"We have to get by through our own skills," Tenten explains to the younger genins. Her teammates nod in agreement, with varying excitement levels. "We've been genins for just over one year, and whilst we're still young in terms of a chūnin promotion, it'd be expected we pass on our own skills. Not to mention, our own starting position is some distance from you lot. It'd be easier to work by ourselves."
"If pushed we would be able to make it," Lee says. "Training Ground 44 is massive, but one of our team's best skills is our speed."
"However, it would more likely a disadvantage to us," Neji murmurs. "I am sorry, Hinata-san, but as a team, we must refuse your request."
Hinata smiles at her cousin. "That's okay, Neji-kun, I didn't think it would work; it was a bit of a long shot." As a trio, Team Gai head towards their starting gate. "Okay, where do we want to meet then?" The Hyūga asks the other Konoha rookie genins. Due to only being genins for six months, they've decided to work together for the second trial after it had been explained. As a group, they'd be able to have a better defence and offense, and outnumber their targets, meaning they'd be more likely to pass the trial. Not to mention, Konoha needs a good showing, and this will give Konoha a better chance.
"What about on the south side of the tower, about five clicks away?" Sasuke offers, trying to remember the map they had only seen briefly. "I think it was about equal distance from our respective starting gates."
"That sounds correct," Shikamaru muses. "Meet in the trees?"
"Of course!" Kiba says, Akamaru barking an agreement from his head.
A voice called out, "Ten minutes until the second trial of the chūnin exams begins! All participants need to be at their gates in six minutes or they will forfeit their right to a chūnin promotion in this exam."
Without another word, the nine genins split into their teams and take off at a steady lope to get to their gates. At their gate, Team Kakashi mill about, impatiently waiting for the gate to open and the trial to begin. It's far too open to discuss any plans about the scroll they'd received or plans to retrieve a second scroll in the training ground.
"How many trials in total do you think there'll be?" Naruto asks as they wait for the final minutes to pass them by.
"Well, this is the second trial and will cut the numbers in half, as the examiner mentioned," Sakura says. "They've tested information gathering and this will test teamwork and leadership, I suppose, not to mention tracking and trapping and everything."
"There should be another trial to test individual fighting skills," Sasuke adds. "But there'll be a lot of rounds currently, even with the teams cut in half due to this round."
Humming, Naruto considers what he knows about the chūnin exams. They usually try to test all skills needed for a chūnin, and the most important is whether a ninja can hold their own against another ninja by themselves. "The chūnin exams are scheduled to go for just over a month this time, and this will only take a week. So… maybe they'll give us all time between this trial and a third trial focussing on attacking?"
(No one is surprised by his assumptions or his knowledge; he wishes to be Hokage and so he will learn all he can. He may not be a genius or a prodigy, but he is a hard worker, and hard work pays off.)
"What would you do if there were too many teams partaking in a fighting round?" Sakura asks, directing her question at Naruto.
"Preliminary match," Naruto answers after pausing. "Give participants a break between the preliminary match and the final trial. Make the final trial some big fancy thing to bring in revenue and celebrate it as an event to showcase Konoha's strength. You'd need to tighten security and be preparing for it months in advance, but it'd give candidates to show their strategy off in one round and their power in another."
"Then we operate on the basis that that's going to happen," Sasuke advises. "Try to keep some strength and power ready in case there's something at the end of this trial. That'd be the best time for a preliminary trial." Before his teammates can answer, a buzzer goes off and the gates open automatically. Ahead of them, the forest awaits.
Upon entering, they take themselves up to the highest branches on one of the trees, an area where only Konoha ninjas – or unwise ninjas – would go. The tree sways from their weight, not due to the wind, and still they remain there. Above the majority of the trees, it feels less humid, (away from the ground, they can almost pretend that there's nothing but the open sky, the treetops, and them).
"What do we have in terms of supplies?" Sakura asks.
"Not much," Naruto replies. "We are so unprepared for this, caught with our weapons sheathed, to say the least. Good news is that we have water, and I've got a few ration bars from our last mission in my sealing scroll."
"I've got my smaller first aid kit," Sakura reports. "I've also got water, and two sealing scrolls."
"Two bottles with water, foldable bowl for Takuma, ration bars that will last all three of us two days, sealed food that will last Takuma a week, and a spare sealing scroll that's empty," Sasuke adds. "We also have a Heaven Scroll and need to find ourselves an Earth Scroll."
