Author's note: I don't own any of the characters. They belong to Masashi Kishimoto. The original characters belong to me.

Chapter 16: How to Learn Your Place

Inside a the building where the Exams are taking place

Naruto had just arrived in the corridor, along with Ibiki and Anko. "I'm sorry for being late, guys" Naruto explained once he had urged his comrades (or perhaps more specifically to Konohamaru) to save their anger. He then proceeded to explain his reason for being late. "Grandma Tsunade needed to have a couple of words with me, so it took a while before I could get here" he added while eyeing them.

Kotetsu and Izumo chuckled after seeing Ibiki and Anko standing there. They might had aged over the years, but Ibiki and Anko sure had gotten older, especially Anko. But still, the two friends held a great deal of respect towards their "elders".

Ibiki mused in return by seeing the duo and Raido standing there. "You're certainly looking good, boys" he sarcastically remarked. "Always in tip-top shape, even though you've all gotten rustier" he added with a joke. Raido and Izumo snapped in annoyance by hearing this.

Kotestu however, smirked in return. "Heh, perssistent as always, I see" he said in return.

Anko focused her attention towards Naruto who eyed her in return. "Naruto, are you sure about this? Are you willing to be in charge of these Exams?" she asked him with seriousness.

Naruto fixed a similar look on his face and nodded silently before replying. "Grandma Tsunade is nearing her retirement, Anko. From what I have observed, she is getting frailer by the minute. It has made me and Sakura very concerned" he explained to her and closed his eyes. He opened them again soon. "She deserves to retire from the title of Hokage peacefully, and even though she shouldn't be doing this, she is actually grooming me to succeed her. That is why she entrusted me with overseeing the Exams" he added to his explanation.

Anko formed a smile after hearing this, and so did those around them. She knew that Naruto spoke the truth, no matter how silly and foolish he could be. Not wanting to waste any words, she only nodded her head as an acceptance of Naruto's responsibilities.

But Konohamaru appeared before his long-time friend while Udon and Moegi stood behind him. Having known Naruto since he was a little kid, Konohamaru knew he could always trust Naruto, even though they didn't agree on everything. But even so, he admired his idol.

"But what do we do with those Sound ninjas? I for one do not trust them" he said while crossing his arms. "By looking at them, I could smell Orochimaru's taint within them. Those kids are hopeless, Naruto" he added with a hint of bitterness in his voice.

Naruto showed understanding and nodded his head. "I understand your anger, Konohamaru. And believe me: I still haven't forgiven Orochimaru and Kabuto for their atrocities. However, I won't let hatred guide my way of the shinobi" he explained to him with reason.

Udon and Moegi smiled by hearing this. They knew Naruto spoke with decency towards their sometimes hot-headed comrade.

Konohamaru sighed deeply before eyeing his friend with an approving smile on his face. "I better start taking lessons from you more often…on the psychological part I mean" he jokingly said, causing everyone around them to laugh, much to Naruto's embarrassment. But he brushed it off and focused his attention towards Shino, who was the proctor of the Exam's first phase.

Shino nodded his head before speaking. "They are all waiting to start, Naruto. Shall we begin by introducing you to this year's participants?" he asked while adjusting his sunglasses.

Naruto smirked by hearing this. "You're damn right we are. Let us make those rookies out there realize who they're dealing with. I wanna make every one of them have the same feeling as I had when I took the Exams" he declared.

Ibiki only chuckled in amusement. He always found Naruto to be an exceptional one, considering that he had actually proctored the first phase when Naruto entered the Exams. "Then what are we waiting for? Let's get this show started" he joined in the fun.

Inside the Exam Classroom

While the adults were having their discussion outside, the majority of ninjas inside the classroom interacted with each other, both friendly and not-so friendly. But for Nashiko and her teammates, they were trying to gather some strength after being confronted by this mysterious Noburu Yakushi and his comrades from the Sound Village.

