Ibiki grinned. Now that we've weeded out most of the hopeless cases, fifteen minutes to go, time for the main event. "Alright, listen up!" Ibiki called for out attention, I opened my eyes back up. "Wow." I looked around, only a few of us left. "Here's the tenth and final question!" Ibiki called out, I watched him intently. Here we go! Naruto gulped. Everything's riding on this one! Believe it! Naruto clenched his fists. Man, this guy is full of himself. Sasuke grinned. This is it, the final obstacle. Sakura watched with a small smile. Finally! It feels like I've been waiting forever! I swear, this question better be a good one! I put my hands on my hips. Hurry up Kankuro! What good is your cheat sheet going to do you if you miss the tenth question? Temari watched the front door, sitting on the edge of her seat. "But before I give you the question, there are some rules you need to be aware of." Ibiki nodded with a grin, "Ugh..." I sighed, rolling my eyes. The front doors opened, "Huh?" Kankuro looked around, Izumo close behind him. "Ah, made it just in time." Ibiki looked over at him, Izumo closed the classroom doors. "I hope you found your trip to the bathroom enlightening." Ibiki grinned. H-He's seen through Crow's disguise! He's onto us! Kankuro clenched his fists, a bead of sweat running down the side of his face. "Well, take your seat." Ibiki glared at him, Kankuro walked calmly, as he passed Temari, he dropped a small roll of paper. "These rules are unique to question ten. Listen carefully and try not to let them frighten you." Ibiki grinned, the small feeling I felt of being watched escalated to a full on one sided staring contest, I shivered. Looking around the room, there was a lot more space now that the kicked all of the cheaters out.

"It's quiet without all the rookies around. I miss em'." Kakashi sighed, shrugging his shoulders. "Don't worry. Chances are they'll be back again sooner than you think." Asuma grinned, taking another puff of his cigarette. "Why's that?" Kakashi asked, squinting his eye at Asuma. "I heard that their first examiner this year is Ibiki." Asuma sighed. So, already their chances of passing look iffy. Kakashi thought, leaning back in his seat. "Great, sticking them with that sadist right off the bat." Kakashi sighed. "What 'sadist'?" Kurenai asked, Asuma chuckled. "I forgot you're a new Jonin, Kurenai. Otherwise, you wouldn't have to ask that." Asuma grinned, holding his cigarette between his lips. "So, I'm ignorant. Who is he?" She asked, turning her head over to Kakashi. "He's what you might call a specialist." Kakashi explained, "Oh yeah? In what?" She asked, Asuma blew smoke away from his face. "Interrogation torture." Asuma grinned, her eyes winded. "Oh, of course, he won't be using physical torture during the test. He won't need to. That's not really his thing, anyway. He works on people's minds, not their bodies. He's famous for it. Everyone knows about the head of the Anbu Torture and Interrogation Corps for the Hidden Leaf. Ibiki Morino." Asuma explained with a shrug.

