AN: Hey guys, I'm back, and my exams are pretty much done... there was a bit of a snag regarding one, so I'll have to wait until 1 December to write that last one, but I won't bore you with that story unless you want to be :D


buterflypuss - Good to know you enjoyed the previous chapter bud, hope you enjoy this next one too =) Let me know ;)

LordGhostStriker - Haha, indeed she did lol xD I thought I'd have a little fun with Tsunade, so I used her destructive temper, hopefully I got it down nicely =D Hope you enjoyed the chapter and enjoy this next one too... let me knwo =)

Guest - Yeah, I suppose Naruto is a bit obsessed with his nickname, but I think I might have mentioned in the story somewhere, I think it is a self-proclaimed nickname, so he brings it up all the time in a joking, non-serious manner. If it doesn't say self-proclaimed, then it should, and that should fix up that whole conundrum =D Otherwise I'm glad that you've enjoyed it so far, and good to know that someone appreciates my back story lol =D I really tried with that, and I hope I'm not moving too slow? Any ways, glad you're enjoying the story, and I hope you enjoy this chapter too :)

starstrike141 - Hehe, glad to know you like it =) My main goal when I came up with it was to go for something different, so it's good to know that I accomplished that =) Otherwise, let me know what you're thoughts are for this chapter, eagerly awaiting a response :)

Yana5 - Haha, yeah, Sasuke needs to get shown who's boss sometimes so we can keep that ego of his in check lol xD Glad to know that you liked that chapter though, and let me know how you feel about this next one :) Your reviews usually bring a small chuckle out of me each time :D

Tony Blu - Ah, sucks to hear about your holidays ending bud :( Hang in there though, they'll be back soon enough though =D Hehe, my exams were very good, so thanks for your words of thanks ;) And thanks for the review, glad you enjoyed the chapter, and I really hope you like this next one too =) I don't feel too good about it, but hopefully I'm just being over-critical... the say that your worst critic is yourself, and I can't help but agree, but let me know what you think =)

buterflypuss - Good to know you enjoyed the chap bud, let me know what you thought about this one =)

OoOXylionOoO - Hehe, hey bud, so glad to hear that you enjoyed that story so far, and I see you read them all in one go too! That's insane, but it makes me feel really good about my story, so thanks =D Yeah, I've never really thought much about talking about a specific taijutsu when he uses his trench knives, but that might change if I find something... it depends really =) Glad to know you've enjoyed the story so far, so let me know what you think of this chapter... I'm not too sure about it, but hopefully I'm just being too hard on myself... Looking forward to hearing from you =)

CharitysSongbird - Hey bud, glad to know you've enjoyed the story so far, this review meant a lot to me, you have no idea :D I'm glad you like my characters and my writing style, and I'm glad that you don't think my pace is a bit slow... I was a bit iffy about that, so it's a good reassurance :) As for your questions, here are your answers; firstly, like you said, I'm going off the idea that Kushina wasn't really well known... I think the only ones who would've really known about her were a few around Kakashi's age group as well as obvious people like the Hokage, elders, etc. Secondly, harems can be written well, and they can be tasteful, but I don't feel like I'm up to that kind of level yet, so I don't think I'd be able to pull it off, although you seem to think differently, so thanks for the vote of confidence =) I was thinking of having just a single pairing, but I'm pretty up in the air about who with... I still feel like 13 years old is still a bit young for a pairing, so maybe I'll introduce something a little later down the line when Naruto is older (and yes, there will be a later down the line when he's that age...). Otherwise, thanks again for your review, and let me know what you thought of this chapter... Like I've said a few times, I'm not too sure about this chapter, but I might just have been a little hard on myself, hopefully you prove me right and I was too hard on myself, but we'll have to see... looking forward to your reply bud =)


This chapter was a pretty long one, didn't know where to split it, so just made it a nice big one :D I managed to write this one up in the last few days, and I tried to change things up a little with the first exam so that it wasn't the same as canon, but I'm not sure if I succeeded... I feel like I might have made it worse than in canon, but I suppose that's up to you guys... but hey, I tried (shrugs). Let me know what you think, and I shant be keeping you from the story any longer... enjoy... or don't I suppose. As usual, edited and beta'd by myself... can you be your own beta, not too sure about that lol, but I am :D

Disclaimer: All characters of Naruto and things Naruto belong to Masashi Kishimoto.


Chapter 11: The First Stage Begins!


"Normal talking"

'Normal thinking'

"Bijū/Summon talking"

'Bijū/Summon thinking'


Streets of Konoha, early afternoon...


"You still have a choice here y'know. There's absolutely no shame in backing out," explained Naruto with a mocking seriousness, glancing to his left at his brunette best friend with an amused twinkle in his eyes. "We all have our limits after all, and yours might just be genin—"

The whiskered blonde was forced to duck under a brutal swing from his brunette friend Shūhei, the latter of whom was finally fed up with the blonde's constant taunts after having been forced to listen to them for the better part of the entire morning. "Could you knock it off already?! I'm trying to get focused here, but that's just a touch difficult with you and your snide remarks!"

Naruto had unconsciously taken a step back during his friend's outburst, and his body had been momentarily overcome by a trace amount of fear, his face losing all colour. However, just as quickly as it had come, Naruto realised what he had instinctively done and huffed non-chalantly, casually dusting himself off as he turned away from his best friend and carried on walking towards the Konoha Academy. "Jeez, who licked the red off your candy?"

The innocence with which the remark was said prompted Shūhei to halt in his strides, and his fists clenched at his sides as he began mumbling softly to himself, his voice laced with annoyance and unbridled irritation. "I'm gonna kill him this time... I swear it – he's as good as dead..."

Naruto squinted his eyes in confusion and took a small step back towards his shaking friend, the brunette's hair shadowing his teal-green eyes. "What was that Shūhei? You need to speak up more; I can't hear anything you're saying."

An all-too-sweet-smile plastered itself on Shūhei's face as he mechanically glanced up towards his blonde friend, and an evil glint shone in his green eyes as he slowly advanced towards Naruto. "Oh, I'm sorry – how... rude of me to mumble. What I said was: I'm going to kill you!"

