Chapter 7: When Cheaters Prosper
As the door closed behind them, Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke all took a moment to observe. F-3 was no doubt one of, if not the largest classroom the Academy had available. Which was fortunate, because even with the false class, plenty of other ninjas had shown up, drawn from all of shinobi society. The assembled genin were a diverse bunch, displaying a variety of clothing-styles, weaponry and other such things. A couple of them looked up at the newcomers, before returning to whatever they were occupying their time with.
"Welp," Naruto noted. "That's, ehm, that's a lot of people."
"You can say that again," Sakura remarked. "We're gonna have some competition."
"Fine by me," Sasuke added.
"Hey, Sakura," Ino called as she approached the three, followed by her teammates Shikamaru and Choji. "So you also made it. Awesome."
"Hey, Ino," the pink-haired girl greeted her. "Yeah, we decided to give it a try."
"Looks like it's gonna be a real drag this year," Shikamaru added. "Can't believe our teachers signed us up for this."
"You could just have said no," Choji suggested.
"And have Ino moan at me for the entire next year?" he asked. "No thanks." He paused, noting the glare his blonde companion was giving him ."Well, I'm not wrong am I?"
She responded with an annoyed huff.
"Hey, we'll do fine," Naruto said confidently. "We're gonna show everyone we're real ninjas."
"Yeah, well, these guys are all real ninjas too," Kiba remarked, as he walked up to the six, accompanied by his own teammates. On one side stood Hinata, carrying in her hand a rather long briefcase. On the other stood the final member of the trio, Shino Aburame. He was clad in a large, pale jacket with a collar so high it obscured most of his face, his eyes hidden behind a pair of black, round glasses, above which was a wild clump of brown hair.
Naruto gave the class another glance. "I think we could take them," he said.
"What makes you so confident?" Akamaru challenged from his position on Kiba's head.
"I mean, we've been up against Zabuza, Jako and others," the blond offered.
"We should probably not get cocky," Sakura warned him. "Overconfidence can be deadly for a ninja."
"She's not wrong," Shikamaru added. "All these ninja are well-trained by their village. They wouldn't be sent to the chuunin exam if they didn't have potential. No matter what forms the tests will take, you can be sure they'll all have tricks up their sleeves."
"Be that as it may, we still have to get through them," Sasuke noted. "Most of the chuunin exams eventually pit us against each other."
"Yeah. So take the opportunity to size them up instead of thinking you can walk all over them," Kiba added. "Ain't that right, Shino?"
The jacket-wearing ninja was quiet for a moment. "Know your target. A basic rule of shinobi life," he quietly remarked. "But surely, anyone selected for the chuunin exam would know this truth."
"You heard the man," Kiba added with a toothy grin.
"You're sounding just like Kakashi," Naruto noted. "Sheesh, I get it, alright. It's serious business." He paused, noting that Hinata had shuffled closer. "Oh, hey there."
"Ehm, hey, Naruto," she quietly said, rubbing her shoulder. "I, ehm... I just wanted to say... Good luck with the exam."
"Oh. Heh, you too," the blond responded. "Hey, good luck to all of us. How about we all try to pass? Show them what Konoha can do."
"Heh, that would be fun," Choji added.
"If extremely unlikely," Shikamaru added. "The more of us make it through the tests, the bigger a chance we'll fight each other."
"Let's hope that doesn't happen," Sakura sombrely remarked. She felt bad enough at the thought of taking joy in hurting some random ninja she had never met before. The idea of having to do that to one of her friends made her stomach churn.
A sudden noise caught Naruto's attention and he looked up to the rather confusing sight of a large crow circling over them. "Ehm..." he noted. "Did someone open a window?"
"Window?" Sasuke asked and looked up. "Huh."
"Oh, no, that's Yatagarasu," Hinata noted, as the big bird descended and landed on her shoulder. "Kurenai-Sensei paired us up... So she could help me."
"Aw, you got pet bird," the blond noted with a grin. "That's cute."
The white-eyed ninja looked like she was about to say something, but the bird opened her beak and informed Naruto that: "If you call me a pet again, I'll peck you right in the eye, sonny boy."
