The last chapter was so big because I wanted to get Wave over and done with as fast as possible. Most fics either make it or break it on the Wave mission, so I thought that if it was only one chapter I could get it over and done with and rip the band-aid. Wave is super important, so I made sure to put extra effort into the parts that will matter most in the future. I really want to further develop Naruto and Sasuke's friendship. I also want Kakashi to play a larger role as a mentor. I made the changes that I felt would be necessary to have better character development for everyone. Sakura is largely absent because she was largely absent in canon. I felt the best part of her development was her change from the useless civilian burden on Team 7 to the badass Kunoichi from Shippuden. I decided to only add 1 or 2 movies into the plot of my story.
A review asked me about pairings. I have thought about it, and I need to make clear that romance won't be a big focus in my story, but everyone will be paired up. However, the plot will soon alter drastically, so things will be difficult. I'll throw you guys a bone. Because of how I plan the story to go, a lot of relationships won't run smoothly, and most importantly, a very popular ship will be impossible to write, so it won't happen. Do with that what you will.
I've figured out how I'm going to organize my arcs. They will be in 3 parts. Part 1 of the arcs will be the introduction. Part 2 of the arcs will be rising action to climax. Part 3 will be the climax to falling action.
I'm so happy Premier League football is back. Seeing Liverpool start the season with a comfortable 3-0 win makes me hope that we can challenge for the League Title this year. And add a recent 2-0 win at Anfield to it. We might really have something here. Also hoping for a strong Champions League run. THAT night at Anfield where Atletico beat us on our own turf hurt far more than I care to express.
If you have any requests, then please, let me know. As always, any concerns, questions, or criticism you have, then please Review or PM me.
Anyway, onto the story!
General narration
"Talking"
Flashbacks
'Thinking'
Narration
Yami speaking
Bijuu talking
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, or Naruto Shippuden, nor the Naruto Manga. They are owned by Viz Media and Masashi Kishimoto. I only own "Narrator" and other OC's.
Narrator: Hello readers. It's been a while. After being enlightened by the Outers, I have learned my place. Moving past that, in the last chapter, Naruto experienced first-hand shinobi life. He has taken a life and that will take its toll on him.
You were also introduced to Naruto's other half, who refers to itself as 'Yami'. Yami is a troublesome thing. It thrives on negativity, so whenever Naruto feels extreme negativity, it gains control. What needs to be kept in mind is that Yami is Naruto, so whatever Yami does is what Naruto isn't able to do. The reverse is also true. Regardless, Yami won't go against Naruto since it feels all Naruto feels, but in a muted fashion. And once more, the reverse is true.
What exactly is going to happen with our protagonist, who so happens to be his own antagonist? That remains to be seen, but something is on the horizon. Naruto and Sasuke will cause a great change to the world, and all that starts with this next chapter of their lives.
Team 7 finally arrives at Konoha after a day of travel. The team goes their separate ways to recover from a long and difficult mission. Kakashi goes to report to the Hokage, hoping he can escape without a verbal lashing. Sasuke goes to a training ground to keep his strength up while Sakura follows like a lost puppy, leaving Naruto alone at the entrance.
Naruto can't help but sigh. He'd love to go to the hot springs to take a long, relaxing soak, or pig out on some Ichiraku Ramen, but he has something urgent he needs to do. Buy some new clothes.
He loves his orange jumpsuit, but it reminds him of his greatest transgression, and the wounds are still fresh. Every time he looks at it, he sees the blood soaking his right sleeve, seeping so deep in the fabric that it even stains the roots, forever branding him a sinner, never letting him forget his crime.
After a trip to a clothing store, Naruto leaves with a short-sleeved orange zip-up jacket with blue sleeves. He wears his customary black tee underneath. He ditches his pants to go for orange shorts. (Essentially his outfit from the Crescent Moon Kindom Movie. I prefer that outfit so much more compared to his thick orange jumpsuit.) Naruto looks at himself in a mirror. He likes his new outfit. It's orange, comfortable, and bright, but it doesn't feel right. He misses his old jumpsuit, but thinking about it causes his negative emotions to rear their ugly head, showing him how he is not what he wants to be. He'd rather forget it altogether if he can, so he'll try to ignore everything about that mission.
