RISE!!!TSUYOSA!!! WE!!! WILL!!! RISE!!! WE!!! WILL!!! RISE!!! TSUYOSA!!! BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH RISE!!! TSUYOSA!!!!!! RISE!!! TSUYOSA!!!!!! NARUTO ™ “It’s time to begin. I’m Ibiki Morino, your proctor. And from this moment... ...your worst enemy.” Many in the crowd of genin were speechless and nervously uttering things to themselves in the face of their intimidating proctor. “First, you candidates from the Village Hidden in the Sound: Knock it off!” he yelled, pointing at them. “Who told you you could fight?! Do you wanna be failed before we’ve even begun?!!” Zaku looked over at Hinata. She was smirking with closed eyes, not really trying to hide her arrogant chuckling at him. (Grrr…) “Should’ve listened….” … (… …little brat…. … …heh, it’s all good. I’ll make her pay, later.) “Ha…idiots.” Kin murmured. Dosu turned around, along with Zaku. Both of them were now grinning. … “Sorry.” said Dosu, jokingly. “It’s our first time. Guess we’re a little jumpy… …sir.” … Suddenly, Ibiki noticed who Zaku was in the middle of confronting. (So…it’s her. She’s deciding to participate at last. … …finally….) “Hmph.” the proctor smiled, staring at Hinata. The Hyūga child noticed, of course, and nodded back…obviously certain of herself. Ibiki resumed: “I’ll say this once, so listen up: There will be no combat between candidates; no attacking each other without the permission of your proctor, and even then, the use of fatal force is strictly prohibited! Anyone who even thinks of messing with me will be disqualified immediately…. Got it?” The genin silently looked at the chūnin before them, and especially at their proctor. … … “Hmph!” Zaku suddenly smirked. “No fatal force? That’s no fun….” The chūnin lightly laughed among themselves, but Ibiki stood firmly. “Now, if we’re ready: We’ll proceed to the first stage of the Chūnin Exam. Hand over your paperwork. In return, you’ll each be given a number. This number determines where you will sit. We’ll start the written test once you’re all seated.” “The what…?” Naruto worriedly murmured. “…did he say…” Kabuto and Sakura looked at him, concerned. “…‘written’…?” The chūnin, Kotetsu, got the huge stack ready, grinning at the unfortunate students. “NOOOOO!!!!” The idiot fell to his knees. “NOT A WRITTEN TEST!!!! NO WAAAAYYYY!!!!!!” 行き成り失格？超難関の第一試験（Start Your Engines: The Chūnin Exam Begins!） Just about all of the genin and chūnin uncomfortably looked at the weird kid who was making a fool of himself. The rest of his squad definitely was. (Melodramatic...... / Melodramatic......) --- All of the hundred or (probably) more genin were seated in a large classroom that was near the Academy’s edge. Many long, glass windows lined up the left side of the room and let sunlight in, brightening the entire place. There were twelve rows of wide, wooden desks, in three columns, making for a total of 36 desks. Because each student was organized in a perfect row, there were four students to a desk: just enough space for each student. In total, there were around 144 genin present in the room. Accompanying them was the chūnin team from earlier. They had their own seats, and one chūnin was seated in front of each window. In each of their hands were black clipboards and green pencils. The genin stared at either their tests or the board. ...well, most of them. (Ahhhh...I don’t even know where the others are sitting!) the #53 genin complained to himself. (I’m all alone! Agghh!! This is already a disaster!!!) Naruto, feeling the pressure, put his hands against his head and his elbows on the desk, groaning. (Hmph. Tough luck for Naruto!) thought Sakura. (Written exams are definitely not his strong point!) Like a jerk, she tittered at him. “Ughhh...” ... (Wait... ... ...is that...) “...Hinata?” ... The kunoichi didn’t hear Naruto’s voice. Her eyes were closed and she was leaning back, apparently contemplating things other than this exam. “Hinata.” he called louder. It worked. She reluctantly opened her eyes and turned her head to the boy. “Yes?” she asked. ... “Umm...would it be all right if...” “You want to copy off of me?” “...well, yes...” “No.” ... “Come on! Why do you have to be so mean? What did I ever do to you? I think you’re amazing Hinata. Totally amazing. A genius like you letting someone like me cheat for just a few seconds......it couldn’t be that bad, could it?” “What are you whining on about? I wouldn’t let anyone look at my paper if they begged for it. You need to show some skill as a ninja. Sycophants have no place being in this room. “ ... “But—“ “Just... ...shut up.” ... Naruto continued: “Okay, fine! I don’t need your help! I said I could get through this easy and beat everyone! And that means you, too.” “...well, at best, you’re at last starting to understand.” ... “Hm hm!” the boy giggled. Hinata smiled