Written Test
There were an explosion in the room and Jonins surround the front of the room.
One of them was the leader and had scars on his face.
"My name is Ibiki Morino, I'm your examiner for the first round, and now your worst nightmare," Ibiki said then pointed at the sound ninjas, "Hey sound ninjas, stop doing whatever you want before the exam, do you want to fail already?"
"Sorry this is our first time and we got carried away a bit," Dosu said.
"There will be no fighting without permission from the examiner. Even with permission, killing them would not be tolerated," Ibiki warned everyone, "Those who don't fallow my rules will fail, do you understand me?"
"This exam is to easy," Zuko said.
"Now we'll start the Chuunin exam. Everyone will turn in their paperwork up front and will receive a number and paper. Then you'll sit at the seat with the same number," Ibiki said, "Once seated we'll start the written part of the exam." Now I was in trouble. I haven't been in the academy long enough to know everything there is needed to know about being a ninja, less than being an ninja long enough."
I was given my seat number 53 with my paper flipped to the back, and I was really worried.
Sakura and Sasuke were nowhere within my sight range, but I could tell where they were with my sense of smell.
Speaking of which, why is it Hinata smell close?
"H-hi Naruto," Hinata said.
I turned to see her.
"Oh hey Hinata," I responded.
"Now listen up, I'm going to explain the rules," Ibiki told us.
"Rules?" Sakura thought.
"First off you'll start with 10 points. There will be 10 questions, so 1 point each. For every question you get wrong it's a point off," Ibiki said finishing writing it down, "So if you miss 0 you get 10 points. But if you miss 3, you get 7 points."
That much I understood, so if I miss all of them I'll get a 0.
"Second Rule, the test will be scored by the combine points of your teammates, so it'll be out of 30 points all together," Ibiki said.
"So we get graded as a team," Sakura responded.
I just hope this test is over what I knew.
"Now for the most important rule. As you see there are Jonins looking at each row, if they caught you cheating 2 points will be deducted," Ibiki said, "So if you're caught 5 times, you fail and asked to leave."
Hmm, so there are other ways to loose points.
"Those who are caught cheating don't deserve to be called shinobies," Ibiki explained further.
I'm starting to understand this test.
"Final rule, if one person failed this test, their teammates fail with them," Ibiki finished.
Now I'm back in trouble.
If anything happens and I fail, Sakura and Sasuke fails with me.
"The test will finish in one hour, now begin!" Ibiki ordered.
We flip the papers over to the test.
Okay, I think this test is about gathering information, right?
And if a ninja is caught by the enemy trying to gain that information, they can be killed, just like we can fail.
But how do I do that without making it to obvious.
I don't have the Sharingan or Byakugan, or anything that can cheat for me.
Sasuke realize that I was trying to think something up.
He thought I was struggling with the questions.
Sakura look over the questions and found it difficult for most of us to understand it, less than her.
Just then Sasuke figured it out what I figured out.
"I get it now, Naruto must of saw it coming," Sasuke thought.
Hold on a second, I'm a fox demon's son.
I have natural senses stronger than a human.
I releasing all my senses to match one of a fox.
Gaara summoned sand to a form of a eye.
Kiba was using Akamaru to cheat.
I could hear Akamaru and figure out what he was saying.
I may have been trained by humans, but when I wanted to, I could understand animals.
Shino used his bugs to gather information.
Tenten noticed that I was on a roll.
"Naruto must of found out how to gain answers, I'm sure he doesn't mind I cheat from him," Tenten thought.
She straighten one of the mirrors to reflect my paper with Lee being able to see it, using invisible wires.
Dosu use sound waves to figure out what someone was writing.
Since my senses were open I could sense Neji's and Hinata's Byakugan being activated.
I also sense Sasuke using his Sharingan eye.
I could guess that Neji and Hinata were looking through those who knew the answers, or is able to gather info, and Sasuke was copying someone's movements.
Teams started failing one after the other.
Hinata finished hers and look at me.
"Um Naruto, you could cheat off me," Hinata said.
"Hey don't worry, don't tell Kiba this, but if I wanted two, I can understand what animals are saying at will," I said.
Ino used her mind transfer jutsu to take over Sakura and look over her answers once she was finished.
Ino was planning to take over Shikamaru and Choji and write down the answers for them.
More teams failed but Gaara was calm as he send his eye jutsu to copy someone else.
Kankaro went to use the restroom being hand-cupped by the proctor, but once in the bathroom the proctor revealed to be Kankaro's puppet.
"Okay we'll start the tenth question," Ibiki told everyone.
Temari was waiting for Kankaro with the answers for 1-9.
"Before we start I want to add a few more rules," Ibiki said.
Kankaro came in time for it but Ibiki already knew the proctor was a puppet.
Kankaro gave Temari a piece of paper with answers.
Meanwhile Kakashi Asuma and Kurenai were waiting for some news.
"It sure is boring without the rookies," Kakashi said.
"Don't worry, they'll be back before you know it," Asuma said.
"Why is that?" Kakashi asked.
"I heard the examinee of the first round is Ibiki Morino," Asuma explained.
"That's not good," Kakashi said.
"Why, what's wrong?" Kurenai asked.
"Kurenai you're a new Jonin so you probably don't know," Asuma said, "He's a pro in torture and interigation. He doesn't use physical torture, no he gets into their mind and finds what makes them tick."
At the examine room we were about to see what Asuma was talking about.
"First you must decide whether or not to take the tenth question," Ibiki said.
"What happens if we choose not two?" Temari shouted.
