Kabuto
I walked into the tower pausing only for a moment as I noticed Orochimaru leaning against a wall waiting. He glanced up at me.
"A good harvest?"
"Yes even better than I expected and I put all of the data on this" I held out a card.
"Do you want it?" He chuckled then as he took the card.
"And the blonde child is she still alive?" I nodded.
"Jazmine Haruno, she is but I have yet to see any evidence of what you did have any effect on her abilities as a ninja." He nodded slightly.
"It would be a pity if it never does" He mused but finally moved to the topic he really wanted to know about.
"And what of the Princess..."
"A boy from the sand came to retrieve her but as I've seen she's back on her feet."
"The summoning?"
"Unclear. No matter she won't be able to use it without the knowledge of the proper hand signs." He chuckled then.
"She knows them; her Sharingan watched me perform them. I'm sure she caught it, we just need to push her to use it to know the contract worked even though it wasn't signed by her, but by us using her blood." I nodded slightly.
"Maybe she'll be pushed to use it during the next round." He shook his head.
"There aren't many that she would have to but we can fix that." I raised my eyebrow and her chuckled darkly.
"I want you to fight her Kabuto, to your full ability," I smirked slightly.
"I'm sure the matches will be chosen at random." He chuckled again.
"Don't worry; I'll be sure you are the one chosen to fight her. Good luck." I nodded slightly. I knew she suspected me of something but I was curious as to what Orochimaru saw in her. This would prove to be an interesting battle.
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Rin
I stared at Iruka sensei smiling slightly. They were summoning scrolls, I should have known. That's why we weren't supposed to open them.
"Congratulations you've passed the second exam!" It felt satisfying after all that crap we went through to hear those words. We earned this.
"I would like to take you all out for Ichiraku Ramen but..." Naruto jumped up then shouting and yelling from excitement. I smiled slightly as I looked at the other two who were sitting down. I walked over behind them and made hand signs before pressing my hands against their backs.
"Chakra strings." I muttered. I released a soft breath as I felt my chakra flow into them.
"I see why you've faired so well" I looked up at Iruka sensei and smiled slightly.
"Suki taught me at a young age." He nodded.
"An excellent ninja" I nodded in agreement.
"So if we had opened the scrolls in the middle of the exam, what would you have done to us Iruka sensei?" He smiled slightly as he picked up the scrolls.
"As sharp as usual Sasuke, part of this exam was to see if you could complete a difficult mission all the way through. If the scroll had been opened then we were forced to knock the ninja who opened it out, some ninja found that out the hard way." I removed my hands from their backs and walked to Naruto but he caught my wrist.
"You need chakra too" He muttered. I sighed lightly as he released my wrist.
"You've all done well, and I wish you luck on the third part of the exam." I smiled slightly as he looked up at each of us. Round three here we come.
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Kakashi
To be honest I had never been happier to see Rin. I had heard Orochimaru had been lurking around and I nearly went in after her. I noticed the bandages that were tightly wound around her left forearm. An injury maybe, still she seemed well enough as did the others.
"I see your team didn't do too bad Kakashi, they must have gotten lucky." I glanced at Gai as he went on.
"Of course with my team still around your team is doomed to failure since the next test has to do with ability and we've got you far outclassed. We'll I guess part of growing up is learning to deal with heartbreak."
"Sorry did you say something?" I turned back glancing at Rin and noticed her gaze meet mine. A slight smile came to her face.
"Alright now listen up the Hokage is going to explain the third exam and you better listen carefully maggots!" I looked at Anko as she turned.
"Lord Hokage they're all yours" He nodded.
"First before I tell you about what the third exam entails I want to explain something about the test itself. Of course, it's to build relationships with neighboring nations but it is also a representation of the battles between allied nations." I noticed many of their eyes widen in confusion.
