The Chuunin Exam. It's finally here. Everyone had done the best they could to prepare. Now, it was up to Haruto to make sure that all the pieces came together properly.
"What do you guys think?" Chouji asked in between mouthfuls of potato chips. His eyes darted from one group of genin contestants to another.
"There're a lot of people taking the exam this year. It's going to be very troublesome." The Akimichi boy rolled his eyes at his friend's unsurprising answer.
"What about you, Haruto?" His thoughts on other things, the blond managed only a vague grunt.
"Yeah, troublesome."
"Geez, you're turning into a carbon copy of Shika."
"You say that as if it was a bad thing," Haruto answered with a smirk. The Nara boy beside him gave an exasperated sigh.
"Lazy and dumb. Here I thought you couldn't regress any further."
"Kiba, you dogbreath, I see you finally made it past the guards," Haruto cheerfully answered back. Kiba growled slightly as the blond's teammates chuckled.
"How the hell did you know that Room 301 was a fake?" the dog boy demanded. The Inuzuka ninja felt like kicking himself for falling for the mirage of the examination room.
"Ask Shika. He figured out it was a fake and had us go around. Don't tell me that you actually tried to force your way through before figuring that out. And they say I don't think before I act," Haruto stated. Despite the teasing tone, he made sure that there was no malice in his voice. Kiba growled and stumped around petulantly for a bit before answering.
"No, we didn't have to. Sasuke decided to reveal the whole gig to everyone," the dog boy pointed at the members of Team 7 standing on the other side of the room.
"So troublesome," Shikamaru noted with a frown. Haruto was tempted to agree. It was not a smart move on Sasuke's part, letting so many potential foreign candidates and adversaries stroll right into the exam. Dealing with the Uchiha firecracker was going to be a fulltime job.
"Hello, Haruto." Taken by surprise, Haruto spun around to see the Hyuuga heiress greet him in a very formal fashion. The corner of his eyes caught the hint of a smirk beneath Chouji's potato chips stuffed mouth.
"Hinata-chan. You recovered! It's good to see you here," the blond instinctively returned the greeting with an open and friendly smile.
"Thank you for the flowers, Haruto-kun." Hinata sported a small, but distinct blush that was plainly visible to the other genin of Teams 8 and 10.
"Sure thing! Glad you liked them."
The blond genin responsible for said blush bit his lip. Haruto had been aware of the girl's crush on him for some time, but had yet to make up his mind on it. Hinata was certainly a nice girl and a fair kunoichi at that, especially when compared to her peers. Under other circumstances, the youngster would probably have been exuberant to spend time with a girl like that. While he would never admit it in so many words, the Kyuubi's container envied the attention and acclaim Sasuke commanded simply by virtue of who he was. Haruto could not even begin to count the number of nights he slept in the cold with no one but the damn fox for company. More significantly, the blond had acquired an impassioned disdain for Itachi's younger brother, not for who he was or what he possessed, but rather for his actions. For whatever reason, the Uchiha genius appeared masochistically eager to throw away all the affection, admiration and adoration that his clan and village bestowed upon him. Haruto, at his lowest, would have maimed and killed to have even a fraction of such attention. Hinata's crush, to an extent, represented a piece of all that which had been previously denied to Haruto.
Argh, I can't believe I'm thinking about him again. I'm pathetic! Haruto mentally gave himself a hard kick in the pants. If Sasuke wanted to screw himself over, that was fine by him. He had bigger worries. The blond cast the shy Hyuuga girl a glance sideways.
Maybe if things were more normal, Haruto thought. Alas, these were not normal circumstances and neither was he. The aspiring Hokage had no delusions about the conflicts and trials that lay before him. Heiress to the powerful Hyuuga clan she may be, but given her shy personality and weak force of will, Hinata was, to be completely frank, a walking political liability.
Or maybe not. On second glance, Haruto and Hinata were very different people. And contrary to popular belief, opposites did not attract; they conflicted. Haruto failed to see how he could have any kind of a future with the kunoichi of Team 8.
"Shino, how are your bugs?" Haruto greeted as he drew the other genin into the conversation. Aside from breaking the pseudo-awkward moment between Hinata and him, it also caused the two teams to mix together, effectively deterring several would be aggressors, who just moments ago had been eyeing the rookie Konoha genin like meat.
There was safety in numbers, after all. It was one thing to take on three wet behind the ears genin; it was quite another to take on six young ninja who looked to be good friends of each other.
"Hey, look!" Kiba called out, pointing in Team 7's direction. An older silver-haired man was talking with Team 7 when he suddenly fell forward. Three other people, two boys and a girl, suddenly appeared. Even from a distance, Haruto caught sight of the musical note carved into their forehead protectors.
That doesn't look good.
"Sakura-chan's in trouble. C'mon!" Haruto quickly dragged Shikamaru over before the Nara boy could even say "troublesome." The rest of the gang followed closely behind.
"Sakura-chan, are you alright?"
"Haruto, what the hell?" the pink-haired kunoichi growled in annoyance as the excitable blond fussed over her. "Oh, never mind me. Help Kabuto-san."
