I DO NOT OWN NARUTO

So high school is an absolute nightmare, especially with this whole COVID-19 situation. One upside is that I have more time, which means I can write more :)

Hope everyone's staying safe and healthy out there!

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"I'm bored," Naruko announced as she suddenly dropped down from the tree above, startling a shriek out of Sakura and a curse from Sasuke as he dropped his bento. The Uchiha survivor took a moment to grieve his beautiful, delicious, homemade bento... and then shot a glare at his fox-like blonde teammate.

"How dare you cause such a cruel, needless death!" he hissed.

Sakura blinked at him, and then leaned forward to brush her hand against his forehead. "Are you feeling okay?" she asked him in concern.

Sasuke swatted her away with a frown. "I'm fine, why?"

"Sasuke," Sakura leaned forward to take one of his hands in both of hers. "We love you. We're here for you. We know that was an incredibly tough time for you to go through on your own, and you were unbelievably young. So if you're going through a relapse, or a flashback, that's okay. We'll be here when you wake back up to reality. I promise."

Naruko was stifling laughter with her hand as Sasuke grew even more confused. "What? Sakura, what in the world are you talking about?"

"No one died, Sasuke," Sakura said slowly, still looking at him with a concerned air. "This is the year 2003, not 1997. Okay?" (1)

Sasuke slammed his free hand onto his forehead. "I know that, Sakura!" he groaned as the girls promptly burst into laughter. "I'm talking about my bento!" With a very un-Uchiha-like, dramatic flair, Sasuke pointed at the food lying on the grass. "It died a tragic and premature death! And all because of her!" he spat venomously at Naruko, who raised a skeptic eyebrow at him.

"If that's what all the drama is about, no problem. I'll treat you to lunch."

"As long as it's not ramen," Sakura agreed, standing up. "You need a more balanced diet, and no offense meant, but I sincerely doubt that Kakashi has time to ensure that."

"None taken, he's very irresponsible," Naruko said nonchalantly.

"So? What are we having for lunch?" Sasuke asked as he joined them.

Naruko instantly looked sheepish. "I was gonna go to Ichiraku's... but Sakura just said not to."

The pinkette shook her head with a laugh. "Okay, how about we go back to my place and I cook something for you guys?"

Naruko lit up, "You cook, Sakura-chan?"

Sakura flushed and nodded, suddenly shy. "My parents are often away a lot, so I had to learn to take care of myself. And unlike you," she teasingly tapped Naruko's nose, "I was smart enough to learn how to cook things other than instant ramen. And not to toot my own horn but I can make a pretty good omurice, if you're interested."

"I'm interested," Naruko said at once, blue eyes gleaming at the very thought of food.

Sasuke smiled with a hint of gratitude. "I'd like that too. Thanks, Sakura."

The pinkette smiled and came around between them as she looped her arms through theirs. "Let's go then. My house is this way."

The three started their idle chit-chat; it was nice, Naruko supposed, to have two children her age she could do anything and everything with. It made her miss Gaara and Fuu because the three of them had been together from the very beginning. But that wasn't to say she didn't like hanging out with Sakura and Sasuke any less; in fact, the three of them had been practically inseparable after their first mission out of the village.

Suddenly an angry shout and a high-pitched shriek had them jerking to a halt. Exchanging looks of mutual understanding, Team 7, with Naruko in the lead, ran down an alleyway shortcut which would lead them to the source of the cries.

Immediately, they saw a girl and a boy — perhaps a year or two older than themselves — with three young children — two boys and a girl. They were foreigners, Sakura could tell that much by their forehead protectors. The girl had sandy-blonde hair tied up in four pigtails and bored, teal eyes as she watched her fellow villager with a cold, indifferent air. Sakura noted, with no small amount of curiosity and amusement, that she had a massive black iron fan on her back. What was that even for? To shade her from the blistering desert sun? Sakura almost giggled out loud at her own thoughts, but stopped in time. Regardless, Naruko shot her a curious look which she waved off with a smile.

Her companion, on the other hand, was dressed in all black with strange purple markings on his face and what seemed like cat ears on his head under the black cloth; he was holding a little boy by his scarf.

"That hurt, you little punk," he growled, shaking the kid a little.

"Konohamaru," Naruko murmured, instantly recognizing the Third Hokage's grandchild.

"Stop that. You'll get yelled at later," the older girl scolded, though she seemed as if she couldn't care less as she turned away from the kitty-impersonator.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes, 'Who are these two and what are they doing here?'

"Would you please let him go?" Sakura stepped forward, smiling politely at the two. "We kind of actually like peace, so we don't particularly fancy being in another Shinobi World War. I'm quite sure you, or at least your village, wouldn't either."

"What do you mean?" the girl narrowed her eyes at the, as far as she was concerned, brats.

"Just that the child you're holding there," Sasuke nodded at Konohamaru, "is the grandchild of the Third Hokage. And keep in mind, you're in our territory here."

The boy scoffed, "You're joking." He brought the kid closer to his face, sneering at the terrified look on Konohamaru's face. "This impudent brat is the grandchild of the Third Hokage? Likely story. I'm the son of a Kage myself, and there's no way someone that has the respect of the Five Great Nations," he gave the boy a shake, "would be related to something like this."

"Leave him alone," Naruko said calmly, though her teammates recognized the dangerous glint in her eyes. She didn't tolerate bullies. Naruko marched forward and ripped the boy from the Suna shinobi's grasp. "I'm sure Konohamaru will, in time, grow into a strong, well-respected shinobi, just like his grandfather." She smiled warmly at the teary-eyed boy and set him down. "Run along now; you don't even need to think about living up to that old coot of a granddad of yours. Just focus on being a child for now, alright?"

Konohamaru nodded, wiping his eyes before turning to join his two friends. The girl launched herself at him in a bawling mess, but with a sharp look from Sasuke, the three children ran from the scene.

"Who do you think you are, telling me what to do?" the shinobi fumed, getting right into the Leaf Genin's whiskered face. She stared calmly up at him.

"Hey—" Sasuke started, but was cut off by a cold voice.

"Kankuro. Stop that."

As if a Fireball Jutsu had landed between them, the all-black shinobi jumped back a few feet, his eyes wide as they frantically searched for something — or someone. Team 7, however, ignored his rather apparent fear as they ran toward Naruko, placing themselves at her sides. Sakura gave the blonde's hand a quick squeeze, steadily holding the Suna kunoichi's startled gaze. Naruko smiled to herself, feeling something warm at the knowledge that her teammates had her back.

"You're an embarrassment to our village," the same voice drawled. Naruko looked up.

The Uchiha warily eyed the two Suna shinobi who were looking rather fearful of the voice. He narrowed his eyes and took a half-step in front of his teammates, his arm stretched out slightly in front of Naruko, who looked at him in surprise. But the blonde's confusion at her teammate's actions quickly gave way to shock as a gasp slipped past her lips when a redheaded, seafoam-green-eyed boy materialized from sand grains right in front of them.