back. “Everyone, eyes front!” shouted Ibiki. “There are few rules you need to be aware of. ... And I won’t answer any questions. So, you better pay attention the first time around.” (No questions?) wondered a confused and agape Sakura. (What kind of rules are these?) Ibiki began to explain to the class as he wrote the rules on a blackboard at the front, in chalk. “All right, Rule Number One is this: The written part of the exam is conducted...on a point reduction system. Contrary to what some of you may be used to, you all begin the test with a perfect score of 10 points. One point will be deducted for each answer you get wrong. So, if you miss three, your final score will be seven.” (He should really tell us what grading system he’s using....) Naruto thought. He stopped writing and spoke his last words to the class. The words written on the board essentially summarized what he said. “Rule Number Two: Teams will pass or fail based on the total scores of all three members.” The room froze. Almost no one could believe what the proctor had just told them. Some of the genin openly expressed their disbelief. “What?” “Ah?!” “No way....” Only a few in the room weren’t shocked by this news. And only three teams as a whole seemed fine: the Sand Genin, Sound Genin, and Team 8. Sakura was mad as hell. She head-desked, then shot one of those “veteran-genin” death glares at Ibiki. “Grrrrrrr...... What??!! Wait a second!!” she yelled out. “You’re saying we all get scored—as a TEAM??!!” “Silence!” said Ibiki, standing calm. “I have my reasons. So, shut up and listen!” (...reasons......?) “Rule Number 3: The sentinels you see positioned around the room are there to watch you carefully for any signs of cheating.” The genin looked over to their lefts and rights, to find that the Chūnin Exam’s team members were staring at them. “And for every incident they spot, they will subtract two points from the culprit’s score.” “What?” said a genin next to Sakura, wearing tacky pink and brown clothing. “Huh?” was the kunoichi’s own expression of surprise. “Be warned: Their eyes are extremely sharp.” “Not as sharp as my byakugan.” uttered Neji, trollfully. “...and...... ...if they catch you five times, you’ll be dismissed before the tests are even scored.” (Sheesh!) Sakura frowned. (They make it so there’s all sorts of ways you can lose points! And even more, you can still get negative points if you get caught below five times and score at least under two. “Anyone fool enough to be caught cheating by the sentinels doesn’t deserve to be here.” Kotetsu stared past his clipboard, smirking at a few genin who happened to be sitting nearby. “I’ve got my eye on you guys.” Some of the surprised genin gasped, while some weren’t too intimidated, really. (I wouldn’t have been. I’d never cheat. It’s just not right. I haven’t cheated on a test since, like, kindergarten.) “If you wanna be considered shinobi...then show us...what exceptional shinobi you can be. Sakura was worrying about this exam, now, because of all of the conditions given. She looked at her desk, with clasped hands up to her face, trying to think out a plan. (Damn, and Naruto was throwing a fit, earlier. He wasn’t too good at written exams, from what I remember, but he wasn’t ‘terrible,’ either. He’s probably just nervous, I hope.... Argh, if only we didn’t need to be a complete team for this part...but I sort of get his point. It’s got me nervous.... ... ...okay, okay: relax. I know I’ll do all right. And—and Sasuke should be fine. We just gotta avoid getting a low score as a total. Meaning even if Naruto gets a zero, if—if we do well enough, we should survive this.) “One more thing: If any candidate should get a zero and fail the test, then the entire team fails.” Sakura let her head drop onto the desk. The entire class could hear it loud and clear. (...fuck my life....) Sasuke was simply shaking his head and smiling in disbelief. (Naruto... ...you’ll never stop screwing us over, will you?) Naruto knew he was simply magnifishit at these kinds of tests compared to hands-on things, so...suddenly he got a bad—a terribly, awfully, bad feeling in his stomach. ... He clutched it in sick pain, gulping in sick fear. (Ah...they’re gonna kill me!!) The boy looked as if he was...costive. Hinata noticed his actions and turned to him, saying: “You know, if it’s that bad for you, there is a bathroom right down the hall. Just ask for permission and you can go.” “Ughhh...” ... (...whatever.) “The final question won’t be given out until 15 minutes before the end of the testing period.” That statement got Naruto out of his sulking. He now knew he had no time to. “You’ll have one hour total.” Right when the clock hit 3:30, it was time to start. “Begin!” shouted Ibiki. Immediately, a good deal of the genin started writing whatever they though