Pov: Kenzo

  *ZZZZZVVVVV*

  My lightning breath sinks into the Genjutsu genin and I grip the neck of the Genjutsu genin who struggles beside me.

  Multiple stabs impale my fore arm as he struggles and I turn my head to the st genin- *Zzzt* lightning cackles from my throat and zap between my smile.

  The Genjutsu genin raises his hands and surrenders, I am thrown into my shower again... I turn the tap off and start drying myself and getting dressed. Right now Naruto is asleep.

  Good... I can win 1/10 fights with only my breathing techniques in use.

  Though that may be due to memorizing the yout and fight to the point that I know the exact steps in order to win, I need many more scrolls to py with so I do not get used to winning in this exact situation.

  There was a few scrolls I wanted to try out actually, some of them are like the dojo in which I can get rewards for succeeding part ways through and not winning the entire thing.

  I believe there was a couple 'Chunin Exam' challenges at the Konoha stadium where one can experience the chunin exams... obviously I wouldn't succeed but I am sure that I can pass the first or second stage and get a reward, I will also be capable of learning from those exams and being more prepared for an actual one.

  And I wont run out of those scrolls due to there being five at the stadium- so one being used wouldn't be so bad.

  I have been testing the actual time I am within the challenge scrolls and I was previously wrong about it being slowed down- when I wait within the genin challenge scroll I appear out of it and barely any time passes even though I spent an hour running in there.

  I was just confused about the time due to having so little spent in there- I still spend a couple minutes away from reality so it does take time, but not enough that I will be missing for days- I would probably spend an afternoon in the scroll and that's that.

  I sneak out of my bathroom and outside so Naruto doesn't awake... and then I start walking through the streets- good thing about being blindfolded is that I can always find my away around Konoha at night.

  I arrive at the stadium walls, this massive structure surely has security to prevent people breaking in, luckily the chunin exam challenges are right outside of its door.

  No one is staring at me... I take a breath and touch the scroll.

  ------

  Challenge the Chunin Exams? An average spread of Genin challengers to fight and test yourself against.

  Rewards: Instant C rank scroll, Instant B rank scroll, Five statistic scrolls (0/3)

  ------

  See? Three rewards and a zero out of three mark at the end, I will at most get a C rank scroll... also I wont hold back most my skills for this so I should be good- with all of them together I can beat a standard genin team so hopefully that applies to this.

  ...

  Which would be above standard genin teams due to them trying to be Chunin...

  Haaa- lets just try it, I am getting sick of my current routine so hopefully this can brighten my mood.

  Accept.

  ...

  I blink and open my eyes to see that I am holding a form and in a dark space, the only lit up area is a desk.

  I approach the desk and pce my document down, a pen resides near me and I pick it up.

  *Scratch* *Scrawl*

  'Choose your genin teammates. They will be copied for this exam'

  Okay... I look at the form and realise it isn't for myself, but rather its split into two sections where I pce two people... I can only chose someone I know and they have to be genin or lower.

  ...

  I don't know any other genin level ninja? Do I have to pce someone who is within the Acedemy to help me? I wouldnt be able to use a technicality and summon Itachi because he is a rogue ninja with no rank now would I?

  *Scratch*

  'No'

  Damnit.

  Who is the strongest person I know below the chunin level? There is that root test ninja that attacked me on the cliff... I can use him due to using word: truth and my stare to get to know him very well.

  Who else? I'm not taking an academy student, that was the only root member I have seen who was genin or lower... Oorochimaru's den? I cant use his assistant as I cannot fill out his name on the form... but he kidnapped a few genin right? I never learned there names either... and I don't have the information required to fill out a form on them.

  Maybe I should bite the bullet and take mu css genuis Neji.

  I write his name down and a few other things, I blink and suddenly appear on a dirt field, Neji and the root ninja appear beside me.

  Many other genin appear around us and a singur jonin stands on a wooden ptform in front of everyone.

