It was early in the morning, before the day started for most, but gathered at the gates were close to a hundred people.
Many of the people present were there to show support for their child or sibling who was about to leave for a long trip to the Sand Village. Kanoko couldn't place them all, but she counted at least ten teams, not including the rookies, gathered here.
"Kanoko!" Kanoko turned around, hearing her name. Naruto ran over to her, waving as usual. "Man I am so pumped! This is going to be awesome! I'm going to pass this test, placing first, and showing that bastard Sasuke that I'm the best! Believe it! And then, they'll have to give me the Hokage's position! The old man's going to be like…"
Kanoko tuned Naruto out. When he got on a rant like this, there was no stopping it. Better to just wait it out. Kanoko looked over to the Uchiha, who, coincidently wasn't standing too far away from Naruto and Kanoko. Sasuke looked over at Naruto and Kanoko. He gave Kanoko a nod before turning around to his team.
"Shikamaru managed to convince them, huh?" Kanoko thought.
"-Oh Sakura-chan!" Naruto waved Sakura over. She walked over slowly, looking a little uncertain as she stared at Sasuke.
Kanoko raised an eyebrow, "Is everything alright?"
Sakura just looked at Sasuke again before turning to Kanoko, "H-Hai."
"Well, well, well, look what we have hear? Who dragged the forehead in?"
Kanoko sighed, "It's too early for a Sakura/Ino incident." Suddenly feeling the need to call the situation "troublesome".
"Troublesome… It's too early for this Ino." Shikamaru told her, strolling up slowly, on the same page with his sister.
"Well, well, well, if it isn't the three stooges!" Naruto laughed at Team 10.
Kanoko smirk, taking enjoyment in the insult – if the shoe fits…
"Why you! Ah, whatever, you're not worth it." Her brother said, turning his head in irritation.
Before Naruto could respond, Kanoko called out, "Naruto. Remember what I told you?" Naruto sulked before nodding and crossing his arms.
At this point, Team 8 decided to join in on the commotion, "G-Good morning, N-Nar-ruto-kun…" Hinata squeaked out, pressing her fingers together.
"Well, it looks like the whole band's here!" Kiba shouted. Akamaru agreed with a bark.
Kanoko looked at her brother, then at her team, then to the group. She closed her eyes and smirk before looking pass the gates.
Soon they would all be in Wind Country.
.
"Ah!"
Kanoko jerked her head to the sound.
"A ninja like you is never going to make chunin!" A large kid said, knocking down a green clad ninja.
"That ninja… He reminds me of someone…" Kanoko thought looking at the ninja with the bowl cut, trying to remember.
"Hey! Knock it off!"
"Oh Naruto… Why do you always have to be the hero…"Kanoko gave Naruto's back a deadpan look.
"Naruto! Wait!" Sakura exclaimed, chasing after Naruto.
Naruto grabbed the large ninja by his collar, "Who do you think you are?! Telling him that he can't make chunin!" The rest of the rookie nine walked up at this point, interested in the scene.
"This ninja isn't even a ninja! He can't use any ninjutsu! I went to the academy with him! He's just a bottom ranked loser! Ninja's like him should just give up and go home! If he even has a home!" The boy yelled back.
That… Was the wrong thing to say to Naruto.
"Why you…!" Naruto said before bringing his fist back for a punch. He was stopped before he could make contact. The green-clad ninja held Naruto's hand in place with little effort.
"You're youthful spirit in defense of my honor warms me greatly! But I can't allow you to harm a fellow leaf comrade! Such actions would be unyouthful!" He yelled loudly, his round eyes wide and thick rectangular-like eyebrows pointed down.
Face-palming, Kanoko closed her eyes in thought, "Nope. Definitely blaming the Uchiha for all the crazies in this village."
"Lee! I thought you're the one who said to keep a low profile." A Hyuuga walked up to Lee with a kunoichi following him.
"Yes. I am sorry." Lee mumbled with his head down. The kunoichi just shrugged with her hands up, "Well, nothing we can do now." The one known as Lee turned and walked over to Kanoko.
He stopped in front of her and bowed into a 90 degree angle.
"What the..?" Kanoko thought, a single eyebrow raised.
"My name is Rock Lee and you are the most beautiful lady in all of Konoha!"
Kanoko froze, as if she was just turned to stone. All the rookie nine stared, shock on their faces.
