Chapter 15.5 Infamous Exams
I don't own Naruto. Anything I use from the story is the property of its creator Masashi Kishimoto.
Welcome to the Naruto special the Infamous Exams. Last time Naruto was summoned back to the Land of the Demons for a conference involving a potential chunin exams in Iwa. Joining Naruto was Kurotsuchi and Temari two of his lovers, Samui of Iwa, and Chōjūrō from the recently freed Kiri. Naruto was already enjoying Kurotsuchi and Temari but even Samui tried to get in on the act. Apparently, the blonde wanted to thank Naruto for his information which saved Yugito from an Akatsuki attack. Amazingly Naruto refused the busty blonde settling for a boobjob before he was greeted by a smiling Kurotsuchi and Temari, who he did sleep with soon after. With the sexcapades over, it was time for the meeting to begin.
(Conference Hall)
As Kurotsuchi looked towards the group, she couldn't help but wonder what input they had for her. It was Naruto who finally broke the ice, "I'll start it off since I was asked to be the proctor for the last chunin exams." Naruto said calmly. When he was asked to be proctor he had to deal with plenty of meetings on the exams and how they were planned. Well he had his shadow clones do it but that was beside the point.
"Based on what I heard that, exam you proctored was a disaster. If anything, you know how you SHOULDN'T run an exam." Temari smirked.
"Care to explain." Kurotsuchi wondered focusing on Naruto.
Naruto groaned in annoyance since he would have to explain this one, "Alright here's the deal."
(Flashback)
A smiling Naruto sat in the middle of the chunin exam classroom as Ibiki explained the reasoning for the first test to most of the students. Just like during his exam, Ibiki was the one who issued the questions, but they changed things slightly from the one he took. In addition to having a group of chunin with the right information they had a few plants that had BAD information. It was a cruel trick but Ibiki was furious that so many passed his exam last time he was chosen and decided to make sure more people failed. Naruto volunteered to be one of the bad ones due to his history with misinformation and because it would make for a hilarious introduction. Fortunately for him, Ibiki's speech had gotten to the part where he mentioned the plans and after a decent number of students began to flee, he got the signal from Ibiki to make his move, "Hold on a minute. You act as though getting information is everything." Naruto smiled as he showed himself to the room. For this exam he had light brown hair with grey eyes and his outfit was a simple black top with ninja pants and a Konoha headband.
"I suggest you calm down kid. You've passed the exam and I wouldn't want to fail you and your team for you acting stupid." Ibiki said coldly. It was a bluff but a good one.
"Shut up idiot" Hanabi said next to him. He appreciated the irony of being next to Hanabi since he was next to Hinata for the previous exam. That and the fact he was right next to a Hyuuga with his massive network without her noticing was hilarious.
A smiling Naruto got up and walked towards the front of the room uncaring of what happened. The class watched as the chunin sentries stayed put but not before turning towards Hanabi, "I won't shut up. We live in a world where we lie and cheat all the time and your exam was further proof of that since our goal was to gather information without being caught. It's why the emphasis was mostly about cheating but that's not enough. Sometimes the person lying to you is a client and that's a major problem. You could be walking into a death sentence and nobody would have any clue. That's the kind of thing we should really know about" Naruto said boldly standing in front of Ibiki.
"That does happen once in a while I'll give you that, but I don't think some genin would know anything about that." Ibiki chuckled.
"Well then it's a good thing I'm not a genin." Naruto continued before turning to the class and breaking the transformation jutsu revealing his real self.
"BOSS!" Konohamaru spoke up in shock while Hanabi was utterly stone faced. Naruto was next to her the whole time and she had no idea.
Ignoring the shout of boss from his student Naruto introduced himself, "Nice to meet you everybody my name is Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze and I'll be your proctor for the second exam. I apologize for the stunt, but I did this to prove a point that would serve you well down the road. As a chunin, gathering information is critical but it starts from the moment you begin a mission.
"What do you mean" a genin from the Hidden Grass asked curiously.