"Gaa-chan!" she exclaimed happily, pushing past Sasuke's warning arm and throwing herself at the surprised boy to fling her arms around his neck.

The boy stumbled backwards a bit at the unexpected weight, surprise flashing across his face. Once the identity of the girl who was currently latched around him registered, a gentle smile curved the boy's lips and his eyes softened as he took in the blonde head that had tucked itself underneath his chin.

"Naru-chan," he greeted softly, his arms tightening around her small waist.

Sasuke's eyes flashed and he barely suppressed a growl as his hand tightened into a fist. Who was this guy anyway? Why was Naruko so happy to see him? And why was he holding Naruko in such a familiar way?

Sakura frowned as she watched her sister-like friend be hugged in an almost intimate manner by the strange boy. First the Mizukage, his bodyguard, and now this one? Was this another brother of hers? How many did she even have? For two of them to be in Kiri and another to be in Suna, what exactly had happened? What was their familial relationship? Surely they weren't all related by blood.

A similar whirlwind of questions was racing through Temari and Kankuro's minds as they gaped at their normally emotionless and fearsome younger brother. Why didn't he, or more accurately his sand, attack her? How did she make him let his guard down so quickly and easily? It was like watching a wall crumble to dust, Temari observed as she watched Gaara's eyes soften. A burst of jealousy flared within her. How could this Konoha girl get so close to Gaara when they, Gaara's own siblings, couldn't? What was her relationship with Gaara, exactly? When had they even met?

"I haven't seen you in forever," Naruko whispered in a cracked voice as she tightened her hold around her brother, only able to do so as she was holding herself up on her toes.

"There hasn't been a reason for us to see each other," Gaara murmured as he heard his sister sigh contentedly and rest her cheek on his chest. "How are you holding up?" he asked into her hair, internally chuckling at the fact that people might actually think they were lovers. But no, they were just brother and sister, reuniting after two years of being apart with no contact at all, no way of even knowing if the other was alive and well.

"Better," Naruko breathed, basking in the familiar hold of her brother.

"Oi, how come we always get left out of the group hug?" a familiar male voice complained. Both Gaara and Naruko lifted their heads, smiling at the two men before them.

"Yagu-nii, Uta-nii," Naruko greeted, laughing.

"You've barely aged," Gaara said with amusement in his voice.

Yagura looked quite put out at that comment. "I'll have you know I'm twenty-two, thank you very much! That's a whole two years older than when you last saw me, Gaa-chan!"

"To some people, looking that much younger than your age would be a huge compliment," Naruko retorted.

Gaara ruffled Naruko's hair, and smirked at his short older brother, "And yet you look no older than sixteen." He then turned to the man behind Yagura, tilting his head as he took in his other big brother. "Uta-nii, you look... well."

"Ouch, that's gotta hurt," Naruko laughed as she and Gaara went over to embrace another two of their "long-lost" brothers.

Yagura laughed openly as he squeezed Naruko tightly and then picked her up by the waist, swinging her around. Naruko squealed with delight, laughing happily. Gaara chuckled from where he was leaning on Utakata, who was smiling in amusement.

"Yagura hasn't changed," Gaara mused.

"Yagu-nii, put me down!" Naruko squealed. "You saw me last week when I was on a mission with my team, stop acting like it's been five hundred years!" she laughed. She was still laughing as a grinning Yagura set the blonde down on the ground. "Well it's nice to see someone still has yet to change," Naruko grinned up at the boyish adult. "Even though you can hardly be expected to in the span of one mere week."

"Oi, where's my hug?" Utakata asked with indignance lacing his voice.

Gaara punched Utakata's arm lightly. "I gave you your hug already, stop complaining!"

Utakata pouted lightly and spread his arms wide. "Naru-chan~"

"Hai, hai," the blonde responded lightly as she skipped over and hugged the blue-kimono-clad man as Gaara promptly walked over to Yagura with an annoyed pout on his own face.

"Much better," Utakata smiled.

Yagura, true to form, stuck out a tongue at his bodyguard and propped his arm up on the head of crimson. "Long time no see, Gaa-chan," he chuckled.

Gaara glared up at the taller boy, obviously irked by the old nickname. "I'm not ten anymore," he stated a-matter-of-factly.

"Sure, sure," Yagura chuckled, waving his displeasure off. "Whatever you say, kiddo."

Naruko suddenly punched Utakata's shoulder, eliciting a yelp of pain. "How come you didn't tell me you were coming to Konoha?" she demanded, blue eyes lighting up fiercely. "You could've at least hinted at it when I was in Kiri."

"Gomen, Naru-chan," Yagura laughed sheepishly. "I actually forgot about the Chuunin Exams. We weren't even supposed to be coming here until the Hokage actually invited us, as well as the Kazekage, I believe. And by then," he shrugged, "you and your team were already on your way back to Konoha."

Naruko took a deep breath. "That's — why — you — gave — me — Vulpix!" she accentuated each word with a punch to the shinobi's chest before throwing her hands up with an exasperated air. "Does "messenger fox summon" ring a bell? No? And to think it was your idea in the first place," the blonde sighed in something akin to mock-disappointment.

Yagura rolled his eyes at his sister's theatrics, gently pushing her head away from him as she exploded into giggles. "Alright alright alright, that's enough from you. I should think you would be heading to where the Chuunin Exams are being held right about now."

Naruko blinked up at him. "It's starting now?" she and Gaara asked in the exact same tone at the exact same time.

"Yeesh!" Yagura yelped, voice cracking. "Even two years apart, you two still do that!"

"Technically, we're starting the third year after the separation." Naruko and Gaara looked at each other in surprise. Looks like things really didn't change all that much...

Utakata groaned and whirled the two around, pushing them away. "Enough with the creepiness. Go and do that weird lil' entrance-test-thingy that weeds out the weak ones. Shoo."

Laughing, Naruko hopped up onto Gaara's sand platform. "Going, going, goooooonnnnneeeee!" She squealed as the platform rushed off at a faster pace that it should be able to go at.

"And now for the most painful experience I will ever have the displeasure of going through," Yagura sighed, "making small-talk and patching up the relationships between them and Kiri. What a joyful duty. Naruko's going to get a kick out of this..."

Utakata snickered. "You're damn right she will. In fact, she'll probably be spying on you." Before Yagura could say another word, he placed a hand on Yagura's head — much to said distinguished Mizukage's indignance — and Shunshin'd them away to where the Hokage would be expecting them with the other invited Kages.

Sakura looked at her remaining teammate. "Well... shall we?"

"I'm going to kill Naruko later," Sasuke said simply as he started to walk.

