Chapter 21: Chunnin Exams Begin!

Day of the Chunnin Exams

It was early morning and Team 7, Naruto, Zabuza and Haku were sitting in the Uzumaki Estate for discussing the Chunnin Exams. The exam was to start at 9 am so they still had 3 hours left. After talking for a bit, everyone except Zabuza, who still had to stay in the house for 15 more days, left for the Chunnin Exams. In the meantime, Naruto finally fixed the innermost barrier but the other four barriers were still destroyed. Rui had changed her outfit and was now wearing a white shirt, thanks to Naruto's influence, and a red skirt with long black socks.

"That Katana looks beautiful." Sakura said praising Rui's Katana.

"Naruto gave me this," Rui said.

"So, how did your training go Sakura?" Sasuke asked.

"It was good. I learned Water based Ninjutsu and also hand-to-hand combat. And yours?" Sakura said.

"I learned how to properly use my sharingan. And I also mastered Shiden to some extent. And I learned kenjutsu too. And some fire release techniques and…" Sasuke went on until he got weird looks from everyone and eventually stopped.

"How about you, Haku?" Naruto asked.

"I learned a few jutsu from the scroll you gave to Zabuza-Sama. Other than that, I didn't learn anything much, except some Kyujutsu [Art of Archery] that you taught me." Haku said.

"We have finally reached the exam centre. Good Luck, all of you." Kakashi said as they stopped before the building.

"Thank you sensei." Sasuke, Sakura and Rui said in unison as Kakashi smiled before he shunshined away.

"Are you going to come with us?" Haku asked.

"Well, we are still an hour early. So, I will be with you for the time being." Naruto said as they entered the building.

As Naruto entered the building, he widened his senses to scan the surrounding. Soon he sensed a few dominant chakra signatures and 4 other chakra signatures greater than Sasuke. The first one was Gaara of the Sand, the second one was Neji Hyuga, and the third was Haku. Naruto couldn't identify the 4th guy but it was somewhat familiar, and terrifying.

"Hmm… this exam is going to be fun," Naruto said.

"What?" Sakura asked.

"Oh nothing, I was just thinking out loud," Naruto said.

"Would you look at that, what are those fools doing there?" Sasuke said as he saw a crowd making some noise.

"Let's see for ourselves," Naruto said as he approached the crowd.

"Please let us through, we need to give the exams," Tenten said as he approached the two guys who were blocking the entrance. But as she laid her hands on them, he punched her in the face and sent her sweeping down the floor.

"What's the fuss about?" Naruto said as he approached the crowd. The two guys immediately recognised Naruto as he was the controller of the Chunnin Exams.

"We were just testing these genins, sir." One of them said as he bowed before Naruto.

"It wouldn't matter. Dead Shinobi are better than incompetent ones. They will eventually die in the exams." Naruto said as he dispelled the genjutsu.

"Who are you and why are they obeying you?" Lee asked Naruto.

"Oh, I am just a helpless kid who forgot my way. I am sorry, I should leave now." Naruto said as he turned to leave but Lee grabbed to shoulder to stop him. As he grabbed Naruto's shoulder Haku, Sasuke, Sakura and Rui got tense as they knew what could be the consequences very well.

"You give off the aura of a strong person. So, I want to fight you." Lee said.

"I told you I am just a normal boy who came here with my friends. You should let me go." Naruto said with a smile.

"No. I refuse to believe that you are a nobody. Now, fight me." Lee said.

*sigh* "Alright, where do you want to fight?" Naruto said as he turned towards Lee.

Gymnasium

Naruto, Team 7 and Tenten and Lee went to the gymnasium to fulfil Lee's request.

"Looks like Gai sensei trained you well," Naruto said as he stood before Lee with his right hand's palm facing him and his left hand at his back.

"How do you know about Gai-Sensei?" Lee asked.

"I was his student once. He is the one who taught me Taijutsu. And he talked about you too, Rock Lee." Naruto said as Lee's eyes widened.

"So you are Gai-sensei's student too. This will be a very good fight." Lee said.

"I am not so sure about that. How many gates can you open?" Naruto asked.

"I can open up to 5 gates," Lee said.

"You are a worthy opponent then," Naruto said.

"Can you open gates too?" Lee asked.

"Gai sensei taught me how to but I never gave it a try as I didn't need it," Naruto said.

