Chapter 397 sucked big time. To all of you who didn't see it, it bites. Half of it was Sasuke panting. We didn't even get to see Madara's face. Also, Sasuke got Itachi's eye techniques. And it looks like the next few chapters are still going to be about Sasuke. Can we please take a break from that emo bastard, is that too much to ask? The things I want to know is does Tsunade know that Jiraiya is dead? What is the jutsu that Naruto and Jiraiya were working on?
Another thing that gets to me is Kakashi after the first run in with Sasuke. He said that he knew that they wouldn't be able to handle Sasuke. And whose fault is that? Sure, Naruto might have been able to beat Sasuke if he had used Kyuubi had he ignored what Yamato said. That was what his training mission with Jiraiya was all about. That and working on strategy. After that, Naruto was back to square one. My brother has said that Naruto should ignore what Yamato said and go back to using the Kyuubi rather than using his own power. At least after that failure, Kakashi got off his ass and actually trained him a bit.
Let's rock!
-x-
"Sorry I'm late," said Kakashi as he entered the room. "I slipped on a banana peel and lost all my sort term memories." With that said, he gave everyone his famous eye smile. That was returned with hateful glares. Today he was late by four hours. That was an hour later than usual. Asuma had run out of cigarettes, Kurenai had finished her romance novel, and Gai was crying that he was missing out on such a youthful day. Everyone else in the room had been passing around a rubix cube that seemed impossible to solve.
"Well, now that everyone is here," said Sarutobi with one last glare at Kakashi. "As you all should know, the chunin exams are going to be starting soon and will be held in our village. We will be starting this meeting with the nominations for the exam. Remember that requirement to take the exam is to have at least 8 D-ranked mission and at least one C-ranked mission or higher. We will first here from the rookie teams. Are there any genin who you feel are ready for the exam?" Kakashi, Asuma, and Kurenai all stepped forward.
"I, Hatake Kakashi of Team 7, nominate Uchiha Sasuke, Mitarashi Anko, and Uzumaki Naruto."
"I, Yuhi Kurenai of Team 8, nominate Inuzuka Kiba, Aburame Shino, and Shihōin Hinata."
"I, Sarutobi Asuma of Team 10, nominate Yamanaka Ino, Nara Shikamaru, and Akimichi Choji."
Silence filled the room. All three rookie teams had been nominated. The last time a rookie team had been nominated was five years ago. But to have all three teams go in their first year was unprecedented. The other jonin and chunin in the room were looking at them like they were insane.
"I can't allow that!" yelled Iruka. "Those nine are too green for this exam. I should know since I was their teacher."
"Well I had already taken the exam when I was Naruto's age," said Kakashi. "In fact, I was a jonin."
"Well Naruto's nothing like you," said Iruka.
"I have to agree with Iruka," said Gai loudly. "My team had the needed skills to take the exam last year but I felt that they needed more experience."
"This is the best time for them to take the exam," said Kurenai. "If they took the chunin exam in a different village, they would be like a fish out of water. If they take it here we can keep an eye on them and make sure they stay safe." What she said was true. In other villages, those who were injured for outside villages got no medical attention until the end of the exam.
"I'm sending them in as motivation," said Asuma. "Right now they need a kick in the pants to get them to train. I think that seeing how strong some shinobi from other villages are might inspire them to train harder. And as Kurenai said, what better place to do that than our own village."
"Everyone," said Sarutobi. "It is not our place to judge the decisions of the jonin instructors. It is their decision to make. Also remember that it is still the choice of the genins to actually take the exam. If they feel they are ready then there is nothing anyone can do about it. Now, moving on."
The rest of the meeting was much calmer. Duties were assigned and proctors were chosen. They also talked about keeping an eye on the single team from Iwa that showed up. Normally, that village didn't send its shinobi when it was Konoha's turn to hold the exam. When the meeting was over, the jonin instructors were told where to pick up the forms that their students needed to fill out. After that, only Sarutobi and Iruka were left in the room.
