Chapter 23: Making the Cut I

Naruto and Sakura found themselves standing before the Hokage, with Anko, Kakashi and Ibiki being present as well. The atmosphere was tense as both Naruto and Sakura recounted their encounter with Orochimaru to those present.

The Hokage took some time to mull the information over. He set his eyes on Naruto.

"Naruto-kun, did he mention anything else that can be of importance?" The Sandaime asked. Naruto knew he had to tread carefully in terms of what he reveals.

He had to take care to reveal half-truths and give them enough to go on without endangering his own position. He won't leave them in the dark though, he isn't that much of a cruel bastard.

"Like I said before Jiji, he went on some long monologue about being a Sannin, how disappointed he was in Sasuke for not being as strong as some dude named Itachi, how surprised he was that Sasuke still had some tricks up his sleeve and how Sasuke would seek him out for power.

Honestly, Sakura and I were basically just bystanders. That pale pedo was way too interested in Sasuke. The rape-face he directed at the emo-king, made even me clench my asshole. I don't want to think about what he would have done to Sasuke if Sakura and I weren't there.

It would be way worse than the hickey, that's for sure." Explained Naruto, like he was discussing the weather. The Hokage had a large sweat-drop on the side of his face.

Anko, despite the seriousness of the situation and her personal investment in it, couldn't help but snicker at the way the gaki gave his report. Ibiki wasn't any better with that amused smirk on his face.

Sakura looked like she wanted to berate Naruto, but being in a room with some of the most powerful shinobi in the village along with her memory of the killing intent Naruto unleashed in the forest, made her wisely stay her hand.

Kakashi was just leaning against the wall, a bit worried about the wellbeing of his student.

"I…See. This certainly is a troubling situation." The Hokage said. He glanced at Anko, who looked like she was about to protest, and held up his hand to silence her.

"I know how you feel Anko, and I would like to cancel the exams, if I could. But the fact of the matter is, that it is too late for that. We would be painting a target on our backs to enemy villages if we show weakness at this point. We will have to go on and tread carefully while keeping a close eye on Sasuke-kun, who seems to have caught my old student's interest."

The occupants took time to mull over that information. The security of their village was compromised and it wasn't a small matter at all. They needed to find a way to handle this situation without incurring any casualties. They were broken from their thought by the sounds of tiny footsteps that seemed to be scampering in their direction.

The Jounin in the room were immediately on guard. The door burst open and a black fox jumped into Naruto's arms.

"Naruto-sama!" She cried out happily.

"Haha hey Saya-chan…it's good to see you again. Did you complete the mission I assigned you?" He asked her, to which she gave an enthusiastically affirmative nod. "Fufufu…that's my girl. I knew I could count on you." He praised while rubbing her belly, causing her to purr in absolute bliss at his ministrations.

"Naruto-kun? Who is your…friend?" the Hokage asked carefully. A bit on edge at seeing a fox.

"Hmm…Oh this is my personal summons, Saya." He said casually, never once stopping his petting of her. The Hokage tensed up once again at hearing that. There was no fox summoning contract in Konoha. He started to think the worst case scenario, that the Kyuubi was somehow influencing him.

"And how did you get the fox summoning contract?" The Hokage inquired.

"Oh, I saw the jutsu in the library, so I though…How cool would it be to summon like, a dragon or something. So I did the jutsu and somehow reverse summoned myself to the realm of the kitsune. They were pretty chill about me being there and the boss summon offered me a chance to sign their contract. I said yes, and here we are." He explained.

The Sandaime let out a sigh of relief. It seemed Naruto's situation was similar to what happened to Jiraiya. He would have his student discreetly check out the seal though, just in case.

While this was going on, the females in the room, namely Anko and Sakura had to hold themselves back from squealing at the cute scene of Naruto pampering the adorable fox. They desperately wanted to glomp the tiny ball of fluff.

"Okay Saya, I'll pamper you more later on. For now, give me your report." He ordered. She immediately straightened up.

"Hai. As you instructed, I followed the four-eyed one through most of the forest. He didn't show much difference from his usual façade, but a few hours ago, he met with a pale man, calling him 'Orochimaru-sama'. The pale one said the marking was successful and told four-eyes to keep his eye on his prize. He also told four-eyes that he should keep a low profile and contact their allies soon." Saya reported.

"Looks like I was right. Thanks for the great work Saya. Take a rest for now. I'll summon you again later with some treats ready as a reward." Naruto said. Saya just yipped happily and disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"Naruto-kun." The Hokage called out to him. He noticed that the Jounins were also focused on him. He discreetly made a motion towards Sakura. The Hokage got the message and called a Chuunin in to escort her out of the room. Once she was gone, Naruto gave his findings.

"At the start of the exam, when I was standing with the rest if the rookies. We were approached by a man named Yakushi Kabuto. I was immediately suspicious of the guy. His chakra reserves were much too large for a Genin. He had a much as Kakashi-sensei and the smooth way in which it flowed suggested that his control was almost perfect.

Far better than anyone else in this village, yourself included." He said.

"Wait!" The Hokage held up his hand, looking a little baffled. "You mean you can tell how much chakra a person has? And how can you tell if he had perfect chakra control?" Asked the Hokage, looking perplexed at what he was hearing.

