Yay! Update, update! ^_^
Anyways, like last time, not too much I want to say here, other than to note that I'm retconning Mai's power levels down a fair bit from what they were (rather than being absurdly powerful but having severe restrictions on the power); I was researching some stuff, and was reminded of how much Naruto resembles DBZ these days. Since I want to avoid that, I'm dropping the power levels of several characters, both OCs and canon ones.
Also: contests! More details at the bottom. And I'm preparing to open a blog that I will be posting my stories too; just as soon as I manage to get things there all figured out…
Disclaimer: Standard disclaimers apply.
"Kakashi… what did you do with those kids?" questioned Hiruzen in absolute disbelief. In the orb, Iruka grabbed his kunai and left; evidently, what he'd just seen had been more than enough to convince him they were ready.
"I started them on chakra nature control," said Kakashi idly. "Say… about a week ago? I may have to talk to Shino and Sakura about that last stunt of theirs; they don't have Naruto's stamina after all…"
"That's beside the point," muttered Hiruzen. "You are never going to get to turn down a genin team again."
"Flattering though that is, I'm never going to reproduce these results," said Kakashi. "You simply gave me some of the brightest students to pass through the academy."
"Evidently," said Hiruzen. "Unless I miss my guess, Naruto just finished six months worth of training in a week. And finished in a big way, I might add." Shaking his head slightly, Hiruzen smirked. "We could sit here and ask questions about your students all day. But we should get back to discussing the exams. I will want to talk to you about their training later though."
"Understood."
"WHAT THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN TEACHING THOSE KIDS?"
Kakashi rubbed his ear slightly. The yeller was Iruka, who had returned just in time to shout at Kakashi before everyone from the meeting was completely out of ear shot.
"Let's see…" muttered Kakashi almost absentmindedly. "I mostly wound up teaching new stuff to Naruto. I lost track of the list at some point; fire and water primarily. I'll probably be teaching Sakura and Shino some extra jutsu soon. Other than that, mostly chakra control exercises and helping them hone taijutsu and whatever techniques they already knew. Why do you ask?"
"I'm asking because I just saw three rookie genin do something that it should've taken them another two years to accomplish!" said Iruka. "I can reconcile it with Naruto—I have no idea what the details of his time outside the village were. But Sakura and Shino didn't even have the most basic chakra control exercises done three months ago!"
"Hmm, chakra control exercises… now there's an idea. Instead of running them around the village, I should call in favors to have a big deep lake made at our training ground and have them run laps around that."
"Are you even listening? You've made those kids do the impossible!"
"Do you still think they can't pass these exams?"
"Uh… well… no, I don't think that anymore…"
"Then we're good," said Kakashi cheerfully. "If you'll excuse me, I'm sure my students would like to see me. They're no doubt eager to learn the next step of their training, and I must ask them if they actually wish to participate in the exam."
"You're excused," said Hiruzen. Kakashi smiled, nodded, and left the office.
He considered heading out to meet his students immediately… then realized he might damage his reputation for perpetual lateness if he did so.
So, instead, he decided to see if there were any good books on sale right now…
"You two overdid it," said Naruto, looking down at his prone, panting teammates. "How many times have we been over the fact that I'm the only stamina freak in this team?"
"Three-hundred forty-two times," answered Shino. Naruto blinked.
"That was a rhetorical question. I can't believe you actually kept track."
"You should know by now that Shino likes being meticulous," said Sakura. "Though I guess we did get a bit carried away. Do you really blame us?"
"Guess not," admitted Naruto, lying down and looking up at the clouds. "We've finished the current phases of training. Not sure if there's another one for me, but I don't think so. Do you know why Kakashi-sensei has us doing this?"
"So that we can more easily utilize the jutsu he plans to teach us?"
"That's probably only part of it," said Naruto. He tapped his head slightly. "Eighty years of academic studies. You learn some stuff there. For example, the two essential aspects of creating an entirely original ninjutsu that a ninja must learn are shape transformation and nature transformation."
…
"Kakashi-sensei is milking this shadow clone thing for all its worth, isn't he?" muttered Sakura.
"I do not believe we are complaining," said Shino.
"I've already got a few ideas…" said Naruto.
"Like what?"
"Well… I understand enough about raw wind power to know that I could probably make a jutsu capable of turning the country into a crater."
"Oh, the sweet whimsy of barracks science," said Sakura. "How I long to embrace it."
"Where in the world did you hear a line like that?" questioned Naruto.
"A comic I read a few years back."
"I'm sure there's a wonderful story behind that," said Naruto. "And yet I find myself terrified of the possible answers."
Two and a half hours later…
"Yo!"
Kakashi waited for someone to yell at him for being late. No one did. He looked down at his three students. Were they sleeping?
"You're early, Kakashi-sensei," commented Sakura, her voice right in his ear. The jōnin nearly leapt out of his skin, but quickly realized Sakura wasn't actually there.
"… normally, I let this off, but I have to ask: how did you do that?"
"Practice," answered Naruto from the ground. "We had some spare time, so we thought we'd mess with you, but I was the only one who could make clones to practice throwing voices. Copying Sakura's voice just required a simple Henge."
"… you have to be the craziest three genin I have ever laid eyes on," muttered Kakashi.
"Thanks for saying so," said Naruto. "I've heard the crazier you are, the more powerful you tend to be. I mean, what kind of lunatic do you have to be to successfully develop a ninjutsu that manipulates space and time? The Yellow Flash could not possibly have been sane, but the man was ridiculously powerful."
"Fair enough," said Kakashi, smiling in amusement. "However, I didn't come here to debate the merits of sanity with the three of you. Instead, I wanted to congratulate you for your success, and as a reward, inform you that I've nominated all of you for the Chūnin Exams to be held in one week."
