Chapter 28

AN: Hello my peeps…. Is what I'd like to say. I am deeply sorry for making y'all wait so long, it's just I've been experiencing writer's block and then not to mention school and friends. I'm attempting to keep to the schedule, but please be patient. It's been written for over a week and then I forgot it (more on that at the end).

I understand you are all dedicated and I appreciate that, just please stop haggling me for longer chapters or quicker updates- questions if I'm going to update are fine, but don't tell me to die in a hole if I say I can't make them longer (looking at you, a person who PM'd me…I will be the better person and not say who they are but I was tempted to).

Anyways, time to continue the chunin exams round one!

Disclaimer (first in awhile): I don't own Naruto. If I did I would have made a chapter dedicated to the original team seven having a prank war.

Konoha chunin exam rooms, first round, Sakura and Sai's team…

Sakura blinked at the blinding light, resisting a groan from grogginess. However, the vague recollection of being drugged sprung the genin into action, reaching for scalpel and kunai as she crouched, before cursing as she realized all her weapons were taken. Sharp eyes darted around to take in their surroundings- a classroom, the very one she used to hide out in to read fantasy novels- before Sakura's eyes rested on what made her blood run cold.

Sai, her teammate and almost friend, was bound and hung from the ceiling, a strange purple seal on his forehead. Despite the situation he stared calmly back at her, always the stoic shinobi.

'Shoot! The Reaper poison seal. But why would Sai have one?" Sakura wondered, before a grunt drew her focus to behind.

An Iwa genin was glaring back at her from the same position, the purple seal angrily glaring as well.

"Get me down from here, Konoha scum, before I kill like my parents killed your kind in the last war!" The enemy male barked, struggling against what Sakura recognized as chakra ropes- expensive binding that kept a target's chakra at civilian levels of usefulness.

In other words, useless.

Just then a paper floated down lazily with a tiny needle taped on, it's message able to turn the feisty former fangirl sheet white.

This needle has enough antidote for one person. You have until the Reaper poison seal disappears- then they die.

Choose. Allow the enemy to die by poison or let your teammate die. Try to leave without choosing and all of you will be forbidden from ever becoming chunin.

With the message in an angry red, prompting her to choose, Sakura did the only thing she could do.

"Oh yeah? This petty attempt at a loyalty test won't stop me, CHA!" The up and coming medical prodigy screamed at the ceiling angrily, fist shaking with wrath.

Meanwhile, with Naruto…

Naruto, sitting in an observation room amongst other ANBU, sweat-dropped at his former classmate's response to what would technically be an ANBU absolute loyalty evaluation.

Of course in ANBU, they actually wanted the enemy to be killed- no mercy to other villages and all that, not just left at the mercy of a fake seal. The masked blonde shuddered at the memory of Dragon happily recounting his own absolute loyalty test. This particular one, however, was taken down after his father was killed, as failing to save a teammate- even if it was just a fake poison- was deemed too traumatic when they really just needed bodies on the ground in the wake of Kurama's wrath.

Not my fault you humans can't survive a little pat from my tail. Kurama scoffed. Naruto bristled at his partner.

'Shut it, fuzz butt. In what universe could ANTONE survive a tail of pure malice slapping them miles away? Or a Bijudama at point blank?'

…Good point. Now quiet sapling; The great Kurama is trying to Photosynthesize.

'N-nani?!' Naruto thought incredulously. He was tempted to check himself for genjutsu until Kurama gave a mental head pat through the seal.

Shh…

"Mouse, quit spacing out; it's prime entertainment!" Hikaru whispered next to him, looking at the screen of the genin rooms giddily from behind the mask.

"Ooh, next up is the Uchiha team; this ought to be good." A random ANBU added from another place in the room.

Sasuke Uchiha's room…

Sasuke Uchiha was having a no good, very bad day.

Why, you may ask?

Well, if he had to put it into to words, the biggest annoyance for him was the two Kumo kunoichi staring back at him as he was tied up and feeling rather ill.

"I demand you let me down." He grunted. It was much less haughty than Sasuke BS- before Sakura. The 'last' Uchiha had learned his attitude had consequences amongst women, and kunoichi were the worst of them all.

'If I get out of this alive, I'm never marrying a kunoichi- screw having strong children if it means I die at every mood swing!'

