It was approximately 0400 when she arrived at the Village Entrance. She nodded at the Chunin on duty and took a seat on the bench, shuffling her linen cloak closer to her body. "Early mission?" The Chunin asked, taking a bite out of a ration bar.
"Welfare check." She grumbled, flexing her chakra around her body to encourage more heat generation.
The Chunin narrowed his eyes. "My condolences. I heard your team was slated for the longer route. All the way to the border towns by Claw, am I right?"
Tamako nodded back, her neck careening at the Chunin with interest. "Will it take long?"
The Chunin replied with a gruff voice. "Six days of traveling, not including the actual checking. Sometimes you'll be posted to help out the village if the situation is dire enough." He chuckled darkly. "Before I was promoted, my Genin team had to do a welfare check too, south from the Village to the coastal towns." He grimaced. "This was right before Suna joined the War, and those Iwa bastards allied with Kiri and released a toxic variant of the south sea bass to get both us and Konoha. They mated like crazy and the civilians couldn't tell the difference. Six villages wiped out, another four poisoned and on the cusp of dying. It was only thanks to Chiyo-sama's apprentice stationed to the east by the Land of Rivers that we could save the remaining."
The Chunin took out a herbal cigarette and lit it with a weak katon. "Kid, word of advice." He took a dry drag, releasing the puff of smoke into the air. "When you see the dead bodies, burn them." His face turned grim. "By the time you tally how many are dead, you'll realize that there just isn't enough time to dig 'em graves." He breathed out through his nose, smoke spilling out like an angry steam engine. "Not if you want to help the rest."
Tamako opened her mouth to respond, but the words just couldn't escape her throat. It felt dry and hoarse, it almost hurt to keep her mouth open.
He dropped the cigarette and stomped on it. "Looks like the rest of your team is here. Kaito, huh?" The Chunin crossed his arms and nodded at the Jounin, giving Tamako one last look. "I'll see you around kid."
. . .
"Sensei, what exactly are we supposed to do? I mean, for the welfare checks." Aneko asked with a hint of wariness in her voice. This was the first of the many that would come in their career.
Kaito raised an eyebrow, "They don't teach that in the Academy anymore?"
Raidon shrugged, "We did a basic overview of the process. Tally the current population, note any dangers, relieve the village if need be. That sort of stuff."
"This sort of work is generally pushed onto Genin with a Jounin leader. Depending on the circumstances at least. If the threat is Shinobi leveled, then they'll probably send out a group of Chunin and a Jounin leader but seemingly how its just a drought, just us should be fine." He flatten the cloth around his face, adjusting his eye holes before staring straight ahead. "All we have to do is report back the current population and estimation of damage. Anything else is just extra."
The sand seemed to weigh her down with each step she took, it was still cold out since the Sun hadn't risen yet and it didn't help the chill that rose from the back of her spine. Usually she liked missions that took her out of the stuffy highly-dense village, but after what that Chunin said to her, she wasn't so sure.
"Ah, there it is. The Kyokoku Village."
Tamako eyed the small ravine village, tucked away from the soon-to-be harsh sun. The village was in a safe spot, between two large canyons and was decently shaded. She could spot a dusty old well at the center, with much of the village built around in pueblo-like buildings. Sun-dried stone masonry with red clay accent marks, it was a quaint little village.
The only problem was that it was too quiet. Almost all Suna Villages started the day early, to get most things done before 1200 when the sun was at its highest, the heat beating down. "It's quiet." Aneko parroted her thoughts. "Something is wrong."
"The closest water source is twenty klicks away. That well looks too dry from here." Raidon voiced out, "We need to head down and check it out."
Team 4 began to sprint, using chakra to scale the walls and down the cliff before approaching the dead-town. "Weak chakra signatures scattered around. There's people here. Civilian level, but very weak for even civilians." Tamako squinted her eyes shut, her hands folded into the rat sign. "...eight presences. This was a town that housed nearly eighty civilians."
"I'm going to check out the well system. Maybe someone poisoned it. The rest of you, check on the survivors."
The three Genin nodded, splintering away from their Sensei.
Tamako grabbed the rickety door handle, the wood creaking at her ministrations as she slowly opened it. The low screech of the door frightened whoever was behind it as their chakra fluctuated, but didn't move.
Then the smell hit her.
At first, it was the initial gust of stale air that brushed her strands, then it was heavy with the scent of decay. The dim light filtered through a rusty lantern, casting eerie shadows across the cold stone floor. With hesitant steps, Tamako entered with her teammates close behind her, keeping their eyes trained on the close walls and low ceiling.
A sharp gasp followed with a retch as Aneko eyes teared with sourness, pushing past the rickety door that protested with its rusted hinges.
Raidon grabbed Tamako's wrist tightly, his hands trembling as he audibly gulped.
There it was.
Pallid skin tinged with sickly hues, it seemed to almost stretch against the bones of its cheeks with its face in a grotesque contortion in a grimace, frozen in eternal agony. Flies buzzed lazily around the cadaver, their droning song of macabre accompanied this scene.
The odor assaulted her senses as viciously as the scene which she couldn't describe. Not just yet.
It was the unmistakable tang of decay, this body was baked under the extreme heat for who knows how long with maggots gnawing on the soft flesh of her popped eyeballs, filtering around the skull. It was far worse than spoiled milk left out on her countertop by the window, this odor seemed to claw at her throat, choking her with its fetid embrace.
Then finally, she noted the children. Sprawled near their, what seemed to be their mother judging by the limp blonde hair that fell out in patches along with some skin, and the two children with the same shade of hair.
Their fingers were dyed in a putrid muddy brown, mouths the same with their teeth stained in a bloody rancid color. Between their fingers, she spotted a piece of flesh, no doubt from the missing chunk in the woman's bottom torso.
The child looked at her, raising their arms and head to the ceiling before squeezing tightly on the piece of chunk between their fingers. Slowly, thick and viscous dripped down from their fingers and into their awaiting mouth, their tongue licking their lips at any fly drops.
Tamako fell to her knees, heaving into the ground as her forehead rested on the cold stone floor. Her bangs stayed flushed to her face as her bile coated her cheek. She spied a lone maggot slowly crawling towards her vomit in slow caterpillar movements.
She dry heaved to the side again, blinking blearily as she felt a hand on her shoulder, then heard a low chuckle.
"A scene like this, it's no wonder a Genin you had this reaction." Kaito patted her shoulder mockingly. "Even the prodigy honed by the Kazekage himself fell to this sight. Smart kids like you always rubbed me wrong, but in the end, you're just like the rest of them." He bent down, an arm around her shoulder as he leaned in. "How dare you waste the precious food you've consumed. These kids have nothing, yet you taunt them like this."
There was a burning fury in the back of her mind, her stomach queasy.
"Always thought the reforms that Yondaime passed were too soft. Let those rotten kids wilt, there's a reason why their parents abandoned them. No need to raise taxes."
Her fingers grasped a kunai, hidden behind her cloak, taken from her inventory. Silently, she raised her head but still knelt at the scene.
"Can't get up?"
She stared at this scene. This fetid scene, and ensnared it in her mind.
The books that the Academy gave her always talked about the famine, drought and disease that were common in the Land of Wind. But no book could prepare her for a sight like this.
This wasn't just a stupid game she found herself in.
