The Hidden Truths of the Village Hidden in the Leaves
Summary: Starting after the trip to the Land of the Waves, Sasuke has developed a sense of overprotectivness a shinobi feels towards their partner and Naruto has to deal with new surprises every day. The secret behind the Uchiha clan massacre is revealed and Orochimaru is scared of one man. ANBU and foxes flock towards Naruto as much as danger does. A whole new take on the life of Team 7 and co.
Sasuke glared and clenched his fists as soon as the words left Ibiki's mouth. Never take the Exams again? That meant they were doomed to a life as a genin forever! And while there were far worse fates, Sasuke could not stay a genin forever. He had a man he wanted to kill and surpass and that was not going to happen if he stayed a mere genin for the rest of his life.
He wasn't too worried about the tenth question, though. Not for himself, anyway. He had found a nerd who knew everything, had answered every question and he had been following and copying the movements of his pen with his Sharingan ever since he realized the point of the test. He wasn't all that worried for Sakura, as she was smart and would probably find a way to answer the question. And if she didn't, it wouldn't be such a tragedy. Sure, she wanted to be a good shinobi and stay in a team with him for as long as she could, but her life wouldn't be all that much different if she could never advance in the ninja hirerchery. She could live a happy life even without reaching too high.
It was Naruto that really worried him. Sure, Sasuke would like to pass the Chuunin Exams now and start a higher level of training, but he wouldn't mind waiting a bit longer if it meant the dobe could still have a dream to hold on to. If Naruto failed to answer the tenth question, the blond would stay a genin forever and a Hokage could not be someone who couldn't even make it to chuunin level. If Naruto's dream was torn away from him, the boy would never be the same. His smile might die and the light shinning within him would be extinguished and Sasuke couldn't bare to see that.
Sasuke would quit the Exams now, for Naruto's sake, if he didn't know that the blond would surely hate him on the inside if he did so. And Naruto's friendship was not something Sasuke was willing to lose.
Sakura was thinking along very similar pattrens. She might not have liked Naruto in the beginning but she had grown fond of him over the few months they had been teammates and she, too, would be devastated if his smile were to disappear. She didn't think she could take it if his bubbly personality were to quiet down and if the loud boy were suddenly depressed. Naruto's greatest power, Sakura had learned, was his smile. Its radiance seemed to melt hearts and give people courage for a better tomorrow. She came to rely on that smile, too, and she knew Sasuke-kun actually cared for their blond teammate, no matter how little he showed it. It was there, she could see it in his dark eyes, and she wondered if he cared at least a half of how much he cared for the other boy. She would have been happy with just that. She knew Sasuke-kun would be able to answer the tenth question but Naruto was a big question mark. How had he been doing up until that point? Did he answer any questions? Was he panicking?
One hand rose up and everyone turned to stare at the boy. He was another Konoha shinobi and he had his head bowed, not wanting to let others see his shame and fear. He wanted to have another chance and he felt sorry for holding his teammates back, but this was the only way.
A second after that team left, a guy from the Hidden Village in the Mist also quit, as did another guy from Grass and then one from Rain. Two more hands joined them, one belonging to a guy from the Village Hidden by the Waterfall and the other from Rock. Another from Lightning quite at the same time another from Grass did. One by one, hands rose and teams left. Rookie 9 and Team Guy were still holding strong although they had some doubt on their faces. It was inevitable for them to have some reservations about their decision to stay, as they all wanted to be top shinobi in their specialties and they could not do that as genin. They would have to risk it and hope for the best.
Hinata was getting worried. Some minutes ago, Naruto-kun's face had gone completely dark and he was shaking slightly. She knew he was under pressure as his dream was a hard one to achieve even with normal advancing in ranks. If he wasn't allowed to become a chuunin and was stuck as a genin forever ... his dream would be dead. He wouldn't be able to become Hokage. She felt sort of sorry for him. She wished she could just help him somehow.
