Oturan arrived at their meeting place, disappointed after the fruitless search, only to find that his teammates had already gone inside. He wasn't that late, so they must've met up with the other members of their unit. Otu hesitated before he entered the building. He wanted to find his brother before he went into the building, but he just didn't have enough time to do that. Wherever Naruto was, he was out of earshot, which meant that he'd never have enough time to find him before the exam started. He just hoped Naruto hadn't fallen asleep.
Otu didn't meet anyone as he wandered through the hallways of building, which probably meant that he was tardier than he first thought. Increasing his pace to a silent sprint, Otu glided through the empty hallways… until he reached a chamber on the second floor.
It seemed his comrades had gotten… sidetracked.
The members of the second and third unit formed a disjointed group on one side of the room. Everyone was currently observing the proceedings with differing degrees of excitement, concern and/or annoyance, the exception being Hinata, who was pointedly avoiding looking at the Hyuuga across the room, or even his general direction…. a Hyuuga who seemed to be glaring at her? That was unacceptable; he'd have to do something about that. Information flowed from a nameless source as Otu tapped into the knowledge he possessed that was attached to the Hyuuga clan. That was an ability Naruto didn't possess: the capability to actively search known parts of the sanctuary. While Naruto possessed the same knowledge Otu did, the problem was that he had trouble recalling certain things.
In a few instants, he had ascertained the probable identity of the white-eyed boy: Hyuuga clan branch member Neji… only son of deceased branch member Hizashi. The story surrounding that clan was as stained with hate and prejudice as it got… bar the Uchiha clan. They would have to do something about that when they became Hokage.
Across the room from the group were the aforementioned Hyuuga and a girl whose most distinguishing feature was her ox horns hairstyle.
In the middle of the room was the source of the disturbance: Uchiha Sasuke and a boy he could only describe as Gai-junior. The problem was that they weren't having a meaningful conversation about the wonders of their village. They were fighting.
Even worse, Sasuke wasn't winning.
An instant was all Otu needed to find the reason why. Gai-junior was fast enough to run circles around Sasuke. The fact that Sasuke's sharingan was activated became practically meaningless. Although he could probably see the blows coming with no problem, his body was too slow to react to any changes in trajectory. It was probably easy for the green-clad child to go past Sasuke's guards. Further examination revealed that Sasuke wouldn't reveal his trump cards so early in the exam and so wouldn't use his ninjutsu or his taijutsu style.
'Hmm… no one has noticed my arrival… perhaps I should just wait? This may prove to be a good learning experience for Sasuke…? Oh… right. You aren't here.'
More than ever before… Otu wished his brother was present. Unsure, Otu decided to wait until something happened that would require immediate action. He didn't have to wait long.
The boy with the bowl cut hairstyle and the orange leg warmers delivered a vicious kick to Sasuke's chin, lifting him feet above the ground. Immediately after, he pushed himself off the ground and jumped after his opponent, keeping himself in front of the Uchiha's back.
'Shadow leaf dance? This cannot end well… they have definitely gone too far. Perhaps a little wind will cool them down.'
Otu raised his right arm just as the bandages on the youth's arms began to unravel. The gust of wind hit everyone just before Gai was going to interrupt. Unfortunately for everyone, Otu was far less adapted to measuring his chakra than his brother. Furthermore, since they had increased their control over their aura, it was no longer necessary to constantly hold their wild chakra back. Consequently, the gust of wind that blasted through the room held enough force to break the windows and was nearly enough to break the walls down. The genin that were on the floor used their chakra to stop themselves from flying and protected their faces from debris with their arms. Those who weren't on ground had a harder time.
The boy with the large eyebrows managed to shift himself in midair and position himself so he would hit the wall feet first. Sasuke had received too much damage and wouldn't be able to do the same. Otu immediately ceased his technique and ran full speed after Sasuke. He jumped on the wall, jumped off it and grabbed his teammate. He didn't have to look at the other boy to know he was staring straight at him. When he landed, he walked towards his comrades, who were just recovering from his jutsu, and helped the boy sit down.
