I am a Dancer (Naruto fanfiction)

22: Enriching Attitudes

"The what were all those nine questions for?!" A girl from the back screamed to the front.

Ibiki-san gave her a twisted smile of satisfaction. "The objective of those nine questions was to test your individual ability to collect information. That being said, you needed someone to cheat off of. So I placed two Chunin-level thinkers to be the bait."

I'm bait, huh? I thought miserably.

As Ibiki-san continued explaining the main focus of his exam, I thought back to the time Naruto was yelling how he would take the tenth question.

I still don't understand how he convinced everyone to stay, I thought. What made them believe in themselves? If Naruto didn't say anything, Ibiki-san would have failed them all. But how did Naruto save them?

Wfash!

I shot my head up to see Anko crash right through the window. A giant banner overlapped Ibiki-san and his chalkboard.

"Right! There's no time to relax! I'm Anko Mitarashi, the second proctor for the next exam!"

"EHHH?!"

"Read the mood," Ibiki-san called, peeking from the banner. Anko flushed in embarrassment but brushed it off.

"78 Genin? You left 26 teams available? You're too soft," she sneered. "By the time I'm done, there will be less than half."

Anko's another specialist in the Information and Interrogation department. From what I've heard, she's endured a lot of pain and gained a ton of experience as a child. She may not excel specifically in torture, since that's Ibiki-san's speciality, but she knows everything about spying, I thought.

"Alright, I'll give you the details tomorrow, and we're gonna change destinations, so get ready!" Anko yelled at us.

I stood and stretched my back a little, looking around to see everyone getting up and leaving the exam room.

"Good work, Kid," Kotetsu praised, clapping my back.

"You too," I responded. "Should we get the papers?"

"I'll do that," Ibiki-san said, stepping from behind the banner. "Take the rest of the day off, Kuni. As for the rest of you, good work!"

"Good work!" Everyone else exclaimed to each other.

After removing my wig and makeup, I decided to look for Sakura.

"Sakura! Hey!" I spotted Sakura and her teammates leaving the grounds.

"Sakura! There you are!"

"Hirano! It's so good to see you!" She cheered, hugging me. "Where have you been?"

"In the exam room," I grinned cheekily. "I was one of the plants Ibiki-san had placed. Kabuto was the second."

"What?! So you were there all along?"

"Yep! Girl with dark blue wig and different facial structure," I said. "So, uh, I can I ask you something privately?"

"Sure! Guys, go away. Me and Hirano are going out," Sakura said, shooing the other two away. Naruto fussed and whined, but he left us girls alone. "So what--wait! Let's eat something first!"

Sakura took me through the streets of Konoha and to a restaurant. After we sat down, Sakura ordered some type of almond jelly with chopped fruits and nuts.

"I wanted to ask you, what convinced you to stay or become more confident after Naruto's speech?" I asked curiously.

"Well, I wasn't really thinking about myself at the time. I was busy worry over that knucklehead raising his hand. I mean, I had a heart attack for sure! But yeah, inside, I was desperately hoping Naruto wouldn't give up. When he started saying that he wouldn't give up, I felt a sense of relief and confidence."

"So you were relieved because Naruto, you teammate, didn't and claimed that he wouldn't give up," I confirmed.

"Yeah, it was a big relief for me, you know?"

Afterwards, I went to see Hinata, but she had already reached home, and I wasn't sure if barging into a noble home was such a good idea.

Instead, I looked for Ino and Tenten. I asked them the same question I had asked Sakura.

Ino said, "When Naruto was saying that he would become Hokage, I remembered a promise I had for myself. I wasn't sure what I wanted to excel in as a ninja. I told myself, 'if I can pass the exams, I'll have more options for myself, as a ninja'. When Naruto said he wanted to become Hokage, I realized I didn't want to give up my chance to grow stronger!"

Tenten replied, "I don't know what it was that got me, but when Naruto said he could do it, something in me told me that I could do it to. If this class clown is brave enough to hit the bear with a rock, I'll hit the bear with my special technique!"

As I trudged home that evening, I thought about what the girls said. They were each encouraged in their own way by Naruto. They didn't back down. Someone else's words convinced them: "hey, I can totally do this! What's there to be afraid of?"

"I should have that kind of attitude too," I murmured, unlocking my front door.