A few weeks have passed since they left the Land of Waves. A few weeks have passed since Kakashi slayed the demon of the mist. A few weeks have passed since Haku has lost her master. She sits in a dark room and stares at the ceiling. She remembers the time that she spent with her master. She continues to think until someone opens her door. The person who opens the door is Naruto Sarutobi.
"Come on and get up. Kakashi sensei wants to meet with us," said Naruto.
Haku says nothing.
"I know you're still recovering from Zabuza's death, but you're a member of Team 7 and when the team meets, you meet with us. Come downstairs if you want to go," said Naruto.
Haku stays in bed until she hears a voice in her head. A voice that is very familiar.
"Haku, you should go with him. He seems like a nice kid." said the voice.
"I'm not a part of Team 7. I tried to kill them all. Their sensei killed you." said Haku.
"That doesn't matter. They're giving you a second chance and you're wasting it in this dark room sulking about my death. You're a smart girl Haku. You should know that you're wasting your potential. They want to like you. They want you to redeem yourself, but they can't do it for you. I'm sorry that I didn't treat you like a person. I'm sorry that I treated you like a tool. Please, I beg of you. Join them and become a better person than me." said Zabuza.
After hearing this, Haku finally gets out of bed. She grabs her old robe then stares at the mask. She wore this mask to kill for Zabuza. She wore this mask when she tried to kill her new allies. She puts the mask down and leaves her room. She leaves the Sarutobi residence and heads towards the meeting spot. She begins to turn the corner until she hears Team 7. She begins to turn back around, but she's tired of being alone. She's tired of being weak. It's time for her to be strong and face her demons. She turns the corner and is immediately noticed by Sasuke.
"What is she doing here?" asked Sasuke.
"Chill. She's our new teammate," said Naruto.
"New teammate? I didn't agree to this," said Sasuke.
"It isn't your choice. Grandfather said that it was ok for her to join us. Hokage's decision is final." said Naruto.
"Fine. But it doesn't mean that I have to like her," said Sasuke.
The new Team 7 waits for Kakashi. Three hours pass.
"Is Kakashi sensei always this late?" asked Haku.
"Yep. I would advise you to arrive late, but I'm always the first one here," said Sakura.
They wait until two people walk around the corner. A blonde girl with a fan on her back and a boy with a puppet on his back approach the team.
"These are Hidden Leaf shinobi? I'm not impressed." said the puppetmaster.
The puppetmaster surveys the group until he sees Haku.
"Whoa, I didn't know that you guys had babes. My name's Kankuro. I'm really sure that you need to mess with a real one." said Kankuro.
He puts his hand on Haku's cheek and starts caressing it.
"Get your hand off her," said Naruto.
Naruto grabs Kankuro's arm.
"Get your hand off me pipsqueak," said Kankuro.
Kankuro prepares to punch Naruto until a rock hits him. He looks up and notices Joshu in the tree. Joshu throws another rock at him.
"You're dead kid," said Kankuro.
Kankuro pulls the puppet off his back.
"Kankuro don't." said the girl.
He's about to fight Joshu until a boy speaks up while he's standing upside down on the tree.
"You're a disgrace." said the boy.
"Sorry, Gaara. They're just annoying little brats," said Kankuro.
"Shut up or I'll kill you. Temari, you should keep him on a leash," said Gaara.
"So you're the boss. Can you answer me this question: why are there three sand shinobi in the Hidden Leaf Village?" asked Joshu.
"We're here for the Chunin Exams," said Temari.
"The Chunin Exams arrived already? That's probably what father wanted to tell us. You guys can go, but if you touch my friend again, I'll make sure you don't participate in the Chunin Exams." said Joshu.
"What's your name?" asked Gaara.
"The name's Joshu and don't you forget it," said Joshu.
Gaara turns the other way and the trio disappears. Kakashi appears a few minutes later.
"Sorry for being late. I got a little lost. I know this is a little sudden, but I nominated you guys for the Chunin Exams. Here are your applications. Bring them with you tomorrow. And Haku here's this." said Kakashi.
Kakashi hands Haku a Hidden Leaf ninja headband.
"You're now officially a Hidden Leaf shinobi. Maybe in a few months, you'll become a chunin," said Kakashi.
