Birth of an Assassin: Heir to the Namikaze
Chapter 10
The First Exam
DISCLAIMER: I do not own Assassin's Creed or Naruto.
"Speaking"
'Thinking'
"Jutsu"
"Tailed Beast Speak"
Pairing: NaruxSaku
Assassin!Naruto
What's up guys, time for another chapter of Namikaze Assassin, my take on the Naruto world having their own Assassin's Creed presence and how it would play out. In our last chapter, we saw Naruto and his rapidly learning apprentice Sakura encounter the presence of the Chunin Exams first hand with the arrival of the Suna Siblings.
Tensions were high until they were suddenly defused by the cold presence of Gaara, a twisted girl with a terrifying beast within. Soon after, Squad Seven was officially invited to join in the Exams and all three accepted, to further push their own developing skills. Naruto and Sakura's relationship was made clear at the location of the first exam where another genin, Rock Lee, was immediately rebuked after asking her out on a date.
Sasuke's jealousy of Naruto's ability only serves to grow as he sees even Sakura begin to surpass him. How long will it be before this boils over into open conflict?
Even Orochimaru would not sit idle for such an important event in the ninja world and his agents are already on the move, how will they react to the Namikaze's presence?
I guess you will have to find out!
I also saw that it was quite divided over the fact of Gaara being a girl, as I know many readers here were not readers of my old story Sand Maiden where I also changed Gaara's gender. I know from my experience in Blonde Uchiha that changing a gender can make a character very different, but I'm confident that Gaara will still be the same antagonist he was in the manga.
Consider her a possibility for the harem too, to get your imagination rolling, even if it won't happen for quite some time. For those of you who don't mind a character having a gender change or enjoyed it, well congratulations to you for not being so stubborn.
Now onto the show!
000
Konohagakure
Academy
Hall
Tenten and Neji watched as the rookies left, both left thinking they had some potential to be trouble. Neji, always the prideful one, quickly dropped the thought and knew he would be the only worthy one to win. The Namikaze may seem tough but it was clear that the victor had already been decided through destiny. The assassins were a dying breed while the Hyuuga merely gained more strength each passing generation.
'Naruto Namikaze huh?'
Tenten saw that smirk on Neji's face and sighed, realizing that once again he lost any thought of being challenged in skill.
'I hope that Naruto makes it far enough to fight Neji, it will be entertaining to watch. Even better if either one can knock the arrogance out of each other.'
The genin around them soon began to follow in the direction of Team 7, indicating that the drama had passed. It was almost time for the first exam to start, and it would not do for them to be late. Neji began to walk along with Tenten as Lee continued to stare in the direction Sakura had left. They turned to face him when he did not tag along.
"Lee, let's go." Neji stated with some impatience.
"Yeah, we are going to be late if we don't go now!" Tenten urged.
Lee just sighed and shook his head.
"There is something I need to investigate, I will catch up with you soon." And without any explanation, the Taijutsu fighter left them alone.
Tenten began to fidget in nervousness, already they had lost a team-mate before the exam started. What if they disqualified them when Lee didn't show up on time? This was not good!
"Let's get going Tenten. No sense sitting here for him to return." She turned to see Neji already walking away and she struggled to catch up.
"But Neji.." She argued. "If we just let him wander off, who knows what trouble he might get into! Especially with an Uchiha and Namikaze around.."
He just looked at her and shrugged.
"Lee may not be the brightest, but he wouldn't do anything stupid to get himself disqualified. Besides, it would be a hassle to go track him down and bring him along. Just let him do what he needs to do."
Sighing in defeat, Tenten let it slide. She vowed to never forgive Lee if he didn't come back on time though, she could not afford to miss her first Chunin exam!
'Lee, you better hurry up unless you wanna die!'
Neji could feel the killer intent of his team-mate and just shook his head. Those two gave him more of a headache than their sensei could.
000
Konohagakure
Academy
Training Halls
Although Sakura had been quick to defuse the situation between the two squads, she had pulled Naruto and Sasuke off in what looked to be the wrong direction. They were now in the training rooms, far off from the classrooms where they were supposed to go for the exams. In embarrassment, she hadn't told either of them this and continued to walk on, hoping to find a way back on track.
"Sakura, how much longer are you going to walk us in the wrong direction?" She stopped after hearing Naruto blatantly call her out, much to her chagrin.
"Uhm..I don't know what you mean Naruto-kun." She watched him walk ahead of her and look around for a second.
"I'm pretty sure we should be headed for the classrooms, not the training dojo or the track right? You went to this school, I figured you knew the way you were going."
She blushed and Sasuke had the right mind not to say anything, lest he be considered in the same boat.
"Well, you see, I uh..thought I would show you around where we went to school. Yeah, that sounds about right." She smiled and gave an awkward chuckle, trying to cover her mistake.
Naruto didn't seem to mind either way.
