A/N: First up, the first test. The preliminaries will be a bit different. Most of the matches will be the same, just to speed things along, but a few of the match-ups will be changed. Warning, my computer's acting funny. So there may be problems later.

Chapter 15: The First Test

"N-no way," Naruto muttered softly.

"I didn't think we'd have this much competition," Sakura added.

The room was full of genin from all over the Elemental Nations. And there were a lot of them. Many looked quite a bit older than them. Did that mean they weren't as good as they looked, or were the exams that hard? These thoughts entered Naruto and Sakura's minds.

'No, I can't think like that,' Sakura thought. 'I need to do this, for myself, and Sasuke.' "Yeah! Next stop, chunin! And when the two of us are wearing that jacket, he's see I'm the only girl for him!"

Kiba, Shino, and Hinata were feeling a bit nervous as well. They knew this wasn't going to be easy. 'But we'll get through it and I'll be a chunin!' Hinata thought before sending Naruto an encouraging smile.

"Ah, man. You guy are here too? What a drag." Shikamaru said as he walk up to them.

"Well this is surprise. I never thought you'd take the exams. You know being a chunin means more work, don't you?" Hinata asked.

"Yeah, well, I knew we needed to enter as a team, and Choji and Ino wanted to enter, so I really didn't have a choice."

"Heh, sorry about that," Choji apologized.

"Eh, forget about it. As long as I don't make chunin, it's fine."

"You're the only one here thinking that, ya lazy bum," Ino said as she avoided eye contact with Hinata and Naruto.

'Is she mad at me for ignoring her all month?' Hinata wondered. 'I'm the only one who has the right to be angry! She revealed Naruto's secret Sasuke! She put him, who's never given her the time of day, over one of her loyal friends! I'm surprised she didn't glomp him the second he entered! Is she finally over him?' She looked at the blond girl, who was looking longingly at the Uchiha. 'Nope, still likes him.'

Naruto pulled Shino and Shikamaru aside. "Guys, w-watch out f-for the Sand t-team, especially Gaara," he whispered as he pointed at them so his friends would know who he was talking about. "He's… like me,"

Both tensed. "Really?" Shikamaru asked. Naruto nodded. "Man, this exam's getting more troublesome by the second."

"Indeed," Shino agreed.

"B-but he's worse."

"Worse, what do you mean?" Shino asked.

"H-he doesn't r-restrain his demon's p-power like I do."

"Great, an unstable jinchūriki. What a drag."

"Um, b-by the w-way, S-Sasuke seemed interested in f-fighting Gaara in t-the exams w-when they met. M-me and Hinata were t-there. M-maybe we s-should warn him."

"I doubt it would change anything," Shino told them. "Why? Sasuke seems to treat you the same even though he knows your secret, which means he does not care. Therefore, we can assume he will do the same with Gaara and still want to fight him. Still, I will speak with him. He is my teammate and even though he and I aren't friends, I do not wish him dead." Naruto and Shikamaru nodded.

"Hey, so you guys are the rookies I've heard so much about." The rookies turned to see a fellow leaf genin with ash-grey hair in a ponytail and black eyes behind round glasses. He wore a dark purple shirt with a high collar and matching pants, a white undershirt, and a white cloth waistband, as well as fingerless purple gloves with metal plates. He wore his protector on his forehead. "Word of advice, tried not to make yourself too much of a target. You've already made quite the impression. Just look around." They did and they saw that just about everyone was looking at them. "Everyone here's heard about the rookies just outta the academy entering the exams. It's not exactly a common occurrence. Just don't rub any of them the wrong way. The exams make everyone tense enough as it is."

"Who are you anyway?"

"Me. I'm Kabuto. Kabuto Yakushi."

"I guess this isn't your first time, huh?" Sakura asked.

"No actually… This is a little embarrassing," he said, rubbing the back of his head, "but this is actually my seventh time taking the exams. But, you know, seventh time's the charm"

"S-seventh?" Naruto asked, shocked.

"That's right. The exams are no joke."

"Maybe you just suck," Kiba said.

"Ah, that brings me back," Kabuto said as he looked off, as if reminiscing. "I remember when I took the exams lightly. Nearly got myself killed too." Naruto, Sakura, Ino, and Choji suddenly got very worried. "But who knows, maybe you'll have better luck."

