Disclaimer - I do not own Naruto or anything connected to Naruto.
Chapter 12 - Chūnin Selection Exam Pt.1
The Jōnin-sensei for the rookie teams stood together in the Hokage's office with the other Jōnin-sensei for the older more experienced teams. They could each feel the eyes of their fellow Jōnin looking them over and scrutinizing them.
It was no secret that the success of their teams had caught the eyes of their fellow shinobi and caused many questions to secretly be asked. Most of it was harmless gossip that did nothing but bolster the reputations of their squads. Still, there those that questioned their ability to lead their squads most noticeably Kurenai.
"You all know why you are here. Seven days from now, on the first of July we will begin the Chūnin selection exam. Now that we are going to start the Chūnin selection exam, those who are in charge of new genin step forward" The Hokage orders.
Asuma, Hayama, Kakashi, and Kurenai stepped forward.
"Hayama, Kakashi, Asuma, and Kurenai … are there any genin you wish to enter into the exam amongst the ones you teach.
You probably know this, but any genin who has completed more than eight missions is eligible to enter the exam through your recommendation. Normally those who have done twice that amount are more suited" Sarutobi tells them.
'They are too young. There's no point in asking' Thought Iruka standing behind the four sensei's.
"Let's start with Kakashi" The Hokage directs.
Kakashi stepped forward taking center stage.
"From the squad that I lead Team 7 … Uchiha Sasuke, Inuzuka Kiba, Haruno Sakura. I recommend these three to the Chūnin Seclection Exam under my name Hatake Kakashi" Kakashi says.
Iruka was shocked by this. Hayama stepped forward as Kakashi stepped back.
"From the squad that I lead Team 4 … Uzumaki Naruto, Minakura Tomaru, and Fuki. I recommend these three to the Chūnin Selection Exam under my name Shirakumo Hayama" Hayama says.
Hayama stepped back as Asuma stepped forward.
"From the squad that I lead Team 10 … Akimichi Chōji, Nara Shikamaru, Yamanaka Ino. I recommend these three to the Chūnin Selection Exam under my name.
The room suddenly focused on the fourth and last sensei. Kurenai admittedly had forgotten about the Chūnin Exams. Her team wasn't ready and probably wouldn't be for another year.
It wasn't that her team didn't get along or didn't show the talent necessary to be considered for a promotion, but Yakumo's condition had improved greatly after Jiraiya helped her deal with the Ido. The demon was destroyed and Yakumo didn't have to deal with it anymore. She was even on better terms with her remaining clan members and taking the necessary steps to become the next clan head while learning as much of the clans skills and jutsu as she could.
Still the girl was a ways away from being fully recovered from the nightmare. Physically her body still wasn't able to keep up with her team mates and estimates were that it may take a few years before she did. Then there was Hinata, she really worried about her getting hurt in the exams. The most worrisome situation being if she ever had to go against her cousin which was highly possible.
Shino was the rock of the team and Kurenai knew of all of the genin including the ones from the other teams Shino was perhaps one of the few ready the duties of a Chūnin. Still he needed a team to take the Exam and she knew if Yakumo was in top form they needed more time. Each of them even Shino would only benefit from another year.
Still as she looked over at the other sensei's she couldn't stop herself.
"From the squad that I lead Team 8 … Hyūga Hinata, Kurama Yakumo, and Aburame Shino. I recommend these three to the Chūnin Selection Exam under my name Yūhi Kurenai" She says.
The Hokage smiled at the four Jōnin glad that things were going smoothly. If he hadn't been so pleased with himself he would have instantly been on alert as mumbling started behind the nominations
"All four gave recommendations"
"It's been a couple of years since rookies have appeared in the Chūnin Exams"
"Please wait!" Iruka shouted.
"What is it Iruka?" The Hokage asks.
The old man hid the frown as he knew what the man was about to do.
"Please let me speak, Hokage-sama" The academy teacher says.
Iruka never waited for the signal to go ahead as he plowed on.
"Excuse me for interfering, but the twelve that had their names called were students of mine at the academy. Everyone of them is talented, but it's too early! They need more experience before they enter the exam" He argues.
Kurenai and Hayama hid the fact they agreed with the man stopping themselves from nodded. For Kurenai it just made her regret the nomination. It was Kakashi that stepped forward to challenge the academy teacher.
"I became a Chūnin when I was six years younger than them" Kakashi counters.
"They are different from you! Are you trying to ruin them!" Iruka shouted back.
"My group always complain during important missions, putting them into a dangerous situation maybe interesting. Ruining them might also be interesting" Kakashi coolly responds.
"What did you say …" Iruka says threateningly.
"That was a joke, Iruka-sensei. I understand what you are saying. You must be upset as well, but …" Kakashi says stopping the man in his tracks.
"Kakashi, stop" Kurenai says trying to diffuse the situation.
"Don't interfere! They are no longer your students. They are our subordinates now" Kakashi tells the man.