"Is there a problem?" Shikamaru asked lazily, but with a hint of seriousness. The team from Hidden Sound growled when they found themselves surrounded on three sides by Konoha ninja.
"Cowards," one of the males spat. In response, Ino made the ever mature gesture of pulling her right eyelid down while sticking her tongue out.
"Do it again and I'll be happy to cut it off for you," the female promised, her gaze glinting killing intent.
"You wish, bitch."
"We'll see, you trashy little Konoha whore." Before a real catfight could break out, a booming voice echoed through the room.
"Shut your mouths and settle down or I'll shut them for you! That means you brats back there as well!" Both groups backed away. Deciding that their opponents were not worth the effort, the Sound trio blew some harmless hot air before walking off.
"My name is Morino Ibiki and I'm the chief proctor of the first portion of the Chuunin Exam. Due to the size of this year's candidate pool, we'll be dividing you into groups. Listen well as we break you up, because we will not be repeating our words." The tall imposing man with a scarred face passed his gaze over the crowd, looking for signs of malice and discontent, of which there were many.
"Kabuto-san, are you alright?" Sakura asked politely. The older ninja smiled.
"I'm fine, but we better move along. I've heard of this man Ibiki and I don't think we should get on his bad side." The genin of Teams 8 and 10 watched with curiosity as the other ninja picked up a deck of strange blank cards on the ground and walked away.
"Who was that? What village was he from?" Kiba asked, his eyes narrowing with suspicion. Kurenai sensei had apparently warned her team to be careful of would be spies and saboteurs at the exam.
"Kabuto is a Konoha ninja. He took the exam seven times before, so he was sharing some information with us," Ino answered.
"Ha-ha, seven times? What a dumbass!" Kiba crowed, which earned him a hard smack from each of the ladies of Team 7. The Inuzuka boy cursed as he backed off, much to the amusement of his teammates and friends.
"Ok, I'm sorry, you crazy girl. So what did he say?"
The guy could have revealed all that information at a less open place. Almost, but not quite ANBU material, Haruto assessed as he thought about what Team 7 had said regarding the older Konoha genin. Then, there was the fact that he had failed the exam seven consecutive times. While the blond was by no means part of the bureaucratic setup, he was pretty sure that previous Chuunin Exams could not have been that difficult.
Still, he had some interesting information. Three siblings from Suna, huh? At least the others will know to be careful about that group. Of course, Haruto did not need to be warned about the Suna trio. Few things had surprised him as much as seeing the offspring of the reigning Kazekage stroll into Konoha like they owned the place. Either the leadership of Suna was being incredibly stupid or unfathomably bold. Either way, the architect of Konoha's defenses was not going to take any chances. Tenzou and Ibiki were informed immediately and the two veteran ANBU chiefs quickly prioritized what resources they could spare on the trio. If it were not for the delicate timetables and the high requirements for secrecy, Haruto would have advocated for outright preemptive assassination.
Premeditated political and strategic assassination. It was a dirty business, to be sure, but the young prodigy had ample time to digest the idea. Haruto was under no delusion about what would be soon required of him. The entire first part of the exam was a probing exercise to flush out potential enemies. Once Ibiki finished analyzing the results, he would draw up a list of targets. This information would then be passed onwards to someone who would, well, take care of the targets.
And that someone is me, Haruto thought. From an operational point of view, the idea made perfect sense. Being an examinee himself, the Konoha prodigy would make the perfect assassin, able to operate with maximum flexibility through the course of the exam. The problem was convincing his fellow co-planners to give such a vital role to the human container of the Kyuubi. Haruto doubted that Ibiki or Hiashi, unflappable as they were, would have gone along with the idea without asking some very serious questions, questions which he had no interest in answering just yet.
Per his usual ingenuity, Haruto found a way to sidestep the problem. Instead of giving Ibiki the identity of the person who was to receive the ANBU interrogator's information beforehand, the blond concocted the idea of using coded signals during the exam itself to facilitate contact and the exchange of information between the mystery intermediary and Ibiki's people. The excuse he gave, which he thought was pretty damn good, was that maintaining the strictest level of secrecy would better safeguard the details of the operation. In essence, Haruto was banking on the assumption that by the time people in the know realized that Uzumaki Haruto was involved, bigger events would have already made headlines.
So, while the genin around him scribbled furiously, Haruto purposefully ignored all nine exam questions in favor of doodling on the paper. Then, he waited while watching with some amusement as Ibiki enthusiastically failed the occasional genin who didn't quite measure up.
"Alright, listen up. As you noticed, the nine questions before you tested your abilities at gathering information without being detected. Simply put, stealth is a ninja's most essential skill. If you can't do your job undetected, then you might as well not even try. Luckily all of you seemed to possess that very minimal skill." The scarred man was quick to stamp down on any premature celebration. "But before I pass you along, you'll need to answer the tenth question and answer it correctly… or else."
"Or else what?" a particularly bold (or stupid depending on your point of view) genin asked.
