Naruto's resolve
The room looks like any other testing room Naruto had been in when he was in the academy. It's big enough to have hundreds of people at a time. There are more people than he has ever seen in one place. There are desks as far as the eye can see. Naruto looks around them from what he could see there is anywhere from 150 to 200 people, It's difficult for him to tell there is fierce competition this year.
Naruto looked around him, seeing many strange people he didn't even recognize. Their headbands came from villages he didn't even know existed. There was one girl who caught his eye; her hair was long and down to her back. It was red. She wore glasses. She seemed to be keeping her distance from everyone she was with, as she was on her team. Then he saw others: their outfits were so strange that they came from various villages. He even saw a silver-haired boy who looked around the age of 16. His attire was something Naruto thought was strange.
He wears a dark purple shirt with a high collar, a white under-shirt, and dark purple pants with a white cloth waistband; he also wears dark purple fingerless gloves with armored plates on the back of the hand and a blue forehead protector. He wears a dark purple shirt with a high collar, a white under-shirt, and dark purple pants with a white cloth waistband; he also wears dark purple fingerless gloves that have fingers being exposed. The thing that stood out the most was his glasses. He doesn't see much Shinobi who wear glasses.
The boy noticed him looking at him, "So you're part of the team that made a scene earlier?" the silver-haired boy asked him. "Yes, who are you way?" Naruto asked with curiosity.
"A word of advice: What you did draws unnecessary attention to yourself and your team. I would keep as low a profile as possible. I know from experience.", the silver-haired boy said politely.
"I'm Kabuto Yakushi; I have experience taking the Chunin exams to the point where I have knowledge that might be useful to you." This intrigued Naruto. What was he talking about? Then he took out cards.
"I have information about various candidates, even on you and your sensei."
Naruto, out of curiosity, decided to ask: "What information do you have on Hinata Hyuga?"
Naruto asked just out of curiosity. He flipped the card and Naruto along with everyone was surprised by the amount of A-rank missions and B-rank she completed; no wonder she is a Jonin at the age of 19.
"Interesting! Is it how young your Sensei is? She's very well accomplished. You are fortunate that she's your teacher." His compliment was sincere..
"What about Rock Lee?"asked Sasuke. He took out another card and was surprised that Rock Lee had an impressive record despite him only being a Shinobi for over a year.
"Wow, those are impressive skills. I'm surprised you aren't part of reconnaissance or intelligence; these are useful." Kagome pointed out.
." These exams are tough, it is not uncommon for us to take them more than once. This is the fourth time I've taken it"
It was that hard? No, Naruto thought he was going to pass on his first try; he wasn't going to take it multiple times, not if he had anything to say about it.
"What about Gaara and Tamari?" Kagome asked him. He went one step beyond; he did the entire sand siblings. Naruto was shocked they were powerful. Their record was impressive for their age.
"They are possibly the strongest team here. I would advise staying as far away from them as possible. They are no joke; their strength is not to be trifled with. Especially Gaara, his mission report says he has completed every mission without a scratch on his body—he's ruthless and efficient in how he deals with his enemies. He's not someone I would want to mess with; I would advise you to stay as far away from him as possible."
This made Naruto more determined. He was not going to be scared.
Out of nowhere, Kabuto collapsed on his knees and part of his glasses broke. Naruto looked around; the person responsible was behind that team with a headband emblazoned with the symbol of sound.
The first among them was a boy named Dosu, who was hard to tell his age. He had bandages covering most of his face, leaving only his left eye and eyebrow uncovered. He also wore a large poncho with long sleeves, a snake-patterned scarf around his neck, and a straw raincoat protruding from the back of his scarf.
The second one to his right was a boy named Zaku who had spiky black hair and dark eyes. He wore a beige shirt with two black stripes and three prints of the kanji for death down the front. His forehead protector had an attached happuri under the cloth rather than connected to the metal plate, resembling As with his teammates he wore a snake-patterned scarf around his neck.
Last was a girl who went by the name Kin to his left, had fair skin, black eyes with very long black hair, almost reaching down to her calves, tied by a violet ribbon right near the end. She wore a forehead protector, a pale green vest somewhat similar to a flak jacket, snake patterned pants with a snake patterned skirt over it, and a snake patterned scarf around her neck, much like her team-mates.
"Pathetic is this what we can expect from Konaha Ninja?" Dosu said mockingly to everyone who was from Konoha, which caused Naruto to want to stand up and fight him. However, Kabuto put his hand on Naruto, saying, "He's trying to provoke you; don't fall for the bait." How was he able to remain calm? Naruto wondered. "You have information on us, don't you?" Kabuto remained calm, not saying anything or responding. "I don't have much on you unfortunately," he admitted, which they didn't buy.
"We should teach these kids a lesson about messing with us", before the sound of Ninja doing anything there was a voice that silenced everyone and everyone knew better than to anger the man in front of them.
"All right, that's enough. If anyone tries to start a fight at this point, you'll be disqualified from the exams." He said with a voice that left no room for anyone to argue. Everyone was silent. He has a large, imposing figure, which he complements with a rugged head and face covered in old wounds and scars. His forehead is covered by his forehead protector, which he assume it is to cover up scars on his head.