"Before we start, I want to know your name," Lee said.

"Naruto Uzumaki. Now, begin." Naruto said as Lee dashed at him. But as he covered some distance, he disappeared and reappeared behind Naruto, Naruto instantly punched him in the face without even turning. As the punch connected, Lee quickly ducked and tried to sweep Naruto's legs but Naruto simply jumped and turned in mid-air to deliver a barrage of 3 kicks to Lee's chest, sending him sweeping to the opposite wall.

"Are you satisfied now?" Naruto said as a Turtle entered the gymnasium. As Naruto noticed the turtle, he immediately bowed before him.

"You are the same Naruto that you were all those years ago." The turtle said.

"Why are you bowing before a turtle?" Rui asked.

"Because I am not a turtle," Guy said as he removed the transformation.

"So long, sensei," Naruto said.

"Yeah, ever since you joined the ANBU, I haven't seen you," Guy said.

"Yeah, well you know better as you are friends with Nii-san," Naruto said as the small talk went on for half an hour.

"I think we are getting late," Lee said.

"Yeah. I just forgot about the time. You guys should go now." Guy said.

"So, where is Neji?" Naruto asked.

"He said he had something to attend to and will come by now," Naruto said as he sensed Neji coming his way. After a few seconds, Neji also entered the gymnasium.

"Hey there Neji!" Naruto said.

"Hello, Naruto," Neji said.

"You don't have the same fire in your eyes that you had the last time we met. Something happened?" Naruto asked.

"Yeah. Many things happened since then. I will fill you in on the details later." Neji said.

"Okay, I will be waiting. Just don't die." Naruto said.

"Don't worry, I won't. Besides, I have trained like hell ever since I met you." Neji said.

Exam Hall

The hall was filled with more than 600 genins. All of them had an aura of hostility around them. As Haku, Sasuke, Neji and others entered the hall, they couldn't even find a place to stand. Neji found it annoying and increased his chakra pressure to quiet down the hall. Doing this also made him a target of many others but he couldn't care less about them.

"Alright brats, pipe down and listen up," Ibiki said as he along with a group of a dozen of ninjas appeared at the platform. "I am Ibiki Murino, your exam proctor and from this moment, your worst enemy."

"Now whoever's name I call will come here and take their respective badges.

"Haku Yuki," Ibiki said as Haku shunshined before him and took her badge with the number 01 on it. One by one everyone got their respective badges and waited for further instructions.

"Now take your respective seats," Ibiki announced as the others did as asked.

"Take a look at your papers, there are 9 questions and you have 2 hours to solve them. And the 10th question will be given 15 minutes before the exam ends. But there are some rules…" Ibiki said as he continued to spout rules for another five minutes.

"Now, begin," Ibiki announced as all the examinees picked up their pens and started writing.

'The real test…' Haku thought.

'…isn't about solving the questions…' Neji thought.

'…but it's actually about cheating without getting caught.' Sasuke thought.

All three of them were the first ones to understand the true nature of the exam. But, understanding it didn't matter to them because they knew the answers to the exams thanks to their mentors. It hardly took them more than 10 minutes to finish the paper.

Others who couldn't understand the true nature of the exams but had the knowledge to pass were Sakura, Hinata and others.

Rui could have been in this category but thanks to Naruto's training regime, she didn't get any time to study for the written part. And hence she fell into the third category where whether they understood the nature of exams or not, they had to cheat without getting caught in other to pass. This group included the majority of examinees like Gaara, Ino, Lee and others.

As Sasuke finished his paper, he noticed Rui was in a problem. But he had a way to help her without getting caught. As he tapped his pencil on his desk, and just for a slight moment, Rui turned her head to meet Sasuke's gaze. As their eyes connected, Sasuke instantly put her in a genjutsu and made her write all the answers.

"Sasuke has certainly improved with his visual prowess," Naruto said. He was observing the exam from behind the glass along with Shisui.

"Yeah, I trained him myself along with Itachi," Shisui said.

"Gaara also got some good techniques," Naruto said as Gaara formed an eyeball out of the sand.

"He is the Kazekage's son, right?" Shisui asked.

"Yeah, he is. But I think it is a curse in the disguise of a blessing." Naruto said.

"I heard about that," Shisui said.

