I Do own a Gaara plushie and a few Naruto DVDs and lots of the Manga. Unfortunately i don't own the actual thing. ©Masashi Kishimoto!
Song of my day...Byakuya- True light by Shunichi Miyamoto
The Rookie 9 together again
Kakashi-sensei was waiting for his team in front of room 301. He held a serious look on his face. "So, all three of you showed up together."
"You were expecting us not to show up? Where's the faith, Sensei?" Ryoko joked.
"You can now officially register for the Chunin Exam." Sensei said. "To tell you the truth, the Exam can only be taken in complete teams."
"But you said we could decide if we wanted to take it or not!" Naruto argued.
"Yeah, I did."
"You lied?" Ryoko asked, 'That's not a big surprise, he lies to us everyday about the reason why he's always late...'
"Yes." Sensei nodded. "If I said that, the three of you probably would've pressured each other to take the exams."
"Okay, so what would've happened if one of us didn't come?" Ryoko asked.
"I would have prohibited the other two from taking the exam and not allowed them through these doors. But you three came here on your free will. Naruto. Sasuke. Ryoko." Kakashi-sensei smiled. "Well done. I'm proud of the three of you. You're my team." He stepped out of the door. "Now go."
"All right, let's go!" Naruto shouted.
With that, Ryoko and Sasuke opened the doors.
A blinding white light seemed to come from the room as they entered.
The Rookie 9 together again
Kakashi-sensei was waiting for his team in front of room 301. He held a serious look on his face. "So, all three of you showed up together."
"You were expecting us not to show up? Where's the faith, Sensei?" Ryoko joked.
"You can now officially register for the Chunin Exam." Sensei said. "To tell you the truth, the Exam can only be taken in complete teams."
"But you said we could decide if we wanted to take it or not!" Naruto argued.
"Yeah, I did."
"You lied?" Ryoko asked, 'That's not a big surprise, he lies to us everyday about the reason he's late...'
The blond snickered.
"Yes." Sensei nodded. "If I said that, the three of you probably would've pressured each other to take the exams."
"Okay, so what would've happened if one of us didn't come?" Ryoko asked.
"I would have prohibited the other two from taking the exam and not allowed them through these doors. But you three came here on your free will. Naruto. Sasuke. Ryoko." Kakashi-sensei smiled. "Well done. I'm proud of the three of you. You're my team." He stepped out of the door. "Now go."
"All right, let's go!" Naruto shouted.
With that, Ryoko and Sasuke opened the doors.
A blinding white light seemed to come from the room as they entered.
Soon their eyes adjusted to the clarity and they could see the room pretty well. It was filled with shinobi from all the ninja villages and most of them were not happy looking.
"There're so many people." Ryoko whispered in awe. 'All of them were older than us and looked strong, how were we supposed to defeat all of them?'
"Sasuke-kun, you're late!"
Ryoko stiffened at the voices. It was almost as annoying as Sakura's.
(Actually Sakura's dead sorry Sakura fans.)
Ino jumped on Sasuke's back and threw her arms around his neck with a joyful smile. Sasuke sent her the worst glare he could, but the girl didn't move.
"I've been eagerly waiting for you ever since I heard that I could see you for the first time in a long time!" She squealed.
"You mean a month?" Ryoko snorted.
"Oh my, it's you, Ryoko. Your forehead still ugly… as usual."
"And you're still a blond bimbo."
Ino happily stuck her tongue out at Sakura.
"Are you three going to take this troublesome exam, too?" A lazy familiar voice asked.
Ryoko's face lifted up. "Hey, Shikamaru! Hi Choji!" She gave them a small wave.
"Hi Ryoko." Shikamaru said with a yawn.
"Hey, look who's here!" Another familiar voice said, increasing Naruto's annoyance and Ryoko happiness. Team 8 walked towards them.
"Hi Hinata!" Ryoko smiled, pulling her into a hug.
"H-Hi Ryoko…" She stuttered. (I can tell I'm going to get annoyed writing her stuttering and hesitating.)
Kiba made a hurtful face.
"What about me? Don't I deserve a hug?"
Ryoko smiled still. "No, you don't. Only Akamaru." Kiba's jaw dropped while Akamaru barked happily on Kiba's head. "Ne, just kidding!" She gave him a quick hug and waved at the third member of the group. "Hey, Shino."
"Hi." He said emotionlessly. Ryoko sweat dropped. Shino was indeed a strange guy.