"Are you alright?" Sasuke grunted and gave a short nod. That meant he'd have no problems performing in the exam.
"Good. Now, will someone tell me what happened? Two leaf comrades should not be fighting without a reason."
'Hmm? That sounded like something Naruto would say. That
means…
Yo.
Finally! What took you so long?
That place is waaay bigger than I thought it was... How long was I in there?
A little over a week.
It feels like I've been wandering those halls for months.
That's because time becomes more and more distorted the
further you get from this place. After all, this room is the only place
connected to the outside world.
Makes sense, I guess… What'd I miss?
A lot. I'll need you to take control now.
You know I can't do that. You're the one that has to complete the exam.
I know. Fortunately, we haven't quite gotten to the exam
yet.
Where are we then?
We're in the building, we just haven't gotten to the exam
room yet. But that's not important. I need you to take care of this situation.
Alright, I guess I can do that if it doesn't have anything to do with the exam. Give me some details.
Sasuke fought and lost against what appears to be Maito Gai's biggest fan and one of Hinata's clan members appears to have a grudge against her.
Sasuke lost?
The boy he was fighting was a taijutsu expert. Even with his sharingan, he was unable to react in time.
Alright, I'll see what I can do.'
On the other side of the FOX unit, Neji and Tenten were standing together, evaluating the rookies as they conversed with one another... or rather, as they all conversed with the newcomer.
"Neji… who… what is he?" asked Tenten, referring to the inhuman newcomer.
"How am I supposed to know?"
"Well… isn't Hinata is an important member of the main family? You should've at least received a briefing concerning her teammates."
Tenten's speculation is accurate. It is a well known fact that privacy among the Hyuuga was practically non-existent. What one knew, all knew. Of course, that rule didn't apply to the clan leader, or its elders.
"I haven't seen much of Hinata-sama since she became a genin. She moved out of the compound."
Tenten stared at him incredulously. That the elders would allow the heir, a member of the main family… no, not even. That the elders would allow any Hyuuga to move out of their jurisdiction? Something was wrong. Surely, not even Neji could be insensible enough to believe otherwise.
"And you don't think anything's wrong with that?"
"It is not my place to wonder about such things." Tenten wisely decided not to push the subject. Neji's tone always got so bitter when he talked about his clan. Especially when it came to matters concerning the main family.
"That guy's way too strong to be a genin." said Lee as he walked up to his teammates. He was a little disappointed that he didn't get the chance to defeat his opponent, but he knew that the newcomer wouldn't allow anymore fighting. Speaking of the unusual boy, he seemed to have recovered from his previous lapse in movement and was currently interrogating Uchiha Sasuke.
"I know what you mean. That wasn't just any attack. Since he didn't use a tool to facilitate the use of the Fuuton, the chakra consumption should've been extreme… but just look at him. No heavy breathing, no sweating… there are no signs of exertion whatsoever." Tenten spoke in complete certainty. She wasn't an expert on shinobi arsenal for nothing.
"This is impossible." It was just like Neji to say something and expect everyone to automatically know what he was talking about.
"What? The fact that he has a tail that looks like it belonged to a huge fox or the fact that none of us have ever heard of him before?" asked Tenten.
"Not that… his mannerisms, his stance… everything has changed. It's as if I'm looking at a different person." said Neji. The byakugan's insight... the eye of truth... the ability to translate the gestures of any person, even a complete stranger, into thoughts and feelings… one of Neji's favorite techniques.
"Since when can you use your insight with your byakugan deactivated?" asked Lee.
"I'm not; it's just so obvious..." Naturally, Neji wasn't aware of the fact that most people were unable to perform what he considered to be basic forms of insight. If you aren't of Hyuuga blood, it takes jounin level experience to perform an act even remotely similar to it.
