The Light Of Konoha

In One Ear... Out The Other

A:N// hello, readers. Just a quick note to say that the winner of the mini comp- was Asuna_Uchiha, well done and thank you, I'm not sure if it was a quote from anything special so I tried to just put it in normally, hope that is what you wanted ;)

Hiruzen's P.O.V.

I gazed over the applicants, my heart swelling with pride every time I spotted a team of leaf genin.

They were beaten, exhausted and on the verge of collapse. And things were about to get a whole lot worse for them.

Things hadn't formally started yet, so people were still milling around in groups, talking animatedly with their peers.

The large fox was certainly distracting, but he has just as much right to be here as Akamaru does, regardless of how much room he takes up.

I watched his 'master' in amusement as he talked the ear off a ninja from the land of wind.

I rose an eyebrow, the red-head didn't seem like the type to make friends with anyone, much less rival ninja, yet he was hanging off Aki's every word with rapt attention, despite the strange looks he received from his teammates who stood a short distance away from the pair.

Suddenly, Aki threw his hands into the air, dramatically ending his tale,
"And that is my story of how I fell into a freezing lake!"

I chuckled at his enthusiasm, not failing to notice the pale blush that brushed his cheeks.

'My, my, what have we here...'

The senior ninja began rounding everyone up, ordering them to get into positions.

"Congratulations to you all... On passing the second exam!!" I yelled.

'It's astonishing that so many of them survived... And even more astounding that the majority of the survivors were culled from the ranks of the most raw recruits!'

I glanced behind me towards their jônin leaders,
"No wonder their instructors vied for the right to recommend them for this competition..." I muttered.

Anko stepped forward, microphone headset at the ready, not that she needed it. Heh.

"Now Lord Hokage himself will explain about the third exam. Listen up and take every word he says to heart!!" She barked,
She turned her head towards me,
"They're all yours, my Lord."

I took a deep breath, readying my speech,
"Very well.

The third examination is about to commence... But before I go into the specifics of how it will be conducted... Let me make one thing perfectly clear!!!

It pertains to the underlying purpose of the exam."

I paused to let my words sink in and smiled internally at their confused stares.

"Why do you suppose an examination of this nature is being jointly conducted by all of the nations in our mutual alliance?!

'To promote friendship among allied nations and to raise the level and standards in the art of the shinobi... '

Be very clear about what those fine-sounding phrases actually mean!

The series of so-called examinations is, in fact..."

I could almost hear the inner sounds of the young ninja questioning my use of the term 'so-called' in their thoughts.

I took a deep drag from my pipe, blowing away the smoke with a deep sigh.