"When God wants to send you a gift,
He wraps it in a problem.
The bigger the problem,
The bigger the gift inside the wrapping."
Norman Vincent Peale
"Who's third?" Kabuto asked interestedly, but Sasuke didn't rush to answer. I was dying to know who the third was too. "Well?" Sasuke closed his eyes as if gathering courage, then said with surprising resolve:
"Ariza Saito."
"What?" I exclaimed sharply. "Sasuke, have you lost your mind?" I snapped and immediately pursed my lips, feeling a pang of guilt. The anxiety that he was about to reveal all my strengths to everyone washed over me like a wave and just as quickly receded.
"Ari, don't interfere. I want to check something," he tossed back and turned to the card Kabuto had just pulled.
"Why?"
"I'll explain later," he grumbled and addressed the guy: "Show it."
"Ariza Saito, Team 7 with Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha," Yakushi paused, glanced at Sasuke again, and seeing no doubt, continued: "Mission experience: D-class ten times, C-class twice, B-class once." They did count the Land of Waves mission as B-rank. "Taijutsu, ninjutsu, and genjutsu at Academy level," he smirked at the last stats.
"What level is she... aaa... ma-mm gam... grh," Naruto started, but I covered his mouth with my palm.
"Quiet, Naruto, don't reveal my abilities," I whispered in his ear, waiting for his nod, then shot Sasuke a murderous glare.
Damn him! Couldn't he predict Naruto's reaction?
"You've already done B-class missions," Shikamaru looked at us surprised, "and came out unscratched?"
"Our sensei is strong," I said ahead of Sasuke and Naruto, smiling and shrugging.
"If you knew, Shik, how we wallowed in blood there, you'd shut up," I commented mentally. The situation was completely out of control! I needed to take urgent measures.
"I knew it," Sasuke took the card, then handed it to me. Kabuto watched us intently the whole time, as if trying to predict our next move.
"Stronger, really?" the Orochimaru's assistant (or maybe not in this world) guessed slyly.
"I don't know... I don't know..." Without looking away, I tore the card. I wanted to burn it in my palms, but revealing my elements to all these participants would be the act of a total fool. Watching my actions, Kabuto didn't twitch, just smirked and adjusted his glasses.
"What are you doing?!" I heard Sakura's stunned voice behind me and turned, hiding the card remnants behind my back. "That's not yours!"
"It's my stats written here, not yours. What would you do if your strengths were exposed before the exam, Sakura?" She had no objective answer to my question, but to avoid embarrassment, she replied:
"Not your business. Give the card back now," she started yelling louder.
"Hm... nothing to give..." With a smug, satisfied smile, I pulled out the remnants and, squeezing them, tossed them into a distant trash bin. "Conflict resolved," I shrugged.
"You little..." Sakura was about to lecture me when a louder, more authoritative voice sounded:
"Sorry for the delay, the first chunin selection exam has begun! I'm your examiner, Ibiki Morino!" A man in a black cloak with two scars on his face appeared at the front of the classroom, along with about twenty examiners in gray uniforms.
"Calm down, Sakura, and do well on the written part. I want to meet you in the exam," I said quietly to her.
A few minutes later, we were seated at different desks: Naruto somewhere in the middle, Sasuke not far from him. I got the prime spot—last row, farthest from the chunin examiners. We got answer sheets and the rules explained: simple to the point of horror—caught cheating, disqualified.
Examiners sat along the walls on chairs, watching us like prey—for them, it was probably just entertainment. No mercy, clear as day. Ten questions, one hour. Last question in forty-five minutes. Just like in the anime, except one thing: Naruto here is smarter in theory—tutors worked with him, and I tutored him a bit. But it doesn't matter; if it's like the cartoon, they won't need them.
"Begin!" Ibiki shouted when the clock hit "15:30." On his signal, everyone flipped the sheets and started.
Okay. First, scan everything and start with easy ones!
"First question, yeah, text. Next. Second..." Without looking around anymore, I got to work. "Parabola 'B' on the diagram shows the trajectory of the farthest shuriken flight from enemy shinobi A on a 7-meter tree. Using the elliptical curve on the figure, describe the enemy ninja's distinguishing features and estimate his maximum throwing range in plane combat. Explain your answer."
Yeah, few will solve this, but it's not too hard—just math. Naruto might even get it.
Skimming the rest, I wanted to take my words back. Naruto won't solve this. Starts with shinobi training basics, but gets harder, ending with stereometry, trigonometry, and strength of materials. Fine for strength of materials, but what are the first two doing there? Why cram kids' heads with this crap? Better teach life-useful skills. Naruto's a good example: with strong will but no school knowledge, you can achieve much.
Still, I can solve it—not for nothing I was top student, never cheating off GDZ, which doesn't exist here anyway.
Fifteen minutes later.
I exhaled in relief and scanned my solutions again. Done. Sheet full, nowhere to write more.
While working, a question arose: "What would I do without this info?" Say I don't know! How do these people before me gather info now? Looks like they're just writing. But chakra foci flare one after another.
I scanned the room, noting how participants cheat, until I stopped on Naruto.
Damn... He's probably racking his brain on how to cheat! No special abilities.
"Need to think of something quick!" I set the mental task and brainstormed.
A few minutes later, a very interesting idea hit me. What if I make tiny clones and send them to Naruto?
"Why not? Worth trying! Risky, but no risk, no sake!" I decided, placed hands on the desk, and focused on chakra control. Early training, I could only make small clones, seven or eight cm. Now need one cm, or they'll spot it. First clone was big—ten cm, thank god under the desk silently. Keep trying. After ten minutes and many attempts, I had something decent. Didn't think I'd learn to concentrate large chakra volume in such tiny things so fast. Desperate times.
