A/N: And now we get more serious. I'm sorry if it's a bit quick, but I was a bit anxious to get to the nitty-gritty. Do read and review would you kindly?

…

[Training Ground 18…]

The sound of the wind rushing through trees was a calming sensation as members of Team Eleven sat around at their meeting place, waiting for their sensei to arrive. As of this moment, Naruto was propped up against a stump, asleep, with Meilan snuggled up under his human arm and Kikyo under his red one (although she was horrified at the thought being caught in such a position).

"Well, isn't this an adorable sight?" asked a feminine voice in amusement, "It's really too bad that the Hokage DOESN'T PAY FOR SLACKERS WHO SLEEP DEEPER THAN A NARA MAN!" She shouted that last part, startling the three Genin awake. Yūgao laughed to herself as she watched her three students scrambling to stand up at attention. When they were at last paying attention, the Jonin placed her hands behind her back. "Now, I have a news flash for the three of you: ever since I gave my report to the Hokage on the Nami no Kuni mission, he and I agreed that the three of you are ready for the Chūnin exams. Here's the deal," she pulled out three sheets of paper, handing the one with Braille on it to Naruto, "These are consent forms that say that you're going to participate. I'm giving you the day off to make a decision, but don't take too long; the exams will begin in a few days, and if you take too long, you'll have to wait until next year. Got it?"

"Loud and clear," said Naruto, running his fingers over the raised bumps of his form, "But just so we don't waste any time, count me in. Now, may I borrow a pen?"

He quickly got one and looked for the line he was supposed to sign.

"I think it goes without saying that we're all in this together," said Meilan, after reading her own consent form, "Although I wonder if a certain sharpshooter is up to the task."

Kikyo's answer was a defiant snort as she took the pen to sign her consent form. "Whatever balloon-girl, just don't hold me and Naruto-kun back when we get on with these exams."

A 'hmph!' escaped Meilan as she turned away while the three genin returned their forms to Yūgao. "At least I don't hide from my enemies and shoot them from afar!"

The archer girl's head snapped towards her colleague. "Are you calling me a coward, you air-headed brute!?"

At this point, Meilan also snapped her head towards Kikyo in such a manner that the two of them were face-to-face with each other. "Damn right!"

"Stop!" said Naruto forcefully, pushing the two snarling girls away from each other, "These exams mean we're gonna have to fight together, and we can't do that with you two griping at each other. So either apologize to each other, let what the other said go, or be equally to blame for dragging the team down!"

Yugao was shocked at the suddenly harsh tone in Naruto's voice, but nodded all the same at the truth of it. Teamwork was paramount to survival in the first two parts of the Chunin Exams, and the team would need to cooperate. Both Meilan and Kikyo looked stunned at the outburst: Meilan that her boyfriend would actually raise his voice against her, and Kikyo that Naruto would actually (though indirectly) defend her. Both flushed slightly in shame, and nodded.

"Well?"

They both remembered that he couldn't see them and responded verbally. He gave a strained smile. "Good. Sorry for shouting, but the way you two argue all the time was really getting to me, and I wanted you to actually listen. We're good now, right?"

"Y-yeah."

"Hai."

…

[Higurashi Arsenal, two days later…]

After a long day of work, Higurashi Hiten sat down to take a break with Hiko perched on the counter digging into the box filled with fuzzy mice while he enjoyed a mug of coffee from Kaminari no Kuni with a scone. Tenten had a small cup of tea at the table as she sat across from her father with a plate of rice biscuits.

"So, I see that you sold my latest magnum opus," said Hiten, looking at his daughter with a knowing look in his eyes as he bit into his scone, "and at a slightly lower price. Are you looking to bribe Naruto-kun into marrying you sooner with a dowry?"

Tenten almost choked on her tea. "Dad! It's not like that!"

He snorted, still amused and unconvinced. "Oh, and I suppose you helping him to try out the short sword was nothing as well?"

Tenten glared at Hiko with a look that said 'you tattletale!' while the phoenix feigned innocence by looking away. She never trusted that bird to keep her beak shut. "Fine, I admit it! I saw an opportunity, and I took it!"

