After taking a break from "Those..." during the previous update, I must admit writing this chapter went rather well... sure, I had some trouble with the middle, but everything else was a snap... just goes to prove that the earlier update, which included only NNG and LotL, just had some bad mojo on me ^^'
As always, I'd like to give an extra "thank you" for those of you who do review this tale. It really does keep me going to dig out time and write the next installment of this series. The CHARACTER POPULARITY POLL is still in play and those who haven't voted for their favorites yet (and would like to do so) should start choosing their votes as with chapter 25 the poll is closed, so that's coming pretty close now ;)
With this you get the general idea of the second exam as well as some hints to the events planned for later in the story. I filled-in a few blanks as well. Hope you'll find this chapter worth the wait:
Chapter #23: The Second Exam
Title Page: Gai with a wide smile on his face, is punching is palm
Naruto signed another document just began a knock on the door filled the chamber. Lifting his eyes from the pile on the desk, he encouraged the guest to enter, settling his gaze on Teigo as the latter walked into the room: "You called for me, Hokage-san" he rather stated then asked, making nothing of the fact he skipped the usual honorific.
"That I did" the blond nodded with a serious expression, putting his pen away as he leaned back in his chair. The Rokudaime remained silent for a few moments, which annoyed the masked jounin slightly, but even he dared not to rush the Fire Shadow; dismal towards Konoha he may have, but the man before him has earned some respect: "I got word you rejected Hiyoko's invitation for sushi... it's not ramen, but that was a good chance for you to get acquainted with other instructors and" he began, yet got quickly interrupted by the former sound-nin, whose patience was slowly running out:
"How is that of any importance to me?" he questioned, managing to keep his calm. Years of practice allowed him to keep his emotions in check... most of the times. "By what happened in the past, you have my allegiance; I was not aware socializing was part of the deal."
"It could actually do you some good, Teigo" Naruto replied, getting up to walk in front of the desk. "I realize that this may be hard... I can even relate to it somewhat... but pushing everyone away certainly won't help to fill the void that you carry."
"Who said I intent to fill it?" the masked jounin challenged the blond, but the latter remained unfazed: "You can't fool me with such claims; I've been there and I can bet you're not happy with the current mindset. You just use it as defense mechanism, but even without knowing you get close to people and losing them will have its impact on you. Isn't it better to accept that and use the time you're given to appreciate those around you?"
"I believe I have already told you that I prefer to avoid all ties, Hokage-san" the former sound-nin pressed, narrowing his eyes. "Plus I do not think of Konoha as my home so there is little reason for me to form any bonds here in the first place..."
"And yet you went out of your way to help Toramaru and his team improve before the exams" the Rokudaime smirked at the comment, forcing Teigo's eyes to narrow even further. Being able to press someone's buttons so effectively certainly made him recall the old, simpler days.
"Is this the reason I was called from my time off?" the masked jounin demanded, skillfully changing the subject. Naruto allowed himself a weak sigh as he shook his head in negation: "No. I actually wanted to talk to you, since I heard you came in contact with Sai's squad a few days back. It's not a pressing matter, so I didn't handle it right away, but I figured it's best to check how you feel."
"What does that suppose to mean? They're just brats, I don't care about them."
"But you know what they are... who they are" the blond quickly corrected himself, a memory of his younger days making his eye twitch for the briefest of moments. "I would imagine their presence here may not sit well with you."
"That would make me a bit of a hypocrite, would it not?" Teigo responded with a smirk behind his mask, although he couldn't deny there was some truth to what the Fire Shadow assumed. Recomposing himself, he went on, his voice emotionless again: "That girl... Madoka... is fine. It's that Monuke brat that troubles me; I'm not that dense to believe he's been kept in the dark all this while, but his heritage is unsettling, especially with what's been going on lately. I assume you remember my report for the mission in Rock Country?"
