Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto
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„blah blah...", speaking
'blah blah...', thinking
'blah blah...', Bijuu talking
'blah blah...', Bijuu thinking
'blah blah...', Jutsu
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Well ummm... hello everyone. I know I haven't updated any of my stories in months but I assure you that I had a very good reason. Shortly after my last update I changed my workplace and got a lot responsibility pushed onto me. As a consequence I came to my hotel pretty late and only came home during the weekend. Even then I had to work at the house and barely got any time to read, write or relax in general. I also decided to finish Phantom of the 2nd Squad first before I continued the rest so that also took a lot of my sparse free time. I hope you can forgive me and will continue to read my stories. Let me answer the Reviews till now and then get on with the story.
zeek17 – This is a NaruIno story yes but only later on and I know what you mean. The story somehow lacks the special 'oomph' if you know what I mean. Well maybe I can change that in the next few chapters.
shadowrgj – I really like Tayuyas strong personality and I hope I brought it forth in just the right way.
NaruinoFTW – Well I already planned a good battle including the seal for the second part of the Chunin Exam.
– thank you
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Please Review and please don't hold back. Tell me if something bothered you, I can handle the truth.
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Team 7 stood before the academy building and frowned at the memories it held, from the most boring time of their lives.
"I hate that place.", Sasuke muttered as he stared at the front of the building.
"You and me both.", Sakura sighed as she remembered how much time she had wasted to pound useless knowledge into her brain.
"This place sucks! You had to learn here Sakura-san?", Ayuna asked as she walked up to them with her team behind her.
"Morning Ayuna-chan, Tobimaru-san, Mikado-san. How are you today?", the bubblegum haired girl asked with a cheerful smile.
She had grown to like the three Uzu Genin and really cared for them. Sasuke looked at the three with confusion. Their headbands showed a swirl, a symbol he had seen before on his adopted brother.
"Who are you three?", the raven haired teen asked a bit confused how his teammate knew them.
"Oh I'm sorry. We are a team from the Land of Whirlpools and represent the village of Uzushiogakure. This is Seiki Tobimaru and this is Mashiki Ayuna.", Mikado introduced his teammates.
"And you are?", Sasuke asked as he rose an eyebrow at the red headed boy.
"Oh... How careless of me. My name is Uzumaki Mikado.", the boy introduced himself with a smile and offered the Uchiha his hand as a greeting.
Sasuke stared at the boy in shock. Here was a boy introducing himself as a Uzumaki. The same Uzumaki clan his adopted brother was born into but grew up alone.
"You are a member of the Uzumaki Clan?", Sasuke asked with a dark scowl.
The other four teens looked at the Uchiha and realized just what was happening. They all knew about Narutos circumstances growing up and how Sasuke was related to the vampire.
"So you are the people that put Naruto-nii-san through all this suffering?", the Uchiha growled.
"We are well aware of the suffering Naruto-sama went through but I can tell you that we had no hand in his fate. When Naruto-sama came to us and united our scattered clan members we finally found out what happened to the clans princess. I can assure you that we tried to make up for all the sufferings he went through but he never wanted anything. He even went as far and said that it made him who he was today.", Mikado explained as calm as possible as he remembered what his idol and clan head had went through in his short life.
"He's right Sasuke-kun. Naruto-sensei told me how he met his clan and how he forgave them. Their Kage is also a Uzumaki that sensei approved of. Do you think he would have done that if he held a grudge against them?", Sakura reason with her teammate and Sasuke released a angry breath but relaxed.
"I guess you are right Sakura-san.", he sighed.
"I apologize for my behavior.", the teen bowed to the Uzu team.
The whirlpool team looked at the bowing teen with a awkward expression before Sakura did something that no one would ever have expected. She smacked her former obsession on the back of his head and made him stumble forward.
"Oh get over it Sasuke-kun. We all make mistakes, it's only human. That's what sensei told me.", the girl huffed and crossed her arms in front of her chest.
