17. Second Exam Complete

"…Iruka-Sensei?" Naruto mumbled in surprise.

He and Hinata were both equally confused. After walking into the tower and realizing they needed to open both the heaven and earth scroll, their academy instructor, Umino Iruka, appeared in front of them in a cloud of smoke. The man looked at his two former students, a proud smile on his face.

"It's been awhile, hasn't it?" He joked. "I'm here to let you guys know that you all passed the second exam!"

"Hell yeah!" Naruto cheered as he jumped up and down. Shikamaru, who was still asleep on Naruto's back, was starting to mumble in his sleep about an earthquake. This caused Naruto to stop jumping and caused Hinata to giggle.

"…typical. I haven't seen him in months since you all graduated, and the first time I see him he is asleep. This feels nostalgic." Iruka said with a sigh.

"Shikamaru-Kun hasn't changed much, Iruka-Sensei." Hinata elaborated as she continued to giggle.

"I can see." The academy instructor said with another sigh. He then looked back at the awake members of Team Three with a smile. "I am proud of you all! I knew you would do great in your exam."

Naruto and Hinata returned his smile with a large smile of their own. Both of their smiles were filled with pride and happiness. It was evident to Iruka, who merely chuckled.

"I'd love to keep chatting with you guys, but I think you all might want to get to a room and let Shikamaru sleep on a bed. All of you genin teams will be staying in rooms down that hallway while you wait for the time limit to end. You can take any bedroom that isn't already used." Iruka stated as he pointed to a hallway to the left of the shinobi. "We all need to talk sometime soon. I'll treat you guys to ramen when the exam is over!"

"Thank you!" Hinata bowed to her former sensei.

"I'd love that dattebayo!" Naruto stated excitedly. "Thanks Iruka-Sensei!"

Iruka watched as the two genin rushed off down the hallway. The chūnin chuckled to himself.

'They don't have to call me Iruka-Sensei anymore. They aren't my students. And they'll probably be on my level soon too!' He noted, still chuckling. 'We really do need to get ramen again. I missed you all, my precious students...'

The bedrooms were all plain, simple rooms. There were three beds, one for each member of a genin team, along with a table and floor mats to the side of it. There was also a mini kitchen in the corner of the room. The room was simple, but comfortable.

Naruto laid Shikamaru on one of the beds in the room and covered him in a blanket. He and Hinata then walked out of the room.

The two walked down the hallway in comfortable silence until they were interrupted by a loud, familiar voice.

"I was wondering when you guys would get here!"

The two genin turned around and saw Anko walking towards them. Their jōnin sensei had a wide grin on her face.

"Anko-Sensei! What are you doing here?" Naruto asked as he and Hinata walked up to her.

"All of the jōnin senseis have been cooped up in this tower since the start of the second exam. We've been waiting for you brats to finish this exam already!" She answered as he her hands went towards her two students and ruffled their hair. An irritated groan came from Naruto's mouth and a gasp from Hinata's, which caused Anko to laugh. "Good to have you guys here and see that you all passed. Where's Shikamaru?"

The two genin pulled themselves away from their sensei before Naruto answered: "Asleep. We laid him on the bed in our room."

"Heh! Typical lazy ass! Eh, I'll harass him when he wakes up." Anko laughed. "So spill the dirt! How was the exam? You guys did finish pretty early, you know? It's only the second day after all."

Hinata was about to answer when she remembered something that happened early in the exam. Naruto remembered it as well. They needed to let their sensei know.

"…Anko-Sensei, we need to talk." Hinata said seriously.

"…okay? What's with all the doom and gloom?" Anko asked with confusion.

"During the exam, we were attacked." Naruto answered.

"…and?" Anko asked, still confused about what was so serious. "That's kind of what's supposed to happen, y'know? Genin attacking genin and shit. None of you guys seem really injured or anything either."

"We weren't attacked by another genin. It was Orochimaru." Hinata clarified.

All confusion left Anko's face. The tokubetsu jōnin's mouth fell wide open as she openly gaped in front of her students. Her eyes were wide. The scene could have been enough to make anyone, especially her students, laugh. Then…

"Excuse me?"

The shock on her face was converted to rage and anger. Her mouth turned to an angry scowl and her eyes were narrowed in rage. The snake summoner was also unconsciously releasing killing intent. The amount of rage projected from her was frightening to her students.

"H-He attacked us at the beginning of the exam. He knocked Hinata and m-me unconscious. The exam p-proctor apparently came and confronted him. If she didn't, Shikamaru thinks we would have p-probably been killed." Naruto answered with a slight stutter due to his sensei's killing intent.

The killing intend seemingly doubled along with Anko's rage. Her hands were clenched into fists. The tension in the room was nearly suffocating to the genin.

'I'm going to kill him…I'M GOING TO FUCKING KILL HIM!' Anko screamed in her head. Her killing intent was still increasing. 'Come at me all you want…try and make my life worse…but don't you DARE go after my students! You will regret this you piece of shit traitor! YOU WILL FUCKING-'

"A-Anko-Sensei?"

Anko was snapped out of her thoughts. Her students were not used to seeing her like this, and therefore, were quite scared of her right now. The tokubetsu jōnin frowned at the sight of them and did her best to calm down.

After her rage had calmed, another thought entered her mind. Anko's eyes widened again, but this time in fear.

