Team 7 stepped into, what could only be called, a lion's den.

All eyes were on them and none seemed too pleased. The hatred and challenge in the air could suffocate a child instantly.

"That's worrisome" Sakura muttered, eyeing the opponents.

Sasuke seemed unfazed by the attention and focused his eyes instead on the big group of genin approaching them.

Naruto grinned and sent a cheeky wink to the group only causing more glares.

"Naruto! You Baka! Are you trying to get us all killed?!" Ino screeched loudly and if someone didn't know there was a group of genin at the back, they did now.

Naruto ignored her and looked to Hinata. He seemed to recall the girl having a crush on him and now that he wasn't completely head over heels for Sakura, he remembered his moments with the blue-haired girl.

Ino immediately noticed Sasuke looking cool and calm along with Sakura to his side making small comments about everything.

"SASUKE!! Oh, my Sasuke! I missed you so much! Beat it billboard brow!" Ino squealed and clung to Sasuke before growling at Sakura.

The pinkette simply raised an eyebrow while Sasuke slowly unlatched the girl from himself and stepped back with Sakura. Both said nothing as they were too worried about how loud everyone was being.

Kiba came up to Sasuke and made a snide remark to which the Uchiha waved off, surprising the few genin around him.

Shikamaru groaned "Troublesome" He crossed his arms.

Naruto tuned the group out and instead went to stand next to Hinata. The shy girl instantly grew red upon seeing the blonde approach.

"Hey Hinata" he gave a warm smile.

Said girl grew inhumanly red "H-Hi N-Naruto-Kun"

Naruto's grin grew wider as he started having a mostly one-sided conversation with her.

It wasn't long before a silver-haired boy came up to the group and warned them to keep it down.

Naruto immediately stopped his conversation, as did his teammates.

The three glared over at the newcomer, completely untrusting of him. Kakashi-sensei had warned them not to trust anyone in these exams even their own friends and they'd stick to that.

The trio, along with the other genin's, circled around the boy known as Kabuto whilst he started explaining how he got information through a stack of chakra filled cards.

Sasuke saw an opportunity to get information on the enemy even if they were conversing with another enemy.

"I've got three names." He cooly stated, crossing his arms and gaining the attention of the group instantly.

Naruto made a slightly sour face at how popular he was, it seemed the blonde always forgot about his status in the village when it was just them.

"Suna no Gaara"

"Aww, you know their names? Well, that's no challenge for me" Kabuto smugly stated and poured chakra into his cards before turning it over to reveal the red-haired boy's picture.

"Suna No Gaara otherwise known as just Gaara. Whoa... Says here he's a genin of the sand with 12 C rank and 3 B rank missions completed without failure...and without any injuries" Kabuto read out, shocked.

Naruto raised an eyebrow and glanced to Sasuke thoughtfully 'that'll get him pumped up for sure' He thought to himself.

"Hn. Rock Lee" Sasuke continued without reacting while everyone else murmured amongst themselves in disbelief.

Kabuto read out the information on Rock Lee saying he only knew how to use Taijutsu and was exceptionally skilled even without ninjutsu or genjutsu.

Sasuke smirked thinking the boy wasn't that much of a challenge but quickly realized if he kept fighting, even in a genjutsu, Lee would've broken out and used that forbidden technique on him. In which case he would've lost.

"Last one" Sasuke murmured, once again the attention was on him.

By this point, Naruto gave up and eyed the contestants who kept looking at the group with hungry eyes.

Kabuto looked up to the Uchiha with a curious gaze.

"Kabuto" Sasuke said clearly with a small but intense glare.

Kabuto involuntarily flinched back from the glare as sweat began to form on his temple.

Sakura became interested in the conversation hearing the turn of events and focused her attention on the unknown boy.

She had been eyeing the contestants like Naruto before both of them turned back to the group.

"U-uh... Me?" Kabuto frowned and pointed to himself.

Sasuke bobbed his head as his teammates came to stand next to him and copied his stance, with their arms crossed and a glare on their faces.

Kabuto gulped and shakily picked up a card.

As he was about to apply chakra to it, a figure covered in bandages swiftly came up to the group and flung himself at Kabuto who narrowly dodged out the way of his metal armed punch.

The bandaged sound ninja smirked at the silver-haired boy who soon realized why.

He suddenly gave a gurgling sound and dropped to his knees, blood being spat out with every cough as his eyes widened at the sight.

Sakura narrowed her eyes at the action 'I see... So the vibration caused him to convulse like that since it is a type of sound and I guess you can leave it to the newly found sound ninja to use it to their advantage' she thought, slightly impressed.

'Whaaaaat! How the hell did he do that!?' Naruto thought incredulously but kept his expression hidden and instead acted confused as to what happened as if he had only just begun to pay attention.

Sasuke glared at the sound ninja, ready to defend his team in case the male tried to attack them as well.

