One aspect of Sworn Brotherhood that Tobio hadn't been using outside of combat was his communication skills. There was, indeed, a general lack of tension among the group as a whole. Probably far more than any other genin team currently taking the exam at this moment. Compared to how much truly silent information exchange that they could have been doing, though…
All of them were lacking in that regard, Tobio included.
That was something that deserved to be rectified, and where else would he have a better chance to do so? It was just a matter of finding the right way to get his teammates' attention, without drawing too much notice from the proctors. Humming softly, Tobio closed his eyes and focused on their bootleg ninshu bond, before drumming his knuckles against the wooden table in front of him.
Both Ami and Hibachi's attention felt sharp, yet not unfriendly, as he could practically feel the two of them perk up at the noise. Their felt eyes were more questioning than confused on the other end of their connection, that preternatural conveyance telling him that much, as he began to roll his shoulders and head in ways that were on the surface merely a boy stretching out aimlessly.
Underneath the underneath, though, there was a complex transmission of nearly indetectable information being passed to them. A cough here, a little shift of his chair incrementally right or left, fingers drumming in select sequences. Much like a family of triplets, they had their own secret language, built-in with their mystical bond.
Now it was time to see if the three of them could learn to capitalize on it.
The real challenge was trying to get that sort of unfamiliar, unspoken language across to them. His perk promised that eventually there'd be no more need for words between anyone in a given group, because they were connected that deeply. But the problem was that they weren't there yet.
Dragon-Blooded who were part of the same Sworn Brotherhood fought together for years at a time, toward the same goal. They were impressive by the standards of other Genin, yet not all that connected compared to the Princes of the Earth they were emulating. It was a painful realization for Tobio, as he didn't know how much of the ad-hoc communication got through.
He just had a feeling it wasn't as much as he'd wanted it to. Such was life, though. Provided that they didn't freak out when the tenth question came around, things would probably be fine.
…That said, nobody said he couldn't shoot for extra credit.
It might have been something of a flex for extra credit, if there could be such a thing, but Tobio figured there was no harm in going above and beyond. After all, he did know how everyone cheated canonically, and chances were that part hadn't changed this time around. Would it hurt if he just…made a small essay, detailing all the myriad ways they managed it?
Being sneaky enough to cheat and not get caught was one thing, but it was another to be observant enough to tell how everyone around you was cheating as well. That was promotion-worthy behavior, at least in his eyes. Who knew if the proctors would feel the same?
The painted Sunagakure-nin on the same team as Gaara of the Sand has a doll posing as a proctor. Both of the Hyuga are using their byakugan to cheat, via looking through people's bodies to get their answers. Kabuto possesses an alarming amount of classified information on various individuals in the exam, which suggests a deep level of personal surveillance skill on his part or an active subversion of the village's information quarantine. When it comes to Yamanaka Ino, she has projected her mind into Haruno Sakura's body to…
And so on it went, as he tried to use his crystalline memory to recall and theorize how everyone skirted around the rules of the test. Easier said than done, especially seeing as how Tobio had to be mindful of not mentioning any exact names or knowledge he shouldn't have. Between that, and his little facade of micromovements and speaking to his team through body language, he'd have to hope that they read enough to understand which answers were the right ones.
And before long, it was time for the tenth question that Tobio knew was coming.
"Alright," the scarred man frowned, looking out at the classroom of test-takers. "Here comes the tenth question. Though before we get to the question itself, I'm adding one more new rule."
To the various people in the crowd, that sort of addition seemed arbitrary. But like a lot of the subtler effects of the exam, it was meant to shake an examinee's confidence. Keeping them perpetually off-kilter was just part of the job for the examiners, even if it did seem contrary at times.
They weren't in a low-stress career, after all. If a shinobi couldn't take this much, they didn't deserve to pass.
"This rule is absolute. First you must choose…whether to accept or reject this question to begin with."
