Chapter 50: Chapter 50: A Team on the Rise
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto
Chapter 50:
A Team on the Rise
Kushina's eyes sparkled in anticipation the moment they saw the sight waiting for her and her team on the other side of the double doors. It was a giant room, resembling an auditorium more than anything. Kushina couldn't count them all, but there were dozens and dozens of genin sprawled about, each team taking its spot somewhere in the room. There was much chatter to go around. Kushina could feel the excitement in the air, no doubt for the fact that this was the first Chunnin exams in a while.
Next to her, Fugaku looked around as well, his eyes picking out each genin in the room. But he couldn't see the one he was interested in.
Hizashi fiddled a bit, no doubt feeling a bit nervous. It was unusual for a Hyuuga, but he was feeling a bit of apprehension. There was much stake in this for him and his brother. More specifically his brother, given the fact that he was to be the next clan head while Hizashi was only a branch member. But either way, the Hyuuga clan was expecting them to both clear this exam with ease. In many ways, it was overwhelming.
"Well, it looks like you three made it."
Kushina smirked when she saw Tsume and her team walking up to them. Her teammates were both Hiashi and Shibi, the latter hanging a bit back as he readjusted his glasses.
"You really didn't think I was going to let you hog all the spotlight, did you?" Kushina said, her smirk still in place.
The Inuzuka girl returned her smirk with Kuromaru barking in excitement from within her hoodie. Kushina wasn't surprised that her friend had brought the ninja dog along with her. Kuromaru was her partner, after all. Not to mention that it made her jutsu that more formidable.
Hiashi on the other hand simply looked at his brother who greeted him with a nod. No words needed to be said between them. They already knew what they had to do.
"It looks like you have a fun team," Kushina muttered while glancing at Shibi to emphasize her point.
Tsume merely sighed, not replying. There really wasn't any need to. She and the other two were completely different when it came to their personality it was ridiculous. But in the end, that never came in between their teamwork. Thankfully.
"Hey, guys! It was about time you got here!"
Both Kushina and Tsume turned their heads to see Emi waving in excitement at them as she made her way to their group. Hikari was right behind her while Takao kept his distance. The boy already knew that his presence wasn't going to be accepted by the others. Well, the guys wouldn't care. That didn't ring true for the kunoichi, though.
"You lack composure, Yamanaka," Hiashi commented as he glanced at her. "You need to be more professional."
Emi rolled her eyes as she stopped next to Kushina. "Yeah, yeah. You can talk to the hand, Hiashi. I still can't believe you're from the same clan as my Hikari-chan."
Said Hyuuga didn't respond, merely averting her gaze from Hiashi's. It was something that Kushina picked up on. And while she found it a bit odd, she didn't comment on it.
Hiashi scoffed, turning his back to Emi. As far as he was concerned, the girl wasn't worth getting in an argument with.
Fugaku had a slight smirk, actually finding it a bit amusing how the Yamanaka girl had told Hiashi off. The Uchiha and Hyuuga were always in a rivalry, after all.
As for Shibi, the quiet Aburame merely readjusted his glasses again, preferring to observe what was happening than to partake in it. It was more interesting for him that way.
"Troublesome. I should have known you guys were going to be here too."
The group of gennin turned to see an annoyed looking Shikaku walking up to them with both Choza and Inoichi at his side.
"Oh! Does that mean that my Mikoto-chan is here too!?" Inoichi asked with excitement as he looked around for said Uchiha girl.
Fugaku glanced at him for a moment before closing his eyes.
Emi's eyes twitched as she looked at Inoichi. "I see you're still obsessed with her as ever."
Inoichi grinned, turning his attention to his fellow Yamanaka. "And why shouldn't I be? She's more charming than a certain someone else I know….."
Emi growled. "Keep talking, ponytail, and we'll see who's less charming after I rearrange your face!"
Kushina, Tsume, and Hikari sweatdropped. This was the first time that they were seeing the usual bubbly blonde girl so irritated. They had always known that Emi didn't particularly get along with Inoichi, but never to this extent. Which was surprising really, considering that they both claimed to "love" the popular members in their graduating class. Maybe that was why they couldn't stand each other? Because they were so similar?
Shikaku sighed in irritation. "You two are so loud, I swear."
Choza laughed, his hands empty of chips for once. "I would have thought you would be used to it by now."
