Chapter 8

Chunin Exams- Written Test

" Thinking "

" Flashback thoughts"

"And so do the three of you understand the importance of this?" Minato asked in full Hokage mode as he sat behind his desk with Team 13 and Mikoto standing in front of him.

"Yes Hokage-sama," Naruto, Itachi and Anko replied back in a respectful tone.

"Very good; the three of you are the only team from the leaf village this time around who will be competing in the chunin exams therefore the village has a lot of high hopes for the three of you."

"Yes Hokage-sama," they said again Mikoto watched her team with pride evident in her eyes.

"And above all else give it your all and know that Konoha and all its inhabitants, shinobi and civilian are behind you one hundred percent and will be rooting for you every step of the way. The three of you are the best crop of genin we have had in a very long time."

"With what your sensei has been telling me, the three of you are more than ready for these exams," Minato said looking at Naruto with pride evident on his face.

Though Naruto remained emotionless and looked at his father with slightly bored eyes.

"Thank you Hokage-sama. We will do our best," the three said in unison.

Minato nodded as he gave them their forms. "Remember you need those forms to get into the exams. So if one you lose those forms, then none of you will be able to enter."

"The chunin exams this year will be held in Suna which is three days journey away. The exams begin in five days so you will need to get moving by tomorrow," he said as the three genin nodded and bowed to their Hokage before they turned to leave the room.

"Naruto your Kaa-chan would like to know what you want for dinner this evening since you won't be home for a while. She said she will make you whatever you want," Minato said thinking Naruto would be smiling a big smile since he always enjoyed Kushina's cooking.

Naruto heard his father and slowly turned around which surprise Minato and Mikoto when they saw he was looking at them still with a emotionless look on his face.

"Tell Kaa-chan not to worry. I'm having dinner round jiji's tonight," he said. Before either could say anything he shunshined away leaving the two adults as the only ones left in the room.

"What was that about?" Minato asked to himself as he looked at where his eldest was standing before turning towards Mikoto.

Mikoto was also looking towards the spot where he had been standing with a similar thought in her head. She had begun to notice more and more lately that Naruto was becoming very distant and one would even say a little cold towards his parents. He even tried to keep away from his siblings though, she quickly saw that was not possible due to Mina and Mito's clinginess.

Plus he had been spending a lot more time at their compound with Itachi and Anko.

"I'm sure it is just nerves," Mikoto answered. "I bet the shock of him being entered in the chunin exam has made him a little nervous and a little withdrawn."

"We were all at that stage when we went to out chunin exams. Do you remember Kushina during hers when she was fourteen?" she asked making Minato chuckle at the memory.

Kushina had been so excited to being put into the chunin exams that when the day actually arrived, she became a nervous wreck and on more than one occasion tried to pull out. Though when her confidence finally came back, she made sure everyone knew that she was going to became a chunin and kick their ass to the moon and back.

"Naruto is probably just handling it differently. We all do handle certain situations differently."

Minato sat there for a few moments before smiling.

"Yeah, yeah you are probably right. I'm sure that's what it is. Though Kushina will be a little crushed that he won't be here tonight, but I'm sure she will understand." he said before saying goodbye to Mikoto and preparing to face the Kage's greatest enemy of all time.

Paper work

Mikoto meanwhile as she left the room had a frown marring on her face as she thought about her blonde haired student and genin.

"Naruto what is wrong? What are you trying to hide?"

Mikoto shunshined back home and immediately sought out her eldest son to ask him about Naruto's actions towards his parents.

She found in the backyard playing with his younger sister, smiling towards his little sister. She walked forward and said. "Itachi, I wish to ask you something about Naruto."

"So you noticed then? The way Naruto acts towards his family?" Asked Itachi with a sad look on his face, as he thought about his closest friend and the problems he had at home.

"Yes, I noticed; what is that about? He is so cold towards his parents and tries to push away his siblings." She asked concerned about her student's wellbeing as well as the state of her best friend and rivals home.

"When I first met Naruto we were both seven as you remember?" He stated and the continued when his mother nodded. "Well one of the first things I learned about him was that was very good at fūinjutsu."

"Yes, which is to be expected with who his parents are I am sure that they taught him about fūinjutsu at a young age as is tradition of the Uzumaki clan." She stated not knowing where this was going.

"It wasn't his parents who taught him fūinjutsu, it was the Sandaime. In fact his parents didn't even teach him the basics of chakra control, he learned it from Shizune-san." Replied Itachi, pausing to let everything he said sink in.

"But, why would he have to learn such things from other people? Surely if he had asked his parents would have gladly taught him?" She asked not sure if she wanted to know the answer.

Itachi just shook his head and looked towards Hokage Mountain where you could just make out two figures on top of the Yondaime's head. "Naruto did ask them to teach him, however ever since the twins were born they have become less attentive towards him. When Naruto asked his father and mother to teach him fūinjutsu, his father simply gave him a book to give to the Sandaime when he took his lessons. He asked his mother to help him with his chakra and to learn about and instead of making a shadow clone to do so, she told him that she was too busy and then passed him off to Shizune."