"I'm going to be the examiner of this exam this year. My name is Ibiki Morino. How unfortunate for you kids. But I'm the one that's the examiner"the room was silent nobody dared to speak."This is the start of the Chunin exams, the first test that you will all be taking will be a written test there are people here that will make sure that nobody cheats as a whole your team can earn as much as 30 points get below the double digits and you will all fail."A written test? Naruto was panicking. He was awful at taking written test out of all the things that he was forced to do a written test he would rather do anything but that.
"Here are the numbers you will take them and you will go to your assigned seats and remember my warning." The examiner said with an implied threat. Everyone sat on their assigned seats and everyone was handed a sheet of paper which had 10 questions. "One last thing, you will be given an hour to answer all of them; the 10th question will be revealed at the end." Naruto sighed with relief.
That still wouldn't help him with the other nine questions. How would he answer them? He looked at everything, but none of it helped him understand any of the questions. How could he? This was ridiculous; how could he answer these? It was almost like this was setting him up to fail—no, he couldn't let a bunch of questions that he had difficulty answering stop him from getting to his goal.
Karin looks at all these questions. It was child's play, though her teammates unfortunately would not be able to answer these questions. There were so many chakra signatures around her; some of them were pleasant, others were nauseating. She did not like being in close proximity with this many people, especially certain ones having an aura that is dark such as the red-haired boy who was in front of her. There was a girl next to her whose hair was black; she must have been the teammate of the blonde-haired boy a few desks down.
There's no way she could fail. She wrote all of the answers down. It was easy, a little too easy though her teammates would need help and she came to the conclusion that most of the people here probably couldn't answer the questions without cheating. The real purpose of this test was intelligence gathering: how efficient is everyone here at doing it without getting detected? Cheating wasn't penalized; it was getting caught and being careless.
Karin knew better than to be careless. She put down her pencil when she was done answering the 9th question and waited for the hour to pass by before the 10th question would be presented to everyone. She would have to of course have the appearance that she was still struggling to answer the question because after all part of what makes being a good Shinobi is the ability to do deception and hide in plain sight.
Hanabi was confident that her team would succeed. After all, Shino with his bugs could easily reconnoiter and help his team Akamaru could use his hearing and sense of smell to assist Kiba in finding the answers. Hanabi, with her Byakugan, could easily find the answers so she wrote them down as quickly as possible so she wouldn't get caught. It was almost too easy. She wrote it all down as quickly as she could so she would not get caught. It would kill the purpose of taking the exam only to fail at the very beginning and possibly the easiest section.
She noticed a bug that informed her of the answers being correct. She wondered if Naruto, Hinata's student and friend, would be able to figure this out. She hoped so; she wouldn't want her sister's faith in Naruto to be misplaced. She would love to face him if given a chance but that couldn't happen unless he passed. However, she wasn't going to help him now if he isn't smart enough to figure that out - it was his problem and his team, not hers.
She waited for the 10th question. She wondered what it was something told her it would be something obvious but she couldn't say why. Why give the 10th question at the end? This perplexed her so she waited patiently as more and more candidates were eliminated.
With his Sharingan, Sasuke was able to easily copy the answers from the person in front of him. It was easy when the perks about the Uchiha eyes. He hoped Naruto would be able to figure it out that the only way to pass the test was to cheat. Sasuke managed to figure it out almost immediately; more candidates were being eliminated so many careless people. Sasuke couldn't go too fast because he would get caught but he couldn't go too slow because he would get caught.
Testing every potential Chunin to see if they are capable of reconnaissance is a good way to weed out the incompetent and careless among those in the exams. One of the most important aspects of being a Shinobi is to be able to do reconnaissance without getting caught; stealth is also an important attribute that every skill was being tested and revolved around. It doesn't matter how good the fighters were here, if they weren't able to do basic things that were expected from all Shinobi, they were expected to do all sorts of missions much more than what was expected out of Chunin. It wasn't something for glory-seeking fools who did not care about the goals of the mission or the security of the village.
If he couldn't pass this exam, which is child's play, he can never get to his ultimate goal. He hopes that Naruto is able to figure this out on his own and hopes Hinata's one-on-one lessons instilled in him patience and the ability to figure basic things out like the ability to gather information without getting caught. He had to have faith in Naruto's ability because not doing so would admit that his sensei isn't deserving of the respect she is expected to have from her students if his sensei believes in Naruto then he will as well because to do otherwise would be a disservice.
Kagome had no idea how she was going to answer these questions; she doesn't have any ability to find the answers to the questions without getting detected. She knew cheating was the only option in order to pass, but how was she going to do so that she doesn't have Sasuke's Sharingan nor does she have a jutsu that she suspects Naruto had invented for this specific purpose mission gathering wasn't something she would think she'd ever be good at unlike her other teammates she was at a severe disadvantage.
"Damn it, I hate written tests." Despite getting good test scores, she always hated written tests more than anything. They were long; they were tedious, and in this instance, these questions were so advanced that you would have to at least be a Jonin to answer them without cheating or be someone who is extremely talented.
