Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of its characters.

"Talking."
'Thinking.'
"Kyūbi/Jutsu."

Chapter 11: The First Exam

Poof

"All right you fucking degenerates, shut up and look this way!" yelled a man dressed in a long black trench coat, a high collared grey uniform top and black trousers. His headband was wrapped around his head, concealing the many scars underneath. "My name is Morino Ibiki, I'll be your proctor for the first exam."

'Ibiki oversees the first exam? I don't know whether I should be dreading this or jumping for joy,' thought Naruto as the doors behind Ibiki were opened by two Chūnin. The Tokubetsu Jōnin stepped aside and held his arm out in a welcoming gesture, but the Uzumaki knew that he wasn't being polite.

The Konoha Rookies and Kabuto made their way towards the door, however before they could enter, a Chūnin standing by the door pulled out a box filled with small paper strips. "Pick one, read the number on it and sit in the corresponding seat," she said.

Once everyone was seated, Ibiki tapped a piece of chalk on the blackboard at the front of the room, getting everyone's attention. "There are a few rules you need to know, and I won't be answering any questions later so for your sake, you better pay attention. Rule one: the results of this written exam are based on a point reduction system. You all start with ten points, and one point will be deducted for each answer you get wrong. Rule two: teams will pass or fail based on the total score of all three members. Rule three: the Chūnin you see around the room are there to watch you carefully for any signs of cheating, and for every attempt they see, they will deduct two points from your team's total score. If you're caught five times, you and your team will be removed from this exam hall before any tests are even marked and scored. One more thing, if any candidate gets a zero and fails the test, then the entire team fails.

"You have one hour to complete nine questions; the tenth and last question will be revealed fifteen minutes before the end. Begin!"

'You have got to be kidding me,' thought Naruto as she glared at the test paper in her hands. She had been breaking her brain for the last ten minutes over the first question which was an encryption she had to decode. No matter how many times she tried, she just couldn't see the pattern. Naruto quickly glanced at her pink haired teammate on the other side of the room, who was, of course, quickly scribbling down her answers. The Uzumaki didn't expect anything less. 'Any chance you could-?'

"No."

'What? Why?'

"I'm not going to help you cheat. Look, we both know Sakura is going to ace this, and Sasuke will probably get a decent score as well. Just leave all these questions blank and get the tenth one right, I'm sure the combined score between the three of you will be fine."

'I suppose this is my only option.'

'Oh great, she's just sitting there,' thought Sasuke, glaring at the back of Naruto's head. 'Come on Naruto, get at least one of them right.'

Sasuke smirked. 'Funny, I can't even begin to understand any of these problems, never mind Naruto. In fact, this entire test feels off. Why just a two-point penalty for every time you cheat? Surely just once is enough to get disqualified. Unless… the entire point is to cheat?' the Uchiha looked around the room at each Chūnin sentinel. 'Yes, of course. They're not testing our knowledge; they're testing our information gathering skills. That'll still be tough if you don't have any way to cheat without getting caught, at least I have my Sharingan. I just hope Naruto and Sakura catch on soon.'

Naruto sighed as she began tapping the rubber end of her pencil in the table, earning her a few glares from other Genin but not enough to bother her. The Uzumaki was dying to get to the more excited parts of the exam because she knew that was where she'd do best. The first exam was Sakura's domain.

'Speaking of Sakura…' the Jinchūriki looked over at her teammate just as the Haruno put down her pencil. With five minutes remaining until the last question is revealed, the girl was cutting it close. 'Wow. If it took Sakura that long to finish, I wonder how everyone else is doing.'

Just as Naruto finished that thought, Sakura's body tensed up, her eyes widening, before she suddenly relaxed. The Uzumaki frowned when Sakura smirked and began reading over her own test paper, like she was trying to memorise the answers. 'Ino?' she asked herself before scanning the room until she found the blonde. When she did, her suspicions were confirmed. Team 10's kunoichi was currently slumped over in her seat, her hands in the familiar Yamanaka clan hand-seal.

