Lionheart: Hey, fans. I've just about reached the 50,000 hit mark. I'm so happy. Thanks for reading everyone. And now I better reply to some of these reviews.

Note: If any of you are interested in Harry potter crossovers, I've just started one, and in my opinion, it's a pretty decent one. Check it out.

Terriestal-angell: HAHA, Hehe I guess it's a good thing I was in a good mood to upload then. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter; I was motivated by your review to try and get this one up fast, which for me is Saturday.

Animeaddict AKA IY luver: Ah, definitely…if you ever note grammar mistakes please feel free to point them out. I'm keeping track of all mistakes and when I finish the story finally I'll be sure to fix all of them. And you couldn't believe how drunken people were…ugh.

To all others: I'm glad you're looking forward to Gaara vs. Naruto. I am too…I am too.

Now…on with the story.

Summary: Long ago, Naruto and Sasuke aspired to become Chuunin, though they miserably failed. Now, after coming back into the past, with a whole new stock of new techniques, they prepare to take the same Chuunin exams. This time, they hope to make some changes.

"Sorry to have kept you waiting," said one of the men, "my name is Ibiki Morino. I'll be your proctor and chief examiner for the first part of the Chuunin exam!"

Smirks and annoyance slid off the faces of most of the Genin, as looks of bewilderment and fear took their places. Ibiki continued his speech, "Let me say this once, so listen up," he shouted. The Genin all straightened and many of the rookies gulped.

"There will be no fighting between candidates. No attacking each other without the permission of your proctor. And…even then, there will be no fatal force used against your opponent. ANYONE who even thinks of messing with me will be disqualified on the spot. Got it?"

Murmurs of consent went around the room, while the sound ninja snorted. "No fatal force huh," repeated Zaku, "how boring. Looks like this test is for little girly men." "Hehe," chuckled Kin and Dosu.

In the back, Shikamaru whispered to Chouji and Ino, "Man this guy is creeping me out. He has those strange scars and everything." "Yeah," agreed Ino, "we better not do anything bad."

Ibiki surveyed the room, and seeing it generally quiet, cleared his throat. "Now…if we're ready, we'll proceed to the first stage of the Chuunin exams. Everyone form seven lines and hand in your paperwork. In exchange you will each receive a badge with a number," said Ibiki, holding up a small block painted with the number zero. "You will immediately report to the seat the number indicates. Once you're all seated, we will begin the written test."

Murmurs went around the rookies and first time applicants. "What, we have to do a written test," repeated Chouji, as chips fell out of his mouth. "How troublesome…it seems yes," replied Shikamaru.

"Heh, teme, this should be easy, since we know what to do already," whispered Naruto to Sasuke. The Uchiha shook his head, 'Naruto…knowing you you'll end up getting caught cheating.'

Minutes later, everyone was seated with a number. Naruto sat near the front, while Sasuke and Sakura sat in the back on opposite sides. The proctors sat in a single row along the walls. They smirked menacingly and tapped their pencils against their clipboards.

Naruto tapped his pencil eagerly waiting for the start of the exam. Behind him, Sakura smirked. 'Ha! I bet Naruto is feeling bummed out, he sucks at written exams. Oh well, tough luck for him.' Meanwhile, Naruto had proceeded to drumming his fingers on the table, humming a weird tune.

"Stop that, brat," commanded Kyuubi, "it's annoying. Why don't you find one of those Chuunin, so you know who to cheat off of? It'd be real nice if you cheated some bum." Naruto scowled as he began searching for one of the Chuunin.

"Hey, dobe, that Chuunin who knows all the answers is right in front of you," pointed out Sasuke, "try not to get caught cheating." Naruto spotted the Chuunin and scowled; angry he hadn't spotted him before. He then chuckled slightly to himself, before replying.

"Aw, teme, you know I'd never get caught. By the way, where are you sitting? There are so many guys in here." "Behind you," replied Sasuke, "to your right. Sakura is on your left."

Their communication was cut short as Naruto heard a soft voice. "Umm, Naruto?" Naruto looked up and to his left and spotted Hinata. 'Oh yeah, he thought briefly, she did sit next to. I wonder why I didn't see her before.' "Hey Hinata," replied Naruto, grinning. Hinata blushed, "Hey…Naruto-kun. I-I j-just wanted to say…good luck…and…and everything."

