"The first exams aren't gonna be too hard, are they?" Izumi asked Naruto, who was standing next to his little sister figure.
"I have absolutely no idea!" He announced proudly. "But knowing us, we can get through this!" Itachi let a small smile cross his face.
"Oh? You have that type of confidence in us, Naruto?" Naruto glanced at his best friend and grinned, giving him a thumbs up.
"Of course I do! We'll be coming home as Chunin!" Izumi grinned at her yellow-haired teammate.
"Of course, we're the strongest here of course!"
They were currently standing outside a large room where twenty other teams were currently standing, making sixty people in total being cramped into that room, the chatter being endless.
"I really don't want this to be the final exams already!" One teenager groaned as they rubbed the nape of their neck. "Kumo sure as hell defy the standards of the Chunin Exams, first testing our chakra then making it a two-part test!" Naruto's ear perked up.
"Wait, do you mean we're doing the final exam here now?" He said, his eyes widening slightly. The Genin who had spoken was from Mist, which was rumored to be in the midst of a civil war, narrowed his eyes at Naruto.
"That's what my sensei told me kid, but who the hell knows what these people want?"
"These people? Are ya being racist right now?" Darui chimed in as he put his large hand on the Genin's shoulder, making the Mist Genin freeze.
"N-Not at all, I meant you people as in the entire village, you guys are quite weird when it comes to exams! The only one I've ever taken has been in Sand!" He said frantically. Darui just smirked before patting the teen on the shoulder.
"I'm just messing with ya, lighten up, this isn't the final exam, it's part of it, but this is just a preliminary of some sort." The Mist Genin, along with his teammates, rose his eyebrow.
"What do you mean?"
"I would like to know as well," Itachi chimed in as he looked up at the dark-skinned teen with his coal-black eyes, an eery seriousness in them.
"Well, I mean that there are too many teams here, we're gonna all face against each other, whether its mano on mano or team against team, I'm not sure yet cause they haven't told me the details, all I know is that they're trying to narrow it down to at the very most twelve teams, though they might actually get a shorter roster depending on how things are set up."
"Oh? We're fighting each other?" Izumi spoke in a tone filled with excitement. "I can't wait to beat up some older kid!" Naruto sweatdrop at that line.
"You shouldn't be looking for approval as you beat up people who're bigger and older than you," He said in a deadpan. Izumi just giggled.
"I know, but it's gonna be so much fun I just can't wait!" Then, a voice on an intercom spoke up, alerting everyone in the room.
"Will everyone come through the double doors at once! The Second Exam is underway!"
Naruto looked at Darui with a confused expression.
"I thought you said this was gonna be a part of the final part?" Darui scowled.
"I thought it was, my sensei must've been misinformed. Jeez, this sucks," Cee grunted as he elbowed his teammate in the ribs.
"You're telling me? Just be on your guard at all times and expect the worse, you won't be let down that way!" Samui fought the urge to punch her fellow blonde teammate, but settled with glaring at him.
"Would you shut up you pessimist? I swear you're going to pass that damn trait to one of your students when you finally get Jounin!" Cee took a step back from his female teammate, holding his hands in the air as a sign of surrender.
"Sorry!"
"I wonder what's going to happen?" Itachi said aloud, getting Naruto's attention.
"Nothing we can't handle!" Samui glanced at Naruto and then back at Cee.
"Why can't you be more like him?" Cee glared at Naruto.
"But he's freaky, he gives me bad vibes like he's always-" He was suddenly pushed by Darui.
"Come on we don't have all day, let's go!"
The sixty Genin walked out the doors and found themselves in a large field of grass that was littered with several trees and boulders, covering a lot of their vision.
"To pass this exam, you must gather one of the ten golden swords!" A small screen appeared on a random boulder than revealed a picture of a golden katana. "Killing and maiming are allowed, anything goes. If you capture a golden sword, you must come back to the starting point, which is right here, to pass.
"Disqualifications will ensue if you show up without one of your teammates, meaning if one of you dies, the whole team fails. You will also be disqualified if you fail to meet back at the starting point without a golden sword three days from now. Let the 2nd Exam of the Chunin Exams commence!"
"So killing is allowed huh? Well, I might as well wipe out the competition right now!" An Iwa Genin shouted as he placed his hands against the earth, muttering a few words before the ground split open, a few unlucky Genin falling into the pit, already disqualifying several teams.
Naruto grabbed his two comrades and flashed away in an instant, the trio suddenly appearing in the middle of the forest, panting hard with sweat dripping down his chin.
"Wow, I can't do that again," He said as he panted, resting his hands on his knees as he leaned on a tree. "Can you guys take me somewhere safe and maybe find a golden sword? I'm exhausted." He got out before his eyes closed, collapsing on the ground.
Izumi and Itachi grabbed their teammate, their eyes wide with fear and worry.
"What happened to him?" Izumi shouted frantically, checking the blonde's vital signs, his pulse still going strong.
"He must've passed out due to the Shushin and carrying us along with him, I guess he didn't prepare for the amount of chakra it would actually use, he should be better in half an hour, give or take," Itachi explained as he put the older boy on his back, carrying him with little difficulty, he winced when he felt Naruto's ribs against his back.
He hadn't been eating as good as he said he was. But Naruto said those things to stop people from worrying.
Naruto Namikaze was a liar. A good liar.
But he wouldn't dare call the blonde out on it, the situation would get even more awkward than the issues with Naruto and his parents had after Naruto refused to become an official clan member.
Then again, the boy did refuse to be adopted by his older brother figure, Kakashi Hatake, who was an Anbu Captain and an excellent shinobi, one of the strongest the village had to offer. He also helped Naruto develop his Sharingan before it was public knowledge that Naruto had the eyes of the Uchiha.
If Naruto was his best friend, why didn't Naruto tell him these things? They were supposed to share each other's burdens, not hide them. Itachi narrowed his eyes as he pondered these thoughts, stopping himself from running as Izumi stopped a couple of feet away from him.
"What's wrong?"
"I feel three chakra signatures rapidly approaching!" Itachi said calmly as he set Naruto down on the grass gently, his sword unsheathed as he was ready, his two tomoed Sharingan blazing red as Izumi's did the same.
They were ready.
And done. Sorta short but I gotta give you guys something to chew on while I write, right? Lol
Was it good? Bad? Comment on your favorite part!
Til next time my lil demons!