A/N: I want to thank everyone who added this story to their favourites and follows as well as to everyone who reviewed.

Walking towards their destination, Naru couldn't help but think about her friends and of her home. Did they read her letters? Did they understand her need to leave the village? Were they angry with her with the way she left? She should have said her goodbyes in person but she didn't want to have any doubts when it came to leaving the only home she ever had. If she had seen her friends for one last time, she would have hesistated in leaving home and Naru didn't want to hesistate in her choice.

If she ever wanted to bring back her best friend then she needed to become strong enough to deal with any obstacle Orochimaru would throw her way. Besides, leaving the village would have been the best for her. When she was leaving the village, all Naru couldn't help but remember were the days before everything went to hell. The days where she would annoy the hell out of Sasuke, demanding Kakashi to take them to her favourite ramen stall and teasing Sakura for her crush on Sasuke.

She wanted to go back to those days so badly.

"Are you alright Naru?" Gon asked, tilting his head.

Blinking her eyes, Naru smiled widely at the young boy and answered. "Of course, I'm fine Gon, what makes you think something is wrong?"

"You look sad for some reason," Gon frowned. "Why are you sad Naru?"

"I'm not sad," Naru said, grinning. "Why would I be sad? I'm on the adventure of a lifetime Gon! This has to be one of the most exciting adventures I've ever been on Gon. It makes no sense for me to be sad, right Gon?"

The dark-haired boy grinned at her words and Naru was glad he believed her words. She didn't want the boy to worry about her when he wanted to pass these exams to find out why his father loved his job. She would blame herself if the boy didn't accomplish his dream. She wanted him to find out if this job was worth giving up a child for. Nodding her head, Naru kept a smile fixed on her face as she continued to walk to the path that would lead them to the navigators, who the old lady claimed would take them to the exam site if they liked them enough.

Naru was going to do whatever it took to make sure those navigators like them.

"Naru, why did your teammate leave?" Kurapika asked as they passed another sign which warned them about demon beasts. "You said on the ship you wanted to become stronger so you could bring your teammate back but you never told us why he left the first place. It's alright if you don't want to answer my question but I don't understand how does becoming stronger links towards you bringing back your teammate."

Naru grinned and rubbed the back of her neck as she thought of a way to explain it to them. "When you put it that way it doesn't make sense but my teammate ran away from the village to join a very bad man so that he could have revenge against the person who killed his clan. I understand he wants revenge but I didn't want him leaving the village the way he did...he's my teammate. He's apart of my family, do ya get what I mean? My team is my family and I don't like my family breaking apart."

Kurapika stared at her for a good couple of minutes before nodding his head at her. She wondered what was going through her fellow blonde's mind when she said this to him. Out of everyone in their small group, Naru couldn't read the blond male very well. Kurapika wanted revenge but unlike Sasuke, who was quite clear about his feelings towards everything else, Kurapika didn't show many emotions. It was quite weird if you ask her because people should show emotions.

It was never good to bottle your emotions up.

"How old was your teammate when he lost his clan?" Leorio asked, looking at her with curiosity.

Naru furrowed her eyebrows before answering, "We were eight when his whole clan was murdered."

"He lost his family so young," Leorio commented, causing Naru to wince at the reminder while Kurapika nodded his head. "It must have messed him up to know his whole family was murdered."

He didn't just know his whole family was murdered, Naru thought as they continued to walk through the path, her best friend witness the murder of his whole clan. It took just one day for her teammate from being a happy kid to a kid who only thought of revenge. Naru could still remember the day Sasuke came back from the hospital and how sullen his face was. All she could remember was that she wanted to comfort him, that she was glad there was someone else who was alone and the fact she wanted to be his friend but Naru didn't make that offer.

Till this day, Naru didn't know why she didn't do it then.

"It's gotten completely dark," Leorio said, snapping her from her train of thought. "The old lady said it would take us two hours to get there but god damn it, it has already been two hours!"

Naru nodded her head in agreement, bitting her lips to stop herself from shaking. She didn't want them to know she was afraid of the dark, of the fact she didn't feel comfortable in these woods. There was just something about these woods which just gave her the creeps but it might be the fact she could sense something wasn't right about this path. Kami, she was a ninja but she was still afraid of the woods.

"Another warning sign about demon beasts?" Leorio said, furrowing his eyebrows at the sign. He glanced at the three of them with curiosity and worry. "Do you think we'll ever make it to the exam site?"

