Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any other characters, Masashi Kishimoto and studio pierrot does.

Chapter 11:Chunin Exams

A week had passed. Now Naruto stood in front of the academy where they were to report if they wished to participate. He entered the building's ground floor area and saw Sasuke standing in the middle while all the others were moving and climbing up the stairs to room 301 where the first stage was being held.

Naruto walked up to the Uchiha and then asked, "Getting nostalgic, are we?"

"No. I was just waiting for you to show up. You took your pleasant time in coming here." Said Sasuke.

"Hymn there was no need for me to arrive earlier, so why should I?"

Sasuke wanting to end the conversation said, "We won't ever agree on anything, can we?"

Naruto just shrugged and added, "Maybe, maybe not."

Then both of them heard the voice of their last teammate, "Hi Sasuke-kun, Naruto."

Sasuke grunted to show his acknowledgment of her presence and Naruto just raised his hand and signalled hi. She then asked, "So all ready for the exams?" Sasuke gave an affirmative grunt. Naruto said, "That's the reason why we are here…Now let's go."

All three climbed up the flights of stairs. They then reached a certain level and saw the writings on the third floor. Both Naruto and Sasuke noted that it was only the second floor. There were two older kids also who stopped anyone from going ahead claiming if they can't pass them then they shouldn't attend the exams.

Naruto understood this was a genjutsu and it was a set up by the examiners to weed out people even before the exam started. Before Naruto could stop his two teammates, they blustered out the truth about the older kids. He could only face-palm himself mentally while internally yelling, 'The hell with both of you! You are supposed to use these points to your advantage and let others retreat. And decrease the competition. Why did you two have to boast your skills and beat the drum about the genjutsu?'

Nothing could be done now. The genjutsu was released and all went through. They were now on the actual third floor. The three of them heard, "Hey you! The dark-haired boy. Wait!"

All of them turned around to look at a boy in a green spandex suit and orange leg warmers. The boy had big eyebrows and bowl shape haircut. This was Rock Lee, a student of Matio Gai. Sasuke asked, "Yes?"

Lee with a glint in his eyes said, "I want to have a spar with you."

Sasuke immediately said, "Why should I?"

Lee replied, "I want to see how I do against a Uchiha and also the rookie of the year who is held as a prodigy. So please have a spar with me."

Sasuke with a smirk said, "You know who I am and still want to fight me?"

Lee then said, "Don't you want to see how well does a Uchiha holds up against the best genin in all of Konoha."

Sasuke smugly claimed, "Well then show me why you consider yourself the best genin. And I will show you why I am the real top amongst all genin."

Naruto in his mind with some amusement thought, 'I can't sense much chakra from Lee. Almost negligible…So is he the smaller version of Matio Gai?...Well, I should ask them to stop and go ahead with our exams, but I want to see what Lee can do. He trains like there is no tomorrow without it. It will be interesting to see what happens.' On the other hand, Sakura had already started cheering for Sasuke and acted as if he had already won.

Fast-forward a few minutes we could see Sasuke seething heavily and a bit bruised up. Lee was a pure taijutsu fighter like his sensei. And his skill surpasses that of anyone he knew except for an obvious few. Naruto was astonished to notice Lee's speed which surpassed his by a good margin, even with all of his resistance seals off. He doubted if he could have seen the boy's movements properly even with the sharingan he had.

Sasuke even with his sharingan was overpowered by the other genin. Speed is ridiculously outmatched between them. The Uchiha would have hit his head badly if Lee had continued his last move, which was stopped as someone had pulled the boy out of the fight. Before the Uchiha could drop to the ground, Sakura had cushioned his fall.

Naruto just went near the two but looked at who had stopped Lee. He looked at the huge red turtle summon. The turtle yelled, "Lee that's a forbidden technique."

Lee explained, "I was about to use the reverse version."

The turtle again yelled, "That too is quite dangerous. Gai will decide on an appropriate punishment for you."

Naruto then looked at the seething Sasuke. The Uchiha's main thought was, 'I used my sharingan and still lost! To a genin! How is that possible!' His despair and anger were clearly visible to his two teammates. Sakura showed pity to the boy while Naruto just scoffed at the 'I am the best and no one can beat me' attitude of Sasuke. Naruto mockingly asked, "Oi Uchiha, how does the dirt taste?"

Naruto for some reason wanted to rattle up the emo. And he was able to rattle both his teammates. Sakura yelled, "Naruto don't say things like that." And as for Sasuke he growled and said, "I will annihilate him the next time."

"Oh really...You couldn't even touch him." Replied Naruto.

This again rattled both but before they could say anything they heard a poof sound. All now looked at the summoned turtle on which they saw an older version of Lee. Sasuke and Sakura with shock looked at Gai due to the similarity he shared with Lee. Gai in a loud voice said, "Lee you fool." With that, he punched Lee in the face sending him flying back a few feet.

Lee stood up quickly and didn't say a thing. It was Gai who said, "Lee it was very irresponsible of you to use that move, and also fighting before the exams wasn't a wise decision."

Lee stood in attention and in a stern tone said, "Yes sir! I got carried away in testing myself. I accept any punishment you deem right. But also accept my apologies."

Gai hummed and said, "Your punishment is that you will run 200 laps of the village and then 100 push-ups and at last an hour-long plank."

Hearing this all the three from Kakashi's squad just looked at the two with agape mouths. Lee on the other hand with energy said, "Hai Gai-sensei! I will burn my flames of youth and complete these things."

Lee was about to start his runs to complete his laps but then it was Sakura who said, "Aren't you gonna give the chunin exams?"

It was then both teacher-student duo with widened eyes remembered about the exams. Gai immediately said, "You are right young lady. Lee, you will complete all this afterward."