This was real-life.
"These kids are done for. Who knows what disease they have. Can't risk them releasing a plague onto Suna. When you're done having an overreaction, finish them and drag their corpse to the center. I think we need to cleanse this village."
For nearly a decade, she had told herself that this was all just a game. Receive quest, complete quest. Level up, train her skills, tackle the next boss. It was the same old RPG elements and formula she'd grown up with in the other world, something she was familiar with. Something that was normal in this world, so strange, so dangerous and so very horrible.
Kaito laughed, his voice scratching on a chalkboard with each huff and puff. "But seriously, this is what got our prodigy of the decade? You must—"
Her fingers swiped up, slicing through Kaito's neck in a move he couldn't see, not when he was leaning on her, his arm wrapped around her shoulder.
She could hear a high-pitched scream behind her, a low shout to the side, but she didn't care. Not when blood sprayed around her, coating her hair and face with red. She could hear Kaito's gurgles, his fingers slapping the cut on his neck as blood filtered through his fingers despite his attempts to stop it.
His knees fell to the ground, blood pooling around as he drowned.
She engrained this sight in her mind. For now, and forever.
. . .
"These kids are done for. Who knows what disease they have. Can't risk them releasing a plague onto Suna." He bent down and gave the children another long look. "They don't seem feral, but it would be a waste of manpower to have them around."
"Kaito, couldn't we pick them up when we make the trip back?"
He laughed, "What, you feel bad for 'em? Besides, our round trip doesn't cover back here."
"I'll pick them up."
Then he stopped laughing, staring at her. "You heard me, Tamako. Listen to orders, these kids are diseased. They'll spread a plague in District 8, then throughout the Village."
She bit her lip and cursed internally. Because Kaito was right.
None of the four members of Team 4 had any inclination for medical ninjutsu; if these kids were truly ill, they could wipe out half of Suna just as quick. Judging by the mother's body, these kids must have survived for a few weeks by consuming her, that's long enough for disease to spawn from a dead body. The maggots were another, if these kids have been eating them too, it's honestly a miracle they haven't died from food poisoning or diarrhoeal. Their hydration levels were low, another few days and they would die.
It takes at minimum two days for symptoms to appear for sickness. That's enough.
"It'll take more than two days to account for the dead bodies, burning and cleansing. With the low count of civilians, we'll have to rehabilitate and relocate them back to Suna as protocol calls for." She eyed him defiantly. "I'll keep an eye on the two and watch for their behavior and health. If they pass by the time we leave, which is beyond the incubation period and they are still of mind and body, we can include them in the rescue protocol along with the rest of the civilians."
The small house was quiet, and Tamako held her breath. Not in fear of this lousy sensei, but for the smell.
"Fine." Kaito snarled out. "Do what you want, it is of no concern to me. If the children are diseased and the incubation period is not long enough, these children will kill the rest of the survivors before the rescue team arrives. Don't blame me if it happens."
He threw the door open, the rust hinges finally lost from the force and careened to the side, making a loud echo that drew a flinch from Aneko. Her face was pale, if not a little green, as she held a sleeve close to her mouth.
"Is it wise?" She asked, "To include the... children."
Tamako observed the children. "They'll definitely have bacterial poisoning. If they don't die from cholera and dehydration, then they'll make it." Slowly, she bent down to her knee and peered at the two children. Twins.
"Hello, my name is Tamako. I am a Shinobi of Sunagakure." She paused with uncertainty, training her face to not betray her feelings. "What are your names?"
The girl muttered quietly, dropping the sack of flesh before coughing. Her voice was hoarse. "Shizuka."
Quiet Child.
"Then, Shizuka-chan... let's get you and..?"
"Tsuyoshi."
Brave Child.
"Tsuyoshi-kun. Let's get you two cleaned up."
The boy peered at her, wiping his hands on his dirty dark pants. "We don't have water. Kaa-san said we ran out."
"That's alright." She grinned at them. "We Shinobi have many tricks." She signed twice and cupped her lips, blowing out a stream of water that bubbles around them.
Curiously, Shizuka poked it, blinking quickly when it lost its form and dripped onto her hand and pooled to the ground. Quickly, without any thoughts, she bent down and desperately lapped at the cool liquid.
"N-no, don't do that." Tamako quickly stammered out, "I can make more. Don't do that... it's dirty."
"Kaa-san said don't waste water." Tsuyoshi said, his fingers swirling the pool of water. Each stroke left prints of dark brown as his stained fingers ran through the puddle. "Kaa-san isn't here anymore, so I guess it doesn't matter."
Her heart cleaved in two, a low thud in her chest.
This horrible world, so tainted and so broken. Who would fix it, if not her?
. . .
"Thank you little girl, for helping me repair my home."
She gleamed at the older man, her palms on her waist. "It's no problem, Oji-san. I'm just glad you finally can rest well knowing that the sand won't get in."
He chuckled, patting his lame leg. "You Suna Shinobi always have their tricks. Until now, I didn't know it was possible to build a house in just a few minutes!"
The house in question was made from the sandstone she felt deep underground. It was of sandy color, like the rest of the houses in this small village, bordering with Claw. She was able to repair the roof and add a few more cabinets inside and a cellar room for food storage. It was already cool in temperature and she even added a small well that was collecting a good amount of moisture since it was already pretty far in the ground. She added a bit to start off with a weak suiton. Like the rest of the village, she added translucent crystal to the walls to act as windows, and they were probably sturdier than the glass panes she had at home.
This border village was the best one so far, with them trading with the neighboring country, they could get by with just enough water and supplies. Kaito used a few doton to deepen the main well to ensure it was piercing the damp ground to filter out correctly and Tamako added enough water to last the village a couple months. She even added an overhead to the well to ensure none of it evaporated.
"Tamako! We just finished tallying up. One-hundred and six civilians. Forty-eight woman, fifty-eight men, of those, twelve children."
One of the bigger villages too.
"Did Kaito finish rebuilding the protective walls yet?" She asked, wiping her forehead before taking a drink from her canteen.
"Yup, a few hours ago actually. Sensei is off talking to the woman, again." Aneko muttered darkly, clicking her pen multiple times before sealing away the clipboard. "If he helped us repair the main building, we could've been at the next village already."
"Kaito is just lousy." Tamako replied back, taking another sip before storing it away. "Just be thankful he's at least predictable."
Going from village to village, doing minor repairs and defeating the occasional giant scorpions or massive giant ant colonies. At some times, they found a village ill-equipped to deal with the drought just like the first. Most of the time, the survivors had tear-streaked eyes at the sight of their hia-tiate. Others were angry at how long it took for Sunagakure to respond.
But always, she found repairing the village gratifying, if not uplifting. The eyes of children who gleamed at her showcase of doton, the shower of light rain she summoned, causing the village to dance and children splashing on the streets. She even danced with a boy her age, his sturdy hand on her hip, his other clasped around her hands as he pushed and pulled. Even as her hair clung to her neck, her bangs stringing past her eyes and her clothes awkwardly clinging to her form, he called her magical.
It felt good, to help.
To see the light of people's eyes return, to have hope for another day. Even Raidon joined in on the dance, whisking her away as she laughed. He stopped and stared at her, eyes brimming with emotion she couldn't quite just understand.
