dopliss: Okay, I promise this chapter won´t be as short as the last one.
Mizuki: Let´s hope not. If you let the rest of the coming chapters become so short, this story will take forever to finish.
Disclaimer: Naruto belongs not to me.
A/n: Remember: If I mess up, leave me a review that states it.
Team 6 were walking along a street, having random conversations. "…And then the guy fell into the hole I dug, finishing the prank and ensuring my escape," Torabu finished his story about his greatest prank, 'The Living Snowman'.
Konran whistled. "Impressive. And you did all that, alone?" he asked.
The cat-boy nodded, and said, "Yep. It took a lot of effort, but I did it."
Sairento then changed the subject. "Torabu, what´s with the seal on your back?" she asked.
The troublemaking ninja´s eyes widened and he looked at his female teammate. "So, you know about that, huh?" he asked.
"Yeah, I want some answers, too," Konran agreed.
Torabu looked at the ground. "Do you remember that I said I had an old sensei?" he asked. They both nodded, and he went on, "While I was his student, he engraved the seal on my back. He said something about controlling my powers."
"So, your rampage in your fight with that Takai lady were because of that seal," Sairento assumed.
The cat-boy was confused. "Rampage? What rampage? I don´t remember that," he said. His stomach then growled. "I´ll go get some food. See ya!" And then he dashed off, leaving his teammates confused.
"Have you forgotten the reason why we´re all here?" the red-haired boy asked Kankuro.
Kankuro placed the wrapped thing back on his back, and apologized, "Y-Yeah, I know, but they challenged us." And then he pointed at Naruto and the young children. "They started the whole thing, really. H-Here´s how it happened—"
"Shut up… or I´ll kill you!" the kid said sternly, yet calmly.
"R-Right. I was totally out of line. I´m sorry, Gaara."
The kid then looked at our heroes. "I´m sorry… for all the trouble he caused," he apologized for his friend´s behavior.
This guy has an evil look in his eyes, Sasuke thought about the kid.
He stopped Kankuro with a pebble. He made it look easy. This guy is one to keep an eye on, the kid thought. The kid then turned into sand, fell to the ground, materialized back to normal, and turned to face his two associates! "Let´s go. We didn´t come here to play games," he said, and the three of them started walking off.
"Hold on! Hey!" Sakura called out to the foreign ninjas.
The three of them stopped. "What?" the girl asked irritated.
"I can tell from your headbands that you come from the village hidden in the sand," Sakura said. "Of course, the Land of Fire and the Land of Wind are allies, but no ninja can enter another village without permission. So state your purpose and it better be good."
The three ninjas turned around to face her. "Really? Have you guys been living under a rock, or what?" the girl asked annoyed. "You don´t know what´s going on, do you?" She then took out her Ninja Registration out and showed it to them. "We have permissions. Of course, you´re correct: we are sand genin. Our home is the Land of Wind and we´re here for the Chunin Exams. Get the picture?"
"The Chunin Exam? What´s that?" Naruto asked. "Well, I´ve never heard of any Chunin Exams, believe it."
"I believe it, alright, but you´re totally clueless," the girl responded.
"Those are the exams any genin have to take in order to become chunin," Konohamaru explained.
Naruto was then very excited. "Why didn´t you say so? I´m so there!" he exclaimed.
The sand ninjas then resumed walking, when Sasuke jumped down from the tree, and said, "Hey, you! Identify yourselves!"
While the other two kept walking, the girl turned around with a smile. "You mean me?" she asked.
"No, him, the guy with the gourd on his back," Sasuke cleared out.
The red-haired kid stopped, turned around, and said, "My name is Gaara of the Desert. I´m curious about you, too. Who are you?"
"I am Sasuke Uchiha," Sasuke said with a smirk.
Silence reigned between the two, as they glared at each other. "Hi there! You´re probably dying to know my name, right?" Naruto interrupted.
"I couldn´t care less," Gaara responded. The sand ninjas then leaped away, leaving Sasuke with thoughts about how strong they were.
"Hey, Konohamaru, do I look uncool to you?" a disappointed Naruto asked.
"Well, compared to Sasuke, you´re pretty lame," the young boy responded, making his idol scream in outrage.
Up on a tree branch, three ninjas were spying on the event. "Nothing unusual, but that Uchiha kid and that sand rat is worth keeping an eye on," one of them said.
