Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

The Problem-Solving Model

The problem-solving model is a framework intended to provide organization and guidance in the process of finding data-based solutions. While most commonly used for teams and corporations, it can be generalized to most situations. The number of steps in a framework can vary. But generally, the framework includes the following steps:

Operationally define the problem.

Determine the root of the problem

Research, consider, and critique multiple possible solutions

Pick and implement a solution

Evaluate the outcome and repeat step four if needed.

Unfortunately, this model does not factor in time and a need for immediate action.


Moral dilemmas were a novelty to me. Preferring to base decisions in terms of risk and gain, I rarely second-guessed myself. There was only what I needed to get what I want and how much I was willing to pay for it. Which made my current situation all the more difficult to deal with.

And it was my fault. I hadn't prepared. By design, I wasn't on a team. Nor was I an exam candidate. There was no reason for me to be involved. No need for me to know shit. Things were exactly as I intended. But that was before…

Naruto handed Team Seven's consent to bodily harm and potential death forms to the chunin sitting on my left; all smiles despite the seriousness of the proctors. I handed Sasuke a heaven scroll. And the chunin on my right gave Sakura their gate number. "Wish us luck, Rion", Naruto said as they left the curtained booth; scroll concealed. Anzu would be upset if Naruto was hurt. But Sasuke doesn't have the Sharigan. So, they should be fine. I forced myself to believe.

Gaara and his siblings were given an Earth scroll. They said nothing. With no slip-ups, I had no cause to suspect a future sand invasion. So, I was silent too.

The team of fake grass nin got an Earth scroll too. My hand trembled as I handed it over to the disguised Orochimaru. The chunin proctors noticed but didn't comment as Orochimaru smiled. "Thank you very much". His tongue licked the far corners of his lips.

In a handful of hours, Anko would face him if I didn't say anything. The grass nin exited before I could make up my mind. How could a genin be able to detect a disguised sannin when no one else did? The lack of an answer was enough of an excuse to hold my tongue. Anko would survive.

Shino and his team got a heaven scroll. "Will we see you at the tower?" Kiba asked as Hinata hid the scroll on her person.

I glanced at the chunin on my left. "There's no harm in answering", he assured me. Nice guy. Too bad I hadn't bothered to learn his name.

"Yeah", I said; focusing back on Kiba. Though I kept getting distracted by my brother. "I have a couple of shifts for checking in arrivals". Shino should fair better than most. I reminded myself as they left. A forest filled with poisonous insects; he'd be right at home.

Both the team from Sound and Gai's team got an Earth scroll. I felt just as tongue-tied about the sound team as I did with the grass team. No one in Konoha currently knew anything about this upstart village. Therefore, neither do I.

The last heaven scroll I gave went to Team Ten. "Troublesome", Shikamaru grunted as Chouji hid it away. What could I say?

Nothing that wouldn't lead to questions I couldn't explain. And anything I did have an answer for would either lead to a bed in a psych ward or a cell. Maybe both. It never bugged me before, I thought as Ino dragged Chouji and Shikamaru out of the booth. Knowing things I hadn't learned in this life, I thought it was an advantage. A consolation prize for having died in the first place. It was annoying to now feel differently. They would be fine. I told myself. A little scuffed up, but Chouji and Shikamaru would make it through.

Kabuto's team was last; entering behind the curtain after a long line of faces I didn't know. "Hello again", he smiled as I handed him an earth scroll. "Rion was it?" Hearing my name coming from his mouth felt like a curse. Scowling, I pressed my lips together in refusal of responding. "You sure had everyone fooled during the written exam", Kabuto complimented. Not that it would be enough to pull anything out of me.

With a friendly laugh, Kabuto led his team out. I narrowed my eyes at his back. Him, I could do something about. It was only a matter of convincing Ibiki before Kabuto could finish the second test. This was the only way I could console myself after realizing that maybe there was more to lose than my… I didn't know what to call it. Freedom? Independence? Self-reliance? Horribly, there were other things I've come to value more. This was my fault. I should've never broken my self-imposed rules.

Anko pulled back the curtain in a flurry shortly after. Despite today's earlier embarrassment, she was her normal chaotic self. Terrorizing Naruto might have played a part in that. "All done here?" She barely waited for a response before continuing. "Good. Time to head to the gates. We're letting the runts loose in five minutes".

The chunins moved. I didn't. Having a key to the forest of death, even temporarily, was above my rank. When it was just us, Anko thrust a slip of paper under my nose. "And here's everybody's dinner orders".

