One Month Later
Naruto sat underneath one of the large trees in the private training grounds of the Senju Compound with his back resting against the trunk and his arms folded across his chest as he watched the controlled chaos taking place in front of him. Nearly twelve hundred shadow clones were spread throughout the massive training grounds, with each group working on a different aspect of Naruto's Wood Release. The amount of noise coming from the training ground would have probably driven most people insane, but Naruto had gotten used to training with large numbers of clones years ago and barely paid any attention to it anymore.
A few hundred clones were gathered on the left side of the training ground practicing control over individual roots, causing dozens of wooden roots to repeatedly rise from the ground before twisting around targets or moving through obstacles Naruto had created earlier. The goal was not simply to create the roots, something Naruto had been capable of doing for years, but to control each one separately without allowing their movements to interfere with the others. Some clones were controlling five roots at once while others were trying to push that number higher, resulting in several roots crashing into each other whenever one of the clones lost concentration. Another group was working on larger Wood Release constructs while attempting to limit the amount of chakra they used, something Naruto still found somewhat annoying after spending the previous two months listening to Yamato lecture him about efficiency.
Naruto understood his sensei's point even if he still preferred overwhelming his opponents whenever he had the opportunity. Before Yamato began training him, Naruto's solution to most problems involving Wood Release had been to simply use more chakra and create more wood until whatever was in front of him stopped being a problem. It worked, especially with the amount of chakra Naruto possessed, but Yamato had quickly pointed out that there would eventually be situations where creating an entire forest was either unnecessary or could put allies and civilians in danger. Over the previous month, Yamato had forced Naruto through several exercises designed specifically to break him of that habit, ranging from capturing his sensei without damaging anything around them to protecting multiple targets while fighting and controlling the battlefield with a limited amount of chakra. Naruto had complained throughout most of it, which Yamato seemed to enjoy far more than he should have, but Naruto could not deny that the training had helped.
Another few hundred clones were practicing defensive techniques farther across the training ground, causing wooden walls and domes to repeatedly rise from the earth before another group attacked them with kunai, explosive tags, and various elemental techniques. Naruto had instructed the clones creating the defenses to use as little wood as possible while still stopping the attack, forcing them to adjust the thickness and placement of their defenses instead of simply creating the largest wall they could manage. Several of the first attempts had ended with the walls being blown apart, which resulted in quite a few arguments between the clones over whose fault it was, but they had steadily improved over the past few days.
Near the far end of the training ground, another large group of clones had several of Hashirama's scrolls spread out across tables and were working through the Wood Release techniques written inside. Naruto had already learned several of the techniques since gaining access to the scrolls, though there were still quite a few that he had not mastered and several others that he had barely begun working on. Some of the techniques required a level of control that Naruto still lacked, while others were simply too chakra-intensive to be practical at the moment, but with hundreds of clones studying and practicing at the same time, Naruto was slowly working his way through them. He had no intention of rushing through the scrolls simply to say he knew every technique his great-great-grandfather had created, especially when he knew that using one of them incorrectly could cause considerably more damage than a normal jutsu.
The remaining clones were divided between battlefield control exercises and Naruto's own experiments with Wood Release. Some were practicing creating roots underneath targets without disturbing the surrounding ground, while others were attempting to redirect existing trees and roots rather than creating new ones. A smaller group was experimenting with different shapes and uses for the wood, though Naruto had given them strict instructions not to do anything too destructive without moving farther away from the compound first. The last thing he needed was to explain to Hiruzen why part of the Senju Compound had been destroyed because one of his clones had gotten a little too creative.
It had been almost two weeks since Yamato had stopped their daily Wood Release training sessions. His sensei had shown up at the compound one morning, put Naruto through several hours of exercises and sparring, and then told him there was not much more he could teach him about the bloodline itself. Yamato's Wood Release came from the First Hokage's cells that had been implanted into him as a child while Naruto possessed the bloodline naturally through the Senju Clan, resulting in Naruto's Wood Release being considerably stronger and easier for him to use. Yamato had considerably more practical experience using Wood Release during actual missions, which was why the previous month of training had been so useful, but when it came to the techniques contained inside Hashirama's scrolls and pushing the bloodline itself further, Naruto had reached the point where he needed to continue on his own.
"Most of what I can teach you now would be repetition," Yamato had told him after their final spar. "You already understand what I've been trying to teach you about control and efficiency. The rest is going to come from experience and those scrolls of yours."
"So you're finally admitting I've surpassed you?" Naruto had asked with a smirk as he wiped some sweat from his forehead, causing Yamato to give him an unimpressed look.
"I said I don't have anything else to teach you about your bloodline."
"Sounds like the same thing to me."
"It isn't."
"Whatever helps you sleep at night, sensei."
Yamato had responded by trapping Naruto inside a wooden cage before leaving the training ground, causing Naruto to spend the next several minutes yelling insults at his retreating sensei while trying not to laugh. Since then, Naruto had continued his training at the compound while occasionally meeting Yamato whenever he needed someone to test a technique against or wanted another spar. His sensei had also informed him three days ago that Naruto would not be taking any more missions until after the Chunin Exams, giving him the entire final week to prepare.
"The villagers are going to complain again," Naruto had pointed out when Yamato told him.
"They'll survive."
"You sure about that? They complained to the Hokage last time."
"Then Lord Third can deal with them."
Naruto had stared at his sensei for several seconds before a grin slowly spread across his face.
"You're making the old man deal with the complaints?"
"That's one of the benefits of being Hokage."
"I knew there was a reason I liked you."
Naruto chuckled slightly as he remembered the conversation before turning his attention back towards his clones. With the Chunin Exams only one week away, Naruto appreciated having the time to focus completely on his training, especially since the rest of his responsibilities had been taking up more of his time over the previous month.
The situation in the Red-Light District had continued developing nicely since Naruto first approached Yoru nearly two months earlier. The Red Lotus looked considerably different from the struggling establishment Naruto had first walked into, with Yoru using part of the money he gave her to repair the building, replace old furniture and pay off a large portion of the debt she had accumulated trying to keep the place open. Customers had slowly begun returning as the renovations continued, and according to the information Naruto received from Yoru, the Red Lotus was now making enough money to cover most of its own expenses without Naruto having to constantly provide additional funding.
Yoru had also taken Naruto's words about learning how to rule the Red-Light District considerably more seriously than he originally expected. Instead of immediately trying to challenge the larger establishments around her, she had focused on improving the Red Lotus while allowing Naruto's pressure against her competitors to slowly take effect. One of the smaller establishments had already closed after its owner failed to keep up with several outstanding debts, while another was currently dealing with an investigation into several years of questionable tax records. Two of the larger establishments were also having trouble with their suppliers after Senju Shipping began offering better transportation rates and contracts to several merchants that regularly moved alcohol, food, and other supplies into Konoha.
Naruto had never directly ordered any of the merchants to stop doing business with Yoru's competitors, since doing so would make his involvement far too obvious, but offering better transportation agreements had been enough to cause several of them to renegotiate their existing contracts. That had resulted in slower deliveries and higher costs for two of the Red Lotus's larger competitors, which Naruto found considerably more useful than simply destroying the businesses himself. If he attacked them directly, everyone would immediately start asking questions, but if their businesses slowly failed because of debt, taxes, supply problems, and their own poor decisions, there would be considerably less attention on Yoru when she began taking their customers.