The mission had its ups and downs. Her eyes now wider than ever, her nindo solidified as the crystal she called upon.
One day, she'll create a world that ensures that children wouldn't have to suffer mindlessly under adults. That they were taken care of, that they could be children just a little longer. A world where people didn't wonder when they'll have their next drink, a place they could comfortably live out their days without suffering and death.
One day.
. . .
"The Wave Country is in mid-crisis and has ceased trade with the Land of Wind. According to our border patrol, they've reported sightings of Momochi Zabuza within the Land of Rivers and he is directly linked to the Land of Waves. I want Tamako and a group of Jonin to... fix our trading problem and detain Zabuza." Rasa sipped his tea and stared at the girl down.
The Wave Country was in a strategic area where it made the perfect place to act as a docking storage area. It was north-west of Konoha and south-east of Kiri, it's how they got most of their Kiri imports anyways.
But for Rasa himself to ask her of this… this was a test of some sorts. She was a mere genin.
And Kaito had those same thoughts."Kazekage-sama, Tamako is only a genin, how could she help to detain an S-rank Missing-nin?" Kaito's hands clenched into a fist as he stared down at their Kazekage.
"Her detain abilities were subsequently enough to subdue the Ichibi. You saw it for yourself, Kaito." Rasa gripped his quilled pen harder. "Kirigakure would be indebted to us if we return the man alive and resume trade with our village. This mission would be ranked A-rank, and if things escalate, S-rank. This would be on your official profile. Do you accept?"
So this was the feature [System] was alluding to.
She bowed slowly, "Yes."
Rasa continued like he already knew her answer. "We've received confirmation by Konohagakure no Sato and the River Country to cross the border. Nami no Kuni is your destination." He paused, glancing up. "Don't fail me now, Tamako. You leave at noon."
The girl nodded at her Kazekage's words before leaving the office with Kaito, her other teammates were not called at the mission desk.
"Are you sure you'll take this mission?" Kaito crossed his arms, "There is a possibility of death."
Tamako waved him off, "Every mission has the possibility of death. In any case, there will be a boat-load of jonin there."
Kaito sighed and rubbed his neck, "Alright. It's a shame I wasn't called to join the mission. I would've liked to have the Demon of the Mist under my belt." He narrowed his eyes on her. "But Kazekage-sama had chosen you. I'll inform the rest of the team of your absence." He gave the girl one more curt look, "Good luck."
He shunshin away before she could say another word, classic Kaito style and she made her trek towards the entrance, it couldn't hurt to be early. Her supplies were already tucked into her inventory, all she had to do was show her face.
Surprisingly, there was a good amount of shinobi already at the entrance, chatting with the village guards who stopped when they sensed her approach.
"Yo." One of them saluted at her, "Are you the Genin that Kazekage briefed about?"
She mused, "Supposedly, I'll be acting as the sealer?" She let the question hang, waiting for the older man to correct her, or add on.
"Correct. As long as we do our part, there shouldn't be any major issues." He pointed behind him, "We've got around four Jonin to handle a single Missing-Nin."
Tamako narrowed her eyes at them. Supposedly, Kakashi, who is said to be the strongest Jonin that Konoha had in their arsenal, had trouble with Zabuza, if you ignored the three genin he had to protect. Kakashi could probably take on this entire lot and then still have time to read porn.
"Sure." She added, crossing her arms behind her back and took in their stats.
Kubota Udo
Level: 420
Age: 28
Class: High Jonin
HP: 22,000
CP: 21,005
A Suna Jonin who is the captain of this mission. Something is off about him
[?]
Kira Kameko
Level: 390
Age: 24
Class: Tokubetsu Jonin
HP: 19,550
CP: 22,505
A Suna Jonin who specializes in Medical Ninjutsu and Sensory, although something is off about her. She seems to have the same motives as Udo.
[?]
Nazeke Eitoku
Level: 387
Age: 29
Class: Jonin
HP: 19,350
CP: 29,850
A Suna Jonin who specializes in Ninjutsu, although, it seems he has other motives than just the mission.
[?]
Sakoda Saki
Level: 437
Age: 32
Class: High Jonin (Former ANBU)
HP: 28,640
CP: 39,750
A Suna Jonin who was a former ANBU. She seems to be suspicious of the other three Jonin. She specializes in Ninjutsu, Kenjutsu, and Taijutsu.
She seems to have a soft-spot of younger kids.
Now look, Tamako might be new to this Shinobi politics and all, but this is practically screaming Sasori or Orochimaru. Were they going to kidnap her?
"Alright, since we are all technically here we can start early. Straight towards Nami no Kuni, will you be able to handle chunin-level speed?"
"Now that begs the question." Eitoku, one of the Jounin on the mission, voiced his displeasure. "We really have to bring a genin on this? A chunin-level Cloth Sealing Division member would've been enough."
"Eitoku..!" Saki growled. "Watch your tone, your nigh' close in questioning Kazekage-sama's orders." She glanced down at Tamako and gave her a tight smile. "She's enough. I've seen her in action against Shukaku before. She grants much more possibilities than the Cloth Binding Jutsu."
Tamako returned the smile with a nod, quickly calculating in her head, if she spreads a small but steady amount of chakra throughout her body, she just might be able to make the long trek with more than half her reserves remaining. "I'll try my best, Taicho." She spoke, referring to both her sealing duties and trek.
He nodded, giving one last speech and eying Tamako one last time before starting off with a sprint, everyone forming a diamond point with her in the middle because she was the weak-point. She didn't have any grand ideals thinking she could match up against the everyday Jounin. She could probably hold her own against a selective few, as some match-ups were like rock-paper-scissors with her skill set.
. . .
Kameko pulled an arm up, stopping their sprint and finally letting Tamako rest her burning legs. God she put way too much chakra near the end when her stamina began to slip and overcompensated. "There are two large chakra and four other small ones. It seems like the two large chakra's are battling each other. " The woman's eyes reopened, and she nodded at Taicho.
"Alright, lead us." At his words, she flickered on a tree, bending low to the ground and beckoned the group to follow her quietly. It wasn't until the dreary atmosphere of fog and wet trees, something everyone felt out of their element with all the water around them. They approached a clearing where the clanging got even louder, and Tamako could make out a very large and very incomplete bridge in the distance just where the fog kills her vision
The fog was dense, but it seemed to get lighter where the two large chakra's duked it out.
It seemed like both Kakashi and Zabuza are still in the process of killing each other, and judging by the words of Kameko, Haku hasn't sacrificed himself just yet.
Taicho made a series of signals that Tamako really didn't understand and all four nodded simultaneously. They all creeped up just a bit closer before Taicho's hand fisted. Two of the Suna jonin released their chakra presence in an unfamiliar pattern before holding off Kakashi before he could really shove a Chidori down Haku's torso and the other holding down Zabuza.
It was impressive until Zabuza began to cackle crazily, swinging his large Kubikiribōchō at the former ANBU who was nearly sliced in half like butter. Eitoku wasn't so lucky and before his body parts could land on the ground, Taicho flashed his chakra frantically and all three swarmed in to attack.
