Chapter 12

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***

POV Itachi Uchiha

My name is Itachi Uchiha. I am the son of the head of the Uchiha clan and more recently the Genin of the Hidden Leaf. I became one at the age of six because I'm considered a Genin and I'm already at the Genin level. I was teamed up with Sarikawa Uchiha and Menma Uzumaki. The former is a teammate of mine, but I haven't interacted with her before. She, like me, started training to become a Shinobi from a very young age, and because of that she didn't socialise with the other kids. Her father said that she was very talented and if she had a decent teacher, she would be a head taller than me. She was indeed very talented and even without a teacher, she had learnt Clan Taijutsu to an acceptable level. After the first few sparring sessions with her, I realised that we were practically on the same level. Sarikawa was a nice girl, but at first she only interacted with Menma.

The other one, on the other hand, I knew very well. He was my childhood friend and our parents had a pretty good relationship, which was surprising considering my father's cold nature. After our family training started, we stopped talking so often, but would talk when our families met. After entering the academy, we started chatting again and that's when I learnt how much Menma surpassed me in genius. He was better in every way. My father was very proud of my success at the academy, and when it came to Menma, he'd say: As expected from the son of Minato and Kushina.

But after the Fox attack, his parents died and his younger brother died. He withdrew and gave himself completely to training, and sent a clone to the academy. I understand him well. I have a younger brother too and I can't imagine what would happen to me if I lost him. We kept in touch, but not much more. I asked my best friend, Shisui, about what I could do, but he had nothing to offer. Father became even more withdrawn after Hokage-sama died. He stopped praising me for my grades in the academy and spent more time at work. Mum wasn't at her best. But she got through it all and I even thought she got over it easily, but sometimes I'd hear her sobbing and realise she was crying. After a while, Menma became the same as before and I was glad of that. I didn't want to broach the subject of his family's death, but one time....

***

There were three people sitting on a terrace outside a large house. Itachi watched his friend playing with his little brother and smiled.

- Sasuke, you're really growing beyond your years! You can already walk and talk! Are all the children in your family geniuses?

- You're one to talk...

- Hey, are you jealous of me? Yeah, you're like a Genius to Jonin! - said the scarlet-haired one, proudly sticking out his chest.

- We'll see about that! I've been training with Shisui quite a lot, and I only need to awaken the Sharingan to reach you.

- Heh heh, dream on, dream on. By the time you master all this, I'll have surpassed Kage's level!

- Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha, Kage? You?! Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!" the brunet said laughing at his friend's words.

- Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!" Without refuting Itachi's words, Menma laughed along with the Uchiha. Sasuke just smiled a toothless grin. But suddenly, the black-haired man became serious and looked at his crawling brother and asked....

- Menma, this might not be the right question, but don't you miss Minato-sama and Kushina-san? "Itachi looked away because he realised what he had just said and he felt ashamed. He didn't want his friend to grieve over it and was already bemoaning his stupidity, but the guy's sudden outburst shocked him.

- Of course I miss you! But I promised them not to get discouraged and become a great Shinobi!

- "Does he really not care about their deaths?! Or does he want to appear that way. Is he really the same as Mum? He's really strong if he can smile after everything that happened to him. But what about..." The boy's mind flashed and he asked again. "What about his brother?

- He's not dead. Or rather, I refuse to believe it. But you can't tell anyone, okay? It'll be our secret!" said Menma, staring at Itachi point-blank with his blue eyes.

- H-okay, okay, okay. I understand. "Better a faint hope than bitter despair. He doesn't want to believe in his brother's death, I couldn't either." - Itachi added in thought.

***

Besides training with the team, I trained with Shisui a lot. He was also considered the Clan Genius and was a very good person. He always interacted with me like a brother and I liked that a lot. We trained in Shurikenjutsu and Kenjutsu honing our clan skills and it greatly accelerated my growth as a Ninja. Sometimes, in my free time, I would meet another of my clanmates. Izumi Uchiha. Before I became a Genin, we were in the same group and met when she was playing with the kids in the class and invited me over. I always saw her on the shore of the large lake at the edge of the clan's territory. I really enjoyed talking to her and was excited every time we met.