Lee nodded. Gai recognizing Naruto then said, "So you three are Kakashi's students."

Sakura said, "Yes, you know him?"

Gai within an instant was now behind all of them and said, "Oh yes, I do. We both are rivals with him having 49 wins and me at 50."

Lee then said, "Gai-sensei is the best! Isn't he?"

The sentence though was now entangled in the Uchiha's mind. He thought, 'The hell! Is he really stronger than Kakashi? He is certainly faster than Kakashi. Too fast. Just how many people are ahead of me? When will I be strong enough to complete my goal? How much more do I need to train? When will I gain the strength and power I need? When?!'

Gai then said, "Well all of you should head to the exam destination now…So goodbye for now and all the best. And Lee, show everyone the power of youth!"

"Hai Gai-sensei." With that, Gai went away. It was then Lee who said, "Sasuke, forgive me for lying. I am actually not the strongest genin. It is my teammate Neji. It is one of my goals to surpass him in these exams. I hope you all too do well. Bye and all the best."

This statement rather than soothing Sasuke made him more impatient, angry, and frustrated. He raged in his mind, 'Another one! All I want is to grow and get stronger and to serve justice to my clan. Why is my progress so stagnated?'

Naruto as if reading the unsettled mind of Sasuke said, "Don't think too much about questions you can't answer. Let's go now."

The three now navigated to the room they were supposed to be in, room 301. At the door they find their silver-haired jonin reading his favorite book. Kakashi noticing his students, closed the book and said, "Oh hi all."

All gave their respective greetings. Kakashi then said, "Well it is good that Sakura also decided to come."

Sakura was the one to ask, "What do you mean by that?"

"Well, you see Konoha believes a lot in teamwork so there may be stages where you all participate as a team. If you don't have your full team then you are disqualified. And I knew Sakura had doubts about whether to take the exams or not. Am I wrong Sakura?"

Sakura said, "Yes I was uncertain whether to take the exams or not…But here I am to compete and improve as much I can."

Sasuke just asked, "Why did you say this thing before though? We could have been disqualified."

"I didn't want her to feel pressure and just enter because you two would be entering. Well, anyways all the best to all of you." Said Kakashi and shunshined away.

Team 7 then entered the room. The first thing they noticed was the crowd that was gathered inside. Naruto just observed the all he could take in. The places from where the ninjas were, their physique, and any noticeable weapons they carried. Sasuke too was looking around but with not much aim, just looking at the crowd. Sakura was the one who commented, "Wow there are a lot more people than I had initially thought."

Before anything else could happen, all of them heard a cry, "SASUKE-KUN!...I missed you and your dark looks so much."

Naruto recognized the voice of Sasuke's other most dedicated fan-girl. He just spared a glance at Ino hugging an annoyed Sasuke from behind and that had resulted in a reaction from Sakura. Naruto found no need to hear the bickering of the two fan-girls so he took some steps away from them. He now continued his observations. But now he was looking for what the body language of a few ninjas said. He always kept a poker face when it was possible and so did many others. Or rather in the way Naruto would put it, a good attempt at an unreadable poker face. It is often that people may mask their facial expressions as most only look at that. But if you see how the legs, hands, fingers, or the manner they stand or sit or walk, then you enter a goldmine.

Naruto then noticed another member of team 10 come and stand next to him. Naruto greeted, "Long time no see, Shikamaru."

"Hello. It has been quite some time. So, your sensei also sent you to take these stupid exams, eh?" Said Shikamaru.

"Yes…But from where did you get the energy to come here?" Asked Naruto.

"Ahh Ino threatened us to come here. I know she did this so she could see Sasuke. But I mainly agreed because our sensei was able to convince my teammates to come. So, I had to come, I had no other choice…So who and what all are you seeing?" Asked Shikamaru.

"Whatever that is open to my eyes." Replied Naruto.

"Hymnn…you know right? That the probability that your interpretations being wrong is quite high. Not doubting your skill just saying experienced people too have said time after time that they may be wrong. All that we see is a perspective, not the truth."

"Oh, I know that. But the uncertainty makes all this interesting. There are ways to increase the probability. Instead of the face, observe the body movements and posture. A person when he wants to act, often solely focuses on his face. Forgetting about the movements of his other parts…And by the way, where is Choji? Isn't he with you?"

"Look behind." Directed Shikamaru. With that, both turned around to see Ino still hugging Sasuke and showing her tongue to Sakura. The said girl getting angry at such a gesture from her rival/friend. Sasuke eyeing Choji for help. Choji scratched his head not knowing what to do. Shikamaru just said, "Sasuke had silently asked both of us to help get Ino off. Choji, I guess is thinking of something so he could help. I didn't stay as it will be such a drag to get that girl to listen."

"Well, I guess we have to. They are catching a lot of attention. And I don't like it." Said Naruto.

Now both went towards the other. Naruto in a stern voice said, "Ino leave Sasuke, now."

Ino stopped her gesture towards Sakura and looked at Naruto. She found him to be quite different from what he was in the academy. Her main focus was on the katana he had. She just said, "Oh hi Naruto. Long time! And what's with the katana you have? Trying to act cool for someone?"

Naruto sighed and said, "Ino get off Sasuke now. He is getting a bit annoyed. And why does your thinking always have to go in those kind of directions?"

She immediately got off Sasuke fearing if she actually annoyed Sasuke. She just asked, "Pardon me Sasuke-kun I was just so happy to see you."

Sasuke just grunted and went away and stood near Naruto, he gave Naruto a nod to thank him for the intervention. Sakura also went to stand near Naruto. Shikamaru found it fitting to go towards his teammates. Ino then replied to Naruto's question, "Naruto for what other reason will you be having a katana? There is no way that you know how to use one. So, who is the lucky girl? Do I know her?"

