Nothing really to say. Does anyone actually read these besides me?

Anyway, another really quick update. God, I've been feeling so hyped about this! We're starting to get to the juicy parts!

Spenge: You'll have to see. But I'll be sure to address that!

The Family's House

Takai's one eye shot open, but quickly closed. The light above was far too bright. It stung.

But the pain didn't go away when he closed his eye. In fact, his one eye felt quite tender. God, he must have been punched or something. He could feel some bandages around his body where he had been struck with senbon. It seemed like he was laying on a bedroll on the ground.

He groaned to let anyone around know he was awake.

The squeak of a chair and some footsteps let him know someone was approaching. Then, he felt someone nudge him with their foot.

"Hey, open your eye." Sasuke said. Oh, great. Sasuke was taking care of him.

Takai complied and squinted upwards at the Last Uchiha's not so happy face.

"How the hell do you have a Sharingan?" He asked. It seemed like he was calm at first glance, but he was clearly immensely angry. Takai stared at him as if he was insane.

"ANSWER ME!" Sasuke yelled at him, kicking him in the side.

Takai grunted, "I don't have one you pretty boy prick." He replied, closing his one eye.

"I saw it with my own two damn eyes! You awakened a Sharingan! Tell me how you have one! You aren't a Uchiha!" Sasuke screamed. Takai heard some footsteps going up the stairs and a door open. Suddenly, Sasuke was on the other side of the room, "Come on girls, play nice together." Kakashi said, holding Sasuke up by the collar of his shirt.

Sasuke scowled at Kakashi, but said nothing.

Takai exhaled deeply as Kakashi dropped Sasuke and sent Takai a questioning look. Takai shrugged as best he could from his bedroll. "We'll discuss this when we're back home. For now, get along." Kakashi ordered, no hint of a joke this time as he left the room. Takai looked around briefly as the light still hurt his eye. He really couldn't see much besides the chair and Sasuke.

The chair creaked, meaning Sasuke sat back down and was watching him. Some quiet minutes went by before the chair scraped across the floor until Sasuke was right next to him, "I saw it." He began, "I know I did. I met your eye and there it was. How did you get it? Did you rob a grave?" Takai rolled his eye, but of course Sasuke didn't see it because of his eyelid.

"No, I didn't steal a Sharingan. And even if I did go grave robbing, your clansmen are buried within Konoha's Catacombs which are under constant surveillance. I would have to fight through several Chunin to even get in. AND EVEN THEN, its been years since the massacre which means any eyes would have decayed by now. So, once again, I do not have a Sharingan." Takai explained thoroughly.

Sasuke scoffed, "You expect me to believe that? How do I know you aren't an agent for some sort of secret organization within Konoha?"

This time, Takai did open his eye. He met Sasuke's dark orbs, "Are you stupid? Or did your mom drop you on your head one too many times? That's next level conspiracy theory stuff."

Sasuke scowled deeper as Takai closed his eye.

"I've read over every single family record available in the Uchiha Compound. No one by the name of Takai is there. I remember every single name." Sasuke said, "You aren't on family records, so you definitely aren't related. How did you get it?" He growled out.

Takai shrugged, "I don't know." He said simply.

Sasuke stood up suddenly, throwing the chair over, "I will figure this out." He said menacingly as he left the room. He heard a door slam, then another. Takai breathed in and out. It was actually pretty relaxing to be bedridden. He then tried to sit up and had no trouble.

Well, it was fun for a little bit. He picked himself up and navigated through the room with his eye closed, but even then, the light pervaded through his eyelid. He pulled his headband down over both his eyes and continued, the darkness a welcomed blessing. He felt the wall, then the doorknob. He turned it and stepped out. He dragged his hand along the wall, guiding himself along.

After a minute, he reached a banister and- 'Wait, a banister?'

But it was too late, Takai had already stepped forwards and promptly fell down the stairs, coming to a crash at the landing. He groaned as he picked himself up again. Something like that couldn't hurt a shinobi physically. But his dignity was certainly harmed.

"Takai?" A feminine voice said. Ah, right, Sakura.

"Light hurts my eye." He answered.

He assumed she nodded as he didn't hear her respond. After a moment a smaller hand grasped his and led him along. He was sat in a chair and heard a plate clink.

"Breakfast." Takai nodded and reached forwards to grab a utensil.

And ended up knocking something off the table. He heard Sakura sigh, "I'll feed you then." She said. He heard a fork against a plate.

"Open." She commanded.

Takai complied.