Lee continued, "I understand that this may come as a shock, but please know that my feelings are true!"
Shikamaru was stuck between laughing at his sister for her misfortune and siccing Choji's human bolder on Lee for daring to hit on his sister.
Kanoko stopped breathing. She hoped this would never happen! Her eyes started jerking left and right, looking for an escape route.
"Please Sakura! Go out with me! I promise to protect you with my life!" He finished with a twinkle in his eye and a thumbs up.
Kanoko looked behind her and realized he was talking to Sakura.
.
"THANK EVERYTHING THAT IS HOLY IN THIS WORLD!" Kanoko thought, walking off to the side, holding her heart – she nearly had a heart attack.
Kanoko looked back at Sakura's horrified face.
"No." Sakura replied plainly.
.
"Wha…? Why not…" Lee asked depressed.
Kanoko grabbed Sakura and Naruto before this could continue and walked towards the gate, where she thought she saw a certain scarecrow, "Come on you two. Play time is over."
"Hey!" The male Hyuuga called after Team 7, "Who are you?"
Naruto pulled from Kanoko's grasp to answer before she smacked her hand over his mouth, dragging him along again. "What did I tell you about talking to strangers, Naruto?" Kanoko asked plainly, not really wanting an answer.
Naruto just "hmphed" as he got dragged away.
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They all stood before the Hokage, who was standing on a stage. Team 7 was together with Kakashi-sensei, ready for the journey ahead.
The Hokage let out a mouthful of smoke, "You all have been selected to represent the Village Hidden in the Leaves in the chunin exams, taking place in the Village Hidden in the Sand. It is your duty as a ninja and you're responsibly to your home to represent us with the upmost care, respect, and dignity. I am not asking you to act as Samurai, but I am reminding you that many people will be watching your actions at all times. Ninja, villagers, future clients, all will be watching and judging you. Act accordingly."
The Hokage paused before continuing, "These exams are not meant to be easy. Many of you we will see soon. Do not get discouraged, there is always another exam, six months from now – don't be reckless, simply in the effort to win. Watch out for your fellow leaf nin and do not attack others unprovoked. Becoming chunin is your secondary mission here – bringing back your comrades alive is your primary."
The Hokage looked to the stone faced mountains before focusing his eyes on Kanoko, "All shinobi of the Leaf Village have the Will of Fire in them. Do not forget that and do not betray that will in the face of the trials to come."
"And with that, you are dismissed to start your journey to Suna, the Village Hidden in the Sand!" The Hokage finished.
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Kakashi whistled as he got to a really good part in his book, walking passed the gates, away from the growing sandstorm.
"YAHOO! We're finally here!" Naruto cheered, jumping in the air.
Sakura followed Naruto dragging her feet, "It's sooo hot! Why did the exams have to be in a desert? I need a shower! And a bed!"
Kanoko walked in behind Sakura, hands in pockets, observing her surroundings silently.
Naruto looked around before saying, "This place looks weird… Is this really the Sand Village?"
Kakashi turned to his students, "Actually, this isn't the Village Hidden in the Sand. Suna is actually a ways from here. This is known as the Demon Desert Checkpoint."
"WHA?! But I thought we were going to the Sand Village?!" Sakura complained, thinking her hopes of finding a shower or at least a real bed were lost.
Kanoko took a look around. It was very different from the Leaf Village. There was no visible vegetation and all the buildings were similar in design: tan and dome-like. The sand when on for miles and surrounding the checkpoint was a large stone wall – incasing the outpost in a circle. All in all, it looked like a fortress.
"I hope the plan isn't to hold the final round in this place. I would be upset too if I was the Daimyo and I was forced to reside in such conditions." Kanoko thought, noting the lack of shops and other forms of entertainment, before Kakashi spoke again, "We'll only be here for the first and second rounds. The final round will take place in Suna. Well… if you guys make it that far."
"You're just full of laughs! You know that sensei!" Naruto told Kakashi, irritated in his teacher's lack of faith.
"In any case, I'm supposed to meet the gang – you know, us elite jounin – so, have fun my cute little students!" And with that, Kakashi teleported away.
"Hn. I wouldn't be surprised if the betting wars haven't already started. No doubt sensei has gone to put money down…" Kanoko thought, wondering who he was betting on.
.
.
.
