Don't Fear The Reaper

by Intimidator1323

Murdered by vengeful villagers, Naruto discovers startling facts about life and afterlife. Trained by the best the dead have to offer, Naruto returns to life as an agent of Death himself, sent to preserve the uneasy truce between Heaven, Hell, and Earth at any cost. Will he be up to the task? Or will mankind be destroyed by the forces of darkness?

10. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, Dante's Inferno, or anything else I use in this story.

Welcome back, my faithful readers!

This chapter makes this the first story I've written that has reached double-digits chapter-wise. It is also the beginning of my favorite arc from the original series, the Chuunin Exams. It really showed how vast and unique the characters in the Naruto Universe truly are.

You know, sometimes, when I write a chapter, I think, "I doubt this will be long, I hope my readers won't mind" only to find I've written thirty-plus pages! This chapter is one of those.

Thank you to everyone who reviewed and left suggestions.

Let's not waste any more time and get started!

"Regular speech"

'Thoughts'

"Death/Demon/Angel/Summon/Other speech"

Special Weapon/Armor/Artifact

Jutsu/Spell/Other

Chapter 9: The Exams Begin

A few months had passed since Team Seven had returned from their mission in Wave Country and things were going well all around.

For Naruto, there were a few differences, the biggest being that Haku Momochi now lived with him.

Thanks to Naruto's good word, the Sandaime had made Haku a citizen of Konohagakure, but would have to go through a six-month probationary period before she could be inducted into the shinobi ranks. Until this time, Haku would remain a civilian, though she could still train and become stronger.

Hiruzen then offered to set her up in an apartment, but Naruto stopped him by requesting that Haku live in his home. Because of her friendship with him, combined with her not being a born citizen and having a bloodline, Naruto knew the risk of Haku being ostracized and exploited were high, so he had insisted that the raven-haired goddess live in his manor, so that he could keep an eye on her and keep her safe (not that she couldn't defend herself). Haku had tried to turn him down, but the blonde had insisted. In the end, the opportunity to live with the man she had fallen in love with had proved too tempting, and she relented.

Naruto's worry for her safety proved to be well founded when the village council learned of her gift. The Clan Heads had been intrigued, but the Advisor and Civilian sides had been practically foaming at the mouth to add another powerful bloodline to the village. Things had gotten worse when Sasuke had demanded she be placed in his care so that he could use her to restore his clan. The thought of the Sharingan mixing with Haku's ice bloodline was even more ideal. The Sandaime stopped this line of thought by reminding them that Haku was not a prisoner, but a citizen of their village, so she couldn't be treated as property and the only way she would help Sasuke is if she agreed to it.

Needless to say, that was never going to happen.

When the Uchiha had tried to press the issue, Naruto had nearly killed him. Since then, he had stopped trying to force Haku to be with him. He had, however, tried to flatter and charm her into becoming his.

This had failed in a most astounding manner, as Sasuke and charm went together like salt and slugs.

Sakura had been upset with her crushes obsession with Haku, but had vowed to prove herself the better choice for him.

Speaking of Sakura, she had been training even more since the mission to Wave. She felt as though she had been almost useless during the battles there, simply healing others. While this was important, the pinkette still felt like she could do more, so she had increased her training regimen. She had learned the Chakra Scalpels jutsu which, combined with her use of genjutsu, would allow her to get close and eviscerate her foes.

On a more personal issue, Sakura had taken Naruto's advice about her mother and had been informing her that, while her career as a kunoichi was dangerous and possibly life threatening, it was her choice. She informed her that she was happy and felt that, if her life was ended prematurely, she would die happy at the very least. Her mother was still being stubborn, but was beginning to come around.

Sasuke, on the other hand, had become more distant from his teammates. Despite being told what would have happened if he had agreed to Xuthar's deal on the bridge, Naruto knew Sasuke resented him for stopping him by killing the demonic gunslinger. He also resented his blonde teammate for denying him Haku and for being considerably more powerful than he was. He had been pushing himself to the breaking point every day trying to become stronger, but it seemed that, no matter how hard he pushed himself or how strong he became, Naruto was still the stronger of the two.

Speaking of Naruto, he had just finished doing a mission with his team and was heading home to continue training and spend more time with Beatrice.

The Asterian Beast had been very upset with him for disappearing for over a month. She had given him the silent treatment when he came home and had done her best to try and ignore him. Naruto had broken through this barrier easily, however, and things soon went back to normal with them.

The blonde Reaper had also thanked Kiba and Akamaru for keeping her company while he was gone. The presence of one of her friends and her best friend had kept her from rampaging through the village.

Returning to the present, Naruto stopped walking when he heard a voice behind him.

"Hey boss!"

Naruto turned and smiled when he saw the grinning face of Konohamaru Sarutobi, along with his friends Moegi and Udon, running towards him (They're all wearing their part 1 outfits).

"Hey Kono" Naruto said after the three had caught up to him, "How've you guys been? Are you behaving for Iruka-sensei?" he asked, knowing that the three were enrolled in the Ninja Academy.

The three shook their heads, looks of pride on their faces.

"Nope!" Konohamaru told him proudly, "We're pranking people and driving everyone crazy!"

Naruto grinned, "That's what I thought."

The blonde had met Konohamaru a few months ago while speaking with the Hokage. They were interrupted when the boy barged in, claiming he was finally going to defeat the old man and take his title. He rushed forward…only to trip on his scarf and fall, hitting his head on the floor. He quickly got up, looked around, saw Naruto, and blamed him for his fall rather than admit he had tripped. The blonde had scoffed and pointed out what had happened. This caused Konohamaru to start mouthing off to him, insulting him and all things associated with that. When he saw the blonde was unfazed, the boy took a swing at him. Naruto quickly caught the punch and pinned him to the ground, rendering him helpless, but leaving him otherwise unharmed. He had advised the boy to think before acting and let him up. Konohamaru's tutor Ebisu, who had followed him to the Hokage's office, had berated him for that but had been ignored.

The next day, while Naruto had been heading home after a team meeting, he noticed he was being followed by a poorly disguised fake rock. When he pointed out that rocks didn't have perfectly squared edges, Konohamaru revealed himself. He had demanded (though not in an arrogant or entitled manner) that Naruto train him. The boy had begged him for hours (getting a "no" each time), when Naruto had finally asked why he wanted to be his student. Konohamaru told him that he was the Sandaime's grandson and been treated like royalty his whole life. He hated being treated that way and longed to step out from under his grandfather's shadow and be seen as a person, rather than by his being related to his grandfather. So far, Moegi, Udon, and Naruto were the only people who treated him like a normal person. Seeing how strong the blonde was, Konohamaru had hoped that Naruto would train him to help him achieve his goal. When Naruto asked why he couldn't just settle for his tutor, the boy had explained that Ebisu coddled him like everyone else.

It was at that point that said tutor showed up and demanded that the blonde Reaper step away from the "honorable grandson" (a title that made Konohamaru frown). When Naruto refused to do so, Ebisu tried to force him…only to find himself easily defeated.

Naruto then told Konohamaru that he would consider training him one day, after he had finished the academy. Until then, he told the boy he was happy to be his friend.

Since then, the two had grown close, with the boy introducing him to his friends, who had also come to admire him and the three sought to emulate him by wearing goggles similar to his own when he was younger and by behaving the same way he did when he was around their age, pulling pranks and generally driving everyone crazy. Naruto encouraged this. He still had a mischievous side, but knew he would one day have to pass the torch onto the younger generation. Besides, pulling pranks required stealth, patience, and speed (to run away and avoid being punished) and served as good practice for the two boys and one girl.

