Chapter 25 - The First Team: Chunin Exam Mayhem!

Ekyt stood with the senseis near one of the entrances to the Forest of Death. He heard his name shouted frantically from behind. With a grimace, he turned around, seeing Linda. She didn’t offer a greeting, or her usual verbal jibe. She handed him a kunai with a note attached.
“Read it! I can’t believe this!” Linda was hyperventilating, and she didn’t seem to know what to do with her arms. Kurenai and Asuma tried to calm her down. Guy wasn’t with them at the moment; he had run off to give Lee some last-minute instructions.

That left Kakashi. The contents of the note startled even him.

“Damnit!” Ekyt snarled, throwing the kunai to the ground. He whipped around, back toward Linda.
“When did you find this?!” he asked, more harshly than he meant to.
“This morning! But…before she went to sleep, she stopped up to see me. She told me she had talked to you about this…” Linda gave Ekyt an accusatory look.
“She did! I told her to think this out, is this what she really wants?! I guess it was! But picking that traitorous scumbag! I never thought Kayla would…actually leave…No…I had an idea…she loved Chakaro, and she’s no quitter.”
Ekyt looked up to the sky, as if to ask “Why is this happening?”. Apparently, he didn’t get an answer. He let his head drop slowly. He felt a hand on his shoulder.
“There’s nothing you can do. You told her all the right things, and offered her a friendly ear. This is a choice she has to make herself…and you are NOT to blame.” Kakashi could tell he was only partially getting through to the genin in front of him.


“Lord Chakaro, there is a girl here to see you.”
Chakaro shoved his dark bangs roughly out of his pale face. His eyes had narrowed to slits, giving him the appearance of a snake. His enemies would agree.
“A girl? By all means Uesugi, send her in,” Chakaro said, an interested air in his voice.
“Yes sir! Girl! Lord Chakaro has agreed to see you.”
Chakaro heard a familiar voice say a timid “thank you.” Could it be? Did she follow me here?
His suspicions were confirmed. Kayla Donalds walked in, the tell-tale grin on her face belying her obvious anxiety. Chakaro dropped his usual aloofness in surprise.
“Kayla?”
“Yes Chakaro. I…I’ve missed you…and…and I’m here to…” Kayla appeared to be having some difficulty in finishing her sentence. But she managed to choke out the last few words.
“I-I’m here to swear allegiance to you and your village.”


“Alright Kabuto, you and Akuhei have convinced me. I need to talk with the two of them before hand.”
“Of course Lord Hokage,” Kabuto said, regaining some of his old confidence. Beside him, Akuhei wore a look of tremendous relief.
“Hayate!” Hokage called out.
“(koff) Sir?” Answer Hayate.
“Send Ekyt to me, with an escort, preferably Kakashi, and delay the chunin exams. This is a matter of great importance.” Lord Hokage’s tone was unnaturally serious. Hayate offered a question look, but disappeared to do as Hokage said.


Anko looked over her shoulder, surprised at Hayate’s appearance. He whispered something to her. Whatever it was must have been big, because even SHE seemed surprised.
“You’re sure?” She asked, not really believing it.
“(koff) From Lord Hokage himself.”
“Alright- but let’s keep this quick.”


“Listen up! The chunin exams are going to be delayed for one hour’s time. During that time, you are to stay put. Your senseis will be provided with an explanation. And, no fighting. If anyone is caught fighting, their entire team will be barred from the match. Do NOT test me on this.”


“Huh? Delayed? Has that ever happened before?” Sakura wondered.
“AHHHH! NOW I’VE GOT TO WAIT EVEN LONGER?!” Naruto shouted. Sasuke was indifferent, though he gave Naruto a glare that plainly said “Don’t shout in my ear, Loser.”
“Guys…I have to go with Hayate…stay here and think about the exam. You’ve taken it once before, talk strategy,” Kakashi told them, quickly disappearing with a puff of smoke.



“I want you to think this through. For once, you can say no to this mission. Understand, it is beyond A rank. And the likelihood for injury…even death…is very high.” Inwardly, Lord Hokage sighed deeply. I already know his answer…but I wish he would refuse…It would be hard to swallow if I knew that I sent him to death. No matter how good he is…
Ekyt raised his head. He had been looking at the floor while Lord Hokage was talking. This is my chance to take the chunin exams…even in the context of a mission…There is no refusing a mission to me, even when the option is available to others.
“I accept it Lord Hokage. My mission parameters?”
Hokage bowed his head and took his pipe out of his mouth.
“Monitor Kabuto and Akuhei. Prevent them from attaining their likely targets…at all costs. But…be careful. You have shown loyalty to this village, an in return I feel I owe you honesty: Kabuto could very well kill you. No matter how good you are, Kabuto has experience to draw from. If things go horribly wrong, get Team 7 and run. You are just as much a target of Orochimaru as Naruto and Sasuke.” Lord Hokage hoped he was getting through to the boy.
“Understood Sir. Monitor Kabuto and Akuhei, and protect Team 7 until the jonin can arrive. Sir, I DO have a question, if I might speak freely…”
“Of course, go ahead,” Lord Hokage replied, intrigued.
“Why did you pick me Sir? Why not have him monitored by a jonin from the start?”
Lord Hokage smiled widely. “There are two reasons: Number one, Kabuto won’t suspect that I sent a genin to watch him. Number two: You don’t want to miss the chunin exams, do you? Now, it’s time to meet with your team and your sensei. Hayate, it seems, has taken a personal interest in your case. You have a way of charming instructors, it seems.”


