"Chuunin exams?" Naruto looked down at the consent form in his hands, his eyebrow quirked up high as his gaze flickered between it and his sensei.
"That's right, it's bothersome, but if you agree I can sign you up for the upcoming Chuunin exams." Naruto just continued to look incredulous, a sentiment mirrored by his teammates.
"What gives? I thought you said that we were bound to get a field promotion to Chuunin soon anyway?" Ensui just shrugged lazily, already looking like he just wanted to leave and laze under the clouds.
"Hokage-sama believed it would be a good idea to enter you three anyway. The Chuunin exams are supposed to show the power behind a certain village. What better way to express that than having our youngest and most accomplished Genin participate? More so if you win." Shisui just snorted as he put the form in his pocket.
"You mean when we win." Itachi smirked at that; Shisui had every reason to be cocky. Three years into their Genin careers and the team had already completed more B-ranked missions than many Chuunin. Ensui just sighed, already starting to walk away from the group towards the Nara clan compound.
"In any case, if you want to enter, just sign the consent forms and be at the academy at ten tomorrow." With that the lazy Jounin walked off, leaving the three Genin alone to ponder his offer.
"So what do you guys think?" It was Naruto who asked. In the last two years he had grown considerably, now standing a respectable four foot ten inches for a nine-year old. His long, spiky red hair hung around his head in what most described as a 'mop', covering his eyes to a degree due to his forehead protector being around his bicep. He continued to wear his father's old tracksuit jacket only now he kept it open revealing the fishnet shirt underneath. He also wore baggy black pants tucked into his dark boot-like sandals.
He wasn't the only one to have grown. Itachi now stood level with him, unlike Shisui who was just slightly shorter. He now let his long dark hair cinch into a small pony tail with two straight bangs framing each side of his face. A high-collared black shirt of the Uchiha clutched his narrow frame, grey three-quarter length pants and black sandals completing the attire. Nowadays, it was a rare-sight to see the stoic Uchiha without his Sharingan activated, having garnered the ability to keep it visible all day. He had also taken to keeping a tanto slung over his shoulder, managing to cast an intimidating sight for one so young.
Shisui was probably the one who had changed the least. While he too kept his Sharingan activated most of the time, he lacked the serious edge to his features that Itachi managed, face smooth where Itachi bore slight wrinkles. He wore a high-collared light grey vest open at the front to reveal his dark grey shirt and tan belt. Below that, he wore standard navy Shinobi pants tied around his shins with tape and dark grey standard sandals. However, beneath his unassuming appearance he was an opponent to be reckoned with, sometimes surprising his teammates with his ingenuity to win a fight.
Basic analysis of the their team's composition would reveal that Naruto was the speedy powerhouse of the group, Itachi the calculating tactician and swift support while Shisui was the wildcard, rapidly adapting and redefining his role. It was true the aspiring Uchiha had dabbled in nearly every area of Ninja studies and found something he liked from each. His Taijutsu was something even Naruto found hard to counter and his Genjutsu, while not the match of Itachi, still gave him an edge in a fight and his Ninjutsu were always so unpredictable it was like trying to fight multiple opponents.
"I think we're going to kick some Genin ass." Both of Shisui's teammates smirked at that before each disappeared to go home. Shisui vanished in a flicker of motion, Itachi dissolved into crows and Naruto just disappeared.
Anko was out training. At least, if sparring with Orochimaru could count as training. It involved her pulling out every trick in her arsenal just to not get thrown around the training ground; more a game of survival than true practice. Currently, both of them had snakes protruding out of their sleeves, the scaly creatures fighting for dominance, a fight Orochimaru was winning. Suddenly, Anko was caught unawares as Orochimaru's tongue suddenly shot out of his mouth, wrapping around her neck in one motion and throwing her harshly across the field. She landed ready to keep fighting but her sensei just chuckled.
