Chapter 17 Test Anxiety
I don't own Naruto. Anything I use from the story is the property of its creator Masashi Kishimoto. Same with anything I use from other stories
(Hokage's Office)
As much as Naruto wanted to relax, the information he was given by Tayuya was something he had to talk to the Hokage about as soon as possible. "Here we go" Naruto groaned as stepped into the Hokage's office.
"Hello Naruto, what can I do for you?" the third asked warmly.
"Lord Hokage, I have an important... actually, two pieces of important information for you." Naruto briefly corrected. Gaara was also an important situation and he owed it to the old man to mention that also.
"I see." The third said calmly before he motioned for the ANBU to leave.
"Hold on. I think the ANBU should hear about this also." Naruto said quickly recognizing what was going on
The Third saw the seriousness in Naruto's eyes and nodded dropping his hands as the ANBU stuck around, "So what do you want to tell me about Naruto."
Naruto took a deep breath decided to start with the news from Tayuya, "A very reliable source informed me that the Hidden Sound Village is run by Orochimaru of the Sannin."
The Third's eyes widened at the very unexpected news, "Are you sure about this Naruto. Even our top spymaster, Jiraiya of the Sannin, has been unable to learn anything about the Hidden Sound. Yet you've somehow discovered that Orochimaru is the leader out of seemingly nowhere"
Naruto would've been more annoyed but even he understood how shocking the circumstances were, "The source is the same person who warned us about Orochimaru's attempt to ambush Karin as well as the person who exposed herself to me during said ambush." Naruto paused.
The Third really didn't like this but kept his cool, "Considering that you didn't mention this before, is it safe to assume she's approached you again, this time from within the Leaf Village."
"That's correct. Her name is Tayuya Uzumaki, and she approached me earlier at Ichiraku's hoping to make a deal with me. After Ayame questioned her intentions she decided to reveal a Sound Village headband." Naruto explained.
"I see." The third frowned.
Yugao appeared in the room in her mask, "Lord Hokage, if the Sound is connected to Orochimaru do you think that he would come to the village himself."
"I don't know, but he is certainly within his rights to do so if Naruto's information is correct" The third replied. Politics were particularly annoying at a time like this, and his old student made a master stroke.
"I see" Yugao scowled.
"Lord Hokage, what reason would Orochimaru have to come back to the village" Naruto asked calmly.
The Third thought for a moment before taking a deep breath, "Orochimaru was one of the greatest shinobi to ever come out of this village. He was the perfect mix of strength and intelligence, but he was also troubled. Orochimaru sought out two things more than anything. Immortality, and the desire to learn every jutsu in existence.
Naruto's eyes narrowed, "Considering his sensei is known as The Professor, I don't see why he would betray the village for the second one."
"While that is true it was his hunt for the first one that ultimately led to him leaving the village." The third replied.
"What do you mean by that?" Naruto asked nervously.
The Third took another deep breath, "Orochimaru kidnapped young children in order to do experiments on them."
"No way!" Naruto gasped.
"It's true Naruto. You've actually met two people who are victims of these experiments already."
"Two?" Naruto said curiously.
"The first was Yamato of Team Ro. He was kidnapped by his Orochimaru and forced to take on the cells of the First Hokage." The Hokage explained.
"Who's the second?" Naruto asked nervously.
"The second is actually Anko. Anko has the unique distinction of being one of his genin students and when he left the village, they ostracized her for it. The idea was that the student of such a monster could only be a monster herself. An idiotic sentiment, but one that sadly Anko has been unable to escape." Yugao explained.
"I see" Naruto said calmly trying to hold back his rage. The idea that he would harm his own student was awful.
"Naruto, I will say this once and not repeat myself. Should you encounter Orochimaru in ANY capacity, do whatever it takes to get away. You cannot beat him without using the fox's power and even then, my student has seen it all. He may have a means to counter the fox's power" The third said sternly.
"I'll try my best old man." Naruto said calmly.
"That's good, but that's only your first piece of news. What's the second?" the Third asked nervously. If this was the first piece of news, he shuddered at the second.
Naruto took a deep breath, "My second piece of information is that one of the genin competing for the Sand Village in the upcoming exams is the host of the one-tailed Raccoon Shukaku." Naruto revealed.
