Chapter 10:
Takanome had never been very far out of the village before becoming a Genin, and as such he had been used to the scenery of Konoha and its immediate surroundings. The journey to the Land of Iron offered a refreshing change from that. The Hokage set a relatively slow pace for a party of shinobi, allowing Team 3 to drink in the sights as they passed through thick forests, rolling hills, and eventually the snowy mountains of the Land of Iron.
Much to Takanome's horror and Fugaku's amusement, Heiko begged Hiruzen to let them engage in a snowball fight after setting up camp one evening, under the guise of "aiming practice". Surprisingly he agreed, and even joined in the fun himself. It was a much needed break from the stresses of the upcoming exams and looming summit. That was, until a stray snowball hit Tsunade, who had been relaxing on the sidelines. Her retaliatory projectile put a hole straight through a nearby tree, barely missing Minato's head. That was understandably the end of that.
As they approached the capital city in the late afternoon of their fourth day of travel, Hiruzen donned his official robes and they slowed their pace to a more civilian level. They were met at the gate of the city by a middle aged man with bandages wrapped around his head and a sword at his hip. He was accompanied by a dozen or so Samurai in full armour.
"Greetings Lord Hokage, Lady Tsunade and assembled Leaf Shinobi, I trust your journey to our lands was not too arduous." The man bowed to the group and received one in return.
"Thank you for your welcome General Mifune, and my sincerest gratitude for agreeing to host the first International Chunin exams, I'm sure it required great effort," Hiruzen replied, his voice expressing more emotion than was standard for such a formal introduction
"It is of no consequence Lord Hokage. If it leads toward a more peaceful continent, any cost is more than worth the price."
"I wish that position was held by more of our peers."
"Indeed. Now, I am sure you want to get out of the cold. Allow me to show you to where you will be staying." Mifune turned to look at the Genin, the hint of a smile across his face.
"Since you have only brought a single team, there is enough space in your quarters to accommodate them." Heiko gave a relatively subtle fist pump as Mifune turned to walk down the street, Tsunade and the Hokage walking beside him. The samurai that had accompanied Mifune formed up into a rectangle that trailed Minato and Team 3 at a reasonable distance.
As they travelled through the city, Shodo started pointing out the occasional landmark or point of interest to her fellow Genin.
"Have you been here before? Or did you just read a book on the Land of Iron when you found out we were coming?" Heiko teased Shodo, her teammate rolling her eyes before responding.
"I have been here before, a few times in fact. My father sources a lot of his raw materials from the Land of Iron, so he sometimes comes here to close out important deals in person. I've accompanied him on occasion," she explained, receiving nods of understanding in return. As they walked, they often received waves from the local populace, who would stop what they were doing to see their leader and the Hokage walking side by side.
Their destination was a fancy looking hotel close to the center of the city, near all the government-related buildings. Shodo whispered to her teammates that this was where all the many diplomatic visitors stayed in the capital. The building was a cylinder hewn from solid stone, unlike the scores of wooden and brick structures they had passed, and stood a good half a dozen stories tall.
They entered into the lobby of the building, leaving the squad of Samurai outside, which was an atrium dominated by an immense tree that twisted up to the glass dome that represented the ceiling of the building. Balconies ran around the edges of the atrium, connected to the tree via branches, and Takanome could make out people walking around them. He turned on his Byakugan in order to get a better look at what was above them, but found his vision blocked beyond it's normal bounds.
There must be some incredibly strong privacy seals set up in order to restrict my sight so effectively… Takanome mused as they crossed the atrium.
Mifune guided them to the base of the tree, where an archway allowed access to it's hollow core. A large spiral staircase lead up to the higher levels. Mifune stopped at the bottom of the staircase, and bowed once again.
"Regrettably I must leave you now, I need to oversee the final preparations for the exams, which will commence tomorrow at 9am. Your suite is on the top floor, it is the one with the kanji for fire on the door. Please keep the noise down late at night, and be respectful of the other guests, even if they may not exactly be your friends. If you wish to use the training facilities, please let any of the staff know." With that, the General made his departure, leaving the party to climb the long staircase to the top level. There they walked out across a branch to their balcony. Before they entered, Fugaku and Minato went in to sweep for traps or listening devices, coming up with an all clear a few minutes later.
