Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ The Road to Chunin ❯ Chapter 4 ( Chapter 4 )

Chapter 4

 

In a darkened room, four figures met, their appearance shrouded by shadows. From their sizes, it could be ascertained that three of them were children, and one was an adult.

 

“Alright,” began the adult, “Our actions will likely not meet with the approval of the village elders. They think only of the short term peace. We think of the long term. In the end, we will likely lose our lives for our cause. If we live, we will certainly lose our freedom. But such weapons cannot be allowed to exist. From what I hear, he's been driven mad and we'd be doing him a favor anyway. If we can't do this through a legitimate kill in the course of a match, we'll have to act quickly before Leaf ANBU can stop us. It is of the utmost importance that before we die, they understand that we acted without the knowledge or consent of the village. Each of us will carry a note on our person to that effect if we are killed before we can speak. Our noble cause must not cause a war.”

 

“Shh… I think I hear someone coming!” whispered one of the children frantically.

 

They all dove for cover. Just then, a young man with a flashlight entered the room. He shone the light around the room.

 

“Hello?” he called out. “Huh could sworn I heard… WHAT THE…?!”

 

His flashlight had scanned the ceiling. Three shinobi were up there. Before he could utter another sound, the eldest leaped down and killed the man with a kunai.

 

---

 

“Oh gees, Shizune. This thing is hideous! Do I really have to wear this?”

 

“I'm afraid so, Lady Tsunade,” replied Shizune. “Any kage attending an exam must wear the official garb. Robe, hat, and all.”

 

Tsunade removed the outfit and put her green jacket back on. “Well, I still have another six days before I have to make an official appearance. Think we can have it let out? It's a little tight across the chest. You laugh, you die.”

 

Shizune tried very hard to refrain from laughing. “Well… today's the big day, Lady Tsunade. First Chunin Exam of your reign as Hokage. How do you feel?”

 

“I need a drink,” she muttered.”

 

---

 

Asuma, Kurenai, and Gai gathered all nine of their Genin together for a meeting. The anxiety and excitement was evident in the faces of sensei and student alike.

 

“Alright, all of you listen up,” began Gai. “There are only a small handful of rookies in the exam this year. Nevertheless, you are not to discuss the last exam. No one should be warned what to expect. Second of all, if you face a comrade in combat either in the Forest of Death or in the final exam, you will be in a difficult position. These fights are to the death. Of course we try to avoid actual fatalities. What I'm asking is this… you try to avoid it too. If that means not giving it your all, this is the one time we would understand. Finally, be on your guard for trouble. Last year, Lee had to prevent trouble twice before his match came up and we sensei had to jump in once (not trying to embarrass Neji here, I'm just saying). This time, all of you keep your eyes open and be ready to intervene if something comes up. Any questions?”

 

Neji raised his hand. “Will there be any difference in the way they conduct this due to the winter conditions or can you not tell us that?”

 

“No change at all,” replied Gai.

 

“But that will make food ever harder to find!” whined Choji.

 

Gai ignored that. “Well I suppose all there is to say now is how proud we are of the nine of you. Lord knows it's been a rough few months for all of you and you're all winners in my book. Now it's time to prove it to yourselves, each other, and all those other losers you guys are going to mow through on your way to your goal. Go get them with the power of youth!”

 

---

 

The nine Leaf Genin all walked into the examination hall together. None showed any sign of weakness on their faces. Inside a familiar sight greeted them. There were 234 other Genin from all over the Shinobi world gathered around the room. Most of them were much older. Many had vicious expressions on their faces.

 

In one far corner of the room, all 39 Sand Genin were gathered together watching for the slightest sign of a challenge from anyone. Not one of them was new to the exam. Gaara stood in their midst looking not the least bit concerned or for that matter interested in what was happening around him. When his eyes met Lee's, he bowed politely. Lee smiled and did the same.

 

Various headbands could be seen around the room. There were Waterfall, Grass, and Sand, but the majority were Leaf. Hinata and Neji were both shocked to recognize that one of the Genin there was none other than Hanabi.