"I don't believe this," moaned Iruka as he buried his face in his hands.
"I believe that they'll do fine," said Sarutobi with a smile. "Just put some trust in them."
"At least Kurenai and Asuma gave some good reasons for sending their students into the exam," said Iruka as he lifted his head. "Kakashi acted like this is a joke. This is a serious exam."
"I know why he did it," said Sarutobi. "I found out about a week ago that the council was telling the Daimyo's that the last Uchiha will be in the exam. Because of that, more people will be showing up which will increase the amount of gambling."
"So what are you saying?" asked Iruka. Sarutobi sighed.
"The loss of the Uchiha clan was a large blow to the village," said the old Hokage. "We lost many clients after that. Now that the last one is old enough and able to take the exam, they want to show everyone that we are still strong and can rebuild the Uchiha clan back to its former glory."
"And they don't care how many people die just to see that happen?" demanded Iruka as he stood up.
"Please calm down," said Sarutobi. "Remember that we will be keeping an eye on them."
-x-
"Come on teme," said Naruto as sweat dripped from his chin. He was nervous, everything was on the line. Then he saw Sasuke smirk.
"I'm in dobe," said Sasuke as he set down his cards. "Two Kings. I win!" Sasuke then moved to grab the coins in front of him, but Naruto stopped him.
"I don't think so," said Naruto as he revealed his hand. "I have three nine's. Three of a kind beats two of a kind." With that, Naruto took all of the money.
Team 7 had decided to play a game of poker while they waited for Kakashi to show up. While they did so, they talked about what they had done during their training periods. All Sasuke would admit to was some serious training and new jutsus. Anko told them before she lost all her money that she had learned a couple of jutsus along with more information gathering skills. Naruto told them that he had trained in taijutsu, some kenjutsu, and genjutsu.
"Maybe you should stick to gambling," said Sasuke as he looked at his one coin and then at Naruto's small mountain. "You're better at it than being a shinobi."
"Don't be a poor loser," said Anko. "I think you still haven't gotten over what happened in Nami." Before Sasuke could say anything, Kakashi appeared on the scene in his usual manner.
"Yo," he said. He then moved to the side to avoid being hit by several kunai from both Naruto and Anko. "As violent as ever I see. Well, today there will be no team training."
"How is that different for us?" asked Anko and Naruto at the same time. Kakashi eye smiled and handed them a piece of paper.
"Tomorrow will be the chunin exam," said Kakashi. "If you want to participate then you must sign those forms and bring them to room 301 at the academy by 9:00. This is optional so don't show up if you don't want to." And with that, he vanished.
"Well I don't know about you two," said Sasuke as he looked at his sheet. "But I'm doing this."
"Might as well," said Naruto. He then looked at Anko. "Maybe then we can get transferred to a different team." Anko smiled at that.
"That would so kick ass," she said. "We get promoted, we get a new team, and it'll be like the holidays came early."
-x-
Later that night, in the Hyuuga complex, Neji sat in front of Hiashi. The two of them were alone. Between them was some tea.
"Neji," said Hiashi as he broke the silence. "I have called you here to ask something of you."
"And what is that?" asked Neji.
"First let me say what a shame it is," said Hiashi as he took a sip of his tea. "It's a shame that someone as skilled as you is a branch member. You should be in the main house and not with the trash. It must be really hard for you. That is why I would like your help on something. If you help me, I can help you."
"Help me how?" asked Neji with his full attention on Hiashi now.
"Well," began Hiashi. "You do know Hyuuga Daiki, right? Well, he was never able to have children and is getting old. If he were to die then his line within the clan dies. I would be more than happy to have you placed under his charge as his adopted son. That would make you a main house member and your seal would be removed safely. That is what you want, right?"
Neji sat there with a shocked look on his face. This had to be a dream come true. Fate was opening the door for him to become a main house member. He would finally be free of his seal. He could finally show everyone his true potential without worry.
"What must I do Hiashi-sama?" asked Neji. Hiashi smirked.
