Chapter 9: The Chuunin Exams Arrive
Sarutobi, Sandaime Hokage, protector of Konoha, sat with his head in his hands, staring balefully at the pile of papers on his desk. How he wished he could do a Katon jutsu on those infernal sheets. Just then, a knock sounded on his door. "Hatake Kakashi here to see you, Hokage sama" came the voice of one of the guards posted outside. He sighed in relief. This would be a welcome break from his paperwork. He called to his guards to let him in. He was surprised to see Naruto in tow. He waved them to the chairs as Kakashi handed him the mission report. He looked up grimly after he had gone through the report. "We will have to do something to verify the authenticity of the mission rankings. We cannot afford to have C-rank missions turning into A-rank missions because the client was stingy. Your team made it back alive. The next team might not be so lucky." Kakashi nodded. They were indeed lucky to come back alive. The Hokage continued with a smile "I will put this mission in your records as an A-rank and will revise your pay accordingly" He was puzzled when Naruto did not smile, but looked at his feet, his face expressionless. Kakashi spoke up "Hokage sama, there is another matter, a matter which I did not put in the report". The Hokage, though puzzled, nodded to indicate that he should continue. "Is it possible for Naruto to be put in a different team?" The Hokage was puzzled. "Please explain, Kakashi. Is there a problem with Naruto?" he asked. Kakashi shook his head as he explained. "Naruto has displayed an amazing level of skill with regards to stealth and setting traps. Someone of his type would be of more use in a team like Asuma's, My team, as you know, was designed for combat. While Naruto is decent at that, he is more than brilliant at stealth, while I believe Chouji Akamichi is not" Sarutobi leaned back into his chair as he tapped his chin. After a minute, he shook his head. "It would not do to change the teams at this point. Whatever team work has been built up would be destroyed. Also, the team which you speak about has Yamanaka Ino and Nara Shikamaru on it, and they are very good friends with the Akamichi kid. I don't think they would take to Naruto kindly if he were to replace him. But, I will keep your recommendation in mind for his future." Kakashi nodded in understanding. The three families, Nara, Yamanaka and Akamichi had been friends for nearly three generations.
Once they were outside, Kakashi turned to Naruto. "You can take the day of today and tomorrow. You need the rest, and so do I.." With that, Kakashi turned and walked away. Naruto sighed with relief. So Kakashi hadn't noticed his shadow clones after all. He must have been too busy with his fight. He turned and walked to his house, fully intent on sleeping the day away.
Team seven quickly became famous among the rookies for having completed an A-class mission. Sakura took every opportunity to lord it over Ino and show of her new technique. As a result, the other rookies started pestering their instructors to take them on big missions and teach them cool techniques. After a few days, people spotted Asuma buying a whole carton of aspirins and a whole box of ear plugs. The people thought it strange that all the while he was buying these things, he was cursing Kakashi loudly. Parents had to take a detour due to the foul language that was being used by Asuma. Kurenai had an easier time. Her team members simply turned to their clans to improve themselves, though they insisted on 'practising' their new techniques during their sparring sessions. And so, the days flew by, with the rookie nine training hard day after day, each trying to outdo the other, the exception being none other than Nara Shikamaru.
Six months had passed since the members of Team seven, eight and ten had been promoted to genin. It was a beautiful day, a day full of hopes and promises. A gentle, cool breeze blew through the village. On such a day, the members of Team seven were lazing under a tree. Even Sasuke had decided to enjoy this day rather than train. Their sensei, Hatake Kakashi was late again, but no one minded, so relaxed were they feeling. For a change, Naruto also enjoyed the feel of the weather, instead of worrying about his training. The crunch of boots on grass told them that their lazy teacher was coming at last. As he came in view, the three just waved at him lazily. Kakashi arched his eyebrow, then shrugged. "I have an important announcement to make" he said. No response. "I am nominating you for the chuunin exams that will start next week." Kakashi said, smiling as the three sat up, fully alert now. "Here are your nomination forms. If you plan to take the exam, fill them up and give them to me by the end of the day." As he handed out the forms, he continued "You have shown tremendous growth over the past few months and that is why I am nominating you. Normally, I would have waited for another six months or so, but I think you are more than ready, physically and mentally." He got up, dusting his pants. Sakura beamed at this compliment. She then turned to her team mates to see that Naruto had already started filling out his form. She whipped out her pen and started filling out her form. Kakashi laughed at their enthusiasm. He decided to wait for a few minutes more. It didn't look like his team needed time to think.
