A/N: Greetings to you all and I hope that you have all been well…
THIS IS HIGHLY IMPORTANT AND I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW…
(In other words, old business…)
Reviews: passed the 200 mark…I can't complain…
Beforehand, I received a review from someone (who shall remain anonymous) that Naruto has gotten unbelievably powerful in a short period of time. Point of clarification: I should have mentioned that Naruto learned how to master the principles of the various elemental-based ninjutsu. You have to learn how to crawl before you learn how to walk, in my opinion. Anyway, I would like to get your opinion regarding the matter via PM.
Here's the basic rundown of his acquired abilities, and tell me what you think if his elemental repertoire is a bit too much, or if you think that, with the shadow clone trick, this is doable during the two-month time period:
Suiton: 3 (one supplementary, one defensive, one offensive)
Fuuton: 3 (one defensive, two offensive)
Doton: 3 (one supplementary and two weak offensive)
Hyouton: 4 (three supplementary; one impromptu offensive)
Mokuton: none (off-limits)
This includes the ones that you've seen last chapter (Great Breakthrough, Inner Decapitation, Water Absorption, and two unnamed Hyouton and Doton ninjutsu that will be named later on).
Phantom Flame stands in an unknown class of its own; he can only form it to the size of a small grapefruit for the time being before he can fire it around at will. For the record, none of these are above C-class (Chuunin status) ninjutsu.
So, all in all, he only knows thirteen elemental-based attacks in his arsenal (fourteen with Phantom Flame), his genjutsu is a bit below average and his taijutsu is mediocre. I know that it would be ridiculous that Naruto knew more than four in each category by this time.
ITEMS OF NEW BUSINESS…TWO
Number One: I would like to say this again: WolfLord04 has given me the biggest, most beneficial suggestion when it comes to this story (or any other story that I may write in the future) from here on out. If you have any suggestions, then please send them by a private message or e-mail on account of two things: 1) your suggestions will remain hidden in my Suggestions Box in my Yahoo e-mail account; and 2) it will add to the mystery to see what I will gladly take into consideration and which others that I will reject. I know that some of you would like to get it all out in one flare in the review space, but this will be for the better.
On that note, what that boils down to is to leave reviews, comments, and/orconcerns where they should be addressed and send ALL suggestions or debatesto me by PM.
That is all for the main announcement but keep in mind of the new business, for that creed remains in effect from hereafter.
Number Two:For my next item of business, someone had asked me if any of the jinchuuriki might obtain a pet-companion/animal familiar of their own (even though the question was asked about having nin-ken, but I decided to phrase it in this way) just like Naruto. I would like to get your thoughts on this as well (once again, via PM). Should any of the demon containers in this story have their own personal pet-companion that reflects their species of tenant? I'm not sure about that, but I'll let it simmer on the backburner for the moment (frankly because it would clog the scene with so many animals for starters, and I would have to give them a personality to boot).
Let's go ahead and get to it, shall we?
Chapter Ten: Impending Danger: A Snake in the Grass
"Whoa…" '…I didn't know that this many people could fit in here…' Naruto thought as he looked at all of the assembled teams. While he was scanning to the left, his dusty-hued companion scanned in the opposite direction while atop his head.
"Wow…" Sakura muttered with her widened green eyes. She too was astounded by the amount of squads that were giving them the "evil eye" glare. 'I've never felt such high chakra potential before…'
'Get a grip, pinky. Focus on the exam…Shannaro!' roared her inner-self.
'This…is going to be interesting…' Sasuke thought with his small grin on his face. 'I want to test my limits with these people.'
Transfixed within their thoughts, they missed a fangirl-ish cry…
"Sasuke-kun…!"