"So," Choji started as he continued to munch on chips, "you've been taking the exams for seven years?"

"No, the exams take place every six months, so this is my fourth year."

"Wow, a veteran. You must know a lot about the exams," Sakura commented. "Think you can help us?"

"Well, I can't tell you what you're going to face. Each village does it differently. Plus they change it up a little, so as to limit the advantage people like me have." Some of the genin looked disappointed. "But, I do have something useful." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a deck of orange cards with the kanji for shinobi in a white circle outlined in black.

"You gonna teach us how to play cards?" Kiba asked.

"These are ninja info cards. They may look like nothing. In fact…" He drew a single card and showed them the other side. It was blank. "Don't want just anyone reading them. But when I add my chakra…" He held it sideways then focused chakra into it and a map of the the Elemental Nations appeared.

"It's a map!" Sakura exclaimed. "But what's that at the bottom?"

"It mentions the how many genin enter the exams from a village. You see, there's a reason all the villages come together to take the exams. One is to build bonds with other villages. But the main reason is to monitor and regulate the number of shinobi in a village, and thus maintain the balance of power."

"Why's the balance so important?" Ino asked.

"If one nation became much more powerful than it's neighbors, they'd be tempted to attack, which could spark a war. So they try to maintain the status quo. Makes sense, I guess."

Sasuke walked up to him. "Do those cards have knowledge on the individual candidates?"

"Why, yes indeed. They're not perfect, but I have over 200 of these cards on just about everyone here, you guys included. Guess those last four years weren't a waste a time," Kabuto said.

"Yeah, you spend years trying to become a chunin just to fill those cards of yours," Kiba said sarcastically.

Kabuto simply shook his head. "Ah, classic rookie mistake." This angered Kiba, but Kabuto continued. "Knowledge can be just as powerful as any jutsu, if used right. When you know your opponent, you can find his weakness, and avoid his strengths."

"This match was over before it started because your Sharingan is a bad match for my taijutsu." Lee's words echoed in Sasuke's mind. 'He was a fool, but he knew the strengths of the Sharingan, and refrained from using ninjutsu or genjutsu because he knew it wouldn't work on me.'

"So, Sasuke right?" Kabuto asked. "The crest on the back of your shirt was a dead giveaway. Is there anyone in particular you want to know about?"

"Yeah, three. Gaara of the desert, Rock Lee of the Leaf, and Neji Hyūga of the Leaf."

"Aw, no fun! You know their names. That makes it too easy." He quickly swiped three cards from his deck. "Here they are. First up, Rock Lee. He's a year older than you guys. Mission experience is 20 D-ranks and 11 C-ranks. Incapable of using ninjutsu or genjutsu, relying solely on taijutsu. But because of this, he's able to focus on that skill and is highly skilled in close quarters combat. His jonin sensei is Might Guy and his teammates are Tenten and Neji Hyuga."

'So, that's the real reason he used taijutsu only against me,' Sasuke thought. 'But if I put him in a genjutsu…'

'That explains his weak chakra network,' Hinata concluded.

"Wait, how can he not use ninjutsu or genjutsu?" Ino asked.

"It's rare, but it happens. Some people are born that way. Anyway, next up is his teammate, Neji Hyūga. I'll skip the mission experience, since it's the same. As a member of the Hyūga Clan, he possesses the Byakugan. His primary focus is his clan's Gentle Fist technique, but he's really good at it. Even though he's a member of the side family, he's a prodigy even compared to the main branch. You want to fight him even less in close combat than you do Lee." Sasuke remembered how Lee told him Neji was even stronger than him. Kabuto looked at Hinata. "He's your cousin, right?" Hinata nodded. "Well, I'm sure you know better than me, so tell me, is it true?" Everyone looked at her.

She sighed. "Yeah, it's true. Neji's a natural. He has one of the strongest eyes in the clan. It's speculated that he may one day surpass my father. I've never won a single spar against him." Everyone was quiet. It was unsettling to hear they would be facing someone like him and Lee.

"Well, on to the last one. Gaara of the Desert. He's from the Hidden Sand village. Mission experience is 8 C-rank and, believe it or not, one B-rank. Not a lot of info on him. He's a rookie from another land. But here's an interesting fact. In every missions he's been on, he's never be injured, not even a scratch!"

"Impossible! There's no way he did a B-rank without injury!" Sakura exclaimed.