A huge burst of smoke and chakra immediately caught their attention at the front of the room along with a boisterous yell "you scum at the back! That's enough! I'm the alpha in this class, so shut up and listen up! Stop playing around you idiots!"

Ibiki Morino glared with folded arms at the lot before him "I'll be the proctor for this exam and I don't take dawdling fools lightly so pipe down and form a line! You're to collect a number and take a seat as I begin explaining the details" the scarred man growled, trying to intimidate the lower class ninja and it worked perfectly, for some.

Naruto clicked his tongue and gave a small frown, gaining the attention of his teammates and fellow ninja around him.

"Hmm, you seem different, we've all heard the stories about you three but I don't think anyone believed it." Shikamaru stated with a sigh but kept a keen eye on team 7. His comment seemed to make everyone else realize the change in them as well.

The three in question looked at the Nara but before any one of them could respond, the shrill voice of a Yamanaka broke through, startling some.

"Naruto, don't you dare fail this test for my Sasuke! You're a loser but try not being one for a few hours, won't ya?" Ino snapped at the blonde in accusation and a hint of disgust.

"Shut up Ino, you've been the one making the most noise this whole time" Sakura growled tiredly, offended for her friend. This exam business has already taken more energy from the pink haired girl than she'd like to admit.

"What'd you say billboard brow?!" Ino screeched with a glare on her face.

Sasuke glared daggers at the kunoichi for insulting his teammate like that though it seemed to go unnoticed by the blonde. Though this might work to their advantage as everyone thought the boy was simply a knuckleheaded fool.

Sasuke glanced toward Sakura, who seemed ready to lay into the girl, giving a silent order to leave it as Naruto also seemed to want to take advantage of the situation.

That is until he saw the test had technically already begun.

His face remained blank as he turned to Sasuke and Sakura "Let's go. Sasuke, you go first, Sakura, behind me" The blonde ordered having figured out, as his teammates surely have as well, the pattern of seating arrangements upon seeing other candidates going up and taking their well-placed positions.

The two followed Naruto without any hesitation or complaints, ignoring the awed and disbelief faces of everyone around them as they actually listened to Naruto. They walked away, with Naruto sending a small smile toward a blushing Hinata, and took their seats.

Strategically planned with Sasuke at the back, Sakura in the middle and Naruto at the front. This ensured Sasuke to use his Sharingan from afar while Sakura was sat a row above Naruto to help him. They all knew he was terrible at written tests. Naruto was placed in the front row which worked for them as the proctors would skip over the first few rows believing the candidates wouldn't try anything in case of being caught too easily.

Ibiki explained the details and rules of the exam and as the participants begun, the proctors' intense gazes fluttered around the room while calling out cheaters and sending them off.

Sasuke glanced around the room with his Sharingan activated, taking in all the opponents, especially around him and his teammates.

He noticed Hinata sitting next to the blonde and wondered if that could possibly play as a distraction for him.

Ibiki began explaining the text along with the last question, to which they'd found out more at the end.

A loud clap sounded throughout the spacious but filled room and suddenly the test began.

Nothing but the silent tapping of pencils hitting paper could be heard but beneath the service, in the hidden depths of deception and stealth. The undercoat meaning of ninja came to play as participants deduced the hidden meaning of the test.

Sand molted into an eye, speeding around the room and looking at everyone's answers. Sharingan blazed to life, pinpointing the edge of pencils and finding the answers by the patterns. Strings were cast, genjutsu's poorly placed, puppet masters requesting to go to the bathroom...Wait, what?

The room no longer held the few peaceful minutes of silence it once had and instead was filled with scribbles and shouts of proctors calling out cheaters, some who had to be detained forcefully as they were in denial of actually being caught.

Sasuke and Sakura had finished their tests in minutes. Both now had their eyes set on their blonde teammate.

Naruto looked down at his untouched sheet of paper and closed his eyes in thought, leaning forward as his shoulders slumped.

'So the point of this test is to observe our stealth skills. Interesting way of implementing it'

A soft thump emitted from the right of the boy followed by a small and hesitant hum. The blonde glanced over discreetly in slight annoyance at being pulled from his thoughts only to see the violet-haired Hyuuga sitting next to him.

The boy wasn't taken aback by the presence of the girl but the fact that underneath her bent elbow, was her own sheet of paper with all the answers already written on it.

She glanced back and forth at Naruto and anywhere else worriedly. The girl was telling him to copy her. 'How amiable'

The blonde leaned forward and placed his elbows on the creamy brown desk, staring at the girl from a side view.

"Hinata. I appreciate your loyalty and friendship but if I copy from you now, I'll only hold myself back from advancing. Besides, I know all the answers" He slowly whispered and turned his eyes back to his sheet of paper before finally beginning.