"What!" The Third Hokage and Yugao said at once. Another ANBU with a dragon mask appeared from the shadows.
"Genin Uzumaki are you certain of this." the man said in a clear panic.
"100%. Fu's bijuu sensed him arriving and I met him personally last night." Naruto said calmly.
"Damn it" the man cursed before turning to his leader. "Lord Hokage, we must cancel the exams right now. If one of the jinchuriki is in the exams, he's a danger to anybody who wishes to compete."
"You do realize that I'M supposed to be in the exams. Me of the nine-tailed fox." Naruto grunted.
Knowing that this could escalate quickly the Third Hokage quickly intervened, "Naruto the reason we weren't concerned about you is because you can control your beast. Can you say the same about that young man?"
Naruto thought back and if he was being honest, he knew the answer, "He can't but that doesn't mean we should cancel the exams." Naruto said quickly.
"Genin Uzumaki you should know as well as anybody how dangerous an untrained jinchuriki can be." The dragon mask protested.
"You're right but think about it another way. The Sand Village sent Gaara to these exams knowing that he couldn't completely control his beast. That means that his teammates have a way to control him in case he gets unhinged. If we deny them a chance to compete, they may just allow him to go berserk" Naruto countered.
"Good point" the man growled reluctantly.
The Third really didn't like the current situation but he had to stay calm and collected, "You've given me a lot to think about Naruto and you are dismissed" The third said nervously.
"Of course" Naruto replied before leaving.
(Scene Skip)
The day of the chunin exams arrived and Naruto approached the former Academy to find his two teammates waiting for him, "Are you ready Naruto?" Sasuke said with a smile.
"Something like that" Naruto replied. He was in his typical black shirt and pants but to his team's surprise he didn't have his blade with him.
"Something up Naruto. I thought you'd have your blade with you for the exams." Sasuke replied.
"Let's just say, I don't think I'll need it." Naruto said calmly.
"Alright" Sasuke replied with a raised eyebrow. The group made their way up to room 302 which was where the exam was supposed to take place, but they noticed a bunch of genin stopped in front of a room that was certainly not 302.
"Naruto what's going on? Isn't this the second floor?" Sakura whispered.
"It is. My guess is it's a final test to make sure that the genin are ready." Naruto replied and as they got close, they noticed a few familiar faces.
"Let us through." Tenten shouted towards two men standing in front of the door with Lee Neji and a group of other shinobi around them. They were standing in front of door that appeared to say 302 but Naruto knew from vast experience this was the second floor.
'Good grief.' Naruto thought to himself before looking at his team. "Guys get close" Naruto whispered as he began flipping through hand signs. 'Wind Style: Wind Cloak Jutsu' Naruto said silently before walking right by. Whatever Tenten and her team were after Naruto wasn't going to play along. The group walked by calmly avoiding the crowd and went passed the group but not before Naruto took the chance to smack Tenten on her ass as he walked by eliciting, a very amusing yelp from his lover.
"Really Naruto" Sasuke deadpanned.
"I have my reasons." Naruto replied before they walked by. The group continued to the third floor where they found a smiling Kakashi in front of the true room 302.
"Glad you three could make it. It's time for the exam." Kakashi smiled.
"We're ready" Sakura said firmly.
"Yeah" Sasuke smiled.
"It should be… interesting." Naruto said calmly.
"Something wrong Naruto?" Kakashi replied noticing that Naruto wasn't excited at all.
"No" Naruto said quickly.
"Okay" Kakashi replied with a raised eyebrow before leaving the three.
"Here we go" Sasuke said calmly, and they opened the door and walked in.
Naruto quickly began scanning the room to get a good read on his opponents. He recognized headbands of the hidden rain village along with some older ninja but that wasn't who mattered. He felt a small bit of killing intent and discreetly looked towards Gaara who was smiling at him as a blonde girl with pigtails and a guy in a black bodysuit that looked like a kabuki performer watched nervously. Soon after, he found Tayuya next to a girl with extremely long black hair wearing a green vest with snakeskin pants and a skirt, and a guy whose face was wrapped up in bandages wearing a massive gray poncho. He was brought from his musing by Yakumo Hinata and Shino walking towards him.
"Hello Naruto." Hinata said happily.