Naruto's face paled as his brunette friend shot forward at him at break-neck speeds, and the blonde immediately substituted himself with the nearest object his eyes could find, said object being a fairly tall man with waist-length spiky white hair descending down his back in a pony tail, a massive scroll hanging horizontally on his lower back.

Shūhei spear tackled the unfortunate man that had been used as a substitution, bouncing off of the man's stomach and landing on his backside. The brunette quickly shook his head free of the residing cob webs before quickly pulling himself back to his feet. 'Man, that guy's like a brick wall... my head really hurts.'

Shūhei stumbled back to his feet before quickly darting around him and shooting back after his target, the blonde still firmly in his sights not too far away, leaping up to the rooftops ahead; but not before glancing back one last time and shouting a quick, "Sorry mister!"

The tall white-haired man dusted himself off before staring back at the two kids who had just one; used him as a substitution and two; tickled his stomach with that weak spear-tackle. "Damn brats! Sensei needs to put his genin on a tighter leash – can't just have them running amock in the village, knocking into the guests of honour!"

Despite his previous displeasure at having been knocked over, he smiled nostalgically as he continued to walk in the same direction of the two boys from earlier, his destination however being the Hokage's Office. "Ah, the village really hasn't changed at all. I better go find Kakashi though... he said he had some extremely important information to share. If it's to ask for another autograph though I might just deck him... he may be a loyal fan, but it creeps me out sometimes..."


Konoha Ninja Academy, a few minutes later...


A patiently waiting Shiho glanced to her right at the small clock hanging above the main door of the Konoha Ninja Academy, a small sigh escaping her lips as she placed her hands behind her back. 'Shūhei-kun, Uzumaki-kun... where are you two? We have less than 30 minutes to register, if you don't get here soon then—"

It was in that next moment however when a grinning Shūhei landed beside her in a crouch, standing up to full his height and dusting himself off. Her mouth opened to ask where the remaining member of their team was, before a disgruntled and frowning Naruto landed on her other side not a second later, tenderly rubbing at a bruise on his left cheek. "Sorry we're late Shiho-chan... I had a small run-in with an asshole who couldn't take a joke this morning," he grumbled while sending a small glare towards his brunette friend.

Said brunette just grinned wider, his smile morphing into a full blown smirk as he rubbed beneath his nose proudly. "Aww, don't be such a sour-puss Naruto... you've been messing with me for longer than I can remember, and it was bound to catch up to you sooner or later."

Naruto just grumbled unintelligbly a little more, looking off to the side while Shiho seemingly unraveled the entire situation in a matter of seconds, quickly dismissing it as unimportant. "Well come on you two; we better go register before we get disqualified. You see, we only have 25 minutes left—"

"Well what're we waiting for?" Shūhei interrupted rhetorically in an unusually chipper voice, leading the way through the Academy door and taking his very first left down the corridor. "Come on! We don't wanna get disqualified now do we?"

Naruto grumbled a little more before Shiho quickly grabbed a small swab from her rear pouch and placed some healing salve over it, attaching it to Naruto's cheek with a plaster. "There we go, all better. That should ease the pain and stop any swelling," she added quickly after adjusting her glasses and replacing her medical salve.

"Thanks Shiho-chan," Naruto said gratefully; although the gesture was greatly appreciated, thanks to Kurama, and unknowingly his Uzumaki lineage, he would heal right away even without the healing salve. "That asshole needs to be reminded how much of a bitch payback can be... but I suppose that'll have to wait until after these exams, so we better hurry up and follow him."

Shiho nodded quickly before starting off after Shūhei, Naruto following two steps behind her. "I believe the registration room is on one of the upper floors; the third if I remember correctly," she quickly explained, glancing left to a long corridor and then straight ahead to where a small set of stairs were located, spiralling up towards the next floor.

"Then that would be our best guess," Naruto shot with a grin, grabbing Shiho's wrist and heading straight for the spiralled staircase. "This should lead us straight to the top floor!"

XxX

The pair of blonde's came running out of a small corridor, exiting through the top-most door and continuing on down another passage. "I can't help but feel like we've gone up one too many levels Uzumaki-kun," Shiho explained while adjusting her glasses with her left hand, glancing around at the inner balcony they seemed to have found themselves on.

Naruto waved dismissively as he continued on ahead, seeing another set of stairs leading back down in the distance. "Don't worry Shiho-chan, there's more stairs ahead, so we'll be able to go back down if we need to—"

He cut himself off however and slid into a crouch behind the balcony railing, dragging Shiho down with him and catching her before she fell, gently holding her close while glancing over the top of the rail. "Shit... I thought it was him..." he whispered softly, carefully helping the now disshevelled Shiho into a crouch beside him.

"W-What's wrong Uzumaki-kun? Why are we hiding?" she questioned before seeing him point off to below the balcony, a look of pure agony plastered on his face. He mumbled a soft 'You'll understand when you see it', and she took a small peek over the railing herself, immediately retracting back into a crouch while adjusting her glasses again. "Shit indeed Uzumaki-kun..."

Standing below them at the bottom of the balcony, on the floor that they needed to be on, was none other than Team 7. However, the problem therein lay with the fact that one Maito Guy and Rock Lee were standing with them as well, and that posed a serious issue. The two green beasts of Konoha had taken somewhat of a liking to Naruto a few days prior when they had had their joint team barbeque over at Yakiniku Q.

The whiskered blonde had simply made a joke while mistakingly utilising the words 'Springtime of Youth' to try and make a good impression, however things had subsequently spiralled out of control, a green spandex suit having been produced and given to him as a gift several seconds after. Suffice to say he wanted to stay as far away from Konoha's Sublime Green Beast of Prey as he could.

"You mind if we wait it out Shiho-chan," he practically begged, his hands clasped together in a sign of pleading. He would surely be roped into some sort of 'youthful act' if they went down now, and he felt he might just die solely from the social humiliation of it all.

She giggled softly with a hand in front of her mouth before nodding quickly, a small smile on her lips. "Of course Uzumaki-kun. What kind of teammate would I be if I let you wander into a social suicide like that?" she questioned rhetorically, giggling a little more as Naruto crossed his arms and closed his eyes with a sigh of relief.

