Growing Up
The First Exam! Anything It Takes To Pass!
"Hanabi-chan!" Naruto dashed towards the small Hyuuga girl, gripping his shoulder tightly. Dark eyes narrowed as she span around to face him, her hand lightly touching her chest. Naruto gasped as he fell back, coughing lightly as he stared up to her. "Ca-ca-ca.... Hanabi-chan! It's me Naruto!"
"I knew who it was... don't touch me. What do you want?" She crossed her arms slowly over her chest as the stood in the fighter's entrance of Konoha stadium.
"I just wanted to know.. how did you beat me in chakra?" He slowly pulled himself up to his feet.
"Because your weak..."
"But I mean, Kyuubi. How powerful are you really... to match Kyuubi"
"I didn't match Kyuubi, nothing human could match Kyuubi, unless they were the Fourth, you know that Uzumaki Naruto,"
Sakura placed her hand on Naruto's shoulder, seeing the strike from Hanabi moments before. "Naruto, are you alright?"
"Yeah..." He lightly guided Sakura away from him as he stared down to Hanabi. "Tell me then... how did you beat me?"
"Because you tried to cheat. Hokage-sama even said, they would measure your chakra. You tried to cheat by relying on the Kyuubi's power,"
"So then... that mean's that both you and that Keisuke kid are both naturally stronger then me?" Naruto's eyes widened slightly as his stance fell to a weaker one, barely holding his ground.
"Yes, but if we are going to work as a so called team today, I have to tell you this Naruto. I felt Keisuke's chakra in the qualifier. His was far beyond Kyuubi's... he is the one we have to fear," Her head lowered slowly to the side as a few stands of hair fell over her face.
"But you just said, no human except the Fourth's could match Kyuubi's,"
"Exactly... what I felt wasn't human,"
"You mean, there is another demon-sealed kid from Konoha?"
"No, what I mean is I don't know what this Keisuke is. I say we avoid battle with him at all costs, unless we want to feel a power rival to your Kyuubi's,"
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"Ladies and Gentlemen! Thank you all for faithfully returning as now we will begin the first of the Chuunin Exams! First, I would like to greet out guests of honor who have graciously left their homes just to see the Exams in person!" Tsunade grinned as she waved her had to the left, a tall man would approach her slowly. Traditional Chinese goatee on a thin face, he smiled to Tsunade, bowing lightly to her and the crowd. He tipped his hat lightly over his face as he was introduced by Tsunade.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, The Mist's own Mizukage -sama. And now, we would also like to greet from the Sand, newly appointed Kazekage. Former sensei of Exam participates, Gaara, Temari and Kankurou - I introduce to you, Kazekage Baki-sama!"
Baki approached Tsunade slowly, dressed in the full Kage attire. Taking her hand slowly, he lightly nodded to her and the crowd. "May I address the crowd before we begin, Hokage-dono?"
"Yes, of course you may," Tsunade smiled as she nodded once more, stepping aside to let him take the railing.
"Citizens of Konoha, and those of you who have traveled here from all over the world. I would just like to once more on behave of the entire Sand, and now as Kazekage... apologize for the actions of my men during the Spring Exams. Orochimaru's trickery and impersonation of our own Kazekage, we fell to his manipulation. As a gift to you, Konoha and further apology to your entire village, we take it upon ourselves to fund the repairs and construction of the Hokage monument. We as well leave this too you all..." He smiled lightly to himself as his hand rose to direct the crowd's attention to the opposite side of the stadium. There set of the entrance were a group of Sand nins, the entire top of the Entrance Hall covered by tarp was pulled away. There hanging above the Hall a bust of Sarutobi, hands locked into the seal of the Tiger. "May the flames of Konoha always burn within this stadium!"
The crowd seemed to take over now as cheers and roars filled the sky. In the crowd itself, filled with the Chuunin and Jounin of Konoha, saluted the bust as others gave calls of admiration to the new Kazekage.