The lazy Nara picked his ear. "It's been a month since they last saw each other. I had forgotten about their dynamics by now."
"We can agree on something for once."
Shikaku blinked for a moment in slight confusion before his irritated look returned full force. "Troublesome….."
Right behind him was none other than Yoshino, an irritated look of her own as she glanced at Emi and Inoichi.
Next to her was Minato who had an uneasy smile on his face. "Calm down, Yoshino. I'm sure they think of themselves as good friends."
Yoshino shot the blond a look of disbelief. "Your optimism never fails to impress me, Minato."
Choza nodded. "That's Minato alright."
Shikaku didn't comment while Kushina grinned at Yoshino. "Glad to see you here too, Yoshino."
The Nara girl sighed. "It was obvious already, Kushina. Or what? Did you think I'm like this lazy ass next to me and try to skip?"
Said "lazy ass" shot her an irritated look. And here he had thought that he wouldn't have to deal with her nagging as much.
'This Chunnin exams deal is really starting the wrong way,' Shikaku thought to himself.
Both Fugaku and Hiashi looked at Minato. The two already knew that, despite the blond's easy going nature, he was the biggest threat in this exam. To Hiashi, he was the number one person he aimed to take down. For Fugaku, it was someone else. Minato was still up there, though. But it didn't seem like she was with her team…..how odd.
Tsume was thinking along the same lines, growling softly as she sniffed the air around them. Thanks to her Inuzuka traits, her nose was much more powerful than the average human. Finding the scent she was looking for, Tsume turned her gaze over to one of the corners in the room. And just as she had smelled it, Mikoto was standing by the wall with her arms crossed.
Tsume smirked, feeling her Inuzuka senses tingling in excitement and anticipation. 'So, you came, Uchiha…..'
That was her main target. The one she had to prove herself against. And she would do so in this exam, no matter what.
Kushina glanced at her, seeing the look of excitement on her friend's face. Following her line of sight, Kushina wasn't too surprised to see that it was Mikoto who had garnered that reaction. She felt the same exact desire, after all.
Minato sighed as he noticed this. Scratching his cheek, he said, "Mikoto…isn't really for that rival stuff."
Both Kushina and Tsume turned their attention to the blond who smiled. "She's kind of apprehensive about that sort of stuff."
Yoshino almost snorted. 'Apprehensive? Yeah, right. More like she thinks that none of us are worth her time.' There was some minor friction between her and Mikoto. But that mainly had to do with Mikoto's attitude towards teamwork than anything else. Yoshino wasn't interested in trying to measure herself against the girl. That was Kushina's and Tsume's thing.
Tsume did snort. "Tough. That girl already knows that I'm coming for her. Besides, you shouldn't be worrying about others too much, pretty boy. You're a big target too. I wouldn't mind duking it out with you too."
"There's no point in trying to talk her out of it," Emi said, joining the conversation before Minato could reply. "Trust me. If she sees you as a worthy challenge, she'll come after you."
"Ha! As if Tsume has a chance against either one," Inoichi said with a shake of his head. "She couldn't even beat Mikoto-chan once in the academy. I'm sure she's gotten even stronger now."
Shibi hummed silently to himself at that, recalling Naruto's and Mikoto's little spar before the blond had left. He could claim that Inoichi's statement was more right than perhaps the Yamanaka himself thought. But that only gave him more leeway than the others with having that information. Not that it necessarily meant that he had the upper hand either, though.
Tsume growled in annoyance, not enjoying being reminded of that. "This isn't the academy anymore. Things change."
Kushina nodded in agreement.
'Be it as it may, it doesn't mean that Inoichi's statement is any less true,' Hiashi thought to himself while looking towards Mikoto. 'She's a powerful kunoichi. Of that, I'm certain of. I can't ignore that she's probably even better than the last time I saw her. Other than Minato, she's the biggest threat in this exam.'
Hizashi could already tell what his twin brother was thinking but didn't comment. He had his fill of challenging Mikoto with Kushina.
'It seems that you've become even more popular,' Fugaku thought while looking at Mikoto. 'Not that I was expecting anything else.'
"It looks like things are going to heat up," Choza muttered to Shikaku.
Said Nara sighed. 'Troublesome people…..'
Minato laughed nervously. The tension was high, that was for sure.
On the other side of the room was the only team not part of Konoha. They were also the ones getting the cold shoulder from the other teams. Not that any of them minded or cared. They had been expecting this from the start. It wasn't long ago that both Konoha and Suna shinobi were at each other's throats, after all.