"The Chūnin Exams? We've been nominated?" asked Sakura.
"That's right," said Kakashi. "The way I see it, the worst that could possibly happen is that you three leave behind a trail of traumatized genin from foreign nations, leaving them incapable of bringing it clientele, and netting us more money."
"So you're using us to make money to fulfill your porn addiction?"
"Laugh if you will Uzumaki, I'm the one who regulates your pay."
"Shutting up."
Sakura laughed. Shino remained quiet as ever, but was privately amused as well.
Not half an hour later, Sakura returned home, her Chūnin Exam registration forms in hand. All she had to do was sign it, and she'd be in.
"Sakura? Is that you?"
"Yes mom."
"Dinner will be ready in just a few. If you want to take a shower first, you should probably hurry."
"No, I'm fine."
Things hadn't been too awkward in the weeks since Sakura had slapped her mother. Yuko had said she probably deserved it and let the matter drop, as had Sakura. Still, it was sometimes uncomfortable.
"How has your training gone?" asked Yuko as the two sat down at the dinner table a few minutes later.
"Great," said Sakura with a small smile. "We finished our current training, so tomorrow we get to move onto the next step. It's all in preparation for the Chūnin Exams. Kakashi-sensei went ahead and nominated us."
"Already? You just graduated a few months ago…"
"I know, but it feels like a lifetime," said Sakura softly. "Actually, that's something else. Mom, I… need your advice."
"Hmm?"
"I… well, I want to ask Naruto out soon."
To Sakura's surprise, her mother was completely unsurprised. Yuko set down her chopsticks, sighing slightly.
"I wondered when this would be coming."
"Wait… you knew?"
"Of course," said Yuko with a small smile. "Sakura, I haven't heard the words 'Sasuke-kun' come out of your mouth in nearly twelve weeks now. You mostly talk about your teammates, especially Naruto-kun. Also, you dropped the honorifics the day you found out about the Kyūbi."
Sakura stared at her mother, running her mind over the past few months and was startled to realize that her mother was right. Ever since the team spars had started, she'd barely even thought of Sasuke outside of those spars.
"Also, when you were out on that mission of yours, I cleaned your room up," said Yuko. "Your stalker photos of that Sasuke kid have been collecting dust."
"I, um…" Sakura blinked. "I… really don't know what to say."
"Say 'thank you for paying more attention to my feelings than I have and can you please answer my request for advice on how to ask Naruto out'."
When team seven began training the next day, it opened with the interesting and amusing sight of a small horde of Naruto clones trying to take the wind nature transformation to yet another level. Specifically, Kakashi instructed Naruto to manifest enough wind to actually push the waterfall back up. Inevitably, of course, they would get soaked by this. So, the clones had all removed a good chunk of their clothes.
That had led to the hilarious (or perhaps disturbing) sight of Naruto, Kakashi and Shino spending about ten minutes trying to snap Sakura out of the biggest daze any of them had ever seen. Made more awkward when she started drooling before the first sixty seconds were up.
"I don't even want to know what she's thinking about," muttered Naruto.
"Consider that she's probably fantasizing about you," said Kakashi, voice completely deadpan.
"… okay, I don't want to admit to being curious about the possibility, and interested if that's the case," said Naruto. "I'm thinking Shino's the only non-pervert on this team, but that doesn't mean I have to display that for the world."
"I'm sure there's a wonderful story behind that, and yet I find myself terrified of the possible answers," commented Kakashi. He sighed. "Okay Sakura, this is getting ridiculous."
"Did you hear? They say there are going to be rookies in the exam for the first time in five years."
"Heh… no way… the jōnins are just being stubborn and trying to look good…"
"I wouldn't be certain… the rumor is that three of them are the students of that Kakashi… and they say those three are really strong…"
"That's interesting…"
"But in the end…" The girl speaking tossed her kunai, embedding it in a target above her teammate's head. The teammate in question didn't even blink.
"It's pitiful for them… to compete so far out of their league," he said.
The following week flew by in a bit of a blur; every free moment was dedicated to training. The instant Naruto finished the third step of his wind nature training, Kakashi provided some scrolls from Asuma and the Sandaime on a few particular wind jutsu. During this time, Sakura and Shino also trained in the use of water and earth techniques, as well as the physical training, a special sort of nightmare all its own.
They'd had a few sporadic run-ins with the ninja of other villages, including a few more encounters with Temari. However, these were mostly just passing acknowledgments. Sakura hadn't even had the opportunity to ask Naruto out, so busy had team seven been.
However, when all was said and done, they were all satisfied with their readiness for the exams.
"You know, at some point, I need to get myself some kind of cloak or jacket that oozes 'cool' and 'mysterious', just so I don't stand out as much in this team," mumbled Sakura.
She was referring, of course, to the fact that Shino wore a heavy long coat at all times (probably to keep people from seeing the bugs crawling out of his body), and Naruto was in his full cloak and straw hat getup. He'd been switching between wearing the hat and not wearing it depending on how hot the day was; the hotter it was, the less likely he was to wear it.
Of course, she could understand him wearing the cloak—particularly the current version that cut out the cutesy foxes in favor of more fearsome looking ones of red and gold—when they were heading into the exams. If she didn't know Naruto as well as she did, she'd probably be at least a tad scared of him.
Sakura herself was mostly dressed the same as usual, but she'd added quite a few equipment pouches to her usual attire, and there was a container slung across her back
"I'm sure we can find you something," said Naruto. "Just to warn you though, it does get kind of hot in this thing."
"Indeed," agreed Shino. "Were my body not the way it is, I would likely be far more uncomfortable in this warmth then I am."
"You two are creepy. I'm so glad you're on my side."
With that, the three walked into the academy, where the first stage of the exam was to be held.
