Normal speech
Thought
Nine-tails/Other big voices
InnerSakura
A/N:
Disclaimer
I do not own Naruto in any way, shape, or form. This is merely for my, and hopefully everyone else's, enjoyment. Thank you!
Recap:
As they reached room 301, there sensei met them outside…
Kakashi: … Oh, Sakura came too… Now you can properly take the exam. If only one or two of you had shown up, the exam for them would have ended here because it can only be taken as a team.
Sakura: … So why didn't you tell us all of this when you handed us the applications?
Kakashi: If I told you the truth, Naruto or Sasuke would have tried t pressure you into taking the exam. Even if you didn't want to, you would even though it wasn't in your heart for the sake of Sasuke… and… well… Naruto too… But you came of your own accord, you guys make me proud… Now go!! *stepping aside*
The First Test – A Bizarre Event
They entered the room and to their surprise, it was completely overrun with many genin from many different villages in all shapes and sizes.
Sakura: There are so… many… Are they all taking the exam?... This entire situation is so intimidating…
Ino: SASUKE…!! What took you so long?! You're late!!... I haven't seen you for a while and I've been waiting in excitement…!
Sakura: GET AWAY FROM SASUKE, INO YOU PIG!!!
Ino had jumped onto Sasuke unexpectedly and had a mighty tight grip on him. Sasuke looked to be upset by this but didn't really do anything to signify that he wanted her off.
Ino: Why if it isn't Sakura… You're forehead is as big and ugly as always… Why don't you go and make out with Naruto…
The rest of her team then stepped forward with Shikamaru complaining about how troublesome this all was and Chouji stuffing his face. As Sakura and Ino continued with their little spat, the two teams were approached by another team of rookies…
Kiba: There you guys are!... Well well… it looks like everyone's here. All 9 of this year's rookie genin are taking the exam. I wonder how far some of us will get, right Sasuke?
Sasuke: Pft… you seem confident Kiba.
Kiba: Of course… We did a lot of training, so there's no way we'll lose. Not to you… and especially not to my little sister… Naruto…
A/N: Sister clans...
Naruto: Sister…!? You won't be saying that when I make you my…
Hinata: S-Sorry… Naruto … Kiba didn't mean it in that way… Right…? *looking at Kiba*
Kiba: … She's right… I was just joking… Sheesh… I know she doesn't like to see others treated badly but… I didn't think that she would get so upset over a little joke…
Naruto: A joke huh…? And what's this about you not losing to… You act like you're the only one that thought of preparing for this. Besides, no matter how much you train, I won't lose to the likes of you!!
Kiba: Oh yeah…! *balling up fists*
Hinata: K-Kiba…!
With that, the subject was dropped…
Naruto: … So you're gonna take the test too, huh… Princess?... I never figured you for the type. They didn't pressure you to come did they?! 'Cause you know, it's your choice…
Hinata: N-No!... I… I wanted to take this exam for myself! *blushing*
Naruto just smiled and left it at that…
Kiba: JUST WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK WE ARE?!!! WHO THE HELL WOULD FORCE HER TO DO SOMETHING SHE DIDN'T WANT TO?!!
Naruto: AN IDIOT LIKE YOU DOG SHI-…
"Hey you guys, you shouldn't be so loud," a tall guy wearing a purple outfit with gray hair and glasses said as he stepped forward from the crowd.
Kiba+Naruto: AND WHO THE HELL ASKED YOU?!!!
"Let me guess… You guys are rookies just out of the academy, right? Screaming like some school girls… jeez… This isn't gonna be some walk in the park," he said.
Kiba: Just who the hell are you?
"I'm Kabuto, but instead of being concerned with me… look behind you…"
The rookies all turned around to see the scowls of many annoyed and angry shinobis looking in their general direction.
Kabuto: Everyone is on edge because of the exam… You should quiet down before you cause a scene. *everyone got quiet* … I can't blame you though… You're just clueless rookies. You remind me of how I used to be…
Sakura: You've done this before…?
