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

Chapter 18: Hellish Exams Part 2

In the Exam Classroom

The atmosphere in the classroom was that of seriousness. As some of the students were scrambling to finish this written test, the first phase of the Chuunin Exams was nearing its end. A lot of students had been caught cheating by the proctors and it made the mood stricter. All eyes were briefly on Shino, who was eyeing them as if he had control over them.

Nashiko had just written down the papers and she was sweating. It was obvious that she was getting tired of writing on the papers. But regardless of that, she had to answer the questions, one way or another.

"Alright, everyone, the time's almost up. But for those of you who have managed to answer all the tests, here's an extra one for you" Shino suddenly called out to them and all the students snapped at what he said. Shino surprisingly smirked at them all. "As I said, those of you who are done with the tests may want to answer this bonus test, considering the fact that it gives you twenty points up" he revealed smugly.

Nashiko's eyes widened after hearing what he said. "Twenty points? But what is that bonus test about anyway?" she wondered in her head.

Takeda grumbled while eyeing his papers. "What a pain. Half of my answers might not be sufficient enough and then there's this bonus test coming up now" he complained in his head.

Shunsuke was sweating while reading through his answers. Surprisingly he had used the signature ability from her mother's clan well. After all, Inojin was a better user on that jutsu than him. "I got it! I ow it all to you, mom" he remarked while reading through the answers.

It was obvious that Shino was not intending to tell the student what this bonus test was all about, and it caused frustration among them. They all wanted to pass the first phase so badly. But they knew that the next phase would be on a different level than this.

Time flew and all the students who still struggled with solving the bonus test conceded in defeat. Even though they had answered the twenty questions, they still wanted to find out about the bonus test. But even so, they had to quit now.

Nashiko was sighing in defeat over this and hoped that all her hard work would not be for nothing. She didn't want to let her friends down. She could briefly hear Ochinko beside him touch his papers. Maybe he had managed to find out the answer.

"Everyone, stop writing and leave your papers as they are! The first phase of the Chuunin Exams is hereby over!" Shino made the declaration and everyone did as he said. The man with the sunglasses rose up from his seat and made sure to eye every student sitting on their desks. "Now there was this bonus test I gave to those who felt like they needed a challenge and here is what it's about. You all pass" he randomly said with a smirk, sending shockwaves through the students.

"WHAT THE HECK!" Nashiko, Shunsuke and Takeda wondered loudly in her heads, completely dumbfounded

Saburou only stared at his father with a raised eyebrow, hinting that he didn't get a clue of what he was talking about. "What did he mean by….wait a second…he can't possibly mean..." he suddenly came to a realization.

Shino surprisingly chuckled in front of the students before clapping for them in a sarcastic way. "I bet some of you have figured it out, but I'll tell you anyway. You see, the bonus test was to see whether you could sit on your place, shut up and trying not to do anything reckless or stupid. By that, I mean by either cheating by looking into others' papers or doing something annoying with your pencils, feet or even your mouths. Fortunately, none of you made a noise" he revealed to them all.

This caught everyone by surprise. The bonus test was all about testing their ability to stay in the classroom until the first phase ended. And the majority of them succeeded in doing so, including Nashiko. She smiled with confidence to herself.

"And before you leave, let me show you something very interesting" Shino said and suddenly stretched his arms to each side. Out of his sleeves, large chunks of bugs sprouted out, much to someone's disgust. There were even some bugs crawling on his face. "I did tell you that I would have my eyes on every one of you sitting here. Well, these have been my many eyes in the classroom" he told them.

Inojin widened his eyes when he noticed a small bug flying above him. "What? How long have that thing been floating above me?" he wondered.

Shikaien could notice some bugs crawling from a crack on the floor and. It made him surprised. "I don't believe it. Has this guy seriously used his bugs to spy on us?" he wondered in disbelief and took a brief glance at Saburou. "I wonder if Saburou noticed that there were small bugs crawling around here, but even so, he wouldn't tell me anything" he added.

"Woah…..that explains how he was able to catch those cheaters red-handed" Chouta remarked while noticing some small bugs crawling underneath her desk.

"You have all done a wonderful job here, rookies. But the end is still far beyond the horizon. So my advice to all of you is to use what knowledge you have earned while being here in the classroom" Shino surprisingly said to them. The students didn't know how to react to this, but they accepted his advice regardless. "All of you may leave the papers as they are and walk out of this building. But you may have to wait a while before Naruto arrives. Until then, good luck" he told them and motioned for all the students to leave the classroom. One by one, they exited, hoping to continue on to the next phase.