"Would you guys keep it down?" A young male dressed in purple with white hair and glasses. "This isn't a school field trip, you know. Take a look around."
The rookies looked at the group of shinobi and flinched when they saw the hated glares of all the shinobi in the room.
"Watch out for the group behind you." He advised. "They're Amagakure – those who are hidden in the rain – and they've got very short fuses. Everyone's on edge, waiting to take the exam. I wanted to give you a heads up before someone snaps and beats the crap out of you."
Naruto and the other rookies gulp.
"Kabuto, right?" Ryoko asked.
Kabuto nodded.
"Since you seem knowledgeable about the exams, I assume that this is your second time taking them."
Kabuto chuckled meekly, "Not second…seventh. Twice a year for…hm, going on four years now." He digs into his shinobi pouch and pulled out a stack of orange cards, "Since you're all beginners…I'll give you some vital information on what you're in for with these Shinobi skill cards."
"Are there any cards there that have detailed personal information?" Sasuke asked. Kabuto smirked. "Yes. Is there someone that interests you?"
Sasuke's eyes narrowed. "Yeah."
"The information of this Exam's examinees is not perfect, but I've burned and saved them. They include information about the nine of you, as well. Tell me whatever you know about the person that interests you." He lifted a card. "I'll look for you."
"Gaara of the Desert. Rock Lee." Sasuke told him.
"Oh, you know their names." Kabuto said, sounding a bit disappointed. "Then it won't take much time."
Kabuto took out three cards and put chakra into the first of them. Rock Lee's picture appeared on it, along with some graphics and smaller pictures of his team members.
"He's one year older than you." Kabuto started. "Mission experience: 20 D-rank and 11 C-rank. The squad leader is Might Guy. His Taijutsu skills have increased dramatically this past year, but his other skills are terrible. He got everyone's attention last year as a skilled rookie Genin, but he didn't take the Chunin Exam. This is his first time taking it, like you. His team is composed of Tenten and Hyuuga Neji."
Hinata's body tensioned at the mention of her cousin, but no one seemed to notice.
"Hyuuga?" Naruto wondered out loud, recognizing that name from somewhere…
"Next, Gaara of the Desert." Kabuto put chakra into the next card. "Mission experience: 8 C-rank and…wow, he did a B-rank mission as a Genin. Not many Genin get B-ranked missions. He's a foreign ninja and it's his first time taking the exam, so I don't have any information on him. But it seems that he has returned from all of his missions unharmed."
"He did a B-rank mission as a Genin and was unharmed?" Shikamaru asked in disbelief.
"This year, many talented Genins have come here to take this exam." Kabuto explained. "Otogakure (Village Hidden in the Sound) is a village of a small country that was just made recently, so I don't have much information on them. Either way, they're all from powerful villages."
Naruto lowered his head. For the first time, he understood that it wouldn't be easy getting through the Chunin Exam. There were many enemies, some much more powerful than him. Naruto closed his fists, but said nothing.
The blond immediately lifted his head with a triumphant yell. He placed one hand on his hip and pointed forward with the other. All the stares turned to him.
"MY NAME IS UZUMAKI NARUTO AND I'M NOT GOING TO LOSE TO ANY OF YOU! BE~LIEVE IT!!"
The room fell in a mortal silence, every single Genin glaring at Naruto.
Ryoko gritted her teeth and glared at Naruto, "You just don't care about what you yell, do you?"
One of the Oto-nins, a spiky black haired boy, threw kunai, aiming to Kabuto. Kabuto jumped backwards, avoiding them. Another Oto-nin, his face severally bandaged, appeared in front of Kabuto. He tried to punch him, but missed it.
Kabuto smirked triumphantly. Suddenly, his glasses broke. This didn't seem to faze him as he took them off. "I see. So that's the kind of attack it was."
"What's going on?" Sasuke inquired, wide eyed. "You definitely dodged it. Why did your glass-?"
"It must have hit his nose." Shikamaru said in a tone of who could care less. "That's what happens for trying to look cool."
Kabuto's eyes suddenly widened. His vision started to get blurry and he fell to his knees, barfing.
The rookies gasped.
"Nani?!" Naruto exclaimed.
"Kabuto!"
Ryoko and Naruto ran to Kabuto's side, trying to help him. The three sound ninjas smirked victoriously in front of them.
"Hey, you okay?" Ryoko asked Kabuto.
He stared oddly for a minute before nodding.
"You're not as good as I thought for a veteran who took the exams four years running." Bandage face said.