"Fuuton: Vacuum Sphere!" Six bullets spilled out of the Jounin's mouth, aimed at Zabuza's prized sword who dodge them by jumping erratically before throwing his Kubikiribocho onto Taicho, decapitating him. The remaining two double-teamed with arrays of suiton and doton ruining the bridge until the Tokubetsu Jounin got herself killed with an ill-timed dodge, her corpse cut in half. Saki's 1v1 wasn't looking too hot in all honesty.
These four Jounin were supposed to battle Zabuza and weaken him enough so she could catch him in her crystal sealing jutsu, not just off themselves one by one. She bent lower, hiding herself behind a bush as she panicked. How the hell was she supposed to complete this on her own?
Just as she finished her thought, the former ANBU was sliced cleanly in half.
There was a reason why Zabuza was able to avoid capture by his own village, the man is crazy enough to use himself as bait. He might have a shattered hand, but the guy was still alive and her entire squad was dead.
This was probably a bad thing, right?
"Look what we have here. Zabuza! You took out those weak Suna Shinobi, now kill the rest of them! Wait, sorry, you were too expensive, so I replaced you." Behind Gato were masses of thugs, they were all weak and only had numbers.
"Kakashi... we aren't enemies anymore, the deal is off." Zabuza bent down, catering his hand as Haku stood worriedly next to him. She didn't miss the glance Zabuza sent to the young boy, scanning any possible injuries before his chakra relaxed.
Stepping outside the bush, she smiled, "Hi?"
"You!" Both Sakura and Kakashi exclaimed.
"Me!" She pointed to herself with glee before rubbing the back of her neck. "Sorry with all the bloodshed and all. I was supposed to be on a mission with those people you murdered but..." Her hands slapped together and chakra radiated off her body, "...my hands are a bit tied now so I'll do what I think is best since I'm now the leading shinobi on this mission! Shouton: Crystal Senbon!"
A plethora of senbon filled the air, zooming past the jonin-leveled shinobi and rained down on Gato's men. She flickered and held the small man by the neck, raising him in the air.
"I thought your mission was to detain Zabuza?" Kakashi noted, recalling the words of Taicho she couldn't hear as he stared at the corpse of the Suna Shinobi.
"Well in all technicality." She began, chakra seeping out of her hands and into Gato, sealing him for now. "It was to fix our trade issue with Nami no Kuni. If we could take a lucky potshot with Zabuza, Kazekage-sama said he'll give me a bonus, buuut." Dropping the crystallized man, she sealed him in the scroll and turned towards the flabbergasted group. "I don't really think I wanna deal with the guy who just murdered my entire squad." Right before she could get to the good stuff like sorting out Gato's funds he's left behind, Naruto, the Uzumaki Naruto interrupted with his infamous Talk no Jutsu.
And you know what?
Even without a dead Haku, Zabuza shed tears and admitted that the spike of fear that enveloped his body when he made his choice to sacrifice the boy was the most heartbreaking thing he'd ever experienced.
Yay go team.
She glanced at their dead, sprawled out bodies.
Yay go her.
[Quest Completed]
Role Model...
+ 10,000 ryo
+ 300 EXP
+ 2 Favor
Despite the fact that she had no interactions with Zabuza or Haku, once Tamako accepted her rewards, like clockwork, Zabuza walked up to the younger girl with a frown.
"Your team was sacrificed instead of my student. That alone warrants that I'm in your debt."
"A favor, you say?" She glances are the carnage beneath her feet. "How nice of you. How about this, I don't have any particular concerns, outside of my dead squad so if we meet again, would you help me?"
Favors from missing-nin was dangerous business, she could be killed for treason. She double checked to make sure that no prying eyes or opened ears, they exchanged words and agreements.
She walked to her shredded teammates and silently packed them into an extra scroll before turning to Kakashi.
"Hatake-san." She voiced out, garnering the attention of the four-man cell. "It is my pleasure to greet you."
"Suna." He nodded at her.
"Konohagakure no Sato and Kawa no Kuni had given jurisdiction to Suna in regards to this mission. Now that the mission has been half fulfilled, I ask of you, what are your plans to decide the now vacant funds of Gato?"
His eyes narrowed, "And what of Suna's main concerns are of such funds?"
"At first it was to seize all funds but now the situation has changed." She pointed at Kakashi and his team, "We were not informed of any missions related to Nami no Kuni from Konoha. Yet with our treaty with your village, I am willing to compromise with you."
"Huh? Compromise? What are you talking about? We were here first, you wanna fight—" Kakashi slapped a hand at the Blonde before giving her an eye smile. "And such compromise entails?"
She smiled, "With the state of Nami no Kuni, Suna shall pledge that fifty percent of Gato's now vacant funds will go to the infrastructure and well being of the country, so long as the fares to use the bridge remain free for Suna. "
"Free!?" A large burly man approached her, "Our village will rely on this bridge for income."
"Then I shall give you this, an eighty percent discount, and so long Nami no Kuni upheld this, we shall send word to our merchants of this new trade route."
Kakashi sighed, "Maa maa, a small cute little genin like you sounding all so serious."
"It's a very serious situation for me, Hatake-san. The remaining thirty percent of Gato's funds will be split between Suna and Konoha."
"Thirty?" He raised an eyebrow. "What of the remaining twenty percent?"
"It is under my knowledge that the Shinobi, Momochi Zabuza, was under contract with former shipping magnet, Gato Enterprise." She then quieted her voice. "If we offer Zabuza twenty percent, he'll leave your team alone and leave the area, as intended."
"Twenty is a lot, little genin."
"We'll have to write it off as lost and destroyed. Or, we can agree that it never existed and split the fifty as previously attended."
"Only if Nami no Kuni upholds the same deal with Konoha as they did with Suna."
"Agreed." The two shook hands and she took out paper and ink, writing a whole contract.
Due to the illegal actions of former CEO of a shipping magnate of the name Gato Company, Sunagakure no Sato and Konohagakure no Sato agree to seize all funds and funnel fifty percent to the victims of Nami no Kuni. The other half shall be split between the two villages as compensation for the Shinobi present which include: Konohagakure's Hatake Kakashi and his Genin, and Sunagakure's Jonin Team and Sealer.
The deal has concluded the residence of the Nami no Kuni shall let all who have either Sunagakure and Konohagakure papers be allowed entry into the country via bridge at a discounted eighty percent.
If Tamako was going to be realistic, she didn't think she would have the jurisdiction to even write this but, she glances at the carnage again, what else is she supposed to do? Gato attacked Konoha genin, and she had his body sealed in her scroll. It's enough grounds for Suna to renegotiate later on, and this paper would just be a paper trail. "Could the two Kiri Shinobi sign here? Oh, as witnesses. You probably have enough clout..."
. . .
It took an extra day longer to finally arrive back in Suna with the dreaded report. She stayed a night to clean up the village, fasten the bridge build since her team technically wrecked it, with a few doton and chatted a bit with both Zabuza and Haku who went through Gato's confines and took what they needed. The rest was sealed up with both her and Hatake's chakra. It was also that time she realized she used up almost all her chakra and ended up camping in the woods since Kakashi didn't trust her just yet, and she didn't want to wake up with a Chidori through her chest.
"Kazekage-sama, as the mission detailed, I have successfully detained the cause of the lack of trade, however the four Jonin on my team were killed in the attempt to detain Momochi Zabuza." She handed him the scroll of the remains of the Jonin. Then handed him the scroll with Gato.