Itsuki whistled as he looked at the big number of genin in the room. "Konoha seriously has a huge number of genin!"
"It's been almost five years since the war ended," Rasa explained. "So that means that field promotions have gone down. The Hokage probably also kept the number of genin high so that there would be more competition for this exam and for popularity in the final round."
Itsuki crossed his arms. "Hmm? That so? Well, I just hope there are people here that can give me a good fight. That's the main reason I was so excited to accept this mission."
Rasa didn't reply, keeping his eyes moving across the room. If he were honest, most of the genin here didn't look anything special. Which was disappointing. The only group he could see that they would have to look out for was the one in the back by the entrance doors. Coincidentally, they were also the loudest. But Rasa could tell that there was more potential within them than the other genin here.
Karura on the other hand had only one person in sight. And that was the lone kunoichi standing by the wall by herself. She wasn't even with her team. That was unusual. Konoha was known to be a big fan of teamwork. But this girl seemed completely different. The air around her was also different from anyone else that Karura had seen so far. If anything, Karura would bet that she was the strongest kunoichi here. From Konoha at least.
'I still have something to prove here,' Karura thought to herself with determination. 'Even if I have to face you, I won't fail.'
Itsuki grinned. "I'm getting fired up!"
"Alright, brats, it's time to shut up and listen!"
All conversations ceased when the booming voice reached their ears. All the genin turned their attention to the other side of the room to see a bunch of chunnin accompanying a lone man with a long black trench coat.
The man didn't have a single trace of amusement in his eyes. They were as hard as a rock. The same could be said for the rest of his face.
"My name's Morino. I will be the proctor to your first exam."
There was some hushed whispers among the genin but were quickly silenced when the man's face hardened even more.
"I'm not here to waste anyone's time. So file up in three different lines so that you may get your number to your seat. After that, you will be getting your instructions so that you may commence. Is that understood?"
The genin all nodded.
Having said what he had to, the man quickly took off to one of the other rooms, no doubt where the first exam would actually take place.
Already knowing what to do, the chunnin that stayed behind all split up into three different groups. Getting the hint, the genin quickly formed three lines. Their first proctor didn't look like someone they wanted to mess around with, that was for sure.
"Well, he's a ball of sunshine," Emi muttered in a sarcasm.
"He seems like a perfect choice to administer the first exam to me," Yoshino replied with a shrug.
Hikari nodded in agreement. "Yoshino's right. My parents told me about him before."
Kushina leaned in with a curious look. "Really? Is he that famous in the village?"
The Hyuuga girl nodded again. "Apparently so. He's the head of the interrogation department right now. Nobody, besides the Hokage and his parents, knows his first name apparently. He doesn't like to give it out for some reason."
"Woah, mysterious," Tsume said with a low whistle.
"And eerie," Emi added.
Kushina couldn't help but agree. The first exam was already looking to be a challenge with that kind of proctor around.
Twitch.
Two twitches.
Three twitches.
'What the hell kind of nonsense is this!?' Kushina roared in her mind as she looked at the paper in front of her.
It was a test. A WRITTEN test. A motherfricking written test! Why in the world were they given her a written test of all things!?
Yoshino was sitting next to her, a hand on her cheek as her eyes scanned the questions on the test. There were three total. They weren't difficult either. She was positive that even Kushina could answer them. She meant no disrespect to the redhead, but the girl wasn't one for academics. Either way, Yoshino already had an idea that this test had nothing to do with the questions themselves, especially since the proctor had no problem with them already knowing what the questions were even before the test officially started.
'This might turn out to be tougher then,' Yoshino thought with a sigh.
The other genin were spread out throughout the room, all eyeing the questions with curiosity.
Shikaku yawned while inspecting his sheet with one eye. 'Based on these questions, it's more likely that the real test will deal with something else entirely. Which means I'm going to have to put more effort into this. Troublesome…..'
Minato hummed to himself, doing all three problems in his head already. Hikari had no real reaction. The same could be said with Hiashi. Tsume had a frown on her face while looking at her test. Emi was eyeing the two genin sitting next to her while Inoichi was trying to spot his two other teammates. Choza was scratching his head. Shibi was silent as he stared at his test. Both Fugaku and Hizashi were looking at their female teammate in apprehension, already guessing what was going through her mind.
