After being told that they had officially passed the second stage of the Chunin Exams, Naruto and Team 10 were led away from the entrance room by their respective Jonin Sensei. The inside of the tower was considerably larger than Naruto had expected from the outside, with several hallways branching off in different directions and staircases leading to multiple floors. Chunin and Jonin moved throughout the building while a handful of medical ninja waited near one of the lower hallways for any teams that arrived injured. Naruto noticed several doors marked for storage, examination rooms, and staff use before Yamato eventually led him towards one of the upper floors where the rooms for the genin who had already passed were located.
Naruto's room was nothing special. It contained a single bed pushed against one wall, a small nightstand beside it, and a bathroom connected to the room. There wasn't even a window, though Naruto didn't particularly care after spending the previous night sleeping inside a hollow tree in the middle of the Forest of Death.
"You should get some rest," Yamato said as Naruto stepped inside and looked around the room. "You've had a considerably more eventful second stage than most of the people taking this exam."
"That's one way of putting it," Naruto replied as he glanced back towards his sensei.
Yamato gave him a flat look before crossing his arms. "We'll talk about everything that happened tomorrow morning. For now, clean yourself up and get some sleep."
Naruto nodded. "Sounds good."
"Good night, Naruto."
"Night, Sensei."
Naruto closed the door after Yamato left and let out a long breath as he leaned against it. Now that he was no longer in the forest and didn't have to constantly keep his senses spread around him, Naruto could finally feel just how tired his body actually was. His fight with the Stone shinobi had barely taken anything out of him, but his encounter with Orochimaru had been an entirely different matter. Between the physical fight, the chakra he had used, and the hours spent keeping himself alert afterward, Naruto wanted nothing more than to sleep.
Pushing himself away from the door, Naruto headed straight towards the bathroom and quickly found a decent-sized bathtub. He wasted no time filling it before stripping off his dirty clothes and lowering himself into the hot water, letting out a satisfied sigh as the heat immediately began relaxing his sore muscles.
Naruto spent the next several minutes washing away the dirt, dried blood, and sweat from the previous two days before eventually leaning back against the tub. His mind briefly wandered back towards everything that had happened in the Forest of Death, particularly his fight with Orochimaru. The Sannin had been unlike anyone Naruto had ever fought before, and even after landing a Rasengan directly into his back and later catching him in the explosion from five Wood Dragons, Naruto knew he had never really come close to defeating him.
Then there was Orochimaru's reaction to his chakra.
"That's the same reaction Danzo had."
Naruto frowned as he remembered the sudden pain that had crossed Orochimaru's face when he flared his chakra during their fight. Danzo had reacted almost the exact same way during the council meeting, and Naruto still had no idea why. The two men obviously had some kind of connection if they were both reacting to his chakra in the same way, but Naruto didn't have enough information to figure out what that connection was.
He eventually shook his head and pushed the thought aside. Yamato had already told him they would speak in the morning, and Naruto knew there was little point in exhausting himself trying to figure out something when he clearly didn't have enough information.
By the time Naruto climbed out of the bath, dried himself, and changed into a clean pair of clothes from the supplies sealed inside his wrist, he was barely keeping his eyes open. He walked back into the bedroom, dropped onto the mattress, and pulled the blanket over himself before falling asleep only a few minutes later.
The next morning Naruto woke considerably later than he normally did, opening his eyes and staring at the ceiling for several seconds before remembering where he was. He rubbed one hand across his face and sat up, immediately noticing how much better his body felt after a full night's rest. There was still some soreness in his shoulders and back from everything that had happened during the second stage, but nothing that worried him.
Naruto climbed out of bed and spent the next several minutes stretching inside the room, working the stiffness from his arms, shoulders and legs before changing back into his usual shinobi clothing. After making sure the storage seals on his wrists were secure, Naruto left the room and began making his way through the tower.
It didn't take him long to find the cafeteria, mostly because he could smell the food before he even reached it. Naruto pushed through the large double doors and found a decent-sized room filled with several tables, though only a few were currently occupied since most of the remaining teams were still somewhere inside the forest.
Team 10 was already awake and sitting together near the middle of the cafeteria. Ino sat beside Shikamaru while Choji occupied the other side of the table with an open bag of chips sitting beside his breakfast. Off to the side of the room was a food station where two older women were serving eggs, rice, grilled fish, fruit and several other simple breakfast foods.
Naruto raised one hand and waved towards Team 10 before beginning to walk towards the food station. He had barely taken two steps when he felt someone's eyes on him, followed almost immediately by a decent amount of killing intent. Naruto stopped and turned towards the far-left corner of the cafeteria, where the three Sand genin were sitting by themselves.
All three of them were staring at him.
Temari and Kankuro didn't appear particularly hostile, though both were watching him closely. Gaara was another matter. The red-haired Sand genin sat between his teammates with his arms crossed over his chest and his pale eyes focused entirely on Naruto while a steady amount of killing intent leaked from him.
Naruto stared back for several seconds before noticing something else. Every once in a while, Temari or Kankuro would glance towards Gaara before quickly looking away.
"They're scared of him."
Naruto wasn't particularly surprised. The Nine-Tails had already identified Gaara as Shukaku's jinchuriki before the exams began, and everything Naruto had seen from the Sand genin since then told him that Gaara wasn't exactly stable. Naruto guessed that his teammates had probably seen firsthand what happened whenever Gaara lost control, which would explain why they seemed almost as concerned about him as they were about Naruto.
A small smile slowly appeared across Naruto's face as he gave Gaara a slight nod before turning away and continuing towards the food station. He could still feel Gaara watching him, but Naruto didn't pay him any more attention as he approached the counter.
"Morning," one of the older women greeted. "What can I get you?"
"A little bit of everything," Naruto replied. "I'm starving."
The woman laughed before beginning to fill his tray. Naruto ended up with eggs, rice, grilled fish, some fruit and a glass of juice before making his way towards Team 10's table. Ino immediately perked up when she saw him approaching, while Shikamaru glanced towards him with his usual tired expression.
