"Why is ramen so delicious?"- thinking
Kage Bunshin no Jutsu- Jutsu
YOU LITTLE BRAT/You little brat-Demon speech/Inner Sakura
No More
Chapter 5: The First Exam.
Naruto rubbed his eyes as the sun shone through his window. He pushed himself of his bed and trudged to the kitchen, yawning all the way. When he reached the door, he glanced at the calender and noticed the Uzumaki spiral he had drawn on a particular day. Then a smirk crossed his face.
"Its today...the Chuunin Exams. I wonder what the teme and Sakura are up to."
Sasuke panted as he rested from his morning routine. He had gotten up early so he could get in a little training. Then he got up and walked into his house, psyching himself up as he went.
"Its today...I've waited for a chance like this for a long time. I will not back down."
He entered his house and began his preparations for the exams.
"Hn, I wonder what the dobe and the fangirl are up to."
Sakura sighed as she packed her equipment for the Chuunin Exams. She still doubted if she was ready for the responsibility.
"No, Sakura. Now is not the time for doubts...but I'm not strong enough..."
"SHANNARO! I leave you for a few days and you are on the verge of a breakdown?"
Sakura sighed as she felt the return of her inner persona. It was a source of inspiration, and a source of embarrassment sometimes.
"You know better than anyone else that strength alone does not guarantee victory. Now pull yourself together like a proud kunoichi and go show the world who Haruno Sakura is!"
Encouraged, Sakura left her house and strode briskly towards the Academy.
"Hmm...I wonder what Sasuke-kun and Naruto-baka are up to?"
The atmosphere of the Academy was charged with tension and excitement. The feeling of something remarkable was in the air and it seemed to charge everything around it.
Team 7 met in front of the Academy, Sakura on foot, Naruto and Sasuke by shunshin. Without a word, they entered the Academy and headed for the third floor. When they reached the second floor, a strange sight met their eyes.
A huge number of genin were gathered in front of a door, trying to enter. When Team 7 drew near, they saw that there were two guards in front of the door and the sign on top of the door was 301.
"Hn..what a pathetic attempt to fool an Uchiha"
"I'll bet Sasuke-kun saw through the genjutsu immediately."
"This is too easy, dattebayo."
"Please let us through." pleaded a girl with brown hair tied in two buns on top of her head. She immediately reeled back from a punch thrown by one of the guards.
"Go home, little girl.", he said. "This is not for you."
"Come on. We need to enter quickly." said a boy in a green jumpsuit and orange legwarmers as he approached the door. He had black hair in a bowl-shaped haircut and thick eyebrows. He too was sent reeling with a punch from the other guard.
"We are doing you a favor, the Chuunin Exams are dangerous. Small fry like you should stick to the small stuff."
Sasuke immediately decided to make his presence felt, in classic emo-Uchiha style.
"You will let me in" he said as strode towards the door. "And while you're at it, get rid of the pathetic genjutsu."
Naruto quickly dispelled the genjutsu to reveal that the sign read 201.
"So you saw through it", said guard number 2.
"I'm sure our genjutsu specialist saw through it first, isn't that right Sakura?"
Sakura was ecstatic that her crush acknowledged her.
"Also", she put in, "We are on the second floor and the exam is on the third floor."
"So you think you're hot stuff, don't you?" said guard number 1.
He threw a kick at Sasuke and Sasuke retaliated with his own kick but, in a green blur, both kicks were stopped by the boy with the thick eyebrows.
"Lee, what are you doing?" said a boy wearing a blue Hyuuga style jacket and black shorts. He had long dark hair tied in a ponytail and the eyes of a Hyuuga. He was clearly Lee's teammate.
"Yeah, wasn't it your idea to hide our capabilities?" said the girl with the brown buns, definitely the last of the trio.
"Gomen, I guess I got carried away." Lee replied sheepishly. He turned to Sakura and and gave her the good-guy pose, complete with the blinding smile of his teeth.
"Hello, lovely young flower. What is your name?"
Sakura could barely hold back a shudder.
"What's up with his eyebrows? THEY LOOK ALIVE!"
Inner Sakura was sharpening a knife.
"Cut them off! SHANNARO!"
He walked up to her and got on one knee and held out one hand.
"My name is Rock Lee. Please go out with me, I'll protect you with my life."
"No way.", she replied with a dead pan look on her face.
The Hyuuga was staring at Sasuke intently, Sasuke didn't really like it.
