"Talking"
'Thinking'
Jutsu/ Bijuu/ Summons
Flashbacks, Letters, and Setting
I don't own Naruto
Chapter 42: The Chunin Exams Begin
In Konoha, a few days before the start of the Chunin Exams
"Hey! It's your turn to seek!" Moegi complained when Konohamaru tried to weasel his way out of seeking again in their game of ninja hide-and-go-seek.
"Hey! I need the practice! I almost ruined Narumi nee-chan's mission when I almost got caught! Just one more time! Besides, it'll help you in becoming a better tracker too!" Konohamaru pleaded his case, hoping he could convince his friends.
"How about you? Don't you need to practice tracking as well? And don't we need to practice our stealth too?" Moegi countered.
Konohamaru was not expecting Moegi to use his argument against himself, and was left stuttering, trying to say something back, but not being able to come up with any good reasons.
He was about to just try to whine his way through, when he was distracted by bright pink hair in the distance that stood out from the rest of the population of Konoha.
"Woah. Check that out! Her hair is even more colorful than yours!" Konohamaru told Moegi as he pointed at a young Genin in the distance.
"Huh?" Moegi turned around to see who Konohamaru was pointing at. "Oh. That's just Sakura-san. I don't really know her that well, but she was nice enough when I bumped into her once."
"That's Sakura?" Konohamaru asked in shock. "Hey! That's that annoying girl who bullied our boss in the academy!"
He growled as he punched his palm with his other hand. He suddenly began to storm off towards her.
"Where are you going, Konohamaru?" Udon asked, worried his hot-headed friend would do something stupid.
"I'm gonna teach her a lesson!" he shouted back as he continued to stomp towards the pink-haired kunoichi.
"But what are you gonna do, Konohamaru-kun?" Moegi asked, sharing Udon's concern.
"I'll figure that out once I get to her!" Konohamaru shouted back.
"Should we try to stop him?" Udon asked Moegi as they watched their friend walk off.
Moegi rolled her eyes. "Nah. I don't want to get involved in this. Let's go play catch or something. He'll come back when he's done."
Sakura was going through her shopping list of supplies that Kurenai had suggested she stock up on for the exams, when she was suddenly interrupted by someone rudely shouting at her.
"Hey you! Pinkie!"
She looked around to see who it was that was shouting at her. "Huh? Are you talking to me?"
"Yeah! I'm talking to you! Are you Sakura?" Konohamaru demanded aggressively.
Sakura was thrown off by having a child she had never seen before randomly walking up to her and demanding to know who she was so rudely, but he was a kid, so she decided to try to be nice in her response.
"Yeah. I'm Sakura. What's your name?" She asked with a smile, trying to placate the kid who seemed to be mad at her for no good reason.
Konohamaru ignored her question. "So, you're the annoying girl who bullied our boss!"
Sakura was confused. "Your boss?" She wondered out loud. "Who's your boss?"
"Narumi nee-chan! You have some nerve making fun of an awesome person like her! Who do you think you are!?" Konohamaru yelled at her.
Sakura's cheeks reddened as she remembered how she used to join in, and sometimes even lead, other children in making fun of Narumi to validate her insecure self. She was embarrassed of her behavior in the academy and was hoping to forget that and leave it behind her. However, now some random kid was now bringing it back up and berating her for it.
"Ummm…" Sakura mumbled as she tried to think of what to say next. She wasn't proud of what she had done, but she didn't really need to apologize to some random kid either. It wasn't his business. She would apologize if she came across her, like she did with Ino a few weeks ago. She wanted him to leave her alone but didn't want to be excessively mean or rude in doing so. She wanted to be different now and be nicer when she could.
"Well? What do you have to say for yourself!?" Konohamaru shouted as he crossed his arms in an attempt to look intimidating. Sakura didn't even notice.
"Hey, so…" Sakura began before she realized she didn't know his name. "Anyway, it's true I wasn't the kindest to Narumi, and it's something I'm not proud of. I'll work it out with her when I see her some other time, but it's really something that's between us. Thanks for reminding me to try to mend things with her though." Sakura replied with a smile hoping the kid would leave her alone.
"Hmmph! As if! You're probably just lying because you want me to leave you alone! You're just scared of confrontation! Coward!" He accused.
Sakura felt her patience being tested. "I'm a Genin you know. What makes you think I'd be scared of a kid like you?" She asked, the veins on her forehead beginning to bulge a little, as she spoke through her teeth in a barely maintained smile.
Konohamaru was offended, feeling like Sakura was dismissing him as being just a little kid and seeing him as being unable to do anything.
"What? You think I can't do anything just because I'm a kid and you're a Genin?" Konohamaru huffed out.
"Well… kinda." Sakura replied with a shrug. "Listen, it was… nice… meeting you but I got stuff to do. I'll see you later." Sakura told Konohamaru as she turned around to get back to shopping.
Konohamaru was angry at being brushed off like he was someone insignificant. "Hey! Get back here! I wasn't finished!"
When Sakura ignored him and walked away, he was furious. "Hey! You! Get back here! Hey! Get back here, you… big forehead girl!"
He didn't quite know what effect those words would have on Sakura and had randomly said anything that he noticed about her, but he was about to find out the consequences.
Sakura froze in place before her head whipped around to glare at Konohamaru.
"What. Did. You. Call. Me?" She growled out.