From out of nowhere, a platinum-blonde kunoichi in a purple dress and body wrappings attempted to pounce onto the dark-haired avenger. Unfortunately, things did not go as planned…
Sasuke felt that one of his ninja sandals had a stone in it, so he leaned down to find the source of discomfort. As he was leaning down, Yamanaka Ino flew over his crouching body and collided head-first with the dobe, who had been looking around at the competition. Doshaburi was dislodged from his friend's head with a single jump as both blonds landed on the floor, with Ino pinning down Naruto. Doshaburi landed on Ino's back to add to the dog-pile as his team was looking down at the scene. Sakura rubbed the side of her temple while Sasuke just shook his head in wonder.
Naruto groaned. "What the…?" His electric-blue eyes looked into sea-green ones as he gathered his bearings. He gave Ino a fang-toothed grin. "Hey there Ino. Glad that you could drop in…"
It had been a long time since the platinum-blonde kunoichi had seen the fellow blond. She was looking at him with disbelief etched onto her face due to his physical changes…along with a miniature blush. "N-Naruto…? Is that you?" 'My, my, he sure has gotten kind of hunky…Wait…Where did that come from?' She was oddly perplexed about the creeping, lustful feelings toward the proclaimed "class clown."
"The one and only," replied Naruto as his elf-like ears twitched. He cleared his throat and gave her a sincere smile. "Now, Ino, would you mind…?"
Ino snapped out of gazing at the boy and replied, "Oh…right. Of course." After the little cloudburst hopped off Ino, she got up and offered a hand to Naruto.
"No thanks, Ino. I got it covered," the elf-eared jinchuuriki said. With a bit of wind chakra from his hands, he had quickly risen to his feet.
'You don't have to show off, Naruto…' Doshaburi reprimanded the blond by cerebral connection while rolling his eyes.
"Jeez, why must you be so troublesome Ino?" Shikamaru asked with a lazy drawl while walking up alongside his somewhat hefty, brunet friend Akimichi Chouji, who was eating a bag of barbecue potato chips.
"Well, I wanted to get to Sasuke-kun, but…"
"Ino-pig, he's with me," Sakura stated calmly. It was then that Ino and Sakura started up a bitter feud with shooting insults back and forth, shouting things like "Billboard-Brow," "Forehead," "Porker," and "Ino-pig."
'I'm no one's property,' Sasuke mentally sighed. He whispered to the dobe, "I'll trade places with you Naruto. So how about it…?"
"No thank you," he said with his toothy smile. "I already have my troubles. Have fun, teme."
"Well, what'd ya know? It looks like all nine rookies made it."
The gathered teams looked in the direction of the gruff, overbearing voice. Coming up to Squads Seven and Ten was a boy with red facial fang-tattoos in a scruffy jacket with a dog on top of his head, a quiet boy with a light, high-collar shirt, afro-like dark hair and sunglasses, and one of Naruto's training partners, Hinata, who had swapped her large coat with a loose-fitting white jacket.
"Oh, great…You guys are here too?" asked Shikamaru. He sighed. "This is going to be such a pain."
"This ought to be fun…At least, only to those that are good enough to make the cut…right Sasuke-kun?" the dog-boy boastfully remarked, while his canine companion, Akamaru, barked in accordance.
"Kiba, you better be careful not to get too overconfident," replied the dark-haired avenger with a smirk on his face.
"Just wait. We're gonna blow you guys away," said Kiba.
"I wouldn't count on it Inu-Ibuki," retorted Naruto with an aloof look. "I'm not sure if you'll last at all."
After a quick realization of who was speaking to him, the dog-user began to retort. "Oh, and this is coming from the 'dead-last,' eh? And even though you may have a new look, you still won't make it…" Kiba looked down at the dusty-hued fox cub by Naruto's feet. "And what's that little pipsqueak doing here, anyway? Are you trying to copy my jutsu or something?"
Naruto gave a fanged smirk. "No, Doshaburi knows his own brand of special nin-ken hijutsu, totally independent of mine." Naruto thought for a brief second. 'Well, not really…thanks to Kyuubi-sama's youki, that is…' He continued. "Besides, I wouldn't be caught dead trying to turn my fox kit into a clone of myself anyway. He's cute and cuddly that way, unlike your mutt."