The two Kumo genin tilted their heads at what appeared to be a no name genin demanding them- one the former kage's great niece and the other part of the Yotsuki clan, Kumo's most loyal clan since the village's founding years. Giving a side eye to her teammate, Yuzu Yotsuki smirked.

"Ne, Saki, what should we do with him? I mean, he is rather rude for a clan less genin." Yuzu asked, her standard Kumo shinobi attire proudly carrying the symbol of her clan.

"I'm not a nobody! My name is Sasuke" Here Sasuke stopped his indignant retort, as he had foregone his clan attire for the exam at Naruto's 'suggestion'. The Uchiha still shivered at how the blonde had woken him up at two am over a week ago with a ghastly face illuminated from a flash light and a demonic voice…

Flashback!

"Hello, Sasuke-chan. Lovely evening, isn't it?'

Sasuke balked at the sight before him- Naruto, looking worse than a demon with his mask pulled down and teeth barred, was talking as if they were old friends who bumped into each other in a shop.

"W-what the hell, Naruto! You can't just barge in here and'' A piece of paper with a seal was slapped over Sasuke's mouth and he suddenly couldn't move or speak.

"Listen here, Sasuke," Naruto said softly. "The chunin exams are not a time to be an Uchiha- for your sake, I would suggest going as just Sasuke, not Uchiha. If you choose to not listen to my friendly suggestion…."

Flashback end….

Sasuke just shivered at the threat that had followed, not noticing how it was a sign of fear to the Kumo genin in front of me.

The newly named Saki simply rolled her eyes and pulled her short, plain, chocolate hair into a messy bun as she thought about the note.

'I'm instructed to get the other part of the code from this kid? It wasn't on him when he was knocked out. I have to get the code for Yuzu's sake. She has to pass this.' Saki hmm'd, thinking back to the note that she still hadn't shown her teammate:

This is your team. Each of the others are in possession of one third of the password for the door. The door will only open for one person to get through- try to fit everyone through and you will all be barred from being chunin ever again.

'So far I have my code, 127, and Yuzu's from when she was still asleep, 721. Now for this 'Sasuke' kid.'

Making a decision, Saki chopped her teammate's neck, making sure the now sleeping girl crumpled to the ground safely. With dull eyes that hid intelligence and loyalty, Saki turned to the one with supposedly the last piece to the puzzle.

"I'm going to say this only one; give me your code or I will strangle you with the rope you hang from. Tell me where you hid yours, as I've checked everywhere on you."

Sasuke glared back, missing the connotations of her last statement.

"I don't have any 'code' Kumo trash."

"So…the hard way then; whatever it takes I guess." Cracking her knuckles Saki inched towards her opponent.

With Team Sound and Gaara (the still psycho Jinchuuriki)…

Gaara stared at his note impassively, before turning to the two Ota genin, both terrified.

"Your codes?" He intoned with a hint of bloodlust.

Dosu and Kin, two known spies of Orochimaru, felt their knees quaking at the demon they were supposed to be working with.

"H-h- here, Gaara-sama. We only have one part; the other is missing." Dosu said. Kin had given her slip of 127 instantly, but Dosu himself had no such paper.

"Give me the code or I will feed you to mother." The Jinchuuriki promised as sand rose up.

Kin, ever the more tech savvy one, took one look at the door, however, and gasped.

"Wait, Gaara- sama!" She begged as sand was wrapping around her. "I can prove to you why you should keep us alive and why we will all pass this round- together. You let us live and I can help you have more people to kill than just us two."

"…I'm listening." Gaara finally said, the last rational part reminding him he had a mission to complete. Despite all appearances, Gaara knew when to listen to orders- killing things was much easier. To have technical allies dangle a carrot in front of his- or rather his 'mother's' - blood lust face was too good to pass up.

"Y-you see, there is no third code. In fact, those numbers are meaningless. The three parts are our chakra signatures."

With Naruto…

Sick of just sitting and watching for entertainment, Naruto carefully landed next to Ibiki, who was observing each room intently, taking detailed notes.

"Ibiki-sama, may I ask a question?" Naruto asked, careful to not disrupt the proctor's concentration. Ibiki gave a side eye.