'He wouldn't…no…' She immediately grabbed Naruto by the neck and pulled his jumpsuit's collar down slightly. All she saw was bare skin. Before he could say anything, she pushed him away and grabbed Hinata's neck. She studied it and saw only bare skin to. She released a sigh of relief. 'Thank God…they weren't marked…unless…'

"Anko-Sensei, what the-"

"Does Shikamaru have a strange mark on his neck?" Anko interrupted Naruto's sentence.

The two genin stared at their sensei in confusion. At one moment, she was filled with rage and genuinely terrifying. Now, she looked frantic and scared.

"…no. I didn't see anything." Hinata was the one to answer. She noticed Anko take another sigh of relief. "…Anko-Sensei, are you okay?"

"…yeah. I'm fine. I'm sorry about all of that." She apologized. "…I think we need to have a talk. All of us. Can you guys take me to Shikamaru? I'll wake him up…"

Both Naruto and Hinata nodded. The three shinobi walked down the hallway again in silence. Anko seemed in deep thought. Naruto and Hinata stared at their sensei. Although they were relieved to see her no longer enraged, they were still concerned.

The three walked inside Team Three's room. Shikamaru was still asleep. Anko walked over to the Nara, put her hand on his shoulder, and shook him gently.

"Ugh…Mom…I've already graduated the academy. I don't need to wake up early for it…" He grumbled in resistance.

The snake summoner had a slight smile on her face but she continued to push him. "Not your mother. Sorry, but we need to talk.

Around ten minutes passed before Shikamaru got himself out of bed and was awake enough to carry a conversation.

"…what is so important that we need to talk about now?" Shikamaru asked with a yawn.

"Orochimaru." His sensei answered.

Shikamaru's eyes widened and he made a conscious effort to wake himself up further. He knew he had to take this conversation seriously.

"Naruto told me you guys were attacked by him." The tokubetsu jōnin started. "…I know that bastard loves to hear himself talk. What did he say to you all? Did he mention anything about me?"

"He said that he was your sensei and that he wanted to see what your students could do in a fight." Shikamaru answered.

"…I see. Well, he wasn't lying. Back before he betrayed Konoha, Orochimaru was my sensei." Anko stated with a sigh. "…since that bastard has appeared again in my life and has now gone after you guys, I'd like to tell you my story with him. It'll probably explain a few things about myself and him. If anything, I'd like you guys to know why I may be a raging bitch in the next few days if anything happens involving him."

A moment of silence passed. Anko looked uncomfortable, as if she didn't want to talk about this, but she felt that she needed to. Eventually, she finally found the strength to speak against her discomfort.

"Orochimaru taking a genin team was a big deal. The Sannin were considered the best trio of ninjas ever assembled and they were only behind the Hokage in strength. Furthermore, the village just saw Jiraiya train a genin team that was becoming a legend of their own. So when it was announced that Orochimaru, who was considered the strongest of the Sannin, was going to be my sensei, I was fucking excited. I just knew I was going to become a legendary shinobi! My teammates thought so too…" Anko started. Her eyes instinctively started to water when she mentioned her teammates, but she shook her head and continued.

"We started out like a normal team. Basic missions and training. All that normal shit that every team goes through. Then…my teammates disappeared. No trace." Anko released a deep sigh, trying to fight back her tears again. She did so by shaking her head once more. "So…it was just me and Orochimaru. He took me up as his apprentice. This is when things really started to change. His teaching and his mannerisms became crueler. He was never the most emotional, warm-hearted person, but he was just getting down-right cold. But I had built up so much respect for him and the legacy that he had created for himself that I didn't care about any of the changes. It made me blind to who he was becoming…and the things he was doing…"

"…this is when Orochimaru began doing the research and experiments he is infamous for. And I actually helped him do some of the research…" Anko said, her voice now filled with shame. She couldn't hold back: tears were starting to come down her face. "…not like I knew what he was really doing, but I still helped. I finally realized the true horror of his experiments when he started doing them on me…"

Anko pulled down the collar of her trench coat and showed off her neck. A black seal was noticeable to her genin students. Naruto noticed something.

'Was that what Anko-Sensei was checking for earlier? If we had that thing?' Naruto wondered.

"This…is a curse seal: Orochimaru's Cursed Seal of Heaven. This seal provides those with it with extra chakra and power, but at a cost. The chakra given is Orochimaru's. His essence lives inside this damn seal. This essence taints the mind of those who have the seal: makes you more violent and power-hungry. And the survival rate of receiving this seal is low…" Anko looked down as her crying seemingly worsened. Her students walked forward to her and hugged her. "…I was the first one to survive receiving this seal. Everyone else he tried on had died…including my genin teammates."

Anko was now starting to shake, which only caused her students to tighten their hug. A few seconds of silence passed with the only noise being Anko's sobbing. Finally, she stopped shaking and crying long enough to continue.

"That piece of shit left Konoha soon after. The rest is history." She stated. "…that man has been hell in my life and it seems he's returned and set his eyes on you. I'm…I'm sorry about getting you all involved with him…"

"Sorry? Don't be sorry Anko-Sensei!" Naruto answered. "You didn't do anything at all! Orochimaru's a fucked-up case, but that doesn't mean you are responsible for it!"