Hiten sighed, and said nonchalantly, "It's okay with me. Besides…think of it as letting it slide for the two of you doing some matchmaking for me and Mikoto-san."

Tenten's eyes widened in surprise before she turned her gaze back to Hiko. "You told him?!"

"What could I tell him?" asked Hiko, a hint of frustration in her voice, "It was Mikoto-san that let it slip on that date the two of them had! Once he found out, he came to me and threatened to stuff me with birdseed unless I came clean! Not that I'd necessarily mind, but..."

"Enough, both of you!" barked Hiten, silencing the argument here and there, "I-" Before he could finish that sentence, Hiten was interrupted by the bell. "God damn that bell," he growled, stomping his way to the counter, "I'm going to-"

"I wouldn't recommend finishing that sentence," said a bald old man at the counter, "You could very well be driving away potential customers this way."

Hiten's eyes widened. The mustache was enough to tell at who it was, along with the rune-covered red arm, and the fact that the man was obviously blind was a dead giveaway. "GSD-san!" he said, with a bit of glee in his voice, "How may I help you?"

"I have a special order for you," said the blind man, a slight edge of urgency in his tone, "I have a feeling that it will be necessary in the future for a certain apprentice of mine."

"You mean Naruto. What is it?"

"I need you to make an extra set of chains, like what he wears on his left arm," said GSD, in all seriousness.

"I recognized the purpose of it the moment I saw those shackles on his red arm," said Hiten, nodding in agreement, "As a matter of fact, my ancestor Linus had passed down the blueprints for it, as well as the special seals for making one as something of a family heirloom. I just never thought that I'd be the one making limiters in this day and age, what with how few of the Rikudo Sennin's descendants are alive today...and even if they were alive, there is no guarantee that the curse has been awakened in any of them enough to warrant it (with the exception of Naruto of course)."

GSD turned to leave the arsenal. "All the same, I'd like to commission an extra set to be made for him as soon as possible. I saw an omen telling me that he may need it."

Hiten shrugged. "Since I know you don't exactly walk around with money on you, I'll put it on Naruto's tab. With a discount of course, seeing as he's your student and all. Now is there anything else you'd like for me to do?"

"No, that will be all. Just make sure those shackles are ready soon; this omen I speak of may happen during the Chūnin Exams. I can only hope I am wrong and that he does not need them." Having said his piece and placed his order, GSD walked out.

Hiten went to the eating area, taking in everything that the elder had just told him. If what GSD had just suggested to him were accurate, something horrible may happen to Naruto, and he needed to work quickly. He watched his daughter leave to cram some last-minute training in for the exams tomorrow, and he paused briefly as another thought crossed his mind. "Tenten, get me twelve ingots of tamahagane from Tetsu no Kuni, and those limiter seals," he said, freezing her at such an order, "Don't ask me why just yet, just get it as quickly as possible."

Tenten nodded and ran off to get the items. She knew her father must have a good reason for requesting such a thing.

…

[Chūnin Exam Written Test Building, the next day…]

The sounds of argument were present in the floor by the time Team Eleven had arrived. People were yelling at what appeared to be two genin at the door that were blocking their way. "What do you mean we can't enter?!" asked a genin from Amegakure, "What are you, deaf?" said one of the Konoha genin blocking the door, "You're not allowed past this point!"

"Says who mother fucker?!"

The other genin answered by punching the moron over the head. "Says my fist, asshole!"

Naruto let out a frustrated sigh. "Must it be so noisy at this hour?! It's really hurting my ears."

"I hear you," agreed Kikyo, also pained at the sound level.

"You are being ridiculous!" said a familiar voice being noticed in the crowd, "We have a right to be here!"

Lo and behold one Hyūga Neji was arguing with one of the guards. "You have a right to nothing!" said one of the genin, "You're not going past these doors! Not if we have any say in it!"

"Why I ought to…"

"It really amazes me how stupid some people are!" Naruto interrupted, stepping up to the Hyūga, "And I hear that you're the Rookie of the Year from the last class. Where are your brains?"

