A/N: Konyanyachiwa! (I know it's wrong.) I got over my depression nyan! I'm not sure but I think now's the start of the Chunin exam arc… I'll do my best nyan! Someone please tell me what Jiraiya's first book was called. The one that's not Icha-Icha. It would be nice if someone told me how dog's react to things and stuff because I'm not a dog trainer.
Seeker of the Stars- Haku doesn't know Naruto is Minato because Minato didn't tell him in the end. I rewrote Chap 12-14. Thx for the advice by the way.
Wolfsbane-nin- Thanks! I really wanna know how you did that face. I just can't get the symbols to go in the right places.
Inuyonas- Thank you. That means a lot to me.
BTB –Wow! I didn't know that! Shirley Manson must be really attention starved… kinda like Naruto?
Jayley- Minato is Naruto. I just don't know what to do with Naruto's soul! Argh!
Disclaimer: I still don't own Naruto.
Chapter 15: Chunin Nomination
"Haku, you're starting work today right?" Minato mumbled through his ramen.
"Yes, and I'd better hurry or I'm going to be late." Haku replied, gathering the dishes and placing them in the sink.
"I'll wash the dishes for you. My sensei is always late anyways." Minato called to Haku.
"Thanks. See you later." Haku said as she left the apartment.
Minato slowly washed the dishes, thinking about the mission. They might not be getting anymore C-ranks after the mission to Wave, and the Chunin exams were coming up. 'We're probably going to be taking the exams next year, since we're just fresh out of the academy. Kakashi probably won't do anything too ridiculous and allow us to take the exams.' Minato thought as he placed the dishes on the rack to dry. He dried his hands and returned to his room, where he swapped his pyjamas for his usual attire, orange jumpsuit and all. He strapped his kunai pouch to his thigh and swiped a book from the bookcase. "Tale of the Utterly Gutsy Ninja… Sensei, where are you now?" Minato flipped the book open as he left via the window. He hopped from rooftop to rooftop, his eyes never leaving the book.
Upon reaching the bridge, he noticed Sasuke already there. "Where's Sakura?" Minato inquired, receiving a shrug for an answer. Not long after, Sakura arrived. "You're normally here before I am. What happened?" Minato asked.
"Had to help out in the store." Sakura replied simply. Minato nodded, knowing that Sakura came from a civilian family.
"Yo! Sorry I'm late. I got lost." Kakashi raised a hand in greeting and shot them an eye-smile. "Let's go get a mission from the Hokage." Kakashi eye-smiled again, leading them to the Hokage Tower. Soon, they found themselves pulling weeds in some old lady's garden. She was cultivating herbs and had hired them to do the weeding for her. Minato watched as their sensei was invited into the house for tea and created a few Kage Bunshin to lighten the workload. They managed to finish weeding just as their sensei exited the house. "I step inside for a while and when I come out, you're already done. Well done." Kakashi applauded, shooting them another eye-smile.
Minutes later, they found themselves in the river picking rubbish, their sensei resting by the riverbank in the shade of a tree. Minato glanced over at him and inwardly chastised him for reading his old-sensei's smut. The rubbish picking mission went without incident, Minato creating more Kage Bunshin to help with the menial task, resigning himself to doing horrible D-ranks until the effect of the Wave incident blew over or until he made Chunin.
They took up another mission in which they had to walk dogs. Minato volunteered to walk the largest dog, doubting that either of his team mates would have the patience or strength to deal with it. As soon as he took the leash, the dog began to yank at it and would have dragged him along if he had not held it back. He put a hand on its chin and began to scratch, finding the 'sweet spot'. They began to walk the dogs, the dog he was walking was generally subdued until they neared the trap field. There was a rip in the fence and, for some reason, the dog was dead set on entering. He immediately tied the leash to a tree and watched it tug fruitlessly. He bent down and scratched behind its ear and noticed as it stopped. The dog then closed its eyes and let Minato scratch behind his ear, the latter hoping the dog was trained. "Sasuke, help me untie the leash." Minato called to his team mate who was standing next to Sakura. The ebony-haired boy led the dog he was in charge of by the leash and untied the leash around the tree, his own still in hand. Sasuke grabbed the leash in his free hand and tossed it to the blond, the latter snatching it out of the air. The team then continued walking the dogs, the large dog forgetting about the traps in favour of ears scratches from Minato, who was leading the dog along and scratching behind the dog's ears.