When I first saw my team, I found out that they had known each other for quite some time. I knew right away that Sarikawa was in love with Menma. I could see it very well from her eyes, except, does Menma have the same feelings? He took care of her all the time and didn't tolerate anyone hurting her. At the distribution ceremony, he almost strangled one Genin who dared to call her names and broke his spine when he threw him into the wall. This I learnt from the nurse when I went in to see her. Then I thought that even, in sort of actual sparring with me, he was still holding back. After that, I thought he might be on the same level as Shisui.

As Genin, we could only do D and C rank missions, and because we were much younger than the others, we only did D rank missions. It was easy and I could pay more attention to training and Sasuke. But the team still didn't like that kind of thing, to which Sensei only said....

- What don't you like? Calm work without any haemorrhage over your soul like in difficult missions. Just enjoy it, and soon we'll move on to the harder missions.

After a couple of months we were given a C rank mission and it was pretty easy. To capture Ninneko. Menma must have expected something more, because he slapped his face with the palm of his hand after Shikaku-sensei told us about the mission. Really he was staring at me intently at that time, I don't understand why?

To get the details of the mission, we went to the customer. She was an old woman who lived on the outskirts of Ninneko settlement. A damp room with furniture scratched by cat claws, but overall it didn't seem that poor. There were indeed many cats in her house and they could even talk. Afterwards, we were told about the reasons for this cat's escape and given cat ears and headbands so that the settlement would recognise us as their own. When Sarikawa put on the headband, I blushed a lot and looked at Menma and saw the same expression and redness on his face, but he was covering his nose for some reason. After leaving the house, Shikaku said:

- Okay, take a sheet of adverts each and start searching. Sarikawa and Itachi will search the centre, while Menma and I will look around. Meet at the centre tower in six hours. Let's get started!

- Yes!" after that, Menma and Shikaku ran to the western and eastern parts of the settlement, while we ran towards the centre, towards the north. We could really communicate with the cats and they took us as their own. After three hours of searching, we found nothing.....

- ...I see, thank you.

- And they don't know?" Sarikawa asked me as I said goodbye to another cat that knew nothing about the missing Ninneko.

- Yes, it seems that finding this cat is harder than we thought.

- That's probably why the mission has a difficulty level C. Ha-ah, I wonder how Dai-kun's doing~.

- You're so worried about your boyfriend? I couldn't help but tease my teammate.

- Wh-what n-boyfriend? I-we're just friends with Dai-kun!" Sarikawa blushed.

- Ha-ha-ha, come on, I'm just kidding...- but suddenly, a glint appeared in Sarikawa's eyes and she said with a sneer.

- Oh, and the girl herself was probably worried about her boyfriend who was going on a C rank mission for the first time. How's Izumi-chan?" she said without the embarrassment she had before.

- What kind of girl is she to me? I just know her well, that's all! -I didn't notice the blush on my face. -Okay! Let's keep looking for Ninneko. Excuse me, sir, have you seen this cat?" Not wanting to continue this barbed conversation, I picked up a stunned passerby and continued asking about Ninneko.

When we had already returned from our unsuccessful search for the cat, we were greeted by Menma, holding the mission objective in his hands. "Which is to be expected..."

***

- Men-ma!" after saying that, I stopped playing with Naruto. Even if Mina is working at the orphanage, I still can't take that risk. If he says my name in front of the other workers, they could easily come out on me and then I'm f*cked. He's two years old now, so that's to be expected. No, he's been talking for a long time and even started walking, but he's only now becoming self-aware. After that, the clone just looked after him, as did Mina. Speaking of her, even though she's head over heels in love with me, she hasn't lost her head. Mina's socialising normally and her personality remained intact, which I liked because she was very attractive. Saki is still too young, so Mina is basically my first girlfriend. After losing her hatred for me with Naruto, she became the same as she was before her parents died, at least that's what she herself said. After six months of getting to know her, I really liked her, so the spitting attitude disappeared quickly. Maybe it's just because I've been in contact with her for a long time or I really liked her...I don't know. The main thing is that now I value her a lot and I will not risk it too, even though she is ready for me to do anything. Actually, she's very interesting. If the potion is removed, she'll hate me again, but will she? Right now, but after a while, I wonder if she'll still love me just because of the potion. If I put all my effort into it, it's very possible.

Other than that, our Chunin exam began. As we gathered on the bridge, for the start of another mission, Shikaku said....

