Chapter 5: Chunin Exams Begin, Sakura's Downfall 1/3
KeybladeMasterRiku: You'll just have to wait and see what I come up with.
Dai sennin kurosaki d Naruto: I didn't see any reason not to, and I wouldn't say it's copied from canon. It's just him going through the steps of learning the jutsu. And I wouldn't say everyone who knows it is directly linked to him, I mean Konohamaru learned it and he isn't connected to the Fourth Hokage.
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Naruto and company froze at what they saw "Wh-What's this? I guess we're not alone."
"Hey Tatsu, where've you been?" Ino leapt onto Tatsu's back "I haven't seen you since you were training to-"
"Easy." Tatsu cut her off "I'm waiting until the right moment to unveil it."
"Oh right, sorry. Still, I knew you'd show up, but with these guys?"
"They wouldn't let me enter solo."
"Hey porker, back off him!" Sakura screeched.
"Oh great Miss Forehead, they let you in? Still got those big frown lines on your billboard brow I see."
"Oh, it's you guys." that was when Shikamaru and Choji showed up "I knew this was gonna be a drag, but I didn't know it was gonna be this lame. Hey Tatsu."
"Hey Shika, hey Choji." Tatsu waved.
"Well well, what do you know?" then Kiba came up with his squad "It looks like the whole gang's back together again. Here we all are, all 10 rookies. This is gonna be fun, at least for those of us good enough to make the cut, right Tatsu?" he failed to noticed the angry glare Ino shot at him "Just wait, we're going to blow you guys away."
"More like get your crotch blown away for barking up the wrong tree, now keep that mutt on a leash."
"Hey don't talk about Akamaru like that!"
"I was talking to Akamaru and I was talking about you."
"Yeah? Well, we've been training like crazy."
"And you think we haven't? I know for a fact that me, Naruto, Sasuke and Ino are the 4 best our generation's got and we've all got the best chances of becoming chunin. Oh, and there's a good chance of Shino too. Hey Shino."
"Tatsu." Shino gave a stoic nod.
"Hey you guys." then another genin came over "You might want to try keeping it down a little. I mean no offense but you're the 10 rookies right? Fresh out of the academy? I wouldn't go making a spectacle of yourselves. Just cool it, this isn't a class field trip."
"You should give your name before criticizing others." Tatsu pointed out "The name's Tatsu Kamikaze."
"I know who you are, the genin who took on Zabuza 1-on-1 and lived to tell about it. Anyway, the name's Kabuto Yakushi. But really, look around you. You've all made quite an impression."
Sasuke and the others looked and noticed the glares they were getting from a certain group.
"See those guys? They're from the Hidden Rain Village, very touchy all of them. This exam makes everyone tense, and you don't want to rub them the wrong way right now. Not that you could help it, after all how would you know how things work? You're just rookies, you remind me of myself a while back."
"Your name's Kabuto right?" Tatsu guessed "How many times have you taken this exam?"
"Well, it's… my 7th. They're held twice a year, so this will be my 4th year."
"With as much experience as you have, maybe you're willing to give us some tips?"
"Sure I could help you guys out a little, with my Ninja Info Cards." he pulled the cards out of his belt "It's hard to explain, but these cards have been chakra encoded with everything I've learned over the past 4 years. I've got more than 200 of them, so I haven't been completely wasting my time. They may not look like much to the naked eye, in fact they appear blank. Don't want just anyone seeing this stuff." he started spinning one of the cards.
"What are you doing?" asked Sakura.
"You see, I'm using my chakra to reveal their secrets, like this for example." he summoned a map on one of them "This shows the geographical distribution of all the candidates who've come to take the Chunin Exam. What villages they come from, and how many from each village. Why do you guys think they all come here to take the exam together at the same time?"
"To foster friendship between nations, international brotherhood and all that." Tatsu pointed out.
"Exactly, and it's true enough as far as it goes."
"But there's another reason."