Kabuto nodded. "It seems the villages of Rain, Sand, Sound, Grass, Waterfall, and Leaf have all sent exceptional shinobi this year to participate in the exams."

"Wait, I've never heard of the Hidden Sound," Kiba said. "And what about the other three major villages? The Cloud, Stone, and Mist?"

"To answer your second question first, the relations with the Cloud and Stone are stained. The Stone are still sore from their loss in the last war, and who could forget the Hyūga Incident." Hinata shivered as she remembered that night. That feeling of helplessness as the Cloud shinobi nearly took her from her home. "The Mist is going through some turbulent times from what I hear. And as for your first question, the Village Hidden in the Sound is a relatively small shinobi village that sprang up in recent years. They're a mystery." He put away his cards. "You all get the point."

"Wow, the competition seems tough," Hinata said.

"Y-yeah, it does," Naruto said.

"Yeah, in the four years I've taken the exams, I've never seen such a group of elite genin like this before," Kabuto said. "This may be the hardest exams I've ever faced."

Everyone was silent as they digested this information. 'So, not only are we dealing with genin who are older and more experienced, but are crazy strong. Just my luck.' Sakura thought.

Naruto started to doubt himself. Hinata saw this and wrapped her arm around him. "Don't worry. I swear we'll get through this, the two of us." Naruto smiled at her.

"Hey, what about us?" Kiba whined, while Akamaru barked.

"Of course, can't forget our mascots," she joked. The bog and dog duo pout as she laughed and Naruto snickered. "Bring it in, you know I'm only joking. We couldn't do this without you, and not just because we need a three man team to enter."

"Yeah, I know I know," he said as he got closer so Hinata could wrap her other arm around him. Akamaru leaned against Hinata leg.

"You guys are a rather close team, aren't you?" Kabuto commented. Hinata simply nodded as she released her teammates.

Sakura looked longingly to her teammate and crush, but Sasuke paid her no mind. Shino spoke to her instead. "Do not worry. Should the time come, I will do what I must to defend my teammates."

"Oh, thanks Shino." This last month she had gotten use to Shino and his bugs. They weren't friends per say, more like good acquaintances. At least she stopped freaking out over his bugs. 'But I really wanted to hear that from Sasuke,' Sakura lamented in her mind. Nothing really changed between her and Sasuke. "Don't lose hope," Inner Sakura said. "The competition is tough, but this means Sasuke will be more impressed with us when we pass!" 'You're right, I'm gonna be a chunin! And after that, Sasuke's girlfriend!' "Cha! That's the spirit!"

"Man, these exams are gonna be such a drag," Shikamaru complained. "Well, too late to back out now."

"That's right! Asuma-sensei is cheering for us and we can't let him down!" Ino told her teammates.

"Yeah, and he said if one of us became chunin, we'd celebrate with BBQ," Choji said as he finished his bag of chips.

A couple of the genin overheard them, including three particular groups. "Huh, a bunch of dogs barks, with no bite to back it up," Kankuro commented.

"Looks like you didn't intimidate them enough Lee," Neji told the green-clad genin.

"My, you guys aren't easily discouraged are you?" Kabuto said.

"Hmph, nothing's gonna stop me," Sasuke told him.

Just then, they were approached by three genin their protectors on their foreheads. The symbol on it was a music note. One was hunched over, with bandages covering most of his face, leaving only his left eye exposed. He had on a large poncho with long sleeves, as well as a scarf patterned similar to that found on snakes, with a straw raincoat coming out the back. On his right arm was a strange device with holes in it. To his right was another shinobi with spiky black hair and eyes. He wore a beige shirt with two black stripes and three prints of the kanji for death, the same scarf as his teammate. Under the cloth of his protector was a metal face plate that covered his forehead and cheeks. To the first one's left was a kunoichi with long black hair tied with a violet ribbon at the end and black eyes. She wore the same scarf as her teammates and had on a pale green vest that looked a bit similar to a flak jacket.

"Hey you," The hunched figure said, pointing at Kabuto. "You want to know something about Sound shinobi?" Before Kabuto could respond, the man swung at him with his right arm. Kabuto managed to dodge, and the attack passed right in front of him. But after the attack, Kabuto's glasses broken and he found himself bent over on the ground, gagging. "We don't take well to being disrespected."

