Brom watched as Sasuke collapsed. Sakura rushed to him, and try as she might, she could not wake him, nor Naruto or Kyu. "Daredevil, what is going on?"
"I don't know, Brom."
"Sakura,
can we move them?
"I don't think so, Brom."
"I'll set up a perimeter, tighten our defenses. Listen, Sakura, if anything happens, just remember to guard the others. I'll handle whatever comes our way, so long as you keep our teammates alive. Devil, high alert. Eyes, ears, and nose open, reports every five minutes." Brom set about using the last of his trap kits, and a few that he learned at home, to tighten the perimeter defenses. By the time he was finished, a mouse couldn't make it into the clearing.
"Squirrel, Brom, five feet and closing." Brom saw the rodent, and also saw the exploding note on its back. He grabbed the squirrel, ripped off the letter bomb, and put it out. He let the squirrel go back into the forest, and turned back to Sakura. "Brom, three humans incoming. They'll be here right about, now!"
Brom whirled as three kunai came streaking at him. He ducked and repulsed the blades with his saber. Brom drew the hunting knife and lunged for the source of the kunai. He was stopped short by a massive force slamming him against a tree. Brom could feel his leg snap. He sat up and saw the three Sound ninja attacking as one. There was a girl, with black hair, a boy with a white ponytail, wrapped in bandages like a mummy, and a black-haired boy, with holes in either palm, grinning like a madman. Brom hurled his spontoon as hard as he could, but the black-haired boy deflected it by merely raising his palm. A burst of high-pressure air erupted from it, and the spear went off into the heavens. (It would later fall from the sky, impaling a bag of potato chips that Akimichi Chouji was holding as he ate, causing his team to prepare for immediate attack. It would be the fastest Chouji'd ever prepared for something besides an all-you-can-eat buffet.) The black-haired boy turned to Brom and spoke. "Zankuha, the Blast that Cuts the Air."
His companions looked to him. "Zaku, just finish this, we don't have all day," said the mummified one. Zaku grinned his maniacal grin once more, and advanced toward Sakura, who was rooted to the spot, her rapier drawn.
Brom sat helpless as the three moved on his teammate, his leg barely begun to heal. He could do nothing as the three prepared to slaughter her, and his fallen mates.
But Brom was amazed to see a green blur streak into the clearing, and Zaku went flying. Rock Lee stood proud and solid before Sakura. Brom's leg healed enough to where he could move, and he limped up to Lee. "I told Sakura I would defend her with my life. I'm a man of my word, Brom Bones."
"Welcome to the fray, Lee. You take the one with the mummy face, and I'll go after the psycho. Sakura, can you defend against the girl? Devil can provide backup if you need it."
"I can handle her."
"Alright, then. To battle, Lee?"
"To battle." The two erupted off their marks, each headed to his own target. Brom rushed in with a flurry of sword attacks, thrusting and slashing with lightning speed. But the boy from Sound dodged each one. Neither spoke, and though Brom was in deadly earnest, Zaku grinned as he dodged. Zaku drew a kunai, and began to stand and parry when he tired of dodging. Finally, Zaku was done playing with Brom. As Brom lunged in to thrust, he caught a Zankuha in the belly. He rolled with it, so the impact was lessened somewhat, but it still cracked some ribs. Brom's saber flew from his hand. As he lay on the ground, Brom saw Zaku pick it up. He realized right away that he didn't have the chakra to use any jutsu, not even Kawarimi to switch with something and get out of the way. He couldn't best the reach advantage Zaku now had using his hunting knife or kunai, so his only option was the one he'd been dreading. He looked up at Zaku, who now stood above him. "Good ninja, would you grant me one last request? As an honorable shinobi?"
"What is it?"
"Allow me five minutes to kneel and pray before you kill me. Allow me to make peace before I go."
"Alright, but make it quick." Zaku stood poised to strike. He was low, and somewhat vicious, but he had an honorable streak.
Brom closed his eyes and retreated into his mind. He walked up a path in his mindscape to a sword set in a stone. It was the seal that bound the Horseman in his blade. "Horseman!"
The sword vibrated, and the Hessian's voice came out. "What is it you want, boy?"
"I wish to make with you a trade. I am at this moment about to face the fate that befell you in the western woods that winter. A man has my sword, and is about to take my head. I can defend myself by drawing your sword. If I draw your sword, you'll take over. I know this and you know this. I don't want to draw your sword. The last time it was loosed you killed Anne and cursed me by filling the gaps in the Wanderer's Chains. But I also don't wish to hasten forth to the endless torture of wandering the earth. So this is my proposal. What is it you wish more than anything?"