Now, they expected oddities—after all, their home village was filled with ninja from foreign countries. What they didn't expect… was for the second floor to have a room with '302' above it, surrounded by a crowd of genin getting pushed around by a pair of genin standing in front of the door.
"Please, just let us through," said a girl with black hair pulled into a pair of buns. She was helping a boy with a thick bowl-shaped haircut and green spandex get back to his feet.
"That begging of yours is pathetic," said one of the two standing in front of the door. "The Chūnin Exams are tough. We should know; we've failed them before ourselves. Do yourselves a favor and go home."
"Excuse me," said Naruto, stepping forward slightly and drawing everyone's attention. "But could you do me a favor and let the actual exams knock people out of the running?"
"And what's it to you, kid?"
"Well… not too much," admitted Naruto. "But I spent years in this academy. It does sort of rub me the wrong way when you go around mislabeling doors. Sakura, Shino?"
The next thing anyone knew, there were two kunai held at the throats of each of the genin blocking the door, and there were also bugs crawling all over them. The two froze in shock.
"When did you three…?"
The kunai were each held by a clone of Naruto or a clone of Sakura, one for each of the two. Team seven looked almost bored.
"While we were sitting here debating," said Naruto. "Isn't Henge no Jutsu fun? Anyways, allow me…" Naruto formed the ram seal and forcibly dispelled the genjutsu, revealing the numbers '202' on the sign above the door instead of '302'.
"Now, for those who want to stop wasting time, there are three sets of stairs readily accessed from here. They are that way, that way and this way. See you all later."
With that, team seven turned and walked towards the last set of stairs Naruto had pointed out. The other genin all watched them walk off in surprise.
"So… that was Hatake Kakashi's genin squad?" murmured one of the two genin as the bugs and clones pulled away. The Naruto clones flickered out of existence, while the two Sakura clones dissolved to water that proceeded to follow team seven, freaking out almost everyone present.
"Okay, that is just creepy," muttered one genin.
"Hatake Kakashi's squad…" murmured another one. "Neji, Tenten-san, please go on without me. I wish to inquire further."
"Okay, but remember what you said about keeping a low profile," said Tenten.
"Lee, share with us whatever information you find on them," ordered Hyūga Neji.
"I will," said Rock Lee before proceeding after team seven.
"You're late," said Sasuke when team seven arrived at classroom 302 fifteen minutes later. He looked rather irritable, which could be understood, seeing as Ino was attached to his back and nuzzling her cheek against his neck. It looked like she'd been doing this for several minutes.
"Sorry," said Naruto. "Got a little held up by a freaky genin with a bowl for hair, exaggeratedly bushy eyebrows and nightmare-inducing green spandex."
"Ino, you should really get off Sasuke-kun," said Sakura. "Not to say you're heavy or anything, but he can't hold you up forever, and he may need his strength for the exam."
"But he's so adorable when he's angry!" said Ino, smiling as she continued to nuzzle his neck. Sasuke visibly twitched as most of the others chuckled slightly.
"Fair enough," said Sakura evenly. "I really don't care much one way or the other. I got enough eye candy last week to last me the next six months."
Naruto blushed, Shino twitched, and the other rookies all stared at Sakura in complete confusion.
"I… I don't want to know…" said Ino. Sakura smirked.
"Oh, believe me, you do," she said. "But that's okay, because I'm… not… telling." As she finished, Sakura's smirk dissolved into a smile sweet enough to give the average person a toothache.
"You're damn right you're not," growled Naruto. "That… never… happened."
"Alright, now I'm curious: what happened?" asked Kiba.
"Nothing," hissed Shino. He caught almost everyone by surprise, but Naruto and Sakura had expected it. "Nothing happened. Ever. It was irritating, it was random, it was completely pointless, and you're never going to know."
"I… I don't think I've ever heard Shino say that much at one time in my life," said Kiba. Akamaru yipped in agreement.
"It must've been something big," commented Ino. "He's denying it happened and ranting about it at the same time."
"Could you just get off of me?"
"Nah, you're back is more comfortable than you'd think."
"Ino, as troublesome as this exam is, Chōji and I would like our teammate to be in good condition during the whole thing."
"I don't weigh that much. He'll be fine."
"Get off Ino."
A weak chuckling drew the attention of the rookies to an older bespectacled Konoha genin with silver hair approaching them.
"You're a rather strange group," he said. "But a word of advice: you shouldn't gather in large groups. It makes you look weak; also, some of the other genin seem to be getting a little irritated." The rookies looked the way he was pointing, and sure enough, there were quite a few ninja glaring at them. Reluctantly, Ino slid off of Sasuke's back, deciding she'd had her fun at this point and she should act a bit more serious.
"So… who are you?" asked Naruto.
"I'm Yakushi Kabuto," he said. "And the nine of you are the rookies who graduated just a few months back, correct?"
"That's right," said Kiba. "First rookies to be nominated in years!"
"While that is impressive, this isn't a field trip," said Kabuto seriously. "Many of the genin here are from foreign villages that we're barely friendly with. They won't hesitate to kill you."
"Bah! They can't be any worse than facing these three maniacs," said Kiba, jabbing a finger at team seven.
"Is that right? Well, you'll find out soon enough I'm sure," said Kabuto.
"Kabuto-san, is this your second time?" asked Sakura. Kabuto chuckled, somewhat sheepishly.
"Actually… it's my seventh," he admitted.
"Seventh?" questioned Sasuke. "You can't possibly be weak enough to fail that easily, can you?"
"Not so much 'weak' as 'facing impossible odds'," said Kabuto, crouching down as he pulled out a deck of cards and laid one on the ground. The card itself was blank. "Nin info cards; I've been in so many exams I've gotten good at collecting information on the fly. The information is hidden so only I can reveal it. Like so." He pushed a little chakra into the card, revealing a map of the region in which the five major shinobi countries lay. There were lines from several of the countries within that region, all connecting to a symbol with a number beneath it, the numbers ranging from three to seventy-two, but all multiples of three.
