Second Exam

"All of you will turn in your paperwork and be assigned a seat for the written test."

After doing so, Ibiki started explaining the rules.

"I'm only going to repeat this once, so you better listen up. You all start with perfect scores, a 10/10. For every question you get wrong, you get deducted a point. I hope this is making sense for you idiots."

I looked toward Naruto, who was nodding his head, and I chuckled.

"Whether you pass or fail depends on the total score of all three team members."

"Wait, all three members!?" (Sakura)

"Shut up! I have my reasons, so shut up and listen. If a single one of your team members gets a zero on the test, then all three members will fail."

It's interesting. The weaknesses of one team member will affect the integrity of the entire test, just like a real mission.

"The sentinels around the room are there to monitor your every move. Two points will be deducted from your score if you get caught cheating. If you get caught five times, you will be dismissed from the Chunin Exams before your tests are scored."

He distinctly mentioned that a person can get caught cheating five times before getting kicked out of the room, which establishes leeway for people to cheat less than five times.

"If you want to be considered a shinobi, show us how exceptional you can be. If you get caught cheating by the sentinels, then you're not even worth being in this room in the first place."

"Finally, the last question won't be given to you until there are only 15 minutes left. You can begin the test now."

I looked over the questions and was surprised by how difficult they were. Some of them didn't even make sense, like calculating how far a shinobi can throw a kunai if they are seven meters in the air. How would I know how far this person can throw a kunai?

My Root training didn't exactly involve learning advanced mechanical energy theories.

I looked around and saw most of everyone was confused. I say that because a few people were answering questions already, people such as Sakura.

Even though she's not that strong, she is pretty intelligent.

I looked over at Naruto and saw him stumped, as was Sasuke.

The only people from the Konoha 12 I saw writing down answers were Hinata, Neji, Shikamaru, Shino, and Sakura.

This test was confusing. The premise was to cheat, yet only a few people in the room even knew the answers. Some more people started writing all at the same time.

I formed the Ram hand seal and sensed around the room.

So that's how it is.

Most of the people writing down answers already had Chunin-level chakra. Some even had high Chunin chakra levels.

If they were already this strong, they shouldn't still be Genin. They were most likely shinobi implanted by Ibiki to ensure there were ways to cheat people.

After all, if no one knew the answers, there would be no one to cheat off. I saw more and more people beginning to cheat, so I did so too.

Even though I knew in the end that the entire test was unnecessary, it would invoke suspicion if I didn't write anything. Naruto only got away with it because no one expected him to write anything in the first place.

Though, that didn't seem to be the case now.

As Sasuke copied off movements from someone using his Sharingan, he coughed, making Naruto look at him. Once they made eye contact, Naruto went into a daze for a bit before beginning to write down some answers on the test.

Brilliant. Sasuke put Naruto in a Genjutsu using his Sharingan and gave him the answers. As for Sakura, she was doing fine on her own so there was no reason to give her answers.

Things were veering from the anime, but that was ok.

Everyone was mostly the same, which is all that matters.

I brought my pencil down on the paper and cast a Genjutsu on the person next to me.

He tilted his paper to me and I saw every answer written down. After a couple of seconds, he returned his paper to its original position as the Genjutsu ended.

I started meditating, accessing my mindscape, and finding the memory of the paper. I memorized it before exiting the mindscape and returning to my senses. I wrote down all the answers and relaxed.

"Number 52, you fail. Number 9 and Number 3, you fail as well."

"Number 87, you fail. Number 7 and Number 28, you fail as well."

"Number..."

Team after team kept failing. Some people tried to dispute the decision but the sentinels promptly expelled them from the room. By the end, all of the planted 'Genins' in the room were kicked out, along with more than a dozen of other teams.

"All right, now that we weeded out all the hopeless cases, let's get to the main event! The rules I'm about to explain to you are unique to the tenth question alone. Try not to shit your pants when you hear them."

Ibiki certainly knew how to be intimidating.

"First of all, this last question is optional."

"Optional? What does that mean?" (Kiba)

"Are you stupid? It means exactly what it means. You can choose to take the 10th question."

