"That's him," Shika confirmed as they returned from their quick scouting trip. "I don't know about the six other ninja with him, though. I didn't recognize any offhand. Troublesome..."
I frowned and rubbed my chin thoughtfully. "Taking on just him is one thing, but seven at once?"
"Scared, dobe?" Sasuke asked, smirking at me.
"Like hell I am!" I snapped, turning to face him fully. "I could take all of them on by myself, teme!"
"Don't you two ever stop?" Shika groaned, cutting off Sasuke's reply. "I don't know if either of you can count, but we're outnumbered by more than two to one; the last thing we need to do is give away our position because you couldn't stop from bickering for five minutes."
I shrugged uncomfortably, not used to Shika actually snapping at me like that. Or snapping at anyone like that, really.
"Sorry," I muttered finally. Sasuke just grunted and looked away.
Shika looked back and forth between us for a moment, then sighed. "Let's just keep focused on the mission. Our new abilities will hopefully give us the edge when it comes to open combat, but I'd prefer to neutralize as many of the enemy ninja as possible first. Do either of you have any ideas on that front?"
My hand immediately shot up, waving eagerly in the air. "Yeah!" I said excitedly. "I could use my new kunai technique to take a bunch of them out at once!"
"The one you used on the bridge?" Sasuke asked quietly, a small frown on his face.
Some of my enthusiasm faded as I was reminded of the first time I'd used the technique in a real situation. "Yeah," I said, nodding.
"That'd work," he grunted.
"What technique is this?" Shika asked.
"Oh, it's the same one I used on Neji in the exams, just with kunai instead of rocks," I explained.
Shika froze for a moment, his eyes widening, then nodded slowly. "That would do it, yes. Still, we need to be aware of the possibility that the opponent could evade or negate the technique in some fashion. We'll have Naruto lead with that while Sasuke and I..."
~ Scene Break ~
I crept slowly into position, my eyes flickering back and forth across the small camp our target and his allies had set up. I had a clear view of all seven of the ninja, but I didn't have a good angle to definitely catch all of them in one attack just yet. Shika and Sasuke were positioned to my left and right, further back in the trees, waiting for my opening before they moved in.
"Gotta admit, Aoba, this is actually working out really well," one of the ninja commented, motioning with a kunai he held in his hand for emphasis. "The Land of Fire's borders were wide open and we haven't seen any patrols for days."
"Yeah," another one chimed in. "Easiest time I've had ever since I went missing. Greatest village my ass," he scoffed, spitting to one side.
Aoba lifted the flask he was drinking from in a small toast, acknowledging their praise. "I've got good sources," he said, smirking. "I wouldn't get too complacent, though. They could always send teams out to investigate the caravans we've been hitting. Just because we're making it look like bandit attacks doesn't mean they'll fall for it forever."
"So what if they do?" another one chimed in. "They just got their asses kicked by some no-name village. I heard that even the Hokage got killed. Old fucker probably keeled over after throwing a single punch."
My eyes narrowed into slits as I focused on that one; I was going to show him what happens to assholes who badmouth Hokage-jiji like that.
Just as I raised the kunai to throw it, I felt a tearing pain in my lower back. I let out a scream of pain as I whipped around, instinctively lashing out and catching my attacker with the kunai I had in my hand. It stabbed deep into his forearm as he quickly blocked, his eyes wide in surprise.
"Fast little shit, ain't ya?" he snarled, jerking the kunai out and flinging it aside.
I didn't answer. I was too busy gasping for breath and clawing at my back, trying to remove the blade this bastard had stuck in me. It wasn't as bad as some of the injuries I'd taken fighting Orochimaru, but then those would be pretty hard to top. It still hurt like hell, though, and every time I twisted to try to reach it it just got worse.
I was forced to stop when the ninja started advancing on me again, a cold expression on his face.
"Kage Bunshin Barrage," I snarled, gritting my teeth and forcibly shoving aside the pain. I could hear a commotion coming from the camp, which probably meant that the other ninja were fighting Sasuke and Shikamaru; I couldn't afford to waste any more time on this backstabbing jerk.
My clones piled on top of him, fists and feet pounding away. I activated Army of One while my opponent was dealing with them, not willing to give him – or anyone else, for that matter – a chance to land another blow like that one.
I could see the number of clones rapidly diminishing as the technique played out and charged forward before he had time to recover. He was already dazed from the clones' assault and I managed to land a few solid hits before he recovered.