He felt the fork enter his mouth and he could taste something. What was it? He hadn't eaten anything besides ramen or ration pills in awhile. It was much cheaper than real food.

Was it...scrambled eggs?

It was.

"Close." He did so. she pulled the fork out and he chewed. They tasted quite nice.

This went on until he finished the eggs.

"That's all." Sakura said.

Takai nodded, getting out of the chair and stumbling around, looking for the door. He found it and left the house, closing it behind him. He sat down outside the door and enjoy the air for awhile. It didn't feel like long, but by the time someone came by, it was dark out. "Oh, hey! Takai!" He heard Naruto call out to him. His head snapped to his direction.

"Yeah? What's up, Naruto?" He asked.

"I've been training!" Naruto said. Takai assumed he stuck out his thumb.

"Good. Good. What have you been training?" He asked.

"My affinity! I can cut rocks now!" He said excitedly.

Takai cracked a smile and nodded, "That's excellent progress." Takai stretched his arms and raised one side of his headband.

"Wow, its really late." He remarked.

Naruto nodded, "Kakashi-sensei said we'll be leaving once the bridge is finished, which is going to be another two weeks or something like that." Naruto supplied.

Takai pursed his lips. "Did you see my eye?" He asked.

"What?" Naruto said, confused.

"Did. You. See. My. Eye?" He said slowly.

"Nope, but I did see that restaurant! They have ramen on the menu! I'm going to go get some!" Naruto said, cheering as he ran off to go have some of his precious ramen. Takai got up and went back inside where Sakura and Kakashi were sitting at a table together. They both watched Takai walk in.

"Sensei, do you know where Sasuke is?" Takai could practically feel the joke coming, "What? Going to go confess your love for him? In that case, he's in the woods." He said, "And practice safe sex you two!" He called as Takai left the home. He could hear Sakura say something to which Kakashi obviously made a joke about.

He was going to prove to Sasuke he didn't have a Sharingan.

Takai set off into the woods. After a bit of walking, he began to hear the sounds of fire and explosions. Takai followed them to find Sasuke training his fireball jutsu in a clearing.

Sasuke looked over to Takai as he exited the underbrush into the clearing. Guess he would have to settle this.

The onyx haired boy abandoned his task and fully faced Takai.

"You insist I have a Sharingan, so, tell me how one activates it. I'll prove to you that I don't." He said.

Sasuke's expression tightened, "You focus on the memory that activated it in the first place and focus your chakra to your eye."

Takai nodded, "And you are saying its the battle with the hunter-nin that activated it?" A nod from Sasuke.

"Alright then, I'll think of the fight." Takai said.

And thus, he went down memory lane. The mirrors forming, the two of them being hit with senbon, and eventually, one going for his eye-

"Gah!" Takai groaned, hands shooting to his eye.

He fell to a knee, clutching his eye.

"Show me." Sasuke commanded.

Takai struggled to get his head up, but looked at Sasuke.

The boy's dark orbs met his own lone one, and when they did, he looked startled.

"Wha-?" Takai questioned. Sasuke retrieved a kunai from his holster and passed it to Takai. He held it up in front of his eye and stared at the reflection.

His iris was a shade of blood red. Around his pupil was a ring of which one tomoe rotated lazily around the center.

Holy shit.

He had a Sharingan?!

Takai didn't expect this.

He passed the kunai back to Sasuke who holstered it.

He looked solemn. The two were silent for a moment, "I'm sorry for how I reacted. I was just surprised." He said.

Takai nodded, "I understand." He didn't. Not even a little. To experience love and then have it taken away to traumatically? He didn't have a clue of what it was like.

Sasuke seemed to have the same thought process.

"Well, you obviously couldn't have stolen it. You would have had your ass handed to you. So, you must be related to the clan somehow." Sasuke concluded, albeit still upset.

A memory nagged at Takai...oh, right! The way the Hokage described his father. "I asked the Hokage about my parents. He described my father to me. He sounded like a Uchiha in terms of looks."

Sasuke's eyebrow went up, "What did he say?"

"Black hard, dark eyes, on the paler side, and looked like an aristocrat." Takai answered.

Sasuke nodded, "Sounds like a Uchiha. I guess we are related." He said begrudgingly.

"So, what does that make us? Cousins?" Takai asked, standing up.

"Something like that."

"Right. Well, I suppose now I can move in with you." Takai joked.

Sasuke gained a thoughtful look, "Well, since it seems as though you are, then yeah. We're clansmen. While we don't technically have to, clansmen usually stick together." Sasuke said.