"What is your name?" he asked
"It is polite to give your name before you ask for someone else's" Sasuke replied.
The Hyuuga continued to stare, then suddenly...
"BOO!", Naruto yelled as he suddenly appeared in the Hyuuga's face.
He was so surprised, he fell to the ground. His teammates were shocked as well.
"Yosh, this boy's flames of youth must burn brightly if he managed to catch my eternal rival off guard so easily."
"If this boy is on the Uchiha's team, he must be the dead-last of their class...but he managed to surprise Neji, a Hyuuga."
"Stop showing off, dobe." Sasuke said. "You're scaring the kids."
His mind, however, was singing a different tune.
"So, he has taken his training seriously. Maybe...maybe..."
Naruto grinned and stretched out a hand to Neji. Grudgingly, he accepted and pulled himself up. Neji turned to walk away, but before he left he turned and addressed Team 7.
"I hope to fight you in the exams, I will not be caught off guard so easily again."
Team 7 continued and were on the stairs leading to the third floor when...
"Uchiha Sasuke!"
They looked up and saw the boy in green on the balcony above. He jumped down to their level and stood in a fighting stance, his left hand behind him and his right hand held forward in a come-hither gesture.
"My name is Rock Lee. I challenge you to a fight right here, right now.", he declared
"Why?" Naruto asked. "Its almost time for the Chuunin Exams and I think..."
"Shut it dobe." Sasuke interrupted him. "This will be over in five minutes."
"Don't think it will be that easy. Currently, I'm the strongest genin in Konoha." Lee declared once more.
"Good." Sasuke replied. "Then you won't be a complete waste of time."
He activated his Sharingan and stood in his Intercepting Fist stance, waiting for Rock Lee to make his move. Rock Lee dashed forward at an incredible speed and swung a leg sweep at Sasuke. Sasuke jumped over it but Rock Lee quickly rose and threw a spinning kick.
"Konoha Senpuu!(1)"
Sasuke put up a guard but Rock Lee formed a half-tiger seal and his kick went through Sasuke's guard and connected with his chin. He crashed into a wall on the other side of the room. Rock Lee charged Sasuke again and began throwing a series of punches and kicks. Sasuke managed just barely to avoid them.
"Dammit it! Kakashi told me about this. Speed is the natural weakness of Sharingan and this boy has it in spades. I wish i could take off..."
Sasuke's thoughts were cut off by a kick to the gut and a punch to his chin. Rock Lee stood up and began to unwind the bandages on his hands. Sasuke got up as Rock lee began to speak.
"You understand, don't' you? If you can predict my moves but you are not fast enough, it is useless."
He disappeared and reappeared in a crouch right in front of Sasuke.
"Konoha Shofu!(2)"
From that position he drove a kick into Sasuke's chin, launching Sasuke into the air.
"Kage Buyo!(3)"
He followed Sasuke with a jump and reappeared right behind him. Sasuke turned his head to look at him, with three tomoes in one eye and two in the other. Lee pressed a nerve in Sasuke's back, immobilizing him.
"There are two types of geniuses in this world" Lee lectured. "The prodigies like you and the hard workers like me."
"And me." Naruto thought.
"Now, I shall prove that with hard work, a dropout can beat a genius."
With a flick of his wrist, Rock Lee wrapped Sasuke in his bandages and prepared to end the fight. But before he could act, three kunai pierced his bandages and pinned them to the wall. Maneuvering in mid air, both boys landed on their feet.
"LEE!" a shout came from behind them. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?"
Team 7 turned and saw what was an older version of Rock Lee with thicker eyebrows and a jounin vest. He walked over to Lee and began berating him.
"LEE, THAT TECHNIQUE IS FORBIDDEN FOR A REASON!"
He sent Rock Lee flying with a punch to his face. Rock Lee swiftly got up and knelt before his sensei.
''I'M SORRY SENSEI! I GOT CARRIED AWAY! AFTER THE CHUUNIN EXAMS I'LL RUN A THOUSAND LAPS AROUND KONOHA FOR MY LACK OF SELF-CONTROL!"
Team 7 sweatdropped at this remark. But Rock Lee was not done yet.
"AND IF I AM UNABLE TO DO THAT I SHALL DO FIVE THOUSAND PUSH-UPS ON ONE HAND!"
"THAT'S THE SPIRIT MY YOUTHFUL STUDENT! IF YOU ARE NOT ABLE TO DO THAT, I SHALL RUN FROM HERE TO SUNA WITH A BOULDER ON MY BACK!"
