write his name down any more than he told civilians his name, so it was possible that it said on their files that Kakashi was their sensei.

As confusing as that was though, what was concerning was that Kabuto apparently had gotten access to their files. After all, that was the only place where it would list how many of what types of missions they'd done. Kabuto could be a chuunin plant, put into the Exam by the proctors to help give the other Konoha genin a little bit of an extra leg-up. He could also be a spy.

Unfortunately, they weren't sure that there was a way to tell which he was, and Kabuto wasn't done talking yet.

"Taijutsu skills have improved since graduation, but generally weak in all other areas," he said.

Ino stuck her tongue out at Sakura then.

"You'd think with a legendary shinobi like Kakashi Hatake for a sensei though, and you would learn more," Kabuto noted.

Sakura shrugged. "You'd think," she said neutrally and without any indication that the information he'd just shared with essentially the whole room bothered her at all.

Kabuto smirked a little. "You don't really fit," he told the girl, and included all the other rookies as well as he swept his gaze over them. "Every other genin here is the best their country has to offer, even the genin from the small, recently formed Oto. Elite genin chosen to represent their country in this Exam."

Naruto shrugged carelessly. "Sensei wouldn't have recommended us if he thought we weren't ready," he said plainly. "And wasn't Kakashi Hatake called a genius?" he asked, remembering that from the story Hatake had told him of how he got his Sharingan eye.

"Write this in your cards," another genin said as he launched an attack at Kabuto.

"The three from Oto," continued one of his team-mates as he also launched an attack at Kabuto.

"Will definitely be made chuunin in this Exam," finished their female team-mate with a smile as Kabuto dodged the two attacks – only for his glasses to break and then for him to collapse on the floor and throw up.

There was a minor eruption of smoke at the front of the room then. "Quiet down you punks!" a voice yelled from within the smoke, grabbing everybody's attention. When it cleared, over a dozen people wearing roughly the same uniform were revealed, and a big man with a couple of scars on his face and a big black coat over the same uniform stood front and centre among the new arrivals.

"Sorry to keep you waiting," he said with a smirk, his tone completely unapologetic. "I am the examiner of the first test of the Chuunin Selection Exam, Ibiki Morino. You three from Oto," he called out. "Don't think you can goof off before the exam, or you might get failed before the testing even begins."

"Sumimasen," said the genin with most of his head covered in bandages. "I was excited, since this is my first exam."

Morino gave an amused 'hn', and looked out over the room. "Well, let it be known from here on out, you are not allowed to fight each other during the Exam unless given permission by the examiners, and even then killing is not permitted. Pigs who break these rules will fail immediately. Understood?" he asked lowly.

"Huh, this exam seems so soft and easy," quipped the other boy on the Oto team.

His quip made the shinobi who had arrived with Ibiki chuckle darkly. They were clearly amused by the boy's ignorance.

"We will now begin the first test of the Chuunin Selection Exam," Ibiki announced. "Turn in your applications, then take one of these number tags -" he held up a white square with a 1 on it, "- and sit where the number tells you to. Once you're seated, we will pass out the papers for the written exam."

"A paper test?" Sakura asked softly, a little confused and somewhat concerned as she turned to Naruto. "Naruto?"

"That can't be all it is," he answered. "Think, Sakura. How many people panic when confronted with a paper test, just because it's a paper test?" he asked, and scowled. "Me among them," he admitted grudgingly.

"We'll get numbers next to each other," Sasuke promised.

"How?" Sakura asked as the other rookies moved to get their numbers.

Sasuke's eyes blazed red a moment, showing off his Sharingan, a smirk on his face.

Sakura and Naruto both chuckled softly, and got in line.