The information side of Naruto's plan had also started producing results. Naruto had made it clear from the beginning that he had no interest in Yoru or any of the women working for her interrogating customers, drugging them or stealing documents from them. All he wanted them to do was listen. Wealthy merchants, businessmen, and lower-ranking officials had a habit of talking after drinking enough alcohol, especially when they believed the person sitting beside them had no reason to care about whatever they were saying. Most of what Yoru's workers heard was useless gossip, but every so often something useful made its way back to Naruto through the disguised wood clones he sent to collect information. So far there had been nothing Naruto considered important enough to immediately act on, but that was not really the point. He wanted a source of information that could continue operating for years without anyone realizing the Senju Clan was connected to it, and the Red Lotus was slowly becoming exactly that.
Naruto still maintained the same rule he had given Yoru when they first began working together. She did not contact him; he contacted her. Every few days, Naruto sent a disguised wood clone into the Red-Light District to check on the business, collect whatever information Yoru had gathered, and give her any instructions he had. As far as the public knew, Yoru had simply found a wealthy private investor willing to help save her failing business, and Naruto preferred keeping it that way while he continued building the network behind the scenes.
His responsibilities on the village council had become considerably more annoying as the Chunin Exams approached. Meetings that had previously taken place occasionally were now happening several times a week as the village made its final preparations for the influx of shinobi and civilians. The shinobi side of the council was mostly focused on security, patrols, the barrier surrounding the village, and keeping track of the foreign shinobi entering Konoha, while the civilian side seemed far more interested in hotels, restaurants, temporary merchant stalls, and how much money the village was going to make during the exams. Naruto understood both sides since the exams represented both a security problem and a massive economic opportunity, though listening to civilian council members argue over where merchants could set up their stalls for nearly an hour had nearly made him create a clone and leave during one of the meetings.
Senju Shipping had benefited considerably from the increased activity. More merchants were traveling to Konoha with supplies for the exams, resulting in several new transportation contracts for Naruto's company while existing customers had increased the amount of cargo they needed moved. Naruto had not originally created Senju Shipping with the Chunin Exams in mind, but he certainly wasn't going to complain about the extra money. The company had also given him considerably more influence than he expected when he first started it, especially after seeing how easily a few better shipping agreements had affected businesses in the Red-Light District. Naruto had grown up being taught that power came from training, information, and connections, but living in Konoha had quickly taught him that money could be just as useful when used correctly.
The stadium was also essentially finished after months of work from Tazuna, the workers he brought from the Land of Waves, and the civilians hired from around Konoha. The expanded seating Naruto suggested during the council meeting had been completed, the new entrances were finished, and the arena floor was ready for the final portion of the exams. Most of what remained involved cleaning, final inspections, and the placement of additional security and barrier seals before spectators were allowed inside. Tazuna had also helped with several smaller projects around the village while he was there, including repairs to roads that would see increased traffic and temporary structures that merchants and visitors could use during the exams.
The village itself had become almost unrecognizable compared to how it looked when Naruto first arrived several months earlier. Foreign shinobi were entering Konoha almost every day now, and Naruto had seen forehead protectors from villages he had only read about while walking through the streets. Genin traveled in teams with their jonin sensei while civilians from across the Land of Fire filled the hotels and restaurants. Temporary merchant stalls had appeared throughout the commercial district, restaurants had extended their hours, and Naruto had overheard more conversations about the Chunin Exams during the past week than he cared to count.
Unfortunately, the increased number of foreign shinobi also meant Naruto was attracting considerably more attention. His identity as the Senju heir was already public knowledge, and news of his Wood Release had spread well beyond Konoha over the previous several months. Add in the fact that Naruto would be competing in the Chunin Exams, and there were now plenty of foreign shinobi who wanted to get a look at him before the exams started. Naruto didn't particularly care about people watching him while he walked through the village, but he had considerably less patience for the people who tried to spy on the Senju Compound.
There had been three attempts that Naruto knew about over the previous two weeks. The first came from a shinobi who apparently thought jumping over the outer wall would be easier than going through the gate. The man had barely cleared the wall before activating one of the perimeter seals Naruto placed around the compound, resulting in his entire body becoming paralyzed before he hit the ground. Naruto had found him lying face-first in the grass several minutes later and simply called ANBU to come collect him.
The second attempt had been more careful. Someone had tried observing the compound from a distance using what Naruto assumed was some type of visual technique, though the privacy and distortion barriers surrounding the property prevented them from seeing anything useful. Naruto only discovered the attempt because one of the detection seals picked up the chakra being directed towards the compound, and by the time ANBU reached the location Naruto pointed them towards, whoever had been watching was already gone.
The third person had actually made it to the front gate while using a concealment technique. Naruto had to give the man some credit for getting that close, though the compliment disappeared when the gate's security seals stripped away the concealment and several wooden restraints shot out from underneath the ground before binding the intruder against the stone path. That one had also been handed over to ANBU, and after Naruto mentioned all three incidents during a council meeting, Hiruzen increased patrols around several of Konoha's clan compounds and issued another warning to the jonin leading visiting teams about attempting to enter restricted property.
Naruto was not foolish enough to believe the warning had stopped everyone from watching him. If anything, it probably just encouraged the more experienced shinobi to be more careful. The Senju Compound contained information, scrolls and techniques that several villages would love to get their hands on, and Naruto himself was now a person of interest because of his bloodline. That was exactly why he had spent so much time restoring and improving the security seals after moving into the compound, and so far they had done exactly what he designed them to do.
A loud curse from the training ground pulled Naruto's attention away from his thoughts, causing him to look towards the group of clones practicing individual root control. Several wooden roots were tangled together near the center of the training area while one clone stood beside them with an irritated look on his face.
"That was your fault!" the clone yelled as he pointed towards another Naruto.
"How the hell was that my fault? You crossed into my section!"
"You moved your root in front of mine!"
"Because you weren't controlling yours properly!"
Naruto sighed as he pushed himself away from the tree and climbed to his feet.
"Would you two shut up?" Naruto called out as he began walking towards them, causing both clones to turn towards him. "You're literally arguing with yourselves."
"He's still wrong," one of the clones muttered while pointing towards the other.
"You're both me, idiot."
"Exactly, so he should know better."
Naruto stared at the clone for several seconds before rubbing his forehead.
"I really hate myself sometimes."
"Boss!" another clone called out from nearby, getting Naruto's attention before he could continue arguing with himself. Naruto turned and saw a group of twelve clones standing near a section of the training ground filled with wooden posts. "We finally got it."
"Got what?" Naruto asked as he walked over.
"The separate root control," the clone explained. "We can control twelve individual roots at the same time without having them mirror each other's movements."
Naruto immediately became more interested as he stopped beside the group.
"Show me."
The clones nodded before one of them formed the Snake seal. Twelve separate roots slowly emerged from the ground around the wooden posts, each moving in a different direction. One wrapped around the base of a post while another moved between two others, with the remaining roots spreading throughout the training area without following the movements of the others. Naruto watched closely as the clone continued manipulating them, noticing that while the movements were still somewhat slow, each root was being controlled separately instead of behaving like parts of a single larger technique.
"Not bad," Naruto said with a satisfied smile as the roots slowly returned to the ground. "How consistent is it?"
"We've done it successfully eight times," the clone replied. "Tried fifteen roots twice, but control starts slipping after twelve."
"Alright. You twelve dispel, and I'll take the memories. The rest of you keep working on twelve until you can do it without thinking about it, then start adding one root at a time."
"Got it," several clones replied before the twelve standing in front of Naruto disappeared in clouds of smoke.
