Chapter Four
"Haha, we'll show 'em all!" Daisuke exclaimed. I laughed along with them. I turned my head to the side, observing the other Leaf squads gathered around the door.
They all seemed to be arguing, and making each other angry. Then some guy approached them, for some reason, this guy interested me. I listened in on their conversation.
"Hey, you guys." The grey-haired man said, capturing their attention. "You might wanna keep it down a little. I mean, no offense but, you're the nine rookies right? Fresh out of the academy.. I wouldn't go making a spectacle of yourselves. Just cool it, this isn't a class field trip."
"Well who asked you!" The blond girl snapped. "Who are you?" The grey-haired man looked at her.
"I'm Ka-"
"Hey Setsuki, look at that guy over there." Susumu said, pointing to some other dude. "How funny is his hair?"
"What's wrong with rainbow colored hair?" I asked. He sweat-dropped.
"I forgot you find nothing wrong with weird things." He grumbled. I turned my attention back to the others.
".. But really, look around you, you've made quite an impression." They grey-haired man said, I noticed almost everyone else in the room was staring at them. "See those guys? They're from the Rain Village." He said. "Very touchy, they all are. This exam makes everyone tense, and you don't want to rub them the wrong way right now."
Sakura whimpered. The grey-haired man looked down, smiling to himself. "You can't help it, I mean, how could you know how things work? You're just rookies. You remind me of myself a while back."
"Kabuto, is that your name?" Sakura asked. I tensed a little at the name.
"Where're you going?" Susumu asked as I stood up.
"Over there." I answered, keeping my eyes on Kabuto. I walked over quietly, none of them paid attention to me.
"Yeah?" Kabuto responded.
"This isn't the first time you've taken the exam?" Sakura asked. I stare at this Kabuto guy.
"... No it's.. my seventh." Kabuto answered. "Well, they're held twice a year so this will be my fourth year."
"Wow a veteran." Sakura said, amazed. "You must really be an expert by now."
"Yeah, sort of." Kabuto said.
"Cool! You can give us all the insight!" Naruto exclaimed.
"Yeah, some expert, he's never passed." Shikamaru said. Kabuto chuckled nervously and scratched the back of his head.
"Well seventh times the charm, that's what they say eh?" Kabuto said.
"So I guess all of those rumours about the exam being tough are true.. Oh man, I knew this was gonna be a drag."
"Hang on, don't give up hope yet." Kabuto said, reaching into his pocket. "Maybe I can help you kids out a little." He then pulled out what seems to be a few cards. "With my, ninja info cards."
"What the heck are those?" Sakura asked.
"It's hard to explain, but these cards are chakra en-coated with everything I have learned over the past four years." Kabuto said, then laid them down on the ground. "I've got more than 200 of them. So you see, I haven't been completely wasting my time. They may not look like much to the naked eye," he picked one up from the top of the deck. "in fact," he flipped it over and laid it down beside the deck. It was blank. "they appear blank. Don't want just anyone seeing this stuff." He put his index finger on it and twirled it around.
"What.. are you doing?"
"You see, I'm using my chakra to reveal their secrets. Like this for example." He raised his other hand up in a jutsu sign. Then a poof of smoke appeared from of the card then the card had what seemed to be a world map.
"Awesome! A map!" Sakura exclaimed. ".. Of what?"
"It shows the geographical distribution of all the candidates who have come to take the Chuunin Exam. What villages they come from, and how many from each village." Kabuto explained then looks up at us. "Why do you guys think they all come here to take the exam together at the same time?" There was a silence between everyone, except for the crunches of that fat kid's munching. "It's the foster friendship between nations of course! International brotherhood and all that, and it's true enough for as far as it goes." Kabuto explained.
"... But there's another reason.." Sasuke said.
"Ya, you see, the important thing is that this way, they can carefully regulate the total number of shinobi that end up in each village thereby maintaining the balance of power." Kabuto said, giving Sasuke a keen look.
"Oh yeah! Balance of power." Naruto said, his arms folded. He screwed his face up, thinking.
"Well it's all about the power, no big deal, what a drag." Shikamaru said. Kabuto levitated his hand over the card, and all the details disappear.
"If the balance isn't maintained, one nation will end up with many more shinobi than it's neighbours. And it may be tempted to attack them. So they try to maintain the status quo. Makes sense." Kabuto explained. I really had no idea what he was on about, he sounds like a nerd, and I don't like nerds.
".. I suppose.." Shikamaru said. I nod. If Shikamaru couldn't really comprehend what he was saying, then I suppose no one else did. Sasuke then stepped toward Kabuto, staring intently at the cards.
