Chapter 26: Chunin Exam

The days just like always, Hotaru wipe the table in the morning, while resting at home. He’s still injured, moreover, with the spar he had yesterday, his injury worsened.

He’s reprimanded heavily by Teuchi and Ayame, and even Hayate comes to Ichiraku just to scold him, Hiura and Erika tap tend him with healing palm, while nursing and help him that night in Ichiraku.

Later in the evening, the kids from the orphanage along with Mother and Flynn come to dine.

The orphanage became better than before, and they didn’t depend on the patronage of others anymore. With Flynn, along with Yugao helping there, they make their shop to improve the income of the orphanage sufficiently.

Unlike before, they even took the surrounding orphanage that unable to provide money and ask them to help out and gave them payment after.

There’s some trouble along the way, but Flynn has his way to handle them, no problem…

“They dare to pick on me? They really seem tired of livings. fufufu” he said while laughing evilly…

While so, Naruto and his team, along with Lee, and his team busy with the exam preparation.

“Sigh…” Hotaru sighed,

“what’s with the sigh? Are still thinking about our Chunin exam?”

Hiura suddenly asks.

“You surprised me… since when are you there?”

“just before, I’m here with Erika though…”

“You don’t need to blame yourself on the Exam matter Hotaru, Hiura and I believe this isn’t that bad you know?”

“I second that… it’s not like we can’t enter again next year… heck, it’s even possible to get one without an exam…”

“Right, Flynn and Hayate-sensei already told us the story, moreover, Hayate-sensei will be the referee in the 2nd part, so it’s somehow good?”

“But still… it’s a shame that we can’t enter at the same time as Lee and Naruto, I bet we’d have a fun bout with them, there…”

“What? Do you really want to battle against those prodigies? There’s also Neji, Ten-ten, and the genius from Sand along with repeater that obviously stronger…”

“Hiura’s right, we need to prepare more to get the rank with a passing mark… I don’t want to enter the exam then failed, or even dead…”

“Well… let’s train harder for the next exam…”

“Sure”

“We’ll be the champion next year!”

“Okay, now, clean the table!” Ayame suddenly chimed in, but seeing her behind them sneaking, they nod and preparing for the shop’s opening.

The morning starts like always, with the shop’s opening, the customer coming in, and the Genin waiters serve the customer…

.

.

.

The exam will be held for several days, within those days, there’d be an influx of other ninjas coming to the village as a guest, or a traveler.

It’s funny when they called the village as a hidden village, but allow tourist to enter the place.

However, the fact that they still need income from the tax given by the tourist and merchant, they sure will get a better payment than average.

An inter-village event will bring profit, whether it’s in their merchandise or food, that’s the reason why these days Ichiraku get an influx of customer more than before, they felt the increase in the tourist that tries Hotaru’s experimental ramen…

There’s a surprising number of fans from them, but more even brought to Konoha hospital…

It’s a surprise when Ichiraku gets the title ‘Ramen that could kill’…

Needless to say, aside from Hotaru’s experimental ramen, that being liked by the oddities like Danzo, and the others, more take a liking to Hotaru’s typical ramen.

Sometimes, Teuchi even needs to step aside and let Hotaru handle the dishes…

“Ai… It seems that I’ll be kicked not long after…”

“Hahaha! Ossan, you better get a pension and leave the store to your son already!”

“That’s right Teuchi, just leave the store to Hotaru, even though he creates some unnecessary honey ramen, he’s still someone that creates the Wasabied ramen!”

“What?! Honey ramen is the best! Your Wasabied ramen is the disgusting one, Danzo!”

“What did you say, Fugaku? Your honey ramen is worse than my Wasabied! You better take that dirty mouth off of my Wasabied!”

“You wanna take it outside, huh?”

“Sure! I’ll use this old and dry bones to…”

Thus, the stoic leader of Uchiha and the mysterious leader of Root could be seen quarreling outside of Ichiraku, bringing shame to their organization over the ‘ramen that could kill’ series…

But, it’s proof of the increasing amount of harmony in Konoha.

In canon, Fugaku should be killed by Itachi by this time, and Sasuke should be an orphan… while Danzo will continue to do his best to control Konoha.

Seeing their quarrel like this, make both of their subordinate sighs, but, knowing their leader, they smiled at the childish behavior unlike what they see while they’re working.

The exam already started yesterday, and by the report from Naruto, team 7 seems to succeed barely.

Knowing them, it must be Naruto the brat that makes the surrounding troubled, Hotaru smiles awkwardly while listening to the story. While Sasuke is dissing the yellow-haired brat, and Sakura fawning over Sasuke, Naruto smiles brightly while reporting those.

Today, they’d be wandering in the forest, and they don’t know the exact exam proceed but, there’d be dead in this round…

But, knowing the exam, there’s no break in series 1 and two based on Flynn knowledge that is. However, after the writing exam, there seems to be a preparation they need to make, Hotaru smell something fishy surrounding the village, however, seeing Fugaku and Danzo act like that, his suspicion that the exam seems to be a trap for someone seems to be off…

However, he still smells something fishy, but knowing that the Hokage and others have their own plan in mind, he believes it’s better to be the spectator today…

.

.

.

In the middle of the chunin exam, casualties seem to found in the forest where the exam part 2 commenced.

The patrolling examiner sees the corpse of a Genin ninja that skinned in his face talked in the mic in his ear and saying, “the snake took the bait.”

“Okay, raccoon, commence the trap.”