"We should probably get going in the right direction though, in case we are late. Why don't we-"
"Hey you! In the robes." All three looked up at the balcony above to see Rock Lee staring down at them, specifically Naruto.
The one he meant to call out remained silent, waiting to see what he wanted.
Sakura just shook her head and hit her forehead in disbelief. What was this weirdo doing here?
Sasuke growled, why was he after Naruto when there was an Uchiha right in front of him to challenge.
"Hey!" Lee jumped off of the balcony and landed with grace on their level, standing up in a relaxed stance. "I'm talking to you, Namikaze."
Naruto just locked eyes with him, returning his fiery gaze with a bored stare.
"What do you want?" He asked simply as if he was not interested with this ninja in the slightest.
Lee almost came unnerved with how little Naruto seemed to care but quickly recovered. He would just have to show him the error of his ways, counting him out so easily.
"I, Rock Lee, have come to challenge you. A fight, here and now."
Sakura looked at Lee in disbelief and back at Naruto, not knowing what would happen. It was obvious that Naruto didn't take him seriously, but even she had to admit there was something to Lee that made him stronger than an average genin. If anything, it was obvious his taijutsu was above average.
But Naruto didn't seem concerned in the slightest.
"Are you a fool? This is the Chunin Exam, not some backyard brawl. I have no time to deal with you in an unofficial match at a time like this." Lee grimaced but did not seem to let up as he entered a taijutsu stance.
"Our speed is unmatched by any other genin here, so you should be able to figure out this battle will not be long either way. Besides, its not a fight to the death, just a test of strength. Also.." Lee took his eyes away from Naruto to look at Sakura who, until that point been trying to hide beneath her hood.
"Oh Sakura, your beauty is too much for words." The girl seemed to shrink at his attempt to woo her.
"When you denied me the first time, it impaled my heart like an arrow. But by defeating this precious Naruto of yours, I will show that I am the only man worthy of you!" Sakura just shook her head in disbelief.
"You can't beat Naruto..even if you were stronger, I know my feelings for him won't change. So don't even think about it!"
Naruto smirked and took a few steps forward, separating Lee from seeing Sakura.
"Don't worry Sakura, you don't have to prove your point to him. I will show him why the name Namikaze is spoken in fear by those who dare say it."
Lee smirked, his plan to goad Naruto into fighting seemed to have worked. Although, it also proved the point that those two cared about each other, and perhaps meant that Lee was out of his league with the pink haired girl.
'No matter!' He shook his head free of such thoughts, he would show that his training was not for nothing.
Naruto remembered their first encounter and how he had moved to grapple his wrist, almost succeeding. His speed was good and his body was well conditioned for damage, not to mention his taijutsu stance was not something he had seen before.
His advantage would be his own speed and his paralyzing poison to end the fight; an assassin could never go all out unless they were allowed to kill their opponent.
"Hold it right there!" Everyone turned to see Sasuke walk forward, shaking in rage.
"How dare you ignore an Uchiha as an opponent! I'll show you why I'm superior to you or Naruto!" Lee looked at Sasuke with something between disgust and disappointment.
"My fight is not with you Uchiha, it is with the assassin." Sasuke growled and charged forward, not bothering to listen.
Naruto did nothing to stop him, as he didn't care either way. Sakura wished Sasuke could pick his battles better or at the very least calm his temper, but it didn't seem possible. He had gotten worse ever since Naruto had come onto their team, and she wondered if he was feeling insecure in comparison.
'They are both from two totally different clans..he can't compare their strengths and weaknesses so simply, can he?'
Lee allowed Sasuke to charge forward, not bothering to change his stance. When he launched his first punch, Lee's hand followed his fist and with just his pointer finger, deflected the attack. Sasuke used his hands as leverage and sent a kick for Lee's face, only for him to lean back and dodge it.
'Damn him! He's toying with me.'
"You are too slow Uchiha, that is your weakness." Lee sent an unforgiving kick to Sasuke's abdomen as he was trying to stand up, launching him across the room into a heap.
Naruto and Sakura watched as he squirmed on the ground, attempting to recover. Naruto found it somewhat embarrassing, to talk so haughtily about himself and his clan yet allowing himself to be laid low by someone like this. Sakura felt a pang of sadness in her heart for Sasuke, he was trying so hard to be acknowledged and become stronger that he was getting more and more arrogant.
'Sasuke..is this really who you were in the Academy?'
'Is that all the Uchiha can do?' Naruto thought as the boy struggled to get up, looking first at Lee who had his eyes still fixated on Naruto.
His eyes switched to Naruto, and he saw the look of disdain the blonde was giving him. It made his blood boil to think that a Namikaze was looking down on an Uchiha. How dare he even think that he was better!
"Damn you Naruto!" He revealed his incomplete Sharingan and charged the robed shinobi, intent on wiping that look from his face.
