I don't own Naruto.

Groan.

"…"

Grooooaan.

"…"

"…"

GROOOAANN.

"Please stop doing that." Sasuke muttered, making Sakura cross her arms in annoyance.

"It's not fair!" The girl complained. "Why are we stuck in the village doing these annoying chores while Naruto is out on another C-ranked mission!?"

"I already told you why, Sakura…" Kakashi said in a lazy tone, his nose buried in his book.

"Yeah yeah, special Genin, requested by Kurenai for his shadow clone, whatever. But still, he's our teammate! What if we need him?"

"I'm sure we'll be fine." Kakashi drawled out again

"I wonder what he's up to right now…" Sasuke muttered to himself.

—

"I can't believe we lost Kurenai-sensei!"

"Kiba, please calm down…We'll find her again." Hinata replied in a meek tone. Kiba scoffed and landed on a tree branch, prompting his two other teammates to stop next to him as well. A few paces away, Naruto landed on the same branch and watched the team interact.

"Shino, gimme that." Kiba said and snatched the map out of Shino's hand, making him frown slightly in response.

"Regardless, our meeting point is in Kisaragi village. I have no doubt that we will find Kurenai-sensei soon. Why? Because we have been traveling for roughly two hours and should be arriving there shortly. If we can find the village then we can also find Kure-"

"Yeah yeah I got it." Kiba interrupted and held the map out. Frowning at the picture in front of him, he tried his best to follow the roads that twist and turned on the piece of paper. But try as he might, he could not make any sense of it. He glanced down at the compass in his other hand and held it out as well, watching as the pin bobbed and moved in response to its shaking.

"I think we have to go East? No, West? Uhhh." He frowned in confusion. "West-East? …Weast?"

"Um…Kiba…I don't think that Weast is a thing…" Hinata said while fiddling with her fingers.

"Arf…" The white dog on top of Kiba's head whimpered.

"Kiba. Perhaps you should let me-"

"I told you I got it!" He snapped and frantically looked at his surroundings. "There, we're going this way!" He said after pointing at a random direction and jumped off the branch in a hurry.

"Ah…I wonder how much longer we'll be lost…" Hinata muttered as Shino took off after him. She looked back at the blond that had joined their team for the day and grew red when he noticed her staring. Quickly turning around, she activated her Byakugan and followed after her team.

Naruto sighed.

This was going to be a long day.

—

"Oh, I'm sure he's doing fine. Kurenai is with them, and I doubt that anything like Wave country is gonna happen again."

Ah, Wave country. The mention of that place made him think back to that fateful battle they'd had against Zabuza and his accomplices. 2 months has passed since then. It took a little bit for Sakura to be able to warm up to Naruto again. But he couldn't blame the girl.

Sakura sent another furtive glance towards her teammate, countless questions burning at the tip of her tongue. Though try as she might, they would not escape her mouth. She couldn't help but shiver a little bit. Blood still stained his clothes like a red dye, and images of the massacre still played through her mind. She felt afraid.

But what was she afraid about though? Of Naruto? No, she knew him, right? Naruto was often hard to read, but he wasn't a cruel person. At least, she didn't think so. So what was that back then? She bit the inside of her cheek and nervously tugged on the fabric of her dress.

She felt a hand land on her shoulder and nearly jumped in fright. Looking up, she saw Kakashi, who'd been walking behind her this whole time, and felt a sudden sense of comfort at his presence. His hand left her shoulder and he returned to his previous pace, a few feet behind her bringing up the rear.

She exhaled a slow breath to steel her nerves. "Na…Naruto?"

Naruto raised his head and glanced back at her. "Yeah?"

She hadn't seen his face in a long time and the paleness of it caught her by surprise. A few years ago, his skin was tan and healthy. Now, he was almost as bad as Sasuke.

"This…Wasn't your first time…Killing, I mean. Was it?"

Naruto shook his head. "No, it wasn't."

She frowned. "Do you not feel guilty about it?"

