Disclaimer – Naw, I don't own Naruto…some of the characters in the story may be manifestations of my imagination, but for the most part, nope. ITACHI RULES!

Rated K For general audiences

Through These Crimson Eyes

Chapter One – Passing the Exam

Uchiha Itachi was probably the only one present who possessed no significant injuries and/or had been ruffed up enough in the second part of the exam to be noticed right off the bat. Those around him were a lot worse off than he was, and some had some pretty nasty left-overs from the pain of the second exam. One kid practically lost an arm, it looked like. Itachi regarded it all in silence, not really caring one way or another.

His father's voice kept drifting into his thoughts, reminding him what his purpose was here. His purpose was to pass this test with top marks, thus bringing further glory to the already glorious Uchiha Clan, of which he was "an honor to be representing in these exams", as quoted by his father.

He mentally seethed. He was tired of always being the one looked upon as a prodigy, the genius of the Uchiha Clan. There were those out there stronger than him, still…why didn't everyone just go flocking to them instead? What made him so special?

He clenched his fists.

Yes…there were those out there stronger than him.

"Allright…first off, I would like to take the opportunity in congratulating each and every one of you in coming this far. You've endured days stuck in the forest of death, surrounded by…"

Itachi tuned out the proctor, not really caring to listen. He already knew what he was going to say anyways. Overcoming obstacles…please. Itachi growled inwardly…if the second exam had been an obstacle in which he had been hard-pressed to overcome, he was dreadfully disappointed. He could only hope that from this point on, things would get a lot more interesting…

The first exam had been so easy it had almost tempted him to quit right there. He wasn't one to waste his ability on something so pathetic…with his sharingan eyes, which he had mastered two years prior to ever taking the exam, it had proved an easy task to simply copy other's answers…and he hadn't even been caught, nor seemed to be looked upon with suspicion by any of the jounin elite whom had kept an eye out for cheaters…he clenched his fists again, his knuckles popping. Was it simply because he was an Uchiha? If nothing else, he despised being given special treatment. He hadn't made too much of an effort to conceal what he was doing, and he was sure that they had noticed it.

"…Uchiha Itachi?" The proctor repeated, and Itachi realized he had been trying to get his attention for some time now. He met the proctor's gaze, confirming his attention and wordlessly urged him to continue.

"Omano Hikari…the girl who had been assigned to your two-man team. Did she fall behind? If so, when can we expect…"

"She didn't make it." Itachi interrupted, without a hint of emotion. The proctor seemed taken aback for a moment, as if he was shocked at the kid's lack of compassion for his companion.

Not that I care…she wasn't even a companion, really. When did she ever help?

"Um…" The proctor began, scratching the back of his hair.

"Well, Okay than." He continued. "In that case, the number of possible candidates for chuunin is narrowed down slightly…bringing it down to a total of 8."

8 Chuunin, hm? Itachi quickly counted the number of participants, scanning the room. 25, excluding Hikari. He smirked. Well…it would seem as though the next test would actually be a real test, if the numbers were so low.

"Before we begin the third and final portion of the chuunin selection exams, we will perform preliminary matches to bring the amount of possible chuunin even lower."

Itachi grinned. Yes, he understood the logic behind this. The other genin mumbled and groaned…this was probably not what they had been expecting.

"On top of that, uh…" The proctor continued, scratching the back of his head again. "We will begin immediately."

Some genin began to shout, others stormed off angrily. Itachi merely regarded them all in silent contemplation.

He was actually finding himself to be quite eager. He scanned the room again, trying to get a sense of the relative strength of the other ninja present…

Besides the proctor, the jounin, and the other elite ninja who were watching over the exam, no one else seemed particularly noticeable. Most were to weak to even register anywhere close to Itachi's level…

However, there were a few exceptions…a team consisting of three ninja whom he could not currently recognize, as they had apparently hidden their headbands under some article of clothing or taken them off, for whatever reason.

The three radiated a sense of power, raw and brutal, though on the outside they appeared half as cool and collected as Itachi himself, and that was saying something. Itachi's interest was piqued. These three definitely had a lot of power…nothing like the other genin here. They also seemed to be contemplating the situation as Itachi was doing, approaching things from an intellectual level rather than acting brashly and throwing a fit like the others were doing. Itachi couldn't help but smile, ever so softly.

Maybe this test wouldn't be as bad as he had previously thought.

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And there's chapter one! Shorter than the prologue, I know, but I'll make up for it with chapter 2!

Please R&R!