Author's Note: Guess who's back, guys! Cannonballer here with another chapter for you today, and I don't have much to say except that it is so good to be back! I missed all of you good people out there who read my fic and enjoy it. I put a lot of time into today's chapter, so I do hope that you like it. If you do, you know where to write the review! You DO, don't you? Hmm...I wonder... Anyway, hope you like the chapter and all that jazz, and I'll leave you to jump right into it! Happy Reading!

Chapter 52: The Jonin Trials, Part 1

Tsunade was annoyed. Naruto and Ino had been gone for more than five days now, and he hadn't been receiving any calls. "Where on earth is he? I told him to be here as soon as possible. His phone's probably discharged by now. I wonder…he's not in any trouble, is he?"

A sudden thought occurred to Tsunade. Naruto was still the Nine Tails Jinchuuriki. What if Madara was out to get him?

'As strong as Naruto is now, I don't think he can face off against Madara and win. I need to do something.'

Tsunade sent out the smoke signal she had installed in her office to alert the ANBU that she had requested for their leader. A few minutes later, Tenzo was standing in front of her.

"Tenzo, I want you to head to the area where I met the Mizukage last week. Naruto and Ino went to the Land of Whirlpools and haven't returned yet. They should have been back a couple of days ago. I was shrugging it off because we are talking about Naruto, after all. But if he's found some trouble that even he can't handle, then I…" she trailed off in nervousness.

Tenzo bowed quickly and said, "I understand, Lady Tsunade. I shall head out immediately."

Tsunade said, "Take Kakashi with you. I don't want to take any chances at all."

Tenzo nodded, happy that he would be working with his senpai once again. He quickly exited the building and headed to Kakashi's house. Fortunately, the white haired Jonin was at home, relaxing after a rigorous workout.

"Hello, Tenzo. Come in."

"I'm afraid there's no time for that, Kakashi-senpai. Naruto was supposed to return to the village two days ago, but he hasn't yet returned. Lady Tsunade is worried that he might be in danger, and has asked the two of us to track his whereabouts and bring him back."

"I understand. Give me five minutes to prepare myself."

Kakashi whirled into his bedroom, while Tenzo waited patiently in the hall for him.

Five minutes later, Kakashi was ready, and nodded to Tenzo. The two of them left instantly, running at full speed. They slowed down at the gates, but the guards waved them past. Kotetsu said, "Lady Tsunade told us you'd be passing. Hurry up."

Kakashi gave him a two-fingered salute and the two of them resumed their run towards the eastern seaboard.

Tenzo glanced sideways at his mentor. Kakashi noticed and said, "What's the matter, Tenzo?"

The new ANBU captain said, "You were with Naruto during the mission, right?"

Kakashi nodded. Tenzo said, "Did you have your Sharingan enabled during the mission?"

"Of course. It was an S-Ranked mission, after all."

"Well, then, did you see any Nine Tails chakra in Naruto's system, by any chance?"

Kakashi understood what Tenzo was worried about and said, "Don't worry, Tenzo. Naruto's grown much more now, and is able to control the Nine Tails up to a certain extent. He won't go on any rampages, I can assure you of that."

Tenzo said thoughtfully, "Although…Now that Naruto is older, I wonder if he can learn to completely control the chakra of the Nine Tails…"

He trailed off in thought, leaving Kakashi a host of new ideas.

Kakashi thought, 'I wonder if Master Jiraiya will be up for this task…Hmm, I need to ask him if he can teach Naruto.'

The two of them traveled non-stop until they reached the eastern seaboard. However, there was no sign of either the knucklehead or the platinum blonde. Kakashi sighed; this was going to be a pain. 'I wonder if I should get a reverse Hiraishin tag made by Naruto to call him whenever I need.'

He said, "Come on, Tenzo, we're heading towards the Land of Whirlpools."

The ANBU captain nodded.


Sakura and Sasuke sat on a bench near the entrance of the village. Sasuke said, "Thanks for helping me out with my training."

Sakura smiled, "Don't mention it. I was glad I could actually help."

Sasuke nodded slightly, saying, "Four years ago, I never would have thought that you would actually become this powerful. I can say that much, Sakura, that you have truly proven yourself to me."

The pinkette blushed, but only slightly. She said, "Well, you did make me understand that being a loser fan-girl was going to get me nowhere. That is why I trained so hard, to show you, and everyone, what I'm made of."

Sasuke said, "If you are free, let's get some lunch, shall we? The training has made me quite hungry."

Sakura just caught herself before she jumped in joy. She thought, 'Sasuke actually asked me out to lunch! Wow! But I can't get too excited, or he'll just go back to ignoring me. I'll pretend to be normal.'

She said, "Alright, let's go. I'm famished as well."

The two of them enjoyed a meal together, making some small talk about their adventures during the time they had been separated. After lunch, Sasuke said, "Thank you, Sakura. You have done a lot for me from a long time. I never really got the opportunity to return the favor."

Sakura said, "Don't be silly. I haven't done anything for you."

Sasuke said quietly, "You may not have realized it, but in our time together as Team 7, I became a much better person than I was before. Before the Sound nins poisoned my mind, I was actually considering forgiving Itachi, and settling into the Leaf permanently…I wonder what would be the situation had I never gone with them."

Sakura put her hand on his shoulder. She was glad that he didn't shrug it off. She said, "I'm sure you would have been a fine shinobi. You always were the best in our class anyway."

The Uchiha said, "I guess. Alright, I need to get some rest now. I'm heading home. I'll see you tomorrow, hmm?"

Sakura nodded. Sasuke turned around and began walking home.

"Uhh…Sasuke?"

He turned around. "Yeah?"

"Do you think you'll ever be able to forgive Itachi?"

The boy frowned at the sudden question. He said, "I...I honestly don't know. I fought him, won too, but... it didn't really give me any satisfaction. The wound he gave me has healed, but I will always be scarred for life. And I don't know if I will ever be able to let go of the feeling that he murdered my parents. His parents. Our parents."

Sakura nodded. "I understand. Just…think about it. You won against him, you got your vengeance. You know why he did it. For the sake of the village. Maybe it was for the best. Maybe if he hadn't done it, the other clans of the village would have done it anyway. He probably saved them the pain of brutal deaths."

Sasuke froze. He had never thought about it in that way. What if Sakura was right? What if Itachi had spared all the Uchihas a painful death by ending them painlessly?

He said, "I'll think about it, Sakura, thanks. I'll see you soon."

He turned around and walked away.


"INO, DUCK!"

The blonde kunoichi ducked as soon as she heard Naruto's yell. A giant demon wind shuriken flew over her head. Naruto jumped in front of her, pulling her behind him.