"The scroll can be a problem for when we meet with the others," Sakura says. "Right now, our immediate problem is that we don't have enough food. Sasuke, can we use your spare scroll to store any food we come across? I reckon if we come across any teams, we attempt to target them for resources and – if we can – grab some scrolls."
"This is Training Ground 44," Naruto points out. "The one with the megafauna. There should be heaps of food and small prey skittering about. However, what we do have to watch out for are the predators around here."
"That said, this training ground is open to genins and above," Sasuke points out. "So, we should be able to fight anything natural that gets in our way. However, I'm going to be relying on taijutsu for the most part, as fire ninjutsu is… unadvisable here." His teammates laugh in response, and Sasuke smiles at them. "Shall we head towards the others then?"
When everyone agrees, the group of four walk halfway down the tree and set off at a rapid pace. Even when they pass other teams, no one looks at them – no one ever looks up, although they really should. They're in Konoha after all.
(Do they not know what Konoha's name is? Konoha is the village hidden in the trees, and their name is for a reason.)
"That's two Earth Scrolls we need and one Heaven Scroll," Kiba sums up. "We have any plans for what we want to do?"
"Ideas?" Naruto asks, looking around at their small group, (and they had been waiting to hear what he wanted, because already they look to him, stand beside him, they chose him as leader whether they – or he – is aware of it or not).
"Use the ninken to find teams, have a scouting group attempt to find out which scroll they have and then have an attacking team get the scroll if it's one we need," Sasuke offers.
"Split into two groups and have both teams go on the hunt for scrolls. When one team manages to achieve a scroll, send a ninken to the other team and regroup," Hinata says.
"If you wanted, we could split into our individual groups of three and then have Hinata's team scout. If they locate a team, then your team attack and our team act as backup and be the defensive team for the scrolls. Take any scrolls and resources we find and attempt to eliminate the competition as much as we can, and – with any luck – make the preliminary round unnecessary," Ino says.
"If everyone is going to the tower, in the end. Should we not simply set up a trap there?" Shino asks.
"I agree with Shino," Chōji says. "If we set up a perimeter around the tower, we can separate into two groups and take the scrolls from everyone who comes into contact with us. That way we're likely to get the scrolls we need in almost half the time and take out some of the competition whilst we do so. Also, wasn't there a stream near the tower? Means there should be some good resources. Pretty sure I know some of the edible berries in the plants around here, and also the poisonous ones."
There's a pause, and when no one talks, Naruto claps his hands softly. "Alright, well Shino and Chōji's plan sounds the best. So, we'll work with that. I'm thinking we'll set up a trap relatively close the river, since people will probably travel near the river so they have water. There should only be one entrance as well, and the river is likely to be close to the doorway. We'll all set up the traps altogether and try to direct the team towards Team Kakashi, and we'll be the attackers, along with Team Asuma. Team Kurenai, you're our scouters. Send Akamaru in advance if you've spotted a team. If they're not going the right way, try to hassle them into our paths. If you need help, the normal signals all apply. Any problems?"
"I think it is a good plan," Shikamaru says at last, when no one else speaks, (and the Nara is a genius, and has the potential to succeed anywhere he wishes to direct his potential, but he ties his potential up with words and policies, his fighting skills are simply on par with where he wishes to go, but he doesn't focus on planning or war strategy or any such thing; he leaves that for the others.)
"The–" Naruto pauses as both Takuma and Akamaru stiffen. "Hide, my team remain."
The other six genins take to the trees, Akamaru following Kiba up, setting themselves in places where they will be hidden by foliage, but ready to attack if needed, (they are all equal but here they take orders and listen to the person they decided would lead them; here, they hide in the trees and wait for what will come; here, they are together and so they will fight as a team; here, they are Konoha ninjas regardless of their rank).
Three genins enter the clearing – Otogakure. All three appear to be wearing snake-skin scarfs, and a distinct appearance. However, none of them appear to have a speciality of any kind, Sasuke notes. The middle genin, the team leader at a guess, appears the most dangerous, with bandages wrapped around most of their body and a hunched back. Ordinarily, he would assume that by having only a left eye, the genin is weaker on his right side. However, as Kakashi is Sasuke's teacher, he knows better than to make such assumptions.