He pulled another kunai from somewhere and swiped at my arm, trying to make me back off. I ignored the blade, letting it pass through my arm as I nailed him right in the face. His nose made a loud crunching sound and he dropped bonelessly to the ground.
I had a kunai stabbing into him before I consciously thought about it. He jerked once as it entered his heart, then lay completely still. I stared down at him for a moment, then shook my head and left, running as fast as I could towards the camp.
Two of the ninja with Aoba were down on the ground when I arrived. Three of them were moving in sync, twisting and turning at random. I could see Shika, his hands locked in a seal and his face set in grim concentration as he moved faster than I'd ever seen him, dodging the attacks of another ninja. Aoba himself was facing off against Sasuke, who was slowly but surely being forced back under the rapid flurry of blows Aoba was unleashing.
My head whipped back and forth for a second, trying to figure out who I should help. I didn't have time to think it through, though, so I went with my gut.
"Kage Bunshin Barrage," I shouted, pointing at Aoba even as my feet carried me towards the ninja targeting Shika. I repeated the attack on my own target before I plowed into him, two kunai leading the way.
"Overpower!" Sasuke shouted from where he was fighting Aoba, followed by the roar of flames.
My newest opponent let out a ragged gasp as he hit the ground, one hand flailing away as he tried to dislodge me and the other pawing at the kunai I'd stuck into him. I rolled back and leapt to my feet, pulling out two more kunai as I did so.
My own opponent jumped back to his feet, shaking off the hits he'd taken and focusing on me. He was in my face a moment later, his right hand snapping out in a jab so fast I could barely see it coming. I didn't even bother trying to dodge, instead launching my knee forward in what I thought of as the Anko Maneuver.
He folded over and another stab with a kunai ended him.
I turned back to find the three ninja Shika had been facing down and Aoba on the defensive, the ninja leaping quickly as he tried to avoid the shadows snapping at his feet and the bursts of fire Sasuke was sending out. It took me a moment to realize that he was being herded my way.
Another Barrage intercepted him in midair, knocking him about but doing little damage. It did distract him enough that he got caught by Shika's shadow, though, and after that he didn't have a chance.
~ Scene Break ~
"What the hell happened, dobe?" Sasuke asked, frowning as he crossed his arms.
"There weren't six more ninja," I shot back, turning to point back to where I had been ambushed. "There were seven."
Before I could continue, I heard Sasuke let out a sharp hiss. "Kami, dobe, what the hell are you doing?"
"Huh?" I asked. I only got more confused when he grabbed my shoulders to hold me still.
"Stop moving, you idiot! You'll just make it worse!"
"Make what... oh yeah," I muttered, wincing. "I almost forgot about that."
"Forgot about it?" Sasuke yelped. "You were stabbed in the back! Kami, it looks like it barely missed your spine! You're lucky it was as shallow as it was."
I frowned. It sure as hell hadn't felt shallow when it first happened, but it definitely wasn't hurting as much now as it had before.
Sasuke and Shika spent the next few minutes removing the kunai and patching me up, muttering about idiots and troublesomeness the whole time. By the end, I was convinced that they were more annoying than the wound itself was.
~ Scene Break ~
Mission "Missing-nin: Aoba Satsuma" complete. XP: 1500; Bonus XP: 500
"That's it?" I grumbled. "We got a ton more than that for finding that Tsunade lady."
"That's our Hokage now, Naruto," Shika chimed in tiredly. "I doubt she'd appreciate you talking about her like that."
"Fine, whatever," I muttered. "Still, I thought we would have gotten more than that. I mean, the others finished, like, a dozen D-ranks in the time we got that one mission done. They had to have gotten more XP than us by now!"
"It was fifteen D-ranks, and five hundred less XP, actually," Shika sighed. "D-ranks can be completed much faster, but they're worth a lot less, too. The C-rank was still better overall."
"Oh. Well... fine then."
"About time you guys got back," I heard Chibi call out, and turned to find her walking up to us along with Hinata and Chouji. "D-ranks were every bit as boring as I thought they'd be."
"Hanabi-chan," Hinata said softly, looking at her sister. Chibi just huffed and crossed her arms, looking away. "D-did everything go well on your mission?" Hinata asked then, looking at me.
"Yeah, it was awesome!" I replied, shooting her a thumbs up. "We totally kicked ass! I mean, it wasn't just that one Aoba guy either. He had a bunch of other missing-nin helping him, even if he was the strongest, but when they showed up we were like 'Ha, so what if you outnumber us!' and then I-
"Give it a rest, dobe," Sasuke groaned. "You can tell her all about it later. I just want to turn in the mission and go home."