"Don't know but I hope so," Naru answered, tilting her head at the warning signs. "They keep mentioning about demon beasts but what the hell are they?"

Licking his lips, Kurapika answered, "Naru, demon beasts are beasts which can change their own physical appearance and they're very much capable of using human speech."

"I see."

Well Naru didn't really see why they had to be warned about them every five meters but she couldn't very well tell that to Kurapika could she? She wished she had Sakura or Kakashi with her, at least, her teammate and teacher would use even more simple language with her. She wasn't dumb but Naru would admit, though only to herself, she wasn't all that smart too. There was a reason why she hated exams which involved some form of writing.

After another ten minutes of walking, Kurapika stopped, turned to look at them and declared. "I see the house."

Blinking her eyes, Naru looked away from the trees and stared at the path right in front of them. The house in front of them was a wooden house, just small enough for a small family to live in there in peace. There was nothing special about the house but there was something about the house that drew her attention, that made her want to explore it.

She glanced at Gon, who was calling out for Leorio to hurry up, and then to Kurapika, who just stared at the house with a troubled look on his face. Was there something not right about this place? Naru couldn't help but wonder as she gazed at the blond-haired male. It seemed all right if you asked her. There was no energy in this area which screamed murder so this place wasn't exactly dangerous.

It was just creepy that was all.

"It's quiet," Kurapika commented, breaking the silence between the four of them. "Are we the only applicants to arrive?"

"Looks like it," Naru stated, glancing at the forest around them. "I can't smell another human scent except for ours and I'm no genius but if I can't smell another human scent then it means we're the only ones here, right?"

Kurapika grimaced at her words while Leorio looked at them in confusion before walking towards the cabin door. He glanced at her and Gon before looking at the door, no doubt wanting one of them to knock the door but if he thought she was going to knock the door when things seemed fishy then he got another thing coming.

Shaking his head, Leorio pushed the door opened.

The first thing Naru noticed, it was the fact that the whole living room looked as if it had been trashed. The second thing she noticed was the fact that there was a big furry monster standing in front of her, clutching a young female by the neck. She felt her throat dried when she saw the helpless look on the young woman's face. What should she do? Should she go save the young woman? It was the right thing but she couldn't find the strength to move her body. Biting down on her lips, Naru gazed at the rest of the room, feeling her heart clench when she saw a young man struggling to help his wife.

Taking a deep breath, Naru forced herself to take a step forward. The beast growled at her but Naru gulped down her lump and forced herself to move forward. Clenching her hands into a fist, Naru rushed towards the beast with her fist swinging in the air, ignoring the cries of Leorio and the others, who finally processed what was happening to the woman. The beast smirked and ducked under her attack, rushing towards the door, throwing her friends to the side.

"Naru!" They yelled at her, glancing at her in shock as they pushed themselves back up in the ground. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," Naru said, keeping her eyes at the fading figure of the monster. "You shouldn't worry about me. The woman got kidnapped by that ugly ass monster."

She glanced at the injured man and then to the opened door. Licking her dried lips, Naru rushed out of the door and into the dark, creepy woods. She was no doctor so she couldn't stay and heal the man but Naru was a shinobi. She knew how to fight and saving people was a part of her job description. There was no way she was going to let that woman get killed by that monster.

This was the only thought that rung through Naru's mind as she chased after the monster.

The beast twisted its head around, scowled at her before running faster than it ever did before. She smirked at the monster before grabbing a shuriken from her pouch, twirling it between her fingers before throwing it at the monster. The monster scowled at her and jumped down to the ground, narrowly missing her shuriken but if the monster thought it was safe then it had another thing coming.

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Naru yelled, putting her hands into a familiar hand seal.

Twenty clones appeared right in front of her and without a single word, all of them jumped down to the ground to tackle the monster. There was no way the monster could dodge her attacks now, she thought to herself, jumping down to the ground. It barely dodged her shuriken, which meant it couldn't be strong enough to dodge twenty copies of herself.

It won't be long before I save the woman, Naru thought to herself, as she ran after her clones and monster. She clenched her hands into a fist and placed herself into position as one of her clones slammed their fist against the monster's head. The monster flew towards the tree, dropping the woman to the ground and glared at her. Naru smiled widely at the monster. She glanced at the girl and blinked her eyes at the sight of Kurapika craddling the woman near his chest.

