To all of you that are complaining about me starting a Flashback arc right here, get over it. I planned this little arc to happen right now since the beginning. I was always planning on cutting away from the fight against Orochimaru to dive into Naruto's memories so to speak and reveal the origin of his title and loss of his team. It's not some spur of the moment decision and I don't like hearing how people are complaining about it or calling it a waste of time. Would you rather I completely ignore it and you never find out what happen? No because then you'd all be missing a major plot point and would complain about that instead. So either read or not, it's your choice. Just don't complain and call it a waste of time and then later ask how things happened because you refused to read it.

Sally: Yes he does and his own three psychiatrists all refer to it as him suffering from the flashbacks of an extremely bad case of PTSD. That's how I know I'm not in the wrong here.

TwiliFay: Changes from person to person but in this story this little flashback arc will take a few chapters but once done it will be back to the fight against Orochimaru as if only a couple minutes passed.

NarutoJ9: Yeah his old team died without knowing about Kyuubi. At this point, even Naruto doesn't know he has the Kyuubi. Going by the way everyone reacted in canon when Naruto found out, it points to that he Sandaime never wanted the boy to know and only relented after someone let it out. Personally I think that was a retarded decision as if Naruto never found out then he would've never learned how to use its power and would've made a pour jinchuriki for Konoha. Can you imagine if Akatsuki came for him and he didn't even know he had a demon in him? So yeah, stupid Sandaime but I'm going with what looked like his canon plan of not telling Naruto. As such he doesn't know and neither do Koji or Sakuya.


Chapter 11 – Flashback: The Secret Password

"Well you three, are you all ready to participate in the exams?" Kakashi asked his team as they gathered at the regular training grounds. Koji grinned as he adjusted the pack on his back, Sakuya nodded as she also had a pack on hers as well, and Naruto let out a loud 'Yep!' that made Kakashi smiled at the three. "Good, then let's head to the gates to meet up with the other Konoha team that's going so that we can leave." He then turned and left without another word as the kids followed him. As they traveled through town they noticed most of the shinobi wishing them luck, well mostly Koji and Sakuya as thy either ignored or glared at Naruto. Word had spread about the two teams heading to Iwa for the Chunin Exams and the ninja population of the village was hoping to soon have a few more chunin among their ranks. Most were also hoping the 'Kyuubi brat' died somehow. As the team made its way to the main gate they saw the others, a plain looking jonin standing by three teens a few years older than them wearing similar purple outfits. Standing at the gate as well was the Hokage in his normal robes with a smile on his face.

"On time for once, eh Kakashi?" Said jonin just chuckled at the Hokage's words as his own students stared at him in shock. They were on time? They were expecting to get yelled at for being late. Noticing the expressions of his genin Kakashi chuckled sheepishly.

"I'm not that bad am I?"

"Yes!" The shouted response of the three students as well as any passing ninja that knew of the man and his habits shouted making him slump down muttering nonsense.

"Now, to the six genin going to the Exams…" Sarutobi started as he cleared his throat to get their attention. The younger generation all looked up to him as he smiled. "You six have been recommended by your senseis to partake of the Chunin Exams. You shall be tested and pushed to your limits in a foreign country for the right to be promoted to the next level. However remember these words. You are representing Konohagakure no Sato of Hi no Kuni! You are shinobi of the village and shall behave accordingly and do nothing that would reflect poorly on your village. Do your best, work together and protect each other, and showcase just what Konoha can do! Now go, and know that all our wishes of good luck and success follow you!"

As the Hokage finished all the genin were staring at him with nothing but pure determination written in their eyes as the old man gave them on last smile and nod before vanishing in a shunshin, no doubt to return to the paperwork he left. The two jonin looked at each other before nodding and heading out. "Alright teams, let's move out." Kakashi called out as the six took one last look at the village before leaving. Naruto, Koji and Sakuya all shared the same thought; they were leaving as genin, but when they returned they would be the next legends of Konoha.


"So, what are your names?" One of the older genin asked as they set up camp for the night. It was going to be a week long trip and the way they had it set was so that they would arrive with time to spare. Kakashi's students all looked over from their campfire to see one of the other genin walking up. He had silver hair and glasses as well as a kind smile on his face. The two teams had set up two camps right next to each other so that they were close enough to be together but separate enough not to bother the other in case they wanted their privacy. Kakashi took a glance at the boy from over the edge of his book before shrugging, seeing no harm in the other genin wanting to get to know his fellow comrades.