I glared at Sasuke for interrupting me, but held back my first response and nodded. "Whatever, teme."
We made our way back to the Mission Room, where Iruka-sensei was waiting for us again. Once we'd turned in our C-rank and gotten our pay, I decided to check the available missions again.
Available Missions:
Catch Tora! – Retrieve Madam Shijimi's cat. Rank: D Reward: 100 ryo Length: Up to one day.
Paint It... Pink? – Paint the client's house. Rank: D Reward: 50+ ryo Length: Up to one day.
The Stolen Necklace – Someone has stolen the client's family heirloom. Capture the thief and return it. Rank: C Reward: 400 ryo Length: Up to one week.
Missing-nin: Akita Gorobe – A missing-nin has been sighted within the Land of Fire. Eliminate them. Rank: C Reward: 1000 ryo Length: Up to one week.
"Another one?" I asked, surprised. Man, I thought missing-nin were a lot less common than that. The rest of the group didn't seem eager to take another mission right then, though, so I canceled it and left.
~ Scene Break ~
"So wait," I said, holding up one hand to interrupt Shika's explanation. "Hinata and Hanabi can use their Byakugan to see how much chakra somebody has, Sasuke can use his Sharingan to gain skill points for free, and you can tell how skilled somebody is just by looking at them?"
Shika shrugged. "Sort of. It only works when I'm actually fighting somebody, for some reason, and I only get a general sense. All it says is 'apprentice' or 'journeyman' or whatever."
"Man, you guys get all the cool stuff," I sighed. "So how good was that Aoba guy?"
"That's the part that's odd," Shika replied, frowning. "He was a chuunin when he went missing several years ago, but his best skill was still only apprentice. I would have thought he'd be a lot stronger than that."
"Hey... Shika, back when we were fighting Itachi and that blue guy, weren't you mumbling stuff about journeyman and so on?" I asked slowly as I tried to remember.
Shika looked a little uncomfortable when the others turned to look at him curiously.
"Did you do that to them?" Sasuke asked intently. "How strong were they? What were their weak points?"
"I don't remember," Shika said. "That was the first time it happened, and I really didn't understand what it meant at the time. It was only on this mission that it really clicked."
"You don't remember anything? Not a single skill?" Sasuke pressed, looming over him.
"Sorry," Shika said sarcastically. "I had other things on my mind at the time, like not dying."
"Useless," Sasuke growled before stalking away.
"Don't worry about it, Shika," Chouji said after a moment. "He'll get over it soon enough."
"He's probably just moping because his eyes can't do that," Chibi chimed in, smirking.
"Troublesome..." Shika muttered, dropping his head onto the table.
I looked back and forth between Shika and Sasuke, frowning.
~ Scene Break ~
"But I already have my kickass Army of- er, that thing! Why would I want to take Dodge? Besides, that Blood Rage things sounds awesome! Or I could take Summon Ally! Toads are awesome, so that has to be a kickass ability!"
Shika sighed again, rubbing his forehead. "Just let me explain, ok?"
"Fine," I muttered.
"Army of One is a powerful ability, no question. You did very well taking that first thing. However, it has one glaring weakness, remember?"
I frowned and crossed my arms. "Yeah, stuff like waves of dirt or water use it up."
"Right, wide-scale attacks." He scowled for a moment, adding to himself, "Even if it makes no sense."
"I know!"
"Anyway. From everything we've seen, if you use Dodge at the right time, you'll automatically evade those wide-scale attacks. Which means...?"
My eyes widened as I finally saw where he was going. "That it won't get used up!"
"Exactly."
"Why didn't you say so in the first place! Abilities, Dodge!"
Naruto Uzumaki has selected Dodge. Is that correct?
"Yes."
Level Up Complete! You need 11,522 experience points to achieve Level Twelve.
"About time," Sasuke muttered. "Now hurry up and do mine."
~ Scene Break ~
Mission "Escort: Ryogi Ueno" complete. XP: 700; Bonus XP: 200
"That sucked," I groaned. "That guy was worse than Tazuna-jiji!"
"You were the one who wanted to try it out," Sasuke reminded me smugly.
"Of course I did! Our last escort mission turned out awesome! We fought strong ninja and saved an entire country! All this guy did was talk about stupid tea the entire time! Even the bandit attack was boring!"
"I think you're both forgetting the important thing here," Shika said, butting in. "That was C-rank number four."
I blinked at him for a moment before letting out a loud whoop. "Finally!" I crowed. "Time to get promoted to chuunin!"
