Chapter 17: Ibiki's Game

"You have one hour, starting…NOW!"

Everyone in the room flipped their papers up, getting started right away. Kira's eyes scanned the sheet looking over the questions. It looked almost impossible to figure out. Especially the tenth question.

Question number 10 this question will not be provided until forty five minutes into the exam.

'Man, am I screwed here. Totally. Seriously. Fatally screwed! Kira what are we going to do?!' Naruto called looking down at the paper tears in his eyes as he looked it over.

'Don't worry Naru,' Kira told him softly through the link. Kira glanced through the room, everyone was either scratching their heads. It seemed only half the class seemed to know what they were doing. 'I'll think of something.'

This test was difficult for someone, some of these questions didn't make any sense, and the proctors they're watching us.

'Like cats watch mice. Like they expect us to cheat. Those rats!' Sasuke's voice rang through her head, Kira could practically see him glaring at some of the proctors.

Looking over the questions some were easy some just didn't make any sense. Decoding, Mathematics, biology. These questions were a mixture of everything a ninja should know when on a mission. Anything could happen.

Fifteen minutes has passed since the test started. 'Naru number one is…'

'I can't cheat off you!' Naruto yelled glaring down at his test. 'What if we get caught?'

'I'm pretty sure the only person who knows we're talking now is us.' Kira glanced around the room. The proctors had their heads to their clipboards, but their hands were moving making who was cheating.

"You know the one thing I keep wondering is how many of the top-ranking teams they intend to pass." A student from Suna asked standing up glaring at our main proctor. Glancing up from her paper, she stared with Gaara. He was distracting everyone.

Ibiki chuckled to himself before answering. "Knowing that now isn't going to help you, is it? Unless you're hoping to fail."

"I'm sorry." The boy called sitting back down. Glancing back down at the sheet. She's answered out of order. 'Naruto.'

She kept her head down pretending to be thinking over another answer. 'Yeah?' Naruto sounded like he was about to break down crying.

'Question seven. Snap the bone back in place, stop the bleeding and apply medical ninjutsu. After applying a makeshift splint. Keep that comrade back and signal to the rest of the group to come to their aide. If the rest of the group can't come then try as quietly as you can to get back to base camp.'

'What about one? Shouldn't we be working in order?'

'I work on the ones I know first then move on to the ones I don't know. Like question four. The answer is the Vertebral artery.'

'Thanks Kira,'

'If you let the proctors catch you cheating you'll bring yourself and your friends down. If you aspire to become Chunin…if you want to be the best shinobi you can be then you better start acting like you already are…'Sasuke's voice rang through her skull thinking over the words Ibiki had said before the test began.

'Hold it! Unbelievable, this is an intelligence test in more than just academic sense! Wake up, Naruto! You're history if you don't figure it out! They're also testing our information gathering skills. They want us to cheat, like shinobi without getting caught!'

So I guess it's true. The only way for us to pass is to cheat. This was perfect. Thirty minutes has passed. we've already grasped the idea it won't be long till we move on to the next course.

All around the room students were cheating or guessing the answers. Naruto was much calmer now that he got down two answers. He didn't want to cost his team. He owed Kira big time.

Gaara shifted his hand on the desk and made a fist.

A loud thunk sound echoed in the room. "Huh?" Kira and Gaara glanced over to see a student right behind Naruto was standing up shocked.

"That's five strikes and your out." One of the proctors called smirking. "Take your team and leave." All the way out the door you could hear the students team showing their annoyance. It looks like Sasuke, Gaara, Sakura, and Naruto were all pleased with what they finished.

"On your feet Number 102. You fail."

"Dang…"

"You too number 23. You're out."

"No way!"

"Number 43 and number 27 start walking. You all fail!"

"Cheated five times?! Me?! What proof do you have?! How could you possibly watch this many students at once?!" A student argued. He wasn't expecting the proctor to suddenly appear in front of him knocking him to the wall only to be stuck in his hold. 'Oww"

"Listen up and listen good. We proctor's are the elite. Even in a group as skilled as the one gathered here today, we are far and away the best. We miss nothing! You got that kids?" A majority of the test takers shook in fear.

