Author's Note: Hello everyone I'm back. Sorry for the delay but I had to take care of some things in real life. I want to give a special shout out to Uriil. Thanks for inquiring to see if anything was wrong.

I also want to give a special thanks to a guest reviewer. I know I'm on the right track when anonymous people tell me to go kill myself. :p

I also might be going back and checking for clear grammatical errors after one or two caught my eye. It depends on whether I have the time to do it or not. So if that pops up on your inbox please just ignore it. Anyways thanks for reading and have a wonderful day.

Leaving Ichiraku's behind I jumped up to the rooftops and ran along them. I didn't really have a destination in mind right now and since it was only the middle of the day I didn't really have anything urgent to do until tomorrow when I would meet up with my full team. For now I just sped along and enjoyed the feel of wind against my face as I raced over the rooftops. The Hokage's Mountain caught my eye and with a mental shrug I changed course and started heading towards it.

I could of just run straight up the side of it but I took the small winding trail off to the side of the mountain. Still, I reached the top of the mountain in a reasonable amount of time so I sat down on the ground and enjoyed the view from the top. I truly did love seeming sights like this even before I died and while I could no longer feel the same as before it was still relaxing to me.

Closing my eyes I entered a meditative state and time lost all meaning to me as I sat there absorbing the feel of nature surrounding me. I don't know how long I sat there but the feeling of the sun had disappeared from my skin by the time I felt a familiar chakra flare behind me.

"Hello sensei." I rose and busted off my pants before fully turning to her. Saiko dropped down from the tree to land next to me.

"Hey, you missed our training start time." I blinked at that. I thought she was super busy right now with work.

"I apologize for that sensei. I lost track of time and I assumed with recent events you were too busy to train me at the moment." She reached out and flicked my forehead.

"Never assume anything but in this case you are correct. My duties for tonight place me in Konoha." I studied her more intently as I rubbed my forehead before nodding.

"Shadow clone?" She nodded and I sat back down on the ground. A moment later she joined me and we both just looked over the moonlight village.

"So what happened to you today?" Humming quietly at the question I considered how to answer.

"I met one of my teammates but Jiraiya didn't show up at all and I had to get the Hokage involved when my teammate didn't know the mission parameters. Her name is Hina Hyuga and she kept on looking under my clothes with her byakugan, the pervert. She also told me my charka is very structured." I could hear a slight sigh from Saiko as she sat next to me.

"Then I started a gossip ring going around some of my powers. Specifically the fact that I know three different elemental styles with two of them having A rank jutsus and the other a B rank. Along with that I revealed that I knew how to perform the chakra dampening technique to Hina because she had her doujutsu active again. This should allow those rumors to grow in the two months before the final tournament of the Chunin Exams cementing the fact that I am an upcoming power." She didn't say anything and I continued.

"Then after Hina left I bribed Teuchi to close his restaurant and spend time with his three year old daughter because he lost his wife in the attack." I could hear her muttering something before she spoke.

"How much did you pay him?"

"Hm, I personally paid him 40 thousand ryo but as I was leaving more people were pitching in."

"Shiro," she hesitated. "While the gesture was extremely nice don't you think that was a bit much? That's two A rank missions right there." I gave a shrug and leaned back to lay on the ground.

"Money doesn't mean much to me really. I have almost no expenses because I lack the need for food, my shelter is taken care of for me and while I do spend quite a bit on shinobi supplies it's because I can, not that it is necessary. I could literally move into the woods and live there because I can carry everything I could want with me. Maybe later in life it will play more of a role but for now I have no real use for it." The night sky was absolutely full of stars shining down on us. The lack of industry and light pollution gave me a stunning view of the heavens above.

"Alright then I see you thought this through." She looked up to the sky as well. "Have you looked more into the Chunin Exams at all?"

"I did. It's usually divided into three parts. An information gathering stage, a survival stage and a tournament that is done a month after the first two." She nods at that confirming my research.

"How about how much you will show during it?"

"I will do my absolute best from the start because trying to hold back is asking for death or injury and trump cards are only useful if you actually use them. Just make sure the enemy doesn't survive to learn from their mistakes." That's something I strongly believe in. Fight every fight like it's to the death because you have no idea what your opponent's intentions are.

"Hmm, alright. I expect to see you win it then." I gave her a sly grin.

"Of course I'll win you trained me." She gave a huff and then reached over to ruffle my hair.