"So, this is the renowned Sasuke Uchiha, hmm?" The kunoichi of the group says, stalking closer. Sasuke doesn't move, even as his chakra fluctuates and he feels rattled. Beside him, Takuma growls, a low, dangerous sound. The kunoichi doesn't notice. She flicks her hair over her shoulder. "Doesn't look like much."
"Kin," another genin says, still not the team leader. "Our Kage wants us to test his skills, not make heart eyes at him."
"I am not!" The girl says shrilly, but she doesn't turn around to attack her fellow genin in anger. Clearly, despite their arguments, these three are willing to work as a team, (it marks them as dangerous).
"We are to test his skills," the team leader finally speaks, voice crackly and raspy, as if he is sick. "And ensure one of us returns with a report," he adds, slightly slower, softer, as if there is something important about the order.
Although rattled, (with fear rising up his throat like oil, thick and slow and disgusting by itself, because why are they after him and what if they're after Toru as well and what about his family, are they safe), Sasuke waits, watching his teammates and waiting, even though everything in him is screaming to attack. He is more than his instincts, though, and so he will listen to reason and continue to wait.
The pause stretches out, and Naruto clicks his tongue. Sasuke launches forward, Takuma by his side. Hands glowing green, Sakura neatly flips into the air. Calling up three shadow clones and one water clone in quick succession, Naruto jumps into the fray. Above the clearing, in the branches, the others wait and watch and gather intelligence, ready to help if needed to, even if they aren't asked.
Sasuke and Takuma engage the shinobi that isn't a team leader, leaving the dangerous-looking one to Naruto and his formidable ninjutsus, (it pays to be dangerous, but sometimes it pays to be able to completely outnumber your opponent and be dangerous that way), leaving the kunoichi for Sakura with her tendency to fight with pinpoint accuracy, (sometimes being female means having a slightly weaker body, preparing to face shinobi who are strong through sheer muscle power, and having a backup plan in case you come across someone like this).
As Sasuke charges forward, the shinobi he faces raises his arms. Not sure what the attack could be, but assuming there is one, he pushes chakra into his feet and leaps up, avoiding the blow. He comes down, one leg extended, and misses his opponent, who jerked back at the last second.
"You can't defeat me!" They say, meeting Sasuke's gaze evenly, and it's clear that this is overconfidence speaking. They're watching Sasuke, watching his hands, his legs, paying attention to the way he will attack next. Paying attention to him, as if he fights alone, as if he isn't part of a team, as if he doesn't have a ninken. "I can propel air pressure and stop you from attacking!"
Sasuke hesitates in his actions, but not because he is worried. He's read fictional narratives, a long time ago, where enemies always gave explanations for their abilities or their plans, monologuing and giving away all their information. He'd thought such a thing only happened in stories. He's a ninja, and so despite the strangeness of it all, he will take the information and use it against his opponent. After all, the ability to propel air pressure is only helpful if you can keep up with your opponent.
(Ninjas are fast, in the trees or on the ground, with the ability to boost themselves faster with chakra. Ninken are fast, both naturally and with the aid of chakra, shooting across distances and covering areas that not all ninjas can traverse as easily. Sasuke is fast naturally, his genetics give him the structure he needs to be quick, and he has trained his speed. Most of all, though, he looks to Toru who tries to run so fast he flies, who runs fast because he can, who runs fast to remembers a cousin he held dear, and so Sasuke tries to run fast as well.)
(He may only be a genin, but he is fast for a genin.)
His opponent places his hands out in front of him, clearly preparing to attack Sasuke. In response, Sasuke pushes himself to move quickly, shooting forward to duck under his enemy's arms, punching the other genin in the sternum. Behind his opponent, Takuma darts low, securing a leg in her mouth and crunching down. Their opponent yells in pain, and Sasuke grabs their arm and yanks on it, dislocating it with brutal efficiency. As he does so, he hears a grunt from Naruto. However, wrapped up with his own enemy, Sasuke can do nothing as he quickly secures the genin with wire and steals their weaponry and resources. He drops it a pile nearby, even as he pivots to check on his teammates.
Sakura's got a kunai to the kunoichi's – Kin's – throat, and Naruto is standing off-balanced in front of the team leader, and the other genins have grouped around them, prepared to attack if the need arose. It's a stand-off and a checkmate.
