Hello, everyone~! Hope this lovely month of August is treating you all well! I'm SO excited for the story going forward since the Chunin Exams is my SECOND favorite Arc in the entirety of Naruto!
Although with how I plan on handling this arc, I do have an important question for you all so please read until the end!
With all that said, let the chapter begin FFS! ^_^
"Man…..these Chunin Exams really are different that the ones we took a while back." Boruto mused as he and his team followed Team 7 down the corridor leading to the third floor.
"Yeah, the buildings are definitely more dated. I'm excited to see what Mama and Papa went through!" Sarada grinned excitedly, eager to see more of her mom and dad in action, even though her mom hadn't been terribly active in these memories just yet.
As Team Seven continued walking through the hallways and entered a small entry way, a familiar voice got everyone's attention.
"Hey you, with the attitude! Hold on!" The voice of Rock Lee announced from the top of the room as both Teams Seven and Konohamaru turned to look up at Rock Lee standing at the stairs above the top of the room.
"It's Uncle Lee! What does he want?" Boruto asked.
"If I have my hunches about what we saw earlier, he may wanna test Papa out. He was called the Rookie of his year of graduates if I remember right…" Sarada theorized.
"What do you want?" Sasuke asked as Naruto tilted his head in confusion while Sakura grimaced and tensed at the sight of Rock Lee, no doubt remembering his rather lame offer to her from arlier.
"I want to fight you, right here and right now!" Lee announced, proving Sarada right.
"What'd I tell you?" Sarada asked.
"Huh….so Uncle Lee versus Uncle Sasuke? This should be interesting." Boruto said as Sasuke merely cocked an eyebrow.
"You want to fight me, here and now, huh?" Sasuke asked.
"Yes." Lee answered before jumping down to meet them at ground level, "My name is Rock Lee. You said it was common courtesy for a challenger to give his own name first, right? Sasuke Uchiha?" Lee asked, making Sasuke's already raised eyebrow cock even more upwards.
"Hmph, so you know me?" Sasuke questioned as Lee donned a fighting pose.
"I challenge you. Everyone is always talking about the Uchiha Clan and how great they are. I want to see if it is true. I figure you would be a good test for me." Lee stated to Sasuke.
"Makes sense in that regard. This will definitely be an interesting fight." Mitsuki said as Lee turned his eyes to Sakura, unnerving the pink head as his cheeks flushed.
"Oh, Sakura! I love you!" Lee bluntly stated without even the slightest bit of dignity as Sarada rubbed her forehead.
"Way to be blunt and head on!" Sarada shook her head, though a part of her did sort of respect Lee in being upfront and open with his feelings.
Boruto and Mitsuki however found the exchange nothing short of hilarious as Boruto had to cover his mouth with his hands.
However, Sakura was nothing short of repulsed as she screamed and wrapped her arms around herself.
"Those eyebrows can't be real! Your hairstyle is horrible too and those eyebrows are so bushy! You're such a weirdo!" Sakura spat with nothing but disdain in her voice.
However, this only seemed to invigorate Lee's feelings all the more.
"You are an angel sent from heaven!" Lee beamed before winking a heart at Sakura which she narrowly dodged.
"Whoa! He sent a heart at Auntie!" Boruto remarked, slightly impressed.
"A peculiar new jutsu?" Mitsuki raised an eyebrow, just as curious as his teammate.
"Are you two idiots serious!?" Sarada yelled at her idiot teammates.
"That was a good move but let us see you dodge these!" Lee continued to wink even more hearts as Sakura was dodging and avoiding those hearts for dear life before eventually falling backwards on her head.
This was too much for Boruto and Mitsuki as they nearly doubled over in their laughter. Or rather Boruto did as Mitsuki was chuckling with more dignity than his blonde friend.
Even though Sarada was unnerved at Lee's pursuit of her future mother, she couldn't deny this was a bit humorous to watch.
"Hey! Keep your creepy little valentines to yourself! I was dodging for my life there!" Sakura spat as this started another laughing fit between Boruto and Mitsuki.
"Man! In another universe, Lee could've been Sarada's dad!" Boruto wiped tears from his eyes as Sarada's eyes widened in horror before smacking Boruto silly.
"Don't even give me that mental image!" Sarada growled as she cringed imagining her with Lee's facial features, mainly his eyebrows.
Sarada would truly be a sight to behold if that was the case.
"You do not have to be so negative Sakura…." Lee moaned sadly as Sasuke decided to get straight to business.
"You've heard of the Uchiha Clan yet you're challenging me? You must be even more psycho than you look, if that's possible. You want to know more about my clan? Then I'll teach you the hard way." Sasuke's eyes narrowed as rather than looking intimidated with Sasuke's threat, Lee actually looked excited.
"Bring it on." Lee smirked as he was about to get ready for the fight of the century.
But before any fight could begin….
"Hold it!" Naruto yelled, getting the attention of everyone as he had an irritated vein in his head, no doubt irritated with the attention Sasuke received.
"I get him first. This weirdo is mine." Naruto spat with steel in his voice.
"Go for it." Sasuke said, not even looking at Naruto.
"I can only wonder how this fight is gonna go…." Boruto said.
"Yes, especially since Lord Seventh isn't nearly as impressive as he is now." Mitsuki noted.
"No thank you. Right now, the only one I want to fight is Uchiha." Lee straightforwardly answered.
"Yeah? Well I've got news for you! Sasuke can't compare to me, believe it!" Naruto yelled as he reeled his arm back for a punch as Lee stood his ground.
Although much to the amazement of everyone he merely tapped Naruto's palm before sweeping his feet under.
"Leaf Whirlwind!" Lee said as Naruto crashed into the wall behind him, knocking out the orange clad ninja.
"Man, he's fast!" Boruto blinked, surprised at how fast Naruto was taken out.
"Yeah! Like yeah he's not on the level he was now but he was basically fodderized…" Sarada cringed at how hard Naruto hit the wall behind him.
Sasuke and Sakura stared at Lee with amazement clear in their features as they were no doubt amazed with the strength Lee had displayed with little to no effort on his end.
"Just accept it. You have no chance against me. Your skills are inferior because you see Sasuke, out of all the top Leaf Genin, I am the best. Fight me and I will prove it to you." Lee said as a small smirk adorned Sasuke's features.
"Hmph, this'll be fun. Let's do it." Sasuke smirked as Sakura looked to the clock above before turning back to Sasuke in concern.
"There's no time, Sasuke. We've got to register by 3:00. That's less than half an hour." Sakura reminded Sasuke who closed his eyes with a scoff.
"Relax, this'll all be over in five seconds." Sasuke simply said before charging Lee.
"Why do I feel this won't be as easy as he says?" Sarada muttered.
"Hey, don't be such a downer!" Boruto said as Sasuke attempted to combat Lee but he was easily evaded and was pushed back by Lee's "Leaf Hurricane" but Sasuke decided to pick himself back up with a trump card under his belt.
"Hmph, I've been waiting to try this out." Sasuke smirked as Sakura beamed like a young child on Christmas morning as he revealed his Sharingan.
"This should definitely get interesting." Mitsuki smiled.
However, much to everyone's surprise, Lee was able to keep pace with Sasuke and even gave him an uppercut to his jaw.
"You see, my technique is not ninjutsu or genjutsu." Lee said as he charged as Sasuke, giving him several kicks that he was barely able to dodge before nailing Sasuke with punches he couldn't dodge as Naruto started to slowly awaken.
"S-Sasuke!" Naruto blinked in surprise that the eccentric Lee was actually keeping pace with Sasuke.
"Do you see now? I am using Taijutsu which means no tricks, Sasuke. It is straight martial arts, nothing more." Lee said as he suddenly appeared right behind Sasuke, much to his chagrin.
"Why you!" Sasuke spat, trying to smack Lee away before he body-flickered away again as he appeared right in front of him.
"I know your technique, forget it. It will not work, not on me. I know you can see through your opponent's jutsu. The Sharingan gives you the ability to read ones chakra and decipher his hand signs and movements. You can guess what he's gonna do almost before he knows himself." Lee explained the fundamentals of Sharingan much to Sasuke's amazement.
"Well he's practically an encyclopedia of Sharingan…" Boruto shook his head.
