Weeks had passed since the joint training session, and the day of the Chunin Exams had finally arrived.
The morning air carried a hint of tension as Team 11 made their way through Konoha's streets toward the examination building.
"Can't believe it's finally happening," Hayate remarked, nervously adjusting his weapon pouch for the third time since they'd left the training grounds. "You think there'll be a lot of foreign ninja?"
"Obviously," Indra replied, his pace measured and confident. "The Chunin Exams are an international event. Every major village sends their promising genin."
Sayaka walked close to Indra's side, her posture perfect as always. "I've heard this year's competition is particularly fierce. The Kazekage himself is rumored to be attending the final rounds."
Indra nodded, his mind already mapping out potential scenarios and opponents. One eye was covered by a white bandage wrapped around his head, giving him a somewhat mysterious appearance.
The decision to bandage his right eye had been calculated - it would allow him to activate his Rinnegan in an emergency without anyone seeing the transformation,
Gaining the buffs from it, though making sure not to use its abilities as Orochimaru will immediately recognize them.
Though the excuse he went with as he received training from Kakashi to fight one eyed is that he wishes to impress Lord Renjirō by showing he can win even when handicapped, and doesn't need to rely on his full vision for these earlier exams.
Though he'll need to prove these things true of course, for it to matter.
"We should focus on passing the first phase before worrying about the finals," he said.
As they rounded the corner toward the exam building, raised voices caught their attention. Team 7 stood in a small clearing, confronting three unfamiliar ninja wearing Sand Village headbands.
"What's going on over there?" Hayate asked, squinting at the scene.
"Trouble," Indra replied simply, changing direction to approach the confrontation.
As they drew closer, they could see Naruto gesturing wildly at a tall boy wearing black clothing and face paint.
Beside him stood a blonde kunoichi with a large fan strapped to her back, looking exasperated.
But it was the third member of their team who caught Indra's attention - a short, red-haired boy with dark rings around his eyes and a large gourd on his back, watching the exchange from a tree branch with cold detachment.
"I don't care who you think you are! You can't just push kids around in our village!" Naruto was shouting.
The boy in black - Kankuro, Indra recalled from his past life knowledge - sneered. "Maybe your village brats need to learn some manners."
"Says the puppet user hiding behind makeup," Indra interjected smoothly as Team 11 joined the group.
All eyes turned to them. Kankuro's face darkened with anger. "What did you say?"
"You heard me." Indra's single visible eye assessed the Sand ninja coolly. "You're in a foreign village, picking fights with children and genin. Not exactly diplomatic behavior."
"Who the hell are you to-" Kankuro began, but stopped abruptly as the red-haired boy in the tree disappeared in a swirl of sand, reappearing directly in front of Indra.
The air seemed to grow heavy as the boy - Gaara - stared at Indra with an intensity that made everyone present tense.
His pale green eyes widened slightly, and a subtle tremor ran through his body.
"Mother... is excited," Gaara whispered, his voice raspy and unnerving. "She wants to touch you."
Without warning, Gaara's hand shot forward toward Indra's face - specifically toward his bandaged right eye.
Indra reacted instantly, his hand moving to intercept Gaara's wrist. The automatic sand defense rose to block him, forming a barrier between the two genin.
With a swift motion that surprised everyone watching, Indra slapped the sand aside and caught Gaara's wrist firmly, stopping it inches from his face.
A collective gasp rose from the onlookers. Gaara's siblings looked particularly shocked - they've never seen anyone bypass Gaara's sand before.
Gaara's eyes widened, first in surprise, then in an emotion that looked disturbingly like delight. A small, unsettling smile crept across his face.
"Mother likes you," Gaara said, his voice trembling with barely contained excitement. "She likes you very, very much. She wants to drink your blood and eat your flesh with my sand."
Instead of showing fear, Indra smirked. "Then I'm very interested in playing with your mother," he replied.
For a moment, the two stared at each other, locked in a silent battle of wills. Then, abruptly, Gaara pulled his hand away and turned, with Indra deciding to let his wrist go.
"Temari, Kankuro, we're leaving," he commanded, walking past his stunned siblings. After a few steps, he paused and looked back over his shoulder. "What is your name?"
"Indra Uchiha," Indra replied without hesitation.
Gaara nodded slowly. "I am Gaara. Gaara of the Sand." With that, he continued walking, his siblings hurrying after him with nervous glances back at Indra.
As the Sand team disappeared around a corner, everyone seemed to release a collective breath they hadn't realized they were holding.
"What the hell was that about?" Naruto exclaimed, breaking the silence.
Indra's mind was already analyzing what had just happened.
