Yo!
Time to answer some reviews.
Darak: About your review on chapter 1. Kakashi did not know where the scroll was. Instead he followed Naruto's chakra signature and simply stumbled on it before Naruto did. Besides it wasn't hidden either, just dropped. It took Naruto a while longer to find it because the trees look so similar to each other.
Xzavx: hmmm… I would if I could… though he isn't knuckleheaded in this one at all… but… I think it's a bit too late to put that in now… sorry.
Animaman: no… that wouldn't be a blow to him at all… why? Because then he got beaten by a member of an elite clan... Naruto like this without a kekkei genkai beating him would be a blow like no other…
Without Uchiha Sasuke
Chapter 12
The First Chuunin Exam
The morning of the Chuunin Exams was one of the busiest mornings Konoha had seen. The numbers of people traveling to the academy where the first exam was to take place dwarfed the number of people that would normally be seen on the road at that time on any other day. This included the teams that were participating as well as the parents and the families as well as the Jounin-sensei's and well wishers that tagged along with the group.
Naruto and Sakura arrived at the academy doorstep just a minute before 9 in the morning and was met by Kakashi.
"You two were almost late." Said the Jounin as he watched the two genin come up to him.
"Almost, but not quite. Doesn't mean we are Kakashi-sensei." Stated Sakura.
"So what happens now? Do we wait for our third member?" asked Naruto, still in his bright orange jumpsuit.
"No. He's already inside. You two will not meet him until the second exam. It is for the safety of your mission." Replied Kakashi. "You may go in when you are ready, the exam is taking place on the 3rd floor." Said the Jounin before he shunshined away.
"He didn't even wish us good luck." Said Sakura as the duo entered the academy.
"Maybe he feels that we do not need it at all." Replied Naruto as they both walked up the stairs.
Upon reaching the second floor of the academy, the duo of Team 7 noticed a small crowd gathered at one of the doors labeled 302. Amongst the crowd were a few genin of Konoha as well as other genin from other shinobi villages.
However, what caught their attention was what was happening exactly in front of the door.
Is that Gai's team? Thought Naruto as he elbowed Sakura and pointed over to the crowd.
The pink haired girl looked over just in time to see a boy clad in green spandex thrown back into the crowd.
A girl dressed in a light peach colored blouse kneeled next to the boy in spandex as she looked up at the two boys that had beat up her team mate. "Please." She spoke. "You must let us through. We only want to take the exam."
The boy with a bandage over his nose laughed at this. "The Chuunin exam is no place for weaklings like you. Go home to your mothers, come back when you can face up to us." He said.
"I can't believe they are even falling for this." Whispered Sakura in disbelief. "Did they not even count the number of flights they walked up?"
"Well," whispered back Naruto. "I'm pretty sure Neji would have noticed by now. Maybe they are playing along with Kotetsu and Izumo."
"At least it will weed out the weakest teams taking the exams, those who cannot see past even this simple genjutsu do not deserve to be in these exams." Said Sakura.
It was then that the two noticed Sasuke and his team climb up the very stairs they had climbed a minute or two ago.
"There goes the genjutsu." Said Sakura with a sigh.
Sakura's deduction proved to be dead on as the raven haired boy paused near the door.
"You will remove this genjutsu and allow us to pass." Stated the Uchiha. "Surely you noticed it before I did, right Hisemi?" he asked as he glanced towards the Hyuuga on his team.
"I'm surprised no one counted the number of flights. We came up only two yet the room says 302. Anyone who did not see that surely does not deserve to be Chuunin." Said Hisemi.
"Then why did you not let it be and instead continue on your way up? Think you can take on all the competition half-ling?" Spat a Hyuuga as he appeared from the crowd.
Hisemi immediately snapped and charged at the lavender eyed Hyuuga, swinging his leg to kick the other boy only for the spandex clad boy to step in the middle. The speed with which the boy had moved with drew audible gasps from the onlookers as some of them began to wonder how the other two had managed to throw someone so fast so easily.
"It is not wise for us Konoha-nin to fight before the beginning of the exam. It shall only serve to diminish our flames of Eternal Youth if we were to get disqualified because of a clan spat." Said the boy.