'Is she seriously brave enough to risk getting caught and thrown out? Or maybe stupid enough? I wonder if Sasuke noticed… wait just one minute,' the Uzumaki's eyes narrowed when she realised that her teammate's eyes were red instead of their usual black. 'That bastard is cheating! I can't believe he'd risk jeopardising our chance at being Chūnin!'

"I think the entire point of this test was to cheat. Remember what Ibiki said? You'd lose points if you're caught cheating. This test is obviously way too hard for regular people, so the aim is to gather information from someone in the room that has all the answers. Clever move."

'Ibiki you son of a bitch. He's always trying to be tricky like that.'

"Well if you think about it, he actually did you a favour. Imagine if this was a genuine test of intelligence. You, Uzumaki Naruto, would have to kiss that Chūnin rank goodbye."

"Well, with fifteen minutes left and most of the worthless weeded out, it's time for the last question," announced the scarred ninja, gesturing to the many empty seats around the room. "But, before I give you the last question, the rules are going to change a bit. Firstly, you can choose whether you are given the tenth question; it's completely up to you. However, if you choose not to take the tenth question, you will fail, regardless of your answers to the other nine questions. Of course, that also means both your teammates fail with you.

"Secondly, if you do accept the question but answer it incorrectly, you and your team will fail and you'll never be able to take the Chūnin exam ever again."

"What kind of bull is that?! There are plenty of people here who have taken the test before!" exclaimed Kiba from his seat, Akamaru jumping onto the table and barking.

"Well I guess you're just unlucky. I wasn't making the rules before, but I am now. If you're not feeling up to it, then by all means, the door is right there," Ibiki pointed to the door at the back of the room, grinning. "You can just come back and try again next year. Those who don't want to take it, raise your hand."

There were a few moments of silence before the first hand was raised. Naruto watched the boy and his team from Kumogakure leave the room. Eventually, more hands were raised until only half of the total Genin remained, but Ibiki still didn't look pleased. "This is your last chance to turn back now. If you don't leave, your life could change forever. And not in a good way," the torture expert made eye-contact with Naruto and raised his eyebrow, as if he was expecting her to crack under the pressure of the choice.

'Heh, does this old man really think I'd quit so soon? Try again,' Naruto returned Ibiki's look with a grin, which seemed to satisfy him.

'There's seventy-eight left, which is more than I expected. I suppose this year's batch is either confident or stupid. I wonder which one Naruto is…' Ibiki cleared his throat and straightened his posture. "Well then, I guess there's only one thing left for me to tell you… you have all passed the first test!"

"Wait… what?!" came a voice from the back of the room. "What about the tenth question?"

"I just asked you it. Your decision to stay was the answer I was looking for, so congratulations."

"So the other nine questions, they weren't worth anything at all, were they?"

"On the contrary, they're quite important. They were used to test your ability to gather important information without getting caught. It's one of the vital skills necessary to become a successful ninja."

"Oh, well that explains everything," Temari commented sarcastically from behind Naruto.

Ibiki sighed and shook his head. "Then let me explain. My goal was to test you as a group, not just as individuals, and more importantly how well you function within that group. Your points, and therefore your score, were tied with your teammates because I wanted to see how well you would handle the pressure of your actions affecting others."

"Okay… but I'm still not getting what the tenth question was about."

"As I said before, I was testing you as part of a group. The tenth question forced you to pick one of two choices: choose not to take it, resulting in your whole team failing, or choose to take it and risk your whole team never being able to progress as ninja. These terribly difficult no-win situations are what Chūnin must face every day. For example: you are your squad have been ordered to infiltrate an enemy stronghold and obtain a precious document. You have no idea how many ninjas there are inside or how well they are armed, and you have reason to believe that they are expecting you. You can just as easily turn away from this suicide mission and live to see another day, so do you?"