"Naruto-Kun's right! Don't feel responsible for us getting attacked!" Hinata answered with determination. She, like her sensei, was also crying. "Anko-Sensei…I knew you were a strong ninja, but knowing that you've overcome Orochimaru…you are a role model. You are the strongest kunoichi I've ever met!"

"But-"

"Don't try and argue Anko-Sensei." Shikamaru interrupted. A sincere smile was on his face. "We wouldn't lie about anything. Nothing is your fault. And you are one of the strongest ninjas Konoha has ever had. We've always thought that and now we know that for sure!"

"Mhmm!" Naruto agreed. "Orochimaru will pay for all this shit. We'll be there by your side to make sure you get the job. I'll make sure that bastard gets what he deserves for all that shit!"

Anko's emotions were running hectic. Tears were running down her face again. This time, however, they were tears of happiness. They were from the relief that her team was okay. They were from joy from hearing their kind words and praise. They were from feeling content: from belonging to a family, Team Three. Anko finally returned the group hug.

The team stayed like this for a few more moments before Anko broke the hug as she rubbed away her tears.

"Okay…enough of this sappy, mushy stuff. I don't think my emotions can take any more of this. You guys are too much for me, I swear." She said jokingly. The happiness in her tone of voice was evident to anyone. "Now, how about you all fill me on the rest of the exam? Like how you got your scroll?"

Conversation turned to normal again as Anko's genin informed her of the Taki genin and Shikamaru's work in looking after Naruto. The tokubetsu jōnin was surprised and impressed with the Nara's strategies and the overall skill of her genin.

"Well you guys did good. I'm very impressed with you all." Anko said when they finished. She started to walk towards the door. "Anyway, I'll let you all relax now. Just wanted to catch up and see how you are all doing. If you want to find me, us jōnin instructors have our own hallway."

The mention of other jōnin instructors reminded Naruto of something.

"Oh that reminds me!" Naruto said in realization. He then rushed over to the door and ran out. "I'll see you guys later. I'm going to go pay someone a visit!"

The other members of Team Three watched the blonde storm out.

"…does he even know where he's going?" Hinata asked.

"Probably not." Shikamaru sighed.

"Heh. Hope the brat enjoys searching through this maze of a tower." Anko chuckled.

Anko was right: the tower was a maze. Naruto ran through hallway after hallway, trying to find a certain person. After nearly two hours of searching and irritation, the Uzumaki finally found a large, open room that looked like an auditorium. Inside the room was the person Naruto was looking for: a familiar armored shinobi. The man had a pen in his hand and was staring intently at a piece of paper. He didn't notice the Uzumaki enter.

"Han-Nii!" Naruto shouted as he ran towards him.

The armored shinobi finally looked up just in time to see the blonde run up to him and deliver a tackling-hug to him. The man was shocked for a second before he returned the hug, a smile on his face.

"Naruto. It's good to see you again. I see you passed the exam." Han stated. His voice had an unusual happy edge to it.

"Of course I passed dattebayo!" The blonde answered proudly. He then let go of Han and gave him a wide smile. "I've been looking for you for the past two hours! I didn't know you were sending your team to the exam."

"It was a slightly last minute decision. The Tsuchikage decided that he wanted to send a team or two to the exam this year and I volunteered my team." Han answered.

"Well I'm glad you did! It's great to see you again!" Naruto stated excitedly. "How've you been?"

The Gobi jinchūriki shrugged. "I can't complain. Iwa is the same as always, but things have been relatively peaceful. Especially since I got to Konoha. I really like it here. It's very quiet and calm."

Naruto nodded in agreement. "Konoha's great!" He laughed. "What have you been doing here? You should have visited me!"

"I haven't been here for too long Naruto. Besides, I don't know where you live in the village." The Iwa jōnin answered.

"No excuses!"

Han actually chuckled a little when he saw the blonde pout. "What I have done so far is that I've been to your hot springs. And I've been working on a couple of illustrations." Han pointed to the paper in front of him. The paper had a depiction of a fight between two shinobi in a forest. It was a detailed drawing and looked very realistic. "Your village is very good for inspiration."

"You draw?" Naruto asked, still studying the paper. "This is great!"

"It's only a small hobby, but thanks." Han responded nonchalantly. "That's enough about me though. How have you been doing? How's your training?"

The two jinchūriki continued to discuss Naruto's training. The Uzumaki brought up his mastery of the headhunter jutsu to his ability to channel a portion of the Kyūbi's chakra. They then continued to catch up, discussing the events in their life.

"So, how much longer do you think it'll take before your team gets here?" Naruto asked.

"They've been here." Han answered.

"What? They beat us?" Naruto shouted, pouting slightly.

The Gobi jinchūriki chuckled at Naruto's facial expression. "Correct. They've been here since the first day. I believe they were the first team to arrive. The second being a team from Suna and the third being your team."

The Uzumaki grumbled to himself about getting beaten before he sighed and accepted it. He was happy to hear that Kurotsuchi and Roto had passed after all!

"You and your team should pay them a visit, by the way. I'm sure they would enjoy it." Han commented.

"Really?" Naruto asked.

"…Kurotsuchi and Roto would be." The jōnin amended.

"That sound about right! Risho's too much of a jackass to care about us." Naruto snickered. "Anyway, yeah, I'm sure Hinata and Shikamaru would love to visit them. We'll go say hi to them now!"