She raised her eyebrows when she caught sight of Gon standing in front of her with his hands clutching the fishing rod as if it was his life. She frowned and stared at the monster, who stared right at her as it rubbed its head. If the monster hadn't hurt the woman, maybe just maybe she would be sorry for hitting the monster but the monster hurt the woman and that wasn't something Naru was willing to forget.

The monster growled, twisted its body away and ran deeper into the forest, leaving her alone with Kurapika, Gon and the woman. She wanted to chase after it but there was no point of her chasing after the monster when it wasn't hurting anyone now. Besides, her instincts told her that the monster wasn't going to hurt anyone else now and Naru trusted her instincts.

"Wait!" Gon yelled, snapping her out of her train of thought.

Naru blinked her eyes and watched as Gon chased after the monster. Should she chase after Gon? No, Gon could handle himself. He might not be a shinobi and yes he was a civilian but, Naru had seen the fish the boy had caught and she knew no ordinary civilian could carry something that huge. Gon was strong so getting that monster wouldn't be a problem for him.

Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard the twigs crunched and snapped, signalling to her that the three of them weren't alone in this part of the forest. She glanced at Kurapika, wondering if the boy heard the sound but Kurapika didn't look at her. Instead, he was gazing at the woman's hand as if he realized something that could change the world.

She wished she knew what he realized.

"Kurapika, Naru, are you alright?" Leorio yelled, snapping her out of her thoughts.

Kurapika looked away from the woman and stared at Leorio. "Yeah, the both of us are fine. Gon went after the demon beast."

Something wasn't right, Naru thought as she stared at Leorio. He didn't smell like that cheap cologne he insisted in wearing nor did he smell like the chocolate. No, the man smelled like the trees around them which wouldn't be so weird if she didn't know that no one could change their scent. She licked her dried lips and wondered what the hell was happening. Was it possible for someone to change their natural scent? These countries were different from her home so maybe it was possible.

"That isn't the real one, you baka!" A grumpy voice yelled in her mind. "I knew you were an idiot but I didn't think you were that stupid. How did I end up in a stupid container?"

She blinked her eyes as she realized that the Kyuubi was talking to her. Ever since her battle with Sasuke, she hadn't heard a single word from the demon inside of her, which wasn't unusual. Most of the time, she didn't talk to the monster and when she did, it usually said something to piss her off. What he just said just now was a prime example of the things he said to piss her off.

"Shut up you stupid fox!" Naru growled. "How am I suppose to know he wasn't the real one? For all I know, he could change his scent."

"Use your common sense, brat!" The Kyuubi snarled. "No one can change their natural scent especially that weakling. He's the weakest link between the four of you! I swear I always end up with a stupid container."

"Well, this stupid container could find a way to make your life hell."

The Kyuubi shut up.

"Who are you?" Naru asked, causing Kurapika to blink his eyes. "You're not Leorio! You don't have his scent...you smell like the forest, which is a smell that Leorio doesn't have."

The fake Leorio stared at her for a good couple of seconds before changing its appearance to the demon beast that she hit earlier.

"You're smarter then you look," The demon beast commented. "And your sense of smell is amazing for a human."

"Thanks...I think."

The demon beast stared at her for a good couple of seconds and then at the female and then to Kurapika before disappearing into the shadows. She stared at Kurapika, who closed his eyes and took a deep breath before gazing darkly at the young woman in front of them. If she hadn't experienced Gaara's bloodlust or even Orochimaru's bloodlust then Naru would have been quivering at the amount of bloodlust that Kurapika had.

Did everyone who want revenge had huge amounts of bloodlust?

"Now let me ask you one question," Kurapika whispered darkly, pulling out his bokken at the woman. "What exactly are you?"

"Kurapika!" Naru yelled. "What the hell are you doing?"

"She's not who they claim her to be," Kurapika explained, narrowing his eyes at her. "The markings on her hands is not one that a married woman should have. Those markings belong to a woman who made an oath to remain celibate for the rest of their lives."

"Celibate?"

Kurapika sighed. "They made a vow never to have sex."

"Why didn't you just say that?"

The blond-haired male sighed and shook his head at her before gazing at the smirking woman in front of them. Naru stared at the woman and wondered if the four of them had been doing a test without knowing it. If they did then she was going to go find those assholes of examiners and yell at them for the unfairness that was this test. Of course, she would only do that if it turned out they hadn't passed.