"Oh, nice, thanks a lot," replied Naruto, causing Hinata to blush even further. The shy kunoichi began to slide down her seat slightly. 'Man,' thought Naruto, 'Hinata is as shy as ever. I didn't even realize she was sitting next to me.'

Meanwhile, Ibiki stood near the blackboard and, deciding everyone was ready, tapped his chalk against the board. "Alright, listen up." All heads immediately turned towards his direction. "There are a few rules you need to be aware of," said Ibiki, "and I won't answer any questions so you'd better pay attention the first time around."

Sakura sweat dropped. 'No questions? What kind of rule is that? It's ridiculous!' "Now," continued Ibiki, "the first rule. He began to write something on the board. When he was finished he turned back towards the class. "The first rule is this…the written part of the exam is conducted on a point-reduction system. Contrary to what some of you may be used to, you all start the tests with a perfect score of ten points. One point will be deducted for each you get wrong. So…if you get three questions wrong…then you're score is seven."

Naruto sighed, 'and if we don't answer a single question, we get zero. Okay, get on with it.' Ibiki tapped the board again, "Now, the second rule. Team will pass or fail based on the total score of all three members." From around the room, moans and exclamations of disbelief could be heard. Sakura pounded her fist on the table, "WHAT?! Wait a second here. You mean to tell me we're scored together…as a team?"

"SILENCE," shouted Ibiki. "Didn't I say there would be no questions? I have my reasons for my rules…you just shut up and do as I say." Sakura sat back in her seat, crossing her arms. 'Reasons? Pfft…'

"Now," continued Ibiki, "if we're done with the outbursts…rule number three. The proctors you see stationed around the room are there to watch you carefully for any signs of cheating. And…for every instance they catch you…they will automatically deduct two points from your total score. So…if you get caught five times, you're out…we won't even consider your test." Disbelief could literally be heard throughout the room as cries of, "What," were heard.

'Sheesh,' thought Sakura, 'The way they have it set up, there's numerous ways to have points deducted.' "Those fool enough to get caught cheating will don't deserve to be here." From a corner Izumo snickered, "I've got my eye on you guys. Two sand Genin in the back began to shiver slightly, almost feeling the Chuunin's eyes on them.

"If you aspire to become Chuunin," continued Ibiki, "then show us. Start acting up to the job." In the back, Sakura tried her best to keep her nerves under control. 'Okay…okay, relax, I know I'm going to do just fine on this test. And Sasuke…well he's not that good at this either, but I'm sure he'll get at least half of them right. So even if Naruto gets a zero and fails, Sasuke's score plus mine should be enough to get us through this."

"Oh, yes, one more thing," added Ibiki, "Should any candidate get a zero and fail the test, then his whole team fails right along with him." Sakura's mouth dropped, 'WHAT'D he say?' Her face fell forward. "CHA! What kind of bull is this? Naruto you'd better get one right!"

"Now, the final question won't be given until three quarters of the way through the exam. You have exactly one hour, and for those idiots who don't know…three quarters of an hour is 45 minutes. You will begin…NOW!"

All the Genin immediately began flipping over their papers. A few began writing, though most began reading. As they read, frustration began to be visible in their eyes. Meanwhile, Sakura took a deep breath and began to give herself a pep talk. 'Okay, Sakura…focus…focus. This is where you show you're stuff. Just don't blow it Naruto…get at least one right.'

Naruto immediately concentrated his focus on the first problem. 'All right, Naruto, this is going to be a cakewalk. Just take your time, and read the problems through step by step. Alright, number one.' Naruto read through the instructions slowly and carefully. It was to decipher a code, and considering his years studying for ANBU, he easily knew what the code was. 'Hehe, I probably don't even need to cheat,' thought Naruto, cockily, before scribbling down the answer. 'HA! Perfect…now, number two.'

Sasuke's voice soon entered his mind, "Hey, dobe, you know what? We can just sit back and relax. It's not necessary to answer any questions, and I'd rather not take the risk of you getting caught cheating when you stumble on a question you don't know. Besides, if we don't put any answers down, then no one can cheat off us, which means, well theoretically, less chance for more competition."