"Cheeky brat." Why does everyone always ruffle my hair? I don't remember that happening in my first childhood. Eh, it doesn't really matter I guess.

"So sensei, can I practice my new technique?"

For some reason I could feel dread and a sense of resignation coming off her. "You have a new technique?" I blinked at that. She doesn't know?

"Yes, but if you don't know then forget about it." If anything the aura of doom increased.

"Is it like your first technique?" I thought for a moment.

"The Hokage hasn't really instructed me on the secrecy of it yet but that might be because it slipped his mind what with everything that happened. Lord Jiraiya told me not to use it right now but I thought as my sensei you could override his command in that regard."

She hesitated momentarily before she spoke. "I'll trust his judgement about this for right now as I don't the entire story and this is no place to tell me the details of your technique." Her head jerked to the left before she spoke again. "I have to go now. Try to stay out of trouble." With that said the clone popped in a cloud of smoke that I blew away with an application of wind chakra. Something must have happened but she didn't seem too worried so I trusted that she could handle it.

With nothing else to really do I just laid there on top of the mountain watching the stars shine down from above until the sun started to rise over the horizon. With a grunt I rose and stretched out to enjoy the feel of it.

Finishing my stretches I decided to take the more direct route down and simply ran down the side of the mountain. I still had plenty of time before the team would meet so I swung by Ichiraku's just to make sure it was closed. It was and there was a sign on the front of the restaurant that announced it would be closed for the rest of the week. Good. I swung by the usual place where I performed Angel's Breath on people and used it twice as it had become habitual at this point.

Finished with my task I slowly made my way to the training ground and still got there with a few hours to go. Sometimes not having to sleep gives me far too much time to simply use. Sure I could just continually train but it becomes boring simply repeating a task over and over again for hours. I needed to simply watch the stars or relax sometimes so I didn't burn myself out.

Settling into a meditative pose to restore my spent chakra quicker I sat there until my chakra was once more full. A quick glance at the sun showed me I had about two more hours before anyone would even show up. Even though I had just thought about relaxing instead of training I had spent the night just staring up at the sky. Letting out a sigh I made two clones and made them go start elemental manipulations while I started a physical work out. Time passed by and when I sensed an unfamiliar chakra signature coming towards me I dismissed the clones to turn my full attention towards it.

A young boy of about 150cm tall entered the clearing to land near me. He had short, unkempt, dark colored hair, black eyes and a relatively broad nose. His clothes trended towards darker colors and he had a high collared black shirt with a harness for a tanto around his chest. The Konoha headband sat prominently upon his brow and while I was studying him I could tell he was doing the same.

"So you are to be one of my teammates for the Chunin Exams then?" He asked politely. I nodded.

"I am. My name is Shiro, no last name, and it is a pleasure to meet you." I could see him raise an eyebrow at that.

"Shiro? You wouldn't happen to be familiar with Itachi would you?" Hmm, has he heard of me then?

"Yes, I've known him since I was three or so." His gaze became more penetrating as I confirmed it.

"I see. I've recently became his friend and he had a lot to say about you. Did you really show up to his house so covered in blood that his drains had to be replaced when they clogged?" I couldn't help the shudder from the horrible memories and I grimaced.

"That is one of my less pleasant memories, but yes it did happen and no I won't tell you why it happened. Somethings should be left forgotten. Now, I think it is terribly rude for a teammate to hide behind a tree and listen in on our conversation. Come on out you Pervert."

"I'm not a pervert." Hina said as she stepped out from behind a tree. "How did you even know I was there?"

I tapped the side of me nose and smiled. "It's a secret." She gave a huff as she walked over before glancing at Shisui. I saw Shisui mouth pervert to himself in confusion but didn't feel like enlightening him at the moment.

"Are we really teaming up with an Uchiha for this?" Glancing quickly between them to judge the potential tension and whether or not this would adversely affect our teamwork I slowly spoke up.

"Yes, we will be. Is this going to be a problem for you?" The look she sent me was mildly reproaching.

"No. It will just give me a chance to show how much better the Hyuga are than the Uchiha." She sent a haughty look his way which he returned.

"I do believe you are mistaken. The Uchiha are clearly superior, but where are my manners." He turned to me first. "My name is Shisui Uchiha. It is a pleasure to meet you. Please call me Shisui." He gave me a bow which I returned before he repeated his greeting to Hina.