Shukaku, the One-Tail sealed within Gaara, had reacted to him specifically - almost as if the bijuu had sensed something familiar.
Could the tailed beast somehow detect the dormant Rinnegan, or perhaps the connection to Hagoromo Otsutsuki's chakra that ran through Indra's veins?
"That was fucking weird," Hayate said, shaking his head. "What did he mean about his 'mother' wanting to eat you?"
Sayaka remained silent, but Indra noticed her eyes following Gaara's retreating form with a hint of bloodlust carefully hidden beneath her composed exterior.
"Stay away from him," Indra warned, addressing both his team and Team 7. "All of you. He's dangerous - more dangerous than you can imagine."
"What makes you say that?" Sasuke asked, his eyes narrowed with suspicion.
Indra shrugged. "My instincts went wild when he reached for me. Until the exams are over, avoid him if you can."
"But-" Naruto began to protest.
"He's right," Sasuke interrupted, surprising everyone. "There's something... wrong about that guy. I could feel it."
With that settled, Team 11 continued toward the examination building, leaving Team 7 to follow at their own pace.
The examination room was already crowded with genin from various villages when they arrived.
Nervous tension filled the air as competitors sized each other up, some attempting intimidation while others kept to themselves.
"Wow, there are a lot of people here," Hayate muttered, unconsciously stepping closer to his teammates.
"Most won't make it past the first phase," Indra replied quietly. "Stay focused and remember what we practiced."
They found a relatively quiet corner to wait in, observing the other teams. Soon, Team 7 entered, immediately drawing attention with Naruto's loud declarations about becoming Hokage.
Indra suppressed a smile - some things never changed.
A silver-haired Konoha genin approached Team 7, offering them friendly advice. Indra's eye narrowed as he recognized Kabuto Yakushi - Orochimaru's spy and right-hand man, currently masquerading as a harmless repeat exam-taker.
"We should listen to what he's saying," Indra murmured to his teammates, moving closer to the group.
Kabuto was in the middle of showing off his "ninja info cards" when they approached. To Indra's surprise, Gaara had also drifted toward the conversation, his cold eyes fixed on Kabuto's cards.
"Those cards contain information on individual genin?" Gaara asked, his voice monotone.
"That's right," Kabuto replied with a friendly smile that didn't reach his eyes. "I've been collecting data for years. Is there someone you're interested in?"
"Indra Uchiha," Gaara stated without hesitation, causing several nearby genin to turn and stare at Indra.
Kabuto's eyebrows rose slightly, but he shuffled through his cards. "Let's see... Indra Uchiha. Recently confirmed as a member of the Uchiha clan, previously thought to be clanless.
Graduated near the top of his class at the Academy. His team completed a C-rank mission that was later reclassified as A-rank due to an encounter with four A-class missing nin, all of whom were eliminated."
Kabuto adjusted his glasses. "His primary chakra affinities are Fire and Wind. Taijutsu is above average, ninjutsu proficiency is high, and he appears to have a particular talent for genjutsu. He possesses a fully matured Sharingan in both eyes."
Indra kept his face carefully neutral as Kabuto revealed information about him. He was sure the spy had no idea of the Rinnegan's existence otherwise he would already be blind and dead.
But it is likely he knows more than he is letting on, possibly even his request for Sayaka's hand in marriage.
"Interesting," Gaara said, his eyes never leaving Indra.
"Since we're exchanging information," Indra spoke up, "I'd like to know about Gaara of the Sand."
A flicker of something - perhaps amusement - crossed Kabuto's face as he selected another card. "Gaara of the Desert, son of the Fourth Kazekage. He's completed 8 C-rank missions, 1 B-rank, and... this is unusual... an A-rank mission with zero injuries reported. In fact, it says here he's never been injured on any mission."
Murmurs spread through the listening genin as Kabuto continued. "Beyond that, I don't have much information. He's a mystery."
Gaara and Indra locked eyes across the circle of genin, an unspoken challenge passing between them. The tension was broken by a loud voice from the front of the room.
"Alright, you baby-faced degenerates! Pipe down and listen up!"
A tall man in a black trench coat materialized in a cloud of smoke, flanked by several chunin examiners. His scarred face and imposing presence immediately silenced the room.
"I'm Ibiki Morino, your proctor for the first exam," he announced, his voice carrying easily through the now-quiet room. "And from this moment, your fate is in my hands."
As the examiners directed everyone to assigned seats, Indra found himself placed next to Ino Yamanaka.
He suppressed a grimace, wondering if this was deliberate - perhaps someone knew about the mind invasion incident and wanted to create awkward tension.
Ino herself looked uncomfortable, her usual confidence diminished in Indra's presence. He had been avoiding her since that day, her in his eyes as well, because of her being ashamed of her actions.
