Naruto – Rewrite
Chapter 19
The room was dead quiet as everyone stared at the woman who just jumped through the window. Naruto's face couldn't be any redder. He thought it was kind of funny when Anko refused to tell him anything about what the exams would be like, and now he knew why. Anko looked about the room at the remaining Genin, and a slight scowl came to her face. She looked back at Ibiki and rolled her eyes at the scarred man.
"Seventy eight Genin? You passed twenty-six teams this year?" Anko asked.
"What can I say? We had a slightly higher calibre of kids this year." Ibiki said.
"You just went too easy on them. You're getting old, Ibiki…" Anko said.
"And you think you can do better?" Ibiki asked.
"Hell yes I can! By the time I get done, at least half of these guys will be toast!" Anko yelled.
'Cut us down by half?' Sakura thought.
"I'm getting a charge just thinking about this. I'll explain the details of the exam at the next testing area. Everyone follow me to the next destination!" Anko yelled.
That next destination was Training Ground #44. It was a rather odd looking training ground to the others. There were no training dummies or posts. In fact the grounds around the area looked as if it had been forgotten about years ago. The Genin gazed in awe at the large wired and chained fence that held a giant forest with in it. Well, all except for Naruto. Unlike the last test, he knew what to expect now. It had to do something with the forest, something that he had experience in dealing with since he passed through there on a regular basis.
"Welcome to the arena for the second test of the Chunin Exams, otherwise known as, the Forest of Death. Don't worry about the meaning of the name. You're all about to find out why it's called that." Anko said.
"Please! Is that supposed to scare us or something? This place is probably just like the other forests around Konoha! Just another walk in the park!" Naruto yelled.
Naruto laughed to himself finally having the chance to mess with his mother. Bad move. Very bad move. No sooner had those words left his lips, and Anko tossed a kunai at the boy. He smiled as he moved his head to the left, dodging the blade, only to have another kunai fly at him, grazing the right side of his cheek. She had already appeared behind the blonde Genin, and had her arms wrapped around him. She smiled at the blood that was trickling down his cheek, and reached into her pocket for something.
'Naruto! What is Anko doing to him?' Hinata thought in worried.
"Aw… You got something on your cheek there…" Anko said.
Anko pulled a handkerchief out of her pocket and licked it some before wiping it on his cheek. Naruto had never been redder.
"There… Now my big, strong man is all nice and clean!" Anko yelled.
There was an audible silence among the Genin, as they didn't know whether to laugh or piss themselves from the fear that the crazy woman seemed to fill the air with. Though it was fair to say that Kiba and Sasuke were rolling on the inside with laughter. Suddenly the air grew tenser, as Anko grabbed another kunai from a pocket on her coat and held it out behind her. It was pressed rather closely to the throat of a Grass shinobi. The said Genin had a smile on her face as she held two kunai to Anko, wrapped in an oddly lengthened tongue…
"I'm sorry, but you dropped these…" the Grass Genin said.
"No offense, but there are only a handful of people that I trust to be behind me. You aren't one of them. I suggest that you not do that, especially while radiating blood lust… Unless you want to die that is." Anko said as she took the knives from the girl.
"I'll try to keep that under control… You see, the sight of fresh warm blood just makes me lose control." the Grass Genin said.
The other Genin watched as the Grass Genin slipped back into the crowd with her team. Naruto couldn't quite put his finger on it, but there was something familiar about the woman. She had a smell that he had smelled somewhere recently, but he couldn't remember who it was. Meanwhile, the other Konoha Genin were still in shock about what happened. Kiba already had the hot for Anko. Shikamaru, Choji, Ino, and Sakura thought she was nuts. Sasuke was confused as to why Naruto even let the kunai graze him. He knew Naruto could have dodged it, but didn't.
'This proctor is also Naruto's mother? She's even more insane than he is… Must run in the family…' Sakura thought.
"Did you really have to do that?" Naruto asked Anko as he rubbed his cheek and rejoined his team.