"Enough delay, my byakugan will reveal everything he has hidden." said the branch member, before forming the seal that would allow him to activate his bloodline. Neji voiced the name of his white eye just as the group of nine finished their exchange and turned to face him.
For that reason, they were in a perfect position to see the veins around Neji's eyes expand as the byakugan's abilities activated. As his two teammates weren't facing him, they failed to see his eyes open as wide as they could right before he shut them with as much strength as he could muster. However, they could not help but notice when he started screaming in atrocious pain.
He barely held enough cognition to hear Lee ask him what was wrong and Tenten asking the rookies what they did to him. He certainly didn't have enough control to deactivate his byakugan. He could only hear his team because he wasn't able to see past this horribly bright, all-consuming red radiance. It easily passed through his eyelids and from what he could tell, it filled the entire room and appeared to be moving in some indistinguishable pattern… around a certain focal point…
Neji's moans of agony momentarily lessened as he slowly came to understand what was blinding him and why it was doing so to him alone. What this ocean of red actually was…
It was chakra… this swirling scarlet maelstrom was chakra…
All of a sudden, he realized that he was lying on the floor and that could hear Gai trying to speak with him but for some reason, he went past that… dissecting all he could hear… until he reached the sound of footsteps. But they weren't just any footsteps. They were her footsteps. Only she walked with such maddening indecision. From what he was able to tell, she walked until she was right next to him and kneeled down. He heard Gai asking her if she knew what was wrong with him, only to be ignored. That was completely out of character for her… Hinata never ignored anyone.
"Neji-niisan." This was getting weirder and weirder. She was speaking as if she actually had something significant to say.
"Don't look away. Avoiding it only makes it seem stronger and fearing it only generates self-destruction. You must look at its core… and when you look past it, when you reach what is hidden behind… you will be able to brush off the insignificant."
Ignoring the obvious problem in the situation, Neji just did as he was told. Ending his torture took precedence over everything.
The young genius opened his eyes and sought the source of the chakra, finding it positioned a few feet in front of him. He focused on it and examined its core, trying to find the secrets it contained. Slowly, the blinding chakra seemed to dissipate, until all that remained was a swirling globe of chakra not unlike the kaiten.
With the strain on his mind lessened, he was able to recover complete control over his body and was able to stand up with little problems.
"Neji-niisan, you aren't looking deep enough. You aren't looking at the person underneath."
Neji could do little else but listen and watch all around him. Since his byakugan was still activated, he was able to see the certainty that so wholly coated her figure. He'd never heard his cousin sound so firm. It went beyond anything he believed her to be capable of.
So again, he looked forward. He pushed past the last protection and again, the chakra seemed to disappear and he was able to look at its source with great precision.
It was the young boy. Blond hair tied in a long braid, with the front fringe cut barely above the blindfold covering his eyes. Now that he was actually facing him, Neji was able to see the odd message written on it. Using his advanced sight, he was able to see past it to see perfectly normal blue eyes. Aside from the tail, the abnormal chakra coils, the selection of outfit considering the occasion, the odd rings and the long sword… he looked just like a normal twelve year old boy. Just like a rookie genin.
If he hadn't seen it, he wouldn't have believed for a second that this boy held more chakra than this village's shinobi population put together. If he learned anything from this experience, it was that this boy held obscene power. Mercifully, his eye could discern no hostile intent… nothing out of the ordinary. The truth was that this boy was here for the same reason they all were.
To take the chuunin exam.
To become chuunin.
To test his strength.
The idea was so ludicrous he wanted to laugh.
After Neji had managed to successfully look past Naruto's aura, he simply turned and left. Just like that. No word of thanks, no explanation as to what the hell happened to him, nothing. He didn't even bother to acknowledge his teammates queries. He even ignored the words of his sensei. A few moments later, Lee and Tenten quickly introduced themselves, thanked Hinata on behalf of their teammate and left after him. After Naruto spent a few moments commenting on Neji's less-than-stellar attitude, he turned to face Leaf's one and only prideful green beast… only to find that he had gone.
