'Normal thought…'
"Kyuubi/Bijuu speech…"
"Normal speech…"
Jutsu name…
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Ibiki smirked. 'Looks like we've already dropped the incompetent ones. I will now give the problem, because the 45 minutes have already passed.' "Okay. I will now give the 10th problem!"
Naruko sighed in relief. 'Finally! I couldn't stand the boredom anymore…'
'Took you long enough.' Sasuke thought annoyed.
Sakura smiled. 'Finally, the last problem.'
'Hurry up and come back Kankuro.' Temari thought in worry. 'If the 10th problem is given you can't help us out.'
Ibiki looked at them utterly seriously. "Yes, but before that, there's one thing I must say…There will be one special rule for this last question."
Suddenly the door opened and Kankuro and the 'examiner' entered the room.
Ibiki smirked. "Hm…you're lucky. Your…puppet show didn't have to go to a waste."
Kankuro began to sweat. 'He knows about Karasu…!'
Ibiki sighed. "Oh well. Sit down."
Kankuro walked towards his place, as he passed Temari, he let something fall onto her table.
Ibiki took a step forward. "I will now explain. This is a…hopeless rule." He narrowed his eyes seriously.
With the jounin sensei…
"Now that our subordinates are gone, it sure is boring." Kakashi said with a sigh. 'I wonder how Naru-chan is doing... I just hope she took the test seriously-' He sweat dropped at this particular thought. 'Who am I kidding? ...She's probably going to die of boredom and not even answering the questions...'
"We'll get busy soon." Asuma said lazily.
"Why?" Kakashi asked curiously.
"This year's first examiner is Morino Ibiki." Asuma shrugged easily.
Kakashi sweat dropped. 'Looks like the First Exam is going to be a little difficult…And why have I the feeling Naru-chan did something cute and dumb again…?' He leaned back onto his seat. "They had to choose that sadist?"
"Sadist?" Kurenai asked in confusion.
"Kurenai." Asuma said. "You're still a rookie jounin, so it's no wonder you don't understand…"
"So, who is he?" Kurenai asked a bit confused.
"A pro." Kakashi said seriously.
"A pro? At what?" Kurenai asked curiously.
Asuma exhaled smoke from his cigarette. "Torture and interrogation."
"What?" Kurenai asked in shock.
"Although they will be no physical torturing in the exam…" Asuma explained. "I'm sure the students will feel some mental stress through his interrogation skills. He is…Konoha ANBU's torture and interrogation squad leader. Morino Ibiki."
Back to the exam…
'A hopeless rule?' Naruko thought seriously. 'That's perfect for me…because some people say I'm hopeless.' She smiled cheerfully at innocently.
Ibiki narrowed his eyes. "First, you are all going to choose if you wish to take the tenth problem or not."
Sasuke frowned. 'Choose whether to take it or not?'
Temari looked at Ibiki in shock. "Choose? So, what happens if we don't take the tenth problem?!"
Ibiki smirked. "If you choose not to take it your points will be reduced to zero. In other words, you will fail. Your two other teammates will fail along with you."
"What's the meaning of this?!" The crowd murmured upset.
"And here is the other rule." Ibiki said sternly.
'There's more? Cut it out already…' Sakura thought in fright.
"If you choose to take it and you get it wrong, you will…Lose the privilege to take the Chunin Exam forever." Ibiki said darkly.
Naruko narrowed her eyes. 'I don't get it…Why shouldn't I take the tenth question? The chance is high that I lose the privilege for the Chunin exam forever, yeah…but if you can't take a risk, you don't have a chance in the shinobi world… I'll just have to rely on my luck like usual.' She thought easily and just shrugged the tense atmosphere off.
Kiba pointed angrily at Ibiki. "What kind of dumb question is this?!There should be those here who have taken the Chunin Exam in the past!"
Ibiki laughed evilly. He glared at them darkly. "You were unlucky. This year, I make the rules."
