Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Sin Eater ❯ Chapter 9

Sin Eater: Chuunin Exams Begins

 

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

 

The room of 301, the room where the first stage of the Chuunin Exams would take place, opened, revealing Team Seven. The first thing Sasuke and Sakura had spotted was what seemingly was a hundred eyes looking at them at once. The Uchiha just stared back impassively, while Sakura had to swallow the lump that was found at her throat.

 

Sin had followed later, after he shared small talk with Kakashi outside, and looked towards the eyes looking at him. He gave them a wide grin, and waved his arms.

 

“Yappo!” he greeted loudly, rather moronically if one was honest.

 

Sasuke flinched somewhat, his body shaking slightly with anger. Sin had somehow antagonized everyone with one simple word as their stares just increased in intensity. Luckily, he found the perfect distraction. A certain blonde kunoichi coming at him at full speed, glomping him like a drowning man was gasping for oxygen.

 

“SASUKE-KUN!” the kunoichi greeted. “You made it!”

 

Sakura looked incensed. “INO-PIG!” and she approached the blonde and Sasuke, and forcibly separated them. “Stop bothering Sasuke!”

“Hah! Like I'd do anything you say, Forehead-girl!” Ino declared.

 

“Troublesome…” stated a boy with a lazy look as he approached. Along with him was a rather chubby boy, who was eating a bag of potato chips. “I guess all rookie teams entered eh?”

 

“All?” Sasuke looked towards the lazy-looking boy.

 

“Hehe… the great Uchiha graces our presence,” another boy approached. He was hooded, and had peculiar facial marks. Under his hood, there was a small dog looking out. Behind him, a cute looking kunoichi with pale eyes and dark hair, her form covered in a jacket, and to complete the team, another boy with spiky hair, dark shades, and high-collared jacket joined.

 

“Shut up, Inuzuka,” Sasuke stated with a smirk. “You are going to stink the air with your breathe.”

 

“You ass…!”

 

“Kiba-kun, please,” the girl with pale-eyes held the boy's hand. “Lets not fight… please?”

 

The Inuzuka boy, Kiba, looked at his teammate, and took a deep breathe. “Alright, Hina-chan… for you.”

 

“Hn,” Sasuke smiled. “Didn't know you got neutered by a Hyuuga, Inuzuka.”

 

“Say what you want, you cocky bastard,” Kiba declared, smirking. “I'm going to wipe that smirk of your face in the exams.”

 

“Don't threaten Sasuke-kun!” Ino declared, looking scathingly at Kiba.

 

“Heh… knew you'd behind a woman,” Kiba sniffed, and looked at Sin. “This is your third teammate?”

 

“Yappo,” Sin greeted. “I'm a ten-incher.”

 

Sasuke almost planted his face to the ground. Almost. Sakura wasn't so lucky, crashing and burning on the floor while the Rookie genins looked at each other, confused.

 

“Sin… it wasn't funny before,” Sakura declared as she stood up. “It's not funny even now!”

 

“Sin, eh?” the lazy-looking boy studied the new boy. “More competition. Troublesome.”

 

“Goth weirdo…” Ino muttered after she looked at him from head to toe. “Is Sasuke-kun always surrounded with weirdoes?”

 

Her question was ignored, and Sin, in favor of replying to her looked towards the lazy looking boy.

 

“Hi, I'm Sin.”

 

“Shikamaru Nara,” the boy replied. “The guy beside me is Choji Akimichi.”

 

“I assume you are the brains of the operation,” Sin declared, smiling with respect towards the boy. He looked at the big kid beside Shikimaru, and nodded at Choji. “I am guessing you're the muscle… and…” he turned and looked at Ino, “…and you're the damsel in distress.”

 

Ino was taken aback, insulted. “No! I'm the leader of this lazy ass team!” she replied.

 

“Oh… if not damsel in distress… the Slut?” Sin asked, looking up slightly, a hand under his chin, as if thinking of something.

 

“WHAT!?” she shouted.

 

“Well, the Brains and Muscle is a very classical theme when it comes to teams,” Sin replied easily. “If you're going to add a female to the mix, she'd either be an annoying no-talent woman who would get in the way of everything, hence the `damsel in distress' or she's putting out to the two other boys, hence the title `Slut'.”