"The Sound genin will be chunin by the end of this exam, guaranteed," his male teammate added.

'He dodged that attack, clear as day, so what happened?' Sasuke wondered.

'Everyone here has weird abilities. Is there anyone here normal?' Sakura thought.

Suddenly, there was a poof of smoke in the front of the classroom. "Alright all you degenerates! Pipe down and pay attention!" The smoke cleared to reveal a large, scared face man with his protector on a bandana. He had on a dark trench coat and gloves. Behind him were a bunch of proctors for the exams. "It's time for the first tests of the exams to begin! I am Ibiki Morino, your proctor, and as of this moment, your worst enemy." He turned to the Sound genin. "And I'd like to remind all of you that at the moment, fighting is prohibited unless you want to be kicked out." The Sound genin backed away from Kabuto and the Leaf rookies.

"Sorry about that, guess we're a bit jumpy. It's our first time after all," the hunched one said.

"Remember, no fighting unless I say you can! And even if I do, the use of fatal force is prohibited! If you even think of messing with me, I'll kick you out of this building myself." Many genin gulped. "Now, let's begin. Hand in your application. In return you'll get a number. You will sit in the chair with your number. And no trading. Once everyone is seat, we'll begin the written test."

"Great, I hate written tests," Hinata complained.

Everyone handed in their application and took a seat. Hinata sat in the back, Kiba the third row from the back two chairs to the right from Hinata, and Naruto in the front row. "Eyes front everyone. There are a few rules I need to tell you about, and I won't answer any question, so listen up. Rule #1: You all start the test with a perfect score of ten points. With each wrong answer, you lose one point. So if you get three answers wrong, you have seven points." Everyone nodded in understanding. "Rule #2: Whether you pass or fail depends on the total number of points from both you and your teammates." That shocked everyone. A few voiced their complaints. "Silence! I have my reasons, so shut up and listen! Rule #3: You see the sentinels around the room?" Everyone nodded. They noticed the people sitting all around them. "They are here to watch for any signs of cheating. They'll deduct two points from the culprit's score every time they're caught. And be warned, they are all trained shinobi, their eye sharp. If they catch you five times, you will be removed before the tests are even scored." Everyone went silent. A couple of genin looked around nervously at the sentinels. "If you're fool enough to be caught cheating, you don't deserve to be here! So if you want to be want to be considered shinobi, prove you deserve to be."

'Ok, so even if I screw up, I'll still pass and won't drag down my friends,' Naruto thought.

"Also, if one of your teammates gets a zero, the whole team fails."

'Me and my big, mental mouth.'

"The tenth question will be withheld until a quarter till the end of the test. You all have one hour. Begin!"

Everyone went through the papers. 'Okay, no sweat. As long as I get one answer right, everything should be fine. And it's not like I'm an idiot. As long as I remember Iruka-sensei's teachings, I should be able to get a passing grade.' He started to feel optimistic, until he read the first question. 'This one's too hard. Maybe I should come back to it later.' Unfortunately, the questions only got harder and harder. 'Not good, very not good. Iruka-sensei didn't cover this kind of stuff. How am I supposed to calculate the trajectory of a kunai like this. Usually it's instinct that helps me dodge.' He glanced around carefully, so as not to seem like he's cheating. 'Some of these guys don't seem to be having that much trouble.' He looked back.

Sakura was cheering inwardly. Written tests were her strong suit. 'Yeah! I can do this! Sure, the question are kinda tough, but it's nothing I can't handle.'

Sasuke was struggling, until he realized something. 'He didn't tell us we couldn't cheat, just that we can't get caught.'

Other people realized that too. Kiba had Akamaru on his head looking at other people's tests then giving him the answers. The two Hyūgas were using their eyes, and so was Sasuke. Using his Sharingan, he mimicked the movement of Sakura's hands as she wrote down the answers. Tenten was using ninja wire to manipulate mirrors on the ceiling. (How she set that up without anyone noticing, I'll never know) This allowed her and Lee to see someone else's answers. Ino used her Mind Transfer Jutsu on Sakura after she, and Sasuke, finished, taking over her body for a moment to memorized the answers. After returning to her body and writing the answers down, she used it on Choji and wrote the answers on his test. Shino used his bugs. Shikamaru was one of the few people who didn't need to cheat.