"I said you had a big forehead! Whatcha gonna do about it?" He asked, feeling sure that she wouldn't unleash violence on a little kid.
"Why you little brat! I'll teach you a lesson!" She screamed out as she ran towards him.
Konohamaru gulped. Clearly that wasn't the smartest move from him. He turned around and ran for his life.
"I'm gonna clobber you when I get my hands on you!" Sakura shouted out as she chased Konohamaru.
"You're crazy if you think that'll convince me to stop running!" Konohamaru shouted back as he looked behind him to see if she was gaining on him.
He was so preoccupied with Sakura, that he didn't see the person in front of him and crashed into him.
"Oof!"
"Oww! Hey!" Konohamaru whined as he rubbed his cheek, which was red from the impact.
"Are your eyes just there for decoration? Stupid kid!" The teen Konohamaru ran into shouted out at Konohamaru as he grabbed him by the scruff of his collar.
Sakura ran around the corner of the alley to see the scene between Konohamaru and some boy who seemed to be a shinobi.
She walked towards them to try to deescalate the situation, and apologize on Konohamaru's behalf, when she noticed the strangely dressed shinobi had a hitai-ite inscribed with the insignia of Suna.
"Hey, sorry about that. We were playing, and he got carried away. He must have not seen you standing there. We'll try to be more careful." She spoke apologetically in an effort to calm down the angry teen.
"Let the kid go, Kankuro. Don't make a scene." A blonde girl with her hair tied in 4 pigtails, who also had a Suna hitai-ite, told the Suna teen.
"You can be more careful next time." The boy known as Kankuro responded, relieving both Konohamaru and Sakura, until he added on to that as he gave her a sadistic smile. "But he'll have to pay the consequences for this time!"
He raised his hand to strike Konohamaru, and was mid-swing, when his hand was pinned to the wooden fence next to him by a stick of half-eaten dango.
"Argh!" Kankuro shouted out in pain, and dropped Konohamaru, who quickly scurried off and hid behind Sakura.
Konohamaru, Sakura, Kankuro, and the blonde Suna girl turned around to see who had thrown the stick of dango.
"If I see you being mean to one of my minions again, I'll REALLY get angry!" Narumi shouted through gritted teeth.
"Narumi nee-chan!" Konohamaru shouted out in relief before he ran over to find refuge behind her.
"You bitch! I was just gonna slap him around, but I'll make you pay for that!" Kankuro shouted out as he pulled the dango stick which was stuck surprisingly deep into the fence, out of his hand.
"Kankuro! Stop! You're making this a bigger deal!" The blonde Suna girl warned, but Kankuro was too pissed to care.
"Shut up, Temari! I'm not about to let some stupid bitch talk to me like that!"
"Hey! Language!" Narumi shouted back as she got into a taijutsu stance. She didn't like potty mouths, even if they were going to fight. There was a kid around here for goodness' sake.
Kankuro reached for the large object that was wrapped up in bandages and hanging on his back, when sand began to blow towards Kankuro.
'Where's all this sand coming from?' Narumi wondered, before she saw a short, auburn-haired boy emerging from the coalescing sand next to Kankuro, which seemed to make him pale.
"Kankuro." The boy said with authority. "You're being an embarrassment to Suna. Stop. Or I'll kill you."
The way he said those last words sent shivers up Narumi's spine. He said it so non-chalantly, as if it were nothing to him, but he said it in a manner that made it clear it was more than just a figure of speech.
"G-Gaara!" Kankuro choked out in fear. "Y-you got it."
Sakura, who had been seeing this whole scene, saw the Suna hitai-ite hanging on his neck, and decided to ask him a question that had been on her mind.
"You guys are from Suna, right? Are you here for the Chunin Exams?"
The red-haired boy ignored her question, and kept his eyes fixed on Narumi.
Temari decided to speak up and answer Sakura's question. "That's right. Will you guys be participating as well?"
"Yup!" Narumi replied enthusiastically, as if there wasn't a guy who had tried to fight her earlier, and a guy who was staring at her creepily in front of her. "Can't wait to kick some butt and show who's boss!"
That was news to Sakura. She didn't know Team 7 was going to participate as well. "I'll be in the exams as well." She told Temari.
Temari looked the two girls up and down. While they didn't seem to be too much younger than her, they didn't look like much. They didn't seem like they had experienced the true horrors of a ninja's life yet. She could smell the rookie on them.
"I see…" Gaara commented. "In that case, I'm excited to be able to see you again during the exams. There's something about you that's different. Something interesting." He told Narumi as he gave her an unhinged smile that creeped Sakura out.
"What is your name?" He asked her.
"Ummm… Narumi?" She replied. "Gaara, right?"
Gaara ignored her question.
"I'll see you later, Narumi." He said as he turned around to leave, saying her name to himself as if he was trying to remember it for later.
Temari gave her a concerned look.
"Listen. If I were you, I'd drop out of the exams. You don't want to have Gaara take an interest in you." Temari warned Narumi.
"Eh? Why? He's not THAT ugly. Sure, he's a little creepy, but if he thinks I'm pretty, maybe he's not as weird as I thought." Narumi responded naively, misinterpreting what Gaara meant by "taking an interest" in her.
