DOWNFALL OF THE LIGHT
Chapter 12: Destined to be Worthy or Worthless
Disclaimer: For the last time, I don't own Naruto or Warcraft3. If I did, the storyline wouldn't be like the ones today. I would just mess it up.
"…": Speech
'…': Thoughts
===: Scene Change
AN: (Comes out of the armory with an Assault Rifle.) Sir, it's good to see another man in uniform. Glad to see all of you here ready to hear the mission briefings for this mission (Chunnin Exam). My missions these days have been quite hell, but I'm not going to talk about it now, let's get to the real deal here. THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH for your honest reviews! I'm glad you all haven't fallen asleep yet on this. Personally, I am quite tired from writing. I'm not sick of it or anything, it's just I am physically really worn out from reality. Eventually I'm going to need a psychologist to research my real problems. Anyway, the chunnin exam is about to begin, I'm so glad that some of you insisted to give me comments and suggestions or even just a sign you want me to keep things up. I really thank you for those who reviewed. You know me, I don't have much time to thank all of you since I am lazy but it's all in the thought and heart that counts right? OW!…That last shot was critical, I don't think I make it sir… (For those who have a problem with me with the soldier attitude, well I don't care that much. It's fun to think like a soldier, maybe I'm just too obssessed with HalfLife Opposing Force.) Here is the next chapter!
"Sorry to keep you all waiting," said the jounin in the middle of the room surrounded by chunnins. "I am your first examiner, Morino Ibiki." 'Morino Ibiki?' thought Naruto narrowing his eyes. 'He's the Special Jounin and the captain of Konoha's Anbu Forces. Even though I don't really know him but why would such an important person like him doing here as a judge for an exam at a mere chunnin level? Even Kakashi could've done this… but I got a strong feeling he would prefer to read Icha Icha Paradise than to do something such as this.' "This gives me a good chance to say this," continued Ibiki coldly. "You aren't allowed to pick fights with anybody during this exam, even though you are given permission, you're not allowed to kill your opponents. It won't be tolerated. If you disobey my rules, then you have to deal with me." Many genins swallowed hard.
"No killing?" question a cocky Sound-nin. "This exam seems way too soft already."
"Shut up!" barked Ibiki harshly. "No one asked you to talk!" The genins were startled at the volume and authority in his voice. This guy meant business. "Before we begin, everyone hand in your registration ID and receive a number that I specifically give you. You will then sit at the place the number designates. A chunnin would then hand out writing supplies and paper." 'A paper test?' thought the Death Knight dully. After confirming as a official participant of the exam, everyone was separated from their teams. 'I'm not with Naruto-kun and Sakura-san any longer…' said Hinata in thought worriedly. 'What am I going to do?'
"Hinata-san," said a familiar voice. The Hyuga heiress recognized that voice immediately.
"Sasuke-kun, hello." greeted Hinata with a smile.
"You okay?" he asked with a grin. "You look like a lovesick puppy without her mate."
"Did I really look like that?"
"I was just teasing you," joked the Uchiha with a soft laugh. "I know you are worried about the fact that you are separated from your team. Don't worry too much, I'm sure you'll do fine."
"Thanks for saying so," said Hinata with a smile on her face. "But I'm worried about Naruto-kun…"
"I'm sure it will be fine."
"No, Naruto-kun was never good at academics since he was a kid… I really don't know if he could do this kind of stuff… this has to be the worst kind of test for him…"
"You should start to worry about yourself a little more than others, Hinata-san," said Sasuke ending the chat. Hinata took a second to think about what her friend just said, he did have a point.
"Now," said Ibiki up front with a sense of coldness in his tone. "For the first test, there will be several important rules that you must know. I will only explain it once and questions will not be allowed so listen carefully." 'No questions?' thought Sakura. 'What's the big idea?' "I'll begin with the grading system. On your exam there are 10 questions, do not turn the test paper over until I say so. Now, if you get all of them right, you will earn your 10 points. Let's assume you completed all of them but you got 3 of them wrong, 3 points will be subtracted from your total score thus making your score to only 7."
"That's only logical…" said Naruto quietly to himself.
"The second rule, the exam's passing mark is a mark that's combined score by all three members of the team." 'What?' thought Hinata and Sakura. 'Great, that's just mighty excellent…'
"What's the passing mark then?" asked a virgin genin.
"How many teams are going to pass this exam?" asked another nervously.
"It's not like telling you would make any difference now is it?" questioned Ibiki. The look on his face made the two genins awkwardly sat back down. "Now that you know, let's move on. If any of the chunnins around the room or myself catch any of you cheating and anything similar to it, 2 points would be deducted for every offence." The Death Knight's smirk came as immediate response. 'So, there's another way to lose points…' thought the Hyuga heiress really concerned. "In other words, there will be people leaving this room without their tests being graded, it's just less work for us in the end." continued Ibiki applying more pressure indirectly but intentionally. 'Calm down, Sakura…' thought the mentioned person. 'Even if one of us mess up here, we can just back each other up…' "And lastly, whoever gets a zero on their exam will be failed along with their teammates!" Most of the genins' eyes widened at the last rule, they didn't like it one bit. 'So much for backing up…' thought Sakura cursing. "Those who cheat without thinking are just destroying themselves. If you are a ninja, act like a proud shinobi would. Okay, the test would last for 75 minutes… begin!"
As soon as the instructions were given out, every participant immediately turned their test papers over to solve the problems. Naruto looked at the very first question, his eyes narrowed a bit. In another case, it narrowed quite a bit. Hinata didn't understand the very first question, she knew she had to move on to the next one. Sakura looked at them carefully, she was surprised at these questions given. 'All these questions are hard…' she thought. 'What in the heck is going on?'
"A chunnin instructor must have completed at least how many missions of all ranks and different degrees in order to be a teacher at the academy. State all needed degrees…" said Hinata reading the question to herself, she frowned. "Not good, next one… differentiate the following equation. (3x9x) to the power of 3, show your work… no, next one… If a kunai was thrown straightly at a 180 degree angle and it reaches a distance of 125m and the Power was 9400W, what was the work being done in Watts? Show your work…" 'This is another hard question…' thought Sakura reading the exact same question as Hinata. 'This is a question that requires a lot of both booksmarts and physical analysis to achieve. In fact, all of them are like that… almost everyone in this room besides myself could answer this. There is no way that Naruto-nichan or Hinata-san would be able to answer these…' Currently, Naruto already filled in 2 questions, some of his experiences in life really paid off. However, the remaining questions he had absolutely no clue. Knowing this was a team score, he knew that scoring only 2 points wouldn't be enough. After reading all the questions, Hinata rested her paper with a very worried expression.
'What am I going to do?' thought the Hyuga heiress. 'I don't understand this, not even one question…' While she was troubled, she decided to pay attention to other things to ease her level of nervousness. Something clicked into her mind when she looked at the chunnins. 'Why are there so many chunnins in this room anyway? It's like they are assuming that we would cheat, they are watching us so carefully like prisoner guards…' Then she glanced at a chunnin and he started to write something down on the clipboard. "Someone has been caught… in a normal test you'll fail as soon as the teacher catches you cheating or attempting cheating once. This is a method that really encourages cheating… hold on!'
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(Flashback)
"Those who cheat without thinking would only be destroying themselves. If you are a ninja, act like a proud shinobi would." These were Ibiki's last words.
(End Flashback)
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'I see now,' thought Hinata with a dark grin. 'This test was never a test to measure our intelligence, this is a test to see how well we gather information using our ninja skills with our teammates. For the first time, Kakashi's words really apply here, a ninja must read what's underneath the underneath. So what the instructor really meant was to encourage us to cheat but don't do it pathetically. At the same time, what is being tested is that you cheat and don't get caught by the chunnins guarding and the people we're cheating from. If my assumption is correct, this lenient two point deduction system actually makes sense. They are actually giving us plenty of opportunities to try but at the same time we can't mess up too many times since this is a team effort. He's really pressuring us not to mess things up. Finally, the zero means failure rule actually is logical. If you cheat so horribly… you only mess up instead of helping.' Hinata then took another glance around the room, she grinned when she saw people started to write when they didn't before. 'So, if this is an information gathering test, there must be at least one person in this room who holds all the answers. It's only a matter of time before the good people show their true colours. Notice this rule, Naruto-kun, Sakura-san. If you don't, this alone would cost you the entire test!' Then the girl sat back and decided to wait a little longer before her next move.
As soon as Hinata decided to wait, a grin came across Naruto's face as he tied his blindfold around his eyes. He indeed already knew what the exam was about, Ibiki's true meaning in his words never hid itself from the Death Knight. His eyes never lied to him, it never failed him. 'Impressive, Hinata-chan,' thought Naruto with a sense of happiness. 'You caught the true meaning of the test already, I'm proud of you. Even so, I wonder how you will achieve your answers though. Sadly enough I don't have the skill to give you the info unnoticed. I'm sure you have the ability to do it on your own. I'll wait longer myself.' As the Death Knight relaxed himself, more and more people were beginning to take action. Meanwhile, Akamaru had been silently barking answers to Kiba since the two understood each other completely. It wasn't the greatest way of cheating but it certainly wasn't illegal and the chunnins couldn't do a thing to stop it. It worked completely to his favor. Shino has sent a scouting bee to observe other people's test and it quietly flew back to its master with all the info he needed. This was truly a remarkable way to getting information, no one would've expected a thing. As Shino began to write down his answers, little did he know he had become a target for someone to cheat from. Tenten had already set up a set of tiny mirrors to the ceiling holding it with invisible strings. The weapons master had a lot of skills with physical objects indeed. As soon as she copied all she needed, she needed to pass it down to her teammate Lee.
'Lee,' thought Tenten. 'If you can see this, please wear your forehead protector.' With that thought, she twisted her fingers a little bit to make the reflection visible to the taijutsu specialist. Lee glanced up to the ceiling and grinned when he saw the info being passed down. He did as Tenten requested and continued what he was doing. It appeared that the real deal started now.
Time passed since the start of this test, it was time for the advanced bloodline eye users to take on decisive action. With a little bit of concentration, the Uchiha, the two Hyugas activated their bloodline ablities. 'Sharingan!' thought Sasuke. 'Byakugan!' thought Hinata and Neji as they saw through the person in front of them and viewed closer to their test paper. With that, the answers were right in front and they could copy no problem. 'I'm copying their movements completely,' thought Sasuke. 'My hand is moving on it's own, I don't need to do anything. I was hoping to catch some of Naruto's attacks but I've already hit the jackpot.' However the Death Knight couldn't activate his ability just yet, a kunai whizzed by his face as he was generating chakra. The kunai struck the test paper of the person behind him but it still the aim wasn't that great not to avoid a deep cut on Naruto's cheek, blood seemed through the cut as an immediate effect, but with Naruto's quick regeneration rate the wound healed itself in seconds. This didn't go unnoticed by Neji or Hinata.