½ hour later, outside the building

The large gathering of students who managed to pass the first phase were standing patiently outside and waited for someone to announce the next step. People were getting tired, especially since they had sat on their butts writing for an hour.

Nashiko and her team had gathered themselves while watching their fellow genins standing in the crowd. They didn't expect so many to pass the written tests, but then again, it was only the beginning.

"So this is it huh? The second phase of the Chuunin Exams" Shunsuke remarked while eyeing all the students gathered. "I'm glad we're still together. All of us have done well so far" he said to his comrades while commending them.

Nashiko smiled sweetly at him in return, making him almost blush with embarrassment. "Of course we have, Shunsuke. And I am confident we'll make it through the second phase, don't sweat it!" she exclaimed her enthusiasm while winking at the black-haired boy.

Shunsuke's cheeks reddened after seeing her do that. True, he often admired how optimistic and outspoken Nashiko couuld be sometimes.

"Her face…..she's so…." Shunsuke was in his own world, admiring Nashiko's beauty and confidence.

But Takeda was not feeling all cheerful as his teammates were. He and Arata could feel that the second phase would be much challenging to them than what the written test did. He hoped his teammates would come to understand that. The brown-haired boy glanced at them with his cautious look.

"We shouldn't celebrate our victory just yet. Heck, we don't even know what the next phase is about" he explained to his teammates.

Shunsuke nodded his head in understanding. "You're right, Takeda. We better watch our backs" he agreed with his friend's advice.

Nashiko however, only huffed in return, not showing any interest in what Takeda just said. "You really are boring sometimes, Takeda" she thought while staring at him annoyingly.

Takeda noticed her stare and shifted the tone of his voice. "Look, I'm not saying this to be discouraging or anything, but we have to be prepared for what comes next" he insisted, while specifically eying the pinkette.

Nashiko fixed a slight smile at him after hearing that. She didn't answer, only weakly nodding her head in reply to his statement.

Team Kazue was getting bored waiting, but they used what time was possible to congratulate one another. Ochinko and Minami could see that Saburou was feeling a little bit let down, but not in a sad way. It was obvious that he was kind of irritated that his own father had managed to fool him easily during the first phase.

"I've never felt so humiliated in my life" he lowly grumbled when commenting about his father.

Minami only faced him with a curious look on her face. The blonde-haired boy only ignored her. "And I thought my dad was the only douche in town. Your father was a control-freak while we were in the classroom" she said to him, with Riko barking in agreement.

Ochinko laughed with his friends. "Either way, we all did great in there. I wonder what the next phase is about. What do you guys think?" he asked his teammates while complimenting them.

"Search me" Saburou replied, indicating that even a brainy like him didn't know.

"We'll just have to wait and see, Ochinko. But I believe we can stand up to whatever it is" she said while expressing her confidence. Ochinko smiled in return while Saburou only eyed the ground while to begin thinking.

Meanwhile, the trio of Sound ninjas had good patience while waiting for the next to come. But unlike many other teams, they spoke of how boring the first phase of the Exams was. Rei felt especially bored by it.

"Truth be told, the tests were kind of….boring for my taste" Noburu expressed his thoughts to his teammates. "But still, I think the first phase was descent enough" he added to them.

"Are you kidding me? Sitting on our asses for hours in a classroom was boring as hell!" Rei exclaimed while yawning. "If the next phase is about something like that, I'm out!" she said, hinting her desire to try something else in the Exams.

Yuudai only faced her with his mask. "Perhaps it wasn't what you expected it to be, eh Rei?" he asked with a hint of humour in his voice.

"Shove it, gasman!" Rei insulted his teammate's choice of attire. "I don't need lecturing from the likes of you!" she then added.

Yuudai only crossed his arms with dissatisfaction, although a slight laughter could be heard from him. "Woah, you sure seem cranky now, Rei. Did someone fall for your so-called "attractive" looks?" he mockingly asked her.

The black-haired girl fixed an angry expression on her face and flipped her middle finger at him. "Bite me, asswipe! If we weren't teammates, I would've fucked you up until there was nothing left of your!" she stated with anger rising in her voice.

Yuudai felt offended by that. "Did you just call me asswipe? Why, you're a bad-tempered, bitch with no sense of humour!" he hit back.

Both Yuudai and Rei stared at one another with angry eyes, while Noburu only sighed annoyingly with watching their childish bickering. "Those damned morons" he thought with great disapproval.

All chatterings were ceased once they could hear a large clapping sound coming from behind. They all turned around to see Naruto, accompanied by, Shikamaru and the jounins from the classroom, including Anko and Ibiki. They also started to clap their hands. This was mostly done to express their congratulations for their efforts in the classroom.