"Still your tongue peasant!" snapped Neji with venom in his voice, "I will not take such talk from one who is inferior to me!"

"And yet I can sense what your precious Byakugan can't. Someone is using a Genjutsu!"

"What's the genjutsu, genius?" sneered a Suna shinobi.

"The test is being held in room 3-1 right?" asked one of the Uchiha Twins from the back of the crowd.

"If that's the case, then what are we all doing here on the first floor?" finished the male twin.

"Shut up Uchiha! You're both all bark and no bite! Just like your clan!" shouted a random Konoha genin.

The twins both grinned dangerously before turning to face their third team-mate. Sakura understood and placed her hands in the ram seal, shouting out "Kai!" The sign changed from reading '3-1' to '1-3'. Everyone groaned as they realized their stupidity.

Meilan and Kikyo were the only other ones not surprised by this. They smirked, as Naruto had already known it was an illusion and he simply wanted to fool around by making everyone look stupid. Having accomplished said objective, they made for the stairs. As the three of them walked through the crowd, Naruto suddenly stopped and turned his head to pinpoint a scent he never thought he'd smell again. "I really wouldn't do it if I were you," he said, knowing exactly who it was he was speaking to, "I know you're itching to fight the twins, and I applaud you on your eagerness, but we are not samurai, and you're likely to get arrested for even thinking about it. You don't want to make your sensei angry now do you? You'll get your chance soon enough, Lee."

The boy with the bowl cut widened his eyes past reasonable limits as Rock Lee briefly wondered if Naruto was able to read his mind. He sighed and slouched in disappointment as his team also made for the stairs.

…

[Floor 3 outside room 3-1, twelve minutes later…]

The noise had long subsided and calmed down now that everyone was in the right spot. It left a bitter taste in almost everyone's mouth that they were made to look stupid by a blind genin with more swords than he could possibly. "Naruto-kun! Sasuke-kun!" called out a certain blond Yamanaka clan member, getting closer with her team, "Your teams are signed on too?"

"Hello, Ino. It's nice to…well, at least hear from you again," he said, turning his head to pinpoint the source of the sound and the floral shop scent, "Is Shikamaru still being his lazy self?"

"Troublesome," groaned the pineapple-haired boy, "You blonds are so noisy. Don't you guys have anything better to do than cause trouble for me?"

Naruto shrugged it off, before pinpointing the sound of chips being chomped down upon. "I hear the restaurant has been doing well since our appearance at music night, Choji."

"Yep. We did great!" said the Akimichi member, almost throwing his bag of chips away, "And now, thanks to the funds the two of you got for dad, he's letting the two of you eat for free whenever you perform on music night. We also managed to get a pair of DJ's for the station he bought. Dad said he wanted to attract a younger audience, hence the DJ table. This reminds me, after the Chūnin Exams are over, would the two of you like to participate in a band I'm forming up? I've already got the DJ's Risu and Kago signed up, and Shikamaru's agreed to play the bass and do the male lead, but I haven't figured out a name for the band yet."

"If we survive, then you can count me in Choji," said Meilan, gripping on Naruto's hand, "and I'm pretty sure Naruto needs to get in some practice with those string instruments he plays."

Naruto just grinned. "Now there's a situation where everyone wins."

"I'd really worry about that later," said a voice belonging to a white-haired genin with round spectacles from behind, "The Chūnin exams are no joke. Believe me I've taken these tests enough times to know."

"Thanks for the advice, but ultimately that's not for you to decide whoever you are."

"Too true; just thought I'd help. Oh, forgive my lack of manners, I'm Yakushi Kabuto, a veteran of these exams."

"Yeah? And how many times have you taken these tests?" challenged a voice arriving at the scene. Tsukiko had arrived with her team, and a defiant look on her face.

"Three times to be honest," said Kabuto with a shrug, pulling out a deck of cards with the word 'patience' written on the back, "But those past three times were fruitful. I've managed to get some information on this year's competition and place them in these Ninja Info cards."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "Really? Then what can you tell us about Rock Lee and Sabaku no Gaia?"

