A/N: I apologize for the pause, I've been pretty sick for the last couple of days. Still am a bit, but I'm good enough to write again.

The most important thing for a Ninja

Next to the Jōnin headquarters stood an elongated, rectangular building with a kind of podium on one end. On the slightly raised ground stood a desk before a banner with the Leaf Symbol and the kanji for fire. The place was meant for occasions when the Hokage wished to address a large number of shinobi, such as now, who wouldn't all fit into his office. Usually, this meeting would've just been for the Jōnin-sensei, the academy teachers, and the exam proctors, but today, every single Jōnin and Tokubetsu Jōnin the village had to offer was gathered. Even the Anbu captains were here.

Kurenai let her eyes wander through the room. It was actually her first time being here for an official occasion. Her gaze halted shortly when it reached Tanya; two months had passed since she had last seen the girl, and she couldn't help but wonder what she had been up to. No Genin mission could take that long, right?

"Now then," the Third Hokage called for attention as he sat down behind the desk. "The next Chūnin exams are about to begin, on the first day of the seventh month. We have been unable to gather any intel that confirms whether or not Orochimaru is really planning something, so we will simply tighten the security as we have already discussed."

He held up a slip of paper.

"The other villages have applied all of their teams that will participate, and some, like the Genin from the Hidden Sand Village, have already arrived, as my grandson… was able to confirm."

Following his gaze, Kurenai noticed that their leader's gaze was momentarily fixated on Ebisu, causing the Tokubetsu Jōnin to shuffle uncomfortably. Had something happened?

"Now, to all Jōnin-sensei, you can later get the registration forms for your teams from my secretary. But before that: Asuma, Kurenai, Tanya. Your teams have only been Genin for four months, but as long as they have completed eight missions, they can enter the exams with your recommendation. Does either of you wish to nominate their team?

The crowd made some room so the three could step before the Hokage. Tanya was the first one to speak.

"The Tanya-led Team 7, Sakura Haruno, Sasuke Uchiha, and Naruto Uzumaki. I, Tanya Umino, nominate these three to the Chūnin exams."

Kurenai clenched her teeth. Honestly, it shouldn't surprise her. But still… no, the kids had worked hard to earn this. She had no idea what Tanya's team had been up to for the last two months, but there was no way Team 8 wasn't at least equal to Team 7 by now.

"The Kurenai-led Team 8, Shino Aburame, Hinata Hyūga, and Kiba Inuzuka. I, Kurenai Yūhi, nominate these three to the Chūnin exams."

The tension suddenly left her body as she heard a chuckle to her right. Asuma, having taken a deep pull from his cigarette, breathed out a cloud of smoke before speaking.

"Eh, why not? The Asuma-led Team 10, Choji Akimichi, Shikamaru Nara, and Ino Yamanaka. I, Asuma Sarutobi, nominate these three to the Chūnin exams."

"So all of them, that's rare," the Hokage noted. "Alright then-"

"Please wait a moment!" Turning her head, Kurenai noticed that Iruka had stepped forward. "I apologize for interrupting, but… Tanya, please rethink that! Just because they fulfill the minimum requirement doesn't mean they are ready! Naruto isn't like you, it is still too early for them!"

The young Jōnin's eyes narrowed as her gaze fixated on her older sibling. The entire room had gotten quiet and for a while, the two just stared at each other in silence. Then, the golden-haired girl closed her eyes and breathed out.

"Your concerns are noted, brother," she simply said and vanished in a puff of smoke. So she had been a clone. Just where was the real Tanya?

Baffled, the academy teacher now turned to the Hokage.

"Lord Third…"

"Unless there are damning circumstances, if their sensei nominates them, I have no reason to refuse it."

"But…"

"Iruka," Asuma addressed him calmly, putting a hand on his shoulder. "I get that you're concerned for your students, but you got to trust our judgment on this one."

He then pulled him closer and spoke more quietly. Only Iruka and Kurenai could hear the next part.

"You were the one who gave them their headbands. Worry about the ones you are teaching now."

