Chapter 4

The forest quiet was destroyed throughout the few days of the Second stage of the Chunin Exams. Naruto and his team unleashed their lethal fire down on the contestants more than once. Already two team had fallen to the assaults while another had been badly injured before they were able to retreat.

Sakura's own team was currently staking out the location of Naruto's clones. This group held the smallest set of weapons, but were by no means defenseless. Sai had sent out an ink clone to try and get the scroll only to have its head blown apart from the force of the round. This reminded them they were no longer facing down the playful Naruto they had once known.

Sakura at this point was debating if it would be better to just quit and head for her home and try again another year. She had signed up for a chance to become a Chunin, not face certain defeat and death. She knew in the end both of these ended becoming the same thing, but still this was a little too forceful for her.

"How do we get the scroll form those clones," Sakura asked, whispering still.

"We cannot yet, Naruto will be expecting an attack," Sai said.

"Then how do we get it, we cannot wait much longer otherwise we will not have enough time complete this part," Sakura said.

"We have to use another team as bait," Sasuke said.

"As bait, are you mad? We cannot have another team killed just to pass ourselves," Sakura said, in shock and disgust.

"He is correct though, right now we don't have the skills needed to take on Naruto's clones. We only know the bare basics of the skills that he actually has currently," Sai said.

"Why not send in more of your ink clones, then we can figure out what Naruto is actually able to use," Sakura pointed out.

"It would be a waste of time and Chakra, plus clones don't always hold up the best," Sai said.

"Well if you three are not willing to try anything then why, are you still here," A Naruto clone said appearing near them.

Sakura jumped back to a different tree, while Sasuke and Sai each drew a kunai and got ready for a fight. They had thought they were still safely hidden, but it seemed a clone had found them, it was their only hope it did not actually attack them. Not that it had yet even after sneaking up on them, but none of them were wanting to take bets on it not actually letting lose an attack on them.

"What do you want," Sasuke asked, glaring at the clone.

"Nothing really just trying to figure out just why you are not going full out and trying to be Chunin," The clone asked.

"You would kill us in an instant," Sakura said, glancing back to where they had seen the two clones before, and noticed they were gone

"Well if that is what you believe then let me make it so," Naruto said, shouldering a different weapon than the one from before.

Sasuke and Sai jumped away as Naruto let lose a few shots. The noise like all the other weapons was deafening. And the effect was surprising as it put not one but four holes into the three where they had been standing. Naruto turned and began tracking Sai and soon let lose another shot. Sai gasped in pain as it nicked his left arm and leg. Sai ducked behind a tree as another shot struck it.

Naruto grinned and called out, "for being my replacement you are rather slow Sai."

Sakura ducked behind another tree as she called out, "Why are you attacking us, we are your former teammates."

"Well you are the bosses teammates, but our job and tasks still must be fulfilled. And that, unfortunately, means removing you from the exam, besides there is one of you that I don't have emotional ties to," Naruto called back.

"Can't you cut us any slack?" Sakura asked.

"No, but I will not kill any of you, just wound you. Now I would run unless you want to deal with some of my more explosive ammo," Naruto said, detaching something from his weapon, and reaching what looked to be a large drum like container to it.

Sasuke by this point had snuck around behind the clone, and was getting ready to remove it for good. Sasuke while he understood why Sakura was worried and not willing to fight Naruto, knew that Naruto's clones were not Naruto and reasoning did not always work. It was for this reason he came up and shoved the barrel of the weapon upwards as a shot flew through it, as he drove the Kunai into the clones back dispelling it.

Sasuke gasped in pain as shot caused the barrel to become extremely hot for a few seconds, causing him to pull his hand back. The weapon itself fell to the ground then soon disappeared in a small puff of smoke, showing it to be some sort of clone as well. Sakura hurried overseeing the clone fall through the leaves, grabbed up the scroll the clone had been holding.

"You okay," Sakura asked.

"Yeah," Sasuke said, as the pain receded.

Sakura nodded happily, as a moment later, a large explosion was heard. Sakura and Sasuke looked towards where it had been, as Sai landed by them. Sakura soon spotted the smoke, and shivered, it looked like it had been a massive explosion.

"What caused that," Sakura asked.

"Must have been those special shots," Sai said as he pulled out some strips of cloth and began binding his wounds.

"Scary, but at least one of his clones are dead," Sakura said.

"I never thought Naruto had in it to kill us," Sasuke said.

"He didn't if you had been listening," Sakura said, "He just was going to wound Sai enough to drop us out of the test."

"Agreed. Though that explosion suggests otherwise," Sai said, as he finished tying up the make shift bandages.

"As it is, we are lucky to have this," Sakura said, holding up the scroll.

"Yes," Sasuke said taking the scroll and pocketing it.

"Now let's get to the central tower, before we run into any more clones. I don't want to deal with another fight like that," Sai said standing up, before leaping off into the forest.

Sakura nodded and followed and was soon followed by Sasuke as well. As they vanished from view the two clones that had seen them before dropped onto the tree the group had been on only a few moments before. The clones looked at each other before they decided to follow Sasuke's team. After all their job still had to be done.