Kaneshi!
Chapter 44

By: HeavenlydemonxXxo

I definitely will not own Naruto.

Oh Em Gee. Everyone. It's time for one of my favorite parts now.


They both gasped out of shock.

Naruto returned to his normal state and asked, "What's this?"

Sakura suddenly shrinked her eyes. "Person, Jin?" she muttered in question.

The scroll suddenly started to bulge and smoke wisped out of it.

"This is a summoning inscription." gasped Sasuke. "Naruto, Sakura, let go of those scrolls!"

They threw it. We got into a fighting stance. An outline of a person appeared in the smoke. I tried to scrutinize who this was.

"You're..." stammered Sasuke.

"I-Iruka sensei?" I stammered with him.

"Hello. Long time no see. Looks like the three of you went through a lot of trouble." He beamed.

"What? Why? Why did you appear through a summoning technique, Iruka-sensei?" asked Naruto.

"We Chuunins are to welcome the examinees at the end of this Second Exam. I was given the duty to pass the three of a you a message by chance." sensei took out a watch. "You're just in time. Everyone... Congratulations on passing the Second Exam. I'd like to treat you to ramen at Ichiraku, but... "

"Yeah!" cheered Naruto as he ran to hug sensei. I laughed.

"Hey, Naruto! Let me finish..."

"Yeah! Ramen! Ramen!" shouted Naruto, gleefully. I snickered, the look on his face was just too hilarious. "I did well! I'm the best! I want to eat ramen!"

The other two slumped onto the floor. "What an energetic guy..." sighed Sasuke.

I collapsed too, and stared at the ceiling. "Now it's the Third Exam. By all good things, I hope it's easier." My bones ached a bit.

"Geez, you're still restless like before." beamed Iruka sensei.

"I see. If we looked into the scrolls during the exam... Iruka sensei, what were you planning to do?"

"Sasuke, you're as sharp as ever." sensei complimented. "As you have guessed, this exam tests your mission completion ability. So, if you break the rules and open a scroll... We were ordered to knock out the examinees until the Second Exam ended."

"Aren't you three glad you didn't open it?" asked Sasuke.

"Thank goodness for Kabuto san." I sighed.

"Oh yeah. Sensei! What does that text on the wall mean? It seems to be broken, and we can't understand it at all." asked Sakura.

"Who cares?! We passed the exam!" whooped Naruto.

"No, my other mission is to explain to you what this means. Read it again. This is the principle Hokage-sama wrote that you should keep in mind as a Chuunin. The 'Heaven' in this text points to the head of a person. And 'Earth' points to the body. If you do not possess Heaven, gain knowledge and be prepared. That means, for example, if Naruto's weak point is his brain... He should study and prepare for his missions. And if you do not possess Earth, run through the fields and seek strength. For example, if Sakura's weakness lies in strength, she should train herself every day. And if you have both Heaven and Earth attributes, any dangerous missions will become safe... It can even become easy..."

"What about that missing letter?"

"It's the letter that symbolizes a Chuunin. The 'human' letter that was in here goes in there. The survival mission you took part in these past five days tested the basic abilities of the examinees as a Chuunin. And you guys completed it. A Chuunin is a commander-class. He has a duty to lead a team. Deeply inscribe into your heart the importance of knowledge and strength in missions. Never forget that Chuunin principle, and go on to the next step. That's all I was ordered to tell you."

"Roger!" said Naruto. After that, there was an awkward silence. I sat up.

"But don't push yourselves in the Third Exam. Especially you, Naruto. I'm worried about you, the..."

Naruto cut sensei off. "Iruka-sensei! When I got this Konoha forehead protector I graduated from the academy. There's no need to worry. And this is the proof you gave me to show I'm not a child anymore, right, Iruka-sensei... I may still be restless, but I'm not a kid anymore. Right now. I'm a shinobi."

"Ahaha... Shinobis shouldn't be wearing neon orange jumpsuits." I murmured. But I understood what he was saying. I supported it too.

"I see. I'm sorry, Naruto." sensei apologized.

Naruto was now laughing like a maniac. I cringed.


I looked around. A huge crowd was still left. I sighed. I was hoping that this would get easier. The other rookie 6 made it too. Hinata was there. Grinning I wondered when we would leave from here. But then there was that evilicious Hyuuga. I groaned. But, Rock Lee made it too then. That would definitely be interesting. Those sound ninjas... If we meet them again in battle, it wont be pretty.

"Hey, hey, old man Hokage, Iruka-sensei, and the super brows are here, too. Feels like everyone important is here." whispered Naruto. Ahaha. His nicknames were pretty darn funny, if mean.

"I don't have a good feeling about it, though." said Sasuke as he rubbed his shoulder.

That reminded me of that mark he had. What was it. What is it doing to him. The scary guy's face appeared in my mind. I winced. My hate for him was huge. For what reason? I don't know. But if he comes back, I have some business to deal with him.

"We will now have an explanation of the Third Exam from Hokage-sama. Everyone listen well. Hokage-sama, please do the honors." declared Anko.

"The Third Exam will begin." said the Hokage. "But before the explanation, there's one thing I want to make clear to all of you. It's about the true purpose of this exam. Why we do a joined exam with the allied nations. To maintain good relations with the allied nations and heighten the level of the shinobi... Do not let those reasons deceive you. This exam, so to speak, is... The epitome of a war between the allied nations. If we go back through history, the allied nations right now were... Neighboring countries that have fought each other over and over again. To avoid wasting military power, those countries decided to choose a place to fight... That is the beginning of the Chuunin Selection Exam."

Eh? We're fighting a war?

"What do you mean? We're not doing this to select Chuunins?" shouted Naruto.

"Yes, this Exam does examine those who are worthy of the Chuunin title. But, on the other hand, it's also a place where shinobi fight and carry their country's dignity. In this Third Exam, feudal lords and famous people from various countries who may be potential clients are invited here as guests. And feudal lords from countries with hidden villages and shinobi leaders will see your battles. If there's a significant difference in power, the strong country will be flooded with jobs. If a country is seen as weak, their jobs will decrease. And at the same time, countries are able to show how their village has grown and possess excellent military power to the adjacent countries. In other words, they can put foreign pressure on them."

"So why do we have to fight with the risk of losing our lives?" piped Kiba.

"A country's power is the village's power. A village's power is the shinobi's power. And a shinobi's true power is only born in a life-or-death battle. This Exam is also a place to show off the shinobi power of one's country. Since this is an exam where you fight with your life on the line, it has a meaning... And your predecessors have fought and dreamed of being in the Chuunin Exam because of it."

"But why do you say it is to promote good relations?" asked one of Rock Lee's teammates.

"I told you at the beginning to not get it confused with that. The custom of showing one's life and fighting to maintain balance... That is the good relation in the world of shinobi. This is a life-or-death battle for your dream and village's dignity."

"I understand now." grinned Naruto.

"I don't care. Tell us the details of this life-or-death exam." This person's cold voice sent shivers up my spine.

"Then I will now begin the explanation of the Third Exam, but..."

A chuunin popped up, kneeling to the Hokage. "Excuse me, Hokage-same... I, Gekkou Hayate, the judge, will explain."

"Please do."

I raised my head to see Gekkou san. Judge? Judge of what? The Third Exam? Gekkou san coughed. He turned his head. No offense, but he looked like a druggie, with those huge eyebags.

"Everyone, it's nice to meet you. Everyone, before the Third Exam... There's something I want you to do... "