"Write in this card…" The Sound nin with spiky hair, said. "The three from Otogakure will definitely become Chunin."
Naruto and Ryoko glared at him. "We'll see about that!" She dared, once again talking without thinking.
The bandaged guy lifted his fist, as if ready to punch her, when a cloud of smoke appeared in the middle of the room. All shinobi all turned to stare as a harsh voice came out of it.
"Quiet down, you punks!"
The smoke cleared, revealing the proctors of the Exam, all dressed in a gray uniform. A guy with two big scars, a mean look on his face and the only one who wasn't wearing the uniform, seemed to have spoken.
"Sorry to keep you waiting." He said in a strong tone. "I'm the examiner of the first test of the Chunin Exam, Morino Ibiki."
Ibiki's eyes scanned the room looking for the reason of fuss of five seconds ago. It didn't take long for him to find it. "You three from Otogakure, don't think you can do anything you want before the Exam!" He warned, raising a finger at them. "Do you want us to fail you already?"
"I'm sorry." The bandaged guy faked an apology. "I was excited, since this is my first Exam."
Ibiki smirked. "This is a good chance to say this… You are not allowed to fight each other during the exam unless given permission by the examiners. Even if the permission is given, you're not allowed to kill each other. Pigs who go against me will fail immediately, understood?"
Everyone nodded in silence, intimidated by the proctor.
The Oto boy with spiky hair chuckled. "This Exam seems so soft and easy."
The proctors smirked. Ibiki continued.
"We will now begin the first part of the Chunin Exam. Turn in your applications, take one of these number tags and sit where the number tells you to. Then we will pass out the papers for the written test."
Naruto's eyes turned white wide at the last words. "Hunh?"
"What's wrong, Naruto?" Ryoko asked him.
"A WRITTEN TEST?!"
Naruto was sitting beside Hinata. Sasuke was one behind Ryoko. All the other teams seemed to have been torn apart as well. The proctors, except for Ibiki, who stood in the front of the classroom, were sitting on chairs next to the windows with a clipboard each one.
"The first test has a few important rules. I will not accept questions, so listen carefully." Ibiki started. "First rule is you all are given 10 points at the start. The written test consists of 10 questions and each one worth one point. This test is a deduction based one. If you get one problem wrong, you will get one point deducted. Second rule. The pass-fail decision will be determined by your team's total points. There is a reason for this. Just shut up and listen. Now that you know, let's move on to the next rule. If an examiner determines that you cheated or did something similar during the test, each action will cause you to lose two points." A few people gasped at this. "In other words, if you're caught five times you get a zero. Those who try to cheat without thinking carefully will only hurt themselves. You are all trying to become Chunin. If you're a ninja, act like a first rate one. Also, if anyone in the team gets a zero, everyone in that team will fail."
"Nani?!" Sasuke gasped.
"What did you say?!" Ryoko yelled.
All the color was drained of Naruto's. He lowered his head when he felt the murderous glares of Ryoko and Sasuke. 'I can feel them from here…both wanting to kill me already!'
"The last problem will be given 45 minutes after the test begins. You have an hour for the test. Begin!"
Ryoko sighed, trying to calm herself down. 'Okay, let's get started.' She turned over her paper and read the first question.
First question: The line B represents a shuriken's maximum throwing distance of the enemy ninja, A, from a height of 7 meters. Figure out the trait of the enemy ninja that can be observed from the ellipse formed by the shuriken, and figure out the maximum throwing distance on a flat ground. Explain your reasoning.
' WHAT THE HELL?! That's just impossible! She gritted her teeth in frustration. 'I didn't even get to the other questions and this already seems impossible!' Then she sighed, 'Ah, when in doubt gotta cheat.' Then it hit her.
Sasuke concentrated on the 10th question, 'What's the deal with number 10? Question number ten will not be provided until forty-five minutes into the exam. At that time, please answer the proctor's questions to the best of your ability.' He looked at the proctor's to his left, 'They're watching us. Like cats watch mice. Like they expect us to cheat. Those rats!
'They are forcing us to cheat! A ninja must know how to gather information without being noticed, that's what they want us to do! YES! Now that I figured out the test's purpose, there was just one more little thing I had to figure out: HOW THE HECK AM I GOING TO CHEAT WITHOUT BEING CAUGHT BY ANY OF THESE PROCTORS?!' She rubbed her forehead, 'I don't have any fancy ability like Sasuke to help me cheat! With his Sharingan it'll be no problem for him!'