"Talk about embarrassing…" Naruto mutters.
"Ah… You'll get over it…" Anko said as she walked with him.
Anko handed him a stack of papers and grinned.
"Now hand those out while I show everyone pictures from one of the first baths I ever gave you." Anko said.
"What!" Naruto yelled.
"Relax, Squirt… I'm kidding…" Anko said.
Anko walked back to the front of the Genin.
"What Blondie is handing out here, are consent forms. Everyone has to sign them and return them to me!" Anko yelled.
"Consent forms? What do we need these for?" Kankuro asked as he took one from Naruto.
"We want all the details covered before the first death occurs. Read it over, and then sign it so we won't be held liable for when you die. You wouldn't want me to get in trouble, would you?" Anko asked.
'Deaths? Naruto goes through that forest everyday… It's not that dangerous… Is it?' Hinata thought.
"First, I'll explain what the second exam entails, then you can sign forms. After that, bring the forms to the hut behind you with your two teammates, and submit them. Now for the exam itself. Simply put, it's a no-holds-barred survival test. Let's start with the basic topography of the training ground." Anko said.
Anko paused as she pulled a scroll out of one of her coat pockets and opened it up to reveal a small map.
"Training Ground #44 is bordered by a perimeter, interrupted at forty-four locked gates. Inside of that is a series of forests, a river and about ten kilometres out from that is a tower." Anko said.
"Troublesome…" Shikamaru said as he yawned.
"Shut up brat. This is the part you need to listen to. As I said, inside the forest, you will undergo a survival test. During the test, you may use any skills or tools available to you. In a sense, it's kind of a fight-to-the-death version of capture the flag, or in this case capture the scroll." Anko said.
"Capture the scroll?" Ino asked.
"Yes." Anko said.
Anko pulled out two more scrolls, a black one and a white one. The black one had the kanji for earth written on it, and the white one had the kanji for heaven on it. She held them both up for the Genin to see.
"There is a scroll for earth and a scroll for heaven. It's your job to get them both. There are a total of seventy-eight of you here, or in other words, twenty-six three-member teams. Thirteen teams will start out with a Heaven Scroll and the other thirteen teams will start out with an Earth Scroll. The catch is you need them both to pass. You'll have to hold onto the scroll you're given at the start, while managing to get a hold of the other scroll you need to pass the exam with, and then bring them to the tower in the centre." Anko said.
"But there are only thirteen of each scroll. That means that half of us won't be able to pass the exam." Sakura said.
"Congratulations for figuring that out on your own. Not only that, but you have a time limit. You will have five days to get both scrolls and make it to the tower." Anko said.
"Five days? What are we supposed to do for food?" Choji asked in fear. (About no food of course.)
"That's your problem. It wouldn't be a survival test if we held your hand and walked you through it all, would it? The forest is full of berries and such that you should be able to use for nourishment. Of course, there are also ferocious beasts, deadly insects, poisonous snakes, and other types of creatures in there to deal with, not to mention the fact that when you all enter, you become each others enemies, no matter what kind of relationship you had before. That being said it should be obvious now that there's no way that a full thirteen teams won't pass. As time shortens, the trials will come harder and faster. The time needed for recovery from injuries and mistakes will shorten drastically. Enemies'll also surround you at all times, so you'll have to sleep with one eye open. In addition to those who will die trying to capture a scroll while protecting their own, many of you will probably succumb to exposure, starvation, dehydration, and exhaustion." Anko said.
Anko paused as she let all that sink in. There were questionable looks on all of the faces of the Genin, Naruto included. He always knew that his mother was a hard head, but the fact that she would give out a test that he, no everyone could die from? Maybe the jokes Kakashi, Iruka, and Kurenai were right and she was borderline insane. His attention was snapped back to Anko as she resumed the test's explanation.