The Uzu team only smiled how Sakura had taken Narutos advice and became a bit more forward. When she had first come to Uzushiogakure she had been shy and followed her sensei wherever he went. Only after they returned with the Kitsune clan she opened up to the local Genin.
"Come on let's go or we will miss the start of the exam.", Tobimaru suggested and everyone nodded.
The two teams turned to the entrance and walked inside. As they climbed the stairs they heard the yelling of other hopeful Chunins. The teams stepped into the second floor and turned to go to the third but felt something disturb their senses. They immediately realized that a Genjutsu tried to confuse their senses. With a short burst of Chakra they dispelled the illusion and looked at the other teams that pleaded to get let into the classroom. Sakura only shook her head bemused how the other teams fell for such a simple trick. She could even tell who the two guards before the room were. The eternal Chunins Kotetsu and Izumo.
"Should we tell them?", Ayuna asked with a equal bemused look.
"No. It will lower the competition. It will give us a chance to see who we are up against and the lesser there are the easier it is.", Tobimaru whispered and the others nodded.
With a quick set of hand seals, Sakura covered them in a Genjutsu to hide their presence and Chakra from everyone else. With their disguise set they walked past the teams to another set of stairs because the ones they had come up on had a few loose steps from there on and would make noise if stepped on. The Jutsu may cloak their presence and Chakra to the naked eye but it didn't cover the noise they made.
"Where did you learn that Genjutsu Sakura-san?", Mikado asked interested after they had reached the other stairs.
"Naruto-sensei taught it to me. He tested me if I had a talent for creating Genjutsu but he said that I was not good at it but learning other already existing would be no problem with my Chakra control.", she explained as she released the Jutsu.
"Did Naruto-sama create it?", Ayuna asked eager to learn something from the Uzumaki Clan head.
"Well no but he perfected it so far that not even the best sensor of the Kitsune clan could find him even if he stood right beside them.", the girl explained with a proud smile.
She had learned so much from the special Jonin and was quite proud to call him her sensei. The other Genins looked at her in awe. They knew that Naruto was good but not this good. Even Sasuke who knew next to nothing about the Kitsune Clan could understand that it was an amazing feet. As they walked up the stairs they thought about the upcoming challenge of the first part of the exam. They knew it would probably be some kind of written exam seeing as it was held in the academy. Upon reaching the right classroom they were were greeted by their senseis Kakashi Hatake and Hirano Sakumo.
"Good morning sensei.", Team Sakumo greeted their sensei with a bow gaining a proud nod.
"Hey there Kakashi-sensei.", Sakura and Sasuke gave their sensei a lazy wave gaining a sweat drop from said man.
"It's good that you all made it here. If one of you were missing then you wouldn't be allowed to continue any further.", Kakashi explained as he looked over the five Genin before him.
He knew that the Uzu team were strong and would surely make it to Chunin in this exam. His team just like any of the Konoha teams were also very powerful since they upped their training shortly after Naruto took Sakura under his tutelage but they lacked the needed experience. Though he saw that Sakura had gained power and experience during her trip with the Special Jonin. Experience she was willing to share with her teammate after their team was reformed for the exam.
"You really thought we would have come here if didn't chose so unanimously?", Mikado deadpanned.
He was a Uzumaki after all and he knew that it was unacceptable to leave someone behind or forcefully overrule them, be it a family member or teammate. The other Genin nodded in agreement. Sakumo only grinned knowing that he was right in teaching his team the Uzumaki philosophy. Kakashi smiled as he recognized the Uzumaki will burning it the teens eyes.
"Come on and get in. The exam will begin soon.", Sakumo gestured for both teams to enter and they bowed to their senseis before they walked inside.
Inside they were greeted by a huge load of Genin from different villages. Some of them turned to the newcomers but dismissed them just as fast except for a few.
"Hey there Sakura.", Ino called as she walked up to her friend.
"Hey Ino. So you really came.", Sakura taunted with a good natured smile.
"Of course we came. You didn't really think we went through this hellish training Naruto gave Kurenai-sensei for us and not participate?", Ino smirked with a dreamy look as she mentioned Naruto.