What Indra didn't realize was that her experience in his mind had only strengthened her infatuation rather than curing it. Finding him mysterious, and far more attractive.
"Begin!" Ibiki's voice rang out, and papers rustled as everyone turned over their exam sheets.
Indra scanned the questions quickly, recognizing them as far beyond genin level - exactly as he expected.
The real test wasn't about answering the questions but about gathering information without being caught.
With his Sharingan, he could easily copy another examinee's pencil movements, but he didn't need to.
His intelligence and knowledge were more than sufficient to answer these questions legitimately. He worked through them methodically, completing the entire test within fifteen minutes.
Glancing sideways, he noticed Ino staring at her blank paper with growing panic. Unlike in his past life's memories, she wasn't attempting to use her Mind Transfer Jutsu on Sakura.
Instead, she kept shooting nervous glances at Indra, clearly afraid to use her clan technique after what had happened last time.
Indra realising this gritted his teeth in frustration.
If Ino failed, her entire team would fail - and he remembered that Team 10 would be crucial in helping Team 7 after Sasuke received the Curse Mark.
With his plan to finish the second phase quickly, he wouldn't be able to help Sasuke himself.
After a moment's deliberation, Indra subtly formed a hand seal under the desk.
Without activating his Sharingan, he cast a localized genjutsu that only Ino, Sayaka, and Chinen would perceive - an illusion showing the correct answers floating above their test papers.
Ino's eyes widened when she saw it, then narrowed in suspicion. Above her paper, additional text appeared in the illusion: "Don't take this the wrong way. I haven't forgiven you, but I don't want you to fail in such a pathetic way."
The message was harsh but effective - a perfect cover for his true motivation of ensuring Team 10 would be available to help Sasuke later.
Ino's cheeks colored slightly, but she began copying the answers without further hesitation.
As the test continued, Indra observed the room. Naruto was clearly struggling, while Sasuke was using his Sharingan to copy someone's pencil movements.
Sakura was writing confidently - she also actually knew the answers. Around the room, various genin employed their own methods of cheating, some more successfully than others.
Occasionally, an examiner would call out a number, and a team would be dismissed for being caught cheating too many times. The pressure in the room mounted with each elimination.
Finally, Ibiki announced the tenth question, explaining the high-stakes rules: choose to take it and risk never becoming chunin if you fail, or quit now and try again next time.
Teams began to drop out, the pressure proving too much for many. Just as the momentum of withdrawals was building, Naruto slammed his hand on the desk.
"Don't underestimate me!" he shouted. "I don't quit and I don't run! I'll accept your stupid question! Even if I stay a genin forever, I'll still become Hokage my own way!"
His outburst seemed to inspire the remaining participants, strengthening their resolve. No one else raised their hand to quit.
Ibiki surveyed the room, his scarred face unreadable. Then, unexpectedly, he smiled.
"Good decision. Everyone still here... passes the first exam!"
Confusion rippled through the room as Ibiki explained that the tenth question was actually a test of their willingness to face the unknown - a crucial quality for chunin who must lead missions with incomplete information.
Before the celebration could fully take hold, the window shattered as a black ball crashed through it, unfurling into a banner while a woman with purple hair landed in front of it.
"Heads up, boys and girls! This is no time to be celebrating!" she announced with wild enthusiasm. "I'm the proctor for the second exam, Anko Mitarashi!"
She surveyed the room with a predatory grin. "You've got a lot of candidates this time, Ibiki. Getting soft in your old age?"
Ibiki stepped forward. "Or perhaps this year's crop is more promising."
"Hmph. By the time I'm done with them, more than half will be eliminated," Anko declared confidently. She turned to address the genin directly.
"Things are going to get much tougher from here on out! Meet at Training Ground 44 tomorrow morning at 8 AM sharp. Dismissed!"
As the genin filed out of the room, Indra caught Ino's eye.
She looked like she wanted to say something - perhaps thank him for the help - but he deliberately turned away.
The less interaction they had, the better, especially with what lay ahead in the Forest of Death.
Tomorrow, the real challenge would begin.
All he could hope right now was that Orochimaru would focus on Sasuke and only see him as a mere spare.
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(Author note: Hello everyone! I hope you enjoyed this chapter!
So, yeah, I know a lot of it was basically the same as in the anime, but what can I say, in the first exam not much can be different. I did incorporate a subtle difference with the Ino situation, and all that, to have it not be the exact same thing and all that.
But yeah. Though, do tell me how you found Indra and Gaara's interaction. I hope you all found it interesting.
Well, I hope to see you all later,
Bye!)