"I'm Uzumaki Naruto."

"Sakuya, nice to meet you."

"Name's Inuzuka Koji and this is Kairi." The three introduced themselves as the genin sat down next to them and smiled.

"My name's Yakushi Kabuto. The other two are Akado Yoroi and Tsurugi Misumi." He introduced motioning to his teammates who were eating some food back at their own campfire. "So is this your first time in the exams?"

"Yeah. How about you?" Koji asked as Kairi gave him a small whimper, there was something about Kabuto she didn't like but he didn't know what exactly. So he figure he'd be kind and courteous but keep an eye open just in case. Sakuya and Naruto however didn't know that so they were simply friendly with the older boy.

"No, it's my fourth actually. I've failed three times before this and the exams are held every six months." The younger trio nodded their understanding as Kabuto told them a bit about his old exam trials. "From how things have been the first three times, the Exams are broken into at least three parts. The first is always some sort of intelligence gathering test. It's been different every time so I can't really say much more than that. The second is always some kind of survival exercise and is where the fighting starts. My team and I are always just barely surviving that part but we always fail the objective so we haven't been able to see what lies past the second test."

"Wow, so why do you keep taking the test then?" Sakuya asked. She was liking how he was helping but was wondering why the boy would continue to keep going at a test that him and his team kept failing. They were obviously great at info gathering since they could always pass the first no problem but apparently their practical skills needed more work so why rush back after only a few months when it would be better to wait a year or two to train themselves to a higher level?

"Well because we figure we can use the exams as an extra tough training session should we fail. If we fail and survive, that just means we have another chance to grow stronger and try again. And if we succeed then we know our training has paid off. So as long as sensei is willing to nominate us, we won't let him down and back out of the challenge but use it to try and make ourselves better. So what if our lives are on the line? As shinobi, that's sort of in the job description isn't it?" Kabuto joked, getting a couple chuckles from them.

"Say Kabuto?" The older teen turned to look down at the youngest there as he offered him a hand. Naruto grinned as he continued speaking. "How about we try and team up? If we both make it past the first part then why not work together to finish the next one huh? Teams from Konoha gotta stick together right?" Kabuto looked to see Sakuya and Koji with smiles and nodding along with their juniors words. So Kabuto smiled himself and shook the boy's hand.

"Thanks Naruto."

"No problem!"

"So what can you and your teammates do? Just so we have an idea of what were teaming with?" Koji asked. Kabuto gave a slight chuckle but pointed over to the other two.

"Yoroi and Misumi each use a different taijutsu style while I stay back in support. I'm also studying medical ninjutsu so I can patch us up enough to get by until a real medic can look us over. So how about you guys?" Kabuto asked and they merely nodded, it was only fair to give him the basics since he gave them theirs.

"Well I use my clan's taijutsu with Kairi here." Koji said while giving his ninken and good pat on the head.

"I'm a close range fighter a special weapon of mine." Sakuya offered up.

"I'm good with traps but like fighting up close with Koji-nii and Sakuya-chan." Naruto finished. Kabuto merely looked thoughtful before grinning.

"Looks like were both close range assault teams at best huh? That should be easy to work with. And with a trap expert and a medic, we could fall back to rest and heal up in relative safety should something bad happen." Kabuto summarized as the younger trio grinned. "Well, I'll go let my teammates know of our alliance and have my dinner. It was nice talking with you."

"You too." They called out as Kabuto got up and headed beck to the other genin. Kakashi merely smiled as he read his book. They were already thinking like chunin he noticed. The offered out a plan for both parties to profit and also gave enough info about themselves to make a valid plan but not enough so that they still had secrets to utilize incase the Exams pit them against each other. For example Koji had fire manipulation to add to his clan's normally element free style. Sakuya was also skilled in traps and could read an opponent by their body language and Naruto could literally be a one man army when the situation called for it. The three students he took on were well on their way to be skilled ninja.


"So, what are they like?" Yoroi asked as Kabuto returned. The teen merely glanced at him before pulling out three cards and channeling chakra to them to pull up the stats of the younger genin.

