Chapter 15: The Competition

When Team 7 entered the room, they could feel all of the stares and some glares from the genin in the room as soon as the door closed behind them. It was very intense. Kagome didn't expect to see so many genin from different countries to be in the same room. She figured that the intensity came from the other genins because of the countries that don't really like one another.

"W-Wow." Naruto trailed off nervously.

"I-I guess we're not alone." Sakura said, nervous as well.

"Sasuke-kun, you're here!"

Kagome, Naruto, Sakura, and Kirara turned towards the voice to see Ino hugging Sasuke from behind.

"I've been waiting for you eagerly to show up with that handsome face of yours!" Ino squealed while wrapping her arms around his neck. Unfortunately she didn't noticed that Sasuke was annoyed by her close contact with him, which Ino completely ignored.

"Back off from Sasuke-kun, Ino-pig!" Sakura barked while pointing at Ino.

"Oh, it's you, Sakura." Ino mocked her as she got down off of Sasuke, "Your forehead is still wide and you're ugly as ever...like always."

"What did you say?!" Sakura exclaimed while Ino stuck her tongue out. Kagome sighed at their childish behavior. She was starting to get annoyed with them fighting over Sasuke.

"You four are taking this troublesome exam, too?" Shikamaru asked with his hands in his pockets as he walked up to them with Choji beside him.

"Hey, it's the idiot duo." Naruto said.

"Naruto, manners." Kagome said, sternly.

"Stop calling us that." Shikamaru scolded him.

"Hey! Found you all." Another voice said, "I see that everyone's here."

The voice turned out to be Kiba who had Akamaru on top of his head.

"H-Hello." Hinata greeted shyly. Naruto turned towards her and began to blush.

"So you three made it here, too?" Shikamaru asked, "Geez…"

"I see. All ten rookies are here to take the exam this year." Kiba said and turned towards Kagome, "Hey Kagome-chan, Kirara!" He cheered.

"Good to see you too, Kiba-kun. Also you, Akamaru-kun." Kagome said with a closed eye smile. Akamaru barked in greeting while Kirara meowed. The two animals always got along with one another even though they're two separate species. They both jumped off their partner's shoulders and started to play with each other. Then Akamaru walked over to Kagome and she patted him on the head before she scratched him behind his ears. Unexpectedly, another two tailed cat walked up to Kagome.

"Hey that cat almost looks like Kirara." Kiba said as he stared at Isamu who jumped into Kagome's arms. She looked around the room and spotted Kohaku a few rows down. The two boys beside looked to be his teammates.


'K-Kagome-chan?' Kohaku thought when he caught sight of Kagome. She smiled at him and waved as she held Isamu with one arm.

It's really her. Kohaku thought when he gazed at her. He was really glad to see her at the exam. He wanted to make sure that he'll be able to help her throughout the exam. Even if his own teammates questioned it.

"Hey Kohaku, what are you looking at?" Nao asked.

"N-Nothing." Kohaku stuttered. Ken whistled.

"Now that is a beautiful girl." Ken said when he saw who Kohaku was looking at.

"Ken, we're not here to flirt with girls. We're here to take the exam." Nao said, "Besides, she's a Konoha kunoichi."

"So?" Ken asked, brow arched.

"What I mean is…?" Nao trailed off when he noticed that Kohaku was headed towards the girl, "Kohaku?"


"Hey guys."

Everyone turned towards the voice and saw a man with grey hair tied back in a low ponytail and glasses.

"You should quiet down a little bit. So you're the ten rookies that just graduated from the academy, right? You shouldn't be fooling around with those cute little faces. It's not a field trip."

"Who are you to tell us that?!" Ino shouted.

"Oh, I'm Kabuto Yakushi." Kabuto introduced himself, "Look all around you." All of the ten genin look around them and saw all of the genin glaring at them. However, one group stood out.

"The ones over there are from Amegakure. They have short tempers. Everyone is very tense since it's right before the exam. I warned you so that you won't get bullied. But I guess that it can't be helped since you're just rookies who don't know anything. It reminds me of the old me."

"Kabuto-san, was it?" Sakura questioned.

"Yeah." Kabuto replied.

"Is this your second time?" Sakura asked.