Kabuto nodded, unsurprised, and pulled out one card. "Rock Lee...an interesting subject; no skills whatsoever in the art of Ninjutsu or Genjutsu, but is extremely skilled in Taijutsu. I won't bother you with the details, but he has a lot of missions under his belt, including a few A-rank missions." Once he was done, he then pulled out a second card. "On the other hand Sabaku no Gaia is quite low on her taijutsu, but her Ninjutsu is rather high, while her Genjutsu is unknown, the opposite of Rock Lee in other words. Huh, that's odd, it says she's got quite a few missions under her belt, but she's never suffered even a scratch on any of them."

"That's good and all, but you really need to update those cards of yours," said a voice from behind, and everyone turned to see three strangers. They all had different skin and eye colors, but they all had pointy ears. One of them was female with purple skin with silvery blue eyes and curly black hair that was in a manner similar to one Yūhi Kurenai, and she was wearing what appeared to be a cheongsam, high leggings, and high-heeled sandals with a pair of kukri strapped to her back and resting on top of her buttocks. The other female in the group had a deep bronze skin tone with cream-colored hair and silvery purple eyes; she wore a form-fitting suit of hard leather armor with a zipper down the middle, a pair of loosely tied slacks over it, and carrying a pair of what appeared to be regular combat knives in holsters at her ankles, and a pair of short rods on her back. The only male of the group however had sandy blond hair, slate-colored eyes, and was the tallest of the three with a fair complexion. he wore dark slacks, geta, a buttoned white shirt, and a beige trench coat. He seemed to not be carrying weapons.

Naruto focused his senses, and walked closer to them. "The three of you smell like you're steeped in mana. You wouldn't happen to be elves from New Lorien by any chance would you?"

The only male of the group was surprised, until he noted one crucial detail about the stranger before him, which was the red arm with limiters attached to it. "Yeah, I guess?"

"Because I met one of your people before with my sensei…I think you may know of an elf named Minet?"

At that, the bronze-skinned elf's metallic purple eyes had widened in shock. "You know our master? Then that must mean you're GSD's student."

"I'm flattered," said Naruto, with a friendly smile for the elves, "so I suppose that the elves are ready to make a comeback to the world at large through these exams?"

"Bingo!" said the male elf, "Queen Sharan thought that now was the opportunity to reintroduce ourselves to the world, and so she sent this year's top students as a team to pretty much say 'hi' to the world at large. The name's Len Ferro, I'm working at being the best wizard and iron-worker in her majesty's Mage Corps. With me are Francois, Minet's eventual successor as leader of the Royal Guard," he said, indicating to the bronze-skinned elf who bowed upon hearing mention of her name, "and the antisocial wallflower here is Ayakasia, the current heir to the throne."

"How do you do?" asked the purple-skinned elf politely. Then she did a double-take and glanced at Len. "I'm surprised Len! You actually managed to sound professional for more than a sentence."

"Pshhh," Len waved her off, looking bored.

Before Naruto could say anything, the door opened. The man who entered was a tall and apparently well-built, in a trench coat with a high collar, his hitai-ate worn like a bandana over his head, and his face covered in scars apparently from torture. "The name's Morino Ibiki," said the man, "and I'm the proctor for the first exam. If you'll follow me this way, we'll get this started."

As all the genin entered the room, only one of them took his time to walk in—watching from behind as Naruto and his team passed him by. 'Mizuki was clearly blinded by his hate when he said that Uzumaki was nothing but a worthless fuck toy for Orochimaru-sama,' he thought to himself with a wicked grin forming on his face, 'as a matter of fact, I currently see five potential new bodies if he can get more information on that red arm of his. And besides, I'm very sure that Orochimaru-sama would enjoy the irony of using the boy's body to fight his own sensei; and with his own jutsu no less!'