Kurenai just rolled her eyes and went back into the crowd. For once, she had to agree with Tanya.

She hoped their Genin would meet in the finals.

The alarm was quiet, but by now, Sakura's sleep was so light that it was more than enough to wake her up. It was still very early in the morning and she didn't want to wake her parents.

Yesterday, after they had executed the prisoners at the T&I, Tanya-sensei had given them their registration forms to fill out, and then they had separated. Sakura hadn't gone home right away though. Of course, she needed to sort things out with her parents sooner or later, but right now, she really didn't have the nerve for it. Also, she needed to focus on the exam. Therefore, she waited until late at night to return and sneak into her bedroom, and now, she left the house again without encountering either of them.

She would sort things out with them.

After the exam.

Buying a quick breakfast from the baker, she went to their meeting spot near the academy. She was, of course, far too early, so she decided to kill some time meditating on a tree branch. Hours passed until a young boy approached, staring intensely at her from below. Judging from his age and chakra, he was an academy student in his first or second year. His attempt at hiding, however, was so poor that she didn't even need her chakra sense to notice him. She ignored him at first but after a while his constant staring started to get irritating.

"Can I help you with something?" she asked without opening her eyes.

"Wah! Y-you noticed me?"

"How was I supposed to not notice you?"

He went quiet for a second before starting to laugh for some reason.

"He-he, as expected from Big Bro Naruto's teammate, I guess."

Oh, so he knows Naruto? I didn't know he was good with young children.

"Say, Sis, you often hang out with Big Bro Naruto, right?"

"Well, as you correctly pointed out, I'm his teammate, so yes."

"Are you his girl?"

"In his dreams, maybe." Though his pathetic flirting attempts had decreased lately. Realizing that the boy wouldn't leave her alone any time soon, she sighed, opened her eyes, and hopped down from her tree branch. For just a moment, she thought she was looking at a panda cub. However, in reality, the boy had a massive black eye that covered almost a quarter of his face. He also had multiple other bruises, the worst ones covered by band-aids.

"Are you alright? What happened?"

"Na, forget it, Sis. A few days ago I ran into some asshole, but I took him on like a man! Anyway, where is Big Bro Naruto? I haven't seen him since like forever!"

Seeing how chipper he was, she concluded that things might've looked worse than they actually were. Sakura sighed in relief that the boy seemed to be fine.

"We were out training. The Chūnin exams start today, and we're participating."

"Really? Woah, as expected from Big Bro Naruto! Then I better not disturb him, huh? Can you tell him to kick ass in the exam? Oh, I'm Konohamaru by the way!"

So he is named after the village. Konohamaru… haven't I heard that name somewhere before?

"Sakura."

"Alright, then you kick ass, too! Bye!"

And with that, he ran off. She wasn't completely sure what to make of her conversation with him but in the end, it wasn't all that important right now. Eventually, her teammates arrived. Sasuke was more or less the same as always, but Naruto was fairly stern; his trademark grin was still there, but more reserved than usual.

"I met Konohamaru," Sakura said after they walked for a while in silence. "He wishes you luck."

The blonde brightened up, but as he was just about to say something, he was interrupted.

"Good to see that none of you got cold feet."

To their surprise, the trio spotted their sensei waiting for them in front of the academy building.

"Heh, you don't need to worry about us, Tanya-sensei!" Naruto insisted with his mood now visibly improved.

"I know. Now tell me again, what is the most important thing for a shinobi?"

"Information," all three said in unison.

"Exactly. Remember this, and you will be fine. Oh, and one more thing: whatever happens, don't panic. All of you are well-prepared, utilize your abilities correctly and you should have no trouble. Now go. Don't disappoint me."

"Yes, sensei!"

Lee was just about to move as he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Where are you going?" his teammate asked with a stern face. "Our plan was to not stand out in the early stages!"

"I apologize, Neji. But a man must do what he must do!"

"...what?"

"Forget it, Neji," Tenten stopped him with a mixture of a chuckle and a sigh. "Let's just get to the real classroom."