Rivalry between the clans or not she knew how to be polite when necessary. "My name is Hina Hyuga and you may call me Hina since we will be on a team together for the time being." She glanced around the clearing. "Now where is our sensei or will he not show up again like yesterday?"

Before we could comment more about our sensei's absence a rather large orange toad hopped into the clearing. For reasons unbeknownst to me it was wearing a purple jacket as well. I mean why would a toad need a jacket anyway? Totally illogical really.

"Yo," its voice was surprisingly deep for a man sized toad. "You brats Jiraiya's new students?" We glanced at each other before nodding to it. "Cool. Jiraiya sent me to tell you that something came up and he couldn't make it. Don't really know why he sent me instead of just sending a clone but whatever." He gave us a shrug before looking around. "Well I delivered my message so I'll be going now."

There was a popping noise and a cloud of smoke filled the area where the toad once was. I couldn't help but frown at Jiraiya's seemingly lackadaisical attitude towards us and our mission. It didn't make any kind of sense unless this was a test before the test or something truly bad had happened, besides the Kyuubi attack, and we weren't cleared to know. My gut was telling me it was a combination of the two so I simply rolled with it.

Turning to my teammates I began to speak. "Alright then. Even though our sensei isn't here that doesn't mean we can slack off. Let's start off by getting to know each other a little bit more and then we can move into a light spar to gauge where everyone's strengths are. Hina and I did this yesterday so why don't you start off Shisui." I sat down on the ground and motioned them to sit with me. They did so and Shisui spoke up.

"What do you want to know about me?" I hummed at that before answering.

"How about what you like? What are your hobbies? What is your dream? That sort of thing." He nods at that and contemplates for a bit before answering.

"I like my friends, family and my clan. I also like chocolate pochy. My hobbies are training and studying history. My dream… my dream is to see the world at peace." Hmm, he has the same dream as Itachi. No wonder they became friends then. Both Hina and I went next and we repeated what we told each other yesterday.

After that was done I stood up and brushed off the dirt on my pants. "Let's start on taijutsu then. One on one for ten minutes and then we'll switch partners until everyone has gone against one another. I'll be one of the two that goes first."

"I'll go first as well." Hina stood up and faced me. I gave her a nod and turned to Shisui.

"Can you keep track of time and supervise then?" He gave me a thumbs up and I turned back to Hina. My hands turned blue as the chakra scalpel technique partially formed.

Hina gave my glowing hands a wary look as she settled into her clan's taijutsu stance. Giving it a once over it seemed very fluid yet solid and at the same time I could tell she could shift towards any threat almost immediately. "Why are your hands glowing?" I settled into my stance as well and brought my hands up before me. Letting the scalpel form I showed her it.

"Usually I fight with these active all the time." The blade dissipated leaving my hands still glowing blue. "I won't use them now but try to keep in mind that they would be there if we fought for real." She hummed at that as the veins around her eyes bulged. "Whenever you're ready then."

There was a pause and then she struck faster than a viper with her right hand. Knowing the dangers of the Hyuga taijutsu I intercepted the jab on the meaty part of her forearm pushing her arm out to the side and away from me. I had no time to strike as her other hand was coming right for me. Redirecting that one as well as sending a low kick which she blocked and I disengaged slightly to avoid her retaliatory strike.

Over the next ten minutes I could see why the Hyuga had such confidence, or was it arrogance, in their taijutsu style. It wasn't meant to hit hard but rather have blindingly fast strikes which they could use to seal off your chakra flow leaving you helpless. Their eyes simply complimented the style perfectly which made a lot of sense. It was a death by a thousand cuts kind of style and it worked as evidenced by the fact that I could no longer channel chakra into my hands at the end of the spar.

Stepping back as Shisui called out the time I glanced down at my hands and frowned. Sure if I had my chakra scalpels fully formed think I would have won but it's hard to say really. She's slightly faster than I am and she specializes in taijutsu whereas I merely dabble in it. If I had to really fight her I'd do it from range or if I had to fight up close I would use the rasengan and literally tear her arms apart.

"That was a good spar. Do you want to continue with Shisui or let me go again?" I asked her as she absently rubbed one of the areas that I had been able to hit. Looks like she's not as durable as I am then.

"I can continue."

"Great. Can you remove the blocks on my chakra before that though?" I could feel portions of her chakra swirling over my tenketsu forming a block over it and not allowing my charka flow freely. I felt that I could probably forcibly expel those blockages but it would be better to not let that be known. She motioned me over and started to tap the portions of my arms that were blocked allowing my chakra to flow freely once more.