The pinkette giggled and looked back at the Sand shinobi that Gaara had left behind. "You coming with us?" she called as she walked backwards, Sasuke's hand on her shoulder to keep her from bumping into anything.

The kunoichi started, and then nodded as she started to follow them. The boy clad in black — Kankuro — was about to protest, but one glare from the girl had him silenced. Quickly catching up to the Konoha Genin, the girl said, "I'm Temari, and this is my younger brother, Kankuro."

"I'm Sakura," the pinkette smiled, "and this grumpy duck is Sasuke." From in front of her, the Uchiha "hn"ed in greeting. "Since you two are siblings, I'm going to go out on a limb and say Gaara is your brother too?"

Temari's lips thinned. "Yes... he is."

Sasuke glanced back, not liking her tone. "You don't sound too happy about that," he observed. Sakura rolled her eyes, wondering if she should hit him or cut him some slack. After all, his people skills weren't exactly well-developed. In fact, they only started "developing" after Naruko befriended him and forced him to social events.

Temari scoffed. "Well, you wouldn't be either, if your baby brother was a bloodthirsty killer and then two years ago, suddenly becomes... well, somewhat human."

Sakura frowned. "What happened? Gaara seemed perfectly normal to me just then."

"That was actually out-of-character for him," Temari admitted. "He's never... um, he doesn't like people touching him. When he was young, he lived with Uncle Yashamaru, my mother's brother. He was actually a very sweet little boy, but he was feared by the entire village. I remember once, when we were young, Kankuro and I once played in the same sand pit as him. But when Kankuro started getting friendly, our father came and we were forbidden from seeing him."

"I still don't understand why," Kankuro muttered under his breath.

"Neither do I," Temari admitted. "But when Uncle Yashamaru died, something changed about Gaara. He became... almost wild. Out of control." She sighed. "Then, sometime after his tenth birthday, he changed again. But this time, he was more... civil. Controlled. He wasn't exactly a threat to the village anymore, but he didn't show his emotions either. And I think that threw people off, because his outbursts are triggered by the tiniest thing. And by the time I finally got to meet and spend time with my little brother," she shrugged mournfully, "we were practically strangers."

Kankuro snorted. "He may have changed, Temari, but he's still dangerous."

Temari grabbed her fan and whacked his head with it, ignoring his shout of pain. "You say that, but I know you want to be close with him, too," she winked. Kankuro went red, looking away.

Sakura giggled. "You know, that actually kinda sounds like Naruko."

Temari looked at her in surprise, "The blonde girl?"

Sakura nodded. "She was a loner for most of her childhood. No one liked her, and we were all banned from playing with her. I didn't understand why, either; she seemed like a nice girl. But if we played with her once, we were forbidden from doing so ever again. By the time we were in Academy, Naruko had no friends. But it didn't seem like she needed them; she was loud, always disrupting the class, and she didn't really seem to care about being a ninja."

The Sand kunoichi looked at her curiously, noting that despite her words, Sakura's eyes were soft and she seemed almost fond of the blonde. "What happened?"

"It was all a mask," the pinkette shrugged. "When Sasuke and I formed a team with her, we started to discover many things about her that we never knew. She knew the Mizukage and his bodyguard, she was raised in a family outside of Konoha, the Naruko we knew in Academy was just a fake, and I'm sure there are more things we'll discover soon. But that's what I love about my team: we always have something new to experience together every day."

Sasuke smiled to himself. Unexpected, mini-adventures cropped up everywhere if you hung out with Naruko long enough. His days went by faster and were filled with colour and fun. It was almost scary how easy it was to forget about his revenge once he realized the logic in Naruko's words, and for the first time in a while, he allowed himself to be a child again.

"Did Naruko ever go..."

"Berserk?" Sasuke shook his head. "No. And I don't think that, like you, anyone in our generation understood why Naruko was so feared by the older generation. But things are different now. We don't fear her anymore. She's a person, just like you and me."

"Do you know what it was about Naruko that made the village fear her?" Temari asked carefully.

Sakura shook her head. "All we know is that some burden was placed on her. She never really talked about it, and we didn't feel it was our place to ask."

"But it doesn't matter," Sasuke said curtly. "Separation is nothing more than an illusion. We're all human, aren't we? We all feel love, pain, joy and sadness. We are one and the same."

Temari blinked, and exchanged a look with Kankuro. Maybe... just maybe, after this, they could try to spend more time with Gaara outside of training. After all, if Sakura and Sasuke were able to accept Naruko, who by all descriptions sounded like Gaara, then why couldn't they? And then, by some miracle, maybe they could start being a real family.

And Temari would be lying if she said that wasn't her lifelong dream.

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With Team 7 and the Sand Siblings reunited, Team 7 quickly entered the building. The only reason they managed to get past the genjutsu that everyone else was stuck at was because their foxy blonde was trying to prove to Sasuke that it took no less than two hundred steps to get up to the double doors.

"One-ninety-seven, one-ninety-eight, one-ninety-nine... two hundred! I told you!" Naruko said triumphantly as she came to a stop right before Kakashi. "Less than two hundred steps."

Sasuke stared at her, hands in pockets. "You have way too much time on your hands," he sighed.

Kakashi chuckled at his team. "It's good to see you, Team 7. You can now officially register for the Chuunin Exams."

Sakura blinked. "Wait, what do you mean?"

"To tell you the truth, this exam can only be taken in teams of three. It's unlikely, seeing how far you all have come, that two of you would force the other to take the exam with them. But there was always that possibility if I had told you beforehand."

"So what if only Sasuke and I came here?" Naruko tilted her head curiously.

Kakashi's voice lowered, "I would have prohibited the both of you from taking the exam and not allowed you through these doors. But since all three of you came here on your own free will..." His visible eye curved up into his signature eye-smile. "Well done. I'm proud of the three of you. You're my team." He took a few steps to the right, baring the double doors.

"Now, go."

"Alright, let's do this," Naruko grinned, grabbing both of her teammates' hands. Neither protested; Sasuke and Sakura pushed the double doors and, linked together, Team 7 entered.

"Whoa," Sakura couldn't stop the soft gasp when she saw the roomful of ninja, a majority being older than them, from varying villages. 'There are so many people. Are they all taking the exam?' She was suddenly jolted from her thoughts by a certain someone sneaking up behind her and throwing their arms around her neck.

"Sakura!" Ino cried happily. "You made it too! That's great, imagine how boring it would be if you were still a Genin and I was a Chuunin—"

Sakura shoved her best friend off her, smiling. "What are you talking about, Ino? It's Sasuke and Naruko, of course we're going to be in the Chuunin Exams."

"Hey, don't sell yourself short," Naruko smiled, "you're a vital part of the Team 7 dynamic." She turned to see the rest of Team 10 coming up to them, "Hey Shika, Choji."

"Are you three taking this troublesome exam too?" Shikamaru asked in his typical drawl, Choji munching on a bag of chips beside him.