Naruto closed his eyes as the memories rushed into his mind, causing him to remain still for several seconds while he sorted through everything the clones had learned. He could immediately feel where they had been wasting chakra during the earlier attempts and how they eventually learned to separate the flow of chakra going into each root. Naruto opened his eyes again before creating another group of shadow clones and quickly explaining what he wanted them to work on based on the memories he had just received. The new clones nodded before joining the others, leaving Naruto standing in the middle of the training ground as he looked around at the hundreds of versions of himself still training.
Sitting underneath the tree and watching his clones work had been useful, but Naruto had spent enough time observing for the day. He rolled his shoulders before walking towards an empty section of the training ground and stopping in the center of it.
"Alright," Naruto said to himself as he brought his hands together into the Snake seal. "Let's see if I can do it."
Naruto pushed his chakra into the ground, causing twelve separate wooden roots to slowly emerge around him before spreading out in different directions. He focused on each root individually as he began moving them around the training ground, making one twist around a wooden post while another moved underneath a training dummy and a third wrapped around the trunk of a nearby tree without damaging it. The remaining roots continued moving independently as Naruto adjusted the amount of chakra going into each one, using the memories he had just received from his clones to correct several mistakes before they could become a problem.
A grin slowly appeared on Naruto's face as he continued practicing alongside his clones. He had one week left before the Chunin Exams began, and with Yamato giving him the entire week away from missions, Naruto intended to use every day he had left to make sure he was as prepared as possible.
*Four Days Later*
Naruto walked through the streets of Konoha with a satisfied smile on his face and his hands resting comfortably inside his pockets after spending the better part of the last hour stuffing himself at Ichiraku Ramen. After spending almost the entire day training inside the Senju Compound, Naruto had eventually decided that he deserved a break and made his way towards his favorite ramen stand for dinner. Eight bowls of ramen later, Naruto was now making his way back home, though instead of taking the quickest route towards the Senju Compound, he decided to take the longer way through the commercial district. There wasn't much waiting for him when he got home besides another night of training, and with the Chunin Exams only three days away, Naruto figured he might as well enjoy the village while he still had the chance.
The commercial district was considerably more crowded than normal as Naruto made his way down one of the main streets. The number of people arriving in Konoha had continued increasing every day, and it was now almost impossible for Naruto to walk more than a few minutes without spotting someone from outside the village. Merchants from throughout the Land of Fire had set up temporary stalls along several streets while restaurants and stores remained open much later than they normally would. Naruto could hear conversations about the Chunin Exams everywhere he went, with civilians discussing which villages had arrived, merchants bragging about how much money they had already made, and visitors trying to figure out where everything was located. Naruto had even passed several groups arguing over which village would produce the most Chunin by the end of the exams, causing him to chuckle when one man loudly declared that the Leaf would obviously dominate since they were hosting the exams.
Foreign shinobi were just as common as the civilians. Naruto spotted several teams from smaller villages walking through the commercial district with their jonin sensei, while others appeared to be exploring Konoha on their own. Most of the genin looked around the village with obvious curiosity, while their sensei were considerably more observant, their eyes constantly moving over buildings, streets, and any Leaf shinobi who happened to pass them. Naruto wasn't surprised by that since there was no reason for the other villages to waste the opportunity to gather whatever information they could while inside Konoha. The Leaf was doing exactly the same thing to them, even if most of the foreign genin probably didn't realize it.
Naruto continued walking without paying much attention to the occasional stare directed towards him. His identity wasn't exactly difficult to figure out anymore, especially with his blonde hair and the Senju clan symbol proudly displayed on the back of his shirt. Several of the foreign shinobi had clearly recognized him, though none attempted to approach him. Naruto was perfectly fine with that since he had already dealt with enough people trying to gather information about him over the past few weeks and had no desire to spend his evening entertaining another curious foreign shinobi.
"Hey, kid," a deep voice suddenly said inside Naruto's head, causing him to stop in the middle of the street as his eyes widened slightly in surprise. Naruto immediately recognized the voice despite not hearing it since before arriving in Konoha several months earlier. He remained still for a moment while several civilians walked around him before a small grin appeared on his face.
"Well, look who finally decided to talk," Naruto mentally replied in a casual tone as he resumed walking at a slower pace. "What got you so chatty all of a sudden? You've been completely silent since we arrived in the Leaf."
"Watch your tone, brat," the Nine-Tailed Fox growled from somewhere deep inside Naruto's mind. "You would do well to show some respect when speaking to me." Naruto couldn't stop a quiet chuckle from escaping his mouth as he turned onto another street.
"Yeah, I'll keep that in mind," Naruto replied, causing the massive fox to huff in annoyance. "So what do you want? I know you didn't suddenly decide you missed talking to me."
"You are being watched," the fox said, his voice taking on a slightly more serious tone, though Naruto could hear a hint of amusement underneath it. "By one of my siblings."
Naruto's smile immediately disappeared as he stopped walking again, his relaxed expression becoming considerably more serious while his eyes narrowed. He didn't turn his head or make any sudden movements as he slowly expanded his senses across the surrounding area, searching through the numerous chakra signatures filling the crowded commercial district. There were dozens of civilians nearby along with several Leaf shinobi and more than a few foreign ninja, making it slightly more difficult than normal to isolate any particular chakra signature. Naruto remained still for several seconds before suddenly feeling something that immediately stood out from everything else around him.
The chakra itself was strange, but what caught Naruto's attention more than anything was the enormous amount of bloodlust and killing intent coming from the person watching him. Naruto slowly turned his eyes towards a large tree located a short distance away near the edge of the street and immediately found the source. An auburn-haired boy who appeared to be around Naruto's age stood on one of the larger branches with his arms crossed over his chest. A massive tan-colored gourd was strapped to his back while the Sand Village symbol was clearly visible on the forehead protector tied to the leather strap of the gourd around his back. The boy stared directly at Naruto without making any attempt to hide himself, his pale green eyes locked onto the blonde while an almost disturbing amount of killing intent rolled off of him.
"Which one?" Naruto mentally asked as he kept his eyes locked onto the Sand shinobi.
"Shukaku," the Nine-Tails replied simply.
Naruto's eyes narrowed slightly as he processed the answer. He knew enough from the Nine-Tails to understand exactly what that meant. The boy standing in the tree was a jinchuriki just like him and apparently carried the One-Tailed Shukaku inside of him. Naruto had never met another jinchuriki before, though he had always known others existed. The villages weren't exactly open about who carried their tailed beasts, and Tsunade had made sure Naruto understood from a young age that identifying another village's jinchuriki could be extremely difficult unless they were already publicly known.
Before Naruto could think much further about it, the auburn-haired boy suddenly disappeared from the branch in a swirl of sand. Several civilians nearby gasped in surprise as sand began gathering together a few feet in front of Naruto before the boy reappeared in the middle of it. Naruto didn't move or show any concern as the sand dropped back towards the ground, leaving the two boys standing several feet apart from one another. The Sand shinobi continued staring at him with the same disturbing expression while Naruto simply stared back expressionlessly.
"I can smell it," the boy said in a low voice as his eyes remained fixed on Naruto. "You're strong," Naruto said nothing as the boy tilted his head slightly, his eyes widening while a small smile slowly appeared on his face.
"Mother wants your blood," the boy continued, causing several nearby civilians who overheard him to quickly move away from the two genin. "She won't stop screaming. She wants me to kill you and prove my existence with your blood." Naruto continued staring at the boy without reacting to the threat. The amount of killing intent coming from him was impressive for someone their age, but Naruto had been around Tsunade, Jiraiya, and several other powerful shinobi for most of his life. More importantly, he had spent years with the Nine-Tailed Fox sealed inside of him. A murderous genin staring at him while talking about feeding his blood to his mother wasn't exactly enough to make Naruto panic.