"SENSEI! YOUR FLAMES OF YOUTH SHINE BRIGHTLY!"
"LEE!"
"GAI-SENSEI!"
"LEE!"
"GAI-SENSEI!"
They hugged and suddenly a huge mirage of a sunset by the beach appeared behind them. To say Team 7 was freaked out was an understatement.
"Okay, that is just...WRONG!"
"Is this some sort of genjutsu. I need to read more on this."
"I actually lost to this guy. He looks like a pansy hugging his sensei like that!"
The spandex wearing duo got up, dispelling the sunset. The jounin faced Team 7 as Rock Lee picked his bandages . Naruto got a glimpse of his hands. They were heavily calloused, that spoke volumes of his intense training.
"Maybe... they weren't exaggerating about their training..and he is strong...could I train like that? Push my body beyond its limits and more? If I could...I WILL BECOME HOKAGE!"
Suddenly, Team 7 was looking into the visage of Maito Gai. He was smiling from ear to ear.
"So you must be Kakashi's genin team."
"You know Kakashi?" asked Sasuke.
"OF COURSE I DO!" Gai screamed. "HE IS MY ETERNAL RIVAL BUT WITH THE SCORE BEING 50-49 IN MY FAVOR I SHALL OVERCOME HIS HIP AND COOL ATTITUDE!"
"Calm down, Gai. It's too early for this." said a voice from behind Team 7.
Team 7 turned to see Kakashi walking towards them with his usual orange book in his hand.
"Ah,my eternal rival." proclaimed Gai. "What is today's challenge?"
"Hmm...I'm sorry Gai, did you say something?"
"CURSE YOUR HIP AND COOL ATTITUDE!"
Kakashi faced his squad and gave them an eye smile.
"You all came here of your own accord. I'm very proud of you. Now you can take the Chuunin exams. But you need to hurry, the exams start soon."
Kakashi and Gai disappeared via a shunshin as Rock Lee re-wrapped his bandages around his forearms.
"Sasuke", he said. "It is most likely that the strongest genin in Konoha is on my team, I entered this exam to face him and you are one of my targets. I wish you well in this exam."
In a burst of speed Lee disappeared and Sasuke began cursing under is breath. Naruto noticed Sasuke's foul attitude.
"Calm down, teme."
Sasuke rounded on him, his anger almost at its breaking point.
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN CALM DOWN!" he yelled.
Naruto's face became serious as he adopted his casual stance with his hands behind his head.
"Did you see his hands? The scars on them show that he trains to the extreme. Probably more than we do."
Sasuke looked down at his clenched fists. Then he rose his head in his patented smirk.
"This Chuunin Exam is becoming interesting. Let's go."
They headed to room 301. When they entered, Team 7 submitted their applications and stood at the back of the room to check out the opposition. Sasuke's eyes fell on Team 9, specifically; Hyuuga Neji.
"The strongest genin in Konoha, eh? Not for long while I'm..OUCH!"
Sasuke's thoughts were interrupted by a flying tackle from Yamanaka Ino.
"Sasuke-kun", she crooned. "I missed you, did you miss me?"
Sakura, of course, was not pleased.
"INO-BUTA! Leave Sasuke-kun alone!"
"Troublesome, you guys are here too." said a lazy voice behind Ino.
Naruto chuckled as he Shikamaru and Chouji caught up with Ino. Then the setting was complete when Team 8 walked through the door.
"Well, well, well." Kiba said with a cocky air. "The whole gang is here. Never mind that, after this I will walk away with my Chuunin vest like nobody's business"
"You wish, mutt." said Sasuke as he extricated himself from Ino's clutches.
"You better watch out, Uchiha. I've been training and we won't lose this time, right Akamaru?"
His dog responded with a loud bark from his perch on Kiba's head.
Then Shikamaru noticed that someone was missing.
"Hey, where is Naruto?"
The rookies looked around and Hinata spotted him chatting with a tall white-haired genin wearing glasses and a Konoha headband. He was showing Naruto a deck of cards that seemed to excite Naruto for some reason. The other rookies soon joined them and Sakura began berating Naruto.
"BAKA!" she screamed. "Don't wander off like that, we don't..."
"Not now Sakura." Naruto interrupted. "I'm a little busy". He turned to the bespectacled genin and said, "Okay, show me Rock Lee."