"These are the numbers of shinobi participating in the exam and which country they're from," said Kabuto. "All total, there are a hundred and fifty-three participants, a little on the small size for the usual exams. So, there are fifty-one teams total… but even in larger exams, it's unusual for more than twenty to pass the first exam. The second generally cuts out at least seventy-five percent of those remaining. It's unusual for their to be more than a dozen or so genin left to take on the third exam, and while at that point it's no longer based on teams, only about half of those to take on the third exam manage the promotion."
"… okay, I concede: you can be strong and still not go anywhere," said Sasuke. Kabuto chuckled.
"Like I said: facing impossible odds," he said. "I've actually made it through the first two several times, but the second one typically hits me so hard that I'm not able to take the third one."
"Ouch," commented Naruto.
"Kabuto, do you have cards on specific ninja?" asked Sasuke.
"Is there someone you'd like to know more about?"
"At this point… yes. Uzumaki Naruto."
"I'll take your interest as a compliment."
Kabuto chuckled as he pulled out a card.
"When you know their names, it's easier," he said. "But it does take a lot of the fun out of it. So, let's see what I have on you, Naruto-kun." He pushed his chakra into the card and started to read it.
"Hmm… I'll skip over the obvious," he said. "Mission experience, nineteen D-rank, three C-rank and one A-rank… wait, an A-rank as a genin? You'll have to explain that one to me. The way I make the cards causes me to miss a lot of the information that goes on them. Teammates are Haruno Sakura and Aburame Shino; jōnin sensei is Hatake Kakashi. Now, for abilities…" Kabuto blinked, taking off his glasses and cleaning them before putting them back on.
"Um… wow… initially high in all four non-kekkei genkai fields," said Kabuto. "Some growth in taijutsu, genjutsu and ninja tool usage, but considerable growth in the field of ninjutsu; if this info is accurate, then you might have the best ninjutsu skills of all the genin participating, in spite of being only three months out of the academy. I'm impressed, Naruto-kun."
"I cheated," said Naruto lightly. "I'd like to know about two as well; Rock Lee from Konoha, and Gaara from Suna."
"Okay… let's see…" He pulled out two additional cards. "We'll start with Rock Lee."
Pushing his chakra into the card, Kabuto began to read it.
"He's a year older than you guys. Mission experience is twenty-nine D-rank and eleven C-rank. Teammates are Tenten, a war orphan, and Hyūga Neji; jōnin sensei is Maito Gai. His taijutsu has improved greatly over the last year, but the rest is nothing impressive, subpar even. Last year, he gained attention as a talented genin, but did not participate in the exams, so like you, it's his first time."
"So, a taijutsu specialist?" said Naruto. Kabuto nodded as he pulled up the next card.
"Now, this next one is Sabaku no Gaara; not sure where that title came from, but it seems pretty firmly attached. Mission experience is eight C-rank and one B-rank… wow, I guess there really are a lot of talented genin in these exams. His teammates are his siblings, Kankurō and Temari; I don't know who their sensei is. This is the first time he's participated, and he's from a foreign nation, so I don't have much more info on him. But… well, there is one interesting bit: it seems that he came back from all his missions unharmed."
"He came back unharmed from a B-rank mission as a genin?" questioned Shikamaru.
"The rest of you should be careful of that guy," said Naruto. "He's… well, to put it one way, think of him as being like me, only more violent or outright murderous, completely insane, and entirely unrestrained."
"Got it: don't mess with the creepy sand guy," said Kiba.
"Is there anyone else you'd like info on? I can tell you about pretty much everyone except the genin from Oto. That village is small and extremely new, so I don't know what to expect from them, but probably nothing too serious."
"Lee-kun said his teammate Neji was probably the strongest genin in the exams," said Sakura. "Could we see his info?"
"Sure… okay, Hyūga Neji, mission experience is the same as Lee's and you know the team info. His ninjutsu, genjutsu and tool usage are only average, but he's extremely skilled in taijutsu and the Hyūga kekkei genkai, the Byakugan. Even though he's a member of the branch house, he's recognized as a prodigy of the highest level."
"With the Uchiha Clan wiped out and the Senju Clan nearly extinct, the Hyūga are undisputedly the strongest clan of Konoha," commented Sasuke. "For him to be considered a prodigy in that clan… he really must be strong."
"Don't tell me you're scared, Sasuke," said Naruto. Sasuke smirked.
"Not at all," he said. "In fact… I think I'd like to spar with him at some point."
"Be careful if you do," said Naruto. "Rock Lee convinced me to have a spar with him—no, I'm not telling you how," no one noticed Sakura's blush, "and if it hadn't been stopped by his sensei when it was, then he'd probably have hurt me pretty badly regardless of who won."
"Being weary is good advice," agreed Kabuto, gathering up the cards. "All the ninja here are the top elites among the genin from each village. They're not here without good reason."
"I'm starting to lose confidence…" murmured Hinata.
"Hey, it's a little late to say that, don't you think?" said Ino. "Don't worry; Kiba and I will help you through these exams and we'll all be chūnin before you know it."
Kabuto chuckled.
"I admire your confidence, but remember, less than a dozen out of the hundred and fifty-three people here are actually gonna reach the final exam, and even then, that's no guarantee for them to actually get promoted."
At that moment, an explosion of smoke towards the front of the room drew the attention of all the genin.
"Sorry to keep you all waiting." As the smoke cleared, everyone got their first look at the speaker, a man wearing a trenchcoat and a bandana covering his head with large scars running across his face. He was surrounded by a large group of chūnin.