"Yes, of course" Naruto nodded thoughtfully. "But there are many things taking place and trust me when I say that the sudden activity of former sound-nins is but one of our worries. I'm sure you already heard rumors about sightings near the Fire Nation borders... there's Iwa... even Konoha itself is slowly getting thorn apart from the inside... as it stands, we need to bond together in case the situation escalates and Monuke can prove a valuable ally..."
"Or a dangerous treat" the masked jounin jumped in, underlining his words. "It may be strange of me to say so, considering my own past, but that brat was specifically chosen as a fail safe; you shouldn't let his friendly exterior make you forget that."
"We are all designed for something, Teigo" the Rokudaime replied, placing his palm on the stomach in the exact spot a powerful seal was. "But it's our choices that decide our fate. People are neither good nor bad by nature... they're just people and they all follow their own path that they've selected... just like you did" he added, somewhat sternly, which made the former sound-nin lower his eyes. Silence filled the room for a few moment, until the jounin spoke again, his voice calm once more:
"You really have a talent to catch people in psychological traps, Hokage-san" he announced, making the blond smirk under his nose. "As far as I can tell, we are not in any, immediate danger from Oto, so I guess Monuke's persona is a secondary issue, but rest assured I'll be watching him closely during these exams. From their lineage alone, his squad is very troubling.
"Perhaps" the Kyuubi vessel nodded as he walked back to his desk and sat on the chair, reaching for a scroll. "Only time will tell where everyone's allegiance lay. For now, I have a special assignment for you to handle" he stated, handing Teigo the document.
Curious, the masked man opened it and scanned the text, lifting his sight suspiciously at the blond: "Me of all people?" he asked doubtful, to which Naruto only smirked.
-Back to the young gennin-
"This is the Tower of Terror" Ino announced with an evil smirk. "The place of your, second exam" she proclaimed, making all the gennin scan the strange structure closely; the building seemed to be made of squares, one placed on the other in a chaotic manner, which gave the impression that the tower was about to topple over. It's peak hid beyond the clouds above, making it impossible to see just how high the thing was: "This is a very special place that I've picked. Your job will, naturally, be to reach its top."
"Just like that?" Kobura asked suspiciously, which widen the jounin's smile.
"Of course not" she replied, obviously happy to hear that question. "Each of the teams will enter the tower and head up, but only those that will reach the top within three hours, counting from the moment they walk in, will pass this test and qualify for the next..."
"So this is basically a race with survival elements in the mix?" Buryaku analyzed her words.
"Not exactly" Ino responded with a shake of her head. "You see this is not a simple tower" she proclaimed, making Gaki sweat drop at the news: "You don't say" he thought to himself sarcastically, looking the structure up and down, while the proctor went on: "For years this place was used as a training ground for Konoha's genjutsu users; some of you probably realized that, despite its height, you couldn't see it from the maze..."
"Cloaked in genjutsu barrier" Akumo nodded, readjusting his glasses. The jounin's eye twitched at the comment; no-one likes a smarty pants: "That's pretty much it" she agreed, glancing at the structure. "The tower contains over a hundred and fifty floors, each made of a single room with various properties. Most of this you don't need to worry about as neither of you will have to visit them all; on your way up, each team will stop by at only three floors..."
"How's so?" Hinako asked suspiciously, while Moroha followed with an obvious question: "So this is a test to grade our resistance against genjutsu or something?"
"If you brats would stop interrupting me, I might actually manage to tell you the details!" Ino boiled inside, making some of the gennin instinctually back away as a killing urge emanated from the kunoichi. Quickly she recomposed herself and went on with the explanation: "As I already told you – your goal is to reach the top of the tower within three hours and you will visit three rooms on your way there. There will be no encounters with the other squads; thanks to genjutsu floating around the place; all you'll need to worry is clearing the challenges that await you in each chamber. Naturally, having over hundred and fifty rooms means most of you will come across a unique problem along the way..."
"So what are those challenges?" Shikyo asked, losing his patience.