"Just don't yell, Naruto! Don't yell!" I mentally begged my friend as I sent the clone. His reaction decided everything!
A minute after the clone left, Naruto started shaking his head.
"No!" He raised his hand to scratch his ear. "It's a clone there!"
I watched his hand stop short of the target. He froze. Three seconds, then he leaned and started writing! I nearly jumped from excitement! Oh God, it worked! I did it! Super! Yay! Now we'll all score points!
"Okay! Enough joy, back to business. Thirty-two minutes left, enough time for subconscious," Pretending to nap, I laid my head on the desk and slipped into my inner world.
I didn't appear in the room or by that mysterious door from last time. Somewhere in between. Without thinking, I ran forward to the door. No signs here saying what's where. Just instinct: the door's ahead. Path from spawn to door was quick. No hesitation on entering. I yanked the handle and was inside a second later.
"Wow..." I drawled, eyeing the spotlessly clean hall. Small, twenty by twenty, but white walls, ceiling, floor made it seem huge! Most amazing: a sizable pool in the middle, filled with... not water, not slime. I looked closely: "Why ripples on this liquid with no wind? What if I dip my hand?" Dropped that last thought: no risking, need my hand.
Hypothesis ready, time to prove. I know how. Remember, Naruto used shadow clones fighting Kyuubi inside? Maybe me too?
"Attempt's no torture!" Casually, I approached the pool, formed the seal. Nothing at first, then liquid lessened slightly, clone appeared beside me. "'So this liquid is chakra, usable in this room,'" I summed up. Still mysteries: where's the pool chakra from? How does it get here? Why couldn't I use it in the other room? Why pool specifically? Can I create with thought? Wall material—marble or quartz?
"What quartz, damn it? What nonsense am I spouting?" Mentally labeling myself crazy, I headed to the first room—where I spawned years ago. Better check computer than ask dumb questions, though note the thought-creation thing. Naruto made a cage for the furry orange lump; why not me? Might not work first try, but must attempt.
"Same wallpaper, wooden desk, desk lamp. Sigh, nothing changed. Boring, yeah." I scanned the office, sat at the computer. "Hope you don't let me down, buddy!"
Hit power, stared hopefully at screen. It booted, hope rewarded—interface fully changed, new functions!
Cool, finally something new!
Calmly eyeing the screen. Light purple background, three buttons: "BODY," "SOUL," "STATS," topped by the mysterious manufacturer's symbol.
"Wait, what does 'Stats' mean?" Suddenly forgot the word; hardly recall Russian. "Okay, get to it."
Clicked "BODY," light purple screen: health status and back arrow. "Excellent," 95.
Glanced, back to main (or "desktop"?). Clicked "SOUL": identical screen. Difference: "Mental Health" instead of "Physical Health."
No lingering, to mysterious "STATS."
"Holy crap! Shoes in my liver, what the hell?" My loud voice echoed in silence; I stood, grabbed my head. "So I'm a robot?" Ruffled hair, blinked rapidly at monitor. "Maybe from opening that pool door? Opening new doors adds to computer?"
Wide-eyed at stats:
"Strength — 120;
Agility — 95;
Speed — 107;
Endurance — 170."
Longer I looked, more questions:
Where are units?
Real my stats?
What if another door?
No chakra stat?
What if someone enters my subconscious?
"Okay, enough!" I shut myself up, tuned to outer world: something rustled. "'Not imagining, someone's near!'" Quick guess.
Who behind me if exam not over? I'm last row!
From the Author
While our heroine frantically thinks, we'll jump back a few minutes:
Dead silence in classroom: genin brazenly cheat feverishly, examiners watch scrupulously. Tension makes unprepared genin doubt passing and quit before last tricky question. Just another exam, annual in various countries. Would be ordinary, but at minute forty, ANBU in standard uniforms quietly entered door. Genin missed new guests; chunin tensed, eyes shifting from head examiner to ANBU.
Only Ibiki Morino knew why the mysterious guests came. He was beside the squad a second later.
"Your genin sleeping during exam?" the red-haired guy in gray wolf mask smirked, eyeing sleeping Ariza Saito at last desk, right before them.
"Probably thinks chunin selection's for weaklings," examiner sneered.
"Maybe convince her otherwise?" squad leader rhetorically asked, glancing at comrades.
"Try..." Ibiki replied, but ANBU removed hand from sword, quietly heading to girl. No plan to attack; Minato ordered bring her urgently. But as ANBU neared Saito, she drew sword, attacked. Jounin drew tanto, blocked. Girl and ANBU loudly clashed swords; all reacted instantly.
Ariza's scared eyes met piercing gaze; realizing, she flung her tekko-kagi with opponent's sword aside, then lay stomach-down, arm twisted.
"What are you doing?!" stunned Sasuke yelled, rushing to Ariza, caught by examiners.
"You have no right!" others protested; murmurs everywhere.
"You bastards! Hands off, I'll kill!" Naruto screamed, thinking attack on girl.
"What do you think you're doing?!" Some examiners talked among selves, demanding release; others asked purpose; third drew weapons to attack. Total chaos; only few shinobi silent, knowing not full picture.
"Quiet everyone!" Ibiki Morino shouted, silencing all, continued in quiet: "They came for her." Pointed at floor-pinned Ariza, silent, mentally cursing self and redhead. "By Hokage's order. They'll leave now, so sit down."
"I don't believe father would order that! Lies!" Uzumaki yelled as led back to desk, ignored.
While settling, much time passed; in Ariza's head, one question looped. No answer even as she and ANBU vanished.
"Where and when did I screw up?!"
***
Read the story months ahead of the public release — early chapters are available on my Patreon: Granulan