  "The first test of this exam begins now! I will call a team one by one to approach this stage and stand on it- each genin team below gets to ask one question, and if you fail to answer it within five seconds your team is failed, rules are you cannot ask a question you yourself cannot answer" The Jonin shouts out to everyone and immediately calls up one team.

  They stand and wait as we all line up and the Jonin points to the first group.

  "Who is the current Tsuchikage?" The first team asks.

  "Onoki" they answer.

  "What vilge was destroyed and was considered as great as the current five" the next team asks.

  "Uzi" they answer.

  "What's my name?" The next team asks and the silence is deafening.

  So we can ask questions like that?

  "Failed. Please leave the stage and the next team come up" The jonin decres and the first questioners walk up.

  "What's my name?" The first question is asked and I hear Neji sigh.

  ...

  Its about ten teams ter when someone is able to get past the first question- in fact every question is a variation of 'what's my name' and they pass all of them, I try to memorize the answers of this informed group of genin who seemingly gathered information on all these contestants.

  Its not soon after when the next meta is set up- and soon it becomes a game of memory and information gathering, multiple teams trading answers for asking simple questions and even coming up with hard to answer questions that only that person would be able to answer... and yet questions run out as people memorize those questions as the jonin confirms the answer to the more trickier ones for us all to hear.

  Philosophy.

  Personal.

  Tricky.

  Those are the three main questions that are put out, eventually it reaches us- we approach the stage and veiw the remaining teams.

  Only twenty four teams remain... twenty four possible questions- Root ninja (Who is named Arata) made a deal with the next four teams so we only have twenty to actually answer.

  1- "one plus one?"

  "Two"

  2- "one plus one?"

  "Two"

  3- "one plus one?"

  "Two"

  4- "one plus one?"

  "Two"

  5- "How many fingers am I holding up?" They hide there hand behind their back.

  "Three" Neji uses byakugan to answer.

  6- "Two hundreds minus One thousand five hundred and twenty seven"

  "Negative One thousand three hundred and twenty seven" Arata answers quick.

  7- "How many scars on my chest?"

  "Seven" Neji answers once more.

  8- "most expensive dye to create in the nd of Wind?"

  "Purple dye" I answer.

  9- "What colour is my cat?"

  "Bck?" I wait and answer hesitantly as the other two don't know.... its correct, a lucky guess.

  10- "How many dads do I have?"

  "On a technicality- eight" Arata answers... I am gd he was paying attention, he asked that question near the beginning of this test.

  11- "How tall am I?"

  "5'6" Neji answers, lucky I chose him as he has good eyes.

  12- "When is one considered an adult?"

  "When they become a ninja or pass 18 years of age" Arata answers.

  13- "How many hearts does an octopus have?"

  "Three" I answer.

  14- "How old am I?"

  "17" Arata answers with an estimated guess of the ninja- he is correct.

  15- "Colour of my eyes?" They have closed there eyes since we stepped up here.

  "Brown" Neji confirms. Didn't know byakugan could see through eyelids like that...

  16- "Who is stronger? First Hokage or Third?"

  "First" Arata answers, I have no clue and it seems he is right.

  17- "How many scars do you all have collectively on your bodies?"

  Trickiest so far... Neji is in the academy and shouldn't have any- Neji mouths seven when pointing to Arata.

  "59" I answer, we are forced to point them all out and we are correct.

  18- "Why is the sky blue?"

  "Reflection of the ocean as the light bounces it up into our skies" I answer vaguely, its correct... just a little bit of a vague answer.

  19- "Who sughtered his entire css in an exam?"

  "Zabuza Momichi" Arata answers, I am so gd I brought him along.

  20- "What is my name?"

  "Ami" Arata memorized.

  21- "How many fingers am I holding up?" He confidently holds up three.

  I put my hand on Neji's mouth and answer for him as I stare and see through his Genjutsu.

  "None"

  22- "Did I accidentally start a fire in a café this morning?"

  "No" I coin flip.