Sasuke was trying to act like he wasn't excited too, but I could still see him grinning.
~ Scene Break ~
"Promotion Test, Sasuke Uchiha."
Sasuke Uchiha meets all requirements to test for promotion to chuunin. Do you want to proceed?
"Yes."
"Sasuke Uchiha," a random ninja called out as he walked into the Mission Room. "If you'll follow me, we can begin your examination immediately."
Sasuke grunted and shoved his hands into his pockets as he followed the ninja out of the room, only pausing briefly to look back at us and nod before walking out.
"Alright then, my turn," I cheered. "Promotion Test, Naruto Uzumaki!"
Naruto Uzumaki meets all requirements to test for promotion to chuunin. Do you want to proceed?
"Yes!"
"Naruto Uzumaki," another random ninja called out. "If you'll follow me, we can begin your examination immediately."
I grinned widely as I waved to the rest of the group. "Alright guys, next time you see me it'll be Chuunin Naruto Uzumaki! Believe it!"
~ Scene Break ~
"Alright, genin," the chuunin said impatiently. "This first test will determine if you're even-"
"First test?" I yelped. "Nobody said there was more than one test! What the hell?"
The chuunin glared at me, then sighed and rubbed his forehead. "Yes, there are multiple tests involved in the promotion exam. Get over it. Now, as I was saying, the first test will determine if you're even remotely qualified to be a chuunin. A surprising number of candidates fail at this stage, which is why we moved it to the front."
I gulped nervously, wondering if it was gonna be another written test, but for real this time. If it was...
"All you have to do is face an examiner in a one-on-one bout."
"... that's it?" I asked, surprised. "Man, I thought it was going to be something actually difficult."
The examiner twitched, then a small grin appeared on his face. "We'll see if you're still saying that once we're through with you. Alright, Komaru, he's all yours."
Another ninja showed up then, appearing in that swirl of leaves that marked a shunshin. He was a little under six feet tall with short black hair and deeply tanned skin. He was well-muscled but still fairly thin, and he had half a dozen pouches strapped to his body as well as a tanto in a horizontal sheath around his waist. He studied me for a moment, then removed his sword and three of the pouches.
"The bare minimum is staying on your feet after two minutes," the new ninja said calmly as he took up a position across from me. "If you can manage that, chances are you'll receive a rating high enough to pass. Avoiding damage, innovative use of techniques, or even managing to hit me will improve your rating. Any questions?"
"Yeah," I said, smirking. "What happens when I beat you?"
I was a little disappointed when he didn't really react. Instead, he just shrugged and said, "Then you definitely pass."
It wasn't much fun trying to rile him up when he was being so matter of fact about it, so I just settled for keeping my smirk up and preparing for the fight.
"Begin!" the examiner shouted.
"Kage Bunshin Barrage!" I called out before darting forward myself. "Army of One," I added a moment later.
The clones connected, knocking my opponent back a few feet and landing some solid hits, but he just shrugged them off. He was ready for me when I closed in, blocking my first punch and countering with a quick jab that passed right through my head. That caught him off guard, and I didn't waste any time taking advantage of it. I got in three good hits before he blocked one of them, and I added a kick to the side of his knee that Anko-sensei had shown me before he could take control of the fight again.
He jumped back, staggering slightly, and actually looked at me with surprise. "Not bad, genin," he said, glancing towards the examiner for a moment.
I grinned widely, pointing at him victoriously and declaring, "You should know better than to underestimate Naruto Uzumaki! Beli-"
The attack came out of nowhere, and I didn't know anything was even happening until I saw somebody's shoulder barreling through my torso. I quickly jumped to the side and barely caught the figure I had been pointing at fading away as I saw my opponent recovering from his own attack, his eyes narrowed.
"Don't get distracted in the middle of a fight," he lectured as if he hadn't just completely failed to hit me.
"Or what?" I shot back.
This time a wave of water crashed over me from the side. It still passed through me, but given the size of the attack I had the feeling it had just taken out the rest of my Army of One technique. Crap. I picked Dodge just for something like this, too, dammit!
"Kage Bunshin Barrage!" I called out again, making sure I kept Komaru in my sights this time. I could see the blows I had landed before were taking their toll, but he was far from seriously injured and he'd just taken out my defenses with that last technique.
My clones appeared on all sides and piled onto the examiner, fists and feet flying with abandon as they took any shot they could get. I followed up again, pulling out a kunai and holding it in my left hand. I wasn't just going to survive this, dammit, I was going to win!
