Damn, this one was later than I intended. Dunno if it was the same with everyone but I've had a tough time getting into my account here. anyway, heopefully the next chapter will show up on time, i'd be really irritated if the same thing happened again. I just found the english dub of the shippuden series, Gaara's voice is awesome! Deidara's is pretty cool too, but not like i imagined. I hear a lot about how people get annoyed at those who enjoyed the dub, but i've gotta say, it's a lot easier to enjoy what's going on when your eyes aren't glued to the subtitles. that's fair enough, right?

Disclaimer: Is there really any point in writing these? most people skip them anyway. And yes I know it sounds dumb that i'm typing all this up when i don't think anyone is going to read it!

A cheater prospers

The next day, Naruto met up with Sakura and Sasuke as they walked to the academy for the first exam. The streets were crowded with Genin headed to the same place. Naruto smiled at the strange clothes they were wearing.

"Fashions are so different in other countries!" Sakura said, eying the strangers eagerly.

"Typical." Sasuke muttered, annoyed, "How about you keep your mind on the exam, can you do that?"

Naruto smiled to himself. Despite his tough demeanour, it was obvious that Sasuke was concerned about the exam.

"It's ok Sasuke!" he said, "You don't have to worry, you'll do fine!"

"Baka, that's not what I meant!" Sasuke replied, his brow twitching, "We shouldn't let ourselves get distracted by the other teams."

"You're right Sasuke!" Sakura agreed, "We represent Konoha, so we need to be strong!"

"Don't help me!" Sasuke ordered, becoming angrier, "That's not what I'm saying either!"

"Then what is it?" Sakura asked, confused.

"Tch. Forget it." Sasuke said, dismissing the conversation.

"You don't want people thinking Konoha's strong, you want people to know you're strong, right?" Naruto asked, cocking his head. Sasuke smirked.

"That's it." he said, "The idiot's got it."

"Hey don't call me an idiot!"

Sakura giggled, hiding it behind her hands. They reached the academy and walked inside, surprised to find Kakashi in there waiting for them.

"Kaka-sensei!" Sakura exclaimed, "What are you doing here?"

"Oh, I just wanted to wish you guys luck." he replied in a tired voice.

"So you don't have any idea what this first exam is going to be?" Sasuke asked, arms folded.

"Sorry, I know nothing of it." Kakashi admitted, "You'll just have to find out for yourselves."

"So where are we supposed to go?" Naruto asked. Kakashi gestured behind him.

"It's somewhere back there. Well, I guess I'll see you guys later."

Kakashi walked past them, giving a small wave as he left. Naruto and the others looked at each other before walking through the doors and into the hallway.

"What's the big idea?!" someone yelled, "Let us in already!"

The hallway was filled with Genin, all of them facing the same direction. Naruto and Sasuke pushed forward with Sakura close behind. At the front of the crowd two strange looking Shinobi guarded a door.

"If you want through, you'll have to fight us!" one of them said, challengingly.

"Come on!" one of the Genin pleaded, "Our sensei said room 301 was where the first exam is being held, get out of our way!"

"Room 301?" Sasuke repeated quietly, glancing at the door number.

"You see it too Sasuke?" Naruto asked.

"Yeah. Come on."

Sasuke pushed towards the staircase. Sakura was watching the two guarding the door and didn't notice Sasuke leaving. Naruto realised this and grabbed her hand, pulling her along.

"Naruto!" Sakura exclaimed shyly. Suddenly Naruto was sent flying through the crowd by an unseen force.

"What the hell was that?!" Naruto yelled, getting to his feet. The crowd had parted, leaving only him and someone else. Naruto got to his feet, rubbing the back of his head. When he spotted the other person, his eyes widened.

"Lee?!" he exclaimed, "Why'd you hit me?"

"Naruto-kun, you may be a friend but I won't forgive you for manhandling a lady!" Lee declared, taking a combative pose, "That is no way to treat a poor defenceless- OW!"

Lee fell to the ground as he was struck by a girl with brown hair tied up in twin buns.

"Lee-kun, I hope you weren't about to say 'girl'!" she said, brow twitching angrily.

"Not at all Tenten-chan!" Lee promised, a worried look on his face.

"Oh? Then what were you going to say?" Tenten asked, challengingly. Lee faltered for a second before turning back to face Naruto.

"That is not the point!" he said, "I have a duty to-"

"DON'T TURN YOUR BACK WHEN WE'RE TALKING!" Tenten shrieked, striking Lee again.

"This is bad!" Naruto thought, "I don't wanna fight Lee! I need to create a diversion!"

