Beted by Jenny-Cat-Mioaw
Chapter 9
Okami pouted beneath his mask as he stood in front of the Sandaime and Nara Shikaku.
"The chunin exam meeting is tomorrow, Okami-san. Your operatives will participate." Sarutobi stated tonelessly.
Okami did not say a word, did not bow. He merely stood there, pouting under his mask. He noticed the brief flash of regret in the old man's eyes. He saw the split second where Shikaku could not meet his gaze.
Okami did not reply, but orders were orders.
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Naruto tilted his head to the side when he walked round a corner, faced with the sight of Kankuro man-handling Konohamaru.
Blinking slowly while he thought his options over, he approached the Shinobi leisurely.
"It's not very nice to assault the Hokage's grandson upon visiting said Hokage's village." Naruto drawled.
"What do you want, shrimp." Not really a question so much as a sneer of disgust.
"Naruto-dobe, let's play whack-a-foreign-genin!" Sasuke yelled right before he appeared directly in front of Kankuro, a sharp knee thrust right into the older boy's chin.
Naruto tsked before catching Konohamaru who'd been let go of rather abruptly.
The whimpering boy was all wide eyes and terrified squeals.
"Neh, Konohamaru-kun, don't you know you should watch where you're going?" Naruto growled playfully at the boy. "Especially since you're a ninja."
"Y-you, know, my, name." Konohamaru replied, his words slow and halting as though the very idea was a foreign one to him.
Naruto winked at the kid, noticing Ebisu trolling his way over. "Ask Jiji to put you in the Academy under Umino Iruka. He'll treat you like all the other kids, like Sarutobi Konohamaru, and not the Honourable Grandson."
He put the boy down while Sasuke taunted Kankuro and Temari. Neither of them were planning on being in the chunin exams this time around, feeling they'd get more done from the side lines rather than in the spotlight.
This time, Gaara merely watched, rather than interfering. His gaze was one of slight confusion because those two were different, too different. He didn't know what to make of them and that was a new experience for him.
When a third Konoha ninja showed up, a pink haired kunoichi, the two males stopped taunting Kankuro and walked away, as though they hadn't just been mooning the puppet user (back rears swaying tauntingly to some infuriating tune the two were singing at the top of their lungs), and by default his siblings as well. They acted completely gentlemanly, as they each took hold of one of the female's hands and walked away.
Gaara was so shocked and confused that he forgot to ask for their names.
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When the genin nominated for the chunin exam entered the room for the first test, they weren't exactly expecting friendly smiles and good sportsmen's ship statements of good luck.
But the level of hostility in the room was astounding.
Genin from all villages and a large variety of age groups squashed themselves into the room, each trying to convey a sense of confident aggression. There were glares, snaps and snarls all round, mingled with wide eyed fear and silent whimpering of the less fortunate genin teams. A hostile situation to be sure, for anyone who was a genin of course.
A hostility that was broken when a pitiful wail cut through the air – a wail much like what a civilian child did when their parents sent them off to their first day of school – right before the door opened and a jonin walked in.
The jonin was from Konoha, had a thunder cloud above his head and the meanest look in his single visible eye to ever grace the genin in the room, Gaara and Kabuto included. A pink haired kunoichi was tucked under one arm, a black haired genin was sniffling tearfully on his back, and a wailing blond genin was attached to his leg. Gaara, Kankuro and Termari made a point of shuffling a little further away from the group, recognising the three genin instantly.
"I don't care, you have to come." The jonin ordered woodenly, continuing a conversation from earlier. "No amount of tantrums is going to change my mind."
"B-b-but sensei! I don't want to be a chunin!" The blond wailed out, eyes red and puffy, showing that he had been crying for quite some time now.
"Did I do something wrong?!" The black haired genin yelled out hysterically, eyes growing wide in horror and just as red and puffy as the blonde's "I was too emo wasn't I! I swear I'll smile more, I will! Just don't make me become a chunin!"
The jonin's cloud of doom seemed to grow even more.
"I don't want to have to cut my hair!" the kunoichi added pitifully. "The Sound Ninja are mean sensei. I don't wanna! I don't, I really, really don't."
The jonin muttered something under his breath as he plucked the blond off his leg and deposited him on the floor, doing the same for his by now also wailing teammates.
"Just take the test." The jonin stated just as woodenly as before. "And follow orders. End. Of. Discussion."
Most got the impression that those two statements were supposed to be the other way around. Most of the genin also found themselves wondering why these three were exempt from the rules of having to choose to come to the room as a team by themselves. Being delivered into the exam by one's sensei wasn't technically allowed. So that begged the question of, what did these three genin do to piss off their sensei that much?
Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro found themselves a tad more interested in the trio, since they had gotten more acquainted with the three the previous day. Not every Shinobi could say they'd had the pleasure (unfortunate pleasure) of seeing Uchiha Sasuke's, milky, exposed rear end. Not that Gaara could compete in the complexion department what with being a ginger and all.
The black haired genin's bottom lip quivered before he shuffled over to the jonin who had turned and was walking with stiff jerky motions towards the door. The boy tugged on his shirt and the jonin paused.
"Sensei, I was going to show you today, something I was working on all night."
The cloud of doom lifted slightly, only slightly, and the jonin paused to consider the genin. The boy raised a hand and titled his head band over his left eye, a clear imitation of his sensei's head band. He then pushed it back up again and opened the previously closed lid to reveal a blood red, spinning Sharingan eye.
"See, one, just like yours." The now identified Uchiha sniffed.