If even the rules are scary...Naruto gulped. What's the question like? "Very well, then. Rule number one. Each of you is free to choose not to be given the final question. It's your decision." Ibiki explained, "Huh?" I tilted my head. Say what? We're free to chose? Sasuk clenched his fists. "So, what's the catch? Let's say we decide we don't want to do it? What happens then?" Temari shouted at him from across the room. "If you choose not to take the tenth question, regardless of your answers to the other nine, you'll get a zero. In other words, you fail. And that means, of course, your team mates fail as well." Ibiki grinned as he listened to panicked whispers fill the room. "Not so fast. You didn't let me finish." Ibiki waved his index fingers. Ugh, more rules? Enough already! I huffed, Kale held onto my neck tighter. "If you do accept the question but answer incorrectly, you will not only fail, but you will be banned from taking the chunin exam ever again!" Ibiki explained. "Hey, that's bull, man! That's ridiculous! What kind of bogus rule is that?! There's lots of people here who've taken the test before!" Kiba shouted at him, Akamru barked in agreance. Ibiki chuckled, it sent shivers down my spine. "I guess you're just unlucky. I wasn't making the rules before, but I am now. Of course, if you don't want to take it, you don't have to." Kiba shuffled nervously. "If you're not feeling confident, then by all means, skip it. You can come back and try again next year." Ibiki chuckled, his hands in his pockets. Thanks a lot! So if any one of us chooses to skip it, then all four of us fail. Forget it! That's not going to happen! But on the other hand, you only have one shot. Screw up and you'll never get another chance. Either way, it stinks! This is so unfair! Why couldn't they just give us a normal test?! Sakura grunted, Naruto shook slightly. Hinata looked over at me nervously. "Now then, if you're ready. The tenth and final question. Those who don't want to take it, raise your hand. Your number will be recorded, and then you're free to go." Ibiki nodded. W-What could the question be? What if it's easy? What if it's not? If I get it wrong, I'll be a genin for the rest of my life the way things are going! But I can't just skip it, then we all fail! I can't do that to (Y/N) and the others! Naruto gritted his teeth. Well, I'm okay, and Sasuke should be too. He's not chickening me out. No way I'm raising my hand. Oh, but what about Naruto, and (Y/N)? They don't stand a chance! Go on, Naruto, raise your hand. There's always next year, just think about yourself. Sakura stared at him. "I'm out. That's it, I'm out." The guy sitting on my left called out, raising his hand as he stood up. "I just can't do it, I'm sorry!" He put his head down. "Number fifty, fail. Number one hundred and thirty, number one hundred and ten, that means you're out to." Kotetsu nodded. "Gennai, Inaho, I'm sorry guys." He was shaking, I looked up at him. "I'm sorry. That's it, I quit!" "Me too, sir, I'm out." "I'm out!" "Me too." "I'm so gone." Mumbles erupted around the room as people shot up from their seats, their hands in the air. I looked around again, after most of them left, I finally found Naruto. I smiled, leaning closer to my desk to see if I could wave to him, but his head was down. I lost my smile. N-Naruto? What's going on with him? Why does-I stopped, looking down at his paper. He didn't write down a single thing! Wow, he must be really upset right now. I sighed, rubbing my chin.

Go on, Naruto. Sakura looked over at him, her sight clearing. Why don't you raise your hand? Naruto...Sakura sighed. To be the greatest Hokage. Then the whole village will stop disrespecting me and start treating my like I'm somebody, somebody important! Sakura thought back on Naruto's words, staring at his back. Hokage, Hokage. He has a one track mind. That dream's all he's got. It would kill him to have it taken away forever. But he's too stubborn to raise his hand, I can't let you do it to yourself, Naruto. Sakura began to raise her hand, I jumped. N-No! What his he doing?! I put my hands to the side of my face in shock, Naruto's hand was up in the air! I think I'm gonna faint! I hung my head low.

"You see, this guy Ibiki, he's a master of interrogation because he understands how the human mind works. He know's just where to probe to uncover your weaknesses. The thing is, he's so good at his job, he doesn't use physical torture. He just messes up your head so bad, you torture yourself." Asuma grinned, looking at Kurenai's shocked expression.

"Gnn!" Naruto slammed his hand down on the table. "Don't underestimate me! I don't quit and I don't run! You can act tough all you want, you guys aren't gonna scare me off! No way! I don't care if I do get stuck as a genin for the rest of my life! I'll still be Hokage one day!" Naruto plopped back down on his seat, his arm crossed, a big smile found it's way to my face. He's completely clueless, but he's still going for it. I nodded, chuckling to myself. Kid's got guts, I'll give him that. Sasuke scoffed, turning his head away. Way to go, you crazy little fool! Sakura giggled.

"This decision is one that could change your life. If for any other reason you'd want to quit, here's your last chance." Ibiki was staring daggers at Naruto. "No way, I never go back on my word. That's my ninja way." Naruto stared at him back. Remarkable. That little outburst have given the others some back bone, he's inspired them into staying. Seventy eight left, more then I expected. But I don't see any one wavering, I think that's it. Ibiki looked around the class room, I was beaming. Kotetsu nodded, Ibiki nodded back.