"Alright, it is time we choose our candidates for the Chunin Examinations," the Hokage said. "To begin, will those in charge of the young genin please step forward?" Kakashi, Kurenai and Asuma stepped forward. "Kakashi, Kurenai, Asuma, what do you say? Are there any in your teams you would recommend, who are ready for the exam, despite their inexperience? As you know, any genin who has carried out eight or more missions is technically eligible for the examinations. Beyond that, only you can decide if they are ready. Of course, most genin require a longer training period and, at least, twice the amount of missions."
Iruka, who also were in the crowd, thought, There´s no need to say all this, it´s way too soon for their squads.
"So, Kakashi, you begin," the Hokage said.
"I lead Teams 6 and 7. Torabu Maka, Sairento Josei and Konran Reijingu from Team 6, and Sasuke Uchiha, Naruto Uzumaki and Sakura Haruno from Team 7," Kakashi stated. "I, Kakashi Hatake, recommend all six of these genin for the Chunin Selection Exams." Iruka was shocked over that announcement.
"And my team is number 8," Kurenai started. "Hinata Hyuga, Kiba Inuzuka, Shino Aburame. And now I, Kurenai Yuhi, recommend all three."
Then it was Asuma´s turn. "And my team is number 10. Ino Yamanaka, Shikamaru Nara, Choji Akimichi. And now I, Asuma Sarutobi, recommend all three," he said.
"Hold on, just a minute!" Iruka protested.
"What is it, Iruka?" the Hokage asked.
"Lord Hokage, with all respect, the twelve names that were just given was all my students at school. I know their skills and abilities. Every one of them has great progress, but it´s too soon. They need more experience before they are tested. If they try now, they are sure to fail the exam."
"When I became a chunin, I was six years younger than Naruto is now," Kakashi protested.
"They´re nothing like you! Are you trying to destroy them?"
"Well, they´re always complaining about not being challenged enough. Maybe wiping out in the exams may teach them a lesson. A little pain is good."
"Wha- What did you say?"
"Oh, nothing fatal, of course, but seriously, Iruka, relax." Iruka gritted his teeth. "Listen, I understand how you feel, it´s very personal for you and it upsets you, but—"
"Alright, Kakashi, back off, you´ve said enough," Kurenai interrupted.
"On the contrary, Kurenai, Iruka needs to hear this," Kakashi objected. "He needs to realize they´re not his students anymore. They´re mine."
"But, these exams could destroy them, you know that!" Iruka yelled.
"Iruka!" the Hokage exclaimed, gaining the complaining man´s attention. "You have made your point, I understand. Accordantly, I have decided that the best thing to do is to hold a special preliminary test."
"Preliminary test…?" Iruka repeated, confused.
The next morning, two days later, Team 7 was standing on the bridge where they met Kakashi for their missions the previous morning. Team 6 then arrived to join their fellow team.
Anger then erupted in Sakura and Naruto. They absolutely hated that their sensei always were hours late. First thing in the morning, and they´re already driving me nuts, thought an irritated Sasuke.
Kakashi then appeared out of nowhere. "Sorry I´m late, I got lost on the path of life," he excused.
"You already used that one!" Torabu fumed.
"I know this is a bit sudden, but I recommended all of you to the Chunin Exams. All six of you," the jonin said to his students. He then pulled out six pieces of paper and gave them to the two teams. "Here´s your application forms."
"Application forms?" Sakura asked.
"You´re repeating me, Sakura, this is all voluntary. If you don´t feel ready, you can wait ´til next year," Kakashi explained.
"ALRIGHT!" Naruto cheered and hugged his sensei. "Kakashi-sensei, you´re the best!"
"Don´t slobber on my vest." Kakashi pushed his student off him. "Whoever wants to try the exam, sign out the application forms and come to room 301 at the school. It is at 3pm, five days from now. That´s it."
Torabu smiled in excitement and looked at the form.
Torabu Maka.
I, Kakashi Hatake, recommend the above named student for participation in the Chunin Examinations.
Jonin, Kakashi Hatake.
"Chunin Exam. I´ll be up against a lot of strong ninjas," Naruto said. Like the guy with the mummy on his back. He glared at Sasuke from the corner of his eye. And, of course, mister attitude. He then thought about him defeating Kankuro and Sasuke, winning the Chunin Exam, and the Hokage retiring and giving the title to Naruto, admitting he was the better Hokage.