Sasuke activated his Sharingan and copying the moves of the person in front of him. Neji activated the Byakugan so he could see through the person in front of him and find the correct answers. Some people didn't have a Kekkei Genkai either, but they had their own ways to cheat. Kiba used Akamaru to see and bark to him all the answers. Shino was using his bugs as spies. Tenten and Lee shared a well-made trick with mirrors. Ino used her Mind Transfer Justus to enter Sakura's body and get all her answers.
(I could've sworn I killed her…)
Gaara made an eye of sand to see the others' tests. A kunai was suddenly thrown at a guy's test, almost hitting Naruto as it pierced the air. The guy practically jumped out of his seat in surprise.
"What's the meaning of this?!" He asked angrily. One of the proctors smirked.
"You screwed up five times. You fail." The guy's jaw dropped. "Teammates of his get out of here."
It didn't take too long till other people start failing too.
"Number 23, fail."
"Numbers 43 and 27, fail."
"Number 59, fail."
"Numbers 33 and 9, fail."
"Number 41, fail."
"Numbers 35 and 62, fail."
"Everyone's being tossed out." Ryoko whispered.
"Excuse me." Kankuro said, lifting his hand. "I need to go to the bathroom…"
With that his hands were tied up and one of the proctors accompanied him to the bathroom.
Forty minutes had already passed.
"Yosh." Ibiki suddenly said. "I will now give the 10th problem."
Ryoko's and Naruto's face fell. 'I just had to get this one right and passed.'
"Yes, but before that, there's one thing I must say." Ibiki continued. "There will be one special rule for this last question."
The door opened and Kankuro entered the room with an innocent look.
Ibiki's eyes narrowed at him. "You're lucky. Your puppet show didn't have to go to a waste. Oh, well. Sit down."
Kankuro walked back to his seat and, when passing by Temari, dropped a tiny note on her desk. And as he passed Akki he dropped a note on her desk discreetly.
"I will now explain. This is… a hopeless rule. First, you're all going to choose if you wish to take this tenth problem or not."
"Choose?" Temari questioned. "So what happens if we don't take the tenth problem?"
"If you choose not to take it, your points will be reduced to zero. And there is the other rule. If you choose to take it and get it wrong… You will lose the privilege to take the Chunin Exam forever."
"Nani?!" Naruto exclaimed. A lot of people in the room had the same reaction.
"What kind of dumb rule is that?!" Kiba asked, losing his patience. "There should be those who have taken the Chunin Exam in the past!"
Ibiki chuckled at the boy's reaction. "You were unlucky. This year, I am the rule. That's why I gave you the option of quitting. Those who are not confident can choose not to take it and take the Exam next year or the year after that. Let us begin. Those who are not taking this tenth question, raise your hands. After we confirm your numbers, we will have you leave."
Ryoko stayed put. 'There's no way that I'm turning back now.'
Sasuke didn't move either. Naruto however shook in his seat.
A guy sitting beside Naruto lifted his hand.
"Number 50, fail." The proctor read. "Numbers 130 and 111 fail along with him."
"Me too!" Another person said standing up.
Soon the room was filled with people raising their hands, wanting to quit. In the end, only a few teams remained. Among them, the Rookie 9, Team Gai, Gaara's team and the Oto Team. When it seemed no one else would quit, another hand was raised. Sasuke's and Ryoko's eyes widened.
"Naruto?"
Yeah, it was him. Naruto raised his hand and slammed it on the desk, causing a loud BAM sound.
"Screw you! I'm not going to run away!" He shouted. "I'll take this problem! Even if I stay as a Genin forever, I'm going to become a Hokage no matter what! We're not scared!" Crossing his arms over his chest, Naruto sat down again.
"I will ask one more time." Ibiki smirked at Naruto's outburst, "This is the choice that will impact your life. If you want to quit, now is the chance."
"I'm not going to take back my words." Naruto said with determination. "That's my Ninja Way!"
Everyone seemed to get inspired by Naruto's words, because no one else raised their hands.
Ibiki nodded. "Nice determination. Then… For the first test, everyone here… passes!"
The sound of several pencils dropped. Everyone stared at Ibiki with wide eyes.
Someone stood up. "Wait! What's the meaning of that? We pass already? What about the tenth question?"
Ibiki laughed. "There was no such thing to begin with. Or you can call the two-choice question the tenth question."
"Hey!" Temari complained. "So were those previous nine problems?! It was all a waste!"
