Disclaimer: I do not own this anime only the chibi-chans they produce.

A/N: I know, it's taking toooooo long for these to come out. Halloween takes it out on you but its fun while you have it so that's my excuse. For now thanks is set to you:

gunsAndROSES2656: Thanks for being one of my fans; I appreciate all the patience you all have for every single one of you to wait for the next upload.

Ankwhat: You are forgetting that Naruto still has the naughty part that all males have, right? Naruto will act more feminine because he/she is technically more female. So in all technicalities there will be dictastic play in this story when they do get naughty.

Sliverman1: Thanks ^_^

Darkhuntressxir: You will see soon enough, Xir my dear.

Melawe: Thanks and here is the next one.

AiMila: Yeah they will be, unfortunately I have a feeling you guys might not like the way I have it played out. I have planned the upcoming parts ahead of time just waiting for it to come and be put into the book.

Guest: I wish you would at least put a name in instead of guest. Just so I can thank you in person for your great reviews.

Megan Ren: Here is the update for you. If I get late or anything on the other stories just keep an eye out because of my OCDness I have a habit of doing things in multiples of two's, three's, fours and sometimes sevens.

Ami7: Okay, apparently I have to over explain things again and again with you people so maybe you would understand. Naruto's appearance was HIDDEN growing up because Sarutobi thought it would be best if she/he hides it. The total percentage of her/his body is done up as in 80% female and 20% male. Which means Naruto still has a penis in her/his pants. The thing you don't get is if you take in a person's appearance looking at Naruto you would see a girl with big boobs and blond pigtails. Would you refer to her as a him if there are more feminine qualities than male? Nope, I'm pretty sure there are guys out there that can be mistaken for a girl and they sometimes pride themselves for this fact. Just because I refer to Naruto as a she after she/he stopped using the Genjutsu to hide their true nature doesn't mean that don't have the male characteristics such as a penis. Naruto has one and also has a vagina so there should be no more arguments on this unless you are too lazy to read any of the things I put in here.

Chapter 13

"Fight…!?" Kabuto asks with a little smile on his lips.

"Sa…Sasuke-kun…!" Sakura shouts at him while she wrings her hands in worry.

"You idiot! What are you saying?!" Naruto shouts at him with a furious look on her face.

"You're serious…" The older teen says while smiling at him.

"…Sorry. We don't have any time left…" The blacked haired teen says.

"Hey Sasuke! Kabuto-san helped us!" The blond shouts at her boyfriend not believing that he could be so stupid and dense.

"Sa…Sasuke-kun…I don't know about this…" Sakura stutters.

"Shut up…!" He stares hard at the white haired teen with a serious but paranoid look on his face.

"Sasuke-kun…" Sakura stops herself as she holds Naruto back, the girl is cussing her boyfriend out for everything he is worth while the elder teen takes in this situation.

"We don't have a choice…I said it before…This is the only way for us to survive this forest." As he speaks his right hand is twitching nervously.

"You're lying." Kabuto shocks everyone when he says that.

"…Lie…?" Naruto mutters while looking at him with furrowed brows while Sakura is just speechless.

"You aren't as cold-hearted as you say." Kabuto says as he looks at the teen through the hair partially covering his eyes. Sasuke grits his teeth in anger. "If this test had really turned you into that…Then why would you even ask to challenge me? Instead of doing that…You could have just attacked me and tried to take the scroll." He pushes his glasses back up on that bridge of his nose. "That's a Ninja…" As he says this Sasuke's paranoid eyes furrow at him.

'…Hmm…Things are complicated…' The blond cocks her head to the side as she assesses both teens to figure out who would win in a fight against them.

"I don't dislike you for that…So…I'll tell you the path you should take." Everyone stiffens up when he says this. "But…I'll tell you as we move. The smoke from the fire, the smell of cooked fish can be sensed from far away. Wild beasts and enemies could be on the way." As he says this he looks at the team that is hiding in the bushes listening to every word they say.

"Damn…" The Ninja says and darts away. The whole group starts moving towards the tower.

"Are there really enemies left?" Sasuke asks him.

"Yes, no doubt about it. Just think about it…Do you know the smartest fighting tactic…In a large area like this jungle?" Kabuto asks him as he looks at him over his shoulder.

"Hmm…?" Sakura muses.