 

“Did you know about this?” whispered Neji.

 

“I was about to ask you the same thing,” replied Hinata. “You talk to my father more than I do.”

 

“Looks like the little brat got her way after all,” he grumbled. “Maybe some team came up short. Perhaps someone was injured in training.”

 

“I guess Lady Tsunade's learned to admire persistence,” said Ten Ten. “Naruto has that affect on people.”

 

One of the Grass Genin had overheard. “Naruto, eh? Say, where is the little numbskull? I have an asskicking with his name on it. Kid got on my nerves last time.”

 

“You're lucky he isn't here,” replied Kiba. “He'd tear you apart.”

 

“Not here, eh? Oh gees, you mean to tell me he didn't qualify to take the exams this time around?” The Grass bully began to laugh.

 

“Oh, it's far better than that,” said a mean looking girl from the Waterfall. “I guess you didn't hear that the Leaf had an insurrection. Sasuke Uchiha ran off to join forces with Orochimaru and Naruto Uzumaki, after a pathetic attempt to stop him, has disappeared off the face of the earth.”

 

A teammate of the Grass kid chuckled. “Is that so? Guess you guys are gonna struggle without your two champs, eh?”

 

Sakura heard this and grinned. Although the mockery was angering her, this kid had just recognized Naruto for the powerhouse that he truly was. And so had Kiba.

 

“We've still got Neji,” replied Kiba angrily. “And the rest of us are no slouches either. Come to think of it, we all made it to the tower last time, but I don't recall seeing your sorry ass there.”

 

The kid got angry and looked as though he was about to start something. Neji remembered what Gai Sensei had said about trouble and was about to try to pacify things when Gaara walked over. The Grass and Waterfall kids seemed afraid of him. “Seems someone forgot their manners,” he said quietly. He looked right into their eyes and they backed off at once. He turned back towards the Leaf kids, winked, and rejoined his team.

 

Just then, Ibiki Morino walked into the room followed closely by Kakashi, Ebisu, Izumo, Kotetsu, Aoba, Raido, and Iwashi. Sakura couldn't help but think that Kakashi looked good in his gray Class A military uniform. At least that was her first reaction until she noticed to her horror that his Sharingan was activated.

 

“For most of you I should be a familiar sight,” said Ibiki. “For the few of you who never saw me before, I am Ibiki Morino. My job, aside from proctor of the first exam, is to torture the living daylights out of people until they tell me exactly what I want to know. I never fail and I do it without laying a hand on anyone. This first test is a written exam. We will seat you according to a random number we give you. Your passing or failing depends on the overall achievement of your team. Scores are added up for each team. Anyone with a blank sheet this year or with no correct answer fails, as do their teammates. We will be sure to check papers before passing anyone. Anyone caught cheating will be penalized two points for each instance. The sentinels and I will be watching for this carefully. Since each test only has ten points, five violations will fail anyone and their teammates with them. ALSO… five violations total PER TEAM and all three fail. If we call out to tell you that you failed, you leave immediately and without an argument. Otherwise we proctors reserve the right to use force. You don't want that.”

 

The Leaf kids looked at each other. The rules were a little more harsh this time. Obviously Ibiki had seen a flaw or two in the exam from last time. Ibiki began to assign seating to everyone. It was somewhat random but not random enough to have anyone sitting next to a teammate. Sakura was placed in the front row; Ino and Choji were a few rows back. Hanabi was seated right next to Sakura. Once everyone was in place, the papers were handed out.

 

“The tenth, and most crucial question will be given fifteen minutes prior to the end of the exam,” said Ibiki. “And if you think you know what it'll be, think again. Good luck. You may begin.”

 

Sakura flipped over her paper. The questions were much the same as they had been the year prior. She began to fill out her paper. Hanabi had not yet even picked up her pencil. She seemed to be staring straight ahead but had not activated her Byakugan. Neji and Hinata, on the other hand, had done so without hesitation.