As they sat by one of the classroom's walls, Nashiko could see that the three Sound ninjas were currently sitting by themselves in a corner on the other side of the classroom. It was apparent that they didn't want any attention nor be spoken to, except for jounins that was. She gritted her teeth in anger by looking at them.

"Those cocky bastards, how dare they humiliate me in front of everyone!?" she asked in her head. "The next time we fight, they're dead!" she added to her thoughts.

Shunsuke, who could notice the stress coming from Nashiko eyed her with concern. "Hey Nashiko, are you feeling alright?" he asked her.

The young pinkette snapped in her thoughts and eyes her teammates in a cheerful manner. "Oh, don't worry about me, Shunsuke. I'm doing great" she answered her friend, although her teammates could see her sweating.

Takeda rolled his eyes by seeing this. "If you want to avoid trouble, then quit staring at those creepy freaks! Doing that is more than likely to attract attention!" Takeda pointed out to her.

Nashiko huffed in return, trying not to listen to what he was saying. "I've no idea what you're talking about" she said and looked up towards the roof.

Takeda sighed in annoyance at her behaviour and did the exact same thing. "Whatever you say, drama queen" he said in his head, not wanting to attract Nashiko's anger.

Shunsuke was feeling a bit let down by seeing Nashiko and Takeda having such disagreements. But as much as he wanted to find a solution to them, he didn't want to. He was rather busy on finding out whether he could make it or not in the Exams. What if he were to by any chance fight Inojin? That was something which had troubled him.

Team Ayumu had expressed surprise by what they saw with the Sound ninjas. Chouta had already expressed her concern about how deadly those ninjas could be. But she was helped ease her fears by Shikio.

"Quit worrying about those weirdos, Chouta. Remember, you're a proud member of the Akimichi clan" he encouraged her, even though he wasn't sure if this was the right thing to say.

This made the chubby girl smile gleefully and she nodded her head as a yes. "You're right. Thanks Shikaien" she thanked him. She then turned her head towards Inojin, who for some reason, was not intimidated by those Sound ninjas. "Aren't you at least concerned about what those ninjas might be capable of, Inojin?" she asked him.

The raven-haired boy with ponytail crossed his arms as if he didn't care. But he eyed Chouta with his serious glance. "They might be able to stand long in the Exams. But against us….they have zero chance" he said lowly.

Both Shikaien and Chouta were somewhat lifted when they heard that, even though it sounded both overconfident and dark. They always knew that Inojin was the kind of guy who would never go down without a fight.

"For some reason, I'm starting to look forward to this" Shikaien noted in his head while forcing a smirk on his face.

The ninjas from Mist Village had also taken an interest in those Sound ninjas. Aoi fixed a suspicious look on his face as he studied them, although he didn't necessary stare at them, for that would have certainly caught their attentions.

"Now this is getting interesting. Who would've thought that ninjas from THAT village continued to exist?" he lowly asked his teammates.

Kotone adjusted her glasses while sweating. True, she had a reason for doing so. She felt herself uncomfortable with those Sound ninjas in the classroom.

"Sound ninjas…..they really do look scary" she noted when thinking about what her parents had told her about them.

But what both Aoi and Kotone could notice was that Jurou gritting his teeth as he glared towards the Sound ninjas. He didn't care if staring at people was rude. He was filled with anger once he caught sight of their forehead-protectors.

"What's with him all of a sudden?" Aoi asked in his head, as he didn't get Jurou's angry behaviour.

Kotone however, showed understanding towards her orange-haired teammate. She couldn't blame him for carrying a deep hatred towards everyone associated with the village of Orochimaru.

"Jurou….I understand your anger…..but is it really worth keeping it?" she asked in her head while eying him.

Jurou never took off his gaze at the Sound ninjas. He got worked up that he even tried to restrain himself by holding his arms together in a fold. But it didn't help him with containing his anger. The orange-haired boy was, based upon his behaviour, willing to kill those ninjas, but not in the classroom.