While Kiba and Naruto were hashing out indecent words, Doshaburi and Akamaru decided to sniff out one another and talk in canine tongue. They soon became fast friends, much to the dismay of their prideful owners.
"Kitsune-kun, you're gonna be a disgrace to us canine-users everywhere!" Kiba shot back. "There's no way that your little cub knows something that acts like the effect of a soldier pill! It's just not possible…"
"I've always done the impossible, Inu-Ibuki," Naruto coolly remarked, holding up his claw-like hand. That fit of arrogance earned a bite on the leg from his dirt-hued companion. Naruto winced from Dosha-chan's fangs.
'It's best to humble yourself. Like Sasuke said, don't get too boastful. You might just get dropped a peg or two,' his fox-hound scolded.
'I agree with the kit on this one, Naruto,' Kyuubi remarked, even though it was odd for the beast to mention his host by name. 'There are still others out there that can gain the upper hand against you in combat. Remember what your sensei told you…there are 'ninja younger than you that are stronger than him.'"
Feeling a need to intervene in the soon-to-be fight, Hinata spoke up with a blush on her face. "Uh…Hi, Naruto-kun."
Surprised by the soft, angelic voice, he turned to the indigo-haired clan heiress. "Hey, what's up, Hinata-chan?" Naruto asked with a warm smile on his face…and some wide-eyed expressions from those clumped around. "So how's the training been?"
'Did he just call her Hinata-chan?' was the collective thought of everyone around. Almost everyone had a surprised look etched onto their faces, save for Kiba and Shino. Shino maintained his stoic face with an eyebrow raised over his sunglasses while Kiba was slightly fuming at the ears due to the fact that he got all "chummy" with his Hinata.
Hinata took on a fuchsia hue, embarrassed by being called "Hinata-chan" in public, especially by her crush. "It's been well…" She poked together her fingers and smiled. "I want to…thank you again for helping me."
"Oh, it's not a problem at all. And if you come out on top in the exam, then I'll treat you afterwards and you pick the place. How does that sound?"
Her face started to heat up as she started to feel a bit flushed. "And if I don't…"
'She really is cute when she gets like that…' "Well, I'll take you out anyway for doing your best, Hinata-chan." He gave her a smile, unaware of a highly pissed off Inuzuka Kiba.
"Just who the hell do you think you are anyway!?" Kiba roared.
"Relax, Kiba," Naruto said. "I don't see why you're getting upset. It's just a little invitation, that's all…"
"Hey, you guys. You might want to keep it down a little."
The Rookie Nine turned to see a gray-haired teen roughly six years their senior in deep-purple attire walking toward them. He had a Konoha hitai-ate on his forehead and corrective eyewear.
"I mean, no offense, but you are the nine rookies, right?" the glasses-wearing kid calmly remarked to the greenhorn genin. "Fresh out of the academy? I wouldn't go making a spectacle of yourselves." He adjusted his glassed to the bridge of his nose. "Just cool it. This isn't a class field trip, you know."
The beast within the recesses of his mind growled when the mysterious kid walked up.
'What is it Kyuubi-sama?' The blond jinchuuriki worriedly asked his riled-up tenant.
'That reptilian stench…' Kyuubi said to his host. 'I've smelled it before. Stay on your toes with that one, kit. He could be in cahoots with the snake-teme, Orochimaru.' Naruto scowled slightly from the late-breaking news from his tenant and nodded.
"Well who asked you!? Who are you!?" Ino shot back. She was kind of suspicious with that kind smirk on his face.
"I'm Yakushi Kabuto. But really, you should take a look around you." The Rookie Nine looked around as all of the competitors were glaring in their direction. Some of the looks were creeping out the girls of the group while unnerving some of the guys.
The one known as Kabuto continued. "You've made quite an impression. For you see, these exams make everyone tense, and you don't want to rub anyone in the wrong way right now."
Kabuto shrugged his shoulders and continued in a condescending tone. "You can't help it. I mean, how could you know how things work, since you're all just rookies?"