The jinchuuriki paused. "A very rude bird," he added.
"Yatagarasu isn't, ehm, my pet," Hinata explained. "She's my partner. Like... Like Kiba and Akamaru."
"Seems like your team's got a real numbers advantage," Shikamaru noted.
"Funny thing is, when they say three man team, they mean three humans," the dog noted, as his partner grinned.
"So, anyone know if the test will start soon?" Choji asked. "'Cause entry should be closed by now."
"Maybe they're giving us some time to settle in," Ino suggested.
"Or to start figuring out who we're up against," Sakura offered. "Like Kiba said."
"It would definitely not be a bad idea," came a new voice, catching the group's attention. Walking up to them was a ninja a few years older than them. He was clad in a standard uniform, a pair of round glasses on his face and his smooth, ash-grey hair tied up in a ponytail. "Sorry, couldn't help but overhear you," he said. "It's just always fascinating to see new genin here."
"New genin?" Ino asked.
"Yeah. It's my fourth time," the newcomer said. "Oh, sorry, forgot to introduce myself. I'm Kabuto Yakushi. I don't think we've met before."
"Well, you're not an Ichiraku regular," Naruto remarked. "Wait, fourth time?"
"Yeah. The chuunin exam is tough," he replied. "And competition is gonna be fierce." He eyed the other ninjas of the room. "And we've got a lot of genin with some real potential this time. It's probably gonna be the fiercest exam in years."
"Ehm... Really?" Naruto asked, feeling a bit of his bravado fade.
"Terrific," Shikamaru sighed. "So, got any info you're willing to share?"
"Well, I mean, we are supposed to compete," Kabuto noted with a smile. "But hey, you're new and I think we Konoha ninjas should stick together. So sure. I've been gathering a lot of information, both this year and the others. And I've compiled it all here." He pulled a stack of cards from his pocket. "In these handy ninja info cards."
"Ninja info cards?" Ino asked.
Sasuke raised an eyebrow as Kabuto showed one. "Blank," he noted. "Or just obscured?"
"The latter. Add a little charge of chakra though and..." Kabuto paused as a map appeared on the card. "There you go. This one shows where this year's candidates are coming from."
"Most from the big five," Shikamaru noted, eyeing the card. "Hardly surprising."
"It's a lot of numbers," Kiba added. "Man, even with some falling for that stupid hallway trick, there's probably hundreds of ninjas in here."
"Wait, what's Otogakure?" Sakura inquired, pointing at the card. "I've never heard of that place."
"It's a ninja village in the Land of Rice," the grey-haired ninja replied.
"Land of Rice?" Naruto echoed. "I thought they didn't have a ninja village. That's why we had to go there."
"They didn't. Until recently. Practically sprang up overnight." Kabuto shrugged. "Best guess is they've been setting up for a while and only announced themselves now. Whomever they are, they're recognised as a legit ninja village. They've only got three genin here, which is not unusual for a smaller village." He nodded with his head. "Those three down there, if you're curious."
The group subtly eyed the genin he had pointed out.
One was a fair-skinned girl with long, raven hair. Another was a slender teen with spiky black hair. The last was a hunched over genin, his face and body obscured by layers of bandage.
"Haven't got any info on them yet," the glasses wearing ninja noted. "I'm hoping to learn more during the exam. But I've gathered plenty of info on other candidates."
"Like who?" Choji asked.
"Many people. Including all of you," he replied. "Nothing personal, of course, but I prefer to stay prepared."
"Noted," Sasuke said. "How about Rock Lee?"
"Still mad?" Naruto inquired with a smirk, which broadened into a grin when the Uchiha scion responded with a death glare.
"Rock Lee. Let's see," Kabuto noted, as text manifested on one of his cards. "He's a master at taijutsu and a skilled weaponry user."
"No surprise given that he's on the same team as Tenten," Ino noted. "Didn't she also teach you three or something?"
"That she did," Sakura confirmed.
"His abilities at ninjutsu and genjutsu are abysmal, if not outright non-existent," Kabuto continued. "But his body is an unparalleled machine. His training program makes me sore just thinking about it. If you end up going up against him, you better keep him at a distance."
