Chapter Nine: Chunin Exams

Note: Here's the new chapter!

I hope you also check out my other new story - A light in the Darkness, and give me your reviews about that too, thanks!

Warnings: AU Universe. Slight OOC. Some parts are from Itachi-shinden here

In a week the Chunin Exams would start, and Inoichi was training his genin hard. Over the past six months, Inoichi had taught each of his genin several elemental jutsu, polished their taijutsu and chakra control as much as he could, and he would continue to do so until the exam started. Skill wise, Inoichi knew that his team would be at the top of the exam. Even though he was still slightly hesitant in nominating Zero and Kaname for the Chunin exams, because they were still very young, only eight and seven years old, Inoichi knew that those two would be able to pass the exams with ease.

Zero was definitely one of Konoha's greatest prodigies in all its history; His one-handed jutsus and genjutsus were mind-blowing in power and precision, along with the extreme control he possessed over his larger than average chakra reserves, and his expertise in welding his wakizashi. Yet, despite all of that, it was Zero's overwhelming speed and his unreal stealth, his uncanny ability to disappear and appear wherever he wanted, that was his greatest weapon. After all, how could you fight against someone who you couldn't even see? Add that along with the hyoton and the mokuton that Zero had, how could you win against someone like that?

Kaname, too, was one of Konoha's monster prodigies, alongside with Zero; His exceptional chakra control, mastery in a variety of weapons, from senbon and kunai, to tanto and wakizashi, deep knowledge in reading and anticipating a person's movement, and his tremendous skill in the Nara clan jutsus. Inoichi was friends with Shikaku and had fought beside him during the Third Great War, and both of them had never seen someone with so much talent in controlling the shadows.

There was no way Zero and Kaname wouldn't be promoted to Chunin.

While not holding such limitless potential like Zero and Kaname, Kaito was definitely strong in his own right. His taijutsu was definitely top class; Kaito moved fast, hit hard, and was absolutely relentless. Put that with his proficiency at reinforcing his body with chakra, and his use of ninjutsu at unpredictable times, Kaito was also a shoe-in for chunin. The only thing Inoichi was a bit uncertain about was Kaito's rough nature. Kaito had a tendency to speak rudely and talk with fists, instead of words. But since Zero and Kaname would be with him, Inoichi believed that there wasn't much to worry; both of them were capable of calming Kaito down.

Looking at the three tired forms in front of him, Inoichi decided to dismiss them early for the day, so that they could get some rest. With the chunin exams being near, it wouldn't be good for them to get injured or sick.

After being dismissed, Kaname and Kaito headed home, while Zero headed towards Rose Blossom Bakery. It was still afternoon, so both his mother and Ichiru would be at the bakery, either brewing potions or handling the customers. Zero had been busy training for the chunin exams the past few weeks, so he hadn't been able to help out much at the bakery.

Talking about the exams, Zero's mother didn't look surprised, even though she hadn't been very happy when he heard that he had been nominated. His mother knew that if Zero became a chunin, the missions he took would also be more dangerous and risky. But at the same time, she had accepted the fact that Zero was a shinobi, and she could only support him the best she could. Zero was thankful for that, knowing that his mother had never really been fond of shinobi and fighting, especially after his father died.

Another thing Zero was glad for was that Ichiru had yet to show any signs of wanting to become a shinobi, despite already turning three years old. Ichiru seemed to be having much more fun learning about potions, and was extremely excited when he was told that he could start brewing them once he was three and half years old, as that was about the same time Zero started to help him mother brew potions. Ichiru was so sweet and innocent, that Zero didn't want him to become a shinobi, and know what it was like to have to kill.

Opening the front door of Rose Blossom Bakery, Zero walked into the shop and paused for a moment when he saw a curly black haired figure that he recognized as Uchiha Shisui, in front of the cashier.