"Ch-choose? What if someone doesn't accept the question?" Temari blurted out, drawing Ibiki's eyes her way.
A pitiless gaze, the man stared out toward the blonde Suna kunoichi. "If you reject the question and don't even try to answer it, you'll lose all your points immediately and fail. Along with both of your teammates."
"Say what?!"
"Then why would anyone choose to reject it?"
The two background ninja Tobio hadn't been paying too much attention to did have a good question. It was also about to be answered very shortly by their proctor.
"Because of the other rule. If you try to answer the question and get it wrong, you will never be permitted to apply for the Chūnin Selection Exams again. Never."
Which was a lie, like, a flat out lie to discourage people. Tobio refused to believe that the entire educational and testing apparatus of Konohagakure had that much sway to make even foreign ninja ineligible for promotion. Most of the people in the room weren't adults, though, and tended toward the younger side of things. That sort of big, scary pronouncement worked because of it.
"You can't be serious," Kiba barked out. "That's ridiculous! There are ninja here who've sat for chūnin exams more than once!"
To that, Ibiki could only give a cruel chuckle. "Just your rotten luck. I wasn't making the rules in the past years. Now, I am."
"I've been upfront with you. You can take a failing grade now, and try again later. Anyone who has doubts would be smart to reject the tenth question right now. Come back and reapply next year, and the year after that."
He said it casually, as if some of the contestants in the room weren't on their last legs when it came to trying to get promoted. Tobio, however, didn't even blink. He didn't even look all that frightened or concerned, and he hoped that his teammates registered that confidence on the other end of their bond, or in his body language.
"Ready?" With a pause to allow his words to sink in, their proctor continued. "Then let's begin. Those who choose not to accept should raise their hands. Once their number has been confirmed, they will leave the room."
And then, slowly but surely…a spree of people began to get up, raising their hands, whether outing themselves or being outed alongside their teammates. Because for better or worse, Tobio had the surety and confidence of a guy who knew what was already coming next. The rest of the hopefuls in the room, seeking promotions…
They didn't have that same drive or self-confidence when it came to the future. Hell, Tobio barely did himself, and he already knew his direct and immediate future.
It seemed as if everything was going to be going one way, until he heard gasps coming out from behind his position at the front of the classroom. They were confusing, right up until Tobio turned around and saw Naruto raising a shaking hand…only to slam it down against his desk in the loudest way possible.
"Never underestimate me!" He bellowed, and geeze, what a pair of lungs on him. "I don't quit, and I won't run!"
"I'll accept your stupid question, even if I risk ending up a rookie for the rest of my life! I'll still become Hokage, even if I can only make it by pure stubbornness. I don't care!" If nothing else, Tobio would call himself envious of the sheer social bravado Naruto had, to yell that much out in the middle of an official test.
Ninja Jesus really was built different.
Ibiki, for his part, seemed nonplussed. The older man even fixed Naruto with a firm stare. "I'll ask you one last time. This is a decision that could affect not just the rest of your life, but that of your teammates. Quit now, while you still have the chance."
"I never go back on my word," Naruto smiled, sweating bullets. "Stubborness is part of my shinobi skillset!"
Their proctor's expression stayed stiff for a few more seconds, before he broke out into a tiny smile. Ibiki stared out at the crowd carefully, gaze piercing out into the examinees that remained. "So…all seventy-eight of you who are still here? You've just passed the first exam."
There was a ripple of shocked movement that went through the crowd at those words, besides Tobio, anyway. He'd already known about this tenth question beforehand. The hard part was just making sure his teammates hadn't bugged out, but blessedly, Ami was too stubborn and Hibachi was trusting enough to not get out while the getting was good.
Even if he knew that the boy wanted to, judging by their bond. Hibachi…just didn't have the same drive Tobio and Ami did, but honestly, that was fine. Everyone was different, and it was probably normal that people didn't have grand ambitions like becoming hokage, or shinobi no kami.
Some people had to have simple aspirations, for the grand ones to stand out in starker contrast.
