-\/-
The Academy was crowding with various Genins by the time Team 7 arrived. The doors to room 303 were barely visible because of the swarm. Two boys were blocking the path for any of them. Naruto smelled a good pranking opportunity and smirked. Before either Sakura or Sasuke got a chance to stop him, he dived into the crowd.
"You're trying to become a Chunin?" One of the boys taunted. "Yeah, right. You're just a weakling. Go back to play with the kids." He kicked the boy he just pushed.
"Pals! Long time no see!" Naruto put his arms around the two boys and pulled them both into one-armed hugs. "How is it going!?" He jovially asked.
"Look, you must've mistaken us for someone else." The other one tried to free himself from the grip, but Naruto was much stronger than he expected.
"what? No. I never forget my friends! Are… are we not friends anymore?" He faux sniffled and crocodile tears formed in his eyes.
"I don't know what are you talking about. I've never seen you in my life."
"But… How can you say thaaat!?" Naruto was now full-on crying. More and more students were starting to feel uncomfortable. "Whyyyy!?"
"What have you done to Naruto-chan!?" Tenten pushed through the crowd and yelled.
"Hey, not our fault he's a crybaby." One of the boys defended.
"Why you…" Tenten prepared to punch the boy, but Naruto couldn't hold it any longer and started laughing. Most of the assembled genin stared at him in confusion, with selected few that knew of the boy's antics sweatdropped.
"Oh… that's just… too good. You should… you should've seen your faces. And when Ten-chan threatened you…" Another fit of laughter made whatever else he was going to say incomprehensible.
"Huh?" The two boys stared at him in confusion.
"Don't mind Naruto." Sakura quickly started dragging her laughing teammate away. "He has a weird sense of humor."
"Hey, you're Sakura. Naruto told me about you." Tenten smiled.
"Did he now…"
"Yeah. When we spar, he often mentions you and Sasuke. You're his teammates, right?"
"Hn. Who're you?"
"Tenten. Where did you run off to? The exams are starting soon." A boy with long dark hair and characteristic almost white eyes walked over to them.
"Hey, Neji. I want you and Lee to meet Naruto, the one I've told you I've been training with."
"Yosh! It's amazing to meet you, Naruto! I'm Rock Lee, the Handsome Devil of Konoha!"
"And I'm Hyuga Neji. I must admit, I am impressed. Tenten has shown a great improvement ever since she has started training with you."
"Thanks. She never mentioned one of her teammates was a girl though…" Naruto grinned.
"I'm a boy, you moron!" Neji yelled at him.
The orange-clad teen snickered. "Then I mean no offense when I say that red nails are really not your style."
"What…" Hyuuga took a look at his fingernails, only to see them painted a vibrant red.
"I'm with Naruto on this one, Neji. And for your sake, I hope it wasn't my nail polish." Tenten warned.
"Whatever. Let's go."
"Wait! You!" Lee pointed at Sasuke. "I want to fight you."
"Hn. I don't fight weaklings." The Uchiha turned and planned on leaving, but Rock Lee jumped in front of him.
"Your sensei is Hatake Kakashi. He is the eternal rival of my sensei, Maito Gai. The two of us are destined to also be eternal rivals! I can feel it in my flames of youth!"
"I don't care." Sasuke pushed through and walked to the stairs leading to the next floor.
"Don't worry, Lee. I'm sure you'll find your rival one day. Sasuke is too weak for you anyway." Naruto cheered when Sasuke was outside hearing distance. "I heard that you should find your true rival only after you make Chunin. Otherwise, it's bad luck."
"Yosh! You are very knowledgeable in the art of eternal rivalry! I must introduce you to Gai-sensei!"
"Later," Naruto assured and vanished with a characteristic sound of flapping wings. Of course, no one knew where the sound came from when he vanished in hurry.
He arrived in front of the real exam room before either Sakura or Sasuke and pulled out the healthy diet book to read. By now, he could practically quote it, but there was something special about it, probably being the first gift he got from his dad. It became his good-luck token.
"How did you get here before us!?" Sakura screamed when she saw him.
"Huh? You were saying?" He looked up from his book in an (honestly terrifying) imitation of their sensei.
