I apologize to my readers for deviating from my 'one chapter a day' updates. My work is currently at a demanding pace and had very few hours available for me to work on future chapters. It might be like this for a while, maybe a month or two, but I promise to go back to my usual pace when everything is over and done with.
For those who read and reviewed my Naruto/Fairy Tail story, thank you. I can't update it as of yet since my cousin hasn't given me the plot for the future chapters . Don't worry, once I have it, I will start writing. (he promised to give it to me next week so...there.)
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, Ruroni Kenshin, or Bleach.
Chapter 20: Exam
Naruto sat in his seat, totally bored out of his mind. Today was the much awaited, and much dreaded, Academy graduation exam that would determine if they would move up to become a Genin and become part of the shinobi ranks of Konoha or try their lucks again next year. He wasn't worried.
The blonde sat idly behind his desk, his index finger tapping the wooden desk with a bored air. He couldn't sleep last night due to the excitement of today's event. In the end, he stayed up all night reading a book on the sealing arts to further his study while biding his time. When his alarm rang, informing him that it was already morning, he immediately went to take his routine shower, make himself a hearty breakfast, and walked to school while taking his time.
Of course, he was an hour early which led to his current situation.
He was brought out of his musings when the door opened to admit Iruka and his assistant, Mizuki. Naruto frowned when he saw the latter.
Ever since Mizuki became Iruka's assistant last year, he was subjected to glares that would have killed him if such a power was possible. The blonde knew of the man's hate towards him, possibly because of the fact that he was Kyuubi's container, but he steadfastly ignored the man since there was nothing the Chuunin could do to him, both academically and physically.
His attention was returned to Iruka when the scar-faced school teacher-slash-shinobi addressed the class.
"Good morning." Iruka started with a smile as he observed the nervousness that gripped his students, well, except for a few who was totally bored of the whole thing. "We will now start the graduation exam. As you all know, the exam is necessary to determine if you have what it takes to become a Genin of the Leaf. You will first be subjected to a written exam that you need to finish in one hour. After that, there will be a five minute break before you will be tested for your proficiency in weapons throwing. After that, you will have to indulge in a two-minute taijutsu spar between me and Mizuki to determine your proficiency in hand-to-hand combat. Another five minute break will be given before you will all be subjected to the Ninjutsu portion of the exam where you will be tasked to perform certain techniques. If you pass, you will be given your Hitai-ate (forehead protector) to signify your status as a Genin. Any questions? None? Good. Mizuki will be handing you your test papers. The exam will begin when the last paper is given."
Naruto perked up when Iruka officially started the exam after his announcement. He wasn't worried about the written part of the exam since he knew he could easily ace it thanks to his daily studies via shadow clone in the library. In fact, he was so devoted to mastering the shinobi arts that he had to devote shadow clones on various topics ranging from history to sealing. No knowledge was left unattended.
When he got his test paper from Mizuki, totally ignoring the glare the man was giving him, he noticed a tell-tale sign of chakra on the paper. Raising an eyebrow, he sent a pulse of his chakra to the paper, dispelling the illusion. A Genin-level test was revealed instead of the illusion of a Chuunin-level test. Naruto couldn't help but smirk at the tactless ploy of the white-haired Chuunin to try to fail him.
Not wanting to let this act of cheating go unpunished, Naruto discretely leveled a finger at Mizuki who had his back turned to Naruto as he made his way back to the front of the class. He fired a low-powered Sho at top speed hitting the man at the back of the head, making said man lose his balance and fell down the stairs to land unceremoniously on the floor to the laughter of the students.
Naruto was already answering the first question before Mizuki stood, flushing in embarrassment, to the laughter of the class.
Naruto finished the written exam in less than twenty minutes and waited for Iruka to call out to the class that the written portion was over before being herded out to the training ground for the weapons throwing test.
He was bored as he watched his classmates try their hand in hitting the target painted on the practice dummies. Naruto noted that his friends were doing great in the test and couldn't help but laugh at the Uchiha's face when his co-heirs hit their mark perfectly. In truth, he was quite proud of his training partners since they did well-above what's expected of them.