Taking it, I quickly scanned it over. "There are orders for five different restaurants", I complained with a furrowed brow. Some were on opposite ends of the village.

Anko grinned as wide as her mouth would allow. Her joy made me flinch. It wouldn't last for much longer. Maybe I could…

"You better hurry", Anko teased. "Don't want to make Ibiki wait when he gets here to take you to the tower. I know how much Ibiki's schedule matters to you".

"Anko", I sighed, lowering the piece of paper. "When will Ibiki-Sensei get here?"

Responding to my tone, Anko blinked as the grin slipped off her face. "What do you need him for that can't wait?"

Looking down and to the left, I stared at the end of the curtain. "I don't like one of the participants".

Anko snorted. "Kid, you don't like anyone".

Returning to her, I scowled. Unfortunately for me, that was becoming less true. "In the first part of the exam, he showed off all this intel he collected about the other candidates. Intel, I don't think should have been… available to him". Anko's arms stiffened at her sides. "And he was being all buddy-buddy with everyone from my year. It was weird. I'm supposed to report stuff like this, right?"

"Who is this guy?" Anko asked after taking a moment to think.

"Kabuto Yakushi", I answered; watching as Anko picked up the stack of consent forms. "He's from Konoha".

Since Kabuto and his team were the last to receive their scroll, it didn't take Anko long to find his form. She frowned as she looked it over. I'm not sure why. There wasn't much on the form. Just signed permission that Konoha wasn't responsible if they were killed or maimed in the forest and the contact information of the person who should be notified if the worst happened. "I'll look into this", she promised; for once, sounding serious. It was short-lived. Turning away from the consent form, she smiled at me. "Better run. You got a lot of food to pick up".

Sighing, I returned to the slip of paper in my hand and read over the last few items. "No one needs eight boxes of dango". Toothpaste. Garbage bags. Cat food. This sounded like someone's shopping list. "I'm not buying cat food", I said; glaring at Anko.

All Anko did was shrug. "Pets need to eat too". Except there was no way someone brought their pet cat to work!


Anko ate eight boxes of dango. Sitting on top of the booth, she dangled her legs over the edge; swinging them happily as she ate and ate and ate. Next to her, with one foot tucked under my knee, I ate my convenience store rice ball and tried not to feel impressed. She could probably eat Chouji under the table.

Every stick freed of dango got flicked into a tree trunk opposite of us. As if they were senbon. On any other day, I would have wondered how she could do that without the sticks snapping. "Don't listen to Shinobu", She told me; smacking her lips around a mouthful. "If you're going to have dango you need to pair it with sweet red bean soup".

"I'll take your word for it", I said after chewing and swallowing. My eyes were on our surroundings; keeping an eye out for Ibiki and trying to ignore the occasional screams we heard coming from the forest. Though those became less and less the further the candidates progressed in the second exam.

"Last one", Anko declared as she took another bite. "Then I'll head for the tower. Since I have the first shift. Can't wait to see who ends up being early birds. I bet it's the bloodthirsty ones".

"You're going by yourself?" I asked. Trying to sound like I didn't already know while suggesting it was a bad idea.

"Aw", Anko cooed; voice a little muffled. "Are you worried about your mentor. Such a good little underling". She raised a hand to mess my hair; making her teasing complete.

Slapping her hand away, I glared at the distant ground. "Shut up".

"But don't worry kid", she moved on as she stuffed the last of her food into her mouth. "It's just genin who can't handle the forest alone". With a careless flick of her wrist, she sent the stick in her hand flying; striking the tree trunk like all the others. "A perfect Konoha symbol. Nice", she celebrated her design.

Sparing a glance at the tree trunk with all the little sticks neatly aligned, I couldn't disagree. Though the choice bugged me a bit. Did everything in our lives have to revolve around the village? The question left a bitter aftertaste.

A sudden cloud of smoke had me jumping. Though Anko didn't react at all. "Anko, we have a problem", a chunin announced. He appeared kneeling before her once the smoke cleared.

"Already?" She asked unbothered. My left hand curled into a fist; nails digging harshly into my palm.

"We found bodies. Three of them", the chunin reported as he rose to his feet. Anko's swinging legs stilled, but she remained casual. Makes one wonder if corpses were always expected at the chunin exams. "There's something strange about them. Please come at once".

Anko took a moment to swallow her last bite of food. "Weird corpses?" She asked herself, intrigued. The moment passed. "Alright, Mini-me", she declared as she jumped down from the booth's roof. "Time to learn on the job. Let's go see what they found".