She was stuck; there was no way she would be able to answer these questions. Time was ticking, as long as her team could answer the 10th question, they can still pass. Even if she couldn't answer the rest, "I'm sorry Naruto and Sasuke, I can't answer any of these questions." She crossed her fingers hoping that her teammates could pull through because if they didn't, they wouldn't be able to move on to the second exam.
Her mother needed her if she could get promoted, it would make things a lot easier financially. She cannot fail.
"Please don't let us down, Naruto. We're depending on you. I'm depending on you." Kagome said only for herself to hear, hoping that Naruto figures out the obvious in time and doesn't do anything foolish or rash.
Naruto knew time was running out; there were only 20 minutes left, and he had not made any progress. He couldn't answer the questions; he read them over and over again, but he still wasn't close to finding a clear answer to any of them. There had to be one question he could answer besides the tenth one. "Damn it! This is much more difficult than I expected. I've never been good at written tests." How was he going to get himself out of this one?
'Why not use that jutsu you've been training with in the past month?" Kyubi suggested. He knew what he was suggesting: the technique Naruto had not perfected yet, which was dangerous potentially. "They may be able to detect if I use such a technique," Naruto hissed. "The jutsu is not for combat; it's designed specifically for a situation like this—reconnaissance. I suggest you use it. What's the harm?" Kyubi asked.
"The harm is if I'm careless, I could get myself and my entire team disqualified. I've never used this technique in a situation like this; it's too much of a risk." Naruto said.
"It's that mentality is why she will not look at you as a man. Do you want to be respected? Do want her to see you as more than just a student, so she could see you as anything but a boy? Kit You must be willing to take a risk. Everybody else is doing it even your own team. They are depending on you. You will never know if this technique you have developed will work if you haven't even tested it out for real. You want her to be proud of you. You want me to be proud. Be a man and test the damn technique and stop being scared little boy." Kyubi said irritated with Naruto's fear of failure.
"Damn you, you damn fox! You just had to weaponize Hinata against me. Damn it! Fine I'll do it." Naruto said angrily.
If he was careless with the amount of chakra he used, he would be detected instantly and his entire team would fail the exam before they even got to the next stage. He couldn't afford to fail but he also knew that he was right so he put his left index finger on his nose and closed his eyes and casted the jutsu he had experimented with.
All around him, he was able to feel people's chakra. It almost gave him a second sight; it wasn't like the Byakugan. It didn't work that way but he was able to through sound be able to see the answers. There were multiple people who had all the answers but which ones should he copy? There was a red-haired girl with red eyes and glasses. She had just finished answering all the questions he would copy from her. He wasn't thinking when he wrote it; he just did. He wrote every answer down. It took him longer due to him not wanting to have his handwriting be illegible when he was done there was only a few minutes left.
"Your handwriting is horrible; I could barely read that." Kyubi commented. Naruto knew his handwriting was abysmal, but he had to rush to get it done now. He wondered what the 10th question meant: "What does 'signify' mean? Why is it so important that it's revealed at the end?" It had to be some sort of trick question or something that tested someone's resolve—otherwise, the question would have already been answered by somebody by now. Just what more did these people want?
Time was ticking, it felt like an eternity before Ibiki broke the silence." Now the time is here for the 10th question but before that I will warn you there will be drastic consequences should you answer the question wrong."There was quiet mumbling amongst the candidates Naruto was nervous and he was prepared at the same time his Sensei did tell him this would be the hardest trial he had ever faced up until this point. He wouldn't fail, he couldn't face Hinata otherwise he wants to make her proud." Let me explain this rule: absolute first, you must choose what are to accept or reject the 10th question."Naruto could tell from his demeanor that he was a master at psychological torture; he was one of those out of all the people he had to deal with a man who deals with torturing prisoners of war.
Accept or reject? What the hell was he talking about? What is the point of the 10th question? Sasuke would get his answer. "If you reject the question and don't even try to answer it, you'll lose all your points immediately. If you fail both you and your teammates will fail right along with you." Sasuke had come too far to fail now; answering in the 10th question should be a walk in the park compared to what his ultimate goal is. No, he would take his chances assuming his other teammates wouldn't reject.
He didn't care what the question was. He wasn't going to run away or give up; he had come too far, so he had to get stronger. He had to know where his current skills were. His brother was able to pass this exam at a younger age, and even Kakashi was able to do it if they did it. So can he nothing was going to get in his way; he would pass, and his teammates will give it either. They may take their chances because teams seven are not cowards.
Everyone can fail if she were to reject the question and not even try. Kagome couldn't do that; her mother needed her, so she couldn't fail. She would not reject the question; she didn't give a damn what the consequences would be. She would take her chances. She heard other people voice objections: "You're saying we could fail even if we answer the rest of the questions correctly? That is bullshit. What was the point of answering the rest of the questions then?" asked a girl with short black hair.
"There's a reason for that. It's because of the other rule." She was almost scared of what he was going to reveal next. What was he going to reveal?
"If you try to answer the question and get it wrong, you'll never be permitted to apply for the Chunin exams again. You will be deemed unfit and will remain a Genin for the rest of your life."For the rest of his life as a Genin? He could never face Hinata. He can never be a man. He heard Kiba from Team 8 voice his outrage: "This is some bullshit! There are people who have taken the exam before but they're here now. What do you take us for?"That was a good question Naruto wanted to ask, but he resisted asking the question.