Not to be outdone, Sasuke hit the targets as well, earning him a perfect score, causing his dwindling fan club to cheer.
When his name was called, he didn't waste any time. He walked towards the line where he was supposed to stand. Mizuki smirked and handed him the kunais and shurikens he would be using. They were refrained from using their own weapons to avoid possible cheating. Naruto took the weapon and couldn't help but notice that it was a tad bit heavier than normal.
Ignoring the second attempt of the white-haired Chuunin to fail him, he threw all the weapons at top speed and hit the targets without effort. Mizuki's jaw dropped as he stared at the weighted weapons in the middle of the targets. Naruto couldn't help but smirk at the man.
Naruto was currently standing inside the ring where his taijutsu exam was to be held. In front of him was Mizuki who was smirking at him. Naruto could see in the man's eyes that he was confident that the blonde would fail this time around. Rising to the challenge, Naruto smirked back causing the man to glare at him.
"Alright, Naruto." Iruka started. "In order to pass this portion of the exam, you need to survive for two minutes. Taijutsu only. No weapons or ninjutsu allowed. Ready…go!"
Naruto saw Mizuki lunge at him at speeds that caused his classmates to gasp. Unlike the other examinees where Iruka and Mizuki toned down their speed to fit the student's level, it would seem that the white-haired Chuunin wasn't planning to hold back his punches.
Naruto inwardly smirked when Mizuki threw a punch at him that he easily swatted aside. Since he had two minutes to spare, he decided to play around a bit before teaching the man a lesson. This was his third time trying to fail him. As the saying goes, three strikes and you're out.
Punches and kicks were thrown by the instructor which Naruto either blocked or dodged with a bored expression on his face. He didn't retaliate but enjoyed the infuriated look on the Chuunins face every time his attacks were parried or missed.
When Iruka announced that he had twenty seconds left, Naruto disappeared from his spot and reappeared under Mizuki's guard. He let out a combo of punches that made the white-haired shinobi grunt in pain before flipping backwards causing his steel-tipped boots to hit the man's chin with an audible crack. Completing the flip, he lunged forward at the disoriented and pained Mizuki before landing a double punch at the man's chest, causing some of the bones on his ribs to crack and pushed all the air out of the man's lungs. The strength of his attack threw Mizuki out of the ring to hit a tree with a resounding crack before sliding to the ground, unconscious.
"Uzumaki Naruto, pass!" Iruka shouted causing his friends and some of his classmates to cheer.
They were given a twenty-minute break before the final portion of the exam would commence. It was supposed to be a five-minute break but Iruka decided to push it up a bit since he had to bring Mizuki to the hospital to get him treated. Naruto couldn't help but smirk at the unconscious man on Iruka's shoulder.
It was twenty minutes on the dot that Iruka returned and called the entire class to order. It took quite a bit for the students to heed his order since they were all hyped up at what Naruto during the taijutsu portion of the exam
"Finally!" said Iruka in exasperation when the noise died down. "Anyway, the last part of the exam is to perform the three basic Academy jutsus. When your name is called, please come to the front."
Again, the students were called alphabetically to perform the Academy techniques. Naruto couldn't help but notice that quite a lot of his classmates failed, especially in performing the Kawarimi and Bunshin. Henge was relatively easy and a lot of them were able to perform it with ease. When his name was called, he immediately stood up from his seat and walked to the front of the class, completely at ease.
"Okay, Naruto. First you need to do the Henge, then the Kawarimi, and finally the Bunshin technique in order to pass." instructed Iruka.
"Neh, Iruka-sensei. Are we limited to the basic Academy clone? According to the Hokage, I have too much chakra to successfully pull off the basic Bunshin. Can I use other clones instead?" Naruto asked. He knew that other clone techniques were allowed but it was better to ask first to be polite.
Iruka nodded with a smile.
"I don't see a problem with that. As long as you do the clone technique properly then there's nothing to worry about."
