Namikaze Naruto- The Unpredictable Shinobi

Chapter 35: Results of the Chunin Exam

Naruto woke up next day, as usual, trained, as usual, and went to the Hokage's office, as usual. How did she spend the previous day? She helped the citizens in the aftermath of the war and had sent off Gaara.

Flashback:

The Suna team was being sent off at the Konoha main gates by the Hokage accompanied by two of his ANBU for protection. Temari finally turned away after bidding goodbye when they felt another presence all of a sudden. She turned to see Naruto in all 'his' orange glory. "Gaara! Were you leaving without meeting me?" she whined. "I waited for you Uzumaki." He deadpanned. "Now, now, dear Otouto, do you really want to take that tone with me?" she teased.

Gaara was about to retort when he realized and his eyes widened. "Do you... mean it... for real?" He asked in hesitation, afraid that his hopes would be crushed. "Mean what?" She asked confused. "What did you call me?" He hissed. "Me? Oh!" She realized. "My heart spoke out." She answered cryptically. He beamed, but then got a mischievous idea. "How do you know if I'm younger than you?" "I don't. We are of similar ages. Kyuubi claims to be oldest among the Bijuu. I simply chalked it up. When's your birthday? Mine's in October. I will turn 14 in a few months." "January 19th. Turned 13 a couple of months ago." He said only for Naruto to hear. "Then you are my Otouto!" She whisper-yelled. 

"So, are you my 'Aniki'?" He muttered, coming closer, cheeks tinting red due to experiencing a new sibling relation of acceptance for the first time. Naruto would actually be 'Ane' but she didn't bother to correct. "Yeah, 'Aniki' or 'Nii-san', whatever floats your boat, but call me Naruto, since we are almost of the same age." She shrugged. They shook hands and parted.

"Gaara, take care of Suna, okay? Temari-san, Kankuro-san, you better take care of Gaara. Baki-sama, we are happy to make acquaintance with you. You guys have a safe trip!"
Flashback end

Naruto stood before the Hokage. They had discussed some village matters, some missions, before they were alone with privacy seals activated. "Jiji, the Chunin Exams?" She reminded. "Oh yes. Will you give me your opinion the candidates?" Sarutobi asked. "I'm honoured Jiji, but you are the Hokage, I'm a mere genin and can only add my 2 cents." He smiled at the inside-joke and gave her the files of all 87 participants from Konoha, prompting her to help him.

Naruto quickly separated the files of those who passed the round 2, and put the rest away. Kabuto's team was put away too. All that were left were Rookie 9+3: Konoha 12. She put their picture on the desk and removed the ones of those who failed the preliminary round, leaving Uzumaki Naruto, Hyuuga Neji, Uchiha Sasuke,  Aburame Shino, Nara Shikamaru. "What do you say of these, Hokage-sama? Leave me out for now." She pushed her picture away.

"Hyuuga Neji was an exceptional shinobi in skills, but his ideals need working, along with some skills perhaps. He had also lost against his opponent's tactics. Aburame Shino's skills haven't been seen as his opponent had forfeited. During the invasion, he hadn't shown much of skill, mostly scouting civilians away from danger. I don't know. I can't promote him, but..." "But?" She prompted. "Uchiha Sasuke's case seems to be similar too, but I'm not too sure to stop his promotion." "Hmmm... Nara?" "Nara Shikamaru's chakra reserves are high genin level, but not high enough for a chunin. But his smart brain and intellect are major factors and he is most likely the one to get promoted."

"I agree with you there. You can speak with Aburame Shibi about why Shino-san can't be promoted. Don't tell him about the Uchiha clan's case. Ask his father if he is confident on his son's skills to be a chunin, other than the clan techniques he had. If he replies positive, then we can talk again on Shino-san's case again. Uchiha Sasuke is a special case. He was too late for a responsible shinobi, but he had shown some good skill in the short time of his match. But that wasn't enough to check if he is eligible to be a chunin. The point I make against his attitude is a personal grudge of mine I suppose. He had an unfair match-up against a Jinchuriki who used his Biju powers. Do you have Hatake Kakashi's reports on Sasuke's training during the past month?"