"That bastard… running away before he can get his comeuppance."
No one bothered to pay attention to him. They had heard enough of his Gai-fueled rants to last them a lifetime. According to Naruto, he had been the victim of cruel and unusual punishment and was looking to pay Gai back for his suffering. But that was a story for another time. Naruto calmed himself down, turned to his friends and told them that it was time to go.
As they were heading to the third floor, he took the opportunity to say a few things.
"Okay, here's the deal. Once we enter that room, Otu will take control and I won't be able to come back until the exam is over."
Shikamaru, ever the sharp one, immediately honed in on Naruto's peculiar choice of words.
"What do you mean you won't be able to come back?"
Naruto took a few moments to organize his thoughts (as well as checking for any remaining eavesdroppers) before answering the question. For once, he didn't have to ask his other. This was one fact he would never forget.
"Teishi made me promise not to act in the physical world during the exam. That makes it pretty much impossible for me to do so. It's one of my limits. To answer the obvious question… it's a well known fact that every being on this plane is limited in some way, shape or form. Normal human limits are mostly material… demons are a little more complicated. Our limits are less physical… more psychological. That's what makes us… most of us so unstable. To make a long story short, I can't break a promise… Well, that's not exactly true. A better explanation would be if I said that making a promise establishes a limit. If I go past that limit… let's just say the result would be as if you guys went past your physical limits."
'…Breakdown…'
Regardless of the many questions resting in the minds of the genin, not one word was spoken by anyone for the rest of the trip.
'You're just going to ignore it?
What?
You know what was wrong with that Hyuuga.
And?
Then you know the only way she could know how to get through it is if she herself lived through it.
Your point is?
…
Otu, never forget. She may look weak, but underneath that lays a strong heart and an even stronger will. She's in the unit for a reason you know. Besides, there are some things that simply have to be faced alone. She didn't need my help so I didn't give it.
Too bad you can't do the same with Sakura.
That's different.
How?
…I'm not exactly sure.'
Morino Ibiki was not a happy camper. After being informed that each examiner would be assigned a 'helper' (and with no prior notice!), after he found who the so called helper was AND after said helper stopped him from investigating the source of a rather two large disturbances, he was now being forced to deal with late genin. Of course, he just about to tell those genin what happened to tardy shinobi when his assistant interrupted.
"They have a valid reason. They are not to be penalized in any way." said former missing-nin Momochi Zabuza.
The fact was that the mist genin had immediately recognized him and that they would soon notify their superiors who, in turn, would notify their kage. Their kage would probably demand some outlandish compensation for his presence.
What really irked him was that the swordsman was so completely unconcerned with the problems that would befall their village.
Selfish bastard.
After instructing the genin to take empty seats, he was about to explain the rules of the exam when he noticed the anomaly, Konoha's jinchuuriki, Uzumaki Naruto. Being who he was, he immediately noticed something wrong. It could've been the clothes, it could've been weapon, it could've been the obvious tail… but that wasn't what caught the attention of Konoha's prime psychological expert.
Once every few months, he was assigned to build a psychological profile of certain… unruly shinobi. Naruto was one of them. Of course, Naruto was never aware of the fact that he was being examined. The point was that during those examinations, it was determined that the boy had a fiery personality and was particularly prone to expressing his emotions; from time to time he did so excessively.
The boy that the he and the other 159 people in the room: 144 genin in 48 teams, 15 chuunin examiners and one very arrogant ex-missing-nin were seeing was entirely different. They were seeing a 12 year old (not that age had any meaning) hanyou with the disposition of an executioner.
One thing he believed without a shadow of a doubt was that this boy was able to kill scores of people and not lose a second of sleep over it.
Somehow, in the time since his last examination, Uzumaki Naruto had become a cold-blooded killer.