Kabuto: Seven times actually… It's held twice a year, so I know a lot about the exam. I'll tell you what… since I like you guys, I'll share some info with you… with my nin-info cards… They're cards which have info burned onto them with chakra. I have four years worth of info in this deck of over 200 cards… *pulling a deck of cards*
Kabuto then pulled a card and spun it while inserting his chakra. Doing this revealed a map of the countries and the countless shinobi villages within them.
Sasuke asked for information on Gaara and Rock Lee and Kabuto produced….
Kabuto: Ok, first is Rock Lee. He's a year older than you guys. Mission history: 20 D ranks and 12 C rank. His sensei is Gai. His taijutsu has improved greatly this year, and the rest is nothing impressive. Last year he gained attention as a talented new genin, but he did not participate in the exam. Like you guys, this is his first time. His teammates are Neji Hyuga and TenTen.
Hearing the name Hyuga, Naruto and Kiba looked in Hinata's direction in order to gauge her reaction... none(at least shown).
Kabuto: … Next is Gaara of the Desert… Mission history: 8 C rank missions and 1 B rank. Since he's a newcomer from a foreign country I don't have much info, but… it seems that he managed to return from all of his missions without even a scratch.
Naruto: Bi-Big deal… If he does that in an A rank mission, then I'll be impressed.
Though he said it, it was obvious that he didn't quite believe it himself. Completing a C rank mission without a scratch is pretty difficult to do, even for most Jounin.
Kabuto: Leaf, Sand, Rain, Grass, Waterfall, Sound… many outstanding genins from various Hidden Villages are here to take the exam. Well… the Hidden Sound Village is a small village just created last year, so there isn't much info but… the rest of the Hidden Villages are filled with talented youngsters.
Hinata: Ma-Makes you lose your confidence…
Ino: Now's not the time to back out…!
Sakura: So basically… all the people here are…
Kabuto: Yup! Like Lee and Gaara, they are the top elite genin from the various countries. This isn't going to be easy.
Naruto turned his back to the group of rookies and began to shake. It looked like the pressure was starting to get to him…
Sakura: Even Naruto is nervous seeing these numbers… I can understand, we're all genins… but we are rookies among rookies… This isn't like him, maybe I should try and cheer him up…
Sakura wasn't the only one with this in mind. As Sakura made her way over to Naruto so did Hinata…
Hinata-Sakura: Na-Naruto… Don't get so down…
Before Sakura could finish what she was about to say, Naruto let out with a mighty howl…
Naruto: MY NAME IS NARUTO UZUMAKI!!! I WON'T LOSE TO ANYONE OF YOU GUYS HERE!!! *eyes now gold*
Naruto's loud outburst caught everyone's attention, including Kakashi who had just been worried about how his team would fair. A lot of the Leaf rookies smiled at how unfazed Naruto was, given the situation they were in. He managed to restore their confidence and tick a few of them off at the same time…
Ino: WHAT THE HELL IS HE DOING?!!! SAKURA, TELL YOUR IDIOT BOYFRIEND TO BE QUIET BEFORE HE GETS US ALL KILLED!!
This once again prompted another argument between the two…
Kiba: YEAH SAKURA, WE CAN'T AFFORD TO HAVE TO CONSTANTLY BE LOOKING OVER OUR SHOULDERS!! THE PRESSURE OF THIS EXAM IS ENOUGH…!
Sakura: Hinata...! WHY DON'T YOU MUZZLE YOUR MUTT…!?
Kiba: ... D-Don't give her any ideas… She already seems upset… *looking at a confused Hinata*
While Sakura and Ino continued to have "spirited words", three ninja from inside the crowd didn't take too kindly to their village being underestimated. They decided that they would show Kabuto just what Sound Village shinobi were capable of…
They quickly made their way through the crowd drawing very little attention from other shinobi. As they weaved and swerved their way amongst the crowd they prepared for their assault, pulling out kunai and other ninja tools…
Seeing his chance, the one in a yellow shirt and army pants jumped into the air, launching his kunai at Kabuto, which he dodged, but… another one had managed to get in really close and attempted to punch Kabuto.