 

Kiba was howling in boisterous laughter. Shikamaru looked ready to burst, but seemed afraid how Ino would react, while Choji was stuffing his mouth with the bag of potato chips, his laughter unmistakable. The Hyuuga girl blushed, while the boy in dark shades just kept quiet, raising only an eyebrow. Sasuke smiled a bit, while Sakura was lapping it appreciatively, laughing almost as loud as Kiba.

 

“You… you rude…!” Ino stuttered, though Sin took her insults to stride.

 

“Forgive me, Blondie, but let's be fair,” he smirked a bit. “You started it first.”

 

“I like this guy!” Kiba declared, smiling towards Sin warmly. “I'm Kiba Inuzuka. The cutey behind me is my girlfriend, Hinata Hyuuga.”

 

“Kiba-kun!” Hinata flushed really red.

 

“And my silent friend there is Shino Aburame,” Kiba finished.

 

“Pleasure,” Sin stated. He then looked at Hinata, and looked at her solemnly. “If you were the one who asked me out instead of the other Hyuuga, I might have accepted.”

 

Her face was now resembling a tomato.

 

“Hey, hey!” Kiba raised a threatening fist. “Hands off!”

 

“No worries, Kiba-san,” Sin smiled. “It was meant as a compliment. Nothing more.”

 

“Oh…” that calmed Kiba down, though by now, Hinata had a question of her own. She wasn't aware of any other female Hyuuga in the exams.

 

“Um… excuse me, Sin-san… other Hyuuga?” she asked, confused (and still blushing). “What other Hyuuga?”

 

“An older Hyuuga, a boy, with silky long hair, nimble body-type,” Sin stated.

 

“Cousin… Neji…!?” Hinata blinked, shock entering her system.

 

“Ah, Neji was his name eh?” Sin then declared rather loudly… loud enough to be heard by the older genins around them. “I shall apologize to Neji-sempai then. I hope my rejection wouldn't wound his heart too deeply! I am sure he will find the warm affections of someone else more worthy. He was so forward earlier! But ultimately, he wasn't my type.”

 

A few meters away, Neji Hyuuga looked ready to kill someone. Lee was blinking, stepping a bit father away from the Hyuuga, while Tenten just giggled appreciatively, ignoring Neji's death glares.

 

“I… I didn't know…” Hinata gasped. Who'd have know Neji swung that way.

 

“Explains why he has such long hair,” Kiba seemed to nod. “And why he's always is mean to you.”

 

“That doesn't make sense,” Shino replied softly. It was the first time he had spoken since Team Seven entered.

 

“Of course it does,” Kiba smiled confidently. “Who can resist my animal charm?”

 

“Don't make me laugh,” Neji declared, finally having enough. His killer intent spiked as he walked towards the Rookie genins, murder in his eyes. The older genin cleared the way, and following behind him, Lee and Tenten followed, the boy looking slightly apprehensive, while the girl just looked like she was trying to stop laughing.

 

“Cousin Neji…” Hinata gasped slightly. She placed herself further behind Kiba, who just protectively covered her.

 

“Even if I was interested in boys,” Neji glared at Sin and Kiba, his voice filled with rage, “I wouldn't ask you out, you mutt.”

 

Before Kiba could even reply, Sin beat him to it.

 

“Neji-san… please don't make this as difficult as it is,” the blonde replied with a good amount of mock sorrow. “There will be someone waiting for your love. All you have to search… I see a strong boy behind you who I feel is your better match.”

 

Lee shook his head quickly, waving his hands, not wanting to be involved. Tenten just guffawed along with Kiba, who was really starting to enjoy this.

 

“I'm going to kill you!” Neji declared, his eyes suddenly seemingly popping out, veins on its sides bulging, indicating he had activated his byakugan, the eye Bloodline Limit of the Hyuuga clan.

 

The rookie teams seemed to tense, expecting an attack. Sin just seemed to smile towards Neji rather calmly, incensing the boy even further. He was going to strike… really, when another genin, a much older one than any of them approached them. He had silver hair, and wore glasses, looking at them friendlily.