"Orochimaru…you misshaped son of a bitch" Jurou said inside of him. "I will find you….I will find you and skin you alive!" he added to his hateful thoughts.

The Sound Village trio was standing by themselves, with Noburu crossing his arms with his eyes closed. But he opened them, as he could see Yuudai and Rei staring at him, much to his annoyance.

"Is this really necessary of you? You both know how rude it is to stare" he asked them annoyingly.

"Do you think we'll be thrown out of the Exams because of what we did?" Yuudai asked him through his mask.

Noburu adjusted his glasses. "Why do you ask? It really doesn't matter whether we're in or not" he replied lowly to him.

"Don't give us that shitty reply, four-eyes! Unlike you, we actually want to test our abilities" Rei said sternly, as her melancholic gaze never left him.

Noburu ignored his teammates' protests. He had his own reasons for not taking the Exams seriously. The young boy shut his eyes, and both Yuudai and Rei didn't feel like talking to him anymore. But still, the trio could agree that Nashiko and her teammates were nuisances.

The door of the classroom suddenly opened and Naruto and the other observers came in. The participants focused their attentions on him and him alone. The blonde-haired man was smiling as usual to the entire crowd of ninjas.

"I'm sorry if I kept you rookies waiting. I am the one overseeing this year's Chuunin Exams. You probably know me as Naruto Uzumaki, but in this case, you may just call me Naruto for short" he introduced himself, making sure everyone heard his words.

There were small whispers among the crowd with regard to who Naruto was. Many of them were amazed by getting a glimpse of him. After all, Naruto was considered one of the strongest shinobis in the world, on the same level as the Five Kages.

"Now before I continue could Noburu Yakushi, Rei Tsurugi and Yuudai Akado step forward, please?" he called out the names of the three Sound ninjas.

The four-eyed boy and his teammates widened their eyes, but still, went over to face Naruto and the jounins. Most of them had neutral expression on their faces, while Konohamaru had an expression filled with disgust. Yet, they ignored him and focused solely on Naruto.

"We're here. Now what's the matter?" Noburu asked him with a raised eyebrow.

Naruto crossed his arms and fixed a stern look on his face. The three Sound ninjas knew better than to act tough towards Naruto, so they showed respect to him by not challenging him to a fight or anything reckless.

"By the permission of Lady Tsunade herself, you three are now allowed to participate in this year's Chuunin Exams hosted by the Village Hidden in the Leaves" he told them, but he wasn't finished with them just yet. "However, like everyone else coming to our village, you must also abide the laws of participating in the Exams. Thus, we will be watching over you. Is that clear?" he asked them after finishing his strict explanation.

After a moment of silence the three ninjas nodded their heads and surprisingly showed formality by bowing their heads for Naruto, much to his amusement.

"Very well, we accept your terms" Noburu said gently. This satisfied Naruto.

Before Naruto could leave the rest to Shino, he decided to have a look around the classroom. It sure reminded him of his days in the Exams. As he eyed every people, he could see Nashiko standing there with eyes of curiosity. Not wanting to embarrass his daughter in front of the crowd by speaking loudly, he winked at her as a sign of wishing her good luck. The young pinkette was stunned by this. Otherwise, he could see Kotone trying to gain Itachi's affections as her teammates stared at her dispassionately, Kimiko trying to break up a glaring contest between Hisoka and Guy and Ochinko writing something on a paper.

"Alright, it seems that my work here is done for now. I'll see you all later, when the second phase of the Exams commences. And let me assure all of you rookies: it will be different than what we have previously done" he told them loudly before leaving, but not without having a few words with Shino. The man with the sunglasses eyed his long-time comrade. "I'll leave the rest to you, Shino. Make us proud!" he encouraged him.

