Kana's room was silent (a rare occurrence), the only sound being her turning the pages of her book. She found herself enjoying the quiet, however, she couldn't make herself fully relax. The first part of the Chunin Exams begins tomorrow and she figured that Naruto would've come to her for some sort of help at this point.

The door hit the wall, Kana calmly looking up from her book and placing it aside. She sat up on her bed, sighing heavily. She patted the space next to her, signalling the panic-stricken blonde to sit down. Naruto quickly shut the door, practically leaping onto the bed. Kana sighed again, pulling her loose white hair over one shoulder.

"So," Kana began. "What's up?"

"Do you think I'll do okay tomorrow?!" Naruto asked.

"I'm sure you'll do fine Naruto," Kana replied, chuckling at his expense. "It's all academy stuff, things you learned in school."

"Well uh... You see..." Naruto fumbled. "I never got the best grades."

Kana sighed, standing up. "Wait for me at the front door, we need to make a trip to the library."

And with that, Kana shoved him outside, running a hand through her hair. 

~~Two Weeks Ago: Location Unknown~~

Red eyes glinted through the darkness, analyzing the swift moves used by his opponent. The red-eyed boy attacked viciously with his new sword, using his recently acquired skills to try and land a hit on his sensei. His sensei snickered at the boy's expense, easily dodging all of the attacks while staying on the defensive.

The boy clicked his tongue, his brows furrowing in frustration. Inky black marks spread across his skin, inching further and further until the marks covered half of his face. He charged his sensei again, striking with his sword, attempting to slash the man and holding nothing back.

He growled, the marks stretching further across his body before sinking into his flesh, causing his skin to change shades. His hair grew a few inches, turning a dark shade of blue instead of it's usual black.

"That's enough Sasuke," The man sighed, making his student growl in displeasure. "I have something else I need to discuss with you, come."

Sasuke sheathed his sword, following after the man with reluctant obedience. 

"Why'd we stop training?" Sasuke asked irritably.

The snake man glanced back at him. "I have a... Mission of sorts for you."

"I thought you said I wasn't going to be going on missions right now?" Sasuke said, raising a brow in confusion.

"The only reason I'm sending you is that I need a reason to go as well," He sighed. "Amegakure is holding single entrant Chunin Exams, and based on what Kabuto witnessed at the exams in Konoha and what you've told me, people I have business with will be there."

"That doesn't explain why I have to go Orochimaru," Sasuke huffed. "You said it yourself, I'm almost a chunin level already, why not send some genin from your village?"

"Ah, but you see Sasuke, I can only attend the Chunin Exams if one or more of my genin makes it to the tournament." Orochimaru snickers. "Unfortunately, I don't know if I sent any other genin if they'd even make it that far."

"So you want to send me," Sasuke smirked. "Say I did go, people who know me from other villages are going to be there."

"Yes, I know," Orochimaru replied. "That's why I have made a mask for you, one that cannot be seen through by any kekkei genkai, the mask is also super durable, it can withstand quite a bit of physical damage and is made from a material that can reflect ninjutsu attacks."

"But a mask won't hide my identity completely," Sasuke said, crossing his arms over his chest. "People from Konoha will recognize the techniques I use." 

"Yes I know," Orochimaru replied. "That's why you will only be allowed to use your sword, along with any other techniques you learned from me."

Sasuke sighed. "So I can use my sword, lightning style jutsu, and taijutsu?"

"Yes," Orochimaru snickered. "And I expect you to make it to the finals."

"When do the exams start?" Sasuke asked.

"In two weeks," Orochimaru answered. "I have more information for you, but let's discuss the rest in my office."

"Whatever." Sasuke shrugged.

~~Present day (Chunin Exams)~~

"Good luck Naruto!" Kana chirped, giving her friend a pat on the back.

"Thanks, Kana,"  Naruto mumbled. "After doing all that studying with you it's not the exam I'm worried about."

"Oh," Kana sighed. "Your friends from Konoha?"

"Yeah," Naruto nodded. "I told them all before I left that I was coming here, but I didn't tell them any more than that."

"I'm sure it'll be fine," Kana reassured him. "Now go get em'!"