was best; the rest were still examining their tests and trying to figure them out. --- (Okay, focus, Sakura, focus. This is where you show you stuff....) The kunoichi looked up at her teammate’s progress. He was only staring at the paper, not really reading anything.... (Just don’t blow it, Naruto! Get at least one of the right...!!) --- Sasuke, who sat three rows behind him, looked across the students to see his progress. Clearly, compared to all of the genin near him, Naruto was doing the worst, still not even reading his exam sheet. “Tch.” (Oh man.... This doesn’t look good.... He’s just sitting there: he’s gonna choke!) --- Naruto stared at the test for a little longer, and then slyly used the corners of his vision to see how well everyone else seemed to be doing. Up close, however, he couldn’t see anybody’s actual paper. The genin kid on his left; Hinata: They had both blocked theirs with their arms. Seeing that he was the only one not doing anything, he put his hands on his head, hopelessly confused. (Heh huh...heh heh...) Naruto inwardly chuckled, forcing a wide and toothy smile. (...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. Read through all the questions, and find the ones I have a chance of answering. No pressure.) Naruto felt a little bit more confident, now, as he took the paper and smiled, looking at it...finally. “Chūnin Selection Exam (1st Test)” (Amusingly, there was English written on the right side of the test... ...then again, everyone here spoke English... ...didn’t they?) The first question was a bunch of random kanji. It asked to decipher it and explain their answer. (Okay...number one. ...oh, I see! Gotta decipher a code...! Okay......mmhm! ... Yeah, I get it, now! This one isn’t too hard! Heh heh heh!! ...now, let’s see. Every 16th then 19th word is included. All of the other words are taken out...) “Heh, so that’s what it says. Well, at least I’ve got one down.... ...I won’t get a zero, but I still don’t know what passing is. I might need to answer more.” --- Meanwhile, Sasuke had finished the first question a minute earlier than Naruto, and was looking at a diagram that showed...well, fuck it, I can’t read Japanese. (Or can I, and am I just lazy...?) This diagram, ah forget it. Sasuke was having even more trouble than I was at understanding this problem.... (I knew the answer.) (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 points D, E, and F. Also predict the farthest possible range of the shuriken and explain how you arrived at your answer...!) The genin stared at the question in disbelief.... ...well, at least he got one, so far. --- Sakura was struggling a bit, too. She stared at the 7th question: half-trying to figure it out, halfprocrastinating by thinking about Naruto’s poor test-taking: (Ugh, these are integrated problems based on principles of uncertainty, and requiring complex mechanical energy analysis! Incredibly advanced stuff...! Naruto can’t solve these! He hasn’t got a chance! In fact, there can’t be more than a handful of people here besides me who even understand it!! --- True enough, almost everyone in the room was completely baffled. Naruto, however, had just finished the second problem, and was now on the third. *** He had no clue what it was talking about. (Hmm! Oookay! Skip that one! Next!) Sakura moved on to number 8, which she found too hard to answer. (Each problem’s more difficult than the one before!) Now, Naruto was on Number 4: *** Now he really knew that this test wasn’t right. (Mmmm... ...mmhm... ... ...what the.........fuck??? WHAT KIND OF QUESTIONS ARE THESE??!! DO THEY EVEN EXPECT US TO ANSWER THEM????!!!!) Naruto groaned as he painfully held his sore head. This test was kicking his ass, all right, and it was only the first stage, too. --- Sasuke struggled just the same. (Hm hm... ...well that’s interesting.) Sasuke chuckled as he looked at number 4 and onward. (I can’t begin to understand a single one of these problems.) --- (At this rate, I’ll let Sakura and Sasuke down!! What am I gonna do?! What’ll I do??! What’ll I do??! What’ll I do??!! WHAT’LL I DO????!!!! AHHHHHH!!!!!!) Naruto kept groaning in frustration, nearly sobbing. It annoyed Hinata who finished the test about 10 minutes ago, and had been resting her eyes until now. Frustrated, she glanced at him, wondering when he’d shut up. --- Sakura couldn’t grasp many of these last questions. She held her head and tried to assure herself, thinking: (I need a high score if we’re gonna have a chance. ...this is so hard.... ...ngh, I’m almost temped to...no, I can’t do that! ...ugh...ngh, it’s almost like they’re...uh, like they’re trying to get us to cheat! I just hope Naruto and Sasuke don’t fall for it! ... No.... They wouldn’t; no way! Not even Naruto’s that much of a dumbbell......right?) --- By now, Naruto had