Takao had his arms crossed in front of him with his eyes closed.
Itsuki was leaning back on his seat with his arms behind his head, humming a tune to himself. Rasa was sitting with a calm look while Karura was reading all three questions.
Finally, Mikoto was looking down at her test with her hands in front of her, her face betraying nothing.
Morino took his spot in front of the room, his hands inside the pockets of his trench coat. The chunnin had all taken positions along the walls, all sitting with clipboards at hand.
"The exam will commence as soon as I'm done with the instructions," he began. The genin knew to pay rapt attention. Seeing this, the man continued without missing a beat.
"The instructions are simple. As you may have already noticed, there are three questions in front of you. However, unlike a regular test, you are not required to answer them all. Instead, each of you will answer only one. Your score will then be added together along with your teammates. In other words, you either pass or fail as a team."
'Is that really all that there is to it?' Yoshino thought with narrowed eyes. 'That would make this test too simple….'
"However….."
Ah, there it was.
"Each member of your team will only be able to answer one of the questions. None of you can answer the same question."
The genin began to murmur.
"What the hell kind of rule is that!?" one genin screamed with an aggravated look. "We've all been separated across the classroom. How exactly are we supposed to know which question our teammates will pick!?"
Morino shrugged. "That's not my problem. But do be warned: if any of my men do catch you trying to communicate with your teammates in any way shape or form, you will be disqualified along with the rest of your team. Furthermore, you are all required to answer a question. If any of you fail to complete this, then you and your team will also be dismissed from the exam. Like I said: you either pass or fail as team."
'That's Konoha for you,' Itsuki thought with an amused look. 'Always about the team.'
Kushina frowned as she looked down at her sheet. This might be complicated for her and her team…
Glancing at the clock on the wall, Morino continued, "You will have an hour to complete this. Once I say time is up, it's up. Failure to listen to me will also cause your dismissal."
'This guy is all about rules,' Tsume thought in slight annoyance.
"Then….begin!"
'Just as I thought.' Yoshino looked at each question again. 'This isn't about the questions. More like how we can share information with one another under tough supervision.'
'A pain in the ass,' Tsume thought while Kuromaru barked softly from within her hoodie. The girl then smirked. 'It's too bad, though. I can already see a bunch of them panicking. Can't say I blame them. Fortunately for me, our team was meant for this kind of situation.'
Inoichi smirked to himself as he cracked his knuckles. 'This might have been a tougher exam for anyone else. Good thing my jutsu comes in handy for this type of situations.'
The blond turned his attention to Choza who stood out from his spot. Mainly because the two sitting next to him were fiddling in their seats while the Akimichi sat in peace. Inoichi might have felt some sympathy for them. But he needed to make sure that his teammates passed. With that in mind, the Yamanaka brought his hands together.
"Shintenshin no jutsu!"
Inoichi smirked again when he felt himself overtaking his friend's body. Looking down at the test form, the Yamanaka set to work.
Shikaku noticed this with another yawn. 'It looks like Inoichi is getting to work already. He's not wasting anytime.' It was the same to him. With someone like Inoichi on their team, they were guaranteed to pass this with flying colors.
Emi also picked up on this, making her t'ch in annoyance. 'It looks like you're really motivated to pass this, Inoichi. Well, can't say I'm going to enjoy this. But it has to be done.'
From her seat and byakugan activated, Hikari noticed how Emi was preparing her chakra. Already knowing what her friend intended to do, the Hyuuga made sure to keep her eyes on both of her teammates. Depending on which they picked, she would have to handle the remaining question.
Holding back a grimace, Emi pointed her jutsu straight for Takao who still maintained his original pose.
'Here goes nothing!'
In another part of the classroom, Hiashi raised an eyebrow in curiosity when he saw something fly by him. A second later, the stoic Hyuuga realized that it was an insect, no doubt courtesy of his Aburame comrade. Nodding in understanding, Hiashi let the insect land on his paper, indicating which question Shibi wanted him to answer.
Tsume smirked when she noticed the same thing on hers.
Shibi had one of his hands up to his face, pleased to know that his message had been relayed.
With Yoshino, the Nara let out one final sigh before she concentrated. 'There is just enough lighting for this…'
Mikoto was sitting patiently in her seat, noticing how the kunoichi next to her kept glancing across the room, no doubt trying to find a way to contact her teammates. As for her, she was waiting for the others to put their strategy in motion, all of which hinged on Yoshino.
