I'M BACK! HERE WE GO, CHAPTER HOT OFF THE PRESS!
Let me know what you think, and as always, I own nothing but the original stuff! :D
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"Welcome to hell!" The scarred man looked around the room and seemed to take note of the various participants scattered here and there. His eyes were solid and unwavering as he took in each face that dared meet his gaze. "Thanks for waiting, I'm the proctor for the Chuunin selection exams first test." A gloved hand flashed out from underneath the trench coat, quickly pointing back towards Naruto and his group.
"Hidden sound guys, stop doing as you please before the exam! Do you want to fail already?" The man's voice as poisonously sweet, and had many of the first time examinees sweating at his cold demeanor. His tone was pitched evenly, and carried no malice, just the promise of absolute and swift judgment if his order was not complied with exactly.
"We apologize, Ibiki-san. It is our first exam, so we might have gotten a bit carried away." The sound group didn't seem to feel regretful of their actions in the least, and many groups sent them questioning glances. Appearing tough was all well and good, but threatening a proctor had to be nearly suicidal. Ibiki just seemed to scoff lightly at the exchange, smirking even at the impudence of the foreign ninja.
"This is as good a time as any to say this then. There will be no fighting tolerated during the exam without a proctor's permission. Further, killing is not tolerated during the exam." Ibiki's eyes bored into the younger ninja's, and his tone dropped into a cold and merciless pitch, "Those pigs that disobey me will be failed immediately. Do I make myself clear?" Naruto felt his blood run cold a bit at this, and clenched his hands slightly.
'Not allowed to kill huh? Guess I'll have to pull back from the wind claws during the exam…crap, that will really cramp my style…' His eyes flashed over and Sasuke caught them and nodded once. The Uchiha would watch out for him during the exam, and make sure Naruto didn't step over any lines.
"This exam gets easier by the minute…" the sound ninja's boast was clear as day to Naruto's ears, and apparently the proctors assistants heard it too; dressed in uniform grey outfits with front pockets, many of them wore bandages across their faces and arms. Their silent chuckles unnerved several of the genin in the audience, and Naruto felt himself break out in a light, cold sweat. Silencing his cohorts with a glance, Ibiki turned back to the assembled audience.
"We will now begin the first exam. Instead of your current seating arrangements, pick up one of these tabs and take a seat at your designated table," Ibiki gestured to tables and chairs set up in the front of the room. "We will then hand out the exams." At that mention, the room fell silent, and Naruto turned a questioning look to Sasuke and Sakura.
"A paper exam? What's that about?" Sasuke shook his head, unsure of how to answer Naruto. He however did manage to flash a hand sign to him signaling a morse code pattern they'd use for communication. Naruto and Sakura nodded in agreement as they filed forward to take their seats. Almost immediately Naruto noted that the tiles were set up so that each team would be separated by a large distance.
'Not sure if I can pick up the code when there will be a sizeable distance and a decent amount of noise as well…this could be a problem.'
Naruto quickly found himself isolated from his group, and upon taking his seat flashed a few looks around him. He realized that Hinata was sitting next to him, and Tenten was back a few rows behind. Hinata stuttered a word of encouragement to him, and Naruto accepted it as gracefully as he could. 'Still weird with her dating my brother and all…oh well, I've got Tenten, and she seems a little miffed by how Hinata flirts with me once and a while still…' Naruto paid the Hyuuga girl little attention as he turned his eyes to the exam placed in front of him.
"Do not turn your tests over until I say to do so. Listen closely to what I am about to say." Ibiki was at the board and seemed to be lecturing with a piece of chalk in his hand, "There are many important rules to this exam, but I'm only going to say them once. Furthermore, no questions will be tolerated." Sakura felt her eyebrows draw down as she heard this, and she sent a meaningful look to her teammates. Sadly, neither turned to face her as she noted their positions in the class.
"The first rule, is that you start off with ten points. The test is made up of ten questions, and for each question answered incorrectly, you lose a point. You also lose a point for any question not answered on the test. So, if you answer six, but leave three blank and miss one, you get six points." Ibiki wrote down the rule on the board as he talked, taking his time to leave each character exactly in chalk.
"The second rule is that this is a team test. Your score will be based off of the combined totals of your teammates. Basically, each team will hold onto as many points from the initial team total of thirty." Some grumblings seemed to go around the room at that and Ibiki turned from the board to face the class in its entirety. "If you don't like the rules you can pack up and go home. None of you brats have the right to question my decisions here." Ibiki held the gaze of the entire room for several long seconds, waiting until the majority of the quiet complainers had turned their sights away from the tall figure.
"The third rule is that during the exam, anyone caught by the testing officers doing something sneaky, or showing any shady sort of activities, namely cheating, will have two points subtracted for every offense." Sakura felt her eyes narrow further and she smiled in understanding.
'So, this is an information gathering exercise…guess it will be up to Sasuke and I to help Naruto…he was always good with book work, but I'm willing to bet that he's not up to the level that this exam is looking for…I know I can pull it off though.' Sakura smiled to herself at her academic achievements, liking the fact that they would be good for something for once.
"If you lose enough points during the exam to have your team disqualified you will be asked to leave." Ibiki smiled cruelly at the class, and his smirk only widened when his exam assistants chimed in with promises to keep watch over all of them. "As shinobi trying to reach the level of Chuunin, be proud ninja."
'Even if we can't get the information to Naruto, Sasuke and I should be just fine…Sasuke can use his Sharingan to copy things from other testers while not appearing to do anything wrong, so it should be just fine…' Sakura felt a steady smile creep on to her face as she was sure of their easy victory.
"The final rule is this: those that lose all their initial points during the test and those that don't answer any of the questions are failed along with their teammates." Naruto felt his skin go cold at Ibiki's proclamation. Sasuke and Sakura had jawed looks on their faces as they stared at Ibiki, though both managed to reign in outright cries of frustration.
'I have the distinct feeling that my two teammates want to kill me right now…' Naruto grimaced as he stared at the sheet in front of him, wondering how he would manage to get out of this one.
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"Well…it sure is boring without my team…" Kakashi grumbled to himself as he sat in a jounin lounge. It was in one of the testing buildings side rooms, a class especially set up for the reserve training core of shinobi who didn't make the initial cut as genin. Kakashi was wearing his standard gear of black long sleeve under shirt and pants, with his flak jacket over the top. His head rested in his gloved hands, with his headband draped across one of his eyes; his whole body seemed deflated with waiting and tension over the test.
"Don't worry, you won't be bored for long." A large man with similar attire sat across from Kakashi, a cigarette balanced precariously from the corner of his mouth. Kakashi turned and gave the man, Sarutobi Asuma, an appraising look. The large man sat across from him on a simple red couch, well beaten in over the years. The room was surprisingly civilian for a ninja village, a plush couch and coffee table set in the center of a room with dozens of filing cabinets, for past tests and the like most likely. The room had a decent view from behind the couch though; from where Kakashi was sitting he could see the Ichiraku ramen stand, and noted idly that the teachers in the village had a cushy gig.
"Why would that be?" Kakashi ventured, his nerves already fraying from the start of the exam. Though his team had a lot of strength as combat experts, their teamwork recently had been suffering, and Kakashi was nervous about that. Beyond that point, there were many ninja arts beside combat that he had yet to impart to his students.
"I heard that the examiner for the first test is Morino Ibiki." Asuma's tone was gravely and non-chalant, but it made Kakashi's hang-dog look only increase, prompting him to glance sadly at his cup of steeming tea.
'Like I need my nerves any more frayed at the moment,' Kakashi thought, forlornly looking away from his beverage.
"That sadist? Jeez, they really do want to put the pressure on this year, don't they?" A woman across from them blinked in confusion, her raven black hairs and red eyes piercing the morning light.
"Sadist?" She wondered casually outloud, drawing the attention of the two male ninjas. She had a body wrap consisting of several white bandages that covered her torso. Red thorns jutted from vines placed all across the surface; Looking over her body was a deadly mistake though, as the eye would be drawn to the thorns, providing the genjutsu mistress a perfect avenue for attack. A red sleeve extended down her right arm, and her hands, forearms, and upper thighs were covered in cloth wraps. Metal mesh armor covered her torso, appearing as a cover across her ample bosom. A leaf headband crossed the middle of her face, parting her hair nicely.
