The Fateful Uchiha

Team 2 - Sensei: Hiro Hyuga.

Shino, Choji, and Ranmaru had arrived early at the Academy. It was where the Chunin exam would begin. Shino Aburame pushed his glasses slightly back over the edge of his nose. When he graduated, he considered himself one of the smartest in his class. It wasn’t arrogance. He knew he was more mature than average. 

The majority of his classmates were naive and childish. But, they were also more socially gifted, better surrounded, and bore fewer expectations from their clan or family than him. Shino wasn’t bothered by it. He liked to be in his corner. However, things changed when he became Genin and was assigned to a team. His teammates were shyer and more hesitant than him. 

He didn’t see himself as a leader before… How could someone as quiet and reserved as him lead people? He was just Shino Aburame, discreet and introverted. However, his sensei didn’t agree. Hiro Hyuga had seen his potential. He knew Shino had qualities his peers lacked and gave the Genin the responsibility to lead his group. Little by little, Shino learned his role. He became the leader of Team 2.

Shino was grateful to Hiro-sensei who pushed him out of his comfort zone. The Aburame wanted to succeed his father one day and become the clan leader. Therefore, he needed to learn how to be a leader.  

“You want some chips?” Choji offered.

Shino gently shook his head, but Ranmaru leaned forward with interest. Choji offered him his bag of chips. Ranmaru was small, and he had a frail stature. Choji had to lean towards him… His massive silhouette completely hid Ranmaru.

Ranmaru's dark red eyes flashed briefly, turning blood red before returning to their normal appearance.

“There is a Genjutsu on the door where the two Chunins are located. It's not our exam room. Both of them are using a transformation technique. It’s not their normal appearance.”

“So they’re trying to delay us. This isn’t the room then.” Shino said.

Choji put a handful of chips in his mouth.

“So we go upstairs then?”

Shino nodded, and they headed to the upper floor like one man. There were only a dozen competitors in the hallway, most of them distracted by the examiners under the Transformation Jutsu who guarded the fake exam room. No one paid attention to their team. And those who glanced at them briefly didn’t give them any trouble. Ranmaru may be small and frail, but Shino and Choji were imposing enough. Choji was chubby, but no one doubted his strength. As for Shino himself, he was wearing his hood up on his head, completely concealing his face and giving out an intimidating air.

No one stopped them from going up to the third floor. With some satisfaction, Shino realized that they were among the first in the exam room.

“And now?” Ranmaru asked, casting an uncertain look around him.

Shino leaned against a wall, keeping the door and windows in his field of vision.

“We wait.”

The fact that they were enrolled in this exam was a sign of confidence from Hiro-sensei. He thought they could survive it. Or rather, he thought Choji and Ranmaru could survive, and Shino could succeed. Their sensei didn’t hide his thoughts from them. This exam was a test that all three of them would undergo. Choji and Ranmaru would gain valuable experience. But he hoped Shino would become a Chunin.

Hiro-sensei was always straight with his students. He treated them not as children who needed to grow up, but as ninjas who needed to be trained in their future tasks. Choji had little interest in taking responsibility, and Ranmaru was too shy. Shino had the same sense of duty as his sensei, and the latter had noticed. With him, Shino felt more seen, more understood, than he had ever been by his peers.

It was different for Ranmaru and Choji, Shino knew it. He liked his two teammates, and a solid and serene friendship had been forged between them over the past few months. But Shino was aware that his two partners were very different from him. They weren't as close to their sensei. They weren’t leaders; they didn’t carry that responsibility. Besides, they didn't even want to.

Choji would have liked a more forgiving and kind teacher. Someone who would let him snack all day long, and push him to train by promising him rewards such as a barbecue at the end of the day. But Choji wouldn’t have improved as much with this kind of teaching. Hiro Hyuga didn’t let him slack off. He always pushed Choji to give everything and only rewarded him when the Genin exceeded expectations.

It took Choji some getting used to. But it was for the best. Choji was less soft, less naive. 

On the other hand, Ranmaru wasn’t as lazy as Choji. He wanted to work hard, but he couldn’t. His limits were obvious. His body was too weak. But his attitude was great, and he was always there to help his comrades. 

**********

Team 5 - Sensei: Gai Maito.

Karin sometimes wanted to hit her teammates. They were too much to handle at times. Lee’s personality was over the top, even for her. And Sai was the opposite. But she was happy with her team. They had all survived Gai’s training. Their team was strong. They completed every mission assigned to them. On the battlefield, they were a force to be reckoned with.

