Ch.3 - Making a name

Naruto stared into his reflections eyes as he wrapped the bandages around his face. Sapphire gems were hardened with purpose, and his muscles twitched in anticipation of the obstacles to come. Once Naruto was finished with his face he looked over the rest of his uniform, making sure he was all set to go.

His hooded vest was clean and zipped to the top. From the waist down, his cargo's were fitted, and the weapon pouches were filled to the brim. The blonde's weights being left forgotten, as he wanted to be ready for anything that day. Finally, Naruto looked behind him using the mirror, taking in the sight of his sword, and nodded.

It was time to go.

As he roof-hopped over the streets of Konoha Naruto thought about the competition he'd be facing. The blonde knew for sure at some point he'd some face-to-face with Gaara.

The red-head just seemed like the type who wouldn't be defeated easily.

There was also the other genin from his own village, the other rookies if they competed, and even the possibility of facing his own team. All of this made Naruto anxious, but the blonde pushed that down as he neared the academy.

After hopping down from his last roof Naruto jogged over to where he saw Sasuke standing by a tree. The two boys shared a nod of acknowledgment, but otherwise remained still, waiting for their third squad-mate.

They weren't made to wait long, as Sakura's vibrant pink hair soon came into sight.

"Are we all ready?" Sasuke asked, "Because once we go through those doors there won't be any turning back."

"You bet Sasuke-kun, we're gonna ace these exams," Sakura replied confidently. Inside her mind, the girl's inner-self was pumping her fist, daring the other genin to bring it.

Naruto just gave his fellow genin an affirmative nod to show he was ready. And with all three of them set to go, Team 7 made their way into the academy building.

'And so it begins,' the blonde thought as he entered the air-conditioned school. They made it up two flights of stairs before the trio came across an odd sight. A large number of genin were grouped around a single doorway, the door was being guarded by two older looking genin.

"Hey come on, let us in, we're trying to take the chunin exams," a young girl with buns in her brunette hair pleaded to the guards.

One of the them, a guy with squinted eyes, scoffed and replied, "Feh, you all should be thanking us. We've tried taking the chunin exams multiple times, and even we haven't succeeded yet, you all should just go home and wait till you're older."

Naruto watched the exchange of words with confusion; the sign above the door said 301...but they'd only gone up two flights of stairs. Naruto knew the academy building like the back of his hand, as he'd spent a great deal of his life in it, and he'd pulled a lot of pranks here, so it was only natural.

The thing that confused him was,why had they done this?

"Hey," Sasuke called out, breaking Naruto from his train of thought, "take down the genjutsu already. You're not fooling anyone; we've only gone up two sets of stairs, so how can we be on the third floor?"

Naruto watched as all the other genin realized that what the Uchiha heir said was true. The blonde did too, but then he thought about why they all would have been tricked. It was a test. Those who couldn't see passed such a simple ruse wouldn't even deserve to take the actual exam. It all made sense.

'But I didn't figure that out until now; I wonder how long some of the other teams were standing here.'

Suddenly Naruto felt a strong breeze hit him in the face, and the blonde shook his head to pull himself from his thoughts. Looking around, Naruto saw that Sasuke was about to engage one of the guards, but they'd both been stopped by a kid in green spandex.

'Impressive.'

"Please, let us save the fighting for the actual competition. The officials have spent months setting this up, let us not waste all their hard work with such sloppy show." The spandex-clad genin said as he let go of Sasuke and the guard's legs.

Naruto noticed Sasuke sending the oddly dressed other boy a wary look, and decided to ask him about it later as he heard the bun-haired girl reprimand the teen.

"Lee, you're the one who told us we had to hide our strength, what was that all about?" She was joined by another male, this one had long, brown hair and pupil-less white eyes.

"She's right Lee," the other male said. "That was reckless."

The now identified Lee just sighed and answered, "I know but..." Lee's eyes traveled over towards Sakura, and Naruto immediately took notice of how the boy's face took on a distinctly redder hue.

Like lightning Lee was standing in front of the pin-haired kunoichi, and Naruto finally got a real look at his competition.

Lee was average height, and the only disruptions in his green suit were the headband tied around his waist and the orange leg-warmers on his ankles. The genin also had bandages wrapped around his hands. Underneath the tight spandex Naruto could clearly see muscle, not as big as his own, but they were defined. Lee was definitely the type that hit hard. Traveling upwards Naruto got a shock; Lee had some of the biggest eyebrows he'd ever seen! And to top it off, the kid's onyx-black hair was shaped into a bowl cut.

The blonde Uzumaki watched as Lee gave his female team-mate a thumbs up and a smile. Naruto had a sinking feeling in his gut, like he'd seen this somewhere before. And sure enough...

"You are the brilliant kunoichi, Sakura Haruno, correct?"

Sakura just gave the spandex-wearing genin an odd look before replying, "Uh...yeah. Who are you?"

If possible, Lee's smile got wider as he introduced himself, "My name is Rock Lee. Sakura, please be my girlfriend, I promise to protect you with my life."

Naruto face-palmed. That's why it seemed familiar. Peeking through his fingers, a lone blue eye took in the rest of the scene.

Sakura's brow twitched, and her mouth hung open for a moment before she finally found the words to say. "Um...no thanks. Y-You're too much of a weirdo."

Lee's expression immediately took a dive. Where there was once a bright smile, now there was a deep frown, and it looked as if he were going to cry. However, before he could plead his case any further, Sasuke stepped in and said, "Sakura enough, let's go."

"He's right Lee, we need to-" the bun-haired girl started to say. But then her chocolate-brown eyes landed on Naruto, or more specifically his sword, and she swiftly strode over towards him.

Naruto looked at the kunoichi warily. She had a deeply concentrated look on her face, and her brow was heavily furrowed. "Um, can I help you with something?"

"Yeah, you can. You can tell me how you managed to get a hold of the Kubikiribocho. That's one of the Mist's legendary swords, and they're only given to members of the Seven Swordsmen of Mist, so I'd love to know how a Leaf genin got his hands on it."

Naruto's eyes immediately hardened at the reminder of Zabuza's death, but in the back of his mind a question formed; who were these Seven Swordsmen? Kakashi had mentioned them back in Wave, but Naruto hadn't any real idea of who they were.

Filing those away for later, maybe Kakashi-sensei would offer an explanation, the blonde turned his attention back to the kunoichi in front of him. Her expectant look irritated him; it was like she was demanding answers, as if she had a right to know.

"You know what," Naruto finally replied, "you can just keep wondering. Because as far as I'm concerned that information's on a need-to-know basis. As in, you don't need to know. Come on guys" With that, the young swordsman began walking away with his team.

Or at least they would have, if another voice didn't stop them.

"Hey you, Mr. Rude, what's your name?"

Team 7 turned around again, this time to be met with the sight of the long-haired boy. He, like Naruto, wore a hoodie and cargo's; although his were cream and brown respectively. Around his forehead was a brown headpiece, and one arm and leg were wrapped in bandages. Naruto quickly realized that the kid was a Hyuga by his eyes.

Sasuke, thinking the genin was talking to him, stepped forward to introduce himself. "You know, it's common courtesy to give your own name before asking someone for theirs."

The Hyuga glanced at Sasuke, "I wasn't talking to you." Then turned his gaze towards Naruto, "I meant your team-mate."

Naruto folded his arms and replied, "But my team-mate has a point; and I thought Hyuga's were all about manners and propriety. Guess you missed those lessons huh?"

Both Team 7 and Lee's team watched as the Hyuga boy's eyes hardened into a deadly glare. However, the young genin simply ground out a response. "My name is Neji Hyuga...and you?"

"I am Naruto Uzumaki; Heir to the Demon of Kirigakure."

The blonde noticed out of the corner of his eye the looks his team-mate's were giving him, but he chose to ignore them, and focused on the challenge in front. Neji scoffed, as if the title meant nothing, but didn't say anything else. He just turned and began to walk away.

Naruto and his own team followed the Hyuga's lead and decided to make their way towards the exam room. On their way their, Sakura turned to Naruto and asked, "What was that back there? Heir to the Demon; since when the heck did you start calling yourself that?"

"It's not something you need to worry about Sakura, so don't ask."

xXx

Team 7 were passing through the area of the school were taijutsu practice took place if it rained. As they moved, a voice called out to them from the upper-level. "Hey you, with the attitude."

The trio stopped again. Naruto was beginning to get frustrated with all these interruptions, if they were late somebody was gonna get an earful. He and his squad looked up towards where the voice came from, and were met with Lee...and the bun-haired girl looking down at them.