Naruto paused. "Hey. What about Gaara?" he asked.
"Gaara. Right." Kabuto began fiddling with his card.
"Who's Gaara?" Kiba asked.
"Real creepy guy," Sakura replied. "We were unlucky enough to meet him." She paused, looking over the room. "That would be him over there."
Far away up against a wall, eyes focused on the blackboard in the other end, was the pale-skinned genin, his urn placed next to him. Kankuro stood at his side, less like he was keeping the redhead company and more like he was standing guard over something very unstable and dangerous.
"Gaara of the Sand, as they call him," Kabuto noted, as the info was revealed. "Don't know much about him. I hear Sunagakure consider him one of their ace genin and try to keep information about him suppressed. Don't know much about his techniques, but I do know that he was authorized to partake in a B-rank mission."
"So what?" Naruto asked. "We ended up on an A-rank mission."
"The difference is that you ended up on one of those by accident," Shikamaru explained. "If he was authorized, then they meant for him to partake in it."
"And there's more. I heard you lot got banged up real bad," Kabuto continued. "Yet according to the ninjas of Sunagakure that I've spoken to, Gaara has never suffered a single wound. Ever."
Everyone was quiet.
"Okay. That is different," the blond admitted, feeling another piece of bravado crumple. "Dear Sage, do I hope we can stay clear of him."
"But if they don't want anyone to know of him, why send him out now?" Ino asked. "Surely, we'll all learn a lot about him just seeing him in action."
"Well, you know how it is," Kabuto remarked, packing the cards away. "It's not just about getting genin graduated. The chuunin exams are a good way for the villages to show off without having to engage in conflict. A way to demonstrate the potential of the next generation of shinobi. That's probably why Otogakure made sure to send a team here, so they can start attracting customers. And the way I hear it, Sunagakure has had economical troubles lately. I bet they've finally authorized sending Gaara and his team here, so that they can use him to lure in wealthy clients with potent jobs." He paused. "And less officially, since Sunagakure has had it a bit rough, perhaps some other ninja villages have been wondering if they could take their place as one of the big five. Showing off powerful ninjas like Gaara is a way to dissuade that kind of thinking."
"But aren't we supposed to not go to war with each other?" Naruto asked. "Wasn't that why we stopped that there Warring States thing in the first place?"
"In theory, yes," Sakura replied.
"But in practise, you'll find that peace can be rather fragile," Kabuto added. "So it's not only about us graduating. We're representing our village to thousands of tourists, business people, several daimyos and so on. And they will decide who they're willing to hire based on what they see."
"Geez, way to put on the pressure," Naruto remarked.
Their conversation was cut off when suddenly, the end of the classroom by the blackboard was engulfed in smoke, which faded to reveal massive form of Ibiki Morino, flanked on both sides by squads of senior ninjas in grey uniforms. "Attention," he announced with authority, immediately drawing in everybody's gaze. "We will now begin the first test of the chuunin exam. You will all form a line and receive a number. This number will tell you where to sit. Once you're all seated, I will explain the rules."
Konohamaru looked at the blue skies above, as the swing carried him back and forth.
Moegi looked up from the sandcastle she and Yota were building, the latter having summoned a small raincloud to wet the sand. The redhead paused sculpting a parapet for the miniature fortress. "Hey, you okay, Konohamaru? You're really quiet."
The tailed boy braked with his heels. "I'm just wondering how Naruto and the others are doing," he said. "They say the chuunin exam is really tough."
"But Naruto's really awesome," Moegi noted. "You saw how he saved me."
Yota made a curious sound, tilting his head at her.
"Oh, right, we didn't tell you," she noted. "We helped out with a test yesterday."
"You did?" the weather shaper asked eagerly. "How? How?"
"Well, see, they were doing a... Udon, what did they call it?" she asked.
The bespectacled kid, who was about to take another ride down the slide, paused. "Preliminary test," he said. "Like, a test before the actual test."
"Yes, that's right," Moegi agreed. "That word."
Yota continued to listen with great and obvious interest.