The Hyuuga behind him sighed before waving over to the remaining member of the team. "Lee, Tenten, come. We are leaving." He said as he walked past a still fuming Hisemi.
Naruto was amazed that Hisemi had the willpower to not try a sneak attack as the Hyuuga passed him by. But then again maybe Neji was just too strong.
The blond haired boy returned his attention to spandex boy as he received a fist imprint on his head from his female team mate.
"And you were the one who said we should not show even a measure of our skills before the exam started and now look what you have done." She hissed as she passed him by.
The boy could only mutter a soft gomen before he walked off after his team mates. However, he stopped as his eyes rested upon Sakura, immediately brightening as he introduced himself.
"You must be the ever blooming blossom Sakura!" he exclaimed in a rather loud voice.
"I have heard stories of your beauty but even these are nothing when you compare them to what your beauty is in reality! I promise to protect you with my life if you promise to go on a date with me!" He yelled as he gave Sakura a nice guy pose along with his flashy teeth smile and a wink.
To say Sakura was taken aback would be saying the least, however to her credit, Sakura managed to control herself before she freaked out.
"I… I'm already… with… someone." She managed to stammer.
The look upon Lee's face that resulted from the piece of information was the exact opposite of what they had witnessed a moment ago.
It seemed to Naruto as if Lee's dreams and hopes had been crushed. Naruto was about to speak when Lee's mood did another 180 degree turn. Lee's face lit up again as he gave Sakura another nice guy pose before speaking.
"Yosh! The flames of youth burn brightly between you and Naruto-kun! I must train harder in order to win your heart from him! Remember that the lotus of Konoha blooms twice!" said the boy as he rushed off after his team, leaving both Naruto and Sakura stunned.
"How did he know that you and me?" mumbled Naruto.
"Has he been stalking us?" whispered Sakura.
Neither of them had noticed that Sakura had immediately grabbed Naruto's hand as Lee had started talking to her and that they had not let go of each other's hands until that point.
X—X—X—X—X
By the time Naruto and Sakura reached the final stairwell to the third floor, the face off was already taking place.
"I wish to fight you Uchiha Sasuke, the one who is claimed to be the Number One rookie of this year." Came Lee's voice.
"Why would I wish to fight a nobody?" came Sasuke's retort.
"My name is Rock Lee, and I am the current strongest genin in Konoha. You should only give your name to opponents who are worthy is it not Sasuke-kun?" said Lee.
"Or is the elite Uchiha too scared to fight me?"
Naruto slapped his forehead and Sakura sighed. It was the only way to get Sasuke to agree to anything. Call him a coward if he didn't and he would jump headfirst into anything. And this particular fight, they knew he was going to be owned.
They watched as Lee dropped to the floor and took the readying stance for the Goken. The duo decided to stay and watch the fight unfold. Even though they had spent time shadowing Team Gai, trying to figure out their strengths and weaknesses, they had come up more often with less than nothing.
Naruto watched as Sasuke activated his Sharingan before charging at Lee and realized the Uchiha's plan.
"He's going to copy all of Lee's jutsu's." he whispered to Sakura.
"Not a bad plan." Admitted Sakura. "He doesn't need to win this fight to gain something."
"Ah, the legendary Sharingan, I am sad to say it will not help you much during this fight." Said Lee as he virtually disappeared before appearing under Sasuke.
"Konoha Senpuu!" came the words as Sasuke was kicked back where he came from.
"Why?" growled Sasuke. "Why does my Sharingan not help me?"
"The Sharingan possesses the ability to copy all types of jutsu as well as predict what jutsu the opponent may use. But what happens if the opponent uses strictly taijutsu which the Sharingan cannot predict? Even though your eyes may be able to follow my speed, it does not mean that your body can keep up with me." Said the boy as he disappeared, once again appearing under Sasuke, this time kicking him up into the air.
"Kage Buyou." Came Lee's voice as he appeared under Sasuke, exactly where his shadow would have been.
The bandages around Lee's hands began to unfurl and slowly move towards Sasuke as if to bind him. This is not good, thought Naruto, but he knew he could not interfere in this particular fight. It might cost him the examinations and he could not disappoint Sakura.