"Okay, whatever. And there is no lucky girl." Said Naruto in an uninterested and lazy manner.

A new voice came and said, "Well, well we have a reunion it seems." A bark followed that statement. Now all looked at team 8 walking towards their direction. The voice belonged to Inuzuka Kiba who was with his ninja hound Akamaru. With him were his teammates Aburame Shino and Hyuga Hinata, who adored a small blush on seeing Naruto.

Shikamaru just grumbled, "These guys too."

Kiba then said, "I wonder how far we will get. Eh, Sasuke?"

Sasuke asked, "You seem quite confident Kiba."

Kiba then bragged, "You see we have been training very hard since graduation…I am confident that I and Akamaru can even take you on and win."

To this, both Sasuke and Naruto scoffed. They knew how wrong that statement was. They didn't know how much Kiba must have trained, but it seemed highly unlikely that a boy with Kiba's attitude could cover the gap between him and Sasuke in the given time.

Kiba expected such a reaction from Sasuke but Naruto's reaction enraged him a bit. He scowled and said, "What's the matter deadlast? It may be a fantasy for you to reach such a level. But not for us. Want to have a battle now? I will show you the gap between an alpha like me and a bottom feeder like you. Hell, I could take your full team on. Sasuke may be an equivalent. After taking him down, taking Sakura down may be tricky due to her wits, but she will also lose. But you, I will finish you in a second." He was encouraged by his dog with an affirmative bark.

Naruto just calmly said, "Kiba you should refrain from talking too much. Especially from talking rubbish."

"Are you scared blondie? If you were brave, you would have accepted my challenge."

Naruto just looked Inuzuka with bored eyes. It was Hinata who said, "Kiba what are you doing? We shouldn't fight with our own people like this."

"And nor should you all make so much noise." Came a new voice. All now looked at an older boy who had onyx eyes and long ash grey hair, tied into a ponytail. He wore a circular-rimmed spectacle. He wore a grey shirt under a dark purple sleeveless cloth and same-colored pants. He had his Hitai-ate around his forehead, with Konoha's symbol on it.

He then asked, "Aren't you all from the fresh genin batch? You all shouldn't fool around like this."

Ino feeling insulted by that asked, "Who the hell even are you to say that?"

"Well, my name is Yakushi Kabuto. And look around the room a bit." Said Kabuto.

They now took notice of all in the room having their conversations but also eying the fresh genin teams. All except Naruto, Sasuke, and Shikamaru did feel intimidated by it. Naruto and Sasuke didn't feel anything because they knew they could hold themselves. While Shikamaru didn't feel anything because he didn't give a damn.

Kabuto then said, "It is said the team behind me from Amegakure is very short-tempered."

Sakura was the one who said first. "Kabuto, was it?"

"Yes?"

"Is this your second time taking these exams?"

Kabuto sheepishly rubbed the back of his head and said, "It is actually my seventh time."

Kiba in a mocking manner said, "Wow you must suck!"

Kabuto took no offense and said, "Or maybe the exams are very tough."

Sakura then politely asked, "Kabuto-san could you give us some information on the exams."

Kabuto grinned and took out some blank cards. He said, "I was waiting for when one of you would ask this. You see I have been gathering information for a long time now. I have information about everyone here. So, see and describe any person that interests any of you?"

Sasuke immediately said, "I want information on Rock Lee and Sabaku no Gaara."

"Oh, you already know names. That cuts some fun. Well anyways." Kabuto sent some chakra to one of his cards. The card then reveals information. Kabuto read out, "So firstly Sabaku no Gaara. His team consists of his brother, Kankuro, and sister Temari. They are the children of the Fourth Kazekage. I don't have information about his skills, but I can say it must be incredible. That is because his team has completed 8 C-ranks and 1 B-rank mission. With him returning always without even one scratch."

All had their eyes widened at the information of a genin taking a B-rank and coming back untouched. Naruto just thought, 'This Gaara is crazily strong. I have to really keep an eye on him…But wait a second how does Kabuto have such information? Especially about the son of the Kazekage. Numbers should be impossible to gather…Unless he is a spy. Is he a Konoha spy or someone else's? If he is from Konoha then Jiji is the only person that could send him. But it is highly unlikely the old man would allow someone to give us information about others in a test like this. And a Konoha-nin wouldn't dare cross Jiji…He is a foe…Now how do I actually determine that he is a spy? And prove to myself that I am not overthinking?...Well I got an idea. It will require a sacrifice but this all info will have to come out sometime. But I need it to come out now. If I follow this plan things will be confirmed if he is a spy and also if he is a foe.'

Shikamaru was in thoughts about the unscratched genin information when he saw Naruto signalling him. He saw the blonde blinking his eyes and then making his eyes sweep once or twice or thrice. Shikamaru understood the boy was trying to tell him something and he needed to crack the methodology and code quickly.

No one paid them attention and Kabuto had started to say about the next person. "So next Rock Lee. He is a student of Maito Gai. His teammates are Higurashi Tenten and Hyuga Neji, who was the rookie of the year previous to you all. Neji is also regarded as a prodigy of the Hyuga clan. His ninjutsu and genjutsu are zero. But he is very skilled in taijutsu, unmatched in his age group. His team has completed 47 D-ranks and 11 C-rank missions."

Immediately Shikamaru spoke, "I want information on Uzumaki Naruto."

The next second Ino asked, "Shikamaru why are you wasting time? We all know Naruto has very little skill and was the dead last." All except Naruto's teammates, Shikamaru and Hinata seemed to agree with Ino.

Kabuto smirked and said, "Interesting."