  "Correct, I hate the owner and purposefully burnt his table"

  23- "How many Jutsu have been cast during this first exam"

  Multiple genjutsu... "Thirty eight?" I answer hesitantly- "Thirty seven" Arata corrects me and gets it correct.

  24- "How many bandage rolls within a standard Otogakure medical kit"

  "Two" Arata answers.

  ...

  And we complete them all... that's good, great actually- I just won an Instant C rank scroll to use.

  But I was lucky and relied on the other two here, I understand its a team test but I should have carried more weight then. We did good for a team who shouldn't be taking this test however.

  After we step of the stage the Jonin instructor points us in a direction silently, we all start sprinting there.... eventually arriving to a giant forest- not a massive expanse- well its also that, but I mean trees bigger than small skyscrapers giant, the premises is surrounded by tall chain fences and seals are pced upon them.

  Another instructor waits nearby.... soon all the teams have arrived and they get up- scanning all of us.

  "17 teams? Alright... Attention! All of you will be surviving within this forest for one week! Each team will be given a scroll to keep- the Heaven scroll. You will find your scrolls within the forest of death... this is a search and find test, be warned that this forest is incredibly dangerous and holds many perils! Each team will be escorted to a gate- follow the respective Chunin that grabs your team and find the scrolls, once found dont open them! Bring them straight towards the tower in the centre of this forest!" The jonin yawns before getting up and starting to scream instructions quickly, soon after he sits back down and closes his eyes.

  *Flicker*

  "Please follow me" A ninja tells us and we follow him towards one of the gates on the outside.

  "Here is your scroll. Good luck" they hand me the scroll and I pce it in my jacket- I turn to Arata and Neji... they nod and we enter into the forest.

  "Anyone have any experience in looking for something?" I ask and both of them shake there heads.

  Right. Arata is trained well... but cks a lot of experience in the wilds- more used to training and working within Konoha.

  Neji is a child.

  I am in the same situations.

  Blind luck? Blind luck.

  ...

  Or we could ambush another party? At the tower- we have no clue how to find these scrolls and staying in the same spot to conserve energy would be really good for a team like us.

  Neji is good in combat but has no actual experience so he will probably only keep one ninja busy- and not for long... but he hasn't lost in any spars at all, and I often hear rumours of him beating some adults in his cn...? Arata is going to be a great ally- especially with his combat abilities, and someone under Danzo definitely has some real combat experience.

  "Lets go to the tower, ambush someone for the scroll they carry" I turn to them as we walk and they both nod.

  "Better than blindly looking" Neji comments.

  We sprint through the forest, our best bet is to get there early as possible so we can set up an make sure no one gets past us without a fight.

  *Hoo* *Hoo* *Hoo*

  I breathe out thrice in quick succession.

  *Flicker!*

  Neji and Arata keep up with using their flickers- Neji looks at me in confusion.

  "You can... flicker?" Neji asks.

  "Sure" I respond.

  "... you are incapable of... unless... maybe I underestimated your destiny, to hide something so well... genjutsu is hiding your chakra veins right?" Neji asks.

  "Sure" I reply.

  ...

  -one day ter-

  The rest of that trip was completely silent, with no one to start conversation or ignite some sembnce of a sentence we fell into routine running and resting.

  We can see the tower in front of us... now where to set up an ambush? I turn to the other two and open my mouth.

  "Do you guys-" I am cut off from three sudden stares at me, I undo my blindfold and look around for the enemy... in the trees above us.

  "Enemy!" I call out.

  *Booom!* *Boooom!* *Boom!*

  Multiple explosions ring out around us and kunai are flung from multiple directions- I use [Burst Breathing] and dash out of the way of the kunai- *Sink!* I turn around to see that Neji was stabbed with one... in the thigh unfortunately.

  Arata pulls out his tanto and dashes into the trees, aiming for a kill.