"I am Morino Ibiki," he said. "I will be the proctor for the first test of this Chūnin Selection Exam." He grinned, somewhat sadistically. "Since I've heard this is the most talented batch of genin in years, I've been given permission to be especially nasty. We'll get to that part later. For now though… it's time to begin the Chūnin Selection Exams."
Kakashi stared up at the Hokage Monument from the viewing platform situated beneath it. The four men whose faces were chiseled into that mountain were the best and brightest the Leaf had ever produced. There was a face Kakashi hoped to see there some years down the line, but for now, he'd have to wait for that day just as his student would.
The cycloptean jōnin shifted slightly as he sensed the presence approaching behind him.
"You know… when I asked if you'd meet me here, I honestly didn't think you'd have the time," he said softly.
"And miss the opportunity to discuss those marvelous genin under your command?" said Hiruzen with a small chuckle as he stepped up to the railing next to Kakashi. "Not a chance. So, what is it you wished to speak to me about?"
"A few things," said Kakashi. "First, I was wondering if you could share with me the identity of Naruto's old senseis. I've respected his privacy in the matter, but I've been doing some thinking ever since we returned from Nami, and… I don't feel I can make an informed decision with what I know right now."
"I see," said Hiruzen. "Naruto told me about his senseis. However, for various reasons, I cannot share the details. Sufficed to say that, while the integrity of his past teachers is more in question than you could possibly guess, Naruto is unharmed and the education he received was most assuredly of the highest possible level."
"Mmm…"
"Why are you asking this? What is it that you've been thinking about?"
Kakashi sighed, looking to the face of his late sensei carved into the mountain.
"A few weeks ago, Naruto told Sakura and Shino about the Kyūbi," he said. Hiruzen nodded, having already guessed at that. "He later asked me if I knew why Minato-sensei chose him… I couldn't lie to him. I know the truth. But I didn't feel I had the right to tell him, and Naruto didn't seem ready for the answer anyways. I did promise that I would tell him if no one else would… however, Naruto said that when he was ready, he wanted me to tell him." Kakashi looked down. "He said… that I was the closest thing he felt he'd ever had to a father."
Hiruzen glanced at Kakashi before focusing on the face of his successor and predecessor.
"He may be right," said Hiruzen softly. "I was always busy and Iruka shunned Naruto as well for a long time. I seem to recall a certain masked jōnin reaching out to a lonely child and taking him for an enjoyable meal about… oh, I guess it would be about eight years ago now, wouldn't it?"
"I guess it's to be expected you would've known about that," said Kakashi. "Really, there are times I feel I should go back and slap my younger self for not just taking him in."
"You had your reasons; we all did," said Hiruzen. "For some, perhaps they were just excuses. For others, they were very real fears. I believe you fall into that second category. Regardless, things seem to have turned out well, in the end, and I guess you have this chance to rectify your past mistakes."
"Perhaps," said Kakashi. "Hokage-sama, do you think I should be the one to tell him? Do you think I really have that right?"
"You are the one he wants to hear it from," said Hiruzen. "You are the prize student of Namikaze Minato. You are one of the few individuals to know the truth of Naruto's lineage and why the Yondaime would choose an infant not even an hour old to become the vessel for the most powerful of all the primordial demons of our world. I do not think there is anyone who has more right to tell Naruto the truth than you do."
"I… thank you, Hokage-sama."
A written test. Now, Naruto was not the smartest person around. Prior to his two-year absence, he was a bit of an idiot, due to a poor education and lack of determination in the academic field, but by the time of his return, he had a lifetime's worth of academics crammed into his skull.
So, a written test was unlikely to be a problem at all for him. As Ibiki explained the rules, Naruto quickly determined that if there were any problems he and his teammates couldn't answer, it would be a paltry task to cheat the answers without losing enough points to fail.
Of course, then the test actually began…
"What… is this?" questioned Naruto softly. These questions couldn't possibly be answered by the average genin. Granted, the idea was that these people were supposed to be tested for chūnin-level qualifications, but this was still a tad too far…
For awhile, Naruto just stared at the paper, wondering what was up, as everyone else around him did their best to answer… then, it hit Naruto, like a barrel of bricks, and it took everything he had not to slam his head into the desk at his own stupidity in not seeing it sooner.
"Go… figure…" he muttered to himself. He took a quick glance around, spotting Shino and Sakura quickly. They seemed to be fine, and he could answer most of the questions just fine as well. There were two, however, that he would need a bit of help for.
So, with that in mind, he created a shadow clone disguised as a fly; oh, the wonders of properly utilized combo ninjutsu. Now he just needed to let the fly search out someone with all the answers, read their paper, then dispel itself.
Not five minutes later, Naruto had answered all nine questions. He glanced at the clock, and was shocked to realize it had taken him fifteen minutes to figure out the actual goal.
He again had to refrain from bashing his own skull in with the desk. It had already been amply proven that no amount of damage would actually make his skull thinner.
Well, he really didn't have much to do for the remaining twenty-five minutes… so he decided to go ahead and scope out the competition with more 'flies'.
Now, he had nothing better to do than relax for the next half hour or so…
Kakashi, Kurenai and Asuma sat in the Konoha Jōnin Lounge, taking the chance to relax while their students were taking the exams. Scattered about the lounge were the jōnin senseis of the other twenty-one Konoha teams participating.
"Now that our subordinates are gone… it's pretty dull, isn't it?" commented Kakashi idly, though half his mind was on his earlier discussion with the Hokage.
"We'll be busy again soon enough," said Asuma.
"What? You don't think they'll make it through the first exam?" asked Kurenai.
"If I'd known at the time… well, I'd probably have nominated them anyway," said Asuma. "But it turns out this year's first examiner is Morino Ibiki."