A shuriken suddenly shot out from nowhere, pinning the bandage to the wall and snapping Lee out of whatever trance he was in. The boy immediately canceled the technique and landed on his knees. Sasuke however was not as lucky and landed on his back hard.
Naruto and Sakura watched on as a turtle appeared in a large cloud of smoke and started berating the young genin. Most of it was too quiet for the duo to hear but they managed to pick up some words such as forbidden jutsu and sensei.
It was not until a larger carbon copy of Lee appeared that it began to traumatize the two hiding in the shadows. Naruto and Sakura decided that it was their cue to leave when rainbow genjutsu started appearing behind Gai and Lee as they hugged and cried each other's names. However there was one sentence that caught both of their attention as they entered the exam hall.
"Gomenasai, Sasuke-kun, but I am not the strongest Genin in the whole of Konoha. He is most likely in the same team as I am."
X—X—X—X—X
The whole exam room went quite the moment the door opened to allow both Naruto and Sakura to come in. Every pair of eyes and in some cases one single eye resting upon the duo who dared to enter the same room they were all in.
The pair hesitated slightly, feeling all of the eyes scrutinizing every bit of them down to Naruto's whiskers. But moved on not wanting to have everyone's attention focused on them.
They had barely managed to join the Konoha rookies when Sasuke's and Lee's teams entered as well, both teams deciding that they would rather take their chances alone than with the other Konoha teams.
Silence ruled over the Konoha 8 until Kiba spoke, failing to be quiet a second longer.
"Are you girls okay?" he asked, worriedly.
"Yeah. Why?" asked Ino as she looked at Kiba.
"Well, Sasuke is here and none of you girls have even made a move to go after him." he said.
Ino snorted.
"We were over him the moment he decided he could sacrifice Sakura to save his pathetic little hide." She said.
"So does that mean you two are both available?" asked Kiba grinning wide.
"Not for you Dog boy!" yelled Ino. "Besides, Sakura's taken." She added with a wink.
Kiba's attention was suddenly on Sakura. "W-What? How? Who?" he stammered.
Sakura blushed but did not reply. Shikamaru immediately guessed who it was. It was the only option really and from the look Sakura had given Naruto the moment Ino had said it, he knew it was serious.
He would need to talk to the both of them soon. Both about themselves and also about Hinata, who he was sure had caught on as well.
"Now, now, didn't your mothers never tell you not to attract the wrong kind of attention?" spoke a voice and the entire Konoha group turned around to see a young man with a Konoha headband walk over to them.
"Ah. Where are my manners, my name is Yakushi Kabuto. I am the temporary member of team 7 for this exam." he said as he adjusted his glasses.
"I already know all of your names. Including yours too Uzumaki Naruto, known as the most unpredictable ninja in the whole of Konoha, said to have taken on the copy ninja Hatake Kakashi himself and beaten him during a training exercise." He said as a matter of fact.
This last part caught the attention of one brooding Uchiha Sasuke and caused the eyes of many of the Konoha genin's eyes to widen.
"How do you know all of this?" asked Naruto.
Was the information from the old man?
Had he given the guy all the information about him?
"I know because of these cards, Naruto-kun." Spoke Kabuto as he pulled out a pack of cards from his pocket.
"Simply charge the card with some of your chakra and it will give you all the information on the ninja you want to find out about. I happen to have all the information about every candidate taking part in this exam. Just give me a name and I will tell you what I know. After all, this knowledge maybe the difference between life and death in these exams."
"How much information do you have on Naruto?" Asked Sasuke as he walked up.
Kabuto simply took out a card and charged it with some of his chakra. "Uzumaki Naruto, genin of Konohagakure no Sato, completed 2 A ranks, 0 B and C ranks, 40 D rank missions. Taijutsu is high Chuunin as well as ninjutsu, it has no information about his genjutsu. The teamwork of Uzumaki Naruto and Haruno Sakura is said to be something even ANBU are wary of."
Sasuke's eyes narrowed as a smirk crept up onto his face.
"I know your weakness now Naruto. I'm coming for you." He said before he walked away to join his team.