With that notion in head, Naruto started to walk off.

"I'll talk to you later Han-Nii!" The blonde stated before his walking turned to running.

Han bid him farewell before turning back to his drawing. He had a smile on his face the rest of the time as he continued to work on it.

"Lazy ass! You and your team passed!" Kurotsuchi stated excitedly.

Shikamaru sighed in frustration. Naruto came running back to the room, interrupted his sleep, and dragged him and Hinata to the room a few doors down to hang out with the team from Iwa. Normally this wouldn't that be much of an issue. Shikamaru, however, was running on very little sleep and he was extremely tired. He was very irritated and things were more troublesome than usual.

"Don't call me that." The Nara said with a groan.

"I call anyone whatever the hell I want to call them." Kurotsuchi retorted with a grin. "You're Lazy Ass. Just like my gramps is gramps."

"It's a sign of affection. It's not a bad thing. She calls me dumbass sometimes and I don't get offended." Roto stated with a chuckle. He then turned to Hinata. A slight blush appeared on his face. "I'm glad you passed Hinata-Chan."

'…Hinata-Chan?' Naruto's eyes focused on Roto in a glare.

"Thank you. I'm glad you guys passed as well!" Hinata said back.

"…hmph." Risho groaned.

The Kurogane got up from sitting down on his bed and left the room immediately, closing the door loudly. All eyes turned to it.

"…the hell's up his butt?" Naruto asked. "I knew he doesn't like us, but I figured he'd just go to sleep or ignore us."

"He's been like that ever since he got to Konoha: more aggressive, more angry, and more of a dick than usual. And that says something!" Roto said with a sigh.

"Anyway, you guys are just in time!" Kurotsuchi stated as she reached into her weapons pouch on her pants. Instead of pulling out a weapon, she pulled out a deck of cards. "We were going to play a game. But since Risho just bailed on us, we can play with you guys."

"I'm game!" Naruto said excitedly.

"Sure." Hinata agreed.

"A card game? Nah. Sorry. I'm going back to our room and sleeping." Shikamaru said dismissively.

"What?" The room chorused, Naruto and Kurotsuchi being the loudest.

"Come on Shikamaru! Have a little fun!" The Uzumaki encouraged with his traditional grin.

"We just wanna have fun and talk a little. Catch up. Do what friends do." Kurotsuchi added, a grin of her own on her face.

"I'm going to sleep." Shikamaru said again as he walked to the door.

Kurotsuchi rolled her eyes. "You always sleep! Lazy ass!"

"I haven't all day today. I'm getting sleep." He answered as he opened the door.

"…just play one game. Come on! If you don't, I'll get revenge on you somehow." The Iwa kunoichi threatened. Her voice was low and intimidating to the other genin in the room.

The Nara responded by walking out of the door and closing it. The four shinobi in the room stared at the door for a second before groaning.

"I just wanted to play a little and see how he's doing…hmph!" Kurotsuchi scoffed in irritation. "He's going to regret this. I'll get him back!"

The other three shinobi were staring at the Iwa kunoichi with a trace of fear in their eyes.

"W-What's she going to do?" Hinata whispered to Roto, her stutter returning slightly.

"I don't know. Nothing lethal at least. But Kurotsuchi gets scary when she's irritated…so I don't wanna be Shikamaru right now." He responded with a shudder.

"Well screw him for now!" Kurotsuchi spoke up, ending the conversation. She then proceeded to shuffle the cards. "Well, let's forget about him. Who's ready for a game?"

The four genin proceeded to play a variety of card games. They chatted about various topics as they played, ranging from how they passed the second exam to things going on their village. Naruto and Hinata learned that Roto has a sister who just got married a week before the games. They also learned that Kurotsuchi helped teach a class at the Iwagakure Ninja Academy and that she has a soft spot for kids. In turn, the two Iwa shinobi learned things about Naruto and Hinata. The four ninja continued to play different card games and bond, having fun while doing it.

Hours passed before Roto ended up getting tired. He headed over to his bed and fell asleep. Soon after, Hinata got tired and left the room to go get sleep of her own. Naruto and Kurotsuchi were alone, playing cards with each other. Conversation got less frequent and a slight tension filled the room. Kurotsuchi finally broke the tension with a question she had been meaning to ask the blonde.

"Naruto…has anyone told you look like the Yellow Flash?" She asked as she drew another card.

"Huh? Like the Yondaime Hokage?" Naruto asked in clarification as he put a card down on the table. "No. No one has."

"Really?" The Iwa kunoichi turned her attention away from the cards and towards Naruto. She studied his face before speaking again. "Because you look like an identical copy of him. I swear, he has to be related to you somehow. Like your dad or your uncle or something!"

"Hmm." Naruto seemed to be in deep thought before he shook his head. "Nah, I'm just an orphan. I'm sure I would have been told if I was related to the Yondaime. Hell, someone would have probably adopted me if I was!" He responded with a sigh. He got a dreamy look in his eyes. "Would be kinda cool if I was though. He's been my idol for some time, so it would be kinda funny if he was my uncle or something like that."

"Huh…kinda cool huh?" Kurotsuchi's tone of voice became cold. A scowl developed on her face. "Sure. Being related to a mass murderer would be kinda cool to some people I guess."

Naruto glared at her, a scowl developing on his face.

