The Chunin Exams

"The Hidden Leaf? Just head south from the main road. Though if you plan on traveling there it would take quite a long time on foot I advise getting a carriage it can get you there in two days or else you may miss the final rounds of the Chunin exams." An older man running a clothing shop was leaning against the counter, talking down to Rei.

After leaving the cave, Rei had been traveling for approximately two days. And although he knew the general direction of The Hidden Leaf, it never hurt to ask for advice. "The what?" Rei asked in confusion due to this being the first time he had ever heard of the Chunin exams.

Seeing Rei's confusion, the older man seemed shocked.

"What you don't know about the Chunin exams? Have you been living under a rock? It's what the name implies if a ninja wants to be promoted to Chunin he has to pass the exam. Although most of the exam is private the final rounds are viewed by the public. This year it's taking place in the leaf isn't that why you're going?"

Being filled in on the basic concept, Rei could understand the rest. He had a pretty extensive upbringing. Despite never seeing ninja, he grasped their ranks and the basics of everything else. Though this was the first time, he ever heard of how ninja ranked up. "Well, thanks for that I appreciate it."

The older man waved Rei off before speaking. "So are you not going to buy anything? You look like you need some new clothes." Looking at Rei's attire, Rei also looked at his clothes before sighing. "Sadly I don't have any money." It was that one sentence that caused the older man's expression to change as he suddenly yelled at Rei.

"Well if you aren't gonna buy anything then get out!" With that, Rei didn't bother putting up a fuss and shrugged his shoulders and prepared to leave. However, as he went to the shop's exit, he slid out of the older man's view and quickly snagged some of the clothes displayed on the shelves before leaving.

A couple of minutes later, Rei was already outside the town wearing the clothes he had taken. Checking out his sleeves, Rei smiled slightly to himself. 'It's not stealing if it's for a good cause.' Following the directions he had gotten earlier, Rei began making his way to hidden leaf at max speed.

And just like that, the days went by until he finally reached his destination. Looking up ahead, he saw a large open gate along with walls on each side that seemed to span for miles in each direction. Seeing this, Rei finally snapped out of his trance. He felt he had been traveling aimlessly and, at some point, shut off his brain while doing so.

However, now that he was here, he could finally take a moment to breathe. Landing on a tree branch, he looked at the entrance from within the trees. "Well, this place seems calm enough so either Orochimaru hasn't arrived yet or he's plotting something." Putting together everything he's seen and heard about Orochimaru, Rei had come up with one conclusion.

He's sneaky, manipulative, and, most importantly, careful. Even if he had never seen him before, he felt like he would recognize him the moment he saw him. "That old man did mention those exams. I guess that's a better place than nowhere to start." Coming to that decision, Rei jumped from the branch he was standing on.

Landing firmly on the road below leading to the gate, Rei decided to take his time here. All considered, he had around two weeks now to find Orochimaru before he had to get back. 'That should be plenty of time.' As Rei walked towards the gate entrance, he spotted a Chunin level ninja wearing the signature green vest standing guard.

It didn't take long for those two to spot Rei, and they met each other at the gate.

"I'm sorry but due to security being increased I must ask for the purpose of your visit." Seeing they stopped him, Rei made himself come off non-hostile. "I've come a long way here to watch the Chunin exams. Do you mind directing me?"

Stopping and looking at Rei, the two guards could only assume he was around twelve. Alongside that, since he was coming to the exams to watch, that probably meant he was only a Genin. One of the guards whispered to the other. "He should only be a Genin with all the buffed security there shouldn't be an issue."

Soon the two of them nodded to one another. "You arrived just in time. The Chunin exams are just starting in about an hour. You want to catch the first round, you should hurry and those seats fill up fast." Rei thanked them and began to walk off towards the direction they directed him. As he walked, he heard them yell out one last thing. "Don't cause any trouble alright!"

To that, Rei could give no guarantees, primarily because of who he was looking for. 'Anyway if I was Orochimaru the exams would probably be the best time to strike. Everyone would be gathered in one place and distracted.' As he thought to himself, many people began flooding into the streets, making their way to the exams as well.

"Are you all ready?"

"Of course this might be the best lineup this generation."

"Guy Sensei we must hurry or else we won't make it in time!"