"Morning," Naruto greeted as he sat down between Choji and Ino.
"Morning," Ino replied with a smile.
Choji looked towards Naruto before holding out the open bag of chips he was eating. "Want some?"
Naruto looked down at the breakfast sitting in front of him before glancing towards the chips. "It's barely morning."
"Chips are good whenever," Choji replied with a shrug.
Naruto thought about it for a second before reaching into the bag. "Fair enough."
Choji smiled before returning to his food while Shikamaru watched the exchange with a small smile of his own. Naruto didn't notice it, but Shikamaru knew his best friend well enough to understand what had just happened. Choji didn't normally share his food with people outside his family or their team, and the fact that he had offered some to Naruto without even thinking about it showed just how quickly Choji had started considering him a friend.
"So how long have you guys been up?" Naruto asked before taking a bite of his breakfast.
"Long enough for Choji to already finish one breakfast," Shikamaru replied.
"It wasn't that much," Choji complained.
"It was two plates."
"I was hungry."
Naruto chuckled before continuing to eat while Ino leaned slightly closer to him.
"Apparently we're not even the first team here," Ino said.
Naruto raised an eyebrow. "Really?"
Shikamaru nodded towards the far corner of the cafeteria. "Sand."
Naruto glanced back towards Gaara's team. "How long did they take?"
"One hour and thirty-seven minutes," Shikamaru replied. "Ninety-seven minutes total."
Naruto paused with his fork halfway towards his mouth before looking back towards the Sand team. "Seriously?"
"That's what Asuma told us," Ino said. "Apparently they broke the previous record."
Naruto looked towards Gaara again, his attention lingering on the red-haired genin for several seconds. Completing the second stage in only ninety-seven minutes meant they had acquired their second scroll almost immediately before crossing a large portion of the Forest of Death without anything slowing them down.
"That's impressive," Naruto admitted.
"Impressive?" Ino repeated. "That's ridiculous."
Naruto shrugged before returning to his food. "I probably would've finished earlier too if Orochimaru hadn't decided to show up."
The table went quiet.
Shikamaru stared at Naruto for a moment before sighing. "Yeah, I don't think the Sand team had to deal with a Sannin."
Their conversation was interrupted when the cafeteria doors opened, causing everyone at the table to turn towards the entrance. Sakura and Sai stepped into the room, both looking considerably cleaner and more rested than they had when Naruto last saw them, though Sasuke was noticeably missing.
Sakura spotted the group almost immediately and walked towards them with Sai following a few steps behind. They grabbed breakfast before joining the table, with Sakura taking one of the empty seats while Sai sat beside her.
Choji looked between the two of them. "Where's Sasuke?"
Sakura's expression became more serious. "Kakashi took him away last night. We haven't seen him since."
Naruto continued eating without saying anything. He had a fairly good idea why Kakashi had taken Sasuke away and assumed that either Lord Hokage or some of the village's medical ninja were examining the strange mark Orochimaru had placed on his neck. Naruto still wanted to know exactly what the mark was, but he decided to keep his thoughts to himself until he had the chance to speak with Yamato.
The conversation eventually shifted towards the Forest of Death as everyone began comparing what had happened to them during the second stage. Team 10 explained how they had spent most of the first day searching for another team carrying the scroll they needed while avoiding unnecessary fights. According to Shikamaru, he had also spent a large portion of the exam stopping Ino from attacking every team they came across, something she immediately denied.
"I wasn't trying to fight everyone," Ino argued.
"You suggested attacking three different teams in the first two hours," Shikamaru replied.
"Because we needed their scroll."
"You didn't even know what scroll two of them had."
"It would've saved time."
Shikamaru sighed. "Troublesome."
Naruto laughed as Ino glared across the table at her teammate.
Eventually Team 10 explained how they had come across Sakura protecting the unconscious members of Team 7 from the Sound genin, prompting them to intervene. Sakura picked up the story from there, explaining what happened before Team 10 arrived and going into more detail about Team 7's earlier encounter with the Grass ninja who turned out to be Orochimaru.
Naruto's expression became more serious as Sakura explained how easily Orochimaru had overwhelmed them. According to her, the Sannin had terrified them with his killing intent before focusing most of his attention on Sasuke. Naruto listened closely as Sakura described Orochimaru extending his neck and biting Sasuke, leaving the strange mark behind before disappearing.
"That's when he gave him that mark?" Naruto asked.
Sakura nodded. "Sasuke passed out almost immediately afterward."
Naruto leaned back slightly in his chair. Orochimaru had made it sound like he had already finished whatever he wanted with Sasuke before finding Naruto, but hearing the details directly from Sakura only made the Sannin's interest in the Uchiha more concerning.
When it came time for Naruto to explain what happened to him, he gave them enough details to satisfy most of their curiosity while leaving out anything he didn't want repeated. He told them about being approached by the Stone team and the fight that followed, but left out why they had been looking for him and made no mention of revealing his relationship to the Fourth Hokage before killing them.
"You fought three Stone shinobi by yourself?" Sakura asked.
"They weren't exactly thinking clearly," Naruto replied. "They were angry and made a lot of mistakes because of it."
Naruto went on to explain that he had acquired his Heaven Scroll from the Stone team before telling them about some of the fights his Shadow Clones had gotten into while scouting the forest. A few of the clones had managed to acquire additional scrolls, including the ones Naruto eventually gave to Teams 7 and 10.
Then the conversation reached Orochimaru.
"You actually fought him?" Sakura asked in disbelief.
"For a while," Naruto replied.
Sakura stared at him. "And you're sitting here eating breakfast."
Naruto raised an eyebrow. "You say that like I should be dead."
"That's not what I meant!" Sakura quickly replied. "It's just...he destroyed us."
Naruto's expression became slightly more serious. "He wasn't fighting me seriously."
That got everyone's attention.
"How do you know?" Ino asked.
"Because if he really wanted me dead, I don't think we'd be having this conversation," Naruto replied honestly. "The whole fight felt like he was testing me."