Sakura couldn't believe what she was seeing, their own team-mate was attacking Naruto!
"Sasuke! What the hell do you think you're doing!"
Lee noticed too and took a step forward to stop the Uchiha, but realized that it wasn't necessary.
Sasuke's eyes tracked Naruto's next move but he couldn't keep up with the blonde's speed. The assassin leaped forward and sent a strong punch right into his stomach, knocking the wind out of him and forcing him to black out.
Naruto looked down at Sasuke as he fell asleep, feeling a slight bit of remorse for the Uchiha.
'If things had turned out differently..I may have been the same way.'
"...Sorry Sasuke." He whispered before facing Lee who had been watching the whole time.
'His speed is as I thought, incredible. It must be a specialty of his clan which I unfortunately know very little about. I will enjoy learning more about them through combat.'
"Ready now Naruto?" Lee asked and only received a scowl from the blonde.
Sakura looked at the clock and saw they only had twenty minutes. That didn't leave them with a lot of time to finish the fight and make it to the classroom.
"Naruto-kun, we don't have time for this. Please, let's just go-"
"I'm sorry Sakura, but this won't take long."
She was rebuked by Naruto as he prepared to fight, and so all she could do was pick up Sasuke and move him to the sidelines with her.
'Please Naruto..hurry.'
With a flash step, Naruto disappeared and Lee's eyes widened. This was much more than he was expecting for the start of the battle, the speed was so much he couldn't even see.
'How could he hide this much strength!'
Naruto appeared in front of Lee ready to attack, but disappeared as he sent a kick to dispatch him. Realizing the trick, Lee turned around only to get punched in the face by Naruto. As he stumbled back, another clone appeared beneath him and sent a kick for his chin.
Lee was just barely able to block before Naruto disappeared again, forcing him to look all around the battlefield for him.
'That punch..he wasn't holding back.' Lee grimaced in pain.
Sakura was astounded by the skill Naruto was showing, even she had only seen him this fast a few times. He definitely wanted to end the battle quickly, but maybe he was trying to prove a point.
Lee twisted around and caught Naruto's wrist as he prepared to launch another attack, but he disappeared. Another Naruto appeared from behind and sent a kick for the back of his head, but Lee was quicker. Their two attacks met, both using one leg to steady themselves as their attacks canceled one another.
"You are fast, a natural talent. You also know to observe a person's usual blind spots, traits that are exhibited only in the heat of battle." Naruto jumped away, allowing Lee to take a moment to analyze the attacks.
"There is something majorly different about us though. You were born with your talent while I have had to train my whole life to get to where I am today." Naruto said nothing, he felt no sympathy for the kid if he could mistake natural talent for life's training.
"You know nothing about me or what I've had to do to learn these skills. My entire life is devoted to one purpose; perfecting the art of assassination. Fools like you who do not appreciate anything but a clan name do not deserve to be called shinobi." Lee was shocked, could he have been mistaken?
'I thought Naruto's popularity came only from his name..that his family pampered him with training and jutsu that no one else could hope to learn. Perhaps he too worked hard to be where he is right now.'
Sakura lost some respect for Lee, as what Naruto said was true. It wasn't a person's clan that made them strong, it was their own dedication that made them who they were.
"Its true that many consider me not a shinobi, but not for that reason." Lee regained his stance, wiping off the dirt Naruto's punch had left on his cheek. "I can only use taijutsu and have no ability in ninjutsu nor genjutsu. I have dedicated my life to proving those people who consider me weak, wrong."
'Only taijutsu? So that means..this entire time he has kept up with Naruto because of just taijutsu?' Sakura was surprised but Naruto didn't seem to be.
"So? You expect me to feel pity or perhaps approve of your skill? Don't listen to those who would call you weak or wrong, be your own person. If your goal is to prove them wrong, then start by showing me you are better than just some fool." Lee frowned and charged forward, disappearing like Naruto.
"My pleasure." Appearing beneath him, Lee kicked Naruto into the air and appeared beneath him.
"Dancing Leaf Shadow." Naruto said, knowing the taijutsu move from his books.
Lee smirked.
"You are correct, allow me to prove to you my skill." He began to unfurl his bandages but became unnerved when Naruto looked down at him with a smirk.
"And allow me to show you why I am more than just a Namikaze." He disappeared in a puff of smoke, leaving Lee to sail through the air alone.
'How did he?-'
Another Naruto appeared above him and sent a devastating axe kick down on his stomach, sending Lee flying into the ground. The blonde quickly grabbed him and put him in a choke hold, one arm holding him while the other had his hidden blade to the boy's neck. In his defense, Lee was putting a considerable amount of strength into one hand that was fighting Naruto's hold on him, and his bandages were tangled around his blade arm trying to pull it back.
Their stalemate ended when a loud voice echoed through the room. It made Sakura break eye contact from the fight and forced Sasuke to wake up.