"They wanted to see how cool Naruto was," Konohamaru explained, getting off the swing. "So one of us got pretend kidnapped so he could save us."
"It was so cool. I ended up being the one he had to save," Moegi noted. "He, like, cloned himself and did this really cool ambush on the bad guy."
"And then he substituted Moegi away," Udon explained. "Before getting the bad guy with a net."
"That's sounds super fun," Yota chirped. "Wish I could helped, yep, yep. But I was selling sunlight out south."
"So, yeah, don't worry, Konohamaru," the girl continued. "Naruto will be fine. He's a super cool ninja."
"You're right. Naruto can handle himself," Konohamaru said with a grin.
"Like the minefield," Yota added. "That was fun."
"Minefield?" Udon asked, as he climbed back up for another ride.
"Oh, right, Naruto helped me get something. It was kinda dangerous. There was a minefield." The tailed kid rubbed the back of his neck with a queasy expression. "I'd rather not think on it."
"Why not?"
"Naruto exploded," Yota informed the two with his usual excitement.
"He... Exploded?" Moegi repeated confused.
"Boss used his clones to clear out the minefield," Konohamaru explained. "It, uhm, it worked." He paused. "It was... Something."
"Yep, yep, his head bounced," the weather seller added.
"Can we talk about something else?" the tailed boy pleaded.
"What do you think the chuunin exam will be about?" Udon asked as he slid down again.
"Maybe they have to fight a monster," Moegi suggested.
"Maybe they have to find a lost treasure," Yota excitedly offered.
"Or maybe they have to save a princess," Konohamaru said. "Like in the stories."
Udon folded his arms. "Maybe they have to demonstrate how stealthy they are," he tried.
"Oh, that's a good one," Moegi agreed. "Yeah, ninjas are supposed to be super stealthy."
"And Naruto is super sneaky, yep, yep," Yota said.
"Whatever it is, I'm sure Boss can handle it," Konohamaru noted with a grin.
Naruto stared from his assigned seat at Ibiki with wide-eyed shock, trying to comprehend what the man had said as his hopes for completing the exam steadily dwindled the moment heh eard the words 'written exam'.
"And for this written exam, there are some rules which you'll need to be aware of," the trenchcoat -clad ninja informed the genin, as he began writing on the blackboard with a piece of chalk. "And I will not be taking questions, so you better listen. First rule, there will be no fighting between you. If any of you attack another genin in here in any way, you'll immediately be disqualified and take you team with you. This also goes for any behaviour which significantly impacts the other genin's ability to take the test. Second rule, this test will work on a point-based system. You all start with ten points. For every question on your sheet you fail to answer, we'll deduct a point. Third rule, if anyone of you are caught cheating, you will be deducted two points. I've got highly skilled proctors placed around the room, as you can see, and they're not liable to miss anything. Fourth rule, if any one of you is left with zero points, you and your teammates are out of the chuunin exam. That is all." He gazed at the clock. "The exam will be one hour long. For the first fortyfive minutes, you'll be able to answer nine of the questions. The tenth question will be handed out fifteen minutes before the exam ends."
Further back, Sakura rubbed her temples. She was fairly certain she and Sasuke would be able to handle it, but Naruto had never hidden how much he disliked schoolwork like this. She just had to hope he could answer some questions.
Further down, the blond in question were having very similar thoughts.
"Now, begin," Ibiki announced.
Naruto flipped the page and stared at the text of the first question.
It read: "Decipher the following code and explain in detail how you solved it and what you deduce from its message."
The blond eyed the coded text. It was a jumble of symbols, only some of which he was familiar with. He decided to skip it and read the text of the next question.
There was a picture accompanied by the text which read: "You are positioned at location A, at the top of a tree which is three point seven meters tall, and you're attempting to strike target B with a shuriken. What are the optimal angles of throwing and what velocity must you get if B is at position C, D and E in order to maximise the chance of a fatal wound? Also describe how you reached your conclusions."
The blond took a deep breath and moved on to the next question.
