Steps were heard echoing along a dark corridor. The walls were made completely out of dark stone and it was almost pitch black if not for a couple of torches that provided some much needed light. The person walked calmly through the halls, completely undisturbed by some background noises that could be heard.
The person stepped forward into some light allowing some features to be displayed. The man appeared as a frail, old man, who was walking with a cane in his left hand. He had black, shaggy hair, and his right eye was bandaged. He has had an x-shaped scar on his chin ever since his youth. He wore a white shirt, with a black or dark grey robe over the top of it covering from his feet, to just over his right shoulder. The robe conceals his right arm which was bandaged, and covered with three big golden braces.
The man kept walking forward until he reached what resembled a reception desk. It seemed somewhat strange to find a reception desk in what clearly resembled catacombs, but he didn't seem surprised. "Danzo-sama, what can I do for you?" the man behind the desk asked, bowing to the elder.
"I wish to speak with one of the inmates" Danzo simply said in a monotone voice.
"Of course. Which one?" the receptionist asked and Danzo approached him, whispering the inmate's name. "I'm afraid that he's under special circumstances. Hokage-sama has forbidden any visitor" the receptionist explained weakly.
"I trust that won't be a problem right?" Danzo asked, his voice betraying none of his displeasure. Although his voice was calm, it was far enough to scare the poor receptionist to death.
"Of course not. Right this way" the receptionist said, gulping and leading Danzo towards the right cell. "Here we are" the man said and Danzo stepped forward, peering into the cell.
"Leave us" Danzo ordered and the receptionist quickly obeyed, proceeding to bolt from there. Danzo shifted his attention back to the man inside the cell. The man was clad in simple grey jumpsuit. The particular thing about this man was that he was missing his right arm.
"What pitiful state you're in Hiashi" Danzo said and the man inside the cell opened his eyes to reveal the byakugan.
"Come to gloat Danzo?" Hiashi asked weakly. He was a broken man, everything he ever fought for had been stolen from his hands.
"Hardly" Danzo replied before taking a good look at him. Hiashi was huddled in the corner, concealed by the shadows. "I've come with an offer" Danzo explained.
"Really?" Hiashi asked suspiciously. "And what could you possibly offer me?" Hiashi asked somewhat amused by the man's attempts.
"You should be more grateful. Tsunade wanted to ship you away to the blood prison" Danzo said and shiver ran down Hiashi's spine. "As to my offer, how about your clan back and justice against those who put you in here" Danzo offered but was met with laugh. Hiashi was laughing loud like some crazy man.
"You are delusional Danzo. How exactly do you wish to accomplish such feat?" Hiashi asked amused.
"You still have faithful followers from the main house that occupy several positions of power in the village. All I ask is your and their cooperation and, in return, I'll will give you your freedom and clan back" Danzo offered and Hiashi was about to laugh again when he saw the serious face of Danzo.
"You are serious" Hiashi stated surprised.
"I don't joke" Danzo replied and Hiashi started thinking.
"What are you planning?" Hiashi asked seriously. All the laughter and the amusement gone.
"I shall tell you if you agree to my terms" Danzo replied.
"I accept" Hiashi said and Danzo nodded and simply turned around, flicking something over his shoulder towards Hiashi.
"What's this?" Hiashi asked as he snatched the small ball. It seemed like a food pill.
"Your freedom" Danzo said and walked out, leaving Hiashi to his choices. Hiashi lost sight of Danzo and returned his gaze back to the pill in his hand. Making his choice, he globed it with a shred of hesitation and waited for the effects.
Hiashi's chest started warming up and suddenly he clutched to his chest as pain shot through his body. "ARGHHHHHHHH" Hiashi screamed as he felt his chest tithing up, making it almost impossible to breath. Several guards rushed towards Hiashi cell but they were too late and simply found him lying on the ground, completely unmoving.
One the guards opened the cell and crouched besides him. "He's dead" the guard replied checking his pulse. He took notice as to how his single hand was clutching to his chest. "Most likely a heart attack. Inform the hokage and take him away" the guard replied.
Danzo smiled from the reception desk as he looked towards the receptionist and his sharingan glowed, erasing every evidence he ever stepped forth in the prison.
## Senju Compound ##
Everything was rather quiet inside the Senju compound. It was to be expected since the loudest of the inhabitants, this being Naruto and Hashirama, had gone to Kumo. Naruto was going to participate in the upcoming jounin exams while Hashirama and his brother Tobirama would pose as their senseis.