Instead of anyone answering the members of Squad 7 just waited until someone was clearly addressed. It didn't take long, as the rival genin leaped from the platform and down in front of the trio. Lee was the one to speak. "You are Sasuke Uchiha correct?"

Said Uchiha eyed the oddly dressed genin coolly and replied, "Yeah; what of it?"

"I have heard that you were this years Rookie of the Year. Is that true?"

"And if it is?" Sasuke asked.

Lee's eyes glinted with something as he answered, "Then I ask that you and I have a match."

Sasuke laughed to himself before saying, "You know who I am, what clan I come from, and yet you still wanna fight me?"

"Yes. I wish to test a theory, and I believe facing you will give me the answers I seek."

The Uchiha looked ready to agree, but his pink-haired team-mate chose to speak up in concern. "Sasuke-kun I don't think that's such a good idea, we've only got thirty minutes left before the exams start."

As he moved into his taijutsu stance Sasuke just scoffed, saying, "Feh, this won't take more than five seconds Sakura."

While this was going on, Naruto noticed that the girl had been giving him a cold look the entire time. Finally, sick of her glaring, the blonde turned to her and said, "Why don't you take a picture; it'll last longer."

This only served to harden the girl's glare as she scoffed out a reply. "Originally I wasn't going to follow Lee, but then I got to thinking, if he was coming to challenge the Uchiha then he'd be running into you."

"Yeah, and?"

"I wanna fight you."

Blue eyes widened in shock as Naruto asked, "Why?"

"To see if you're worthy of handling such a famous sword, Demon's Heir." She mocked, a smug grin finding its way onto her face. The girl noticed immediately that she'd struck a nerve, as Naruto's entire body tensed in response to her taunting.

"I assume there's rules to this battle," he spit though grinding teeth.

The bun-haired girl smirked and answered, "Only one...strictly kenjutsu."

This confused Naruto as he quickly noticed that the girl was unarmed. She seemed to notice his discontent because the kunoichi reached into her weapon pouch and produced a scroll. As she unfurled it she assured him, "Oh don't worry, I always come prepared."

Naruto watched as, out of a cloud of smoke, a katana appeared.

This girl could use basic sealing. Interesting.

The blonde then watched as his opponent moved away from him and entered into a kenjutsu stance

Naruto recognized as the Seigan no Kamae.

Naruto pulled Kubikiribocho from the strap on his back and entered into his own stance; the blade tip rested on the floor, and both his hands held the handle. With his short height, the blonde knew he looked funny with such a large sword, but he hoped his new look helped make up for it.

"Ten-Ten," the girl suddenly said.

Her opponent raised a brow in confusion, so she elaborated. "My name; it's Ten-Ten. I want you to know the name of the person that beat you after this is all over."

Ten-Ten's snarky explanation sparked Naruto's ire, and his muscles flexed with the desire to pummel the girl into the ground for her constant disrespect, but instead he simply growled out a response.

"Whenever you're ready to try, I'm ready to put you in your place."

Pushing off her right foot Ten-Ten rushed her male opponent. One could see the confidence in her eyes as she moved; she believed she'd already won the match. As she got within range, the brunette thrust her katana forward...and hit empty air.

As Ten-Ten got close, Naruto's sharp eyes watched his slower opponent move to strike. Quick as a flash the blonde ran the blade of his own weapon into the ground, and used the handle to spring himself up and over the bun-haired girl. Once he was behind her, Naruto heaved the giant bade out of the wooden floor, and sent it swinging back so the flat of the sword would make contact with Ten-Ten's blind spot.

Only her training with Guy-sensei saved the girl from being hammered, as she used her speed to evade the slower attack. Ten-Ten ducked the blow, then aimed to pierce Naruto's thigh, but missed again when her attack was deflected by the blonde's ankle. The strong material of his sandal enough to stop a glancing blow.

Unfortunately, she was wide open for the kick that landed against her chest and sent her rolling back.

Coming to a stop, Ten-Ten pulled herself back up to her feet, and angled the blade parallel to her face; the tip pointed towards Naruto. However, she never got within striking distance this time because she was forced to block a swipe from the Kubikiribocho that otherwise would have sliced her in half.

Ten-Ten's feet couldn't hold their ground though under the unanticipated strength of the blow, so she skid across the floor, before she managed to channel chakra to her feet and stop herself.

But Naruto wasn't done. As soon as his opponent stopped moving the blonde lifted his sword into the air, and then brought it down in a crushing blow. The bun-haired brunette managed to block this strike as well, but the power knocked her to the ground; she held herself up on one knee, her face contorted in effort.

As he continued to push Naruto explained their positions.

"While you may have more experience than me, and know more forms, I make up for that with my superior speed and strength. You're too slow to get inside my guard, and too weak to handle my attacks. Maybe next time you'll think before insulting me; the rest of the world doesn't know it yet, but I will becomethe next Demon of the Mist...and there's no way someone like you is gonna stop me!"

With that, in a surprising burst of speed, Naruto swung his sword down then up, and knocked its flat side against Ten-Ten's chin. The girl's feet left the ground, blood and spit flew into the air, and she slammed into the wooden floor with a 'thump'.

Lee was by his team-mate's side in an instant, helping her to sit up and checking on the girl's well-being., "Are you alright Ten-Ten? Are you hurt?"

"I'm fine," the young kunoichi snapped. She sent a glare over in Naruto's direction.

Naruto just scoffed. "Feh, don't get your panties in a twist, you can't really believe that I'd just carry this around to look cool. I respect the Kubikiribocho, as well as the man who wielded it, and it'd be a dishonor to both if I let the sword go to waste."

Ten-Ten just huffed, but silently felt her respect of Naruto rise at his response, before turning away from the blonde, and asked Lee if he'd gotten his match with Sasuke. The bowl-haired genin answered no, and that they'd been watching her match with Naruto.

"Well you've still got time," Naruto intervened, "My match didn't take very long, looks like only a little over a minute, you and Sasuke can still fight."

Lee looked back toward his opponent, and when Sasuke nodded in agreement, they both moved to face off. The spandex-wearing shinobi entered into a taijutsu that Naruto hadn't seen before; one hand behind his back in a fist, the other out in front. Sasuke entered his family taijutsu's first stance, then rushed his opponent.

Much like Ten-Ten, Sasuke believed that he'd win the match by overwhelming his opponent with what he thought was superior speed and skill.

Once he was in range, the Uchiha opened with a roundhouse kick. But when Lee ducked that, Sasuke tried to follow up with a jab to the face...Lee parried it.

After knocking aside Sasuke's jab Lee decided to go on the offensive; he struck out with his own jab. Unlike with the raven-haired Uchiha, this punch connected, as well as the one that followed to the gut. Lee's punch had so much power, the attack sent Sasuke skidding across the floor.

As Sakura rushed to his side, asking if he was okay, Naruto looked at Lee in amazement.

He'd watched the fight from the beginning. Sasuke's moves were easy to follow, because they were predictable, but when Lee moved...Naruto could barely follow it. The kid was so fast! One thing the blonde noticed, that he knew Sakura hadn't, was that Sasuke had tried to block the two punches. He had shifted his body, ready for them, but the attacks connected before he could do anything else.

Seeing Sasuke back on his feet Naruto watched his team-mate as he activated the Sharingan. The blonde saw the confident smirk on the Uchiha's face, but it didn't give Naruto any new sort of hope. He didn't believe the dojutsu would save his team-mate.

And he was right.

xXx

Team 7 was shocked when they reached room 301 and saw their Jounin instructor waiting for them. Kakashi looked over his team as they came closer and inspected them for any signs of nervousness. He found none. But what he did see quickly caught his interest.

Sasuke was sporting some interesting bruises on his face.

"What happened?" he asked.

The Uchiha didn't say anything, he simply huffed and looked away. And while Sakura attempted to console her love interest, Naruto took it upon himself to explain. "The jerk got his butt kicked by your rival's student."

Sakura immediately turned a harsh eye in the blonde's direction and seethed, "Be quiet dummy; Sasuke-kun did not get his butt kicked. That guy just surprised him is all. Next time Sasuke-kun will be ready for him, and then he'll be toast."

"Ha, yeah, I'm sure. Sasuke may be able to use that excuse for the start of the match, but what about the second round; after he activated his eyes? Lee still trounced him."

The Uchiha in question seemed to have had enough of being made a fool of, because he eyed the blonde dangerously. "Shut up loser, what do you know? You got off with fighting that weak girl who only used kenjutsu."

"Wait," Kakashi stepped in. "Are you seriously saying you three ran into Guy's students?"

"Yeah, that's why I mentioned the whole 'rival' thing sensei." Naruto answered, before a thought came to mind, "Oh, by the way, can you tell me who the Seven Swordsman are?"