"Well, well, well. I didn't expect this to take so long."

Naruto roared, "JUST WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?!"

As the dust cleared in front of Naruto, a shadowy figure emerged out of it, wearing a black cloak with red clouds on it. The figure was arguably a man's, and his face was covered with a mask sporting an orange spiraling design.

"Me? You don't need to know, not when you're about to die soon anyway."

Naruto was frustrated. This guy had attacked them out of nowhere as they were returning to the village after a long vacation in the Uzushiogakure. He had been able to slip through every attack that Naruto had pulled.

Ino whispered quietly, "Naruto, we need to get out of here. This guy's jutsu…it's something that we've never seen before. He's able to simply dodge any of our attacks."

Naruto glanced behind and said, "You know I never run from a fight. He started it, I'm going to finish it."

Before he could say anything else, Madara Uchiha attacked again, with frightening speed. Naruto blocked his uppercut and tried a right cross to his opponent's face. To his utter disbelief, his hand passed right through the head of the Akatsuki robes clad shinobi.

Madara took advantage of Naruto's confusion, and slammed his palm into the boy's stomach, sending a giant spurt of chakra into it as he did. Naruto coughed up blood as he flew back into Ino, and the two of them tumbled backwards.

Ino stood up quickly, and took the front. She looked back at Naruto quickly, "What happened to you? That shouldn't have hurt you so badly."

Naruto wheezed, "He thrust chakra into my system. It was like my tenketsu was flooded with his chakra for a few seconds. Knocked the wind out of me."

Ino looked back at Madara. 'This guy is dangerous. He's on a completely different level than we have ever seen before. I don't believe that even Naruto can take him on easily. Even with Sage Mode. We need to retreat.'

She pulled out a smoke bomb from her leg pouch, and prepared to throw it, but Madara said, "Don't even try, it will do you no good."

Naruto stood up slowly, still breathing heavily. "Dammit. I'm sure being taught a good lesson here. Oh wait, I almost forgot!"

Naruto pulled out his trusty scroll and opened it with a flourish, smearing some blood from his lip onto it. A cloud of smoke went up, revealing Kitsune.

Ino said, "Naruto, are you ever going to use the scabbard I got you?"

Naruto scratched his head sheepishly, "Sorry, Ino-chan. I'll get to it as soon as we get home." He wielded Kitsune and came back in front. Ino stood to his side this time.

Madara laughed, "You think that a staff-blade is going to help you against me?"

Naruto smirked, "Why don't you try me and find out for yourself?"

Madara stopped laughing abruptly. "Give yourself up, Uzumaki Naruto, before I seriously hurt you."

Ino laughed. Madara looked at her, and she said proudly, "My fiancée doesn't know the meaning of giving up."

Madara sighed, and pulled a kunai out of his belt pouch. "Well, looks like you give me no choice."

He rushed over towards Naruto, who brandished the staff blade at him. Madara laughed; Naruto wasn't even close enough to reach him, let alone swing that toy at him. But his eyes widened as he saw the chakra emanating from the staff blade when it suddenly manifested into a giant broadsword. The front of the cloak tore as the wind chakra sliced into it, and Madara was barely able to dodge it. He felt his stomach leak a few drops of blood.

'That was close. The boy knows how to kill, that's for sure.'

Madara sent chakra to his stomach to help heal it. He assessed the situation again, looking at the weapon with some amount of respect.

'It seems that he has designed this weapon himself. Incredible. I need to think this through.'

Naruto wasn't going to give him that chance, though. Now that he had seen some damage inflicted on Madara, he knew that the man could be defeated. He rushed to the man with insane speed, and tried to cut the Uchiha's head off. To his dismay, however, the wind broadsword went right through Madara.

'Grrr, he's doing that weird trick of his again. I hate that!'

Madara retreated a few meters, and wondered what would penetrate this defense of Naruto's. However, he suddenly noticed two chakra signatures approaching at rapid speed.

"It seems that you win this time, Uzumaki. But on my word, we will meet again. And I won't go as easy on you the next time."

As Naruto ran towards him, the Uchiha disappeared in a swirl. The knucklehead roared in frustration. Ino came over to him and said, "Forget it, Naruto. He was much stronger than you. You almost got him with Kitsune but he even knows that trick now. Let it go. Kakashi sensei and someone else is coming."

Naruto turned towards the chakra signatures, which were growing stronger every second. "It's Captain Yamato with him. Ah yes, Grandma Tsunade must've sent them, she must be worried why we were gone for so long."

Kakashi and Tenzo burst into the clearing, armed with kunai. They looked at Naruto and Ino, and said, "Where is he?"

Naruto said, "Gone. Vanished into thin air."

Kakashi put down his kunai and said, "Who was he? That chakra…it was so ominous."

Ino replied, "We don't know. All we know is that he was wearing an Akatsuki cloak and an orange mask."

Tenzo nearly choked. "You just fought…Madara Uchiha?!"

Ino gasped, and Naruto frowned. "Is that who that guy was? He didn't seem that strong. I've heard stories about Madara Uchiha, and I know that he would have easily been able to defeat me."

Kakashi looked surprised. "You held your own against him?"

Naruto nodded. "He was tough, no doubt. But I never really felt that I wouldn't be able to defeat him. I even marked him once, with Kitsune."

Kakashi and Tenzo looked at each other in incredulous amazement. Kakashi turned back to Naruto and said, "Well, come on. We need to get back to the village, it seems that Lady Tsunade is really annoyed at you. You were supposed to be back a few days ago."

Naruto blanched. Ino smiled, "We just couldn't leave Uzushiogakure without exploring the whole place."

Tenzo nodded. "Come on, best not to dawdle now. Madara could still be around somewhere. And we'd better inform Lady Tsunade about this."


Kiba looked back in confusion. "Hey, Hinata, what's the matter?"

Hinata blushed and started tapping her fingers in nervousness. Kiba frowned in surprise. He looked at Akamaru, who confirmed with a bark, that Hinata was behaving strangely.

'She's never acted this way with me before. What's got her so nervous?'

Hinata tried to run away, but Kiba was much faster. He got in front of her, and said, "What's wrong with you today?"

The girl turned beet red and fainted. Akamaru barked. Kiba nodded, scratching his head, clueless at what had just happened. "You're right, Akamaru, girls are nothing but trouble."

He hoisted Hinata onto Akamaru's back, and took her to the Hyuga Manor. The guard at the gate sighed. "She fell unconscious again, huh?"

Kiba nodded. He lifted Hinata off of Akamaru's back gently, and handed her over to the guard, who lifted her up in a princess carry style and headed towards Hiashi Hyuga's house.