Making his way through the crowd, no one specifically caught Rei's attention till he heard a familiar voice. "Man this whole thing is going to be such a drag." Looking up, Rei spotted a familiar group of people he hadn't seen in months. "You have to have more confidence Shikamaru or you won't be able to pass!"

Brushing Ino off, Shikamaru just looked up at the sky. "Ya ya whatever you say, mom." Seeing his lack of motivation, Ino could only place her forehead against her palm. "What do you have to say about this Choji?" Stuffing his hand into a bag of potato chips as he walked beside Shikamaru, Choji looked up and spoke with his mouth half full.

"I'm sure Shikamaru will do fine Ino you're just worried over nothing." Watching as he proceeded to stuff his face, Ino felt like she really couldn't deal with these two. As the three of them continued the walk, they suddenly heard someone's voice. "Looks like you three have been doing well." Feeling someone tap her on the shoulder, Ino almost jumped as she turned around in shock.

"Rei?" Turning around along with Ino, all three of them were surprised. "What's up?" Flashing a smile, the three of them had their faces of surprise to turn to smiles. "Wow, it's really you, we haven't seen you in months, what are you doing here?" Hearing Choji's question, Rei averted his eyes as he answered.

"Nothing much I'm here looking for someone at the exams, but when I saw you three, I decided to stop by." Listening to him, Shikamaru quickly observed Rei up and down and immediately noticed something. "Well, you've been busy." While Ino and Choji didn't know what he meant, Shikamaru was referring to the different scars covering Rei's body."

Despite Ryujin Jakka healing him, scars take time to fade, and Shikamaru could notice them all over Rei's face and hands. Spotting all these details took a keen eye, which was why Ino and Choji didn't see them. "Well in any case it's great that you're here! Shikamaru managed to enter the final round of the Chunin exams. You should watch it with us."

Hearing how excited Ino and the fact they offered, Rei couldn't find a reason to say no. 'Well I was planning on watching it either way.' Agreeing with them, they all ended up walking to the exam site together. Reaching the entrance, they had to separate with Shikamaru as he went to the competitor area. At the same time, Rei followed Ino and Choji to the spectator area.

As everyone was finding their seats, Rei got an overview of the entire arena and who was walking in and out. 'Now where is he…' Splitting his attention, he heard Ino call out to him. "Rei you can sit next to me if you want." Sitting in the seat offered, Rei heard Choji's voice no soon after.

"Hey, Ino that's my seat." Immediately Ino glared at Choji. "You can sit next to Sakura when she gets here and stops whining." Sucking it up, Choji was forced to switch seats as the exams were about to begin. Soon a girl with pink hair also arrived in their aisle, sitting on the other side of Ino. "Huh, what's Choji doing over here?"

Spotting the pile of bags under Choji's chair already starting to build up, Sakura couldn't help but look at Ino. "Huh oh ya, we ended up running into a friend from one of our missions so we had to give up a seat." Pointing over at Rei, Sakura finally noticed him and introduced herself. "Oh um hello there my name is Sakura Haruno."

In response, Rei smiled and introduced himself as well. "It's a pleasure my name is Rei." Immediately Sakura's inner demons started kicking as her mind went through a type of turmoil. Spotting this, Ino could only roll her eyes before she started talking to Rei herself. "So who are you looking for hare maybe I can help you find them."

Responding to her suggestion, Rei shook his head as he lowered his voice. "No, it's fine. I'm sure they'll show up sooner or later. Besides, it's related to my parents." Catching that little detail, Ino lowered her enthusiasm when she spoke again. "Oh, I see sorry." Rei just brushed it off before speaking. "It's fine I wouldn't have told you if I minded."

On the other hand, everyone had finished pouring into the spectator area, and Rei still hadn't spotted Orochimaru. However, that is not to say he hadn't found anything suspicious. Ever since he spotted a guy in a black hood with a weird mask, he had been staring at him. In Kabuto's case was staring at Rei in a moment of shock.

'That kid he's the one who was supposed to be delivered to Lord Orochimaru. But if he's here does that mean he managed to escape while being delivered or did he escape after. No, there is no way he defeated Kimimaro he had to have escaped while being delivered but why did he come here… Unless.'