Geniuses of Hard Work

The Chunin Exams

Naruto, Lee, and Hinata stood in front of a massive building. There were multiple entrances on each side and the building itself easily stood ten stories tall. Numerous Shinobi from all kinds of villages were walking into the building at that very moment.

"I don't remember there being a building this big here in the village…" Naruto stared in awe at the huge structure that stood before him.

"Me either, I wonder why they are having us meet in such a big building?" Lee too, was admiring the height.

"Well, there are a lot of shinobi competing it would appear." Hinata was more impressed with the amount of people she saw going into the building. "I wonder what we will be tested on in here?"

"No way we're going to figure it out just standing here! Let's go inside!" Naruto marched forward, followed quickly by his two teammates. They entered the building and took a quick look around. To their surprise they were in a small room with three sets of staircases going upwards.

"How curious." Lee mumbled and looked around. Apparently they weren't the only confused ones. Some groups stood there in an absolute stupor, looking at each stairwell intently. Waiting for something to happen.

Not too much later and a group came walking down one of the flight of stairs. They did not look pleased. "What the hell! We tried all three and not one of them got us to the top! What are they trying to do?" One of them shouted as he punched a wall.

"It would appear the exam has already started." Lee mused while he rubbed his chin.

"So if we don't get to the top before the designated time, we get booted before we even start, huh? I like this already." Naruto gave a feral grin and turned to Hinata. Her Byakugan was already active and he could see the gears in her head spinning.

"The set of stairs the one group just came down from is the correct path." Hinata whispered just loud enough for her teammates to hear. Neither responded. Instead they walked towards it. All three were sure to keep a look of uncertainty on their faces as they went up so as not to alert the other groups to their find.

Once they reached the next level, which was a long hallway that went two separate ways, Hinata reactivated her Byakugan. "Left." She said and started moving.

"Don't bother saying it aloud, Hinata. We'll just follow you." She nodded to Lee's instructions.

After making it up nearly three levels they stopped. "We're being followed." Hinata whispered again.

Naruto and Lee both nodded. They sensed it too. Naruto rose his hands up and formed his favorite seal. Three clones popped into existence. Two of them henged themselves as his teammates. At the next turn that team went one way and they went the correct way.

After nearly countless twist, and turns, ups and downs, Hinata finally stopped walking. "We're on the top floor." She announced.

"Nice going, Hinata!" Naruto wrapped his arm around her shoulder and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek.

"Naruto…" Hinata blushed just a little. She didn't move away from him though.

"I'm just sorry my clones weren't able to lose those guys that were following us." Naruto said a little louder than necessary. All three of them turned to see a very strange looking team of Shinobi walk up the stairs. Two of them looked normal enough. The third member looked like a mummy though. His hunched over posture and one visible eye didn't help his appearance.

"I must admit," Said the mummy ninja. "That it was rather difficult deciphering which set of footsteps to follow. However, no small difference escapes the ears of us Oto Shinobi."

"Otogakure? I have never heard of it." Lee said skeptically.

"Oh, you will soon." The other male responded.

"That's right, we're going to be famous once we conquer these Chunin Exams." The girl finished.

"Now if you'll excuse us." The mummy spoke again. All three walked passed Team Guy and proceeded into the doors where the exams truly began.

Team Guy walked forward as well and stopped outside the doors the team in front of them just went through. "No turning back once we go past these doors." Lee said.

"As if I'd turn back anyways. We're going all the way here!" Naruto shouted.

"That's right!" Hinata added.

"Music to my ears!" The team whipped around to see their sensei standing there behind them. He held up his hand before any of them could say anything. "Just listen." He said in a normal volume. "These exams can be rigorous. However, I have trained you hard, and I am proud to say that you are more prepared than most for the tasks ahead. Now know this, it is not common for first timers to pass. So no matter how far you get, I am proud you are my students."

Naruto chuckled at his teacher. "Come on, Guy-sensei. We knew all that already!"

"We'll show the world what it means to be trained by the greatest taijutsu expert!" Lee gave Guy the nice-guy pose.

"We'll teach them what it means to be a genius of hard work." Hinata said quietly but vehemently.

Guy felt the great urge to cry at that moment. "You guys, good luck!" Guy spun around and vanished before he had the chance to shed a tear in front of them.