Naruko looked at him with a deadpan expression. '....Why have I the feeling that Ibiki-ojisan is a Sadist...? Well, because he probably is one...'
"That is why I gave you the option of quitting. Those who are not confident enough can choose to not take it, and take the exam next year, or the year after that." Ibiki laughed evilly again.
Sakura gritted her teeth. 'In other words, if one out of the three people chooses not to take it, all three will fail. If someone chooses to take it, and fails to answer it correctly, that person will be a genin forever. Either way, it's bad news.' She began to sweat. 'A normal person won't be able to choose which.'
Naruko sweat dropped. 'Yep, definitely a Sadist…'
Ibiki looked at the genin seriously. "Let us begin. Those who will not be taking this tenth question, raise your hand. After we confirm your numbers, you have to leave."
Naruko sighed and leaned back with a bored expression.
Sakura narrowed her eyes seriously. 'I won't raise my hand, because I'm confident that I will get the problem right. But…But Naruko, you're different. You should just ignore us, raise your hand, and think about the next chance.'
"I..." The genin next to Naruko raised his hand. "I…I quit! I won't take it!"
Naruko looked at him surprised.
"Number 50, fail. Number 130 and 111, fail along with him." An examiner said.
"I'm sorry…Gennai, Inaho." The failed genin said while shivering. His teammates stood up.
"Me too!" Someone shouted and more and more genin raised their hands.
Naruko looked sadly after them, as more and more genin left the room. She narrowed her eyes. 'I don't like this…They all should be more confident in themselves…I have to do something about that.'
'Naruko!' Sakura thought in panic. 'Why aren't you raising your hand? She…' Sakura thought as she saw her shivering. She remembered her dream. 'You always say 'Hokage, Hokage' like an idiot…I'm sorry, Naruko.' Sakura smiled softly. 'It looks like I want to save your unrealistic dream.' Just as she was about to raise her hand, Naruko narrowed her blue eyes seriously and raised her hand.
Sakura, Sasuke and Hinata gaped at her in shock.
'She…' Ibiki thought surprised.
Back to the jounin…
"Ibiki understands human psychology." Asuma said utterly serious. "And the scariest part about him is that he can dive a person to a corner mentally, control his mind, and bully him. He can find a person's weakness, and bring it to the surface."
Back to Naruko…
Naruko jumped up and slammed her hand onto the table. "Just kidding~" She looked determined at Ibiki with a foxy smile. "I would never run away! Taking risks is a part of being q shinobi. So, I'm not scared of you little question... I'll take this problem, bring it on!"
The others looked at her utterly surprised.
"Even if I become a genin forever, I'm going to become Hokage no matter what anyway!" She giggled cheerfully and bright blue eyes stared right into Ibiki's soul. "I'm not scared of any of this, in fact I feel more calm and determined than usual." She sat down again and smiled brightly at the impressed looking Ibiki.
Sasuke sighed. 'She wasn't even thinking about us…' He shook his head in fondness. 'She has quite the spirit.'
Sakura smiled fondly. 'Yes, you were an idiot.'
Ibiki shook his head. "I will ask one more time." He said seriously. "This is the choice that will impact your life. If you want to quit, now is the chance."
Naruko smiled cheerily. "I'm not going to take back my words. That's my Nindo."
The other genin smiled at her. Gaara looked at her in interest. Shikamaru face palmed but still smiled, muttering something about his sister-figure being a troublesome idiot. Lee just smirked at her spirit.
Ibiki's corner of his mouth twitched up a bit. 'Interesting little girl. She wiped out everyone's uncertainty with her optimistic and sunny personality.' "78 students, eh? There's more left than I expected." He looked around the room. 'Looks like there's no point in waiting any longer.' The examiners smiled and nodded at him. He nodded back and looked at the genin. "Nice determination. Then… For the First Exam everyone here…" He smiled. "Passes!"
Naruko blinked for a second before she titled her head in confusion at that. "Huh?"