Ichiru stopped in the middle of packing Shisui's order and peered over the counter to see who had entered. "Nii-san!" Realizing that it was Zero, a big smile formed on his face and he jumped over the counter and raced over to tug on Zero's hand.

"I'm home, Ichiru." Zero smiled at Ichiru, glancing over at Uchiha Shisui for a moment, before turning back to Ichiru, "weren't you in the middle of a customer's order, Ichiru?"

Ichiru blinked in surprise, "aah", he smiled sheepishly before heading back behind the counter.

Zero's mouth turned up a bit in amusement as his eyes followed Ichiru, prior to turning to look at Uchiha Shisui, and then bowed his head slightly in greeting. "It's been quite a while, Uchiha-san."

Shisui laughed, rubbing the back of his head. "Yeah, you are as polite as ever, Zero. I told you before to call me Shisui, didn't I?"

"Shisui-san, then." Zero said, accepting Shisui's request. Zero had learned since he became a genin, that sometimes it was easier to just follow the flow. "Are you here to stock on up your supply of potions?"

"Yeah!" Shisui nodded his head, while his eyes followed Zero who walked over to behind the counter. He noticed that Zero had become more talkative since he last met him. "Oh, come to think of it, I never congratulated you on becoming a genin, did I? Congrats, Zero! Graduating the academy in a year is not something anyone can do."

Zero looked up from where he was helping Ichiru pack Shisui's potions, "thank you, Shisui-san." He picked up a potion, and was about to put it with the others that Shisui ordered, when his hand stopped, "ah, Itachi-san also graduated a while ago in August, didn't he? Congratulations."

"Yeah! Little Itachi is now a genin at eight years old." Shisui replied, grinning happily. "He's the pride of us, Uchiha."

Ichiru paused in his packing and glowered at Shisui, "Nii-san became a genin at five years old. He's better! Nii-san's even going to participate in the chunin exams next week too." Ichiru knew that his brother was the best; Zero was really smart and good at everything, not to mention Zero always spent time with him whenever he could. There was no one who could beat his brother.

Shisui guffawed, holding his stomach in laughter, making Zero and Ichiru look at him oddly. Zero's younger brother acted just like Sasuke-chan. Both adored their older brothers and thought they were amazing. Registering what Ichiru said, Shisui straightened up, "the chunin exams, huh? Good luck, Zero. Though I doubt you need it."

Holding out Shisui's order to him, Zero simply smiled, "thank you very much, Shisui-san."

Taking the package from Zero, Shisui said goodbye to Zero and Ichiru, and left the bakery.

Once Shisui left, Ichiru turned to Zero, "he's weird, Nii-san. Is he really an Uchiha?" It was the first time Ichiru had ever seen an Uchiha that was so bubbly. Normally, the Uchihas gave off this arrogant and reserved aura.

Chuckling softly, Zero patted Ichiru on the head. "Everyone is unique in this world, Ichiru. What you see is not always the truth. It's important to look underneath the underneath."

'It is important to look underneath the underneath', Ichiru repeated silently, looking down at his hands. He sort of understood what his brother was telling him; just because someone looked happy, didn't mean they were happy. People had an outside face and an inside face.

XXXXXX

The time of the chunin exams finally came, and Zero couldn't help but feel slightly restless as he walked to the entrance of the exam room with Kaname and Kaito. He wasn't sure how he was supposed to feel, as the chunin exams were basically a substitution for war, a tool for the villages to show off their strength. Zero didn't really agree with the need of showing off power, as power made people jealous, angry, and corrupt. Kaname, as always, looked as unruffled and confident as ever; Zero seriously didn't know where Kaname got all that reassurance from. Kaito, on the other hand, looked to be excited for the exams, which wasn't odd considering how Kaito loved the thrill of fighting.

The instant team seven walked into the exam room, all the genin turned to give them predatory glances. The other teams from Konoha didn't look at them with such menacing eyes, but they still looked at them with wary stares. It made Zero slightly unnerved, having over a hundred genin observe you, all at once.