"Hey!" shouted the genin behind Naruto angrily demanding for an explanation. "What the hell was that for!"
"You've messed up 5 times," answered the chunnin with a dark grin. "You fail."
"No… no way!"
"No way? The other two on his team leave immediately. 161, 38 and 74 fail." The other two students reluctantly left the room while giving a bitter look on their teammate who messed up for them. Once they left Naruto did his thing, read other people's minds to achieve the answers he seek. The best person for him to use it on would be his teammate Sakura since he knew she knew everything. It was the perfect time as well for Sakura to write down the answers in a quick pace.
"184 and 49's team fail!" yelled a chunnin.
"215 and 91's team fail too!" shouted another. 'That's 14 teams failing already…' thought the Uchiha as he saw the guy next to him leaving the room. 'It's a good thing that I know what I'm doing…'
"Hey, how do you know that I cheated 5 times?" questioned a male genin holding a fist. "How the hell is it possible for you guys to watch what everyone in this room has been doing? Can you prove that we cheated…" At that point, a chunnin nailed the person to the wall with his elbow in his stomach. He leaned closer to the genin with a sinister smile.
"Listen here, kid," began the higher level shinobi. "Amongst us chunnins, we are the ones specially assembled for this test. Believe me, we haven't missed a thing that you guys have been doing the entire time. If you want proof so much, just say my strength is the evidence you seek." He then released the genin by stepping back. The lower level shinobi then slid down the wall in a defenseless state. A lot of the other participants swallowed hard with fear and nervousness. As soon as Sakura has finished, Naruto attempted to make his move on her. However, he caught a girl looking at his sister with an intent. It was no other than Ino. He decided to change plans, he quickly used his eyes to watch her first. Her thoughts then became audible to his ears.
'Sakura,' thought Ino. 'I have been watching you for some time now, I know the size of your forehead also showed a very high level of intelligence. So, you should feel honoured to be the target of this jutsu.' She then formed a very specific hand seal. 'That seal…' thought Naruto as he quickly made a set of hand seals.
"Mind Transfer-no jutsu!" said Ino quietly as she released the jutsu.
"Anti-Magic Reflector!" said Naruto silently to himself as he launched chakra right at Sakura a second before Ino launched hers. As Ino's spirit approached Sakura, she felt a peculiar disturbance. She felt as if a barrier was stopping her advance. Ino quickly went back to her body and wondered why her technique didn't work. 'Who would been protecting Sakura like that?' thought Ino. 'It must've been her team but Hinata-san… no, it shouldn't be her. Sakura told me that Hinata-san was very good in ninjutsu but there was no way that she could know something that advanced. It must've been Naruto-kun!' Ino formed the seal once again and this time she targeted Naruto. This time around, her move was a success and entered his mind.
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She soon found herself in a dark realm, it felt cold, terrifying and yet mysterious. No one had a mind this, this was beyond what Ino had expected. To be honest, she didn't know if this was Naruto's mind, it seemed so empty, she had never seen anything like this. In order to find out, she decided to scout around this unknown area. She felt kind of awkward for she never needed to take time to take control. However, something held her back, the darkness around her made her scouting in failure.
"Going somewhere, Ino-chan?" asked a voice to Ino.
"Who's there? Show yourself!" shouted the blond hair girl.
"Who do you think it is?" asked the voice again with a bit of sinister chuckling. "You think I'm a ghost?"
"Naruto-kun, I know it's you!" He chuckled again making her shiver to her spine. The environment around her made her feel somewhat horrified.
"You've got good hearing, Ino-chan," complimented Naruto as he snapped his fingers. The darkness brightened revealing the dark shinobi carrying his runeblade in a casual manner.
"Naruto-kun, where am I?"
"You're in my mind, Ino-chan," stated the Death Knight. "I'm guarding this area so people like you won't infiltrate it. It's that simple."
"How is it even possible for you to be in here?"
"Why can't I? This is my mind."
"But I'm suppose to control it, I'm suppose to control you!"
"Is that so? That mere jutsu alone can't take over my mind that easily, Ino-chan. I have ways to counter it, the best you can do is to visit my mind and do nothing more." stated the Death Knight with a grin.
"Then it was you who setup that barrier on Sakura." she said with realization.
"Of course," replied Naruto. "But Ino-chan." He then gave her an evil look. "You sure have a lot of guts trying to mind control Sakura-chan. Let me ask you this, do you value your life?"
"Why do you ask such a weird question?"
"Answer me now." He stated coldly.
"Yes, of course I do!"
"I'll let you think about that answer again. If you really do value your life, you wouldn't even think of possessing me."
"What do you mean?" asked Ino. "This is my skill, I know what I'm doing."
"Do you? I wonder how you're going to get out when you don't possess this body to release yourself."
"I still can escape on my own." He then chuckled very darkly. "What's so funny?"
"Not when I'm around." said Naruto pointing his blade directly at Ino.
"What are you trying to do…" said Ino backing away slightly to achieve a bit of distance.
"You want to leave here?" he asked in a mocking tone. She nodded as she hugged herself trying to feel warm. The Death Knight gave her a stare with a smirk as he lowered his runeblade. "Feel free to leave, I'll make you regret for your optimistic judgement a little later." Ino seized the opportunity and made a break for it with a second thought. Naruto just watched her attempt to leave, he didn't care what she did. As far as he was concerned, if the girl stayed here too long, she would die for certain. Naruto decided to make the girl have a little bit of fun before the real games began.
"Death Knight," called a sweet female voice.
"Kyubi-chan, it's good to see you." said Naruto with a smile.
"Naruto, what are you trying to do? Kill her?" questioned the demon master.
"No, just want to teach her a lesson that she'll remember for eternity, I'll show her what she'll receive for coming in this place."
"If you don't want to see her dead, you better do something now."
"I'll check it out when the time comes. She'll be fine."
"The dark spirit within yourself isn't that kind to just let her go." Naruto sighed and agreed with Kyubi. She had a point, the dark veil in his mind would kill Ino sooner or later. He groaned a little bit as he took off to the same direction she went to. Meanwhile, Ino was strangely confused at why the boy allowed her to leave so easily. The feeling she received was like he knew she wouldn't get out as much as she tried. Suddenly, she found herself trapped in a powerful veil, she couldn't escape it. It felt horrifying, the feeling was worse than death itself. She had the urge to vomit, she had the sensation of mental torture. The blond hair girl shook her hands violently trying to erase this horrible feeling, but her attempts were in no avail. 'What the hell is going on here?' she thought as she continued to retaliate as much as she could.
"Need help?" asked the Death Knight he took her hand. As soon as she felt his touch, the veil disappeared. She hugged the boy immediately as if he was the only human here. In truth he was the only human here, he was like the person Ino could depend on, she could rely everything on him. "Ino-chan, it's okay, you're safe." He then rubbed her back gently to calm the girl down, his experiences with Hinata really shined here.
"Naruto-kun… I'm scared…" she said sobbing.
"It'll be fine, you're okay now… come on look at me."
"I'm scared, Naruto-kun, I am afraid of this place… can you hold me a little longer?"
"Sure," he said as he embraced the girl back. She was trembling, Naruto shouldn't have freaked her out like this knowing how emotional girls could be. She hugged him closely as her life depended on it, the Death Knight understood her intentions.
"Ino-chan," called Naruto after a several minutes later. "It's time to leave." With that, the Death Knight broke himself loose from her. Ino tried to reach for him but soon she felt she was being launched away by a powerful force. Her spirit ejected from her body in a blink of an eye. When she opened her eyes once again, she found herself back into her own body. A chill went down her spine as she remembered what just happened in the silver hair warrior's mind, all the experienced kicked in. Ino hugged herself with fear, she tried everything she could to shake off this feeling of uneasiness. 'I can't get this feeling out of me…' thought Ino while shaking. 'It's so terrible… I could feel an aura of death surrounding me… as if it wants my soul… I would rather die than to experience this!' Shikamaru looked over to his blond hair friend, a concerned look came across his face. She was trembling, he knew it wasn't like Ino to be so out of it, it was different. Naruto glanced at Ino from a distance, he was somewhat worried but he shook it off. The dark knight knew the girl wouldn't be that stupid to pull that trick on him twice knowing the consequences.
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Meanwhile, Hinata had copied all the answers she needed off those people who were around her. For the first time, she believed that there were advantages of the Byakugan, it was finally worth something. Cheating was not a big deal at all, it was simply too easy. She took a glimpse at her boyfriend, she knew he activated his eyes since he was wearing that blindfold he frequently wears. 'What is he doing?' she thought. Naruto currently was doing his work this time without any interruptions. He had to say that the people sitting up front had the greatest disadvantage. Their weakness was his strength, there was no way that he would miss this chance. His grin got wider as he continued his progress. Once he achieved all the answers he wanted, he wasted no time to write down the answers he required. He untied his blindfold as soon as he was done, it was then when his eye started to itch. The Death Knight knew this was a trick someone was trying to pull.
'Another fool trying to cheat off me?' Naruto asked himself in thought with most amusement. He then rubbed his left eye with one hand leaving the other one open watching the test paper. 'I'll play along with you for a little longer, my friend.' It was then when an eyeball appeared slightly above the test paper attempting to read off his answers. With his available hand, the Death Knight swiped it and crushed it with full force leaving a small amount of sand in his hand. 'Sand?' he thought curiously as he looked over at a startled Gaara. The red-head glared back with his eyes twitching with rage. 'Hoe dare that guy ruin my technique!' cursed Gaara as he cletched his fist underneath the table. 'He'll pay dearly for this!' Naruto simply smirked and turned away knowing that he prevented another incident. The Hyuga girl witnessed the whole scenario, she couldn't believe Naruto would be so good at this. It was like as if he was prepared for anything that challenged him. He certainly was the person Hinata always wanted to be. She admired him from a far again with dreamy eyes with a little bit of lust. She knew he loved her and she loved him, she couldn't wait until the exam was over so they could spend some alone time with another. The Hyuga girl was getting excited with that thought. Even though Naruto was a very cold shell and not too passionate about romance, she didn't care, she knew he was hers.