"Cautious but eager and willing to listen to their sempei. They gave out just a little of what I already have here though I think the Inuzuka's dog doesn't trust me. I noticed its eyes never left me as if it expected me to attack." Kabuto explained as he looked over the cards. The info was given to him by his sensei by Orochimaru's orders since when the snake sannin found out it was Kakashi's students participating he order Kabuto to gain their trust and learn about them. He figured perhaps they could one day prove useful to his plans and if not then they would be left alone. Save for one, the blonde whose card Kabuto was currently going over. "Well little Naruto… isn't that one large secret you're hiding in your gut. I wonder, do you even know you contain the Kyuubi?" The silver haired boy mused to himself before putting the cards away. It wouldn't really be hard to gain their trust. In fact he was pretty sure he already had some of it. Now he just needed to keep an eye on them and see if he could get more of it. And if they proved skilled then perhaps Orochimaru would let him extend an offer to join his plans. After all the sannin needed more soldiers for his plans, and he would need even more once he started up that village he was planning on doing next year. Soon the Nations would fear Oto, and the sound of Konoha's destruction would bring it all about.


"Halt! Show your papers Konoha ninja!" A man in a red outfit with a tan vest shouted as he and three others took up defensive positions at the gate to a large village. The genin all stopped as Kakashi walked forward and slowly reached into a pocket and pulled out a scroll. One of the Iwa ninja jerked his head as an order for one of the others to walk up and examine the scroll. After looking it over he handed it to the captain.

"Their legit taicho. These are the two teams Tsuchikage-sama was informed of." The man nodded before motioning for his men to stand down and return to their posts. He then handed the scroll back to Kakashi and stepped aside.

"Your hotel is straight down the main street on the right side about a block away from the Tsuchikage's building. The Academy is merely a five minute walk from the right of that building and will be identified by a large 'Earth' kanji in bronze for your genin. You are free to explore the village however should a single one of you cause the slightest amount of trouble, all of you will be removed from Iwa by force." The man explained as he grit his teeth at having to allow Konoha ninja into the village, but such was the international laws of the Chunin Exam. Kakashi nodded and motioned for his team to follow as the other jonin led his own genin in. The Iwa men all glared hatefully at Kakashi most of all until their eyes fell on Naruto. Thy gaped for a moment but couldn't comment before they were within the village heading to their hotel. "Did you see that midget by Hatake?"

"Yeah, he looked just like…"

"But there's now way right? I mean the world would've heard by now."

"Unless he's been kept secret…" Their muttering about Naruto continued even as the Konoha ninja went out of sight.


Iwa was a fairly large village, not as big as Konoha but close. The buildings were mostly built low to the ground and had flat roof tops making it easy for the shinobi population to get from one side of the village to the other. It also made it easier for the Iwa ANBU to follow their targets. Kakashi noted a few and pointed them out to his students. "Ah, see there? We're being watched. Don't worry though, all foreign ninja are going to get the same treatment."

"I'll bet their just hoping we do something bad so that they can kick us out." Koji muttered as Kakashi chuckled.

"Yeah well, can you really blame them? Konoha is their biggest enemy. It must be so painful to see the enemy right in front of you yet not allowed to touch them. I'm pretty sure it's worse since I'm a big face from the last war."

"What face? You can hardly see anything since you cover it up!" Sakuya shot out, trying to lighten the mood. It worked somewhat as they all laughed at the joke. In reality though, Sakuya and Koji were somewhat freaked out by the glares and masked killing intent being sent at them from the locals. They would look at them in curiosity and then once they saw the Konoha symbol those looks would be replaced with hatred. Kakashi received most from the older generation but the kids still received a good share of it. What confused them though was the mini-heart attacks some seemed to suffer when they saw Naruto. What could bring that about? Sakuya snuck a glance at the blonde as they walked to see that while he was looking around at all people, he seemed to be more at ease in the hostile environment than they were. She could even recognize some of the looks he was getting. 'These are mostly just like back home, like they want us to just drop dead where we stand. Naruto-kun, do you really have it this bad back there?' She thought as she turned to face forward again. Did Naruto deal with these types of looks all the time? She didn't know, and hoped the answer was a no.

"Well, here we are!" Kakashi called out, drawing Sakuya from her internal musings. They stood in front of a modest building that was neither high class nor dirt poor. Walking in, it was easy to feel the tension that rose from Konoha's presence. Kakashi ignored it and walked up to the receptionist, who seemed to be trying her hardest to keep up a smile. "Excuse me miss, we need three rooms and were told we could stay here."

