𝑾𝑰𝑻𝑯 𝒀𝑶𝑼 | 𝑲.𝑰𝑵𝒁𝑼𝑲𝑨

|I{•------» [23] «------•}I|

"As Team 7 entered the room, all the genin in the vicinity stared or glared at them. Ruka muttered, 'I've been stared at a lot before, but this is getting uncomfortable.'

"Sasuke-kun, you're late!" The team turned to see Sasuke being hugged by a blonde girl. She squealed, 'I've been eagerly waiting for you ever since I heard that I could see you for the first time in a long time,' while Sasuke struggled under her tightening grip.

A growl escaped Ruka as she witnessed the scene. Sakura immediately stomped forward, yanking Ino away from Sasuke with force. Sakura's eyes narrowed as she took in Ino's appearance and snapped, 'Get off of Sasuke, you pig!'

Ino stumbled onto the ground and glared back at Sakura. 'Of course, big ugly forehead is here to ruin all my fun.'

"What did you say?!" Sakura exclaimed.

Suddenly, a familiar sigh came from behind Ruka as Shikamaru walked towards them, shaking his head. 'If you're calling it troublesome, why do you take it?' Ruka retorted with a tight smile. 'I thought you were an idiot.'

"Stop calling me that," Shikamaru rolled his eyes. 'If you're all so smart, why are you here instead of being a Chunin?'

Ruka clicked her tongue and glared at him, causing him to smirk. 'Cat got your tongue?'

"Oi, why are you being mean to my Ruka?" Another voice joined the group as Kiba wandered closer with Shino and Hinata.

"There you are," Ruka greeted the approaching male, before being engulfed in his arms. A surprised sound escaped her as he tightened his hold. 'Hello to you too.'

Kiba pulled back slightly, grinning down at her, seemingly oblivious to the glares directed at him. Sakura smiled in awe at the couple, thinking, 'They look so cute together,' while Sasuke glared at Kiba. 'Get away from her, Kiba.'

Ruka looked at Sasuke in confusion, and Kiba mocked, 'What's the matter, Sasuke? Are you afraid that I'm going to take her away from you?'

Knowing that Ruka only had eyes for him, Kiba took pleasure in bragging to the brooding Sasuke about his closeness with Ruka.

---

"First, let's see Rock Lee," said Kabuto as he spun a card with his finger. Lee's information began to appear on the card. "He's one year older than you. Mission experience: 20 D-rank and 11 C-rank missions. His squad leader is Guy. His hand-to-hand combat skills have increased dramatically this past year, but his other skills are terrible."

Kabuto continued, "He garnered attention last year as a skilled rookie genin but didn't take the Chunin Exams. This is his first time participating, just like you. His team consists of Tenten and Neji Hyuga."

Ruka's face brightened at the mention of Neji's name. She quickly shrugged off Kiba's hand and grabbed Hinata's shoulder. "Hinata! You didn't tell me Neji is your cousin!"

Hinata blushed but smiled. "You didn't ask."

Kiba scoffed at Hinata's response, and Sakura whispered to Kiba, "She finds him attractive." Kiba froze and growled at the distant Hyuga, who stood with his team.

"Next, let's see Gaara from Suna," Kabuto continued. "Mission experience: C-r

ank missions, and this is amazing! He even completed a B-rank mission as a genin. He is a foreign ninja, and it's his first time taking the exam, so I don't have any more information on him. But... it seems that he has returned from all of his missions unharmed."

"He did a B-rank mission as a genin and came back unharmed?" Shikamaru questioned in disbelief.

Kabuto proceeded to list other talented foreign shinobi, causing the Konoha shinobi to feel insecure. "I'm starting to lose confidence," trailed off Hinata, and Ino scolded her, "It's too late to say that!"

Sakura asked, "Do you really think it's going to be tougher this time?"

"Oh yeah," Kabuto replied. "In the four years, I've never seen candidates with as much potential as this bunch."

Naruto raised his head confidently, pointed his finger at the other candidates, and declared, capturing their attention, "My name is Naruto Uzumaki! And I'm going to beat every one of you, dattebayo!"

Ruka stared at him deadpanned and said, "This time, I'm letting you guys kill him."

"I'm not going to lose to any of you," Kiba mockingly repeated. "You talk big."

"That idiot," Shikamaru exclaimed in annoyance. "He just made everyone here his enemy."

While Sakura scolded Naruto, Ruka's eyes hardened. Kiba noticed her action as she reached into her pouch to take out a kunai. Another sound ninja with spiky hair jumped up from a table and threw two kunai at Kabuto. Ruka swiftly grabbed two kunai from her pouch and threw them, blocking the attack and making the weapons fall to the ground. She charged at the attacker with remarkable speed, landing a powerful punch that sent him crashing to the ground.

"What's going on?" Sasuke asked, confused. "You definitely dodged it. Why did your glasses..."

He noticed that Kabuto had dodged her attack. "It must have hit his nose," Shikamaru commented, clicking his tongue. "That's what happens when you try to look cool."

Kabuto fell and vomited, which made Ruka narrow her eyes. 'Why did he vomit? It must be some sort of trick.'

Neji observed the princess with interest, noting, "She has exceptional abilities, the likes of which I've never seen."

Rock Lee nodded in agreement, lovestruck as he gazed at her. "Guy Sensei told me she's the prodigy of the Sarutobi Clan, and it's possible that she could surpass the Third Hokage."

"I like her," Tenten said admirably. "She's also the niece of the famous Lady Tsunade."

Suddenly, smoke appeared at the other end of the room. It vanished, revealing jounin and chunin. "Quiet down, you punks!" A man with old scars on his face emerged. "I am the examiner of the first test of the Chunin Exams, Morino Ibiki."