Naruto merely smiled before surprising the watching crowd by wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her into his body, "Hey Hinata. This is for good luck." Naruto smiled before kissing her on the lips to the shock of the crowd.
"Thank you" Hinata blushed heavily not expecting that at all.
"So I don't get one too." Yakumo pouted.
"Of course you do." Naruto smiled before walking over. Just like with Hinata, Naruto wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her into a kiss.
"Really Naruto." Sakura deadpanned.
"Hey if you want a kiss for good luck just ask Sasuke." Naruto retorted causing Ino to twitch.
"I already got it earlier before you arrived." Sakura smiled as Ino snapped.
"What the hell is going on here. We're supposed to be getting ready for an exam and here you are acting like horndogs." Ino scowled as she walked towards them. Discovering Sakura was with Sasuke was infuriating and she wasn't going to take this standing down.
"If you were jealous just say so Ino." Sakura replied.
"I'm not!" Ino screamed as she stopped in front of a smiling Sakura.
"If you wanted a kiss so badly come here." Naruto frowned before grabbing Ino and pulling her into his body just as he had with Hinata and Yakumo.
Ino blushed at the contact and decided to go along with the idea at least with one caveat, "Can you do it on the cheek." Ino said with a blush.
Naruto merely shrugged before kissing Ino on the cheek, "Good luck Ino." Naruto replied before letting go of her.
"Thanks" Ino blushed.
"Seriously guys. This is an important exam not a teenage romance comedy." a new figure said as they walked towards the gang. It was an older guy with silver hair and glasses.
"And who are you?" Sasuke frowned.
"Kabuto Yakushi. I figured as fellow Leaf shinobi I could help you guys out." Kabuto said politely.
A still flustered Ino quickly gathered herself, "And what makes you think we need your help." Ino huffed.
"Well I've taken the exam 7 times and I've gathered some interesting information as a result."
"How interesting?" Shikamaru said with a raised eyebrow having approached behind Ino.
Kabuto smiled before reaching into his pocket, "I have these cards that have information about the people taking the exams."
Naruto narrowed his eyes at that, but before he could speak up somebody else interrupted, "That might help with these other villages but that won't mean a thing when it comes to us." Tayuya huffed.
"You're right. You guys from the Sound are new, so I don't have anything on you." Kabuto said calmly.
All of the sudden the bandaged guy next to Tayuya appeared in front of Kabuto in an impressive show of speed, "Then your information is as useless as you are. How about I save everyone the trouble of listening to whatever you have to say" the bandaged guy said coldly before attacking Kabuto out of nowhere.
"Ughh" Kabuto grunted as he fell to the ground.
"Put that in your cards." Tayuya said in a haughty voice but before Kabuto could respond smoke appeared in the middle of the room.
"That's enough everyone. No more violence or you automatically fail." A large man with scars all over his face growled. That man was Ibiki Moreno the head of the Interrogation Department and one of the most dangerous shinobi in the village.
"Sorry sir." Tayuya replied calmly.
'Well this just got interesting.' Naruto thought to himself. He knew all about Ibiki thanks to Yugao Anko and of course Kakashi and if he was their first proctor, this promised to be an interesting exam.
(Scene Skip)
As the first exam began, he couldn't help but smile at the way things had played out. The first exam was a written test with 9 questions and the 10th question would be issued later. Unfortunately for most people, the questions were extremely complicated and most genin would struggle to answer even 1 of them. Naruto wasn't one of those genin, but that wasn't the reason for his smile. He was smiling because he was sitting next to the black-haired girl with Tayuya who he suspected was the one Tayuya wanted him to help. He wanted to figure out more, but this was a horrible place to talk with all the eyes on him. Luckily for him he didn't have to wait long until he heard a small sound and felt a genjutsu take a hold of him. A moment later the black-haired girl turned towards him, "I cast a genjutsu on the room so we can talk without getting caught cheating." The girl said calmly.
Naruto could appreciate the ingenuity although he had a distinct feeling it hadn't worked as she hoped. Casting a glance around the room it was obvious that they knew what was going on but ignored it, "What do you want to talk about?" Naruto replied calmly.
"I was wondering how you were going to help me and Tayuya." The girl replied.
"Well I can't help you if I don't know what's going on. Plus I don't know you yet." Naruto replied cheekily.