Kiba got on top of Akamaru and said to him, "I've only seen this happen before when she was in close proximity with Naruto. Let's go ask him if he knows something."

Akamaru nodded and the two of them took off towards Naruto's compound.


"Just as I expected. Madara…that guy is becoming more and more dangerous. What were you doing away so long anyway? I told you to come back in two days, didn't I?"

Naruto scratched his head sheepishly. Ino said, "I'm sorry, Milady, I asked him to stay back longer, because I wanted to explore Uzushiogakure."

Tsunade looked at Ino, and said, "You may be an interrogator-nin, but even I can tell that you're lying. There's no need to save Naruto, it's not like I'm going to punish him or anything. I just wanted to know what took you so long."

Naruto sighed, and pulled out a scroll from his belt. He took a few steps back and opened the scroll on the ground, before unsealing it with his blood. A small cloud of smoke went up, before revealing a ton of more scrolls. Naruto took the biggest one of them and unsealed it as well. Tsunade gasped.

It was a golden broadsword, gleaming dully in the low light. Naruto said, "I found tons of these in the village, and spent most of my time collecting them all. There's weapons of all sorts in these scrolls here, all of them exquisitely crafted. Some of them are even better than my Kitsune, just like this one here."

He picked up the sword and balanced it in his right hand, holding it in a perfect stance. "It's incredibly strong, but so light that I can hold it in one hand and still be able to swing it perfectly."

Naruto handed over the sword to Tsunade. Her eyebrows went up in surprise as she held the sword, almost not feeling its weight. "Incredible!"

Naruto nodded. He sealed the sword back into its scroll, and unsealed another one. Everyone peered into the smoke, and Kakashi smiled slightly. It was a chokuto, his weapon of choice when he was in the ANBU.

Naruto picked up the chokuto, and unsheathed it from its scabbard. He held it up for everyone to see clearly. It was also golden, and Naruto explained it to all of them.

"This chokuto is specially crafted with a titanium alloy, stronger than most of the other metals on earth, and coincidentally the alloy I used for Kitsune. It is plated with 24-karat gold, so that it will never rust. It is also very light, so that it is relatively easy to use. I found a simple chakra formula to bind it to someone so that only that person will be able to use it. It can also absorb chakra to an extent, although not as much as Kitsune. It is much sharper than a regular chokuto, and will last for years, if not decades."

He turned towards Kakashi and smiled. "I remember you asking me something when I first showed you Kitsune. I couldn't get the time to fulfil your request, but please accept this instead."

Kakashi's mouth fell open behind his mask. Naruto held the chokuto out to him in both hands, and the white-haired ninja felt everyone's eyes turn towards him.

"Naruto…I can't accept this. It is a weapon belonging to your ancestors."

Naruto smiled, "My ancestors are long gone, sensei. And after all, I'd be nowhere without you. It's just a small gift compared to what you have done for me. Please, take it."

Kakashi looked around. Tenzo smiled, and Tsunade nodded at him. He held the handle of the chokuto, and felt a slight vibration. Naruto let go of the weapon and signed quickly. Kakashi saw a small seal appear on the bottom of the handle of the chokuto for a moment, before it disappeared. The vibration also disappeared, and Naruto said, "Now the weapon will work only for you. For anyone else, it might just be a thin, blunt log of wood."

Words failed the Jonin. He did all he could do at that moment; fondled Naruto's head and then pulled him into a one-armed hug. Everyone smiled.


"Hmm, seems that Naruto's gone off somewhere. I'll just have to find him some other time, huh, Akamaru?"

Akamaru yipped, and then barked twice. Kiba smiled, "Oh, good. Let's wait for him, then."

A few minutes later, Naruto and Ino walked over to Naruto's house. The knucklehead saw Kiba leaning against the wall outside his compound, and smiled. "Hey, Kiba! Long time no see."

Kiba and Akamaru smiled. "Tell me about it. How are you?"

"I'm good, just got back from the Land of Whirlpools. What brings you over here? Ah, where are my manners? Come on in."

He opened the gate and led Ino and Kiba inside.

Once all of them were seated comfortably, Naruto said, "So, what's going on?"

Kiba leaned forward, and said, "Something's wrong with Hinata. For the past few days, I kept feeling like I was being followed. Turns out that it was her. I found her today and asked her what happened. Guess what happened next."

Naruto said, "Let me see… She blushed and fainted?"

Kiba nodded. Ino shifted uncomfortably in her seat. Naruto put his fingers to his chin, thinking. "That's strange."

Kiba said, "I came over to you because the only time I have seen this happen before is when you were in close range with her."

Naruto pursed his lips, knowing exactly what Kiba meant. Ino put her hand to head in disbelief. 'How damn clueless can these boys get?'

She turned to Kiba and said, "Kiba, you've been crazy for Hinata for years now. Why haven't you ever said anything to her?"

Kiba looked to the floor. Naruto was completely stunned and said, "You liked Hinata? Why didn't you ever tell anyone?"

The canine lover said, "How could I? She comes from one of the most traditional and strict clans in the village, and me? I'm not worth her."

Ino said, "Don't ever say that. You're a good ninja, you're loyal and strong. You shouldn't keep your feelings reserved just because she's from a bigger clan than you."

Naruto said, "Clan stuff didn't keep Ino and me apart from each other."

Kiba looked up in surprise. Ino nodded, "I'm the leader of my clan in the future. That doesn't mean that I couldn't marry someone I liked. I think you should tell Hinata how you feel about her, Kiba."

Akamaru barked. Kiba looked at him, "You agree with them then, Akamaru?" The dog barked again, as if to confirm it.

Kiba got up. He said, "I guess I'll tell Hinata how I feel about her the next time I see her. Thank you, Naruto and Ino. I owe you one."

The two blondes smiled. Naruto said, "What are friends for, huh?"

Kiba grinned and walked out with Akamaru.


"What's going on? Why has the Hokage called everyone to assemble outside Ninja Ops?"

"Beats me. Must be something big."

Naruto walked past the two Chunin who were discussing the sudden call from Lady Tsunade. He smiled, 'It must be the announcement of the Jonin Trials.'

He reached the Ninja Ops, and waited along with the throng of ninjas who had gathered there. Tsunade was nowhere to be seen, though.

About ten minutes later, the crowd had become large enough to surround the entire building on all sides possible. Tsunade suddenly appeared on top of the Ninja Ops building, and waved to everyone.

"Good afternoon, everyone. I am sure all of you must be wondering what has happened, for me to call everyone here on such short notice. I have an announcement to make."