"What's the catch?" (Temari)

"Heh. The catch is simple. If you choose not to take the 10th question, regardless of all other nine questions, you will get a 0."

"What!? Why would anyone choose not to take it then?"

"That brings me to the next rule. If you choose to take the last question, but answer it incorrectly, not only will you fail, you will never be able to take the Chunin Exams again!"

"That's not fair! A lot of people here have already taken the Chunin Exams more than once!" (Sakura)

"Well, they didn't have me as their proctor. I guess you can call yourselves unlucky. You can always choose not to take it and try again next year. After all, what's one more year compared to the rest of your lives? Now, if you wish not to answer the last question, raise your hands and we'll eliminate you."

Interesting indeed. Looking around, I could see a dichotomy had formed in the classroom: those who were brave and intelligent and those who were scared and struggling.

Ibiki truly was a master of psychological warfare and torture. The issue was simple, if they dropped out now, they could have more chances in the future, but the hopes and dreams of their teammates weighed them down.

What about them? They could do it. Is it right if I brought them down with me?

Eventually, people started answering those questions.

Person after person raised their hands and chose not to take the tenth question. It wasn't a question of whether or not they could answer the question, but a question of whether or not they were confident in their abilities.

You couldn't blame either side, the brave or the cowardly.

They were simply acting according to their abilities.

The question, in a way, represented death.

If an enemy with unknown abilities showed up, what would you do?

Run and be guaranteed to live another day, or fight with your teammates and face uncertain death.

In the face of 'death', most people in the room chose to run and live another day.

This time, Naruto didn't raise his voice and inspire others.

This time, everyone acted according to their abilities.

More than half of the people in the room raised their hands and chose not to answer the tenth question. A ripple effect occurred; the more people raised their hands, the more they inspired others to do the same.

I looked toward Naruto, who was steady in his determination.

It was different from the show.

In the show, Naruto was similarly contemplating quitting, but his pride and guts won out in the end as he publicly declared his determination to stay. That public declaration inspired others to do the same, to risk it all on the final question.

I wonder what happened to change that.

"48 left. All right, is there anyone else who wants to leave?"

No one else raised their hands.

"Well then, I admire your determination at the very least. There's nothing more for me to say other than ... you've all passed the first part of the Chunin Exams!"

"Whatttttt?" (Sakura)

"All right, believe it!" (Naruto)

"Sigh, what a drag. I have to do more of this." (-.-)

"Yeahhh!" (Choji)

"What about the tenth question?" (Tenten)

"Heh, there never was the tenth question. Not a written one, at least. The tenth question was whether you would stay or not."

"Hold on. What about all the other nine questions, then? Did we take them for nothing?"

"Of course not. The first nine questions evaluated your ability to gather information. We will still use that information in decided whether or not you are worthy to be Chunin. The real test, however, was whether you would risk a permanent disadvantage for that information."

He took his headband off, revealing a head full of scars and burns.

Most people gasped, some stayed silent, and some quivered at the sight. "Information can be one of the most valuable things in a mission. Your ability to gather information can determine whether you succeed or fail in a mission. Sometimes, you'll have to risk your life to get that information! You'll have to face death bravely and do whatever you must to get that information! For the good of your mission and comrades! This is what it means to be a shinobi! Some think they can become Chunin while sacrificing their honor and comrades, but as long as I'm here, they will never be Chunin!"

It was an empowering speech, however, one that was sadly interrupted by the shattering of the window.

"Listen up, everyone! This is no time for celebration! I am Anko Mitarashi, your next exam proctor!"

"You're early again, Anko."

"Ah."

"..."

"Anyway, seems like you eliminated a good amount, Ibiki. But by the time I finish with them, more than half of these losers will be out."

"More than half? For real?" (Tenten)

"Yeah, for real, little girl. This is going to be fun. Listen up, meet me at 10 am sharp tomorrow! I'll give your instructors the details on where we're going to meet."

"Ah, Mrs. Mitarashi." (Aizen)

"What do you want, punk? And don't call me Mrs. I'm still a young woman!"

"Yeah, sure. Anyway, I don't have a team or instructor, so where will I know where to meet you?"

"You don't?"

"He's the exception for this year, remember? The Hokage went over this."