The team leader of the Otogakure genins surveys their surroundings, before kneeling on the ground. "I surrender on behalf of my team."
"Dosu!" The kunoichi hisses, "We need to fulfil our orders!"
"We have Kin," the genin replies. "They will kill you if we do not surrender."
"I would be proud to die for this!" Kin replies.
Sakura takes that moment to knock her out. She shrugs when the others look at her. "She was never going to surrender."
"No, she was not," Dosu agrees.
"What scroll do you have?" Naruto asks as he straightens with a stagger.
"We have an Earth Scroll," the only non-incapacitated Otogakure genin replies.
Wiggling his fingers, Naruto extends a hand. "Toss it here then." It's only when everyone tenses, he's realised he's made a mistake, (everyone makes mistakes, ninjas just can't afford to make many). Thankfully, though, Dosu doesn't attempt to attack, only throwing them a scroll. "One down, two to go," Naruto reports to the genins surrounding him. "Let's head out."
Dosu Kinuta has been loyal to Orochimaru for as long as he can remember, (he has always been loyal but he doesn't remember who he had been, he only remembers waking up in pain and then darkness and, from out of nowhere, Orochimaru's face and no pain). He has always been loyal, given his all for Otogakure. He had believed in his village, in their people, trusted that their Kage was doing the right thing, (those with body modifications are normal and Oto takes anyone in, so surely it was a good place).
This mission had been irritating him ever since they got their orders. Infiltrating the chūnin exams had hardly been simple or easy, but they'd had harder missions. But… Orochimaru had told them to test Sasuke Uchiha's skills and make sure at least one person returned alive to report. The wording had indicated that he didn't think their team would survive, that only one person would come back to Oto, (he is not a pawn to be used as a sacrifice for something greater than him; there is no reason to die due to the Uchiha's attacks or those of Konoha's various other genins; if it had been for Oto and their people, he would've bowed his head without second guessing it, but this is not for Oto).
Their team is a mix and match of people. Zaku is a body modified ninja and loyal to their Kage, overconfident and arrogant. However, he listens to Dosu slightly. The pair had been on three missions as partners and with other teammates. Dosu has led all three missions and saved Zaku's life four times over the course of the three missions. In return, Zaku had saved his life once, (Oto does not care for teamwork, but rather whether you complete the mission; teams are put together solely for the mission, there are no genin teams, there are just ninjas combined for the common purpose of completing the mission). Even if Zaku isn't loyal to him, he cared a little bit.
Nonetheless, he knows far too well that if it came down to their Kage versus him, he would go down.
Kin had been pushed onto them last minute, a reflection of Konoha's usual one kunoichi and two shinobis on a team. She'd run one mission with them, failing to listen to his instructions and picking fights with Zaku along the way. Only on this mission, she had finally listened to his few orders. Still, she didn't care for either of them, (if she had the option of leaving them behind to die, he knows she wouldn't hesitate to do it).
He has no weapons or resources now. Kin is unconscious in a tied-up slump to his left, Zaku tied up and awake on his right. Meanwhile, his hands are tied above his head, leaving him to almost hang from a branch. The wire is tight enough that if he dared pull himself up, it'd cut deep into his wrists and he'd bled out and die. The trunk of the tree is too far away to be of any use to him, (they had been smart, their opponents, and he had been overconfident and too busy questioning orders to pay attention to the danger in front of him; he'd only stopped fighting because he wished for his teammates to live).
Something trembles in his chest.
The humidity of Konohagakure is strange, and he's sweltering beneath his layers. Still, he's always known it to be better to hide his skin away, to cover everything, to make people look at his odd appearance and think it strange, to not have them look at his skin and consider why he looks the way he does. Except…
Except, maybe that was something Oto had taught him – maybe he had concluded that himself. There is no reason to hide his skin, even with the scars that crawl across him.
"Zaku," he calls, pitching his voice so the other shinobi heard him.
Zaku groans, but manages to lift himself to his knees, and meets his teammate's eyes. "I got enough information to report to-"
"He's using us as pawns," he hisses out, sharp and cutting. "Zaku, we're being used! He doesn't care if we live or die. This is probably our only chance to get out of Oto's service and live afterwards."