"Thanks for that." I said cheerfully and moved out of the way as I switched places with Shisui. Hina settled into her taijutsu stance once more and Shisui's eyes turned red as he settled into the Uchiha interceptor stance. Perhaps knowing that it was a more reactive style than the one I was using Hina didn't immediately charge in this time. Nevertheless the result was the same as Shisui ended up without being able to utilize chakra in his arms.

"That was indeed a good spar. You are quite talented at taijutsu." I could see Hina preen after Shisui said that.

"Of course I am. The Gentle Fist style is an incredible style of combat." Careful there someone might come along and burst that ego with something pointy. I moved over as she undid her handwork on Shisui.

"I believe that it would be my turn again." Shisui looked over at me and nodded. "Whenever you're ready then." I settled into my stance as his eyes turned red once more.

Over the next ten minutes I could only conclude that fighting an Uchiha with their sharingan active is annoying. It was as though he had the same inhuman reflexes skill that I had gained and the fight devolved into both of us dodging each other's attacks before we fully committed them. I think his speed was slightly slower than mine but he more than made up for it by just not being where my attack would land. In the end it was an inconclusive fight where neither of us gained a clear advantage over the other.

"That was interesting. You seemed to have some incredible reflexes to allow you to dodge most of my attacks." Yes, something to that effect. I simply shrug and move toward Hina.

"If you say so. Alright, now that we've warmed up a bit do either of you know any good teamwork exercises that we can work on? I've been mostly trained solo so I don't have the best knowledge on them."

Shisui joined us to form an impromptu circle. Both of them had thoughtful expressions on their face as they pondered the question. "I know some but most of them require a fourth person to be an 'attacker' or 'defender.' I suppose we could use clones but it really isn't the same." Hina seemed to agree with Shisui as she nodded after he was finished.

"Hmm, alright then we'll go see if we can get someone to stand in as the fourth person later if Jiraiya doesn't show up by tomorrow. I suppose we could start by clarifying our positions on the team. For the duration of this mission I was selected to be the team leader. I want to designate Hina as secondary in command if I become incapacitated." She gave me a smile at that and I didn't miss the smug look she sent Shisui's way.

"She has the most experience besides myself so this is in no way a jab at your skills Shisui." I looked him in the eyes as I said that and he seemed to be satisfied with my choice and reason for it. "Right, moving on then. As we have seen Hina is the most proficient at close quarters combat so she will be our go to when our enemies get too close. At close to medium range Shisui will be there to intercept with genjutsu and ninjutsu as needed." Everyone seems to be fine with what I had said so far so I continued.

"As for myself I will be the medium to long range specialist with ninjutsu. I am also passable as a battle field medic so after the battle you can come to me with any injuries you have. Now I want to go over possible strategies we can use when we attack or when we are attacked." We all sat down and got comfortable as we went over possible scenarios that could happen. Once we did that we played out those scenarios to the best of our abilities using clones. It made for a productive 4 hours and at the end of it I suggested breaking for lunch.

"Are we going to that ramen place again?" Hina inquired as we walked back into the village.

"No, it's closed right now. Do either of you have any suggestions?" We bickered back and forth but final decided upon one of the Akimichi clan's restaurants. They had wonderful barbeque and I picked up the bill at the end of the meal. After that it was back to training for another 2 hours before we ended it for the day. They both left after saying their goodbyes and I was left alone in the clearing.

I leaned back against a tree and considered my team. So far we seemed to be getting along well with the minor hiccup due to clan rivalries but it didn't seem to interfere with their ability to work together. I found Hina to be far more excitable than Shisui at the moment but that could be because I hadn't found anything to pick at for the moment. The scenario training went well but it would have been better if Jiraiya had actually shown up.

Even if this was a test of my leadership skills it would have been nice if he at least showed up afterwards. As though my thoughts had summoned him the air to my right shimmered and revealed him to be lounging on a tree branch. "Good job today brat." Freaking ninja.

"Hello sensei. Was that an invisibility jutsu?" I tried to keep the longing out of my voice but I think I failed when he gave me a knowing look.

"It was but I don't teach things to brats that set angry kunoichi on me." He hopped down from the branch and ambled over. Hmph, stingy bastard. I'll just make my own then. "I'll make an exception if you win first place in the Chunin Exams though." You are a saint amongst men good sir.