He cracked one eye open though and grinned lopisidedly at his friend, a mock seriousness to his tone of voice as his entire body visibly relaxed. "This is serious stuff Shiho-chan... I really could've died if we went down there! Honest!" She just continued to laugh at Naruto's expression, his seriousness over something like this sending her into a fit of giggles.

After another five minutes when everything seemed to quiet down, he peeked over the top once more and confirmed that the coast was clear. "Okay Shiho-chan, the Green Beast is gone. Let's go before he comes back!"

"All right, all right," she added quickly, being dragged down the stairs once more by her whiskered-blonde friend. "It should be just down there, on the other side of that small court yard," she supplied after they reached the lower floor, the pair moving through a number of columns that surrounded a fairly large court yard, a door leading to another corridor on the opposite side.

They rounded a corner after making it into the next passageway and sighed in relief upon seeing the form of their sensei and Shūhei both casually leaning against the wall outside another set of doors, their sensei holding his ever-present smirk with signature senbon hanging lazily from his mouth, while Shūhei had his own scowl firmly planted back on his face. "Where've you guys been?! I've been waiting here for over 15 minutes!"

"Now-now Shūhei, I'm sure there's a perfectly reasonable explanation for their belated arrival," Genma said placatingly while glancing at the pair of blonde's out of the corner of his eye. "Right guys?"

"Two words," Naruto offered while holding up two fingers, a small involuntary shudder running up and down his spine at the mere thought of it. "... Green Beast..."

Genma's eyes widened for a fraction of a second before he chuckled good-naturedly. "You see Shūhei, it was actually worse than we thought." He placed his hand on the whiskered-blonde's head before smiling down at his three temporary students, giving them each a small nod of acknowledgement. "It's been an honour serving as your temporary sensei, and no matter what happens, remember that you guys are a team."

Shūhei managed to abate his scowl for the moment, a small smile appearing on his lips as he moved towards the double doors leading to the next room. "That's right guys. We're Team Genma, so how about we go let all the other genin in these exams know that?"

The team of genin now thoroughly pumped and excited to get going, Genma gave them one more vote of confidence before disappearing in a cloud of smoke, leaving the Academy in a shunshin to meet up with the rest of the sensei. But not before making one quick pit-stop with a man whom he'd been waiting some time to see. 'Jiraiya-sama has finally arrived. I've already asked Kakashi to get Jiraiya-sama, and then I'll inform them both of the situation... I suppose getting the rest of the gang back together would probably be a good idea too...'

XxX

Walking through the double doors, Team Genma immediately found themselves attached at the hips, the throng of genin loitering around in the room instantly throwing them into guarded positions. "T-There's so many of them," Shiho muttered softly to the two males beside her, both inclining their heads as they scoped out all the different competitors seated or otherwise standing around the large room.

Looking around, they could see headbands from hidden villages from all over the Elemental Nations, even several headbands they'd never seen before, such as the village with the musical note for a symbol. "Hey... either of you ever seen a village with that insignia before?" questioned the only brunette of the team, his eyes critically scanning the entirety of the large meeting hall.

Both blonde's glanced in the direction he was looking, but didn't have much time to get a good look at the symbol before the trio of genin with that particular head band began moving in the opposite direction. It wasn't a second later before there were sounds of a scuffel coming from that direction, a few raised voices being heard above all the rest of the talking genin.

But before any of them could move to take a closer look, a series of smoke clouds enveloped the open section of the meeting hall, several chūnin and tokubetsu jōnin appearing and taking up the centre flank. They were all wearing the same styled grey suit with black hitai-ate, save for one individual who stood at the centre, his aura and body language denoting a certain amount of authority and respect above the rest.

"All right that's enough!" came the loud and commanding voice of the man standing centre-stage, his eyes narrowed intimidatingly as he scoped out the genin in the hall. "My name is Morino Ibiki, and I'm your proctor for this first exam. That's it. I'm not your 'dude' and I'm not your friend – in fact, as of this moment I am now your worst enemy! Any time you wanna speak to me... don't. I'm not here to lend my ear for any idle chit-chat you wanna have, I'm hear to mould you into chūnin. Do I make myself clear?!"

Everybody found themselves shouting a uniform 'Yessir!' before his eyes drifted off to the back left, his already-intimidating face morphing into a disgusted scowl. "You – genin from Otogakure! Who gave you permission to fight?! You want me to fail you before we've even started?!"

Said genin from Otogakure slowly turned to face the proctor, a boy with a bandaged face stepping forward on behalf of the group. Most of his body was covered in the bandages, and it gave him a sort of mummy-like appearance. "I'm sorry sir—"

"I couldn't give two fucks about your apology candidate!" Ibiki shouted loudly, his scowl growing slightly as a vein pulsated near his temple. "Now listen up, because I'm not gonna repeat myself: Any unsanctioned fighting between participants will result in immediate disqualification, no questions asked! Do I make myself clear?!"

The question was directed solely at the lone Otogakure genin, and he couldn't fight off the small beads of sweat that trickled down the side of his face and into his bandages. "Crystal, sir..."

The answer seemed to apease Ibiki for the moment, and a sadistic smirk replaced his earlier scowl, his gaze once again roaming across the hall. "Now, if there'll be no more interruptions, we can finally move on to the first stage of the Chūnin Exams. I want each team to present their documentation to the front desk, whereupon each team will be given a number. Numbers one through 46 will congregate on the right, whereas numbers 47 and up will line up to the left."

The teams began lining up one after the other in one long row leading up to the front desk, where several chūnin were seated handing out numbers to the teams as they gave in their filled-out documentation. It didn't take any more than 10 minutes to assign each team a number, and once Ibiki took another look around he had half of the candidates standing to the right with the other half to the left.

"All right, now that every team has been assigned a number, we can move onto the rules of the exam." Moving over to the blackboard centred at the front of the hall, he pulled out a small piece of chalk and began writing on the black-top while simultaneously stating them one by one.

"Firstly, each team will be assigned a room corresponding to the number having been given to you earlier. In these rooms, you will be placed under an extremely powerful non-lethal genjutsu that will simulate a certain situation and environment. Do not attempt to dispel them – you will sooner find yourselves dead from chakra exhaustion. It is under these conditions that you will be expected to gather information, your sole objective being that of locating and uncovering a four-digit numerical code."