"Oh yeah, the one doing the Chunin Exam on their own. Anyway, you can follow one of these punks tomorrow. It's not that big of a deal."

"All right."

"Dismissed!"

We all got up from our seats and began leaving.

All team members met and walked out of the door together, leaving me to walk out alone.

When I walked out, I saw the Rookie 9 standing together in a group.

A melancholic smile spread under my mask.

I wanted to celebrate with them as well, as Aizen, however, my situation does not allow for that.

Honestly, I haven't even been called my real name for years. Kira has effectively become my name.

Still, I walked up to them and posed a question.

"Hey, guys. Since I don't have an instructor, I was wondering if I could follow one of you tomorrow morning?"

The group looked at each other until one person spoke up.

"Uh, sure, you can follow me! Believe it! Just meet me at the Third Training Ground tomorrow!"

"Thank you very much, Naruto. I'll see you all tomorrow, then."

I walked away from the group, going to a place I'd been dreaming about for years.

"Sir, can I have four extra large miso ramen with extra pork?"

"Sure, coming right up!" (Teuchi)

After ten minutes of waiting, the moment finally arrived.

I stopped myself from crying before taking a deep breath, inhaling the wonderfully exquisite smell of the ramen.

I couldn't eat with my mask, so I slammed the chopsticks on the table and ejected chakra, putting Teuchi and Ayame under a Genjutsu.

The Genjutsu showed that my mask was still on, a simple one.

Of course, they were going to question how I could eat through my mask, but I didn't care about that right now.

I used my chopsticks to pick up the ramen, intently looking at every single noodle.

I brought the ramen to my lips, feeling the incredibly soft texture, before stuffing all the noodles in my mouth and devouring them.

As soon as I started eating the ramen, fireworks exploded in my mind.

The texture, the taste, the smell, the presentation.

Everything was perfect!

My eyes became moist from the emotions I was undergoing. I've been fantasizing, dreaming, about this moment for years now. All the bland food from the Root and the sub-par food from other villages. In the end, nothing could compare to the heavenly flavor of Ichiraku's ramen.

I relished every little detail, ingrained every moment into my mindscape.

After savoring the taste, I began devouring the ramen. Bite by bite, bowl by bowl.

I threw all my manners out of the window as I experienced the heavenly flavor coursing through my taste buds.

Soon, I consumed all the food as my stomach developed a comically large bulge. Slurping up the soup from the ramen, I licked the bowls before I was finally satisfied and stood up from the seat.

I paid Teuchi and thanked him with about as much sincerity as Gai earlier this day.

"Thank you so much for the heavenly food, sir. I will never forget this divine moment."

"Heh, you've got a slick tongue, don't you? You remind me of one of my customers. You two even say the same thing. I'm glad you enjoyed the food." (Teuchi)

He flashed me a smile and gave me a thumbs-up, which I happily returned.

I exited the shop and started walking around Konoha. People were all excited, thinking about the Chunin Exams.

The atmosphere was very vibrant since some people from other villages were there as well.

They were probably merchants who came to profit off the Chunin Exams, but, still, the atmosphere was lively.

Soon, night came, and I discovered a minor problem.

"I don't have anywhere to sleep."

I couldn't go to my old apartment, and no one would let a stranger sleep in their house.

Sigh.

I bought some camping gear and made my way to the forest.

After laying down all the gear, I sat on the ground and began meditating. A lot of things happened today that I needed to reflect on.

First of all, the differences in everyone's character.

Shikamaru had some calluses on his hands, meaning he was doing more than just shogi and napping.

Choji also had more calluses than Shikamaru, and while he seemed the same weight, that was also because of his clan's jutsu.

Sasuke was more social and had more mastery over his Sharingan than in the anime.

Finally, Naruto. Not only did Naruto not perform his iconic 'I'm never giving up' speech, but he was also more self-assured. In the anime, he was practically pooping his pants about the tenth question, but now his eyes held no confusion or doubt.

I guess even though I tried to keep the plot consistent, which it is, divergences in character and personality are inevitable. They have different experiences after all, which constitute a different person. It wasn't a big deal, just something to keep watch of.