"Yeah. You see, the important thing is that this way they can carefully regulate the total number of shinobi that end up in each village, thereby maintaining the balance of power. If the balance isn't maintained then one nation could wind up with many more shinobi than its neighbors and it might be tempted to attack them, so they try to maintain the status quo. Makes sense, I suppose."
"Do those cards of yours have any info on any individual candidates?"
"They might, do you have someone special in mind?"
"Two actually, Gaara of the Desert from the Hidden Sand and Rock Lee from the Hidden Leaf."
"Man that's no fun, you even know their names. That makes it easy." he swiped out two cards in an instant "Here they are."
"Lee first."
"Okay, first up is Rock Lee. Looks like he's about a year older than you guys, or 6 months older than you Tatsu. Mission experience, 11 C-rank and 20 D-rank. His squad leader is Might Guy, in the last 12 months his taijutsu has radically improved but his other skills are pretty shaky."
"I expected as much."
"Last year he got a lot of attention as a genin, but for some reason he chose not to participate in the Chunin Exam. This will be his first time as a candidate, same as you guys. His teammates are Tenten and Neji Hyuga. Okay, now for Gaara of the Desert." he pulled up Gaara's card "Mission experience, 8 C-rank and- get this, one B-rank as a genin. There's not a lot more information on this guy, he was a rookie from another land originally, but there is this. He survived every mission without getting a scratch on him."
Shikamaru finally spoke "The dude's done a B-rank as a genin, and has never even been injured?"
"That's right. Anyone else?"
Then Sakura stepped up "Pull up Tatsu Kamikaze."
Naruto, Sasuke and the others stared at him incredulously "What the hell Sakura?"
"If he reads Tatsu's card then everyone will know how much of a loser he is."
"Alright then." Kabuto pulled up the card "Tatsu Kamikaze. He's from the Leaf, as I'm sure you're already aware. He's a One Man Team, something that hasn't been seen in several years in this village. Taijutsu is somewhat above average, the same with her stealth. Genjutsu is below average. Ninjutsu is way above average. He's performed 22 D-rank, 2 C-rank and 1 A-rank, and is notable for taking on Zabuza Momochi, the Demon of the Hidden Mist, and winning single-handedly."
Sakura was left jaw-dropped that he wasn't the loser she thought he was, mainly since her brain deleted the part about him beating Zabuza and Sasuke dying, and switched around their roles for some reason.
Kabuto pulled the card with the countries back out "Leaf, Sand, Rain, Grass, Waterfall, Sound. From the looks of it, they've all sent exceptionally skilled candidates to the exam this time around. Of course, the Hidden Sound Village is small and sprang up recently, and no one knows anything about it. Those guys are a mystery." he put the cards away "Well, you get the point. The competition's going to be intense this year. In the 4 years I've been coming, I've never seen a crop of candidates with as much potential as this bunch. Yep, we've got our work cut out for us."
Then Naruto did something stupid and pointed at every other genin in the room "My name's Naruto Uzumaki, and I'm gonna beat every one of you! Believe it! Yeah, I feel a lot better now."
"Good to know." Tatsu said dryly "Because now they're all gonna go apeshit on us the first chance they get." he nonchalantly blocked a punch from Zaku "I mean, what the hell is wrong with you?" he blocked a kunai with his own and caught Dosu's fist aimed for Kabuto's face and grabbed the gauntlet on his arm while still talking "I mean it's great to have confidence and all, but think about how it impacts the rest of them, particularly the other 6 of them over there." then he looked at Dosu "Oh hey, you want something?"
Dosu stared intently at him 'He blocked all our attacks without breaking a sweat, and he may play the idiot but he knew exactly where to grab the Sound Gauntlet on my arm to cancel out my jutsu. He's definitely a league above the rest, I knew he was good but he's hiding his true strength.'
That was when the proctor showed up in a puff of smoke "Alright you baby-face degenerates, pipe down and listen up. It's time to begin, I'm your proctor Ibiki Morino, and from this moment your worst enemy. First, you candidates from the Hidden Sound Village, knock it off. Who told you you could fight? You wanna be failed before we've even begun?"