"The main thing I need from you is to defeat Uchiha Sasuke in the third round of the exam," said Hiashi. "The only reason that I went with the council was so we could prove once and for all that the Hyuuga clan is the strongest in the village. Once Sasuke loses to you in front of everyone, he will learn that his place is below us. Also, it will prove once and for all that a clan of copycats will never be able to match us.
"If you can manage it, there is one other thing. I need you to kill Uzumaki Naruto and Hinata. They have both disgraced our clan and need to be eliminated. I'm sure you know that killing will be allowed in the exam and that you will not be held accountable for your actions even against other Konoha-nins."
"So all I really need to do is defeat the Uchiha," said Neji. "And, if I can, kill two failures. I have no problems with that."
-x-
The next morning, Team 7 arrived at the academy. They made their way up a flight of steps and found a large group of genins around a door labeled 301. In front of it were two large boys who were keeping the others out. They seemed to be fighting with a boy dressed in green spandex, a bun haired girl, and Hyuuga Neji. Anko and Naruto's eyes narrowed on seeing him, remembering what he had done to their friend back when they were younger.
"Come on," yelled green wearing genin, "let us through." The boy was kicked back by one of the boys guarding the door.
"There's no way you're ready for the chunin exam," said the first one who was really a chunin in disguise. "Some people get so badly hurt that they have to quit the shinobi program. Some have gone crazy and others die."
"Ya," said the second who was the same as the first. "We are doing this for your own good."
"Move out of the way," said Sasuke as he pushed his way through the group. "We need to get to room 301 which is on the next floor." The two boys smirked.
"So you saw through our genjutsu," said the first. "Well I hate to break it to ya, but that won't be enough to survive this exam. Now I suggest you leave."
"What if I don't feel like it?" asked Sasuke. The guy raised his fist and got ready to strike. Sasuke saw this and also prepared to hit him. However, the green spandex wearing genin caught both attacks with ease.
"Kami," cried the bun haired girl. "Lee, wasn't it you who said we should hide our true strength?"
"I am very sorry," said Lee as he bowed. Neji looked at Sasuke and smirked.
"So you must be Uchiha Sasuke," said Neji. "This year's rookie of the year. I'm glad to see you are taking the exam." Neji then held out his hand and waited for Sasuke to shake it. Sasuke looked at it for a moment before turning away. Neji growled at this disrespect when he heard a voice that he hated.
"I see your manners have improved," said Naruto as he made his presence known.
"Uzumaki," growled Neji. "It's been a while. I look forward to facing you in the exam so I can pay you back!" Naruto opened his mouth to say something but Sasuke interrupted.
"Let's get moving," said Sasuke as he began to walk away. Naruto looked at Neji one last time before flipping him off.
Team 7 made their way to the next flight of stairs. Looking down, they saw the sparring and target room that was used by the students. The area they were on was the spot where the rest of the class watched the matches. On the opposite side of the room was the stairs that would lead them right to room 301. However…
"Please wait," yelled Lee as he appeared from behind them. "My name is Rock Lee and I would like to challenge you Uchiha Sasuke." Sasuke looked at him, but he was not the person who spoke out.
"That's it!" yelled Anko. "I'm tired of having no action!"
"Ah, Anko-chan," said Naruto nervously. "We have to be getting to the exam room."
"That can wait," snapped Anko. She then jumped down to the first floor and looked up at Lee. "Well, are you coming?"
"Well you see," said Lee as he scratched the back of his head. "I was really hoping to fight the genius of your year. Plus I don't like to hit girls." Naruto slowly began to shake his head no. That was a bad thing to say to Anko.
"Don't like to hit girls," said Anko slowly as she lowered her head. When she lifted it, flames were dancing in her eyes. "What a load of shit! That's just a guys excuse so they don't have to fight a girl when they know they'll lose. Get down here NOW!"
"Yes ma'am," said Lee as his body became straight. A moment later he appeared right in front of Anko and got into a stance. Anko pulled out her Urumi that was wrapped around her waist and held it ready. The two stared at each other as they assessed the other.