The examiner was definitely feeling the effects of that one; he was favoring his left side heavily and winced with every movement. Even so, he saw me charging in and fought back, gritting his teeth and shifting his feet rapidly as his hands deflected my punches.
I'd seen this type of move before with Kakashi-sensei though, and this guy was nowhere near as good as him. I stepped in closer, placing my own foot where he was about to step and then bringing up my other leg to slam a knee into his stomach. He took the hit hard and fell, landing awkwardly on one side before quickly rolling back up to his feet.
"Time!" I heard from off to the side. I blinked in surprise, then slowly lowered my hands. Had it really been two minutes already? It didn't seem like it had even been one.
Komaru straightened, relaxing out of his stance and bringing one arm up to wrap around his torso. "Damn, kid, you weren't messing around," he said, slightly out of breath. "Should have taken you a little more seriously."
I grinned at him. "Told you I would beat you!"
He chuckled and shook his head. "Don't get ahead of yourself, genin. You did good, but not that good." Still laughing to himself, he walked over to the other examiner and they talked for a little bit before they both walked back over to me.
"Alright, here's your evaluation," the first examiner said. "You scored a ten out of ten on defense, a seven out of ten on offense, and a four out of ten on situational awareness. Overall, a seven out of ten, which is a pass."
I was torn between cheering that I had passed and being pissed about that four out of ten. After a few seconds, I settled on pissed.
"Four? Why did I get a four? He didn't even hit me once!'
"And you lost track of him twice. If it hadn't been for that technique you were using to avoid damage, you would have taken some serious hits both times. As for your offense, your ninjutsu was very good but your taijutsu could use some work."
"Yeah, yeah," I muttered. "I know." I was getting tired of everything telling me that. I was working on it, dammit!
"Anyway," the first examiner said. "You passed the combat evaluation, so now we head back to the Tower to begin the other parts of your promotion test."
~ Scene Break ~
I followed the examiner through the door and quickly scanned the room. There was another door on the opposite side, a small table in the center of the room with a few items on it, and... nothing else. That was it.
"Your next test," the examiner said before I could ask anything, "concerns preparation and planning. This room is considered your staging area. On the table you will find a selection of items that may or may not assist with the mission you are preparing for. You may take one of the items with you on the mission. Once you have made your selection, pass through the doorway on the other side."
I waited for several seconds, but the examiner didn't say anything else.
"That's it?" I asked. "What kind of test is that?"
"As I said, preparation and planning."
"Well, what kind of mission am I supposed to be preparing for?"
"A team has become trapped behind enemy lines. You are to take a small force, sneak into the area without alerting the enemy, and extract our allies."
"Huh. So who are the people I'm taking?"
"For the purposes of this test, assume you have a balanced squad that you have a good working relationship with."
"What about the people I'm rescuing, then?"
"A combat squad."
I scratched my head, wondering what I was supposed to do at this point. I couldn't think of any other questions at the moment, so I wandered over to the table to see what was on it.
There were four items total: a kunai pouch, currently closed; a sealing scroll; a small, wrapped package; and a wooden box.
"And what am I supposed to do with this?" I asked, turning to look at the instructor.
"You may take one of the items with you on the mission," he repeated, then fell silent.
I stifled a groan as I rapidly felt a headache coming on. This was some sort of stupid riddle or something, I could tell. This was really more Shika's kind of thing, not mine. Then again, Shika was a chuunin already and I wasn't, and maybe that was why.
I shook myself and focused on the items again. This was a test, so there had to be a right answer. Not only that, but this was a rescue mission, and I was supposed to avoid enemy ninja. That meant no fighting, so the kunai pouch was out.
Ha! This wasn't so hard after all. I'd just started, and that was one down already!
That left the sealing scroll, the box, and the package. … Crap. How was I supposed to pick one from out of those? I didn't know what was in any of them!
I hesitated for a moment, then reached out and carefully picked up the box. I could see the lid, and it didn't look like it was locked or anything, so maybe I could just take a peek...
"Is that your selection?" the examiner asked before I could open the box.
I startled slightly, then dropped the box back on the table.
"Uh, no," I said, frowning.
"You may take one of the items with you on the mission," the examiner said again.
"Yeah, I got that," I muttered sarcastically.
Dammit. What good was any of this stuff on a rescue mission? I mean, the box wasn't very big, so it wasn't like there was a bunch of stuff in it. The package was pretty small, too, even if I couldn't guess what it was from the shape. The sealing scroll, on the other hand, could hold who knows how much... stuff...