Mikoto looked over at her son in shock and then towards the blond speck on top of the mountain with sadness in her eyes. She couldn't understand what could possess two of her closest friends to act this way towards their son. "Why haven't you or anyone confronted them about how they treat Naruto?"

"It's not how you think; they aren't doing it on purpose. They are unintentionally favoring the twins. As for why we haven't confronted them Naruto told everyone not to, he thinks that it won't change anything so he would rather endure it rather than have his parents think that he is starting things because he is jealous of the twins, which he is not." Responded Itachi smiling slightly as he turned towards his mother; which confused her greatly, after all why would he be happy about that. "Even after how his parents have treated him, albeit unintentionally, he loves his younger siblings to death. Mina, Mito, and Eiji mean the world to him and he would fight to the death to ensure their safety."

"So, then his taijutsu and kenjutsu; they aren't anything that Minato or Kushina use, so who taught him?" she asked smiling sadly at the fact her student was suffering and she couldn't do anything about it.

"His taijutsu, as I'm sure you have realized is a bastardized version of the Senju style and Goken; he was taught the Senju style by Tsunade-sama, however the Senju style is defensive like the Uchiha style so in order to counteract that problem he asked Gai-san to teach him Goken. Also the Senju style and Goken were too restrictive for him so he adjusted each style to work better with his body type." Said Itachi as he made a face at little Ria which made her giggle and smile at her big brother.

"I thought it seemed familiar, though I have trouble following it with my Sharingan; do you have the same problem?" she asked since even though he was younger Itachi's eyes were sharper than hers.

"Yes, I have much trouble following it since his style is more free form that the normal structured style of either style; though I would be surprised if it was like that on purpose. Naruto and I are friends as well as rivals so it would make since for him to have something to counteract my eyes. You asked about his kenjutsu correct?" Itachi asked, still playing with Ria.

"Yes, I did I have never seen anything like it in all of Hi no Kuni." She replied smiling as she watched her eldest and youngest play.

"That would be because it is from Testu no Kuni and has never been used or mastered as, like his taijutsu, it is free formed. Apparently Mifune-sama saw that Naruto was having trouble with his first kill and found Naruto training in kenjutsu, which at that point he didn't even have a style just natural talent. They sparred while we waited out the storm at night, when we left Mifune left him a scroll with the foot work and a challenge for him to become strong enough to face him on an equal footing one day." He said as he picked up Ria to take her inside for her nap, leaving his mother to mull over what she had been told.

"I will have to talk to Naruto to get the full story from him, though you can't help but be impressed that he has come so far with so little help." She thought hoping to help the little boy whom she saw as a nephew.

"So you are going to be in the chunin exams. Are you excited?" Sarutobi asked Naruto as the two sat on top of the Shodaime Hokage's head on the Hokage monument as they looked over the village as the sun began to disappeared and let night settle in.

Beside him Naruto gave him an excited smile. "I am. I really want to test myself against other strong people from the other villages. The stronger the better I say."

"Well remember not to get in to over your head. If you get to over confident and cocky then it may lead to your downfall. I have seen it do that to my shinobi during my life." Sarutobi lightly scolded but Naruto nodded.

"I know but I am just excited that's all," he said, a complete 180 turn from what he was acting like earlier.

"Well that is good then. Will you say goodbye to Tsunade, Mana and Shizune before you leave?" he asked with Naruto quickly nodding. "Good, I know they will miss you while you are gone. Those two will miss having their little blonde sunshine not be around for a while.

Sarutobi then laughed at the pout on Naruto face at being called a blonde sunshine.

"I will miss them too but it won't be for long. Plus if I make it into the final round, you will all come and watch me right?"

"Just try and stop us," Hiruzen said making Naruto smile brightly.

"You would need an army of shinobi and more to stop Tsunade from going," he thought since Tsunade truly did love and care for Naruto just like she did for Nawaki, but in a more maternal way. The same could be said for Shizune since she had a big soft spot for the young blonde Uzumaki.

"Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned."

Shaking his head Sarutobi then put his hand on Naruto shoulder and gave him a serious look and telling him to pay close attention. Naruto knew this was his jiji slipping into his Kami no Shinobi mode.

"Since there are going to be shinobi from other villages, there is a chance they will recognize you by your appearance and your name. Ninja of Kumo

will most likely be participating so you must be on your guard." he said as Naruto nodded.

"Especially after the Kumo incident here a year ago, we have become wary around them."

"I still don't understand why the alliance never happened. The Raikage said he knew nothing about the abduction and that the Kumo-nin had done it on his own accord. I could feel his chakra jiji. If he was lying then his chakra would have been all over the place. He was telling the truth."

"Yes well unfortunately Naruto even with that statement, the word of a lone genin would not be enough to change the mind of your father and the shinobi council. Plus due to your mothers past experiences with Kumo, she already did not like the fact that they were here in the village."

Naruto sorted a little which was very much unusual for him; he responded very sarcastically. "Yes, because those two were going to listen to be even if it was enough."

Hiruzen frowned a little at the statement but Naruto quickly changed the subject.