…

[Meanwhile the Jōnin's Lounge…]

The Jōnin's Lounge was a place that one would expect of a Teacher's Lounge at school. The only difference was that there were racks to hold your weapons and equipment. Yūgao sat next to her lover Hayate with his medicine ready to help make his sickness more bearable, while Kurenai sat next to Asuma in a suggestive pose as Gai wept silently to himself. "What am I going to do now?" he asked, "Now I don't have a hip rival to compete with! Even though Kakashi lost his 'hip factor' after what he did to Naruto, he was still someone I could use as a benchmark! What am I going to do now?!"

"Why don't you just compete with yourself?" asked a lazy female voice with a yawn, drawing everyone's attention to the dark-skinned woman with the pointy ears and bright blue eyes that closed for sleep as she lounged on a fine leather couch, "Now stop making so much noise—you're ruining my nap!"

"Let me guess," said the sickly Jōnin with a cough, as he forced himself to not look at the pointy-eared woman's generous assets lest he face the wrath of his girlfriend, "you're the team commander of that elf team from New Lorien. Your name is Minet right?"

"That's right," said the elf, briefly opening her eye to look at the speaker, "and you must be Gekkō Hayate, one of the proctors of this exam. A pleasure to meet you…now would you mind directing your gaze a little further north? I think your girlfriend wants to hit you."

Upon turning to look at his girlfriend, Hayate saw that Yūgao had her nose up in the air. "I wasn't going to hit you," she said, "but I will deny you your medicine for a bit, unless…"

The look of foreboding was clear on his face as he studied his girlfriend's face. Somehow, he knew that the demand would be unreasonable. "…unless what?"

"Unless you tell me who is proctoring the written exam."

Aha! Now he knew what it was! As much as he would like to tell Yūgao, he was not authorized to tell. Before he could open his mouth, Hayate was interrupted. "It's being proctored by some guy with a lot of scars on his face," said Minet as she lazily yawned, "Wears his forehead protector like a bandana. What was his name? Hibiki? Ibuki? Oh yeah, Ibiki."

Everyone was on edge except for Kurenai. "They let that sadist proctor the written test?" asked Yūgao, dismayed, "Are they insane?"

"They probably are," said Gai, grinning slightly and nervously, "But then, what fun would there be if too many students made it through this soon?"

"Is Ibiki that scary?" asked Kurenai, with a look of confusion on her face. Asuma let out a puff of smoke, flicking off the ashes of his cigarette. "Seeing as you don't know about Ibiki just shows how green you are compared to us," he said nonchalantly, "But I'm pretty sure the best way to identify him is through his place of work…" it was here that the Sarutobi member paused for a few minutes for dramatic effect, "The Torture and Interrogation Department."

…

[Room 3-1, five minutes later…]

If anybody ever wondered why Mitarashi Anko was so sadistic, they need only look at her colleague Morino Ibiki and at the evil grin he was trying so hard to suppress. As he looked at the students, he inwardly smirked and laughed sinisterly to himself at the prospect of scarring so many minds with this test. The questions were quite difficult, and it would be no trouble to weed them out. Only one of them had required a specially-made test due to the fact that he was blind, and so he was appropriately given a stencil, pegboard, and punch to write in Braille—at that, he knew that Uzumaki may be a bit of a challenge. "Okay then, here's how this first test will start," he began, "you will all begin with ten points each. For every right answer, you get one point. For every wrong answer, you lose one point. If you cheat, then you lose two points. We have some Chūnin keeping watch here, and if they catch you cheating, then you and your team are kicked out. If your team has under thirty points between the three of you, then you're kicked out. And don't bother answering the tenth question just yet—if you answer it before I say you can answer it, then you are automatically kicked out. Are we clear? Good, now let's start!"

Naruto immediately began running his fingers over the Braille characters. This was an easy test for him; the moment he pushed his chakra radar out, and he would be able to see everyone's answer. As he scanned over everyone, he noted that some of the genin had high signatures and had no fear of the test—as though they had taken it before. He realized that some of those 'Genin' were in fact Chūnin who were placed among their ranks to provide reliable answers to cheat from, which was in fact the point of this test: to gather intelligence. Then there were the other sources that went beyond the level of a mere Chūnin—for example, Kabuto's levels were masked but was clearly around low- to mid-Jōnin, while another one was greatly suppressed but he could have sworn that it rivaled that of a Kage.