"Y-yes. Tsuchikage-sama already set up two for you. If you want a third, you'll have to pay for it yourself." Kakashi looked back at the other jonin to see him nod so Kakashi gave an eye-smile to the girl.

"That's quite alright. We'll get a third please."

"Of course." She accepted his money before handing over three keys. "The rooms are down the hall. Numbers are on the keys. H-have a nice stay."

"Thank you." As soon as Kakashi and the others walked down the hall her smile dropped and was replaced with a glare at their retreating backs. Smile for all customers her ass, she wanted nothing more than to kick them right out. "Okay team, I'll be staying with my fellow jonin here while each team gets a separate room. So here's the keys and relax. You could go out to explore the village but I highly doubt that would be a good idea so I'd recommend just staying in your rooms and planning what you can for the exams. We've got time since we made it here early. Tomorrow can be used to relax but the day after you all head to the Academy. You remember what the gate guard said right?" Kakashi asked for them to nod. "Okay then. Well, enjoy yourselves. I'm going to take a nap." And with that he walked past to the room him and his colleague rented out and left them on their own. The two teams nervously looked at each other before Naruto grinned.

"Well, I guess we'll just relax in the room since the village hates us. See ya tomorrow!" Naruto grabbed the key from Koji and walked into their room as Kabuto and Koji chuckled at his energy. Sakuya shook her head but followed after him as Kabuto's teammates just rolled their eyes.

"Right. Well, see you guys at the exam." Koji muttered while Kairi gave out a light bark before they both went inside. Kabuto dropped his amused look before nodding to his teammates. This was their time to spy on Iwa for Orochimaru, they weren't about to waste it sleeping.


"So what are the sleeping arrangements?" Koji asked as he closed the door. It was a simple two bedroom room with a bathroom and dresser for those who stayed a while. Naruto was already on one bed and Sakuya was on the other and he noticed with a tic mark that Kairi had jumped into a large plushy chair in the corner. There was nowhere left to sleep!

"Well I guess you can have the floor Koji-nii!" Naruto taunted. Kairi barked as Sakuya giggled. She then lied down and sighed with a grin.

"And these beds are just sooo comfortable too. Looks like your gonna miss out." Damn it, they were taunting him and he knew it. He grit his teeth but then walked over to Naruto.

"Chibi, move it. I want the bed."

"Hell no! I grabbed it first!"

"If you want your birthday present early, you'll get off. Now." Naruto stopped and stared at him for a moment.

"What's my present?" His birthday was in two days, ironically the very day of the exams. They had decided to have a big party when they got back to Konoha to both celebrate the promotions they were hoping to get and the blonds' birthday.

"Let me have the bed and you can have it." Naruto paused in though before stepping off, however he made sure to block Koji off from the furniture. Koji just grinned though. "Really want your gift huh? Alright here." He quickly unbuckled the gauntlet around his left arm and dropped it into Naruto's waiting hands before hopping around him onto the bed.

"Wait, your Kiba no Makai? Really?" Needless to say, Naruto and Sakuya were both shocked. "But this is part of your fighting style and stuff. And it's a clan treasure you said!"

"So?" Koji shot back with an amused grin as he relaxed on the bed. "I talked to Tou-san before we left about what to get you since I couldn't really come up with anything worthwhile. He just said to give you that since you don't have any elemental techniques."

"But don't you need it for your jutsu?" Sakuya asked. She was actually still in shock that he was giving Naruto a clan treasure and one he utilized himself.

"Not since I learned to do this." Koji gloated as he snapped his fingers with a small application of chakra. Instantly a small fire burst into life over his fingers before he cut the chakra and let it go. "I mastered my elemental manipulation so I can make fire without outside help now. In all honesty I was only keeping the gauntlet to enhance my fire. But I think Chibi could put it to better use since now he won't be limited to clones and traps." Naruto just hooked the gauntlet onto his left arm and stared at it for a moment before giving a small bow to Koji.

"Thank you so much Koji-nii!" Koji just scoffed and ruffled his hair with a grin.

"Whatever. You just take care of it alright? And when you outgrow it, give it back to the clan or give it to your kids. Whichever happens first." Naruto blushed with a subtle glance to Sakuya, happy she was behind him and couldn't see his face as Koji kept his grin up at the sight.