"The cause was Gato of the Shipping Magnate who took over Nami no Kuni, his crystallized form is in this. To release him, coat the seal with crystal." She then handed the impromptu contract, "As a consequence of Konohagakure's Hatake Kakashi, the seizure of all of Gato's assets were not successful."
Rasa took both scrolls and stamped a couple documents before opening the contract. The office was quiet, so quiet that she could hear her own heart beat. After what seemed to be an hour, he spoke. "Your ability in negotiability is.. not bad. While it is a shame that we were not able to seize all assets, the mission was successful and the contract with the Wave Country is satisfactory." He paused, perusing through the document. "I'll have to pay Konoha a visit to finalize this."
He gave her one more look before nodding. "You are dismissed."
"Yes!" She never flickered out of the Kazekage tower so fast and nearly zombie-walked to her favorite de-stresser, a dango stall.
Who knew that only a year into her career she would re-envision her nindo and land herself a solo completed S-rank mission. And meet Team 7. She toasted to the air with a stupid smile.
. . .
"Team Suna no Sankyōdai and Team 4, you both play an important role in our invasion against Konohagakure no Sato." Rasa sipped his tea before continuing,
"You both need to make it into the last rounds, that's where everything starts. Gaara will be causing the most damage in the heart of Konoha. The rest of Team Sankyodai and 4 will protect Gaara and proceed with the invasion. Is that understood?"
"Yes!"
"Both teams will arrive in Konoha earlier than the other teams, I already informed Konoha. You will leave at noon. Dismissed." The two teams walked out of the office with a thick blanket of fear until Gaara nonchalantly left everyone else to their own devices.
"Konoha has been taking in requests sent by our Daimyo, Konoha had it coming," Kankuro growled, ever so patriotic.
"The Wind Daimyo..." Temari muttered, crossing her arms and thinking deeply. As the oldest, she clearly had a solid idea about what the future had to offer.
"I always had a gut feeling that Konoha was gonna reap what they sowed, but this is something," Tamako replied before sighting, "What can we do? We're all just cogs in this system. We shouldn't keep Kaito and Baki-sensei waiting."
She had about three more hours until noon. She spent her time creating more kunai, extra shuriken and a few extra tanto while crunching on a chakra tablet. Watching her inventory fill up was always a satisfying ordeal. A quick stop at the market to grab a few more essentials, a new healing balm she spotted since she used up her Nara one she purchased last year, and a few more scrolls for the journey.
She leaned against the wall in an alleyway, recounting her memories and formatting a plan. What would she do at the chunin exams? Then she shivered. The Rasa at the Kazekage tower seemed so angry. The switch hasn't occurred yet, but it was clear that the Kazekage allied with Orochimaru.
She peered at the scroll Rasa had given her before the team dispersed. Orders, to be more specific. The mission outline.
A joint operation between Sound and Sand, as well as the Sound Genin that she should keep an eye on. With a heavy sigh, she burnt the scroll with an E-Rank katon and pushed herself forward, walking towards the Village Gates.
She was the last to arrive. "Alright, now that everyone is here, let us go now." Baki-sensei and Kaito seemed to be having their own conversations, leaving Raidon and Aneko to start yet another heated argument that even Kankuro and Temari joined in.
This is going to be a long trip, and she still hasn't figured out what she wants to do in the exams.
. . .
"Both teams, stay together and don't wander too far, understand?" Baki-sensei looked mentally tired from the relentless argument, Tamako could say the same. She almost threatened to kill everyone if they didn't shut up. They only stayed quiet for just six minutes. The two sensei left, probably to meet with the Hokage or whatever customs they had.
"Let's survey the area, we gotta know our way out." Kankuro and Temari took the lead in walking. Gaara already disappeared to who knows where and both Raidon and Aneko soon followed the other duo.
She should probably keep tabs on Gaara to make sure he doesn't start Konoha Crush prematurely but, she reasoned, it should be fine.
Tamako sighed and followed her teammates from afar, stuck in her own thoughts when commotion sounded. She looked away for one second and there was already an international problem brewing when they were supposed to lay it low.
When she shunshin to the tree to observe, it was just Kankuro bullying a group of kids.
"Do you need something?" Kankuro shoved his hands in his pocket, sneering at the kid on the floor. Behind him was Temari with her arms crossed at his stupidity.
"Huh?" Both Naruto and Sakura said with confusion laced in their voices, panicking struck their faces when Kankuro picked up the small boy, Konohamaru, by the scarf and lifted him up into the air.
"Konohamaru!" Naruto shouted, running forward before stopping.
"So, does this hurt now?" Kankuro lifted the boy higher.
"Put him down Kankuro, you know you're going to pay for it later." Temari glanced around before setting her eyes on Team 7.
Tamako leaned against the tree with crossed arms. She was honestly disappointed in Kankuro, that boy grew up a little too privileged and a little too stuck-up. At least Temari had some sense, but judging by the far-off expression, she could tell the older girl was still mulling over her father's decision.
"Hey, I'm sorry, the whole thing was my fault," Sakura claimed before her features contracted, eyes narrowing at the two offenders with obvious thoughts that were something on the lines of,
Who are they? What are they?
Naruto fumed and shouted, "You better get your hands off of him right now!" Kankuro looked at his forehead, noting the hand-band before smirking.
Entertainment seemed to ooze out of his body language and he paired his cruel words with a smirk. "We got a few minutes before he gets here, let's enjoy."
"Whatever, don't get me involved." Temari rubbed her head in annoyance. Tamako, who was still unseen by the Konoha Genin was pretty much fed-up with Kankuro's attitude, flickered next to Temari and leaned against the older girl.
"Kankuro put the kid down. Don't you remember the whole point we're here? Besides, right now, you're bullying the Sandaime Hokage's grandson."
"Tamako!" He nervously chuckled, eyeing his surroundings before continuing, "Didn't know you were hanging around c'mere, let's have some fun." Kankuro tightens his hold on the kid.
"Agh! Let go of me you jerk!" Konohamaru kicked Kankuro's chest, he ignored it and tightened his hold again, dangling the kid even higher now.
Naruto growled, "Put him down!" before he ran forward, not for long, as he tripped over. Kankuro played dirty, using his Chakra Strings.
Kankuro really has gotten worse over the years, she was just too busy to notice. Suna itself has its cruel streaks, but Tamako herself never really reveled in fighting or blood. At least, not just yet. As it stands, Tamako was stronger than the main characters, so she should at least act like it. Bring Suna some clout. They were known for producing a select few shinobi to the highest caliber, it's just a shame they couldn't do it in a larger scale
Tamako rolled her shoulders and spoke with a grin, "Huh, you're Konoha Genin? Not much to see, tripping on your own feet. Konoha must be real soft and desperate to let someone like you to even graduate"
Kankuro smirked, "Ha, so now you're joining on the fun."
Tamako barred her teeth at the older boy. "At least I'm not bullying a kid nearly half a decade younger than me."
Sakura's body language began to conform into something that resembled anxiousness. She recognized Tamako when the girl joined in, no doubt recognizing her.
"Konohamaru!" Shouted the two younger kids along with Naruto as the boy in question let out a groan of pain. Kankuro ignored them and lifted Konohamaru even higher than before, if that was possible.
"That's it! Drop him now or I'll tear you apart! You got that moron!?" Naruto pointed at the older boy with so much anger and heat before Sakura threw him into a headlock.