I went into my mindscape a bit, compressing memories, and then went to sleep.

The next day after some light training and stretching, I made my way to the Third Training Ground.

There, I saw Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke standing next to each other with no sight of Kakashi.

"Good morning, everybody."

"Good morning, Kira!" (Naruto)

"Mm." (Sasuduck)

"Good morning." (Sakura)

It became awkward afterward since I was a 'stranger' to them.

"You're a Konoha ninja, right? So how come I've never seen you around?" (Sakura)

"Well, one might say my circumstances are a bit special."

"Huh? What does that mean?" (Naruto)

"You'll find out soon."

After saying that, Kakashi conveniently appeared on a branch behind us, though I knew he was listening to me the entire time.

"Ahh, sorry I'm late, guys. A cat stumbled onto my path, and I somehow found myself lost on the road of life." (Kakashi)

"That's bullshit! You always say that!" (Naruto)

Though Sakura and Sasuke didn't say anything, they both nodded to show their confirmation.

"Anyway, I have the location for the next part of the Chunin Exams." (Kakashi)

On that note, all three became serious and waited for Kakashi to tell them.

"Ah? Where was it again?"

Comically falling onto the ground, Naruto sprung, ready to give Kakashi hell, but before he could do so, Kakashi spoke up.

"Your Chunin Exams will continue at the Forty-Fourth Training Ground."

"Where is that?" (Sakura)

"Ah, here's a map. It's 9:30, so you better hurry and get there before you're late." (Kakashi)

"And who's fault is that!?" (Naruto and Sakura)

Kakashi proceeded to body flicker away, leaving a cloud of smoke and leaves behind.

We started making our way to the training ground, eventually getting there after 15 minutes.

Not wanting to cause any more changes in the plot or characters, I decided to separate from Team 7. After all, my escape and retaliation plan relied on Orochimaru invading the Leaf and keeping most shinobi busy, busy enough to not care about little old me.

Speaking of Orchirmaru, I spotted the long lanky lady with the straw hat on. One of the Sannin was standing right in front of my eyes, disguised and ready to invade and destroy Konohagakure.

As soon as I laid my eyes on 'her', she turned out and looked at me, giving me a terrifying smile and licking her lips in the process.

Orochimaru was pretty creepy.

I averted my gaze and focused my attention back on Anko, who began explaining the training ground.

"This training ground has another name, the Forest of Death. I'm sure you'll realize why soon." (Anko)

After Naruto mocked Anko for trying to scare everyone, she threw a kunai in his direction which he dodged.

Orochimaru creepily handed her back the kunai with his unusually long tongue, creepily remarking about how blood makes him bloodthirsty, before creepily returning to 'her' position.

What a creep.

"Anyway, before we begin the Chunin Exams, let me explain the rules to you. Each team will receive one of two scrolls, the Earth scroll or the Heaven Scroll. Half of all the teams, which would be 9, will receive an Earth Scroll, while the other half get a Heaven Scroll. You have 5 days to bring both scrolls to the tower located directly in the middle of the Forest of Death." (Anko)

"That means at least half of the teams here will be disqualified." (Sakura)

"I have a question! What do we do about food?" (Choji)

"Be self-sufficient! There are all kinds of animals and berries here. There's more than enough food for everyone here." (Anko)

"I have a question. Is killing allowed?"

Anko looked toward me, who asked the question. She smiled before saying,

"Of course, I don't recommend killing anyone, however, it is not banned."

"Thank you for your answer."

At that answer, everyone broke out into murmurs. The reality of the test they were about to take just set in. The possibility of death was exemplified to everyone when it brought up how murder was allowed.

"Now, time for some other rules. There are three ways to get disqualified, not collecting both scrolls and reaching the tower within the time limit, not showing up with all three members, whether they are dead or incapacitated, and opening the scrolls before reaching the tower."

"What happens if you open them halfway through?" (Kabuto)

"Heh, you'll find out if you do. Now, before I distribute the scrolls, I should let you know one more thing."

She paused for a moment, setting the atmosphere, before grinning and saying,

"They call it the Forest of Death for a reason. It's because the forest is filled with man-eating animals, poisonous bugs, poisonous plants, and much more, so never let your guard down because if you do..."