"I was just getting to that" the jounin responded, allowing the smirk to return to her face. "But I cannot give you exact details. In stead, I can tell you that currently, each room in the tower is occupied by a chuunin from Konoha. Each of them have prepared a challenge that tests one of the qualities a chuunin should possess. To that end, in order to reach the top, you'll need to prove you have already gained the skills required for the rank."
"Sounds reasonable enough" Kouba nodded with approval.
"There is a catch though..."
"Ain't there always?" the sand-nin with the scrolls frowned at the news, crossing his arms. For most part Ino ignored his comment and continued, annoyance blooming within her anew; this was certainly the last time she agreed to take charge of a Chuunin Exam: "As I said, each squad will have to face three challenges; there's no way to tell what the objective of these tests will be, but all are individual in nature and one person can take just one of these challenges. To put it simply – you can't have the same guy clear more then one chamber throughout the duration of this exam."
"That seems a bit unfair" Toramaru noted, scanning the tower up and down. "Since there's no telling what tests await us, how can we possible decide which of us is best-suited to take each challenge? What if, for example, the squad has a member who's proficient in both genjutsu and taijutsu, while another is strictly a taijutsu type? Having no information about the tests may result in the team picking the former for a taijutsu challenge, while the next one could prove a genjutsu one."
"Such scenario is preciously the reason for this exam to be made the way it is" the jounin explained calmly, not surprised by the accusation at all. "If you recall, I already said that these challenges are meant to test your predispositions as chuunin, which means all of you, in order to get promoted, should be able to clear these tests. Moreover, this is also an exam of your tactics and general capability to perform missions; in real life, shinobi rarely know what lays ahead, so facing the unknown is part of the job prescription. Being able to adapt and wisely choose the best strategy, without possessing Intel on all the details is crucial to a successful completion of the task at hand... and, since chuunin is the rank of team leader, completing the mission becomes mostly their responsibility..."
"So situational judgment becomes quite important within those walls" Kouhai summed up, smiling slightly. Nekkei however narrowed his eyes at realization: "Plus, if you're clever enough, with this arrangement, you can always try to implement probability theory and do form a strategy that will work... to some extend anyway..."
"What if the team fails to clear one of the challenges?" Shunrai asked worriedly in her quiet voice.
"You fail the exam" Ino replied simply with a shrug. "There is no 'majority' here – you either succeed or go home. During missions, lives of your teammates are top priority, there is no such thing as 'acceptable sacrifice'. To that end, you must aim to bring all your subordinates alive. In order to assign them their role, you need to know their strengths and weaknesses, so that the task won't turn out too big for them to handle. This is also a skill that this exam tests..."
"There's just one entrance" the waterfall-nin with the huge scroll noted in a robotic monotone. "How do we decide the order in which we enter?"
"Some of you already made arrangements in preparation of this exam, marking their way out of the labyrinth" the jounin responded with a smirk, sending several contestants a pleased gaze. "I think it's only fair to let them have the first crack at the tower" she added with a devilish grin. "We will call you by the number your received in the previous test. Once you're called, your squad is to enter the tower and their time begins. Those that will succeed to reach the top in their time limit will learn the details of the further exams there."
"And what if someone manages to dispel the genjutsu barrier placed upon the tower?" Kitou asked, mildly curious. "Surely there are at least few illusionists in our midst."
"You can feel free to do that" Ino assured her with an uncaring voice. "That will only result in the team having to pass all the levels of the tower, effectively rising the number of tests from three to over a hundred. You'll be only hindering yourselves that way."
"Makes sense" Jun nodded to himself. "I suppose..."
"The teams will enter the tower in three minute intervals" the proctor state, pointing towards a speaker hung at the top of the doors to the structure. "This is where the information about which squad in to walk in will come from. Those who would dare attack their chuunin examiner, assuming a duel with him is not the test, are immediately disqualified, of course. Any questions?" she asked, receiving few shakes from the gathering. "Good, then last piece of advice for you all – regardless to the challenge, this is still a training ground for genjutsu users... so not everything is what it seems. I encourage you to keep that in mind. Good luck, brats" and with that she was gone, leaving the young gennin to themselves.