Once again, he escaped by a hair, but the guy in front of him was throwing up a hand seal. Kabuto knew that there would be something more to this attack, but he didn't have the time or the space to properly evade. That was until…
Naruto came in with a kick to the wrapped ninja's head, stunning him and averting his attack, or so he thought…
Kabuto's glasses shattered and he dropped to his knees, holding his head.
Sasuke: What's going on?! He dodged it… so why did his glasses…?
Shikamaru: Probably at first glance it looked like he avoided it...
Kabuto then began to retch violently until he finally vomited up blood. This concerned the Leaf rookies greatly as he soon began to double over in pain…
Naruto: Kabuto...!! Are you alright?!!
"How pathetic… You're supposed to be a 4 year veteran, but look at you now," the mummy wrapped one arrogantly questioned.
"Write this down on your cards. 'The three Sound ninjas, definite future Chunins'," the guy in yellow added.
Naruto: Oh is that so…? Well let's see you back that up!! *readying himself*
"What an idiot! Didn't you see what we did to your friend there…? And you're still stupid enough to challenge us…?" the guy in the yellow shirt.
Sakura: There's no way he means he'd take on all of you at once. He means a fair fight, 1 on 1 or 3 on…
Naruto: No… actually, that's exactly how I want it. I'm gonna put these clowns in their place.
Hinata: ... Naruto...
Sakura wanted to stop Naruto from making a huge mistake, but before she could he stepped forward and the Sound ninjas attacked…
The guy in yellow came at Naruto first. He pulled a kunai and slashed at Naruto. He ducked but was met by the girl of the team. With kunai in hand, she lunged at Naruto. using her momentum against her, he flipped her to the ground. The guy in the yellow shirt returned with a kick to Naruto's face. He staggered away but turned in time to catch the girl attacking once more…
Sakura: LOOK OUT NARUTO!!
She was coming fast, but not fast enough. Naruto stomped his foot and dipped one half of his body. An unexpected move, she tripped over his front foot and onto his shoulders. He then proceeded to dump her on her back. Immediately following was the guy in the yellow shirt but this time Naruto was ready…
"Look out Zaku…!" the mummy man yelled.
Naruto quickly kicked up his legs, catching Zaku in the jaw with a bicycle kick. It knocked Zaku back and to the ground. Before Naruto had time to reposition himself, the mummy man attacked…
"Out of the way Kin…!" he yelled as she rolled away.
He attempted the same thing he did with Kabuto, but Naruto wasn't going to give him that chance. As he reared back for what looked like a punch, Naruto fell back, mule kicking him into the air in the process. He then jumped into the air after him…
Zaku: DOSU…!
He and Kin got up and tried to help. Naruto pulled out a couple of shuriken and threw them, stopping the two in their tracks. Naruto then began to rapidly flip through the air and connected with a perfectly timed heel to the jaw. Dosu was sent hurtling towards his teammates and they luckily broke his fall…
The three arose in a fit of rage. That was the last straw; they would no longer tolerate being knocked around by a weakling…
Kin: We've had enough of you!! *pulling out some needles*
Naruto: That's fine… I guess we might as well wrap this up then… *crouching*
His team and Team Sand noticed that this was the very same crouch that he did in his little fight with the Sand-nin, Kankuro…
Kankuro: … Well… let's just see what this little trick of his is…
Sakura: Naruto… he's going to do it again. Maybe now I can figure out just what it is…
Hinata: … I… I've ever seen him do this before. I wonder what he's up to…
Tension was building as the four combatants anxiously waited for the perfect time to make their move. As they could wait no more… a huge explosion occurred, blowing away the doors. This threw Naruto off as he was about to launch his assault. The explosion resulted in him planting his face into the ground, embarrassing himself…
"Quiet down you worthless bastards!!" a man in a black trench coat and scars all over his face appeared at the doorway with a bunch of other Leaf shinobi, including Kotetsu and Izumo.
"Thanks for waiting… I'm Ibiki Morino, the examiner for the first test of the Chunin Selection Exam."