Naruto gave them a shortened version of his encounter with Orochimaru, explaining that the Sannin had admitted Sasuke was his main reason for being inside the forest before becoming interested in Naruto as well. He left out Orochimaru's strange reaction to his chakra and the similarity to what happened with Danzo during the council meeting. Naruto wanted to speak with Yamato and Lord Hokage about that before saying anything to anyone else.
By the time everyone finished recounting their experiences, nearly an hour had passed, and Naruto's breakfast was gone. He pushed his empty tray slightly forward before standing and stretching his arms above his head.
"I'm going to look around the tower," Naruto announced. "Anyone want to come?"
"I'll come," Ino replied immediately as she stood.
Shikamaru looked between the two blondes before resting his chin against one hand. "Troublesome blondes."
"What was that?" Ino asked.
"Nothing."
Naruto smirked before turning towards the doors, with Ino quickly catching up beside him as the two left the cafeteria together. Sakura watched them leave with a surprised expression on her face, her eyes remaining on the door for several seconds after the two blondes disappeared into the hallway.
She had noticed Ino spending more time around Naruto since he returned to the village, but the way her former best friend had immediately jumped at the opportunity to go with him caused several thoughts to begin running through her head. Sakura slowly turned towards Shikamaru and Choji, only to find Shikamaru deliberately looking down at the table while Choji continued eating his chips as though nothing had happened.
Sakura's eyes narrowed slightly.
"Something is definitely going on."
Naruto and Ino remained completely unaware of Sakura's thoughts as they made their way through the tower. The building was relatively quiet outside the main areas, with only the occasional Chunin or Jonin passing through the hallways while patrolling. The two blondes talked casually as they explored several floors, occasionally opening doors to see where they led before eventually finding a staircase that took them towards the very top of the tower.
At the top of the staircase was a small lookout area. Naruto pushed open the door and stepped outside with Ino following closely behind him. From the lookout, the two could see a large portion of the Forest of Death stretching out around the tower, with the massive trees making it nearly impossible to see what was happening beneath them. Every once in a while, they could hear an explosion or the distant sound of metal clashing somewhere in the forest, reminding them that the second stage was still going on.
Naruto walked towards the railing and rested his arms against it while looking out over the forest. Ino stepped up beside him and did the same, and for several minutes the two simply stood there watching the trees below while occasionally hearing the sounds of another fight somewhere in the distance.
"Naruto."
He glanced towards her. "Yeah?"
Ino continued looking out across the forest. "Thanks."
Naruto raised an eyebrow. "For what?"
"For yesterday," she replied before looking towards him. "For showing up when you did."
Naruto shrugged slightly. "It was nothing."
"It wasn't nothing," Ino said. "Sakura was exhausted, Sasuke and Sai were both down, Lee was hurt, and we had no idea what was happening with Sasuke when he woke up like that. Then you showed up and handled it."
Naruto looked at her for a moment before turning his attention back towards the forest. "You guys were doing fine before I got there."
"Maybe," Ino admitted. "Still, thanks."
Naruto gave her a small smile. "You're welcome."
Ino returned the smile before looking back towards the forest. The two remained quiet for a few moments before another thought seemed to occur to her.
"Actually, how did you even know where we were?"
Naruto paused for a moment before answering. "One of my clones was following your team."
Ino immediately turned towards him. "What?"
Naruto chuckled at her expression. "One of my Shadow Clones found you guys while scouting the forest. It stayed nearby afterward."
"You had a clone following us?"
"Yeah."
"Why?"
Naruto opened his mouth to answer before stopping. He hadn't really thought much about it when the clone decided to stay near Team 10. At the time, it had simply seemed like the obvious thing to do once it found them.
Naruto looked back towards the forest before shrugging slightly.
"I don't know," Naruto admitted. "I guess I just wanted to make sure you were safe."
Ino stared at him for several seconds as a small blush slowly appeared across her cheeks. She quickly looked away and turned her attention back towards the Forest of Death, suddenly finding the trees below considerably more interesting than they had been a few moments ago.
Naruto glanced towards her and noticed the color in her face, but decided not to say anything as he turned back towards the forest.
The two blondes remained standing beside each other at the railing while the sounds of the ongoing Chunin Exam echoed faintly from the forest below.
**The Next Day**
The next day found Naruto sitting in the cafeteria with Teams 7 and 10 as the group casually talked amongst themselves. There still wasn't much to do inside the tower while they waited for the second stage to end, and with none of them allowed to leave after passing, most of their time had been spent eating, talking, or finding whatever other ways they could to keep themselves occupied.
Sitting at a separate table not far from Naruto's group was Team 9, who had arrived sometime later in the day yesterday. Naruto had been slightly surprised that it took them as long as it did, considering Neji and Tenten had both appeared relatively unharmed when he last saw them in the forest, but Lee had been in considerably worse condition after his fight with the Sound genin. Naruto guessed that they had probably waited for Lee to regain some of his strength before making their way towards the tower in case they ran into another team along the way.
For the most part, Team 9 kept to themselves and made little effort to interact with the other Leaf genin. Neji seemed perfectly content sitting quietly with his arms crossed over his chest while Tenten occasionally spoke with him. Lee was the only one who repeatedly tried to strike up a conversation with the others, though most of his attention seemed to be focused on Sakura.
"Sakura!" Lee exclaimed as he suddenly appeared beside the table. "Now that we have both successfully passed the second stage, would you allow me the honor of taking you on a date once the exams are over?"
"No," Sakura replied without even looking at him.
"Perhaps after the next stage?" Lee asked as he visibly deflated.
"No."
"What if I..."
"No."
"How many times has he asked you today?" Naruto asked as he watched Lee slowly walk back towards his teammates with his shoulders slumped.
"Four."
"It's not even noon."
"I know."