Ibiki created a plan as the rest of the room followed the boy with their eyes, whispers flying between complete strangers, everyone trying to find the answer to the obvious question.
Who… What the fuck is that?
Ibiki's plan was simple, but important. The chuunin exam had lost all importance in his eyes, only one thing mattered. Somehow, someway, he had to turn this exam into a psychological examination. He had two goals, the first being to determine the boy's killing range and the other to get a feel of the boy's power. If the boy proved to be too unstable, he would have to be put down… It was too late to modify his test… but Anko was still available…
'Seems like a simple enough test but most traps always look simple. Let's go over the rules one more time.
Alright… Everyone starts with 10 points and the test contains ten questions worth one point each. A wrong answer means one point lost. This is a team exam, so our total score determines whether we fail or pass. Every time someone is caught cheating means that they lose two points. Getting no points is an automatic failure. The test will last an hour.
So, what's the first question again?
It's a very complicated cryptogram.
…The second question?
Basically, it's a question that requires field experience and book smarts. It involves a shuriken thrown from a height of 7 meters and the attack options available towards the enemies that appear in the circumference.
Let me guess, we have the field experience…
…but we lack the book smarts.
Guess we have to cheat.
That's probably what we're supposed to do. Otherwise the cheating rule makes no sense.
We're in trouble… aren't we?
Yes… unfortunately, our skills in that area are lacking... well, while we're in a classroom anyway. We can infiltrate with no problems… but information gathering is not our forte. We have no suitable genjutsu… and I doubt we can take out the examiners.
Hmm… I wonder…
Don't be stupid.
Why not? How would we handle this situation outside a classroom? Sneak around them? What if it's too difficult? Do we go back? Hell no! We'd simply go through them.
You do realize we'll get disqualified, right?
Well technically, if we stand up and go copy off Sakura-chan and then go back to our seat, we'll only lose two points because it would be one long cheating attempt. Besides, who says we have to accept our disqualification?
Wow. Teishi was right, you really are brash. I doubt injuring a dozen Konoha chuunin will look good on our Hokage resume… and what about Zabuza and Morino-san?
I'm pretty sure you can hold them both long enough to get Sakura-chan's answers and who says we even have to fight? All we have to do is convince them that this exam isn't worth their lives. Unlike info gathering, intimidation is very much one of our strong points.
You're crazy, you know that?
You're just jealous of my master plan.
…I can't believe we're gonna go through with this…'
Otu sat motionless on his chair, waiting to make his move. It wouldn't do to get up now when no one completed the exam. He sat, simultaneously conversing with his brother and ignoring the various glances headed this way. He did so until something caught his attention. He expanded his senses, covering more and more of the room until he discovered it. He didn't know how he had managed to overlook it till then, but now that he had sensed it, it was unmistakable.
There was a demon carrier in the room. A quick word from Naruto gave him the much needed confirmation.
He knew that no one else could sense it, non-functional as it was… but now that he'd found it, it resonated with his own. The boy's personal aura. It was completely different from his, but the fact remained that it was an aura. He wasn't able to see the jinchuuriki, nor could he tell who it was even if he did see him, but he could feel it. That chaotic feeling in the air… the lack of reason… that twisted logic.
He didn't know much about that beast, but he knew one thing… that beast was completely insane.
He wasn't sure if the other boy knew of his true nature… but he had a feeling that their 'bond' wasn't one-way…
'We'll deal with this later. We have twenty minutes left, now's the time to act.'
Otu took a deep breath and prepared himself for the upcoming task. It would be a pain; he sincerely disliked being the center of attention. He's a natural born hermit.
Unbelievable… that boy was completely unbelievable. After spending thirty-five minutes with his thumb located a relatively long distance up his ass, he just gets up and strolls like it's nobody's business. He literally got up and walked towards his teammate without paying any attention to anything but his destination. By this time, over half the teams had been eliminated.
Naturally, everyone paused. The genin stopped answering though most of them had already finished, the examiners stopped examining... but that boy didn't stop walking.