"I'm glad you are all having fun" Naruto told them, "But I take it you came to see for another reason."

The three nodded and gave him their most adorable pleading looks.

"Will you play ninja with us?" they all asked at the same time.

Naruto laughed, "Sure, why not!" he told them, causing their eyes to brighten and smiles to appear on their faces.

"A ninja playing ninja, huh?"

The four turned and saw Sakura standing nearby, having heard everything they said.

"That's a bit redundant, isn't it?" she asked. She was smiling, indicating that she was only teasing.

"They're kids, Sakura" Naruto told her, "Besides, you're never told old to be a kid again."

The Konohamaru Corps (the name they gave themselves) stared at the pink-haired young woman.

"Who's she?" Kono asked.

"Oh, right" Naruto said, realizing he had yet to introduce them, "Guys, this is Sakura Haruno, one of my teammates. Sakura this is Konohamaru, Moegi, and Udon" he said, gesturing to each one.

"It's very nice to meet you" Udon said, politely.

Sakura smiled at him.

Konohamaru, meanwhile, was glancing back and forth at Naruto and Sakura.

"Wait a minute" he said, "I know what's going on!"

The rest of the group was confused by this.

Kono gave his "boss" a wide grin, "She's your girlfriend, right?"

The two teens blushed at the thought.

"N-no" Naruto said, "She's just my teammate!"

"Y-yeah" Sakura said, "W-we're just teammates!"

"For now…" Inner Sakura told her other self.

'Shut up!'

"Why not?" Moegi asked, disappointed, "She's so pretty!"

Udon nodded in agreement, "She's a very attractive lady" he pointed out, before sniffing up his usual snot drip.

The two teammates were trying to think of a way to explain this, but were stopped when Kono spoke up.

"I don't know" he said, looking the pinkette up and down, "She's got a nice butt, I guess, but her chest is a little flat" he then looked up at his role model, "You could do better, boss!"

Suddenly, the air around the group grew thicker.

Kono turned his head slowly and saw Sakura, her eyes glowing red. She seemed to exude an aura of rage and death.

"Kono…" Naruto began.

The boy gulped, "Y-yeah?"

"Run."

The boy with the scarf did so, turning and fleeing as quickly as he could, Sakura right behind him.

"GET BACK HERE YOU LITTLE SHIT!"

"HELP! A FLAT-CHESTED MONSTER IS TRYING TO KILL ME!"

Sakura's response was to screech in fury.

Naruto chuckled a bit.

"Alright" he said, "Fun's over. Better stop this before she kills him."

He then took off after them, Moegi and Udon right behind him.

They followed the trail of the pursuit and, after a few moments, heard Kono's voice.

"Oof!" he grunted out, with the sound of a collision accompanying this.

"Hey, watch it you little brat!"

"Let me go!"

Kono's panic ridden voice caused Naruto to turn down the street where he saw the boy, Sakura, and two strangers.

The first wore a strange black, baggy, full body suit with a red and yellow circle on the front. He also wore a black hood which covered his head completely and had cat-like ears on it. He sported face paint and had a large object wrapped in bandages strapped to his back.

The second was an extremely attractive young woman. She had teal eyes and blonde hair wrapped in four ponytails. She wore a light purple-colored, off-the-shoulders garment that extended halfway down her thighs, with a scarlet sash tied around her waist. She wore fishnet over her shoulders and legs, specifically on her right calf and her left thigh. She had a massive, folded war fan on her back.

Both wore Sunagakure headbands and looked to be a year or two older than him.

The young man was holding up Konohamaru by his shirt.

"Put me down!" Kono told him.

"Snot-nosed little punk" the male Suna nin said, "You should've watched where you were going!"

The kunoichi rolled her eyes.

"Oh for god's sake" she sighed, "Put the kid down Kankuro. You know he won't like it if you cause a scene."

"He's not here" the one identified as Kankuro replied, "Besides, I have to teach this runt some manners!"

"Please" Sakura said, trying to intervene, "It was my fault, he was running from me!"

"Stay out of this" Kankuro growled.

"Put the boy down" Naruto ordered him.

The pair looked up and saw the blonde newcomer.

The kunoichi couldn't help but blush at his appearance.

'Hubba hubba!'

Kankuro, meanwhile, scoffed.

"Or what?" he asked, "You gonna-?"

Before he could finish his sentence, he felt cold steel touch his throat.

"Put. The boy. Down" Naruto threatened, having appeared behind the strangely dressed shinobi in a burst of speed.

The two Suna nin were shocked by this.

Kankuro, fearing for his life, dropped Konohamaru, who rushed over to his friends.

"Thank you" Naruto said, before holstering Harvest.

He then noticed the blushing kunoichi. He smirked and walked over to her.

"Hello beautiful" he said, before taking her hand and kissing the back of it, "My name is Naruto. What's yours?"

The kunoichi blushed.

"T-Temari" she stuttered out, blushing bright red.

"A pleasure to meet you Temari-chan" Naruto said, giving her a seductive grin, making her blush brighter.

Meanwhile, Kankuro was growing angry at being ignored.

"Hey! Don't you ignore me!"

"Why?" the blonde asked, "I'd much rather spend time with your lovely companion than a boy who wears his sisters make-up."

Temari blushed further, while Kankuro grew even more furious.

"It's war paint!" he yelled, ignoring Temari's laughter.

"Of course it is" Naruto said in a condescending tone.

Kankuro growled and pulled out the wrapped object from behind his back.

Temari's eyes widened slightly.

"Kankuro, you're really not thinking of using Crow, are you?" she asked.

"Bet your ass I am!" he told her.

"Oh, I wouldn't do that if I were you" Naruto told him.

"Yeah? And why's that?" he asked.

"Aside from ensuring you live past today?" the blonde asked, rhetorically, "You're friend up in the tree wouldn't be too happy."

The Suna nin looked up…only for all the blood to leave their faces.

There, standing on a nearby branch, was a boy around Naruto's age.

He had pale skin and short, spiky red hair. His eyes were a pale blue-green and he had black rings around them. He had a strange tattoo, the kanji for "Love", on the left side of his forehead, with his forelocks parted to make it more visible. he wore a black full body suit with t-shirt-like sleeves, ¾-length legs, and an open neck. With this, he wore a white cloth over his right shoulder and the left side of his hips, and a wide leather band system over the left shoulder and right side of his hips. Strapped to this band was a large gourd on his back. He also had his headband attached to this band.

"Kankuro" the red-head said in a soft, yet sill menacing, tone, "You're a disgrace to our village."

"G-Gaara!" Kankuro said in surprise, "I-I was just…I-I mean I…"

"Shut up" the younger nin, now known as Gaara, interrupted, "Or I'll kill you."

Kankuro wisely became silent and averted his eyes.

Gaara then disappeared in a swirl of sand, only to reappear right in front of Naruto.

"I apologize for my teammate's stupidity" he told the blonde.

"It's no problem" Naruto told him, "I'm just glad the matter was settled before he harmed the Hokage's grandson."

Kankuro's eyes widened, clearly nervous about what he almost did.

Naruto continued, "I'm Naruto Uzumaki" he introduced himself.

"I am Gaara" the red-head told him, "And these are my teammates, Kankuro and Temari."

"A pleasure" the blonde said, bowing, "I take it the three of you are here for the Chuunin Exams?" he asked, referring to the exam that would be happening the following week.

Gaara nodded, "We are."

"Then I wish you the best."

Gaara looked the blonde up and down for a moment.