"Hmm ask quickly then leave, Mouse-chan." Ignoring the jab, Naruto took a breath.

"Why the two separate tests? You gave the poison one to Konoha heavy teams, while everyone else got the test of the chakra doors. Why? You know most Konoha teams won't even pass the loyalty test- they're too soft."

"And that's exactly why. We need our chunin ready for war, while the rest of the villages think we're preparing for peace. In war, chunin will leave those who aren't of the village to die. You should know this Mouse, based on that infamous doppelganger mission. To those outside Konoha, however, they will still believe we are about cooperation when the failed genin report to their Kage."

"To be a shinobi…it's all about deceiving them, isn't it?" Naruto whispered while watching Sakura mercilessly leave the Iwa shinobi tied up and inject Sai with the antidote. The pair left the 'poisoned' Iwa genin in the room, who's passing would be determined by his teammate's performance against other Konoha teams. Immediately quiet Shino left another of the Iwa team's team mate to carry Hinata out, while the third one- the lone girl- failed the door test by leaving a Konoha team in the room after having them pump chakra into the door. Granted, that team was slated to fail so it wasn't a loss but still.

Guess only one Iwa team left now. Naruto noted, as surprisingly a single Iwa kunoichi honorably helped a Kumo team through the door instead of just stealing their chakra.

"To deceive is to kill them- if that Kumo team passes who is with the Uchiha maggot, they won't know which way Konoha falls- the path of peace or war. I guarantee that every Kage out there will have war councils after this to decide if this test was designed to show our bloodlust or our hopes to work together."

"And which is it then?" Naruto asked, Kurama listening in as well. Through the mask, Naruto witnessed a sight no one wants to see- Ibiki Moreno, top interrogator, smiling with malice.

"Why, both of course, as Konoha is hoping to dip into both the honey pot and the beehive, maggot." Naruto shuddered and walked away, Ibiki's laugh unnerving his stomach.

'Quit whining; we're going to war- this will make our village seem strong.'

'Oh, our village? I thought you weren't going to ever call this place home?"
'Shut it, mortal; it was a slip of the tounge, nothing more.'

'Of course, of course. Excuse my mistake,' Naruto replied sarcastically.

'Hmmph. You are more trouble than you're worth sometimes. That scarred human was trying to teach you an important lesson and it went over your head like my greatness.'

'And what 'lesson' is that, Kurama?' He asked blandly.

'You'll have to figure that out for yourself, Naruto.'

'And I just hope you don't change when you finally do. Even with your track record, how can one handle what I believe these flesh bags are planning? Not even a demon would think of this. For once, Father, please let me be wrong.'

Those were the quiet thoughts of the ancient Kyubi no Kitsune as he narrowed his eyes through his container's.

With Sakura and Sai…

"You feeling better, Sai?" Sakura asked with concern. Sai, paler than normal, nodded feebly. They were in the hallway, staring at a note to go to the cafeteria to wait for their teammate to pass the same round. She felt bad for leaving the other shinobi to die, but at the same time, Sakura had been taught by Hikaru-sensei that showing mercy to an enemy just left them another chance to kill you later on.

Unless this is just a silly test and he isn't poisoned…wait, that's silly, Sakura. Focus on the next goal.

"Yes, I am fine, Sakura-san."

"Good, you still have that storage seal on your shoulder tattooed on?" The pink haired girl asked, and received a firm nod in response.

"Are you thinking…" Sai trailed off.

"Cha, let's go find that idiot before he gets killed- if it's the same test as ours, another village left him to die."

"W- what's the plan then?" Sai asked as he summoned a brush and ink, letting his creations erupt, ready for anything.

"Screw the test and rescue Sasuke before the poison seal would have disappeared- I would say twenty five minutes if they started at the same time. Your mice should be able to steal from another team their antidote- just make sure it isn't one with a Konoha team."

"…And if they all have a Konoha comrade on them?"

"Then… I don't know, I'll think of something. Maybe we can ask Hikaru-sensei to help. If worse comes to worse, we'll forfeit the chunin exams and take Sasuke to the hospital."

"We'll likely never be allowed in the exams again, you know." Sai replied blandly in an attempt to reason with his squad member. Sakura snorted, her next words ones that would define how the pale and mission driven Sai saw the world for the rest of his life.