"Kazekage, this gift and kindness of the Sand will never be forgotten. On behalf of all of Konoha, we thank you and accept all you have offered,"
"JUST DON'T LET IT HAPPEN AGAIN!"
"Konohamaru, sit down!"
"Hehe, man that's a loud kid.." Tsunade smiled to herself as she offered the Kage's their seats beside her own. "Ladies and Gentlemen! We now begin, the first of the Chuunin Exams! Will the remaining teams please make their way into the field!"
The first to appear from the depths of the Entrance tunnel was Gaara, Temari and Kankurou following closely behind him, behind the Sand that Grass nins entered. A mix of the two teams of from the Mist following in after, Team Hinata and Team Ino following. Team Hanabi followed after as finally Team Keisuke entered.
Standing quietly in the middle of the field Naruto watched of this Keisuke, Lee, and Ten-ten entered.
Keisuke looked human enough... long black hair pulled back in a ponytail. Thin blue eyes looked over the competition through dark purple face paint which covered most of the young Genin's face. Heavy fishnet and brown fur coat hung over his shoulders, as well of full length pants. Naruto smirked lightly, looked almost as if this Keisuke was taking fashion lessons from Kiba.
Hanabi looked over her competition, didn't seem to be too much to worry about. Her elder sister, the team of girls from the Mist, two male Mist nins and another girl. Some more fools from the Grass... not too much to worry about. Keisuke and Gaara were the only ones who looked to put up any challenge at all.
"For those of you who knew him... one of Sarutobi-sama's favorite methods of training new students was the Bell Training. Three students to get two bells from their sensei's waist. Well, this is essentially the same but, it will be one Genin against one Jounin. A bell around the Jounin's waist, one at a time, each Genin will fight to take hold of the bell.
We have 24 participates, 8 teams... when this first exam is over, only 12 will remain. These will be the 12 people who pass will be the one's to take their bell the quickest.
Oh, and one more thing... if our Jounin examiner removed your forehead protector, you are disqualified and are immediately eliminated!"
"As a Chuunin, the most important factor to a mission is time. The quick and the dead... in this Exam, do anything possible to win. But we do not want any corpses in this season, alright?" Tsunade smiled lightly as the scoreboard at the top of the stadium began to shuffle names quickly.
"This board will now randomly choose who goes first!"
Names on the board shuffled quicker and quicker as it suddenly stopped.
..............The Mist's Jen..........
"And there we have it! First up, Jen from the Mist. All other participants please wait your turn up in the fighter's lounge!"
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As Naruto and Sakura entered the fighter's lounge most of the other Genins had taken their stops at the windows. Naruto smiled lightly as he looked over the room of fighters, he dashed to the window, wedging himself in between Kiba and the Mist's Genkurou. There in the battle field the Jounin examiner stood, Ino approaching center field.
"Wait! I thought that Jen from the Mist was going first,"
"Jen was already eliminated... the Examiner sliced right through her forehead protector with a kunai and Hokage-sama disqualified her," The young man, Genkurou spoke to Naruto through the large scarf around his neck, large glasses over his eyes.
Naruto gulped quickly as Sakura stood beside him, peering over his shoulder. She bit her lip lightly as she watched Ino take her ready stance before the examiner. "Naruto, who is the examiner?"
"I don't know, I've never seen him before,"
"Yamanaka Ino has forfeited! Ayami of the Mist please report to the battlefield!"
"What? Dammit, Ino-chan, do you even care about passing?" Sakura sighed as she rest her head on Naruto's shoulder.
"Naruto-kun?" Hinata stood quietly near the door of the lounge as Ayami passed by her towards the field. Hinata's hands still bandaged up tightly, only her fingertips were exposed to the air as she held her hand before her.
"Huh? Oh, Hinata-chan!" Naruto grinned as he moved from his position at the window, Sakura taking his place. "You decided to try after all, I am proud of you Hinata-chan,"
"Naruto-kun, do you know this examiner? He seems strong, do you think we will be able to beat him?" She looked away slowly, blushing softly as her fingers played with one another.