The genin heard a soft noise of shock and praise coming from the girl but otherwise continued writing the answers Kakashi-sensei drilled and beat into their heads. Naruto winced ever so subtly as he remembered the pain they went through. Luckily it didn't last long as Naruto had made his clones work double time at the library for information on anything and everything.

He had the skills to cheat and gain the information he needed. The point of the test wasn't to test knowledge after all but he already knew the high-level answers, besides...It's Sasuke's job to infiltrate and attain information.

After a long hour of proctors harshly throwing participants out and most leaf ninja eyeing team 7 with either caution or hunger, the test was called to an end.

Sakura kept silent as she observed the remaining groups. She concluded that the boys would be slightly upset from being unable to fight those that left.

Ibiki begun the tenth question, mortifying most genins but paused as he noticed team 7 hadn't moved an inch, in fact, they seemed almost bored. The scarred man quirked an eyebrow at the three, observing their posture and calculating eyes. He didn't realize the stories of them weren't simply gossip.

"Before I continue, you must decide if you will take it" Ibiki smirked, watching the confusion cross over the genin's faces.

"So what? what's the catch?" Temari of the sand spoke up with a scowl and a glare pointed at the instructor.

"If you choose to decline the tenth question, regardless of your answers on the other nine, you'll get a marking of zero and ultimately fail. Which means your teammates will fail with you" Ibiki explained and crossed his arms as he stared down at the group with a serious expression.

"Yeah right! who would choose to fail?" "What's the catch?" "What a drag"

The room gasped as murmurs of doubt burned through their throats.

"Not so fast!" Ibiki yelled over the growing noise "Let me finish" he growled and the room quieted down.

Naruto glanced to his left, out the small square framed window, and noticed a lone, peaceful looking, tree swaying in the wind. He felt calm and rather drowsy while staring at the beautiful oak. Thoughts of his life fluttered through his mind as a butterfly would fly past a person and in that moment, they could witness a glimpse of nature's true beauty.

A deep throat cleared and brought the blonde back to the present. He watched the instructor with observing eyes though he learned from the best to appear unguarded, giving the enemy a boost in confidence and collapse in strategy.

"If you do accept the question but answer it incorrectly, you will not only fail...You will never be allowed to take the Chuunin Exams again!" Ibiki finished with a strong and firm voice. An intimidating glare in his eyes as he eyed down those who now had fear and doubt in their eyes.

"What?!" Many participants yelled out at once.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes while crossing his fingers together and leaning them against his chin. His mind thinking of all the possible outcomes to this tenth question and what could be hidden beneath the basis of it.

Sakura grew an irk mark on her forehead as she momentarily forgot about any training of seeing through deception and focused purely on her anger at the proctor before her. She hadn't done all that work for nothing, had she?

Naruto had completely spaced out through the speech and when the blonde turned back to see scowls and glares pointed toward the man before him, it surprised him a bit.

From whispers and shouts, he quickly figured out why they were all so upset. The genin furrowed his brows as he thought over his choices but couldn't think too much into it as Ibiki started up again.

"Now then. If you're ready, the tenth and final question. Those who don't want to take it, raise your hand. Your number will be recorded and you'll be escorted out" His chilling voice sounded loud and clear throughout the classroom, silencing the few remaining whisperers.

Seconds passed turning into minutes while people waited for on the first coward to leave.

Finally, a skimpy looking man sitting on the other side of Hinata raised their hand with slouched shoulders and a defeated look on his face.

He stood with his eyes cast down in shame "I'm sorry guys, I just can't do it." He said loud enough for his teammates to hear and glare at his recreant attitude.

Ibiki looked over to the side proctors, giving them a signal of sorts to which they immediately responded and called out his name before escorting him out the classroom.

This seemed to start a loop as participants began standing up and repeating the first individual's actions by apologizing and leaving as the proctors called their numbers. Almost half the class was cut down in minutes, all while Sasuke eyed those leaving with disdain, Sakura tapping her fingers against the hard polished wood impatiently and Naruto zoning out whilst staring at the tree again.

All the movement annoyed the blonde to no end. He could tell the possible opponents leaving irked the Uchiha as well and decided to put an end to people's doubts.

Naruto glared at the head proctor as he slammed his hand down onto his desk with a loud smack halting everyone in their step as some were about to stand and others in the process of walking out.

"You think you can fool me with your mind games? I won't lose here and especially not to a mental challenge like this! I'll face anything that's put in my way because I never give up and that's my ninja way! So what if I'm a genin forever? There's no rule that states the Hokage can't be a genin!" Naruto said with a triumphant grin on his face as he knew he beat Ibiki's mind game while stopping any more genin from leaving which means more opponents for Sasuke.

Ibiki and the rest of the classroom stared at the blonde in silence. Awe and shock written across their faces.

"I'm not going to give up!" He growled at Ibiki who looked like he was about to try to convince the boy otherwise but halted with the words on the tip of his tongue as soon as the genin said that.