"Well, then. I admire your determination if nothing else. For those of your remaining there's only one thing left to do." Ibiki called out, I grabbed my pencil, anticipating the last question. "And that's for me to tell you that's you've all passed." Ibiki grinned. "Huh?" Naruto dropped his pencil. "What?! What do you mean we pass?! Where's the tenth question?!" Sakura screamed, standing up from her seat. "There never was one! Not a written one, at least. Actually, your decision to stay was your answer to the tenth question." Ibiki chuckled, "Aw! Come on, you've got to at least have one more question! You can't just leave us off on number nine!" I whined, slamming my palms on the desk, Ibiki was laughing like a baboon. "Wait a second! So the other nine questions you gave us were just a waist of time?!" Temari seethed. "No, no, not at all. Quite the opposite! The first nine questions had an important over riding purpose, to test your ability to surreptitiously gather strategic intelligence under the most adverse circumstances." Ibiki grinned. "Oh, well that clears up everything!" Temari huffed sarcastically, falling back down in her seat. "Let me explain. You see, my objective was to test you not only as individuals, but as a team. And how well you function as a part on that team. That's why the test was scored on a team basis, so that you knew everything you did, or failed to do, would directly affect your team mates. I wanted to see how you'd handle the pressure." Ibiki explained, putting his hands back in his pockets. "Mhm! Yeah, I figured it was something like that. That's why I kept my cool!" Naruto nodded with his arms crossed, Sakura was staring daggers at him. Yeah, right. Sakura huffed, Hinata giggled to my side.

"The first nine questions on the test were difficult. In fact, as you may have realized, too difficult for any genin to be expected to solve. I imagine that many of you quickly came to that conclusion, that you'd have to cheat if you had any chance at passing. The fact is the test was designed to encourage you to cheat, is almost demanded it." Ibiki explained, I was sitting their, staring at the ceiling. "Of course, it would of done you little good unless you had some one to cheat from. So, I disguised two chunin who already knew the answers and had them sit in with you." Naruto shook his head, the answers were in front of me the whole time! Naruto grabbed onto the sides of his head. "What is that kids problem..." Voices echoed around the room, Naruto gritted his teeth. "Oh, come on, I wasn't fooled for a second!" Naruto chuckled nervously, "Yeah! Naruto is one of the smartest guys in the room! You'd have to be a complete idiot not to see! Isn't that right, Hinata?" I shouted to the classroom, looking over at Hinata sitting next to me. She flashed red. Incredible. So the entire time he never knew...Sasuke sighed, looking at Naruto from a distance.

