Despite my confidence in facing the Chūnin Exams, I'm... really not. Not a single bit! Just how many people are participating in them?! This is way more than what I saw come in the other night! Most of them are foreign Shinobi, so it isn't like the majority is from the village, though it would have made sense. And apparently? Our class is called "rookies"? Well, obviously! We just graduated from the Academy! Why did Kakashi-sensei think it was a good time to throw us into something like this?! We have no business challenging the more experienced Genin that are here with us.

A few things had happened in between our group in between then and now.

When we'd finally arrived on the third floor, the true third floor, Kakashi-sensei had been there to greet us. It took a moment, but I'd done a headcount and found that including us, there's over one-hundred and fifty participants here – three times as much as I'd seen entering the village from the other night. Somehow, us and the rest of us "rookies" ended up in a big argument that had gotten the attention from all the other participants. Then, another Leaf Genin – his name is Kabuto – who'd already taken the Chūnin Exams six other times shows up and takes out a strange stack of orange cards that supposedly shows the statistics of each Genin candidate.

The competition's going to be tough, for sure, but what's really making things worse is Naruto's inability to stay quiet long enough that he ends up swearing up and down that he'd "beat every single one of them". I really did admire his confidence – at first.

Out of nowhere, a team of Sound Genin suddenly fly out toward us from the pool of Shinobi a-and attack Kabuto?! He lands a few feet away from us, coughing up blood.

"Kabuto!" Sakura and Naruto run over to his side to help him to his feet. I follow behind them, blocking the path between him and those other Shinobi.

"Not such a tough guy, after all, I guess," the one in the front muses. He wears some kind of fur coat, and underneath it, a large shirt that reminds me of cow hide. "Maybe that's why he's on his seventh try."

"Why did you do that?" I demand from him. But all I receive is a laugh before the air in front of me distorts itself, as though it'd been an object to be moved, before I find myself on my hands and knees, choking and gasping for any kind of breath I c-can find—

"Kari!?"

Distraught, I still manage to feel the pair of arms wrapped around my own from behind that help lower me down onto the floor – Sasuke. He presses a firm hand against my back when I've started coughing, a fit that rattles my chest.

"Put this in your info cards," a different voice says. "The Genin of the Sound Village will be Chūnin when this is all over, guaranteed!"

"All right, you pasty-faced degenerates – pipe down!"

Letting out one last deep cough, I wipe my mouth on the back of my hand when I'd felt something wet land outside of it – b-blood?! I start to shake, in fear, in anger. My entire body is aching. Just what did they do to me?

"Sit down and listen up!" We all look to the front of the room. As I'm way down on the floor, I'm yet to be able to see who it'd come from. "It is time to begin. My name is Ibiki Morino, your Proctor, and from this moment, your worst enemy."

After Kabuto and I are treated for our injuries by a team of Medical-nin – it'd been amazing, watching them heal us so quickly – and after the Sound Genin are reprimanded, we're able to return to business, and by business, I most definitely mean listening to our scary-scary Proctor. Though I'm not over what just happened, I've no choice by to tune in. A small part of me wishes they could've done a little more than throw harsh words at them, after what they'd done.

"I'll say this once, so listen up," Mister Ibiki says. "There will be no combat between candidates; no attacking each other without the permission of your Proctor, and even then, the use of fatal force is strictly prohibited. Anyone who even thinks of messing with me will be disqualified immediately – got it?"

I swallow. F-Fatal force, huh?

"No fatal force?" one of the Sound Ninja from earlier repeats. "Well, that's no fun." The other administrators standing beside Mister Ibiki– when I'd seen them earlier on in the day, wearing their matching uniforms, that's who I'd concluded they were – chuckle challengingly.

"Now, if we're ready, we will proceed to the first stage of the Chūnin Exam." He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a stack of square pieces of paper. "Hand in your paperwork, and in return, you'll receive a number determining where you will sit. We'll start the written test once you're all seated."

"W-Written test?!" Naruto stammers from beside us. "Why?!"

One of the administrators, who I recognize as Kotetsu from the village's main gates, wafts an even thicker stack of longer piece of paper in front of him with a smirk. Before Naruto can scream – I'd totally seen this coming from our extensive one-on-one training from before the Genin Exams happened, academics being his fatal weakness – I plug my ears.