What was further spoken Lee didn't hear, as he had already darted off. He had only been able to see a small glimpse of the beautiful face framed by the elegant veil of pink hair when they had just walked past the fake classroom without saying anything, but he already knew that this meeting had to be fate. And on top of that, she was accompanied by one of the two big challenges he had set himself for this exam. He couldn't let this opportunity pass!

On the third floor, he finally caught up to them.

"It seems you didn't fall for their illusion," he called the trio out.

"Who the hell would fall for it?" the blonde said and cocked his head. "All they did was change the sign. We could still see it was the second floor by looking out of the window. And we can count stairs."

Lee nodded.

"True, those guys weren't very thorough with their trick. Anyway…" He changed into a battle stance. "Sasuke Uchiha! Fight me!"

The black-haired boy raised an eyebrow without saying anything. But Lee wouldn't be swayed by his coolness!

"I am Rock Lee of Team Gai! And I wish to test the results of my training against the supposed Genius! And also…" He switched his gaze to the beauty in the dark red combat dress and gave her a wink.

"Huh?"

"You are an angel!" he stated truthfully and blew her a kiss. The pinkette blinked in surprise, but then blushed and looked away.

"N-now just wait a moment!" Sasuke finally talked. "Just because you're good-looking doesn't mean you can just flirt with her!"

"Oh? Is she your girlfriend?"

"N-not really," the girl stated, still blushing.

"I see, so that's how it is," Lee said with a smirk. "Then let us see who's love burns stronger!"

Sasuke wasted no time charging at him, but Lee easily evaded his attack and countered.

'Konoha Senpū!' [Leaf Whirlwind]

In a series of fast kicks, Lee quickly overcame his opponent's block and ended up digging his right heel into Sasuke's cheek. The Uchiha was flung backward and crashed into the wall, falling unconsciously to the ground. While Lee had expected this result, it was much easier than anticipated. Honestly, it was a bit disappointing.

"Wow, you are so strong!" Though instantly, these thoughts vanished as his angel ran towards him. "I can't believe how easily you handled him!"

"I might be no genius, but hard work will always surpass raw talent!"

"Then you must have trained a lot to be this amazing!"

"Well, um, I guess."

"That is so cool! I wished I could be on your team instead!"

"We still have some time until the exam starts. Why not use it to get to know each other better?"

The pinkette looked to her feet with flushed cheeks.

"That sounds wonderful."

"Then… let's go somewhere more private, shall wEIOUCH!"

A sharp pain in his left foot made him jump. Looking down, he saw a large tortoise with a leaf headband biting his ankle.

"M-master Ningame?" What has his sensei's summon doing here? Had he been watching him? But why did he bite him? "Why are you… wait, where is…" He looked around, but his angel was nowhere to be seen.

"Fool," Ningame mumbled as he left.

"What exactly did you show him?" Sasuke asked as they reached room 301.

"I'm not sure," Sakura answered truthfully. "This Genjutsu shows the target what they hope to see, so I can't directly influence it."

'Tengokumi no Jutsu', the Paradise Viewing Technique. Apparently, Tanya-sensei had developed this reversal of the Hell Viewing Jutsu herself, stating that sometimes, false hope was more useful than fear.

"Sounded to me like bushy brows thought he was flirting with someone," Naruto pointed out.

"Hopefully not with me. Those eyebrows and his hairstyle… urgh." The thought alone made Sakura shudder internally, even though on the outside, she suppressed it.

The classroom was chock-full. Some people they recognized, like Team 8 or Team 10 further at the front - thankfully, Ino hadn't seen Sasuke yet - but many were foreign, with headbands from villages all over the continent.

"Woah," Naruto marveled. "Just how many are that?"

"If we include you, one hundred and fifty-three."

The trio turned around to see a silver-haired boy who seemed to be a few years older than them. He had large glasses and a leaf headband, seemingly reading from a card in his hands.

"Eighty-seven from Leaf, thirty from Sand, twenty-one from Rain, six from Grass, six from Waterfall, and three from Sound, to be exact."

He looked up from his card.

"Or at least it will be once everyone is here."

