Kaza took a deep breath as he prepared for his day, grabbing his clothes for the day. He smiled to himself as he found his black pants, boots, socks, and teal and white clan robes. He would wear these today; they were good and great for movement too. He knew that this day was the start of the exams and a chance to show that he could keep up with his fellow teammates. Grabbing his kunai and shuriken, he attached them to his hip, then grabbed his headband and tied it on normally, with a teal cloth band instead of the traditional blue one.
Kaza grabbed his bag as well, throwing it over his back as it was packed with items he would need before heading out to find his teammates at the shrine. It was considered a good meeting point for his teammates, as they all knew where it was and could head out from there to the location of the exams. He arrived there first and found himself a seat on the steps of the shrine, waiting for the first person to show up.
Shizuka approached from the right. The short girl was small, very small, around four feet tall at most. Her green hair was long, and her appearance, with its light tan, was natural for a farm girl. She was wearing the basic blue pants and dark green tunic that fit with Konoha ninja attire. Her green eyes shined with excitement as she approached the shrine. Kaza knew she had been putting in work with her father, practicing and controlling her new powers, and she was getting pretty strong in her abilities.
"Good morning, Shizuka-san. Are you ready for today?" Kaza asked with a warm smile, his brown eyes looking at her attentively.
Shizuka returned the smile, her excitement evident in her expression. "Good morning, Kaza-kun! I'm definitely ready. Been training hard with Dad, you know. Can't wait to show what I've got at the exams!" She adjusted the strap of her bag, looking determined. "How about you? Feeling confident?"
"Well as confident as I can, I have been working with the Nara clan, as well as Ino-chan of course," Kaza admitted as he thought about his growing relationship with Ino Yamanaka.
"Seems we are all here," Sengero Saroi Junior, or Junior commented as he walked up. He was wearing something new. He was wearing a pair of silver colored pants, and undershirt with this large oversized crimson red coat as he had his swords at his back. The silver haired, crimson eyed ninja smirked with his confidence as he walked up. His quiet pride was very much evident to his teammates.
Junior's confident demeanor was met with nods of acknowledgement from Kaza and Shizuka. "Looking sharp, Junior," Kaza remarked, admiring his teammate's new outfit. "Ready to make our mark in the exams?"
Shizuka chimed in, her enthusiasm undiminished. "Yeah, let's show them what we're made of!"
Kaza nodded in agreement. "Absolutely. Let's give it our all and make our village proud."
The three of them walked together, Kaza taking the point, Shizuka to the right, and Junior to the left as they walked down the path to the meeting area, they were going to be getting ready for this exam, and they knew that Anko-sensei was going to be a proctor of the second part of the exam. It was going to be a challenge for her, when she had to be neutral in that section of the exam.
"Remember keep quiet, don't draw attention and watch out for each other, there are a lot of ninja here, and we have to kick their asses," Junior reasoned as they walked, his tone serious as they were going to naturally draw some attention just given their unique appearance, a teal almost priest boy, a green haired farm girl, and silver haired sword boy with crimson eyes. They stood out.
Kaza nodded in agreement with Junior's instructions. "Right, we'll stay low-key and stick together. We've trained hard for this, so let's stay focused and trust in our abilities," he said, his voice determined.
Shizuka nodded as well, her green eyes reflecting her determination. "We've got this. I believe when we work together, we are unstoppable. I know we can win, and we can show everyone just how good we are together."
The three of them nodded their head as they felt the confidence in their abilities. They had been working really hard to get ready for this exam. They knew that no one was going to expect much from them, but they would shock everyone who underestimated them.
"There you are rival," A voice called out as Kaza knew very well who this person looking for him was. Him keeping a low profile was going to be impossible and he knew it.
As Aosuke approached, his imposing figure contrasting with Kaza's smaller frame, the latter maintained his calm demeanor. "Hey, Aosuke. Ready for the exams?" Kaza greeted him with a friendly smile, trying to ease any tension between them.
Aosuke grunted in response, his expression serious as he sized up Kaza. "Yeah, I'm ready," he replied curtly, his competitive spirit evident in his tone.
Kaza nodded, then asked, "Also, where are Sutekina and Yoeki?" He wanted to ensure that their entire group was accounted for before the exams began.
Aosuke's brow furrowed slightly at Kaza's question. "Sutekina's around here somewhere. Last I saw her, she was chatting with some other ninja," he replied, his voice gruff. "Yoeki went to grab something to eat. Said he'd meet us at the exam location," he added, his tone indicating that he was more focused on the upcoming challenge than the whereabouts of his teammates.
"Speaking of women, rival, where is your girl, you know the blonde girl that you are always following around?" Aosuke asked as he thought about it for a moment, curious about that.
Kaza couldn't help but chuckle at Aosuke's question, though he tried to maintain a composed demeanor. "Ino-chan? She's around. We're not joined at the hip, you know," he replied with a wry smile. "And good luck with finding someone 'cuter' than her. Ino's one of a kind," he added, a hint of pride in his voice.
"Well, it has been nice talking to you, Aosuke-san, but I need to go spend time with Ino-chan," he said as he went to talk to the blonde he just noticed out of the corner of his eyes having arrived with Choji and Shikamaru, her teammates.