"Good. You are all here." Kakashi revealed himself. "I will take your forms now. I'm glad all three of you came or you would've been disqualified."
"But… you said it was our individual choice!" Sakura protested.
"Yes, whether you choose to participate or not was only up to you. But only teams of three are allowed to participate, so if one of you decided to quit, you would all have been disqualified."
"Sensei. If you suddenly start talking about 'logical deceptions', you'll be gathering pages of your books for next month." Naruto threatened.
"You wouldn't dare…" Kakashi was horrified.
"Maybe, but maybe I would. Are you willing to test it?" The boy's grin was malicious. His sensei gulped.
"Just… go inside."
The trio entered the room. Inside, there was a large crowd of Shinobi from all hidden villages gathered already. They appeared to be some of the last.
Naruto found himself a nice spot on the ceiling and looked around. He could prank some of them, but all the genin here were already tense. A prank might've started a war. He wasn't that crazy.
"I want to see your cards on Sabaku no Gara, Rock Lee, and… Uzumaki Naruto."
"Sure. Here you go." The boy with metallic-blue hair pulled three cards. "Uzumaki Naruto. Konoha genin. Twelve D-ranks, three C-rank, one A-rank… and one S-Rank? Curious."
"That dobe? S-Rank? You must be mistaken."
"Believe it!" Naruto shouted from the ceiling before dropping on the ground next to them. Before anyone could react, he snatched the card from the ground and looked over the info. "Nice! Wait… why are my stats so low?" He asked after taking a closer look. "Meh. It's useless." With that, he channeled a bit of his grace into his fingers and caused the card to be cut into tiny flakes. "Huh… I thought it would be set on fire or something…"
Before any more discussion could take place, a cloud of smoke covered the stage and a scarred guy in a black long-coat appeared with a group of shinobi.
"Enough talking. The chunin selection exams… begin now." He looked over at the candidates. "Please take your assigned numbers and take your seats. I will then explain the rules." Once everyone was seated, he took on a stern(er) expression. "My name's Morino Ibiki and I'll be your proctor for the first part of the chunin exam. Listen up, because I won't be repeating. And no questions, so you better understand it the first time. The rules are as follows. You will start with ten points. For each question you answer wrong, you will be deduced one point. If you're caught cheating, you'll be deduced two points each time. Be caught five times and your whole team is out. And you will be caught. Our watchers are trained in finding even smallest infractions." He waited for the cries of unfairness to die down. "If your score drops to zero, your whole team is out, so better get the right answers. You'll have forty-five minutes to answer the first nine questions. after that time, the tenth and final question will be revealed. To pass, your team as a whole must get enough points. If one of your teammates doesn't get any points, you all fail, so don't slack off! Is everything clear? Good. You can now turn your papers and begin." He proclaimed with a cruel grin.
Among the rustle of paper, Naruto took one look at question one and blanched. This was what he should know? There was no way he could answer it. And, for that matter, probably no genin could. Either that or Kakashi-sensei was really slacking off in his job. They didn't get theory classes as genins. How was he supposed to know those things… Then, he took a look at question six and a thought appeared in his head. There was no way they were supposed to know it. This one he was sure of. That question shouldn't even be there. Genins would have no way of knowing that. Heck, even he only knew it because of his research into pranks. Those chemicals were illegal and extremely rare, mostly because of their limited civilian application and extreme explosive potential. Genins weren't allowed anywhere near them in the first place and this knowledge could come only from experimentation or very high-level books.
This isn't a test of knowledge. There is no way… He thought as he quickly scribbled the answer to one question he knew the answer to. When he was done, he lifted his head and looked around. If he wanted, he could use Jiton and cheat, but they could potentially catch him and get his whole team expelled. He could risk it though…
A kunai sailed right next to his ear and embedded itself into the desk of a guy behind him.
"Number 83 out. Numbers 24 and 57 are also out."
Maybe it wasn't such a good idea after all…
"Kurama… do you know any of those answers?" Naruto tried another, safer way.
"Do I look like a damned scholar to you?!" the offended fox growled in response. "Just do like everyone else in the room and cheat."
"They're cheating? But they weren't expelled… Because they weren't caught enough times." The realization dawned on him. "Thanks, Kurama." He beamed. So I need to cheat no more than four times. Maybe three to be safe.