Temari just stared at Narumi dumbfounded in silence, wondering if she was joking or if she was actually that dumb. She decided to leave Narumi to her fate if she was actually that stupid, and walked away, joining Kankuro and Gaara.
"Well, that was a weird encounter. Wonder what it was about me. My hair?" Narumi commented to herself as she turned around to leave with Konohamaru.
"Hey. Narumi! Can I talk to you for a second?" Sakura asked as soon as she got over the creepy encounter with the Sand Trio.
Narumi turned around with a frown. "What do you want, Sakura? Want to make fun of my round cheeks again?"
Sakura winced. This was the effect she had on Narumi, something she hadn't really put much thought into before. She really needed to mend things with Narumi.
"No no. Listen, I just wanted to apologize for how I treated you back in the Academy. It was really mean, and stupid of me. I regret how I acted back then and wish I could take it back. I know I can't, but I still wanted to let you know I'm really sorry."
Narumi looked at Sakura with one eyebrow raised, and stared at her as if she had grown a second head.
"Eh? Are you sure you're Sakura? There's no way you're actually apologizing to me, right? Is this some sort of prank?" Narumi asked as she looked around for any signs of a prank.
"Hey! I'm serious! This isn't a prank or anything like that. I'm genuinely sorry. I've been bullied before too and should have known better. I should have understood how bad it feels to be made fun of, but I wanted to be part of the cool crowd for once, and I thought people wouldn't make fun of me if I put the negative attention on you instead. I've realized how stupid that was, and I know I can't change the past, but I want to still apologize. I want to make things right between us." Sakura told Narumi.
Narumi stared at Sakura skeptically for a couple seconds, trying to see if she was being genuine.
Sakura stood there awkwardly as Narumi looked over her. It was weird just standing there, without any response, neither positive nor negative. Each second felt like an awkward purgatory until Narumi stuck out her open hand when she couldn't sense any deceit or negative emotions coming from Sakura.
Sakura looked at the hand and looked up at Narumi.
"You sound like you're being genuine, and you tried to help out my minion here, so I'll believe you this time, and forgive you for being mean to me in the past."
Sakura broke out into a wide smile and shook her hand.
"This doesn't mean we're best friends or anything like that though." Narumi clarified. "It just means I won't hold your past actions against you. I still have to see what you are like now."
Sakura nodded. "Of course. I just didn't want there to be bad blood between us. We may not be on the same team, but we are comrades after all."
Narumi nodded. "Alright. Well, I guess I'll catch you later then, Sakura. Come on Konohamaru-chan, we're going now."
Sakura nodded and waved goodbye. She got back to shopping with a smile on her face. It felt good to clear up the bad blood.
At Ichiraku's
"Sheesh, what's the big idea, calling us to meet here, and then coming late?" Sasuke complained to Hinata.
"I-I'm sure she'll be here anytime now." Hinata told Sasuke to calm him down.
"Sorry I'm late guys!" Narumi shouted out as she ran towards the ramen stand.
"About time! We were here for like 20 minutes!" Sasuke complained. "You're the one who told us to come here in the first place!"
"I know, I know. My bad. I was held up by some random Suna guys who were trying to bully Konohamaru." Narumi said in her defense.
"Suna?" Sasuke asked with a raised eyebrow. "Are they here for the Chunin Exams?"
Narumi nodded. "Yup. They were kinda weird, but I guess they're alright. One of them even said I was interesting. I think he might like me."
Sasuke choked on the water he was drinking. "You're kidding right? Some random Suna Genin likes you after meeting you for 3 seconds? You? Does he know what kind of mount-"
"What kind of what, Sasuke-chan?" Narumi asked with eyes opened threateningly wide, and chopsticks held up like a pair of senbon.
Sasuke decided it would be best to make the most of the opportunity that Narumi gave him to save his skin. "I was saying what kind of mountain would best accentuate your hair in a picture. It's important to know these kinds of things if you ever take pictures together you know."
"Hmm… I haven't thought of that…" Narumi wondered, going off on the diversionary tangent Sasuke brought up to save himself.
Sasuke sighed in relief, knowing he had gained another day to live.
Ayame giggled with a hand over her mouth, as she watched the 3 Genin's banter. "You kids want your usual, right?"
The Genin nodded in confirmation before they went back to their conversation.
"S-so, what were the Suna Genin like? Did they look s-strong?" Hinata asked, trying to see what their competition would be like.
"Eh. They didn't look all that scary. Just a little weird. But you know what was even weirder than the Suna Genin? You won't believe this." Narumi told her friends.
"What happened, Narumi-chan?" Hinata asked.
"Guess who I met on the way here." Narumi asked the other 2 Genin.
"Who was it? Stop hyping the story up and hurry up and tell us what happened." Sasuke said impatiently.
"Alright, alright. Sheesh. You don't know how to appreciate good storytelling." Narumi responded. "Anyway, Sakura was also there when we met the Suna Genin, and when I was about to leave, she stopped me to apologize to me for how she was in the Academy."
"She what?" Sasuke asked in disbelief. "Are you sure it was Sakura? Maybe it was someone else in a henge."
"That's what I thought at first too, but it seemed like she was being genuine." Narumi replied.
"Don't tell me you actually forgave her just like that." Sasuke asked.
"Hey, she said she was sorry. It seemed like she changed after her Academy days. I wanted to give her a second chance." Narumi told Sasuke.