She let the words sink in as the ninjas started muttering. After the whispers died down, she continued, "After careful thought, I have decided to hold the Jonin Trials this year. The trials will commence next week. All those Chunin who are interested in participating for the trials will be able to register at the entrance of the village. Kotetsu will be taking your registrations."

All the ninjas went into a frenzy. Some were excited, some were dismayed, and some were neutral.

Tsunade raised her hand to calm everyone down, and continued, "All those Jonin who have not taken the trials in the last ten years will have to renew their credentials as well."

All the respective Jonins nodded. Tsunade said, "That will be all. I wish all of you the best of luck for your trials. Your proctors will be announced on the first day of the trials itself, so that you have no chance of favoritism."

With those words, Tsunade walked off. All the ninjas began to disperse in groups, most of them heading to the entrance of the gates. Naruto saw his batch mates standing in a group and headed over to them.

Lee looked at Naruto and smiled, "Hi, Naruto! Are you excited for the Jonin Trials?!"

Naruto smiled at him, "You know it, Lee. Will you also be participating?"

Lee nodded. "Even though I know that I can never be a full Jonin, I can become a Tokujo. My TaiJutsu, KenJutsu and tracking skills are on par with the requirements. Although I can never use NinJutsu or GenJutsu, I am sure I can become a specialist ninja."

Neji smiled at his team-mate's enthusiasm. Naruto said, "What about you, Neji? What's your plan? You're already a Jonin, aren't you?"

The Hyuga nodded. "I'm content with where I am."

Naruto said, "Why don't you try out for Hokage?"

Neji laughed softly, "It was a big enough achievement becoming a Jonin in the first place, for I am the first branch member to ever obtain this rank. Most of my people are content with Chunin. And anyway, my clan rules make it clear that a branch member cannot obtain the rank of Hokage, since that would make them more powerful than the entire clan itself."

Naruto understood and turned to Tenten. "I suppose you'll do great in the KenJutsu test."

Everyone laughed as Tenten's eyes twinkled. She said, "I expect I'll make Tokujo too, not full Jonin. At least not this time."

Sakura said, "Neji, what are the trials like?"

The Hyuga explained, "Well, the test is divided into five parts, each for one of the five pillars of the Ninja Arts. Depending on the number of people who have applied, they are all assigned one of the pillars on each day. For example, if there are a hundred ninjas, then twenty of them will be assigned NinJutsu for the first day, while twenty others will be assigned GenJutsu, and so on. This ensures concurrency in the test."

Sakura nodded. Sasuke said, "Is there anyone from the group who isn't giving the trials?"

Shikamaru opened his mouth, but Ino cut across him, "No, everyone will be participating."

Shikamaru stared at her crossly, and then muttered, "Troublesome blondes."

Lee shouted happily, "What are we waiting for, then? Let's go and register right away!"

Tenten stopped him, and said, "Hold your horses! Every aspiring Chunin must have already gone to register. Let's wait until evening."

Naruto said, "I'll go check if there's a crowd there."

He vanished, and most of the Konoha 11 looked around in confusion. Sasuke said quietly to Sakura, "Looks like he hasn't told everyone yet."

Sakura nodded. Naruto reappeared and said, "There's a giant line of people waiting to register. Tenten's right, let's go there in the evening. Let's discuss the trials some more, until then. Neji, can you explain the stages in detail? Unless you're busy, of course."

Neji said, "No problem at all. Let's head to a training ground so we can sit in peace."

All of them headed towards the nearest training ground, and once they all were seated, Neji began.

"Well, first of all, when the trials commence, all the proctors are introduced. After that, each participant is given a sheet containing their time tables for the trials. Then, each day, the proctors take the exams of the participants. Based on their performance, they are graded, and the average grade of all the proctors decides whether the participant will be given the rank of Jonin or not."

He took a breath and continued, "Although the proctors are not allowed to show favoritism, if any of the participants shows particularly fine skills in one of the five pillars or more, they are allowed to comment on them. That way, if anyone is weak in one of the pillars and more than meets the requirements for the other pillars, he can be made a specialist, or Tokujo. This is what Lee wants to be, since he knows that he cannot make full Jonin."

Lee nodded. Naruto said, "What is the criteria for becoming a full Jonin?"

Neji replied, "Well, each pillar has its own requirements. For instance, if you take NinJutsu, you need to be adept in at least two of the five chakra elements. Also, you need at least 4 A-rank, 7 B-rank, and 5 C-rank Jutsus. For the weapons test, you need to be proficient in at least 6 weapons, including shuriken and kunai. And the list goes on."

Naruto looked at Sasuke, who was smiling slightly. 'Of course, the Shuriken Jutsu of the Uchiha will weigh heavily in his favor here.'

Neji looked around, "Any more questions?"

Shikamaru yawned, and said, "How long does it take for the results to be declared?"

Neji said, "Well, the Jonin council has a meeting with the Hokage and the proctors, and together, the decisions regarding all the candidates are taken. You can expect the results in about a week after the trials. It does depend on the number of people taking the exams, though. During my time, there were only about twenty Chunin, so the results came out quick. I think there will be a larger gap this time."

Sasuke got up, and said, "If that's all, then, I guess I should get going. I have to be somewhere and I don't like being late." He vanished before anyone could ask him anything.

Shino said quietly, "I wonder why the Hokage made this announcement so suddenly. I can't think of any reason to hold the Jonin Trials so soon after our village was rebuilt."

Shikamaru replied lazily, "It's obviously for political reasons. Right now, the other villages know that we have been short-handed. So the Hokage had to show them that the village is still strong. And there is no better way to do that than to increase the strength in our ranks."

Shino nodded and said, "I see. That would ensure that our enemies would think twice before attacking our village."

Sakura got up as well, and said, "I should head to the hospital now, I have a shift coming up. I'll see you guys in the evening, I guess."

Everyone said goodbye to her and she walked off. Slowly, everyone left, except for Naruto and Neji.

Naruto said, "Neji, there isn't any X-factor in these trials, is there?"

Neji smiled and shook his head. "These trials are solely based on merit. No matter how special the shinobi may be, unless he can prove himself in all the pillars, he has no chance of being a full Jonin."

Naruto gave him a thumbs up and said, "I look forward to seeing you at the Trials."

Neji looked confused. "What do you mean?" Then it dawned upon him. "You know?"

Naruto grinned. "There isn't much that's hidden from me. See ya!"

He vanished and Neji smiled. 'Naruto Uzumaki. You never cease to surprise me.'


That evening, everyone assembled at the gates to sign up for the trials. The crowd had thinned out now, so there wasn't a large line anymore. Everyone quickly filled up the registration forms, and got their IDs.