"Alright, see you later!" Naruto chuckled.

Kana watched Naruto run off, her smile slowly slipping off her face as she sighed.

"Well, I suppose I should go and make sure that everything is set up for the second part," She sighed. "Joy."

~~~~~

Nervous and excited genin settled into the room, talking quietly amongst themselves and scouting out the competition. One group of genin, in particular, was gathered near the front of the room, their eyes trained to the door; these were the Konoha genin.

A blonde walked through the door, one of his eyes covered by an eye patch and clad in his usual jumpsuit, but with an added blue hood to repel the rain.

"Naruto!" Sakura exclaimed, catching the blonde's attention.

"Oh, hey Sakura," Naruto replied, awkwardly making his way over to her. "How've you been?"

Many other genin from Konoha gathered around him, all of them being people Naruto knew. Neji and Tenten were also gathered there, however, they just nodded in greeting.

"I've been doing well," Sakura replied with a smile. "I've been focusing on my training a lot, Lee has been helping me."

"How's Lee?" Naruto asked.

"He's alright," Shikamaru but in. "Still in the hospital though, none of the doctors are sure if he'll be able to return to being a shinobi though."

"Yeah," Kiba sighed. "No doctor in Konoha has been able to help him, although the Hokage briefly mentioned someone who might be able to help him."

"The only problem is no one knows where she is, she hasn't been seen in years." Choji added, pulling out a chip and offering it to Naruto. "Want one?"

Naruto forced down a gag. "No thanks."

Choji shrugged, shoving a handful of chips into his mouth.

"So then," Sakura mumbled. "I'm guessing you got word about Sasuke?"

"Yeah," Naruto growled. "I can't believe he actually went to that prick! He may have saved me that one time, but he also gave Sasuke that mark thing, and he only saved me because he felt experimental."

"I-Is that what happened to y-you in the F-Forest of D-Death?" Hinata stammered.

"Unfortunately," Naruto sighed. "That's when my face got all screwed up, I look pretty gross now, right?"

"N-no!" Hinata exclaimed, her face exploding red. "Y-you look cool, n-not that y-you didn't l-look cool before of course!"

Naruto tilted his head in confusion, chuckling. "Thanks, Hinata!"

"So," Ino chirped. "What's it like living in Amegakure?"

Naruto snorted. "You wouldn't believe it, but it's rainy!"

Ino rolled her eyes. "Not what I meant idiot."

The small group broke into laughter, however, the moment didn't last long. The door opened again and a single figure slipped in, a sword strapped tightly to their back and a mask adorning their face. A black hooded cloak concealed their body, making it impossible to distinguish their gender. The only thing identifying was the music note carved into the forehead of the mask, the symbol for Otogakure.

The figure walked past them, giving them a glance before walking to the back of the room and sitting down in a desk.

"I don't like him..." Shikamaru said.

Naruto and Kiba shared similar expressions; a look of confusion and possible hope.

"This is going to sound weird coming from me," Naruto said. "But that guy... He smells like Sasuke, granted it's not exactly the same scent, but it is very similar."

"That's what I was going to say," Kiba huffed. "I don't like this..."

"Since when can you tell scents apart?" Choji asked.

"Oh, it's just something I learned recently..." Naruto replied, rubbing the back of his neck.

Shikamaru's eyes narrowed but he stayed silent.

"Hey Hinata," Shino said, finally saying something. "Can your byakugan see through his mask?"

The veins around Hinata's eyes bulged as she stared at the figure. She then deactivated her kekkei genkai, sighing.

"I-I can't see t-through it..." She sighed.

The door slid open again, only this time, it was a young woman who walked in, her long purple hair pulled back in a braid, a pile of papers in her arms.

"Take your seats, everyone!" She exclaimed, making her presence known. "Let's get this test underway, there's no time to waste!"

A/N

I've been meaning to get this chapter done and published for a while, but then I had a sudden downward spiral of my mental health and some stuff happened when my parents found out that I had a girlfriend, but I hadn't been sure how to tell them. So It's been a bit hectic for me lately, sorry to keep y'all waiting. Hopefully, I'll be able to update more often than like once or twice a month...