"I'll get right on that then." I paused for a moment before I asked my next question. "Was today a test for me or did you actually have to do something else?"

"Yes." He stated simply. I let out a huff. Fine be that way. "I heard about what you did at Ichiraku's as well. That was a good thing you did there. Although I'm not so sure about how you let out information about yourself in such a crowded area." I gave him a shrug.

"It was simply to get rumors started about me so by the time the Chunin finals roll around there will be a core of gossip that will cement the fact that I'm an up and coming power for Konoha. I gave out enough information that it will be juicy gossip but nothing too specific."

He eyed me critically before he spoke again. "I see. Nevertheless try not to start any other information wars going. We already have enough after the attack." Eh, fine by me I guess. Moving on then.

"So I was wondering if you could lift that ban on my new technique?" I didn't think it would work but I gave him the puppy eyes.

He actually stopped and thought about it for a few minutes before he replied to my question. "I'm going to have to say no for the moment." Damn it. "We just don't know anything about it really and the second one is just too dangerous for you to play around in. Wait until after the Exams and then we can fully explore its uses and dangers." My shoulders slumped as I let out a big sigh.

"Alright, I won't use it for now." Seemingly seeing that I would keep my promise he nodded and then continued.

"I'll be here tomorrow morning at the same time you guys showed up today. We'll get started on making you a smoothly functioning team." Great. I briefly considered whether or not I should speak up and then decided why not.

"Should we go on a shorter C or B rank mission that involves some fighting like clearing out a bandit's camp or something along those lines? It would allow us to try working together out in the field." He made a humming noise at my suggestion.

"I'll consider it and if a good mission pops up we might take it. If that's everything I have to get back to work." He let out a weird sounding giggle and vanished as soon as he saw I was done with him. Weird dude.

The next two weeks was simply Jiraiya forming us into a cohesive team. We weren't going to be exceptional by the time the Exams rolled around but I felt we would be decent on the teamwork portion. With merely a week and a half before we had to depart to Suna Jiraiya changed it up and tossed me a scroll as soon as he arrived.

Curiously I opened it and was momentarily distracted by the ding.

Ding! Task Received.

Kill the Bandits( B Rank)

You should know what to do by now but if you don't I'll lay it out for you.

Find Bandit

Kill Bandit

?

Profit

Rewards: 500xp, 8000ryo

I felt like doing a face palm. Sometimes my power gets sassy and I have no idea why. Reading the rest of the scroll I found out that there was a small bandit camp located about half a day's journey from Konoha. Relaying this to Hina and Shisui didn't take long and as soon as I was done Jiraiya spoke up.

"For this mission I won't do anything but tag along and observe. I want to see how you guys do out on a real mission so get to it." His piece said he shimmered and turned invisible leaving the three of us standing in the clearing. I turned to see that Hina had her doujutsu active. No doubt she was checking to see if he was actually still here.

"Right, does everyone have everything they would need for a mission?" Hina turned her doujutsu off and nodded along with Shisui. "Then let's get going." We flickered out of the clearing and set off in a wedge formation with Hina up front, myself on the left and Shisui on the right. We kept up the pace until we were around 20kms out from the target then stopped to rest and recover.

"Hina, how far can your eyes see?" I could see her momentary hesitation before she answered.

"Around 5kms." Damn that's far. How do their brains even process that?

"Good. When we get close enough I want you to relay what you can see and we'll go from there." She nodded and once we had all recovered we continued on. When we had reached the optimal range for Hina we stopped once more as she relayed information to us.

"I can see 8 bandits with no civilians. I can also see what looks to be a missing nin." I gave her my full attention when she said that.

"From what village and can you tell what rank they are."

"It looks like he's from Kawa(river country between Konoha and Suna) and judging by his chakra I would put him as a genin." Humming in thought I turned to Shisui.

"Can you put up a false surroundings genjutsu on him as soon as we are in range?" He considered it for a moment and then nodded. "Once Shisui does that I'll take out the entire camp at once hopefully getting him in the process. If he does escape the initial barrage I want Hina to stay back unless he advances towards us while both Shisui and I will be double teaming him with genjutsu and ninjutsu. Hina I also want you to be on the lookout for anyone else that approaches us. Does that sound like a plan?" They both nodded and we moved out once more.

The camp was in sight before we stopped once more and Hina pointed out the genin to us. "That one near the tent with the blond hair and brown clothing."