After twenty minutes, Naruto decided to look at the answers of the person next to him. He started to lean over when a kunai whizzed past him and landed on the test of the person diagonal to him. He was a fellow leaf genin. "That's five." One of the proctors said. Naruto was worried he was talking about him. "Numbers 28, 45, and 34, please leave."

After that, teams started drop like flies. Not all of them took defeat gracefully. One Sand genin argued about how unfair it was and argued with one of the sentinels, who proceeded to kick the genin's butt before the boy was dragged away.

The test was halfway over. In fifthteen minutes, Ibiki would give them the final question, and Naruto's paper was still blank. 'Crap, I'm screwed! So screwed! I can't lean over and look at someone's paper! I'll get caught!'

"That's right."

'N-Nine-Tails?'

"No, I'm the other demon sealed inside you," he remarked sarcastically.

'He doesn't have to be so rude.'

"I heard that."

'Oh, s-sorry. Um, N-Nine-Tails, quick question? Do you know the answers?'

"Let me guess, you want me to tell you the answers?"

'K-kinda, yes.'

"Hmm," 'On one hand, the exams are incredibly dangerous, especially with all these shinobi who are undoubtedly stronger than the kit. And most won't hesitant to kill him, which is bad for me. Might be a good idea to let him fail. But on the other hand, all these people might give him the push he needs to use my power and weaken the seal even further, and I'll be able to escape sooner.' "Fine, I'll help, the answer to the first question is…"

Meanwhile, one of the proctors was ready to fail him. 'Goodbye demon.' He was about to throw the kunai when he was stopped. "What the hell, Izumo," he whispered.

"I only count three marks. He need five to fail."

"Like anyone's gonna complain that I failed him for less."

"Look, I may not be comfortable with Uzumaki either, but I'm not gonna let it affect my professionalism. And neither should you." The man sighed, but agreed.

Some time later, Ibiki spoke. "Alright, time for the tenth question!"

Naruto had just finished the ninth question. 'T-thank you Nine-Tails.'

"Whatever. Just a heads up, you're on your own with this last one."

'O-ok.' Naruto responded.

"Now, before I give you the final question, I'll need to give you some more rules."

"Back." Kankuro said. Earlier he need to go to the bathroom. He was escorted by one of the sentinels.

"Aren't you lucky. Was your trip to the bathroom, enlightening?"

Kankuro got worried. 'Crap, he's seen through Crow's disguise.'

"Well, take your seat." Kankuro obliged, but not before carefully placing something small on Temari's desk. "As I was saying, this last question has some very special rules. Don't let them frighten you."
-

"It's quiet without the rookies. I almost miss them," Kakashi said.

"Perhaps it was a bit hasty for you three to send them to the exams so soon," Guy said.

"I thought the same thing, but they passed my tests, so I had to let them go," Iruka said.

"I'm confident they'll be alright," Kurenai said.

"Besides, we may see them sooner than you think. I hear Ibiki is their first proctor," Asuma told them.

"Great, already they chance are slim to none if that sadist is in charge," Kakashi commented while Guy nodded.

"What do you mean?" Kurenai asked "I mean, I know he works with Anko but he can't be that bad."

"Ibiki is an expert at his job. His very name sends shivers down even the most hardened of shinobi, and with good reason," Kakashi explains. "The man's head of the Interrogation Unit, specializing in the extraction of information, through torture."

"But it's not like he's going to hurt the children, right?" Iruka asked.

"No, not physically that is," Guy answered.

"He's an expert in psychological warfare, attacking people's minds. It's more his style anyway." Asuma said.

"That's not good for Naruto at all," Iruka realised.

"Wait, I heard he was close to you-know-who," Kurenai said, since Iruka did not know about Naruto's heritage. "Perhaps…"

"No, he's a professional. He won't go easy on Naruto even if he's 'his' son." Kakashi told her. "He knows Naruto's father would rather his son fail than succeed through special treatment."

"Wait, who's Naruto father?" Iruka asked.

"Sorry, can't tell you," Kakashi told him.

"What! Why not?"

"Because then you'd tell Naruto," he said simply.

"Of course I'd tell him! The boy deserves to know who his parents were!" Iruka argued.

"He's not ready, not yet," Kurenai explained.

"So, these something special about Naruto's parents? Even bigger than the Nine-Tails being sealed inside him?"