"Wow, you like numbers huh?"

"You could say that. I am Kabuto Yakushi, it's a pleasure to meet you."

"I'm-"

"Naruto Uzumaki, I know. And you two are Sasuke Uchiha and Sakura Haruno. I've done my research on all participants. Never hurts to be prepared, after all."

Naruto blinked.

"You know, our sensei would probably like you."

"The famous Pixie? I'm honored you think that, but I'm honestly nothing special. Truth be told, this is already my seventh attempt. I'm starting to think I'm doomed to the Genin-squad forever."

"Only if you give up! Keep trying and you will succeed eventually, believe it!"

Kabuto chuckled.

"You sure have your way with words, Naruto."

"Oh, so you are Naruto."

Another team had just entered the room and one of them, a tall boy clad in black with heavy kabuki makeup and a strange bundle on his back, approached them upon hearing Naruto's name. Judging by his headband, he was from the Hidden Sand Village.

"Yup, that's me!" Naruto affirmed, rubbing his nose with a wide grin. "Seems like you have already heard of me, huh?"

"Not really. That annoying brat just wouldn't stop crying your name, so it kinda stuck. Didn't help him, of course. And honestly, you don't seem all that special. Guess his 'brother' isn't all that great after all."

"Wait a minute," Sakura stepped forth as the things he said started to click in her head. "Don't tell me you were the one who beat Konohamaru black and blue!"

"Oh, is that his name? Wow, someone has a pretentious father. Anyway, he was the one who ran into me. That twerp can be glad I didn't kill him, considering how annoying he was."

"YOU DID WHAT?!" Naruto screamed at him. "YOU FUCKING BASTARD!"

Seething with anger, the blonde charged at the Sand Ninja. His opponent made a quick hand movement and Sakura could feel chakra exit his fingertips in thin threads.

That's Tanya-sensei's Puppet Jutsu!, she realized. Right, she said it originates from Sand.

Naruto noticed his attack as well and jumped backward, evading getting caught.

"Nice reflexes. Too bad the midget didn't have those, would've been at least more interesting."

"I WILL-"

"Stop."

Sasuke quickly caught Naruto's arm and prevented him from going at the Sand Genin once more.

"We aren't allowed to fight yet. What would Tanya-sensei say if we get disqualified before it even starts just because you fell for some cheap provocations?"

Naruto grumbled something but ended up silently conceding the point to Sasuke.

"And you," Sasuke then addressed the still grinning boy from Sand, his Sharingan flaring to life. "Once we are allowed to fight… you better pray that you won't face us!"

The two went quiet for a few seconds, but their face-off was cut short when in a large puff of smoke, at least two dozen figures appeared at the front of the classroom.

"Quiet down, everyone!"

The chatter in the room died down. Turning around, Sakura recognized Ibiki, the man they had met the day before at the T&I. So that was what he meant when he said he still had things to prepare. He was one of the proctors.

"Now get your number and go to your assigned seats so we can start the written test!"

She could see Naruto blink in disbelief.

"The what now?"

Under normal circumstances, the first part of the Chūnin exams could be considered a break for the Jōnin-sensei. But the circumstances weren't normal. So instead of relaxing in the Jōnin headquarters, we had to help with the increased security measures. Since I had some sensor abilities, I was - just like the dedicated Sensor-nin - placed at a strategic point to be on the lookout from there. I was partnered with Asuma, who was, as always, smoking a cigarette. Annoying, but not as bad as the constant cigar cloud I had to walk through whenever I was called before the General Staff in my previous life.

"So, how concentrated do you need to be for this?" he asked after a while. "Can we talk on the side?"

Had I not been talking to the son of the Hokage, I would've probably told him off. But I was, and hence I didn't.

"We aren't in a busy sector, a conversation would be no problem. Is it important?"

"Nah, just wanted to kill a bit of time. The first test should've started by now. Did you know Ibiki is the first proctor?"

"I heard so, yes."

"Makes me almost feel sorry for some of the kids," he chuckled.

"But not ours, judging by your words."

Asuma shrugged.