Naruto chuckled before returning his attention to the rest of the cafeteria. The Sand team was nowhere to be seen, and Naruto hadn't seen any of them since yesterday morning. He guessed they were probably keeping to their rooms or somewhere else inside the tower. Naruto was slightly curious about Gaara, especially after feeling the killing intent directed towards him the previous morning, but he wasn't interested enough to go looking for the red-haired jinchuriki.
The biggest difference from yesterday was Sasuke.
The Uchiha had returned sometime earlier that morning after disappearing with Kakashi the night they reached the tower. Sakura had immediately bombarded him with questions about where he had been and what Kakashi had done, but Sasuke had refused to answer any of them. He remained quiet for the most part, occasionally giving Sakura a grunt whenever she asked him something and otherwise sitting with his arms crossed over his chest.
Naruto had managed to catch a brief glimpse of Sasuke's neck earlier when the collar of his shirt shifted. The three black marks Orochimaru had left behind were still there, though they were now surrounded by a complicated black seal that hadn't been there in the forest. Naruto was surprised that Kakashi or whoever had been treating Sasuke hadn't simply removed Orochimaru's mark entirely, but the fact that they had instead placed another seal around it told Naruto that removing it probably wasn't possible.
Naruto had also noticed that Sasuke had been glaring at him ever since returning. Even now, while Naruto listened to Choji and Shikamaru argue about whether sleeping counted as a productive way to spend the next two days, he could occasionally feel Sasuke's eyes burning into the side of his head. Naruto didn't need to ask why. Sasuke clearly remembered what happened in the forest, and Naruto imagined being dealt with so easily had probably done more damage to the Uchiha's pride than the actual attack.
From everything Naruto had seen since returning to Konoha, Sasuke had grown accustomed to being considered one of the strongest and most talented genin of their generation. He had the highest grades, possessed the Sharingan, and was the last loyal Uchiha remaining in the village. People had constantly talked about his talent and how strong he would eventually become. Then Naruto returned to Konoha, and Sasuke was no longer the person everyone automatically looked towards.
Naruto had noticed the change himself. Villagers who had originally been curious about the return of a Senju had quickly grown attached to him, while others treated him almost like some kind of prince because he was the head of the Senju Clan. Naruto didn't particularly care about the attention, but from the looks Sasuke kept sending him, the Uchiha clearly did. Another glare reached Naruto from across the table, but Naruto didn't even bother looking towards him. Sasuke simply wasn't someone Naruto thought about very often.
The others seemed to have noticed the Uchiha's mood as well. After what happened in the Forest of Death while Sasuke was under the influence of Orochimaru's mark, none of the other Leaf genin appeared particularly eager to speak with him. Even Ino, who Naruto remembered had once been nearly as obsessed with Sasuke as Sakura, hadn't attempted to speak with him since he returned. The only people interacting with Sasuke were Sakura and Sai, something Sakura seemed to notice after a while when she looked around the table and realized no one else had said a word to her teammate.
Naruto leaned back slightly in his chair as Shikamaru continued complaining about how boring the tower was. He couldn't exactly disagree. There wasn't much for them to do while waiting for the second stage to end. Naruto had done some light training inside his room earlier that morning, but there was only so much he could do in such a small space without destroying something or revealing techniques he didn't want the other genin seeing. His eyes briefly moved towards Sasuke. The last thing Naruto needed was the Uchiha watching him train with the Sharingan and trying to copy whatever techniques he could.
Naruto turned his attention back towards the conversation just as a large puff of smoke suddenly appeared beside the table. Everyone immediately stopped talking as Naruto's hand instinctively moved towards his kunai pouch before he recognized the chakra inside the smoke. A few seconds later, the smoke cleared, revealing Yamato standing beside their table.
"Sensei?" Naruto asked as he looked up at Yamato.
"Naruto. Come with me," Yamato said after looking around at the gathered genin for a moment before settling his eyes on Naruto.
"Alright," Naruto replied with a raised eyebrow before immediately standing from the table.
Naruto followed Yamato out of the cafeteria, ignoring the curious looks coming from everyone behind him. Once they were out in the hallway, Yamato began walking towards one of the staircases with Naruto following beside him.
"So where were you all day yesterday?" Naruto asked.
"Busy."
"Very informative," Naruto replied as he glanced towards him.
"There was a great deal that needed to be handled after Orochimaru infiltrated the exams," Yamato explained, his lips twitching slightly. "Security around the training ground had to be increased, the remaining genin had to be monitored, and Lord Hokage wanted reports from everyone involved."
"Sounds fun."
"It wasn't."
Naruto chuckled as they continued walking, though he quickly noticed that Yamato was leading him down rather than towards one of the upper floors.
"Where are we going?" Naruto asked.
"Lord Hokage wants to speak with you."
"About Orochimaru?" Naruto asked as his expression became slightly more serious.
"Among other things."
Naruto nodded and didn't ask anything else. He had expected Lord Hokage would eventually want a full report about what happened in the forest, especially considering Orochimaru had somehow managed to enter the Chunin Exams disguised as a Grass genin.
The two eventually reached the basement of the tower and continued through a series of corridors Naruto hadn't seen before. Unlike the upper levels, there were very few people down here, and several of the doors they passed had security seals placed around them. Yamato eventually stopped in front of a large wooden door near the end of one hallway and placed his palm against its center.
Naruto felt a small amount of chakra leave Yamato's hand before a sealing matrix became visible across the entire door. Several lines of writing and symbols spread from beneath Yamato's palm before slowly fading away as the seal unlocked. Naruto raised an eyebrow as he studied it. It wasn't anywhere near as complicated as the security seals surrounding the Senju compound, but it was still impressive enough that Naruto doubted anyone without the proper authorization was getting through the door quietly.
Yamato opened the door and motioned for Naruto to follow him inside.
The room beyond was surprisingly spacious. A lone desk sat near the far end with Lord Hokage seated behind it, his pipe held between two fingers as a small trail of smoke rose towards the ceiling. Several bookcases lined the walls and were filled with old scrolls, books, and documents, while pictures of the previous Hokage hung nearby. It wasn't the room itself that caught Naruto's attention, however. It was everyone inside it.