Shikamaru just thought, 'The amount of trust you had that I will able to decode the methodology of your messaging way and then the message is very troublesome. If my guess is correct then you used morse code for which the blinks were dots and the swipes where the dashes. Your message said, 'Ask for my info. Possible enemy spy.'…Do you really think he is a spy? And what is there in your information at confirms your theory?'

Kabuto then took a card and said, "So Uzumaki Naruto. His teammates are Haruno Sakura and Uchiha Sasuke. His sensei is the Copy Ninja, Hatake Kakashi. He is the sole recorded person left of the Uzumaki clan."

"Wait Uzumaki clan? Naruto is from a clan?" It was Sakura who asked it. Though all except Sasuke also wanted to ask it. Kabuto with genuine mild surprise asked, "You all don't know about the Uzumaki clan?"

All of them shook their head. But before Kabuto could say, Sasuke spoke, "The Uzumaki clan was from Uzushiogakure no Sato and the ruling clan of that land. It is the sibling clan of the Senju clan. The members of the clan are renowned for their ninja skills back in the day. They were prolific water users and highly skilled in kenjutsu. They were the ones who created fuinjutsu and were the undisputed best at it. The Uzumakis had larger chakra reserves than any other clan. They also lived longer than a normal person and faster healing rate. They were a very close ally of Konohagakure no Sato."

Naruto calmly said, "Well, well someone has been doing some research."

Ino then said, "Siblings to the Senjus!...But there is no proof that he is a Uzumaki. Someone must have just given him the name."

Kabuto liked the unrest of his acquaintances. He just said, "These things are only written down after full surety, that is DNA testing. My sources are not wrong. Naruto is an Uzumaki by blood."

Sakura confirming the fact said, "Naruto's injuries do heal at an unbelievable rate."

Kiba not liking to hear the blonde was from a clan. As it made the dead-last and him both of the same title of being clan heir. He said, "Huh, just some normal clan that is to its extinction. And look at what pathetic way it finishes off."

It was hard for Naruto to not grab his katana and slice the dog boy. Kabuto gave a chuckle and said, "Normal clan? Jeez, you people know nothing."

Before Kiba could shout at Kabuto. Sasuke proved Kabuto's point by saying, "Kiba the Inuzuka clan is nothing in front of the Uzumaki clan. Everyone including me and you yourself are wearing the Uzumaki clan's symbol."

"What?! No, I am not. I don't even know what it looks like. And the Inuzukas are the best!" Said an irate Kiba.

Kabuto continued, "The spiral symbols on Naruto's shirt are the symbol of the Uzumaki clan. All jonin and chunin flank jackets of Konoha have the Uzumaki spiral symbol on their backs. The spiral in Konoha's leaf symbol is also a tribute to our closest and fallen ally, which is present on every Hitai-ate. The Shodaime's wife was the daughter of the Uzumaki head and was regarded as one of the best kunoichi during her era. The Uzumaki were one of the most feared clans. And do you want to know why they are at extinction now?"

Naruto didn't show anything but internally mused, 'Kabuto is having a lot of fun spreading information that will bring unrest to all.' It was Ino who asked, "How?"

Kabuto said, "Well you see Iwa, Kumo, and Kiri wanted a payback from Konoha for their defeat in the Second Great Shinobi War. So, to get the upper hand they needed to eliminate the closest and strongest ally of Konoha. And that was the Uzumaki clan. All three ninja villages had to attack the island village in a surprise attack with no accounts of aggression from the Uzumakis. Yes, three entire shinobi forces went to eliminate one clan. Just one clan. The clan was annihilated with very few to no survivors, but they did sizeable damage even being outnumbered one to twenty or so. They managed to throw off nearly 25% of the forces that attacked them. Konoha got the message about the surprise attack a little too late to save the Uzumakis. But they gave a message by declaring the Third Great Shinobi war and incorporating the clan's symbol in the jonin and chunin flank jackets…Now tell me do you still consider the Uzumaki clan as normal?"

Choji said, "Jeez Naruto we didn't know you were from such a legendary clan."

Kabuto then said, "Enough about the Uzumaki. Now about your friend here. So reports say he is good in all areas of ninja skills. He has completed 15 D-ranks,1 C-rank, and 1 A-rank mission."

Naruto internally said, 'Caught you. No one has rightful access to my info. This info is direct from our ninja folders. Let's even say that you were keeping an eye on me and counting my missions. But no way a genin should know about the forbidden scroll incident. That is only in the official folders. And my folder is inaccessible to anyone other than the Hokage. So, Kabuto who do you work for?'

Ino with surprise asked, "You guys have completed a C-rank and an A-rank mission!"

Sasuke immediately said, "We had taken a C-rank which unexpectedly turned to an A-rank. Kabuto there is a mistake in your information. We have not done any C-rank till now."

Kabuto just smiled and eyed Naruto while saying, "Is that so?"

Kiba felt annoyed at what he heard and didn't believe it one bit. He left while saying, "Mister your information is totally wrong. Naruto is the dead last and with no skills. Correct your pathetic information."

With that Shino also left without saying a word. Hinata apologized for Kiba's behavior and said bye to all and left. With that Sasuke also said, "We have talked a lot already. We should find our seats now." Sasuke felt like he hadn't gained any confirmed knowledge due to his belief that the last information was wrong. Naturally, Ino and Sakura followed the Uchiha.

Choji also said, "Shikamaru, Naruto I think Sasuke is right and we should go find our seats."

It was Shikamaru who said, "Choji you go forward for now. I would like to talk a bit more." Choji nodded and went. Shikamaru had a hunch that Naruto had arrived at a conclusion and he needed to hear it.

Naruto in a firm voice asked, "Who are you working for Kabuto?"