Everyone in the room including the other three sensei's just watched it play out.
"What a troublesome pair" muttered Asuma.
"But the Chūnin Exams are also know as the …" Iruka starts to respond.
The Hokage cuts him off deciding he had enough of this little drama.
"Iruka, I understand your argument, but what's done is done. I approve of the recommendations. I think you will be surprised by what some of your former students can truly do" The Hokage says.
"But … but …" Iruka starts.
"Enough! We need to move on to the non-rookie genin team nominations. I will not question these nominations and trust that the sensei's know what they are doing" The Hokage finishes.
Iruka looked unsurely at his leader before turning an angry eye on the four rookie sensei's. He left after glaring at Kakashi in particular.
"That's going to be trouble later on" Hayama says.
"Maa, maa … he'll cool off" Kakashi says.
"I don't know … maybe he had a point" Kurenai says softly.
"Not backing out are you?" Asuma asks.
"No, I have confidence in my team" Kurenai says.
She quickly left after saying that causing the four males to watch her as she did.
"Hhmph, that went well" Asuma says.
The three men nod and stay to hear the other nominations. Of course Iruka wasn't the only one to question the decision, but that would come once the meeting was finished. The old Hokage continues to smoke his pipe as he steeples his fingers together while in thought. He was doing the right thing.
Next Day
Naruto, Fuki, and Tomaru had gathered at Shushuya as Hayama ordered a plate of roasted yakitori, a bottle of sake for him, and water for the kids. After placing the order he sat in the both opposite Naruto and Tomaru sitting beside Fuki as they waited.
"Why did you want us to meet you here sensei?" Fuki asked.
Hayama sighed and figured it was best to just get it out.
"I don't know if you've heard, but the Chūnin Selection Exam is taking place this year in Konoha. It begins in six days and I have nominated the three of you to take part in it. It's completely voluntary so if you feel your ready to take them …"
He pulls out three pieces of paper and hands one to each genin.
"… then sign this and bring it to room 301 of the Academy building in six days. It's best if you get there early" He tells them.
The three genin nod and focus on the slips until the food comes eating quickly before departing. Naruto was walking to a nearby training ground when he stopped by an ANBU.
"The Hokage requests your presence" The ANBU says.
Naruto allowed the ANBU to shunshine them to the Hokage's office. As soon as they appeared the Hokage greeted them. He came around his desk and gave Naruto a hug … it was really awkward for Naruto.
"How are you my boy?" The Hokage asks.
He releases Naruto from the hug giving him a big smile and a pat on the head.
"It's been so long since I've seen you. Please have a seat and let's talk" The Hokage says.
Naruto blankly sits in the chair facing the Hokage.
"Umm … Hokage-sama, did I do something wrong?" Naruto asks.
"What on earth gave you the impression you did something wrong? I just called you here to get a look at you and see how you were doing. And please none of that Hokage-sama nonsense when we are alone like this. Call me jiji like you used to when you were a kid" The old man says.
"Umm … wouldn't that be inappropriate?" Naruto asks confused.
"Nonsense, why I remember when you first called me jiji. It was at the orphanage and I was reading you your favorite book, do you remember? The tale of the utterly gutsy shinobi. I lost count of the times you had me read that book over and over to you" The Hokage reminisces.
Naruto remembered that book. It wasn't his favorite and he never asked the Hokage to read it to him. He would come by sit him on his lap and just read that book. Naruto had actually asked him if he had any other books he could read to him, but for some reason the man had seemed insistent on reading that particular book. He hadn't seen or read that book since his first year at the academy.
"Kind of … it was a good back. I haven't read it in a long time though" Naruto answers.
"Oh … of course I'm sure you have a lot of other interests now. How do you like your team?" The old man asks.
"Ahh … they're great. Sensei is a great teacher and my team mates are both nice to me. We all get along, well" Naruto responds.
"That's good to hear. I really put a lot into selecting your team so I'm glad it all worked out. How have the missions been … nothing to hard yet I hope" The Hokage says.
"No, no … umm … it's been okay" Naruto answers.
Thankfully for Naruto they were interrupted as someone came barging in through the door.
"You old geezer, fight me!" shouted a little boy.
The kid was wearing a yellow shirt with a red Konoha symbol on it, grey shorts, a long blue scarf, a stupid looking helmet with a hole on the top with a red circle on the left side and an orange frowning face on the right side. He had spiky dark brown hair with a portion of it sticking through the top of the helmet, black eyes, a chipped tooth, and a little over four feet in height.
"The title of Godaime Hokage belongs to me, Konohamaru!" The kid shouted as he charged shuriken in hand.
He only got two steps further before he tripped and fell flat on his face. His helmet didn't protect him from that and everyone just watched as the kid rolled around and whined on the floor. That's when another man raced in wearing sunglasses and a black bandana connected to his forehead protector. Naruto watched as the kid slowly got up and the obvious embarrassment the Hokage was displaying was very visible.