"…You are a strange one" he said, "I hope to see you in the exams."

"As do I."

Gaara stared at him for a moment before turning and walking away, "Kankuro, Temari, we're leaving" he told them.

The two followed their teammate, with Kankuro sparing one last glare and Temari one last wandering gaze and blush.

'There's something different about that one…' Naruto thought, referring to Gaara.

"That's because he's the container of my youngest sibling, the Ichibi no Shukaku" Kurama told him.

The blonde container's eyes widened, 'Are you sure?'

"It's been a long time, but that presence is unmistakable" his partner informed him.

Naruto thought on this.

So, a jinchuriki was competing in the exams. Even if the tanuki was the weakest of the Tailed Beasts, it was still quite powerful. Assuming Gaara had control over his Tailed Beast, It would take tremendous effort to bring him down.

He was brought out of his thoughts by Konohamaru.

"Thanks boss" he told the blonde, "But I could've handled him!"

Naruto chuckled and patted the boy's head.

"Oh, I don't doubt it" he then turned to the others, "Anyone up for some ramen? My treat, of course."

The Konohamaru Corps eagerly agreed, while Sakura simply nodded.

As the group prepared to depart, Naruto made one last remark.

"Get out of tree Sasuke" he said, "You're not fooling anyone."

The Uchiha heir jumped down, annoyed that he had been detected, since he thought he was doing well.

Frowning, he left for his home, eager to train more and ultimately prove himself the superior shinobi.

He was unaware of the three pairs of eyes watching him…

The Following Morning:

The genin of Team Seven waited on a bridge overlooking a small stream. They had shown up two hours after their sensei told them to and, as usual, the silver-haired man was nowhere to be seen.

The three knew he would be here soon, though.

'Three, two, one' Naruto thought.

At the exact moment his countdown ended, Kakashi arrived.

"Late again, sensei" Naruto said, "What was it this time? Did you get lost on the road of life? Or did you have to help an old lady cross the street?"

Kakashi gave him an eye-smile, "Nope. A black cat crossed my path so I had to take the long way around."

Cue eye rolls from all three teens.

"Anyway" Kakashi continued, "I have good news for you all."

"You decided to stop reading Icha Icha every second of the day?" his blonde student asked.

Kakashi ignored that and continued, "I signed the three of you up for the Chuunin Exams" he told them.

This surprised them, with Naruto being confused, Sakura becoming nervous, and Sasuke showing eagerness.

"Why?" Naruto asked, "We've been a team for less than a year. Why enroll us so soon?"

"True, we haven't been a team for too long" Kakashi acquiesced, "But I have faith in you. I think you three will do well and, even if you don't, the exams will still prove to be an invaluable learning experience."

The jonin then gave each of them a piece of paper, "These are your admission slips" he told them, "Present these at the academy at seven a.m., six days from now if you want to enter. If you don't, stay home" he then gave them another eye-smile, "I'm giving you all the week off to train and prepare. Ciao!"

He then vanished in a swirl of leaves.

After a moment of silence, Sakura spoke.

"Well…what do we do now?" she asked.

"We prepare" Naruto told her, "We can only enter the exams as a team. If even one of us decides not to enter, we can't compete."

Sakura's nervousness increased, "But I…I don't know if I can do this!" she told him.

"You can" he told her, placing a hand on her shoulder in a comforting way, "And we'll be right there with you, every step of the way."

Sakura gave him a thankful look.

With that, the team separated, eager to prepare for the exams to come.

The Academy, the Day of The Exams:

Naruto was waiting outside the academy entrance when both of his teammates arrived.

"Good, you're all here" he said, "I assume you are ready?"

Sasuke scoffed, "Of course I am."

Sakura nodded, "I'm a little nervous" she admitted, "But I won't hold you guys back! I'll do my best!"

Naruto nodded, "I know you will."

This caused the pinkette to blush.

The trio then entered the academy. The admission forms dictated that they all make their way to Room 303, which was on the third floor. After they made their way upstairs, the saw a large crowd of genin, trying to get into the room, only to be blocked by two other genin, who were telling them not to bother, explaining that they had taken the exam several times, only to fail each time. They reasoned that if they couldn't do it, the group before them had no chance.

Naruto quickly saw through the deception. The two "genin" were clearly higher ranked shinobi in disguise, trying to weed out the weaker teams. That, and the group was still on the second floor.

Good, that meant less competition for them.

He was about to inform his team of this, when Sasuke, who also noticed the deception, decided to open his big, arrogant mouth.

"Drop the genjutsu already" he said, smirking, "We're still on the second floor, you're not fooling me!"

Naruto palmed his face.

"You colossal idiot!"

Sasuke turned to face him, confused.

"What?"

"That genjutsu was designed to weed out the weaker teams! Thanks to you, we have more competition in the exams!" he told the spoiled heir.

Sasuke thought on this and quickly realized his mistake. Unwilling to own up to it, he scoffed, "Whatever. I'm not afraid of these weaklings."

"Idiot" Inner Sakura muttered.

'Don't call him that!' Sakura told her other self, though, deep down, she knew he had messed up big time.

The two "genin" meanwhile glanced at each other before turning to face the Uchiha.

"Not bad" one said, "But let's see how you deal with a more physical confrontation!"

He then rushed forward, ready to strike Sasuke. As the Uchiha readied himself, a green blur intercepted the disguised nin and knocked him aside.

The blur was then revealed to be a teenage boy around their age.

Naruto was a man who had seen strange and horrifying things, but this young man surpassed them all by far!

He was wearing the most hideous green jumpsuit the blonde had ever see, even worse than his old orange one! With this monstrosity, he wore orange leg warmers and his red Konoha headband as a belt. He had black hair and wore it in a bowl-cut style. His dark eyes were large, round, and full of life. And his eyebrows, dear god, they were huge, thick, and so creepy looking!

'Creepiness aside, he's fast' Naruto thought. Even he had trouble keeping up with the strange boy's speed.

The boy's bright eyes bore into the team in front of him, lingering on Sakura and Sasuke the most.

"You are Sasuke Uchiha, yes?" he asked.

The Uchiha eyed the creepy teen and nodded.

"And you are Sakura Haruno?" he asked.

The pinkette nodded.

He then surprised her by grabbing both of her hands.

"Will you go out with me?" he asked, "I promise I will protect you with my life!"

Sakura could only stare at the strange boy.

After a few seconds, she answered him.

"Uhhh…no" she said simply.

The teen was then gone, crouching in a corner, a raincloud over his head.

"Oh for god's sake, Lee" another voice said, "Can't you go five minutes without bothering someone?"

The voice came from an attractive young woman who looked to be a year or so older than Naruto. Her eyes were dark brown, as was her hair, which she wore in two buns. She had short fringe-bangs framing her lovely face. She wore a pink, sleeveless blouse with red sleeve trimmings and yellow fastening buttons and dark green pants. A pouch attached to her thigh and her headband and sandals were both blue.

Her eyes held a certain fire in them. An eagerness to prove herself.

Behind her, was another male teen. He had pale skin and long dark, brown hair, which was tied in a ponytail a few inches above the end. He wore a khaki shirt, a dull blue shirt beneath that, and mesh armor beneath that. He wore dark brown shorts, blue shinobi sandals, and wrapped bandages around his right arm, chest, and right leg.

His white, pupiless eyes revealed him to be a Hyuuga, one Naruto had seen before. Neji, he believed his name was. Those eyes also held contempt for all things around him and a hidden, inner rage.

The girl then looked up at Naruto, blushing slightly at his appearance.