- Okay, guys. Before we begin, I want to tell you something. The Chunin Exam is about to begin, and I've recommended you to participate. All three members of the team are required to participate, so if any of you want to withdraw, you can't all participate. But I'll tell you something, each of you is already equal to the level of an average Chunin, and I'm sure you'll be able to pass this Exam. What do you say?

- I'm all for it, but I won't force the others if they don't want to.

- I agree. With the Sharingan awakening, I'm sure we'll pass this exam without a problem.

- Saki?

- Yes! I want to take the exam too!

- Saki, are you sure? It's not just our village and there will be many people watching the exam.

- What are you talking about? I was about to answer her, but Shikaku interrupted me.

- This exam isn't like a normal exam. Most of the strongest Genin from all the Five Great Villages come together. It's a kind of small battle that shows the potential and strength of the village. Many noble Merchants, Nobles and Feudals from all over the world come to watch the Examination. It is a very important event and you will have to perform in front of everyone at it. Sarikawa, I understand your shyness, and I know how hard you're trying to overcome it, so I can imagine how hard this test will be for you." Saki was very frightened after saying that, and looked down and seemed to give up. "I understand. Well then, let's forget about it and..." before he could finish, Saki looked up and said with determination in her eyes....

- I will pass this exam!" we were all surprised, but Sensei just smiled and said.

- I believe in you guys." and gave a thumbs up.

After completing the mission, Shikaku began to explain the exam. He didn't say much, only that there would be a written test first, followed by the test in the Forest of Death, and then the Tournament, where many people would be present. I guess the test is different every time, because he didn't talk about the scrolls of Earth and Sky, or the trick questions in the written part of the exam. Or is he just not allowed to talk about it?

A week later, we applied for the Chunin Exam and were safely admitted to it. After another week, the exam began. But before that, there was an interesting incident...

***

While walking around Konoha with Itachi and Saki, we heard loud shouts coming from one of the streets.

- Say that again!

- Why do I have to explain myself to a little girl like you?

- Because you're talking rubbish!

- You're the one who's talking rubbish!

I jumped to the roof of the house, as my teammates did, and saw an interesting picture. There were three people standing in the street, dressed as Iwagakure Hidden Stone Shinobi. Two of them were yelling at each other and the third was trying to break them up. Deidara and Kurotsuchi, I only remember them, and the third one...right! Akatsuchi!!! His name is also Akatsuki. Were they on the same team? I guess they're here for the exam, I didn't think I'd see them so early. But I'm glad I did.

- No, you're not! When our old man dies, I'll take his place as Tsuchikage!

- You're not worth his little finger.

- Deidara is enough, and you're Kurotsuchi too. We're in another village, so let's not make so much noise.

- You're protecting him!

- No, it's...

- Hey! You! What are you staring at us for, huh?!?!" While I was thinking, Deidara spotted us and glared at us threateningly.

- Oh, it's nothing. You were just being very conspicuous and we were curious as to who was making that noise.

- What's your problem, Konoha Minions?!" snapped Kurotsuchi at us.

- Hey, don't be like that...

- She's right, if you have a problem with something, come here and say it to my face!" and here comes Deidara getting aggressive.

- Come on, you're a Stone Shinobi, right? You're here for the exam?

- Oh! So you little brats are going to take the exam, too? Don't shit yourselves with the power of my art." then I felt a small concentration of chakra rapidly approaching us. "Oh, you're wasting your time, Deidara!" I was about to repel that attack as another one approached and disarmed it. Someone launched a lightning bolt at that clay roach and disarmed its explosive.

- Guys, let's be friendly. Three people approached us from one side of the street. I remember him. Dark-skinned guy with snow-white hair, Darui. There were two other guys following him, but I didn't remember them.

- Cloud Shinobi?

- Why are you meddling in our battle?!

- I apologise for that, but I don't think it would be good if you started a fight in the middle of the village.

- I didn't need your help.

- I'm sure you didn't, then I apologise for that too.

- I forgive you. Menma Uzumaki.

- Darui.

- Well. You're right, but I wasn't going to fight them.

- I want to punch your arrogant faces! - Deidara was about to throw himself at us, as was Kurotsuchi, but they were both grabbed by Akatsuchi's collar.