"Sorry, it's our first time." Dosu told him "Guess we're a little jumpy… sir."
"I'll say this once so listen up, there will be no combat between candidates, no attacking each other without the permission of your proctor and even then the use of fatal force is strictly prohibited. Anyone who even thinks of messing with me will be disqualified immediately. Now if we're ready, we'll proceed to the first stage of the Chunin Exams. Hand over your paperwork, in return you'll each be given a number. This number determines where you sit, we'll start the written test once you're all seated."
Naruto froze "Written? F*ck f*ck f*ck!'
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Naruto wasn't comfortable with the test at all 'I don't even know where the others are sitting, I'm all alone. This is already a disaster!'
"Everyone, eyes front." Ibiki got their attention "There are a few rules you need to be aware of, and I won't answer any questions so you'd better pay attention the first time around. Alright, rule #1 is this. The written part of the exam is conducted on a point reduction system. Contrary to what some of you may be used to, you all begin the test with a perfect score of 10 points. 1 point will be deducted for each answer you get wrong. So if you miss 3, your final score will be 7. Rule #2. Teams will pass or fail based on the total scores of all 3 members. I have my reasons, so shut up and listen. Rule #3. The sentinels you see positioned around the room are there to watch you carefully for any signs of cheating, and for every incident they spot they will subtract 2 points from the culprit's score. Be warned, their eyes are extremely sharp and if they catch you 5 times you'll be dismissed before the tests are even scored. Anyone fool enough to be caught cheating by the sentinels doesn't deserve to be here, if you want to be considered shinobi then show us what exceptional shinobi you can be. One more thing, if any candidate should get a 0 and fail the test then the entire team fails. The final question won't be given out until the 15 minutes before the end of the testing period. You'll have one hour total. Begin!"
And cue everyone taking the written portion.
Tatsu pondered for a moment without even picking up his pencil 'These questions are loads of crap only a bookworm like Sakura could answer, and even I can only answer about half of them. It's like they're expecting us… to… cheat… Dammit, why didn't I think of it before?! My brother told me something about having to cheat on the written test, it must be meant for subtly gather intel! How did I not think of it before? My Tenseigan can't copy people's hand movements and writing like Sasuke's Sharingan, and I'm not a bookworm like Sakura, so how am I gonna go about it? Wait… yeah, I've got one that nobody would notice!' he prepared to make a Shadow Clone, there was a poof but nothing appeared.
'So that's it.' Ibiki thought 'He incorporated a Shadow Clone and a transformation so fast that nobody could even notice. Not bad.'
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45 minutes, lots of cheating and several idiots and jackasses getting thrown out had passed.
Ibiki finally addressed them 'Now that we've weeded out most of the hopeless cases, 15 minutes to go. Time for the main event. Alright, listen up. Here's the 10th and final question. But before I give you the 10th question, there are some more rules that you need to be aware of. These rules are unique to question 10, listen carefully and try not to let them frighten you. Rule #1, each of you is free to choose not to be given the final question. It's your decision."
"So what's the catch then?" asked Tatsu "Say we chose not to do it, what then?"
"If you choose not to take the 10th question regardless of your answers to the other 9, you'll get a zero. In other words you fail, and that means of course that both your teammates fail as well. Next, if you do accept the question but answer it incorrectly then you will not only fail, you will be barred from taking the Chunin Exam ever again!"
"Hey that's bull man, that's ridiculous!" Kiba barked "What kind of bogus rule is that? There's lots of people here who've taken the test before."
Ibiki let out a very unsettling chuckle "I guess you're just unlucky, I wasn't making the rules before but I am now. Of course if you don't want to take it you don't have to, if you're not feeling confident then by all means skip it. You can come back and try again next year. Now then, if you're ready, the 10th question. If you don't want to take it then raise your hand, your number will be recorded and then you're free to go."
A few teams gave up.