Aha! So that was the trick!
I grinned to myself as I picked up the scroll. Everything on the table was designed to hold something, but the sealing scroll could hold anything. When I put it like that, the choice really was obvious.
"Is that your selection?" the examiner asked.
"Yep!"
"Very well. Please proceed to the next room."
I was still grinning as I walked through the door. It wouldn't be long before I was finished with the promotion test and could put on my awesome chuunin vest.
There was another ninja waiting in the next room. He was sitting behind a small table with a stack of papers on one side and a single sheet directly in front of him. The examiner followed me into the room and closed the door behind him before walking over to the other ninja. They talked quietly for a little bit before turning their attention back to me.
"I see that you chose the sealing scroll," the new examiner said. "What was your reasoning?"
"Everything on the table was a container of some sort, but only the sealing scroll could hold anything! It was the most, uh, flexible option," I added.
"I see," he said, making a note on a sheet of paper in front of him. The two examiners talked again, then both nodded. "After evaluating your performance in this test, I'm afraid that you have failed. It is our decision that you will not be promoted to the rank of chuunin at this time."
I stared at them blankly for several seconds, not even registering the words at first. "Failed?" I asked after a moment. "What do you mean, failed? That's bullshit! Why? What did I do wrong?"
The examiner held up one hand in a calming gesture. "We will not discuss the particulars of the test with you lest your knowledge corrupt the results of future tests. However, we will repeat that this test emphasized planning and preparation, and that your choices and reasoning did not reflect the minimum requirements that we feel are needed to advance to the rank of chuunin. We suggest you focus your efforts on those areas before attempting the promotion test again."
"Wait just a-"
They ignored my protests as another ninja came in and dragged me back to the Mission Room. When I got there, Shika, Chouji, Hinata, and Hanabi were all looking at me curiously while Sasuke was nowhere in sight. With all of them looking at me so expectantly, I found I couldn't even look any of them in the eye.
"Well?" Shika asked. "How did it go?"
"... I failed," I ground out, staring at the floor.
Hinata gasped softly and Chouji grunted in surprise.
"Troublesome...," Shika sighed, rubbing his hands over his face. "Did they tell you why?"
"Some crap about planning and preparation or something. It was a stupid test anyway," I growled. I perked up as an idea occurred to me. "Promotion test, Naruto Uzumaki."
Naruto Uzumaki is currently not eligible for promotion. Naruto Uzumaki must complete – five missions of C-rank or above – before he can take the promotion test.
"... dammit," I sighed. I wasn't as surprised as I should have been – I guess I was getting used to this kind of thing by now.
I slumped against the wall, dropping into a crouch as I glared at the mission desk. Sasuke still wasn't back, so either he hadn't even gotten past the combat part yet, or he was doing better than I had.
"Are you ok, N-Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked softly as she stopped next to me.
I looked up at her and sighed before nodding. "Yeah, I guess. It just really sucks that I failed, you know? Kinda thought I'd gotten all of that out of my system back in the Academy," I laughed, shaking my head.
"Don't w-worry, Naruto-kun," Hinata said, kneeling next to me and placing one hand on my shoulder. I grew a little concerned when I felt her hand shaking, but she continued speaking before I could say anything about it. "I'm sure you'll get it next time. You passed the Academy in the end, after all, and I know you're a really great ninja."
I stared at her for a moment, stunned at how firmly she'd said that. Then I jumped to my feet, a wide grin on my face as I pulled her up by her hand.
"You're right, Hinata-chan!" I said, still grinning. "It's just five more missions, then I can take the test again and kick its ass! I'll show those stupid chuunin just who they're messing with!"
I expected her to agree, or at least say something, but she didn't. Instead she seemed to be staring at something, her face slowly getting redder. I glanced down and saw she was staring at my hand, which was still holding hers from where I'd pulled her up.
"Oh, sorry," I said uncomfortably, letting go. Her hand remained in place for a moment, then she slowly pulled it back.
"No problem..." she said, sounding a little out of it.
She didn't seem to be angry or anything, but she was still acting kinda weird... before I could ask her about it, though, I saw Sasuke strolling into the Mission Room, carrying a scroll in one hand and wearing a flak vest.
A chuunin flak vest.
Congratulations! Sasuke Uchiha has been promoted to Chuunin!
A Special Mission is now available in the Mission Room.
Bastard.
"Guess you passed, huh, teme?" I called out, stifling my annoyance. So what if he managed to pass this time? I still showed him up in the Chuunin Exams! Twice!
