Ninja of the Void

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any characters associated with it.

"Talking"

Thoughts


Chunin Exams 2


"How about this Naruto-kun?" asked Hinata.

"That's great" smiled Naruto. "It's looking better and better each day!"

A week had easily flown by as the rookie nine was working diligently (more or less) rising to the challenge of the chunin exams.

At this time Hinata was working on something new she was developing as she practiced on the river near a waterfall while Naruto watched her perform her new jutsu.

"Incredible Hinata-chan" clapped Naruto. "This new jutsu style is going to be great!"

"Thank you Naruto-kun" Hinata blushed. "But are you going to be OK? I haven't seen you practice at all".

"What are you talking about?" he then asked. "I am right over there" as he pointed to his original self who seemed to have been working hard at some strange jutsu in his hands along with a few other bunshins.

The pale girl smiled as she admired how hard her friend was working. She soon exited the river as she made her way to the original as she crouched next to him curious as to what he was doing. "Naruto-kun?"

The blond was sweating intensely as he concentrated to stabilize his technique. But at feeling the overwhelming effects he dispelled the jutsu along with his bunshins as he flopped back to rest. "Man, this technique is hard to use" he breathed out. "I still need both my hands to do it".

"You're trying" calmly stated Hinata. "You'll get it eventually. But at least you're not using the time echo to do it".

"Well Kakashi-sensei told me to try passing this test without the use of the watch and I'm not one to back down from a challenge. Besides" as Naruto gave a thoughtful look. "The time echo is far too dangerous for anyone to use in any case whatsoever".

Hinata nodded as she understood his reasoning. This learning technique did allow its user almost instantaneous access of whatever they wanted to learn. However it wasn't as simple as that. Aside from fully learning the target jutsu, the user would also learn every path they would take it in due time. In Naruto's example, he learned every little detail of what kage bunshin could do and in time any pathway he could imagine of taking kage bushin which resulted into bakuretsu bunshin no jutsu. But as great as it all sounded, he was taking years to decades of learning and squeezing it down to seconds. The strain it had on its user was severe. In one bad effect, the user could end up in a coma or worse dead from overwhelming the mind. So to say Naruto was playing it safe in learning his new jutsu brought relief to her as he didn't want her to worry. "By the way Naruto-kun, I've never seen a jutsu like this before. It uses no hand seals at all".

Naruto tilted his head to look to her before looking back to the tree tops. "Well it was just something written in my dad's notes of combining this technique with the raw power of time. He theorized something amazing might be born from it, but it ended up being one of the few things he didn't finish in the end".

"But you should be at least happy of being able to use the technique freely now".

"I suppose, but the notes said it was done with one hand". Naruto gave a sigh at this. "But the exams are tomorrow. So I guess it'll have to do for now".

"But do you think it'll be enough?"

"Well I know Kakashi-sensei told me not to use my watch" as he gave a slight grin. "But it didn't stop me from writing up a few seal formulas in the event of an emergency". Naruto gave a soft chuckle. "Well you never know what can happen right?".

Hinata smiled softly as she nodded to this. But then she looked aside in uncertainty. "Naruto-kun . . . . Do you really think we're ready for this test? There's going to be a lot of experienced genins there and I . . . ." but was stopped at feeling her friend's warm hand over hers which caused her to blush slightly.

"We'll be fine Hinata-chan. We've worked really hard this week. The reason we'll pass is because we want it the most" as Naruto gave his usual confident smile. He then gave Hinata's hand a slight squeeze. "Just make sure you'll be there with me when we get to the finish line".

The pale girl blinked at this before giving a soft smile. "Of course Naruto-kun. I'll see you at the finish line". But before anything else could happen, a giant explosion was felt as the pair looked out to see a mushroom like cloud appear from nearby. "Do you think . . . . "

"Yeah" as Naruto gave an uneasy laugh. "Probably a bad idea to leave them all alone with each other".


~ Konoha (training grounds) ~ (early afternoon)

Sasuke and Shino were going at it like there was no tomorrow. From an outside point of view it almost looked like they were trying to kill each other based on how hard they were fighting. But on the contrary they were having the time of their lives at how much they were exerting themselves to beat the other one down. Meanwhile the other part of the rookie nine were watching the epic battle that was going on.

"Can't believe they're going through this much trouble over a simple sparring match" yawned Shikamaru. "And I can't believe I got dragged out here for a straight week when I could have spent this time sleeping in".