"Well his sensei is Guy-Sensei who's best friends with Sharingan Kakashi so it makes sense on why he'd be well-versed in the mechanics of Sharingan to some extent." Sarada shrugged.
"The problem is that Taijutsu is just a little bit different." Lee said.
"Right. So what's your point?" Sasuke asked, feeling a bit embarrassed on how the fight isn't going in his favor.
"I do not try to hide or disguise my movements. I do not have to. Even if you can read them, you cannot stop them. You are too slow. Your eyes may be quick enough to stay one step ahead of me, but if your body cannot keep up, what good does it do to you? You know what? Here is what I believe. There are two different kinds of ninja, those like you who are born with talent and do not have to work at it and those like me, the ones who have to train every day of our lives!" Lee said.
"Well he's not wrong….." Sarada looked down.
"Yeah….we're strong….because of who our parents are…" Boruto felt a bit….entitled at that notion. Just how strong would he be if his mom wasn't the Byakugan Princess and if his dad wasn't the Seventh Hokage?
This seemed to stir something within Sasuke as he immediately charged Lee in an attempt to best and finally defeat Lee with several right hooks and kicks but this was to no avail.
"Fact it, your Sharingan is the worst match for my extreme Taijutsu. Here is what I mean." Lee said before kicking Sasuke up into the air before anyone could see anything.
"Hey what happened?" Boruto asked, trying to look around for any sign of his sensei.
"Up there!" Mitsuki pointed as Lee appeared right behind Sasuke.
"Dancing Leaf Shadow…" Sasuke's eyes narrowed.
"Good eye. Now I will prove my point that hard work beats out natural talent." Lee said as Sasuke's eyes widened, no doubt wondering what Lee's next move was.
"You're finished!" Lee said as the bandages around his wrists started to unravel. But before Lee could follow through with his threat a star suddenly flew across the room, sticking one of his bandages to the wall, getting the attention of everyone in the room.
"This is bad…." Lee dreaded.
"Alright, that's enough! Lee?" A ninja turtle said as Lee immediately darted over to the summons as Sakura caught Sasuke.
"Well that was definitely….interesting?" Sarada blinked.
"Yeah….Uncle Lee handed Uncle Sasuke his ass!" Boruto bluntly stated not believing his eyes.
"We all have to lose a fight at some point…" Mitsuki said.
"Man….I wonder if there was some way they had a rematch…." Sarada said, genuinely wondering how a fight between the two would go after so many years.
"Probably in a gag manga where they were chibis." Boruto said, ignoring the bizarre looks he received from his teammates.
"….Y….you were watching us….the whole time?" Lee asked, looking down as Team Konohamaru could actually see fear in his eyes.
"Of course. That last technique is forbidden, you know that. You're a disgrace! You think you'll get away with a bunch of lame excuses? A Shinobi never reveals unless it's absolutely necessary! It's such a basic rule, you should know it by now!" The turtle chided the young green clad ninja as Team Seven stared at the whole exchange disturbed.
"Forgive me sir…" Lee sighed as Sasuke growled, clearly irate at losing to someone like Lee.
"Are you prepared to take the punishment for your actions?" The turtle scowled.
"I….yes sir…" Lee sighed.
"Alright then, please come out, Guy-Sensei!" The turtle said as in a tuft of smoke, a younger looking Might Guy came out of the wood work.
"Well that's certainly one hell of an entrance! Like a friggin genie!" Boruto blinked.
"Why are he and Lee so extra?" Sarada muttered as Team Seven was no doubt freaked at how Might Guy essentially came from under a turtle's ass.
"Hey! What's shakin'!? How you doin', everybody!? Life treatin ya good!?" Might Guy grinned as he was decked out in a very eccentric pose.
"Huh!?" All of Team Seven collectively yelled.
"He's got the biggest eyebrows yet! They're almost alike!" Naruto shouted, referring to Might Guy and Rock Lee's similar appearances.
"Are we sure they're not father and son?" Sarada whispered to her teammates.
"I'm….not sure…." Boruto shook his head.
"Hi, Lee." Guy winked as Team Seven bristled at the sight of Guy.
"Too weird…" Sakura grimaced.
"So that's where Lee gets it from. Same soup bowl haircut and even bushier eyebrows!" Naruto bluntly stated much to Lee's chagrin.
"Hey! Do not insult Guy-Sensei! He is one of the greatest men in the entire world!" Lee spat out, not at all pleased with the disrespect Naruto was dishing out to his sensei.
"Well excuse me for not noticing his greatness! I was too busy watching him crawling out from under the turtle!" Naruto spat back as Team Konohamaru no doubt found their exchange nothing short of amusing.
"Okay this is weird but funny at the same time." Sarada giggled.
"Right!? And I thought Metal was a fruit loop!" Boruto snickered.
"He did not crawl-" Lee was about to argue as Guy decided to put an end between the team's childish bickering.
"Give it a rest, Lee." Guy waved off Team Seven's rudeness.
"Huh? Y-yes sir." Lee looked down as he braced himself for whatever Guy had in store for him for acting irrationally.
"Now for your punishment…" Guy cracked his hand before reeling it back, "You fool!" Guy clocked Lee dead in his face much to the comical shock of both Team Seven and Team Konohamaru.
"What the hell!? That was a bit too much don't you think!?" Boruto flailed his arms.
"Geez that's going way overboard!" Sarada yelled out just in dismay.
As Lee landed on his hand, Guy walked over to his favorite protégé with sadness in his eyes as he kneeled to Lee on the ground.
"I'm sorry Lee…but it's for your own good…" Guy apologized to Lee with regret clearly evident in his voice.
"…S….Sensei…." Lee got choked up as both master and student were in tears.
"Oh Lee…." Guy smiled through his tears.
"O-Oh Sensei….I-I am so sorry!" Lee's face scrunched up in tears as Guy decided to wave off Lee's previous idiotic transactions.
"Alright, it's over….you don't need to say anymore! Lee!" Guy held out his arms as Lee jumped straight into Guy's arms.
"Sensei!" Lee sobbed as the image of a sunset appeared behind them with a rising ocean wave splashing behind the two green clad ninja.
"What the hell just happened!?" Boruto and Sarada exclaimed simultaneously with wide blank eyes and disturbed expressions.
"….Is the sunset some sort of aerial projection jutsu?" Mitsuki genuinely asked as Team Seven looked just as disturbed as Boruto and Sarada.
"Hey! The turtle's crying too!" Boruto pointed as the turtle was just as emotional as Guy and Lee.
"What is wrong with that team!?" Sarada yelled.
"Hey, it's kinda sweet the way they're all huggy and stuff!" Naruto grinned as Sakura stared at Naruto like he was just as crazy as Guy and Lee.
"Huh!? You've got to be kidding! They're both totally crazy!" Sakura looked close to clocking the orange moron in his skull before the ocean wave sunset disappeared as Lee and Guy regained somewhat of their dignity.
"You're just caught in between. You're too old to be called a boy and not yet quite a man." Guy wiped his eyes as he smiled as his protégé as he clapped a hand on Lee's shoulder.
"You are so good to me, Guy-Sensei." Lee sniffled as Guy pointed to the courtyard of the Academy.
"Now take off. I want you to give me a hundred laps around the practice field. Show me what you got!" Guy commanded his student.
"Yes sir!" Lee eagerly agreed.
"Run into the setting sun. Run and suffer! But don't mess up your hair. Now let's go!" Guy grinned enthusiastically.
"Right!" Lee grinned as Boruto and Sarada deadpanned.
"….Are we sure they're not related?" Sarada sighed.
"Well the Ninja World is vast." Mitsuki smiled.
Team Seven had those same levels of being disturbed before they remembered what was important, the Chunin Exams.
"Hey, wait a minute! We're not finished here. You guys just can't take off like that!" Naruto reminded the two.
"And what about the Chunin Exams? There's no time for fooling around." Sakura added on.
"Oh, uh right. I forgot about that." Guy sheepishly laughed before turning to Lee.
"Lee, you not only disobeyed the rule against fighting but you've disrupted the Chunin Exams. I think that warrants a slightly more severe punishment, don't you?" Guy asked.
"Yes sir." Lee agreed.
"Let's say five hundred laps! How does that sound?" Guy raised his arm over his head as Lee eagerly shook his head.