Sakura jumped up. "Wait, what's the meaning of this? We pass already? What about the tenth question?"
Ibiki smiled brightly. "There was nothing to begin with. Or you can call the two-choice-question the tenth question."
"What?" Sakura asked utterly confused.
"Wait!" Temari shouted annoyed. "So, what were those previous nine questions?! It was all a waste!"
"No, it's not. The nine problems accomplished their purpose." Ibiki smirked. "The purpose to test each other individual's information gathering skills."
"Information gathering skills?" Temari asked confused.
"First, this tests purpose lies in the first rule…Your pass-fail decision is based on your three-person teams. By giving that idea, we have given you an unprecedent amount of pressure to try and not be a nuisance to your team."
"I couldn't feel the pressure at all…" Naruko said in wonder.
Sakura face palmed. 'She is so dense…'
Hinata giggled silently.
"But these test problems cannot be solved by you Genins. So, most of the people here must have come to the conclusion 'I have to cheat to get points.' In other words, this exam assumed that everyone was going to cheat. So, we snuck in two Chunins who knew the answers to be targets of cheating."
Naruko's eyes widened. 'So, they wanted us to cheat? .....That's so weird. Like seriously. They should just decide from the beginning if cheating is allowed or not, but noooo they have to make it complicated... Of course...'
"But those who just cheated like a fool failed, of course." Ibiki took off his Konoha bandana. "Why?"
The Genin gaped at him, utterly shocked.
"Information can have greater value than life at times, and in missions and battlefields…" His whole head was full of burnt marks, scars and screw holes. "Information is contestant with lives of people."
Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "How awful…Burnt marks, screw holes and cut marks…They're the scars of torture."
Naruko looked at Ibiki utterly sadly and sympathetic. 'Poor Ibiki-oji-san, that he had to go through this… is cruel.' She shuddered slightly as she was being reminded of a certain event in her childhood. 'If I imagine what would have been if the villagers knew how to torture someone at that time, I probably wouldn't have survived...' She shook her head quickly, because no one needs those gloomy thoughts, seriously, she isn't Sasuke.
Ibiki bound his bandana back around his head. "The information that an enemy gets after being noticed by a third person will not necessarily be accurate. Remember this. Getting incorrect information can cause great damage to your teammates and village. So, we made you all gather information in the form of cheating. We kicked out those who were lacking in that field. That's what went on."
"But I still can't agree with the last question…" Temari insisted.
"But this tenth question is the main question of this First Exam." Ibiki said easily.
"What do you mean?" Sakura asked confused.
"Let me explain. The tenth question was a 'take or not take' choice. Needless to say, it was a painful two-choice problem. Those who did not take it failed with their teams. If you chose to take it and you could not answer it…Your right to take the exam would have been taken away forever. It was a very insincere problem. How about this two -choice problem…" Ibiki narrowed his eyes seriously. "Let's assume that you have become a Chunin. Your mission is to capture a secret document. The number of the enemy ninja, their abilities, and armaments are unknown. And there may be traps that the enemy ninja have set up. Now, will you accept this mission, or not? Just because your life and the lives of your teammates may be in danger, are you able to avoid dangerous missions? The answer is…No. There are missions that carry heavy risks, but cannot be avoided. The ability to show your courage to your teammates when needed, and the ability to get through a bad situation…That is what we look for in a Chunin, a squad leader. Those who cannot bet their fate in a critical situation…"
Naruko smiled in agreement.
"Those who give up when given the chance because there is a next year, and let their minds sway over an uncertain future…Fools who only carry a light determination like that have no right to become a Chunin. That is what I believe." Ibiki said seriously. "I'm saying that those here who have chosen to take it gave the right answer for the difficult tenth question. You can deal with the difficulties you will face. You have broken through the entrance. The First Exam for the Chunin Selection ends now." Ibiki smiled. "I wish you luck."