"That's right, you wouldn't know about him yet Kurenai, you being a new jonin and all…" Asuma drawled from the side of his cigarette, not seeming to mind looking over the woman's form, despite the physical risk. Kurenai grimaced at this and gave Asuma a distasteful look, her eyes mostly drawn to his cigarette.
"Who is he?" Kurenai finally asked, trying to keep the annoyed edge out of her voice.
"A pro." Asuma's simple statement drew Kurenai's eyes down in bewilderment.
"A pro of what?" Asuma paused before answering; he loved to draw things to a dramatic pitch, and he noted idly the annoyance his smoking caused Kurenai.
"Of torture and interrogation. Special Jounin Morino Ibiki, Captain of the Torture and Interrogation Squad, and part of the Leaf villages Assassination Squad". Kurenai felt her eyes go wide at the revelation and turned her thoughts to her individual students. Kakashi merely sighed and shook his head, thinking idly of his team's chances.
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'Heh…heheheh, this is nothing, I've been in worse scrapes then this before…' Naruto stared at his page, trying to keep himself calm. He was sure that he could answer at least one of the questions, even if he had never been that good in class work. 'Yeah, I even mostly kept up with Sakura, though she always understood what the questions were asking better than I did…I just need to pick a problem, focus on it, then move on to the next one, right?'
Sasuke worriedly looked over at Naruto, noticing that he was already beginning to shake slightly under the stress. 'This isn't good, I've got to hurry before Naruto slips up. He's always the most impulsive, and information gathering isn't really his strong suit…'
Naruto stared at his paper, focusing on the first question, a simple code cipher.
'This shouldn't be too bad, I'll just try the ten basic ones the academy taught, it should be one of those, right?' Naruto looked over it, trying each one in turn, and felt his stomach drop as he went through the problem.
'It's not any of them…this cipher is way WAY too hard for a genin to answer…' Briefly flicking his eyes over the entire test, Naruto realized that the entire thing was full of questions that no one but Sakura could answer.
Sakura herself was coming to the same realization, though she smiled slightly to herself. 'The rules are two points off for cheating…and we can cheat in whatever way we want so long as we don't kill anyone. All I need to do is copy down my answers, make a quick replacement jutsu with Naruto's test, and finish it again in the time limit…hell yeah, I can pull something off for once!'
Sasuke however was looking over the problems, and coming to the conclusion that he couldn't answer any of them himself either. 'What's with this damn exam, and this surprise last question?' Sasuke looked balefully at the examiners ringing the room, and noticed that some of them even had the gall to smile back knowingly at him. 'It's like they expect us to cheat or something…' Sasuke felt as if a bolt of lightning had ripped through him.
'Of course, we're expected to cheat! The point is to not get caught. I just hope Naruto has figures it out soon. If not, I'll have to switch tests with him and fill his test out for him.'
Naruto meanwhile was stressing over the entire test, and had even started to strain his hearing as much as he could. 'Stupid examiners did something to the sound in the room, that clock tick sounds way WAY too loud…guess it's a basic precaution against listening experts though, so it makes sense…Crap, crap, crap, I don't know how to answer a single one of these questions…Guess I'll have to wager it on the last question…'
Ninja around the room began to put various plays in action; though Ibiki wasn't counted as one of the ones marking students down, he did notice that the majority of techniques were explicitly crafty this year. 'No one went with a simple method, which is disappointing, but there is at least a decent amount of creativity in this crop…' The Aburame had his insects gather the information, the sound ninja managed to quietly pick up on another individuals written movement, and the Inuzuka had his dog bring the answers for him. Ibiki almost frowned at how criminally easy it was for those with dojutsus though, noticing the ease of which Sasuke and the Hyuuga seemed to be gathering their answers.
Time seemed to flow quickly and Naruto noticed that over half the allotted time had already eclipsed. 'Crap, I really need to get these answers, at least some of them…I can't just count on Sakura and Sasuke to bail me out…I need to find a way to cheat without getting caught!'
Ibiki noticed the frightened look on Naruto's face and couldn't help but smile to himself at the blonde's expressive nature. 'That'll cost you later on in life, better to disabuse you of it now…' A kunai flashed out from the head examiner, impaling a genin's paper that had just failed.
"What the hell?!" Ibiki looked at the boy and smiled cruelly.
"You're a disgrace as a ninja, everyone here could see you cheating, get out of my sight…Take your horrid teammates with you." The genin wavered for a second, then nodded and left. Ibiki could only smile at the terrified look that had seem to come over Naruto's face.
Naruto was really beginning to sweat when he suddenly felt the temperature in the room drop. Glancing around him he noted that the dropping temperature was bringing moisture into the air; the whole room was quickly covered in a thick mist and there was a sudden rush of wind in front of him. Naruto looked down and saw that his sheet had been replaced with Sakura and was filled with answers.
"Dispel this mist right now or I fail the lot of you!" Ibiki's harsh cry spread over the class, and Naruto noticed the mist disappearing rapidly. Taking his chance Naruto committed several of the answers to memory, noting the nice advantage bubble sheets gave in this instance. Before he had gotten four of the answers, he felt the paper switch again as the mist fully fell away.
'Nice one Sakura, you really saved my ass there…guess it's coasting on easy street now, we made it through that with ease…' Naruto smiled to himself as he slowly bubbled in several of the answers, making some idle scratch marks as if he had figured out some of the answers.
'That was a pretty good combination there, a hidden mist technique and a replacement jutsu in the meantime…however, her enemies also got a chance to use that opening, I wonder if she realized that…' Ibiki smiled out over the assembly, his gaze resting on Sakura Haruno, Anko Mitarashi's sometime apprentice.
Several teams began to drop like flies after the mist jutsu, adding to the tension of the group. 'Of course, some of those are scripted for the brats convenience…' Ibiki chuckled darkly at the exam set up; with several examiners placed as test takers, he could ratchet up the tension as the exam continued. Before long he noted that sweat began to break out on almost all the contestants.
Despite the commotion of some of his underlings hamming it up for the genin, Ibiki noticed one ninja that didn't seem perturbed in the slightest. Red hair and teal eyes, along with a black undersuit and a strap for a gourd marked him as Gaara Sabaku, the top genin coming from the hidden sand village.
'He's completely calm, not even a tinge of nerves…' Ibiki smiled as he watched the genin perform a cursory jutsu, using the sand from his gourd. 'Not even worried about being caught either, guess he plans to get all of his information in one go…what a monster that one is, his fights will be entertaining…'
Ibiki looked around the room and noted that the majority of the losers had been eliminated and that his strategically placed test takers had been cleaned out as well. 'Guess it's about that time then…'
"Ok, it's time for me to announce the tenth question." The entire group of test takers snapped their eyes to Ibiki and he felt a grin break out on his face. "These are the rules of desperation…" Ibiki smiled at the effect of the words, several of the weaker teams looked like they were about to crack already.
"The first rule, is that you have to choose whether to take this question or not." Naruto grimaced at that slightly, and Sasuke felt his eyes narrow in concern.
"Choose? What happens if we choose not to?!" Naruto recognized Temari's voice from before, her outcry full of anger over the design of the test.
'Guess she's just as much of a hothead as she is a flirt…' Naruto smirked to himself, sure that even if he missed the one point from this test that he hadn't lost the entirety of his score. Ibiki didn't even miss a beat, his gaze going hard and focusing on the kunoichi.
"If you choose not to take the tenth question your points will be reduced to zero. You fail, along with your teammates." Ibiki smirked inwardly as he watched the spirits of much of the group harden. Some of the bolder ones even cried out at him, demanding that he just ask the question already.
"And now…for the second rule…" the commotion from before died off as Ibiki spoke softly into the room. "The second rule, is that if you choose to take it and answer incorrectly, that person will lose the right to take the Chuunin selection exam again." Ibiki watched as horror started to play out over the face of everyone present. "Just to be clear, there is still no questioning of my rules…" Ibiki smiled as the tension really began to set in, seeing several pencil points break from being pressed into the paper.
