"Yes indeed." The man in the green body suited said, his enthusiasm renewed at the thought of his team, a large grin spreading across his face. "Well all except Anko of course, she's not a full Jounin yet."
Naruto sent the purple haired woman a bemused smile at that. "Well I am sure in a few years you can make the cut."
Anko scowled in response, "Screw you, I am more than ready now, it's all political."
...
Naruto cocked an eyebrow at that, before he could ask though he was cut off by Kushina who had turned to look at the screens.
"It looks like our teams have all arrived." Kushina said bringing the table's attention to the screens, the table of Jounin quieting down so that they could all hear what was happening.
No doubt they all wanted to see how their teams would cope under the pressure of being in the same room of so many of their competitors.
Judging by the embarrassed look on Asuma's face though when a blonde haired girl through herself at the Uchiha, it was going to be amusing.
Naruto also decided to watch, his eyes moving across the screens before he saw his own team, standing off to the side, both Hodan and Chojuro patiently waiting for the exam to start, whilst Suigetsu who was clearly bored tried to antagonize some nearby Ame Shinobi. He really was a little shit.
Looking away from what they were doing Naruto instead looked on in interest as a grey haired boy who looked to be in his late teens approached his sister's group.
Something about the boy was off, maybe it was the way he walked, or the way he talked, but something about him set Naruto on edge, so much so that he decided to listen in with the other Konoha Shinobi on what this Kabuto was saying.
...
(Back in the examination room)
"Yeah I want to know about three people if you have any info on them." Sasuke spoke up, talking over Mito as she also attempted to speak.
"The first one is a guy named Gaara he is in the Chunin Exams too. The other two aren't, I want to know what you have on a Kiri Shinobi called Pain and on a Hunter-nin called Grimm!"
Kabuto eyes widened a fraction as he heard that, them asking about Grimm was not unexpected considering Team Seven's ill-fated trip to Wave, but he hadn't expected to be asked about Pain.
In fact he hadn't even been aware that they had met with him, the fact they had though was certainly worth noting. He would have to make sure to send on the information that the Mizukage's dog was here in Konoha and that he had made contact with the last Uchiha, his master would certainly not like that.
Especially considering the plans he had in the works, Kabuto didn't know what the Mizukage was up to, but whatever it was he would ensure it didn't disrupt their plans. Pain's presence gave him an opportunity, one which he could make use of right now.
"Who are those guys?" Ino suddenly spoke up curious about why Sasuke asked about such obscure people, after all if she hadn't heard of them surely they were not that good
Mito scowled as she answered Ino, "Pain and Gaara are just some Shinobi we met the other day. Pain is apparently a Jounin despite being around our age and Gaara well he just seemed dangerous, hearing about them would be interesting. But I want to know more about Grimm, he was the one who Killed Kakashi after all."
"The same one who crippled Sakura?" Ino asked her eyes wide as she thought back to the girl's state, she was still in hospital recovering from the spinal damage Grimm had caused. The last time Ino had spoken to the girl, Sakura had told her she was going to quit being a Shinobi, suffice to say Ino did not like this Grimm guy.
"Yeah the guy's some kind of monster." Mito said with a scowl, around her she could see the other rookie genin tense, they had not really known Kakashi so his death did not really affect them, but they had all been in the Academy with Sakura and had seen the state she had been left in.
"So you got anything on them?" Sasuke asked redirecting the conversation, as unlike the others he did not particularly care about either Sakura's injuries or Kakashi's death. Instead he just saw three strong Shinobi who he could use as stepping stones to measure his abilities before he killed his brother, Itachi.
"You know their names that will make it easier." Kabuto said looking through his cards, most of his information he had was based off of the different Village's Bingo Books, but he had also collected other little tidbits that he added in from his master's spy networks. "I have a little something on each of them."
"Good." Sasuke said as he looked at Kabuto expectantly.
"We'll start with Gaara." Kabuto said amicably as he applied chakra to a card and a picture of Gaara appeared.
"He's the youngest son of the Kazekage, his stats are relatively unknown, but he and his team regularly complete B-rank missions as genin so you can count of him being strong. Especially since he has come back from all the missions he's done without a single scratch."
"Hardcore." Kiba said with a nod, whilst the other genin muttered to themselves.
"What about the others?" Sasuke asked as he noted that Gaara was worth fighting.
"Well then we have Pain, he is a Jounin Sensei and is around your own age, his skills are relatively unknown other than the fact he is skilled in Kenjutsu and wields an axe.
But apparently he is a veteran of the Kiri Civil War and apparently was with Mei Terumi the Fifth Mizukage when she engaged the Fourth Mizukage in combat, I don't know the details of what happened but he fact the survived shows he's tough.