"Do those cards have any information on the other candidates, individually?" He asked. Kabuto looked up at him.
"They might." Kabuto replied, smirking. "You have someone special in mind?" Sasuke smirked.
"I might."
"Well," Kabuto began. "I can't promise my information is complete or perfect, but I've got something on just about everyone. Including you guys of course. So which one is it? Tell me anything you know about them, description, where they're from, whatever." Kabuto said, holding one card up. "Anything at all."
"He's Sabaku no Gaara." Sasuke replied, glaring at the card. "And there's Rock Lee of the Leaf Village while you're at it." I smiled at Lee's name.
"Man, that's not fun. You even know their names. That makes it easy." Kabuto said, he put the card down on the deck and placed his hand on it. He then coolly swiped the top card off.
Kabuto held two cards in front of him. "Here they are." I was interested myself, I had no idea who this Gaara person is that Sasuke said, but I was eager to know a bit about Lee.
"Show 'em to me." Sasuke growled, not taking his eyes off them. Kabuto put one of them on the ground, the blank side facing up. He put his index finger on it, and twirled it around again, doing the jutsu sign.
"Okay, first up, Rock Lee." He said, closing his eyes to concentrate. My eyes widened at the card after the puff of smoke appears. It was almost like an ID card for Lee. His picture, stats and everything were on it. "Looks like he's about a year older than you guys. Mission experience, 11 C-ranks, 20 D-ranks. His squad leader is Gai, in the last 12 months his taijutsu has radically improved. But his other skills are pretty shaky. Last year he got a lot of attention as a Genin, but for some reason he chose not to participate in the Chuunin Exam. This will be his first time as a candidate, just like you guys. His teammates are Tenten and Hyuuga Neji." Kabuto put another card down on top of Lee's and twirled it around.
"Okay, now for Sabaku no Gaara." Kabuto said. After the poof of smoke, an ID card identical to Lee's appears on it. "Mission experience, 8 C-rank, and get this, one B-rank as a Genin. There's not a lot more information on this guy. He was a rookie from another land originally. But there is this.. He survived every mission without getting a single scratch on him."
"The dude's done a B-rank mission as a Genin!" Shikamaru questioned. It was the not getting a single scratch part that creeped me out.
"What's the deal with this guy?" Naruto squeaked. Kabuto draws another card.
"Here's someone I think you may find interesting too." Kabuto said, twirling it around. I look closely to see properly, but then again, I was standing behind all of them, and I don't think any of them have acknowledged the fact I've been standing here this entire time. After the poof of smoke, my eyes widened. It.. was me. I gasped slightly.
"Who's that?" The fat kid asked.
"Setsuki!" Naruto and Sakura questioned in unison.
"What's so interesting about her?" Sasuke grumbled.
"Well, see here. Like Rock Lee, Setsuki is also about a year older than you lot. Mission experience, 17 C-ranks, 11 D-ranks. Within the last 12 months, her ninjutsu has greatly improved, her taijutsu is fairly moderate, but genjutsu is her weak point. Her squad leader is Ochida Komaru. She is also a very skillful Genin, however it was said she was away on a mission during the time of the Chuunin Exam last year that is the reason why she did not enter. Also there's a very interesting power she has, sh-"
"What are you? Some sort of stalker?" I asked, stepping forward. They all jumped and turned to me.
"How long have you been there?" The kid with the dog asked. I looked at Kabuto.
"How do you know so much about me?" I asked. Kabuto smirked and pushed his glasses up his face.
"Well, I suppose you're right.. Setsuki." He said, looking down at the card again. He drew another and puts it on top of mine.
".. Hey, answer me." I said, frowning a little.
"Well actually I've known you for a very long time Setsuki. Now, lets see." He said, trying to change the subject. I raised an eyebrow. He twirled the next card around, and we all watch curiously. Another map appears. The same world map as before. "Leaf, Sand, Rain, Grass, Waterfall, Sound.. from the looks of it, they've all sent exceptionally skilled candidates to the exam this time around... Of course, the Hidden Sound Village is small, it sprang up recently, no one knows anything about it. Those guys are a mystery." He said, then stacked the cards up again and looked up at all of us. "Well you get the point, the competition is going to be intense this year."
"So it would seem.." Hinata said. "It's almost enough to make you lose your confidence."
"It's a fine time to start talking like that!" The blond girl snaps at her.
"Do.. you really think it's going to be tougher this time?" Sakura asked.
"Ooh yeah." Kabuto said, eyeing off someone in the crowd. "In the four years I've been coming, I've never seen a crop of candidates with as much potential as this bunch."
"Hmm." Naruto growled.