"WHAT ARE WE SUPPOSED TO DO NOW?!" Naruto and Sakura yelled at the smoke left by Kakashi.
Kanoko face-palmed, realizing that their sensei didn't tell them where they were staying.
"Haha! Abandoned by your own sensei, that's just sad forehead!"
Team 7 turned around to see Ino, Shikamaru, and Choji walk up.
"Ug! I thought we got rid of you, Ino-pig." Sakura scoffed, crossing her arms.
Kanoko raised her hand, "I apologize. I have a curse that allows Shikamaru to locate me, anywhere in the world. I have tried to remove this curse, but Kaa-san says I'm not allowed to kill my own brother." Kanoko finished with an expressionless face and tone.
"KANOKO!" Shikamaru yelps, embarrassed by his sister.
"HAHA! That's hilarious!" Naruto laughs, pointing at Shikamaru, holding his stomach.
"Why are you people so loud…"
Kanoko looked over and saw Sasuke followed by Hinata and Kiba.
"NO ONE INVITED YOU TEME!" Naruto yelled pointing at Sasuke.
"Hn!" Was Sasuke's elegant reply.
It wasn't long before the all of the rookie nine were at each other's throats.
.
Kanoko face-palmed, "There're worse than a group of three-year-olds learning to share for the first time."
Sighing, Kanoko tried to interrupt the embarrassing fight, "Hey."
.
No response.
.
"HEY!" She tried again.
Naruto's shoe flew passed Kanoko. He, for a reason beyond her, took it off to throw it at Sasuke.
Kanoko crossed her arms and sucked in some air, pulling out her inner Tobirama, she barked, "LISTEN UP YOU BRATS!"
Everyone froze.
Sakura was currently pulling back on Naruto's face, who was trying to kick Sasuke in the face with his bare foot, who was being glomped from behind by Ino, who was trying to get pulled off by Shikamaru, who was being yelled at by Kiba for stepping on Akamaru's tail, who's shirt was being pulled by Hinata – trying to calm him. And Choji… Good dependable Choji was just standing there, munching on some chips peacefully.
"Great. Now that I have your attention, did anyone's sensei tell them where our lodging would be for the night?" Kanoko asked calmly with her arms crossed.
Everyone exchanged glances before becoming depressed.
Kanoko sighed.
She had a feeling she would be doing a lot of that in the future.
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Several Days Ago
"ARGGG!"
A table flew across the room, smashing into a wall. Standing in the room, panting from anger, was a tall man in a green and white robe.
"Hmm, yes, this does complicate things. Who knew the Sand and the Leaf would form such an alliance?" A boy said wistfully with a smirk. He walked over to the documents on the table, pushing them around to get a look at the agreement. "And it looks like the entire Sand Council is also aware and in agreement… Convincing them to turn against the Leaf now would look suspicious…"
The man sharply turned around and glared at the boy, "It was YOUR job to inform me of something like this! Now I have to smile and shake that old fool's hand as the Kazekage! The only reason I risked killing the Kazekage was to convince the Sand Village to attack the Leaf." The man gritted his teeth, "That old man… He did this purposely… HE KNEW!" The man slashed through another table nearby.
The boy watched his master, waiting for him to calm.
The robed man destroyed a few more objects before breathing slowly and standing up straight, "We will just have to use this… Exam… To our advantage." The man say down on a chair – the only one left – before bringing his hands together in a thoughtful pose.
"Kabuto. You will take part in the exams again this year. See what you can find out." He leaned back with an evil smirk, "If that old fool thinks he's walking away from this…" He started laughing loudly, "He better take a good look at his precious village, because that's the last time he will see it!"
The one called Kabuto just smirked and bowed to his master before teleporting away.
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Present Day
Kanoko laid down on her bunk. She stared up at the bed above her. All the teams were given a room for the night. The exams would begin tomorrow after breakfast. Kanoko chuckled lowly to herself, "How nice of them to feed us before sending us to the slaughter."
Kanoko frowned, thinking of the chunin exams. They had evolved so much from when she first instituted it. She believed it would bring fairness, as well as sanity to the promotional process. For too long, they had given genin a promotion to chunin, not fully understanding how much more responsibility and danger they were placing on their shoulders.
As Tobirama, her intention was to show both the genin, and their teachers, that they were either ready for that massive step or they weren't. It was also a great way to assess the skills of your genin, without having to spend hours talking to each jounin instructor.