"You're talking treason," Zaku replies, shocked, (and although there are no teammates in Oto, he has to try and convince his teammate to join him, even if such an attempt is futile).
"We could be free," Dosu replies, even as he knows it won't work. He pauses, looking around, and heaves a sigh. "Looks like no one's around," he says, catching Zaku's wide-eyed gaze. "If there was anyone planning to attack, they would've done it whilst we were arguing."
"Do you have a plan to escape?" Zaku asks eagerly. "I can't use my arms in the condition they're in."
"Your best bet is to rest now," he replies as he shakes his head. "We can't do anything until Kin's awake." Grumbling, Zaku does as advised, and sits himself against a tree trunk awkwardly, closing his eyes.
Soon enough, Zaku's breathing evens out as he slips into a deep sleep. It'd been a weakness that Dosu had constantly told Zaku to work on, (but no longer). Zaku is a deep sleeper, and he is going to use that weakness to his advantage. Kin is still out, and he doesn't trust her that much anyway.
Knowing what he does now, he wants to leave Oto behind whilst he can. Leaving during the chūnin exams, when their Kage clearly has something planned for the near future, is his best bet to get away freely. Konoha has its own slums and people who hide in the street shadows and work as part of the Underground, (he might not remember much beyond waking up with their Kage above him, but he has taken mission after mission and learnt where no one looks).
There is no easy way to escape his binds, and it is too dangerous to do many of the normal ways to escape bindings. Thankfully, the little slack in regards to the wire is the best thing that's happened in relation to this whole fight. It allows him to rest more weight in the balls of his feet and then leap up, swinging his body so that his legs loop over the branch where the wire is tied to. Now hanging upside down, he needs to figure out what to do with these wires.
The good news is that the genins hadn't considered his chakra abilities. Even with his wrists tied, he's able to channel wind chakra to his fingers and slice through the wire that keeps him attached to the branch. Unarmed and hampered by the wire, he's not going to be able to fight anyone who decides that he's in their way, (the Konohagakure genins may have thought themselves kind, leaving him alive, but it would be all too easy to die when another genin came across him and assumed that it'd be an easy kill; he's all too aware how much some ninjas enjoy killing). Shifting so he's sitting upright on the branch, he looks around, trying to spy the shine of metal.
Thankfully, he quickly spots grey metal sunken deep into a tree trunk, a few trees over. Awkwardly, he carefully pushes chakra to his feet and stands on the branch. Anchored as he is by his chakra, he doesn't fall despite wobbling. The Konohagakure ninjas they'd been fighting had taken to the trees easily, not even bothering to hide much. The implication there is that no one ever looks up, meaning that for an injured ninja, it should be a safe place to be.
Finally, at last, he reaches the kunai and can quickly use the blade to cut through the wire. Breathing a sigh of relief, he checks up on his wrists. There are cuts where the wire had sat, and they're bleeding heavily, but they aren't deep cuts. With free hands, he's able to remove the straw raincoat from his back. It's not like he needs it now. There's no way straw blends into his surroundings at all. However, what he's really wanting is what he's been hiding beneath the straw raincoat. Unstrapping the rucksack, he rummages through it, glad he'd thought to pack his first aid kit and spare resources. Not bothering to avoid getting blood everywhere, he quickly ties bandages around his wrists. The white quickly turns pink, already becoming a dark red, but the bleeding seems to be slowing.
With a nudge of his foot, the straw raincoat falls from the branch, flopping onto the forest ground pitifully. The Oto hitai-ate follows it, dropping from his hand without a second thought, (and all the meaning of dropping the hitai-ate is not lost on him; he knows what it means, he knows what he's doing now). Following it, the snake-patterned scarf drops, along with the resonating echo speaker, and then the long-sleeved poncho. He pulls off the snake-patterned armour pants, leaving him in his muddled grass-green shorts he normally wears in Oto no Kuni.
Standing on the branch, he glances down at all the gear that Oto has given him. Now, he only has one thing left to do – make his teammates think he's dead. He notes, distantly, that his hands are shaking, adrenaline impacting him in a way it shouldn't because he is a ninja and has trained himself out of such reactions, (they trained him, taught him everything he knows, because he had woken up with no memories and they had promised to help him; he knows now that they only wished to send him off to slaughter, why didn't he see the signs earlier).