"I didn't mind" then added Chouji. "Hinata's cooking was great. I can't believe Naruto eats stuff like this every morning".

"Lucky guy" said Kiba slightly tired after their morning run. "But I guess it was a good bonding experience with everyone. Although it was kind of funny to see Hinata's dad surprised when he saw us all at his table on day one".

Chouji gave a light laugh. "I'm surprised he didn't tell us all to get out".


~ Hyuga Compound ~

Hiashi was calmly reading his paper until he let out a sneeze. Then rubbing his nose he continued to turn the page of his paper. ". . . . Damn kids".


~ Konoha (training grounds) ~ (early afternoon)

"I can't believe Naruto and Hinata did this kind of training for almost half a decade" said Sakura as she was breathing heavily. "This regime is insane".

"What? Too hard for you" breathed out Ino trying to act superior. "That's what you get forehead girl for trying to compete with the best".

"Oh yeah Ino-pig! I challenge you to a fight right now!"

"Will you girls keep it down" sighed Shikamaru. "I'm trying to get some rest here".

As some more bickering occurred, Sasuke and Shino were done with their match.

"We'll settle this eventually" said the young Uchiha as Shino gave a simple nod.

"What happened here?"

Everyone looked to see Naruto and Hinata arrive curious to what the big explosion was.

Unable to resist, the girls just had to let them have it. If anything this was one of the few things Sakura and Ino agreed on which was teasing the pair whenever they were gone for so long.

"So what were you two up too?" asked Ino.

Naruto grew slightly uncomfortable at how the Yamanaka girl was saying it. "What do you mean?"

"We were just training" added in Hinata.

"Sure" then said Sakura. "You were practicing alright" as she looked to Ino who understood the cue as they looked at each other giving off kissy faces.

"Stop that!" then said Naruto slightly flushed. "Hinata-chan and I are just friends!"

"Oh kiss me more Hinata-chan" teased Ino as she started to make more kissy sounds with Sakura.

Hinata began to turn redder at the implication as she started to poke her fingers in nervous habit again. "Ino-san! Sakura-san! Please stop!"


~ Konoha ~ (the next day)

It was now the day of the exams as the rookie nine departed with their own teams towards the testing site. At this time in the afternoon Naruto was walking with his team towards the designated area.

"It was a nice week" the blond widely smiled.

Sakura gave a nod. "It was good to spend time with everyone like that outside the ninja academy".

Sasuke remained silent, but gave a slight nod. Although he didn't want to admit it, he kind of liked being a part of something again like he used to be when he was young. "Whatever . . . ."

"Oh come on Sasuke I know you liked it" as the blond began nudging his arm with his elbow.

"Shut it . . . ."

"Come on!" smirked Naruto. "I noticed the extra time you were spending with Sakura" which caused the pink kunoichi to flush a bit as her ears perked as she listened in. "I know you liked it".

At noticing how Sakura was listening in Sasuke was beginning to feel embarrassed at being put on the spot as he then swung his fist at Naruto to which he dodged as he began to run off.

"Got to be faster than that if you want to beat me in the chunin exams!"

"You dobe!" as Sasuke grew agitated as he began chasing him.

"Hey wait up guys!" as Sakura ran after them.

The trio soon arrived to the admission site as they began climbing the stairs. But as they got further up they saw a huge group of people standing in front of a doorway which caused them to look at them questionably before looking up at the floor designation. They then looked at each other curiously before looking back at the group as they decided to approach them.

"Why are they standing there like that?" asked Naruto.

"How would I know?" then said Sasuke. "And why do we even have to bother with them?"

"Well I would also like to know why they are all standing there" said Sakura.

As they looked over the group they saw many genin ninjas several years older than them standing in front of a door seemingly guarded by two other ninjas. In front of them were three familiar faces.

"Tenten-san" said Sakura. "Why is your team standing in front of this door".

"That's because these guys are blocking our way from entering the exam area" replied the weapon mistress. "And we're going to be late at this rate".

"Then why are you guys waiting around here for?" then asked Naruto.

"Well we could force our way through" said Lee. "But that would be very impolite of us to do".

The blond then looked to see Neji giving him an indifferent looks as he soon turned away to look at the door. Now he knew Neji didn't have any beef with him. However there was slight resentment seeing as he associated with the main branch which caused slight tension to build between the two. Although he wasn't being outwardly hostile he was still being indirectly hurtful towards Hinata, and that was something he needed to fix. But it was put on hold indefinitely as Hinata did not want him to intervene. He then looked back to Lee. "Why are you waiting here?"