"Alright, let's go!" Naruto grabbed the doors and flung them open. All three of them stepped inside to the massive room. Unsurprisingly they walked into a big room with sixteen separate doors. Each one being the entrance from one path or another.

What was surprising was the massive amount of genin who had managed to make it into the room still. Among them were a ton of people they even recognized. The group from Suna was there, and so was Kakashi's team. There were also the other rookies that Naruto and Hinata had gone to class with.

"Lee, Hinata!" Tenten took notice of the new group and came running up to them. Begrudgingly, Neji and Sasuke followed after her.

"Tenten-senpai." Hinata smiled at her friend just as she made it up to them.

"I see you guys made it. Of course, it was probably no problem with the Byakugan. Neji's got us here in no time at all." Tenten talked in a hushed voice, trying not to glean the attention from other teams.

"That's right! Hinata is amazing!" Naruto shouted loudly as he patted his girlfriend on the shoulder roughly. Everyone else in the group cringed at Naruto's voice as it instantly drew the attention of many other teams.

"Are you stupid?" Sasuke asked as he glared at the blonde. "You do remember that being a Shinobi means keeping a low profile, right?"

Naruto snorted. "That kind of stuff is overrated. It doesn't matter if they notice me or not. I'll beat them all down anyways."

"My, my, that's quite the proclamation." All six Genin turned to the newest person to make his way over to their group. A tall, older looking boy with white hair and glasses stood in front of them with one arm partially raised in greeting.

"Who's that guy?" Naruto asked quietly as he leaned towards Lee.

"I've never seen him before either. He has a leaf headband on though." Lee peered curiously at the older looking genin as well.

"I apologize, I forgot to introduce myself." The white-haired boy said, obviously having heard them. "My name is Yakushi Kabuto. I am another participant of this exam."

"Do you have business with us?" Sasuke asked suddenly, glaring at the older boy.

Kabuto adjusted his glasses and gave a disarming smile. "No, no. I simply thought it seemed more lively over here and decided to check it out. You're all first-timers in this exam aren't you?" All six Genin shared a look before they all nodded back to Kabuto.

"Must be nice. I forget what it is like to be ignorant to what's coming next." Kabuto smiled sadly at them all. "This is my seventh time taking the exam."

"Seventh?" Naruto, Lee, and Tenten all shouted at once. Kabuto rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment.

"Yes, well, I just have very bad luck, you see." Kabuto mumbled to himself.

Neji snorted. "It sounds more like fate is against you."

Kabuto gave a wry smile at his comment. "Fate...maybe so. Regardless, it has allowed me to gain extensive knowledge on all the villages. I could show you my cards. Information on anyone and everyone you want to know about." He pulled out an impressive sized stack of colorful cards as he talked. "Anyone interested?"

Lee rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Why are you interested in helping us? What do you gain from it?"

Kabuto again gave his disarming smile. "Perhaps future allies? There is no need to be suspicious." He said a moment later, taking note of the doubt in everyone's eyes. "I showed a few other rookies some cards just a few moments ago. I simply want to help you."

"Well...there is one kid I'm interested in." Naruto suddenly spoke up. Lee and Hinata looked at him with slight worry in their eyes. They knew who he was going to ask about. "Gaara. He's from Sunagakure."

"Gaara it is!" Kabuto grabbed onto a card.

Before he was able to reveal it, a white mist settled in over the floor of the room. "Alright, runts! You better pay attention or I'll chop you in half! The first exam has officially begun!" Naruto couldn't believe it. He definitely recognized that voice. He turned slowly and his worst fears were realized.

"What the hell! It's you!" Naruto screamed and pointed at none other than Momochi Zabuza.

"Quiet down over there you blond-haired brat! Or do you want me to kick you out right now?" Naruto lowered his finger and instead fumed quietly.

"What the hell is Zabuza doing? Is he really the one testing us?" Lee patted him lightly on the back.

"Think of it as a point in our favor. We know the guy after all. Maybe he will go easy on us?" Naruto looked at Lee like he grew a third eyebrow.

"You don't hang out with the guy much, do you? He's a sadist!" He said through his teeth.

"Alright! Here's how this is exam is going to work!" Zabuza broke up their conversation. "The rules are very simple! You have ten minutes to make it back to the bottom level and out of the building! You will descend with your teammates! If one of you gets lost and doesn't make it out, you all fail! You will of course notice a few differences on your way down! The first being, the whole area is now covered in a thick mist!"