Shino smirked and nodded his head as an "of course" to his words. Naruto then headed for the exit, leaving the classroom silent. The man with ponytail cleared his throat while eyeing all of the participants strictly.

"All of you may line up against the wall. We want to make sure that teammates won't be sitting next to each other. We will also decide where each of you will be sitting!" he explained and thus all the ninjas rose up to line against the wall. The jounins took their seats in the side-lines. It was almost time for the first phase of the Chuunin Exams.

In the corridor

Naruto was walking in the corridor and was now reflecting over the things he had done just now. Sure, it was tough being the one in charge, but he knew that he was suitable for that job. This made him muse to himself. Eventually he began thinking about his daughter, who he knew possessed determination, similar to her mother.

"Do your best, Nashiko" he said to himself while thinking about his daughter. "I expect you do be more cautious than I did" he added while thinking about his time during the Exams. He realized how ugly that feeling was.

As he continued walking, he stopped once he stumbled upon someone he really was looking forward to see. It was Sasuke. He had just returned from the fields and was now leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. The raven-haired man had obviously been waiting for Naruto, as he had his eyes closed to find rest. Naruto smirked by seeing his long-time friend.

"Hey Sasuke, back from the shadows, I see" the blonde-haired man jokingly said. "I bet you have a lot of question related to your sons" he added.

Sasuke opened his eyes and faced his long-time comrade with his normal glance. "Is that all you have to say to me?" he asked with slight irritation in his voice. "I already know of their teams. Ino told me that through one of her many letters she sent to me" he added.

Naruto raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Woah, slow down, does she seriously send you letters while you're in the fields?" he asked in surprise. He then began laughing. "Now that's rich! I thought those in the ANBU Black Ops were supposed to keep themselves hidden from the ordinary citizens of the Leaf" he remarked.

Sasuke was not impressed by this and looked to another distance. "I honestly don't care what you're saying, Naruto. Now can you please get your shit together?" he asked with a slightly disrespectful tone.

Naruto chuckled innocently. "C'mon Sasuke, give it a rest, will ya?!" he reassured his raven-haired comrade. But he suddenly wanted to speak to Sasuke about something else, but he was suddenly interrupted when Sasuke began speaking first.

"Did you get a glimpse of Inojin and Shunsuke in the classroom?" he asked him. Naruto nodded his head in approval.

"Sure I did! Shunsuke and Nashiko must be looking forward to this. I believe they can sort things out, considering that they are good friends and all" he explained. He then began chuckling when thinking about Inojin. "By the way, I noticed a four-eyed kunoichi was holding onto Inojin. Doesn't that seem similar to what happened between you and Ino when we took the Exams, Sasuke?" he mockingly asked him.

Sasuke frowned and ignored his jab. "I only wanted to know if those boys were doing okay. I never asked for you to help me remember something that happened years ago" he said sternly.

But Naruto wasn't giving up just yet. "C'mon, during that time, nobody expected you and Ino to become a couple…..well perhaps I did" he said while scratching his neck. "But you did eventually end up being together" he added and let out a laughter.

The raven-haired man rolled his eyes at him. "Why do you speak to me about my relationship? The reason I came here was to this building was to let you know of something I discovered during my time in the fields" he explained sternly.

The blonde-haired man nodded his head in understanding. "I see. But I suggest we take that up with Grandma Tsunade back in the Hogake's Residence" he suggested to Sasuke. "But in the meantime, how about you and I hang out? We could do that or…we could go on a double dinner. Our wives would perhaps be interested" he surprisingly asked Sasuke.

He surprisingly smiled at the blonde-haired man in return at him. Even though the charismatic Naruto could be an idiot at times, he was still a valuable friend to him. "I appreciate your offer, Naruto. But now that I've gotten back, I best return home to see Ino. She's my wife and surely she misses company" he said.

Naruto understood Sasuke's decision and he supported him. "I hear ya. In that case, I better see what Sakura is up to in the hospital. It will be a while before I'm needed again, so we have plenty of time to discuss things with Grandma Tsunade" he said with a thumb up.