A hand landed on Zero's head, and ruffled his hair. He looked up to see Kaito smirking down on him, "don't look so uneasy, Zero. They are simply feeling cagey because of our ages."

"Kaito's right, Zero. Most people who enter the chunin exams are at least 14 or 15. Our team being made up of a seven, eight, and a thirteen year old, must be the youngest competitor in the exam by far." Kaname spoke up, making Zero turn to him in surprise. Zero had forgotten that he and Kaname had graduated much earlier than normal people do, and that people were normally much older when they entered the exams.

The proctor, an older shinobi that Zero recognized as a regular of Rose Blossom Bakery, but didn't know the name of, walked in and ordered the genin to take a seat at the place they were told to.

Once they were seated, they were each given an exam sheet, and the proctor explained the rules of the exam. "Each of you should have a test with ten questions on it. The ten questions, to which you must all answer correctly to pass, are based on hypothetical situations that a ninja may face as chunin. You should use the information you have to formulate and determine the best choice of action. Each genin starts off with ten points, and once you lose all your points, you fail, and your team is eliminated from the exam. Cheating is not allowed, and every time a genin is caught cheating, they will lose five points. You have one hour, starting from now!"

Zero looked down at his exam, and perused the questions quickly. He had immediately noticed from the proctor's instructions that the goal of this written exam was to cheat without being noticed. But Zero didn't feel like he needed to cheat in order to answer the questions. Since he was small, he had loved to read. The history of ninjas, alliances, treaties, practical strategies in fighting, kekkei genkai, chakra, tailed beasts, natural energy – Zero had read them all. Thus, there was no need for him to cheat.

A balance between mental and physical. That was the key to becoming a good shinobi, Zero thought, as he continued filling in his exam sheet.

It was only when someone had a clear mind, that superior physical abilities could be aptly used. No matter how skilled in the ninja arts the body was, if a ninja was unable to make appropriate decisions, failure was almost inevitable.

Fifteen minutes into the exam, and Zero had already finished writing down all his answers on the exam sheet.

Zero looked up from his paper and checked on his teammates. He knew that Kaname would have no problem with this portion of the exam, as Kaname was more knowledgeable about things than he was, but Zero was worried about Kaito. Kaito was more of a brute force type, than the intellectual or strategizing type of ninja. Just as he expected, Kaito looked to be struggling with the exam, as he ruffled his hand with one hand and scrunched his eyebrows in frustration.

Even though team seven had predicted that the first part of the chunin exam would be a written portion and prepared themselves for it, Kaito still didn't know how to answer all the questions on the exam. He knew how to do the first six questions, but the other four, he was totally clueless about. Kaito sighed in frustration; this was why he hated written exams, they always made his brain exhausted. Just as he was about to throw his hands up in defeat, Kaito felt a slither of chakra near his right hand. His lips quirked in a small smirk, and he relaxed his hand, letting it be moved.

'Always first understand the environment', was what Zero's father often said.

Zero glanced subtly around the room, to see how he could help give the answers to Kaito. He was seated at the back of the room, while Kaito was right at the front, by the proctor. There was no way for Zero to help him, but Kaname, who was a few seats to the left of Kaito should be –

Zero's eyes caught a slight darkening of the light on Kaito's desk and gave an inward sigh of relief; it seemed like Kaname was handling it fine.

Since both his teammates were going to be fine, Zero decided to use the spare time he had and observe the other examinees. Betraying no expression and movement in his body, Zero sent his chakra in all four directions.

Some genin were slipping into the minds of their targets, others watching the movements of hands, or tracing out the answers from the sound of pencil rubbing against paper. They were all cheating with the technique they were best at. Zero coolly picked out and filed who was using what type of technique. Everyone here could end up fighting against his team. If he could study their skills, Zero would be able to fight while making sure he shed the least amount of blood he could.