Kakashi, Asuma, Kurenai, and Guy were gathered along one side of the room, while Ibiki and Anko stood nearby. On the opposite side were several members of the shinobi council, including Shikaku, Inoichi, Chouza, Tsume and Hiashi.
"Well, you certainly gathered a crowd," Naruto said after stopping just inside the doorway and looking around the room with a raised eyebrow.
"Good morning to you too, Naruto," Hiruzen replied with a light chuckle from behind his desk.
"Morning, Lord Hokage."
Yamato closed the door behind them before placing his hand against it again. Naruto felt another pulse of chakra as the sealing matrix spread across the door and reactivated, sealing the room from the outside.
"I asked everyone here because we would like to hear a complete account of what happened to you during the second stage," Hiruzen said after taking another pull from his pipe and setting it down.
"Everything?" Naruto asked as he glanced around the room again.
"Everything you believe is relevant."
"Alright," Naruto replied with a nod before stepping farther into the room.
He began from the moment Gate 27 opened, explaining how he had entered the Forest of Death and immediately created fifteen Shadow Clones to scout the area. Naruto described the orders he had given them before moving deeper into the forest himself, eventually reaching the point where he encountered the three Stone shinobi.
"They were waiting for me," Naruto explained. "Or at least looking for me. They didn't seem interested in my scroll when they first showed up."
"What did they want?" Shikaku asked as his expression became more serious.
"Information," Naruto replied. "Their leader said the Tsuchikage sent them here to gather information on my Wood Release and me. They were supposed to figure out what I could do and how strong I was. They were also allowed to kill me if they got the opportunity without making it obvious Iwa was responsible."
Several expressions around the room hardened at that. Naruto continued to recount the encounter, explaining how the three Stone shinobi had eventually started talking about the Third Shinobi War and their hatred for the Yellow Flash. One had lost his older brother to Minato while their leader had lost his father, something Naruto had used to anger them and make them fight recklessly.
"I told them the Fourth Hokage is my father, and that pretty much sent them over the edge," Naruto said casually. "After that, they stopped thinking altogether."
The room suddenly went silent.
"What?" Naruto asked with a raised eyebrow after noticing nearly everyone staring at him. Kakashi was the only one who didn't appear surprised, while Hiruzen simply released a deep sigh from behind his desk.
"You're Minato's son?!" Tsume suddenly shouted.
"Yeah," Naruto replied as he looked towards her.
The looks around the room told Naruto that apparently this wasn't something most of them knew.
"Wait, Minato and Kushina are your parents?" Chouza asked as he stared at Naruto.
"Yeah. Did none of you know that?" Naruto asked as he glanced around the room.
"No," Tsume replied immediately.
"So much for keeping that a secret," Hiruzen muttered under his breath as he rubbed his forehead.
Naruto chuckled sheepishly after finally realizing he probably shouldn't have mentioned that part of the encounter quite so casually.
"Now that I know, it's pretty obvious. You look almost exactly like Minato," Inoichi said as he looked Naruto over and shook his head.
"I've been told that a few times," Naruto replied.
"You definitely have Kushina's temper," Chouza said with a chuckle.
"I don't have a temper," Naruto immediately protested with a frown.
That earned a few chuckles from around the room.
"Definitely Kushina's son," Chouza said.
Naruto rolled his eyes while Hiruzen cleared his throat, drawing everyone's attention back towards him.
"Naruto's parents are one of the village's most closely guarded secrets," Hiruzen stated seriously. "Now that all of you know, I expect that information to remain in this room. You all understand the consequences should it spread any further."
Everyone nodded.
"Continue," Hiruzen said as he turned his attention back towards Naruto.
Naruto nodded before continuing his report, explaining that once the Stone shinobi learned who his father was, their anger had completely overridden whatever discipline they originally possessed. They abandoned any attempt to gather information and simply tried to kill him, allowing Naruto to take advantage of their mistakes and eliminate all three of them.
"That old fence-sitter. Onoki is still up to his old tricks," Hiruzen muttered with a frown after hearing the full explanation.
"If what they told Naruto was accurate, then Iwa is considerably more interested in him than we originally believed," Shikaku commented thoughtfully.
"They're not the only ones," Hiashi commented.
Naruto didn't need to ask who he meant.
"Continue," Hiruzen said as he motioned towards Naruto.
Naruto nodded before moving on to Orochimaru. He explained how he first realized someone had been following him and how the person had suppressed their chakra well enough that Naruto could only occasionally sense them. He described Orochimaru finally revealing himself, their brief conversation, and how the Sannin admitted that Sasuke had been his primary reason for entering the Forest of Death.
Naruto then explained their fight in considerably more detail than he had with the other genin. He told them about sending the Wood Clone underground to warn Lord Hokage, his use of the chakra-metal staff, and the different techniques he used against Orochimaru. Naruto described landing the Rasengan and Orochimaru's strange method of emerging from his own mouth completely healed before explaining the five Wood Dragons he used to force the Sannin to retreat.
"Something happened during the fight that I still don't understand," Naruto said as he reached the part that had been bothering him.
"What?" Hiruzen asked as he leaned forward slightly.
"When I flared my chakra, Orochimaru suddenly froze," Naruto explained. "It looked like he was in pain."
Several people exchanged confused looks.
"I've seen it happen before," Naruto continued.
Hiruzen's eyes narrowed.
"Danzo," Naruto said. "During the first council meeting I attended. When my chakra flared, he reacted almost the exact same way."
The room became considerably quieter. Shikaku's eyes narrowed as he glanced towards Hiruzen. Inoichi and Chouza appeared equally thoughtful while Hiashi's expression remained difficult to read.
"I remember that. He grabbed his arm," Tsume said.
"Orochimaru did almost the same thing," Naruto replied with a nod. "I don't know why, but whatever caused Danzo to react to my chakra seems to have affected Orochimaru too."
Hiruzen stared at Naruto for several seconds before slowly leaning back in his chair. His expression gave Naruto nothing, though the old Hokage clearly didn't like what he had just heard.