"Congratulations everyone, you have passed the first phase of the Chuunin Exams!" he declared while praising them. He then stopped clapping and shifted a serious expression on his face. The students could tell that he was about to reveal the second phase of the Exams. "But now that we're closing that chapter, we're opening a new one. By that I mean: it's time for the second phase of the Chuunin Exams!" he declared while raising a V-sign in the air with his fingers.

While the majority of the students shouted praises, Nashiko was technically not so amused by her father's gesture. This made it possible for Takeda to take a jab at her, while Shunsuke only chuckled nervously at what he saw.

"Gee, your dad sure has charisma, Nashiko" Takeda mockingly told her while eyeing Naruto.

"Just shut up" Nashiko replied, not even looking at her teasing teammate.

But Naruto cleared his throat, as he was about to reveal something exciting and stunning at the same time. "Now before I left you to Shino, I did promise that the second phase would be very different. And it will be. You see, what I especially love with the second phase…is that it doesn't actually take place here in the Leaf Village!" he revealed, sending shockwaves throughout the crowd. He only grinned by seeing this. "A lot of you became shocked, I see. Well that's great! Because you rookies may not know where that place is, but we will travel there. Not by foot that is" he came up with another revelation.

"We must travel to a place outside the Leaf Village!?" Chouta asked while freaking out. "Please tell me that this place isn't similar to the thick forest Ayumu-sensei took us to!" she added while gulping.

Shikaien narrowed his eyes at her, while Inojin closed his as if he didn't listen to her. The dark blonde-haired boy tried once again to calm his chubby friend down. "C'mon Chouta, that forest we were in wasn't that scary" he said.

Chouta gulped before facing her friend. "Not that scary, you say? It was freaking terrible, I tell ya!" she hit back, making Shikaien sigh in annoyance.

"Why do I even try?" he wondered while seeing her chubby friend's antics.

Ochinko meanwhile, widened his eyes after hearing Naruto's words. His teammates expressed confusion at his behaviour.

"Something wrong, Ochinko?" Minami asked him curiously.

"What Master Naruto just said, he said we wouldn't be travelling to that place by foot" he stated and closed his eyes. "That can only mean one thing" he suddenly spoke up again.

"What do you mean by that?" Saburou asked, starting to find this a little bit interesting. "How do you know?" he added another question.

Ochinko eyed him with a smile. "Well, I have my father to thank him for that" he said and he suddenly turned around and looked up in the sky. As did is teammates.

Eventually, all the students turned around and focused their gazes up in the air. Their eyes widened with surprise. What they saw in the air, was a large blimp with the Leaf Village's symbol attached to it on both sides. It slowly began descending towards them, as the area below was very open and had no trees.

"What the…..what is that?" Kotone asked in awe while holding her glasses.

Aoi chuckled at his teammate's surprise. "That, my four-eyed friend, happens to be a blimp. But it's not just any ordinary blimp based on its design" he stated while expressing interest in the blimp's structure.

Jurou only took a brief glance at the blimp before focusing his attention somewhere else. He wasn't necessarily as surprised as his teammates were. But he eventually fixed his eyes on the Sound ninjas, something which made his eyes filled with anger.

"You also passed the first phase. Good, because this time, I will get my hands on you" he thought in his head.

Naruto smirked while seeing how interested the majority of the rookies became over the blimp. "Behold one of the Hidden Leaf Village's mechanical joy and pride! I was granted the honour of naming it" he revealed to them. "I named it, Jiraiya's Wisodm, in honour of my late godfather and teacher" he said while closing his eyes to think about the old man, who had made Naruto both irritated and happy at the same time.

As the blimp landed on the grassy ground, the door to the sides opened and out a squadron of ANBU members and jounins came out. They were led by none other than Ochinko's father, who himself was a long-time member. It was the pale-skinned man named Sai. He and his squadron stood before the entire crowd of students and greeted them with his gentle smile. His son only eyed him with wondering eyes.

"Good afternoon, students. I'm the captain of this blimp's security forces. But all of you may call me Sai" the black-haired man greeted them while introducing himself. He then opened his eyes while continuing smiling. "I see that you've been waiting for us to show up. Sorry to keep you waiting" he added with formality in his voice.

Ochinko could only eye his father standing before the crowd greeting them. "So it's true then. Father is working on the airship as its security" he thought in his head. "No wonder why mother wouldn't tell me anything" he added.

"Hey Ochinko, isn't that man your dad?" Minami asked him and he faced her to confirm it.

"The one and only" he gently replied.