"Lee! What the hell do you think you're doing?"
Upon seeing the source of the voice, Lee quickly broke free from Naruto and knelt in front of the large turtle summon. This gave Sakura her chance as she ran over to join Naruto, checking on him. Other than being a little tired from using the kage bunshin, he seemed to be ok.
"Are you alright Naruto?" Taking a few deep breaths, he looked at Sakura and saw the concern.
"Don't worry about it, I'm fine. Let's grab Sasuke and get out of here.." She was glad he agreed and helped him up before walking over to retrieve Sasuke.
"You were watching us the whole time?" Lee asked, reluctant to hear the answer.
"Of course I was, you know that last technique is forbidden to use! Why would you bring something like that out in a practice match?" Lee winced at his master's yelling and tried to explain.
"Ah, I'm sorry sensei! You see I was just trying to show my strength to the Namikaze, I mean didn't you see him, he was stronger than almost anyone I've ever faced. Even Neji-"
"Bah! That's no excuse you numskull!"
"You're a disgrace!"
Naruto and the others looked to see Lee get chewed out by the summon, not understanding the context. Apparently that last attack was something he was supposed to use only in an emergency.
"What do you think Naruto? Was his last attack really that strong to be forbidden?" Naruto thought back to how he got launched up into the air and about the technique.
"It could be very powerful if I hadn't have escaped it. Its pretty difficult to do so though because the kick that starts it not only launches you into the air but makes it difficult for you to focus. Luckily I've gotten better with my kage bunshins to be able to substitute myself with one without hand signs."
Sakura smiled, that was her Naruto. She knew he wouldn't be defeated so easily by Lee, no matter how hard he tried.
Sasuke looked at Naruto with veiled anger, he had made a fool out of him again! His attack didn't even connect before Naruto had knocked him unconscious, making him look even weaker. The thought of being defeated by the Namikaze was made all the more worse that someone like Lee could also easily deflect him.
'There is no way I'm this weak! Damn you Naruto..'
"Revealing your techniques is one of the most obvious things a ninja is NOT supposed to do!"
"Sorry sir." Lee did not have any excuse and was merely waiting for punishment.
"Come out then, Gai-sensei!" A puff of smoke revealed the appearance of Lee's real teacher, a Jounin that looked surprisingly exactly like him.
Sakura and Sasuke sweat dropped while Naruto watched with little interest.
"What's up Lee?" Gai asked, giving a bright smile and thumbs up to the suddenly cheerful student.
"Gai-sensei!" His smile quickly turned to anger and he wound up his fist.
"Now for your punishment!" He hit Lee, sending him flying back. "You fool!"
Team Seven was once again surprised with such an odd and physical way to discipline a student, but said nothing in astonishment.
Lee slowly got up as Gai approached him, both all of a sudden crying.
"Lee...its over."
"Gai-sensei, I'm..so sorry!" Gai got on his knee as Lee began to get up.
"Don't..worry about it Lee. I'm sorry too! But it had to be done." It was as if they were really crying after the whole ordeal as their tears fell and sobs stopped them from speaking.
Naruto huffed and turned to leave, he had seen enough of these two idiots. Sakura and Sasuke didn't move to leave until they noticed Naruto was already a ways ahead of them.
"Naruto-kun! Wait up!"
The two others in the room didn't seem to notice as they mumbled about laps around the track and 'running into the sunset.'
000
Naruto and the squad walked through the halls to their destination, an awkward silence had fallen over them. Sasuke was still brooding over his embarrassing defeat by Lee and Naruto while Sakura just wanted to stay out of it and hoped they would make it on time.
"Oh Sasuke, before we get to the room. There is one thing you need to know.." Naruto made them all stop as he spoke to the Uchiha, not bothering to face him.
"What's that?" Sasuke said with as much strength as he could muster.
"If you ever try and attack me again.." Naruto turned around and glared at Sasuke, his eyes flashed red. "I won't hold back. Understand?"
He left little room to argue.
Sasuke was visibly shaken but just shrugged and walked past them. It left Sakura worried about their team cohesion but left Naruto oddly satisfied.
000
Konohagakure
Academy
Assembly Room
The three genin came to a stop at the examinee meeting room, coming face to face with a familiar person. Kakashi stood between them and the start of their first exam, his analyzing gaze kept them from moving further.
"Sakura..good to see you chose to show up after all. This wouldn't have had a happy ending if you didn't." She seemed confused, why her?
"What do you mean, Kakashi-sensei?" He sighed.
"If you had chosen not to come because of your own insecurities on your ability, then I would have to disqualify these two." Surprise came over their faces.
"You see, only squads of three are allowed to enter the Chunin Exam. Its always been this way, a tradition I guess you could say but also a requirement."
"But its a moot point, you are all here now for the right reasons. I'm proud." They all smiled, this was one of the few times Kakashi showed them praise.
