Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, Slayers, Ranma 1/2, Xenogears, Magic: The Gathering, or any David Weber characters.

All criticism is welcome, however, if you are going to try and flame me, at least be original. There are only so many times you can be told, "You Suck!!" before it gets boring.

A/N: I suppose I should have warned that I'm not quick to update anything, mostly because I'm not much of a writer. Only real reason I write is to get the ideas out of my head. I'm going to try to update the stories I'm working on at least twice a month, but I make no promises. Plus if things work out for me, I won't even be online for about a year and a half soon. Soon being a relative term. Characters that are out of character will remain that way. I have my reasons and they will be explained in time…maybe. I suppose further warning that only Mission 1 is based in the Naruto-verse and that I will later switch to different 'verses is warranted as well. I may come back to the Naruto-verse in a later mission, but that's assuming I actually start to like Naruto again. So far I've been disappointed with Shippuuden and have stopped watching around episode 37. Well, enough chit-chat, on with the story.

Additional A/N:

"Date/Time"

"Place"

"Normal speech"

'Thoughts'

"English/Chaos Words for spells"

All else will be annotated as needed.

--

Three days before the exam

At the Main Gate…

Ichiro turns to Isamu.

"So who did we piss off to end up with gate duty all the time?"

Isamu responds without looking at him.

"I told you we shouldn't have played that prank on the Hokage's secretary."

"Whatever, it was still funny. If Naruto would have been there to help with it, it would have been better. I heard he got back from a C-rank mission the other day."

"Yeah, it got a little hectic on it from what I heard. Changed to an A-rank shortly into it."

"That's a little more than hectic. No one was severely hurt on their team?"

"No, seemed like everyone was okay. I saw them walking to the Hokage's office when they got back."

"That's good. I would hate to see the kid hurt. He's too much fun to have around. Hey, looks like a visitor is coming," Ichiro says as he points in the distance.

Isamu looks to where Ichiro is pointing.

"Yeah, they are alone, so probably just a regular traveler."

As he gets closer, they can start to see more detail on of him. He appeared to be about 6 feet tall with black hair in a long ponytail behind him. He was wearing a white gi-style shirt with blue lining along the edges, black kung-fu pants, and grey and white boots. Around his waist area he had what looked like a black metal plate with an ornate crescent moon held in place by a purple sash to protect his stomach and most of his crotch. The only thing he seemed to have with him was a large backpack, which he carried over one shoulder. As he neared the gate, he comes to stop in front of the guards.

"Greetings, I am Wong Fei Fong of Yamigakure. I have come to meet up with my students for the chuunin exams. Here is my orders and pass," Fei says as he handed a scroll to the Ichiro that wasn't in his hand a second ago.

Ichiro looks at the scroll for a minute and nods his head.

"Everything appears to be in order; however, we have orders to escort you to Hokage-sama when you arrive. If you will wait for a jounin to arrive to guide you," Ichiro asks as he motions for the side of the gate.

Shortly afterwards, a jounin with backs under his eyes and a katana across his back appeared next to the gate.

"My name is cough Hayate Gekko. cough I have come to escort you to the Hokage's office. Please follow me."

"Of course, Hayate-san."

--

Hokage's Office…

Sarutobi looks up from his paperwork as he hears a knock on the door and telling the person to enter.

"Hokage-sama, this is the Jounin-sensei of the Yamigakure genins."

"Thank you, Hayate, you may go now."

Once Hayate left, Sarutobi turned to Fei.

"Greetings, Hokage-sama, my name is Wong Fei Fong. My apologies for not arriving with my genin team, but I was on a separate mission and they were with a substitute sensei."

"Oh, that's alright, Wong-san, I don't hold it against you."

"I do not mean to be rude, but may I ask what you need of me? I am anxious to check on my team."

"Of course, I am just wondering where Yamigakure is. I have never heard of it, and neither has anyone else I have asked."

"Ah, that is understandable, Hokage-sama. We do not usually where any emblem to signify our village and usually people assume we are normal mercenaries. Our village isn't really a village, more a roaming camp and we are constantly on the move. Our roots date back to the ancient Gypsies. We never tell anyone the location partially because we don't know the exact location and only jounin and above have the seals tattooed into the skin to find the camp at its current location."

"Interesting. So in actuality, you have no need to take the chuunin exams like the rest of the villages. Why, then, did you decide to take this one?"