When I was a genin I was tasked to escort a bridge builder named Tazuna back to his home in the Land of Waves. I was told it was a simple C rank mission and with my team and sensei, I was confident we would manage nicely. Unfortunately for us, Tazuna lied by hiding the fact that a man named Gato was after him. Gato sent ninja against us instead of simple bandits which was what a C-Rank mission normally entailed. One of the ninja sent against us was an S-Rank ninja named Zabuza Momochi who some might know him as the Demon of the Hidden Mist." Naruto smiled.
"There's no way that's true. Zabuza-sensei is one of our strongest jonin and the only person stronger is Lady Mizukage. There's no way a genin and his team could beat him" a genin from the Mist said indignantly.
Naruto smiled at the Mist ninja's participation but focused on what he was trying to say, "Maybe so but my sensei was copycat Kakashi. To his credit, Zabuza gave us a ton of problems but that's not the point of my explanation so I'll stop right there. The point is that information is everything but don't always count on everything you hear. I would know, since I was personally a part of 4 bodyguard missions that ended up being rebellions because the clients either lied about the danger or hid very important facts from us." Naruto admitted with a chuckle.
"Wait a minute, you're that guy from the last Princess Fūun movie aren't you?" a kunoichi from the Hidden Grass exclaimed.
Naruto smiled as he recalled that mission and his lover Koyuki but kept going, "That's right and that is actually a perfect example of what I'm talking about. That mission started out as a simple bodyguard mission for a movie shoot. We had no idea that the actress we were guarding was a Princess and the film was an excuse to drag her home to save her country. Boy was that way more interesting than planned." Naruto chuckled.
"Naruto. I believe you were supposed to talk about the second exam." Ibiki said with a cough.
"My bad Ibiki I got caught up in my explanation" Naruto sweatdropped. "Anyway, Meet me at Training Ground 44 in 30 minutes. Be ready because this is going to be a heck of an exam." Naruto smiled before vanishing via the Hirashin.
(Flashback interrupt)
"Hold on a minute. You're saying that the Four Princess Alliance was a fluke." Kurotsuchi exclaimed interrupting Naruto's flashback. The group listened to Naruto explain what he told the group and that stood out to Kurotsuchi.
"What's the Four Princess Alliance" Chōjūrō wondered since he had never heard the term.
It was Shion who decided to answer, "The Four Princess Alliance refers to me, Daimyo Haruna of the Land of Vegetable, Daimyo Toki of the Land of Birds, and Daimyo Kazahana of the now Land of Spring. While I'm a former Priestess and not a Princess, the other three are all Former Princesses who gained power from corrupt relatives after a rebellion"
"That's right and from what I heard you girls were introduced to each other by Naruto. What I didn't realize is that Naruto was tricked in each case." Kurotsuchi spoke up.
Naruto was slightly embarrassed, but it was true, "Sadly that's all true, Koyuki was an actress, Haruna was a random peddler, and Toki… Toki was disguised as her dead brother. We had no idea any of them were Princesses when we got the mission and things got hectic because of it. I wanted to show the kids that this wasn't all fun and games before I gave them my part of the exam" Naruto admitted.
"That was fine and all but the next part is the best part. The part where Naruto actually forced his own village to cancel the exams." Temari chuckled having heard the story from some of the Sand village genin who returned from the exams.
"Seriously that's not cool." Samui deadpanned.
"Do tell" Kurotsuchi chuckled knowing this would be a heck of a story. Naruto wasn't the type to get embarrassed and she knew this was humiliating.
"Fine fine" Naruto groaned.
(Flashback Resume)
Naruto stood in front of the Forest of Death as the teams slowly began to arrive. His shadow clone finished the prep that he did for the exam and admittedly he was curious how this would play out. His amusement was broken by Konohamaru arriving at the exams. "What's the deal boss. Why didn't you tell us you were the proctor for the exams?" Konohamaru protested.
"Because I was told not to Kono. However, we'll discuss this later along with your use of calling me boss." Naruto said firmly.
"Got it" Konohamaru pouted as the other teams began to arrive and it was time for the exam to begin.
"Welcome to Training Ground 44 otherwise known as the Forest of Death everyone. This is the location for the second exam, and it'll be a true test for everyone.
The exam will be a five day survival exercise and you'll have to get from your chosen entrance in the Forest to the tower in the middle."
