Chunin Exams: Part 1!

Namaru wakes up the morning of the Chunin Exams. Namaru and Chino are both very prepared, but the same can't be said for Daichi. Everyone gathers in the classroom for round one of the Chunin Exams...the written exam. Shortly after everyone is seated, a smoke pellet is dropped, and the room, quickly, fills with smoke. Once the smoke clears, the exam proctor is standing there...Hōki Taketori. The class stares in silence for a what seems like an eternity before Hōki begins speaking.

"I'm Hōki Taketori, a Jonin, and your exam proctor for round one of the exams. This year, we're switching things up, on Lady Sarada's orders, as you will see in round two, to those of you who make it. Round one will consist of a written exam. In front of you, are your exam papers. You will turn them over once I give the signal. You will answer the questions to the best of your ability. If you don't know the answer to the question, skip it, and move on to the next. Just know that you can't go back to that question. Just like in a mission, you can only move forwards until your objective is complete. You will have one hour to complete this exam. You will be closely watched, so absolutely NO cheating. On my mark. Begin!"

Everyone immediately flips their papers, and freeze...all except for Namaru, Chino, and Tsumira, who begin filling out the questions with speed. Tsumira, even though, she failed, she still was promoted to Genin, and allowed to take the Chunin exams, however she had to act alone. Daichi, who is sitting to the left of Namaru, completely freezes, unable to answer a single question. Namaru gives Chino, who is to his right, a look, and Chino shakes his head. Namaru ignores Chino's head shaking, and his Sharingan spins into action, quite literally. He casts a Genjutsu on Daichi. Suddenly, Daichi sees the answers appear in front of him in faded ink for him to copy. He smirks, and immediately gets to work. 45 minutes into the Exam, Hōki interrupts everyone, and speaks.

"I will now give the 10th question. Just know, that if any of your team members get it wrong, your entire team fails and you will never be allowed to take the Chunin exam again. However, if you forfeit now, thinking you can't answer the question correctly, you, and your team, may take the exam again another time. I will give you this chance to forfeit now, if you wish."

After consideration, and speaking amongst teammates, several teams all raise their hands, and are dismissed by Hōki. Once the forfeited teams have left, Hōki speaks, again.

"Is that everyone? I will give you all a few more minutes."

Daichi turns to Namaru.

"Should we give up now? I couldn't even answer the first 9. How am I supposed to answer the 10th? If I screw up, you guys fail, too."

Namaru shakes his head.

"We aren't quitting. If you fail, then so be it. I feel like this is all a test anyway."

Daichi and Chino nod, and they all face Hōki again, who is looking at them.

"Staying?"

The trio nod, and Hōki continues speaking.

"To those of you who decided to stay, congratulations. You all pass."

Everyone, remaining, all exclaim in confusion, except for Namaru and Chino, who expected it. Hōki continues.

"The first nine questions were to test your information gathering skills, whereas the tenth was to test your determination and bravery. The first 9 also didn't determine whether or not you pass. Only the 10th mattered. Once again, congratulations all of you. You all move on to the next round."

Suddenly, Chocho Akimichi busts through the window, standing in front of the class.

"I'm Chocho Akimichi, Lady Sarada's advisor, and the cutest Jonin in the world. I'll be your proctor for round 2 of the Chunin Exams, which start tomorrow. You all are to return home for the night, and meet me outside the Forest of Death at dawn tomorrow morning. If you're wondering why the Forest of Death, that's because we're doing things the way the 7th Hokage did when he was your age. This is by Lady Sarada's orders. She wants to see the old way of doing things. Dismissed."

While walking out of the classroom, Daichi asks to speak to Namaru in private. Namaru agrees, and Chino leaves, allowing the two to talk in private. They walk outside the building, and Daichi begins.

"Why?"

Namaru wears a blank expression.

"Why what?"

Daichi sighs.

"Don't act stupid. Why did you help me? Why show me the answers through Genjutsu."

Namaru's expression softens as he responds.

"Because we're a team, Daichi. We may not always get along, but we still need to be a team. Kakashi once said, 'Those who break the rules are scum, but those who abandon their teammates are worse than scum.' I was being a good teammate. You may not think so, but I care about the wellbeing of my teammates, including you. If one of us goes, down, we all go down. I wasn't just protecting my own butt. I was also making sure you passed, too. By the way, how did you know it was me?"

Daichi scoffs.

"You're the only person I know who can cast an optical Genjutsu like that; at least in our class, anyway."