There was a wave a grumbling amongst the assembled shinobi. "Shut up! If you don't like it then don't participate! I'd be more than happy to fail some of you now!" The grumbling immediately quit. "Now, you will also have to be weary of traps we set up! Most of the traps are designed to maim, not kill. However if you do somehow die, you fail! Now, select one member from each team to come draw a pair of numbers. There will be a red and a blue one!"

"Red is the number door you will enter to begin your descent! Blue is the order in which you will go! You will begin exactly ten minutes after the group in front of you goes! No exceptions!"

"But what if the group in front of us sets up additional traps?" Kankuro shouted out.

"That sucks for you! Part of this exam is luck!" Zabuza let out a dark laugh. "Now line up! When you get your number show it to an assistant and tell him the names of you and your teammates!"

"Well, I supposed I better get with my team." Kabuto smiled at the group. "Perhaps I can show you the cards another time." He said while walking away.

"We're gonna split too. No need in hanging together, we're rivals now." Tenten gave the group one more wave before running after her teammates that had both left already.

Naruto sighed. "Well, here goes nothing."

"That is right!" Lee patted his teammates again before he stood completely straight. "Hinata could you go draw our random number?" He gave her a wink.

"Yes!" Hinata walked up and placed herself into one of the lines.

"I gotta hand it to you, Bushy Brow. You're pretty smart about this stuff. They won't get mad at us for cheating though, right?" Naruto suddenly felt nervous for Hinata's safety.

"Not if we do not get caught. If this is a true Shinobi test than our ability to get away with things like that is also part of the test." Naruto smiled and nodded a couple of times.

"So alls we need is to go first and we're set!"

"Wrong!" Lee said.

"Wha-"

"Let me explain!" Lee held up his hand to stop Naruto's question. "Are you more afraid of a trap set up by already skilled Jonin or Chunin, or by Genin?"

"Well, the Jonin of course!" Naruto stated obviously.

"Exactly. The groups that go in front of us will undoubtedly set off those traps. Meanwhile, they themselves will be setting up their own. That means the later we go, the more troublesome traps will be taken care of and we will only have to deal with the poorly constructed traps instead." Lee summed up for his younger teammate.

"Man, you really got it all figured out! I hope Hinata knows that." Naruto looked back to his girlfriend who was still in line.

"I am sure she does." Lee answered.

After what seemed like an hour of waiting, Hinata finally showed up with their numbers.

"I got us third place and door number one. That's the door we came through. Three is the last place by the way."

Lee gave her a thumbs up. "Nice work, Hinata! That was the best outcome we could have hoped for!"

"Not entirely..." Hinata's hushed whisper caused them to lean slightly towards her in concern.

"What do you mean? What is wrong?" Lee asked, his bushy brows furrowed.

"The Sunagakure team is the team to go right before us. There is no telling what they are capable of. Especially Gaara." Hinata was peering nervously at the Suna team the whole time she talked.

"We are just going to have to try. Right, Naruto?" Lee nudged his best friend lightly, ripping him from whatever thoughts he was trapped in.

"Yeah, definitely." Naruto nodded his head vigorously, as if to convince himself.

"Alright, punks! The first teams line up in front of your doors! You got one minute!" The teams began scurrying to get to their places.

Soon all the motion stopped as the groups got into their respective lines. Zabuza watched it all with mild amusement. It felt really good to be giving orders again. He looked down to his watch.

"The doors will open in three, two, one!" One second later and all the doors swung instantaneously open. The groups in front ran through. The doors swung shut behind them. Everyone in the room shuffled forward slightly. The room was now deafly silent. No one was making a noise at all.

Naruto fidgeted nervously. Gaara was only a few feet away from him and the whole time he was staring at him with a murderous gaze. Naruto didn't understand it, what was it about him that Gaara wanted to kill so bad? Was it cause he had a demon too?

Zabuza's voice came out monotonously as he called out five minutes for the next team. Then one minute. Thirty seconds. Ten seconds. One Second. The door would swung open and then the next team ran through. Naruto breathed out a sigh of relief as Gaara's murderous gaze was finally off of him. Zabuza's voice called out five minutes for the last team. Only forty-eight teams had made it to the top of the building and now only sixteen of those teams had left to go.