"Well, sure." Naruto looked away from her and instead averted his gaze to the ground. "But they were going to kill us first."

"I get that, but…It still feels wrong. I mean, they were human too."

"What of it?"

She gave a frustrated sigh. "It just feels cruel to slaughter them all like cattle. Didn't they deserve a second chance? It just feels unfair, is all."

There was a moment of silence before Naruto replied. "This too is Shinobi's work. It bears no honour. It's a burden that we choose to carry." He spoke softly. "The decision to do so is yours alone."

Her brow furrowed once more. She looked over at Kakashi, but his attention appeared to be completely captured by his book.

"Sorry…I know it probably took you by surprise." She blinked when she heard him speak again. "I had to do it…I needed to be able to prove it to myself."

"Prove what?"

"I don't know. I guess…'Can I do this?'"

Sakura felt like she had more questions than she did a few minutes ago, but she'd have to do with that for now. Still, a specific detail was still floating around in her head.

"One last question."

"What is it?"

"What was…" She paused. "Why were your eyes red?"

She saw him tilt his head up to the sky, almost like he was thinking the question over.

"I'll tell you…One day."

"Look I'm telling you, the sausage itself is just reconstituted meat; it has no real substance. You could realistically mash the entire dish into a paste and then re-form it and fry it again this way and make a brand new one."

Walking into the field, Naruto blinked as he heard the sudden statement. Having just returned from his mission, he thought he'd pay training ground 7 a visit and see what his teammates were up to. Surely enough, Sasuke and Sakura were there having a heated discussion, but Kakashi was absent. Both were eating some kind of delicacy; a bun with a sausage inside of it. A dish popular in the villages further towards the west.

Sakura made a face. "But…Why would you?"

"All I'm saying is it's possible."

"No, that sounds disgusting. No one would eat that!"

"But they're all the same ingredients."

"Say that again after you do that process for the fifth time."

"It's just extra bread and condiments. How can it be disgusting if all of it's already in the dish?"

"I don't care what you put in it, the texture alone would make me throw up! Every time you mash it together it becomes less meat and more bread!"

"Oh what, you don't like bread now?"

The sound of approaching footsteps made the two Genin put their argument on hold and turn towards the newcomer. Sakura smiled when she saw Naruto and waved over to him. "Hey Naruto! So you're back from your mission?"

"Yeah…" He replied, confused. "What were you guys arguing about?"

Both simultaneously looked away in embarrassment. "It's…Ah, nothing important! Anyway you're just in time, we were about to go meet up with Kakashi-sensei on the bridge."

Naruto nodded as the two stood up and they soon made their way back into the village.

—

"…And then Kiba tried to read the map."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow at him. "Kiba did?"

Naruto nodded. "We somehow started going the opposite way to Kisaragi. Kurenai-sensei had to wait an extra two hours because of that detour."

"…Did he really say 'Weast'?" Sakura questioned after a few moments of silence.

Naruto was about to reply, but their attention was drawn to a commotion happening nearby. They rounded a corner and saw a man in a black bodysuit holding a boy by the neckline of his jumpsuit.

"Knock it off Kankuro, we don't wanna cause a scene." A blonde girl next to him said in an annoyed tone.

"Tch. Not until I teach this shrimp a valuable lesson. First off, I'm allergic to shrimp. Bad enough that you're a short little kid…You're disrespecting your elders!"

"Hey, let me go!" The boy shouted as he attempted to free himself.

"Whatever…" The girl replied in disinterest.

"…Why are Suna shinobi bullying the Hokage's grandson?" Sakura asked in an unsure tone. Sasuke shook his head in confusion. Glancing at Naruto, he saw him looking at something off into the distance and turned his head in the same direction. There, hanging upside down from a tree branch and mostly shielded by the foliage, stood a red-headed boy with piercing turquoise eye.

'How did Naruto see him?' Sasuke thought. As if feeling their stares, the boy in the trees turned his attention to them.

