The Next Day

Naruto awoke at 8 a.m. Today was the day that they all took the Chunin Exams. He got up and went to the bathroom. He then brushed himself up and headed towards the kitchen. It was mostly empty so he assumed Haku was still asleep. He then got a knock on the door. Naruto opened the door to find Kakashi standing in front of him.

"Kakashi-sensei, to what do I owe this pleasure?"

Kakashi replied, "Does there have to be a reason? Can't a sensei visit his student to see how they're doing?"

Naruto sighed. "He can, but considering how often you are late, it seems unlikely that I'd get a visit so early from you."

Kakashi did a little face fault at that response. Rubbing the back of his head uneasily Kakashi responded, "Haha, good point. Well my visit does serve a purpose." He then took out a Leaf Village headband. "I think it would be best if Haku represented the village if he partakes in the Chunin Exams."

Naruto took the headband from Kakashi. "Yeah, I guess this would be better to do this."

"Well, that's all I needed to do. So, I'll be off now," Kakashi said as he disappeared in a puff of smoke. Naruto closed the front door, trying to keep the smoke out of his place.

Naruto then went to knock on Haku's door. "Oy, Haku, you up?"

Naruto waited a few moments and Haku then opened the door. "Good morning, Naruto. Can I help you with anything?"

Naruto showed Haku the headband. "If we're going to be doing the Chunin Exams, then it would be best if you were representing our village," Naruto said with a smirk.

Haku's eyes glowed when looking at his new headband. "Thank you, Naruto," Haku said happily while holding his new headband. He then tried it on. "How do I look?"

Naruto smiled and replied, "like one of my precious comrades." Haku looked at Naruto with a bright smile. "Anyways, I think it's about time we get ready for the day."

While Naruto and Haku were getting ready, many Genin from other villages were arriving today. Some had arrived early so that they could rest in the village, but others didn't care for that and wanted to arrive the day of. The Genin of the Leaf village were all getting ready for the upcoming exams. A few groups were new to this, so some would find themselves fretting over the tiniest of details. Others had some experience with the exams and were determined to pass them.

Naruto and Haku met up with Sasuke and Sakura at 3 p.m. at the testing facility.

"You guys ready for this?" Naruto asked the group with a grin.

Sasuke smirked. "Yes, idiot," Sasuke said. "You make it sound as if we wouldn't be ready." Sakura was getting pumped up, too, and Haku was determined to be useful to the team.

"Alright, then let's go!" Naruto yelled as they entered the building.

There were a few other Genin heading towards the stairwell. Team 7 followed the others up the stairwell. A lot of Genin were gathering in front of a room, though. Everyone wanted to see what was up. There were two Genin standing in front of a room that had the number 301 above it.

"Hah! You plan to take the Chunin Exams like you are? You should just quit. You're just a little kid," one of the Genin said to a Genin in a green jumpsuit.

A girl with two hair buns walked up to the Genin and said, "Please let us through."

The other Genin walked up to her and slapped her across the face. Some of the Genin were getting scared of the two up front. They were certainly trying to destroy the spirits of the Genin that were going to take the Chunin Exams.

The Genin upfront spoke up again. "Huh? You want us to let weaklings like yourself through this door? Get real. Weaklings like you won't survive these exams. This is our kindness to you guys. We've taken the exams and have failed it three times in a row. Others, though, have taken it and ended up giving up as ninjas or have died. We've seen all kinds of people in these exams." The other Genin were listening intently to what this one had to say. "Chunins often become captains of military teams and squads. The failure of a mission, the death of a comrade, and all that responsibility falls onto that captain. Yet you think that someone like you can pass? We are just thinning out those that are going to fail anyway. What's wrong with that?"

Sasuke smirked at them. "I agree, but I'm not interested in what's behind you. I'm going to the third floor."

One Genin from the crowd asked, "What's that guy talking about?"

The two Genin upfront chuckled. "So, you've noticed, huh."

"If you're going to cast a Genjutsu, at least make it less obvious, right Sakura?" Sasuke told his teammate.

Sakura then nodded. "Right, even if you put some Genjutsu on the door, that doesn't change the fact that this is the second floor."

The sign above the door changed and instead of reading 301, read 201. The abrasive Genin spoke up sounding impressed. "Impressive, but all you did was see through it."