Lee was the first to move. In an instant he had moved from across the room and was in front of Anko. Then he landed a punch right in Anko's gut. Lee turned around, assuming that it was over. However, everyone knows never to assume anything.
There was a sudden puff that caused Lee to turn around. Anko had been replaced with a small snake. A hebi bunshin, thought Lee. He didn't have time to think as Anko appeared in the air right above him. She swung her blade at him and he side stepped it. The blade then turned around and shot at Lee from behind. Luckily for Lee he was able to jump out of the way in time. Anko then landed on the ground with as much grace as she could and then turned to look at Lee. A smile came across her face when she saw a small cut on the boy's right leg. There was no blood, but she had come close.
"You're skilled," complemented Anko.
"As are you," said Lee. He then looked at the time and noticed that they had about fifteen minutes. "As much as I would like to continue, we are almost out of time." He then vanished and then appeared right in front of Anko. He then kicked her into the air. A moment later he appeared behind her with the bandages on his hands beginning to unravel. "This move will finish it." However, a pinwheel shot out and hit Lee's bandages. Both Lee and Anko fell to the ground and looked in the direction that it had come from. And standing in the door way was a…turtle.
"Sensei," cried Lee as he went into a begging position on his hands and knees.
"Lee," yelled the turtle. "That move is forbidden. How dare you defy your sensei's warnings? Now you must face Gai." With that, Gai appeared in a puff of smoke on top of the turtle. Everyone was shocked to see an old version of Lee. Without warning, the new spandex wearing man punched Lee. Lee then got into a sitting position as Gai put his hands on Lee's shoulders.
"Lee-kun," said Gai as he began to cry. "It's alright. Mistakes are part of learning. It is all a part of the springtime of youth." And with that, they both began to hug and cry. Behind them, the image of waves crashing against the rocks appeared scaring everyone including Anko.
"Gai-sensei!"
"Lee!"
"Gai-sensei!"
"Lee!"
"Gai-sensei!"
"Lee!"
This was too much for Team 7. Anko made her way to the stairs and began to walk up when the hug fest stopped. Gai told Lee that after the exam was over he would have to run around the village 200 times. When Gai was done with that he looked at the team that was now walking up the stairs together, not knowing that they were praying that he would leave them alone. Sadly Kami was not on their side as Gai just appeared right in front of them.
"So you must be Kakashi's adorable pupils," said Gai.
"Ah, you know Kakashi-sense?" asked Naruto. Gai laughed.
"Of course," said Gai. "I guess you could say that we are rivals. So far the score is 20 to 19 in my favor." As if that was all he wanted to tell them, he vanished again.
-x-
Team 7 walked down a hallway to where the room was. They spotted the door and in front of it was Kakashi. He told them that the reality was he was not there to wish them good luck, but to stop them if all three didn't show up. After that, he stepped out of the way and let them into the exam room.
The room was packed with shinobi. The age range seemed to be 13 to 30. Most of them seemed to be from their village, but that didn't make them friendly. Some even looked like they were ready for school and not a shinobi exam. Those that did look like they were here for a shinobi exam had angry scowls. As soon as Team 7 entered, several groups looked at them and kept an eagle eye on them. Most of these teams seemed to be from Ame.
"Sasuke-kun," came an ear piercing scream. A moment later, Sasuke was grabbed by Ino. A moment later Shikamaru and Choji appeared behind her.
"So you guys are here to," said Shikamaru. "Troublesome."
"Don't worry," said Kiba as he and his group walked towards them. "You won't be here long. We're going to wipe the floor with your asses."
"I'd like to see that happen dog breath," said Naruto with a feral grin.
"It's not like you can stop me dobe," said Kiba.
"Kiba-kun, stop causing a scene," said Hinata. Immediately Kiba backed down. She then turned to Naruto and smiled. "I'm glad to see you here." Anko narrowed her eyes and then stepped between them.
"Remember that we are enemies here," said Anko.