No words were exchanged for a tense few seconds between the group. Eventually, the boy vanished in a swirl of sand and re-appeared next to the other two Suna shinobi, making them jump in fright.

"G-Gaara!" The man called Kankuro stuttered in surprise.

"Kankuro…You are a disgrace to our village. It annoys me that you'd quarrel with children. Have you forgotten why we came here?"

"A-Ah, but he started it! This guy slammed into me!"

"Shut up… Or I'll kill you."

Kankuro gulped and decided to remain silent. Gaara once again looked towards team 7 with cold and calculating eyes.

"I am sorry for my brother's behaviour. I will make sure that it does not happen again."

"Don't worry about it." Sasuke replied.

"You…What is your name?"

Sasuke smirked in return. "Isn't rude to ask that without introducing yourself first?"

"…I am Gaara of the Desert…At your service."

"Sasuke Uchiha."

Gaara's cold gaze lingered on him before moving on to Naruto.

"And yours?"

"Naruto Uzumaki."

"Well then, Naruto Uzumaki. Sasuke Uchiha. I look forward to seeing you again soon." With those words said, Gaara turned and took his leave, his sister following close behind. Kankuro clenched his fist and glared at the team then looked at Konohamaru when he noticed him giving him a strange look.

"What are you looking at!?" Kankuro snapped.

"Kankuro!" Temari whispered harshly at the man in the bodysuit. He clicked his tongue and begrudgingly followed after the rest of his team.

"I'm Sakura…Not that anybody asked." She sulked.

"Foolish Tanuki."

Naruto started in response to the voice in his head. 'Tanuki?'

"What was that all about?" Sasuke questioned with a raised eyebrow as he stuffed his hands in his pocket.

Naruto approached the downed form of Hiruzen's grandson and helped him to his feet. "Are you alright Konohamaru?"

"I-I think so…Those guys were scary though." He complained as he stood up. His mood quickly changed once he saw the group. "Hehe, but you guys sure sent them packing! Hey, hey Naruto! Can you guys teach me that cool thing the scary guy with the red hair did!?"

"Maybe next time."

Naruto ignored Konohamaru's indignant shout and shared a look with Sasuke. They were being watched by another team hiding in the trees. Whatever it was that was happening, it seemed to have attracted a lot of foreign visitors.

A huge plume of smoke erupted in the distance, gaining the attention of everybody in the area. A cloud of birds emerged from the trees and flew away in fright as dull rumbles could be heard, which faded away soon after.

"Waah, was that an earthquake!?" Konohamaru shouted, attempting to regain his balance. Naruto frowned as he looked towards where the sound had come from and turned to his teammates.

"We'll catch up later."

Sasuke nodded and Sakura smiled and waved at his retreating back.

"Bye Naruto!"

"…"

"So what do you think?" A shadowy figure whispered to their partner.

"Huh…" A raspy voice hummed in contemplation. "Looks like this'll get interesting."

The three figures in the trees chuckled darkly before vanishing from view.

Naruto landed on a tree branch in training ground 10 and stared at the huge uprooted patch of grass. He looked over a few paces away and noticed smaller craters leading into the trees towards the direction of the village. A summon, he guessed. He wasn't completely sure, but he had a feeling…

He followed the trail and towards and entered the village through the eastern gate. The trail stopped here, but if his inkling was correct then it wasn't very difficult to guess where to go next. He hopped on a rooftop and made his way towards the hot springs.

"If I were a useless pervert, where would I hide…" He pondered, looking left and right.

"Hehehehe…"

He heard giggling coming from bushes next to the fence connecting the bath house. He sighed and made his way towards the noise. As he suspected, a tall man with a mane of white hair was crouching out of view with a small telescope pressed up against the fence.

"Jiraiya…"

The man didn't hear him and continued furiously scrawling notes into his book. Impressive, considering he was only using one hand and wasn't even looking down at it.

Naruto sighed for what felt like the tenth time that day and called out in a louder tone.

