Chapter 21 -  Problematic People

D - Let it happen. It doesn't matter anyway, as Shinji doubted anyone was able to reveal anything people didn't know. From what he saw from Lee's Card, only what he was good at was revealed, and nothing about the Eight Gates. (New Perk!)

________

Chapter 21 - Problematic People

Shinji decided to not intervene and see how this would play out; he too was curious to see how much information Kabuto had on him. Knowing how much a potential enemy knew of him could be useful later on. As long as core techniques weren't revealed, then Shinji saw no reason to not let the guy with the spy-like abilities show just how good he was at his job.

Also by Sayuri's reaction Shinji could somewhat guess that she and Kabuto knew of each other. Maybe the same spy organization? Well, he already knew that she must be some kind of spy, and Kabuto likely is one too. While Shinji didn't pry too much into her secrets, he wasn't naive and already somewhat had a grasp on what was going on.

Of course, this was all just suspicion without any definite proof. But he made sure to keep an eye out for the small details which might become useful in the future.

*Poof*

The card showed itself, as by using chakra information was burned into it.

========

Name: Shinji

Gender: Male

Nin: Very High

Tai: Very High

Gen: High

Tool: Low

Kekkei Genkai: None

Speed: Very High

Strength: High

Stamina: High

IQ: Very High

Teammates:

Yamato (Jonin Teacher)

Kota Harada

Sayuri

Missions:

D Rank: 16

C Rank: 1

B Rank: 0

A Rank: 0

S Rank: 0

=======

"Hmmm, Shinji, out of all the ninjas here, I would say that he is the most well-balanced one," Kabuto commented, a small smirk raising to his face.

At the same time, Shinji felt Sayuri next to him gasp. "H -How did he find out?" She whispered, shocked, her eyes were wide in surprise. "Don't tell me… he took matters into his own hands. But when? His information should have been blocked, I made sure even his hospital records-"

Shinji nudged her. "Careful," that seemed to wake Sayuri up from her mental shock. "You're thinking out loud," he then smiled at his teammate. Even he was a little surprised seeing Sayuri so worked up. "Don't worry about such things too much. The past can't be changed. Concentrate on the present."

That seemed to calm the panicking Sayuri. Looking around, she was glad that no one, other than Shinji, had heard her delirious whispering.

"Sorry about that," she apologized to Shinji. "And thank you for not prying into my secrets."

She had enveloped both of them in a jutsu that stopped the transmission of the sound of their surroundings. It was usually used for stealth missions by Anbu, to not allow the users to make any sound as they move. But with such a high mastery over it just reinforced Shinji's theory that Sayuri is a spy.

"Woah. You must be some super high-ranking spy for you to get a technique like this," Shinji chuckled. He wasn't worried about which village her loyalties lay, but if she could teach him some new Jutsu, then he would be happy either way.

Sayuri sighed. "You would be surprised just how lacking in control when spreading out certain techniques a certain someone is. He doesn't care about the potential harm they might cause. Also at least act surprised, or like you didn't know."

"Hmm, is that so…" Shinji smiled at her and nodded, ignoring her latter comment. Why act surprised when he already had a theory that was seemingly quite correct the more he saw into it. "Don't worry. I know you won't do something harmful to me."

Shinji wasn't the kind of guy who would trust someone blindly, but with what he had seen until now, the chances of Sayuri working against him were very unlikely. Whether she was a spy or not didn't matter, as spies were human too, able to develop feelings, and she was a good friend. If Sayuri hadn't taught him many things that she shouldn't know already, then Shinji knew that he likely wouldn't have caught onto her real identity.

Maybe she wanted to reveal herself to him? But didn't know how to do it in a good way and just did it through Jutsu? Well, Shinji, again, didn't know that for a fact.

Sayuri clenched her hand at that. "Damn," she looked down. "If you keep saying things like that…"

Whatever she was about to say was interrupted as Kabuto continued explaining. "In the Academy he didn't show any signs of being too special. Though his grades during tests were quite good, even though he didn't seem to try that hard in academic studies and cared more about the jutsu aspect of studying. But under his Jonin teacher's tutelage, Shinji showed genius-like progress. While Sasuke might have been rookie of the year, Shinji can be considered as the strongest of that generation."