"I am also guessing that using my hidden bloodline is also a big no no for the chunin exams?" he said despite already knowing the answer.

"Yes Naruto it is imperative that no one knows you have the Mokuton until you are older and strong enough to fight off most threats."

"Because other villages might try to have me taken out if they find out?" he asked as Hiruzen nodded his head.

"The Mokuton Naruto is recognized as one of the strongest bloodlines in the entire world. It is rivaled only by the Sharingan yet many believe it is superior then the dōjutsu. The power to control and suppress the power of a tail beast is a power that many will desire."

"Plus there are people in the village that might try to take advantage of it." he said as Hiruzen's face darkened a little.

"Yes. There are those in the shadows of the Konoha that will try to use that power which could end up hurting the leaf more than helping it," he said as his thoughts trekked first to a few members of the councils who were known to be rather power hungry before it settled on his old team mate and Konoha's War hawk Danzo.

"If Danzo ever gets his claws into Naruto, the man would not stop until Konoha is under his control." he thought before Naruto and Hiruzen let silence take over.

One thought about who and what he would face in the future while the other thought of the obstacles that his surrogate grandson would one day have to face.

A cloaked covered Team 13 trekked through the sands of the desert as they walked towards the giant gate of the Sunagakure. The gates were made of mass of stone and had two chunin guards similar to what Konoha had stationed at the gate.

"Halt; state your names and purpose for coming to the Sunagakure." one of the chunin said as Mikoto took off her hood and showed her Konoha headband.

"Mikoto Uchiha with her genin team, here for the chunin exams," she said as she handed the chunin some forms as they looked it over.

After a minute of looking the guards nodded their heads.

"You're all a little late aren't you? The exams start in an hour and most of the team are either already there or are heading that way."

"We got caught up in a sand storm on the way here so we had to take cover. We should have been here yesterday afternoon but we had to bunker down for a day and let the storm pass."

The chunin both nodded in understanding since sandstorms were very common in the desert of Suna. If you got caught in one or attempted to brave it then you most likely would not make it.

"Okay well the chunin exams are taking place in the academy building on the west side of the village. You will probably see a few team head in that direction so just follow them," one of the chunin said as Mikoto and the three genin all nodded and walked on through.

Team 13 quickly made their way through the gates and headed towards their lodgings which were at the Desert Possum Hotel.

Once there, they deposited their bags while Naruto, Itachi and Anko kept the things they knew they would need for these exams.

Once done, Mikoto led the trio towards the academy building on the east side. As they made their way there they spotted a few other teams from the other villages. One was a group from grass country if the headbands were anything to go by while another was from the rain.

They kept their guard just in case until after ten minutes they arrived at the academy building. Mikoto stopped at the entrance and turn to look at her team, a proud smile marring on her face.

"You all have everything you need right?" She asked as the trio nodded at her.

"Know that the three of you have made me so proud this past year and are about to do something that very few people can say they have done within the space of a year. I know the three of you are going to go on to do great things if what I have seen from the three of you is anything to go by."

"I know the three of you can go all the way in this exam but remember that in this exam not everything will be what it seems. So look underneath the underneath and pick out things that may seem little, but will end playing a big part in these exams."

Naruto, Itachi and Anko smiled towards their teacher and in Itachi case mother and bowed to her.

"Thank you for putting your faith in us Mikoto sensei/Kaa-san and thank you for helping us get to this point in our ninja careers. Without you, we probably would not have gotten this far."

Leaning down Mikoto placed a kiss on each of their foreheads, keeping her lips on Itachi's forehead a little longer then Naruto and Anko and fought to keep any tears at bay.

Though she had only been their sensei for a year, she had loved every moment of having the chance to train her eldest son and his two friends.

"We promise we will do our best and honor your teachings." they said together again as Mikoto stood to the side and allowed them entry into the building.

"How them all and show the world why the three of you will one day be legends," she whispered to herself as she watched them go.

Taking a slow breath, she shunshined away and went to join the other Jonin instructors, wanting to watch as her team progressed through the exam.

Naruto walk in the center with Itachi on his right and Anko on his left as the trio made their way through the hallways of the academy.

As they walked in a chunin proctor instructed them that they exams was on the third floor and in the room 3A.

As soon as the man had said that, the three already knew something about this exam was already fishy.

As they walked up the stairs of the academy building, once they got up the stairs they saw the room 3A in clear writing and saw a grass-nin team head into the room.

Anko thinking nothing of it at first walked forwards and went towards the door but stopped when she felt Naruto and Itachi's hand rest on her shoulders.

"Hold up Anko, this is not our floor." he said making her look at him in a confused manner.

"But the door is right there. 3A," she said but by the look on their faces she guessed that was not quite the case.

"What number was the room again?" he asked as Anko lazily told him it was 3A. "Right so then how many flights of stairs have we gone up so far?"

"Two..." she trailed off before her eyes widened a little as she realized what he was getting at. She turned back around and looked at the sigh which read 3A. She gazed it at is strongly for a moment before seeing the words flicker on it.

"A genjutsu..." she whispered as the others two nodded.