Author's Notes: You know... I didn't want to come back to this story immediately but seeing as I have a storyline for this story, I might as well. Now, let's get into the response section, although, I will only be answering a few, to not fill up the chapter with responses.

Review Responses

jh831: Well, I understand your statement as well as their reasonings, and I thank your blessings and your willingness to keep it respectful.

Dragon and Sword Master: Heh, glad you've enjoyed the chapter! And yes, things will get interesting soon...

YeagerMeister31: Glad you loved the chapter! But I cannot assure the amusing nature of these chapters will continue...

Vonta01: I wish.

Urgazhi: Well, such a situation within the exams came about from me wanting to try something different with my run of the exams. I can assure you as well, that, this exam has several more turns left to present itself.

biginferno: Well, you sir, are in luck.

Harem - Fem!Kurama, Anko, Fem!Haku, Temari, Shizuka, Tayuya, Fem!Deidara, Shizune, Amaru, Koyuki, Ryuzetsu, Pakura, Fuka, Samui, Kin, Guren, Konan, Fu and Yugito. (Final Expansion, I promise.)

Naruto - 16(altered anatomical structure)
Anko - 23
Kurama -?
Haku - 16
Temari - 16
Kin - 16

"Talking"
'Thinking'
"'Talking or thinking by Kurama or berserk Naruto'"

Well then, time to delve into the Chunin Exams!

-Training Ground 44, Early Morning-

"Wait... So the Forest of Death... Is filled with poisonous snakes, massive leeches, ferocious bears, and tigers... As well as fucking massive spiders all over the place?!" Sasuke began to ask in shock, while Sakura appeared to be as pale as a ghost next to him. "And you've only decided to fucking tell us now?!"

"Yeah...?" Naruto began to ask, "Is there much of a problem with that?"

"Much of a probl- Naruto, you've ensured that we're entering unprepared..." Sakura attempted to reason.

"I don't recall either of you asking me about it when I mentioned I've been there before in team meetings..." Naruto argued back, leading his teammates to turn around in embarrassment, "But hey, at least you now know earlier than everyone else."

"Listen up, you worthless pests!" Anko began to say as Haku walked out of the forest, rubbing her eyes as if she had just woken up, "I'll be telling you about this forest and the rules applied to it!"

"Well... Five minutes earlier than everyone else..." Naruto joked with a rare grin, as he felt his teammates either glare at him or look at him in disbelief. "Alright, alright, I'll cut you a deal... Sasuke, you can have this."

Naruto passed Sasuke a vial of a yellowish-brown liquid.

"It's one of my strongest acids, don't drink it," Naruto joked morbidly.

"Well... Thanks?" Sasuke asked in confusion, "What am I to do with this?"

"Keeps the spiders away," Naruto replied, before turning back to listen to what Anko had to say.

-Six Minutes Later-

"Alright, everyone got that?" Anko asked abruptly in between her explanation, ceasing the endless chatter from the candidates, "No? Then shut the fuck up and listen to what I have to say!"

Aiko carried on her explanation for another minute or so before the chunin assisting her handed out forms for the candidates to sign.

"These are waivers... It's so I'm not responsible if any of you worthless chumps die," Aiko explained, "And yes, lethal force is allowed within the forest. Anything goes, just get two unique scrolls for each team and ensure that none of you die in the process, or you're disqualified."

Naruto signed the paper, followed by a reluctant Sasuke and an even more reluctant Sakura, neither of whom were very pleased with the possibility of staying in a forest with someone who borderlines on sociopathic for five days. Naruto left with their waivers, before returning moments later with an earth scroll.

'I sense an eerie presence, Kurama-chan...' Naruto mentally spoke out.

"I second that statement," Kurama replied, "It's... It's a chakra presence that swallows the soul with its foulness," Kurama stated with a tone of disgust.

'Well... I have a few suspicions on where it originates...' Naruto mentally replied, glaring at an Ame Shinobi with an unusually long tongue.

"Alright, ready, everyone?!" Anko asked out, as each team readied themselves at their assigned gates, "If so... Begin!"

"Let's split up..." Naruto suggested, following behind his teammates as they leaped on branches.

"Are you insane?" Sakura questioned, only for Sasuke to quickly move to silence her.

"Yeah, Naruto, go right ahead," Sasuke replied, prompting Naruto to leap away to another part of the forest.

"Why'd you let him go it alone?" Sakura asked in confusion.

"First, neither of us really can stop him if he wanted to leave," Sasuke began to explain, "Secondly, I do not want to argue with that guy. Third and lastly... No matter how bizarre he is... You cannot deny the fact that he is reliable." Sasuke explained, receiving a reluctant nod of agreement from Sakura.

Moments later, Naruto would return to the group.

"Hey there, guys," Naruto began to say, walking over in an uncharacteristically social tone, "Sorry about earlier, let's stick together instead."

"Really? You have no idea how glad I am to hear that..." Sakura began to say.