Tobirama liked efficiency.
Kanoko smirked at herself. She created many things in the name of efficiency.
Kanoko rolled over, trying to go to sleep. She needed all the rest she could get.
It was going to be a long couple of days.
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"YAHOO! Sakura-chan! Kanoko! WAKE UP!" Naruto yelled, ripping the covers from their beds.
Sakura screeched, "NAAARUTO! THAT IS NOT HOW YOU WAKE UP A LADY!" Jumped down from her bunk with a pillow in her hand and started beating Naruto with it.
"AHH! SAKURA-CHAN!"
Naruto tried to get out an apology, but it was muffled by the pillow, Sakura was now trying to smother Naruto with.
Kanoko calmly walked over to Sakura and put a hand on her shoulder, "I understand your pain Sakura, but we need three members to compete. It would be a shame to turn back after coming all this way, don't you agree?"
Sakura looked at Naruto, his eyes were swirling, "I guess you're right… You better not embarrass me in front of Sasuke, Naruto!" With that, Sakura stomped away to get ready.
After getting dressed, Kanoko called Naruto and Sakura over.
She handed them each a necklace. It was just a simple string necklace with a flat wood end piece. On it was a circle around another circle, with six lines sticking out from the inner circle – much like the design on her palm.
"Wear these under your shirts. Under NO circumstance are you to remove them. I don't care if they're on fire. And if the string gets cut, put it in your pocket, but do not allow it to leave your person." Kanoko explained sternly.
Naruto held it close to his face, "What is it?"
"It's something that allows me to get to you, in the case we get separated." Kanoko replied, "Or if you're about to be killed." Kanoko thought before pulling out six scrolls.
"You each get three. The green one has food. The blue one has drinking water. And the yellow on has medical supplies. Do not lose these either. They are your life lines. To activate them, just apply chakra like normal."
Naruto and Sakura both took three scrolls and placed them on their persons.
Kanoko shuffled around her backpack to pull out one last item, "Do you see what this is?"
Shocked, Naruto replied, "Yeah it-" "Don't say it out loud." Kanoko interrupted before continuing, "If we get separated and there's a risk that one of us is compromised, we will asked the suspicious one what I just pulled out, ok?"
Naruto and Sakura nodded, "Hai!"
Kanoko smiled slightly before sitting back and thinking. Had she thought of everything? She turned around and started checking things again when she felt weight on her shoulder.
She turned around to smiling faces, "Don't worry Kanoko! Team 7's in this together! Nothing's going to stand in our way! Believe it!"
Naruto and Sakura's grins widened.
Kanoko just looked at them with a bewildered face before softening to a small smile.
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There was more than a hundred genin at attention, waiting for their assignment.
Kanoko looked around. She saw many villages she knew and a few she didn't. Leaf, Sand, Cloud, Stone, Rain, Grass and others she wasn't familiar with. She also saw a headband of a Village she had never seen, but recently heard about:
The Sound.
A sand jounin stepped up to the stage, standing tall with his hands behind his back, "You are all here to take part in the Chunin Exams hosted by the Village Hidden in the Sand. This is your last chance to go home. It's entirely likely you will die during this exam, so if you do not have the stomach, turn around and leave now!"
The proctor paused, giving the genin an opportunity to leave. None did.
"Then we will get started with the first test."
The Proctor walked over to a table behind him, "Select a team member to come up here and grab a scroll. After that team member has grabbed it, they will stand over there to wait for further instructions." The proctor indicated to a sectioned off area to the right of the stage.
Naruto turned to Kanoko and Sakura and started jumping up and down with stars in his eyes, "Oo! Oo! Me! Pick me!"
Kanoko and Sakura exchanged looks before Kanoko sighed and held out her arm, indicating that Naruto could go get it.
With a large grin on his face, he ran over to the line. Kanoko noticed that Ino and Sasuke joined him.
"Oooo! That Ino-pig! She did that on purpose!" Sakura growled shaking her fist at Ino, who stuck her tongue out at Sakura.
All the teams grabbed a scroll and walked over to the sectioned off area.
Kanoko face-palmed when Naruto started waving excitedly to his team.
The proctor started again, "Now that all teams have a scroll, we will begin. You're mission is to rescue your teammate from the trap using the scroll they possess. Caution: If time runs out, your teammate will die."
Naruto's face went white.