"Okay, that's nice and all but now where's Naruto-kun gonna sleep?" Sakuya asked as she relaxed in the bed again. Naruto walked over to the chair and patted Kairi on the head.

"Kairi, could I have the chair?" The dog licked his hand but then shook her head no. She was already comfortable. "Aww, that means I have the floor!" Koji laughed since the situation was now reversed but Sakuya sighed.

"Naruto-kun, come over here."

"Huh?"

"Come over here." While the boy was curious he did as he was told and walked over to the bed. Sakuya just sighed at how confused he seemed to be before she grabbed him and pulled him down onto the bed next to her. Naruto struggled for a moment before he realized what she was implying and relaxed with a large blush. Koji was trying not to break out into laughter from the bed over.

"Uh Sakuya-chan?"

"Oh just go to sleep Naruto-kun. It's not like it's a bad thing to share a bed with a friend." True but the circumstances were different when one held feelings for the other, not that he would say that. Naruto couldn't even bring himself to look at Sakuya as she held him down next to her. She had noticed him blushing but merely chalked it up to him being embarrassed or nervous about sleeping in the same bed as a girl. When he hesitantly nodded his head she let go and turned over to go to sleep herself. Koji was silently laughing as Naruto still had a blush on his face. Sakuya was also happy she had turned to her side with her back turned to them, it made it easier to hide the small blush she had developed.

Unknown to either of her teammates, Sakuya had started to harbor feelings for the blond. It started as just two orphans being friends with each other and helping where they could but it slowly grew to more. She learned that even though he was orphaned just like her, he actually had a worse time at the orphanage before the Hokage set him up with a pension and apartment. She had never learned why or just how bad he truly had it but had vowed to help him keep happy and that simply meant spending time with the boy. At first she dismissed any thoughts of a romantic relationship with him since he was two years younger than her and she wanted someone closer to her own age but the feelings just grew. It wasn't until their last C-rank mission before the exams where he had saved her from an enemy mercenary they encountered that she had finally accepted the fact that she fell in love with her junior teammate.

She wasn't sure about his feelings but she still wanted to tell him what she felt, she just couldn't think of a good time. At least until she remembered his birthday was coming up. Knowing how Naruto just loved the company and friendship more than any of the gifts he could ever get, she was planning on confessing to him after the party when Koji and Kakashi would be gone. Then their sensei sprung the Chunin Exams on them so her plans got pushed back. But she still figured she could do some extra nice things for the boy before she confessed.

Offering to share a bed wasn't that big but it was better than the floor. Though now she was slightly regretting it. He was right next to her and was practically radiating heat. She didn't know what it was about him but Naruto had always been extremely warm and he could just make people happy by talking with them. Whenever they were at a party or training she took any opportunity to hug the boy, just to get close to that warmth. She couldn't really describe it, she just knew she wanted to be close to its source. Now that said source was right next to her, she was having to stop herself from reaching over and clutching him to her chest. He was just so warm, but this wasn't the place to do something like that.


"Hey Koji. Are the other two up? I figured we could go get some breakfast and talk a bit before you guys enter the exams tomorrow." Kakashi asked as he greeted the yawning boy that had just left the room. Koji quirked and eye open before looking back into the room and grinning slightly. He pulled back and shook his head before stepping aside and letting Kakashi take a look. Said man gave his student a confused look but obliged and looked inside. Sleeping on the bed was Sakuya with Naruto lying with his head on her chest, both having their arms wrapped around each other. Kakashi smiled before closing the door. "I think we can give them some more time to sleep." Unlike the kids, Kakashi knew about the feelings about both sides. Koji only knew Naruto's and neither knew Sakuya's, but to an experienced jonin the signs were there. Not exactly obvious to everyone but if you knew the kids then it would fall into place. Koji chuckled but followed as Kakashi led him away. They'd make sure to bring some food back afterwards.

After an embarrassing wake up call for the two when Kakashi and Koji came back and found them both still sleeping in the same position the now blushing genin were eating some food that was brought for them while Kakashi made sure to drill them on a few of the strategies they developed. He couldn't give them anything about the test as he didn't know much more than they already did but he figured that didn't matter. They were ready, it was just making sure they felt they were ready and went in prepared. The genin didn't mind though since it kept their focus on what mattered and distracted two of them from the sleeping arrangements at the same time. Though as he left the room Kakashi couldn't resist a joke. "I hope you two don't wear yourselves out before the exams tomorrow."