Daichi hangs his head, and continues.

"Thanks, by the way. Neither of us knew the first 9 were, pretty much, useless, so I'm glad you pitched in and helped me."

Namaru smirks, and nods his head before turning to walk away. Daichi grabs his shoulder, and tells him to wait, almost pleadingly.

Namaru turns back around, and Daichi is wearing a grin.

"Let me treat you to Ichiraku. It's the least I can do to thank you."

Namaru agrees, and the two head toward Ichiraku. They both enjoy a bowl of ramen, and a pleasant conversation. Daichi pays for their meal, and the two walk out of the ramen shop before parting ways. Namaru goes home to be greeted by his entire family, except Shirane, who randomly went rogue, and left the 7 Ninja Swordsmen a couple weeks ago. No one has seen him since, and he has been deemed a kill-on-sight S-Class Rogue Ninja by the Mizukage. Everyone congratulates Namaru, and they all eat dinner together engaging in conversation. Namaru doesn't eat as much as everyone else, which concerns Sarada.

"Namaru. Why are you hardly eating? Is something wrong?"

Namaru smiles and shakes his head.

"Not at all. Just not very hungry. Went to Ichiraku with Daichi after round one."

Everyone looks at Namaru, mouths hung open silently. After a few short moments, Sarada breaks the silence.

"You went and ate ramen...with Daichi? Daichi Uzumaki?"

Namaru nods.

"Yeah. I helped him out during the exam, and he wanted to thank me. He knew I like Ichiraku, so he treated me to a meal. I think I'm getting through to him. Every generation of Uchiha and Uzumaki have always hated each other until adulthood, starting with Grandpa and Lord 7th. I'm trying to end this, and just be friends with him. No one said our clans had to be rivals forever. He and I will probably never be rivals, anyway, but you never know. I've caught glimpses of him training with Naruto. He's trying to learn the Rasengan, and is making progress. He's come a long way since we first met."

Sarada looks at Namaru, beaming.

"I'm glad you're trying to make friends, Namaru. Keep it up."

Everyone commends Namaru, and they all finish dinner, before all heading off to bed. Namaru wakes up bright and early the next morning, gets ready, and rushes to the Forest of Death, running into Chino and Daichi along the way. They all beat everyone else to the gate...except for the proctor, who commends them on being there on time. Once everyone else has arrived, Chocho reprimands them all for being late, before explaining the rules of Round 2.

"Welcome to Round 2 of the Chunin Exams. This test will take place over the course of 5 days. Each team will be given either a Heaven Scroll or an Earth Scroll. You have 5 days to get to the building in the center of the forest with both scrolls in your possession. How you obtain the second scroll is up to you. By force or by trading are the two most common, but, once again, completely up to you. I'm glad to see so many teams have passed. Under no circumstances are you to open these scrolls until you get to the building in the center of the forest. If you do, that is an instant disqualification. It looks there are 14 of you, which equals to 42 Genin, plus the lonely Tsumira Hyuga, that makes 43. Because of the natural hazards of the forest, the absence of services or outside assistance, and the likely conflict with other teams, you all must sign liability waivers before entering to release Konoha from responsibility for any injuries or deaths. Shino Aburame will pass out these wavers right now. I will wait for you all to sign them, and hand them back to Shino."

Once a team has returned their wavers, Shino gives them a scroll. Once all of the teams have a scroll, Chocho continues.

"As you will see, there are an equal amount of Heaven and Earth Scrolls. If you are still confused, that means, at most, half of you will make it. I will give you all a tip. Avoid teams with the same scroll as you. Just focus on getting the opposite scroll to the one you already have. On my mark."

Once the gate has opened, Chocho continues.

"BEGIN!"

All 14 teams rush into the Forest, and the gate is slammed shut behind them. We switch over to our trio, who seems to have a Heaven Scroll. Daichi speaks up.

"So, what's our plan, guys?"

Namaru is the first to respond.

"Since we have a Heaven Scroll, let's stray away from any other teams with a Heaven Scroll to avoid conflict. Let's just find a team with an Earth Scroll, and get their scroll, then rush to the center. When Naruto did the exams this way, all of the Genin, then, were weaker than the Genin, now. We don't know the skill level of the other villages, so it's smart to say we may have a challenge from them, especially, Gaara's grandson, Fujiki, who wields Sand just like Gaara and Shinki, but he uses his sand for both offense and defense, just like Gaara. he doesn't have Shinki's Iron Sand, which is weird, since Shinki is Gaara's adopted son. Anyway, let's to find ourselves a scroll."