The living room in the Senju compound was simple. Outfitted with a couple of individual couches and two larger ones. A few plants in the corners and a couple of paintings in the walls made the room livelier. Three bookcases were also nearby the wall, providing a couple of books for passing time to anyone that so wished. Some books were about the Senju clan, their history and deeds through the history while others branched out from geography to general fiction.
Jiraiya had been denied, rather painfully he might add if you ask him, his humble request to display his magnificent work on said bookshelf. Everyone in the compound was already of age so having porn in the bookcase should be allowed. This were his thoughts when he approached his princess who rewarded him with a well-placed, chakra enhanced, punch. At least Tsunade had allowed him to place his first novel, "The Tale of the Utterly Gutsy Shinobi", so it wasn't all bad.
Tsunade walked into the compound and simply made her way straight towards the living room. Her only thoughts were of plopping down on one of those soft couches and maybe take a nap, or something. It had been a frustrating day to say the least and this time it wasn't paperwork that plagued her dreams. No, this time was the damn council meetings. At least she had the decency to not send a shadow clone in her stead.
First it was a request for further funding petitioned by the head nurse with both Shizune and Hinata's signatures on it. Hinata was smart enough to only sign it when she was away from the village. Shizune, however, wasn't so lucky and was on the receiving edge of a tired and pissed Senju. Next problem were those dammed civilians always complaining about their rights. Tsunade shook her head, pushing away stressing thoughts as she entered the living room and was greeted with an interesting sight.
She looked over to the couch where Nao was calmly sitting with Itachi's head on her lap. She was running her hands through his hair while Itachi had eyes his closed, enjoying the moment. "My my" Tsunade said with clear amusement, making both of them jump at the sound of her voice. They were so entranced with each other that they didn't sense her entering the room.
"Who would had thought that Nao would be the one to tame the great Itachi Uchiha" Tsunade said chuckling.
"You are one to talk" Nao snorted. "Senju Tsunade, the legendary Slug princess of Konoha...tamed by a pervert" Nao replied in amusement making the Senju choke.
"You have something to say?" Tsunade roared making Nao jump from her couch and stare at Tsunade.
"Yes I do, old hag" Nao replied smirking, sparks flying across their eyes.
"I was having such a good dream" Itachi thought to himself as she sat upright and watched Nao and Tsunade bicker until he decided that it was enough. "NAO ENOUGH" Itachi's voice echoed through the room with enough authority to make both woman flinch.
"Ohhhhh" Nao cooed with stars in her eyes as she rushed Itachi. "I love it when you take charge" Nao said, hugging Itachi while Tsunade gapped like a fish out of water.
"I don't even want to know" Tsunade thought as she looked over to both Uchihas and then to another couch. "You don't intend to cuddle or do any display of affection right?" Tsunade wondered. It was common sense to keep public displays of affection somewhat restrained but Uchihas were strange people.
"You are safe Hokage-sama" Itachi said while Nao pouted but remained by his side.
"You don't have to call me that in here Itachi. Besides, officially you are still a missing shinobi" Tsunade explained, sighing in comfort as she plopped down in one of the soft couches.
"Respect is due where respect is due" Itachi simply replied in his traditional monotone voice.
"By the way" Tsunade started "What do you both intend to do now?" Tsunade asked curious.
"Honestly I have no idea. I planned from the beginning to die at Sasuke's hands. I didn't count on living much longer than that because of my illness" Itachi said and felt Nao grip his arm tighter. She didn't even want to consider losing Itachi.
"I have a proposition for both of you" Tsunade said smiling.
"Proposition?" Nao asked confused.
"Yes…what is your favorite color?" Tsunade asked smirking while both Uchihas just stared at her like she was crazy.
## Kumo ##
Saying that Naruto was excited was an understatement, the man was downright thrilled. He had enough adrenaline pumping through his veins to kill a normal person. The reason for all this excitement? Dozens of competitors stood in his front. Naruto had counted at least twenty different forehead protectors, some from villages he had never even heard of.
It was interesting to say the least. While these exams were non-traditional as they were only hosted every five years, the amount of competition was similar to that of chunnin exams. Jounin did get access to higher paying missions so maybe that was the reason, maybe it was the honor and fame of being jounin, the elite of the village. On the other hand, jounin missions were far more difficult and risky.
