(The epic Chunin Exam Arc begins! The Genin of the Hidden Leaf Village journey to the Hidden Rock to participate in the exams. Will anyone be able to pass the tests and move up in rank? I love feedback and constructive criticism, so please leave a review so I can improve my writing and storytelling skills. Enjoy!)
Kuroda and the rest of Team 3 are standing around the main gates of Konoha waiting for the order to move out. It's been 10 days since his suspension was lifted and he was put back onto active duty. A few dozen other ninja mill about, talking excitedly about the upcoming Chunin exams. A few short minutes later everyone has arrived and the signal is given for them to take off. The convoy of 30 Genin participants from the Hidden Leaf Village heads out towards the Hidden Rock Village escorted by their Jonin Sensei and some Chunin for extra protection. The journey to the Hidden Rock Village is mostly uneventful. Kuroda takes this time to once again reconnect with his old friend Ichimaru.
"I'm glad to see you were allowed to participate," says Ichimaru with a big smile as steps up alongside his oldest friend.
"I was kinda surprised I was allowed," Kuroda admits, "But I'm thankful that my suspension is finally over."
"So I guess that little talk I had with the Hokage worked," laughs Ichimaru.
"Yeah, thanks I appreciate it," replies Kuroda.
"Truthfully, I think she would have let you come even if I didn't say anything," admits Ichimaru.
"Yeah, why do you say that?" asks Kuroda, perplexed by the suggestion.
"Well, other than the fact that..." starts Ichimaru.
"I asked you not to speak about that," interrupts Kuroda, frowning at the fact that his best friend would try to bring something like that up in conversation.
"Yeah, yeah," apologizes Ichimaru, "Other than the obvious reason, this is the first time in a long time that Leaf Ninja have been invited into the Rock village. We need to show that we are still worthy of being called one of the Five Great Shinobi villages. So we need to have all the strong ninja we have competing in the exams."
"I don't care about that," says Kuroda firmly.
"What do you mean?" inquires Ichimaru.
"I am not participating because I want to make the village look good. I don't care what any of the other villages think of us, especially not the Hidden Rock Village."
"Look, I know you have a grudge because of what happened with the 7th Hokage," says Ichimaru.
"Yes, I do," admits Kuroda, his hand tightening into a fist as he holds back his emotions, "And if I was strong enough I would kill the Tsuchikage if I got close enough to him. But that is not why I am here."
"Then why are you here?" asks Ichimaru.
"I am here for my team," Kuroda states, "I am not going to hold them back because of my personal feelings. They deserve a chance to become Chunin after all the hard work they have done."
"Good to see some things have not changed," laughs Ichimaru.
"What do you mean?" asks Kuroda, unsettled by the comment.
"You're always thinking about other people," explains Ichimaru, "Ever since I met you, you always put other people first."
"I don't think I'm like that at all," says Kuroda, "But you would know better than me. You have always been good at reading people."
"No doubt in my mind," comments Ichimaru.
"Sorry, Ichimaru, but I am going to have to borrow him to talk about some things," says Kayo stopping in front of them. The two boys land on her branch.
"Well, I guess we can talk more when we get there," says Ichimaru, "I need to talk some things over with my team also."
"Yeah, see you later," waves Kuroda as Ichimaru takes off to rejoin his squad. Kayo and Kuroda jump down to the forest floor and walk to a secluded area to talk.
"So what did you need, Sensei?" Kuroda asks, folding his arms over his chest.
"The Hokage wanted me to give you a few messages before we enter into the Hidden Rock Village," explains Kayo.
"Go on then," he replies.
"First of all you are to remain on your best behavior the entire time you are there. We don't want any incidents," warns Kayo.
"What makes her think I won't be?" he asks, a slightly amused smile slipping onto his face.
"I know why I would think that, but she didn't give me a reason why she does," replies Kayo.
"Interesting," comments Kuroda, trying to grasp the Hokage's intentions.
"Moving on, she wants you to be on watch," says Kayo, "We may be allies, but this is still foreign territory. Other villages might try to attack you, and even worse that mysterious ninja might show up again."
"Haven't you figured out that I am the mysterious ninja, Sensei?" asks Kuroda, a bit disappointed with her.
"I suspected as much, but your Jutsu prevents me from telling anyone other than you about it," she replies.
"Good, I thought you might be slipping a bit," jokes Kuroda.