The 3 speed up and, after a few minutes, find a clearing to stop for a second. Suddenly,

Namaru speaks up.

"Come out, you 3."

Another team exits a group of bushes that's nearby. One of them happens to notice the Scroll in Namaru's hand, and speaks up.

"Look, guys. A team with a Heaven Scroll. That'll pair nicely with our Earth Scroll."

One of the guy's teammates speaks up.

"I don't know about that Nagase. Those are Konoha's big 3. Namaru Uchiha, Arekkusu Tsurara, and Daichi Uzumaki."

Nagase brushes her warning off.

"I don't care who they are, Sayomi. I'm Nagase Hikura from the Rock Village. You're both from the Rock Village, too. No one messes with us. Let's take these fools down."

Nagase's teammates nod, and they begin to attack. Namaru weaves a few hand seals and thrusts his palm forward.

"Wood Style: Silent Strangle Jutsu."

Two wood beams shoot up from the ground, and wrap around Nagase's teammates. Nagase looks back in terror.

"Sayomi! Obuhara!"

Nagase turns back around to find Namaru clasping his hands together.

"Earth Style: Quicksand."

Namaru's enemies, bound in wood, begin sinking quickly into the ground, before completely disappearing under the earth's surface. They are, at that point, deemed dead. Nagase can do nothing but watch as his teammates are dragged underground. He faces Namaru, once again, before screaming, trying to act like he can still win.

"Fine. I didn't need those two, anyway. I'll kill you myself."

Nagase charges Namaru alone. Namaru scoffs, and stretches his hand outward.

"Sand Coffin."

Nagase is stopped, dead in his tracks, as Sand wraps around him, only leaving his head exposed. Namaru begins speaking.

"Those who break the rules are scum, but those who abandon their teammates are worse than scum. Once your teammates died, you should have surrendered."

Nagase speaks up trying to save his own life.

"I have a proposition. How about you let me go, and I'll help you beat another team with an Earth Scroll, and you can have theirs. How about that?"

Namaru stares at his ensnared foe with a blank expression.

"I don't need help. Sand Burial."

Namaru clenches his fist, and Sand covers Nagase's head before brutally crushing him, killing him instantly. His blood sprays everywhere. The Earth Scroll rolls away from where Nagase once stood, and hits Namaru's foot. He bends down and picks it up before turning to his team.

"Let's go."

They all begin walking straight for the center of the forest, and Chino speaks up.

"I didn't know you had Magnet Release."

Namaru nods, and responds.

"I picked it up from my dad before he ran off and became a rogue."

Daichi butts in.

"Did you have to kill all of them so brutally?"

Namaru looks over at Daichi, who is to his left, and answers the question.

"You have to be prepared to kill as a Ninja. You can't do what Naruto did, and talk people into being good, especially not in this day in age. Sometimes, the enemy needs to die to retain peace within the Ninja world. It's sad, I know, but that's the case sometimes, and there's nothing you can do."

The 3 continue walking in silence until reaching the center of the Forest around an hour later, making their time 70 minutes, and setting a new record. Once inside, they open their original scroll, the Heaven Scroll, and Shikadai pops out. They all look surprised as Shikadai looks pleased.

"Congrats, you 3. You managed to get both scrolls, and get here in record time. The previous record was set by the 5th Kazekage and his team, also known as the Sand Siblings, with 97 minutes. You guys did it in 70 minutes. You 3 may proceed to the next stage. Now, you just have to wait for the other teams to finish. You may all camp here in the process."

Shikadai hugs the 3 and leaves them to rest. As other teams arrive, those who know team Namaru aren't surprised at all by the fact that they're there before everyone else, but those who don't know them stare in utter shock. After 3 days pass, it seems that everyone is there, they all gather in the main room of the building to be greeted by Sarada, a number of Chunin and Jonin, and even Naruto. Once Sarada sees how many teams are left, she begins consulting with Naruto. Together, the two come to a consensus. Sarada, then, turns to the remaining teams, and speaks.

"We didn't expect there to be so many teams to make it. There are exactly half of you left, which is a grand total of 21 Genin, which is exactly how many made it during Naruto's time taking the Chunin exams as a child. To reduce the numbers further, we will have a set of preliminary one-on-one fights to determine who will move on to the finals. Your advancement to the finals is no longer contingent upon the success of your teammates, meaning, you are no longer teams, but indiviual fighters, now. If there is anyone who wishes to leave, now is your time to speak up, as it will not effect your teammates advancement to the finals."