More candidates got expelled why Naruto was figuring it out. The clock was ticking, mercilessly reminding all of them of the passage of time.
Tick
Tock
Tick
Everything froze as Naruto calmly got up from his seat. There was no need to hurry. His grace wouldn't run out for quite some time and he was free to check the answers. He only had to figure out who to take the answers from. He threw one of his silver blades next to the proctor and flew to it, catching it and pocketing it equally fast. He quickly looked over at the podium, hoping to find some answers there. No such luck…
Wait! There they are!
He grabbed the piece of paper, but a sudden explosion broke his concentration. Luckily, his instincts allowed him to fly away back to his seat. Only his sliver blade was now embedded clearly into his desk right next to his paper. He used it to balance himself.
For those watching, it must've looked like he twitched and a blade appeared, right as something exploded next to the proctor's desk.
"First strike" Naruto mumbled, massaging his hand under the desk. There was no way he wasn't caught now.
"H-hey, Naruto…" Someone whispered from next to him. "You… you can… copy my… answers if you want…" Hyuuga Hinata was nervously trying to touch her fingers together.
"Thanks." He muttered and pulled on Jiton again. He easily managed to note her five more answers and then, to reciprocate, scribbled down the answer to that pesky question six. He then made sure to position the paper in the right way so that it didn't look strange.
He could see her blush when she noticed he answered one of her questions too.
He now had six questions done, probably right too. Still, that left three unanswered and the mysterious tenth question. Then, an idea popped into his head. They were Shinobi, not Samurais. No one expected them to play fair. And he wanted to be the best.
By now, Naruto noticed that several people were cheating in semi-obvious ways. Maybe he could… help the proctor a bit.
Snickering, he activated Jiton and stood up. He walked over to one of the guys who had all the questions and snickered before jabbing his Kunai right through the paper. He then channeled his grace and watched as the test was set on silver fire. He looked around. Still more than three-quarters of initial candidates remained.
Some had their questions altered. Others found their tests covered in orange paw prints. Yet others had whole passages from Icha Icha scribbled into the answer spaces. Finally, as a special gift for the silver-haired boy that ranked him so low, Naruto had something special.
He took his test and copied all the answers. It was clear he knew his stuff, so he didn't doubt the veracity of the answers. Then, he did the same for Hinata. She helped him so he wanted to return the favor. The sheet itself Naruto formed into a paper plane after making sure it was signed. He positioned it in front of the owner and gave it a slight push before flying back to his seat.
The moment he released his Jiton, pandemonium filled the room. People found their tests destroyed or ruined. The few lucky who only had some answers filled or questions altered didn't really notice, but those unlucky who had their tests destroyed were devastated.
The paper plane from Kabuto flew across the room until it hit Ibiki in the ear.
"Silence!" yelled the angered proctor. He looked around the room, trying to figure out the genius behind this plot. The candidates were in utter chaos. "Those who are unable to turn in their test. Fail."
Naruto snickered. He deliberately avoided anyone he knew. Similarly, the sand siblings were spared. He had something special for them later on. The situation made him almost giddy. He thought his stunt would just cost the other teams some points.
All in all, out of almost ninety teams that attempted the test, only about thirty were still in the run. Still too much, but there was always the tenth question.
Ten more minutes passed and only one more team failed. By now, it seemed that most who were supposed to get it were finished. Ibiki would later laugh at the two plants who were supposed to provide correct answers that got eliminated by the mass sabotage.
"Okay, listen up. It's time for the final question. But first, some additional rules. You can choose not to take the final question. This means you and your team automatically fail, but you can try the next year. On the other hand, should you decide to take the question and answer wrong, you will not only fail but you will be banned from ever participating in the exams again."
Ibiki reveled in the cries of panic and desperation.
"How can we be banned from ever participating again?! Surely there are those who tried more than once!" Sakura screamed.
"Unless they failed on another stage." Naruto snickered, remembering the purge of his making.
"They didn't have me as a proctor." Ibiki cut the discussion. "You're just unlucky like that. Now… decide. Remember, if you leave now, you can always try another time." He reminded them.
