We had gotten back to the village fairly quickly, half a day or so. There wasn't much in the way of fun to do before I hear about another mission. I got to the house, completely ignoring Mariah or rather she wasn't even home. I didn't care that much, since we don't interact much to begin with. Making myself dinner, I was on my own for the rest of the night. I had gotten a message that Kakashi wanted to see us the next day, but I doubt he would be there early, so I wouldn't either. I got there at eleven or twelve. Everyone else was already there, but of course not Kakashi.

"Hey guys, how's it going?"

"Are you always going to be late?"

"Since I know Kakashi won't be here, yes probably"

Kakashi did show up fairly soon after that, with a ridiculous excuse as always.

"Kakashi, why do we bother setting up an early time. Next time let's just go for five at night and call it good"

"Well you see, I would have been here earlier but-"

"We really don't care anymore. What did you need?"

"I just wanted to tell you that you all qualify to compete in the Chuunin exams, if you want to"

"Why are you telling us this now? It's four hours away!"

"Well we better get ready fast then, c'mon guys! We can do this!"

"Is that an agreement then?"

"Well are we all in this?"

"Might as well"

It was decided then, we were going to compete in the Chuunin exams, whether we were ready or not. I rushed to the house, picked up some things I needed and had a little bit of time to kill.

"Hey Naoki, I heard that you are going into the Chuunin exams, that will be fun"

"No thanks to you, I thought family was supposed to stick together and help each other"

"Well I've been busy lately. I'll tell you what, you get past the first two exams and I'll get you a trainer for the finals"

"Why can't you do it?"

"Because you have lightning chakra and I don't. Just do a good job okay"

"Fine fine, not like I need this anyway"

"You don't want to be a Genin for the rest of your life. Just don't over think things and be careful"

"How dangerous could it be? I'm sure I'll be fine. Thanks for your concern oh high and mighty one"

"Joke all you want, these exams can change your life"

"How inspirational, I better get going to my life changing experience. I'll be back soon for that trainer you promised"

"Good luck"

"Whatever"

I got over to the meeting area, blowing right past the idiots waiting on the first floor. I was nearly late, but got into the room with five or so minutes left. When I opened the door, I didn't see what I expected. There was a lot of different ninjas there, most looked twenty or thirty.

"Naoki, over here"

I turned around and found my three teammates.

"Oh hey guys, I didn't know if I'd find you in this crowd"

"Glad to see your not late for once in your life"

"Shut up Araya, I got here didn't I?"

"Who cares how long it took, we're all here now"

"Along with a couple hundred creepers"

Someone came in through the doorway, scars across his head. I presumed that it was the proctor and that was verified when he started talking.

"Alright everyone sit down and shut up. I am the proctor of the first section of the Chuunin exam, my name is Ibiki. This section of the test will test every fiber of your being, your entire life depends on what happens here. We are giving you, a written test. I know what you're thinking, what a stupid way to test us, but that's exactly what I want you to think. The rules are as follows: No cheating in any form, anyone caught will be immediately dismissed. You are all taking this as a team, so if one of you is dismissed from the room, you all will be as such. Lastly, if you and your team happen to fail, all of you are condemned to be Genin for the rest of your ninja careers. Any questions?"

Silence filled the room, nobody was going to argue with that logic…or lack thereof.

"Alright then, since there is nothing further to say, we will hand out the tests"

I got my paper and it looked like it was in another language. The questions were ridiculous, how would anyone know these questions!? There must have been a trick to it, something I had overlooked. No ninja of our status would know these questions. I was about to look around, but remembered the speech about cheating. I noticed Araya rapidly scratching away at the paper with the pencil. I would be able to get the answers if she just moved her arm and slipped the paper. Sure it was risky, but what else would I do, leave it blank? I discreetly obtained the answers, watching more than half of the class get caught cheating and getting kicked out. Finally after what felt like hours, the proctor spoke up once more.

"Alright, for the last portion of this test, there is one question, worth more than the rest of the test five times. If you get this question wrong, you and your team will fail and van never become anything more than Genin. But if you quit now, you could always try next year"

Hell if I was going to do that, after all the crap we've done so far? Why wouldn't we be able to take care of this together? I looked over at my teammates, they seemed to have the same idea. Even more people left, but the few that were left were staying put.

"Any more of you want to quit? If not I have something to say, congratulations to everyone, you all pass to the next test!"

There was a bit of confusion before I found out exactly what they did to us. It was ingenious, just over thought and extreme.

"I want you all to stay here and chat among yourselves and wait for the next proctor. She came quickly…and through the window.

Happy New Year!!! For a special present, I'm publishing 4 chapters in the next week!!!! All on this fic, but hopefully others will soon follow. I hope you all had good holidays and keep to your resolutions!!!