"But I could never think of Naruto-kun as my enemy," said Hinata.
"Would you kids keep it down," came a voice. Then turned and saw a teenager with silver hair and glasses walking towards them. "It must be your first time since you are all acting like a bunch of school kids on the playground."
"And you are?" demanded Sasuke.
"Oh, my name is Yakushi Kabuto," said Kabuto. "Look behind you." The rookie nine looked at the room and saw more people staring at them with angry glares. "Everyone is nervous about this exam and are a little on edge. Ame-nins have short tempers and right now anything could throw them off. Also, Iwa is here in the village for the first time. There is also the recently created Oto."
"Wow," said Choji. "You sure know a lot. Is this your second time taking the exam?" Kabuto looked a little sheepish.
"Actually it's my seventh," he said. "This exam is no picnic. Right now I'm just lucky to be alive. That's how brutal these exams are." He then looked on the faces of the genins. They all had some degree of worry. Except for one, Naruto. He had a grin on his face like he was worried that it was going to be boring. He then turned to the room and took a deep breath.
"ALRIGHT YOU BASTRADS!" shouted Naruto as loud as he could. "I HOPE YOU ALL DIDN'T UNPACK YOUR BAGS BECAUSE I'M GOING TO BE KICKING ALL OF YOUR ASSES!" The room began to grow cold as Naruto crossed his arms. Now everyone in the room wanted a piece of him. What really got them was that he was still smiling, like he didn't have a care in the world. Some were about to make a move when the door behind the rookie nine was kicked down. Standing there was Sechs with his two female teammates behind him. Everyone quieted as he walked towards Naruto. The rookie nine backed away as he passed them, completely intimidated by his appearance. Naruto turned and the two faced each other.
"So you say you're going to be kicking ass," said Sechs with a smile.
"Hai," said Naruto with his grin still intact. Then, Sechs threw his head back and began to laugh. Everyone stared at him like he was nuts. Then, Sechs swung his arm around Naruto's neck and got him into a head lock.
"Why can't more people have guts like this guy?" asked Sechs to no one in particular. He then turned to the large group as he let go of Naruto. "I say anyone who is nervous should just get the fuck out of here. This isn't an exam for sissies. But if you're too scared to move, I'll be happy to help you out."
"Hey now," said Naruto. "Don't take all the fun." Once again, everyone was looking at them like they were insane.
"You seem like you would put up a good fight," said Sechs to Naruto. "Maybe after I take down the asshole I'm lookin for then me and you can have a good fight."
"Who are you looking for?" asked Naruto.
"Just the strongest guy here who is taking the exam," said Sechs. "It's his first year taking the exam, but the guy has skills. I'll bet he was at the top of his class at the academy."
"That sounds like him over there," said Kiba as he pointed at Sasuke. Sechs turned his head and saw Ino still holding onto Sasuke. Sechs then pointed a finger at Sasuke.
"So you're him," said Sechs. "Well before this exam is over your head will be mine, Uzumaki Naruto!" Everyone then face faulted to the floor.
"Ah, that's not Naruto-kun," said Kabuto as he got up. He then pulled out one of his cards and pushed some chakra into it. "Let's see. Uzumaki Naruto, age 13. Dead last at the academy and a member of Team 7. Has a talent for Fūton jutsus. Has completed 15 C-ranked mission and amazingly one A-ranked mission. He has a cousin named Haku who is a terrible cook. He is listed in the Bingo books as a C-ranked shinobi wanted in Ame. They will only pay if he is captured alive. He has been given the nickname Kaze-shu by Hanzo himself."
"I knew all that already!" yelled Sechs. "Well, not the cousin part. I just want to know what he looks like!" Kabuto turned the picture around so that Sechs could see the image next to the data. He stared at it for a long time before turning to face the right shinobi. Naruto just waved at him. If looks could kill, Sechs's look of anger could kill a Kage. "Your ass is mine, got that!"
"Hai, hai," said Naruto as he waved him off.
Before anymore could be said several jonin's appeared.