The blonde's question clearly surprised the silver-haired shinobi, as evident by his widened eye, but the man just asked, "I can tell you later, sure, but where'd you hear about them from?"

"Guy's student, Ten-Ten; she mentioned them to me when we met in the hall."

"W-What? How come?" Kakashi balked curiously. What had his genin gotten themselves into?

Here, Naruto's face molded into a scowl as he replied. "She got in my face about having Zabuza's sword, saying how I wasn't worthy of it. She challenged me to a match but I beat her pretty easily."

Kakashi sighed before he said, "Well, like I said, I'll tell you what I know after the first exam is over. But for now, I think it's best you three get in there. Wouldn't wanna be late after all." He ended with an eye-smile.

"Isn't that the pot calling the kettle black," Sakura mumbled as they made their way inside.

xXx

The minute they stepped through the door, Naruto and his team were momentarily overwhelmed at how many ninja were inside room 301.

It was a full house.

Shinobi from ever corner of the continent seemed to be there; Suna, Taki, Ame, and Kusa just to name a few. And they all looked on edge.

'Well, I was too after I entered into a different country, and was surrounded by strangers.' Naruto thought to himself. Then, a high-pitched voice caught his attention and the blonde turned to find the source.

"Sasuke-kun, it's so great to see you again," a platinum-blonde kunoichi in purple cried out as she glomped the raven-haired youth. "I'll bet you missed me huh, having to spend all that time with forehead and...hey, where's Naruto-baka?"

"I'm right here Ino," the Nine-Tails jinchuurikianswered.

The girl, Ino, looked over in her fellow blonde's direction and her mouth dropped open at the sight that greeted her. 'He has more muscles than Sasuke-kun!'

"Hey Ino, what's got you so speechless, I thought for sure you'd be all loud the minute you saw Sasuke," another voice called.

This one belonged to a pony-tailed boy wearing a green vest, black pants, and a mesh shirt. He was followed by another boy; this one was short, but large, and was carrying a bag of chips. He had light-brown hair that was tied down by his headband.

"I think it had something to do with me Shikamaru," Naruto told his fellow genin.

When the now-named Nara heir turned his eyes, his reaction was similar to Ino's, only the male genin managed to pull himself together and asked Naruto about his new look.

"It's a long story, and I know how much you hate those Shikamaru," was the blonde's reply.

"Ha, he can change his look all he wants, it still won't save him from me and Akamaru," boasted a new voice.

This one belonged Kiba, who had his ninken Akamaru riding atop his head. He was followed by Hinata, and his second team-mate Shino. Much of Shino's body was covered by a long coat, the collar even hiding much of his face, but one could clearly see the pale skin of his face from the little bit shown. Shino was also the tallest rookie, with a head of wild dark-brown hair.

"I'd be careful Kiba, this isn't the academy, your placement isn't based on some stupid paper test. Out here it's all about skill." Naruto replied coldly.

He'd never liked Kiba, the Inuzuka was always one of the first to put down his dream, and the boy was far too full of himself.

Even by Naruto's standards.

But before Kiba could make a retort, a soft voice interrupted from behind him. "O-Oh, don't mind Kiba, h-he's just anxious to start the exams."

Naruto's blue eyes looked over Kiba's shoulder and spotted a petite girl wearing a heavy coat. His face broke out into a smile when he recognized the only girl to ever be nice to him in school, and he greeted her warmly.

"Hey Hinata, I almost didn't see you there, good to know you'll be taking the exams too."

He watched as the Hyuga girl ducked her head upon being greeted, and so he missed the redness that crept into her cheeks. The blonde just raised a brow in confusion before Ino's voice bellowed, "Am I the only one who cares that Naruto-baka went from scrawny shrimp, to tanned and toned?"

"Yes Ino, you are. It's too much of a drag to hear his long story," relayed Shikamaru in a bored tone.

"Besides, the guy probably doesn't want anyone here knowing his secrets anyway, right?"

All the rookies looked for the new voice, and saw that it came from a lanky teen that was walking over towards them. He wore a high-collard, purple shirt and khaki pants. His hands were covered by finger-less gloves while on his face set a pair of glasses. The guy's head was covered in a shock of silver hair that was mostly tied back by a pony-tail.

Naruto eyed the new guy warily, "That's right Mr..."

The teen looked sheepish as he answered the blonde's question, "Oh, um, my name is Kabuto Yakushi."

"And is there something we can help you with Kabuto-san?" Sasuke asked.

Kabuto just smiled and replied, "Actually, I think there's a wayI can help you guys. We Leaf genin should try to stick together after all right?"

"That makes sense," Sakura agreed. "So Kabuto-san, what kind of help can you give us? From the sound of it, you've taken these exams before right?"

"That's right."

"So, what, is this like your second try?" asked Ino. She too was becoming curious, and if this guy's hints would help her beat Sakura at being chunin, then she was all for it.

Kabuto ducked his head and mumbled, "A-Actually, it's my seventh try, the exams are held twice a year."

Hearing this bit of news made Naruto curious. Over the months before the exam he'd been getting more training from Kakashi-sensei, and one of the first lessons was to always look 'beyond what you see'. To not take everything at face value, because as a ninja, that could spell disaster.

So Naruto watched Kabuto a little more closely, to see if there was any reason to feel suspicious, or if he was just jumpy about the exams. 'But still, the guy's taken it seven times, how has he not passed yet. Does he just suck?'

Naruto kept his eyes trained on Kabuto as the bespectacled genin explained one of his info cards; this one a topographical map of the ninja villages, and how many shinobi each one had competing. This wasn't so odd, the guy probably used the five days to compile the data, so Naruto let it slide.

Then Sasuke asked if the silver-haired Leaf ninja had any information on people. Candidates taking the test.

"I have a little something on everyone, gotta know who you're dealing with right? Are you wondering about anybody in particular?"

Sasuke's eyes focused as he replied, "Rock Lee and Sabaku no Gaara."

"Well that's no fun, you even know their names," Kabuto joked as he pulled two cards from his deck. "Alright, first up is Rock Lee."

A chart phased onto the card, complete with a picture of the oddball genin and his team-mate's underneath.

"According to this, Rock Lee and his team are about a year older than you guys, and are trained by the Jounin Guy. Lee has an exceptional level of taijutsu mastery, far above your average genin, but the rest of his skills leave much to be desired. His team-mate's are Ten-Ten and Neji Hyuga, and together they've completed 20 D-rank missions and 5 C-rank." Kabuto explained.

There were two things that caught Naruto's attention.

How did Kabuto know the extent of Lee's skills, as well as the number and rank of the missions his team had taken? Those kinds of things aren't just public knowledge; even to other ninja. But Naruto decided to let Kabuto keep going, because he wanted to know about Gaara as well.

Like with Lee's, Gaara's photo and chart phased onto the card. Taking a closer look, Naruto could see the red-head's pie-chart that told of his skills was more diverse than Lee's had been. Although the taijutsu section was significantly thinner.

"Alright, well, Sabaku no Gaara is a first-timer like all of you and his team consists of his older siblings Temari and Kankuro. Gaara's physical stats aren't very high, but his ninjutsu is noteworthy, while his other skills are pretty standard. It says here that his team has completed 13 D-rank, 8 C-rank, and...get this, a B-rank mission." Kabuto's eyes widened behind his glasses as he read the mission log.

"What, no way he's done a B-rank if he's the same age as us," cried Kiba in disbelief. He and his team had only performed two C-rank since they'd been together.

But Kabuto just shook his head and replied, "It's true, but that's not even the most surprising part. It says here that not only has he done those missions, but Gaara has also never been injured while undertaking them."

Many of the genin's eyes nearly fell out of their heads at that bit of news. A genin performing a B-rank without getting touched!? There weren't chunin, or even many Jounin, that got away with no injury. So how did thiskid?

However one genin's eyes didn't widen, but narrowed, as he looked upon the scene.

Naruto's senses were on fire with alarm; that kind of knowledge couldn't have been learned inside the village. And there's no way this guy was old enough to be issued a Bingo Book, which would probably label Gaara as a C-ranked threat. So how did Kabuto know those things?

'This just proves that there's something funny about this guy; knowing a foreign teams mission history while you're just a genin, not a chance.' However he didn't call the silver-haired youth out on it, because he didn't know just who this Kabuto Yakushi really was.

But he'd find out.

Then, Naruto's eye caught a glimpse of something and the blonde slightly turned his head to see what it was. A team of genin were moving through the crowd, and from the looks of it, Kabuto was their target. But before Naruto could call out a warning Kabuto moved, and evaded the initial strike.

