The Legend of Naruto
Chunin Exam arc
Kurama no Kyubi: And so it begins. The Chunin Exams will finally get under way, and they'll last for a good number of chapters. Oh, and by the way, last chapter I forgot to tell you that back when I wrote the chapter before then, I thought the Japanese word for darkness was "yomi", but I've found out that it's actually "yami", so Kaiza's alias is actually "Yami no Kaiza" and not "Yomi no Kaiza".
daniel 29: Just 1 question what item did naruto get from this dungen?
Kurama no Kyubi: The vine-whip of course, didn't you read the chapter?
Guest: flare ability does make him rather invincible but it does have one major flaw elmentally and energy wise interms of the fact that if he get doused with water or anything which can extinguish fire plus that power does require a lot of energy to use.
Kurama no Kyubi: Well, you're right on both counts, but Flare has ways around it. First of all he can make fires hot enough to disintegrate the water before it can get anywhere near him – though the hotter his flames, the more chakra he uses – and second of all, he's got chakra reserves which would make an Uzumaki proud. So he doesn't really care much about his flaws.
ImagineBreaker7: Awesome chapter i really enjoyed it. Thanks for the info about the pairings I look forward to when they will meet. I look forward to your next update.
Kurama no Kyubi: No prob.
Guest: here's another Idea for another piece of gear for Naruto to pick up the grand magister's wand which can give our hero quite a wide variety of magical effects from unleashing pure magical blasts of energy, unleashing elemental blasts of energy at his enemies, manipulating just about everything in his environment in order to create a pathway for him and his friends to turn his immediate surrounding into one of his most versatile weapons against his enemies as well as grappling magical against his foes. Namely if he has fight against foes who are immune to physical assault tactics like flare as a prime example but in order for our young hero to use this wand he have to be able to channel mana instead of chakra in order for him to use it effectively.
Kurama no Kyubi: You do know that all of the internal energies in all different kinds of fiction are basically the same thing, just with different names, right? But thanks for the idea, I'll keep it in mind.
Guest: you should try adding some songs to this story like the song of time for example song which can have an effect on the environment as for pairings well how about Naruto and Hinata
Kurama no Kyubi: Haven't the pairing already been confirmed? But anyway, I will probably add songs later on, but not right now. Also – while I do like the NaruHina pairing – isn't that one kinda over-used?
Guest: I am going out on a limb to guess that moegi's one of the six sages considering that that one of those sages was a ruto tribeswoman
Kurama no Kyubi: You've got a good guess there, but that Rito tribeswoman was the Sage of Earth, not one of the six. So even if Moegi's a Sage, she wouldn't be one of the Six Sages.
Guest: I am guessing that the other tani ninja's all have power which is similar to flare's interm of be able to turn into their specialized element physically
Kurama no Kyubi: Pretty much, but I'll bet you'll never figure out who can use which element.
Guest: so what taking you so long with your stories? please update soon. P.S. about those rpg stats I mentioned you could try applying them to your other stories you know
Kurama no Kyubi: Don't worry, I'm working as fast as I can. No really, I am.
"Triforce." Normal speech
'Triforce.' Normal thought
"Triforce." Biju and God speech
'Triforce.' Biju and God thought
Ventus: Kurama no Kyubi doesn't own anything but his OCs.
Chapter 7: Exam 1: The dreaded paper test
"Sorry to have kept you waiting. My name is Morino Ibiki. I'm the proctor and chief examiner for the first part of the exam." Ibiki said before pointing at the Oto-nins.
"You… the kids from Otogakure. You can't carry on any way you please when the exam's about to start. Or do you want to be disqualified?" He said.
"Sorry, sir… It's our first exam, and we got a little carried away." Dosu said.
"Is that so?" Ibiki asked before saying "Then it's high time someone laid down a few ground rules. From this point forward, there will be no more fighting without the express permission of the examining officer… And even if that permission is granted, anything that endangers another applicant's life is forbidden. Any of you little piglets who break that rule are out. Disqualified. No second chances. Got that?"
"So this is a test for little girly men?" Zaku asked.
"As you wish. The first part of the selection exam is about to commence. Turn in your written applications, take one of these seating assignment cards…" Ibiki said before he held up a card with the number "1" on it "And report directly to the seat indicated. When everyone's seated, we'll pass on the written part of the test."
"Huh? A-a paper test?" Naruto yelled.
