~Scroll 27~
It was several hours after dawn before Team 7 finally made it to the tower.
After Sakura had pulled Naruto out of his cocoon, Sasuke immediately grabbed his blonde from her and had carried him all the way back. For a brief moment, Sakura had a sense of deja vu, seeing Naruto being carried by the Uchiha heir like that. She was increasingly worried that her otouto may have caused more harm to himself after the incident with the tree roots. Every once a while during the team's trek back to the tower, the pinkette would dig a knuckle into the fleshy part of Naruto's thight, causing the blonde to inhale sharply in pain but otherwise he remained asleep. Sakura would breathe a sigh of relief. It may be true that the blonde will have a nasty bruise, but she would have him bruised rather than have him slip into a coma from chakra exhaustion.
At the tower's door, Sakura immediately opened it and looked around her with a frown on her face. There was no one in the room to greet them. She turned to Sasuke, who was jostling the blonde awake.
"Hmm..." Naruto murmured while his blue eyes blinked in confusion.
"We're here, Naruto." Sakura replied as she helped the smaller Genin down.
"Oh!" The blonde gasped as he looked around. His brows furrowed together in confusion. "... there's no one here..."
"Hey!" The pinkette exclaimed while keeping her otouto close in case he passed out again, "Look at that!"
On the far wall was a scripture written by the Third Hokage, and it read:
If qualities of Heaven are your desire,
Acquire wisdom and knowledge to take your mind higher.
If Earth qualities are what you lack,
Train you body in the fields and prepare to attack.
When both Heaven and Earth are opened together,
The path of peril will revert to the righteous path forever.
This "_" is the secret way... that guides us on from this place today.
"I don't get it...!" Naruto blinked as he still felt slumber calling for him.
"I think it refers to the scrolls..." Sakura remarked, "I think maybe it's telling us to open the Heaven and Earth Scrolls..."
Naruto ran his hand through his hair, pulling free the pair of seeds he had hidden before their final leg to the tower and canceling the jutsu to reveal the two scrolls. He then handed his 'neechan the Heaven Scroll. With a nod, they opened the scrolls to find that each scroll bore the kanji for 'person' or 'humanity', depending on the context.
"What is this?!" Sasuke demanded when suddenly the scrolls began to sizzle and warp. It was in that moment that he realized that the scrolls were part of a summoning spell.
With a yelp and a shout, Naruto and Sakura dropped their scrolls and jumped back. The room was quickly filled with smoke but an outline of a person can be seen through the smoke.
Instantly Naruto's face brightened as he recognized his father's Heart Song and scent.
" 'TOUSAN!" The petite shinobi yipped as he tackled his father, who was laughing in joy and relief to have his son safe in his arms again.
"Congratulations..." Iruka laughed as he held his son even tighter, "You've all passed the second exams."
Instantly Sasuke and Sakura sunk to the floor in relief. Sakura smiled as she watched her old sensei and her otouto hug one another when her eyes instinctively went back to the mysterious scripture on the wall.
"Iruka-sensei!" The pinkette called then pointed at the scripture, "What can you tell us about the wall scroll?"
Father and son looked at the scripture.
"It's the directive set down by the Third Lord Hokage for all Chuunin Journeyman ninja."
"Directive...?!" Naruto blinked, looking at his father in confusion.
"That's right!" Iruka tightened his hold, reassuring himself that his son was alive and safe, "In the text, the word 'heaven' refers to the human mind and 'earth' refers to the human body."
"Oh!" Naruto gasped in surprise, " 'If qualities of heaven are your desire, acquire wisdom and knowledge to take your mind higher' ... in other words, if your weak in knowledge then sturdy hard."
"And..." Sakura chimed, " 'If earthly qualities are what you lack, train your body in fields and prepare to attack' ... if your physically weak then train hard!"
"That's right!" Iruka beamed proudly at his former students' understanding, "And once you access the qualities of both Heaven and Earth, no mission, however dangerous, will be wrong path for you... you'll be walking a safe path, even in the midst of the most perilous mission."
"And that blank space?" Sakura asked.
"The word that goes there is a description of what a Chuunin should be." Iruka explained, "The single character belongs in the blank space is the one from the interior of the scrolls. It's 'Jin' meaning one person or all people.
"The challenge of seeing who survived these past five days was a part of the exam designed to test the applicants' basic Chuunin abilities... Chuunin are the unit commander class... responsible for leading their teams. They can only do so by a combination of intelligence and strength. I can't emphasize it enough. Learn it... live it. Believe it from the bottom of your heart!