"Well, in a way, I guess," Kakashi answered. "Just trust us. We're doing this for a good reason."

"Who else knows?" Iruka asked.

"Besides us?" Kakashi thought for a moment. "Let's see… The Hokage, his advisors, Ibiki… hmm and maybe the Feudal Lord, but I don't know."

"And that's it?"

"Shikaku may know, but that's because he's a smart guy. But yeah, that's all."

"Oh wait, I think Hiashi knows too," Kurenai added.

"True, Hitomi and Naruto's mom were close after all. May they both rest in peace," Guy said.

"I don't know. Hiashi's been bothering my old man to get Hinata away from Naruto," Asuma told them.

"So I guess none of them are gonna tell me?" The four jonin nodded, making the chunin sigh. "Fine. I just hope Naruto and the others will be alright, if what you said about Ibiki is true."
-

"Rule #1: You may choose not to be given the tenth question." Ibiki told them the genin looked curious at this turn of events.

But a few were suspicious. "What's the catch?" Temari asked.

"If you choose not to take the final question, then you will get a zero regardless of your answers to the previous questions. This means you fail, and so do your teammates."

"Well then of course we'll take it! I mean, it's not like we really have a choice, right?" Kiba yelled.

"Hold on, there's one more rule." Everyone was silent. "If you choose to take the final question and get it wrong, not only will you fail…" Ibiki paused and a smirk formed on his face, "but neither you nor your teammates will be allowed to take the exams ever again."

"No way!" Kiba shouted as he stood up. "That's bullshit! Most of the people here have taken the exams multiple times before!"

Ibiki just laughed at him. And not in a joyous way. More like a laugh you'd hear in a horror movie. "I guess you're just unlucky then. Those weren't the rules before but they are now! If I say you can never take the exams, then that's what'll happen. If you don't like it, there's the door."

Kiba just sat down, contemplating what to do. At first, nothing happened. Then one guy, a Leaf genin, got up. "I… I'm sorry guys. I can't… I just can't!" He looked down in shame as he walked to the door, his teammates following. Once that happened, a more teams left.

"So, kit, what are you gonna do. And don't forget, I'm not helping you with this one, even if you begged me on your knees in front of my cage. But if you want to give it a try, I'll enjoy watching you grovel before me." The fox demon laughed.

'What do I do? What do I do? If I screw up, I'll ruin Hinata and Kiba's ninja careers! And they'll hate me for that! But if I leave, I'll be letting them down.' Naruto gripped his chair and started shaking.

Hinata saw him and got worried. 'Naruto's getting nervous. I can tell he wants to leave, but he doesn't want to let us down. Maybe I should be the one who leaves, and take away the pressure from him.' She was about to raise her hand to quit when it happened.

Ibiki also noticed Naruto shaking like a leaf and walked up to him. Then leaned forward, his face just inches away. "So little man, what's it gonna be?" He asked with an emotionless face. "Leave and fail your teammates, or stay and possibly screw up their future and yours." Naruto started sweating. All eyes were on the young blond boy. The pressure was starting to get to him when he remembered something. And just when Hinata was about to yell that she quit, he spoke.

"A… A s-shinobi m-must b-be w-willing t-to t-take risks," he said. "B-besides, I m-made a promise to someone I c-care about. I swore… to n-never to give up. A-and I never go back on my word." He forced himself to look Ibiki in the eye with determination. "Because that's our ninja way!"

Everyone looked at him in shock, especially the ones who knew him as the shyest boy in the Leaf. Hinata remember their blood oath back during the Wave mission and was glad he still remembered it. "That's right! You can't get rid of Team 8 that easily!" Hinata shouted. "We're gonna take your tenth question and move on to the next part!"

"Well, I'm not gonna be the one who fails us! We're in! Right Akamaru?" Akamaru barked in agreement.

"Heh, if that pipsqueak's not leaving, there no way I am!" shouted a random genin.

"This whole thing's a drag," Shikamaru complains. "But I'm not leaving either." 'And if I fail anyway, I can say I tried. That should satisfy mom. Maybe.'

"Can we get on with this?" Sasuke asked, bored.

"Agreed." Gaara said.