"And so what? I would rather die in Iwa than to ever think about abandoning a comrade- sacrifice is one thing, but for someone to choose to sacrifice a human being without that person choosing it for themselves…. That….that is truly what makes someone worse than scum."

Back with Sasuke…

"p-p- please stop! I- I told you- ack! I told you it's a chakra sensing door like my clan had for their vaults! It can only b- be- ack! Opened, if everyone in the room pushes their chakra into it. Ack, stop! Please for the love of all that is good and holy" Sasuke Uchiha gasped before breaking out into another fit of laughter. Saki puffed out a cheek, before sighing.

"It seems I need to get serious." Rushing through hand signs she intoned, "Kumo secret finger jutsu: a thousand years of tickles!" And proceeded to tickle the poor Uchiha some more, until the door burst open, landing near her.

"Get away from my team mate before I gut you, bitch."

Saki crept her eyes up and felt her whole body go rigid in fear. For before her stood a sight worse than any Bijuu: an angry Sakura Haruno, short hair flying and fists cracking.

"Y-yes, ma'am." Saki gulped, glad Yuzu was still asleep and didn't have that nightmare fuel to plague her.

In the ANBU area, with Ibiki…

"HAHAHAHAHA!" Hikaru laughed at Sakura who was frantically making sure the Uchiha didn't have a poisoned seal. Upon finding out the differences in the tests, the kunoichi just dragged all three out of the room and towards the cafeteria, a meek Sai just following along.

"Can she do that?" A proctor asked, grey uniform signifying him as Ibiki's underling.

"They fail, right?" Multiple whispers and hand signs flew, and with each one Ibiki's headache grew. The last one finally made him explode.

"Totally, Ibiki-sama wouldn't let them go after that!" Another underling boasted.

"SILENCE!" Not a single ANBU or random jonin sensei lurking were brave enough to try and counter that command. "Technically what Sakura Haruno did was not against the rules- the cafeteria waiting room was only a suggestion, as long as they get there before the timer goes off in thirty minutes. She and Sai displayed exemplary loyalty to their comrade. Those maggots will pass."

"A-and the Kumo team?"

"Bah, they pass too. It's too much paper work to fail them." Ibiki scoffed flippantly and continued on observing the exam.

Thirty minutes later, cafeteria…

With a large puff, twenty proctors and Ibiki appeared, all intimidating. Ibiki smiled at the sight of only twelve teams surviving, six of them being from Konoha, and only one from Iwa. Just as Ibiki was preparing his epic last speech that he most definitely had not spent hours practicing, a kunai shot through the window.

"Listen up you maggots! The incredibly beautiful ANKO MITARASHI is here for your second- and better- test!" Anko boasted, striking a power pose, dango proudly in her teeth. With a face palm, Ibiki took a breath to begin his attempt to recover the mood of the chunin exams and gather some of his intimidation factor back.

With Naruto…

Naruto had his mouth slightly agape at his rather quirky friend's entrance, when a snap from Tenzo brought him back.

"Time to prepare for the second round. You ready?" Tenzo asked out loud. Naruto gave a tilt of his head to look his captain in the eye.

"Yes, Taicho. I'm ready."

End! Again, apologies, this has actually been fully written for over a week (longer I think) but I had to tweak a couple of things. An awesome reader PM'd me today asking if the chapter was 'still happening' and reminded me. So thanks! Anyways, a couple of things:

The reason they were having the kids get used to choosing their team mates is because it's many of their first times actually being in that situation and Konoha needs them ready for war. The other teams had another test partially for plot and partially because I really wanted both tests. This way, I got what I wanted, and it fits nicely into the idea of what Konoha has planned for war allies.

Wondering about Gaara's team? Well wait and see. Keep in mind Konoha has no incentive to make sure a bijuu wielding psycho is guaranteed to pass onto the second round.

Please…remind me if I get of schedule! I promise, most of the time lately, I write the entire chapter almost and then forget about it. If it's been a long time..chances are I honestly just forgot it in my folder. It's happened more than I care to admit.

Finally, go check out the new updates to these stories as I LOVED them:

'Seals are easy, People are Hard'- slythefoxx2

'Naruto the Scarecrow'- Slizzah

*No, they don't know I am giving them shout outs, I just love their stories!