"Outstanding sir!" Lee beamed though Team Seven were very unimpressed with their level of energy.
"….They're insane." Sakura deadpanned.
"Probably. But never mind them, what's the deal with that turtle?" Naruto asked his teammates before Guy turned his attention to Kakashi's team.
"Tell me, how is Kakashi-Sensei?" Guy asked as Team Seven looked at Guy in surprise.
"Do you know him?" Sasuke asked.
"Do I know Kakashi? Well….people say he and I are archrivals for all eternity." Guy clapped a hand under his chin as Team Seven definitely looked unconvinced at that.
"There's just no way!" Naruto and Sakura spat.
"How dare you!? If Guy-Sensei says it is true then-"An offended Lee was about to tell off both Naruto and Sakura before Guy cut him off.
"Let it die Lee. A ninja's actions speak louder than their words." Guy said before he suddenly body-flickered behind Team Seven.
"My record is 50 wins and 49 losses which is one better than his, by the way." Guy bragged much to the astonishment of Team Seven.
"Damn! I didn't know it was that close!" Boruto blinked.
"Then again with how powerful the Gates are it makes somewhat sense…" Sarada put her hand under her chin in thought.
"If they fought with the evolution of Master Kakashi's Sharingan and with Guy-Sensei in his prime before he lost his leg….I wonder who would win…" Mitsuki donned a pensive expression.
"Oh that's right, Old Man Guy's leg!" Boruto looked down to see Guy standing on both feet rather than being wheelchair clad like he had known him for the majority of his life.
"I wonder how he lost his leg…." Sarada pondered.
"It was said that he lost it during the Fourth Great Ninja War so these memories may shed light onto how that happened." Mitsuki said as Team Seven looked at Guy with a new wind.
"What!? You're kidding! How'd he beat Kakashi!" Naruto looked at Guy bug-eyed as Guy merely smiled at Naruto's bluntness rather than being offended by Naruto's rudeness.
"The fact is I'm stronger than Kakashi and faster." Guy winked.
"You see? Guy-Sensei is the best there is." Lee added though Team Seven were too shocked at Guy to pay Lee any attention.
"I'm sorry for the trouble Lee caused you. Look into my eyes and accept my sincere apology." Guy grinned with a thumbs up.
"If that's his way of saying sorry, it really sucks." Sarada deadpanned.
"I'd accept it." Mitsuki shrugged as Sarada just rolled her eyes at the son of Orochimaru.
However it was then that Naruto and Team Konohamaru noticed the state of Lee's hands.
"Hey his hands? Burn marks?" Boruto asked.
"How did that happen?" Sarada asked before Lee covered them up.
"Guess we'll find out later in these memories." Mitsuki shrugged.
"Remember, give it your best. Lee, farewell!" Guy said before body-flickering away much to everyone except for Lee's surprise.
"Hey, Sasuke. Actually, I have not been totally honest with you. I said I wanted to test my skills and that is true enough but you are not really the one I wanted to test them against. I lied to you when we were fighting before. I told you I am the best genin here but there is another top ninja, someone on my own team." Lee said as Sasuke cocked an eyebrow in intrigue.
"Uncle Neji…." Boruto clenched his fist.
"I wonder just how strong he was back when he was alive…." Sarada said as Lee continued.
"I came here to defeat him. You were just practice but now you are a target. I will crush you so consider yourself warned." Lee said as Sasuke growled as he clenched his fist before Lee jumped to the top and made his way to reunite with his team.
"Well guess Uncle Sasuke knows to watch his back." Boruto said.
"Totally." Sarada agreed.
"Sasuke…" Sakura frowned in concern as Sasuke turned to the side, clearly frustrated.
"Huh….how about that? Looks like the Uchihas aren't as great as everybody thinks they are." Naruto scoffed.
"Naruto!" Sakura growled.
"Oh patronize him, why don't you?" Sarada glared at Naruto, still not believing such a kind, thoughtful man was such a little brat.
"Just shut up! Next time I'll drive him to his knees!" Sasuke growled.
"Yeah, right. Who just got his butt kicked?" Naruto rolled his eyes before looking to the side
"What're you saying? Just cut it out, Naruto!" Sakura chided Naruto as Sasuke glared at Naruto though Naruto paid the two of them no mind.
"You saw his hands, didn't you? When he took off the tape? I bet old Bushy Brows has been training until he drops, day in and day out. He trains harder than you. That's all I'm saying." Naruto said.
"That's pretty blunt though." Sarada couldn't believe just how unsympathetic Naruto was being though Boruto noticed the look in Naruto's eyes. It was one of….jealousy?
"He was probably being that way because he was jealous….like dad always harps on the importance of hard work yet look how he compares to Uncle Sasuke. He gets owned by him while Uncle Lee handed him his and Uncle Sasuke's ass. It must kill him to no how little he is the grand scheme of things." Boruto said.
"Indeed. He's like a small fish in a big pond right now." Mitsuki added.
"Yeah…you're both right." Sarada said as Sasuke looked down before clenched his fists.
"Fine. This thing's starting to get interesting. The Chunin Exams, huh? I can't wait to see what's next!" Sasuke smirked as Naruto and Sakura smiled their agreement.
"Right!" Naruto grinned as the three friends stood side by side.
"Let's get started. Naruto! Sakura!" Sasuke announced.
"Right!" Naruto cheered as the three teammates made their way to the third floor after so long. However right outside the room where the Chunin Exams would take place stood a very familiar face.
"Old Man Kakashi?" Boruto asked.
"I guess he's here to see them off?" Sarada wondered as Team Seven looked just as confused at the sight of him.
"Kakashi-Sensei?" Naruto asked.
"What're you doing here?" Sakura blinked as Sasuke was just as curious despite being silent.
"Glad you came, Sakura. For your sake and the others." Kakashi said as Team Seven looked equally confused.
"Now you can all formally register for the Chunin Exams." Kakashi explained as Sakura cocked her head to the side.
"Huh? What do you mean?" Sakura asked.
"You see, only groups of three are allowed to apply for and take the exam. That's the way it's always been." Kakashi added onto his explanation.
"Oh right, I remember. With us, we couldn't enter the Chunin Exams of our time unless all three of us agreed to do so." Mitsuki chuckled as Sarada shot Boruto a dirty look.
"Look it all worked out, okay?" Boruto grinned sheepishly.
"But sensei, you said the decision to take the exam was up to the individual." Sakura was quick to remind her sensei as Kakashi merely stared at her.
"That's right, I did." Kakashi simply said.
"Was that a lie?" Sakura asked.
"Sort of. It's an individual decision but it affects all of you. I didn't tell you before because I didn't want the other guys pressuring you." Kakashi explained as Sakura sent a look to her teammates.
"Well she is right…..Uncle Sasuke and Dad wouldn't be happy if she made a decision that would detriment their opportunity to become Chunin." Boruto noted.
"Yeah….mom is susceptible to peer pressure…" Sarada assumed.
"At the same time, I didn't want you feeling obligated to participate because of any feelings you might have for Sasuke or Naruto. I wanted you to come to a decision of your own free will." Kakashi added on as an addendum to his previous statement.
"Well that's pretty considerate of Master Kakashi. Then again he's always been considerate." Sarada smiled.
"Do you mean if the others had shown but I decided not to come with them-"Sakura was about to ask before Kakashi cut him off.
"It would've been the end of the line. If you hadn't come along, I wouldn't have let the others in. But it's a moot point. You're all here and for the right reasons. Sakura, Naruto and Sasuke; I'm proud of you. I couldn't have asked for a better team. Good luck." Kakashi smiled under his mask as both Teams Seven and Konohamaru smiled at the veteran ninja.
"Heh! Well that's one way to motivate your team." Mitsuki smiled remembering the verbal encouragement and support Konohamaru gave his team before they entered the Chunin Exams.
"I'm excited to see dad and the others kick ass!" Boruto grinned as he pumped his fist while Sarada happily hummed her agreement.
"We won't let you down, sensei! Believe it!" Naruto beamed as the team entered the room on the third floor where the exams would be held as Kakashi stepped aside, Team Konohamaru noticing a distant look in his eyes.
However, upon entering the room, the team were greeted to a sea of unfriendly gazes as they all sized up Team Seven.
