Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Fenrir and the Fox ❯ The Genin Exam ( Chapter 5 )

Chapter 5:

The Genin Exam

 

“Jinra!”

 

Jinra was walking down the road away from the academy when he realized someone was calling his name from behind him. He turned around and noticed a blonde figure in an orange outfit sprinting towards him.

 

“What is it Naruto?”

 

Jinra had been Naruto self-proclaimed rival for the better part of five years. They hadn't really considered themselves friends until about two years ago. However their interactions still seemed to follow the same endless cycle it always did.

 

“Jinra, I challenge you to a spar!”

 

Jinra frowned slightly. “Naruto, the genin exam is in a few days. Shouldn't you be studying?”

 

“I don't need to study! I'll be the greatest ninja ever! The next Hokage!”

 

At this the silver haired boy just cocked an eyebrow. “Uh-huh. The last time I checked you were still having difficulty with the bunshin technique. They won't let you become a genin if you haven't mastered the first three jutsus.”

 

Naruto's face froze for a moment before it broke out into a cheesy grin and he began to nervously rub the back of his head. “Oh yeah. I kind of forgot about that.”

 

“Do you need any help studying?”

 

Naruto looked over at his friend and just waved him off. “Nah. I'll be okay. What kind of Hokage will I be if I can't even master a cloning technique by himself?”

 

“If you say so. I'll see you tomorrow Naruto.”

 

“Yeah, see you.”

 

The tow boys began to walk their separate ways, Naruto towards his apartment and Jinra towards the Hokage's house. A few years ago the old man had officially adopted Jinra, giving him the family that the boy had been lacking for most of his life. True, the man he now called his grandfather wasn't always around, but Jinra knew enough about taking care of himself that it wasn't really a big deal.

 

He was a few blocks from what he now considered to be his home when a dark form descended from the tree in front of him. Although whoever it was had their back to him, the person who had just made their entrance was immediately identified by his spiked in the back hairstyle and the ever-present Uchiha clan symbol on the back of his shirt. The black haired boy spun around so that he was facing Jinra, a determined glint in his obsidian eyes.

 

“What do you want Sasuke?” Jinra's tone was casual with just a hint of annoyance.

 

The boy just gave a slight smirk, which was about as close to smiling as Sasuke ever came. “I just had some questions for you. I saw your little discussion with dead-last over there.”

 

“What of it?”

 

“You're better than him, yet you treat him like your equal. Why?”

 

“Naruto has earned my respect. He probably trains harder than you or I, or even the rest of the class put together. Also, his life had been harder than ours.”

 

Sasuke's eyes darkened into a deep scowl. “He's not the only one who doesn't have parents.”

 

“If it were just that I would agree with you,” Jinra said calmly.

 

“What else is there?”

 

Jinra's eyes narrowed. “Have you seen the way this village treats him? The act like he's some sort of monster. I watched him walk home from school one day. In the length of a few blocks he was yelled at, spat on, called a `demon,' and at one point I saw someone throw a rotten fruit at him. And at the very end he just shrugs it off like it was nothing. The only adults that treat him with any decency are the Hokage and our teacher. Anyone who can deal with that and still remain sane deserves our respect.” At this Jinra began to walk right passed the stunned Uchiha. “It's true that in some ways Naruto may be weaker than me, but in other ways he's stronger than you or I could ever hope to be. Think about it.”

 

Sasuke just stood there as Jinra continued to walk to his home, unsure of how to respond.

 

Break

 

The next few days passed quickly and before they realized it the time of the genin exam was upon them. The test was fairly simple. All they had to do to get their official ninja headbands was make at least fully functional clones using the bunshin technique. In fact, the test was so simple that almost every single person in the class passed, save for one. Jinra watched as Naruto walked out of the examination room with a crestfallen expression on his face. `It seems like Naruto's dreams of becoming the greatest ninja ever have just been pushed back another year.'

Instead of taking his usual seat, Naruto just continued walking out the door in an attempt to avoid the questions he was sure to endure. Jinra was forced to wait until Iruka finally dismissed the class before running off to find his friend.