"We won't let you down Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura shouted, excited to start.
He chuckled and moved out of their way, allowing them to pass through the door. It seemed like they really had changed since they first came together as a team, maybe they were really ready for the exam.
'I guess we will see.'
000
As soon as they entered, all eyes were on the new arrivals. Shinobi, most older than them, from all around the world watched as Squad Seven entered the building. Naruto remained calm under their stares, as did Sasuke, although he aggressively returned them.
Sakura seemed to be a bit shaken up, but Naruto quickly came to her side and whispered in her ear.
"Just put on your hood Sakura and ignore them, they wouldn't bother to cause trouble."
She quickly pulled on her hood and followed Naruto to the wall, where they decided to wait. Sasuke kept his distance but was quickly assaulted from behind by some blonde girl.
"Oh Sasuke, I've been waiting for you to show up! I knew you'd make it just fine." He scowled but made no move to remove the girl from his back, just waiting for her to leave.
Naruto watched from under his hood as her team-mates arrived, bearing the Leaf symbol too. They didn't really seemed to enthused to be here; one was staring off into space while the other was eating a bag of potato chips. Sakura remained quiet, trying to ignore her old rival and friend until she loudly said her name.
"So where is forehead-, I mean Sakura." She giggled at her own joke, waiting for Sakura's usual angry outburst to announce her.
Naruto grabbed her hand as it shook with anger and calmed her. Being the first time the girl was able to resist Ino's teasing, the blonde was confused. She spotted the two leaning against the wall and saw their leaf headbands across their chests, but otherwise didn't know who they were. It even seemed as if she was afraid of Naruto and Sakura.
"I'm right here Ino." Naruto was a bit surprised Sakura spoke up, but she couldn't hide from her old friend forever.
The blonde looked at the hooded figure and recognized the pink hair from beneath. Everyone realized it was Sakura at this point and was surprised by her new outfit, along with her companion.
"Sakura..is that really you?" The girl nodded and received a stifled laugh from Ino.
"What's with those clothes? Did you finally crack-" Ino shut up when Naruto was in front of her with his blade to her neck, making her shut up.
Sasuke and the others watched, frozen in terror to see what would happen next.
"What were you saying about my clan's clothing?" Ino swallowed, she didn't know who he was but it was obvious he didn't play around.
"N-nothing..nothing at all. Right Sakura?" She begged her friend to help who, even though she enjoyed seeing Ino squirm, did not want to see her hurt.
"Calm down Naruto, you know better than to get annoyed by something like that."
Naruto retracted his blade and fell back to where Sakura was. Ino quickly rejoined her team in hopes of receiving protection from whoever this Naruto guy was.
"Now, I can introduce you to Naruto, our third squad member. He's a Namikaze, Konoha's assassin clan. He's also my boyfriend." She made a face to Ino in mocking, as she was the first one to get a boyfriend among their rivalry.
Ino was shocked, she dropped Sasuke for..this creepy guy?
"What makes him any better than Sasuke?" Ino asked, uncertain.
Sakura didn't know where to start, especially since Ino hadn't seen Sasuke's ugly side like she had.
"Plenty of things, you'd know if you were on his team. Lucky me you aren't." Ino scowled but said nothing.
"Naruto, this is Shikamaru Nara and Choji Akimichi. They are on Ino Yamanaka's team." Naruto just looked at those two who seemed to shrink at his stare.
"Hey, looks like the gang is all here!" They turned to see Kiba lead his squad over to complete the rookie genin.
"Kiba, you know these guys?" Shikamaru asked, obviously wondering about Naruto.
"Yeah, we met them on our mission to Wave. That Naruto guy is pretty strong." Shikamaru just sighed.
"This is such a drag."
"It just means we'll have even bigger challenge when it comes down to fighting one another. I'll be sure to show the Namikaze a thing or two." Kiba smirked, belying his actual belief that he would get destroyed if he and Naruto got into a fight.
'But the others don't know that.' He thought with a confident smirk.
"Careful you don't get overconfident, mutt. Or else I'll put you in your place." Kiba glared at Sasuke who issued the challenge, still angry over his defeat by Lee and Naruto.
"What was that Uchiha?" Just before the two could butt heads again, a newcomer made his presence known.
"Hey guys!" Everyone turned to welcome a silver-haired youth with large rimmed glasses.
Naruto immediately smelled his scent and was disgusted, there was something off about him. Kyuubi growled as well, revealing that he too was awake to the events.
'I don't like this guy..what do you think Kyuubi?' He growled.
"Yeah, something is different about him than the others. He has a special scent, more like a taint on him. Whoever his master is, is a very twisted individual. Be careful of him."
"You might want to keep it down. Making noise will just draw attention to yourself, and everyone is stressed out enough to snap on you if you aren't careful."
The nine genin took a minute to think over his advice before Ino took offense.