'Well, at least I know he's no slouch.' .

Yet just as he thought this, Kabuto dropped to his knees and vomited on the floor. Blue eyes doubled in size as Naruto wondered what happened. The bespectacled genin made a clean dodge...so what hit him? Then a cocky voice echoed through the room, drawing the blonde's attention.

"Why don't you put this on one of your little cards; the Sound village is gonna dominate this whole exam. You Leaf-ninja don't stand a chance."

Naruto eyed the shinobi that had spoken. He wasn't the one that attacked Kabuto, but the jinchuurikididn't like him. He was annoying. The guy had a head of wild, spiky hair similar to Kakashi-sensei's, and he wore a a baggy, tan shirt with the kanji for 'death' written on it with gray camo pants and scarf.

Before Naruto could take a look at the other two Sound ninja though, a collection of smoke clouds appeared around the room. When they all faded, the large crop of genin were surrounded by several chunin-rank Leaf shinobi. Naruto recognized Kotetsu and Izumo among the ranks.

And standing in front of the chalkboard, was a large man in a navy-blue trench coat and his headband worn like a bandanna. The guy had scars etched across his face, and harsh, black eyes.

"Alright that's enough!" He yelled in a guttural voice. "You three genin from Oto better settle down, before I have you thrown out on your asses."

The spiky-haired loudmouth gave the older man a disrespectful look and snarked, "Yeah? Well who the hell are you to tell us what to do?"

Scar-face just smirked, a twisted look that promised suffering for those that crossed him. "I am Ibiki Morino, proctor of the first exam...and from this moment on, your worst nightmare."

xXx

Every genin in the room looked to the man that had introduced himself as their proctor. Some looked at him in fear, while others looked at him with indifference.

'Too bad for him; I'm not afraid of dreams.'

Naruto fell into the latter category.

"Now, before I begin to explain the rules of the first exam to you all, I need everyone to form a line and pull a slip from this box. The number on the paper corresponds with one of the seats in this room; that seat is where you'll be sitting for the written exam." Ibiki explained.

And almost immediately after those words Naruto's mask of indifference slipped just enough that one could see him flinch. 'A written test, seriously? They had to give me the one thing I'm not good at first!?'

Although he'd begun studying, Naruto knew better than to consider himself a star student. He still didn't even consider himself average. All the blonde had managed to do was gain basic knowledge about several of the different subjects covered at his villages' library; and he didn't think one of the questions was going to be 'who are the Legendary Sannin.'

So with a nervous feeling swirling around in his stomach Naruto found a place in line. As he did though, the young jinchuurikimade sure to keep up his aloof facade, so as not to give anything away to his competition.

But this made it so he didn't notice the red-haired girl behind him.

However she noticed him.

Karin looked at the blonde boy in front of her curiously. She'd seen him watching her as her team passed the blonde upon entering the village, but she didn't let him know. Out of the corner of her eye Karin saw the boy stop for a moment to watch her, and she also saw the look on his face. It was brief, but, Karin could swear she saw interest in his ocean-blue orbs.

'But...what's so interesting about me?'

Back in her home village of Kusagakure Karin was nothing special; just another headband in the crowd. And while she had a brilliant mind, the people of her village didn't care so much about that as they did strength. Something Karin was in short supply of.

It frustrated the bespectacled girl because she had so much more to give; with her brain, and her ability as a medical ninja.

Why couldn't her village see that?

So Karin asked her Jounin instructor to enter the team into the chunin exams, in hopes of passing and moving up in rank, so that then she could stand out among her fellow Kusa shinobi.

When she looked back up from the floor Karin was startled to see that, instead of the blonde boy, it was now a chunin guard in front of her.

"It's your turn girl, pick a number and go sit down," he demanded roughly.

"Yeah, hurry it up already, we ain't got all day ya know!" Another examiner's shout came from behind.

Karin blushed lightly in embarrassment and quickly pulled a slip of paper from the box. Looking at the numbers, the red-head just as quickly shuffled out of line to find her seat. Seeing what row she was in, Karin's crimson eyes searched for a mop of blonde hair...and downcast in disappointment when she saw none.

'And here I was hoping we could talk.'

xXx

Naruto sat down in his assigned seat, his blade having been confiscated due to its size. As the Uzumaki steepled his fingers in front of his face, a flash of color caught his eye and made him look to his right.

"Oh, hey Hinata, how's it going?"

Indeed Naruto's table-mate was the Hyuga heiress. And upon being addressed, the young girl's face flushed a light pink. As the flustered girl sat in her own seat she replied to Naruto's greeting, "O-Oh, hi Naruto-kun. I-I'm okay...what about you, a-are you ready for the test?"

Naruto smirked, and his voice cheerful. "You bet, this'll be easy."

Hinata just smiled shyly in the blonde's direction, her silent fear of doing poorly being assuaged by her idol's exuberant confidence. In short order they were soon given their tests, face-down, and told not to turn them over until after the proctor had explained all the rules.

"Alright everybody listen up!" Ibiki called out from the front of the room. "As I've already mentioned this is a written exam, but it will be unlike any other test you may have taken back in the academy. However, before I explain why, let me tell you right now; no questions until after I've explained everything."

This got the Jounin more than a few cross looks. No questions? What kind of examiners does that!? However, none of the genin decided to voice their displeasure, and settled on glaring at the scarred man.

Ibiki was just fine with that.

"Now, as I said, this test will be different. The first, and most major difference, comes in the fact that your score will be determined by the combined numbers between you and your squad-"

"What!" Sakura interrupted in horror.

"Quiet, didn't I just day no questions!? Now, as I was saying, your entire team must score all-together a total of nine points. Each question is one point a piece. Meaning that all it takes is one person scoring high enough for your team to pass...however, should just one member of the team get a zero then the entire team fails." Ibiki had to hold in his laughter as he watched the pink-haired girl that interrupted him slam her head on the desk.

Naruto's eyebrow twitched incessantly at that bit of news, but didn't let it distract him from listening to the rest of the rules. Ibiki then went on to explain that the tenth, and final, question would be given out ten minutes before their hour was up. Also, the chunin were there to catch anyone who was cheating, and two points would be deducted for every incident.

"If you are foolish enough to be caught cheating by the sentinels then you don't deserve to be here. So show us...what exceptional shinobi you can be." And with that, Ibiki announced that the test had begun.

The moment he flipped his paper over Naruto knew he was in trouble. The first question asked him to break some kind of code, and that would have been easy...had he not gotten kicked out of class so often. He tried, Naruto really did, but he just didn't have enough knowledge on the subject to crack it.

From there it only got worse.

Naruto decided to skip the question and try to find one he could answer. Unfortunately, it seemed like the code-breaking was the easiest one, because from there the questions wanted complex math and theoretical problem solving. All things Naruto wasn't very good at.

'Damn it, what am I going to do!? If I don't get at least one question right then my whole team fails.' But how was he expected to answer questions about things that weren't covered in the academy?

Thinking back to his days in school also made the frustrated genin think about the written tests he took there. Ibiki had made sure to mention that the two were different, and then went on to explain the grading system.

'But...that wasn't the only difference,' Naruto realized.

The proctor had said that was the first difference, not the only one. And this made the spiky-haired genin think about the point deduction system; back in school kids caught cheating failed immediately. So why only deduct points now, during such an important test?

This made Naruto think of the last thing the scarred Jounin said before starting the test. About how, anyone foolish enough to be caught cheating wasn't fit to be at the exams.

And that's when Naruto realized the truth.

He was supposed to cheat.

The test wasn't about having all the answers, but about being able to steal them without getting caught. It was like a mission; one that required stealth and cunning. At this Naruto relaxed, stealth was something he had been training in all month since he'd been back.

'But using the Hidden-Mist jutsuwas too obvious, there's no way I could get away with that in here. I'll have to try something else.'

With that thought in mind, Naruto let just his eyes wander slowly around the room, trying to see how other genin were getting the answers.

Hinata was using her Byakugan, keeping her head low so that her hair covered the tell-tale veins unless you were as close as Naruto was. He could see Kiba, who was sitting ahead and a few rows to his left, getting answers from Akamaru who was perched atop his head.

'Man, I wish I had a partner like that,' the fledgling 'demon' mused as he finished looking around the room. Shikamaru...was sleeping, no surprise there, but Choji was writing down answers. The thing was, Naruto didn't see the boy using any method of cheating, which confused him as the blonde knew Choji wasn't smart enough to handle the tests questions.

Deciding that it wasn't important, as it had nothing to do with him passing the test, Naruto pushed those thoughts away and continued to think of a way he could get the answers he needed. But before he could, the young genin leaned his head to the side, so as to avoid a kunai that sailed through the air.