"Or else you'll never make it past genin rank. Fail this last question and I'll have you and your teammates barred from taking all future Chuunin Exams." The announcement was, predictably, met with a hail of protests.
"You can't do that!" one person whined.
"You don't have the authority!" another crowed.
"I might not by myself, but your village leaders do. Let's just say I made my case before them and they recognized how disappointing the results of the past couple of exams had been. That's how it is. Like the responsibilities chuunin are expected to shoulder while leading missions, you must balance the benefits and risks of continuing forward. If you walk out of this room right now, you can take the exam next year with a different proctor and hope for the best. If you stay in your seat, then you better answer the last question correctly." Ibiki gave a creepy sadistic grin as he surveyed the room.
Holy crap, he's good! Half in awe and half in excitement, Haruto barely managed to contain his mirth. Ibiki, the sneaky bastard, had refused to share the complete details of his devious little test and now he knew why. When the ANBU chief had claimed that he would separate the foreign conspirators from the non-conspirators and the mentally ready Konoha genin from those who were not quite so ready, all without setting off any alarm bells, Haruto had thought he was crazy. Knowing what he knew, the blond could only admit that Ibiki was a certifiable genius. And that was quite a compliment since it took one to know one.
He's very good. As with most good ideas, the plan's greatest asset was its simplicity. Ibiki quite brilliantly sought to induce all the genin into revealing their subconscious disposition towards Konoha. For instance, the foreign conspirators would automatically know that the proctor's threat was a complete and utter farce since their leaders were attempting an invasion. In contrast, those not part of the plot would treat the proctor's threats more seriously. Meanwhile on Konoha's side, most if not all genin should be aware of Morino Ibiki's reputation and would make the appropriate choice based on their own capabilities. While Haruto had no guarantee that those who remained would be able to handle the subsequent trials, this was better than nothing. At the very least, Ibiki warned the Konoha genin about what was to come.
"Anyone else? This is your last chance," Ibiki declared menacingly. One last squeamish genin rose up and ran out the door, to the disgust of his teammates.
"Good then," the head proctor motioned for the doors to be closed. "The rest of you passed part one of the Chuunin Exam. Congratulations."
Haruto smiled as the other genin burst into varying degrees of celebration, dismay and confusion.
"Wait! What? What about the tenth question? You mean to tell us that it was a fake?" Ibiki leveled a stony gaze at the questioner.
"If you can't figure that out yourself, I'm not going to tell you. Now, please wait here for the head proctor of the second portion—"
"Hyaa!" The relative calm of the examination room was broken by the sound of broken windows and a sharp battle cry.
"Anko. Should I even bother to reprimand you?" Ibiki smirked. The kunoichi in question smirked back first at the ANBU and then at the genin candidates.
"My name's Mitarashi Anko and I'm the proctor of the second portion of the Chuunin Exam." The genin watched in bedazzlement as the salacious female clad in fishnet stockings winked at them before turning to her fellow proctor.
"Ibiki, why the hell did you leave behind so many brats? Oh, it doesn't matter. I'll have that number cut in half." Once again, the strange and freaky lady turned her attention to the genin. "Alright, enough chitchat. Everyone is to follow my associates to the next examination area. I need to talk to the big boy—alone," Anko stated with a saucy grin.
Haruto had to use a cough to cover his laughter. When he had talked about coded signals with Ibiki, blatant over the top sexual come-ons were not what he had in mind. But he had to admit it worked pretty well. Based on the scattered mutterings of his fellow examinees, Haruto was fairly certain no one suspected anything.
Figures that Orochimaru's former star pupil is competent, Haruto thought. Perhaps he should have taken the time to do some background research on the kunoichi. As he left the Konoha proctors behind, his mind and focus quickly zeroed in on the task at hand.
To do what must be done. For Udon. For Konohamaru. For the Hokage. As far as Haruto was concerned, just about every remaining non-Konoha genin was now a viable target and the area of the second portion of the exam, the Forest of Death, was now a free-fire zone.
"Ok, Ibiki, give. Who's the brat I'm supposed to smooch? I find it hard to believe that any one of them could be it." The ANBU interrogator gave a slightly amused grin.
"Give me a minute to find out. Genji never told me the name of the contact." Ibiki began rapidly flipping through the exams.
"Paranoid little bugger, isn't he?" Anko laughed. "Just my kind of man."
Ibiki simply shook his head, not bothering to remind his associate that Genji was probably a decade younger than her at the very least.
"I found it." The man pulled out the exam with the correct pictograph, but his eyes stalled at the top of the page.
"Well, who is it? What's the matter?" Anko was now curious as very few things surprised Ibiki.
"It's a rookie."
"You're kidding. Who?" Anko might act like a brainless, wanton slut wannabe, but she was definitely perceptive enough to figure out what this whole affair was most likely about. As one of the top covert assassins of Konoha, the setup was simply too familiar.
"Uzumaki Haruto."
"Haruto? You mean, the Haruto? The one kid who couldn't shut up about ramen even if his life depended on it?"
When Ibiki nodded, Anko did something that probably would have scared the bejesus out of any normal person. The special jounin laughed, loudly and fiercely.