"That sadist huh?"
"Sadist?" questioned Kurenai.
"Yeah," said Asuma. "You were only recently promoted, so I guess it's understandable that you wouldn't know. But Ibiki… well, put simply, he's a pro."
"A pro? At what?"
"Torture and interrogation," answered Asuma.
"What?"
"Even though there won't be any physical torture in the exams… I imagine quite a few people are feeling the mental stress at this point."
"Yes," said Kakashi. "The head of the ANBU torture and interrogation squad, Morino Ibiki… seems like overkill for mere genin." However, Kakashi chuckled. "But I doubt my students will have any problems. Sasuke will probably be fine as well. The others I'm not so sure of, especially Hinata."
"If anything, Shikamaru's probably too lazy to care… though he's also lazy enough that I imagine he might quit anyways. As for Chōji, that's more difficult to say."
"Kiba and Ino will probably be fine… I doubt Hinata will let them down."
Naruto sat at the desk, impatiently tapping the eraser of his pencil against it as he waited for the clock to hit 1:45, the forty-five minute mark for the test, when Ibiki would finally give them the tenth question.
When the clock finally hit 1:45, Ibiki smirked suddenly.
"Looks like we already dropped the incompetent ones," he said lightly. "I will now give the final question, since forty-five minutes have already passed."
Crap… Kankurō… you better get back here soon… thought Temari; her brother had asked to go to the bathroom, though that was just a ploy for him to get the answers.
"But…" said Ibiki, "before that, there is one thing I must say: there will be a special rule for this last question."
At that moment, the door to the classroom opened, and Kankurō reentered with his chūnin escort. Ibiki's perpetual smirk grew slightly as he stared at Kankurō.
"You're lucky," he said. "You're little puppet show doesn't have to go to waste. Oh well. Sit down." With a slight nod, Kankurō did so, passing by Temari's seat on the way to his own. As he did so, he dropped a small roll of paper on her desk.
"I will now explain what you are dealing with," said Ibiki as the Suna genin took his seat. "This is a 'hopeless' rule." Ibiki turned to face the window. "Here's how it's going to work: first, you all get to choose whether or not you want to take it. Refusal to take on the problem will reduce your points to zero, failing you and both your teammates. And second, the reason some of you might be better off not taking it anyway: if you take it and fail to answer… you will lose the privilege to participate in the Chūnin Exams ever again!"
Gasps filled the room as several of the participants began to tremble.
"That's bull!" shouted Kiba. "There are people here who have been in the exam before!"
"I only said you'd lose the privilege if you failed to answer; if someone had been in this position, they wouldn't be here," said Ibiki. "But while you're argument is wrong, what is true is that no one here has faced this hopeless rule before. Those presiding over the exams are constantly changing… and you were unfortunate enough to get me for this exam. This year, I am the rule, and there's nothing you can do about it."
Ibiki looked them all over.
"But you should look on the bright side: at least I'm kind enough to give you the chance to back away. You can try again next year if you want… or the year after that even. After all, there's always next time for you. If you want to leave, just raise your hand."
Most of the participants were starting to sweat. Humorously, Naruto was among them, because he was wearing a heavy cloak, a straw hat that covered his primary heat release vent (his head) and this classroom had poor air conditioning. That said, Naruto was completely unconcerned himself.
Trembling, the genin sitting on Naruto's left raised his hand.
"I… I… I quit! I won't take it!" he said.
"Number 50, fail," said one of the chūnin examiners off to the side. "Number 111 and 130 fail along with him."
"I'm sorry… Genai… Inaho…" said the genin who'd just quit, while his teammates both stood up. "Damn it…"
"Me too!" came another voice suddenly, drawing everyone's attention to a genin raising his hands. Several of those around him raised their hands as well. As the teams cleared out, Naruto sighed before glancing around, looking for any others that might quit.
It was then that he noticed two of his friends who seemed uncertain of themselves: Hinata and Chōji.
That made some sense… Hinata was shy, meek and submissive. Her confidence had improved since becoming a genin, but Naruto could still see a great deal of the person she'd been before he left Konoha. And Chōji… he also lacked self-confidence, though not nearly to the same extent. But his greatest fear, no doubt, was what would happen if he took the question, failed, and dragged his teammates out with him.
There were others, too, trembling, uncertain, like frightened children. Naruto felt his hand clench into a fist as he stood up.
"Hmm? Are you giving up as well?" asked Ibiki. Naruto shook his head slightly as he removed his hat.
"No," he said calmly. "I just thought… well, you've been the one doing all the talking; only receiving a question or two along the way. So, now I'll do the talking."
"If you have something to say, then feel free."
"Yeah, I do," said Naruto. "Screw you."
"Excuse me?"
"Screw you and your stupid hopeless rule," said Naruto. "I'm not scared of you; I'm no coward who runs away from dangerous situations. I… am a proud shinobi of Konohagakure no Sato, the mightiest of all the ninja villages! From the day I was born, I've carried a burden that most shinobi couldn't even conceive of and in that burden I was entrusted with a legacy. I will not fail my friends; I will not disappoint those who have granted me their legacy; I will not shame my teachers or what family I have. Even if you can present a question that I couldn't hope to answer, even if you manage to trap me as a genin forever, I will take your challenge head-on."
Naruto glared at Ibiki.
"I… am Uzumaki Naruto, student of Hatake Kakashi and future Hokage of this village! Nothing you do will ever change that; if fate says otherwise, then I will fight whatever forces it uses to try and stop me and I will win! So throw whatever you have at me Ibiki-san; I'm ready for it."
Ibiki looked over all the genin present; almost all were staring at Naruto with looks of admiration. It took everything he had to conceal his satisfied smirk.