  I turn my gaze on the three enemies and give them a death stare... *Fwoosh!* I start sprinting besides Arata and rush uo the first tree, Arata jumps up and sshes at the ninja who stumbles away from me as I walk closer- *Ssh!* Arata kills the ninja with one good ssh to the neck and we turn to the next-

  "AAAAAAHHHHHH" Neji screams out and Arata bolts out into the field where he was.

  I sprint along the tree branch and jump through them to reach the second ninja- *Click!*

  I trip a wire and three kunai are unched at me, I turn away from them but the ninja uses this chance to use some hand signs and- *Crunch* a bunch of earthen stones shoot up from below and pelt at me.

  *Sizzle!* I dash at the ninja and death stare him- he stumbles back and I charge my [Dragons Breath]! *VVVZZZZZZVV* Lightning bursts from my mouth and I release a dragons breath that uses up all my lightning mana in order to reach and kill this ninja.

  *Stab!*

  Suddenly a kunai plunges into my chest and I wobble forward- I quickly turn once the surprise wears off and I- *Stab!* another kunai in my back... I see that two ninja are already here... but... that doesn't...

  Four stares fall on me and I understand... all of them are Iwa shinobi, they must have teamed up to take a scroll with certainty.

  ...

  We were far too weak.

  I blink and suddenly eject from the stadium wall where the scroll was.

  ...

  ------

  Failed!

  Rewards: (1/3) instant C-rank scroll.

  ------

  Damn.

  I get up from the ground and start walking home, at least I got something from that- I should have seen that coming, there is a reason these tests are for experienced genin... not powerful genin, experienced.

  It should have been obvious that other teams would try my pn as well, I just got tunnel vision and kept moving forward.

  Neji and Arata are strong enough to be chunin, but they ck the mindset- perhaps Arata is the only one capable of being a chunin while neji needs a lot of time to develop.

  I clutch my shirt and hold my chest.

  That pain... naivety.

  I don't like that feeling- I need to stop that feeling from ever occurring again, my skills where cking but more importantly my experience- I should retry this exam when I get a new team upon graduation and who I know is capable to fight with me in tandem, that exam was basically all luck.

  At least I got a scroll to use, which I should start to use now while its still dark. I focus upon my skills to see which one I want to upgrade- or if I want another one instead.

  ------

  Skills:

  Unyeilding Stare: E×D×C×B×A×S×K×

  Burst Breathing: E×D×C×B×A?S?K?

  Word- Truth: E×D×C×B?A?S?K?

  Eternal Walk: E×D×C×B×A?S?K?

  Genjutsu Snap: E×D×C×B×A?S?K?

  Lockpicking: E×D?C?B?A?S?K?

  Juggling: E×D?C?B?A?S?K?

  Hearing: E×D×C?B?A?S?K?

  Dragons breath: E×D×C×B×A×S?K?

  ------

  Hmmm... Lockpicking would be a waste, I should wait until I get a B-rank scroll or higher in order for it to be a guaranteed mortal limit reach... I know enough now anyway, Juggling... I might have to wait for a bigger scroll as well- I don't want to waste these scrolls while I am weak and cant challenge anything.

  I should get a skill that allows me to fight some of the other challenges around here.

  ...

  Now may be a good chance to test if I should stick with simple and powerful skills or vague and complicated ones... instead of punch- I go with taijutsu if that makes sense.

  Hmmm.... I am wanting this for my 'Lighting style' that will keep my secret techniques so I can challenge- I will upgrade my 'Genjutsu style' ter, any major changes and Danzo will pester me even more.

  I get up to my apartment and get into my pyjamas, I y down on my bed and close my eyes.

  Lightning... taijutsu? So I can have a direction to train in? No... how about a weapon style? Swordsmanship? Bleh- lets use something more exotic... spears are rare here... for ninja that is, but not rare enough that it wouldn't be spotted.

  I have been researching weapons to use since I had no money for the spear- I don't need to buy anything right now, so learning something and buying it ter is fine for me.

  How about... something big and heavy, you wouldn't expect a ninja to wield? Well, there is some ninja who defy expectations...

  This is a tough decision.

  Thanks for reading :)