"I'll explain everything once we get to the cabin," The woman explained, standing up. "Everyone should be done doing their duties now and it would be very problematic if we had to explain it three times."

Naru nodded her head and gazed up at the night sky, making a small prayer that the four of them had passed this stage of the exam because she didn't know what she would do with herself if they didn't pass the exams. These exams may be one of the few ways she could get stronger.

There was no way she could let herself fail these exams without becoming stronger.

Staring at the four candidates in front of them, Arata couldn't help but muse about the potential that the four candidates had shown. From what he had heard from his son, the tallest one of the group had given him the fastest first-aid he had ever seen and more accurately too. The blond-haired man was the most well-read one out of the four, having figured out his kids' fake relationship by knowing about other cultures. However, those two didn't hold a candle to the youngest two.

The blond-haired girl had been able to surprise him by making those clones appear, effectively distracting him from the hit she threw at him. Despite the idiotic look on her face, the girl had been able to make a very smart plan on how to save his daughter. It also didn't help the girl had been quite quick to realize he had disguised himself as her friend. It had been a long time since someone could distinguish him from humans. That girl had the potential to be a good hunter.

He nodded his head and gazed at the youngest boy of the group. He was the one that impressed him the most since he was able to tell the difference between his wife and him. The girl had been able to distinguish the fact he was not her friend but she hadn't been able to tell that he hadn't been the one to take his daughter away in the beginning. This was expected because only a very extraordinary human could tell him apart from his wife.

The young boy in front of them was just an example of a very extraordinary human.

"How many years has it been since we've met a human who could tell us apart?" His wife asked him, gazing at the black-haired boy in wonder. "It must have been nearly a hundred years now!"

"It's very exciting."

All the candidates, except for the young boy, stared at them in confusion before shuffling closer to each other, flickering their eyes to him and then to his wife before looking at their friend. He could see from the furrowed eyebrows in those three candidates' faces that there was some confusion but Arata didn't know what those three could be confused about.

"The one Naru hit was the husband," The boy explained, rubbing the back of his neck. "I hit the wife."

"Um, Gon? We can't tell the difference," The blond-haired girl said, frowning. "We can't tell the difference between them."

Gon blinked his eyes and pointed at him. "Oops. Sorry Naru, that guy is the husband."

The girl, Naru, nodded her head and smiled at him. Arata gave the blond-haired girl a smile and looked at her forehead, where he noticed a headband tied around her head. Didn't that headband belonged to one of the ninja villages in the Elemental Countries? It had been nearly ten years since he last been in the Elemental Countries but Arata could still remember distinctly how people were able to tell the difference between a ninja and a civilian by the headband they wore.

So they had a shinobi in their midst?

These exams might become even more interesting with a shinobi from the Elemental Countries taking part.

"I'm sure all four of you have realised by now that we're the navigators,' His wife said, elbowing his chest. Arata winced at his wife, who just shook her head at him, before giving the four potential candidates a nod.

His daughter gave everyone a smile and rolled up her sleeves, revealing the fake tattoos they drew on her for this small test they had given. The young girl stared at the tattoos with wonder while Gon and the tall men stared at it with confusion.

"Using his impressive knowledge to catch even the subtlest hints, Kurapika-dono figured out that my brother and I weren't a couple," His daughter declared, giggling when the girl and two boys made a face at her words. "This tattoo belongs to the women of the ancient Sumi Tribe. It symbolises the oath to remain a virgin for the rest of my life as strictly the wife of god. Only someone with extensive knowledge of ancient history would figure it out."

"Leorio-dono could not figure out my identity in the end," His son informed them, gesturing at the tall man. "However, the first aid he administered was faster and more accurate than even a doctor and beyond anything else, he continued to console me and encourage me when I was worrying about the safety of my wife."

"Naru-dono showed remarkable thinking skills," he said, smiling at the young blonde, who looked at him in shock. "In order to make me let go of the woman, she used her clones to distract me and hit me while I was trying to figure out which one of them was real. She also showed great observational skills, having figured out quite quickly that I wasn't Leorio-dono however, she had not realised I wasn't the original person who took the girl."

The blonde smiled widely at him before giving a high-five to Gon.

"Gon-dono just like Naru-dono posses superhuman athleticism and observational skills, having distinguished my wife from me," he praised.

The boy grinned at him before looking at the blue-eyed girl, who gave him a thumbs up. Naru grinned widely before swinging her arms around the two men in front of her, who looked startled at her sudden public display of affection. Arata didn't know how long those four known each other but Arata knew from staring at those four that those four were going to be somebody.