"What you mean, 'passed'?" Sakura blurted out, sounding personally offended by the prospect of not getting to answer more questions. Like the nerd she was. "When did that happen? What about the tenth question?!"
"There isn't one," Ibiki grinned shamelessly. "Not beyond the whole accept or reject thing."
Sakura's boggled, hornswoggled expression was worth the entire price of admission. If their team got disqualified from this point on, he'd still call it worth it.
"Hey!" Temari yelled, slapping her table angrily. "Then what was the point of the other nine questions?! That was a total waste of our time."
Which wasn't entirely true, he suspected. They were a test of someone's shinobi skills of spying, keeping from getting caught spying, and their raw intelligence to go into the questions raw. Even if the test technically didn't matter, Tobio guessed that being able to demonstrate those qualities in some respect significantly helped an examinee's prospects of promotion.
"There was no waste. Those questions had a purpose, which they've already served. Our goal was to test your skills at spying," Ibiki freely admitted, saying the quiet part out loud.
"...Our skills at spying?" Temari blinked, before a dawning realization spread across her face.
"Remember the rules at the beginning?" He asked, an implicit question to see who'd been paying attention. "You pass or fail as part of a three-man cell. With that rule, I pressured you with the fear that anything you did wrong…would bring your teammates down with you."
"You know, I kinda figured that was it," Naruto admitted, nodding sagely.
Which…was a straight up fucking lie, but Tobio wasn't going to be too hard on ninja jesus. There was no point in calling out his bullshit here to disrupt the flow of the exams.
Ibiki took the lapse in interruptions to keep talking. "That said, the questions are purposefully created far beyond the level that junior ninja could be expected to handle. Most of you, having reached that same conclusion, had only one way of retaining your points."
"The cheating," Ami murmured, barely audible to Tobio's ears.
"In other words…we set up the test up on the assumption you'd cheat. And to ensure that there would be suitable targets for you to cheat from, we snuck in a pair of chūnin who already knew all the answers."
Tobio didn't have the faintest clue who they were, though, since he'd kind of gone into the test raw. Naruto, however, lacked that same humility.
"Ha, ha, ha! Yeah, it was obvious! Any idiot could tell who they were," he boisterously proclaimed. And Tobio had to remind himself that it wasn't his fault he was a maladapted jinchūriki.
There was no reason to clown on him…yet.
Carefully, Ibiki's gloved hands reached up to slowly undo his bandanna. "Of course, anyone who cheated in a clumsy or obvious way failed." It wasn't clear what he was doing, or why at first, until Ibiki fully revealed what was underneath. The manga had…underplayed the sheer visceral range of the damage that he'd undergone.
All of the bald man's head was a complete, solid mass of scar tissue, and not from the same time of injuries. Burns, gnarly whorls from where screws were brought into play, long and thin slashing marks…it was a level of torture that, realistically, Tobio had never thought about before. Obviously, though, it happened in real life. When someone needed to get information out of a shinobi, and they knew they had it…
Well, he supposed that was when torture was on the table. The rest of his body, covered as it was, likely wasn't too much better. Perhaps even worse, considering they didn't need to go as 'easy' on the rest of Ibiki, to keep him alive.
"There may be circumstances where being caught in an act of espionage can cost you more than just your life," Ibiki smiled, but it was a wan smile, the kind where the light didn't reach his eyes. "You pay in ways that can be taken from you, little by little, time and time again, when countless lives hang in the balance."
Putting his forehead protector back on, the man gave a little sigh. "Furthermore, the information you obtain can't be trusted if you're not taking it in complete secrecy to begin with. Compromised sources or operations are so unreliable, you might as well be doing your enemy's work for them. Putting those you serve, and who serve you, in danger."
"That's why we maneuvered you into using espionage tactics to cheat. It's the simplest way of weeding out those whose abilities aren't yet up to snuff."