"W-what's this?" Naruto gulped as Sasuke merely glared at the foreign ninja as Sakura looked just as freaked as Naruto if not more than Naruto.
"Gee….I guess we're not alone…" Sakura meekly noted as she was no doubt regretting her decision of taking the exams.
"Geez, talk about a friendly welcome." Sarada cringed as she noticed how unfriendly everyone looked.
"And I thought the people we fought were freaky enough…" Boruto muttered remembering ninja like Shinki and Yoroi.
"Guess this just to show just how much the times have changed." Mitsuki said.
However the tense moment was broken by the shriek of a familiar voice.
"Sasuke! Where have you been!?" Ino grinned before wrapping her arms around Sasuke's neck, much to his chagrin.
"Bouy, you have no idea how much I was hoping you'd show up here. I've missed those brooding good looks of yours~!" Ino winked as Sasuke wished he had an ocular ability where she would be evaporated in a sea of flames.
"Auntie Ino….really is embarrassing…." Boruto face-palmed feeling second-hand embarrassment.
"No kidding…" Sarada groaned, not realizing all those stories Sakura told to her about how eccentric Ino was around Sasuke, as only Mitsuki laughed.
Sakura however wasn't amused as a tickmark built in her head as her blood boiled long and hard.
"Hey you porker, back off! He's mine!" Sakura spat as Ino merely scoffed at her.
"Oh Miss Forehead, they let you in? Still got those big frown lines on your billboard brow, I see." Ino smirked.
"Damn, that burn left third degree burns." Boruto winced.
"I could learn a couple of those burns." Mitsuki looked interested, disregarding the bizarre looks he received from his teammates.
"Leave my forehead out of this!" Sakura growled as Ino merely responded with a raspberry and pulling down her eyelid while Naruto just looked lost at all of this.
"Oh it's you guys. I knew this was gonna be a drag but I didn't know it was gonna be this lame." Shikamaru yawned as he walked to the rookies with Choji in tow.
"Huh looks like the gang's all here." Boruto smirked.
"I wonder how strong they were when they were all age…." Sarada pondered as Naruto gave Shikamaru and Choji blank looks.
"So all three stooges are here." Naruto bluntly stated as that was enough to set off Shikamaru.
"Hey, you know what pipsqueak!? Ah, forget it, you're a waste of time." Shikamaru scoffed
"But you know something? Dad and Uncle Shikamaru and Uncle Choji were friends when they were kids but they don't look as close anymore….I wonder what happened…." Boruto frowned.
"From what those other memories have shown us, they were more of distant friends when they were kids. So logically…they may have drifted away…" Sarada looked down as Boruto's frown deepened.
"Oh….I see…" Boruto looked down.
"Sorry but Sasuke's all mine." Ino bragged as Sasuke looked close to putting her under a Genjutsu but barely kept his composure.
"Ugh…mom really was right about her…" Sarada sighed.
"Well, what do you know? It looks like the whole gang's back together again." Kiba smirked with Hinata and Shino behind him.
"Heh, mom." Boruto grinned, remembering how kind his mother was in the past but was always curious as to what changed her into the monster she became as an adult.
"And Master Kiba and Shino. Though….Master Shino looks more refined…." Mitsuki noted.
"And cooler." Sarada snickered.
"H-hi Naruto…." Hinata meekly greeted Naruto as Naruto merely cocked his head at her before she looked away with an embarrassed blush.
"Ugh…this is arguably the most awkward moment I've seen…" Boruto face-palmed as Sarada snickered taking delight in Boruto's embarrassment.
Man, everyone's here for this stupid thing." Shikamaru sighed.
"Yep. Here we all are. The nine rookies. This is going to be so fun. At least, for those of us good enough to make the cut. Right, Sasuke?" Kiba smirked as Sasuke returned the smirk, ignoring Ino.
"Kiba, careful you don't get overconfident." Sasuke smirked, ready for the challenge.
"Huh….reminds me of Shikadai, Metal and the others." Boruto's mind flashed to the friends in his graduating class.
"Just wait. We're gonna blow you guys away." Kiba bragged as it was Naruto's turn to step in.
"And what do you think we've been doing? Sitting around, picking daisies? You don't know what training means!" Naruto glared at Kiba as Hinata tried to cut in as a mediator.
"Uh…don't mind Kiba. I'm sure he didn't really mean anything like it." Hinata meekly said as a pair of footsteps drew the attention of everyone.
"Hey, you guys! You might want to try keeping it down a little. I mean no offense but you're the nine rookies, right? Fresh out of the Academy? I wouldn't go around making a spectacle of yourselves. Just cool it. It's not a class field trip." A young man with spectacles and grey hair approached the group of rookies.
"Hey, it's Kabuto Yakushi!" Sarada noted in realization, remembering him from the Leaf Orphanage.
"That's no doubt him." Mitsuki nodded.
"Who?" Boruto asked, no doubt lost.
"He's was essentially the right hand man of my dad. Although he left him some years ago to run the Leaf Village Orphanage." Mitsuki explained as Boruto remembered how Sasuke left the village to go to Orochimaru and if Kabuto was Orochimaru's right hand man…
"I wonder….what made him have a change of heart…." Boruto's eyes narrowed as Ino gave him an offended glare.
"Well who asked you!? Who are you!?" Ino glared at Kabuto who merely smiled at Ino despite the hostility aimed at him.
"I'm Kabuto Yakushi. But really, look around you. You've made quite an impression." Kabuto said as the rookies all grimaced at the hostile looks they received.
"Geesh, talk about bad first impressions…" Boruto muttered.
"You only get one first impression with someone. Just like how my impression of you were that you were an annoying jerkass." Sarada smirked as the blonde had to be restrained by Mitsuki from giving the Uchiha a piece of his mind.
"See those guys? They're from the Rain Village. Touchy. They all are. This exam makes everyone tense and you don't want to rub them the wrong way right now. But oh well, you can't help it. How could you know how things work? You're just rookies. You remind me of myself a while back." Kabuto smirked at the rookies as Sakura shot the underling of Orochimaru a skeptical look.
"Kabuto? Is that your name?" Sakura asked.
"Yeah." Kabuto confirmed.
"This isn't the first time you've taken the exam?" Sakura raised an eyebrow.
"No, it's my seventh." Kabuto explained as the rookies stared at Kabuto like he became a dragon snake.
"Then again the exams are held multiple times a year, right?" Boruto asked.
"Although that could indeed just be a cover story. He is a spy after all." Mitsuki crossed his arms.
"Well, they're held twice a year so this will be my fourth year." Kabuto smiled as the rookies stared at Kabuto even more dumbfounded.
"Wow! A veteran! You must really be an expert by now!" Sakura exclaimed, sounding interested.
"Yeah, sort of." Kabuto waved off the impressed tone.
"Cool, you can give us all the inside tips!" Naruto voiced the thoughts of the Rookie Nine, or most of them, anyways.
"Yeah some expert, he never passed." Shikamaru scoffed as Kabuto rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.
"Well…seventh time's the charm." Kabuto chuckled as Shikamaru and the other rookies looked unconvinced.
"Pretty sure it's 'third time's the charm'." Boruto rolled his eyes.
"So I guess all those rumors about the exam being tough are true. Oh man, I knew this was going to be a drag." Shikamaru sighed as he turned his head in irritation as Kabuto was quick to try to reassure the young ninja.
"Don't give up yet. Maybe I can help you kids out a little, with my ninja info cards." Kabuto pulled out a row of orange colored cards.
"So that must be how he gets info on everyone!" Sarada exclaimed.
"Of course." Mitsuki nodded as Sakura and the other Genin looked on the cards with varying levels of interest.
"It's hard to explain but these cards have been chakra encoded with everything I've learned over the past four years. I've got more than two hundred of them so you see, I haven't been completely wasting my time. They may not look like much to the naked eye, in fact they appear blank. Don't want just anyone seeing this stuff." Kabuto explained as he took a knee before pulling out one card out of the deck and twirled it with his left index finger.
"Huh…that's actually ingenious when I think about it." Boruto said.
"Yeah….that's how he was able to get info on everyone….including my dad…" Sarada looked down as she received just bits and pieces on Orochimaru and Sasuke's tumultuous past during the whole Shin incident.