"Five days that's bull" Konohamaru pouted.
"That's enough Konohamaru. The exam itself won't be that difficult. The five days part is because of these." Naruto smirked as he reached into his pocket and grabbed two scrolls.
"What are those" a random Sand Village ninja said out of nowhere.
"These are the Heaven and Earth scrolls and each team will get one of them. During the exam you need to get the other scroll from an enemy team. So for example, if you get a Heaven scroll you need to get another teams Earth scroll. Also, you cannot open the scrolls under any circumstance, or you'll automatically fail" Naruto explained.
"No way!" a few people shouted. For these genin who rarely experienced combat this was a major upgrade
"Yes and there's one more twist that I've added personally to make it more fun." Naruto smiled.
"What's that" a different Leaf genin wondered nervously.
"You see I'm a seal master and I've set various seals around the forest in hidden locations. If you hit 3 of the arrays a special seal on your scrolls will be destroyed."
"That's bullshit." A ninja from the Hidden Rain shouted.
"Not at all. I told you guys before about how I've fought a bunch of rebellions. The enemy could have loads of traps and you need to be able to focus on things like that in addition to protecting your client. Look on the bright side. You have the entire forest and 3 chances to fail. If you guys handle it right you might not hit any of them." Naruto smirked.
"Proctor I'd like to issue another complaint." A Sand Village ninja spoke up.
"What is it?" Naruto wondered.
"That Leaf Village team has four ninja. If this is truly Team on Team battle shouldn't they be forced to use only three." The grass ninja explained before pointing towards Konohamaru.
"You've gotta be kidding me? You're not seriously going to listen to him are you Boss?" Konohamaru frowned.
Naruto twitched heavily since it was the second time, he did that, "Admittedly I wasn't at first since its nonsense, but I think I'm going to do it as punishment Konohamaru. Hanabi get over here." Naruto said firmly.
"What!" Konohamaru and Hanabi shouted at the same time.
"You heard me Hanabi. I'm going to take you with me to the tower. You won't be participating in the second exam"
"That's unfair. What about the Third part of the exam?" the same ninja complained.
"The third part of the exam won't take place for a month. IF you pass the second exam you'll have plenty of time to recover." Naruto revealed.
"Alright" the ninja frowned since it seemed unfair.
"Alright guys so get the scrolls and get going. By the way you'll also need to sign release forms saying that it's not our fault if you die. The Forest of Death is called that for a reason." Naruto smiled before vanishing with Hanabi using a Shunshin.
(Flashback interrupt)
"That was very clever of you Naruto well done." Temari smiled.
"I have no idea what you're talking about?" Naruto said shamelessly.
"What is she talking about?" Kurotsuchi questioned. Clearly she missed something.
"Naruto knew those four genin very well, so he could've taken any of them, but he took that specific person. I'll give you a hint, she's a Hyuuga"
Kurotsuchi was confused for moment but then her eyes widened in realization of the truth, "If she used her Byakugan she could easily find the seals because she'd notice the chakra that they exude long before her team hits them."
"That's right and there's more to it than even that. Ninja as a rule have a rotten habit of relying on excellent people around them to make up for other issues. I'll be the first to admit that when we formed a team with my brother Gaara we'd just let him fight and that would be the end of it. We did stuff occasionally but when push came to shove, we shoved Gaara and it worked" Temari admitted shamelessly.
"You're right but there's a slight difference between the two situations. I took Hanabi away to see if Konohamaru had the instincts to handle things on his own. You relied on Gaara because you were terrified of him." Naruto snickered.
"Hold on isn't Gaara the name of the current Kazekage?" Chōjūrō wondered.
"Yes he is and he's my younger brother. Before he met Naruto, Gaara was a bloodthirsty monster who killed everyone that was his enemy. We were terrified of him. That's in the past though." Temari smiled.
"Back to the original point. You said that they were forced to cancel the exam. How come." Kurotsuchi wondered.
"The second exam started with 14 teams. After a single day only 3 remained with scrolls." Temari admitted.
"You bastard, how could you set up that many sealing arrays so close to the entrance of the exam?" Kurotsuchi shouted in disgust. Theoretically that meant that 33 arrays had been triggered in the first day. It was an utterly insane number as far as she was concerned."