Haku takes the headband and ties it around her forehead. She has made Zabuza happy. She looks at her teammates and smiles at them. They all smile back except for Sasuke. Unknown to them, a trio of ninja is watching them from a tree.
"None of them are important except for the Uchiha brat and the sand guy. Make sure to keep an eye on him." said the bandaged boy.
The next day arrives and Joshu approaches the Academy. The rest of Team 7 is there and he notices Sakura's expression. He ignores this and walks inside. He notices that there are people laying on the grass before he walks into the long line. Around an hour passes and Team 7 is finally in the building. They notice that one of the two boys standing in front of the door punched a boy in a green jumpsuit with a bowl cut.
"You guys are just little kids. If you're going to bring that in, you won't pass the Chunin Exams. You should just quit." said one of the boys.
A girl with hair buns approaches the two boys.
"Please let us in. He didn't do anything to you." said the girl.
One of the boys slaps her.
"I'm actually being nice. The Chunin Exams will hurt you way more than a slap from me." said one of the boys.
"You better let us in. I can see through your genjutsu," said Sasuke.
Team 7 walks through the crowd. Joshu checks on the girl who was slapped.
"Are you ok?" asked Joshu.
"I'm fine. A simple slap won't stop me from being a shinobi." said the girl.
Joshu looks at the girl's headband.
"So you're also a Hidden Leaf shinobi," said Joshu.
"Yeah. The name's Tenten," said Tenten.
"My name's Joshu," said Joshu.
They shake hands and then move to their teams.
The genjutsu disappears and the room number turns from 301 to 201.
"Now step aside," said Sasuke.
"You won't get past me." said one of the boys.
One of the boys tries to sweep Sasuke off his feet. Sasuke tries to kick him, but the boy in the green jumpsuit stops them from connecting.
"Rock Lee, no time no see," said Joshu.
Rock Lee turns around to see his old rival standing there.
"Joshu, I've been waiting to fight you again. I will prove to you that the power of youth prevails over natural talent. But first, hello Sakura. Will you go out on a date with me? I will protect you with my life." said Rock Lee.
"That's pretty lame," said Sakura.
"Lame? Guy sensei said that it was cool." thought Rock Lee.
A boy with clear eyes and long brown hair approaches Joshu.
"What's your name?" said the boy.
"Joshu Hatake and yours?" said Joshu.
"I don't need to answer you." said the boy.
The boy walks away. How rude of that boy to ask Joshu his name then respond in a smug tone? Anyway, Team 7 moves forward until they reach a room and doors that lead outside. They don't notice Rock Lee standing on the balcony above them. Rock Lee jumps down and lands in front of the group.
"I want to fight you now," said Rock Lee.
"Now? Didn't you forget we have a whole exam to complete," said Joshu.
"I lost all those years back and now I won't. I will fight for Sakura's love," said Rock Lee.
"Fine. Give me five minutes guys," said Joshu.
Rock Lee rushes and tries to kick Joshu, but he dodges it.
"Leaf Hurricane!" exclaimed Rock Lee.
Rock Lee's legs move super fast and nearly hits Joshu. Joshu is forced to block instead of dodging. He nearly blocks all of Lee's kicks until he finally gets hit with one. Rock Lee then kicks him into the air.
"I'm going to defeat you with my last attack. My ultimate technique will tie up our record," said Rock Lee.
Rock Lee is about to use his ultimate technique until a shuriken cuts the bandages that were tied around his arms. A tortoise appears behind Team 7.
"That's enough Lee!" exclaimed the tortoise.
Rock Lee drops Joshu and Joshu falls to the ground and lands on his feet.
"I'm sorry sensei," said Rock Lee.
"When could a tortoise be a sensei?" asked Naruto.
"The real sensei is coming," said Joshu.
A man in a green jumpsuit and a jounin jacket appears on top of the tortoise. He strikes a strange pose. The kids looked shocked when they saw the strange man.
"The power of youth that is emanating from here makes me so happy." said the strange man.
"Uncle Guy!" exclaimed Joshu.
"Joshu, you've gotten so big. The power of youth emanating from you will definitely get you a promotion," said Guy.
"You know this guy?" asked Sasuke.
"Yeah, he's my dad's rival," said Joshu.
"Lee, I'm disappointed that you would fight your cousin," said Guy.
"I'm sorry Guy sensei, but I needed to fight for love," said Lee.