Naruto was having a debate deep within himself. He had seen how many teams were dropped, or rather how many people quit. Add to that the number of people that were failed due to being caught. It was obvious that they wanted as little people to go to the next stage as possible, but being banned from ever again participating in the Exams? Wasn't that overkill? It seemed like too much to Naruto. Didn't they realize how many dreams were put to risk because of these Exams?
"You will eventually have to learn to deal with great stakes and take risks. That's also a part of being a shinobi." Suddenly, the blond remembered Sabako's words from the Genin Games. That's what he had said. Risks. If he wanted to be a good shinobi, he would have to take risks. His dream of being Hokage had high stakes and he was risking his own life every day in hopes of one day achieving it. Besides, what kind of Hokage would he be if he backed down now?
Sakura had seen Naruto's posture and had read his body language and she was worried. Naruto's dream was everything to him and she couldn't allow him to lose it, no matter how unlikely it was to happen to begin with. 'I'm sorry, Naruto,' she thought as she started raising her hand, not really liking quiting but understanding that it was better than for Team 7 to change forever if Naruto can't continue being Naruto due to his dream being taken away.
Her hand was halfway up when she stopped in sheer surprise, shock and horror when she saw that, up ahead in front of her, the blond in question had risen his hand as well and he was shaking as much as all the other guys who had quit had. Hinata, Chouji, Shikamaru, Neji, Ino, Tenten, Lee, Kiba and Akamaru and even Shino stared at the loud genin, not believing their eyes. Sakura could hardly breathe as she stared at his back and a few of the other genin stared in confusion as the loud, seemingly confident boy caved under the pressure. Kabuto just adjusted his glasses and the Sound guys sneered. Kankuro had a satisfied smirk that someone he saw as week was going to be dropped. One of the Rain ninja scowled but no one paid him much attention.
However, Sasuke and the hidden in the nearby tree Uchitachi waited, as they both knew the blond well enough to know this was not a sign of quiting. Naruto was now shivering in fear or trembling with stress. He was quivering with excitement and whatever he was about to do was going to be memorable if not downright epic.
And, as the two black haired, black eyed, pale males expected, the hand came down, slamming on the desk and startling the occupants of the classroom. Ibiki stared at the blond as he looked up with a fierce look in his blue eyes that were burning with determination. Now he was interested.
"Don't underestimate me! I won't run!" The blond yelled and everyone could only gawk at the guts of this guy. Ibiki had to fight not to take a step back at the sheer volume of the guy. He could only blink at him, as no one before him had dared yell anything in this classroom in his presence before. They were usually too intimidated. But this boy ... he was something else. "I'll take it! But even if I'm stuck as a genin forever," the chuunin overlooking the test from the sides and back of the room could only look on in wonder as the blond delivered his speech. "I will become a Hokage no matter what it takes!" Naruto stood up and the whole room waited for what he will say next. "I'm not scared!"
He sat down with crossed arms and a determined scowl on his face. Hinata smiled from beside him, Sasuke felt relief flooding him. 'That guy ... wasn't even thinking of us. Or of giving up. The usuratonkachi.' He had feared Naruto would be too caught up in thinking about Sasuke and Sakura that he would forget to think about himself. Obviously, that's not the case. He hid his smirk with he clasped hands he had been leaning on. He knew he could count on him. Sakura was relieved that Naruto seemed alright and she had a small smile on her face as she looked on. 'That's right ... That's exactly the kind of fool you are.' She thought fondly, feeling her own confidence about the whole situation rising. Well, if he could be this confident and energetic, then she won't lose to him either.
Ibiki observed the room and studied each genin carefully. They were staying. Not another one looked to be thinking of backing out. Still ... "I'll ask again. It's a choice that will alter your life. If you want to quit, now is your chance."
Naruto was smirking now. He was not going to back down. Kurama rumbled his approval. "I'm not going to take back my words. That's my Way of Ninja."