With time, Karin had become the natural leader of the group. Lee’s personality wasn’t fit for the task. And Sai’s personality was just too passive to take command. Moreover, the Uzumaki wouldn’t have had it any other way. The two boys were flanking her like two bodyguards as they arrived at the exam room. It was already filled. 

People were talking in low voices. No one dared to raise their tone to attract attention. The atmosphere was tense, almost electric. There were genins from various villages, and most of them didn’t like each other. Karin saw a group wearing headbands with the Kusa symbol, and her lips turned into a snarling grin. She still remembered what Kusa Shinobis did to her mother. 

Karin began walking. Sai and Lee followed her without protesting. She was a sensory ninja. She probably felt familiar chakra signatures among the crowd. Kazuma’s team, Sasuke’s team, and Neji’s team were about the same distance from her. But they were in the opposite direction. Karin walked toward Neji’s chakra. 

She used her shoulder to push aside a guy who was in her way. She may have used more force than necessary because he was a Kusa shinobi. The latter turned toward her. 

“Can’t you see where you’re going?”

Karin sketched a rictus, already feeling the adrenaline rising. She had no intention of provoking this guy, but if he gave her the opportunity…

She didn’t have time to reply. Lee had already jumped in front of the opponent with a beaming smile.

“My apologies, my friend is in a hurry!” Lee said.

“So what? Does that give her the right to push me? Maybe she's looking for a fight?”

Lee paused, seemingly thinking about the ninja’s words. He turned around and looked at Karin. She was looking at her nails as if the situation had nothing to do with her. Then, Lee turned back to Kusa's guy.

“Not right now. What about you? Are you looking for a fight?”

There was a moment of tense silence. Around them, the conversations had stopped, and everyone was watching them from the corner of their eyes, waiting for the spark that would set the fire out. The Kusa's ninja stared at Lee, then seemed to make an effort on himself to swallow a new provocation. Instead, he spit on the floor.

“Newbies like you aren’t worth my time. Don’t get in my way next time.”

He turned away aggressively. Lee didn’t move, but his smile seemed to grow, becoming more threatening.

“Sure.”

The conversations around them slowly resumed. Sai stepped forward, with his usual smile, and patted on Lee's shoulder.

“Nice!” He said in a flat tone. “You didn't let his contempt provoke you. You always have to be in control of your emotions.”

Then, he turned to Karin and raised an eyebrow as if to say the last sentence also applied to her. The redhead turned away with a disgruntled sniff, trying to hide her embarrassment.

She knew she shouldn't have shoved an enemy ninja. But he was from Kusa. Karin disliked Kusa’s shinobis. Sai had noticed it during missions they had in the Land of Grass. Karin was aware, but his comrade never brought it up. He never asked her about it. Sai was a reliable teammate. He didn’t talk much. On the other hand, Lee was a chatterbox. Karin resumed her walk, followed by her two comrades. 

Neji and Tenten were leaning against the back wall, speaking in mid-voice. Inaho stood near them, straight as a stake. With her short hair and her face frozen in an impassive expression, she looked like a boy. At the arrival of Team Gai, the three members of Team Jun nodded at them as a greeting. Seeing Neji, Karin relaxed slightly.

Suddenly, in an explosion of white smoke, a dozen people appeared at the front of the room. The examiners had arrived.

“Silence, twerps!

The cries of surprise died out immediately. This kind of loud, rumbling voice commanded authority, and the person to whom it belonged imposed prudence, Karin realized when the smoke dissipated. He was a very tall man, dressed in a gray uniform and a long black coat that seemed to make him even more menacing. His face was barred with broad scars, and he seemed capable of killing with his glance.

“The head of the Section of Torture and Interrogation,” Sai’s whispered. “His name is Ibiki Morino.”

Karin committed the information to memory. She saw Neji and Tenten looking at Sai, probably wondering how he knew this. Karin held back a smile. She was no longer surprised by her teammate’s knowledge. Sai was sometimes ignorant of the simplest things, but he was also a wealth of information on a whole bunch of obscure and sometimes classified topics.

“For your information, No confrontation will take place without my permission. Even with my permission, you are forbidden to kill your opponent. Fools who disobey will be eliminated.” Ibiki said while browsing the room with a menacing look.

In a morbid corner of her brain, Karin took note of the fact that their examiner hadn’t banned mutilating their opponent if they had permission. She couldn't see the faces of all the people in that room, but she felt more than a dozen of them radiating blood lust.

Karin let a carnivorous smile spread over her lips. Let them come. If they thought she was weak because she was a girl, they would be surprised. Karin wasn’t one to be taken lightly.