"The goal to this test…Is the tower, right?" He asks them. "So, when there is only 1 day left, the easiest place to get a scroll is…Near the tower."

"Oh! I see…An ambush!" As she looks giddy about her cleverness the other two in her team roll their eyes at her since she always acts like she is a genius for even thinking about things. Kabuto laughs at their reactions. So basically, we…Go after a team that has assembled both the Heaven and Earth scrolls and is heading for the tower…!"

'The fact that she thinks she so smart when the answer is as plain as day. God, this girl will find her life hard if she thinks like this.' Naruto thinks as she scowls at the girl.

"You're one-third correct." Kabuto says as he lands on a thick branch to a tree.

"Huh?" Sakura squeaks in disappointment.

"I mean that you guys aren't the only ones thinking that. There should be others in your situation already waiting at the tower with traps set." Kabuto explains as he looks at the others.

"Yup, there are already tons of enemies near the tower…Just waiting to ambush us! Hah! It's more exciting with the handicap! Bring it on! If we kick all their asses and get the Heaven scroll…We all pass the second test!" Naruto says as her face holds excitement.

"Kabuto-san, what's the remaining one-third?" Sakura asks as she is confused about this one part.

"People I call "collectors" that appear at this time in the test…" He says while he looks at her from the corner of his eyes.

"Collectors?" She asks.

"Even though the tower is right in front of their eyes…The difficult test in this forest of death…That special situation gives birth to them…Basically…Those who collect extra scrolls…In case they run into a strong enemy and need a gift to ensure their escape. Or those that try to receive favor and information…By delivering an extra scroll to a team from their own village. Or, those that desire to pick off more teams while at an advantage…To ensure an easier time during the third test…You should realize without me telling…These ones are strong and confident in their abilities…The worst possible enemies…!"

"I see…I finally understand why you appeared in front of us…" Kabuto looks at Sasuke as if to tell him to finish. "You're scared too…"

"…Exactly." He says with a smirk on his lips. They all stop when the tower comes into view. "Now, we can finally see the tower. We must be careful from here on out."

"Alright! Let's go!" Naruto shouts then the bushes start rustling.

"An enemy already…!?" Sakura shouts as they all quickly look towards the sounds. Naruto flashes out a Kunai.

"There!" She says as she throws it. The blade pierces this huge centipede that looks like it could take on the giant snake that swallowed Naruto whole earlier. "Oh…It was just a centipede…" She says like it's common for her to see them this big. Everyone sighs in relief.

"Eww…So big…" Sakura says as she shudders in disgust.

"That's nasty…Look at all those legs." Sasuke says as his skin feels like its crawling.

"Naruto-chan…" Kabuto says to get the girl to look at him. He noticed she isn't even shaken up as she hummed her answer. "I'd like us to avoid unnecessary actions and noises from here on." He tells her as he pushes his glasses up once more. "Moving through the forest like an elephant…Will only tip off our enemies…And they do not have a fun welcome party planned for us. From this point on…Let's move as slowly and safely as the time allows."

"Right!" She starts sweating from her mistake.

"Ok…" Sakura grits out.

"Yeah…" Sasuke says looking a little worn out. Hours later they are worn out from walking so far.

"I can't…" Sakura says as she collapses.

"Sakura-chan…?!" Naruto squeaks out as she quickly runs to the exhausted girl.

"How long have we been walking…? We aren't getting closer to the tower at all.." Sakura points out as the tower looks the same size as it did when they first saw it.

"It seems right in front of us…This is weird…" Naruto mutters angrily.

'…That's true…' Kabuto looks at the sight and then looks out of the corner of his eyes at them. "Seems like…We've already arrived at our welcoming party…See…Look right there…" He points and everyone's eyes widen.

"That's…No way!" Naruto squeals as she looks straight at the centipede she pegged to the tree. "Wh…What's going on?!"

'No way!' Sakura's jaw drops.

"Genjutsu…?" Sasuke asks.

"Looks like it…We have totally fallen into a trap…Seems like they took advantage of our worries…And made us walk around in circles." Kabuto explains as some sweat drips down his face.

"They are watching us…" Sasuke says as he looks somewhere out the corner of his eyes.

"They probably plan to tire us out and…And use that opportunity to get us…" They all look at the white haired teen.

"Then it's going just as they planned…" Sasuke says wryly.

"So they should be about ready to attack…" He says and pushes his glasses up again. The other two look at them.