A growl fills his hearing, the sound low and dangerous. Jumping to another tree, he looks down to see a giant tiger eating the remains of a deer carcass. It's perfect for his plans.
Knowing the danger of the tiger's claws and teeth, he leaps down and grabs a deer leg, and jumps back into the trees, just avoiding the tiger's attack. The creature roars, and he darts off, leading the creature back to where his teammates had been. Enough time has passed that Zaku is likely to be waking up from his sleep and Kin's unconscious state is wearing off.
At least, he hopes so, (he doesn't wish for his teammates to die, he cares for them in a way that Oto has never celebrated). He reaches the branch he'd been tied to before the tiger reaches the clearing and uses chakra to head higher into the tree, situating the deer remains on a high branch and out of view from the ground.
There's another roar, this time there's a high-pitched scream – Kin – and a loud shout – Zaku. Even though he knows he should go, (and knows a good ninja never forms ties although he has never followed that rule), he pauses, ensuring that his (once-)teammates are safe. When they manage to get into the trees and keep themselves out of harm, he turns away.
He may not be smart or have a photographic memory, may only be a good ninja because he occasionally thinks, because he can hear sound and understand it no one else seems to, because their (not his anymore, never his now) Kage gave him a weapon and taught him to use it, because he was strong when paired with his given weapon, (and now he sees that they made him dependent on something they could take away, gave him a weakness that they could easily exploit; he will not give them the chance to destroy him). However, he did try and vaguely remember the map of Training Ground 44. It's why he knows if he keeps running for an hour or so, he'll reach the section of fencing that has no gates.
He's a ninja and sneaky, and he can escape without detection. From there, he only needs to stick to the back alleyways and shadows and make his way to the areas where the Underground is strongest, (people whisper and start rumours and so few people pay attention to them).
Slipping over the fence is much easier than he expected. To be fair though, he doubts Konohagakure ninjas assumed people would be escaping over the side. Not to mention, there's the whole fence stopping most people, and the aim of the trial is to reach the tower. Still, it's a large hole in their security that they may want to patch. Not that it matters, because he doesn't care about Konohagakure or Oto or anywhere, he just wants to get away from it all. It's not like he can be a ninja, (in deciding to leave he has to leave what he has always relied on, and in doing so, he has made himself much, much weaker).
The hardest part had been leaving his teammates behind, even if they aren't friends, even if Kin didn't care if they or she lived or died, even if Zaku only cared enough to save his life. He doesn't know how they came to Oto or what their favourite food is or anything. He only knows their weaknesses and their strengths and how they fight, (and they faced down nine genins in a forest far from home, sent to die, and he looked at all those genins and thought they were friends and that being teammates meant something here). The easiest part is making his way through shadows and into areas that no ninjas go to and only the worst civilians go, where gangs and crime are rampant and no one cares enough to stop it.
His instincts blare as he steps into a seemingly normal alley. Like the others he's traversed, it's shadowy and dirty, a few metal bins are by the other end, three crates next to where a wooden pallet leans against a wall. Still, he's been a ninja long enough to know to pay attention to his instincts, to listen.
From next to the bins, a person unfolds themselves out from the shadows. The person's small, a child, and appears about the same height as him, (no one ever questioned why his back was hunched, no one ever thought it strange for him to be a ninja with such a condition that impacted his flexibility and movement, and so he never told anyone that he's just overly short and keeps a rucksack on his back that causes him to appear that way; no one ever knows and so no one truly knows what he looks like). Their hair is pulled back into a ratty plait falling down onto her back. Yet, a single braid falls next to her face with beads decorating it.
"You shouldn't be here shinobi," the child says, narrowed eyes.
He bows his head, trusting that he is stronger than this civilian street child. "Please, I need help getting out of Konohagakure."
"You're not ours ta deal with," the child says, stepping forward. She pauses, glancing at him as he lifts his head, hope taken from him, his plans ruined. "Konoha's Underground is ours ta control and we don't deal with ninjas. But… Ryuu haunts the streets tonight. Come, you'll meet with 'im."
"Thank you," he says, stepping forward to follow her. "Thank you."
"You're running," the girl returns. "We've all run at some point. And so, we'll try ta aid when we can. You're young, a child, still. It gives you safety just as it gives ya danger."