Naruto and his associates stepped through the crowd to meet up with Sai and his team. The blonde-haired man smiled when seeing his long-time friend, who had previously been a member of Team Kakashi. Sai and his men bowed to Naruto with formality, much to his amusement.

"It's good to see you again, Sai. Been a while since we last talked, huh?" he asked the pale-skinned man, who smiled in return at this.

"Likewise, Naruto" he replied before changing the subject. "I guess we better start boarding the passengers behind you. Who knows, boarding usually takes an hour or more" he added while looking over Naruto's shoulder.

Naruto nodded his head in return. "I'll make sure we're on schedule. The moment they are given their rooms, they will head straight to the main hall" he assured his friend. Sai showed understanding of his statement.

Naruto, Shikamaru and the other jounins turned around to face all the students standing behind them. They all got closer to hear what the leaders were about to say.

"All of you rookies are to board this blimp, as quick as you can. Don't slow down everyone else" Shikamaru called out to them. "You will each be given rooms where you will stay for the night, because this journey will be long" he then revealed.

The students couldn't believe what they were told. They were actually gonna be given rooms to sleep in while staying on the blimp. But it was only for one day, as they would exit it the next day, whatever place they landed on.

"All you heard what Shikamaru said. Now line up as teams and you will each be given a key to your room by Sai and his comrades. They will be the security on this blimp while we're on-board, so do not misbehave or anything" he told them while motioning the students to start a line. "After you're given the keys, meet us at the blimp's main hall. Then you we'll tell you where specifically the second phase of the Chuunin Exams will be held at" he further explained the details.

Inside the blimp named Jiraiya's Wisdom, main hall

Up in the skies, the blimp was floating through the clouds in a fast pace. The sun was about to go down and it could only mean one thing. The evening was near. The blimp was known to have many rooms, but in this case, all people were gathered in just one room.

In this room a large screen was switched on and on the stage, Naruto and the other jounins stood there eyeing all the students before them. Naruto was the one in the middle and he tapped his microphone before speaking up.

"Welcome aboard "Jiraiya's Wisdom", rookies! I trust that you have found your rooms and made yourselves at home. But don't get all confident, it only lasts one day" he said with humour in his voice. "But for now, I will now leave the rest of the explanation to the examiner of the Chuunin Exam's second phase! So please welcome: Konohamaru Sarutobi!" he declared and clapped his hands for his long-time friend.

Konohamaru received the microphone from Naruto, who patted his shoulder in encouragement. The brown-haired man grinned cheekily in return. He then eyed the rookies before him. "Welcome to hell, rookies! If you wanna back out now, feel free to jump off the blimp" he jokingly declared, much to the students' outrage.

"You gotta be kidding me! This nutjob is related to Ayumu-sensei!?" Shikaien wondered in his head.

"He must be Ayumu-sensei's cousin. I remember how he talked about his family for only a brief moment" Chouta noted in her head.

Konohamaru coughed before changing the subject. "Okay, let's put the comedy aside for now. As Naruto said before, you will only stay on-board this blimp just one night. For tomorrow, you'll be heading for THE harshest place in the Land of Fire" he explained to them all and pointed his hand towards the screen.

The screen suddenly showed them a picture of a chain of mountains where the snow covered their tops, greenery covered their lower parts. They were also located on an island that almost resembled an archipelago. Truth be told, the picture was fascinating.

Konoharmaru smiled after seeing so many surprised looks and it amused him. "Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you, the Train Mountains!" he declared with enthusiasm in his voice. "It was once considered a territory of the nearby Land of Whirlpools, which unfortunately does not exist today. Thus, its ownership has been given to the Land of Fire" he explained.

Nashiko widened once she heard the name of that country. "The Land of Whirlpools…I remember dad telling me about this place once" she thought. "I wonder what's so special about it" she wondered while eyeing her father.

Kotone adjusted her glasses and was in deep thought after she heard Konohamaru mentioning this country. She knew all about that country's history, especially since her mother's clan was originally from that said country.

Konohamaru cleared his throat. "But enough of that! What you're gonna do there is simple" he told them loud and clear. "All of you will be working together as teams and remember, this time, all other teams are now your enemies, even if that team is from the same village as you" he revealed to them with seriousness. "Therefore, you now have full permission to engage combat with each other, but for only one reason specifically" he further explained.

Nashiko widened her eyes after hearing Konohamaru's words. She couldn't believe that she would have to fight some of her friends to pass this test. But she had remembered her parents telling her about how they did the test in the so-called Forest of Death.