"Yeah…" All of a sudden Ninjas with black covering their entire bodies popped out of every available surface around them. "So they've appeared…"

"Bah! This is a perfect handicap!" Naruto grits her teeth while they look around at the swarm of enemies.

"…A lot of them. And are these clones…?" Kabuto asks as he analyzes them.

"Wh…What is this?" Sakura shakily asks as she starts sweating up a storm.

"He he…You're trapped rats." One of them says.

"Shut up!" Naruto growls out as she starts running towards the one that spoke. She punches him in the midriff while growling in the process.

"Great job, Naruto!" Sakura shouts out as she cheers for the girl. 'They're pretty weak…' Naruto grins while looking up at the one that she hit bringing Kabuto's attention to them. Her fist splatters straight through the Ninja like she just hit a bunch of liquid.

"What!?" Naruto squeaks out looking at the Ninja while everyone shows shock.

'Who…Are they…!?' Sasuke wonders as he kept his full attention on them. Naruto lands awkwardly on the ground and slides back. Naruto is trying to get up while the Ninja's body looks like its reforming and what looks like another formed out of the back. 'I'll uncover it!' Sasuke unlocks his Sharingan. "Naruto!" He shouts at his girlfriend as she is still not completely up. He throws some Shuriken towards the Ninja. The Shuriken slashed into the newly formed figures arm and it splattered drawing the forms attention to the black haired Genin.

"Sasuke!" The form hissed out as it threw a double headed Kunai towards the teen. Sasuke tried moving but the mark made him immobile at that split second having Kabuto to have to save him. As the older teen slams his body out of the path of the Kunai he shouts at him.

"What are you doing!?" He yells.

"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura shouts out while Kabuto groans from his injuries.

'What's going on…? My body…' He winces as the mark starts spreading a little bit.

"Are you ok?" Sakura asks as she helps him sit up which caused him to groan.

'There's no doubt about it…It's real…Not an illusion.' Kabuto thinks as he inspects the Kunai that was thrown at Sasuke after he pulls it from his arm.

"Give us your scroll…" The Ninja's said as they started to advance closer to each member of their small group.

"Does the fact that Kabuto-san got hurt mean they are Shadow Clones!? Shadow Clones will disappear when they receive a direct hit. But these don't. So is this Genjutsu? Which is it?" Naruto asks as she stands there keeping her guard up against all of the clones as they get closer to her. "Damn it!" She shouts out starting to rush towards them.

"Don't! It's useless!" Sasuke shouts at her and she froze in her steps, looking at him out of the corner of her eyes. "They are illusions…This is enemy Genjutsu…"

"B…But…Kabuto-san's injury is real." Sakura stutters when she looks towards the injured teen.

"No…Sasuke-kun is correct. The enemy is most likely hiding somewhere and matching their attacks with the movements of the fake Shinobi's. So that it will seem like the illusions are attacking." Kabuto says as he holds his hand to his injured arm.

"Then let's find the idiots throwing the Kunai's…And kick their asses!" Naruto shouts at him.

"But…This confuses where the Kunai's are coming from…And prevents us from accurately locating the enemy. Which was exactly what they planned to do…" He looks at every single one of them. "Their type prefers these kinds of attacks…And is weak at Taijutsu and close range fighting..." Sasuke's eyes widen as Sakura's furrow. "The real enemy…Won't reveal themselves until we can no longer move." As he says this Naruto's jaw drops a little. "At least for now…All we can do is dodging their attacks!"

"Alright…If that's their plan…" Naruto says as she drew her other hand to the one gripping the Kunai.

"Now…How long with they last?" One of the real enemy Ninja's wonder.

"It will be a long night…Hehehe." They could hear the grunts and groans of the group as they avoid Kunai after Kunai, their panting grows quicker.

"Ahhh! There's no end to this!" Sakura screams out at the top of her lungs.

"Then I'll do this!" Naruto says as she does the symbols for Kage Bunshin.

"Stop Naruto-chan! Don't waste your Chakra! Attacking them is pointless!" Kabuto shouts at her and everyone watches the young girl.

"If we defeat all the illusions at once, then while they are returning to normal…Then the enemy can't throw Kunai's, 'cause they will be found!" She finishes the combination and pushes the Chakra into the clones.