Kakashi entered the Hokage's office to find the others waiting for him. Asuma grinned "Hey Ibiki, looks like Kakashi is on time for a change!" Morino Ibiki, head of the interrogators, the master of torture, grinned wolfishly "Then it can't be Kakashi. An hour or two in the dungeons should tell us his true identity" Everyone in that room howled with laughter. A loud clearing of a throat made everyone go silent. The Hokage smiled, "Since everyone is here, we can start. Iruka?" The academy teacher said "As you know, the chuunin exams are about to start. Are there any jounin here who wish to nominate their teams?" Maito Gai stepped up "I would like to nominate my youthful team for this exam" he declared loudly. Kakashi stepped up next "I would like to nominate my team for the exams." Kurenai and Asuma also nominated their teams. Gai turned to Kakashi, frowning "Are you sure about this, Kakashi? These exams are pretty dangerous. I made my team wait for a year before nominating them" Kakashi shook his head "They are ready as they ever can be." Iruka looked like he was about to protest, but a look from the Hokage silenced him. Reluctantly, he put down the teams mentioned as entrants for the chuunin exams. The Hokage then spoke up again "Since there will be lots of genin teams from other countries, our security must be beefed up. Ibiki will be in charge of security and I expect everyone to fully cooperate with me. Is that understood?" Everyone nodded.
Sarutobi got up "Then that is all for today. Dismissed!"
Finally, it was the day of the start of the chuunin exams. Excited and nervous genins filtered to the exam centre. Sasuke, Naruto and Sakura entered the room to see a huge crowd already inside. Sakura gulped audibly. She hadn't realized that so many genin would be taking the test. Some of the genin looked scary, especially one genin, whose headband proclaimed him to be from the village of Sand. The dark rings around his eyes indicated he hadn't slept for days and the look in his eyes reminded her of a crazed animal thirsting for blood. She shuddered and looked away. "Are you ready to lose Sasuke-kun to me, big Forehead Girl?" Sakura whirled around towards the owner of the voice, Yamanaka Ino and then stared. Gone was the Ino she had known during their academy days. The Ino then was as thin as a bamboo shoot, with long blond hair. The Ino before her was … muscular. She had cut her hair short, so that it only reached the base of her neck. The most startling thing was the pair of swords that hung from her back. Ino laughed at Sakura's incredulous expression and turned back to her team mates. Wow, what happened to Ino? Sakura thought.
A loud roar cut across her musings "All right you maggots! Take your places. If I don't see you in your places within one minute, I will personally send you back to your mama in a box!" Everyone stopped talking to see Morino Ibiki standing in the room, with a group of chuunin entering behind him. Everyone rushed to their seats and before you could say jack-a-dandy, everyone was seated. Ibiki grinned wolfishly and looked around the room. "I will be in charge of the first test. Listen carefully for I will not repeat myself. You will each be given a set of questions. Each question will have multiple options, from which you must choose the correct one. These papers have been specially designed. You will all see only the first question. The next question will appear only if you answer the previous one. If you are caught cheating, you will be failed. The chuunins you see around you are here to make sure you don't get caught cheating. Arguments will not be allowed. Their decision is final. If you argue, they have all the freedom to beat you to a pulp before tossing you out of the room. In addition, you must get at least four out of t he ten questions correct to pass. The paper will burn up automatically if you get six question wrong, thus failing you. Remember, this is a team exam, so the whole team fails even if one of the members fails. So keep in mind what your team mates might do to you if you cause them to fail." His grinned widened as he saw several genin turn white. He waited till the papers had been distributed. "You have thirty minutes. Your time starts now".
Sasuke immediately spotted Sakura and activated his Sharingan. All I have to do is copy Sakura's movements. I would be surprised if she got even one answer wrong. Neiji and Hinata had activated their Byakugan, using it to see the answers from, Naruto. Naruto was happily marking answers one after the other. Most of the questions were based on tactics, and he felt like a fish in water. He didn't worry about his team mates because he knew that Sakura and Sasuke had brains and would sail through this test. Within fifteen minutes, he had marked all ten answers and the paper hadn't burned up, which meant that he had passed. Grinning, he turned the paper over and lay down his head on the desk, waiting for the thirty minutes to get over. Just around the, Ino swung into action. She simply jumped into Sakura's mind to get the answers, and then jumped back into hers. After she had completed her paper (it took only a minute), she jumped to the minds of Chouji, then Shikamaru and completed their papers. And so, everyone tried to use whatever method he/she could to pass. Some were successful, others were not. At the end of thirty minutes, only twenty teams were left.
Ibiki assigned a chuunin to lead the surviving teams to the next test. Many of the male genin went wide eyed at the figure standing there. The next proctor, Mitarashi Anko, was dressed in a fishnet top and short skirt, which left very little tom imagination. This resulted in a Grass kunoichi bopping her team mate for he had started to drool. Anko grinned. "Twenty teams! This test is sure to cut down the number to less than half" That statement brought the day dreaming shinobi back to reality. "Listen up, you worthless brats" Anko's voice boomed. "The next area for the test is the Forest of Death. There are two sets of scrolls, one is marked with the kanji for 'Heaven' and the other is marked with the kanji for 'Earth'. You will be given any one scroll. The target is to reach the Tower at the end of this forest with both scrolls. Also, if a member of a team is killed, that team is disqualified immediately." Anko looked around and as expected, was greeted with shocked expressions. They had realized that to get the other scroll, they would have to fight the other teams. Anko stepped aside and opened a box full of scrolls sealed in containers, each marked by a number. "Each team will send a member to pick up a scroll. The number indicates the gate through which you will enter the forest." A member from each team nervously went up and took a scroll, though no one opened it. Slowly, the teams dispersed to their respective gates.