"Hey look at that Otogakure genin. He is using the sound of the strokes of the pencil to write the answers." Naruto said.

"He got some good ears," Shisui said. "I heard that this village was founded just a few years ago."

"I wonder who is the leader of that village. I haven't even gone there myself." Naruto said as something caught his eyes. "Man, how could Ibiki be so ignorant. Hasn't he noticed the puppet yet?" Naruto said.

"I think he is just playing along as the disguise is good," Shisui said.

"And what about the mirrors? How did she even get them in there?" Naruto said looking at the mirrors that were installed on the ceiling.

As the time passed, the number of examinees got reduced to half by the end of the 2nd hour.

"Alright, now it's time for the 10th question. But there are some rules, especially for the tenth question. You are free to choose not to be given the tenth question…" Ibiki said.

"But if you choose so, then you will be failed regardless of your score on the previous nine questions," Ibiki said.

"And if you choose to take the tenth question and fail to answer it correctly then you will be barred to take the chunin exams ever again," Ibiki said as the crowd panicked. "Now… make your choice."

As soon as he finished his sentence, some examinee raised their hands and started to leave the hall and the number got reduced to a little more than a hundred in a matter of few minutes.

"Huh, cowards. If they can't risk their career, how are they going to risk their life?" Naruto said in disgust.

"Alright, here is the last chance. If you want to leave, then now is the time." Ibiki said but no one stood up. Suddenly his poker face of Ibiki changed into a smile.

"Congratulations, you all pass the first round of the exam," Ibiki said.

"What? But what about the tenth question? Temari asked.

"This was the tenth question. And you all answered it correctly." Ibiki said as suddenly the window shattered and Anko came inside.

"Alright brats, it's time for the second round. Now follow me." She said before leaving as quickly as she came.

"What the? I think it is going way too fast." Sasuke thought.

"Go on. It isn't the time to celebrate yet." Ibiki said as they followed after Anko. As the last genin left the hall, Naruto and Shisui came in.

"Why did you go easy on the puppeteer?" Naruto asked in a casual tone.

"Well, he was good at it. And only I managed to notice it." Ibiki said.

"Okay. But that drama costume puppeteer was cocky." Naruto said.

Forest of Death

The group of 34 teams was standing before the fences of the forest of death. "The area behind me is known as the forest of death. And this is also the stage for the second round. The objective of this phase is to take a matching scroll from another team and reach the tower in 5 days. There are no other rules. You are free to use any means necessary to complete the objective, even killing is allowed. But all three members of a team must be alive and not critically injured in order or pass this phase." Anko said.

"And as per the new rules, only the first 8 teams to reach the tower will pass this phase and ascend to the next one," Anko said as the crowd started rumbling.

"What about solo genins?" Haku asked.

"You count as a team, so you don't have to worry about a team," Anko said.

"So, it is also a race against time," Shikamaru said.

"You got any strategy?" Ino asked.

"Yeah, we pick our target now and find them as soon as we enter the forest. Then we will wait for the perfect opportunity and ambush them." Shikamaru said.

xXx

"We have to finish as quickly as possible," Sakura said.

"But how are we going to do that? There are so many good genins." Rui said.

"I have got a plan. Since we also have to finish as quickly as possible, we will simply go for the weaklings. They will be easy to hunt down." Sasuke said.

"You sound more like Naruto," Sakura said.

xXx

"How are we going to do this?" Kankuro asked.

"We will simply rotate around the edge and take on the first team we encounter. And as soon as we get the scroll, we will run towards the tower." Temari said.

"Hn." Gaara nodded in agreement.

xXx

"What's with the rankings? We will have to finish as quickly as possible to pass." Tenten said.

"Yeah. We will simply camp near the tower and wait for someone to arrive, and when they do, we will ambush them. And we will go for the kill. It is also most likely that they will have both the scrolls, so we won't have to depend on luck." Neji said.

"Is killing them necessary?" Lee asked.

"It is if you don't want to be the prey yourself," Neji said.

xXx

"You got any ideas, Shino?" Kiba asked.

"Hinata will use her byakugan to scan the area, and as we find our target, I will use my insects to paralyze as many members as I can, and then you two will finish them," Shino said.

"Okay." Hinata nodded.

xXx

"Alright if you are done discussing your plans, then collect your scrolls," Anko said.