Soon after, everyone had taken one of the seating assignment cards, and were at the seat indicated.
'This must be Naruto's worst nightmare. He looks absolutely crushed.' Sakura thought as she looked towards the blond.
'Aw, man… We're spread out all over the room. Now what do I do?' Naruto thought.
"Naruto-kun…" Naruto looked to his right to see Hinata sitting there.
"Oh. I didn't even see you, Hinata." He said before thinking 'This chick's a regular invisible girl.'
"L-let's do our best." Hinata said.
"Papers face-down until I give the signal. Now listen up." Ibiki said before starting to write on the black-board without even looking as he continued "There are a few big rules that pertain to this first test. I'll write them on the black-board and explain them all, but I'm not taking questions, so listen carefully. I will say this only once."
"Rules?" Sakura asked before thinking 'And no questions? Why not?'
"Rule number one: Each one of you starts out here with ten points. The test has ten questions, each worth one point. For each question you get wrong, we subtract a point from you. Get all ten right, and you retain the ten points you have. But if – for example – you answer three questions incorrectly, we take your ten points, subtract one point for every wrong answer… and your total drops down to seven." Ibiki said as he wrote on the black-board.
'In other words, if I get all ten questions wrong, I'll end up with no points at all.' Naruto thought.
"Rule number two: This written test is still a team event. Passing or failing will be determined by the sum of the points held by all three members of each team. The object is for each team to have as few deductions as possible from its joint thirty-point total." Ibiki said as Sakura slammed her head face-first into the desk.
"W-wait a second! The whole concept of the starting points and the deductions is hard enough to follow… but what is this "team total" you're talking about?" She asked.
"Did you not hear the part about "no questions"? We have our reasons. Shut up and listen. You might learn something. This next part is crucial." Ibiki said.
'What reasons…?' Sakura thought.
"Rule number three: If – during the course of this exam – a candidate does anything out of the ordinary… in other words, anything that leads the proctors to determine that he or she has cheated, we subtract two points from each member of the cheater's team. Exactly. In all probability, some of you will run through your entire allowance of points during the test. If so, you'll be failed and asked to leave." Ibiki said as he looked out over the Genin.
'I get it… There are more ways to lose a point than just missing a question.' Sakura thought.
"I'll be looking over your shoulders when you least expect it." One of the proctors said, causing several of the Genin to gulp.
"If you let the proctors catch you cheating, you'll bring yourself and your friends down. If you aspire to become Chunin – if you want to be the best shinobi you can be – then you'd better start acting like you already are." Ibiki said.
'Get a hold on yourself, Sakura. It's too bad about Naruto, but Sasuke-kun and I should be able to retain enough points for all three of us… even if Naruto gets every single answer wrong.' Sakura thought.
"One more thing… If any individual loses all ten of his or her points, that person's entire team – regardless of how the other two members do – will be disqualified." Ibiki said.
'Nani?' Sasuke thought.
'NANI?" Sakura pretty much yelled in her mind.
"I can feel them from here… both wanting to kill me already." Naruto said quietly to himself.
"You have one hour… starting… NOW!" Ibiki said and everyone flipped their papers around as they started looking through the questions.
'… Say it isn't so… This could be a no-win situation… Please, Naruto… try to hang on to at least one of your points.' Sakura thought.
'Heh heh heh… This is funny… Here I am again… facing the worst kind of enemy. Teachers didn't call me the all-time dunce for nothing. I earned that name on the field of battle. The trick is not to show any fear. Tests can smell fear. Remain calm… Don't try to do everything at once. Look each question square in the eye. Try to find the weakest link… the easy one. Separate it from the herd, and take it down.' Naruto thought.
'This is so not good. Naruto is an idiot… I just hope he doesn't panic.' Sasuke thought before looking at the first question 'Whoa. First up is cryptography. They want us to work our butts off.'
'Next.' Naruto thought as he determined that he couldn't answer the first question.
'… I wonder how Naruto's doing… But I've got to concentrate on my own work. I've got to hang onto all my points to make up for him…' Sakura thought before she looked at the second question 'Um… number two… "The parabola marked B represents the greatest effective distance the enemy shinobi, A, could throw a shuriken from the top of a 23.3-foot-tall tree. Calculate the specific features of the scenario and deduce the range of the shuriken's effectiveness, assuming a consistent speed for shinobi A's assault upon any enemy shinobi operating within the arc that the flight of the shuriken describes. Show your work." This… this is… to solve this, you need to hypothesize under very uncertain conditions… and then apply the laws of kinetics to whatever you come up with. There's no way Naruto could solve something like this. Of course neither can most of the people here. It's a killer… 'course, I can answer it.'