Takai stared.

"Well, the houses are pretty nice from what little I've seen, so I'll consider it." He responded.

Takai's Apartment

Takai sat on his couch, not doing much.

The rest of the time spent in Wave was uneventful. He just spent the time practicing turning his Sharingan on and off.

The amount of power he could feel in the eye was incredible. While Takai's status as being a relative to the Uchiha clan was revealed to the Hokage, he didn't do much. He just told him to wield the power wisely. He held one of the four Sharingan left available to Konoha. You would think he would get set on a strict training regimen. But then again, Sasuke didn't have forced training either.

Takai leaned back on the couch. He felt his chakra grow explosively from wielding the eye. Just sitting around with it active took a fair bit of chakra. He could only have it on for about an hour before it became too much. That wasn't an techniques or anything. At least it gave a nice boost to his reserves.

He was still processing the fact that he was related to Sasuke and his dead clan. He had family he didn't even know about! He could have met his cousins! The massacre took that chance away. Takai felt a strange amount of hatred towards Sasuke's older brother. He didn't ever experience that sort of love, so how could he bear such strong emotion already? With a blink, Takai turned his Sharingan off.

The only way he was going to make any sort of major advancements with it is if he goes to Sasuke and gets a hand on some clan documents on the subject.

Well, guess he was going to make a trip. Takai stood up from his couch. He blinked and activated his Sharingan. It was a bit awkward to get used to the enhanced perception. The first time he used it in his house, he through one of his glasses to the floor. It took him awhile to clean it up. Takai reached the door and opened it only to find Naruto standing there, who came eye to eye with his lone Sharingan.

"Hey- woah." He said, taking a step back, "That's it? I thought it would be cooler."

Takai snorted, "Of course you did." He remarked as he left the apartment and closed the door. Naruto followed him, grinning madly, "Bet I could beat your ass even if you got that fancy new eye."

Takai laughed at the obvious attempt to goad him into sparring, "Maybe next time, Naruto."

Naruto's grin fell, but he kept following him, "Alright. Where are you going?"

"To talk to Sasuke."

"Why?"

Takai wordlessly pointed to his eye. Naruto made an 'o' face and promptly split from Takai to avoid contact with Sasuke.

Just a few minutes later, Takai was wandering through the Uchiha district. Most people wouldn't dare set foot in here, but since this was technically his home, who cared? It took some time to actually find Sasuke, but when he did, he was surprised. Both caught the other off-guard. Sasuke was wearing pink gloves and holding a garden trowel in front of a tomato vine growing on a metal lattice.

Takai's eyes drifted to the gloves and he started snickering.

Sasuke scowled at him, "What do you want?"

Takai took a moment to compose himself, "I'm here to train this." He pointed at his eye, blinking once and activating his Sharingan.

Sasuke nodded, "Let me put my things away and I'll show you." He said.

The dark-haired boy walked off into a rather traditionally styled house. He liked the look a lot actually. A moment later, Sasuke reappeared.

"Follow me." He said, Takai doing so. They walked through the district. It was depressing to see everything like this. Shops still had "OPEN" signs hung on the doors. There were some old stains on the walls that looked like blood spurts. He'd argue the worst part was the fact that everything was so perfectly preserved. Not a single home was dilapidated or anything of the sort.

"The Uchiha Archives." Sasuke said. Takai stopped so suddenly he nearly ran over Sasuke. He looked at the building. It looked a lot like a bunker, which, made sense he supposed. Ancient knowledge had to be preserved. He was sure the Senju Clan's compound and the Nara Clan's compound and so on. It was fully concrete that was likely reinforced with a number of seals. The door looked to be solid metal. He walked up to the door and brushed a hand over it. It looked kind of like a vault door to be honest.

"It's locked behind some sort of key or trigger. Only someone with a Sharingan can open it." Sasuke said, looking at Takai expectantly.

He blinked and activated his Sharingan, the one black tomoe spinning slowly around the center. He placed his hand on the door again and this time, it opened.

The mechanism spun upon recognizing his Sharingan and the door opened wide. The inside was dark for a moment, but lights flicked on, illuminating a tunnel down. Takai looked at him, "Well, after you, Uchiha-sama." Sasuke rolled his eyes but walked down first.

The pair looked around for awhile. Most of it was Uchiha history and some older birth records. They even managed to find Madara Uchiha's. Takai thought that was pretty cool. It was organized by date of birth and Madara was just about as far as it went. Though, they found what they were looking for in a book labeled "The Ultimate Dojutsu" written by an unknown Uchiha clansman.