Hinata was amused at Naruto's expression. Anymore and he would be practically bouncing like some five year old kid on a sugar rush. She was surprised when she saw the amount of competition. Tsunade did say this was a big event, even bigger that the chunnin exams, but Hinata had underestimated it. Her byakugan flared as she did a quick check up of the competition.
Only after a quick glance she could accurately guess just whose would most likely pass the earlier stages of the exams. Judging by chakra levels alone, everyone seemed normal with a few having bigger reserves, baring high jounin level. Although she and Naruto easily dwarfed anyone in there. She had big reserves but Naruto's amount was insane. He was almost blinding to look at with her byakugan focused on him.
"I don't see what the excitement is all about" Kurama said from within his mind. "I sense no one of worth in here"
"It's not just about fighting powerful opponents Kurama" Naruto explained "Think about the jutsus we will see, the different taijutsu styles and weapons, and maybe some bloodlines" Naruto replied giddy while Kurama just sweat dropped.
"It's starting" Hinata whispered and Naruto quieted down almost immediately. His attention was drawn to the man walking into the stage. He was a fairly tall, dark-skinned man with a slightly bulbous nose, shaggy, white hair which covers his left eye. He wore a high-collared, sleeveless uniform with loose fitting pants, bandages on his wrists and the one-strap-over-one-shoulder flak jacket of a Kumogakure shinobi. He supported a bored look that reminded Naruto of Kakashi.
"I've seen him somewhere" Naruto muttered to himself.
"He was the Raikage's bodyguard during our chunnin exams" Hinata said.
"I remember him now. I wonder how everyone else is doing around here" Naruto said out loud but was shushed by Hinata has Darui was about to speak.
"My name is Darui and I'm in charge of the jounin exams. I will be explaining how the exams will work so pay attention as I will only say this once" Darui said and everyone quieted down. "Much like the chunnin exams, these exams will be divided into three sections. In the first stage we will be an evaluation of personal and team skills in different areas. The second stage will an objective driven race with competitive action between the teams. The third and final stage will be a tournament much like the chunnin exams. Any questions?"
"What are the promotion specifications?" some shinobi yelled from the crowd.
"Only participants that reach the third stage are eligible for promotion" Darui explained. "Any more questions?" Darui asked but was met with silence.
"Very well, proceed to the barracks for testing and good luck to all of you" Darui ordered and watched as the crowd quickly dissipated into empty grounds.
## At the Barracks ##
Naruto's team arrived at the testing grounds where the first stage was taking place. He could feel chakra being unleashed in waves and sound of metal clashing. He figured it was some kind of physical tests.
"What a drag…" This was the random thought of the person standing behind the counter at the barracks. She seemed to be scribbling something in some piece of paper and had an obvious bored look. "They put me, a jounin, doing this" the red haired thought to herself and sighed when she felt another team approach.
"State origin, team number and members" the red haired female asked, not even bothering to raise her head to see the contestants.
"Konoha, team number twenty four, members, Senju Hinata, Senju Naruto and Sai" Hinata said and the red haired female instantly rose her head to see Hinata's long dark blue hair and her white eyes.
"Hinata" the red haired female said, surprised to see her.
"Karui?" Hinata asked in surprise. "Haven't seen since the chunnin exams" Hinata said and Karui nodded.
"And you brought Naruto as well" Karui said greeting the blonde who waved.
"So, how's life around here?" Hinata asked while Naruto sat on the ground knowing very well where this was going. Sai looked at him with a puzzled expression.
"You'll see" Naruto muttered and pointed towards Hinata and Karui who were already deep into their conversation. They were talking like they were old friends.
"Sorry about Yugito-chan though" Hinata said and Karui gritted her teeth.
"Those zombie bastards will taste the tip of my blade" Karui snarled and Naruto rose an eyebrow.
"If you are talking about Kakuzu and Hidan then it's too late, I've already reduced them to ash" Naruto said and Karui was surprised to hear that they have both been killed.
"You killed them?" Karui was skeptical but Naruto nodded nonetheless. She wanted to be the one to exact revenge and justice on them but Naruto had gotten to them first. In the end it didn't matter, they got what they deserved.
"Serves them right for taking Yugito-chan, thank you" Karui thanked Naruto, knowing that Yugito had been avenged. "Anyways" Karui said as she started writing the details in her notebook and took a small disk with a number on it. "Here is your number. Wait for your turn and good luck"
"See you around" Hinata replied and Naruto's team walked off and into the testing grounds.
## Testing Grounds ##
Naruto, Hinata and Sai entered through the stones gates and arrived at some huge arena. There huge stones walls surrounding the earth grounds. To Naruto's left there was what seemed to an obstacle course. Behind that was a small forest and Naruto course tons of booby traps spread all around the trees and ground.
"Welcome" the examiner said as the three contents stopped near him. "The first stage of these exams consists of an advanced obstacle course, testing you in speed and strength. Additionally you will be tested in taijutsu, genjutsu, ninjutsu and any other categories you choose for additional points. The final part will be a team exercise which consists in infiltrating an outpost located in that forest" the examiner explained, pointing towards the small forest not too far away. "Teams with highest points will proceeded to the second stage"
"Sounds simple enough" Hinata said and Naruto nodded.
"Which additional categories are available?" Sai asked with his smiling face which seemed to scare the crap out of the examiner.
"Anything really. I myself am well versed in taijutsu, ninjutsu and genjutsu. Any other categories will be tested by my comrades" the examiner explained and Sai nodded.
"Senju Naruto" the examiner called and Naruto stepped forward. "You objective is to go through the obstacle course, collect a small flag at the end and return as fast as you can. Jutsus and/or chakra enhancement are strictly forbidden. A sensor is monitoring these evaluations and any infraction means instant failure of the exams understood?" the examiner warned and Naruto nodded.
"When you're ready" the examiner said and Naruto stepped into the line. He did a quick overlook of the obstacle course and seemed pretty straight forward. Naruto bent slightly forward, bending his knees and waiting for the examiner's signal. He shifted his attention to some blonde haired shinobi on the right side with his eyes closed and making ram seal.
"START" the examiner said. When the sound of timer's button hit Naruto's ears, he shot forward leaving a dust trail behind. A split second after start and Naruto had already arrived at the first obstacle, a simple wooden horizontal bar, raised one and half meters from the ground and followed by three more in quick succession.
Naruto jumped forward, like a lion pouncing on his target. He placed both hands in the wooden bar for support. He coiled his arms and propelled forward using his arms. Having calculated the required amount of strength he landed right past the four wooden bars, concluding the first obstacle in a single movement.
"Time: 1.5 seconds"
Naruto didn't raise to his proper height before landing. He coiled himself again and blurred forward. His armor cringing, its metals plates flapping together with each step he took. Naruto raised his head slightly as he spotted his next obstacle, a solid, ten feet high wooden wall that the assumed he had to climb. Naruto made a small push and jumped far enough for his right hand to latch itself at the top.
The examiner's jaw dropped when Naruto lifted himself up with a single arm. Even the sensor was surprised by the amount of strength displayed. Raising himself completely from the air, with a single arm and without proper grip was nothing too easy to accomplish. Naruto grinned as he landed on the other side of the wall and proceeded.
"Time: 3 seconds"
Naruto arrived at some vertical ladders but these were made of rope instead of solid wood. Not thinking much about it, Naruto jumped as high as he could and latched himself into the ropes, proceeding to climb up without any difficulties. His coordination was perfect.
"Time: 6 seconds"
As Naruto arrived at the top he spotted long, circular wooden beams, almost as large a tree trunks, leading down into the ground level. Naruto carefully analyzed the round and slippery surface, and any slip up would mean falling hard into the ground. Having this in his mind, he quickly ran down and arrived at the final obstacle.
The final obstacle was nothing but a single rope that Naruto had to climb vertically. Naruto jumped into the rope and began to easily climb it up. He was certainly strong enough to lift his own body weight with a single hand. He arrived at the top and snatched the flag he needed before sliding down the rope and landing on the ground.
"Time: 7.8 seconds"
With the flag in his position, the final piece of this obstacle course was a simple race to the point of origin, without needing to go through the obstacles again. Naruto bent and shot forward, leaving a cloud of dust. Every step he took, the ground would crack from the strength he put behind each step. Naruto didn't stop near the examiner and simply continued running at full speed, until he crossed the examiner. He came to halt, leaving the dust trail behind him as he finished the obstacle course.
*Cough Cough*
The examiner waved his hands wildly to clear the dust cloud. "Final time: 9.5 Seconds. Congratulations Naruto-san, you just moved to the second spot" the examiner said pointing towards the electronic board, where Naruto's name ranked second in the obstacle course with 9.5 seconds only surpassed by Rock Lee with 8 seconds.
"Can't say I'm surprised. The guy is insane with his workout" Naruto thought to himself. "Looks like hard work does beat a genius" Naruto chuckled out loud.
"I don't see the genius" Hinata said with a straight face.
"Hinatchan" Naruto whined while Hinata giggled at his antics. Sai simply observed the interaction between the couple, they certainly weren't your usual married couple.
"Sai" Naruto said and Sai turned to Naruto, making a shiver run up his spine. "Enough with that smile, its freaking me out. It feels like you are going to kill me in my sleep" Naruto said and Sai dropped in smile, getting a neutral face. Naruto sighed somewhat and walked to the examiner's side and allowed Sai and Hinata to take their turn.
Hinata did her best but had the downside of most of her strength being by chakra enhancement. Still, she managed to easily secure fifth spot with Sai taking the tenth place. Having completed the first exam of the first stage, the examiner led them towards some testing dummies for the taijutsu test.
"Second part of this exam is to go through the dummies, while performing your taijutsu katas as fast as you can. State your taijutsu style for reference" the examiner said and Hinata stepped forward this time.
"Gentle Fist taijutsu style" Hinata said and the examiner happily wrote it down, stepping aside as Hinata stepped forward. She looked around them, counting around five dummies who were about to receive a very cruel punishment. "Is chakra allowed now?" Hinata asked and the examiner nodded.
"When you're ready" the examiner said and clicked on his timer. Hinata disappeared from her position and began running through her katas, she didn't even seem to be touching with dummies. She did her katas with such grace that the proctor almost thought she was dancing.
She appeared next to the examiner only a split second later, just in time to see all of the dummies crack at once. They burst into pieces and simply fell to the ground completely destroyed. Nothing bigger than half an arm had remained as the dummies seemed to have been severed in all joints.
"Amazing" the examiner said while Hinata just smiled at her success. She looked over to the score board and watched as her name appeared in first place. Sai went next and this time, Naruto's eyes were solely focused on him. Both Naruto and Hinata had read Sai's file, but it didn't say much besides that he had standard skills and used ink styled jutsus, whatever that was. The only thing Naruto ever used ink for was seals.
Naruto's eyes narrowed at the style that Sai had employed, it was ruthless for lack of a better word. Each strike had a purpose behind, there were no faints or anything else. Every strike was either to cripple or kill the opponent. It was a bastardized version of the ANBU style, a far more deadly version. Naruto went next and, although his style wasn't as refined as Hinata's, he still got the job done, finishing in second.
"Next portion is genjutsu" the examiner said and Naruto nodded, his sharingan blazing to life. Naruto displayed some of the genjutsu he knew, it wasn't really his thing. Unlike Itachi, Naruto preferred to attacks the enemy's body instead of his mind. The only genjutsu he had actually even bothered to properly train was the Tsukuyomi so that he could awaken the Susanoo. But that didn't stop him from claiming the first spot as well, just because he didn't like it, it didn't mean he wasn't good at it.
Both Hinata and Sai went next but they managed to score even lower than Naruto. He didn't blame them though. Genjutsu was such an unpopular area that the few that had decent control were already a threat. I mean, look at Itachi. He can defeat an enemy using only genjutsu, he doesn't even need to move from his place.
"Last section of this evaluation before the team exercise is ninjutsu" the examiner said.
"Finally, the good part arrives" Naruto said rubbing his hands together while the examiner was tempted to take a step back when he saw the crazy glint in his eyes. And it wasn't the sharingan he had seen.
"Y-yes" the examiner coughed into his hand to suppress his shiver. "You need to display a few non-elemental jutsu along with at least two natures" the examiner said and Naruto didn't even gave the chance to Hinata or Sai to step forward, he was that excited.
"What's first?" Naruto asked.
"You decide" the examiner replied and was surprised when he saw spinning ball of silver chakra in Naruto's hand.
"Rasengan" Naruto said and the examiner nodded, writing something about excellent shape manipulation.
"Shadow Clone jutsu" Naruto said, placing his fingers in a T sign. A single clone popped into life. Naruto looked at the examiner and he nodded. "Shadow Clone Explosion" The clone that Naruto created suddenly exploded, ripping a chunk of the ground.
"Very good. What are your chakra natures?" the examiner asked.
"I have all five of them" Naruto said and the examiner stopped writing to look at Naruto. The examiner blinked as Naruto simply nodded. "Anyway. Please perform some jutsus for a nature" the examiner said and watched as Naruto performed a single horse hand seal.
"Katon Goka Mekkyaku (Great Fire Annihilation)" A barrage of fire was expunged from Naruto's mouth, it scorched the ground, decimating what little had remained from the previous wooden dummies.
"Y-yes…uhm…excellent" the examiner replied weakly after witnessing the devastation. "It seems fire nature is good. How about some lightning nature and this time, keep it below S-rank" the examiner said and Naruto shrugged his shoulders but complied anyway.
"Raiton - Rairyuudan (Lightning Dragon)" Naruto hands sparkled with blue electricity as a dragon erupted from his palms. The dragon roared before blurring towards Naruto's target and exploded, leaving behind a crater and sparks flying everywhere.
"Very good Naruto-san" the examiner said and Naruto stepped away, looking at the scoreboard where his name had claimed the first spot, and with a very healthy lead above the competition. Hinata went next and claimed the second spot just a few points behind Naruto.
"Sai" the examiner called and Sai stepped forward. Both Naruto and Hinata focused their attention solely on the third members of their team. Sai was an enigma to say the least. He was always throwing around that creepy smile of his, he never engaged in conversation with them. Sai just sat there, watching them unrelentingly like some statue.
Root shinobi were supposed to the ultimate soldiers. Trained from birth in the way of the shinobi, reduced to heaps of sweat with their training methods, hardened with blood and pain. They felt no fear, no regret, and no remorse. They were but tools to serve their master in his endeavors. They were prepared to lay down their lives for their master with hesitation what so ever.
Naruto was broken from his thoughts when he heard the proctor ask Sai to display his ninjutsu. Naruto raised an eyebrow as Sai sat on the ground and took a simple scroll, a brush and a bottle of what Naruto figure to be ink. Sai slowly dipped his brush in the black ink and, in the blink of an eye, he had painted a lion on the scroll.
"Choju Giga (Super Beasts Scroll)" Sai made a single hand seal and the drown tiger on the scroll rose to life jumping from it and landing on the ground. The tiger snarled at the proctor who fell on his butt when he saw the painting come to life. He may be a shinobi but not even he expected that.
"Good" the examiner said as he rose to his feet. He searched for the tiger and found him eating the wooden dummies who were mangled by the tiger's vicious jaws.
"Sumi Bunshin no Jutsu (Ink Clone)" Sai said and the tiger dispelled into a puddle of ink on the ground. The ink suddenly started moving, clustering together into a large pool. The ink pool stated raising from the ground and taking the shape of Sai.
"Interesting" the proctor murmured to himself as he scribbled down on his board.
"So that's his ink jutsu" Both Hinata and Naruto thought at Sai's performance. His style surely was very dynamic and versatile but his creations seemed somewhat fragile.
"Before we proceed to the team exercise do you wish to be tested in anything else for extra points?" the examiner asked and everyone shook their heads in denial.
"Well th-"
"Actually I do have another category I would like to be evaluated" Naruto suddenly said stopping the protector in his tracks.
"Which is?"
"Bojutsu (Staff Arts)" Naruto said and Hinata was surprised that he would bring that up of everything else. She wondered why he didn't want to be tested in Fuuinjutsu but maybe he had forgotten.
"Uhm" the examiner hummed in thought as he thought of someone who could give Naruto what he wanted. Kumo shinobi were primarily skilled in kenjutsu since a blade was sharper and more effective than a staff. A sword can cut while the staff doesn't. This statement would be true for a normal staff and certainly not the one that Naruto had in his possession. "I will be right back" the proctor said and simply left without any explanation, leaving Naruto's team to wonder what happened.
A few minutes later the proctor returned with another shinobi by his side. He was a young, dark-skinned shinobi with short, spiky, white hair and dark eyes accentuated with lines curving upwards from the corners. He wore a dark outfit consisting of an overlong shirt with a hood, with red bandage hand guards, Kumogakure shin guards, and a black forehead protector. He carried a long sword on his back and had a lollypop on his mouth.
"Naruto?" the shinobi asked in surprise.
"Omoi, long time no see" Naruto said greeting the fellow shinobi.
"You know each other?" the examiner asked and both shinobi nodded.
"We both participated in the chunnin exams three years ago" Omoi said while Naruto nodded.
"I see" the proctor replied. "Omoi is here to test you in bojutsu. Since we have no foremost expert in this area you will be sparring against Omoi's kenjutsu" the examiner explained.
"If you aren't an expert how can you evaluate my skills?" Naruto asked curious.
"I may not be an expert in weapons but I now enough to understand when someone is skilled or not. Besides, Omoi is one of the swordsman in Kumo. Judging from your battle with him I can easily evaluate your skill level" the proctor explained and Naruto nodded.