Temari say there quiet for a few more seconds, before her eyebrows furrowed together. "Okay…but still, what was the deal with the tenth question?"
"Ah! The tenth question was, if I'm being honest, the first real question on the exam."
"What on earth do you mean?" Sakura asked, not entirely getting the gist of the situation.
"Allow me to explain. The tenth question was a choice between two options." Raising his hand up, the grin on his face turned a touch more sinister. "Both were difficult and dangerous. Those who chose to reject were failed, and their comrades alongside them. Those who chose to accept and couldn't answer the question lost any chance of ever even trying again."
Tobio was unsure about that one, considering how many shinobi would be dying in Konoha in the next few years. But he kept his opinions there to himself.
"It was a nasty, unfair, no-win set of options."
"Because what kind of chūnin would ever get away with only taking the safe jobs?" Tobio guessed, cocking his head to the side. "Higher ranks come with more authority, respect, power, but it also comes with new responsibilities and dangers."
"Precisely!" Ibiki smiled, eyes glinting over toward Tobio. "Those who can't gamble with their own fate, and trade today's certain risk for tomorrow's uncertain future are weaklings that only make clear-cut and easy decisions. In my opinion, they don't belong in the ranks of the chūnin at all!"
"By choosing to accept, you answered the most insoluble tenth question correctly. Keep that spirit, and you can conquer all of the doubts and difficulties you'll face."
It was becoming exceedingly clear to Tobio that the 'Will of Fire' was not some bullshit propaganda touted out. He…was almost certain that Ibiki genuinely believed in that philosophy. Was that at all surprising to him, though? When you were being tortured, with no knowledge of rescue, day after day…
Some people would break under that sort of pressure. But it felt like Ibiki internalized it, that the flame inside was far hotter than anything that'd been applied to his skin. Tobio…didn't have the faintest clue how he'd hold up to torture. The level of challenge someone would have to take him down nonlethally didn't bear thinking about.
"You've passed the first hurdle. Part one of the Chūnin Selection Exam is now concluded. I'll pray you fight the good fight moving forward."
It was a heartwarming, earnest ending to an anxiety-ridden portion of the test for some people. Which was why it made the situation all the more frantic the moment that the window crashed in, and a familiar kunoichi made her own loud entrance. An unfurling banner accompanied the sudden sound of crashing glass, as Ibiki closed his eyes in mild exasperation.
…Were Konoha ninja just incapable of entering and exiting rooms like normal people?
Anko Mitarashi, blessedly, lived up to the hype, at least when it came to her appearance. The mesh armor she wore wasn't as sheer as some smut had made it look in his past life, but it didn't leave that much about her figure to the imagination. With her long trench coat, skirt, and leg greaves, she cut an impressively curvy figure, standing before the entire room of chūnin hopefuls.
Though maybe she could wear some more clo-
Oh no. Oh kami no, he was starting to notice women again.
That sort of thing wasn't inherently a problem, but he was twelve, and being distracted by extremely curvaceous kunoichi felt like a weakness. Or not, maybe it'd really come in handy in the coming years. Right now, though, he was more mortified than not, because…he couldn't even do anything about it!
If he was a teenager, maybe he'd be more confident with hitting on a hot, older shinobi. As it was now, she'd probably ask if his balls had dropped or something. This was some bullshit!
"None of you are in any position to celebrate," she barked out, while Tobio quietly fumed to himself. "I am the second chief examination officer, Mitarashi Anko! Time's a-wastin', people, let's go! Follow me!"
It was a loud, bombastic declaration, the kind that was meant to stir up a lot of excitement in the air. Which made it all the more amusing when silence reigned across the classroom, and Ibiki peeked around the other side of the banner. "...Can't you sense the mood in here?"
Looking out against the crowd, she turned back to Ibiki with surprise. "Seventy-eight of them? Ibiki, you passed twenty-six teams?!"
Huffing, she slid her hands into her pockets. "Obviously, you went too easy on them."