"Don't you want to get revenge? Get her back for making your life miserable in the Academy?" Sasuke asked.
"I-I think she did the r-right thing, Sasuke-kun." Hinata commented.
"You guys are too nice. I'd have used the Chunin Exams as an excuse to kick her butt." Sasuke told his two teammates.
"Oh, if I see her in the Exams, I'm kicking her butt. But not because I want revenge. I'm gonna kick everyone's butt in the Exams!" Narumi declared with a fist clenched in determination.
"That's some declaration, leaf-brats. Let's see you guys back that up when the time comes." A white-haired teen with a Mist hitai-ite commented as he stepped into the ramen stand.
His teammates followed in behind him. "Excuse me, is this Ichiraku's Ramen?" a kunoichi familiar to the Genin of Team 7 asked politely as she stepped in.
"Haku-chan!" Narumi squealed out in glee, before she jumped out of her seat to squeeze Haku with a hug.
"I can't believe you're here! I'm so glad to see you!" Narumi told Haku as she jumped up and down with excitement while still holding Haku in her embrace.
"It's good to see you as well, Narumi-chan. Same with you, Hinata-san, Sasuke-san." Haku said with a smile.
Hinata replied with a smile, as she gave her a polite bow. "I'm glad to see you as well, Haku-san."
Sasuke just gave her a two-finger salute like he had seen Kakashi do, trying to look cool.
"Narumi? So, this is Naruto-taichou's sister?" Suigetsu asked Haku.
Haku nodded. "This is Naruto-taichou's Genin team."
"Naruto-taichou?" Sasuke asked with a raised eyebrow. "How do you guys know Naruto-sensei?"
"H-he was the leader of their squad during the Mist's civil war." A shy looking teen with black framed glasses replied.
The Genin of Team 7 hadn't really heard the full details of Naruto's long term secret mission, but they had heard it had something to do with the Hidden Mist, so they put the pieces together in their mind.
"Leader of THEIR squad? Then who are you?" Sasuke asked the shy teen.
"One of our teammates was promoted to Jonin, so Chojuro-kun joined us for the Exams." Haku replied in Chojuro's stead.
"Cool! It's nice to meet you! I'm Narumi!" Narumi said cheerfully, as she stuck out her hand for a handshake.
Chojuro looked at the hand in front of him, then looked up at the girl who was offering it.
His face blushed when he saw her face. She was cute with those round cheeks of hers, and her flaming red hair that reminded him of Mei gave her an exotic beauty.
"H-hi…" Chojuro shook her hand, unable to look her in the eye.
Narumi just gave him a smile as she shook his hand, not noticing his nervousness. She then turned to greet Suigetsu.
"Any sister of Naruto-taichou is cool with me." Suigetsu said, revealing his shark-like teeth with a smile, as he shook hands with her as well.
The two teams got acquainted with each other, and Narumi helped the Kiri Genin choose their ramen with her expertise in the field.
"So, who's your Jonin sensei, and where is he?" Sasuke asked.
"Zabuza-sama is our Jonin sensei. He's at the Hokage tower, filling out some forms at the moment." Haku replied.
"How did you find us?" Hinata asked Haku.
"Zabuza-sama told us to explore the village while he was busy. Naruto-taichou talked about Ichiraku's Ramen all the time, so we decided to try it out while we were here. We weren't expecting to find you here, but I guess we shouldn't be surprised."
Teuchi smiled as he brought out the Kiri Genin's Ramen. He made a mental note to thank Naruto with some ramen on the house for his free marketing.
"So, you guys are gonna be in the Exams too! Awesome!" Narumi said in between her slurps of her third portion of Ramen.
"You do know this means we'll have to fight each other, right?" Sasuke asked Narumi. He had seen Haku in action back in Wave and acknowledged her as a worthy opponent to test himself against. He was excited to test his mettle against her during the exams.
"Oh… you're right…" Narumi deflated slightly when she realized that.
"We could try to avoid each other or even help each other in the first few stages." Haku offered. "We're only really required to fight in the tournament stage of the Exams."
"T-that's a good idea, Haku-san." Hinata replied. She was happy to take all the help she could get and reduce the number of potential threats.
"Sweet! Sounds like a plan then!" Narumi said with a smile on her face.
"Why don't we show you around the village after we finish eating? There're so many places you gotta see!" Narumi said excitedly.
Haku smiled. She had missed the vibrant energy of her friend from Konoha. "That sounds good, Narumi-chan."
A few days later, At the Hokage's Office, the night before the Exams
"So, what was so important that you called me here at this time? You know the Exams are tomorrow, right? I was supposed to buy my team dinner tonight." Naruto complained as he entered the office.
Hiruzen turned around from the window to face him, with a more serious face than Naruto was expecting to see from him. Usually, he would just chuckle when Naruto complained.
"I've met with the elders and clan heads of Konoha today, Naruto-kun." Hiruzen began.
Naruto raised an eyebrow. "Aren't I a clan head too? I don't recall being called to that meeting."
"Naturally. As the meeting concerned you." Hiruzen replied.
"Oh?" Naruto said as his mind worked quickly to try to put the pieces together in his mind. "I'm guessing you called me here to inform me of what was said in the meeting?"
Hiruzen nodded. "Correct."
He sat at his desk and pulled out his pipe. "I hope you don't mind if I smoke?"