"Freedom."
"If
you agree to my terms, I will give you that freedom, in a sense.
You'll be called forth to do battle, and little else, but you will be
free."
"Name your terms, boy."
"Firstly, you cease calling me boy. Secondly, you kill only those I tell you to. Unless I give the go-ahead, you are not to kill. Thirdly, you have to go back when I say to. Are we agreed, Hessian?"
"I
don't like it, but beggars can't be choosers. Shall we iron out the
details once we are safe and free? I believe the sword above you is a
more pressing situation."
"Agreed. You kill only
the boy with my sword, and his companions, but none else! Especially
not the pink-haired girl, the pale boy with black hair, or the fox
and the blond boy."
"Agreed, Abraham Crane. Shall
we?"
"After you."
Brom's eyes opened. But where once rested eyes as verdant green as a forest there now shone a pair of orbs as blue as sapphire, and as hard as ice. They immediately took in that Lee was down. Sakura stood over the others, her rapier darting out like a striking viper, holding the girl at bay. The boy stood, and drew the broadsword at his hip. Zaku rushed him with the saber, and swung in a powerful, yet clumsy slash downward. Brom parried it easily, and the blade flew out of Zaku's hand. "Guten tag; ich bin der Hessian."
"Huh?" Everyone was confused, not only at the change, but at the words.
"Pardon me. It has been a while since I last had a voice. I said, Good day; I am the Hessian." He looked at Sakura. "You must be the pink-haired girl that the Crane boy warned me not to harm. He speaks volumes of you. And you must be the Sound ninja that he told me of," the Hessian spoke, looking at Zaku. "I was to kill you. And I think I shall. Daredevil!" The horse ran to him, and he mounted. "We ride!" They charged across the clearing at breakneck speeds, and the Zankuha blasts that Zaku launched from his palms were dodged narrowly. The Hessian leapt from Devil's back, and brought his sword down in a two-handed slash that laid the boy's right arm open to the bone. The next strike would have taken his head at the shoulders, but a wave of low-pitched noise washed over him, and The Hessian collapsed, reverting back to Brom.
When he awoke, Brom's head was pounding. "What happened?"
Sakura spoke. "After the mummy guy, Dosu, used a sound technique on you, you passed out. Ino's team blundered along, and they tried to get in on the action. They were just about overmatched when the rest of Lee's team came along, and Sasuke woke up. The mark that Orochimaru guy gave him had spread all across his body, and he went berserk. He broke Zaku's arms, and nearly tore them off, but I couldn't stand to see him like such a monster, and somehow he stopped. Naruto woke up and asked about Kyu, then you. By the way, what was that, that way your eyes changed color after you knelt? I think you even said you were the Hessian."
"That actually was the Hessian. We struck a bargain. I let him out in battle by drawing his sword, and he follows my orders. It's mutually beneficial. Isn't that right, Hessian?" He tapped the blade with his hand, much like one would a younger sibling or favorite pet. Sakura was in shock.
"How long have I been out?
"About two hours. Sasuke went scouting, and came back with some bad news. No other teams around, but that Hidden Rain camp the spy told us about? It was gone. The two other shinobi were dead. Crushed to death, as if by some huge hand. And grit was found in the bloodstains. Almost like sand."
"Devil, can you smell anyone?"
"No. But I can detect the faint scent of woodsmoke from the west, so I suggest we go that way."
"Devil says we should go west. He smells woodsmoke, so it could be a camp. What scroll do we have?"
"Earth," replied Sasuke. "The Sound trio left it as they turned tail and ran."
They stalked off, with Daredevil taking Sakura to a new campsite by the river with their supplies. An hour later, they came upon a tiny clearing near a bamboo grove. In it lay three sleeping forms. Brom looked at them. "Sasuke?"
"I can't. When I try to use chakra, even for the Sharingan, I lose control."
"Kyu, can you sneak in and see if anything's up?"
"Of course." The fox slid into camp, as silent as the grave, and came back. "Tsuchigakure, Hidden Stone. All three are sleeping, but the perimeter is so full of traps that a person can't get through."
"Now what do we do?" asked Naruto.
"I have an idea. Kyu, keep an eye on the rocks. Naruto, find me some feathers, and a string. Sasuke, find me some stout wood and narrow bamboo canes." The two went to gather the supplies. When they returned, Brom took them and sat down quietly out of earshot of the camp and pulled his hunting knife. Within an hour he had a workable bow and three arrows with stone heads and mismatched feathers. Brom shinnied up a huge bamboo and took aim. One by one he put an arrow in the head of each Stone Shinobi. He silently prayed that they find peace. "Check their camp. Take their supplies, weapons, everything. Including their boots." They set about disarming the traps.