Glancing backwards to make sure that he still had their undivided attention, he narrowed his eyes at a certain candidate who was just about on the verge of dosing off, and with a small flick of his wrist, the small white piece of chalk was sent rocketing at the boy, knocking him square in the forehead. "I'm sorry, did I ruin your sleep... I don't recall GIVING YOU PERMISSION TO SLEEP!"

Once again having all eyes trained on him, Ibiki fished out another piece of chalk before continuing where he left off. "In order to successfully pass this exam, each team will need to acquire their four-digit code and hand it to the chūnin that will be stationed outside your door. But be warned... you only have one opportunity to hand in the correct code before you are either passed or disqualified. On top of that, we will only be accepting the first 50 percent of you who hand in their codes, meaning the rest will immediately be disqualified. You will be given a 20 minute time-limit in which to complete this task, and those who do not... yep, you guessed it: disqualified."

He flashed them all a menacing grin before flicking his head to the right, gesturing to an incredibly long corridor that had most definitely not been there before. It was lined with doors on either side of the passageway, seemingly going on forever. "All right you genin, all of you who have numbers of one through to 46, make your way into the corridor and enter your corresponding room. The exam will begin in five minutes."

The 46 genin teams that were lined up to the right made their way into the corridor, Team Genma having been given the number 27. The rooms were all lined up in ring-numerical order, with one being the first door on the left and 100 being the first door on the right. Upon entering the room, Team Genma found that there was absolutely nothing out of the ordinary about it, besides the fact that it was completely empty.

Their door was closed behind them, and the supposed five minutes came and went faster than expected, four inky-black seals becoming visible on each wall of the room, lighting up in a bright blue-white before the room began distorting and fading out of view as the foreign chakra entered their systems and the genjutsu took hold.

The next thing they knew they were in a room not unlike their previous one, save for the pools and splatters of blood scattered around the walls and floor of the room, a dense and heavy deathly-metallic smell coating the air.

It was suffocating, and the two males fought a hard battle with their stomachs, barely managing to keep the rising bile from escaping their mouths within the first few seconds. The lone female member of the team was not so strong-willed and was quick to empty the contents of her stomach. It wasn't long before the other two males followed suit however, the dead body strapped to a vertical pole in the middle of the room pushing them over the edge. At least they knew where the volatile smell was coming from now.

It wasn't nearly so much the sight of the dead body as it was the heavy smell of blood and death lingering in the air that sent waves of diziness through each genin's head, all three fighting with the strong urge to regurgitate the rest of their breakfast. It was an uphill battle to say the least.

It was their brunette teammate that was the first to shakily get back onto his feet, roughly wiping at his mouth with his shirt sleeve as he stumbled towards the body with watery eyes. "C-Come on guys... you gotta pull yourselves together... r-remember, this isn't real... it's nothing but a g-genjutsu..."

"Y-Yeah... a lot easier... said than done..." Naruto wheezed out in between shaky breaths, crawling over to Shiho and gingerly rubbing her back, trying his best to comfort his female friend and teammate. "You all right... Shiho-chan?"

The girl slowly looked up into a pair of concerned azure-blue eyes, and she managed a shaky nod before adjusting her glasses with a shivering hand, letting out a small cough as she placed a hand on Naruto's shoulder. "T-Thank you Uzumaki-kun... but Shūhei-kun is correct. T-This is nothing more than a genjutsu... a powerful one at that, but a genjutsu nonetheless..."

She slowly pushed herself onto shaky legs and courageously trodded on towards the body in the middle, the fact that they were in a genjutsu being pushed to the forefront of her mind in order to curb any further urges to retch.

Naruto nodded shakily and managed to stumble onto his legs as well, stopping besides his two teammates as they all stared at the body once more, Naruto untying his bandana and reattaching it around his mouth and nasal area. "So, we've already used up a solid five minutes, which leaves us with 15 to get this code... any ideas?"

The question that was on all their minds echoed through their heads, but Naruto was hoping more than anything that his two braniac's for teammates would already have an inkling as to what they were looking for.

"Given the situation we've been placed in, along with our objective, I think it's safe to assume that the four-digit code we're looking for is somewhere on this guy's body," Shūhei muttered with a frown, his voice muffled by the arm covering his nose.

It was a pretty astute assumption all things considered, and the lone female on the team nodded her agreement as she began removing the body's items of clothing, scattering them across the dirty floor, once again fighting down her gag reflex. "I-I suppose we better start searching then."

Grabbing the nearest article of clothing, Shiho began rummaging through the pockets of the prisoner's thick grey overcoat, doing her utmost best to ignore the splotches of blood coating the outer material, as well as the odd squelch that would echo through the room as she squeezed a particularly soaked patch of polyester.

Shūhei grabbed the two pouches that had been attached to the man's hip, the two packs surprisingly clean. The man's overcoat had done an excellent job of taking the brunt of the blood, and the fact that his undergarments weren't soaked to the bone in the scarlet liquid gave rise to the idea that all this blood did not belong to the man they were searching. It was a fair observation, but one that was placed at the very back of Shūhei's mind as he realised its unimportance in their current situation. Their only goal was finding that code. He needed to focus.

Naruto continued searching through the many pockets lining the man's pants, in hopes of possibly finding something that resembled the four-digit code they were looking for... but to no avail. His efforts so far proved less than hopeless, and the stress of slowly losing time was running his mind ragged! Couple that with the ever present tang of blood and death wafting through the air, and he was fast developing a throbbing migraine that was only destroying what little concentration he still possessed.

He chanced a glance at his brunette friend only to find that he was in a seemingly similar state of mind, even worse-so if his slowly deepening scowl and sweaty brow was any indication. This fact was further reinforced by said brunette jumping to his feet and nailing the pouches at the nearest wall, his cry of indignation echoing throughout the small room.

"Argh, this is fucking hopeless! How are we supposed to find some fucking four-digit code on this guy with only 20 minutes?!" the brunette raged, falling to his hands and knees as he turned his glare to the blood soaked floor. "I don't see the point in some stupid exam like this!"

Naruto frowned at his friend and just continued searching through the pair of pants he still had in his grasp, turning the material inside out to widen his search. "Stop whining about it and just help us find this thing! We hate this just as much as you do," Naruto shot back, his blue eyes scouring every inch of the clothing.