Sasuke surprisingly nodded in respect to Naruto and took off, waving a hand as he walked towards the exit. Naruto waved back. But as the raven-haired man disappeared from Naruto's sight, he sighed deeply before forcing a smile on his face again.

"Well, time to see what Sakura's up to" he said to himself and took off.

In a conference room

In this room, all the jounins of the various teams were gathered to socialize with each other. There were jounins from various villages, so this was a wonderful opportunity to get better acquainted with different cultures.

Menma was sitting with Ayumu and Kazue. Those three knew each other, and they sat as they got a view of all the jounins inside. It was exciting by their standards.

"Now this is a nice get-together! Who would've thought?" Menma asked as he rested his arms behind his neck. The man with the ponytail could see his comrades were not as pleasant as he was. This made him feel awkward.

Ayumu eyed the various jounins that were in here with calculating eyes. It was apparent that he was searching for someone who might interest him as a jounin. He could see Hideki Sado leaning against the wall with his eyes closed. The black-skinned man didn't want accompany, based on his expression. Ayumu smirked at this.

"So he's here? Well, that's not surprising at all" he noted in his head. "I heard his team did A-Rank Missions pretty good, much like my team" he added while remembering reading their records.

Kazue was sitting on her table with her eyes closed. It was apparent that she was trying to find rest within herself. She definitely had a reason for doing so. Lately, she had expressed concern about whether her team would make it in the Exams. She also understood that the first examiner was Saburou's father: Shino Aburame. But still, she had to put her faith in her students, for she knew that eventually they would grow closer to each other.

"Aren't you too pale to be a kunoichi from the Hidden Leaf Village?" a voice suddenly called out to her. The white-haired woman opened her eyes and got a glimpse of who it was. It was a jounin from the Hidden Mist Village. He wore a bandaged mask around his face, but his mouth, teal eyes and spikey, white hair on his top was visible for everyone to see. He also wore his forehead-protector underneath his hair. An interesting note was that this man also wore bandages on his arms and legs, while wearing a grey tunic vest around him. He carried a blade behind his back, and it was sheathed. The bandaged man smiled. "I thought I had run into a fellow jounin from the Mist, but it seems I was wrong" he said.

Kazue eyed him sternly while Menma and Ayumu only eyed him in confusion, considering that they had never seen him before. The white-haired woman stood on her feet and faced the bandaged man with her strict eyes. The bandaged man wasn't intimidated.

"I suggest you think before judging a book by its cover, stranger. It really helps you when interacting with foreigners" she warned him as her eyes faced the bandaged man.

He only smirked in return. "Why so serious? I was only speaking my opinion of your appearance. That is a normal thing to do for us in the Mist Village" he pointed out to her.

Surprisingly, Kazue smirked too, but she was still getting more suspicious of him. "Aren't you the charming one?" she remarked in return.

The bandaged man bowed his head in respect to Kazue and her fellow jounins, who were starting to find him a bit interesting, given what he just said. They got closer, so they could get a better look at him. "This is probably the first time I introduce myself to teachers from another village. I am Kaito Mizushima, a proud advisor in the Mizukage's court" he said.

Menma chuckled lightly by this. "The Mizukage's court, you say? Now that's original" he remarked. "So I take it you're also here with your team?" he asked the bandaged man, who nodded his head in return.

"Yes, the Mizukage has requested that we Mist ninjas show more flexibility to the outside world" Kaito answered. "And let me assure you Leaf Village bums that my students each have extraordinary talents" he added with enthusiasm.

Menma expressed amusement by hearing this and so did Ayumu. Kazue however, was still filled with suspicion over this man. But this man was perhaps not the one who was the most mysterious of all the jounins gathered in the conference room.