It was only when Zabuza started laughing (quite terribly, Ibiki knew some of the genin wouldn't sleep that night.) that someone reacted.
"Hey! What the hell do you think you're doing! Go back to your seat!" yelled the closest chuunin. The boy paid no heed. He just kept on walking, ignoring the examiner's (and his teammate's) words. Eventually, the chuunin got tired of the boy.
"That's it! You're disqualified!" Even that wasn't enough. At this point, the boy was near the pink haired girl's seat.
"Hey! Are you deaf?" The young adult had reached his limit. He would simply have to force the boy out. He ran full speed with the intention of teaching the boy to respect his superiors. Ibiki watched as his assistant ran, expecting a demonstration of the boy's ability.
He was therefore stunned when his chuunin abruptly stopped… almost as if he discovered he was about to run into a trap. By this time, the boy had reached his destination. He turned towards the chuunin (the only indication he'd even heard him) and said two words to him.
"Think twice." After which he turned back to the girl.
"Sakura-san, do you mind if I take a look at your exam?" When she shook her head, he spun her sheet so that it faced him started reading (which meant the blindfold was phony). In the minute it took him to memorize it, some of the other examiners had moved to the unmoving one. He responded to their questions, but absolutely refused to turn his eyes away from Uzumaki.
"What's wrong with him?" asked Ibiki to his examiners. Before they could do so, his assistant intervened.
"Nothing important, Morino-san. He simply became aware of a fact that he previously overlooked." said Zabuza, speaking so that only Ibiki could hear him.
"And what fact is that?"
"Try to attack and you'll find out. It won't do to simply reveal the boy's secrets… Oh and by the way, if he makes it back to his seat, he won't receive a penalty for his act. So if you want to stop him, I suggest you do… too late."
A quick look revealed that the young boy had reached his seat and was currently answering the questions on his sheet. According to the expressions of the genin surrounding him, he had probably done so very swiftly. Ibiki turned back to Zabuza. Something was up and he had a feeling that the swordsman knew what. He was about to interrogate the man when he was interrupted by a few of the examiners. It seems that they would try to throw Naruto out of the room.
Of course, Zabuza would have none of that on his watch.
"All of you, don't take another step. That boy has done nothing wrong; there is nothing in the rules that specifies what method must be used to pass the test. All that is said is that if one gets caught cheating, one shall lose 2 points. Obviously, you all failed to catch him or even hinder him. You've no right to disqualify him, or even remove points. Go back to your stations and complete your assignments."
Unsurprisingly, this didn't go over too well. The chuunin were dutiful enough to obey when they received Ibiki's nod. The genin felt as if the boy was receiving special treatment.
A young cloud-nin got up and started clamoring at the unfairness of the situation. Zabuza quickly put a stop to that.
"Shut up." The boy immediately complied.
"Now, I'll say this once, so all of you listen. As you've all probably discovered, this test was designed to test your information gathering skills. You've all done your best to sneak past the examiner's notice, and generally that's a good way to do things. Still… I'll give you a piece of advice. Not every shinobi is going to go around an obstacle to take what they want; some of them will go right through it. If you aren't strong enough to stop them then it's useless. Today, the examiners failed to stop the brat. They were caught off guard. He managed to get to his destination and back with little resistance. He basically took advantage of the situation and it worked splendidly. There's no reason to penalize him. Of course, if you don't agree with my reasoning, you can always leave."
There were no arguments. Zabuza rose from his seat and walked closer to Ibiki.
"How about we cut this short? Continuing this debacle would be meaningless and I sense you have some things to ask me."
Ibiki agreed. He really had no desire to continue with the exam. It truly was pointless at this point. Besides, he had to talk to Anko… but it'd probably be better if he got a chance to speak with Zabuza first. He seemed to know a lot about this.