"That's enough for today Anko-chan. You've been training hard recently and you should take a break." Anko just nodded with a smile, desperately trying not to show just how exhausted she was from their long fight. She failed miserably; sweat was soaking her forehead and clothes as she was panting for breath. Quickly she walked back inside the house through the sliding door and nearly collapsed on a chair in the kitchen. She didn't because at that moment Naruto seemingly appeared in the room, still looking down at the consent form.
Like Shisui, Anko hadn't changed all that much, she was taller than two years ago, standing a little under Shisui in height. She still wore that same style of clothing, just a plain dark navy t-shirt, as well as beige shorts that went down to her mid-thigh. However, she'd also grown attached to wearing long fishnet stockings above her blue sandals and proudly displaying a snake-tooth necklace her sensei had given her as a present.
"Hey Fishcake, what's that?" Naruto looked up in surprise, not expecting anybody to be in the kitchen when he had Shunshin'd in, appearing in a red blur.
"Oh this? It's a consent form for the Chuunin exams." Her interest suddenly piqued Anko moved around, peering over the redheads shoulder at the slip of paper.
"Chuunin exams?" Naruto just nodded lamely as he put the form down on the counter.
"Yeah, Ensui-sensei asked us to enter. Something about showing off our villages strength through us." Anko just huffed as she crossed her arms over her chest in annoyance.
"Lucky you! Orochimaru-sensei won't let me enter the exams until next year." Naruto looked up, ignoring the form for the moment as Anko sat in his lap on the chair. It was something she had used to do to get a rise out of him, nowadays she just did it naturally because they were both used to it.
"Why not?" Anko just shrugged as she leaned back on his chest, stretching slightly to alleviate some aches that had worked their way into her muscles during training.
"Hell if I know! Sensei can be pretty mysterious sometimes. He says I can enter after some kind of training trip he has planned for me." Naruto also leaned back in the chair, adjusting as Anko got comfortable which meant grinding into his lap without meaning to.
"Training trip?" Anko finally perked up as she nodded enthusiastically, turning with a smile on her face.
"Yeah. He's going to take me all over the elemental nations for half a year so I can learn all kinds of new things!" Naruto just smiled as well, wrapping his arms around his friend in a light hug which she would have returned if she wasn't facing the wrong way.
"Congratulations, that's great. When do you go?" Anko's smile flipped to a frown as she entered what Naruto had dubbed her 'cute concentration pose' with her tongue sticking out the corner of her mouth.
"Ummm... I guess not too long after the Chuunin exams, maybe a week or two?" Naruto ensnared her into a tight embrace her again before gently sliding the girl off his lap so he could stand up.
"Cool. Well... make sure you come back stronger and maybe you'll actually land a hit on me in our spars!" Anko growled playfully as she swung at him, only for the redhead to duck far below the punch and disappear in a flash of red.
"Nice try Anko. Better luck next time!" Anko's lips thinned, drooping into a grimace, before Orochimaru called out to her and she raced back outside. Before she did though she took another look at the slip of paper on the counter and sighed. 'Things are moving so fast, don't worry Naruto. I'll catch up to you any way I can!'
"So why do you think we have to go to the academy?" As always it was Shisui who tried to strike up conversation in their small group as the three Genin made their way towards the Shinobi academy.
"Maybe there is a written test?" Itachi, always the voice of reason amongst the group wasn't all too concerned if that was the case.
"Nah, what the hell does a written test have to do with being a Chuunin?" Naruto on the other hand was slightly more dismissive of the whole thing, acting far more relaxed than he normally was. However to the two Uchiha's trained eyes they noticed it was slightly strained which was unusual for the normally overly calm Naruto. Itachi just sighed, knowing why he was acting this way; in Naruto's mind this was next major stepping stone in his ninja life. This would make him one step closer to overcoming his father like he had promised; he was most likely quite nervous.
"I would not be so quick to dismiss a written test or anything that happens in these exams. Have you forgotten what Ensui-sensei told us?" Naruto sighed low in annoyance as he increased the pace, obviously rather anxious just to get to the academy, his steps wider and his gait uneven.