"WHHHAAT!" Ino exclaimed, looking for an escape route.
The proctor continued, "Your mission will occur in the field behind this curtain." He gestured to the large tan curtain behind him. It fell, revealing a large space. The entire area was covered in sand, with glass boxes standing seven feet tall from the sand. There had to be forty or more glass boxes.
Suddenly Naruto, Ino, Sasuke, and all of the other contestants were teleported inside the glass boxes.
"Breaking, scratching, or damaging these boxes in anyway disqualifies you. The only way you can save your teammate from death is by solving the riddle in the scroll." The proctor smirked.
Kanoko narrowed her eyes, focusing on the genin in the boxes. Some were yelling, but no sound could be heard.
"Of course, the barrier is sound proof, so learning what the riddle is will be half the challenge." He crossed his arms before finishing with, "Good luck!"
Kanoko and Sakura sprinted over to Naruto's box.
He was panicking before he pulled out a kunai to shatter the box.
"NO!" Sakura yelled making an "x" with her hands. Naruto stopped and they could see him saying "what", but started banging on the glass yelling.
"Naruto STOP!" Sakura tried again, waving her arms dramatically around at him.
Kanoko gritted her teeth and looked down at the bottom of the box. Sand was filling the box. "Shit."
"Sakura look." Kanoko pointed to Naruto's feet. "We need to get him out of there!" Sakura yelled, watching Naruto – who just realized that the box was filling up with sand.
"We need to find a way to get Naruto to show us the scroll." Kanoko told Sakura. Sakura stared back at Kanoko before reaching into her pack and grabbing the scroll Kanoko gave to her. It looked similar to the one given to Naruto by the proctor.
"Naruto! Scroll!" Sakura yelled, holding up the scroll to the glass pointing at it.
Naruto's face went blank with confusion until a light bulb went off and he grabbed the scroll.
The one Kanoko gave him.
Kanoko slapped her face at Naruto's stupidity.
"NARUTO! YOU IDIOT! THE OTHER SCROLL!" Sakura yelled, her hair flaring up.
Watching his teammates' reaction, he made an "o" with his mouth before putting it away and grabbing the scroll from the proctor.
Sakura opened her scroll and held it to the glass, hoping Naruto would do the same.
He did. Thank goodness.
Kanoko and Sakura stuck their faces up to the glass, "Solve this riddle and write the answer below: What do the poor have, that the rich need, but if you eat it, you'll die?" Sakura read out loud.
Kanoko looked at Sakura who looked back, both confused. Kanoko swiveled her head around to her brother's location. He was sitting down in his thinking pose, looking just as stumped. Kanoko looked back at Sakura and said, "You're the one that reads stuff like this."
Sakura squeaked, "But! I don't know this one!"
Kanoko rubbed her face aggressively, "Well I got nothing either!"
Sakura stared back at Kanoko with an open mouth, "Nothing! That's it!"
"Nothing?" Kanoko repeated.
"Yes! The answer to the riddle! The poor have nothing, the rich need nothing, and you'll die if you eat nothing!" She screaming in joy, jumping up and down.
.
…They both looked at each other with depressed looks.
How do you communicate the word "nothing" to Naruto.
Kanoko started searching her pockets, "Sakura do you have a pen?!" "No!"
The both turned slowly to Naruto.
He was pressed against the glass, slowly falling down the glass with tears in his eyes, mouth wide open and drool coming out. The sand was at his waist now.
"R.I.P. Naruto. You were a one of a kind." Kanoko thought bowing slightly.
"KANOKO!" Sakura yelled at her teammate.
Kanoko looked back at her, "Well, you figured out the riddle. How do we tell Naruto the answer?"
Sakura looked around in a panic, trying to get her brain to work.
They looked back and saw Naruto banging on the glass again. The sand was up to his chest now. Sakura looked back at Kanoko, "I don't know what to do! We need to get Naruto out of there!"
Kanoko gritted her teeth, "If only we could carve it on the glass… but that's against the rules… Carve…" Kanoko's lightbulb lit up and she reached into her pouch and grabbed a kunai.
"Kanoko, what are you… KANOKO!" Sakura yelled when she saw Kanoko carve the "Write word "Nothing" into her arm, then press the bloody mess on the glass.
Naruto looked shocked before narrowing his eyes to read it, grabbing a pen, and writing it down.
