SHADOWS OF THE VILLAGE (Naruto)

Chapter 12: I Spy Crimson

"What are our names today, Captain?" Imori chirped as they came closer to their destination.

"Our normal names, Newt. What else would you go by?" Dark eyes turned to the quiet brothers beside him. Their silence was enough to make the older boy look around the corner to the crowd forming. "Our names have temporarily been scrubbed from the secure database, so no overlap should occur. We don't exist."

"Good," Imori muttered. "It's not like we really exist anyway."

"Are those nerves I sense? You have no reason to be nervous, idiot." Sai pulled an expression that made his teammates cringe. It was so artificial, that his comrades questioned whether or not he was even a real person. But as they had established by what they've called, 'the muffin incident,' Sai too enjoy simple things liked baked goods, and he just wasn't good at expressing himself.

"We're all chunin here. Experienced ones at that. There shouldn't be anything ahead that should concern us."

"Yeah, got it, Captain. Can we go now?" Kuma asked eagerly.

Sai nodded. A neutral expression settled on the trio's faces as they moved towards the crowded academy building. It was easy to slip through the masses, a hell of a lot easier than slipping through the Tsuchikage's building.

They moved through the hallway, ignoring the chunin's charade and climbing the stairs. They needn't worry about anyone who gets swayed by such a simple genjutsu. It was those teams that made it to the exam room they would begin to assess.

Their team were not the first to enter, already hearing ample chatter beyond the doors they neared. Seeing that no one was in the hallway, Kuma chuckled and leaned against the wall. "We all remember who's first up?"

"Crimson," Imori responded, the plan fresh in his mind. "Locate Crimson, observe and determine the threat level."

"Let's continue then?"

It was Sai who took the lead—it was his role after all—opening the wooden door and slipping inside. As previously discussed, they had no reason to be nervous. This wasn't their first rodeo but the atmosphere in the room left something to be desired.

They heard a gasp to their left but they paid no mind to the noise and continued further into the middle of the room. Many of the shinobi present were much older than the trio, and much larger in shape and size. Several countries had sent their respective genin, eager to provide a glimpse into the future strength of their village and appear somewhat diplomatic.

Too bad it was Sai's team's job to disrupt the exams.

Sai sat rather robotically in the chair, while Kuma sat atop the table. Imori sat beside him, legs dangling off the edge and rocking back and forth. It only took him a second to locate the source of the initial noise from before, nudging Kuma with his foot.

"Are those the same genin as—"

"Yes." Kuma lifted his hand and began to pick at his nails, aloof and nonchalant despite his brother's stressing.

"Should we be concerned? They could be dealt with swiftly—"

"No, we shouldn't." Kuma hummed, all too cheerily for Imori's liking. "Just stay focus."