'Kage Bunshin…!?' The real enemies stare shocked at the massive number of them around theirs. They couldn't believe that this little girl could create this many when they have a limit to how many they could do and they had to do theirs together. The blond headed clones start attacking each and every one of theirs. The group looks at Naruto's clones with shock as the enemies disappear. "Then we'll just increase the amount. He he he he…" One says as they create more and more.

"Damn it!" Naruto screams out. This continues for a while till the real Naruto gets knocked down and her clones disappear one after the other. "Ugh…It's over…" She says as she pants from the ground. The others look as worn out as she does.

"Heh, that's enough Mubi. The sun is coming up. It's time for the kill…Hehe…Their spirit is already dead…" They start making fun of the Genins. "Only their bodies remain…Lucky…" Their clones start drifting away like they were made of smoke which shocks the teens. "You…You're the guy who got my shoulder…I finally found you." The leader says as he looks at them. "Making things so difficult…Lucky…I can finally return the favor!" Every one of the teens faces hold shock except for Naruto's. She's staring at them with a huge grin on her face.

"You're trapped rats…" Sasuke says behind them.

"It went perfectly, Naruto!" Sakura says proudly.

"Them…How?! Since when?!" The leader asks while looking at the Genins that were standing behind them.

"Idiots! We finally got you by the tails! Bastards!" She shouts at them as she releases her Jutsu and the clones of the others turned back into Naruto who is chuckling at them.

'This brat…No way…' The leader thinks as he stared at her closely.

"The Kage Bunshin was just a trick! It was a diversion while I became the whole team!" Naruto explains as she releases her clones and they disappear.

"The moment Naruto released the Jutsu, the three of us hid. You Genjutsu users got a taste of your own medicine." Sasuke says as he stares at them through Sharingan activated eyes. Naruto's knee gave out and hit the ground which shocked the girl. "Naruto, you've used too much Chakra…I'll take over from here." Sasuke says making the other Ninja's cringe from him until they saw a fist come at them knocking all of them into one another and slide on the ground a good bit crying out in pain.

"I'm damn sick of letting you always steal the juicy parts." Naruto grits out at her boyfriend even though her energy is way past gone. She looks at the three Ninja's on the ground in a pile.

'What a kid…She can still move…?' One of the Ninja's think as they watch her and groan in pain.

'Is this really that Naruto…? This girl…Since when did she grow this much!?' Sasuke wondered as he watched his girlfriend with awe filled eyes.

"…Naruto…" Sakura mumbles her name as her eyes stare at her with shock.

'Wow…What Chakra stamina…A major technique combining many Shadow Clones and transforming into 3 people…All that and she can still move…And this is the 5th day…' Kabuto looks at her while the enemies stood up shakily. 'If this kid masters her Chakra use…She'll become a monster…'

"You're pretty good…But we aren't "unlucky" just yet…" The leader says as they all started forming symbols. "There's little time left…Now we'll show you our Ninjutsu!" He shouts out. "Ninpou Oboro Bunshin no Jutsu!"

"…Shadow Cone…?" Naruto gasps out as she didn't take her eyes off of her opponents.

"No…It's just a normal clone…But there must be some trick, watch out…" Sasuke warns her.

"Heh, if that's the case then there's only one real enemy…I'll just blast them all 'til I hit the real one." Naruto says while chuckling.

"Idiot, that plan won't work…" Sasuke grits out.

"I told you to stay out of this!" Naruto says as she runs at the enemies.

"Naruto! Don't!" Sakura shouts.

"…Geez!" Kabuto mutters. Sasuke's eyes flare bright with the Sharingan.

'Ugh…Using Sharingan makes the mark on my neck hurt…Have I used too much Chakra…!? Damn it…' He thinks as he tries to move his body to go protect Naruto who raises a fist at the clones. She goes straight through the clone like it is an illusion.

'Damn it! A clone!' She raises her foot to kick one and it goes through as well. 'And this one…' One more punch. 'And this one…'

"Naruto-chan! Stop!" Kabuto shouts.

'They're all fake…? Could this be another Genjutsu…!? This is my last Chakra…' Sasuke thinks as he gathers every bit of his Chakra to direct it to the Sharingan. He looks at every bit of the area to see what the trick is that the Ninja were using when his mark throbs and he cries out in pain.