"Unfortunately for you, luck isn't on your side this year. I make the rules this time. You can take a failing grade now and try again later." Naruto didn't think that was acceptable; it wasn't acceptable to him. He would not give in to fear. "If you were smart, you would reject the question right now and come back next year and the year after that to try again. You might have a chance then, and who knows? I may not be the examiner."
The cold and calculated look Naruto looked around him, fear in the atmosphere. He was scared he truly was, how can he possibly be worthy of Hinata if he is forever a Genin? Even if he ever becomes a man what choice does he possibly have? It wasn't just his dream that was on the line but his pride as a man.
"Those who choose not to accept should raise their hands right now. It is your last chance to turn back, and if even one of you raises your hand, all of you on your team will be disqualified." The atmosphere was tense. He saw a quarter of the candidates that were left leave—fearfully, he wondered what this test was. What was this question? There had to be a point. What was the point in doing the 10 questions?
Then Naruto thought it didn't matter his pride as a man, his dream he couldn't ever face Hinata if he were to raise his hand in defeat. He raised his hand everyone was surprised including his team and Naruto slammed his right hand on the table shocking everyone. The examiner looked at him with interests wondering what Naruto would say. "I will not be a coward and run. I didn't came all the way here just to run with my tails between my legs I'll answer your damn question I don't care if I end up a Genin for the rest of my life I would rather have that happen then degrade myself and lose my pride as a man I'm not afraid of you."
It was hard to read the man's expression. He looked impressed of Naruto's resolve, though he only showed it briefly but he pressed one last time. "Are you sure you want to do this? This decision will affect you for the rest of your life and your comrades still have a chance".
"I will never go back on my word, that's my Shinobi way. I am not a boy anymore; I am a man." Ibiki was impressed by the boy's resolve—he wasn't going to quit. Everyone was mumbling, shocked, surprised and inspired. He had not seen anybody as brave as Naruto in the years he had seen shinobi in the village. He was willing to risk everything; he was definitely Shinobi material. He waited for others to leave; they weren't willing to take a chance like couldn't help but think of the boys Sensei Hinata Hyuga who in This Very room who stood her ground that was 6 years ago.
"I refuse to allow anything get in my way, I'm not afraid. I'm not afraid of the 10th question. I'm not a child anymore. I will let nothing hold me down. I won't back now! I will not be a failure, and I refuse to live my life in fear. Do your worst." Hinata said at age 13.
"The princess of the Hyuga clan, are you really going to take a chance? You could lose everything as a result of your choice. Tell me, girl, is it really worth throwing away your future?" Ibiki asked her, testing her resolve.
"I will not disgrace Kushina-san or Minato-san by acting like a child. I'm no longer a child; the moment I was given my forehead protector, I became a shinobi. Do your worst." Hinata challenged.
Everyone was shocked that the normally shy and timid girl stood up to him. He was impressed by her courage, as she had no fear in her eyes. Her clan saw her as a failure, but he saw potential in her.
"Are you sure you want to take a risk and lose everything? I won't be blamed for the consequences of your choice." Ibiki asked her.
"I don't care. I'd rather die than disgrace myself." Hinata said without fear.
Seeing Naruto now, he couldn't help but be reminded of Hinata, the 13-year-old girl who stood in the same spot that he was. Was it a coincidence? And just like her student, Naruto, standing his ground without the look of fear in his eyes, there was another thing he noticed about Naruto: it was no secret that Naruto was infatuated with her; it was obvious on the day she became his sensei.
The incident from a few days ago, when he made her laugh for the first time, this boy wanted acknowledgment from her not as a Shinobi but as a man. Disgracing himself by withdrawing now would only reinforce that he was a boy; however, Naruto, the blonde-haired young man in front of him, wanted to be a man before his time.
He was not impressed with most of the candidates he saw giving up one by one because of fear. He had nothing but contempt for them and was glad they were walking out, as he had no need for cowards or children who were willing to back out at the first opportunity. Naruto, like Hinata before him, was willing to risk remaining a Genin for the rest of his life rather than disgrace himself.
His speech from earlier was making others do the same. He was happy to see more candidates, the normal willing to do the same as Naruto taking a chance. Out of 200 candidates there were 78 more than usual but it was the same as when Hinata was in the room - and also the same with his parents. He smiled: 78 wasn't bad; he thought 78 individuals willing to take a chance on one of the requirements of the exam being having guts and the people that actually were worthy of moving on to the next exam, but not before they knew the purpose.
"You just passed the first exam." Ibiki said, announcing the end of the exam.
Naruto couldn't believe what he had just heard.
"78 of you still here you. I'm impressed more than I expected to be." Ibiki said
"what do you mean we passed what happened to the 10th question? I don't get it?"asked Kagome, confused as he was.
"There is no 10th question beyond the whole except or reject thing," he answered with a smile.
"Hey why did we have to suffer through the other nine questions that was a total waste of our time"said Temari.
"I assume all of you figured out early that you had to cheat in order to answer all the questions. For this purpose it was to see if you could gather intelligence and steal without being caught and you were punished if you were clumsy and that's why those who failed before or even given the chance to answer the 10th question."
