DISCLAIMER: No matter how much I want it, I do not own Naruto. I am still only borrowing the characters and promise to return them in good condition – well, maybe slightly battered!

Oops - not sure if I mentioned this but Genma's team was randomly selected from the pool of genin who failed the first exam!

Chapter Forty-Two:

Road to Chunin

Speak the words I wanna hear,

To make my demons run.
The door is locked now,

But it's open if you're true.

If you can understand the me,

Than I can understand the you.

~Metallica~

The wind blew in from the north, across the barren rice fields and rows of icicle laden cherry trees that surrounded the village. Despite the dim hint of light edging over the mountains to the east, casting deep shadows in the fields, the wind still carried the last traces of a cold night. Naruto shivered and drew his cloak tighter around his neck.

He looked up at the hazy sky as the last few remaining stars were slowly blinking out of existence and yawned widely. He was normally a morning person, but it was just too cold to get excited.

Naruto glanced at Sai and Sasuke trudging their way beside him and smiled. They looked as tired as he felt. As the main gate came into view, he finally saw the other team that had been randomly selected to attend the chunin exam in Kirigakure with them and groaned.

Tall and brooding with a large plume of steam coming out of his mouth, Shēn was the oldest genin at fifteen. Ino, looking pretty and perky for such an early time of the day, waved cheerfully at them. Akamaru barked out a greeting, while Kiba smiled, showing his pointed canines. Genma; acting as their sensei, jerked his head in greeting.

"Ugh, why did it have to be Shēn?" asked Naruto crankily. He then smiled optimistically and said, "Oh well, I guess it could be worse. I'm not sure how, but maybe if we're lucky, he'll finally get that stick out of his butt and learn to be cool."

Sasuke looked at him as though he were crazy. "You're deluding yourself, Baka. A leopard never changes its spots and neither will that moron."

He shrugged his shoulders. "Eh, a positive attitude may not solve all my problems, but I've found that it annoys enough people to make it worth the effort."

"Hn… that's true."

"Hey Sai… Sai?" Naruto snapped his fingers and nudged him when he saw him staring at Shēn angrily. "Snap out of it Aho."

Sasuke tactlessly muttered, "It's not like you ever had a chance."

Naruto saw the hurt look in Sai's eyes and quietly snapped back, "Yeah he did. Sai's a great guy."

"He depantsed her in front of her squad."

"She did it to him first!"

"He put ink in her tea."

"She did it to him first! He had black teeth for a week."

"He kissed her cousin."

"She did it… oh, well uh… Well he still has a shot!"

"I don't know about that. Look at Shēn flirting with her. It looks like she likes it too," said Sasuke with a smirk.

Sai whipped his head around and growled.

Naruto frowned at Sasuke and slapped Sai on the back. "Now-now, don't listen to that Teme. Calm down before Shēn figures out that he's ticked you off. You don't want to give him anything to use against you. Just think; we are going to have a nice, long journey with them. It will give you plenty of opportunities to spend time with her so don't start anything. Believe me; it won't take her long at all to find out what an ass he is. I can even show you how to get along with her the right way."

Sai shook his head and disagreed, "I get along with Ino Yamanaka quite well. I do not need any help in that regard."

Naruto looked at him in disbelief. "Aho, just last week you asked her who lit the fuse on her tampon."

"Yes I did. So what is your point?"

"What's my point?!" Naruto sputtered, "Are you kidding me? First off, you need to get over this sick obsession you have with a girls and their you-know-whats."

"What?"

Embarrassed, Naruto cast his eyes downward and muttered, "You know… when a girl is riding the cotton pony..."

"I do not understand what it is you are trying to say."

"Help me out here, Teme."

"No way, you're on your own." Sasuke gave him a slightly bored and condescending look and walked faster to get away from the two.

"Coward," murmured Naruto. "You know… the girls' time of the month."

"I cannot help but be fascinated, Dickless. Do you realize that a female human is the only creature that bleeds for five days and doesn't die?"