"My name is Kin Tsuchi. As I'm sure you know Tayuya me and Dosu were sent by Lord Orochimaru to represent the Sound Village." Kin said calmly.
"So what have you guys been sent to do?" Naruto wondered.
"Ironically enough, attack your teammate Sasuke Uchiha during the second part of the exam."
'Figures. With the Sharingan Orochimaru really could learn everything.' Naruto thought to himself. "Then what?"
"That's all we were told." Kin replied.
"I see." Naruto frowned not liking that at all.
"Yeah, so after you guys pass this test get ready." Kin replied calmly.
Naruto was about to respond but felt something very interesting coming towards him, "I'm afraid our conversation has come to an end." Naruto replied calmly.
"Why's that?" Kin answered curiously.
"Because you're not the only girl interested in me. Bye for now." Naruto replied with a smirk before leaving Kin's genjutsu to prepare for the next person interested in speaking to him. Somebody he truly didn't expect to want to talk to him.
(Ino P.O.V)
Figuring out that the point of the exam was to cheat was easy since I knew Ibiki as well as I did. Shikamaru would be fine so all I needed to do was find somebody who had the answers and give them to Choji. 'Okay here we go.' I thought to myself as I scanned the room. I found a disguised chunin with ease and with the Mind Transfer the answers were mine.
After sending the answers to Choji, I was done with the exam and now it was a matter of waiting for Ibiki to get to the last question. Since I had time, I decided to look into something that was bothering me about earlier. My gaze went towards Naruto who was sitting next to one of those Sound village ninja and I couldn't help but frown. When he kissed me earlier, I'm positive Naruto put a seal on my right side. The question was why, and this was the perfect chance to find out. Staring at Naruto, I used a variant of the Mind Transfer jutsu that let me sneak into someone's body temporarily, but not take it over. I know my dad told me never to use any of the Yamanaka jutsu on Naruto, but I had no choice since the next part of the exam was a battle and anything, I didn't know about was a liability.
(Naruto's mindscape)
After using the technique, I arrived at a large field. Something felt off about the mindscape, but I couldn't explain it. "Naruto. Where are you!" I shouted wondering where he was.
All of the sudden Naruto shimmered in front of me, "Good grief. I'm pretty sure your old man told you not to use the Yamanaka jutsu on me Ino." Naruto said with a hand against his head wearing a tracksuit of some kind.
"He did… but I wanted to ask you about what you did to me earlier and this was the best way."
"You mean the kiss." Naruto smiled.
I couldn't help but blush again, but I stayed focused, "No you jerk. I mean that seal you put on my side." I said angrily.
"Oh that. Well instead of telling you I'll show you." Naruto smiled.
Before I could say anything, I felt my clothes get torn to pieces as I appeared in front of him completely naked, "What are you doing!" I screamed before bending down so Naruto couldn't see my body.
"Well you wanted to see what I did to you so there you go." Naruto said calmly.
"You didn't have to strip me you ass." I said angrily still hunched down.
"True. But consider this a punishment for peeking into my mind." Naruto replied before snapping his fingers and putting a pair of purple panties on me.
"Can I at least get a bra." I asked.
"Nope. This is still a punishment" Naruto replied cheekily.
I reluctantly got up exposing my breasts to Naruto before looking down at my right hip. Sure enough, there was a black circle with the symbol for Uzumaki in the middle, "What's this seal Naruto. What did you to me?" I complained.
"Have you ever heard of the Hirashin Ino?" Naruto replied.
I frowned, "No I haven't. What is it and what does it have to do with this symbol?" I replied.
Naruto frowned briefly before taking a deep breath, "The Hirashin is a special space time ninjutsu used by the Second Hokage as well as the Fourth Hokage. It allows the user to teleport anywhere they want provided there's a marker at that location."
My eyes widened, "So that symbol allows you to come to my location at any time."
"Correct?"
Something like that could be used for nefarious purposes but that wasn't Naruto's style, "Why would you need such a thing." I asked calmly.
Naruto looked at me calmly before snapping his fingers again and my outfit was back on, "There are people in this exam that are extremely dangerous." Naruto said calmly but I interrupted before he could say anything.
"If you're worried about me dying, don't be. We're ninja Naruto, death is always a possibility. I replied.