Inside the room was a living and dining area, a meditation room, and four bed rooms, each with a bathroom. The Hokage and Tsunade both took a room to themselves, Minato and Fugaku shared another, and Team 3 took the 4th. Takanome was a bit embarrassed to be sharing a bed and bathroom with a pair of girls, but he decided that expressing that in front of the Hokage wasn't exactly appropriate.
The room itself was incredibly posh, with three double beds covered in immaculate sheets and pillows, the floor in deep carpet, and the walls in various paintings of breathtaking landscapes. The bathroom was a cavernous marble affair, complete with a miniature onsen and a modern shower.
Upon entering the room, Heiko immediately kicked off her sandals, lept a solid 2 meters into the air, switched to a horizontal position, and landed on the middle bed, sinking into the soft mattress.
"Ah, you know this isn't so bad. Sure we might get murdered in the next few days, but at least we will have slept in a bed as comfy as this," she said, hands behind her head and eyes closed.
"I'm going to have to disagree with you there Heiko, but yes, these beds are really comfy," Shodo added as she laid down on the bed to the left, Takanome taking the right. Heiko flipped over onto her stomach, propping her head up with her hands.
"So, you guys excited for the exams?" she asked.
"Yes, although I'm slightly nervous still. As the only Leaf team, I imagine we'll be reasonably large targets," Takanome mused, it had been something that had been bugging him since they had learned of the news.
"True. Depending on the nature of the exam, I think we should adopt a strategy of evasion and try to avoid direct conflict. With Taka's Byakugan we should be able to spot anyone coming at us from far away, and Kushina-sensei showed me a seal that can mask our presence," Shodo suggested, to which her teammates agreed. They spent the next hour or so strategizing and filling each other in on their training, until Fugaku knocked on their door.
"Hey, Lord Hokage and Lady Tsunade have gone out for dinner with Mifune. Me and Minato were going to go check out some places in the city, you three want to come along?"
"Sure Sensei, was getting a bit hungry anyway. I'm super keen to try some Land of Iron food."
The group left their room and made their way towards the center tree, Heiko skipping ahead of the rest of the group. She turned back, probably to make some comment about the rest of them being slow, and as such wasn't watching where she was going.
She slammed into a mountain of red ceramic, bouncing off and landing on the floor. Said mountain turned around, revealing the Five-Tails jinchuriki. Heiko instantly went pale as the man's gaze narrowed as he looked at the rest of the party. Minato and Fugaku rushed forward, forming a wall between the living weapon and the Genin. Shodo and Takanome helped their teammate up, the three of them backing away.
"Ah, so the Leaf makes their appearance once again," the man rumbled.
"We don't want any trouble Han, she ran into you by accident." Minato had his hands raised, palms facing their opponent, voice diplomatic.
"Oh I don't care that she ran into me. I care that they," he pointed to Team 3, "murdered one of my men and then ran away when faced with the consequences. A baby boy has lost his father because of them. I think I have the right to be pissed off." As Han finished speaking another man appeared at his side. Minato narrowed his eyes at Gari of the Explosion Style, who nudged Han with his elbow as he spoke.
"Are these the kids you mentioned that one time Han? The ones who got away from you at Waterfall? And I see they are accompanied by Minato the Yellow Flash and Fugaku the Butcher of Truth. Aren't we lucky," he said mockingly, cracking his knuckles as miniature explosions flashed in his palms.
Fugaku tapped Minato on the side, giving a flurry of Leaf hand signals.
"If attacked, I'll protect Genin, you get Hokage" He signed, Minato giving a slight nod in response.
"I don't know many Treehugger signs, but I do recognise the one for Hokage. Where is the old man anyway, I'm sure the Tsuchikage would love to see him."
"Well that is why we are here is it not? For the Kage to speak?" Fugaku countered, his eyes beginning to show a slight red hue.
"True, but personally I'd prefer to do a different kind of talking. I'm sure old Mifune won't mind if we have a little fun." Gari's hands were now held at his sides, the rapid explosions in them growing.
"I see the Stone and Leaf, who obviously have some beef." Both parties snapped their heads around to see another pair of ninja emerging from one of the bridges. They were dark skinned and clad in the flak jackets of the Hidden Cloud, although one of them wore nothing underneath while the other had a high collared shirt.
"Shut up Bee, now is not the time for your rapping. What exactly is going on here?"