"If you choose not two, your grade will drop to 0, and you fail along with your teammates," Ibiki said.
Everyone shouted as they would choose to take it.
I figure there was a catch.
"But if you take the tenth question and fail to answer it correctly that person will loose the right to take the chuunin exam again," Ibiki explained.
"What is that about? There are guys who took the Chuunin exam before," Kiba shouted.
"You guys are just unlucky, its my rules," Ibiki answered, "But I'm giving you away out. You can choose not two, and be able to take the next Chuunin exam. Now let's begin."
Either choice was bad, but then again life comes with choices that can turn wrong.
So I just laid my head down acting casually.
Those around me call it quits and left with their teammates.
Sakura was looking at me thinking about my goal.
"Naruto why are you so calm, you can't prove anyone who you are being stuck as a Genin," Sakura thought.
"I feel sorry for those who called it quits," I said at loud.
Everyone turned to me.
"Mind telling me that again?" Ibiki said.
I look up at him with a serious face.
"You heard me, in fact they're wimps if you ask me. Calling it quits without taking chances or thinking about their teammates, I thought ninjas are suppose to take chances, even for their teammates," I said.
"You sure have a backbone for a Genin. You could lose your chance to become Chuunnin, and you're not even scared about that?" Ibiki asked.
"I took bigger risk than this, and I'll continue to take risk until I proven who I am," I said, "I don't go back on my word, and I won't betray the trust of others by abandoning them because of a risk. That my ninja way."
Everyone who lost their confidence had regain it from my words as no one else rose their hand.
"So that's the nine-tail fox's son, he's not like his father. He brought courage to those who lost their confidence," Ibiki thought, "78 left, that's more than I expected."
All the proctors nodded to him.
"Now for everyone who stayed, I congratulate you on passing the first part of the exam," Ibiki said.
We were shocked hearing that we passed.
"What do you mean we pass, what about the 10th question?" Sakura asked.
"There never was a tenth question, or you could say your choices was the tenth question," Ibiki explained.
"Then what were the other 9 questions about?" Temari asked.
"The other 9 had their purpose as well," Ibiki said, "To test your ability to gather information."
"That explains," Temari said.
"Let me explain, my objective was to test your ability as a team to gather information, that's why it was scored on a team basics, because everything you did or fail to do will affect your team basics. I want to see how you handle the pressure," Ibiki said.
Well that makes sense.
"The first 9 questions were to difficult for a mere Genin to answer them, that's why I had some Chuunin disguised taking the exam," Ibiki said, "The test was to incourage cheating to gain the answers."
"Hahaha, well I had my own way of cheeting," I said like using Akamaru without Kiba knowing.
"Those who were caught at it failed not to cheat but to cheat clumsily," Ibiki said taking off his headband revealing burns and more scars, "Information it can be the most valuable thing, how well you can gather intelligence can determine whether the mission was a failure or success. There will be times you have to risk your lives to get it."
"Man what a mess," Sasuke said.
He must have been through a lot.
"Of course you have to consider the source of your information," Ibiki said, "Intelligence gather from the enemy is not necessarily accurate keep this in mind, miss information is better than no information at all it can lead to a death of a comrade or a loss of a village. That's why I put you in a position where you had to gather accurate information. In order to survive, that's why those who weren't good at it were weeded out, leaving the rest of you."
"Okay but I still don't get what the 10th question thing was about," Temari said.
"The tenth question was the main point of the whole part of the exam," Ibiki said.
"Tell us anyways," Sakura said.
"Not only this was a test of your ability but also your teamwork. The final question give you two choices. You could choose play it safe and skip the question and both you and your teammates will fail. Or you could try and answer and loose your chance of becoming Chuunin. It was a no win situation. A sort that everyone has to deal with everyday," Ibiki said, "For example you have to steal a document from an enemy stronghold, you have no idea of how many ninjas the enemy has, or heavily guarded they are. Further more you have to believe that the enemy expects you. You might as well be walking into a trap. Now will you pass on this insane mission or say you and your comrades will survive to fight another day. No! There will be many missions that seem suicidal, but you do not think about it, you think about only the goal and to achieving it as a team. That is the squalified of a chuunin squad leader. Those who choose not to run from adversity those who put their comrades lives in jeopardy, don't deserve to be Chuunin. The rest of you deserve to go to the next round."
Just then a sign crashed into the building and pinned by Kunai with a lady appeared in front of it.
"This is no time to be celebrating. My name is Anko Mitarashi, and I'm the examiner for the second part of the Chuunin exam," Anko said.
"Bad timing," Ibiki said.
"This lady is worst than Naruto," Sakura thought, "This is our examiner?"
"Ibiki you let 26 teams pass," Anko said.
"The Nine-tail fox's son brought courage out of everyone else," Ibiki said.
"The nine-tail runt?" Anko asked looking at me with curiosity, "Doesn't matter I'll cut them by less than half. Meet me at training ground 44 tomorrow. And I'll explained the rest."
Later Ibiki was picking up papers and crossed mine.
"Hmm he answer this base off what that Inuzuka boy answer it, something tells me the exam will be interesting," Ibiki thought.
A/N: I thought of making the trust part be also Naruto's ninja way since he had to learn to trust through friendship. and yeah use some from episode 25, but I thought it was better to use than how the comic series had it.
Next Time: The fact is survival and trust to keep a scroll seal and to get the other scroll from an enemy team. All and more in a dangerous forest. Only problem is that there is more than what we expected in the forest, and its after Sasuke. Will we survive and pass this part of the exam in 5 days? Read to find out...