This new outfit is a new chapter in his life, and whatever comes next will be a new beginning.
The next day, after a training session with Kakashi, Team 7 decide what to do now that training is over.
"It's getting late. I think I'll head home. Bye Naruto! Good night Sasuke-kun!~" Chirps Sakura. Sasuke grimaces and shivers at the way she spoke to him. He pales seeing Sakura skip away with a hum. He feels like he is in some sort of danger now, but doesn't want to think about what that danger could be.
"-uke? Sasuke!" Naruto grabs Sasuke by the shoulders, snapping him out of his funk.
"What?" Snaps Sasuke with a glare. He and Naruto may be on better terms, but that loser still infuriates him to no end.
Naruto narrows his eyes as well. "Hey! There's no need to yell! I just wanted to ask if you wanted to join me for some ramen, dattebayo? My treat." Sasuke thinks a bit. He honestly wouldn't mind, but he has had enough Naruto for one day. He is about to reject, but his stomach growls.
Seems like fate answered for him. He scowls seeing Naruto's teasing smile. "Well then, let's go!" Naruto drags Sasuke away.
...
At the Ichiraku Ramen Shop, Naruto is on his eighth extra-large bowl of miso ramen with extra chashu. Sasuke is still on his medium bowl of salt ramen with sliced tomatoes on top.
He isn't too big on ramen, but he doesn't hate it. He mostly came here for Naruto and because he was hungry. This ramen is pretty good though.
He likes strong, basic flavors, with light notes of other things complimenting it. Naruto seems like the type to define flavors as bad, good, and really good. His eating habits are proof enough.
Naruto takes a break from his eating. "So Sasuke, anything new going on with your training?"
Sasuke narrows his eyes. It's been a while since he has had any significant improvement in his training. He trains long and hard, and he barely grows. He essentially works to maintain his current level.
"No, not really. There isn't much for me to learn." Naruto grits his teeth. The way Sasuke said that makes it sound like he knows everything he needs to. He knows that isn't the case, but it's not his fault Sasuke's natural tone is condescending.
He sighs. "Yeah, I hear ya. I have been reading so many scrolls that I feel like my brain is melting. I read stuff about chakra and Taijutsu, but I can't get better.
Kaka-sensei doesn't really teach us much, and he won't help us with our own training. Our training sessions are just boring teamwork exercises. I want a super-cool jutsu that can destroy a mountain, dattebayo!" Sasuke grunts in annoyance. That damn verbal tick! It grates on his nerves.
Besides that, he can't help but agree with Naruto. Isn't that damned scarecrow supposed to be an Elite Jonin? When is he going to teach them anything?
"You know how when tanning, some people get bikini lines. Do you think Kakashi-sensei's face has them now? Because of the mask, dattebayo?" Sasuke drops chopsticks mid-bite. What the hell did he just hear? Is Kakashi gaining tan lines because of his mask? It sounds ludicrous, but when he thinks about it, it's possible.
His eyes widen. Why does he have that mask on anyway?
Naruto pouts. Sasuke hasn't said anything about his comment. He is just sitting still and wide-eyed. Naruto turns back toward his food. He picks up his chopsticks to continue eating, but he hears Sasuke speak. "Do you think he has that mask on because he has buck teeth?"
Now it's Naruto's turn to drop his chopsticks, this time to the floor. He is stunned. Sasuke made a joke? And a good one at that? What has the world come to? Naruto was so bewildered that he almost forgot to answer Sasuke.
He looks back at him and smiles widely. "Or maybe he has fat lips?"
A small smirk appears on Sasuke's face. "Or maybe he has fish lips?" Retorted Sasuke with a growing smirk. Naruto giggles.
Naruto's eyes then widen to astronomical proportions. "What would happen if he sneezes while wearing that mask?"
Disgusted expressions appear on both of their faces. They gag imagining it. They look at each other in the eyes. Naruto laughs out loud. He loves this side of his friend.
Sasuke's tiny smirk morphs into a smile on his lips. He can't quite hold in what comes out of his mouth. "Heh~"
Naruto immediately stops laughing and looks at Sasuke in awe. "Did you just chuckle?"
Sasuke scowls and looks away flustered. Did he hear that? Fuck. "You are imagining things, dobe."
Naruto growls in retaliation. "Hey! You calling me a liar? I heard a laugh. You are the only one here, so it must be you!"
Sasuke waves him off. "Keep telling yourself that. If your imagination is powerful enough to make you hear things that aren't there, then you might really become Hokage one day. In a delusional daydream, of course, Usuratonkachi." A vein bulges and pulses on Naruto's temple, ready to burst from anger. Naruto clenches his fist to calm down.
Sasuke gets up from his seat. He places a few ryō on the counter. "This should cover my meal. Overall, today has been…tolerable, so I'll see you tomorrow for training."
Naruto jumps from out of his seat to catch up to Sasuke. "No no. Keep the money. I invited you out to eat, so it's on me. You can take care of the tab the next time we eat out." Sasuke shrugs. He takes his money and leaves.
Naruto pays for their food and walks home. He has a bright grin on his face.
Sasuke is also walking home. He can't help but have a small, content smile on his lips. Today was a good day. It was…fun. There might be some merit to this whole friendship thing after all.
A few days later, after training, Sasuke splits from his team to go home, leaving Sakura alone with Naruto. Konohamaru shows up with his group of friends and bothers Naruto to play. Seeing Naruto alone with Sakura, Konohamaru comments on how they look like a couple.
Sakura's negative response causes Konohamaru to insult her, leading to a chase which is stopped when Konohamaru bumps into a stranger. Said stranger picks up Konohamaru by the scruff of his shirt.
"So, does this hurt, punk?" The boy asks.
"Put him down, Kankuro. Or you'll pay for it later." States the stranger's older sister.
"Hey, put him down! You better take your hands off of him right now, dattebayo!" Demands Naruto.
Kankuro smirks maliciously at Konohamaru and turns to address his sister. "We have a few minutes. We can have fun with this brat in the meantime, Temari."
"Put him down, teme!" Naruto charges at Kankuro, but he trips. On what, he isn't sure. 'What did he do to me?'
"I hate weak and scrawny things, so when a wimp like the one in my hands starts running off his mouth, I just want to break him." Kankuro goes to punch Konohamaru but suddenly drops him.
His hand is bleeding. He looks down and sees a sharp rock on the ground. Konohamaru scurries off behind Naruto. Following the trajectory of the stone, it leads to the hand of Sasuke, who is up on a tree.
"You're a long way from home, and way out of your league. Get lost." Sasuke picks up a stone and crushes it to dust in his hand.
"Kankuro. Back off. You are an embarrassment to our village." A red-headed boy with teal eyes and dark circles around his eyes remarks in an emotionless tone while hanging upside down from a tree. More notable about him is the gourd behind his back, his lack of eyebrows, and the kanji for 'love' is tattooed on the left side of his forehead.
"Uh…Ah…Hey, G-Gaara." Stuttered Kankuro nervously.
"Had you forgotten the reason we came all the way here?" questioned Gaara.
"Th-they started the whole thing, really. We just-"
"-Shut up. Or I'll kill you." Asserted Gaara. He turned to Sasuke.
"I apologize for any trouble he caused." Ironically, he voiced it in an apathetic manner. He flickers toward his siblings. "Let's go." As the 3 siblings were leaving, someone calls out to them.
"Wait. From your headbands, I can tell you are shinobi from Sunagakure no Sato. Of course, Kaze no Kuni and Hi no Kuni are allies, but no shinobi can enter another village without permission. State your purpose." Sakura tries her best to seem confident.
Temari sighs. "Really? Have you guys been living under a rock? We have permission." Temari and her younger siblings pull out their entrance passes. "We are here for the Chunin Exams. The fact that you haven't heard about it shows the difference between us." They turn around to leave, but they are once more stopped by someone else.
Sasuke jumps down from the tree and focuses on the redhead. "Hey, you with the gourd. What is your name?" They all stop.
The redhead looks at Sasuke. "Subaku no Gaara. I'm curious about you too. Who are you?"
Sasuke gives his customary smirk. "I am Uchiha Sasuke." The sand siblings turn to leave, and this time, without interruptions.
The next day, Team 7 waiting for their sensei to arrive at their meeting spot. Kakashi arrives in a flicker on top of a pole. "Hello. Sorry, I'm late. I'm afraid I got lost on the road of life."
The 3 Genin don't even deem that statement worthy of a remark. Kakashi sweatdrops.
He drops down from the pole in front of his students. "I know this is sudden, but I recommended all 3 of you for the Chunin Exams." He pulls out 3 forms. "These are your applications. This is all voluntary. It is all up to you. If you don't feel ready then you can wait until the next test in 6 months. Ja Ne!" Kakashi disappears as easily as he appeared.
'Chunin Exams. Finally a chance to show my worth! I'll fight many strong ninjas, and maybe even get a chance to fight Sasuke, dattebayo!' Naruto believes doing well can help him become Hokage.
'Hmm. Hopefully, I get the chance to fight that red-head from the sand. He seems very strong, and if I can beat him, then I can gain even greater strength. And the stronger I get, the closer I get to my goal.' Sasuke also looks forward to testing his strength.
Sakura looks down at the ground disappointedly. 'There's no way I can keep up with Sasuke. I can't even beat Naruto. Can I even do well in these exams?' Sakura has some serious thinking to do.
…
On the day of the Chunin Exams, all of Team 7 show up on time. Naruto and Sasuke feel excited, while Sakura struggles to keep her nerves in check. She only is taking the exams so she doesn't disappoint her teammates.
They walk in and see many shinobi from numerous villages. The amount of genin they see easily number in the hundreds. Walking up the steps, they go toward where they see the most Chunin hopefuls gathered. They are being stopped from entering the designated room by 2 genins. They push a bushy-browed boy with a bowl cut wearing a green full-body leotard.
Team 7 pushes their way to the front and hears the 2 genin insult the other teams. Sasuke, leading Team 7 can't help but put the 2 genins in their place. "Real nice speech. Now both of you step aside and let me through. And while you're at it, reverse that Genjutsu. We can see through the illusion anyway. We're going to the third floor."
The tag displaying the room number shimmers and the illusion breaks, showing that they are by room 201, not 301. Both Sakura and Naruto are not surprised as they both saw through the illusion.
The spiky-haired one of the 2 genin charges at Sasuke in petty retaliation. Sasuke prepared a kick to counter, but then, both of their movements are stopped at once by the very same bushy-browed boy that was pushed around earlier.
His teammates walked up to him. "Hey, what happened to the plan? You were the one who said to keep a low profile and hide our skill level." His 2 teammates shake their heads in disappointment.
Sasuke feels slightly unsettled, and can't help but watch them. He can't see any bruises on the guy with the green leotard, so what happened?
The bushy-browed boy walks up to them, specifically Sakura. "My name is Rock Lee. You are Sakura-san, right?" Sakura blinks. Lee blushes and gives Sakura a thumbs up. "Please be my girlfriend. I vow to protect you with my life."
Naruto's eye twitches. He may have his issues with Sakura, but he can't help that he still likes her.
Sasuke watches on in interest and a tiny smirk on his lips. Maybe Sakura should get a taste of her own medicine.
Sakura pales. "Definitely not. You're a weirdo." Lee slumps in sadness.
The rest of Lee's teammates walk up to Team 7. The pale-eyed one addresses Sasuke. "Hey, you. What's your name?" Naruto sees this and can't help but scoff. It's always Sasuke.
Sasuke looks at the pupilless boy with apathy. "It's common courtesy to give your own name before asking someone else's." The pale-eyed boy grinds his teeth and grunts in annoyance. The girl in their team giggles seeing her crush get rattled like that. Team 7 parts ways with Lee's team and heads to the 3rd floor.
Behind a door at the end of the hallway, the 2 genins from earlier perform a ram seal and dispel their Genjustus, revealing themselves to be adult Chunin. They are satisfied to see that the rookies are actually capable. Their job is done.
...
On the 3rd floor, there is a large and empty corridor. As Team 7 are about to leave, someone yells at them to capture their attention. "Hey, you with the attitude. I want to fight you right now." It's the bushy-browed boy from before.
"My name is Rock Lee. You said it was common courtesy for a challenger to give out their name before asking for one, isn't that right, Uchiha Sasuke-kun?" Sasuke narrows his eyes. So this guy knows of him.
"Everyone always talks about how great the Uchiha Clan was. I want to test that, and you are the best one to try testing that against."
Sasuke glowers at Lee. "You want to know more about my clan? Then I'll teach you the hard way."
Before any of them can get ready to fight, Naruto charges at Lee. He'll prove to Lee that he is superior to Sasuke.
Naruto aims a punch at Lee, but Lee uses 2 fingers to gently guide Naruto's fist to miss, making Naruto lose balance. Naruto balances on his free arm and aims a backheel kick at Lee. Lee dodges, couches, and delivers a leg-sweep on Naruto, making Naruto fall on the ground. Lee kicks Naruto away to the wall.
Lee faces Sasuke once more. Sasuke and Lee square off. Sasuke charges and aims a punch at Lee. Lee moves away at a speed Sasuke couldn't react to. He is now behind Sasuke, aiming a kick. "Konoha Senpou!" Sasuke ducks under the kick. Lee balances on one arm and attempts a sweeping kick. Sasuke tries to block, but the kick lands, delivering the full impact on Sasuke's cheek. Sasuke is launched backward, collapsing on his back. He wasn't fast enough.
Sasuke gets up and activates his Sharingan, which has improved since last time. There are 2 tomoes in each eye. Sasuke charges in once more. Sasuke observes carefully to see what Lee's jutsu is. He puts up a guard to protect himself.
Once he is close enough, like a coiled cobra, Lee launches a devastating kick through Sasuke's guard, landing right on his chin. "My technique isn't Ninjutsu nor Genjutsu."
Sasuke and Lee start a Taijutsu sequence where they exchange and block blows. Lee lands a few punches and kick, whereas all of Sasuke's moves are blocked. Lee elbows Sasuke on the ribs. Sasuke jumps away for some space.
"Even with that Sharingan, and even if you can read my moves, you can't do anything about it. You are just too slow. If your body can't keep up with your eyes then what good are they?" Sasuke holds in a growl. This Lee character has the nerve to insult his clan in such a manner?
Lee charges up a roundhouse kick. Sasuke attempts to put up his guard, but he is too slow once more. Lee nails him on the chin once again. Up in the air, Lee hides in Sasuke's shadow and removes his bandages. A kunai pins Lee's bandage on a beam. Lee stops his motion, and Sasuke is left to fall on the floor.
A turtle calls out to Lee and starts berating him. A puff of smoke appears, and once it is cleared, an adult clone of Lee with even larger eyebrows greets everyone.
His name is Might Guy. He reprimands Lee for attempting to use a Forbidden technique against Sasuke just now. After punching Lee to give him a lesson, Guy consoles Lee. They then trigger their sunset Genjutsu and share a manly hug. Everyone witnessing this shivers in disgust, but can't manage to look away.
Guy looks at Team 7. "Tell me, how is Kakashi-sensei? You are his Genin squad, right?" Team 7 nods stiffly. "Well, good. Kakashi and I are what some may call eternal rivals. Our record is 50-49 wins. I have one win to my advantage." He blitzes his way behind Team 7, showing his superior speed to Kakashi.
It's absurd to think such a man can be stronger than Kakashi, but he really might be.
Lee collects his bandages and wraps them around his hands. Naruto notices the callouses and scars on Lee's hands. Once Guy and Lee leave, Sasuke breaths hard.
Naruto notices Sasuke's shuddering breaths. He decides to be brutal with Sasuke. "Seems like the Uchiha aren't so great after all."
"S-shut up!" Sasuke's voice wavers for a second. "Next time, I'll drive him to his knees." A dark look, darker than anything they've seen slowly forms on Sasuke's face.