"No, this would be my seventh." Kabuto said, "The exam takes place twice a year, so it's my fourth year."

"That means that you know a lot about the exam?" Sakura asked.

"Yeah, I do." Kabuto said.

"So you must be an expert on it, Kabuto-san." Naruto complimented Kabuto.

"But he never passed it, Naruto-kun." Kagome commented. It made her curious to why Kabuto would be in his fourth year of the exam. Well, if he passed the first, it must be that he quits in the second part. Actually, he would probably end up dead in the second part. So why would he keep coming to the exam only to fail every time? Kagome was soon getting suspicious of Kabuto. She knew that he was hiding something. Whatever it was, it wasn't good. Not to mention his aura as well, it reminded her of Mizuki for some reason.

"That is true." Kabuto agreed.

"Is the Chūnin Exams really that hard?" Shikamaru asked, "This is getting even more troublesome."

"Maybe I should help my cute, little underclassmen some information…" Kabuto said as he held out a stack of cards, "With these Ninja Info Cards."

"Ninja Info Cards?" Sakura repeated, confused on what these cards were able to do.

"In simple terms, it's a card that has information burned into it using my chakra." He explained as he placed the stack on the floor and took out a blank card, "I've collected information on this exam for the past four years. There's 200 in total." Then he took out one card and flipped it in front of them, "It looks blank, but to get information from it…" He began to slowly spin the card with his finger.

"What are you doing?" Sakura asked as the rookies huddle around to watch him. What they didn't know that Kohaku was behind them. Listening to their conversation. He was curious about what the 'Ninja Info Cards' were.

"It's made so that you can't view it without my chakra." Kabuto explained, "Like this." A map appeared on the card.

"Wow, what information is this?" Sakura asked, curious and amazed.

"The total number of examiners, and countries participating this year's exam." He said, "It's also has the number of participants from each hidden village. Let me ask you, why do you think that they do the Chūnin Exams together? First of all, it's to deepen the friendly relationships with the other countries. Second, it's to heighten the level of the ninja. At least that's what they say."

"What do you mean, 'that's what they say'?" Sakura asked, confused.

"He means that the real purpose of the exam is to confirm the level of ninja in each country to try and balance out power, Haruno." Kagome replied.

"Correct." Kabuto commented.

"Power? Balance?" Naruto asked, confused.

"Why do they go through such a troublesome task?" Shikamaru asked. Kabuto made the map disappear on the card, returning it to a blank one.

"If they don't, the weak countries will be invaded and dominated by the strong ones. So they need to check and restrain each other's powers." Kagome said.

"Are there enough cards that have detailed personal information?" Sasuke asked, taking a step closer. He wanted to know how powerful the people that he encountered are. Especially Kagome. There was something about her that caught his interest. Her fighting skills and those eyes that she had when they were on their last B-rank mission to the Land of Waves.

"Why yes." Kabuto asked, "Anyone captured your interest?"

"Kohaku Taijiya of Kumo, Rock Lee of Konoha, Gaara of Suna, and Kagome Higurashi of Konoha while you're at it." Sasuke said. Kagome was a little bit shocked at this. She didn't think that Sasuke would want information on her.

"One of your own teammates?" Kabuto asked, his brow arched. He shrugged his shoulders and took out a card. He placed a finger on it and spun it. Information appeared on the card. He picked up the card and began to read off of what it said.

"Kohaku Taijiya of Kumogakure. Mission Completed: 40 D-rank, 23 C-rank, 1 B-rank. Highly powerful in taijutsu, ninjutsu, and kenjutsu. Somewhat low in genjutsu. This is his first time at the exam. He's a foreign ninja, so I can't find much on him." Kabuto said. Then he summoned the next card.

"Rock Lee of Konohagakure. His teammates are Tenten and Neji Hyuuga. Team Leader is Guy. Mission Completed: 20 D-rank and 12 C-rank. He's highly skilled in taijutsu, but he's terrible in ninjutsu and genjutsu. This is his first time at the exam as well." Kabuto said. He summoned the next card.

"Gaara of Sunagakure. Mission Completed: 8 C-rank, 1 B-rank. This is his first time at the exam as well. Unfortunately, he's another foreign ninja. So there's not much on him as well. But he came back unharmed from the B-rank mission." Kabuto said. Then he summoned the last card.