I receive the number "7". And that means I have to sit in the front row of desks, far, far away from Naruto and Sakura and Sasuke, and instead, right in front of the scary-scary Mister Ibiki. Lucky me, I think, just imagining the man metaphorically breathing down my already-sweaty neck. I'm... not too good under pressure. Neither is Naruto, so the fact that he has to deal with a written exam on top of things? I can only guess how he's doing.

I'm just too nervous to focus on anything.

"If you're done shaking like a wet dog, we'll get started," I hear Mister Ibiki say. I'm not feeling well after being attacked like that, even after getting treated, so maybe that's making it more difficult to focus on thi— "You! Wake up and pay attention!"

The hand that slams down on my desk makes me jump a literal foot out of my seat. I dare to look up at him, where he stands glaring down my way.

Yep, that might've just done it!!

"I-I'm sorry, sir!" I stammer sharply, bowing quickly in apology. His hand drags along the wood of the desk before disappearing from my vision. I'm not brave enough to make even one other sound, not a sigh or a whimper – even though that's all that's going through my head right now.

"Everyone, eyes front!" Mister Ibiki slams the butt of a piece of white chalk against the blackboard. "There are a few rules to be aware of, and I won't answer any questions, so you better listen the first time around!"

No questions? I think miserably. I'm done for. My groan is inaudible, but I still slouch down in my chair, begrudgingly listening to his speech.

"All right. Rule number one is this." Despite not being allowed to ask questions, Mister Ibiki still writes it down on the board. "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."

Ah. I manage a weak smile. That's not as bad as I expected.

"Rule number two! Teams will pass or fail based on the total score of all its members."

Ah. I manage a strong frown. That's exactly as worse as I'd expected.

"Wait a minute!" I glance over my shoulder to find who the outburst had come from, and I find my guess to be correct when I find Sakura, who sits eight rows behind me, alert and concerned. "You're saying we all get graded... as a team?"

"Silence!" Mister Ibiki shouts back. Sakura shrinks away into her seat in the same manner I had just moments before. "I have my reasons, so shut up and listen."

Ah. I sigh longingly. He has reasons.

"Rule number three," he goes on. "The sentinels you see positioned around the room are there to watch you carefully for any signs of cheating." The female "sentinel" that sits in the chair ahead of me and on his right-hand side nods at me. I nod back, still stirring from unease at her presence. "And for every incident they spot, they will subtract two points from the culprit's score."

"What?"
"Huh?"

"Be warned – their eyes are extremely sharp. If they catch you five times, you'll be dismissed before the test is even score. Anyone fool enough to be caught cheating by the sentinels doesn't deserve to be here."

"Don't try and take the easy way out," the woman says using a single, flat tone. I wince. "I'll be more than happy to escort you out by the scruff of your failure."

"If you want to be considered Shinobi," Mister Ibiki says, "then show us what exceptional Shinobi you can be."

... thinking about it now that it'd managed to become a little quiet, if there are four people on a team, like ours, with me as its outlier, then will our tests be graded differently? Or maybe, they expect one of us belonging to Team Seven fail... I know Sakura won't... and neither will Sasuke... but Naruto and I are a completely different story. We'd been born to use our hands, not our heads – and even Naruto has problems with that, some days.

"One more thing," Mister Ibiki calls out. "If any candidate should quit or fail the test... then the entire team fails."

I... Did I hear that correctly? I-I think I might've zoned out. Did he say... D-Did he really say that?

"The final question won't be given out until fifteen minutes after the testing period," he adds, unaffected by the shouts and protests from the other Genin around me. "You'll have one hour total." Suddenly, he looks down at me. "And stop shaking.

"Begin!"

The sound of lead scratching against parchment grows louder and louder as clock keeps on ticking. Looking up at it, I note that only ten minutes has passed. Yet still, I haven't even picked up my pencil.

As I finally reach to flip over the paper, I begin having second thoughts about this whole thing. I can't... just quit. The Chūnin Exams decide whether my dream of following in Makara-sensei's footsteps will become a reality or not. It'll decide whether I can become strong enough to find the men that did this to us and avenge her. It'll decide if Naruto gets to become Hokage or not, and if Sasuke will find the person who killed his clan!

It's gotta be here, I tell myself. And I pick up the pencil.

A... code...

I stare furiously at the first question before deciding I'm unable to decipher it.