"No, it's not. The nine problems accomplished their purpose. The purpose to test each one's individual's information gathering skills."
Temari frowned. "Information gathering skills?"
"First, this test's purpose lies in the first rule. Your pass-fail decision is based on your teams. By giving that idea, we have given you an unprecedented amount of pressure to try and not be a nuisance to your team."
"Yes, yes, I was kind of sensing that in this test." Naruto nodded seriously.
Some could tell he was lying.
"But these test problems cannot be solved by you, Genins. So, most of the people here must've come to the conclusion that you had to cheat to get points. In other words, this test assumed that everyone was going to cheat. So, we snuck in a few Chunin who knew the answers to be targets of cheating."
Naruto's eyes widened in shock but then tried to play it off, "Hahaha! It was so obvious! It would be weird not to notice it. Right, Hinata?"
"But those who just cheated like a fool failed, of course." Ibiki continued. "Why? Information can have a greater value than life at times, and in missions and battlefields information is contested with the lives of people. The information that an enemy gets after being noticed by a third person will not necessarily be accurate. Remember this. Getting incorrect information can cause great damage to your teammates and village. So, we made you all gather information in the form of cheating. We kicked out those who were lacking in that field. That's what went on."
"But I still can't agree to that last question…" Temari insisted.
"But this tenth question was the main question of the first phase. The tenth question was a "take or not take" choice. Needless to say, it was a painful two-choice problem. Those who did not take it failed with their teams. If you chose to take it and could not answer it, your right to take the exam would have been taken away forever. It was a very insincere problem. Those who cannot bet their fate in a critical situation, those who give up when given the chance because there is a next year, and let their minds sway over an uncertain future… fools that carry a light determination like that have no right to become Chunin. I'm saying that you here who have chosen to take it gave the right answer for the difficult tenth question. You can deal with the difficulties you will face. You have broken through the entrance. The first phase of the Chunin Exam ends now. I wish you luck."
Just when they thought there would be no more surprises for the day, someone jumped in the room by the window, breaking it. Kunai were trapped on the ceiling, lifting a big red flag with something, I don't know what, written in kanji on it. The flag was positioned in front of Ibiki, so we couldn't see him anymore. A grinning purple haired woman wearing Konoha's headband on her forehead stood in front of it.
"Heads up boys and girls! This is no time to be celebrating!" She announced. "I'm going to be your next proctor! Anko Mitarashi!" She glared fiercely at everyone, "Ready for the second test?!" She raised her fist in the air. "Good! Then let's go! Follow me!"
Nobody moved, for they were still too stunned by the stunt she just pulled.
"You're early…again" Ibiki said, coming out from behind the flag.
Anko blushed in embarrassment before look before examining the room.
"78? Ibiki, you let 26 teams pass? The first phase must have been too soft!"
"It looks like there are a lot of excellent students this time."
"Oh, well… I'm going to make more than half of the teams fail the next phase."
"Fail more than half?" Sakura gasped.
Anko smirked evilly. "I will explain the details tomorrow. We will go somewhere else, so ask your Jounin teachers about the rally point and time. This is all. Dismissed!"
"Wh-what is this place...?" Naruto asked astonished. Team seven and all the rest of the passing candidates stood in front of a forest. Not any normal forest however. The tree trunks were the size of buildings. The darkness lingered along everything, dancing along to a deceiving song. Even the wind that blew the hair across their face signaled bad news.
"Welcome to the Forest of Death," Anko said, stepping in front of the Genin hiding the 'Forbidden Area' sign hanging on the fence in front of the forest. "This is where the second exam will take place."
"Forest of Death?" Naruto repeated.
"Sounds welcoming," Ryoko mutter, running her hand in her hair. She sensed something and looked past Sasuke. On the ground was a...square rock?
Naruto looked at the "rock" too, eye twitching.
"Is that supposed to be rock?"
Naruto started walking. The rock followed. Naruto stopped. The rock stopped. Naruto began to run back and forth, faster and faster. The rock ran after Naruto, faster and faster. After a moment Naruto stopped and rounded on the rock that had also stopped. Naruto pointed a finger at the rock.
"Hey Konohamaru! Come out! What do you think you're doing here! Everyone knows rocks aren't square!"
Ryoko sweat dropped. "Did you complete miss the fact that the rock was moving?"
"Good job detecting me boss, I should have suspected." In a flash of light and a puff of smoke, the "rock" was gone. In its place it revealed three children. Ryoko sighed; it was Konohamaru and his two friends. The three stopped coughing and started their introductions.