With a 'thunk' the sharpened weapon dug into the table behind him, and Ibiki's voice called out, "Number 53 failed; numbers 73 and 22 are dismissed as well!"

xXx

Karin watched as the trio of genin were tossed out of the room kicking and screaming, each one bellowing about being treated unfairly, and how they didn't cheat. But Karin saw him, her pupil-less crimson eyes were sharp, and she'd caught number 53 five times.

Meaning the chunin definitely saw him.

She had finished the test after the first ten minutes and now was just waiting for the tenth question. This was where her brilliance showed, the questions were easy for someone like her, unfortunately she couldn't say the same for her team-mates. Karin had flipped her paper over, signaling that she had finished, and had carefully eyed both males on her team; they were both trying to cheat.

Karin sighed when she saw this. She'd tried multiple times to teach her squad about the theories and mathematics required for the test questions, but they just laughed in her face, brushing her aside and saying that none of it would help any out in the field. This was why she wanted to become chunin; so that no one would ever put down her ideas and strategies again.

xXx

The smirk on Naruto's face was one that used to spell doom for anyone he decided to prank, but now, the bandaged genin's look told of a different kind of trick. He'd found a way to get his answers.

'And I won't even have to move from this spot.'

Naruto's left hand covertly formed into the same hand-sign he used when activating the Hidden-Mist jutsu, then the blonde closed his eyes and concentrated.

High up above, beyond the sight of the sentinels, a small fog swirled near the ceiling. The mist moved like this for another minute, water particles in the air continuing to gather towards it, before finally a cloud the size of a plate hung in the air. But Naruto wasn't finished yet.

Next, he imagined the cloud re-forming into just a plain puddle of water, but in a flat and oval shape. A tick in the blonde's mind let him know it had finished. With that Naruto acted as if he needed to stretch, and when he opened his eyes...a liquid mirror was reflecting the image of Hinata's paper.

Answers and all.

'Ha, I did it. I wasn't really sure that would work since I'd never tried it before, but I figure it's the same as making a dragon out of water, you just gotta think of the shape in your mind.'

With his plan a success Naruto went to work copying every answer he could see, until finally, he had all nine answers written down. Even if some of them were wrong, all he needed was one.

Now all he had to do was worry about the tenth question.

Looking over at the clock Naruto saw that he still had ten minutes left until Ibiki would call time. After flipping his paper over, seeing the blank space reminded the blonde of Kabuto's cards.

'I should have Ibiki-san report him to the old man.'

That ten minutes passed quickly, and before he knew it, Naruto's ears were assaulted by Ibiki's gruff voice as it echoed throughout the room. "Alright time's up, it's time for the tenth question!"

Naruto flipped his test paper over and eyed Ibiki as the man got ready to give out the final question. But when he saw the man's eyes gleam with a haughty light, the spiky-haired jinchuurikiknew that what was coming was more than just some test question.

Once he saw that everyone was paying attention Ibiki began to speak.

"Now that everyone's ready let me explain how this is going to work. Each of you has a choice of whether or not to be given the tenth question; it's not mandatory."

Seeing looks of confusion, but also of hope, the Jounin decided to make everything clear. "However, if you choose not to be given the tenth question then the other nine are invalid and you will be asked to leave."

"What!?" Kiba cried out as he stood from his chair. "What kind of stupid rule is that, of course we'll take the question then."

Many of the other genin nodded or voiced their agreement. Ibiki chuckled darkly to himself before replying, "Oh but wait, you didn't let me finish. For you see...for all those who choose to be given the final question and get it wrong they fail; regardless of their previous scores."

This was swiftly met with cries of anger and indignation, but Ibiki quickly shut them up and continued to explain the rules.

"Enough interruptions! The next person to talk before I've finished giving instructions will be thrown out along with his/her team. Now, as I was saying, failing the final question not only ends the exams for you now but also for the rest of your life. You will never be aloud to take it again. So those are your choices; play it safe and quit, or make an attempt that could lead to utter failure."

Naruto watched as, after the rules were given, several hands began to raise into the air and genin voicing their desire to quit. The number of shinobi seemed to drop like flies as three at a time the room emptied out. As he turned to get a better look around though, Hinata caught his attention.

Hinata had her head down, and her shoulders were slumped.

The young heiress was shaking like a leaf and Naruto could see her wide, unblinking eyes as they swam with fear. Looking down at her hands Naruto saw that one clutched her pant leg with bone-crushing terror, while the other trembled, hovering as if she were about to raise it. She was going to quit.

'Hinata-san.'

Naruto eyed the girl with disbelief; she was really going to give up? This was only the first test! But then the blonde remembered that the kunoichi sitting next to him was never good at being pressured, she didn't like being put on the spot, and tended to fall under the weight of the moment.

So, with what he hoped was humor in his voice, Naruto leaned over and spoke quietly in Hinata's ear.

"Man can you believe these guys; what a bunch of wimps. I mean, it's only the first exam and they're already quitting. But I guess everyone can't be as great as you and me huh? I bet after this, the rest of the exams will be a cake walk."

He saw how once he spoke Hinata's trembling stopped. She jerked from the sudden interaction, but the young girl remained stagnant, never looking over at Naruto. But she didn't have to, because he'd seen the change in her eyes. Where once there was fear and a desire to run away, now in its place was a small light of determination that burned like a candle.

'Let's just hope it doesn't flicker out during the second test, because I may not be there to relight it,' Naruto thought to himself as he pulled away. With his fellow rookie safe for the moment, the blonde jinchuuriki turned his attention back towards the front of the room...and saw the proctor smiling.

By now, it seemed as if all who were going to give up had done so. As he looked out over the remaining crowd Ibiki counted forty-five individual genin; fifteen teams had passed the first exam. Smiling in satisfaction at a job well-done, Ibiki cleared his throat and addressed the remaining candidates.

"Is that all who want to quit?"

When he didn't see anymore scared faces he continued, "Very well then. For all of you who have remained...congratulations, you've passed the first stage of the chunin exams."

This was met with the expected response. Disbelief. Many of the remaining shinobi squawked about how twisted Ibiki was, while others asked about the point of the tenth question. Ibiki went on to explain that there was no real tenth question; it was another test.

From there he confirmed what many of the test-takers knew, that the real objective was to cheat without being seen, and that during a mission to gather information it's the team's job as a whole to succeed. Which was why they were scored together, and the single zero represented a team-mate's death.

Then he explained the final test.

The tenth question was a way to gauge who was truly ready to be a shinobi; someone willing to risk everything for the sake of their village. Because when your Kage gives you a mission, you don't back out of it, you accept it with the understanding that it is being done to further ensure the safety of your home. Any unwilling to put their village first didn't even deserve to wear their headband.

"But seeing as you all have stayed it means that on some level you already understood this, and for that, your villages-" Ibiki's speech was cut short though when the window to his right burst open in a shower of glass, and a large ball of cloth hurtled its way inside.

The bundle exploded in the front of the room and became a display, hung up by kunai that dug into the floor and ceiling.

All the genin looked on at the purple tarp that read: 'Second chunin exam proctor, Anko Mitarashi, is here!'

Only Naruto's face broke out into an expectant look.

Seconds later another ball rolled through the window, only this time when it unfurled it was a person. Anko stood in front of her banner, hands on her hips, and a smirk on her face.

"Alright you brats, you've had it easy until now. My name is Anko Mitarashi, and I'm the proctor for the exam that's gonna either toughen you up or tear you down."

Her entrance was met with a silence so profound one could practically hear the wind as it sailed lazily in through the broken window.

Ibiki stepped out from around the large banner and grouched, "Anko you're early...again."

Anko's face broke into an embarrassed scowl at her fellow Jounin's words, but it was quickly morphed into a look of curiosity when she heard the sound of someone clapping. It was slow, and when Anko looked around the room, she saw that it was coming from Naruto. The blonde had a brow raised in amusement but she couldn't see much else because of the bandages around his face, but it was enough for the purple-haired Special-Jounin.

A wide smile found its way past the confused stare as Anko addressed the young Uzumaki. "Hey gaki, glad to see you passed the test."

His applause coming to a stop Naruto replied, "Thanks, it wasn't too hard though honestly. I hope your test gives me more of a challenge Anko."

The woman in question just gave a knowing grin and told Naruto to be careful what he wished for.

Then she noticed how many genin were left, and her face dropped into an annoyed pout. "Ibiki what's this; forty-five genin? You really did go easy on them this time huh?"

Ibiki just chuckled, "Or maybe we just have a stronger crop of candidates this time around."