Not quite knowing how to respond, he keeps silent and trials the girl, who leads him on a twisting, winding path that has them doing loops and keeping far away from others. Only once, do they come across someone else, who looks down as they pass and doesn't watch after them, (he does not know what to make of this; he doesn't understand why someone controls the Underground here, why he is following her, why he is doing anything he is right now, but he wants to live and so he will do what he must).
His guide comes to a stop by a warehouse, and two other street kids close ranks around him. He knows he could take them out – but he doesn't want to. "Masuyo," a cloaked figure greets.
"Don't know much so can't tell you much, Ryuu. 'E seemed like 'e needed help, and so I brought 'im ta you. We don't get ninjas tryin' ta get themselves smuggled out of Konoha. We don't get ninjas in our business," the girl – Masuyo – responds.
"Good thinking," Ryuu replies, "as always." The person directs their attention at him, and he feels like shrinking beneath his gaze, but he doesn't, (he won't). "So, why are you here? And tell the truth or this will take a new direction."
The Underground is dangerous, he knows this. He doubts this is some random person in front of him. This person is dangerous, and they don't care that he's a ninja. That means this person thinks that they can take him and… he has a feeling that that isn't overconfidence or arrogance speaking, (he knows overconfidence and arrogance and this isn't it).
"I… I was a shinobi of Otogakure, but their Kage treats everyone like pawns, like sacrifices. The mission is what matters not how many people return and I don't- I don't agree with that! So, so I'm not going to be. Be a shinobi of Oto. My teammates will think I died in the chūnin exams and so will Oto and its Kage and I'm going to go and never come back," he says, words short and frustrated and he sounds like a fumbling child who can barely speak, but how he can he say such things easily, (how do you smoothly and easily talk about betraying a village and running for your life).
"And so now, who are you?"
He stutters, trying to find words, a description, because he is who he has been but he doesn't want to be who he is anymore and-
A hum, and the person smiles at Masuyo who leaves with two others. "Do you wish to take a new name, perhaps? Many do for various reasons."
(His name means to serve and he doesn't want that anymore, by stripping his name away from him, he moves himself out of servitude and a life as a pawn, by taking a new name, he claims a new life for himself.)
He nods. "I think- I think I would like a new name, but…"
"It will take time to decide upon a name, and so now the question is, what do you wish to do now? Leave Konoha, feasible and doable, but you cannot hide who you are. Your chakra will mark you as a ninja, even if you no longer call yourself one."
"I- I can't though, I don't have the power I did, I've just got my basic skills! A genin could beat me right now!" He immediately panics, because he hadn't thought of that, he'd assumed everything would be fine the moment he was far away from Konohagakure.
The cloaked figure tilts their head. "Perhaps what you need is a safe place to hide as you refine your skills," they say. "The logistics are going to be a nightmare, since you'll need a teacher and a safe place to stay or…" They pause. "I can get you somewhere safe to a place where the people will look out for you and teach you. However, we have secrets that if they are ever heard, will kill so many of us. If we help you, you can never tell of us until the time comes."
"I can't trust you," he replies, "but… I will give you this." He can't help but wonder what will happen if he breaks his word.
The person nods and a cockroach appears in a puff of smoke. "Yamato-san, can you take this ninja to my people? He is on the run from Oto."
The cockroach leaps onto his shoulder, and he twitches, but doesn't jerk away. "What's your name?" The small insect asks. "Gotta have a name so I can introduce you."
"Kaito," he decides, liking how the name rolls of his tongue, how it rings of freedom and choice. "My name's Kaito."
"Well, mine's Yamato," the summon replies, turning to face its summoner. "I'll take him through the back of the compound and then away."
"Thank you, Yamato-san," the person says, before looking back at him, (at Kaito, because that's who he now, that's who he wants to be, and Kaito will be better than whoever he had once been). "We will meet again, and I looked forward to seeing your progress."
He bows, because he is grateful even if he knows there is danger everywhere. "Thank you, Ryuu-san," he says, and when he looks up, he's alone.
For someone rather quiet, Shino's laughter is rather loud for him, chuckles and giggles that are half smothered behind his hands. His laughter is merited, the surprise on Sasuke and Hinata's face upon both not being the first to the tower is rather comical. They hadn't expected anyone to beat them, although they probably had forgotten that Shino'd been the one defending the scrolls, (they will all smile and laugh at a harmless trick played well).