There was a pause before suddenly the jonin was crying as well, throwing his arms around the Uchiha who cried even harder.
"Screw orders! Come here you two. Let's get out of here while we still can." The jonin blubbered and the two other genin glomped on him before the four of them disappeared in a shunshin. Silence thundered in the room, all eyes watching the leaves from the Shunshin flutter to the floor.
"Did you guys see that too?" A Konoha genin of the same age asked another, probably a teammate, in a loud whisper of utter disbelief.
"Was that really Team 7?" Another muttered with wide eyes.
"I thought Sasuke-kun would be itching to take the exams. What the hell!" A blond girl screamed in outrage. "What the hell did Hatake do to them!?"
Hatake? As in Hatake Kakashi? As in Sharingan no Kakashi?
The one eye Sharingan thing suddenly made so much more sense and the genin found themselves much more relieved that they didn't have to take a test with genin trained by Hatake Kakashi, never mind ones that appeared to have gone off the deep end of the Kunai.
That relief was short lived when a wall of ice formed in the middle of the room and four hogtied ninja were kicked through by a strangely feminine looking boy.
"My deepest apologies, Uzumaki Naruto, but orders are orders." The boy stated with a bow before leaving through the mirror.
The blond wiggled in his bonds, screaming something no one could make out through his gag.
What was so special about that team that they had to be ordered to take the chunin exams?
Large blue eyes looked up pleadingly at the other Konoha genin across the room. It was the Nara that eventually gave in and cautiously approached.
"There's a note on your back Naruto. Want me to read it for you?"
Naruto paused for a moment before nodding.
"Don't try to escape, we've sealed the room. Have a nice exam, love Jiji."
An explosion of angry blue chakra from the blond had the Nara backing away while he was pretty sure it was curses flying from Naruto's mouth. Then the blond seemed to catch himself and stopped his raging chakra, forcing it to a cool simmer. Well long enough for the Nara to untie them.
"What the HELL! That old man is going to PAY! There will be A RETRIBUTION!" The statement was met with many unseen shivers from the ANBU guards ordered to make sure Team 7 remained in the room.
"I think I'll help this time." Kakashi promised darkly and many of the ANBU considered abandoning their posts.
"A thousand years of death will seem too nice when I'm through with that old geezer." Ah, there was the Uchiha they all knew and loved.
"I'm going to GO ALL TORA ON HIS ASS!" Sakura screeched, making many of the Konoha genin want to dive out the doors. They'd all heard about what Team 7 had done to the most well-paying D-rank mission. Rumour had it, Tora had yet to regrow his fur.
Kakashi shook his head before attempting to shunshin out the room, only to be met with a barrier and bounce straight back into the room.
"Time for planning." Naruto announced and the four then proceeded to hunker down with their heads together and whisper amongst themselves, the sense of foreboding only growing with every second that passed.
"You guys don't seem very eager to be in the chunin exams, huh?" A shaky voice asked with as much concern as could be conveyed when one was technically more worried about their own continued existence.
As one, four blank, creepy stares were turned to the speaker.
Then the kunoichi began to smile; a slow secretive smile.
"Yakushi Kabuto." Naruto identified, his tone robotic.
"A genin who's failed the chunin exams seven times." Sasuke continued.
Sakura had disappeared from her spot with the others only to reappear with a familiar looking deck of cards in her hand.
"If I call it, then we burn these and forget they exist." Sakura stated, holding up a deck of cards that Kabuto recognised as his own.
"If I call it, then we look at what's on them." Sasuke grinned wolfishly.
"If I call it then we let him have them back and continue as we're supposed to, no fuss, no escape plans." Naruto offered but not smiling about it.
"And if I call it, then we're going to call in Okami-san." Kakashi drawled.
The deck of cards were placed in a bubbled of chakra that was left to float in the air, just out of reach. Sakura then pulled out her ninja cards and shuffled them. Dividing them into four she handed one to each person.
Every ninja in the room tensed when the four began to rapidly flip over the cards, following a set of rules only they seemed to understand.
"Called it!" Naruto and Kakashi yelled at the same time.
"Again." Sakura replied, shaking her head.
When the next pair of cards came round, Kakashi and Naruto found themselves suspended by chakra wire while Sasuke smirked and drawled. "Called it."
The cards were handed to Naruto and he was told to break the seal on them.
He did so in five seconds, while Kabuto's mouth opened and closed like a fish.
"Gaara-kun, Inuzuka Kiba, Yamanaka Ino, Hyuga Neji, Dosu Kinuta . . ." Sasuke read out as he went from card to card.
"AHHHH, Hatake Kakashi." Sasuke whistled appreciatively. "Now that is one impressive résumé sensei."
"Thank you, thank you. What can I say, I try." Kakashi gushed with mock bows, causing the ANBU in the room to blink in surprise. This was their fellow operative?
"Ooooo Uzumaki Naruto. Listed here as the Academy's worst student. Buuuuuuut Uzumaki Naruto has performed 212 D-rank missions, 57 B-rank missions, 13 A-rank missions, and 8 S-rank missions. And his skill level has been listed as unknown but possibly A-rank. Wow, this information sucks." Sasuke read out loud while Naruto burst out laughing.
"I guess Jiji was serious when he said he was going to start ranking my pranks." Naruto managed to say between laughs.
But there was a sinister undertone to his words. Team 7 had known there was a leak in intelligence, and in fact the 'genin' had known Kabuto was one of them, but this was a scale of proportions that not even Danzou had cracked yet. These particular cards however, had been slightly altered by Naruto before he'd handed them to Sasuke. They now showed a more accurate report but still lacking in information. Still Naruto has seen the original level of infiltration and that was worrisome.
