Previously:

"This…!!" the seals chūnin said, eyes widening when he saw the red mark that remained on her stomach in the shape of the seal, even though he had already removed it. "How much chakra did you try to mold…!?"

"Eh!?" April said, startled by the severe expression on his face. She looked down and saw the mark that resembled a bad sunburn. "I… I may have accidentally tried to use some… but I never purposefully tampered with the seal or anything!" she explained quickly, worried she was about to get her team in trouble.

"Yeah!! Yeah!! We never touched the seal!!!" Naruto added, backing her up.

"We… We aren't disqualified or anything… are we?" Sakura asked anxiously, while Sasuke furrowed his brow.

"No… Nothing like that..." the seals chūnin said. 'To have the seal react violently enough to leave a physical mark on her skin… and then not only survive, but still be walking around… How on earth did this girl manage that...?' he wondered, frowning and furrowing his brow in confusion. "No disqualifications here. You've all passed." He couldn't explain it, but it was clear that the seal had not been tampered with.

Chapter 60: Life Risking Battles!!

The doors leading into the next room opened, and all of the genins were ushered out to the main floor to assembled in a large hall, lining up according to their teams. Standing at the center of the main stage was the Hokage. Flanking him on his left and right were Anko, three shinobi they didn't recognize, Ibiki, Iruka-sensei, and two more unfamiliar shinobis. Behind them, further back on the stage, stood all of the jōnins in charge of the remaining teams.

'Kakashi-sensei…!!!!' April thought, relieved beyond words to finally see his face again after all the hell they had been through. She felt healed after seeing him, like a person who had just discovered an oasis after being lost in a desert for five days without water. She was so happy, she was on the verge of tears. She would cherish the memory in her heart forever. She wanted to run and glomp him in a big bear hug, but she knew he probably wouldn't appreciate that. He didn't seem to be a big fan of PDA.

"..." Biki scowled when he looked over and saw how brightly she was smiling while looking at the sliver-haired ninja.

"First off, for the second test… congratulations on passing!!" Anko announced, greeting the tired genins. 'Hehe… Among the 80 participants, for 23 to get this far… I said I'd cut them in half, but I was expecting single digits...' she thought with a smirk. These kids were tougher than they looked.

'So hungry!!!' Chōji thought anxiously, gnawing on his own hand.

'Still this many left? This sucks...' Shikamaru thought with a frown. That meant more work.

"Sasuke-kun's team passed, too!!" Ino said, glad to see that they had made it.

Kakashi noted that, while Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura looked no different from usual… apart from how beat up they were, and the subtle way that Sasuke held himself in an attempt to hide the pain he was in… April had an uncharacteristically dazed and giddy expression on her face. She was still a little paler than normal, too. 'Tenzō did say he thought she was suffering from the effects of the exam's seal, but…' he thought, making an effort to keep his expression calm while he watched them, noticing that she seemed to have more visible injuries showing than the others. 'It looks like it might have been more serious than I realized...' They did well to get this far, though, especially with the major, unexpected handicaps that had been thrown at them along the way. He was extremely proud of them.

"Your team isn't too bad, maybe they were lucky," Guy remarked with a smirk. "But as long as my team is around, getting any farther is impossible. Since from now on, it's all about real ability. Well, with youth there are sweet times and there are sour times, eh, Kakashi..." he said confidently, glancing at him.

"Huh?" Kakashi said when he realized he was talking to him, pulling his attention away from his worries for April and plans to deal with Sasuke's cursed seal to look at him. "You say something?"

"!" Guy flinched in shock, mortified by the calm and indifferent air that seemed to surround his straight-faced rival. His verbal attack had zero effect! 'Heh… Not bad, my rival, Kakashi...' he thought, gritting his teeth and clenching his fist as he turned away to fume. 'You're so hip in that way, and it really gets on my nerves...'

"?" Kakashi said, wondering what he was so worked up about.

'Ahh… so that's Guy-sensei's eternal rival,' Tenten thought, smiling wryly when she saw the two men together. 'Guy-sensei totally loses in terms of looks, though...'

'I knew it, among all of the teachers, Guy-sensei is the coolest!! He is sparkling!!' Lee thought proudly, clenching his fist. "All right… Watch me, Guy-sensei!! I shall sparkle, too!!!'

'So, the main guy's survived… Sasuke Uchiha...' Neji thought, glancing sideways at Team 7. His eyes landed on April. 'That girl, too… I wonder how having the seal removed will affect her… not that I'm expecting much...'

The sound ninjas also had their eyes on them.

'...' Dosu narrowed his eyes at the leaf ninjas.

'I'll get you back for my arms, Sasuke Uchiha...' Zaku vowed vindictively. He wouldn't lose again.

'Who the hell put more scratches on my new collection item…?' Biki wondered furiously, glaring at all of the freshly bandaged cuts and scrapes on April's body that had accumulated since the last time he saw her.