"Keep the Chuunin Directive foremost in your mind as you move on to the next exam." The kind Chuunin advised, "Now then, we have a couple of hours to rest up and see a doctor before the announcements for the third exam... so let's go."
~o.O.o~
Meanwhile elsewhere in the tower...
"What was the outcome...?" Asked a cruel voice.
"He's already exceeded all projections, Sir..." Kabuto stated as he held out a shinobi data card, "I've kept a careful record of his progress throughout the second exam. I figure you'll need this."
"And..." The cruel voice took the data card, "how was he?"
"Heh heh..." Kabuto chuckled, "It almost sounds like you're a little bit worried, Lord Orochimaru." The grey-haired Nin purred as he looked into the Snake Summoner's yellow eyes.
"No..." The long haired male assured his faithful subordinate, "I'm just curious to hear your opinion..."
"That's not really necessary, is it...?" Kabuto dismissed as he caressed his wounded cheek, healing the injury, "because, just like always, the decision is your alone."
"Heh..." Orochimaru smirked, "I do so enjoy your intelligence. Good work..."
~o.O.o~
As soon Iruka and Team 7 arrived the medical wing of the tower, the nurses immediately descended upon the Uchiha and the pinkette while completely ignoring the obliviously exhausted blonde. The Chuunin Academy teacher was seething at the blatant disregard to his son's wellbeing that the brunette would have made a scene had it not been for the fact that his dear, sweet Naruto needed him.
When the nurse took his teammates to be checked out, the blonde immediately pulled his father away and into an unused room. He had to warn his father about the traitor Orochimaru and the twisted Kabuto.
"Naruto...?" The brunette whispered as he picked his son up since the petite blonde was tripping over his feet. "What happened? I can barely sense your chakra."
Iruka held his blonde sunshine tightly.
" 'tousan..." The Genin yawned as he felt the call to sleep getting stronger, "have to warn ji-chan..."
"Warn the Hokage? Of what?" It did not phase the Chuunin that his son would call their Hokage 'grand-pa'. The older shinobi did, after all, care for the small blonde as if he was one of his own grandchildren.
"Snake..." Naruto murmured sleepily, "traitor... hurt Sas-Sasuke..."
"Naruto!" The brunette gasped as he braced himself when his son suddenly collapsed against him. "Naruto!"
Iruka gently shook his son while calling to him, but his child would not answer.
"Iruka-sensei!" Another voice shouted, startling the panicked father.
Instinctively the brunette held his son to his chest while with a free hand held a kunai. Brown eyes stared at the familiar intruder before recognition sparked in the young father's eyes.
"Kakashi-sensei..." Iruka breathed.
In a few quick steps, the silver-haired Jounin knelt beside father and son. He gently placed a hand against his favorite blonde's cheek and smiled when Naruto subconsciously nuzzled against Kakashi's hand.
"Just exhaustion..." The Jounin breathed in relief then looked up to see unbridled fear and concern in the younger man. Unsure at how the worried father would react, the silver-haired shinobi placed a hand on Iruka's shoulder.
"He'll be fine. He'll just need a couple of hours of sleep." He assured the Academy teacher, who just blinked and held his son closer.
"He was trying to warn me about a snake."
"A snake?" A silver brow arched in confusion when the Chuunin nodded then looked thoughtful as the young father attempted to remember his son's exact words.
"A traitor..." Iruka trailed off for a moment then looked sharply at his child's sensei, "Someone had harmed Sasuke! Go! Check on him! Whoever it was, is a traitor! Go!"
The brunette pushed the older shinobi, who suddenly looked hesitant to leave the pair alone. His dark eye continued to flicker between father and son. Kakashi did not want to leave his bundle of sunshine, but the prospect of a possible traitor amongst them... a traitor, who was also probably after the last Uchiha.
"I'll be back." Kakashi promised while Iruka only nodded.
With one final look at his blonde, Kakashi hurried out of the room to find Sasuke. Hopefully the Uchiha heir would be able to shine some light on this 'traitor' that Naruto was warning them of.
~o.O.o~
It did not take Kakashi long to discover what his favorite student had meant by 'traitor'. The silver-haired Nin had gone to check up on the Uchiha and immediately saw a familiar curse mark that he had seen only once... on Anko... the Jounin immediately had left the medical wing and gone to look for the slightly deranged kunoichi. He figured if the Dango-obsessed shinobi knew that her old mentor was near, she would confront the Snake Sannin... or at least die trying. Kakashi also figured that if she did survive the confrontation then the Hokage would be summoned.