'Well, well… I don't know how to answer a single one of these questions. And what's the deal with number ten?' Sasuke thought before looking towards some of the proctors that were sitting by the windows 'They're watching us, like cats watch mice. Like they expect us to cheat. Those rats.'
'Rule number two makes it pretty clear that we're competing against each other. Obviously, only the teams that keep the most points will be allowed to pass. I just wish I knew where the cut-off lies – how many of the top teams can pass – not that knowing would change anything, but the uncertainty is driving me nuts.' Sakura thought before Aqua – who was sitting to the right of her – stood up.
"There's one thing I keep wondering. How many of the top-ranking teams can pass?" She asked.
"Knowing that now isn't going to help you, is it? Unless you're hoping to fail." Ibiki said.
"Sorry…"Aqua said as she sat back down,
'I thought so. If only about ten of the fifty-three teams here can pass… all three of us have to retain as many points as possible. The system is set up so it almost forces you to cheat. I just hope Sasuke-kun and Naruto don't panic and try to take that way out. But they wouldn't. They couldn't. Not even Naruto is that stupid… is he?' Sakura thought.
'Remain calm… Above all, proceed with caution. My only hope is to cheat so well they don't catch me. No way. No way. Don't even think about it! Danger. Danger. Do not go there!' Naruto thought as he was panicking.
'With so many proctors looking over our shoulders, they're probably watching every little thing every one of us does… making notes about us in their gradebooks.' Sasuke thought before noticing that one of the proctors started writing something 'The axe has fallen somewhere!' He then remembered some of what Ibiki had said.
"If you let the proctors catch you cheating, you'll bring yourself and your friends down. If you aspire to become Chunin – if you want to be the best shinobi you can be – then you'd better start acting like you already are."
'Hold it! Now I get it. Unbelievable… This is an "intelligence" test… in more than just the academic sense. Wake up, Naruto. You're history if you don't figure it out. They're also testing our information-gathering skills. They want us to cheat… like shinobi. Without getting caught. Shinobi must look underneath the underneath. The proctors want us to cheat really well. The way the best shinobi would, if they needed this kind of information in a real-world mission. Look at how they set up the "perfect score, minus penalties" scenario. With two points deducted every time you get caught cheating the real message is that you can be caught four times before you face disqualification. What we're being tested on is not whether we know the answers, but how skillfully we can discover them! Come on, Naruto. Any minute now, everyone who's figured it out will start going for it.' Sasuke thought.
Elsewhere in the room were Kankuro and Gaara looking towards each other out of the corners of their eyes.
'Stop glaring at me. I get it, already.' Kankuro thought before he noticed that Gaara had begun gathering sand 'Gaara's started, too, huh? Don't fail me, Scare-Crow…'
Kiba's dog, Akamaru sat on top of his master's head, scouting out the answers and telling them to Kiba.
"Woo-hoo! Good boy, Akamaru! Next is question number four…" Kiba whispered to the small mutt.
A bee landed on Shino's paper and the stoic boy picked it up on his finger and whispered "Excellent. Tell me more." The bee then started flying in a number 8 pattern 'Number eight, huh?'
At one of the light bulbs in the ceiling where several mirrors that Lee's female teammate, Tenten had put up there earlier and she adjusted one of them slightly with nearly invisible threads so that it showed the reflection of one of the papers.
'Lee, if you can see it, adjust your Hitai-ate…' She thought and as though he'd read her thoughts, he took off the Hitai-ate and tied it around his forehead.
Ventus was calmly sitting on his seat as he breathed in before breathing out, and suddenly there was a small breeze going through the room, despite the windows being closed.
'As the wind passes by the pens of the others, I can tell exactly what their writing…' He thought before starting to write.
Terra was sitting on the seat behind Ino, so his mind clearly wasn't on the test as his eyes had turned into hearts.
'What a beauty!' He thought.
'Grrr. Is that idiot even concentrating on the test?' Chilly thought as she stared towards Terra before she shook her head as she held up her hand and looked into her palm before what looked like a mirror suddenly formed. She then adjusted the mirror a little so that she had a full view of the paper of the guy sitting next to her 'Bingo!'
Dosu was sitting, seemingly asleep as his visible eye was closed.