"Jiraiya!"

"Gaahh!" The sannin jumped in fright and crashed into the fence. Gasps erupted from the other side, followed by outraged screaming.

"Ahh! Pervert!"

—

"This is just typical, isn't it Naruto!? I'm not even back for 5 minutes and you're already ruining my fun! Is it too much to ask for a few moments of peace!?"

"…" Naruto said nothing as Jiraiya continued his attempt at outrunning the hoard of angry women. For some reason, the toad sage had picked him up and slung him over his shoulder like a bag of potatoes, bringing him along for this joyride.

"Maybe if you stopped being a useless pervert for once…"

"What was that!?"

One of the women behind them threw a basket at the sage, which instead collided against Naruto's head.

"Nothing."

—

"Okay, I think we're safe for now."

Naruto looked around them and raised an eyebrow. "We're back in training ground 10?"

"Yeah well we wouldn't be here if somebody didn't cause an angry mob to chase after us."

Naruto just gave him an unimpressed stare and swiftly changed the subject. "So…You're in Konoha."

Jiraiya smirked and proudly crossed his arms. "That's right! Did you miss me?"

"No."

Jiraiya lost his footing at the blunt words and a dark raincloud seemed to manifest above his head.

"Well, in any case," The sage quickly recovered and spun away from Naruto, his fingers holding onto his chin. "I'm back on official business, kid. I am after all, a busy man." He looked out towards the village and gazed upon the four stone faces overlooking the village. "Hmm. That reminds me."

Naruto titled his head suspiciously. "Are you plotting something?"

"Hmm? Something?" He replied slyly with a smirk. "Perhaps." He finished vaguely and began fishing for something inside his coat. "It's about time, don't you think?"

"Time for what?"

Jiraiya retrieved a round object and held it out for Naruto to see. Upon closer inspection, it appeared to be a balloon or some kind. Jiraiya smirked as the balloon began to twitch and warp in his hand.

"What's that?" Naruto asked curiously as he leaned forward. Just as he did, the balloon expanded violently and popped, dowsing the surprised boy in cold water.

"…"

"Bahahaha! Oh, that was priceless. I only wish that I had a camera with m- Hey hey hey, watch out with that!" He finished quickly after dodging a swipe from Naruto's hand. "At least hear me out before you try to kill me!"

Naruto paused and reigned in his annoyance. "Fine."

"Thank you." He cleared his throat and retrieved a second balloon before tossing it at blond, who wordlessly caught it. "You were watching just now, weren't you? Can you tell me what I did?"

Naruto inspected the balloon in confusion. "Uh, I dunno. You popped it, right?"

Jiraiya nodded. "Yes, but how?"

Naruto looked up at Jiraiya then back down at the balloon. "I think you were…Swirling it?"

"That's right. You already know the basics of tree climbing, which taught you how to focus your chakra to a specific area of your body, and water walking, where you learned how to emit said chakra. Now, with this balloon, you'll learn how to create a stream. In other words, 'Rotation!'"

Naruto frowned down at the balloon in his hand. He squeezed it softly and rotated his wrist around, feeling the water inside sloshing to and fro.

Jiraiya watched him toy around with the balloon with a small smile and crossed his arms. "I have some errands to run. For now, just try experimenting and see how it feels." Naruto nodded but didn't look up, instead remained focused entirely on the balloon. Jiraiya took it as his cue to leave and disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Naruto cupped the balloon tighter and placed his other hand above it, completely enveloping it. He built his chakra in the palm of his hand and pictured it swirling around like a spiral inside of his mind. His eyes widened at the familiar feeling, and the water inside the balloon began to bounce around dangerously, threatening to rupture it.

'So that's how it is…'

"Hey there guys!"

Kakashi was met with silence and varying degrees of annoyed glares.

"Kakashi-sensei, you were supposed to be here an hour ago!" Sakura said through gritted teeth.