Naruto frowned but had to concede Ino had a point, "Tell you what. Keep the symbol on you until the end of the second exam. Once it's over, I'll take it off for you. I can do it with your clothes on also, so you won't need to get naked for me again."
"I never intended to get naked for you Naruto?" I replied angrily.
"Yeah yeah. Now get out Ino, I'm pretty sure it's about time for the Tenth question." Naruto smirked before expelling me from his mindscape. That was strange but I would make sure to remember that for later.
(Normal P.O.V)
"Alright everybody it's time for the 10th question." Ibiki replied as everyone turned towards him. "Before you're given the tenth question there are a few rules that apply only to this question. The first rule is that you don't have to take the 10th question but if you chose not to take it you automatically fail"
"That's bullshit" Tayuya said angrily and most of the genin seemed to agree.
"So what happens if we take the 10th question and get it wrong. These questions were nuts and this special question has to be the same kind of beast" Naruto asked calmly.
"I'm glad you asked. If you take the 10th question and fail. You will be banned from ever taking the chunin exams again."
"That's insane!" Tenten scowled.
"Yeah, there's plenty of people who are taking the exam for a second time." A ninja from the Grass Village said angrily.
"The other exams didn't have me. So now the decision is yours." Ibiki replied with a smile. What most weren't aware of was that this was a bluff and Ibiki's goal was to weed out the weak willed. Sure enough, genin began to raise their hands as the weaker of the groups began to make themselves known. What started out as 90 genin was quickly reduced to around 45 which was good but then a surprise hit when a hand went up that he didn't expect. That of Naruto Uzumaki.
"What the hell Naruto!" Sakura gasped as the blonde of Team 7 raised his hand.
"I know it might seem crazy, but I think I'm gonna bow out." Naruto said calmly as most of the Leaf Village looked at him like he was insane.
"Naruto are you sure about this. What about your dreams." Lee wondered.
"I've been a genin for only a few months Lee. I've got plenty of time to show what I can do, but I want to see what everyone else can do."
"But" Lee protested.
"It's alright Lee. I'm good with my decision. I don't know what's left, but I know that my fellow rookies and you guys are going to be great and show what the Hidden Leaf can do." Naruto replied before turning to his team. "Sorry guys. I thought I was ready, but I guess not." Naruto said calmly.
"It's fine Naruto." Sakura replied as they got up.
"Well get out of here then." Ibiki replied with an odd expression on his face.
"Alright." Naruto replied before leaving as the rest of the group looked on.
(Viewing area)
To say that most of the jonin and chunin watching proceedings were shocked was an understatement. Naruto Uzumaki was the strongest genin in the group by a country mile and there was no way that he hadn't seen through Ibiki's bluff, "Kakashi what's going on." Kurenai yelled angrily.
"I don't know." Kakashi replied. Naruto was not the type to give up especially under these circumstances. One could say that his grit and determination were his defining quality.
"Do you want me to talk to him." Genma said calmly.
"As soon as possible. This isn't like Naruto." Kakashi said firmly.
"Well that sucks. The kid would've definitely passed the second exam and he'd be one of the favorites to win the third." Asuma groaned.
"This was very unyouthful of him. What's going on?" Gai, the sensei for Tenten and Lee asked curiously.
While most of the Leaf ninja were focused on Naruto. Another of was focused on another member of Team 7, "Well there goes my plan for Sasuke. Well there's nothing I can do but wait." The figure groaned. This was a disguised Orochimaru who was not pleased that his plan was completely ruined. When the second exam began Orochimaru was going to kill the last Team from Hidden Grass and use them to get to Sasuke and mark him. However that plan was out the window. On the bright side, it would make things very interesting for his students still in the exam.
(Scene Skip)
Team 7 left the Academy with an awkward silence after their leader's decision to quit the exam. Of course, that silence didn't last long, "Your home or mine Naruto." Sasuke said firmly.
"What are you talking about Sasuke?" Sakura wondered in confusion.
"Naruto got himself kicked out of the exam on purpose and I want to know why. So my question is are we going to my home or his to discuss what's really going on."
"Yours." Naruto quickly replied. Genma would come to see him soon enough.
"Got it" Sasuke replied with a smile before grabbing Sakura.