"Looks like I was right..." The silver-haired shinobi muttered as he walked into the surveillance room where the Hokage and Anko were.
Sarutobi turned toward his shinobi, arching a brow in surprise at the Jounin's presence.
Anko frowned at the former ANBU's presence as she put her coat back on.
"Right about what?" The kunoichi demanded, causing Kakashi to tilt his head to the side.
His eye automatically trained on Anko's curse mark. It looked less 'angry' - if one could describe the curse mark as such - than the Jounin had suspected. With a quick glance toward his Hokage, the silver-haired ninja could hazard a guess that the old shinobi had a hand in it.
"That you and the Hokage would be here." Kakashi honestly answered.
This caused Anko to blink in surprise because she did not expect her colleague to answer truthfully.
Sarutobi too frowned at his warrior's honesty.
"What do you know, Kakashi?" The Hokage asked.
"I saw the curse mark on Sasuke's neck down in medical." The silver-haired Nin explained, and it was the truth... just not the whole truth. However, at this moment, the Hokage did nto need to know that it was Iruka and Naruto, who had warned him of the traitor's presence.
"So..." The Hokage sighed, suddenly far more older than he truly was, "He has come for Sasuke."
"Kakashi," Sarutobi turned to the former ANBU, "can you seal the curse mark on Sasuke?"
Before he could answer, one of the monitors flared to life as an unknown proctor called for Anko.
"Yes?"
"It's confirmed, ma'am. Seven teams have passed the second exam... that's 21 applicants. In accordance with the by laws governing the Chuunin Exams, for the first time in five years we'll be scheduling preliminaries rounds for the third examination. The second examination is officially over."
The screen then went dark, and the room fell into a silence until Kakashi let out a heavy sigh.
"I can seal the curse mark, but it will seriously weaken Sasuke." ...and not to mention myself as well... The silver-haired Nin thought to himself.
The Hokage nodded then looked at Anko.
"We'll proceed with the examinations as planned..." The older shinobi ordered, "while keeping a close eye on Orochimaru's movements, of course."
"Yes, sir!" Anko answered.
~o.O.o~
Several hours later, the surviving 21 applicants of the second exam stood within a great hall at attention, and standing before them was the Hokage of Konoha, the proctors of the first and second exams, the Jounin-sensei's of the applicants and a few other Konoha shinobi.
"Congratulations to you all..." The Hokage praised, "on passing the second exam!"
While the Genin swelled in pride in making it through the second exam, Gai threw a quick glance at his rival and silver-haired Nin's team.
"Your students made an impressing showing!" The Jounin muttered to his colleague, "I wonder how much of it was dumb luck... not that it matters if it was. My team is bound to knock them out in the next round.
"At the next level, it will be all about their abilities... or lack thereof. Ah well..." Gai sighed, completely unaware that his rival was truly not paying attention to him, "Sometimes being young is all about learning to deal with heartbreak, eh, Kakashi?"
"Huh?" The silver-haired Nin blinked then looked at his colleague, "I'm sorry. Did you say something?"
Gai twitched in annoyance while Kakashi just arched a brow and went back to observing his blonde, who looked still exhausted but otherwise well despite the nervous glances he was giving to both Kabuto and the Oto Jounin sensei next to the Sand Jounin. The silver-haired Nin made a mental note to talk with his sunshine about it as soon as possible. All in all, Kakashi was impressed at how many had survived the forest, and the majority of them being Genin for barely a year or less.
"The third examination is about to commence..." The Hokage began, drawing Kakashi's attention back to his leader, "But before I go into the specifics of how it will be conducted... let me make one thing perfectly clear!
"It pertains to the underlying purpose of the exam." Sarutobi paused as he adjusted his mantle, "Why do you suppose an examination of this nature is being jointly conducted by all the nations in our mutual alliance?!
" 'To promote friendship among allied nations and raise the level and standards in the art of the shinobi...' Be very clear about what those fine sounding phrases actually mean! This series of so-called examinations is in fact..." The Hokage paused again, removing the pipe from his lips and exhaling, "a war-in-miniature between all of our allied lands."
The news surprised the applicants as they all side glanced at one another in confusion.