"He's right brat," admitted Kyuubi, though he hated to agree, "Less weaklings the better." Naruto sighed and set down his pencil, "Aww, teme, but I knew the answers." "Baka," replied Sasuke. "Hrm," interrupted Kyuubi, suddenly, chuckling slightly, "actually I want you two to take the test. But I want you to do it by cheating. And you can't get caught. And my second rule…you can't let anyone cheat off you; you'll have to prevent it."

Sasuke and Naruto both sweat dropped, "You've got to be kidding," they said. Kyuubi maliciously replied he wasn't and that if they didn't do what he said, he would never teach another makai jutsu again.

'And I thought the first Hokage stated there'd be no slaves,' thought Sasuke, twitching. "Too bad I'm not a Konoha Shinobi, kids," replied Kyuubi, laughing. Naruto swore at him, and vowed to get revenge. "Fine," replied Naruto, "C'mon teme, let's show Kyuubi how a real Shinobi cheats." Sasuke smirked, 'Sure, Naruto.'

Meanwhile, around the room other Genin began to chew their pencils and grasp their hair. Sakura was among the calmer ones. Although she wasn't concerned for herself, she was quite worried about Sasuke and Naruto. 'Number two,' thought Sakura desperately, hoping it wasn't as difficult as number one. 'Let's see,' she thought, 'Line B in the diagram indicates the trajectory of a shuriken thrown at enemy C by ninja A seated atop a tree seven meters tall. Describe and formulate the trajectory required if enemy C were positioned at points D, E, and F. Also predict the farthest range of the shuriken and explain how you arrived at your answer.'

Sakura thought in her head a bit and came up with the answer. Smiling she made to put the answer down, when suddenly something struck her as odd. She reread the question slowly when it hit her. 'This problem I-is. N-no…all of these problems. These are integrated problems based on the principles of uncertainty,' thought Sakura, 'and require in complex mechanical energy analysis. Incredibly advanced stuff. Naruto can't solve questions of this caliber, it's just impossible.'

Sakura carefully took a look around the room. She could see many of them were struggling. 'There can't be more than a handful of people in this room besides me who even understand this,' thought Sakura, 'how do they expect everyone to answer these?' She took a glance further down the sheet. 'Each problem is harder than the one before,' thought Sakura, beginning to clutch her hair. 'I need to get a very high score if we're even to stand a chance. The way these questions are set up Naruto has no hope, and most others have little hope. It's almost like they…no I can't even think about cheating. I just hope Naruto and Sasuke don't get that idea.'

She suddenly smiled, as she saw Naruto sink his head into his arms, 'Nah, no way. Not even Naruto is that dumb.'

Naruto carefully calculated the vision of each proctor in the room, and estimated the distance he could turn or move, before it was apparent he was cheating. 'All right, here we go,' he thought. "Doujutsu: Kyuubi: Fox Eyes," murmured Naruto. Slowly his eyes turned red and pupil less. He stared at the Chuunin ahead of him, but sadly found he had only begun the second problem.

(A/N: If anyone can give me the Japanese words for fox eyes I'd be very grateful. If not, you'll have to bear with me while I find someone who can. Also if you can come up for some original techniques for Naruto and Sasuke I'd be grateful as well.)

Naruto sighed, and he dropped his head, bored. On the right, Hinata shifted her attention to Naruto, whom she thought had no clue what was going on. 'N-Naruto-kun,' she thought, desperately.

Sasuke, like Naruto estimated the amount of space he could maneuver and turn before he deemed was too much. He then turned slightly to his left, and murmured, "Sharingan." His eyes turned red, and three dots appeared. 'Now, to find a way to cheat off that guy behind me.'

From another corner, Neji slowly tossed down his paper. He sat straight and folded his arms. 'What is this? There is no possible way they can expect us to get any of these even remotely correct.' He stared at his teammates, Lee and Tenten. Only Tenten seemed to be calm, while the green-clad ninja was looking nervous.

Neji groaned and turned back to his paper. He slowly bent forward to read another problem when he heard the tap of a pen. 'Hn, looks like someone just got nailed,' he thought. Neji turned slightly to see proctors everywhere marking their clipboards. He suddenly got suspicious. 'Something's not quite right here. Why are they making such a big deal over cheating…it's like they entirely forgot about the test! And if that's the case, why in hell are we even taking it?'

