The Fateful Uchiha

Ibiki began explaining the rules after the examiners handed the genins exam sheets.

“This is a written exam. There are 3 sections. Each question in section 1 is worth 1 point. The questions in section 2 are 3 points each. It is 5 points per question in section 3. You will lose 3 points for each wrong answer. Each team member must at least answer half the questions of each section. The combined score of your team must be at least 285 to pass. You aren’t allowed to talk to each other. You are forbidden to fight each other. If we catch you cheating or breaking the rules, you will be eliminated.”

Sakura had been worried about the exam. Upon discovering it was a written test, she relaxed. She was a good student at the academy and her grades were among the best in her class. Their seats were assigned by the examiners. She found herself far away from her teammates. She noticed it was the same for all the teams she knew. No one was around a teammate.

Sakura instantly thought about Kiba. She was confident about Sasuke, but the Inuzuka sucked at this type of exam. He often placed last in their class at the academy with Naruto. Would her score and Sasuke’s be enough to make the team pass? She had no idea.

“You have two hours. Begin!” Ibiki’s voice echoed in the big room.

Sakura turned over her sheet and began reading the questions. The first section had 50 questions, but they were multiple-choice. They covered various topics from strategic scenarios and knowledge of the ninja arts to crisis management. She didn’t find them difficult. She could answer them all. But Kiba? She doubted it. He couldn’t answer everything. She was sure of it.

However, there were some basic questions she hoped her comrade would get right. As long as Kiba minimized his wrong answers and only answered questions he was sure of, they should be fine. Sakura was aiming for a perfect score and hoped Sasuke would also get everything right.

***************

Yakumo Kurama’s eyes never left her exam sheet since Ibiki told them to start. It seemed she was writing, but she was drawing on the back of the sheet. With each addition she made to the picture, her Genjutsu strengthened. She created an invisible mirror above the two genins by her sides. The mirror was connected to her mind, and she could see whatever they wrote.

Once everything was set, Yakumo turned her paper around and began copying the answers. In her mind, a grave voice let out a malicious sneer. It was Ido, her evil alter ego that had taken the form of a monster. Thanks to her sensei’s, Kurenai, help, they had managed to seal it to not let it take over her body.

The monster, chained in a cage at the bottom of her psyche, leaned forward.

“What a weak illusion… I could do much better. I could put this entire room under your control. I could have the examiners write the answer for you.”

Yakumo ignored it. Ido was sealed. It couldn’t interfere and take over.

The Kurama clan excelled in Genjutsu techniques thanks to their Kekkei Genkai allowing them to turn illusion to reality. It wasn't a Dojutsu like the Uchiha’s Sharingan. It was more like a spiritual technique. Their techniques can cause the victim’s brain to believe whatever they’re experiencing is real to the point that their body reacts to the illusions as reality. Yakumo used it on herself and believed she could see the reflection of the invisible mirror in her mind.

The clan was once powerful, but the past wars had greatly reduced their numbers. The task to bring the clan to its former glory rested on Yakumo's shoulders. She was the most gifted of the remaining clan members. She wanted to pass the exam to show the strength of her clan.

The only thing she worried about was the monster in her mind. With the help of the Yamanaka clan and Kurenai, they were able to get it under control. However, she needed to be careful when using too much power. She didn’t want to give her alter ego an opportunity to free itself.

“Why don’t you want to free me?” Are you afraid? I’m part of you. You will never get rid of me.” Ido said and laughed.

Yakumo didn’t reply. Ido was too powerful and dangerous. She focused her attention on copying the answers she saw.

****************

Naruto hated written tests. He thought the Chunin exam would be about fighting to determine the strongest. Facing his exam sheet, he was getting nervous. His name was the only thing he wrote so far. He reread the first question: Your team is surrounded by enemy ninjas. What is the best strategy to escape? His instinct was telling him to choose the first option, but he wasn't sure. The thought of losing three points if he got it wrong made him doubt himself.

He continued reading the rest of the questions. He decided to only answer the ones he was sure of. However, the rules stated he must answer half of the questions in each section. Naruto didn’t want to lose points, but he knew he couldn’t avoid it. Getting half the answers to each section right may be challenging for him. Naruto thought about cheating. He could look at his neighbor’s test. But the examiners’ gaze seemed to be everywhere. Naruto believed he would get caught if he tried. The young Uzumaki could only hope his teammates would perform well enough to get the team to pass.

***************

Naiki turned his exam papers over. There was still time, but he had finished. He looked around to check on his teammates. Shiho and Shikamaru seemed to be done as well. Naiki wasn’t surprised. They were both clever, and the exam wasn’t overly difficult. It just checked on their knowledge. However, the second and third sections were challenging.