'This guy has a lot of information on me. While he might have not said out loud what my elemental nature is, or where my weaknesses might lie… he probably knows.'

Shinji made sure to make a mental note of Kabuto and keep an eye on him but wasn't too worried enough to panic about what he might know. Shinji didn't have any absolute weakness. Whether it was Ninjutsu, Taijutsu, or Genjutsu, he would consider himself moderately competent for his rank in each of the categories.

This guy was very suspicious. But for now, there wasn't anything he could do about Kabuto, instead, Shinji made sure to observe the others and what they thought of

him.

If Kabuto turns out to be as dangerous as Shinji thinks he is, then it would be good to have a trap prepared. One where he would be destroyed, after all, he didn't like leaving people, who seem to be dangerous to someone close to him, to run about freely.

He didn't know the exact situation with Sayuri, but he had a rough guess of what was going on here. But Kabuto… well, a lot of ninjas die every now and then, Sayuri's worry won't last for long.

Shinji wasn't planning on a direct confrontation, but a more stealthy approach to things. He had never done something like this before. But there was a first time for everything.

And of course, this will all be handled cautiously, as so was Shinji's nature of doing things. These were all plans for now, but as soon as the Chunin Exams were over, he planned to have a talk with Sayuri and make sure that her past didn't come to haunt them or put them in danger.

"What?!" Ino screeched. "How would you know that Shinji, who I don't even remember being in our classroom, ends up stronger than Sasuke -kun? Your information sucks, and it's probably untrue."

Shikamaru shrugged. "Actually…" but he stopped himself from saying anything as he noticed the blazing stare Ino sent him, so in the end, finding the situation too troublesome he decided to concede. "Sure, sure, whatever you say."

The Nara Clan heir glanced toward Sasuke and Sakura, which didn't refute the claims of Shinji's strength and by the look on his eyes, the lazy guy seems to have figured something out.

"Hey, hey, don't talk bad about Shinji with me around," Kota intervened before anyone could say anything more. He pulled out his sword, his gaze as sharp as a kunai, ready to cut down anyone who had the guts to bad mouth his friend. "I will slit your throat you stupid bitch."

"What did you say?!" Ino, not knowing fear didn't back down in her confrontation. But as Kota got closer she stepped back, as a fearful gaze came to her eyes as she saw his sword. Immediately, Choji and Shikamaru stood in front of her. Now she seemed to understand that some people were truly dangerous here.

Shinji, seeing that the situation might develop into another fight, put his hand on Kota's shoulder and as his friend glanced at him, he shook his head. "C'mon now. This is enough."

That was enough to convey the message. "Sorry, got too worked up there," Kota sighed, putting his sword back in its sheath. "It's just seeing these people bad mouth you, even after all the hard work… It just leaves a bad taste in my mouth. They have no idea what you have gone through."

The hours Shinji put into training were many. But he didn't consider his hard work that special. It was just what he had to do, to be able and keep up with the others.

Suddenly a heavy murderous intent crashed toward Shinji, like a tidal wave, looking toward the source, it was a red-haired Genin with the word love written on his forehead.

'What a heavy bloodlust, it makes a chill go down my spine. I don't think even the average jonin can develop such killing intent.'

Despite what he thought, Shinji didn't show even an ounce of fear towards Gaara, not even a trace of it, while the bloodlust seemed to increase. Until it suddenly stopped as Shinji looked the source right in the eyes.

'For now, it isn't good to draw too much attention to ourselves. But it seems like many of the favored Genin in this exam have their eyes on me.'

The red-haired guy, the Hyuga, Lee, and that guy with the bandages who is peering at Kabuto with murderous intent seem like the biggest threats in this exam. Plus, Kabuto himself too. For now, these were the ones that Shinji had pointed out in his mind to keep an eye out for.

Also, he noticed that Lee seemed a little tired and out of it, likely due to the backlash from his Eight Gates.

Fwish!

Suddenly, the bandaged guy and his teammates moved through the crowd. Taking note of their headbands, Shinji saw that they had the sound village sign.