Other than that he is relatively unknown having disappeared around three years ago, it is likely he specialized and became either an ANBU… or a Hunter-nin…" Kabuto trailed off, he had his own suspicions on just what the boy had been doing during that time.
But so far they were only suspicions so he wouldn't out right say them. Still though it would be useful to plant the seeds of distrust between Kiri and Konoha, just in case Kiri tried something funny, which considering Pain's presence was a possibility.
"Other than that, the only other things I know is that he is a former Outcast who settled in Kiri, so he likely has some very strange and unique abilities…"
"Damn how is a guy like that our age?!" Kiba shouted loudly.
"Sounds like an interesting guy." Ino said thoughtfully, before she turned to Mito and Erza. "You've met him right, what do you think, is he hot?"
"He's pretty hot yeah." Erza said her lips quirking upwards as she humoured Ino.
"Yeah he's a pretty cool guy." Mito added in as she remembered meeting Pain. "Got a bit of a weird name though."
"He is an Outcast, they're all a bit of a strange lot." Choji spoke up, having heard tales of the Rogue Clans before from his father, he had a distinct opinion on the formerly nomadic Shinobi. They might have been accepted into Kiri but a lot of the other Shinobi in other countries still viewed them with suspicion.
"What about Grimm." Sasuke asked, noting to himself that Pain would be a worthy opponent to fight if he ever met him outside of the Chunin Exams. After all the boy had been involved in a Kage level fight and had walked away alive, that was not something even Sasuke could look down on.
"Ah yes the last one, Grimm." Kabuto said as he glanced up and saw that all the rookies were still giving him their full attention.
"He's a young Hunter-nin who first appeared around three years ago with ties to Kiri and is known to be part of the infamous Ghoul Team.
He has recently been given an S-rank level and a high bounty by Konoha, and is most recently accredited with killing Kakashi Hatake of Konoha and Raiga Kurosuki formerly of Kiri.
It is suspected that he has links to the Uzumaki Clan considering his ability to wield chakra chains, it is also suspected that he is a member of a Rogue Clan due to him possessing a unique chakra which somehow desiccates flesh.
Other than that not much is known except that he is very skilled in Kenjutsu and wields an axe, and that he is a former Outcast with some very strange and unique abilities…"
Shikamaru frowned as he heard that, his sharp intelligence instantly making a link between the two Shinobi, Pain and Grimm. Both of whom were obviously from Kiri, both of whom were skilled in Kenjutsu and used an axe, a very distinct weapon for a Shinobi.
Pain was known to have disappeared around three years ago having become an ANBU or a Hunter-nin, whilst Grimm the Hunter-nin had apparently appeared three years ago.Furthermore both of them were former Outcasts.
The information Kabuto had on them both was almost too coincidental. Shiikamaru narrowed his eyes at that, it was like the boy wanted them to link both Pain and Grimm… but why?
"Wait a second…" Mito said her brow furrowed in confusion as she too caught on to the implications of what Kabuto had said
...
(With Naruto in the Teachers' Lounge)
Naruto's eyes narrowed as he heard the information Kabuto gave out about him. It was more than a genin should have access to, and the way it was phrased it was obvious the boy was trying to hint at a connection between Grimm and Pain.
Immediately it made Naruto suspicious, both because of the information the boy had and his reasons behind what he had done. It was likely he was purposefully trying to put a wedge between Naruto and Konoha.
A few moments later Naruto stiffened as he remembered where he was. He was in the Shinobi Academy in Konoha, in close proximity to a number of Kakashi's old comrades.
Looking up Naruto saw that the Konoha Jounin around him were looking at him suspiciously.
It was not surprising really that they could so quickly make a conclusion on what Kabuto had said. They had no solid evidence to base their assumptions on, but they didn't need evidence to be suspicious.
Looking to the side Naruto caught Kushina's gaze, his red eyes widening slightly as he saw the distrust in her gaze and the way she had tensed up. Looking around the table he could see the hostile gazes now facing him.
This Kabuto had succeeded in bringing Konoha's suspicion down upon Naruto, which would make his task many times harder than it was before. More than that though, Naruto suspected the boy had done it on purpose, which begged the question of why?
Still the boy had made a mistake, he had shown his hand and gotten Naruto's attention on him as a possible spy for Suna or Oto. Which considering Naruto was the proctor of the second stage of the exam did not bode well for young Kabuto.
Standing up from the table, ignoring the hostility now levelled at him. Naruto calmly turned to Kushina before saying. "Well I best get off, I need to prepare for the next stage of the exam. I am one of the proctors."
The scraping of a chair told him Kushina had stood up to, her face stone cold as she met Naruto's gaze. "So is it true then Pain? Are you Grimm?"
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