"Yeah, I think so. How tough can he be?" Naruto grinned as he placed his fists on his sides, chuckling lightly.
"Naruto... the fight's over," Sakura called from the window. Naruto's grin fell slowly as he rubbed the back of his head ideally.
"Who won?"
"The examiner... and Ayami is being taken away by the medical team,"
"Inuzuka Kiba please report to the battlefield!"
Kiba sighed lightly as he left his spot at the window, Akamaru whimpering softly as he crawled down Kiba's shoulder and tucked himself into the jacket. "Well, wish me luck,"
He moved past Hinata and Naruto, Hinata taking Kiba's arm quickly. "Be careful, Kiba-kun,"
Naruto smiled lightly as he watched. "Don't lose Kiba, we need someone to beat him,"
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Kiba took his place before the examiner, Akamaru crawled from Kiba's coat, hopping onto the ground. Kiba licked his lips slowly as he took a ready stance.
"Hopefully not all of you Genin's are as weak as those ones from before," The Jounin smiled as the belt rang lightly as it rest on his hip.
"Don't worry, Examiner-san... I won't lose to you,"
"Is that so?"
"Ready, Fight!"
..............................
"Inuzaku Kiba has succeed! Time: 3 seconds!"
"What?" The examiner grabbed at his waist quickly, the bell indeed gone.
Akamaru yipped quickly as he dropped the bell into Kiba's hand. Kiba smirked lightly as he chuckled, holding the bell between his fingers. "Should have been paying more attention to my dog then making fun of us Genins"
Hinata giggled softly as she stared down to the field.
"Alright Kiba!" Naruto grinned as he called down from the lounge. "I told you he wasn't unbeatable, didn't I Hinata-chan?"
"Yes, you were right Naruto-kun," She smiled softly as Kiba shook the bell above his head with a grin as he moved back towards the stairway to the lounge.
"Genkurou of the Mist, please report to the battlefield!"
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The day passed incredibly slowly as one by one Genin and Jounin examiner fought. By the late afternoon as the sun was slowly falling from the sky, only four remained to be tested.
Uzumaki Naruto, Hyuuga Hinata, and Shitaru Keisuke.
The current standings:
Jen: Eliminated
Yamanaka Ino: Eliminated
Ayami: Eliminated
Inuzuka Kiba: 3 seconds
Genkurou: 28 minutes 17 seconds
Rock Lee: 7 minutes 22 seconds
Minka: 33 minutes
Temari: 37 minutes
Hitoro Ushima: Eliminated
Hyuuga Hanabi: 2 minutes 15 seconds
Gaara: 10 seconds
Harunama Kazuki: 11 minutes 10 seconds
Keiyoko Mishina: Eliminated
Aburame Shino: 4 minutes
Haruno Sakura: 22 minutes
Tanaka Mamimi: 6 minutes 12 seconds
Kankurou: 13 minutes
Kanemura Joji: Eliminated
Kira: 44 minutes
Jin: Eliminated
Ten-Ten: Eliminated
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"Hyuuga Hinata, please report to the battlefield,"
A soft gulp forced it's way down her throat as she looked away from Naruto. Smiling lightly Naruto tussled his fingers through her hair. "Your turn, Hinata-chan,"
"I don't know if I can do this Naruto-kun, look at the standings. So many were eliminated, and the Examiner after all this time hasn't broken a sweat,"
"Come on, Hinata-chan. You have no reason to worry, I know you'll grab that bell, quicker then Kiba even," He smirked as he stepped away from her, showing her to the stairway back down to the battlefield. "Hurry up, don't want Hokage-sama to disqualify you,"
"Yeah, I suppose not..."
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Hinata stepped out into the sunlight, a light blink of her eyes as she emerged from the dark tunnels. The crowd was so huge... so loud... and there at center stage stood the Jounin Examiner. Why was she so afraid? She had seen time and time that this man could be beaten, tricked, and deceived. Making her way forward, she stood toe to toe with this man. A real ninja...
