Chapter 30
"You two will go to Konoha," the command came from the shadowy figure who led the secret organization known as Akatsuki, and any other shinobi would have run away in fear by now, yet the two of them did not.
For they were not regular shinobi.
No, they were S-ranked monsters, who could level a village on their own.
"And what is to be our mission?" spoke one of the pair.
"Are we going after that Snake again?" he asked, and the leader shook his head.
"No. Your mission is far more important than that," and at that, a butterfly flew through the air. It was made of paper, and it unravelled itself in front of them as the leader of the Akatsuki gave his mission.
"Your mission is to capture…."
0000
HIKARI HYUGA
The day of the exam had arrived, and so the three of them stood in the Hall with the rest of the candidates for the Chunin Exams. And there were more than a few hundred of them there.
Some faces he recognized. Some he did not.
Gaara was here, and so were a few other notable teams from Ame, Taka, Kusa, and Otogakure.
"So, you ready?" asked Shikamaru, and he nodded as he eyed the competition.
And the Hall was filled with murmurs and whispers, as everyone tried to get a measure of their competition. Subtle glances and whispers ran rampant, that was until their team walked into the Hall, and he noticed how half the Hall turned towards him, and began to eye him as their team cut through the crowd.
"Well, it seems like you have quite a reputation," the Nara heir added, and the gazes were all measuring him, and it was natural for every team to have done their own surveillance, so he was not absolutely surprised upon seeing this reaction.
"Don't let it get to your head," Ino added from the side, and he nodded.
"I won't, but you shouldn't forgo such an opportunity as well," he whispered as he gazed at the blonde, who was smiling, and as he gazed at her, he did not miss the slight hue of chakra emanating from her feet.
"I would never," she answered back, and she was basically marking their chakra signatures. Gathering all the intel that she could while all of the contestants were currently gathered in the Hall, and just as they were about to move, a loud voice tore through the silence.
"What did you say!" and the three of them were quick to recognize that sound, for the person had been a part of their training exercises for nearly a month, along with another one of his teammates.
"I said you are not worthy of this stage," and by now, the three of them had spotted the source of the commotion along with the rest of the Hall, and it was Lee who stood face to face with a snarling Kiba as the people pulled back from the two of them.
"How dare you say that?" Kiba snarled angrily as Akamaru bared its fangs.
"Your team was unable to protect Sakuran-san. She lost her life because of you," and there was sorrow and bitterness in that tone as Lee confronted Kiba about their failures.
"Your team is clearly not ready for the chuni…" but Kiba had listened to enough, and had swung his fist at once.
"I will show you readiness…" but the thick-browed, bowl-cut boy was fast, and in the blink of an eye, a kick had sent Kiba flying back, as the Inuzuka clan kid rolled on the ground, as Lee simply stood there imperiously.
"You should quit," Lee advised harshly as he took his stance. As Kiba pushed himself off the ground, his nails began to extend, and his teeth began to grow, as he grew into his animal form.
"And try again later when you are more prepared," Lee added, and by now this whole thing had gone too far, for Choji had joined Kiba as well.
"How dare you insult us?" and he had expanded his arm.
"Giant Body Expansion!"
"Ninpo: Fang over Fang!" and the two of them attacked at once, but Lee moved as well, the ground cracking beneath his feet as he jumped to meet the two of them, and Shikamaru and him moved at once, as he quickly cycled through wind chakra, and appeared between the trio.
"Futon: Wild Gale Palm!" and immediately a wind storm erupted at his palms, as he aimed it at the two groups, dismantling their attacks and sending them tumbling back.
"Let me…" yet just as the three of them tried to move again, Shikamaru had done his work as he stood in the centre, making a tiger seal.
"Shadow Possession Complete," he whispered, as Hikari landed beside his friend. And they were not the only ones who had moved, and already Ten Ten and Neji stood in front of Lee, ready to move, while Naruto and Sasuke had come forward and now stood in front of Kiba and Choji.
"All of you need to calm down," Hikari cut in as he looked at the three of them.
"This is not the time or place to air out grievances," he added with a certain edge to his tone, as his eye met his brother's, who smirked.
"Indeed, it is not," Neji added.
"That's what the exams are for," he added, and Rock Lee was now looking at him with wide eyes.
"I have no grievance with them," and Kiba was snarling still.
"SHUT UP! LET ME GOO!"
"I was just speaking the truth," and Hikari shrugged.
"You comment on their preparedness for the exam, yet what makes you so certain that you are ready for them?" he questioned, and Lee looked him in the eye.
"I know that you are strong. But make no mistake, the winner of these exams was decided long ago," he added, as he turned towards Neji.
"Let us wait for the exams then," Shikamaru added, as he resolved his technique.
"And let the results speak for themselves," and Neji's teammates nodded, as Sasuke and Naruto held off Kiba and Choji.
"I will kill him! I will kill him," Kiba continued to snarl.
"You should calm down. You can't let him get to you like that," Hikari advised, and he held some sympathy for the Inuzuka kid even though a part of him agreed with Lee's assessment, though for completely different reasons.
Kiba and Choji were not ready for the chunin exams.
"You should save your energy for the exam," and the Inuzuka was bleeding out of his mouth, as suddenly a grey-haired figure pushed through the crowd.