"Can he sense you?" Naruto mentally asked while keeping his attention on the Sand shinobi. "Or Shukaku? Can he sense that you're inside me?"
"No," the Nine-Tails replied immediately. "Neither the boy nor that fool Shukaku should be able to sense me through you unless I deliberately allow my chakra to leak out." Naruto relaxed slightly at the answer, though nothing about his outward expression changed.
"Your chakra has always been unusually effective at suppressing my presence," the fox continued with an annoyed huff. "That Senju blood of yours does more than simply allow you to grow trees. Your chakra naturally suppresses mine to the point that another tailed beast would have difficulty detecting me unless it knew exactly what it was searching for."
"So he doesn't know I'm a jinchuriki," Naruto concluded.
"No."
"Then why is he staring at me like he wants to turn me into a wall decoration?"
"Because the boy is insane," the Nine-Tails replied without hesitation, causing Naruto to almost laugh despite the situation. "And because he can tell you are strong. Shukaku's chakra has thoroughly mixed with his own. Even if he cannot sense me, his instincts are probably telling him there is something unusual about you."
Naruto continued watching the Sand shinobi as he processed the information. The fact that his own chakra almost completely suppressed the Nine-Tails' presence was useful, especially with so many foreign shinobi currently inside the village. Naruto had always known his chakra had an unusual effect on the fox due to his bloodline, but knowing that it could hide the Nine-Tails from another jinchuriki and tailed beast was something he intended to remember.
"You're not afraid," the Sand shinobi said, his small smile disappearing as he stared at Naruto. Naruto was about to respond when two more chakra signatures suddenly approached at high speed. A teenage boy and girl wearing Sand forehead protectors landed a short distance away before quickly rushing towards the auburn-haired boy. Naruto recognized them as two of the Sand shinobi he had seen around the village over the past few days, though he had never bothered learning their names. The girl had blonde hair tied into four ponytails with a large fan strapped across her back, while the boy wore a black outfit and had something large wrapped in bandages strapped behind him. Judging by the expressions on their faces, neither of them was particularly happy about whatever their teammate was currently doing.
"Gaara!" the blonde girl shouted as she stopped beside him, her eyes quickly moving towards Naruto before returning to her teammate. "What are you doing? We need to go."
"Yeah, Gaara, this isn't the time for this," the boy added nervously as he stopped on the other side of him. "The exams haven't even started yet." Naruto's eyes briefly moved between the three Sand shinobi before returning to the auburn-haired boy, finally putting a name to him. Gaara completely ignored his teammates as he continued staring at Naruto, causing both of them to become visibly more nervous. Naruto found their reaction considerably more interesting than Gaara's threats. Neither teenager acted like they were trying to calm down an angry teammate. They looked like they were trying to keep a wild animal from suddenly deciding to attack someone.
"Gaara, let's go," the girl repeated in a firmer tone, though Naruto could hear the nervousness underneath it. "Baki told us not to cause any trouble before the exams."
"She's right," Naruto said with a small smirk as Gaara's eyes narrowed at him. "You should probably listen to your teammates before something bad happens to you." The boy dressed in black stared at Naruto as he had just said the stupidest thing imaginable, while the blonde girl's eyes widened slightly.
"Are you trying to get yourself killed?" the boy asked before apparently realizing what he said and immediately glancing nervously towards Gaara. Naruto's smirk widened slightly as he looked towards him.
"No," Naruto replied casually. "I'm trying to stop your friend from getting himself hurt." The amount of killing intent coming from Gaara immediately increased as sand began slowly spilling from the large gourd strapped to his back. Several civilians who had remained nearby quickly began moving away while Naruto continued standing exactly where he was. His eyes briefly moved towards the sand gathering around Gaara's feet before returning to the boy's face. Naruto could feel the Nine-Tails paying close attention from inside his seal, though the fox remained silent.
"I'll kill you," Gaara said as more sand began spilling from his gourd. "Mother wants your blood." Naruto stared at him for several seconds before giving a small shrug.
"You already said that," Naruto replied, causing Gaara's eye to twitch slightly. "If you're going to threaten me, you could at least come up with something new."
"Gaara!" the blonde girl shouted as she reached towards him before stopping herself, apparently deciding that actually touching him wasn't a good idea. "Stop! We aren't supposed to fight anyone yet!" Naruto noticed the sand around Gaara suddenly shift and prepared himself to react if the boy decided to attack. He had no intention of starting a fight in the middle of the commercial district, especially three days before the Chunin Exams, but he wasn't going to stand there and allow someone to attack him either. If Gaara made the first move, Naruto would put him into the ground and let Hiruzen deal with the diplomatic headache afterward.
"That's enough," a deep voice suddenly ordered as another figure appeared beside the three Sand genin, causing the sand around Gaara to immediately stop moving. Naruto's eyes shifted towards the newcomer and found an older Sand shinobi standing beside the three genin. The man wore the standard flak jacket of a Sand jonin along with cloth covering part of his face, and the look he gave Gaara made it clear he wasn't interested in arguing. Naruto assumed this was Baki, the sensei the blonde girl had mentioned moments earlier.
"We aren't here to cause problems with the Leaf before the exams," Baki said firmly as his eyes moved from Gaara towards Naruto. He studied the blonde for a few seconds before returning his attention to his students. "Temari. Kankuro. Take Gaara and return to where we're staying."
"But-" Kankuro began.
"Now," Baki interrupted, causing Kankuro to immediately close his mouth. Temari gave a quick nod before turning towards Gaara.
"Come on, Gaara," Temari said carefully. Gaara remained still for several seconds as he continued staring at Naruto before the sand around his feet slowly returned to the gourd on his back.
"I'll kill you during the exams," Gaara said quietly while staring directly into Naruto's eyes. "Then Mother will know I exist." Naruto remained completely unfazed as he slipped his hands back into his pockets.
"Sure," Naruto replied casually. "We'll see how that works out for you." Gaara's eyes narrowed before he suddenly disappeared in another swirl of sand. Temari and Kankuro both gave Naruto strange looks before following their teammate, leaving Naruto alone with their jonin sensei. Baki continued studying Naruto for several seconds, his eyes lingering on the Senju symbol on his shirt before looking back towards his face.
"My apologies for my student's behavior," Baki said, though his expression remained guarded.
"No harm done," Naruto replied with a shrug. "He didn't actually attack me." Baki stared at him for another moment before giving a small nod and disappearing in a Body Flicker, causing Naruto to watch the spot where he had been standing before continuing down the street as if nothing had happened. The civilians who had moved away slowly began returning to whatever they were doing while Naruto placed both hands back inside his pockets and resumed his walk towards the Senju Compound.
"Interesting family you've got," Naruto mentally commented after several moments of silence.
"Do not compare me to that miserable tanuki," the Nine-Tails immediately growled, causing Naruto to chuckle.
"You called him your sibling."
"That does not mean I like him."
"Sounds like a family problem." The Nine-Tails growled loudly inside Naruto's mind, causing his grin to widen as he continued walking through the commercial district. "So what's Shukaku like?" Naruto asked after a few seconds, his tone becoming slightly more serious. "If I'm probably going to fight that Gaara kid during the exams, I should know what I'm dealing with."
"Annoying," the fox replied immediately. Naruto waited several seconds for the Nine-Tails to continue before realizing that was apparently the entire answer.
"That's it?"