The pair pulled it off the shelf and opened it up. It revealed decades worth of notes and extensive testing. The two shared a look. They skipped to the pages detailing the awakening and training of the Sharingan. One page had an interesting diagram. It was of the Sharingan and the abilities that improved with each stage. Thankfully, he had access to every ability, it just improved with maturation. It was a treasure trove of information. For instance, he could fully mature his Sharingan with just training. Meaning, he wouldn't have to do anything traumatizing. That was certainly nice. Of course, it was going to take a long time to do so.

Sasuke pointed at the part that explained the awakening process. Trauma was the absolute sure-fire way to awaken a Sharingan. Takai stared at him. Sasuke had unfortunately seen the slaughter of his clansmen and was traumatized. So, why didn't it happen? Takai looked at the book some more, but found no answer. He just shook his head and stood, "Well, that was nice. See you next time, Sasuke."

The boy just grunted.

Takai had a plan. He had just remembered something Iruka used in the academy. Thought, it felt a bit evil to be honest.

Kakashi's Apartment

It took awhile, but Takai managed to find Kakashi's apartment. He was currently sticking to the wall with the wall walking jutsu and staring through his window. He was a bit annoyed at this point. Kakashi had looked up at him ten times from his sitting position on his couch. While Icha Icha was a masterpiece, there was a time and a place to read porn!

Takai eventually wriggled his fingers under the window and wrenched it upwards. Kakashi looked up at him, "I'm going to have to ask you to pay for that, Uchiha-sama." He mocked. Takai pulled out his wallet and threw two thousand ryo at his face. Kakashi easily batted it aside.

"I want to learn the Magen: Narakumi no Jutsu (Demonic Illusion: Hell Viewing Technique)." Takai said.

Kakashi blinked, "Oh? My little Genin is attempting to move up, huh?" He joked.

"Yeah, you're also my sensei, so help me." Takai demanded.

"And why should I? What could you-"

"I'll Henge a clone into you and peak on the women's baths."

Kakashi was silent for a beat before sitting up and then standing, "Touché."

Takai gave him an eye-smile, "Good, now let's go. I have a tight schedule." Takai joked.

Kakashi tried to stick his tongue out at him, but his mask got in the way.

"Alright. I'll perform the jutsu on you and you'll feel the way it affects your optical nerves, then you try to use it on me." Kakashi said. He didn't even use hand signs, showing his proficiency with the jutsu. Takai activated his Sharingan just in time to copy the jutsu.

Takai watched in horror as corpses appeared around the room. First, of Naruto. He was strung up in the corner riddled with kunai and seemed to be half rotten. Next was Kakashi who had been beheaded and his head placed on a pike, Sharingan eye roughly gouged out which destroyed the eye socket. Next was Lord Third who had a massive hole in his gut.

Suddenly, the cadavers began to speak, "Why did you fail us, Takai?"

His eye widened, "W-what?" He stuttered for the first time in years.

"You weren't here to save us when we died. We needed you and you abandoned us. Curse you!" Takai covered his ears as they chanted "FAILURE!" at him.

It went on for a minute before Kakashi ended the genjutsu. Takai's breathing stabilized as he found himself being held by his shoulders, Kakashi looking concerned.

"Takai, are you okay?" Kakashi said.

Takai nodded meekly. He glanced at the spots where the bodies had lain. He supposed that was his biggest fear: those closest dying and believing him to have failed them. He shuddered and stood straight. He closed his eye and took a deep breath.

His Sharingan allowed him to copy the jutsu. He formed the Snake and Rat hand signs before looking Kakashi in the eye, casting the illusion. It was actually quite interesting how it worked. Your chakra made its way to the person's optical nerve to affect what their brain perceives and-

Kakashi's mouth dropped open in horror. He was visibly shaking and wobbling on his feet, "Kakashi-sensei!" Takai canceled the jutsu, "Kakashi-sensei! Are you okay?!" Takai asked, grabbing the bigger man by his shoulders.

Kakashi slowly and carefully removed Takai's hands with a tight eye-smile, "Yes, I'm fine. I just need a bit of a rest." The message was unspoken, but clear as day, 'Please leave.'

Takai felt terrible. He had harmed someone close to him. He gritted his teeth and left through the window quickly a single tear forming in his eye before he wiped it away. He leapt through the village over the rooftops back to the Uchiha Compound. He felt like a kicked puppy. It was humiliating.