"Ha! Found you all," a loud, familiar voice called over. "So I see that everyone is here."

Naruko smirked as she heard Sasuke groan softly under his breath. "Upside is that Hina-chan is on team too, Sasuke," she whispered.

"If it weren't for her and Aburame, I would kick that loud-mouthed idiot out of the room once he gets close enough," the Uchiha heir muttered. "All that noise hurts my ears."

"Aw, you poor wittle sensitive Uchiha baby," Naruko cooed. "Can't even deal with a wittle bit of noise."

"Shut up," Sasuke rolled his eyes, unable to stop a smirk from shaping his mouth at the familiar banter. "Hinata," he greeted as Team 8 came closer, smiling slightly at the shy Hyuuga heiress.

"What? So you three made it too? Geez..." Shikamaru muttered.

Kiba smirked all around at the circle they had unintentionally formed. "I see, so all nine rookies this year are going to take the exam. How far do you think we can get... Sasuke-kun?"

Sasuke smirked right back at him. "You seem to be confident, Kiba."

"Gaara? And... Naruko? Naruko!"

The blonde's ears twitched at the faint voice and she looked up briefly, but was too distracted by Kiba's antics and therefore unable to identify the voice.

"Gaara, Naruko! Over—"

The blonde whirled around, eyes wide as the voice — and owner — finally registered. "FUU!" she squealed, practically launching across the room to tackle a petite girl with tan skin, short green hair and amber eyes.

Unfortunately, she and Gaara reached their missing "triplet" at the same time, and since Fuu was unable to bear their combined and unexpected weight at the same time, all three of them tumbled to the ground in a laughing heap.

Naruko rolled over Gaara and threw her arms around her sister. "I missed you so much, Fuu," she grinned at the green-haired kunoichi. "How's Taki?"

Fuu made a face, but smiled as Gaara helped her up. "Could be worse, I guess." She paused and looked behind her at the mischievously-grinning jinchuuriki that was wrapped around her like a monkey. "Am I supposed to piggyback you until the exam starts, or...?"

"Yep!" Naruko laughed. "You're not getting rid of me, ever."

Someone cleared their throat, and the three Genin turned to see the rest of the Rookie 9. Most of them wore expressions of amusement, curiosity, and still there were some who were looking at Fuu with apologies in their eyes.

"Sorry," a boy with dark hair and equally dark eyes came up to the Taki kunoichi, attempting to pry the blonde's grip from the girl. "Naruko's a little—" He gave a grunt as Naruko abruptly made the switch over to his back, legs clamped around his torso and arms wrapped around his neck. "Must you?" he sighed in resignation, even as he made no move to dislodge her.

"Yes," Naruko giggled. "Fuu, this is my teammate, Sasuke Uchiha."

"Nice to meet you, Sasuke," Fuu smiled, though she was trying not to laugh at the comical scene he and her sister were causing. "Um..."

"You get used to it," Sasuke assured her. Fuu snickered.

Naruko lightly swatted his head before jumping off to skip towards her siblings. "And that's my other teammate, Sakura Haruno." She pointed to a girl with pink hair and green eyes. "Oh, and this is Hinata Hyuuga. She was one of my first friends here," she grinned at a girl with short dark hair and pale eyes.

"Hey, what about us?" a boy with brown hair and red upside-down triangles on his cheeks, and a small white dog on his head, called playfully.

Naruko rolled her eyes, "Yes, right. Fuu, this is Hina-chan's teammate, Kiba Inuzuka. And yes, he is always this loud and obnoxious—"

"Hey!"

"—but he's perfectly balanced out by Hina and Shino, who are his opposites," she continued cheerfully, amidst Fuu's giggles and Kiba's indignant protests.

"Hey, you might wanna quiet down," an older boy around the age of nineteen approached them. His ash-grey hair was tied back in a low ponytail, and black-rimmed circular glasses covered his onyx eyes. He was clad in a dark purple shirt with a high collar, a white undershirt, and matching dark purple pants with a white cloth waistband.

Funny thing was, while he was wearing a Konoha forehead protector, not a single one of the Leaf Genin recognized him.

"My name is Kabuto Yakushi, and this is my seventh time taking the Chuunin Exams."

"Seventh?" Kiba repeated incredulously. "You must suck, then— ow!" He grabbed the back of his head as Akamaru yipped indignantly at Sakura, who had been the one to punch him in the head.

"Be more polite!" she hissed.

"It's okay," Kabuto insisted with a weak laugh. "I wasn't ready."

Naruko's eyebrows twitched together; it was only for a moment, but it was enough for Fuu and Gaara immediately become wary of the man. One of the perks to being jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi was that she could sense negative emotions. And the "Eyebrow Twitch", as Yagura had jokingly labelled it, was one of Naruko's signs when she sensed less-than-pure intentions. In short, when something was off about someone, Naruko's eyebrows would twitch together.

The unknown shinobi moved his eyes pointedly behind the Genin, and they all turned to where three irritated-looking shinobi were standing. "The ones behind you are from the Hidden Village of the Rain. They have short tempers. Everyone is tense since it's right before the exam. I warned you so that you won't get picked on."

Naruko's eyes flicked to Sasuke, who turned to look at her with a faint, quizzical look. She very slightly shook her head, I don't trust him.

Sasuke raised his eyebrow, Why not?

The blonde subtly reached out to tug on Sakura's arm while maintaining eye contact with the dark-haired boy. There's something off about him.

The pinkette glanced at her teammates. What are we talking about?

Sasuke subtly jerked his head at Naruko. She doesn't trust this guy.

Sakura lifted her shoulders slightly. Neither do I. He seems shady. I can't really explain it.

Naruko shot a triumphant look at Sasuke, who sighed but dipped his head slightly in assent.

"I guess I should probably give my cute underclassmen some information, then..." Kabuto was saying when Team 7 finally tuned back in. He reached into his kunai pouch and pulled out a thin stack of small rectangular-shaped orange paper. "With these recognition cards."

"Recognition cards?" Ino repeated, eyeing the cards skeptically.

"In simple terms, it's a card that has information burned into it using my chakra," he answered, kneeling down to place the stack on the floor. "There's about two hundred in total." He took the card off the top and flipped it over as he placed it on the floor, leaving the white side facing the Genin. "It looks blank but..." He placed his finger on the card. "To get the information from this card—"

"What are you doing?" Fuu interrupted as he started to spin the card. She didn't like the sound of these cards. It sounded sketchy.

"It's made so that you can't view it without my chakra," Kabuto responded. "Like this." A small poof of smoke, and then the previously-blank card was suddenly a mini-map of the Five Great Nations, with opaque 3D green towers from every village. "It also has the number of participants from each Hidden Village." He looked up at the group, "Let me ask: why do you think we do the Chuunin Exam together?"