One Genin raises her hand and requests to drop out of the exams. She was originally in a 3 man squad of Cloud Genin, but since her team won't be affected, she decided to drop out. Seeing no one else wants to leave, Sarada dismisses the young girl and continues.

"The remaining 20 of you will be pitted against each other in one-on-one fights, which will be selected by myself. Previous teammates will not be fighting each other in the preliminaries, but you may have to fight each other in the finals, so pay close attention to each other's techniques. Here is your leaderboard."

The Genin look up at the leaderboard to find their names:

Round 1 - Daichi Uzumaki (Leaf) vs. Imase Inuzuka/Akamiya (Leaf)

Round 2 - Arekkusu Tsurara (Leaf) vs. Aisugi Keimomi (Cloud)

Round 3 - Tsumira Hyuga (Leaf) vs. Tane Nomari (Stone)

Round 4 - Fujiki Sabaku (Sand) vs. Shihei Aburame (Leaf)

Round 5 - Shikazuru Nara (Leaf) vs. Aino Rinore (Stone)

Round 6 - Chomada Akimichi (Leaf) vs. Detake Saigi (Mist)

Round 7 - Arigi Sadaki (Sand) vs. Aria Koharu (Mist)

Round 8 - Takesugi Dojuro (Stone) vs. Desuka Sabaku (Sand)

Round 9 - Nagarata Isorei (Cloud) vs. Ogane Tadisashi (Mist)

Round 10 - Namaru Uchiha (Leaf) vs. Inoyori Yamanaka (Leaf)

Chino points to his name.

"Look. I'm second."

Daichi looks scared as he needs to fight first, and fight Imase Inuzuka, Kiba Inuzuka's granddaughter. Namaru sees that he's going last, and is, honestly, quite disappointed. Sarada begins to speak once more.

"The proctor for these Preliminaries will be, a Jonin of Konoha."

Mitsuki approaches from the nearby line of Jonin and smirks before speaking.

"Let's keep these matches clean. Win, but don't kill your opponent to do so. Will our first two fighters approach? The rest of you, up on the viewing platforms, and meet up with your sensei."

Daichi and Imase both approach, and stand opposite each other. Mitsuki holds his hand up.

"Begin."

Imase immediately charges Daichi holding a kunai, Akamiya on her shoulder. Daichi runs in, himself, holding a Kunai. Once they're at each other, their kunai clash creating sparks. They both kick off of the ground doing backflips. Once they land, Imase charges Daichi again. Daichi puts away his kunai, and closes his eyes. Right as Imase is about to strike, Daichi opens his eyes.

"Byakugan!"

Daichi strikes Imase in the primary chakra point in her striking arm, temporarily disabling it. She jumps backward, seeming mildly scared.

"The Byakugan? You're not a Hyuga."

Daichi smirks.

"Nope. But my Grandma is. Her Byakugan skipped a generation since my dad has something different."

Daichi takes a standard Gentle Fist stance, and waits for Imase to strike again, which she tries to do, but not before giving Akamiya a pill that turns her into Imase. Now, there are seemingly two of her. They both charge Daichi, and he takes a certain stance. Right as the two are, pretty much, on top of him, he calls out his technique.

"8 Trigrams: 64 Palms!"

Daichi, able to see which is the real Imase, begins striking her in her chakra points starting with 2 Palms.

"2 Palms...4 Palms...8 Palms...16 Palms...32 Palms...64 Palms!"

Once Daichi has used 63 Palms, he uses his 64th for a charged strike, which sends Imase flying backward. By the time she goes to get up, she finds that she is in so much pain, that she can't even move. It seems Daichi has nearly completely shut down her chakra network.

Mitsuki steps forward.

"The winner is: Daichi Uzumaki. You move onto the finals. Our next two may approach."

Chino and Aisugi both step onto the floor, while Daichi walks up the wall to the viewing platform with Namaru and Shikadai, and Imase is carried out on a stretcher, Akamiya laying on top of her. Namaru turns to Daichi.

"Why didn't you tell me you had the Byakugan?"

Daichi shrugs.

"It's something I've been working on mastering, anyway. No need to broadcast it prematurely."

Namaru facepalms.