Kira glanced beside her watching as Gaara worked on his paper. It was strange but interesting. His fist was open for a moment till he made a fist. Was he meditating? No. It was something else.

Gaara smirked her way before writing his answers on his test. 'Strange guy…' She thought to herself a small smile on her lips as she got back to work.

"Excuse me,"

"What is it?"

"I've got to go to the bathroom…" Was that Kankuro?

Kira worked hard gathering all the answers she could feeding them to Naruto during the process. Now all they had to worry about was the dreaded question ten.

"Get ready for the tenth question!" Ibiki called. Even though Naruto had some answers on his paper it didn't stop his worry. The whole room was on edge. "And before we get to the question itself, I'm adding one more new rule."

The class gulped in fear. Kankuro made it back just in time. "Looks like you're in luck," Ibiki called to Kankuro who was walking toward his desk. "The time you've spent playing with dolls hasn't been completely wasted." Dolls?

What did he mean by that? "Don't worry about it. Sit down." Gaara didn't look like he knew what Ibiki was talking about but that was his brother. He had to know what Ibiki was talking about…right?

"Let me explain this rule is absolute." What does he mean? Absolute? "First you must choose whether to accept or reject this tenth question."

Accept or reject? What is he talking about?

"Ch-chose? What happens if someone doesn't accept the question?!" Temari called from her desk.

Everyone waited nervously for the answer to that question. It was bad. It had to be.

"IF you reject the question and don't even try to answer it, you'll lose all your points immediately and fail. Your teammates will fail right along with you." Oh god!

"Say what?!"

"Then why would anyone choose to reject it?"

"Because of the other rule. If you try to answer the question you will never be permitted to apply for the journeyman ninja exams again. Not ever." Eyes widen in surprise. That isn't good. If we fail and mess up then we won't be able to try again. We'll be stuck as junior level ninja for the rest of our lives.

"You can't be serious! That's ridiculous! There are ninja here who've say for the chunin exams more than once already! We know there are!" Kiba yelled standing up shocked. All Ibiki could do was laugh at that.

"Just your rotten luck I wasn't making the rules in the past years. Now I am. I've been up front with you. You can take a failing grade now, and try again later." Ibiki smirked. He confused everyone but he wasn't wrong. He did tell everyone it was okay to leave then we'd be able to come back again.

"Anyone who has doubts would be smart to reject the tenth question right now. Come back and reapply next year, and the year after that." The room was silent with just that thought in mind.

"Ready? Then lets begin." Kira clenched her fists a moment or two before relaxing her hands. She'd pass this. She'd help Naruto. He would pass this exam!

"Those who choose not to accept should raise their hands; Once their number has been confirmed they will leave the room."

Hand after hand was raised announcing that they quit. Four teams gone. "NEVER underestimate me!" Naruto screamed slamming his hand down on the table drawing everyone's attention. Kira smiled to herself staring at the blonde boy. "I don't quit, and I won't run!" Her heart skipped a beat staring at him. That boy never realized how much he affected the people around him.

"I'll accept your stupid question! Even if I risk ended up a rookie for the rest of my life, I'll still become Lord Hokage, even if I can only make it by pure stubbornness. I don't care! I'm not afraid of you!"

Beside Naruto, Hinata had a soft smile on her lips a light blush on her cheeks, her lilac eyes were filled with love and adoration.

"Oh Naru," Kira called mostly to herself a small laugh on her lips. Gaara rolled his seafoam green eyes annoyed. That boy was annoying.

"I'll ask you one last time. This is a decision that could affect the rest of your life. Quit now, while you still have the chance."

"I never go back on my word. Cussedness is part of my shinobi skill set." Naruto argued back. There was no way in the world he would back out.