"To deepen the friendly relationships with the other countries, and to heighten the level of the ninja." Gaara answered instantly. At the looks he received, he shrugged. "Youngest son of the Fourth Kazekage here. You have to know it, no matter how tedious politics and diplomacy may be. And believe me, it's tedious."

"We believe you," Naruko said sympathetically, reaching over to pat his head.

"Well, that's what they say," the grey-haired male conceded. "But the real purpose is to confirm the level of the ninja in each adjacent country to try and balance out the power."

Naruko slightly raised an eyebrow at Gaara, who narrowed his eyes and subtly shook his head.

With another puff of smoke, the card became blank once more. "If they don't do that, the weak countries will be invaded and dominated by the strong ones. So they need to check and restrain each other's powers. It's just my guess, though."

The blonde glanced over at Sasuke, He knows things he shouldn't. Another red flag.

Kabuto looked up around at them. "Is there someone that interests you?"

The Uchiha also had his eyes narrowed in thought, but nodded at Naruko to acknowledge that he understood. I want to test something.

Naruko sighed through her nose. Don't make me save your ass, teme.

You never do, dobe. Ah, there was that cocky smirk she loved so much. Note the sarcasm.

"Yes," Sasuke immediately said in response to the shinobi's question. Although, it wasn't exactly like he needed Naruko's permission to begin with. More like he would prefer to have it. Yep, that was it; just so she didn't wallop him afterwards.

"The information of this exam's examinees are not perfect, but I've burned and saved them." Kabuto picked up the stack and tapped it against the floor. "They contain information about the eleven of you, as well."

Gaara, Fuu and Naruko instantly exchanged alarmed looks. Did he know they were jinchuuriki?

"Tell me whatever you know about the people you know that interest you. Names would be preferable."

"Gaara no Sabaku."

The Suna shinobi looked at Sasuke incredulously; he was going to ask for information on him while he was present? As in, right there? He glanced back at Naruko, who only shrugged. His incredulity furthered; what kind of people was his sister hanging out with? Seriously! Right in front of him! How rude.

Kabuto also looked a little apprehensive as he noticed the redhead standing with them. But with the intent stare of the Uchiha survivor upon him, he had no other choice. Selecting a card from the stack, he held it aloft. "Here we go."

Trust me. Sasuke's eyes flickered from Naruko and back to the shinobi. "Show me."

"Let's see. Gaara no Sabaku." The card started spinning, and with the customary puff of smoke, the previously blank card was filled with information.

Gaara stiffened slightly, and Fuu grabbed his hand reassuringly.

"Mission experience: eight C-ranks and... this is amazing. He did a B-rank mission as a Genin. He is a foreign ninja and it's his first time taking the exam, so I don't have any more information on him."

'I should hope not!' Gaara thought, annoyed at how this shinobi had easily gotten information. It wasn't sensitive information, thankfully, but it was still information that he, as a supposed Leaf Genin, was not privy to and shouldn't have been able to obtain.

Fuu's keen amber eyes scanned the room, and then she asked, "What about the shinobi with the music note on their forehead protectors?"

Kabuto nodded as the Five Great Nations appeared on a blank card once more. "Konoha, Suna, Kiri, Ame, Kusa, Taki and Oto. This year, many talented Genin from these hidden villages have come here to take the exam. The Hidden Village of the Sound is a village of a small country that was made recently, so I don't have much information on them."

"I'm starting to lose confidence..." Hinata whispered nervously.

"It's too late to say that!" Ino snapped, and the Hyuuga heiress jumped at the sharp tone.

Naruko moved over to bump her shoulder, smiling reassuringly. "You'll be fine," she murmured. "You have Kiba and Shino with you. Worst comes to worst, the teme and I will jump in."

Sakura's frown deepened as her eyebrows drew together in slight worry. " So in other words, the examinees here are all..."

"That's right," Kabuto nodded. "It's not only Gaara. All the people here are the top elites chosen from each country."

"Is there anyone else here who feels like screaming out: "I'm not gonna lose to any of you"?" a certain blonde whispered to her teammates. Sasuke choked on air, and Sakura gently whacked her friend upside down the head.

"Good lanta," Sakura sighed, "I'm surrounded by morons."

In the ground, a hunchbacked male with bandages covering most of his face, except for his left eye, stared at the group. "Did you hear that?" he asked in a low voice. "They said that the Hidden Village of the Sound is a minor village of a small country. I'm hurt."

The female standing by him barely spared him a glance. "Let's play with them a little, then."

The hunchback nodded. "Yeah, they spoke as if we're just leftover ninja."

They flashed around the room, almost like shadows. Sensing something akin to danger, Gaara narrowed his eyes and glanced around. He saw Kankuro about to let his puppet down from his back in response to the Sound ninja and held out a warning hand. Kankuro shot him a look, but stopped.

One Sound ninja hurled two kunai at Kabuto, who swiftly dodged by skidding back. The one with bandages covering his face suddenly appeared in front of him, his right fist flying to make contact. At the last second, Kabuto leaned backwards so that the Sound ninja missed, a smirk upon his face.

The smug look only lasted a second as his glasses cracked and fell to the ground. "I see, so that's the kind of attack it was," he said calmly, taking off his broken glasses. Suddenly he collapsed to his knees and bent over, throwing up.

"He threw up!" Kiba gawked openly.

"Nice observation, genius," Fuu muttered under her breath.

"You're not as good as I thought for a veteran who took the exams four years running," the ninja who seemed to be the leader commented. "Write this in your card—"

He was cut off as a sharp voice bellowed; "Quiet down! You punks!" It didn't take long for the smoke to clear, and when it did, it revealed a tall man with a scarred face and — Ino Yamanaka was delighted to note — a majority of the T&I department behind him.

The man's scarred lip turned upward into a sadistic smirk. "Sorry to keep you waiting." Raising his voice, he announced, "I am the examiner of the first test of the Chuunin Selection Exam, Ibiki Morino. And from this moment... your worst enemy."

"Dramatic much?" Naruko murmured from the side of her mouth.

"Shut up," Sakura hissed. "Don't make me laugh now!"

"First," Ibiki pointed a gloved finger at the back of the room, "you, candidates from the Village Hidden in the Sound. Knock it off! Who told you that you were allowed to fight? You want to be failed before we've even begun?"

"Sorry," the leader said in a voice dripping with fake sincerity, "it's our first time. Guess we're just a little tense... sir."

"Top 10 things Hashirama Senju said on his wedding night," Naruko snickered. Sakura threw her hands up in the air and buried her face in Sasuke's shoulder, groaning quietly. Sasuke himself was biting his lip so hard it bled in an effort to stop from making a sound. Trust Naruko to amuse them at the worst moment ever.