"Our current Leader wants to integrate more into current ninja society, and we could always use the increase in business. The chuunin exams work as a type of advertising for us in that way."

"Okay. Last question. Aren't your students a little old to be genin?"

"As you know, age is no definition of power, nor is rank. We don't normally assign ranks such as Jounin, Chuunin, and Genin to our people. We hold a village wide tournament once every three years. It is composed of four rounds, with the first three rounds set up as random one-on-one matches. All who lose the first round we ranked as genin this last time. Second round losers were Chuunin, and third round losers were Jounin. The last round is a free-for-all with the remaining competitors. The winner is the Boss for the next three years and the losers are our Spec-Ops, the equivalent of your ANBU. So one year you could be the boss, the next, you could be a Genin because you fought the wrong person in the first round."

"So roughly half of your village is ranked genin, one quarter chunnin, and the last quarter is split between Jounin and Spec-Ops? And it switches up every three years?"

"Yes, Hokage-sama. We do not believe in having a council; however the Boss usually has no problem with taking advice, especially from the previous Boss, no matter what rank they are now. I was the boss at one time as well, but I think I won mostly by luck. My opponents for the fist three rounds were fresh trainees."

"You have a very interesting system there. I have many more questions about it, but I did say that was the last question, three questions ago, so I will let you go to your team and check on them, but I would like to talk to you during the first two parts of the exam sometime."

"Of course, Hokage-sama."

Sarutobi pushes a button on his desk.

"Send in Hayate-san to escort Wong-san to his genins."

Seconds later, Hayate steps through the door.

"If you will cough follow me again, cough I will lead you to where cough your team is staying."

"My thanks, Hayate-san."

After Fei and Hayate leave, Sarutobi beings out his crystal scrying ball to watch them when they meet.

--

Aoi Shishi Ryokan…

Ryouken looks carefully at Bahzell's face, but can't seem to get a read on him. He was like a statue, no emotion at all. Lina was grinning like a maniac, especially in comparison to Bahzell.

'Oh well, it's now or never,' thought Ryouken.

Ryouken turns to Lina.

"Lina…do you have any two's?"

Lina's smile disappears faster than ice cream in front of Sailor Moon.

"DAMMIT," Lina exclaims as she hands over her second to last card.

"Thanks. I needed that, Lina."

Just then, they hear a knock at the door. Not expecting any guests, they set the cards down and grab a weapon each just before Lina gets up to answer the door. On the other side stands Fei with a mild grin on his face.

"So Ryouken got you again in Go Fish, Lina?"

Lina's eye twitches slightly.

"Hello…sensei. Took you long enough to get here."

"Now, now, Lina. Be nice."

As Fei enters the room, Ryouken looks up at him.

"Any news for the exam?"

"Yes, and if Lina will do a Mindscape Walker into my mind, I will tell you three everything."

"Crap, I hate going into other peoples minds with that," muttered Lina.

Out loud she said, "Okay, everyone take a seat at the table then."

"Into the Darkness of the mind, allow us a place to speak. Mindscape Walker!"

--

Inside Fei's Mind…

Lina, Bahzell, Ryouken, and Fei are sitting around a table in what appears to be a room made of metal with several large metal statues in it. Fei immediately calls the other threes attention while handing folders out.

"In here is all the information on your targets and what we believe will happen with our introduction here. You don't have to read it, just hold onto it when we exit the technique and you will have it in your memory. Hopefully the interference you two created won't work against us."

"But it wasn't anything harmful," Lina pouts.

"I never said it was, Lina, just that it wasn't planned. Okay, now to business. During the first exam, we will do nothing except observe all the participants that pass and possibly steal Kabuto's info cards. We can either change information at that point or just destroy it depending on how thorough it is. During the second exam, we are to try and stop Orochimaru from giving the cursed seal to Sasuke. If we don't succeed in that, then we will not pursue. Try to make sure a team of no-names pass along with you, and I will make sure you battle them during the preliminaries. If we can't get another team to pass, we will try and get Kabuto to stay in for the prelims, he might do it anyway to try and get information on you three since you are an unknown quantity and Orochimaru hates that. If that is the case, I will work it so that Bahzell and Lina will battle each other and either double KO or one will forfeit, while Ryouken fights Kabuto, preferably killing him. Remember, the only way to kill him is to remove a vital organ, be it brain, heart, or liver. Hell, rip his spine out if you want."

All three nod, Ryouken with a sadistic grin on his face.