"Anyone you would like to know about Naruto-kun?" asked Kabuto.
"Rock Lee and Sabaku no Gaara."
"Rock Lee, graduated the year before, skipped the Chuunin exams last year so that his team could gain experience. Has completed no A ranks, B ranks, 3 C ranks and close to 80 D ranks. Taijutsu rating is off the charts, has little ninjutsu or genjutsu." Spoke Kabuto.
He whistled as he picked out another card for Gaara and read it. "Sabaku no Gaara, son of the Yondaime Kazekage, has completed 3 A ranks, 4 B ranks, 7 C ranks and 100 D ranks. Said to have come out of every single mission without a scratch on him."
"Not even a single scratch?" asked Sakura.
"Enough." Cut in Shikamaru before Kabuto could reply.
"It's about to start." He said as he stood up from his corner.
Naruto and Sakura also felt the numerous signatures before the examiners appeared in a cloud of smoke.
"QUIET DOWN ALL YOU WORMS!" yelled a scarred man in the middle as he emitted enough killing intent to draw everyone's attention.
"My name is Morino Ibiki and I will be your proctor for the first exam which is a written exam." He said to the disapproval of many.
"Each of you has been given an entry number. I would like you all to sit down at the desk with your numbers."
Once everyone had been seated, Ibiki began again,
"This written exam is based into 10 questions total. You each start off with 20 points per person, that is 60 points per team. You will be deducted 2 points for each incorrect answer as well as unanswered question. However, if you answer a question correctly you will be given 2 points. Those caught cheating will also be deducted points. Get caught three times and you and your entire team will be failed on the spot. This goes for teams who have one member scoring no points as well. For your team to advance to the second phase, all of you will need to maintain at least one point."
There was a roar of disapproval from the examinees as they started to talk amongst themselves about the rules.
"QUIET!" yelled Ibiki. "Or I will fail all of you and send you home."
The room immediately silenced itself, none of the candidates wanting to go back to their respective villages without at least attempting the exam.
"The papers you will get only contains 9 questions. The 10th question will be given out 10 minutes till the end of this written test. The 10th question has rules of its own which will be explained to you before the question is given. So those of you who haven't been failed have to stay until the end till you can go home to your mommies." Said the man with a sick smile.
"Chuunins, you may distribute the papers."
X—X—X—X—X
Naruto was sweating profusely as he patiently waited till the examiner said he could start.
It wasn't that he was nervous. He wasn't. Both Sakura and he had this written exam covered.
It had been simple enough to decipher the riddle that the nin had posed to them.
It was just that Naruto was not quite used to sitting behind a desk for long periods of time. It made him cranky and want to get out and that was why he was sweating. Him standing up or something could mean the failure of his entire team.
The clock finally reached 11 and the bell rang signaling the start of the exam. Both Naruto and Sakura quickly turning over their papers. Naruto browsed through each of the questions while Sakura started attempting each and every question.
These questions! Naruto realized. Sakura had been right. There was no way that mere genin would be able to answer such questions. This was a test to see how well they could cheat.
Why else would they deduct points each time you got caught? Sakura's words came back to him. It doesn't make sense if you get failed on your third time caught cheating. Not unless they expect you to cheat. This indeed was a test of information gathering. A test concocted to see which genin were able to gather the information required without betraying themselves or their team mates. Luckily Sakura had come up with a plan.
He felt one of his shadow clones dispel as Sakura killed an ant on her body, the memories and particularly the answer to the first question rushing into his mind. The 10 clones he had henged into ants and put on her body would make sure he had the proper answers to each of the questions. He grinned to himself. It helped to have a girlfriend who was really smart he thought.
Naruto hurriedly wrote down the answer before he forgot it. It would not do for them to fail because he had forgotten to write down the answers to the questions exactly as Sakura had written them.
Naruto decided he would use the time between the dispelling of the clones to observe his competition which included his fellow genin from Konoha as well as the Suna trio.
The first one he saw was Hinata, who was sitting right next to him. The veins near her eyes standing out as she used her family Doujutsu the Byakugan to see through solid objects and into the paper of the person in front of her. He knew that it was the same thing that the Hyuuga on Gai's team as well as Hisemi would do as they were from the same family.