He shook his head, frowned and then remarked, "All I know is to stay far, far, far away. Now where was I? Oh yes - second; and most importantly, don't you remember what Ino did to you after you said that to her?"

"Of course I do. I have an excellent memory. She knocked me down and put my head in a scissor lock with her legs."

"And you call that getting along?"

Sai gave him a pitying look and repeated, "She put my head in a scissor lock with her legs, Dickless… her legs…"

Sasuke, still close enough to hear Sai's comment, snorted. "Old lady Usagi was right – you are a pervert."

"I happen to be a healthy, virile young male with an appreciation for…"

Kakashi cleared his throat loudly as they were now close enough for the other team to hear them. Shēn noticing team seven narrowed his eyes and said snidely, "Well, we're born naked, wet and hungry. Then things just get worse, don't they?"

Naruto ignored him and happily greeted the others. "Hey, Ino, Kiba, and uncle Gen this is going to be awesome with you guys along!"

Genma twirled the senbon hanging jauntily from his mouth and smiled. "Good to see you, kid. You ready to show everyone what you're made of?"

"Hell ya! Everybody better get in line and take a number, cuz I'm going to kick ass."

"Language," admonished Kakashi with an amused twinkle in his eye. "Now that we're all assembled, let's move out."

"Hai!" shouted the six genin excitedly. They all turned to walk through the gate when a female's voice stopped them.

"Wait," she shouted as she hurried to catch up with them. Holding a silver-haired baby in one arm and a package in the other, Ayame put little Sakumo in his father's arm and grabbed Naruto, enveloping him in a warm hug. "I can't believe you were going to leave without saying goodbye," she gently admonished.

"Aw," said Naruto with a flush, "We said goodbye last night. I didn't want to wake you. I know how he keeps you up all the time."

"I don't mind a little bit of lost sleep. You will be gone for a few months. I'm going to miss you so much."

Ignoring the smirks from the other team, Naruto kissed her cheek and said lowly, "I'll miss you too, mom. Now please rescue my little baby brother from the business end of that kunai he's about to put in his mouth and take him back to the house where it's warm. I don't want him to get sick."

Ayame nodded with tears in her eyes. She gave Kakashi a death glare as she snatched the child away from the knife he had deftly removed from one of his many pouches. "I swear he's more like you every day!" she said in exasperation.

"What – incredibly charming, devastatingly handsome, oozing with sex appeal, and the apple of a certain ramen stand owner's eyes?"

"No… a pain in my ass," she quipped as she found a wooden shuriken in his diaper. "Honestly, would you two stop giving him these pointy thingies?!" She handed Naruto the package. "I packed you some extra rice balls. Be sure to share them with your little friends."

"Mo-oom," whined the blonde with an embarrassed look, "They're not my little friends, they are my teammates. And it's not a pointy thingy, it's called a shuriken."

"Mm hmm," she continued without pause, "Make sure you keep yourself warm, try not to kill anyone if you can help it, and oh yes… did you pack clean underpants?"

"Kami help me…" muttered Naruto as even his own teammates were laughing now. He slowly backed away, thinking there was no way it could get worse. How wrong he was. The gods were in a cruel, cruel mood today.

Sakura just walked up when Ayame asked, "Did you pack that cream for the rash on your rear end?"

"OkaymomIgottogoloveyou-heySakura,nicetoseeyoubye!"

"Well, how do you like that?" asked Ayame as she watched the boy run off ahead, "I didn't even get a chance to tell him not to go breaking anybody's heart as they only have one."

"Do not worry Naruto's mother," said Sai casually, "I will tell him to break their bones instead… they have two hundred and six you know."

"Ayame sweetie, please call me Ayame."

"Do not worry Ayame," repeated Sai, "I will tell him to break their bones; they have two hundred and six. That is much better than a heart."

"Um… okay then. You all stay safe."

As they finally exited the gates and began their long journey towards the Village Hidden in the Mist, Sai said thoughtfully, "Kakashi Sensei, I do not mean for you to take offense, but I think your wife behaves very oddly at times."