Leaving the sentence unfinished, she allowed the news to set in before saying,

"All right, time to distribute the scrolls."

They set up a cover before calling in teams and giving them a scroll.

I got the Heaven Scroll.

After all the scrolls were distributed, the teams were separated and brought to a different gate. There are exactly forty-four gates surrounding the Forest of Death, so the chance of meeting another team early on if you weren't looking for one was slim to none.

A shinobi brought me to the third gate and I entered the Forest of Death once again.

Looking around, I couldn't recognize where I was, so I just walked forward.

After about twenty minutes of walking, I spotted a group hiding inside a bush.

Grinning, I performed the body flicker technique and appeared right behind them.

"So, you're saying that all we have to do is wait for some wimpy-looking people to come, Shikamaru?" (Ino)

"Yeah, what's the point of wearing ourselves out with a tough battle when we could just steal the scroll from some weak people." (Shikamaru)

"Omnomnom, I agree. We can just wait for a group that just got out of battle." (Choji)

"Jeez, you guys are so cowardly. I like it!" (Ino)

"Yeah yeah, I like it too."

The three started shivering before looking around and seeing me.

They all leaped away, trying to distance themselves from me, but I appeared right behind them anyway.

"Oh? Where are you guys going?"

Shikamaru was the first to react, taking three shurikens and launching them toward me.

I took a kunai out and deflected all of them, but it was still impressive that he kept a cool head in this situation.

Choji reacted as well, charging toward me and punching me.

"Partial Expansion Jutsu!"

At the last moment, the hand he was using to punch me expanded, hitting my body and launching me toward a tree.

"Got him!"

Before he could celebrate, however, the body turned to a piece of wood, revealing me standing on top of a tree.

"That was pretty good. You almost got me with that, Choji Akimichi."

I was impressed. Although nowhere near my level, Choji had already reached low Chunin rank. That attack would have broken one of my ribs if it hit. Just one, though.

Choji charged at me again, this time with his expanded arm. I prepared to catch his arm, but at the last second, his movements suddenly changed as instead of a right hook coming toward me, he spun around and tried to backhand me with his fist.

I moved my left hand from the left side of my face to the right and caught his hand, though I felt some numbness after doing so.

I wasn't exactly specialized in either strength or confrontation. My style was more about avoiding damage while dealing as much as I could.

Even with that, however, I was still an Elite Jonin. My physique was much better than Choji's, and so were my strength and endurance. The numbness in my arm would fade in a bit due to my superior healing factor.

"Again, impressive."

I was referencing Shikamaru in this instance.

At the last moment, he used the Shadow Possession Jutsu to take control of Choji's body and perform those movements. Normally, shifting the body's momentum like that is too demanding and counter-productive, but because Shikamaru had no motion, to begin with, the change in momentum was successful.

"You guys have pretty good teamwork, don't you?"

"Damn, so close. Listen, man, I thought you said we should ask you for help." (Shikamaru)

"Of course, you can. As far as I remember, I haven't attacked you guys once. You guys were on the offensive this entire time."

Shikamaru crunched his face in annoyance before letting the shadow possession go. Choji leaped back toward Shikamaru and Ino, who were processing all that just happened.

I stayed on the tree, deciding to tease them just a bit more.

"So, what scroll do you guys have?"

They tensed up at the question, opting to stay quiet.

"Heh, I'm just messing with you guys. I don't care what scroll you have. I just happened to run into you guys."

"What a drag."

"All right, I have to go get a scroll now. Good luck."

"Thanks." (Choji)

After saying that, I left them alone and went looking for an Earth Scroll. After running for an hour, I found another team, this time with people I didn't know.

I showed up directly in front of the two girls and one boy and stated my intentions.

"Listen, guys. I'll make this simple. We're both going to show our scrolls at the same time. If we have the same one, I'll be on my way, but if not, we'll fight for the scroll. What do you say?"

Instead of talking, the girl in the middle took out a kunai and launched it at me.

All three of them were Konoha ninjas, so I wasn't going to kill any of them, but that didn't mean I wouldn't take their scroll.

I caught the kunai and ran toward the three of them. The guy seemed to have a good build, so I opted for taking him out first.

