Chapter 76:

"Welcome to the village hidden in the leaves." A hidden leaf ninja said to Kaga and the others.

Kimimaro, Haku and Koyuki stood at the gates of the hidden leaf, looking through at the village in wonder.

The gate guard had checked over their paperwork, seeing they were here for the up and coming chunin exams. Once approved he handed them a map and a set of keys for the apartment they would be staying in.

Kaga could tell the guard was a chunin himself, and that he was nervous in dealing with them.

Kaga understood, after all, the mist and leaf had been involved in many conflicts over the years and many still held a grievance over the bloodshed.

"So this is the leaf village?" Koyuki said, seeming impressed by how bright and warm it appeared.

Haku also took a good look around, seeming impressed by the number of people coming in and out of the village.

Kimimaro on the other hand couldn't believe the lack of security around, thinking how slack the place seemed so far.

"Alright you three, let's get a move on and find where we are staying," Kaga said, leading the way.

The three nodded, following him through the village.

They could feel the strange looks they were getting from some of the villagers as they saw their headbands, but it was to be expected, after all, they were ninja from a foreign land.

Still, they were guests of the Hokage and as such, they were left to their own devices. Though Kaga could feel eyes on them, knowing full well their movements would be under surveillance by the Anbu black ops.

Kaga was sure that the others hadn't noticed and would keep it to himself, not wanting to worry them.

The four of them made their way through the village, eventually coming to their apartment that was located on the far side close to the river.

The place was nice and had three rooms, more than large enough for all of them.

Kaga was also sure that the other team's from the mist village would be arriving shortly, after all, the chunin exams started tomorrow, and he doubted they would be late.

It was still early and Kaga didn't fancy sitting indoors all evening, deciding they should head out and get some food, even offering it as his treat before the exams.

Haku and the others jumped at the chance and the four of them got ready and made their way out.

They headed into the village, making their way to the centre walking along the main strip. It was filled with all sorts of people and travellers, offering stalls and stand from all over, each selling something different and unique.

Haku could smell meat grilling mixed with the scent of barbecue, while Koyuki could smell fried squid and grilled prawns.

Kaga laughed as they tried to agree on what they wanted to eat, with Haku and Koyuki not being able to come to a decision.

"Hey watch it!" A voice suddenly shouted, getting everyone's attention.

Kimimaro and the others turned around to see a small blond-haired kid running through the street, not watching where he was going either as he was about to crash right into Kimimaro.

The kid's eyes opened wide at the last second as he hadn't realised Kimimaro was standing in his path.

"Look out!" He shouted as he closed his eyes, getting ready for the impact.

However, no such thing ever came, and instead, the boy tripped over, opening his eyes in surprise to see that his face was hovering an inch off the floor, with Kimimaro holding the back of his t-shirt, stopping him from hitting the ground.

The boy opened his eyes wide looking around for the item he had dropped, wriggling to be let free as he panicked he had lost it.

Kimimaro dropped him once he started wriggling, letting him shoot back to his feet quickly as he stared down Kimimaro with an intense look.

"Hey watch where you're going!" He said before he noticed Kimimaros headband, realizing he was a shinobi.

"Who the hell is this kid?" Koyuki asked, laughing at his appearance.

"I-i'm Naruto Uzumaki! And one day I'll be Hokage!" He shouted embarrassed.

The four of them looked at him in even more surprise this time, not sure what he was on about.

"Hey, you! hold it right there!" A man suddenly shouted as he spotted Naruto from around the corner.

Naruto almost jumped out of his skin before he looked into Kimimaros eyes one last time.

Kimimaro picked up the mask up off the floor and threw it to him, showing he wasn't so bad, even smiling at him.

Naruto couldn't believe it and was almost lost for words at the kind gesture.

"Whatever! I'm out of here!" He shouted as he turned away and ran, leaving Kimimaro and the others standing there confused.

"Who the hell was that kid?" Koyuki said as she placed her hands on her hips.

Kimimaro couldn't place it, but something inside him was telling him there was more to that kid than met the eye.

"Hey come on Kimimaro, we're going to eat without you if you don't hurry up!" Haku shouted from the distance, getting his attention.

With that Kimimaro headed off with the others to get some food, letting the thought pass out of his mind as the night grew late.

The next day came quickly for the three genin, with the day of the chunin exams finally falling upon them.

Kaga had given them one final good luck before he escorted them to the building where they would be starting their exams.

"Remember you three, work together and there is nothing you cannot overcome," Kaga said, wishing them good luck as he watched then enter the exam building.