"Seriously? He's the one with a pen?" Kanoko growled out.
The sand stopped rising and everyone sighed.
Kanoko looked around to the other contestants. Some were broken out of the box and the rest were sitting by their teammate's box, waiting for the next step.
"I guess we have to wait for the next step?" Sakura asked Kanoko with her pointer finger pressed to her chin.
The proctor's voice came over the intercom, "Time's up! Either you solved the riddle, broke your teammate out, or they died. All those disqualified or are now permanently down a team member, leave!"
Kanoko watched a few teams leave. She looked for her classmates and found Sasuke with barely any sand in his box and Ino's only a third full.
Kanoko gave the other teams a blank stare. Naruto's box was three quarters full…
The proctor "poofed" back to the stage, and yelled to the remain ninja, "Now that the failures are gone, we are going to move to the second part of the Chunin Exam! Come to the front of the stage and we will guide you to the next field."
"What about our trapped teammate?!" A ninja in the crowd yelled.
The proctor raised an eyebrow, "Oh? Them? Casualty, back luck, call it whatever you like, they were stupid enough to volunteer as bait, so they aren't moving forward. No come along. I don't have all day." He finished waving the genin forward.
Some of the genin looked back at their teammate before walking away to the stage.
Sakura looked at Kanoko worried, "What?! But we can't leave Naruto!" She looked back at Naruto in the glass. He looked confused since he couldn't hear anything.
Sakura looked down before continuing, "He's annoying and stupid and… and…" Sakura closed her eyes and shook her fists, "We can't leave him Kanoko! He's our teammate and those that turn their backs on their teammates are worse than scum!" She yelled out.
Kanoko looked at Sakura with a raised eyebrow, "I wasn't planning on it, but thank you for the heart felt speech." Kanoko finished with a small smirk.
Sakura blushed and mumbled underneath her breath.
The proctor's head grew a tick before yelling, "Worse than scum, huh?! Well if that's your choice. All of you standing in front of the stage…" The proctor closed his eyes before opening them with a wicked grin, "YOU FAIL!" And then they all dropped through a trap on the ground.
The proctor laughed before gesturing. With that gesture, one of the glass walls to the boxes fell. With it came the excess sand in the box and their teammates.
"Those of you that stayed with your teammate passed!" And with that, he walked away.
"SAKURA-CHAN! KANOKO! YOU SAVED ME!" Naruto cried leaping towards them, going in for a hug. They both side-stepped, letting Naruto hit the ground – face first, legs in the air.
Naruto stood up to complain when they all heard a loud "boom" from the stage. Standing there was another male sand ninja. This one looking at the group with a cold stare.
"Well, well. I wonder how many of you will survive this next test…" He said eerily, looking around at the genin. "Meet me at the west point tower, from there I will explain your journey across the demon desert…" And with that, he teleported away.
.
All the genin started moving slowly to the tower, but Naruto decided to run ahead – excited to prove himself. Sakura followed after him, "Naruto! Wait!" Kanoko just followed her team slowly.
*THUD*
Kanoko watched as Naruto slammed straight into the back of another genin – knocking her straight into the sand, face first.
"Why you little BRAT?!" She yelled at Naruto, pulling him in close to her face by his collar.
Naruto sweat-dropped and nervously responded, "Uhh… Haha… Oops?"
Sakura ran up from behind, "I'm so sorry! My teammate's an idiot, please forgive him!" Sakura bowed to show her regret.
Kanoko took a look at the kunoichi and her team. She was fairly tall – must be older than her teammates – with sandy blond hair pulled into four short pig-tails. She had a large black fan on her back and Kanoko noted that her and her teammates were Sand Village nin.
Kanoko gaze shifted to the boys, one was dress in black with purple face paint and a large wicker-coffin on his back. He was standing with his arms crossed smirking at his female teammate, as if he was enjoying the scene.
The last one was barely paying any attention to his teammate and Naruto. He had bright red hair and Tobirama wondered if he had any relation to the Uzumaki clan. He was the smallest of the three, looking very childlike, but his eyes were anything but. Tobirama had seen eyes like that before. They reminded her of a time before peace, when the clans fought day and night. That was the look of a person who had nothing and no one to live for; that had loved and lost, but instead of finding peace or even vengeance, all they found was uncontrollable rage, hatred, and the thirst for blood.
