His Gift to Her (Mary Sue Series)

Chapter 16

The oh-so-wonderful Chunin Exam applications for qualified Genin have arrived. Kakashi Sensei distributed all the paperwork to everyone in Team Seven, patted them on the heads, and left them to chatter excitedly among themselves. 

Sakura wore a look of uncertainty, wondering whether or not she should take the exams. She didn't know if she was ready or not. Besides, taking a test that could kill you without a second thought wouldn't be very fun. 

Naruto was beyond excited,  ready to prove himself as Hokage. Sadly for him, he would soon realize brute force, and impenetrable willpower would not get him very far and possibly kill him. 

Sasuke, like Naruto, was equally excited and trained himself to the limits every day until the exams. He wanted to prove to himself that he was strong enough to face his brother Itachi. However, like Naruto, Sasuke underestimated Itachi's full power and face opponents in the exam that would destroy him. 

As for Qui, she sought advice from her uncle. 

"Take it," Kabuto said nodding. "Even if your goal isn't to become the next Hokage or something, you have more options and opportunities as a Chunin. " 

Qui twisted her head slowly to face him. "I would believe that if I didn't know your real intentions." 

"Huh? What do you mean?" he asked innocently. 

She scoffed, smiling wryly "Admit it, Uncle. You want to see Sasuke and his Sharingan in action. To do that, you entered the Chunin Exams too and tried to convince me to take it so my team would qualify, right?" 

"Haha! You've got me there," he chuckled, sitting down on the park bench, patting the space beside him. She sat down and handed her paperwork over, letting him skim through. "Yeah, I guess I can't hide it anymore, can I?"

"Let's see; you left to travel around the world, only to suddenly come back to see me on a team with Sasuke. Then, you always ask about him whenever I casually bring him up before paying attention back to me. You always help me, but I suspect, with an underlying ulterior move to study Sasuke. Am I right?" 

Kabuto laughed sheepishly, but inside, he was secretly impressed. His employer mentioned she exhibited this reading-between-the-lines behavior. There was no question she would be an excellent candidate if Uchiha Sasuke failed. 

"Good detective work, here you go." Kabuto rummaged in his pouch and found a small cloth bundle tied in a knot. 

"What is it?" she asked, taking the bundle.

"Jellybeans."

"Thank you!" With childish glee, she popped a few into her mouth and chewed, while Kabuto finished reading her paperwork.  

"So I guess we'll be seeing each other in the exams," Kabuto grinned. "Do you want to show me what you've been working or spar with me?" 

"I'll spar," she said, getting up. "Training grounds?" 

"No, wait. I know a better place. Follow me." 

Kabuto took Qui around the border of Konoha until they reached a high-technology facility. With a pass, Kabuto escorted Qui inside and showed her a large training room with presumably three stories high and an entire track field inside. 

"We'll be training here. This place also provides a scanning. See that glass window up there? That's the scanning room. We can check your Chakra levels, vitals, and anything else important during a fight. This way, we have a better chance of efficiently training you."

"Why isn't this place packed, then?" Qui asked, following Kabuto to the scanning room. 

"This is a prototype. Only ANBU and Jounin can use it. I got access from the higherups. Do you know Anko? She got me in." He knocked on the control panel/scan room. "Hello?"

The two entered and came face to face with another ninja who was operating the control room for testing. After speaking with him briefly, Kabuto pushed Qui forward to make sure they could begin. 

Kabuto skillfully set up an account for Qui and strapped an elastic band around her right arm and head. "Alright, let's go. 

"Mhm."