"Young master, are you okay?!" Called at the bandana wearing man.
"Is this a trop" The kid calls out.
"There are no traps" The bandana man says.
Naruto would have laughed if it was funny, but it was really just sad. He already knew who this kid was and while Naruto was glad for the distraction he really wanted to leave. Unfortunately the kid looking for an excuse turned in his direction as did the bandana man.
'That kid is … the Kyūbi brat. It's that punk I really hate" Ebisu thought maliciously.
Of course Naruto knew who this man was as well. He was his 2nd year teacher at the academy. Even if he ignored him like the rest Naruto could every once in a while feel hate filled glares come from his direction when he thought he wasn't looking. Naruto was happy when he was promoted half-way through his second year and he didn't have to deal with him after that. Needless to say he was one of the people Naruto disliked most, but the brat was taking his attention as he walked up into his face pointing at him.
"I got it; you did something, didn't you!" The kid accused.
Naruto just looked at the Hokage for help, but saw none was coming. So he stood up and bowed to the old man.
"Hokeage-sama, it seems this will have to wait for another day. If you will excuse me I have some training to do before the Exams start" Naruto says politely.
"I understand, we'll talk some other time. Good luck on the Exams my boy" The Hokage responds.
"Thank you, Hokage-sama" Naruto says before walking out.
All the while the boy kept yelling at him only to be ignored, which obviously he didn't like.
"Hey! Are you listening to me! Hey! I'm talking to you! You can't ignore me I'm the Sandiame Hokage's Grandson!" He shouted.
Naruto just continued on out the door and Konohamaru went to follow, but Ebisu blocked his way.
"Honorable grandson you cannot get involved with guys like that. You are the grandson of the great Sandiame Hokage. You have his reputation and family name to uphold. Nothing good will come out of dealing with someone like that. I, the elite teacher Ebisu, am never wrong about these things.
You wish to become the Godiame Hokage, right?
If I teach you ninja techniques, it will be easy to gain the title Hokage. Yes, the quickest path to becoming Hokage is to learn from me. Do you understand, young master?" The fool says.
Of course half way through he had turned away from the door and the boy and said boy was gone now.
"What?! Where did he go?!" The man freaked out.
"Seems he went to find Naruto" The Hokage tells him.
"What!? This is an emergency situation!" Ebisu shouted before running out the room.
'What an obnoxious man. Why did I have him become Konohamru's babysitter/tutor …" the old man thought.
Meanwhile Naruto was walking through the village towards the training grounds. He wanted to get in some training before calling it a day. But he noticed he was being followed. He turned and looked at the kid ducked down in the middle of the road with a sheet draped over him. Naruto would give him credit that at least it matched the road, but not only were his feet still visible but he saw him throw the sheet over himself.
"Hey … Sarutobi-san … Konohamaru-san I can see you okay. Come on and tell me what you want?" Naruto asks.
The kid reluctantly abandoned his disguise before turning angry beady eyes on the blonde before getting in his space.
"Apologize!" The kid shouted.
"For …"
"You tripped me and messed up my chance to become the Godaime Hokage!" The kid shouted.
"*Haha* *Haha* You *haha* thought that *haha* if you barged in the Hokage's office and what … knocked him out some how that you *haha* would become the Hokage?" Naruto asks between laughs.
"Hey stop laughing at me!" Konohamaru yells.
He then goes to attack the laughing blond only to find he missed and then tripped again falling on his face. Naruto just watched as the kid picked himself up again while holding his nose.
"Look kid I don't have time to deal with you. You can't become Hokage even if you did beat up your grandfather" Naruto tells him.
"What?" Konohamaru asks confused.
"Do you even know how or why your grandfather became the Hokage in the first place?" Naruto asks.
"Umm … yeah …" Konohamaru answers.
"Then you know all your doing is making a spectacle out of yourself and annoying your grandfather" Naruto tells him.
"What … no I'm not!" Konohamaru shouts.
"Look kid … you aren't even a genin. To become the Hokage without being directly named his successor with credible and influential witnesses their to verify it you would need the backing of a majority of the high-ranking ninja, the clan heads, the senior council, and the Daimyō before you could be made Hokage. How many of those people do you think would want an academy student to be their Hokage?" Naruto asks.
"…"
"There is no short cut to becoming Hokage. To lead a village as powerful as Konoha you need a lot of skill, ability, knowledge, experience, and influence or popularity to become the Hokage. You can't just wake up one day and decide because of who your grandfather is that you are ready to become Hokage and expect everyone to just go along with it" Naruto lectures.
Konohamaru just looks down at the ground kicking at the dirt.
"Why do you even want to be Hokage in the first place?" Naruto asks.
"I … Grandpa gave me the name Konohamaru. He it took it from the name of the village …"
'That much is obvious. The old man must really love the village, but that seems a little too much. I wonder if all the Hokage's were like that' Naruto thought.