Sasuke rifled through each one's pockets. "Bingo. Heaven."
"Bravo. Let's head back to camp and let Sakura know."
Naruto filled the dead ninjas' packs, taking the weapons, scrolls, rations, even their spare clothes. Brom used a Doton Jutsu to bury them, and a chakra marker to let him know the location. "What was that for, the marker?" asked Naruto.
"So that when this exam is over, I can find their teacher and let him know the location, so they can have a proper funeral in their home village. It is the least I could do."
As they went back along their backtrail, they came across prints going toward their camp. Kyu sniffed. "The Yakushi boy, from the first test. Not five minutes ago."They set out, faster now, but silently. When they arrived, Sakura was sitting down next to Kabuto, drinking tea. Both were facing away from the trail. Brom signaled with his hands, and the others slithered off in different directions, setting up overwatch and ambush positions. Brom strode silently up to the two, and laid his saber point against the hollow of Kabuto's neck. "Stand and deliver, Sir, or I will strike you down."
"Ah, the hero returns. I wondered when you'd get back. Like I told Sakura when I arrived in your camp, I mean you no harm. My team already has both scrolls, so why would I want yours?"
"More scrolls in your possession means fewer teams pass, and fewer teams means less competition," hissed Brom. Sasuke's stern glare echoed the sentiment.
"True, but the idea never occurred to me. My team and I got separated on the trail. I never could navigate."
"So you come here, seeking refuge among us?"
"More or less."
Brom sighed. "You may stay. But only until we reach the tower, and you will relinquish all your arms to us. We'll return them at the end." Brom watched as Kabuto pulled out several kunai, a small folding razor, a dozen shuriken, a Fuuma shuriken, and a wicked-looking hooked kunai. "Any medical items you may possess." That yielded a surgical kit complete with scissors, scalpel, and a very sharp tenaculum. Brom took these, and while he put them in his bag, Sasuke patted Kabuto down.
"He's clean."
Kabuto looked sad. "How am I supposed to defend myself?"
"Hand-to-hand. Now sit, and enjoy our fabled hospitality." The four ninja set about dividing the spoils of the raid. Naruto got some boots to replace the pair he'd been wearing, which were nearly worn out, three scrolls of basic Stone jutsus, and a copy of Make-out Paradise. Sasuke took a sword-cleaning kit, three pairs of gloves, and a ream of exploding notes. Sakura took a set of leather gauntlets, and was digging through one's pack when she found another scroll. It was fairly thick. The title was in a language she couldn't read, but the text she could, faintly.
"What's this? I can't read the title."
Brom looked it over. "Trattato di Scienza d'armi, by Camillo Agrippa. I'd advise holding onto that if I were you, Sakura. It's a fencing manual. It was written by an Italian named Camillo Agrippa, and it deals with the type of sword you own. It's a rapier manual."
Brom looked through the packs, and pulled out some poison-making scrolls, some fragrant tobacco, and a meerschaum pipe with an engraved stem and bowl. It bore twisting designs of ivy on the stem, and a bear on either side of the bowl. The weapons collected were inventoried, and divided evenly among them. The only two that any dispute was over were a Fuuma Shuriken with serrated blades, and a main gauche left-hand dagger. They settled the dispute with the dagger being presented to Sakura, as it was meant to be used in conjunction with a rapier or side-sword anyway, and a game of Jan-Ken-Pon for the shuriken. Sasuke won. Brom began to dig through the supplies brought over from the Stone camp, and selected some cans with homemade labels on them. Upon opening them he found rich, hearty stews, that he poured into a pot and set to cooking. He tasted it, and found it rather lacking in meat, so he cut up some leftover venison into the pot, and soon the aroma wafting out was heavenly. "Ladies, gentlemen, and Squatter," he said, "Come and get it. Stone stew with venison."
Sakura looked at him. "Stone?"
Naruto answered. "We ran into a camp. Three sleeping Stone shinobi. Brom dealt with them." He knew Sakura hated death, and killing, so he deliberately avoided mentioning how the shinobi were dealt with.
Brom was under a tree nearby, praying for the spirits of the ninja he'd killed, wishing them peace in the afterlife. After he finished, he sat and meditated. He needed to talk with the Hessian. He walked down the path of his mindscape, and instead of the sword in the rock, found a small cabin. Inside sat the Hessian. "I see that your lodgings have changed."