 

Kiba, upon seeing Kakashi's Sharigan activated figured that using Akamaru would be a dumb idea. He was right. Using a ninja hound was something an enemy would have certainly noticed. Hinata saw this and decided to forward her information to him. Kakashi almost laughed out loud when he noticed what she was doing. It was the exact same tactic that Obito had used. Just then…

 

“Number 82 fails!” called out Kakashi. It had been that Grass kid that had been taunting the Leaf nine. One of his teammate angrily slapped him in the back of the head as they walked out. As he did, a bunch of cheat sheets hidden under the boy's clothing came loose and fell to the floor. “Team 3 also fails!” he called out. “I saw you look at that cheat sheet when it hit the floor young man, and your two teammates have each already cheated twice. Hey! Grass kid! Before you go, pick those up!”

 

Kankuro sat back and was going through the test with ease. No one had notice him concealing Crow behind a wall, putting a hole there, and placing a well concealed two-way mirror in front of the hole.

 

Temari had a kid next to her who seemed to know all the answers. She guessed correctly that he was a Chunin decoy. She put her palm out and felt the air. Any object that moves creates very subtle air currents. She could feel every last one of them and knew exactly what he was writing.

 

Sakura rubbed her thumb on the desk. This was Ino's signal that she was finished. Ino quickly used her Mind Transfer Jutsu to enter Sakura and memorize her answers. She quickly re-entered her own body and coughed to signal to Sakura that she'd gotten what she needed and to signal to Choji to get ready to receive the answers. Her left big toe, as well as Choji's had a wire tied to them. She tugged in morse code on the wire. A quick tug was a dot, a slow tug was a dash.

 

Lee had studied obscure information since the last exam. He could answer about six questions with no help. He had unraveled his bandages just a little and had very discreetly written answers on that. Then, when he was finished, he tore the piece off, wrapped it around a pebble, and very quickly slid it along the floor to where Ten Ten was seated.

 

“AH!”

 

At that moment, Sakura fell to the floor. Ibiki walked over.

 

“What's the problem?” he asked.

 

Sakura picked up her chair and examined it. “Someone sawed through the legs!” she complained. Ibiki walked over grabbed a chair that was no longer in use and handed it to her.

 

“That was slick, whoever did that,” he said out loud. “I never saw a thing.”

 

When Sakura sat back down she was in for a shock. A blank test form was in front of her. She couldn't help but notice that Hanabi, who up until now hadn't written a word or even moved, had her sheet turned over and appeared to be finished. Sakura groaned to herself and then quickly filled the answers back in on the sheet. Kakashi chuckled to himself but made sure to penalize Hanabi two points. After all, she was about to turn in something with her name, but Sakura's handwriting on it.

 

Gaara had released a very fine cloud of dust made of ground sand when he had entered the room. It had stuck to the fingers of a few test takers and he could feel the movements they were making perfectly. He wasn't one to use the same trick twice and had tried to worn Kankuro not to use Crow again. Ibiki had spotted it last time.

 

Shino had also noticed Kakashi's Sharingan and like Kiba, knew at once that getting help from his animal friends was out of the question. He hadn't been quite prepared for this. What to do, what to do? Too bad he hadn't been paying attention while Hinata had been broadcasting answers. Just then, he noticed that the reflection off of his sunglasses showed him what the person behind him was writing. Lucky break for him.

 

 

The sentinels had done their jobs well. Far more disqualifications had been handed out this time around. Mostly this was because of the team infraction rule. A lot of people who would not have been eliminated in prior years were failing left and right. All but three rookie teams had already bitten the dust. Hanabi and her two teammates had managed to complete the test without incident.

 

Ibiki cleared his throat. “Alright, fifteen minutes left. The final question is not a question at all but a challenge. Those who take it and fail will be ineligible to take the exam for the next two years and their teammates with them. I swear on my life I'm not bluffing about that. Those who drop out now and decide not to answer the question fail as do their teammates. But they can take the exam again in six months. The challenge is this. I will take each of you individually into a room. For one minute I will use every skill I have to try to get you to tell me the names of your teammates. Your job is to resist me for one minute. I will be merciless. I am the best at what I do and I've had the strongest ninja in the world beg me for mercy.”