Linda saw Ekyt coming. Upon seeing who he was with, she gave Lee a vigorous shake. Lee turned to see the commotion. Instantly, he leapt next to Ekyt.
“Kabuto! You will not harm anyone!”
“Lee!” Ekyt called, putting a hand on his shoulder. “This is my team. Kabuto, Akuhei, and Hayate-sensei. They aren’t going to hurt anyone…” Ekyt said, while giving Lee a look he hoped that he could decipher. Apparently, Lee got the hint, because he wished them luck and backed off.
Linda gave Ekyt a hard look. Her words were even harder, spoken in a tone she usually reserved for criminals.
“So this is how you’re dealing with Linda’s defection…taking an exam that is likely to kill you. You’re an idiot. I don’t know what I ever saw in you to even consider you a friend.”
Ekyt made no reaction to her snide remarks, except to retort with one of his own.
“And how are you dealing with this? You’re cheering on your boyfriend. You’re not doing anything. Kayla is old enough to make a decision like that…I trained with her as much as you did…and why do you think she came to me for advice, instead of going to you like usual? She knew what would happen. You would baby her, make decisions for her, and then ridicule her if she didn’t agree. She’s seen how you treat me.”

Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, and Kakashi were the next group. They had all been warned about this, and they knew Ekyt’s mission. Even Naruto didn’t believe it.
“Well, you’ve got a team! Good for you Ekyt! The best of luck to you and your team then!” Kakashi said, before handing Ekyt a red kunai. “Just a good luck charm,” he said by way of explanation.
This, too, was part of the plan. If there was trouble, Ekyt was to stab Kabuto with the red kunai. That would somehow summon the jonin to their position.
“So you’re taking the exams, huh? You’ll do great, as long as you avoid us!” Naruto exclaimed, chuckling gleefully.
Sasuke gave Ekyt an unreadable look. Could it have been Sasuke’s way of saying “Good luck?” Ekyt offered his fist, which Sasuke punched.
Sakura was looking daggers at Kabuto, and with good reason. She shifted her gaze to Ekyt.
“I’m really happy for you! You deserve to be here. Even though we’re opponents, good luck!”
Ekyt returned the good luck wishes, knowing his eye was giving away the fact he was smiling, despite the danger he was in.


“Alright, we’re all here now. You three (Ekyt’s team) need to sign the wavers and pick up a scroll. The exam starts as soon as they’ve signed.”



“Kabuto, you’ve taken this exam before. What do you think is the best course of action?”
Kabuto adjusted his glasses. “Let’s take a look at the combatants first. Anyone in particular that interests you?”
Ekyt shook his head. “No. I think everyone is more or less equally dangerous, there’s not too much mystery. Let me rephrase my question: We have one scroll, how should we go about getting the other one? Lie in wait near the tower and ambush? Go hunting for other teams? Let the other teams find us?”
Kabuto put on a thoughtful look, running a hand through his silver hair. “I think we should hunt. The quicker we get both scrolls, the quicker we can get to the tower. Once we get there, we’ve passed.”
Ekyt nodded in agreement, then turned to their female companion, the demolition expert Akuhei.
“What do you think?” Ekyt asked kindly. “It’s always good to get another point of view involved.”
Akuhei could have been a model. She had a knock-out figure, with long purple hair falling to her waist. She had a face that made it look like she was everyone’s friend, something comforting and easy-going. Finally, her purple eyes were almost entrancing; Ekyt found he couldn’t make eye contact with her without becoming sleepy. Her voice matched her look.
“Well,” she said in an equally-entrancing voice (think Rouge the Bat from Sonic) “I think ol’ Kabuto has a point. The longer we wait, the more fatigued we’ll be. If we strike quick and hard, then head straight for the tower, we’ll have that much more energy when we get there to try to comprehend the contents.”


The exams began. The forest of death, at first glance, was a lush green paradise. Tree grew tall and straight, and the landscape was dotted with rocks and small ponds. However, appearances were deceiving. This “paradise” was home to many dangers. Poisonous plants and animals, dangerous wildlife, and now, the ninja inhabiting it all made for a very grueling exam.
The object of the exam was simple: Get a Heaven Scroll and an Earth Scroll, then go to the tower. Sounds simple enough. There aren’t enough scroll for everyone. There are twenty teams, but only ten sets of scrolls. That meant that half the teams would be eliminated during this exam. Not that that was the worst thing that could happen. This place wasn’t called “The Forest of Death” for no reason. Ninja had died here, taking this very exam.


