Author's note: Again, the wonderful reviews! I love all of my readers!
Disclaimer: I don't own it.
Chapter 8: The Chuunin Exam, pt 1
The next day, Naruto and Sasuke stood outside the entrance to the chuunin exam. Both wore sad expressions on their faces, memories of the day before still ringing in their heads. "You… ready to do this?" asked Naruto.
"…Yeah, I guess," replied Sasuke. "But who's our third person?"
Naruto's eyes widened in realization. "Oh, shoot! I totally forgot about that! But who could we get now?"
"That would be me!" said a voice from above. Looking towards the ceiling, Naruto and Sasuke saw a spiky-haired youth jump down from the upper level. "That's right, me: Konohamaru, to the rescue!"
Both teammates stared at the boy for a second. "You've gotta be kidding me… what happened to Moegi and Udon?" asked Naruto.
"Ah, they heard that you guys needed a third member and told me to be it!" said Konohamaru enthusiastically. "Besides, you guys need me, right?"
"Hang on, Konohamaru, the chuunin exam is no laughing matter," said Naruto. It's really dangerous, and-"
"No, Naruto, he's right," said Sasuke. "We need a third member and he's it. He's been trained by one of those special jounin right? Besides, he'll be with us, he'll be fine as long as we keep an eye on him."
"Oh, fine," Naruto grumbled, his arms folded. "Now let's go, I don't want to be late for the first part. Come on, Konohamaru."
"Yes, sir!" said Konohamaru, saluting.
The newly formed team walked into the exam room to find that it was the same way it had been three years ago: Packed with entrants to the exam. "Let's not start anything this time, Naruto," said Sasuke, "Let's just take our seats, and-"
"Well, well. I haven't done this for three years and now that I choose to do it, whom do I find? Uzumaki Naruto," said a man behind the three.
"Ibiki-sensei!" yelled Naruto, turning to greet Morino Ibiki.
"You've gotten taller, eh? Well, sit down, you've got an exam to take."
"Right!" said Naruto. Before the three split up to go to their seats, Naruto whispered, "Guys, when you get there, substitute your pencil for the one I'm about to give you."
"Why?" asked Sasuke.
"You'll see."
"Whatever," he said, taking a pencil as Konohamaru did the same.
As the team sat down, Ibiki began explaining the exam. Naruto and Sasuke paid little attention. They knew all about the ten-point rule and that no member of the team must fail. Konohamaru, however, paid strict attention. One thing they didn't know was if the "tenth question" would be different from last time. It was for this reason that Naruto's plan needed to unfold.
Just then, a new rule was added to the previous ones. Ibiki stated, "You will have thirty seconds to confer with your teammates before the exam is done. At that time, you must all have the same answers. If one teammate has a different answer than the others, they will all fail immediately."
The exam began and Sasuke looked over at his questions. He was filled with sudden dread at the remembrance that he didn't know any of the answers to the questions, and it would be difficult to find the right person to mimic with the Sharingan again.
Suddenly, the pencil Naruto gave him began moving on its own, guiding his hand on the paper. It wrote out for him, "Sasuke. This pencil is a transformed kage bunshin. It'll write down the answers for you and Konohamaru, so don't worry, alright?" Sasuke looked over and saw Konohamaru's delighted face, indicating he'd found Naruto's "gift" too. Sasuke was a little skeptical about the notion that Naruto would know the answers… but his view changed when the pencil began writing out the answers, nonstop. A smile on his face, Sasuke hunched over to make the act more convincing.
Eventually, the time came before the end of the exam, and already many teams had been eliminated. "Alright," said Ibiki, "You've all had time to write out your answers. Now confer with your teammates on what you agree the answers to be. You will have your papers checked by the other proctors here."
Each of the teams got up from their seats and recooperated. The classroom was quickly filled with chattering. Sasuke, Konohamaru and Naruto met up and began discussing the exam. "Relax," said Naruto, "It's in the bag. All our answers are already the same anyway, right?"
"Naruto… how can you be so sure?" asked Sasuke. "You've never been a real wiz at paper tests. Hell, you left the last one blank."
"Don't worry, Sasuke. Ero-sennin made sure I'd learned everything I needed to know during my training."
"But… even still…"
"Look, just trust me," said Naruto, a smile appearing on his face. "Alright?"
Peering into his teammate's eyes, Sasuke saw not the expression of a goofball screw up or a failure of a ninja, but… his friend. And then, he realized something. Many of the teams around him were arguing. He heard them yelling at each other, disagreeing on answers. And then immediately knew that Naruto wouldn't let him down. "Okay. I'll trust you."
