Tale of the Setting Sun.

Chūnin Exams II

Chapter 9: "Deep, Dark, Crystal Cave"

The teams that had managed to take out their opponent teams before the time limit were all gathered in a large room with rows of clay chairs. When Naruto and his team arrived, only one other team from Amegakure was there. Their eyes were bloodshot as they glared at team Kakashi, and in wordless agreement, they chose seats at the opposite end of the room.

As the minutes passed, the remaining teams came trickling in, each looking increasingly more bedraggled. With ten minutes left on the clock, he noticed the Konoha rookies coming in. Despite how long it had taken them, they did not seem particularly worn down and walked in with confident demeanors.

Rai noticed as well, and beckoning for Mayu and Naruto to follow him, he made his way over to the girl with buns in her hair. "If it isn't Tenten!"

The girl perked up at her name, but when she saw Rai, her face fell. "Oh...it's you."

"It's been a while," said Rai, ignoring her lack of enthusiasm. Naruto got the impression that this was not an unusual dynamic for them and wondered whether something had happened in their past. "This is Tenten, guys. These are my teammates, Mayu and Naruto."

Mayu shyly smiled at them.

"This is Hyūga Neji and Rock Lee," replied Tenten dutifully, gesturing to the two boys besides her. The one with the clear eyes had to be the Hyūga, meaning the one with the bushy eyebrows and the martial arts belt around his waist was Rock Lee.

"Nice to meet you! I am Rock Lee," said Lee, with a flashing grin and a thumbs-up. He seemed reasonably friendly, and hadn't reacted at all to Naruto's countenance the way other villagers did. On the other hand, Naruto had never seen him before, so it was possible that the boy was one of the war orphans who'd kept to the orphanage.

"You're Kakashi's team, aren't you?" said Neji, glancing at them coolly.

Lee visibly perked up. "What?! So you are the pupils of Gai-sensei's eternal rival?! You will make worthy opponents then!"

"Is Gai your team leader?" asked Mayu.

"Yes," answered Tenten, with a warmer smile for the other girl. "You guys must be the reason why Gai-sensei wanted us to take the exam this year as rookies."

Rai raised an eyebrow. "I've never heard of Gai though. Are you sure he and Kakashi-sensei are rivals?"

"Are you sure you have never heard of him?!" said Lee, his already circular eyes growing even wider than Naruto had thought possible. "He is the strongest jōnin in Konoha, with a record of – "

"You're Uzumaki Naruto?" interrupted Neji. The whole time, Naruto noted, his pale gaze had not wavered from him. "The one who graduated from the Academy two years early?"

Naruto blinked; he'd never heard anyone refer to him as such. "That's right," he said.

"He's our local genius, the kind born only once a generation, yadda yadda," said Rai, throwing an arm around Naruto. With a sly smile, he added, "Kinda like you Hyūga, I'd say."

"A genius?" echoed Lee; the words appeared to have struck a chord with him. "I'd like to challenge you to a fight sometime, then."

At that, Naruto turned towards Lee, taken aback. "This probably isn't the best venue for a fight," he said mildly. "You'll have to wait for a later test for an opportunity."

Neji's eyes narrowed. "You say that like you expect to win."

That hadn't been Naruto's intention, but thinking about it, he supposed it was true.