As soon as they were deep into the forest, Kabuto and Akuhei put their heads together momentarily.
Dramatically, Akuhei turned around, grabbing Ekyt’s head.
“What the hell?! Get off of…” Too late. Ekyt had looked into her eyes.
“Do you like my kekkai genkai? It’s called the “Namamekashii eye.” It only works on boys…but it certainly serves it’s purpose…You’ll notice that you can’t look away. As long as my gaze is locked on you, you’re not going anywhere… Kabuto, you know what to do…”
For a moment, Ekyt thought Kabuto was going to kill him. Then he realized that he was after someone else: Sasuke!


“Good job with that genjutsu Sakura. How much longer can you keep it up?” Sasuke questioned.
“Only another two minutes or so,” an out-of-breath Sakura panted.
“Okay, that’ll have to do,” Sasuke replied, revealing nothing.
“So, what’s the plan already?! Are we just gonna hide behind some genjutsu until the end of the exam?! We need the Earth scroll! Come on, let’s get one!” Naruto was getting antsy with just walking around the forest.
All of a sudden, Sasuke pushed the two out of the way. Seconds later, kunai rained down where they had been standing.
“What the- sound ninja!” Sakura had exhausted her chakra by performing that continuous genjutsu.
“What do you sound freaks want? You’re messing with the next Hokage! I’m Naruto Uzumaki, remember that!”
“Oh please, you little orange daisy, you don’t scare us. Besides, we’re after your friend here.”
“Really. I think you’ll find I have a problem with that.” Sasuke said dryly, smirking. “Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!”
Sasuke’s fireballs struck home- or they appeared too.
“Huh? I missed?”
The three sound ninjas were standing behind him. “Fireball Jutsu!” Sasuke called again. Again the sound ninjas weren’t there when the jutsu struck.
“Enough of this! Sharingan!” Sasuke used his bloodline trait, finally noticing that there were no ninjas nearby. “It’s a long range genjutsu. Naruto, you’ve got the chakra for it. End it.”
“Right! Kai! (Release)” Naruto called. This wiped out his normal chakra, but it ended the long range genjutsu.


Ekyt was still trapped in Akuhei’s gaze. I’ve got to divert her attention and break her hold on me…let’s try talking this out first, I don’t want to have to attack her, I’m going to need all my chakra to fight Kabuto.
“I should have realized it sooner,” Ekyt said aloud, “Your name means “evil”. Very interesting. Would I be correct to say that it’s not your birth name?”
Akuhei giggled. “Well, you ARE a resourceful one, aren’t you? Trying to distract me. Don’t think I don’t know. Just keep in mind, no male has ever broken my gaze. And even if they could…with looks like mine, they’re STILL my slaves…”
“You’ve got an ego as big as your stomach!” Ekyt said, trying to use her ego against her. Apparently, she wasn’t as vain and shallow as she appeared.
“Nice of you to notice kid.”
In his mind, Ekyt had gone through all the signs for his favorite genjutsu; the Demonic Illusion: Hell Viewing Technique was a horrible thing to do, but it didn’t do any lasting damage, and it was a fight ender for sure.
When Akuhei screamed, dropped to her knees, and closed her eyes, Ekyt knew the genjutsu had worked. He sprinted in the direction Kabuto had headed, praying that he hadn’t been too late.

Sasuke heard movement behind him and threw a series of kunai. Kabuto caught the first one and used it to block the rest.
“Come on, Orochimaru’s waiting…what?”
The kunai had strings attached. Sasuke yanked on the ends, binding Kabuto to a tree.
“Fool. You couldn’t slip by my Sharingan. Now you’re going to see another power of mine, up close and personal.”
Kabuto heard birds chirping. Sasuke was molding chakra in his hand.
“Chidori?” Kabuto struggled fruitlessly against the strings.
Sasuke broke into a run, his arm behind him. He thrust his arm at Kabuto. The chidori was an assassination move, and Sasuke had hit home…on a log. Damnit! That ate up all my chakra! I missed…Kabuto is as good as everyone says…Not that THAT does me much good now…
“You don’t disappoint Sasuke Uchiha, I’ll give you that. Now, since you can’t fight, you’ll have to come with me…”

Ekyt let a kunai fly. Kabuto spun away at the last second.
“Back off. I know what’s going on. You’re still Orochimaru’s dog! I’m surprised at you Kabuto…a good brain in your head, and you’re doing someone else’s bidding. I didn’t want this to happen, and I know I’m the underdog, but I’m not letting you near them.”
Ekyt took a fighting stance, not bowing since there was no respect here.
“This is your mistake kid.” Kabuto charged, forcing Ekyt to leap out of the way and up into a tree.

He and Kabuto wasted no time. Sakura, Naruto, and Sasuke couldn’t believe it…Ekyt could fight Kabuto? How was he keeping up?

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