#17: The Chūnin Exams

Third-Person POV

Hisao stood in the Hokage's Office, wondering why he had been called in that day. He stood before Kakashi who had just finished assorting some papers.

"Thanks for coming in on such short notice, Hisao," he spoke.

"Of course, Lord Sixth," Hisao bowed. "So what seems to be the matter?"

"I just received word from the Waterfall Village, regarding the two rogue ninjas you had encountered about a month ago," Kakashi started. "Apparently, two officials had gone to resume interrogation on them when they found them on the floor dead."

Hisao's eyebrows crossed. "Dead? How?"

"It was ruled as a suicide but," Kakashi gave him the letter, "neither of them possessed the means to do so. They were thoroughly tied down and stripped off all possessions. This gave us reason to believe..."

"That it might have been homicide," Hisao finished for him, having read the letter. "And no signs of break and entry, either. Perhaps someone had bypassed the security there?"

Kakashi shook his head. "Even if there were, there's no evidence to support it. Going out of the way to start accusing people of crimes we don't know was even committed could cause chaos in the community. Therefore, all this is being kept under wraps and ruled as suicide until more information can be found."

"Speaking of information, did they manage to get anything out of them?" Hisao asked.

"Unfortunately, no," Kakashi sighed. "They kept their mouths shut all the way to the bitter end. Whoever it is they served, they were fiercely loyal to them. We might be dealing with a more serious threat than we thought. And whether or not they're remnants of the Akatsuki, they are doing everything their power to stay hidden."

Hisao looked down, contemplating all that he had just heard.

"On a side note," the Hokage said, "how are your students? How's their progress?"

"Very great," Hisao replied. "Even though these last missions have been D-rank, they've shown considerable improvement, especially teamwork wise."

"Tell me, then," Kakashi eased in, "would you then say that they're ready?"

Hisao showcased a surprised expression, being able to tell what Kakashi meant by that question. "Well..." His words faded as he drifted into thought.

"Here, I'm hosting a council between all jonin later today at 7 o'clock at the bottom level of the Academy. You ought to come and hear how the whole thing will play out. It should provide you with some insight on whether or not you should recommend them, then you can come back later and give me your answer then. Back in the day, all jonin-sensei had to decide on the spot, but now I'm having them come to me individually and tell me their decision after they've given it some thought. What do you say?"

Hisao looked up at Kakashi optimistically. "I say I'll see you at the meeting."

Upon leaving the office, Hisao accidentally bumped into someone as he walked out.

"Oh, pardon me," he apologized.

"Oh, no, it was totally me!" they replied, passing by.

As the door closed firmly, the last thing Hisao heard from inside the Office, as he went on his way was: "Hey, Kakashi-sensei!!"

On his way down the stairs, he thought more on the question Kakashi had asked him.

I have no doubt in my mind that Asami is more than ready to participate, but Iroko and Yuura still need more time. While Iroko's physical prowess is above average and his ninja arts needs only some fine-tuning, his lack of strategy and foresight will damage him in battle. Yuura excels in the ninja arts and while not as strong, he, too, is intuitively gifted, however he does not possess enough confidence in himself or his abilities, forcing him to rely more on others. If they were perhaps given another month--

"Always in your head, aren't you, Hisao?" someone called out to him.

The android did not even realize that he was already outside the Academy. He turned to the direction of the voice and saw that it was Kosetsu Heiwa. She was taller than average height, with a mature yet athletic figure. She had black eyes and long illustrious hair of the same colour, tied in a high ponytail above her forehead protector. She also wore two earrings with a strange black symbol on it that resembled a black, shining sun.

"Hello there, Kosetsu," he waved at her.

"Fancy a drink with me?" she smirked.

🍃🍃🍃🍃🍃🍃🍃🍃🍃🍃🍃🍃Two days later🍃🍃🍃🍃🍃🍃🍃🍃🍃🍃🍃🍃

Iroko POV

It had been a month since the fight with Ryuun Kitto. The fight against him was still clear in my head, including his words.

After that, Hisao-sensei had made us take D-rank missions and only one very light-hearted C-rank. This involved stuff like mowing people's lawns, finding their lost pets and cleaning the streets of Konoha. Basically chores. But it did serve as a breather for the three of us after what had happened to us. The other team's (Daito Odachi's and Baku Hatake's to be specific) first mission wasn't as hardcore as ours but I had heard that Kaz's team had nearly died on their first mission, too, which made me annoyed, because I wanted something to lord over him. Not that I wasn't glad for their safety, of course.