"HEY!" he yelled, "THIS IS THE WRONG FLOOR! THEY PUT A GENJTSU ON THE DOOR!"

The crowd looked around themselves uncertainly. Then as one they all rushed to the staircase, pushing the people ahead of them. Naruto managed to lose Lee in the crowd, finally catching up with Sasuke and Sakura, who had gotten ahead of him.

"Naruto! Are you alright?" Sakura asked worriedly.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Naruto replied, catching his breath, "Lee just got over excited is all."

"Come on, the waiting room is in here." Sasuke said, leading them through double doors. Inside, a lot of tough-looking Genin were waiting. Naruto looked around, his eyes wide. Most of the Genin ignored them, but some decided to come over.

"Hey, you guys finally made it." Shikamaru said, his hands resting behind his head, "I hear you guys gave Choji a good meal yesterday."

"You bastard!" Kiba exclaimed, "I'm flat broke 'cos of you!"

"What can I say? That's what happens when you try to drug me."

"Wha- how the hell did you know about that?!"

Shikamaru held up a finger.

"I saw your shadow." he said. He then held up another finger.

"I heard the liquid drop into my cup."

Another finger.

"And finally; you guys are predictable."

Both Naruto and Kiba's faces fell. It was not often that they were called predictable, hell, Naruto was the Number One Loudest, Unpredictable, Hyperactive Knucklehead Ninja of Konoha! And damn it he was proud of that!

"All right then wise guy, what number am I thinking of?" Naruto demanded.

"Nine."

Naruto's eyes widened.

"How the hell did you know that?!"

"Look at your hands."

Naruto blinked before complying.

"Your right thumb is twitching." Shikamaru said, "I've known you for a long time and you always counted with your hands. So if you're thinking of a number and any of your fingers are reacting, then it's easy to see what you're thinking."

Naruto fumed.

"One more time!" he challenged.

"Fifteen thousand and ten, or more specifically, fifteen ten, your birthday."

Naruto's face fell again, Sasuke giving him a strange look.

"Are you really that stupid?" he asked, but not loud enough for anyone to hear.

"Kiba-kun."

Naruto and Kiba turned around. Shino and Hinata were standing behind them. Naruto smiled broadly.

"Hi Hinata!" he said. His smile slipped when he saw Hinata's face flush.

"Oh, I- um," she stammered, "he-hello… Naruto-kun."

Kiba grinned broadly, putting his arm around Hinata's shoulder.

"Aw come Hinata, don't ya know Naruto doesn't like suffixes?" he asked teasingly. Hinata gave him a shocked look.

"K-Kiba-kun!" she protested, wriggling out of his grip. Kiba smirked at her.

"Go on, say it." he ordered. Hinata's eyes widened in fear. Slowly, she turned to face Naruto, who was still smiling at her.

"You- you don't like suffixes, N-Naru…to?" Hinata asked, shyly. Naruto shook his head vigorously.

"Nope!" he exclaimed, his energy throwing Hinata a little.

"Oh! Ok then." she said in her small voice.

"Naruto, how are you doing?" Shino asked. Naruto always thought it was strange how Shino could ask such casual questions in his stoic way. It always felt like Shino was just humouring him.

"I'm fine, how are you?" Naruto replied, smiling.

"I'm fine also." Shino said, "Thank you for asking."

"Hey, you guys are all from Konoha right?"

Everybody turned to the voice that called out to them. An older looking boy walked towards them, waving. He had white hair tied in a ponytail and round glasses on his face. Beneath those glasses were sharp looking eyes. With eyes like those, there was no mistaking this guy was smart.

"Who are you?" Sasuke asked, a look of mistrust on his face. The boy grinned apologetically.

"Oh, sorry." he said, "My name is Yakushi Kabuto. It's a pleasure to meet you, Uchiha Sasuke."

"How do you know who I am?" Sasuke demanded, disliking Kabuto.

"Well… I guess since we're all from Konoha it can't hurt to tell you." Kabuto said, scratching his chin, "I'm an information collector. I keep data on all the ninja I encounter for future reference. Here, let me show you."

He reached back into his pouch and pulled out what looked like a deck of cards. He placed his hand on the top of the deck and closed his eyes. Then from a seemingly random point, he drew a card, showing it to the others.

"This is all the data I have on Uchiha Sasuke." he said. Everyone drew in close to get a better look, almost all of them then looked to Kabuto questioningly.

"It's blank." Naruto stated, as if everyone else hadn't realised. Kabuto smirked knowingly. He put the card down on the floor blank side up and placed his finger in the centre. He then made a hand sign and began twitching the finger on the card, causing it to spin at an increasing speed. Then a puff of smoke appeared, surprising the group. When the smoke dissipated, an image of Sasuke appeared on the card. Everyone studied the card closely.