It was only then that he noticed that the number of people in the hall was odd. There were two genin extra and he had never heard of a two man squad being allowed to take the exam.
He realized then and there that these two extra genin were in fact not genin at all, but two Chuunin sent into the written exam in order for the genin to copy off of. It wouldn't make sense if there was no one or nothing they could gather the information from.
Another buzz in his head alerted him to another clone dispelling and he wrote down the answer he was fed from the clone.
This did not pass the unwavering gaze of Hyuuga Hinata, who glanced at Naruto. In one way, she felt happy for him. He was finally receiving the love that he had wanted so bad from Sakura, yet Hinata could not help but worry if the love Sakura was giving was genuine.
Not to mention that this also got in the way of accomplishing her dream of having a family with Naruto. Hinata pushed the thought into the back of her mind. There were much more important matters at hand. She would deal with Sakura when they met in the tournament and it would be there that she won the heart of Naruto as well as destroying what Naruto and Sakura had between them.
The next person Naruto set his eyes on was the Uchiha himself, obviously using the Sharingan to copy every single move the Chuunin near him made.
Kiba had Akamaru on top of his head, softly barking the answers to his master.
Shino had his destruction bugs who spelt out the answers for him on the table.
Ino had the Shintenshin no Jutsu.
Shikamaru was genius enough to know the answers and Choji would have no trouble due to Shikamaru using the Kagemane on him.
Tenten, the weapons mistress, used the mirrors she had hung on the ceilings to reflect the answers to her and Lee.
However the only Konoha genin he did not manage to observe was Heni. He just simply was nowhere to be seen.
The suna trio was a different story. Naruto saw the sand eye that Gaara made to copy off of Sasuke's paper. Once he had the answers, he then would spell them out for Temari on her table, still using his sand. One thing he had gained for sure was the knowledge that Gaara was in fact a sand user. How deadly and how good, he wouldn't find out during this test. The remaining Suna member was a different story. He had gone to the toilet with an observer, one that Naruto had found odd and thought extra, but had waved him off. The only thing that had given Kankuro away had been the smirk he had worn upon returning from the toilet.
A puppet, I see. Though Naruto and Ibiki at the same time. Looks like we have a medium to long range squad from Suna, decided Naruto as he wrote down the answer to the 8th answer from Sakura. The next clone to be dispelled, did not actually dispel but rather died of blood loss.
It wasn't until the memories returned to Naruto that he realized what had caused it to die. It had simply gotten a pretty good look at Sakura's bra covered chest under the vest she wore. Luckily for him, he managed to hold the blood from exploding from his nose and embarrassing himself.
The sound of the bell ringing again caused him to look up and noticed that it was time for the last question. It was also at that time that Sakura dispelled the last clone on her body. Naruto barely finished writing down the answer before Ibiki spoke.
"Alright you maggots! Pens down! Time for your 10th question! But first the rules." The big man paused for a while to make sure every one of the candidates in the room was paying attention to him.
"If you take this question and fail to answer it, you and your team will be failed and never allowed to take this exam again."
"What kind of a rule is that!?" came a voice and a few yells of yeah came after it.
"There are many a ninja in this room who is taking the exam for more than 5 times!" shouted another.
Ibiki's laughter echoed out through the room, sending a chill down everyone's spine.
"I guess it is your luck that put me as proctor of this exam. It is my rules that count for this phase. If you will, I will allow you to withdraw from this question, but in doing so you will fail your team though you may take the next one. It is your choice. Those who wish to leave may leave now."
There was a steady flow of genin walking out of the exam room and soon, Naruto could only count 12 teams including the 5 from Konoha and the Suna team. He knew that it was enough motive for the Konoha teams to stay if one stayed. If they chickened out now, they would never hear the end of it.
"Those who are staying, I take it that you want to take the question?" asked Ibiki. Each of the shinobi present nodded their heads and ibiki smiled. "Congratulations, you all pass the first phase of this exam."
The words that Ibiki spoke sent a wave of relief washing over the Konoha nin, Kiba yelling up and down with joy.