"I have a question," Kai asked. He was changed completely, as he was now wearing a blue kimono and an inverted rope as a belt. He was also wearing an Otogakure hie-ate. He stood 173 cm (5'5") and had grown his black hair to shoulder length, almost as long as Rui. He also had a bang on each side of his head and was carrying a Katana on the back of his waist.

"What is it brat?" Anko said.

"What is the record of this phase?" Kai asked.

"30 minutes. If happened 6 years ago." Anko said as all of the genins got shocked at the record. Even the distance from the edge to the centre was 10 miles not to mention that one had to fight to get the scroll too.

"Who was he? Is he alive?" Gaara and Kai asked in unison.

"You two are certainly interested in him," Anko said with an evil smile. "His name is Naruto Uzumaki, and he is alive and kicking." As Kai heard the name, he clenched his fist and his bloodlust started leaking about but he quickly controlled himself.

"How did he do that, even travelling that much distance will take at least 30 minutes," Sakura said.

"You know nothing about him. One could write a whole book about his abilities." Sasuke said.

"Yeah, I have seen some of them," Rui said.

"That Uzumaki guy interests me," Gaara said.

"Is he in the village?" Kai asked.

"He is, why you ask?" Anko asked.

"Oh nothing, I was just curious," Kai said.

"Alright, collect your scrolls and stand before your respective gates," Anko said as all the examinees did as asked.

"Now, let the second phase of the examination begin!" Anko announced as the gates opened and everyone rushed inside the forest.

With Team 7

Sasuke had already picked up his target during the time they were waiting outside. The team was an Otogakure team and was 4 gates away from them. Sasuke had already picked them due to their unusual 'tools' as he wanted to see what they can do.

"What is the plan?" Rui asked.

"We will go after the Otogakure team," Sasuke said as he went in their direction followed by Sakura and Rui... As they were rushing towards the team, as expected, they ran into the Otogakure team. The Oto ninjas were practically waiting for them as if they knew that team 7 was coming.

"Well well, what do we have here? Shouldn't you be moving towards the centre?" Sasuke asked.

"Why bother when the prey has already come to the predator?" Dosu said. He was the leader of the team like Sasuke.

"So, you think of us as your prey? Well, I would like to know something first." Sasuke said.

"Go on." Dosu said.

"Come on, why don't we just kill them and be done with it?" Zaku said.

"Let me talk." Dosu said signalling Sasuke to speak.

"Which scroll do you have, as I don't see any good in wasting my time with you weaklings." Sasuke gave them the Naruto Treatment as a vein appeared on each one's forehead.

"What did you just say, I don't think I heard you." Dosu said.

"That's ironic, being an Oto ninja and being unable to hear properly. Well, I said that you guys look utterly weak." Sasuke said with a smug face. Suddenly all three of them dashed at Sasuke with absolute lust for his blood.

"Don't interfere," Sasuke instructed his team as he charged Shiden in his hand and shot three bolts of it at each Oto nin. The bolt was so quick that they didn't even get the chance to react to it as it hit their heads, and upon impact, the bolts shattered their skulls like a balloon.

This was the first time Sasuke had ever used Shiden on a living person, and the result was frightening at the very least. He had just intended to electrocute them until they got knocked out but the attack left him in a jaw-drop position.

"I didn't mean to kill them, at least not in such a brutal way," Sasuke said as he approached their bodies to collect the scroll. And to his luck, as he had Heaven's Scroll, they had the Earth Scroll, which completed the pair.

"We should go now," Rui said.

"How much time had passed?" Sasuke asked.

"Around 20 minutes," Sakura answered.

"Let's go then," Sasuke said as he along with Rui and Sakura shunshined towards the Tower.


Beta read by Yuzuki476

Author's Note

Chapter 14 and 15 have been rewritten and I would advice you to reread them to understand Naruto's character design.

And the cannon Chunnin Exams arc finally begins. This will be 3-4 chapters long and there are going to be some interesting things in this arc. Also, Naruto won't have a main role in this arc, so you have been told before. The main focus of this arc will be on other characters who are just introduced or who need some more time. But Naruto is going to rock in the Konoha Crush arc, so wait for that to happen. And I know this took more time than necessary but I got busy into some other important stuff. That's about it, see ya in the next chapter. Drop a review if you have some free time.