Naruto said, "All right! Now all that's left is to train until the trials!"

Everyone nodded, and Sakura said, "Naruto, do you mind training with me for a while? I want to increase my GenJutsu skills a little, and you could use some training there too."

Naruto looked at her as though Christmas had arrived early. "Sure! I was just wondering if anyone would be able to help me out with GenJutsu. I'm still pathetic there."

Everyone laughed. Sasuke said, "I'm going to be training in the Forest of Death until next week. So make sure you don't interrupt me in the middle of my training. If you need me for anything, leave me a note at my house."

He took off, and Sakura sighed. Ino said, "Well, I guess I'll be heading to my clan compound for training. Dad can help me out better than anyone else in my jutsus. Naruto, you wanna walk me there?"

Naruto said, "Sure. Let's go."

Sakura said, "Naruto, training ground 7, tomorrow morning at 7. Don't be late."

Naruto gave her a thumbs up and walked off with Ino. Shino and Kiba both said that they would be training with their respective clans. Hinata looked at Neji and he smiled. She would be training under him. Tenten would train at her own dojo and Lee was going to train with Gai. Shikamaru would be training with his father, and Choji said that he would work with Asuma since his father was soon going to head out for a long term mission.

Everyone dispersed and began to head towards their various destinations.

Naruto said, "I'm really excited for the trials. I haven't been able to showcase my skills in a long time. And even though I won't make it to full Jonin, I will be able to become a Tokujo in the very least."

Ino frowned, "Why won't you make full Jonin?"

Naruto said, "Don't you know how bad my GenJutsu is?"

Ino said, "Haven't you been training with Iruka-sensei and Shizune-san a lot to improve GenJutsu?"

"Yes I have, but somehow it isn't working. I still can't break high level GenJutsus at all. Low level ones which I break are only because of the technique Pervy Sage taught me; to swirl chakra throughout my body. But that strains my tenketsu."

Ino wondered what was wrong with Naruto's ability to break GenJutsus. 'Even average shinobi can break low level GenJutsus easily. Naruto is way above average. For him to not manage a basic task like that, there must be some problem.'

Naruto said, "You all right? What are you thinking about?"

Ino shook herself out of her thoughts and smiled, "Nothing much, just wondering if training with Sakura will be able to bridge the gap you have."

"I'm thinking the same thing myself, really. I'm not sure, but at least I'm getting some training done, right? And I know that I'm on par with all my other pillars."

Ino nodded. The two of them reached the Yamanaka compound and Naruto said, "You'll be staying here until the trials, right?"

"Yeah, I think that would make it easier for me, rather than having to come down here every day. And it's just a week, after all."

"Alright, then. I guess we'll see each other during the trials, huh?" Naruto said.

Ino smiled, "C'mon, I'm sure you can live without me for a week."

She leaned in and kissed him. Naruto said, "When you do stuff like this, it makes me desperate. Now I don't want to let you go."

The platinum blonde whispered in his ear, "That's what I aim for, ya know." She smiled and walked off towards her father's house. Naruto sighed and walked home.


"So, what kind of training have you done for GenJutsu previously?" Sakura asked Naruto.

The two of them had arrived at training ground 7 on time. Naruto had insisted that they do their usual physical workout before getting started with GenJutsu.

Naruto replied, "Well, Iruka-sensei taught me the way chakra works in GenJutsu based attacks and practiced low level GenJutsus against me. Shizune-neesan taught me how to actually inject my own chakra into the opponent's chakra system. But I was hopeless at doing it myself."

Sakura said, "Well, I guess you should go for defense first, then. I'll throw GenJutsus at you and you try to break them. Alright?"

Naruto nodded firmly, his jaw set. He was determined to get this under control.

Sakura signed and said, "Ninja Arts: Demonic Illusion!"

Naruto looked around him. Nothing seemed to change. Suddenly Sakura came closer to him and smiled. She put her arms around him and hugged him.

"Sakura?"

All of a sudden, Sakura's grip on him tightened. Naruto began choking as the breath was drawn out of him. Sakura turned into a giant black bear, which had encapsulated him into a bone-crushing bear-hug.

Naruto struggled to breathe, as the bear tightened its hold on him.

Suddenly the air around him cleared and the bear disappeared. Sakura was standing in front of him, bemused. "What happened, Naruto?"

The boy fell to his knees, taking deep breaths.

Sakura went over to him and felt his pulse. "Impossible! How were you affected so badly by the GenJutsu?"

Naruto looked at her and said, "What's wrong?"

Sakura said, "Your pulse is off the charts! This was just a C-ranked GenJutsu. How could you be affected by it so badly?"

Naruto shrugged. "I have no idea."

Sakura helped him up and said, "If this is the case, then you're going to be absolutely decimated in the GenJutsu trial. Something is wrong with you, and we are going to find out what it is. Come on, we're going to Lady Tsunade."

"Hey, wait a minute…" Naruto was cut off as he tried to protest. Sakura half-dragged him to the Ninja Ops building.

Tsunade was busy writing a letter when Sakura entered the office. She looked up at the teen and said, "Something wrong, Sakura?"

The pinkette explained the situation to the Hokage. Tsunade put her fingers to her chin, wondering what could cause Naruto to react so badly to a minor GenJutsu. She said, "Let's run some diagnostics on Naruto. Where is he?"

Sakura went out and pushed Naruto into the office. Tsunade said, "Has this ever happened before?"

Naruto shook his head, and said, "Iruka-sensei never really did GenJutsus like these. They were very mild compared to what Sakura pulled."

Tsunade said, "Come on down, let's go and see what's going on inside your body."

They went down to the emergency medical center in the basement of the Ninja Ops, and Naruto got on top of the bed, removing his shirt. Tsunade attached a few wires to him, and said, "Lay back and keep your eyes open."

Naruto did as she requested, and Tsunade signed, "Ninja Arts: Flower Dance!"

Naruto felt calm and relaxed as multiple flowers started blooming in front of his eyes. He slowly started feeling drowsy, and as he was about to fall asleep, the flowers suddenly disappeared. He snapped awake and looked around wildly.

Sakura restrained his head, and Tsunade signed again, "Ninja Arts: Demonic Illusion!"

Sakura said, "That's the one I tried, Lady Tsunade!"

The Hokage said, "Don't worry."

Naruto suddenly saw himself facing all six Paths of Pein. He snarled, "Come on, I'll kill all of you!"

All the Paths suddenly merged with each other, and became one giant being, with six heads, twelve hands and twelve feet. One of the hands rushed out and captured Naruto, starting to crush him.

Tsunade gasped as the seal started glowing on Naruto's belly. "Now I get it!"