Naruko giggled cheerfully and jumped up and down in excitement.
Ibiki's smile widened. 'What an interesting girl…' Suddenly he looked to the window and narrowed his eyes.
Something crashed through the window.
"Kyaaa!" Naruko shouted in surprise, as suddenly a Kunoichi stood before them.
Ibiki sighed. 'Geez, she's…'
"Everybody, there's no time to be happy." Anko said and pointed at the cloth behind her, on which stood her name. "I'm the Second Examiner, Mitarashi Anko. Let's go to the next Exam!" She threw her fist into the air, enthusiastically. "Follow me!"
Naruko giggled amused, as everyone looked at Anko utterly flabbergasted.
Ibiki stepped next to her. "Grasp the atmosphere." He deadpanned.
Anko blushed in embarrassment.
Sakura sighed. 'The examiner is just like Naruko…'
"78?" Anko said surprised. "Ibiki, you let 26 teams pass?" She looked at him. "The First Exam must have been too soft."
"It looks like there a lot of excellent students this time." Ibiki said easily.
Anko huffed. "Oh, well…I'm going to make more than half of the teams fail in the next exam."
Sakura looked at her utterly shocked. "Fail more than half?"
"Ahhh…I'm getting excited." She smiled darkly. "I will explain the details tomorrow. We will go somewhere else, so ask the Jounin sensei about the rally point and time. This is all. Dismissed."
A little while later…
Ibiki walked through the rows of benches and collected all the written exams. He walked towards Naruko's place and stopped as he remembered the certain blonde haired sunny girl that was sitting in this spot. He took her exam and looked at the empty problems and the doodles. Ibiki couldn't help himself and laughed heartily at that. "Looks like someone passed with a paper full of doodles, huh?" He said amused and read her name. "Uzumaki Naruko, huh? She really is an interesting girl…" Suddenly he noticed it. 'Huh? There's something written on the back…' He flipped the paper and began to read the note: 'Hi Ibiki-ojisan or anyone else who will read this. I'm bored so I thought I would leave you a message.' He shook his head in fondness. "Oji-san…that is the first time someone called me that…" Ibiki smiled softly before he continued reading. 'Earlier, we met a Konoha shinobi named Kabuto. He was very nice and all, but I can't help but feel a bit suspicious, because he had various information about the Chunin Exam and about people participating here. He also knew very much about Konoha shinobi and he said he also had information about me and the other rookies. I'm a bit concerned about the information he has on me…because you probably know what is inside of me…Anyway, he carries the information in cards who only show their contents if he channels his chakra into them.' He narrowed his eyes as he realized who Naruko was. "So, you're the Kyuubi vessel. That you can be this cheerful after what you were going through…I remember having fun torturing these disgusting villagers, who liked touching little children…" He shook his head, to dispel these memories and his anger. He read the remain of the letter. 'That was all I wanted to say…Bye, bye Ibiki-ojisan. I hope I'll see you around Konoha sometime, you look like a nice guy. :)' He smiled softly. "I would like to see you again too." He shook his head and narrowed his eyes at the important information on the letter. "Kabuto…huh? That is really alarming. We have to keep an eye on that guy." He sighed. "Better go and show Hokage-sama that…" And with that, Ibiki vanished into a swirl of leaves.
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Hey guys! That was this week's chapter. How did you like it? :) How did you find the reaction from Ibiki to Naruko's letter? I think it was cute :3. Anyway, next chapter will the Second Part of the Chunin Exam begin, where a certain perverted snake appears… *shudder*
Oh, and if you know the anime 'One Piece', please check out my other fanfiction named 'Angel Princess'. It's a story about my OC Juli in the One Piece universe, but it's as entertaining as funny. (For example: In chapter 9&10 will be funny moments with the batshit crazy old man known as Monkey D. Garp and his best buddy Sengoku. :D) I will update that story as well as this story once per week. For anyone who read till here: Thanks for listening to the crazy author-san. ;)