"Excuse me," called out a male. That voice broke all of Hinata's romantic thoughts. The heiress looked over to the left, it was the Sand genin, Kankuro.
"What do you want?" asked Ibiki coldly.
"I would like to use the bathroom." The Hyuga girl watched him closely, something was amiss.
"I'll go with you," said a chunnin as he handcuffed the genin and shackled him. He tied a rope around the handcuffs like a leash and dragged him off like a prisoner. As the two passed by Neji, being the keen person he was, he activated his Byakugan. To the two Hyugas in this room, that alone had many flaws to it. First of all, Hinata noticed that the mummy looking object on Kankuro's back was gone. Secondly, the boy seemed too calm when he asked for permission, it seemed to her that he prepared himself ahead of time. Lastly, his willingness to be handcuffed was suspicious, he was smiling brightly the entire time. It was obvious to anyone that he was trying to cheat at that time. The only thing Hinata couldn't get her hands on was the fact how was Kankuro going to cheat if he wasn't in the vicinity. However, Neji held the answers Hinata needed. With he used the Byakugan on the chunnin, he found out he had no chakra organ. It's true that there are people in this world that do not have a lot of chakra to generate within them but everyone has a chakra system inside. Neji could tell that guard wasn't human, it was all in the Sand genin's plan. If that imposter had been sitting there at the entire time writing things down as time passed, he of course wasn't recording like the chunnins were. It was writing down the answers. 'Creative indeed,' thought Neji with a smirk. 'Even though that was good, if that trick didn't get unnoticed by me, I'm sure the other chunnins and Ibiki must've saw through that sooner than I did.'
At the same time, the Special Jounin walked up in front of the classroom with a very authorized face. 'Good, with most of the trash out of the way, I could start the main event.' His eyes caught Neji, Naruto and Sasuke's attention almost immediately. "It has been 60 minutes," announced Ibiki in a loud and clear voice. "We will now begin the 10th question!" All the genins in the room stopped what they were doing and paid close attention. Naruto simply smirked and prepared himself from anything. However, his instincts told him that this wouldn't be that easy. "Now, before I tell you the question, there are some rules that you must know." 'More rules?' thought Sakura annoyed. 'Give us a break already!' "For this question, it's a to take or not to take situation."
"If that's the case, of course we'll take it!" exclaimed Tenten.
"Yeah!" added Lee supporting his friend. Ibiki just chuckled as a response.
"You may say that now but that's because you don't know the rules behind it," said Ibiki with a dark grin.
"More rules?" asked Sakura.
"Then what happens if you choose not to take it?' asked Temari.
"Easy," replied Ibiki coldly. "I will deduct your score to 0 making you and your entire team to fail immediately." Everyone in the room gasped other than those emotionless ones. Even so, they were worried deep inside.
"Just what kind of trickery is this!" questioned Lee angrily.
"If we don't take it and fail, then we'll take it!" added Sasuke. The Special Jounin simply chuckled darkly again making the participants even more confused.
"You may be saying that now, but you haven't heard another rule," explained the instructor with much evil amusement. "If you choose to take this question but answer it incorrectly, you will be forbidden to take the chunnin selection exam again!"
"Just what kind of stupid rule is that?" barked Kiba standing from his seat with Akamaru supporting him. "There are plenty of people here who had took this exam before, they never had a question like this!"
"Yeah, he's right!" shouted a several genins along with Kiba. Ibiki just laughed darkly.
"You guys are unlucky then," said Ibiki in an icy tone. "This year I'm the one in charge, I'm the rules. If you don't want to follow my rules, you can simply not take it. Those who don't have the confidence to take it because the risk is too high, I'll be nice and give you guys a way out. The choice is yours to make but let me remind you again, your lives are based on this decision. If you won't take it, simply raise your hand." With that, the genins engaged a battle within themselves with most confusion and frustration. The room was dead silent.
'If I mess up the question, I'll be a genin as long as I live…' thought Sakura nervously. 'But if I don't take it, I would cause Naruto-nichan and Hinata-san to fail because of my cowardice… both options are bad! I'm sure I could answer it… but could they answer it? What am I going to do?' The pink hair girl kicked herself mentally trying to remain calm. But her mind was too filled with worries to relax. She took a glance around the room just to find it completely silent, no one in the right mind would say a word. The expression on the people's faces told everyone else they were fighting a battle with themselves. Naruto at this moment was quite in trouble on deciding what he should be doing, both results were a costly price he couldn't afford.
'I can't back down now, I told Hinata-chan and Sakura-chan that we face it together as a team… ' thought Naruto in a quarrel with himself. 'I can't just go and be a coward! Not only that I fail, I would drag both my teammates along with me. If they want to take it, I would be the one to blame. But… I don't know what kind of question Ibiki would give me, what if I can't answer it… I might get it wrong and father would never forgive me for being such a failure. On the other hand… father wouldn't be pleased if I just backed down. No, I can't fail at this stage of the game… what can I do?'
"I… I won't take it…" said a genin next to Naruto whose voice was cracking in fear.
"Is that your final answer?" questioned Ibiki. The genin then nodded slowly. "Then the other two on his team leave as soon as your number is called."
"Number 14, 127 and 71 fail." announced the closet chunnin. The other two students certainly didn't look pleased. Even so, their faces told Naruto they weren't too confident either.
"I won't take it either!" shouted another raising his hand.
"Me too!"
"Same here!" More and more hands were raised, the chunnins scratched off their numbers without hesitation and willingly kicked them out. There were now around half the people remaining before the 10th question was given. The room was still silent but many people still showed signs in insecurity. Ibiki knew they were struggling, he couldn't help but grin at these genins. Hinata then looked at him, she was surprised that the jounin was watching Naruto with a peculiar look. She decided to observe him closely. However whatever Ibiki did didn't stun Hinata as much as what she witnessed just now, Naruto was raising his hand. Sakura, Sasuke, Neji and Hinata were shocked. The girls couldn't believe that their admirable teammate fell into Ibiki's words. No, they couldn't accept it, Naruto was too strong to let this happen. The girls covered their mouth with their hands, gasping at what the Death Knight was doing. Sasuke and the remaining Konoha genins were also shocked at that sight.
'Naruto,' thought Sasuke. 'Don't tell me that you're going to quit after how you helped us earlier…' 'Naruto-kun,' said Lee in his mind. 'I want to fight you in the next test, you can't back down now!' 'For someone who Hinata-sama admires,' thought Neji coolly. 'You aren't worth it be admired if you're going to quit.'
"What's the matter?" asked Ibiki to Naruto with a slight hint of insincere sincerity. "You seem to be hesitating. Don't be, just tell me if you're going to quit or not, that's unless you want to take on the risk of being a genin forever. Can you do that? Are you able to take the shame while everyone else gets to promote to the chunnin level? C'mon, what are you waiting for, give me the answer." However, this pushed Naruto to his limits. The Death Knight chuckled very coldly and slammed his hand onto the table with much strength. The table nearly snapped in two, he then pierced right to the jounin with his eyes activated with most rage.
"Don't underestimate me, Ibiki-san," stated Naruto in an extremely threatening voice that shocked everyone in the room. He added the san with much mockery. "I seriously don't give a damn if I become a genin forever, I refuse to run away like a coward, even if I mess up I will accept it. I will live my life as a proud failure and if you even have the damn nerve to mock me or ANYONE, you have just signed your death sentence." He then flashed his teal eyes again with absolute hatred. "You got that?" Hinata and Sakura then smiled genuinely with a relieved sigh while the remaining participants were stunned at what the Death Knight just said.
"A pretty powerful speech here," said Ibiki. "You do know your life is depended on this situation."
"Shut up." Was all Naruto said as he deactivated his eyes. 'Second time helping the whole group of people,' thought Sakura with a giggle. 'Yep, ni-chan has lost it.' 'Thank you, Naruto-kun…' said Hinata in her head while holding her chest with her hands. Everyone in the room no longer had the worried look on their faces, all of them seemed to be relieved since their burden has lifted from their shoulders. Shikamaru was grinning lazily but it was genuine, Lee had the smile that showed he was prepared for anything, Sasuke and Neji smirked confidently and awaited anything heading their way. 'Naruto-kun,' thought Hinata with a loving smile. 'You are amazing, you know that?'
"I will say this again, your lives are depending on this decision." continued Ibiki. Hinata and Sakura no longer cared what the jounin had to say, if Naruto won't run away neither will they. Living as a proud failure was a lot more worth it than living a life of cowardice. 'So, 78 left,' thought Ibiki monitoring the room. 'That is a lot more people than I expected. This kid is really impressive, he managed to shake everyone's fears and worries away. He really isn't the Fourth's son for nothing… too bad he has become into a monstrosity… he would've been a great Paladin…' that last part was very regrettable. 'At this rate, prolonging this wouldn't make much of a difference.' He then looked at the chunnins on the sidelines, each one of them returned a nod with a smile. "Now to all those who remained…" Ibiki stated clearly. "I congratulate all of you on passing!" All the genins' eyes opened with shock, most of them watched the jounin dumbly with disbelief.
"What we passed? How could that be? What about the 10th question?" asked Sakura hurriedly. Everyone had the exact same question in their minds. Ibiki laughed in a joking manner.
"There wasn't such a thing to begin with," he stated with a cheerful face. "You can say that the last two choices were the 10th question." 'His personality changed…' thought Sasuke. 'Was he acting the entire time?'
"Hold on a second!" shouted Temari. "IF we passed with this question alone, what was the point of the first nine questions then? Wasn't it all pointless?"
"No, they weren't pointless at all. They already served their purpose."
"What purpose?"
"The purpose of information gathering. I'm sure you all have a lot of questions, let me explain. The test mainly pressured everyone in the first rule, the total team score. If that fact was given to you, this would naturally forced all of you not to mess up for your teammates. Not knowing what the passing mark is, you all assumed the passing mark was a high one. However, the questions all of you received were questions that a mere genin could answer. So, I'm sure that all of you have came up with the solution to get points, I have to cheat to achieve them. So, from the beginning of this test all of us have assumed that you would cheat."
"That should be obvious," muttered Neji.
"In order for you to get points, we had two chunnins within the crowd to help you guys out. Of course you will ask why did I choose this first test to be in this format? I will explain. In chunnin missions, there will be information gathering which are essential in the chance of your mission's success. We utilized this test as a training experience for you guys so you would all know what the real deal is like. Why information gathering is so important? Believe me, getting the wrong information could result in many tragic events to the village. As if the village itself is in jeopardy is bad enough, during the process of the destruction you may lose many comrades, your loved ones, many casualties that you may never have witnessed before. These things can't be taken lightly."
