(The epic Chunin Exam Arc has started! In the second chapter of this arc the Genin of the Hidden Leaf Village are summoned for the first stage of 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!)
Team 3 is told to meet in the large exam room located in an expansive building near the center of the village. The Leaf Genin are walking down a bland, cream-colored hallway on the fourth floor that is basically identical to all the other hallways in the place. They can't detect the presence of other people, but they know they are going the right way when they spot another Hidden Leaf Squad entering grey double doors up ahead.
Kuroda waits for them to enter and then pulls Sakura to the side while Jando stands watch. "Do you remember what we talked about earlier?" he asks.
"Ohh, right!" she remembers. She bites her lip until a small drop of blood drips out. She wipes it with her thumb and then quickly performs her hand signs. "Summoning Jutsu!" she whispers. A small cloud of smoke is formed and it quickly clears revealing a small butterfly. "Are you ready, Papilio?" Sakura asks the creature. The butterfly flaps its wings and then flies up and settles itself into Sakura's.
"Perfect," comments Kuroda.
"Yeah, I never would have thought to have her imitate a hair decoration," Sakura whispers.
"We should get inside now," says Kuroda, guiding her towards the door with Jando following behind.
A large number of participants are already inside when they walk through the door. Nobody really pays attention to them. Kuroda sees Ichimaru and Team 10 talking with Shun and Team 15 so they join them in the small talk. Kuroda comments, "It seems we are late."
"No, you are right on time," replies Ichimaru, slapping his hand, "Everybody else is just early."
"Yeah, everyone is pretty anxious to get going," adds Yui, nervously looking around.
"The people that are nervous are the ones that are going to fail," comments Rame Tsu, a little too loudly causing a few other groups to look over at her.
"That's better for us, we don't want to be going up against pushovers. We want a real challenge," Naoko declares, stretching her arms up in the air.
Kuroda asks, "So then, have you heard anything about any of the favored candidates?"
Shun points to a hairy looking Grass Ninja and says, "All the Grass Ninja are hyping up that guy. They think that he is the top prospect. Some of the other villages are also whispering about him."
Kuroda whispers into Sakura's ear, "Send Papilio over there to gather some more information on him."
"He looks like he might be pretty good," says Kuroda out loud, "But you can never tell until you fight a person yourself."
"Exactly," responds Shun, "That is why I am going to take him on as soon as I get a chance."
"That's a relief," comments Ichimaru, messing with his hair, "You just saved me the trouble of dealing with him."
"Just as lazy as ever, aren't you?" sighs Rame Tsu.
"No, I am just being smart," counters Ichimaru, "Your team may want to just charge in and take out the big guys, but that just draws more attention to you. That's just not how my team operates. We are going to slip by unnoticed and hopefully be at full strength when it gets near the end."
"So you're taking the coward's road?" smirks Naoko.
"It is a smart plan," interjects Sakura, put off by the attitude of Team 15.
"I agree, there is no reason to go out and try to beat everyone," says Kuroda, backing up his friends, "Being a ninja is not just about strength, it is about being smart as well."
"So what is your plan then?" asks Naoko, in a mocking tone.
"Why would I tell you that?" inquires Kuroda, countering with a teasing tone.
"Because we are from your village," retorts Naoko.
"We may be from the same village, but the exams are about teams. As far as I am concerned your team is an enemy," Kuroda states bluntly.
"So that's how it is?" snorts Rame Tsu, putting her hands on her hips.
"I am all for exchanging information on any of the other teams here," explains Kuroda, "But I am not going to share anything about my team's plans."
"It looks like the exams have already started then," comments Ichimaru, nodding to his own team members as some kind of signal.
"The competition started the moment you entered this village," states Kuroda, a big grin sliding across his face.
The doors open again and a group of Rock Ninja walk in acting like they own the place, even though their outward appearance doesn't seem all that threatening. Kuroda glances at the group, cataloging the two boys and the rather young looking girl in the back of his mind, but after that he doesn't really pay attention to them. However, while talking with the others he overhears some other Rock Ninja grumbling about the new comers.