Unknown to her Sakura caught the dreamy look and grinned to herself.
"So what kind of training did Uzumaki-san put you through, Sakura-san? Was it hard?", Choji asked as he opened a bag of potato chips.
"Let's just say that Naruto-sensei doesn't appreciate it if you slack off during training.", the girl winced as she remembered her training in Uzushiogakure.
"That bad?", Ino asked a bit afraid of what Naruto taught her.
"Trust me. Sensei is a monster if it's about training.", the pink haired girl shuddered.
"Come on lets take a seat and prepare ourself for the exam.", Shikamaru suggested and they all nodded.
The teams walked through the rows of seats and something disturbing caught Sakuras eye. She saw how Shikamarus eyes wandered to a blond Suna girl. The lust in his eyes was obvious. The girl caught his look and gave him her own flirtatious look. Not that any of the other Konoha Genin noticed it, though other teams did.
'What are you up to Shikamaru? I promise you, if you hurt Ino I'll rip you to pieces!', the girl thought dark and threw the lazy Shinobi a even darker look.
The Uzu team saw her look and wondered what got their friends panties in such a twist. The Genins took a seat and looked over the other teams. A few minutes later the door opened and a man with a scarred face and a black bandanna walked in.
"SILENCE YOU MAGGOTS!", he yelled and the Genins stared at him in shock.
"My name is Ibiki Morino and I'll be your proctor for this exam. Well let's start the first exam you maggots!", the man growled and leaned against his table in the front.
"You have a test before you with 9 questions. For these questions you have 40 minutes. The tenth question will be given to you after these 40 minutes. The rules are simple. First if you are caught cheating by any of the Chunin in the room your whole team will be punished and thrown out of the exam. Second. If you take the tenth question and fail, you'll be expelled from the exam forever.", Ibiki explained and the Genins gave a angry outcry.
"BUT THAT'S NOT FAIR! I HAVE SEEN OTHERS RETAKE THE EXAM BEFORE", Kiba yelled and jumped from his seat.
"Well tough luck kiddo but they didn't have me as proctor. Now I make the rules and what I say is law.", the tortured specialist grinned.
That shut the Genin up though Kiba still growled in his seat.
"NOW BEGIN!", he yelled and the Genins scrambled to pick up their tests.
Unknown to the Genin teams the proctor felt the heavily suppressed Chakra signature outside the window. Even he only noticed it because of a minimal Chakra spike and he still could barely feel it. The man was impressed and knew just who was hiding there.
'Naruto is really good at hiding. I knew the boy would make it far though I didn't think it would be so soon.', the proctor mused.
With a grin he walked around his desk and sat down with his feet on the desk. The nervous looks and scribbling of the Genins made him smile in delight. He just loved to cause panic and terror in such young minds. To his surprise he didn't see any of it in the Konoha and Uzu teams. The teams were confident and used their skills to copy the answers from the Chunins and other Genins in the room. It surprised the torture specialist how good the Genins used their individual skills.
Team 7 consisting of Uchiha Sasuke and Haruno Sakura were the first team to catch his attention. The Uchiha was personally trained by Hatake Kakashi and Uchiha Itachi. He had grown exceptional in the last months. He had trained his fire and lightning affinity to a high level. Right now he used his Sharingan hidden behind a Genjutsu to copy the hand movements of a Chunin hidden in between the teams. The Haruno girl on the other hand had changed completely. Ibiki had heard of her fanatic obsession with her teammate. But now she was a confident kunoichi that knew how to handle herself. She had bloomed under the tutelage of the Bloody Fang of Konoha. Right now she had her eyes closed and obviously channeled Chakra to her ears and listened to the scribbling around her. Just from the sound she seemed to be able to copy all that was written down and let her hand glide over her test.