Neji stared ahead, trying to figure out why he felt so uneasy. He didn't know what it was, but a sudden light bulb went off. 'I see…so that is the reason they only take two points off the entire score, when you're caught. And they expected us to…Hn. How interesting, this entire time, the test was testing our information-gathering skills,' thought Neji. His eyes suddenly seemed strained and appeared as if veins were bulging from them, "Byakugan," he murmured.

Neji turned to a Genin in front of him, and to his surprise he found the answer to all his problems. 'Right in one go,' thought the Hyuuga prodigy, 'Stupid examiner, expecting us to cheat…why didn't he just say so? I wonder if the others will figure it out. This will be interesting.'

Sasuke smirked as he detected a familiar chakra signature. 'So, Neji figured it out already, huh? I better get started too. Sasuke angled his body, and turned his head just enough so that he could see the second Chuunin in the seats out of the corner of his eye, without appearing to be cheating. He immediately began to copy down the Chuunin's answers, word for word. 'Too easy,' thought Sasuke.

Naruto slowly began to tap his feet in boredom, while keeping an eye on the Chuunin's test. When he was finished, Naruto breathed in relief and started copying word for word. Unfortunately Hinata, not knowing of his skills, thought he was merely scribbling in agony.

Meanwhile, across the rooms some of the Genin were finally starting to get the point of the test. Smirks blended in with the frowns, and it was obvious who was stuck. In the center, Dosu closed his eyes and listened to the taps of the person behind him. 'Hmm, judging from the rhythm and frequency…the number of strokes…yes, I've got it. Dosu scribbled down the answer and waited for the next answer.

Nearby, Kiba and Shino were using their pets, and in Shino's case, bugs, to full advantage. "Good one, Akamaru," whispered Kiba as the dog barked out the answer to number three, "now, find number four."

"Well, said Shino, "show me." His fly began flying around in the figure of an eight. "I see, that makes sense," said Shino, writing down the answer. As he sat back, proud he got an answer, another Shinobi copied off him.

Tenten carefully manipulated the strings she had attached to mirrors on the ceiling; turning them so they pointed towards Shino's paper. She easily copied down the answers. Next, she turned her attention towards Lee and Neji. The latter seemed to be doing fine, so Tenten angled the mirrors toward Lee. It was a small cheat thing they had set up…to adjust the headband when you got the message of whatever it was they were messaging to each other. Tenten grinned as she saw Lee adjust his. 'Perfect, we're all done,' she thought.

Behind her, Gaara narrowed his eyes. 'I see,' he thought, as he noticed the movement of the mirrors, 'that's how that girl cheated. Smart.' Gaara wrote down some answer he remembered from his first Chuunin exam, and then realizing he knew no more, raised two fingers to his eyes. 'My turn…I think I'll cheat off Uzumaki,' thought Gaara, who sat two seat behind Naruto. Seeing this, Kankuro sighed in relief, 'Finally, Gaara, you got it. Alright, Karasu, I'm counting on you…and Temari's counting on me.'

'My optic nerve is connected,' thought Gaara, as an eyeball materialized on his hand. Ibiki stared at him, from the corner of his eye. 'Hm, what's this brat up to? Whatever it is, he's doing it perfectly normally…for a rookie he's amazing.' Gaara crushed the eyeball into tiny bits of sand and sent it forward to the guy Naruto was cheating off of. He made some excess sand get into the Chuunin's eye, while he copied down the answers using his third eye.

Meanwhile, Sakura sat back, 'Finally I'm done. That's it…now it's just number ten. Looks like there's still time before we get the tenth question. I hope Naruto and Sasuke are doing…they're writing stuff now. That's a good sign…I just hope Naruto knows what he's doing.' Behind her, a scheming kunoichi suddenly sat up, 'Ah, looks like you're finished Sakura. Just so it's clear, I finally respect that awfully big forehead of yours…it finally came to use. You ought to be honored to be hit with my mind transfer jutsu. Now prepare, Sakura,' thought Ino as she formed a hand signs. 'Here we go. Shintenshin no Jutsu.' (Mind Body Switch Tenchinque.)