"Uh… no comment." Naruto said with a guilty look on his face. Noticing the look Temari's eyes widened.
"No way. You couldn't have" Temari gasped as though she figured something incredible out.
"Care to share with the class" Samui said dryly.
"He didn't set up multiple sealing arrays like he told the kids. He set up 1 massive one." Temari said in disbelief
"What!"
"Bull" Chōjūrō and Kurotsuchi said at the same time.
"What makes you think I could set up an array large enough for the whole training ground and if that was the case why didn't everybody fail instantly." Naruto countered. That was exactly what he did but he wanted to know Temari's reasoning.
"First, thanks to the others I know very well how skilled you are with seals. It would also require a massive amount of chakra, but you could do it. As for why everyone didn't fail originally it's because the seal was designed to only break the scrolls if they went over a certain speed. The second exam is supposed to serve two purposes like the first one. The first is indeed because you could be guarding valuable information and that's why the scrolls were there but the second is to see how you're able to adapt to adverse circumstances. With Gaara we were able to pass the test within a few hours, but if not for him it would've been a totally different story. That's why I know the five days was to test your survival skills and ability to adapt to an unfamiliar environment and manage it accordingly. You gave a second hint out when you told that genin about the fact the third exam isn't for another month. I imagine the genin that passed, took their time to gather their surroundings and analyze the situation, the ones that failed probably tried to bum rush the tower as and when they got too close too quick had the scrolls destroy themselves." Temari surmised.
Everyone looked at Temari like she was crazy, but then they realized the reason for it. There's no way a simple training ground would take five days to navigate even for the slowest of ninja. The test should've theoretically been done in 2 days at the most.
"You got it Temari. I got in a lot of trouble for pulling that off but I'm pretty sure the ninja involved learned a valuable lesson in patience." Naruto smirked.
'What happened to the Hyuuga girl that you took away. What did she do during the whole time?" Samui wondered.
"She sat patiently while I watched everything happen. Admittedly I didn't expect the teams to fail so quickly so I was going to give her an obstacle course after the first day but there were 3 teams left and to make matters worse, they had the same scroll with none of the teams getting both due to all the chaos." Naruto admitted. Tsunade gave him tons of grief for that stunt and Konohamaru and his team did also. It was both one of his proudest moments and one of his least prideful if that was possible.
Samui and Chōjūrō were stunned at the revelation but Kurotsuchi wasn't. After all she knew what a dynamo Naruto was from her first interaction and after watching the Dragons attack Mōryō she was convinced that Naruto could take over the elemental nations. It was why she set this up in the first place. "So now that we've established Naruto forgot about how impulsive kids can be, let's focus on the task at hand." Kurotsuchi smiled.
"How can we do that when you've forgotten something very important also Kuro." Naruto smirked using her nickname to tease her.
"What's that" Kurotsuchi twitched.
"We don't know a thing about Iwa so without learning more how can we properly plan an exam. We can give you advice but if we don't know what you guys are working with we can't plan anything." Naruto admitted.
Kurotsuchi winced since this was a dangerous game in its own right. Rather ironically one of the reasons she wanted to hold this in the Land of Demons was that Iwa still had very mixed feelings about Naruto. The fact that you had the sister of the Kazekage and a member of the future Seven Swordsman of the Mist would only encourage people to do something stupid and with her breasts somebody was bound to aim something at Samui, "I'd have to contact Lord Tsuchikage to see what he thinks. Iwa doesn't like giving away it's tactical setup" Kurotsuchi said bashfully. She really hoped nobody would bring this up because it might mean bringing them to Iwa directly.
"Alright how about we take the rest of the day off. I'm sure everyone needs a break after everything that's happened." Shion suggested.
"Of course. Lady Shion I assume you have some messenger system in place I can use to send a message to Lord Tsuchikage." Kurotsuchi wondered.
"Yes I do. Please come this way." Shion smiled as she got up. With things seemingly back to normal everyone had a chance to relax.