"Great! How about you, Konohamaru?"
"Anything you say goes, boss!"
The thirty seconds passed and the proctors collected the papers. Then, upon seeing each team's answers, split them into two groups. "The group on the left," said Ibiki, motioning towards Naruto's group, "Passes." Uproar overtook the class. With a swift hand motion, he silenced them. "This exam was an exercise in trust. If you don't trust your teammates on a mission, how can you ever make sure that you're all being efficient? Do you think you'll have time to always be certain about each action? A chuunin who can't trust or forgive his teammates doesn't deserve to be a chuunin."
"That's right…" thought Sasuke, a smile appearing on his face. "No matter the skill, a truly great shinobi is one who can forgive a mistake…"
"That being said, those who fail should leave the room at this moment," continued Ibiki as the disappointed teams left the area. "Now then, those who pass, please wait for- Oh, here she comes now…"
With a loud crash through the window, a large ball of cloth unwrapped itself, revealing the proctor of the second exam. "Okay, everyone, no time to celebrate! I'm the proctor for the next portion of the test, Mitarashi Ank-"
"Do you realize that we have to replace that window every single time?" Ibiki cut in.
"Ah, Ibiki-san… you've totally ruined my entry!" complained Anko. "Anyway, I'm Mitarashi Anko. You all can follow me."
"She's still as crazy as ever, eh?" whispered Naruto to Sasuke who silently agreed. The group of passing teams followed Anko towards the second part of the test, the Forest of Death, where Anko explained what the situation and its dangers. Grinning, Naruto placed his hands on his rear and began taunting Anko. "Ooh, 'beware the forest, many have come out dead'! You're just trying to scare us with that act."
As Naruto had expected, the proctor had moved around behind Naruto, a kunai against his cheek. "Your type are the first to go, spilling this warm, rich blo- huh?" suddenly, Naruto disappeared in a cloud of white smoke. "A kage bunshin?" she thought, feeling the coldness and sharpness of a kunai on her own cheek.
"Funny, I don't see any of my own blood being spilled," said Naruto, cutting her cheek slightly, "And now we're even. Let's get going with the exam." He stepped away from her as the other entrants whispered "ooh's" and "ah's". Even Sasuke couldn't suppress a grin and Konohamaru just looked on in awe.
"This kid… what did he do over the past three years?" thought Anko, rubbing her wound to stop the flow of blood. Sighing, she proceeded to give out the rest of the instructions. Naruto's team received a Heaven scroll as they were handed out. The teams were led toward their starting gates. "Okay… go!" she called, and the entryways flew open."This is going to be easy as hell!" called Naruto to his other teammates as they bounded through the forest, "I mean, we got through last time, and now we're so much stronger, it should be a breeze!"
Sasuke Nodded. "Yeah, especially since we won't run into any giant snakes this time around…"
Naruto gave Sasuke a worried look, "But there's still the matter of…"
"I know," said Sasuke quietly.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
"Oh, damn it, another Heaven scroll…" said Naruto. "This is the third one we've found in a row and it's getting late!"
"We'd better stop for the day," said Konohamaru, tired after this battle. "We'll have a disadvantage at night."
"Right," said Naruto, "Let's set up camp." Naruto had some bunshin gather wood for a fire. As Sasuke was about to light it, Naruto put a hand on his shoulder. "Wait a minute, Sasuke. Let me take this one." Performing the seals, he thought, "Katon! Goukakyuu no Jutsu! (Fire Style! Great Fireball Technique!)" Upon finishing, the tremendous flame shot out of Naruto's mouth and ignited the wood, creating a well-sized fire.
Sasuke stared in shock. "Wha… how did you… when did you…?"
"It's just something I was working on these past four months," said Naruto smugly.
They sat down after preparing everything, neither Sasuke nor Naruto feeling sleepy. Konohamaru had fallen asleep a short while before. "So," Naruto began after a few moments, "What are you going to do about Sakura-chan?"
"… Nothing," replied Sasuke, facing away from his teammate.
"What?" asked Naruto in disbelief, "What do you mean, 'nothing'?"
"Just that," said Sasuke, "I mean I plan on not being with her romantically."
"Wh-Why?" Naruto couldn't believe what he was hearing.
"Because I'll just hurt her more. Everything I do seems to hurt her…"
"That's because you're not taking time to think about her!" cried Naruto angrily, waking Konohamaru who found it strange that his teammates were now arguing loudly.
"Of course I think about her!" said Sasuke indignantly, "I've been thinking about her every day since I got back!"
"Then what's the problem?"
"It's just…"
"Just what?"