Sasuke just hoped he´d end up fighting Gaara.
Sakura had low hopes. She knew she was the weakest of the six of them.
The two teams then split up and went to do what they wanted to do.
Meanwhile, ninjas from far and wide entered the village, all wanting to participate in the exam.
The next day, Naruto was peacefully walking around, when he spotted Konohamaru and his two friends. "Hey, Naruto! Wanna play ninja with us?" the Hokage´s grandson asked.
"Sure," Naruto responded. "Since I don´t have any missions today, there´s no problem."
A masked and cloaked ninja with wooden umbrellas then appeared out of nowhere, grabbed Moegi, and jumped up in a tree. "Naruto! Konohamaru! Help!" she screamed.
"Let her go! NOW!" Naruto yelled at the ninja.
The kidnapper laughed and leaped away, Naruto, Konohamaru and Udon chasing him.
Up on a high place in the village, Sakura sat and lamented over the coming exams. She then heard something and looked down to see her crush. "Sasuke!" she called in joy. "What´s up?"
"Let´s take a walk, just you and me," the boy said.
"No way! You mean it?" Sakura could barely believe it.
Torabu sat at Ichiraku, waiting to order his lunch. The waiter then came up to him with a bowl of ramen and put it in front of the cat-boy. "Enjoy your meal," he said.
Torabu looked at him in confusion. "I haven´t ordered anything, yet," he stated.
"The meal is from another customer to you."
Torabu picked up the bowl, took the chopsticks, took a few noodles in them, and lifted them up to his face.
Naruto was the only one of the three that could keep up with the kidnapper. The latter had bound Moegi to the base of a tree, and cackled, "I thought Konoha had strong ninjas, but now I see you´re nothing but a bunch of weaklings."
Naruto then arrived at the scene. "Hey, you! Yeah, you, the fat, old guy, what do you think you´re doing with Moegi?" he asked.
"'What am I doing?' is that your question?" He held a kunai at his victim´s throat. "Do you really want to know? If you move, the brat´s finished!"
"Why are you doing this? let her go!"
"I want the First Hokage´s Scroll of Seals. Bring it to me and I´ll let her go."
"The Scroll of… Seals?"
Sasuke and Sakura had walked into a foggy area. "Um, Sasuke, how come you suddenly wanna walk with me?" the latter asked.
Sasuke stopped. "´Cause I want to tell you to give up on the Chunin Exams. There´s no way you can pass them, Sakura," he said.
Sakura looked sadly at the ground. "I was afraid of that. You´re right."
"These ninjas are very advanced and don´t have mercy. If you try to fight them, you could lose your life."
Sakura pepped up. "Sasuke, you really care about me!" she almost squealed.
He turned to face her. "I, uh, guess that´s true."
"Ha, ha! Two sweethearts, how touching!"
The voice came from behind Sasuke, and belonged to the very same ninja that kidnapped Moegi. "Get lost, unless you wanna die," Sasuke threatened without turning around.
"Talk is cheap!"
The ninja jumped up in the air and threw shuriken at the boy, who deflected them with a kunai and ran towards his opponent. "Now I´m REALLY mad!" Sasuke yelled.
"Get him, Sasuke!" Sakura cheered.
The ninja jumped again and threw his umbrella at Sasuke, who threw his kunai in return. But when the two collided, the umbrella unleashed many kunai that flew toward Sasuke and hit him! he then lay on the ground, kunai impaling him all over. Sakura, in shock, ran to her crush´s side.
Torabu sniffed the ramen he held. He then frowned, put the ramen back in the bowl, and threw it at the wall. "What´re you doing?" the waiter yelled.
Torabu turned his head to look at him. "Nice try, but putting poison in my food is a dumb move," he said. "If you wanna kill me, why don´t you fight me instead?"
The waiter then transformed into the same ninja from before, while scowling at the cat-boy. "Fine, let´s go outside so I can kill you," he said.
Torabu stepped outside. "Bring it," he said.
"Don´t just stand there like a fool, hurry up and get that scroll!" the ninja ordered Naruto.
"Oh, yeah, and what happens if I don´t?" Naruto cockily asked.