"As if you need my permission, Hokage-sama." Naruto replied as he gestured with his hand for him to continue.
Hiruzen lit his pipe with a minor fire jutsu and took a deep puff as he prepared to break the news to Naruto. He wasn't sure how Naruto was going to take the news and needed to brace himself.
"So, you must be aware that I am old. I'm not even as strong as I was as when you first joined the shinobi forces, let alone compared to my prime." Hiruzen started.
Naruto nodded. "Heh. I'd say old describes you just about right. That's nothing new."
Hiruzen chuckled. "Of course. Father Time is undefeated after all. The old leaves must fall for the new leaves to take their place."
Naruto started to feel a bit nervous, as the Sandaime's words and flow of the conversation seemed to be heading in a direction that Naruto didn't like. He really hoped this wasn't heading there.
"Where are you going with this, Hokage-sama?" Naruto asked.
Hiruzen sighed. "I'm not getting any younger, and I can't be the Hokage forever. If I had things my way, I'd have stayed retired after handing over the hat to your father, but tragically, that didn't go as planned. It's almost been 20 years since then, and I really need to choose my next successor."
Naruto stayed silent. Shit. This was going exactly where he didn't want it to go.
"I'll just come out and say it. After much discussion with the village elders and the clan heads, it has been decided that you are the best candidate for the position of Hokage." Hiruzen told Naruto.
Naruto began to shake his head. "No. No no no no. I'm not interested in becoming Hokage."
The Sandaime sighed. "Listen, Naruto-kun-"
"Shouldn't I have been asked if I even wanted the position? I've never even been interested in the position! I've got other responsibilities that are far more important to me! No. Find someone else." Naruto shouted out, interrupting the Hokage.
"Obviously, we can't force you to take the hat. But you should reconsider." Hiruzen advised.
"And why should I?" Naruto asked indignantly.
"Well, one thing to consider is for the sake of the village. There aren't any other candidates in this village that are as capable as you, and there sure aren't any other candidates whose names command the amount of fear and respect yours carries, which is important in making other villages think twice before acting against Konoha."
Naruto scoffed. "Of course there are other candidates. Shikaku is much more capable than I am in running a village. Or if name value matters so much, then Tsunade is an option. Hell, if combat prowess is important, then choose Kakashi."
"While Shikaku is very much a capable and crucial asset in running a village, he won't be able to protect the village from the bigger threats himself and doesn't really instill faith in the villagers that he'd be able to. He's better suited as an advisor. Tsunade is powerful and comes from noble lineage, but do you really think she is fit to be the leader of this village? While Kakashi is strong and intelligent, he is nowhere near as powerful as you are, and he can't even come to meetings on time. He is definitely off the table." Hiruzen countered.
"Well, then you can look at some of the others as options. Either way, I can't be tied up with Hokage duties if I want to take care of my sister and my team." Naruto replied.
"And that's the next reason you should reconsider. I'm not sure how much you know, but I've been keeping forces in Konoha that wish to use your sister the way other villages use their Jinchuurikis or just flat out don't like her at bay. Who's to say the next Hokage will hold the same stance?" Hiruzen told Naruto.
Naruto clenched his fists and narrowed his eyes at the thought of people trying to use his sister like that.
"You might not be able to spend as much time with her, but you'd be able to help her a lot more as Hokage. Think about the mistakes the village made dealing with you and your sister after the Kyuubi incident. I must admit a lot of it was due to my shortcomings as a leader, something I deeply regret and wished I could have handled better. However, as a Hokage you would be able to do things differently. Do things much better than I was able to. You could do so much more for her." Hiruzen told Naruto, trying to convince him.
Naruto closed his eyes and turned his head up to face the ceiling, internally debating on what decisions to make.
"Besides, who else would I choose? Jiraiya? Danzo?" The Third asked.
At those names, Naruto's shoulders slumped, and he let out a defeated sigh. Now those were some awful alternatives.
*sigh* "Fine. So now what? I'm Hokage starting tomorrow or something?"
Hiruzen chuckled. "You don't need to worry about things changing so quickly. As we are fortunately in a time of peace, we can slowly transition. I'll start grooming you to succeed me after the Chunin Exams. Besides, if your Genin are as good as you tell me they are, they'll join the Chunin forces and may even lead their own teams. You won't need to watch over them like a mother hen anymore."
Though Naruto was extremely displeased with the thought of becoming Hokage, he still gave him a small smile at the thought of his team.
"Oh, you'll see just how good they are soon enough."
At the Namikaze-Uzumaki Household, the next morning
"Oh, and then we took Haku and her friends to the hot springs after getting dango! Girl time with Haku-chan and Hinata-chan was soooo relaxing! Just what we needed before the Exams! Though I'm not sure if Sasuke had such a good time with Suigetsu-kun and Chojuro-kun." Narumi recounted her previous evening to Naruto as she checked over her supplies one last time to see if she had everything she needed for the exams.
Naruto smiled as he listened to her tale. Soon spending time with her like this would become a rarity, with all of the extra duties that would be imposed on him. He needed to cherish each moment while he could.
"Go get your brush and sit on the floor in front of me. I'll brush your hair today." Naruto told Narumi.
"Eh? I'm not a baby anymore, nii-chan, I can do my own hair." Narumi replied as she looked at him strangely.
Naruto chuckled. "Of course. But I want to brush your hair today. For good luck on your Exams."