"She… doesn't want me… she doesn't want me to hurt her anymore."
Naruto grabbed Sasuke by the shoulders. "You think you know what she wants? Sasuke, you haven't known her for three years! You couldn't possibly know what she wants!" He released his grip. "Please, talk to her… talk to her and end this. It's been going on long enough and I'm sick of it."
"… You're right," said Sasuke after a pause. "Absolutely right… I've been stupid this entire time… what I've wanted was right in front of me the whole time…" He looked at Naruto, his eyes sorrowful. "But… I don't want to hurt her anymore."
"Do you love her?" asked Naruto.
"More than anything in the world."
"Then you won't hurt her. Just love her and both of you will be happy."
Sasuke smiled at these words. "… Thanks, Naruto."
"I do hate to break up your little chit-chat," said a cold voice from the bushes. "But we really need to take Naruto-kun with us."
"That voice…" thought Naruto, looking toward the direction he'd heard it from, "It can't be!"
"Itachi!" cried Sasuke, glaring at his brother and the shark-like partner behind him.
"Ah, I take it you want me to show you how weak you are again?" said Itachi, smiling evilly at his younger brother. "Then let me show you quickly!" He rushed at Sasuke, a mass of chakra focused in his fist.
"No!" cried Naruto, who stepped in front of Sasuke and took the blow straight in the face, sending him flying backwards out of sight.
"Naruto!" called Sasuke as Konohamaru looked on, frightened. "Naruto, are you alright?" He received no answer. He hoped that there would be a puff of white smoke, or that Naruto would come back, charging angrily, perhaps yelling something ridiculous at Itachi.
But he never came.
"Naruto…" Sasuke said softly, looking on in the distance. "It… It… can't be."
"The fool doesn't know that we can't kill him for our organization's purposes," thought Itachi. "Kisame. Go check on the body."
"Right," said Kisame, sneering at his partner's sibling.
"You see how weak you are?" Itachi asked Sasuke, his grin becoming smugger. "You can't protect anyone. You couldn't protect your mother. You couldn't protect your father. And now, you couldn't even protect your own best friend." Itachi approached Sasuke, who was still facing away from his brother. "And now, because of your own weakness, you will die. It's simple as that." The older sibling lifted his hand, preparing to make the killing blow. With one thrust he attacked, attempting to rip out his brother's throat as he finally turned to face him. But suddenly, Itachi's hand stopped. Confused, he began. "What are you doi-"
"It's true. I couldn't protect mother or father. I couldn't protect anyone in the clan. I couldn't even protect Naruto." Sasuke's grip around Itachi's hand tightened as he stared at the floor. "But now, I'm going to make sure that you never hurt anyone ever again." Lifting his face for Itachi to see, Itachi's eyes widened.
"It… can't be!"
"It is. Mangekyou Sharingan!" cried Sasuke, the veins in his eye bulging. Itachi jumped back, fearing the effects of the eye. "Konohamaru. Get back," instructed Sasuke, and the young genin did as was told, quickly scampering into the brush behind him. "What's the matter, Itachi? Are you afraid of me?"
"Amazing… he not only achieved the capability to use the Mangekyou, but he also figured out how to use it in such a short time!" thought Itachi, "But he shouldn't have such great control of it… yet." "Well, little brother, I told you to come before me when you had eyes like mine. Now is the time," he said, rushing at Sasuke and flinging a kunai, "for me to test my true limits!"
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
"Ugh… I feel like I just got trampled by a bull…" said Naruto a few minutes later. He opened his eyes to see the Samehada hovering over him by a few inches. "Woah!" he yelled, rolling out of the way and to his feet.
"Well, well. Looks like you woke up a bit early," said Kisame, lifting his sword. "No matter. I'll take you all the same."
"Go ahead and try!" taunted Naruto.
"I plan to. Hey, kyuubi boy…" Kisame said, molding his chakra. "I hear you've got quite the supply of stamina. I'm known to have a good amount myself. Let's see who's got more, shall we?"
"Whatever," replied Naruto, placing his hands into a cross shape. "Tajuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu! (Mass Shadow Clone Technique!)"
Kisame looked on with a sneer as the thousands of Naruto doppelgangers appeared. He readied the Samehada and leapt to attack. They disappeared as he swiped at them, a huge cloud of smoke rising. One of the clones was able to disarm Kisame, throwing the Samehada into the smoke. "Huh! Pesky little brat!" he said, quickly searching for his sword. After feeling around for it for a moment, he located the handle and picked it up.
The smoke cleared, and Naruto was nowhere to be found. "I see," thought Kisame, "The bunshin were just a distraction so that he could hide himself in this thick forest…" "Alright, kid, I've got no time for this. Let's make this easier on both of us and just come out, okay?"
