Naruto watched with his gaze as the girl sat down next to him, in the seat previously occupied by Hinata.
Her blue eyes, not as intense as his, stared at him curiously.
-... You don't look much older than me. Except for the scar, I'd say we're the same age.
She said, her curious and interested tone evident. Not that it surprised the boy, it was already expected.
- Don't let age confuse you. Outside, it hardly matters.
Naruto said as naturally as possible. He wasn't very good with conversations with strangers... also, understandable. He didn't have many friendly encounters with unknown people.
- Is it true the rumors? Did you really survive in that forest?
He answered with a nod, and Ino crossed her arms, looking at him with an arched eyebrow.
- Hard to believe, I'll tell you. You have a kind of... effeminate face.
"Hahahahaha."
"What the hell Kurama."
He cried internally.
- Well, don't let appearances fool you either.
He said, trying to hide his wounded honor, until Ino laughed lightly.
- I'm just teasing you, relax.
He grimaced slightly.
- I don't think I have to worry too much about this test, since my partner is the Hokage's son.
Ino said somewhat excitedly, as if she already had victory in front of her eyes.
- What is this test about?
Naruto asked, and Ino looked at him incredulously, as if another head had been born on his neck.
- You don't know?!
He shook his head in denial, and she sighed, resting her head in her hands.
- My Kami, I think I really need to worry.
- Hey, come on. We can handle this test, all right. You know, you don't even have to tell me. No matter what, we'll pass in the first place.
He said, slightly irritated by her reaction, and determined, as he crossed his arms and grimaced slightly.
- Okay, I'll try to believe that... well, as the teacher said, we need to get to know each other better. My name is Ino Yamanaka, thirteen years old, I like sweets, taking care of our family's flower shop, and... I guess that's all that's important.
She finished, making a small thoughtful face.
Naruto propped his elbows on the table, crossed the fingers of both his hands in front of his face, and made a serious expression.
- My name is Naruto Namikaze, I like many things, and dislike many things, my dream is to restore my clan and kill a certain someone.
Ino blinked a few times, until she started laughing at Naruto's rather odd interpretation, especially his forced tone of voice.
- Hahaha, but what was that?
- I don't know, but for some reason, I can picture Sasuke doing that.
They both looked at the Uchiha, who was sitting the exact way Naruto was before and kept his eyes focused ahead.
- I agree.
Ino said.
- Now it's serious. My name is Naruto Uzumaki Namikaze, but Naruto Namikaze is fine. I'm thirteen, I like ramen, and... I think it's fine.
She arched an eyebrow.
- Really? Honey, you're not going to let me down, are you? Tell me, how did you survive in those woods? How did you lose your eye?
She rested her head on her hand, staring up at him with her eyes slightly aglow.
- Hah, that's no longer a secret.
- I know, but I can brag that I heard it from the mouth of the very son of the Hokage.
"Good point."
- Well, I-
He was interrupted when a woman entered the room, and a grumble escaped his lips.
He had seen her before, somewhere. Her hair, her chakra with some similarities to Orochimaru's, as well as her open blouse that showed her thin, slightly transparent metal mesh.
Hard to forget someone who attracted attention.
- Good morning you little shits. I am Anko, and we will see a lot of each other in the practice tests this year, and/or in the years we will be together. Well, I assume you all already know how the test will work, so just follow me.
She said, leaving the room shortly afterwards. One by one the Gennins also left the room.
- What is this test really like?
Naruto asked as he stood up.
- Weren't you the one who said I didn't have to tell you?
She arched an amused eyebrow and grimaced.
- You don't! I'm just... curious.
- Haha, uh-huh. As Professor Kotetsu said, it's just a preparatory test. A typical Chunnin mission simulation. Track, find, confront, immobilize, or simple survival, something like that.
She said as they walked, and Naruto put his hands behind his head with a slightly thoughtful expression, until he gave a slightly arrogant little smile.
- Hah, easy.
She arched an eyebrow.
- Uuuuh, I didn't know the Hokage's son was that arrogant. - she said, mildly amused.
- It's not arrogance, dear, I know my limits. Don't forget, I survived in a cursed forest and spent years surviving in the world outside. I know my body.
He explained, although he was lying slightly. Part of his speech was, yes, a certain arrogance.
Consequence of his bond with Kurama, probably, since he would never be like that.
- Hm, I guess that's true. Good for me then.
- Oh, nope, I want to see the Yamanaka technique.
- What? Why? afraid you won't be able to protect me?
- Pff, you're kidding... I'm curious about your clan's technique. What is it like to dominate the mind... or the body... both, of a person?
he asked curiously.
- Hmm... normal? It's like being myself... only in someone else's body.
- So, like... do you feel what the other person feels?
- Of course I do, hahaha.
- Heh, cool.
He smiled slightly, although he had been slightly worried.
"Kurama..."
"Yes, if she tries to control your mind, she will know of my existence."
"Oh boy... wonderful."
"Relax, I'll throw her out before she sees me... but she'll know there's something about you. If it is a more experienced ninja, like that man Inochi, surely our secret will be revealed. Your mind is strong, but their technique is... something beyond."
They walked for some time, until they came to an area, still inside the academy, but further away, with an opening that led to a small forest in which Naruto could feel a chakra disturbance.