"So this is where we are allowed to fight, huh?" she wondered in her head. Suddenly, her face changed into that of a mischievous one. "Then that means. This is my chance of testing my abilities against Inojin! And Guy and that four-eyed redhead! And…those Sound ninja jerks" she suddenly exclaimed gleefully inside, confirming her excitement for this test.

Suddenly, Konohamaru held up a small key with his fingers. He made sure that everyone could see it, and to help those with bad sight, the screen behind him showed them the key he held. It was a small brown key made in metal.

"Your objectives in the second phase are simple. Somewhere on this island lies a ruined city that contains a large spire. And it is in that spire where the finish of this test is. But to enter it, or the ruined city for that matter, you must have only ONE key like this" he explained to them while showing the key. "The one I'm holding right here is only a copy to show you all how it looks like. But there are about ten keys lying on the Train Mountains and all of you must race to catch one. They could be anywhere, from the snowy tops, to the lush jungle, or even inside the mountains" he further explained. "The moment you have discovered a key, you must hold onto it at all costs. Remember what I told you just now. All of you are allowed to engage combat with one another, and the only reason, is for you to steal a key from your competitors" he concluded.

Suddenly, Shikamaru stepped beside Konohamaru to reveal a few details and Konohamaru was more than happy to allow him to do so. "Just to inform you rookies, there will be ANBU watchers scattered around the island. They will act as our eyes and ears and can reveal to us whenever you try something horrible, like deserting the Exams for something else" he told them sternly. "And as Konohamaru said, there are only ten keys. Therefore, only ten teams can enter the ruined city or better known to some geniuses as Shimbala" he revealed to all the students.

His son Shikaien only eyed his father lazily before yawning. This indicated that he was tires of hearing his father acting all serious and stuff. However, he did express interest in that ruined city Shikamaru mentioned. "I guess this could be fun…..but that depends on how it will end" he said in his head. But he knew that his team could do well in this test, especially with Inojin. The dark blonde-haired boy turned his eyes briefly to face his raven-haired teammate, who was only listening to this as if he didn't care. "However, I really hope Inojin won't allow himself to be taken over by the bloodlust again….just what happened many days ago" he hoped while watching him.

Konohamaru took the stage again after Shikamaru's brief explanation. "Thank you for sharing this with us, Shikamaru" he thanked the man with black ponytail and goatee, who only smirked in return. He then faced the audience. "Now as we look back to what I have told you, you may know what the deal here is. To pass the second phase, all you gotta do is search the island until you find one of these keys. However, Shimbala lies somewhere hidden on this island, so it could take a couple days of finding it. But still, you must protect your key at all costs, because that's the only thing that gives you entry to the city and eventually the spire" he told everyone while trying to make everything sound simple as possible.

The screen suddenly changed and it showed them of a large cliff on one of the Train Mountains. This cliff has surprisingly a long bridge that functioned as a dock to the blimp. It stretched long from where it was built on.

"This will be the place where we'll drop you off" Konohamaru informed them while eyeing the screen. "Once you're there you can either chose to go up north to the snowy tops, or go south to the tropical jungle. But let me assure you rookies, both places have dangerous beasts, plants and disasters, so it's pointless to find out which path is the safest. Frankly, the whole island itself is dangerous, even in Shimbala" he informed them of the different places that existed on the islands. "There's even a third route and that goes along the cliffs, but I would not recommend it, at least you're up for rockslide, that is" he added while chuckling.

Suddenly Naruto took to the stage again, and this meant that the explanation was over. "Alright, you all know the details. Tomorrow we'll undergo the rules one more time before we send you off. But as I feel the winds outside now, it's getting darker. Therefore, I suggest you all get some well-deserved sleep for your efforts. Now return to your rooms! Dismissed!" he declared and all the students rose from their seats and headed for their rooms.

On her way to her team's room, Nashiko could only think about what challenges they were up against. Some of them were challenges they had not faced before. But she felt a hand touch her shoulder and it was Shunsuke who did so. He smiled at her with confidence, just as she had done.

"I'll think we can handle that" he said, although he fought to not make his cheeks red by looking at Nashiko's curious face.

The pinkette's face formed into that of a smile. "Thanks for helping in reminding me, Shunsuke. You're a valuable friend to me and Takeda" she explained, making Shunsuke chuckle nervously.

Takeda, on the other hand, only closed his eyes while forcing a smirk on his face. Arata barked with excitement. It was obvious that they were also looking forward to the second phase.

To be continued…

Author's note: That was chapter 18. The next will be about the beginning of the second phase. I admit that I borrowed Shimbala from the Uncharted-games. I was inspired by them to make this island.