 

Everyone looked at each other. Was he bluffing after all or did he mean business this time? One of the rookie teams walked out without a word.

 

“Anyone else?”

 

Three more teams had members chicken out. Only the rookie team had been unanimous in leaving.

 

“Very well, then. Sentinels, collect the test papers. We'll grade these before we continue. Any team with someone who gets a zero fails. Any team with a combined score of less than five points fails.”

 

Quickly, the sentinels graded the papers. One additional team failed at this point. The rest were allowed to stay.

 

“Kankuro,” called out Ibiki. “I do hope you know how to fix drywall. Because you will fix the damage you did before leaving this room.”

 

Gaara shot Kankuro an angry look. Kankuro looked very sheepish for getting caught twice in a row. Oh well, as least he hadn't gotten them disqualified. Yet. The tough part was still to come.

 

“For those of you who are left, I once again assure you, I wasn't bluffing about a word I said. I really am going to interrogate you and anyone who cracks will be disqualified for two years and their teammates with them. Those who walked out are cowards and I have no respect for cowards. They may very well try to come back again. But I doubt they'll make it next time either. Those with no heart do not become Chunin. It is also too late to walk out now. Anyone who quits now gets the two year penalty. First up… Gaara of the Sand!”

 

Ibiki escorted Gaara out of the room.

 

“No talking while this is going on,” warned Kakashi.

 

Within seconds, they could hear Gaara screaming in pain. It startled everyone badly but no one worse than Temari and Kankuro. They were terrified at what might happen if he was pushed too far. It felt like they had just gotten him back and now he was at risk again. Everyone was counting to sixty in their minds. But when they had reached it, the yelling didn't stop, it only got a little quieter. Finally it subsided and Gaara was lead back into the room. Everyone was horrified at his appearance. He was white as a ghost. The layer of sand around his face was cracked. His eyes were wide open and he was breathing heavy.

 

“Next up… our resident vandal. Kankuro, come with me.”

 

“Oh shit,” muttered Kankuro to himself. Temari glanced over at Gaara. He was struggling to take his seat and not fall out of it. She wanted so badly to talk to him but she couldn't say a word.

 

Kankuro must have handled it better. He only yelled out once. Within a minute he was back in the room looking shaken but otherwise OK. Finally it was Temari's turn. Everyone could hear her punching the wall repeatedly but other than that no sound came. She returned a minute later with tears in her eyes but still standing.

 

“You guys must really hate drywall,” remarked Ibiki. “OK, first team passes.”

 

Genin after Genin was lead into the room with Ibiki. Many of them did not fare so well as the Sand Siblings. Quite a few flunked. Often, their teammates seemed relieved. True, they'd be out for two years but they were spared whatever happened in there.

 

“Hinata Hyuga!” called out Ibiki.

 

Shino and Kiba shot each other worried glances. This was what they'd been dreading. Hinata didn't look too thrilled at the prospect herself. The second she got to her feet she fainted. Kiba got up to help her.

 

“Back in your seat!” hollered Ibiki. He walked over to Hinata who was coming to. “Do you want to go through with this? It's up to you. But if you can't handle it, you probably couldn't handle being a Chunin.”

 

Hinata weakly rose and nodded. She followed Ibiki out of the room. Shino and Kiba silently counted to sixty. Hinata never made a sound. Eventually Ibiki came back in. Alone.

 

“Kiba, let's go. You're up.”

 

“Where's Hinata?” he demanded.

 

“No talking,” warned Ibiki.

 

“Look, I don't care anymore. If she's not alright tell me or I'll kill you!”

 

“Ditto,” called out Shino who had risen to his feet and pulled out a kunai. The two were fond of Hinata and could be somewhat overprotective at times.