"Sorry about him" she told him, "I'm Tenten, this is Neji Hyuuga, and the whimpering man-child over there is Rock Lee."

Naruto then grabbed her hand and tenderly kissed the back of it, "I'm Naruto Uzumaki and this is Sasuke Uchiha and Sakura Haruno."

Tenten blushed at his greeting, and then widened her eyes slightly at hearing his name.

'So, he's the one that-'

She shook her head free of this train of thought, not wanting to think of the memories it was connected to, and noticed the scythe on his back.

While most found Harvest intimidating, to Tenten, it was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen in her life.

"Awesome scythe!" she remarked, jumping behind him to examine it.

"Thank you" Naruto told her, surprised by her reaction, "It's called Harvest."

Tenten held out a trembling hand.

"Can I…can I touch it?" she asked, her eyes becoming like a puppy's.

Naruto knew he couldn't resist, "Of course" he told her.

He unholstered Harvest and held it out to her.

Tenten eagerly tried to grab it…only to be surprised when the part of the hilt she reached for bent backwards, away from her hands.

"Harvest, be nice" the blonde Reaper told his weapon, before looking up at the beautiful weapon's expert, "Sorry about that. Harvest is sentient and is very particular about who holds it."

Tenten's eyes widened in surprise. She had heard of sentient weapons, but knew but they were incredibly rare.

To see one now, in the flesh…

Naruto then held out his scythe again, "Try it now" he said.

Tenten carefully reached for the weapon again and this time was able to grasp it.

As she held it, she marveled at how light it was. The weapon was huge, but it felt almost weightless! As she studied its design, she quickly realized it was crafted by a blacksmith who had incredible skill, far beyond anything she could ever hope to achieve. She suddenly felt a surge of energy flow through her, the weapon's desire to go back to its owner apparent.

"Okay, okay" she told it, before handing it back to Naruto, "Thanks" she said.

Naruto nodded and holstered the scythe.

"We don't have time for this, Tenten" Neji told her, "We have an exam to take."

The Hyuuga had been glaring at the blonde since he had heard his name.

'This is the one Hinata-sama is close to' he thought, clenching his fists at the thought of his cousin.

Tenten nodded, "I'm coming Neji" she told him, before turning back to Naruto, "It was nice meeting you."

Naruto kissed her hand once more, "The pleasure was all mine Tenten-chan."

The girl blushed and quickly left with her teammates.

Sakura ignored the jealous grumbling from her inner self.

"Well then" the blonde said, turning to face his teammates, "Shall we go?"

Sasuke and Sakura nodded and the three made their way upstairs.

Only to find Rock Lee, alone, waiting for them.

"Shouldn't you be with your team?" Naruto asked.

Lee ignored him and pointed at Sasuke, "Sasuke Uchiha, I challenge you to a spar!" he declared.

This got raised eyebrows from all three members of Team Seven.

"Really? Now?" Naruto asked, "You couldn't wait until the exam starts?"

Lee shook his head.

"Why?"

Lee was silent for a moment, before speaking again.

"Tell me, what do you think is better: to be born a with talent or to earn your skill through rigorous training?"

"The latter, obviously" Naruto said, confused as to where this was going.

Lee gave him a thumbs up, "Yosh! Your attitude is most youthful!"

'Youthful?' Naruto thought.

"That is why I am challenging you, Sasuke" Lee continued, returning his focus to the Uchiha, "I've heard that you're a prodigy in the shinobi ways and I am eager to prove that hard work trumps natural talent any day of the week!"

Sasuke smirked arrogantly. This freak had no idea who he was dealing with.

"I accept your challenge" he told the energetic genin.

Both got into a fighting stance, only to be stopped by Naruto.

"No" he told them.

"What?" they both asked, confused.

"We have an exam to take" he reminded them, "So we don't have time to determine which of you is strongest. Save it for the exams."

"With respect, this isn't your decision to make" Lee told the blonde, whose name he still didn't know.

"Back off dobe, this is my fight" Sasuke told his teammate.

Naruto stared at both of them for a moment, before sighing.

"Fine" he relented, "You have five minutes. If a winner isn't declared by then, I'm stopping the fight."

The two were about to argue, but stopped when the blonde sent a withering glare at each of them.

A few seconds later, the fight started.

It turned out, five minutes was two minutes too long.

Sasuke thought this fight would be easy, especially with his Sharingan, only to find this wasn't the case.

Lee's speed was inhuman. He ran circles around the Uchiha, getting through his guard and dodging any blow sent at him. Even Sasuke's Sharingan couldn't keep up with him.

After three minutes of this, Lee delivered a powerful, swift upper kick that launched the dark-haired teen into the air. It was clearly meant to move him into a vulnerable aerial position, the beginning of some kind of technique Lee seemed confident would end the fight.

What that technique was, however, was never revealed, as the fight was stopped by a talking tortoise.

Yes, you read that correctly: a talking tortoise.

The tortoise was only the second strangest being that appeared. It was swiftly followed by a man who was clearly Lee's sensei.

If they thought Lee was creepy, they hadn't seen anything yet.

This man looked exactly like Lee, only a decade or so older, and could have passed for his father. He sported the same green jumpsuit and bowl haircut. His eyebrows…the horror! They looked like giant wooly caterpillars, ready to crawl off his face at any moment!

The strange man introduced himself as Might Guy and had spent the next few moments berating Lee for almost using a technique that he had forbidden him to use (never mentioning what that technique was).

After this, it looked as though Guy was going to strike his mini-me.

He didn't. Instead, he did something much worse.

He hugged him while crying what he would call "manly tears", with Lee soon following his example. To make matters worse, as the two weeping men embraced, what could only be described as the most horrifying genjutsu ever created appeared before them: a sunset on a beach with crashing waves.

The genin of Team Seven tried desperately to dispel the horrid illusion. Even Naruto, who was mostly immune to genjutsu thanks to his partnership with Kurama, was unable to break it.

Fortunately, the genjutsu soon ended and Guy and Lee departed, though not before giving them their nicest "nice guy" grins.

This only served to make them shudder.

"I've witnessed horrors beyond imagining" Naruto said, "I've fought demons, werewolves, ghosts, zombies, and things that would drive most men mad" he took a deep breath, "But never have I ever witnessed something as eye-gougingly horrifying as that!" he told his teammates.

Sakura placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"I'm fine" he told her, after taking a moment to shake it off, "We should keep going" he then glared at Sasuke, "Unless, of course, you wish to attempt to prove how much on an alpha-male you are to someone else?"

Sasuke glared back but said nothing.

"No? Great, let's go."

After a few more minutes of walking, the three arrived at the entrance of Room 303. After giving each other glances to see if they all wanted this, the trio entered the class room.

Only to be bombarded by a wave of killing intent coming from a horde of chuunin-hopefuls in the room.

Despite the killing intent coming from dozens of people, it was nowhere near as bad as what Zabuza had used against them.

Still, it made Sakura nervous and Sasuke clench his fists.

After a few moments of this, Naruto was fed up.

"Alright, enough of this."

He then blasted them with his one killing intent. Those who aimed their killing intent at Team Seven soon found themselves frozen in fear as the cold energy enveloped the room, causing frost to form on the windows.

"Is there a problem here?" Naruto asked, quietly.

The teams that had tried to intimidate them averted their eyes and stopped using their killing intent.

"That's what I thought."

Before the team could move any further, they heard a cry of joy.

"Naru-kun!"

They turned and saw Ino Yamanaka run over to Naruto and jump into his arms, embracing him.