"Good call. So, everyone who is still here, you've just passed the first exam!" Ibiki congratulated everyone smiling his creepy smile in the process. "So all seventy nine of you who are still here, you've just passed the first exam."

The whole room sat stunned most gasped in surprise. Practically everyone's mouths had dropped open in surprise.

"What do you mean 'passed' when did that happen? What about the tenth question?" Sakura called wide eyed.

"There is no tenth question beyond the whole accept or reject thing." Ibiki laughed but this time he seemed so proud. Like he was found everyone's confusion hilarious.

"Hey! Then why did we have to suffer through the other nine questions? That was a total waste of our time!" Temari yelled glaring at the main proctor.

"There was no waste. Those questions had a purpose, which they've already served." But it seemed that just went over everyones heads like they needed to be told.

"Such as?"

"Our goal was to test your skills at spying!" Sasuke was right! Like a majority of the class had cheated already but wow. Sasuke was right. "Our skills at spying?" Temari questioned again.

Ibiki didn't seem all that intimidating now, he looked like a carefree guy with a few scars. Someone you'd think it would be fun to hang out with later in the day.

"Remember the rules at the beginning? You pass or fail as part of the three or four-man cell. With that rule, I pressured you with the fear that anything you did wrong would bring your teammates down with you." Ibiki explained with a carefree attitude.

"You know, I kinda figured that was it." Kira rolled her eyes at that. He could be so full of it.

"However the questions are beyond the level that junior ninja could be expected to handle. So most of you having reached that same conclusion, had only one way of retaining your points. By cheating. In other words we set up the test on the assumption you'd cheat. And to ensure there would be suitable targets for you to cheat from, we snuck in a pair of ringers. Two journeyman ninja who already knew all the answers."

Ibiki you clever man.

"It took me forever to figure out who they were!" A guy called.

"Oh yeah. Me too." Another called to the first man.

"Hahahaha! Yeah! It was obvious! Any idiot could tell!" Naruto called laughing loudly. He wanted to be part of the conversation and show he wasn't that stupid.

Sasuke rolled his eyes at him. 'That idiot had no idea.'

"Of course, anyone who cheated in a clumsy or obvious way failed." Ibiki started to remove his headplate. As well as his cap showing off his head. Eyes widen in surprise. It was covered in second degree burn marks and scars.

"Because there may be circumstances where being caught in an act of espionage can cost you more than just your life. You pay in ways that can be taken from you little by little, time and time again, when many lives hang in the balance."

Ibiki sensei had been tortured. Gaara watched the girl beside him gasp in surprise, eyes wide, her lips parted just barely. Reaching over slowly he felt his hand brush against hers. What would she do if he tried to hold her hand? Nothing at first.

"The information you obtain can't be trusted…" Her fingers gripped onto his, a light blush spread across her face but she kept her eyes forward. Gaara shifted their hands to be holding one another. Why was he holding her hand? He just felt a sudden urge to hold her hand again. "If you can't keep your presences secret from the enemy."

Ibiki gave the students a life lesson without having to deal with the pain that he had to go through. "Learn that and learn it well. If you bring back intelligence from a suspect source or a compromised operation you're doing your enemies' work for them, putting those you serve in danger. That's why we maneuvered you into your espionage skills to cheat. It was the quickest way of weeding out the students whose skills aren't yet up to snuff."

Her hands were soft, warmer than he thought they were the other night.

"Okay, but what was the deal with the tenth question?" Temari asked still clueless about the tenth question.

Ibiki tied his head plate back in place smiling at the class. He looked so happy and relaxed right now. "Ah, the tenth question was the first real test on the exam." Though as he said that it still went over a majority of everyone's heads.

"What on earth do you mean?" Sakura called showing her confusion.

"Let me explain. The tenth question was a choice between two options. That were both difficult and dangerous. Those who chose to reject were failed, and their friends along with them. Those who chose to accept and couldn't answer the question lost any chance of ever even trying again. IT was a nasty, unfair, no win set of options."

The room stared at him confused.