There was a map, next to which a block of text read: "You are at position A and must capture target X, Y and Z. X is moving at a speed of twenty kilometres an hour going north. Y is moving at a speed of sixteen kilometres an hour going south-west. Z is moving at a speed of thirty kilometres an hour going west. You do not know any of this. With that in mind, how would you design an optimal search pattern that allows you to apprehend X, Y and Z before they leave the area? Take into account terrain features, geographical variances in height and that X, Y and Z will all resist, which will cost you time."
Naruto started to feel rather doomed.
Sasuke went over the test with a raised eyebrow. He might at best be able to solve one or two of the questions, but he didn't imagine he'd be able to do much more than that. He turned his head and tried to spot Sakura.
The pink-haired ninja was twirling a lock of hair with one hand while holding the test with the other. She looked up, noting that Sasuke was looking at her with a concerned expression. She knew what he was thinking. The questions were way more advanced than could reasonably be expected for a genin to know, especially without preparation. She eyed the blackboard with the rules. Something was off. She held up three fingers so Sasuke could see them,
The Uchiha scion nodded and looked to the blackboard. It was the rule about cheating. It struck the raven-haired ninja as odd that cheating was only relatively lightly punished. Unless of course that was the point. He looked back to Sakura.
The pink-haired shinobi nodded. The test was to see if they could subtly gather the information needed to complete the questions. She was confident she could handle it without cheating, but Sasuke and Naruto would most likely need to find some way to gather the answers. And if they got caught cheating, they'd need more questions answered to compensate.
The Uchiha scion looked around and spotted Naruto, who looked at him with naked dread. The raven-haired teen held up three fingers and nodded at the blackboard.
The blond followed and read the rule, then looked back to Sasuke, eyebrow raised. He saw his teammate nod, confirming his suspicion. He breathed out and returned his attention to the paper. In a way, it was relieving not having to actually solve the problems. Now he just had to figure out how to cheat.
Back above, Sasuke looked around. He figured if the idea was they had to subtly collect the answers, then some of the genin were probably plants with the answers. Spotting someone who was steadily writing, he focused. He could feel the pressure build in his eyes, as his sharingan activated. With them he could see every little movement his target made and he began automatically copying them, mimicking his writings.
Elsewhere in the room, Kiba paused, as Akamaru leaned down to whisper the answers he spotted from his elevated position. He quickly jotted them down with a grin.
Meanwhile, Shino reached out with a hand, as a small insect landed on it, before crawling in under the sleeve of his jacket. He paused for a bit, before he started writing down answers.
In another seat, one of the genin suddenly found her eyes stinging. As she began rubbing them, grains of sand tumbled over her paper. Elsewhere in the room, Gaara began writing.
Tenten chewed on her pencil, as she went through all the questions. She began with number two, feeling she could translate her experiences into an acceptable answer with some effort.
Naruto, meanwhile, quickly found his relief had vanished to once again be replaced with dread, as he began to realise that he had no way to actually steal the answers. He was pretty good at being sneaky, but there really was no way he'd be able to move out of his seat without being noticed. If one of his clones saw the answers, those memories would be transferred to him when they vanished, but again, very unsubtle. He leaned his head against his hands, digging his fingers into his scalp as he desperately tried to figure out how not to bungle it. He could always wait for the tenth question and hope he'd be able to answer it, but if it was a question so hard Ibiki wanted to dedicate fifteen minutes to it, the blond didn't feel like he'd have much of a chance.
"Ehm... Naruto?" came a quiet voice from his side.
The blond looked up and realised he was sitting next to Hinata. Her generally quiet behaviour and his panic about the written test had caused him to completely miss her sitting down next to him. "Oh, hey," he quietly greeted her. "You doing okay?"
"Yeah. I can... See pretty far," she said with a blush. "And... So can... So can Yatagarasu." She eyed the blond's paper. "Ehm... You... You know... I-if you want... You can... Copy me..."
"Oh? Really? Thanks," Naruto replied, feeling relieved. "That's real nice of you."
Her blush intensified. "We-well... We... Like... You said... We Ko-Konoha genin... Should stick together..." Her blush was now taking up most of her face.
Naruto eyed the crow. She was starring at the ceiling with the avian equivalent of an exasperated expression as Hinata continued to mumble and stutter.