"You mean you can't?" Naruto pondered, seeing the incredulous expressions he was receiving. "I have been able to do it for a while. And I know he has perfect chakra control because his chakra was smooth and undisturbed, similar to Sakura, who Kakashi-sensei said has perfect chakra control." He explained.

"Naruto-kun, this is amazing. Why didn't you tell anyone you had this ability?" He questioned.

"Well I thought that everybody could do it. You know better than anyone, that everything I know is self-taught. I didn't see anything unique about my ability because I thought all shinobi had it." Shrugged Naruto.

He was obviously lying through his teeth, but he needed to cover his tracks in a way that didn't draw suspicion on him. The Hokage winced, nodding in understanding, and a little sadness before motioning him to continue.

"Like I said, the guy was hella suspicious. Even when those Oto-nin attacked him at the beginning, I noticed that he was forcing himself to move in a sub-par manner. All those things combined sent of warning bells in my head.

I wanted to be sure of my suspicions, so I summoned Saya as soon as we got into the forests and had her track him down. The rest, you heard from her. It seems that he is a spy for Orochimaru." He concluded.

Those in the room were impressed with his ability as well as the vital piece of information he brought them. Ibiki was smirking at the irony of it, seeing as this exam so far was to test the information gathering ability of the Genin's, and Naruto did just that, by scoring important information for his village. The kid definitely had his vote for Chuunin.

"Thank you for your hard-work, Naruto-kun. I'm sure you'd like a rest from the troubles you faced in the forest. You can go relax in your quarters, we will take it from here." Advised the Hokage.

"Alright. See you later Jiji." He replied before leaving the room.

"Such a promising young boy." The Hokage commented.

...

It's been a little over a day and a half since Team 7 reached the tower, and it was spent mostly with Sakura making a fuss over Sasuke like some mother hen, with said last Uchiha looking as though he's trying to break a Guinness world record for brooding. He's been in an even worse mood since he regained consciousness.

Being told that he couldn't use his new power as well as the fact that Naruto so easily took him out, well let's just say it's not all sunshine and daisies in Uchiha land at the moment.

Naruto passed the time by playing with Saya, chatting up Temari as well as spending time with Iruka-sensei. He couldn't do much else with all the eyes present in the tower, so he just decided to relax.

Currently, the Genin's that overcame the harsh conditions of the second test are assembled in, what looks like a combat room, listening to the Sandaime Hokage drone on about how the Chuunin Exams are a replacement for war and all that jazz. Honestly, Naruto wondered if these people just loved the sound of their own voices.

He looked around the room to assess the teams that qualified. He noticed all the rookie teams made it, along with Maito Gai's team. The Suna team, the Oto team as well as Kabuto's team all qualified. It was quite the collection of individuals.

He was broken out his musings by a sickly looking guy, with a sword strapped to his back, jumping down to the floor they were standing in.

"I, Gekko Hyate, the…cough…proctor for the third test…cough…will explain." Said the sickly looking dude. Naruto sweat-dropped. This guy was in serious need of a cough drop.

"Everyone, before the third test…cough…There is something I want you to…cough…do…Fight in some preliminary battles to see who advances to the main stage of the third test." He stated.

"Preliminary matches? What do you mean?" Shikamaru questioned agitatedly.

"Preliminary matches? I don't understand. Why can't we start the third test with the remaining examinees?" Sakura asked.

"In this case…cough…it must have been because the first and second exam were…cough…too easy, I don't know…But there are too…cough…many examinees left. According to Chuunin regulations, we must decrease the number of participants for the third test.

As previously mentioned by Hokage-sama, there are many…cough…guests for the third test, so…We cannot just have a lot of matches. We are limited on time as well. So, those who aren't feeling well…cough…Excuse me. If anyone wants to quit after hearing the explanation, please let me know. The preliminary matches will begin immediately." Hayate explained.

"Immediately?!" Kiba cried out.

"But we just got through the second test…" Ino whimpered.

"I forgot to mention, that you will have one-on-one matches from here on out. So please withdraw if you wish." Hayate added. There was silence, as many participants started looking around, seeing if they can spot potential weaknesses.

"I'll quit." Came the unexpected, expected in some cases, voice of Kabuto. Naruto glanced at the Hokage and noticed him discreetly signalling his ANBU. Naruto decided to leave it to them to deal with, for the most part. He will still continue to tail Kabuto, just in case.

"May I assume that no more people wish to retire?" Hayate questioned. When no one answered, he continued. "The, let's begin the preliminary matches. It will be a one-on-one match. In other words, it will be like real combat.

Now that we have exactly 20 people here, we will have 10 matches…And the winners will be able to advance to the third test. There are no rules. You will fight until the other person dies, is knocked out…cough…or admits defeat.

If you do not want to die, please give up immediately. However, I will judge if a match is over…cough…I may stop you to prevent unnecessary deaths. The thing that will hold your destiny…" He signalled to Anko who spoke into her earpiece. A screen on the wall in front of the Genin's opened up.

"Will be this. This electronic bulletin board will randomly display the names of two fighters for each match. Without further ado, I will display the names for the first match."

The display lit up, before randomly generating names, before settling on two.

Aburame Shino VS Abumi Zaku