Sasuke is bored. Itachi and Kisame are eliminating people left, right and centre. Now it's just a part of the background noise for Sasuke. Sasuke has finished writing her answers, and now she has nothing to do but wait. Maybe she should use the time stop seal to pull a prank. Drawing a mustache on Itachi would be fun.
Oh, but they'd blame it on Hinata, and Hinata would get disqualified. Drawing mustaches on Uchihas is Hinata's thing, after all. And if Hinata gets disqualified, Sasuke can't beat the crap out of her in the Second Round. Ah, but if they can't prove it was Hinata, they can't disqualify her, and if they can't link it to cheating they definitely can't disqualify her.
That settles it. Sasuke is stopping time and drawing a mustache on Itachi. Okay, what's the time? Sasuke checks the clock. The test has been going for exactly 43 minutes and 30 seconds.
"You! Out!" says Kisame to a candidate from the Leaf. "You can't fool me with that trick."
"And that leaves us with only 15 teams left," says Itachi. "Pencils down, please."
Aw, Sasuke is out of time. Maybe she can pull something together on the way out. Itachi is getting that mustache.
The last disqualified team leaves and the doors shut behind them.
Itachi and Kisame head to the front of the room.
"I didn't expect us to get down to 15 teams," says Kisame, grinning. "It seems you lot are the best at intel gathering this year. However, we still have time to kill before the next round's proctors arrive so let's have some fun. What shall we do…?"
"The 11th question, remember," says Itachi. "Our plan to cut numbers if there were more than 20 teams left. Might as well thin their numbers some more."
"I like the way you think," says Kisame, grinning. "You put up the numbers while I explain the question."
Sasuke sighs. Of course there's a surprise question.
While Itachi hangs posters around the room, Kisame explains. "The posters Itachi is putting up are numbered one to ten. Each one represents a question on your test. You'd have to be idiots not to realize which number belongs to which question. I will ask you a question about the other questions, and you must pick which question is the answer, and go and stand by the corresponding poster. For example: if I asked you which question is about dango, you would go and stand by either number One or number Six. You will have 20 seconds from the time I say go to pick a number and stand by it. Any questions?"
Hinata raises her hand.
"Yes?" says Kisame.
"Does the entire team need to stand by the same number?"
"No," says Kisame. "But it might get you disqualified. If your teammates are smart, you'll end up by the same number anyway."
"Right…" says Hinata.
"Looks like Itachi is ready," says Kisame. "Leave your papers on your desk and don't knock the papers to the floor, understand? Good. Right, here's the question: Which of the first ten questions relates to ninjas? Go."
Sasuke rolls her eyes. Then she gets up, heads over to Number One. As she goes she uses the clamor of other genins to disguise the act of drawing the time stop seal on the bandages around her left arm. As soon as Sasuke has her place beside the Number One poster, she activates the seal, sunshins over to Itachi, draws a mustache on her face - and then one on Kisame for good measure. And then, realizing she still has time, Sasuke draws a mustache on Hinata too. Then, with seconds to spare, Sasuke shunshins back to her place, deactivates the seal and pretends like nothing happened. That was a well-spent three minutes. Then Sasuke sees Choji heading to the Number Three and pulls him over to the Number One.
"Time!" says Kisame.
Everyone stops moving.
Itachi surveys the room. "Every team with at least one member by the correct number passes. The answer is Number One. Who would like to tell me why they think Number One is the right answer? Sasuke, since you were so kind as to draw a mustache on myself, Kisame and Hinata, perhaps you will tell us."
"...um...I...How did you know?" stammers Sasuke nervously. The whole room is staring at her! Dammit shyness, don't resurface now.
"I know it was you, I just don't know how," says Itachi. "Your answer, please."
Sasuke sees Hinata glaring at her and feels even more nervous. Then she remembers Uncle Madara's training. If you feel shy just think of something that makes you angry and you'll be fine. You get very bold when you are angry. It's rather quaint. Hinata makes Sasuke angry, so Sasuke focuses on Hinata. Why can't she accept that Naruto is Sasuke's friend now too? Suddenly too angry to feel nervous, Sasuke says, "Because it mentioned the Hidden Rain, which is a ninja village."
"That is the correct answer," says Itachi. "Team Four of the Hidden Stone, Team Six of the Hidden Rain and Team Twelve of the Hidden Sand, you are all disqualified. Please leave."
Those three teams leave in defeat, with their shoulders slumped. Their hopes of being chunin are crushed this time.