"Don't say that about him! The Yondaime was a great guy and one of Konoha's greatest heroes. He was no mass murderer!" He responded.

"Did you study the Third Shinobi World War at all?" Kurotsuchi rolled her eyes. "Your 'Great Hero' slaughtered hundreds of Iwa shinobi! So many lives lost in a flash…that is no hero. I call it as it is: he's a murderer."

"He didn't kill anyone for no reason! Everything he did was to protect Konoha!" The Uzumaki retorted angrily. "If he didn't do what he did, then many Konoha ninjas would have died!"

"Hmph! The way you're talking makes it sound like Iwa was some giant monster nation. Like as if we started the war." The Iwa kunoichi was getting angry as well.

"Well Konoha didn't start the war!" Naruto responded.

"And neither did Iwa!" Kurotsuchi hissed back.

The two genin said nothing else. Tension filled the room. Naruto spent the entire team thinking. At first, he was angry at Kurotsuchi and Iwa. Then, his thoughts turned deeper...

Kurotsuchi was correct: the Yondaime Hokage did kill hundreds of Iwa shinobi during the war. But it was also true that he was killing for Konoha and to make sure that the village and its people were safe. He knew that Konoha did not cause nor want the war. Iwa, however, didn't want or cause the war either. Neither side wanted it, and neither side wanted their people to die...

Slowly, Naruto's anger turned to sadness. His rage-filled face turned to a frown, which soon turned to a neutral, thoughtful face.

"This is what war causes huh?" Naruto spoke up, alerting Kurotsuchi. "It just causes many people to die. It causes suffering. It creates hate. It causes good people to do bad things."

Kurotsuchi was staring at Naruto in surprise, wondering where this was coming from. He returned her stare, his eyes filled with determination.

"When I am Hokage, I will make sure there is no more war. That way no one has to suffer around the world! That is my promise!" He stated with determination.

Kurotsuchi was now gaping at the blonde. She had never heard such a declaration from someone. From her first impression of Naruto, she would have never expected something like this from him.

"…you think that that's possible?" She asked.

"It's only impossible if you don't try! I…I really think it is. If we try, if everyone tries…we can create a world of peace." Naruto affirmed his newfound belief.

Something about his words appealed to Kurotsuchi. It made sense in her head. She agreed with his ideal for peace…and she entertained the idea that he could create such a world.

'…if he thinks he can, then so can I!' She told herself, a smile appearing on her face.

"Then, when I am Tsuchikage, I will help create this world without a war: a world filled with peace." The Iwa kunoichi said.

Naruto turned to Kurotsuchi. He grinned in response.

"It's a promise then." He stated as he held out his fist.

"A promise that'll become a reality!" She agreed as the two bumped fists.

The two genin were done with card games. After their conversation, they bid each other goodnight and headed off to bed. The two kage-to-be went to sleep with big ideals and plans for the future…

Day three in the tower began early in the morning for Mitarashi Anko. A loud knock on the door in her room woke her up. The knocking continued, forcing her out of bed. The sleepy tokubetsu jōnin walked towards the door at a sluggish pace.

"Who is it?" She asked with a yawn as she opened the door and saw the second exam proctor. She then blinked. "Kurenai?"

"Anko, we need to talk." The red-eyed woman stated.

The snake summoner led her friend into her room. The two kunoichi sat down on Anko's bed.

"I've been busy with the Hokage recently, so I haven't gotten the chance to let you know. But you need to know this." Kurenai started. "Orochimaru-"

"He's here and he attacked my team. I know already." She interrupted.

It was Kurenai's turn to blink in surprise. "You know?"

"Yup. My brats got to the tower yesterday and told me. We had a LONG conversation about it." Anko noted.

"So your team is okay then?" Kurenai asked, sighing in relief.

"Yup. They got here safely, thanks to you. If you didn't interfere, then that snake might have gotten the change to kill them." Anko stated. She gave her friend a smile and a hug before continuing. "Guess I owe you one. Thank you so much for saving them Kurenai."

Kurenai returned the hug and gave a smile of her own. "You don't owe me anything! I'm just glad that they're okay."

The two broke the hug and sat in comfortable silence for a moment. Anko finally broke it with a sigh, her face becoming more serious.

"What did the Hokage say about any of this? Do we have any idea what the snake is here for?" She questioned.

The genjutsu specialist shook her head. "We don't know what he's after. It has something to do with the chūnin exams, though. He threatened me in the forest when I confronted him that if we canceled them for any reason, he would destroy the village."

Anko's eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"The Hokage isn't canceling them. He's tightening the security in the village and any area associated with the exams. The ANBU are also scanning Konoha as we speak and will be continuing to do so until the exams are over. We're hoping to catch Orochimaru before he goes through with whatever he's planning."

"Naturally." Anko nodded in understanding.

"How are you doing with all of this?" The red-eyed jōnin asked.

Anko sighed. "I mean I'm okay I guess. I'm just confused about why he's back now. Why now? What does that snake have planned?" Her hand then clenched into a fist. "And I am still pissed about him attacking my team. I highly doubt that was part of his plans to attack them. He just did it to fuck with me. And I'm not going to let him get away with that!"

"We aren't." Kurenai corrected. "I don't know what Orochimaru has planned, but coming to Konoha will prove to be a mistake. We are going to finally get rid of that traitor while he's here. He will be put to justice!"