"During the third round, if you fight before the ambush begins, conserve energy and finish it as fast as you can. If not, don't worry about it. Ryouken, you will be taking out the summons. Lina, assist the ANBU in getting through the barrier to attack Orochimaru. If you can take out any of the Sound Four while you are at it, try for the Genjutsu mistress, Tayuya I think her name was. We could convert her to our side and we need the illusionists. If you can't, just try and kill Orochimaru. We can track her down later and make an offer."

"Got it," Lina says.

"Bahzell, you are to go and guard the civilians and take out any enemy troops you see. There is an attack on the school and hospital planned and I am going to tell the Hokage that our mission is to take out Orochimaru for a supposed attack on our village and offer our assistance during the invasion. Change that, Ryouken, you are to take out any enemy troops you see while I take on the summons. I'll use my 'summon' to take them out. We don't want you to show too much power to take them out. During the invasion, all restrictions on techniques are removed except Dragon Slave and Giga Slave."

"Ah, man. WHY?"

"We don't need to destroy the village, Lina. Bahzell, area of effect attacks are authorized, just make sure the civilians are safe before you use them. Best bet is to stick to defensive techniques until then, especially if you are outnumbered by the attackers. If you are going to summon, stick to one race, preferably either Xenomorphs or Beasts. Do not use Slivers; I would rather save them for Akatsuki. They are too dangerous to use before then. After the invasion, we will have another meeting to determine what to do after that."

"Okay, anything else we need to know before Lina cancels the technique? I would like to get my headache over with," states Ryouken.

"Just try not to change too much before the exam; we still have two more days before then. Lina, you can end it now."

"Okay. Mindscape Walker: Release."

--

Aoi Shishi Ryokan…

"Oh my freakin' head…anybody get the license plate on that truck that hit me," mutters Lina as she rubs her temples.

"No, but it's the second time it hit Bahzell and me. How does it feel?"

"Remind me to keep some headache medicine around next time I use that. Preferably large amounts of alcohol wash it down with as well."

"Only if you agree to share," Bahzell grumbles.

Fei just grins while playing solitaire.

"Well, if you three are through grumbling, I have your funding till you return to base camp. Don't spend it all in one place. We still have quite a while till we return."

"How much is it," asks Bahzell.

"You each have 2500 ryo (1) to play with. I have an additional 50 thousand for room, food, and weapon replacement expenses. You three might want to go to bed, it's getting late."

"Hai," all three mutter before heading to their rooms for bed.

--

One Day till First Exam…

Random Konoha Street…

Bahzell walked indifferently down the street, ignoring the stares of all the people around him. He was used to it; his height always did make him stick out in a crowd…literally. It had its advantages, though, so he didn't mind the gaping stares of the incompetents around him. All he cared about was finding something to eat and then checking out the weapons shop for more senbon needles for the technique he was making. Ryouken had told him that they were getting a fresh batch of supplies in today, otherwise he wouldn't have bothered and just waited till the third round before buying the rest of it.

Halfway to the ramen stand, he heard a kid yelling to someone else to let him go. Curious, and hating bullies, he goes towards the voice, finding some girl with pink hair, a short blonde kid in a hideous orange jumpsuit, a little girl with orange hair sticking up in two clumps on her head, and a small boy with glasses on and snot running out his nose. All four were staring at three people in between them and himself. One was another little kid with a really long scarf being held off the ground by a by a teenager in what looked like black pajamas with cat ears and a blonde girl with four ponytails and a large fan. There also seemed to be two people in a tree next to the alley that were watching what was happening. Deciding to help out the kid being bullied, Bahzell pulls his sword from his sheath and speaks out.

"Seeing as you can pick on someone smaller than you, let's see how you do with someone bigger."

Everyone turns to look at him, standing at one end of the alley, sword resting easily over his shoulder, giving a hard stare at the kid in black. A few of the kids and the blonde girl openly staring at the huge person.

"Oi, mind your own business," says the kid in black, "there's no need for you to be involved.

"You involved me when you decided to bully the kid. Drop him before I drop you," says Bahzell as he begins to walk forward slowly.

The four at the other end of the alley just stare at the giant that came to their aid.

"Oi, Sakura-chan, have you ever seen him before," asks the short blonde kid.

"I've never even heard anyone that big before," mutters the pink haired girl now identified as Sakura.

Bahzell pulled his sword off his shoulder when he was about twenty feet from the kid in black and pointed it at the kid with one hand at arms length.