With all other thoughts put out of mind, Naruto placed the pegboard under the sheet, and started to answer on the line below the first question, which he managed to gather from one of the Chūnin. Once he got the answer, he relayed the answer as pulses on the chakra radar in the established code to Meilan and Kikyo. He was immediately distracted when he heard Gaia's trick with blinding everyone else with her sand and then using what appeared to him as a sphere of sand mixed in with chakra. At the same time, he felt the mana pulses of the elves doing the same thing he was…well, at least Len was doing it, because he seemed to be the only one of the group specialized in using mana, thus making him the magic powerhouse of the team.

"N-Naruto-kun." Naruto jumped as Hinata seemingly appeared at his side, speaking in a timid whisper. "If you w-want to copy my answers, then I won't t-tell anyone."

He smiled in gratitude. "I appreciate the sentiment," he said quietly, running his fingers over the question that read 'There are seven major kill zones on the human body, which one would kill the target the fastest if struck? List the area of the body, cause of death, and how much time before the person would die' in Braille, "But I can't read kanji. You just worry about yourself, and I'll see if I can do anything to protect you if I find you again."

Hinata could only blush in a deeper shade of crimson as Naruto quickly punched the answer into the pegboard under his paper. He would protect her? "Thank you..." she whispered, her voice suddenly thick with emotion.

Naruto smiled and patted her on the shoulder after finishing his answer. "I'd have done it anyway. I haven't forgotten…"

"Okay then, all writing implements down!" said Ibiki, suddenly standing up slowly and interrupting Naruto's train of thought, "Now we get to the million-ryo tenth question! And this is the hardest question in the test. You can choose to answer it or not. If you choose to answer it, then you'd better be ready for it…if you choose not to answer it, then you're kicked out of the exam with your team faster than you can say 'tartar sauce'. Now are you ready for that last question?"

Naruto simply grinned with confidence. "I'll take that question!" he said, standing up, "I've come this far, and I sure as hell am not going to back down now!" As he said this, the majority of the genin in the room that remained and were not kicked out stood up as well—the others stayed seated before they were escorted out.

Once he saw the Uzumaki-brat stand up and inspire confidence in the other genin, Ibiki sneered. Oh, now this is actually going to be fun. "Really now?" he asked, taunting the students that stayed, "Because if you get this question wrong, then you and your entire team will be booted off the exams regardless of how many points you've accumulated, and you'll never be allowed in these exams again!" At that, several of the genin stood and were escorted out of the room.

Len stood up, rivaling Ibiki in height. "Bullshit," he said simply, "I don't really know what you normally do," he paused, "Okay, I actually do, but the point that you don't have the authority to say that. There have been a few instances of Genin teams being barred from taking the Exams in the past, yeah, but those were under very extreme circumstances, none of which fit what you're doing now." He looked around and saw everyone staring at him. "Alright, so it's not a rousing speech about determination, whatever!" He sat down as every rolled their eyes

At this point, Ibiki knew he couldn't psyche out everyone anymore; that elf had put too much doubt into everyone's minds. He sighed. "Alright, I guess you caught me" he said, building tension with that pause before he grinned painfully and raised his thumb, "To all those who are still here, YOU PASS!" All of the tension in the room evaporated and everyone face-faulted.

"I don't get it, what was the last question?" asked a bewildered Sakura.

Ibiki grimaced; he didn't like that girl's clan. "There was no last question, the whole point of this test was to observe your intelligence-gathering capabilities, after all, there are lots of missions that involve spying covertly. As shinobi, our main goal is to gain as much accurate Intel on the enemy as possible, and to get caught spying means death.

"The ultimate purpose of the last question is most important however, because it deals with your decision to take up a mission. The survival of your village could depend on whether or not you take up a mission. If, for example, you were to refuse an important mission, someone else might be sent and would botch the operation, which could lead to many more people suffering than if you took it up in the first place. However, someone," here he fixed Len with an evil look, "Decided to botch my plans for that question. I must admit, another important Shinobi trait is the ability to sabotage others."