(Scene Skip)
To Naruto's pleasant surprise he had a pretty dull afternoon after the meeting was over. Temari Samui and Chōjūrō decided to take a tour of the Land of Demons with Taruho and Kurotsuchi was sending a message to her grandfather which meant Naruto was alone with his thoughts, 'I hate to interrupt but somebody wants to speak to you' Kurama revealed.
'I see.' Naruto replied having a good idea of who wanted to see him, and he sat down on his bed in order enter his mindscape. Kurama was there along with another guest who was waiting for him. One he wasn't quite as happy to see.
"Hey Naruto" Yugito said bashfully as she walked up to him. By now Yugito was positive that Samui had told him about her encounter with the Akatsuki which meant he'd know she lied.
"You and I have a lot to discuss Yugito." Naruto frowned.
Yugito sighed knowing that Naruto was pissed, "Yeah I should've told you but Lord Raikage forced me not to." Yugito frowned.
"Does Lord Raikage know you're speaking with me right now." Naruto deadpanned.
"No… but"
"Exactly Yugito. To be honest I'm not angry that you hid what happened to you. I'm actually angrier that you pimped out your friend to me in order to keep my silence." Naruto admitted. One of the reasons he didn't sleep with Samui was because he was positive that it was done to prevent him from telling anybody about what happened to Yugito. A stupid thought as far as he was concerned.
"Wait so you didn't sleep with Samui. I didn't think anybody could resist her." Yugito said in shock.
"That's right but that's besides the point. I assume the Nibi isn't with us because the technique she used to save you took a lot of energy."
"Yes it did but the Nibi is fine. Honestly I just wanted to speak with you myself to explain why I hid things." Yugito said bashfully.
"No need, if anything I'm just glad you're okay. The fact the Akatsuki hasn't gotten the full power of the Nibi is good enough for me." Naruto shrugged. The fact he got a boobjob from a girl with massive breasts did calm him down and he was certain he could sleep with Samui under regular circumstances later
"Alright." Yugito smiled happily.
"Well I've gotta go. I've finally got a break from everything and I'm going to take it." Naruto shrugged.
"See ya around Naruto. Hopefully our next meeting will be in person." Yugito smiled.
"Maybe" Naruto smirked before leaving the mindscape. His day was done and now he could relax his way.
(Scene Skip)
Kurotsuchi was mentally exhausted as she returned from writing and sending the letter to the Tsuchikage that would decide the next move. As she made her way back to her room she paused for a moment outside the door of one Naruto Uzumaki. She was well aware that not only was her host one of his lovers but so was Temari and that while he hadn't claimed Samui of Cloud, it was only a matter of time until he did. "Why not" Kurotsuchi thought to herself before she knocked on Naruto's door. She would've come right in but she wasn't in the mood to walk in on him sleeping with somebody else. The door opened slightly and Naruto stuck his head out which was as good a sign as any.
"What's up Kuro" Naruto wondered.
"Can we talk right now. I want to discuss something with you." Kurotsuchi said calmly.
"Sure. Give me one second and we can chat outside." Naruto said calmly.
"Got it" Kurotsuchi replied with a sour look on her face. In other words Naruto was entertaining and that meant she was going to get a clone to talk to while the real one had his fun. A moment later and Naruto walked out in his usual outfit.
"Shall we" Naruto smiled.
"Let's go" Kurotsuchi groaned as she grabbed Naruto and brought him back to her room. It might've seemed like a horrible idea but in truth she really didn't know how to communicate with him normally. They arrived at his room and while Naruto stood by the door, Kurotsuchi went over to her bed and stripped off the jonin flak jacket she sported before sitting on the bed.
"So what do you want to talk about?" Naruto smiled. He wasn't so foolish as to presume this would be him having fun but if it became that he wasn't about to complain.
"When the others go into Iwa, I want you to stay here." Kurotsuchi said calmly.
Naruto raised his eyebrow slightly at the request, "Why is that?" Naruto replied. He wasn't angry but he was simply curious.
"My home hates the Fourth Hokage and that's only increased as you've gained more accolades. The Four Princess Alliance, your growing reputation in the Bingo Book as an S Class ninja. If they see you they're going to attack you." Kurotsuchi said nervously.
"And you're afraid of what, that one of those stray attacks will kill me." Naruto questioned.