Line B in the diagram indicates the trajectory of a shuriken thrown at Enemy C by Ninja A who is seated upon a tree seven meters tall. Describe and formulate the trajectory required if C were positioned at Points D, E, and F. Also predict the farthest possible range of the shuriken and explain how you arrived at your answer.

Er...

If Enemy A is travelling at seventy-five kilometers an hour, and Ninja B is travelling at sixty-seven kilometers an hour to cut him off, what will the speed of where the two cross paths be?

Oh, boy...

D-Did one of Shino's bugs crawl into my shirt?! I wriggle, uncomfortable from the prickling sensation coming from the center of my back. It finally disappears, but I'm left with a devastating realization. With the voices from the sentinels calling out participant numbers for them cheating loud, but not as bad as this single thought —I have to cheat, after all.

In all honesty, it isn't really a problem. I think I'd just been extremely lucky that I'd gotten the idea from another contestant earlier. The boy in all black from the Hidden Sand? That puppet of his that he wears on his back – I'd seen him Transform it into one of those sentinels before I'd arrived into the building. And so, I've really got him and Naruto to thank for me having the brilliant plan of creating a Shadow Clone meant to infiltrate these sentinel's ranks to learn of the written exam, and then of its answers.

It came down to a sneaky, sleuthy method of getting them to me, since it'd been too late for the Shadow Clone to bring them to me. And so, here she sits, a smirking, legs-crossed, dressed-terribly, much-older version of myself, only ten feet away. If I changed too much of its appearance other than looking like my own self, I might've easily lost focus, especially with Mister Ibiki having talked at me like he had earlier. Hands in its pockets, I give the subtle signal to it to begin divulging the answers.

They move carefully, but obvious enough beneath the fabric for me to get the answers slowly. We have an hour, after all. Only half of that has passed. And comparatively, the first few questions were made easy, unlike the last three. I have plenty of time.

Should I be grateful for Makara-sensei to abuse my brain like she had? Beating both physical and mental practices into me like Taijutsu and sign language... Thinking about it now, she really must have been preparing me for the chance of having to leave our cabin that whole time. I wonder when it was that she knew it was set in stone to happen. If she's still alive, after all, somewhere out there – maybe she's hiding? And maybe, I'd be able to ask her.

For now, I'll deal with the things that are within my control – like cheating on this exam.

When I finally set down my pencil, there's only a couple of minutes left to spare. I flip over my page so no one can get any obvious, finally peeks at my answers, and let my thoughts drift to the other rookies. I hope you all made it okay. Especially you, Naruto.

"All right!" Mister Ibiki shouts a couple moments later. "Listen up! Here is the tenth and final question. But, before I give you it, there some more rules you need to be aware of."

"More rules?" I repeat, horrified. Kankuro re-enters the room, alongside the fake sentinel I'd seen him Transform. You know, for a cocky ninja like him, you'd think he would've done it more secretively.

"Yes," he says. "These rules are unique to question ten, so listen carefully—and try not to let them frighten you." When no one speaks, or moves, he continues. "Very well, then. Rule number one: each of you is free not to choose to be given the final question. It's your decision."

"W-Whoa, so what's the catch?" a voice from the back calls. "Let's say we decide not to do it – what happens then?" It'd been that girl who was with Kankuro and Gaara before. Temari, I think her name is.

"If you fail to answer the tenth question, the regardless of the answers to the other nine, you'll get a zero. That means you fail. And that means, of course, your teammates fail, as well."

Gasps and angry chatter erupt around the room, startling me. But I don't blame them – I'm angry, too. Other than the fact that he's in charge of this thing, what right does he have to fail us for not answering one question?! Probably every right, but it's not fair!

"Not so fast," Mister Ibiki says quietly. Everyone hears him. "You didn't let me finish. If you do decide to hear the question but answer incorrectly, you will not only fail, but will be barred from taking the Chūnin Exam ever again!"

"Hey, that's bull, man!" I hear Kiba yell. "That's ridiculous! What kind of bogus rule is that?! There are lots of people here who have taken the test before!" Akamaru barks in agreement with his partner's words. Mister Ibiki chuckles lowly to himself, but because I'm in the very front row, I can easily hear him, too.

"I guess you're just... unlucky," he says with a delighted smirk. I glare bitterly at him. "I wasn't making the rules before. But I am now. Of course, if you don't want to take it, you don't have to."