"This year, we have applicants of exceptional caliber," he defended, smiling back at her. Which was technically true, this year canonically had been utterly stacked with great talents.
"Yeah, right," she rolled her eyes. "I'll cut the number down by half before the next test is done." There was a shiver in her posture, whether real or exaggerated, as her smile returned in earnest. "Ooh! I get excited just thinking about it. I'll explain in detail as soon as we move to the next location, so follow me!"
It wasn't long before the rest of the crowd filed out of the building after her, Tobio reuniting with his team, as a low murmur came over the others as well.
"How was the test?" Tobio asked. He was genuinely curious.
"Easier, once I figured out what your weird movements and shuffles meant," Hibachi admitted. "But I dunno how well I did on the test. It was a lot harder than I thought it'd be."
Ami nodded in agreement. "Yeah, is that sort of thing…normal? Being able to read your teammates to that extent?"
"We're the best team," Tobio demurred, trying to deflect from the supernatural, low-level battle network that they were linked into. "It's natural that we'd be synchronized."
Ami brightened from that praise, closing her eyes as she radiated an unearned smugness. "Yeah, that makes sense."
"I guess…?" Hibachi added, not quite as convinced, but not giving Tobio a pointed stare yet either. "Let's just say that we got lucky that Tobio's got such easy-to-read body language all the time."
"Only when I want to."
"My man, my brother, when you're about to spar sensei, you're vibrating in place waiting your turn," Hibachi admonished.
"What?" Tobio barked. "I'm not that bad. Am I that bad, Ami?"
"I mean…" She glanced away. "It's kind of cute! Like a small dog that's just too excited for its own good, y'know?"
He hated these idiots. Why did he ever think it was a good idea to help them do better on this test? Betrayal and calumny were what he'd earned with the wages of his System-borne cheats! Tobio would never emotionally recover from this.
Anko shifted their way a little too quickly, and her chest bounced a bit noticeably in the same motion. It caught his eye, perhaps a little more than it ought to have.
…Alright, he'd recovered.
Behind her was the massive expanse of the Forest of Death, which for reasons that escaped Tobio was only kept closed by…a regular chain link fence. Given that there were bears the size of small houses roaming about inside, pools of voracious leeches, and gigantic snakes, Tobio didn't know why there wasn't more security around the perimeter. He'd chalk it up to budget cuts, and save himself the grief of wondering why.
"This is the arena for the second exam: training ground forty-four. Also known as…the Forest of Death!" He could give Anko credit for doing her best to ham it up. Considering the dangers that lay within, though, maybe she wasn't doing it enough.
And then Naruto had to open his big fucking mouth. "Like that's really gonna scare us. You're trying to psych us out, and I'm not gonna fall for it!"
Anko's body stilled, ever so slightly, even as a grin spread across her face. It was all the warning Tobio received before he felt the spike of bloodlust that came from her, all of his preternatural senses screaming out a brief warning as the woman spoke. "Oh really? You're pretty cocky, huh?"
The movement was fast. His eyes could barely track the kunai that'd been whipped toward Naruto, leaving a shallow cut along his whiskers, before Anko blurred into motion beside him. "Heh. Your kind are always the first to go…"
She was, to be fair, right to scare the shit out of him. But perhaps she could have been a little less creepy, as opposed to lapping up the blood. "Spilling all that red, luscious, lovely blood…"
"That's unsanitary," Hibachi murmured, wincing at the sight. "Who knows where Naruto's been?"
Despite himself, Tobio let out a laugh, if a hollow one. Because the only reason this scene stood out to his head was the 'Kusa' shinobi that approached Anko from behind to hand her the thrown kunai back. He could barely sense the man, which was understandable. Because that wasn't some random foreign shinobi.
It was fucking Orochimaru, and Tobio was doing his best not to bug out on the spot. Here and now, he could…what, yell out that the kusa ninja over there was their village's most famous traitor? And end up getting them all killed in an actual bloodbath. Maybe he could tell someone in a bit, but should he? Who would believe him, especially once they asked how he knew this stuff?