Narumi shrugged her shoulders and brought the brush as he asked and sat in front of him. Naruto started to slowly brush her hair with long, methodic strokes.
Narumi hummed as she relaxed at her brother's brushing. "It's been a while since you brushed my hair like this. I forgot how nice it feels when you do it. You should brush my hair more often, nii-chan!" Narumi told her brother.
Naruto chuckled again. "I thought you said you weren't a baby anymore?"
"Well, what can I say? It feels nice. It's different from when I brush my hair." Narumi replied.
Naruto smiled as he finished up. "I'll think about it. Maybe I can brush your hair every once in a while, when we have time in the mornings. But we'll worry about that later. We'll need to leave soon if you want to meet with Sasuke and Hinata in time. Don't want to be late to the Exams, now do we?"
Narumi jumped up and grabbed her stuff. "Right! Let's get going then! Chunin Exams, here I come!"
In front of the Academy
Naruto and Narumi arrived at the swings in front of the Academy first, the place Team 7 agreed to meet up at before they went inside for the exams.
After a few minutes of waiting, Hinata, then Sasuke arrived.
"Good, looks like we're all here." Naruto commented when he saw Sasuke arriving.
"You ready to kick some butt, Sasuke-chan?" Narumi asked with a confident smile.
Sasuke replied with a smirk. "I've been itching for the moment I can show off the things I've been working on."
Naruto chuckled. "I'm glad you guys are feeling confident, but let's not get too arrogant in our abilities."
At that, Narumi and Sasuke's cheeks reddened a little in embarrassment, and they nodded.
"Now, once you go through those doors, you three will be on your own. I won't be there to tell you what to do or help you if anything goes wrong."
Hinata frowned a little when she heard that. She wanted to be as confident as her two friends, but she couldn't help but be worried they'd come across obstacles that were too tough for them to overcome. She'd definitely miss having her sensei as a steady rock she could always rely on.
Naruto noticed Hinata's concerned look and continued speaking. "But let's get some things into perspective. The others in there are in the same boat. Unlike in missions, we know for sure that you'll only be dealing with Genin. You don't need to worry about facing Chunin or Jonin level threats. We've trained pretty extensively on your individual skills, and I'm pretty confident that you guys are more than capable of handling the average Genin. Have faith in the work you've put in."
The three Genins perked up and smiled at his words.
"You three are all incredibly talented. But what really sets our team apart is the teamwork and the faith you have in each other. When things get tough, I want you guys to rely on each other. I'm confident that you'll be able to overcome anything this Exam has to throw at you when you work together."
"Got it. Thanks, Naruto-sensei." Sasuke replied with a smile.
Naruto smiled back. "Good. Now a few last words of advice before I make you guys late. I know you guys are thrilled to compete and show off what you can do but show some restraint. What did I say was one of the most important tools of a shinobi?"
"Teamwork?" Narumi replied.
"A calm and analytical mind?" Sasuke suggested.
"The element of surprise?" Hinata quietly asked.
"You're all right, but Hinata was closest to what I was trying to say. Secrecy. Don't give away your position. Don't show your weaknesses. Don't reveal all of your cards until absolutely necessary. Use deceit and misinformation to put the playing field to your advantage. Put up a false front to create a false sense of security, then strike your opponents in ways they don't expect." Naruto advised.
Naruto smiled as he looked at his team trying to process the information. Cute little things.
"Anyway, that's enough from me. Good luck on your exams you three! Believe in yourselves! Oh, and I'd hurry up and head inside if you don't want to be late!" Naruto told the three has he vanished in a swirl of leaves.
The three broke out of their deep thought and rushed inside.
Inside the Academy
"Let's see now… it says here that we need to head to Room 302…" Narumi mumbled out loud as she looked at the instructions that came with their application forms.
"It's only been a few months since we've graduated, but it feels like we haven't been here in ages." Sasuke commented as they climbed up the stairs.
"Ah! Here we are, Room 302!" Narumi announced to her team, pointing at a room with a sign that had 302 written on it.
There were two tough looking "Genin" guarding the door, preventing many of the Genin gathered outside the doors from entering.
"Sheesh! I didn't know there would be so many people competing!" Narumi commented as she headed towards the crowd.
She was suddenly roughly yanked back by her collar by Sasuke.
"Ack! Hey! What was that for!" Narumi complained as she glared at Sasuke.
"Where do you think you're going, idiot?"
"To our exam room? Duh!" Narumi replied as she pointed to Room 302.
Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Hinata, is that Room 302?"
Veins began to bulge around Hinata's eyes. "No. There's a g-genjutsu cast over Room 202 to make it look like Room 302."
"Oh. Well, sorry I don't have cool eyes like you guys!" Narumi told her teammates as she pointed at her violet eyes.
"I didn't even use my Sharingan, dumbdumb. Just used my brain. How many floors did we go up?" Sasuke asked.
"Umm… one? But what does that-" Narumi stopped herself when she realized what he meant. "Oh… right right. We're on the second floor so that's Room 202… gotcha…"
"Use your brain like me, alright?" Sasuke said with a teasing grin to a glaring Narumi, as he led his team up the next flight of stairs which were hidden under another genjutsu, quietly leaving the mass of Genin in front of Room 202.
"Hey! Where are they going?" A voice asked out loud, turning the attention to Team 7.