"There you are! I was worried you wouldn't come!" she told me, happy that he returned her embrace, "Did you miss me?" she asked, giving him her most seductive smile.

Naruto smiled back, "Of course, Ino-chan. Your beautiful face always brightens my day!" he told his fellow blonde.

Ino's smile widened and she held him tighter. Since she and her team had arrived, several of the other male (and a couple of female) genin had hit on her, but she ignored them.

Only one man held her attention now and he was holding her in his arms.

"Get off my teammate Ino-pig!" Sakura demanded, ignoring her inner self screeching at her to kill the blonde girl.

Ino gave Sakura a bored look, "Oh. Hey forehead" she greeted, "You're here to, I see."

"Of course I'm here" Sakura growled out, "We're on the same team!"

"Good for you" her former friend told her, "Now go away. I'm spending time with Naru-kun."

"As much as I enjoy holding a goddess like yourself" Naruto began, interrupting them, "I'm going to have to put you down."

Ino gave him her most adorable pout, "Aww" she whined, "Do you have to?"

"I'm afraid so, my dear" he told her, then surprised her by pulling her closer so that he could whisper in her ear.

"But I'll make it up to you later" he told her in a seductive tone, causing her to shudder in pleasure, "How about I take you out to dinner this weekend?" he offered, rubbing her sides and savoring the softness of her flawless skin.

Ino pulled back.

"R-really?" she asked.

Naruto nodded.

Ino squealed and hugged him tight before releasing him, allowing herself to be set down.

"Must you be so troublesome, Ino?" the voice of her teammate, Shikamaru Nara, told her.

The blonde girl turned and glared at her teammate, who was accompanied by Choji.

"Back off lazy!" she growled.

Shikamaru held up his hands in a placating gesture, sighing and saying "troublesome" again.

"Shikamaru, Choji" Naruto greeted, "Good to you again."

"You too, Naruto" Choji said, his mouth full of chips that came from a bag he was eating out of.

"Don't talk with your mouth full!" Ino scolded.

"But I'm hungry!"

"Looks like all us rookies are here" a new voice said.

The group saw Hinata, Shino, and Kiba (who had spoken) approach them.

"Hey guys" Naruto greeted, giving Kiba a brotherly embrace and scratching Akamaru behind the ears before turning to Hinata.

"It's good to see you, Naruto-kun" Hinata greeted.

Naruto gave her a foxy grin, "You too, Hinata-chan."

The two childhood friends embraced. Hinata blushed, enjoying herself greatly.

Naruto was also enjoying himself. Hinata was perfect in every possible way. He breathed in her scent (a mixture of lavender and vanilla) and found it to be as intoxicating as ever.

'Oh god' he thought, 'I've got it bad, don't I?'

It had taken weeks, but recently the blonde Reaper had admitted to himself a truth he tried so desperately to ignore.

He was in love with Hinata Hyuuga.

Naruto didn't want this to happen. He knew it was impossible for her to return his feelings. She was perfect and the heiress to the most influential clan in Konoha, while he was the village pariah with years of mental and emotional baggage.

It would never work.

Naruto was so certain of this, that she was the only woman (aside from Sakura) he didn't try to flirt with.

He had hoped that his feelings for her would fade. That he would move on and hope that Hinata would find a good man to be with and love, like Kiba.

But this didn't happen. His feelings had only intensified, and now, he was in love with his oldest friend.

To make matters worse, he found himself falling for Kurama, Ino, and Haku as well.

His feelings were a mess. He decided to push this train of thought aside and focus on what was to come.

After a very long hug, the two separated.

Ino was trying her best to hide her jealousy.

Inner Sakura wasn't and Kurama was gritting her teeth in anger at the attention the two human females had showered on her love.

"You kids should keep it down" a new, unfamiliar voice told the Rookie Nine.

The group turned and saw a young man several years older then themselves.

He had ash-grey hair, which was kept in a ponytail that extended to his upper back, with bangs framing either side of his forehead. His eyes were onyx in color and he wore a pair of black rimmed, circular glasses around them. He was wearing a dark purple shirt with a high collar, a white under-shirt, dark purple fingerless gloves with armored plates on the back of the hands, a white cloth waistband worn at an angle, dark purple pants, blue sandals, and a shuriken holster on his right leg. His headband signified his being a Konoha shinobi.

"A lot of the teams here are eager for blood" the new-comer told them, "They're really on edge. You keep talking and they might lash out."

Naruto raised an eyebrow, "I'm sorry, and you are…?"

The man rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

"Right, sorry" he told them, "I'm Kabuto Yakushi and I just thought I'd give you all some friendly advice. I'm something of a veteran of these exams."

"So this is your second time taking the exam, Kabuto-san?" Sakura asked.

"My seventh, actually" he told her.

This caused the groups eyes to widen.

"Wow" Kiba said, "You must really suck!"

Kabuto shrugged.

Naruto, meanwhile, had a bad feeling about this guy.

"Probably" Kabuto said, answering Kiba's accusation, "But taking this exam so many times has allowed me to collect information about the various teams and countries taking part in them" he then knelt down and pulled out a deck of cards.

"My Ninja Info Cards" he explained, "I infuse them with chakra and they show me information on whatever I want to know…provided the information is available" he then looked up at the group and smiled, "Anyone you guys want to know about in particular?" he asked.

Naruto raised an eyebrow again, "You'd give out your information to us for free?" he asked, skeptical, "Just like that?"

"Well, I won't tell you anything about myself or my teammates" he explained, "But I see no harm in letting you know about the others in the exam" he smiled, "Who knows? Maybe you'll use the info to reduce the competition so I can finally pass this time!"

Naruto's bad feeling was only growing worse.

"I have some people I'd like to know about" Sasuke told the older man.

"Great!" Kabuto told him, "Who did you have in mind?"

"Rock Lee, and Suna nin named Gaara" he then spared his male teammate a glance, "…and Naruto Uzumaki."

The blonde rolled his eyes, "Subtle" he told the Uchiha sarcastically.

Nearby, a kunoichi with glasses, red hair, and a Kusagakure headband heard this name, causing her eyes to widen.

'An Uzumaki?' she thought, 'But…but that's impossible! Mom said we were the only ones left!'

Back with the rookies and Kabuto, the ashen-haired man scoffed.

"You know their names?" he asked, "That takes all the fun out of it!"

He then placed three cards face-down on the floor, channeled chakra into it, and flipped one over, revealing an image of Rock Lee with a bunch of statistics beside it.

"Okay" Kabuto began, "First up is Rock Lee. He's a Konoha genin, like us, on Team Nine. His teammates are Tenten no-last-name and Neji Hyuuga and his sensei is one Might Guy. Mission Records show he has completed twenty D-Ranked missions and eleven C-Ranks. Not bad. No info on his ninjutsu and genjutsu skills, but his taijutsu is off the charts!" he said, slightly surprised.

"To put it lightly" Naruto said quietly.

"Moving along" Kabuto continued, "Gaara. No known surname. Like you said before, he's a Suna genin. His teammates are Kankuro and Temari" his eyes then widened slightly, "Who are also his siblings. That's quite a coincidence."

'Unlikely' Naruto thought.

"His sensei is a man called Baki" Kabuto said, "No D-Ranks, but he has completed eight C-Ranks and a B-Rank!" the spectacled man told them in surprise before moving on, "No info on his skills, but it says here that he's returned from every mission he's been on without a single scratch!"

This worried the group. Not only was this guy a complete enigma, he also seemed to be untouchable.

Naruto, meanwhile, had expected this.