"Yeah yeah! Look beneath the underneath, my dad had the same mantra." Itachi just nodded curtly, satisfied his teammate would at least treat the exams seriously, no matter what they were.
"Uhh, you don't think it's like practise for when we have to do mission reports do you?" Both Naruto and Itachi stopped, staring at their teammate incredulously before blinking and carrying on.
"Kami I hope not." For some reason just the thought of paperwork sent a small shiver up all three of their spines. Finally they reached the academy, walking up the stairs to the third floor, not even bothering to glance at a rather poor Genjutsu cast over a second floor sign. Finally they stopped in front of classroom 303, not even fazed when Ensui melted out of a nearby shadow.
"You actually decided to come? And here I thought I was going to have a botherless week." None of them even looked at the man, already far too used to his attitude to care anymore. "Well, at least you three came together, not that I really thought one wouldn't." Shisui raised an eyebrow at this, looking at their sensei strangely.
"And what would have happened if one of us decided not to take part?" Ensui just smiled lazily, reminding Naruto of a silver-haired ANBU he had seen once when the man was supporting them on a mission and had taken off his dog mask.
"Then the other two wouldn't have been allowed to participate, the Chuunin exams are a team event. How else are you supposed to show teamwork and leadership?" The three Genin could only nod at the logic before Ensui patted them each on the back. "Now get in there, I want you all to become Chuunin." Even Itachi couldn't help the smile that managed to find its way onto his face "being your sensei is far too bothersome" only to be immediately be replaced by a frown.
They scowled at their sensei who just uncharacteristically chuckled and melted back into the shadows. They walked into the class, ignoring most of the other Genin assembled as they all stared at the newcomers. Many just seemed to be surprised by their ages, definitely being the youngest group there by a good few years. Others seemed to think it was some kind of joke and Naruto even heard one boy whispering that it might be part of the exams. When he told his teammates they just laughed; soon enough they would be able to show they belonged here.
They weren't waiting long in their seats before the door opened for the last time, admitting one very tired looking Jounin. He slowly walked to the front of the large classroom with his fingers rubbing the bridge of his nose making it look like he had a nasty headache. He was a lanky man wearing the standard Jounin attire of the jumpsuit and flak jacket with long unruly brown hair and a long katana strapped to his back. Naruto leaned over in his seat to Shisui as they watched the man tiredly lean back against the front wall of the room.
"Could have made a better entrance... maybe some smoke bombs or something." Shisui chuckled with a shrug as they turned their attention to the man at the front of the room.
"Alright, I'm Mishoto Gekkyo, the first proctor of the Chuunin exams." He looked towards the door of the room in annoyance like he was trying to set it on fire with his mind before he resumed rubbing the bridge of his nose. "I'm only here because my old teammate called in a favour so let's just get this over with." Naruto raised an eyebrow as he leant back in his chair, once again leaning over to Shisui.
"Just the picture of enthusiasm in this one." Shisui chuckled again as Mishoto pulled out a clipboard seemingly from nowhere and began to look down the names.
"Alright, I'm going to call you up individually and you'll go through that door..." He motioned with his thumb to an unassuming door behind him "...where you'll receive the first test. Any questions?" A few people raised their hands "No? Good." A few people scowled and started calling out but the man just stared up with bloodshot eyes in a scowl that made everybody silent again. "Like I said. Now, first up is Tekkyo Akasami from Takigakure." A tall boy with jet black hair stood up and walked towards the door, disappearing behind it and never coming back out.
It continued in this manner for a while as prospective Chuunin were called up to enter the room, none of them ever coming out again. Naruto just assumed it was because there was a door on the other side from whatever the test was and they didn't want people knowing what the test was. Quickly Naruto figured out it was supposed to simulate a situation where you were going into a mission blind, with little knowledge of what you would face.
Soon enough the N's were called up. Naruto had to go down and he got a good luck from Shisui and a nod from Itachi. Quickly, in case he earned a scowl from their frightening proctor, he made his way to the door and slipping through. He turned from closing the door only to raise an eyebrow when he realised where he was. He didn't remember using the room all that often during his brief span in the academy but he was certain he was in one of the many dojos that littered the school. It was a very large room, probably stretching all three floors of the building.