"Kiba-kun, Choji-kun," and his head snapped towards the glasses-wearing figure in an instant, as he saw him close up on Kiba, and he stilled.
"You are injured," the boy added in a kind tone, and immediately began to heal Kiba using iryoninjutsu, who had finally relented in his struggle.
"Leave me alone. I am fine," and the boy retorted kindly, as Kiba pushed him away.
"But you are bleeding. Let me heal you," and Kiba grunted, yet the boy's hands glowed with a green hue once again, as he contemplated reaching for his blade and cutting him down right then and there.
"Whoa! What is this?" Naruto spoke up from the side.
"Oh, this. This is nothing but a simple jutsu that can heal minor wounds," he downplayed the intricacy and mastery of his technique, for he had not mentioned how using this technique meant that you were at least above the ninety-fifth percentile in chakra control.
"That's iryo-ninjutsu," Shikamaru whispered from the side as Naruto bubbled with excitement.
"That is so cool. Can you teach it to me?" and the boy smiled awkwardly as he finished healing Kiba and rubbed his hair.
"Well, maybe later," and then he turned towards him, and despite searching for any shift in his expression, Hikari saw nothing as the boy with round glasses smiled warmly at him and bowed.
"Thank you for saving my teammate," and the Inuzuka grunted.
"He did not save me. I needed no saving," but he ignored those words, as he registered those words.
"Teammate?" he asked.
"Yes, I have been assigned to their team for the exam. I will be looking forward to working with a shinobi as talented and famous as you, Hikari-kun," and in the end, he decided against killing him right then and there, as the trio walked away from him as Naruto and his team came to greet them all.
"Ino," he nudged the blonde girl who was busy talking with Hinata as his eyes continued to track the grey-haired boy.
"Yes," she said, frowning at his antics slightly.
"Mark him…." And she frowned for a second as she followed his gaze.
"But wh…"
Yet before she could say more, a clap came from the front of the room, as a shinobi came and stood on the stage.
"Welcome to the First Stage of the Chunin Exams…."
0000
MORINO IBIKI
The Chunin Exams were both a test, and marketing tool at the same time. The Exams let the nobles and commoners get a glimpse at a simplified version of a shinobi's life, as it allowed a village to showcase its promising next generation.
To the more valued guests, the exams allowed a glimpse at the expertise and the skills that they could hire from their village, at just a nominal sum. It was a time-tested system, one that was much needed to encourage commerce and provide some semblance of entertainment.
But that was all meant for the later portions of the exam. The early stages were all meant to make sure that no one unworthy reaches that stage, where an entire audience may get to experience their incompetence.
His own exam was a test of intelligence gathering, subterfuge, and resolve. And as he failed another team, he wondered just how many of the people would make it through to the next stage,
Only ten minutes remained, and the Hall was beginning to empty out as he began to make a list of the more promising candidates.
The Team from Suna was the obvious one, and much like Konoha, Suna had sent ringers of their own. The Kazekage's son, Gaara of the Sand, was one of their most promising shinobi, and even Ibiki had yet to make out how the boy was cheating.
His two teammates were equally troublesome, and the team was said to have completed an A-rank mission on their own. The Teams from Otogakure had sent two teams to the exam, and the alternate team, which was led by that red-haired girl, had been a last-minute addition, something which was highly irregular, yet the Hokage-sama had chosen to accommodate their newly allied village.
Konoha had its own monsters, though and there was even a team that could match Suna's top team in notoriety. Asuma's three kids were a menace to deal with and had faced off against a Yuki clan member.
This year's kids were a little less bright-eyed, for their lives had already been marred by tragedy. They were not some blue-eyed brats who had not seen death or suffering.
No. They had suffered a loss, and that had changed them. All of them.
"Ten minutes are left," Ibiki began, as he played his last trick.
"All those who wish to retire from the exam so that they may try again during the next iteration have, but only a hundred and twenty seconds to do so," and with that, he pressed the button on the clock, as the time began to tick away.
"You will not be allowed to quit after that. And if you fail to secure the required marks, then your career as a ninja will be all but over," he warned, and immediately saw more than a dozen faces turn pale.
"But how…"
"Number seven, thirteen, and twenty-one. You fail," he added sharply, as his chakra filled the Hall as he tersely reminded them of the first rule of his Exam.
"No talking!" he warned, and they shut up and were escorted out of the Hall, and what happened next shook him, for it was the red-haired girl from Oto who raised her hand, yet unlike others before her, her hand did not shake nor did her voice quiver even slightly as she announced haughtily.
"I quit…"
Ibiki was sure that she had already finished the exam, and so had her teammates, yet why was she quitting? He wondered. But the time for questions would come later as he gave a nod to the proctors who escorted them out of the Hall.
And then after ten minutes, he leaned forward as he addressed them all.
"You all pass!"
And the surprise and joy were palpable, and yet before they could celebrate anything, the window to the side opened up, as Anko stepped forward.
"You maggots are coming with me now!" and as Anko left with the students, he found himself sifting through the exams as he reached the name he was looking for.
"Tayuya," he whispered, and he took out the exam paper and saw that it was filled up.
"Strange," he whispered as he gathered the papers of her teammates as well, all of whom had been filled in the exact same way.
"I need to take this to the Hokage-sama…."
0000
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