"Ino is way too confident to get intimidated by him, and she'll pull the others with her."

So the Yamanaka girl had established herself as the leader of her team. That might be good to know at some point.

"But you probably know his methods better than I, I only heard of them. I never worked with him like you did. What did you call that thing you invented for him again?"

"White Room Torture. A very underestimated method for those who never saw its results. Though I didn't invent it, I just translated the concept into reality and tweaked it so it works on hardened shinobi."

"Pretty sure that falls under inventing. Anyway, what about your team? How do you think they will do?"

"I have prepared them as well as I could. They are well-equipped for each of the tasks, so they should be fine."

As long as Naruto doesn't panic during the written test.

Naruto wanted to cry. A written test! Why the hell was there a written test?! What did that have to do with his skills as a shinobi?! His brain seemed to have gone into lockdown, he couldn't make sense of any of the questions. How much time had passed by now?

"Whatever happens, don't panic. All of you are well-prepared, utilize your abilities correctly and you should have no trouble."

Right, that was what Tanya-sensei had said. What were the tricks she had told him again?

"Step one: picture yourself being calm."

Alright, easy enough. In his mind he conjured up an image of himself being calm, sitting at the desk. He knew all the answers, and he confidently wrote them down.

And then, he suddenly was Sakura. Why?! Well, she more or less embodied the attributes he tried to imagine right now. Oh, screw it, then he was simply picturing himself being calm while having transformed into Sakura, because why not. Next step!

Find something in your field of view that's easy to see. Whenever your mind starts to wander, use it as an anchor to return to reality.

The guy in front of him wore his headband backwards, the Rain insignia basically staring at Naruto. Good enough.

Okay, now carefully read the questions again. They said it's a team test, and Sakura will probably ace it. As long as I can get at least one right answer we should be fine. Let's see… 'Decrypt the following text.' Um… n-no biggie, I just need one point, what's the next one? 'Line B is the greatest possible distance shinobi A can throw a shuriken from tree C on an elevation of seven meters. Within the resulting circumference…' what?

…

…

…

…shit. Argh, damn it! I still have no idea! What now?

The strange tenth question was staring at him.

'This question will be revealed forty-five minutes after the test begins.' Should I just wait and hope I can answer that one? But what if I can't? Argh, why didn't you prepare us for this, Tanya-sensei?!

…actually, yeah, why didn't she? The young Jōnin had insisted they were ready for anything, and crazy bitch or not, she was nothing if not thorough. Yet in two months of super-intense training, never once did they focus on academic knowledge.

Something about this isn't right. Come on brain, think back! What did I overlook?

"You have ten points. Each wrong answer costs you a point."

"We'll have our eyes on you guys."

"So each team has a total of thirty points."

"Getting caught cheating costs you two points."

"This week, shio ramen is thirty percent off" - no, topic, rain symbol, focus!

But as he was looking at the headband in front of him, he noticed something white reflecting in the convex metal. What was that? He risked a quick glance to the side. Oh, Hinata was sitting next to him. He had been so nervous about the test he didn't even notice. Wait, those bulging veins… was her Byakugan active?! Was Hinata of all people cheating?! Even worse, she had a way to do it where she wouldn't even… get… caught…

"Getting CAUGHT cheating costs you two points."

"What is the most important thing for a shinobi?" - "Information."

"For Chūnin and above, pretty much every mission will in some way involve gathering Information."

Were they… meant to cheat? Was that the real test?

He suddenly noticed some bugs flying around. A few rows over, Akamaru was quietly yapping… was that morse code? Then the bugs were probably Shino's.

A kunai flew past him and hit the table behind him.

"We caught you five times. You're out!"

So the guy behind me lost all his points. That's why they only deduct points if they catch us. But doesn't that mean it's fine if I get caught as long as I get all the answers at once? But how do I do that?

Sasuke could likely use his Sharingan in some way, and Sakura… probably knew the answers regardless. But what could he do? Stealth had been one of the points Tanya-sensei had trained with him, and he would say he was decent in it. But most of his skills in that regard were pointless when he was already under watch.

