Fandom: Naruto
Title: Never Ever
Part: 04 of 15
Genre: General/Action/Adventure
Rating: PG
Warning: AU
Spoilers: Manga up to Chuunin Exams
Summary: What if Naruto had sided with the Sand in the Konoha invasion?
Chapter 04: The First Test
As Naruto, Kurosaki, and Nubou headed up to the third floor for registration, they passed by the second floor classroom where a group of Leaf Genin were asking to be let in.
'Can they not count floors?' Naruto thought, not even sparing them a second look as he walked past them. 'This is only the second floor. Learn to take the stairs next time, oh stupid people'
As they made their way up to the classroom to wait, Kurosaki said, "Naruto- san, we'll follow whatever order it is you need carried out. Everything we do will be on your command."
Naruto nodded and glanced at her. Her? Yes, upon closer look, 'Kurosaki' was a girl. How embarrassing for him. Naruto glanced at Nubou- definitely a guy.
---The clock was ticking by minute after minute. And still the instructor hasn't shown. The Sound Team already made quite a show with the Leaf rookies and-
"QUIET DOWN YOU WORTHLESS BASTARDS."
Well about BLOODY time.
"Thanks for waiting. I am Morino Ibiki. The examiner for the Chuunin Selection Exam's first test." He then berated the team from the Sound village for openly attacking other shinobi. In which the Sound team made a rather lame comeback.
'And WE'RE allied with THEM...'
---Naruto glanced around him. There was a girl with dark hair and white eyes sitting next to him and a boy with brown hair and an eye patch sitting on his other side.
'Information gathering, eh, Baki-sensei?' Naruto thought. 'Excellent hint.' He formed a couple of seals then hissed out a "GOKKAN NO JUTSU."
Immediately, he felt all his five senses increase dramatically. His sight magnified, his hearing increased, his sense of smell picked up all the scents in the air, his tongue tasted of the sushi he had this morning, and his hands could feel every single little notch and imperfection in the wood.
Hinata, who was in fact the person sitting next to him, felt a strange sensation beside her. She glanced over at the boy next to her and gasped silently. He was positively on fire. He had so much chakra in use right now it was outrageous.
'Who is he?' she thought, feeling fear for the second time that day.
Naruto looked right and left of him. This method didn't exactly take up a whole lot of chakra, but it exhausted his physical body. He needed to find someone and start copying quickly. He finally saw something. Someone with a goatee and had the bulge of a Chuunin vest under his jack. Bingo.
He began copying the words on his page as fast as he possibly could, and finished in a few minutes. After he was complete, he immediately deactivated the Gokkan no Jutsu and laid his head down to rest.
'Gokkan no Jutsu was the perfect skill for this. After all, it can only be used in spying missions.' He thought to himself. 'If you used it in a real fight, then you'd be much more vulnerable and susceptible to injury.'
He forced his head up. 'How are the rest of them doing?'
Gaara was using the Third Eye of Shukaku. Good. He caught Temari's eyes and motioned up to the ceiling where there were four mirrors stationed. Kankurou had already came back from the bathroom.
He glanced at the two of his teammates. They each nodded in affirmation. Good. Now all he needs now to pass the first test is the last question.
---'Now,' he thought, 'Just for the fun of it, while the Gokkan no Jutsu lasts, let's take a look at what everyone else is doing.'
He glanced at the girl next to him and started. Her eyes had veins around them and she was copying off the same guy he was previously cheating off of.
'Smart girl. Weird eyes though.' He thought back to a scroll he had read up on Leaf family lines. 'White eyes, pale skin, and the family symbol being a puff of cloud. She's probably a Hyuuga. Interesting.'
He looked over at the Sound team. They were cheating by listening to the sounds of the pencil. 'They're not stupid after all'
He closed his eyes and heard a slight barking. Barking? 'Didn't know they allowed animals in here.' He thought. The slight creak of the mirrors above him made Naruto smile. 'Don't need the Gokkan no Jutsu for this.' He thought.
---Morino Ibiki looked at the group of students. About 32 teams have already been eliminated. But out of all these teams, it was clear that the most confident teams were the two from the Sand and the single Sound team. They were strangely calm- very odd indeed.