Kakashi pulled the next card and read over Sakura's statistics. "Says here you're a medic nin on par with Tsunade of the Sanin with a chakra storage of three gems. Also, you have a nasty right hook." He informed the pinkette drily.
"Really?!" Sakura gushed with stars in her eyes.
"Oo o ooo what does mine say?" Sasuke asked, practically hopping. Ino was almost going into cardiac arrest.
"Possible ally to missing-nin Uchiha Itachi." Kakashi read and Sasuke beamed. "A fully mastered Sharingan at five. – Five Sasuke, really?" To which the Uchiha shrugged. "Never attended the Academy after the Uchiha massacre and was substituted with a henged Uzumaki Kage Bunshin. Noted that Uzumaki and Uchiha are on par with each other in skill. Sensei, Hatake Kakashi, noted as much but has as of yet not tested his genin to deduce their true skill level."
"Wow, sensei, you're a better teacher than we thought." Naruto stated appreciatively. He turned to the stunned Kabuto. "Are you sure these are accurate?"
Kabuto was pale, sweating bullets and looking as though he was about to drop. Instead he made a frantic grab for the cards, searching through them until he found Team 7's. His eyes scanned over the words before his entire posture relaxed, the words having been returned to normal the moment Kabuto touched them. It didn't hurt to shake the man's composure.
"Oh man, did you see his face! He almost believed that it was real!" Naruto yelled before bursting out laughing. When his team joined him, all genin in the room felt like this was going to be a long chunin exam, far, far too long.
They didn't understand that Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura were trying to unbalance the traitor. Shake up the world he'd come to deem as rock solid. They wanted to keep him on edge, perhaps get him to make a mistake.
No one really realised that Kabuto hadn't said a word about his cards yet the genin and their sensei had already known all about them. No one really questioned that no signs of lying could be detected while the four had been speaking. And the Sand Siblings definitely did their best to forget that Gaara's name had been suffixed with a kun.
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Morino Ibiki was a man of many talents.
Baby-sitting a pouting S-rank ninja was not one of them. Hatake Kakashi was not one to disobey orders and this had to be his first.
Still, Ibiki was inclined to agree with the jonin on this one. For some reason, forcing genin to take the chunin exam just didn't sit well with the Interrogation Specialist.
Those brats had tried their hardest to get disqualified but the proctors had been instructed to make sure the brats advanced, ergo turn a blind eye to anything they did and sometimes that included taking out other participants via sabotaging their cheating methods.
Something was up, something those Asahi ANBU had instigated and for some reason Team 7 had been thrust into the middle of it all.
As it was, they were all glaring at him, even Kakashi. He'd been glared at before, by stronger whelps than Academy Rookies, but he just couldn't shake the feeling that they were planning his death; a horrible, painful death . . . and that they'd succeed.
As it was, his hidden ANBU had had a job of it trying to safely deflect every kunai and shuriken they threw at him. Didn't they ever run out?
A slow smirk from the Uchiha was all the warning he got before he found himself being attacked by the very same kunai that had just been deflected.
A glint in the light informed him that chakra wire was being artfully utilised. Smart, very smart.
As for the other genin, the ones taking the test, well they were just relieved that Team 7 didn't seem particularly interested in passing their test and happily overlooked the blatant ignoring of their obvious cheating methods, or rather lack of cheating and just all out chaos. If the brats didn't write anything, they didn't pass, right?
If they got disqualified, no one was really complaining apart from Hinata and Ino.
And Orochimaru of course.
Kakashi huffed and slunk further in his seat, not even able to pull out an Icha Icha book. Turned out, when the Sandaime threatened someone, he meant it.
"Meh, Sensei." Naruto stated loudly, making the frantically cheating genin in the room jump. Naruto, in his boredom, had pulled his bandana across his face in a mockery of Kakashi's mask.
"Yes, Naruto-kun." Kakashi replied, eager for a distraction.
"I have Icha Icha books. I was going to give them to you for your birthday buuuuut I guess I can give them to you now." Naruto continued casually, "But I'll only give them to you if you teach me that verse of the log you were muttering earlier."
By the evil gleam in Naruto's eye, Kakashi knew the boy was up to something and he was all too inclined to go along with him.
"Praise be to the log." Kakashi's own evil smirk was hidden by his mask. "And the Willow sayeth unto the ninja: Wherefore dost I weep? Tis tears of joy, as thy kin and mine together fell thine foes, who would bring the axe and torch to the wood."
Ibiki's eyes widened as Hatake spoke, his voice moving into a lulling tone of fervent respect and awe.
"NO! Oh no! Not one of THOSE NINJA!" Ibiki's panicked thoughts knocked around in his mind but Kakashi was still going.
"The log ist thine ally, and mine kin. Calling upon the log, is to call upon me. To aid thee in battle, I weep my tear of joy. And the ninja spoke: Yea, thee and thine kin shall forever be blessed among me and mine kin, for thine bravery will never be forgotten. From the Book of the Log, Song of the Willow, verses 1-4."
"Amen." Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura stated adamantly, tears streaming down their faces in a freakish mockery of what Gai-sensei and Rock Lee looked like after their own bonding sessions.
What Ibiki had feared came to pass when every ANBU in the room, the ones supposed to be hiding, said AMEN, even more fervently than what Kakashi had been speaking. ANBU were known for their eccentricities, and one of them was their obsessive fixation on the Log. Figured Kakashi would be at Pope status and therefore a Preacher of the religion.