"Very annoying."
Naruto sighed and shook his head.
"You're incredibly helpful."
"I warned you that one of my siblings was watching you. Be grateful, brat."
Naruto couldn't really argue with that. He continued walking as his thoughts returned to Gaara and the amount of killing intent the boy had been giving off. Naruto wasn't particularly concerned about the threat itself, but learning that another jinchuriki would be participating in the Chunin Exams certainly made things more interesting. More importantly, Gaara clearly wasn't stable. The nervous reactions from Temari and Kankuro had told Naruto almost as much as Gaara's own behavior, and Baki arriving almost immediately suggested the Sand jonin knew exactly how dangerous his student could be.
Naruto glanced back over his shoulder towards the street where the Sand team had disappeared before turning forward again. He would mention the encounter to Hiruzen and Yamato when he got the chance, especially since Gaara had openly threatened to kill him in the middle of the village. Naruto doubted Hiruzen would remove the Sand team from the exams over a threat when no actual attack occurred, but the Hokage should at least know that one of Sand's genin was a jinchuriki with questionable control over himself.
Naruto's satisfied smile slowly returned as the gates of the Senju Compound eventually came into view. He had left Ichiraku expecting nothing more than a quiet walk home after eating far too much ramen and somehow ended the night discovering another jinchuriki, learning more about his own ability to hide the Nine-Tails, and receiving a death threat from someone who apparently wanted to feed his blood to his mother.
"Never a boring day," Naruto muttered as he approached the compound gates and placed his hand against the security seal, causing the barrier to recognize his chakra before allowing him through. Naruto stepped inside and closed the gate behind him before making his way towards the main house, his thoughts already returning to the Chunin Exams that were now only three days away. Apparently, they were going to be even more interesting than he expected.
The Day of the Exams
Naruto woke up bright and early on the morning of the Chunin Exams, though unlike most mornings, he didn't immediately head towards the training grounds or send hundreds of clones throughout the compound. After taking a quick shower, getting dressed, and eating a light breakfast, Naruto made his way down into the basement of the main house where he had spent most of the previous night organizing everything he planned to bring with him. The large room was lined with shelves containing weapons, supplies, sealing materials and several crates Naruto had moved over from the older storage buildings around the compound, though most of what he needed had already been placed on a large wooden table in the center of the room. Naruto stood in front of the table with his arms folded as he looked over everything one final time, making sure he hadn't forgotten anything important before beginning to pack.
The exact details of the Chunin Exams were kept secret from the participants, something Naruto completely understood, considering it prevented genin from preparing specifically for whatever tests they were about to face. That also meant Naruto had absolutely no idea how long he could be away from home once the exams began. Tsunade and Jiraiya had both told him enough stories about Chunin Exams from their own generation to know that some versions could last several days, and Naruto had no intention of being the idiot who showed up expecting to go home for dinner every night. Several bundles of ration bars, dried meat, rice crackers, and other food were spread across one side of the table, along with enough bottled water to last him for more than a week if necessary. Naruto knew he could always create fresh water with Water Release if he absolutely needed to, but carrying a supply was easier and required no chakra. He had also packed several small cooking supplies, medical equipment, soldier pills, spare clothing and enough basic camping gear to remain outdoors for several days without any problems.
Weapons covered the other half of the table. Naruto had packed several dozen kunai and shuriken along with explosive tags, wire, smoke bombs, flash bombs and several specialized seals he had created during his sealing training. Some were basic storage and detection seals, while others were designed for emergency barriers, traps, or temporarily suppressing chakra. Naruto had no idea which of them he would actually need, but storage seals made carrying everything so easy that he saw no reason not to prepare for as many possibilities as he could. His sword rested off to the side since that would remain on his person rather than being sealed away, while several additional weapons were already stored inside their own scrolls as backups.
Naruto picked up one of the empty storage scrolls before unrolling it across the table and forming the required hand seals. Placing his hand against the seal, Naruto began storing supplies in organized groups so he could retrieve exactly what he wanted without having to empty the entire scroll. Food went into one section, water into another, medical equipment into another, and camping supplies into their own marked area. Naruto repeated the process with several more scrolls until nearly everything on the table had disappeared into storage, leaving only his sword and a few kunai that he intended to keep immediately accessible.
Once everything was packed, Naruto rolled the storage scrolls tightly before placing them on the table in front of him. He raised his left arm and looked towards the storage seal located on the inside of his wrist. It was one of the more useful seals he had learned since returning to the Leaf and effectively allowed him to carry several storage scrolls without having them physically take up space in a pouch or backpack. Naruto pressed two fingers against the seal and channeled chakra into it, causing the collection of scrolls to disappear one after another until they had all been stored inside.
"That should be everything," Naruto muttered as he looked over the now mostly empty table. He remained there for another few seconds while mentally going through his supplies one final time before giving a satisfied nod and turning towards the stairs.
Naruto left the basement and made his way through the main house before stepping outside into the cool morning air. The sun had only recently risen over Konoha and the compound was still mostly quiet, allowing Naruto to hear birds moving through the trees and the faint sound of water running from one of the small decorative streams near the main path. He closed the door behind him before beginning to make his way towards the front gate, though he slowed considerably as he stepped onto the path leading through the restored gardens.
The Senju Compound looked completely different compared to when Naruto first walked through its gates several months earlier. Back then, the property had clearly shown the years of neglect that followed the decline of the clan. The buildings remained structurally sound and most of the trees had survived without much help, but the gardens were overgrown, flower beds were empty, and large portions of the property looked more abandoned than lived in. Naruto had spent months repairing the buildings, restoring the security seals and bringing the compound back to life, but the flowers supplied by the Yamanaka Flower Shop had finally completed the transformation.
Flowers now lined both sides of the stone paths running between the main house and the various buildings spread throughout the compound. Large clusters of red, blue, yellow, white, and purple flowers filled the garden beds while smaller flowering plants surrounded several of the trees. Ino and her mother had carefully planned the arrangement so the flowers didn't simply look like they had been thrown wherever space was available. Some sections were arranged by color while others blended several different varieties together, creating large patches of color that stood out against the deep green grass and trees. Flowering bushes had been planted around the main house while several climbing plants were already beginning to work their way along the wooden trellises installed beside some of the walkways.
The area around the private hot spring had received considerably more greenery as well. Several flowering shrubs now surrounded the outer fence while smaller plants were positioned around the stones and trees, giving the entire area a far more natural appearance without taking away from the privacy Naruto wanted. The courtyard near the main house had been filled with smaller decorative flowers, and several benches had been restored and placed beneath the trees. Even the larger open spaces between buildings looked better now that the grass had been properly maintained and flowers had been added around the edges.
Naruto stopped near the center of the main path and slowly looked around the compound with a small smile on his face. Tsunade had told him stories about how beautiful the Senju Compound had once been when she was younger, and while Naruto had no idea whether the current gardens looked anything like they had during her childhood, he liked to think she would approve. The place no longer felt like the abandoned home of a dead clan. It actually looked like someone lived there again.
"Not bad," Naruto thought as his smile widened slightly. "Definitely worth putting up with Ino bossing everyone around for two days."
Naruto could still remember Ino ordering him, Choji, Shikamaru, and half the other genin around while they planted everything. Every time Naruto suggested putting something somewhere else, Ino would immediately explain why his idea was terrible before pointing him towards another hole that needed digging. Naruto had eventually decided it was considerably easier to simply do what she told him and save himself the argument.