"Now if we look carefully all the countries we are allied with were once nations that all fought with each other. In order to avoid destroying each other's military strength meaninglessly those nations chose champions to battle on their behalf in a mutually selected location. That is how the chunin selection exams originally began." He paused a moment before continuing.
"These exams allow for a shinobi to carry the pride of their nation on their backs and fight against another ninja for their very lives. Other ninja and lords are invited to watch these exams and decide if they want particular ninja to work for them and more importantly the strengths each village is developing will also be seen. It is important to show how much military strength our village has."
"Now then let me explain the third exam!" Hayate jumped down in front of him then.
"Please Lord Hokage, as a proctor for the third exam let me explain." He nodded and Hayate turned to face the others.
"Before we go on we have to have a preliminary round."
"Preliminary, just what do you mean by that!?" Hayate sighed.
"We'll you see the first and second exam may have been too easy, the fact is we never expected so many of you to be here. As lord Hokage said we have many feudal lords coming in and we don't want to waste their time, they only want to see the best." I noticed Rin smirk slightly as she rested her hand on the hilt of her Katana.
"So if any of you feel that you are not in top physical condition then now is your chance to back out." Part of me wished that Rin would back out; this wasn't only to pass to the final round it was to push Rin to her limit, push her to use that power that Hokage knew she possessed.
"The winners will be determined by one on one combat, sudden death." I noticed Rin's eyes flash to Sasuke when he reached for his shoulder. She walked over to him whispering something to him and he shook his head. A frown came to her features and he caught her wrists as she attempted to form a hand sign.
"It's just as we feared" I heard the Hokage mutter.
"Rin is still standing though," Anko noted.
"She's had years to learn to control it." The Hokage told her.
"We need to get them both out of here, give them to the ANBU for safekeeping."
"And you think that they're going to go quietly? You're forgetting that they are Uchiha." Anko turned then.
"I don't care what they are! If they stay then they are a danger to everyone, as they get stronger so does the curse mark! It's a forbidden jutsu that feeds off the victim's chakra!"
"Rin received hers when she was five years old, and Sasuke is her brother they are both fine!" She looked at the Hokage.
"We'll let them both continue..."
"But lord Hokage!"
"I am curious as to Rin's strength and at the first sign of them getting out of control we'll step in." I noticed her sigh but nodded in agreement.
"Now then there are twenty-four contestants left, that means twelve matches and only twelve people will go to the next round. Matches will be chosen at random. Now let's begin." We looked to the panel as it opened. The names flashing randomly on the screen until it fell to two. I felt my heart skip a beat when I read Kabuto Yakushi versus Rin Uchiha. I looked at Rin who had a smirk on her face but I also noticed the distress in Sasuke's eyes. I looked at Kabuto and noticed the slight glint of malice in his eyes as he looked to Rin.
"Everyone else but the two contestants please move up to the stands." I sighed lightly as I walked to the two.
"Be careful of what jutsu you use." She glanced at me and shrugged.
"Taijutsu has yet to fail me." I sighed again as I leaned down to her ear.
"That kid, the look he's giving you. I don't like it." She glanced over to Kabuto nearly backing into me as we both realized how close he was. A slight smirk was on his face as he held out his hand.
"I look forward to this fight Princess." Rin stood straight, that Uchiha pride and arrogance evident as she waved aside his hand.
"It's Rin kid" She hissed. He chuckled as he lowered his hand.
"I won't go easy on you." He taunted.
"Good because I wasn't planning to either." He smirked again as he turned away. I caught Rin's wrist and she paused a moment.
"Trust me" She whispered. A statement and almost a question. Her hand slipped through my hand that held her wrist, lingering briefly when our fingers touched.
"You know I do. I'll keep an eye on Sasuke but please don't be reckless." She nodded as I released her wrist and jumped to the stands. I looked down as she walked to the center of the ring and faced Kabuto. Hayate raised his hand.
"First match, Kabuto Yakushi versus Rin Uchiha. Are you ready?" They both nodded.
"Begin!"