Just what the hell was Kakashi teaching those brats?
"Speak more of thy Holy Log!" Sasuke commanded, catapulting himself out of his seat and towards the jonin, kneeling down in front of Kakashi and looking to him with awe. Then the Uchiha boy bowed low, "Teach me, oh Holy Prophet of the Goodness that is LOG!"
By now, the test was entirely forgotten, as heads were turned towards the silver haired jonin rather than their test papers. Ibiki could only sigh.
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Anko's big entrance had happened some time ago, but she'd managed to crash in right when Kakashi had started another verse from the Holy Book of Log.
"As the Log takes your place, you become the Log. The Log becomes you. For a moment, you are an extension of the Log's blessing unto ninja. Chronicle of the replacement, verse 3."
"AMEN!" Anko screamed, seriously considering kidnapping the jonin she was informed she'd be babysitting and having her way with him.
It didn't matter that the room seemed too full of genin, or that the ANBU were crowded around Kakashi like children around a story teller, eagerly awaiting his next wise word on the Log. It didn't matter that the next test was supposed to have started an hour ago.
All that mattered was that the man kept talking.
Kakashi's genin had henged into cats and were now lounging upon their sensei, one on his head, sleeping quite peacefully, another on his lap whom he stroked absently and other perched carefully on his shoulder.
"MORINO!"
The head proctor of the First Exam, jumped, having been the most enraptured with Kakashi's words and turned his head to the ANBU Commander, the man who had absolutely no patience for the Log and perhaps that had been the reason he'd come and not someone else.
"Wrap up your exam and get moving." The man snapped, killing intent flooding the room.
As Ibiki gave the last question, having had to work the brats up into a frenzy, Naruto slipped his sensei a scroll. A scroll that was hastily stowed away. Ahh, Icha Icha, life was good.
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Anko prided herself in being a generally all round creepy kunoichi, and most Shinobi would whole heartedly agree with her. However . . .
She never imagined that she'd meet her match in a trio of sulking genin and one pouting jonin. It seemed that Kakashi wasn't allowed to be on his own today. Orders from the top. How the old man expected mere chunin and mere jonin to keep that man in check was beyond the kunoichi. In fact she was pretty sure that they were only still here because they wanted to be, sort of, in a very roundabout way and at a looooong stretch. She was also pretty sure that they could indeed escape if they wanted to. It was just in the silent way they carried themselves.
Still, as she stood in front of the genin that had passed, she had to wonder, just why the old man wanted those three in the exams. They, and everyone else, had been quite dismayed to learn that sticking around for the tenth question had meant an automatic pass. They'd been waiting to see if their blank tests would get them thrown out.
They should have known that if their blatant methods of information gathering wouldn't have gotten them kicked out, then a blank test paper would not have either.
Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura had been hoping by some small miracle that Ibiki's test was different this time, since they hadn't gotten kicked out for cheating, and were sorely disappointed when it wasn't.
"Alright, behind me is what we call the Forest of Death, and for good reason–" Anko began, giving her best creepy grin just to rile the brats up, but she was cut off when Naruto yawned loudly before drawling "Meh, just get on with the rules. If it was a park of fluffy bunnies this wouldn't be a chunin exam now would it."
Anko swore there was actual steam coming out of her ears as she tossed a kunai at him.
He didn't even wince, not even when the blood dripped down his face.
That, however, seemed to have been a mistake.
"MITARASHI!"
Anko jerked in surprise at the sharp growl that was directed at her. Never before had she heard Hatake Kakashi direct that tone of voice to anyone, not even the enemy. And she had tried to get that man to lose his cool, often. But he'd never, not once, given in to the raging impulse to attack her.
Until now.
She backed away, rather than approach the genin as she'd been planning. Never mind that he was the one that had been rude first. It didn't seem to matter to the silver haired jonin who casually dug around in the genin's pouch, looking for something while the genin huffed at him.
When the hell had the Sandaime ever thought it was a good idea to force Kakashi into this? Kakashi, now that Anko was paying attention, now that she was seeing past Kakashi's moody pout at not getting his own way, was terrified of losing his genin.
The gentle caress as he applied the healing ointment to the boy's grazed cheek, the way he'd been sticking close to them since the whole exam had started, his terrible mood at having to nominate them in the first place. Her relationship with Orochimaru had never been anything close to something like that.
She'd heard about their team photo, their hidden attributes displayed so fully on the square of coloured ink, yet no one had been allowed to see that photo. The Hokage had made sure of it.
She'd heard about the meeting they'd crashed, bringing Tenzou with them, and all the other little oddities they'd shown since becoming Kakashi's team.
The way they were with each other, it was deeper than anything she'd ever seen before and the Hokage's decision to force the chunin exams upon them, force them into the third round, seemed so cruel.
Right now, she saw that what she'd originally assumed was Kakashi's belief that his genin were not skilled enough, was in fact so far from the truth. They were plenty skilled. In fact, they were unconsciously, the most skilled team in this exam.
Blinking, she watched as Sasuke and Sakura hovered near their sensei, pointing to other teams and laughing at something or other. Kakashi turned a weakly protesting Naruto's face to the light so that he could better see the blonde's cut. While the boy might have been protesting, he didn't move away. He didn't even try to swat the jonin's hand away either.
How on earth was she going to keep the jonin away from his team while they were in the forest?
Wait . . . 'letting' him out of her sight for a few seconds would be all he'd need to slip into the forest and automatically, undisputedly, disqualify his team. Sure, the Hokage would probably demote her, but she couldn't, not now, stand in his way.