"That's... Great," the blond tried, hoping her fidgeting wouldn't draw attention. "Yeah, we gotta stick together."
The white-eyed teen nodded and carefully moved her arm, allowing him to see the results she had jotted.
He tried to carefully read what she had written out of the corner of his eyes.
"NUMBER FORTYFIVE! YOU'RE OUT!" one of the proctors called.
Naruto immediately became stiff as a board, before he remembered that he was number thirty-six.
"SIXTEEN! SIXTYFOUR! YOU'RE ALSO OUT!"
"What? No, no, I didn't cheat," the ninja in question protested. "No, let go. You can't prove anything. YOU CAN'T PROVE ANYTHING!" he yelled, as he was dragged out.
Ibiki just continued to watch the scenario unfold with a dispassionate expression.
Naruto swallowed his spit and adjusted his uniform around his neck. He carefully put pen to paper, focusing on as subtly as possible to copy Hinata's notes.
"NUMBER TWENTYSEVEN! YOU'RE OUT! EIGHTYTWO! FIFTYSIX! YOU'RE ALSO OUT!"
"What? Bullshit," one of them protested. "How can you even see anything?"
The proctor he was questioning had bandages wrapped around the top of his head, completely hiding his eyes. "I didn't. But you were loud enough that I'm sure half the building heard your little attempt at sneaking information to your buddies."
" Oh yeah? Can your hear this!" the genin said, taking a swing at the blind proctor. Half a second later, he was slammed into the wall, his arms bent painfully behind him.
"What I heard is that you need some fresh air and a glass of cold water," the proctor informed him, as he escorted the genin out.
"NUMBER EIGHT! YOU'RE OUT! HUNDREDANDTWO! THIRTYNINE! YOU'RE ALSO OUT!"
Naruto began writing more slowly, hoping that it would make it less obvious what he was doing.
Elsewhere, Ino eyed Sakura. While she couldn't see what the pink-haired ninja was writing, she was very certain she was smart enough to figure the test out. Quietly apologizing for taking advantage of her, Ino paused and focused.
And then her soul left her body, invisibly slithering across the rows before making its way inside Sakura. The pink-haired teen froze and her mind faded into sleep as Ino took control. Now possessing her, she quickly began reading the answers and committing them to memory. As she was reading Sakura's calculations on the sixth question, she paused. She felt observed. She looked around, wondering if a proctor had spotted what she had done. Currently, her own body was just starring blankly at the paper. As if she had just been stumped by one of the questions. But as all seemed well, she went back to memorizing the rest of the answers, before returning to her own body.
As her mind reawakened, Sakura blinked confused. She shook her head, wishing she had brought a bottle of water and maybe something with sugar in it.
In his seat, Rock Lee studied question nine, which was about optimal travel time in a non-ideal area. It reminded him of some of the training trips Guy had brought him and the team on. He began noting down how he'd overcome the problems and why he felt those were the optimal solutions.
Elsewhere, Choji felt his mind fog over. When consciousness returned, his sheet was filled out. He eyed Ino, giving her a smile, which she returned.
Kankuro raised a hand. "Excuse me, I need to use the bathroom."
A nearby proctor nodded and began escorting him out.
The robed teen smirked as they exited the room. So far, nobody had made a fuss about the extra proctor that had been stationed near him. Soon, Gaara would be able to provide him the answers and then he in turn could give them to Temari. He paused. Unless the redhead didn't feel like it.
In the teachers' lounge, Asuma picked up a cake and bit into it. "That's the good stuff," he happily said. "The Harunos really know their craft."
"I just felt like we could use something sweet," Kurenai sighed. "I must admit, now that they are at the exam, I'm suddenly nervous."
"I know the feeling," Kakashi remarked, looking up from his book. "But we must trust that they will do the best they can." He flipped a page. "At least this first test won't kill them."
"Unless it's from a heart attack," Asuma joked. "Did you hear they got Ibiki to handle the first test?"
"The head of the Interrogation Department?" Kurenai asked surprised. "Didn't know he even handled gigs like that."
"They do like to keep it unpredictable," the silver-haired jonin remarked. "In which case he's going to be putting the screws on them." He paused, before assuringly added: "Figuratively."