"What're you doing?" Sakura asked, amazed.
"You see, I'm using my chakra to reveal their secrets, like this for example." Kabuto closed his eyes as he infused chakra before a map of all five ninja villages appeared on the selected card from Kabuto.
"Awesome! A map!" Sakura exclaimed, impressed as all the other rookies looked just as impressed, even Shino and Shikamaru.
"Of what?" Ino raised an eyebrow.
"It shows the geographical distribution of all the candidates who have come to take the Chunin Exam, what villages they come from and how many from each village. Why do you guys think they all come here to take the exam together at the same time?" Kabuto asked the rookies as his question was met with silence from everyone broken by Choji chewing his chips.
"It's to foster friendships between nations, of course. International brotherhood and all that and it's true enough, as far as it goes." Kabuto explained.
"But there's another reason." Sasuke said, knowing there was more to the story.
"Yeah. You see, the important thing is that this way they can carefully regulate the total number of Shinobi, that end up in each village, thereby maintaining the balance of power." Kabuto added to his explanation.
"Yeah I remember Master Sai saying something along those lines." Sarada remembered.
"But these Chunin Exams seem a whole lot different than the ones we took." Boruto said as Mitsuki nodded.
"Oh yeah, balance of power." Naruto nodded trying to sound like he understood like he understood what Kabuto was talking about.
"Yeah." Boruto rolled his eyes.
"Balance of power….big deal it's a drag." Shikamaru scoffed.
"If the balance isn't maintained, one nation could wind up with many more Shinobi than its neighbors and it might be tempted to attack them so they try to maintain the status quo. Makes sense, I suppose." Kabuto said as some of the rookies still continued to stare at the undercover Sound ninja blankly.
"Do those cards of yours have any info on the other candidates individually?" Sasuke asked, speaking for some of the other rookies.
"They might. You have someone special in mind?" Kabuto asked as Sasuke's eyes narrowed.
"I might." Sasuke straightforwardly answered.
"Well I can't promise my information is complete or perfect but I've got something on just about everyone, including you guys, of course." Kabuto smirked.
"That's….kinda creepy…." Boruto's eyes narrowed in a grimace.
"Yeah I mean you're practically stalking people." Sarada agreed with her teammate.
"Tell me anything you know about them. A description, where they're from, whatever, anything at all." Kabuto held up a card.
"He's Gaara of the Desert. And there's Rock Lee of the Leaf Village while you're at it." Sasuke requested as Kabuto frowned slightly.
"Man, that's no fun. You even know their names. That makes it too easy." Kabuto sighed though Team Konohamaru could hear slight bemusement in his voice while Choji took that time to burp as he opened another bag of chips.
"Ugh, disgusting. At least Chocho has some tact." Sarada shook her head in disgust.
"Meh, I don't see a problem with it." Boruto shrugged.
"Okay, first up is Rock Lee." Kabuto said as he twirled a card with his index finger before Rock Lee's statistics ended up on said card.
"Looks like he's about a year older than you guys. Mission Experience, eleven C ranks and twenty D ranks. His squad leader is Guy. In the last twelve months, his Taijutsu has radically improved but his other skills are pretty shaky. Last year, he got a lot of attention as a Genin but for some reason he chose not to participate in the Chunin Exams. This will be his first time as a candidate, same as you guys. His teammates are Tenten and Neji Hyuga." Kabuto explained as Boruto noticed his mother's eyes tense at the mention of Neji.
"Huh? Hyuga?" Naruto asked.
"Right. From what you told me, apparently there was some discourse in the Hyuga Clan?" Sarada asked.
"Yeah….but Uncle Neji never went into the specifics when I was in the past" Boruto answered.
"Now for Gaara of the Desert." Kabuto said as he twirled another card before Gaara's stats appeared on the second card.
"Mission Experience; eight C ranks and get this, one B rank as a Genin." Kabuto explained.
"What!? Geesh, talk about experience…" Boruto muttered.
"There's not a lot more information on this guy. He was a rookie from another land, originally, but there is this. He survived every mission without getting a scratch on him." Kabuto tilted up his glasses as he looked at everyone as everyone looked unnerved at the information, even Team Konohamaru.
"But how? I mean even Lord Seventh got hurt on his mission!" Sarada pointed out, remembering the Land of Waves memory.
"It must be because of the One Tail inside of him." Mitsuki surmised.
"You think?" Boruto asked.
"He could just be in better control of his tailed beast when compared to Lord Seventh at this point in time." Mitsuki theorized.
"This dude's done a B rank as a Genin and has never even been injured." Shikamaru looked surprised as Naruto actually started to sweat a little.
"What's the deal with this guy?" Naruto asked in disbelief while Sasuke was silent though Sarada could tell he was just as unsettled as Naruto if not more through his eyes while Kabuto took this time to pull out another card before twirling it and making the same geographical map from earlier appear again.
"Leaf, Sand, Rain, Grass, Waterfall, Sound. From the looks of it, they've all sent exceptionally skilled candidates to the exam this time around. Of course, the hidden Sound Village is small. It sprang up recently. No one knows anything about it. Those guys are a mystery." Kabuto said before pulling all of his cards together.
"Well you get it. The competition's going to be intense this year." Kabuto smirked as some of the weaker members of the Rookie Nine winced.
"Understatement of the Millennia." Boruto muttered.
"…So it would seem. It's almost enough to make you lose your confidence…" Hinata frowned as Ino turned to her with a glare.
"It's a fine time to start talking like that!" Ino snapped at her.
"Do you really think it's going to be tougher this time?" Sakura asked Kabuto whose smirked widened.
"Oh yeah. In the four years I've been coming, I've never seen a crop of candidates with as much potential as this bunch." Kabuto smirked as Naruto grit his teeth before looking down.
"Looks like it's a bit too much to process for Lord Seventh…" Sarada frowned as Boruto smirked.
"Don't sell our Lord Seventh, Sarada. It's gonna take a lot more than that to get someone like him down." Boruto grinned.
"Indeed, just watch." Mitsuki smiled.
Before Sarada could do anything, Naruto pointed at everyone as he had a huge, confident grin on his face.
"My name is Naruto Uzumaki and I'm gonna beat every one of you! Believe it!" Naruto declared with the utmost pride and confidence in his voice.
Needless to say no one looked real impressed with Naruto's declaration but rather they all looked either bewildered, offended or irritated.
"Well what'd I tell you?" Boruto smirked as Sarada groaned.
"Yeah…" Sarada sighed as Mitsuki chuckled as the Rookie Nine definitely didn't look too happy with Naruto.
"Uh…yeah can you say that again? Didn't quite catch that." Kiba snorted sarcastically.
"You moron. Are you trying to get everyone to hate our guts or what?" Shikamaru glared at Naruto though Boruto caught a small smile on Hinata's face.
Naturally Naruto paid these comments no mind and laughed at everyone's attitude before Sakura immediately ran behind him and put him in a headlock, her expression nothing short of exasperate.
"Naruto! You jackass! Why'd you have to go and say something like that you obnoxious little-"Sakura was about to kick Naruto's ass before taking note of the foreign ninja's expressions at the Rookie Nine and they were far from amused.
"Oh hi, everyone! Don't mind him! Sometimes he says these spazzy things and he doesn't really mean them. They just kinda caught them, he's got this kinda condition, you know? Kinda like a psychological condition, he really should be on medication!" Sakura nervously tried kissing everyone's ass though all she got was blank silence and unimpressed stares which she instantly caught before letting Naruto go and scolding him much to his consternation.
"Now see what you've done, Naruto!? You've hurt everybody's feelings! They think you don't respect them but that isn't true, isn't it Naruto!? So would you just for once in your life think about what you're doing!? Think about the rest of us!" Sakura chided Naruto who looked nothing short of uninterested.
"Fine." Naruto sighed.
"The apple doesn't fall too far from the tree." Mitsuki smiled turning to Boruto and Sarada who shot him confused looks.
However before anyone knew anything, three ninja all dashed towards Kabuto as the one with spiky black hair threw two kunai at Kabuto which he managed to dodge before the one resembling a mummy pushed his amplified hand forward which Kabuto dodged with a very fast speed.
"Who are all these three?" Boruto asked.