His situation was, in many respects, a case of zugzwang. Whatever move he made was bound to put him into a perilous situation.
"Are you alright?" Ami asked, concern on her face. "You're a little pale."
"Just jitters," Tobio wanly smiled back, trying to wave it off.
"That's…surprising," she nodded, and he could tell that she didn't entirely believe him. But nor was she calling him out even further on it, as their attention drifted back to Anko at the front of the crowd. Now that the kerfluffle had come to a stop, she was pulling out a stack of papers from her coat.
"Before we begin the second exam there's something I have to hand out," she explained, much to the confusion of the various shinobi standing around. "They're consent forms. Everyone has to sign one."
"...Why?" Naruto asked, the most boggled out of everyone.
"We want all the details covered before the first deaths occur," she chuckled, laughing in an admittedly cute way, that was almost a total inversion of her previous bloodthirsty display. "Sign before you go in, so Konoha can't be held liable. You wouldn't want me to get in trouble, would you?"
"Wait, I thought there were no deaths supposed to happen?" Ino asked, gaining Anko's attention.
"You're absolutely right about that…nominally speaking," Anko responded, glancing toward the kunoichi. "But the Forest of Death is a dangerous place, with wildlife that is kept specifically as hazards for this test and training purposes. And, we're hardly going to be able to note what everyone does at all times inside of the forest."
…Tobio studiously kept his gaze from drifting toward the Oto team. It wasn't like he wanted to murder them, but technically they were all dead anyway in a month or so. Better his team used them as a whetstone for their capabilities than anyone else in his eyes.
Casting her eyes toward around the cautious Genin eyeing her up, Anko could only huff in dissatisfaction. "Allow me to explain what the second exam entails, and then you all can sign the forms."
"To put it simply, it's a no holds barred survival test. Training ground forty-four is bordered by a circular perimeter, interrupted at regular intervals by forty-four locked gates." Holding up a very simplistic map, it illustrated the roughly twenty-kilometer diameter of the training grounds.
All of that was on the outskirts of the village itself, which seemed…dangerous, but Tobio had long since learned to make his peace with it. "As you can see, there are forests, a river, and at the center is a tower, roughly ten kilometers at the radius."
That was a big area on the surface for a bunch of twelve-year-olds to navigate, just not as bad as it sounded when you thought about how quickly ninja could tear up territory. Tobio was pretty fast himself, and while he might not have had the best sense of direction, he was confident in his ability to tear up that terrain easily. With his teammates alongside him, not so much.
If they hadn't all learned to tree walk at this point, it would have been a nightmare.
"Within the confines of this carefully delineated area, you're going to undergo a survival test. During the course of that test, you may use any ninja arts or weapons you have at your disposal," Anko continued.
Tobio could almost feel his asauchi in its storage scroll, twitching for violence.
With her piercing, light brown eyes, bereft of any pupils, Anko's stare was focused as she held up a scroll before the crowd. "It's a variant of a fight to the death mission, or capture the flag…or, in this case, capture the scroll."
"Scroll?" One of the various mooks asked.
Holding out two different scrolls, both were colored differently, and emblazoned with alternative kanji. "There's a 'scroll of heaven' and a 'scroll of earth', with your objective being to acquire both of them."
"There's seventy-eight of you here, so that's about twenty-six teams of three. Thirteen of you will start out with a heaven scroll," she lifted one to illustrate, before raising the other, "and the other thirteen will have an earth scroll. But you'll need both of them to pass."
"Naturally, you'll have to get your hands on whatever you don't have…" Anko smirked, eyes glinting flintily. "However, you want to handle that. Then it's a matter of bringing them both to the tower at the center."
"Which means it's a free for all," Tobio spoke up, arms crossed in front of his chest. Though, given that he knew all of this was coming beforehand, it wasn't all that surprising.
