"Jiraiya."
Jiraiya looked over at his sensei, having missed the call the first time.
"Yes, sensei?"
Hiruzen waved it off.
"What had you dozing off like that?"
Jiraiya rubs the back of his head sheepishly.
"Ah, my bad. I was thinking about my peep- I mean, research."
He made a believable excuse, wanting to discuss the words of the old sage with Kakashi at a later date.
Hiruzen outwardly shakes his head and looks back at Kakashi, but inwardly, he's giggling like a perv and excited about his students' next book.
"What about you, Kakashi? What brings you here?"
"There are a few concerns that you should be aware of in these exams."
Kakashi replied before continuing.
"Besides Naruto, there are three chakra signatures that feel nothing like genin."
Hiruzen narrowed his eyes as he opened a drawer and pulled out his crystal ball, quickly honing in on the room of waiting genin, where the rookie teams were being glared at. A young silver-haired man in glasses stepped up and introduced himself, then revealed his information cards.
"Information cards?"
Jiraiya narrowed his eyes in suspicion, his whole purpose outside the village being to gather information and eliminate potential threats before they became threats.
The three watched as the one Hiruzen identified as Kabuto Yakushi lay out cards of two genin. One of Garra and the other of Lee.
- The room -
"That's not fun. Knowing their names makes it easy."
Kabuto replied to Sasuke, since it was he who asked for the names.
Lee's card showed his taijutsu specialization, the missions he has completed, and his teammates and Jonin sensei.
Garra's card contained less information. It listed his completed missions, noted that his genin teammates are his siblings, and highlighted that Garra has never been injured on a mission.
"I have someone I'd like information on."
Kiba spoke up and only gave the name when Kabuto looked at him.
"Naruto Uzumaki."
Having been quietly watching everything play out, Naruto was inwardly suspicious of this Kabuto guy. Not only did he approach them and offer advice, but he also shared information on the competing genin. Naruto completely disregarded the leaf headband on Kabuto's head, knowing the Chunin exams were where everyone competed, regardless of village loyalties.
When Kabuto began to reveal information, Naruto's suspicions of this guy dialed up to a ten. The information Kabuto has on his team is much more comprehensive, as if he were studying them specifically. Thankfully, the information didn't include their latest training with Kakashi, but if it had, Naruto might have acted against the seemingly kind teen.
Kabuto quickly moved on to the villages participating, gazing down at his cards, but aware of a scrutinizing gaze.
"Leaf, Sand, Rain, Grass, Waterfall, Sound. All exceptional in their own ways. The hidden Sound Village is small, and little is known about it, as it has sprung up recently—a complete mystery."
Putting away his cards, Kabuto felt the quickly approaching Sound team and only let himself react when it wouldn't be suspicious. Dodging the attacks with appropriate Chunin-level speed, and letting the sound attack hit him, shattering his glasses and making him fall to the floor, where he puked.
- Hokage's Office -
"Well, that was something. An invisible attack, something to do with the sound that reverberates in the ear?"
Jiraiya rubbed his chin, thinking about the invisible attack and how it resembled Frog Kumite from Mount Myoboku.
"I'm more interested in the information that Genin had. His cards were very comprehensive when speaking of Naruto and the rest of my team."
Kakashi spoke up, still gazing at the scene as Ibiki, alongside the Chunin proctores, appeared in a loud puff of smoke before scolding the Sound team and escorting them to the written exam room behind them.
Hiruzen lit his pipe and cracked the windows behind him, his thoughts only known to him as he continued to watch as the written test began.
Kakashi wasn't worried for his team in the slightest. Sakura had all the theoretical knowledge she could need; Naruto had long since gotten over his theoretical hurdle. Kakashi estimated that Jonin-level knowledge would be passable for Naruto, and Sasuke was a bit smarter than he'd normally be, though he hadn't awakened the Sharingan yet, something Kakashi felt was good considering Sasuke's mental state.
"Cool as a cucumber, I see."
Jiraiya said to Kakashi, smiling at the Jonin with a bit of teasing.
"Are you not worried for your little genin? Ibiki is quite the sadist after all."
"Not even in the slightest."
Kakashi immediately replied, eye-smiling before looking back to the crystal ball and watching Naruto figure out the purpose of the test, smiling under the mask like a proud father.
Hiruzen smiled as well, watching as Naruto began to write the answers to the questions without having to gather the information.
"You've taught him well, Kakashi."
"Maa, a little proper encouragement and foundation were enough to let his true potential shine. I gave him what Minato-sensei and Kushina would have if they were still here."
Kakashi replied as he eyed his other two students through the crystal ball, figuring out the exam's purpose and working through the problems.
"Sasuke too."
Kakashi added, having tried to fill the hurt in his heart with the team's support. The results varied from day to day, but Kakashi felt that he was making progress.
