Team 8

Chapter 11: My Dinner with Aburame

"You want us to test for Chuunin?" Naruto asked, amazed. He couldn't believe his sensei, who arranged extra training so he could become a respectable genin, actually thought he was now ready to become a chuunin! He looked around their usual training area, wondering if this was a prank of some sort.

"I am willing to authorize you three to participate in the Chuunin Exam," Kurenai clarified.

Naruto frowned. That was what he'd just said, wasn't it?

"I believe Kurenai-sensei is specifying that the choice is ours," Shino explained.

"A-ano," Hinata said in a hesitant voice, the unexpected news having evidently made her fall back on older, more tentative mannerisms, "isn't it unusual for a team to take the exam during their first year?"

Kurenai nodded. "It is, but I think it would be a valuable training experience for all of you. Also, with the exam being held in Konoha, it should be fairly safe, while still giving you three a chance to see what it is like. That will increase your chances for success at a later date."

Naruto frowned a little. "You make it sound like we're guaranteed to fail," he objected.

Kurenai shook her head. "Not quite, but the odds are very low. Keep in mind how rare it is that rookie genin teams are allowed to participate at all. At the same time, teams of any age taking the exam for the second time have a much higher rate of success."

"You say it's rare for rookie teams to be allowed," Shino observed. "Are any of our former classmates to participate?"

Kurenai nodded. "Asuma and Kakashi are giving their teams the option as well."

"That means Lee and his team will be there as well," Naruto added. There was no way Gai-sensei would let his "eternal rival's" team trump his.

"It would be prudent that our first exposure to the exam occur in the company of allies," Shino observed.

Naruto grunted. "I agree, except that part about us being guaranteed to fail," he said with a scowl.

Kurenai took a deep breath. "That is merely a matter of statistical fact, Naruto. However, I do expect you three to make a good showing. There is no reason you cannot outperform your classmates, and in fact I expect you to do so! If, after all your hard work, you are shown up by Asuma's genin, I will never hear the end of it... and therefore neither will you. Do I make myself clear?" Her voice had gone a little frosty at the end, so Naruto merely nodded and refrained from saying anything else.

The group sparring exercises they did together before their mission were particularly grueling, but no one complained.

OoOoO

Kurenai allowed herself a small smile as her team quartered the affluent neighborhood Shino's bugs had tracked the cat to this time. It had been too long since she'd been around adolescent males; she'd forgotten how competitive they could be. Their determination to pass the Chuunin Exam on their first attempt, as rookies, no less, was as laudable as it was impractical.

Still, Naruto tended to prove people wrong, especially those who doubted him. Kurenai wondered what kinds of odds Asuma would give her...

She shook her head. Such conduct was unbecoming to a Konoha Jonin. At least, betting for money would be. Perhaps a wager of forfeits could be negotiated. Forcing Asuma to give up cigarettes or Kakashi to forgo his 'little orange books' for a month... could prove to be highly entertaining. Of course there was also the matter of her forfeits. She was fairly certain that playing to their male egos could let her avoid anything too onerous.

At the same time, she was guiltily glad that Iruka was still convalescing from his injuries. If he'd been there when the three of them volunteered their rookie teams, the man was sure to object. Still, she would make a point to break the news to him personally, and explain why she was anxious for her students to make chuunin as quickly as possible.