"Did Orochimaru say anything about it?" Hiruzen asked.
"No," Naruto replied. "He looked surprised, but we were in the middle of trying to beat each other into the ground. Didn't exactly have time to ask."
Anko snorted.
Naruto continued with the remainder of the fight before describing how the reinforcements arrived, and Orochimaru eventually escaped the training ground. He then moved on to the following morning, when one of his Shadow Clones found Team 10 and Team 7 fighting the Sound genin.
Naruto explained the strange chakra he had sensed coming from Sasuke before arriving in the clearing and finding the Uchiha covered in black markings. He described how Sasuke had been acting, the sudden increase in his strength, and the way the markings disappeared after Naruto knocked him unconscious.
"You've had one hell of a Chunin Exam so far," Anko said with a low whistle once Naruto finally finished.
"I don't think the craziness is over just yet," Naruto replied as he looked towards her.
"Probably not," Anko replied with a grin. "Still got another stage."
"Actually, there's something I wanted to ask," Naruto said with a sigh before looking towards Hiruzen.
"Go ahead."
"What exactly did Orochimaru put on Sasuke?"
Hiruzen's eyes briefly moved towards Anko. Naruto noticed the look but said nothing.
"It's called a Curse Seal," Hiruzen explained. "One of Orochimaru's creations. It gives whoever bears it access to more power, but the more they rely on that power, the greater the influence the seal can have over them."
"So that's why he was acting like that," Naruto said with a frown as he remembered the way Sasuke had acted in the forest.
"The seal can bring out things already present within the person," Hiruzen replied. "Anger, hatred, and the desire for power can make its influence considerably more dangerous."
"I placed a seal over the Curse Mark to suppress it," Kakashi said from where he had been leaning against one of the walls.
"That's the seal around his neck?" Naruto asked as he looked towards him.
"The Evil Sealing Method," Kakashi replied with a nod. "As long as Sasuke's will remains strong enough to resist the Curse Mark, the seal should suppress its power and influence."
"Given who Sasuke is, you think that's going to work?" Naruto asked with a raised eyebrow.
"I'll train him to resist it," Kakashi replied as his visible eye curved slightly.
Naruto stared at him for another moment before slowly nodding. He didn't say anything else. Naruto had only known Sasuke for a relatively short amount of time, but everything he had seen told him that the Uchiha was obsessed with becoming stronger. Naruto had seen what happened after Sasuke felt the power from the Curse Mark for only a few minutes. He had immediately believed he had surpassed Naruto and attacked him without hesitation. If the seal offered Sasuke more power whenever he used it, Naruto wasn't convinced telling him not to use it was going to be enough.
But that was Kakashi's problem.
"Thank you, Naruto. You've given us quite a bit to discuss," Hiruzen said as he picked up his pipe again and gave Naruto a small smile.
"Anything else?" Naruto asked with a nod.
"Not for now. You can return upstairs and wait for the second stage to conclude."
"Alright."
Yamato moved towards the door and placed his palm against it, causing the sealing matrix to become visible once again before unlocking.
"Lord Hokage," Naruto said as he gave the old Hokage a respectful bow.
"Naruto."
Naruto stepped through the door with Yamato following behind him. Once they were back in the hallway, Yamato closed and resealed the door before the two began making their way towards the stairs. For the first several moments, neither of them said anything.
"You handled yourself well," Yamato said as he placed a hand on Naruto's shoulder, causing the blonde to glance towards him.
"Against Orochimaru?" Naruto asked with a slight smile.
"Against everything."
"Thanks, Sensei," Naruto replied as his smile widened slightly.
"Try to enjoy what's left of the break," Yamato said as he removed his hand when they reached the staircase. "Once the second stage ends, things are going to become considerably busier."
"I figured," Naruto replied with a sigh.
The two separated once they reached the upper floors, with Yamato heading in another direction while Naruto made his way back towards the cafeteria. He could hear considerably more noise coming from inside than there had been when he left, and when he pushed through the doors, he immediately noticed why.
Team 8 had arrived.
Kiba, Hinata, and Shino were sitting with the rest of the rookie genin while Kiba loudly recounted something that had apparently happened during their time in the forest. Akamaru sat on top of his head, barking occasionally as though adding his own details to the story.
Naruto smiled as he approached the table. Ino noticed him first and smiled back before shifting slightly in her seat, creating a little more room beside her. Naruto didn't hesitate as he sat down next to her.
"So then Kiba actually jumps down right in front of them," Shino said as Naruto settled into his seat.
"It worked!" Kiba shouted as he pointed across the table.
"You landed directly in their trap."
"I knew it was there."
"You screamed."
"That was Akamaru."
Akamaru barked loudly from the top of Kiba's head.
"Akamaru disagrees," Shino said as he adjusted his glasses.
Several people around the table laughed while Kiba began arguing with his teammate. Naruto leaned back slightly in his chair as he listened, with Ino moving just a little closer beside him while Kiba continued recounting Team 8's time in the Forest of Death.
**Final Day**
It was almost midday on the final day of the second stage when Naruto found himself sitting in the cafeteria once again. Unlike the previous mornings, the room was far more crowded. Every genin team that had managed to reach the tower was currently gathered inside along with their Jonin Sensei, though this time none of them were sitting together in one large group. Each team had taken their own table and was quietly speaking with their respective sensei while waiting for whatever came next.
Two of the newest additions to the room were Kabuto's team and the three Sound genin, both having arrived at the tower not long ago. Naruto had noticed the Sound team immediately when they entered. All three had stopped for a moment after spotting Sasuke before their attention eventually shifted towards Naruto. The larger boy and the girl, the same two Naruto had found unconscious when he arrived at the clearing during the second stage, both glared at him slightly. The shorter member of their team, however, had a much different reaction. Naruto recognized him as the only one who had still been conscious when he arrived, and unlike his teammates, there was a small amount of fear in his eyes when he looked at Naruto.
Naruto noticed but simply ignored them.