With a soft smile, almost non-existent smile, Anko decided to let Team 7 do what they wanted. She wasn't going to stand in their way.
"Excuse me, Proctor-san. I believe this is yours."
Anko sneered at the grass-nin that handed her the kunai she'd thrown earlier. She snatched the kunai from the genin and resumed her speech, obliging Naruto's request and sticking to the rules. He was practically correct after all. If these brats thought this was going to be easy they had no business being chunin.
She didn't notice that the genin of Team 7 hadn't removed their attention from the grass-nin that had handed her the kunai back.
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"Sensei, it's alright. We'll do this round, and then we'll forfeit in the third, kay." Sakura stated just before they were to enter the exam venue.
"You three sure?" Kakashi asked. He wasn't worried about their skill being insufficient. He was more worried about them being too skilled, passing and then becoming chunin where they were no longer 'his' anymore.
"Hai, hai." Naruto grinned with a nod. "We're kicking it Kakashi style this exam."
That being said, the blond boy focused his chakra before henging into an outfit that resembled Kakashi's. He then tilted his headband over his eye and smiled at his sensei.
"I'll see you three at the Tower." Kakashi stated with a nod before shunshinning over to where he knew the other jonin to be, a place he'd vehemently protested to going to earlier that morning.
"Why the sudden change of heart Hatake?"
"They asked me nicely if they could beat the crap out of your genin." Kakashi sneered in reply. "I was inclined to let them."
"Why the hell is the Hokage making you enter anyway?" Asuma asked with a heavy frown, completely disappointed with the way his father had handled the situation.
"Because, there are certain things I cannot give to genin. Chunin, however, are another matter entirely." The Sandaime interrupted as he entered the room.
"Why didn't you tell me about it in the first place?" Kakashi snapped.
"Because they haven't told you everything yet. They're close, but not yet."
"Did they tell you?" Kakashi demanded, having no patience for the old man.
"No. But it's my job to know things. I know more than what they realise that I know, but less than what they do." Sarutobi sighed, moving to the other side of the room and away from the other jonin. Kakashi took the hint and followed him.
"They won't be taken from you Kakashi. Not yet. I had been planning on making Team 7 an official team, not a sensei-student squad." Sarutobi stated quietly. "I just need them to be chunin."
"Why not give them a promotion out of the exams." Kakashi asked but he already knew the answer to that question.
"Because it would be suspicious. They already draw attention, most of it mere eccentricities but to reveal their true strength? They're aware that they must hide and by making them take part in something so public, it will force them to hide just a little longer." Sarutobi replied all the same. "The day, however, will come where they will need to show the world who they are. And right now, there is too much riding on their participation. That Gaara genin, how many of the genin that entered the forest do you think will be able to survive against him? Or that Kabuto genin, the one we've uncovered as a spy for my deranged former student? That boy has to at least be at jonin level. We need your team to counter those the others cannot."
"You should have told me." Kakashi replied quietly.
"I know, but you weren't willing to listen to things your mind has already deduced but your heart has tuned out. I was going to explain but you were so adamant in your refusal that I had no choice but to order you to comply until you'd calmed down enough to ask me why. I am glad, that you have found peace once again Kakashi-kun. However, looking at the changes young Sasayaku-kun has made to the financial allocations, I can only assume that nothing is going to be very pleasant for the Leaf in the near future. I need you to be prepared for that possibility, Kakashi-kun, and that is why I need them to be chunin. There's only so much I can do with genin and sooner or later, everyone will figure out the Asahi's true identities."
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"Aniki!" Sasuke yelled out happily as he ran through the house, completely ignoring all the rules that forbid such wild behaviour.
"Otouto?" Itachi asked, looking up from where he was preparing to go out to deliver a message to the ninja cats for the Uchiha clan.
"I'm not going to school today! I'm going with you." Sasuke announced proudly.
"Oh?" Itachi questioned with a light smile.
"We're going to chase the cats around, and take impressions of their paw prints!" Sasuke continued racing around his brother in happy circles. "I'm going to get more than you!" The six year old continued in a sing song tone.
"Alright Otouto, I'll hold you to that. Whoever loses has to sharpen all the kunai." Itachi chuckled at the challenge his little brother had issued him, wondering just who would win.
"We have to get lots! And get a paw impression from all of them!" Sasuke yelled as he grabbed his shoes and followed his brother out the door, completely ignoring his mother who called in confusion that his lunch for the Academy was ready.
Itachi smiled at that, trying to imagine the large proud cats readily giving over their paw impressions to the young Uchiha boy. It sure was going to be interesting.
"Sasuke?"
Said Uchiha turned towards Naruto who tilted his head in concern. "Is everything alright?"
"Yes. I was just thinking about Itachi, that's all." Sasuke replied, hand unconsciously moving to his pouch where he kept his older brother's headband at all times. It was reassuring to him, to have that small reminder of his brother's true loyalties. There would never be that awful, untrue slash through the leaf symbol.
"Alright. Oh, we haven't really spoken about it, but what do we plan to do about snake-teme?" Naruto left the topic of Sasuke's brother alone, knowing just how depressed it could make the Uchiha. "Do we kill him in the forest, during the exams, or after that, when he goes to find Tsunade-Baachan?"
Sasuke smirked. "When presented with three options, one must play."
Sakura grinned as well before pulling out a deck of cards.