"The one who possesses the sex appeal of an adult and the female ninja from the group, Moegi!"
"The one who loves dividing math, Udon!"
"The village's number one genius ninja, Konohamaru!"
The three forms together in a group pose. "And together, we make the Konohamaru ninja squad!"
"What do you three want?" Naruto asked, putting his arms behind his head. "I'm about to take the second part of the Chunin Exam, I don't have time to play with you."
"We didn't come here to play! We're on official business," Konohamaru said.
"Business?" Naruto asked, opening his eyes.
"We're here for an interview for the school newspaper," Konohamaru explained, his two friends nodded from behind him.
"Hey, what's going on here?" Anko walked over to the group.
"Konohamaru is doing an interview for the school newspaper," Naruto said.
"Huh? Oooh," Anko put her hand behind her head laughing. "Yes I forgot, the Hokage did mention something about that."
Everyone sweat dropped. "Forgot...?"
"Alright! We will be taking a ten minute break! We will resume afterwards!" Anko announced.
Ryoko sat on top of a large rock, Sasuke sitting against it. They watched Naruto talking to the young reporters several feet away.
"He's probably just talking about himself..." Ryoko sighed with tiredness.
"Probably..." Sasuke said bored.
"Alright, so I'm Uzumaki Naruto. I'm, of course, a ninja of the Hidden Village of Konoha. My hobby is pulling pranks. I love ramen and became a Genin just recently but you watch, I'm going to become better than all of the Hokage. In the academy I was always called a 'dropout' and other names but I was able to graduate and am a member of Kakashi-sensei's squad seven and I do difficult missions everyday. Sasuke and Rayne are in the squad too but I'm the best so don't worry about them," Naruto introduced.
"Don't say that, introduce them too," Konohamaru said.
"Alright, alright. Uchiha Sasuke, he's the most conceited person you'll ever meet. He's a survivor of the famous Uchiha clan but he's really just a miserable guy that mopes around," Naruto said.
"Are you sure boss?" Konohamaru asked, eyebrow raised.
"Yes yes. I'm quite sure. Now, there's also Koneko Ryoko. She's one of my only friends and I have to protect her all the time. If I had a say, I'd say she has a secret fetish for me too-"
"Boss, stick to the truths," Udon interrupted.
"I am!" Naruto defended.
The three young ninjas just stared.
"A-anyway, the four of us do dangerous missions all the time. And with that, I've even defeated the 'great' Hokage by performing my famous Sexy no Justu."
"Boss...you talk about yourself too much..." Konohamaru complained.
"Well of course! I'm the main character here! Who cares about the others?!"
"The readers!" Konohamaru argued.
"Alright. fine! There is Iruka-sensei, teacher at the academy. He's the first person to actually recognize me and a good person. He treats me to ramen often," Naruto said.
"Next," Moegi stated.
"Okay...well I could talk about the time Sasuke screwed up..."
Ryoko and Sasuke twitched, catching some of the words Naruto was saying.
"Is anybody else finding that the school newspaper is going to be full of crap?" Ryoko asked, eye twitching at Naruto.
Sasuke nodded slightly. They all perked their heads up as the Konohamaru gang walked over to them.
"Excuse me," Moegi walked over to Ryoko. Rayne slid off of the rock, leaning against it beside Sasuke. "Ryoko, you the kunoichi I admire most, mind if I interview you?"
"No! I want to interview Ryoko!" Konohamaru exclaimed, stepping up beside her. Ryoko sweat dropped. Konohamaru took her hand and pulled her over to another tree. Sasuke's eyes followed her curiously. She leaned against the tree trunk as Konohamaru began his interview.
"Well, I'm Koneko Ryoko. I'm a part of Hatake Kakashi's team. Team 7. But trust me, we have just as much of an advantage as anyone else here. Don't take everything that Naruto said to heart. We all work together as a team and help each other out in a tight situation."
Sasuke had moved himself further from his group, pretending he was part of a different squad. Udon walked over to Sasuke.
"You're Uchiha Sasuke! I want to be just like you when I'm older! Can I get an interview with you?"
Sasuke shrugged. "I guess someone has to set the stories straight. The only person who would be close to telling you the truth would be Ryoko and that still leaves me with doubts."
Ryoko shoots him a glare.
"My name is Uchiha Sasuke. My team consists of the jounin Hatake Kakashi, Uzumaki Naruto, and Koneko Ryoko. I contain the most skill on this team. Then again, there are a lot of people who are better than Naruto."
