"This place is really creeping me out..." Sakura whined, staring up at the tall wire fence that separated the Genin from their next test site. The proctor, Anko, just smiled mischeviously at the young ones.
"You should be. This place is called the Forest of Death, and you'll soon find out why." while the pink haired kunoichi shivered at the thought of entering the forest, Naruto just scoffed, mocking the older woman.
"You won't scare me one bit! Do your worst!" he challenged, and she smirked at the blonde.
"Oh really? Looks like we've got a tough guy here." with extreme speed, she pulled out and threw a kunai, grazing the blonde boy's cheek and almost hitting another Genin. Almost instantly, she appeared behind the boy.
"Can you handle this? You're not scared, are you?" she teased, using her finger to wipe away some of the blood on his cheek. "Tough guys like you usually leave their blood all over this forest." the boy look genuinly uncomfortable now, and Arisa couldn't help but smirk as she watched the scene from a few feet away.
"Maybe he'll learn before shooting his mouth off during these exams." the girl thought, shaking her head.
Something seemed to startle Anko, because she pulled out another kunai and turned around at top speed just in time to find a grass ninja standing behind her, holding the proctor's kunai with her long tongue.
"I was... just returnung your knife." the Grass nin explained innocently.
"Thank you Grass ninja." though she smiled, she couldn't help but be suspicious of the Genin. She couldn't quite tell what it was, but there was something...off, about her.
A few seconds passed but neither one made any attempt to move away. The whole group of Genin seemed rather tense about the situation, and Anko finally got sick of it. "You know, you should only stand behind me like that if you want to reach a premature end." with that, she took the kunai from the girl, the long tongue retracting back into it's owner's mouth.
"My pardon. With the sight of blood and your blade slicing through my hair..." she laughed a bit as she explained, "I'm afraid I just got a little... excited. I meant you no harm."
The Grass ninja finally retreated back to join her group, the proctor smiling as she watched her walk away. "Hm, seems like every body is pretty quick-tempered. There must be something in the air."
After the incident with the Grass ninja, Anko returned to her original spot and started explaining what was expected to pass the test. Each Genin was given a release form, which they had to read and sign to recieve a scroll. They had exactly five days to fight other teams and obtain the scroll they were missing, then return to the tower for the next test. It was an anything goes survival test, something more than half of the teams weren't expected to survive.
"Alright, you maggots! The second part of the test has begun!" Anko exclaimed, and the sentinels opened each individual gate. The Sasaki twins and Kyo wasted no time, rushing through their gate and into the Forest of Death. "There's no way we're gonna fail this time around!" Arisa stated confidently, following her twin sister's lead as they jumped from branch to branch.
"You'd better hope that you're right." Saeko replied, not bothering to look back at her teammates.
After about ten minutes of running, the group of Genin decided to stop at a safe spot to figure out a plan for obtaining an Earth Scroll. Saeko already had the whole thing planned out, it seemed. She told them that they'd all have to split up and look for teams that they'd be able to get scrolls from.
"We meet right here before nightfall, understood?" Saeko asked, and both teammates just nodded in reply. It was a pretty solid plan so no one was gonna even try to argue with it. "Good. Now go!" with that, the three Genin scattered in seperate directions to complete their mission
Team 7 was making their way through the forest, discussing an action plan, when a blood-curtling scream stopped them in their tracks. "T-that sounded like someone screaming." she turned to look at her teammates, a bit nervous. "I do not like this place." she told them, and Naruto just laughed
"Oh come on, it's nothing to be scared of! It's gonna be a piece of cake!" he insisted. His face twisted in discomfort, and he rushed over to the nearest tree. "Excuse me, but I need to-" he tried to explain, but Sakura knew exactly what he was doing.
"Go find a bush or something that's not by me!" the kunoichi yelled at him, giving him a hard punch in the head.
When Naruto came back from his little bathroom break a few minutes later, he was bragging about something stupid. Sakura, as usual, found something to complain about. Sasuke came up behind the blonde and kicked him a few feet back, into a tree.
"Don't you think you're going a little overboard?" Sakura asked with a confused look on her face.
"Yeah, what the heck was that for?" Naruto asked, rubbing where Sasuke's foot made contact with his face. He got no reply from his teammate, only another blow to the face.
"Better watch out, Sakura. I think he's gone crazy!" he warned the pink-haired girl.
"Yeah, right. I just struck before you could!" the Uchiha retorted, taking out a kunai.