"He's fast!"

I appeared in front of him and straightforwardly punched him. He put his guard up, but my punch was only a feint as I kicked him in the stomach and launched him toward a tree.

His back hit the tree and consciousness faded from him.

I turned back to the girls, who were trembling. The one who launched the kunai at me was fumbling with her pouch, trying to get more kunai to throw at me.

I threw the kunai at her, impaling her in the thigh. She fell in pain as I dashed toward the last ninja.

Before I could reach her, however, she had taken a scroll out and was presenting it to me.

It was a Heaven scroll, the same one I had.

I took my scroll out as well and showed it to the two conscious members of the team.

"Look at that. We have the same scroll. That meant this entire fight could have been avoided, huh?"

The girl I impaled with a kunai had tears streaming down her face as she realized what that meant.

"Oh well, what can you do? Just treat this as a lesson, why don't you?"

She didn't respond to me, so I took out a kunai from my pouch and repeated the question.

"I said, treat this as a lesson, why don't you?"

This time she nodded her head. I went up to the girl with the Heaven Scroll and took it from her hands.

"Maybe this will be useful."

After saying that, I left in search of another team. I did need an Earth Scroll, after all.

Deciding I wanted to speed things up, I made the Ram seal and started sensing around me.

My range was extraordinary, more than a kilometer, but that was only a fraction of the Forest of Death.

I ran another 10 minutes before doing the same thing, this time I picked up on some chakra signatures.

One of the chakras was particularly strong, stronger than me even.

I raced toward that spot, knowing who it was.

When I got there, I saw Sakura holding an unconscious Naruto and Sasuke battling Orochimaru.

He had him captive with wires on a tree as he did the hand signs for the Fire Release: Dragon Flame Jutsu and set Orochimaru on fire.

He jumped away in victory, joining Sakura, however that victory was short-lived.

Orochimaru walked out of the flames, largely unscathed except for the melting flesh on his face.

Under that skin was another person.

"Heh, very nice, Sasuke. I'm looking forward to you getting the best score on these exams. I'll see you again soon. Very soon."

His neck extended toward Sasuke, who dodged at the last second. It seems that Shikamaru, Choji, and Naruto aren't the only ones who changed.

Orochimaru's head hit the tree before extending back toward Sasuke, who was running.

His Sharingan deactivated on its own from his lack of chakra. His body lagged, which allowed Orochimaru to sink his teeth into Sasuke's neck.

"Good. I gave you a nice parting gift. I'm looking forward to how this will play out. Soon, you will seek me out on your own, searching for my power."

After saying that, Orochimaru sank into the tree, leaving Team 7 behind.

I followed behind him, interested in what was happening.

"Seems like I have a little pest on my trail."

Orochimaru stopped on a tree before looking back at me.

"Orochimaru, one of the three Sannin. I didn't think I'd meet you here."

"I didn't think so either, Kira."

Did he know me?

"What a fine specimen you are, Kira. Or should I say, Aizen Sosuke?"

I took out my tanto and prepared for battle.

"If you only you were a suitable host. Tsk tsk, what a shame. Your battle is not with me, Kira. After all, your master and I are on the same side."

Danzo?

"How are you involved with Lord Danzo?"

"It seems that he hasn't told you. Danzo and I are partners for now. Soon, the Leaf Village will be destroyed, and your master will be the new Hokage. Instead of raising your sword in hostility, you should be supporting me."

I stayed silent, not knowing what to say. This was all new information.

"Since we've sorted everything out now, Kira, I'm afraid it's time for me to part. I'm looking forward to your results in the Chunin Exams as well, Aizen."

He melded into the tree again, disappearing.

I crouched on the tree in thought. Not only did Danzo tell Orochimaru about me, but he was also in partnership with Orochimaru.

Now it made sense how Kabuto knew so much about me; my information was leaked to Orochimaru.

I didn't know Danzo's involvement in the Konoha Crush, but that didn't matter to me.

I was going to be disappearing soon, after all.

I started sensing for another team, finding one before traveling to them. This time, I didn't waste time and killed them all.