Team 7 turned around with an annoyed look to see which idiot couldn't keep his mouth closed.
Most of the crowd luckily lost interest when they didn't see anything, and went back to trying to get the Genin guarding the fake 302 to let them in.
"I told you to be quiet and follow my lead, you idiot!" Sakura hissed at Kiba as she punched him in the shoulder. "You almost gave away the fact that Room 302 here was fake!"
"Tch. Idiot." Sasuke commented before he headed up with his team.
"Hey! I'm not an idiot!" Kiba shouted back towards Sasuke's back who ignored him and headed up. "Tsk arrogant bastard. Hasn't changed in the least."
"You almost alerted everyone to the secret. Way to go." A slightly older looking Hyuuga boy told Team 8 before he turned around to go up the hidden stairs. "You should keep dog boy there in a muzzle if he can't learn to keep his mouth shut."
His female teammate slapped his shoulder. "Neji-kun! That was uncalled for!"
"Tch. Whatever. You know I'm right, Tenten. His big mouth and small brain are destined to get them into trouble someday." Neji told his teammate as they went up the stairs.
"Grrr… I hate all of these arrogant bastards… I'll show them…" Kiba growled as he followed his teammates up the stairs as well.
When Team 7 reached and entered the real Room 302, they were greeted by Team 10.
"Narumi-chan! Hinata-chan! Sasuke-kun!" Ino called out as she ran over to them, followed by Chouji who was nervously munching on a bag of chips, and Shikamaru, who walked over towards them with his hands in his pocket, and the laziest gait they had ever seen.
"Ino-chan!" Narumi shouted back as she hugged Ino. "Good to see you guys too, Shikamaru-kun, Chouji-kun!"
Team 7 and Team 10 greeted each other, glad to see a fellow rookie team in a sea of older, more experienced Genin teams.
Ino was especially very glad to see Team 7, and her Sasuke-kun in particular.
When Team 8 came in next, Sakura was greeted by the sight of her rival in love glomping Sasuke, who didn't seem to be really enjoying the hug, but didn't look outright annoyed either.
Trying to take the advice of her sensei, she tried to not be so obsessed with Sasuke, but it wasn't like you could just turn your feelings on and off, and it was tough to not feel jealous.
"You! I'mma kick your ass, you arrogant bastard! Fight me here!" Kiba growled out when he saw Sasuke. "I'll show you how much stronger I got under Kurenai-sensei!"
Sasuke just rolled his eyes and ignored him.
"You really don't know when to keep your mouth shut, do you?" Neji asked rhetorically, as he passed by Kiba.
"I'll kick your ass next, Hyuuga bastard!" Kiba shouted, much to chagrin of Sakura who was already annoyed from Ino acting too chummy with Sasuke, and Shino as well, though nobody could tell from his appearance.
"I see you wish to fight the Uchiha as well." Neji's teammate in a tight green bodysuit said to Kiba.
"Huh? And who are you?" Kiba asked.
"I'm Lee. Rock Lee." The boy said as he gave him a thumbs up and a blinding smile. "I'm also interested in seeing how I match up against the Rookie of the Year of your class."
"Well then get in line! I've got a bone to pick with him first! Then I'll go teach Mr. Arrogant Hyuuga over there a lesson next!" Kiba told Lee.
Tenten shook her head as she came by and stood next to Lee. "I don't think so. He was the Rookie of the Year for our class, and he's known as a prodigy even amongst the Hyuuga. I doubt you'd be able to land a finger on Lee-kun here, let alone Neji."
"Hey! Don't underestimate me!" Kiba shouted.
"You guys sure know how to draw attention to yourselves." An older Konoha Genin with glasses told the rookie teams as he approached them. "You should take a look around the room."
Kiba and the other Genin in Team 7, 8, 9, and 10 looked around the room and saw a bunch of older Genin glaring at them.
That got the rookies and Team 9 to quiet down a little.
"And who are you?" Kiba asked, already annoyed by his earlier encounters.
The older Genin pushed up his glasses. "I'm Kabuto. It's clear you guys have no idea what you guys are getting into. This is my 7th time taking the Chunin Exams you know, so I've got quite the experience. Maybe I could help you rookies with some information or intel. We're comrades after all, aren't we?"
"Sheesh. 7 times? Just how bad are you?" Sasuke asked.
Kabuto shrugged his shoulders. "The Exams are a lot tougher than you might expect. I wasn't ready to risk my life unnecessarily when there's always a next time."
Coming from a clan of mind readers and information gatherers, Ino's interested was piqued at the prospect of information. "What kind of intel are we talking about?"
Kabuto smirked as he pulled out a deck of cards.
"I have information of the competitors here. Things like their mission records or skills."
Ino whistled at that. That could prove to be quite useful.
"Do you have anything on Gaara from Suna?" Sakura asked.
"Heh, picked quite a character as your first choice huh?" Kabuto mentioned as he shuffled through his cards until he found the right one.
"He's from another village, so there's not too much info on him. All I got are his mission records."
He whistled when he read through the mission records.
"It says here that he took 8 C-rank missions as a rookie, and get this, even a B-rank mission. That's pretty crazy. Even more impressive is that it says he came back from each mission without even a scratch."
