Previously on Konoha no Yoko: Chuunin Exam, Team 7 returned home from the Land of Wave victorious against Gato and his men, proving themselves to be capable of handling anything thrown at them, but can they handle the Chuunin Exam?
~Scroll 8~
"Dobe." Sasuke quietly called out as he attempted to follow his blonde's gaze, but Naruto's eyes flittered about too quickly for the Avenger to follow.
Kabuto watched the interaction in curiosity. The grey-haired Nin found the Fox-spirit's vessel's behavior intriguing, almost as if the blonde had sensed something that a room full of ninjas had not. The purple-garb shinobi was about to dismiss the thought when he sensed a subtle killing intent emanating from the crowd and was coming closer. Kabuto smirked when he noticed a hunched figure effortlessly weave between the standing shinobi in the room. With a slight tilt of his head, the Konoha-Nin also noticed two other figures moving.
One of the three moving figures boldly jumped over the masses with his right arm across his chest. As his body came back to the ground, the attacking stranger released two kunai at Kabuto.
Kabuto easily dodged them.
"Look out!" The grey-haired Nin heard from behind him. It was then he realized what the trio's plan was. While one distracted him, another would attack when he was not looking.
The hunched figure appeared in front of Kabuto. His face wrapped in linen-bandages, only his left eye and ear were visible. His hiate-ate bore the symbol of a musical note. He cocked his right arm back for a punch.
They're from Sound… Kabuto guessed then dodged the punch with a smirk on his face.
"Ahh!"
"Naruto!"
Kabuto heard from behind. He glanced over his shoulder, seeing the blonde vessel had dropped to his knees and covering his ears with his hands. It was then his vision shattered along with his glasses. I see. The grey-haired Nin, This kind of attack… is… hmmm…
"What's going on?" Sasuke questioned, "He dodged the blow, but something broke his glasses!"
"Naruto-kun?" Hinata knelt beside the blonde Nin while Sakura looked on and rubbed circles on her otouto's back.
~Shh… Naruto-dono…~ Ka'a quietly purred as he tried to ease the ringing pain in Naruto's ears that the attacking ninja had caused.
BLORCH
"Kabuto?" Ino suddenly gasped as everyone watched the grey-haired Konoha shinobi drop to his knees and threw up.
Standing before the Rookie Nine and Kabuto, the three Oto-Nin looked down on the group. Much like the teams of Konoha, the Oto-trio was also broken down with two shinobi and one kunoichi. However, unlike the teams of Konoha and the other Chuunin-applicants, this team wore an uniform of sorts. They wore camouflage trousers that were tucked in black leg-wrappings with a matching camouflage collar, and it was their tops that differed between the trio.
The Oto-Nin on the right wore a long sleeved tunic with the kanji for 'Death' emblazed three times down the front. His dark hair was spiked and seemed to fan over his face if it were not for his hiate-ate. The kunoichi on the left wore a sleeveless tank-top, and her long dark hair was held down by a clip which rested pass her waist. The group's leader was the hunched-figure. He too wore a long sleeved tunic, but unlike his subordinate, the leader's sleeves were so long that his hands were covered. His face was cover in linen-bandages, and oddly enough he wore a cloak. The cloak was inlaid with horsehair, giving him a pseudo-mane on his back.
"Are you all right?" Ino asked as she tried to help the grey-haired Konoha-Nin to his feet.
"…yeah…" Kabuto muttered, still feeling woozy, "I'm fine…"
"You're a pushover, aren't you?" The leader sneered, "Pretty sad for someone who's been an applicant for four years now."
"Better add this to your cards." The Oto on the right gloated haughtily, "The three applicants from Hiding-In-Sound will all make Chuunin this year!"
Sasuke glared at the three Oto as he placed himself between his blonde and the three Sound-Nin. I know Kabuto ducked that blow… so what happened to him? Why did he vomit? And why did Naruto react the way he did? Before the raven-haired Genin could demand an explanation, the classroom echoed with a loud, booming voice.
"Would everybody please just shut up?"
The other Chuunin-applicants gasped in surprise.
ONNNNG
The smoke cleared, revealing a company of Konoha-Nin. They were simply dressed in a light khaki-colored uniform with the exception of the man in the center of the group. Over his khaki uniform, he wore a thick black trench coat, and covering his head, he also wore a black bandana. His expression was stern and made more grizzly by the scars that marred an otherwise handsome face. One scar, which began somewhere beneath the bandana, rounded around his left eye, coming down his cheekbone and cutting through his lips before stopping at the right side of his chin. His second scar was not as long but equally as prominent. It rested across his right cheek.
"Sorry to have kept you waiting." Growled the grizzly man, "My name is Ibiki Morino. I'm the proctor and chief examiner for the first part of the exam."