Kakashi's exposed eye was dancing with mirth as he responded, "Mah, all women are odd, but believe me when I say this, the feeling is quite mutual." He clapped his hand on Sai's thin back and said cheerfully, "Now let's catch up with your teammate and make sure he's warm enough."

"Yes," agreed Sasuke with a snigger, "I really need to ask him if he brought along some clean underpants!"

~o~O~o~

It was very clear to all when they had passed into the Land of Water. Although they had journeyed through that part of the country before; they had never gone so deeply into the territory. Travel had become increasingly difficult. Due to the moist conditions, slick moss coated the trees, making it virtually impossible for them to jump across the limbs.

As they trudged through yet another bog, Kakashi was walking on top of stagnate, freezing water. They were not. He had forbidden it as soon as they entered the country.

Team seven understood immediately why their sensei gave the order. He wanted them to save their chakra and there was also the possibility that they were being watched. Discretely. But watched nevertheless.

He didn't want them to expose their skill levels.

"Genma Sensei, just because team seven is a bunch of useless little kids that don't know their heads from their kunai, doesn't mean I am," remarked Shēn as he scowled and folded his arms in front of his chest.

Naruto huffed in annoyance. He had to take a deep, calming breath in order to squash the nearly overwhelming impulse to kick Shēn's scrawny butt into the swamp. As he exchanged exasperated looks with Sasuke, Sai furtively signed, "Kill him here? No one miss…"

"I could easily agree to that." Sasuke signed back, giving a dark glare at the teen's back. "We can make it look like an accident."

Genma, catching the exchange signaled back, "Not worth it…too much paperwork."

Shēn glanced at them and glowered. The three genin snickered while at the same time, Genma maintained an innocent look. The guy had been a jerk the whole trip and they were all getting mighty sick of him.

"You got something to say, Uzumaki?"

"Sure, I've got lots to say, but it would take too long to explain."

"You suck!"

"And you swallow."

"You're gay!"

"You wish I was dick-breath."

"Screw you, Uzumaki."

"No thanks, I don't want herpes."

Kakashi, fed up with the constant bickering between the two hot-headed teens, finally had enough. "Mah," he said softly, "you are both shinobi from Konoha. Act like it."

Although his words were uttered mildly, Naruto could read the irritation behind them. He gritted his teeth, clenched his fists and stiffly nodded.

"Good, now I want you two to say something nice to each other."

Naruto tried to think of something… anything… He looked up, smiled triumphantly and then his face fell. He shook his head in defeat. "Nope, I got nothing."

He could have gotten angry when Shēn turned his head and smirked, but instead he laughed as the teen stepped into a drop off and got dunked.

"Karma is a female dog," murmured Sai sagely.

"For the last time, Aho… bitch; Karma is a bitch."

"That is what I said."

Sasuke didn't say anything, but no one missed the amused glint in his eye when Genma's team helped pull the teen from the thick mucky bottom.

Naruto, grinning from ear to ear, jumped up and down excitedly. "Oh-oh-oh, I got one, I got one – you smell better now!"

~o~O~o~

Naruto, Sasuke, and Sai quickly learned that they truly hated the country. With each step, their sandals sunk a bit into the muddy wet ground, and each step brought a sucking sound as they picked up their feet up again. Sai, walking in the rear, watched as the muddy footprints quickly filled with water. It gave him an ominous feeling that the traces of their passing would soon be gone, covered in a new layer of mud and slime.

…As though they had never been there at all.

Naruto didn't let the gloominess of the swamp affect him. He was aware of his surroundings, but didn't focus on them. Instead, all he could think of was the bugs… huge clouds of gnats, mosquitoes, and Kami knows what else, that thought he was an all-you-can-eat buffet. He found it hard to believe that there would be so many in the winter.

Sasuke yearned to activate his Sharingan. As soon as they had entered the swamp, he noted it had many branches, loops and dead ends, almost like an organic curved maze. He felt so uncomfortable with the thought that they could easily become lost in the labyrinth.