"Boys and girls, you should all count yourselves lucky. In light of some new information, we've decided to cut the first section short. Anyone remaining has officially passed. Before you go on to the next exam, take a few minutes to meditate. After this, the exam gets physical. At a certain point, you will definitely have to fight each other and there will be a chance of death. If you aren't confident in your fighting ability, I suggest you simply come back when you do. None of you leave this room, someone will arrive soon and they will take over the next part of the exam. Examiners, you're on babysitting duty. Make sure these cute boys and girls play nice." said Ibiki, before nodding to Zabuza. The two left the room immediately after.
"What happened to Uzumaki?" asked Ibiki as they ran around trying to find Anko.
"There's nothing wrong with him. If it looks like he's become a different person, that's because he has. It's only temporary though." answered Zabuza.
"What do you mean by that?"
"It's too complicated to explain. If you really want to know, you should find the boy's sensei."
"And who is that?" asked Ibiki as he looked out the window into the courtyard, only to find no trace of the second examiner.
"He founded Force Operation X a few months ago. My direct superior: Nishizaki Teishi."
"I've never heard of him before." Which was odd. Every high ranking shinobi knew each other or at least knew of one another. It wasn't that exactly hard given that they didn't even number in the hundreds.
"No surprise there. Apparently, no one knows who he is. The only thing known about him is that the Hokage trusts him enough to let him build his own compound and annex it to the village." said Zabuza.
"…Momochi-san, tell me something. Why did you, of all people, suddenly decide to join the village?"
"I didn't join the village. I joined Nishizaki-san. As for why… let's just say he made me an offer I couldn't refuse… a trade of sorts."
"If that's true, you're here because he wants you to be. You're here to supervise Force Operation X?"
"Just the boy." This specification didn't surprise Ibiki at all, but he still found it necessary to ask the obvious question.
"What about the others?"
"I asked him the same question. He told me that the others hadn't earned the right to act and that Naruto would have to shoulder the load by himself until his comrades grew strong."
"That doesn't make sense. If they're here it must be because he believes them to stand a relatively good chance of passing. They must have chuunin level skill, or close to it. How strong does he want them to become? For what purpose? How strong is the boy if he has earned the right to act?"
"I can only answer one of those questions. I'm an assassination specialist, but I can hold my own in a fight. As it is right now in a straight fight, with no tricks… I couldn't win. The boy's a combat specialist. According to his sensei, he's already one of the strongest shinobi in the village. What's more…"
"You can stop Momochi-san. It's too obvious, there's no reason why you would tell me this. It's impossible; no jounin's lips are that loose… Nishizaki-san asked you to reveal this."
"Hehehe… looks like he was right about you. Don't worry, I'm not allowed to lie." said Zabuza, his mirth palpable, before he abruptly turned and walked away. Ibiki just watched him go. Trying to make him stay would be foolish. Once Zabuza turned the corner, Ibiki turned back to the window. Suddenly, movement coming from the roof of a nearby building attracted his attention. There was Anko. Unfortunately, she wasn't alone. A masked Anbu was approaching her.
It looks like time is running out.
Otu learned an important fact today. Being berated publicly by Sakura-chan was not only embarrassing, it was also quite painful. Sakura had the unfortunate habit of punctuating her arguments with physical blows. Fortunately for many people, she reserved her special debating tactics to exclusive individuals. Otu had yet to see her do so with anyone other than him. Unable to handle more, he switched with his brother under the pretext that they weren't under examination and that he should take responsibility for the situation.
It was a known fact among the unit that while Naruto could take large amounts of pain without flinching, he absolutely abhorred small annoyances. In other words, he hated splinters, paper cuts, needles, etc.
Having his tail fur pulled out one strand at a time ranked pretty high on his list of intolerable pains.
"You idiot… you almost got us all disqualified! What do you have to say for yourself?" asked Sakura, pulling out a strand at each syllable.
"Argh... Sakura-chan, you don't have to… Urgh… Goddamn that stings! Why the hell are you doing this? I did the right thing! It was the only way to… OW! Enough, ENOUGH!"