"You bet! Starting from the moment all the teams are inside, you've got one hundred and twenty hours to complete this exam–exactly five days!"
"Five days! Ino exclaimed.
"What are we supposed to do for food?!" Choji yelled.
"That's your problem," Anko shrugged unapologetically. "The forests are full of nature's bounty. Also they're full of man-eating animals, deadly insects, and poisonous plants…but what's life without a little risk?"
Another thing that he'd foreseen, and prepared accordingly. His scroll was filled with premade rations for days and days, so Team Eleven at least would be eating like kings. Even failing that, Beniemiya would have ensured that he would have known what was edible and what wasn't, and also came with processing skills to butcher whatever they hunted.
It might not have been the strongest out of his perks, but by god, it was definitely one of the best utility perks he could have lucked out with.
"...Are you cooking the entire time?" Ami asked, sounding mildly concerned.
"Ami, I've already got premade meals prepared for at least a week of consistent eating," he assured her. That was presuming he didn't want to try and hunt a giant snake, or bear, while they were in there. A recipe for grilled snake was bouncing around in the back of his head.
Hibachi piped up as well. "And I should be able to make us a shitty earthen hut, though not often."
"Honestly, the hardest part of this entire thing for us is gonna be hunting the other scroll we need…" And avoiding certain targets that they couldn't fight, like Orochimaru or Gaara.
Kabuto was…probably not someone any of them could fight either. Even if Tobio desperately wanted to kill the older boy before he could play an earnest part in engineering the ninja apocalypse.
Planning all these assassinations wasn't good for his mental health, but he'd deal with it if he lived that long.
He'd missed a bit of what Anko had been speaking about, given the little back and forth between him and his team. Though when the conversation drifted toward what teams could be disqualified for, he paid attention again.
"Now let's talk about rules…and what offenses you can be disqualified for. Obviously, teams that fail to reach the tower in time, with all members of their cell and carrying both scrolls, are out."
An obvious rule, seeing as this was the most teamwork-driven portion of the exam. If you couldn't hack it here, arguably, you didn't deserve the promotion. Brotherhood was going to let them eat just about everyone else alive.
"Losing any members to death or severe injury naturally disqualifies you. Nor can you leave the forest before time is up. No recess, no time-outs. Treat this like it's a legit mission." Putting her hands on her hips, she also added one more thing. "Also, you're forbidden to look at the contents of the scrolls until you're inside the tower."
"What happens if we sneak a peek?" Naruto asked.
"That's for those who look to know."
At his baffled expression, she continued. "If any of you make it to the chūnin level, there will be times when you'll be entrusted with top-secret documents. Consider it a test of your trustworthiness."
"Beyond that, you've got a bit of time to decide if you want to sign the consent forms. The exam will begin once you all enter from your chosen gate."
There wasn't much else for her to say, beyond the dispersal of all the examinees to go for their consent forms. Tobio hadn't even considered the alternative of declining, but it did occur to him that he should probably check in with his teammates about it.
"...You guys don't have to continue, if you don't want to," Tobio added.
"Pfft, really? Why thank you, honorable lord Tobio," Hibachi chuckled. "Your permission is appreciated."
"W-What? I was just trying to be nice!"
"I know, and I appreciate it," his bro nodded. "But if you think I'm taking this test for you, or Ami, you're dead wrong. I'm doing it for myself, to prove I've got it in me to go the distance."
"What happened to your dream of a cushy, lazy life?" Ami asked, eyebrows raised.
Hibachi shrugged, one hand reaching up to lazily adjust his hat. "I still have it. But…I also recognize that like, I'd be doing myself a disservice if I didn't at least try to see what I was capable of. To…try and go push myself a bit."
"You two have infected me with your enthusiasm and discipline," he shivered, shaking his head slowly. "I used to crave waking up late, and now I feel all weird if I'm sleeping in too much."
"We'll make a training maniac out of you yet," Tobio grinned toothily.