"What if you happen to get the info a little bit incorrect?" asked Hinata silently.
"That is still no excuse, I'll make it blunt. Not only that you cause yourself to be in danger, but you also may endanger your own team. Proceeding into a mission without the correct knowledge is a situation you don't want to be in. Many things could happen such as ambush, hidden traps but many there are such things such as these." The Special Jounin then untied his bandana with the Leaf symbol of it and revealed his skull. All looked disgusted at the sight other than Naruto who seemed to be surprisingly satisfied by it. 'Bruises, burn marks, screw holes, cuts…' thought Sasuke with the urge to vomit. 'What horrible torture... utterly terrible…' "That's what wrong info could do to you," continued Ibiki as he tied the cloth back on his head. "Not only that you suffer these consequences that the enemy gives you, you may also lose your entire platoon due to your carelessness. Of course those who cheated poorly of course didn't make it this far for in a real life scenario you don't have the opportunity to afford any mess ups. Even so, the last and final question is the real deal, the true purpose of this test."
"How though?" asked Tenten.
"As you all see, the 10th question was a to take or not to take scenario. If you choose not to take it, you will fail immediately taking your team with you. But on the other hand, if you went for it and get it incorrectly, the chunnin exam will forever be out of your reach. Talk about two painful choices, it's a true leap of faith. Trashes would believe there would be an easier route and always think there will be a second chance to everything. In the real world, there aren't that many second chances. The final question tested you on under these heavy and pressure circumstances could still prevail with success. Knowing the consequences are extremely high, who would still be proceeding with the task ahead? Let's just say that you become chunnins one day, and your mission is an infiltration for gathering vital information for your village. The area is unknown to you, the level of shinobis who you may encounter are a complete mystery. You know that enemies may setup a lot of traps midway to prevent you from proceeding. Will you decline your mission because it's too dangerous, or you're afraid that your friends and allies may get hurt? To put it more selfishly, you're afraid to die. I'll tell you, the answer is no. There are missions that have heavy risks that can't be simply avoided. Missions are fought with your lives and in order to for the mission to succeed, everyone on the team must act together. It's understandable that there are times that these tasks can be emotionally challenging. But someone on the team must have the ability to show courage to your teammates when needed, and the ability to get through these tough situations, that is the chunnin, the squad leader."
"Those who don't have the strength to bet on fate in such a critical situation, those who just give up believing there is always next year and let their minds sway in an uncertain future with such light determination have no right to become a chunnin, that's what I believe. What you did here today was to be able to make such a decision, you have given the correct answer for this painful last question. You can deal with any difficulties you'll face. The official entrance exam is over, the first test of the Chunnin Selection is finished. I wish you all luck." With that, Sakura and Hinata were cheering with delight deep inside. 'HELL YEAH!' thought Inner Sakura. 'I KNEW WE COULD DO IT!' Sasuke, Neji, Naruto simply grinned inwardly, they were hiding their happiness, there was no need for anyone to know. At that same time, the Death Knight sensed a powerful chakra signature heading their way. Ibiki seemed to know what was going on. The window shattered into pieces as an object suddenly flew in. The mystery person the revealed herself and tossed two kunais to the ceiling holding a banner. She seemed very enthusiastic about this little act.
"There is no time to be happy," she said loudly. "I am the second examiner, Mitarashi Anko. Let's get to the next exam!" She then punched her fist to the air. "Everyone follow me!" Hinata, Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke sweatdropped immediately with no signs of hesitation. 'Who the hell is she?' thought Sakura.
"Grasp the atmosphere…" stated Ibiki dully. Anko flushed in embarrassment. She then shook out of it and took a glance at the entire class. Her eyes narrowed nearly at an instant.
"78 people?" asked Anko. "Ibiki, you allowed 26 teams to pass? What's wrong with you, you made this exam too easy for them didn't you?"
"No, I didn't. There are just many outstanding ones this year."
"Makes no difference to me," she snorted a little with attitude. "The next test I guarantee I would cut them by at least half or more." 'At least half?' thought Sakura trying to make sure she heard correctly. The genins then swallowed hard again. This wasn't looking good.
"I'll explain the details two days later. As you know we'll be meeting at another area, ask your jounin instructors about the rally point and time. Don't be late. That is all for now, you're dismissed." With that said, all the genins left the room and celebrated their first test success, Hinata couldn't wait to talk to Naruto again. It has only been 90 minutes and she missed him already.
========================
The first exam was a success, Team 7 was glad to pass this hell of a psychological exam. As Naruto left the academy grounds, something was in his mind. It was the final words that Anko said, cut them all by half… he didn't quite get what she said. By the tone of voice she was using, it was like it was certain that she would be able to do as promised. She may look loud… he sensed a monster within her. The odds of over half of them failing the next portion of the exam wasn't a good sign at all. The Death Knight was so deep in thought that he didn't realize that he left the academy without his team. It completely slipped his mind nor had the intention to find them. He had more to worry about, like Haku. Rin was supposed to be here by now, it wasn't like her to arrive later than she expected to be… the only person he could think of that could help him was her.
"Naruto-kun," called a voice that immediately wrapped her arms around his neck. "Don't tell me that you're going to leave without your girlfriend." She then cooed to his ear softly making part of his worries go away.
"You're not going anywhere without your sister either!" demanded Sakura holding his hand tightly while holding Sasuke's hand as well.
"Why am I getting dragged into this?" asked the Uchiha whining a little. "I want to go home…"
"Hinata-chan, you don't need to stick around me…" said Naruto a little tiredly.
"You don't want me here?" asked Hinata pretending to be hurt.
"That's not it," justified Naruto in a slight panic. "Don't get the wrong idea."
"Then let me stay close to you." She then released him and encircled her arms around his chest holding him close. Naruto then gave her a gentle kiss on her forehead. Sakura and Sasuke smiled at that scene, it was good to see those two so caring to another. Hinata blushed as her lover kissed her, she couldn't help but kiss him back. As the two broke apart, Naruto's eyes widened in surprise.
"Naruto-kun, don't be so shy, it's not like I haven't kissed you before." teased Hinata sweetly. Little did she know that it wasn't her that Naruto was surprised at, it was something he sensed. It felt like his burden and troubles have lifted, this presence always helped him wherever he went.
"Naruto-nissan!" shouted a kind female voice. Naruto turned around breaking the embrace with his girlfriend. He recognized that voice, he wouldn't forget it anywhere. 'Ni-san?' thought the remaining three genins. 'Did a girl just call him ni-san?'
"Rin-chan!" called Naruto with a very bright smile. "I know you're here!"
"You want to see me?" asked Rin mischievously. "I'm already in front of you." Naruto jerked a bit as his sister revealed herself from Wind Walk. As she appeared, she kissed him passionately on the lips. Sakura's eyes widened, Sasuke was stunned while Hinata's jealously meter had gone off the charts. No one would kiss her Naruto-kun like that, especially not a girl who she never saw in her life. She looked at Naruto with angry eyes, he seemed to like that kiss, he seemed to love it too. (AN: No tongues were involved in that kiss, it was just a lip contact but filled with happiness. Of course Hinata didn't feel that way.) As the two's mouth departed, none of them seemed to be out of breath, they were still smiling to each other. They soon hugged with much emotion.
"I missed you so much, Rin-chan!" said Naruto embracing his dearest sister.
"I missed you too, it has been so long…" said Rin nearly breaking into tears.
"Don't cry… if you do, you may make me cry as well…"
"Okay… for you, Naruto-nissan." Rin broke the embrace and looked at her brother with loving eyes. The Death Knight gave her a very secure smile, as if everything was going to be okay.
"How did you know I was here, Rin-chan?" asked Naruto holding his sister close.
"It's a Kamishiro instinct," teased Rin poking his forehead. "I just know." Naruto just agreed with a grin.
"When did you arrive?"
"Around an hour ago… I met Jiraiya-sensei before I came here. He said that the 3rd volume of Death and Life Paradise is done, he wrote for us." She then reached for her pouch and pulled out a book and slipped it in the Death Knight's pocket. "Read it later, okay?" Naruto nodded in agreement. "Oh yeah, how's sempai?"
"He hasn't woke up yet…" answered Naruto sadly. "I was really hoping that he would be up before you got here… I did everything I could…"
"I know you did," she then kissed him on the cheek. "I believe you." Hinata looked at the girl carefully. She indeed was beautiful, she had long silky violet hair that reached down to her back, clear and sharp violet eyes with a very cute face. Naruto was right about her, she did make men blush when she looked their way. Sasuke could suffer a nosebleed right at that instant if Rin accidentally showed him some cleavage. Her body shape was incredible. Her chest was attractive (AN: She doesn't have a very busty chest, she is only 12! But it was very attractive, got that clear?), she had a narrow waist like Hinata, Rin was a gorgeous girl. She was wearing a ninja assassin uniform which outlined her curves well. What surprised Hinata were the weapons Rin was carrying. She had both a katana and a large bow but with no arrows. At that point, she knew Rin was very versatile shinobi like Naruto and why they made such an incredible team. One pure offence and defence, and the other excellent support ranged fighter. She didn't know how strong Rin was but she really didn't look like someone that you just want to mess with for no reason.
"Naruto-kun… who is this person?" asked Hinata even though she already knew. Sakura and Sasuke were really eager to know who she was as well.
"I forgot to introduce myself," said Rin happily coming towards the three other genins. "My name is Kamishiro Rin, I'm Naruto-nissan's closest teammate and his dearest sister. I came here to find him." She then looked over to Naruto, he just simply grinned at her words. A sense of jealousy soon went into the Hyuga heiress' mind, she was determined to find out more about Rin and her relations with Naruto. She remembered Naruto saying she was just his sister, but the things she saw just now were beyond a sister's reach. 'Naruto-kun,' thought Hinata. 'I won't lose you!'
AN: Cliffhanger… somewhat rather. In reality, I am hanging on a cliff right now hiding from enemy troops! I don't know how long I could last like this. I've been shot in the arm and leg… my squad has been separated… all I've got left is my 9mm Assault Rifle, my combat knife, my sidearm and ammunition. Damn, those bastards are patient to end my life… anyway, I hope you all liked this chapter! It certainly took me some time to fix this. Reviews people, your honest opinions always would come in handy to get me out of this situation. Before I suffer another case of a writer's block, I hope you guys would help me! Now, I better find a way to get out of this mess! If I find a way, I'll be back for the next chapter! Damn… I may need a medical attention…
Chapter 12: Destined to be Worthy or Worthless
Disclaimer: For the last time, I don't own Naruto or Warcraft3. If I did, the storyline wouldn't be like the ones today. I would just mess it up.