"Ah well, today I got lost on the road of life and-"

"You are such a liar!"

"Heheh…" Kakashi laughed sheepishly and rubbed the back of his head. "I really do have a good reason this time. I enrolled you all into the Chunin exam."

He was met with silence from the thee Genin.

"You almost got us with that joke, sensei." Sakura said.

"No, I am very serious."

"Say what!?"

"The Chunin exam…That would explain all the foreign Shinobi we've been seeing." Sasuke wondered aloud.

"If any of you do not wish to participate, then the choice is yours. You don't have to turn them in unless you want to."

"If we graduate, what's gonna happen to our team?"

The other members turned to Naruto, then to Kakashi, also awaiting his answer.

Kakashi closed his eye into a friendly smile. "Aw, were you guys gonna miss me? You're making me blush." He said. "But don't worry. You will get more duties and will assist in missions by yourselves, but team 7 will always remain team 7, no matter what rank you all are. I will always be your sensei, and I will be here to guide you all."

Sakura smiled at Kakashi's words. "In that case, count me in!"

"Me too." Sasuke said.

Naruto nodded in agreement as the team reached a conclusion. "Let's do it."

"Wonderful." He approached them and ruffled Sasuke's hair, much to his annoyance. "Whatever happens, I'm proud of you all."

"Hey, get off me!"

Hiruzen looked up in surprise, years of instinct kicking in at the sound of his window creaking open, though his guard relaxed once he saw a familiar flash of white hair.

"Jiraiya…For heaven's sake. You nearly gave this old man a heart attack."

"Heh, sorry sensei." He replied sheepishly and leaned against the wall while crossing his arms. Hiruzen leaned back in his chair, then picked up his pipe and lit it before he brought it to his lips.

"I doubt that you've returned to watch the coming Chunin exam…May I interest you in a cup of tea, perhaps?"

Jiraiya sighed and closed his eyes. "I'm afraid there's no time for that, old man… I bring bad news. Very urgent bad news that I needed to tell you in person." He walked over to the portraits along the walls and stared at them, before turning to face his teacher. "You might want to brace yourself."

"Well then, out with it."

"The fourth Kazekage is dead."

Hiruzen's eyes widened. "Rasa was…" He trailed off when he saw him nod. "And do you know when that occurred?"

"That's impossible to tell for now."

"So soon before the Chunin exam, he was meant to be here for the final tournaments." Hiruzen lamented.

"This brings me to the next reason why I'm here."

The third Hokage looked up and took note of his student's troubled expression. "Was this not the bad news?"

Jiraiya's frown deepened.

"Orochimaru…Is in this village right now."

"Please, we're begging you…Let us in."

"Hm?" Naruto hummed. The three Genin of team 7 had just arrived at the academy, the place where the exam would take place, and noticed a crowd near the entrance of room 301. The doors were blocked off by two Chunin, one with a bandana and the other with wild hair and bandages on his face. At the head of the crowd stood a girl in a pink shirt and boy with a bowl cut wearing a green training uniform.

"…!" Naruto's eyes widened. 'So that's what they meant by 'mini-me'.' Naruto thought when his eyes landed on the bowl-cut wearing boy.

The chunin with the wild hair smirked and backhanded the girl, sending her tumbling to the ground.

"You misunderstand. We're trying to spare you here. The Chunin exam is incredibly difficult…And we should know, we've failed it three times. There are people who made it and then immediately gave up on being Shinobi. Besides that, Chunin are cell commanders. They lead their units. The responsibilities for failed missions and dead shinobi rest firmly on their shoulders. And you little punks have the nerve to apply!? We're saving a step by skipping the loser bunch beforehand."

The Chunin pair noticed team 7 arriving and both of their eyes widened. "You…So you're applying too, huh?" The bandana wearing one said with a small smirk, though he looked noticeably more nervous than he did a second ago. The other chunin seemed to be in a similar state of mind as his partner, as he too regarded the team with caution.