"Sensei!" Koji was rolling on the floor holding his aching sides as he laughed. The laughter continued even after the pillows were thrown at his face.


"Alright, you two ready?" Koji asked as he stood in front of the Iwa Academy with Naruto to his left and Kairi and Sakuya to his right. Kairi let out a bark and nuzzled his hand as Sakuya grinned and Naruto just placed his hands behind his head.

"You know it Koji-nii!"

"We've got this in the bag."

"Heh, then let's go show off what we can do!" It wasn't hard to find the appropriate room as it was on the first floor and had other genin walking to it the entire time. However as soon as they entered the room they froze for a moment as killing intent washed over them like a flood. Looking around they saw that almost all of the genin already in the room were glaring at them, especially the Iwa teams that looked ready to kill them where they stood. Koji shook his head and steeled his expression before giving stiff nods to Sakuya and Naruto. While Sakuya returned the nod, she still looked slightly worried while Naruto frowned and did nothing but follow as Koji led them off to one side of the room. "Wasn't expecting so many teams to be here. This may be harder than we thought."

"Yeah and that killing intent, I'm pretty sure it was mostly to try and get us to back out before they began but still. You could just feel the Iwa teams trying to kill us with their eyes." Sakuya commented as she took a few deep breaths. While she wouldn't collapse or freeze up badly from the amount they were hit with, she would be shaken for a moment. Naruto just crossed his arms as he scowled and looked around the room.

"Well they're gonna need more than eyes to take us out. We're the best Konoha has to offer and we're gonna come out on top." Koji chuckled as Sakuya smiled. He was slightly shaken by how much they received just like she was but he was putting up a show to keep the teams confidence up.

"Don't let sensei catch that eye comment. You know he can take us all down with a glance thanks to his Sharingan. Any skilled Uchiha could." Koji shot back.

"Yeah but they're mostly gone now. Didn't their heir kill all but one a few months ago?" Sakuya asked as the mentioning of Uchiha got her memory going. Naruto shrugged but Koji nodded.

"Yeah I remember hearing about that. The heir Itachi went nuts and killed his entire clan save for his little brother before ditching the village. It happened while we were out on that escort mission to Taki. Tou-san was one of the hunters sent to try and track the guy down but there was nothing. That guy was a freaking genius ANBU captain and he's only a year or two older than you and me." He told her. It honestly shocked him that someone could escape the combined efforts of the Inuzuka's best trackers as they had never failed before. "But we don't need to worry about that right now. We need to stay focused for the test."

"As if some trash like you fucking leafies could do anything. Why don't you just go home and hug a tree ya wimps!" One of the Iwa genin nearby shouted as he overheard the last bit of Koji's conversation. Koji growled as Sakuya and Naruto glared at the guy. "Oh I'm so scared…" The man taunted when he saw their looks. Koji just looked to Sakuya and Naruto to see them nod to him, giving him a sadistic grin.

"You better hope we don't fight in the exam stone head, because if we do then I can promise you; this leafie will put a hole in your chest." Koji never liked getting called weak; it was one of the few things that angered him outside of hurting his teammates and family. He was praised as a powerful prodigy back home and was proud of it, but he also made sure to know his limits. When a random stranger would insult him, directly or otherwise, he'd do his best to upstage them. And this genin had just insulted all three of them. Oh yeah, Koji was going to enjoy beating him if he got a chance to.

"Tch, whatever wimp."

"Are you guys trying to kill yourselves?" Came a whispered tone as the three turned around to see Kabuto walk up with his teammates. "I know this is your first time and all but you shouldn't paint a bigger target on your back than we already have just from our headbands."

"Sorry, he just pissed me off a bit." Koji replied, getting Kabuto to sigh.

"Look, you guys need to stay out of trouble if you can. So let me help you out. Yesterday I went around accessing public records that I could get so that we wouldn't all be going in blind. It's not a lot but at least now I know everyone who's in the exam and have a bit of info on them. Here, let me show you." Kabuto quickly pulled out a stack of cards and after shuffling through and a quick glance at the genin Koji and just threatened pulled out a card and channeled chakra to it causing it to light up with stats. "This is the guy you're thinking of fighting. Taijutsu and Doton jutsus mostly, like plenty of Iwa shinobi, but he's got a couple B-ranks under his belt so you should be careful."