"Yeah right." Was Anko's answer to that. "Okay, now that introductions are out of the way, I want all of you to meet me at training ground number 44 tomorrow at 8 A.M. Sharp."

With her instructions given, the grinning kunoichi disappeared via shunshin, leaving Ibiki to dismiss the remaining teams.

Once all the remaining teams were ushered out of the testing room, Ibiki went around to collect all the papers. As he went, he noticed that some had managed to answer all the questions, whiles some could only get answers to about half. It made the interrogation expert laugh when he saw that Sabaku no Gaara only answered a single question.

It was when he got to the Uzumaki kid's test that his brow furrowed.

While it wasn't uncommon for genin to doodle on the back of their paper, it was uncommon for them to leave messages for the proctor to read.

'Ibiki-san, I left this note because wanted to ask a favor from you. I'd like for you to inform the Hokage about a genin I thought was suspicious; his name is Kabuto Yakushi. Although he may be a Leaf-ninja, I just get an odd feeling from him. Kabuto-san had information on other candidates, from a different village, that doesn't seem like it'd be accessible to someone outside that villages walls. I may be wrong in my suspicions, but I'd rather be safe than sorry.'

The scarred man's face was set in a grim frown. It was dangerous to accuse a fellow shinobi of treachery without real evidence, but if what this kid said was true, then there may be more to Kabuto Yakushi than meets the eye.

Ibiki remembered that the shinobi in question had taken the exams a handful of times already; always making it passed the second phase, but giving up afterwards out of exhaustion. No one thought anything of it before, but now Ibiki wondered if perhaps there was a reason behind it now.

Perhaps the young man was looking for something, and had yet to find it.

'The question is, what?'

xXx

Naruto and his team met up with their Jounin instructor outside the academy building, along with the other rookie teams.

"I see your team managed to pull through Kakashi, I must say I'm a bit surprised." Kurenai commented as she eyed her fellow Jounin.

Kakashi just smiled and said, "Well I'm not; I knew they had it in them."

"So, uh, Kakashi...when did you start teaching kenjutsu?" Asuma questioned as his eyes landed on Naruto.

Then, when he realized just what blade was strapped to the blonde's back, his eyes widened. "And how did Naruto get his hands on the sword that belonged to Zabuza Momochi?"

"It's a long story," the cycloptic Jounin sighed. "One that isn't really mine to tell anyway. If you wanna know, ask Naruto. As for your first question; I haven't, it's something the kid picked up on his own."

Naruto could see the curiosity in the other Jounin's eyes, but he had no desire to talk about his goal, so instead he turned his attention to Kakashi and reminded the man of his promise.

"Hey, Kakashi-sensei, you remember right before I went in to take the first exam right? You said you'd answer a question for me."

The older shinobi saw through his students' facade, and could see the blonde's desire to get away from the prying eyes of the other Jounin. Deciding to spare Naruto from having to explain something that clearly caused him pain Kakashi replied, "Oh yeah, you're right. Okay let's go; Sasuke, Sakura he'll meet you guys tomorrow for the second test."

With that the two ninja walked off, but with their backs turned, they didn't see the narrowed eyes that followed them.

Kakashi and Naruto walked silently in the direction of Ichiraku's. They had long since left the academy where the first portion of the chunin exams had taken place, and the silver-haired Jounin decided that the ramen shop's relaxed atmosphere was a great place to tell his curious student the story of Mist's Seven Swordsmen.

The two shinobi sat down at the bar, Naruto ordering three bowls of miso ramen while his instructor declined any food. Eager to learn, Naruto turned his eyes on Kakashi and asked, "So Kakashi-sensei, who are these swordsmen that girl Ten-Ten was talking about?"

Kakashi turned in his seat, making sure he faced his student as he answered his question, and replied.

"The Seven Swordsmen are just as their name describes, although they don't all have to be men. Their group is made up of the seven most powerful kenjutsu users in Kiri."

Blue eyes focused on that bit of information. 'It explains why Zabuza was so strong'

"And actually, I'd heard Zabuza's generation was known as the strongest Kiri has ever produced. Each member is granted one of seven swords, which as I mentioned before is relinquished to the one who defeats the previous owner, with every blade having its own unique power."

That last part got the blonde's attention, and he ignored the ramen placed in front of him to ask, "What kind of powers; and what's Kubikiribocho's?"

"Unfortunately," Kakashi sighed, "I'm not actually sure Naruto. Usually, anyone outside of the Hidden Mist that actually see the swords wind up being on the business end of its blade, so their abilities are a pretty well guarded secret."

This made Naruto a little sad.

It meant that he didn't know the full extent of his weapons power, and wouldn't, unless he could find someone from Kiri to tell him. The boys Jounin instructor noticed his soured mood, as the blonde took to eating his ramen slowly after unwinding the bandages, and decided to try and cheer him up.

"But remember Naruto, Zabuza didn't use the swords ability against us and he was still such a dangerous threat. Its proof that all you need is your own strength, and confidence in your own ability, to become a powerful shinobi."

Kakashi saw that his words had taken root by the way Naruto's demeanor shifted; the boy was no longer slouching. "And speaking of becoming a powerful shinobi; are you ready for the second exam tomorrow Naruto?"

That did it.

The blonde looked up with a smirk on his face, and a determined look in his blue eyes. "Definitely. I can't wait for today to be over."

"That's good," The silver-haired shinobi replied. "Do you think-"

"chough, chough."

Whatever else the man was going to say was cut off by a messenger bird flying overhead, signaling for the elite ninja to report to the Hokage's office.

Kakashi looked from the bird back to his young charge and apologized, saying that they could catch up after the second test tomorrow. Naruto let his sensei know it was okay, and then went back to his lunch.

Once he finished with his ramen Naruto re-wrapped his face, and bid goodbye to the Ichiraku family, before idly walking through the streets. As he passed between villagers, the blonde's mind continued to trek back to the secrets of Kiri's group of swordsmen. There had to be a way of finding out more about them.

His answer came in the form of a bun-haired kunoichi bumping into him.

The blonde Uzumaki managed to keep himself from tumbling, and then reached out quickly to save the other person from falling as well. Naruto's eyes soon locked with a stunned brown pair; ones that he instantly recognized.

"Ten-Ten-san, are you alright?"

The girl in question stood idle for a moment longer, taking in what just happened, before she frowned. "Yeah, I'm alright, but maybe next time you should pay more attention to where you're going Uzumaki-san. Oh, and you can let go of me now."

For his part the blonde swordsman managed to look apologetic as he removed his arm from around the girls waist. Scratching the back of his head nervously, Naruto replied, "You're probably right, sorry. I was just...hey wait, you know about the Seven Swordsmen right?"

Ten-Ten eyed the younger boy with curiosity as she said 'yes'.

"Do you know a lot about them?" The bandaged youth asked. "Kakashi-sensei didn't really know much besides the basics I guess, but he told me about how each sword had a power or ability that made it special. Would you know anything about that?"

The brunette kunoichi wasn't sure what she should say.

On the one hand, she was still miffed about losing her match to the blonde in front of her, and was considering not telling him what she knew. But then Ten-Ten thought about how, even if she didn't like the kid, he was still a fellow Leaf shinobi and deserved professional courtesy.

"I don't know a lot about the organization itself, pretty much just the basics like everyone else that's not a part of it, but I doknow about the swords. After all, I wouldn't be much of a weapon expert if I didn't keep up my knowledge on every type out there."

Ten-Ten could see the hopeful look in Naruto's eye, and heard it in his voice as he asked her to tell him more. This made the girl start to think.

'What could I get out of this?'

After just standing there and staring at the blonde with a scrutinizing look Ten-Ten finally decided.

"Alright, I'll tell you, but only on one condition."

"Okay, what?"

"You have to help me track down Kiba."

Naruto's face took on a look of confusion. "You mean Inuzuka? What do you want with him?"

Ten-Ten pinched the bridge of her nose as a vein pulsed along her forehead. "Not that Kiba."

"I meant the twin swords Kiba, also known as the Thunder Swords, they belong to Ameyuri Ringo of the Seven Swordsmen and it's a dream of mine to own and master them."

Naruto's look of confusion melted away and was replaced with one of understanding. "Oh, that makes more sense, but I don't understand how I can help you with that."

"Simple," the weapon user replied. "News of Zabuza's death will spread throughout the ninja world, and eventually reach the ears of the other members. They'll get curious about who defeated him, and want to find out what happened to Kubikiribocho..."

"Leading Ameyuri to me," the blonde finished.

Ten-Ten nodded, motioned for Naruto to walk with her, and continued.