"So I take it that this isn't the first time that you've taken the exams?" Sakura asked the older kid.
"Yes, and as a matter of fact, this'll be my seventh time," Kabuto answered. That comment earned an attentive look from the lazy shougi-player. "Well, they're held only twice a year, so this would make it my fourth year here."
It was then that the blond-haired shinobi relaxed on a wall to begin meditating. He still kept an ear on Kabuto's discourse on the true reason for hosting the Chuunin exams by pulling out some of his highly suspicious "ninja info cards" that were chakra-encoded with detailed information. It was obvious to Naruto that Iwagakure was not in the fold of candidates on account of what happened during the last Great Shinobi War. It was because of his father that he might have a bounty on his head if he were to even set foot in Stone Country or be a target of assassination within his own village during the duration of the exams…that was if they discovered his true identity. Kirigakure was in shambles on account of their civil situation, but why Kumogakure had not shown was a complete mystery to the blue-eyed jinchuuriki. He would worry about that later.
It was intriguing to him, but what made his ears twitch was when Sasuke asked if he had detail on the individual shinobi that were taking the exam.
"I might have something on everyone," Kabuto remarked. "You have someone special in mind?"
"Yeah," Sasuke said. "They are Rock Lee from Konoha and Sabaku no Gaara."
"How about Uzumaki Naruto from Konoha as well?" Shino asked which caused the crew to turn their heads at him.
'You could've asked me…' Naruto thought as he closed his eyes again.
"Oh, so you know their names. That makes it easy." Kabuto filtered through his deck of shinobi dossiers and pulled out three cards. "Here they are."
He laid them out one at a time. "Okay…First…Rock Lee." With a bit of chakra, the profile on the taijutsu specialist was revealed. "He's about a year older than you guys. His taijutsu greatly improved in the past twelve months. For his mission experience, he has completed eleven C-rank and twenty D-rank missions. His jounin-sensei is Maito Gai and his teammates are Tenten and Hyuuga Neji…"
Naruto opened an eye and looked down at the small picture. 'So, that was the Hyuuga-teme that we came across before we got here…I wonder if he's related to Hinata-chan…' He thought as his gaze moved to the Hyuuga heiress and then back to the card.
"Next we have Sabaku no Gaara," Kabuto stated as he pushed a bit of chakra to expose one of the Sand Siblings. "He comes from Sunagakure no Sato and is in your age group. For his mission experience, he has completed eight C-rank missions and…one B-rank mission. It also says here that he always comes out of the missions unharmed."
The Rookie Nine looked at Kabuto with incredulity while Shikamaru spoke for the group. "No way…That guy's done a B-rank mission as a genin and came out without a scratch?"
'I can tell that there's something special about that guy…' was the thought that both Naruto and Sasuke had running through their minds.
"And finally, we have Uzumaki Naruto-kun," Kabuto continued as Naruto's dossier showed up…with his "post-transformation" picture.
'Now how in the blue hell did they get a picture of me like that?' Naruto was…mentally irate, although he did not show it on the outside, save for gritting together his fangs. 'There's got to be a leak in the system and I will personally fill in that crack…'
"Let's see…He's completed quite a number of D-rank missions, one C-rank sub-mission and…two A-ranked missions, with one completed before he became a genin…"
All eyes turned to Naruto, who was slightly peeved for having them pry into his mission experience. "Listen, I don't want to talk about the details of that mission. Only know the fact that I stopped a traitor from getting his hands on an important document. The rest is classified."
"Okay," Kabuto continued as the group moved their gazes to him. "His jounin-sensei is the infamous Copy-Ninja, Hatake Kakashi-san, and his teammates are Uchiha Sasuke-kun and Haruno Sakura-san. His abilities, aside from the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu and Academy-level techniques are currently unknown; however his ninjutsu skills have greatly improved…"
Squad Seven unnoticeably flinched that Naruto's abilities might be uncovered. One thought ran through their heads at the same time: 'Oh shit…I hope that he doesn't know about the Mokuton ability…'
"But once again, it is only speculation. Like I said, the information that I have is incomplete."