"And finally, Naruto Uzumaki" Kabuto said, "Konoha genin, obviously, assigned to Team Seven under Kakashi Hatake. His teammates are Sasuke Uchiha and Sakura Haruno" he looked up, "Though I'm sure you already knew that" before anyone could speak, he continued, "Let's see…he's completed twenty-eight D-Ranks, four C-Ranks…and an A-Rank!" his eyes widened at this. They widened further when he saw his skill stats. "Ninjutsu is off the charts, with taijutsu also ranking very high. Genjutsu is unknown, but he's also highly skilled in kenjutsu as well."

He then went into even further detail.

"Wields a sentient scythe called Harvest, which can transform into a spear or an armblade. Has a bloodline called Dark Release" his eyes then widened, "And he's the son of the Yondaime Hokag-!"

He was interrupted when he felt a blade at his throat.

"I don't think you want to finish that sentence" Naruto growled.

Kabuto gulped and shook his head, "No, I-I don't think I do" he told him.

'How did he get behind me so quickly?!'

Naruto holstered his weapon and backed away.

His bad feeling was now being confirmed. This guy claimed to be a genin, but had access to restricted information about him only the Hokage and his teammates would know, his weapon and his bloodline.

The blonde then felt someone approaching him and inwardly cursed when he saw a team of muscular Iwagakure genin approach him.

"Did that guy just say you're the son of Minato Namikaze?" the leader demanded.

Naruto nodded.

The older boy looked him up and down, "You are his son, aren't you?" he asked, "You look just like him! I can practically smell his stench on you!"

"Good for you. Is this going somewhere?" the blonde asked, bored.

The Iwa genin snarled, "That bastard you call 'dad' murdered a lot of good Iwa shinobi" he told him, "We never got a chance to pay him back for that! Enjoy your last few days of breathing, because when the exams start, you're dead!" he threatened.

"How cute" Naruto said, rolling his eyes at the pathetic threats.

The genin growled and was moved to attack…only to find the blondes scythe at his throat. The Iwa nin's teammates were about to intercede, but stopped when they, to, felt blades at their throats, courtesy of two Shadow Clones.

Everyone in the room widened their eyes. They hadn't even seen him make handsigns! Where did those clones come from?!

"Why don't you Neanderthals go find something else to do before I hang you with your own entrails?" he told them in an all-to-calm voice, "I'd rather not get blood all over my coat…yet."

The blonde lowered his blade and willed his clones to vanish in puffs of smoke.

"T-this ain't over!" the lead Iwa genin told him as he and his teammates moved away from him as quickly as they could.

"Dude, that was awesome!" Kiba complimented.

Naruto grinned, "You haven't seen anything yet."

Kabuto then cleared his throat, "So, anyone else you guys would like to know about?" he asked.

The group shook their heads.

"Alright then" he said, putting his cards away and standing up, "I have to say, this is the largest and most diverse Chuunin Exam I've ever seen" he told them, "People from all five of the great villages are here. Even smaller villages like Amegakure or the newcomers from Otogakure have sent teams to compete" he adjusted his glasses, "Though Oto only sent one team" he noted, before shrugging, "Not surprising, considering how small and insignificant they are."

"I don't think you should have said that" Naruto told him.

Kabuto looked at him, confused, "Why?"

His answer came when a figure quickly darted through the crowd and threw a punch at the ashen-haired man. The blow was fast, but Kabuto was able to dodge it…if just barely.

The room froze for a moment…before Kabuto suddenly had a look of pain on his face. He fell to his knees and vomited.

'What the-?! But he dodged it!' Sakura thought, with the others thinking along the same lines.

Naruto, Kiba, and Akamaru meanwhile, winced as they heard a sharp ringing noise after the punch was thrown. The former had just enough glibness to lean down and whisper "Because they heard you" to Kabuto.

The figure who threw the punch stood up, revealing himself to be one of the genin from the Oto Team.

His face was covered in bandages, with only his left eye being uncovered. He wore a large poncho with long sleeves, a grey patterned scarf around his neck, a straw raincoat protruding from the back of his scarf, and a large gauntlet one the arm he had attacked with. His posture was hunched, hiding his height from the others.

Behind him, were his teammates, another shinobi and a kunoichi.

The shinobi had spiky, dark hair and dark eyes. He wore a beige shirt with two black stripes and three prints of the kanji for "death" down the front. His headband had an attached happuri under the cloth rather than connected to the metal plate. He also wore a patterned scarf around his neck. A cocky, yet sadistic smirk was visible on his face.

The kunoichi caught Naruto's eye the most. She had very long black hair, which reached down to her ankles and was tied by a violet ribbon right near the end. She had striking black eyes and wore a pale green vest somewhat similar to a flak jacket and grey patterned pants. Like her teammates, she also wore a patterned scarf.

She was beautiful, a complete knockout!

The Oto girl noticed the blonde checking her out and blushed, averting her eyes.

"Put this on your cards" the bandaged genin told them, "The Otogakure Team will be winning this year's exam. That's a fact."

Before anyone could speak, numerous swirls of leaves filled the room, several adult ninja emerging from them.

The most prominent was the man in front. He was tall an imposing, complimented by his scarred face. He wore a bandana on his head and an black overcoat.

The man looked around, surveying the genin in the room.

"Alright you little shits, sit down and shut up!" he commanded.

He then noticed the Oto genin.

"You! Oto team! Unless you want to be kicked out before we get started, settle the fuck down and get to your seats!"

The bandaged one bowed.

"My apologies" he told the imposing man, "We just got a little excited, that's all."

The man scoffed, "Keep your 'excitement' to yourselves" he told the genin.

The team from Oto then went to their seats, though not before the bandaged one sent one last glance at Sasuke and the kunoichi looked Naruto up and down and blushed.

A few moments later, the remaining genin had sat down. Naruto and Hinata were delighted to find they were sitting next to each other.

"Listen up!" the rugged man told them, "My name is Ibiki Moreno and I'll be in charge of this first exam. I'm also head of the Torture & Interrogation Department of this village" he then gave them a dark grin, "So don't fuck with me."

Meanwhile, with the Sensei's:

"So, they've got Ibiki as their first proctor" Asuma Sarutobi said, "I don't envy them."

"Who?" Kurenai Yuhi asked, unfamiliar with the name.

"Ibiki Moreno. He's the head of T & I" Kakashi Hatake answered her, not looking up from his orange novel, which infuriated the kunoichi.

"They put a guy who tortures people for a living in charge of the first exam?" the raven-haired woman asked, shocked.

"He's not just another interrogator" Asuma told her, "He's an expert in mental torture. He can make kages spill their guts without lifting a finger."

Kurenai shuddered inwardly at the thought. She decided to change the subject.

"How do you all think your genin will do?" she asked them.

Asuma lit another cigarette and drew from it, "I think mine will be fine" he answered her, "They started out a little rocky at first, but they work well together, just like their parents did" he told them honestly, "What about you Kurenai? You think yours have what it takes?"

The beauty nodded, "I do" she told him, "They've been good together since the day I met them" she smiled, thinking about how well her team got along, even getting Shino to come out of his shell more (though you would have look closely to even notice).

Might Guy then decided to voice his own opinion, "My team perfectly embodies the spirit of youth!" he told them, "They will emerge victorious from this exam!" he then turned to Kakashi, "Don't you agree, my youthful rival?"

"Hm? You say something Guy?" the silver-haired jonin asked, looking up from his novel.

Guy retreated into a corner, "Damn your coolness Kakashi!" he mumbled.

"What about your team, Kakashi?" Asuma asked.