"Hyuuga Hinata! Ready, Fight!"
This was it, the first of the Chuunin Exams, were all her hard work, all her training would come into play. Was she really meant to be a ninja? Either way, it was time to prove to Naruto, to show him that she had kept her promise to him!
Dashing forward, her palm flat she felt her small hand make contact with the examiner's stomach. A blast of chakra shook the field. Her eyes closed tightly as she felt his body tighten. A sudden cough shook through the examiner's body as he fell to his knees, leaning over Hinata's outstretched arm...
"How?" Another cough shook his body as Hinata heard a drop of blood strike the ground... reaching out, she pulled the bell from his waist. Stepping aside, he fell.
"Hyuuga Hinata... has succeed. Time: 13 seconds... s-someone please, send the medics to collect Examiner Myosuki..."
The crowd fell silent, as even her fellow team members and Genins didn't speak. Kiba's mouth hung open in shock as Naruto pushed Kara and Genkurou to the side, gaining himself a better view. At the edge of the window, Hanabi's eyes were wide with shock.
Hinata fell to her knees, as she lightly placed her hand on the back of the Examiner's head. Her own eyes wide with fear. "I'm sorry... I-I didn't mean to hit you that hard. Are you alright? Please be okay..."
His body shook in pain as his face pushed through the dirt, he looked to her. A trail of blood fell from his mouth as he smiled lightly. "You... you'll make it, even if no one else does..."
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"Hinata-Nee-chan," Hanabi stood before the doorway of the lounge. Arms crossed over her chest as those pale eyes stared to Hinata as she stepped onto the lounge landing. "How did you do that? Tell me now!"
"I- I don't know... I just hit him. I'm sorry, Hanabi-chan," Looking away once more, Hinata's eyes fell.
"You must know! I've trained harder then you my entire life. Days and days on nothing but hard work. Yet you take him out with a single blow. I want to know!"
"I... I trained..."
"Uzumaki Naruto... please report to the battlefield. A new examiner has taken Myosuki's place. Ladies and Gentlemen, please welcome our new Jounin examiner, Akimichi Toburo-san,"
"Akimichi?" Naruto looked away from the field in hopes of gaining some information on this new examiner. The room remained silent as the heads of those of Konoha that remained, fell. Looking to the ground in an odd silence. The first to final speak, Shino.
"Naruto... Akimichi Toburo is Chouji-kun's father,"
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Naruto stood at the center of the battlefield. Watching as the head of the Akimichi clan approached. The heavy man smiled lightly as he took his place before Naruto, his hands resting at his hips.
"Akimichi-sama... I-"
"Naruto-kun, mention Chouji to me at all and I will make sure, you do not reach this bell," Pulling from the pouch on his waist, he tied the bell to his hip. "Come at me Uzumaki Naruto, with everything you have,"
"Ready, Fight!"
"Kage Bushin no Jutsu!" Naruto took a slight leap back as his body multiplied. Seven in all as the real Naruto stood behind. His clones leaping upon Akimichi each one grabbing for the bell.
"You haven't learned anything have you Naruto-kun? Multi-sized no Jutsu!" His body began to inflate as punches and kicks were landed, his body simple repelled each attack. Knocking the clones away with a quick swipe of his staff. Each disappearing with a puff of smoke. "I saw all your tricks last time Naruto,"
"Heh, that so?" Naruto grinned as a he appeared behind the giant man. Kunai was held in tight flat palms. "You never saw this! Kakashi-sensei's ultimate Taijutsu technique! 1000's Years of Pain!"
His hands drove forward, ramming the shuriken into plump flesh, only to have the knife bounce back into Naruto's chest. Flesh to thick to pierce.
"A poke in the ass? Great technique, haha!" Turning again with surprising speed Akimichi's bo smashed into the back of Naruto's head. Crying out in quick pain, Naruto tumbled forward.