Mikoto's eyes widened slightly when she felt her hand move of its own free will. The girl didn't fight when her hand picked up the pencil next to her test form.
'This is…..'
'…Yoshino's jutsu!' Minato exclaimed in his mind while the same thing was happening to him. But the blond boy didn't fight it. In the end, it was only to reassure their success in this examination.
'What am I going to do? What am I going to do? What the hell am I going to do!?'
Kushina was still panicking in her seat. She had already checked the questions over and realized that, thankfully, she could answer all three questions. But that wasn't the problem. She had no means to get in contact with either of her teammates. The only one who knew what their moves would be was Hizashi. But the boy couldn't relay that information to her and Fugaku. And if she and Fugaku made the mistake of answering the same question, it would be game over for them.
The redhead glanced to the right for a moment to see Yoshino deep in concentration while writing something down on her test. It seemed as if her friend already had a strategy in mind.
'Lucky you…..'
"Are you kidding me!?"
There was sudden movement in front of the classroom.
Kushina was startled to see one of the chunnin standing over a terrified a genin. The redhead also noticed how the chunnin was holding a small piece of paper.
"Passing notes? Are you trying to make fun of us, kid?" the chunnin asked with a scowl.
The genin was shaking in his seat. "T-that's not mine! I swear!"
But the chunnin wasn't buying it. "Can it. Number fifty eight is disqualified. Both his teammates, sixty five and eighty one, you're also dismissed."
"Forty two, out."
"Twenty three, you're out."
"Seventeen, you're dismissed."
"Thirty one."
"Seventy seven."
Kushina's eyes widened in shock when she saw genin after genin being escorted, and sometimes dragged, out of the examination room. Swallowing a sudden lump in her throat, Kushina realized that trying anything half-heartedly wouldn't end well for her here.
But in that case….what could she do?
In front of the room, Morino didn't bat an eye as he saw examinee after examinee fail his test. To him, they weren't worth his time. No, his eyes were glued to the three genin from Suna. Despite their surroundings, they were as calm as can be. Especially that auburn haired one…..
'That team is something else,' he thought to himself.
Uncaring of the eyes watching him, Rasa focusing all his attention to his project in front of him. Placing a hand over his left eye, the Suna genin focused his chakra in the palm of his hand. Gold sand began to gather around his palm before it accumulated itself into a third eye.
'The Third Eye,' he thought to himself. 'Not even Karura has mastered this yet…..'
Letting go of those thoughts for now, Rasa squished the eye in his palm back into grains of sand. The sand particles soon disperse to their intended target: Karura.
Said Suna kunoichi wasn't surprised to see the eyeball appearing in front of her. She already knew who it belonged to. Also knowing what it was seeking, Karura let the eyeball see which question she had answered so that Rasa could then relay that information to Itsuki. Rasa would then answer the last question, ensuring that their team passed this first exam.
'There are definite worthy contenders here,' Morino thought to himself. There may be more that passed his exam than he had first thought.
Either way, the first exam was almost over.
'Okay, calm down. Think. What can you do in this situation?'
Kushina still had no idea what she could do at the present moment. Not only that, but she had no idea where either of her teammates were. And that certainly didn't help her situation.
'How about Fugaku and Hizashi? Are they in contact somehow?' That would certainly help her situation.
Unfortunately for her, that wasn't the case.
Fugaku was scowling as he tried to assess their situation one more time. It wasn't looking good for them. He was in the far back, meaning that he knew where both Kushina and Hizashi were. Hizashi, thanks to his byakugan, also knew of his teammates' positions. But knowing where they were sitting certainly didn't help them at the moment when they had no means to contact one another.
'I was trying to save this for later,' Fugaku thought as he pulled out some ninja wire before he stopped midway. 'But if the others see me…'
The Uchiha growled. He would have to try it the hard way then.
From his seat, Hizashi was surprised when he saw what his Uchiha teammate was up to. Or more specifically, what he was doing without.
'I wonder why he isn't using it…..'
Either way, Hizashi had to admit that Fugaku had become extremely smooth when it came to using ninja wire. Of course, the Hyuuga knew why this was. He had been there when the Uchiha had trained with it. Hizashi could also see why it had taken Fugaku so long to try this, mainly that he was trying to keep his jutsu hidden as much as possible. No doubt because of Mikoto. But it was all the same to Hizashi.