'From the rhythm, the writing order, and number of strokes that go into the words… Got it…' He thought before he started writing.
Neji closed his eyes and when he opened them again, veins had popped up around them.
'Byakugan!' He thought and he looked straight through the guy in front of him.
'That's the one. I'm going to mimic his every move. Using the Sharingan.' Sasuke thought as he activated his eyes.
'I'm almost out of time. Kuso! If I don't cheat, I'm dead anyway!' Naruto thought before a kunai suddenly flew past him and imbedded itself into the paper of the one who sat behind him 'That was close… I was about to turn around.'
"Wh-what was that for?" The Konoha-nin who was sitting behind Naruto asked as he stood up.
"That's five strikes… and you're out." The proctor who threw the kunai said.
"N-no way…" The Konoha-nin said.
"Take your teammates with you. Out of this classroom. Now!" The proctor said.
'Yipe. That was too close. No way am I gonna risk cheating… not alone.' Naruto thought before Navi – who had been resting on his head the whole time – came down in front of him.
"Naruto, there's no way that you can answer any of those questions on your own… So why not let me help you cheat?" She asked.
"What? And what can you do?" Naruto asked.
"Well, due to my size, and my wings, I can easily move around without getting spotted." Navi whispered.
"Oh! That makes sense." Naruto said before Navi started flying around, looking at the different applicants' papers.
'That's it. I've answered them all. There's nothing left for me to do but to wait for the tenth question.' Sakura thought, not realizing that this is what Ino's been waiting for.
'It looks like Sakura has finally stopped writing. Time to make my move. Sakura… your broad brow and big brain have earned my respect, so you ought to feel honored that you're going to be the target of my signature technique. Well then, here it comes…' Ino thought before her body slumped over the desk, as her mind entered Sakura.
'Sorry, Sakura… not. Sakura, you're a dear, letting me possess you like this… and see all of your answers.' Ino thought as she picked up Sakura's paper and started looking through the answers while thinking 'Have to memorize this quickly, before someone catches me. Next I'll possess Shikamaru and Choji, and write these answers on their papers. Clever little me.'
Ino was too pre-occupied with Sakura's answers, however, so she didn't notice that Sakura's neck had gotten wet.
'Seems I was right in thinking that you was smart, Wisdom Girl. When I rose from my feet earlier, it was to let some water I had formed under my butt to get free, and afterwards, I had it move up your body.' Aqua thought before looking into her palm where she saw an image of what the water on Sakura's neck would've seen if it had eyes.
Ray was writing away as though he knew the answers without having to cheat.
'Since I sent some electrical charges into the one in front of me, I connected our nerve systems, causing me to mimic his every move.' He thought as he continued writing.
'C'mon Ventus. I'm tired of waiting here.' Flare thought before a small breeze suddenly flew past him 'Heh. Finally.' He then started writing as though the wind had carried the answers with it.
"On your feet, number 102. You fail." One of the proctors said.
"K-kuso…" Number 102 said.
"You too, number 23. You're out." One of the proctors said.
"No way!" Number 23 said.
"Number 43 and number 27… start walking. You all fail." One of the proctors thought.
'That's thirteen teams they've flunked out so far.' Kabuto thought.
A Suna-nin then slammed his hand down on the desk as he stood up and yelled "Cheated five times? Me? What proof do you have? How could you possibly watch this many students at once?" However, then one of the proctors shunshined towards him, and before he knew it, he was pinned to the wall on the other side of the room.
"Listen up and listen good. We proctors are the elite. Even in a group as skilled as the one gathered here today, we are far and away the best. We miss nothing. You got that, kids? You feel this? Well, I am as skilled as I am powerful." The proctor said, causing many of the Genin to gulp.
As this was going on, Ibiki was observing Gaara's actions as he thought 'Hmm… That brat is up to something. Whatever it is, he's doing it without turning a hair… Perfectly calm in the eye of this hurricane. For a rookie, he's amazing.'
Gaara was gathering sand into his left hand, forming an eye of sand.
'My optic nerve is reconnected… opening my third eye.' He thought before crushing the eye and the sand was dispersed throughout the room.
"Excuse me." Kankuro said as he stood up.
"What is it?" One of the proctors asked.
"I've got to go to the bathroom…" Kankuro said and one of the proctors walked over to him and put handcuffs on him.
"Of course. One of the proctors will accompany you." The proctor said.
"Why not?" Kankuro said.