"Oh I know you all want me to answer the 10th question. let me explain the 10th question. It was a choice between two options. There are situations where there are two choices. Sometimes there are none, this question is to test those on how they can deal with a no-win scenario. So why did I present it to you so I could see who is worthy of the rank of Chunin because those who are willing to give up at the first opportunity are not anyone that should ever be Shinobi."Naruto agreed with this.
"Chunin cannot take easy jobs and they cannot pick and choose what missions they can take there will be missions you cannot decline a ninja must demonstrate valor that inspires those around them helping all to overcome their fear this is what we must value in a Chunin cell those who can't gamble with their own fate who would trade today certain risk for tomorrow's uncertain future never trying to take chances that lies before them are cowards who only make easy decisions in my opinion they don't belong to the ranks of Chunin at all. You all passed with flying colors"
He looked at Naruto almost as if he was saying the next words to him and him alone."The next challenge ahead of you will make this one look easy my part in this is over"right as he said it a woman appeared her appearance was really flashy she broke the desk that the instructor was standing by.
She was a woman "you're here so soon Anko" he said, generally shocked that she was there early. Anko is an average-sized, young woman who was of slender frame. She has light brown, pupil-less eyes. Her hair - black with a violet styled in a short, spiky, fanned-out ponytail. She wore a custom-made outfit that is crafted of thin metal mesh to fit the lines of her body, that covers her from neck to thigh. Over this, she typically wears a tan overcoat with a purple in-seam and a pocket on each side, a dark orange mini-skirt, a dark blue belt, and pale grey shin guards. In addition to the typical forehead protector, she also wears a small pendant that looks like a snake fang.
"More than I expected you've gotten soft Ibik"he responded with a smile on his face what kind of smile Naruto did not know."Perhaps these kids are different this year"she responded with a sadistic smile at everybody."Oh for those of you who survived the first exam you'll wish you haven't because the next exam most of you won't be advancing come kids. I'm taking you at the entrance at the next exam"Naruto is excited he didn't care what kind of obstacles this woman would throw at him he would pass and would be promoted to Chunin and would be one step closer to stand by Hinata side as her equal.
Momo made sure to follow them; she wasn't surprised that Hinata's team passed the exam. Her mother was able to foresee this outcome, blending in with the rest of the students was child's play. She did have to keep her distance from those of Jonin rank; she would not be able to easily fool them so she would have to be careful, especially around the examiner of the second exam.
She was given Pacific instructions not to engage with Orochimaru under any circumstances but she felt him somewhere a confrontation with him would be inevitable Kana wouldn't like it but she had to keep Sasuke safe he was the last of the Uchiha Hinata she figured can protect herself despite her orders to keep an eye on her as well Sasuke came first.
The boy Naruto's intriguing to her; she would like to learn more about him, but that was not her mission. Seeing him stand up to the instructor, she couldn't help but feel inspired. It was so strange though; she was only a few years older than him, no? She disregarded that thought; her devotion to Kanna came first before anything. She was impressed with his team's ability to get all the answers without getting detected; Hinata had trained them well. She was determined to meet her face to face when she has the chance.
She resented the fact that she had to maintain the disguise of one of the examiners, but it was necessary for her mission. Nobody knew that someone behind their ability was in their ranks for all day now; she is a man in his early 20s. This was child's play; she waited eagerly for the next examination order to make it easier for her to accomplish her mission.
"That was child's play"said Sai. It was easy; the questions were so simple that he didn't even have to try to answer them, in fact, he didn't bother answering them because he knew what the outcome of the exam would be: his team keeping a low profile were mingling with the other candidates. He wondered what was the point in all this; surely there was better ways to determine who would be qualified to be a Chunin? Danzo if he had it his way would weed out the stupid and the weak by having them face each other in a death match.
That was how they did it in Root to kill emotions and weed out the weakest members. Things would change once Donzo became the Hokage. Sai though didn't really care one way or the other; emotions were alien to him, a foreign concept he was curious about but discouraged from such things because of harsh training.
One part of the mission was over, and the next part that Donzo assigned them was about to begin. If Sasuke had to be eliminated, the forest of death would be the perfect place to do it because who would know? There were no witnesses, but that was a secondary objective; the primary objective was reconnaissance.
"That Naruto kid is certainly something, isn't he?" Hakobe said curiously.
"Just like that, his sensei is a waste. Someone like him should have joined the root organization instead of having Hinata under her wing. It would have made things much easier for us." Tanuki said thinking it was a waste of hinata's talents not being part of the root organization.
"We could blame Itachi for that," Hakobe said contemptuously of the traitor who massacred his entire clan in a single night.
"The only thing that's important at this time is that we've completed the first phase of our operation. Our main purpose is reconnaissance; nothing else matters." Sai said, cutting off the conversation.
"The first exam was child's play, but the second one will be even more so. Let's get into formation for the examiners to get suspicious." Tanuki said.