The blond-haired jinchuuriki and his team relaxed a bit before Kabuto spoke about how this year's crop of candidates would have a lot of potential, while disrespecting the Hidden Sound ninja at the same time. Said shinobi dashed through the crowd and attacked Kabuto.
One of the Oto-nin was a kunoichi with knee-length black hair and dark eyes. The second Oto-nin was a young man with dark, upturned, spiky hair and holes in his hands, who had just thrown two kunai in Kabuto's direction (in which the glasses-wearing shinobi promptly dodged). The third ninja was wrapped up in bandages with only his left eye showing and had a sound cannon attached to his right arm, along with a furry cape on his back. It was the third shinobi that launched a blow in front of Kabuto's face, and even though it missed, the sound waves from the punch caused Kabuto's ears to ring as he vomited.
Sakura and Naruto ran to check on Kabuto when an explosion was heard in the front of the classroom.
"All right you baby-faced degenerates…Pipe down and listen-up!"
Those in attendance turned face to see, emerging from the smoke, a dozen of chuunin and jounin, and at the fore was an intimidating man with a scarf over his head with the Konoha symbol engraved on it. What made him terrifying were the two scars over his face and the tomblike look in his eyes.
"It's time to begin," said the man in the dark trench-coat. "I'm Morino Ibiki, your proctor. And from this moment…your worst enemy…"
XXXXXXXXXX
Naruto took his seat next to Hinata (who had been blushing furiously) and two tables in front of Sakura. He turned to his left and saw a familiar face as a sentinel for the written exam. "Oi, Haku-chan…" He waved his hand frantically while the ice-user smiled and waved back.
"Good luck, Naruto-kun," Haku said, smiling. "Do your best."
With a nod he turned to listen to the objectives and rules of the test. The parameters were pretty steep for one who did not look underneath the underneath. All he had to do was gather information without getting caught. Luckily, his little cloudburst could act as a potential scout on top of his head just like Kiba's pup.
'I guess I'll make amends for what I said and give ol' Dog-Breath some answers,' he thought. He had then wondered about his squad. 'I'm not sure how Sakura will relay me some information, and I know that Sasuke-teme could use his Sharingan to copy the movements of hands on paper…'
'See, now you're maturing, Naruto-shishou,' replied his ocher-hued kit. 'It is best to aid a fellow comrade, and I'll be sure to send and receive some information in Aka-chan's direction.'
'Since when have you started to call me master, Dosha-chan?' Naruto asked, very perplexed. 'And when did you start to call Kiba's pup Aka-chan? And when did you start to pry into my thoughts?'
'Since now,' Doshaburi replied with his foxy grin.
To Naruto, having two voices in his mind was going to be…very awkward…
XXXXXXXXXX
"Now, then," Ibiki announced, "it is time to administer the tenth and final question. But, before I give you the final question, there are some more rules that need to be stated…"
Due to the use of his shadow clones reading up on pamphlets, books and scrolls beforehand, Naruto was able to answer seven of the nine questions thus far; two from Kiba (via pup-talk from Dosha-chan and Akamaru), one from Hinata-chan, three on his own and a guess on the seventh.
Sakura faired well and answered correctly all nine questions for the moment. Ino tried to force herself into her mind with one of her clan techniques but was warded off by a very pissed off Inner Will via mental bashing.
Sasuke activated his doujutsu to copy the hand movements of some of the people around him to gather his responses. He answered six of the nine questions on his own.
When Ibiki mentioned that there was one more rule on top of the grilling parameters, everyone that was still in attendance inwardly groaned.
The 'hopeless rule' stated they had the option to answer the final question. If they did not want to accept, then their score would be reduced to zero and that would mean that the candidate, along with his or her team would be out of the Chuunin Exam. They could return next year to take the test again. On the opposite end was another rule: should they choose to answer the final question and get it wrong, then they could kiss good-bye to their chances of ascension in rank. To the worried genin, it was a no-win situation as some cried out in protest.