 

“Would you guys quiet down?” he stated. “You're causing a ruckus… and everyone here's already tense already. Hearing a bunch of rookies balking about like they are in a picnic is really annoying.”

 

“What is it to you, huh?” Kiba asked aggressively.

 

“Hey, hey, no need for that,” the older genin seemed to laugh. “I'm your friend here. My name's Kabuto. I'm a Leaf Genin like you.”

 

All the rookies and Team Gai looked at the older boy's forehead protector. True enough, it had the Leaf insignia, indicating he was from the village. It didn't help much for Kiba though, as he regarded the boy with suspicion. He wasn't the only one though… almost everyone else, except Sakura, seemed wary of him. The pink haired kunoichi was friendlier towards her sempai, though.

 

“Nice to meet you, Kabuto-san,” Sakura smiled a bit. “Is this your second time to take the exam?”

 

“Actually… my seventh.”

 

Sasuke snorted audibly. Sakura blushed, but said nothing.

 

“Wow. That means you're quite experienced,” she declared with a healthy amount of disbelief. She may have been acting nice, but… seriously. Seven times?

 

“Or quite useless,” Kiba quipped, earning a gentle elbow from Hinata.

 

“Kiba-kun…”

 

“Sorry, Hina-chan…”

 

Kabuto didn't seem to mind, or even hear the insult from the Inuzuka. Instead, he took out a deck of cards from his pocket, and showed it the group. “Actually, I am quite experienced in the exams. What you see here are nin-info cards gathered from four years of experience.”

 

“Nin-info cards?” Sakura asked, interested.

 

“Cards that I have used chakra to burn information on,” Kabuto replied. “Of course, they can't be read without my chakra. Each card has information on specific places, people or groups.”

 

Sasuke and Neji suddenly looked interested. Looking at the older genin, Sasuke spoke first, beating Neji to it.

 

“I need information on a genin of the Hidden Sand named Gaara,” Sasuke declared. “And… Rock Lee from the Hidden Leaf.”

 

“Oh, you know their names…” Kabuto looked somewhat disappointed, though his hands were shuffling through his deck. “A bit of a letdown… here we go. Gaara of the Desert. Not much is known about his abilities, though he has accomplished quite a lot of missions, even having a few A Ranks under his belt. Interesting tidbit… he always returns without a scratch.

 

“And Rock Lee… second year genin… nice amount of missions,” Kabuto continued, with Lee looking over the man's shoulder, looking at his own data. “Insignificant talents when it comes to ninjutsu, or genjutsu… but it seems his taijutsu levels are pretty high.”

 

“The fruits of hard work!” Lee declared, forming a fist, posing.

 

“Um… yeah… sure,” Kabuto replied, somewhat surprised when Lee spoke up from behind him.

 

Sasuke nodded, satisfied, leaving the older Hyuuga to finally demand information of a pest had the unpleasantness of meeting.

 

“Sin,” Neji declared.

 

“Sin… huh…” Kabuto looked solemn. Flipping his cards, he reached one of them out of his deck, and revealed it. It was a complete blank card, from what he could see. The only thing he had was a picture, staring back at him rather dangerously. “Well… I don't have much. All I have is recent history. Joined Team Seven as a means to finally complete the Three Man Cell after the Hokage and the Council had given the yet incomplete team special considerations…”

 

“Special considerations my ass…” Kiba snorted. “They just don't want to piss their Uchiha off, considering what happened to the other.”

 

If Sasuke's glare could kill, Kiba would have been castrated, hanged, quartered, and burned to ashes. Only Ino and Sakura seemed to care (as Kiba just insulted their crush), others just looked at Kabuto as he was reading more info about Sin.

 

“Has one A Rank mission under his belt… very impressive,” Kabuto nodded with a bit of admiration. “Unknown about his abilities…”

 

“I can help there,” Sin declared with a slight smile.

 

“Really?” Kabuto raised an eyebrow. “Isn't that… generous of you?”

 

“Idiot…” Neji snorted. “What kind of ninja gives himself away?”