Uchiha Compound, Sasuke's House

Takai landed in Sasuke's backyard, once again catching him in the middle of gardening. The pink gloves didn't bring him amusement though.

Sasuke threw him a questioning look while he seemed to be digging up a potato.

"I might have a way to awaken your Sharingan." Takai said.

Sasuke calmly put his tool down and took off his gloves. He stood up and approached Takai, "How do I do it?"

"I'm going to use the Magen: Narakumi no Jutsu (Demonic Illusion: Hell Viewing Technique) to force you to relive your trauma. It should force an awakening." Takai explained.

Sasuke nodded, "Alright, you're going to see some terrible things, so tap out as soon as you need to." Takai said before forming the two hand signs and activating his Sharingan to empower the illusion.

Sasuke promptly fell over, shivering silently, breaking out in a cold sweat and seemed to be crying gently. Takai canceled the technique immediately and knelt at his side, "Sasuke?"

Sasuke looked up at him, the first stage of the Sharingan staring back proudly. Sasuke grinned savagely, "Thank you, Takai. I've waited for this for a long time." He said before getting up.

Takai nodded, standing up with him. "I am going to go now, goodbye, Sasuke." Takai said rigidly before jumping away. Sasuke only grunted in response.

Takai's Apartment

He felt very off. The level of trauma those two had was deep and entrenched in their minds. He leaned back on his couch as a clone ran around testing security seals. It had been working for awhile. His eyes felt tingly and his core an all consuming black hole. He felt heavy and sluggish overall.

Was this guilt? Disgust? He didn't know, but he hated it with an intense passion. He was just staring at his ceiling, occasionally activating his Sharingan to train it a bit. The problem with it was that he memorized everything he saw with it active. He had the images of their horror and fear etched into his mind forever. He couldn't get his mind off of it. He'd give anything to forget the sight.

Oh well, nothing to do but to move on. His fear would come true if he stagnated. Stagnation is death to a shinobi.

But he needed to rest a bit.

And he was about to do just that until he felt a shadow clone be destroyed.

"Oh shit." Takai said moments before a rush of experience flooded his mind. He collapsed off the couch and on to the floor. Takai couldn't control his body and he was convulsing wildly. Images flashed through his mind of more fireballs than he could count and of him lashing the water with water whips. Another had spent days underwater. Oh kami it hurt!

He heard his living room table fly across the room. He had hit it with one of his thrashing limbs.

His brain ached like it was being stretched to its limit.

The rush of information continued until Takai's head felt like splitting open.

Eventually he felt his clone try to hold him down, but a stray kick broke its leg and destroyed it.

Queue more information.

Takai felt himself foam at the mouth as his mind went blank and he passed out.

The Next Day

Takai awoke to the very not enjoyable experience of throwing up. It took a moment for him to right himself and look around. His already sparse and barely comfortable living room was trashed. His table was shattered, a leg stuck through the wall. His couch was in half and the wall separating the living room and the kitchen had a dent in it.

He groaned as he got up shakily, vomiting another moment before he could get himself together.

Kami, what happened?

Fucking shadow clones.

The one training water whips accidentally pulled down a tree and crushed all of them to death.

He was hit with a lot of time all at once. He probably had an aneurysm or something along those lines. He popped his arms and shoulders. Well, it looked like he couldn't exactly stay here any more. He cringed as he thought of the little old lady who owned this place cleaning it up. Nothing else to do really.

Takai supposed he would have to just move into the Uchiha District. At least he's closer to his clan's archives.

That felt weird. Takai didn't feel as though he was related to them at all. It just so happened he had their kekkei genkai. He would have to bring it up at today's team meeting.

Speaking of that, the clock on his wall told him he was going to be late.

At least later than usual. He had no way to be later than Kakashi unless he died.

And with that, he popped open his window and jumped out, closing it behind him. He landed on the opposing building's roof and dashed off. Running at breakneck speeds, he was there in just six minutes. Sometimes he forgot how massive Konoha was.

He came to a skidding halt at the bridge they usually met on. Naruto looked up from the dango he had in his hand. Sasuke met his eyes and nodded. Sakura looked ready to accuse him of being late.

Takai was about to speak when Kakashi beat him to it, "Hey gang." He said from his crouch on the railing.

"You're late!' Sakura said to him, pointing accusingly.

Kakashi rubbed the back of his head, "Yeah, well, I found this kid who was lost and wasn't with his mom so I had to help him find her and then-" He began before Naruto cut him off, "You big liar!" Naruto added.