Suddenly, Ibiki slammed his fist on the wooden desk at the front. "The answer is no! There will be many, many missions like this that seem suicidal, but you do not think about that. You think only about the mission objective and get it done, even if it means sacrificing everything. That is what is means to be ninja, to serve your village and protect its people."

CRASH

Naruto threw her arm over her face to protect it from the incoming shards of glass sailing through the air, as did most of the Genin and Chūnin in the room. Ibiki merely closed his eyes and shook his head slowly, like he expected it but was still disappointed.

In the blink of an eye, the dark shape that had dived straight through the classroom window unfurled a large banner, pinning the top two corners to the ceiling with kunai. "Heads up maggots, this is no time to be celebrating! I'll be your next proctor; Mitarashi Anko!" the purple haired woman placed one hand on her hip and used the other to gesture to the banner behind her. It read 'Second Chūnin Exam Proctor: Mitarashi Anko'.

'If Anko is in charge, then this exam has to be a nightmare. In fact, that's probably exactly what she'll do. She'll put a genjutsu on us all that'll trap us in a never-ending nightmare of our own mind's creation, she's sadistic enough to do it and accidentally forget to pull us out.'

"Agreed."

"Wow Ibiki, you've let seventy-eight of them remain. You must be going soft," as she scanned the faces of the Genin with her eyes, smirking when she spotted the blonde Jinchūriki. "Hell, if she managed to pass then the test must have been easy this year."

Ibiki chuckled when he noticed the Uzumaki glaring at the woman. "Careful Anko, you know how much of an animal she turns into when she's angry," he said, giving Anko a knowing look. The TokubetsuJōnin merely grinned and gently slapped Ibiki's upper arm.

"Ah, she knows I'm only kidding! Anyway, who's ready for the second test?" she asked, but instead of waiting for a response, she made her way to the window she entered through and exclaimed, "Good! Follow me!"

"Anko!" the woman was halfway out the window when Ibiki shouted at her.

"Yes, Ibiki?"

"Don't you think you should give these Genin at least an hour to prepare? After all, you are taking them to the forest."

Many of the Genin started thinking aloud, mumbling questions about what 'the forest' could be. Anko pouted at the scarred man. "Aw, Ibiki, you ruined it!" he gave her a disapproving look, which just made her pout more. "Fine, fine! Okay maggots, you've got thirty minutes to get your shit together. Prepare for the worst!" she shouted, but just as she turned around again to continue out the window, she paused. She gestured for Ibiki to come over to her, and when he did, the two began talking in hushed whispers.

"Psst," Naruto ignored the person behind her making the sound, but groaned when she felt something hard jab into her back. "Psst!"

"What?" the Uzumaki turned around in her seat to face the dirty blonde haired Suna kunoichi.

"You know this crazy lady?" Temari asked, spinning the pencil she used to get Naruto's attention in her hand.

"Unfortunately," replied Naruto. "Now can you stop annoying me?"

Temari just smirked, placing her arms flat on the desk and resting her chin against them. "What if I don't want to?"

Naruto grit her teeth and leaned towards Temari. "If this next exam involves fighting, I am going to kick your ass."

The older girl moved her own head forward until the two were inches apart. "Haha and then what?" she asked, winking. [1]

Before Naruto could reply, she was yanked out of her seat. She let out a yelp from shock, having never even heard her assailant coming up behind her. Even Temari looked surprised.

"All right Uzumaki, time to go!" yelled Anko as she threw Naruto over her shoulder.

"What the hell do you mean?!"

"We're going to the second exam! Everyone else, your team's sensei will point you in the right direction. Meet me there in half an hour!" Anko instructed as she leapt out of the window with Naruto, who was gripping onto Anko's jacket in fear of falling to her death if she didn't.

The remainder of Team 7 could only watch, mouths agape, as their teammate was basically kidnapped right in front of them.