stopped his sounds and tried thinking a bit more rationally, again. (Ookay! Don’t panic; don’t panic! There’s only one thing to do: I’ll just have to cheat and not get caught!!) Ibiki walked down the front of the class and looked at Naruto. ... O_O; ... (...and NOT get caught!!!!) --- (It’s strange....) thought Sasuke while he looked at the chūnin near him. (They make more of a fuss about cheating than they do about the test itself. These sentinels...watching our every move...trying to catch one—) A sentinel wrote something on his clipboard, just then. (Somebody just got nailed. -_- That’s another thing: Why only a two point deduction? Doesn’t make sense...! Ordinarily, if someone’s caught cheating even once, that’s grounds for dismissal right there! ... Ah! [“Anyone fool enough to be caught cheating by the sentinels doesn’t deserve to be here.” “Show us...what exceptional shinobi you can be.] Hah! So that’s it! ...yeah: That’s gotta be it! This is about more than the written exam. The real aim is not to test our knowledge, but our ability to gather information!) --- Lee stared at the proctor, understanding, as well. --- So did Gaara. He looked at Ibiki, arms crossed. --- And Kiba, too. “Huh.” he noticed. --- (Yeah, that explains everything! The eagle-eyed sentinels everywhere; these incredibly difficult questions; the fact that only two points are deducted for each incident of cheating! Very clever.... A ninja must see through deception! He’s not actually forbidding us from cheating; he’s expecting us to! He’s daring us to try and cheat, and not get caught! Only exceptional shinobi can get away with it, under these circumstances. And that’s just what he’s looking for. I wonder how many of the others have realized that’s what this test is all about? Come on, Naruto! You can figure it out! Use your head before it’s too late! Use your head!!) Little did he know, Naruto was debating whether he actually should cheat or not. Only two people next to him had any of the answers—one was close to the sentinels. The other...... (Damn it, damn it, damn this test...!!!!) --- (Okay...) Sasuke continued, scanning around. (...so if the real test here is finding a way to steal the answers without getting caught... ...the next question is... ...to figure out who’s got all the answers.) --- Gradually, sand began to form around Gaara’s arm. From across the room, Kankuro spotted him. (Huh... ...looks like Gaara’s figured it out. Okay crow... ...I’m counting on you.) It seems a certain sentinel wasn’t who it appeared to be. The man’s eyes were entirely white, and it made him suspicious, looking...but then, he searched for students out of his designated group, almost as if he was searching for answers. --- Akamaru who was on Kiba’s head, as always, looked around, and then yipped in the shinobi’s ear. --- As some smart kid wrote down his original answers, the sound ninja, Dosu, used some hax ability that didn’t make any sense. Whatever, it got him the answers, as he somehow copied the other ninja. (Judging from the rhythm......the duration and the frequency of the strokes...... ...yeess, I see.) --- A fly flew on some person’s desk and it watched him write his answers until it was shooed. And afterwards, it flew to and landed on Shino, the bug freak’s, finger. “Well? Show me.” The fly flew in a figure eight, which was the answer. “Eight. Of course...!” --- Tenten attached strings to her pencil to kunai that were slit inside of a light fixture. Mirrors with two holes on one side allowed the handles of the kunai to be inserted through them, reflecting Shino’s paper. Only two questions of his weren’t finished. Before entering the room, since Neji was perfectly capable of doing this exam, she said to her less capable, other teammate: “Lee: When you can see it, adjust your headband.” As Tenten moved the strings, the glare of the mirrors went away, and he could when he looked up. He adjusted his headband, accordingly. --- It was now 3:30 PM (of course). Naruto’s head was on the desk, and he was grabbing his head, trying to decide whether he should cheat or not. The one person who had finished and wasn’t guarding their paper had harshly criticized him for even asking for her answers. If she caught him cheating...would she tell on him? He’d become a target of the sentinels after that—he’d never be able to complete the test, then! (Tick! Tick! Tick! Oh man! They couldn’t have a digital clock?! AAHHH!! Time’s running out! ... That does it! I’ve got no choice! I GOTTA cheat!! Hang on: I—I can’t do that! What if I get caught?! What are Sakura and Sasuke 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!!) ... Hinata was still lying back in her seat, totally out of the test’s tense atmosphere. Her eyes were closed, so she would not have seen Naruto if he was shrewd with his cheating. Not