"Fine, bring it!" the two went at each other, the metal of their kunai clashing together as they fought. Sakura, who was still very confused by what was going on, look to Sasuke.
"Please stop this, Sasuke. What are you doing?!"
"Take a close look at him!" he insisted, still glaring at the blonde ninja. "Now, spill it! What have you done with the real Naruto?!" he demanded.
"I am the real Naruto!"
"Then where's the cut on your cheek?!" he asked, and the other boy's blue eyes widened in surprise, as if he hadn't been aware of that injury. "I guess you didn't know that the real Naruto got a cut on his cheek before the test! And also, the real Naruto is right handed! Now, who are you?"
"You got me, so what? I'm still going to take your scroll!" Smoke appeared out of nowhere, engulfing the ninja in a cloud of thick fog. When it settled, the imposter revealed his true form, a ninja from the Hidden Rain Village.
"If you just hand over the scroll, I may spare your lives. Now, which one of you has it?" the stranger demanded, his voice somewhat distorted by the device covering his mouth. When it was obvious that neither one was going to give it up, he charged at them. "Fine, i'll take you both out!"
Sasuke launched himself into the air to avoid the oncoming attack, quickly forming a few hand signs. "Fire Style: Pheonix Flower Jutsu!" suddenly, she started shooting giant fire balls at the enemy. The Rain ninja had a little trouble but still managed to dodge them all, before launching himself at the Uchiha boy.
When his head on attack didn't work in his favor, the Rain ninja turned and started making his way through the forest with Sasuke hot on his heels. "Get back here!" the raven haired boy called.
"Hey, get me out of this!" he heard his hyperactive teammate yelling from the ground.
"You've gotta be kidding me! Naruto, you loser..." Sasuke though to himself. He threw one of his kunai and cut the rope around his arms, giving Naruto the freedom to take care of the rest.
"Thank you!" the blonde called as the Uchiha passed him, who was still chasing the Rain ninja that had attacked them.
"Better stay focused on me!" the Rain ninja reminded him, throwing a few kunai. Sasuke hid behind a tree branch, letting the weapons stick themselves in the wood. However, he didn't notice the paperbombs attached to them until it was almost too late.
"Shit!" he cursed as the paperbombs exploded. The Genin landed hard on the ground, wincing at the force of the impact.
"Sorry, this is one test you fail. Now hand over the scroll, or die." the Rain ninja warned, appearing behind him and holding a kunai to the back of his neck.
"Sasuke!" Sakura's voice echoed through the quiet forest as she entered earshot. This distracted the rain ninja long enough for Naruto to make his move. The knuckleheaded ninja threw a kunai and jumped out of the tree just as the enemy dodged the attack.
"Better late than never, I guess." Sasuke thought, focusing chakra into his foot. He caught the kunai his teammate had thrown before it hit the ground and sent it right back at the target. The ninja was so focused on dodging the weapon that he didnt see the Uchiha boy coming at him. By the time he realized what was about to happen, it was too late. The weapon penetrated his abdomen, some blood splattering on the rookie.
"Sasuke, are you alright?!" the pink haired girl called from where she was standing.
"Be careful, Sakura! Chances are this guy's not alone, keep your guard up!" he warned, before the Rain ninja pushed away from him.
"I wish. I came on my own so I didn't arrouse suspicion, but that was a bad idea." with that, the enemy retreated deep into the forest, his stab wound still bleeding quite a bit.
After the enemy ran away with his injuries, Team 7 sat down to discuss what to do next. They couldn't chance someone infiltrating their team if they managed to get separated. They needed a password, something known only by the three of them. Little did they know, they weren't exactly alone.
Arisa had set her sights on a group of seemingly weak Genin that had a Heaven Scroll and kept in the shadows of the forest, waiting for her chance to strike. The only reason that she figured it out is because the boy carrying the scroll made the mistake of taking it out for any nearby team to see.
Saeko had told her and Kyo that the mission was to pick out weak Genin with Heaven Scrolls, then report back to camp with their locations. She knew she should do what her sister told her, but it seemed easier to just take their scroll while she was there. They already seemed to have let their guard down, so it would be a breeze to just take the scroll and leave.
She stealthily made her way from tree branch to tree branch, careful not to alert her targets of her presence. She was about to jump down and strike, when a kunai flew right by their head. "Come out, now." the boy holding the scroll demanded, looking over in her direction.