April felt a chill and slowly turned her head in its direction, looking up at the Oto Village jōnin standing on the stage. She furrowed her brow slightly with concern. There was something unnerving about him. She didn't like the look in his eyes or the way he was staring at Sasuke like he was fresh meat. 'I don't recognize his face, but… there's something uncanny about him…' she thought, frowning. 'He gives me a bad feeling...' He creeped her out even more than that pervert who was trying to stare holes in her back.

"!" Kabuto also noticed the man, a little surprised to see him there.

Gaara stood at the head of his team, completely indifferent and completely unscathed. Kankurō was watched him warily.

'So only seven out of the twenty-six teams passed...' Temari thought, surveying their remaining competition.

'Gaara is unharmed… of course...' their sand jōnin thought, watching them.

'Akamaru is strange...' Kurenai thought, concerned when she saw the way he was shaking, hiding himself in Kiba's jacket.

'The sand guy...' Kiba thought warily, watching Gaara with suspicion.

"Hnn Hnn," Akamaru whined, still traumatized from their last encounter with the dangerous sand ninja, when he almost killed them.

'Oh, good… Naruto-kun passed, too...' Hinata thought, feeling relieved for him. His team was standing right next to hers, too.

'Hm?' April thought, turning her attention to their neighbors when she heard Akamaru's whimper. 'Strange… I've never seen him like that before...' she thought, a little concerned. Was he injured somewhere? He looked scared.

'What's this? All the leaf rookies are here...' Sakura thought, surprised so many of them had passed. She would have expected to see more veterans, like Kabuto and his team.

'Wow!! Wow!! Old man Hokage, Iruka-sensei, Kakashi-sensei, and even Super Brows is here,' Naruto thought excitedly. 'It's like everyone is assembled.'

"Heh… I can't say that I'm getting a good feeling..." Sasuke mused aloud, touching his neck.

'Ah… he may have a point...' April thought, getting her head back in the game. For the Hokage himself to be there, whatever was about to happen, it must be something serious.

'For this many to make it… And most of them are rookies...' the Third thought with the hint of a smirk. He glanced at the four jōnin in charge of them. "No wonder they all nominated them…"

"Hokage-sama will now explain the third test. Listen carefully," Anko announced, loud and clear. "Now, Hokage-sama, please," she said respectfully, symbolically handing over the mike.

"Yes," the Third said, taking a step forward to address his audience. "For the coming third test… but before I explain that… there is something I'd like you to know."

"?" Ino said.

"!!?" Hinata gasped nervously.

"It concerns the true reason for this exam..." the Hokage stated.

"!!?" Sakura and April said, furrowing their brows slightly. 'True reason?'

"Why do we have all of the allied countries taking the exam together?" the Third prompted them.

"!?" Naruto said, also furrowing his brow a little.

" 'To promote friendship among the countries.' 'To raise the level of shinobi.' I don't want you to be confused about the true meaning…" the Hokage told them. "This exam is..."

'Is…?' Tenten pressed silently, when he paused to smoke his pipe.

"..." the Third removed it from his mouth and exhaled.

"..." Gaara stared at him, starting to get impatient.

The Hokage looked at them with a terribly serious expression on his wizened face. "A replacement for war among the allied countries."

"!?" Lee furrowed his brow and frowned.

"What does that mean…?" Tenten asked.

"..." April kept a cool expression while she waited to hear his answer.

"If you go back in history, the current allies were once enemies who fought each other over who would rule," the Hokage replied. "In order to prevent wasteful fighting, the stage that these countries chose for battle… that is the origins of this Chūnin Selection Exam."

"Why the hell do we have to do that crap?" Naruto demanded impatiently. "Isn't this for deciding who's a chūnin?"

Kakashi really wished Naruto would think a little before speaking sometimes. He hoped he wasn't going to get scolded for his lack of manners later.

'It sounds like this exam… is a lot more complicated than we realized...' April thought, frowning a little.

"It is a fact that this exam decides which shinobis have what it takes to become a chūnin," the Third answered. "But, on the other hand, this exam has another side… where each country's shinobis risks their own life to protect their land's prestige."

"Prestige?" Ino asked.

"Watching this third test will be important leaders and influential individuals from many countries who make up the clients of the shinobis. And the feudal lords of the countries will also be there to watch each of your battles," the Hokage explained. "If the strength of a country is clear, that country will receive more clients. And conversely, if seen as weak, they will lose clients."

"..." Kiba frowned and furrowed his brow.

'Great, so… no pressure...' April thought, a bead of sweat rolling down the side of her face.

"And this will signal to potential enemy countries that 'our village has this much power.' So it will send a political message to outsiders," the Hokage added.

"Yeah, but why!?" Kiba snapped. "Why do we have to risk our lives in battle?!!"

"..." Iruka watched his troubled students with a grim expression on his face.