He then went for a kick towards Sasuke. Sasuke prepared for his attack and was going to counter with another kick. But then, both of their kicks had stopped. The Genin in the green jumpsuit on the floor had gotten between them and intercepted their attacks.

Sakura was shocked by this display. 'He's fast… He was able to see both kicks, slide himself in between them, and block them just with his bare hands. He's completely different from the person that was getting knocked around earlier.'

Sasuke dropped a drop of sweat. 'This guy caught my kick with his hand. What's this chakra in his arms?'

Naruto was just staring blankly at the scene before him. 'If he was going to let himself get beat up, he shouldn't have done anything flashy like that. Oh well. That's Lee for you.'

A male ninja with long hair and clear cold eyes walked up to the Genin in the green jumpsuit. "Hey Lee, what happened to the plan? You're the one who said we shouldn't draw attention to ourselves."

This boy called Lee looked like he was going to retort, but then looked in the direction of Sakura and blushed. His teammate sighed when Lee began walking in her direction. Lee then spoke, "Hi, my name is Rock Lee. You're Sakura, right?" He then made a corny pose and said, "Let's go out together! I'll protect you even if I die!"

Sakura replied, "No way. You're weird." Lee grew depressed from her retort. Naruto and Haku chuckled to themselves a little.

Lee's teammate walked over to them as well, but approached Sasuke instead. "Hey you, what's your name?"

Sasuke replied, "When you want to learn someone's name, it's customary that you give yours first."

"Hmph, so you're a rookie huh? How old are you?"

Sasuke just shrugged. "I don't have to answer you." After that, the ninja began to walk away.

But, then he bumped into Naruto. Naruto looked back at him and gave him a big smile. "Neji! It's so good to see you again! I've missed you so much!" Naruto exclaimed while hugging the male ninja.

"Get off of me!" Neji exclaimed. "Who are you and how do you know me?!"

Naruto sweated a little from realizing that Neji never met him before. He was overcome with emotion when he realized that Neji was alive and well, contrary to the Neji from his time. He quickly tried to come up with an excuse. "Oh, uh, you're the famous Neji Hyuga. You're the best ninja from your grade. I've seen you before at the Academy."

Neji's disappointment grew. Not only did Lee foil the plan on hiding their strengths, but now other people knew that Neji is one of the strong ones. "Be that as it may, I'd like you to refrain from touching me."

Naruto made a pose that showed his compliance. Neji then proceeded to walk away. Sasuke then walked up to Naruto and asked, "What the hell was that, you dunce?"

Naruto made a hesitant smile. "I was just a fan of him. Don't you remember hearing about him from the other kids?"

Sasuke thought for a moment, but never heard of him. This was probably because Sasuke kept to seclusion and didn't bother dealing with facts that didn't help him get stronger. But, after hearing that Neji was the number one rookie from a year ago, Sasuke became very interested in him.

"Alright, we've wasted enough time here, let's get going," Sasuke told his team.

Team 7 complied and they walked through the corridor. When they entered a long hall, they stopped at someone's voice.

"Hey you with the dark eyes."

The entire team turned to see the boy in the green jumpsuit from earlier on the level above them. Sasuke looked at him with disinterest. "What is it?" Sasuke replied.

The boy then looked at Sasuke with fierce eyes. "Will you fight me right here?"

"A fight right now?"

The boy nodded. "Yes." The boy then jumped over the ledge and landed in front of them. "My name is Rock Lee. When you want to learn a person's name, you introduce yourself first, right?"

Sasuke looked back at Lee. "I'm Sasuke Uchiha, but I think you already knew that."

Lee nodded. "Yes, I want to test my techniques against the genius of the famous Uchiha clan." Lee then looked at Sakura. "Plus…" He then blushed a little and winked at Sakura.

Sakura then became very disgusted. "EW! THOSE EYELASHES ARE SO GROSS! Your hairstyle is lame and those thick eyebrows are nasty!"

Lee was unfazed by her comments. "You are an angel!" He then blew a kiss in her direction.

Sakura visualized the kiss in the air and dodged for her life. "HEY, DON'T THROW THOSE WEIRD THINGS AT ME! I barely escaped with my life!"

Lee as a little hurt by that last comment. "You don't have to be that mean…"

Sasuke ignored most of that and began to talk. "You challenge me even though you know that I am an Uchiha. Are you an idiot? You're about to learn why the Uchiha clan is so famous, thick brows."