"You're the moron here! Making threats isn't going to help, Naruto!"
Kankuro looked at Duo, "You're annoying. All of you. I don't like runts or any other scrawny weaklings. So when wimps start shooting off of his mouth, I just want to break them in half." Naruto and Sakura's faces morphed into pure horror, both Moeji and Udon were bawling out their eyes.
"Look, fine. I'm not involved in any of this" Temari closed her eyes and turned away.
"First, I'll take care of this squirt." Kankuro raised his hand into a fist, "Then I'll take care of the rest." Naruto broke out into a sprint, running to stop Kankuro, however, something else drew blood.
She watched a pebble flung faster than what many could perceive, fly past from the tree and harshly hit Kankuro in the hand. Konohamaru was dropped onto the ground painfully from the height, Kankuro grasped his hand in pain, nursing it before looking at what had hit him with a dirty look..
"You're a long way from home, and you're way out of your league." A pale boy, wearing a high-collar blue shirt with white arm warmers and shorts. Sasuke sat on the tree and glared at Kankuro, before turning his attention to the periwinkle haired girl. He narrowed his eyes, noting the lack of chakra signature before they slightly widened at the familiarity of her.
They'd met briefly after he had awoken. He thought she was another enemy but Kakashi managed to calm him down and his red eyes finally turned to onyx, just like her own. They didn't exchange words since he had to rest, and she was off helping out the village in any way she could.
"Oh? Another Konoha Genin has come to play. Here to help your little orange friend?" Tamako's taunt was directed at Naruto, the boy riling up was too funny to pass up. "Besides," She shrugged with her arms out wide, "When you were in the Nami no Kuni, you were way out of your league. Laying on death's door with a bunch of Senbon sticking out of ya." Sasuke tensed up, narrowing his eyes at the girl before crushing a rock.
"I remember you." He spoke lowly.
"You're that girl! The Shouton user!" Sakura shouted, pointing at Tamako.
The girl merely chuckled, bowing at them. "Good to meet you properly, pinkie. You've haven't grown from the last time I've seen you, so I hope you've become a little interesting at the very least."
"You know them?" Temari asked, nudging the girl with her elbow and blushing at the sight of Sasuke. Her green eyes met Tamako's obsidian and she could read her look of who's that?
Just some boy, She eyed back, giving Temari a look that screamed, ignore him.
"Yeah, just a bit." She tattled off with a smile on her face, "The Wave Mission. The boy... has a peculiar Kekkei Genkai, like mine. The girl... well I don't remember too much. As for the orange one, he talks quite a lot." Naruto growled at her words and Kankuro, who finally had enough, gritted his teeth before clutching his puppet that was on his back, wrapped in bandages.
"What!? You're going to use Crow on this!?"
Then Tamako felt it, that black angry aura.
"Kankuro... back off" A raspy voice called out. Sasuke snapped his neck towards the voice and widening his eyes.
Gaara was hanging off a tree branch, absolutely no emotion on his face nor emitted any chakra despite using it to glue himself to the tree. "Kankuro... you're an embarrassment to Sunagakure no Sato." Naruto gasped at the new information, not really paying attention to either their attire or headband.
"Uh, hey Gaara." Kankuro said nervously.
"You're an embarrassment to our village, Kankuro. Tamako, you should've known better. Have you forgotten the reason we came to this Village and came all the way here?"
"Uh, yeah I know. I-i-i mean, they started this whole fight!" Kankuro stammered, sweat seemed to drip from the side of his face, rubbing his face-paint and smudging it.
"Kankuro shut up and apologize," Tamako finally offered, then added something only Kankuro could hear, "You don't wanna die, right?" Kankuro paled. In the corner of Tamako's eye, she saw Sasuke's eyes narrow at her words, he must've taken note.
"R-right. Look, kids, I'm sorry about this whole thing, just forget it happened, oka—"
"Shut up, or I'll kill you," Gaara seemed to get even angrier at his words.
"Right, I was totally out of line, I'm sorry Gaara," Kankuro responded. Gaara turned his head towards Sasuke before apologizing,
"I'm sorry for any trouble Kankuro caused." There was a total lack of emotion or remorse in his words. It was just all fluff words.
The two stared at each other for a bit, weighing each other on their threat level before Gaara dispersed into sand, arriving on solid ground.
"Let's go, we didn't come here to play games, Tamako, go out with your team. I need to talk to mine." Kankuro and Temari paled, sending looks to each other.
"Right." Tamako nodded back to him, turning to her team.
"Hold on." Sakura finally cut in with a grim look. She placed a hand on her hip as she stared them down without fear.
"What?" Temari answered with exasperation laced in her voice as she turned her head to meet the pinkette.
"I can tell from your headband that you come from Sunagakure no Sato. Of course Hi no Kuni and Kaze no Kuni are Allies, but no Shinobi can enter another village without permission! So state your purpose!"
"Did you sensei never tell you? Or didn't even bother telling you because you aren't ready? We're here for the Chunin Exams" Tamako responded fluently, causing the girl's face to match her hair.
Temari took out documents at her words, proving further.
"Huh? What are Chunin Exams? Well, I never heard of this Chunin Exams, believe it!"
"Yeah, I totally believe it. That you're clueless." Temari once again spoke with bluntness, smirking at the boy.
Honestly, Temari was great. Naruto right now, at this age, was probably the stupidest kid she'd ever met. He's absolutely adorable. And Temari's quips are as funny as ever.
"Hey boss, those are the exams that every genin gotta take in order to graduate to be a full-on chunin!"
Seriously, how did Naruto become a Genin when a second year Academy student knew the answer?
"Ohh, then why didn't you say so?! I am so there!"
"Hmf" The Suna no Sankyōdai started to walk away as Tamako gave Naruto an endearing look. Before she could turn away, Sasuke jumped down the tree to garner their attention.
"Hey, you! Identify yourself!"
"Hm?" Temari turned with a small blush on her face, her eyes gleaming expectantly. "You mean me?" The oldest of the Suna Sibling was incredibly popular within the Village, scenes like these were pretty common, but Sasuke was no common guy. He was cute, and that alone excited Temari enough.
"No, the guy with the gourd on his back."
Gaara stood still, eyes staring deep into Sasuke's before nodding, "My name is Suna no Gaara. I'm curious about you too. Who are you?"
"Uchiha Sasuke." Both stared each other down until Naruto interrupted.
"Hi, there! Wanna know my name?!"
"I couldn't care less." Gaara and his team walked away, leaving Tamako alone on the street.
"And you?" Sasuke asked Tamako.
She grinned, "Suna no Tamako."
. . .
"Are you sure this is the right building?" Aneko asked.
"Yeah."
"Then why are they're a horde of people on the second floor?"
"That's because there is a Genjutsu."
"Ohh."
Raidon led the two to the third floor and opened the door quietly. There weren't too many people, as the team arrived early. Tamako easily spotted the siblings and frolicked towards them.
"Yo. Ready to destroy everyone?" Kankuro threw a fist that she bumped back.
"I've did my studying and asked around. The Chunin Exams are derived of three rounds that span for an indefinite time. Most likely the first test will be a test of the mind. Written test perhaps?"She paused, "An emulation of info-gathering perhaps?" Both of her teammates nodded at her words while Temari and Kankuro mirrored a doubtful look.