"Do you even know where we are?" he asked a little rudely to hide his anxiety.

Kakashi looked back, gave him a reassuring eye smile, and answered, "Yes, it's called The Crossroads. Its deadly mystery may, or may not, hide multiple secrets. Many have become lost in this dangerous route and ended up going in circles, whether they realized it or not and often finding themselves at the ruins of a large temple."

"A large temple?"

"Mm hmm, said to be home to large man-eating beasts."

"Well, that is certainly one good way to keep a HiddenVillage hidden," replied Sai wryly. "Do people die in here?"

"All the time. Although the bodies usually aren't ever found, well – at least that's what I've heard. I've never been here before."

"Uhh…" stammered Sai, for once at a loss for words.

"What?!" sputtered Sasuke.

"Then how do you know where we are?" demanded Naruto.

"Mah, trust me; I would never let my cute little genin die before they even got to take the exams. That would make me look bad."

"So what do you think it will be like? What kind of exams will we have?"

"To be honest, I have no idea. You all will be the first genin from Konoha to ever participate in Kirigakure's chunin exams."

"Why?"

"They're been our enemies for a very long time. Plus, they had a very bad reputation for killing everyone. Their graduation exam consisted of a fight to the death."

Naruto frowned. "But-but that's just wrong to kill your own comrade."

"Zabuza killed the entire class."

Naruto tried to understand how someone could do such a thing. The whole concept seemed so foreign. He glanced over at Shēn and knew that as much as he disliked the teen, he would never try to kill him. Finally he asked, "Why? Why would he do that?"

"I don't know, Naruto. The shinobi of Kirigakure were raised differently than us, just as those in Suna and Iwa. Times have changed though. The Mizukage that instituted that practice is dead now. The new Mizukage abolished it and is trying to change the village's image; which is why we are here. Never mind that for now; I believe we're almost here."

"How can you tell?" asked Sai after looking around and seeing nothing but the same swampy surroundings.

Kakashi kept his pace as he pointed at the wall of mountains in front of them. Team seven squinted hard; at first not seeing anything. Through the thick mist, a massive grey stone wall began to take shape. As they got closer, they could see cylindrical buildings with trees growing on the tops of them. Rain had not begun to fall, but the air seemed tense in expectation of it. All in all, it was a very impressive sight to everyone.

Kakashi could see that they were a bit nervous at seeing the village that produced more missing ninja than any other did. It had such a bad reputation among all the other nations for its brutality and that fact was becoming clearer as they walked closer. Wanting to calm their fears, he ordered, "Recite the Shinobi's Creed for me."

"Aww," they moaned, "Do we have to?"

"Mm hmm," he nodded and then reminded them, "It refreshes the mind on a daily basis, helps to maintain calm, uncluttered thoughts, no matter what dangerous mission you might be on. These principles also serve to remind a shinobi that despite having special powers, you are like any other human: your deeds produce consequences… karma. So the creed not only acts as a daily, ritual cleansing of the mind, it also realigns the conscience."

He pointed, "Sai, you first."

Sai began monotonously, "I am a Konoha shinobi. I am a warrior and a member of a team. I serve the people of the Land of Fire and live the shinobi values."

"Good, now you, Naruto."

"I will always place the mission first. I will never accept defeat. I will never quit. I will never leave a fallen comrade. I am disciplined, physically and mentally tough, trained and proficient in my warrior tasks and drills."

"Good. Sasuke?"

With a huff and a roll of his eyes, he said, "I always maintain my weapons, my equipment, and myself. I am an expert and I am a professional. I stand ready to deploy, engage, and destroy the enemies of the Land of Fire in close combat."

The three stood a little taller as Kakashi recited, "I am a guardian of freedom and the ninja way of life. I am a Konoha shinobi."

"I am a Konoha shinobi," repeated the trio firmly.

"Good," said Kakashi as he gave them an eye smile. He pointed out the gate they nearly missed and added, "Let's enter Kirigakure and show them what it truly means to be a proud and powerful shinobi from Konohagakure."