She stopped the GenJutsu and said to Sakura, "Give him a chakra pill."

Sakura forced a chakra pill into Naruto's mouth. The knucklehead calmed down, and said, "What the hell just happened?"

Tsunade said, "Are you feeling alright?"

Naruto nodded. The Hokage told him to put his shirt back on and the three of them went back to her office.

Tsunade leaned on her table and said, "Naruto, I just found out the reason why you aren't being able to release GenJutsus or cast them. The Eight Trigrams Seal on your stomach is interfering with your ability to purge chakra from your system. It is also blocking you from injecting chakra into any opponents' tenketsu. Somehow, whenever you try to push the foreign chakra from your body, the seal gets in the way. It is linked with your own chakra points, after all, allowing you to use the Nine Tails' chakra. However, that is becoming a disadvantage for you as well."

Naruto said, "Is there no workaround for this?"

Tsunade shook her head and said, "The only way for you to use GenJutsu or free yourself from one would be to release the seal on your stomach. However, you know that doing such a thing would be catastrophic."

Naruto pursed his lips in anger. "So that means I can't ever use or be safe from GenJutsu?!"

Tsunade said, "For the time being, I guess that is the case."

Naruto punched his right hand with his left in anger. Sakura put her hand on his shoulder, and said, "Come on, Naruto. It's not the end of the world. We'll figure this out somehow. We'll get Master Jiraiya to take a look at the seal. I'm sure that he will be able to do something about it."

Naruto looked at her, and said quietly, "Thanks, Sakura."

He walked out of the building. Sakura looked concerned, but Tsunade said, "Don't mind him. He'll be alright."

The pinkette smiled sadly and began to walk off as well. Suddenly, she remembered that she no longer had a training partner, and said, "Lady Tsunade, I was supposed to work with Naruto on my GenJutsu. Now that it isn't an option any more, can you help me out?"

Tsunade said, "I wish I could, Sakura, but I'm busy organizing the Jonin Trials. Shizune is free, though. I've taken Shikaku Nara as my assistant for a few days until the trials are over, so Shizune has been working at the hospital full time. Tell her that I asked her to help you out."

Sakura smiled and said, "Thanks a lot, Milady."

She exited the building, and began heading for the hospital.


Shikaku said, "Son, I'm not going to be available to train you. Lady Tsunade has requested me to assist her in setting up the Jonin Trials this year, and you know I cannot refuse."

Shikamaru said, "I don't need you to train me, dad. I just need a new Jutsu which I can master in a week."

Shikaku sighed. This was getting troublesome. However, he said, "Alright. I can teach you a jutsu which is only mastered by the most elite ninjas of our clan. If you can master this jutsu, then you automatically become eligible to lead our clan one day in the future."

Shikamaru said, "It sounds difficult. What is this jutsu?"

Shikaku said, "It is an S-ranked Jutsu, a variation of the Shadow Possession Jutsu. It is called the Shadow Stitching: Black Spider Lily."

Shikamaru frowned. Shadow stitching? That was a jutsu in itself. He said, "I already know how to use the Shadow Stitching Jutsu."

Shikaku smiled. "That is why I am teaching you this variation. The Shadow Stitching jutsu works only on one opponent, and is actually used to attack and incapacitate the opponent in question. However, the Black Spider Lily is used to paralyze multiple opponents all at the same time. It requires you to split your shadow into multiple strands, one for each opponent, which is why the jutsu was named under the shadow stitching jutsus, even though it's main focus is on paralysis."

Shikamaru enquired, "How many opponents can I trap with this?"

The older Nara replied, "As many as you want, depending on your chakra level. Now, I must warn you, though, that this jutsu is part of the Ino-Shika-Cho formation. It is an S-ranked Jutsu only because I use it to paralyze multiple opponents before Inoichi can perform his own S-ranked Jutsu to destroy their minds. So, if you perform it only by yourself, it will probably come down a notch to an A-ranked jutsu. Make sure you explain this to the proctor who will take your NinJutsu trial."

Shikamaru said, "That's if I can master it in one week."

"I have faith in you."

Shikamaru smiled and said, "Well, then, let's stop wasting time and teach me the jutsu already. You'll be late for work."


Inoichi said, "A new Jutsu, huh? No doubt you want to be ready for the Jonin Trials. Alright. I already spoke to Shikaku and Choza in this matter, and the two of them have agreed to teach Shikamaru and Choji the respective jutsus that are required to work with the one I can teach you."

Ino said, "So, this jutsu requires the Ino-Shika-Cho formation?"

Inoichi nodded. "Let me explain how the formation works, before starting on the jutsu."

The head of the Yamanaka clan spent some time teaching Ino the formation, before saying, "You got that?"

Ino replied, "Yup, got it. So in a nutshell, I can only perform the jutsu after Shikamaru is done with his Black Spider Lily. Right?" Inoichi gave her a thumbs up.

Ino continued, "So, what is this jutsu anyway?"

"Do you remember the Mind Destruction Jutsu?" Inoichi asked.

Ino shuddered slightly. "Of course I do. A dangerous jutsu if there ever was one."

Inoichi smiled and said, "If you thought that was dangerous, then this will be overkill for you." He took out a scroll and said, "All the information you need about the jutsu is in this. You cannot start working on the jutsu before you read this. Open it."

Ino opened the scroll. "Mind Body Destruction Dance Jutsu." She looked up at Inoichi and said, "So the person whose mind I take over will kill his comrades before killing himself?"

Inoichi said, "Not only the person. The people. This jutsu allows you to take over the minds of multiple people at once, allowing you to destroy tons of them in one go. It is not a jutsu for the weak to perform, as it requires a large amount of chakra. I am thankful to Naruto for helping you in increasing your chakra reserves through the Rasengan training, since you will easily be able to wield this Jutsu now. The only thing that remains is for you to master it, which I am confident that you will be able to do."

Ino nodded in determination.


Choji said, "Dad, what is your role in your Ino-Shika-Cho formation? It is different from ours, isn't it?"

Choza said, "Yes, it is. I use the Extreme Multi-Size Technique to increase my body completely, and my staff to bring up a swirl of wind that brings the enemies together. That makes it easier for Shikaku to stitch them up together with his shadows quickly."

Choji said, "Why didn't you teach me that jutsu?"

Choza said, "I did teach it to you, Choji. It is simply a variant of the Multi-Size technique that you already know. All you need to learn is how to unleash its full potential."

Choji rubbed his cheek and said, "Do you have any tips for me?"

His father replied with a smile, "Don't use the pills. And make sure you envision yourself as you want before practicing the technique."