"Sasuke-kun!?" Sakura shouts out panicking. She looked at his mark and saw that it was spreading again. 'His mark again…!' Her eyes widen. "Sasuke-kun, please stop using Sharingan!" As she shouts at him it draw Naruto's attention towards them causing her leave herself open for the Ninja's.

"You shouldn't create openings!" The lead Ninja says as he raises a Kunai over her head bringing it down quickly, Naruto's face flashes up to him and she shows fear until Kabuto grabs her out of the way of the blade. They both rolled on the ground and Naruto looks at the older teen.

"Kabuto-san…!" She panics when she notices his leg had a huge slice through it. She turned towards the enemy Ninja's and growled. "Damn it!"

"Stop, Naruto!" Sakura shouts at her.

"No matter how much you punch…You won't find the real ones…" Sasuke says while wincing from the pain from the mark.

"Then where will the enemies attack from!? Normal clones can't attack!" She shouts at him while glaring.

"If we knew that, things would be easy! That is their plan!" Sasuke said and Naruto growled at him.

'I can't use Kage Bunshin again…' Naruto thought as she held a protective stance over Kabuto.

"Looks like they reached their limit, lucky." The leader says and started popping out of one of the shadows drawing Sasuke's Sharingan filled eyes to his movements. They all quietly moved out of the ground in the shadows.

'I see! They are hiding in the Earth and attack from the clone's shadow!' Sasuke says as Kabuto notices at the last second and gets struck on the face with the enemies Kunai. He cries out in pain and falls heavily to the ground knocking his glasses off of his face. The enemies were moving in on the teen when his face flashes up towards them and shows his eyes. 'Huh?' Sasuke watches the enemies as they freeze from fear. Kabuto's eyes start turning red and looking bloodshot while their bodies start shaking. With quick movements Naruto places her sandaled foot into their heads causing the males heads to connect with each others. They all slid across the ground again but this time they were knocked unconscious.

"Heh! You shouldn't create an opening, right?" Naruto says as she wipes the sweat off of her face.

"Phew…Thanks Naruto-chan, you saved me." Kabuto says while rubbing the back of his neck. Sasuke looked at him with suspicion filled eyes.

"Great job, Naruto!" Sakura shouts and the blond giggles. The sun rises even further into the sky when Kabuto notices the mark on Sasuke's neck.

"What is that thing? An injury? It's a horrible mark." He asks him as he leans down a little.

"It's nothing…" Sasuke says as he put his hand over it.

"I found it! I found it! It's the Heaven scroll!" Naruto cheers out.

"Great…" Kabuto says as he smiles at her.

'Him…Something's strange...' Sasuke thinks as he glares at the older teen. They arrive at the tower and Kabuto's teammates exit the forest a close distance by them.

"Oh, you guys…" Kabuto says when he saw them.

"You're late…Kabuto." One says while he stops four feet from him.

"We ran into some trouble, sorry." He explains.

"But! But! Thanks to you we got the scrolls!" Naruto said as she rubs her neck.

"No, it was all because of you guys. You were great at the end, Naruto-chan…" Sasuke is still glaring at him. "We are going to go through this door. Good luck to both of us!"

"Yeah!" Naruto says with a huge smile on her face.

1313THIRTEEN1313

"…Nobody's here…" Naruto says while she looked towards her boyfriend who has his arm over Sakura's shoulder since he was so weak. Sasuke dropped his arm and patted her on her shoulder.

"Sakura…I'm alright…" He says as he moves more closely to Naruto wanting to feel her next to him.

"Huh? Oh! Yeah…" She smiled weakly at him but her other personality started throwing a temper tantrum. 'God damn it!'

"Hey hey! What should we do?!" Naruto asks as she looks around the room.

"Hey! Look at that…" Sakura says as she points to a quote framed on the wall.

"Without…Heaven…What the hell does this mean? Looks like its missing words there." Naruto muses as she tries to make wind of what the quote means.

"This is probably about the scrolls…I think they are telling us to open up the scrolls…" Sakura explains as she looks at the girl. Both girls took the scrolls into each of their hands and prepared to open them together. "Alright…Let's open them up…!" They both shakily open them at the same time fearing for the worse. When they roll out the scroll their eyes widen as they saw what was in it.