He was currently sitting across from Yamato at one of the tables near the far end of the cafeteria. His sensei had returned not long before midday and had spent the last several minutes going over the second stage with him, mostly discussing what Naruto had done well and the few things Yamato believed he could have handled differently.
"You did well gathering information before moving deeper into the forest," Yamato explained. "The Shadow Clone Jutsu gave you a much better understanding of what was happening around you without forcing you to expose yourself."
"That was the idea," Naruto replied with a nod.
"Your biggest issue was Orochimaru."
"I feel like Orochimaru would be a pretty big issue for most people," Naruto replied with a raised eyebrow.
"That's not what I meant," Yamato said with a small smile.
"I know."
"You made the correct decision sending the Wood Clone for help," Yamato continued. "Once you realized who you were dealing with, there was no reason to try dealing with him alone if you didn't have to."
"I wasn't exactly planning on fighting him for fun," Naruto replied. "He followed me."
"I know. I'm simply saying that you made the correct decision."
"I'll take the compliment," Naruto replied as he leaned back slightly in his chair.
"Overall, though, you performed better than I expected."
"Better than you expected?" Naruto asked with a small frown.
"You were competing alone in an exam designed around three-man teams."
"Didn't seem to matter much."
"No," Yamato admitted. "Apparently not."
Naruto smiled slightly before taking another drink from the cup in front of him.
"It's been a long time since this many teams completed the second stage of a Leaf Chunin Exam," Yamato said after glancing around the cafeteria.
"That unusual?" Naruto asked as he looked around the room himself. There were considerably more teams than he had expected after hearing Anko explain the Forest of Death. Between the Leaf teams and the foreign genin, the cafeteria was almost completely full.
"Very," Yamato replied. "The second stage normally eliminates a large portion of the remaining candidates. Between the terrain, the time limit, and the need to acquire the opposite scroll, most teams don't make it to the tower."
"Guess we got a good group this year," Naruto said as his eyes briefly moved towards the Sand team across the room.
"Apparently."
Before Yamato could say anything else, a loud alarm suddenly sounded throughout the cafeteria, immediately bringing every conversation in the room to an end. Naruto looked towards the ceiling as several speakers mounted along the walls crackled to life.
"Attention, all Chunin Exam candidates," a man's voice announced throughout the cafeteria. "The second stage of the Chunin Exams is now officially over. All remaining candidates currently inside the tower are to report immediately to the arena located in the basement. Repeat, all remaining candidates are to report immediately to the arena located in the basement."
The speakers clicked off.
"There's an arena in the basement?" Naruto asked as he looked back towards Yamato with a surprised expression.
"Come on," Yamato replied with a chuckle as he stood from his chair.
"How big is this tower?" Naruto asked as he shook his head and stood as well.
"Bigger than it looks."
Around them, the other Jonin Sensei were already standing and directing their teams towards the exits. Naruto followed Yamato as the cafeteria quickly emptied, joining the large group moving through the halls and towards the lower levels of the tower.
The farther they descended, the wider the hallways became until they eventually reached a pair of massive doors near the bottom of the tower. Two Leaf Chunin stood on either side and opened them as the first group approached. Naruto followed Yamato through and found himself inside a large arena that took up several floors of the tower.
A large open fighting area occupied the center of the room, surrounded by tall walls and an upper balcony where those not fighting could watch from behind metal railings. The arena floor itself was mostly empty, leaving plenty of room for the genin to fight, while a large electronic board hung high on one of the walls. On opposite sides of the arena stood two massive stone statues in the shape of hands, with the fingers positioned so that together they formed the Ram seal.
Anko and Ibiki were standing near the front along with several Chunin and Jonin Naruto didn't recognize. Lord Hokage stood near one of the massive hand statues with several of the proctors positioned nearby.
As the teams entered, their Jonin Sensei separated from them and moved towards the front of the arena. Yamato gave Naruto a short nod before joining Kakashi, Asuma, Kurenai, Guy, and the other sensei lining up behind Lord Hokage.
The genin were directed towards the center of the arena floor. Naruto ended up standing roughly in the middle of the group. Kiba was in another line to his right, Choji stood a short distance in front of him, Kabuto was positioned to his left, and Sakura stood directly behind him.
Once the final team entered and the large doors closed behind them, Anko stepped forward.
"Congratulations," Anko announced as she looked across the gathered genin. "Every one of you standing here successfully completed the second stage of the Chunin Exams."
Several of the genin smiled while others remained completely expressionless.
"I'll be honest. I'm surprised there are this many of you," Anko continued as she crossed her arms.
"Seriously?" Kiba asked.
"I was expecting single digits," Anko replied without hesitation.
Several faces immediately lost some of their excitement while Anko grinned at them, causing Naruto to resist the urge to laugh.
Behind her, Hiruzen looked across the gathered candidates. Even he had been surprised by how many teams managed to complete the second stage, especially considering most of the Leaf genin standing in front of him were rookies taking the Chunin Exams for the first time.
"Lord Hokage will explain the third stage," Anko announced before stepping aside.
Hiruzen stepped forward, causing the room to quickly become quiet.
"The Chunin Exams are often presented as an opportunity for genin to advance in rank," Hiruzen began. "While that is true, promotion is not the only purpose of these exams."
Several of the genin immediately became more attentive.
"The Chunin Exams were created in part to replace conflict between allied shinobi villages," Hiruzen continued. "Rather than constantly testing one another through war, villages compete through their young shinobi. The third stage is especially important because feudal lords, influential clients, and representatives from other hidden villages will be invited to observe the final matches. In some cases, even the leaders of other villages themselves attend."
Several of the genin began looking around at one another after hearing that.
"The way you perform reflects not only on yourselves, but on your villages," Hiruzen continued. "A strong performance can lead to increased confidence in your village's shinobi, which can result in additional missions and contracts. A poor performance can have the opposite effect. That is why these exams are sometimes described as a substitute for war. You are competing for promotion, but you are also representing the strength of your village."