"Yes I do. It says Sasuke learnt few C-Rank Jutsu, had awaken his Sharingan till two-tomoe of the three-tomoe matured Sharingan, basic sharingan genjutsu, Kakashi's own technique Chidori- only two shots in succession, the curse seal of heaven- currently stable. Also, he had battled few Oto ninja, but mostly helped the civilians with the other genin and the low ranked KPF officers."

"He can be compared to Hyuuga Neji, but could be different. He is being considered to be promoted since we don't want the Uchiha clan on our backs again. He can maybe not be promoted, but he can use the excuse of not being given a proper chance and can turn half the clan against us. Years of damage is being healed since the past 7 years, the bond is currently too fragile to break. We can only hope that the wounds heal faster. We cannot test them yet. Fugaku-sama might approve with Sasuke not being promoted, but the rest of the clan might not. There are some rebels that haven't yet calmed down."

There surely were some youthful rebels, some middle-aged rebels, and don't forget the elders- the elders of all clans try meddling in politics since they aren't strong enough to fight as registered shinobi- it may be the warring era or the era of villages.

"I can only suggest to place him as a Tokubetsu Chunin (Special Chunin), below the chunin, above the genin. If a Hokage, you or anyone else has found him worthy at some point of time, you can give him the status of Chunin. He needs to be strictly reminded of this. Should he abuse his power or show cocky attitude or not complete his duties properly, he can be demoted to a genin."

"Good, that's 4 settled. Nara Shikamaru is the only likely candidate of them. But I have a better candidate- Uzumaki Naruto." Sarutobi smirked as he pushed away the other pictures and brought her picture into their view. "Or should I say Nami-" "Uzumaki Naruto? Are you sure Hokage-sama?" Naruto asked in her professional mode. "Oh I am more than sure, my girl. If anyone asks , I'll say that the match between you and the Hyuuga 'prodigy' showed your skill in many aspects. If anyone protests, I'll state that you and your clones have helped keep the village safe than any other genin- half truth is better than full or none here." He smirked.

Naruto stared in awe at the Hokage. "As you wish, Jiji." She accepted. "But keep my promotion a secret since not many here like the likes of mine getting promoted. And I'm worried the jealousy of that my teammate of an Uchiha coupled with the curse seal on his neck would drive him crazy in some unwanted ways. If one must know, it is Nara Shikaku, who will also maintain secrecy, and also you need his opinion to select the genin who should be promoted. His son would figure it out sooner or later anyway." She rolled her eyes remembering the lazy attitude of the highly smart Nara friend of hers.

"Now, I know that no one knows the complete story of the Uchiha Coup de tat and let it stay so. If you want to say anything about the Uchiha clan to Shikaku-san, you can say that the Uchiha clan have been uneasy towards the village, and the matter is sensitive and being treated by you for a while. Record my promotion, if he accepts, but store it away in your secret file, Jiji."

"Alright, fine." Hiruzen gave a small laugh at her over-cautious nature, finding it somewhat familiar. He pushed away that thought. "I'll be going now, while you call him and discuss your opinions in this matter. I'll come after two hours- no, Hyoko Takuma will come."

She began to leave but stopped at the door, "Ano, Jiji? When I say that my promotion, if confirmed, is to be private, you do understand that I shall receive my jacket after Sasuke and Shikamaru or whoever promoted take their jackets and leave, right?" Sarutobi nodded patiently. "Also, only the two of us should be there." "Shikaku will stay during all promotions Naruto." "Alright; Bye; and Sorry about the headache." She said as she left and ran away before she potentially annoyed the Hokage, though it was the opposite.

Naruto had made the old man's second reign as Hokage very interesting.