 

Break

 

Naruto was sitting by himself on the swing in the playground, lazily rocking back and forth as he watched the proud expressions on the faces of the graduates. He was so absorbed in what he was doing that he didn't notice Mizuki appearing right beside him. “Hello Naruto.”

 

Naruto looked up and saw the smiling face of one of his teachers. “Mizuki-sensei? What are you doing here?”

 

A sly smile crept upon the man's face. “I'm here to give you a special opportunity Naruto. Have you ever heard about the forbidden scroll of seals?”

 

“No. What is it?”

 

“It's a special scroll that gives people like you a second chance to graduate.”

 

Naruto's face lit up at these words. “Really!? How?”

 

“All you need to do is take the scroll and learn a single technique from it. With that technique you will have proven that you have the skill to become a ninja.”

 

“Where do I find this scroll?”

 

Mizuki's smile widened. The boy was falling right into his hands. “The Hokage keeps the scroll in a special room at his house. I can tell you exactly where it is. All you have to do is take it and bring it into the woods. Once you're there wait for me, and I'll make you a genin once you learn a technique.”

 

Naruto was now jumping up and down with excitement. “I can do that! After all, I'm gonna be Hokage someday!”

 

Mizuki then led the boy away to tell him the rest of the plan.

 

Break

 

Jinra couldn't believe what he had just heard. He had run outside just in time to see Mizuki talking to Naruto and had managed to hear the entire thing by using the kawarmi (substitution) technique to replace himself with one of the leaves on a nearby tree.

 

Unlike Naruto, Jinra had heard of the scroll of forbidden seals, and it wasn't anything like what Mizuki had described. The scroll was filled with a myriad of techniques forbidden from general use by the Hokage himself. All of the techniques within that scroll fit into one of three categories. They were either dangerous to the user, extremely deadly, or so taboo that they violated the laws of nature. Jinra knew that the test that Mizuki had told Naruto about didn't exist, which meant that Mizuki was only using Naruto as a pawn to get his hands on the scroll.

 

`I have to warn the Hokage before Naruto does something he regrets!'

 

Jinra rushed over to his house to warn the man that had become like a grandfather to him about the coming threat.

 

Break

 

Jinra arrived at the house only to realize that he was already too late. The Hokage was lying on the ground of his study with a flushed face and a bloody nose. Jinra knew Naruto well enough that these were symptoms of a victim of Naruto's infamous (if not more than a little perverted) `sexy jutsu.' This meant that Naruto already had the scroll and was most likely on his way to the meeting place that Mizuki had been talking about.

 

Without giving it a second thought Jinra leapt out the window with all the speed he could muster. He had no idea where the meeting place was and he knew that the odds of finding Naruto before he gave Mizuki the scroll were slim, but he would take those chances over doing nothing any day. He made it to the forest in record time, oblivious to the shouts of the numerous higher-ranking ninja as he leapt into the forest trees.

 

As he ran he tried pushing a small amount of chakra into his eyes, nose, and ears in hopes of finding some small trace of where Naruto might be, but to very little effect. Somewhere up ahead he could hear the sounds of some sort of a struggle, but he couldn't be sure about which direction it was coming from.

 

As he neared the general direction of the sounds, he overheard three words that gave him hope and dread at the same time. “KAGE BUNSHIN NO JUTSU!” (Shadow Clone Technique)

 

The voice was definitely Naruto's; there was no mistake about it. Jinra doubted that there was anyone on earth whose voice was that same volume or pitch. The only thing about that voice that he found disconcerting was that it was calling out the name of a jounin-level forbidden jutsu. Jinra upped his speed towards the source of the sound and arrived there just in time to see over a thousand solid Naruto clones beating the every loving crap out of a very disturbed looking Mizuki. Jinra couldn't help but smile as the man shrieked as he was given the most brutal beating of his life.

 

After the cloud had settled (revealing a severely battered Mizuki) Jinra watched under the cover of a tree branch as Iruka walked over to the boy and presented him with an official leaf shinobi headband.

 

Realizing that Naruto and the scroll were now in safe hands, Jinra began to head back to the house to reveal to the Hokage what had just happened. But during the entire trek back through the forest, only one thought was going through Jinra's mind: `I wonder if Naruto will teach me that technique?'

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