Ninja academy, men's bathroom
"They think they're so slick. And they never even noticed that there's been one extra proctor this whole time. Pretty sad. Nice going, Crow." Kankuro said as the skin around the proctors left eye fell off and Kankuro sighed "Now then, give me all the answers in order, starting with number one."
Ninja academy, room 301
'Now that we've weeded out the worst of the slackers… let's move on to the most important question. 45 minutes have passed. The time has come.' Ibiki thought before saying "All right. Here it comes. Get ready for the tenth question."
'You better hurry back, Kankuro. I was supposed to get your first nine answers before they gave us the tenth question.' Temari thought.
"And before we get to the question itself… I'm adding one more new rule." Ibiki said, but before he could say any more, Kankuro came back.
"Heh… looks like you're in luck. The time you've spent playing with dolls hasn't been completely wasted." Ibiki said.
'Dolls… does he know about Scare-Crow?' Kankuro thought as he walked back to his seat, handing a note with all the answers on it to Temari as he passed her.
"Let me explain. This rule… is absolute." Ibiki said.
Jonin lounge
Kakashi, Kurenai, and Asuma were sitting in the Jonin lounge, talking.
"Wow… with our subordinates tied up in exams, we've got time on our hands." Kakashi said.
"Don't worry. We'll be busy again before you know it." Asuma said while sighing.
"Why?" Kakashi asked.
"Word is, this year's first chief examination officer is Morino Ibiki." Asuma said.
"That sadist? Why did it have to be Ibiki?" Kakashi asked before thinking 'Will they even make it past the first exam?'
"Sadist?" Kurenai asked.
"Kurenai, you're still a newbie to the Jonin, so you have no way of knowing." Asuma said.
"Why? What's he like?" Kurenai asked.
"He's a pro. A pro's pro…" Asuma said.
"A pro? At what?" Kurenai asked.
"Torture and interrogation. Konoha ANBU torture and interrogation corps unit leader Jonin commander, Morino Ibiki. In the exam that is presently underway… while there may be no physical torture… there's no doubt that the applicants are being subjected to the psychological pressures that make him infamous as an interrogator." Asuma said.
Ninja Academy, room 301
"First… you must choose whether to accept or reject this tenth question." Ibiki said.
'Accept or reject…? What's he getting at?' Sasuke thought.
"What do you mean choose? What happens if someone doesn't accept the question?" Aqua asked.
"If you reject the question and don't even try to answer it, you'll lose all your points immediately… and fail. And both of your teammates will fail right along with you." Ibiki said.
"Say what?" Chilly yelled.
"Then why would anyone choose to reject it?" Flare yelled.
"Because… of the other rule." Ibiki said.
'Oh, come on. What more can he add?' Sakura thought.
"If you try to answer the question… and you get it wrong… you will never be permitted to apply for the Chunin exams again. Not ever." Ibiki said.
"You can't be serious. That's ridiculous. There are ninja here who've sat for the Chunin exams more than once already. We know there are." Kiba yelled while Akamaru barked and Ibiki started laughing.
"Just your rotten luck. I wasn't making the rules in past years. I am now. I've been up front with you. You can take a failing grade now, and try again later. Anyone who has doubts would be smart to reject the tenth question right now. Come back and reapply next year, and the year after that." Ibiki said.
'Talk about a no-win situation. If even one member of a team rejects the question, then all team members fail for the year. If anyone accepts the question and can't answer it… he'll be stuck at Genin level for the rest of his life.' Sakura thought.
"Ready? Then let's begin. Those who choose not to accept should raise their hands. Once their number has been confirmed, they will leave the room." Ibiki said.
'What kind of stupid question could it be? If I get it wrong, I'll be a Genin for life… not acceptable. But if I just reject the question, Sasuke and Sakura-chan both have to suffer for my lack of guts.' Naruto thought.
'I don't intend to raise my hand. I'm sure I can answer the question, whatever it may be.' Sakura thought before looking at Naruto 'But even if Naruto decides to play it safe and reject the question, and we fail, all I'll lose is time. I won't have failed forever, and I can apply again for the next exam. But… But Naruto… you're different. It'd be foolish to sacrifice yourself forever for our sakes. Reject the question.' Just then, the guy sitting next to Naruto raised his hand as he rose to his feet.
"I-I… I quit. I'm rejecting the question." He was only the first of several others.