"He did a B-rank and came out unharmed?" Shikamaru asked, his eyes widened in shock. He had never heard of a ninja that would come back unharmed after a B-rank mission. It's unbelievable!

"Interesting. Kagome Higurashi of Konohagakure. Team leader is Kakashi Hatake. Her teammates are Naruto Uzumaki, Sakura Haruno, and Sasuke Uchiha. Mission Completed: 30 D-rank, 1 C-rank, 1 B-rank. The C-rank was later turned to a B. Powerful in taijutsu, genjutsu, kenjutsu, and ninjutsu. First time at the exam." Kabuto said, reading off the card, "That's all it says."

"How did you get another B-rank mission, Kagome-chan?" Sakura asked, narrowing her eyes at Kagome.

"It's classified." Kagome said. Sasuke was curious as well. He wondered how she got another B-rank mission without them knowing. But what was the mission? While he was distracted with his thoughts, everyone else stared at Kagome with amazement. They didn't know that she completed another B-rank mission.

Kagome remembered that mission. The mission was to find an herb for their mother, but ended up running into her old friends from her previous life. It felt good to see them all again. She was glad that Koga finally got the message that she didn't want to be his mate. Kabuto placed another card on top of the cards from before and the map appeared once more.

"Konoha, Kumo, Suna, Ame, Taki, Kusa, and Oto." Kabuto began, "Many talented genins from these hidden village have come here to this year's exam. Oto is a village of a small country that has just been recently made, so I don't really have any information on them." He placed all of his cards back into his deck, "Either way, they all come from powerful hidden villages."

"I'm starting to lose my confidence…" Hinata trailed off as she pushed her index fingers together.

"It's too late to say that!" Ino shouted causing Hinata to flinch.

"In other words, the examinees here are all…" Sakura trailed off as she gazed upon all of the genins in the room.

"Right." Kabuto smirked, "It's not only Lee, Kohaku, Gaara, or Kagome. All of these people here are the top elites chosen from each country. This isn't that easy."

Kagome looked towards Naruto and saw his whole body tremble with his bangs covering his eyes. She figured that he might be nervous with a number of these people and the tense atmosphere.

Naruto-kun, are you nervous? Kagome thought.

No. Naruto thought.

Then why are you-? Kagome's thought was trailed off when she saw Sakura place her hand on Naruto's left shoulder.

"Hey Naruto." Sakura said, "You don't need to be that scared-" She stopped when she noticed that he was clenching his fists tightly. Suddenly, he turned around and faced the examinees while pointing at them.

"My name is Naruto Uzumaki!" Naruto shouted proudly, "I'm not going to lose to any of you! Got that?!"

Kagome could only blinked owlishly as what Naruto had just said.

"What's with him?!" Ino exclaimed, "What's the point in provoking everyone?!"

"Why are you asking me?!" Sakura shouted angrily.

"Who else am I supposed to ask?!" Ino shouted at Sakura.

"What did you say?!" Sakura shouted at Ino. Naruto sighed.

"That felt good." Naruto said with a goofy smile.


"It's those guys that we've met awhile ago." Kankuro said as he stared at Naruto and the rookies behind him.

"Weak dogs tend to bark oftenly." Temari remarked with her hands on her hips as she stood next to Kankuro.


"Is he an idiot?" Tenten asked with her left hand on her hip and leaning her weight onto her left leg.

"It looks like he's in good spirits." Neji replied with his crossed in front of his chest.

"He's burning with passion." Lee said while clenching his fists in front of him. Neji sighed.

"Maybe you didn't beat them up enough, Lee." Neji said with his eyes closed.


"Did you hear that?" A male Oto ninja said who had spiky dark hair and eyes who glared at Kabuto from across the room, "They say that Oto is a minor village of a small country."

"I'm hurt." Another male Oto ninja said. He had bandages that covered most of his face, leaving his left eye uncovered.

"Let's play with them." A female Oto kunoichi said who had long black hair that had a purple ribbon tied at the end and black eyes.

"Yeah, they speak as if we're left over ninja." The bandaged ninja agreed, "Let's make them add this into their data…Oto ninjas are somewhat cruel."