"The four of you pass the test," He informed them. "We'll guide you to the exam hall."

Naru smiled even wider and yelled. "Yes! We pass! Did ya hear that guys? We pass the test!"

Arata couldn't help but smile as he watched the little girl tackle the three boys to the ground, giving them hugs as she yelled out their verdict for the whole world to hear. Those four might have passed their test but those four had a long way before they could become hunters. After all, it was very unlikely for the four of them to pass the exam at their current level.

Although he had those beliefs, Arata also knew that there was also a chance those four could pass these exams in their first time.

Zaban City had to be the biggest city Naru had ever seen.

Everywhere she turned, Naru could find buildings that were at least twice the size of the Hokage Tower. The city also seemed to lack plant life because it was hard for her to find a tree to climb or even flowers to smell, which was weird for her because Naru was so used to seeing plants everywhere she turned. The city also had so many happy people, who would give her a smile whenever she looked at them, and had so much cheap food that Naru was tempted to buy every single thing in the market.

"Do you think we've enough time for me climb one of those buildings?" Naru asked Kurapika.

Kurapika sweat-dropped and shook his head. "No, Naru I don't think we've enough time for you to do that and even if we did have enough time, I advice you not to do that."

"Why?"

"One wrong move Naru and you'll die," Leorio answered, shaking his head. "You'll be insane if you want to climb one of those skyscrapers."

"I won't die if I fall from the skyscraper," Naru informed him as their guide lead them through an empty street. "My body can handle a lot of things, falling from a skyscraper won't be enough to kill me."

Leorio frowned, stared at her and asked. "Are you even human?"

"Of course, I'm human!' Naru snapped, earning a smile from Kurapika and Gon. "Why wouldn't I be human?"

"A normal human can't survive a fall from a skyscraper," Leorio explained.

Naru blinked her eyes and frowned at him. A normal human can't survive a fall from a tall building? Was that really true? It must be true because not everyone was trained to become a ninja like her. It would make sense for people like Leorio not to survive a fall from a really tall building but they were still normal people. Shinobis were still considered normal human even if they could survive a fall from a really tall building.

"It must be the building over there," the Kirko said, pointing to the tall building that stood across them.

Naru blinked her eyes at the sight of the tall building in front of them. Could that building really hold so many people? She asked herself as she watched so many people go in and out of the building. It was so big but Naru had her doubts about whether or not the exams were going to be dangerous because the building looked so harmless that it was impossible for her to believe the exams were going to be that harmful.

"People from all over the world are gathered here," Leorio muttered, gazing at the building in wonder.

"This is where all the potential hunters are gathered," Kurapika said, staring wide-eyed at the building.

Naru nodded her head and touched her headband on her forehead. Finally, they had reached the exam site. She was now just one step closer to becoming stronger and maybe just one step closer to bringing back her teammate back home. She was going to bring him back home and make him apologize for everything he made them went through. Before she bring him back home, though, Naru had to apologize to her friends in the way she left them.

No matter how she looked at it, it wasn't nice of her just to leave a letter on why she left home.

"Hey! Not that one," the Kirko said. "The exam site is on the right side of the tall building."

He gestured towards the small resturant which stood on the right side of the tall building. The Kirko shook his head and laughed as Leorio and Kurapika gazed at the restaurant in shock. Naru just blinked her eyes and wondered if the demon beast was actually serious when he said that the exam site was over there. She couldn't believe the tall building could hold so many people, now the demon beast expected her to believe that tiny restaurant could hold so many people?

She was an idiot but she wasn't that stupid.

"No matter how I look at it, it's just a normal restaurant," Kurapika said, sweat-dropping at the sight of the restaurant.

"Navi-san, this is a joke, right? You're telling us that all the hunter prospects from the entire world are gathered here?" Leorio yelled, swinging his arms around as he gazed at their navigator with anger.

The navigator smiled. "That's exactly what I'm saying. No one would expect the Hunter Exams, which expects millions of applicants, to be in a place like this would they?"

When he put it in that way, Naru could see his point but still Naru didn't know how such a small building could hold so many applicants from all around the world. She sighed and shook her head as the five of them entered the restaurant. Naru couldn't overthink this because whether she liked it or not, she had no control over where the exams could take place.

"Welcome!" The cook said, grinning at them. "What would you like to eat?"