If he remembered correctly, he had read in some newspaper that the Sound Village was a relatively new hidden village, they're very mysterious too. It's only due to curiosity and reading the news around the world that Shinji knew such a village even existed. But except for its existence, he didn't know anything else about it.

'Did something happen before I came here?' - He wondered as what seemed to be the leader of the Sound Team punched toward Kabuto. Due to the tense atmosphere, and everyone looking toward them, no one else except him seemed to have noticed the Sound ninja coming.

"Hey!" Naruto suddenly yelled, breaking the silence and tense atmosphere. He turned toward the other ninjas, who were sitting on the desks, and some that were laying down on them. "My name is Naruto Uzumaki, and I won't lose to any of you bastards!!"

His yell seemed to gain everyone's attention, and the anger was palpable.

'How… stupid. Didn't Naruto see how Sasuke and his team got destroyed by just Lee? How could he say something like this now? What a fool seems like he hasn't changed at all from his academy days.'

"Those are some big words," muttered Kiba. "What a show-off."

"What a moron, he just turned everyone here into his enemy," added Shikamaru, moving himself to the back of the crowd.

Sakura was the first to react, getting her teammate in a chokehold and looking towards the other Genin. "S -Sorry, he was just joking."

"Huh? What're you talking about? I was being honest." Naruto, of course, spilled out the truth anyways.

Shinji almost signed but was infinitely glad that none of them were in his team. Also, Sasuke's team seemed to be too chaotic, with Naruto being a loud mouth and his orange clothes, that Shinji thought he would abandon as a Genin. Though he could use transformation to cover that during missions, it still wasn't a good idea to wear such clothes, as transformation couldn't be held forever and sounded like useless work. That could easily be solved by wearing normal clothes.

Especially in an exam like this. To do such a thing, it showed to Shinji that Team 7 had one of the worst dynamics here. If not the worst.

Fwosh!

Finally, the Sound Team arrived, which to Shinji they were moving kind of slow, maybe it was due to fighting Lee not so long ago. The one with the spiky hair, and strange holes in his hands threw two kunai at Kabuto, who dodged by jumping back. The bandaged guy, with the strange device in his hand, punched toward Kabuto. He was able to dodge the attack, by a hair's length.

But something strange happened, as his glasses cracked. "Ah, so it was that kind of attack," he muttered, before falling to his knees and throwing up. *Blugh!*

Shinji's eyes narrowed, peering at the strange device on the bandaged man's arm.

"Heh, get that in your stupid info cards," said the spiky-haired Sound ninja. "The Sound Team is going to become Chunin during this exam."

'That attack. Kabuto dodged it, I saw that. But, there was some secret to that Sound guy's attack… wait… sound. Ah, so that's probably the trick to it. In the future, it seems like in a fight, I will have to keep my distance from those guys during a fight.'

Though Shinji was impressed by the ability, he wasn't impressed by the user. Why show something like that? Just because your little pride got hurt? You're a ninja, not a samurai. That pride had revealed a dangerous ability that even Shinji might have gotten done in by. Though now, that same ability had now become useless against him.

'A battle between ninjas isn't one of just power or jutsu, but also one of information too. There are countless abilities out there, and every jutsu has a weakness. Also… that tool in his arm.'

Shinji didn't know the exact mechanics of the arm, but he wouldn't mind studying such a thing. As it would be especially deadly in close-quarters combat. If he had something like this when he fought Lee previously, he would have easily won.

Sayuri frowned and tugged Shinji's shirt slightly, signaling him that those guys would be troublesome too. Nodding, they all went together and sat down at one of the desks. They had assigned seats different from each other, but Shinji made sure that he knew their positions.

*POOOF*

In a burst of smoke, a man wearing a black coat, with many chunin wearing light gray, almost white uniforms next to him appeared behind Kabuto, Naruto, Kiba, and the others that had gathered at the entrance.

"Oy, you brats, how about you go to your seats," Ibiki Morino intervened, appearing out of a cloud of smoke. The look on his face was emotionless, but the scars made him somewhat seem angry.

Since the setting places were in the application letters, everyone found their place and Shinji was a little surprised to see that the female member of the Sound Team was the one who sat down next to him. He didn't know if this was a good opportunity or an unnecessary annoyance.