"Bold words, Uzumaki Naruto," he said. "Can you really back them up? This decision, this moment, could very well decide the course of your life."
"I can back them up," said Naruto calmly. "I'll say it again: I am no coward. I will never run from my problems; I will not back down from a challenge without good reason. Your power to trap me at my current rank doesn't frighten me. I told you: I am a proud shinobi of Konoha, and I have a legacy to live up to. I refuse to run from it; that is my Way of the Ninja."
There was no more uncertainty; although Naruto had spoken of burdens and legacies that couldn't be applied to others, his fiercest words—that he was a proud shinobi—were ones that resonated with all those here. The looks of admiration he was getting, the confidence he had given to everyone…
Ibiki stepped forward slightly, eyeing the participants. No one else was going to quit, he could see it in their eyes. Seventy-eight genin… far more than he'd expected.
Interesting kid… he's got what it takes to be a chūnin… and a Hokage, thought Ibiki. Looks like there's no point in waiting any longer.
He glanced at the chūnin examiners, who were all smiling slightly. They gave him slight nods, indicating their agreement with his conclusions.
"Nice determination," said Ibiki. "Then… for the first exam, everyone here…" Ibiki finally allowed the smile he'd been holding back to form "passes."
It took everything he had not to laugh at the looks of shock he was getting.
"Wait a minute!" said Sakura, standing to her feet. "We pass already? What about the tenth question?"
Ibiki couldn't hold it in any longer; he let out a small laugh.
"If there was a tenth question, then it was the one I already asked," he said. "Do you stay and take a chance, or do you walk away and hope to do better next time?"
"Then why even have the other nine questions?" demanded Temari. "It was pointless!"
"It was not pointless," said Ibiki. "That part of the test has already served his purpose. Tell me, how many of you were able to answer without cheating at all? And no, you won't be suddenly failed if you did cheat; like I said, everyone here passes."
Two hands rose into the air—Haruno Sakura and Nara Shikamaru. Ibiki smirked.
"These questions couldn't be answered by an ordinary genin," said Ibiki. "The purpose was to test your information gathering abilities. As long as you had at least one point left over, you were fine; you only lost two points for cheating. If your ability to gather information is good, then you need only cheat once to gather all the information you need, losing only two points. Or, if your method can't be spotted, you can get by with all points intact. Either way, if you got caught too many times or messed up your information, you failed."
"And the tenth question?" asked Sasuke.
"To take the chance or not to take it," said Ibiki. "In place of that, let me present a scenario to you: you've been given a mission to acquire an object from an enemy fortress. Your enemies are likely ninja, but you don't know their numbers or their strengths. They probably have traps waiting. Your unit is the most qualified to take the mission, but it's a high risk mission, and there's a good chance you or your comrades could die. Do you take the mission, or wait for a safer one?"
Silence followed that before, with a sigh, Naruto finally sat back down.
"You take it," he said softly. Ibiki nodded.
"For a chūnin, there is no choice," he said. "You must take the mission. Those who don't have the guts to risk everything… have no right to become chūnin. That is my belief. You all proved better than that, so congratulations. I wish you luck in the remaining exams."
A moment later, an object came hurtling through the window, catching all the genin off-guard. That object was a large banner wrapped around a human body. The person within threw a pair of kunai attached to the banner into the ceiling, hanging it up as she came to a halt, blocking Ibiki from view and standing up with a cold expression.
"Everybody, there's no time to be happy!" said the woman. "I am the second examiner, Mitarashi Anko. Let's go to the next exam." She punched her fist into the air. "Follow me!"
No one listened to her… partially because she hadn't moved after that statement, and partially because they were too busy staring at her in shock.
This… is what I used to act like… did I really make myself look so stupid all the time? wondered Naruto.
Of course, he'd never worn an outfit quite like that. Suddenly, his bright orange jumpsuits didn't seem so absurd, when compared against Anko's choice of fishnet and long coat.
"Grasp the atmosphere, Anko," said Ibiki, stepping out from behind the banner, catching sight of Anko, unmoving and blushing in embarrassment as she caught on.
Letting out an irritated sigh, Anko let her hand fall as she started counting the remaining genin.
"Seventy-eight?" she questioned. "Ibiki, you let twenty-six teams pass? The first exam must've been too soft."
"There are a lot of talented students this time around," said Ibiki. Anko shook her head slightly before refocusing on the genin.
"Oh well," she said. "I'll be cutting their numbers at least in half anyways."
"At least in half?" echoed Sakura softly. Most of the genin were starting to look nervous again. Anko smirked.
"That's better," she said. "Hah… I'm getting excited. I'll explain the second test to all of you when we arrive at the new testing grounds. So, seriously this time: follow me."
Anko led the genin across Konoha, to an enormous fenced off area. There was an ominous aura coming from the forest behind the fence. Signs posted about the area marked it as off-limits. Beyond any doubt, a place as grim as any Naruto had ever seen.
"Welcome…" said Anko, "to the staging ground for the second phase of the Chūnin Selection Exams: Konoha's 44th Training Zone… otherwise known as the Forest of Death."
Several of the genin shuddered, and Anko's faint smirk grew.
"Don't worry," she said. "You'll all be learning personally why this place was given a nickname like that."
Author's Notes: That was fun; I know it's not at all ominous when you know everything, but this felt like a good place to end it.
Now, first things first: for the "contests": the first is: design a new outfit for Sakura! When you get down to it, her getup is lacking the awesome of Naruto's and Shino's. The second "contest" is original ninjutsu; canon likes to settle things with fists and spamming the same few techniques over and over, so there's a limited selection. Feel free to submit any jutsu ideas you have to me (preferably via PM) and if I like it, I'll use it, and you shall recieve credit for that technique.