Tatsu studied his team intently for a moment 'This is your moment of truth guys, do you have the resolve.' then he saw Naruto raise his hand 'Well f*ck everything I know.'
Naruto suddenly slammed it down on the table in front of him "Screw you and your question, I don't quit and I don't run! You can act like this ballsy tough guy all you want, but you won't scare me off! I don't care if I do get stuck as a genin for the rest of my life, I'll still be Hokage someday!"
'And everything I know isn't a lie. Good for you Naruto, good for all of us.'
Ibiki looked and saw nobody else was gonna drop out 'Remarkable, that little outburst has given the others some backbone. He's inspired them into staying. 78 left, more than I expected. But I don't see anyone wavering, I think that's it. Well then I admire your determination if nothing else, for those of you remaining there's only one thing left to do and that's for me to tell you that you've all passed the first exam."
Tatsu knew why, but decided to ask for anyone else "I don't think they get it, what do you mean we passed, and what about the 10th question?"
"There never was one, not a written one at least. Actually-"
"The decision to stay was the answer to the 10th question, it was testing if we had the determination and resolve to back up that decision, and the first 9 were to test our ability to gather information under difficult circumstances."
"Exactly. Also, never interrupt me again. Those who remain have successfully answered the 10 questions I put to you. You have earned the right to continue on to the next step. You have passed through the first gate. I hereby declare this part of the Chunin Exams completed, there's nothing left but to wish you all good luck."
"Alright, we did it, that's one down!" Naruto started cheering like an idiot.
'He's a funny one, that kid. And that other one Tatsu, he's a smart one.'
Then a bundle crashed through the window, revealing Anko as the next proctor, and put up a banner complimenting herself.
'Jumped the gun as usual.'
"Heads up boys and girls!" Anko barked "This is no time to be celebrating. I'll be your next proctor, Anko Mitarashi. You ready for the second test? Good! Then let's go, follow me!"
"...You're early. Again."
Anko blushed angrily 'Dammit! How many are there? Ibiki, you let all these guys pass? Your test was too easy, you must be getting soft."
"Or it could be a stronger crop of candidates this year."
"They sure don't look it. Trust me, before I'm done with them more than half will be eliminated."
Tatsu's eyes narrowed 'Like Kazuma said, next up is the Forest of Death.'
"Alright, you maggots have had it easy so far but things are going to be different starting first thing in the morning. I'll let your squad leaders know where you're to meet me. Dismissed."
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After that, Ibiki took note of how Naruto didn't answer a single question.
Naruto was definitely a funny one.
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Morning came.
Naruto and the others looked at the forest ahead of them "Woah nice place, what is it?"
"The Forest of Death." Tatsu told him.
"This is the location for the second phase of the exam. It's the 44th Battle Training Zone, but we call it the Forest of Death." explained Anko.
"This whole place just completely creeps me out." Sakura muttered.
"It should, they call it the Forest of Death and soon you're going to find out what that reason is."
Naruto then proceeded to act like a tough jackass "Do your worst, you're not gonna scare me away! I can handle anything!"
"So, look like we've got ourselves a tough guy." she chucked a kunai that whizzed past his face, grazing it, and then appeared behind him "You tough enough to handle this? You're not afraid are you? Tough guys like you usually leave their blood all over this forest." she was about to whip out another kunai when she sensed something behind her.
A Hidden Grass ninja suddenly held out her kunai with her tongue "I was just returning your knife."
"Why thank you grass ninja. You know, I really only recommend you stand this close behind me if you wish to meet a premature end."
"My pardon. With the sight of blood and your blade slicing through my hair, I'm afraid I just became a little excited. I meant you no harm." and then she walked away.
"Likewise. Seems like everyone here today is quick tempered, must be something in the air. This is gonna be fun."
Naruto didn't take very kindly to that 'Quick tempered?! You're the one who threw the kunai at me!'
Anko made her way back to the front "Now before we begin this test, I have something to hand out to you all. It's just a standard consent form. Before the test, all of you are going to have to read over this form and then sign it."