"…": Speech
'…': Thoughts
===: Scene Change
AN: (Comes out of the armory with an Assault Rifle.) Sir, it's good to see another man in uniform. Glad to see all of you here ready to hear the mission briefings for this mission (Chunnin Exam). My missions these days have been quite hell, but I'm not going to talk about it now, let's get to the real deal here. THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH for your honest reviews! I'm glad you all haven't fallen asleep yet on this. Personally, I am quite tired from writing. I'm not sick of it or anything, it's just I am physically really worn out from reality. Eventually I'm going to need a psychologist to research my real problems. Anyway, the chunnin exam is about to begin, I'm so glad that some of you insisted to give me comments and suggestions or even just a sign you want me to keep things up. I really thank you for those who reviewed. You know me, I don't have much time to thank all of you since I am lazy but it's all in the thought and heart that counts right? OW!…That last shot was critical, I don't think I make it sir… (For those who have a problem with me with the soldier attitude, well I don't care that much. It's fun to think like a soldier, maybe I'm just too obssessed with HalfLife Opposing Force.) Here is the next chapter!
"Sorry to keep you all waiting," said the jounin in the middle of the room surrounded by chunnins. "I am your first examiner, Morino Ibiki." 'Morino Ibiki?' thought Naruto narrowing his eyes. 'He's the Special Jounin and the captain of Konoha's Anbu Forces. Even though I don't really know him but why would such an important person like him doing here as a judge for an exam at a mere chunnin level? Even Kakashi could've done this… but I got a strong feeling he would prefer to read Icha Icha Paradise than to do something such as this.' "This gives me a good chance to say this," continued Ibiki coldly. "You aren't allowed to pick fights with anybody during this exam, even though you are given permission, you're not allowed to kill your opponents. It won't be tolerated. If you disobey my rules, then you have to deal with me." Many genins swallowed hard.
"No killing?" question a cocky Sound-nin. "This exam seems way too soft already."
"Shut up!" barked Ibiki harshly. "No one asked you to talk!" The genins were startled at the volume and authority in his voice. This guy meant business. "Before we begin, everyone hand in your registration ID and receive a number that I specifically give you. You will then sit at the place the number designates. A chunnin would then hand out writing supplies and paper." 'A paper test?' thought the Death Knight dully. After confirming as a official participant of the exam, everyone was separated from their teams. 'I'm not with Naruto-kun and Sakura-san any longer…' said Hinata in thought worriedly. 'What am I going to do?'
"Hinata-san," said a familiar voice. The Hyuga heiress recognized that voice immediately.
"Sasuke-kun, hello." greeted Hinata with a smile.
"You okay?" he asked with a grin. "You look like a lovesick puppy without her mate."
"Did I really look like that?"
"I was just teasing you," joked the Uchiha with a soft laugh. "I know you are worried about the fact that you are separated from your team. Don't worry too much, I'm sure you'll do fine."
"Thanks for saying so," said Hinata with a smile on her face. "But I'm worried about Naruto-kun…"
"I'm sure it will be fine."
"No, Naruto-kun was never good at academics since he was a kid… I really don't know if he could do this kind of stuff… this has to be the worst kind of test for him…"
"You should start to worry about yourself a little more than others, Hinata-san," said Sasuke ending the chat. Hinata took a second to think about what her friend just said, he did have a point.
"Now," said Ibiki up front with a sense of coldness in his tone. "For the first test, there will be several important rules that you must know. I will only explain it once and questions will not be allowed so listen carefully." 'No questions?' thought Sakura. 'What's the big idea?' "I'll begin with the grading system. On your exam there are 10 questions, do not turn the test paper over until I say so. Now, if you get all of them right, you will earn your 10 points. Let's assume you completed all of them but you got 3 of them wrong, 3 points will be subtracted from your total score thus making your score to only 7."
"That's only logical…" said Naruto quietly to himself.
"The second rule, the exam's passing mark is a mark that's combined score by all three members of the team." 'What?' thought Hinata and Sakura. 'Great, that's just mighty excellent…'
"What's the passing mark then?" asked a virgin genin.
"How many teams are going to pass this exam?" asked another nervously.
"It's not like telling you would make any difference now is it?" questioned Ibiki. The look on his face made the two genins awkwardly sat back down. "Now that you know, let's move on. If any of the chunnins around the room or myself catch any of you cheating and anything similar to it, 2 points would be deducted for every offence." The Death Knight's smirk came as immediate response. 'So, there's another way to lose points…' thought the Hyuga heiress really concerned. "In other words, there will be people leaving this room without their tests being graded, it's just less work for us in the end." continued Ibiki applying more pressure indirectly but intentionally. 'Calm down, Sakura…' thought the mentioned person. 'Even if one of us mess up here, we can just back each other up…' "And lastly, whoever gets a zero on their exam will be failed along with their teammates!" Most of the genins' eyes widened at the last rule, they didn't like it one bit. 'So much for backing up…' thought Sakura cursing. "Those who cheat without thinking are just destroying themselves. If you are a ninja, act like a proud shinobi would. Okay, the test would last for 75 minutes… begin!"
As soon as the instructions were given out, every participant immediately turned their test papers over to solve the problems. Naruto looked at the very first question, his eyes narrowed a bit. In another case, it narrowed quite a bit. Hinata didn't understand the very first question, she knew she had to move on to the next one. Sakura looked at them carefully, she was surprised at these questions given. 'All these questions are hard…' she thought. 'What in the heck is going on?'
"A chunnin instructor must have completed at least how many missions of all ranks and different degrees in order to be a teacher at the academy. State all needed degrees…" said Hinata reading the question to herself, she frowned. "Not good, next one… differentiate the following equation. (3x9x) to the power of 3, show your work… no, next one… If a kunai was thrown straightly at a 180 degree angle and it reaches a distance of 125m and the Power was 9400W, what was the work being done in Watts? Show your work…" 'This is another hard question…' thought Sakura reading the exact same question as Hinata. 'This is a question that requires a lot of both booksmarts and physical analysis to achieve. In fact, all of them are like that… almost everyone in this room besides myself could answer this. There is no way that Naruto-nichan or Hinata-san would be able to answer these…' Currently, Naruto already filled in 2 questions, some of his experiences in life really paid off. However, the remaining questions he had absolutely no clue. Knowing this was a team score, he knew that scoring only 2 points wouldn't be enough. After reading all the questions, Hinata rested her paper with a very worried expression.
'What am I going to do?' thought the Hyuga heiress. 'I don't understand this, not even one question…' While she was troubled, she decided to pay attention to other things to ease her level of nervousness. Something clicked into her mind when she looked at the chunnins. 'Why are there so many chunnins in this room anyway? It's like they are assuming that we would cheat, they are watching us so carefully like prisoner guards…' Then she glanced at a chunnin and he started to write something down on the clipboard. "Someone has been caught… in a normal test you'll fail as soon as the teacher catches you cheating or attempting cheating once. This is a method that really encourages cheating… hold on!'
=========================
(Flashback)
"Those who cheat without thinking would only be destroying themselves. If you are a ninja, act like a proud shinobi would." These were Ibiki's last words.
(End Flashback)
=========================
'I see now,' thought Hinata with a dark grin. 'This test was never a test to measure our intelligence, this is a test to see how well we gather information using our ninja skills with our teammates. For the first time, Kakashi's words really apply here, a ninja must read what's underneath the underneath. So what the instructor really meant was to encourage us to cheat but don't do it pathetically. At the same time, what is being tested is that you cheat and don't get caught by the chunnins guarding and the people we're cheating from. If my assumption is correct, this lenient two point deduction system actually makes sense. They are actually giving us plenty of opportunities to try but at the same time we can't mess up too many times since this is a team effort. He's really pressuring us not to mess things up. Finally, the zero means failure rule actually is logical. If you cheat so horribly… you only mess up instead of helping.' Hinata then took another glance around the room, she grinned when she saw people started to write when they didn't before. 'So, if this is an information gathering test, there must be at least one person in this room who holds all the answers. It's only a matter of time before the good people show their true colours. Notice this rule, Naruto-kun, Sakura-san. If you don't, this alone would cost you the entire test!' Then the girl sat back and decided to wait a little longer before her next move.
As soon as Hinata decided to wait, a grin came across Naruto's face as he tied his blindfold around his eyes. He indeed already knew what the exam was about, Ibiki's true meaning in his words never hid itself from the Death Knight. His eyes never lied to him, it never failed him. 'Impressive, Hinata-chan,' thought Naruto with a sense of happiness. 'You caught the true meaning of the test already, I'm proud of you. Even so, I wonder how you will achieve your answers though. Sadly enough I don't have the skill to give you the info unnoticed. I'm sure you have the ability to do it on your own. I'll wait longer myself.' As the Death Knight relaxed himself, more and more people were beginning to take action. Meanwhile, Akamaru had been silently barking answers to Kiba since the two understood each other completely. It wasn't the greatest way of cheating but it certainly wasn't illegal and the chunnins couldn't do a thing to stop it. It worked completely to his favor. Shino has sent a scouting bee to observe other people's test and it quietly flew back to its master with all the info he needed. This was truly a remarkable way to getting information, no one would've expected a thing. As Shino began to write down his answers, little did he know he had become a target for someone to cheat from. Tenten had already set up a set of tiny mirrors to the ceiling holding it with invisible strings. The weapons master had a lot of skills with physical objects indeed. As soon as she copied all she needed, she needed to pass it down to her teammate Lee.
'Lee,' thought Tenten. 'If you can see this, please wear your forehead protector.' With that thought, she twisted her fingers a little bit to make the reflection visible to the taijutsu specialist. Lee glanced up to the ceiling and grinned when he saw the info being passed down. He did as Tenten requested and continued what he was doing. It appeared that the real deal started now.
Time passed since the start of this test, it was time for the advanced bloodline eye users to take on decisive action. With a little bit of concentration, the Uchiha, the two Hyugas activated their bloodline ablities. 'Sharingan!' thought Sasuke. 'Byakugan!' thought Hinata and Neji as they saw through the person in front of them and viewed closer to their test paper. With that, the answers were right in front and they could copy no problem. 'I'm copying their movements completely,' thought Sasuke. 'My hand is moving on it's own, I don't need to do anything. I was hoping to catch some of Naruto's attacks but I've already hit the jackpot.' However the Death Knight couldn't activate his ability just yet, a kunai whizzed by his face as he was generating chakra. The kunai struck the test paper of the person behind him but it still the aim wasn't that great not to avoid a deep cut on Naruto's cheek, blood seemed through the cut as an immediate effect, but with Naruto's quick regeneration rate the wound healed itself in seconds. This didn't go unnoticed by Neji or Hinata.