"… but even though it's a name that everyone should have heard many times, no one calls me by that name. Whenever anyone sees me or calls me they only see my grandfather the Sandiame Hokage. No one recognizes me as an individual. I hate that.
So … so I want the title of Hokage right now!" The boy explains.
"So that's it … well good luck with that, Konohamaru" Naruto says.
The boy looks up stunned at the older boy. That was when they were interrupted.
"I found you!" Shouted Ebisu from atop a building.
He jumped down onto the street. The cold look in his eyes just reminded Naruto of why he didn't want to get involved.
"Seems your babysitter is here. See you around, Konohamaru-san" Naruto says before vanishing.
The kid looked around searching for the older boy, but Ebisu stopped him.
"Come young master. There is much to learn and we already wasted enough time on that brat" Ebisu says.
He didn't wait for a response and grabbed the young Sarutobi dragging him off. The kid kept looking for the blonde teen though. He wanted to know more about him.
Six Days Later
Naruto, Fuki, and Tomaru walked into the academy building together. Hayama hadn't told them when to be there so they were at the academy before the sun rose. Maybe they were a little too eager, especially Tomaru that demanded they arrive early and be the first ones there.
They had spent the last six days training and going over strategies with and without their sensei. Tomaru wanted to be loud and flashy showing the other teams that they were the best. This was in part due to the talk around town. Most people were saying there were only three rookie teams and team 4 was hardly mentioned. All the focus was on the three teams with the clan heirs and Tomaru didn't like it.
Fuki and Naruto wanted a stealth approach. They were both fine with being counted out by the village and fellow genin. It would only make things easier for them in the long run if everyone was gunning for the other teams. They didn't want to be first, they wanted to blend in and hide amongst the crowd.
So they compromised they arrived early wearing dark colored clothing. Fuki wore a dark green shirt with black stripes and black pants with black sandals and a dark green scarf. Tomaru wore a dark blue t-shirt with a black undershirt, dark blue pants, and blue sandals.
Naruto wore rust colored t-shirt with a black undershirt. The shirt held the Uzumaki clan symbol embossed on the back in a pumpkin orange color. He also wore rust colored pants with multiple pockets and black sandals. He also wore a half face ski mask that had orange flames on it and simple black bandana to cover his hair.
When the academy doors opened a little after 6:30 a.m. they were among the first groups through. As they walked up the steps to the second floor it was Tomaru whom first noticed the genjutsu and alerted his teammates. The two chūnin disguised as older genin didn't hassle them seeing as it was still early and they were able to see through the trick. They just watched as the team passed by along with another team from Sunagakure and headed up the stairs.
"Who were those guys?" Asked the disguised Izumo.
"I think that was Hayama's team and the Kazekage's children" Kotetsu responds.
"That red head was scary wasn't he?" Izumo says.
"Ehh … I'm looking forward to Kakashi and Gai's team personally. The other rookies don't interest me much" Kotetsu replies.
Izumo nodded his head and they got back to their jobs. Meanwhile, as Naruto was walking up the stairs behind the Suna team he kept feeling like someone wanted to kill him. He looked over and noticed the Tomaru and Fuki were slightly shaking as they felt it too. Placing a hand on their shoulders they slowed down a bit and let the sand team get further ahead.
"What was that?" Tomaru asked when he thought they were out of hearing range.
Fuki shrug as she didn't know, but Naruto answered.
"One of them was producing enough blood lust for us to feel it, but it wasn't directed at us I don't think" Naruto says.
"Could you tell which one it was?" Fuki asked.
Naruto shook his head.
"We should be careful. It seems the Exams will be as dangerous as we heard they would be" Naruto says.
Fuki and Tomaru nodded neither eager to face off with the Sand team. They waited a little more allowing a few more teams to pass ahead of them before walking up the stairs towards the door for room 301.
"Hayama-sensei!" shouted Tomaru.
"What are you doing here?" Naruto asks.
"You didn't think I would miss seeing my team off, did you?" Hayama responds.
Both boys blushed a little as they indeed didn't think they would see their sensei for awhile.
"How are you feeling? Are you ready for the Exams?" Hayama asks them.
"Hai, sensei" all three respond.
"Good. I won't see you guys again until after you pass the second portion of the Exam so good luck in there and remember to stick together. These exams are full of danger and tricks so pay close attention to the Examiners rules and you should be fine" Hayama tells them.
"We will sensei"
"Then I'll see you guys soon" Hayama says before leaving.
Team 4 gathers their selves and walk into the room. With so few teams they were able to pick out a nice spot away from the others and wait for the Exam to start.
A few hours later
The room was overflowing with teams. It seemed the start of the exams was close. Two of the other rookie teams had already arrived those being teams 8 and 10. The other genin were also keeping to themselves although Naruto had waved to Chōji, but the Nara quickly led him and the Yamanaka heiress away. Chōji just gave him an apologetic look which Naruto waved off knowing it wasn't his fault.
