Disclaimer: I do not own NARUTO.

WILL OF STONE

THE SECOND TRIAL: "The Gorge of Winds"


The genin gathered together at the Overlook, as they had once before. But they were much less now. Hundreds, not thousands.

Haghira Doi the Dragonsight was waiting for them.

"The Second Trial begins," he said. "I will not ask you to reconsider your participation, for if you have returned now, after all the death of the First Trial, then no words of mine will stop you. Nevertheless, I must note that the Second Trial is to its predecessor as the Overlook is to a clump of dirt. It shall be the most challenging mission you have ever attempted. Very few will be able to succeed. In fact, it is very possible that none of you shall succeed."

"Laying it on a bit thick, don't you think?" whispered Kankuro.

"Actually, I think he's serious." Temari grinned. "If everyone dies before the war starts, can they still call it a war?"

"The Second Trial is designed to test the virtue of Duty," Director Doi continued. His voice rang out across the red tiles of Uzaemo Square. "While Insight is the first necessary ability of the chuunin, it is not enough. In various times, and in various places, shinobi have also sworn vows to a higher purpose. Protect the innocent. Defend the village. Obey your superiors. Be loyal to your comrades. Complete the mission. All these things, we call Duty. But the question remains, what is duty? And when there is a conflict between duties, how does one choose?

"The Second Trial shall take the form of a race. Behind me, to the west of Iwa, lies the great mountain canyon called the Scar. You have one week to journey from the beginning of the Scar to its end. Three Locks will you pass along the way. Each Lock must be activated with your chuunin exam key, and each Lock also involves a choice. All choices are valid… though not all choices will allow you to pass the Second Trial. Think carefully, and weigh your true values in the balance. Good luck, all of you. May the best shinobi prevail. The Second Trial of the 54th Iwa Chuunin Exam begins now."

The early morning sky was overcast with grey clouds. A cool, sharp wind blew from the east, whipping Sakura's hair and the open United Countries vest she wore over her genin uniform. It will rain in the Scar today. The rain would mean a reprieve from the sweltering summer heat that had invaded Iwagakure after the Midsummer Festival… but it also meant they would be slowed down.

The Scar stretched over half the Earth Country, and even an entire week might not be enough to reach its end.

Teams left the Overlook in staggered intervals. The order was based on how fast each team had finished the First Trial, though Director Doi had also tried to split apart allied groups of genin. Team Tsunade ended up somewhere in the middle of the pack, and it was almost midday before they were finally given leave to start. Kankuro took off at a run, eager to be off.

The Scar was visible as soon as they rounded the Overlook and crossed the Wasp Bridge to the far side of the Dreamstone River. It rose in the distance like a great pointed crown, not quite as tall as the Overlook but far wider, with sloping mountains to either side. A crack ran down along the center of the crown like a lightning bolt.

Inume Pass, Sakura knew. The only entrance to the Scar from the east.

It was not far away. Within minutes Team Tsunade had reached the base of the pass, following the rushing path of the Dreamstone River upward. Inume Pass lay high above the river itself, a narrow twisting gap set into the canyon cliffs, barely wide enough for two wagons to pass side by side. A torrent of blue water rushed out below them, foaming in the wind.

Sakura looked back once.

If she had wanted to see Iwa from another vantage point, she was disappointed. Even at this height the village was mostly hidden from view, concealed by the sheer white bulk of the Overlook. Besides the weathered towers of Sougon Castle, Sakura could only see the Sagewood to her left, and the slums of Sakaicho to the right. It had begun to rain. The dreary sight seemed to Sakura like some kind of metaphor. I have lived here for a month, but I understand it no better than I did on that first night.

Sosano had teased her for it. "Are you sure you're all right, Sakura?" he'd asked her. "Do you wish to rest? You look flushed."

That had been the day of the Midsummer Festival—the day right after they'd slept together for the first time. Sakura had been exhausted from all the sex, to tell the truth, but she could hardly admit that. "So do you." The Midsummer Festival was the holiday of the summer solstice, the longest day of the year. And the hottest, it seemed. It must be forty degrees today, and not a cloud in sight. Sweat ran down Sakura's face and seeped through her tight uniform. "I've never seen so many people trying so hard to die of sunstroke."

Uzaemo Square had been thick with frolicking crowds, the air filled with incense and smoke from chains of exploded firecrackers. Sakura had to stand on tiptoe just to see Katsu-ji Temple in the distance. The Overlook was behind her, Kindness Hospital to her left and the Iwa Council Chambers to her right. Each was among the most important buildings in the village, but today the only one that mattered was the temple. Thousands of Kiyome worshipers streamed through the great bronze gate; many of them painted in strange garish colors, meant to represent the ghosts that returned to the living world during the festival—the kami spirits of their dead ancestors.

Not a few of the faithful had overexerted themselves. They collapsed on the temple steps, panting like dogs, as shaven-headed monks tried to revive them with bamboo fans.

Sosano had only laughed. "Then you do not know Iwa. We do not fear nature, or try to control it, as you fire-kin do. The Midsummer Festival is rooted in Shiva traditions of season worship… a time for earth-kin to return to their hometowns, clean the graves of their ancestors, and make votive offerings. A celebration and a memorial both. On the last night of Midsummer Festival, candles are floated down the Dreamstone River, to help guide the ancestral spirits back to the world of the dead."