"Hey!" shouted the genin behind Naruto angrily demanding for an explanation. "What the hell was that for!"
"You've messed up 5 times," answered the chunnin with a dark grin. "You fail."
"No… no way!"
"No way? The other two on his team leave immediately. 161, 38 and 74 fail." The other two students reluctantly left the room while giving a bitter look on their teammate who messed up for them. Once they left Naruto did his thing, read other people's minds to achieve the answers he seek. The best person for him to use it on would be his teammate Sakura since he knew she knew everything. It was the perfect time as well for Sakura to write down the answers in a quick pace.
"184 and 49's team fail!" yelled a chunnin.
"215 and 91's team fail too!" shouted another. 'That's 14 teams failing already…' thought the Uchiha as he saw the guy next to him leaving the room. 'It's a good thing that I know what I'm doing…'
"Hey, how do you know that I cheated 5 times?" questioned a male genin holding a fist. "How the hell is it possible for you guys to watch what everyone in this room has been doing? Can you prove that we cheated…" At that point, a chunnin nailed the person to the wall with his elbow in his stomach. He leaned closer to the genin with a sinister smile.
"Listen here, kid," began the higher level shinobi. "Amongst us chunnins, we are the ones specially assembled for this test. Believe me, we haven't missed a thing that you guys have been doing the entire time. If you want proof so much, just say my strength is the evidence you seek." He then released the genin by stepping back. The lower level shinobi then slid down the wall in a defenseless state. A lot of the other participants swallowed hard with fear and nervousness. As soon as Sakura has finished, Naruto attempted to make his move on her. However, he caught a girl looking at his sister with an intent. It was no other than Ino. He decided to change plans, he quickly used his eyes to watch her first. Her thoughts then became audible to his ears.
'Sakura,' thought Ino. 'I have been watching you for some time now, I know the size of your forehead also showed a very high level of intelligence. So, you should feel honoured to be the target of this jutsu.' She then formed a very specific hand seal. 'That seal…' thought Naruto as he quickly made a set of hand seals.
"Mind Transfer-no jutsu!" said Ino quietly as she released the jutsu.
"Anti-Magic Reflector!" said Naruto silently to himself as he launched chakra right at Sakura a second before Ino launched hers. As Ino's spirit approached Sakura, she felt a peculiar disturbance. She felt as if a barrier was stopping her advance. Ino quickly went back to her body and wondered why her technique didn't work. 'Who would been protecting Sakura like that?' thought Ino. 'It must've been her team but Hinata-san… no, it shouldn't be her. Sakura told me that Hinata-san was very good in ninjutsu but there was no way that she could know something that advanced. It must've been Naruto-kun!' Ino formed the seal once again and this time she targeted Naruto. This time around, her move was a success and entered his mind.
=======================
She soon found herself in a dark realm, it felt cold, terrifying and yet mysterious. No one had a mind this, this was beyond what Ino had expected. To be honest, she didn't know if this was Naruto's mind, it seemed so empty, she had never seen anything like this. In order to find out, she decided to scout around this unknown area. She felt kind of awkward for she never needed to take time to take control. However, something held her back, the darkness around her made her scouting in failure.
"Going somewhere, Ino-chan?" asked a voice to Ino.
"Who's there? Show yourself!" shouted the blond hair girl.
"Who do you think it is?" asked the voice again with a bit of sinister chuckling. "You think I'm a ghost?"
"Naruto-kun, I know it's you!" He chuckled again making her shiver to her spine. The environment around her made her feel somewhat horrified.
"You've got good hearing, Ino-chan," complimented Naruto as he snapped his fingers. The darkness brightened revealing the dark shinobi carrying his runeblade in a casual manner.
"Naruto-kun, where am I?"
"You're in my mind, Ino-chan," stated the Death Knight. "I'm guarding this area so people like you won't infiltrate it. It's that simple."
"How is it even possible for you to be in here?"
"Why can't I? This is my mind."
"But I'm suppose to control it, I'm suppose to control you!"
"Is that so? That mere jutsu alone can't take over my mind that easily, Ino-chan. I have ways to counter it, the best you can do is to visit my mind and do nothing more." stated the Death Knight with a grin.
"Then it was you who setup that barrier on Sakura." she said with realization.
"Of course," replied Naruto. "But Ino-chan." He then gave her an evil look. "You sure have a lot of guts trying to mind control Sakura-chan. Let me ask you this, do you value your life?"
"Why do you ask such a weird question?"
"Answer me now." He stated coldly.
"Yes, of course I do!"
"I'll let you think about that answer again. If you really do value your life, you wouldn't even think of possessing me."
"What do you mean?" asked Ino. "This is my skill, I know what I'm doing."
"Do you? I wonder how you're going to get out when you don't possess this body to release yourself."
"I still can escape on my own." He then chuckled very darkly. "What's so funny?"
"Not when I'm around." said Naruto pointing his blade directly at Ino.
"What are you trying to do…" said Ino backing away slightly to achieve a bit of distance.
"You want to leave here?" he asked in a mocking tone. She nodded as she hugged herself trying to feel warm. The Death Knight gave her a stare with a smirk as he lowered his runeblade. "Feel free to leave, I'll make you regret for your optimistic judgement a little later." Ino seized the opportunity and made a break for it with a second thought. Naruto just watched her attempt to leave, he didn't care what she did. As far as he was concerned, if the girl stayed here too long, she would die for certain. Naruto decided to make the girl have a little bit of fun before the real games began.
"Death Knight," called a sweet female voice.
"Kyubi-chan, it's good to see you." said Naruto with a smile.
"Naruto, what are you trying to do? Kill her?" questioned the demon master.
"No, just want to teach her a lesson that she'll remember for eternity, I'll show her what she'll receive for coming in this place."
"If you don't want to see her dead, you better do something now."
"I'll check it out when the time comes. She'll be fine."
"The dark spirit within yourself isn't that kind to just let her go." Naruto sighed and agreed with Kyubi. She had a point, the dark veil in his mind would kill Ino sooner or later. He groaned a little bit as he took off to the same direction she went to. Meanwhile, Ino was strangely confused at why the boy allowed her to leave so easily. The feeling she received was like he knew she wouldn't get out as much as she tried. Suddenly, she found herself trapped in a powerful veil, she couldn't escape it. It felt horrifying, the feeling was worse than death itself. She had the urge to vomit, she had the sensation of mental torture. The blond hair girl shook her hands violently trying to erase this horrible feeling, but her attempts were in no avail. 'What the hell is going on here?' she thought as she continued to retaliate as much as she could.
"Need help?" asked the Death Knight he took her hand. As soon as she felt his touch, the veil disappeared. She hugged the boy immediately as if he was the only human here. In truth he was the only human here, he was like the person Ino could depend on, she could rely everything on him. "Ino-chan, it's okay, you're safe." He then rubbed her back gently to calm the girl down, his experiences with Hinata really shined here.
"Naruto-kun… I'm scared…" she said sobbing.
"It'll be fine, you're okay now… come on look at me."
"I'm scared, Naruto-kun, I am afraid of this place… can you hold me a little longer?"
"Sure," he said as he embraced the girl back. She was trembling, Naruto shouldn't have freaked her out like this knowing how emotional girls could be. She hugged him closely as her life depended on it, the Death Knight understood her intentions.
"Ino-chan," called Naruto after a several minutes later. "It's time to leave." With that, the Death Knight broke himself loose from her. Ino tried to reach for him but soon she felt she was being launched away by a powerful force. Her spirit ejected from her body in a blink of an eye. When she opened her eyes once again, she found herself back into her own body. A chill went down her spine as she remembered what just happened in the silver hair warrior's mind, all the experienced kicked in. Ino hugged herself with fear, she tried everything she could to shake off this feeling of uneasiness. 'I can't get this feeling out of me…' thought Ino while shaking. 'It's so terrible… I could feel an aura of death surrounding me… as if it wants my soul… I would rather die than to experience this!' Shikamaru looked over to his blond hair friend, a concerned look came across his face. She was trembling, he knew it wasn't like Ino to be so out of it, it was different. Naruto glanced at Ino from a distance, he was somewhat worried but he shook it off. The dark knight knew the girl wouldn't be that stupid to pull that trick on him twice knowing the consequences.
===========================
Meanwhile, Hinata had copied all the answers she needed off those people who were around her. For the first time, she believed that there were advantages of the Byakugan, it was finally worth something. Cheating was not a big deal at all, it was simply too easy. She took a glimpse at her boyfriend, she knew he activated his eyes since he was wearing that blindfold he frequently wears. 'What is he doing?' she thought. Naruto currently was doing his work this time without any interruptions. He had to say that the people sitting up front had the greatest disadvantage. Their weakness was his strength, there was no way that he would miss this chance. His grin got wider as he continued his progress. Once he achieved all the answers he wanted, he wasted no time to write down the answers he required. He untied his blindfold as soon as he was done, it was then when his eye started to itch. The Death Knight knew this was a trick someone was trying to pull.
'Another fool trying to cheat off me?' Naruto asked himself in thought with most amusement. He then rubbed his left eye with one hand leaving the other one open watching the test paper. 'I'll play along with you for a little longer, my friend.' It was then when an eyeball appeared slightly above the test paper attempting to read off his answers. With his available hand, the Death Knight swiped it and crushed it with full force leaving a small amount of sand in his hand. 'Sand?' he thought curiously as he looked over at a startled Gaara. The red-head glared back with his eyes twitching with rage. 'Hoe dare that guy ruin my technique!' cursed Gaara as he cletched his fist underneath the table. 'He'll pay dearly for this!' Naruto simply smirked and turned away knowing that he prevented another incident. The Hyuga girl witnessed the whole scenario, she couldn't believe Naruto would be so good at this. It was like as if he was prepared for anything that challenged him. He certainly was the person Hinata always wanted to be. She admired him from a far again with dreamy eyes with a little bit of lust. She knew he loved her and she loved him, she couldn't wait until the exam was over so they could spend some alone time with another. The Hyuga girl was getting excited with that thought. Even though Naruto was a very cold shell and not too passionate about romance, she didn't care, she knew he was hers.