"Please don't," Hibachi winced.
Ami sighed exaggeratedly, shooting him a sad smile. "It's too late for you, Hibachi. You've been ensnared in our tricky web of conditioning."
"I'll see if Sensei can get you some training weights, like the ones I wear," Tobio promised.
"Let's not be too hasty," Hibachi quickly added.
"Too late. I'm telling Sensei the moment we see him."
"You ass…" Hibachi muttered darkly. "I'll remember this."
It wasn't long before they had their forms sorted out, and were even given their chosen scroll. An earth scroll, excitingly enough. Which meant that the only thing to do was finding a good gate. But once that was figured out…
They were there, standing before that big, yawning opening into untouched, dangerous wilderness. Just about everything would be trying to kill them, whether that be foreign teams, or the wildlife itself. And yet, Tobio couldn't help but to feel excited all the same.
"You guys ready for this?"
"No," Hibachi sighed. "But I'm gonna try my best anyway."
Ami beamed at him, before she gave her own answer. "Oh, I'm more than ready. Kind of hoping we run into Ino's team."
Tobio sighed, fixing her with a stare. "Ami,"
"What? I just wanna rough her up a little, nothing lethal!"
During that brief rest they had, all of the members of Team Eleven bantered back and forth. It was a good way to forestall the stress and tension for the other two members of Tobio's team, until it was finally time to enter. The moment that they were open to enter the forest, Team Eleven rocketed forward. Other teams might have needed words to communicate their aims, or to direct themselves, but none of them did. Not when they had something far more instinctive riding roughshod on their shared bond.
As always, they trusted Tobio enough to follow his lead, and frankly, he'd given the situation some thought as well. There were three main priorities they had, from what he could remember of the story. Each one came with it's own challenges, but none of them were insurmountable with five days to spare.
First up was obviously getting an accompanying heaven scroll for their earth variant. Without that, they wouldn't be able to pass to the next stage. Teaming up the other Konoha teams to bully all the foreign ones was more ideal, admittedly, but it depended on if they properly ran into any of them.
He doubted Team Eleven was going to be getting ambushed, whether from the wildlife or enemy action, so that wasn't a problem for them. Just finding what they needed was at the top of his concerns. But it wasn't the only item on the agenda.
Next up was the Oto team, who were going to be tasked with 'testing' Sasuke, once Orochimaru bit him. Trying to stop that was…out of his hands, as much as he'd hated to admit it. That said, it didn't mean that he couldn't cut down some of the Hidden Sound's talent while they were running around. Killing was distasteful, he'd admit, but so was letting them have free rein of the forest.
For better or worse, they'd have to go, especially since he didn't have any proof of a Otogakure and Sunagakure alliance to bring to his superiors. Without that proof, it'd just be the rambling of an unaffiliated Genin. They might have their own suspicions, yet not enough to do anything about it. More importantly for him, they'd have questions about how he knew that sort of stuff.
Tobio had to play with the hand he was dealt. At least they'd help him steadily rank up to his fifty-kill goal for that next Might perk.
Last but not least was a more unusual goal: subverting Karin. She was in this exam with the Kusagakure delegation, and provided he separated her away from the village that was actively killing her, he doubted she'd prove too loyal to them. If anyone asked how he knew she was an Uzumaki, he'd get everyone's stories straight ahead of time.
…Ami and Hibachi would have questions, no doubt. Tobio could only hope that he'd earned enough trust with the two of them that they'd wait for a more opportune time to grill him over some of his foreknowledge. Potentially keeping a secret from their Sensei, too.
Part of his plan to recruit her was a bit dependent on Konoha being willing to brave the frustration and danger of Kusagakure being angry, but for a prime Uzumaki specimen? One of their erstwhile allied Clans they failed to save? Hopefully, Tobio could play on Hiruzen's sentimentality and practicality, and play one of his trump cards like the Elixir to convince the old coot.
The real question was…which goal did they want to see to first?