'This is…! A summoning type Jutsu.' Sasuke thinks as his eyes grow even wider. "Naruto! Sakura! Let go of the scrolls!" They look at him in alarm when smoke started appearing out of the scrolls so they threw them. The smoke started growing after they threw the scrolls and the team becomes shocked when a shadow appeared in the smoke. Naruto narrows her eyes at the form until it cleared and then she stares at the figure with shock on her face. "You are…"

"Hey!" Iruka says while smiling at them with his arms crossed. "Long time no see."

"What's going on?" Sakura shouts at him.

"Looks like you guys had trouble…" He states while staring at the marked up teens.

"Huh? Huh?! Why was Iruka Sensei summoned?" Naruto wonders out loud.

"At the end of this second test it's set up so we Chuunin's meet up with the exam takers…And I was allowed to be the one to greet you." He answers.

"Greet us?" Sakura mumbles.

"Phew. Just made it in time." He says as he looks at his pocket watch closing it and smiling brightly at them. "The second test…All three of you pass congratulations. To celebrate your successful completion of the second test…I'd like to buy you a round of ramen but…" He stops himself then looks at the blond haired girl that just tackles him.

"We did it!" She shouts.

"H…Hey Naruto…Listen until the end…" He says as he awkwardly stands with the girl hugging him.

"We did it, we did it, and we did it! We did it! I'm so happy!" She couldn't contain her excitement. Sakura collapses to the ground in relief while Sasuke sits down.

"She sure has energy…" He says as he closes his eyes and ignores the other two as they start getting louder with their bickering. Sakura is trying to tell Naruto to shut up while the pigtailed girl ignores her and shows her excitement.

"You sure haven't changed in your inability to relax." Iruka says as he looks at his favorite pupil.

"Heh…I see…" Sasuke spoke as he looks at his old sensei. The other two looks at him confused. "If we had opened the scrolls during the test…What were you going to do, Iruka Sensei?" Sasuke asks with a wry smile on his face and the man returns it, understanding why he asked the question.

"As always, you are sharp, Sasuke." Iruka says while bending down to pick the scrolls up. "As you may have figured out…This test's rules are set up to test your ability to perform missions correctly…So if you were to break these rules and open the scrolls…" He stops speaking.

"What would have happened?" Sakura asked.

"Those exam takers…Would be put in a condition of unconsciousness for the remaining of the test period. Those were my orders." He answers.

"Heh. Good thing you guys didn't open it…" Sasuke said as he looked at the other two who started panicking.

'Kabuto-san! Thank you so much!' Naruto thinks as she feels grateful for the elder teens help.

'Phew…That was close.' Sakura's inner demon says grumpily. "Oh yeah, Sensei! What's the meaning of the writing on the wall?" She asks as she points at the framed the quote. "Seems like there's a word missing…We can't figure it out."

"Who the hell cares?! We passed!" Naruto shouts at her.

"No…I am also here to explain that…" Iruka says with an exasperated look on his face. "Read it. This is the motto of the Chuunin written by Hokage-sama."

"Motto?" Naruto asks as she glints her eyes to look at the words.

"Yeah, the "Heaven" in this paragraph refers to the human mind, and the "Earth" refers to the human body." Iruka explains as he looks at the framed paper. ""If you lack Heaven, seek wisdom, be prepared". That's basically…For example, if Naruto's weakness is her brain…" He points his thumb towards his forehead protector. ""Gain knowledge and prepare yourself for the missions"." You could hear Sakura's giggle at what he says. ""If you lack Earth, run in the fields, seek advantages". So if Sakura's weakness is stamina, then it's saying you must continue to train hard." Naruto smirks at her while she sticks her tongue out giggling more. "And if you have both Heaven and Earth…You can succeed in even the most dangerous mission. So basically all missions become safe and easy." He said and everyone looked at Sasuke.

"Then…The part with the missing word?" The pink haired girl asks as she looks back at the plaque. Iruka smiles at her.

"So…The words that represent a Chuunin. The "person" word from the scrolls goes there. The last sentence is "these rules will guide a person's extremes"." Iruka explains as he shows the summoning circle on the scroll. "These 5 days of survival were to test the exam taker's basic abilities needed to become a Chuunin…And you guys successfully pass that. Chuunin's are at the rank of military captain, you have the responsibility of guiding a team…The knowledge, stamina and inner wisdom; all are needed for your duties. I want you guys to challenge the next step with this Chuunin motto in mind." He says as he looks at them with a serious expression on his face. "That is…All that I have to pass on to you."