“Roger that head…”

In the conference room on the Hokage building, there sat the leader of each clan along with Danzo and the elders.

There, sat in the main seat 3rd Hokage, Hiruzen, behind him, were Danzo, Komura, Homura, and Shikaku Nara, sat apart behind from left starting with Danzo to the right side of Hiruzen ended with Shikaku.

“The traitor has entered the field…”

“That snake… pardon me, 3rd…”

“No, that’s alright Fugaku…”

“Your disciple really are a bunch of ragtag, eh… Sarutobi…”

“Don’t mock me now, Danzo… you should already know something like that… moreover, those ragtag including our leader’ niece…”

“Hmmph, that stupid girl that being traumatized over some of her family and lover’s dead… a weakling like her has no right to be Tobirama-sensei’s niece…”

Pfft, Hiruzen laughs his mouth, as he knows that Danzo is the person that holds dear Tobirama’ idealism better than the other. While so, he’s also the one that protects the family of their teacher. Albeit he can’t protect them 24/7, he still keeping in check Tsunade well-being and safety.

“Now that the snake entered the trap let’s continue our plan further…”

Said the Hokage, while the others in the room tensed.

.

.

.

While hopping in the forest, branch by branch, Team 7 continue their way to seek for the counter scroll they own. In order to aim for the fastest way to clear the mission, and entered the new stage, they patrol the place and attacking others.

“We’ve attacked two teams, but both of them own Earth scroll… is there no one that owns a heaven scroll?”

“Don’t whine Naruto, and there’s still tons of enemy out there…”

“Right, there are still tons of them on the way, we can just trade with them with our Earth scroll, instead of attacking isn’t it?”

“Oooh, as expected of Sakura-chan!”

“I guess so, but, knowing the other Ninja won’t believe us, we need to know that they’d more scroll or even a real scroll…”

“But, don’t the proctor said not to open the scroll? How could they be faking it?”

“You’re overthinking into it Sasuke…”

“It’s something Hotaru-san said to me, Naruto… Although I don’t know what to say at first, he always told me to be wary of a fake… you’ve heard it too, right?”

“oh… right…”

“You all always talk Hotaru-san this, Hotaru-san that… don’t you all believe in Hotaru-san too much? I mean, he’s only one year older than us…”

“But he’s better than us… do you believe Naruto will pass the written exam if it not for Hotaru-san’s tutor?”

“Oh… Please, don’t make me remember that…”

“well… he’s indeed amazing… but, it’s not like he’d always be right…”

“That’s something we’d heard from him overtimes already….”

“Right, he never told us to always believe in his words, but think for ourselves. Judge, and decide for your own, then bear with them… I believe he’s the coolest person aside from Itachi-niisan…”

“it’s because Hotaru-nii is younger than him…”

“no, niisan is better!”

“Hotaru-nii is!”

“Oh god… these brats…”

While hearing the quarrels of the two brats, even the fangirl Sakura creep out…

While in the Canon, Sasuke hates Itachi so much, as he’s massacred his clansmen, now, Itachi still holding up as an Anbu before the Hokage.

Being in the background of the operation, further, as time passed, he learned to converse more with his teammates.

It’s a funny thing that Itachi, the Genius from Uchiha, need to learn how to converse with people from the Ichiraku.

He sometimes helped in Ichiraku as a waiter, and adapt beautifully with the conversation to the customer. Heck, he even got his own fangirl. Whenever he comes to be the waiter there, the fangirl will come to the Ichiraku, and they will get an incredible number of profits from the girls…

Hotaru’s happy when one of his special Ramen, ‘the sweet ramen that will make your tooth decay’ being ordered by the girls, and chosen as the best dish for a girl in the shopping district, defeating the confectionaries several blocks away from the shop.

But, leave that thing alone for now, as team seven meet up with team Inuzuka.

“Oh! It’s Kiba and co! do you guys own heavens scroll?”

Naruto suddenly asked, which countered with a glare from Kiba.

“bark”

“Akamaru’s right! Shino, Hinata! Let’s beat the crap out of him, and get his earth scroll!”

“A… attacking Naruto-Kun and the others?”

“That’s not a good choice, why, it’s because…”

“Go, Akamaru!”

While ignoring Shino’s words, and reason, Kiba launch attack on Team 7…

“These guys weak…”

“Agree”

“Shut it! It’s because you guys were attacking us so suddenly! Right? Akamaru!”

“Woof!”

Being defeated by Team 7 in a jiffy…

“We’re not attacking you guys, and allow the counter. The reason is that we want to exchange our scroll with yours, knowing that you ask us of the Heaven scroll that is…”

“Ri… right! That’s the reason!”

“U… um… Naruto-Kun… Naruto-Kun’s bound me up…”

The counter attack indeed succeeds fast, while Shino does nothing and allow to be bounded, and Hinata is getting flustered when Naruto comes close. Sasuke using his illusion to deal with Kiba and Akamaru, leaving the counter-attack done successfully.

After reaching an agreement, they do an exchange and receive their scroll and moving along together to the center of the forest.

While in the canon several things happen in the exam, most of them being left alone being untold, as the Anbu hiding along with the trees, catching the unwanted ninja along the way and ensure the forest, so as the trap can be found the snake successfully…

It’s indeed a weird thing, but with Root coming along the possibility that they successfully deceit Orochimaru is higher.

Along the way, The Genin talk and share their experience while doing their things, unknown to them that others Genin from the prestigious clan get kidnapped by a certain snake-person, in the forest, where the Chunin exam being held…