It wasn't until Team 7 arrived that things became slightly interesting. Team 4 watched from afar as the three prominent rookie teams gathered together and then a silver haired older teen approached them. They listened as he spoke to them.
"Hey, you guys. You should quiet down a little. So you're the twelve rookies that just graduated from the academy, correct?" The silver haired teen says as he looks them over.
"Hmm … seems three of you are missing. I guess they were smart enough to avoid taking the exams this year" He adds casually.
Team 4 saw several teams searching for them, but they seemed to quickly refocus on the three rookie teams making all the nose and the silver haired team. They ignored the comment thrown at them. Everyone would know their names soon enough.
"The nine of you are fooling around with those cute faces … geez, this isn't a field trip" The silver hair teen admonished them.
Looking at the three teams you could easily see signs of agitation, but the guy didn't seem to care.
"Who are you tell us that?!" exploded Yamanaka Ino.
"I am Yakushi Kabuto. Look around you …" He tells them.
They looked around to see everyone giving them serious looks, putting them slightly on edge. None topped by the looks the group behind them were giving them.
"That ones behind you are from the Hidden Village of Rain. They have short tempers. Everyone is tense since it's right before the Exam. I warned you so that you won't get picked on" He tells them.
The group of rookies all look afraid of the older stronger looking teams. All the teams including the older Leaf teams were looking at them like they could kill them all in a second.
"I guess it can't be helped though, since you are all just rookies who don't know anything. It reminds me of the old me" Kabuto says.
"Kabuto-san, was it?" Sakura says turning to the older teen.
"Yeah" He responds.
"Is this your second time then?" The pink haired rookie asks.
"No. My seventh time" He answers.
Everyone looked at him a little strangely with that announcement, but looking at the crowd he probably wasn't the only here who had been through it that many times. Some of the teams looked to be in the early to mid twenties. Of course some of the nine rookies in front of him ignored that fact.
"This exam only takes place twice every year, and its my fourth year" He explains.
"That means you know a lot about this exam, right?" Sakura says.
"Yeah" Kabuto confirms.
"But he hasn't passed it" Shikamaru cuts in.
"Yeah, that's true" Kabuto says laughing it off.
"Is the Chūnin Exam that difficult? This is just getting even more troublesome" Shikamaru says.
"Yeah, it is. Maybe I should give my cute underclassmen some information, then …"
The silver haired teen then reaches into a pouch at his waist. He pulls out a deck of reddish-orange cards with black trim, and a black and white circle with a symbol drawn in black in the middle of it.
"with these recognition cards" Kabuto says.
"Recognition cards?" Sakura questions.
"In simple terms, it's a card that has information burned into it using my chakra. I've collected information on these exams for the past for years" He explains as he places the deck on the floor.
"There's about 200 cards total" He then takes one from the deck and flips it over on the ground.
"It looks white, but … to get the information from this card …"
He places his index finger directly in the middle of the blank looking card and it starts to spin slowly on the ground. The rookies gather around closely amazed, blocking Team 4's view.
"What are you doing?" Sakura asks.
"It's made so that you can't view it without my chakra. Like this" He says.
A poof of smoke erupts and then the rookies can all see an image and writing has surfaced on the card.
"Wow, what information is this?" Sakura asks.
"The exams total number of examinees and the countries participating. It also has the number of participants from each hidden village" He explains.
The info on the card reads: 30 Sunagakure participants, 21 Amegakure participants, 15 Kusagakure, 12 Takigakure, 75 Konohagakure participants, and 3 Sound participants.
"Let me ask you, why do you think we do the Chūnin Exam together?" He asked them.
No one seemed prepared to answer so he continued.
"First, it's to deep the friendly relationships with the other countries. Next, it's to heighten the level of the ninja. That is what they say" Kabuto explains.
"That is what they say?" Sasuke questions.
"Yes, the real purpose is to confirm the level of the ninja in each adjacent country to try and balance out the power" Kabuto tells them.
"And why do they go through such a troublesome task?" Shikamaru asks.
"If they didn't do that, the weak countries will be invaded and dominated by the strong ones. So they need to check and restrain each others powers. It's just my guess, though" Kabuto tells them.
"Are there any cards that have detailed personal information?" Sasuke asks him.
"Yes. Is there someone that interests you?" Kabuto asks.
"Yes" Sasuke answers.
Kabuto picks up his cards and starts straightening them as he answers.
"The information of this exam's examinees are not perfect, but I've burned and saved them. They include information on the twelve rookies as well. Tell me whatever you know about the people you know that interests you. I'll look it up for you" Kabuto says.
This comment slightly interested Naruto. Maybe he was another Uchiha fan boy and this was his moment of glory, but he seemed focused on the Uchiha Naruto thought as he continued listening.
