Chapter 176: The Final Stage

Sasuke's brow twitched as the girls argued around his desk. The Chūnin Exams held no interest for him. He needed to train, to surpass Itachi, not spend a day watching strangers fight.

Footsteps sounded in the corridor. Everyone hurried back into place. By the time Iruka appeared in the doorway, the class looked remarkably quiet.

He nodded in satisfaction. "I have good news. You graduate in nine months, so I've asked the Hokage to let the whole class attend the final stage of the Chūnin Exams. You'll watch shinobi fight."

Iruka had originally thought it too early to take children who had not graduated. Tonbo's appointment had changed his mind. They ought to see his teacher at work, and Iruka had been so busy at the Academy that he had scarcely seen Tonbo himself. Two of the children at school managed to see him almost every day.

The announcement brought cheers. A day watching the examination instead of sitting through lessons sounded excellent.

"With Sasuke," one girl said happily.

Another told her to stop daydreaming.

Iruka let the celebration run for a moment. "It falls on Sunday. Very convenient."

The disappointment was immediate.

The internal examination brought little commotion to Konoha. There were no spectators from outside the village, and most of the audience consisted of Konoha shinobi. Keeping the promotion cycle quiet also kept some of the village's abilities from unnecessary attention.

After a week of assessment, the remaining candidates had passed intelligence and teamwork tests. The final stage would examine individual ability. Anyone who had reached it possessed considerable skill for a genin.

Iruka led his class to their assigned seats. Naruto sat beside him and gazed down at the field.

"It's enormous. Much bigger than the Academy ground."

In nine months he expected to become a genin himself. Looking at the examination made that prospect more exciting. Most of his classmates had never attended before. Konoha generally kept younger students away, apart from exceptional cases; it did not want children reaching for feats far beyond their preparation.

"I took the exam too," Iruka said. "Don't forget that your schoolteacher is a chūnin. I was quite formidable among the genin in my day."

"Really?"

Naruto swung his legs above the floor, considering his instructor anew.

The candidates entered below, varying considerably in age and size. Sasuke, Kiba, and Shikamaru watched them closely. Ino and Sakura were still trying to sit nearer Sasuke.

"Pay attention," Iruka told them. "You'll see what real shinobi can do."

Kabuto looked around at his fellow candidates. Only about twenty had reached this stage, fewer than in previous years. Through all the assessments so far, he had not seen Tonbo once.

The chief examiner was keeping them waiting now as well. Complaints passed among the genin. Fame did not excuse arriving late. Would the Hokage tolerate it?

Hiruzen sat in the central viewing section with Konohamaru beside him. His grandson leaned forward to inspect the shinobi below.

"Are they stronger than Tenyu and the others?"

"They're experienced genin. Of course they're stronger."

"Then if I beat them, I'll be able to beat Tenyu."

Since he had begun working harder, Konohamaru had found few opponents at school apart from the three he most wanted to defeat. Even against them he could now fight back. A little more improvement ought to be enough.

"Your classmates aren't shinobi yet," Hiruzen said. "These are."

Itachi occurred to him as an exception, but that boy had never been an ordinary measure of what a child could do.

"Where is the examiner?"

"He'll be here soon. Ah—there."

A heavy pressure swept through the arena. Spectators and candidates alike found themselves unable to move freely. Heads turned toward its source.

Tonbo approached with his hands in his pockets. Pale blossoms formed beneath his steps and scattered into drifting petals behind him. Each unhurried movement seemed to press upon the spectators' hearts.

To those watching, the approach felt prolonged. Only an instant passed before he landed in the center of the arena, facing the candidates.

"I am Tobitake Tonbo, chief examiner. You already know the rules: unrestricted individual bouts, judged by performance. Whether you become a chūnin depends on what you show us."

His voice was not loud, yet everyone heard it as clearly as though he stood beside them.

A white-haired candidate with glasses raised a hand while holding his stomach. "Examiner, I'm unwell. May I withdraw?"

Tonbo snapped his fingers.

Kabuto tensed, wondering whether he had been discovered. Wind rose beneath his feet and lifted him from the field. A moment later he landed steadily in an audience seat.

"I won't force anyone to become a chūnin," Tonbo said, as though he had done nothing remarkable. "Does anyone else wish to withdraw?"