The rookie Genin started to become nervous. What kind of beast was he? They'd barely taken 3 C-rank missions! A B-rank? And not even a scratch? What kind of monsters were competing in this Exam? They were beginning to feel like they were in over their heads here.
Well, that was everyone but Team 7. Sasuke scoffed when he heard the mission record.
"That's it? That doesn't sound like much."
Kiba was extremely annoyed at his arrogance.
"Tch. Shut up, Sasuke. It's not like any of us have anything like that under our belts."
Sasuke just shrugged. "Speak for yourself, Inuzuka."
Kiba wanted to punch him in the throat and wipe that arrogant look off of his face. "We'll see how great you are…" He muttered under his breath. "Hey Kabuto, do you have anything on Uchiha Sasuke?"
"Got it right… here." Kabuto told Kiba with a smile that soon fell off when he read the records.
The Genin of Team 8, 9, and 10 wondered what made Kabuto look so shocked.
"What is it, Kabuto-san?" Sakura asked.
"T-two A-ranks?" Kabuto stuttered out.
"What?! Let me see that! There's no way that's true! They don't even let Genin take B-ranks!" Kiba yelled as he snatched the card out of Kabuto's hands.
The other 11 Genin gathered around him to see what was written on the cards.
"2 A-ranks, 6 C-ranks, and 5 D-ranks?" Kiba gasped out. The other Genin stared at the card in disbelief while Team 7, mostly Sasuke and Narumi, crossed their arms smugly.
"Wow! I mean, I knew you guys were strong, but this is seriously impressive, Sasuke-kun!" Ino commented.
"Impressive is sort of an understatement." Shikamaru added in as he looked over Sasuke's card. "Genin aren't even allowed to take B-rank missions, let alone A-ranks. This is kind of unheard of."
Neji studied Sasuke's card with interest. 'Hmm… He's extremely well rounded… Highly proficient in taijutsu, ninjutsu, and genjutsu… and he's activated his Sharingan as well. It'll be interesting to see how he stacks up against me and my Byakugan…'
The Genin were studying his card intently when the card suddenly went up in flames when a small ball of fire hit it.
"That's enough now. You'll have to wait if you want to see my skills in action." Sasuke told everyone.
Kiba smirked. "Heh. Scared we'll use this information against you?"
Sasuke scowled.
"Umm… Kabuto-san? How do you have all of this information anyway?" Hinata asked.
"Oh, you know… I have my ways." Kabuto said vaguely with a smile.
At Hinata's question, Sasuke and Shikamaru became suspicious of Kabuto. How would a Genin come across this kind of information in the first place? They decided to keep an eye on him.
"Do you have any information on those guys? What village are they even from? A musical note?" Ino asked, pointing at 3 Genin who wore hitai-ites with a musical note inscribed on them.
"Oh them? They're from a new village called the Hidden Sound Village. I don't really have anything on them. They're an insignificant little village after all." Kabuto replied with a smirk.
Sakura was about to ask for more information about the Hidden Sound Village, when 3 figures blurred into their vision.
Kabuto saw several kunai flying at him, so he jumped to the side to dodge them, right where a teen with bandages covering his whole face except for one exposed eye, swung at his head.
Kabuto leaned back just enough to let the fist fly by his face, dodging the attack.
He smirked, having seen through all of their attacks and dodging them, but then his glasses suddenly shattered.
Overcome with nausea suddenly, Kabuto hurled the contents of his stomach onto the floor.
"What?! What happened? Didn't he dodge everything?" Sasuke wondered out loud in shock, having tracked all of their movements the whole time, and not seeing a single registered hit.
The Sound Genin stood over a hunched over Kabuto.
"How's that from an insignificant little village?" The bandaged boy sneered. "Looks like the Leaf isn't any better."
"That was a cheap shot!" Kiba yelled out as he put his fists up. "You Sound jerks better watch what you say about Konoha, or we'll teach you a lesson!"
The spiky haired Sound Genin smirked as he raised his hands. "Why don't you come teach us this lesson then?"
Narumi and Lee stood by Kiba to help him defend their village's honor and tensions rose as they were about to fight.
"Aright, that's enough, you worthless scum!" A booming voice yelled out with authority as the door slammed open, capturing the attention of every Genin present.
"Who the hell are you?" The spikey haired Sound Genin asked.
The owner of the voice stepped into the room, revealing an imposing man with a scarred face clad in a black trench coat and a bandana on his head, and several Chunin standing behind him.
"I'm Morino Ibiki, the Examiner of the first portion of the Chunin Exams."
*Author's Notes*
And that's the end of the newest chapter! How did you guys like it?
Sorry for the late upload everyone! I was super busy. Much busier than I thought I would be, due to a change in circumstances. This story is NOT abandoned! I started writing again last week, but still at in a limited capacity. I think I can barely manage to squeeze in one or two hours a day, so I think it'll take me around a week or two to upload new chapters until at least May 20th, give or take a few days. Hopefully by then everything is settled, and I can release chapters at least once a week again. Hope you guys understand!
Btw, there's a discord server, where you can leave suggestions, ask questions, and communicate with me. I've been communicating with some of my readers over there and gave updates on my situation or my progress on this chapter. I'd love to communicate with you all, so feel free to join! Here's the link. ( /HetEMkjYAv)
Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed the story, and thanks for reading. Please leave a comment if you enjoyed it! Hope you guys all have a great day and stay safe!
Until next time!