Ch 28 : The end of the Chunin Exam First Stage

When the words were said, everybody's attention immediately shifted to Hibachi, shivering in the corner.

The atmosphere which was set up by Naruto has been broken by Hibachi.

At this moment, Ibiki was secretly smiling in his heart. This little kid was like a god sent to this exam. Who thought that even after Naruto did all of this, there would still be a coward like him? His Jonin instructor should be ashamed of himself.

Sakura and Ami looked at Hibachi full of worries, especially after Hibachi slowly stood up.

Everyone thought Hibachi had given up, but then he said something that was ultimately out of everyone's expectations.

" My Sensei always said that eventually, All roads lead to Rome. I don't know what Rome is, but he said it means everyone had their own path.

I'm not afraid to be held as a Genin forever. I have my own path and believe that I will reach my dream one day. My only fear is to be a coward and hold back my comrade. Sensei always told me that life is a fleeting moment, and to find a comrade during the journey called life itself was already a blessing. And for that, there's no way I would give up in something like this!"

Bang!!!

Hibachi completely shocked everyone here.

If Sanada was to be here, he would say that it was a bit edgy and unnecessary, but still, deep inside his heart, he would give 10/10 for this one.

Yup, at this moment, Hibachi had entirely made up his mind. He knew that his own path might not be a ninja, and for that reason, he should not hold back Sakura.

The atmosphere turned bright once again with Hibachi's words, and Ibiki could only sigh inwardly.

(*Sigh*, why is everyone here like this? Don't they know it is a test?) Nonetheless, Ibiki was still satisfied with this performance. A person who would never back away, and another one who would cherish his comrade, these two discoveries were enough to make him interested.

( Now I really want to meet the Sensei in that kid's words.)

Seeing that there's no use in putting up an act any longer. Ibiki decided to end the test.

" Then, that's all. For those who are all here. The first exam..."

" You have passed!"

BOOM!!!

Everyone felt as if they were dreaming.

But at this moment, one of the candidates suddenly had a realization.

' So that's it! That's why Sensei told us not to worry... *Sigh* In the end, we are really dancing to your finger, aren't we? Sensei..'

After that, things went on like in the anime. Ibiki began his long speech, and Anko came to interrupt him.

She came with a big banner that immediately stole everyone's attention and proceeded to bring them to the venue of the second exam, the Forest of Death.

. . . . . . .

- Forest of Death -

Anko faced the group of candidates as she started explaining the rule of the second exam.

Basically, the rules could be simplified like this.

{ A.N.: Just the same basic rules of the second stage that I copied from the Naruto-wiki, skip it if you feel like you still remember the second stage rules clearly ^_^}

Three-man Genin teams are given either a Heaven Scroll (Ten no Sho) or an Earth Scroll (Chi no Sho) before entering the forest. They then have five days for the entire team to reach the building in the center of the forest with one of each scroll in their possession; how they acquire the other scroll is up to them, by force or by trade being the most common options. Because of the natural hazards of the forest, the absence of services or outside assistance, and the likely conflict with other teams, genin must sign liability waivers before entering to release Konoha from responsibility for any injuries or deaths.

If a team loses their starting scroll, they are not automatically disqualified, as they may use the remaining time to acquire another copy of the scroll they've lost. By the same extension, acquiring both scrolls does not guarantee completion of the second stage, as they still must reach the center building in time. As the second stage goes on, teams that have lost their scroll will tend to gather around the building, hoping to prey on those with both. Alternately, teams that already have both scrolls can linger outside the building, taking scrolls from others to reduce the competition of later stages.

Candidates are forbidden from opening either scroll until they have reached the central building. If they follow this instruction, the scroll will summon a higher-ranked ninja to grant them advancement to the next stage. If they do not follow this instruction, the ninja will render them and everyone else in the area unconscious for the duration of the second stage.

" That is all for today's rules, though I do have one more thing to say..."

" Don't Die!" Anko said to begin the curtain of the second stage of the Chunin Exams.

. . . . . . .

- Sanada & the others -

" That's royal flush to signify my third win for the day," Kakashi said as he put down the card on his hand.

Yup, because Sanada knew this would be a long and boring process, he had brought some playing cards. However, he never thought that everyone would really get hooked on and become serious.

Well, everything started with him, though. He said they should put a few Ryo on the table to make things even more fun, but now Sanada clearly regretted his decision.

During the last three games, he had lost almost one day's income from his restaurant to Kakashi.

" Kakashi-senpai... using Sharingan for this kind of thing is cheating, you know...." Said Sanada with a bit depressed expression.

" Hahahaha, who said it was cheating? It's a part of the game Sanada, don't be a sore loser!" Said Kakashi as he patted Sanada's shoulder.

Yup, even though Sanada was an earthling, he was still no match for Kakashi in this kind of thing.

He always fell for Kakashi's trap and eventually lost big in the few games they played. One time Sanada was very confident with his card and decided to play big, but in the end, Kakashi showed a Royal flush that immediately flushed down every inch of Sanada's excitement.

On the side, Kurenai looked at this scene with amusement on her face. She saw Sanada getting depressed, and somehow it brought enjoyment to her heart.

During the few days she got to know Sanada, Sanada seemed to be always in control of everything, and that made Kurenai felt Sanada was very far from them. Seeing this side of Sanada made Kurenai realize that Sanada was no different than them, and it make her very happy.

Of course, among the four, Asuma was the most pitiable one. Sanada might be the one that loses the most money, but when Asuma saw the smile Kurenai displayed to Sanada, he felt his heart was broken into pieces.

In fact, he wanted to swap places with Sanada if he could, even if it meant selling every property of the third Hokage.

In the end, the game stopped, with Sanada almost losing three days' worth of his income in the restaurant.

" *Sigh* I'm not playing any game like this with Kakashi-Senpai anymore!" Sanada grumbled, to which Kakashi only responded with a smile.

" By the way, what do you think of your three disciples Kakashi senpai? Would they be able to pass this exam?" Asked Sanada trying to change the subject.

" Hmmm... It shouldn't be that hard. Naruto and Sasuke had grown since the last wave mission. However, that Kasumi, she worried me a lot." Kakashi sighed. " How about you? I feel like that pink hair girl of your team is pretty good, but how's the other two?"

" Hehe, they would only be stupid if they couldn't pass this exam with a breeze." Sanada smiled mysteriously, which brought confusion to the other three.