He jumped as a hand rested on his shoulder only to calm when he realised it was another Jounin. He pointed to the middle of the room where a massive pole was firmly planted on the floor, stretching up all three floors.
"This is your first test. You have five minutes to get the bell that's resting in a recess atop that pole." Naruto was about to ask him a question but the man just raised a finger to his lips. He didn't say anything but the message was clear. Naruto would be receiving no help in this test. He dropped down to the floor of the dojo, looking up at the impressive height of the pole. Knowing it would be useless but deciding to try anyway he forced chakra into his legs and jumped as high as he could. Like he had thought, he only reached about three quarters of the way up before gravity took hold again.
He looked up again, knowing he didn't have much time to think too hard on this. Carefully, he placed a foot on the pole, attempting to latch onto it with chakra. Immediately his foot just slid off like he didn't use chakra at all. Naruto's lips quirked into a knowing grin; they had obviously treated the pole the same way they had the walls of Konoha so ninja couldn't climb it. Instead, he ran at the walls of the room, thankful when his feet did manage to stick and he was able to sprint up the side of the room. He reached the top and was about to place his foot on the ceiling when he paused.
He repeated the action, but more slowly, noting that he once again couldn't gain purchase to simply walk over and drop down on the bell. He could see it glinting in the small recess atop the pole like it was taunting him and he was so close. He quickly took out a kunai; aiming carefully before launching it at the bell in hopes he could push it out onto the floor. His hopeful look turned into dismay as a small bubble of blue light sprung up around the top of the pole, deflecting his kunai harmlessly.
"Damn it I hate barriers; Looks like it's only supposed to repel weapons though." He sighed in annoyance but quickly pulled out a small slip of paper usually reserved for explosive notes. He hastily began to scribble out a rough seal across it, too pressed for time to make it perfect. He could only hope it would do as he wrapped the small note around his kunai, knowing he couldn't have more than thirty seconds left. He threw his weapon again and the barrier sprung up in response, however, this time the kunai glowed slightly as it passed through the bubble of light, hitting the bell and managing to knock it out of the dimple.
He caught it before it hit the ground, ducking into a small roll as he hit the ground before handing the bell to the Jounin. He just nodded, making a note of his name before telling him to leave through a door lower down in the room. As he left he could only wonder how his teammates would do, they didn't have his sealing knowledge. Itachi would most likely use his crow to simply get the bell which made Naruto jealous of his ease for a moment. Shisui would probably just get up the wall like him and Shunshin to the bell; though most people would find such a move impossible.
The Idea of the Shunshin was to temporarily revitalise your entire body with energy, giving you a burst of speed. However, the problem with that was it was very difficult to adjust how much energy you put into it. For most it was a long range transport jutsu with little fighting application due to its unpredictability. However it became apparent when Shisui had learnt the move that he had an almost unnatural control over the technique, able to finely focus just where he ended up. He was even able to use it in a fight, almost looking like he was using the Hiraishin as he jumped about the fight. Unfortunately for him the technique was rather taxing; so far he could use it up to five times in quick succession.
Either way he would have faith that his teammates would be able to do it; he had to.
"Alright brats, welcome to training ground 18, or as the ANBU like to call it, 'the city of bones'." The tall Jounin proctor standing in front of the gates to the training ground grinned at the slightly nervous faces of a few of the Genin. Others seemed less concerned and he couldn't fault them, on the outside the training ground didn't really seem like much. However there was a reason it was a training ground even ANBU didn't particularly enjoy being in.
"Behind this fence is the part of Konoha that was never fully restored after the Kyuubi attack. It's a mess of broken buildings and unsprung traps just waiting to take your heads off." He grinned as a few more faces joined the nervous ranks. "The second test is simple, each member of your team will be given a bell; your goal is to reach the old ANBU headquarters at the centre of the training ground. Sound simple enough? Wrong. You need to provide six bells at the door to get in, how you get those bells is up to you. There are a few scattered around the training ground itself but not enough for all of you. Failure to provide the bells after three days and your team will be disqualified; all three members of the team must be present to pass onto the next round." After making sure everybody understood he grinned again, producing a set of documents.