Naruto nodded before proceeding with the test.
"Henge!" shouted Naruto before transforming into his Oni persona. This caused Iruka to stare at him in both fear and awe.
"Err….p-perfect transformation, Naruto. Tell me, how did you get that form so perfectly?" asked Iruka who knew the description of the famed Oni, the Hitokiri Battousai of Konoha.
"Well, I saw him a couple of times exiting the village, possibly on a mission I guess. He was so cool so I couldn't help but use him for my transformation. Hope there's nothing wrong in doing that." Naruto lied in his Oni voice.
"You even got the voice right. Damn you're good." exclaimed Iruka. "Now transform back and do the Kawarimi."
Naruto/Oni nodded before dispelling the transformation and did the hand seals for the Kawarimi no Jutsu, trading places with Iruka in the process signifying his success. Iruka couldn't help but be surprised at being used as a replacement since using another human who had chakra was somewhat difficult.
Since he already knew what's coming next, Naruto did the hand sign for his favorite clone technique.
"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"
Three perfect clones of himself stood there in front of a dumbfounded Iruka who took a few seconds to rein in his shock. After all, it's not every day for an Academy student to perform an A-rank Kinjutsu (forbidden technique) flawlessly.
"Very good, Naruto." said Naruto in pride. "Where did you learn the Kage Bunshin technique? It is a kinjutsu that only a powerful Jounin could perform."
"Well, the Hokage taught me that technique since it was impossible for me to use an ordinary Bunshin due to my chakra reserves. It took me two hours to learn it." lied Naruto. He didn't like fibbing to his favorite Academy instructor but he needed to stick to his alibi to avoid unwanted questions. Iruka nodded.
"Wow. It's not every day that you see an Academy student perform that technique. You're right, of course, since the Bunshin would be too much for your reserves to perform unless you have the chakra control of a Medic-nin or better. Anyway, congratulations. Please choose take your Hitai-ate from the desk and welcome to the Konoha shinobi ranks."
"Thanks, Iruka-sensei." said Naruto, grinning in happiness. He walked over to the desk and perused the various forehead protectors there. He decided to take the one with a black cloth and tied it around his neck. He decided earlier that he wouldn't wear it like the norm since it would look cooler on his neck, like a choker. Also, it was perfect for his outfit.
Naruto was currently sitting on top of the Yondaime's head on the Hokage Mountain, enjoying the nighttime breeze while snacking on some dango he bought earlier after eating dinner at Ichirakus. After getting passing the exam, Iruka announce the Rookie of the Year award before informing everyone to come back tomorrow for Team Placement.
He wasn't surprised that he got the award considering his capabilities though he was a bit surprised that Hinata was given the Kunoichi of the Year award. He inwardly cringed when he remembered Iruka telling the class that it was supposed to go to Sakura but Hinata won the award for getting the best score in weapons throwing, as well as incapacitating him during the taijutsu portion using Juuken.
Naruto barely finished the last stick of Dango when he felt a surge of Reiryoku coming from the Hokage's office. He frowned as he turned his head to stare in that direction. He gave his surrogate grandfather a ring similar to the one he gave Asuma a few years back during their mission in Tetsu no Kuni. It was supposed to be used only on emergencies. To have the Hokage use it now could only mean that something serious came up.
He stood up from his perch and disappeared.
Naruto appeared in front of a frowning Hokage who was busy looking into his crystal ball.
"What seems to be the problem, old man?" asked Naruto with a frown. "It must be pretty serious since you used the ring I gave you."
"We have an emergency, Naruto-kun. Someone infiltrated my office and stole the Forbidden Scroll."
"WHAT?"
"You heard me. Someone came in and stole the Forbidden Scroll. I need you to go undercover and find the perpetrator and bring him to me with the scroll."
"You know, this is getting to be a habit of yours old man. First, Asuma-nii and now this."
"I have no other options, Naruto-kun. I already dispatched ANBU an hour ago. So far, they haven't caught the perpetrator as of yet. Such is the case, I have no choice but to resort to your…unique capabilities to get this done."