"Their headbands…they're from the Village Hidden in the Sound." Mitsuki explained.
"Sound?" Sarada asked.
Kabuto smirked at their failed attack before his glasses suddenly shattered much to everyone's surprise.
"Oh I see….so it was that kind of attack." Kabuto took his glasses off.
"Hang on, he dodged that attack. How did that happen?" Sasuke asked, completely perplexed.
"That's what I'd like to know." Sarada agreed.
"It must have come closer than it looked. Look at him acting like it was nothing. Real tough guy." Shikamaru turned his head at Kabuto before Kabuto vomited to everyone's astonishment.
"Wait what just happened!?" Sarada exclaimed.
"What did that guy do!?" Boruto asked just as stunned.
"What!? Did he just!?" Naruto's eyes widened in alarm.
"Kabuto, what's wrong?" Sakura asked as everyone shot glares though more so out of curiosity than of actual anger as Naruto and Sakura ran to Kabuto's side.
"Hey Kabuto, are you okay?" Sakura asked kneeling to his side and she and Naruto kneeled down as they acted as support for him.
"Yeah….I'm fine." Kabuto answered.
"Are you sure?" Naruto asked as the mummy lookalike decided to speak up.
"Not such a tough guy after all, I guess. Maybe that's why he's on his seventh try." The mummy obviously smirked under his bandages.
"Write this on your little card, punk. The genin from the Sound Village will be Chunin when this is over. Guaranteed." The young man with spiky black hair jeered at Kabuto as Naruto and Sakura glared at him with Naruto looking ready to attack the punk.
"I wonder….did he take that attack on purpose?" Boruto asked his teammates.
"Given that Kabuto is a spy, it could have been a way to ascertain their skills." Mitsuki stated.
However, a puff of smoke stopped any further fighting.
"Alright, you baby faced degenerates! Pipe down and listen up!" A deep voice announced as the smoke died down revealing a tall, intimidating looking man with a pair of Chunin surrounding both his left and right sides.
"Who is that?" Boruto asked, not recognizing the Chunin though he did think his scars looked badass.
"He kinda gives me the creeps." Sarada slightly grimaced.
"That's a cool scar he has across his face. Maybe I can get one like that…" Boruto childishly gleamed as Sarada just shook her head while Mitsuki laughed.
"It's time to begin. I'm Ibiki Marino, your proctor. And from this moment, your worst enemy." Ibiki gave a smirk definitely one would give before torturing their enemy.
"Wait that's right. He's the main head behind the Torture and Interrogation of the Leaf Village." Mitsuki explained to his teammates.
"Huh? Oh…well…that explains his scary demeanor…" Sarada muttered.
"And I guess it was good we got Uncle Sai for the first exam rather than this guy…" Boruto shook his head, thankful this guy wasn't the main person behind the Chunin Exams for him and his friends while everyone in the memory were taken aback definitely not expecting such a tough looking dude to be the person in charge of their statuses of either promotion or failing.
Ibiki then turned to the Sound Ninja with a scowl as he pointed at them.
"First, you candidates from the Village Hidden in the Sound, knock it off! Who told you that you could fight? You want to be failed before we've even began!?" Ibiki threatened the three who merely smiled at him in return.
"Sorry, it's our first time. Guess we're a little jumpy, sir." The mummy apologized though his tone let everyone know he was anything but sorry.
Something that Ibiki caught, making him smirk.
"I'll say this once so listen up. There will be no combat between candidates. No attacking each other without the permission of your proctors. And even then, the use of fatal force is strictly prohibited. Anyone who even thinks of messing with me will be disqualified immediately. Got it?" Ibiki turned to everyone with a menacing glare.
"I ain't even in the memory but he got me." Boruto shook his head.
"Yeah same." Sarada gulped, glad she didn't have Ibiki as her Chunin Exams proctor.
Though Ibiki was met with silence as the dark haired sound ninja smirked.
"No force? That's no fun." The boy grinned as the Chunin surrounding Ibiki all chuckled though Ibiki chuckled not once.
"Now if we're ready, we'll proceed to the first stage of the Chunin Exam. Hand over your paperwork and in return, you'll each be given a number. The number determines where you will sit. We'll start the written test once you're all seated." Ibiki explained holding up a random number.
"Written Exam?" Sarada quirked an eyebrow.
"Yeah we didn't have to do that with our exams." Boruto noted as Naruto became noticeably frightened at the word "written".
"The what? Did he say…'written'?" Naruto asked though Kotetsu smirked at Naruto's upcoming dread as he shook a handful of papers, making Naruto visibly shake.
"No! Not a written test no way!" Naruto nearly soiled himself as Team Konohamaru no doubt found Naruto's distress nothing short of amusing.
"Dad's worst enemy." Boruto snickered.
"But it's still weird to see written exams here when we didn't have to go through them." Sarada stated, a bit confused as to why they had written exams but somewhat relieved that she and her friends didn't have to go through the same thing.
"Guess times have changed." Mitsuki shrugged as everyone got their respective numbers and seats once Naruto calmed down.
Naruto was no doubt dreading whatever questions could be on the exam before a familiar voice got his attention.
"Oh Naruto?" Hinata asked, snapping Naruto from his internal mental breakdown.
"Oh? Where'd you come from Hinata?" Naruto smiled as Hinata looked down.
"I…wanted to say good luck and everything…." Hinata meekly smiled as Naruto merely smiled at her.
"Thanks!" Naruto grinned with Boruto smiling at the sweet moment between his future parents as Ibiki decided to get down to business as he got everyone's attention with a stick of chalk he tapped on the black board behind him.
"Everyone, eyes front. There are a few rules that you need to be aware of. And I won't answer any questions. So you better pay attention the first time around." Ibiki stated.
"Well that's very resourceful." Sarada sarcastically rolled her eyes.
"Alright, rule number one is this, the written part of the exam is conducted on a point reduction system. Contrary to what some of you may be used to, you all begin the test with a perfect score of ten points. One point will be deducted for each answer you get wrong. So if you miss three, your final score will be seven." Ibiki explained.
"And if you miss seven, you'll have a three." Mitsuki added.
"Pretty straight-forward and simple enough." Boruto nodded.
"I guess that's why he doesn't allow any questions." Sarada sighed.
"Rule Number two; teams will pass or fail based on the total scores of all three members." Ibiki said as everyone seemed receptive of this.
Or…almost everyone as Sakura face-desked.
"What!? Wait a second! You're saying we all get scored as a team!?" Sakura exclaimed in utter disbelief.
"Silence! I have my reasons so shut up and listen!" Ibiki effectively shut Sakura down.
"Jesus….." Sarada muttered.
"Rule Number three; the sentinels you see positioned around the room are there to watch you carefully for any signs of cheating. And for every incident they spot, they will subtract two points from the culprit's score. But be warned, their eyes are extremely sharp and if they catch you five times, you'll be dismissed before the tests are even scored. Anyone fool enough to be caught cheating by the sentinels doesn't deserve to be here." Ibiki smirked.
"I've got my eye on you guys." Kotetsu smirked as a couple of boys grimaced.
"If you want to be considered Shinobi then show us what exceptional shinobi you can be." Ibiki said before adding in one final addendum, "One more thing. If any candidate should get a zero and fail the test then the entire team fails." Ibiki finished with a dark look in his eyes as everyone in the room looked sick at that, none more so than Team Seven.
"Oh this is not gonna be pretty…." Boruto muttered.
"I can only wonder how this will play out." Mitsuki said.
"The final question won't be given out until fifteen minutes before the end of the testing period. You'll have one hour total." Ibiki said as the time on the clock reflected 3:30.
"Begin!" Ibiki said as the sounds of pencils hitting paper emanated through the room.
As Team Konohamaru walked over to Naruto's desk and looked at the test papers everyone was given, they immediately noticed something off about the questions.
"Wait a second…those are all integrated problems based on principles of uncertainty and requiring complex mechanical energy and analysis. There's only a handful of Genin, all three of us included, who can actually do this. Uncle Sasuke probably can do this along with Auntie Sakura but dad has no way in hell of solving those problems!" Boruto looked at Naruto who looked ready to soil himself.
"Hold on…with all those rules and restrictions….it's almost like….they're more concerned with cheating than the actual exam itself….almost like…." Sarada's eyes widened before it was Mitsuki who spoke for her.