"I see him. Putting the genjutsu up now." Shisui's hands blurred and after a moment he nodded to me. My turn then. A shadow clone appeared right next to me and we both crept closer until we came into range. Both of our hands began to blur as we gathered chakra. With a thought of Electromagnetic Murder lightning sprung from my fingertips just in time to hit the wall of water that was crashing down on the camp. I held it a moment longer until I could no longer feel any foreign chakra signature from below me.

My clone popped and I signaled for both Hina and Shisui to advance along side me. "Hina do you see anyone alive near us?"

"No, nobody but our sensei and us."

"Alright let's clean up then." Wordlessly we set to stripping the dead of anything valuable and I sealed the genin's body into a scroll. Just as we were finishing up Hina quietly called out to us.

"I can see 4 people moving towards us at high speeds. They look like hunter nin from Kawa. What do you want us to do?" Hmm, if they're hunter nin they must be at least chunin with a jonin or two. We couldn't out run them so we'll try to be diplomatic first.

"We'll wait here. If they approach we'll try to talk to them first and if that works out then great but be prepared for a fight just in case. Both of you get behind me in a wedge and Hina keep relaying their position to us." They both nodded and Hina kept on giving us updates on their position. I was holding out hope that they would just pass us by but it was not to be. I tensed as I felt their chakra flare and only minutely relaxed as they signaled peaceful intentions.

Signaling back the same I cautiously watched as they landed in the clearing in front of us. All four of them had white masks with Kawa's symbol arrayed on the front of it. By my count there were three males and one female. The female seemed to be the spokesperson as she stepped forward.

"We are looking for a missing nin by the name of Daichi. He has blond hair and was last seen wearing brown clothes. Have you seen him at all?" I tilt my head at that.

"Hmm, it sounds familiar but what's it worth to you?" Never just give up information for free unless you stand to gain something for it.

"How about your life you brat?" One of the hunter nin behind the leader spoke up. The leader sighed and casually turned to backhand the one that spoke knocking him to the ground.

"I really don't understand how you made it into the hunter nins you idiot. They're from Konoha. We don't want to antagonize one of the big Five." She turned back to us and gave a bow. "I apologize for his rudeness. If you could give us information leading to his capture or death I would be willing to part with 500 ryo." I hummed at that before pulling out the scroll containing his body.

"He was amongst the bandits that we cleared out. I'll put this down between us and you can verify that it is him." I made a water clone and had it do just that. The leader took a similar approach and opened the scroll to reveal his body.

"Yes, that's him. As agreed here's 500 ryo." She tossed a bundle of cash to land next to my clone before she resealed the corpse and the team left us in peace. I motioned both of my teammates to stay alert until Hina couldn't see them any longer. Only then did I slightly relax and I motioned for us to go. I left the cash where it had landed. No way in hell I was going to touch something from their group after one of them casually spoke of killing us regardless of how nice their leader seemed.

The run back was quiet and as we caught sight of Konoha Jiraiya reappeared next to us. He gave us a cheerful wave and then rushed on ahead leaving us in the dust. I gave a resigned sigh as the implications of his actions hit me. He was leaving me to do all the paperwork for the mission because I was the team leader. Both Hina and Shisui caught on to the fact if Hina's giggles and Shisui's slight smirk were any indication. Ungrateful bastards.

Despite my grumbling it didn't take too long to write up a report and turn it in as I received a familiar ding once more.

Ding! Task Complete.

Rewards: 800xp, 8000ryo

All in all a good days work and Jiraiya seemed to agree after he popped back up for a review after everything was filed away. "You guys did a great job out there today. The actual mission was executed perfectly and you handled the unexpected situation well. Shiro, it was a good decision not to pick up the cash. It had a seal on it that would have released a poison. It would have knocked you out and the hunter nins came back after you left to see if it worked or not." His smile became slightly predatory. "It's just too bad that they all seemed to have such horrible luck. I don't think I've even seen 4 people trip and break their necks all at once."

Right, have to remember that he's an S rank ninja. He just acts like such a goofball all the time it's hard to remember that. Nothing else really happened after that and we were dismissed for the day. With nothing else to do I made my way back to the base but before I could enter my room I was stopped by a Root ninja and told to report to Lord Danzo.

Wondering why he wanted to see me I made my way to his office as quickly as I could I before pausing at his doorway and knocking. "Enter."