As Kurenai sighed in relief, Asuma continued: "He knows just how to put the pressure on and get under your skin. Plenty of the genin are going to break under it."
"Any idea what the test is?" Kurenai inquired.
"No. But you can bet it's insidious," the tailed man noted, lighting a cigarette. "I'd call the man a sadist, except he doesn't take any joy in it. He's just good at what he does. But it makes sense. This is the sort of stress we ninjas have to be able to deal with. If our students can't, they're not ready for those types of responsibilities."
"It's not unusual for someone to snap and take a swing at him," Kakashi remarked. "Like last time he designed an exam."
"In fact, that doesn't even go on their permanent record," Asuma added. "With how much of a pressure cooker it's going to be, someone overreacting is to be expected."
"Well, that's at least somewhat merciful," Kurenai noted, grabbing a pastry. "Glad I didn't have to go through that."
"Attention," Ibiki announced, causing more than a few students to jump in their seats. "In five minutes, I will hand out question number ten. However, there are a few additional rules that you must be aware off." He paused, as the door to the room opened, letting Kankuro back in. "Just in time. Get back to your seat."
"Yes, sir," the teen responded. He passed by Temari, loosening a small scroll with a wriggle of his wrists, which quietly landed on her desk.
"Now, question number ten is voluntary," Ibiki continued. "You don't have to take it. But if you choose not to, that will immediately forfeit you and your team's participation in the chuunin exam." He paused, giving the genin a moment to absorb what he had said, causing a sort of collective nervous inhalation. "However, should you fail to answer question number ten to my satisfaction, you will be barred permanently from advancing in rank, due to your inherent unfitness." He stopped, allowing the utter quiet to seize the room, before the reaction hit.
"What?" Naruto erupted.
"What kinda bullshit is that?" Kiba angrily asked.
"There's people here that have participated in multiple chuunin exams and they've never been barred," Ino protested.
"You can't just decide ninjas from other villages can't become chuunin," Temari loudly pointed out.
Ibiki gave the assembled genin a moment to protest, before he declared: "Be quiet. It is true as you all say, this is different." He lowered his head slight, slowly letting his hard gaze, bereft of mercy and pity, glide across them. "However, I have been chosen to design and lead this exam. I get to decide. And if you cannot answer question ten correctly, then I will make sure you never advance in rank. And yes, your respective villages have all agreed to the exam as I have designed it. If they decide to go back on their word, it will have serious consequences, but perhaps you imagine you're special enough that your village will go that far for you. That is none of my concern, however." He paused. "As I said, it is your choice whether you want to take the question or not. But if you want out, now is the chance." He paused.
"That's it. I quit," one guy began, as he stood out. "I can't... I can't take this..."
"Fortynine is out. Sixtynine, hundredandone. You're out with him," one of the proctors announced.
The genin who had just quit paused, as his teammates wordlessly passed him by. "Guys, I'm... I'm sorry... I..." he tried, before falling silent and going after them.
Sakura chewed on her lip as a couple of genin announced their forfeiture. If the question was anything like the others, she'd have a shot. And she was certain Sasuke would be able to collect the answer. But could the same be said of Naruto? He wouldn't stand the chance of actually solving a question of this calibre and his information gathering skills were limited. She wasn't even sure how much he had gathered on the other questions. And she knew how important it was for him to be a ninja. To be barred from advancing, she was quite certain it would crush him. He hadn't said anything about quitting yet, though. Perhaps too nervous of disappointing her and Sasuke. She didn't want him to sacrifice himself like that.
She began slowly raising her hand.
She looked up.
Naruto was looking back at her.
She froze.
Slowly, he just shook his head.
Sakura paused, then lowered her hand. The message was clear. He was willing to give it a try. Not just for his teammates. But because he didn't want to run just because things got tough. She took a deep breath. She could respect that, even if it made her nervous.
Ibiki paused, waiting to see if any more would crack. By now, he'd managed to whittle down the class to roughly half its original size. "Seems that is all," he noted. "Alright then." He looked over the assembly. "You all hereby pass the first exam."