"Wow" Shimiru spoke once the jounin was out of sight. "Never thought your mom could be scary, Chou-chan" he joked, patting the chubby boy on the back. Choumaru only sent him an evil glare as the first team was called, making Shikyo and his two teammates head for the entrance. As they passed, Kobura smirked under his nose, settling his gaze on Toramaru, Naraku and Garou.
"This may be quite a troublesome exam" Kumo noted, surprising everyone that he actually talked. "Regardless to your strategy, a possibility that you'll face three taijutsu tests in a row exists and if even one member of your squad is not well-versed in such skills, the entire team fails. A psychological factor is also in tact here."
"Good to see we're not the only ones that are nervous" Fukaru stated as he walked towards the Leaf group with his comrades close behind. "But it seems those white eyes of the Hyuuga are not just for show" he added, turning towards Hitomi and Toramaru, while Aitou flinches slightly. The kunoichi made little of the comment, yet the blond, per usual, was not about to let that slip:
"Drop it already! I may have Hyuuga blood flowing through my veins, but I am an Uzumaki first and foremost!" he snapped, making Buryaku place her hand on his shoulder, speaking in a bored tone: "Would you mind not looking for a fight everywhere you go? I venture we have enough enemies as is" she proclaimed, turning her head towards both Taki and Sawa teams they met earlier, stopping at the trio of snow-nins more in the back. The blond nodded as the speaker announced the second squad to enter the tower.
Walking forward was a trio of rain-nins, the boy in the back being dressed in a gray shirt with a brown, body armor covering most of it and wooden headgear hiding his silver hair. Dull, gray eyes gazed out front as seven umbrellas hung on his back. The girl beside him donned a light-blue kimono with wide sleeves and raindrop pattern, while a whip was tied to her headband, which she used as a belt. A pair of green eyes and long, blue hair, falling freely, finished the look.
The one walking in front of the two was a boy slightly older then them with spiky, red hair and violet eyes. He wore a red, somewhat puffy jumpsuit with rolled up sleeves, which allowed everyone to see many, black tattoos decorating his arms. Gray, baggy pants hid his legs, while the Ame hitae-ate was in its rightful place. The most unusual feature was the fact the boy had no weapon hostels on him.
"Who are those three?" Naraku wondered, while Hana smiled, watching the Rain kunoichi: "This one's got a good fashion sense" she said happily, readjusting her own kimono, to which Kouba only sweat dropped.
Meanwhile Balegu gave Orafu a questioning glance, to which the chubby gennin nodded as he answered the unspoken question: "The other two are nothing special, but that tattooed guy's battle level is over a hundred... and by quite much so..."
"Man, another test where we gotta wait our turn!" Toramaru whined, smacking his forehead. "This is gonna kill me!"
"If you don't shut up, I will!" Gouka snapped, boiling inside. "One of a traits any shinobi should possess is patience, dammit! If you don't possess that, then you shouldn't be here in the first place!"
"And what does your behavior just now tell about your possession of such trait?" Garou thought to himself, sweat dropping at his teammate's antics, yet had no courage to speak out loud; the female Uchiha was certainly not someone to trifle with.
"These are just three minute intervals" Gai stepped in, trying to calm the situation as another squad went for the entrance, this one composed of Monuke, Madoka and Kouhai, who avoided eye-contact with the young leaves from embarrassment. "If you could calm your youthful spirit just a tad, I'm sure you'll be called soon enough this time around..."
"I'm surrounded with idiots" Juryoku noted annoyed, her eye twitching, while Toukai smiled under his nose at the scene: "The bowl-cut freak is obviously the pacifist of the group" he thought playfully, recalling their first meeting a few days back.