"What do you mean?" he then asked. "The testing site is here at room 301".

Sasuke now growing irritated refused to tolerate this farce for another moment longer. Seeing as they too were going to be late, he decided to let the cat out of the bag. "If any of you dimwits haven't been paying attention, this is the second floor. So how can room 301 be here?"

At noting this everyone looked up to see as the genjutsu wore off as the sign once saying 301 had now changed to 201.

Tenten scratched her cheek at the realization. "Ahh, how did I end up getting tricked by genjutsu like that?"

Neji gave a slight grunt as he turned away. "Let's go" to which his team soon left followed by everyone else, but not before Lee decided to flirt with Sakura only to be flatly shot down. As everyone climbed up to the next floor to the correct room they were once again stalled by another event.

"Please let me fight you".

The trio looked to Lee with a dumbfounded expression. "Me?" both echoed Sasuke and Naruto.

The green beast then got into fighting stance. "I wish to challenge this year's number one rookie. But more so, I want to challenge the great Uchiha name". Lee wanted to prove that hard work could defeat genius. In beating people like Sasuke and his teammate Neji, it would prove just that.

"This guy can't be serious" thought Sakura. "We really don't have time for this. There's only a few minutes left before the test begins".

Sasuke then stepped forward. "If he wants a fight then I'll give him one". But before he could proceed further a hand was placed on his shoulder.

"We can deal with this another time" said Naruto. "I'd hate to miss the test because of something like this, and I know you wouldn't want that either".

Sasuke grunted at this. "I can deal with him just fine. I only need five minutes".

Naruto then grabbed his collar. "If you want to be a jerk then be a jerk on your own time! But we are not going to be late for this test! And besides why should we waste time fighting fuzzy brow anyways, it wouldn't be fair using ninjutsu against him".

"Then pardon my rudeness" then interjected Lee. "But ninjutsu or not, I'm confident I can beat you both at the same time with just my taijutsu". At statement silence permeated for a moment.

". . . . Sakura"

"What?"

"Five minutes" as Naruto stepped forward cracking his knuckles. If anything he didn't like anyone calling him weak in any form or way. He was certainly not going to start now.

"I can deal with this on my own" bluntly said Sasuke.

"No, fuzzy brow's is mine!"

The young Uchiha then looked at their opponent as he gave a slight smirk. "Fine, whoever takes him down first can have the bragging rights".

"Suits me!" as Naruto charged in first followed closely by Sasuke.

Lee was not the least bit impressed. As his kouhais charged him, by his eyes they might as well have been walking. As Naruto came in first, he flicked his wrist parrying him away as Sasuke then came in with a swift kick but was promptly blocked. Then from behind, Naruto went for a leg sweep only for him to jump into the air as he grabbed Sasuke's shoulders. Using his body's momentum flung the young Uchiha away only for him to rebalance as he kicked off the floor back at him.

"He wasn't kidding . . . ." as Sakura watched the match. Lee easily had both her teammates on the edge of their toes as they were barely keeping up with him. Furthermore, it appeared the green beast wasn't even trying as he dodged and parried them. "If this is the level of genins this year then this test is going to be hard". However, "but we're not being serious yet either".

"Wow he's tough" as Naruto wiped his forehead.

"No, you're just too slow" mocked Sasuke even though he was breathing heavily as well.

"Shut up!"

"If this is all you got then you are definitely not worthy of your title" said Lee.

The young Uchiha grew irritated at his mockery but kept his cool as he straightened himself up. He then closed his eyes in thought before reopening them. "Hey dobe, you know that team work crap we worked on during the week? The one Kakashi-sensei keeps telling us to do?"

"Yeah? What of it?"

"Let's see how it works now?"

Naruto blinked at this before letting out a smirk. "Alright, you're on". At this they both got into their stance readying themselves to attack.

Lee focused as he then steadied himself. "Here they come . . . . I might have to use that technique" as the wraps on his arm began to become undone.

Just when they were about to go, "hold it!"

Everyone then stopped what they were doing to see a giant talking . . . . tortoise?

". . . . OK" said Naruto looking to the said reptile.

"Right . . . ."

Lee looked slightly scared as he quickly kneeled before the tortoise. "Please forgive me! But I thought this technique was . . . ."

"Enough!" stated the tortoise adamantly. "You should have known better not to use your special technique is such trivial matters like this!"

"Yes!" as Lee quivered at the tongue lashing.

"Are you prepared to pay?"

