Second Stage

"What does that mean?!" The same Genin who asked Ibiki the question shouted in shock.

"Of course we'll take the question!!" Another shouted out. Ibiki's smirk threatened to split his face.

"And now, the other rule."

'Geez, more mind games? Talk about sadistic.' Ino thought while checking her nails with a bored expression on her face. Ino being apart of the Yamanaka Clan who specialize in mind-related techniques, understood the inner workings of the mind completely. She knows he's just trying to scare her and trying to gain control over her spirit.

"If you choose it and answer incorrectly, that person would lose the right to participate in the chunin exams ever again!!" Ibiki declared, causing yet another massive uproar. Shikamaru yawned loudly while the chaos was happening.

'Bro, can these guys chill? It's just troublesome mind games. If I can't take the Chunin exams in Konoha, then I'll take the Chunin exams in the other countries. Well it's not my problem, it's their fault for not seeing underneath the underneath.' The Nara thought before looking at Naruto.

'Judging from that shit eating grin on his face. He's already decided that he's gonna answer it. Just don't forget about the plan in all this, Naruto.' Shikamaru prayed before listening to Ibiki who continued to speak.

"You guys are extremely unlucky. This year it's my rules, but I'm giving you a way up so calm the fuck down. " Ibiki ordered as the chaos immediately died down.

" Those that aren't confident can choose not to take it and try again next year. " Ibiki revealed. Sakura narrowed her eyes at his words.

'So it's a lose lose situation. If one of the three decide not to get it, everyone fails. And if you decide to answer it and fail, you will be an eternal Genin forever.' Sakura smirked as she looked at Naruto and Satsuki who both have smirks on their faces.

'Well, I know what I'm choosing.' She thought before Ibiki continued speaking.

"Now let's begin the 10th question! Those that do not wish to take it raise your hand. Once your number is confirmed, leave." Ibiki muttered out. One by one, Genin who do not have the courage to take the leap raised their hands. Hinata gulped to herself while she looked at the Genin slowly walking out of the examination room with dejected expressions on their faces.

She looked at Shikamaru, then at Satsuki, and then at Naruto. All of them were having confident expressions on their faces. Trusting her gut, she decided to stay still on her seat.

Naruto counted 78 Genin still left in the room, which means 26 teams left. Ibiki looked like he wanted to mess with their minds a little more but Naruto knew that it wouldn't work anymore. They were all confident that they would answer the 10th question correctly.

So before Ibiki could speak, Naruto raised his hand, shocking just about everyone in the room, before surprising them again when he slammed it onto the desk, creating small spiderweb cracks on the table.

"That's shit's not gonna work on us anymore! Look at our faces, those pathetic scare tactics ain't gonna work on us anymore. You're losing your touch, scar face! " Naruto declared with a grin on his face. His declaration made several of his friends in the room smirk.

'Leave it to Naruto to say things like that. He keeps these things interesting that's for sure.' Satsuki thought while staring at the blonde and the confident aura he was oozing.

'I knew this cutie would keep things interesting, I wonder if I can get to know him better after the exams.' Temari thought with a smirk on her face.

Ibiki glared at Naruto. "I'll only ask this once, Uzumaki. Do you wish to continue? Realize that if you fail, you will remain a Genin for eternity."

" Tch! Genin is just a title if you ask me! If I wasn't willing to risk something as simple as my career on this question, how could I be asked to risk my life on a mission!? Huh?!"

" If someone's actually that much of a pussy that simple shit like this scares them, then they don't deserve to be Chunin anyway! " Naruto declared seriously. Ibiki frowned a little.

'Little bastard dispelled the illusion of fear I was gonna create. Though I do have to give it to him, he's an interesting one, Uzumaki Naruto. There's only 26 teams left. Stretching this out anymore would be pointless.' Ibiki thought before he glanced over at the Chunin proctors to see them giving him a nod.

Ibiki looked back at the Genin. "To everyone still remaining I have only one thing to say.... congratulations on passing the first stage of the Chunin Exams!" He declared with a grin on him.