Sitting alone, near Hideki's location, was a Sound jounin. But he was a different one. He had long, black hair that ran across his shoulders. He also had black beard covering his mouth, but the mouth was visible. His choice of dressing was peculiar. It consisted mostly of clothes made of grey fur. It almost functioned like armour to him. But the exceptions were his black sandals and his forehead-protector, which was tied around his forehead. But on another note, it could almost be considered a headband, given the fact that you wouldn't need to tie it.

"This room reeks of filth!" he grunted while surprisingly sniffing in the air, almost like a dog. "Weren't it for the Exams, I would've razed this building to the ground" he added.

His eyes scanned the conference room. He wondered if there was someone who could impress him in a combat. Hideki caught his attention as he was leaning against the wall by himself. This made the strange jounin scan his appearance.

"I wonder if he would be a worthy challenger. I sense…..a hidden strength within that man" he said while pondering about it. But after taking off his glance at Hideki, he soon realized that he wasn't standing there anymore. "What….when did he….." he wondered stunningly.

The Sound jounin looked to both sides to find him, but he was nowhere to be seen. Well that is what he thought. Hideki could actually be found standing behind where the jounin sat and he immediately turned around to face the black-skinned man, who had his arms crossed. The Sound jounin got cautious by this.

"How long have you been standing there?" the jounin asked.

"Is that the first words you come up with? Actually, it is I who should be asking you a question" Hideki pointed out, never taking off his glance at the Sound jounin. "What brings a Sound Village scum to the Leaf Village, anyway?" he asked with no formality in his voice.

"What makes you wanna know? I honestly don't give a rat's ass about what affiliations I belong to" the jounin said in return.

Hideki raised an eyebrow at this. He couldn't believe that despite him coming from Orochimaru's village, he didn't care much about loyalties. But still, he didn't feel like trusting this man completely and that man was without a doubt, a Sound ninja.

"You know, when I first laid my eyes on you, I thought you were a jounin from the Hidden Cloud Village" the jounin suddenly stated, much to Hideki's outrage and anger. But he managed to restrain the anger. Still, the stranger's words did firm the grip on the black-skinned man wrists.

"I thought you just said that you weren't interested in affiliations" Hideki stated sternly. "Is this a common trait you Sound ninjas share? To spread lies and rumours over something that is unrealistic? How sad. I expected no less from someone who kissed Orochimaru's pale ass" he mocked the jounin, who was now growing irritated by Hideki's words.

"Please don't call me that, Mr. Unknown Jounin. To be blunt, it irritates me when someone links me to that disgusting child-molester. And besides, I have a name, as a matter of fact" the jounin asked him to, while starting his introduction. "I am Shinichi Yamauchi, a jounin and a traveller at the same time" he introduced himself while waving his hand in a mockingly manner.

Hideki didn't know whether to accept his greeting or not. However, the black-skinned man only grunted in return before speaking up. "You may call me Hideki Sado. Remember that name, because I may be the one who crush you if you Sound ninjas chose to misbehave during the Exams" he warned him sternly before taking his leave.

Shinichi only watched him leave in amusement. It was apparent that he didn't mind Hideki getting tough on him. He only returned sitting in silence, pretending his meeting with the black-skinned jounin never took place.

"I must say, I'm really good at making friends, especially when it comes to piss people off" he thought with humour. He then remembered his three students in the nearby classroom. "Heh, those brats better behave while we're here. If they get us kicked out, they're screwed" he thought in his head.

Back in the Exam Classroom

Nashiko had been placed in the second nearest front row. She sat between a Grass ninja and Ochinko. To be frank, she felt relieved when she sat beside a friend of hers. But she knew very well that Ochinko would not in the slightest help her with answering the questions. No, she had to do this, on her own way. Besides, Ochinko could now be considered a competitor. The young pinkette looked forward, where Shino was standing by his table in the front of everyone. His strict eyes could not be seen by them, due to his sunglasses.