Team 8 consisting of Hyuuga Hinata, Inuzuka Kiba and Aburame Shino. The team had also gained some of his attention since he heard of their progress from his partner in the T&I Department. Anko was friends with their sensei and they talked a lot about it. The Hyuuga girl had lost her shy attitude since Kurenai had intensified their training. She had mastered her Byakugan to a point that the veins at the side of her eyes during it's activation were barely visible. It was what she was using to cheat at the moment actually. Her teammate Shino on the other hand was the same as his clan members and hadn't changed much from the hard training beside gaining two new hives in his body. He was stoic, logical and a bit anti-social. Though that worked for him since no one would throw a look in his direction so he used his bugs to spy the needed answers for him. The last one was the boy named Kiba. He had changed much from the training. His body was more toned and his temper had cooled down. His need to be an Alpha had been set back after he had his balls handed to him by the young Hyuuga Hanabi. The boy used his little dog to help him cheat. The dog seemed to move his body in a certain pattern to show his partner what were the answers.
Team 9 consisting of Rock Lee, Hyuuga Neji and TenTen had also gained his interest because of their eccentric sensei. Rock Lee was a young and hard working man that despite his inability to mold Chakra had achieved great things. He was determinate to prove himself in the eyes of his sensei, his team, the village and most of all himself. His teammate TenTen was a orphan that had specialized in weapon usage of all kind. She was a true weapon mistress in making. And even now she used her weapons to gain knowledge. Previous to the exam she had placed a mirror above many seats in the room without anyone noticing. Using them she answered her own questions and tapped with her other hands index finger on the table. She used a tap code her team had developed to tell her spandex clad partner the needed answers. Hyuuga Neji on the other hand used his dojutsu just like his cousin. To bad for him that he hadn't mastered it to the point Hinata did but since none of the Chunins called him out on it, Ibiki kept his mouth shut. He after all only called on teams if he was informed.
Team 10 consisting of Yamanaka Ino, Nara Shikamaru and Akimichi Choji was the last Konoha team that had caught the torture specialists interest. The heir of the Yamanaka Clan had a strong will to her since her father had brought her to the T&I Department shortly after the attempted rape that was stopped by Naruto. Ever since then she had become a prodigy in her Clans Ninjutsu and she proved it by partially diving into different minds right now without leaving her body behind. Ibiki smiled how his best friends daughter had developed. Her teammate Choji like all Akimichi was a bit on the heavy built side but a good boy through and through. He may not be the brightest candle in the glower but he was loyal to his friends and family. Right now though he seemed to stumble a bit since he didn't have any means to use his abilities to gain the answers. A sudden glint in his eyes made the proctor smile though. The boy was getting help by his blond teammate. The last member of the team was the young genius of the Nara Clan. The boy had an IQ from over 200 just like his father so he didn't need to cheat on the test. But something caught the proctors eyes. He knew that the boy was dating his blond teammate but the looks he was giving the girl from Suna made him frown. Ibiki cared for Ino like she was part of his family and the signs he was showing made him want to torture the boy. Unlike others Ibiki knew of Narutos and Inos feelings for each other and how they were to unsure of themselves to admit it to each other.
The team from Uzushiogakure was also very interesting. From what he had gathered in the short time since their arrival was that they were part of the newly revived Uzushiogakure under the leadership of Uzumaki Tayuya, Narutos cousin. It came as a big surprise that Uzushiogakure was back and bigger then ever. What he had been told by the Hokage was that the team consisted of Seiki Tobimaru, Mashiki Ayuna and Uzumaki Mikado. Tobimaru was a member of a new Clan know for their Storm Release. They could create storms of all kinds with wave of their hand. The boy sat before his test and identified each Chunin in the room with just one look before he smirked and began to answer the questions like it was nothing. His only female teammate Ayuna was also from a new Clan. It was said that they could manipulate water like one others. They didn't even need Jutsu to do so just their will. Right now she used it to created small water mirrors to collect informations without letting her Chakra spike. The last member was Mikado. A member of the dead believed Uzumaki Clan till their seemingly miraculous reappearance. True to his heritage did he have a ungovernable amount of fire shining in his eyes. Surely would his stamina and Chakra reserves be through the roof compared to other Genin his age. Though he seemed to be able to govern this wild mind into a sharp and deadly blade. So without even giving others a glance her rushed through his test and finished it in bare minutes. To Ibiki it seemed like the Genins from Uzu were far more advanced in strength and experience then most other teams.