"Time!" the proctor called out. "Put your pencils down. Everyone still here, go to the second exam. The results of the first exam will be announced once the second exam is complete."

"Question!" One of the genin raised their hand. The supervisor nodded permission to speak. "Does that mean that even if we pass the second exam, we won't be able to proceed to the third exam, depending on our score on the first exam?"

"That is what it means, yes."

The examinees all started to talk at once.

"Quiet!" the proctor yelled. "You are on the road to becoming chunin. And once you are chunin, you will be in the position of leading a team. Not all missions yield immediate results; Sometimes you will end up waiting for weeks before you can finish your mission. During this exam, you should have expended every effort. In that case, trust in your own abilities and fight in the second exam with all your might." The rousing cry of the jonin proctor left most of the genin speechless. "Now, off you go to the second exam."

XXXXXX

There were three teams from Konoha, including team seven, two teams from Suna and Kumo, and one team from Kusa, Taki, and Ame, respectively. It wasn't much of a surprise that there were no teams from Kirigakure or Iwagakure, as Kiri was currently fighting a civil war and it was a known fact that Iwa hated the guts of Konoha and its shinobi.

All of the genin were led to the frightening sight of Training Ground 44 – the Forest of Death. Its barbed wire fence and atmosphere surrounding it was as imposing as ever. They were each handed either an earth or heaven scroll, and then made to sign a death waiver. No matter who died in this second part of the chunin exam, a survival exam, Konoha would not be responsible.

The starting bell rang as the gates to the training ground opened, and all the teams dashed in.

As Zero, Kaname, and Kaito jumped from branch to branch, Kaito asked the shogi-lover of their team, "so…what's the plan?"

"Judging by the way how other genin teams eyed us, it's best for us to just make our way to the tower as fast as we can. There is no need to hunt down any team; they will simply come to us." Kaname replied.

Zero and Kaito gave brief nods of acknowledgement, and the three all channelled chakra to their legs and upped their speed. Team seven had a heaven scroll, so they needed an earth scroll to pass. They continued their pace for about an hour, when Zero sensed an incoming team and signalled them. The three of them readied themselves to draw their weapons. The first team that team seven had encountered was an older team from Konoha, and they had darted off to find another team once they saw the leaf on their forehead protectors, but there was no guarantee that this team would do the same.

The team that approached them were from Kusa. However, instead of being smart and trying to ambush them, they stepped out to fight in the open.

Kaito snorted and stared nonchalantly at the team from Kusa. Obviously they thought team seven was easy prey and had clearly underestimated them. Such idiots, they didn't even notice that they were in a genjutsu once they made eye contact with Zero. Didn't they know that in this shinobi world, age didn't matter? Kaito thought, as he quickly gave the three Kusa genin swift chops to the back of the neck, to knock them out, while Kaname searched them for the scroll.

Seeing that it was an earth scroll, Kaname pocketed it, and team seven continued making their way to the tower. Since they already had the two scrolls needed, Zero made sure to head for the tower, while avoiding the other teams. There was no need to fight anymore, now that they already had what they needed.

Inoichi-sensei popped out of the two scrolls when they opened it, once they arrived at the tower, and congratulated them. Completing the second exam in one hour and twenty-three minutes, team seven had set a new record in all of Konoha's history.

The time limit for the second exam was five days, so team seven had basically five whole days to rest their bodies for the third part of the chunin exam. By the time the third exam started, which the Hokage announced to be individual matchup fights, they were already fully rested. Hence, it was not very startling that all three of them won against their opponents with ease.

Zero only needed a quick shunpo, a speed technique he created that was similar to the shunshin, and a quick knife chop to knock out his opponent from Kumo. Kaname trapped his opponent, who was an older genin from Konoha, with his shadows and placed them in a fake death state with his senbon. Kaito simply gave a brutal KO kick to a genin from Suna, which ended the match.

All three of their matches didn't even last one minute.

That was how team seven successfully passed the third exam.

What do you guys think? ~~