"Please take your seats again while we wait for the Proctors for the Second Round," says Kisame. "Turn your test papers over and do not touch them again. You may talk amongst yourselves if you wish, but do not discuss the test."
Everyone returns to their seats and turns over their tests. The candidates are spread out around the room. Sasuke recognizes the Grass team that she and Team Seven fought in the Forest of Death in the first chunin exams they took and the Stone team that bothered Namiko earlier. Team Akatsuki,Team Gai, Team Kurenai and Team Shisui are there too, along with a Sand team, a team from the Cloud, a Mist Team, a Rain team and a team from the Hidden Waterfall.
The cuckoo clock on the wall strikes 10. The test started a few minutes past ten, so the proctors for the next round will be here soon.
"Hey Sasuke," says Ino. "How do I get this seal off my leg?"
"Soap and warm water," says Sasuke. "It's just regular ink from my sealing pen."
"Oh good," says Ino. "It ruins my perfect skin."
Sasuke pulls out soap, bottled water and a washcloth from one of her seals and hands them to Ino. "Wash it off, then. I doubt you'll have another chance after the proctors for the second round arrive." Sasuke understands perfectly. That seal is not a very pretty seal.
Ino washes the seal off and hands the soap, cloth and water back to Sasuke, who then tucks them back in her seal for later.
BOOM! The wall beside Itachi blows open, sending smoke and debris through the room. Out of the cloud of smoke walks Deidara and Kakuzu.
"Deidara, Nagato told you not to blow holes in his village," says Itachi, without batting an eye at the explosion.
"I'll pay someone to fix it later," shrugs Deidra.
"Or you could pay me and I'll force someone to fix it," says Kakuzu. "That way I get the money."
"That works too," says Deidara.
"Just get it done before Nagato notices," says Itachi.
"Will do," says Kakuzu. "I see there are only 12 teams left. You two did a thorough job with this round."
"Just make sure there is no need for a preliminary round this time," says Kisame. "Now take this lot and go."
"Alright kids, come with us," says Kakuzu, and turns to walk right back out via the hole in the wall. The 12 passing teams get up from their seats and follow. Deidara brings up the rear.
Once the genins are gone, Itachi and Kisame start gathering up the tests sitting face up, to see how well the ones who failed did before they failed out. They all have answers copied from the answer sheets. Some have nothing at all written, some very little, and some a fair bit.
"Boring," says Kisame. "Let's see how those who passed did."
Most of them have the answers copied. Rock Lee's only answer was for the egg question. He simply drew an oval with a terribly drawn bird inside and labeled the drawing with 'crow's egg' and 'two week chick'. Itachi smiles and shakes her head. Technically, the answer is correct.
Team Akatsuki only answered the questions they actually knew the answers to. "Team Akatsuki didn't cheat at all," says Itachi. "I suppose they guessed it would be better to not risk cheating and wait."
"This Madoka kid from the Leaf answered all the questions without cheating," says Kisame. "Either that or he changed up all the answers so that it would look like he didn't cheat."
"No, he's a nerd," says Itachi. "He knew the answers. His teammates cheated, though. Hmm...Ino and Choji cheated, and Sasuke cheated on all but one question." Then Itachi notices something written on Sasuke's test.
Bitch, I stopped time. ;P
"Sasuke…." mutters Itachi. "You little...I'll get the truth out of you."
"What did she do?" asks Kisame.
"She says she stopped time," says Itachi
"I thought only Naruto knew that seal," says Kisame. "He must've taught Sasuke since she helped him invent it. She used it to draw these mustaches, you know."
"I am sooo giving her a Chinese Burn…"
"You know, I never understood the name of that thing," says Kisame. "What's a Chinese?" Then he laughs out loud. "Look at this! That Cloud Team all only answered one question, and they answered the same!"
Itachi heads over to Kisame to take a look. In answer to the question of who a shark's natural enemy is, all three members of Team Killer Bee wrote Bee sensei! "They are not wrong," says Itachi, grinning. "Now we had better go and tell the jounin senseis that their little genins are off to Round Two."
They head off to the lounge where the jounin senseis who haven't already gone off with their disqualified teams are waiting. The moment Itachi opens the door she is hit by a hug the like of which she has never gotten.
"Itachi!" says Shisui, clinging to Itachi. "Why did you have to kidnap me in my sleep and then leave without saying goodbye!"
"Oh, Shisui," says Itachi, hugging him and patting his back. "I missed you too."
"Aw, is this your boyfriend?" says Kisame. "Hey, he's that kid who exploded his own eyes."