Crap, if I had known this beforehand, I could've just left a shadow clone outside. Is there any way to get their eyes off of me?

As if on cue, the asshole from Sand asked to go to the toilet. One of the examiners chained him to a leash and led him outside. Okay, so that wouldn't work either. But then what? Oh, maybe if he used his new-

"Naruto," an almost inaudibly quiet whisper reached his ear. "You can look at my answers."

It was Hinata. She would share with him? Just like that?

Had this happened a few months prior, he would've probably thought this to be a setup from Kiba to disqualify him. In the academy, Hinata had always struck him as some weirdo, but by spending time training together, this perception had changed drastically. She was shy, sure, but she wasn't bad to be around. Maybe she really just wanted to help.

But the examiners were watching them like hawks, they would definitely see that. If he copied one answer after the other, no way that would only cost two points. Worst case, she would lose points as well. But how to tell her that? Hang on, couldn't Hinata also see in a 360-degree angle around her?

He quickly grabbed the pencil and wrote on the desk 'tap the table if you can read this.'

Her fingernail hit the wood with a quiet tock.

'Do you have all the answers?'

tock.

'Would it be okay for you to get them again?'

tock.

'Looking at your sheet is too risky. I drop a smoke bomb, then you switch our sheets, okay?'

tock.

Perfect! With that, he had a plan. He could drop the smoke himself, even if that would cost him points. He'd still have seven left. And Hinata shouldn't lose any points with her Byakugan right? That would really suck if she lost points because of him. Either way, he wanted to try and get it with no points lost. He quickly erased his writing, then he crossed his fingers under his desk.

Sorry, random Rain Ninja!

'Kagebushin Henge no Jutsu!' [Shadow Clone Transformation Jutsu]

Standing on the table, his shadow clone appeared already transformed into the Rain Genin in front of him. Before anyone could react, he threw his smoke bomb down and vanished the moment after. Naruto and Hinata were still close enough to get enveloped as well. Everyone seemed confused, some yelled at the Rain Ninja, but Naruto ignored it. A filled-out answer sheet lay in front of him.

... with Hinata's name on top. Oh well, not like they would check the sheets at the table. Hinata immediately started writing again, though without her Byakugan. Had she memorized everything already? If so, that was impressive.

Tenth Question, here I come!

Ibiki watched as Anko led the Genin to the second part of the exam. When the room was empty, he took down the banner that the excentric woman had used for her grandiose entrance and began collecting the answer sheets. They weren't all that relevant, but they could give some points when it came to the decision of whether someone would get promoted or not.

A few minutes earlier

"Does anyone else want to quit?" Ibiki asked. "I'll say it again, if you stay and answer the tenth question wrong, you can never take this exam again."

"Yeah, yeah, just get on with it already! I'm done falling for your tricks!"

Ibiki eyed the noisy blonde. He was one of the kids who were with Tanya yesterday. Usually, the ones that stayed for the tenth question were simply confident in their abilities, with a handful that would call his bluff. But he certainly hadn't expected to get called out openly for it. There were more teams left in the room than normally, but it was clear that no one else would quit now.

"Alright then. All who stayed… pass the first test!"

He reached the place where the boy had sat and took his sheet. Hinata Hyūga… wait, that couldn't be right. He went to the next one. This sheet read Naruto Uzumaki.

Ah, I get it. So the smoke really was him. That was quite the advanced technique he pulled there. But to think that Genin from different teams would work together in this situation… I figured Tanya's kids wouldn't be normal, but I guess this year has more than just three interesting rookies.

A/N: We reached the exams! Now, due to the nature of this arc, Tanya will obviously have a bit less screen time here. But even if she isn't with the trio, the consequences of her actions are. Admittedly, the written exam ended up being longer than planned. Naruto getting points isn't very consequential, but I didn't want to skip the first task altogether. But I also didn't want to rehash stuff, so I did my best to focus on the things that went differently from canon (hence no Sasuke and Sakura POV during the written test, it was pretty much the same for them). This is also the plan for the second task, though much more things will change there.