While it was all fun and games for now, they knew that sooner or later they had to get serious. It was easy to play around when the world around them was still so at peace, when their fellow classmates were in the budding youth of their genin days. But sooner or later, the Akatsuki was going to intrude and puncture that happy bubble.
One couldn't really blame the three for taking advantage of the fun while they had the opportunity.
.0.0.0.
When Sasuke, Naruto and Sakura stumbled into the tower five days later, Kakashi nearly had a heart attack. Firstly he hadn't expected them to take that long and secondly, they looked like they'd been run over by a barrage of Naruto's Kage Bunshin, repeatedly, several times.
As it was, they were all slightly singed, their general appearance looking very frazzled, dark rings under their eyes with exhaustion stamped across their features and their clothes in tatters.
"Sensei, we tried to bring you a present but it kept running away." Naruto mumbled as he saluted the jonin who was busy freaking out, making soft high pitched sounds of distress.
"It bit me." Sasuke whined, a hand tiredly moving to his neck where Kakashi's felt his heart literally freeze in his chest.
A curse mark!?
Sasuke mumbled something under his breath, leaning on Naruto for support.
"Stupid ninja started off by eating our scroll so we had to get it back." Naruto grumbled while Kakashi moved to catch the exhausted Sasuke.
All three of them appeared as though they were about to drop from exhaustion but the moment Kakashi moved to catch Sasuke, he got close enough to feel that their chakra was anything but depleted. It was as though they had indeed been in battle but they were hiding their true strength, in a mask of weariness.
Looking at Sasuke's curse mark though, Kakashi couldn't help the echo of the Sandaime's words that fluttered through his mind.
"However, looking at the changes young Sasayaku-kun has made to the financial allocations, I can only assume that nothing it going to be very pleasant for the Leaf in the near future. I need you to be prepared for that possibility, Kakashi-kun, and that is why I need them to be chunin."
He made the three sit down while he fussed over them, poking them for details. They replied mostly with ANBU codes and Kakashi was glad he'd taken the time to teach it to them. So Orochimaru was here and he was after Sasuke, more accurately his Sharingan.
The genin had wounded the snake somewhat before retreating but not before Sasuke had gotten bitten.
Naruto signed to Kakashi that he could seal the curse mark and Kakashi nodded his consent. He trusted Naruto's sealing ability whole-heartedly and knew that Naruto would probably have something better in mind than what he had had. He just wondered why Sasuke had a curse mark at all. S-rank ninja shouldn't get caught up in Orochimaru's traps. He was sure, that they had a perfectly logical explanation though.
"Ah, Hatake-san?" A chunin asked hesitantly as he approached. The jonin turned to the Shinobi, waiting for his message.
"The Hokage says they have to begin now."
Kakashi's gaze slide to the three genin and they shrugged at him before getting to their feet and making a huge show of shuffling to the large doors. Kakashi sighed as he remembered that he'd forgotten to read the inscription on the wall for them but he had a feeling they already knew the message it provided all the same.
He shunshined onto the balcony that overlooked the arena the genin were to have a preliminary match in, while his team moved to the centre of the room with the others.
"Brats looking a little worse for wear there, eh Kakashi?" Asuma drawled, giving the three down below a speculative look.
"What can I say, they had fun." Kakashi shrugged. "Your brats look pretty alright."
"I bet they stayed out of trouble while they could and got a scroll when it was most convenient." Asuma shook his head. "They blubbered something about shaking ground and explosive jutsus going off everywhere but I was watching from the monitors. They calmed down when they noticed they were here though."
Must have been the fight with Orochimaru. Kakashi wondered if anyone had actually seen that fight.
Down below, Naruto and Sasuke appeared to be causing some commotion and Kakashi grinned proudly. Kami knew he loved those genin. Especially since everyone was looking to him like it was his fault or something.
.0.0.0.
Naruto twitched slightly as he was forced to endure the torture of the pre-preliminary speech, again. He just wanted it to start already.
". . .so that means if there are any of you here that feel they cannot participate, you should step out now." Hayate stated calmly, eyes travelling to Team 7 automatically.
Naruto growled lowly when Sasuke leaned closer to him and whispered gleefully, and he was sure there was a smirk in there as well, "That means you, Dobe. I doubt you'll be able to handle these brats, not with your condition."
"My condition?" Naruto hissed. "Speak for yourself."
Speaking of . . . he had told Kaka-sensei that he'd seal that blasted mark.
Moving a hand to his kunai pouch was a move not unmissed by Sasuke who struck out at him. Naruto dodged and grabbed the Uchiha's arm, using his own momentum to flip him over and into a painful back bending hold. Naruto smirked as he pressed the kunai to Sasuke's neck, near the mark.
"Don't be such a whuss, Sasuke-kun." Naruto taunted. "It'll only hurt for a minute or so."
Sasuke used a replacement jutsu, only to try and attack Naruto from behind. Naruto sighed, twirling the kunai impatiently as he figured this little display pretty much shot their exhausted genin image to pieces. If only Sasuke had played nice.
Sasuke might have been able to move quickly, but Naruto had learnt some time ago, something Sasuke was still having a hard time accepting, that Naruto moved faster.
Grabbing the Uchiha's ankle he slammed the other boy down on the ground, hard. He was sure everyone in the room flinched at that. But Sasuke was merely annoyed.
Naruto tsked at him before throwing six kunai that pinned the Uchiha to the ground, the Uchiha Clan Symbol on his back proudly displayed.
Naruto walked over to the other's head and cheerfully ruffled his hair. "See Sasuke-kun. You should listen to me more often."