Either way, it now all depended on Kushina's decision. Focusing his attention to her, Hizashi knew that trusting the redhead was the only thing he could do now.
With Kushina, the girl was still trying to wrap her head around as to what she should do. Should she just answer a question and hope the other two had a means of contacting one another and thus ensuring that they passed? Or should she continue to try and figure out a way to contact her two teammates? But she also knew that the chunnin weren't going to let a flimsy attempt pass. They would fail her and her team.
'What should I do!?'
Groaning, Kushina looked up to the ceiling to see if it could give her some sort of revelation. But instead, she noticed something interesting: there were light panels on the ceiling. Now taking notice of that detail, the redhead noticed how there were panels spread out across the classroom, five sets total. And there was one set directly above her.
'Ugh, I can't be focusing on that right now!' Kushina screamed in her mind. But before she could go back to staring at her test, she noticed how one of the panels above her started to move.
'What…'
Kushina had no idea what was responsible for the panel moving until her eyes quickly zoned in more closely. It was then that the redhead noticed the tiniest bit of thread of ninja wire wrapped tightly around the panel and shooting off to the back of the classroom. But how in the world had that happened?
In his seat, Fugaku maneuvered the thread of ninja almost perfectly with his fingers. He could only hope that Kushina picked up the hint and assumed that it was from him.
Looking back down at her test, Kushina grabbed her pencil before she started writing down her answer to one of the questions.
Taking notice of this, Fugaku smirked.
From his spot, Hizashi breathed in relief. They were going to pass, after all.
'Huh. Cheeky brat,' Morino thought from his position in front of the classroom. One of the chunnin glanced at him but the trench coat wearing man shook his head. Getting the hint, the chunnin carried on.
'I'll give it to the Uchiha: he's creative,' he thought to himself while observing the team. 'It's not everyday that I see someone pulling such a stunt. But at the very least, it's more innovative than most other attempts I've seen so far.'
Looking around the classroom one more time, the man counted the remaining genin. 'Thirty six of them…a bit more than I had wanted. But oh well. It'll have to do.' There wasn't much time left, and the remaining teams had been able perform methods of contacting one another that were passable.
Glancing at the clock one more time, Morino said, "Alright, time's up. Put your pencils down."
'I guess they're going to move onto the next exam…..'
And with that, the first exam was completed.
"How did you know it was Fugaku, Kushina?"
The redhead scratched her cheek with a smile as both Fugaku and Hizashi looked at her with curiosity.
"I really had no idea. But I also knew that it was better than doing nothing. So I took a leap of faith. And it worked."
Hizashi nodded. "Thankfully you did. Otherwise we would have failed. But really, it was all because of Fugaku that we were able to make it through this."
Said Uchiha shook his head as the trio continued to walk to the location of their next exam. "No. It was a team effort in the end. We all pitched in somehow."
Kushina looked at Fugaku with a surprised look. "Did you really just say that?"
Fugaku scowled. "What?"
"Well, it's just…you've never seemed interested in teamwork before, you know. Unless it was absolutely necessary with Sakumo-sensei."
Fugaku h'mphed. "It's just some things someone has taught me. That's all."
Kushina grinned, placing an arm around both Fugaku and Hizashi. "Hell yes! Then we're going to take the next exam by storm!"
Fugaku sighed in slight irritation while Hizashi smiled. Kushina was always a breath of fresh air for them.
But at the very least, they all had the same determination: they were going to pass the next exam no matter what.
"Interesting list."
Morino nodded. "Yes. It does seem that this year has some promising shinobi. Not to mention that the team from Suna is certainly a talented one."
Sarutobi took the information in. At the moment, the Hokage was in the same classroom that the first exam had taken place just minutes earlier.
"Well, it does seem that things are going as planned. I was a bit worried that some weren't going to be able to pass your exam."
Morino didn't respond. He had been put in charge to proctor the first exam. In the end, the decision always came down to him. But he also understood where the Hokage was coming from. This year's Chunnin exams was an important one, after all.
"But you did a great job, Ryota."
"Ryota" frowned. "Hokage-sama, you already know that I dislike being called by my first name."
Sarutobi chuckled as he began to make his way out of the classroom. "I know."
Ryota merely sighed, knowing that it was pointless to debate with the man.
It didn't matter in the end anyway. As long as he didn't tell others.