Time went by as more and more squads went into the tower, emptying the field. Each gennin got busy to fight off the boredom or to just push back the stress that slowly crept in; Gai began a physical training session, joined by, to most people surprise, by Gaki, while Garou and Hinako shifted their attention to their mammal partners; Choumaru chowed down on more potato chips, a fact that didn't sit too well with Gitou, who went to sleep, after a massive, coughing attack.
Shimiru started to show of his skateboarding skills and quickly had Akai joined in, granted the second the redhead set foot on the board, his slipped, landing hard on his back, much to Gouka and Gaki's evident joy. Even Akemi occupied herself with looking through the walls of the surrounding maze, obviously intrigued by the bush structure. Only Kumo remained still, allowing a spider to crawl around his body at one time, grossing Shunrai out.
Finally the speaker invited team number 61 into the tower, making Toramaru, Buryaku and Naraku step forward as they headed towards the structure. Walking through the door, the trio found themselves in a plain, square room with just a mat located in the center. Opposite to the group, an exit decorated the wall, while a familiar, female figure stood guarding it.
"K-Kumiko-sensei?" Naraku's eyes nearly went out of orbits at the sight of their Academy teacher. "What are you doing here?" he asked, making his female teammate roll her eyes: "Duh, she's the examiner of our first challenge; remember, Ino-san said we'll meet chuunin in these walls. Considering that is the rank of all, Academy instructors, I'd say there's a high chance some of the older ninja gathered as examiners are the ones that taught us back at school."
"I see you haven't changed much, Buryaku" the older kunoichi smiled at her former student's perceptiveness. "Yes, aside from me, most teachers are actually among these walls today. But that's beside the point; don't think I'll go easy on you out of sentiment. You're the ones with time limit, so maybe we should just get right to it, huh? The test I've prepared for you is a battle; as soon as you choose your representative for the match, we can begin."
"A duel?" Toramaru repeated suspiciously, rising his eyebrow. The chuunin nodded and the three youths quickly bended towards each other, whispering: "Something's a miss here" the blond girl announced immediately. "Kumiko-sensei was a genjutsu instructor back at the Academy... a simple test of strength under her guidance seem... unlikely at best."
"How's so?" Naraku asked, obviously missing Buryaku's trail of thoughts, to which the kunoichi sighed: "Her specialty are illusions! The most logical assumption would be that her challenge has something to do with that. A taijutsu match would be very disadvantageous for her."
"You think there's a catch?" Toramaru questioned, to which the other blonde nodded: "I most certainly am; while there could be real confrontation, I doubt it'll be as straight forward as Kumiko-sensei is making us believe."
"So what do you purpose we do?" the young Uchiha asked worriedly.
"I was never a fighting type to begin with and while my knowledge of genjutsu is considerable, if it'll come down to a duel, I may cause us the victory" Buryaku analyzed quickly, narrowing her eyes. "Toramaru on the other hand should have no problem with illusions, thanks to his Byakugan, as well as a fight, using his Gentle Fist. One must not forget, however, that he's a more straight-forward type; if this challenge has some sort of trick to it, he may be too thick to catch on..."
"Hey!" the white-eyed boy frowned, but a bored look from the girl made him hung his head; "Yeah, okay" he complied; certainly there was no point arguing with the truth.
"You want me to step forward?" Naraku more stated then asked, receiving another nod from the kunoichi: "You're well-versed in genjutsu, so you should be fine in that department. And you're not that bad in a fight, should the test came down to physical confrontation either. Without knowing any specifics, you seem like our best bet now... skipping the fact that both Toramaru and myself possess strengths in certain fields; you're the most balanced of the three..."
"Okay" the young Uchiha agreed as as the trio complied, he walked forward, taking a deep breath: "Looks like I'll be taking your challenge, Kumiko-sensei!"
"Very well" the woman nodded, motioning to the boy to step onto the mat. "As I said, this will be a battle, but you best watch yourself" she announced, forming a quick set of seals. In a flash a figure formed from air before Naraku, taking an all-too-familiar shape. Buryaku felt a single drop of sweat running down her face, while Toramaru's eyes widen at the sight.