"What, you don't trust me?"
The room slowly filled in with Shinobi from different Villages. There was definitely a lot more Konoha Genin than any other, since they were the host village but she was able to spot Team 10 amongst them.
Well, it was Lee that she spotted. Just like his sensei, he sported his skin-tight green suit that left nothing for imagination and she directed her attention to something else. Like Neji.
Neji was cute, he had long silky hair that was tied very lowly and loosely at the ends. His face was a little stern and serious which made him even more cute. Tenten on the other hand, she was cute. Two twin buns on the sides of her heads with a pink sleeveless qipao-style blouse that suited her very well.
She held in a squeal and continued to watch her competition arrive.
It wasn't until twenty minutes later that Konoha Rookie started making a lot of noises.
"Sasuke! Where have you been!? Boy, you have no idea how much I was hoping you would show up here. I miss those brooding good looks of yours."
Ino was as loud as ever. And blonde.
Sasuke may sport a conventional attractive face, but that alone wasn't enough. She could see the appeal, but she didn't know the guy personally.
"Hey you porker, back off! He's mine!"
Sakura on the other hand, did. Didn't the girl see Sasuke at his worst? As, she thought he died during Wave? And she still loved him? That sort of love is pretty strong. In all honesty, Sasuke was lucky to have someone care for him at the very least. And from what she'd seen, he probably thought no one would care if he died. He cared for her too, in his own way.
"Miss Forehead, how did they let you in? Still got those frown lines on your billboard brow I see."
"Leave my forehead out of it!"
Ino stuck out her tongue making a bleh face.
She watched the Konoha Rookies interact with each other, recalling official ships and still being confused on how it exactly worked out in canon. Maybe it would make sense if she stuck around, saw it with her own eyes.
"You guys here too huh? Man everyone here for this stupid thing." Shikamaru yawned
"Yep, here we all are. The nine rookies."
"More like the nine bakas," Raidon remarked, earning a chuckle from Aneko.
Tamako rolled her eyes at the cheap shot Raidon got. But seriously, she couldn't really understand their lack of awareness, weren't they supposed to be shinobi? They were so loud.
"Haha! This is going to be fun. At least for the ones who make the cut, right Sasuke?" Kiba taunted.
"Kiba, careful you don't get overconfident," Sasuke smirked back, fingers itching for a fight.
"Just wait, we're going to blow you guys away. We have been training like crazy"
"What do you think we've been doing? Sitting around picking daisies?" Naruto yelled, pointing at Kiba, "You don't know what training means!"
Naruto was probably the most un-shinobi to ever shinobi. The boy's orange jumpsuit paired with his loud yapping garnered more attention than appropriate.
"Uh, don't mind Kiba, I'm sure he didn't mean anything by it," Hinata spoke softly, twiddling her hands.
"Huh?" Kiba looked back at Hinata. Then, Choji started to walk towards Kiba and Akamaru with a particular look. However, before the Akimichi could take another step forward, he was stopped by Shino.
"What do you want?" Shino looked down, his brows narrowing at Choji.
There it was, the smallest bug that Choji nearly crushed if he continued his trek towards Akamaru. "Thought maybe you haven't seen it. Didn't want you stepping on it."
"Why? You saving it for lunch?"
Damn, Rookie Nine were so aggressive with each other that Sasuke ironically turned out to be the most passive of the bunch. Perhaps her assessment of Sasuke was incorrect.
She turned to Aneko with a curious expression. "What's your take on Uchiha Sasuke?"
Aneko turned beet red. "W-w-w-why are you asking that?"
Dammit, another one seriously?
"That guy's nothing but a pretty face. Girlie if you ask me" Raidon sneered, crossing his arms.
"Raidon, your jealousy reeks from here."
Finally, Kabuto walked forward and started talking, "Hey, you guys. You might want to keep it down a little. I mean, no offense, but you're the nine rookies right? Fresh out of the Academy? I wouldn't make a skeptical of yourself, just cool it. This isn't a class field trip."
Ino narrowed her eyes on Kabuto before speaking, "Well, who asked you!? Who are you?"
"I'm Yakushi Kabuto, but really, look around you." The rookies took a second to look around themselves and paled. Every single genin stared at them. "You made quite an impression."
Tamako winked at Team 7, tilting her head back and finding amusement when the pinkette quickly diverted her attention back to Kabuto. How cute.
"See those guys? They're from Amegakure, very touchy. They all are. This exam makes everyone tense." Kabuto shrugged before continuing, "You can't help it, I mean, how could you know how things worked? You remind me of myself a while back."
"Kabuto, this isn't the first time you've taken the exam?" Sakura asked
"No, it's... my seventh. They're held twice a year, so this makes it my fourth year.
"Wow, a veteran! You must be an expert now!"
"Yeah, an expert at failing," Raidon commented, crossing his arms. "A destiny of career genin, that one." His face was pulled into a scowl, but Team 4 continued to eavesdrop on the situation.
"So I guess the rumors of the exam being tough are true. What a drag..."
"Now don't lose hope. I can help you with my Shinobi Info Cards." Kabuto took out the cards and displayed them.
"What are they?" Sakura inquired, nibbling her lips.
"It's hard to explain, but these cards have been chakra encoded with everything I learned over the past years." He bent down and placed the cards in a neat stack. "I've got over 200 of them. So I haven't been wasting my time. They might not look too much in the naked eye," He flipped the top card off, revealing to be blank, "You don't want just anyone seeing this stuff." He twirled the card.
"What are you doing?" Sakura asked.
"I'm inserting chakra into the card to reveal its secrets. Like this for an example." The card poofed into a small cloud of smoke and quickly revealed a map with the number of teams from each village.
Tamako had always wondered how he got this information and how totally not suspicious a genin who had access to this information failed so many times. And clearly, she wasn't the only one based on her teammates gaping and Temari narrowing her eyes.
Sasuke grunted, gaining attention. "Hmf, do those cards of yours on the other candidates individually?"
"I might, you have anyone special in mind?"
Sasuke's eyes narrowed, parroting his back with, "I might."
"Well, I can't promise you my information is all perfect, but I got something on almost everyone." Kabuto gathered his cards and shuffled a bit. "Including you guys, of course. Just tell me everything you know about them, a description of them, their village or whatever. Anything at all."
"There's Suna no Gaara, Suna no Tamako, and Konoha no Rock Lee while you're at it."
"Aah, that's no fun if you know their names." Kabuto picked up his cards and pushed chakra into them. He picked three cards and held them out. "Here they are."
"Show them to me"
"Okay, first is Rock Lee. It looks like he's a year older than you guys. His experience is 11 C-Rank and 20 D-Rank. His sensei is Gai, while his teammates are Hyuuga Neji and Tenten. In the last few months, his Taijutsu has considerably gone up, but the rest are pretty shaky. Last year, he got a lot of attention as a genin. For some reason, he chose not to participate in last year's Chunin Exams. This will be his first time as a candidate."
"Hyuuga?" Naruto looked up and thought for a bit.
"Next up is Suna no Gaara. Mission experience is eight C-Ranks...and get this. One B-Rank. There's not a lot of information on this guy. He's a rookie from another land originally, but get this. He came back from all missions without a scratch."