After calling off thirty seconds, Zabuza walked towards Guy's team. "Listen you brats." He whispered quietly. "As a proctor I can't show any favoritism here, but just know I'm pulling for you guys. After some of the shit you've been through I know you guys are ready for this!" Without waiting to hear a response he took a couple of steps back.

"Three." The group looked to each other and nodded.

"Two." They all turned their attention to the door.

"One." The whole room held its breath as the last groups prepared to enter. The doors swung open and with Hinata in the lead they charged in.

They ran quickly to the edge of the steps when Hinata stopped short. "What's wrong, Hinata? A trap?" She shook her head.

"My Byakugan is useless here. This mist must be enhanced somehow. We'll have to proceed without the use of my eyes." The other two nodded. "I still remember the route we took so that won't be a problem, we just won't see any of the traps until we're on top of them."

"Bring them on!" Naruto shouted and formed the ram seal. Three clones popped into existence. "Charge forward guys! We don't have all day!" The clones nodded and took off down the stairs.

"When you guys, reach the bottom go right!" Hinata shouted after them.

"Rog-" Three popping sounds were heard before they were able to finish speaking.

"Jump! It's a tripwire!" Naruto shouted as he formed three more clones. They all jumped just in time and cleared the first obstacle. They then instantly turned right with the clones staying several steps ahead of them.

"Some kind of liquid!" Naruto shouted as one of his clones slipped and fell over a pool of something. The whole group stopped slightly to observe what it was they had slipped on. Their eyes widened as they realized what it was. Blood.

The dangerous reality of the exam was now starting to sink in.

"The bodies are no where in sight. The clean-up crew must move fast." Lee observed as they all cautiously stepped around the the pool of blood. Once past, Naruto created three more clones and they were off again.

Down, left, right, left forward, up, right, down.

The three of them continued to sprint through the obstacles with ease as Hinata ordered the clones forward who would then trip the traps. Before they could even reset they would be past that trap and on their way to the next one.

"This is cake! We've got this!" Naruto shouted happily. His teammates both gave small smiles. It was their luck that their skills played out perfectly for this first exam. The biggest concern was, they had yet to come across a trap of any kind set by the Sand Siblings. Suddenly, Naruto skid to a stop as he felt his clones pop.

"What?" Lee asked excitedly. "What kind of trap was it?"

Naruto slowly shook his head. "It wasn't a trap...more like..." A figure lunged out of the mist at them. "...a person!" Naruto pushed both his teammates into the wall and then dropped down just as the figure flew over his head.

"Did someone stay behind?" Hinata shouted as she begin to move forward. She was forced to roll out of the way as a group of kunai flew at her. They thunked loudly against the wooden walls.

"Impossible! It must be one of the examiners!" Lee shouted as he jumped in the air and delivered a spinning kick. The figure blocked his kick with its arm and pushed Lee back, smashing him against the wall. "These close quarters are not helping us!"

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Naruto shouted as three clones appeared and tackled the figure to the ground. The three clones wrestled around with it for a few moments before it finally lay motionless on the ground. "Who are you?" Naruto shouted as he bent down to examine it. He gasped in surprise when he got close enough.

"What do you see, Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked as she also began to lean closer.

"It...It's a puppet." Naruto mumbled, confusion evident in his voice.

The sound of something wooden dropping on the floor reached their ears a second later. They all looked down to see a small wooden ball had dropped from the puppets mouth. On the ball was one simple word.

Explode.

"Oh crap!" Naruto shouted as he jumped backwards. He wasn't fast enough as the explosion went off and the flames engulfed the entire floor. Fortunately for him and Hinata, Lee was fast enough. He had abandoned his weights and literally dragged them down the nearest flight of steps. "Nice one...Bushy Brow." Naruto was still gasping for breath. He was shocked they had survived that at all.

"Zabuza-san said their traps aren't meant to kill. If I had to guess, I would say the Suna team is responsible for that." Hinata stumbled up to her feet and took a couple steps forward before shaking her head. "This is the wrong way."

"Sorry, I took us to the closest escape I could." Lee began to make his way back up the stairs, followed by both his teammates. The sound of something massive sifting behind them caught all their attention.

"Ohh...what now?" Naruto groaned as he turned a squinted into the thick mist. They didn't have to wait long. A moment later and a giant wave of sand that took up the whole hallway came crashing into view.