Sai was completely in agreement; they went where the other candidates were, and blended in. It was easy; he was looking forward to the next part of the exam due to it being more of a challenge and a change of scenery. He was hoping to have a chance to talk to Naruto at least once; he wanted to know what about this Hinata woman made her so appealing? He was determined to find out; the only way he would be able to find out is to observe Naruto and talk to him about his emotions, which was never his strong suit: it was difficult for him because I just wanted to know what are these emotions that he felt towards that woman. He found emotions like love to be foreign and things to be difficult for him to understand; he was always told that it was unnecessary to understand though, because he was in Root, but his fascination continued regardless of the discouragement from his peers. He wanted to understand it; he felt like he was obligated to do so because emotions is one of the key components of what it means to be human.
He never knew his parents, and the closest thing he ever had to family was his brother; he wanted to understand what did he feel towards him? Ever since his passing, he has not been able to understand what he's going through. He reluctantly kept the book that he always had on him he never was able to complete because his brother died before it was completed. Maybe someone out there would be able to understand him or maybe not; either way, had nothing to do with his mission. He purged that thought from his mind for now and focused on task at hand.
An hour and a half Earlier while the first exam was happening
All three of them were in a place of unknown origin. Hinata had no idea where they were. It wasn't just her; there was a few others, it was Kakashi and someone she did not recognize. He wore the standard attire of the Anbu: a black, sleeveless jumper under a grey flack jacket with strapped-up shinobi sandals, arm-length gloves with guards over them. He carried a sword strapped to his back, and wore a mask that resembles a cat's face covered in green, and red intricate markings, and the Anbu tattoo on his left shoulder.
"Everyone here that I can trust, so we can start this meeting," Hiruzen said as he put out his pipe.
"Just what is going on? Can someone tell me? I'm confused." Hinata asked everyone in the room.
"There's a reason why we have to have this meeting in an undisclosed location. Danzo has spies on every corner." the man with cat mask said in a business-like manner.
"Do I have a feeling things are going to go from bad to worse? What is Donzo up to?" Hinata asked, concerned about that tense atmosphere in the room. Kakashi took a deep breath; same with Hiruzen.
"We don't have any proof, but we suspect that Danzo is collaborating with Orochimaru and has been collaborating with him for years." Kakashi said.
When things couldn't get any worse, she was terrified of Root and Orochimaru. Considering what they were capable of, she had heard dark rumors about the organization. What terrified her more than anything is how close she came to joining the organization.
"You have potential, Hinata. Your father is a fool not to see it; you are talented, and your talents are wasted doing these worthless missions when you could be using your talents for the Root."
The idea that she could have been part of that organization in a different life scared her more than she wanted to admit, but the one thing that prevented her from joining was what happened on that terrible night with Itachi when she had nothing to do with an organization that he was a part of.
"After all these years, it still feels like I'm in Itachi's shadow." Hinata said out loud.
"Do not blame yourself for what happened that night. You could not have done anything to stop what he did?" said Hiruzen, knowing what Hinata was thinking.
"I'm sorry, let's focus on the present." Hinata said apologetically, trying to focus the conversation on the current affairs instead of the past.
" There's one other thing that I need to discuss with everyone. Whatever I'm about to tell all of you, it cannot leave this room." Jiraiya looked at them gravely. It couldn't get any worse, Hinata thought.
"What is it?" Kakashi asked.
"All I have is speculation and rumors. I had Hinata come here because she apparently knows the goddess mother Kanna; her influence is spreading already, so she should be dead." She didn't want to discuss it. She didn't want to remember her failure at the sapphire mission. She didn't want to think about how helpless she was when she faced the awesome power of the most powerful kunichi that has ever existed.
"She's alive? That's impossible," Kakashi said, not believing it.
"The cult of Kanna has always had followers, even here in Konoha. She's considered the mother of all. The immortal Queen of the Hyuga clan is considered a myth, but those in the clan know something we don't. You must know something, do you, Hinata?" asked Jiraiya.
"She's not a name that the clan likes to mention. It's considered blasphemy to even mention Kanna, the younger sister of Natsu-hyuga." Hinata said, remembering the lessons her mother instilled into her about the tragedy of the split of the clan into two houses.
"Wait, the younger sister of Natsu? Are you saying she's 300 years old?" Kakashi asked in disbelief.
"That's impossible. No human being can live that long." said Hiruzen, not wanting to believe it.
"It's true. It's not the history that Konoha wants to remember. It was agreed upon in my clan to bury the history of Kanna without her, our village would not exist. She helped founded it with Hashirama and Madara. The village as we know it would not exist without her." Hinata said, not wanting to believe it herself and didn't believe it until she saw her with her own eyes.
"An immortal being who looks the same as she did when she turned 25 and hasn't aged since? How is that even possible? How does someone stop aging?" Jiraiya asked.
"I don't know. The secrets of immortality among our clan are a deep-held secret, not even the head of the clan is allowed to divulge it to anyone. If I did, I wouldn't tell you." said Hinata.
"Is this Byakugan Queen the last queen, the mother of Natsu and Kanna?" asked Kakashi.
"No, the last queen was and still is Kanna." Hinata answered.
"Not much is known about Kanna, even among my clan. Very few information has survived the centuries. The only thing I know about her is that she's a benevolent mother figure who sees all as her children." Hinata said, not really wanting to believe it, since no hostility or killing intent from the woman.
She was so powerful, even with her power sealed, that she could easily have killed her and all of her companions without breaking a sweat.