"Well, this seems like a much easier exam than the first one."
Kushina grinned in anticipation as she, Fugaku, and Hizashi all stood in front of a gate in the infamous training ground forty four. Unlike the first exam, the second one was straight and simple: team battles. The remaining teams would fight one another to see who would advance to the third and final portion.
'I wonder who we will get,' Kushina thought, slightly hoping that it Mikoto and her team.
Fugaku was thinking along the same lines, but he also knew just how outmatched they would be. Minato was in the same team as Mikoto, after all. Not to mention that Yoshino was with them as well. The Nara couldn't exactly beat Shikaku in the strategy department, but she wasn't that far behind either. It would be one hell of a battle.
Hizashi was neutral on the whole thing. He only wanted to make sure that they passed.
They didn't have to wait for too long. Soon, a chunnin came to stand by their gate, telling them to get ready. After that, the gated opened, to which they quickly ran through.
"Is the second exam beginning already?"
Sarutobi nodded as Sakumo stopped next to him. "It's already begun. But you made it to the perfect time: your team is next."
Sakumo didn't respond as he watched his students and the team they were fighting meet at their designated spot in the training ground through one of the monitors in front of him.
"An Aburame, eh….."
"Yes. And she's a rising star in her clan, along with Shibi-kun," Sarutobi said.
'Hmm…show me what you can do, guys…..'
"It seems that neither of you got your wish…"
Kushina rolled her eyes at Hizashi's obvious observation. In any case, this was no time to complain. From a first glance, the Uzumaki could tell that the girl in the middle was an Aburame, if her typical baggy attire was anything to go by.
"Aburame Asa…." Fugaku muttered. "She's the only one we have to look out for."
Kushina agreed. As insulting as it was, her two teammates didn't look like much of a challenge. It was only probably because of her that they had been able to pass the first exam. But that didn't matter right now. They only had to win here.
Quickly springing to action, Fugaku took the front spot, his hands clasped together.
The three other genin took a step back at seeing this.
"Katon: Gokakyu no jutsu!"
Asa quickly jumped into the air while her two other teammates ducked to the side.
But already knowing of an Aburame's weakness, Hizashi took off to the air as well, byakugan activated. Asa frowned when she saw the incoming Hyuuga. Already knowing she was at a disadvantage, Asa ducked down, evading Hizashi's palm thrusts.
'She's got good reaction,' Hizashi thought, quickly following after her.
Back on the ground, Fugaku dashed forward towards one of the other two genin, kunai in hand.
The genin gritted his teeth, taking a kunai of his own at the final second. Unfortunately for him, Fugaku also had more physical strength than him. So it wasn't long before he was being pushed back.
Seeing his opening, Fugaku sent a low kick for the genin's legs and succeeded in making contact. The genin's eyes widened as he fell to the ground on his back. Trying to stand back up, he was met with a kunai to the face.
"It's my win," Fugaku stated.
The genin could only scowl.
The other genin wasn't having any better luck as well with Kushina. The girl had great strength behind her punches. The genin could feel his arms feeling more and more tired as he continued to block the redhead's endless strikes.
The genin continued being pushed back until he felt his back against a tree. With his eyes widened, he had no other method to defend himself as Kushina sent a clear punch across his jaw. With such a clear hit, the genin wasn't able to retain consciousness as he fell down to the ground.
From her peripherals, Asa noticed this with a frown. The tables had been turned against her so quickly.
"You shouldn't lose focus!"
Asa didn't reply as she continued trying to dodge Hizashi's well executed combos. In close combat, it was a battle she could not win. But the Hyuuga wouldn't let her get some distance.
With a shout, Hizashi finally broke through her defenses. Aiming for one of her chakra points, Hizashi thought he had victory within his grasp. But instead, the Aburame's form burst out in a swarm of insects.
'A substitution!' Hizashi realized as he jumped back from the swarm. Asa emerged from the side, her arms stretched out.
"Hijutsu: Mushitatsumaki!"
Hizashi's eyes widened when he saw the swarm of insects forming together into a fast moving tornado with him as its target.
'She's not messing around!' Hizashi thought while gritting his teeth. He hadn't wanted to do this until the final part of the exam, but he had no choice.
Asa's eyes narrowed from behind her shades when she saw chakra gathering all around Hizashi's body.
'What is he-'
"Kaiten!"