Naruto remained quiet as Hiruzen finished explaining the true purpose of the Chunin Exams. None of what the Hokage said surprised him. His grandmother had already taught him most of this years ago, especially the political and economic importance the exams could have for a hidden village.
"When do the life-and-death battles begin?" Gaara asked from somewhere near the front.
Several genin turned towards the red-haired Sand shinobi, though Gaara ignored all of them as he stared directly at Hiruzen.
Before Hiruzen could answer, a Leaf Jonin dropped from the upper level and landed on the floor between him and the assembled genin before kneeling.
"Lord Hokage, as the proctor for the next portion of the exam, I request permission to take over from here," the Jonin said.
"Very well," Hiruzen replied with a nod.
"My name is Hayate Gekko," the Jonin introduced himself as he stood and turned towards the gathered genin, only to suddenly cough several times into his fist.
Naruto raised an eyebrow as he looked at the man. Hayate was thin and pale, with dark circles beneath his eyes that made him look like he hadn't slept properly in weeks.
"Before the third stage begins, there will be a preliminary round," Hayate announced after clearing his throat.
A wave of confused reactions immediately spread through the genin.
"Preliminary?" Sakura asked from behind Naruto. "Why do we need another round? Why can't everyone here just continue to the third stage?"
"There are too many of you," Hayate replied before coughing again. "Normally, the first and second stages reduce the number of candidates much further. As Lord Hokage explained, the final stage will be observed by important guests. Feudal lords and representatives from the hidden villages do not have unlimited time to spend watching matches."
Several of the genin didn't seem particularly happy with that explanation.
"Because of that, Chunin Exam bylaws allow for a preliminary round whenever too many candidates reach the end of the second stage," Hayate continued. "These matches will narrow the number of participants who advance to the main tournament."
Hayate paused to cough again before continuing.
"From this point forward, your success no longer depends on your entire team advancing. The preliminary round will be individual."
That announcement caused another wave of reactions from the genin. Some looked excited while others immediately became nervous. Sasuke's expression sharpened while Neji remained completely calm. Lee looked more excited than Naruto had seen him since entering the room, while Gaara simply stared ahead without any noticeable reaction.
"These preliminary matches will begin immediately," Hayate continued. "There will be no additional recovery period before they start. With that in mind, if anyone here does not believe they are physically capable of competing or wishes to withdraw for any other reason, you may do so now."
Silence followed as several genin began glancing around at one another.
"You should withdraw," Sakura whispered urgently to Sasuke from behind Naruto. "That mark is still there. You need to get it looked at properly."
"I'm fine," Sasuke replied coldly.
"You're not fine."
"I said I'm fine."
"Sasuke, this isn't something you can just ignore."
Before their argument could continue, another voice cut through the arena.
"I'd like to withdraw," Kabuto announced.
Nearly everyone turned towards him.
Kabuto stood with one hand raised and a tired smile on his face, causing several of the Leaf genin to look at him in surprise while Naruto's eyes narrowed slightly.
"Name?" Hayate asked as he looked down at the papers in his hand.
"Kabuto Yakushi."
"Kabuto Yakushi. Leaf Village. Team 3," Hayate said after flipping through several pages and finding his name. "Reason?"
"I'm worn out," Kabuto replied. "I've also been having trouble with one of my ears ever since the encounter with the Sound shinobi before the first exam. I don't think I'm in any condition to keep going."
Naruto watched him carefully. Something about the explanation bothered him. Kabuto had made it through the Forest of Death and reached the tower, yet now he was withdrawing before the individual matches even began.
"Your withdrawal is accepted. You may leave," Hayate said after looking towards Hiruzen for a moment.
"Thank you."
Near the front of the arena, Hiruzen leaned slightly towards Ibiki and Anko. The three began speaking quietly enough that Naruto couldn't make out what they were saying, though the looks on their faces told him none of them were particularly happy about Kabuto's decision.
Naruto could understand why. This wasn't the first time Kabuto had entered the Chunin Exams, and now he was withdrawing before the main tournament again. Naruto watched as Kabuto turned towards the two members of his team and exchanged a few quiet words with them before finally beginning to walk towards the exit. He had already been suspicious of Kabuto after seeing the information cards during the first exam, and this did nothing to change that.
"I'll withdraw as well," another voice suddenly announced before Naruto could think about Kabuto any further.
This time it was Sai.
"What? Why?" Sakura asked as she immediately turned towards her teammate.
"I don't see much point in continuing," Sai replied with one of his usual fake smiles.
"What does that mean?"
"There are several people here I don't believe I would perform particularly well against," Sai explained as his eyes slowly moved across the room, first looking towards Naruto before moving to Gaara, Sasuke, Neji, and finally Lee. "It seems more practical to withdraw now."
Naruto resisted the urge to snort.
If Sai really was one of Danzo's agents like Naruto suspected, then that explanation was complete nonsense. Apart from Naruto himself and probably Gaara, Naruto was fairly certain Sai could defeat almost every genin currently standing in the arena. Maybe not easily in every case, but Naruto had already seen enough from Sai to know the boy was far more capable than he pretended to be.
Naruto noticed Hiruzen's eyes narrow slightly as he watched Sai. Unlike most of the people standing around them, Hiruzen knew exactly who Sai was. Danzo had been the one who requested that Sai be placed in the Academy alongside Sasuke's class in the first place.
"Sai. Leaf Village. Team 7," Hayate said after checking his papers. "Your withdrawal is accepted."
"Thank you," Sai replied before giving Sakura another fake smile and turning towards the exit.
Sakura stared after him in complete confusion while Sasuke barely reacted. Naruto watched Sai leave until the doors closed behind him. He wasn't sure what either Sai or Kabuto were planning, but he doubted either decision was as simple as they wanted everyone else to believe.
"If anyone else wishes to withdraw, do it now," Hayate announced as he looked across the remaining genin.
No one moved.
"Very well," Hayate said after waiting several seconds. "If no one else wishes to withdraw, the preliminary round will now begin."
**Chapter End**