- Deidara, Kurotsuchi, that's enough! You've made too much noise already! Darui-san, Menma-san, my name is Akatsuchi. I apologise for the attitude of my teammates. - and a deep bow.

- No, it's okay.

- Really, we're still considered enemies in this exam and I hope you'll show what you can do in this exam. I'm interested in your names, can you introduce yourselves?

- Deidara. I'll kick your arse in this exam and wipe that cheeky grimace off your face!

- Kurotsuchi. Wait till you die!

- No, I already got your names from Akatsuchi-san, I was asking for the names of Konoha shinobi.

- What did you say?!" Akatsuchi covered Deidara's mouth with his hand and tried to hold Kurotsuchi back as well.

- What? Ours? Well, can you introduce the names of your co-commanders first?

- Oh yes, I apologise for being rude." and glanced at the two blondes behind him.

- Atsui.

- Si. Then my teammates introduced themselves.

- Itachi.

- S-sarikawa.

- Nice to meet you. I'll see you at the Konoha and Iwa Shinobi Exam." He turned and left with Atsui and Shi.

- Where are you going, black man?!" taking both of them, Akatsuchi quickly ran in the opposite direction of Darui and shouted....

- See you later.

- See you later." we also left leaving the street empty. I met two future Kage of the strongest villages. Wait a minute. If I met teams of future Kage and there were three teams including mine, don't tell me that I'll become a future Kage too...(!)

***

- Darui-san, why did you interfere with those brats? Wouldn't it have been better to let them fight?

- Atsui, didn't you feel it?

- What?

- The moment that long-haired blond guy launched the technique at Menma-san, I felt his anger and it seemed like he was going to kill the Iwa guy right now. He didn't flinch and saw perfectly where the technique was coming from. He's strong. So are those Willow guys. They're probably going to be strong opponents, so be on your guard and don't underestimate them just because of their age.

- That's right!" Atsui and Si replied in unison.

-"I wonder who those guys are?" thought Darui looking up at the sky.....

***

On the day of the exam, Shikaku wished us luck and disappeared, while we walked into the auditorium. There were a lot of people inside, but only half of the students were there because we were early. When we walked in, everyone stared at us.

- Hey, kids, you're in the wrong place. The academy is on the other side." one of the participants joked, and some of them laughed. I had no intention of causing a showdown here, so I just ignored it. I looked around the entire audience with my gaze and noted two familiar faces. The first was the guy who had been at the team assignment. He shrank away from my gaze and tried not to look away. The second was Yamato. Strange, wasn't he in Korn all the time and then joined the ANBU? I didn't expect to see him here. Apart from them, I didn't see anyone familiar. All the others were regular noonaeim from different villages, though there was no one from Kiri. Well, that's only half of it, there'll probably be a few more interesting people coming. Afterwards, we sat in different places, just like the rules said, and waited for the exam to start. The rest of the contestants came in and there were the already familiar teams from Willow and Kumo. Then I heard Fox's voice in my head.

- Hoo! Matatabi, I didn't expect to see her here.

- What are you talking about?

- My sister, you know her as Two-Tails. Looks like her Jinchuriki is also taking your exam.

- Two-tailed? Hmm, what was her Jinchuriki's name?...Oh yeah, I remember. Nii Yugito. I thought she was from Kumo too. I looked around the auditorium again and noticed Yugito and her teammates. The first, a yellow-haired girl with short hair and sharp features. From the anime, I only remember her battle with Kinkaku and Genkaku. She's already in pretty good shape and has a pretty nice physique...okay, that's where I'm going wrong. The second one I remember as the secretary of Raikage Eija. She was just as beautiful as the first, but unlike her pale pink skin, she was moderately tanned and looked very sexy...okay. We'll find out more about them later, but for now let's focus on the Exam.After all the seats were taken by the participants, the Examiner walked in, followed by two dozen Chunin, one of them I recognised as Morino Ibiki. They handed out the worksheets to us and sat in the chairs that stood on the sides, and the Chief Examiner stood in front of the table that was in the centre of the front of the room and began to greet all the Genin...