He remained there for another few seconds before continuing towards the front gate. The Chunin Exams weren't going to wait for him simply because he wanted to admire the flowers. Naruto placed his hand against the security seal beside the gate, causing the barrier to recognize his chakra before allowing him through. After stepping outside, he closed the gate behind him and waited until the security seals fully reactivated before turning towards the village.
Naruto bent his knees slightly before launching himself onto the roof of a nearby building and immediately began making his way towards the academy. The streets below were already beginning to fill despite the early hour. Civilians and merchants prepared for another busy day while foreign shinobi moved through the village in groups, many of them heading in the same general direction Naruto was. The atmosphere around Konoha had become almost completely centered on the Chunin Exams over the previous week, and today was no different. Naruto passed several genin teams as he moved across the rooftops, though most didn't notice him until he had already gone by.
It didn't take long for the familiar academy building to come into view. Naruto slowed as he approached before jumping from the rooftop and dropping to the ground outside the entrance. Several genin from different villages were already entering the building while their jonin sensei stood outside watching them go. Naruto's eyes moved across the crowd before quickly finding Yamato standing a short distance away with his arms folded across his chest.
"Morning," Naruto said with a smile as he walked towards his sensei. Yamato turned towards him and gave a small nod while looking his student over.
"You're early," Yamato replied as Naruto stopped beside him. "I was expecting you to show up at the last possible second."
"I can be responsible when I want to be," Naruto said, causing Yamato to raise an eyebrow.
"That's what worries me."
"Asshole," Naruto muttered, causing Yamato's mouth to twitch slightly.
"You have everything you need?" Yamato asked, his expression becoming more serious as he looked towards the academy entrance.
"Food, water, weapons, medical supplies, camping equipment, and enough sealing supplies to probably build another compound if I really wanted to," Naruto replied while tapping the storage seal on his wrist. "Everything's stored away."
"Good," Yamato said with an approving nod. "Remember, we don't know what they're going to make you do. Don't assume the first exam is going to be a fight just because this is a Chunin Exam."
"I know," Naruto replied. "Judgment, decision-making, teamwork, leadership, and all that other fun stuff you've been beating into my head for the last three months."
"Exactly," Yamato said, causing Naruto to sigh. "And you're going into this without teammates, which means you won't have anyone else to compensate if you make a bad decision."
Naruto smirked slightly.
"Then I guess I won't make any bad decisions."
Yamato stared at him for a moment before shaking his head.
"Classroom 301," Yamato said while motioning towards the academy. "That's where all the participants were told to report. Once you go inside, you're on your own unless the exam staff says otherwise."
Naruto nodded before turning towards the entrance.
"Try not to miss me too much," Naruto said as he started walking away. Yamato gave him an unimpressed look from behind.
"Just don't get disqualified before the first test starts."
Naruto chuckled as he stepped through the academy doors and entered the familiar hallway. He hadn't spent much time inside the building since returning to Konoha, though he had visited enough to know the basic layout. Several genin were moving through the halls ahead of him while others stood around in small groups talking among themselves. Naruto immediately noticed that the atmosphere inside the academy was considerably different from outside. Most of the participants were watching one another closely, clearly trying to judge potential opponents before the exams even began.
Naruto ignored the looks directed towards him and made his way towards the stairs before heading up one floor. He had barely stepped into the second-floor hallway when the sound of arguing immediately caught his attention. A large group of genin had gathered near one of the classroom doors ahead of him, several of them loudly complaining while two younger-looking genin stood directly in front of the entrance, preventing anyone from entering.
Naruto slowed slightly as he looked towards the sign hanging beside the classroom door.
301.
Naruto stared at the numbers for half a second before his eyebrow rose slightly.
"Seriously?" Naruto mentally questioned as his eyes moved towards the staircase he had just climbed. "I walked up one flight of stairs."
He focused on the sign and immediately noticed the faint shimmering outline surrounding it. The genjutsu wasn't particularly impressive and probably wasn't meant to be. Anyone with decent chakra control or even basic awareness of the academy's layout should have realized something was wrong almost immediately. Naruto's eyes then shifted towards the two apparent genin guarding the door, and his expression became slightly more amused.
It only took a closer look for Naruto to recognize them. Izumo and Kotetsu.
Naruto had seen both Chunin countless times while entering and leaving Konoha since they were normally stationed at the village gates. Their transformations were good enough to fool someone who didn't know them, but Naruto had spent enough time around the two men to recognize their chakra signatures immediately.
"So that's how they're doing it," Naruto thought as a small smirk appeared on his face. "The exam already started."
The entire setup suddenly made considerably more sense. The poor genjutsu, the fake classroom number, and the two Chunin transformed as genin standing in front of the door weren't there because the examiners expected everyone to fall for it. They were there to see who noticed and, more importantly, how the participants reacted when they believed someone was preventing them from reaching the examination room.
Naruto started walking towards the group as several genin continued arguing with the disguised Chunin.
"Come on! We're supposed to be inside already!" one boy pleaded as Kotetsu stood directly in front of him.
"Maybe you aren't good enough to take the exams," Kotetsu replied with a mocking grin. "If you can't even get past us, you might as well go home."
"Move!" another genin shouted from somewhere near the front. "We have every right to be in there!"
Naruto chuckled quietly as he approached. Several of the genin looked genuinely desperate to enter the fake classroom while others stood farther back with noticeably calmer expressions. Those genin had probably already seen through the trick and were simply watching everyone else embarrass themselves.
As Naruto passed the group, Izumo's eyes briefly shifted towards him.
Naruto met the Chunin's gaze and gave him a quick wink before continuing down the hallway with his hands inside his pockets. Izumo's mouth twitched slightly, though he didn't break character.
Naruto could feel several people watching him as he walked past without even attempting to enter the classroom. Some of the genin looked confused while others immediately glanced towards the sign as if Naruto's complete lack of concern had made them realize something was wrong. Naruto ignored all of them and continued towards the staircase located at the opposite end of the hallway.
One particular chakra signature caught his attention before he reached it.
Naruto's eyes shifted slightly without turning his head as he sensed someone watching him considerably more closely than the others. He had already noticed the pale-eyed Hyuga boy standing among a small group of Leaf genin near the wall. Naruto remembered seeing him around the village and knew enough about the current Hyuga generation to identify him as Neji Hyuga, a member of the clan's branch family and supposedly one of the strongest genin from the previous academy class.
Naruto didn't acknowledge him.
If Neji wanted to watch, he was free to watch.
Naruto had nearly reached the staircase when a familiar arrogant voice suddenly carried across the hallway behind him.
"This is pathetic," Sasuke said loudly, causing Naruto to stop.
Naruto slowly turned his head and looked back towards the group. Sasuke stood near the center of the hallway with Sakura and Sai nearby, his hands resting casually inside his pockets while several genin turned towards him.
"You can drop the act," Sasuke said while staring directly at Izumo and Kotetsu. "And remove the genjutsu. We're on the second floor."
The false classroom sign shimmered before the illusion disappeared, revealing the actual room number beneath it as several genin immediately began looking around in surprise. Izumo and Kotetsu exchanged amused looks while some of the participants who had already seen through the genjutsu simply remained where they were.
Naruto stared at Sasuke for several seconds before slowly shaking his head.
"Of course he couldn't just walk past," Naruto mentally thought as he turned back towards the staircase. "Had to make sure everyone knew he figured it out."
Naruto began climbing towards the third floor while the sound of surprised voices continued behind him.
"And now every genin in that hallway knows he can see through basic genjutsu and that he's confident enough to announce it in front of everyone," Naruto continued as he reached the top of the stairs. "Great way to give potential opponents information before the exam even starts."