Suddenly, Naruto's voice appeared from every direction. "You'd"
"Like"
"That,"
"Wouldn't"
"You?"
"Are there bunshin hiding in the forest?" Kisame thought, trying to figure out Naruto's strategy. "Or is he just using the art of the cicada: the voice throwing technique?"
Naruto's voice broke out again.
"Come"
"Find"
"Me"
"Already,"
"That"
"Is"
"If"
"You"
"Can."
"Fine, kid! You asked for it!" shouted Kisame, lunging at a bush. As he swiped the plant away, he saw that he had not found Naruto, but instead a kunai with an explosive tag on it and a note reading: "Sorry!" Leaping backwards, Kisame narrowly avoided the blast.
"Nope,"
"Incorrect,"
"Care"
"To"
"Try"
"Again?"
Kisame was becoming frustrated. Forming handseals, he cried, "Suiton: Bakusui Souha! (Water Style: Exploding Water Shockwave!)" A mass amount of water erupted from Kisame's mouth, drenching the entire area in water. When the flood subsided, there was still no sign of Naruto.
"Wrong"
"Again."
"Looks"
"Like"
"Your"
"Precious"
"Sword"
"Isn't"
"Much"
"Help."
Teeth clenched in rage, Kisame called, "Kid, when I find you, I'm going to shave your arms and legs off!"
"Getting"
"A"
"Bit"
"Angry,"
"Aren't"
"We?"
"You"
"Really"
"Want"
"To"
"Know"
"Where"
"I"
"Am?"
"Sure,"
"I'll"
"Tell"
"You."
"I'm"
"Right"
"Here!" cried the Samehada in a puff of smoke as the henge (transformation) was undone. Naruto popped out of the smoke, a Rasengan in his hand. "I don't need to use the full power on you!" he yelled immediately before plunging the jutsu into Kisame's chest. "Rasengan!"
Kisame went flying, hitting several trees before crashing to a halt against a boulder. Naruto didn't bother checking whether he was dead or not. "Serves you right!" He called. Just then, he remembered something important. "Oh, right! Sasuke and Itachi!" With those words, he broke into a full run toward the area where the brothers were fighting.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
"I'm amazed at your growth, I really am," said Itachi, panting from the battle. "But you're still too weak to defeat me."
"Shut up!" yelled Sasuke. "I'm going to stop you here and now!"
"You mean 'We're going to stop you'!" called a voice.
Sasuke couldn't believe his ears. As he turned, his hopes were confirmed. "Naruto! You're… alive!"
"You bet I am!" replied Naruto, landing alongside his teammate. "A measly little punch like that couldn't take me down. Besides," Naruto gestured towards his abdomen, "They can't kill me. They need this."
"So Kisame was defeated…" Itachi said, nonplussed. "Well, I should have expected that of the kyuubi jinchuuriki."
"Naruto, you can't fight him!" Sasuke warned. "He'll use the Mangekyou Sharingan on you if he just catches a glimpse of your eye!"
Naruto smiled. "Don't worry. It's not like I've been doing nothing these past four months!" Closing his eyes and centering his chakra, he called forth his second sight. "There… now I can take him. Eh?" Naruto noticed something odd. The chakra from Sasuke's eyes was the same as the chakra from Itachi's. "Sasuke… you've got the Mangekyou too!"
Sasuke nodded. "I… thought you had died, and… it was my fault. Because of that, I have these eyes. But since you're alive, we can now easily take him."
"Don't worry," said Naruto. "I'll let you have the finishing blow."
A smile on his face, Sasuke leapt at his brother, Naruto following closely behind and Konohamaru watching a safe distance away.
The battle raged on. Itachi avoided using the Mangekyou because it would drain his strength. At the same time, he wondered how Sasuke could be using it for so long… when did his brother gain this much strength? Yet he needed to avoid his younger brother's eyes, or else he may be caught by their power. "This is over," said Itachi, deciding his move. "Amaterasu (Shining Heaven)!" His eyes becoming the kaleidoscope, the black flame shot out from them.
"Sasuke! Don't touch that flame!" called Naruto. "It's hotter than the sun and will burn for seven days. Let me handle it!"
"Right!" answered Sasuke, holding off Itachi while Naruto prepared his scroll. "He just used a big technique, so he should be weakened now…" "Chidori!" cried Sasuke, preparing his attack. Sasuke launched himself at Itachi, who hadn't been ready for this strike because of his previous move, and barely managed to avoid a fatal blow. Instead, Itachi's arm had been severely injured by the attack. "Can you still fight, Itachi?" asked Sasuke after he stopped. "Your arm muscles are severed. You can't use hand seals. Are you sure you can press on like this, or do you want to just give up and answer for your crimes?"