Moving on, there wasn't exactly much to do here, so I wound up with a lot of talking going on instead. Also, a reminder: Naruto isn't dumb, and is pretty clever when he wants to be, but he isn't a genius the way Shikamaru is, and can still be pretty thick-skulled about some things (for example, Sakura's growing feelings for him; to be fair, those could easily be brushed off as wishful thinking).
Regarding the encounter with Rock Lee, I could've written it out, especially since many small aspects are very different from canon… but then I decided it would be more fun to leave exactly what happened ambiguous.
Finally, to end things here, the current list of jutsu known to the genin of team seven (note that Naruto having summoning is not a retcon… I was just an idiot and forgot to put it in on the last list; the class ranking of Kaze Bunshin is a retcon).
Please leave a review! ^_^
Character Jutsu List:
NARUTO:
Bunshin Daibakuha (Clone Great Explosion) A-rank Offensive Ninjutsu, developed and taught by Uchiha Itachi
Tajū Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Multiple Shadow Clone Technique) A-rank Supplementary Kinjutsu, taught by Kazekaika Mai
Kaze Bunshin no Jutsu (Wind Clone Technique) A-rank Supplementary Ninjutsu, taught by Kazekaika Mai
Suiton: Daibakufu no Jutsu (Water Release: Great Waterfall Technique) A-rank Offensive Ninjutsu, taught by Hatake Kakashi
Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Shadow Clone Technique) B-rank Supplementary Ninjutsu, taught by Kazekaika Mai
Suiton: Suigadan (Water Release: Water Fang Bullet) B-rank Offensive Ninjutsu, taught by Hatake Kakashi
Suiton: Suiryūdan no Jutsu (Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet) B-rank Offensive Ninjutsu, taught by Hatake Kakashi
Katon: Karyūendan (Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame Missile) B-rank Offensive Ninjutsu, taught by Hatake Kakashi
Suirō no Jutsu (Water Prison Technique) C-rank Supplementary Ninjutsu, taught by Hatake Kakashi
Mizu Bunshin no Jutsu (Water Clone Technique) C-rank Supplementary Ninjutsu, taught by Kazekaika Mai
Tsuchi Bunshin no Jutsu (Earth Clone Technique) C-rank Supplementary Ninjutsu, taught by Kazekaika Mai
Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu (Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique) C-rank Offensive Ninjutsu, taught by Hatake Kakashi
Katon: Hōsenka no Jutsu (Fire Release: Phoenix Immortal Fire Technique) C-rank Offensive Ninjutsu, taught by Hatake Kakashi
Kuchiyose no Jutsu (Summoning Technique) C-rank All-Purpose Ninjutsu, contract signed with unknown summon race, taught by Kazekaika Mai
Bunshin no Jutsu (Clone Technique) E-rank Supplementary Academy Ninjutsu
Henge no Jutsu (Transformation Technique) E-rank Supplementary Academy Ninjutsu
Kawarimi no Jutsu (Body Replacement Technique) E-rank Supplementary Academy Ninjutsu
Mirāken (Mirror Fist) Elite Taijutsu Style, developed and taught by Kazekaika Mai
SAKURA:
Sakura Fubuki no Jutsu (Cherry Blossom Blizzard Technique) A-rank Offensive Combination Jutsu, self-developed
Magen: Jubaku Satsu (Demonic Illusion: Tree Binding Death) B-rank Genjutsu, taught by Yūhi Kurenai
Suiton: Suijinheki (Water Release: Water Encampment Wall) B-rank Defensive Ninjutsu, taught by Hatake Kakashi
Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Shadow Clone Technique) B-rank Supplementary Ninjutsu, taught by Uzumaki Naruto
Magen: Kokoni Arazu no Jutsu (Demonic Illusion: False Surroundings Technique) C-rank Genjutsu, taught by Yūhi Kurenai
Mizu Bunshin no Jutsu (Water Clone Technique) C-rank Supplementary Ninjutsu, taught by Uzumaki Naruto
Magen: Narakumi no Jutsu (Demonic Illusion: Hell Viewing Technique) D-rank Genjutsu, taught by Hatake Kakashi
Kirigakure no Jutsu (Hiding in Mist Technique) D-rank Supplementary Ninjutsu, taught by Hatake Kakashi
Ou Mizu no Jutsu (Trailing Water Technique) D-rank Supplementary Ninjutsu, self-developed
Bunshin no Jutsu (Clone Technique) E-rank Supplementary Academy Ninjutsu
Henge no Jutsu (Transformation Technique) E-rank Supplementary Academy Ninjutsu
Kawarimi no Jutsu (Body Replacement Technique) E-rank Supplementary Academy Ninjutsu
Mirāken (Mirror Fist) Elite Taijutsu Style, taught by Uzumaki Naruto
SHINO:
Doton: Dochūbaku (Earth Release: Landslide) B-rank Offensive Ninjutsu, taught by Hatake Kakashi
Doton: Doryūheki (Earth Release: Earth-style Wall) B-rank Defensive Ninjutsu, taught by Hatake Kakashi
Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Shadow Clone Technique) B-rank Supplementary Ninjutsu, taught by Uzumaki Naruto
Tsuchi Bunshin no Jutsu (Earth Clone Technique) C-rank Supplementary Ninjutsu, taught by Hatake Kakashi
Kikai Bunshin no Jutsu (Insect Clone Technique) C-rank Supplementary Hiden Jutsu
Bunshin no Jutsu (Clone Technique) E-rank Supplementary Academy Ninjutsu
Henge no Jutsu (Transformation Technique) E-rank Supplementary Academy Ninjutsu
Kawarimi no Jutsu (Body Replacement Technique) E-rank Supplementary Academy Ninjutsu
Kikaichū no Jutsu (Destruction Bug Host Technique) Unranked Offensive, Defensive and Supplementary Hiden Jutsu