 

“Considering how well Kabuto-san has pegged Lee-san and Gaara-san, my keeping quiet will probably just delay the inevitable,” Sin friendlily then poked his elbow towards the older genin. “We can assume this guy's good at gathering information. Like a spy. A very good one too. Hey, who knows… maybe he's actually an enemy spy of the Leaf, right?”

 

“Uh… right… haha…” Kabuto tried to reply easily, but his face was somewhat pale, his nape sweating slightly. He was lucky Neji wasn't even looking at him (it would have given him away), as the Hyuuga was just glaring at the blonde boy.

 

“Well… first thing you have to know about me Kabuto-san… are my power-levels…” and Sin paused.

 

“Power-levels?” the silver-haired man asked.

 

“Yes. It's over nine-thousand!”

 

There was a pause. Everyone then looked towards Sin when he spoke the words, confusion in their faces.

 

“Over… nine-thousand?” Kabuto was the one who recovered first. “Nine-thousand what?”

 

“Units, I am guessing,” Sin shrugged.

 

“What kind of units?” Kabuto asked. When the blonde just shrugged, he just dropped it. “Oh fine. What's the highest numerical of that said unit? Ten-thousand?”

 

“Infinity,” Sin replied. “No, wait… infinity plus one. Yup.”

 

Kabuto's jaw slackened a bit, but quickly recovered. “Uh… maybe I've been asking it the wrong way. Could you… um, please translate your power levels to this diagram?”

 

The silver-haired boy handed Sin the card that had his information, who received it readily. Handing him a pen, he instructed the blonde boy to mark the diagram, rating himself from five levels, zero being the lowest, and five being the highest. Sin immediately understood, and began to hum a tune as he began to put dots around his diagram.

 

“Whoa…” Kabuto whispered as he saw Sin judged himself as a level one in ninjutsu, two in genjutsu, four in taijutsu, four as well in his skills using tools, and put a modest three in the bloodline capacity. “A bit modest aren't you?”

 

“Yes, well, I had to cut down the factor of my true skills by ten… if I didn't, the whole thing wouldn't fit.”

 

Kabuto almost slipped and fell when he heard that, wondering whether to question Sin if what he said was something he truly believed, or a joke. Deciding to accept it just as it is, the silver-haired boy just took back his card, put it in his deck, shaking his head with a smile.

 

Before anything else happened, though, a puff of smoke appeared at the front stand, where the blackboards were, revealing a rather heavily scarred man in front of a group of older and eager looking chuunins.

 

“What are you bastards standing around for?” the scarred man demanded, his voice loud, hard, and with a hint of sadism that Sin found somewhat refreshing. “Sit the hell down!”

 

Immediately, all the genins began to look for seats. The man had a somewhat commanding aura that had scared most of them, plus his rather frightening grin would make even the braver ones think before they would try and defy him. Due to the commotion earlier with Sin and Neji's soap opera love-life as it would be called later (much to the Neji's annoyance), not all them were able to seat together with their teams.

 

While everyone was trying to find free seats, Sin seated beside a very pretty grass-nin with a straw hat, separated from his teammates. He smiled, and gave his usual greeting.

 

“Yappo,” the blonde boy greeted with a wave. “I'm Sin. Lovely day, isn't it.”

 

The grass-nin didn't reply and just stared at the blonde's blue orbs in return.

 

“Are all grass-nins as pretty as you?” the blonde boy asked. “If they are, I may have to visit sometimes.”

 

Sasuke, who was just a few paces away, raised an eyebrow. Was Sin… flirting?

 

“You know… you remind me of a snake,” Sin continued. “Have that dangerous streak. Maybe a bit sadistic, but wild. Wanna go out after the exams?”

 

“No,” the grass-nin replied, dead panned.

 

“It's because I'm a ten-incher… isn't it?” Sin replied back at the rejection, making almost every genin (and some chuunin examiners too) look at the boy. Sakura seemed to be slamming her head on the table.

 

“Troublesome…” Shikamaru whispered.

 

“I'm a guy,” the grass-nin finally declared, his eyes glaring at the blonde somewhat dangerously.