"I can kill you easily with one hand alone," said Itachi.
"My ass you can!" said Naruto, clamping his arms around Itachi from behind. "Now, Sasuke! Finish it! Take his head off!"
"What!" cried Itachi genuinely frightened now, "But you were sealing the fire from Amaterasu!"
"You know, for a member of the Uchiha clan, you're pretty dumb," taunted Naruto. "I've mastered the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu, so I can easily have one seal some fire like that."
"Good one, Naruto…" said Sasuke, walking slowly toward his brother, Mangekyou still active. "Now, Itachi… it's time to answer for every crime you've ever committed. Tsukiyomi(Moon reader)!"
Instantly, Itachi was transported to the inter-dimensional plane of the Mangekyou. "Itachi," said a booming voice from the sky. "It is time for your punishment."
/\/\/\/\/\/\
Naruto watched from his second sight as Sasuke focused his eyes on Itachi. After about a second, Itachi moaned in anguish and became limp in Naruto's grip. "Is… it over?" can I open my eyes yet?"
"Yeah, it's over," Sasuke said quietly.
As his eyelids flew open, Naruto released Itachi, who slumped on the ground, eyes barely open. Naruto saw that they were no longer Sharingan. He also noticed that Itachi was still breathing. "Wait," said Naruto, "He's… alive? You didn't get your revenge!"
Sasuke looked at his friend, a smile on his face. "I didn't need it. In the end, during that split second you saw me use the technique, I realized that I didn't want revenge. There was no point. Instead, I realized that there's something even more important than revenge."
"What's that?"
"Protecting those you love. Hatred doesn't breed power. Anger doesn't give you strength. When you're defending something you love… you can become infinitely strong." Sasuke's mind flashed back to Naruto's fight with Gaara, and how even though the odds were one hundred to one against him, Naruto still pushed through and defeated the mighty Shukaku, all because of how much he wanted to protect Sakura. "And so, I robbed him of strength. I eliminated anything in his possession that could possibly cause anyone harm. He's snake bait now."
Naruto smiled. "I'm glad, Sasuke. Now come on, we've got an exam to finish."
"Th-that was… amazing!" cried Konohamaru, leaping from his hiding place. "You guys were incredible! Those moves, those skills! That was insane! You totally creamed that guy!" As Naruto and Sasuke grinned at each other, Konohamaru sighed. "Wow. I hope I can become like you guys one day!"
"I'm sure you will," said Sasuke.
Suddenly, three figures leapt out of the brushes. "Hand over your heaven scroll if you don't want to d- Oh, no way, I can't believe it," said one of the figures. "You guys again!"
Sasuke and Naruto looked at the three rain ninja that had appeared. "Oh, hey! You're the guys that we beat down three years ago," said Naruto. "You still haven't become chuunin? That's pathetic."
"Let me handle these guys, boss!" said Konohamaru, biting down slightly on his finger. Performing the seals and planting his hand into the ground, he cried, "Kuchiyose no Jutsu (Summong Technique!)" A large ape appeared from the spot where Konohamaru had performed the move.
As the rain ninja stared at the ape, one of them said to the leader, "We're done for, aren't we?"
A minute later, Naruto's team had acquired an Earth scroll.
/\/\/\/\/\/\
"Where… am I?" Itachi asked himself. The last thing he remembered was Sasuke using his Mangekyou on him. "What happened after that?"
"Itachi…" said a voice.
"Who's there?" he called into the surrounding mist.
"Why, Itachi…?" asked another voice.
"Why did you do it…?" said yet another.
"Do what? Answer me!" The voices seemed so familiar…
Suddenly, the mist cleared. All around Itachi were people he thought he'd never see again: his dead family.
"Sasuke brought you here… so that we may have our vengeance…" said Itachi's father, a bloody cut on his neck.
"Because you betrayed us, we now must have justice…" said Shisui, Itachi's ex-best friend.
"No!" cried Itachi, trying to back away. But it was no use. He was surrounded. Closer and closer they came, and there was nowhere for him to go. "Stay back… don't come nearer! Noooo!" Itachi's screams echoed in the void as his relatives' spirits enveloped him.
/\/\/\/\/\/\
Well, that's that. Itachi and Kisame are finished. Next up: The final part of the Chuunin exam! The resolution with Hinata and Sakura! Don't miss it! Please review, it really helps me get moving along when writing!
