Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.
"Naruto" – Talking
'Naruto' – Thoughts
Naruto – Flashback
Naruto – Jutsu
Cracking Gaps: Sins of a Family
To Cheat Or Not To Cheat, How To Pass an Chunin Exam
Previously on Cracking Gaps: Sins of a Family,
"My name is Ibiki Morino. I am the head of the Konoha Torture and Interrogation Force. I have been asked by our Hokage to look after you maggots for this, the First Part of the Chunin Exams." The man announced and signaled to one of his Chunin who started to pass a sheet of paper from the pile that he carried into the room. "And this is it, a sheet with nine questions for you to fill out, with an entire hour as your time limit. But there is a tenth question that is no on there, I will be announcing it personally once the hour is up." Ibiki then paused for some dramatic flair.
"But remember as you are filling out your sheets, if you fail the final question then you will automatically fail along with your team even if your teammates passed. You all have the weight of your team on your shoulders so if you take it softly then you will fail." Ibiki glared at them all once again and smirked to see a few were sweating and a few were on the verge of fainting.
"Now then maggots. We will now begin. To try and kill you in order to make any real maggots into Shinobi. And for the rest of your posers, you will die." Ibiki said with a glint in his eye as the doors close, for the rest of the Exams; no way to leave now. "Welcome to the Chunin Exams."
"Now once you all received your copy, here are the rules." Ibiki said once one of his Chunin assistants finished distributing exam papers to every Genin in the room. "First, you all have an hour to answer the questions. Once it is over then it will be time for the final question. We will discuss that later." The Genin didn't know what to think so they all said nothing.
"Second, you can't be even two seats away from your teammates. So, move your asses, you maggots!" Ibiki listed and glared at a good amount of Genin who fall under that category. "Third, you are not to talk to anyone on yours sides, in front or behind you. If you do, then you and your team will fail. Fourth, if you are caught cheating five times, you and your team will fail." Team Seven was baffled to hear such a rule.
In the academy, they saw that when a student was caught cheating once he failed before turning in his exam paper. There is definitely a hidden message in those words. Team Seven shot each other a look for only half a second to let themselves know that they were thinking in similar mindsets.
{It is time to use this.} That was no voice to be made by the mouth of a living being, no these were thoughts. Team Seven were going to help each other out using a technique similar to teleplay, exactly like the one Naruto did on them during a training exercise weeks ago! {The Sameru Kyouri no Jutsu (1)}
The name was a long one but I summarize what it does. It wasn't a Jutsu to enhance the body, use the elements or even summon battle creatures. It was a Genjutsu, a style of Ninjutsu that focuses on attacking the senses and minds of others.
To list off how this one works, Keiji can only see the test papers that his sister and Hinata can see; Mito can only hear the shifting of movements in the air around her teammates; and Hinata can't speak her voice, preventing anyone from trying to get her to spill her beans. A prefect technique for Team Seven to use that binds the rules and allows them to cheat without being caught. After all, there isn't a rule against using Ninjutsu; why would the proctors be on the lookout for Genin using techniques to cheat?
But then came the wrecking ball which causes everyone's spirits to begin to sink. "Lastly, if any of you fail the final question, then neither you or your team will ever take the Chunin Exams ever again!"
"WHAT!?"
"YOU CAN'T DO THAT!"
"SHUT THE HELL UP!"
XXXXX
Outside the exam room, Naruto was resting on the sofa and shaking his head in amusement. "Ibiki will never change. And he just can't help himself since the Great Hokage finally gave him the role that the ol' scar face wanted for years." The other Jonin were there too and noticed that Naruto's tone shifted from nostalgia to anger and then back to carefree. One of them walked up with the stance and nervousness of a shy little girl,
"E-excuse me., Mr. Naruto…?" Her name is Kurenai Yuhi, a Kunoichi who aspired to take the example of infamous Shinobi such as Mighty Guy and, of course, Naruto. Her dream to be recognized by the world as a master of Genjutsu, unstoppable and able to take down armies with only a single glance if possible.