Len smirked at the grudging compliment.

Before anyone could say anything else about the test, a black ball flew in from the open window and landed on the ground with in explosion of smoke. In the middle of the room was a woman in a beige trench coat, violet hair tied up in a ponytail, mesh shirt and an orange skirt. "The sexy and single Mitarashi Anko, reporting in!" said the woman, inspecting the genin before her and looking at Ibiki with surprise, "Twenty seven teams?! I have to work with this many genin? Seriously, you must be getting in on your years Ibiki!"

"Blame Ferro," grunted Ibiki, "He messed up the whole arrangement for the Tenth question."

"Oh, you and your Tenth question," she scoffed, "Well, whatever. I'll make sure I weed them out some more. All genin with me! We're going to Training Ground 44."

…

[Elsewhere, moments ago…]

Mikoto sat at a table sipping coffee. Something was up if Hiten had set up a meeting at a seedy coffee bar. She didn't have to wait long as she noted her lover walking towards her with a grim look on his face and a suitcase in his hand. His strides had also indicated that he was in a rush…as if some fierce demon were on his heels. "Miko-chan," he said as he quickly placed the suitcase on the tabletop upon sitting down, "I have something important to give you."

Curiosity crossed her face as she found her fingers thumbing the latches. Whatever it was that had Hiten all riled up, and during the Chūnin Exams no less, had to be important. When Mikoto lifted the lid, what she saw baffled her. "Shackles? You brought me out of my assignment over shackles? I didn't think you had it in you!" she said playfully

"Are you aware of the Curse of Kazan?" asked Hiten seriously, eliciting a serious look from his girlfriend.

Mikoto was taken aback at the question. "All Uchiha around Chūnin-level are aware of the Curse of Kazan, and what it does to those that awaken it…the twins on the other hand are an exception because they learned about its existence during their mission. I'm also pretty sure that Tsunade would also be aware of the curse considering that the Senju and Uzumaki clans descended from the Rikudō Sennin, and are thus considered as mere carriers same as us until it is awakened somehow. Why do you ask?" She looked at the shackles in the suitcase, suddenly realizing their significance. "Are those what I think they are?"

With a nod, Hiten held Mikoto's hand firmly before he began. His concern was shown with the grip he had. "GSD came into my shop yesterday. He told me he saw an omen that something horrible may happen to Naruto, and that I should have a set of shackles ready. I had a bad feeling that Naruto may not be alone in this so I made three and asked Tenten carry one set with her to the Chūnin Exams, and now I am telling you that I have the other two for safety's sake. I'm hoping that I'm wrong and that my fears requiring two extra limiters are unfounded."

This troubled Mikoto to no end. She knew that the limiters Slayers wore on their arms, bulky as they tended to be, gave these people a semblance of normalcy, lest they wish to succumb to the seductive and life-shortening bloodlust of the curse. "If that's the case, then I'll hold onto this," she said, closing and locking the suitcase before pulling it towards her by the handle, "if your fears are what I think they are, then it's my responsibility as a mother and a teacher to carry these limiters. I pray that they won't be needed."

As she left the coffee bar, Hiten looked at her leave. "You and me both, love," he murmured.

…

[Training Ground 44, half an hour later…]

"Welcome to Training Ground 44, otherwise known as…" Anko paused for dramatic effect, "…The Forest of Death!" Everyone stared at the gates that contained the fenced-in forest. The whole fence was covered in dire warnings and pleas for help, such that many of the genin in the crowd were contemplating if this was the right place to be taking the test. The silence was broken by Anko as she pulled out a box of papers. "Now before we begin, I want you all to sign these waivers that say we, the people of Konoha are not responsible for any deaths caused in this part of the exam."

A group of Chunin proctors came around, passing out papers to be signed. Once that was over with, Anko placed all the waivers back in the box, but took extra special care with the waiver in Braille and Kanji belonging to Naruto. "Okay then, let's get this thing started! You all have three days to compete this section of the test. Each team will start off a scroll of Earth or a scroll of Heaven and must fight other teams to be in possession of one of each. Now in the middle of this forest, there is a tower. If you're not there by the time three days have elapsed with an Earth and a Heaven scroll in your possession, you will fail."