There was a deep pause as everyone tried to comprehend what the man had said. Some of the proctors had to struggle really hard not to laugh at the expressions on the genins' faces.
"Ehm, excuse me, Ibiki-Sensei," Lee said, raising a hand. "I know you said no questions, but when you said we passed the first exam, you mean...?"
"Yes, you will all advance to the second exam," Ibiki confirmed.
"I think I'm getting a headache," Ino groaned.
"Allow me to explain," the interrogator continued. "This exam tested your ability to gather information under adverse conditions. This is something ninjas are often expected to do. I wanted to see if you could do so subtly. My staff and I were informed of your capabilities, so what we actually judged is, would your method work on someone who didn't have that information. Some of you relied on research you'd already done. Some on contacts you'd made. And others found ways to collect the information within the room. I have of course planted a number of fake genin among you, who already knew the answers, so you had somewhere to steal the information from. If you were too obvious, you lost points and would eventually be thrown out." He leaned forward on the table. "The tenth question, however, was meant to test your resolve. Any mission you're given, regardless of rank, may end in your death. If you are not prepared to accept that risk, you cannot be a ninja. In a way, I respect people who have the honesty to give up when they know they are at their limit. But at the same time, a ninja must be willing to face risk." He reached up and loosened his headband, revealing the skin underneath. He had no hair, but instead his scalp was a maze of ugly scars, old burn marks and indents that made it look like somebody had tried to drill into his head. "And when things go wrong," he gravely informed them. "You will get hurt." He put his headband back on. "But the willingness to face risk is only part of it. Your capacity to handle them is another. But determining that will be my colleague..."
One of the windows to the room shattered as a figure launched themself through it. With a move the intruder launched two kunai at the ceiling, each tied to the corner of a banner, which unfurled before the assembled people. Landing on the floor, the figure stood upright.
She was a slender woman, her mid-length black hair tied up in a spiky pony-tail. The pupils of her brown eyes were slightly elongated and over her uniform she wore a massive beige coat, its left sleeve hanging emptily. "Determining that is my job," she announced, as the banner with the words Anko Mitarashi finished rolling out. She took a moment to observe the genin still in the room, a smirk manifesting as she noted she'd manage to scare more than a few with her sudden entrance.
"Was that necessary?" Ibiki asked, pushing the cloth aside so he could see his college.
"Not really," Anko admitted. "But it was fun." She turned to face the interrogator. "Ibiki, are you going soft? This is way too many genin for someone like you to let through."
"We've had a solid crop of candidates," the man replied.
"We'll see about that." She turned towards the genin with an almost predatory grin. "Because I can promise you all now, by the time I'm done with you, at least half of you will be out. So you better go home and get some rest, because tomorrow we'll start."
The door to the teacher's lounge opened and Ibiki stepped in.
Kakashi looked up from his book. "So, it's over then?"
"Indeed," the interrogator replied.
"How did they fare?" Asuma asked.
"All of your teams passed."
Kurenai breathed out. "Onto the next stage then," she remarked. "How did they do?"
"For this exam, I focused on information gathering. Hinata, Kiba and Shino all used their animal companions to scout the room, with Hinata combining it with her byakugan," he explained. "Shikamaru and Sakura were both able to finish most of the questions on their own. Ino then stole the answers from Sakura and gave them to Choji. Sasuke used his sharingan to copy one of my plants and Naruto got Hinata to share her answers with him."
"Really, now?" Kakashi commented. "I wonder how he did that."
"That might have less to do with Naruto and more to do with Hinata," Kurenai explained. "She... Kinda likes him."
"Well, ain't that adorable," Asuma noted with a smirk.
"Even so, it is a valid way to gather information," Ibiki remarked. "He might have been fortunate, but sometimes fortune is what sees us through a mission."
"True enough," Kakashi agreed. "So, has the proctor for the next exam been revealed?"
"Yes," the interrogator confirmed. "Anko Mitarashi has designed the next exam."
"Fantastic," Asuma dryly remarked, exhaling a cloud of cigarette smoke. "They gave the second part of the chuunin exam to the actual sadist. They're in for it now."