Lee looked excited. "Please… I'll tell you this. You cannot beat me because right now, I am the strongest Genin from the Leaf."

Sasuke seemed a little interested. "Let's see if you have the moves to back up your big talk."

Haku interjected. "But guys, we only have 30 minutes until we have to check in."

Sakura looked at the clock and turned back to them. "Haku's right! We need to get going, Sasuke!"

Sasuke ignored them and ran towards Lee. As he was running in, Lee began a large kick and yelled, "Leaf Hurricane!"

Sasuke then saw kick and set up a block with his arms. Although Sasuke's guard was up, Lee was able to evade it and made a clean hit to Sasuke's face. Sakura yelled Sasuke's name in worry. Sasuke was confused at how Lee got through his defense. Getting up, Sasuke readied himself with his eyes glowing red with the Sharingan. Lee looked at Sasuke's eyes and readied himself. Sasuke ran in again at Lee, but this time, Lee kicked Sasuke sending him upwards.

"Wait a second, this can't be!"

Lee then jumped behind Sasuke while in the air. "Yes… My skills are neither Ninjutsu or Genjutsu. All that I am doing is just simple Taijutsu."

"Dancing Leaf Shadow?"

"That's right. But even with the Sharingan, seeing my Taijutsu makes little difference."

Sasuke didn't understand. "What do you mean?"

"What I mean is that even if you can see my moves, your body can't move to counter. Basically, you are too slow." Then Lee flexed his hands, undoing the bandages around them. "Let me tell teach you a little. Did you know that among the strong people, there were genius types and hardworking types? If your Sharingan is a genius type from the Uchiha clan, then my Taijutsu is the hardworking type that I needed many years to master. My Taijutsu is probably the worst possible match up for your Sharingan. And, I'll prove with this next move that hard work surpasses raw talent." Lee then began to make his move.

But, Lee's bandage was struck by a Pinwheel to a wall. A large red turtle with a Leaf headband then appeared out of nowhere. It said, "That's enough Lee!"

Lee turned to the turtle with a worried look on his face. He used his pinned bandage to pull himself to the ground.

Sasuke looked from the sky in confusion as to why Lee had not continued with his attack. He began to fall and Sakura noticed that he wasn't going to catch himself. She quickly ran to catch him. "Sasuke! Are you okay?" Sakura asked in disbelief to what she just witnessed.

Sasuke propped himself up and stared at the ground in anger. 'I'm too slow!' Sasuke's Sharingan made all of Lee's movements plainly visible to him, but his body couldn't match Lee's speed.

Lee was looking sad and disappointed at the ground. He spoke up to the turtle. "You... You saw?"

The turtle stammered. "You know the rules, Lee. That move is strictly forbidden!"

Lee winced at the words. "P-Please forgive me… I was only… I wouldn't have used the Lotus technique… I never meant..."

The turtle cut off Lee mid-sentence. "You fool! Do you think I care about your petty excuses? Consider the repercussions of a shinobi, a ninja, boldly showing his secret techniques!"

Lee nodded in agreement. "Yes sir!"

"I hope you are prepared for the consequences," the turtle said.

Lee looked down and said. "Yes sir…"

"Well, he's all yours, Guy-sensei."

A puff of smoke then appeared above the turtles shell. A man appeared from the center of the smoke as it began to dissipate. This man wore the same green jumpsuit as Lee, but he wore a green Leaf flak jacket on top of it. He also wore the same bowlcut and had a thick eyebrows just like Lee. The man then said, "Ah how good it is to be young! All of you are glowing with the mighty flames of youth!"

Sakura and Sasuke looked at Guy with disgust. Haku didn't look disgusted, but made a chuckle of disbelief. Naruto smiled to see that Guy was just like he was before, only he had fully functioning body parts now.

"He has that same weird bowl cut," Sasuke said.

"... and those same caterpillar eyebrows…" Sakura added in disgust.

Lee overheard Sasuke and Sakura's comments. "Hey! Don't make fun of Guy-sensei! He's the coolest sensei ever!"

Naruto chuckled. "Bushy brows, I'm not sure that cool is what I would call this."

Lee got angrier by Naruto's comment. "What?!"

But, before he could finish, Guy called Lee over. "Lee, come here."

Lee turned to Guy and stood right in front of him.