"Yep, we've got our work cut out for us." Kabuto stated. Sakura steps forward to Naruto, putting a hand on my best friend's back.
"Hey, don't worry Naruto, we'll be fine!" She said. Then she gasped, looking at Naruto's fists shaking. I tilted my head to the side, was he upset or angry?
"Aaaaaaa!" Naruto turned around and points at everyone. I sweat-dropped. "My name is Uzumaki Naruto! And I'm gonna beat every one of ya!" He announced. I smiled and stand beside him.
"And I'm Kuromizu Setsuki! Same deal!" I announced, giving a thumbs up, trying to imitate Lee.
"Beeeelieve it!" Naruto shouted.
"Hey! What are those idiots trying to do? Get us killed!" The blonde screams at Sakura. Sakura clenches her hands into fists. "Tell your boyfriend to keep his big fat trap shut!"
"Who's boyfriend?" Sakura screamed back.
"Oh, I forgot! You can't get one!"
"What'd you say!" Sakura shouted, bringing a fist up.
"Yeah!" Naruto cheered, putting his hands behind his head. "I feel a lot better now." I blinked at everyone.. their glares were nerve wracking.
Kabuto stood up, the tension was kinda frightening.
"Ahh, can you say that again? A little louder?" The dog boy asked. "Didn't quite catch it."
"You morons." Shikamaru groaned. "Are you trying to get everybody in the place to hate our guts or what?"
Naruto just cracked up laughing. Then Sakura pounced him from behind, capturing him in a headlock. "Naruto! You jackass! Why'd you have to go and say something like that? You obnoxious little..! .. O-oh, hi everyone! Haha, don't mind him, sometimes he says these spazzy things and doesn't really mean them, they just kinda come out, hahaha... He's got this um, condition you know, kind of a psychological thing, he really should be on medication... Now see what you've done Naruto!" She growled. I smiled, watching her yell. It's funny how she loses her temper so easily. Then I looked up, my eyes widened slightly. I swore I felt something move really fast behind me. Just then I turn around and saw someone jump up from a table, ready to attack. Kabuto turned around quickly, the attacker had two kunais in his hand. He threw them at Kabuto, but Kabuto jumped back just in time.
Just then out of no where, someone appeared in front of Kabuto, seeing the look of shock on Kabuto's face, I knew he was in trouble. The attacker went to punch Kabuto, but he leaned back, avoiding it, then gots a cocky smirk. I smiled, I knew there was something advanced about Kabuto, and his speed was one thing. Just then his glasses crack and pieces of the glass fall from it.
"Oh I get it." Kabuto said, holding one of the sides of his glasses. "So it was that kind of attack." Then he smiled and took his glasses off. Sasuke stepped forth.
"Hang on I saw it all, he dodged the attack. How did that happen?" Sasuke inquired.
"It must have come closer than it looked." Shikamaru said.
"Tch.."
"Look at 'im acting like it was nothing. Real tough guy." Shikamaru gushed. Kabuto looked at his opponent again, smiling for a second, then his eyes widened and he gasped loudly. He whimpered for a moment before falling to his knees, his hands slamed against the floor. I stepped forth, full of concern, even though I know nothing about this guy. Kabuto groaned in pain then coughed up blood.
"Hey! What..! Did he just..?" Naruto whimpered, freaking out.
"Kabuto what's wrong?" Sakura asked. "What is it?" Sakura and Naruto run over to Kabuto, checking on him. I saw the three Sound ninja snickering, and I stood in front of them.
"Hm? What's this?" They scoffed.
"You will not harm anyone else." I stated. The female laughed.
"Yeah, I'm fine." Kabuto said, standing up.
"Heh, not such a tough guy after all. That's why he's on his seventh try." Said the one covered in bandages.
"Write this on your little card punk, the Genin from the sound village will be Chuunin when this exam is over." Said the sound ninja in the yellow shirt, the one who attacked first. "Guaranteed."
"Hey, back off." I huffed. The one in the yellow shirt smirked and leaned down to my level, meeting my eyes.
"And what's a fragile little girl like you gonna do? Scratch me with your nails?" He scoffed, the three of them laughed. I sighed, just as I was about to say something a big cloud of smoke randomly appears.
"Alright you baby-faced degenerates! Pipe down and listen up!" Shouted a man's voice. We all looked down the other end of the room where the smoke was, and once the smoke disappeared, it reveals a man in a big black coat with a lot of Chuunin behind him. "It's time to begin. I'm Morino Ibiki, your proctor, and from this moment, your worst enemy." He says, smirking slightly I gulp quietly, talk about scary. I wondered what kind of thing we're doing...