"The steak meal," The navigator answered.

The man's smile dropped at his answer. "How would you like it cooked?"

"Slowly over a weak flame," the Navigator answered, smiling widely at him.

"Follow me to your room," The waitress said, drawing their attention to her. Naru grinned and placed her hands into her pockets as the five of them followed the woman to their room, which would lead them to the exams. Were they the first people to arrive at the exams? Or were they the last? Naru wished someone could give them some indication of whether or not they were the last ones to arrive or not.

The five of them stopped walking once they reached the other side of the restaurant. The waitress gave them a small smile before opening a door, which revealed a room filled with food that was being slowly cooked. Giving the woman a small smile, Naru thanked the woman before rushing to take a seat in front of the table. Without giving a second look at her friends, Naru started to pile the meat onto her plate.

"Y'know you act as if you haven't seen food for a really long time," Leorio commented, taking a seat beside her.

Naru smiled. "We've been eating shitty food for the past few weeks! This meat doesn't look like it was bad meat so why shouldn't I take advantage of eating it?"

"Yes, Naru but it doesn't mean you can take so much food," Kurapika informed her. "You might get fat if you eat so much food in one seating."

"But if I do exercise then I won't get fat," Naru pointed out to them.

"Mito-san says the same thing to me. She always tells me that doing exercise won't cause anyone to become fat," Gon agreed, causing Naru to grin at him.

"1 out of 10,000," The Navigator said, drawing their attention back to him.

"What does that mean?" Naru asked.

"That's the probability of making it to the room," The Navigator explained, walking towards the door. "The four of you have done very well for beginners. Good luck rookies. We'll be more than happy to guide you guys next year too."

"That was rude," Leorio said, shoving the food into his own plate. "He talked as if he knew we wouldn't pass this year."

Naru shrugged her shoulder. "Why should we care what he thinks? I know we're going to pass these exams! And when that happens, we could rub it in his face that we did better than he expected."

Kurapika sighed and shook his head at them. "One every three years."

"One every three years? What does that mean?"

"It's the probability of a rookie passing the exam or so they say," Kurapika explained, taking a small bite of the steak. "Among the beginners, they say some go insane from the cruelty of the exam while some become incapacitated from the heckling of the veteran examinees."

It seemed similar in the Chunnin Exams in that sense, Naru thought to herself, taking a bite of the steak. It was rare for someone to become a chunnin in their first try, which could be seen by how the only person in their year group to become a chunin was Shikamaru. Then again, when Shikamaru was announced to get promoted, Naru hadn't been surprised since her friend was the smartest person she knew.

The only problem Shikamaru had was his laziness.

"Why do people go through so much suffering to become a hunter?" Gon asked, gulping down his steak.

"I don't know why but I know why I would go through so much trouble," Naru declared, taking a sip of her soda. "I would do anything to get back my teammate even if it meant I've to suffer through these exams because he means that much to me."

"Ever since we met, you kept talking about bringing your teammate back home," Gon said, tilting his head. "If he left you guys because he wants to then why are you trying to force him back home?"

Naru smiled. "He's my family Gon and I also don't want to see him get hurt. If he stays with that perverted snake then I know he'll get hurt."

There were so many reasons why she wanted to bring Sasuke back home but the answer she gave Gon was her top two reasons why she needed to bring him back. If they had more time then Naru would give her new friend a whole rant on why she wanted to bring him back. She also couldn't find the right words which could describe her need for her to have Sasuke by her life.

Her thoughts were interrupted when she felt the ground hitting something. She blinked her eyes and walked towards the door while Leorio and Kurapika argued over the benefits of being a Hunter. Shaking her head, Naru opened the doors and step out of the room with the others not far behind her.

So many people were here that was the first thing which came into Naru's mind as she stared at the enormous crowd in front of her. All of those people were here to become hunters just like Gon and the others but, Naru knew from what Kurapika told her that not all of them were going to become a hunter. How many of them were going to become Hunters? She didn't know the answer but Naru knew she was going to pass these exams even if it killed her.

She was going to get stronger even if it killed her.

"It's rather dark," Leorio commented. "It looks like an underground passage way."

"It does, doesn't it?" Naru asked, tilting her head. "It kinda makes sense since they need a place which is big enough that can handle so many people."

Gon nodded his head and looked around the area before asking, "How many people do you think is in this place?"