Shikamaru and Chouji anxiously watched Ino, breathing in relief when her head finally fell. 'So, Ino's finally done it,' thought Shikamaru, 'it's about time.' 'No one can stop her when she does that astral projection stuff,' thought Chouji.

Ino easily took over Sakura's body and lifted up her sheet of paper. 'Ah, Sakura, 'I hope you don't mind me doing this…not that you could do anything about it anyway. I'll just take a look at these answers…Hehe. Next, I'll possess Shikamaru and Chouji and write down the answers for them.'

Naruto sighed as he threw down his pencil. He had finished the entire test, though he shorthanded everything. 'All right, that's the last of them. Now, just wait for the last one. In the meantime…aughhh, time for a nap.' Hinata, thinking he had given up whispered, "Uh…Naruto-kun." Naruto turned towards her, "Huh?" "Y-you c-can cheat off my test…if you'd like." Naruto blinked, "Huh? Oh no! No thanks Hinata, it's all…" Naruto stiffened as he heard pencil marks behind him, 'Damn, that was me.' "Careless, brat," lectured Kyuubi.

"What? He got caught," asked Sasuke. "It was Hinata, she was talking to me," replied Naruto. "Excuses," pointed out Kyuubi, "but I'll give you a second chance. I'll ignore this incident, mostly because you weren't exactly cheating." "Careful, dobe, we can't screw up, now," exclaimed Sasuke.

"I know, I know, now shut up teme." Naruto left the conversation and turned back to face his paper. "Nah," he whispered to Hinata, "I'm an ace ninja. You don't have to worry about me, and plus I don't want you to get in trouble. That guy behind me just marked me down two points." Hinata blushed, 'H-he cares!' "O-okay, Naruto-kun," she whispered back, much more happily.

Naruto raised an eyebrow at her sudden change of mood, but decided to ignore it. Behind him, Sasuke smirked. Naruto made to lower his head again, when a kunai knife whizzed past his ear and struck a paper of one of the older Genin. He sat up in surprise, and stared up to see one of the proctors pointing in his direction. "What the…what was that all about?" 'Whoa,' thought Naruto, 'this guy sucks. To think he would actually cheat off me, by standing up.'

"That's five strikes and you're out," replied Izumo, who was standing. "I-I…" "You fail," interrupted Izumo, "take your team and get out of here right now." The shocked Genin stood still in denial while his teammates stood up. Neither looked happy. "I-I'm sorry…guys," he said, mournfully, as they walked out.

"Twenty seven…failed," said a bored looking proctor. "Forty three…thirty nine, both failed, said another. "Thirty five," said Izumo slowly, "and sixty-five…failed," he said, smiling." "Twenty-two and sixty three…take your teams and get out," said another. Kabuto looked up from his test, 'That's already thirteen teams they failed.' Around the room disappointed teams stood up. Some walked out willingly, others by force. "NOOOO, I didn't do anything," shouted a Konoha Shinobi, who was dragged out by his teammates.

A sand ninja who had just failed stood up. "Hey, this is ridiculous, I wasn't cheating. Where's your proof? And even if I was…how can you watch so many of us at once, it's…"

He was interrupted as an elbow forcefully knocked him back into a wall. "Hn let's get this straight right now…and this goes for everyone." said the proctor. Around the room, many Genin sweat dropped and gulped. "We proctors are an elite group. We were chosen for this duty because we miss nothing! We don't make mistakes like that. You got that…you can't even blink without are seeing it. So get the hell out of here right now." Gaara shook his head, 'Poor idiot. What a disgrace to the name of sand.' 'Huh, fool,' thought Sasuke.

"Uh…hey!" Every head swiveled to see Kankuro, who had a hand raised. "May I go to the bathroom?" Before anyone could reply, Karasu, disguised as a proctor stood, "Sure." He chained Kankuro and led him out, "we go with to make sure you're not up to anything." Kankuro smiled, "That's perfectly understandable." As he went out Gaara nodded to him, and Temari gave him a look that said, 'You'd better give me the answers or else.'

Bathroom

"Security is pretty tight around here. But these proctors aren't as eagle eyed as everyone makes them out to be. They haven't even noticed there's been one extra proctor this whole time…right Karasu? Now give me the answers…starting with number one."