With less speed, I followed. Maybe I had said enough to plant some doubt. Maybe after seeing the bodies, Anko would have the sense to wait for backup before charging into the forest.

We were led to a statue located in a less popular training ground not far from the exam hall. Blood splattered against the stone; making the peaceful meditating monks a less peaceful sight. Two chunin crouched by the corpses to study them while the one who came to fetch Anko stood back with us. "Report", Anko ordered as she took in the sight.

One body was still upright in a sitting position but slumped as if boneless. The other two lay flat. One on its back. The other on its stomach. Their garb was familiar. I know Anko didn't miss it. "The candidates from Kusa", one chunin spoke up. "Their registration was completed this morning before the first exam, like all the others. But based on the progression of rigor mortis, they never made it to the exam hall. Furthermore-"

Anko cut him off before he could state the most obvious thing. "Their bodies have no faces". Anko dug her teeth into her bottom lip; her voice a dangerous lilt. I found myself staring at her instead of the bodies. Anko was many things; chaotic, provoking, hot-headed, and usually cheerful. This was the first time I ever saw her scared. In a way, seeing her frightened felt worse than my own fears. Tensely, she raised a hand and placed it on her neck, under her trench coat; already piecing together what must have happened.

When she reacted, it was like watching a trap being sprung. "You three!" She yelled to the chunin. "Contact the Hokage!" They seemed shocked at the order; their spines stiffening. "Tell him Anbu black Ops are needed. Two squads at the minimum if he can't spare more!" Anko's eyes were held wide open. She didn't blink as she gave them her orders. After they responded; blurring out of sight to obey, She whirled to face me. "Rion, go back to the main gate. Wait for Ibiki. Tell him Orochimaru is here. He'll give you further orders".

I was nodding by the time she finished her second direction; expecting that to be my role. As a genin, I wasn't good for much else. "What are you going to do?" I asked.

Anko turned to face in the direction of the forest; her trench coat fluttering around her in the late afternoon breeze. She bared her teeth. "I'm going to find this bastard".

Although I wasn't surprised by the announcement, something inside of me twinged. "Without backup?" I tried. "These bodies weren't hidden. Meaning whoever did this… Orochimaru expected someone to find them. Wouldn't he have a plan for this? For when Konoha retaliates?" it was the most I figured I could say without raising suspicions. And even then, only phrased as questions.

"There isn't time?" Anko growled. I wasn't sure if she was speaking to me or herself at that moment. I could offer to be her backup. A traitorous voice whispered from the far corners of my mind. There wasn't much I could do in a fight against Orochimaru. But maybe I could… be a distraction. Or run for help as soon as we found the snake.

"I gave you a direct order", Anko barked at me after a few seconds when I failed to move or respond. "Wait for Ibiki. Don't abandon your post for anyone but him". With a burst of chakra, Anko blurred away less than a second later… It was the first time she ever pulled rank on me.


My heart beat faster than it should when standing still. With my back against the same tree Anko graffitied with her Dango sticks, I kept my eyes on the forest and for anyone approaching. It was night now. And this training ground was far enough from the village that the only light I had available to me came from the moon.

It was quiet. Only the sound of the wind rustling leaves kept me company. I couldn't decide if that was a good or a bad thing. No screams from the forest reached my ears. I saw no sign of the Anbu Black Ops Anko requested. Did that mean the request was ignored? More likely they took a different route or passed without me sensing them.

Despite knowing the danger was contained to the forest until the end of the second exam, paranoia had me waiting with a kunai poised in each hand. That's how Ibiki found me. It was probably my weapons that warned him something was up. If the Hokage hadn't gotten to him first. "Rion, what happened?" he asked once close enough. Dressed in his typical black clothes and bandana, Ibiki was hard to see in the dark. Only his face was really visible. I could see his eyes flickering in all directions as he tried to find clues.

I kept my kunai out but stepped away from the tree. "Three bodies were found. They didn't have any faces". My answer caused Ibiki's eyes to snap their focus to my face. "Anko said it's Orochimaru. She sent some chunin to tell the Hokage and told me to come here and wait for you". I had to look away from him as I explained the last bit. "She went into the forest to find him". It felt like an admission of guilt.

"Without backup?" Was Ibiki's next question.

I shook my head. "She told the chunin to ask for the Black Ops but told me there was no time to wait for them".

Clicking his tongue, Ibiki angled his body towards the forest. "Damn it, Anko. You fool".