"So why did I present them? Lets suppose you all go on to successfully attain the rank of chunin. You are assigned to steal a vital enemy document knowing nothing about the skills, deployment, or military preparedness of your foe. You may have to cross a territory that has been heavily minded and set with traps. Now do you accept your mission? Or do you reject it? Rather than place your own life or the lives of your companions in jeopardy? Could any chunin get away with only taking on the safe jobs? Of course not!"

Now he was making sense. Ninja can't just pick and choose. Naruto was a true ninja. "NO matter how dangerous the risk there will be missions that you cannot decline. A ninja must demonstrate valor that inspires those around him, helping all to overcome their fear." Kira couldn't help thinking about Naruto.

He always inspires everyone around him to be better than they already are. "This is the talent that we most value in the commander of a chunin cell!" If anyone in our team deserved to be a chunin it was Naruto. "Those who can't gamble with their own fate who would trade todays certain risk for tomorrows uncertain future, never taking the chance that lies before them. They are weaklings who make only weak and easy decisions. In my opinion they don't belong in the ranks of the chunin at all!"

Kira could see Naruto now, shaking with triumph at choosing to stay. That smile spreading across his face. The determined look in his bright blue eyes.

By choosing to accept you answered the almost insoluble tenth question correctly. If you keep that spirit you can probably conquer all of the many doubts and difficulties you'll face. You've passed the first hurdle. Part one of the Chunin selection exam is now concluded. I'll pray you fight a good fight!"

"Yeah you do that! Go pray!" Naruto yelled excitedly, making a few students laugh in the process. Though it was only two seconds later that the door was crashed down. Gaara couldn't help watching her wide crimson eyes lock onto the figure or how warm her hand was before looking back up. It was a blur of black before you could clearly see what had happened.

A busty woman with dark purple hair had crashed the door down, sent kunai's flying through the room to the ceiling startling everyone out of their good moods into surprise.

"WHAT THE?"

"None of you are in any position to celebrate! I am the second chief examination officer Mitarashi Anko! Times a wastin' people. Lets go!" Anko called glaring down at the students. "Follow me!"

"Can't you sense the mood?" Ibiki called stepping in front of the sign Anko had pinned to the ceiling.

"Seventy-nine of you are still here? Ibiki you passed twenty-six teams?! Obviously, you went too easy on them." Anko scolded the older man.

"This year we have applicants of exceptional caliber." Ibiki defended smirking to himself, Anko didn't seen to care for the answer, not believing the man.

"Yeah right. I'll cut down the number by half before the next test is done." Cut us down by half?! "Oh! I get charged up just thinking about it! I'll explain things in detail as soon as we move to our location, so follow me."

Students stood from their desks filing out of the room, one by one. "I have to get back to my team, good luck Gaara." Kira called letting go of Gaara's warm rough hands. "You as well." Kira's heart hammered hard in her chest thinking of something romantic Gaara could do but she wasn't that lucky. Gaara moved to his team out the door.

"How was sitting next to that creep?" Sasuke asked practically appearing next to his woman glaring at Gaara's retreating form.

"Not too bad," She whispered smiling to herself. Sakura squealed beside Kira linking her arm through the other girls.

"We did it! We passed!" she squealed almost jumping up and down with her excitement. Now that her whole team was here again she smirked thinking up what to do when it comes to part two.

"I have something major to tell you guys."

Team seven stood back listening to Kira explain what happened during the first test explaining in detail what Naruto and her did.

"Good thinking. That could be useful." Sasuke smirked at her, she was something else that was for sure. "Okay when we get to the second test we'll form a plan around that and how to pass." Sasuke announced watching the group agree with his plan.

He was glad Kira saw him as the leader of this group, he couldn't help liking her hair down, he was so used to it being in the braid that with her hair down she looked different. He liked it up but down would be for special occasions.

The large group of students stopped dead in their tracks staring up at the large forest protected by a gate that said no trespassing.

"This is the arena for the second exam: Training ground 44. Also known as the forest of death."