Suddenly the occupants of the classroom became nervous at the sight of the intimidating proctor. But for Naruto, the man's presence had a different effect. At first, the petite houshi feared that the presence of more Heart Songs would overwhelm him, but out of all the convoluted sounds, one Heart Songs dominated the room, drowning out everything. The blonde took a deep breath and focused entirely on the Heart Song. The Song washed over the shinobi, helping him ground himself and strengthening his mental shields. As Naruto listened to the Song, he could not help but be reminded of Ka'a's own Heart Song. This Heart Song and Ka'a's were Songs of the Forest. They were creatures of the Forest, and while Ka'a was naturally a fox, this new Heart Song strangely conjured the image of a Kodiak Bear.
~Bears…~ Ka'a grumbled unhappily, which caused the petite blonde to quietly giggle.
Ibiki then pointed at the Oto-shinobi, smirking as the applicants flinched.
"You…" He growled out, "The kids from Hiding-In-Sound! You can't carry on any way you please when the exam's about to start! … or do you want to be disqualified?"
"Sorry, sir…" The Oto-leader sneered but not really meaning it, "It's our first exam, and we got a little carried away."
"Is that so?" Ibiki grumbled, "Then it's high time someone laid down a few ground rules.
"From this point forward, there will be no more fighting without the express permission of the examining officer… and even if that permission is granted, anything that endangers another applicant's life is strictly forbidden. Any of you little piglets who break that rule are out. Disqualified. No second chances." Ibiki's tone left no room for arguments, "Got that?"
"So this is a test for little girly men." The haughty Oto-Nin sneered, causing the company of proctors to sneer and smirk as if knowing a secret.
"As you wish." Ibiki replied dismissively, "The first part of the selection exam is about to commence. Turn in your written applicants, take one of these seating assignment cards…" The proctor instructed as he held up a card with a number on it, "… and report directly to the seat indicated. When everyone's seated, we'll pass out the written part of the test."
It took nearly an hour and a half to get all of the Chuunin-applicants processed and seated.
"Papers face down until I give the signal." Ibiki called the classroom to order, "Now listen up. There are a few big rules that pertain to the first test.
"I'll write them on the blackboard and explain them all, but I'm not taking questions, so listen carefully. I will say this only once."
The classroom was silent, but it was obvious that there were questions hanging on the tip of everyone's tongues.
"Rule number one!" Ibiki continued as he wrote his rules on the blackboard, "Each one of you starts out here with ten points. The test has ten questions, each worth one point. For each question you get wrong, we subtract a point form you.
"Get all ten right, and you retain the ten points you have. But if, for example, you answer three questions incorrectly, we take your ten points… subtract one point for every wrong answer… and your total drops down to seven.
"Rule number two… this written test is still a team event. Passing or failing will be determined by the sum of the points held by all three members of each cell.
"The object is for each team to have as few deductions as possible from its joint thirty-point total."
"W-wait a second!" Sakura exclaimed, "The whole concept of the starting points and the deductions is hard enough to follow… but what is this 'team total' you're talking about?"
"Did you not hear the part about 'no questions'? We have our reasons. Shut up and listen. You might learn something. This next bit is crucial.
"Rule number three: if, during the course of the exam, a candidate does anything out of the ordinary…" Ibiki gave a wolfish-grin, "in other words, anything that leads the proctors to determine that he or she has cheated… we subtract two points from each member of the cheater's team."
Someone in the background gasped an 'Oh!'.
"Exactly!" The lead proctor grunted, "In all probability, some of you will run through your entire allowance of points during the test. If so, you'll be failed and asked to leave."
"I'll be looking over your shoulder where you least expect it." A proctor, who looked suspiciously like the Urchin-head from earlier.
"If you let the proctors catch you cheating," Ibiki continued, "you'll bring yourself and your friends down! If you aspire to become Chuunin… if you want to be the best shinobi you can be… then you'd better start acting like you already are!"
Once the grizzly-man stopped speaking, many of the applicants began calculating the odds of one of their teammates completely missing all ten points while the other two managed to hold enough points to keep them in the Chuunin Selection Exams.
"One more thing…" Ibiki suddenly spoke as an afterthought, "If any individual loses all ten of his or her points, that person's entire cell, regardless of how the other two members do… will be disqualified!"
The entire classroom echoed with a horrified 'What?'.
"You have one hour…" Ibiki continued as if he had not heard the gasp, "starting… NOW!"
Naruto let out a low whimper as he turned his test over. Ignoring the fact that his Academy teachers, excluding his Iruka-tousan, had purposively marked down his scores, Naruto was quite smart; however, he suffered from test-anxiety. Consciously the blonde knew the answers, but subconsciously he would second-guess himself. Don't panic. The petite houshi told himself as he looked at the first question. Whoa. First up is cryptography. They want us to work our butts off!
The young shinobi continued looking through all ten questions, mentally marking which ones he could answer easily and which ones he could not. And frighteningly Naruto discovered that most he could not answer. Then there was question ten.
QUESTION NUMBER 10
THIS QUESTION WILL NOT BE PROVIDED UNTIL FORTY-FIVE MINUTES INTO THE EXAM. AT THAT TIME, PLEASE ANSWER THE PROCTOR'S QUESTION TO THE BEST OF YOUR ABILITY.