"What for?" asked Sasuke.
"Some of you may not come back from this test, and I have to get your consent to that risk, otherwise it would be my responsibility. Now I'll explain what you'll be doing on this test. Here, pass these out." she handed them out "The first thing you need to know is that this test will tax every one of your survival skills. First, I'll give you all a description of the terrain on the practice field. The 44th Battle Training Zone has 44 locked entrance gates, there are rivers and a forest inside. In the center is a locked tower, located 10 kilometers from each gate. It's in this confined area that you'll undergo the survival test, the test consists of an anything-goes battle to get your hands on these scrolls."
"Both of them?" asked Tatsu.
"Yes. You'll be fighting to get both a Heaven scroll and an Earth scroll. All together, 26 teams will be taking part in this test, so half of those teams will be going after the Heaven scroll and the other half will be trying to get the Earth scroll. I'll hand over one kind of scroll to each team, and that's what you'll be vying for."
"So how do we pass the test?"
"Your entire squad must bring a Heaven and Earth scroll to the tower."
"So at least half of the teams here will fail."
"No one ever said it would be easy. Oh and one more thing, the test has a time limit. You must finish it within 5 days."
"Just asking for others, what're we supposed to do for food?"
"Just look around, the forest is full of things to eat. There's plenty to feed all of you."
"Yeah but that's not all the forest has plenty of, there are plenty of beasts and poisonous plants in there. With these circumstances, there's no way half the teams will make it. And since we're completely surrounded by enemies. There won't be any time to rest, we'll have to keep a constant watch."
"Right, this test also measures endurance behind enemy lines. This is designed to be a grueling test, and I'm sure some of you won't be up to the challenge. There are also some ways you can get disqualified. The first is simple, if all 3 members of a team can't make it to the tower with both scrolls after 5 days. #2, if a team loses a member of if a member becomes incapacitated and cannot continue. But most important, absolutely none of you may look at the contents of the scrolls until you've reached the tower. There are times when a ninja will be asked to carry secret documents, the scroll is to test your integrity. Okay we're done, each team take your consent form and exchange them over there for your scrolls. After that, each team pick a gate and will be led inside. Oh, and I have one more word of advice: Just don't die."
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After signing his form, Tatsu watched as a curtain was hung over the stand where the scrolls were given out 'So that's it, we won't know which team has which scroll and we won't know which team member is carrying the scroll. Stealing information is really a matter of life and death. It's just like Ibiki said, everyone is equally determined to pass and all of them are our enemies.'
Anko watched and smirked 'It looks like they're starting to understand what's really involved in this test.'
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Soon everyone had handed their consent forms and received a scroll.
Naruto smirked as he took one 'We are so gonna win this!'
Tatsu sighed 'If only they weren't so arrogant.'
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"Listen up!" Anko called "All the teams had received their scrolls, so everyone go to your gate and wait there. When the gates open, the test is on!"
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Tatsu, Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura were stationed at Gate 12 "Alright guys, just be sure to be cautious."
Sakura scoffed "Shut up loser, who put you in charge?"
"Anyone with a brain." the guys chorused simultaneously.
Soon one of the proctors unchained the gate "It's time."
"Right!" and they ran inside.
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Ino's team was being stalked by a group of Hidden Rain ninja, who were promptly attacked by a pack of leeches.
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Tatsu quickly stopped his team "I guess someone found the leeches?"
"What leeches?" asked Naruto.
"They sense body temperature and movement and drop down from above in groups, if they suck your blood for a full 5 minutes you're screwed."
"...Good to know. Alright, be right back."
"Where're you going?"
"Take a leak."
"Go do it somewhere else!" Sakura screeched.
"Can you say that again, I don't think the other 20 teams that want to kill us heard you!" and he walked off into the bushes.
"Worthless asshole."
"Oh shut up Sakura, like you're one to talk." Tatsu and Sasuke chorused simultaneously.