Everyone was baffled at what had just happened. They didn't know what to do or what to expect. Many of them became nervous and it could be seen on their faces.
Ibiki: You guys from the Sound, stop doing as you please before the exam. That is unless you want to fail already…
Naruto: Aw man! Why are all of my fights being cut so short today? *picking his face up off the ground*
Ibiki looked at Naruto and gave a smirk…
Ibiki: Why am I not surprised…? *looking at Naruto* … You guys must have a death-wish or something… I know you aren't from around here, but you should think before you pick a fight… especially if it's with that kid… I've heard many things about how rigorous his training is. He doesn't stop until he's nearly dead…
Naruto just laid there on the ground with a goofy smile on his face…
Ibiki: I'm so glad that you're participating in this year's exam… it will be an honor… breaking your spirit most of all… *evil grin*
Naruto's goofy smile instantly vanished and was replaced with an expression of dread. The menacing way that he said that and the way he looked at him gave Naruto a horrible feeling…
Ibiki: … This is as good an opportunity as any to say this… there will be no fighting without the permission of the examiner. Even if permission is granted, killing your opponent will not be tolerated… Those pigs that disobey me will be failed immediately. Do I make myself clear?
Everyone got themselves together and gave the examiner their full, undivided attention...
Ibiki: We will now start the first test of the exam. Instead of you sitting where you please, you will pick one of these tabs and sit in the seat assigned to you. We will then hand out the exams.
Naruto now understood his sense of dread completely. He didn't like paper tests, not because he wasn't good at them, but because there was nothing enjoyable about them. You have to sit in your seat for who knows how long while parts of your body fall asleep at the most inopportune times, and not to mention how stupid you felt if you didn't know the answers to a question or so on.
A/N: Sorry, I think that I inserted a few of my own personal thoughts and got carried away.
Everyone got their numbers and took their appropriate seats. Naruto was livid and everyone could tell as he sat in his seat and pouted like there was nothing else he could be doing. Sakura was reveling in how hard Naruto was taking this, but Hinata didn't want to see him this upset…
Hinata: N-Naruto…
Naruto: Oh…! Hinata…!... What a pleasant surprise. Maybe this test won't be as bad since I have someone I know sitting by me… What are the chances that she got the seat right next to me…?
Hinata: … Le-Let's… do our best… D-Don't worry… I'm sure that you won't have any trouble with the test…
Naruto: Gee, thanks princess, that's just what I needed to hear…
Hinata smiled and blushed as she was able comfort and reassure Naruto of his greatness. This was a great moment that she would remember for the rest of her life.
Ibiki informed the testers of the many important rules to this first test. The test was made up of 10 questions and they were to start with 10 points. For each wrong answer, a point would be deducted. He also pointed out that if anyone was caught cheating, then they would have two points subtracted from their test until they were left with no points. Upon doing so, the entire team would be disqualified and dismissed.
Ibiki: The exam will last one hour… Ok… BEGIN!!!
Sakura: This could be very… very… Bad!!... Naruto… just don't get zero points.