"Yes!"

"Then here is Gai-sensei!"

In that moment the trio could only gape as their eyes popped open in shock as a now extremely flamboyant looking ninja appeared on the turtles back.

Naruto could only stare at this new turn of events. ". . . . Maybe this might be why Neji has been cranky lately . . . ."

In one unanimous thought between the three, "those are some thick eyebrows".

"You fool!" as Gai then punched Lee out of the blue.

"Sensei . . . ." as Lee held his cheek.

"There is no need to say it" as tears began to pour out to which the younger green beast followed too. Then a moment later the two embraced in a rather passionate way.

"Lee!"

"Gai-sensei!"

As this was going on, " . . . . That is totally freaky . . . ." they all thought unanimously again.

"I'm going now . . . ." said Sasuke plainly as his two teammates had to agree. As they tried to make a swift exist . . . .

"Hold it!" as the elder green beast appeared right behind them.

The trio could only look in shock to how freakishly fast the weirdo was.

"So your Kakashi's kids huh, well I promise you to this smile" as it gave an unusual twinkle. "That there will be no more further problems". He then gave a thumb up. "So get going to class now". Just before flickering away. "Good luck Lee!"

"Yes Gai-sensei!" as he immediately retied his wraps and started to depart. " . . . . I came here to test myself to prove that hard work can overcome genius". Lee then looked at them. "We'll settle this in due time. So be prepared during the exams!" as he soon disappeared at blinding speed.

Sakura looked to her teammates only to be met with dead silence. "Are you guys OK . . . ."

" . . . . Just fine" as Naruto looked up with a smirk.

"This is going to be fun" said Sasuke equally as excited.

The pink kunoichi nodded as she too was getting the chills of wanting to give her all for this test.

As they proceeded up they were met by their teacher wishing them a last minute good luck as they then proceeded inside. Upon entering they were met with the rest of the rookie nine as they gave their pleasantries. Then a fellow leaf ninja by the name of Kabuto approached them giving some sempai advice of how tough this year's exams were going to be. For the next few minutes they were met with uneasiness at seeing the competition they were facing as some of them attempted to start trouble with the rookie nine. But then everything came to a standstill as a huge explosion of smoke occurred at the front of the room as then the chunin exam instructors appeared.

The head proctor going by Ibuki Morino then sat everyone down to their assigned seats as he went on to explain the rules of this test as it would be one of three. First would be they started with ten points, second, would be for every incorrect answer they lose points, and third every time they're caught cheating they'd lose two points. In the event of having a zero, your entire team in disqualified.

But it quickly became apparent that no one could answer any of these questions as it was literally impossible to do with what little information they had concerning what was asked. But to those who were wise enough understood that there was another test to this test which was for them to show their abilities to gather information. But in lamest terms, it simply meant who could cheat without getting caught.

As people started getting picked off one by one, more of the skilled ninjas had already found a way a way to cheat without too much trouble. But in one particular blonds' case, he simply sat calmly at his desk as if refusing to do anything.

"I have to wait, I just have too" thought Naruto. Looking at his current circumstance, he didn't have the Byakugan like Hinata, the Sharingan like Sasuke, watcher tools like Kiba or Shino, or special jutsus like Ino. Going over his assets his best bet then was using kage bushin in conjunction with hake no jutsu to either impersonate an instructor or one of the testers to learn what the answer was. However he couldn't risk it as he didn't know how the penalty system worked. So looking back at his ninja pouch, there were four rolled up scrolls. Then being careful he removed one of them unrolling it revealing an intricate seal formula. "I have to wait till the last moment . . . ." According to the test, the tenth question would be revealed after the forty-five minute mark. So looking around carefully he spotted a few people who were done, and not able to wait any longer "it's now or never!" as he applied his chakra to the seal.

Hinata peaked over to see that Naruto's answer sheet was half filled as he began quickly scribbling down his answer.

Some of the proctors who were watching weren't even sure what happened. They knew something was off as half the sheet was instantly filled. However they couldn't mark him on it as really they didn't see anything to prove cheating.

Naruto slightly frowned. "I can't believe I had to use one". What he used was a time seal which were designed to be multifunctional with the ability to replace some of the effects his watch. However the problem was they were designed only to be temporary as they only had an eighth of the power his watch had and would burn out almost immediately after use. Not to mention it took him hours just to write one of them which was a headache in and of itself. But seeing as this was just the beginning of the chunin exams and he was forced to use one of his time seals, "I have to be more conservative with them". Although he had other tricks he needed to conserve his ace if something worse were to happen down the road.