"Those who were caught at it failed. Better not to cheat than to cheat clumsily." Ibiki grinned, untying his head hand. My eyes widened as I stared at the top of his head. "Information. It can be the most valuable weapon in battle. How well you can gather intelligence can determine whether a missions a failure or a success." Ibiki lectured us, all eyes were on the top of his head, he had it covered during the entire test. He was bald, scars riddles his head, "Wow." I mouthed silently. "There'll be times you'll have to risk your life to get it." Ibiki grinned. Man, what a mess. Scars, puncture wounds, burn marks. What he must of endured...Sasuke thought, looking over at him. Naruto gulped. The feeling on my back increased. "Of course, you must always consider the source of your information. Intelligence gathered by an enemy is not necessarily accurate." Ibiki tied the head band back over his head. "Always bear this in mind. Disinformation can be worse than no information at all. It leads to the death of comrades or the loss of a village. That's why I put you in the position where you had to gather accurate intelligence. Cheat in order to survive. And that's why those who weren't good enough at it were weeded out, leaving the rest of you." Ibiki explained with a nod. "Okay...but I'm still not getting what the whole tenth question was about." Temari furrowed her brow. "You're not? The tenth question was the main point of the whole exam. Surely, you can see that." Ibiki scoffed. "Sure! But explain it anyway..." Naruto grinned, rubbing the back of his neck. "As I said before, the goal was to test you. Not only as individuals, but as part of a squad. The final question gave you two choices, both difficult. You could choose to play it safe and skip the question, though it meant that both you and your team mates would fail. Or you could try to answer it, knowing if you got it wrong, you would lose you chance at being chunin. It was a no win situation." Ibiki put his arms behind his back, pacing in the front of the room. "But just the sort that chunin have to face almost ever single day. For example, let me give you a hypothetical mission. To steal a document from an enemy stronghold." Ibiki turned to face all of us. "You have no idea how many ninja the enemy has or how heavily armed they are. Furthermore, you have reason to believe that the enemy expects you, that you might very well be walking blindly into a trap. Now, do you have the option of taking a pass on this insane mission or say my comrades and I would rather live to fight another day? Can you choose to avoid danger? No." The room was silent, I put my arms on my desk, listening. "There will be many missions that will seem almost suicidal, if you think about it. But you do not think about it. You think only of the goal, and of achieving it through courage and discipline." Ibiki looked up at the ceiling, "These are the qualities required of a chunin squad leader. Those who choose the safety of those two paths, those whose determination falters in the face of adversity, those who would put their comrades lives in jeopardy by worrying about their own, those who would save their own necks at the price of honor will never be able to call themselves chunin, at least as long as I'm here. As for the rest of you, you have successfully answered the ten questions I gave you. You have earned the right to continue onto the next step. You have passed through the first gate. I hereby declare this section of the chunin exam, complete. There's nothing left but to wish you all good luck." Ibiki smiled, nodding to us all. "All right! We did it! That's one down!" Naruto shouted, jumping out of his seat with his fists in the air. "Yeah! Yeah! Woohoo! Yeah!" I laughed, they're funny kids, those two. "Hm?" Ibiki looked to the window, I froze my cheering, watching as a large brown ball crashed through the window. "AH! Is this a part of the test?!" Naruto squealed, jumping back into his seat. The ball unraveled, a person jumped out of it, throwing the brown tarp up in the sky, pinning it to the wall with a couple of kunai, I watched in awe. Jumped the gun as usual. Ibiki sighed.

"Head's up boys and girls! This is no time to be celebrating!" A woman shouted at all of us, "Hm?" I tilted my head. "I'll be your next proctor! Anko Mitarashi! You ready for the second test?" She asked with a grin, the class room was silent. "Good! Then let's go! Follow me!" She shouted, punching her fist in the air. I stared at her with wide eyes. Ibiki stepped out from behind the tarp, his hands in his pockets. "You're early again." Ibiki grunted, "Uh..." Anko suttered nervously. Great. Another screaming nutcase. She reminds me way too much of Naruto and (Y/N). Sakura slumped her shoulders.

"How many are there?" Anko asked, looking around the room. "Ibiki, you let all these guys pass? Your test was too easy. You must be getting soft." Anko shook her head, placing her hands on her hips. "Or it could be a stronger crop of candidates this year." Ibiki smiled at her. "Hm. They sure don't look it. Trust me, before I'm done with them, more than half will be eliminated. " She grinned. "Huh? More than half, really?" I asked, looking at her with wide eyes. "This is gonna be fun." Anko whispered to herself. "Alright, you maggots have had it easy so far, but things are going to be different starting first thing in the morning! I'll let your squad leaders know where you're to meet me, dismissed."

The sun was setting, Ibiki was all alone, looking over the tests out of curiosity. "Huh?" Ibiki raised his brow, picking up a test paper. His eyes quickly scanned over the paper. No way, they...they got every answer right. Ibiki looked up at the name, (Y/N) (L...Ibiki clenched his fist. "(L/N)...so that was you." Ibiki looked up at the ceiling. They didn't even cheat...an (L/N) being mixed in with the candidates, this is sure to stir up some trouble. Ibiki shook his head, adding the paper to the pile he collected. What a funny kid.