"Lee…" Guy began. He then punched him hard in the face and yelled, "You idiot!" Lee was sent flying by Guy's punch. Sakura, Sasuke, and Haku looked at the two with complete confusion. Guy looked at Lee and said, "Lee."

Lee looked back, still trembling from the punch. "Guy-sensei."

Guy looked back with tears rolling down his smiling face. "Lee!"

Lee looked back with tears rolling down his face and blood falling from his mouth. "Guy-sensei!"

They then embraced each other in open arms yelling their names at each other. "That's enough Lee, not another word!"

"Guy-sensei!"

"I understand, Lee. This is what it means to embrace the power of youth!"

"Guy-sensei!"

"It's alright, Lee! Making mistakes is what youth is all about!" Guy broke their embrace and they both stood up.

Lee, still teary-eyed, responded, "Sensei, you are too kind."

Guy shook his head at Lee. "But even so, I cannot let your attempt to break my big rule go unpunished. Your punishment will be to work harder than you've ever worked before after the Chunin Exams."

Lee saluted to Guy with his head held high. "Yes, sir!"

Guy raised his arm in the air and yelled. "You'll do 500 laps around the track!"

Lee stayed in place, but game an emphatic "Yes, sir!"

The other four Genin were looking at the touchy display between the two hotblooded ninjas. Haku gave a light chuckle and said, "They are very… interesting."

Sakura responded, "Interesting isn't the word I would describe this. Gross would be more like it."

Sasuke was just silent that he lost to this tomfoolery.

Guy looked over at them. 'So, that's Naruto and Kakashi's other students.' Guy then spoke up. "By the way, how is your sensei, Kakashi?"

Sasuke replied, "You know Kakashi-sensei?"

Guy chuckled a little. "Do I know him?" He then vanished in a blink of an eye and reappeared right behind them. "Well, I would hope so. We're arch rivals." Haku, Sakura, and Sasuke all shuddered at the sheer speed of the Jonin. The speed Guy went at was faster than anything they had previously witnessed. "The score between us is 50 to 49. I'm stronger and faster than Kakashi." Guy then winked and gave them a thumbs up.

Lee then spoke up. "As you can see, Guy-sensei is one of the most amazing ninjas of the Leaf!"

Sasuke looked at him in bewilderment. Guy then took out a kunai and threw it at the pinwheel that was lodged to hold Lee's bandages to the wall. He then looked over to Naruto. "Lee, despite what you experienced just now, these Genin are students of Kakashi Hatake. Each of them will surely prove to be a match for you in the future. I suggest you don't take them lightly." Guy then turned to Sasuke with a slightly apologetic look on his face. "I know Lee started this fight, but please find it in your hearts to forgive him. He's young and youthful and bound to make mistakes." Guy then eyed the clock and saw that the exam was going to start soon. "You all should make your way to the classroom now. Best of luck, Lee!" He then vanished from their sight.

Lee began to roll up his bandages and turned to Sasuke. "By the way Sasuke, I was just pulling your leg before. I'm really here to show you my strength. You're not the strongest Genin from the Leaf. That title actually belongs to my teammate, and I intend to take him down," Lee said with a smile. Lee then jumped to the balcony and said, "Alright! It's time to go to the exam!"

Sasuke looked at Lee leaving and clenched his fists. Naruto saw Sasuke's anger and decided to rouse him up a bit more. "So, the prodigy of the famous Uchiha clan can't hold his own against some eyebrow freak?"

Sasuke glared back at Naruto. "Shut up. Next time, I'll pay him back ten-fold."

Naruto chuckled. "That's big talk from someone who just got his butt handed to him."

Sakura looked annoyed at Naruto's comment. She saw Sasuke lose hard, but Naruto didn't have to rub salt in the wound. "Naruto, that's enough!"

Naruto just continued to look at Sasuke. "Did you get to see his hands unbandaged? He's got scars from what I believe to be training. And he's from the Leaf like us. There are probably tough opponents that we've never heard of from all the other villages."

Sasuke clenched his fist harder and grinned. "That just means that the Chunin Exams are finally getting interesting." Sasuke looked like he was shaking. But, he wasn't shaking with fear. He was shaking with excitement of the challenges to come. "Sakura, Naruto, Haku. Let's go!" Sasuke commanded and they all headed towards the exam room with smiles of determination.