Academy Meeting Room

Kakashi, Asuma, and Kurenai sat in luxury staring at a clock. All three were bored out of their minds. "Wow," said Kakashi, leaning back, "Now, that our students are preoccupied with tests, we're free to do as we please. I never realized how boring it would be…nothing to do."

Asuma shrugged, as he calmly smoked a cigar. "True, but we'll be busy again before you know it. But actually…I kind of feel sorry for the Genin taking the tests this year," said Asuma.

Kakashi looked up, "Why?" "Word is," said Asuma, "this year's chief examiner is Ibiki Morino." "Hn," said Kakashi, with a chuckle, "so it's that sadist. I wonder if they'll even pass the first exam?" Kurenai turned to Kakashi, surprised. "Sadist?

"You a newbie to the jounin elite," replied Asuma, "so you have no way of knowing." Kurenai blinked, "Why? What's he like?" Asuma puffed out a ball of smoke, "He's a pro. A pro's pro." Kurenai blinked again, "A pro at what?"

Asuma smiled, "Torture and Interrogation." Kurenai sweat dropped, "You're kidding?" "Nope," replied Kakashi, "undoubtedly right now in that exam room, our students are going through the pains of mental torture. That guy was once an ANBU captain and he's famous for not using brute force to squeeze out answers, but mental torture. They are probably going through some kind of agony right now," said Kakashi.

"Ibiki plays upon the human heart, drawing out a person's weaknesses to the surface," said Asuma. "He then plays upon that weakness until you crack. It's what makes him famous as an interrogator…and now our students are going right through it."

Five Minutes Later (The classroom)

As most of the Genin finished up writing in answers or cheating last minute, Ibiki walked up to the front of the classroom, 'Hm, I think we've weeded out all the pathetic ones.' "Alright, listen up, forty-five minutes have passed and I will now give you the final question. Get ready for it."

Every Genin began to sweat uncontrollably, unable to handle the tension. "However, before we start," said Ibiki, "I'm going to add one more rule." The whole class gulped and a few brave souls even muttered, "What?" "I said, I'm adding…"

'CREEEEAAAK.' Ibiki stopped talking as the doors suddenly opened. Kankuro stood in the entrance, with Karasu behind him. He was suddenly aware that everyone was staring him. "Umm…I'm back," he said uncertainly. Ibiki chuckled, "What luck, is seems the time you've wasted playing with dolls hasn't been completely wasted." Kankuro twitched, 'D-does he know about Karasu?' Ibiki pointed the seats, "It's okay, take a seat now."

Kankuro nodded and began to walk forward. As he passed Temari, he inconspicuously dropped a small wad of paper on her desk, folded multiple times. Temari sighed in relief and discreetly began copying down answers.

"Now, I will explain the new rule. Listen up because this rule is absolute…it is more important than any of the three previous rules I've given." Neji and Gaara both sighed, 'Get on with it,' they thought. Sakura leaned forward, tense. She had fallen asleep or something, but she had found herself on the desk, with no recollection of sleeping. 'An absolute rule? What…'

"First," continued Ibiki, "you must decide whether you want to take or reject the tenth questions. The Genin all had stunned looks, save for Naruto and Sasuke. Some, believing Ibiki had made a joke, laughed. "This is no joke," shouted Ibiki, "you will choose whether you accept or reject the question."

Temari stood up, "Choose? What difference does it make? And what happens if someone refuses?" Ibiki glared at her, "I was getting to that. Now, if you choose to reject the tenth question, then you will automatically fail along with your entire team…just like those who got caught cheating five times. We won't even consider your paper."

Many of the Genin choked. "What," shouted Temari, "then why would anyone reject it? That's a stupid question. I bet everyone here accepts." Many of the Genin nodded. Ibiki smiled, "Oh, I wouldn't jump the gun yet. There's one other condition." Sakura threw her hands up in frustration, 'what could be worse than failing the test. What else could he add?'

"If you choose to accept the question," said Ibiki slowly, making sure everyone caught his words, "and you fail to answer the question correctly…then you automatically fail the test." Stunned looks went back on the Genin's faces again. Temari shook her head, "But either way, it's still the best course of action to accept. Failure is the worst thing that could happen either way." Ibiki shook his head, "Wrong! Those who fail to answer correctly will never be able to apply to be a Chuunin again."