Guy socks Lee in the face. Lee starts to cry. Guy runs over to Lee and hugs him.
"I'm sorry Lee. In order to get back in my good graces, you need to run 500 laps around here after the Chunin Exams," said Guy.
"Yes sir. Joshu we will finish this fight later," said Lee.
"Yeah and I won't go easy on you next time," said Joshu.
Lee and Guy disappear.
"I guess it's time to get to the classroom," said Haku.
Team 7 walks to the classroom and runs into Kakashi.
"Hey, Kakashi sensei. Why are you here?" asked Naruto.
"I just wanted to remind you to not forget anything I've taught you and don't be terrified by the people in there. They just look intimidating," said Kakashi.
Kakashi walks away. Team 7 walks into a room full of ninja from different villages from around the world. They all stare at Team 7. A girl with long blonde hair and a crop top jumps on Sasuke.
"Sasuke, I've been waiting for you." said the blonde.
"Get off of him Ino!" said Sakura.
"Well you're ugly and naggy as usual," said Ino.
Ino's three other teammates enter the room. Shikamaru Nara, the complaining genius, Choji Akimichi, the fat buffoon, and Amariu Iruson, the petty cutie, approach Team 7.
"Look, it's the idiot squad," said Naruto.
"Don't talk to us like that. You know how hard a giant fan can feel on your face," said Amariu.
Naruto backs off. A boy wearing a coat with a dog on his head enters the room. He's joined by his other three teammates Hinata Hyuga, the shy girl, Shino Aburame, the shady weirdo, and Najiru Bingamu, the "ladies man".
"Oh, not you guys. How did they even allow you in here?" said Joshu.
"We're not weak, we can beat you," said Kiba.
"You probably couldn't beat Choji," said Joshu.
Kiba doesn't respond and just snarls at Joshu. A grey-haired teenager with glasses walks up to the group.
"Can you guys shut up? You must be rookies. Veterans wouldn't act like the fools you guys are acting like." said the grey-haired teenager.
"Who are you?" asked Sakura.
"I'm Kabuto Yakushi. I know that this is your first time here so I have a gift for you. These are ninja info cards. These cards have info about all of the ninja here. They can help you learn about the people here." said Kabuto.
Kabuto inserts some of his chakra into one of the cards and Haku's face and stats appear on it.
"This could be really helpful. We'll take them," said Joshu.
Kabuto gives Team 7 the cards then leaves. Team 7 inserts their chakras into the cards and learns everything about their opponents. A few minutes later, an older man with multiple scars appears with a large group of shinobi behind him.
"Sorry to keep you guys waiting. My name's Ibiki Morino and I'll be your examiner for the first Chunin Exam. We will now start our first test, a written test used to test your intelligence." said Ibiki.
The ninja get moved to their seats. Ibiki's assistants pass out the test. The test has ten questions. Ten questions that are not meant to be solved without taking a look at other peoples' answers.
"Oh. So we're supposed to cheat. They want us to gather information. I've got to message the rest of the team." thought Joshu.
"Mr. Ibiki, may I use the bathroom?" asked Joshu.
"Sure," said Ibiki.
Joshu walks out of the room and without anybody noticing looks at everyone's answers, memorizes them, and uses toilet paper to write down the answer. He returns to the classroom and hands the answers to his teammates. Ino uses the Mind Transfer Jutsu to steal Sakura's answers. Gaara makes a third eye with his sand, copies the others' answers, and hands his eye to his teammates. Forty-five minutes pass.
"It's time for the tenth question. If you don't want to answer the tenth question, you can leave," said Ibiki.
A few cells leave once they hear the option. After those cells leave, Ibiki is about to talk to the shinobi again.
"The final question was supposed to weed out the weak and leave only the strong. I see a lot of people still here. You all pass the first test in the Chunin Exams. Great job everyone. Now I must introduce you to your next proctor." said Ibiki.
A woman with her hair in a bun and chain mill on the upper part of her body and her thighs enters the classroom through the window.
"I'm your second examiner. My name is Anko Mitarashi. There's a lot of them left Ibiki. No matter, let's go to the next location." said Anko.
The remaining shinobi disappear with Anko. They teleport to a location outside of the village. They appear in front of a forest with a fence in front of it.
"Welcome to the Forest of Death," said Anko.