Shūhei clenched his fists and punched at the floor, his eyes shut tight as he continued to express his rage. "I already told you, this test is absolute bull shit! What's the point?! How can they expect us to—"

"For fuck's sake pull yourself together Shūhei!" Naruto cried angrily, his intense glare piercing the brunette's green eyes. "We're all hot and bothered, the constant smell of blood and death is driving me insane, and I'm pretty sure the lack of ventilation is making it harder to breathe in here! And your whining isn't making it any better y'know!"

The brunette's eyes were wide at the blonde's outburst, and Naruto panted heavily with a scowl on his face for a few seconds. His expression softened however after he realised how harsh he'd been, and he palmed his face before glancing wearily at his best friend. "Listen, I know it's difficult, but we have to push on. These are the Chūnin Exams for a reason – no one ever said they were going to be easy... this is what we've been training for remember?"

Something seemed to snap in the brunette, and he slowly looked back up at his blonde best friend, an apologetic look in his eyes as he nodded slowly. "I'm sorry guys, I don't know what came over me..."

"It's this genjutsu," Shiho quickly clarified, having now moved onto the dead body's undershirt, her breathing becoming slightly heavier as well as a light sheen of sweat beginning to coat her brow. "It's not just effecting the area around us; it's subtly affecting our minds, and the stress it's placing on our subconscious is sending our emotions into turmoil."

The brunette quickly shook his head, and stepped back over to the body, his eyes narrowed in concentration. "Okay, so we're looking for a hidden code, and right off the top of my head, the only methods for concealing information I can think of is cryptography, steganography—"

"I think I've got it!" Shiho exclaimed loudly as she grabbed the clothes once more and began re-examining them more closely, her eyes searching the linings of each article of clothing with more vigour than before.

"What's steganography?" Naruto asked his friend curiously, crouching next to Shiho as she picked apart the clothes with her eyes, eventually going so far as to rip the clothing in order to increase the area of her search.

"It's the art of concealing messages or information within other messages or information," explained Shūhei, watching the blonde female with just as much interest as she continued to pick apart the man's clothes. "I guess you could say it's the next level of ciphering after cryptography."

Shiho nodded her head as she threw the remains of the man's undershirt away before diving for the shoes, looking around inside the boot before removing the insole. "You basically hide a message in a message that's written in plain sight, but it avoids scrutiny because you become solely focused on the message you can see, which effectively makes it the next step in ciphering."

Naruto slowly nodded his head, but they were quickly losing time, and a frown made its way onto his face as he continued to watch his teammate. The blonde opened his mouth to voice his thoughts, but he paused in his speech to watch curiously as the female blonde removed a kunai from her pouch and wedged it in between the thick sole of the boot, rending it from the material, only to frown as she found nothing.

She picked up the last boot and closed her eyes in a quick silent prayer. 'Here goes nothing...' Wedging her kunai blade in between the next shoe's sole, she separated the two components and squealed in joy as a small card fell onto the ground. "Yes! That must be the code! What does it say Naruto?"

The whiskered blonde picked up the piece of paper by his feet and a massive grin threatened to split his face as he spied the four-digit code printed clear as day on the left side of the page, right beside the Hokage's wax seal. "Five-three-two-three... Nice work Shiho-chan!"

The female blonde released a sigh and relaxed her body as they finally found what they were looking for, and Naruto handed the card over to his brunette best friend, the other male just as curious to see what was printed on the page.

Naruto did a quick little victory jig before moving over to the door with a broad smile. "All right you guys, let's get the fuck outta here! As much as I like the smell of death, I think we're just about out of time too y'know."

Shiho giggled softly before getting to her feet and following Naruto's lead, the whiskered blonde's hand already reaching for the door knob—

"Naruto wait! That's the wrong code!" Shūhei shouted urgently, his eyes wide as he ran up to the blonde duo with the page in his left hand and a kunai in his right. "Look..." Bringing the kunai to the page, he began scratching at the wax seal before it slowly peeled away, four more numbers being revealed underneath. "Eight-seven-eight-three..."

"Whoa," Naruto breathed out, his eyes wide as he met his best friend's, a humourless chuckle escaping his lips. "That was a close one, wasn't it? What did you call it – steganography?"

Shiho surprised them all however by urgently shoving them all at the door, forcing them to start moving. "Yes! That's right! But we have the code now, and we're almost out of time! So let's make haste!"

The trio quickly opened the door and almost fell to their hands and knees as the effects of the genjutsu slowly washed away, all three members' heads now thoroughly throbbing from the invasive chakra. The three were all completely covered in sweat, their clothes sticking hotly to their heavily panting bodies. It was a most uncomfortable feeling, and the touch of the cool afternoon air blowing through the corridor was a blessing sent from Kami herself.

"W-What the actual fuck?" came the intelligent question from the brunette shinobi of Team Genma, his hand pressed flatly against his left throbbing temple in an attempt to relieve the pain. "Non-lethal genjutsu my ass..." he wheezed softly, a sharp stinging still lingering in his head. However before more could be said a hand touched his forehead and the lingering invasive chakra was quickly dispelled, a warm feeling washing over him as a newly invading chakra purged his body of the earlier one.

The same procedure was followed for all three genin, and they looked up to find a cheekily smiling Kotetsu standing above them, a hint of amusement dancing in his eyes. "You guys made it out with five seconds to spare; cutting it a little close wouldn't you say?" he asked rhetorically with a small chuckle, crouching down to look at them in their eyes. "Only 20 teams managed to make it out in time, leaving three spots still available, so all you need to do now is give me your correct code and you advance to the next round."

A heavily breathing Shūhei threw his right hand up where he remembered the small page being held firmly within his fingers, and he let out a small cough of confusion before he remembered that it was all part of the genjutsu. "T-That really is some genjutsu..." he rasped softly, beads of hot sweat rolling down the side of his face.

Kotetsu chuckled again as he glanced up and down the corridor, most other teams all suffering similar side effects from the genjutsu, while others looked perfectly healthy. "Yeah, each room's genjutsu differs in potency, and you guys just happened to be assigned one of the most intense we've got setup."