Choza started walking off. He turned around at the entrance of their house and said, "By the way, if you must know, I practiced this jutsu for a long time before I was able to master it. You already progressed to the middle stage much faster than me. I'm proud of you for that. If you want to train harder, go to the mountain range at the northern side of the village, it will be easier to train there without disturbing others. And yes, I spoke to Asuma, who has agreed to help you out."

He left the house, leaving Choji to his thoughts.


Shibi Aburame said, "You came to learn a new Jutsu, haven't you? Because the Jonin Trials are nearing?"

Shino nodded and said quietly, "I need to get stronger in order to achieve the rank of Jonin. The only way to do that is to increase my jutsu. Are you willing to teach me again?"

Shibi said, "As your father, it is my duty to teach you. That being said, you are a prodigy in our clan and have learned a lot from me already. Even then, there is a jutsu that even you do not know about. It is only learned by the head of the clan. I wish for you to take my mantle one day. Therefore, I shall teach it to you."

Shino bowed and said, "It is my honor to learn from you once more, father. I hope I shall be able to master this jutsu quickly. Because I would not like to disappoint you."

Shibi said, "This jutsu is a secret technique, and is called the Insect Tornado. Be warned; it requires a high level of skill and all the kikaichu in your body must be willing to help you out to perform it. If you master it, it holds merit as an S-ranked Jutsu."

He turned around and said, "Follow me. We cannot perform this jutsu in the proximity of others. We will need to leave the village and enter the surrounding forests."

Shino followed his father and the two of them left the village to train.


Kiba said angrily, "What do you mean you can't you help me?! I'm your son! It's the least you could do for me!"

Tsume Inuzuka shouted, "I'm heading out for a mission, for God's sake! I swear you are just like your father! No wonder I had to drive him away; he used to quibble over stupid things like these!"

Hana came in and said, "What the heck is going on?"

Kiba stalked over to her and said, "The Jonin Trials are in a week and mother is refusing to help me train!" Hana said, "Well, she is heading out for a mission, isn't she? She can hardly cancel a mission because her son needs to become stronger."

Kiba's jaw dropped. Hana had never taken their mother's side before. Hana smiled and fondled Kiba's head, saying, "I don't know what you are so upset about. Did it not cross your mind that I could teach you too?"

Tsume said, "There! Everything's sorted out. Hana will train you. Now excuse me while I go and bring some money into this house!" She left the house, shutting the door with a bang.

Kiba said, "No offense, sis, but you aren't exactly the attacking type. You're a medical ninja. What jutsu could you teach me that would be offensive?"

Hana said, "You may be forgetting that I'm also an Inuzuka. In order to be a clan member, one has to have knowledge about the clan jutsus. And I know every jutsu that our clan can perform. After all, I am going to take over this clan one day."

Kiba said, "Alright, alright. So what is this jutsu you're going to teach me?"

"I'm sure you're familiar with the Human Beast Combination – Two Headed Wolf Technique, right?" Hana asked him. The boy nodded. Hana said, "This is a continuation of that technique. It is highly dangerous, so don't ever use it unless the need arises. You know the Rashomon technique used by the First Hokage, don't you?"

Kiba said, "Yes I have. Not only have I heard of it, I have also seen it myself. When I was fighting the Sound Ninjas during the mission to retrieve Sasuke, the two I was fighting used the Rashomon to block my Fang Over Fang. They seemed surprised that I could make a dent in it."

Hana raised an eyebrow. She hadn't heard the entire story of Kiba's fight against the Sound Ninjas who had kidnapped Sasuke. "So, you already have some experience against the Rashomon. It is a tough little gate, isn't it?"

Kiba nodded. Hana smiled and said, "How would you feel if I told you that the jutsu I teach you will be able to bust down three of those gates without slowing you down whatsoever?"

The male Inuzuka's eyes widened enough to drop out of his sockets.

Hana said, "The jutsu I am going to teach you now takes a lot out of a user. You will require an insane amount of chakra to pull it off. You need to be in the Two Headed Wolf mode first, and then you need to pull off this jutsu. It is called the Super Fang Wolf Fang. It has enough force to stop kill a dozen enemies and not even stop you down."

"Wow! That's amazing! When do we start?!"

Hana said, "We'll have to head out of the village towards the mountain range in order to practice the jutsu. Let's go."


Hinata panted as she steadied herself. Neji observed her movements carefully, pointing out mistakes wherever he found her stance unsatisfactory.

"Hinata, take a minute to get your breath back. You need to be calm and focused in order to fully master the Sixty Four Palms," Neji said.

Hinata said, "N…no Neji-san. I need…to master this technique as s…soon as possible. I have…to get s…stronger."

Neji smiled at the girl's determination and said, "If getting stronger means having to push yourself beyond the limit, I don't see the point in it. You need to maintain your physical self while training. What is the point of mastering the technique if your own body is incapable of showcasing it at the trials?"

Hinata understood and nodded. She sat down and Neji sat next to her, giving her some water to drink. He said, "Hinata, I know that you want to get stronger, and prove yourself to everyone. But that does not mean that you work harder than your limit. Otherwise, all you will achieve is killing yourself. Understand?"

Hinata said, "I understand, Neji-san. I will not overdo it anymore."

Neji said, "If you're ready, let's proceed, shall we?"


"COME ON, LEE! I KNOW YOU CAN DO BETTER THAN THIS!"

Lee struggled to run faster, with a giant boulder on his back, Gai-sensei sitting atop it. The Jonin was trying to increase Lee's speed even further, to make sure that he could shine in the TaiJutsu pillar of the trials.

Lee cried out, "I WILL NOT FAIL YOU, SENSEI!"

With all his remaining strength, Lee crossed the finish line, and Gai jumped off the rock. Lee threw the rock off his back and gave his sensei a thumbs up, his eyes and teeth twinkling, before he fell onto his back, unconscious.

Gai smiled and picked up the boy. He quickly took him to the hospital and asked Shizune to heal him.

Shizune shouted, "What have you been doing now, Gai?! Look at the amount of muscle tearing on his back!"

Gai scratched his head and said, "Perhaps…I overdid it a little."

Shizune healed Lee's back and said, "No more training for the day. You need to rest, or else you will be in worse shape tomorrow."

She turned around and said to Gai, "If you have to bring Lee back to the hospital again this week, I shall make sure that he doesn't participate in the Jonin Trials. UNDERSTAND?!"

Gai blanched and nodded in fright. Shizune turned around to berate Lee and sighed as she found the bed empty, and the bedside window curtains fluttering.

'I swear, one day I'm going to go crazy with these guys around.'