"What about the third teammate, Sakura, was it?"
Jiraiya asked, wondering if this girl was a deadweight, like some teams usually have one who holds the others back.
"Smart, great chakra control, and knows that as of now, she's the support of the team, but I suspect she isn't content to watch Sasuke and Naruto's backs forever. Her trap-making and earth release are good; she knows some low-level genjutsu, but after the exam, I want to recommend her to the hospital for medical training."
Jiraiya hummed.
"Are you sure she can handle that? Being a medic ninja is difficult. It takes more than smarts, and many give up after a week or two."
"She's practically born to be a medic or a genjutsu mistress. The most pressing issue is to improve her reserves, but once that is taken care of, then she'll be excellent."
Kakashi replied with all the confidence in Sakura.
Hiruzen smiled and spoke up concerning the issue Kakashi brought to him earlier.
"Kakashi, what did you feel that made you report to me? I need everything."
Kakashi nodded and began recalling the signatures he had felt outside the exam room.
"One was dark and controlled, suppressed only to show Chunin-level reserves, but it was too perfect, no fluctuations whatsoever. Another was the one I suspect is Kabuto, the same control, but not nearly as much depth to it as the darker one. And the last, I suspect, is that red-headed sand genin. His chakra feels wild and murderous, like a wild animal that's ready to kill its prey. The control over his chakra is fine, but that boy reminds me of Naruto. They share the same burden. Only his seal must be awful. That chakra leaking from him is undoubtedly the influence of a tailed beast."
"Shukaku and his host at a chunin exam?"
Hiruzen muttered, the pieces to a puzzle falling into place for him and Jiraiya at the same time.
"What would you have us do, Sensei?"
Jiraiya asked, serious as can be, as he recognized that the Sand didn't come with good intentions.
Hiruzen sighed and put out his pipe.
"I was worried this would happen. That foolish Wind Daimyo has pushed that village too far, and now Konoha has to pay the price of his short-sightedness."
Hiruzen rubbed his temples, wondering if he should have sent one of his ninja to assassinate the Wind Daimyo before all this happened. A new Daimyo could have taken over and worked with the Sand, but now it was too late; he had to deal with the situation delicately so as not to alert the Sand.
"We wait and prepare quietly. Jiraiya, I want you on this, but only until after the second round."
Jiraiya raised an eyebrow in confusion.
"Why that short? Surely you don't think I can gather anything groundbreaking in that short of time?"
Hiruzen shook his head.
"I don't want you sneaking around. I want you walking the streets of Konoha, acting your usual self, let everyone observant enough know you're here. If that causes plans to change, we'll know whether Sand is alone in this or has allied with someone. Or it might just outright stop whatever this is."
That last bit was just Hiruzen's optimistic wish, but even he can hope for miracles, even if they don't often pan out the way he wishes.
"And I'd like you to teach Naruto some things. From Kakashi's reports, the boy is already able to deal with all our Jonin or stall them with his chakra levels. Naruto's knowledge of fuinjutsu is at an Uzumaki intermediate level; he has a grasp on three chakra natures: wind, water, and fire. And his mastery of the shadow clones allows him to fit training in that otherwise would take months or years to accomplish."
Jiraiya whistled, impressed and eager to meet his Godson.
"What would you like me to teach him? It would seem I can't teach him much."
"Rasengan and the Toad Summoning Contract."
Kakashi spoke up, his tone casual.
"I've gone over the theoretical aspects of the Rasengan and the mechanics of summoning with him, and I'm focusing on his progress in Fuinjutsu and Ninjutsu. This gives you the perfect opportunity to concentrate on his specialized training. Please feel free to share everything—Naruto has already learned about his parents, and he's incredibly perceptive. You should introduce yourself as a close friend of his parents; he's really looking forward to hearing more firsthand stories about them, and I've shared as much as I can."
What Kakashi said surprised Jiraiya.
"What about the Nine-Tails? Does he know of it?"
Kakashi nodded.
"Yes, that was also left for you to deal with. My fuinjutsu knowledge is just now on the master level, so, while I'm confident in my abilities, I'd rather not chance it with the Nine-Tails."
Jiraiya was getting a lot of surprises today, inwardly blaming the old man next to him for not explaining all of this in their monthly summoning correspondence.
"Understandable, and I'd like to talk with you concerning the training of Naruto."
Jiraiya looked into Kakashi's lone visible eye, silently letting him know that he had more he wished to talk about.
Kakashi received the silent message, his attention drawn by the sound of shattering glass, and looked to the crystal ball to see Anko Mitarashi's dramatic entrance, jumping through one of the exam room windows.
- Chapter End -
My bad, I've had a lot to do lately, and just now got some free time. I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and the plot will shift in tiny ways before larger changes happen, but the shift is already happening.