"They're trying to get them to cheat…." Mitsuki cut Sarada off.
"Right! As ninja you're expected to perform espionage-like missions. And you have to get information without getting caught….that's why they're more concerned about cheating than the test. Because they want to see how they can get the information without getting caught!" Boruto spoke in realization.
"Although….it doesn't look like Lord Seventh has figured that out yet…." Mitsuki noted with a hint of amusement.
"He became Hokage so he gets through this somehow." Sarada reminded her teammates.
"Naruto…" Hinata suddenly spoke, snapping Naruto out of his misery.
"If you want….I could….uh…I could show you my test…." Hinata offered as she scooted her test closer to Naruto making Boruto smile.
"Those young lovebirds are getting closer." Boruto smiled.
"What about my parents?" Sarada sighed as Naruto looked skeptical seeming to believe this may have been a trap by Kiba and Shino to make Naruto fail before deciding to be fair.
"Hey Hinata, why would you wanna show me your answers?" Naruto asked making Hinata turn as red as a tomate.
"Why? Well….you see….It's just….It's because I don't want you to have to leave…Uh…it'd be nice if we could all stick together….I mean…the nine of us…being rookies and all…" Hinata tipped her fingers together.
"So embarrassing!" Boruto face-palmed getting second hand embarrassment as his teammates laughed at his discomfort.
"But she can't even speak a coherent sentence around him. I wonder how she even confessed to him…." Sarada asked more to herself.
"Probably some crazy dude nuking the village and making her grow a backbone." Boruto shrugged.
Naruto smiled as he seemed eager and willing to accept Hinata's offer before a kunai embedded itself in the desk right behind Naruto, making him and some of Team Konohamaru go blue in the face with fear.
"W-what the? What was that all about?" The ninja asked as Kotetsu looked dead at him.
"Five strikes and you're out. You just failed the test." Kotetsu smirked as the student paled with horror.
"T-that can't be…." The student frowned as Kotetsu pointed at him.
"You and your teammates will leave the room immediately." Kotetsu grinned as several students were booted and even drug out from the room.
"No! No way! Who says I cheated five times!? Where's your proof!?" A failed genin spat as he challenged the Chunin before he found himself pushed up against the wall behind him.
"Sorry, pal. We were chosen for this duty because we don't make mistake like that. You can't even blink without us seeing it. We're the best of the best and you my friend are history. Now get out and take your teammates with you." A chunin with his eyes wrapped, dropped the genin to the ground as everyone cringed at how harsh and brutal that was.
"Geez….and I thought our exams were hard…" Sarada muttered.
"It makes our exams look like a princess fairy tale in comparison." Mitsuki joked though like always no one laughed at his jokes.
Realizing how hopeless cheating would be for him, Naruto smiled before turning to Hinata.
"Thank you…..But I can't…." Naruto softly smiled.
"Are…are you sure?" Hinata asked.
"Hey I can handle it! I'm an Ace Ninja, remember? Besides if I get caught I don't want you getting in trouble." Naruto stated as Hinata blushed, no doubt thinking this was an inch closer in their relationship or whatever they may have had before she turned back to her test paper.
"Looks like he may be regretting that decision." Mitsuki mused as Naruto comically cried though the Team noticed everyone using their signature jutsus and even activing their Dojutsu if they had one with Kankuro even leaving to "go to the bathroom".
However as the time winded down, Naruto answered not one problem before Ibiki decided to speak up with there being only fifteen minutes left.
"Alright, listen up! Here's the tenth and final question." Ibiki stated.
"Looks like the main event is here." Boruto yawned, ready to see what the tenth question actually was.
"But before I give you the question, there are some more rules that you need to be aware of." Ibiki started.
"More rules?" Boruto tilted his head.
"Good god, what other rules are there?" Sarada asked, getting a bit annoyed at all the rules everyone was given as the door opened, making everyone turn their attention to Kankuro and the "proctor" by his side.
"Ah, made it just in time. I hope you found your trip to the bathroom 'enlightening'." Ibiki said with a grin as Kankuro nearly broke out into a nervous sweat at being found out on his way of cheating.
"I guess he got found out too." Sarada shrugged.
"When your sentinel has creepy lines going down its face, it's kinda hard not to figure out he's a puppet." Boruto said.
"These rules are unique to question ten. Listen carefully and try not to let them frighten you." Ibiki said as various rookies looked unnerved as for some (Naruto), everything was riding on them answering the tenth question.
"Well maybe if someone more….friendlier looking was giving the question, nobody would be 'frightened'." Sarada sighed.
"With so much hype, I can only wonder how this question is gonna be." Mitsuki added.
"Very well then, rule number one; each of you is free to choose not to be given the final question. It's your decision." Ibiki said much to the shock of everyone listening.
"Whoa, so what's the catch? Let's say we decide that we don't want to do it. What happens then?" Temari asked utterly confused.
"If you choose not to take the tenth question, regardless of your answers to the other nine, you'll get a zero. In other words, you fail. And that means both of your teammates fail as well." Ibiki smiled as that obviously didn't sit right
"What the hell? So even if you got eight of them correct, if you miss the tenth question you fail?" Boruto looked freak at these new conditions.
"I say let him finish. There must be more to it." Mitsuki reminded his friend as Ibiki sighed at all the panicked whispering he heard.
"Hold on, you didn't let me finish. If you do accept the question but answer it incorrectly, you will not only fail, you will be barred from taking the Chunin Exam ever again!" Ibiki said as nobody was a fan of these new rules.
"Okay there has to be more to this…these rules definitely don't add up." Sarada donned a pensive expression.
"Of course…I have my own theory behind this whole Chunin Exam tenth question." Boruto said.
However before he could speak his theory, an irate Kiba cut him off.
"Hey that's bull, man! What kind of bogus rule is that! There's lots of people here who've taken the test before!" Kiba spat with Akamaru looking ready to pounce and bite Ibiki's face off though Ibiki merely laughed off Kiba's anger.
"I guess you're just unlucky. I wasn't making the rules before but I am now. Of course if you don't want to take it, you don't have to. If you're not feeling confident then by all means, skip it. You can come back and try again next year." Ibiki offered the chance for the candidates to give up though no one looked willing to give up.
"Now then, if you're ready….the tenth and final question. Those who don't want to take it, raise your hand. Your number will be recorded and then you're free to go." Ibiki said as various teams decided to not go through with the tenth question and they left. Though those teams leaving were of no real surprise, the real surprise was that Naruto of all people raised his head though no one was more surprised of that then Sasuke, Sakura and Hinata.
"Wait, is dad seriously giving up? No….it can't be…." Boruto looked at his dad in disbelief.
"He's definitely up to something…" Mitsuki surmised.
"But what?" Sarada asked as Naruto immediately slammed his hand down on the desk he was sitting at.
"Don't underestimate me! I don't quit and I don't run! You can act tough all you want, you guys aren't going to scare me off! No way! I don't if I do get stuck as a Genin for the rest of my life! I'll still be Hokage someday!" Naruto declared with the utmost confidence and certainty in his voice.
"Told you he was up to something." Mitsuki laughed though instead of being embarrassed, Boruto and Sarada merely smiled at Naruto.
"Crazy idiot." Sarada chuckled.
"Yeah I knew he wouldn't give up." Boruto smiled as Ibiki looked unimpressed with Naruto's declaration though Naruto's outburst seemed to give several in the room who were previously stricken with fear a bit more confidence to stay and attempt to follow through with the exam.
"This decision is one that could change your life. If for any reason you would rather quit, now's your last chance." Ibiki said in a cold tone, speaking more to Naruto than anyone else in the room though Naruto still donned a confident grin.
"No way, I never go back on my word. That's the way of the ninja!" Naruto still spoke with unwavering fear as more and more people were being influenced with Naruto's courage.
"Looks like Dad's influence and confidence is rubbing off on people." Boruto smiled.
"He has a way with words." Sarada smiled with a blush as it seems that even the sentinels and Ibiki looked impressed with Naruto's will.
"Well then, I admire your determination if nothing else. For those of you remaining, there's only one thing left to do….And that's for me to tell you that you've all passed the first exam." Ibiki said with a smile much to the surprise of everyone in the room.