"The dudes got a B-Rank as a genin, and didn't get even one injury!" Shikamaru remarked, "Let's just go home now."
"What's the deal with this guy!" Naruto said.
"Lastly, Suna no Tamako. She's the same age as you but graduated a year earlier. For some reason, she chose not to participate in the Chunin Exams last year. This is her first time as a candidate. Her mission experience is fourteen D-rank, ten C-rank and...she got one A-rank mission that upgraded into an S-Rank after her team was wiped out."
"What!?"
"Her taijutsu is very good, it seems she has a vast knowledge in ninjutsu, however, she can't cast any genjutsu."
How in the hell did he get that? When he says it out-loud like that, it sound impressive but—
"Tamako...you've been exposed..."
She snarled at her male teammate, taking a page out of Aneko's book. "Shut up Raidon"
"Then... there's no way we can compete against that..."
"It seems Sunagakure has been training their genin well," Kabuto stated, he then took out another card, revealing another map
"Out of all the Villages, Konoha has the most genin, which isn't a surprise. We are the hosting village. The least amount would be one team from the Sound. A relatively small country.
"You ready?" A voiced sounded to the left of her.
"Let's do it..." Three genin sprinted, an untrained eye couldn't possibly track, they quickly passed the other genin. One of the Sound Shinobi, Zaku if Tamako recalled correctly, threw two kunai at Kabuto, who dodged. Then Dosu flickered in front of Kabuto and tried to land a straight, Kabuto dodged and smirked before his glasses shattered and he was left on the ground and throwing up.
This was Sound's Genin. The one she was told to keep an eye on.
Naruto and Sakura rushed to his aid.
"Hey, Kabuto! You okay?"
"I-i'm fine" He looked up and met eyes with the Sound Genin.
"What a sight to see." Raidon commented.
"Shh! Shut up Raidon."
"Alright gakis! You Sound Genin! No fighting! Unless you want to be disqualified."
"Sorry, it's our first exam, so we got a little jumpy.
"Alright then, I'm Morino Ibiki, your first Proctor."
. . .
Everyone around her was cheating, in so many ways. Sasuke with his Sharingan, Hinata, and Neji with their Byakugan, Shino with bugs, even Kankuro with his puppet. Herself? She took a note out of Tenten, creating a mirror on in her palm and another on the ceiling. She angled her palm until the reflection of another paper reflected against the mirror.
Soon enough, all the questions had been filled out, with number ten being left blank. Assisting her teammates who were all waiting for her, typical. Carefully, she formed crystal on his desk in the form of the answers and he was quick to copy, crushing it and shattered the evidence before moving on to Aneko.
It was harder for Aneko to cheat due to the fact she sat all away in the front, right next to a chunin. Forming the answer sheet into miniature size and stuck it on her wrist, which was hidden under her sleeves. Her teammate felt the cold crystal and glanced at it before copying it down and destroying it by leaning on her wrist against the table.
It was that easy.
For the rest of her Suna comrades, Gaara already made his move, blinding a genin and forming his 3rd Eye. Kankuro already blended his puppet in the masses of Chunin, however, the puppet didn't emit any Chakra.
If he just layered some chakra on the puppet, most people would turn a blind eye, it's a shame.
With all of this free time to spare, she glanced at the Rookies and their progress. Ino was already in Sakura's body, Sasuke just about to finish and Naruto being a lost cause.
She took this time to lament the state of female character development. If they were decently built like their male counterparts, then it could've been an even better story.
"Alright, the tenth question, I'd like to go over some rules, however. Rule number one, each of you is free to choose to be not given the final question, it's your decision.
"So what's the catch? Let's say we don't wanna do it, what happens then?" Temari shouted.
"If you choose not to take the tenth question, then regardless of your answers of the other nine, you'll get a zero. In other words, you fail, and that means you and your teammates fail." The genin muttered and discussed.
"Not so fast, you didn't let me finish... if you do accept the question and answered incorrectly, you will not only fail, you will be banned from taking the Chunin Exams ever again!" Ibiki yelled, his voice echoing around the room. The genins shouted out in rage.
"Hey! That bull! What about the others who took the test more than once?" Kiba shouted, Akamaru his companion barking as well.
Ibiki merely laughed before replying, "I guess that you guys are just...unlucky. I wasn't making the rules before, but now I am. But of course, if you don't want to take it, you don't have to. If you're not feeling confident, then by all means skip it. You can come back and try it next year" Ibiki continued to laugh like the sadistic man he is.
"Now, the final question, those who don't want to take it, raise your hand."
"I'm out. That's it, I'm out." The genin who raised his hand sat up, beside him was Naruto. "I just can't do it, I'm sorry!" That Genin was no ordinary Genin. That was a disguised Chunin, he was just the first one to roll the dice.
"Number 50! Fail! Number 130, 110, that means you are out too." Izumo said, reading off his checklist. Then, if everything was a domino effect, everyone else started quitting. Numbers were shouted, and apologies were said.
Tamako yawned into her palm, rubbing her watery eyes and flinted at the sound of a loud smack against the wooden desks. "Don't underestimate me! I don't quit and I don't run! You guys can act tough all you want, but you're not going to scare me! No way! I don't care if I'll be stuck as a Genin for the rest of my life, I'll still become Hokage someday!" Naruto sat down, crossed his arm and grunted.
"This decision could change your life if for any reason you would rather quit, now's your last chance."
"No way, I never go back on my word. That's the way of the Shinobi." Everyone in the room was seemingly moved by Naruto's speech with not a single genin deciding to leave.
Now in all technicality, it was a lose-lose situation because that all just meant more competition.
"Well then, I admire your determination, for those of you remaining, there is only one thing left to do. And that's for me to tell you... that you all pass the first exam."
"Hold on, what do you mean we passed? Where's the tenth question?" Sakura asked, standing up with her fist balled up.
Ibiki chuckled. "There never was one, not a written one at least. Actually, your decision to stay was the answer to the tenth question."
"Wait a second. So the other nine questions you gave us were just a waste of time? Is that what you're saying?" Temari shouted back with anger in her face. Temari hated waiting, and she hated wasting her time.
"No, not at all! Quite the opposite, the first nine questions had an important purpose, to test your ability to gather information without being caught."
"Let me explain—"
. . .
"Heads up, boys and girls, this is no time to be celebrating. I'll be your next Proctor, Mitarashi Anko! Ready for the second test? Good! Then let's go, follow me!"
"You're early. Again." Anko froze.
"How many are there? Ibiki, you let all of them pass? You must be getting soft."
"Or it could be that there is a stronger crop of candidates."
"Hm, they sure don't look like it. Trust me, when I'm done with them, more than half will be eliminated."
Character Status
Name: Tamako
Class: The Gamer
Age: 12 Years Old
Title: Momma's Little Gem
Status: Happy. Normal
Level: 85
HP: 4,505- HP Regen: 3 per 5 seconds
CP: 4,855- CP Regen: 3 per 5 seconds
Strength: 99
Vitality: 101
Wisdom: 98
Intelligence: 97
Dexterity: 105
Agility: 102
Luck: 86
Fame/Infamy: +100
Sunagakure no Sato knows you
Konohagakure Genin hears about you
Money: 73,290 ryo (7,329 USD)
Unspent Points: 120