Kabuto showcased a grin, fixed his glasses, and said, "Maa, maa, is it that obvious?...Well I shouldn't be that surprised after all a spy can only identify another spy. Isn't it Naruto?"

Shikamaru had his eyes widened at the open confession. Naruto too was slightly caught off-guard and said, "Well quite brave and risky to openly admit these things. And you already consider me as a spy."

"Well, you haven't told anyone about your fiasco that got you the C-rank have you? That fiasco is work that a spy's brain can only do. And come on, we live with risk, it's a spy's second name. And I know my time being undercover is coming to an end. So why not!"

"So, you know that you will be caught soon." Said Naruto.

Kabuto just chuckled, "Oh Naruto I wish these Konoha ninjas would be a challenge. But they are not. You know why I admitted this to you. Because before I go, I want a challenge. Please show me you are as good as me. And don't think that morse code message to the Nara here went unnoticed. It has brought my hopes down a bit. The least to say, it was pathetic. Sharpen up and be a challenge for me."

Naruto raised an eyebrow and said, "You want to challenge me?...Just remember this, challenge me once, and then I will show you who is the master…I will get you behind bars in no time."

"No time! How? You are not allowed to contact anyone. So, how are you gonna inform the authorities? Do you think I was unthoughtful and just to taste thrill I confessed? No, I have gone through every possibility and I know for a fact you can't get me captured."

Naruto snarled at the confidence and then said "My mind is my weapon, before crossing me just remember I always keep it loaded."

Kabuto again grinned and said, "Good luck. Bye for now." And with that, Kabuto left.

Shikamaru had been silent this whole time. He didn't know what to say the whole time. He was a genius but not a trickster. Now he just asked, "So Naruto you we right after all…What do you plan to do? We have to tell this the Hokage with the least possible nodes in between."

"I will think something up. I will have to. And Shikamaru don't tell this info to anyone. I know he also wants you to enter this game. That's why he was so unhesitant to tell it in front of you." said Naruto.

"Well telling others won't do any good anyway. All must be considering him as a friend as he shared info. But people usually forget that a friend to all is a friend to none. But if he wants to play with me, then I will also show him how I can turn the tables." Said Shikamaru.

"So have any ideas?" Asked Naruto.

"No…but I know we won't be able to contact anyone from now unless we purposely lose. That is an option."

"But that takes us away from Kabuto. We can't leave him alone."

"Then we somehow have to encrypt a message in some manner that when these invigilators describe what all happened. The Hokage can understand it." Shikamaru sighed and said, "Troublesome."

Naruto just hummed and said, "We will find a way. For now, we have to wait and see what other cards we get."

The next second smoke erupted at the front of the room. After the smoke cleared there stood a tall man. He wore a black shinobi outfit and a black trench coat above it. He also wore a black bandana and had two scars across his face. Naruto just mused, 'Morino Ibiki, huh? Sending the top interrogator of Konoha off the bat. Maybe this exam will be something.'

Ibiki in a loud tone said, "Alright maggots. Take your seats fast. Not doing so within a minute will earn you your disqualification."

All who weren't in their seat went and found them and sat. Naruto was in the middle area of the room. He then noticed the one sitting next to him. He just said, "Hi Hinata."

Hinata was fidgeting with her fingers and said, "H-hi Naruto."

Ibiki seeing all settled down, then said, "So I will be taking the first stage of the Chunin exams with my colleagues. It is a written test and you all will have 45 minutes to complete it. There are just two major rules. First, the test is a team test. Cumulative scores will decide the fate of the whole team…", Ibiki now showed an intimidating smile, "…All will start with 10 points. A correct answer adds one point. A wrong answer will cost one point. And if found cheating there will be a deduction of 2 points."

The papers were handed out. And after the start time, Naruto started reading the question. His internal thoughts were, 'Okay can do this question…maybe this one…not this one…not this also…What the fuck is wrong with these people? What kind of question paper is this!...Well it is a cumulative score that counts and I have no doubt Sakura will solve all. And then Sasuke and I can do better than average so I guess we are fine…Hymn but the deduction for cheating is quite less if you think about it.', raising an eyebrow on realizing what was the exam about.

He looked around the room and thought, 'So it to determine our information gathering skill without getting caught. There are some who are writing the exams seamlessly, without thinking. They want us to copy from them…Hell no I am not doing it. I don't need to prove to anyone my espionage skills. I am the best at it. Period…Hymn let's see what others are doing.'

Naruto then started to look around. He saw Sakura was writing the answers solely on the basis of her book smarts. She had it and got an opportunity to use it. After a while, he saw some others too had started to realize the purpose of the test. He then saw Sasuke using his sharingan to mimic another person's hand movements.

He glanced at the girl beside him. Hinata too was answering truthfully as much as she could. He noticed Akamaru was on Kiba's head and directed the Inuzuka on what to write by seeing other's paper. And Shino was using his bugs to get answers.

He saw Tenten use a jumbled structure of mirrors and strings to read others' papers and also send Lee the answers. Naruto then saw a boy with pupil-less light purple eyes. He had fair skin and long dark brown hair. Hitai-ate around his forehead. He wore a light brown shirt and a dark brown short pant. He saw the boy use his dojutsu to look through objects and get answers. Naruto thought, 'A byakugan user…So this is our strongest genin. Hyuga Neji…'

Looking at the foreigners he had met a week ago he found a rather interesting observation. It was expected for Kankuro to use a puppet. And him to help his sister. The interesting observation was the jutsu Gaara used. He with his sand had made a temporary levitating eye and the boy used that to directly look at other's paper by moving it discreetly around the room.

He then saw Ino, making herself ready to use her clan's jutsu. It was a jutsu where the consciousness of the user and the victim were swapped. Naruto noticed that Ino was waiting for Sakura to come near the end and then use the jutsu. She would then somehow pass it to Choji and Shikamaru. He knew Shikamaru could easily answer the questions. But like him, he knew the Nara too didn't want to spend much of his brain power.