"As you can see, all of the information on Sasuke-san is here." Kabuto said, self righteously, "Of course, it won't be prefect. I finished this a few days ago, who knows how much Sasuke-san has changed in that time?"

Sasuke placed his hand over the card, hiding the information on it.

"That's enough." he said, "I don't want the whole world knowing what I'm capable of just yet."

"Ooh, how ominous." Kabuto said, smirking. But he complied, putting the card away.

"Me next! Me next!" Naruto said, excitedly, "Let me see what you've got on me!"

"I'm sorry, Naruto, is it?" Kabuto asked, "I don't have any information on you. The Hokage forbade me from 'invading your privacy', so I don't have anything on you."

Kabuto's eyes suddenly widened, as if he'd just got an idea.

"Hey, but if I have your permission, then its alright, right?" he asked

"I don't think that's a good idea." Sasuke said, standing. Kabuto ignored this and looked into Naruto's eyes pleadingly.

"Please Naruto, I'd hate to have an incomplete collection!" he begged, his hands clasped together. Naruto cocked his head before grinning broadly.

"Sure, go for it!" he said, "It'd be cool if to see what you think of my abilities!"

Kabuto grinned, "That's great, thank you very much!"

The two of them stood up, everyone else already had.

"I'll be sure to let you know of my findings!" Kabuto said, smiling as he turned away.

"Naruto, are you sure about that?" Sasuke asked, "I don't trust that guy."

"Sounds like the whole reason he came here was to ask Naruto's permission to study him." Shikamaru agreed, "He's making you out to be a test subject or something."

"Na, it's fine!" Naruto said, positively, "I don't think he'll get very much anyway!"

"Whatever." Shikamaru said, shrugging, "But what worries me is that he said Naruto was the only one he doesn't have any data on. Does that mean he's been watching all of us?"

"That pervert!" Ino fumed, "Has he been following me around?!"

"I think you're missing the point." Shino said, "Someone who has too much information can turn out to be a liability. He shouldn't be so open with his knowledge."

Naruto, who was quickly losing interest in the discussion, started looking around the room. It didn't take him long to spot the person he was looking for. Gaara was watching him as well, his face expressionless. Naruto smiled and gave the peace sign, to which Gaara glared at. As he looked further around the room, he saw a couple of Genin approaching Kabuto in a threatening manner.

"Hey brain box, hand over those flash cards!" one of the Genin ordered, a brown haired guy with a respirator on. In fact, as he looked he saw that all three of them were wearing respirators. But this one had hair kind of like Kakashi's. Kabuto turned to face the Shinobi, a surprised look on his face.

"I'm sorry, but I can't do that." he replied, defiantly. Although his face was covered, Naruto could see the Shinobi smirking. He reached forward and grabbed Kabuto by the shirt, lifting him into the air.

"Gagh, what are you doing?!" Kabuto demanded struggling.

"Hey let go of him!" Naruto yelled, running to help. But before he got there, the respirator-wearing Shinobi was lifted off his feet and thrown to the floor.

"There will be no fighting during my exam!" yelled a large man wearing a black jacket.

"That guy!" Ino whispered, "I've seen him, he works with my dad!"

"Who is he?" Sasuke asked, not taking his eyes off the man.

"He's the head of ANBU Torture and Interrogation Force, Morino Ibiki!"

"Scumbags!" Ibiki yelled to everyone in the room, "I am the head of ANBU Torture and Interrogation Force, Morino Ibiki!"

"This guys got some ego, doesn't he?" Kiba asked.

"You shouldn't talk of big ego's, Kiba-kun." Shino replied.

"Shut up!" Kiba growled. Ibiki turned and headed towards a door separate from the one they all came through.

"Move it you worthless trash!" he barked, "I am the proctor for your first exam and you will all do as I say!"

Everyone in the room followed Ibiki into what looked like a large classroom… wait.

"Oh no." Naruto breathed, a look of terror on his face, "This is a written exam?!"

"Come on Naruto, move it." Sasuke said, giving him a small shove.

"You have all been given designated seats!" Ibiki said, taking his place at the front of the class, "Sit your asses down!"

Naruto gulped and found his seat. To his disappointment, it was right at the front of the class. He sat down and slumped on the desk, a feeling of impending doom rising in his gut.

"Oh… h-hello again… N-Naruto." Hinata stammered, taking her seat next to him. Naruto smiled at her.