"Well who asked you buddy?"
He just laughed and adjusted his glasses.
"I'm Kabuto Yakushi, a fellow Leaf ninja. Just look around you, do you want to get on these guys' bad side already?"
He had a point, they thought as they looked around the room to see everyone glaring at them. Kusa, Taki, Ame, Suna, and Leaf ninja of all ages were here and sizing each other up. Naruto even thought he could make out some familiar faces from their Kusa mission, but couldn't be sure.
'Luckily there are no assassins here, it would be unfortunate to fight them in this setting. I guess their villages have them on tighter leashes than regular shinobi.'
Naruto didn't know how to feel about it, but there was little he could do about the fact of how assassins were treated in other villages.
"But you guys can't help it, you're just rookies that don't know how things work. How could you?" Kabuto explained, but with a condescending tone.
"Kabuto, you've done this before haven't you?" Sakura asked, using her deductive reasoning.
He noticed her and smiled, nodding.
"Yes, this is my seventh attempt in four years." That took everyone by surprise, he was still going through the Chunin Exam after four years?
"So these exams are as tough as everyone is saying? Geez, what a drag." Shikmaru complained and Kabuto scratched his head.
"Well they hold it twice a year so it hasn't been too long. Seventh time is the charm right?" He chuckled, trying to gain his composure.
"Then that means you know all about these exams. Spill it." Sasuke demanded, not wanting to play games.
Kabuto contemplated it, smirking at Sasuke who only scowled in response.
"I guess I could help you guys out, I mean we are both from the same village right?" He took out a deck of cards from his clothing and laid them down on the ground.
Everyone watched as he took one out and flipped it over, revealing it was blank.
"These are my shinobi cards, data I've stored on individual shinobi and other info over the years. This shows I haven't been idle while taking the tests."
To demonstrate his point, he inserted chakra into the first card and displayed the distribution of shinobi attending the exam. Most were Leaf ninja, but there was a good amount from Suna and smaller border countries to Fire's north and western border.
"The reason these tests are held among groups of nations is to foster friendship, but also to act as a check and balance system of military power. With shared judging of shinobi, no one nation will come out on top with the most Chunin at the end of the exam. This keeps things generally fair, although because our village is putting forth so many genin, we have a higher chance of getting the most Chunin."
"In other words, on the individual level we will have to be impressive to stand out." Shino added and Kabuto agreed.
"Exactly."
Sasuke stepped in front of Kabuto, making him look up to see.
"This is useless information. Do these cards have info on individuals? From any country?" Kabuto smirked at Sasuke's aggression intsead of shrinking away, nodding.
"They might, depends on who you are looking for."
The Uchiha cut a sideways glance to Naruto and then back to Kabuto.
"Just give me any info you know about them, and I should be able to find their card."
"Rock Lee of the Leaf, and Naruto Namikaze of the Leaf." Kabuto frowned at the information.
"Ah, that makes it easy to find. No challenge." Everyone looked at Naruto and Sasuke, wondering why he would ask about his own team-mate.
"I don't care, just find them." Sasuke had to know everything there was about Naruto in hopes to defeat him.
Expecting Naruto to make a comeback or ask for his own card, Sasuke was annoyed when he remained silent.
"You are really pissing that kid off." Kyuubi commented, seeing Sasuke.
'I don't even know what I'm doing anymore, I think he just doesn't like me.' Kyuubi hummed.
"Do you like him?" Naruto thought about it.
'I don't have any reason to like or hate him, although he's getting to the point where we are going to have problems.'
Kabuto picked the top two cards off of his deck and held them up to Sasuke.
"These are the ones."
Sasuke nodded, waiting impatiently.
"Show them to me."
Kabuto put them both down on the ground and began to insert his chakra into the first one.
"First up is Rock Lee."
The card filled in to show a picture along with a few stats and graphs of the Taijutsu fighter. Kabuto examined the card as well, like it was the first time he read it.
"Looks like..he's only a year older than you guys. A pretty average amount of C and D rank missions under the teaching of Gai-sensei with his two team-mates, Neji and Tenten. His main skill seems to be in his Taijutsu which has rapidly improved, however, his other skills are questionable."
Sasuke examined the card, trying to find out little facts about his opponent.
"Last year he received a lot of attention as an up-and-coming genin but refused to take the Chunin Exam. This will be his first year, just like you guys. Looks like that's about it for this one, next up is Naruto."
He shuffled the one card back into the deck and then began to use his chakra to reveal the next. Everyone leaned in close to find out more about the assassin genin, except for Naruto himself.
"Huh, that's odd. Looks like there isn't much information at all, just the amount of missions he's been on and his name."
Sasuke growled, hoping that there was something he could find out.
"But he is a Namikaze, so this isn't much of a surprise. A well known clan of assassins that went missing over a decade ago.." Everyone turned to look at Naruto in awe. "He's one of the few left." Kabuto added for dramatic effect.