Overall, Ibiki was slower to react than Anko had been. He spent more time staring into the gated forest; the wheels in his mind turned as he breathed through his nose. The intensity of his stare and the strength of my own impatience had me shifting my weight back and forth between my feet. "Should I've gone after her?" I found myself asking a few moments later.

Ibiki's answer wasn't one he had to think about. "No". It was the response I expected. But unfortunately, hearing it didn't assuage this heavy feeling. "The bodies", Ibiki circled back around. "Were they identified?"

Nodding, I recalled what I'd heard. "One of the chunin said they were the genin team from Kusa. He also said they'd been dead before the first exam". My mouth felt dry. But there was nothing to be done about it right now.

Turning his eyes back to me, Ibiki gave me a once-over. "You got a good look at all the candidates during the first exam, do you remember seeing the grass team?"

I indicated yes.

"Did you see them at the start of the second exam?" Ibiki pressed.

"I gave them their scroll myself". The memory of the disguised Orochimaru thanking me caused me to shiver. "I think they were assigned to gate five".

"Why would Orochimaru infiltrate the chunin exams?" Ibiki asked himself. This question, I wasn't expected to answer. I couldn't. Not without consequences. The next question Ibiki asked, gave me a hint on what would happen next. "If you saw this team again, could you point them out?"

This time, the tiny voice in the far corner of my mind was louder. I heeded it. "Yeah. They're kind of hard to forget".

With his jaw set in a determined grimace, Ibiki started forward as he slipped a hand into one of the pockets of his trench coat. I didn't need to be told to follow. "Obey my orders", Ibiki instructed as he started unlocking the gate. "No questions asked. If I tell you to run, you run. If I tell you to hide, you hide". The gate swung open as Ibiki peered at me from over his shoulder. "Got it?"

Meaning it more than I ever have before, I bobbed my head. "Yes, Ibiki-Sensei".

He flinched at the title but didn't let it slow him down. Letting me go in front of him, Ibiki took the few seconds needed to lock the gate once more before addressing me again. "We'll make for the tower. Stay close and point out anything suspicious".

His orders caught me off guard. So much that I was a second late in following as he jumped into the tree branches and started running. I felt pressure in my calf muscles as my chakra allowed me to reach Ibiki's height. It took a few seconds and well-timed jumps to catch up. There wasn't a chance to take in the forest and all its dense foliage. Not that there was much to see in the dark. In a way, it felt good to move. To let my body use its training while my mind was limited.

But after falling in sync with Ibiki, landing on a branch right after he leaped off it, I had to ask what I struggled to work out myself. "Why the tower? Why aren't we looking for Anko?"

Despite our activity, the wind rushing past our ears, Ibiki heard me clearly. "No questions", he said sternly. For a few branches, I fell silent; trying to think of what I could say that would provoke a response that would actually tell me something. But Ibiki beat me to it. With a long reluctant sigh, he explained, "At the tower, we can regroup. Two jounin and a genin isn't going to be enough to handle Orochimaru. If the Hokage and extra forces have been notified, the tower is where they'll head too".

Something flew over our heads. A bat by the sound of it. But Ibiki fell silent for a few steps as we tensely waited to see if anything nefarious would occur because of it. When our path wasn't intercepted, Ibiki continued; never slowing. "The second exam is still underway. Until we know enough to control the situation, things have to progress as if there was no disturbance".

Something in my head clicked. "Because the other villages are watching and Konoha disrupting their own exams would be seen as weak". I needed extra chakra to get me to the next branch. It was slightly farther than the others had been. While not out of breath, I was starting to feel the beginnings of perspiration on my skin.

Ahead, Ibiki sped up. "Exactly", he confirmed.

I exhaled through my nose like someone ripping off a bandage. "Ibiki-Sensei, there is one other thing". He turned his head in my direction and waited for me to say more. "I already told Anko and it might not be related but…"

"Go on", Ibiki prompted as we kept pace.

So, as we raced through the trees, I told him about Kabuto Yakushi and his deck of cards. I wasted a few minutes talking about how he tried to butter himself up to the rookies even though there wasn't much that would accomplish unless he had ulterior motives. Could it have been because most of us were the children of clan heads? Maybe. That was an avenue Ibiki would have to explore before he could believe me. But one thing I could do was get him to see that my suspicions had merit. "I mean, his cards sound like my notebook, right? And that got confiscated when I was an academy student. So why would a genin be allowed to collect that information and keep it?"

We put five more branches behind us. At this point, Ibiki and I were closer to the tower than we were to the gate we entered through. "I'll look into it", Ibiki promised after a long moment. Hopefully, that promise wouldn't take too long.