The cyclops looked up at him, "I'll think they'll do well" he told them, "Sasuke has trouble working with the others, but he'll pull through. Sakura may not be as strong as the boys, but her skill in medical ninjutsu and genjutsu will prove quite useful."

"What about Naruto?" Kurenai asked.

Kakashi gave her a serious look.

"I'll tell you the exact same thing I told Iruka when he confronted me about allowing my team to take the exams."

"Which is?"

"I pity whoever is unlucky or dumb enough to go up against Naruto Uzumaki" he told them.

His serious tone piqued their curiosity.

Just how powerful was the blonde jinchuriki?

Back at the Academy:

"So here's how this exam is going to go" Ibiki continued, "This is a written test with ten questions. When I tell you to start, you will have one hour, and not a second more, to complete the test" he then smirked, "But there's more" he told them, "Each of you will start out with one-hundred points. For every answer you get wrong, ten points will be taken off your score. If your score becomes zero, you and your team fail."

The was a roar of complaints from some of the genin.

"Silence!" Ibiki ordered, quickly silencing them. He then continued, "It goes without saying that cheating will not be tolerated. If you are caught cheating, twenty points will be removed from your score. Basically, if you get caught cheating five times, you and your team fail" he then gestured to the shinobi that had arrived with him, "These guys will be positioned throughout the room, keeping an eye on you" he then remembered something, "Oh, and one last thing. You'll soon notice the tenth question on the exam is blank" he informed them, "When the hour mark is over, the tenth question will be asked to the remaining teams. Any questions?"

None were asked, and so, after the tests were handed out, Ibiki nodded and shouted "Begin!"

And so, the first exam began, the sound of pencils scratching being the only sound in the room.

Naruto looked down at his test. The first thing he did was check the last question to make sure it didn't say, "Please ignore all other questions on this test". During his Reaper training, one of his mentors had given him a written test with two-hundred questions on it. It took him hours to write out all the answers, but when he got to the last question, it told him to ignore the 199 previous questions.

His mentor had told him the test wasn't about intellect, but observation, patience, and a willingness to prepare rather than rush forward.

(This is something my English Teacher in high school did to us at the beginning of every school year. She'd give us a bunch of questions, only for the last one to tell us to leave the previous ones blank. She fooled me with this threetimes!)

Seeing that this wasn't the case, the blonde quickly read over the other questions.

His eyes widened slightly.

'What the…?'

These questions were highly advanced. They required calculations and critical thinking skills beyond the abilities of most genin.

In fact, he reasoned that only Sakura and Shikamaru had the intellect needed to answer these questions.

Something about this whole test bothered him. Why would they give genin a test even a jonin would have trouble completing? And why would they give them five strikes for cheating instead of failing them outright?

Unless…

'Of course!' he thought, 'We're supposed to cheat! They're testing our information gathering skills!'

"I knew you'd figure it out" Kurama told him.

Naruto smirked, 'And I've got just to tool to do it!'

He placed his hand under the desk and sent out his Oculus. The eye-shaped organism then turned invisible and began to float around the room.

'Now' Naruto thought, 'Let's find someone who knows the answers.'

He considered using Sakura or Shikamaru, but it felt wrong to use his friend and teammate for this. Besides, Shikamaru might be too lazy to even fill them in!

So he kept searching. Eventually, he found a genin who appeared to be doing well. The Oculus merged with the genin and he began to listen to his thoughts. While doing so, Naruto quickly realized that the man wasn't a genin at all. He was a chuunin and had been planted (along with several others) to be a source to cheat off of.

He had all the answers memorized, so all Naruto had to do was copy what he wrote down.

After a few more minutes, Naruto was done. He then leaned back and closed his eyes before sending out the Oculus to observe the other genin.

As he did, he noticed that several others were also cheating in unique ways.

Hinata and Neji were using their Byakugan to peer through others and see their answers.

Sasuke was using his Sharingan to copy the movements of another candidate, and thus, his writing and answers.

Akamaru was placing his head on the desk, acting like he was bored, but was secretly looking at the test of the genin next to him. He made low noises that only Kiba could hear, giving his partner the answers.

Shino had one of his insects fly over to a genin, look at her answers, and then fly back and inform him of the answers it saw.

Ino had used her mental jutsu to take over Sakura's body, memorize her answers, and then copy them before using her jutsu on Shikamaru and Choji, allowing her to write down the answers for them.

Tenten had used a rather interesting method. She was using nearly invisible wires to move a ceiling lamp, using its reflective surface to spy on another genin. She then moved it so that Lee could copy the answers as well.

Gaara, using a strange ability to control sand, had blown dust in the eyes of a genin, then formed a strange third eye out of sand to see the answers while the genin was distracted. It was almost like an Oculus, only not invisible.

Kankuro had asked to go to the bathroom and was escorted by one of the observing shinobi. Naruto found that odd and had sent the Oculus to follow him. It turned out, the "shinobi" that had escorted him was actually a puppet that the teen had placed and had copied the answers for its wielder.

Naruto always found the puppets of Sunagakure fascinating. He had learned of them years ago, as a handful of past Reaper Corps members had employed them, including Monzaemon Chikamatsu, the inventor of the craft. He had briefly considered trying to learn how to use one, but changed his mind because it required incredible skill and coordination and because he enjoyed more face-to-face confrontations.

Back to Kankuro, as he returned, he subtly passed Temari a tiny scroll that had the answers on them. He became briefly worried when Ibiki had smirked at him and asked if was done "playing with dolls". He had wondered if he had been discovered, but pushed this thought aside when he wasn't busted.

The most interesting cheating method by far, was from the bandaged Oto genin. He had listened to the patterns and sounds of the pencil scratching from another genin and was able to decipher what was being written.

'Clever' Naruto thought.

As the minutes passed, a few teams had been disqualified for cheating. Most had denied this, but were ignored.

Seeing as how he had nothing else to do, Naruto decided to use his Oculus to listen to the thoughts of those who he perceived as being his team's biggest competition.

He started with Gaara.

The red-heads thoughts were tangled and twisted. His mind was filled with images of him killing the others around him, even his siblings! Bloodlust clouded his mind…but there was another, softer presence. It was quiet, but it whispered in the Suna genin's mind.

"Soon, my son, you will have all the blood you can handle" the voice told him with glee.

'Yes. Thank you mother' Gaara thought.

This was odd, to say the least.

'Kura-hime…that voice, is that…?'

She nodded, "That's Shukaku" she told him.

'Why is he calling Gaara his son?' he asked, 'And why is Gaara calling him "mother"?'

"Looking into his mind, it looks like Shukaku has been corrupted somehow" she told her partner, "Like he's gone mad. The seal that contains him also appears to be unstable."

'Can it be fixed?' the blonde asked.

"Possibly" she said, "But I doubt Gaara will let you."

Naruto considered this for a moment, 'We'll deal with it later' he told her, 'For now, I'll need to warn the others to stay away from him.'

Kurama nodded, "Agreed."

Next, Naruto sent his Oculus to Rock Lee.

Unsurprisingly, Lee's mind was filled with energetic thoughts of youth and making his sensei proud.

'This exam is my chance to prove that hard work beats natural talent any day!' he thought, 'I will prove that prodigies like Neji and Sasuke can be beaten by the dead-last!'

Naruto was surprised. Lee was the dead-last of his year? It certainly explained why Lee was so driven to prove himself.

Aside from thoughts of Sakura (which weren't indecent in the slightest) Naruto heard nothing else worth noting, so he willed his Oculus to leave.

He then looked around, trying to find someone else worth listening to. He saw the Oto kunoichi and decided to eavesdrop on her.