Training Ground 44, Half an Hour Later…

Sasuke and Sakura, being at the front of the large group of Genin, were among the first to approach the main entrance to the forest. Anko and Naruto were standing by a medium sized wooden booth with two Chūnin sitting behind the counter. Well, Anko was standing normally while Naruto was being forced to stand on the tips of her toes because of a kunai that was pinning her t-shirt to one of the booth's wooden posts. The kunai was buried almost to its handle, clearly too deep for Naruto to have the strength to pull it out from her current position.

When Anko noticed the group of Genin making their way to her, she turned and threw her arms out in a welcoming gesture. "Welcome to Training Ground 44, or as I like to call it, the Forest of Death! This is where the second exam will be taking place, but before we begin," Anko pulled out a bundle of paper. "I need you all to sign these. It basically says that I'm not responsible for your deaths or permanent injuries sustained in the forest. You can't take part if you don't sign them," she then passed the bundle to the nearest Genin who took one and then passed the rest to next person.

"So the first thing you need to know is that this exam will test every one of your survival skills. That is, if you have any of course. Second, a basic description of the forest; Training Ground 44 has forty-four locked entrances, including this one. It has rivers, a massive forest – obviously – and at the centre is a locked tower, ten kilometres from each entrance. Lastly, the main goal of this test is to get these scrolls…" the Mitarashi pulled out two scrolls, one white and one black, "by any means necessary," that caught the attention of most of the Genins.

"Uh, what do you mean by that?" asked Ino.

"Taijutsu, ninjutsu, genjutsu et cetera… all of that is permitted. You can even kill your opponents," Anko answered with a grin.

'We're allowed to kill people?! Shit,' Naruto thought as she looked around. Although most were as shocked as she was, there were some that seemed almost excited at the idea of bloodshed, including a group of Sound ninja she noticed at the first exam.

"When you and your team have signed your consent form, take them over to the booth over there," she pointed as the two Chūnin released Naruto before pulling a curtain closed around the booth. "They'll give you either an Earth scroll or a Heaven scroll. There's twenty-six teams, meaning half will have the Earth scroll and the other half will have the Heaven scroll, so it'll be up to you to get the one you don't have from another team and bring them both to the tower. Get the point yet?"

"So by the end of this test, at the very least, half of the teams here will fail," commented Sasuke as Naruto joined him and Sakura, grumbling and rubbing her neck where her collar had been digging in.

"Exactly. Oh, and one more thing, the test has a time limit. You have five days to complete it."

"Five days? What are we supposed to do about food?!" Chōji asked, sweat practically dripping off his brow from anxiety.

"Just look around, the forest has plenty to eat for all of you."

"That's not all though, is it? There are wild beasts and poisonous plants everywhere," Kabuto added as he stepped forward, his team just a few steps behind him.

"Don't forget the days are also getting longer, meaning the nights are getting shorter, giving us less time to sleep and recover. In all those conditions and the fact that there will be enemies all around us, I guarantee the number of people that will pass this will be a lot less than half," Sasuke said, looking around as the fact that he would soon be against these ninjas finally set in.

"That's the most likely outcome, yes. Just like you can't quit halfway through a battle, you can't quit this test before the five days are up. Also, neither myself nor any of the other examiners are going to jump in and save your ass if you get into trouble. As soon as you're in there, you must get to the tower with both scrolls, or wait until time is up. However, there are ways to get disqualified during the exam. One, if one or more of your teammates dies or becomes incapacitated and therefore cannot get to the tower. Two, if you open either one of the scrolls before you reach the tower. Three, if I catch any of you crying like a little baby, I'll kill you myself. Got it? Good. When you get your scroll, pick a gate and wait for it to open.

"I'm gonna be nice and give you a little piece of advice: try not to die."

A/N: Sorry it took so long for me to upload, but I just sat my end of year exams. Like, the final ones that will basically decide my future, so yeah, I didn't have any time to write. Thankfully, my exam leave doesn't end until about two weeks from now, so hopefully I'll get another chapter out in that time. If not, then summer starts at the end of June and I'll have six weeks to write then.

[1] – I hope at least some of you get that reference lmao.