"Now we have the basic rules out of the way, let's talk about the rules that pertain to being disqualified. Rule number one, if you fail to reach the tower before time expires, as a three-member squad, or with both scrolls in your possession, then you are out. Second, any team that loses a member during the test, be it to death or injury are also out. Third, if you leave the forest for any reason during the test, you're out. Last, you are forbidden to look at the contents of the scrolls until you reach the inside of the tower." Anko said.
"What happens if we look at them?" Kiba asked.
"If you're so curious about it, crack it open when the test starts and found out. On the slim chance that any of you make it to Chunin, there will be times that you will be trusted with top-secret documents. Consider this a test of your trustworthiness." Anko said with a grin.
A slight chill filled the air as they took that in.
"One last piece of advice… Stay alive." Anko said.
The teams were dispersed and began to read over and sign the consent forms. They would then take their forms to the hut Anko mentioned earlier, and trade the forms for a scroll. A black curtain was attached to the front of the booth. The curtain would open to allow a team to walk inside and then close as the team inside would trade their forms for a scroll. Sasuke smirked as he watched several teams do this.
'Pretty sneaky… They conceal which scroll each team gets and which member carries it. That Ibiki guy was right, stealing intelligence is a matter of life and death. In the event that all of us were to fight like she wants us to, this could very well become a massacre…' Sasuke thought.
"This is nuts… I think she's excited at the thought of some of the others dying…" Naruto said as he signed the form without even passing it a second glance.
"Hey, Naruto!" Kiba yelled as he ran to the blonde.
"What?" Naruto asked.
"The proctor is pretty hot, huh? I'd love to--" Kiba was cut off.
"Idiot! That's my Mother!" Naruto yelled as he kick Kiba in the stomach.
Naruto walked away from the wailing dog-ninja who was rolling around on the ground. He rejoined his team, and they went behind the curtain to trade their forms for a scroll. The three of them were handed an Earth Scroll. Naruto looked Shino dead in the eye and handed the boy the scroll. They then exited the hut and went towards the gate that they would enter the forest from. Naruto and his squad took gate number 32. As they walked towards the said gate, Shino noticed the slight concern on Hinata's face, and decided to voice her concern for her.
"Naruto, exactly how dangerous is this forest?" the bug ninja asked.
"Well… It can be pretty rough if you're unprepared… Like mommy said, there are lots of snakes, poisonous insects, and now enemy ninja to keep an eye out for, but…" Naruto said.
"But?" Shino asked.
"That shouldn't be a problem for us! We got you to keep an eye out for the insects and such. The place I call home is here, so I know my way around here pretty good, and we also got a secret weapon!" Naruto yelled.
"What w-weapon is t-that?" Hinata asked.
"You! With your Byakugan, we have the ability to see anything coming at us! There's no way we can lose!" Naruto yelled.
"Let's just see how long you keep that train of thought…" Dosu thought as he watched Squad Eight talk amongst themselves from a neighbouring gate.
"Dosu! You coming or not?" Zaku called out.
"Right…" the fellow Sound Genin said as he walked towards gate number 41.
When he was sure that he was far away from the rest of the Konoha teams, he looked both Kin and Zaku in the eye and nodded.
"You remember who we're going after, right?" Dosu asked.
"Yeah… But what about the other one?" Kin asked.
"Don't worry 'bout him. The boss said he'd take care of him first, then go after the original target." Zaku said.
"While he goes after the first brat, we take care of the other target long enough for him to show up…" Dosu said.
Over at gate number 14, Squad Seven readied themselves to enter the forest. Sasuke was leaning up against the gate, Sakura was busy swooning over him, and Kiba was talking to Akamaru. The small puppy barked happily as Kiba petted him on the head before turning to face his team.
"This is going to be cake! There not a team here who can take us down!" Kiba said.
"Just don't get in the way…" Sasuke said.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Kiba asked.
"What the heck do you think it means? Because of you, we almost failed that C-Rank mission to Hidden Rain Village!" Sakura yelled.
"Please… If Sasuke would have been a team player like Kakashi-sensei said we should be, none of the mishaps would have happened!" the dog boy yelled.