"If you were to study our recent history," the Hokage continued, "and consult a map, it would swiftly become apparent that our alliance is, in fact, a temporary and mutually beneficial agreement between a group of geographically contiguous lands, whose previous existence was one of continual strife... constantly jockeying against one another, openly and in secret, for power and the control of resources that were perpetually depleted almost to exhaustion in the struggle...
"Until a better way was devised... the way of the Chuunin Journeyman Ninja Selection Examination...!"
Naruto's brows rose high at the logical and pragmatic purpose of the exams; however, a number of the other applicants apparently did not argue and made their opinion known - rather loudly.
Sarutobi smirked at the young shinobi.
"Make no mistake," the old shinobi remarked, "when this exam is done, it will have had the side effect of winnowing out any applicants unfit to ascend to the level of Chuunin, but even more importantly, it serves as an arena wherein, for the honor of their respective homelands, young shinobi may fight... to the death, if need be!"
"This third examination will be conducted under the watchful eyes of a member of distinguished guests... including the rulers and nobility of the various lands you all aspire to serve. And among their numbers will be those who rule over each country's own Hidden Ninja Villages. They will be watching you.
"If any one nation's applicants demonstrate outstanding skill and superiority, the noblemen from every land will be quick to commission work from those trained in that superior nation. Conversely, if a particular country's applicants are shown to be incompetent or feeble, commissions to agents of that country will dwindle."
Great, no pressure there at all... Kiba mentally bite out as he listened to his leader.
"And when one land is strong in battle." Sarutobi spoke again, "and the village coffers overflow with the fruits of the many outside commissions this begets then that village may say to its neighbors, 'Beware, for we possess prowess and riches and the influence of political power'!"
"So?!" Kiba growled, "Why is it necessary to stake our lives and fight...?!"
"The strength of a country is derived from the strength of its village..." The Hokage explained, "and the village draws strength from the shinobi who live there...
"And the greatest strength of those shinobi only emerges in the midst of a desperate life-and-death battle!
"These exams provide a public arena for each country to show off and boast of the strength of its warriors and hence the strength of the country itself!
"This test has meaning and great consequence. As you struggle for the sake of your lives and your people, you help to fulfill the dream that was envisioned by our ancestors."
"But..." TenTen interrupted, "you've always emphasized the concept of 'friendship' ... why?"
"Though my meaning is subtle, I chose my words with care. To preserve the balance of power at risk of lives is the essence of friendship in the world of shinobi... let me reiterate before the third exam begins, you are taking no ordinary test!" Sarutobi emphasized, "You risk not only your own futures and your dreams, but the dignity and prestige of your home village as well."
The redhead Sand Nin suddenly growled as his patience was drawing thin. He wanted to fight, and he wanted his Hinata.
"Whatever." He murmured, "Could you wrap up the philosophical talk and get down to the life-and-death stuff any time soon?"
"Hmph!" The Hokage guffed at the youth's impatience, "So, you insist I explain the third exam?"
"Well..." Another voice interrupted, "the truth is... forgive my interruption, Lord Hokage, but if you don't mind handing the rest of the proceedings over to me, Hayate Gekko, proctor of the third exam."
A brown haired Jounin knelt before his Lord Hokage.
"Go ahead." The old shinobi grunted.
"Okay." Hayate muttered as he stood then turned around to face the applicants.
His pale complexion had a sickly tone, and beneath his dark eyes were dark circles from either his illness or lack of sleep, no one knew.
"Good to meet you, everyone..." He greeted, "I'm Hayate. Uhh... before we start the exam... *koff* I must ask you all to do something for me... *koff* ummm... you see... there are some preliminaries to the exam proper and whether you proceed to the main exam is contingent on how well you manage those."
"Preliminaries?!" Sakura whispered in surprise, "Master Hayate, I don't understand what you mean by preliminaries. Why can't all of the remaining applicants just proceed directly to the next exam?"
"Well..." Hayate began, "I don't want to say that the first two exams weren't demanding enough... but the truth is... we still have too many applicants.
"Under the traditional rules of the exam, we have to have a preliminaries test... to reduce the number of applicants who'll proceed to the third exam.
"As Lord Hokage mentioned, a number of honored guests will be observing you during the third exam... so we must make the exam intense, tight, and fast-moving.
"Hmmm... *koff* so anyway... *koff* now that you know something of what it's really all about... anyone who doesn't feel up to the challenge, either physically or mentally, can walk away. Just take one step forward... because the preliminaries start...
"Right now!"