Naiki and his mother fled the civil war in the Land of Water to find refuge in Konoha. He could use the Hyoton. The Kekkei Genkai allowed him to manipulate ice. He could also use the Suiton and the Futon. Naiki believed Konoha treated him and his mother well because of his abilities. He didn’t particularly want to become a ninja, but it felt like he had no choice. Once he was enrolled in the Academy, it seemed he was on a track he couldn’t deviate from.

At the Academy, he had a reputation for being a lone wolf and people left him alone. During his childhood, he didn’t have many friends. His father died during the civil war. It was what triggered their escape from Kiri. Naiki’s mother, Rei Yuki, was a Kunoichi. She was from the Yuki clan and a powerful ninja. Her control of the Hyoton was flawless. Naiki wanted to be like her. He still struggled with his Kekkei Genkai. It varied a lot depending on his emotions unlike with his mother.

Rei was no longer a shinobi. Though Konoha was generous with them, they didn’t want her in their active force. She had to retire as a ninja and find another job. His mother didn’t complain about it. She was just grateful to the village for taking them in. That is why Naiki didn’t mind being a Konoha ninja. In a way, he wanted to repay the village.

Naiki had become attached to his teammates. He cared about them and would protect them with his life. Even their sensei Asuma wasn’t too bad. He was easygoing, patient, and would tease them from time to time. Naiki liked his team. He enjoyed training and doing missions with them. He didn’t know if they would all pass this Chunin exam, but they would give their all. He was sure of it.

“Five minutes, left” Ibiki’s voice echoed in the vast room.

Naiki looked around. Several genins had been disqualified because they got caught cheating.

****************

“Time’s up! Put your pencils down!” Ibiki said.

Neji had been done a while time ago. He had spent most of his time observing the people around him. He could have covered his eyes with his hands and used his Byakugan to cheat, but he didn’t. There was no need. He was confident he answered almost all the questions correctly. The Hyuga counted Twenty-five people being disqualified because of cheating. Ninety-five genins remained in the big classroom.

“We will now collect your papers and grade them. Do not move from your seat!”

The examiners walked around and gathered all the tests. They divided them into several piles and began grading them. It took them less than fifteen minutes to finish grading all the papers. They began calling the genins by teams and announcing the score. Some people were nervous. Neji didn’t pay attention to the names he didn’t know. Only his team and the other teams from Konoha interested him, particularly Karin, Kazuma, and Sasuke’s team.

The wait seemed interminable. Neji finally heard names he was familiar with.

“Team 2 of Konoha, Shino Aburame, 150 with 10 mistakes. Ranmaru 130 with 15 mistakes. Choji Akimichi, 25 with 10 mistakes. The combined team score is 305. You pass.”

Hearing the score details, Neji knew Choji only attempted to answer half of the questions in each section. 10 mistakes cost him 30 points, meaning he was able to get 55 points from the questions he answered right.

“Team 7 of Konoha, Sasuke Uchiha 182 with one mistake. Sakura Haruno 190 with 0 mistakes. Kiba Inuzuka -35 with 20 mistakes.” The combined team score is 337. You pass.”

There were whispers of surprise among the genins. It was the first team so far who passed with one of their members having a negative score. It was clear the two other members performed exceptionally well. But to most people, they believed they cheated and didn’t get caught. However, those who knew Sasuke and Sakura were aware they didn’t cheat.

“Team 8 of Konoha, Yakumo Kurama, 190 with 0 mistakes. Ino 190 with 0 mistakes. Hinata 150 with 10 mistakes. The combined team score is 530. You pass.”

Hinata may have not cheated, but Neji was convinced the other two did. However, since they didn’t get caught, it didn’t matter.

“Team 9 of Konoha, Hotaru 184 with one mistake. Kazuma Uchiha 190 with 0 mistakes. Naruto Uzumaki -87 with 33 mistakes. The combined score is 287. You pass.”

Neji let out a sigh of relief. He glanced at Naruto. -87!? It was the lowest score so far. It almost caused Kazuma to be eliminated. Had the Uzumaki or one of his team member made one more mistake, it would have been over for them.

Many people in the room chuckled upon hearing Naruto’s score.

“Be quiet!” Ibiki said.

“Team 10 of Konoha, Shikamaru 190 with 0 mistake. Shiho 190 with 0 mistake. Naiki, 130 with 15 mistakes. The team score is 510. You pass.”

“Neji Hyuga 190 with 0 mistakes. Tenten 130 with 15 mistakes. Inaho 182 with one mistake. The combined score is 502. You pass.”

Neji wasn’t surprised they passed. However, he was surprised he got a perfect score. He thought he missed 1 or 2 questions.

“Karin Uzumaki, 190 with 0 mistakes. Sai, 190 with 0 mistakes. Rock Lee, 25 with 10 mistakes. The combined score is 405. You passed.”

Neji was happy to hear Karin’s team also passed. In the end, more people were eliminated leaving 84 genins to the next round.