~o~O~o~

Mist was rainy and cold. The bleak fall sky was so low and heavy that the village seemed to huddle beneath it in expectation of being crushed. The tops of the tallest buildings disappeared into grey mist. Naruto and Sai pulled their cloaks closer while Sasuke and Kakashi seemed not to feel it at all.

Two imposing chunin and a huge ninja hound stood guard at the gate. The genin teams tried to hide their avid curiosity as their Sensei's produced the invitations. One of the guards pointed behind him and ordered in a no-nonsense tone, "Place all your weapons and belongings on the table for inspection."

"Is this really necessary?" asked Kakashi.

The man looked down his nose. Stiffly, he replied, "If you do not comply, you will be forbidden admittance to the village and barred from participating in the exams."

Genma, casually leaning against the gate, folded his arms across his chest and replied, "Anything specific you're looking for?"

"All poisons."

Sai's face turned a little white. He nervously adjusted the huge scroll on his back and vehemently protested, "But Kakashi Sensei, poison is an approved shinobi weapon. It is allowed in the exams. I know this for a fact; I studied the rulebook. In section three, paragraph twenty, it stated that…"

The gate guard interrupted, "The Mizukage demands a sample of every poison entering the village so that the medics can prepare antidotes in advance," he shot Genma a hard look and added, "And that includes those not entering the exams. We want to avoid any unnecessary deaths."

"Sounds reasonable to me," shrugged the jonin. He placed his senbon on the table.

The guard rubbed a swab across the tip. He was a bit taken aback when it turned black. "You had that in your mouth," he said in disbelief as he put it in a bag and then into a box.

"I'm just awesome that way." Genma stuck the senbon back between his lips and smirked. He gave them a roguish wink and stepped back to allow the rest access.

Several minutes later, the table groaned beneath the weight of team seven and Genma's team belongings.

"Is that all?" asked one of the men.

Everyone nodded. They leaned forward to collect their things but where stopped when the ninja hound growled threateningly at Ino.

One of the guards aggressively stepped forward and snarled, "It's not a dog, little girl; it's a ninja hound. He's growling because he knows you have more weapons on you."

"Ino," warned Genma sternly, "He said everything…"

"Tch," she muttered as she took off her sandal and removed the small knife embedded within. Sai's eyes widened at her massive pile while the guard scowled. The hound growled again.

Ino heaved a sigh and dug through her bra, adding to the pile. She caught Sai staring at her chest and gasped in outrage. She then snapped her fingers in irritation at his face and yelled, "Hey, my eyes are up here, pervert!"

"You are a goddess," he breathed in admiration.

Startled at his complement, Ino smiled and proudly replied, "Your mother's my inspiration and a great teacher." She grabbed her pouch filled with shuriken and bent over to tie them back on her leg when the dog began to bark and snap at her.

Stumbling back, she yelled in frustration and embarrassment, "Oh, come on! It doesn't have any poison on it!" As it was, she felt practically naked without all her weapons.

Genma rolled his eyes and tried to look stern and serious. He tapped his foot and reiterated, "Everything Yamanaka…"

"Fine," she yelled, "but everyone needs to turn around." With a pout, she added, "After all, a girl has to have some secrets."

She impatiently tapped her foot as she waited. As soon as they did as she instructed, there was a rustle of cloth and a loud clang as something heavy hit the table. Everyone turned around in surprise.

"Where did you hide that?" exclaimed Sai.

"Wouldn't you like to know," purred Ino with a mysterious look,

"I think we'd all like to know," laughed Naruto while fingering the axe.

"None of your business," sniffed Ino regally. "Now then, can someone please show me to my room? I need a bath."

Sai sniffed loudly. "Yes," he agreed solemnly, "And a very long one."

AN:

Happy Easter everybody! So the shinobi's creed is actually the creed for the U.S Army. My friend Nighttheraven (You go girl - Army Strong!) told it to me and I think it's awesome, so I put it in.

Thanks to everyone that followed/favorited/commented on the last chapter!

Ja Ne,

AZFAERYDUST