"So, we gotta beat you up to be able to enter huh? Izumo, Kotetsu." Naruto acknowledged and leaned his body slightly forward into a half stance. "Then so be it. I'll take you both on."

The two brought up their guards, sweat building up on their forehead. Sasuke glanced up at the room number with a raised eyebrow before looking back at his teammate. "Why bother? This isn't even the correct room."

Naruto blinked and lowered his stance. "Oh." Sasuke merely sighed and closed his eyes, then made his way towards the real room 301.

'Oh thank god.' Kotetsu thought as he saw the jinchuriki walk away. Though this relief was short lived when he noticed the annoyed look on the gathered Genin.

"Are you kidding me? We were at the wrong place this whole time?"

"But it says 301 on that room!"

"Who are these two clowns anyway!?"

—

"Hey you guys! Wait up!"

The members of team 7 turned around and saw the guy with the bowl cut running after them, his two teammates nowhere to be seen.

"You! You're Sakura Haruno, correct!?" He said while pointing at her. The girl recoiled in surprise and blinked.

"Uh, y-yeah?"

"Your hair looks like cherry blossoms on a winter's day and smells of strawberries! Please, will you do me the honour of being my girlfriend!?"

"What!? No way!"

Naruto and Sasuke continued on towards the room, but were stopped once again when the boy seemed to teleport in front of them.

"You two. You're Sasuke Uchiha, correct? And you, Naruto Uzumaki. I heard all about you from Gai-sensei."

"I'm guessing you're Lee…" Naruto said.

That seemed to ignite a spark in the boy's eyes as he clenched his fist and a bright smile appeared on his face. "So you know of me as well!? Your flames of youth shine brightly!"

'Oh god…'

"Please, could you two do me the honour of giving me this spar!"

"No."

"Nah."

Team 7 walked away as Lee shouted something about 'etiquette' and 'springtime's'. They soon made it to room 301, where their masked sensei was waiting for them.

"Kakashi-sensei!"

Kakashi smiled at them. "I'm glad you all made it, though I had no doubt in my mind that you would. This way, you all qualify for the exam."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "Meaning…?"

"This exam can only be taken as a three-person squad. I said what I had to to avoid any kind of bias in your decision making. But you're all here because you want to, and I'm very proud of you."

"Heh…Good thing we all wanted to do it then, huh guys?" Sakura muttered with a weak smile, causing the two other members to sigh in exasperation at their teacher's antics.

"By the way, Gai's team is here..." Naruto told his teacher as they entered the classroom, causing Kakashi's eyes to widen in fear.

"No…Tell me you're lying!"

"Kakashi! At last, I've finally found you!" A loud voice boomed behind them, causing him to pale as his student closed the classroom door with a smile that he could feel through his mask. Kakashi sighed in defeat and accepted his fate.

The trio did not expect the crowd that was waiting for them on the other side of those doors. Shinobi from major villages, some from minor ones. Naruto had trouble recognizing the symbol on a few of the headbands. All attention had turned on them as soon as they'd entered. With so many eyes on him, he had to fight off the urge to shy away. He brought a hand up to his mask and took comfort on the porcelain material that met his fingertips.

"They're trying to intimidate us." Sasuke remarked. Sakura gulped, her nervousness showing as the countless Genin glared at them.

'So many people…Are they all here to apply?' She thought.

"Sasukeeee! You're finally here!" A voice called out from behind them. The Uchiha was quick to move out of the way as a girl attempted to jump onto his back, only to faceplant on the ground.

"Hah! Serves you right. Ino-pig!" Sakura mocked while pointing a finger at her. Ino glared at her while picking herself up and nursed her forehead.

"Shut it Billboard brow!"

"Heya Naruto, Sasuke." Choji greeted as he and Shikamaru approached them. "You finally made it!"

"Hey, guys." Naruto said in return while Sasuke merely nodded. Ino watched the boys of team 7 and 9 talking and leaned it close to whisper to Sakura.

