Chūnin Exams... Start!

(AN: What do you think of the new cover? Let me know in the comments below, it took me hours to do it. Anyways, enjoy!)

----

Morino Ibiki... A true sadist, as stated by Kakashi himself.

Looking at him, I came back to my senses. I'm in a world where death is a looming threat, meaning that if one doesn't have a strong will, they will end up dead.

'Haaah... I gave in to my nerd side there. I'll have to make sure this doesn't happen again.'

Feeling my demeanor change back to how it was before, someone decided to poke fun at me.

"Gihi! Seems like you're back! I never knew you had such a pus*y in you!"

'Shut up. You never have anything to say, but when there's something to make fun of me you're all for it.'

To be honest, the last thing I needed was for Shukaku to laugh at me. Well, let's consider it an improvement since he never really initiated conversations like this before.

"When you protected that random kid from being hurt, I had expected you to try and get some sort of favor from them, but you just left! Are you some kind of hero-sissy?! Gihihi!"

'Now for real... Keep quiet. I need to listen to what the examiner has to say.'

Interrupting my thought, Ibiki's voice filled the room. It had an intimidating air to it.

"Thank you all for waiting... I am Morino Ibiki, The examiner for the Chunin exam's first test."

He then turned his head and saw Kabuto's vomit. Raising his hand, he pointed at the sound trio with a serious expression.

"You guys... From the hidden sound... Stop doing as you please before the exam. Do you want to fail that badly?"

"I apologize. This is our first time, we got a little carried away."

Hearing Dosu's response, Ibiki clicked his tongue. I watched attentively as he continued his speech.

"This is a good opportunity to say this... There will be no fighting without the permission of an examiner. Even if permission is granted, killing your opponent will not be tolerated."

"Those pigs that disobey me will be failed immediately... Do I make myself clear?"

After a short silence, Ibiki announced the rest of the rules for the first examination.

"We will now start the first test of the Chunin exams. Instead of your current seating arrangements, you will pick out one of these numbers and sit in the seat assigned to you."

Smirking, he pulled out a box, retrieving a small plate with the number seven written on it.

"We will then hand out the exams."

...

"What?! A paper-test!?"

Naruto's scream initiated a wave of panic. Most of the people here seemed to dread exams like this.

Not me though... I know exactly what's going to happen. Heh.

Smiling, I waited for my turn and picked a number plate, sitting down at my appointed spot in quick succession. Once everyone was seated and all the papers were handed out, Ibiki spoke up.

"Do not turn your tests over and listen closely to what I'm about to say..."

Taking a piece of chalk, he started writing on the giant board.

"There are many important rules for the first test. Questions will not be allowed, but I'll write them down on the board."

He then went on to explain everything about the test, of course, leaving out some key factors. Basically, we all start off with ten points, but we'll lose one for each question we fail to answer correctly.

If someone is caught cheating, they will lose two points, meaning that if you cheat five times you're out. Also, this is a team-test. If one fails, the others do too.

Listening to him, I couldn't help but admire this man's ability. The test was designed in a way that would put the examinees under a great amount of mental stress, almost mimicking a battlefield.

With that said, the exam started. The tension in the room was so thick one could even pierce it if they wanted to. Everyone was stressed out.

Smirking, I closed my eyes and started meditating. I already knew that this whole thing was just for show and that the real test was the tenth question.

---------

After forty-five minutes, about half of the contestants had already failed the test.

Feeling like it was about time, I opened my eyes, only to see Kankuro enter through the door, an examiner accompanying him. Seeing Kankuro, Ibiki smirked.

"Heh, nice timing. Was your doll-playing beneficial? Sit down."

Still in shock, Kankuro went back to his seat and remained quiet.

"For the tenth question... You'll have to decide whether you want to take it or not."

Hearing his words, Temari almost jumped out of her seat.

"Choose? What if we decide not to take it?!"

"If you choose to not take it, your point s will automatically be reduced to zero... Meaning that you will fail."

After this, the room was sent into an uproar. No one understood what was going on.

"I forgot to say... If you chose to take it and fail, you will lose your right to participate in any future Chunin examinations!"

"Now... If you wish to leave, raise your hand."

Saying this, Ibiki stared at everyone with a sadistic smile on his face. I couldn't help but chuckle internally, they were all being fooled.

After a while, three people raised their hands, taking their teammates along with them. Looking back, I could see Sakura begin to raise her own.

Then, Naruto raised his and slammed it onto the table, a fierce expression on his face.

"Don't underestimate me! I will not run! I'll take this question! Even if I am a Genin for-ever, I'll become Hokage anyway, so I don't care! I am not afraid!"

Ibiki's face soured. He looked at Naruto with piercing eyes.

"I'll ask you again. Your life is riding on this decision... This is your last chance to quit."

"I'll follow my unbending words... THAT'S MY NINJA WAY!"

Hearing Naruto's words, I couldn't help but get goosebumps. Quickly calming myself down, I realized that his words carried a certain uplifting energy to them.

It was like he had some kind of special power... Then again, he is the chosen one. I can't let myself be swayed by talk-no-jutsu. In fact, I won't.

"Good decision. To everyone stills standing, you have all passed the first phase of the Chunin exams! Congratulations!"

I watched as Ibiki explained everything about the tenth question to the rest. Suddenly, he turned to face me.

"Then again, one of you seemed to have already guessed the meaning behind this test."

(Ibiki: 'He remained calm throughout the entire process, and seemed like he already knew the outcome of this test. This batch truly has some gems in it.')

Everyone looked around confusedly, trying to understand the meaning behind those words. I just shrugged and remained silent.

Suddenly, the window beside Ibiki shattered into countless pieces.

'Here she comes...'

Anko rolled in and immediately started screaming.

"This is not the time to celebrate! I am the examiner for the second phase, Mitarashi Anko! Now let's go! Follow me!"

After ranting about the number of survivors and claiming sh would at least fail half of us, Anko led us to the forest of death.

This was the moment I was waiting for. Time to test out my abilities...

---

(An: Hope you guys find that excuse for Gaara's personality change plausible. he was just a big nerd at heart when it all comes down to it. Imagine being a massive Naruto fan, and finally having the chance to visit the leaf after thirteen years of painstaking lack of sleep. Wouldn't you do the same?

Let's cut Gaara some slack, shall we?)