 

Ibiki glared at both of them. “You know I could disqualify you both right now.” Neither answered. Both looked like they were ready to take on every sentinel in the room. Ibiki sighed. “While I appreciate your concern for your teammate, I hope you realize that if something happening to her gets you two this worked up, it could cause problems down the road.”

 

“You still haven't answered,” growled Kiba.

 

“She fainted again when we were done. I had her sent to get looked over by a doctor. Now Kiba, either shut up and come with me right now, or it all ends here.” Kiba got up. Some groaning could be heard coming from the other room but he came out of it alright. He sat back in his seat and tried to catch his breath. Shino got up without being asked and headed for the door.

 

“Cool as a cucumber, that one,” thought Kiba to himself. “We're in the clear.” Just then, an earsplitting scream came from the other room. Kiba slapped himself for thinking that way. He crossed his fingers and hoped for the best.

 

Finally Ibiki returned. Alone. No Shino. “He almost cracked. Started hyperventilating at the end so I had him go get looked at too. Sakura, your turn.”

 

Sakura had been sitting through all this and had become more and more anxious as each person went in. She had to admit, Ibiki was very good at messing with peoples' heads. Her legs were like rubber as she followed him into another classroom. He had her sit down, closed the door, and it began.

 

“What are the names of your two teammates?”

 

While he was still speaking he cast the most intense genjutsu Sakura had ever experienced. The pain she felt was beyond description. One element of it was that she could breathe but it felt like she had been holding her breath for over a minute and a half. The room seemed to grow dark and terrifying faces seemed to be flying around. Sakura fell to the floor.

 

“It's only been five seconds,” said Ibiki with perfect calm. “Let's make it worse, shall we?”

 

And with that, it felt like someone had exposed her whole body to a hot stove. In desperation she started to think about attempting to dispel the jutsu.

 

“I know what you're thinking,” said Ibiki calmly. “Try it and you fail. And by the way, only ten seconds have gone by. Don't you just want to tell me?”

 

Sakura grabbed the chair she'd been sitting on and bit the backrest and began to pound the floor.

 

“Thirty seconds.”

 

The burning sensation was now inside of her as well.

 

“Forty seconds.”

 

She bit all the way through the chair.

 

“Fifty.”

 

She began hitting herself as a distraction. It was almost over…

 

“Now comes the fun part. This genjutsu distorts your perception of time. Actually it's only been fifteen seconds.”

 

“NO!” she screamed in misery.

 

“The names, Sakura. You know you can't do the full sixty.” She spit in his face in reply. Ibiki smiled, wiped off his face and turned to her. “I lied about the time thing. It actually has been sixty and you pass. That deception is what often gets the people who fail. You pass but you don't say a word to Ino or Choji or anyone else in the room. Not so much as a hint as to what transpired.” All at once the pain left her. “Do you want to see a doctor?”

 

Sakura tried to stand but couldn't. She nodded weakly. Two medics with a stretcher came in and carried her out. If only she could enjoy the relief she now felt. But Ino and Choji still had to face this.

 

---

 

“You're a brave girl,” remarked Shizune as she healed the lacerations Sakura had received. “I never had to go through something like that. Closest I ever came was when they trained us how to resist water boarding.”

 

Sakura didn't say a word. It had been a long time now. The exam was probably over already. Did Ino and Choji pass?

 

Outside she heard a familiar voice asking about Hinata. She pulled back a curtain and Neji was standing there. His eyes were bloodshot but he looked no worse for wear. She tried to call out to him but she couldn't seem to get enough wind to do it. Fortunately he saw her.

 

“Oh, hi Sakura.”

 

And then she knew. Nothing the least bit unusual in his glance. She could read his face. She lay back and smiled. They had passed. And she guessed correctly that his team passed too. A moment later Ino and Choji came in smiling. Sakura could finally relax.

 

End Chapter 4

 

© 2009 Joseph Kerner

 

Disclaimer: Naruto is the creation of Masashi Kishimoto