"That's enough maggots. Fighting will not be tolerated unless we say so. Try this again and you will be failed. My name is Ibiki and I will be your first examiner."
"Fine," said Naruto. "What's the first test?" Ibiki smirked as he held up the test paper. Naruto saw it and went pale. Next to him was an equally pale Sechs.
A few moments later they were all seated for the written portion. Naruto took his seat next to Hinata. Inside Hinata's head was a little chibi figure of her doing a little dance. Anko was seated near the back, glaring at Hinata with enough force to burn a hole through her back.
"All right I'll go over the questions once and there will be no questions. The exam will have ten questions. You will start out with ten points and for every question you get wrong, you will lose one point. So, if you miss two questions your score will be an eight. If you are caught cheating, you will lose two points. If you get a zero, you fail. Caught cheating three times and you fail automatically. Also, this test will be taken as a team. If one of you fails, you all fail. The tenth question will be given at the last fifteen minutes."
The test was given out and was quickly begun. Naruto looked over the exam and tried to decide what to do. He looked at the first question and decided to try the next one. This became a trend. That was until he saw question 7. The question asked what elemental chakra was, how a person can find out what type they were, and give an example of how a person trains with it. A smile came across his face as he began to write his answer down. As he did, he realized that he had just passed. After all, according to the rules, all you had to do was not get a zero and you passed.
Everyone else was using their special gifts or abilities to get the information. Tenten used mirrors to get the information to Lee. Shino was using his bugs and Kiba was using Akamaru. Neji, Sasuke, and Hinata used their doujutsus. Gaara used his third eye to look at other people's paper.
Anko bit her thumb and then summoned a small snake. This one she knew could make itself invisible. Sadly, it didn't have any venom but in this case she didn't mind at all.
"Alright," she said to the snake on her lap. "Go get me the test answers."
"No," said the snake. Tick marks appeared on Anko's face.
"Why not," asked Anko with as much sweetness as she could.
"I refuse to help others cheat," it replied. Anko reached down, grabbed it in her hand so only its head was showing and began to squeeze.
"Help me or else the next time I summon you it will be in a blender," she threatened. The snake nodded and Anko let it go to do its job.
Soon, the fifteen minute marker came up.
"All right, time for the last question. However there are special rules to it. First you have the option of not taking it. If you choose not to take it you fail. If you take the question and miss it you get an automatic zero and are banned from ever taking this exam ever again."
"That's bogus," shouted Kiba. "There are others here who have taken this exam before."
"That's true, but I wasn't in charge before," Said Ibiki. "Now I am and I'm making the rules. It's just your unlucky break."
Soon several teams were dismissed due to fear.
"Anyone else," he asked. That was when Naruto slammed his fist onto the desk.
"Hey, just give us the damn question already."
"Are you sure? You might be stuck as a genin for the rest of your life," said Ibiki.
"I'm not going to run away. Even if I miss it I will still work to become Hokage. I'm not afraid to put everything on the line."
Ibiki noticed that everyone else had been encouraged by his words and where standing there ground. To say he was impressed was an understatement. He had never met anyone who could dispel the fear he placed in other with such ease.
"Very well then," he said and paused for a few seconds. "Everyone in this room…passes."
"What!?" cried several people.
"I will explain. As many of you figured out the purpose of this test was not to see what you knew, but how well you could gather information. To supply you with correct answers, several people were placed in the room as your targets. Then, it was up to up to share this information with your teammates."
"O.K. we get that," said the blond Suna-nin. "So what was the deal with the tenth question?"
"In the world of the shinobi you will be given many difficult tasks like the one I gave you. When you get them, will you be able to say no because you don't have enough information? The answer is no. as chunin, you will be placed in many difficult situations and will have to think on your feet and will not be able to say no to them. The last question was to test your resolve. I congratulate you all on passing the first test. Please wait here for your next examiner."
"No need," said a loud voice as a man came crashing through a wall. "I, Zaraki Kenpachi, shall take you to the next exam!"