"Yeah, just our luck," the brunette breathed while sending the smallest of glares in Naruto's direction. The chūnin was no stranger to Naruto's inate ability to somehow attract trouble wherever he went, having heard about his exploits from the brunette during several visits. It really was a special gift... Pfft, as if.

"Eight-seven-eight-three," Naruto quickly shot at the chūnin with a shit-eating grin. His body was still quite sweaty from the entire exam, but his breathing was noticeably more even, and it seemed as if he was more or less fine again.

If possible Kotetsu's smile broadened and he pulled out a clip board while simultaneously ticking the number corresponding to their team. "Congratulations! Team Genma passes the first exam," he exclaimed, giving the whiskered blonde an overpowered backslap as repayment for his pantsing-stunt a few weeks ago, causing said blonde to pitch forward and fall flat on his face. "All passing candidates are required to move through to the waiting hall at the end of this corridor, so go take it easy until the other half finishes up... you guys did well."

The sincerity in his voice brought a small smile to Shūhei's face, and the trio sans Naruto, whose face was set in a deep scowl as he peeled it from the floor, nodded thankfully before moving as a unit into the waiting area. Turning the corner at the end of the corridor, they found themselves in what seemed like a massive lecture hall, not unlike the one they found themselves in earlier when the proctor Morino Ibiki gave them his presentation.

It had rows and rows of desks all facing the front of the class which sported a sizeable teacher's desk and a massive blackboard. Glancing around it seemed that quite a few more teams had made it as well, shinobi from different villages scattered throughout the classroom.

The genin of Team Genma shared a quick glance before shrugging and moving over to a seat nearest the row of windows, relishing in the soft breeze that was filtering through the barriers. "Wake me up as soon as something important happens," Shūhei muttered softly, his voice already muffled by his arms as he lay his head atop them.

The lone female teammate proceeded to mimick her brunette friend, and Naruto was soon the only conscious member of Team Genma. Ever the vibrant ball of energy however, Naruto's eyes took to scanning the room instead, glancing at all their potential competitors.

The only team that he recognised immediately was Team Gai, their eye-sore of a teammate who was clad in a green jumpsuit instantly drawing his attention. It was a miracle Konoha's Handsome Devil hadn't spotted him yet, the subsequent interaction slash torture too terrible a prospect for the blonde. On that note however he ducked his body a little lower, using the cover his dosing brunette friend provided to keep out of Rock Lee's range.

It wasn't that he was a bad guy... far from it in fact. He was probably one of the nicest guys he'd had the displeasure of meeting. Keyword being displeasure. The boy was just too overzealous for his own good, and Naruto could only take so much 'Flames of youth!' at any given time. He hated to be a hypocrite, knowing that many thought of him in the same way, but there was no other way to put it.

He panned his head a little further to the right, and he eventually made eye contact with someone that immediately sent a small shiver running down the back of his spine. Sabaku no Gaara, jinchūriki of the Shukaku no Ichibi. The red-haired youth's eyes were boring straight through Naruto's skull, and the intensity of the stare was unnerving the blonde something fierce. 'So, him again huh?'

Naruto felt a small nod from Kurama as the tailed beast within him lifted its head ever so slightly within his mindscape. 'My weak and foolish brother Shukaku. His weak constitution drives him to torment his jailors, usually resulting in the jinchūriki developing an acute case of insomnia...'

'Sheesh... sounds pretty rough,' Naruto thought slowly, glancing out the window at the cloudy afternoon sky. 'Why would he do that?' Naruto questioned, although after feeling Kurama's angry huff, he almost wished he hadn't.

'Because that loathsome tanuki is nothing but an insecure coward!' the nine-tailed fox roared, slamming its tails against the ground. 'I despise him for his decrepit nature, wallowing in his insanity after the loss of our father—'

Kurama bit his tongue and immediately halted in his tirade, once again placing his head upon his arms. 'Just forget about it. It is of no consequence... just be mindful of his host. He will most likely possess the same sand-wielding abilities as that pathetic tanuki...' With his last part said, all went quiet within Naruto's mindscape once again as the Kyūbi pledged itself to a much needed nap.

Naruto chanced a glance back towards the red-haired boy and found that he was no longer being given the death stare, however he was receiving a few shielded glances from his two teammates; the one with the fan and the onesy-wearing cross-dresser. 'Seems they're still a little sour from the beat down I gave them a few days ago... Hmph, serves them right, picking on a kid the way they were y'know.'

Naruto decided to forget about the team from Suna for the time being and opted to just enjoy the small breeze that continued to gently brush against his sweaty brow, a wave of coolness washing over him. He barely took note of the ever increasing number of teams filing into the room, and it wasn't until the clearing of a throat was heard through the meeting hall did he focus his eyes ahead of him again.

It was the proctor from before, Morino Ibiki, prompting Naruto to tap the shoulder's of his two teammates so that they could hear what had to be said as well.

The tall man waited a few more seconds for the last of the genin to grab a seat before straightening up with his hands held behind his back. "As you've all already been made aware, you candidates seated in this room are the ones who successfully located your code. You were able to keep a cool head in the extremely diverse situations you found yourselves in, and for that you have my respect."

His eyes did a sweep of the hall before he took to slowly pacing the front of the room, his hands still firmly locked behind his back. "In this shinobi world you young find yourselves in, it isn't the big who beat down on the small anymore, but the fast who destroy the slow. Time is a most important facet in this ever changing shinobi world, and those with the ability to create more time for themselves will more than likely be the very few who will live past the age of 30."

Stopping back in the centre of the hall, he leaned back against the front of the desk and slowly brought his hands to his bandanna, gingerly untying the straps from behind. "As important as time is however, information is just as much so, and the ability to acquire information in the field will more often than not save a comrade's life. Your inability to garner such information could result in the death of your comrades, or worse – their capture. At least in death the pain is over in an instant, however if you are taken as prisoner by the enemy, expect to be in for a world of hurt..."

He slowly removed the bandanna from his head, and a magnanamous gasp coupled with several hisses echoed throughout the hall, each and every genin gazing sympathetically at the series of cuts, scars, puncture wounds and scorch marks that littered the veteran shinobi's scalp. It was a truly horrific sight, and they could only imagine the kind of torture he must have had to go through in order to acquire those mementos of battle.