'Okay, I'm done' she thought, 'Now I just have to wait for the tenth question' her mind drifted to Naruto, surprising him. 'I have to say, that blonde is so…hot! No! Stop it Kin! You aren't a useless fangirl! You're a kunoichi of Otogakure! But still…I wouldn't mind a piece of-No, stop it!' she told herself.

Naruto grinned internally. He was pleased that the gorgeous young woman was attracted to him.

She wasn't the only foreigner who was attracted to him. He had noticed a bespectacled red-headed girl from Kusa was also eyeing him while blushing. She was beautiful in a quiet, librarian sort of way. She covered up much, but he could tell that she was extremely attractive. There was also something in her eyes while she eyed him besides attraction: shock. She seemed surprised to see him, but he was certain he would've remembered meeting a beauty like her before.

Back to the matter at hand, Naruto listened further to the thoughts of the Oto kunoichi now known as Kin.

'I need to focus' she thought, 'I need to remember the mission!'

Intrigued by this, Naruto listened further…only to find he could hear nothing! He focused but was unable to learn more, even after willing her to think about it.

All he saw was a pair of evil, yellow eyes…but he did hear a name: Sasuke Uchiha.

He tried to learn more from the other Oto genin, but also heard nothing!

This was troubling. Not only was the Oto Team up to something that involved his male teammate, but their thoughts about it were being obscured by an unknown power.

Before he could ponder more on this matter, Ibiki's voice interrupted him.

"Times up!" he shouted, "Pencils down!"

The remaining genin in the room did as they were told and Naruto recalled his Oculus.

"Now then" the scarred man began, "Before we move on to the tenth question, there's something you need to know" he told them, "This question is entirely optional. You can choose not to take it, but doing so will disqualify you and your team."

This confused the genin.

"Then why would we choose to not take it?" Temari asked.

Ibiki gave her a sadistic grin that made her shudder.

"I'm glad you asked" he told her, "The reason you may wish to quit now is simple: if you take the tenth question and get it wrong…you and your team will be banned from ever taking the Chuunin Exams ever again!"

The stomachs of nearly everyone in the room dropped. The genin began to protest.

"What?!"

"That's not fair!"

"We've known people who've failed the exams and were able to take it again!"

Ibiki heard that last one and grinned evilly.

"Well, I wasn't in charge of those exams!" he told them.

"You can't do this!"

"Actually, I can" he said, "My test, my rules!"

As the genin continued to bicker, Naruto rolled his eyes.

'What a load of shit' he thought, 'This guy doesn't have the authority to ban anyone from taking the exams, especially not those from other countries! He's testing us, he wants to see if we're willing to risk it all for our careers.'

"I'll bet there isn't even a tenth question" Kurama commented.

The blonde Reaper had already figured it out, but others hadn't, namely Sakura Haruno.

'If we get the question wrong, we fail?' she thought, 'Oh god, If I mess up, not only will I be held back forever, but so will Naruto and Sasuke-kun!'

"So" Ibiki continued, "If anyone wants to drop out, now's the time."

A few minutes passed, and several teams began to raise their hands, dropping out and apologizing to their teammates.

"Anyone else?"

For several tense moments, the room was silent.

'I can't do this!' Sakura thought, panicking, 'I don't care what happens to me, but I won't let my teammates get held back!'

Slowly, the pinkette began to raise her hand. She knew Naruto and Sasuke would probably be angry, but she wasn't going to risk being the weak link again.

Naruto saw his female teammate begin to raise her hand and began to panic. He knew what was going through her mind. He knew that she was backing out so as not to hold Sasuke and himself back.

Reacting quickly, he sent out his Oculus and had it quickly merge with Sakura.

'Have faith' he told her.

Sakura froze.

What was she doing? She had worked so hard to become stronger, to prove she wasn't useless.

And now she was going to throw it all away?

She shook her head. She couldn't do it, not after all she had been through. She couldn't quit now!

The pinkette lowered her hand, knowing that she made the right decision.

"No one else?" Ibiki asked, "Keep in mind that your future depends on your answer."

All was quiet.

"All right then. To those of you who stayed…"

The room was silent, tense and waiting for the question they believed would decide their fates.

"…Congratulations! You passed the first exam!" he told them.

Wait, what?

Many in the room were silent, frozen in shock. Other's meanwhile wanted to know what the hell was going on.

"Wait, what about the tenth question?!" Kiba yelled.

"There isn't one" Ibiki told him, "The purpose of the tenth question is to determine whether or not you punks were willing to risk everything to succeed. That is what being a ninja is about: succeeding, no matter how high the price."

He then pulled off his bandana, causing many to gasp at what was underneath it.

On Ibiki's bald head were multiple scars. Scratches, slashes, burns, and even puncture holes were visible.

"As you can see" he told them, "I know a thing or two about paying that price."

Naruto looked over the scars and quickly determined whoever made them was an amateur. Physical torture is useless, as the subject will eventually admit to anything to make the pain stop. Psychological torture, on the other hand, that was where to true secret to success resided.

"What was the point of the other questions then?" another genin asked.

"To test your information gathering skills" Ibiki answered, putting on his bandana again, "The questions on the test were designed to be impossible for a genin to solve, ensuring you would have to cheat to succeed. The trick was not getting caught."

The disguised "genin" then stood up.

"These guys aren't really genin" Ibiki continued, "They're all chuunin or jonin in disguise. They had memorized all the answers, giving you someone to cheat off of."

"So…that's it?" Sakura asked, "We passed?"

"That's what I said" Ibiki told her, "Your next exam will start in a few minutes, as soon as the proctor-"

He was interrupted when something smashed through the windows.

It appeared to be a black ball, which unfolded and was pinned to the ceiling, revealing it to be a banner, which read "The Sexy and Single Anko Mitarashi!"

A woman emerged from the banner as well.

She had light brown, pupil-less eyes, and purple hair which was done in a short, spiky fanned-ponytail. She was wearing a tan overcoat with a purple in-seam, which has a pocket on both sides, and complete with a fitted mesh body suit that stretches from her neck down to her thighs and a dark orange mini-skirt. She appeared to wear little to nothing underneath her outfit. She had a small pendant that looked like a snake fang on a thick cord rather than a chain (probably to prevent it from being easily torn off in combat), a wrist watch, and pale grey shin guards. She also wore a dark blue belt around her waist that connects to her skirt that has an appendage-like sash.

Most of the male genin in the room, including Naruto, were stunned by the beauty and sensuality of the woman in front of them. The female genin found themselves jealous.

"Alright you little bastards, listen up!" the woman commanded, "I'm Anko Mitarashi and I'll be your proctor for the second exam!"

"You're early again, Anko" Ibiki told her, palming his face.

Anko gave him a cheeky grin, "That's what she said!"

Ibiki groaned. He'd walked right into that one.

Naruto found himself beginning to like this woman.

Anko then turned back to the assembled genin and counted them out in her head.

"78 genin?" she said, shocked, "You passed 26 teams? You must be getting soft, Ibiki!"

"Or maybe this batch is a cut above the rest" he told her.

Anko scoffed, "We'll see" she told him, "By the time I'm done with them, that number will be cut by half!"

This caused most of the genin to become nervous.

"Now all of you follow me!" she ordered, before leaping out the window.

Many had to wonder what they were getting themselves into…

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Done!

No codex for this chapter, sorry.

Nothing to really talk about in this chapter.

So…I hope you all enjoyed it!

Next time: The Forest of Death and the horrors within…

Until next time, this is Intimidator1323 signing off!