"You all also need to fill in these liability forms. From this point on in the exams killing is allowed." He said it with a grim, sunken face which only darkened as he saw a few Genin smirk at this; he despised people who made light of death. It was nothing to be laughed at. Dismissing his own feelings and hardening his heart, the Jounin passed out the forms, giving each team their bells as he did so. "Get to the gates around the training ground, the test will start in fifteen minutes. Good luck." He shook his head at the determined looks, wondering which fools would still be fools by the end of this exam.
Team Ensui were already racing through the training ground, determined to get through this stage as fast as possible. They needed to put some doubt in the minds of their future opponents as any of the Genin here could be. Naruto already knew that the last stage of the Chuunin exams were straight up fights. It was hardly a secret, after all, it was fairly hard to hide the massive celebrations and tournaments every six months. Ensui had even taken the group to the last Chuunin exams final to give them an idea of what they would be up against.
They tumbled and ducked under some rubble, following the path Itachi's Sharingan pointed them in. They were using the Doujutsu's ability to spot even the most minor details to track another team, a rather heavy-footed one in Itachi's opinion. They had been running for a good fifteen minutes before they picked up a trail and now they were racing through the rubble that made up the training ground to get to the other team.
Naruto took another surveying look around, noting the pure destruction that littered the enormous area. It made him shudder to think that one creature, no matter how powerful, had managed to do all of this. It was especially bad considering the fact he now contained that creature within himself, knowing the ancient beast was just biding its time before it escaped. Finally the group came to a silent rest high up in a somewhat stable building that hadn't taken too much damage. Below them, apparently making plans of some sort, were another Genin team.
Naruto absently noted their Headbands marked them as Suna Shinobi as he quickly made a few hand signs to his team. It was times like these he was glad Ensui had seen fit to teach them the standard ANBU sign language. Once he got two nods of approval Naruto grinned before cracking his neck and walking off the edge. He dropped down right in the middle of the three Genin, making sure the impact of his drop was enough to crack the already weak floorboards below them. They were so surprised that he had already stuck one of them directly between the eyes before they could react.
"Hey!" The next one to cry out received similar treatment as Naruto suddenly disappeared, reappearing behind the shocked Genin as he cracked him roughly on the back of the head. He cursed when the boy disappeared in a cloud of smoke only to be replaced by a pile of rubble from nearby. He dodged backwards suddenly, avoiding the closed fan that was ready to take his head off if he hadn't. Suddenly he was put on the defensive as the boy continued to swing his fan like a club, hoping to catch Naruto with the metal edge.
"Hold still, you Leaf asshole!" He was surprised when Naruto just chuckled, stopping his dodge mid-way and just standing up. The Suna Genin just smiled wickedly as he brought his massive fan around for a large swing. "Finally wizened up I see! Little brats like you aren't cut out for Chuunin." Naruto just shrugged, stowing away those infuriating words into the deep recesses of his mind. The Suna Genin brought his fan down in a hard, fast swing, only to pass straight through Naruto's body.
"Huh? Clone?" He jumped back in confusion only to find his legs trapped as he slowly began sinking into the ground. The sky above him warped and twisted, becoming a blood red. His eyes bulged wider as he looked up, noticing a bright spot in the sky that slowly became larger and brighter. His last waking thoughts as he brought his hands up to shield his eyes were filled with horrendous images of his own death before he blacked out from the illusionary pain. Above him Naruto just sighed as Itachi walked up behind him, holding out the bell from the Genin Naruto had hit first.