"And finally the Hokage has mandated that you stay by my side for the duration of your stay in the Hidden Rock village, other than attending the exams," explains Kayo, ignoring his ridicule.
"It looks like we will be spending a lot of time together then, Sensei," he smirks.
"Good, maybe then you can tell me what you promised to tell me," she counters.
"Patience," he reminds her, "So, since we are talking about the exams, can you give me any information about the other villages participating?"
"From what I was told including the 30 Genin from our village there will be 72 Rock ninja, 21 Grass ninja, 15 Rain ninja, 12 Snow ninja, 6 Wood ninja, and 6 Smoke ninja participating. Those are just preliminary numbers though. There could be more or less," Kayo reveals, "And of course the Sand and Mist won't be participating because of their distrust in the Hidden Rock."
"Interesting numbers," he comments, nodding his head as tries to incorporate the new information into his strategy.
"If there is nothing else, we should catch up with the group," Kayo mentions.
"That's all I wanted to know," says Kuroda, "I don't need to cheat to pass the exams." They jump back into the trees without another word and dart after the group.
As Leaf Ninja arrive in the village a large figure watches them from a high cliff. If anyone were to investigate they would actually find that it is not one figure, but two. A young but mature looking female with brown hair done up in a unique, fan-shaped ponytail is sitting on top of the shoulders of a large man with long, wild brown hair. Some would think the girl is provocatively dressed, wearing only a short skirt and a fishnet shirt with a long brown overcoat over the top.
"So what do you think of them, Kuma?" asks the girl.
"Some of them look tough, but I don't sense any with any special abilities," responds Kuma.
"That's what I was thinking," says the woman kicking her heels against his chest playfully, "Some of them have chakra levels so low I can barely feel their presence at all. If I didn't see them with my own eyes, I probably wouldn't even notice they were there."
He lets out a light chuckle, "So this is what the mighty Leaf village has to offer."
"Don't be so quick to underestimate them, Kuma," she teases, "The Tsuchikage did make the alliance for a reason."
"Yeah, I know, Tatsuki, you don't need to remind me," he replies, "But still I am worried. I wish Lord Tsuchikage would let me help you out."
"You know the rules, Kuma," reminds Tatsuki, "Each phase can only have 1 proctor."
"Yeah, but what if something happens? What if they decide to break the alliance and attack?" he questions.
"I am a big girl, Kuma. I can take care of myself. I don't need you protecting me every moment," she replies.
"I made a promise, Tatsuki," he says firmly.
"I know, I know, but sometimes you can't do what you want to," she says, "Just busy yourself with some other things and try not to worry about it too much."
Kuma gets a disappointed look on his face, Tatsuki moves to try and comfort him. Suddenly he shifts his weight causing her to fall off his shoulder. He catches her in his big arms and proceeds to tickle her belly. She laughs so hard tears come to her eyes.
"Okay, okay enough," she says.
He tosses her back up onto his shoulder and asks, "Do you want to keep watching?"
"No, I have seen enough. We can come back later when the Ice Ninja arrive," she replies.
Kuroda is standing in the middle of the path staring up at a cliff. "Something wrong, Kuroda?" asks Sakura as she walks up beside him.
"No, just enjoying the scenery," he replies, "We should catch up with the others."
"I think they went this way," says Sakura, taking the lead.
"Kayo-sensei said that we will have to wait a few days before the exams start. There are a lot of ninja from a lot of villages participating this year," comments Kuroda.
"I guess we will have some time on our hands to explore then," she responds.
Once they arrive at their assigned quarters Sakura invites Kuroda out to tour the village. Kuroda decides not to explore the village, just so there are no incidents. Instead he spends the free time reading a book upside down, which for some reason annoys Kayo to no end. Sakura explores the Hidden Rock with Yui and a few of the other Kunoichi, buying souvenirs, checking out the local fashion, and finding the best places to eat. Jando stays locked in his room, doing some sort of secret training. After 2 days all the participants are called for the first phase of the exams.
(That is the end of the chapter, what did you think? Stage 1 of the Chunin exams begins in the next chapter. How will it go? As usual, if you want more information on my characters you can see their bios on my profile page. Be warned, there may be some spoilers. Also I'm in the process of getting pictures drawn for the characters, but I have no idea how long that will take. If you're interested in drawing and have a DA account then send me a Message. Enjoy the next chapter, and please review.)