"What the hell kind of rule is that!?" Naruto smiled as his brother's yell filled the room. "There are people here who have taken the exam before, that's completely ridiculous!" Ibiki merely began a quiet chuckle that had many of the students sitting on edge.
"Well…you see…you guys were just unlucky." Ibiki's smile split across his face, a huge grin that promised pain and torture to everyone. "You got me for an examiner, and this year you have to play by my rules…" Ibiki put his hands up in a placating gesture then, though his smile never left his face. "I am giving you all a way out though…those that don't think they are up to it can always quit and try again next year…" Ibiki smirked then, and let his face go silent as he gazed predatorily over the crowd.
"If you decide to quit, raise your hand, and once we've confirmed your numbers you can leave...I guess you could say the tenth question begins now." Ibiki smiled as he turned away from the class, opting instead to pull his lunch out of the drawer. He sat down at his table, and slowly began to eat. The blow that his casual nature had to the psyche of the test takers was obvious; he knew that many of them were going to quit so he was just waiting it out.
'Damnit…I don't want to be stuck as an eternal genin, but I can't just fail Sasuke and Sakura…' Naruto glanced up and down from his paper, his hands tightening around the offending slip.
'I'm not raising my hand, I'm confident I can answer this question…but Sasuke and Naruto are different, neither of them are going to be able to get this for sure…they need to raise their hands now, but Sasuke will be too stubborn to back down and Naruto won't want to bring the team down…' Sakura shook slightly as she thought over the options. She felt her hand inch forward almost against her volition, and snaked her other arm across to stop herself.
"I quit!" The first voice rang out in the room, one of the remaining genin throwing in the towel. The declaration started an avalanche, and Ibiki barely even noticed, continuing to eat his lunch calmly as his smile crept further up his face.
Sakura felt her hand truly begin to shake, and a grimace settled over her features, 'I can't see those two fail here…even if Sasuke's a jerk sometime he's my teammate, and Naruto's like an obnoxious younger brother…hell, they both are! I…I can't let their ninja career end like this…' As Sakura began to raise her hand, she noticed that Naruto rose to his feet. He stood there for several seconds, shaking and not saying a word; long enough for even Ibiki to stop eating his food and look up at him questioningly.
"So, you giving up kid?" That was all it took from Ibiki to have Naruto's eyes snap up to his face; blood-red pupils with black vertical slits bored into Ibiki's eyes, and a fearful presence resonated around Naruto.
"Hell no I'm not! I'm not going to run like some damned coward!" Naruto emphasized his last statement by slamming his fist on the table, a low growl escaping from his lips. As he did so, Ibiki idly noticed that the feeling of desperation had largely left the air, though some did seem to give Naruto a worried glance or two. "I'll take your damned question! Even if I end up a genin forever! Something like that still won't stop me from becoming Hokage, so I don't care! I'm not afraid of you, you sick bastard!" Ibiki smiled at that, noting that the boy seemed to be breathing heavily with steam coming from his nose. 'That one's interesting as well…he speaks up and the entire group, even foreign ninja, calm at his words…'
"I'll ask you again…your life is riding on this decision. This is your last chance to quit." Ibiki kept his face neutral, his words punctuated by stabbing food from his lunch plate, his tone utterly bored at the topic. "Well, it's better if you continue anyways, always useful to have a few career genin out there…" Naruto sneered at the man, and Ibiki smiled as he watched his eyes fade to a blue color.
"I never go back on my word, that's part of being an Inuzuka, you prick. I told you, even if I am made into a genin forever I'll become the most powerful ninja in the whole damn world. Now give me this last question so I can get on with it…" Ibiki smiled, and slowly stood up from his food, moving to the front of the classroom.
'78 left…bit more than I thought would remain, but that kid is something else. Kakashi did a right bit of work with his team. Dragging this out won't change anything, so I guess it's time to let them move on. Hope Anko has those hidden camera's installed, the instructors always pay big bucks for when their kids make it through my exams….' Ibiki stood stone still for a moment longer, daring any of the remaining to lose their nerve yet and back down. When no one fidgeted and all the exam takers staid riveted on him, Ibiki chuckled once, and smiled at the crowd.
"Well said brat. To the rest of you remaining, congratulations on passing the first exam!" Ibiki smiled openly as his words registered with the group, Shocked faces spread across the entire crowd, and flashes of light went off as one, immortalizing the looks of outrage on all of their faces. "And those photos are the perfect piece of blackmail against the lot of you forever from reaching your senseis…" Ibiki smiled at the now murderous looks of his subjects.
"What the hell? What was the point of the tenth question then?!" Temari's voice was abrasive as it grated across the gathered shinobi.
"That's simple, the two choices were the tenth question." Ibiki just smiled happily at the girl, his face pulled into a friendly smile for once. It was both disarming and unnerving to the rest of the gathered individuals; after being scared shitless of the man for the last hour, now here he was being friendly!
"Then what was the point of the other questions, huh?! They were pointless if you ask me!" Temari continued to berate the bandana wearing jounin, only flinching when she noticed that his demeanor had changed again to serious.
"They were not pointless, they had already served their intended purpose before the tenth question…" Ibiki smiled at the lost look on her face and the faces of several other individuals. "That purpose was to test your individual information gathering abilities. First, as the rules stated, this is a team exercise, which puts pressure on each member to not mess things up for the group." Several genin nodded at that description, finding it in line with what they had figured out. Naruto had the gall to smile and put his hands behind his head, not flinching from the looks his cocky positioning drew to him.
"Furthermore, the questions were difficult to a level that would be impossible for almost all genin to answer. Because of that, I'm sure most people came to the conclusion that in order to pass I'll have to cheat." Sakura smiled at that, taking her own feeling of pride in the sensation that she had finished the test without having to cheat on any portion of the exam.
"Basically, the premise of this test is to cheat. To help all of you out we placed a few Chuunin in to the test as well, that way some answers would be out there for all of you to work off of…" Sasuke felt his eyes go wide as one of the kids he had copied from turned and gave him a nod of omission.
'Guess I got lucky afterall…though that does mean he knows that I copied off of him as well…so Sharingan is probably not the most unnoticeable information gathering method, I guess…' Sasuke grimaced slightly at that, and gave the Chuunin a challenging nod in return.
"Those that cheated poorly were failed however…" At this Ibiki reached behind him and began to remove his headband. The motion drew the attention of the entire class; not once had Ibiki touched his head or face, and his eyes and cheeks already had deep gouges crossing his face.
"Because in times of desperation, information is more important than life itself…on missions and in the field, you will be faced with the decisions of risking life and limb for vital information on your opponents…" His skull bore witness to further mutilation that made the group flinch back at its revelation. Gouges were drilled into the top of his cranium, obviously worn in the shape of drills, while burns and laceration marks crossed across the pitted landscape. The skin was puckered and white in areas, obvious signs of permanent scarring.
'Damn…so that's what happens when you get caught, huh? Probably even worse under those gloves of his if that's any indication…still, I'd never get caught, heheh.' Zaku tried to console himself as he looked at the damage done to the Leaf shinobi.
"If the enemy or other party notices you, there is no guarantee that the information is sound. I want you to remember this; Important information in your hands can be a powerful weapon for your allies and your village." Ibiki stressed the point by returning his intense gaze to the room of genin, his headband firmly re-affixed to his head, hiding his horrible scarring.
"That's the reason we had you gather information through cheating. Those that didn't have what it took were swept away in the process." Ibiki smiled and swept his arms wide in a dramatic pose, "But the tenth question is the true purpose of the test. As it's a take it or leave it choice, the entire purpose of the test comes down to taking a leap of faith. If you become Chuunin you'll be faced with a similar situation quite often; if your mission is to steal a secret document, guarded by untold amounts of ninja, will you run away? You could be facing death, yet if you fail to act your allies could die as well? Is running the right choice there?" Ibiki let the words hang in the air, smiling at the serious looks that came across most of the test takers faces.