"The strength of the country is the strength of the village. The strength of the village is the strength of the shinobi," the Third replied. "And a shinobi's true strength is… born only through life-risking battle."

April noticed how tense everyone around her had become. Even Naruto was quiet. It was stressful to have it pointed out so directly, but… for her, not much of what she was hearing came as that much of a surprise when she considered that many ninjas of higher rank risked their lives on a regular basis for their missions. 'Besides… they say we'll be having 'life-risking battles' starting now, but… haven't we been doing that already?' she thought, furrowing her brow slightly in confusion. There were plenty of times when they could have died during this second test, so why did everyone else look so shocked? Didn't they enter this exam prepared to put their life on the line?

"This exam is a place to see each country's strength and to show off your own strength," the Hokage continued. "It only has meaning because lives are at risk. And that's why those that have come before you fought in the Chūnin Exam for the dream that is meaningful."

"But, then why… do you say stuff about it being for 'friendship'?" Tenten asked.

"I said it in the beginning, I don't want you to confuse the purpose of this. By losing life and establishing balance. This is the shape of friendship in the world of the shinobi," the third answered firmly.

"..." Sakura stared at him. That kind of 'friendship'…

"..." April had mixed feelings on the matter, but she thought she understood what he was trying to tell them. The friendship he spoke of was not the normal kind, full of fun and games, but the kind of mutual respect formed between rival warriors. One where each side fought to uphold its own values without holding a grudge toward the winner. Each would give their all to uphold their own values and protect the things they felt needed protecting. There were no victims. Only soldiers.

"Before we begin the third test, I will tell you one more thing," the Hokage said. "This is not just a test… This is a life-risking battle… with your dreams and your country's prestige on the line."

"..." Ino and many of the genins stared at him, stunned.

"I get it..." Naruto said, grinning.

"I don't care what it is… Just hurry up and tell us what this life-risking battle entails," Gaara told the old man impatiently.

"Yes, I'd like to explain the third test, but… actually…" the Third said, coughing and clearing his throat.

"?" Naruto and April wondered why he seemed to be hesitating.

Everyone was surprised when the ninja standing next to Anko suddenly to moved to position himself instantly before the Hokage in a kneeling position.

"I apologize, Hokage-sama..." he said. "From here on, as the referee… will you please allow me, Hayate Gekkō..."

"… By all means..." the Third said, giving him permission to take over.

"Hello, everyone, I'm Hayate," the ninja introduced himself as he turned to face them, giving them all a good look at the dark circles under his eyes and his hollow cheeks. He coughed. "Umm… koff… Before the third test there's… koff… something I'd like you to do..."

'What?' Zaku thought, frowning. There was more?

'This person looks sick… is he alright?' April wondered, sweat-dropping. He looked even worse than most of them.

"Umm… It's a preliminary for the third test to decide who gets to participate in the main event," Hayate finished.

"!!?" Sakura gasped.

"Preliminary?" April asked, tilting her head slightly. She didn't like the sound of that.

"Preliminary? What do you mean?" Shikamaru demanded, getting agitated at the through of being forced to jump through more hoops on tops of everything else.

"Sensei… I don't understand this preliminary, but… why aren't all the people here allowed to participate in the next test?" Sakura asked the new referee.

"Umm… because the first and second test may have been too easy this year..." Hayate relied, coughing again. "We have a bit too many people remaining… According to the Chūnin Exam rules, we must have a preliminary, and… reduce the number of participants for the third test." This was the first time in five years that they would need one, though.

"No way..." Sakura said with frown.

"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..." Hayate explained.

'If they're worried about the audience getting bored, can't they space the matches out over more than one day and turn it into a festival...?' April wondered. She had participated in a competition that did something like that before. 'Well, it might help their nonexistent tourism industry get a jumpstart… but I guess an extended stay could provide a bigger opening for foreign spies, so maybe that's why?'

"Umm… So anyway..." Hayate continued. "Those who are not feeling well… those who feel like quitting after these explanations… please come forward now. Since we will be starting the preliminary immediately..."

"What?!! Right now?!!" Kiba shouted incredulously, while he and Naruto both flinched in shock.

'This is gonna be rough...' April thought, bracing herself for more trouble. What she really wanted to do was take a shower and have a decent meal, but it looked like that would have to wait.

Naruto gulped nervously. 'Alright!!' he thought, clenching his fists and squaring his jaw with determination. 'I promised Kabuto-san. I'm going to do my best!!'

"..." Kabuto furrowed his brow slightly, looking at the sound ninjas' jōnin. He raised his hand. "Umm… I'm going to quit," he announced, adopting a somewhat apologetic smile.

"!!" April and the rest of Team 7 gasped in surprise, shocked.

"Huh?!!" Naruto exclaimed in disbelief, completely taken aback. "K… Kabuto-san…?" What about their promise?