"You're sitting next to me?" he asked. Hinata blushed.

"I'm sorry, do you want me to sit somewhere else?" she asked, uncertainly.

"No way!" Naruto exclaimed, making her jump, "Having you here might make this thing a little more bearable!"

Hinata's face completely flushed when he said this. But Naruto didn't see this as he'd turned behind him to find Sakura and Sasuke, who were both sitting at different points. He gave them a wave, to which Sakura smiled and Sasuke smirked. By the time Naruto had turned back to face the front, Hinata's face was almost its normal colour. Once everyone had taken their seats, Ibiki spoke again.

"All right, this is your first exam." he said, "It is a written test of your knowledge as ninja. Each of ten questions becomes progressively difficult. Each of you starts the exam with ten points and for every question you fail to answer correctly you shall lose a point. Any candidate who scores five or less points will be disqualified, along with his team mates. On either side are Chunin's who are keeping an eye out for cheaters. If you are caught cheating three times, you and your team will be disqualified from the exam. On your papers you will find nine questions. At the end of the exam you will be asked the tenth and final question. Now begin!"

Everyone turned over their test sheets and stared at the page. Naruto's eyes widened as he looked at the questions.

"There's no way I can answer these!" he thought, panicking, "What do I do?!"

"This is a chance to prove your abilities. I won't be helping you here, you must figure it out on your own."

Naruto's face fell. He was done for.

"Well… maybe there's one thing."

Naruto felt hope as his dad said those words. Then he felt something else, another emotion rising. Excitement. He cast a thought to the two young foxes back home and had an idea of what the situation was like their.

"Have a nice dream Zenko." He thought, secretly forming a hand sign.

Further back in the class, Sakura was frowning at her test sheet, but still doing relatively well. She had answered quite a few of the questions, pretty confident that she'd got them right.

"Tap, tap, tap."

Sakura looked up, wondering what that noise was. She, along with almost all the other Genin, gaped. Naruto had gotten out of his seat and was walking straight towards her. Everyone watched silently as he shifted past a couple of people in Sakura's row, until he reached her. He then looked down at her test paper and smiled. He gave her a thumbs up before returning to his seat. All the Genin looked at the Chunin's on either side, wondering how they'd react to this. But to their surprise, all the Chunin were staring hard at their clipboards, not paying Naruto the slightest bit of attention. Even Ibiki was looking out the window, apparently interested in a particular bird that was nesting in a tree. Naruto then set to work scribbling answers down onto his test paper. He then sat back with his hands resting against the back of his head, a satisfied look on his face. Everyone continued to stare at him, unable to comprehend what just happened. Naruto felt their eyes on him and glanced back, a confused look on his face.

"What?" he asked.

"GET BACK TO WORK!" Ibiki roared, surprising nearly everyone. Sakura glued her eyes to the test paper, but couldn't seem to focus on the questions.

"What just happened?" she thought, "He got up, walked over to me and looked right at my test paper and the proctor didn't even seem to notice!"

It was then that something clicked in her head.

"Did he just use a Genjutsu? How could he trick someone like Ibiki with something like that? Naruto isn't even-"

Her thoughts were interrupted, however, by a certain blonde haired kunoichi using a family Jutsu on her. Ibiki kept a close eye on Naruto, curious as to why he seemed to be taking a nap. The other Genin took from Naruto's example and began cheating as well, some more successful than others. By the end of the exam, nearly a third of the candidates were disqualified. All the while, Naruto snoozed, dreaming of eating ramen with Sakura, Sasuke and Kakashi.

"Times up punks!" Ibiki barked, "It is now time for the final question. If you fail to answer this question, you will not only fail this exam, but you will be banned from sitting the Chunin exams ever again! This question is the most difficult one yet. If you don't feel up to it, you may leave now with your team mates and try again some other time. Now, who is willing to take the tenth question?"

Naruto cocked his head. If Ibiki was going to ask them the question outright, then he might not be able to use that technique. And if he got the question wrong, he'd be stuck a Genin the rest of his life! Sakura watched him concernedly. As people left she could see his body slump a little more, as if he was losing confidence.

"Don't do this to yourself Naruto!" she thought, "You want to become Hokage right? Come on, let's go. We can try again next time, ok?"

Naruto's shoulders began to shake as the amount of people leaving seemed to increase. Suddenly he could handle it no more and got his feet, slamming his hands on the desk.

"Where the hell are you all going?!" he yelled, shocking everyone, "Did you really come all this way just to quit now? The exam's only just started!"

People who were halfway out their seats paused, listening to what he had to say.