"Of course you can't run! Those cowards that do don't deserve to be Chuunin in my eyes!" Ibiki scoffed as he looked over the greenhorns in contempt. "The ability to be courageous, and survive any hardship, that is absolutely essential for a Chuunin captain! Those who can't put their destinies on the line, who cling to the uncertain future of 'next year', those pieces of trash that can only make cowardly choices will never become Chuunin!" Ibiki's roaring statement lit a fire in many of the audience, and the man smiled at the result. 'Maybe I should take a stint as an academy instructor…nah, she'd kill me or the rest of the prisoners if I left her alone at T&I…'
"Those of you who have chosen to take the tenth question have answered correctly. You have managed to pass the first examination, and as such can face up to any challenges that you may meet. I wish you luck in your future endeavors in this exam, and in your careers." Glass suddenly shattered as a whirling black tarp came careening into the room. Kunai ejected from it in all directions as the window shattered and a large tarp spread itself behind Ibiki in an impressive display of violence. 'I barely even finish thinking about the devil lady, and she shows up…' Ibiki smirked, though he was a bit dismayed at her perfect timing for arrival.
"Alright you lot! This is no time to be celebrating!" A woman's crisp voice broke over the crowd. She had purple hair, and brown eyes, with pale fair skin. Her torso was covered with a skin tight black body mesh and armor. A black set of athletic shorts hung at her waist, though they were skimpy enough to be scandalous. Armored shin plates extended from black shinobi sandals, and the rest of her form was hidden by a large brown trench coat. Her Konoha headband was tied around her forehead, with her hair pinned back in a military bun.
'Anko-sensei is the proctor for the second exam!? Awesome, maybe she'll be able to help us out in the next one, this one was way too intense!' Naruto practically jumped in his seat at the prospect of having an examiner who's brand of crazy he was familiar with.
"I am the examiner for the second test, Mitarashi Anko! Now let's go!" Ino blinked at the sudden arrival. 'Isn't that Sakura's teacher? Oh man, this is going to be a rough lesson, I just know it…' The entire room likewise seemed taken aback as no one jumped from their seat to follow the brash woman. Ino watched as the woman's face heated at the front of the room, though the jounin seemed more interested in the swath of teams that were remaining.
"Ibiki, you let 78 genin pass!? What the hell, the test must have been too easy this time!" Ibiki shook his head and smiled, pointedly looking towards Naruto and his friends.
"There were a lot of outstanding candidates this time, Anko. You should know, you prepped some of them…" Anko blinked owlishly at that, and when she looked out she spotted Team Kakashi in the mix up.
"Oh good! The kiddies made it! Yes, know I get to have some play time with the lot of them…" Anko licked her lips sadistically, and Sasuke felt himself flinch in the back row.
'Just great, a whole minute into the second exam and I can already tell the proctor is going to make it rough on us since we're her 'favorites'…sometimes I hate that Kakashi took our team seriously…' Sasuke grimaced at the thought of the coming test, but smiled at Anko's apparent show of faith in them; if they were going to entertain her, that at least meant they were finally starting to be worth the Jounin's time.
"Be careful kiddos! Cuz this time, I'm going to cut the number of examiners at least in half…" Anko's declaration had the entire hall up and paying attention, and the snake lady smiled at the reaction. "Ah, your fear is so exciting, the lot of you. Don't worry, I'll explain everything once we've changed locations. Now follow me, your second test begins now…" Anko blurred into motion, rushing out the door. The gathered ninja practically tripped over themselves as they raced to catch up, though Ibiki noticed that Naruto and his teammates grouped together before tagging along. As they were dispersing, Ibiki noticed an odd girl from the hidden rain village, with fans and medical supplies secured at her waist leaving calmly with her team.
'Either they are not worried about being left behind, or they have a very good tracker…odd, I didn't notice any of them cheat during the exam at all, hell not even a sign of nerves from the lot of them…' Ibiki made his way over to the locations that the three mystery shinobi had been testing at, and flipped over their papers. All of them had perfectly filled in answers, but what filled Ibiki with dread was that they were all answered in a way that was not consistent with his plant's answer keys. 'They answered those questions themselves…they also weren't wearing rebreathers, which is a classic of the hidden rain…something isn't right here, the Hokage needs to be informed of this matter…'
xXxXxXx
"Welcome to training ground forty four…or as I like to call it, the Forest of Death!" Anko smiled at the terrified looks that spread over the assembled crowd. Behind them stood a giant forest, the edges of which disappeared off into the distance; it was truly massive with trees taller than skyscrapers, and sounds of various wildlife in constant struggle escaping from their confines. On the border of the forest was a massive fence that was adorned with animal skulls on certain points, and emblazoned with characters for death, dismemberment, and suffering. A little ways away from the fence were several pavilions and watch towers, constructed from wood with canvas tarps for the roof. The ground was a cracked brown color up to the border of the forest where it suddenly sprang into lush grass. The grass grew rapidly as one entered the forest; before long, it was over head height for a full adult, and creatures could be seen moving through the underbrush. A tiger suddenly appeared and slashed against the gate before an electric shock, strong enough to be visible, jolted the creature away from the gathering. Snickering at the surprised look on some of the rookie's faces, Anko enjoyed the moments of fear and let it add to the tension of the test.
"Now then, kiddies, I'm going to explain the rules once and only once, and then the lot of you will get started ripping each other apart…" Anko smiled viciously at the crowd, and smirked wider as she noticed Naruto and his team looking eagerly at the forest, 'Those brats are lucky, they've spent plenty of time in these woods, so they'll be well prepared for it…'
Clearing her voice and dusting off her trench coat, Anko drew herself to her full height as she looked out over the crowd. "Before I explain about the test though, we have a few forms for the lot of you." At that, several examiner helpers dispersed among the crowd from a nearby pavilion, fanning out and handing papers to the assembled ninja. "These slips of paper are necessary for the exam; they are consent forms, releasing our village from any responsibility for injury, dismemberment or death that you might encounter herein," All of the assembled shinobi looked up at that and Anko smirked wickedly, "Oh yes, you'll be allowed to fight in this exam, in fact even encouraged. While killing is not explicitly against the rules, excessive bloodlust will also be frowned upon." Naruto seemed to smile at that statement, and he sent a knowing look towards Sasuke who nodded in agreement.
"From here on, people will die." Anko's tone was casual and business like, with a hint of whimsy to it, "Since I don't want to be responsible for the messy paperwork that could accompany that, I'm having you lot do some before-hand…" Anko waited as the slips were generally returned. It seemed that the lot of them had not even managed to check the agreement terms before signing, something that made Anko sigh slightly in exasperation, 'Kids these days are too trusting by far if you ask me…'
"Hurry up and explain what's going on Anko! I'm getting ansty from that last test…" Naruto had gone ahead and released some of his chakra, allowing his Inuzuka side to come to the fore. The feeling of aggression radiated off of him, and Sasuke smiled in appreciation for his teammate's wild side. In an instant it was cut off though by a kunai sailing past Naruto's ear and slicing him neatly across the cheek. Anko suddenly appeared behind him and ran a tongue along his bleeding cheek, smiling wickedly at him.
"Now, now, Naruto-kun…I know you are the excitable type, but keep that in check…this exam kills the hot heads like you most often…" Tenten bristled at the interaction from a ways off, and Anko smiled at the girl before lasciviously running her tongue up and down Naruto's cheek. She stopped shortly though as an odd figure approached behind her and hander her a kunai from a long and extending tongue.
"Here, proctor-san…I thought you'd like your kunai returned to you." The individual somehow managed to speak despite talking around a kunai, but Anko payed it no mind; the individual was from Kusagakure, who were known for their more outlandish techniques. Anko idly took the offered kunai, and looked around to see that most of the pamphlets were circling back to the examiners.