'Fascinating…' Kyuubi thought to himself as he grinned. He was rather…intrigued by how the human was able to mess with the head of the weak-minded so easily. 'So, boy, what will you do…? See through his deception or save your own neck with your tail between your legs…?'
"Those who do not wish to answer the final question raise your hands," Ibiki said. "After we verify your number, you will be free to leave, along with your teammates."
The elf-eared Naruto looked to see many of the genin raise their hands and file out. He was astounded by how many could crack under psychological pressure. Had he not communed with his tenant before, then he would probably be cracking up at that particular moment. The numbers whittled down to seventy-two candidates…twenty-four teams of three.
"This is your last chance. Anyone who wishes to not answer may choose to leave."
Hinata was surprised when Naruto stood up, but he had a determined look in his ocean-blue eyes as he bore through the proctor with his piercing gaze. "Screw that! I'm not running away from any challenges like some coward. I don't know about the rest of these people, but I'm going to answer the question for the sake of my team." A grin appeared and threatened to split his face. "I will be Hokage someday, and I won't care if I have to stay a genin forever."
'This guy…the dobe's got a lot of spirit,' thought the raven-haired Uchiha with a smirk of relief on his face.
'Naruto-kun, that's why I admire you,' Hinata thought with a small smile on her face.
'It's my hero in action…' Haku thought while she doodled in a little iceberg on the corner of the paper attached to the clipboard. 'You always astound me, Naruto-kun…'
'You're one crazy fool, Naruto…' Sakura thought as she shook her head. She looked around and noticed that some of the foreign kunoichi had small hearts in their eyes for her teammate. 'And it looks like you picked up foreign fangirls, to boot…It must be the pointy elf-ears…'
'He's a clueless pimp, but he's okay with me. Go Naruto-senpai…Shannaro!' her Inner Will yelled at the top of her lungs.
"Are you sure about this, kid? This decision will impact your life in the future, you know." The head ANBU interrogator attempted to coax the blond to cave in, but his determination was unwavering.
"I'm not going to take back my words," Naruto said with a fang-toothed smile as he sat down. "That is my nindou—my ninja way."
The words of encouragement gave the seventy-two chuunin hopefuls in the room some relief as their uncertainty was cleansed. He then noticed some of the genin kunoichi with a lustful eye on the blond loudmouth.
'I guess that this is it…seventy-two,' Ibiki thought. 'And that kid got a pair of big, brass ones on him. I'll admit that he's interesting, all right…'
"Well, in that case…" The ANBU interrogator smiled heartily. "Everyone here passes."
Some of the candidates face-planted while others had a look of disbelief etched onto their faces.
To ease the irritability of the group, Ibiki explained the true purpose of the exam, which was to learn how to gather information without being spotted. Since it was obvious that the questions could not be answered by genin, a couple of chuunin who knew the answers were placed into the crowd. Those who had done a poor job at cheating were instantly weeded out. Along with information gathering, the underlying factor of the pass-fail decision on a team-wide basis added to the mounting pressure of those who thought they were the weakest of the team links.
After showing the candidates his disfigured scalp, he told them all that information could have greater value than life at times, during missions and on the field of battle. He added that having misinformation was just as worse as not having any at all, and that could lead to the safety or death of one's own comrades or the fall of a village.
In his conclusion, he stated that those who only worry about themselves were not cut out to be chuunin to begin with, since a squad leader must learn how to put the need of the team ahead of themselves. That main idea behind taking the first exam was to test to see if a shinobi had the courage enough to accept the risks, dangers and matters of uncertainty when it came to missions.
'Well that makes sense,' Sasuke thought after he explained. 'Who would've thought…?'
"The first gate has been opened for you," Ibiki said. "And now I will officially end this first exam."