Tenten pulled out one of her scrolls in a flow, and unleashed a dozen kunai and shuriken into the target at the dojo. She grinned as all of them hit the target, completely skewering it.

Another target jumped up out of nowhere, and flung its own kunai at her. She dodged fluidly, twisting and turning through the air as she landed, and pulled out a quartet of kunai from her leg pouch. She threw the kunai horizontally at the target, and three of them hit its head, while the fourth landed deep into its chest.

A third target sprang up to her right, and she barely dodged the spikes that it launched at her. A moment later, the target's head fell to the ground, decapitated by Tenten's sword.

Tenten panted slightly, "That was a good one. My aim is still spot on. Now all I need to do is polish my NinJutsu a little. And perhaps a little more KenJutsu while I'm at it. Who could help me out? Hmm…I'll go ask Yugao-san."

Tenten locked her dojo and went to Yugao's house. The purple-haired Jonin was at home, and smiled at Tenten. "Can I help you with something, Tenten?"

The weapons expert said, "You must know that the Jonin Trials are next week, right?" Yugao nodded. Tenten continued, "I was rather hoping that you could help me with some weapons training to sharpen my skills a little more. It would really help and I'd appreciate it."

Yugao said, "Of course I'll help you. When do you want to begin?"

Tenten said, "I guess we could start tomorrow morning, around 9. Is that okay for you?" Yugao replied, "9 works fine for me. I'll meet you outside training ground 11. Alright?"

Tenten thanked her and went back home to relax for the rest of the day.


Sasuke was engaged in fierce combat with his Water Clone. A useful jutsu he had picked up when he absorbed Orochimaru, he had used Water Clones to intensify his training a lot, since he found it easier to see where he was weak while fighting.

Sasuke led his clone on a fine dance all around the clearing in the Forest of Death which he had picked for his training. The clone was trying its best not to die a brutal death, a fact that was made difficult due to Sasuke's sword in one hand and a Chidori in the other.

Sasuke finally managed to corner the clone and drove his hand through its heart. The clone turned back into a puddle of water, and Sasuke took a deep breath, before sitting down in the center of the clearing with his eyes shut. He visualized the entire fight as it had happened, his Sharingan recording it all. He saw the flaws in his fight, and analyzed how he could have done better.

Suddenly, a movement to his right alerted his ears and he quickly opened his eyes, looking at the giant snake that was staring at him, its tongue slithering in and out of its mouth.

Sasuke's mouth curved upwards ever so slightly. A few seconds later, the snake was lying on the forest floor, bleeding from its eyes and mouth. Sasuke walked away from the clearing to another one, with not so much as a scratch on him. He sat down again, and closed his eyes.

'I need to get even faster. I'm still not as fast as Naruto.'

Having acknowledged Naruto's strength, Sasuke had made it a priority to improve his skills to match Naruto. This was his new goal in life, having achieved all that he had wanted.

"I will become stronger than you, Naruto. Mark my words. You have shown me that even a loser can become strong, and you have diminished my arrogance. But I still have my pride as an Uchiha. And I cannot let my pride fall, because if it does, then I shall fall with it."

Sasuke opened his eyes, the bladed design of the Mangekyo Sharingan gleaming in the dim light of the forest.


"Good morning, everyone. Welcome to the Jonin Trials."

Tsunade looked around the Chunin Stadium, where the inauguration of the Jonin Trials was being held. Around fifty or so odd ninjas were standing in front of her, with the Konoha 11 standing at the forefront. Sasuke was nowhere to be seen.

Kakashi said, "I didn't expect these many Chunin to be here."

Tsunade paced around the stage that had been built specially, saying, "Our village suffered a giant disaster when Pein attacked. It showed us that even a single shinobi is enough to destroy the entire citizenship we have established. We need to make sure that such a thing can never happen again. And it can only be achieved if every one of you is inspired to protect this village. Who among you wishes to protect the village?"

A giant roar went up from all the ninjas, and Tsunade said, "That's exactly the attitude I want from you. Now, as most of you know by now, the Jonin Trials will be divided into five categories, namely TaiJutsu, NinJutsu, GenJutsu, KenJutsu, and stealth and espionage. If you prove yourself to be capable enough in all these categories, you will be promoted to a Jonin."

She took a slight pause before continuing, "If you are less adept at one of these skills, and more adept at the others, you will be promoted to Tokubetsu Jonin, or what is commonly known as Tokujo now. So don't worry if you are nervous about one of your pillars. Everyone has a fair chance of being promoted. And if you don't get promoted this time, just intensify your training, and make sure you achieve the rank next time."

Everyone nodded.

Tsunade came to the center of the stage, and said, "It is time for you to meet your proctors for the trials."

Tenten looked around and said, "Neji is late. He said he would be here to support us."

Sakura said, "Yeah. Sasuke is late too."

Tsunade said, "Let me introduce our stealth and espionage proctor, Anko Mitarashi!"

Anko walked on stage and bowed amidst mild applause. She smiled at the Konoha 11 and gave Naruto a creepy look, which raised the hairs on his neck. He shuddered and said, "I hate that look she gives me."

Tsunade said, "Our KenJutsu proctor, Might Gai!"

Everyone applauded Gai as he jumped onto the stage. Lee whistled loudly, and clapped as hard as he could. Gai gave a thumbs up to the crowd.

The Hokage continued, "Our GenJutsu proctor, Iruka Umino!"

This time, the applause was the loudest, since most of the Chunins had graduated from the academy after Iruka had started teaching there. He came forward and bowed similarly like Anko had. Naruto clapped hardest this time; after all, Iruka was the reason he was here today.

Tsunade smiled at the applause and asked them to quieten down. She said, "Our NinJutsu proctor, one of the legendary Sannin, Jiraiya!"

Everyone exclaimed in surprise and excitement as a cloud of smoke went up on the stage, and Jiraiya appeared atop Gama, standing in his trademark pose.

Tsunade said, "Our final proctor, for TaiJutsu, is Neji Hyuga!"

Lee and Tenten gasped, and everyone clapped for Neji as he walked on stage and bowed.

Naruto grinned. Sakura glanced at his smile and said, "You knew who the proctors were beforehand, didn't you?" He nodded and she said, "How?"

"Well, that's a long story. Maybe some other time."

Tsunade walked to the side of the stage, where Shikaku was standing with a small pile of papers. She said, "All of you get in a line. You will receive a timetable from Shikaku. Your exams will begin from today afternoon. Memorize your timetable; if you lose it and don't make it to the designated trial when it is held, you will lose your chance at being promoted. Is that understood?"

All the ninjas shouted, "HAI!"

Tsunade said, "Well, then. Let the Jonin Trials, begin!"