"Thanks…" Anko slipped out from the position that the Kusa-nin had her in, and made her way over to the podium again. She idly noted that the Kusa-nin wore a straw hat, with a charm for evil marked three times dangling from the left side of the hat. The grass ninja had a purple rope belt tied around her waist, with stiff sections hanging in an upward fashion behind her. This was laid over a simple tan draping cloth that covered the ninja's torso and legs, with a black body suit underneath extending from underneath. 'That one managed to sneak up on me…definitely a higher ranking ninja in this exam…stay safe brats…'
"Now then, I'll explain the rules of this exam. To put it bluntly, this is a survival exercise." She watched as various eyes narrowed in sudden understanding and smiled to herself, "This area has forty four gates circling the perimeter. Each of you will be assigned to a gate and given one of two scrolls, either Heaven or Earth," At this, Anko held up an example of each to the crowd. "It is ten kilometers to the center of the tower, and you and your team will have five days to make it to the center of the area, where a tower is located. The rules are simple; you cannot open the scrolls until you and your entire team are in the tower, you have five days to get to the tower, giving up is not allowed. Other than that, anything goes." Naruto seemed to be bouncing on his heels lightly at this, and he reached back to run a hand over his arrows and bow.
Anko looked out over the crowd, and noted a lack of questions. Almost everyone seemed serious for once, and she liked the sight. "Alright, send a representative to this tent over here and we'll get the scrolls passed out. One at a time into the tent." Grumbles went through the crowd about who would retrieve the scroll, Naruto nodding to his teammates that he would go first. Kiba spotted his brother and came over to him, their Inuzuka jackets causing them to stand out from the crowd. Kiba gave Naruto a high five of encouragement, and Naruto felt his eyes go wide as a scent hit his nostrils.
'So that's your plan, bro…not bad, and thanks for the heads up…' Naruto smiled at his brother who winked knowingly before he disappeared into the crowd, elbowing past a bunch of the people. Tenten approached him, and before Naruto new it, she was kissing him boldly on the lips.
"Stay safe, idiot. I want to spend lots of time with my new boyfriend when you get back alive." Naruto blushed and nodded to her as well, caught off guard by her forcefulness. Several on-lookers noted the by-play as well, though most sniggered openly at the antics of the older girl. Sasuke noted that the black haired girl from before also was paying attention, and wanted to kick himself at his teammates openness.
'Perfect way to get her targeted…I swear, people with emotions are downright stupid sometimes…'
Gaara noticed Naruto from the crowd as the two made their way towards the scroll building. 'I wonder if I can tag him…this might be risky but it could be worth it…' Naruto walked up to Gaara and stuck out a hand in friendly greeting. Gaara looked completely shocked and looked at the appendage in an untrustworthy fashion, like a snake that might bite him at any moment.
"We shake hands in this village to bury animosity. Surely you have heard of the Konoha customs?" Naruto felt sweat bead at the back of his head, but was surprised when Gaara shrugged and shook Naruto's hand in a brief moment of civility.
"Truly, I feel no great animosity towards your team. Don't die in there though; I want to kill you or your teammates one on one, so there's no distractions." Naruto felt his blood run cold at that, though he nodded in a friendly way towards Gaara, signaling a matching interest. Gaara smiled and dispersed into the crowd towards the scroll table.
'Oh yeah, definitely interested a bloodthirsty one there…nice going Naruto…' Naruto made his way towards the tent, and noticed that Kiba slipped in right behind him as well. Naruto raised an eyebrow at that, but Kiba merely shook his head in a negating manner. Before long, Naruto stepped inside the tent, and an examiner in a grey body suit and black sunglasses looked him over once before handing him a heaven scroll and writing the gate number 34 down on his paper. Not wasting any time, Naruto unbuckled his backpack and took out a sealing scroll, placing the item out of sight. The examiner nodded once quietly and Naruto quickly exited the tent.
Stepping out of the awning, Kiba turned to Naruto and mouthed the word 35 and Earth to him. Naruto smiled, and nodded in agreement. Signaling his team, Sasuke and Sakura moved over to the blonde and headed towards their marked gate.
"So, I have good news and better news," Naruto said once they were away from the crowd of genin. "The good news is that my brother and his team are definitely willing to work with us on this exam. The better news is, between my brother and me, I think we have every team in here tagged with a scent marker, so we'll always know well ahead of time when someone approaches." Sasuke smirked at the news, and Sakura seemed to brighten as well to that.
"How do you know that they want to work together with us?" Sasuke's question was bored, though interested in the possibilities that it presented. 'With an additional team of the rookie nine to go along with Gai's team, we have a better than decent chance of tearing through the competition…'
"Kiba told me that he had the earth scroll, the match to ours, at the outset. That way, if one of the teams gets too injured we can make sure the other passes. In addition, it makes it so that we're not competing directly against each other; his team needs a heaven scroll, and we need an earth, so we're not hunting from the same pool of targets." Sakura brightened at that, and nodded to Naruto, impressed with his tactics for once.
"I'm willing to bet that plan was laid by Shino, that sounds like the logic of an Aburame any day." Sakura tensed at the approaching sound of a female voice, then realized quickly that it was merely Ino who was drifting over to them.
"What are you doing here, Ino-pig?" Sakura said in mock annoyance, smiling at her friend lightly.
"We had Shikamaru assign us to the gate just down from all of you, 33, that way we could meet up once we are inside. Shikamaru and Shino worked it out during the second exam. If we all team up, with Gai's team included, we can stomp the competition!" Ino seemed to have a bit of fire in her eye as she said this, and Sakura felt her eyes widen appreciatively at the gesture.
"Mah, Ino, don't be such a drag…Look, you and Gai's team are combat experts, Asuma trained us as capture experts, and Kurenai's team is full of superb trackers…all told, we can easily take out our opponents, and have advanced warning of their approach. Add to that our ability to win non-lethally, and a back-up of at least two teams advancing no matter what, and we have a hell of a chance." Sakura smiled at Shikamaru, and the Nara merely shrugged his shoulders in annoyance.
"Man, that has to be the most I've ever heard that guy talk!" Naruto's boisterous comment had the group suddenly turning and looking at him, with a few laughs at Shikamaru's expense. "While that sounds great and all, we may need to remain split up though…larger crowds draw the nasty beasts out in this forest, so if we group together we'll be a giant target. On top of that, Sasuke and I think we have some none-too-friendly enemies in there…specifically a hit from the rain village." Shikamaru felt his eyes narrow on Naruto's, and Naruto nodded in response to the unasked question.
"We should probably help you guys out with that then, the more people there are in a combat the better off our chances are…" Choji took the moment to look up from his chips, his cloth wrapped hands pausing as he considered the group. The rotund boy had opted to wear his white clan shirt over a green jacket, and had his typical headband bandana covering his forehead. He had black shorts and cloth wrapped around his legs as well, stopping just above shinobi sandals. A white scarf hung from around his neck, and small silver hoops were placed in his ears. Naruto shook his head at the response of the group, and sighed at the non-plussed looks he got.
"Look, the lot of you know that Kiba and I get pretty intense when we use the clan techniques, but apparently I'm a kind of prodigy when it comes to tapping in to my baser nature…couple that with my wind techniques and how Sasuke and Sakura can enhance those attacks, and we're a wrecking force…I'm not saying you guys couldn't help, but until you've worked with us for a while, you won't know how to stay out of the way of our more destructive techniques." Shikamaru frowned at that, thought nodded in agreement with Naruto, quieting the others.
"Fine then, we'll figure out ways to trap an enemy with Kiba and his team tracking them, then bring you lot in for a decent finishing contact. How should we get in contact?" Naruto pulled a whistle from his pocket and tossed it to Shikamaru.
"Kiba and Tenten have one of those as well…I always got the better sense of hearing then Kiba did, so just give that thing a whistle and I'll hear it. It's a dog whistle, so it doesn't make any audible sound." Ino smiled as she looked at the thing, tossing her platinum blonde hair over her shoulder.
"So, why does Tenten have one, Naruto? She likes to be able to make you come when she calls?" Ino asked, a sing-song lilt to her voice. Naruto blushed heavily and scoffed at the girl, drawing a titer from her in response.
"Thanks Naruto. We'll give you guys a call if we need it." Naruto nodded to Choji, and turned to walk towards the gate with his teammates.
"When are we going to get one of those, eh blockhead?" Naruto turned a surprised eye on Sasuke, and smirked in response.
"Hah, like I'm letting the two of you out of my sight!" Sasuke smiled at that, and Sakura gave a nod of approval as well.
"Hey you lot! Get to your gate, we're starting soon!" A chuunin examiner called out from the woods, pointing the group towards their designated spot. Naruto felt his blood spike a bit as he came in front of the metal enclosure.