Kaza smiled always happy to see Ino, he knew that she was special and important to him. He couldn't help but thing about the date from the night before, "Good morning Ino-chan," he said softly as he gave her a warm and very affectionate smile, "Do you mind if I join you, while we wait for the first exam?"
Ino's face lit up with a bright smile as she saw Kaza approaching. "Of course, Kaza-kun," she replied cheerfully, patting the space next to her. "I am really glad to be here with you, and thank you for all the help when you had the chance. I know that I can do this and Kaza," she declared with a confident tone. She had a great believe in Kaza, she knew he was special and better than he realized he thought he was. I know you can show everyone just how great you are."
"Thanks," Kaza said as he felt more confident in himself hearing that. To know that a woman like Ino believed in him and thought so well of him, as well as his teammates, teacher, and friends now believed in him meant the world to him. He felt like he wasn't just some loser, he believe that he could win and he could show everyone he was not a failure of the failure clan.
Kaza looked at her teammates and smiled at them as well. They were friends of his as well. "I think our practice will help me out a lot, same with you Shikamaru, thanks for the help, Choji, please also keep an eye out for Ino out there for me please."
Shikamaru nodded in agreement. "Yeah, we've been practicing our strategy, so we should be ready," he replied, looking over at Choji, who gave a thumbs-up in response. "Don't worry, Kaza. We've got your back," Choji assured him with a reassuring smile.
Ino leaned into Kaza's side, returning his gesture of affection. "I'm sure we'll do great. Kaza-kun just think how hard we have prepared for this," she said firmly as she left no room for disagreement with her tone. "We are going to show everyone just how great we are, and that we are the future of the village."
The groups talked and enjoyed their time together as Kaza savored every moment he could with Ino before the first exam. Returning to find Shizuka and Junior before the exam, he waved to Team 10, confident in their abilities. He also believed that the Kusagakure team led by his rival would likely fare well. Despite knowing the challenge ahead, he smiled as he entered the test center.
The exam focused on detecting cheating, and Kaza anticipated that the ten-question test would be deliberately difficult. Nonetheless, he was determined to give it his best shot. Opting to sit at the back, he found himself flanked by Sakura Haruno on one side and Shino Aburame on the other.
Kaza looked at the test and quickly went over the questions. His diligent studies paid off as he recognized most of them and knew the answers. Working through them swiftly, he felt Ino entering his mind, allowing him to access the information shared between herself and Shikamaru. Utilizing this connection, he gathered the answers for all the questions before sharing them with Choji, Shizuka, and Junior. This ensured that they were all confident in their answers for the first group of questions.
The last question didn't pose any challenge to them either. Kaza was confident that they were prepared to advance and showcase their abilities. Even the threat of disqualification for missing the question didn't shake his resolve. He waited it out and successfully passed the first exam. With a smile, he glanced over at his teammates and friends, feeling proud of their accomplishment.
As the genin celebrated their success in passing the first exam, the atmosphere shifted with the arrival of Anko Mitarashi, the proctor for the second part of the exam. Her presence commanded attention, and the genin fell silent, their excitement giving way to a sense of anticipation.
Anko stood before them with a smirk, her dark eyes glinting with mischief. "Alright, brats, listen up," she announced, her voice cutting through the air. "You've passed the first part of the exam, but don't get too comfortable. The real challenge begins now."
She proceeded to explain the details of the second exam—the infamous Forest of Death. As she described the dangerous trials that awaited them within the forest, a sense of apprehension settled over the genin. They listened intently, knowing that they were about to face their toughest test yet.
Anko's words painted a vivid picture of the perils that awaited them: deadly creatures, treacherous terrain, and rival ninja teams all vying for survival and success. Despite the risks, the genin steeled themselves for the challenge ahead, determined to prove their worth as shinobi.
With her briefing concluded, Anko's smirk widened as she gestured towards the entrance to the forest. "Time to show me what you're made of," she declared. "Get moving, and remember—only the strong will survive."
With that ominous warning hanging in the air, the genin braced themselves for the trials ahead as they prepared to enter the Forest of Death.
Kaza waited until Anko was finished before walking up to her. "Anko-sensei, great entrance," he said with a smile, looking up at his teacher. "We all passed," he added, pointing to Junior and Shizuka. "I can't wait to see what challenge you set up for us, Anko-sensei. We are going to ace it," he declared, making his statement in front of the remaining people, doing the opposite of not standing out.
Anko grinned at Kaza's confidence. "Well, well, looks like my little genin are ready to take on anything," she said, her tone a mix of amusement and pride. "Just remember, this next part won't be a walk in the park. Get ready to face some real challenges, but I have faith in you lot. Stick together and watch each other's backs, got it?" She gave them a nod of approval before turning to address the rest of the assembled teams.
Anko finished up and explained that they had an hour break before the teams would head down to the Forest of Death. Kaza walked with his team as they found a spot to wait. He looked around at the other teams, knowing there were many genin he didn't know well, even some from Konoha who were in the same class as him at the academy. He was only close to the members of Team 10, which was partly due to his training with Shikamaru's father and, of course, his relationship with Ino.