Sasuke wasn't so sure, as he eyed Naruto up and down.

"Say... Naruto..." Sasuke began to say, pulling out a vial that Naruto had passed to him before, "You made this vial, so, tell me... What are the chemical components within it?"

"How the hell would I know what's in there?!" 'Naruto' asked back, "I bought that at the stor-"

'Naruto' would never finish his statement, being cut off by a kick from Sasuke, sending him flying into a tree.

"Sasuke-Kun?!" Sakura asked in shock, "Why'd you do that?!"

"Yeah, what gives?" 'Naruto' asked.

"Naruto, even if he hadn't given me this vial..." Sasuke began to explain, "Which he did, would know what chemicals make up this liquid from a glance alone. You're not Naruto, are you?"

The ninja sighed, before revealing himself to be one of the Ame shinobi from earlier, "How unlucky I am... But your misfortune outweighs mine, now hand over your scroll!"

"Yeah... I don't think so..." Sasuke replied, opening the vial before flinging its contents at the shinobi.

-Meanwhile, with Naruto-

"Hmm... But then again..." Naruto began to say, debating an attack on Team 8 who had seemed rather unprepared. "No matter how creepy Hinata is... But I rather enjoy Shino's company... And Kiba's been quite nice to me as well..."

While Naruto had been musing over whether or not he should attack his former classmates, a girl around his age with long black hair slowly approached his position, holding up two senbon in her hand.

"That and..." Naruto began to say, just loud enough for the girl to hear him.

'What's he saying...?' The girl thought, slowly approaching him.

"That and a random woman is looking to kill me," Naruto suddenly stated from behind the girl, startling her and prompting her to take a step forward and turn around rapidly, "You're that girl from Oto, aren't you?"

"What's it to you?!" The girl asked, holding up her three senbon.

"Senbon as well..." Naruto began to say, ignoring the question as he attempted to remember the names of the Sound Shinobi, "Your name... It's Kin Tsuchi, isn't it?"

'How did he even...' Kin began to think to herself, before realizing the need to maintain her current bravado, Naruto had been taken by surprise, after all. "That's not important right now! Where is your team's scroll?!"

"So your name is Kin..." Naruto replied, taking a step backward and holding his hands before him, "Telling you that would defeat the purpose of the test entirely... So... I'll be taking my leave now..."

"Don't you dare!" Kin warned, throwing a senbon that plunged itself into the tree next to Naruto.

Ignoring the senbon, Naruto began to walk away, "It's been nice talking to you... But I need to go now..."

"Stay where you are!" Kin demanded.

Subsequently becoming frustrated by Naruto's continued ignorance of her demands, Kin flung two senbon at the blond, intent on striking him down right there and then, or immobilizing him as a means to interrogate him. To her surprise and shock, Naruto, without turning around, merely slapped the senbon away with ease, before continuing on his way, instilling in Kin a deep sense of confusion as well as a strange sense of admiration for Naruto.

Now not willing to allow Naruto to leave, Kin leaped at the blond, attempting to land a head-level kick, only for Naruto to dodge with ease.

"That wasn't too nice now..." Naruto began to say, finally staring at Kin.

"Look, you're not making this any easier for me..." Kin began to say, regaining her balance, "Just tell me where your team's scroll is... And I might not murder you."

"I'm not interested..." Naruto began to say, "And I doubt you can kill me..."

'The fucking nerve on this guy...' Kin thought, slightly fuming from her attempts to extract information from Naruto.

Instead of just walking away this time, Naruto decided to take a page from Haku's book. "So... I'd advise you to leave me alone now... Else, I may have to use some rather... Crude and uncivilized methods to force you to proceed with such action."

"Just shut up and fight me like a man!" Kin demanded.

'That... Wasn't what happened last time...' Naruto thought, remembering being on the receiving end of that threat from Haku, "Do... Do you like fighting?"

Stunned by Naruto's bizarre question, Kin lowered her senbon, before staring at Naruto.

"I'm no psychologist... I, am forced to be a shinobi..." Naruto began to say, finding himself entering into a monologue, "I find such aggression, from anyone towards anyone else... To be rather unnatural, surely to be nurture rather than nature... So..."

Taking her opportunity, Kin threw a senbon at Naruto, one poised straight to his head, only for the blond to catch the senbon a few inches from its mark.

"Tell me... What troubles your mind?" Naruto asked, choosing to take a more diplomatic route to solve this conflict.

'There's no way this is happening to me right now...' Kin thought in confusion, not knowing what to do.

Now seeing that Naruto meant no true harm, however, Kin took a step closer to the blond, his strange personality and attitude fascinating her, as much as she'd hate to admit it.

"What... What is it that you want?" Kin asked, still very much confused.

"I just want to talk," Naruto replied, "I don't want to fight you, let alone kill you... And I know you don't have a scroll, So... Let's talk."