Ibiki felt like sighing. He could see it now. They really weren't going to give up. They were feeding their confidence and determination on the blond boy's words and they were getting more than their fill. 'Huh... What a funny kid. He completely brushed away those kids' anxieties.' He allowed his eyes to focus on the orange clad ninja for a few seconds before letting his eyes rove over the other genin. He caught the black eyes of the kid he knew to be Uchiha Sasuke and he was surprised to see such confidence in his posture. It was as if he had known this would happen. He looked over them all once again, counting heads. '78, huh? Much more left than I expected. It's going to be the same, no matter how I push it.' He looked at the chuunin lining the walls and they all nodded to him with smiles on their faces. They were impressed by the blond, too. He nodded back before addressing the genin again.
"I like your determination. Then ... " He let the tension rise a bit more. Just for the heck of it. "For those who are still here ... The first exam ... " Sasuke tightened his fingers and Sakura squirmed in her seat. "You have passed it!"
Utter shock followed. They were staring at him as though he had just grown a second head. Most had frowns on their faces and some were even openly glaring or scowling at him. Others were simply speechless or already seething in rage.
Naruto's pen dropped and even Kurama was gawking inside his host.
"Huh?"
00000
Naruto felt like he was in a daze. He still couldn't believe what had happened even as Team 7 left the Academy, where the first part of the Chuunin Exams had taken place. It turned out that the second point of the test (Kurama had been dead on about it being about information gathering) was to see how they took being put under such pressure. Putting their hopes and dreams on the line was a form of a psychological war that was supposed to take place in their heads and only the strongest would win. Ibiki was impressed by the number of participants that had stayed.
Then the protector of the next part of the Exams had arrived while Ibiki was still talking and Naruto was sure everyone agreed that Anko was one crazy lady. Even Sasuke had looked flabbergasted at her lack of tact and timing. Seriously. The Kyuubi had even complained about people getting crazier with every generation. Well, they had today to prepare for the second part, but as stated earlier, the blond was still confused about what had happened.
"Well, that sure was unexpected. Ne, Sasuke-kun, Naruto?" Sakura commented as they walked to their homes. Both boys nodded, neither really feeling in a talkative mood. "What do you think tomorrow will be like?"
"I have a bad feeling about it, dattebayo."
They both turned to look at him but Naruto was more focused on the creeps he still got from locking eyes with that one strange Rain guy. Kurama had been just as unsettled when they passed that Gaara kid, but he still won't tell Naruto why. Something big was going on and shit was going to start going down soon.
"Huh? What do you mean?" The pink haired kunoichi asked, tilting her head to the left. Sasuke had his eyes glued to the blond, interested in what was giving him the bad feeling. For Sasuke, it was Gaara and Kabuto. The silver haired teen was obviously planning something and the redhead seemed unstable. He would prefer it that they stay away from them as much and as far away as possible.
"I don't really know, but ... I feel like something really bad is going to happen tomorrow." The blond shrugged helplessly and Sasuke nodded, much to Sakura's surprise.
"I noticed, too. Guess we'll just have to be extra careful." They stopped at a crossroad, where Sasuke was supposed to go left, Sakura straight ahead and Naruto right. The pink haired girl smiled at her teammates and waved as she walked off, leaving the two boys behind. When she was out of sight, Naruto stopped waving cheerfully and turned back to say bye to Sasuke, only to be met by two fingers poking his forehead. The blond glared up at the slightly taller male though a blush covered his cheeks, since he knew the significance of the gesture. "You did good today, dobe." The raven haired boy said and a smile bloomed across the whiskered face.
"See you tomorrow, teme!" Naruto yelled over his shoulder, smile still in place, as he ran on towards his home. Sasuke coolly raised his own hand in farewell and turned around (more to hide his own smile and blush), walking towards his own home.
Neither boy saw a Sound shinobi drop dead, blood dripping from his cut throat as a bow and arrow fell from his limp hands, a fox masked ANBU standing behind him with a drawn katana in one hand and a raven sitting comfortably on the other.
A/N: Another shorter chapter but this is where shit starts to go down. Next chapter, Forest of Death!