The ring of the bell was caught by Naruto as he reached out suddenly, fingertips clutching the bell as he fell forward, his weight pulling it free from Akimichi's hip.
"Uzumaki Naruto has succeed! Time: 1 minutes, 39 seconds!"
Naruto grinned as he rolled to his feet, bell shaking tightly in his hand. A slow trickle of blood fell down that back of his neck. His freehand reached back slowly, touching the warm crimson that trickled from the back of his skull. Naruto chuckled lightly. "You hit hard... but it was your mistake in forcing me toward the bell,"
Turning Naruto slowly began his walk back towards the tunnels. Akimichi smirked lightly to himself as he tied a new bell to his waist. "Naruto-kun... you're smarter then you look. Good luck..."
"Shitaru Keisuke, please report to the battlefield. Ladies and Gentlemen this is the final Genin to take this exam!"
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Naruto clutched the back of his head, staring to the stairs as he slowly made his way back up to the lounge. The pounding echo of feet rang through the stairwell as Naruto lifted his head to see this new Genin... this Shitaru Keisuke approach. Naruto stood, resting against the railing lightly as he watched. Silently without saying a word, Keisuke passed by and down into the battlefield. Smiling lightly to himself, Naruto began to run. Dashing back up to the lounge in time to see Keisuke approach Akimichi.
"So, your ready?" Akimichi smiled as he stood with his bo planted into the ground. Keisuke looked up to him quietly.
"Ready, Fight!"
Keisuke made a slight dash as his knee was driven into Akimichi's stomach. Suddenly Akimichi lent forward, his eyes bulged as his mouth hung open. Gasping for air his body shook as he was open supported by Keisuke's knee. Keisuke smirked as he drove his elbow deep into the back of Akimichi's head.
On impact Akimichi's eyes squeezed shut as he yelled in pain. Suddenly his body heaved as a shower of blood fell from his mouth. Striking his chest with his knee, Keisuke sent Akimichi back into a standing position. Dropping his knee, he span of his remaining leg. His forearm driving into the face of the elder ninja. Falling to the ground, Akimichi's eyes stared lifelessly to the sky from a crimson mask of blood. Keisuke pulled the bell from Akimichi's waist.
"Shitaru Keisuke.... Time: 30 seconds"
Medics began to rush into the field, calling for Keisuke to back away from Akimichi. A devilish smirk appeared on Keisuke face as he dangled the bell before Akimichi. He looked over the approaching medics.
"You medics are not needed here... he is dead,"
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As medics surrounded the fallen Akimichi, Naruto and the others watched, nearly cowering in fear as Keisuke stared up to the lounge. A slow smirk on his face as he watched Naruto, Genkurou and Kiba watching him from the window.
Tsunade stood suddenly as she pounded her fists on the railing of the Hokage's balcony, cracking the hard stone as she stared down to Keisuke.
"I should disqualify you this moment! How dare you take the life of one of your elders!"
Keisuke's gaze turned from the lounge window to Tsunade as he rose his hands, shrugging his shoulders. "Hokage-sama's orders were to win any way needed... you have no grounds to disqualify me upon!"
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Once things had finally settled down in the battlefield and Akimichi's body was taken away... Tsunade slowly stood to announce the results.
"The following competitors advance...
Haruno Sakura
Uzumaki Naruto
Hyuuga Hanabi
Hyuuga Hinata
Rock Lee
Gaara
Kankurou
Tanaka Maimimi
Inuzuka Kiba
Aburame Shino
Harunama Kazuki
and relectantly Shitaru Keisuke...
Congratulations to all of you... I expect to see all of you back tomorrow as we began the second of the Chuunin Exams..."
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Well, I hope you all enjoy this extra long chapter of "Growing Up". As I promised in Chapter 10, the entire first Exam. As always I know some will hate this, but at least a few will enjoy. Sorry it took so long to get this up but I was without internet for a few days.
Till next time!
Chapter 12: The Second Exam! Ninja Tag Team Action!