(A/N) Kabuto is weird. Never trust that evil dude. Next bit of the chunin exams.

"Okay, first up is Rock Lee," Kabuto said, the information poofing into existence on the card. "Looks like, he's about a year older than you guys, and has done 11 C-rank, and 20 D-rank. His squad leader is Gai."

"We knew that already, based on that ridiculous scene in the hallway," Secilia muttered mutinously.

"In the last 12 months, his Taijutsu has radically improved, but his other skills are pretty shaky. He got a lot of attention as a genin last year, but for some reason, chose not to participate in the chunin exams. This'll be his first time as a candidate, same as you guys. His teammates are Tenten and Neji Hyuga."

Naruto looked confused. "Huh? Hyuga?"

"Like Hinata, yes," Secilia replied, frowning at the book she'd pulled from her pocket. She was reading about summons again, but had already read the book, and was just using it as an excuse to pretend to ignore Kabuto, who was freaking her out.

"For Gaara, mission experience is 8 C-ranks, and get this, one B-rank as a genin. There's not a lot more information on this guy. He was a rookie from another land originally, but get this, he survived every mission without getting a scratch on him."

"The dude's done a B-rank as a genin, and has never even been injured?" Shikamaru asked incredulously, looking shocked.

"What's the deal with this guy?" Naruto asked.

"He's incredibly powerful," Secilia replied dryly.

Kabuto flipped over another card, the information appearing on it. "All the nations appear to have sent exceptionally skilled candidates for this year's Chunin exams. Of course, the Hidden Sound village is small, it sprang up recently, no one knows anything about it. Those guys are a mystery."

Secilia glanced over at the ninja with the musical note on their headbands. Two guys and a girl, all of them looking rather odd.

Kabuto put his cards back on his deck. "Well, you get the point, competition is going to be intense this year."

"So it would seem," Hinata said nervously. "It's almost enough to make you lose your confidence."

"It's a fine time to be talking like that," Ino barked.

"Do you really think it's going to be tougher this year?" Sakura wondered.

"I'd be surprised if it isn't," Secilia said, barking a laugh.

"Oh certainly. In all four years I've been coming, I've never witnessed a crop of candidates with as much potential as this one. Yep, we've got our work cut out for us."

Naruto looked almost nervous, and Secilia huffed a laugh. "You'll be fine Naruto."

Naruto was hunched over and quivering, his fists clenched.

Secilia sighed as he suddenly launched up, pointing a finger at the rest of the room, a triumphant smile in place. "My name is Naruto Uzumaki! And I'm gonna beat every one of you! Believe it!"

Secilia snorted softly. "Oh Naruto, you are so dead. I shoulda known you aren't smart enough to be scared."

The other candidates did not look impressed at all. A few murmurs spread throughout the crowd.

Secilia sighed as Sakura grabbed Naruto in a headlock. "You idiot!" She shouted. "Why'd you go and do a stupid thing like that?" She paused and waved as she noticed everyone was staring at her. "Oh, hi everyone! Don't mind him, sometimes he says ridiculous things!"

"Sometimes, both of you forget your minds are attached to your mouths," Secilia remarked, making sure the whole room could hear.

Kia and Ross both hid smiles, while the other rookie Genin glared at her, and the rest of the room looked unimpressed.

"All right, get settled in!" A deep voice shouted, the entire room quieting instantly. "You'll be assigned seats, and the test will begin."

Secilia found the test rather easy, her specialties being math and theory, after all. Aside from taijutsu, and a few ninjutsus. Then there was the matter of the 10th question. Based on the Procter, who she was fairly certain was from the interrogation section, it was probably going to mess with a few heads. Or most of the room's heads.

"Alright, time for the tenth question. First, if you get this question wrong, you will not only be dropped, you will be banned from taking the chunin exams ever again!" Now that, made the genin nervous. Glancing around, Secilia noted the paler faces, keeping track of them, to see if they buckled. "If you forfeit now, you'll still be dropped, but you can take the exams in six months. Anyone who wants to drop out, you drag your entire team with you."

Secilia snorted softly. She decided to wait until a few people actually decided to drop out before she said what she had to say. Kabuto had set her on edge, and it was causing her to do what she always did when she was nervous, sarcasm everyone around her to death.

"I forfeit!" One genin called out, raising his hand, and hanging his head.

"Alright, you may leave. Take your team with you." The imposing Procter said calmly, gesturing to the door. With the two scars on his face, the bandana on his head, and his probably six-foot build, he was quite a striking figure, looming over the class, despite the fact that the seats were elevated by levels.

Secilia waited a bit longer, after the chorus of defeated Genin dropping out had quieted. She noticed Naruto was getting really nervous and was almost ready to raise his hand. "With all due respect, Proctor, I highly doubt this last question is that hard."

He raised an eyebrow, not looking too impressed. "Oh, and why is that?"

"Cause, last I checked, there aren't any permanent Genin in Konoha. Although I haven't been to any other hidden villages, I doubt it is any different. Sure there are ones like Kabuto over there who've taken the test seven or more times, but they're still trying, and clearly, haven't been banned. So, this last question is purely to weed out any mentally weak genin. You're from Konoha's torture department, are you not?"

The chunin around the room simultaneously took in a sharp breath, confirming everything that had just come out of her mouth. The Proctor didn't show anything.

"So I'm right, let me guess, all of us pass because you have..." Secilia was interrupted by a woman bursting in the window and shouting loudly.

"My apologies kiddies!" She shouted. "You've passed the first test, now you're stuck with me! My name is Miterashi Anko! If you thought Ibiki was bad, you ain't seen nothin yet!"

(A/N) I've decided to screw canon. Any resemblance to the episodes in the dialog is unintentional. So, Screw canon! Bye!