From around the room, stunned faces turned into ones of absolute horror. Kiba suddenly leapt up, "You can't be serious," he shouted, pointing. "There are ninja here who have sat for more than one exam. We know there are!" Ibiki chuckled, "Too bad I wasn't making the rules back then. Maybe if I had been there'd be less ninja here…if some of you can even consider yourself ninja." Kiba sat back down, wondering what to do. Even Neji, who had been calm, was now slightly shaken up.

Sakura's mouth dropped, 'Talk about a no win situation. If we reject the question we automatically fail along with our team. And then…if you accept and answer wrong, then you're stuck as a Genin forever. No sane person could easily make that choice. Heads you win…tails we lose.'

"Well, you all seem to be considering the conditions based on your silence," noted Ibiki, "well that's good then. Let's begin the weeding out process. Those who choose to reject the question, raise your hand now. Wait until your number and teammate's number have been confirmed and then you may leave."

Around the room, Genin stared at one another as if the other could give some advice. Thoughts like, 'What kind of stupid question could it be,' 'If I reject, they'll have to suffer for my lack of guts,' and 'Stuck as a Genin forever…' were the most common thoughts.

Sakura stared at Naruto, who still had his face buried in his hands. The kunoichi thought he was losing it, 'Poor Naruto. I know I will have no problem getting this problem right. The worst consequence for me is I'll have to wait half a year. But Naruto…Sasuke…you two are different. If you fail, you'll be stuck as Genin forever…maybe it would be best to try again next time, after some more studying.'

Sakura was lost in her own world as around her, ninja finally cracked and rejected the question. To her surprise neither Sasuke nor Naruto would budge. 'Naruto,' thought Sakura, 'you're always going on about Hokage-this, Hokage- that. You're like a broken record with that dream of yours…but I don't want it taken from you forever. All right, I'm going to raise my hand.'

Meanwhile, up front, Naruto was watching through his hands as people stood up. He was interrupted by Sasuke, "Hey NARUTO! Quick! You remember that little shout-out you did the first time. You know when you raised your hand and started ranting about your Shinobi way?" Naruto scowled, "HEY! TEME! I wasn't ranting." "Okay, dobe, whatever just do it again. Sakura's about to raise her hand, I can see it in her eyes."

Without reply, Naruto immediately shot his hand up. Sakura stopped her hand in midair, and placed it down, 'You're going to reject Naruto,' she thought disbelievingly. Ibiki turned to regard Naruto, 'You reject?'

Naruto paused and then, looking up smashed his hand down, startling everyone in the room. "HELL NO! You bring on your damned question; cause I don't quit and I definitely don't run. Even if I fail…I'll still become Lord Hokage. I won't run away from this test…that's the coward's way out. I'm going to be a Chuunin so BRING IT ON!" Silence followed Naruto's speech as everyone stared at him.

Ibiki, who had been startled, regained his composure. The other proctors continued to stare at Naruto, as if disbelieving his sudden nerve. 'Nice one, Naruto-Kun,' thought Lee, giving a thumbs up. 'Hn…he's got guts all right,' thought Sakura, with a smile. She no longer had any intention to quit.

"I ask again," said Ibiki, looking at Naruto, 'this decision could affect the rest of your life. Will you reject the question? If you have any doubts…quit now while you still have the chance." Naruto stood up defiantly, "I never go back on my word. Cause that's my Shinobi way."

Around the room, the Genin no longer appeared nervous. Inspired by Naruto's shout out, they each stared ahead proudly, not even considering the risks of failure. Ibiki took a glance at each face and immediately noticed the change. 'Incredible…seventy-eight of them are still here. And no more will quit now after that burst. An incredible kid; to have dispelled his own fears along with everyone else's is no simple task.' Ibiki turned to each of the proctor's who all nodded.

'Right,' he thought, 'no need to draw this out any longer.' "Good choice," said Ibiki, as every Genin leaned forward, ready. "And now, for everyone still here…" Ibiki suddenly grinned, "You just passed the first exam."

Lionheart: well my fans, I think I'm going to call it a day with that. Stay tuned for the weekend installment and enjoy.

Edit: Saw some incomplete sentences so i made some edits. thanks for all the reviews.