It was not until a few seconds later when a large ball crashed through the window. The large ball unraveled itself as a purple-haired lady, who was garbed in body mesh, an orange skirt, armor-like shin greaves and a tan overcoat, pinned up the banner with two kunai. The dark banner read as "Second Examiner, Mitarashi Anko."
Ibiki sighed. '…Jumped the gun as usual…crazy woman…'
"Heads up, boys and girls, this is no time to be celebrating!" shouted the hyperactive woman. "I'll be your next proctor, Mitarashi Anko."
Everyone looked at her as if he grew a second head.
'This woman is battier than Naruto,' Sakura thought and then chuckled inwardly. 'I think that I can see him do something like that…'
'Great…' thought the somber Uchiha. 'First we get a sadist, and next we get a crazy nut-job. What else is in store?'
"Ibiki, tell me that you didn't pass this many," Anko said. "Your first test must've been too easy."
"Or maybe," Ibiki said, poking his head around the banner. "We have a very good crop of candidates this year."
"Oh well, it won't matter, seeing that more than half will fail by the time I'm through with them," she said with a devilish smirk, which caused some to cringe. "All right, you maggots have had it easy so far, but things are going to be different come first thing tomorrow. I'll let your jounin-sensei know where to meet me…Dismissed…"
XXXXXXXXXX
(22 hours later…)
The genin who had made it past the first exam looked at the large, contained forest area with extremely large trees.
"Whoa," Naruto and his fox cub were at a loss for words when they looked at the undergrowth and high canopies. "What is this place?"
"This is where the second phase of the exam will take place," Anko answered. "This is the 44th battle training zone, but we normally call it…the Forest of Death. And you're going to find out why…"
'A forest, huh? Our natural element, for we are kitsune by nature, ne Dosha-chan?' asked the blond wonder.
'Right, Naruto-shishou,' responded his foxy companion. 'But we have to be careful, though. Who knows what kind of stuff is out there?'
Anko was briefly lecturing when she saw Naruto looking off in no particular direction. "Hey kid…Pay attention!" She flung out a kunai from her jacket and flung it at the blond, only to catch it by the ring with his forefinger.
"Hey, watch it you crazy woman! I was just enjoying the scenery!" Naruto roared.
Anko vanished from view and reappeared behind the blue-eyed wonder. "My, my, it looks like we got a guy with a fiery attitude…" Her hands snaked around and onto his chest, which caused the boy to blush profusely. "Think you can watch me now?" Her tongue slithered to lick his earlobe.
Gaining back his complexion, the boy muttered under his breath, out of earshot of everyone save for the crazy lady, "Yeah, I'd like to watch you without that see-through mesh on…" 'Damn…Kyuubi-sama must be influencing me again…' His tenant was snickering…guilty as charged.
Anko was taken aback by having her innuendo shot back at her. "Well aren't you full of surprises, my little Naru-chan? I can tell that there won't be a dull moment with you around."
Naruto decided to counter, once again due to Kyuubi's influence. It was actually fun to mess around with Anko, even though she was crazy. "There isn't anything dull on me…well, except something smooth that's full of something else…"
Anko's eyes widened a bit and a blush crept on her face as she stammered.
"Gotcha…Naruto, one…Crazy Snake-Lady, none." Naruto had a foxy grin on his face as she went back to the front. "Don't worry. I'll pay attention this time."
'I'm gonna get you, gaki,' she thought before she continued to explain the rules…with a phantom blush on her face.
XXXXXXXXXX
(Gate 12, 2:26 pm)
"Ano…Naruto," Sakura said, while placing the Ten Scroll into her pouch. "What did you say to Anko-sensei? You had her blushing and stammering every time she looked at you."
"Eh, don't worry about that Sakura," answered her blond-haired teammate. Doshaburi was just shaking his head.
'Good grief…' the little cloudburst pawed at the dirt, waiting for the second exam to begin.
'He probably promised to do something with Anko,' thought the dark-haired avenger with a grin. "Okay dobe, we need to make a plan of action before we go in and snatch a Chi Scroll."