Naruto scoffs. "Yeah right. Who just got his ass kicked? You saw his hands, didn't you? You know, when he took off his bandages. I bet old BushyBrows has been training until he drops, day in and day out. That's all I have to say, dattebayo." Sasuke growls and shakes like a leaf in the wind, clenching his fists to hold in his budding vengeful rage.
Narrator: Sasuke has a very strong superiority complex, but no matter how strong it is, he has a hidden but even greater inferiority complex. The idea of someone, anyone being better than himself is Sasuke's struggle, and it'll be his downfall.
...
Finally arriving at the testing site, Team 7 is greeted by the sight of their sensei. "Glad you came Sakura. Both for your sake and everyone else's. Now you can all formally register for the Chunin Exams."
Seeing the perplexed look on the faces of his students Kakashi further elaborates. "You see, only full squads are allowed to apply for the exams. I said it was an individual decision, but it was a half-truth. It is an individual choice, except it affects your entire team. I didn't say this before because I didn't want you to feel pressured to take the exams for any personal feelings you might feel for your teammates."
Sakura conceals a wince. That is why she is taking the exams. "Well, seeing as you are all here, it is a moot point. I want to wish you all luck and say that I am proud of you guys." Kakashi opens the door for the testing area for his students.
As Team 7 walks inside, they are greeted by the intimidating smolders of the hundreds of participants. Sharing a silent conversation of sorts, Team 7 decides to keep a low profile, but that is ruined the second a pale, platinum blonde and blue-eyed girl hugs Sasuke from behind.
"Sasuke-kun, I missed you! I was waiting for you to show up." Ino is practically dangling off of Sasuke's neck.
He gives her the blandest look he can. He sucks his teeth. 'Oh great. Another annoyance to deal with.'
Sakura sees red. "Hey, get your hands off of him you porker!" This starts a series of petty squabbling between Sakura and Ino.
Ino's teammates walk up to see what is going on. Shikamaru sees them and sighs. "Oh, it's you guys. I knew this was going to be a drag, but I didn't think it was going to be this lame." Choji keeps eating, as usual.
Team 8 walks up seeing the other rookies. Kiba walks at the forefront. "Well well, looks everyone is here. The 9 rookies together once again."
Hinata sees Naruto and blushes. "Hi, N-Naruto-kun" When he turns to look at her, she looks away flustered.
This puzzles Naruto. Why does she keep blushing and stuttering around him anyway? Eh, takes too much effort to figure out.
An older silver-haired guy walks up to the rookies. "Hey, You might want to keep it down a little. Not to offend, but the nine of you are rookies, right? Try not to make a spectacle of yourselves."
Ino feels ticked off over being talked down to. "Who asked you? Matter of fact, who are you anyway?"
The mystery ninja pushes his glasses up. The flash of light reflecting off his glasses gives off a natural glare that shuts Ino up. "My name is Yakushi Kabuto. Enough about me. Look around and see what you have done. You put a target on your own backs."
The rookies look around the room. Everyone is glaring at them, and no one is looking at them with respect. It's likely they will be targeted during the exams now.
"You can't help it. You're all rookies, so how would you know? You remind me of myself back then."
"Kabuto-san, you've taken this exam before?"
Kabuto chuckles nervously. " Yes, it's my seventh time taking it."
Naruto's eyes sparkle. "Wow! So you're some sort of expert. You can give us the inside tips!"
Shikamaru groans. "Some expert. He's never passed. So those rumors about the exams being tough are true then. Oh man, this is such a drag."
Kabuto digs into his pouch. "Not all hope is lost. I can still help you kids." He pulls out a deck of cards. "With these. These cards are chakra encoded with all that I've learned over the years. They don't look like much, in fact, they are blank. But adding my chakra makes the hidden information appear." As an example, Kabuto channels chakra into the top card and displays it to the rookies. The information tells you how many participants there are from each country in the exams.
Sasuke steps up. "Do those cards of yours have any information on the other candidates, individually?"
Kabuto smirks. "Do you have anyone in mind?" Sasuke's sole focus being on him was answer enough for Kabuto. "I have information on everyone, even all of you. Give me a description of them. What they look like, where they're from, whatever."