'First time in a long time that I get to let loose…this is going to be awesome…'
xXxXxXx
Orochimaru sighed in frustration as he slipped inside his opponent's defenses. 'Honestly, what are the lightning village teaching kids these days if their Jounin can't even put up a decent fight…' The snake Sannin smiled as he slashed the girl in front of him across her arm, smirking at the fight that they seemed to want to put up. It had been a while since he'd allowed himself to enjoy a fight, and he was certainly going to be getting his pound of flesh.
The girl in front of him had an Amegakure headband around her head, and was dressed in a black halter top and long skirt, going with her black hair. Green eyes looked out at him, filled with fatigue from keeping up with the ninja legend. At her feet were broken fans with shattered senbon sticking out of them. Her pale skin was marred with several cuts here and there, and her ninja supply pouch seemed mostly exhausted at the moment. Though the headband had said Amegakure, it had only taken Orochimaru a few moments to realize that this was Kumo kunoichi, and one from the proud Jinton, or Swift Release, family. Her teammates had sadly been rather blasé, Chuunin from the obvious brief struggle they put up. This girl though was interesting to him.
"Are you sure you won't reveal to me who hired you yet?" Orochimaru seemed to draw out the words, hoping the foolish girl would retaliate against him once more. While Orochimaru was not the fastest fighter in the world, this girls swift release movements were far from mastered, and so it was child's play for Orochimaru to keep pace.
"Who the hell are you…no grass genin can fight as you do…" Orochimaru smirked at the woman before flashing forward and planting a fist in her gut, smashing her back against the tree. The shattering of the bark there was the first sign that any combat had taken place in the forested clearing.
'I always did value the ability to decimate my opponents while leaving little sign of my passing…' Orochimaru smiled at the landscape, where only the rare spatter of blood had shown any combat had taken place. The girl flashed forward while Orochimaru was distracted, planting a fist covered with lightning chakra against his temple, only to be rewarded by a brutal return attack as the blow went unnoticed.
"Suffice it to say that you are well out of your league…especially for a new jounin of Kumogakure…" The girls eyes went wide at this, and the snake summoner smiled in return. 'Though it is a pain to lose the reputation my actual face gives me, my ability to inspire fear doesn't seem to have lessened too greatly…' The girl in front of him seemed to decide that honesty was the better part of valor, and lowered her guard slightly.
"If I tell you, and tell you my mission, will you leave my comrades and I alive?" Orochimaru simply smiled at the girl, and nodded for her to continue. "My name is Mitsuko, Mitsuko Jinton, of the Jinton clan. I was sent under cover by order of the Raikage. Through our alliance with Amegakure, we managed to insert ourselves as a team from the Rain Village. My teammates and I were sent on a mission to kill or weaken Naruto Inuzuka, also known as Naruto Namikaze at this point in time, as well as test the general level of Shinobi. If possible, we were also to take, either by force or by coercion, Sasuke Uchiha or Hinata Hyuuga, and return to the village." The Snake summoner merely smiled wider at the mention of the Uchiha, and Mitsuko felt her confidence drop. The man had made a mockery of her team, destroying them utterly without missing a beat. She could only hope that her revelation would buy her some clemency from the monster she faced.
"Well…you will have to withdraw your interest in Sasuke Uchiha and Hinata Hyuuga if you wish to live…but other than that, your mission is of no consequence to me…feel free to continue it once this portion of the exam is over." Mitsuko seemed to blink back bitter resignation at that as she nodded her head. "You understand that if you breathe a word about our encounter to the world, I will also expose the entirety of your mission, correct?" The black haired beauty nodded to herself, and Orochimaru cackled at the instance in front of him. 'It's not every day you're told that two kekkei genkai are competing in the same tournament…that the Hyuuga heir is allowed to compete is a grand surprise…I'll have to use this to my advantage…'
xXxXxXx
"Hokage-sama, it is to our advantage to pursue this lead now. No genin should have had the ability to answer those questions, and yet all three of those tests were completed without cheating…only one leaf genin, Sakura Haruno, managed that, and she's regarded as an academic genius in the village, a fact known by several outside sources." The Hokage did not seemed impressed and merely drew further on his pipe. As the smoke filled the Hokage's office, cluttered with paperwork and cabinets, Ibiki realized that the legend in front of him was thinking heavily.
"While academic talent is not unheard of in young genin, your report does leave me with some worry; Anko Mitarashi has already contacted me that one of the genin in the exam, a grass ninja, seemed to make use of a long forgotten kusagakure technique, the snake tongue, and as such has flagged my attention." The Hokage stood from his spot behind the desk, and looked out over the village. "I do not need to remind you that a spy has also been confirmed as being within the upper ranks of our village, as an informant outside the village reported that Naruto Inuzuka's true lineage has been revealed. That mixed with our villages past statements about not possessing a Jinchuuriki might have worried some of the great five." Ibiki did not seem to follow the line of logic, and the old man sighed tiredly.
"If we have managed to keep pace with the other villages, while training and raising Naruto as a powerful weapon, with an impressive lineage, under secret from the rest of the world, the damage that we could cause on an international scale is fairly large. Currently, Iwagakure is dealing with internal struggles that keep them pinned down, Suna is reeling from the loss of finances that come from the Leaf village taking the better missions, and the Mist village is still recovering from a recent civil war…if I was the Raikage, I'd be fairly worried that Konoha could be planning an invasion at any moment, with a powerful force ready to smash down their doors…" Ibiki felt his muscles tighten at that. While the Hokage had been talking, Ibiki had been playing over in his head the image that Naruto had presented to the other villages. A powerful young leader, who is unafraid of challenge, and exudes a powerful level of chakra; combined with a legendary lineage, and trained by the elite ninja of the village, he could begin to see how opposing nations would expect the boy to be a terror in combat.
"Ibiki, I want you to prep the Anbu…this is a trying time for our village, and we need to know if Kumogakure is going to strike preemptively or not…in the meantime, have the sentries push past the normal boundaries of our village…the last thing I want is an expeditionary force getting too close and sparking needless conflict." The Hokage's back was turned as he looked out over the village, and Ibiki had to force himself to not worry for the elder in front of him. Ibiki nodded as he turned and left the room, missing the growing tension and seriousness in the Hokage's face.
'This situation feels like the work of an old enemy…though I'm not sure if he has truly returned to Konoha. This could be most troublesome…'
xXxXxXx
"Troublesome…this whole test is…" Shikamaru was in a funk, and that was for sure. The test had barely even begun yet, and already they were running through the woods of this insane forest, dodging monster attacks at every turn. To top it off, they had met up with Kiba and his group early on, and Ino and Kiba were arguing like crazy.
"Blondes are always troublesome, Ino! Trust me, it turns out I've been living with one for years!" Ino scoffed at Kiba, turning her attention back to the woods.
"Hah, what do you know, dog breath? From what I've heard, you were always the one getting in to trouble when you two were kids!" Kiba bristled at the remark, and Akamaru barked playfully at the pair, running between Kiba's legs. The white dog hair stood out starkly against the dark grey pants and blue sandals the boy wore.
"Can you two be quiet please…we're trying to avoid detection, you know?" Choji looked up from his bag of chips to say that, seeming intent for a moment on their surroundings.
"Hinata…" Kiba's silent request had the girl activating her Byakugan in an instant. The group tensed as the girl looked around them, though she seemed to relax after a moment or two. Shaking her head with a smile on her face the group breathed a sigh of relief.
Everyone nodded and took up a position in a forested clearing. The group had been moving for an hour or so into the forested wilderness, and had decided to stay further out rather than risk moving inward and encountering more teams. Naruto and Gai's team had both decided to stay to either side of the joint group, that way one combat team would always be ready to interfere should something happen.
The sun was already fading towards the west, showing that there were not many hours left in the day. With the ability to stake long distance sentries, Shikamaru was not too worried about the coming night. 'No, not worried for my sake…but Naruto's team will have it the worst…yeah he can hear and somewhat smell trouble coming, but there's only one of him…this could be unpleasant if things go all pear shaped…' It was at times like this that the Nara understood why his sensei smoked; the nerve wrecking waiting game never held much appeal.