"OK! We will now begin the tenth question" stated Ibuki which got everyone's attention. "But for this question there are some special rules". As he went on everyone began to feel the atmosphere dense around them at how bad things were looking. On one hand if they refuse they fail. If they get the question wrong then they would be stuck as genin forever. Weighing out their choices, many made the safer bet on quitting now to be able to take the test in the next two years. Although everyone was scared, it did not deter Naruto the least bit. In one courageous statement all doubts were swept aside. Upon no more flunkeys, they all passed the test which caused uproar amongst many of them. In response Ibuki began to explain the qualities of what it meant to be a chunin as those who didn't have the guts to put their destinies on the line were not worthy of the title.

As Naruto heard all this, " . . . . I can't believe I wasted a time seal for nothing!"

But before anyone realized it, something came crashing through the window as a giant black banner was flung up revealing yet another interesting character. "There's no time to celebrate yet! I am the examiner of the second exam Anko Mitarashi! So follow me and let's get this thing started!"

"Bad timing" said Ibuki bluntly. "And that window is coming out of your next paycheck" which caused Anko to flinch a bit.

So after some awkwardness, the strange lady explained the next part of their test which was basically kill or be killed as this was a no hold bars contest to make it to the end alive with what you needed as each team needed two scrolls to pass this test. But firstly they would need to sign a waiver confirming their acknowledgment of the kind of crap they would jumping into so as to avoid any blame further on.

So after turning in their submissions Naruto received their Earth scroll as they were then instructed to pick a gate to enter from.

"Forest of death huh?" said the blond as he looked out to the massive woods. The appearance was one thing, but the aura of the forest was quite unique. The place felt old, really old. Anyone with good senses could tell many dark and dangerous creatures lurked within them.

"Is everything alright Naruto-kun?"

Naruto looked to Hinata as he gave her a reassuring smile. "Yeah" but then scratched his cheek "well sort of".

"Is there something wrong?"

The blond could only give a slight nod at this. As dangerous as the forest was, the people they were up against were no joke either. Looking around, the caliber of the ninjas they were going to face was definitely no pushovers. Aside from having a vague idea at how tough Neji's team was another team concerned him as well. Looking over he saw the hidden sand ninjas getting ready to leave through there gate. As tough as he knew the guy with the make-up was as well as the girl with the giant fan, their red headed companion felt much different. Just looking at him he seemed really dangerous. Somewhere deep down he knew this to be true as something about him just reeked of horrors he couldn't even imagine.

He then looked to Hinata as he reached back into his ninja pouch. "Hinata-chan, I want you to take one of my time seals".

"Ehh? Why?"

"I just have a bad feeling this test is going to get really messy and I don't want anything bad to happen to you".

Hinata gave a slight as nod as she gave a soft smile. "Thank you Naruto-kun, but you don't have to worry. Shino-kun and Kiba-kun will be with me".

"Well just take it just in case alright".

The pale girl looked to him for a moment before nodding. "Alright".

Naruto smiled, "we better be get going then, and remember what you promised me Hinata-chan".

"To meet you at the finish line".

"Alright! Good luck and I'll see you there!"

As each team prepped themselves ready to go, the rookie nine each departed into their own separate gates. But unknown to team seven, a very ominous figure was watching them.

"Soon, very soon Sasuke. I will have you".

To be continued . . . .


Author's notes: Things are about to get crazy in the second exam as many things are about to occur. But for those after the rookie nine, they sure are going to be in for a surprise. If anyone's wondering why Hinata didn't just write her own time seals that will be mentioned in the next chapter.

I've also looked into your concerns about Naruto's development and I promise it'll be addressed later in the story as I had thought about those concerns as well. Also concerning his ability to control time and space to a certain extent, I don't really think that makes him god like. I've seen many animes, mangas, television shows, and games with characters that could control time and space even better then what I have projected. However those characters could still be beaten by better strategy or abilities. Examples I would like to point out is Touhou, Code:Breaker, Heroes, several sci fi shows, etc. As some have mentioned 'why haven't Naruto just killed his enemies?' I'd then ask since when does he kill his enemies? In observing thus far, Naruto has never killed his opponent out of some misplaced sense of self-righteousness and would only go as far as just beating them. Of course this is all just my interpretation of his character. If anyone chooses to refute it then I'm willing to listen.

So I thank everyone for taking the time in reading this fic and further extend my gratitude if you can review it as well.