The Lost Heir (Naruto Fanfic)

The Talents We Test For

*Shiro's POV*

"So... All eighty-one of you who are still here... You just passed the first exam." Ibiki states, surprising a couple in the room.

"What do you mean, "passed"? When did that happen? What about the tenth question?!" Sakura asked.

I felt myself facepalming at the pink haired female.

"There is no tenth question... Beyond the whole "accept or reject" thing." Ibiki replied with a grin.

My face exploded into different shades of red as I stared at Ibiki from where I was sitting.

"Hunh?!"

"Hey! Then why did we have to suffer through the other nine questions?! That was a total waste of our time!" Temari shouted.

"There was no waste. Those questions had a purpose, which they've already served." Ibiki replied.

"Such as?" Temari asked.

"Our goal was to test your skills... At spying!" Ibiki answered.

"... Our skills at spying?" Temari questioned.

I felt myself sweatdrop wondering if sand shinobi and leaf shinobi were idiots at one point in their lives.

"Remember the rules at the beginning? You pass or fail as part of a three man squad. With that rule, I pressured you with the fear that anything you did wrong... Would bring your teammates down with you." Ibiki explained.

"You know, I kinda figured that was it." I heard Naruto say.

"Tee hee..." Hinata giggled quietly.

"However... The questions are beyond the level that junior ninja could be expected to handle. So most of you... Having reached that same conclusion... Had only one way of retaining your points-- by cheating. In other words... We set up the test on the assumption you'd cheat."

"Hmf."

"And, to ensure there would be suitable targets for you to cheat from, we snuck in a pair of ringers... Two chunin ninja who already knew all the answers."

"It took me forever to figure out who they were!" One said.

"Oh, yeah. Me too." Another agreed.

"Ha ha ha! Yeah! It was obvious!!!! Any idiot could tell!" Naruto exclaimed with a laugh.

"You didn't even notice them, you idiot." I thought with a sigh.

"Of course, anyone who cheated in a clumsy or obvious way... Failed. Because there may be circumstances where being caught in an act of espionage can cost you more than just your life. You pay in ways that can be taken from you little by little, time and time again, when many lives hang in the balance." Ibiki says as  he showed all the scars on his head.

I felt myself shiver at the thought of being tortured into almost insanity or death.

"The information you obtain can't be trusted... If you can't keep your presence secret from the enemy. Learn that and learn it well. If you bring back intelligence from a suspect source or a compromised operation... You're doing your enemies' work for them, putting those you serve in danger. That is why we maneuvered you into using your espionage skills to cheat. It was the quickest way of weeding out the students whose skills aren't yet up to snuff." Ibiki states as he fixed his headband back over his scarred head.

"Okay... But what was the deal with the tenth question?" Temari asked.

"Ah! The tenth question... Was the first real test on the exam." Ibiki states.

"What on earth do you mean?" Sakura asked.

I felt myself wanting to slam my head into the desk but didn't do so.

"Let me explain... The tenth question... Was a choice between two options... That were both difficult and dangerous. Those who reject were failed, and their friends along with them. Those who chose to accept and couldn't answer the question... Lost any chance of ever even trying again. It was a nasty, unfair, no win set of options. So why did I present them? Let's suppose you all go on to successfully attain the rank of chunin. You are assigned to steal a vital enemy document... Knowing nothing about the skills deployment, or military preparedness of your foe. You may have to cross a territory that has been heavily mined and set with traps. Now... Do you accept your mission? Or do you reject it... Rather than place your own life--or the lives of your companions--in jeopardy? Could any chunin get away with only taking on the safe jobs? Of course not! No matter how dangerous the risk... There will be missions that you cannot decline. A ninja must demonstrate valor that inspires those around him... Helping all to overcome their fear. This is the talent that we most value in the commander of a chunin squad! Those who can't gamble with their own fate... Who would trade today's certain risk for tommorow's uncertain future... Never taking the chance that lies before them... Are weaklings who make only weak and easy decisions. In my opinion, they don't belong in the ranks of the chunin at all! By choosing to accept... You answered the almost insoluble tenth question correctly. If you keep that spirit, you can probably conquer all of the many doubts and difficulties you'll face. You've passed the first hurdle. Part one of the chunin selection exam is now concluded. I'll pray you fight the good fight." Ibiki says.

"Yeah. You do that! Go pray!" Naruto yelled.

"Ho ho..." Ibiki seemed to chuckle before looking in the corner of his eyes at one of the windows.

Something or someone came crashing through the window, surprising those except for a couple.

"Wha?!!"

"Wh-what the--" Naruto trailed off in shock.

Haku laughed nervously when he  noticed my confused look.

A woman was the one that had crashed through the window.

"None of you are in any position to celebrate. I am the second chief examination officer... Anko Mitarashi!! Time's a-wastin', people. Let's go!! Follow me!!!" Anko exclaimed with a fist in the air.

"Can't you sense the mood in here?" Ibiki asked.

"This new officer almost reminds me... Of Naruto." Sakura mumbled.

"Eighty-one of you are still here?! Obviously you went way too easy on them." Anko states.

"This year... We have applicants of exceptional caliber." Ibiki replied.

"Who are we? King Arthur?" I thought with a sweatdrop rolling down the side of my head.

"Yeah, right. I'll cut down the number by half before the next test is done. Ooh! I get charged up just thinking about it! I'll explain things in detail as soon as we move to our next location... So follow me!!"

*3rd Person's POV*

After all the students have followed Anko outside, Ibiki was picking up the test sheets.

Ibiki stared at the blank piece of paper in surprise.

"Huh." Ibiki breathed out with a chuckle.

"He's the kind of person who thinks he can pass the exam... With a completely blank answer sheet. Uzumaki Naruto... Is a very intriguing young man." Ibiki thought in amusement.

~scene change~

*Shiro's POV*

I felt my eyes sparkle in amazement with Kuro on my shoulder, the both of us holding a look of excitement.

"This is the arena for the second exam: training ground 44. Also known as... The Forest of Death!!" Anko exclaimed.