"The opposite. I'm afraid that Iwa's reputation will take a major hit because the other representatives will see how you're treated. You're sleeping with Temari I know that much and Lady Shion has long been your lover. The Mist is also just getting back on their feet and the Cloud hates us. I figure if I keep you away, maybe they won't be completely stupid." Kurotsuchi said nervously.
"So let me get this straight. You're worried about the attitudes of your fellow villagers more than me." Naruto smiled.
"Yes I am." Kurotsuchi retorted.
"You forgot about the fact I'm a ninja. I can transform very easily and that'll work just fine." Naruto chuckled.
"Naruto this isn't funny" Kurotsuchi shouted angrily.
"Yes it is Kuro. I was hunted by my own village for years because my own home believed I was the fox reincarnated. Now you're telling me I have a whole different village of people who hate me because my dad did his job as a ninja. That's kinda funny especially since you tried to kill me during our first meeting. Honestly, I doubt you could stand to even be in the same room as me if not for what happened between us" Naruto shrugged.
Kurotsuchi paused because she really couldn't argue that point. "Anyway, I'm sure we can get the information you want so stay behind." Kurotsuchi frowned. Could he transform yeah but it would only be a matter of time until somebody did something stupid anyway. Samui was the type who would get some crude remarks and she highly doubted Naruto would stay quiet if that happened. Then again, she probably wouldn't either.
Naruto frowned for a bit, "I'm going Kuro and you know that I need to go. I can transform into somebody else and that'll be enough." Naruto smiled.
"Naruto" Kurotsuchi started to say before she was interrupted by a knock on the door.
"Hey boss I'm bringing you know who back to the Leaf." A Naruto clone said through the door.
"Got it" Naruto smiled back before turning to Kurotsuchi. "You were saying." Naruto said before turning towards a confused Kurotsuchi.
"Who is you know who." Kurotsuchi wondered. She knew he was sleeping with somebody when she came by, the question was who was it?
"Remember that girl Kagome who used to be Shion's aide."
"Yeah" Kurotsuchi frowned.
"She kinda wanted to come back to the Leaf with us and she's now a genin in our village. I figured getting a chance to see Shion would be nice" Naruto shrugged.
Kurotsuchi was absolutely stunned by this news. "Don't tell me you're actually sleeping with one of your genin when you're a jonin."
"Well I was sleeping with her before but now I really can't. Plus, my genin team is all men. Hinata is taking charge of a team of girls who are my future lovers and Kagome." Naruto said calmly.
Kurotsuchi looked at Naruto with a flat expression on her face and annoyance slowly growing, "Unbelievable, is there anybody you won't sleep with?"
"Well there was this enemy kunoichi on my last mission that I didn't sleep with." Naruto revealed.
Kurotsuchi chuckled before getting off the bed and walking towards Naruto. All the talk of sex had her horny and it wasn't as though she didn't have an itch to scratch herself, "I imagine we've got a few hours before Shion will be able to host again right?" Kurotsuchi said with a sway of her hips.
"Yeah I think so. Any idea how we can spend that time." Naruto replied having a good idea of what was coming.
"Yes I do and maybe you can give me a reason to allow you into my village" Kurotsuchi smiled. To be honest he practically had to come because Suzumebachi would drive her nuts if he didn't.
"I'll see what I can do" Naruto smiled before Kurotsuchi leaned in and kissed him on the lips very quickly.
"Shut up and fuck me you ass." Kurotsuchi smirked.
"That I can do" Naruto smiled before returning the kiss. It would be another 2 hours before Naruto left that room and he left Kurotsuchi with a smile on her face and both her holes stuffed with Uzumaki seed. Now that was how Naruto relaxed
(Scene Skip)
The very next morning the reply came from Iwagakure and the Tsuchikage gave permission for the group to come into the city in order to evaluate potential sites. Unfortunately the trip would take two days from the compound. "So... we're really going into Iwa huh" Chōjūrō said nervously.
"Yeah. I gotta admit I kinda wished we could've avoided it, but Naruto made a good point" Kurotsuchi admitted bitterly.
"Yeah but I kinda wish we could go faster ya know." Temari pouted before turning to Naruto who quickly shook his head. The dragons were a very simple no no.