"Don't you dare Naruto!" Sasuke warned. "You have no idea how much it fucking hurts."
"Man up, Uchiha." Naruto shrugged, already moving through the hand signs. Sasuke didn't struggle because Naruto had so kindly placed a kunai a hair's breath from certain nether regions and Sasuke actually did want to restore his clan.
Naruto's happy grin was replaced by a frown of concentration right before he stopped the hand signs, fingers glowing with a purple energy. Then, carefully, as though one wrong move and it wouldn't work, he touched the dark stain on the Uchiha's neck, a toxin to the boy's mind that was slowly trying to erode it and leaving nothing but a shell for Orochimaru to use.
Sasuke's entire body stilled, the only indication that he was even in pain at all.
Ancient symbols began to crawl across Sasuke's body, moving further till they encompassed the area around him. Black burnt way to a lightning blue, yet still Naruto remained with a frown of concentration plastered on his features. Then the lines that had previously been straight began to twist, moving round and growing smaller, as though closing something. Round and round it spun, moving faster with every turn.
Where three tomoe like dots had adorned the Uchiha's pale skin, a spiral now stood. Was that the mark of a changed seal, or something locked away?
Kakashi would no doubt ask Naruto about it later.
"Better?" Naruto asked, finally relaxing his posture.
"Hai." Sasuke was also slumped. "Way better. It's like it's not even there but I can still feel it."
"That's so contradictory it's not even funny." Naruto sighed, removing the kunai he'd thrown at the stubborn Uchiha earlier.
"So, what did we miss?" Sasuke asked, getting to his feet and directing his attention at the proctor.
All three members of Team 7 did not miss the look of utter rage and curious interest upon the face of the "Sound Jonin".
Naruto shivered slightly, not really liking the way those cruel eyes gleamed with desire when narrowed on him.
Sasuke smirked. "Better him than me." He muttered but Sakura and Naruto heard him, both sending him withering glares.
.0.0.0.
Team 7 was willing to let it slide when Sasuke had the first match with the same opponent. After all, it was highly possible. Of course the result was a win for Sasuke.
However, when the next two matches were the same, their moods grew somewhat darker.
"Rigged." Naruto muttered and Sasuke 'Hn'-ed his agreement from next to the blond.
Kakashi heard but said nothing.
He was instantly more interested however when Naruto began scribbling something down on a piece of paper he usually reserved for seals. He glanced it over with a nod and handed it over to Sakura who grinned and attached it to a kunai before tossing the kunai straight at the Hokage.
What was it with that girl and her bloodthirsty grins? Kakashi was starting to see another Anko in the making.
He was only semi-relieved when the kunai hit the ground, very near, the Hokage.
"That, Jiji, is my latest feat of awesomeness!" Naruto explained, having already caught everyone's attention with that little act. "No one is allowed to touch that kunai or that paper till the end of the matches. Then you shall all see the brilliance that is Uzumaki Naru– ITA! Sakura-chan what was that for?" Naruto rubbed his head and glared accusingly at his teammate.
She merely pointed at the board.
HARUNO SAKURA VS. YAMANAKA INO
"Oh. What are you going to do?" Naruto asked curiously.
Sakura smiled sweetly, "Win of course."
Kakashi leaned against the railing as his second student went down to fight her opponent. He glanced at Asuma who had just lit another cigarette. "No hard feelings eh Sarutobi?" he asked with a smile.
"Please. From their records, they're equal. This match could go either way." Asuma replied.
Kakashi pitied him for his ignorance. Next to him Naruto and Sasuke appeared to be betting something.
"No, genjutsu." Sasuke muttered adamantly.
"Na uh, taijutsu." Naruto stuck his tongue out and pouted.
"I say neither." Kakashi added thoughtfully.
"Really, what do you think she'll do?" Naruto asked curiously.
"Watch and see." Kakashi replied.
Sakura faced Ino with a friendly smile. "So Ino-chan, is your sensei as good as mine?"
"You wish you had my sensei, Forehead." Ino replied with a grin.
"Oh I doubt that." Sakura's smile widened and Naruto shivered, muttering something about Sai.
Hayate waited to see if anything more would be said before nodded to himself and stated around a cough, "Begin."
Sakura immediately jumped away from Ino and up onto the balcony where her team was waiting. Sasuke and Naruto backed up against the wall, nervous expressions growing more and more concerned with every passing nano-second.
Sakura then sprang from the railing, flipped in the air, and yelled "SHANNARO!" before literally crashing into the floor with enough force to send a ripple –a fricken ripple– along the floor. It travelled at a speed so great that Ino couldn't dodge, and ended up sailing through the air and smacking into the opposite wall, completely out cold.
"You, know, I've actually been hit with one of those, from higher up too." Naruto commented. "I couldn't feel my toes for days afterwards. And not to mention she did it because she was concerned about me."
"When was that?" Sasuke asked with wide eyes and a fearful gulp.
"Uhm, round about the mission with Guren in it." Naruto shrugged.
"Yeah, the one where I was on the other side of the lake." Sasuke smirked. "Honestly, I still don't know how you missed that one."
Kakashi blinked in confusion at that conversation. They'd never had any 'Guren' mission.
It was just one of those things.
"Winner, Haruno Sakura." Hayate stated, eyes slightly larger than before.
"What the hell are you teaching those kids Kakashi?" Asuma asked, the cigarette having fallen from his mouth.
"Too much?" Sakura asked as she re-joined her team. Naruto and Sasuke looked to each other before grinning nervously and stating "Nah." At the same time. Sakura chose to ignore the sweat drops.