 

“Oh… OH!” Sin then sighed audibly, and stood up. “Damn it… wasted my time there. I knew I should have sat near the blonde kunoichi from the sand… what was her name… Temari?”

 

Temari bowed her head, if to hide her blush and hide herself from any potential embarrassment (not that it helped. She was the only blonde with the Sand Village insignia).

 

Kiba, who was seated besides Hinata, was smirking. “Guy's got balls.”

 

“Kiba!” Hinata flushed red.

 

“Temari-san! My desert rose… are you around! Can I seat beside you?” Sin called across the class.

 

Most of the older genins were laughing at this point, some shaking their heads. The chuunin examiners looked at each other with knowing smirks. The ones not amused were Gaara (who didn't seem to feel anything at this point), Kankuro (who hated Sin since the beginning anyway), and the scarred examiner, who just glared at the blonde boy.

 

“Sit down! Or do you want you and your team to fail this exam!?” he asked. Sin just obliged the man. “Now that we're all seated… my name is Ibiki Morino. I'll be your examiner for the first part of this Chuunin Exam. I will not tolerate any fighting without expressed permission. Any pigs that want to try me, I'll beat you down, and fail you immediately. Are we clear?”

 

No one replied, though most just settled in nodding.

 

“Good,” Ibiki continued. He took a moment, and looked around. Nodding, he signaled a chuunins beside him. “These guys will hand out your tests, and while they do, I'll explain the rules. Asking questions won't be allowed, so shut up and listen!”

 

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Orochimaru, disguised as the grass-nin, stole a look towards Sin. For a second, he wondered whether to stab the blonde boy or ignore him. Stabbing sounded pretty fun… but that would immediately fail Sasuke from attending the second part of the exams, where he would make his move. He needed the young Uchiha to pass through safely.

 

Problem was Sin himself. Orochimaru had expected Sasuke to be teamed up with the dead-last of the academy. He hadn't expected the Hokage to take in outside help. Whoever the blonde boy was, he was not from the Leaf… or Fire Country. The bastard looked a bit like Minato, the Fourth Hokage, but then again, Orochimaru had seen someone who looked like him before. Besides, the Fourth had no child. He died alone, killing his own line in the end with his sacrifice to slay the Nine-Tails.

 

The blonde also seemed like an idiot… of course, being a Sannin himself, he knew it could have been an act. How much of it was an act was what really ticked the Snake Sannin off. Would he admit the boy was very talented, not unlike Kabuto? He did call his silver-haired spy for what he is, in a jesting tone as it is… worse yet, he stated Orochimaru smelled like snakes.

 

No, the Sannin scoffed. It was impossible. His disguise was perfect. He knew how he smelled like… he smelled like the grass-nin he just killed. This Sin boy wasn't unto Kabuto nor was he unto Orochimaru himself. It was silly to even think of. The boy was too sunny, apparently wears his heart on his sleeve.

 

It won't be a problem, the Sannin convinced himself. He'll just summon a snake to take care of Sin soon. His summons were demanding some fresh meat already.

 

“Excuse me…” Kankuro called from another side of the room. “I need to go to the bathroom.”

 

One of the examiners stepped forward, and hand-cuffed him, almost practically throwing him out. The Snake-sannin seemed snort, and looked back at his seatmate.

 

“Zzzz…” Sin snored as he lightly napped on his desk, much to Orochimaru's amusement. The Snake Sannin had completed the test, except for the last one, number ten, which according to the questionnaire, will be asked later. He was going to recheck his answers when he noticed Sin's symbol at the back of his black coat, then ignored it.

 

At the back of his mind, a little voice was trying to remind him that he had seen or heard of that sign before.

 

He didn't pay heed to it.

 

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

 

“Okay… now…” Ibiki cleared his throat. “We will begin question ten.”

 

Some genins let out a sigh of breathe, some looking pretty glum. Ibiki grinned a bit, scanning all the tables, and noticed one particular blonde boy prone on top of the desk, apparently, sleeping.

 

“Hey, you!” Ibiki pointed towards the grass-nin. “Wake him up.”

