Pushing aside the doors of the exam hall, Team Seven entered. Immediately, they were swarmed by…
"Sasuke-kun!" Ino appeared before them, fangirling and annoying Sasuke.
"Cha! Hey, Pig! Keep your dirty hands off Sasuke-kun!" Sakura fumed.
"Indeed. Otherwise, they will get dirtier," Naruto added. "Dattebayo."
"Haaa?" Ino's eyes widened in anger as she recalled Naruto's prank where she had been tricked by the Uzumaki into buying expensive clothes. "Naruto-Baka!" She grabbed her by her shoulders and shook her furiously as she yelled. "You still haven't returned my money!"
Naruto remained unfazed, although she was looking for an escape route.
Sakura sighed in relief, grateful that Ino's attention had shifted away from Sasuke-kun. Sasuke rolled his eyes, clearly irritated by their antics.
"Shut up, troublesome woman," a lazy voice cut through the noise. Shikamaru and Choji appeared beside them, with Shikamaru looking as disinterested as ever and Choji munching on a bag of chips.
"Were you guys forced to enter the exam too?" Shikamaru asked, his tone betraying his boredom.
"No," Sasuke replied curtly.
Shikamaru sighed deeply. "I was forced by my mom to attend this exam. Our teacher also told us to participate…"
He glanced at Naruto, who was still being shaken by Ino. "So Naruto is really a girl now, eh?" He sighed again, rubbing his temple. "I lost a good friend."
"Why?" Sakura looked offended. "Can't girls be friends?"
"Nah, women are too troublesome," Shikamaru replied bluntly.
"At least she eats ramen, right?" Choji asked, munching another chip.
Sasuke and Sakura shared a glance, both thinking about Naruto's unhealthy obsession with ramen.
"Yeah," Sakura replied. "On our last mission, she went to catch a shark for ramen… She came back in bad shape. Let's just say… Kakashi-sensei fixed her."
"'Fixed her'?" Shikamaru frowned. "Is she what, a machine?"
Before they could respond, Team Eight appeared. Kiba, bold as ever, announced, "I'm gonna beat everyone's ass in this exam!" Shino greeted everyone by not greeting anyone, while Hinata had her Byakugan activated, staring at Naruto who was still being shaken by Ino.
Kiba's eyes widened as he looked at the white-haired girl in the frilly dress. "That girl is hot!"
Sakura smirked. "That's Naruto."
"No way!"
"Impossible. Why? Because Naruto Uzumaki is a boy and that girl is not under any henge. Although she feels…odd."
"It's true," Sasuke stated. "It's really the loser."
"The fuck?!"
"Really?"
Finally, Ino joined them, having beaten Naruto enough. "You have more beatings coming, asshole!"
Naruto dusted herself off, looking unfazed, but she was really sad. She couldn't fight back against Ino because her 2B body wouldn't allow her to hurt a 'loyal Leaf shinobi'. She had been humiliated by that pale-eyed boy earlier, and that green jumpsuit-wearing boy had also creeped her robotic self out.
"Dattebayo," she replied softly, her voice tinged with an unfamiliar sadness.
Shikamaru noticed the change in her tone and raised an eyebrow. "So, Naruto, how's life as a girl?"
Naruto cocked her head to the lefy. "It's… ok."
Choji offered her a chip, trying to lighten the mood. "Here, have a chip. Food always makes things better."
Naruto took the chip, grateful for the small kindness. "Thanks, Choji."
Kiba, still processing the revelation, shook his head. "This is too weird. Anyway, don't think I'm going easy on you just because you're a girl now, Naruto."
Naruto straightened, her resolve returning. "Do bring it on, Kiba. I have yet to use some of my new moves like the Reaper Death Seal technique. You will be a good practice dummy. Dattebayo."
Kiba sneered. "Like hell I'll let you!"
"Oh, indeed, you would." She countered. "I have a bridge named after me: The Great Naruto Uzumaki Bridge. What accomplishments do you have?"
"A bridge named after you? Stop throwing lies!"
"It is a fact. Dattebayo."
Hinata, who had been quietly observing, finally spoke up. "Naruto... you look… good."
Naruto blinked, surprised by the compliment. "Uh... thanks, Hinata. But I'll still try my new techniques on you if I get the chance. You stating facts about my looks changes nothing."
"Umm…you can try the Reaper Death Seal anytime on me if you want."
"Ok."
As the group settled into conversation, a boy slightly older than them with grey hair and round-shaped glasses approached them. "You know, you're drawing quite a lot of attention to yourselves," he remarked, gesturing subtly towards the room.
They turned to see that indeed, people were looking, or more precisely, glaring at them.
Naruto took a step forward, surprising everyone. "I am Naruto Uzumaki, the future Hokage, and I'll defeat every single one of you. Dattebayo."
There was a moment of stunned silence before the foreign shinobi erupted into laughter.
"She's nuts!"
"What an idiot,"
"Mother says you're annoying."
"Interesting…"
"She looks like a h—"
"Yeah, what a—"
Naruto looked unfazed, but mentally, she was seething.
'Bitch, Reaper Death Seal, now!'
-The targets are—
'Foreign shinobi. They are making fun of our village.'
-So we are showing them their place?
'Dattebayo.'
-Initiating Reaper Death Seal in 3, 2...
Naruto felt an odd sensation above her face, as if something was materializing. Knowledge flooded through her mind.
The Uzumaki Mask.
The temperature in the room seemed to drop several degrees as a sinister-looking mask appeared over her face.
She began to form hand signs…
"Summoning—"
She halted as somebody tapped her shoulder.
She blinked behind the mask and looked back. It was the older Konoha shinobi. He smiled nervously, clearly terrified as he stared at the legendary mask. "Uh… Uzumaki-san, right? If you kill them all, then you'll be taken under law because you'd be starting a ninja war."
"They mocked our village," she stated flatly.
"Correction: They mocked YOU. Besides, I expected our future Hokage to have more control over her emotions."
"Fine," she relented, then looked at the frozen foreigners. "But if they mock US again, I'll try another technique on them: Domain Expansion."
With that, the mask disappeared. She returned to her friends, who were shocked. The amount of killing intent she had just radiated was something they had never experienced before.
The older Konoha shinobi introduced himself as Kabuto. "The exam is really hard," he told them. "This is my seventh time."
"Wow! You must be really experienced then!" Sakura exclaimed.
"He failed the exam six times, he is a loser," Naruto stated emotionlessly.
Everyone looked at her, noticing her bad mood.
Kabuto continued, unfazed. "Throughout my attempts, I've gathered information about the candidates." He showed them cards which resonated with his chakra, causing information to appear on the blank cards. "Do you have somebody in mind?" he asked them.
"Red hair, kanji for 'love' on the forehead," Sasuke said.
"Hmmm… there…" Kabuto located the card. "Gaara of the Sand." He proceeded to tell them about Gaara, including his formidable reputation. Sasuke then asked about Neji and Lee.
Finally, Hinata, with a shy glance at Naruto, asked about her.
Kabuto nervously brought out her card. "Naruto Uzumaki. Genin under Kakashi Hatake. Academy's dead last but… has defeated Zabuza Momochi of the Bloody Mist and the last Ice bloodline user. Has defeated Gato, the mafia in Wave Country. Has a three-kilometer-long bridge named after her there too…"
Everyone, except Sasuke and Sakura, listened with their jaws practically hitting the ground. Naruto looked visibly pleased, striking poses with each of her accomplishments being read aloud.
Suddenly, a scarred man with a hard face, wearing a trench coat, appeared on the dais.
"Silence, maggots! The first phase of the Chunin Exams begins now!"
TBC