"Sasuke what are you…" Sakura started to say before Sasuke vanished via a shunshin.
"Looks like he mastered it after all." Naruto snickered. He figured he'd teach Sasuke some fun tricks since they had some time before and the shunshin was one of them. As he vanished with a shunshin Naruto was prepared for a very interesting conversation.
Arriving in the middle of Sasuke's living room. Sasuke quickly at the head of the small table he had, "Talk Naruto." Sasuke said firmly.
"One sec" Naruto smiled before flashing some hand signs. He wanted to make sure nobody else was watching them or listening in. As the barrier flashed, he was pleased to see that nothing happened.
"Now that you're sure we're not being listened to, why did you get us kicked out." Sasuke said with a bit of annoyance.
"Remember that girl who warned Karin about the ambush." Naruto said calmly.
"Yeah. What about her."
"Well her name is Tayuya, and she happens to be the red head from the Sound Village that spoke up earlier. I ran into her during a trip to Ichiraku's the other day."
Sasuke and Sakura were both surprised but Sasuke spoke up next, "What did she have to say?" Sasuke wondered.
"Well she wanted to make a deal with me, and I was skeptical at first. In order get me to trust her, she told me that the Sound Village was created by Orochimaru." Naruto said calmly.
"You… you're kidding." Sakura gasped.
"I wish I was." Naruto sighed.
The gears in Sasuke's head were already turning and now he understood what was going on even if he didn't want to, "So what does Orochimaru want with me." Sasuke said sternly. Naruto wasn't worried about himself and Sakura wouldn't have anything Orochimaru wanted. That left him.
"According to what she told me, Orochimaru wanted her team to attack you during the second exams but that was a strange order." Naruto said calmly.
"How so?" Sakura wondered.
"The second exam is a free-for-all team battle inside the Forest of Death. To suggest that you target a specific team is stupid under those circumstances because you never know how close or how far you'd be." Naruto explained.
"How do you know that?" Sakura frowned.
"Uncle Genma made me a dinner to celebrate the exams and got Yugao and this guy named Yamato to come and celebrate with me."
"Kakashi actually did the same for me although it was just us." Sasuke admitted with a smile.
"Anyway. Anko came over also and got drunk before telling me about that little detail. Yugao promptly took Anko away before anything else happened" Naruto admitted.
That explanation explained how he knew but Sasuke focused on the original issue, "You think Orochimaru was going to attack me himself." Sasuke suggested.
"Yup. Back when he was in the Leaf Village the Forest of Death was his Training Ground. He could easily sneak in and attack us, and we'd be helpless to stop him."
"I see" Sakura shuddered. The idea of facing off against a Sannin was not a pleasant one.
"Well if that's the case thank you Naruto. I know how important this exam was for you and your plans." Sasuke replied.
"What do you mean by that Sasuke?" Sakura wondered. She knew about Sasuke's situation but not much about Naruto's. Well besides the fact he was sleeping with the other graduating kunoichi of their age group. The amusing exception being Ino, though how long that lasted remained to be seen if Naruto kissing her was any indication.
"Naruto is currently in the CRA or Clan Restoration Act on an unofficial basis due to being the last member of his clan. It's how he can maintain his relationship with the others without there being too much trouble. If he became a chunin."
Sakura's eyes widened at that since something else occurred to her, "Wait a minute, you're also the last member of your clan. Why aren't you in this CRA." Sakura wondered.
Sasuke decided to have some fun at Sakura's expense, "So you'd be okay with sharing me with multiple girls."
"Of course not you… you were kidding huh?" Sakura pouted.
"That's right. If I tried to enter there's a good chance that members of the civilian council would insist on entering their daughters so they can get ahold of my fortune. They've been trying to do so for years but Kakashi has been a nice detractor." Sasuke smiled.
"I see" Sakura frowned.
"My love life aside what was with you kissing Ino. Last time I checked you hated her." Sasuke wondered.
"I still do. I wanted to put a seal on her that would let me get to her in case Orochimaru targeted her instead. The kiss was to make sure nobody was focusing on that." Naruto shrugged.
"I'm assuming you kissed Yakumo and Hinata for the same reason." Sasuke smiled.
"Yup although in their case I did want to kiss them good luck" Naruto smiled.