"…" Naruto turned and stared at Kurenai, making her a little more nervous but she waited for his word. "You are the latest addition to the Jonin Ranks, Kurenai, am I wrong?" The woman Jonin shook her head, excited that he knew her name. Naruto is practically her idol. "Then I am sorry for that grumbling about our leader, I just can't stand him."
"It's not that!" Kurenai was surprised to hear herself yell, and in front of Naruto. "S-sorry…I" Naruto stopped her and instead of an offended look, he had the expression of a patience and level-headedness. This got Kurenai to take in a deep breath and start again. "It It's just that I heard about your skill in illusions topples your talent for every other Ninjutsu. I am trying to become a Genjutsu specialist."
"That so?" Kurenai nodded and Naruto chuckled. "I almost thought that illusions were going to be my weakest style. You can only imagine the surprise and excitement I felt once I accidently learned how someone like me can use Genjutsu. After the Exams, I can show you an example if you are willing to watch and learn."
Kurenai looked like she was glow and brighten up like a lightbulb. "Thank you! Thank you!" Kurenai lost all her shyness and was bold enough to give Naruto a bear hug and a deep kiss on the cheek.
"No problem. Now can you give us some space, before your boyfriends make a scene?" Naruto teased Kurenai who hastily backed off and then glared at all the other Jonin in the lounge. "Never mind then?" Naruto has seriously been out of the Jonin action while training his team and hanging out with Hinata on dates.
"Dude, you just got the Ice Queen of Konoha to hug you and kiss you and that is all you have to say!?" One of the bewildered Jonin shouted in disbelief. Naruto just shrugged.
"I thought that I got a new friend in Kurenai, not an Ice Queen." The blonde said causally, "Although I can see that Kurenai is beautiful enough…" Letting that hang, Naruto smirked and the other Jonin gawked to see Kurenai blush at his words.
"T-thanks. S-so…" Kurenai had, for the second time that day, lost her confidence in her voice. Naruto just walked up and gently grasp her on the shoulder.
"We still have the Chunin Exams that our student waited weeks for so how about during the Second Exam we can meet up for another friendly chat?" Naruto was seriously melting Kurenai's heart with only words and a smile. When she nodded, "Cool. We can talk now since the hour is still not up."
"O-okay."
XXXXX
And so, an hour had passed,
"ALRIGHT YOU WORMS! PENCILS DOWN AND HANDS OFF THE PAPERS!" Ibiki shouted at the top of his voice again, making most of the Genin cringe. They had hoped to never hear such a bellow again in this lives. And only for an hour they were granted silence as they struggled with the questions on the exam; seriously, they weren't even explained in the Academy! "It is time for the final question."
Everyone steeled their nerves, especially those who were unsure about the first nine questions. Maybe if they fail the final one, they will fail the entire Chunin Exams! "But first, are you willing to hear it?" Ibiki then said which got everyone caught off guard. "If you do take it and fail, then you and your team will fail. If you are chicken and want to leave then go ahead but both you and your team have to go and never take the exams again! The only way to pass this First Exam is to answer the final question correctly. What are you going to do?"
Ibiki waited and was smiling to see a couple of teams chickening out and left with their heads looking down. But still a majority of the Genin teams were still in their seats, feeling the heavy pressure on them. And Team Seven tried to figure out what to do about this until their eyes brightened up.
"Do your worse! I am not leaving!" Keiji shouted, getting up and slamming his hands on his desk. "I will take it head on and not look back! That is what cowards do!" Everyone except his team looked at him like Keiji turned into a mad man.
"And if your team fails? I am sure that a fucking maggot, a pile of shit will remember the rules." Ibiki focused his attention on Keiji but still saw no fear in the eyes of the Hokage's son.
"Of course we know the rules. That is why we are do it anyways!" Mito got up and spoke clearly and confidently too, making Ibiki turn from Keiji. "We are a team, why should we ruin their futures to save our own hides? We are maggots remember?"
"We don't care if we will be Genin forever!" Hinata finally took her turn and soon, everyone started to feel the atmosphere starting to crumble. "We will achieve our dreams and we will do it because we are Shinobi! We can take what you throw at us! Bring it on!"