Anyway, fast-forward and here we were in class after school was over and those in the Ninja Course were to stay behind for an announcement.

"Alright, so I'm sure you've all heard rumours from around the Leaf and other students," said Shikamaru-sensei, "well, allow me to confirm them for you:

The Chunin Exams are coming."

Unintentionally, I sprang out of my chair, crying out: "HECK YEAH!!!!"

All the rest of the other class's cheers were silenced instantly. It was completely awkward until I sat back down in my chair.

"How loud can you get?" Asami muttered.

"Back to what I was saying," Shikamaru-sensei continued, "most, if not all of you already know what the Chunin Exams is, but for those who don't they are a series of tests and challenges that pose an opportunity for you genin to be promoted to the chunin level. With it being an international event (held bi-annually) other ninja villages can join as well. This time around genin from the Sand and Cloud Villages will be participating.

"Joining the Chunin Exams is optional, even if your team sensei recommends you, you still hold the final vote. You can choose to join next year, or even the year after, whenever you feel ready. But there are two things to keep in mind on the matter. One: you cannot advance to chunin until you take these exams and pass them. Two: the further you postpone entrance the lesser your chances are of getting recognized in the ninja world. The Chunin Exams aren't just about trying to get to the next level, they also provide you with an opportunity to make a name for yourself among higher-ranking ninja, worldwide. It would be in your best interest to perform as best as you can to leave an impression.

"Those who participate now as fresh entries into the Ninja Course will be looked at the most due to having the most potential. This is your one chance."

A chance to level up and make myself known! Who wouldn't jump at the chance?! I beamed. Glancing to my right, I saw a malicious but resolved grin on Kaz's face and realized he must have been thinking the same thing as me.

We were, technically, heading for the same goal, after all.

"A fair warning, though," Shikamaru-sensei added. "These will not be ordinary exams. You'll be really put to the test as true ninja. In some cases, your life may even be in danger. I advise you all to take this seriously, and train your hardest. You have exactly three weeks to prepare starting from tomorrow until it begins. No classes for you guys until after. Good luck."

Later that day, we met up with Hisao-sensei at the Sixth Training Ground District. It was there, Asami and I were having a sparring session, while Yuura and Hisao watched.

During the fight, I became aware of just how good Asami was in taijutsu. Even though I was physically stronger than her, her movements and finesse were so refined that I couldn't keep up and so I was either thrown onto the ground or kicked square in the stomach.

At a point I resorted to using my Flash jutsu to overwhelm her in speed by darting back and sprinting up to her in a split-second with a punch to the face. She intercepted it just before the point of contact, sliding under it rather than blocking it and then stomach throwing me.

I landed on my feet and was about to go in again when she sent a large Fireball Jutsu my way. I formed a Shadow Clone and leapt off its head as it took the hit. I regret that idea though because she had seen it coming.

"Wood Style: Binding Stream!" she called, creating several branches that stretched out for me like overgrown arms. Since I was airborne, it was impossible to dodge all of them leading me to cut them with a chakra-filled kunai.

How can she use one jutsu after another so quickly?! I panicked.

As soon as I had dealt with the Wood Style, I threw the kunai and dived down straight at her, intending to not give her a moment to think but that didn't even matter. She seamlessly dodged the kunai and, just as I was upon her, delivered a strike to my collarbone. I tried to counter but she knew when and where my hands would strike and threw me onto the ground, subduing me with a kunai to my face. She kneeled over me with a sweat-ridden face, looking blankly into my eyes whick kind of pissed me off.

What are you thinking all the time...?

"That's enough!" Hisao-sensei announced. "Asami is the winer of this spar!"

She got up from on top of me and held out her hand to help me up which I took.

"Aw, man! It's like you knew what I was gonna do at every moment! Can't blame you though," I grinned. After all, I've been recycling the same jutsu for a whole month now.

"Now," said Hisao-sensei, "make the Seal of Reconciliation.

As we did so I said to Asami: "Next time, I will win."

"Sure," she blew it off.

"You guys really kept me at the edge of my seat!" Yuura commented. "You've definetely gotten better, Iroko!"

I rubbed the back of my head, cheekily. "Thanks."

"Don't worry, Yuura, you'll be sparring next," said Hisao-sensei. "Anywho, I hope you two managed to learn something from this spar."