 

Sasuke and Sakura looked towards Sin, their face in a cold mask, as if their face were carved from stone, then back at Ibiki. The grass-nin hesitated slightly, then shook the blonde boy awake.

 

“Wha… huh…?” Sin muttered sleepily. He looked at the one who woke him up, and smiled a bit. “Hey there beauty… oh… wait… you're a guy right? Ugh… I think I'm still asleep…”

 

“Bored with our questions?” Ibiki asked towards Sin, who just yawned.

 

“Yup. Too easy,” he replied rather cheerily, earning a slight glare from everyone in the room.

 

“Is that so?” Ibiki snorted silently, and spotted a sand genin, and like Sin, wearing a black cloak, except he had some sort of war-paint around his face. “Was your doll playing beneficial?”

 

Kankuro's eyes widened a bit. He had put his puppet, Karasu as an extra examiner who would write all answers down, and later give it to Kankuro when he would be escorted to the bathroom. It worked… and Kankuro thought he hadn't been caught, until Ibiki had mentioned it.

 

Taking what he could, Kankuro passed along Temari, and secretly handed her the paper with the answers as he went back to his desk.

 

“Now that we're all here… let me explain a few more rules,” Ibiki declared. “These are the rules of desperation.”

 

Rules of desperation? Sakura wondered.

 

“First of all… the tenth question, you will decide whether or not you take it.”

 

What kind of rule is that!? Sasuke wondered.

 

“Choose!?” Temari demanded.

 

“My desert flower!”

 

The sand kunoichi ignored that call. There were important things to tackle. “What happens if we choose not to answer?”

 

“Simple,” Ibiki seemed to shrug. “You and your team will fail the exam.”

 

“WHAT!?” one random genin stood up. “Then we'll take the question!”

 

“That's when the other rule comes in…” Ibiki declared.

 

Another rule!? Sakura thought in shock. How many rules will this guy keep throwing at them?

 

“You will love this,” the examiner grinned. “If you wish to take it… and answer incorrectly, you will forfeit your chance to take the Chuunin Exams ever again.”

 

“WHAT!” Kiba was the one that stood up this time, and pointed an accusing finger at the man. “There are some repeat exam-takers here! What kind of stupid rule is that!?”

 

“My exam, my rules,” Ibiki replied coolly. “You were just unlucky to have me. Of course, I will give you a way out. Those who have no confidence in answering the question, you can choose not to take it, and try it the exam again next year.”

 

“Haha… I love this,” Sin grinned, whispering towards the grass-nin beside him. “And I always thought paper exams were no fun. This takes the cake!”

 

Ibiki glared towards the blonde, watching him speak casually towards his seatmate. His words weren't audible, but his expression was unmistakable.

 

“How about you, Blondie? Want to quit?” the examiner asked.

 

“No sir!” Sin declared clearly.

 

“Hmph… well if any of you want to, speak now before I ask the tenth question.”

 

Silence reigned in the room, all genins looking at the Examiner and towards each other. After a few minutes, someone, shaking, raised his arm up in the sky, and called it quits. He was ordered towards the exit, along with his teammates. Then another raised his or her hand, and then another, followed by another. Like an axe slamming against the tree, the numbers dwindled with each hand raised, whittling down to just a few.

 

Sasuke examined the exam room, knowing at least half of the teams were already gone. He had confidence in answering the question. He was more worried about Sakura, though he knew she would get it right as well. She was a brainiac after all. Sin, he knew would pass. There was no discussing it… it was something he grew to learn having him as a teammate.

 

Sakura thought of the same thing, so she too calmly waited for the question.

 

More hands raised themselves, and more teams passed through the door, their heads hung with shame and anger. With every passing genin, Ibiki just smiled mentally, counting down how many genins were left. He was making a haul…

 

Not that will matter to her when she arrives. I bet she'd tell me I went too easy on them, he thought with a smirk.

 

Stretching his silence further, four more teams removed themselves from the room. All that was left were genins with very serious and contemplative looks on their faces (except Sin… he looked blank). Finding no more teams willing to quit, Ibiki knew now was now time.