"Hey!" Naruto yelled.
"Shikamaru Nara, Choji Akimichi, Ino Yamanaka of Squad 10. Hinata Hyuuga, Kiba Inuzuka with Akamaru, and Shino Aburame of Squad 8. Each one has their own unique talent…but I'm still better than all of them combined."
"Aw Sasuke, I thought you were setting stories straight." Ryoko chided. She smiled at Udon. "Don't take everything Sasuke says seriously. He graduated as top male rookie but I graduate as top female rookie so we're equal. Right, Sasuke?"
Sasuke hn and looked at her. "Aren't you supposed to be doing your own interview?"
"Hey, Sasuke! Stop making me look bad!" Naruto shouted, walking over with Konohamaru trailing behind.
"You don't need me for that, loser." Sasuke countered. "Believe it." He mocked.
"Hey guys, quit it! At least we made it this far right? Besides, we need to be a strong team or who knows what will happen in the forest," Ryoko said.
Sasuke and Naruto turned away from each other without another word.
"Well thanks for the interviews boss!" Konohamaru waved, Udon and Moegi disappeared in a puff of smoke. Well actually, there was no disappearing, they just threw colorful smoke bombs and ran off.
Back to the plot at hand….
"This sure is a creepy place..." Hinata squeaked as everyone was once again assembled in a large group in front of the forest.
Anko grinned as she stared at everyone. "Once inside you will all be able to experience why this place is called the Forest of Death."
"Hmph. And once you're inside you'll be able to experience why this place is called the Forest of Death," Naruto mocked, thrusting his hips out and wiggling up and down. "There's no point in trying to spook us! You're not gunna scare me away!" Naruto yelled with a satisfied smirk.
"Oh really? Well aren't you energetic?" Anko smiled, quickly slipping out a kunai and thrusting it at Naruto. The kunai whipped right past his cheek opened a scratch. Blood dripped from Naruto's wound as the kunai pierced the ground feet behind Ryoko. Anko appeared behind Naruto.
"It's boys like you that die first. After spilling the red blood I love all over the place." Anko was about to remove some of Naruto's blood with her finger but instead whipped out another kunai. She halted however when a boy from the grass village extended his tongue, handing Anko her kunai from before.
Rayne twitched. "Disgusting…"
The person's tongue was longer than usual, more than two feet as it held the kunai out. Anko just smiled, accepting her kunai back. "Thank you," Anko said with a smile as she took her kunai from the ninja. The grass nin's tongue flew back into their mouth. "But don't stand behind me like that; unless you want to die young."
"Gomen. I got excited at the sight of blood. And you cut my hair," the ninja spoke. The grass ninja smiled and began to walk away.
"Well, it looks like we have some very hot-headed candidates this year," Anko spoke with a smirk. "This is going to be interesting."
Naruto glared up at Anko, hand over his wound. "You're the most hot-headed person here crazy lady..."
Anko walked back to the fence, standing in front of a yellow sign that read 'WARNING: YOU MAY DIE'
"Now, before we start the second exam, I'm going to pass these out to everyone," Anko reached into her long coat and pulled out a stack of papers. 'CONSENT FORM' it read on the top. Anko handed it to someone who took a sheet and pass it along.
"If you are going to take this exam, you must sign these."
"Why?" Naruto asked, obviously not having read his form.
Anko smiled. "Just so we have your consent that if you die it is not our fault."
The color drained from many of the genin's faces.
"Now, you will all be going through this extreme survival match."
"A survival match eh? What a drag..." Shikamaru yawned.
"First," Anko unraveled a map of the Forest of Death. "I'll explain the training area's geographical features. This forest has 44 locked gate entrances all around the area. There's a river, a forest and a tower in the middle. The tower is approximately 10 KM from the gate entrances. Inside this limited space you will have to go through a difficult survival program."
"Survival program?" Ino questioned.
"The survival program where anything goes." Anko put the map away and pulled out two scrolls. One was a cream color with the symbol of Heaven written on it. The other was black with the symbol for Earth written on it.
"Scrolls?" Naruto asked.
"Yes, you will be fighting for these scrolls," Anko held out the crème-colored scroll. "The scroll of heaven." she held up the black one. "The scroll of earth."
"26 teams passed the first exam. Half of those teams will receive a Scroll of Heaven. The other half will get the Scroll of Earth. Each team will start out with either one of these. You must fight over them."