Team Seven shouted at Ibiki together and stared him down, daring the scarred man to do the worse he could. Pretty soon, every other Genin refused to budge from their seats and stared down Ibiki as well. Soon, the proctor had his eyes darken and said,
"So be it. And since you refuse to run to spare your life…" Ibiki dragged on and then showed a smile! "PASS!" That was anticlimactic if there ever was another example of the term. But that was broken by ranting and protesting from most of the Genin who felt cheated since they were lead to believe it was something of a horrible tough question. "SHUT UP AND LISTEN!"
Ibiki silenced the crowd and explained that the purpose of the First part to the Chunin Exams were to be an experience of trying to cheat and gather info even in a looked room with plenty of eyes and ears. That 'Final Question' was simply a situation in which a team is face with either info under the threat of death or flee, failing the mission. But when everyone was going to say how much they understood, something flew through the window.
It was like a bundle of clothing that was about to reveal itself in the room until the sounds of sharp objects flying through the air and embed themselves in the fabric. To those who called it, the bundle was stuck to the wall by a couple of kunai's that were thrown by Team Seven (since they were the ones still standing and they had their hands in a throwing position).
To see whoever was in the bundle was cracking up the crowd, when a woman fell out like potatoes out of their sack made everyone laugh at the sight. "Alright, who the hell messed up my entrance!?"
"Maybe it won't be ruined if you actually arrived on cue. You are too early and is the banner really necessary?" Ibiki said with amusement mixed with a touch of disbelief for the pouting, childish woman. "You could just have appeared like we commonly do, Anko."
"I like to take everyone by surprise and see their faces. You just stick to the boring way, scar face!" Ibiki just couldn't believe that he was taking to a child of a woman who was sticking her tongue at him; but that was Anko Mitarashi, in all her glory.
Anko has light brown, pupil-less eyes. Her black hair is styled in a short, spiky, fanned-ponytail. She usually wears a fitted mesh body suit that covers her from her neck down to her thighs. Over this she typically wears a tan overcoat with a purple in-seam and a pocket on each side, a dark orange mini-skirt, a dark blue belt, and pale grey shin guards. In addition to the typical forehead protector, she also wears a small pendant that looks like a snake fang and a wrist watch.
Most of the Genin felt hot under the collar to see such a young and well-proportioned woman wear clothing with such little modesty and little effort to be fully covered. Meanwhile, the girls were hoping to have such a figure in order to get more attention from the boys. One of them in particular, Hinata, felt like she was being threatened; this woman had the measurements in her league but much more mature and bold enough to let everyone see them. What if her boyfriend gets tempted by her?
And while Hinata was having negative thoughts, Anko counted the remaining Genin. "Seventy-two brats? That's twenty-four teams! You serious lost your touch old man!" Anko shouted in an attempt to humiliate her superior for laughing at her along with the other Genin and Chunin.
"I actually feel good about this Anko because look at those three." Ibiki directed everyone's attention to Team Seven. "Those brats had broken my atmosphere before you did and got everyone to stay and pass the final question. And they were trained by the Blonde Naruto." Ibiki had spoken and then showed an uncharacteristic look of pity and regret; almost like 'sorry to do this to you'.
"Ohhh~!" Anko coed worse than an overaffected mother at Team Seven. "They are Naru-kun's kids eh?" Anko chirped with a grin that threatened to peel her face off. "He did ask me about that favor I owe him. The Second Exam is going to be so much fun~!"
End of Chapter 12.
*Well that contest conference that I went to with a neighbor was fun, I still have a test t study for. I am glad to get this chapter finally done. Tell me what you think about having Naruto a teacher, a lover, a big brother and lately, a role model. If you were offended with me making Kurenai a fangirl, then I apologize. I simply wished to make Kurenai a character who looks up to her fellow Jonin and have a goal to surpass him. I think that this addition could help Naruto make more connections and relationship bridges. Let me know how you really think of the chapter, it is definitely not the best one I made for this story. *
1. This personally created Jutsu has a mouthful of a name. The words I used translate into 'To Come To One's Senses In One's Mind'.