'… Naruto… Why don't you reject the question? He's always going on about "Hokage-sama" this and "Hokage" that… like a broken record. I'm sorry, Naruto… your dream may be crazy, but I don't want it taken away from you forever.' Sakura thought as she was about to raise her hand, before noticing something.
Jonin lounge
"That Ibiki understands the human heart completely. It's what makes him so terrible. He uses his insights mercilessly to manipulate his foes… bringing their human weaknesses to the surface… and using those weaknesses to make them crack. Trickery is no defense against his skills as an interrogator." Asuma said.
Ninja Academy, room 301
Naruto had raised his hand, surprising his teammates, Hinata, and the Tani-nins before slamming it right back down on the desk.
"Never underestimate me! I don't quit, and I won't run! I'll accept your stupid question! Even if I risk ending up a Genin for the rest of my life… I'll still become Hokage, even if I can only make it by pure stubbornness. I don't care! I'm not afraid of you" He yelled, unintentionally inspiring the rest of the Genin in the room to stay as well.
'He… never even gave us a thought. But he certainly does have guts.' Sasuke thought.
'Good thing… because an idiot like him needs them.' Sakura thought.
"I'll ask you one last time. This is a decision that could affect the rest of your life. Quit now while still have the chance." Ibiki said.
"I never go back on my word. That's my nindo." Naruto said.
'Eighty-four of them are still here. Hm… an entertaining kid. And interesting. He dispelled everyone else's doubts along with his own. More than I expected but… there's no point in dragging it out. Thanks to him… no one else will quit.' Ibiki thought before he looked towards the other proctors and they all gave affirmative nods.
"Good call. So everyone who is still here…" Ibiki said and all of the Genin that were still in the room prepared themselves for what was to come "… you've just passed the first exam!"
"What do you mean, "passed"? What happened to the tenth question?" Chilly asked.
"There is no tenth question… beyond the whole "accept or reject" thing." Ibiki said.
"Then why did we have to suffer through the other nine questions? That was a total waste of our time." Flare yelled.
"There was no waste. Those questions had a purpose, which they've already served." Ibiki said.
"Such as?" Flare asked.
"Our goal was to test your skills… at spying!" Ibiki said.
'He seems like a completely different person.' Temari thought before saying "Our skills at spying?"
"Remember the rules at the beginning? You pass or fail as part of a three-man team. With that rule, I pressured you with the fear that anything you did wrong would bring your teammates down with you. However… the questions are beyond the level that Genin could be expected to handle. So most of you… having reached that same conclusion had only one way of retaining your points, by cheating. In other words… we set up the test on the assumption you'd cheat. And, to ensure there would be suitable targets for you to cheat from, we snuck in a pair of ringers… two Chunin who already knew all the answers." Ibiki said.
"It took me forever to figure out who they were." A ninja behind Naruto said.
"Oh, yeah. Me too." A ninja behind him again said.
"Of course, anyone who cheated in a clumsy or obvious way… failed." Ibiki said as he took of his Hitai-ate to show that he had burn scars and puncture wounds all over the top of his head and he continued "Because there may be circumstances where being caught in an act of espionage can cost you more than just your life. You pay in ways that can be taken from you little by little, time and time again, when many lives hang in the balance."
'Burn scars… punctures from where screws were used… long slash marks… he's been tortured.' Sasuke thought.
'Cool… I bet his hands are even worse. But that's what he gets for being dumb enough to get captured. It'll never happen to me.' Dosu thought.
'Heh. Seems like someone forgot to finish their job.' Chilly thought.
'Those wounds… Looks like he's been in a battle with Ray.' Terra thought.
"The information you obtain can't be trusted… if you can't keep your presence secret from the enemy. Learn that and learn it well. If you bring back intelligence from a suspect source or a compromised operation… you're doing your enemies' work for them, putting those you serve in danger. That is why we maneuvered you into using your espionage skills to cheat. It was the quickest way of weeding out the students whose skills aren't yet up to stuff." Ibiki explained while putting his Hitai-ate back on.
"I still don't get what the deal with the tenth question was." Ventus said.
"Ah! The tenth question… was the first real test on the exam." Ibiki said.
"What on earth do you mean?" Sakura asked.