"Yeah, for sure!" I said first. "It looks like I've gotta stop making my moves so predictable if I wanna fool my opponent, which means I also need to start learning some new techniques!"

"And I learned that Iroko will forever be an idiot," said Asami.

"Alright, square up, we're going at it again!!" I shouted, trying to punch her to which she dodged.

Hisao-sensei smiled. "You've all very much improved, giving me more confidence that you'll do well in the Chunin Exams. Speaking of which, here you are."

He pulled from his pocket three papers that looked like giant tickets.

"These are your application forms for entering the Chunin Exams. It's more than apparent to me that all three of you are looking to take it so here you are."

I held the form in my hand with pure excitement. It was really going to happen. mY chance to move to the next rank in order to become the ultimate ninja.

"Do your best, and remember to look out for each other. That's all. You're free to go," then he said, "but Asami? Could you remain behind for a moment?"

"Ooooh, someone's in trouble!" I whispered to her.

Ten minutes later, Asami came walking out of the District on her own and joined up with me and Yuura outside.

"You waited for me?" she question with what I would assume was a surprised tone.

"Yeah," I replied. "I was thinking we could all head to The Edo for some lunch. It is the week-end after all!"

This time around she didn't refuse. "Fine."

...

"So what did Hisao-sensei call you back for?" I asked as we walked out of the restaurant. "Did you really get in trouble?"

"No," she replied. "He offered to personally train me."

"HUHHHHH?!"

"Really? That's surprising!" Yuura gasped. "How come?"

"Yeah! What makes you so special, huh?" I sneered with a snide look on my face.

She didn't reply immediately and just said: "He wants to teach me a jutsu that only I can use."

"Nope!" I objected. "I refuse! I'm marching back to him. If he can teach you this jutsu then he can teach it to me and Yuura as......."

My words trailed off as I saw a certain someone in the crowd of people ahead. Asami and Yuura, who were expecting me to talk, followed my gaze and saw what I saw. He was talking to someone else, a woman, with pink hair and a baby in her arms. The certain someone had slightly long spiky black hair and wore a large dark blue cloak. They also gave off a rather intimidating presence which also led me suspect that it might be...

"Hey, y- you guys," Yuura stuttered. "I-isn't that -- um, up ahead. Isn't that--?"

"I heard that he had returned to the Leaf," Asami stated, "but to see him in person..."

That certain someone that was there in front of me, within my field of vision, was none other than the man who bore the name that I said with elation.

"Sasuke Uchiha!!!"

Side Story: What Happened at The Edo

Iroko, Asami & Yuura walk in.

Waitress: Hi there! Welcome to The Edo! What can I do for you today?

Iroko: Table for three, please!

Waitress: Of course, right this way!

Iroko, Asami & Yuura sat at a table.

Iroko: Whatever you guy's want, it's on me!

Yuura: Do you have enough money to pay for our meal?

Iroko: I hope so, if I don't I can just take it out of Neechan's savings.

Yuura: (sweatdropping) That doesn't sound morally right, Iroko...

Iroko: Anywayyyy, I'm having the uramaki sushi. What about you, Yuura?

Yuura: (thinking) Mmm, I think I'll go have sashimi with a bowl of rice.

Iroko: Sounds good. Asami?

Asami is still looking over the menu.

Yuura: It's okay if you can't decide, we can just get the waitress to recommend you something, right, Iroko?

Iroko: (grinning) Better idea, I can just recommend you something! Here, how 'bout this?

*Minutes later*

Waitress: Here are your orders! Please don't hesitate to call me if you need anything! Enjoy!

Iroko and Yuura: Thank you!

Yuura: Iroko, you got Asami Tempura sushi?

Iroko: Yup, the starter dish for getting into sushi, completely with ginger and wasabi on the sides and mayo sauce as a bonus. Hope you like it, Asami :)

Iroko, Asami & Yuura: Itadakimasu.

They begin eating their respective meals. Asami stares at hers for moment then reaches for her chopsticks, picks up one of the tempura rolls and takes a bite from it.

Iroko and Yuura, amidst eating, stare at her expectantly.

She swallows it and looks at them nonchalantly.

Asami: It's not bad.

Iroko thrusts a thumbs up at Yuura that has Told you so! written all over it. He smiles back, exhausted.

Iroko ended up having to take money out of his sister's savings to pay.