"As for the other countries, they all are skilled opponents. Not much is known about the Oto nins though, their village is new and very small. Suffice to say its going to be a tough exam this year."
"You could say that.." Hinata muttered quietly.
"No time to lose your cool now, we already in it to win it." Kiba stated proudly, although he too was nervous.
'We are up against a lot of competition, but Naruto is keeping his cool. He knows best, I'll just follow his lead.' Sakura said to calm herself, rejoining with the assassin.
Naruto looked out into the crowd and began to recognize familiar faces, trying to follow their lip movements.
000
The Suna Siblings had found themselves a nice area to sit and were given a wide berth thanks to Gaara's reputation. Kankuro grimaced as he saw Naruto looking over toward them, subconsciously rubbing his arm that got twisted up by the assassin.
"That's the guy that kicked your ass, huh Kankuro?" Temari chided, following his eyes.
The puppet user had the decency to remain quiet.
Gaara eyed Naruto, feeling an odd sensation of wanting to fight him.
'Soon..soon I will have my chance mother.'
000
Rock Lee had caught up with Neji and Tenten as they found themselves a spot in the crowd and tried to remain inconspicuous to the crowd. They observed the leaf genin and their outbursts, coming to realize they too had some potential since they weren't giving up outright.
"Guess you didn't make as much of an impact as you thought Lee." Neji smirked.
"They are strong." Lee remarked.
000
And in their own corner, three sound ninja kept their eyes on Kabuto. After hearing him downplay Oto's potential, they were thinking about how to teach him a lesson.
"Why don't we show him what Oto ninja can do?" Zaku said, excited at the prospect of fighting.
"Sounds fine with me." Kin muttered.
"Yeah, time to teach him to not insult a village he knows nothing about. Give him something to put on his little card game." Dosu confirmed.
The three spread out in a lightning quick fashion, making their way through the group of shinobi with ease. Few even noticed the movement at all, but the few that did prepared to jump in if necessary.
Kankuro began to loosen his pack but Gaara signaled for him to stop. It wasn't their fight.
Naruto watched as the three came forward, curious as what was going to happen. He noticed out of the corner of his eye that Kabuto had already noticed them but was playing dumb. What was his strategy?
"Hey punk!" Zaku leaped up into the air and threw two kunai at Kabuto, forcing him to slide backward to dodge.
That left him vulnerable to Dosu who ran up and sent a punch at his face. The silver-haired genin was fast enough to dodge and smirked as did the rest of the Leaf genin. It was only when his glasses broke did the rest realize that the attack got through.
Naruto could tell with his enhanced senses, it wasn't the punch, it was the sound generated from the bandaged ninja's arm. It sent a concentrated sound wave right at Kabuto, but the breaking glass was only the first part of the attack.
Soon enough, he doubled over and puked while the Oto ninja stood in front of him.
"Hehe..little weakling, that ought to teach you to talk down on another village." Dosu chided.
"Put this in your card, Oto are sure to be Chunins by the end of this exam." Zaku boasted.
Sakura moved to help Kabuto but had her arm grabbed by Naruto. The tainted scent, Naruto could smell it on these three too, exactly the same as Kabuto.
'Kyuubi..do you feel that?' The beast growled in assent.
"Yeah..these four know each other, their master is the one in the same. The question is who.."
"Naruto?" Sakura questioned as he stopped her.
"Something is off about Kabuto Sakura, stay away from him." She didn't understand, but she trusted Naruto's instincts and returned to his side without a fuss.
"What was with that attack? I saw him dodge it." Sasuke said, not believing his eyes.
"Maybe he did something else?" Ino wondered, not sure what to think.
A loud boom and smoke in the front of the room made everyone turn around.
"Alright you maggots, quiet down!" An old, grizzled voice shined through the confusion.
In front of them were all the Chunin examiners of the first exam.
"I am your proctor, Ibiki Morino. Its time for the First Exam to start!"
000
Konohagakure
Academy
Classroom; First Exam
"First of all, Oto genin! Who gave you permission to fight? Do you want to be failed before we even begin?" The proctor shouted, making the sound ninja turn to face him.
"Sorry, this is our first time and we are all a little jumpy..sir." He added the respectful term with obvious sarcasm.
Ibiki smirked, there was always at least one squad like that. He'd enjoy the time they spent together very much so.
"Any use of force against other candidates is strictly forbidden unless allowed otherwise by your instructor. Even then, lethal force is not allowed under any circumstance. Are we clear?" Zaku smirked.
"No lethal force? Well that's no fun." He whispered.
"Now hand over your papers to my fellow proctors and you will receive a number card. This determines where you will sit. Once you are all seated, we can begin the written exam."
"Did he say..written exam?" Choji shuddered to think about it.
Sakura got her papers ready and looked to her side to find Naruto missing. Where did he go so fast?