"I'm not in a rush personally and frankly I could use the time to relax" Naruto smiled.
"What I don't get is why we weren't there in the first place." Samui wondered.
"That would be because Iwagakure has a huge problem with my dad and if I showed up Kurotsuchi was afraid it would cause an incident."
Temari's eyes widened at the response, "I see" Temari replied knowingly.
"Umm Naruto, who is your father?" Chōjūrō wondered innocently.
"He's the Fourth Hokage" Naruto said nonchalantly causing Chōjūrō to go nuts.
"Your dad is the Fourth Hokage! He's a legend even to us in the Hidden Mist." Chōjūrō exclaimed
"Same with the Cloud. Lord Raikage spoke highly of him because he appreciated the man's speed and skill. I'm sure he'd love to meet you." Samui said warmly.
"Yeah that's all fine and good but I'm more focused on our current meeting." Naruto shrugged. The Tsuchikage and him had plenty to talk about and that was his priority. For now he had to focus on the upcoming mission.
(Scene Skip)
When nightfall arrived, Naruto revealed his wood cabin and the other four ninja were stunned by the convenience that they had access to. There were 3 rooms with two beds each. That meant the two guys could stay in one room with Samui taking a room to herself and Kurotsuchi and Temari sharing the final room. After a simple meal the gang retired to their beds and prepared for bed. Naruto didn't mind since he was curious how the young man was handling his new role since Mist was in chaos for so long. Surprisingly it was Chōjūrō that ultimately broke the ice, "Hey Naruto mind if I ask you something?"
"Of course" Naruto replied since it wasn't a big deal.
Chōjūrō then undid the bindings of the blade revealing it at last to Naruto. It was a wide, flat blade with two curved indentations near its base, creating a sort of cross-guard. Two handles are connected to one another by a short length of cord. "When Lady Mizukage came to power she named me as one of the new generation of the Seven Swordsman and gave me this blade. Its name is Hiramekarei, but I've never felt worthy of wielding it."
"I don't hear a question." Naruto chuckled.
"My question is how will I know that I'm worthy of this blade. How will I know that Lady Mizukage made the right decision?"
Naruto frowned since Chōjūrō clearly lacked confidence and it was painful to watch. "I can't answer that for you Chōjūrō. All I can tell you is to keep doing your best. I mean honestly I didn't know the Fourth was my father for most of my life hell I didn't know who my mother was either. The point is that I tried to become great regardless of what was in my past because I didn't want that to define me. The Mizukage has made it clear that you are the future of the Hidden Mist and if your leader is saying that it means you're special." Naruto smiled.
"Thanks Naruto" Chōjūrō replied before getting up to turn off the lights. Unfortunately for him, Karin picked that moment to appear in the middle of the room causing the young man to stumble in fright.
"Karin what the hell are you doing here and this late at night." Naruto frowned in annoyance.
"Sorry cousin but I thought I'd deliver some news that absolutely couldn't wait." Karin said in a serious tone.
"This better be good" Naruto replied.
"We just received word from a spy we managed to get into the Hidden Sound Village. A few days ago Itachi Uchiha and Kisame Hoshigake managed to get inside the Sound Village and went on a rampage. They quickly overwhelmed the village and even Orochimaru was no match for them."
"So is Orochimaru dead?" Naruto wondered.
"No he's not because he managed to escape, but what matters is that the Akatsuki have taken over the Hidden Sound Village." Karin revealed causing Naruto and Chōjūrō to pale.
"Got it. I assume you've informed Lady Hokage."
"Yeah. Things are about to get wild." Karin replied before vanishing in a flash just as she appeared.
"Yeah they are" Naruto frowned. The news about Akatsuki was definitely bad and it was the type of news that would make the meeting with the Tsuchikage even more interesting.
That's it For Chapter 15.5 and dun dun dunnnn. Things are about to get fun. Next time Naruto and the gang enter Iwa and while most of the crew evaluates the village, Naruto speaks with the Tsuchikage about various topics.
AN: Just wanted to make sure people remembered this, but the exam Naruto proctored happened back between the events of chapter 6 and 7. So this was BEFORE Naruto became the jonin sensei for Konohamaru's team.