"Piss off Ay, this is none of your business," Han snapped, steam rising off of his armour.
"Oh well you've just made it my business Boiler Breath," Ay growled as lightning began to flicker across his body.
"Everyone we need to calm down, we are here for a peace conference!" Minato was panicking slightly, despite his best efforts the situation was escalating towards an all out brawl. He was running through his options when a voice came over him that erased all thought of peace from his mind.
"Calm down boys. Namikaze is right, there is no need to start a brawl." Minato wheeled around to glare daggers at the white haired woman standing behind him, completely ignoring the Three Tails jinchuriki who stood next to her. She smirked at him, and his vision went red, a Rasengan swirling to life in his hand.
"Hozuki you slimy bastard, give me one good reason I shouldn't grind you to paste right now."
"Well Namikaze, would the fact that you couldn't even if you tried be good enough?"
It was at this point that Fugaku began to fear for his Genins' lives. A room full of A and S rank Jonin, three of them Jinchuriki, were about to throw down. A quick glance back showed Team 3 immobilised with fear, the raw chakra leaking off the bristling shinobi locking them in place. Fugaku's eyes darted around, Mangekyo picking up every little detail of his enemies, searching for an opening should the situation go south.
The flicker of red chakra around Bee and Yagura, both Jinchuiriki forming the beginnings of their signature cloaks. The flash of lightning around Ay's body, the blue arcs dancing across his dark skin contrasting against the droplets of water that indicated Ren Hozuki was about to transform. And most obviously, the crackle of explosions across Gari's body.
The standoff continued for a few moments before Gari made the first move. He launched across the room towards Fugaku, using a pair of explosions from his feet to add to his speed. However, he didn't make it more than a quarter of the across the room, before a silver blur slammed into him, sending him flying.
As Gari impacted the wall of the tree, the blur resolved into a man wearing a Hidden Sand uniform, a pair of bastard swords strapped to his back. The man held Gari up against the wall by his throat, the Stone Jonin struggling ineffectually against his grip. Minato took a reflexive step back as Kenzo of the Steel Wind began to speak, words tumbling out of his mouth.
"Look guys okay, can we just chill out? Like, this is a peace conference first and foremost after all. I know Rasa really wouldn't be happy with me getting into a fight with all of you, and I'm sure the same is true for all of your respective Kage yeah? Plus, it would kinda suck if the Chunin exams got called off as well, I'm personally really excited to watch all the cute little Genin compete." he turned to wink at Team 3 before continuing. "My nephew's even competing! I think this is a great opportunity to foster better relations between the villages. I mean, I think it would be really great if our children and grandchildren didn't have to murder each other in cold blood. Would you agree Gari? I mean I know you Stone guys really really hate Leaf shinobi, but surely you can just cool it, at least for the duration of the event?"
The Head of the Explosion Corps understandably gave no response, too busy clawing at the hand around his throat.
"Oh you want me to let you go?" He paused for a second, other hand rubbing his lightly bearded chin.
"You know what, that's pretty fair, I'll do so if you all agree to stop fighting. Clear?" he said, getting a few quick nods and affirmatives from the assembled Jonin.
"Great!" Kenzo smiled as he dropped Gari to the floor, the man gasping for breath. As he stood up, Gari glared at the Sand Ninja, but didn't make any move to attack him. After a few moments, the assembled shinobi, sans Kenzo and the Leaf nin, dispersed. Some of them made their way back inside to their rooms, while others took the staircase down to the lobby. Han and Gari gave one last glare at the Konoha Ninja, before disappearing back into their apartment.
Kenzo made his way over to where Minato and Fugaku stood, the pair still tense in his presence. He raised his palms up, a disarming grin on his face.
"Pleased to finally meet you two, I would introduce myself but I'm sure Jiraiya's mentioned me a few times. How is the Toad Sage doing anyway? Haven't seen him in a while."
"Correct me if I'm wrong Lord Soku, but wasn't the last time that you saw him when you fought him during the second war?" Minato deadpanned. Kenzo cocked his head slightly before responding.
"Actually that's incorrect. First off, they weren't called the Sannin at that point. Secondly, I in fact last saw him 7 years ago. Funnily enough, the two of us agree on many topics now. We've both now dedicated ourselves to finding a way to bring about peace in this war-racked world." He paused for a moment, then continued, his attention now focused on Team 3. "But enough on such a depressing topic, which of you is the supervisor of this fine group of Genin?"