"Run!" Hinata shouted unnecessarily. All three of them had all ready taken off. Hinata and Naruto had dropped their weights in the process.

"Hinata, lead the way!" Lee shouted as he slowed down just a fraction so she was in front.

"What about the traps?" She shouted not bothering to stop as she slid around a corner and kept on sprinting, both teammates hot on her tail.

"Screw the traps!" Naruto was looking behind them. The sand was gaining on them. "We'll just have to be faster than the traps! That sand is gonna kill us!" They all began descending another set of stairs.

"This is the third floor! We are almost done!" Hinata shouted as she rounded yet another corner and continued to run. The sand was still roaring loudly behind them. "At the end of this hall is another set of stairs!" She shouted before just a moment later she ran smack into a wall. She bounced backwards and fell onto her butt. Naruto and Lee did the same thing a moment later.

"What the hell? Where are the stairs?" Naruto's voice came out nasally, he had a feeling he had just shattered his nose.

"That's not possible! I know we took the right way!" Hinata didn't understand what was happening. Could the route have changed? But it was the same all the way up until now.

"The sand!" Lee shouted as he turned around. It was just a second away from smashing into them.

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Naruto created so many clones that they instantly got jammed together in the hallway and successfully made a barrier between them and the sand just in time. It smashed into his clones and wasn't able to continue any further.

"Good thinking, Naruto." Lee let out a breath of relief.

"My clones won't last long before the sand crushes them. We need to get out of here." Naruto stumbled back up to his feet.

"No, this isn't right!" Hinata suddenly shouted as she smashed her hand against the wall. "There isn't an exit here at all."

"Wait, so you're saying we're in a dead-end?" Naruto asked exasperated as he began feeling around at the walls. There wasn't an exit on any of the three remaining sides.

Hinata crumpled to her knees. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry." She whispered. She had been so sure she had been leading them the right way.

"Hinata..." Naruto took a step towards her to comfort her and as he did he noticed the sand was beginning to leak through.

"Hey, do you guys hear that?" Lee said quietly. Both Naruto and Hinata quit moving.

"Yeah, it sounds like gears are turning…beneath us." All three of them went to move just a second too late. The floor opened and they all fell down into the mist.

"Oww…my head!" Naruto slowly stood up. "You guys okay?" Naruto looked around. He didn't hear anything. "Guys? Bushy Brow? Hinata?" Naruto felt around to see if they were still unconscious.

"Stay away from him!" Naruto jerked back suddenly. Who said that? It sounded familiar but it wasn't one of his teammates. Was someone else here?

"Don't get near my child! You demon!"

"Why are you even alive? Just die!"

"Give back my son!"

The voices started coming from everywhere. Some were just little whispers but others were practically shouts. Naruto realized all too well where they came from now. His past.

"Is that the kid? Yeah, he's the only one who didn't pass. Can you picture What would happen if they let that demon become a ninja!"

Naruto grit his teeth. "Shut up and say it to my face!"

"Naruto, you killed Iruka's parents! You're the Kyuubi no Yoko!"

"That's not true!" Naruto whirled around in the mist. No one was there.

"Run away! It's him!"

"Get out of my store you little thief!"

"Stop it!" He roared while covering his ears. "Just leave me alone!"

The sound of a window shattering could be heard. "That's what you get! Just leave already!"

Naruto hunched himself onto the ground. "Please, just stop! I don't want to hear this!"

"You have no friends! No one wants you!"

"You don't know what your talking about!" Naruto took his hands off his ears and stood back up. "I do have friends! I have people who care for me! People who love me!"

"Everyone thinks you should die."

"What do you know?" Naruto whispered to himself.

"You're a monster!"

"My life may have been crap at one point but it's different now." Naruto's eyes steeled as he faced the onslaught of voices.

"You are worthless." The voices were getting quieter.

"I have Guy-sensei who told me that he values my struggle to keep fighting."

"No one would care if you disappeared."

"Bushy Brow cried for me when he thought I was dying."

"You're all alone."

"Haku has shared a pain similar to mine. He understands me."

"No one loves you." They were barely louder than a whisper now.

"Hinata does. And I'm glad I found out. I couldn't ask for a better girlfriend!"

The voices stopped altogether. The room started shifting again and Naruto started feeling incredibly light headed. He slipped down to the floor and everything went white for a second.

"Naruto!"

"Naruto-kun!"

