The registration for the Chunin Exams was held at the Konoha Ninja Academy.
Uehara Naraku walked through the hallways with his hands in his pockets followed closely by his two nervous teammates Shigure and Baiu. The Academy was crowded with Genin from various villages. There were stoic ninjas from the Hidden Sand muscular ninjas from the Hidden Cloud and the mysterious Grass ninjas.
"Captain" Shigure whispered "everyone looks so strong. Do you think we can pass?"
"You guys?" Uehara laughed. "Probably not. But I will drag you across the finish line if I have to. Just remember the plan. Stay behind me and look menacing."
They arrived at the second floor. A large crowd had gathered in front of a classroom door labeled 301. Two Genin were blocking the entrance pushing back anyone who tried to enter.
"Go home!" one of the gatekeepers shouted. "The Chunin Exams are too difficult for you. Go back to your mommies!"
Uehara glanced at the number plate.
"A Genjutsu" Uehara noted instantly. "This is actually the second floor. They disguised the number 201 as 301. Simple but effective against idiots."
As he watched Team 7 arrived. Sasuke Uchiha walked straight past the crowd ignoring the illusion entirely.
"Sakura" Sasuke said coolly. "You noticed it too right?"
"Of course!" Sakura beamed. "This is only the second floor."
The illusion shattered revealing the true floor number.
"Sasuke kun is so cool!" Shigure whispered.
"Stop fangirling" Uehara slapped the back of Shigure's head. "Let's go. The real room is upstairs."
They climbed to the third floor. This time the room number 301 was real.
Uehara pushed the door open. The noise inside the room died down instantly. Every pair of eyes turned to assess the newcomers.
The killing intent in the room was palpable. It was a mix of tension fear and excitement.
"So many people" Baiu gulped. "There must be over a hundred candidates."
"Ignore them" Uehara walked into the room finding an empty spot near the wall.
Suddenly a loud voice broke the silence.
"Hey! It is the Raincoat Guy!"
Naruto Uzumaki pointed an accusing finger at Uehara from across the room. The blonde boy came running over followed by a reluctant Sasuke and Sakura.
"I knew it!" Naruto grinned. "I knew you would be here! Are you ready to lose?"
"Hello Naruto" Uehara smiled politely. "I see you haven't learned to use your inside voice yet."
"This is the Chunin Exam!" Naruto shouted. "I don't need an inside voice! I am going to beat everyone here including you!"
"Is that so?" Uehara looked at Sasuke. "And you Sasuke? Are you ready to play?"
Sasuke glared at him. "I still owe you for the bridge. Don't think I have forgotten."
"How scary" Uehara chuckled.
Suddenly a grey haired boy wearing round glasses approached them. He wore a Konoha forehead protector and had a friendly smile.
"You guys might want to keep it down" the boy said. "Everyone is staring at you."
"Who are you?" Naruto asked.
"I am Kabuto Yakushi" the boy introduced himself. "I am a veteran of these exams. This is my seventh time taking them."
"Seventh time?" Uehara raised an eyebrow. "Wow. You must be really bad at this."
Kabuto's smile twitched for a fraction of a second but he recovered quickly.
"Well the exams are difficult" Kabuto laughed nervously. "But because I have taken them so many times I have gathered a lot of data. I have info cards on almost everyone here."
He pulled out a deck of ninja info cards.
"Do you have info on him?" Sasuke pointed at Uehara. "Uehara Naraku of the Rain Village."
Kabuto shuffled his deck. "Let me see... Rain Village... Uehara Naraku. Ah here it is."
He held up a card.
"Uehara Naraku. Genin of Amegakure. Completed 15 C rank missions. 1 B rank mission. No A rank or S rank. Combat style... unknown. Not much data available."
"Combat style unknown?" Sasuke frowned. "He uses strange cards and barriers."
"Is that so?" Kabuto adjusted his glasses his eyes glinting. "I will add that to my data. Thank you."
Uehara watched Kabuto closely.
Kabuto Yakushi. The right hand man of Orochimaru. A spy. A medical genius. And currently acting like a helpful senior to gather intel on Sasuke.
"You have a lot of cards Kabuto san" Uehara said stepping closer. "Do you have cards on the Sound Village team over there?"
He pointed to three ninjas wrapped in bandages who were glaring at Kabuto.
"The Sound Village?" Kabuto looked. "They are a new village. I don't have much data on them."