He quickly retied his bandanna and did another sweep of the room, panning from left to right before something in his peripherals caught his attention. In the next instant, a small black blur shot right through the window of the hall, sending glass shards scattering across the wooden floor. With a few well placed kunai throws and a loud exclamation of 'Introducing... Mitirashi Anko!', a massive banner was erected in the front of the hall, a violet-haired woman of average height shooting into the hall and striking an overly exagerrated pose, her left hand held up in the peace sign while she clutched at an unfinished dango skewer with her right.

She had light brown pupil-less eyes, and her violet hair was tied up in a short and spiky fanned-ponytail. She was wearing a tan overcoat with orange skirt and a mesh body suit beneath, with pale-grey shin guards covering her lower legs. Her mesh shirt though didn't leave much to the imagination, and whether she was oblivious to the blatant stares she was receiving or not was debatable, because there was no doubt that she had the attention of most if not all the males in the room.

"Congratulations Anko..." Ibiki started while dipping his head around the large banner that was obscuring him from view. "You've managed to arrive well before the set time once again."

His voice held no ill-will, and his lips twitched into a small smirk as he spied the slowly reddening of her cheeks. "Ah, just shut it Ibiki... I arrived perfectly on time, it was you and your boring speech that caused your bit to run overtime again."

There eyes briefly met, and the tension in the room reached a palpable level before the violet-haired kunoichi tore her eyes away with a chuckle and stared back out at the gathered genin. "Who am kidding scarface, you're probably right!" She chuckled again before looking back at 'scarface' with a confused look. "Your test might be tailored to get rid of at least half Ibiki, but there's still way too many of them."

"Maybe we just have ourselves an outstanding crop this year," he offered half-heartedly with a shrug, not really caring either way. He had done his job, and he had done it exactly as asked. There was nothing more to it.

Anko scoffed softly while turning back on the genin. "Or maybe you're just getting soft scarface. Regardless," she began, her eyes twinkling maliciously and her smile glinting evilly. "... I can guarantee there'll be no more than 12 teams standing by the time I'm done with them." She cackled loudly before finishing the rest of her dango off, pointing the now empty skewer at the genin. "By some otherwordly inervention you've been given the rest of the day off, but rest assured that come dawn tomorrow, you'll wish you'd never been born. You'll find all the necessary information with your jōnin-sensei, so hop to it you maggots! I'll see you lot tomorrow!"

And with that, she was gone, leaving the rest of the genin in silence who looked just as confused as Ibiki felt. 'That woman... as eccentric as ever I see...' Clearing his throat, the proctor for the first exam stared down at the genin for a few seconds before making a shooing motion with his hands. "Well, you heard her – you're jōnin-sensei are the ones who have your information for the next exam, so go find them... or don't, I couldn't care less, just as long as you get out of my sight."

The genin made no move to vacate the area with any kind of speed, and Ibiki figured they probably needed a little motivation. "... NOW!" The results were instantaneous, and so were the genin's departures. They were out of that hall faster than the proctor would've thought possible, but he let out a hearty sigh as they finally disappeared. "Kids... aren't they just wonderful..."


Konoha rooftops, several minutes earlier...


Hatake Kakashi, famous elite jōnin of Konohagakure no Sato; known as Sharingan no Kakashi all around the Elemental nations; known for his various exploits as a shinobi, the most prominent being having mastered over 1000 jutsu. He was a genius and a prodigy in every sense of the words, and he was without a doubt one of the strongest shinobi in Konoha.

He was never one to be seen without a copy of his precious Icha Icha, his nose 95 percent of the time placed firmly inside the literature of his choice. His book however was conspicuously absent, a testament to the seriousness of the situation he currently found himself in. He was currently leaning against the side of a massive water tank atop one of the many rooftops of Konoha, his eyes meeting those of another man who was equally as serious in the current situation.

"Why'd you call me up here Kakashi? If you wanted an autograph all you needed to do was ask," Jiraiya of the Sannin voiced with a small amount of amuesment, a small grin tugging at his lips. The lack of reaction from Kakashi however prompted him to dispense of any pleasantries, and an uncharacteristic frown creased his visage. "What's really going on here Kakashi?"

The one-eyed jōnin casually shrugged his shoulders as he continued to watch the man from his standing position, his hands lazily hanging from his pockets. "I have a very good idea of what this is all about, but why don't we just wait on Genma to explain everything. He's the one who called me here after all."

The toad sage of Konoha nodded his head slowly, and within the next couple of minutes three men appeared up on the rooftop along with Jiraiya and Kakashi. These three men were none other than Shiranui Genma himself, Namiashi Raidō and Tatami Iwashi, the one thing each of these men held in common being their partnership in the guarding of the late Yondaime Hokage.

Iwashi was a man of average height with dark eyes, brown hair and a small goatee. He wore the standard Konoha shinobi uniform and wore his hitai-ate around his forehead like a bandanna. The other man, Raidō, had dark eyes and brown spiky hair, with the standard Konoha shinobi uniform and hitai-ate. His most identifiable trait however was the scar running across the bridge of his nose to the left side of his face.

"I hope I haven't kept you waiting too long Kakashi, Jiraiya-sama," Genma started, placing his hands in his pockets as he strolled forward with his senbon hanging from his mouth. "Although, I'm surprised you're even here on time Kakashi... it really isn't like you," he added with a small smirk, beckoning his two companions to move in a little closer.

Kakashi eye smiled at the tokubetsu jōnin with another small shrug of the shoulders. "I had a feeling that this was going to be an important discussion."

Genma nodded his head and turned to Jiraiya with a serious expression. "Could you put up a small silencing seal around us Jiraiya-sama? This topic is of an extremely sensitive nature."

Jiraiya gave a quick nod before fishing out a small piece of paper that was filled out with various kanji and the like, placing it down on the rooftop in between the makeshift circle they had going. With his left hand on the page and his right hand in the Ram seal, he focused a bit of chakra before the seal spider-webbed out around the group, a translucent barrier forming around the gathered shinobi before the white-haired man got back to his feet and nodded at the person who'd called the meeting. "Now what's this all about?"

Genma glanced between each shinobi, quietly gauging their expressions and forming the right words to use before once again looking at the toad sage. "Well I'm almost positive that Kakashi already knows, but for those of you who don't, I'm gonna be frank – it's about Minato-sama's legacy..."