"Gaara from the Hidden Village of Sand and Rock Lee from Konoha" Sasuke says.
"Oh, you know their names. Then it wont take much time" Kabuto responds.
He arranges the deck a bit and then takes two cards from it in a flashy manner.
"Here we go" Kabuto says holding the two cards.
"Show me" the Uchiha commands.
Kabuto places one card on the floor and places his index finger on it causing it to erupt in smoke before displaying a picture of Rock Lee and then his stats and as sundry information.
"First, Rock Lee. He's one year older than you. Mission experience 20 D-rank ones and 11 C-rank ones. The squad leader is Guy. His hand-to-hand combat skills have increased dramatically this year, but his other skills are terrible.
He got everyone's attention last year as a skilled rookie genin, but he didn't take the Chūnin Exam. This is his first time taking it, like you. His team is composed of Tenten and Hyūga Neji.
Next, let's see Gaara of the Desert" Kabuto says.
He places the other card he plucked on top of the one holding Lee's information and uses his chakra to make the information visible.
"Mission experience 8 C-rank ones and … this is amazing. He did a B-rank mission as a genin. He's a foreign ninja and this it's his first time taking the exam, so I don't have any more information on him. But … it seems that he has returned from all of his missions unharmed" Kabuto tells them.
"He did a B-rank mission as a genin, and was unharmed?" Shikamaru says.
They all watched as he placed a new card down and new information popped up.
"Konoha, Sand, Rain, Grass, Waterfall, and Sound. This year, many talented genin from these hidden villages have come here to take the exam.
The Hidden Village of Sound is a village of a small country that was just made recently, so I don't have much information on them" Kabuto says.
He then places the card back in the deck.
"Either way all of them are powerful hidden villages" Kabuto tells them.
The looks on the rookies faces showed Kabuto had unnerved some of them.
"I'm starting to loose confidence …"Hinata says barely above a whisper.
"It's too late to say that!" Ino rebuffs her.
"In other words, the examinees here are all …" Sakura starts ignoring the comment.
"Right … It's not only Lee or Gaara. All the people here are top elites chosen from each country. This isn't that easy" Kabuto says.
The atmosphere and the room became tense and heavy putting the rookies even more on edge. That's when three ninja's from Oto attacked Kabuto breaking his glasses and causing him to vomit despite seemingly dodging the attack.
This served to panic the rookies even more as they helped Kabuto, but Naruto and team 4 along with other genin teams just stood and analyzed what they saw of the attack. It was definitely not an ordinary attack. Before anything else could happen an explosion of smoke and the proctor arrived.
"Quiet down! You punks!" A deep male voice shouted gaining everyone's attention.
When the smoke cleared a man with a deeply scarred face stood in front of a group of Chūnin and addressed the genin.
"I am the examiner of the 1st test of the Chūnin Selection Exam, Morino Ibiki" He says.
"You three, from the Hidden Sound Village don't think you can do anything you want before the exam starts. Do you want us to fail you already?!" He questions them.
"I'm sorry. I was excited, since this is my first exam" lied the mummified looking sound ninja.
"*Tsch* … this is a good chance to say this. You are not allowed to fight each other during the exam unless given permission by the examiners. Even if the permission is given, you are not allowed to kill each other. Pigs who go against me will fail immediately. Understood?" He barks out.
"This exam seems so soft and easy" Someone mouths off.
"We will now begin the 1st Exam of the Chūnin Selection Exam. Turn in your applications then take one of these number tags, and sit where the number tells you to. Then we will pass out the papers for the written exam" Ibiki tells them.
Naruto ended up sitting next to Hinata and another older Leaf genin. After everyone was seated Ibiki began explaining the rules of the Exam.
"This first exam has a few important rules. I will not accept any questions, so listen carefully" Ibiki says.
Naruto, Fuki, and Tomaru perk up from their positions and listen intently to what was about to be said remembering Hayama's parting advice.
"First rule is you are all given ten points at the start. The written exam consists of ten questions, and each one is worth one point. This test is a deduction based test. If you get one problem wrong, you will get one point deducted. If you get three problems wrong, your score will be reduced to seven.
Second rule, the pass-fail decision will be based on your team's total points" Ibiki tells them.
This immediately caused a commotion in the room as more than a few teams were aware of the limitations of their teammates. Team 4 didn't really have a problem with this. Tomaru acted like a hyperactive idiot, but he was smart enough that he should get at least five questions correct. The same could be said for Fuki and Naruto as well.
"Wait! Your teams total points, what?!" Shouted out Sakura.
Naruto shook his head, 'How could she forget one of the first things he said, which were no questions?'
"Shut up! There is a reason for this. Just shut up and listen" He shouted at her.
Sakura wisely shut up.
"Now on to the next rule. If an examiner determines that you cheated or something similar during the test … each action will cause you to loose two points" He says catching everyone's attention.