"W-What?" I'm terribly confused.

"If you're not feeling confident, then by all means—skip it. You can come back and try again next year."

"So, you're saying, that if we choose not to answer the tenth question, we fail? Our entire team fails?" Mister Ibiki nods at my conclusion. "And if we do choose to answer and we answer it correctly, we pass." He nods again. "But if we skip it, we can take it next year."

"There you go!" he says, opening his arms. "It's as simple as that. I'm glad at least one of you cowards gets it." Pushing chair back, I stomp up onto my feet.

"What is this?!" I shout angrily, and he tunes in, attention on me, looking amused. "It's not fair at all! And I am not a coward!

"Not all of us are equally smart or naturally talented or brave or as optimistic as the rest! We all have our own qualities and skills that define our ability to be a Shinobi! That lets us continue on! I don't want someone deciding my future and think of it as something funny or as a game, because it's neither." I sit back down, my heart pounding.

"I'm going to answer that question," I say, crossing my arms in defiance. "No matter what you say or threaten us with, no matter what the rules are, I'm moving forward. There's my answer."

"I see." Mister Ibiki tucks his hands back into his leather coat. Instead of a smirk, a candid smile appears in its place before his expression hardens again – now, I'm confused. "Those of you who do not want to take the tenth question, raise your hands. Your number will be recorded and then you will be free to go. If you want to take a chance with your "future" like number seven here, stay put."

One by one, hands fly up into the air. Apologies are uttered, grumbles echo, and curses are thrown back and forth. It's... sad. How can they give up so easily? But maybe, I should've kept my thoughts to myself. I shouldn't have spoken for the others, without knowing how they feel about the situation—

"Don't underestimate me!" a familiar voice shouts. I smile, my head shaking almost automatically. No, I should know better. I should know my friend. "I don't quit, and I don't run! I'm not a coward! You can act tough all you want, but you guys aren't gonna scare me off! No way! I don't care if I do get stuck as a Genin for the rest of my life." Naruto slams his hands down on the desk, grinning. "I'm still gonna be Hokage someday!"

"This decision is one that could change your life," Mister Ibiki reminds us. "If for any reason, you would rather quit, now is your last chance."

"No way," he says. "We won't go back on our word – that's the Way of the Ninja!" I grin back at him, sharing the sentiment.

"Hmm..." The sentinels around us begin nodding. Mister Ibiki does the same. "Well, then. I admire your determination, if nothing else. For those of you remaining, there is only one thing left to do." I wait for him to continue, his pause making it near unbearable. "And that's for me to tell you... that you've all passed the first exam!"

The room goes so quiet that I actually hear a pencil drop from the back of the room.

"H-Hold on!" Sakura shouts. "What just happened? What do you mean we passed?! Where's the tenth question?!" Mister Ibiki laughs.

"There never was one!" he says, a goofy smile rising onto his face. I nearly faint from the built-up pressure in my lungs, my Shadow Clone decidedly disappearing from existence. Mister Ibiki laughs from beside its now-empty chair. "Not a written one, anyway! Actually, your decision to stay was the answer to the tenth question!"

"Wait a second!" Temari calls. "So, the other nine questions you gave us were just a waste of time? Is that what you're saying?"

"No, no, not at all! Quite the opposite – the first nine questions had an important overriding purpose – to test your ability to see if you could surreptitiously gather strategic intelligence in adverse circumstances."

"Oh, well, then that clears everything up." Mister Ibiki sighs.

"Let me explain," he says. "You see, my objective was to test you not only as individuals, but as a team, and how well you function as a part of that team. That's why the test was scored on a team basis, so you'd know that everything you did or failed to do would directly affect your teammates. I wanted to see how you'd handle the pressure."

"Mhm, yeah, I figured it was something like that; that's why I kept my cool." Again, I spin around in my chair and stare Naruto dead in the eye.

"You big liar," I call him out. "I could hear you blubbering from here!" Naruto starts refusing my claim until Mister Ibiki silences them.

"The first nine questions on the test were difficult," he admits. "In fact, as you may have realized, too difficult for any Genin to be expected to solve. I imagine that most of you quickly came to that conclusion, that you'd have to cheat if you wanted even a chance to pass, like number seven here." I slide down in my seat, exasperated.

