Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of its characters, jutsu, etc.

Warning: There may be manga spoilers in later chapters.


The Undying Flame

Chapter 1: The Opportunity of a Lifetime

This is going to be so troublesome. It hasn't even started yet, and I can already tell. Shikamaru scrutinized the memo from the Hokage that he held in his hands. He had known that this was going to happen sooner or later. It was inevitable when you took on a genin team. But he had hoped that he would have a year or two more to prepare.

No such luck, apparently.

Shikamaru lifted his eyes from the memo to look at the three students standing before him. Morino Noriki was twirling a kunai in his fingers, like he always did when he was bored. Or nervous. Or worried. Or feeling pretty much any emotion, for that matter.

Inuzuka Yamamoto, as usual, was too busy ruffling the fur behind her dog Matsu's ears to pay much attention to him.

His third student was watching him intently, having realized that something unusual was going on. His thick black hair stuck up in all directions, and his deep brown eyes missed nothing that happened in front of them.

His name was Sarutobi Tatemichi.

"I've just received a notice from the Hokage," Shikamaru told his team. "The Chuunin Exams will be held this year, in Konoha."

The group of genin exploded with excitement. "Can we enter? Can we please?" Yamamoto asked, while Matsu barked his agreement.

Noriki said nothing, but stopped twirling his kunai--a sure sign that he was interested.

Tatemichi's solemn face slowly split into a wide grin. "That's great, Shikamaru-sensei! I think we'll do really well." His grin faded a bit. "If you let us enter, of course."

Shikamaru sighed. "Being in the Exams will be troublesome. You'll all have to do a lot of extra training, and the Exams themselves are notoriously difficult. It's not unheard of for participants to be gravely injured or even die, and it's pretty rare to pass on your first try." Then he smiled slightly. "But I think all of you have a good chance of passing, even though this will be your first time competing. So yes, you can enter."

Shikamaru clapped his hands over his ears to drown out the deafening cheers from his students. So troublesome...


"I have wonderful news for all of you!" Lee beamed, while his three students glanced at each other, wondering what kind of hare-brained scheme their sensei had cooked up now. "The Chuunin Exams are being held this year, and I have decided that all of you should enter!"

"Really?" This outburst came from Hidaka Kondo, a tall, wiry boy with brown hair and matching eyes. His enthusiastic demeanor tended to remind Lee of himself at a younger age. "That's great, sensei!"

"Indeed!" Lee exclaimed. "This will be a great opportunity for all three of you to let your ninja ways shine!"

"Who else is going to be in the Exam?" asked one of Kondo's teammates, a blond boy named Ootani Toda.

"That is an excellent question! Shikamaru-san's team will probably be participating, and Mist, Sand, Cloud, and Rain will all be sending teams of their own! It will be an exciting competition!"

Shiranui Kajiya bit down pensively on the senbon she held between her teeth. "But sensei, we're pretty young to be competing in the Exams, aren't we? We've only been genin for a year, and a lot of the other competitors will have much more difficult missions under their belts."

Lee gave his team his best nice-guy pose, sunlight glinting off his blindingly white teeth. "Don't you worry! I will devise a training regimen that will help you develop the skills you need to win. I have faith in your abilities, for I can see that the flames of youth burn passionately within all three of you! And if you do not make Chuunin, I will hop around the village on one foot one hundred times!"

"Well, at least if we don't win, we'll have something amusing to watch afterwards," Toda muttered under his breath.


"Now, this isn't going to be easy." Temari's voice was stern as she warned the three eager children in front of her. "You're going to be training harder than you've ever trained before for the next couple of months, and in the Exam itself, you'll be putting your lives on the line! Do you think you can handle it?"

"Yes, Temari-sensei!" three voices answered in chorus.


Suigetsu leaned on his sword, watching his three students brawl with each other. A memo dangled loosely from his fingers. A Chuunin Exam, huh? This could be kinda fun.


"Exams are comin', so y'all be ready. Don't slack off; keep training steady. Remember to stay calm and keep your head cool, otherwise you're gonna look like a fool." Killer Bee folded his arms and gazed at his students, hoping they had been impressed by both the quality of his lyrics and the importance of what he was telling them.

"...So, uh, does that mean we're going to be in the Chuunin Exams?" one of his students asked, looking completely unmoved.

Kids these days had absolutely no appreciation for good music.


"You asked to see me, Amekage-sama?" One of Rain's best jounin knelt before Konan with one fist pressed against the floor. In the dim light filtering through the ever-present rainclouds, wood and metal finger-joints gleamed.

"Konoha will be holding a Chuunin Exam this year. I wish you to bring your team."

The jounin's head had been respectfully lowered, but now it shot up. "Including--"

Konan cut her off briskly. "Yes. You will bring your whole team. I think they are all ready."

The jounin smiled. "As you wish, Amekage-sama."


Throughout Konoha, there was a buzz of activity as word of the upcoming exams spread to shinobi and civilians alike. In his office, Naruto turned away from the window and faced the jounin he had selected to be proctors. "Sasuke-san, Sakura-san, Neji-san, I need to talk to you about the Chuunin Exams. I want this to be different from the previous Exams that we've held. Obviously, this information has to be top-secret, because it'll be useless if the students and sensei find out about it ahead of time." He grinned in a way that reminded them of the prank-pulling child he had been long ago. "I want them all to be totally surprised."


A/N: This is the first multi-chapter fic I've done in a long time that has a continuous plotline (as opposed to a series of connected one-shots), so I'm hoping it doesn't crash and burn spectacularly.

This is meant to be set 12-13 years post-canon.

Reviews would be welcome!