The brunette jumped down a good distance away from the group, a bit surpised by being called out. She didn't ever expect that they'd be able to detect her presence. "Didn't think you'd find me." she commented, and the boy that'd called her out just glared at her.
"You want our scroll, right?" he asked, pulling out a kunai and holding it defensively. "Well, you're gonna have to come get it."
"Don't mind if I do." she starting running toward the group, throwing three shuriken at the Genin, piercing them all in their necks. Just when she'd thought she'd won, the three boys disappeared in a cloud of smoke, and in their place were logs. "Substitution?!" she cursed silently for letting herself be fooled, looking around to see if she could find them.
Without warning, Arisa recieved a hard kick to the face. She didn't have an opportunity to hit the ground, because the boy's teammates took turns punching her in the stomach. They stopped after a moment, letting the girl fall to her knees on the grass.
"You done yet?" the same boy from before asked, standing over her with his arms crossed. She didn't reply because she was too busy coughing up blood, so he assumed that she wouldn't try anything.
He was wrong; before he had the opportunity to do anything, she stabbed him in the leg with her kunai. He cried out in pain, using his uninjured leg to step on her head he forced her face into the dirt.
Sasuke hid in the bushes as a large wind torrent cut through the forest, leaving behind a large crater path. He didn't know what he should expect, so he had a kunai in hand and ready just in case.
He jumped out from his hiding spot as soon as he felt a presence to his left, holding his kunai in a defensive position.
"Oh, it's just you." he visibly relaxed a bit, but his guard was definitely still up.
"Sasuke, i'm so glad that you're-" she started to squeal and walk towards the Uchiha boy, until she was told to stop.
"When does a ninja strike?" he asked, waiting for her to answer the question. She recited the password perfectly, proving that she wasn't the enemy in disguise. he exhaled in relief, then turned to find Naruto rushing toward them, screaming for their attention.
"Don't come any closer! What's the password?" Sakura stopped him in his tracks, and he just grinned at them. bragging that he knew the whole thing.
"A ninja a waits 'til the time is right, when the enemy sleeps and drops his guard. When his weapons lie forgotten in the stillness of the night. That is the time for a ninja to strike." the blonde recited the password completely, and Sakura smiled.
Sasuke, however, wasn't buying that this person was who they appear to be. He threw a kunai at the blonde, watching him fall over onto his right side to dodge it.
"What was that?! You could have killed me!" the blonde yelled in outrage.
"Gotta hand it to you, you're quicker than the last one." the Uchiha commented.
"What are you talking about, what was wrong with that? He just got the password right, word for word!" the pink haired Genin tried to defend Naruto.
"That's what's wrong. Do you really think he could memorize it and get it word-for-word?" he asked, holding his kunai up again. "Not the Naruto I know, not in a million years. You'd have a better chance of teaching it to a hamster." Sakura sighed and agreed with the Uchiha boy. There was no way he'd be able to memorize all of that password.
"Besides, you saw how this guy moved when he dodged my attack. It definitely wasn't a Naruto move. Now show yourself, whoever you are." He demanded, and the blonde boy smirked devilishly, lickinging his lips.
"Aren't we the clever one?" in a huge puff of smoke, the boy revealed who he really was. Turns out, it was the Grass Ninja that had a run-in with Anko right before the second exam started. "Tell me, if your teammate is really that stupid why would you give a password that he couldn't possibly remember?" she asked curiously.
"It wasn't for Naruto, so much as for anyone that just so happened to be eavesdropping on us. It was a trap, and you walked right into it.
"Very impressive. You certainly haven't dropped your guard, have you?" She cooed, taking off her hat. "This will be very entertaining..." She licked her lips again with her long and pointy tongue, causing Sakura to shiver as she watched.
"She gives new meaning to the word creepy... And where the heck is Naruto?" she though silently to herself, wondering if the boy would return to his team soon. By the looks of this enemy they were going to need all the help they could get.
"I bet you'd love to get your hands on our Earth Scroll, wouldn't you?" the grass Genin taunted, holding his scroll up for the rookies to see. They didn't move or say a thing, just waited for their enemy to make a move.
To their surprise, the Grass ninja opened his mouth and his freakishly long tongue wrapped itself around the scroll. The two leaf Genin were completely shocked, just stood there and watched him swallow it whole. In a way, it was like a snake swallowing it's prey.
"Well, when this is all over one of us will have both scrolls, and the other..." an evil grin spread across her face as she continued to speak. "...will be dead!"