Anko nodded in agreement.

"Anyway, while we wait for him to come out, let's enjoy ourselves." Kurenai said as she got off the bed and held out her hand. "Come on. Let's go get ourselves a drink."

Anko nearly choked as she took her friend's hand and got out of bed. "You? YOU are going to invite me to get a drink? Are you finally gonna stop being a prude and actually drink?"

"No. But I think you may need some sake." Her friend informed her.

"You do as well! You're always so stiff and stuff. You need something to lighten you up a little." Her friend pointed out to her with a playful smirk. "Perhaps if you did, maybe you'll get lucky with Asuma."

"ANKO!"

The tokubetsu jōnin laughed as she watched her normally calm, serious friend blush in embarrassment. The two friends soon walked out of the room and headed off to get something to drink.

"So this is day three right?" Naruto asked his teammates. "Not that much longer until the exam ends huh?"

"Not really. Just two more days." Shikamaru answered. "I'm sure the teams still in the forest and starting to get a little uneasy. They don't have too much time to get their scrolls."

"Probably." Hinata nodded in agreement. "Good thing we don't have to worry about that though."

"Heh! Good thing indeed!" Naruto gave his teammates a grin. "Anyway, let's kill the day with Han's team again!"

"Another set of card games? Count me out." Shikamaru yawned.

"Y'know, Kurotsuchi will probably do something to you if you refuse to play again. She was pissed that you left last night." The blonde informed him.

"What's the worst she could do?" The Nara answered with a shrug.

"I think it'd be fun to go visit them again. It was fun last night!" Hinata said, ignoring her lazy friend.

"Two votes against one. We win." Naruto said smugly before grabbing Shikamaru's hand and pulled him off the bed, causing him to groan. "Now let's head on out!"

Naruto and Hinata then hurried out of the room, dragging Shikamaru with them. As they exited their room, they noticed another team of genin in the hallway. The team turned their attention to the members of Team Three.

The team was another team from Konoha. The first and most apparent member of the team was a boy with very thick eyebrows wearing all green spandex with orange leg warmers. He wore a red forehead protector as a belt and he had a bowl-cut styled hair. The second member of the team was a girl with brown hair that was put in two buns. She wore a pink sleeveless blouse, dark green pants, and blue sandals. The final member was a boy with long black hair that wore it in a ponytail. He wore a khaki shirt, dark brown shorts, blue sandals, and he had bandages over his right arm and right leg.

"Ah! We were not the first team from Konoha to pass! It seems we need more training. I'll make sure to do another twenty laps around the village in addition to my usual training!" The boy wearing green spandex stated. He then rushed forward to Naruto, who was the closest member of Team Three to him. "It's a pleasure to meet you three, my youthful competition!"

"…eh?" Naruto gave him a strange look out of confusion. Shikamaru emulated it.

"May I have your name?" He asked, getting in Naruto's face. The blonde thought he could see fire coming out of his eyes.

"Uh…Uzumaki Naruto?" Naruto answered in confusion.

"Wait a second. You're Rock Lee, aren't you? You're that guy Sasuke wanted to know information about." Shikamaru remembered from before the first exam.

The boy turned towards Shikamaru and nodded. "Yes, my name is Rock Lee! And these are my youthful teammates, Tenten and Hyūga Neji!"

"Hey." The girl, Tenten, greeted them with a wave.

'Hyūga?' Naruto and Shikamaru recognized the name. Their eyes darted back and forth between Hinata and the other boy, Neji. Their teammate was staring at the ground while Neji was glaring at her.

"Hinata-Sama…it seems you have passed the second exam." Neji said after a period of prolonged silence.

"Y-Yes Neji-Nii-San." Hinata answered, her stutter returning.

"Nii-San?" Naruto seemed confused. He knew Hinata had a younger sister, but she made no mention of an older brother.

"Hmph. For your team to have finished the exam so fast…your teammates must be really something." Neji's eyes then turned to study Naruto and Shikamaru. He then focused his attention to Shikamaru. "You're a Nara aren't you?"

"Yeah. The name's Nara Shikamaru. What of it?" He asked.

"You must be a genius even amongst your clan to be able to drag these two failures here this fast. I must say, I can't wait to test my strength against you." The Hyūga stated, a smug grin on his face.

"Neji!" Tenten spoke up in annoyance. She already could tell where this conversation was going.

"Hey! I am no failure and neither is Hinata-Chan! Who the hell do you think you are?" Naruto shouted at the boy loudly.

"No, the more appropriate question is who do you think you are?" Neji returned Naruto's question. "I recognize you. You are the boy that failed the graduation exam at the academy twice. Just because you finally passed the exam does not change who you are. Once a failure, always a failure."

"But that is just your opinion, Neji." Lee stated. "Anything can be changed if you work hard enough. Any failure can become a genius of hard work if they put forth the right effort!"

"…ugh. This is happening again." Tenten groaned, not wanting to hear the argument between her two teammates. This was clearly not something new to her.

"Try as hard as you may, we cannot change who we are. No one can change fate." Neji answered dismissively. "Isn't that right Hinata-Sama?"

"N-No." Hinata shook her head.

"You may have been born in the main branch of the Hyūga clan, but you will always be the weak, stuttering girl you've always been." The older Hyūga continued to speak, ignoring her answer.