The proctor smiled as he knew who would pass this part of the exam with ease.
"TEAM 24 YOU'RE OUT!", the man yelled with glee in his eyes.
The Genins tried to protest but he wouldn't hear any of it and they were forcefully removed from the room. He then looked up at the clock and whistled in silence. The 40 minutes had already passed and he had to give them the tenth question now.
"PENS DOWN YOU MAGGOTS! YOUR TIME'S UP! NOW FOR THE TENTH QUESTION!", the proctor bellowed and stood up to walked around the front of the room.
All Genins looked at the scarred man in silence. His presence was breathtaking so it kept them naturally quiet.
"Okay!", Ibiki hissed but more calm.
"Remember the second rule I told you about earlier! So which of you pussies has it in them to take the question? But remember that if one of your teammates steps down, your whole team will be expelled. Though you can still partake in the next exam.", the proctor grinned like a madman.
The teams tensed but remained quiet. Slowly but steady teams began to stand up and leave the room. Just fifteen minutes later half the teams left. The teams that remained were all the Konoha teams, the Uzu team, the Suna team and some others.
"Now to all of you that remained here... you PASS!", the man exclaimed.
"WHAT?!", everyone roared in shock.
"What's that supposed to mean? We didn't even answer the tenth question", the Suna girl yelled.
"The tenth question was a test in itself to see if you had it in you to make a leap of trust, something you have to do as Chunin from time to time. You will not always have all informations regarding a mission or run into unforeseen situations during one and then you have to trust you gut feeling in order to continue or stop the mission.", a new calm voice echoed through the room and silenced the Genins.
Naruto stepped out of the shadows with his hands folded behind his back and stopped beside Ibiki. The proctor nodded to his colleague before he turned to the class.
"He is right. This exam was not only to test your knowledge and ability to gain informations from your surrounding but also to test your faith in yourself.", Ibiki explained calm as he took a cigarette that Naruto offered him and lit it.
Just then the window beside the two proctors was smashed in and a banner was spanned behind them by a pair of kunai. Proctor of the second exam. The sexy, amazing and single Anko Mitarashi was written on it. A blur shot through the broken window and stopped between the proctors and the class. It was a woman with purple hair, a beige cloak, a see through mesh armor showing off her well trained upper body and a short dark skirt.
"THE SEXY ANKO MITARASHI IS HERE!", she exclaimed and stretched her arms in the air.
The Genins sat in silence ans stared at the crazy woman before them.
"Did you have to make your entrance that flashy Anko-san?", Naruto sighed as he stepped beside her and rubbed his still ringing ear.
"Aww did I hurt your ears Naru-chan.", she cooed much to the annoyance of two blonds in the room.
"Please refrain from flirting with me during the exam. It is unprofessional.", the vampire deadpanned.
"But I wanna.", the woman pouted gaining a few giggles here and there.
"Hmph... Well then let's go kiddies. Meet Naru-chan and me at Training Ground 44 in thirty minutes. If you're late then you'll forfeit your place in the exam!", the snake mistress huffed and crossed her arms under her chest showing of her assets even more.
She turned to leave with a sultry swing of her hip and walked back to the window she entered through just minutes ago and waited. Naruto just nodded towards the Genins and gave Ibiki a small wave before he turned to follow the purple haired proctor
"Next time you make an entrance like that Anko-san please don't forget to wear panties. Such flashy moves are very taxing towards your male allies.", the vampire stated dry as he walked past the woman much to her joy that he noticed and shock of the Genins.
Ino growled at the woman knowing that she also had a thing for her crush but she knew she couldn't do anything against the woman at the moment. The proctors of the second exam then jumped out the window towards Training Ground 44. The Genins took that as a sign and scrambled out of the room to get to the training ground. Ibiki only shook his head and began to pick up the paper tests.