"He's Gaara from Sunagakure. And there's Rock Lee and Uzumaki Naruto of Konohagakure while you're at it."
Kabuto is disappointed Sasuke knows their names. It makes this so much easier.
"Wait, what? Me? What do want to know about me anyway? You can always just ask, dattebayo!" Sasuke doesn't answer Naruto.
Kabuto pulls 3 cards from his deck. He turns one over and channels his chakra. "First up is Rock Lee. He's a year older than you guys. Mission experience is 11 C-ranks and 20 D-ranks. His sensei is Might Guy. His Taijutsu is on a prodigious level, but everything else is lacking. His teammates are Tenten and Hyuuga Neji."
Sasuke narrows his eyes slightly. He isn't sure what to do with this information.
Kabuto flips over another card. "Next is Sabaku no Gaara. Mission experience. 0 D-ranks, 8 C-ranks and get this, 1 B-rank. There isn't much information on this guy, except for the fact that he has survived every single mission without receiving a single scratch on him." All the rookies become shaken up by this. What they heard sounds absurd. A genin doing a B-rank without getting injured is unfathomable! Sasuke and Naruto are most shaken up.
Kabuto flips over the last card. "Finally, Uzumaki Naruto. His mission experience is 14 D-ranks, 0 C-ranks, and an A-rank with his team. He is the pariah of his village. He holds the record for the graduate with the lowest grades in Konohagakure Academy history, and from what my most recent research has told me is that he is abysmal at pretty much everything."
Naruto flinches hearing the information Kabuto dug up. Even he didn't know he was that bad. Sasuke grunts in annoyance. Seems like this was a waste of time.
Kabuto's glasses gleam. "What is pretty interesting, however, is that he has a B-rank mission under his belt, one he did before being a part of Team 7." What? A B-rank?
Naruto's eyes widen. He forgot all about the Mizuki incident.
Sasuke grits his teeth. A secret B-rank? Is he actually falling behind that loser?
"And what is even more intriguing is his surname. It is unknown whether or not he was honored with it or if he is actually an Uzumaki." Naruto furrows his brows in confusion. Him an Uzumaki? What does that even mean? That implies that there are more Uzumaki out there. His eyes widen.
"And what is truly fascinating is the lack of personal information he has. I checked all records and I couldn't find anything documented about him. All orphans have a record of who their birth parents are and their familial origins since documents to give them up for adoption and any possible inheritance left behind needs to be recorded, but Naruto doesn't have them.
No documented medical records and any questions asked about his abnormal chakra and monstrous reserves disappear the next day. It's almost like everything about him has been wiped and erased. Buried." A chill runs through the rookies.
Naruto's eyes dilate. What the hell has he just heard? What does this mean? He gets a headache just thinking about it. He'll focus on this later. He has a test to worry about.
Sasuke clenches his fist and grinds his teeth until he hears a molar crack. What is so special about that loser? Why is there so much mystery around him? What makes Naruto so different? Sasuke can't help but feel slight jealousy, which makes him feel inferior, which makes him angry. He shakes his head to get rid of the cobwebs.
Both Naruto and Sasuke remain subdued. They have a lot to think over and focus on. Sakura walks up to Kabuto. "Thank you for your help. Good luck." Kabuto smiles at her. The rookies part their ways.
A few minutes later, a large plume of smoke spreads in the front of the room. "All right you baby-faced degenerates. Pipe down and listen up!" Once the smoke clears, a group of Chunin is gathered, looking at the Genins with stern faces.
The one in the middle has 2 diagonal scars running in the same direction across his face. It's clear that its is a Jonin. "I'm Morino Ibiki. I am your proctor and from this moment, I am your worst enemy. It's time to begin the first test."
To be Continued…
This is the end of the chapter and the true start of the story. Thank you for reading. Part 2 of the Chunin Exams is next week, and I've set up a few things in this chapter that will be really important for the next one.
An example would be the discovery of the mystery of Naruto's origins. That is a little present for my loyal readers. :P
If you have any concerns, questions, or criticism, Please Review, and have a good day.
This is Zippy, out.