"That's exactly what you just did, Daichi. Now, everyone's gonna call you the next Neji, which I guess isn't a bad thing with him being Hinata's cousin, which makes him your cousin."

Daichi just smirks, and they both face the fighting level, where Chino's match is about to begin. Mitsuki holds his hand straight up in the air.

"Begin."

Aisugi, instead of charging Chino, who is standing calmly, begins to speak.

"So. Tsurara Clan, huh? You're from the Cloud Village just like me."

Chino waves her off.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm not here to chat. Just attack me, already...if you can."

Aisugi immediately shuts up, and goes on the offensive, charging Chino. Once she's about to punch him, he steps to the side, and plants his Tsurara Ice gauntlet into her gut. He follows up with a jump, and a spinning kick to her face, sending her reeling. She, slowly, gets up and charges again. She grabs a barbed metallic whip from her side, coats it in Lightning, and swings it, to wrap around Chino.

"Lightning Style: Whip Dance of Fools."

She begins to channel Lightning through the whip in an attempt to electrocute Chino. Chino begins screaming, but only briefly, before stopping and smiling.

"That is called acting. This would be so much more painful if I didn't also know Lightning Style, and have Lightning Chakra flowing through my body."

Chino grabs the Lightning-covered whip, to Aisugi's surprise, and yanks it, pulling Aisugi to him, which lifts her off the ground. Just before she reaches him, he creates an Ice Gauntlet around his hand, that extends up his arm, and punches forward, hitting her right in the face. She loses grip of her whip as she goes flying, yet again, only this time, she's knocked out.

Mitsuki steps forward.

"The winner is: Arekkusu Tsurara. You move on to the finals."

A medical team comes and picks up Aisugi, carrying her away on a stretcher. Chino jumps from the floor onto the viewing platform, doing a backflip in the process. He is congratulated as Mitsuki calls up the next two: Tsumira Hyuga and Tane Nomari. Once the two approach, Mitsuki raises his right hand straight in the air.

"Begin."

Tane doesn't miss a beat jumping backward, and weaving a series of hand seals.

"Earth Style: Rock Trail."

Tane throws her right hand forward, and a series of rocks start protruding from the ground, making a bee-line toward Tsumira. Tsumira smirks, and activates her Byakugan. She takes a Gentle Fist stance, and throws her right hand forward. She strikes the rock right in front of her, shattering it, and the ones behind it, the force of her strike going as far as to hit Tane. Everyone stares in shock as Tane is sent flying, Namaru, especially, who begins speaking.

"I didn't know timid, little Tsumira had such a powerful strike."

Chino butts in.

"You didn't see her look at you, dude? She's trying to impress you. I'm telling you, she likes you."

Namaru shakes off Chino's comment, and tells him to keep watching. They both look back at he fight in time to see Tsumira strike through another series of rocks, and hit Tane. Tane decided to switch to melee tactics, instead of ranged. She grabs her Tanto from it's sheath on her hip, and charges Tsumira. Tsumira takes a different stance. She waits until Tane is close enough to unveil her technique.

"8 Trigrams: Palm Rotation!"

Tsumira begins spinning, and creates a dome of spinning chakra around her, which Tane gets trapped in, and repelled backward. Once she regains her composure, she charges again. Tsumira, realizing she's low on chakra, decided to use the last of what she has left for a final attack, as a last stitch effort to end this before she collapses from Chakra exhaustion. She waits until Tane is a few feet from her, then takes the same stance Daichi did earlier. Everyone realizes what she's about to do, including Tane, but it was too late to turn back, now. She was already in Tsumira's range. Tsumira calls out her final technique.

"Time to end this. 8 Trigrams: 64 Palms!"

Tsumira strikes Tane over and over, starting with her main chakra points, and ending with a final strike to her Chakra pool. Tane falls unconscious, and Tsumira is declared the winner. Before leaving the arena, she looks up at Daichi.

"That's how it's done, Cousin."

With those few words, Tsumira walks back toward the door she approached through, while Tane is carried out on a stretcher. Daichi turns to his right to find Namaru and Chino looking at him in shock, as they both speak in unison.

"Cousin?"

Shikadai interjects.

"Yes. Daichi is Hinata's grandson, and Tsumira is Hanabi's granddaughter. Hinata and Hanabi were sisters, meaning their children and grandchildren would be cousins. I'm surprised you two never realized this with how observant you both are. Regardless, here's the next match, so pay attention."

Mitsuki calls up the next two opponents: Fujiki and Shihei Aburame.