Kanoko walked over to Naruto and the kunoichi before bowing as well, "My name is Nara Kanoko of the Leaf Village. My teammate was simply excited about the next phase of the exams and was unable to control himself. You would do us a great honor by showing mercy for his behavior." While Kanoko's tone was bland and her expression emotionless, she projected a strong aura. Communicating to this kunoichi to leave them be.
The kunoichi scoffed, but backed off when she felt the annoyed eyes of her companion, "Temari. We're leaving." The red head boy said simply, giving Kanoko a look before turning towards the tower.
The three left, leaving Team 7 to collect themselves before travelling in the same direction as the Sand nin.
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When Team 7 arrived, they found a spot near the front, to listen to the proctor.
"Surrounding us is an expanse of sand known as the Demon Desert. In this desert are creatures of unimaginable strength and stamina. Many are larger than a building, but fast as a hawk." He paused.
Kanoko heard various genin squeak at the mention of the sand monsters.
The proctor smirk, reminiscing, "You know, we used to assign this as an escort mission – you would be given a chunin to protect and escort to the tower in the center." He chuckled loudly, "But we lost too many chunin this way, so we're giving you scrolls instead!"
Several genin turned white. If chunin were dying… How did they expect a bunch of genin to make it?
"You each will be given a scroll. You will either get a heaven or earth scroll. Of course we will do this secretly in the building behind us" He motioned to the tower, "So none of you know who has what scroll before we start. You will also pick up a number at this time."
He then pointed to the wall, "Depending on your number, you will start at a designated place on the wall surrounding the outpost. When you are given the signal, you will be allowed to start."
Kanoko looked around the area, there weren't that many teams left, so the distance between each of them at the start would be large enough to avoid running into a team right off the bat.
"Your goal is to acquire either a heaven or earth scroll from another team. You will need each to be welcomed into the tower. You may not open the scrolls - doing so will disqualify you automatically. And last, you only have three days to gather your scrolls and make it to the center tower, located miles into the Demon Desert... Try not to die. There won't be anything left to bring home to your family if you do." He smiled wickedly, "The beasts will devour your corpse before any assistance could arrive."
With that, everyone was dismissed for a small break while teams gathered their scrolls.
Kanoko sent Sakura to grab it this time, before turning her head to catch her brother's gaze. Ino just returned with the scroll and signed in Leaf Code the number 16. Kanoko then turned her gaze to Sasuke, who also came back with his scroll. He signed the number 2.
"That's far away from Shikamaru's team… This may prove to be challenging." Kanoko thought watching Sakura approach. She handed Kanoko the number: 23. Kanoko looked up, counting 24 teams in total. That mean Kanoko's team will be closest to Sasuke's. Kanoko gritted her teeth. She didn't like the idea that Shikamaru's team was going to take longer to get to. She would have preferred her team being the odd one out.
Kanoko signed to Sasuke and Shikamaru the number 23. Shikamaru's eyes widened a bit, understanding the additional risk his team would be facing.
Kanoko's attention was shifted when she heard the proctor's voice boom again, "OK, GET INTO POSITION! YOU HAVE FIVE MINUTES!"
And with that, all the teams dispersed to their assigned locations.
Later, Kanoko wished she had caught the hungry gaze following Sasuke – then perhaps she could have prevented the whole thing.
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One Day Earlier
"Surely you aren't still planning to enter into the exams henged as a genin?" Kabuto ask calmly with an eyebrow raised.
The man scoffed, "Why are you being so impudent lately Kabuto? To answer your question, even though I don't have to, yes. Yes I am."
Kabuto shrugged, not really caring if his master kills him, "Just curious. You said that the Hokage knew of your plan to attack Konoha during the Chunin Exams, shouldn't that give you reason to avoid getting caught lurking around the exams?"
The man chuckled, "That's exactly why I'm going to attack during the second round. This way the Hokage is lead to believe that my intention all along was to grab the boy. He will likely still expect another attack, but it will divert his attention enough to put my plan in action. Hehe, he'll never see it coming…"
The man henged from the Kazekage into a normal looking Grass kunoichi, "And the last Uchiha… such an opportunity is difficult to pass up. I wonder how he'll fair… Being hunted like a mouse running from a snake…" The girl chuckled lowly.
Kabuto smirk wistfully at his master's cruelty, "I'd hate to be the mouse to your snake, Orochimaru…"