"Believe whatever the hell you want, but don't talk down to Hinata-Chan! Or anyone for that matter!" Naruto shouted at him. "Fate doesn't exist, and if it does, then it can be changed if you put your mind to it!"

"YOSH!" Lee rushed back over to Naruto, his eyes seemingly gleaming with excitement. "You are a genius of hard work as well? How very youthful! I hope we get the chance to spar at some point Naruto-Kun!"

"AHEM!" Tenten coughed loudly, causing everyone to stare at her. "I'm sorry to break up this discussion on hard work and fate and stuff, but my team just finished the second exam and I feel like we should finally get a room and lay down!"

Neji nodded in agreement and, after giving one more glare to Hinata, walked down the hallway. Lee gave an elaborate bow to Team Three before following behind his teammate.

"I'm sorry about them. They're…eccentric. And very firm in their beliefs." Tenten apologized to the members of Team Three. "It was nice to meet you all. Congrats on passing as well!"

The kunoichi then ran back down the hallway, following her teammates. Team Three was left alone again.

"…so that happened." Shikamaru finally spoke up.

"Lee's cool. A little strange…" Naruto shivered at the way Lee's eyes lit up and his enthusiasm for a second. He then grinned before he continued. "…but hey, the guy's cool. And he's right! With the right work, anyone can change."

"Mmm…" Hinata hummed to herself looking down.

"Hey Hinata, who was that guy?" Shikamaru asked. "Seems like a real jackass."

"That's…my cousin." She answered. "He…wasn't always like that. P-Please don't hate him for that. H-He has his reasons for his behavior…"

"I don't care what reasons he has, no one can be that rude to you. He better hope we don't have to fight!" Naruto said with affirmation.

"…" Hinata looked down again.

"…come on. Let's go visit Han's team. Pass the time peacefully." Shikamaru offered.

Naruto and Hinata took him on the offer. They went back to the room the team from Iwa was staying and hanged out with the genin. In a little bit, Hinata was able to forget that encounter with her cousin. The team was able to enjoy themselves and their time in the tower.

They only had a little bit more time left for relaxation and peace…

Time went by faster. The five day time limit ended and all the genin teams were led to a large open room similar to an auditorium. Altogether, eight teams had passed: five from Konoha, one from Suna, one from Iwa, and one from Oto. Twenty-four genin had passed.

'Looks like the teams that all stood out passed.' Sasuke noted with a smirk as his eyes wandered from Rock Lee to Gaara to Kurotsuchi.

'All the rookie teams passed.' Neji realized before his eyes focused on a glare towards Hinata.

'How the hell did those Oto guys still pass? We took their scroll in the forest when they attacked us!' Kiba groaned as he looked at the team from Otogakure. '…whatever. We can take them! Those guys and the Iwa team are going down!'

On a raised platform, the Sandaime Hokage stood at a podium. The jōnin senseis of the eight genin teams were standing by his side along with the chūnin exam proctors. All of them were staring at the genin intently.

'I never thought I'd see the day when twenty-four brats passed. Kurenai, you were soft during your exam.' Ibiki inwardly noted. '…or perhaps the candidates this year are even better than I thought.'

'I never expected eight teams to pass…I really thought it would be in the single digits. Four teams tops.' Kurenai was surprised. Her eyes then focused on Team Three and she instinctively released a sigh of relief. 'Anko, your team looks fine. At least they got out of that thing alive…'

Kurenai stepped forward towards the edge of the raised platform and proceeded to speak.

"I must congratulate you all on passing the second exam." She informed them with a small smile on her face. "This is my first year proctoring, so I am very impressed to see so many teams have passed!"

'Damn right it's your first year. I would have never passed this many.' Anko grumbled, still bitter about not being able to be a proctor.

"I must echo Kurenai-San's praise. You have all done well so far!" Hiruzen spoke up. "I will now explain the third exam, but before I do, I'd like to elaborate more on the purpose of this exam. Kurenai-San, if you may."

The exam proctor nodded in understanding before walking back in line with the other spectators. The Sandaime Hokage proceeded to explain the purpose of the chūnin exams: a substitution for war. Many of the genins were shocked by this realization.

'War? These exams are like war?' Naruto repeated the idea, feeling uncomfortable. Kurotsuchi had a similar uncomfortable feeling about the idea.

'War huh?' Risho mumbled, taking a second to look at the various Konoha genin around him. His hand instinctively went to his sword as a smirk developed on his face. 'Heh. Seems fitting.'

The Sandaime continued his lecture. He mentioned the politics involved with the exam and that many visitors will be watching, including daimyos and noblemen. Hiruzen stated how the exams were also a way to show them the power of each shinobi village. When his lecture was finished, Sarutobi Hiruzen was about to explain what the third exam was when a man appeared on the floor of the auditorium. He was a sickly man with brown hair that was covered by a Konoha forehead protector that was worn like a bandana. He wore the traditional Konoha shinobi uniform, including the flak jacket. He also had katana strapped on his back.

"Forgive me Hokage-Sama…" The man spoke with a cough. "But…ahem…allow me, Gekkō Hayate, to continue from here."

"Go ahead." The Sandaime permitted.

The man, Hayate, stood up and turned his attention to the genin teams. He raised his hands as he coughed again before he started to speak again.