"You know, it's a lot less fun when you just put them under a Genjutsu." Itachi said nothing, just motioning over to where Shisui was engaging the last conscious opponent, the two going back and forth with Taijutsu. A long time ago Shisui may have found the much older boy difficult but with his Sharingan and practise sparring against Naruto he was easily countering the boy's every move and retaliating harshly. Finally the last Suna Genin dropped to the ground, too injured to carry on.
"Damn you, what the hell are you three?" Shisui smiled sinisterly as he reached down to grab the boy's bell, unwisely hanging from his belt.
"We're team Ensui, don't forget it!"
In a last burst of energy the Suna Genin grabbed the bell off his own belt and held it out in front of him.
"Fire release: Phoenix flower jutsu." He spat a single weak fireball at the bell but it was enough to melt the thin metal, rendering the bell useless. He smirked spitefully one last time before passing out from the pain running through his body. Shisui just cursed as he watched the molten metal that used to be the bell sink in to the ground, kicking the unconscious Suna ninja in irritation.
"Sore loser much?" Naruto just shrugged as the three of them sat around the small camp area the Suna Shinobi had set up.
"Well, now what?" Shisui shrugged once more, the two of them turning towards Itachi expectantly. The Uchiha thought for a moment, looking around them at the training ground.
"The only other option is to find another team and get their bells unless we want to waste time slogging through the training ground to find one of the single bells the proctor mentioned." Naruto straightened his spine with a grin.
"Who said we have to do it?" He formed a single hand sign as five more of him suddenly appeared in poofs of smoke. Shisui just looked at the clones with a small amount of exasperation while Itachi raised an eyebrow.
"How exactly are clones going to help us here?" Naruto grinned broadly as he suddenly threw a kunai at one of his clones; both Uchiha were amazed when the other Naruto effortlessly caught the thrown weapon by the handle.
"Not just clones. Shadow clones." Naruto quickly created several more and sent them all out to scout for either more bells or more teams. Each redhead saluted before disappearing in a burst of speed; at this rate they would have the bells no problem.
"When did you learn that?" it was Shisui who asked, still amazed by the fact Naruto could create solid clones; they could have so many applications. Naruto just rubbed his head sheepishly, realising he forgot to mention his new technique to his friends.
"Umm, about a month ago?" Both Uchiha glared at their friend, rather annoyed he had failed to mention this technique to them. "Remember how I have trouble with the regular clone Jutsu because of my Chakra reserves? Ensui-sensei said this would be a good alternative because they require a lot more Chakra." His teammates just nodded at that, with their Sharingan activated they couldn't even tell the difference between the original and the clones.
"They're also pretty useful because they can transmit information back to me when they dispel so I guess their main purpose is recon." Again he received nods, the logic was sound and the applications opened up even more.
"Could you teach us?" Naruto just shrugged as he reached into his pack, withdrawing the scroll Ensui had given him.
"Sure, I pretty much have it down." He passed the encrypted scroll to Shisui who looked over it almost with glee, already thinking of all the things he could do with it. Itachi gazed more coolly at the scroll, his mind running through a few thoughts.
"What happens if you put too much chakra into one of the clones?" Naruto just blinked as he looked at Itachi.
"I don't know, it's never happened before. Why?" Itachi just shrugged as he returned to looking at the scroll with a critical eye.
"No reason, just an idea." Naruto hummed thoughtfully at his friend's musing, Itachi was never satisfied with a jutsu until he found a way to tweak or personalize it to his preference. He was oddly predictable. Suddenly a clone dropped down in their midst's, looking ever so slightly singed as it panted breathlessly. Everybody smiled though when the artificial redhead reached into its pouch and withdrew a single gleaming bell.
"Woh what happened to you?" The clone just sighed as it dispelled itself, giving Naruto a sudden influx of information that made him shiver.
"The Jounin who set this place up was a freaking sadist." He shuddered again before the three of them got up, Shisui putting the Shadow clone scroll away. "Alright! We better get moving, no doubt there will be some teams setting up around the ANBU headquarters for ambushes, the longer we wait the more time we give them to prepare." After nods of acknowledgement from his teammates the three of them set off again, racing towards the centre of the training ground.