"Excuse me," called out a male. That voice broke all of Hinata's romantic thoughts. The heiress looked over to the left, it was the Sand genin, Kankuro.
"What do you want?" asked Ibiki coldly.
"I would like to use the bathroom." The Hyuga girl watched him closely, something was amiss.
"I'll go with you," said a chunnin as he handcuffed the genin and shackled him. He tied a rope around the handcuffs like a leash and dragged him off like a prisoner. As the two passed by Neji, being the keen person he was, he activated his Byakugan. To the two Hyugas in this room, that alone had many flaws to it. First of all, Hinata noticed that the mummy looking object on Kankuro's back was gone. Secondly, the boy seemed too calm when he asked for permission, it seemed to her that he prepared himself ahead of time. Lastly, his willingness to be handcuffed was suspicious, he was smiling brightly the entire time. It was obvious to anyone that he was trying to cheat at that time. The only thing Hinata couldn't get her hands on was the fact how was Kankuro going to cheat if he wasn't in the vicinity. However, Neji held the answers Hinata needed. With he used the Byakugan on the chunnin, he found out he had no chakra organ. It's true that there are people in this world that do not have a lot of chakra to generate within them but everyone has a chakra system inside. Neji could tell that guard wasn't human, it was all in the Sand genin's plan. If that imposter had been sitting there at the entire time writing things down as time passed, he of course wasn't recording like the chunnins were. It was writing down the answers. 'Creative indeed,' thought Neji with a smirk. 'Even though that was good, if that trick didn't get unnoticed by me, I'm sure the other chunnins and Ibiki must've saw through that sooner than I did.'
At the same time, the Special Jounin walked up in front of the classroom with a very authorized face. 'Good, with most of the trash out of the way, I could start the main event.' His eyes caught Neji, Naruto and Sasuke's attention almost immediately. "It has been 60 minutes," announced Ibiki in a loud and clear voice. "We will now begin the 10th question!" All the genins in the room stopped what they were doing and paid close attention. Naruto simply smirked and prepared himself from anything. However, his instincts told him that this wouldn't be that easy. "Now, before I tell you the question, there are some rules that you must know." 'More rules?' thought Sakura annoyed. 'Give us a break already!' "For this question, it's a to take or not to take situation."
"If that's the case, of course we'll take it!" exclaimed Tenten.
"Yeah!" added Lee supporting his friend. Ibiki just chuckled as a response.
"You may say that now but that's because you don't know the rules behind it," said Ibiki with a dark grin.
"More rules?" asked Sakura.
"Then what happens if you choose not to take it?' asked Temari.
"Easy," replied Ibiki coldly. "I will deduct your score to 0 making you and your entire team to fail immediately." Everyone in the room gasped other than those emotionless ones. Even so, they were worried deep inside.
"Just what kind of trickery is this!" questioned Lee angrily.
"If we don't take it and fail, then we'll take it!" added Sasuke. The Special Jounin simply chuckled darkly again making the participants even more confused.
"You may be saying that now, but you haven't heard another rule," explained the instructor with much evil amusement. "If you choose to take this question but answer it incorrectly, you will be forbidden to take the chunnin selection exam again!"
"Just what kind of stupid rule is that?" barked Kiba standing from his seat with Akamaru supporting him. "There are plenty of people here who had took this exam before, they never had a question like this!"
"Yeah, he's right!" shouted a several genins along with Kiba. Ibiki just laughed darkly.
"You guys are unlucky then," said Ibiki in an icy tone. "This year I'm the one in charge, I'm the rules. If you don't want to follow my rules, you can simply not take it. Those who don't have the confidence to take it because the risk is too high, I'll be nice and give you guys a way out. The choice is yours to make but let me remind you again, your lives are based on this decision. If you won't take it, simply raise your hand." With that, the genins engaged a battle within themselves with most confusion and frustration. The room was dead silent.
'If I mess up the question, I'll be a genin as long as I live…' thought Sakura nervously. 'But if I don't take it, I would cause Naruto-nichan and Hinata-san to fail because of my cowardice… both options are bad! I'm sure I could answer it… but could they answer it? What am I going to do?' The pink hair girl kicked herself mentally trying to remain calm. But her mind was too filled with worries to relax. She took a glance around the room just to find it completely silent, no one in the right mind would say a word. The expression on the people's faces told everyone else they were fighting a battle with themselves. Naruto at this moment was quite in trouble on deciding what he should be doing, both results were a costly price he couldn't afford.
'I can't back down now, I told Hinata-chan and Sakura-chan that we face it together as a team… ' thought Naruto in a quarrel with himself. 'I can't just go and be a coward! Not only that I fail, I would drag both my teammates along with me. If they want to take it, I would be the one to blame. But… I don't know what kind of question Ibiki would give me, what if I can't answer it… I might get it wrong and father would never forgive me for being such a failure. On the other hand… father wouldn't be pleased if I just backed down. No, I can't fail at this stage of the game… what can I do?'
"I… I won't take it…" said a genin next to Naruto whose voice was cracking in fear.
"Is that your final answer?" questioned Ibiki. The genin then nodded slowly. "Then the other two on his team leave as soon as your number is called."
"Number 14, 127 and 71 fail." announced the closet chunnin. The other two students certainly didn't look pleased. Even so, their faces told Naruto they weren't too confident either.
"I won't take it either!" shouted another raising his hand.
"Me too!"
"Same here!" More and more hands were raised, the chunnins scratched off their numbers without hesitation and willingly kicked them out. There were now around half the people remaining before the 10th question was given. The room was still silent but many people still showed signs in insecurity. Ibiki knew they were struggling, he couldn't help but grin at these genins. Hinata then looked at him, she was surprised that the jounin was watching Naruto with a peculiar look. She decided to observe him closely. However whatever Ibiki did didn't stun Hinata as much as what she witnessed just now, Naruto was raising his hand. Sakura, Sasuke, Neji and Hinata were shocked. The girls couldn't believe that their admirable teammate fell into Ibiki's words. No, they couldn't accept it, Naruto was too strong to let this happen. The girls covered their mouth with their hands, gasping at what the Death Knight was doing. Sasuke and the remaining Konoha genins were also shocked at that sight.
'Naruto,' thought Sasuke. 'Don't tell me that you're going to quit after how you helped us earlier…' 'Naruto-kun,' said Lee in his mind. 'I want to fight you in the next test, you can't back down now!' 'For someone who Hinata-sama admires,' thought Neji coolly. 'You aren't worth it be admired if you're going to quit.'
"What's the matter?" asked Ibiki to Naruto with a slight hint of insincere sincerity. "You seem to be hesitating. Don't be, just tell me if you're going to quit or not, that's unless you want to take on the risk of being a genin forever. Can you do that? Are you able to take the shame while everyone else gets to promote to the chunnin level? C'mon, what are you waiting for, give me the answer." However, this pushed Naruto to his limits. The Death Knight chuckled very coldly and slammed his hand onto the table with much strength. The table nearly snapped in two, he then pierced right to the jounin with his eyes activated with most rage.
"Don't underestimate me, Ibiki-san," stated Naruto in an extremely threatening voice that shocked everyone in the room. He added the san with much mockery. "I seriously don't give a damn if I become a genin forever, I refuse to run away like a coward, even if I mess up I will accept it. I will live my life as a proud failure and if you even have the damn nerve to mock me or ANYONE, you have just signed your death sentence." He then flashed his teal eyes again with absolute hatred. "You got that?" Hinata and Sakura then smiled genuinely with a relieved sigh while the remaining participants were stunned at what the Death Knight just said.
"A pretty powerful speech here," said Ibiki. "You do know your life is depended on this situation."
"Shut up." Was all Naruto said as he deactivated his eyes. 'Second time helping the whole group of people,' thought Sakura with a giggle. 'Yep, ni-chan has lost it.' 'Thank you, Naruto-kun…' said Hinata in her head while holding her chest with her hands. Everyone in the room no longer had the worried look on their faces, all of them seemed to be relieved since their burden has lifted from their shoulders. Shikamaru was grinning lazily but it was genuine, Lee had the smile that showed he was prepared for anything, Sasuke and Neji smirked confidently and awaited anything heading their way. 'Naruto-kun,' thought Hinata with a loving smile. 'You are amazing, you know that?'
"I will say this again, your lives are depending on this decision." continued Ibiki. Hinata and Sakura no longer cared what the jounin had to say, if Naruto won't run away neither will they. Living as a proud failure was a lot more worth it than living a life of cowardice. 'So, 78 left,' thought Ibiki monitoring the room. 'That is a lot more people than I expected. This kid is really impressive, he managed to shake everyone's fears and worries away. He really isn't the Fourth's son for nothing… too bad he has become into a monstrosity… he would've been a great Paladin…' that last part was very regrettable. 'At this rate, prolonging this wouldn't make much of a difference.' He then looked at the chunnins on the sidelines, each one of them returned a nod with a smile. "Now to all those who remained…" Ibiki stated clearly. "I congratulate all of you on passing!" All the genins' eyes opened with shock, most of them watched the jounin dumbly with disbelief.
"What we passed? How could that be? What about the 10th question?" asked Sakura hurriedly. Everyone had the exact same question in their minds. Ibiki laughed in a joking manner.
"There wasn't such a thing to begin with," he stated with a cheerful face. "You can say that the last two choices were the 10th question." 'His personality changed…' thought Sasuke. 'Was he acting the entire time?'
"Hold on a second!" shouted Temari. "IF we passed with this question alone, what was the point of the first nine questions then? Wasn't it all pointless?"
"No, they weren't pointless at all. They already served their purpose."
"What purpose?"
"The purpose of information gathering. I'm sure you all have a lot of questions, let me explain. The test mainly pressured everyone in the first rule, the total team score. If that fact was given to you, this would naturally forced all of you not to mess up for your teammates. Not knowing what the passing mark is, you all assumed the passing mark was a high one. However, the questions all of you received were questions that a mere genin could answer. So, I'm sure that all of you have came up with the solution to get points, I have to cheat to achieve them. So, from the beginning of this test all of us have assumed that you would cheat."
"That should be obvious," muttered Neji.
"In order for you to get points, we had two chunnins within the crowd to help you guys out. Of course you will ask why did I choose this first test to be in this format? I will explain. In chunnin missions, there will be information gathering which are essential in the chance of your mission's success. We utilized this test as a training experience for you guys so you would all know what the real deal is like. Why information gathering is so important? Believe me, getting the wrong information could result in many tragic events to the village. As if the village itself is in jeopardy is bad enough, during the process of the destruction you may lose many comrades, your loved ones, many casualties that you may never have witnessed before. These things can't be taken lightly."