The genin smiled and withdrew one of the cards charged it with chakra and handed it to Naruto. He took the card and read aloud.
"Rock Lee, age: fourteen, sensei: Maito Gai, teammates:Higuarashi Tenten and Hyuuga Neji"
At the mention of Neji's name, Hinata paled.
"He has completed 18 C-rank missions and 37 D-rank missions with his team. It says here that he has negligible ninjutsu and genjutsu but his taijutsu ranges from high chuunin to low jounin level. All in all, one very tough opponent."
Naruto handed back the card but before he could make another request, the white-haired genin turned to the other rookies.
"I was wondering when you guys were going to pipe down. If you haven't noticed, you have been drawing a lot of attention to yourselves."
The nine rookies scanned the crowd and saw ill-concealed looks of displeasure. Ever the perceptive one, Shikamaru faced the bespectacled genin.
"What is your name?"
"I am Yakushi Kabuto, genin of Konoha at your service." he replied.
"Yeah, yeah!", Naruto said excitedly. "He has these awesome cards that contains information about everyone here."
"Well, you could say that I'm a veteran at this."
"How many times have you taken the Chuunin Exams?" asked Chouji between munches.
"Seven times."
"So, basically, you suck." Kiba said, suppressing a laugh.
"Maybe...or maybe it is the tough opposition from the other hidden villages."
"What do you mean?" asked Sakura.
Kabuto removed another card and channeled chakra into it. A map depicting the shinobi continent with the various hidden villages participating in the exams appeared on it.
"The Chuunin Exams serves as more than just a chance to get promoted." he lectured. "They are an opportunity for a hidden village to show off its strength. So these genin here are, most likely, the best the hidden villages have to offer. I have a prime example right here."
He removed another card charged it with chakra and handed it to Naruto. He took it, read it and blinked, then he read aloud.
"Sabaku no Gaara, age: thirteen, teammates: Sabaku no Temari and Sabaku no Kankuro. Nothing is known about his skills but he has 11 C-rank missions and...1 B-rank under his belt. Also, he returned from all those missions without a scratch."
The rookies watched in stunned silence as Naruto handed the card back to Kabuto. He thought for a moment and addressed Kabuto.
"I have one more request. Show me Uzumaki Naruto."
"What?" was running through the minds of the rookies.
Kabuto picked up another card and infused it with his chakra. Then Naruto's info appeared. This time he read out the card's content himself.
"Uzumaki Naruto, age; thirteen, teammates; Haruno Sakura and Uchiha Sasuke, sensei; Hatake Kakashi, no genjutsu but good ninjutsu and taijutsu. He has 15 D-rank missions and...wow...2 A-rank missions! And get this...one of the A-rank missions was accomplished before he became a genin!"
The genin reacted in the most predictable way possible...denial.
"Oh, come on!", groaned Kiba. "Your cards must have made a mistake."
"Yeah!", Ino put in. "Naruto was the dead-last of our graduating class."
"Are you sure you didn't mix up Naruto-baka's data with Sasuke-kun's data?" asked Sakura.
"Say all that you want." replied Kabuto. "I am confident in the accuracy of my information. And here is a little tidbit: don't worry about the sound genin. Their village is new so they should be the weakest genin here."
Unfortunately for Kabuto, the team from Sound overheard him.
"Did you hear that?" said their team leader, bandaged like a mummy with only one eye visible.
"Let's teach that tree-hugger a lesson" said the other male ninja, who had bandages wrapped around his arms.
The kunoichi merely smirked as her teammates charged Kabuto. Kabuto saw them coming and easily dodged the punch that the bandaged shinobi threw at him. But suddenly, he fell to his knees and lost his lunch to the floor. But before the sound shinobi could gloat, Kabuto poofed into smoke and Naruto appeared in front of them. Utilizing his Chakra Wave, he buried a punch in the guts of the sound shinobi They screamed as pain seemed to explode from where the punches had landed all over their bodies. They writhed on the floor in pain as silence fell over the Rookie Nine as they stared at Naruto who ignored them in favor of staring at the gathered assembly of shinobi.
"LISTEN UP ALL OF YOU!", he yelled. "MY NAME IS UZUMAKI NARUTO, FUTURE HOKAGE OF KONOHA! I WILL NOT LOSE TO ANY OF YOU!"
Then, in a poof of smoke, a scarred ninja in a trenchcoat appeared in front of the genin.