The next match up was announced and Kakashi huffed impatiently when the three genin next to him stopped paying attention so that they could play another one of their ridiculous games. At least they were doing it quietly.
Kakashi didn't miss the way Naruto's head moved to the board, three seconds before his name appeared on it. The little blond sighed as though the world was on his shoulders, and got to his feet as though an aging man well past his prime.
He then grumpily made his way towards the stairs, pausing in surprise to listen to Hinata's stuttered "G-good luck Naruto-kun."
"Thanks Hinata-chan. I'll be sure to be rooting for you when you go fight." Naruto replied with a grin.
Then he was walking away again, completely oblivious to the bright blush spreading across Hinata's cheeks. Kakashi noticed Kurenai's faint smile and wondered when Naruto would realise that Hinata was a female, and that she liked him as only a female could.
Naruto was facing Kiba with a familiar slouch to his posture and an even more familiar expression of pure boredom on his features.
"You know Kakashi, my Eternal Rival, don't you think you're taking this teaching thing a little too seriously?" Gai asked with a slight nervous chuckle.
Kakashi turned with a bored expression to the green clad ninja, mentally raising an eyebrow at Lee but saying instead, "Huh? Did you say something?" and ignoring the ensuing results.
"Oh yeah Akamaru, we got lucky on this one." Kiba yelled happily. "You might want to surrender now Naruto, and save yourself the embarrassment."
"Neh? Did you say something?" Naruto blinked questioningly at Kiba who sort of froze, not sure how to respond to that.
Naruto yawned and Kurenai turned an angry gaze to Kakashi as though it was his fault. "What?" Kakashi asked innocently.
"Is there something wrong that your student doesn't appear to be taking my student very seriously?" Kurenai asked scathingly. She'd started these exams hoping that Kiba would get some of his arrogant and uncaring attitude knocked out of him. Now, she was hoping he'd win by a landslide.
"Well, I can't be sure, but I think that Naruto-kun wishes he was at Ichiraku Ramen's right now. And there's not much to take very seriously when it comes to the Inuzuka boy anyway." Kakashi shrugged.
Before a seething Kurenai could reply Hayate began the match.
Kiba attacked instantly, and Naruto . . . . . just stood there, looking half asleep.
When the dust cleared, Naruto had been pounded into the ground and Kiba was panting, confusion on his features.
Silence reigned in the room, while Sasuke and Sakura looking on gravely.
Then, Naruto spoke, his voice sounding far older than what it had before.
"Kiba, I have a lot of respect for you, and the potential you hold." The blond slowly lifted his head and his team narrowed their eyes when they saw that Naruto's usual henge was no longer in place. The darker outfit with the minimal orange, the longer hair, the graver more intelligent expression was laid bare for all to see. "I would give you a fair fight, give you the respect that you deserve, but I cannot. One punch with me not holding back, and you won't get up again."
Naruto got up and brushed the dirt from his clothes. "I'm not the boy from the Academy, but you still are. It's time you got serious Kiba. Life waits for no one. Right now you have one, maybe two jutsus under your belt. You won't even be able to scratch me with that technique. You lack the discipline and power."
"What are you saying Naruto?" Kiba growled, expression growing angry. "That I'm weak!?"
"Hai." Naruto replied, not even trying to sugar coat it.
"Big words from the Dobe of the Academy. Why don't you put your money where your mouth is?" Kiba demanded.
"I already have." Naruto replied, flexing his chakra. A seal glowed to life on the floor by Kiba's feet. Akamaru barked, running towards Kiba only to become completely frozen the moment his paws touched the first symbol of the seal.
Naruto pulled out a kunai, features blank and deadly as he walked slowly towards Kiba. His own feet were encased with chakra as he walked over the seal he'd activated and it enabled him to keep walking rather than fall prey to his own trap. "I can kill you right now, you know that don't you?"
Kiba couldn't even respond.
"And just so you know, I was the Rookie of the Year. Sasuke never went to the Academy after the Massacre. He just took the tests when he had to. I was pretending to be the perfect little Uchiha just so that he didn't need to, so that he didn't have to endure the petty expectations of those around him." Naruto tilted his head to the side "But then, the only one who noticed was Kaka-sensei and Hokage-sama."
Naruto lifted Kiba's hand and placed the kunai within his limp grasp. The seal on the floor deactivated, fading from existence as though it had never been there at all. "This kunai has a seal on it. If you or your teammates ever need help, use it and I'll know."
Hiraishin no Jutsu, Naruto style. The jutsu that was originally the Second Hokage's and later used by his father. Naruto had long since perfected it. He'd just never had a reason to use it.
"So, don't lose it, kay." Naruto broke the tension with a wide smile.
"Winner, Uzumaki Naruto." Hayate had come to realise that Naruto had won the match before even moving down the stairs and he called it before the Inuzuka boy could do anything rash.
Sasuke inclined his head to Naruto as the blond reappeared next to his teammates. He knew that Naruto was trying to protect Kiba's dignity by not fighting him. For the members of Team 7 it was just too laughable being in the chunin exams but they had to be.
Kiba was in too much of a daze to really do much more than walk back up the stairs.
Naruto tossed a kunai to Shikamaru and stated, "That applies to you guys as well." He paused for a moment before tossing one to Lee. "And I guess you guys too."
"What's the deal with you lot?" Shikamaru was the first to recover.
"We're ninja." Sasuke answered simply.
"And things are never what they seem." Sakura replied.
"So we have to be ready for whatever comes our way." Naruto finished.