"Too bad" Uehara sighed. "Data is only useful if it is up to date. Be careful Kabuto san. Sometimes knowing too much gets you killed."
Kabuto looked at Uehara sharply. For a moment the facade of the clumsy Genin slipped revealing the cold calculator underneath.
"I will keep that in mind" Kabuto replied softly.
Just then the door opened again.
A group of three ninjas from the Grass Village walked in.
The one in the middle wore a wide brimmed straw hat that shadowed his face. He moved with a strange liquid grace. His tongue flicked out to taste the air for a second before retracting.
Uehara felt a chill run down his spine.
It wasn't just killing intent. It was a primal predatory fear.
[Side Mission Triggered: The Serpent's Gaze.]
[Objective: Do not expose your true strength in front of Orochimaru.]
[Reward: 200 Gold Coins.]
"Orochimaru" Uehara thought his heart beating faster. "He is here."
The Sannin in disguise scanned the room. His yellow eyes with slit pupils lingered on Sasuke Uchiha like a hungry snake eyeing a mouse. Then his gaze shifted.
He looked at Uehara.
Orochimaru paused. He sensed something. A strange chakra signature. Something that felt... artificial.
The Grass ninja walked past Uehara.
"You smell... interesting" the Grass ninja whispered as he passed. "Like rain mixed with old money."
Uehara didn't flinch. He kept his expression perfectly neutral.
"I use an expensive cologne" Uehara replied calmly.
Orochimaru let out a low rasping chuckle and walked away moving towards the back of the room.
"Captain" Baiu whispered trembling. "That guy... he was terrifying."
"Don't look at him" Uehara ordered quietly. "Don't make eye contact. He is out of your league."
Uehara checked his stats.
He had Nashor's Tooth Rylai's Crystal Scepter components and Warrior's Blood. He was strong. But Orochimaru? Orochimaru was immortal. He was a monster who had killed the Kazekage and was planning to kill the Hokage.
"I can't fight him yet" Uehara decided. "Not without a full build. I need to play the role of the lucky Genin a little longer."
Suddenly a puff of white smoke exploded at the front of the room.
"Quiet down you maggots!"
A scarred man with a black trench coat appeared flanked by dozens of proctors. He had a face that looked like it had been put through a meat grinder.
Ibiki Morino. The torture and interrogation specialist.
"I am Ibiki Morino the proctor for the first exam" he barked. "Take a seat. We are starting the written test immediately."
"A written test?!" Naruto screamed clutching his head. "Nooooo!"
Uehara smirked. He walked to a seat and sat down.
"Finally" Uehara thought. "Something easy."
He looked at the test paper placed in front of him.
Question 1: Calculate the trajectory of a shuriken thrown from a 45 degree angle with a wind speed of 5 meters per second taking into account the rotation of the earth...
Uehara blinked.
"Wait" Uehara thought. "I don't know physics. I relied on the System to aim for me."
He looked around. Everyone was already cheating. Sasuke was using his Sharingan to copy pencil movements. Gaara was using a sand eye. Kankuro had a puppet proctor. Neji was using Byakugan.
"I need to cheat" Uehara realized. "But I don't have a vision jutsu."
He opened the System Store.
[Item: Scrying Orb (Blue Trinket).]
[Cost: Free (Cooldown 90 seconds).]
[Effect: Reveals a small area at a long distance.]
"Perfect."
Uehara activated the Scrying Orb. An invisible magical eye appeared above the head of a smart looking girl in the front row. He could see her answers perfectly on his mental map.
"Thank you System" Uehara began to write.
From the back of the room Orochimaru watched the Rain ninja.
"He is using a space time sensing jutsu without hand signs" Orochimaru licked his lips. "How fascinating. Perhaps Sasuke isn't the only prize in this exam."
Uehara felt the gaze again. He didn't look back.
"Just write" Uehara told himself. "Just write and get to the Forest of Death. That is where the real game begins."
...
Author Note
Hi guys! Thank you for reading my fanfiction.
I wanted to let you know that I'll be releasing bonus chapters for Power Stones. Here are the goals:
15 Power Stones: 1 Bonus Chapters
30 Power Stones: 1 Bonus Chapters
50 Power Stones: 1 Bonus Chapters
75 Power Stones: 2 Bonus Chapters
100 Power Stones: 2 Bonus Chapters
Thanks for the support!