The door slid open and I walked inside to kneel in front of his desk. He seemed to study me for a moment before he tossed a folder to land at my feet.

"Read this, memorize it, and then destroy it." I glanced up at him before I picked up the folder and started to read. I couldn't help it when my eyes widened slightly at the contents. It was the details for all three of the tasks for the upcoming Chunin Exams. I guess we're going with the age old art of cheating then or as some like to call it, stacking the deck in your favor/ winning. I finished reading and with a minor application of fire chakra the file was burnt to ashes.

He was leaning back in his chair as I was reading and when the ashes had been scattered he spoke to me again. "With this you should have a major advantage over the competition. Although some of the other genin might have the same advantage as you do now. Think of strategies to overcome each of these tasks and remember." He leaned forward. "Failure is not an option for this." Message received. "Dismissed." I bowed and left the room my thoughts racing.

As soon as I reached my room a familiar ding was heard. With some trepidation I looked at the new pop up.

Ding Quest Received.

A Chunin Exam Champion

Konoha is counting on your team to show off the power that Konoha holds even after the devastating Kyuubi attack. Show the world that Konoha is still strong by blowing through the competition and winning the Exam. There will be repercussions if your team fails to make it to the final round.

Rewards: 10,000xp, 80,000ryo, Invisibility Jutsu, ?, ?

'Damn it. Why didn't this pop up earlier?' I studied it for a little bit before mentally dismissing the pop up. It doesn't matter in the end. I don't plan on failing and this just gave me extra incentive to win. My thoughts turned to the first task in the Exam. I needed a new jutsu.

Turning around I ran towards Saiko's room. I could feel her inside so I knocked on the door. "What?" A sleep filled voice drifted out of the room. Ops, I didn't mean to wake her. Pushing forwards now that I've already woken her I spoke up.

"Saiko, can I come in? It's for my mission." There was silence for a moment and then I heard her grumbled "Fine." I opened the door to a pitch black room and paused momentarily to turn on the lights. The sudden brightness blinded me for a moment and when they adjusted I hastily turned my head to the side. Apparently Saiko decided to sleep in the nude today.

"Why are you looking away?"

"Ah, you're naked."

"So?" Her voice was very bland. "Modesty can get you killed when you're on a mission and since you needed something for your mission it's not important right now." I'll never understand the female mind. Reading porn is bad yet being naked in front of others isn't?

"Right, um, I need a jutsu that will allow me to spew out poison from my mouth. It's vital for the success of my mission." She was silent as she rose from her bed and began to put on her clothes. When she was finished she turned to me.

"Are you absolutely sure that you need a jutsu like that?" I nodded and she sighed. "Alright can you wait here for a bit? I need to go see what I can find." She flickered out of the room leaving me behind. It didn't take her long before she reappeared and tossed a scroll to me. Mentally selecting yes to learn it I watched as the scroll burst into motes of light and information streamed into my head.

Ding!

Learned Poison Mist (Active D - B Rank (Varies)) LVL 1 – 0%

Synthesizes poisons that you have been exposed to and releases them from your mouth in the form of a light mist that covers a 1x1 meter area.

Decreases casting time by 5%

'Perfect.' I'll have to level this as fast as I can over the next week and a half. I paused as a thought ran through my head. Turning I walked over to Saiko and gave her a hug. "I'm sorry for waking you, but thank you for this. I really do need it for the Exam." Her entire body was tense and I thought I did something wrong before she relaxed and she ruffled my hair.

"It's fine. I was going to get up soon anyways and don't be afraid to wake me if you really need something. Now, I believe you have an Exam to practice for." Right, I pulled away from her and ran out the door. Just before I left I turned back to look at her.

"Thanks again Saiko, you're the best." With my part said I left for good this time and ran towards me room. My course was set and I began to train like a madman.

Age: 5 year - 11 months

Title: Rookie Root Shinobi

LVL: 19 - 14% to next LVL

HP: 1,230/1,230

Chakra: 34,648/34,648

Elemental Affinity: Water

STR: 130(156)

VIT: 123

END: 111

DEX: 141(155)

INT: 115(121.9)

WIS: 96(101.76)

LCK: 18

Points: 33

Money: 232,153

Poison Mist (Active D - B Rank (Varies)) LVL 1 – 0%

Synthesizes poisons that you have been exposed to and releases them from your mouth in the form of a light mist that covers a 1x1 meter area.

Decreases casting time by 5%