Ibiki narrowed his eyes. He scoffed before raising his voice once more. "I'll say this once, so listen up: there will be no combat between candidates. No attacking each other without permission of a proctor. And even then, use of fatal force is strictly prohibited." He lowered his voice to a growl, "Anyone who even thinks of messing with me will be disqualified immediately. Got it?"

One either insanely brave or stupid Sound Ninja commented, "No fatal force? That's no fun."

Some of the T&I ninja snickered in pity for the fool, but Ibiki ignored him. "Now, if we're ready, we'll proceed to the first stage of the Chuunin Exam. Hand over your paperwork. In return you'll each be given a number. This number determines where you will sit. We'll start the written test once you're all seated."

"The what?" Naruko said blankly.

"The written test," Sasuke repeated slowly, as if he were talking to a five-year-old.

"No, before that."

"The number?" Sakura tried.

"No, before that."

"The paperwork?" Fuu guessed.

"That," Naruko said simply. She turned to her teammates, "There was paperwork? Why did I not know about this?" Her eyes widened. "I don't have any paperwork to hand in!"

"Relax, Naru," Sakura giggled, patting her teammate's head. "I knew you would forget so I took the liberty of doing it for you." She gave a small gasp as the breath was knocked out of her when Naruko suddenly tackled her in a hug.

Ibiki was watching the back of the room closely, after what had happened when he first entered the room. He was pleased to note that the Yamanaka heiress was here. But when he saw the tell-tale flash of orange and yellow, he couldn't stop the small quirk of his lips. It seemed things were going to go a little differently than he anticipated, if his favourite junior interrogator was here.

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Moments later, Naruko slammed her head down on the desk. 'Man, I don't even know where the others are sitting. If I had known that there was going to be a written test, I would've studied!'

"No, you wouldn't have."

Naruko perked up. 'Oh, hey Kurama. Enjoy your nap?'

"Yes, thank you very much, Kit. So, what did I miss?"

'Um, I saw Gaara, Yagura, Utakata and Fuu.'

"That's like, half your family. Now we just need Killer Bee, Yugito, Han and Roshi," Kurama snickered. Naruko hummed absent-mindedly, and the Bijuu softened. "You're missing them even more now, aren't you?" he said softly.

Naruko sighed mentally. 'Seeing the people that called themselves my triplets made it all just come rushing back. I'd give anything to have another one of okaa-san's hugs... or Roshi-jiji's lame jokes. But of course, I am extremely grateful that I can even see Yagura, Utakata, Gaara and Fuu again.'

"Naruko, pay attention."

Naruko looked over at her right, and grinned when she saw Hinata smiling amusedly at her. 'Yes, I'm not alone!' The blonde whispered a quick "good luck" before Ibiki slammed the chalk on the blackboard behind him.

"Alright everyone, eyes to the front. There are a few rules you need to be aware of. And I won't answer any questions, so you better pay attention in the first time around." He turned around to write on the blackboard. "Rule #1 is this: the written part of the exam is conducted on a point-reduction system. Contrary to what some of you may be used to, you all begin the test with a perfect score of ten points. One point will be deducted for each answer you get wrong. So if you miss three, your final score will be seven." Ibiki scanned the room to make sure they were all listening before continuing. "Rule #2: teams will pass or fail based on the total scores of all three members."

There was a slam, and Naruko didn't even need to turn to know that Sakura had slammed her head on the desk. Even if Naruko had been faking a majority of the Academy, it didn't mean she found studying easy. She found it really hard, in fact, and Kurama had to essentially tutor her in everything.

Ibiki coughed; he might as well go on since the girl hadn't actually protested out loud.

"Rule #3: the sentinels you see positioned around the room are there to watch you carefully for any signs of cheating. And for every incident they spot, they will subtract two points from the culprit's score. Be warned, their eyes are extremely sharp. And if they catch you five times, you'll be dismissed before the tests are even scored. Anyone fool enough to be caught cheating by the sentinels doesn't deserve to be here."

"I've got my eye on you~" a sentinel Naruko instantly recognized as Kotetsu sang teasingly.

"If you want to be considered shinobi, then show us what exceptional shinobi you can be. One more thing: if any candidate should get a zero and fail the test, then the entire team fails."

'Oh sh-t,' was the one thought that ran through Team 7's minds.

"The final question won't be given out until fifteen minutes before the end of the testing period. You'll have on hour, total."

One second passed by... two... three... and then four.

"BEGIN!"

The room was instantly filled with papers flipping over and pencils scratching. Ibiki smirked; he could practically hear the gears turning frantically in their minds.

Naruko quickly wrote down her name, then closed her eyes and began to meditate. Kurama would be able to help her, yes, but she wanted to try something else, too.

Sasuke glanced up, biting the soft inner flesh of his cheek in worry. 'Oh man, this doesn't look good. She's just sitting there.' He was familiar with Naruko's academic performance; their whole class was. To find out that a majority of it had been an act was shocking, yes, but it didn't mean she was suddenly as knowledgeable as Sakura.

'These are integrated problems based on principles of uncertainty and require complex mechanical energy analysis. Incredibly advanced stuff,' Sakura mused to herself before her eyes widened. 'Forget it; Naruko doesn't stand a chance of solving these! In fact, it can't be more than a handful of people here besides me who can even understand it. Each problem is more difficult than the one before.'

She was correct, as a majority of the room were simply staring at empty sheets of paper in full-on confusion and incomprehension.

Sasuke put down his paper with a smirk. 'Well that's interesting... I can't begin to understand a single one of these problems.'

Sakura took a deep breath as she felt a smirk curl her own lip as she exchanged a look with the green-haired Taki kunoichi she met mere moments ago. She winked at the pinkette, and then turned to her own paper. Sakura almost felt like laughing out loud; she liked Naruko's "sister". 'Well, if Naruko's anything like Fuu, she won't fall for it. Come on you sly little fox, show me my faith isn't misplaced.'

Sasuke glanced around the room at the sentinels. 'They make a bigger deal out of cheating than the test itself. And these sentinels... watching our every move... trying to catch one—' His face dropped as he watched the shinobi write something on his pad. 'Someone just got busted.' The boy couldn't stop a smirk creeping across his face. 'I bet it was Gaara.' He quickly shook his head of the thought, if he was going to pass, he needed a clear mind.

His eyes widened as he realized the real purpose of the test. His eyes instantly shot to Naruko; 'Come on, Naruko... use your head! Figure this out before it's too late!' He snuck a glance at his other teammate, who was busily writing answers. The Uchiha felt like slamming his head onto the desk; of course Sakura would know the answers without even having to cheat.

Naruko sighed. She could literally feeling her teammates burning holes into her back. Seriously, she wasn't that bad at written tests—

"Oh yes you are."

'Shut it, foxy.'

"You're just lucky you have a thousand-year-old demon inside of you who actually knows how to do these sorts of things and can help you cheat."

'Yeah, how do you know how to do that anyway?'