"I think it was a good idea, Hinata, that you kept this information to yourself. It sounds so far-fetched that I have a difficult time wrapping my mind around it: an immortal woman who is worshiped as a goddess and has followers behind her back. If it were ever found out that she exists, it would cause mass panic; you made the right call, Hinata." Hiruzen said.
"I can't help but feel like I failed, but I couldn't do anything when I faced her. It was like I was facing a goddess; the power she had didn't compare to anything I've ever encountered before. Like I could die just by being in her presence if she wished it. It was like being in the presence of a god." Hinata said shivering at the memory of the Golden Lion Fist—a powerful variation of the lion fist so powerful that lesser beams lose the will to fight just by seeing it.
"What do we do about her?" Kakashi asked.
"We do nothing for now because the threat that concerns us most right now is Danzo and Orochimaru." Hiruzen said, bringing the subject back to hollows as it originally began.
"We must do something about Donzo." Hinata insisted.
"we can't be Hasty if we do we play into his hands."the Hokage said.
"We don't know who's part of Root. They're very secretive; we didn't even know Itachi was part of the organization until after the massacre. There's a lot we don't know about the organization, even after it was disbanded." Hiruzen said.
"We must do something about Donzo." Hinata insisted.
"We can't be hasty if we do, we play into his hands." the Hokage said.
She remembered before, the sapphire mission confronting the Hokage about Naruto's treatment and how her anger when she snapped at the Hokage in front of Danzo.
"I'm sorry, Hokage-sama. I feel like I'm at fault here to a degree. Had I not barged in when I did, maybe..." Hiruzen didn't allow her to finish.
"Yes, you were impulsive, which was out of character for you. But you were doing what you felt was right at the time because of Naruto's neglect and what he had been through, and how you were trying to fulfill a promise you made to Kushina. I believe Danzo intentionally timed the confrontation with me as he did because of his spies reporting your reaction when you learned the truth. I'm not going to say I'm not guilty for not telling you the truth; but I feel like you are not to blame in this instance. I am." Hiruzen said, trying to reassure her, but it didn't help.
"I helped put Naruto in even greater danger because of this, he's a target I can't help but take blame for. I'm his." She didn't finish Kakashi put his hand on her shoulder.
"You don't have to do this alone, Hinata. You have friends and you should have faith in your team: Sasuke and Kagome will look after Naruto." Kakashi said.
"I can't help but worry about him." Hinata said.
"If we act too hastily, it will play into Orochimaru's hands. We have to be patient and only make our move when we have enough information to do so." Said the masked man.
"Agreed. We can't really do anything until we have more information. For now, we should act like we don't know anything and make the enemy believe that we don't know anything." Jiraiya agreed.
"I'm getting too old for this. I think it's time for me to retire after this is dealt with. I'm going to give the reins to my successor." He looked at Jiraiya, who wasn't pleased with the prospect.
"I'm sorry Sensei, but I don't want to be Hokage. I know someone else who would be better than me, but I can't find her right now. Not at this time." Hinata knew he was referring to Tsunade.
"Bring her back, then, Jiraiya. Whatever you have to do, bring her back. We cannot afford any delays. Donzo will either appoint himself or someone of his choosing as his successor. We cannot trust him not to do that. Bring her back in any way you can, Jiraiya. Time is at a essence." Hiruzen said as the matter was settled.
"I will have to meet up with my contact. He should be able to help me find her." Hinata wondered who he was referring to?
"Be discreet about it, Jiraiya. We cannot afford any attention to be brought under no circumstances can Donzo find out we are searching for Tsunade." Hiruzen warned.
"I always keep a low profile, sensei." Jiraiya said with a smile.
"Hinata, can you do me a favor?" Jiraiya asked her. You know what he was going to ask.
"What is it, Jiraiya-sama?" Hinata asked.
"The technique that Minato learned, which Kushina named, is the one I taught you. I want you to pass it on to Naruto; I may not have the opportunity to do so because of my search for Tsunade. He may need it in the exams themselves, especially in the finals." Jiraiya said as he did his hand signs and did the reverse summoning and left.
"It's time that we all leave; being gone for too long will draw unwanted attention." said Kakashi as he took his leave, along with the masked man who was with him.
All that was left was Hinata and Hiruzen. Nothing was said between them as Hinata left, wondering and thinking about the redhead woman who wore the fox mask. She had a bad feeling she was going to learn something terrible in the future.
After the end of the exam
Saw the entrance to the forest of death, her students took their first step. She was proud of them.
"That Naruto boy, you certainly inspired him. He greatly respects and admires you." It was only 6 years ago when she took the exam.
"Ibiki-san, I hope you weren't too harsh on them." He chuckled at what she said was amusing.
"That Naruto kid is the reason there are 78 candidates. He has a power to inspire people, and he could be a great Hokage one day if he wanted to." Ibiki said, which confused Hinata.
"What do you mean, Ibiki-san?" Hinata asked, confused about what he meant.
"He has a great admiration for you. I've never seen that kind of devotion to any student, or his sensei. Well, I have seen it before with Minato and Kushina." Ibiki said, remembering witnessing the younger man fighting for his sensei's respect and acknowledgment as a man Hinata remembers that well for what she was told about Minato and Kushina's relationship.