"They're mine Lord Soku," Fugaku responded.
"Well a pleasure to meet you Fugaku's Genin, my name is Kenzo of the Steel Wind, Jonin of The Village Hidden in the Sand. Hopefully our villages will only be enemies in the Exams, and not on the battlefield. I look forward to seeing your performances." He seemed to glance ever so slightly towards Fugaku and Minato with that last sentence. Then with a wave, the man disappeared, a faint gust of wind the only sign he had ever been there at all..
"Sensei, who was that? I've never heard of him before, but all the other guards seemed almost scared of him…" Shodo asked, her voice still slightly shaky.
"That, Shodo, is the reason the Raikage stopped calling himself the fastest ninja alive."
The next morning, Team 3 woke up early to make their way to the first stage of the Chunin Exams. A samurai came to collect them at 8:00 and took them to a large building just down the way from their hotel. When they arrived inside, they were met with a wave of surprise, quickly followed by a range of feelings ranging from curiosity to outright hatred.
All the other major villages were well represented, Team 3 feeling isolated as they made their way to a registration desk. There an exam official assigned their team an ID that would be their identifier for the rest of the exam. Fortunately for them, the ID was based on village and as such they were Team L1.
The three of them moved to a quiet corner of the room to wait for the proceedings to begin. Takanome took this opportunity to do a bit of scouting on the competition. He activated his Byakugan and swept his vision across the assembled Genin, safe in the knowledge that none of them should be able to detect him. Even if they could, knowing now that there was someone who could trace his Byakugan would be a significant piece of intel.
The first opponents that stood out to him were a team from the Hidden Mist, their chakra signatures standing significantly above the surrounding competitors. The team was made up of two girls, one of whom had a huge mane of auburn hair, and a black haired boy. The boy had a standard sword strapped to his back, and had bandages wrapped around the lower half of his face. Both the girls had something odd about their chakra, something Takanome couldn't quite put his finger on.
The next group that drew Takanome's attention was a trio of Cloud Shinobi, this time two boys (one dark skinned, the other pale) and a girl. All three wore the standard cloud uniform and were currently talking amongst themselves. The dark skinned boy had the same kind of odd chakra as the two Mist Kunoichi from earlier. Takanome was about to shift his perspective in for a closer examination, when a shout grabbed his attention. The voice came from a senior looking samurai, who was flanked by a pair of guards.
"Listen up Genin, this is the beginning of the First International Chunin exams. If you want to back out, now is the time." He waited for a moment, silence filling the room.
"Well then, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Okisuke and I will be the proctor of the first stage. The purpose of this stage is to evaluate stealth, infiltration and intelligence gathering skills. You will be given a map of the city that is marked with infiltration points or "targets". Each target will be a building that you must infiltrate to gain the intel inside. The buildings will be guarded by samurai, and if any of them raise the alarm while you are in the building, you and your team will be disqualified." Takanome absorbed the information as Okisuke paused for a moment.
"Within each building you will find one of two kinds of first is essential intel, which you must obtain and retain at least one of in order to pass this stage. It takes the form of a jeweled brooch, and your team will pass the first stage if you bring it back here. The second is bonus intel, which will be in scrolls tied with a blue ribbon. The contents of these scrolls will assist you during the second stage of the exam... if you make it that far." The samurai once again paused as the competitors whispered among themselves.
"Inter team combat and sabotage is allowed, as is stealing intel from others. Killing of other teams is allowed, but will reflect badly on you. However, killing of Samurai guards is absolutely forbidden. If you do so, your entire village will be expelled from the event. Now please collect your maps, the first stage will begin at dusk."
Takanome gulped as Team 3 made their way over to collect their map. He could feel the gazes of dozens of other Genin on the back of his head. They needed to get in as soon as possible, and then get out.
Or they wouldn't live to see another sunrise.
A/N: Hey everyone, hope you enjoyed the chapter. Sorry I took longer than usual, been crushed by uni work and this whole COVID-19 mess (btw hope everyone stays safe and healthy!). Plus, If I'd put the first stage in this chapter like I originally intended, you would be waiting quite a bit longer. If you have something to say, I'd love to hear from you and thank you as always to TheMasterDoughnut for Betaing.
Thanks for reading
Unicorn Out