"'I'm not going to lose to any of you'?" Kiba repeated Naruto's words from before in a mocking tone while covering his mouth, "You sure talk big."

"That idiot." Shikamaru sighed, "He just made everyone in here his enemy."

Sakura came up from behind him and started choking him in a headlock.

"What are you saying?!" Sakura scolded Naruto.

"I was just telling the truth." Naruto choked out.

'Kagome-chan, help me!' Naruto panicked.

'This is what happens when you speak 'the truth' in front of genin from other villages, Naruto-kun.' Kagome thought with her arms crossed in front of her chest as she and Sakura glanced at the genin in the room. Apparently, they didn't take it nicely.

"E-Everyone, it was a joke. He's a severe idiot, so…there's no need to what a hasty idiot and guy who gets carried away easily say seriously. Please don't worry about it." Sakura glared at Naruto, "Because of you, everyone is glaring at me! I'm going to beat you silly!"


"Shall we?" The bandaged Oto ninja asked.

"Let's go." The spiky black hair Oto ninja smirked.

Then the three Oto shinobi made their move. Kankuro was about to take off his wrapped up puppet, but Gaara stopped him. Kagome sensed three auras coming towards them, but she kept her gaze on Naruto and Sakura as the angry pink haired girl forced Naruto to apologize.

"You need to learn to read the atmosphere!" Sakura lectured Naruto.

"Okay…" Naruto said, slightly scared of Sakura.

Then the spiky haired Oto leaped off one of the tables and threw two kunai towards Kabuto. Kagome quickly drew her sword and blocked them away, making them fall to the floor. Just about as he was to attack her, a metal chain was wrapped around him and it pulled him next to the Oto kunoichi, ramming into her which caused them to skid across the floor. The bandaged Oto ninja headed towards Kabuto to punch him. However Kabuto dodged his upcoming attack with great speed.

'He dodged it!' Naruto and Sakura thought.

That's a speed that I can deal with. Sasuke thought, smirking.

The Oto ninja tried to attack again, but Kagome stepped in his path and punched him in the face. Kabuto smirked, thinking that the attack didn't get to him. However, his glasses cracked a few seconds later.

"I see, that's the kind of attack it is." Kabuto said while taking his glasses off.

"What's going on?" Sasuke asked, "You definitely dodged it. So why did your glasses..."

"It must have hit his nose." Shikamaru commented and clicked his tongue, "That's what happens when you try to act cool."

Kabuto's body started to shake until he fell down to his knees and threw up.

"Kabuto!" Kagome said as she ran to his side.

"He threw up!" Naruto said.

"Kabuto-san!" Sakura said as she knelt beside him.

"Are you alright, Kabuto-san?" Kagome asked. Then she noticed Kohaku standing in front of them. He held his hand out to Kabuto. He took his hand and Kohaku helped him stand up.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Kabuto assured them.

"You're not as good as I thought for a veteran who took the exam for four years." The bandaged Oto shinobi mocked.

"Put this in your info cards." The spiky Oto shinobi said as he pointed at Kabuto, "The three Oto shinobi will definitely become chūnins."

Kabuto definitely dodged that Oto shinobi's attack. How come he vomited? Sasuke thought.

"Lee, what do you say about that attack?" Neji asked. He was curious to how the man dodged the Oto shinobi's attack, but he vomited afterwards.

"There was no problem in dodging it." Lee replied, "There must be some sort of trick to it."

"Hey Kagome-chan, Naruto-kun."

Kagome and Naruto turned towards the voice and saw Kohaku. Isamu jumped off her shoulder and Kohaku knelt down to let him get onto his right shoulder.

"Kohaku-kun, it's nice to see you again." Kagome said.

"Likewise. I hope to go against you in the finals." Kohaku said.

"Hai, me too." Kagome said. Suddenly, smoke appeared from the front end of the room.

"Quiet down, you punks!" A male voice yelled. The smoke vanished to reveal a group of jounins and chūnins.

"Sorry to keep you waiting." A man said who had two scars across his face, "I'm the proctor of the first part of the Chūnin Exams, Ibiki Morino."


Competition is not only the basis of protection to the consumer, but is the incentive to progress.

- Herbert Hoover