Sasuke found himself glaring at the company of proctors sitting along the walls. He was angry to discover that he could not answer a single question, and question ten seemed to taunt him with its mysteriousness. They're watching us. Sasuke mentally growled, Like cats watch mice. Like they expect us to cheat. Those rats!
Rule number 2... Sakura nibbled on her lower lip, make it pretty clear that we're competing against each other. Obviously, only the teams that keep the most points will be allowed to pass. I just wish I knew where the cut-off lies. How many of the top teams can pass… Not that knowing would change anything… but the uncertainty is driving me nuts.
"You know…" A Sand-Nin suddenly broke the heavy silence as he stood up, "the one thing I keep wondering… is how many of the top ranking teams they intend to pass."
Ibiki darkly chuckled at the shinobi's statement.
"Knowing that now isn't going to help you, is it? Unless you're hoping to fail." The proctor sneered.
"I-I'm sorry…"
If only about ten of the fifty-one team here can pass… Sakura thought as she pushed her hair out of her eyes, all three of us have to retain as many points as possible. The system is set up so it almost forces you to cheat.
I just hope Sasuke and Naruto don't panic and try to take that way out. The pinkette mentally prayed then looked up to see her otouto two rows in front of her.
~Naruto-dono…~ Ka'a's voice was low and calming as his many tails caressed his houshi's arms, ~Remain calm…~
~I-I can't…~ Naruto whimpered as he cast a nervous glance toward the proctors against the wall, ~with so many proctors looking over our shoulders, they're probably watching every little thing everyone of us does… making notes about us in their grade books!~
~Don't think about them, my dear Jailer.~ The ancient spirit instructed.
~Easier said than done.~
At this Ka'a only chuckled but continued to caress the petite blonde, calming him so he could think.
If you let the proctors catch you cheating, you'll bring yourself and your friends down! Ibiki's words taunted the blonde's mind.
Yeah… no pressure…
If you aspire to become Chuunin… Ibiki's words continued to flow, but this time, Naruto felt something.
If you want to be the best shinobi you can be… The blonde suddenly realized that there was more to the grizzly man's words.
Then you better start acting like you already are!
Hold it! Naruto gasped then groaned in disbelief, Unbelievable… this is an 'intelligence' test… in more than just the academic sense!
~Ka'a!~ The blonde send, ~They're also testing our information-gathering skills! They want us to cheat… like shinobi! Without getting caught!~
~Intriguing…~ Ka'a purred at the prospect of the game that his blonde Host had found himself in. The ancient fox then went over what the scarred man had said about the scoring process.
~Ah-ha…~ The Nine-Tail spirit exclaimed.
~Hunh?~ Naruto blinked, ~What is it?~
~You can only be caught four times before you face disqualification.~ The fox began, ~You're not being tested on whether or not you know the answers…~
~But on how skillfully we can discover them!~ Naruto finished.
Suddenly Naruto stiffened as he felt the subtle change in the air and in the Heart Songs around him.
~It would seem that some have figured it out as well.~ Ka'a purred, which caused Naruto to smile.
WHOOSH
Naruto stilled as he felt the air cut across his cheek, causing Ka'a to growl.
THOK
"Aah!" A Nin behind the blonde exclaimed in shock, causing everyone to pause and taking a peek at what was going on. The Konoha-Nin then stood up and demanded, "Wh-what was that for?"
"That's five strikes…" Urchin-head smirked, "and you're out!"
"N… no way…" The Konoha-Nin stuttered.
"Take your teammates with you." Urchin-head stated, "Out of this classroom. Now."
"Dang!" The ousted ninja grumbled as he and his two teammates trudged out of the classroom.
"You're done here." Urchin-head gloated, "Move it!"
Naruto watched the scene with wide-eyes. He could not believe at how sharp-eyed the proctors were, which made him very nervous at the prospect that he would have to 'cheat' to answer the rest of his test. It was then he heard scratching. His eyes blinked, and he locked gaze with Urchin-head's friend, who just looked at the blonde with a smirk. The knowing smirk caused the petite blonde to bristle in anger. Then on impulse, Naruto gave the proctor a raspberry.
That is either very brave… A quiet voice chuckled in amusement, or very foolish.
Sapphire blue gems blinked owlishly as the blonde looked upon a translucent figure of a Konoha-Nin. There was something familiar about the specter that Naruto could not place. The spirit was tall and young. He had short, unkempt wavy hair - an eternal case of bed-head, and his eyes were dark, almost ebony in color. The Konoha-ghost had markings around his eyes that gave them an almost cat-like appearance. The phantom wore dark clothing with a high-collar, much like Sasuke.
Oh! Naruto gasped as he realized why the spirit looked familiar.
"You're an Uchiha!" Naruto mouthed the words out, afraid that if he whispered then the proctors might think he was 'cheating'.
The Uchiha-spirit blinked in surprise then nodded.
I can help you answer those questions. The spirit offered.
This caused the blonde to smile brightly, which caused the spirit to be surprised once again before his expression became thoughtful. Naruto tiled his head to the side and was about to ask if the phantom was alright when said specter spoke again.
I am Shisui. The Uchiha bowed, And I too am your humble servant.