"I really hope that dog didn't have fleas." Minato said nonchalantly as they left for the Hokage Tower once more. Haku's face surfaced in Sasuke's min, 'Damn it, this pisses me off! There are people out there that are stronger than me, yet they're making me do all these stupid missions,' he thought, clenching his fists.
"Is there something wrong, Sasuke?" Sakura asked, glancing over at him.
"No. I'm okay." Sasuke replied, returning to being his usual apathetic self.
"Let's call it quits for today. I'm going to submit the mission report." Kakashi voiced, turning in the direction of the Hokage Tower.
"I'm going home." Sasuke declared and walked off on another path in the T-junction. Sakura and Minato were the only ones left at the intersection.
Minato was about to head to the training grounds when Sakura cried out, "What is that?" Minato whipped around and saw a one-foot tall brick wall shuffling over to them. He recognised one of the chakra signatures inside the box and frowned, 'Konohamaru's hiding abilities are lacking.'
"Konohamaru, what are you doing?" Minato asked, quirking an eyebrow.
"As expected from my Onii-san!" a muffled voice announced from inside the square rock. There was an explosion and three children emerged, coughing and hacking. "I think you put too much gunpowder." Konohamaru coughed. Minato and Sakura just stared at the three children on the floor. Then, the orange haired girl struck a pose and introduced herself as Moegi, the bespectacled one following suit not long after, introducing himself as Udon. Konohamaru ended the sequence by posing at the helm and shouting his name.
"What are you three doing here?" Minato questioned.
"We want you to play ninja with us!" Konohamaru shouted.
"What's the point of a ninja playing ninja?" Sakura muttered, irritated by the 'Konohamaru Corps', as the three called themselves.
"Onii-san, who is this girl?" Konohamaru asked on behalf of the three Academy students including himself. 'She's been staring at him so intensely.' Konohamaru thought, a frown creasing his brow before a light bulb went off in his head. "I see you've finally exercised your charms on someone." Konohamaru grinned slyly.
"Hmm?" Minato stared at Konohamaru, not sure where this was going.
"Is she your…" Konohamaru stuck out his pinky.
"What are you talking about?" Minato cocked his head as Sakura began turning red.
"Sakura! Are you sick or something? Maybe you've caught what Haku had! Do you need me to get a doctor?" Minato asked, flustered.
"No, you idiot!" Sakura launched her right fist at Minato's cheek. Minato caught it and looked at his pink haired team mate, a puzzled expression on his face. Sakura lashed out with her left fist which was also caught by the blond.
"What did I say?" Minato's puzzled expression still in place.
"To think you're actually dating this violent, flat chested, tomboyish…" Konohamaru quieted as Sakura turned her attention to him and cracked her knuckles menacingly, fire burning in her eyes, the demon looming behind her. Sakura began to sprint after them, tears streaming from Konohamaru's eyes as he ran for his life. "Is she really a girl?" escaped his lips as he raced around the corner.
Suddenly, Konohamaru collided into someone and fell onto his rump. Two teens were towering over him. One of them was a blond female with a battle fan strapped to her back. Her hair was pulled back into four ponytails and her hitai-ate was tied around her neck. A disapproving look was painted on her face and her hands were planted firmly on her hips. The one Konohamaru had bumped into was wearing war paint on his face and had a bandaged figure strapped to his back. His expression mirrored his companions and his hands were tucked into his pockets. 'Suna-nin. Are they here for the Chunin exams?' Minato wondered.
"That hurt gaki." The male teen drawled as he stared down at the boy at his feet. He reached down and picked the brown-haired child up and gripped the latter's neck. Konohamaru grabbed his captor's wrist, trying desperately to free himself. "That hurt gaki." The teen repeated.
"Stop it. We're going to get scolded later." The blonde one of the two sighed, letting her gaze drift over to where they came from back to her companion.
"Sorry. We were just joking around." Sakura apologised, inwardly wondering who these people were.
"Please let go of Konohamaru." Minato said calmly, tensing his muscles if the situation got worse.
"But I want to play a little before someone comes." The teen drawled lazily, not unlike a certain silver-haired Jounin, and proceeded to tighten his grip on Konohamaru's throat.
