The Ultimate Weapon (Naruto Fanfic)

59-Losing Your Senses

After a week of getting adjusted to the altitude and exploring Kumo, it was time for the chunin exams to start. Aoi led team 13 toward the spire that they had been given a map to, and from one look you could tell it was their version of an academy. Just outside the door, they stopped and Aoi gave them a once over.

To be honest, they looked a bit terrified, but that didn't seem to deter them from entering the exams. He saw that they had all their equipment, and nodded approvingly at them. Eiji grinned, seeming to calm himself with little effort.

"Well, it seems like we get to become chunin now." This comment seemed to distract the other two from their worries.

Kuria scoffed slightly. "It isn't going to be that easy idiot! These are the chunin exams, so we have to be prepared. There very well may be shinobi stronger than us in these exams."

"Soon enough they'll be cowering in my shadow!" Eiji seemed to ignore Kuria's words. "After all, I'm going to be the strongest jonin in the leaf one day."

Kuria just shook her head at this. "You can't even completely beat Jinhai and I."

"That's because we're a team, it's only expected for Aoi's students to be of equal level! After this though, I'm claiming him for my personal sensei."

At this, not only Kuria but Jinhai as well, bristled to reject the thought. "As if!" was the chorus.

"I've known Aoi-sensei a lot longer than you, so it's only right that I become his student." Jinhai stated matter of factly.

"Well I've already made a pact with Aoi-sensei that he'll help me become one of the best kunoichi the village has ever seen!"

"He's my rival!"

"Then why should he teach you?" Jinhai countered this.

A very quiet huffing of breath caught the attention of all three. A small smile was apparent on Aoi's face, a rare sight. His eye showed a small spark of fondness that wasn't always easy to see. Noticing the good mood of their teacher, all three grinned back at him, their argument forgotten.

"It seems you are energetic if nothing else." Aoi nodded at them. "It's time for you to go, don't forget to watch each other's backs. You're a team, so I expect your standard level of teamwork. Good luck."

The small speech seemed to cheer them on more than if all of Konoha were shouting their names. With final goodbyes, the three disappeared into the building.

_+_

As Aoi walked into the observation room filled with Jonin shinobi from every participating village, he was met with quite a few stares. Though he hadn't met a majority of them, he assumed his name and description must be listed in the bingo books that rival villages compiled.

Ignoring the looks, and the potential threats that lay behind them, Aoi took a seat near one corner of the room. A screen on one wall of the room displayed the room in which the exams were taking place. He could make out his team, as they all sat in a group away from the other villages. It seemed they were wary of the other shinobi, and he was pleased that they were being cautious.

There were still a few minutes before the exams were started, and as Aoi waited for this, a gentle scrape of a chair slightly pulled his attention to the seat next to him. A kiri shinobi had taken a seat next to him, and was studying the blue haired jonin with interest.

"I really don't see the resemblance, but perhaps you take after your mother." The woman studied him simply.

Aoi, assuming correctly that she knew his father, nodded briefly. "I am told that my appearance is more like that of my mother's."