Ibiki's face remained impassive. He watched as all doubt from the other genin disappeared. "So this is your final decision?" he asked as he walked to front of the classroom. Nobody spoke, but none of them looked like they wanted to leave. '78 left, that more than I expected. But it seems I can do no more, so I guess I have no choice.' "Then I have one last thing to say for those of you remaining."

'Is it another rule?' Sakura lamented.

Ibiki smirked. "You all pass."

Many genin looked shocked by this. "W-wait. What do you mean we pass?" Ino asked. "What about the tenth question?"

"There isn't one. Not a written one that is. You see, your decision on whether to stay or not was the real tenth question."

"Wait, so those last nine questions were a waste?" Temari asked.

"Not at all. You see, the purpose of the first nine questions was to test your information gathering skills. As chunin, you'll be given mission that require you to obtain valuable strategic information covertly. As you realized, the first nine questions were on a difficulty level beyond what one would expect from any genin. Which is why I'm sure you all came to the conclusion that the only way to keep your points was to cheat. You see, the test was designed to encourage cheating. Of course, this is useless with someone to cheat off of. Which is why we had chunin who knew all the answers inserted among you." A couple of people they thought were genin waved at the remaining genin, revealing themselves as the disguised chunin. "Those that were caught failed, because it's better not to cheat, then to do so clumsily. Knowledge is power. Information can tip the scales of any conflict. It's more powerful than any jutsu." The rookies remembered Kabuto's words earlier. "How well you gather intelligence determines whether a mission succeeds, or fails. And the will be times," he removed his bandana and showed off his head, which was full of puncture wounds, burn marks, and other scars "when you have to put your life on the line to get it." People gasped at the state of his head. He replaced his bandana. "Of course, you must always consider the source of your information. Intelligence gathered from an enemy is not alway accurate. Always remember this. Dis information can be more disastrous than no information. It can cause you to walk right into an enemy trap, or lead you on a wild goose chase. It can lead to the death of comrades, or the loss of a village. That's why those who weren't good enough were weeded out, leaving the rest of you."

"Um, I still don't get the tenth question." Ino said. A couple people agreed.

"It's like the boy said, a shinobi must be willing to take risks. As chunin, you'll be assigned to missions with no guarantee of coming back. There will be times when you'll have to make a painful decision in a no-win situation. For example, say you need to steal a secret document, but it's guarded by an unknown amount of enemy shinobi. You know very little about them. Also, you have reason to believe they are expecting you. Do you get to pass on this crazy mission? To live to fight another day? No! Do you try to minimize the risks? Yes, but not at the expense of the mission! The life of a chunin is a life of danger, for both you and your comrades. You will be given crazy missions that seem impossible, but you don't back away. You face it, and achieve the goal with courage and discipline. If you aren't willing to risk your life, if you courage falters in adversity, you have no business calling yourself a chunin, or even a shinobi! The same goes for your comrades! They agreed to the same risks!" Everyone nodded in understanding. "You have all met the requirements of the tasks placed upon you by me. I wish you luck as…"

Suddenly, something crashed through the window. A familiar woman stopped right in front of Ibiki, who simply shook his head. "Heads up, brats! The exams are far from over! I am Anko Mitarashi, your proctor for the second part of the exam! Time for the next… part..." Her voice falters as she looks toward the remaining genin. "Crap! Am I too early? Did I interrupt the first test again?"

"Yes, you're a bit early, but no, these are the genin who passed." Ibiki explained. "I was actually just finishing up."

Anko looked at Ibiki, then the genin, then back at Ibiki. "What, you let this many of them pass? Geez, you're getting soft."

"Or maybe we've got ourselves a tougher batch then usual," Ibiki told her.

"Ha, maybe, but when I'm done with them, there won't be more than half of them left. Rest well, little genin, because tomorrow, I'm putting all of you through hell!"
-

Alpha: I feel kinda bad.

Tenten: Me too, but we had no choice.

Neji: Agreed, it had to be done. (They look at Lee and Guy hugging Shino, Shikamaru, and Sasuke, who are struggling to escape) It was us or them.

Alpha: Yeah, I guess.

Tenten: Quit acting like you were reluctant, you were the one who pushed Shino toward them!

Alpha: Yeah, well you pushed Shikamaru!

Neji: Enough! There's no point in arguing. What's done is done.

Alpha: sighs You're right. But I almost regret what we did. (Guy and Lee release the three shinobi, who lie comatose.) Almost.