Naruto now looked at his paper for a second and then closed his eyes and thought, 'Hymn Ibiki will have to report everything to Jiji. He must have also seen all this and let it slide as he may think this are passable level of info gathering for the chunin level. If only in the real-world information gathering was so easy all would be spies…', he now opened his eyes and looked at the blank paper provided to him for rough work. '…Hymn interesting…', Naruto then grinned, 'I guess I found my way.'

Before Naruto could start his work, he heard a whisper saying, "Naruto you can look at my paper."

He turned to look at Hinata. She then again said, "You can look."

Naruto realized the misunderstanding the girl was having. She saw Naruto hadn't written anything yet. She thought Naruto would fail. And she didn't want him to fail so she was showing her answers. Naruto just lightly chuckled and said, "Hinata I appreciate your concern. And thank you, but I don't need it. Moreover, if we get caught, I wouldn't want you to get in trouble."

Unknown to our mysterious blonde his choice of words had created a rather complex reaction to the girl. Hinata with a slightly bigger blush thought, 'He-he doesn't want me to get into trouble…he cares, he cares about me…no, no, not now. Get control of yourself and complete the test.' With that Hinata continued her test.

Internally Naruto added, 'It was a great offer as I wouldn't need to use my brain and pass but yeah getting caught evidently. Ibiki would certainly catch this and deduct marks for cheap coping. Well, I can't afford a deduction of 4 marks. As I will be sacrificing 2 anyway...I can write enough in the last 5 mins. That's all I need.'

Naruto now started to write something on the blank sheet and then silently took out a storage seal. He sent chakra to it and now in his palms was a brush and a small ink bottle. He folded his sheet twice and started to write a seal on it. He inspected it and drew another set of strokes which resulted in the ink slowly disappearing. He quickly finished it and resealed his brush and ink bottle. He now held the folded note which looked like only one-fourth of a paper.

He took the cap of the pen he had received. He then looked at his target which was a few benches in front of him. He flicked the cap to hit the head of his target.

Shikamaru grunted and then turned to see who the hell hit him. But instead, his focus immediately was on a paper that was thrown in his direction. He subconsciously lifted his hand to catch it. But before the paper could reach him, a gloved hand caught it. Shikamaru now looked at the invigilator that stood in front of him. He then looked at the origin point of projectiles. He just raised an eyebrow on finding it was Naruto who did it.

Ibiki just brought the paper to his eye level. He found no writing so deemed it as a signal only. He now intimidatingly walked towards Naruto. Naruto internally grinned but knowing he needed to act now started his acting. He acted as if he was having a panic attack. Sweat rolled down his forehead and his fingers fidgeted. Ibiki in a threatening voice asked, "What is this?"

In a stuttering manner, Naruto said, "Oh-oh thank you for catching my rough work that flew away."

Ibiki just said, "Do you take for a fool?"

"No-no…I am telling the truth."

"Tch…What do you think that I couldn't see or hear the pen cap's impact?...If you hadn't done that and tried to pass this chit then maybe I couldn't catch it. This is a clear attempt to cheat. Congratulations you earned yourself a negative two marks…Pathetic...And you too get a negative two points.", said Ibiki.

Shikamaru complained, "Hey what did I do? I was the one who got hit by the cap and had no knowledge of that chit coming towards me."

"You tried to catch the chit. An act of cheating deemed by me. So, congratulations on the minus two." Ibiki then walked back to his place.

Naruto lowered his head down. All were looking at him at the apparent act of foolishness by the blonde. All thought he dropped his head down due to shame. But in truth it was hard for him to hide his grin, so he lowered his head had smiled with no restrain. He then looked up back and saw all looking at him.

He could see the mocking urge of many there in the room. He saw the annoyance in Ino and Choji's eyes. Well after all he did cost their team a negative two. He lastly saw the disbelief his teammates had and mostly he saw the irritation in Shikamaru's eyes.

All then started to go back to their work but Shikamaru still slightly glared at the blonde. Naruto just moved his head a bit directing Shikamaru to look somewhere. Shikamaru followed the direction and then after a while understood what Naruto was trying to do. He just nodded showing his understanding and acceptance.

Naruto sat back and thought, 'Well there goes the two marks…And it was fun to decrease Shikamaru's marks as well…On a serious note, I guess you will understand why I picked you to throw this chit at. It was because even if Ibiki had failed to catch me, you could understand what I did and make a plan B…But plan A worked.'

We now find three ninjas sitting on a lavish couch and another man standing in front of them. This was the jonin lounge and the three ninjas were the jonin sensei of the fresh genins teams and the other man was Maito Gai.

Kakashi hummed and said, "Hymnn what do you think will the sadist do in his exams?"

Asuma replied, "It will surely be something worthy. He is known for his mind torture."

Kurenai then asked, "Is he really such a big sadist?"

Gai replied, "Well he is a bit of a sadist and has completely extinguished his flames of youth. Quite sad."

Kakashi wanting to take a dig said, "Well Kurenai you seem to be low on information. Well, you are from the newest lot of jonin, with at most 6 months of experience. Are you sure you made the right decision to let your team compete? Or did inexperience and peer pressure get the better of you?"

Kurenai snarled at the dig. She then said, "I may be a bit low on other's info but I know enough. And I have made no mistake. My team is strong and capable of handling anything and anyone. Don't think your team can defeat mine just because it has the rookie of the year and kunoichi of the year. Your team is imbalanced as it also contains the student with the worst scores. But on the other hand, my team is balanced."