"Yes. If you really managed to defeat Zabuza then you must be strong, so if I train with you, I'll be able to go up against Ameyuri; the Demon of the Mist was said to be the strongest of the seven...until Kisame anyway. "

"And who is Kisame?"

If he was going to be tracked by such high-level ninja, Naruto wanted to cover all his bases; especially if the Kisame guy was even stronger than Zabuza.

"Originally, Kisame Hoshigaki was a member of the Seven Swordsmen's Cypher Division and under the command of Fuguki Suikazan, who was part of Zabuza's generation. However, after an unknown incident, Kisame killed Fuguki and took possession of Samehada. He later became a missing ninja, and like Zabuza, carries his sword with him." Ten-Ten explained.

Naruto made sure to lock in the names he'd heard; Ameyuri, Fuguki, Kisame. Because the blonde had a feeling he'd be faced with those names again later.

Turning his attention back to the matter at hand though, the blonde asked, "And about how much stronger is Kisame compared to Zabuza?"

The bun-haired girl shook her head. "I don't really know; that kind of information isn't really public knowledge, even for shinobi. Maybe your instructor can tell you."

They walked quietly for a while, neither one saying a word and simply looking around at the various shops and stands they passed, until Naruto spoke again.

"So what can you tell me, about the swords I mean, because if you want me to help you then you're gonna have to keep your end of the bargain first."

"I suppose you're right," Ten-Ten agreed. "So you wanna know about what makes each sword special right? Well let's start with yours; Kubikiribocho is the 'immortal blade', as it can never truly be destroyed. This sword is said to have the ability to reforge itself using the iron in the blood of its victims."

Naruto listened with rapt attention and a single brow rose at the new bit of information he'd received about his weapon. 'That'll definitely be useful.'

But the older girl wasn't finished.

"Next there's the blades I want to find, Kiba, a pair of double edged blades. What makes these so special is that they are imbued with lightning, which has given them such an increase in cutting power, that they are said to be the sharpest swords in existence. Then you have Nuibari, the 'sewing needle', a very thin longsword with the appearance of a needle that has a length of wire tied at the hilt; which gives the user the ability to take down numerous opponents at once by 'sewing' them together."

Those two swords sounded dangerous to the young blonde. However, Kiba's lightning-laced blades intrigued him.

"After those two," Ten-Ten continued. "You have Kabutowari. This one's a little strange in my opinion, as it's made up of a single sided ax and a hammer joined together by a thick length of chain, this one has a reputation for being able to break through any form a defense because of how dense and powerful its blows are. Following Kabutowari is Shibuki; the 'blast sword'. Shibuki gets its name from the fact that the blade itself is wrapped in a scroll that contains numerous explosive seals, so that when the sword is swung, even if you block the initial strike one or more seas will set off and you'll be caught in the explosion."

'Explosions huh, sounds dangerous.' The Kabutowari wasn't of much interest to the young blonde, although he did respect and was wary of its reputation; if he ever ran into it, he'd need to be careful.

Letting his mind return to Ten-Ten's explanation, Naruto caught her as she began speaking about the last two swords.

"Okay, almost done. This next one is called Hiramekarei, a wide flat blade with double edges and two handles, earning it the nickname 'twin sword'. Hiramekareihas the ability to store its wielder's chakra, and then be expelled upon command and given shape in the form of any type of weapon."

"And Samehada?" Naruto questioned. "You left it for last, so I guess that makes it the most dangerous."

Ten-Ten nodded, her eyes turning to look at Naruto for a moment. "Yes, it is. Samehada is a large blade that takes on the appearance of shark scales. Because of its shape this sword doesn't slice or cut, it shaves, leaving any attempt at stitching very unlikely due to the way the damage is inflicted. And even if someone were to survive an encounter with the blade and get away, the wounds would more than likely kill them later, as they wouldn't heal in time."

"If just its bite is so terrifying, I can't believe what its power is," the Uzumaki balked in wonder.

"Samehada has the ability to eat an opponents chakra; it makes the sword stronger. Its wielder never has to worry about being hit by ninjutsu because, with a single swing, or even just thrusting the blade into the attack, will allow Samehada to absorb the technique."

Naruto's eyebrows rose up to the edge of his headband; that was a scary bit of news. "How does it do that?"

"It's said that the sword has a chakra network of its own, but I'm not really sure," Ten-Ten answered skeptically. "Heck, it was hard enough getting that information on it. It took my dad years."

From there the two shinobi got quiet again, Ten-Ten finished with her explanation and Naruto in deep thought about the information he'd just been given.

Thinking back on what he now had to do for the kunoichi beside him, Naruto turned his eyes on her. "So out of all seven swords why decide on using Kiba?"

Ten-Ten looked over at the blonde walking beside her, her chocolate-brown eyes widening a fraction in surprise.'No one's...nobody has ever asked me about that before.'

Looking down she answered.

"It's because...Ameyuri isn't just another ninja; she's a kunoichi. A woman. The Seven Swordsmen is almost always made up of nothing but male shinobi, and the military forces of the world are the same way, so there aren't very many famous kunoichi out there.

But Ameyuri managed to become one of them, and not only that, but she's a part of the strongest generation Kiri has ever produced...I-I just want to make the world see that not just men can be strong. She, and the legendary Tsunade Senju, are some of my idols. That's why I chose Kiba."

Naruto had stopped along with the brunette girl as she wound her tail of Ameyuri and being a kunoichi. The blonde Uzumaki looked at her with understanding, as he too wanted to stand out and make a name for himself, both wishing to honor those that had come before them.

Ten-Ten turned her eyes up, locking gazes with the boy beside her. "What about you; why did you decide to take up Kubikiribocho? From what I've seen, even if it was just a little bit, you don't seem the type who's just doing it for himself."

"You're right," he replied. "I'm not. Zabuza didn't hand the sword down to me, and when I learned the tradition of how they're passed I almost didn't take it, but then I thought of something. What if I don't, and someone else comes along and pulls the sword from its place by Zabuza's grave?"

"But so what; why should that matter to you?"

By this time Naruto truly took a look around and noticed where they had wandered of too. It was the training ground where he'd become a genin.

'Must have walked farther than I thought.'

Turning back to the bun-haired kunoichi, he answered. "Because I came to respect Zabuza. He himself was a man of honor and respect; even if he did have a cold heart. And still, in the end, he showed that behind all the stern and steel that he cared about his partner...he even gave his life to avenge them.

When I learned from Kakashi-sensei about the passing of the swords I realized that, if I didn't take it, someone else would; but they wouldn't use it to honor Zabuza's memory, only to brag and boost their own ego."

Throughout the bandaged boy's speech Ten-Ten listened, enraptured, as his voice filled with passion and respect. This wasn't just some wannabe swordsmen who swung their blade around, no, Naruto Uzumaki was a person who cared about and understood his weapon; someone who went out of their way to make sure that the tool became more than just another piece of tempered metal.

"So," she played on, "You took up his sword to honor Zabuza Momochi?"

"That's right," Naruto affirmed with a strong nod.

"That's good to hear, but, wouldn't you make him prouder by surpassing him?"

This confused Naruto. "Huh, what do you mean?"

"Well, you don't really just wanna be a carbon copy of Zabuza do you? If you really wish to honor his memory, shouldn't you work to surpass him, and add to the name Demon of the Mist?" The older girl explained.

Then she took a look at the position of the sun, saw it was past noon, and said, "You think on that for a bit; I've gotta go, I promised to look after the shop after the test."

Naruto waved silently at the retreating kunoichi as he stood alone in the training field.

Or at least, he thought he was alone.

"So that's what this has all been about."

xXx

While Naruto was busy talking with Ten-Ten, Kakashi had made his way over to the academy's administration building; where the Hokage conducted his business. Once he entered the room the silver-haired Jounin knew right away that this was a serious meeting.

'Every Jounin in the village is here.'

And indeed they were; all 65 of them. They all stood in a semi-circle around the Hokage, who sat behind a desk with Ibiki Morino at his side.

'Which means whatever is going on has to do with something Ibiki found.'

Kakashi was pulled from his observations by the Sandaime, who noticed that the masked man had entered the room.

"Ah Kakashi, you've arrived. Good, then this meeting can get started."

"But dad, you haven't even told us what the meeting is about." Asuma spoke up from his place in the crowd.

At this, Ibiki stepped forward and addressed his fellow Jounin. "That is because Hokage-sama has given me the order to explain what I've found to the rest of you."

"And what did you find that constitutes a meeting of every Jounin in the village?" Kakashi asked.

"The possibility of a mole."