Asa's eyes widened in shock when she saw the rotational shield of chakra. Her makeshift tornado, her strongest jutsu, was no match for the defensive technique, and it soon disintegrated.
"You shouldn't have let your guard down."
Asa felt the tip of a kunai against her neck. Realizing that any careless actions would result in serious damage for her, she surrendered.
Behind her, Kushina grinned in excitement.
Fugaku on the other hand was looking at Hizashi with new eyes. He had never seen that technique before, but it looked powerful. Maybe he had underestimated the Hyuuga boy too much this whole time.
Either way, they had passed.
"Well, this is a surprise," Sarutobi said after seeing what Hizashi had pulled off. "Isn't that technique something only the main house is allowed to use?"
Sakumo nodded. "It is. But…..let's just say that Hizashi has found ways around that."
Sarutobi glanced at the jonin. "And that means what exactly? Did he activate it on his own?"
Sakumo shook his head. "Not exactly. But if it makes any difference, it's something that he's worked hard to perfect in order to prove to his clan that he won't live in his brother's shadow. And I support him."
Sarutobi sighed at the vague answer. He knew how some of the elders in they Hyuuga clan might react if they ever found out. But that was a clan issue, something that he had no jurisdiction in.
'It's on to the next step then…'
'We're actually here!' Kushina exclaimed in her mind as she looked around.
After they had successfully passed the second portion of the Chunnin exams, they had been told to gather in the only building inside the training ground: a huge tower in the middle of the massive forest. It was there where Kushina and her team had met up with the remaining teams still in the exam. There were six total, one of which was hers. The others were Shikaku and his team, Tsume with hers, Emi and Hikari's, Yoshino's, and finally the Suna team. Kushina was actually a bit surprised that the team from Suna was still in this. But that only made her realize that they were formidable.
Tsume was still glancing at Mikoto every couple of seconds, excited to know what the next part of the exam was.
Mikoto didn't look like she had noticed all the attention she was getting. Or perhaps it was that she didn't care. Either way, there was a calm expression on her face. In front of her, Minato was smiling with Yoshino standing in the back with an impassive look.
Itsuki was looking around the massive gathering room in excitement, wondering if he was finally going to find a good opponent. Both Rasa and Karura wore passive looks. They were simply waiting to hear what the next portion of the exam was.
Shikaku was yawning again while Choza held his stomach, wishing that he could eat something. They had done the first two tests in the same day without a break. The boy's stomach demanded food, especially since it was already well into the afternoon. Inoichi for his part was looking at Mikoto with hearts in his eyes, still not being able to control his massive crush on the girl.
Shibi was passive, as was Hiashi.
Takao had his eyes closed. But there was the tiniest hint of a smile on his face. Emi was grinning in excitement while Hikari had a calm expression.
This was the scene that Sarutobi came to as he took his position in front of the genin. Behind him was Ryota along with some chunnin and all the jonin from each genin team, including Sakumo.
"I want to congratulate you all for making it this far into the exam," Sarutobi began. "But do not get comfortable yet. Things are only going to get more rough from here on out. The last two exams were designed to test your skills as a team. You're here now because you have shown excellent teamwork. But that all ends now."
The genin looked at Sarutobi with curiosity.
"It'll be a tournament, one-on-one."
This had the effect of making many of the genin excited to which Sarutobi chuckled.
"However, despite the adamant attempts of reducing the number of participants, there are still many of you left. The final third exam will be held in front of a live audience. Many important people will come to see you all in action. Busy people. And it's an event where we can't waste any single second. That is why we are going to hold a preliminary round right now."
The genin looked at one another. That meant-
"Please turn your attention to the screen above," a chunnin said, taking a step forward. The genin looked up to said screen to see many of their names being shown on both sides at blazing speed. "The preliminary rounds will be determined at random. If any of you wish to drop out right now, you may do so. It will no longer have any effect on the rest of your team."
Shikaku almost held his hand up, but one look from Yoshino had him muttering "troublesome."
Seeing that no one was going to drop out, the chunnin allowed the screen to continue to scroll through names.
The genin all watched the screen intently, wondering which one of them was going to be picked first.
'Let it be me, let it be me, PLEASE let it be me!' Kushina screamed in her head.
Unfortunately for her, her name was not picked out. Instead, two other names flashed on the screen.
Uchiha Mikoto vs. Uchiha Fugaku
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone