"First, you candidates from the Village Hidden In the Sound, knock it off!" Ibiki pointed at them from across the room, his voice shaking the ground. "Who told you you could fight? You want to be failed before we've even begun?!" Ibiki shouted at them, Dosu turned around to him. "Sorry. It's our first time. Guess we're a little jumpy...sir." He bent his back down. "I'll say this only once, so listen up! There will be no combat between candidates. No attacking each other with out the permission of your proctor. And even then, the use of fatal force is strictly prohibited. Anyone who thinks of messing with me will be disqualified immediately. Got it?" A shiver ran down my spine as I looked over at Ibiki, scars ran all along his face. "Hmph. No fatal force? That's no fun." Zaku scoffed, looking behind him. Izumo and Kotetsu chuckled, stepping out behind Ibiki.

"Now, if we're ready, we'll proceed to the first stage of the chunin exam. Hand over your paperwork. In return, you'll each be given a number." Ibiki held up a pack of square white cards, number one facing all of us. "This number will determine where you sit. We will start the written test once you're all seated." Ibiki announced to all of us. "The what...d-did he say...written?" Naruto gulped, Kotetsu held up a large stack of papers with a grin, "No! Not a written test! No way!" Naruto cried out.

After a long line, and Naruto constantly freaking out, we each got our numbers and were seated down inside of the testing room. Every one remained silent. A large row of chunin in uniform grey suits sat to the side, clip boards in hand as they looked around the room. Hinata sat next to me on my right, a random person to my left. An uneasy feeling washed over me, it felt like I was closely being watched. I shook my head, trying to shake off the feeling. But it stayed, clinging to my back.

Naruto gulped, looking down at the blank piece of paper on his desk. Two freshly sharpened pencils to his side with a small block eraser, Naruto sighed. I don't even know where (Y/N) is sitting! I'm all alone! Naruto grumbled, holding onto the sides of his head. Ugh! This is going to be a total disaster! He hung his head low. Ha, tough luck for Naruto. Written exams are defiantly not his strong point! Sakura chuckled to herself, watching him from a few rows back. "Gnnnn..." Naruto held onto his head.

"Uh, (Y/N)?" "Hm?" I turned my head to the side, Hinata looked over at me with a smile. "Hey, Hinata." I whispered back with a smile. "What's up?" I asked her, pink flushed on her face. "I-I just wanted to say...good luck a-and everything." She nodded. "Oh, thanks!" I grinned, wow, that's weird. I barely even noticed her. Even when she's there, it's like she's not. I thought, looking over at her.

"Everyone, eyes to the front!" Ibiki shouted out, his voice boomed like a speaker, I turned my attention back to him. He tapped a piece of chalk against the chalk board. "There are a few rules you need to be aware of. And I don't answer any questions." Ibiki explained, looking around the room. "So, you better pay attention the first time around!" His eyes were dull. No questions? What kind of rules are these? Sakura pouted. "Alright, rule number one is this." Ibiki turned his back to us, writing on the chalk board. "The written part of the exam is conducted on a point reduction system. Contrary to what some of you might be used to, you will all begin the test with a perfect score of ten points. One point with be deducted for each answer you get wrong. So, if you miss three, the score will be seven." Ibiki explained with a nod, his hand on his hip. So, if I miss ten, my final score will be...Naruto nodded, counting on his fingers. Zero...Naruto scratched the top of his head.

"Rule number two. Teams will pass or fail based on the total score of all three numbers." Ibiki grinned. "What?! Wait a second! You're saying we all get scored as a team?!" Sakura shouted, "Silence!" Ibiki shouted over her, "I have my reasons, so shut up and listen." Ibiki clenched his fists. Reasons?! Sakura gritted her teeth.

"Rule number three. The sentinels you see positioned around the room are there to watch you carefully for any signs of cheating." Ibiki explained with a grin. "Hm?" I looked over to my side, Kotetsu waved. "And for every incident they spot, they will subtract two points from the culprit's score. Be warned, their eyes are extremely sharp. And if they catch you five times, you'll be dismissed before the test is even scored." Ibiki looked at all of our faces, I waved back at him with a smile. Do I know that guy? I wondered, turning my head back to the table. Sheesh! They make it so there's all sorts of ways you can loose points! Sakura gulped. "Any one foolish enough to be caught cheating by the sentinels doesn't deserve to be here." Ibiki smiled as he looked at everyone's horrified faces. "I've got my eye on you." Kotetsu grinned, tapping his pencil against his clip board, I gulped. "If you want to be considered shinobi, then show us the exceptional shinobi you can be." Ibiki continued his speech, okay, okay, relax. I just have to focus, I'm know I can do this! Sasuke and Sakura should be able to do fine, and even if Naruto fails, we can all still pull through. I thought to my self, clasping my hands together. "One more thing," Ibiki called out, raising his voice. "If any candidate should get a zero and fail the test, then the entire team fails." "What?!" I shuddered, Naruto gulped.

Ugh! They're gonna kill me! Naruto shuddered. "(Y/N)?" Hinata called out, worry etched onto my features. "The final question won't be given out until fifteen minutes before the end of the testing period." Hinata and I gasped. "You'll have one hour total. Begin!"

I held my pencil tightly between my fingers, closing my eyes. Okay, (Y/N), focus. I slowly breathed in and out, slowly reading the first question. "Hm?" I raised my brow. They've got to be kidding! This is the easiest test I've ever seen! Iruka gave us harder exams in the academy! I grinned, quickly scribbling down my answers, Hinata slowly began to write. I sighed, just don't blow it Naruto. I furrowed my brow, moving onto the third question.

Oh, man. This doesn't look good. Sasuke held his pencil loosely, looking over at Naruto. He's just sitting there. He's gonna choke! Sasuke crossed his arms. Naruto chuckled nervously, what am I worried about? It's just a test! I've done a lot harder things, believe it! All I've gotta do is just relax and take my time! Naruto grabbed the paper, holding it close to his face. Just read through the questions and find the ones I have a chance at answering. No pressure. Naruto sighed a breath of relief. Okay, number one. Oh, I see, I've got to decipher a code. Okay, mhm. Yeah, forget that one. What's next? Naruto continued to read the paper.

'Line B in the diagram indicates the trajectory of a shuriken thrown at enemy C by ninja A seated atop a tree seven meters tall. Describe and formulate the trajectory required if C were positioned at point D, E, and F. Also predict the farthest possible range of the shuriken and explain how you arrived at your answer.' Sasuke read to himself, staring down at the paper. Ha, these are integrated problems based on principles of uncertainty and requiring complex mechanical energy analysis. Hilarious, they must really be throwing off a lot of people right now. Oh, dang it, Naruto, you've got to pull through! I clenched my fists, trying to see if I could find his spiky blond hair anywhere in the room. Sakura gritted her teeth, this is incredibly advanced stuff. I bet (Y/N) can't even answer one question, not to mention Naruto! They don't have a snowballs chance in hell! Sakura looked over at him. In fact, there can't be more than a handful of people here besides me who can understand it, and I'm not completely used to it, either! Sakura sighed, shaking her head. Her pink hair fell onto the desk. "Hmm..." Naruto smiled down at the paper, okay, skip that one. Next! Naruto looked down the paper. "Mhm...hmm..." Naruto scratched the top of his head. Each problems more difficult than the next, man, who knew this could be so much fun? I smiled, continuing to write on the page.

Sasuke chuckled, well, that's interesting. I can't begin to understand a single one of these problems. Sasuke gritted his teeth, looking down at the paper with a strained smile. Naruto held his head, looking down at the paper. Forget it! This is hopeless! What am I gonna do? What'll I do? What'll I do? What'll I do? Ahh! Naruto shook. I need a high score if we're gonna have a chance. This is so hard! I'm almost tempted to-no, I can't do that. Sakura held onto a strand of her hair. It's almost like they're, like they're trying to get us to cheat! I just hope Naruto and (Y/N) don't fall for it! Sakura sighed, looking at Naruto's bright orange jumpsuit. No, they wouldn't. No way. Not even Naruto is that much of an idiot, right? Sakura wondered looking over at him. Okay, don't panic. Don't panic. There's only one thing left to do. I have to cheat and not get caught! Naruto held the side of his head, Ibiki gave him and off look, Naruto jumped, hitting himself in the head. Y-Yeah right! And risk getting thrown out on my ?! I can't do that! Naruto gritted his teeth.

I leaned back, a small smile on my face as I relaxed. I slowly let my eyes wander around the room, it's a bit strange...I sighed, closing my eyes. They make more a fuss about cheating than they do about the test it's self. These sentinels watching our every move, I looked over at Kotetsu. Trying to catch one of-wow! Some one just got nailed! My eyes widened as I saw them quickly write down someone's name. That's another thing. Why only a two point deduction? Doesn't make sense. I shook my head, looking up at the ceiling. Ordinarily, if some one's caught cheating even once, that's grounds for dismissal right there. "Oh..." I mumbled to myself, so that's it. Ha, very cunning, this is more then just a written exam. The real aim is not to test our knowledge, but our ability to gather information. Ha, yeah, that explains everything. The eagle eyed sentinels every where, these semi-difficult questions, the fact that only two points are deducted. Very clever. A ninja must see through deception, aw, I only wish I had noticed that before I finished the test. I shrugged, leaning back on the desk. Oh, well. It was something to do. Might as well do the last question as well, just to complete the test. I doodled on the page, drawing circles in between the questions. He's expecting us to cheat. He's daring us to try and cheat and not get caught. Only exceptional shinobi could get away with it under these circumstances, I guess I should keep my eyes peeled to see if there's anyone good enough. I wonder how many of the others have realized, I bet Sakura found that out as soon as we got the tests. I wonder if Naruto got it...

This is bad, this is bad! Naruto held his head. "Sssssss..." "Huh?" I looked down at my lap, Kale was laying there. Kale? What in the world is he doing here? I told him specifically to stay home! I picked him up off my lap, he circled around my lap. "What did I tell you?" I whispered to him in a sharp tone, he shook his head. "What do you mean 'no'? This could be too dangerous for you!" I hunched my shoulder over, he shook his head again. "You really want to stay, huh?" I asked him, looking around, Hinata was staring at her test. "Fine, but that means you've got to be quiet, and do what I say!" I whispered to him, he nodded his head as he circled around my neck. Kale must be well rested, that means he could get agitated easily. That's not good at all, if he bites some one, they might not survive! I didn't bring any anti-venom with me! I bit down on my bottom lip.

Kankuro sighed as he watched sand slither up Gaara's arm. Look's like he's figured a way out. Okay, Crow. I'm counting on you. Kankuro held onto the pencil tightly. "Aarf!" Akamaru growled, perched on top of Kiba's head. "Good boy." Kiba whispered, quickly writing on the paper. "Yeah, that'll do it. Heh." Kiba grinned, looking over at me. "That's what you get for yesterday, (Y/N)." He huffed, thinking back on the spicy ramen I tricked him into eating.

Dosu closed his eye, keeping his pencil steadily on the paper, he listened to the person behind him writing. Judging from the rhythm, the duration, and the frequency of the stokes, yes, I see. Dosu wrote quickly on the paper. A silent buzz roamed around the room, a fly landed on some one's desk, staring at their paper. They quickly swatted it away. Shino held his ring finger out, the fly landed on it. "Well, show me." He whispered, the fly flew around his paper. Eight, of course. Shino nodded.

Tick, tick, tick. Oh man, couldn't they have a digital clock?! Aaargh! Time's running out! That does it! I've got no choice! Naruto gritted his teeth, holding onto his head. I've gotta cheat! But...I can't do that! What if I get caught?! What is (Y/N) gonna think? On the other hand, if I don't get any of these right, I'm sunk, and I take them down with me! Either way, I'm dead meat! Naruto shook. "GAH!" I heard a shout echo across the room, "Huh?!" I jumped, Kotetsu was standing up, I looked over, a kunai sticking out of someone's test. "What the! What was that all about?!" A boy shouted, standing up out of his seat. "Five strikes, and you're out. You just failed the test." Kotetsu grinned, his hand on his hip. "What?! It can't be!" He shuddered, his eyes wide open. "You and your team mates will leave the room immediately." Kotetsu pointed at him, two more people stood up. The three of them walked shamefully to the exit. Thank goodness that wasn't us! I sighed in relief, wiping my forehead. "Candidate number twenty three, fail. Number twenty seven and forty three, fail." Kotetsu called out across the room, another boy stood up. "No way! Who says I cheated five times?! Where's your proof?! How can you keep track of all of us?! You got the wrong guy! How do you know I wasn't just-!" He was elbowed in the chest by a sentinel. "Sorry pal. We were chosen for this duty because we don't make mistakes like that. You can't even blink with out us seeing it." He hissed, "Now get out. And take your team mates with you." He scoffed, watching the guy fall to the floor. Sharingan! Sasuke watched the guy in front of him. I'll try to imitate the movements of his pencil. Sasuke grinned, quickly writing the answers down. Bingo. I hit the jackpot with this guy.

Look at her. She's cranking through this thing! Ino leaned on her desk, watching Sakura intently. Okay, Sakura, I'll concede that you've got a brain behind that over sized forehead of yours. Now, I think I'll put it to work for me. Ino grinned smugly, putting her hands together. You ought to be flattered, girl. I don't just hit anyone with my mind transfer jutsu. Ino targeted on Sakura, her own body falling limply on the desk. So, Ino's got her jutsu working, I see. About time. Shikamaru watched her. Way to go putting that brainiac to work for us. Choji grinned, looking behind him. Thank's Sakura, for letting me hang out in your soul for a bit. Even if it is a little cramped in here. Ino grabbed onto Sakura's paper. Now, I've got to memorize these answers quickly so I can pass them to Choji and Shikamaru. Ino scanned over the paper.

"Number fifty nine, you fail. Numbers thirty three and nine, fail." Kotetsu called out, reading his clip board. That's the thirteenth team to be dismissed. Kabuto thought to himself, keeping a close eye on me from behind. "Number forty one, fail. Numbers thirty five and sixty two, fail." Kotetsu continued to call out number after number, students fled from the classroom. Gaara closed his right eye, sand formed in the palm of his hand. Look at this one. Cool as a cucumber. Stays focused as if nothing was happening, not bad for a novice. Ibiki grinned, watching Gaara. The opening of the third eye. Invisibility linked to the optic nerve. Gaara looked down at the eyeball in his hand, he crushed it. Sand blew everywhere. Ow, dang! Something got in my eye! A boy groaned, dropping his pencil as he tried to rub sand out of his eyes. Gaara copied down the answers.

"Uh, excuse me." Kankuro called out, raising his hand. "What is it?" Izumo sighed, looking over at Kankuro. "Uh, sorry, but I've got to use the can." Kankuro smiled awkwardly. Izumo stood up, clicking hand cuffs around his wrists, a long rope tied to them. Izumo held the other end of the rope. "We go with you to make sure you're not up to anything." Izumo sighed, leading Kankuro around like a dog on a leash. "That's completely understandable." Kankuro smiled, following him into the bathroom.

A thin wall separated Izumo from the urinals, Kankuro stood there. "Ah, security's pretty tight around here. But these sentinels aren't as eagle eyed as everybody thinks. After all, they haven't even noticed that there is one more sentinel then there used to be, right crow?" Kankuro chuckled, bits of paint fell of a fake Izumo as Kankuro zipped up his pants.

Only twenty minutes yet, and I haven't done squat! I'm so busted! Unless, in five minutes they'll give out the final question. So, that's what it comes down to. Naruto clenched his fists, staring down at his blank test sheet. Everything's riding on that. Believe it!