The T&I leader's answer was met with looks of shock and hushed whispers of what village the mole was from. The Sandaime looked at his forces and sighed; people were so easy to unravel. "Everyone be quiet. Let Ibiki finish before you start prattling on like civilian women."

His barb had the desired effect, everyone hushed up quickly, and then they turned their attention back to Ibiki to hear what else he had to say.

"Thank you Lord Hokage," the scarred man acknowledged before continuing. "As I was saying, I have reason to believe that we've been harboring a mole for a number of years without even knowing it."

This shocked many of the shinobi present, although some had suspicious looks on their faces as they eyed the back of Anko's head; some of them still didn't fully trust her.

However Ibiki, as well as the Hokage noticed this, and the Jounin decided to put that theory to rest...again.

"For those of you who need to be reminded; Anko Mitarashi was not a willing participant in Orochimaru's schemes, and is a loyal member of the Leaf's shinobi forces."

"Then who is the mole Ibiki-san?" Came a voice in the crowd. The Jounin in question couldn't see who had spoken though, the coward was hidden behind a small cluster of other ninja.

"He's someone who has lived among us since he was a small boy, after we rescued him from the destruction of his village, he even became the adopted son of one of our most respected medical ninja ever produced...I believe the mole is Kabuto Yakushi."

The elderly Hokage saw the confusion among his ranks and decided to elaborate for Ibiki. So, standing from his seat, Hiruzen lifted up Naruto's test paper and explained.

"As he was picking up the written test that helped make up the first portion of the chunin exams Ibiki found this note written on the back of one of the candidates papers. It explains how young Kabuto revealed having an unusually high level of knowledge in regards to foreign ninja and their skills...down to the number and level of missions they'd taken, and the outcomes as well."

"But Hokage-sama, what does that have to do with anything, isn't it good that we have a shinobi with such knowledge?" Questioned Ebisu, who stood in the back by Kakashi.

"Normally yes," the Hokage agreed. "But that's not all; he also had such knowledge about members of our own village ranks; I had Ibiki check the boys home and he found the info cards. This is something I assure you is not common in any village for a genin; no matter how long he's been a shinobi."

This got the Jounin's attention.

The Hokage was right; no ninja had such detailed information on their fellow shinobi. Only the village Kage would have any extensive knowledge on the village's ranks, and Jounin only knew basic information from the academy files.

This was revealing itself to be a potential threat indeed.

"So then are we going to confront Kabuto Yakushi, Lord Hokage?" Kurenai asked from her place beside Anko.

Hiruzen shook his head. "No, that would get us nowhere. I have reason to believe that this boy is far more dangerous than his rank displays, and unfortunately, physical torture will do no good on a medical specialist of his grade."

"What about a mind-walk?" Inoichi Yamanaka, head of the Yamanaka clan and Ino's father, suggested. He was a high-ranking member of the T&I department thanks to his family's special brand of ninjutsu.

"I had originally thought the same thing before Ibiki explained to me that, with how long this boy may have been working under someone else, there is more than a possibility that he's been conditioned or given some sort of seal that will prevent us from extracting information from his mind."

Asuma understood where his father was going with this, and stepped forward to voice his belief.

"So what you're getting at, is to leave the kid alone, but keep an eye on him to see if we can catch him in the act with whoever it is he's working for."

"That's right, because right now we have no real idea, and with the chunin exams going on a full investigation may lead to trouble as the other nations may feel betrayed; especially if its revealed Kabuto does not work for any of them." The Hokage finished.

The old man looked on at his Jounin as some went back to muttering their thoughts to each other. His eyes landed on Kakashi, and the two men shared an understanding nod. If this threat turned out to be real, then Naruto was going to need to be re-evaluated.

'That boy, I always knew there was more to him than just being a knucklehead.'

xXx

Naruto turned his eyes in the direction of the familiar voice, and was a little surprised to find Sasuke standing a few feet away.

The raven-haired youth was leaning against a tree, his onyx-black eyes staring intently at Naruto's form.

"That's what what's been all about Sasuke; what are you talking about?"

Sasuke pushed off the trunk of the tree. "Everything; the sword, the sudden seriousness in your training, and why you called yourself the Demon of the Mist earlier. You're doing it all for that rogue loser we beat back in Wave."

"Since you apparently heard everything there's no reason for me to repeat myself." Naruto replied, crossing his arms. "But now I have a question for you; why are you following me, what do you want?"

Sasuke chuckled, "That's two questions dobe, and I followed you because I was curious."

"If I didn't know any better I'd think you mean about me, but I do know better, so what were you really trying to learn teme?"

The Uchiha avenger shifted his hands into his pockets. "I was wondering why our sensei, an elite shinobi of such high standard, was wasting his time with you and hasn't spent more than five minutes with me."

Naruto let out a snort, "Che, what, are you gonna pout Sasuke? Kakashi-sensei spends that time with me because I take the initiative to get his attention; I wantto learn, and my reasons are more respectable than a schoolyard crush or some pipe-dream ambition ."

The blonde could see he'd struck a nerve from the way Sasuke's entire body tensed. Like a spring being compressed. But he wasn't going to take it back; Sasuke was acting foolish, and he needed to see that.

Sasuke glared hatefully at his team-mate, his eyes burning with rage. "Pipe-dream? Your idea of becoming Hokage is a pipe-dream you loser, my ambition is about restoring honor and respect back to my family's name. So don't you dare try to stand there and talk to me about being childish you orphan!"

"What makes you think you'll ever be a match for Itachi?" Naruto demanded. His chest burned with rage from the shot about him being an orphan. "Do you think he's just sitting around, drinking tea, while you train to get stronger?"

"Of course not, and that's why I need Kakashi to focus on me, instead of wasting his time on a loser like you!" Sasuke threw back. The young genius began to stalk over to his blonde team-mate, his rage boiling over. "I won't ever be able to close the gap between us if all I do is sit on the sidelines and watch our Jounin instructor teach someone else."

Naruto was beginning to lose it. Sasuke's anger was contagious, as the blonde could feel his pulse pick up and his own muscles tense in preparation for use. However, all the steam he was building up was let out by the arrival of the Jounin in question.

"Then why don't you just ask me to train you Sasuke, instead of sulking about it."

Kakashi had found them just as Sasuke began his little rant. And although the man didn't hear anything that had been said before-hand, he believed that he had a pretty good idea what had transpired. 'So, Sasuke's getting jealous. I'd hoped to get a reaction out of him, true, but I didn't think it'd be anything this strong. I guess it's time to switch gears.'

Sasuke whirled around to face his instructor. "After I unlocked my Sharingan I didn't think I'd have to," he replied, nostrils flaring.

"I figured you'd be more than willing to take me and teach me how to use it; make it stronger. But no, you kept wasting time with Naruto, and now we're in the chunin exams and my eyes are still only at level one."

Kakashi didn't react in an annoyed or angry way. He simply let his face morph into an eye-smile and replied, "Well now, if you feel so strongly about this, I guess it's only fair I spend some quality time on your training now doesn't it?"

All the anger and rage that had built up in Sasuke's system deflated, and the Uchiha heir was left with nothing but his mouth hanging open. "W-What?"

"Well of course...as long as you have no objections to that Naruto."

The blonde now in question just shrugged and answered, "I guess not Kakashi-sensei. I suppose I'll find someone else to help me while you get the teme up to speed."

The silver-haired Jounin's smile got a little brighter. "Good. Then it's all settled; wasn't that easy?"

Seeing that there was nothing left for him to do, Naruto voiced his goodbyes and began the trek back home. However, before he exited the clearing, the Uzumaki turned to look at Sasuke. "Oh, and one more thing..."

The next thing Sasuke knew, he was on his knees, gasping for air as he held his aching stomach. He managed to lift his head to stare into the eyes of his blonde assailant, and gasped at the cold, blue eyes that stared down at him.

"Don't ever call Zabuza Momochi a loser in front of me again Sasuke, or belittle my dream of becoming Hokage."

With that the young blonde turned and walked away again, this time not stopping for last words, and continuing on until the two remaining members of Team 7 could no longer see him.

Kakashi looked down at his new training dummy and sighed. "Sasuke you can't keep looking down on other people's goals and writing them off like that. You fly into a rage when someone does it to you, so how do you think they should react when you do it to them?"

Sasuke had gotten enough breath back to stand, although his hand still clutched his bruised stomach. He didn't reply to his instructor's question. The raven-haired youth simply stared at the spot Naruto had been standing in before he attacked.

'He was so fast; faster than I'd ever remembered him being, even during our spars. And that punch, it would have knocked anyone else out cold. Was this what he meant when he talked about fighting seriously? Just how far behind him am I?'