Kakashi shook his head and stepped off the guardrail.

"As you know, the Chunin exams are coming up," Kakashi began, Takai's eyes went wide, "so, I have recommended you participate to rank up." Kakashi finished, brandishing four forms at them with a prominent eye-smile.

Each Genin took one. Takai watched Naruto furiously scribbling with a pen he had borrowed from Sakura. Sasuke was busy reading over the form.

"Chunin Exams, huh. Sensei? You must have a lot of faith in us." Takai remarked, reading over the terms and conditions of participation. It was a list that was easily forty lines long and took up the majority of the form on both sides.

"Mah mah, I know, I know." Kakashi said.

Takai shrugged as he pulled out his own writing tool and filled it out. It took next to no time. His full name, his ninja registration number, and his signature.

It was actually pretty amusing.

In theory, someone fresh out of the academy could fill this in and go.

He shrugged as he passed it back to Kakashi and put away his pen. Soon, his teammates also filled theirs out.

"I'll go hand these in. You have a free day today. Spend it wisely! Tomorrow, you'll be reporting to Exam Hall 301." Kakashi advised as he disappeared.

Takai nodded. He turned around only to see his teammates gone. He tapped his foot as he thought of what to do, but after his experience last night, he didn't feel like doing much of anything at all.

Exam Hall 301

The team showed up to the exam hall and found themselves in a line to go in. As they walked in, a Chunin was handing paper slips from a bag for seating arrangements. Sakura was in the top left of the row second to the back and on seat from the edge. Sasuke was in the last row and to the right of Sakura. Takai and Naruto were both seated together in the middle row. There was a number of Genin in the room, all supervised by Chunin lining the walls.

It took about ten minutes to get every single Genin into the room.

After that, a large man walked in, he was easily six feet tall.

"SILENCE!" He yelled. Everyone's conversation came to a halt.

And with that, he went on to explain the exams. Takai didn't pay much attention, the questions couldn't be too terribly difficult, right?

He was completely wrong.

They were all questions meant for people like engineers or doctors. He could answer perhaps three or four of them, but that wasn't nearly enough. That was a failing grade.

He glanced at Naruto who of course, was sitting with his head in his hands. Takai looked around at the Chunin ensuring they didn't cheat. Barely two minutes in and some one was caught. He didn't bother looking back. Instead, he activated his Sharingan and looked around. He noted five students ahead of him writing. It was just about his only strategy. So, he locked onto the pencil movements from over a girl's shoulder and began to scribble.

She seemed to be making an awful lot of sense though and even finished within fifteen minutes. That didn't make too much sense. Not even Sakura could have done that. He should have paid more attention. Maybe he could have figured it out.

What he had so far was that the girl was just really really smart. Eventually he shrugged it off and tapped on his desk, catching Naruto's attention.

The blonde perked up and read over Takai's paper in his peripheral vision as he moved it a bit closer to Naruto. He snatched up the provided pencil and began to write madly. Takai decided this was far too easy.

After all, someone just had to copy to get a perfect score, it felt a little staged-

Takai nearly slapped his own forehead! These weren't questions for Genin! They were meant to copy off of others to get the answers. But of course, how would they do that? Planted tests? Must be it. Takai leaned back and just waited with his eyes closed as Naruto narrowly avoided getting caught.

Eventually, he lost track of time until the proctor spoke again, addressing the entire room, "Listen up maggots! Its time for the tenth and final question!" The man said.

Takai met the man's eyes.

"As you have assumed, there are special conditions to this question." The man went on, "If you get the question wrong, you will be permanently blacklisted from ever ranking up through the Chunin exams!" The man yelled, swiping his arm in their direction.

"However, if you decide it is not worth the risk, one of your team can raise their hand and they will be disqualified immediately! You may try again in six months." The man explained. He crossed his arms and waited. Takai heard a number of people raise their hands and get disqualified along with their angry teammates. Eventually the time ticked by and the man smiled at them.

"Congratulations to those who stayed. You have passed the first portion of the Chunin exams." The man said.

Takai watched as he went on and on, even taking off his headband which was apparently a head wrap of sorts meant to cover up his torture scars.

The man lectured for a moment before a woman broke through the window.

Not really all that exciting, but I promise blood and combat next chapter.

As for the length of the first portion of the Chunin exams; I've read exactly one story that made that test entertaining. I'm confident no one wanted to read the same old "Naruto barely pulls through" and "Sakura nearly fucks over the team" crap. I made it as quick and painless as possible.

Until next time, peace!