"Are you guys really ninja at all?" Naruto asked, letting his anger get the better of him, "Kiri is too ruthless to quit, they'd never show weakness! Nothing gets in Iwa's way! Kumo are too proud to let anyone else surpass them! Suna give their lives for the mission, that's their way! I don't know about you smaller villages, Kuso, Oto, Ame, you want to put your villages among the five great ones, so I know you aren't the ones running away. So who the hell are these cowards fleeing with their tails between their legs?!"

Naruto dropped back into his seat, arms folded and eyes glaring.

"Konoha will never back down! When we set out to do something we finish it, no matter the cost! Anyone who leaves isn't fit to be called a ninja!"

In that moment everyone came to a decision. The people who were half way out of their seats sat back down, a defiant look on their faces. Ibiki cocked a brow as everyone stared at him, awaiting his response. He looked down at Naruto, who's determined look was unwavering.

"You sure about this?" he asked, brow creased.

"I'm not about to leave after saying all that." Naruto said, simply. Ibiki stared at him for a moment longer before nodding.

"Very well then." he said, "Then it is my duty as the proctor for this exam to inform you all…"

Everyone stared intently at Ibiki, awaiting his next words with rising anxiety.

"That you have passed the first exam." he declared, smirking. A stunned silence set in as everyone's eyes widened. Sakura got to her feet, a confused look on her face.

"We pass?" she repeated, "But what about the tenth question?"

"That was it." Ibiki replied, "'Who is willing to take the tenth question?'. by not leaving you have all answered this question correctly and have passed the exam."

"But then what about the other nine questions?!" Temari demanded, "Were they just a waste of time?!"

"Not at all. The purpose of those nine questions was to test your skill at gathering information. Something you have all succeeded in doing."

"All right!" Naruto yelled, throwing his fist into the air, "Bring on the next exam!"

As soon as the words left his mouth, something came crashing through the window, coming between Ibiki and the rest of the class. It was a large banner with a name written on it. But before Naruto got the chance to read it, a woman leapt into the room, landing in his way.

"Mitarashi Anko, your next proctor is here!" the woman announced, "Onto the next exam."

"Hey idiot." Ibiki said, moving the curtain out of the way. Anko turned to face him, a look of surprise on her face, "Why don't you read the atmosphere?"

Anko's brow rose, she turned and looked around the classroom.

"I'm early aren't I?" she asked, an annoyed look on her face.

"Yes, you're exam isn't till tomorrow." Ibiki sighed. Anko shrugged and looked around the room, a smirk spreading across her lips.

"You getting soft old man?" she asked, "Look at all these guys, your exam was too easy!"

"It's his fault." Ibiki said, pointing at Naruto, "He rallied them all. I can't work properly under these conditions."

"This guy?" Anko asked, sticking her thumb out to Naruto, "The Head of Interrogation was beaten by this scrawny little punk?"

"Yep!" Naruto stated proudly. Anko felt the sudden urge to cry, but resisted to save face.

"All right, he's not allowed to talk to me." Anko announced, pointing at Naruto, who slumped on his desk, "The rest of you meet me outside the Forest of Death tomorrow at noon. If you don't know where it is, ask your sensei."

Naruto stood up, stretching and yawning. He along with everyone else turned around and walked out of the room, leaving Anko and Ibiki alone.

"Naruto that was incredible!" Sakura said, energetically, "You got everyone all riled up!"

"That was some speech." Sasuke agreed, "But what I want to know is what that Jutsu was. By the time I'd realized what you were doing I tried to use the Sharingan to check it out, but it was over before I could catch anything."

Naruto grinned widely.

"Uzumaki Hiden Jutsu!" he declared, "I made it up!"

"You made it up?" Sakura repeated, "Like that Forced Henge thing you did before?"

"Yep!" Naruto replied, "It's fun making up new Jutsu, I do it all the time!"

"All the time?" Sasuke repeated, "Just how many Jutsu have you made?"

"Um…Forced Henge no Jutsu, " Naruto said, counting off on his fingers, "That one form back there, aaand one more!"

"Come on Naruto!" Sakura begged, "Show them to us!"

Naruto's eyes widened as he remembered the third technique he'd created. No way was Sakura going to see Oroike no Jutsu! Naruto was saved from coming up with a story, however, because someone touched him on the shoulder.

"Thank goodness for that!" Naruto thought, turning to face whoever touched him, "Aw for crying out loud!"

"Naruto-kun!" Lee said, "Come with me!"

Lee grabbed him by the arm and led him away. Sakura and Sasuke glanced at each other. Sasuke shrugged and they both followed as Lee marched Naruto down to a large open room.