"I don't know what you mean. I do what any sensei they would do for their students." Hinata said.
"Including living with them?" asked Anko.
"Yeah, I do find it strange but I understand your reasoning." Ibiki said.
"oh come on it's nothing like that"Hinata said defensively.
"Relax, I was just teasing. It's probably nothing, besides he's too young anyway. Boy, it's not like he has a chance." Anko joked.
"Hinata, I would like to catch up with you when there is ever a chance. It's been too long." Her friend Anko was more of a big sister and one of her biggest supporters. She was one of the other people who recommended her for the rank of Jonin.
"Oh my little sister, she has finally grown up and now she has her own team." Hinata blushed at her compliments.
"Please, you're embarrassing me, Anko-chan." Her face was turning red as Ibiki laughed
"It's good that you're smiling again." Anko said.
"Your student started a fuss that angered most of the civilian council. I'm not going to lie; people on my team were betting if Naruto would successfully make you laugh at all, I made a lot of money that day thanks to that boy." said Ibiki.
"As much as I would like to catch up, I have to put your students through another hellish test." She understood that she wouldn't hold it against her. She has full faith in her team.
"I don't hold anything against you. I think my students will pass this exam with flying colors just like the first one." She said with confidence, though she couldn't publicly show how much she feared for her students.
"Well, when this is over, we'll catch up." Anko bid her farewell and went to where all the candidates were in order to explain to them the purpose of the next exam. Someone was watching her, and she didn't know why. She couldn't put her finger on it; she looked behind a bush and saw nothing. She couldn't be imagining things; someone had been watching her for God knows how long. This person could be the same one who's after Naruto and Sasuke. She couldn't leave this place; she would stay nearby in order to make sure nobody who shouldn't be in the forest of death was there.
She would stay, she was told by the Hokage before she left on their council to keep an eye for any suspicious activity with the Byakugan; it should be easy to do so. She would keep her distance so as not to be spotted. The second exam she knew would be the most dangerous potentially for her students."Please be careful especially you Naruto-kun" Hinata said worrying for his safety.
She would do whatever it takes to protect Naruto, and she would do so by any means necessary. It's the least she can do for him, and she promises she will not go back on her word.
Itachi Uchiha was in a forest, sitting near a fire and looking at the sky. He didn't do this often due to Kisame being a watchdog for the Akatsuki. The rare times he was alone, he looked at the sky wondering how Hinata was doing? In five years since the massacre, he replayed every scenario possible that could have been done differently but he couldn't think of anything different.
"You're still thinking about that night, aren't you?" asked a voice behind him.
He got into a defensive position and then realized it was the same woman from before, the seer of Luna Village.
"Why are you here, Misaki?" asked Itachi.
"To remind you, boy, that choices have consequences, your rash decision nearly doomed our world and another clan. Your obsession with preventing the future almost made the future you're trying to prevent happen." She reminded him.
"I did what was necessary to protect her soul." Itachi said, defending his actions.
"Defending her soul? Do you know what her future was before its course was altered?"Itachi wasn't in the mood for her games.
"I'm not in the mood for your games." Itachi said angrily.
"Oh, you know what I'm referring to. Itachi, the woman that you tried to save from becoming a monster. She was one day away from becoming that monster until a certain boy got into her life: a boy who made her laugh for the first time in five years; a boy who started the process of healing. You are fading from her heart, Itachi." The woman said to him. He expected this and did not want Hinata to not move on from him because she deserved better.
"You don't come here to tell me about the future changing; you're obviously here for another reason. Out with it, woman." Itachi said impatiently.
"Remember when I told you that the future is always in motion? I told Hinata the same thing: a woman's refusal to accept anyone in her heart would make her into a monster. That future is no longer going to come to pass, but another person is destined to become this." The woman said.
"What are you talking about?" Itachi asked.
"I won't give you the answer. I came here to warn you: Itachi, you will have to confront your past and you will have to confront it sooner than intended. The past will come back to you whether you like it or not; the choice that you made the night you destroyed your clan and broke the heart of the woman you love, you will have to face those repercussions sooner than later." The woman said.
"I did everything I could to prevent that future from coming to pass." The woman continued to laugh at his ignorance.
"Oh, you foolish boy! The future you were trying to prevent almost happened because of your decision. Itachi, the road ahead is only two ways: You can die a monster or take the long and hard road to atonement. The choice is ultimately up to you, Itachi. I'm offering you this last piece of wisdom because you are the head of the Uchiha clan, despite there being few members left." When the woman finished speaking, she vanished.
Just what was this woman talking about? Then he saw a bird in the sky, which was a raven. It flew towards Itachi. He noticed there was a piece of paper. He opened it and realized what the woman had said earlier: he would have to confront his past sooner than later. His return to Konoha would have to happen. The people he loves are in danger once again, but he couldn't go back yet; not without meeting his contact. He read the letter: everything that was in it: Jiraiya. He would need to meet him in the Sapphire Village in 10 days time.
Itachi would have to confront his past sooner than he wanted. The consequences of his choices would force him to face them if he ever wanted to protect the people he loved, the ones he hurt. He wondered how many sacrifices he would have to make before it was all said and done.