"Wait, I sense a group moving against Naruto's team!" Hinata's voice cut through the group as everyone stopped assembling their gear. "I can't make out much but…yes, they have rain village headbands!" Shikamaru felt his blood run cold and instantly realized that all eyes had turned towards him and Shino.
'Great, because we're the masterminds, we get to make the life or death calls…' Shikamaru cursed his luck and noticed that Shino had in turn begun to look at Shikamaru, acknowledging the Nara's tactical expertise. 'Crap…I know Naruto wasn't kidding about his team's destructive power, but is it really ok to not engage?' Coming to a decision quickly, Shikamaru stood to his full height, dusting off his calf length pants as he did.
"Alright, we're not going to interfere right away…if Naruto and his team really get it stuck in, then we will go to help, but we have to trust that if they can't handle it, it's probably not something we can aid in too much…Our job is to provide a distraction, or aid them to set up a retrieval, not as combat support." Kiba seemed to bristle at the description of their roles, but Hinata merely nodded at him and the Inuzuka calmed himself. "For now, focus on setting up camp and establishing a perimeter. We're the base group for the teams, we need to stay focused here." Everyone seemed to be emboldened by that a little bit, and Ino even smiled in Shikamaru's direction, nodding towards the lazy ninja.
'Whatever happens, those guys better be alright, otherwise we're all in serious trouble…'
xXxXxXx
"Stop. We're in trouble guys. Someone has been managing to follow us through the woods, and I've been masking our trail wherever we go…" The comment was quietly said, but Naruto's teammates reacted instantly. Sasuke came to a halt on a tree branch as Naruto stood to his full height. Pulling his bow from behind the back of his black jacket, Naruto knocked an arrow and tensed the string.
"It's someone using a wide area genjustu as well…it's really well cast, I can feel it, but I'm unable to break the effect since I can't target the user." Sakura replied, concurring with Naruto's statement, pulling her own whips from her side. Sasuke grunted in agreement and pulled his tanto as well.
"They seem to be waiting for us to make a move…perhaps they track without sound, so we have a chance to plan for a moment." Sasuke's comment drew a nod from Naruto, who made the hand sign for diversion. The others nodded in agreement, and Naruto suddenly jumped away from the group.
"I need to take a piss, I'll be back in a second!" Naruto's loud cry echoed over the canopy, and Sasuke grimaced at the act.
'Does he seriously need to try and fake for them? They must know that we're not all that dense…' Nontheless, Sasuke took up the role of idly sharpening his blade while leaning against a tree. Sakura for her part was looking over her gear, and seemed to be fiddling with things in the meantime. Both were prepped for whatever was coming, but best to appear off guard to an enemy.
It wasn't long before Naruto walked back into the clearing, a refreshed look on his face. Sasuke smirked at first, but felt his eyes narrow in concentration as the boy approached.
"That was quick, you must not have had to crap too much…" Sakura was surprised at Sasuke's tone; the Uchiha almost never swore, thinking such things beneath his clan status.
"Yeah, guess I just had to go, you know?" Sakura nodded to Sasuke in understanding; the real Naruto would have caught the change in Sasuke's demeanor, and she sent a brace of shuriken flying toward the impostor. In an instant the false Naruto's black jacket and pants faded away to reveal a tan body suit, complete with a rebreather and a black set of hair. Across the youth's forehead was the symbol for Amegakure, and Sasuke instantly recognized this kid as the real deal of the village hidden in the rain.
"Figures, you would know something like who swears and who doesn't…" The genin fired a kunai in return at Sasuke, the shot right on target to split Sasuke's skull. The boy reacted by jumping into a back flip, and practicing what he knew from tree and water walking, used chakra to grab and redirect the throw back at the genin. Cursing as he was cut, the ninja jumped back towards the woods, hoping to fade away from the group. He quickly found an arrow head piercing his side and swore as he fell to the canopy floor.
"Tell your teammates, that if they want to slip past an Inuzuka, they'll have to do a lot better than that…" Naruto growled as he approached the rookie from behind. Placing his hand on the genin, Naruto turned him so that he could smash a fist in the genin's face. Upon looking him in the eyes though, Naruto felt his senses disorient quickly, and suddenly realized that he had been grabbing air. 'Shit! Genjutsu, the son of a bitch!' Naruto grabbed his hand and bit it once, the pain breaking the illusion.
"He got away Naruto, don't worry about it. Though, I think with that, we won't be receiving much trouble from the lot of them…" Sakura looked down at Naruto, and jumped down to join him on the forest floor.
"Still, hate it when they get away like that, it's always a pain." Sasuke nodded to Naruto as he landed, and Naruto pulled out his arrow that had injured the boy. Drawing it to his nose, Naruto smiled as he looked back into the woods.
"Before you go after them, hand over the scroll. Best we keep it with at least two of us at all times." Naruto nodded and fished it out of his pockets. "Don't engage them, unless you get them one on one...we might be good, but you're not that good, blockhead." Naruto bristled at Sasuke's comment but nodded in agreement before standing up. The two looked each other in the eye, Sasuke enjoying his sleight height advantage.
"They can cast all the genjutsu they like, but you can't hide from your own smell…" Naruto smirked as he ran off into the woods. "I'll use a flare if I get in trouble, but these lot seem like I can handle them on my own. You guys set up camp while I'm gone?" Sasuke shook his head, but nodded in agreement.
"Yeah, we'll have it ready for when you get back…the next group is mine though…" Sasuke smiled as Naruto ran off, already itching for his own chance at combat. While he would have liked to have joined in, the truth was that the genin they faced seemed rather weak to him. It would have been a waste of effort to have gone after them, and camp still needed to be set up before dark.
xXxXxXx
'Can't believe I let that bastard get away from me…I'll hunt him down and bring him back, then we can ransom him for the scroll…' Naruto was focusing on the blood trail in front of him, picking up the scent now and again as he moved. Jumping into a nearby tree, the boy climbed it quickly, his limbs sticking to it with ease thanks to his chakra exercises.
Climbing to the top of the tree, Naruto took a second to look over his surroundings, trying to guess the direction of his targets group. Before he could focus for too long though, a massive wind smashed into from out of nowhere and rocketing him across the landscape. 'What the hell is this crap?' Naruto banged againt trunks and branches as he flew, getting banged up here and there. Sparing a moment, Naruto tried to use his chakra to stick to a tree only to be forced away by his surroundings. Suddenly, he found himself face first on the ground, his body smashed up here and there from his flight.
'That was not something a genin could do…' Naruto thought to himself groggily. He found himself in a wooded area, with a large hole behind him. The yawning shape brought back fresh memories, and Naruto quickly realized he was sitting in front of the giant snake hole from his training days. 'Shit…not where I want to be…' A large hissing sound from behind the blonde informed him that today was not his day…
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Sakura stretched from where she was sitting by the fire; gathering the wood had taken no time at all, and Sasuke quickly had a fire started. With one tent for the three of them, one would be on watch while the other two slept at all times. 'Since we're in a combat situation too, we have to sleep with gear on, how annoying…' Sakura had her arm and leg plates on, covering her shins and forearms. Her red battle kimono with the white fringes ended at the elbows and upper thighs, and a black set of battle shorts covered her down to the knees. Her mesh armor poked out from underneath, and she had her long pink hair out behind her. It had grown since she exited the academy and had made its way all the way down to her waist.
Beginning to braid it, she noted Sasuke returning from the woods, a set of rabbits and fodder draped over his shoulder. Sasuke still wore the traditional Uchiha jacket, with arm warmers concealing metal guards on his forearms, and white shorts stopping near knee height. He had black shinobi sandals and black gloves though, the most recent additions to his repertoire since the mission to Wave. She had seen him practicing with the chakra redirection with them, and figured they must be special in some fashion, though she was not sure what yet.
"Naruto still not back yet?" Sasuke's straight forward question jarred Sakura out of her musings and she shook her head at him. "That's odd. He shouldn't have taken that long." Rustling movement came from a nearby direction, and Sasuke and Sakura turned to see Naruto standing there, his face set in an angry scowl.