"In other words, there will be people who will be forced to leave this place without their tests being graded. Those who cheat without thinking carefully will only hurt themselves.
We will 'check' you at any time. You are all trying to become Chūnin's. If you are ninja, act like a first-rate one" Ibiki says before pausing.
"Also, if anyone in a team gets a zero, everyone on that team will fail. The last problem will be given 45 minutes after the exam begins. You have one hour for the Exam"
Ibiki waited until the second hand reached the twelve on the clock at the back of the room.
"Begin!" He shouts.
Naruto looked at the first problem. It was a cipher.
The second one read, 'The parabola, B, represents a shuriken's maximum throwing distance of the enemy ninja, A, from a height of seven meters. Figure out the trait of the enemy ninja that can be observed from the ellipse formed by the shuriken and figure out the maximum throwing distance on flat ground. Explain your reasoning.'
'Maybe we do have a problem' Naruto thought.
He thought back on the rules and realized what the test was about. He hoped his teammates did as well, but that still left the problem of how to cheat without getting caught and who to cheat off. Naruto was discreetly looking for those that seemed to know the answers. Hinata seemed to, but that was too easy plus it seemed like the examiners were extra focused on him. He couldn't just look over her shoulder and hope to not get caught.
As he was trying to decide a kunai flew right by his face. It landed on the desk of the guy behind him.
"You screwed up five times. You fail" Called Hagane Kotetsu.
"What?" The guy says shocked.
"Teammates of his, get out of here! Right now" Kotetsu commands.
Two guys the same age stood up and walked by the guy one without looking at him and the other glaring.
"Number 23, fail"
"Numbers 43 and 27 fail"
One guy was dragged out kicking and screaming. Another stood up to protest his expulsion.
"Hey, man, do you have any proof that I cheated five times?! Are you all really able to watch over this many people?" Questioned the suna genin.
His answer was being nailed in the neck by an elbow of a one of the examiners to the back wall before most could even blink it had happened so fast.
"Listen up. We are Chūnins that were chosen for this exam. Elites, so to say. We won't miss a single thing you do. My strength is the proof" The man says as he releases the guy letting him slump to the floor.
As teams started to drop more and more others found their way to cheat without being caught. For Naruto he used what he learned of meditation to gain his edge. Since he didn't have to move he could concentrate and focus on his mind's eye. It would give him awareness of up to ten feet around him.
Closing his eyes he visualized his mind and body and those around him. It took him fifteen minutes before he could access it and then looked at Hinata's paper. Memorizing it he quickly opened his eyes and jotted down what she wrote.
Tomaru lucked out. He happened to be sitting between Lee and Tenten when she was maneuvering her mirrors to allow him to cheat. He quickly copied the answers. Fuki was lucky enough to sit besides Sakura and caught the moment when she seemed to zone out. She tried to memorize as much as she could with a few quick looks and wrote down what she could not risking anything more.
After that it was the waiting game for Team 4 as more and more teams were expelled from the Exams some quietly and some not so quietly. It was an intense forty-five minutes for the genin.
After the time passed Ibiki got everyone's attention.
"Okay, I will now give the tenth problem!" He announced.
Everyone stopped what they were doing and listened up.
"Yes, but before that there is one final thing I have to say. There will be one special rule for this last question" He says.
Before he could go further the Suna genin that had asked to go to the bathroom a while back returned. Naruto was intrigued when Ibiki mentioned something about a puppet show. It was an obvious clue to the Suna genin's skill.
"I will no explain" Ibiki begins when the kid sits down.
"A hopeless rule. First, you are all going to choose if you wish to take this tent problem or not" Ibiki says.
"Choose? What happens if we don't take the tenth problem?" The blond Suna kunoichi interrupts.
"If you choose not to take it, your points will be reduced to zero. In other words, you will fail. Your two other teammates will fail along with you" Ibiki says causing an uproar that he ignores.
"And here is the other rule. If you choose to take it and get it wrong, You will … loose the privilege to take the Chūnin Exam forever" Ibiki tells them.
"What kind of dumb rule is that! There should be those who have taken the Chūnin Exam in the past!" shouted Inuzuka Kiba.
"*Haha* *Haha* *Haha*" Ibiki laughed further unsettling the genin.
"You were unlucky. This year, I am the rule. That is why I gave you the option of quitting. Those who are not confident can choose not to take it, and take the Exam next year or the year after that" He says while laughing again.
He let it sink in before going further.
"Let's begin. Those who will not be taking this tenth question, raise your hands. After we confirm your numbers, we will have you leave" Ibiki tells them.
It didn't take long before the first person quit and then a bunch of hands went up. After things settled down again Ibiki asked again.
"I will ask one more time. This is the choice that will impact your life. If you want to quit, now is the chance" He says.
A few more hands went up. In the end there were sixty-six participants left making up twenty-two teams and the 12 rookie genin were still in the game as none had quit. Ibiki turned to the other examiners before saying.