"As you have heard, my name is Gekkō Hayate. While…ahem…it is good that so many of you had passed, it also proposes a problem. Too many of you have passed." He told them, still coughing. "Therefore…ahem…we are going to hold a preliminary exam right now to determine who will participate in the third exam!"

Omake 3: Kurotsuchi's Revenge

The previous night (the night before the preliminaries)…

"Goodnight guys." Shikamaru told his teammates as he headed to bed early.

The Nara was tired. Again. Every day since the beginning of the second exam, he has been exhausted. His body and his mind seemed to be angry about all the work he performed in the second exam and, therefore, were demanding plenty of sleep in compensation.

Shikamaru was in no mood to reject this demand. He hopped into his bed, covered himself up, and prepared to fall asleep. He closed his eyes…

"Comfy?"

Shikamaru's eyes opened again and he scanned his room. There, standing by the bed, was Kurotsuchi. The Iwa kunoichi had a devious grin on her face, but Shikamaru was too tired to really care.

"Can I help you?" He answered as he closed his eyes.

"You know, if you really wanted to help with something, you would probably need your eyes open." The Iwa kunoichi pointed out.

The Nara ignored her suggestion and kept his eyes closed. Kurotsuchi frowned and proceeded to make hand signs.

"Water Style: Water Trumpet!"

A blast of water immediately hit Shikamaru's head. The blast was light so that it would not injure him. It had the desired effect though: Shikamaru was soaked, he got himself out of bed, and his eyes were wide open.

"W-What the hell?" He shouted in surprise.

"Good. You're up!" Kurotsuchi exclaimed, giggling to herself.

Shikamaru glared at the giggling girl in front of him. "And why did you just attack me?"

"Cause you were going to fall asleep." She answered simply, still giggling.

"…and what's the problem with that?" He asked as he tried to lie back down again to go to sleep. He then tried to close his eyes again.

Kurotsuchi frowned and proceeded to jump onto his bed. This caused him to gasp, keeping his eyes open. "Revenge."

"For what?" Shikamaru questioned. His mind worked to remember what she was talking about. It didn't take long for him to remember. He sighed. "Wait, are you seriously still mad about me not playing a silly card game?"

"I told you I'd get revenge!" She responded.

"I was tired!" He rolled his eyes before attempting to close his eyes again. "And I still am…"

"You're always tired." She replied, jumping up on the bed again and causing his eyes to open again.

"…ugh." The Nara shook his head in frustration. "Are you seriously going to keep my teammates up when they come to bed?"

"Them? Of course not!" Kurotsuchi's face turned into a grin. "I already told them about this. They're sleeping in different rooms for the night. It's just going to be you and me!"

"…you have got to be kidding me." The Nara slammed his head against the head rest of his bed, hoping it would knock him out. It didn't. "You do realize that one card game would have been about twenty minutes. How does that equal a full night's sleep?"

"It's not about the card game…it's about sending a message." She responded ominously.

"…huh? What message?"

"That you need to stop being an anti-social lazy ass!"

Shikamaru groaned. 'This is going to be a long night…troublesome girl.'

The Nara's prediction was correct. Every time he was about to sleep, Kurotsuchi would do something to wake up. Whether it was jumping up on the bed, saying something in an overly loud voice, or splashing him with a water jutsu, the Iwa kunoichi had a variety of ways to make sure Shikamaru wasn't going to sleep.

Two hours into the torture…er…"revenge", Kurotsuchi started to yawn.

"…getting tired yourself, huh? Why don't you get some sleep yourself?" Shikamaru nearly begged, hoping that if she fell asleep, he could sleep as well.

"Nope! I took a long nap earlier in the day just so I could do this!" She replied, trying to stifle another yawn.

"Go to sleep…please." Shikamaru begged.

"No!" Kurotsuchi retorted.

"PLEASE!"

"NO!"

"PLEASE!"

"NEVER!"

"Please…

"No…"

"…"

"…"

The next day…

Naruto walked over to his room with a grin on his face. The second exam was going to be over in a little more than an hour. He and the others were going to need to get prepared, so he had to go get Shikamaru.

'I wonder what kind of shape he's in. He's probably really tired and really pissed off!' Naruto chuckled. 'Kurotsuchi's a genius! I'm going to have to do this to him someday the next time he pisses me off dattebayo!'

Naruto opened the door the second he got there.

"Hey Shikamaru! What's u-" Naruto started but stopped when he saw the sight in front him.

Shikamaru and Kurotsuchi were both asleep. Shikamaru was underneath the covers and Kurotsuchi was on top of them. Despite this, the two genin were cuddling.

Naruto stared at the scene in front of him for a few seconds in shock before he started to grin again. His mind memorized the mental picture in front of him before he left the room, trying to find some way to record it. 'This is the perfect blackmail!' was the only thought through his head.

The loud noise the Uzumaki made ended up stirring the two sleeping genin. They woke up at the same time and noticed the position they were in…

"…"

"…"

"AH!"

Kurotsuchi had jumped off the bed and Shikamaru had fallen off the bed on the other side. The two stared at each other for what felt like forever. They were both blushing. Seconds passed before…

"This never happened. Got it?" They spoke together in near unison.

The two nodded in agreement. Kurotsuchi immediately left the room and Shikamaru proceeded to get ready for the day. Still, the two could not erase the blush on each of their faces.