Naruto: Heh… this is nothing, I mean… I've survived through dangerous situations hundreds of times worse than this… I won't fail here… In times like these, you have to just calm down, relax, and calmly look over each question. All I have to do is get one right and I won't have to stress over the rest because I'm sure Sasuke and Sakura will do great…
Sasuke: … This is bad… Naruto still hasn't even looked at his test… Looks like he's already freaking out…
Naruto looked at the first question and back at the examiner. He looked at the next question and back at the examiner. He continued this action until he had looked through the entire test. After he finished, he came to the conclusion that he couldn't do this…
Naruto: What's wrong with me?!! I can't seem to focus on this stupid test. Every time I look at it I want to rip the examiner's head off…
He then began slapping himself, trying to get himself to focus on what was important at the time. He could rip the examiner's head off later…
Sakura: These are complicated questions that require a high amount of both book smarts and experience… I don't think that there's any chance of Naruto being able to answer these… Actually… there may not be anyone here aside from myself that can…
Sasuke: Heh… I see… I can't answer a single one of these…Plus… what's with question 10?…
The more Naruto looked at his test, the more agitated he became. So much so that his eyes began to slowly turn gold and his horns grow little by little. Once again he tried to calm himself down and focus on his test…
Naruto: Just calm down… No test can beat me, not even a stupid paper one… Just calm down…
He managed to stop the growth of his horns and the changing of his eyes, but he could still feel the pressure of the test. He then looked up…
Sasuke: … What's with this…? It's like they assume we'll cheat… But all those guys watching us…
Sasuke then recalled what the examiner said about those that were pathetic enough to be caught and pieced together the pieces to the puzzle…
Sasuke: I see, so that's it! This isn't just a test to measure our intelligence… This is also a test to see how well… we can gather information with our skills… We have to cheat well enough that we aren't caught by the testing officers and the person whose test we're cheating off of… Come on Naruto! You have to notice this…
Soon, everyone that came to the same conclusion as Sasuke began to make their move. Akamaru, who sat on top of Kiba's head, looked around the room and barked the answers to him, Shino's used his bugs to get the answers, the Sound ninja could tell the answers by the rhythm of pencil to paper, Neji used his Byakugan, Gaara created a third eye made from sand to copy someone's answers, and Sasuke used his Sharingan to watch and copy a guy's movements as he worked on his test.
Everyone seemed to be working diligently to complete the test as best they could. Everyone that is, except for…
Naruto: What's with this? I know that if I focus enough I could probably answer at least one of these questions, but I just can't seem to do it… I'm so confused… what should I do…?
He then leans back in his chair and closes his eyes in hopes that something would come to him…
"Heh heh heh… Why don't you use your powers kit? I'm sure that will make things a lot simpler for you…" an unknown voice said as if he were in Naruto's head…
Naruto's eyes burst open, but something was odd…
As he opened his eyes, he could tell that something… wasn't quite… right. No one seemed to be moving. It was like they were frozen in time. Not even the clock appeared to be moving… but when did it ever!
Naruto: Hey!! What's going on here…?!! Who's doing this?!!... Is this some kind of joke that I'm not in on, cause if it is…
He waved a hand in Hinata's face but she didn't blink, not even a little bit. It was then that Naruto noticed something… an ominous presence, but he couldn't tell where it was coming from.
As he paid closer attention to his surroundings, he could see that everything seemed dark and bland. He got up from his seat and made his way to the front of the classroom, looking at others' test along the way.
He looked around at everyone but still couldn't figure out what was going on. He walked to the window to see if the outside was the same, and what he saw astonished him…
Everyone outside seemed to be normal, but that is not what caught his eye. His reflection in the window was a little… disturbing. His hair was all black, he had black markings on his forehead, and his eyes… were completely black with the exception of white pupils. The shock of this image sent Naruto back into the body of Ibiki. Upon contact, Naruto felt strange. He felt as if something was filling his head. He broke the connection by stepping back…
Naruto: What… What just happened?!... What's going on here…?!! Is this for real or is it some kind of genjutsu?!
He then reached up and plucked out a few hairs from his head. They in fact were black, all the way to the roots. He sat on a nearby chair and looked at the still clock. He waited for what he believed to be five minutes and decided to try something…
He approached Ibiki once again and, with the test in mind, grabbed a hold of him. Just as Naruto thought, with a lot of concentration, information about the test was being downloaded into his brain…
Naruto: I get it now!!… So that's it…
Naruto broke the connection and "borrowed" someone's spare sheet of paper. He then walked over to one of the students and copied the answers and work and returned to his desk. Now all he had to do was figure out how to put a stop to this whole thing so that he could get on with the exam.
Seeing as he had no idea of what to do, he began to get bored. An idea popped into his head and he decided to have a little fun. He looked over at Hinata and decided that he could learn a little bit more about her… like if she had a crush on anyone in particular…
Naruto's curiousity gets the best of him...
The first test draws to a close...
Next chapter: Naruto takes a stand...