"What's needed to pass?" Sasuke asked.
"Bring the Scroll of Heaven and Earth to the tower with your teammates," Anko answered.
"Okay, so say my team starts out with the Scroll of Heaven. We have to keep that safe and in our possession and then we have to fight a team to obtain their Scroll of Earth? Then make it to the tower with our team?" Ryoko asked.
"That's correct. You must have both scrolls and your whole team must make it to the tower," Anko confirmed.
"So this guarantees half of the candidates will be wiped out..." Ryoko sighed.
"And this all has to happen in a time limit. The second exams lasts a limit of 120 hours," Anko said.
Everyone's jaw dropped. "A whole five days in there!?"
"But what about food!?" Choji panicked from somewhere to the team's left.
"The Forest will provide you with everything you need," Anko responded.
"But there are a lot of man-eating beasts, poison bug and poisonous plants," Kabuto informed.
"So it's not possible for 13 teams to pass," Neji informed.
"As time passes, you will be required to move more and more," Lee said. "So your time of rest will be shorter and shorter."
"And we're surrounded by enemies. We won't be able to sleep in peace," Sasuke realized.
"People will get hurt in the process of fighting over a scroll as well," Anko stated.
"Can we quit in-between?" Shikamaru asked.
"Once you are in the forest, you must be in there for the duration of the time," Anko answered.
"Just as I thought," Shikamaru complained, arms crossed. "How troublesome."
"While were on the topic, here are the conditions that will fail you. First," Anko held up a finger. "A team who cannot bring both scrolls to the tower with all their teammates will fail. Second, a team that loses a teammate or produces an unrecoverable teammate will fail. Also, just as a note, you are not allowed to look inside the scrolls until you reach the tower. "
"What happens if we look?" Naruto asked.
"That's a surprise to whoever dares to peek," Anko said with a sly grin. "If you become a Chunin, you will be handling top secret documents. It's to determine your reliability. That's all I will say. We will exchange your consent forms for your team scroll and then you will pick a gate to enter through. Everyone will get a ten minute recess and then we will all begin at the same time." Anko looked up at all the candidates,
"And one last piece of advice...just don't die!" This scared Sakura and Naruto.
"D-don't die?! Are we really going to die!?" Naruto shouted.
"That's why it's call 'The Forest of Death'." Sasuke said.
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"It's time to trade your forms in for a scroll!" a man announced from a booth closed by a curtain. A few other Chunin took down the curtain as teams started to go over to exchange their forms for the needed scrolls.
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"Alright! I'm ready! Believe it!" Naruto yelled, pumping his fist in the air.
"We believe it," Ryoko nodded, standing next to Sasuke and him. For the past three minutes Team seven had stood in front of gate 12. Sasuke had been elected to hide the heaven scroll in his backpack. Naruto continued to jump around.
"Come on Naruto, save your energy until we actually get in the forest," Ryoko chuckled.
GATE 16
Akamaru barked.
"Yeah! Surviving is our specialty!" Kiba exclaimed. "Hinata, you better not go easy on anyone."
Hinata looked up and softly nodded.
GATE 27
"It's troublesome but we have to put our life on the line for this," Shikamaru said.
Chouji rummaged through his backpack.
"Let's what I have...potato chips, cake..."
Ino twitched as she watched her teammate count off all the food he had packed.
GATE 20
"The time has come...to accomplish our task," Dosu spoke underneath the bandages covering his face.
Zaku and Kin smirked.
GATE 38
Kabuto smirked, his two teammates eagerly waiting behind him.
GATE 6
"Don't take this too far Gaara," Kankuro warned.
Gaara remained silent and Temari sighed.
"You really should watch your own back, Kankuro and stay out of my way." Akki warned.
"Brat."
GATE 15
"So we're going after the rookies first, right?" a grass-nin asked, looking at his team members. The grass-nin from earlier smirked.
"It seems we can kill them here, it will become easier."
GATE 41
"Gai-sensei! I will get through this! Watch me!" Lee exclaimed in his head, fire in his eyes. Neji and Tenten smirked.
The team watched the Chunin unlock the gate. It was a long 30 seconds before everyone heard Anko announce,
"We will now begin the second exam of the Chunin Exams!" Everyone burst through the gates, taking a running start.
"Find the kids!" the grass nin spoke as they sped into the forest.
"Those four right!?" her teammate asked.
"Alright! Let's go!" Naruto exclaimed as the team walked into the forest, smirks set upon their faces.