"Fine fine." said Naruto with a sigh. "Any suggestions?"
"Go as Oni." instructed Sarutobi after a few seconds of weighing the odds. "It would look out of place if a mere Genin caught the thief."
Naruto nodded, agreeing with the aged leader's suggestion. No matter how much he would deny it, going there and confronting the thief as Uzumaki Naruto would be…troublesome.
"Good thing I have that outfit with me." said Naruto before unsealing his Oni costume right in front of the Hokage who raised an eyebrow.
"Do I want to know?" asked the aged leader as he eyed the kimono and hakama the blonde was holding
"Well, I just thought it would be a good idea to bring it along…just in case, of course. Besides, you never know when I might need it." Naruto said with a cheeky grin on his face. He couldn't deny the fact that he missed wearing his kimono and hakama. He was getting tired of his current outfit so it might be prudent to visit someone again to get something new.
It didn't take long for Naruto to change into his Oni costume by commandeering the Hokage's spacious closet in the office. Complete with his demon mask, he exited the room and faced the aged leader.
"I guess we should start the show." said Naruto in a much deeper voice provided by his mask, he pulled up his orange scarf over his blonde hair to form a hood, completing his disguise. He blazed through a series of hand seals before slamming his right hand on the wooden floor. "Kuchiyose no Jutsu: Akira."
Naruto's familiar appeared in a puff of smoke.
"What can I do for you Na…uh…Oni-sama. You wore the mask again!" Akira accused with a small glare though instead of being scary, it made the little fox look cute.
"Sorry, Akira. There's an emergency." Naruto apologized in a sheepish voice.
Akira sighed. "Fine fine. What's up?"
"Someone stole the old man's Forbidden Scroll. I need you to sniff around and follow the trail."
"Hai, Taichou." exclaimed Akira with a foxy salute that made the Hokage chuckle. He sniffed around a bit before going over to a cabinet and sniffed again. Akira went to the window, sniffed, walked over to Naruto and sniffed again. "Did you know that you have the thief's smell on you?"
"WHAT?" Naruto and the Hokage shouted in surprise. Akira nodded, his tail swishing behind him.
"I got the scent of the thief. It's all over the room. If I judge the strength of the smell, HE was here at least two or three hours ago. HIS scent is more potent in that cabinet over there." said Akira using his tail to point to the location. "Then followed the trail to the window." He pointed with his tail again. "Then I caught the scent on you. What gives?"
"Are you sure that the scent was male?" asked Sarutobi with a frown. Akira gave a small nod of affirmative. He turned to Naruto with a frown. "Any idea why you have the smell of the thief on you?"
"Hmmmm…I don't know who the scent belonged to but I have an idea. Can you follow the trail from here?" asked Naruto, mind already going through today's events, trying to decide who stole the scroll from the scent the fox smelled on him. His thoughts were careening towards the white-haired instructor of the Konoha Academy.
"Of course, follow me." said Akira before jumping out the window.
Naruto turned to the Hokage.
"We'll be back in the jiff, old man." said Naruto with a two-finger salute before disappearing from the office to follow his familiar.
It didn't take long for Naruto and Akira to catch up to the thief by speedily following the trail. The trail led to an abandoned shack a few kilometers outside the walls of Konoha. When he got there, he saw that Iruka was currently battling Mizuki in a no-holds-barred shinobi match with the Forbidden Scroll on the grassy floor a few feet away from them.
Naruto observed the battle after discretely informing Akira to return to his home. He noticed that Iruka was currently on the losing end due to the number of wounds on his body. Mizuki was slightly wounded; more specifically on his shoulder where a deep cut was evident, oozing blood.
Naruto was brought out of his silent observation of the battle when Mizuki kicked Iruka away from him and let fly a shadow windmill shuriken to the downed instructor. Not wanting his favorite sensei to meet his end here, he fired off a Sho bullet that hit the projectile and shattering it into pieces.