"Please release him. I don't want to have to fight." Minato stated, his voice unwavering.
"Konoha Gennin are so weak. You look really girly you know. Are you sure you're male?" the Suna-nin taunted as he tightened his grip on Konohamaru's neck further. Suddenly the teen found himself on the floor before he had a chance to blink. The blond boy he'd just insulted standing imperiously over him, Konohamaru in his arms.
"I warned you. And I advise you not to attack the Hokage's grandson, unless you want to start a war." Minato said apathetically, setting Konohamaru down gently. 'He's really not that bad looking.' The blonde Suna teen thought, allowing a blush to form on her cheeks.
"As expected from Onii-san!" Konohamaru bragged to his two friends. Minato sensed someone in the trees exuding malice and bloodlust but kept his eyes trained on the teen in front of him.
The male Suna-nin got to his feet and growled, "You piss me off. I hate kids like you who think they're so great." The male Suna-nin grabbed a strip of bandage trailing from the figure on his back and yanked on it, revealing a tuft of brown.
"Oi! You're going to use Karasu?" the female Suna-nin shouted, panic evident in her voice. The bandages danced in the air around the male Suna-nin as he placed the figure on the floor.
"Kankuro. Stop. You're a disgrace to the village." A hollow voice rang out. The group directed their eyes towards the trees in unison and noticed a read-headed male hanging from a tree branch by his feet. The read-head's arms were crossed and he stared down at the group imperiously. He had dark rings accentuating his eyes which were a smooth teal colour, and there was the Kanji for 'love' on the left side of his forehead. There was also a giant gourd strapped to his back and a plate with the Suna emblem sewed onto the strap.
"G-Gaara." The newly identified Kankuro stuttered, visibly subdued.
"Why do you think we came all the way here to Konoha?" Gaara continued.
"Listen, Gaara. These guys started it." Kankuro said in his defence.
"Shut up or I'll kill you." Gaara said calmly, blood lust emanating from his words.
"I'm at fault. I'm sorry. I'm really sorry." Kankuro apologised, holding his hands up to placate the red-head.
"Please excuse him you guys." Gaara drawled from the branch. 'I don't like the look of those eyes.' Minato frowned inwardly. 'He's good.' Gaara thought, staring at the blond Konoha-nin. The red-head used a shunshin and appeared next to the other two Suna-nin. "Let's go. We didn't come here to fool around." Gaara muttered, turning to his team mates.
"I know." Kankuro said, the three turning to leave.
Sakura moved to ask them what they were here for when Minato grabbed her arm and said, "They're here for the bi-annual Chunin exams, Sakura," as if he'd read her mind. Sakura just nodded.
"Wait!" Minato called, trying to get the three Suna-nin's attention. They stopped and turned slightly.
"My name's Naruto. What's yours?" Minato continued.
"Me?" the blonde Suna-nin asked, a smile playing on her lips and a blush spreading across her cheeks.
"It would be nice to you're your name, but I really want to know the name of the one with the gourd on his back since I didn't quite catch it just now." Minato smiled placidly at the Suna-nin.
The blush spread as she mumbled, "My name's Sabaku no Temari."
"Sabaku no Gaara. I'm also interested in you." The red-head turned around fully and stared Minato in the eye. They turned around and took off, Gaara in the lead. 'There are three more still in the trees.' Minato turned to look at the source and found three more Gennin with musical notes on their hitai-ate.
Meanwhile, in a certain room in the Hokage Tower, the nomination of the teams that would be taking the Chunin exams was taking place. "So? When is it?" a crimson eyed lady named Kurenai asked.
"One week from now." Sarutobi announced.
"That's sudden." Kakashi drawled, his eyes widening a fraction.
"Then I'll make an official announcement. 7 days from now on the 1st of July, we will begin the Chunin selection exams." Sarutobi informed those who were in the room. "Now, those who are in charge of new Gennin teams please step forth." Sarutobi commanded. Three Jounin advanced, one of them being Kakashi. "Kakashi, Asuma, Kurenai. Are there any Gennin you wish to enter into the exams among the ones you teach? You probably already know this, but any Gennin that has accomplished more than 8 missions are eligible to enter through your recommendation. But normally, those that have done twice that amount are more suited…" Sarutobi continued. "Kakashi." Sarutobi said, indicating that the silver haired Jounin was to start.
