Chapter 78: Chapter 78:
"You all pass!" Ibiki shouted, surprising the hell out of everyone who was left inside the classroom.
"We pass? Just like that!" Someone shouted, not believing it.
Ibiki smiled as he placed his hands back into his pockets.
"As a shinobi, it helps to be smart. It also helps to be able to conduct covert ops without being caught. Even such an act as cheating on a test for example."
The students had figured as much, having only survived this far by not being caught too many times.
"However, a true shinobi must have the guts to endure any challenge that they face. Even if that means their life." He said, letting his words sink in.
Ibiki could see that more than a few genin in the room had already seen and faced death, some more than once.
"I think this will make for an interesting exam this year." He thought as he liked the look of a few individuals.
"Anyway, report to this location for 14:00 hours sharp. Your next test will be explained to you there." Ibiki said before he watched some of them slowly exit the room.
Kinimaro took a look at the time, seeing it was currently 12:00 pm. Meaning they had two hours before they had to report to the location.
That being said, they had given no direction and no map. Meaning you would have to find the place yourself.
Kimimaro regrouped with Haku and Koyuki, smiling at them.
"How did you both find that exam?" Koyuki asked.
"It was hard, not impossible, but still difficult," Kimimaro said.
"Quick thinking on that ice mirror to help us." Koyuki then said to Haku.
Haku nodded.
"Don't worry about it. I was confident in my answers and thought you could both use a hand. Even if they caught us, it was only classed as cheating once each, something we could afford to do." Haku said.
Kimimaro and Koyuki both nodded.
"Glad to see we think on the same page," Koyuki said as she placed her hands on her hips.
Haku nodded.
"We had better not waste any time and follow someone who knows the location of the next exam." He then said.
Kiminaro agreed, having already targeted a group of hidden leaf ninja. It was a safe bet after all with it being their village, they would know it like the back of their hand.
"Let's move out." He then said as they got ready to leave.
"Hey, where you three off to?" A voice suddenly asked.
Koyuki and the others turned to look who it was, seeing Kujira and the others on his team. Chika and Rokuro.
"Should have known you guys wouldn't have been outed so easily," Chika said as she stopped in front of them, sipping her water bottle.
Haku nodded, happy to see they had also passed the first exam.
"We can all take the exam together." He then said, extending his hand.
"Don't lump us in with you lot, we won't help you pass, and we won't lose to you," Fujira said as he slapped Haku's hand away.
Haku didn't show any expression and took his hand back, understanding why they wouldn't want to team up.
"Don't listen to him Haku, we won't be helping you three either," Koyuki said as she came to his defence.
"Chill Fujira," Chika said, getting his attention.
"Besides these aren't the only three we have to worry about." She then said as she looked over to another group of three mist shinobi.
Fujira looked over to them, noticing who it was he was looking at.
"Hattori Toyotomi..." He said under his breath.
(This is a fan insert for a Patreon that supports the story! Big shoutout to TheRagFromTheCrag for supporting the story.)
Kimimaro and the others also looked at him and his squad, noticing he was with two fierce looking female shinobi, all of who looked to be older than themselves.
Chika took another sip of her water bottle, watching as the three Kiri ninja walked out of the classroom, giving Fujira and Kimimaro a serious look.
"See, we can't be making enemies when we already have so many." She then said, feeling to be wary of this Hattori character.
Rokuro agreed.
"Rumour has it, Hattori is an excellent swordsman and even has his name down to be entered for selection of the new 7 ninja swordsmen." He said, getting a surprised look from the others.
"Whatever. We won't lose no matter who we face." Kujira then said, barging past Kimimaro and Haku as he made his way to the exit.
"See you at the next exam." He then said through his sharp teeth, before he walked out.
Chika smiled, giving a wave before she followed suit.
"See you there." She said following her teammate.
Rokuro did the same thing, giving a nod to Haku and the others, acting nicer than his teammates before he followed them and left the classroom.
"Do you know anything about the other three?" Kimimaro asked, after seeing the look in Hattori's's eyes.
Koyuki shook her head, not knowing anything, but Haku nodded.
"I have heard his name before. I believe he and his squad were held back from the last chunin exam, due to their sensei being killed on one of their missions." Haku said.
"I believe others have already said they are all on or above chunin level already, and that this exam would be easy for them."
Kimimaro and Koyuki both looked surprised at the information before Koyuki punched him in the arm.
"Is there anything you don't know!" She shouted, getting a small laugh from Haku.
With that the three of them decided it was best if they left and made their way to the next exam location.
Sometime later...
Haku, Kimimaro and Koyuki had followed the others to the second exam location. The task hadn't proved too difficult, seeing as how quite a few other team's had passed the first exam.
They had arrived at the outer perimeter of a large forest, labelled the forest of death.
Everyone waited at the main gate that was sealed shut, locked with chains and seal tags, making it look even more foreboding.
Everyone seemed to be waiting patiently for what was going to happen next, some looking more nervous than others.
Everyone kept to themselves, staying within their own team's, not sure what the next exam would entail, deciding it would be best not to interact with anyone else.
Kimimaro used this time to scan the others, trying to figure out who might pose a threat as he looked at the competition.
His eyes moved from person to person before a strange shiver ran down his back, forcing him to spin around, a little to quick.
Kimimaro looked up seeing that it was Hattori Toyotomi, stood directly behind him, taking him by surprise as he had not noticed his presence at all.
"When did he?" Kimimaro thought at he took a good look at him.
He was tall, very tall. Standing at six foot one, wearing a metal head protector, (like the 2nd Hokage) with black hair that had auburn streaks running through it.
Kimimaro also noticed his eyes were each a different colour, one being a light misty blue and the other being grey.
"So you are Kimimaro," Hattori said as he looked down at him.
"I am," Kimimaro replied.
Haku and Koyuki both watched from the sidelines as the standoff between them began, not going unnoticed by others around them.
But as quickly as it started, it finished.
"Be seeing you." Hattori suddenly said, breaking eye contact and walking past Kimimaro with a grin, leaving him wondering where he stood with him.
It would seem that due to himself and Haku having been adopted by Fuyōna, it had formed some sort of jealous notion from other genin who also wished to gain the approval of the strongest Mizukage and hero of the land of water. Meaning they had a lot of rivals who wanted nothing more than to crush them.
"I don't like the look of him." Koyuki said, feeling a killing aura surrounding him, knowing he was trouble.
"Don't worry Koyuki, Kimimaro can handle himself," Haku said, smiling at her to put her at ease. However, he didn't like the look of him either and would be keeping an eye on him from now on, he thought as he watched him walk away.
"Alright you lot, liven up already!" A voice said coming from above them, snapping everyone out of their daydreams.
Everyone looked up to see a woman with purple hair eating dumplings while sitting on a fence.
"Are you ready for your second exam, because you could die?" She said with a menacing tone in-between mouth fulls.
"My name is Anko! And I'll be your instructor for the second exam!"
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