Naruto wasn't surprised. Sasuke had always struck him as someone who enjoyed being recognized for what he could do, and being the last Uchiha probably hadn't helped. Naruto didn't particularly care whether Sasuke wanted attention, but openly showing off before anyone even knew what the first exam involved seemed stupid. If Naruto realized something other participants hadn't, he preferred keeping that information to himself for as long as possible.
"But hey, at least everyone knows how impressive he is now," Naruto thought sarcastically as he stepped into the third-floor hallway.
This hallway was considerably quieter than the one below, though Naruto could already sense a large number of chakra signatures concentrated near the far end. He walked towards them at a relaxed pace until the door marked 301 came into view. Unlike the fake entrance downstairs, there was no distortion around the sign, and Naruto could clearly feel dozens of people gathered on the other side.
Naruto stopped in front of the door with one hand still inside his pocket as his smirk slowly returned. The Chunin Exams had apparently started before most of the participants even realized it. Naruto reached forward, grabbed the door, and slid it open.
The Door to classroom 301 slid open, and he immediately felt several dozen pairs of eyes turn towards him. There were easily over a hundred genin already gathered inside the classroom, with forehead protectors from several different villages scattered throughout the room. Naruto could feel several of the foreign shinobi studying him as he stepped inside, along with small amounts of killing intent coming from a few of the more aggressive genin. Naruto simply ignored them as his eyes moved around the classroom, quickly spotting the three Sand shinobi he had encountered a few days earlier. Gaara was standing with his arms crossed beside Temari and Kankuro, his pale green eyes staring directly at Naruto the moment he entered the room. Naruto smirked slightly when he noticed the stare before continuing to look around the classroom until he spotted Team 10 and Team 8 gathered together off to the right.
"Hey guys," Naruto greeted as he made his way towards the group, causing several of them to turn towards him. His eyes met Ino's for a moment, lingering slightly longer than they did with everyone else before Naruto stopped beside her. Ino smiled when Naruto chose the open spot next to her but quickly tried to hide just how pleased she was by turning her attention back towards the rest of the room.
"About time you got here," Ino said as she crossed her arms. "We've been waiting forever."
"I didn't know I was supposed to be keeping you company," Naruto replied with a small smirk, causing Ino to roll her eyes while Choji chuckled beside them.
"Troublesome," Shikamaru muttered as he glanced towards Naruto before looking around the crowded classroom again. "There are way too many people here."
"It's the Chunin Exams. What did you expect?" Naruto asked as he leaned back against the wall beside Ino. Kiba was standing a few feet away with Akamaru sitting on top of his head while Hinata stood beside Shino and quietly looked around the room.
"Fewer people," Shikamaru replied lazily, earning a chuckle from Naruto.
"You could always leave," Naruto suggested, causing Shikamaru to give him an unimpressed look.
"And listen to my mom after I get home?" Shikamaru asked with a sigh. "I'd rather take the exam."
"Smart man," Naruto replied with a nod, causing Choji to laugh while Ino shook her head. Naruto could tell the group was nervous despite their attempts to hide it, especially with the number of foreign shinobi surrounding them, but the small conversation seemed to help everyone relax slightly.
The door to the classroom suddenly slid open again, causing Naruto and several others to look over as Team 7 entered the room. Naruto raised an eyebrow when he saw the condition they were in. Sasuke had a small bruise forming underneath his chin and a rather irritated expression on his face, while Sakura looked somewhat disheveled. Sai appeared almost exactly the same as always, though the expression on his face made him look slightly shaken. Naruto knew better. Sai was good at pretending to be a normal genin when he needed to, but Naruto had spent enough time around him to recognize when the ROOT shinobi was putting on an act.
Sakura froze slightly once she noticed how many people were inside the room and immediately became uncomfortable under the attention of several foreign shinobi. Sasuke recovered much faster, straightening himself before looking around the classroom with his usual arrogant expression while acting as though whatever had happened downstairs hadn't bothered him at all. Naruto couldn't help but shake his head slightly when Sasuke raised his chin after noticing several people looking towards him, which immediately caused Sakura to stare at him with hearts practically appearing in her eyes.
"Of course."
"Hey, Sasuke!" Sakura called out excitedly as she hurried after him when Team 7 began moving towards the other Leaf genin. Naruto's eyebrow twitched slightly when he realized they were heading directly towards their group.
"Great," Naruto muttered, causing Ino to glance towards him with an amused look on her face.
"Try to sound a little more excited," Ino said with a smirk.
"I'm trying."
Once Team 7 reached the group, it didn't take long for Sakura and Ino to fall into their usual routine.
"Ino-Pig," Sakura greeted with a competitive smile as she moved closer to Sasuke.
"Forehead," Ino replied automatically, causing Sakura's eyebrow to twitch. Naruto glanced towards Ino and noticed that while she still participated in their usual argument, she didn't seem nearly as interested in getting Sasuke's attention as she had been when Naruto first returned to Konoha.
"Why are you standing so close to Sasuke?" Sakura demanded as she stepped closer to the Uchiha.
"Why do you care where I'm standing?" Ino asked as she crossed her arms before glancing towards Naruto for a moment. "Besides, I was already standing here."
Sakura looked between Ino and Naruto for a moment before narrowing her eyes slightly, though before she could say anything else, another voice interrupted the group.
"You guys might want to keep it down," an older-looking genin said as he approached them. He had silver-gray hair tied back into a short ponytail, round glasses over his eyes, and a Leaf forehead protector wrapped around his head. Naruto immediately turned his attention towards the newcomer as he stopped near the group. "You're drawing a lot of attention to yourselves."
"And?" Kiba asked as he looked towards the older genin. "Who cares if they're looking at us?"
"Yeah," Sasuke added as he glanced around the classroom with a confident expression. "It's not like there's anyone here we can't beat."
Naruto resisted the urge to sigh when the two statements immediately earned several hostile looks from around the room, with a noticeable amount of killing intent suddenly being directed towards the Leaf genin.
"You two really know how to make friends," Naruto said as he looked between Kiba and Sasuke.
"I'm just telling the truth," Kiba replied confidently while Akamaru barked from the top of his head.
"Whether it's true or not, announcing it to an entire room filled with potential opponents probably isn't the smartest idea," Shikamaru said with a sigh, causing Naruto to nod in agreement.
"Exactly," the older genin said as he adjusted his glasses. "You should probably take this exam a little more seriously. There are shinobi here from several different villages, and some of them are extremely dangerous."
"And you know that how?" Sasuke asked suspiciously.
"Because this is my seventh time taking the Chunin Exams," the genin replied, causing several members of the group to stare at him in surprise.
"Seven times!?" Sakura asked in shock. "Doesn't that mean you failed six times already?"
The older genin chuckled awkwardly while rubbing the back of his head.
"Unfortunately," he admitted before reaching into the pouch behind him and pulling out a small stack of cards. "But I've picked up a lot of information over the years. These are information cards I've been collecting on the participants."
"Information cards?" Ino asked curiously as she leaned slightly forward.
"Chakra cards," the genin explained as he held one between his fingers. "I store information on different shinobi inside them. Things like their village, rank, completed missions, and whatever information I've been able to gather about their abilities."
Naruto's eyes narrowed slightly as he looked at the stack in the genin's hand. Collecting information on potential opponents made sense, especially for someone who had supposedly taken the exam several times, but Naruto couldn't help but wonder exactly how much information the older genin had managed to gather and where he had gotten it from.