"The fact is: the test was designed to encourage cheating; it almost demanded it! Of course, it would have done you little good unless you had someone to cheat from. So, I disguised two Chūnin who already knew the answers and had them sit in with you."

"Oh, c'mon, I wasn't fooled for a second! You had to be a complete doofus not to see it!" My lip twitches.

"Then you must be a doofus, because you didn't," I grumble. "Acting like you knew everything all along? Boy, do I feel like a dummy."

"Those who were caught at it failed," Mister Ibiki says. "Better not to cheat than cheat clumsily." He begins fiddling with the bandana that covers his head. My eyebrows immediately shoot upwards, my lips parting to release a soundless gasp. "Information – it can be the most valuable weapon in battle. How well you gather intelligence determines failure or success. There'll be times where you have to risk your life to get it."

"Then..." I frown into my lap. "... is that what you did, Sir...?"

"Yes," he answers, covering it up again. "Of course, you must always consider the source of your information. Intelligence gathered from an enemy is not necessarily accurate. Always bear this in mind: disinformation can be worse than no information at all. It can lead to the death of comrades, or a loss of a village. That's why I put you in the position where you had to gather accurate answers. Cheat in order to survive! And that's why those who weren't good enough at it were weeded out, leaving the rest of you."

"Okay... but I'm still not getting what the tenth question is about," Temari says.

"You're not?" Mister Ibiki says, sounding surprised. "The tenth question was the main point of the whole exam! Surely you see that?"

"Uh-huh, sure, but explain it, anyway?" Sakura asks.

"As I said before, the goal was to test you not only as individuals, but as a part of a squad. The final question gave you two choices—both difficult." He holds up two fingers. "You could choose to play it safe and skip the question but would mean that both you and your teammates would have failed, or you could try and answer it, but if you got it wrong, then you would lose your chance of ever being Chūnin. It was a "no-win situation", the sort Chūnin have to face every day.

"For example, let me give you a hypothetical mission," he continues. "To steal a document from an enemy stronghold. You have no idea how many Ninja the enemy has, or how heavily armed they are. Furthermore, you have reason to believe that the enemy expects you, and you might be walking straight into a trap.

"Now do you have the option to pass on this insane mission, of saying my comrades and I would like to live another day? Can you choose to avoid danger? No! There will be many missions that will seem almost suicidal if you think about it, but you do not think about it. You think only of the goal and achieve it through courage and discipline.

"These are the qualities required of a Chūnin Squad Leader. Those who choose the safer of two paths, those whose determination falters in the face of adversity, those who would put their comrade's lives in jeopardy by worrying about their own, those who would save their own necks at the price of sacred honour, will never be able to call themselves Chūnin! At least, as long as I'm here.

"As for the rest of you, you have successfully answered the ten questions I put to you. You have earned the right to continue on to the next step; you have passed through the first gate." I smile crookedly, or at least, that's how it feels. "I hereby declare this part of the Chūnin Selection Exam completed. There's nothing left to say but "good luck"."

"All right!" Naruto immediately starts cheering! "We did it! That's one down! Yeah! Woohoo—"

A good majority of us jump, startled when something bursts through the glass of one of the windows next to the first few desks. Two kunai have appeared, stabbing into the ceiling, awhile connected to a dark velvet sheet that's wrapped around a small woman.

"I-Is this part of the test?" Naruto calls nervously.

"Heads up, boys and girls!" the woman announces. "This is no time to be celebrating yet! I'll be your next Proctor, Anko Mitarashi! You ready for the second test?" She throws her fist into the air, grinning. "Then let's go! Follow me—""You're early," Mister Ibiki interrupts. "Again."

Miss Anko flushes red with embarrassment before her expression dulls.

"How many are there?" I hear her ask. "Ibiki, you let all these guys pass?" She glares at him accusingly. "Your test was too easy. You must be getting soft."

"Or it could be a stronger crop of candidates this year," Mister Ibiki reasons.

"Hm..." Miss Anko looks over our heads, wearing the same look she'd given Mister Ibiki. "They sure don't look it. Trust me – before I'm done with them, more than half will be eliminated."

"E-Eliminated?" Farewell, sweet confidence!

"This is gonna be fun," Miss Anko says excitedly. "All right! You maggots have had it easy so far, but... things are going be different first thing in the morning. I'll let your squad leaders know where you have to meet me. Dismissed."

Updated October 31st, 2021 | 4,637 words