"Then I don´t think you care much for this girl!"
"What girl? I only see two dummies: you and the one next to you made of straw!"
The ninja turned and, true enough, Moegi was no longer there. Instead of her was a figure made of straw. "Where´d she go?" the ninja asked.
He looked up to see a clone of Naruto with Moegi by his side. "She´s right here, with the greatest ninja in the world!" it boasted.
"Yeah, that´s you!" Moegi agreed.
The ninja prepared to strike, but three clones of Naruto threw a net over him, and all clones jumped on him. Konohamaru and Udon then showed up and hugged Moegi in relief. "Did you get him, Naruto?" the former of the two boys asked.
"Yeah, I got him right here!" Naruto answered.
But when all looked, the ninja was replaced with a rock. "He used the Replacement Jutsu!" Udon exclaimed.
"Copycat! That´s what I did to him!" Naruto angrily yelled.
The ninja stood behind a tree and looked at them. "I see…" he whispered to himself.
Sakura kneeled over Sasuke´s wounded body, crying. "He´s finished!" the ninja cackled. "And that´s how you will end up if you take the Chunin Exams!"
Sakura then sat up and showed no sign of having cried. "Ha! I´m no idiot! I saw through that Genjutsu right from the start!" she said and stood up. "Sasuke suddenly inviting me out, then acting like he´s all worried about me? Yeah, right! That was a foolish mistake! You thought I´d fall for that?"
"Are you calling me a fool?"
"I would if you were here, but you´re just an illusion! The real ninja ran away like a coward, so you´re just the illusion of a coward!"
The ninja cackled and reached for another umbrella. "Are you sure I´m not real?" he asked and threw the umbrella at her.
Sakura just walked towards the projectile and went through it. "Yeah, I´m sure," she smirked.
The ninja cackled again. "Just what I expect from a ninja trained by Kakashi, but the Chunin Exam is more than illusions! We´ll see if you can take it!" And then he disappeared.
"You don´t scare me! Bring them on!" she yelled, but she was actually worried about the exams.
Torabu just stood there, his arms to the side. "Go ahead and kill me!" he goaded his opponent.
The ninja ran toward the cat-boy, and stabbed him with a kunai! The troublemaking ninja then smirked and exploded in flames, searing the ninja! "How do ya like my Exploding Fire Clones?" the real Torabu boasted from the rooftops.
The ninja, still aflame, ran off, leaving a smirking Torabu.
As for Sasuke, Sairento and Konran, they all fought against the same ninja in physical combat, and won.
Later, at nightfall, Kakashi sat on a roof, alone. The ninja that had bothered Team 6 and 7 then appeared behind him. "So, how did it go?" Kakashi asked.
"They all made it. Your teams and the others´. All twelve genin proved themselves ready for the exams," the ninja said. He then disappeared in a puff of smoke, and Iruka appeared in his place. "You were right, Kakashi, they´re good. They´ve all developed amazing skills." But the Chunin Exams can break anyone.
"We´ll see if they can tough it out," Kakashi said.
At a training field in the forest, three ninjas – two boys and a girl – were training hard. One of them had very thick eyebrows, black, bowl-cut hair, round, black eyes, and wore a green jumpsuit, orange legwarmers, his headband as a belt, and bandages around his hands and wrists. The other boy had long, brown hair, white eyes with a slight tint of grey, wore a khaki shirt, dark-brown shorts, bandages around his right arm, chest, and right leg, and his headband strapped tightly around his forehead. The girl had brown eyes, brown hair held in Chinese-style buns on both sides of her head, her headband worn around her forehead, dressed in a pink, sleeveless blouse, and dark-green pants.
"Did you hear? We´re gonna have rookies in the exams. First year genin. That has not happened in five years," the boy with the eyebrows said.
"No way. I bet it´s just some jonin trying to boost their egos," the girl said.
"No, there´s more to the story than that: Six of them are from Kakashi´s teams."
"Huh? Interesting," the other boy said. "Either way, it´s too bad for them."
Torabu walked up to his apartment. "Boy, what a day," he yawned.
He walked up to the door, but when he tried to unlock it, it was already unlocked. Tensing up, he snuck in and prepared for the worst.
"Long time no see, Kitty."
Torabu looked up at who spoke, and saw none other than Takai Ondo, his earlier opponent, lying on his bed. "What´re YOU doing here?" he asked.