"Do you have one on me?" Sasuke asked as he stepped forward, causing Sakura to immediately look towards him.
"Probably," the genin replied as he crouched down and spread several of the cards across the floor. "Name?"
"Sasuke Uchiha."
The genin ran his fingers across several cards before pulling one out and placing it on the floor.
"Found it," he said as he placed two fingers on the card and sent a small amount of chakra into it, causing information to appear across the surface. "Sasuke Uchiha. Genin of Konohagakure and the last active shinobi of the Uchiha Clan. According to this, you've completed 12 D-Rank missions, 2 C-Rank missions, and 1 A-Rank mission."
Sakura smiled proudly while Sasuke simply crossed his arms.
"He specializes in Fire Release and is skilled with shurikenjutsu," the older genin continued while looking over the card. "He has also awakened the Sharingan, though I don't have much information about how developed it currently is."
Naruto's eyes narrowed slightly when he heard that. The mission totals weren't difficult information to find for someone who knew where to look, but knowing Sasuke had awakened his Sharingan was considerably more interesting.
"That's Sasuke for you!" Sakura said proudly as she moved closer to him, causing Naruto to roll his eyes.
"Do you have information on anyone from the Sand?" Shikamaru asked while looking towards the three Sand genin across the room.
"Anyone specific?"
"The redhead with the gourd," Shikamaru replied.
The older genin looked towards Gaara before quickly searching through his cards.
"Gaara of the Desert," he said after finding the correct card and activating it. "Genin of Sunagakure and son of the Fourth Kazekage. He has completed 0 D-Rank missions, 9 C-Rank missions, and 1 B-Rank mission." Several members of the group looked surprised by the lack of D-Rank missions, though Naruto was far more interested in the B-Rank. "What's more impressive is that according to the information I have, he completed every mission without receiving a single injury."
"Not even one?" Kiba asked as he glanced towards Gaara.
"Apparently not," the older genin replied while adjusting his glasses. "His abilities appear to revolve around manipulating sand, but I don't have much information beyond that."
Naruto remained quiet while looking towards Gaara, remembering the enormous amount of killing intent he had felt from the Sand shinobi several days earlier.
"Shukaku's brat is dangerous," the Nine-Tails suddenly said from inside Naruto's mind.
"I figured that out when he told me he wanted to kill me," Naruto mentally replied before returning his attention towards the group.
"Naruto Senju."
Naruto's eyes shifted towards the voice and found Neji Hyuga standing several feet behind them with his arms crossed. Tenten and Lee were standing nearby, though Neji's pale eyes were focused entirely on Naruto.
"What about him?" the older genin asked.
"I want to see his card," Neji replied, causing Naruto to raise an eyebrow.
The request immediately caught the attention of several people around them. The Leaf genin obviously knew who Naruto was, but Naruto noticed several foreign shinobi beginning to listen as well once the Senju name was mentioned. Even Gaara seemed to become slightly more interested from across the classroom.
The older genin adjusted his glasses before beginning to search through his cards.
"Naruto Senju," he repeated before eventually pulling out a card. "Here it is."
Naruto pushed himself away from the wall and watched closely as the genin activated the card.
"Naruto Senju. Genin of Konohagakure, current head and heir of the Senju Clan and the only member of Team Yamato," Kabuto began, immediately causing several people around them to look confused. "His current mission record stands at 117 D-Rank missions, 5 C-Rank missions, no B-Rank missions, and 1 A-Rank mission."
"An A-Rank!?" Kiba asked loudly as he stared at Naruto in disbelief, causing even more of the surrounding genin to turn their full attention towards the blonde.
"That's what the record says," Kabuto replied as he continued looking over the card. "He also completed 51 D-Rank missions during his first week as a Leaf shinobi, which is currently the village record for most missions completed in a single week."
"How the hell do you have 117 D-Rank missions already?" Kiba asked as he looked towards Naruto like he had grown a second head.
"Wood clones," Naruto replied simply.
"That's cheating."
"It's efficient."
"That's still cheating."
"Sounds like a you problem," Naruto replied, causing Choji to chuckle while Shikamaru sighed and Ino covered her mouth to hide a laugh.
Kabuto looked back towards the card before continuing.
"He possesses the Wood Release bloodline of the First Hokage and has demonstrated considerable skill with it despite only recently becoming a Leaf genin. He is also trained in medical ninjutsu, sealing techniques, and kenjutsu."
The room became noticeably quieter as several more people turned towards Naruto.
Naruto ignored the attention as his eyes narrowed slightly at Kabuto.
"Mission records I can understand, and my Wood Release isn't exactly a secret, but medical ninjutsu and sealing?" Naruto thought as he studied the older genin more carefully. "This guy has been doing a lot more than just watching people during the exams."
"That's insane," Kiba muttered as he looked back towards Naruto.
Naruto barely acknowledged him as his attention remained on Kabuto and the cards in his hand. The exact mission totals were one thing, since someone with enough access could probably obtain those from village records, but some of the other information was considerably more specific than Naruto would have expected from a random genin taking the exam for the seventh time.
"How much information do you have on everyone?" Naruto asked as he turned his attention back towards the older genin.
"Not everything," he replied as he gathered several of the cards. "There are some participants I barely have anything on. The Hidden Sound genin are a good example. Their village is relatively new, and there isn't much information available about them."
Naruto glanced towards the group of Sound genin standing on the other side of the classroom. One of them seemed to notice the attention and immediately narrowed his eyes towards the older Leaf genin.
"And now he just announced exactly who he doesn't have information on," Naruto thought as he looked back towards the cards. "Either this guy is an idiot or there's something else going on here."
Before Naruto could think about it any further, one of the Sound genin suddenly disappeared from where he had been standing.
Naruto's eyes immediately tracked the movement as the shinobi rushed towards the older genin.
"Watch out!" Sakura shouted.
The Sound genin swung his fist towards the older genin's face, though the attack appeared to miss as the Leaf genin leaned backward. Naruto's eyes narrowed when the man's glasses suddenly cracked despite the fist never making contact. A moment later, the older genin stumbled backward before dropping to one knee and vomiting onto the floor.
"Interesting."
Several Leaf genin immediately moved into defensive positions while the Sound shinobi smirked, though before anyone could make another move, a large puff of smoke suddenly exploded across the front of the classroom.
"That's enough!"
The loud voice immediately silenced most of the room.
As the smoke cleared, Naruto saw a large scarred man standing at the front of the classroom with several Chunin examiners positioned behind him. The man's expression was anything but friendly as his eyes moved across the gathered genin before eventually settling on the Sound shinobi.
"There will be no fighting without permission from an examiner," the man said sternly. "Anyone caught fighting again will be immediately disqualified."
The Sound genin reluctantly stepped back while the older Leaf genin slowly returned to his feet and adjusted his cracked glasses.
The scarred man turned towards the rest of the room.
"My name is Ibiki Morino, and I'll be the proctor for the first stage of the Chunin Exams," Ibiki announced as he stared across the classroom. "Now shut up and find your assigned seats. The first exam is about to begin."
Naruto glanced once more towards the older genin and the cards still held in his hand before turning towards the numbered desks.
"Kabuto Yakushi," Naruto thought after remembering the name the older genin had given during the conversation. "I'll have to keep an eye on him."
With that, Naruto began making his way towards his assigned seat as the other genin scattered throughout the classroom, his attention shifting away from Kabuto for the moment as he prepared himself for whatever the first stage of the Chunin Exams had waiting for him.
* Chapter End*
Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! This one turned out way longer than I anticipated.
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