Naruto slowly opened his eyes. He was still in the mist. But Lee and Hinata were here now. "What happened? The sand!" He shot up to a sitting position.

"When we fell we got caught in a genjutsu. The sand did not follow us down." Lee explained. He and Hinata each grabbed one of Naruto's arms.

"A genjutsu, eh?" Naruto let them each pull him up.

"Are you okay, Naruto-kun?" The boy in question smiled at his girlfriend.

"Yeah. I'm just thinking about how I have such great friends." Hinata blushed lightly and smiled back.

"Hate to break this up, but we are on a time crunch here." Lee waved his hand to get their attention. "Hinata do you know how to get out of here?"

Hinata's smile dropped as she turned to Lee. "There are two doors on either side of this room."

"What, but which one is the right one?" Naruto looked back and forth. The mist down here wasn't nearly as thick and he could make out the doors on either end.

Hinata shook her head. "I don't know. That fall completely threw off my sense of direction."

"Well what happens if we pick the wrong door?" Naruto could just hear the clock ticking in his head.

"We probably fail and we might even die." Lee rubbed his chin as he also gazed between the two doors.

"That's bull. There's no logic to this last trick! It's just chance!" Naruto shouted.

"Zabuza did say luck was part of being a Shinobi. Maybe this is what he really meant." Lee turned his attention back to Hinata. "You've gotten us this far. Whatever door you choose, I'll follow behind you without hesitation."

"M-me?" Hinata stuttered for the first time in a long time.

"Bushy Brow is right! It's all up to you Hinata." Naruto also turned to her.

"But...I..." Hinata looked back between her teammates and the doors. Finally, a look of calm began to settle over her. "Alright, then I say we do this one." Hinata turned to her left and walked right for the door. Naruto and Lee followed her without question.

She grabbed onto the handle and looked at her teammates. When they gave her the nod, she swung the door open. Bright, light white poured into the room, destroying the mist and temporarily blinding the group. With their arms held in front of their eyes they walked forward...

...and out into the street. Just in front of them they saw a small group of Shinobi gathered in front of a podium.

"Did we make it?" Naruto asked as they started to approach a crowd of other shinobi who had passed.

"Ten seconds left until the last group's time has expired!" A voice shouted as if to answer Naruto's question.

"Group one! Over here!" They turned to see a chunin waving them over. They did as he asked. "Congratulations on passing the first exam. Is it Rock Lee, Hyuuga Hinata, and Uzumaki Naruto?" He peered at the three.

"That's us!" Lee said proudly as he grabbed onto his teammates shoulders.

"Alright, well you guys can go over there as you wait for the second exam to start." He gestured to the group of other shinobi who had passed.

"Alright! Yeah, we passed!" Naruto jumped for joy and started running towards the group.

"Hey, Naruto! Over here!" Choji shouted while waving his arms. Naruto made a straight beeline for Team Ten. Lee and Hinata of course followed him.

"Hey you guys passed too!" Naruto shouted as he ran up to the group.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Ino huffed. "Of course we passed! All that extra work out your sensei has been giving Shikamaru hasn't been for nothing! We really would have been in trouble if he was in the shape he used to be in."

"Troublesome…" Was the lazy boy's only response.

"Okay, maggots! Time is up!" Zabuza once again stood in front of all the assembled participants. "You have all passed and will be moving onto the second part of the exam! Now before that, let me explain to you what this was really testing!"

"You mean luck wasn't all of it?" Came a sarcastic voice that sounded an awful lot like Kiba's.

"I can still fail your ass if I want, so watch it!" Zabuza retorted quickly. "Luck was a part of it. But it was also testing decisiveness, ability to use your senses, other than sight, and to see how well you deal with traps! It was also to test your self-esteem! Do you believe in yourself enough to push forward? Because if you don't believe in yourself, how can others believe in you?"

"That explains the genjutsu." Lee mumbled. Naruto could only nod in agreement. Lee and Hinata must have heard some pretty nasty things too. They all had gone through so much to prove themselves. Soon they would show the world their results.

"Now I shall begin explaining the Second Exam!"

"Isn't that my job, Zabuza-san?" The man in question turned an annoyed eye to his left as an ice mirror formed. Everyone stared in amazement as a boy stepped outside of it.

"Alright, seriously, what the hell?" Naruto roared.

"He's still a Genin for crying out loud!"