"Naruto, did they manage to get away from you?" Naruto looked up suddenly, and nodded, his demeanor calm and lightly relaxed. This instantly put Sakura on guard, and Sasuke turned to nod at her, quickly switching his Sharingan on. In an instant the boy tensed and threw a salvo of kunai at the impostor in front of him. The doppleganger opponent dropped the image immediately, revealing himself to be the genin from the start of the second exam, his brown hair and smiling face shining in the campfire light.
"Well well, bringing the Sharingan out so soon against me, what an honor! And it's developed enough to detect a henge on sight, what a useful ability…" The man's voice was silky and smooth, as if practiced by a politician. "Surely you two wouldn't mind sharing a meal with a fellow competitor though, now would you?" Sakura rose from the campfire, and Sasuke signaled to her as well.
"The only food you'll be getting from us, is a fist full of steel!" Sakura growled as she engaged a wide range hidden mist technique, pulling the evening moisture easily from the air.
"What an inventive team you have here, Sasuke…fighting you should prove most interesting…" The killing intent that radiated from the man instantly had Sakura and Sasuke wishing that the mist was not there.
'This is worse than the fight against Zabuza! Who the hell is this kid, and where is Naruto at?' Sasuke felt the telltale rattle of his hands return, and he had to will himself to calm down; a wrong move here would certainly end up with him dead on a battlefield.
"Now…which one of you two should I start with…the pink haired brat, or the main course Uchiha?" A large burst of wind ripped through the clearing, scattering the mist everywhere. The man in front of them had a malicious look on his face, and the aura about him screamed death and dismemberment. Sasuke and Sakura found themselves rooted in place, the fear was so intense. Pulling weapons seemingly from nowhere, the strange man threw them in a sudden salvo at the duo, the weapons moving at blinding speed.
'Damn it! I can't move, my body shut down!' Stabbing himself in the leg, Sasuke felt some sensation return to him as he faced down the barrage of steel. Moving quickly, he thrust himself in front of Sakura, and deflected as many of the projectiles as he could. Feeling several graze his body, Sasuke grunted in pain, but noticed that Sakura was moving again as well.
"Don't freeze up on me Sakura, we're going to need everything to get out of here." The girl nodded in response, and pulled her whips out. Sasuke idly noted the chakra channeling down them, and felt his appreciation for his teammate rise as he did. 'She might not have mastered full control over them yet, but she's at least learning how to control the powers in combat already…let's see if she can make that oil slick more readily though…'
"Twice in one day, people willing to face my fear aura…guess I'll need to improve it a bit…it is muted some from my new form I guess…" The man across from them seemed to be muttering to himself, and Sasuke took it as an opportune moment. Sakura smiled in agreement, and pulled out several small black pellets from her weapons pouch.
"Fire Release: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!" Sasuke roared as projectile fireballs sailed from his mouth, racing towards his opponent. Sakura threw the spheres she had as well, contacting each fireball as they approached, setting off a powerful explosion. Smirking at the combined attack, the two genin did not even notice the shape slip past their guard. In an instant, brutal horse kicks smashed into each of their guts as they were sent across the clearing. They impacted together against a large tree, and the man seemed to shake a single finger of admonishment at them.
"Attacking your opponent while distracted, that's very good. Though not very noble for an Uchiha…" Sasuke spat at the man; he had made it through the combined attack without injury. "Now then, as I have your attention…let's really get down to work…" The man blazed through hand seals, and in an instant, a large snake appeared beneath his feet, "It's time to determine who's the predator, and who's the prey…"
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Yep, ending it there! Sorry for the wait everyone, had to go through the first semester of grad school, and man did it leave me exhausted! Still, enjoy this as an early Christmas present, hopefully get the next couple out to you over this break. Then I'll go dark for a while and pop up again after new years, before returning later in the year. Time for an Omake first though, and then some review response!
Omake 3 Dog Days of Training 3
Sasuke straightened on the tree branch, trying to calm his anger. 'Stupid idiots…why do they spare time for emotions when we've got other things to worry about…must be because they have families to go home to…' Sasuke pulled out the data book and began marking down the animals he saw.
'Honestly, it's like connections to people make you incompetent or something…Naruto's the only one whose ever been able to get that straight and keep up, and even he's going after Tenten these days!' Sasuke took a breath to calm himself as she looked over the woods. In the distance, he could see Naruto and Sakura looking over things as well, Naruto scanning a certain area and Sakura marking things down as he went. 'At least when he's away from Tenten, he can get the job done right…'
"It makes sense to work together on this job. Why you ask? Because you are not a tracker, and I am in need of a strong partner to assist in this job." Sasuke blinked in surprise at the Aburame sneaking up on him, but turned and nodded to Shino. The boy had black sunglasses, a large grey trench coat, and black shinobi pants. His brown hair stood up in every direction, and Sasuke noticed that his hands seemed attached to the inside of his pockets.
"Fine. Just don't talk too much or bother me about relationships, alright?" Sasuke barked. Though he was not sure, he thought he detected what sounded like a chuckle coming from Shino.
"Don't worry Uchiha, I have no interest in relationships much like yourself. My bugs keep almost all girls our age away, so I too share your opinion on the oddness of relations at our age." Sasuke grunted in agreement, and proceeded to make his way into the forest. Shino jumped to catch up to him as well.
"That one makes no sense to me as well. Your clan is a kekkei genkai like mine, and you have a similar cool and detached attitude. So what if you use bugs, they're downright useful sometime." Shino chuckled as well, though he need appreciatively to the Uchiha.
"Your thoughts mirror my own. Though, your demeanor has changed somewhat since you were at the academy," Sasuke looked up at Shino and gave the boy a raised eyebrow in response, "You are sociable now. I think that has something to do with the mitigating effects of being near Naruto." Sasuke scoffed at this, though he didn't deny Shino's statement. The two moved through the forest, working in silence for a while, and identifying the game they came across and recording it. Sasuke paused suddenly though, and Shino was worried he had offended the other silent genin.
"Naruto's strong, and though I still have a slight edge over him, he's getting stronger everyday. He's a good measuring post for me, and he always runs his mouth. Just responding once in a while is nice, and since he's not a complete moron, it makes an easy partnership." Shino was taken aback at the sudden revelation, but nodded towards Sasuke. Sasuke grunted at that, and motioned for them to continue into the woods.
'Maybe Naruto has changed me…maybe I'm more willing to open up now. I know that he and Sakura can help with my ambition, and if I share with them the story of what happened, perhaps they'll understand why I'm so driven…' Sasuke smiled to himself, the first real one he'd had in a long time. 'I probably have to thank Neji as well when I get the chance...since Sakura isn't fawning over me all the time anymore, I can actually get a long with her...' Sasuke felt his smile grow into a natural one, the first one since that day years ago, when his clan and his emotions had seemingly been ripped from him in an instant.
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S'alright! Review comment time! Only couple out there to throw out, then it's on to the presses with this bad boy!
Dark Inu Fan: So, welcome to the show! Glad you burned through all of it as your review says it is at chapter 13! Yeah, I'm trying to differentiate the two forms of Naruto. This one is smart, but not brainy, strong, but not all powerful, and definitely more willing to cut someone up if need be. He's going to get a lot of learning in this next set of chapters though, because up til now he's been able to handle what's been thrown his way.
Hanife2: As for Sakura's back story, I added the abuse to get to her overall character story line. She's going to be a bit of a wild card, so once you get later in the tale you'll pick up why I have her get this back story of abuse. As for the reason I chose that for her as a character, Naruto has a fairly happy back story now, with some bad stuff that arises later, sort of a ghosts of the past thing. Sakura's ghosts are set up to be ghosts of the present, things that will haunt her everyday lifestyle, and Sasuke's are ghosts of the future, namely his fight with his brother. I'm setting up a system of foils here, so each of the three can play off of one another, and I hope it comes across in the later chapters.
Laura-Jean 95: Thanks for the heads up, and welcome to the fic! New chapter here so I hope you return! With this I managed to get through the brutally long and dragging Chuunin Written Exam (guh!) and am looking forward to more action sequences in the coming chapters.
To all the other reviewers out there, thanks for the shout outs and I'll get the next one to you as soon as I can! Hope you enjoy, and until next time, R&R please!