The space around Naruto started swirling and not much longer he had a staff on his right hand. Naruto twirled the staff in his hand, slamming it on the ground, creating a small shock wave from the strength behind it. Omoi raised an eyebrow when he felt the earth vibrate slowly as Naruto slammed his staff on the ground.
"This is purely a weapons demonstration, no crippling or killing strikes understood?" the examiner asked and both participants nodded. Omoi took his sword and gripped it tightly with both hands. Naruto picked his staff, raising his right arm above his head and lowering his left. He hadn't used a staff since he had mastered the art and that was nearly eight years ago.
"HAJIME" the proctor said and both shinobi dashed forward, both weapons meetings with a loud clang. Small orange sparks were released as the sword's sharp edge grazed against Naruto's metal staff as both shinobi struggled. Being stronger, Naruto was able to push Omoi backwards.
Naruto quickly withdrew his staff, spinning it behind his back and striking towards Omoi once again. Omoi parried Naruto's flurry of attacks as he could but even him was starting to be overpowered. The amounts of attacks and the fluidity at which they came was unreal. Naruto wasn't as rusty as he thought himself to be.
Omoi stumbled backwards but managed to regain his footing. He looked up just in time to see Naruto in the air. Omoi jumped to the side as Naruto slammed the tip of his staff on the ground, breaking the earth and embedding the staff on it. Using the staff as support, Naruto swirled around it and slammed his foot into Omoi's chest, sending him tumbling through the ground.
Naruto dug the staff of the ground and waited for Omoi to stand. Both shinobi dashed forward and their weapons met once again. "Kumo-Ryu Mikazukigiri (Cloud Style: Crescent Moon Slice)" Omoi said as he swung his blade in a single, large, crescent moon-shaped arc. Naruto tilted backwards and caught the trail of chakra left by the blade.
Naruto jumped backwards and flexed his staff forward. The staff suddenly expanded, growing exponentially in size. Omoi never expected the range of Naruto's staff to suddenly increase this rapidly and was unable to dodge. Omoi was struck in his right shoulder, hard enough to send him spinning through the air and lading rather hard on the ground.
Omoi rose from the ground, breathing hard and clutching to his shoulder in pain. From his face, Naruto could easily tell that he was unprepared for that attack and that his shoulder was most likely dislodged. "That is enough" the examiner quickly yelled when he saw the devastating strike Omoi had received.
"Maybe I got carried away" Naruto chuckled weakly while Hinata just shook her head.
"Report to the hospital" the proctor said towards Omoi.
"I can fix him" Hinata said and approached Omoi. "Let me see" Hinata said and her hands glowed green as she analyzed the extent of the damage. "You shoulder is dislocated. This might hurt" Hinata warned while Omoi just groaned.
"On three" Hinata warned and Omoi nodded.
"1" Hinata said and suddenly pushed his shoulder backwards. Omoi gave a yell of pain when he heard his bones snap to place. It was over just has it had begun.
"I thought you said on three?" Omoi gritted his teeth but sighed in relief as Hinata's hands glowed green once more and his pain diminished.
"Expecting pain only increases it" Hinata simply replied smiling sweetly.
"Damn medics" Omoi groaned in thought.
"Sorry about that" Naruto said but Omoi waved him off.
"Congratulations Naruto-san. You took second place" the proctor said and Naruto raised an eyebrow as his attention was shifted to the first name on the score board.
"First Place: Sarutobi Hiruzen"
"I didn't know the old man took the jounin exams" Naruto said with surprise in his voice. "These exams really are ancient"
"Sandaime-sama isn't that old Naruto-kun" Hinata chided while Naruto just chuckled.
"Anything else before the team exercise?" the proctor asked and this time was met with complete silence. He waited a few seconds but no one changed their minds. "The last exercise of the first stage is the team exercise" the proctor said and lead the team into the nearby forest. It was a small forest, but a very dense one. It was obviously prepared for this exam.
"Now" the proctor started gathering the attention. "The purpose of this exercise is to retrieve a scroll which is located in a small wooden cabin deep within the woods. Along the way there will several traps. Deadly ones I might add" the proctor warned and everyone nodded. "Once you have the scroll you will make your way back here. As always, the quicker you do it, the more points you will get awarded. Understood?" the proctor asked and everyone nodded.
"Do all team members have to participate?" Naruto asked curious.