"I wonder what kind of questions we'll get. Hopefully they won't be as hard as what I've heard" Nashiko thought in her head.

Takeda and Shunsuke sat on different places, spread from Nashiko's. Takeda sat between a Rain ninja and a Grass ninja, while Shunsuke sat between Chouta and Saburou. They also knew that they couldn't rely on the neighbour to give them answers.

"I will explain the details of the first phase of the Chuunin Exams. So my advice to you kids is to clear your ears and shut your mouths" Shino told everyone strictly. This only conformed that Shino was not gonna be a pleasant examiner. "As with the previous times we have had this, the first phase will last in one hour! There will be neither extensions nor delays!" he declared, causing some reaction among the ninjas. But still, they knew better than to argue. "You have all received papers and they contain about 25 questions. Some of them only requires short answers while others requires long answers. And this is what you must do: you must answer them like what real shinobis would" he said when speaking about the papers each of the genins had received.

Nashiko looked through the papers and she could see that some of the questions were easy. However, the majority of the questions were something she had never heard of before. This made her feel a little bit uneasy.

"You gotta be kidding me! How have I NOT heard of those questions?" she wondered in her head. She briefly took a look at Ochinko and he seemed pretty passive with the papers. This made her less uneasy. "Well, they can't be that hard. I mean, Ochinko doesn't seem concerned" she noted in her head.

Shino eyed every ninja in the classroom sternly before speaking up. "Remember now students, I've got my eyes on every one of you, and so does the jounins sitting around you on the side-lines. And if we catch you cheating….then you're disqualified from the Exams" he warned them. "And there's one more thing, if that student is caught cheating, not only is he or she out of the Exams, but the teammates as well" he added and it sent shivers through the students.

Shunsuke widened his eyes at this. "What…..does the whole team get disqualified from the Exams if only one gets caught cheating!? This doesn't look good" he thought in his head. But he was convinced that he could make it, and he would not resort to cheating.

Takeda gritted his teeth in irritation by hearing this. "Damn it! Those guys really are hell-bent on testing us! Shunsuke may not be the smartest, but I know that he knows when to not cheat. But Nashiko on the other hand….damn" he cursed while eyes the pinkette who sat there with her head in confusion.

But some of the other teams had also begun to express concern about this. Chouta could feel his body shake and it made her feel uncomfortable. She hoped that it wouldn't make her stomach grumble, because that would be completely embarrassing.

"Okay Chouta, you gotta keep it together! There's no way back now and I must press onwards, even if the road ahead of me is unknown!" she tried to encourage herself and it helped a little. She definitely didn't want to let down her friends.

Saburou adjusted his sunglasses and eyed his father acting all tough and strict towards everyone. It made him chuckle lightly, because it was his father after all. "I know you're up to something, but I will figure it out. I know you better than everyone else in this classroom" he thought in his head.

Inojin only eyed the papers unfazed. Apparently, he wasn't as concerned as those around him. He was prepared for it. "I better finish this quick" he noted in his head.

Shino pointed his finger towards the other end of the classroom as if it was meant to be everyone sitting before him. "If any of you don't want to waste time by asking me ridiculous and stupid questions…THE FIRST PHASE OF THE CHUUNIN EXAMS MAY BEGIN….NOW!" he declared and it was on.

To be continued…

Author's note: This was chapter 16. Hope you liked it. I will try to make this different from Naruto's time. Actually, I'm thinking of doing the other phases more similar to the Hunter Exams from Hunter x Hunter (Naruto was inspired by Hunter x Hunter). And by the way, here is what I think what voice actors the jounins would have in English. Some of them may be questionable, but it's always worth to state their roles.

Menma Umino – James Arnold Taylor

Ayumu Sarutobi – Nolan North

Kazue Shimizu – Cree Summer

Hideki Sado – Kevin Michael Richardson

Kaito Mizushima – Lex Lang

Shinichi Yamauchi – Scott McNeil