"Hey, do you have those on everybody?" Sakuya asked as Koji memorized the info on the card he was being shown, nothing wrong with studying up on an enemy. Kabuto nodded with a slight grin.

"Yeah, how do you think we survive the second portion when our combat skills are always just short of good enough? We know who to target and who to avoid. I was able to dig up stuff on almost everyone, though the info varies from extreme details to just names and teams."

"Could you give us a rundown on the top threats?" Sakuya asked as she looked at the stack of cards he held. Kabuto grinned and nodded, happy to help his kouhai's get through alive if he could. Koji handed back the card he was first shown as Naruto stood watching from the side petting Kairi. Meanwhile as Kabuto was shuffling through and pulling out various cards to show, the other genin were glaring at the Konoha ninja.

"Just look at those fucking tree huggers, acting like they own the place."

"Yeah, well we'll show them when the time comes."

"No damn doubt. But I think we need to send an extra special message."

"Huh?"

"Look at the one petting the dog. Tell me who that looks like."

"What are you…? No fucking way!"

"That's what Otou-sama thought when he saw them walking to the hotel they're staying at. He followed though and is damn positive about it. His sensei is Hatake, the Senko's last surviving student. There's no fucking way that's just a coincidence."

"So what are we gonna do about it?"

"Spread the word to the other Iwa teams. When the fighting starts; we're going midget hunting."

"Got it."


"Alright, thanks for the info Kabuto." Sakuya had the best memory of the three of them so she was the one who memorized as much about the other competitors as she could. Kabuto had been happy to help and only asked that they hook up in the exams as quickly as possible so that they could get through them together. Naruto was more than happy to agree since it had originally been his idea to do so and Koji wasn't about to leave a fellow Konoha comrade behind if he could help it so there weren't any arguments. They talked a bit with Yoroi and Misumi to try and be friends with them but the others with Kabuto were mostly silent, preferring to focus on the exams and staying alive than to making friends. They were thankful for the small alliance though and hoped that it worked out for all of them in the end.

"Alright gaki's, it's time to start the Chunin Exams un!" Everyone's attention was drawn to the front of the room where a tall blonde teen with his hair styled into a ponytail was. One large bang covered half his face while he wore what was considered the standard Iwa outfit, a red top with one sleeve long and the other short with a tan flak jacket over it. Behind him were ten others in similar outfits. "My name is Deidara and I'm the proctor for the first phase of this test un! As such my word is law and if you break it, I break you." Everyone was paying attention as he let out a spike of killing intent to get his point across. "Good, now the first test is simple. Each team will follow one of my chunin helpers as they take you to a separate room. Inside the room will be one of Iwa's biggest prisoners on death row. Worry not un, their chakra is sealed off and they're tied down to their chairs by heavy chains. As such they're nothing more than paper tigers to even an Academy student. Your task for the first test un, is to get them to tell you the secret password to the second part of the test un. The chunin with you shall watch and when you think you have the right password, tell them and they'll let you know if you're right or wrong." Deidara paused to see if his words had sunken in before continuing. "There are only a few rules that must be followed un. Rule one; you only have one hour to get them prisoner to tell you the password. When the times up, you fail! Rule two un; you can not kill your prisoner or cripple them. Just cause they're on death row doesn't mean you can do what you want to them. Non-lethal and non-crippling torture methods only. Rule three; you only get one shot to tell the chunin the password! If you get it wrong, then you fail un! Info is one of the most important things to being a ninja so you better triple check to make sure it's right before you tell your commanding officer and get your team killed gaki's. That's it for the rules. Send up a member from your squad to get a number and then follow your designated chunin to your prisoner and start interrogating. Remember the rules and don't break them or I'll blow you the fuck up un!" As Deidara finished he took a few steps back and leaned against the wall as the genin began to follow orders. Kabuto wished the younger team good luck before walking off as they merely exchanged glances with each other.

They had never performed an interrogation before. Kakashi always did it with his Sharingan to hypnotize the target into spilling their guts. And even that was rare as they almost never had an interrogation situation come up. Well, this test was already stacked against them. Naruto let out one word that easily summed up their entire situation before Koji left to get a number. "Fuck."