Danzo had told me to eliminate some foreign shinobi, after all. I still had to report to him during the month break between the preliminaries and the final part of the Chunin Exams.

I stole their scroll, which was finally the Earth, and started heading toward the tower in the middle.

After reaching it, I discarded the Heaven Scroll into a random bush before entering and opening the scrolls.

What greeted me was Iruka's excited face, one which became more apprehensive at my appearance.

"Hello, Kira. I congratulate you for surviving the Chunin Exams! We Chunin are supposed to greet you when you open the scrolls and impart a message to you. Don't lose sight of yourself in the process of becoming a ninja. If one does lose their intentions, one must look both outwardly and inwardly to remember what is important to them. Now, you can go rest in the tower until all the other ninjas come."

"Yes, thank you, Iruka."

'How did he know my name?" (Iruka)

I left Iruka after that, somewhat sad that my teacher didn't recognize me. I went to the lounging room of the tower, where I found the Sunagakure siblings already there.

I sat away from them, opting to close my eyes and meditate rather than talk to them. They seemed content with leaving me be as well.

That was how the next four days went, people coming and keeping to themselves and their team. Finally, at the end of the five days, we all started gathering together.

The Hokage was in the middle of the room, as were a bunch of other Jonin and Chunin.

I could see Kakashi, Gai, Kurenai, and Asuma gathered together while other Jonin were around the room.

Looking around, I could see 20 other people in the room.

That meant that out of the 48 people who reached the second part of the Chunin Exams, only 21, including myself, made it out.

"Hello, everyone. Before I tell you what the third part of the Chunin Exams entails, I want to tell you about the true nature of these exams."

"True nature?" (Tenten)

"The purpose of the Chunin Exams is not only to select worthy Genin to become Chunin but it is also used as a microcosm of the strength of the Villages. Using the Chunin Exams, the Villages can develop information about each other's strengths while building bonds and friendships between each other."

"Information, huh?" (Shikamaru)

"As Ibuki has said, information is vital to a mission and a Village. Another reason we conduct these Chunin Exams is so that we develop greater economic strengths and relationships. Feudal lords and those looking to employ shinobi are invited to the final part of the Chunin Exams, thus developing trust for the Village with strong and promising shinobi. If one Village shows overwhelming strength during the exams, clients will be more likely to trust and employ shinobi from that Village. You must remember while carrying out the Chunin Exams that you possess your nation's pride on your back as well."

Everyone took some time processing the information before the Hokage continued,

"Now then, I will explain the third part of the Chunin Exams."

Before he could, however, he was interrupted by Hayate, who said

"Excuse me, Lord Hokage. I was wondering if I, as the third part of the Chunin Exam's proctor, could explain the rules of the exam."

After the Hokage nodded at him, Hayate turned to us before saying,

"*Cough, cough* Before we begin the final part of the Chunin Exams, you all are *cough cough* going to have to do something beforehand."

"What's up with this sick guy?" (Kankuro)

"What do we have to do?" (Choji)

"You will have to participate in the preliminaries to the third exam, with participation to it on the line."

"What? Why do we have to go through this? We already made it through the second part of the Chunin Exams." (Shikamaru)

"The first and second exams were too easy. Usually, after the first and second exams, less than 10 people would be left for the final battle. This time, however, there are more than 20. Under the rules of the Chunin Exams, a preliminary battle is to be held to lower the number of people advancing. As the Hokage has mentioned, there will be a lot of *cough cough* important guests coming to the final exam. We can't have long and drawn-out battles boring them."

"That's unfair though!" (Ino)

"Yeah, why do we have to drop out just because you guys don't want to be bored!?" (Kiba)

"That's just how it *cough cough cough* works. Now, we'll be holding the preliminaries immediately, so anyone who isn't fit for battle should drop out now."

At that remark, someone raised their hand, that someone being Kabuto. After Naruto asked him why he said he had reached his limits and started heading out.

Sakura also seemed to want to raise her hand, but Sasuke stopped her before she could.

"20 people. Good, now we can begin the battles. Everyone will be fighting individual battles, so get ready to put *cough cough cough cough* your skills on display rather than your teamwork. This electronic screen will display two random names who will fight. The first fight is..."