The three of them nodded and bid their sensei farewell as they walked into the building, heading inside and down the corridor where they eventually found their destination.

"What do you mean we can't go in?" Someone said.

Haku could see three genin similar in age to himself standing before two larger looking shinobi, who looked to be blocking their access to the door.

"Sorry pipsqueak, but no losers are allowed to enter the chunin exams." One of the larger shinobi said, crossing his arms over his chest.

Kimimaro and the others walked over seeing that the room they were blocking was the room where the first exam was being held.

"What do we have here? Kiri ninja. We don't want your kind around here, get lost." One of them said, causing Koyuki to grow mad.

"Why you." She said making a first.

Haku gave an awkward smile as he placed a hand on her shoulder to calm her down.

"Now, now Koyuki, it's alright." He said.

Kimimaro remained silent as the two looked him up and down, getting a strange feeling about him.

"Besides, can't you see the transformation jutsu they are using?" Haku then said, causing the two larger shinobi to look at him in surprise.

The other three who were hidden leaf genin also looked confused before the other two smiled and undid their transformation Jutsu.

"You've got sharp senses kid." One of them said with a smile as he stood to the side, while the other simply examined the three of them with interest.

Koyuki was mad at herself for missing such simple things and swore she would pay more attention starting now.

"Come on in." The two then said as they opened the door for the six genin, allowing them entry into the exam hall.

Haku, Kimimaro and Koyuki walked in to see that the room was already full of ninja hailing from all sorts of villages.

All of them glared daggers at the three of them as they weighed them up, seeing whether or not they would make easy prey.

"Looks like this is the place," Koyuki said as she too glared daggers at them, also judging them based on their appearance, trying to pick anyone who she thought might be a threat.

Shinobi from the hidden leaf, grass, waterfall, rain, snow and finally mist were present and accounted for.

And it had seemed their presence from the other mist genin had not gone unnoticed as they eyed each other up.

"Hey look it's Kujira Hoshigaki." Haku suddenly said as he gave him a wave of his hand.

"What the hell are you doing?" Koyuki said as she slapped his hand down.

"You trying to make us look soft?" She said, scolding him.

"It doesn't matter what the others think of us, all that matters is our own ability." Kimimaro then said, finally saying something.

To their surprise Kujira waved back before he headed over to them with his teammates.

Kujira was large for his age, having a stocky build similar to that of a sumo wrestler. He was a member of the Hoshigaki clan and as such, shared their shark-like features, also having long black hair that was tied back.

"Well if it isn't lord Mizukages faviourts." He said as he walked over to them, speaking through his shark-like teeth as he staired at Kimimaro, not taking his eyes off of him.

"Chill Kujira. No need to get all heated just yet." One of his teammates said as she took a sip of water from her bottle.

Her name was Chika Hōzuki, a bright girl with long black hair and blue eyes.

"Long time no see. Koyuki she then said, as she looked her up and down, inviting challenge.

Koyuki did the same as she too looked her up and down.

"Chika." She said, noting falling for the bait.

Lastly Haku and the final teammate whose name was Rokuro No exchanged greetings.

Rukuro was a handsome guy, with short brown hair and green eyes. He had scored high in all of the final tests in the academy, even though he belonged to no clan, he was strong in his own right.

"It's been a while Haku." He said giving him a smile.

Haku nodded.

"I hope you have been well Rukuro," Haku said as he nodded his head.

"I hope you aren't thinking you'll have an easy time during the exam.You might be the Mizukages favourite, but we won't lose to you." Kujira said.

Kimimaro didn't say anything and instead turned to his own teammates.

"Come on you guys, let's go and find somewhere to sit." He said, walking right past Kujira, causing his blood to boil.

"Why you! Don't ignore me!" He shouted, letting his Hoshigaki blood get the better of him. However, Chika flicked his ear, calming him down.

"Chill out. We will have plenty of time for that later, for now, let's not give too much away." She said, guesting to the entire room of shinobi that was watching them at that very moment.

Kujira realised what she meant and calmed down, doing his best to keep a level head.

"I hate that guy. He thinks he's so cool!" He said under his breath.

Rokuro smiled as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"Looks like the others are also here." He said as he looked over to the other team from the hidden mist.

Kujira and Chika looked over, smiling as they saw them.

"Looks like the old class is back together."

Suddenly the doors burst open as a large bald man with a large black trench coat entered the room, demanding everyone's attention.

"Alright, you sorry lot! Take your seats, the exam is about to begin!"

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That's the end of this chapter! until next time.

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