"Jando, lets split up and do some recon. Sakura can stay here and wait for Papilio," whispers Kuroda.
"I'll go over and check out those Rain and Snow Ninja," says Jando, nodding his head in the intended direction.
"Good thinking, we can meet back here in a few minutes," replies Kuroda.
They split up without another word and head off to gather information. Kuroda casually makes his way through the room and eventually walks over to the complaining ninja.
"What do you want?" asks the irritated ninja as the Leaf Ninja approaches. He has medium length, shaggy, light-brown hair. He wears a pale red shirt, brown pants, his arms are covered in white wrappings, and he carries an assortment of weapon packs.
"Information exchange," replies Kuroda, firmly but not in an intimidating manner.
"Information exchange?" repeats the Rock Ninja, a bit surprised and confused.
"Yeah, our villages are supposed to be allies, correct?" asks Kuroda.
"Yeah, I guess so," responds the ninja, shrugging his shoulders.
"So I was thinking we could provide each other information on some of the other teams from our villages. That will give both our teams a distinct advantage over all the other teams," Kuroda offers, knowing the boy will eagerly take the bait.
"That is a pretty good idea," says the Rock Ninja's teammate, nudging with his elbow.
"Perfect," says Kuroda, with a wide grin, "So ask me anything you want to know about the Leaf Village teams."
"All right, my name is Din," says the first Rock Ninja, not offering his hand, "So which team is the strongest from your village?"
Kuroda points around the room to a few teams and then finally to Team 15 explaining, "Those are all strong teams, but I would have to say the team with the black guy who has the afro and the two girls is the strongest."
"All right, then who are the weakest teams?" asks the third member of Din's team, not wanting to be left out.
Kuroda points to some more Leaf teams and says, "Those teams are the weakest."
"All right so now we tell you the weak and strong teams from our village, right?" Din assumes.
"Actually, I had a different question," responds Kuroda.
"What is it?" asks the second ninja, annoyed by the change.
"That team that walked in a few minutes ago, you seem to be very upset with them," the Leaf Ninja states, "I was wondering why."
"Oh them, yeah we don't like them at all," comments the third ninja, rather quickly.
"That little girl on the team is the daughter of the Tsuchikage. She is only 10 years old," complains Din, "Everyone thinks she is really talented, but she is just a no talent spoiled little brat."
"Well, I can see how being the daughter of the leader of your village would have its benefits," comments Kuroda.
"Yeah, but not for long," replies Din, a sinister smile on his face, "Once this thing starts we are going to give her a reality check."
Kuroda notices a small fluttering on the other side of the room and announces, "Well, thanks for the information, maybe we can do it again later."
As he walks back towards Sakura, Papilio flies over and lands on his ear. "So what did you learn?" he asks, his voice low enough that only the butterfly can pick it up.
"The Grass Ninja is called Hara Gaki and he does seem to be a very capable opponent," reports Papilio. Just then an intimidating woman burst through the doors followed by a number of associates. In truth she is a strikingly beautiful woman with long, dark-black hair with streaks of red done up in a ponytail and long bangs on the right side of her face. She has a slender figure, but it is obvious that she has honed it into a deadly weapon. Her arms and legs are completely wrapped in white bandages. She wears short black shorts and a black t-shirt, and has a custom grey flak jacket with a high collar. But it is the expression on her faces that lets everyone know that she is not a person to be messed with.
"You can fill me in on the rest later, hurry up and return to Sakura," he orders.
Jando meets up with him a second later and asks, "Who is that?"
The woman walks to the front of the room and slams her fist on the desk to get everyone's attention. She introduces herself, "I am Chiaki Enjoji the proctor of the first exam. Everyone take a seat, my friends will hand out some pencils." A big groan is heard around the room.
"Damn, it looks like this is going to be a written exam," comments Kenta. Kuroda, Jando, and Sakura all smile because they already knew that.
"Oh, and makes sure you are at least 3 seats away from any of your teammates," says Chiaki. Another wave of groans fill the air as examinees shuffle to their seats.
(That is the end of the chapter, what did you think? Stage 1 of the Chunin exams has begun. How will the various candidates do? 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.)