(A/N: Here's a picture that I don't own, but looks like an accurate representation of Team Seven.)
"Wow, you seem a lot older than us, dattebayo!" Naruto noted loudly, making Kabuto nod.
"Yes, I've taken the Chūnin Exams...six times, or so."
Sasuke smirked, and shook off Ino's hold on his left arm so he could cross them. "If you still haven't passed on your seventh try that means something," he scoffed haughtily.
Kabuto's eyes flashed with irritation that only Sakura and Shikamaru seemed to see, but was quickly covered up. He scratched the back of his neck sheepishly and laughed. "I guess so." The grey-haired teenager pulled out a deck of cards. "But since you're only rookies, you wouldn't understand. Because I've been in the system for so long—"
"You were able to gather information on all participants," Sakura finished, and both Shikamaru and Kabuto nodded at her.
"You're pretty sharp," Kabuto noted, then smiled at her. Then, he shuffled the deck. "Anyone you want to know about?"
Sasuke stepped forward, arms still crossed. "Gaara of Sunagakure, and Rock Lee of Konohagakure."
"Okay, Rock Lee first: he's a year ahead of you, his sensei in Maito Gai. His teammates are TenTen and Neji Hyūga. The only thing he's worth mentioning is that he can't use chakra. He relies solely on taijutsu."
Sasuke nodded. That makes sense. I could only detect a small amount of chakra within him, and I bet no one here knows how to hide their chakra signature yet. It requires excellent chakra control. He glanced over to Sakura. Maybe she could...
"And we have Gaara from Sunagakure. He's the same age as you. His sensei is Baki, a highly regarded jōnin in their village. His teammates are Kankuro and Temari. It seems they're all siblings, actually."
"They're siblings? They didn't look anything like each other, dattebayo!" Naruto exclaimed.
"They are," Kabuto assured the blonde, then inhaled sharply. "No way..."
"What? What made you freak out, —ttebayo?"
"He's been on at least five A-ranked at least, and..." He placed the card on the ground so they could all see.
"This guy's a powerhouse, basically," Sasuke said, then smirked. I hope I get to fight him.
"Yes," Kabuto agreed, before another voice was heard.
"You're the rookies that think you can beat everyone here? Pathetic." A boy with black spiky hair came forward, sneering. His hitai-ate had a music note carved into the metal.
"What village are you from, —ttebayo?" Naruto asked loudly, pointing right at him.
"Otogakure, Ramen-boy. Sound," Sakura replied, staring at the boy in mild interest.
"You're right, Pinky. I'm Zaku," He said, then did a double take when he looked at Sakura. He stared at her for a little longer than what most would consider to be normal, then looked around to the other genin. Sasuke pushed Sakura backwards, then stepped in her place.
"You know, nobody likes loud, obnoxious genin that don't know squat about what they're talking of," Zaku sneered at Naruto.
"Why you—!" Naruto charged forward, but was held back by Kabuto.
"Naruto, it wouldn't be wise to do that." When he tried to explain why he shouldn't fight, his glasses cracked, and Kabuto fell to the floor, puking.
"Ew, —ttebayo! What happened to you?!"
"Otogakure," Sakura remembered. "Do you not recall, Ramen-boy? Sound is made of vibrations that form airwaves."
"Yes. They caused his glasses to break. Why? Because this particular ninja has the ability to change the airwaves through sending vibrations," Shino explained, stepping out from the corner where he had been talking to Hinata.
"This is the first time I have heard you speak, Bug-boy." All the rookie genin flinched at Sakura's blunt observation.
"Yes, I don't speak too often. Why? Because this boy is interesting." The two nodded in mutual respect, then looked to Zaku.
"It's a freak show here, honestly!" The Otogakure shinobi laughed. "There's a creep that wears heavy clothing even though it's nearly 90° in here and sunglasses, and a tiny girl that's white as paper and has ugly pink hair!"
Both Teams 7 and 8 stepped up to their teammates' defense. "Hey! Don't talk trash about Shino," Kiba yelled. "Or else my team's going to kick your ass in the Exam!" Hinata whimpered quietly, hiding behind everyone.
"And talk don't about Sakura-chan like that! She's the best rookie genin from our year, and has already beaten up plenty of people, dattebayo!"
"Hehe," Zaku sniggered. "I bet she has. She's so small and sickly that she couldn't take down a—"
"Alright, you baby-faced degenerates!" A loud, firm voice called out gruffly. "You'll have time to fight later. Now, you're all taking the first part of the Chūnin Exams!"
:::
This written test is a different sort of test, Sakura decided. It is designed not to test our knowledge, but our information gathering skills. However, green eyes flickered to the proctor, I would not put it past this man to try and test my knowledge alone. They expect me to fill in the whole paper, and therefore reveal that I am truly someone worth watching over. He was particularly clever when he interrogated me when I first entered the village.
Her blank face remained the same as she read the nine questions. All were simple, either having to do with procedure, mathematics and calculations, or simple logic. Nothing that she could not handle. For Ramen-boy, however...
:::
What am I going to do? What am I going to do?! I-I'll have to cheat...
Naruto glanced quickly with his eyes before staring down at his questions. Maybe I can try again...First question—if the enemy is...
The blonde paled. There is no way I'm passing. Sasuke and—Sakura! She's literally going to kill me if I fail them! Oh my ramen, I have to cheat! An hour's already gone by, so I have fifteen minutes until the tenth question...
:::
Sasuke smirked. It seemed the Sharingan did have its uses outside of fighting. A kekkei genkai was pretty rare in Konohagakure. There were only a few clans left that had them.
The technique Sakura used with the puppet-user...I've never seen her use it before. I've also never heard of someone that could control plants other than the First. But Sakura's not related to the First Hokage, he told himself, then peeked up towards Sakura. She was only a few seats in front on him, busy writing away as timed was ticking.
:::
Sakura watched Naruto slowly raise his hand. He is going to give up, interesti—
SLAM! "I don't give up, and I won't give in! I don't care if I have to be a genin for the rest of my life! I'm going to be Hokage, and you can't stop me!" He remained standing, huffing from his dramatic speech. No one else left.
Ibiki Morino smirked, then chuckled. "Then you all passed the first part. Congratulations." His eyes made their way towards the blonde. He's the influential type, no matter how dense he is book-wise. And I've heard he's a potential powerhouse that just doesn't know it yet.
His eyes shifted to the last Uchiha. And he's the silent but deadly one. Very calm, cool, and methodically put together. Every movement is thought out carefully, unlike his rash teammate.
And last but not least, he thought, looking to the girl that was holding his gaze with a blank stare. The bookworm that seems to only excel in paper tests... Her IQ is one of the highest I've seen for years. However, it doesn't seem to transfer into her physical abilities. Ibiki continued staring into her empty eyes. But if she's as smart as they say, this is simply a ploy; a game for her.
He blinked and then looked away from her.
The first part of the exams is done! Were you surprised by anything?
What did you think of Ibiki's analysis of Team Seven?
Comment what Naruto song would be fit for this chapter because I have no clue!