Naruto Broken Shinobi

chap11

Naruto sighed as he got into the shower provided to the team. It was the last day as the second phase would be ending in a couple hours. As such the team was fixing themselves up so that they were ready for whatever would happen. Naruto didn't make it to the third part so he couldn't tell them about it. They also had not seen Kabuto in the tower so Naruto couldn't even ask his older friend about it in case he had. They had seen other teams around, including the Suna genin team, so they knew a few others had passed as well.

Naruto's mind wasn't really on the test though, but rather on his teammates. After he told them about his old team and experience in the exams they hadn't spoken much. Not because they were against him or anything of the sort but rather because Naruto was staying silent and not talking. Sakura had cried a bit and muttered about how sad his experience was while Sasuke stayed silent, though Naruto could tell he didn't like what happened either and felt sorry for him for the same reason. But as the blond told them in Nami, he didn't need nor want their pity. He had then simply clammed up. He wouldn't talk to them much more than a few words when required and he didn't bother spending any extra time with them in the tower, preferring to just stay in bed, lost to his own thoughts.

What they didn't know was a couple times during those silent periods he had tried to contact Kyuubi. However he quickly found that impossible with the seal there. He could feel the biju just on the edge of his mind but couldn't reach it. He couldn't even reach its chakra. Without the control necessary for the Gogyo Kai (Five Elements Release) Naruto was unable to contact the demon or draw on its chakra. Not that Naruto needed it; he just wanted to see if the biju was alright. While Naruto hated the demon, and Kyuubi only had a very mild respect for him simply because of his battle skills; the two did recognize that working together was in the best interest of both sides. The only problem was since Naruto hated Kyuubi he wouldn't trust anything the demon said or attempted, even if it seemed beneficial. Kyuubi likewise refused to help Naruto unless truly needed because it felt it would diminish the boys' skills if he relied on its power. Hence the two would work together when needed, but hated doing it and tried to avoid it as much as possible. The only time they willingly worked together was when Naruto wanted someone to suffer since Kyuubi liked watching a bloodthirsty Naruto fight.

The blond genin groaned as he got out of the shower and dried himself off before dressing in his normal gear. These thoughts could wait until after the exams.

"Congratulations on passing the second portion of the Chunin Exams." Anko called out as the genin stood in a grid pattern next to their teammates. All the passing teams were gathered in a large room with two stone hands set in the ram seal. There was also a balcony where the Hokage, a few chunin and all the jonin-sensei to the passing teams were. The passing teams were Naruto's, the Suna team, the Oto team, Neji's, Kabuto's, the newest Ino-Shika-Cho trio, and Kiba's. Anko stepped back as the Hokage stepped forward. He gave a speech about the Exams and how they weren't just to test their skill but also a replacement for war. That bit of knowledge made Naruto grit his teeth but stay silent, even as Kiba called out and demanded to know why they had to risk their lives for something like that. Sarutobi answered him that it was a shinobi's duty to risk life and limb for their country and village. He also explained that the truest way to test a persons' skill was in life and death situations, hence the Exams simulated that to the highest level while still trying to maintain a controlled environment, which made Naruto scoff though nobody called him out on it since the older generation knew exactly why he felt that way. Sarutobi was about to explain the next portion of the test when a jonin dropped down and knelt before him.

"Excuse me Hokage-sama but *cough* I believe I should explain the next phase." The old Kage nodded so the man stood and turned to face the genin. "My name is Gekko Hayate and I will *cough* be your proctor for the next round of the exams. The third round is one on one single fights between the remaining participants. Also, this is no longer a team exam so teamwork *cough* is no longer necessary to pass. Before we can begin the third phase though we must have a preliminary." This got many to cry out demanding answers. "Unfortunately, it seems the first and second tests were too easy as *cough* we have too many genin remaining. The third round is watched by many important visitors such as *cough* daimyos and nobles. As such we have to keep the matches short, meaning less people may compete. So by Chunin Exam rules, we must lower the amount of participants with a preliminary. As I said before, this is no longer *cough cough* a team test. If you feel like you can not participate you may forfeit now without worry for your team. Are there any that wish to do so?" He asked as the older shinobi looked over the genin.