only were her eyes closed, her hands weren’t over the paper. She rested peacefully with her arms behind her head. ... Naruto stared at her, using his peripheral vision, watching to see if she would show something to reveal she was aware all along. ...but her light breathing and stillness reveal just the opposite. (It’s my only chance.) He carefully looked at the perfectly exposed exam... ...it was a beautiful goldmine of information!! ... (This is...amazing!! She’s got everything!! EVERTHING!!!! MY MARVELOUS HINATA!!!! I LOVE YOU!!!!!!!!) ... Naruto’s eyes were watering up, just as he finished copying the last of Hinata’s answers. He was crying at how awe-striking his love was. But finally, he did finish his test. “Hm hm hm!” Just then, a chūnin threw a kunai flew right between the both of them!! “Aahh!!” It cut through the desk and exam of one of the genin who sat behind Hinata, missing her head by less than an inch. Some of the genin gasped when they saw what Koutetsu did. The genin who was targeted couldn’t help but whimper at the surprise almost being hit, and Naruto, breathing heavily, was even more shocked.... (Whoa! H—how did they know?! I hadn’t even done anything, yet!!) Naruto thought it was him, and Koutestu stood up, ready to dismiss the failed ninja. “What the...what was that all about?” the genin behind Naruto and Hinata questioned. “Five strikes and you’re out. You just failed the test.” “What??! It can’t be....” the genin’s eyes fell, full of sorrow. He had been looking at Hinata’s paper from behind, the entire time. Sloppily cheating, too. “You and your teammates’ll leave the room immediately.” Koutetsu smirked, pointing at the noob. His indignant teammates stood up with their heads down, unwilling to even look at their idiot companion. Both he and Naruto were still gasping in fear until the failed ninja finally manned up and left in utter shame. The noise roused Hinata, at last; her eyes had been closed the entire time. She turned to Naruto, now, who was still surprisingly looking at Koutetsu. “So, did you find what you were looking for?” Naruto realized what was happening—he had double-shock. “Ah! You—” “Heh.” ... As Hinata looked over at the time, the baffled Naruto stared at the ground. ... (...she...let me, after all......) ... “Candidate number 23: failed.” “D—huh?” Naruto gasped. “Number 27 and 43: failed!” Two chūnin dragged yet another squirming kid out of the room. “I—it’s not fair! I didn’t do anything! I didn’t do anything!” --- “No!” an older veteran protested, slamming his hand on the desk. “No way! Who says I cheated five times?! Where’s your proof?!! How can you keep track of all of us?! You’ve got the wrong guy!! How do you know I wasn’t just—” The chūnin who called the kid out somehow slammed his neck against a wall, with one arm—despite the fact that he was in the middle of the class, surrounded by desks, chairs, and other genin. Peculiarly, the man’s head was almost entirely wrapped in bandages: only from his nose down wasn’t covered. And even more, his head protector was worn over his eyes. “Sorry pal.” the smirking ninja said the kid he had up against the wall. “We were chosen for this duty because we don’t make mistakes like that. You can’t even blink without us seeing it. We’re the best of the best, and you, my friend, are history.” Taking his arm off the genin, he left the hurt boy slump to the floor. “Now get out. And take your teammates with you.” Most of the class of genin timidly viewed this scene as the testing time neared its end. Many of them gasped in disbelief. (If that chūnin can really even see anyone’s cheating, he’s definitely trolling that kid with his stupid-ass headgear....) Hinata remarked as she turned back to the clock. --- Dosu sighed after witnessing this scene. He faced the front again, preparing for the last question. (Knowing Kin and Zaku, they’re probably having a good time with that one, right now.... *sigh*) --- (Hm.) Kin chuckled. (I wasn’t aware that your cousin was a chūnin, Dosu....) ... (Heh, look who it is: The guy Dosu wishes he could b@.) Zaku snickered under his arms. --- Sakura wasn’t playing anymore. She had already finished number 8...but... ...but that perfect score wasn’t looking to be in her reach: number 9 was just too difficult for her.... The kunoichi stared at it, still...hoping for a miracle of some sort. --- Neji wasn’t playing, either. Having done the first column of questions, he was right at number 6—but he recalled that there was another Hyūga who had long since finished the exam. ... (Byakugan!) The Will of Fire burned within him. He was going to top Hinata—and it would start here. His pupils became sharper and dilated, along with his irises; the veins around his eyes instantly stood out...but most importantly...with this kekkei genkai of his... ...he