Sneakily reading the name in her application letter, he saw that it was Kin Tsuchi. Turning towards him, she smirked. "Shinji, right? The four-eyes said a lot about you. If I was in your place, I would have cut off that fool's hand."

Shinji smiled politely. "Yes, that was a little unpleasant. Even if I was that strong, which I am not," he added. "Having others know about it is unpleasant."

He decided to use her dislike for Kabuto to his advantage. Words were free, so why not use them? Whether he might have to kill her or not later, it didn't matter in the general gist of things.

"Heh, I knew it, that guy's information sucks," she said confidently. "If…" Kin suddenly stopped just as she was about to say something. Staring at Shinji, her smirk widened a little. "You know, that teammate of yours is quite infamous for being cruel. It's surprising to see her acting like this. I know of her from back in the day, she was merciless. Do you know that she's hiding quite a lot of things from you? Is she really someone who cares about her teammates or is that all just an act?"

By the smirk on her face, Shinji could read the girl in front of him like an open book. She wanted to sow discord between his teammates.

Unlike some ninja today though, he knew when to keep his mouth shut and not say anything that would ruin his chances. Sure, let his competition assume whatever they want, assumptions don't change facts.

So acting out his part Shinji frowned, looking disturbed as he was given a test paper. From the corner of his eye, he saw Kin smirking, as if she had already won.

'Why is there so much arrogance in this Chunin Exam? Sasuke, the Sound Team. Sure it might be just four ninjas amongst over a hundred. But that's still way too much for a Ninja. Arrogance doesn't have a place in our line of work.'

Shinji wondered if his understanding of what it means to be a ninja had been an overstatement. After all, they were still human and had their vanities.

"Okay, now that everyone has their papers, let me explain how this exam will work," Ibiki gathered everyone's attention. "This exam will have ten questions, nine will be on the paper. The last question will be revealed 45 minutes after the start of the exam. Those caught cheating will be disqualified."

His eyes roamed around the classroom, as Chunin took their seats by the side, ready to see if anyone would dare to try and cheat in front of them.

"Also, if one of your teammates is caught, the whole team goes with you," Ibiki smirked cruelly.

It was at that moment that Shinji could tell what was happening. 'That man, he is probably a T&I specialist. He is re-enacting this just to make everyone here nervous.'

Shinji acted as Kin expected him to act, a little nervous, though trying to now show it on the outside. The best time to crush someone is when they think they've already won.

Unlike most Genin here, Shinji was wholeheartedly into the ninja career. Whether it came to lying, tricking, or killing, he didn't mind any of them. He has made sure that when he becomes a ninja, he will always keep the right mentality. Seeing what arrogance had done to someone like Sasuke, chills ran down his spine.

'I must make sure that something like that never happens to me. No matter how strong I become, I must never let arrogance take hold of me.'

With those resolute thoughts, Shinji glanced at his test paper and his frown deepened. The questions in it were hard, something that no Genin… no, not even most Chunin would be able to solve them. So it was clear to him, immediately, that the induction of this exam was encouraging them to cheat in a way that they wouldn't be noticed.

'Information gathering. That's the goal of this exam.'

Though Shinji knew some of the answers to the questions himself. So the difficulty of the test was quite clear since, in the Academy, he was one of the best in theoretical knowledge.

Looking around, Shinji noticed that even Kin seemed nervous. What should he do now? He contemplated that for a second.

_________

[CHOOSE ONE, and white it down in the comments below:]

A - Help your teammates by using Genjutsu. Show them the answers by using Genjutsu to create a test paper with the answers you know in front of them.

B - Look around. Silently observe what abilities the others have. Shinji doesn't want to be caught by surprise by an ability like that of Dosu's.

C - Try to sabotage others, putting them under Genjutsu and much more. Shinji thinks this is the best stage to get rid of people he might not be able to beat in a fight.

D - Disregard everything else and concentrate on your exam.

_______

A/N: I rewrote the chapter from its initial version because I didn't like how it came out. That's why it was posted a little late.

Join discord where I post the dice rolls of the chapter and their effects. And discuss with other readers about plans for Shinji:

https://discord.gg/wbwRTqd7jr

_______