"What about Tenten. I'm pretty sure she's one of your lovers and you didn't kiss her." Sakura questioned.
"I took care of her." Naruto said with a chuckle.
"It was when you smacked her ass wasn't it?" Sasuke deadpanned.
"Yup" Naruto chuckled.
"Pervert" Sakura pouted.
Naruto didn't really deny it but decided to focus on something else, "I should get going. Uncle Genma will want answers." Naruto shrugged.
"I'm surprised Kakashi sensei hasn't come over yet." Sakura wondered.
"Knowing sensei he's waiting to find out from Genma before discussing matters with you. Don't be surprised if he comes over later tonight." Naruto shrugged.
"Alright. So what are you going to tell Fu Haku and Karin?" Sasuke wondered.
"I haven't quite decided yet. See ya tomorrow" Naruto said calmly before vanishing with a shunshin. His day was just getting started and he certainly wasn't looking forward to the next hour or so.
(Konoha)
With the first test over the examinees made their way to the Forest of Death but Team 8 wasn't focused on that at all. "What the heck is Naruto up to." Yakumo frowned as they waited in front of the Forest.
"I don't know Yakumo, but we'll find out soon." Hinata sighed. Naruto's actions were strange all around. Naruto very rarely engaged in PDA which made the fact he kissed them strange enough. The fact he kissed Ino, who he truly couldn't stand, was even stranger. Then he dropped out after the first exam which floored everyone including Ibiki from his expression.
'For what it's worth Yakumo. I think Naruto put some sort of seal on us when he kissed us earlier. I'm guessing he did the same thing with Hinata and Tenten' Ido replied staying inside of Yakumo for now.
'Think that's why he kissed Ino also?' Yakumo wondered.
'Most likely but we can worry about that later. We've got company.' Ido smiled.
Yakumo looked up and Ino walked towards them, "Is now a bad time to talk." Ino said calmly.
"Why wouldn't it be. We're fellow Leaf Ninja." Hinata smiled.
Ino was glad the girls were calm considering what happened, but she needed answers, "During the first exam I spoke to Naruto in his mindscape." Ino revealed.
Hinata and Yakumo looked at her nervously but kept calm, "What did you talk about."
"When he kissed me, he put a seal on my side that was for some jutsu called the Hirashin. He was worried that this test was going to be dangerous for me and used the seal to make sure I was safe. Honestly, I had an odd feeling about this exam anyway, so I went along with it. At least he promised to take the seal off after the second exam" Ino frowned.
"What did Shikamaru and Choji say when you told them about your concerns." Hinata said with a raised eyebrow.
"They agreed something was off but had no clue what. Either way, we should be careful." Ino warned.
"Agreed. Good luck on the second exam." Hinata replied.
"You too." Ino replied before leaving.
The pair looked at each other before frowning, "If Naruto's worried about something that's never good." Hinata frowned.
"I agree and we both know who is most likely to cause problems." Yakumo smiled. Out of the corner of her eye she spotted the Sound Team approaching the Forest.
'Whatever is going on, it has something to do with the Sound village. No doubt about it' Ido said mentally.
'Agreed' Yakumo replied.
(Uzumaki home)
Naruto opened the door to the mansion and walked into the living room to find Genma sitting on the couch with a frown on his face, "I'm assuming you want to talk about why I gave up." Naruto said calmly.
"If you don't mind." Genma said politely.
Naruto smiled, "Tayuya approached me a few days ago at Ichiraku's and she wanted to make a deal with me. Since Ayame didn't trust her she revealed that she was from the Hidden Sound Village and was sent by Orochimaru alongside her team for the exam. After speaking to the Hokage about Orochimaru, I decided to make the decision to withdraw to keep my team out of danger. A decision that was proven to be correct during the first exam." Naruto said firmly.
"And why's that?"
"Because Tayuya's teammate Kin sat next to me for the first exam. She used a genjutsu on the room and told me that her team was ordered to attack Sasuke during the second exam." Naruto said calmly.
Genma frowned because Naruto's instincts about something being wrong were spot on, "Then you made the right decision. I hate to admit it, but Orochimaru is one of the most dangerous shinobi this village has ever produced. His combination of intelligence strength and speed are matched by only a few people. The fact that the Forest of Death is his old training ground lends itself even more to being cautious."
