Hosha had learned from a young age to not take blessings for granted. In this case, the blessing came in the form of the first exam of the Chunin Exams.

She had spent the better part of the last few days wandering around Konoha or practicing on the field that the Yondaime had given her team. She had been drowned in her own boredom as she tried and failed to think of better ways to occupy her time in foreign territory.

In the end, the day of the first task came upon her before she even knew it.

Shisui, Yarui, and Darui were all gathered at the Academy where they were supposed to check in, waiting for Hosha's team for the Chunin Exams.

Ikate and Hatori walked through the gates a minute before they would be allowed to head in, Deidara trailing behind the two in a graceful stride. His eyes scanned the grounds quickly before he located Hosha.

A small smile graced his features and he gestured her over.

Hosha wasted no time as she ran and launched herself into her brother's arms, hugging his waist as she let out a laugh.

"Hey Ni-San, come to see us off?" She asked him as she pulled away and looked up. Her eyes caught the light and Deidara had to stop himself from cooing at how cute she was.

"Yes, and to tell you to be safe. I know you can handle yourself, and that it won't just be you, but watch yourselves, okay?" He asked her, earning a sharp nod in return.

"Hai, Ni-San, we won't let you down!" She confirmed as her eyes met his and she formed a salute with her free arm.

Ikate and Hatori both walked up beside her, taking their positions as her guards. They had done it for many missions before this and would continue to do it for missions after.

Now, Hosha gestured to her other team and the group of six began to walk into the Konoha Academy. They started up the stairs to the third floor, ignoring the ruckus on the second floor, before coming out at the third floor.

As they walked onto the third floor corridor, they were greeted with the team of Genin they had run into not long ago.

There was the red-headed midget, the Uchiha that Hosha had somewhat befriended, and the pink haired Kunoichi.

"Well, what do you know." Ikate spoke up, cheekily smiling. He opened his mouth to rile the team as they tensed up. His antagonization was stopped by Hatori swiftly knocking him over the head with a calm slap.

"Shut it Ikate." Hatori said, casting his friend a withering glare while Hosha laughed at them.

"Well, it's good to see you all. Now, let's not die too see, neh? I do actually want to fight you…" Hosha said, looking past the others and their Sensei to stare at the Uchiha.

"Again, that is. I would like to see just how good you are." Hosha said to the boy, her voice dropping its dark tone before she straightened up and moved past the group of Genin. Her teams followed, Shisui, Yarui, and Darui all watching the others closely.

Hosha could feel the Sensei's eyes on her, the son of the White Fang gazing intently at her back. She didn't care. She wasn't afraid.

They entered the room and were greeted to multiple seats lined upwards in a podium-style, teams sitting down by each other and even some milling about on their feet. Immediately the atmosphere changed, the other Nin taking in the team of Iwa Genin.

Hosha calmly led her team to seats in the back that weren't filled, situating herself by the window and a vent above her. She also sat between Hatori and Ikate, and the others filled in beside them.

They took the time to observe the other teams, leading to Hosha wanting to sneer.

It seemed that Konoha wasn't the only village growing soft with their methods. Out of all the villages Hosha saw promise only in the Suna Teams, the Elder Konoha Teams, and the Ame Teams. Other than that, she wasn't worried.

Of course, there were new players, such as the Oto Team, but she knew that if it came down to it, she could always find a way out. Roshi would never have raised her to rely only on one sense or to not plan ahead given what you have.

The Suna Shinobi seemed to be the most dangerous to her, next to a team from Kusa, but there was just something off with that team. The Suna Shinobi were far more…feral. In fact, the smallest red head of the bunch felt a lot like Han and Roshi did to her.

It was very curious.

"Hey, looks like the Konoha Team doesn't know when to quit." Hatori whispered from beside her, gesturing to the crowd of Konoha Genin gathered at the door. They were drawing unnecessary attention to themselves by causing a ruckus.

Hosha sighed as she looked away from the group her children. She paused when her gaze settled on another Konoha Team, this one filling her with a sense of rivalry. The girl, Sashiko, was in this group with her two teammates. They were quietly conversing together as they observed their competition, behaving as ninja should.

Skilled though the other team may have been, especially the Uchiha, Hosha would rather fight Sashiko again. She had enjoyed their little banter and the girl's sharp wit. She would definitely be a force to be reckoned with if she lived to be a Jonin.

"Are you going to settle down so we can take the Exam, or are you all going to stand in the way?" A woman's voice called out, and Hosha was reminded of the woman she met at the ramen stand. She turned her attention to the front, and sure enough that same Kunoichi stood at the head.

She was surrounded by Chunin who all glared at the Genin causing a ruckus. Among them, the red head from the Uchiha's group seemed to freeze. He physically hauled his team to a seat at the front, trying to stay clear of the woman's glare.

"Hmm, familiar face….Red Hair…" Hosha muttered, glancing between the woman and the boy.

There was no way the two weren't related and guessing on the smile the woman hid from the boy and what she had told Hosha and her team…This must be the boy's mother.

"Yay…" Hosha sighed, earning her looks form Hatori and Ikate while her other team picked up on what she had just discovered.

"Alright worms, it's time for your first Exam. Take a seat, and if you move you are out of here! Now then…The First Exam will start shortly, right now I need to you all to come down, one team at a time as your name is called, and then pick a number from this hat!" The Kunoichi called, holding up a bandana with strips of paper inside.

"Afterwards I'll explain the rest." She said, and one by one each team was called down.