"You live a thousand years, you pick up stuff."

'Uh-huh...'

"Also, you get insanely bored."

'There we go.'

"I know I said I could help you cheat... but I haven't. And you haven't written anything down. Should I be worried?"

'No.'

"May I ask why?"

'Because I am superior.'

Naruko smirked as she heard Kurama splutter in shock. "You're not answering any — not a single one — of the questions because you are "superior"? Kit, are you insane? You're quite literally jeopardizing you and your team's chance of making Chuunin!"

Naruko rolled her eyes. 'Oh please. As if you didn't see right through his deception.'

"..."

'I may not be book-smart, but I am pretty good at solving riddles and at reading body language. Did you honestly think I'd forget all of Ibiki's and everyone else's teachings?'

Once Kakashi had taken Naruko in, he had started appearing less and less around his comrades. Naturally, they — Asuma, Kurenai, Gai, Yugao, Hayate, Genma and Anko — had shown up at the one-eyed Jonin's apartment to check on Kakashi. And imagine their surprise when they found a ten-year-old Naruko Uzumaki living there. Many a time, when Kakashi's missions had him out of the village for a week or two, Naruko was left in the care of at least one of the Jonin. Sometimes she was at the T&I, sometimes at the ANBU HQ, or she was in someone's apartment. She went wherever she pleased, and none of them minded. Ibiki had noticed her unprecedented aptitude for manipulating shinobi into telling the truth; after all, no one suspected that a young, fragile child like Naruko could possibly be an interrogator. And with a few honeyed words and implied promise of release, the truth would come spilling out.

"Mm, I suppose not," Kurama answered begrudgingly. "Anyway, how do you think Fuu and Gaara are going?"

'Well, I just felt some sand drop onto my head so I'm going to yell at Gaara for being sloppy later. And as for Fuu, either she's using Chomei or she's using her sticky strings in a similar to way to Shika's Shadow Possession.'

Kurama snickered in her head. "Good luck washing that out."

'Supportive much?'

"Oh, you know you're my favourite host."

'Yes, because I'm the only one who took the time and effort to transform the sewage into a field that you can jump around in and sleep in all day,' Naruko responded dryly.

"Your efforts are much appreciated."

'Are they though? We haven't started working on Bijuu Mode yet, and I'm rather disappointed.'

"..."

'What? What's wrong?'

"U-Um, nothing."

'Kurama...'

"I swear it's nothing!"

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Naruko felt something poking her side repeatedly, so she tuned back into the real world to see her dark-haired friend look at her worriedly. Hinata motioned to her empty written test, but the blonde shrugged dismissively.

The room had emptied considerably since she had been talking with Kurama. What in the world had happened during that conversation? Of course, Naruko knew that it took time just to be able to connect to Kurama on the level that she had just then — to connect at a greater depth with her Bijuu was part of her training for the Bijuu Mode — but it was still surprising how many were disqualified.

Ibiki then stepped up, "These rules are unique to Question 10. Listen carefully, and try not to let them frighten you." When no one moved, he nodded to himself. "Very well then. Rule #1: each of you is free to choose not to be given the final question. It's your decision."

Naruko's eyebrows hit her hairline. Her thoughts — and probably everyone else's — were voiced by the loud blonde in the back.

"So what's the catch? Say we choose not to take it, what happens next?"

Gaara almost slammed his face onto his desk when he realized it was his biological older sister speaking.

"If you choose not to take the tenth question, then regardless of your answers to the other nine, you'll get a zero. In other words: you fail. And that means, of course, that both your teammates fail as well."

Murmurs immediately broke out in the room, varying from "no way" to "of course we'll do it".

"Not so fast," Ibiki said quietly. "You didn't let me finish. If you do accept the question but answer it incorrectly, you will not only fail... you will be barred from taking the Chuunin Exam ever again!"

"Hey that's bull, man!" Kiba shouted, leaping to his feet. The rest of the Rookie 9 almost fell off their chairs in second-hand embarrassment. "That's ridiculous! What kind of bogus rule is that? There's lots of people here who've taken the test before!" Akamaru emphasized this with three short barks.

Naruko gripped the edge of her desk, grinding her teeth together. "I — am going — to — murder — and castrate — and disembowel — that — idiot!" she ground out.

'Ah, the perks of having grown up around one of the most feared interrogators in the Five Great Nations,' Kurama thought wryly.

Hinata sweatdropped, "There, there..." she tried half-heartedly to placate her friend who was leaking a dangerous aura.

Ibiki almost smirked proudly when he saw the girl with whiskers and bright blonde hair exuding an aura that was very familiar to him; that of the Red Hot Habanero. In fact, if he looked close enough, he could see her hair starting to float upwards in a similar fashion to Kushina's long, red hair.

From the back of the room, Fuu groaned and plopped her cheek into her right palm with a fond smile. "Mamma mia, here we go again."

Ibiki looked back up at the Inuzuka, and growled, "I guess you're just... unlucky. I wasn't the one making the rules before. But I am now. Of course, if you don't want to take it, you don't have to. If you're not feeling confident, then by all means, skip it. You can come back and try again next year." He scanned the room once more, taking note of the twelve Genin caught his eye; all from his own village. And they had an identical fierce determination. Or as Lord Third called it: The Will of Fire.

"Now then, if you're ready, the tenth and final question. Those who don't want to take it, raise your hand. Your number will be recorded, and then you're free to go."

The boy next to Naruko raised his hand. "I'm out," he stood up, his voice shaky. "That's it; I'm out. I just can't do it. I'm sorry."

"Number 50: Fail," one of the sentinels — Izumo — announced. "Number 130, Number 110. That means you're out, too."

"Ginai... Inaho... I'm sorry," Number 50 apologized as his teammates stood up.

"That's it; I quit!"

"Me too, sir!"

"I'm out."

"Me too."

"I'm so sick of this."

"Yeah, I'm out."

As the Konoha 12, the Sand Siblings and the Taki Team watched, people were raising hands and standing up and quitting right and left.

"To be honest, I really don't care if I can't make it past Genin."

Ibiki raised a scarred eyebrow. The maggot actually had the audacity to stretch and act as if she had just woken up from a catnap. She didn't even seem all that concerned that she was facing the possibility of never getting promoted. Although, it figured that she would see right through him.

"Don't underestimate us, Ibiki," Naruko smirked. "I would've thought you learned that by now." She tilted her head innocently, though the sly smile on her face washed away any innocence she had as she leaned forward almost challengingly. "I don't quit and I don't run."

"This decision could change your entire life," Ibiki said sternly. "If for any reason you choose to quit, now is your last chance."

Naruko smirked, meeting his gaze head-on. "I never go back on my word. That's my ninja way."