"That's what I thought also. Even though I was planning to withdraw, I still made sure to give Ino Hinata Tenten and Yakumo seals to protect them in case something happened."
"When did you give Tenten a seal. I saw your little stunt with Ino Yakumo and Hinata, but you didn't talk to Tenten at all." Genma asked curiously.
"On the second floor. Instead of deal with the genjutsu Izumo and Kotetsu set up, I decided to walk by. I smacked Tenten on the ass as a bit of a prank and put my seal on her then."
Genma had to stifle a chuckle because he can imagine that scene quite well, "Well why don't you relax for now. I'll let the others know what happened and we'll see how it plays out later." Genma smiled.
"Thanks" Naruto said calmly. A lot was going on and he needed to think about his next move carefully.
(Scene Skip)
The second test was underway, and Team 8 walked in with a nice mix of nerves and excitement, "So we have a free-for-all with nobody watching. Just great." Hinata frowned.
"We should be fine due to our various techniques, but the question is who should we target first." Shino wondered.
"For now I say we start scouting. Normally I'd use Ido here but."
"But due to the Forest's nature we have to keep her with you. Your new techniques are powerful but without Ido's help it's not nearly as strong."
'Then it's a good thing I've been working on a way to get around that.' Ido said calmly.
"Apparently Ido has a plan." Yakumo said calmly before she made the cross shaped hand sign for shadow clone. Out of the puff of smoke, Ido appeared with a smile on her face.
"There we go" the clone smiled before stretching her body.
"So what's this regular method that you've come up with." Hinata frowned. The fact Ido hid this from them didn't make her very happy.
The clone merely smiled before flashing some hand signs. "Black Arts: World of Shadows" The group watched as the eyes of Ido's clone glowed briefly before its whole body turned black and seemed to split into pieces before disappearing.
"What in the world was that." Hinata said in confusion.
This time it was the actual Yakumo's turn to have her eyes glow as they changed red briefly as Ido possessed her host for a bit. It was the only way she could talk to them after casting World of Shadows r, "It's easy to forget sometimes, but I am a mass of chakra that can simply turn itself human and does so too great effect. With World of Shadows. I simply return to a chakra state allow my latent chakra to flow around. For the next hour or so I'll be able to spot anything I want within the forest." Ido said as Yakumo.
"Not bad." Hinata said happily.
"Thank you. Now I'm going to give Yakumo back her body. Anything I learn will be told to you guys by her from now on. Sorry for the confusion, but since we want to conserve chakra, I had to do it this way."
"It's fine. Admittedly we've grown used to you having an actual body." Hinata chuckled.
"Tell me about it. Well it's time to go. Talk to you guys later." Ido smirked before returning control to Yakumo.
"I hate when she does that." Yakumo frowned as she took a moment to gather herself.
"Worry about that later. It's time to get going." Hinata said firmly and Team 8 was off.
As they made their way towards the center of the forest the fragments that Ido spent checked around and a very interesting confrontation was about to take place. One that involved Tayuya's Sound Village team and a team from the Hidden Grass. The very team that Orochimaru was planning to kill.
That's it for Chapter 17 and I'm sure there's a lot of you wondering what I'm thinking by taking Naruto out of the Forest of Death.
The reason is that frankly the Forest of Death is boring to write and read if you've done it long enough. Most fanfics involve the same basic formula with the Forest of Death with small deviations depending on who's in Naruto's harem. Team 7 takes out the Rain village team and after stopping them are ambushed by Orochimaru. Sasuke gets the cursed seal, and they have to wait. Eventually Dosu's team shows up and they fight Sasuke's cursed seal emerges, and he demolishes Zaku (who I got rid of because I simply don't care enough about him to use him) and then they go to the tower. I wanted to do something truly different, and you can already see that in my setup.
The next thing to bring up is the Ido Yakumo dynamic. It's something I haven't discussed much but feel a need to after the odd scene with the World of Shadows technique. Ido and Yakumo have a relationship similar to Naruto and the fox after he claims it's full chakra. Ido leaves Yakumo one of 2 ways. A shadow clone created by Yakumo herself or expelling herself via Yakumo's tenketsu to create a separate body. Next chapter the Second Exam takes shape.