'It was both of your faults… I work alone, which is when I become Chunin, I can finally reach a step closer to killing him…' Sasuke thought.
Sasuke paused in his thoughts as he noticed both of his teammates staring at him intently.
"Hey, Sasuke… You alright?" Kiba asked.
Sasuke didn't say anything. He turned away and waited for the gates to open.
Shikamaru yawned lazily at the gate number 26. The whole thought of this thing was so troublesome. The written test was bad enough, but being stuck in the middle of a forest like this for five days? That was just too much. If it wasn't for fear of hearing another one of Ino's seemingly endless whining and screaming fits, he'd have jumped ship from this thing long ago. He had just begun to doze off to sleep, when all of a sudden he got the back end of a fist to the head.
"Wake up, loser! This isn't anytime to be sleeping!" Ino yelled as she tossed Choji the scroll they had just received.
"What do you want woman… We have another five minutes before they open the gates…" the Nara said while rubbing his head and yawning.
"Because! This is time we could be using for planning!" Ino grinned while looking over at Sasuke and the rest of Squad Seven.
Ino looked at her two boys and tried to encourage them.
"All right this is it team ten! This is going to a brutal desperate fight where everyone we run into will be an enemy out to attack us. Now what are we going to do?" Ino asked.
Ino waited for them to shout, 'fight' loudly and in unison.
"Hide?" Choji suggested.
"Quit." Shikamaru offered.
Ino buried her head in her hands and screamed.
"Idiots…" Neji thought as he watched the scene unfold from gate number 27.
"They're almost as pathetic as Hinata's team… No matter, I'm sure they'll be eliminated soon enough…" Neji said.
Neji opened his eyes as and turned his attention back on to Lee and Tenten.
"YOSH! Is something wrong, my fearless comrade?" Lee asked.
"No… Now be quiet…" Neji said.
"That was kind of rude, Neji." Tenten said.
"Listen…" Neji said, completely ignoring what the girl had said.
"Once we enter the forest, everyone is an enemy. I don't care what kind of relationship you may have with Mitarashi or my cousin, but the same goes for them, got it?" Neji asked in angry about Naruto and Hinata. (You should know why.)
"But Neji, they are our comrades… It would be unyouthful to just hunt them down like that…" Lee said.
"If Hinata and her team can't handle the chance that they run into us, or anyone else, then that is their fate. Remember that destiny cannot be changed, what is meant to happen, will happen…" Neji said as he turned away.
'Be careful out there, Naruto and Hinata… Looks like Neji's gunning for you two…' Tenten thought.
Gaara and his siblings sat in anticipation as they waited for the gates to open. The Sand team had taken gate number two as their choice, and were basically sure that they would pass this test.
'Man… Five days in the middle of some damn forest.' Kankuro thought.
'I also hope I get the chance to run into that cute blonde boy from the other day in this place…' Temari thought.
Gaara too was lost in thought as he waited for the gates to open. His cold, deathly stare floated from several of the gates, until he caught a glimpse of Naruto. Almost immediately, he could feel a sense of bloodlust rising as the blonde chatted amongst his teammates. A small smile crept across Gaara's lips as he felt the anticipation rising.
'Naruto Mitarashi… One-Tailed Raccoon-dog says you are someone to watch out for… That a familiar presence is inside of you… Are you… Could you possibly be like me?' Gaara thought.
No sooner had those thoughts left Gaara's head, the gates to the forest suddenly fly open. Immediately, all the various Genin squads took to the forest, bouncing along the various trees and branches that lined the area. Anko smiled as she watched Naruto and the others take off. She wanted Naruto to be safe, but she knew she didn't have much to worry about with him. Still, she had a feeling that this would be an interesting test to monitor this year…
(What you think? I know that the sand demon was called Shukaku the sand spirit. But since the fox demon is called the Nine-Tailed Fox, I thought that I called Shkaku, The One-Tailed Raccoon-dog.)