The two men whom Genma had arrived with both had wide eyes, however Kakashi and Jiraiya betrayed no emotion, not even blinking. Jiraiya's face however slowly morphed into frown, and his fists unknowingly clenched at his sides as he took in the information.

"What nonsense is this?! We all know that Minato and his family sacrificed themselves to protect the village... there's a family grave for the three of them for Kami's sake!" Jiraiya's face had now morphed into a scowl, and he couldn't believe that this guy was insinuating something so foolish. Minato was his most precious student, and it felt like his sacrifice, as well as his family's was being tarnished, and he would not stand for it. "If this is some kind of practical joke, it's not funny, not in the least, and I'll beat the crap out of you right now if it is."

By now Jiraiya was leaking a considerable amount of killing intent, however the stoic-as-ever Genma kept a serious face, and he narrowed his eyes at the tall man. "I know Minato-sama and his family sacrificed themselves... I've visited their graves more times than I can count – this isn't something I'd make light of."

Kakashi chose that point to intervene, and with a quick throat clearance, he had all their attention. "Trust me Jiraiya, I've seen the boy myself, and I agree completely with Genma. He's the spitting image of Minato-sensei. There are similarities, too many to simply be coincidences..."

Jiraiya huffed indignantly as he faced away from the copy ninja and folded his arms across his chest, a small frown marring his face. "I don't care how much he looks like Minato, there's only one way I'll give whatever you're saying any merit, and that's if I see the boy myself."

Genma's frown slowly receded, and he placed the senbon he'd instinctually removed from his mouth back between his teeth, his earlier calm expression back in place. "Fair enough. But he is Minato-sama's son, so with that in mind, I'd like to move onto my next point." Jiraiya gave another small huff, and Genma took that as his cue to continue. "We all know what Minato-sama's plan was to stop the Kyūbi that night 13 years ago, which means that this boy should theoretically be the jinchūriki for the Kyūbi."

"I remember," Raidō slowly began, his brow knitted in slight confusion. "I'd never seen Yondaime-sama so torn before... that he'd have to use his own son for the sealing..."

Genma's face became slightly melancholic as he thought back to that fateful day, but he slowly shook his head of the thoughts and focused back on the topic at hand. "Any ways—and I'm sure Jiraiya-sama will be able to fill in any blanks—but I've recently heard rumours, mostly in passing though, of a group of shinobi that are hunting down jinchūriki... how far off base am I?"

The question was directed to the back of Jiraiya, and the man glanced at Genma out of the corner of his eye, a frown still creasing his brow. "You're on the right track..." At their prodding expressions, he sighed and slowly turned around, his arms still folded guardedly across his chest. "Their an organisation made up of several S-ranked missing-nin called Akatsuki, and my wayward teammate used to belong to them before he was chased out."

Iwashi let out a low whistle at that, his face showing his surprise. "To be able to chase out the likes of Orochimaru... they really must be a band of next-level shinobi..."

Jiraiya nodded his head at the man's exclamation, and he turned back to Genma. "He's right though, for them to be able to scare off my teammate... it's scary to think of the kind of people who could do that. Aside from that though, I'm assuming you want me to keep an eye on the boy; although, I can guarantee you that he's not who you say he is."

Genma nodded his head, his eyes rolling at the man's insistence of Naruto not being Minato's son. "Yeah, that's exactly what I'm asking. He's a good kid, and if this 'Akatsuki' is gonna be gunning for him, I want to make sure that he's safe."

Jiraiya's expression became thoughtful for a second before it reverted back to his previous scowl. "I had always planned on training the kid, I am—was, I was his godfather, so naturally I was going to teach him everything I knew. I'm not making any promises, but at the least I'll check the kid out."

Genma gave the toad sage a grateful smile before turning to the rest of the group. "I'd like to ask if all you guys could keep an eye on him as well... for Minato-sama's sake."

There was a round of nods before he smiled at all of them as well, his hands finding his pockets again and a thin smile twitching at his lips. "Well I guess this discussion is over then. I'll see you guys around. I'm almost positive I have a team of genin who are in need of congratulations, and Kakashi might be in the same boat." With a small nod at Jiraiya, he along with Kakashi shunshined away, the other two members of the Yondaime's bodyguard disappearing as well.

Jiraiya was left by himself on the rooftop, a small frown still on his face as he stared out at the face of the Yondaime Hokage engraved on the side of the mountain overshadowing Konoha. 'Minato... I still don't think it's possible, but whatever the case, if what they're saying is true, I'll train the kid as best I know how. I'll make sure he's ready to take on Akatsuki. He may just be the child of prophecy Ōgama Sennin foretold all those years ago...'


AN: And that's a wrap people! Well, that's my version of the first stage, and I still don't feel too good about this chapter, but regardless I'm gonna try and make up for it in the next stage... I've decided to keep the second stage relatively the same... to be honest, I didn't find too much wrong with the second stage in canon, so I think I'll just leave it like it is, obviously with my own added goodies as well :D

Let me know what you thought of this chapter though... I had them gathering information just like in the canon first stage, however I felt like they weren't really pressured enough into getting the info that they needed, so I tried to portray that with the way I designed this first exam, hopefully I sort of hit my mark? Please review or PM me and let me know your honest opinions... don't hold back, let me hear your thoughts!

I know there wasn't a lot of action this chapter, but I should fix that up in the next stage. I'll try and make it as entertaing as possible! Because of that snag with regards to my exam that I mentioned earlier, my schedule is slightly messed, so I'm not too sure when I'll be able to get out another chapter, but I'll work on it as soon as I get the time, and you guys will be the first to know when it's done ;)

Okay, just a quick rant from me... Naruto is finally over! After 15 long years, it's finally done, and I can't say I'm too happy with how it ended... I won't even get into the Sasuke aspect of things, but just the fact that Naruto and Hinata ended up together (sorry NaruHina lovers) really rubbed me the wrong way... even though I saw it coming from a while ago already, I just thought I'd voice my thoughts...

Sorry for that, I'm sure I'm probably boring you guys, so I'll let you go on with whatever it was you were doing before you decided to take time out to read my chapter... thanks for that by the way, and enjoy the holidays if you have them :)

Till next time...