 

“Good decisions, everyone,” the examiner. “To those still remaining…”

 

Sasuke's shoulders tensed, Sakura sweating slightly, Sin looking still blank, while the other genins, rookies or otherwise, flinched, readying themselves for the incoming question…

 

Ibiki gave a smile… a friendly smile for once as he announced to the genins, “You pass!”

 

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Usually, when someone passes an exam, they pause for a moment, letting shock mix into their system. The first thought is always one of doubt, which is quickly erased by shock, then, in the end, pure and utter joy strong enough that the exam takers would jump out of their seats and celebrate.

 

None of the genins did that. Instead, they began to question the Examiner, like he had gone insane.

 

You'd think they'd just be happy they passed… Sin thought rather cheerfully. Of course… that will come later.

 

Ibiki hadn't gone mad, as most genins thought, and began to explain that the tenth question was made as a `Take it or don't take it' type of question which parallels into missions a chuunin would take.

 

“When you are given a particularly difficult mission, one which does not ensure you or your team's survival,” Ibiki explained. “Would you reject the mission, thinking for your own safety, or the safety of your teammates?

 

“The answer is, of course… no,” the man declared coldly. “There will be missions you can't avoid. Dangerous missions you have to take. As a Chuunin, you have to be courageous and survive any hardship. Those who can't put their lives on the line, clinging to the uncertain `next time' are trash who do not deserve to the right to become chuunin.

 

“Those who took the question… you will be able to survive troubles you will face in the future. You all have made it through the first part of the Chuunin Exams,” and Ibiki smiled warmly. “I wish you guys luck.”

 

The genins looked at each other, grins breaking through their faces. Sin turned towards Sakura and Sasuke, who both had similar smiles on their faces, and nodded. The other genins seemed to finally breathe out the air they had been holding in, some going for their teammates, chatting rather happily.

 

That is, until the window of the classroom crashed, scattering enough glass to scare a few genins into standing, readying themselves. Ibiki just groaned, and turned his back on the explosion, letting the shards wash over his back without harming him. He noticed a ball of cloth exploding outwards, each corner with a kunai that attached itself into the ceiling and floor, stretching it, blocking Ibiki from view from the rest of the genins.

 

“Calm down you guys! Now is not the time to celebrate!” a very pretty woman with dark hair, fishnet clothing and a jacket over her, declared. Behind her was the cloth, stretched out. Written on it was her name, and declaring her the second proctor of the next examination.

 

“Anko Matarashi,” she smirked, “Examiner for the Second Test. Now follow me!”

 

None of the genins responded, making the woman wonder what was wrong.

 

“Bad timing…” Ibiki declared coming in front. Anko looked somewhat put-off. “Could you have waited another minute or so…”

 

Not wanting to listen to a lecture, she quickly counted the remaining students. “Fifty-seven? You left nineteen teams? You went too easy on them!”

 

Heh… knew it, Ibiki thought.

 

“Bah… I'll just cut them at least in half in the second exam,” Anko declared with a leery grin, making some of the genins swallow nervously. “I'll explain everything once we've moved. You, and you,” she pointed towards two random Chuunins that were helping with the exam. “Bring them to Practice Area Forty-four.”

 

“Forty-four?” they asked, surprised, then grinned widely. They looked at the genins. “Alright you bastards. Follow us!”

 

As the genins followed the two, Anko whispered towards Ibiki, “Which one of them is Team Seven's famous third member?”

 

“Blonde boy. Black jacket, with a rather odd sign on the back of his coat,” the man whispered back.

 

“That one eh?” the woman grinned a bit. “Doesn't look much… but judging from how much censorship the Hokage's been providing around him…”

 

“Remember, Matarashi, you are the proctor of the second exam. You have nineteen teams to test. Don't concentrate on one boy.”

 

“Don't worry too much, scar-face,” Anko replied easily. “I just want to see what the fuss is all about.” She then licked her lips, making the other chuunins in the room nervous, wondering when either special jounins would dismiss them.

 

“And I will see to it,” she grinned.

 

To Be Continued…

 

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Author's Notes: Anyone expecting the Sin and Orochimaru fight… you'll have to wait till next chapter. :P Later guys, and enjoy the chapter.