"Yeah," he said shortly, a frown on his face.
"Congratulations, Sasuke," Shika called out, followed shortly by the others. I added my own into the mix, doing my best not to scowl at him.
"Hn," he said, not looking at all happy about it.
"What's your problem?" I snapped. "You got promoted, didn't you? It wouldn't kill you to be happy about it, you know!"
He looked over at me, blinking for a moment before he took a closer look at me. "You didn't make it, huh?" he said.
"No, I didn't," I ground out. I just knew he was going to make some smartass remark about it, any second now.
"Hn," was all he said, however.
"What's the scroll for?" Shika asked after a moment.
"My evaluation," Sasuke said, looking down at it. "Apparently I barely scraped by."
"Really?" I asked, bounding over. I snatched the scroll out of his hand and unrolled it before he could stop me.
Sasuke Uchiha – Chuunin Promotion Test Results
Combat: Offense – 6; Defense – 5; Awareness – 7; Overall – 6; PASS
Preparation and Planning: Category II; 7/10; PASS
Mission Simulation: Mission Aborted; Zero Casualties; 6/10; PASS
I smirked when I saw that I had done better than Sasuke on the combat portion, but scowled at the rest.
"Which one did you take for the planning test?"
He grabbed the scroll back before shooting me an odd look.
"Which one what?"
"Which item did you pick?" I asked again. "I took the sealing scroll, but apparently that was the wrong one."
"We must have had different tests," he said after a few seconds. "They gave me five minutes to come up with team profiles for a set of missions. I still don't know what the hell the category two thing is supposed to mean."
"Dammit," I groaned. So much for getting more information on that test.
He scowled then, glaring down at the scroll. "I thought I'd failed when the mission we were simulating went to hell, but they said I made the right call under the circumstances, even if it was possible to actually succeed."
"Either way," Chibi said, butting in, "this means we've got two chuunin now, so we don't have to do D-ranks anymore! Thank Kami!" she added dramatically.
"I'm more concerned about the special mission," Shika added, glancing towards me. "This is the first time it's said that one is available, as opposed to just unlocked."
"Huh. Good point," I said. "Missions."
Available Missions:
Catch Tora! – Retrieve Madam Shijimi's cat. Rank: D Reward: 100 ryo Length: Up to one day.
Paint It... Blue? – Paint the client's house. Rank: D Reward: 50+ ryo Length: Up to one day.
The Kidnapping – A merchant's son is being held for random. Eliminate the kidnappers and return the son safely. Rank: C Reward: 800 ryo Length: Up to one week.
Missing-nin: Akira Kurosawa – A missing-nin has been sighted within the Land of Fire. Eliminate them. Rank: C Reward: 1000 ryo Length: Up to one week.
Special Mission: The Snake's Tail – Jiraiya has uncovered a plot by Orochimaru to kidnap Sasuke Uchiha from Konoha, and he plans to turn it into a trap. Rank: ? Reward: ? Length: ?
We all turned to look at Sasuke, who was staring back at us, wide-eyed and pale.
~ Scene Break ~
"What happens if we don't take it?" Chouji cut in, interrupting Sasuke's rant about how the mission was a terrible idea and there was no way in hell he was going to play bait for any plan the old pervert came up with.
"Then we don't give Orochimaru an easy opportunity to kidnap Sasuke. Since I doubt he'll give up easily, that just means he'll strike at a time and place of his choosing rather than ours," Shika replied.
"W-what if the plan fails?" Hinata asked.
"Exactly!" Sasuke called out, pointing at Hinata triumphantly. "I'm not going to let them just hand me over like that! There's no way that snake freak is doing this just for the hell of it. He's probably going to harvest my eyes or something!"
"Most likely," Shika agreed. "However, should the plan fail we do have one other option."
The room fell silent for a moment, everyone trying to figure out what he meant.
"Oh, you mean the checkpoint!" I blurted. After a moment, I frowned. "But it's been a long time since we had one, hasn't it?"
"Not since just before that poker game with the Hokage," Shika confirmed, nodding. "Still, should things turn out for the worst we can always recover."
That seemed to stop Sasuke in his tracks.
"What's the point of doing the mission, though?" Chibi asked, filling the silence. "I mean, we'll capture or take out whoever is sent to kidnap him, right? How is that such a big deal?"
"Other than the obvious benefit of taking out ninja loyal to Orochimaru, I'm not sure. I would guess that Jiraiya is planning to interrogate whoever he sends to kidnap Sasuke."