Kakashi then said, "Maa, maa, taking things so personally. I wonder how you will feel when you are proved wrong? I hope you don't cry."

Kurenai said, "My team is better. They have worked very hard and are at a high level. I know you being the lazy person you are, must have kept your genin at the same level."

Kakashi took no offense, he rather liked that his words made the woman angrier and he was about to say something to trigger Kurenai off. But Asuma interjected, saying, "Come on Kakashi. Leave her alone. There is no need to antagonize her. I know you are doing this for your fun."

Kurenai realized that the masked man was just up to irritating her and gritted her teeth. Gai to divert the topic then said, "I really wonder what Ibiki must have set his exam on?"

Naruto seeing the time in his mind said, 'Well it looks like I should start writing something now.'

Ibiki too saw the time and then at the class now. He had removed all the team whose members had been caught in unacceptable cheating ways five times. He now said, "Alright all listen." All now shifted their attention to the man in front. Ibiki then continued, "So I now give all the choice to either take the tenth question or not."

It was Temari who asked, "A choice…Woah what's the catch? What will happen if you choose not to?"

Ibiki then said, "Nothing much. Just that all your answers will be considered invalid and you end up getting zero marks and are disqualified."

Mummers started around saying who would not take the question and wanted disqualification. Ibiki then chuckled and said, "But if you answer it wrong then you will never be allowed to take these exams ever again."

Kiba then stood up and shouted, "What kind of rule is that?! As a fact, I know there are people who have given the exams multiple times. You can't make and imply such a rule."

Ibiki then scoffed and said, "Well the other people were lucky to not have me as the proctor. But this time I am the proctor and my exam, my rules. You have a problem then you are free to leave." Kiba silently sat down. And Ibiki now looked around at his successful attempt at getting on most of the genin's nerves.

Second by second the pressure and fear of taking the tenth question grew amongst the genin except of a selected few. Many teams were now electing to drop the question and accepting disqualification. The room once crowded was now filled with less than half of its capacity. Ibiki now eyed one of the few who showed no signs of nervousness. He then asked, "Oi blondie! You don't seem to be stressed out. Are you sure you will be able to answer the tenth question even when you weren't able to answer all of the nine given questions? It would save you time if you go out now."

Naruto in his head said, 'Wrong choice Ibiki. You can't play mind games with me. You just lost all the pressure and fear you created in others also.' He then replied to Ibiki, "No thank you."

Ibiki took more interest in the blonde now. Naruto knew he was showing a stark contrast to his previous nervous acting. But he needs Ibiki to remember him and the things that he did. To do that he needed to anger or humiliate the head of the interrogation and torture division. Ibiki then asked, "You will most likely fail and never be able to take these exams again."

"So be it. I have made my decision. Now shoo, shoo." Said Naruto while using his hands to make a shoo action.

Ibiki's eyes twitched and said, "Gaki some respect, or else I will fail you and your team. You will never make it to become a chunin."

"If you want then go ahead. I don't care." Said Naruto nonchalantly.

All now looked at the blonde, with shock in their eyes. However, his teammates also carried fear of what he was saying. They thought the blonde had gone crazy. Ibiki then asked, "Oh you don't care that not ever getting a promotion will hinder your ninja career."

"Well, you see I have certain goals. To achieve them I will get strong anyway. Even if I am a genin no one can stop my progress. In the end, I will be stronger than many who are in a higher position than me. This will cause a big instability in the hierarchy of our shinobi system. Egos won't be able to handle a genin being stronger than a chunin or a jonin. This instability and ego clash can lead to many mistakes. And if these small mistakes add up to a big one who will be at fault?...All will come on your head Morino Ibiki. The downfall of our village orchestrated by the head of the interrogation by stopping rightful promotions…But keep that all aside, and lets take into consideration that I fail miserably. I become miserable. I will blame you. I will blame the system and moreover I will blame the village. But yes mostly you. I my misery I will give it control. I know you can forese it." Naruto grins as he sees the linger of doubt in Ibiki's eyes. Naruto doubles down as he raspily says, "I am not kidding...I will...give...it...control...And you very well know what will happen. So what will it be? Ibiki?"

Ibiki didn't show but internally snarled. He was supposed to pressurize the genin to fumble. But now with this question he didn't have a proper answer, he was trapped with uncertain answers. He knew none of the other kids knew what the blonde was talking about. But his defiance was bringing courage in others. He just said, "There will be no mistake as you won't be stronger than a chunin if you remain a genin. And it will never get control, its trapped."

Naruto in a stern tone said, "You think by keeping me as a genin you have put me into a room and I can get out and become strong only if I become a chunin. You say not being promoted will limit my progress…You are wrong. I will find a way out. Even if it means burning that room to the ground…Just remember this, I have no limitations…So Ibiki what do you say, should I go out now? Shall I walk out. Either I be strong and break your rule. Or else, I will break the cage. You want to know how it works and check if I am bluffing? And how can you stop these fellas? They are soldiers." He showed a sly grin and internally added, 'I just hope that Jiji doesn't think I am going coco.'

All looked at the blonde with amazement and some with awe at the brave declarations he made. Everyone forgot the fear and pressure they felt. All started murmuring, 'Yeah we can't be stopped just by rank', 'I won't back down. I will be the strongest no matter what.'

However, his teammates still had their hearts beating out of their ribcage as they were on the verge of being disqualified. Ibiki seeing this snarled and cursed mentally. He saw no point in continuing the test. He then said, "All of you pass. Congratulations."

One of the genin then asked, "Hey what was the tenth question then?"

Ibiki proceeded to remove his bandana and show everyone the scars he had on his bald head, "There will be times when you are captured and then tortured to spill out information. At those times our mind should be able to handle the pressure and pain. The tenth question was a test of your guts. A chunin must always have the guts to throw away his life for his village."