"Of course. It's a team exercise after all" the proctor replied confused while Naruto smirked. "When you are ready" the proctor said and watched as Naruto's team stood at the edge of the forest.
"This is what we will do" Naruto said and gathered both Hinata and Sai. "You will both stand guard here while I go get the scroll" Naruto said and both members blinked at him.
"I'm sorry?" Hinata asked, thinking she might have misheard him.
"You heard what the proctor said. All team members must participate, however he didn't specify which role" Naruto replied while Hinata just shook her head. She already knew what he was going to do.
"Fine" Hinata replied and Sai simply went with the flow.
"GO" the proctor yelled and the three members dashed forward. As they arrived near the first set of trees, both Hinata and Sai stopped running and took cover behind them. Naruto kept running, his sharingan taking every detail of the surrounding environment. His ears heard whizzing sounds and he turned his head to the side. Dozens of kunais were flying towards him at high speeds. Naruto smiled and kept running forward. His eyes started glowing and his kamui was activated.
"What the…" the proctor asked in shock as he watched Naruto keep running and the kunais simply pass through him. Once the kunais were over his kamui was disabled and Naruto kept on running. It was a straight forward exercise whose point was obviously trap detection.
Naruto lifted his head and saw the small wooden cabin just a few yards away. He smiled and kept on running until he heard a sizzling noise. He looked down and saw the path was riddled with explosive tags. Naruto chuckled and used his kamui and kept going forward. Explosions rocked the grounds and large clouds of smoke rose into the sky.
The proctor cringed when he saw Naruto being consumed by the explosions, but was again surprised when he saw him running out of smoke cloud, completely unharmed. Naruto's eyes caught a sealing tag at the cabin's door. It was another trap with an explosive tag but this one it needed to be disarmed, otherwise it would blow up the cabin, scroll included.
Naruto smirked and simply right through the door using his kamui. "I'm done here" the proctor conceded and threw his board at the ground. He gave up on trying to understand Senju Naruto. Naruto saw the scroll on a small table and simply took it. He flashed towards Hinata and all three members rushed out of the forest.
"Time: 42 seconds" the proctor said shaking his head. He pointed towards the display and saw Naruto's team ranking first with the second nowhere near. The second best time was nearly five minutes.
"Are we done?" Naruto asked and the proctor nodded.
"Yes. Meet here at eight for the announcement of which teams will proceeded to the second stage" the proctor said and watched the team leave. They had broken or achieved first place in every single category barring the obstacle course but he didn't blamed them. When he himself saw some green creature shouting something about flames of youth he even considered retirement at thirty years old.
Later that evening, everyone had gathered to find out the teams that would proceed. They met up with Lee, Tenten and Shikamaru who seemed to also be waiting for the results. "How did it go?" Hinata asked.
"Although clearly not as good as you" Tenten replied pointing to the score boards. "Lee managed to score enough points in the taijutsu and obstacle course to be able to proceed. You know Shika, he played his cards and ended up right in the middle of the competition" Tenten said and Hinata chuckled.
"At least we all get to go to the second stage" Naruto said and everyone nodded. "Oh well. See you all tomorrow for the next exam"
## Amegakure - Pein's Tower ##
"Are you sure this is wise?" Konan asked towards the only person in the room. Her voice was neutral and perfectly calm, betraying none of her worrying thoughts.
In the back of the room, concealed by the shadows stood a person with a single visible eye. The person was a fair-skinned man with chin-length red hair with his most noticeable trait being his single Rinnegan. He didn't look healthy as he seemed to be severely malnourished with his ribcage and bone structure openly visible. He had chakra receivers implanted into his back, one in each of his shoulder joints, smaller ones in his forearms and two metal-like screw under his collar bones, near his shoulder joint. The person sat on some machine that appeared to be some type of mechanical walker.
"It's a dangerous game you are playing Nagato" Konan warned but Nagato seemed determined on his course of action.
"Its needs to be done" Nagato simply said. Konan was about to reply when a familiar swirling sound came into the room. From the vortex Tobi, or Fugaku, walked into the small rays of light coming through the cracks in the room.
"What are you doing here?" Konan asked, her voice back to its neutral tone and her eyes narrowing in slight apprehension. Although she seemed mostly calm on the outside, she was prepared should Tobi try anything foolish.
"Suit up" Tobi said throwing Nagato something whitish in color. Nagato picked up what Tobi had thrown and his eyes widened when he realized what it was.
"This is-" Nagato replied but was interrupted by Tobi.
"I need you at full strength for this"