Cerulean met obsidian in an intense staring match between her and the interrogator, a deathly silence blanketing the room. Suddenly, Naruko relaxed and leaned back into her seat. "Besides," she shrugged, "if you don't try new things, you'll never know what you're missing out on." She paused as a strange expression stole across her whiskered face. "Where did I hear that from...?"

Snickering from three rows behind her and to her left caused Naruko to slam her head on her desk, startling those near her from the force she had used. "Oh no... he was right," Naruko groaned.

"Who was?" Sakura asked in slight confusion.

"Uh, you don't—"

"You're damn right I was right!" Gaara called from his seat, still snickering as he interrupted the blonde fox mid-sentence.

Naruko turned in her seat to glare at the redhead. "You and I are going to have words when this exam lets out," she said simply. She quickly whirled around to glare the cynophilist, "You too, Kiba!"

"What?" Kiba squawked indignantly. "What did I do?"

"'That's bull'? 'That's a bogus rule'?" Naruko's voice rose with every word. "Are you insane? He's the proctor of our exam! Do you want to get kicked out? You could've jeopardized your team's chances in this exam! You're lucky he didn't kick you out, but once we're out of here I'm kicking your ass, Kiba Inuzuka!"

"Wow," Fuu mused, "she hasn't changed a bit."

Sakura looked at the girl beside her, "How so?" she asked curiously.

The green-haired girl chuckled. "Well, she still has that famous fiery temper of hers, though she appears to have grown some restraint." A slightly vacant look entered her amber eyes. "Naruko was always the one to separate the fights; whether it was me and Gaara, or Yagura and Utakata."

"Really now..." Sakura looked over at her teammate, who was still scolding the now-abashed Inuzuka from across the room. She caught Sasuke's eye, and the Uchiha smirked in amusement.

Ibiki cleared his throat. "Last call for anyone who wants to call it quits." Everyone remaining in the room stayed quiet, and Ibiki couldn't help but be impressed. 'Remarkable... the maggot's words have given the others some backbone. She's inspired them into staying.' Ibiki sighed through his nose, closing his eyes briefly. 'Seventy-eight left. More than I expected. Figures she would destroy all my plans. I'll be hearing about this from Anko for days.' He glanced at the sentinels, all who were either smirking or smiling. At their nods, he turned back to the Chuunin-hopefuls.

"Well then, I admire your determination," Ibiki declared. "For those of you remaining, there is only one thing left to do. And that's for me to tell you... that you've all passed the first exam!"

"Called it!" Naruko grinned, throwing down her pencil with flourish. "Anko owes me fifty bucks by the way. Thanks, Ibiki."

The head interrogator pinched the bridge of his nose. "Stop gambling," he ordered, "or I may have to forbid you two from hanging out together."

Naruko gasped, hands flying to her chest. "You wouldn't!" she cried, scandalized.

Ibiki's eyes gleamed. "Making fun of me, are you?" He smirked as he strode over in three quick strides and plucked the girl from her seat before stalking over to the window. "Have fun!" And with that, he tossed her out the window.

Alarmed cries and the screech of chairs being pushed back abruptly instantly filled the room.

"How could you do that?!"

"She's just a child!"

"I'm pretty sure he just broke a law or two."

"Oh calm down," Ibiki scoffed, walking back to his place at the front of the room. "She's small, but resilient." Leaning against the table, he called out, "You alive?"

Not a second later, the windows broke as two kunai were thrown into the ceiling and a large black cloth was flung out. From behind the black material, Ibiki sighed in resigned exasperation. 'Jumped the gun... as usual.'

"Heads up boys and girls!" a cocky female voice announced. "This is no time to be celebrating. I'll be your next proctor, Anko Mitarashi. Ready for the second test?" She threw her fist up in the air, yelling with more enthusiasm and volume than necessary, "Good! Then follow m— ow!"

"You're early. Again," Ibiki growled as he half-stepped out from behind the crudely-made banner. Anko deflated, her cheeks tinted pink with embarrassment. Standing next to her, hands on hips, was a righteously-indignant Naruko.

"You!" she thrust a finger in Ibiki's scarred face. "What do you think you were doing? Throwing me out the window like that! You're just lucky Anko was there to catch me and give me a ride back up. And you," she whirled on the purple-haired kunoichi, "I told you it was too early! But nooooooo, let's not listen to Naruko!"

"Alright, maggot, we got it," Anko said in amusement, patting the blonde head. "Ibiki, placate her so I can continue my dramatic entrance," she smiled sweetly. Ibiki silently raised an eyebrow before lifting the blonde into the air and setting her on his shoulder; she barely weighed more than she did when she was eleven.

"How many are there?" Anko asked in bewilderment, taking in the amount of Chuunin-hopefuls in the room. "Ibiki, you let all these guys pass? Your test was too easy. You must be getting soft," she commented snarkily.

"Or it could be a stronger group of candidates this year," Ibiki responded calmly.

"Nah, I think it was me," Naruko chirped.

"Yeah, I think it was her," Anko laughed. "'Cause they sure don't look it. Trust me, before I'm done with them, more than half of them will be eliminated."

Sakura jerked a little at the way she spoke and worded her sentence. "M-More than half?" she muttered under her breath.

"Huh, this'll be fun," Anko said softly to herself before her grin widened. "Alright maggots, you've had it easy so far! But things will be different starting first thing in the morning. I'll let your squad leaders let you know where to meet me. Dismissed."

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OMAKE:

As the shinobi filtered out the room, the Rookie 9, Gaara and Fuu lingered behind.

Ibiki set Naruko down on the ground, and instantly started firing questions at her. "Are you deliberately trying to sabotage me? Giving them that little speech? Did you have to ruin things for me? Do you know how long Anko is going to hold this over my head? And because of you, I didn't get to give them a single part of that little spiel I had planned about risks and whatnot."

"Yes, because we all know what a joy that is to listen to," Naruko nodded her head sagely.

Ibiki gently swatted at her. "No sarcasm with me, young lady. Now run along with your friends."

"Yes sir," Naruko grinned. "But first," she turned to Anko, "pay up."

Anko groaned; "You just had to be predictable, didn't you Ibiki?" She pulled out a note and slammed it into the small hand. "Alright, but this'll be the last time you win, ya hear me? I plan on winning those fifty bucks back."

"Sure," Naruko smirked, "after all, your luck's as bad as Tsunade Senju's." Immediately, she took off running towards, ignoring the roar of, "WHY YOU BRAT—" echoing behind her. Grabbing Fuu's hand, Naruko dashed through the doors, waving the money in the air. "Come on guys, free ramen! It's on Anko!"

"BRAT! DON'T SPEND MY HARD-EARNED MONEY ON THAT DESPICABLE FOOD!"

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(1) Naruto first aired 3rd October 2002, however the first episode of the Chuunin Exam Arc aired in 2003. Sasuke was 7 when the Uchiha Massacre occurred, and they're all 13 now, so going by my justification it would've happened around 1997