"What?! " A random Genin shouted. Ino smirked to herself.

"I knew it." The Yamanaka whispered while playing with her blonde hair. Shikamaru smirked as he propped his legs onto the desk.

"So it was a sham after all." Shikamaru commented as most of the people looked at him with a confused expression.

"What do you mean?!" Kiba asked him while he was sitting a few tables away. Shikamaru sighed and shook his head.

"What a drag....The question on whether or not you should continue taking the test was the whole point of the entire exam. Isn't that right, Mr Proctor? " Shikamaru asked Ibiki who grunted in acknowledgment.

" Leave it to the Nara to solve everything..... Yes, that's right, the last question was the point of the exam." Ibiki grumbled.

" So what was the point of the 9 questions?! " Temari asked, angry and confused at being led on like that.

"That's easy to figure out." Naruto mumbled, his analytical part of his brain taking over. He looked at Ibiki who sighed and waved nonchalantly, gesturing him to keep talking.

"The first 9 questions were an intelligence gathering session. Gathering intelligence in a timely manner has always been one of the key components towards learning more about your enemy, especially in wartime. It's one of the fundamental skills for a Chunin to know."

" Scar face over there wanted to make sure we could gather accurate information while under pressure, hence the Chunin watching us. How am I doing so far? " Naruto asked with a grin.

" Spot on. I'm sure most of you figured out that the questions on the test were far too hard to answer. So you had to cheat in order to get the answers. Though even knowing you had to cheat would have been useless if you didn't have the answers to begin with. Therefore we placed two Chunin in the room with you who did have the answers." On cue, Kotetsu and Izumo who were sitting among the Genin raised their hands.

"As the brat said accurate intelligence is important." Ibiki took off his bandana to reveal a head full of scars.

" Holy shit! When I called you scar-face I didn't realize it was so literal! Man, it looks like Ten-chan decided to use your head as target practice!!" Naruto shouted. Sitting behind Naruto, Tenten blushed, secretly vowing vengeance against her cute blonde friend.

"You better keep that mouth shut before I sew it up!!" Ibiki threatened Naruto who shrugged in response while a few Genin in the room snickered.

"This is the result the result of when misinformation is more valuable than a life. On missions and on the battle field people will risk their lives to get that information."

"But that doesn't explain the point of the tenth question damnit." Karui grumbled.

" The tenth question is where this test really comes into play. The choice to take your chances and answer the question or give up. It's meant to be a hard choice between those two options, though most people are more than willing to bow out and take it next year."

" Those are the people who don't deserve to be Chunin. Only those who decided to stay and are willing to risk their careers and quite possibly their lives are the ones who deserve the title of Chunin." Shikamaru explained to her.

" What are you trying to get at man?" Kiba asked him with an annoyed tone. Naruto palmed his face. That could've been him if he hadn't changed his life around and started getting serious.

" What he's saying dog breath, is that in order to be a Chunin you have to be someone who is willing to risk your life for the sake of your comrades and mission. You should do more studying man, it helps a lot." Naruto replied with a smirk on his face as Kiba growled at him like a dog.

"Stop that you brats! Didn't I tell you there would be no fighting! " Ibiki shouted. He finally had enough and blasted everyone with killing intent.

"I swear to the Sage.... anyways congratulations on passing, and good luck in the next exam." Ibiki muttered. A second later, the window next to Ibiki shattered into pieces as a black ball of something flew in.

A second later the ball unfurled and and showed a large banner that became hung in the middle of the room by two kunai on each side and stuck into the walls.

The banner read 'The Single and Incredibly Sexy, Second Proctor of the Chunin Exams, Mitarashi Anko' on it for all to see.

"You brats!!! This is no time for you to be celebrating!! You haven't even got through the best part of this exam yet!! I am the proctor for the second test!! Anko Mitarashi!! Now let's go!! Follow me!!"

There was an awkward silence that followed.

To be continued.....