"I said put him down, this is your last chance before I drop you," Bahzell growls to him, "hmmm, it seems one of the two in the tree wants to get you first."

Bahzell slowly lowers the sword as the kid in black and the blonde girl slowly turn to look in the tree next to the alley. In it they see a kid with dark hair staring to another branch of the tree in shock. On that other branch, they see a boy with red hair and a large gourd on his back. He appeared to be extremely unhappy with the kid in black and the blonde girl.

"You're a disgrace to our village. Why do you think we came all the way here to Konoha?"

"Listen, Gaara, these guys started it," said the black clothed boy as he let's the kid with the scarf down.

"Shut up," Gaara says, "I'll kill you."

The kid with the scarf runs to hide behind the kid in orange.

"I was at fault," says the black clothed boy as he cowers from the individual in the tree, "I'm sorry. I'm really sorry."

The boy with the gourd turns to look at the kid in orange.

"Excuse them, you guys," says Gaara.

Gaara then seems to vanish into sand and reappears on the ground in front of the boy in black and the blonde girl.

"Let's go, we didn't come here to fool around," says Gaara.

Bahzell turns around and begins to walk away, sheathing his sword as he went. As he walks away, he hears the pink haired girl yell out.

"Wait up."

Bahzell stops and looks back to see the Gaara, the blonde girl, and the kid in black had all stopped as well.

"What is it," asks the blonde girl without turning around.

"You are from Sunagakure no Sato, right? The Kaze no Kuni and Hi no Kuni have an alliance, but the treaty prevents ninja from entering each other's countries without permission. State your purpose. Depending on your reasons, I will…"

"'What you're looking for is closer to you than you think.' You don't know anything," says the blonde girl as she holds up an ID badge, "This is a traffic pass. As you guessed, we are genins from the Sunagakure no Sato from Kaze no Kuni. We are here for the Chuunin selection exams."

"Chuunin selection exams," mumbles the kid in orange with a confused and slightly stupid look on his face, "What's a chuunin selection exam?"

"You must really not know," says the blonde girl, looking smug.

"It's a competition, more or less, between villages showing off their newest ninja in the hopes of getting the more of the missions from the elite guests that will be attending the third portion of the exam, including daimyos from all of the countries and rich businessmen. It's held every six months in a different village. The host village is sent requests to attend and is responsible for the safety of all participants when not in participating in an exam," said Bahzell.

During his explanation, all of the people had turned to look at him. A few with shock, such as the pink haired girl and the kid in orange; others with confusion, such as the three little kids; and others with indifference, such as Gaara and the dark haired kid in the tree.

"While it isn't the only way to become chuunin, it is the most well known," finishes Bahzell.

He begins to walk away again when the pink haired girl speaks.

"What village are you from and are you here for the exam as well?"

"Yamigakure. And yes, I am."

With that, he walks away, leaving the rest of the people there.

--

The Day of the Exam…

Aoi Shishi Ryokan…

Fei walks into the room shared by Bahzell and Ryouken.

"Everyone ready?"

"Lina is still in her room, she should be here in a minute," says Bahzell.

"If she wants any food before the exam, she needs to hurry up."

"I'm here, where's the food?"

'Works every time,' thinks Fei.

"Okay, game faces people. Try to keep as low a profile as you can. Between Bahzell's height, Ryouken's bloodthirstiness, and Lina's…colorfulness, I know it will be hard, but at least try. As soon as you have all changed, I will guide you to the exam. Meet me in the lobby in thirty minutes."

With that he left.

--

A/N: Sorry about the Sailor Moon joke, I couldn't resist it. Oh yeah, I don't own that either…thank god. Sorry about the long time in updating, but I had a few decisions to make on this chapter and I eventually broke down and flipped a coin on it. So now you end up with Bahzell showing up during the first confrontation between Team 7 and the Sand siblings. It should flow a lot smoother now until the second exam or the prelims, probably going to need to flip another coin during the second exam about some things. Before I receive countless reviews (assuming I am reviewed…) about how I'm not naming the characters, remember, this is from the point of view of Bahzell, Ryouken, Lina, and Fei unless otherwise stated. None of them know the names of anyone until they are said by someone else or introduced, so I will be doing a lot of these little descriptions, i.e. pink haired girl. Finally, if you want to tell me what I'm doing wrong, other than taking a long time to update, let me know and let me know a way to fix it, assuming the correction isn't completely obvious. Later.