"Let me explain… the tenth question was a choice between two options that were both difficult and dangerous. Those who chose to reject were failed, and their friends along with them. Those who chose to accept and couldn't answer the question… lost any chance of ever even trying again. It was a nasty, unfair, no-win set of options. So why do I present them? Let's suppose you all go on to successfully attain the rank of Chunin. You are assigned to steal a vital enemy document… knowing nothing about the skills, deployment, or military preparedness of your foe. You may have to cross a territory that has been heavily mined and set with traps. Now… do you accept your mission? Or do you reject it… rather than place your own life – or the life of your companions – in jeopardy? Could any Chunin get away with only taking on the safe jobs? Of course not. No matter how dangerous the risk… there will be missions that you cannot decline. A ninja must demonstrate valor that inspires those around him… helping all to overcome their fear. This is the talent that we most value in the commander of a Chunin team. Those who can't gamble with their own fate… who would trade today's certain risk for tomorrow's uncertain future… never taking the chance that lies before them are weaklings who make only weak decisions. In my opinion, they don't belong in the ranks of the Chunin at all. By choosing to accept, you answered the almost-insoluble tenth question correctly. If you keep that spirit, you can probably conquer all of the many doubts and difficulties you'll face. You've passed the first hurdle. Part one of the Chunin exams is now concluded. I'll pray you fight the good fight." Ibiki explained.
Suddenly, something crashed through the window and four kunai were imbedded into the walls of the room to reveal that it was a banner and in front of it stood a woman. On the banner it said "Newly arrived second chief examination officer Mitarashi Anko".
She had black hair in a ponytail, wore a light-brown jacket with a fishnet shirt underneath and she wore her Konoha Hitai-ate on her forehead, and she also had pointy ears, indicating that she's a Hylian.
"None of you are in any position to celebrate. I am the second examination officer, Mitarashi Anko! Times a-wastin', people. Let's go! Follow me!" Anko yelled.
"Can't you sense the mood in here?" Ibiki asked as he stepped out from behind the banner.
'This new officer almost reminds me… of Naruto.' Sakura thought.
'Great… Flare 2…' Aqua thought.
Anko then noticed something before looking at Ibiki as she said "Eighty-four of you are still here? Ibiki! You passed 28 teams? Obviously you went way too easy on them."
"This year… we have applicants of exceptional caliber." Ibiki said.
"Yeah, right. I'll cut down the number by half before the next test is done." Anko said.
'Cut us down… by half?' Sakura thought, wondering what the next exam was going to be.
"Ooh. I get charged up just thinking about it. I'll explain things in detail as soon as we move to our next location… so follow me!" Anko said before she led all of the Genin to where the second exam would be.
Tani, Tanikage tower, Ganondorf's throne-room
The door to the room opened and a woman dressed in black entered. She was also wearing a weird hat which was sticking out to her right side, curving down to her hip. Said hat was also covering her right eye.
"Veran, give me your report." Ganondorf said as he was sitting on his throne, leaning on the left arm-rest.
"As expected, the Triforce bearers joined the exam, and they've all passed the first portion of it." Veran said.
"Good. Now tell me, where will the next portion of the exam take place?" Ganondorf asked.
"Considering who the proctor is, I'd have to guess it's the Forest of Death." Veran said.
"The Forest of Death? You mean that forest with all those monsters?" Ganondorf asked.
"Exactly." Veran said.
"Well, I doubt they'll notice the appearance of one more." Ganondorf said.
"I had a feeling you'd say that, so I've already gone ahead and sent her to take care of them." Veran said, causing Ganondorf's mouth to twist into an evil grin.
Chapter preview
Anko "This is the arena for the second exam: training field 44. Also known as… the Forest of Death."
Naruto "Ugh… What happened?"
Navi "We got separated from the others."
Orochimaru "Now… shall we see… just who will be stealing scrolls from whom? We'll fight to the death."
Anko "Next time on The Legend of Naruto: Exam 2: Monsters of the Forest of Death."
Navi "Aaaaaaahhhh! It's a Dodongo! Naruto we have to get away before it eats us!" (The Dodongo gobbles up Navi whole) (Kurama no Kyubi: Just so you know, the Dodongo's not even bigger than Akamaru.)
Kurama no Kyubi: Since there weren't any fights in this chapter, I didn't see any point of adding the character stats this time. Also I've decided that from next chapter and onward I'll add chakra levels to the stats. Oh, and by the way, I noticed that I forgot to add hearts to Lee's and Flare's stats in the last chapter, and I'm too lazy to change it now, so I'll just tell you. Lee's got 6 hearts, and Flare has 10. Now, see ya next time, and don't forget to review.