"After all that, they passed?" Sarada asked.
"Well like I was saying earlier, with my theory that it wasn't so much about the tenth question but rather if they had the guts to stay or not." Boruto said.
"After all, there are tricky situations Chunin have to go through." Mitsuki added as no one in the room cheered but rather they looked even more lost than when the tenth question was mentioned and underway.
"Hold on, what just happened? What do you mean we passed? Where's the tenth question?" Sakura asked before Ibiki chuckled as he smiled the biggest that Team Konohamaru had ever seen.
"That's the creepiest smile I've ever seen…" Boruto muttered.
"Don't be rude, Boruto." Sarada snapped at Boruto.
"There never was one. Not a written one, at least. Actually your decision to stay was the answer to the tenth question." Ibiki grinned as no one looked satisfied with that answer.
"Hold on, so the other nine questions you gave us were just a waste of time? Is that what you're saying?" Temari asked.
"No, no, not at all. Quite the opposite. The first nine questions had an important overriding purpose-to test your ability to surreptitiously gather strategic intelligence under the most adverse circumstances." Ibiki said with a smile as Temari merely blinked in response.
"Oh…well…that clears up everything…" Temari said though some in the room still looked relatively lost.
"What'd I tell you two?" Boruto smirked as Sarada rolled her eyes as Mitsuki laughed.
"Let me explain. You see, my objective was to test you not only as individuals but as a team and on how well you function as a part of that team. That's why the test was scored on a team basis so you'd know that everything you did or failed to do would directly affect your teammates. I wanted to see how you'd handle the pressure." Ibiki explained as Naruto nodded in understanding.
"Mmm-hmm. Yeah, I figured it was something like that." Naruto tried saying intelligently though the confusion in his eyes were apparent to everyone.
"Oh yeah right." Boruto rolled his eyes with Sakura having similar thoughts.
"The first nine questions on the test were difficult. In fact, as you may have realized, too difficult for any Genin to be expected to solve. I imagine that most of you quickly came to that conclusion that you'd have to cheat if you had any chance of passing. The fact is the test was designed to encourage cheating. It almost demanded it. Of course it would have done you little good unless you had someone to cheat from so I disguised two Chunin who already knew the answers and had them sit in with you." Ibiki added onto his previous explanation.
"Like we said earlier." Boruto nodded.
"Though that was pretty slick of Ibiki, slipping in two Chunin unnoticed." Sarada said as Naruto looked pretty freaking, realizing just how blind he was the whole time.
However, hearing people question his overall mental state, he tried to save face.
"Oh c'mon, I wasn't fooled for a second! You had to be a complete fool not to see! Isn't that right Hinata?" Naruto turned to Hinata desperately as she decided to play along.
"Those who were caught at it failed. Better not to cheat than to cheat clumsily." Ibiki said before undoing the head sash covering his head before everyone was disturbed at what he had kept hidden.
"W-what in the?" Sarada covered her mouth as Ibiki's head was covered in various scars.
"How did he get those!?" Boruto nearly fell back in shock, not seeing wounds or scars that vicious.
"Information. It can be the most valuable weapon in battle. How well you gather information determines whether a mission's a failure or a success. There'll be times where you'll have to risk your life to get it." Ibiki stated.
"Man what a mess…scars and puncture wounds….burn marks. What he must've endured…" Sasuke looked unnerved along with other Genin in the room save for Gaara.
"Of course, you must always consider the source of your information. Intelligence gathered from an enemy is not necessarily accurate. Always bear this in mind. Disinformation can be worse than no information at all. It can lead to the death of comrades or the less of a village. That's why I put you in the position where you had to gather accurate intelligence. Cheat in order to survive. And that's why those who weren't good enough at it were weeded out, leaving the rest of you." Ibiki said as he tied his head sash back around his head.
"He does have a point. Chunin isn't a rank given out lightly. If you're not careful, you could cost the life of your team alongside yourself…" Boruto said, remembering their own Chunin Exams.
"And you have to make sure to have good teamwork as well." Sarada added, remembering how they never would've passed if not for their faith and trust in each other.
"Okay but I'm still not getting what the tenth question thing is all about." Temari said.
"You're not? The tenth question was the main point of the whole exam. Surely, you see that." Ibiki said as it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"Sure but explain it anyway." Sakura pressed on.
"As I said before, the goal was to test you not only as individuals but as part of a squad. The final question gave you two choices, both difficult. You could choose to play it safe and skip the question though it meant that you and your teammates would be failed or you could try and answer it, knowing if you got it wrong, you would lose your chance of ever being Chunin. It was a no-win situation but just the sort of situation Chunin have to face almost every day. For example, let me give you a hypothetical mission. To steal a document from an enemy stronghold. You have no idea how many ninja the enemy has or how heavily armed they are. Furthermore, you have reason to believe that the enemy expects that you might be walking blindly into a trap. Now do you have the option of taking a pass on this insane mission or say my comrades my comrades and I would live to fight another day. Can you choose to avoid danger? No. There will be many missions that will seem almost suicidal if you think about it but you do not think about it. You think only of the goal and of achieving it through courage and discipline. These are the qualities required of a Chunin squad leader. Those who choose the safer of two paths, those whose determination falters in the face of adversity, those who would put their comrades lives in jeopardy by worrying about their own, those who would save their own necks at the price of sacred honor will never be able to call themselves Chunin at least as long as I'm here. As for the rest of you, you have successfully answered the ten questions I put to you. You have earned the right to continue onto the next step. You have passed through the first gate. I hereby declare this part of the Chunin selection exam completed. There's nothing left but to wish you all good luck." Ibiki smiled at everyone.
"Well that was definitely a lot…" Mitsuki began.
"But at least that part is over now." Sarada smiled.
"Though he passed without even answering one question." Boruto snorted as Team Konohamaru all shared a good laugh at that notion.
"Alright we did it! That's one down!" Naruto cheered, ignoring the bizarre looks he received though Ibiki looked amused with Naruto's boasts.
However these cheers were interrupted with one of the windows of the exam room breaking in.
"What the hell?" Boruto asked.
"Is it a bird? Is it a plane?" Mitsuki asked.
"I-is this part of the exam?" Naruto's eyes widened as a huge banister was put behind a purple haired female wearing a trench coat and a pull fishnet body suit.
"Heads up, boys and girls! This is no time to be celebrating. I'll be your next proctor, Anko Mitarashi! You ready for the second test? Good! Then let's go, follow me!" Anko pumped with a fist as she was rewarded with freaked out, bizarre looks.
"I see she's even more extra than she is now….Jesus Christ…." Sarada deadpanned.
"Though what happened to her? She looks….." Boruto looked confused.
"Different?" Mitsuki smiled.
"Wait, Ibiki, you let these guys pass? Your test was way too easy." Anko scoffed as Ibiki who smirked.
"Or it could be a stronger crop of candidates this year." Ibiki mused with Anko returning his smirk.
"Hm, they sure don't look it. Trust me, before I'm done with them, more than half will be eliminated." Anko grinned at the uncomfortable looks she received.
"Huh? More than half, really?" Sakura gulped.
"Hmph, this is going to be fun. Alright, you maggot have had it easy so far but things are gonna be different starting first thing in the morning. I'll let your squad leaders know where you're to meet me. Dismissed." Anko said.
"Guess we're getting into the knitty gritty of things!" Boruto grinned as he pumped his fist before the scene shifted to everyone being out of the Ninja Academy.
"Wait…this is…." Sarada's eyes widened at the familiar area.
"Whoa….nice place…what is it?" Naruto asked as everyone looked nervous as they were in front of a forest area behind a huge fence.
"This is the location for the second phase of the exam. It's the Fourty Fourth Battle Training Zone. But we call it the forest of death." Anko smirked at the disturbed looks she received.
Well we are DEFINITELY getting into the meat of things in the Chunin Exam Arc now guys!
Speaking of, that begs the question I asked at the beginning of the chapter.
Now should I make it to where Naruto was at least subconsciously aware of the beating Sasuke gave Team Dosu or do you guys think I should skip it since it might be too brutal for Sarada to see or should I keep it?
Oh well, lemme know please and I'll see you guys in Chapter 14 coming October 21st! ^_^
Til then, see you crazy folk later! ^_^