She got up and shrugged. "Long story short: You got a new roommate," she said.
"Huh?"
"You heard me: I´m living here, now. After just sleeping outside the village for days, I asked your sensei about where you live. And I moved in, just today."
He relaxed, but he didn´t look any less angry. "And you´re also moving out, today," he said.
She went over to him and patted him on the head. "Aw, don´t be like that. Just think of me as your slightly perverted elder sister." She then gave him a letter. "By the way, here´s your mail." Then she went to the bathroom.
He looked at the letter, opened it, and froze as he read it.
Torabu.
Since your Chunin Exam is coming up soon, I´ll come to visit you.
I hope you haven´t slacken off, you impudent brat!
Signed: you-know-who.
At the end of the letter, there was a sign of a cat's paw imprinted on it. Oh, shit, he thought and let go of the letter. HE´s coming here?
The day of the Chunin Exam, at the school, Team 6 and 7 had entered and saw some commotion at the examination room. Two bullies pushed the kid with the eyebrows down on the floor. "You wanna take the Chunin Exams, but can´t get past us," one of the bullies taunted. "Why don´t you just give up now, before you get hurt?"
"Yeah, I think I hear your mommy calling ya," the other bully mocked.
"Please let us through, we´re supposed to go in there," the Chinese-looking girl pleaded.
The bullies were preventing everyone from entering room 301. "Do you think we´re harsh on you?" one of the bullies asked. "We´re nothing compared to the exams. They´re gonna make this look like a picnic."
"Some of you won´t survive the exam, some of you will be wrecked for life, and some of you may go crazy," the other bully said. "For chunins it´s always life and death."
"You think this is a joke? Chunin are qualified to lead missions. The lives of your teammates are in your hands, so you better be tough enough to take the heat. Little girls like you don´t belong here."
"Real nice speech," Sasuke said. "Now, step aside and let me through. And while you´re at it, reverse the Genjutsu. We can see through your illusion, anyway. We´re going to the third floor."
Anyone except Team 6 and 7 were confused. They were on the third floor.
"So you noticed the Genjutsu, huh?" one of the bullies asked.
"Go ahead and tell them, Sairento," Sasuke said.
"This is the second floor," the mute girl simply stated.
The sign over the door that said the number '301' turned into the number '201'. "So, you saw through the illusion," a bully said and prepared to attack. "But can you deal with THIS?"
The bully and Sasuke almost kicked each other, but the kid with the eyebrows got up, and with remarkably fast speed, he stopped both of the attacking boys by grabbing their legs. After releasing the two, the boy let the bullies walk away.
"Hey, what happened to the plan?" the white-eyed boy asked his teammate. "I thought you were the one who said to keep a low profile and not show our skill level."
"I know, but…" the kid replied and looked at Sakura.
"Never mind, it´s over. Forget it," the girl said and shook her head.
The kid with the eyebrows then walked over to Sakura, and said, "My name is Rock Lee, you are Sakura, right?" He then winked, smiled, and gave her a 'thumbs up'. "Please be my girlfriend. I vow to protect you with my life."
Sakura had an expression of stunned shock. "Definitely… not," she disapproved.
"Why…?" Rock Lee asked in disappointment.
"Because you´re a weirdo," she explained.
"Hey, you," the white-eyed boy asked Sasuke. "What´s your name?"
Naruto was angered in jealousy, once again, because all attention was on Sasuke.
"It´s common courtesy to give your own name before asking for someone else´s," Sasuke replied.
"Hey, you´re a rookie, aren´t you? How old are you?"
"I am not obliged to answer." Sasuke then walked over to his teammates.
"C´mon, guys, we´ve been here for long enough. Let´s go," Torabu stated, and then all ninjas walked off.
The two bullies looked at the ninjas behind a door. "So that´s the bunch of misfits Kakashi kept going on about," one of them affirmed. "Guess they passed their first test and are going for the applications."
The two bullies then transformed into higher ranking ninjas. "It looks like the exams are gonna be fun, this year," the other said.
"Yeah, for us, maybe not for them."
Our heroes then walked up the stairs, all having great expectations for the exams.
dopliss: Alright! The exams are underway!
Mizuki: But who wrote that letter?
dopliss: Read on to find out!