- Hello, I am the examiner of the first round of the Chunin Examination this year. The essence of the first part of the exam is a written test for two hours, but this is an unusual test. There are three sheets of paper in front of you. The first one contains the questions of this test, and the second one contains the forms for answering the test, and the third one contains the answers to the test questions. After the last part, all the Genins were very surprised and started whispering, but the voice of the Examiner quickly stopped the noise going on in the whole audience. Look at the top left corner of the question paper. It shows your version of the test. On the answer sheet there are two variants, but not yours, but those of other participants. There are 100 questions in total, so if you answer all the questions, you will get 100 points. The required number of points to pass is 90. There are two options on the answer sheet and each option has 50 answers. Your goal is to find two people who have the answers to your tests and write them.

- Sir, but then we can just give each other the answers to the questions and all pass the exam.

- Especially for this, there are a few rules in this test. Firstly, if any of the examiners notice you cheating, they will immediately give you a warning, after which you will not be allowed to continue cheating in this way and will deduct 10 marks. And secondly, for each stolen answer, the person who owns the answer sheet will forfeit a point. Simply put, if all 100 answers are stolen from you, you automatically forfeit all 100 points you could have received. - After these words, everyone hid their answers and looked at each other apprehensively. - During the test, you can give up, but since only a team of three is allowed to take part in the exam, your teammates will be disqualified along with you, and the same thing will happen if someone from your team fails. You have two hours to complete your work." and looking at the clock, which showed exactly 9:30, he shouted, "Time's up!".

After the test started, some people started looking at the question paper, some people tried to hide the answer sheets, and some people just didn't move. For me, it was a very easy exam. I immediately activated Byakugan and Sharingan together and looked around the room. It took me less than ten minutes to find the form with the correct answers. With the help of Metamorphism, I removed the veins swelling in my eyes, and thanks to the Byakugan's x-ray vision that overcomes most obstacles, I looked at everything with my eyes literally closed. Having written the test, I began to look at the others. Incidentally, the questions themselves were not about Shinobi knowledge, but were just ramblings, such as:

1) At what age, did Roken Inuzuka first meet his girlfriend?

2) What colour is Morino Ibiki's favourite underwear?

It seems like the examiners were just messing around when they made up the questions, but these questions were really hard and there's no way any of the contestants would have been able to answer them all without cheating. Although knowing the colour of Ibiki's favourite panties was a tough experience...better not to think about it. Anyway, on to the rest of the contestants. A few Hyuga who were also participating in the Exam tried to activate their eyes and look around, but the examiners considered it a violation of the rules and took away 10 points. Some of them got to the point of using Henge on their eyes. The Sharingan wielders also turned on their Zen, but it was harder for them to find the answer they wanted. I felt some masters of Mind Transference Techniques like the Yamanaka clan used their techniques. By the way, in Darui's team, there was one like that too. I think his name was Si. The others used their special techniques that were unknown to me to pass the test. Then I looked at Itachi and Saki. They seemed to be having a hard time. Yes, Sharingan is a weak helper for that, and they hadn't mastered the special techniques yet. But then I saw them start using Genjutsu on their nearest neighbours. After a couple of minutes, I still decided to help them because their method wasn't working. I saw their version of the test and in a couple dozen minutes, found their answers. Afterwards, I used the Shadow Manipulation Technique and with a needle from the shadow, pricked Itachi in a certain spot. I remembered the exam that was in the anime and told them in advance what to do when I sent them such a sign. Itachi looked at me and activated Eyes and Henge. After that I just started writing his answers on the wooden desk and Itachi completely copied my movements with his Sharingan. Next I did the same with Saki and that's how we finished the first stage of the exam.

- Time's up. Take your hands off the desks and stand up and leave the room. I will announce the results later and call back all those who passed. - we followed the Examiner's instructions and after half an hour, we returned to the auditorium. There were three times less of us, but still very many. - So, congratulations on passing the first stage. The second stage will begin in the Forest of Death in five minutes, and anyone who fails will be disqualified." He stopped talking, but I rushed out the window and grabbed my teammates, who were dumbfounded.

- Si, Atsui, run after him!" Darui quickly assessed the situation and flew out of the balcony after the fleeing team.

- What?! Half of the Genin didn't understand what was going on, and the other half, having already realised what the first two teams had done, ran after them.

- What are you standing there for? The forest is on the opposite side of the village and it's hard to get there in 5 minutes...- all the others also rushed to the window.- Shinobi, what can you take from them, they always go through the window....