"So, how's it been...You know, being on the same team as the freak?"

Sakura frowned at the comment. Though…She couldn't exactly chastise Ino about it. A few months ago, she too, used to call Naruto by that name.

"Ino, you shouldn't call him that…Naruto's a good guy."

"Huh? Seriously?" She said in surprise, making the girl nod.

"He's really kind once you get to know him. I think he just has trouble trusting people."

A bark coming from the door caused them to turn around and saw team 8 entering the room.

"Hey, there you are! Looks like the gang's all here."

"Including you, unfortunately." Shikamaru replied.

Kiba decided to ignore him. "So, all three of this year's newbie trio decided to apply, huh? I wonder how far we'll all get…" 'I was kinda hoping these guys would wait until next year…' He finished the last part in his head while staring at team 7.

"Kiba…Found your way back to Konoha, did you?" Sasuke taunted with a small smirk.

Kiba looked at Sasuke for a second before turning towards Naruto. "Fuck you Naruto!"

"Um…Naruto, thank you for your help with the mission last week." Hinata said timidly. Shino, the boy wearing a coat and shades nodded in agreement with her.

"Indeed. You assisted us greatly. Were it not for you, who knows where Kiba would have dragged us off to."

"Shut up!" Kiba yelled at him from across the room. "I can hear you, asshole!"

Naruto's eyes widened as a familiar shiver crawled up the length of his spine. He could feel it, the anxiety building up, his danger sense going haywire. He looked around the room, searching for the cause. Left? No. Right? Where was it? His eyes darted around madly before finally fixing themselves on a woman's face. She had long black hair and was wearing a wide brimmed hat, so most of her features were hidden away. She was standing among the rest of the Sound ninja and was by far the tallest in the group.

As if feeling his eyes, she tilted her head up slightly and revealed a smirk, thin lips on a pale face. Something about it made Naruto's hands tremble, and he had to clench them into fists to be able to quell his nerves.

"Naruto…" He heard Kurama speak up in his mind. "Be very careful with this woman. Do not approach her."

'Huh? What do you mean?" Did the fox know more than he did? He received no reply. 'Kurama?' He tried again.

"Would everybody shut the fuck up and settle down!?"

A large puff of smoke appeared in the middle of the room, making everyone recoil and shield their eyes. Once it had dispersed, a large group of Chunin could be seen standing in the middle of the room, twenty or so of them. Leading them was an imposing man. His face was heavily scarred and he was sporting a bandana and a trench coat.

"Sorry to have kept you waiting." The man spoke. "My name is Ibiki Morino. I'm the proctor and chief examiner for the first part of the exam."

He let the statement hang in the air as he surveyed the room before continuing. "The first part of the selection exam is about to begin. Turn in your written applications, take one of these seating assignment cards, and report directly to the seat indicated. Once everyone is seated, we'll pass out the written part of the test."

Naruto tore his head away from Ibiki and searched for the woman again, but she'd already disappeared somewhere in the crowd. He frowned but nevertheless proceeded as instructed.

"Oh, Hinata." He greeted and sat in his seat.

The girl attempted to give him an encouraging smile. "Let's do our best…!"

"Alright, listen up! I will now explain the rules." Ibiki began talking, but Naruto once more tried to look for the woman. There she was, sitting at the front. His eyes narrowed once they fell on her. What was it about this woman that made even Kurama cautious? And why wasn't he telling him why?

"You have one hour…Starting…Now!"

Naruto blinked and looked around the room before flipping his test over. Aw man. He got so distracted that he'd totally missed the rules.

…What a drag…

AN: So yeah, It's been a while. I didn't plan for this to take this long in all honesty. I travelled to the states during that and didn't have much time to write while there. Sorry about that. I'll always have a shit schedule, but at least the next one won't take 4 months.

Join the discord server if you so wish, just remove the spaces:

di scor d. gg / j7c ruw QQ9E

Until next time. Review or I'll cry myself to sleep tonight.