"I'm right here Sakura." She looked to her other side and he was right there, papers ready and all.
"Oh good, you scared me. Let's hope we sit together." They got in line.
"I don't think that's the point of this exam Sakura.." But Sakura seemed confident in herself, at least until they received their numbers.
It was obvious that they immediately shuffled the numbers once they were confirmed team-mates, but still Sakura was hoping Naruto could work his magic and sit next to her. The blonde just gave her a smile and wink before he went to sit in his spot.
"Don't worry Sakura, it will work out."
Sakura ended up sitting next to two leaf genin she didn't know, from older classes. Naruto sat next to Hinata and Temari of Suna. As they searched the room, Naruto's teaching to Sakura on observation came in handy as she noticed how many genin were already starting to prepare to cheat. The name was the written exam, but she guessed the exam would be too difficult for most so they would be forced to cheat.
The proctor made it clear that this would be prohibited, but if they didn't get caught, maybe that was the point? Ninja are supposed to be secretive about everything they do, this could be a test to check their abilities in information gathering. She risked a glance at Naruto to see him not doing anything, even as the test began. He just sat there, hands clasped together in a thinking pose.
'I hope Naruto does well..'
And Sakura began her own test, and realized that her studies during the academy paid off. Most of the questions were scenarios or mathematical equations with ninja terminology mixed in. They were relatively easy and she filled it out quickly.
The rest of the time she just spent watching the other genin and how they went about cheating. Some were obvious and soon caught by the examiners, while the rest could be quite secretive. Sakura was sure she only saw a few of the many techniques others used to get the answers, but soon enough the room was thinned and it was time for the final question.
When the make or break question was posed with its conditions, even more left.
Her eyes darted between Naruto and Sasuke but neither did anything or made any attempt to leave. That meant she was staying as well to hear the final question.
"Alright, all of you who stayed to hear the last question, pass!"
Her eyes widened, pass? They passed?
"But we didn't do anything!" She blurted out, but Ibiki quickly explained.
"The point of the last question was not to test your knowledge but your group cohesion. All of you who stayed show you have confidence in your team to succeed, or at the very least the willingness to fail along with them. This is extremely important for shinobi to know and accept."
'Teamwork and trust..I guess we do have that.'
Suddenly, Naruto disappeared into a puff of smoke and Sakura felt someone poke her in the arm. Turning to her right, she saw Naruto waving at her. She was shocked, how did he do that?
Many of the proctors and other students looked in amazement too, how had they not noticed?
"Second Tenant of the assassins, 'See but be unseen.'. I allowed my clone to act as me while I mimicked someone in the crowd, letting me sit next to you and get your answers."
Sakura realized it must have been some sort of genjutsu that only the Namikaze knew. There was still a lot she had to learn, but then she understood why Naruto's clone said what it did.
"It will all work out Sakura."
"Well anyway.." Ibiki coughed to get attention back to him. "That concludes the First exam, now we just have to wait for-"
The window suddenly broke as a figure burst through and set up a large sheet that separated Ibiki from the rest of the class. A woman in a revealing mesh bodysuit and trenchcoat stood in front of the class, smirking.
"Second Exam proctor, Anko Mitarashi. If you are the guys that passed, it means Ibiki is getting rusty. Looks like I'll have to weed out the weaklings, come on kiddos!"
She leaped out the window and after a short silence everyone quickly followed her to find the Second Exam starting place.
Ibiki huffed and brushed past the sheet and began checking the papers for fun. He took a look at one in particular, the one that was the Namikaze. The clone had filled out nothing while the original had filled out everything exactly as Sakura had, but with his own wording in case it was checked.
He smirked, looked like the Namikaze outsmarted his proctors.
"Ibiki..how did he do?"
The examiner turned to see the Hokage make an appearance and bowed.
"He did fine sir, he used a genjutsu that outsmarted even myself for the entirety of the exam. I think he easily passed." Hiruzen sighed in relief.
"Many shinobi are shaken that we are allowing him to take the exam, I need to be sure he is doing well for my instincts to be sure."
Ibiki knew about the conflict but did not take sides, assassins used shinobi techniques too and they could be killed by shinobi. That left them on an even playing field if you asked him.
"I'm sure nothing will come of it sir. The Namikaze will go as far as his training will allow."
Hiruzen tipped his hat and nodded.
'Yes..yes he will.'
000
Alright, this chapter is done. Next up is the intense fighting between genin in the Second Exam and where many characters will get revealed or have more interaction. I'm sure you were all expecting Karin, and while the idea of her being there was mentioned, she herself was not named.
I can say she, along with Orochimaru and a few other will make more significant appearances coming up as we get into the thick of the Chunin Exams!
I have a research paper due this Wednesday so I won't be updating for a while, but up next is a definite Mercenary chapter so go read and review that story if you are interested!
Review!
See ya!