Naruto came back after a few minutes "Oh man, that was a lot. I wrote my whole name-"
Tatsu cut him off by slugging him in the gut and pinning him to the ground "Not bad, but you're missing a couple of things. Naruto can't piss that much to save his life, I speak from experience, and Naruto isn't left-handed. Also, there's no cut on your cheek. Who are you?"
Naruto broke free and disappeared in a puff of smoke, revealing a Hidden Rain ninja by the name of Oboro "Alright you got me, so what? I'm still gonna take your scroll, now hand it over or else."
Tatsu just drew the new sword Asuma and Hayate gave him to make up for losing the other one in the fight with Zabuza.
"So which one of you has it?" no response "Fine then, I guess I'll just have to take all of you out first!" and he charged.
"Fire Style: Crimson Moon Dance!" Tatsu summoned 2 Shadow Clones and all charged with their swords drawn.
Oboro fired 2 kunai, dispelling the clones "Sorry, but this is one test you won't be coming back from!" he fired another kunai with a paper bomb, sending Tatsu tumbling back, only for him to disappear in a puff of smoke "Another clone?!"
"Take this!" Tatsu slashed him down the back from behind, leaving serious burn marks running down his back, then looked down to the others "Naruto! Sasuke! Chances are this guy isn't alone, the others could strike any second now!"
"I wish, I came alone as not to arouse suspicion." Oboro told them "Big mistake…" and he limped off into the trees.
"Well so much for that guy, for now anyway." then he leapt back down and huddled the others into a small group "That little incident proved that we can't just trust appearances, we've gotta come up with a way of knowing each of us is who we say we are instead of some imposter with a transformation."
"What's your plan?" asked Sasuke.
"I was thinking along the lines of a secret password known only to the 4 of us and don't trust anyone who doesn't know it. I'm only gonna say this once, so listen closely. The question is "When does a ninja strike?" the answer will be "A ninja waits until the time is right, when the enemy sleeps and drops his guard. When his weapons lie forgotten in the stillness of the night, that is the moment for a ninja to strike." Got it?"
Sasuke nodded "Got it."
"Good. Naruto?"
"You've got one a little shorter?" asked Naruto.
"It'll work out I promise, I actually picked that password with you in mind."
"Yeah but I thought it was gonna be a password, not a pass-speech."
"Good. Now then, I think Sakura should take the scroll."
They shared a look "Wha-?"
"Because she's the weakest out of all of us and doesn't stand out, that way nobody will expect her to have it."
"Wait a minute-" Naruto was cut off when he felt something cut him "What was that?"
Tatsu blitzed in front of them as a massive gust of wind hit them "Brace yourselves!"
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It was actually a Hidden Grass ninja named Shiore and her teammates "Alright, you two fan out into the woods and keep your eyes open. I'll handle this alone."
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Sasuke found himself hiding alone in a bush 'Dammit, whatever that blast was it separated all of us.'
"Sasuke."
He suddenly bolted out and pulled out a kunai, only to see Sakura there "Sakura."
"Sasuke, what was that?"
"Don't move, answer the question first. When does a ninja strike?"
"Oh right. A ninja waits until the time is right, when the enemy sleeps and drops his guard. When his weapons lie forgotten in the stillness of the night, that is the moment for a ninja to strike."
"Good, it's really you."
"Hey!" then Naruto came over "You guys okay?"
"Don't come any closer. What's the password? When does a ninja strike?"
"Okay, a ninja waits until the time is right, when the enemy sleeps and drops his guard. When his weapons lie forgotten in the stillness of the night, that is the moment for a ninja to strike."
Sasuke quickly fired a kunai.
Naruto quickly ducked out of the way "What was that?! You could've killed me."
"Now I get what Tatsu's plan was, and I've gotta admit it was pretty genius all things considered. He designed that password so that there was no chance of Naruto getting it right, that way we'd know for sure that it was the real one. You'd have a better chance teaching that password to a hamster. Or Sakura. Besides, the way you dodged that attack was definitely not a Naruto-style move. Alright come on out already whoever you are, party's over."