"Similar to the forest I was in, but... less powerful."
"Hm, genjutsu all over the forest..."
- Well, that's a survival simulation. The Genjutsu launched by the Kohaku clan will make situations typical of a dense forest and create obstacles that you will have to overcome until you reach a safe place that will be marked on the scroll that will fall at your feet. As ninjas, you never know when similar situations will happen.
Anko said, stopping her eyes for a moment on Naruto, as well as a few other gennins. The boy just sighed slightly.
- Hah, I don't know if I'm happy to have you by my side, or sad that the genjutsu was launched precisely by the Kohaku clan.
Ino said beside him, and Naruto arched an eyebrow, ignoring what Anko was saying further on.
- Is their genjutsu that good?
She looked at him incredulously.
- You're kidding, right? Their genjutsu is the best in the world, being able to create things that distort reality itself. Even the Hokage had problems with them and was almost killed because of it.
That was new. His father being almost killed by genjutsu?
"Good thing they're on our side then."
"... Humans are unpredictable."
"Yeah, I know..."
- Well, you will spend some time in this genjutsu, and when it's over, you will be released. We will evaluate your performance with the help of the Yamaka clan who will be practically watching what you go through. Please stand in line with your pair.
Anko finished saying, and Naruto watched as, one by one, the pairs entered the forest and disappeared through something like a portal.
A genjutsu portal... heh, weird.
"They won't see into our minds, right?"
"Technically, they will, but I'll take care of that. Let's not talk to each other for a while."
Kurama said, and Naruto sighed as he felt the mental connection being severed. Already missing Kurama, he was dependent on her mere presence so much that he already felt kind of... alone without her.
As soon as they entered the forest, the entrance behind them disappeared and Naruto had flashbacks of when he was still in that cursed forest. Although, there, the forest was more colorful and less dense.
But it still made him a little tense.
- The safe place is quite far from where we are.
Ino said, drawing his attention. Turning around, he ran his eye over the girl with the scroll in hand.
- A village?
He asked.
- From the looks of it, yes.
- Boy, their Genjutsu is really good... just like the real thing.
He said with a slightly distant look on his face. He could barely feel that it was a genjutsu, everything seemed very real... unlike the genjutsus he had already fallen into in his life.
- Yes, their genjutsu is on another level. Some books even think that this is not genjutsu but the distortion of space-time itself. It is said that Amano's genjutsu is capable of reaching an entire country and killing everyone without destroying anything. The Hokage surprised everyone by being able to get out of that Genjutsu, even though it took some time.
Ino said, starting to walk towards the village marked on the map.
- What's the plan?
she asked, and Naruto looked at her, a bit dumbfounded.
- Hey, you're the survival expert here. I guess you didn't realize that I said that the Kohaku clan's genjutsus are extremely realistic.
She said with a mocking smile, and he snorted.
- What is the time limit?
- You don't even know that? Tsc, tsc, I guess I should be worried.
he scoffed.
- Shut up and answer my question.
- How am I supposed to answer if you told me to shut up?
She crossed her arms with a winning smile and he gritted his teeth.
- Oh you-
- Three days.
- We'll be there in three hours.
She grimaced and started to laugh, clearly doubting Naruto, who was turning increasingly red.
- Sorry, hahaha, my bad... my bad is... three hours? You're kidding.
- Yeah, keep on mocking, go on, mock some more. I'll make you swallow your words.
- Hahahaha, yeah, yeah. Three hours, you mean we'll fail the test in three hours, right?
- You... aaaargh! I'll show you!
The moment he said this, a fire dragon advanced towards him.
Quickly, Naruto grabbed Ino and jumped with the girl away from there, ignoring the explosion of flames beside him and focusing his gaze on a man ahead.
Even his features were realistic... what an interesting genjutsu.
Clearly an illusion by some Akatsuki member... heh, they must be taking it hard because he was the Hokage's son, huh?
Placing Ino on the ground, Naruto crosses his arms as a sea of clones emerges from the ground and fills his opponent with thrashing. Surprising both the people watching, and Ino herself, who looked on with a bewildered expression.
- What were you saying again, Ino? I didn't hear you correctly, could you repeat it? Ahm? Huh? Aaaahm?
He smiled smugly, and she gave him a half smile.
- Well... maybe we'll get there a little faster than I thought.
- Pff, you have no idea.
Beside him, two more men appeared, and Naruto soon got into battle position.
However, he arched an eyebrow as he saw one of the men stick a kunai into the other's neck, and finally, put a kunai into his own neck.
- You're not the only one who can show off your tricks, you know.
Ino said, undoing a sign with both hands as Naruto stared at her dumbfounded.
Heh...
Cool.
But before either of them could say anything else, they found themselves surrounded by a few more people, all dressed in the same black clothes and with similar physical appearance.
But what scared Naruto, was that he felt parts of his body being torn off, as well as severe pain all over his body.
Ino let out a scream as she went to her knees, he assumed that she was also suffering from the same thing.
"But... what the fuck!"
He felt a distortion in that genjutsu. The sky darkened and the trees became twisted, with face-like marks on their trunks.
Not only his body, but he could not use his chakra. And his intense blue eye went wide as he saw all those men leaping toward him.
That wasn't part of the test... was it?