Sasuke huffs and Hinata grins at Shino as the others catch up to them. "Do you wish to do the honours?" Hinata asks her teammate, extending a hand at the door. Shino's shoulders shudder and his head moves the way it does when he rolls his eyes. She laughs, even as the pain in her left hand reminds her of her broken fingers.
"I will not keep you waiting," Shino replies as he opens the door. "Let us finish this."
Naruto jumps forward with a loud shout of excitement, (and they are genins and ninjas, but… sometimes they are reminded they are still children). "We did it! Before the time limit too! With like no difficulties!"
Supported by Chōji and supporting Chōji alongside Kiba, Shikamaru follows Naruto into the plain room. Hinata surveys their group as they all enter and cluster together. They're not too bad off, but tired and aching with minor injuries. Sakura's eye has gone puffy and black, giving her an awkward appearance with one squinty eye. Naruto's fine, of course, but Sasuke's limping even though he denies having twisted his ankle. Shikamaru has low chakra, but he's recovering. Shino and Kiba are scratched and bruised but otherwise uninjured. Chōji's got a deep cut on his leg and Ino is the worst off due to her broken arm, and then there's Hinata with her broken fingers.
"The scrolls?" Hinata asks, eyeballing the sentences written on one wall but not feeling up to putting it altogether right now.
Shino produces the scrolls and hands two to Naruto. The blonde boy grins and goes to the other end of the room, opening the scrolls and then quickly retreating back to the other genins, ready to face a potential threat, (ready for whatever may happen).
Smoke bursts from the scrolls and then their old Ninja Academy teacher appears. He smiles at them, kind as always, "Congratulations on passing round two of the chūnin exams!"
And so, the Rookie Nine officially pass the second trial of the chūnin exams. Meanwhile, Toru makes a dangerous decision and tries to save a genin who decides to leave their village.
So, I was writing this and thinking how the chunin exams were fairly straightforward and that it would be boring to write about how they survived the forest when they only deal with three major fights - the one against the sand team, and then two others with Team Asuma and Team Kurenai to grab two more scrolls. I didn't think I would be able to write a whole chapter of it.
There's no Orochimaru here because Sasuke doesn't have the sharingan, so that's a major change. There's also no Kabuto because Konoha did a massive investigation for spies, during which Kabuto escaped rather than be caught. So, there's very little that happens in terms of the second trial, it's largely the same. Thus, I came to the decision that I'd do something with Toru and only have half the chapter dealing with the chunin exams and then...
Well, I was reading about Team Dosu (Kin, Zaku, and Dosu) to get an understanding about how they fought and would react to everything. During this, I noticed that Dosu was noted for deciding to pretty much hate Orochimaru upon realising he was a pawn. With that in mind, I worked it so that Dosu decided he didn't want to work with Oto, and it became something major that Dosu wanted to leave. There's some interesting wording about how he thinks and his entire struggle to separate himself from his teammates. Zaku, we have seen, is callous and doesn't care for Kin's life in the slightest, but he tries to help Dosu. Noting that, I worked on the basis that Dosu clearly had a better relationship with Zaku then with Kin. More to the point, Dosu actively tried to work with his teammates even though it would have been easier not to. Plus, it's clear that Orochimaru and Otogakure cares little for their teams and those in the teams (but also, Orochimaru has the loyalty of so many which means that he is important to those in Oto somehow and that they trust him). Thus, I came to the decision that Dosu would want to strike out and try to bring his teammate(s) if he could. However, when that failed, he was willing to take matters into his own hands and try to leave by himself. You get to see his adventure and him deciding to take on a new name.
Also, I'd like to note that the Konoha genins didn't think it through when they left the Oto team behind. However, Dosu knew how callous and dangerous ninjas could be, even genin, and wouldn't be surprised if he was killed when tied up, and so assumed that the Konoha genins were being cruel and dangerous themselves.
Anyway, I brush over the rest of the trial exam since it was just really boring. In essence, the Rookie 9 manage to secure two more scrolls through their plan mentioned earlier in the chapter, and they get injured, but they make it out in one piece for the most part, and that brought us to the end of this chapter. The good news is that we are heading towards some more interesting parts of this chapter... Namely everything that happens towards the end of the chunin exams and those arcs and my twists with them.