"What happens when we go to a checkpoint? I don't remember doing that before," Sasuke asked then.
Shika glanced over at me. "I'm not sure, actually. Naruto is the only one who has experienced that."
"Oh, well," I stuttered for a moment. "Well, if it's like dying, then you just wake up right back where you were when the Checkpoint happened. Every time so far I woke up at Ichiraku's the night before team selections."
"So, if we went back to the one before the poker game, we'd just be standing in the middle of the road in Tanzaku Gai?"
"Pretty much," I said, shrugging.
"But you haven't actually tested it."
"Well, no. I haven't had a reason to do that... not since I found out I couldn't go back to before the exams."
"Look at it this way," Chouji said slowly, shifting in his seat. "We know that Orochimaru is trying to kidnap you now. You can either take the mission and walk into the kidnapping attempt with your eyes open, or you can constantly look over your shoulder wondering when it will happen. You could be all alone when it happens, or injured, or who knows what.
"If you do it now, you'll have all of us there to back you up."
I nodded in agreement, as did everyone else. Sasuke looked around the room for a moment, then his shoulders slumped.
"And you're sure you can go back to the checkpoint if it goes badly?" he pressed, turning to stare at me.
"Absolutely."
"... Fine. I'll do it."
~ Scene Break ~
"I still say this is a bad idea," Tsunade grumbled, glaring at Jiraiya.
"And I say that we could deal a huge blow to the snake bastard if we succeed in capturing whoever he sends. You know how badly he wants the Sharingan, so chances are he's not going to send just anybody. It'll be someone he trusts – as much as he trusts anyone, anyway. Even if we end up killing them, it's still going to hurt him."
Tsunade waved him off, sighing. "I know, pervert. I know." She turned her attention back to us, though she was really focused on Sasuke. When we had taken the mission, we were told that Sasuke was required and that only two other people could join him. Another team would be operating in the area as support, but that was all.
We'd eventually settled on Hinata and me as Sasuke's team, as much as it pissed me off to have him as the team leader. I was there to keep whoever the ninja were tied up while Sasuke and Hinata took them down and Hinata would also give us a heads-up with her Byakugan as well as using her First Aid if things went bad – and her newly acquired Resuscitate ability if things really went bad.
"Alright, here's the deal," Tsunade declared, pulling everyone's attention to her. "Sasuke will be leading a team on his 'first mission' as a chuunin. He'll be relatively close to Konoha, but also operating without Kakashi as backup and thus supposedly as vulnerable as he's likely to get. Jiraiya's going to leak the information into Orochimaru's spy network and let us know if and when the snake bites on it.
"While you three are wandering around looking as helpless as you can manage, we'll have two strike teams shadowing you at a distance, ready to step in and take out whoever Orochimaru sends.
"That said, this mission is not without its risks. You three will be on your own for anywhere from thirty seconds to five minutes, depending on the situation." Her face hardened. "Under no circumstances are you to allow yourselves to be captured. If things look to be even remotely out of our control, you are to abort the mission immediately and head straight back to Konoha. Do I make myself clear?"
All three of us nodded quickly, noting the fierce expression on Tsunade's face.
"Good. If everything goes as planned, you won't even make contact with Orochimaru's forces. If you do encounter them and can engage without undue risk, do so. Don't forget, our goal is to capture, not kill. The more information we have on Orochimaru, the better off we are."
She finally leaned back in her chair and focused her gaze on Sasuke. "This mission is strictly voluntary, Sasuke. If you aren't comfortable with the risks that this mission entails, say so now and we will make other arrangements. This may be our best option to lure them into a trap, but it's not our only one."
For someone who had been ready to decline the mission on the spot earlier, Sasuke certainly looked confident as he replied, "I am aware of the risks, Hokage-sama, and also the potential rewards. I am ready to accept the mission."
Tsunade stared at him for a long moment, her face carefully blank, then nodded.
"Very well. The mission is approved."
Checkpoint "The Snake's Tail" Reached!
~ End Chapter ~
A/N: No new challenges this time. I plan to start posting some of those as Omakes, though I haven't decided if I'm going to do it as part of this story or a separate one. Either way, I'm most of the way finished with the first one.
Thanks to everyone who has pointed out errors in the posted character sheets or the Manual. I try to keep everything accurate but some things still slip past me. I plan to have Hinata's character sheet up later today, and Hanabi and Chouji's later this week. Other than that, hope you enjoyed the chapter!
As always, thanks for reading and thanks for all the reviews!