"Nice determination. For the first exam, everyone here … passes!" Ibiki announces.
Once more the genin were all stunned.
"Wait, what's the meaning of that?" Sakura questioned.
Naruto wanted to put his foot in her mouth. Serious who cares, we passed move on but she wasn't the only one with questions he noted.
"We pass already? What about the tenth question?" She added.
"There was no such thing to begin with" Ibiki says with a grin and a small laugh.
"Or you can call the two-choice question the tenth question" He further explains.
"What?" Temari calls out.
"So what were those previous nine problems? It was all a waste!" She says.
"No, it's not. The nine problems accomplished their purpose. The purpose to test each individual's information gathering skills" He explains.
"Information gathering skills?" She questions.
"First, this test's purpose lies in the first rule … your pass-fail decision is based on your three person teams. By giving that idea, we have given you an unprecedented amount of pressure to try and not be a nuisance to your team.
But these test problems cannot be solved by you genins. So, most of the people here have to the conclusion … 'I have to cheat to get points.' In other words the exam assumed that everyone was going to cheat.
So, we snuck in two Chūnin's who knew the answers to be the targets of cheating" Ibiki says.
Both let it be known who they were surprising the genin.
"But those who just cheated like a fool, failed of course. Why?" Ibiki continues as he removes his head protector and bandana.
"Information can have greater value than life at times, and in missions and battlefields … Information is contest with the lives of people!" Ibiki proclaims.
Most of the genin were shocked by the scars that covered his head and face signs of obvious torture.
"The information that an enemy gets after being noticed by a third person will not necessarily be accurate" He says as he reties his forehead protector.
"Remember this. Getting information incorrect can cause great damage to your teammates and village. So, we made you all gather information in the form of cheating. We kicked out those that were lacking in that field. That's what was going on" Ibiki finishes.
"Still I can't agree with that last question …" Says the blond Suna kunoichi.
Seriously it was getting annoying. What was there to agree with.
"But this tenth question was the main question of this first exam" He responds.
"What do you mean?" Sakura asked.
"Let me explain. The tenth question was a 'take or not take' choice. Needless to say, it was a painful two-choice question.
Those who did not take it failed with their teams. If you chose not take it, and could not answer it … your right to take the exam would have been taken away forever. It was a very sincere problem" He says seriously.
"How about this two-choice problem … let's assume that you have become a Chūnin. Your mission is to capture a secret document.
The number of enemy ninja, their abilities, and armaments are unknown and there maybe traps that enemy ninja have set up. Now will you accept this mission or not?" He asks them.
"Just because your life and the lives of your teammates maybe in danger, are you able to avoid dangerous missions?
The answer is … no. There are missions that carry heavy risks, but cannot be avoided. The ability to show your courage to your teammates when needed, and the ability to get through a bad situation … That is what we look for in a Chūnin, a squad leader.
Those who cannot bet their fate in a critical situation … Those who give up when given the chance because there is a next year, and let their minds sway over an uncertain future … Fools who only carry a light determination like that have no right to become a Chūnin. That is what I believe.
I am saying that you here who have chosen to take it gave the right answer for the difficult tenth question. You can deal with the difficulties you will face … you have broken through the entrance.
The First Exam of the Chūnin Selections has ended. I wish you luck" He tells them.
As soon as he finished a projectile shot through the window and a large black covering was implanted beside Ibiki with kunai staked in multiple places to the floor and ceiling.
"Everybody there's no time to be happy … I am the second examiner Mitarashi Anko"
The black covering revealed words saying, 'Second Examiner, Mitarashi Anko is here …'
A five foot almost five inches tall woman with purple hair styled in a short, spiky, fanned ponytail and light brown pupil-less eyes. She was wearing a tan overcoat with a mesh body suit that stretched down to her thighs, a dark-orange mini skirt with a blue belt and a sash like appendage that seemed to be under the mesh, a pendant that was hanging between her visibly bared breasts, a wrist watch, and shin guards connected to black open toed sandals.
Needless to say many of the guys and a few of the girls weren't paying much attention to what she was saying.
"Let's go to the next exam! Follow me!" She shouts.
Ibiki comes out from behind the banner.
"Grasp the atmosphere" Ibiki tells her.
"66? Ibiki, you let 22 teams pass?" She questioned.
"The first exam must have been too soft" She declares.
"It looks like there are a lot of excellent students this time" Ibiki defends.
"Oh well … I'm going to make more than half of the teams fail in the next exam" She says.
"I'm getting excited. I will explain the details tomorrow. We will go somewhere else, so ask your Jōnin teachers about the rally-point and time. That is all. Dismissed" She says.
The genin filed out of the room heading off to find their sensei's. Naruto and his team would actually train a little on their own before going home and resting up after finding Hayama. Tomorrow would bring a new challenge for the genin of team 4.
Thank you for reading the 12th chapter of Speed Unmatched. I hope you enjoyed it.