"Why are telling me this, Sasuke? I thought you were the brains in the squad. I just run support with ninjutsu. I'm no tactician." Naruto placed his arms over his head and thought about the possibilities.
"But, you think on the fly, Naruto," Sakura spoke up. "That's your biggest strength. I think that you and Sasuke-kun can come up with a solid strategy."
"And since we have Doshaburi in our squad, you and he can smell trouble ahead of time, just like Kiba, which is an additional bonus," Sasuke commented. "Your special genjutsu are another bonus, Sakura, especially that Ivy Snare. I think that you should have input on the strategy as well."
Sakura's eyes lit up. 'He thinks I'm of importance…I must be in heaven…'
Naruto snapped his fingers as he had a revelation. "I got an idea!"
XXXXXXXXXX
(Gate 20, 2:27 pm)
The Oto-nin wrapped in bandages, known as Kinuta Dosu, chuckled to himself. "…Time for us to carry out our orders in the open…"
'Our target…' thought Abumi Zaku, the boy with the holes in his hands.
'Is none other…' thought the female of the group, Tsuchi Kin.
'…than Uchiha Sasuke,' all of them thought together.
XXXXXXXXXX
(Gate 15, 2:28 pm)
In front of Gate 15 was a group of ninja from Kusagakure. One of the ninja was long and lanky and had a feminine face and two had demonic looking faces.
"We'll target the rookies. They're easy prey," said one of the demonic faces.
The lanky one coolly remarked as "she" held up the straw hat and smiled. "We'll get their scroll from them in no time. And you know who we're after, right? Kukuku…" 'In due time, Sasuke-kun…' The effeminate figure licked 'her' lips with an elongated tongue.
XXXXXXXXXX
(Forest of Death, parts unknown, 2:29 pm)
A cat-masked ANBU guard had an unexpected chill crawling down his spine. He removed his mask and looked up at the sky, revealing his plated headgear with the Hidden Leaf symbol on it. He had dark eyes and short, brown hair.
'It was no wonder why Hokage-sama wants us stationed out here…' he thought. 'Something tells me that trouble's brewing…'
"Tenzou-san is there something wrong?" asked a fellow ANBU kunoichi with purple hair flowing around her mask.
The one known as Tenzou replied, "I…just have a bad feeling about something. Of what, I don't know, Yuugao-san…" He snapped back on his mask. 'We're in for a storm…'
XXXXXXXXXX
(Main Gate, 2:30 pm)
"All right, you maggots!" yelled Anko. "Start your engines, because the second part of the Chuunin Exam is under way!"
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A/N: Well, that's another chapter down. I hope that you've enjoyed the setup for the next chapter in line. Now would be a good time to look back at the top and answer the questions regarding future references. I would greatly appreciate it.
Quick trivia:
'That reptilian stench…' Kyuubi said to his host. 'I've smelled it before…'
This quote is a re-modified quote from what hit-release video game? I think that it's pretty obvious, but whoever gets it correct will have their names posted at the start of next chapter.
The second round of the Chuunin trials is under way. Motivational plots from two teams coincide with Squad Seven, with Sasuke as the prime target. Two ANBU are stationed in the Forest of Death, waiting for an approaching storm. What lies behind honest intentions?
Jikai… (Next time…) on Birth of a Legend: The Fox Druid…
Slither and Scurry: Bite of Indigestion…
Naruto: Someone would like to have a word with you, snake-teme…
DHO: So…what are you about to do, Naruto?
Naruto: I'll show this bastard no mercy! That's what I'll do…
Romaji Guide:
Inu-Ibuki: Dog-Breath; Naruto's nickname for Kiba
Kitsune-kun: Fox-Boy; Kiba's nickname for Naruto
Shougi: Japanese chess
Kumogakure (no Sato): Hidden Cloud Village
Otogakure (no Sato): Hidden Sound Village
Shishou: master
Ten: heaven
Chi: earth