Mizuki was shocked when the weapon he threw was broken into pieces. He didn't notice any jutsu or anyone in the vicinity. Growling, he looked around for the intruder.
"Who's there? Show yourself!" demanded Mizuki, fear creeping in as his eyes strayed to the many shadows around him.
Naruto humored the half-hearted demand since he could easily feel the fear Mizuki was releasing. He stepped out of the shadows and confronted the thief.
"Good evening, Mizuki." Naruto greeted in his deep voice. "I would ask of you to to refrain from hurting a Konoha shinobi. After all, you don't want to…feel the same thing now…do you?"
Mizuki glared at the intruder but stiffened when he recognized the man in front of him.
"You!" Mizuki exclaimed fearfully.
"Me?" asked Naruto, amused at the whole thing.
"Oni." Mizuki whispered with fear evident in his voice.
"My my. I disappeared for four years, though I appeared briefly two years ago, and still someone recognizes me? How…flattering." Naruto said with amusement, fingering the hilt of his Sakabatou.
Mizuki seemed to have regained his bravado because he sneered.
"It seems that the Hokage have to bring out the big guns for little old me. I don't know if I should be afraid or happy." said Mizuki with an evil grin before pulling out a vial of purple liquid from his pouch. "This is the perfect chance to test the power granted to me by my master."
"Master?" asked Naruto as he eyed the vial Mizuki was holding. He could feel something off about it. "Pray tell, Mizuki, who is your master and why did you steal the Forbidden Scroll?"
"I don't answer to you, Konoha scum!" Mizuki snarled as he removed the stopper from the vial.
"Konoha scum? I think that applies to you as well considering that you wear Konoha's forehead protector. Anyway, before we go into that topic…" Naruto trailed off as he lifted his hand and aimed his finger to a bleeding Iruka. A green beam of light flew from the tip of his outstretch finger and hit the downed Chuunin and engulfing his body. All of the man's wounds healed in a matter of seconds. "Now where was I? Oh yes, who is your master, Mizuki, and why did you steal the Forbidden Scroll?"
Mizuki was unnerved. Here in front of him was the most mysterious S-rank shinobi in the Elemental Nation - the feared Hitokiri Battousai of Konoha. He didn't know what jutsu the man used but he easily destroyed his main weapon without trying, a weapon that was made from the hardest of metals from Tetsu no Kuni. Now, he just saw the most feared man heal his co-instructor from the brink of death with another unknown jutsu. He knew that he was screwed.
"I don't need to answer your questions. I don't fear you." Mizuki lifted the vial and snarled at the masked shinobi. "With this power gifted to me by master, I will finally end your legend and become a legend of my own." He tilted the vial and downed everything in a single gulp.
Naruto was unprepared when Mizuki was surrounded by a burst of purple chakra, a malevolent energy that started changing the man to a humanoid tiger. He could feel the power inside the man. Whatever was in that vial, it just turned Mizuki from a lowly Chuunin to a powerhouse Jounin.
"Hahahahaha!" Mizuki laughed maniacally. "I feel powerful. My master was right. He can grant me my heart's desire. Hahahah!"
Without warning, Mizuki launched himself towards Naruto at breakneck speed, faster than that of a Chuunin before firing of a chakra-enhanced punch to finish off his opponent. Naruto saw that Mizuki was fast; but unlike his speed, it was pretty slow. He simply used Shunpo to disappear before the punch could hit him.
His sudden disappearance caught Mizuki off-balance but he was able to correct himself. But before he could search for his opponent, a sudden pain erupted from his back before being launched towards a tree, hitting it with a loud crack.
"Interesting." said Naruto as he cracked his knuckle, feeling a bit of pain from punching Mizuki's back. Whatever was in that vial, it made the Chuunin's skin as hard as a rock. "Whatever it is you drank, it made your body totally hard. A great defense, if I do say so myself. However, I wonder how strong it really is." He leveled an index finger at his downed opponent who was trying to get off the ground. Gathering his energy, he launched his next attack.