He looked at the clock. Fifteen minutes remaining.
"Ok." He said aloud, "We will now start the tenth question."
---"The rules for this question are that you must decide whether or not you want to take it." Ibiki said. "If you choose not to take it, then your points are reduced to zero and you fail along with your teammates."
"And if you choose to take it and fail to answer it," he continued over the wave of protests, "Then you'll lose the privilege to take the Chuunin Exam ever again.
---Naruto glared at the Examiner. This man was a true master at manipulating minds.
If he was taking this test for real in hopes of becoming a Chuunin, he'd be terrified too. But since this wasn't the case, all he had to do was ride it out and hope for the best. He didn't care if he ever became Chuunin.
For others, however, it was a slap in the face.
"I won't take it!"
The man who was sitting next to Naruto stood up.
"Number 50, fail. Number 130, number 111, also fail."
Then, as if a wave hit the room, a number of people began voluntarily quitting the exam. Finally, only 21 of the original 67 teams remained.
When it looked like no one else was giving up, Ibiki finally said, "And to the rest of you who remain."
They held their breath in anticipation.
"I congratulate you on passing the first exam."
---"Wait, what do you mean we already pass?" a pink hair girl with green eyes asked. "What about the tenth question?"
"There was never such a thing," Ibiki said, grinning, changing altogether into another person. "Or you could say that those choices were the question."
"Then what were the first nine questions for?" asked a voice Naruto recognized as Temari's. "They were pointless then."
"No, those first nine questions served their purpose. To test your information gathering abilities. That purpose."
"First, as the rules explained, success on this test is based on the whole team doing well. This puts pressure on each member not to mess things up for their teammates. But since the questions on the test were not the types that a mere Genin could answer, I'm sure most people came to the conclusion that 'to score points, I'll have to cheat'. Basically, the premise of this test is to cheat. As cheating targets, we had two or so Chuunins who knew all the answers mixed into the crowd to help you guys out."
As he said that, the two Chuunins waved at everyone. One of them was the man with the goatee that Naruto and the girl next to him cheated off of.
"But those who cheat poorly," Ibiki continued, taking off his hitaite, "fail, of course." What his hitaite revealed a head full of burn marks, scars, and screw holes.
"If the enemy, or third party, notices you," Ibiki said, "there will be no guarantee that the information is correct. I want you to remember this. Important information can be a powerful weapon for you and your village. That's why we had you gather information through cheating. This clearly separated those who did and did not have the right abilities."
"But I don't understand the purpose of the tenth question." Temari persisted.
"But the tenth question is the purpose of the test. How about those two choices... say you guys become Chuunin. Your mission is to steal an important document. The amount of ninjas, abilities, and etc, is unknown to you. Do you take it, or do you not take it? The decision to take the mission is what will separate the Genin and the Chuunin. Understand?"
After receiving a few hesitant nods, Ibiki said, "Then, knowing that, I wish you luck in the future."
---Most of them were about to breathe a sigh of relief when suddenly, the window shattered and a figure rolled in sticking kunai into the ceiling and unrolling a flag that read 'The Second Examiner, Mitsurashi Anko.'
"I'm the examiner for the second test, Mitsurashi Anko. Now let's GO!" She pumped her fists into the air.
Silence.
'Tactless.' Ibiki thought.
'She acts just like Temari when she's drunk.' Naruto and Kankurou thought simultaneously. Temari sneezed.
"63? You let 21 teams past, Ibiki?" Anko all but snarled, "The test was way too easy this time. Oh well, it's all good. I'll cut them in half at least in the second test."
She turned her gaze on the Genin, suddenly resembling a snake, a cobra, hood spread, ready to strike. "Ah, I'm getting excited." She said. "I'll explain once we change places. Follow me."
---They arrived in front of a metal wired gate. Beyond the gate was a thick forest whose trees sported trunks more than five times fatter than all of them put together and even more times wide.
"Welcome to the state for the second test, practice arena 44." Anko said. "Also known as the Akagahara, the Forest of Death."