"So it seems, Crane. I suppose I have you to thank. By agreeing to give me more freedom, the way your mind portrays my seal was altered. I now have a cozy little lodge, where once I had but a sword. I suppose you're here to discuss the particulars of our agreement?"
"I am."
"Well, then, allow me to show you proper German hospitality while we discuss this. Schnapps?"
"No thank you. Here are my terms. I let you out in battle, and on special occasions only. I loosen the seals on the sword, but not enough for you to escape."
"I want more freedom than that, Abraham. Give me access to your chakra, and a way to manifest myself separately from you, and you have a deal."
"Not unrestricted access. Ten percent, at most."
"Fifty-five."
"Thirty,
and I'll find a way to let you manifest a little."
"Deal." They shook hands, and Brom resurfaced from his mind. He spent the night polishing a bow that he'd taken from one of the dead Stone shinobi, a short, stout bow, backed with water buffalo sinew. The arrows were well-made, and tipped with iron heads, formerly a cast-iron skillet, if the grease smell on them was any clue.
When morning came, Naruto was off in one corner, honing part of his spoils, a pair of kusari-gama, or sickles with chains on the butts. Each sickle had an eight-foot chain with a steel weight at the end mounted to the butt. Naruto finished honing them on a whetstone, and came back to the fire. "I think we should set out now, so we can pass this test."
"I agree," said Sakura, as she read from her fencing scroll and practiced passatas.
"Might as well," said Sasuke. He took a pull from the flask.
"Let's go then. Kyu, keep an eye on Kabuto. You too, Naruto." Brom saddled up Daredevil, and lashed the supplies onto his back. Devil had words to say over it, but Brom pointed out that he was stronger than the humans, being a demon, and that this left the rest of them free to defend themselves. They set out toward the center of the forest, being careful and silent. They walked for hours, and finally something became apparent to Naruto when he passed a tree and gouged bark from it, and they passed the same tree three times.
Naruto was mortified when he realized it. They were trapped in a genjutsu, and they hadn't figured it out in almost an hour. "Guys, we're going in circles."
He'd have said more, but those who set the trap now sprung it. As the team dispelled the illusion, a wave of clones attacked. They were water clones, which meant either Rain or Mist. The wave of dense fog that rolled in settled that debate. As they all fell into the fray, volley upon volley of shuriken and kunai would rain down upon them. Brom leapt back from the fray, and unslung the bow. He waited, and waited, and once three volleys had come in, he gauged the rough location of the enemy. The clones were of only two people, so the third must be the one lobbing rounds in. Brom drew the bow, and the shaft whistled through the air, striking nothing, but the faint curse he heard told him he'd at least come close. The second arrow was lower. The volleys stopped.
Sakura was fencing with the clones, and Sasuke was using Inazuma. Naruto had slipped on a pair of brass knuckles, and Kyu used Kitsune Henge. They were all fighting, and winning, but the clones kept coming. They couldn't tell where the real Mist nins were. Naruto used Shadow Clone, and each clone fought with the ferocity of the original. Brom loosed arrows into the battle until he was done, and drew the Hessian's sword. "Your turn."
The Hessian waded into the battle, and cut down all who stood in his way. At last only two Mist Shinobi stood, locked in mortal combat with Sakura. She lunged, running one through, and dropped to the ground, sweeping the other's legs from beneath him and plunging the dagger into his chest. Both disappeared in splashes of water.
"What?! Clones?" yelled Naruto incredulously. "Where's the real pair?"
"Naruto, I have a plan," whispered Sasuke. "Just follow my lead." With that, he used the signs for the Kirigakure Hiding in Mist Jutsu, just as he'd learned from watching Zabuza in the land of waves. Naruto followed, and left the others as bait. Soon the two real shinobi began to creep up on Brom and Sakura. Naruto came out of the mist with the two kusari-gama in hand. The chains wrapped around the Mist nins' necks, and he dragged them close and knocked them out. The Hessian sheathed the sword, and Brom returned. He searched the woods near where he'd fired the first two arrows, and found the third ninja, with an arrow in his leg and in his shoulder. He got knocked out, and all three were trussed up. The team set back off toward the tower, and arrived just as the sun set on the second day. Kabuto met up with his team, and got all his weapons and surgical gear back, as promised.
Inside, they opened the scrolls, and out of them was summoned one Umino Iruka, Chuunin and teacher. "You pass!"