Ino then asked, "So the other nine questions meant nothing?"

"They were used to check your information-gathering skill also yet again how much guts all of you had." Said Ibiki.

Naruto in his mind laughed and thought, 'I pass without writing anything…Hahaha…And Ibiki picked the worst one to pressurize. He in the end was pressurized to end earlier than he wanted…Though now the only thing that matters is that he does the things I want as soon as possible…Kabuto you will be captured.'

"So, this concludes the first stage of the chunin exams. I wish you all luck for the next stage." Said Ibiki. He then in the corner of his eyes noticed something and took a step back. The next moment a ball of cloth led by two kunai came crashing in the room from the window.

The kunai stuck to the wall and the cloth untangled to show writings on it. It read out The Second Stage Proctor Mistarashi Anko. The next moment in the same window-breaking fashion the said person jumped into the room. Now standing in the front of the room all could see the kunoichi with spiky violet hair tied in a short fanned out ponytail. She had brown eyes. She wore a thin mesh shirt and an open tan color trench coat over it. She wore an orange mini-skirt and black color sandals. She wore her Hitai-ate around her forehead.

She then said, "Hello all! I will be the proctor for the second stage of the exam. All of you who are smiling wipe that grin off…Because the real exam starts now." She then looked at the number of genin and then turned to Ibiki, "Hey you let too many pass."

"Well, there are interesting ones in this lot.", shrugged Ibiki.

She then turned to all the genin and showed a big but crazy smile and said, "No problem I assure you that my exam will cut the numbers to less than half…All follow me now!"

Hiruzen sitting in his chair looked at the first exam proctor standing in front of his desk. He asked, "So Ibiki how many were passed, and how did all do in general? You finished the exam a bit early. It is just noon now."

"Well, you see Hokage-sama I have passed 24 teams. I know it is a larger-than-expected number. And these are the passed genin's papers." Said Ibiki and submitted all the papers.

Hiruzen took the papers and started seeing the ones of the Konoha genin. He also asked, "So what were the ways that our genin tried to gather info."

"Well from the commendable ones was Hyuga Neji using his Byakugan, Uchiha Sasuke using his Sharingan, Higurashi Tenten using mirrors and strings, Yamakana Ino using her clan's jutsu and Inuzuka Kiba using his ninja hound for help." Said Ibiki.

Hiruzen hummed and asked, "Well may I ask how did you let Uzumaki Naruto pass when his paper is completely blank?" Hiruzen showed the blank paper up.

Ibiki sighed and then said, "Well he is the reason why a greater number of students passed. He had first pathetically tried to cheat by passing a paper chit to Nara Shikamaru. I obviously didn't let that slide and deducted marks. I have attached the blank chit he threw with his paper, as it was part of the rough sheet we provided. You can see it. If I am add, he is quite the bastard."

Hiruzen hummed and turned the paper and it was only one-fourth of a paper. He then raised an eyebrow at Ibiki. Ibiki answered, "I have no idea where the rest is. I could only find this much. And that too was the one I caught."

Hiruzen proceeded to carefully pluck out the paper and ask, "But how did he cause the number of genin passing to increase?" But in his mind, he thought, 'Naruto is too good to get caught. He got himself caught on purpose. This is something more than just a part of a blank paper...'

"Well, I thought since he would be in panic due to the pressure I created and was not showing it. I tried to put pressure on him, to test his limits. I think he understood what I was trying to do. And instead, of just handling the extra pressure I put on his mind he put me under a debate, deviated from the pressure, and motivated others indirectly. He was ready to walk out and never to take the exams again. He put forward a situation where I had to pass him, as he showed no fear. For I while I had bought his treat of releaseing his prisoner. But looking back I can say it was a plain bluff, but it worked…The boy is quite a big bastard."

Hiruzen hummed and said, "Fine you can go and continue your work." He thinks, 'I guess I have to ask Naruto to tone down on how he acts towards his fellow Konoha-nin even when they are in the opposite of the topic. His tatic is effective but destructive. But first I need to analyze this paper.'

Ibiki bowed and left. Hiruzen still looking at the paper said himself, "Is this some type of seal, under an ink disappearing seal? Did he want to convey something? This being a seal is the only logical explanation for Naruto's action. But what kind of seal it is? What will trigger it to open?"

Hiruzen then dropped some water on it. Nothing happened. Slammed it to the desk. Yet again nothing happened. Brought fire near enough not to burn it but heat it, hoping that heat would do something. But still, nothing happened. Then he brought it next to the window. He heard a slight cracking sound. Hiruzen looks at the very little opening at the edge of the paper. He just mused, 'So you used my light activation with one more condition to fully open it.'

Hiruzen getting an idea shunshined to the hospital. Specifically, to the sterilization room. It was dark with a tint of blue and violet. He was lucky that no one was there. He went near one sterilizer and kept the paper under the UV light it emitted. The next moment the paper with a cracking sound opened. Now instead of holding one-fourth of a paper, the Hokage held a paper folded twice.

Hiruzen just said, "Frequency-specific light seal, eh Naruto? You took the seal I made to another level. It was a good idea to use UV frequency rather than just light activating or the other ones. As it could be opened by mistake also. Now let's see what you want to say."

In the dimly lit atmosphere Hiruzen brought the paper close and read in his mind, 'Yakushi Kabuto is a spy. He has information about everything. Even on the son of the Kazekage and me from the ninja folders. No clue who he works for.'

Hiruzen hummed while he burned the paper and said himself, "So we have snakes amongst us…Hymn, snake was a rather interesting word for me to choose…I wonder..."

AN: Yeah very canon. So I have tried to add a Naruto vs Kabuto angle and will try to make some fights out of them.