"What if you happen to get the info a little bit incorrect?" asked Hinata silently.
"That is still no excuse, I'll make it blunt. Not only that you cause yourself to be in danger, but you also may endanger your own team. Proceeding into a mission without the correct knowledge is a situation you don't want to be in. Many things could happen such as ambush, hidden traps but many there are such things such as these." The Special Jounin then untied his bandana with the Leaf symbol of it and revealed his skull. All looked disgusted at the sight other than Naruto who seemed to be surprisingly satisfied by it. 'Bruises, burn marks, screw holes, cuts…' thought Sasuke with the urge to vomit. 'What horrible torture... utterly terrible…' "That's what wrong info could do to you," continued Ibiki as he tied the cloth back on his head. "Not only that you suffer these consequences that the enemy gives you, you may also lose your entire platoon due to your carelessness. Of course those who cheated poorly of course didn't make it this far for in a real life scenario you don't have the opportunity to afford any mess ups. Even so, the last and final question is the real deal, the true purpose of this test."
"How though?" asked Tenten.
"As you all see, the 10th question was a to take or not to take scenario. If you choose not to take it, you will fail immediately taking your team with you. But on the other hand, if you went for it and get it incorrectly, the chunnin exam will forever be out of your reach. Talk about two painful choices, it's a true leap of faith. Trashes would believe there would be an easier route and always think there will be a second chance to everything. In the real world, there aren't that many second chances. The final question tested you on under these heavy and pressure circumstances could still prevail with success. Knowing the consequences are extremely high, who would still be proceeding with the task ahead? Let's just say that you become chunnins one day, and your mission is an infiltration for gathering vital information for your village. The area is unknown to you, the level of shinobis who you may encounter are a complete mystery. You know that enemies may setup a lot of traps midway to prevent you from proceeding. Will you decline your mission because it's too dangerous, or you're afraid that your friends and allies may get hurt? To put it more selfishly, you're afraid to die. I'll tell you, the answer is no. There are missions that have heavy risks that can't be simply avoided. Missions are fought with your lives and in order to for the mission to succeed, everyone on the team must act together. It's understandable that there are times that these tasks can be emotionally challenging. But someone on the team must have the ability to show courage to your teammates when needed, and the ability to get through these tough situations, that is the chunnin, the squad leader."
"Those who don't have the strength to bet on fate in such a critical situation, those who just give up believing there is always next year and let their minds sway in an uncertain future with such light determination have no right to become a chunnin, that's what I believe. What you did here today was to be able to make such a decision, you have given the correct answer for this painful last question. You can deal with any difficulties you'll face. The official entrance exam is over, the first test of the Chunnin Selection is finished. I wish you all luck." With that, Sakura and Hinata were cheering with delight deep inside. 'HELL YEAH!' thought Inner Sakura. 'I KNEW WE COULD DO IT!' Sasuke, Neji, Naruto simply grinned inwardly, they were hiding their happiness, there was no need for anyone to know. At that same time, the Death Knight sensed a powerful chakra signature heading their way. Ibiki seemed to know what was going on. The window shattered into pieces as an object suddenly flew in. The mystery person the revealed herself and tossed two kunais to the ceiling holding a banner. She seemed very enthusiastic about this little act.
"There is no time to be happy," she said loudly. "I am the second examiner, Mitarashi Anko. Let's get to the next exam!" She then punched her fist to the air. "Everyone follow me!" Hinata, Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke sweatdropped immediately with no signs of hesitation. 'Who the hell is she?' thought Sakura.
"Grasp the atmosphere…" stated Ibiki dully. Anko flushed in embarrassment. She then shook out of it and took a glance at the entire class. Her eyes narrowed nearly at an instant.
"78 people?" asked Anko. "Ibiki, you allowed 26 teams to pass? What's wrong with you, you made this exam too easy for them didn't you?"
"No, I didn't. There are just many outstanding ones this year."
"Makes no difference to me," she snorted a little with attitude. "The next test I guarantee I would cut them by at least half or more." 'At least half?' thought Sakura trying to make sure she heard correctly. The genins then swallowed hard again. This wasn't looking good.
"I'll explain the details two days later. As you know we'll be meeting at another area, ask your jounin instructors about the rally point and time. Don't be late. That is all for now, you're dismissed." With that said, all the genins left the room and celebrated their first test success, Hinata couldn't wait to talk to Naruto again. It has only been 90 minutes and she missed him already.
========================
The first exam was a success, Team 7 was glad to pass this hell of a psychological exam. As Naruto left the academy grounds, something was in his mind. It was the final words that Anko said, cut them all by half… he didn't quite get what she said. By the tone of voice she was using, it was like it was certain that she would be able to do as promised. She may look loud… he sensed a monster within her. The odds of over half of them failing the next portion of the exam wasn't a good sign at all. The Death Knight was so deep in thought that he didn't realize that he left the academy without his team. It completely slipped his mind nor had the intention to find them. He had more to worry about, like Haku. Rin was supposed to be here by now, it wasn't like her to arrive later than she expected to be… the only person he could think of that could help him was her.
"Naruto-kun," called a voice that immediately wrapped her arms around his neck. "Don't tell me that you're going to leave without your girlfriend." She then cooed to his ear softly making part of his worries go away.
"You're not going anywhere without your sister either!" demanded Sakura holding his hand tightly while holding Sasuke's hand as well.
"Why am I getting dragged into this?" asked the Uchiha whining a little. "I want to go home…"
"Hinata-chan, you don't need to stick around me…" said Naruto a little tiredly.
"You don't want me here?" asked Hinata pretending to be hurt.
"That's not it," justified Naruto in a slight panic. "Don't get the wrong idea."
"Then let me stay close to you." She then released him and encircled her arms around his chest holding him close. Naruto then gave her a gentle kiss on her forehead. Sakura and Sasuke smiled at that scene, it was good to see those two so caring to another. Hinata blushed as her lover kissed her, she couldn't help but kiss him back. As the two broke apart, Naruto's eyes widened in surprise.
"Naruto-kun, don't be so shy, it's not like I haven't kissed you before." teased Hinata sweetly. Little did she know that it wasn't her that Naruto was surprised at, it was something he sensed. It felt like his burden and troubles have lifted, this presence always helped him wherever he went.
"Naruto-nissan!" shouted a kind female voice. Naruto turned around breaking the embrace with his girlfriend. He recognized that voice, he wouldn't forget it anywhere. 'Ni-san?' thought the remaining three genins. 'Did a girl just call him ni-san?'
"Rin-chan!" called Naruto with a very bright smile. "I know you're here!"
"You want to see me?" asked Rin mischievously. "I'm already in front of you." Naruto jerked a bit as his sister revealed herself from Wind Walk. As she appeared, she kissed him passionately on the lips. Sakura's eyes widened, Sasuke was stunned while Hinata's jealously meter had gone off the charts. No one would kiss her Naruto-kun like that, especially not a girl who she never saw in her life. She looked at Naruto with angry eyes, he seemed to like that kiss, he seemed to love it too. (AN: No tongues were involved in that kiss, it was just a lip contact but filled with happiness. Of course Hinata didn't feel that way.) As the two's mouth departed, none of them seemed to be out of breath, they were still smiling to each other. They soon hugged with much emotion.
"I missed you so much, Rin-chan!" said Naruto embracing his dearest sister.
"I missed you too, it has been so long…" said Rin nearly breaking into tears.
"Don't cry… if you do, you may make me cry as well…"
"Okay… for you, Naruto-nissan." Rin broke the embrace and looked at her brother with loving eyes. The Death Knight gave her a very secure smile, as if everything was going to be okay.
"How did you know I was here, Rin-chan?" asked Naruto holding his sister close.
"It's a Kamishiro instinct," teased Rin poking his forehead. "I just know." Naruto just agreed with a grin.
"When did you arrive?"
"Around an hour ago… I met Jiraiya-sensei before I came here. He said that the 3rd volume of Death and Life Paradise is done, he wrote for us." She then reached for her pouch and pulled out a book and slipped it in the Death Knight's pocket. "Read it later, okay?" Naruto nodded in agreement. "Oh yeah, how's sempai?"
"He hasn't woke up yet…" answered Naruto sadly. "I was really hoping that he would be up before you got here… I did everything I could…"
"I know you did," she then kissed him on the cheek. "I believe you." Hinata looked at the girl carefully. She indeed was beautiful, she had long silky violet hair that reached down to her back, clear and sharp violet eyes with a very cute face. Naruto was right about her, she did make men blush when she looked their way. Sasuke could suffer a nosebleed right at that instant if Rin accidentally showed him some cleavage. Her body shape was incredible. Her chest was attractive (AN: She doesn't have a very busty chest, she is only 12! But it was very attractive, got that clear?), she had a narrow waist like Hinata, Rin was a gorgeous girl. She was wearing a ninja assassin uniform which outlined her curves well. What surprised Hinata were the weapons Rin was carrying. She had both a katana and a large bow but with no arrows. At that point, she knew Rin was very versatile shinobi like Naruto and why they made such an incredible team. One pure offence and defence, and the other excellent support ranged fighter. She didn't know how strong Rin was but she really didn't look like someone that you just want to mess with for no reason.
"Naruto-kun… who is this person?" asked Hinata even though she already knew. Sakura and Sasuke were really eager to know who she was as well.
"I forgot to introduce myself," said Rin happily coming towards the three other genins. "My name is Kamishiro Rin, I'm Naruto-nissan's closest teammate and his dearest sister. I came here to find him." She then looked over to Naruto, he just simply grinned at her words. A sense of jealousy soon went into the Hyuga heiress' mind, she was determined to find out more about Rin and her relations with Naruto. She remembered Naruto saying she was just his sister, but the things she saw just now were beyond a sister's reach. 'Naruto-kun,' thought Hinata. 'I won't lose you!'
AN: Cliffhanger… somewhat rather. In reality, I am hanging on a cliff right now hiding from enemy troops! I don't know how long I could last like this. I've been shot in the arm and leg… my squad has been separated… all I've got left is my 9mm Assault Rifle, my combat knife, my sidearm and ammunition. Damn, those bastards are patient to end my life… anyway, I hope you all liked this chapter! It certainly took me some time to fix this. Reviews people, your honest opinions always would come in handy to get me out of this situation. Before I suffer another case of a writer's block, I hope you guys would help me! Now, I better find a way to get out of this mess! If I find a way, I'll be back for the next chapter! Damn… I may need a medical attention…