Naraku took a single step back as the phantom formed before him, giving Kumiko a confused look, to which the chuunin smiled: "This is, technically, a simple bunshin, but the genjutsu I placed upon this room make its attacks real, just like any technique you'll use will damage it. You're not allowed to break that spell throughout the duration of the match. Your goal is, naturally, to defeat your opponent by destroying him, which can be achieved through killing, knocking it down or forcing it to surrender, though knowing you, the letter is quite unlikely" she added, widening her smirk as the boy gazed into the black eyes of his adversary, placed in a face much too familiar. "I advice you be careful, Naraku-kun... your opponent... is yourself!"
-the worst, possible opponent!-
And this concludes this chapter! So, what do you guys think? From reviews I can tell some of you believed this will be the survival exam, but it's not ;P That is still coming ;) And I did realize I never gave a more detailed description of the Ame team, so I decided to fix that now.
Also, Kumiko is a character that already appeared in the story; those of you who remember the Academy arc might recall a teacher who helped Gai improved on his chakra techniques... yes, that was her ;) I used such a premise for the second exam partly to remind you of some chuunin you met along the way ;) Plus I got to 'update' the character list a bit:
Konoha #1 (Teigo Kinuta): Buryaku Nara, Naraku Uchiha, Toramaru Uzumaki
Konoha #2 (Lee Rock): Hinako Nekko (the redhead girl with a black cat, Kuroki), Gaki Nayamasu (the muscular boy), Gai Rock (the boy with a bowl-like haircut)
Konoha #3 (Shikamaru Nara): Shunrai (the girl with a crush on Toramaru), Choumaru Akimichi (the chubby boy), Gitou Hisakata (the coughing boy)
Konoha #4 (Hinata Uzumaki): Gouka Uchiha (Naraku's twin sister), Kumo Aburame (the boy in green overcoat), Garou Inuzuka (the boy with the dog, Hanomaru)
Konoha #5 (Hasaki Kinzoku): Hitomi Hyuuga (white-eyed girl), Jun Hatake (the masked teen), Shimiru Abunage (the blond with piercings and a skateboard)
Konoha #6 (Hiyoko Shinku): Akemi Nekata (green-haired girl), Akai Kagami (the redhead), Akumo Megane (the boy with glasses)
Konoha (Sai): Madoka Garasu (the girl with gems), Kouhai Shimura (Danzou's cousin), Monuke (the pale-skinned boy)
Suna #1 (Mashino): ? (girl with metal protectors), Kobura (the boy in black), Sabaku no Shikyo (the boy with the gourd)
Suna #2 (Kankuro): Sabaku no Hakachi (the girl with the gourd), ? (the boy with a headgear and scrolls), Fuugo (the masked pipsqueak)
Kumo (?): Juryoku Kakeme (the blue-haired girl), Fukaru Makaze (the blond boy), Aitou Mekakushi (the blind-folded boy)
Ame (?): ? (the kimono wearing girl), Shunsai Irezumi (the tattooed boy), ? (the boy with a headgear)
Kane (?): Moroha Gengetsu (the girl with a crescent-moon blade), Toukai Kurogane (the violet-haired boy), Kousotsu (the armored boy)
Kusa (?): Hana Makiba (girl in a yellow kimono), Kouba Ibara (the boy in worn-out clothes), Nekkei Utsuru (the sick boy)
Taki (?): Kitou (the girl with a praying stick), ? (the boy with a large scroll), Sayoku (the boy with bandaged mouth and a hawk, Takamu)
Yuki (?): Orafu Futotta (the fat guy with the shield), Erikku Hakabakashi (the redhead), Balegu Seiretsu (the swordsman)
Sawa (?): ? (the girl with the pipe), Kawaridane (the double-pupil teen), ? (the black-skinned teen with drums)
That's it for the time being. Hope you had fun reading this and until next time!