"Sit down maggots! No fighting before the exams begin."
As the genin scrambled to their assigned seats, two chunnin assistants walked and began sharing papers. Naruto's heart dropped to his stomach at the sight of this.
"Oh no, not a written exam?"
As the papers were being shared, man in the trenchcoat gave his name as Morino Ibiki and listed the rules.
"You have one hour to complete the test. Your team starts out with ten points at the beginning of the exam. If you are caught cheating, you will lose two points. If your points reduce to zero, you and your team will sent out of the room."
After the papers were shared and the first exam had started, Naruto knew he was in trouble.
"I can't answer any of these questions but I feel like I'm missing something...In the academy, Iruka-sensei always threw out those caught cheating immediately. But this guy said...OF COURSE! They want us to cheat but not get caught. A test of information-gathering skills...I'm still in trouble. Ah well, at least I know what to do after this is all over."
Scanning over the rest of the paper, he saw that the tenth question would be given five minutes to the end of the paper. So he began doodling to while away the time.
Jounin Lounge
"Chill out, Kurenai. There is no need to worry." said Asuma.
The jounin were waiting for the results of the first exam, Kurenai was pacing up and down in her anxiety.
"Actually, there is need to worry." remarked Kakashi, his nose stuck in his book. "The problem is it won't do you any good."
"YOSH! MY ETERNAL RIVAL SPEAKS THE TRUTH!", proclaimed Gai.
"Why is that?" Kurenai asked.
"We left our genin in Ibiki's charge." answered Gai.
"...and?", Kurenai asked expectantly.
"They are in a room with Morino Ibiki." replied Asuma.
"What does that have to do with anything?" Kurenai asked again, exasperated.
"Oh, I keep on forgetting that you're a rookie. Ibiki is the head of the ANBU Torture and Interrogation Unit." said Kakashi as he flipped a page. "He specializes in mind games and mental torture. He is able to extract info from almost anyone without touching them."
"Oh no!" Kurenai exclaimed, shock written on her face.
Exam Room
Ibiki smirked as another team of genin was caught cheating for the last time. He threw three kunai, each of them landed on the desk of the cheating genin.
"NUMBERS 39, 18 AND 4! YOU FAIL!"
Grumbling to themselves, the genin walk out of the hall. Ibiki checked his watch and smirked once more. It was time.
"ALL RIGHT MAGGOTS, PENS DOWN AND LISTEN UP! This is the final question and you must choose whether or not to take it."
"Why?" asked Temari, obviously puzzled.
"Because if you get it wrong, you will never be allowed to take the Chuunin Exams and remain a genin for the rest of your life."
"That is a load of shit!" exclaimed Kiba. "There are genin here who have taken the exam more than once."
"They didn't have me setting the rules back then." replied Ibiki, his smirk firmly in place. "You can give up now and try again later when you feel much more capable."
After a moment, a few genin left the classroom. Ibiki frowned a bit, he needed to get rid of a few more.
"This is your last chance, if you don't give up now you may remain a genin forever and maybe dash all your hopes and dreams just because..."
"SCREW YOU!" came a voice from the back of the class.
Ibiki turned to look in the direction of the voice. He saw Naruto standing, his hands clenched into fists.
"I have worked too damn hard to get to where I am to be bowled over by a question! So bring it like you never have before!"
"I warn you." Ibiki said. "If you fail, here you will remain a genin forever. Do you want that?"
"I say...SCREW YOU! IT DOESN'T MATTER IF I FAIL OR NOT, MY DREAM WILL NEVER DIE! IF I DO FAIL, I WILL BECOME THE FIRST GENIN TURNED HOKAGE EVER AND THEN I WILL FIRE YOU FOR MAKING SUCH CRAPPY RULES!"
Ibiki sighed, the damage was done. The blond brat had encouraged everyone else into staying. It was time to end the charade.
"To those of you still here...congratulations on passing the First Exam."
A/N: I apologize for making you wait for this chapter. I've been quite busy and this chapter was quite hard to write. As usual, your comments and suggestion are welcome. R&R!
(1)Konoha Senpuu: Leaf Whirlwind: A powerful spinning kick.
(2)Konoha Shofu: Leaf Rising Wind: A handstand kick that propels the opponent into the air.
(3)Kage Buyo: Shadow of the Dancing Leaf: A move used in conjunction with the Leaf Rising Wind in which the user positions himself behind the opponent in midair, leaving the opponent in a vulnerable position.