"I don't know...maybe three hundred?" Naru suggested, looking at the crowds of people with curiosity. "I just know it's way more then hundred."

"It's actually four hundred and six with you four included," A man said, drawing her attention away from Gon and up at the pipes. The man was a very short and fat man with a cube-shaped nose. He smiled widely at them but there was something about the man that made her distrust him. It was wrong of her to distrust him and it wasn't like her but something told her that she shouldn't trust him.

"I'm Tonpa," The man said, jumping down to the ground. "I'm pleased to meet you."

Naru smiled at the man. "It's nice to meet you Tonpa."

"You're new to these exams, aren't you?" Tonpa asked.

Gon nodded. "How did you know that?"

"Of course, I know," Tonpa said, smiling widely at them. "I have been doing these exams since I was ten years old."

"And how old are you now?" Naru asked, tilting her head.

"Forty-five."

There was no way in hell she was going to do these exams until she was old as him, Naru thought to herself as her friends made a face at his revealation. Heck, she was going to do the chunnin exams once she came back from these countires because there was no way Naru was going to let herself remain a genin. Honestly, it would be embarrassing if she became a Hokage without moving up in the level.

"Do you know everybody here?" Gon asked, snapping her from her train of thought.

"Of course! Let me introduce you to everyone," Tonpa said, giving them a smile. "Number 103, Barbon the snake tamer. He's extremely tenacious and it'll be a pain if you make him your enemy. Number 76, Cherry the martial artist. He's unsurpassed when it comes to hand-to-hand combat. Number 255: Todo the Wrestler, he has incredible strength and while he may not look like it, Todo is very intelligent. Numbers 197-199 are the Amori brothers. They always perform well with their impressive combination plays. Number 384: Hunter Gereta. He can capture any kind of beast with his arrows and club. These guys come here almost every year and they're highly skilled but they barely missed the cut."

Naru doubted she could remember all that information Tonpa had given them but it was nice to know that the man would give them information when they asked for it.

"AHHHH!"

Twisting her body around, Naru was greeted by the sight of seeing a man waving his handless arms for everyone to see. She felt her heart clenched in pain as the man cried out in pain while another man just stood there with a smile on his face. That smiling man was the scariest one out of everyone in the room if you asked Naru. Everything about the man screamed danger, from the way his eyes were stilted to the way he carried himself told her more then everything that she must never get on that man's bad side.

She wanted to fight him.

"Damn it, we got the dangerous one again this time," Tonpa said, snapping her from her train of thought. "Number 44, Hisoka the Magician. He would have passed last year, but he was disqualified for nearly killing an examiner, who was getting on his nerves."

Leorio paled at his words. "And he was still able to come this year and openly take the exam?"

"Of course," Tonpa said, grimacing. "The examiners of the Hunter Exams change every year and the contents of the exams are decided by the examiners as well. If the examiner of that particular year says 'pass' then even the devil could pass the exams. Aside from the examiners, Hisoka also injured 20 other examinees. It'll be wise if you stay away from him if you can."

She should stay away from Hisoka but Naru had a thirst to prove herself and maybe, fighting Hisoka would be enough for her to quench her thirst. He was dangerous and if Naru wanted to save her best friend then she needed to fight as many strong people as she could. Hisoka was strong. He wasn't as strong as Orochimaru or Itachi but he was still going to be a challenge for her.

She could feel it in her bone.

"Naru, are you going to take one?" Tonpa asked, snapping her from her train of thought.

Naru blinked her eyes and stared at the drink in Tonpa's hand. She glanced at her friends, noticing the fact that all three of them held a drink in their hands. It wouldn't hurt her if she took one? But Kurapika mentioned how sometimes the senior veteran examinees would hurt the rookies in these exams and while Tonpa had been nothing but nice to them, Naru wasn't sure if she could take the chance of drinking his offering.

It seemed like she didn't need to make that choice because before she could take the drink, Gon spits the drink out of his mouth. She raised her eyebrows at her friends but he just gave her a smile before looking at his own drink with a frown.

"Tonpa-san, this juice must be old!" Gon declared, handing his drink back to the man. "It tastes weird."

Kurapika and Leorio threw their drinks in the nearest trash can while Tonpa stared at Gon in shock, wonder and another emotion that Naru couldn't figure out. If there was one thing she could be certain, though, it was the fact that no one here could be trusted.

The only people she could trust are herself, Gon, Leorio and Kurapika.

A/N: Please tell me what you think of this chapter.