Some teams left, but still, way too many remained.
Naruto carefully observed his teammates. Sasuke was confident in his own skill, but Sakura was breaking. The tension was getting to her. He should do something.
"Alright, old man! Hit us with the best you've got. We've survived worse than some stupid tests! And if I fail, I will still become Hokage. You won't stop me! I will achieve my dream."
That speech seemed to break the tension. The candidates no longer trembled or doubted their skills. The boy managed to single-handedly inspire all of them to try and do their best.
"I'll be damned. Well, they'll probably have my ass for this. Eh… you're good, kid. For those of you that remained… You pass."
The shouts of indignation filled the room.
"What!? How do we pass? Where is the last question!?"
"This was the tenth question," Ibiki smirked. "It was a question if you have the guts to risk everything for the sake of the mission. If-"
"Hello everyone!" A cloud of smoke, accompanied by the sound of breaking glass interrupted Morino. "I'm the sexy, the amazing, the gorgeous, the only Mitrashi Anko! And I'm gonna be your proctor for the second part of the chunin exam!"
"You're early… again." Ibiki groaned.
"Sorry." She said sheepishly, but it was clear she was anything but. "Hey, there is more of them than I expected. You're losing your edge, old man!" She laughed.
"I'll tell you what happened later. I'm sure you'll find it entertaining."
"Well… you kids can follow me." She jumped through the window.
"Should we…" Hinata weakly asked. Naruto grinned in response.
"She said we should follow her. Let's go!" He leaped through the window. The sound of breaking glass told everyone that he chose a different one than their proctor.
"For those of you who still have some sanity left, please come tomorrow morning to the training ground 44." Ibiki tiredly ordered. Anko was… something else.
Speaking of the devil, Anko snickered as she stopped by her favorite Dango stand and ordered some for herself.
"What's the next test?" A voice asked from behind her, causing her to almost jump out of her skin. How did that kid manage to sneak up on her?
"Where did you come from?"
"The exam room, duh." He said like it was the most obvious fact in the world.
"You actually followed me? I was sure I lost any potential brats long ago." She then took a good look at Naruto and noticed there were some loose fragments of glass all over his jumpsuit. "Did you jump through the window after me?"
"Hey! Not my fault I was in hurry! I was more focused on not losing you than something so trivial as a closed window."
"Damn. I'm almost starting to like you." She grinned.
"So you will tell me what's the next test gonna be?"
"Hm… Nah."
"Come on! What's the point of giving us the chase if there is no reward?" He groaned.
"Look, the test starts tomorrow morning, alright? I was supposed to just introduce myself today. Ibiki's the one who gives you the time and place, so it's your fault for running off."
Naruto thought for a moment and measured his options. He could drop it and go ask Tenten or someone else where the test is or… he could try a bit more.
"Come on! You tell me something and I tell you something. A bit of information exchange."
"What a brat like you can know that might be of interest to someone like me?" She didn't dismiss him out of hand. She knew better than to underestimate a shinobi.
"Hm… What about Kakashi's secret Icha Icha stash?"
"The legendary collection of first edition books, allegedly signed by the author himself!?" She smiled. "You're driving a hard bargain. Alright. Technically, there is nothing in the rules that says I can't tell you, but… I want you to promise you won't go telling everyone and their cousin about it."
At the mention of cousins, Naruto's thoughts immediately jumped to Neji. He was Hinata's cousin, right?
"I promise I won't tell their cousin about it." His sunshine of a smile could probably melt ice.
"I really like you. Fine. Tomorrow at seven be at training ground forty-four. And pack for a week-long trip. You're gonna need it. Now… about my, ahem, Kakashi's stash of books?"
"Here." He placed a small box on the table and ran off to tell his friends.
Anko smiled as she opened the goodies, only for an inhuman screech to sound through the village. Almost as if summoned, Kakashi appeared next to her.
"Maa. It appears that someone's been trying to mess with my precious books again. Good thing I put in some additional security. Eh, Anko-chan?" He gave her an eye-smile, but there was the unsaid threat in his voice. "Thanks for testing it for me, but I'll be taking my books back now." With that, he disappeared and took the box with him.
Anko sighed. At least she still had her Dango.