Seeing how casual the situation had become, and noting her inability to beat Naruto in the current situation, Kin acquiesced in the blond's decision, taking a seat on a log in front of Naruto.

"Now... What would you like to know?" Kin asked, "If it's my team's scroll, don't bother."

"Oh, no," Naruto began to say, "I'm not gonna ask about that... I merely want to help you."

"You? You're going to help me?" Kin asked with a muffled laugh, "Don't make me laugh... Everyone only says they want to help... No one truly does."

"Well... From what I can tell..." Naruto began to say, "You speak with no conviction in your words, your threats are empty... You... You don't like killing people, do you?"

"Who said that?!" Kin asked, putting up a front for the time being to hide her lack of conviction, "I enjoy killing people! I've killed loads! And I can certainly kill you!"

"Terrifying... Tell me, how many have you killed?" Naruto asked again.

"Me?! I- I've killed plenty!" Kin assured, using a tone that made it sound like she had been attempting to convince herself.

"Vague amounts... You haven't killed many people... Have you?" Naruto asked, using psychological methods to get through to Kin, "You haven't had the best life either, have you?"

"I... What are you talking about?! Life in Oto is great!" Kin argued back, "Especially under the rule of our great Master!"

"That just screams indoctrination to me..." Naruto retorted, "Tell me, how old were you when you became a shinobi?"

"What's it to you?!" Kin screamed back as she grabbed Naruto by the collar, staring straight into his eyes as she did, "Who are you to question me on these things?! I'll kill you right here and now!"

After nearly a minute of awkward staring between the two, Naruto could notice a faint blush on Kin's face.

"Yeah... That and the fact that I think you're staring a little too long..." Naruto retorted, causing the blush to further spread over her face. "Look, I'm not against any sort of interaction like this... But I want to help you, first and foremost, so... Please allow me to do so."

Strangely enough, Kin proceeded to let go of Naruto, before sitting back down.

"Now... Do enlighten me... How long have you been a shinobi for?" Naruto questioned.

"Are you dense?" Kin asked, not wanting to dwell on the topic for long, "I told you... I don't want to answer that question."

"Well... Let's shift that question around a little bit..." Naruto began to say, garnering a look of curiosity from Kin, "If you were not a shinobi... What would you like to do with your life?"

Kin paused for a moment, contemplating what she should reply with.

"No pressure... I know we don't have much time left, but... What is your ambition?" Naruto reiterated.

"I... I wanted to be a medical ninja... An acupuncture specialist at that..." Kin revealed, "My master said that he could help me... He said he could help all of us... But... But..." Kin began to say, only to struggle to continue as she began to choke up, her eyes forming tears as she attempted to continue.

"Calm down..." Naruto began to say, taking a knee before Kin and wiping her tears, attempting to recall what a book on mental help had said regarding situations like this. "Say... You know what a hug is?"

"You idiot... Of course, I know what a hug is!" Kin replied, her tears ceasing as she struggled to understand what Naruto had been trying to get at.

"Well... Have you ever had a hug before?" Naruto asked.

"Well... Not that I know of..." Kin admitted.

"Would you like a hug?" Naruto asked, sparking Kin's curiosity, "I know it isn't much... But... It's the least I could offer right now..."

Kin narrowed her eyes, before noticing a lack of malice on Naruto's face that had once been on her master's. In place of this malice, Kin could see the apparent fatigue and honestly behind Naruto's pair of blue eyes, no matter how soulless they might appear, prompting her to nod in agreement. Gently, the blond moved to wrap his arms around the Sound Kunoichi, with her immediately sinking into them as she experienced this sort of warmth for the first time. After a few seconds, Naruto pulled away.

"Feeling better?" Naruto asked.

"Y-yes..." Kin replied, offering a small smile, "I feel much better..."

"Alright... I'll be going now... We can meet again if you survive this stage..." Naruto began to say, "Just one thing... Who is your master?"

"Some random snake weirdo named Orochimaru..." Kin replied, spitting venom with her statement of the sannin's name.

"Orochimaru?" Naruto asked, his eyes widening as he showed a sign of panic for once, "Here?! Right now?"

"Yeah... He's here... Just got no clue where..." Kin replied.

'Orochimaru? Here?!' Naruto thought in shock, attempting to piece things together, remembering that Anko had been given the Cursed Mark by Orochimaru, "Did he mention anything about what he was doing here?!"

"No... He did mention a boy with eyes that saw more than anyone else..." Kin added.

"Shit," Naruto murmured, piecing things together as he turned to leave, "I need to go!"

"Where to?" Kin asked, seeing Naruto leaving in such a hurry.

"To face that damned snake!" Naruto yelled, showing more emotion than usual as he ran off.

Author's Notes 2: Yeah, I'm an asshole, and I'm very much aware that this is another setup chapter. But, I will promise you, that there will be one hell of a fight in the next one... Whenever it releases.

Regardless, tell me what you guys thought about this chapter in the reviews down below! I'm eager to see what you guys have to say!