"Silence. Those who remain should know that they will face much more perilous tasks in the future should they be or not be promoted at the end. A shinobi cannot back down from a mission that may risk everything he has worked for, for the success of that mission may cause everyone in the village to gain from it more than they had to lose. I wish you all the best in the exams to come."
Ibiki had just finished his little speech when something came through the window, narrowly missed his head and embedded itself into the wall. Ibiki put his head in his hand and shook his head as a figure crashed through the remaining window, rolling to her feet before the wire behind her unfurling to reveal a banner with the words.
SEXY PROCTOR OF THE SECOND PHASE: MITARASHI ANKO.
"Just twelve teams." Mused Anko as she counted the number of heads in the room.
"Seems you haven't lost your touch after all. No worries. I'll cut the number in half by the time I'm done with them as well."
"Alright you little Maggots! Time for the second phase of your exam! Meet me at the Forest of Death in an hour."
The Konoha group stood up together, Sasuke's and Gai's team going their own separate ways as they all left the Academy.
"What do you say we all go for Dango together?" asked Kabuto as they walked along. "One hour isn't much time to go home and cook. It's on me."
Everyone in the group agreed except for one Akimichi Choji who claimed he had to go home.
"Boy. Isn't this a day for surprises." Exclaimed Kiba as he and Shino set into pace next to Kabuto who led the way. The girls followed close behind, gossiping about things.
Naruto was about to go and join Sakura when Shikamaru pulled him back.
"What is it Shika?" asked Naruto as the two were left trailing the group. The two set a pace so that they were an equal space behind the group.
"You have to tell her, Naruto." Said the Nara.
"Tell her what?" asked Naruto confused.
"About him." said Shikamaru, gesturing at Naruto's stomach.
The blonde was taken aback at the statement.
"How did I know?"
"It wasn't that hard. You have the same birthday as the day the Kyuubi died. Only that a being made of Chakra cannot die and there is no way that a being the strength of the Kyuubi could have been sealed in an object. It would be too much of a risk."
"The villagers hate you. They call you all sorts of vile things, the foremost being Demon. You have never been sick and not even once have you stayed in the hospital for more than one day with an injury, not quite unlike a bijuu's healing abilities. Plus you have a huge chakra supply, Ino tells me Sakura marvels about it every day. And you have those tell tale whisker marks." Explained Shikamaru.
"Why do I need to tell her?" asked Naruto confused.
"I'd rather she find out from you than from someone else. If she leaves because of it, I'd rather she leave you now than later when your life depends on her. I'd rather she leave you now because there is someone else who loves you."
"Hinata." Said Naruto and Shikamaru nodded.
"So you did notice her."
It was Naruto's turn to nod.
"There is no way that I can be with Hinata even if Sakura were to leave me. Her clan would not allow it."
"I know. But it will not stop Hinata from fighting Sakura for you. Sakura will need every reason to fight for you if she wants to win that battle. What better reason than you."
"Why did you tell me this?" asked Naruto.
"You are as much a demon as I am. The fact that you jail one does not mean you are one. I just do not wish to see you in any further pain. Be happy, Naruto. One of us. For that, you need to tell her." Said the Nara as he increased his pace in order to catch up with the group.
X—X—X—X—X
It took the group exactly 45 minutes to finish their lunch, just leaving enough time for them to get to the Forest of Death. Naruto wished they had gotten more time, he had been thinking about what the Nara had said to him earlier and realized he had been right.
Sakura was his love.
If he truly wanted a shot at life with her, then he needed to tell her, because as long as she did not know what he contained then he could not truly say that she had been with him.
He had been hoping that he could tell her sometime before the exam. Allow the news to sink in before they attempted anything as a team. Naruto knew how much their team work would matter that day since there were only 10 teams now. The competition was getting fierce and they would need every bit of trust they had in each other to survive. All Naruto could do for now was hope that he did not have to explain it to her in the middle of the second phase.
With a troubled and Heavy sigh, Naruto joined his friends as they walked up to where their proctor sat. Somehow, for some reason, Naruto could swear that this would be a very long second phase.
X—X—X—X—X
:O where did Kabuto come from? :O
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