"Roger!" Naruto shouts and salutes the man with her delicate hand. Iruka has a sad expression on his face as he looks at the young girl.

"But this third and final test…Don't push yourselves too hard…Especially you Naruto, I worry about you the…" He tries telling her and she interrupts him.

"From the moment I received this leaf forehead protector I am no longer an academy student! There is no need to worry!" Iruka's face holds surprise when she says this. She grabs the protector and adjusts it. "And this is the symbol that I am all grown up, right?! The part about me never relaxing may not have changed, but I'm not a kid anymore!" Her sensei's face holds even more sadness at her saying this. "Now…" Her teammates look at her. "I'm a Ninja!"

"I see…" He says as he smiles at her gently. "I'm sorry…Naruto…" He thinks about the conversation he had with Anko when he told her that the thought they would fail the tests. Then thought of the time Kakashi told him that they were no longer his students. He watched Naruto as she crossed her arms and giggled. 'The person that truly knows their strength…May be you, Kakashi-san.'

1313THIRTEEN1313

"First off, for the second test…Congratulations on passing!" The Hokage says while he is standing on the stand and the students were lined up below.

'Hehe…Among the 78 participants, for 21 to get this far…I said I'd cut them in half but I was expecting single digits…" Anko thinks as she looks at the group of Genins standing before them.

'So hungry!' Choji thinks as he fidgets while his stomach growls.

'Still this many left? This sucks…' Shikamaru thinks as he glares at the rest of the Genins.

"Sasuke-kun's team passed too!3" Ino whispers as she looks at him with admiration filled eyes.

"Your team isn't too bad, maybe they were lucky. But as long as my team is around, getting any farther is impossible. Since from now it's all about real ability. Well, with youth there are sweet times and there are sour times, eh Kakashi…" Gai Sensei says to the white haired man.

"Huh? You say something?" Kakashi asks as he looks at the thick browed sensei.

'Heh…Not bad, my rival Kakashi…You're cook in that way and it really gets on my nerves…' The man thinks as Kakashi looks at him wondering what is going on in his brain.

'Ahh…So that's Gai Sensei's eternal rival. Gai Sensei totally loses in terms of looks though…' Tenten thinks as she smiles at them.

'I knew it, among all the teachers, Gai Sensei is the coolest! He's sparkling! Alright…Watch me, Gai Sensei! I'll sparkle too!' Lee says while he looks like he is trying to prepare a war face.

'So the main guys survived…Uchiha Sasuke…' Neji thinks as him and a few others look at the prodigy.

'I'll get you back for my arms, Uchiha Sasuke…' One thinks while glaring daggers at him.

'So only 7 out of the 27 teams passed…' Temari thinks as she looks around.

"I apologize, Hokage-sama…" A Jounin says as he lands right in front of the Hokage. "From here on as the referee…Will you please allow me, Gekkou Hayate…"

"By all means…" He says looking at the sickly man who starts coughing.

"Hello everyone, I'm Hayate. Umm…Before the third test there's…" He pauses and coughs a little. "…Something I'd like you to do…Umm…It's a preliminary for the third test to decide who gets to participate in the main event."

"Preliminary?" Sakura asks.

"Preliminary? What do you mean?" Shikamaru shouts at the man.

"Sensei…I don't understand this preliminary but…Why aren't all the people here allowed to participate in the next test?" Sakura asks further ignoring the loud but lazy Shinobi.

"Umm…Because the first and second test may have been too easy this year…We have a bit too many people remaining…According to Chuunin exam rules, we must have a preliminary and…Reduce the number of participants for the third test." He said as Anko looked at him with worry in her eyes.

"No way…" Sakura furrows her brows.

"As Hokage-sama indicated earlier, there will be many guests at the third test…So the fights could take too long, we are limited in time. Umm…So anyway…Those who are not feeling well…Those who feel like quitting after these explanations…Please come forward now." He coughs more. "Since we will be starting the preliminary immediately…"

"What?! Right now?!" Kiba shouts out while Naruto jerks her sensitive ear away from the sound and then gulps nervously.

'Alright! I promised Kabuto-san. I'm going to do my best!' She thinks as she looks at where the teen is.

"Umm…" Kabuto says as he raises his hand. "I'm going to quit."

"Huh?!" She looks at him with a stressed face. "K…Kabuto-san…"

1313TBC1313