Sakura was experienced enough in Naruto's reactions to know to let go of him before he jumped from his seat... and accidentally brought his tail down on the table hard enough to break it… and severely damage the floor. The nearby genin had to jump back to stop themselves from falling in the newly made hole in the floor. When the dust settled, Naruto was nowhere to be seen. Before any his friends could cry out to him, a door opened and in walked Naruto, brushing the dust from his person.
"Grumble… stupid… flimsiest building I've ever been in."
Teishi's plan for Naruto to appear cool and enigmatic? RUINED!
A few minutes later, Naruto and his friends sat in a rough circle on various chairs and tables, chatting with one another about their earlier experience. Ignoring 81 genin and a dozen chuunin proved to be easier than they thought.
Most of the genin returned the favour and ignored their lively gathering. They had already dismissed the whole group as a bunch of arrogant fools. However, a few teams were watching their every move. Their scrutiny hadn't gone unnoticed.
"1… 2… 4 teams. One sand, one sound, one grass and Neji's team."
"That's it? I kind of expected more, after that stunt you pulled." said Sasuke.
"It's not my fault if you can't understand the genius."
"Naruto… a child could understand your strategy."
"Just shut up Sasuke. We have more important things to do. One of those genin is like what I used to be."
"…That's a problem… So, how do we find who it is?"
"I have a plan… but it involves me using my aura on everyone in the room and that's probably not a good idea… Who's that guy?" said Naruto, referring to a silver haired teenager who was heading their way. He was wearing large round glasses and Naruto thought he looked like he was about to lecture what he considered to be stupid underclassmen.
"You guys are rookies just out of the academy, right? Chattering like school girls, Geez… this isn't a picnic."
Being right was such a pain…
Two figures are hidden in shadows, talking without fear of eavesdroppers.
"How'd it go?"
"Pretty much as you expected, though I have to say I had my doubts."
"I know him better than anyone. Besides, in a situation like that, it was pretty much his only option."
"What's the next step?"
"He must've attracted his attention. With his tail out, he's pretty much unmistakable."
"I was wondering why you let him keep it… although it would be more accurate to say he was forced to do so."
"Shut it Zabuza. I don't need your sass."
"Hehehe… you sure get unpleasant under stress…"
"Are you sure you want to test me?"
"…No, you could say I've learned my lesson. Besides, I won't gain anything if you're dead."
"… Anyway, an ex-Akatsuki like him would never ignore such a transformation in a jinchuuriki. One way or the other, he'll arrange for a meeting. It helps that he and Sasuke are on the same team."
"And this is where I come in?"
"Not exactly. Let Otu fight him alone. Five minutes after the fight starts, interfere. Not a second before or after. Make sure neither of them detects you. If Haku's near you then take him with you. If he isn't then let him finish his task. You probably won't have to fight. The threat of multiple opponents will make him back off."
"Are you sure about this? Naruto might've stood a chance, but Otu…"
"I'm sure. This is necessary. I want Naruto to attract his attention, not drive him off."
"…You're the boss." said Zabuza, before both turned to leave. They had places to be and preparations to complete.
I'll stop this chapter here. I'd like it better if the next chapter features most of the fighting.
How's it going? I don't have much time so I'll just spend this time to answer a few questions.
First and foremost, this fic doesn't seem to be in any immediate danger. My love for the series has stopped its decline... probably because I've stopped reading new chapters. In any case, I should be able to continue this story to its completion, unless something comes up.
Some of you may have gotten the wrong idea. Sakura does not enjoy watching pain. Inner-Sakura simply loves to twist facts. And by the way, in Teishi's eyes, all of the genin are currently useless (except Sasuke). You might've noticed that none of them have had much to do. That's because they're all in training. That'll change when they get strong enough. It's like a game of chess except pawns can't attack. They only become useful when they turn into other pieces.
Once again, thank you all for the wonderful reviews.
