Worldgate SG-N: Initial negotiations [Episode 147141]

"It is a pleasure to meet you face to face at last!" the head of Fire Countries Stargate program proclaimed as he bowed deeply to the where Jack and Daniel stood near the gate.

"Yeah, we're real pleased too, Yukihiko was it?" Jack replied. He turned to Daniel. "I though they spoke a strange variant of Japanese?" he asked quietly.

"We've installed that ancient translation device. It needs to be hooked to the Stargate, and it's got a range limit, but we shouldn't have any language problems with out guests."

Jack glanced from Daniel to the emissary and back. "Cool."

---

"So, we're honored that you made the first trip yourself." Jack explained across the table.

"Well, we're not exactly a big operation. I mean after over two decades of failure . . ."

"It took us over fifty years to make the gate work." Daniel interjected. As Sam and Jack looked at him he added, "Of course we didn't have computers powerful enough to work the gate most of that time . . ."

Jack looked at the emissary. "Still, the point of this visit is to try and get everything working out well between your country and ours."

With a crooked grin Yukihiko replied, "My Daimyo and your . . . President want to know what’s in it for them of course."

" . . . I see you're familiar with politics." Jack responded simply.

"Despite my best efforts, yes." He frowned and looked at his watch, then glanced at where a video monitor and camera were set up at one end of the table. "Yes, the video feed should start any second. The Daimyo's currently en-route to the Chunin Exam but Hidden Leaf's Hokage was happy to talk with you."

"Chunin Exam?" Jack asked, glancing toward Daniel who shrugged his shoulders.

The base alarm sounded, and through the window of the briefing room the light of the activated gate shone, shifting into the pattern unique to trans-universal wormholes. A moment later the monitor powered up, brightening to reveal the form of the third Hokage.

"Greetings. It is a great pleasure to meet you, even if not in person." The Hokage said with a smile.

"Greetings yourself, Hokage." General O'Neill replied to the camera.

"Well, I understand that the gate connection we are transmitting the video feed through will only last 38 minutes, so we probably should try avoiding excessive formalities." He paused to light his pipe. "I have many questions, but perhaps you should ask first."

Daniel opened a folder, looking over a large list of finely printed text.

"He mentioned an exam." Jack commented with a gesture toward Yukihiko.

"Ah, the public part of the Chunin Exam." For a moment he looked upward with a calculating expression. "I can extend an invitation to you, but there's a VERY narrow window of time to get here for it to start."

"I like to know what something IS before I decide if I'm going to it." Jack responded in an annoyed tone.

"Jack . . ." Daniel started.

"No no," The Hokage waved dismissive. "I can be slow to get to the point at times. To answer your question, the chunin exam is our test to see which shinobi have what it takes to advance from genin rank to chunin." He raised a finger to halt interruption. "Genin is the rank all shinobi are assigned after graduating from the academy and being accepted by their team leader. They later have the opportunity to advance first to chunin rank, then to jonin rank."

"The public exam is the fights." Yukihiko interjected.

"Academy, genin, chunin. What sort of time frame are we talking about here?" O'Neill asked suspiciously.

"It really depends on the student. On average students are about 12 when they graduate, then the Jonin leading the squad decides when their ready to take the exam, it's usually two to three years before they authorize the first exam, but this year the potentials were judged exceptional."

" . . . Their kids." Jack stated as he stared at the monitor. "Kids in some kind of insane fighting tournament, am I the only one who sees something wrong with that!?"

Yukihiko blinked as he looked at Jack, an uncertain and slightly confused expression on his face. On the Monitor, the Third Hokage looked at Jack and smiled.

"Your world must be incredibly peaceful. I would love to see it someday."

Jack looked back uncertainly. "Well, not completely peaceful, but we give kids time to be kids!"

The Third Hokage exhaled a small cloud of smoke with a sigh. "We do try, but there's no avoiding that a ninja has to start training young and with intensity. Otherwise their chakra reserves will never develop to their full potential, and their control will always be faulty. And if a hidden village is seen to be weak, it and it's country are seen as targets by the other countries and hidden villages."

Jack looked toward the monitor. "Isn't there some other way?"

"I've been looking for alternatives all my life." The Third Hokage responded simply. "The best I could do was institute the Chunin Exams to become the means by which villages and countries showed their power to each other. Before the exam system, small wars broke out regularly, just to test the power of each generation of Shinobi."

"I see," Daniel interjected. "So this exam system has acted as a replacement for wars, only without the collateral damage."

"Huh." Yukihiko nodded. "Shinobi's motives always lie deeply buried." He glanced at Daniel who was looking at him. "It's a common saying."