concentrated his vision through Hinata’s body and directly onto her exam sheet, seeing everything. --- (Sharingan!) The red iris, ring and tomoe of the doujutsu formed in Sasuke’s eyes. Seeing an oblivious ninja who knew the answers, he thought to himself: (“I’ll try imitating the movements of his pen.) Sure enough, Sasuke’s hand movements immediately began to match an oblivious ninja who had the answers. (Hm heh heh heh: Bingo. I hit the jackpot with this guy.) --- Sakura still couldn’t figure out that last problem.... She was clutching at her head with the most agonizing frustration. ... Ino witnessed her struggling and frustration, wishing she could help. But she herself had only answered six of the nine. ...however... (It seems Sakura’s having trouble with finishing this exam. ...it’s strange: I’ve answered the last question, but I’d like just a little bit more done before I share my answers with my team. ... I wouldn’t want to do this, Sakura...but it could only help us both. It seems as if you don’t have the last answer...but you do have all of the other answers.... ...I’m sure...if you knew what I was gonna do...you wouldn’t mind. ...don’t worry: It’ll help both of us out....) ... Ino made the Ram hand-seal that would begin her move. Afterwards, she cupped her hands across in a way that formed another handseal specific to her technique. Pointing her open hands at the unaware girl, she readied her technique. (Mind Transfer Jutsu!) A flash of blue energy shot straight into Sakura’s back—and both girls collapsed in their seats! --- Shikamaru, too lazy to even try to answer anything, looked past a row of working genin. Seeing that both girls were out, he understood (So...Ino’s got her jutsu working, I see. About time.) --- (Way to go!) thought Chouji from the other side of the room. (Putting that brainiac to work for us!) --- Suddenly, Sakura came to. Her expression wasn’t any more serious or happy than before. In fact, she looked less happy.... The kunoichi began to write down the answer to the ninth question on the test: her last problem. (This should help you out....) Ino thought while inside of Sakura’s body. Her conscience and mind had taken over Sakura’s, giving her complete control over the girl. She looked at Sakura’s answers the whole time, planning to use them, so that her teammates could finish their tests, too, with the right answers. --- “Number 59, you fail!” said a sitting, smirking chūnin. “Numbers 33 and 9: fail!” (That’s the 15th team to be eliminated....) Kabuto noticed, looking up. “Number 41: Fail!” “Numbers 35 and 62: Fail!” “Hey! No way!” one of the noobs said. He was promptly beaten up. --- Gaara ignored all of the commotion. He was calmly holding a one-handed Ram seal with his right hand and his left was out against the desk, sand flowing around it. As Ibiki watched this class, that one kid stood out in particular. (Look at this one...... ...cool as a cucumber... ...stays focused as if nothing was happening....) He smirked. (Not bad for a novice.) Hmph.) ... A ball of sand began to form in Gaara’s left hand. His right hand’s index and middle fingers held his left eye close. (The 3rd eye. Invisibly connected to the optic nerve.) His sand manifested into a brown eyeball in his hand. In closing his hand, he dispersed the sand makeup of this eye. --- The particles scattered and covertly spread out directly in front of a boy who was smugly writing something in his answer box. Once the sand got in his eyes... “Ow!” (Ow! There’s something in my eye!) He rubbed his eyes as the eyeball completely manifested above the test paper and looked over its contents. --- From his chair, Gaara could see all of the other ninja’s answers. He let the eyeball disseminate and began to write them down. --- “Uhh, ‘scuse me!” Kankuro said to one of the sentinels. “What is it?” the man replied. He sounded angry. “Gotta use the can, sorry.” he smiled. The sentinels handcuffed the sand ninja to a rope leash tied around the cloth on his back, telling him: “We go with you to make sure you’re not up to anything.” “That’s perfectly understandable.” he replied, still smiling. As he was led away, Gaara glanced back at him. --- Kankuro used the bathroom, talking to the guard who kept him tied from behind a wall. “Ah, security’s pretty tight around here. But these sentinels are quite as eagle-eyed as everybody thinks. After all: They haven’t even noticed that there’s one more sentinel than there used to be... ...right, crow?” Some of sentinel’s face was chipping apart, out of what looked like a sandy shell that made up the sentinel’s fake appearance, revealing a metallic interior. --- It was now 4:10. (In five minutes, they’ll give out the tenth question....) Naruto thought. That’s what it comes down to! I’m almost done! I can make it past this! Believe it!!)