"From the 7th squad that I lead, Uchiha Sasuke, Uzumaki Naruto and Haruno Sakura. I recommend those three for the Chunin selection exams under my name Hatake Kakashi. " Kakashi said.
"From the 8th squad that I lead, Hyuuga Hinata, Inuzuka Kiba, Aburame Shino. I recommend those three for the Chunin selection exams under my name Yuuhi Kurenai." Kurenai continued.
"From the 10th squad that I lead, Yamanaka Ino, Nara Shikamaru, Akimichi Chouji. I recommend those three for the Chunin selection exams under my name Sarutobi Asuma." Asuma finished. Gossip broke out among the ones at the back, at all three recommending their squads.
"Please wait!" Iruka shouted. "Please let me speak Hokage-sama. Excuse me for interfering, but the nine who had their names called were my students from the academy. Every on of them is talented but this is too early! They need more experience before they enter!"
"I became Chunin when I was six years younger than Naruto." Kakashi drawled, turning to Iruka.
"Naruto is different from you! Are you trying to ruin him?" Iruka shouted.
"Their teamwork is quite good, and putting them in a dangerous situation will be interesting. Ruining them will also be interesting." Kakashi said stoically.
"What did you say?" Iruka inched closer.
"That was a joke. Iruka-sensei, I understand what you're saying, and you might be upset but-" Kakashi was cut off.
"Kakashi stop." Kurenai said.
"Don't interfere. They're no longer your students. They're my subordinates now." Kakashi finished harshly.
"But the Chunin exams is also known as the-" it was Iruka's turn to be cut off.
"Iruka, I understand your argument. So we'll put the rookie Gennin through a special preliminary exam." The Hokage announced.
"Preliminary?" Iruka parroted in disbelief.
The next morning found Team 7 waiting on the bridge for their wayward sensei to arrive. They had not been there very long and were prepared to wit a little longer when their Kakashi finally appeared. "Yo! Today I got lost on the road of life." He raised a hand in greeting and eye-smiled at them as usual. "Okay. I'll get straight to the point. I recommended the three of you for the Chunin selection exams so here. Take these applications." He handed them each an application form. "However, the recommendation does not force you to take it. You can decide if you want to take it or not. Only those who want to take it are to apply and five days after that, get to school by 3 PM and go to Room 301." Kakashi instructed. 'Oh my God! He really recommended us for the exams!' Minato thought, wondering what had been running through his student's mind when he had recommended them.
The three Gennin left, each lost in their own thoughts. Many Gennin arrived that day from across the Elemental nations to take part in the Chunin exams that was to be held there. On his way to the training grounds, Minato spotted the Konohamaru corps. He groaned inwardly when they invited him to play ninja with them. An unknown ninja materialised out of thin air and grabbed Moegi. Minato recognised him as Iruka but acted anyway. The latter grabbed Moegi's 'kidnapper' and straddled his back. "Iruka sensei, what are you doing?" Minato asked placidly. "Sorry Naruto. That was for the preliminary rounds for rookie Gennin. You pass by the way. Good luck." Iruka released the henge and left, smiling, leaving Minato with the Konohamaru corps. "Here." Minato smiled, handing Moegi the flower she'd dropped when Iruka grabbed her. "As expected of my Onii-san!" Konohamaru boasted again. They turned back to the spot Minato was at and noticed that the blond was missing. "Where'd he go?" Konohamaru puzzled over his Onii-san's disappearance.
That night, the 'unknown ninja' materialised again behind Kakashi. "How did they do?" the silver haired Jounin drawled and didn't deign to turn around to face the person. "Although we went through the trouble of setting up a special preliminary exam, all nine passed." The ninja's form returned to being that of Iruka's. "It seems like their skills are growing, just like the three of you have said." Iruka said, looking defeated. "But the real Chunin exam isn't going to be that easy." Kakashi drawled. The Chunin exams were coming up and there would be many tough battles ahead.
A/N: I'm sorry I cut it short. The test for Sasuke and Sakura was canon. The outcome and what happened during it is also canon. Sorry about that nyan. :( Please review and thank you for your support.