"What do we do about food and water?" asked Chōji, crunching down on more chips he stuffed into his face, watching as every team received a scroll.

She rolled her eyes. "There are animals that live in the forest, most of which are edible. That, and there's also quite a few plants there that can be eaten, but I wouldn't recommend it. As for water, you're already covered; there's a river that runs through the training ground."

"That doesn't sound too hard," said a voice from the crowd belonging to one Uzumaki Naruto, "in fact, I'm pretty sure me and my team can handle this part of the Exams no problem."

In response, Anko threw a kunai at Naruto, only for the blind genin to tilt his head. The blade just barely grazed his cheek deep enough to draw blood. Before he could tilt his head back, he felt his head being held in place from behind, followed by an arm snaking across his abdominal muscles and resting on his waist, and then a tongue running along his cut to lap up the blood. It was not the licking that caused a reaction so much as the way she was licking him; she was licking him in such a slow and sensual manner that it was as if she were savoring the taste of his blood, much to the jealousy of many of the girls that happened to be nearby. It also didn't help that she was pressing her large, firm breasts against Naruto's back as she licked up his wound like a little kid with a popsicle.

When she was done licking Naruto's wound, Anko let out a relaxed 'ah'—whether it was the 'ah' that came from sexual activity, or the 'ah' that came from being high, nobody knew or cared. This was just about the freakiest (or most perverted according to Meilan and the others) thing they had ever seen. Her voice had become flirtatious at this point. "I tell you, this is the best-tasting blood ever!"

Naruto on the other hand looked as if he were going to be sick in Anko's embrace. "Normally I would've been turned on by what just happened, but this stink is really killing my boner and offending my nose."

She was quick to fire a heated glare at Naruto upon hearing his words, and Anko's seductive voice was given a dangerous edge. "I beg your pardon?"

He was calm, but Naruto was quick to explain himself. "Oh, not you. I meant the creepy person behind you."

As if on cue, a kunai was placed at Anko's throat, gripped by a tongue. Anko turned and glared at the Kusa-nin behind her, whose elongated tongue still held the knife. "Anything you want to say bitch?"

"My apologies," hissed the shinobi, "I merely wished to return your kunai." Even as Anko scowled and took the knife back, the Kusa-nin fixed a hungry look on Naruto. Even being blind, he couldn't help but feel creeped out.

Jumping to the front of the gates, Anko turned to face the crowd once again. "Now that that's out of the way, I have one pointer to all of you before you go in…just try to stay alive!" All of the gates swung open and the genin rushed in. The Survival Test had begun!

…

A/N: The OC elves Len Ferro and Ayakasia belong to NorthSouthGorem and TrixBella respectively, while Francois is mine. To those of you who do not know of the characters in "Dungeon Fighter Online", Uncle Linus is the first shopkeeper who sells you weapons and skills in the game—he is apparently a chain smoker.

…

Updated Character Classes:

Konohamaru: eventually a Blade Master (Short Sword/Katana)

Udon: Launcher

Moegi: Not sure which Mage Class to advance her to

Len Ferro: All Mage (even the Male ones)

Ayakasia: Silver Moon (Rogue advanced class)

Francois: All Thief

…

Songs Used:

"Reset (Thank-You)" by Rei Kondoh from "Okami"—Team Eleven sleeping, and then signing the forms

"Last Wolf Suite" by Noriyuki Asakura from "Rurouni Kenshin"—GSD's warning

"Nine-tailed Demon Fox" by Toshiro Masuda from "Naruto"—Ibiki's written test

…

Vocabulary/Culture Notes:

Risu and Kago—both are words in Japanese for 'squirrel', and are the names of the DJ's operating the table in Chouza's bar

The number 4—in Chinese and Japanese culture, the number four is an unlucky number as it rhymes with the word for 'death' or 'die' (same with the number ten in Chinese), and thus the number 44 is considered an especially unlucky number. This is a fitting designation for a training ground known as the 'Forest of Death'.