It was a little hilarious that amongst the simple, "Team 10 from Konoha!" there was also "Team Overkill from Iwa!". It was amusing to watch people stare at her team in wonder about their odd name. Then of course came her and her brother's team.

"Team Rewind from Iwa!" The name was called and Hosha could hear gears turning as she walks down ahead of the others. She stopped and drew from the hat, meeting the Kunoichi's eyes as she saw the spark of familiarity enter. She pulled it out and looked down, her eyes sifting over the characters scrawled on the front. A map, or a piece of one. This was going to be interesting.

She started back up as Hatori and Ikate grabbed their pieces, the three taking their seats as the last few teams were called down.

They all placed down their papers and found that they were connected to each other, laying out to form a wall and what looked to be a city street. If Hosha had to guess, this was a scavenger hunt in Konoha, and in order to find what they needed to advance, they had to take other parts of the maps around them.

Hosha smirked and leaned back in her chair, memorizing the pieces of her map as she handed them off to Ikate. He hit them on his person as she observed the others and took in their pieces of the map.

She was glad she took the high ground now.

"Alright, now that everyone has their piece, I'll explain the agenda. You were all given slips of a map that was torn apart. There are only 15 full copies, so if you want to get the item marked on them and advance to the next test, you'll have to steal or share them with others. After finding the item you are to return to this room and present it to a proctor. No killing this first round, and it starts…Now!" The woman called out and Hosha was out the window without a word. She felt Hatori and Ikate at her back as several teams followed their lead.

This was going to be good.

I~~~~I

Sashiko stood still in the room as the rest of the teams left. Well, most of them left. A Team of Suna Nin and a Team of Oto Nin had stayed behind. The two were currently fighting for their pieces and hadn't noticed that there was another team left over.

Sighing, Sashiko raised her hand as she looked down at the two teams.

"Blood Style, Blood Bindings." She called, not caring as they two teams were wrapped up under her binds. They cried out but couldn't stop her or her teammates as they looted their bodies. Ken held up the maps, away from the prying eyes, and they pieced them together as they figured out where they should go next. Outside several teams were fighting, while others were sneaking away to find what was on there maps.

Based on the nine sheets of paper, of only which one was a duplicate, Sashiko found the spot that was marked with the item.

"There we go." She spoke, before signing to Sai.

"Market District?" She questioned.

"The Western. Dongo Shop." Sai replied quickly, his ease and practice with the language rather odd for one his age.

Sashiko nodded and they gathered the papers together, before they left.

I~~~~I

"You want to what?" Sakura asked her teammates, watching them from where they were positioned in their tree.

Menma help up a finger to silence her as he looked down below at the other teams, his eyes focused on the map they were piecing together.

"Follow them. Then we snatch the item and take it back." Menma whispered.

Sasuke nodded as he gripped a couple Kunai, watching the group closely.

"You and I can trap them in a Genjutsu, Haruno, and then we can go in and knock them out. Simple, swift, and easy." Sasuke spoke.

Sakura sighed and nodded, gulping as she readied some of her ninja wire. It would come in handy.

The team jolted up and started to shoot towards the next spot, leaving behind their map. Sasuke spared one moment to light it on fire as Team Seven dropped down, before they bolted after their victims, giving chase.

I~~~~I

Minato looked out of the village. He could see the teams running around his beloved home, causing ruckus but being sure to behave were civilians were concerned. For the most part, Civilians treaded like normal. This was a test, after all, and they had seen and been through worse.

Minato's focus was on more than just the First Exam, however. It showed too, in the way his eyes darted to find a spec of the one who he had seen earlier. He had asked Kushina to keep an eye out for the girl, but he hadn't told her why.

He wasn't sure how his wife would take it if Hosha was what Minato thought. The problem was, how? She hadn't been found, he had traced his steps and struggled to locate his baby girl, and for her to have been in Iwa all these years, it was an odd thought.

He would wait and see. He would figure it out, and when he did…He would ask Hosha.

For now though, he had his own duties to attend to. He needed to prepare for the next events and make sure that Jiraya and Orochimaru had set everything up correctly.

A knock sounded on the door, and Minato turned to let them in.

"Come in." He said, watching the door closely. His ANBU were nearby so he wasn't really worried.

The door opened to reveal Michiko and Shikaku. The two looked a little worn, Michiko especially.

"The first Exam went off without a hitch. Kushina is really enjoying watching them scramble to get what they need." Michiko spoke up as she walked straight to the couch.

Customary to her whenever she had a bad day, the woman dropped onto the couch, bouncing only a bit before she stretched out.

Minato sighed at the woman, smiling softly. He rather enjoyed her quirks, as annoying as some of them could be.

Shikaku laughed at her, his chuckles relaxing the tension in Minato's shoulders.

His friends were there for him. He knew he could trust them. But, could he trust them with something like this? Would they call him crazy for wanting, for hoping?

Minato didn't want to face brutal dismissal, but he also didn't want to lie to his advisors, his friends.

His decision made, Minato leaned on his desk and faced them, clearing his throat. He flashed his chakra and activated the privacy seals in his room, the ANBU flickering out of his presence.

Michiko sat up as she and Shikaku grew serious.

"What is it, Minato?" Michiko asked, her voice soft and low.

Minato reached around and tugged out the file he had been looking at, tossing it over to Shikaku.

"I want you to hear me out completely." He told them.

Michiko hopped up to join Shikaku, the two looking over Iwatoshi Hosha's file. Their eyes scanned it briefly before they looked back at him.

"I think…" Minato began, before stealing himself.

"I believe that I may have found Naruto."

I~~~~I

There we go. I finally got this chapter up. I hope you guys enjoy.