"Byakurai."
A pale lightning erupted from his finger and hit Mizuki at the back where he punched him. Instead of piercing the flesh, it simply left a mark the size of his fist. Despite being ineffective, Mizuki's scream was evidence enough that it was painful.
Mizuki released an animal-like growl and pushed himself off the ground despite the pain. Whatever it was that hit him, it hurts like hell. He turned and saw his opponent point an index finger at him. He was caught off guard when the masked shinobi spoke again.
"Byakurai."
A beam of white energy hit him on his right shoulder causing him to release a piercing scream of pain.
"Byakurai."
Another beam hit him on his other shoulder, causing him to scream even louder.
The pattern kept repeating itself; hitting him on the chest, his stomach, his thighs; his screams grew louder after each hit. When the barrage was lifted, the area where the energy hit was smoking and the smell of burnt flesh filled the air.
"Interesting. Instead of my technique piercing you and leaving you dead, it simply caused third-degree burns. I commend you for surviving a barrage of my attack." said Naruto in a cold voice though he was a inwardly surprised that his attack wasn't as effective as he predicted it to be.
"I'll kill you!" screamed Mizuki before ripping out his remaining windmill shuriken from his back and charging at his opponent with a crazed look in his eyes. Naruto saw the attack coming and simply pulled out Keshin from its sheath.
"Doryuusen."
Naruto slammed his Sakabatou on the ground, dilodging a bunch of rocks to pelted Mizuki causing the man to grunt in pain. Considering that the man withstood his Byakurai, mere rocks moving at powerful speeds wouldn't even faze the man, though it was effective in slowing him down a bit.
Mizuki grunted as each rock pelted his body but ignored it. When he neared his opponent, he delivered an overhand slash that would have split his enemy in two. But instead of hitting his opponent, he hit nothing but air. He looked around and couldn't see his opponent. However, he looked up when he heard a voice above him.
"Ryuutsuisen!"
Mizuki was caught off guard when the Naruto's Sakabatou hit him on his right shoulder. He screamed in pain when his muscles and bone broke from the attack. The pain was so intense that his brain shut down, causing him to black out and falling to a group like a puppet cut off from its strings.
Naruto sheathed Kenshin and walked over to Mizuki's downed formed and placed a finger on the man's neck. Satisfied that there was a weak pulse, he stood up and moved to Iruka who was looking at him in awe.
"Are you alright, Umino Iruka?" Naruto asked, almost laughing at the awed face of his instructor.
"Umm…uhhh…I'm…uhhh…alright..uhhh…O-Oni-sama." stuttered Iruka.
"Good. I healed all the injuries you sustained from Mizuki. Speaking of which, he should be out for a bit so might as well get him to Ibiki to get some information out of him." said Naruto before flaring his chakra five times, a signal taught to him by one of the Jounins he worked with a few years ago to signal the ANBU corps to his location.
A few seconds later, a squad of five ANBUs appeared in the clearing.
"Thank you for coming on such short notice, please take Mizuki to Ibiki for interrogation. One of you please assist Iruka to the hospital to be checked out. I already healed his injuries but it's better to be safe than sorry. I'll take the scroll to Hokage-sama, myself." instructed Naruto, not expecting his orders to be followed since he longer had the authority granted to him by his previous position as Kage's Hand.
However, he was surprised when the ANBUs immediately saluted to him with a loud "Hai, Oni-sama" before two of them took Mizuki and used Shunshin to disappeared from the clearing. One of the ANBUs grabbed Iruka's shoulder and exited the same way. The other two remained.
"Oni-sama." The bird-masked ANBU addressed him. "Please grant us the privilege of escorting you to the Hokage's office for the delivery of the Forbidden scroll."
"Of course." said Naruto as he picked up the Forbidden Scroll from the ground. "However, you need to catch up to me first to do just that."
With that, he disappeared from the clearing using Shunpo much to the surprise of the two ANBUs.
End of Chapter 20
Date Uploaded: July 20, 2012
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