He had led her into Katsu-ji Temple then. All that day they'd walked through the streets of Iwa, admiring the festival decorations, guessing riddles in paper lanterns, eating delicacies, or playing carnival games. It was a dance that seemed never to end. Yet now, as the evening came to a close, Sakura sensed that something had changed. Something about the fragrance of the incense. The odd plaintive chants of the gathered worshipers, half-animal, half-spirit. The paper lanterns, strung up on ribbons all over Katsu-ji Temple, burning in the twilight like a thousand glittering red jewels.

She did not understand.

The gongs began to ring. A deep brass beat, over and over again. The priests and their flock of Kiyome faithful cried out with the music. Oh Sage of Six Paths, grant us your wisdom. Oh Kami spirits, oh great ancestors, grant us your blessing. Spirits, it is time to return for you to the veil beyond this veil. Leave us be; give us peace; and let us do the work of our life. We will never forget you. There was much and more, but Sakura remembered only how Sosano had wrapped his arms around her waist from behind, snuggled close to place his warm cheek against her own.

"Sakura," he'd whispered. "The summer is half over. The Second Trial approaches."

"Yes."

"Will I ever see you again?"

She had not understood that, either, no more than she understood the strange rituals of Midsummer Festival. "Of course you will. We're going to take Semele to Tsukai Gardens tomorrow, aren't we? Sosa… Sosa, what do you mean?"

But he had not answered.

Only held her.

Team Sawar is ahead of us, Sakura thought, turning away from the Overlook to look toward Inume Pass, and the great mountain canyons that lay beyond. Sosano and his teammates had been one of the first to depart. With any luck, they would race through the Scar with such swift speed that Team Tsunade would never catch them.

Somehow Sakura did not think so.

The cliffs of Inume Pass were steep and winding, but shorter than she expected. Within minutes they had reached the other side of the mountain. A great pile of rubble and crumbling walls greeted them. This is Agestone Keep, she knew. The ruined castle had once guarded the western end of Inume Pass, during the days of the Age of Glory. A dozen armies had dashed themselves to pieces upon the gates of Agestone Keep, it was said. Then the Sage of Six Paths had come to destroy the Shiva empires of the Scar, and the castle had dashed itself to pieces upon him.

Kankuro climbed atop the ruined curtain wall of Agestone Keep. Heavy rain lashed down from the gray sky, making the stones slick and loose. The sand-nin boy kicked at the wall, sending a chunk of rocks tumbling over the edge and into the abyss beyond. There was no sound.

"Holy shit," said Kankuro.

When Sakura joined him, she understood at once.

One the far side of Agestone Keep, the the mountains opened up suddenly upon a vista of blue rivers, green bamboo forests, and soaring limestone pillars that took her breath away. The Gorge of Winds. The first great canyon of the Scar, and one of the most beautiful sights that Sakura that ever seen in her life.

They stood at the eastern end of the Gorge, where the beaten path called Gunnai Road crested Inume Pass and began its winding descent to the valley floor far below. The Dreamstone River twisted and turned there amid steep hills, lush fields of rice and wheat and barley, swaying bamboo stalks hazy in the rain. The limestone peaks were the most spectacular. The Valley of Spears, the earth-kin had named it, for the limestone pillars like a thousand daggers thrust into the belly of the sky. The narrow passageways gave rise to fierce currents of wind, which made an eerie sound almost like music; a resonant, haunting piping. Sakura could feel the faint taste of spray on her face.

So this is the Scar.

Temari went to one knee. Her eyes were fervent with prayer, and on her lips was worship, the truth of her Kiyome faith:

"Countries may fall

But their rivers and mountains remain.

When spring comes to the ruined castle,

The grass is green again."

Sakura unrolled the map which the chuunin examiners had given them at the Overlook. The scroll contained a detailed topographical map of the entirety of the Scar; the locations of the three Locks were marked in red.

The challenge was not in finding the Locks, this time. It was what they had to do, once they got there.

On the map, the Scar looked much like a giant katana, curving gently from east to west. Each of the three huge river gorges that made up the Scar could be identified as different sections along the katana. The eastern tip of the Scar was the Gorge of Winds, sharp and narrow. The main length of the Scar, wide and broad, was the Gorge of Mists. And the westernmost, rugged base of the Scar was the Gorge of Stones, with the hilt being the legendary Ice Spear itself—the tallest mountain in the entire world.

The first Lock was a red dot in the Gorge of Winds. On the valley floor, in the middle of a human settlement.

"The First Lock is in Kashima Village," Sakura read, tracing the route along the map. "We ought to be able to make it there by nightfall."

Temari frowned. "The Untouchable Village."

Kankuro grinned. "Offended, sister?"

"Kiyome preaches the equality of all men under God. Caste discrimination is prohibited by the Toso."

"Oh, I agree… but these so-called 'untouchables' are rather unlike the outcaste castes of yore, don't you think? They were all exiled from Iwa for being criminals. Kashima Village is more of a prison than anything else."

"We shall see."

Team Tsunade descended from Agestone Keep down Gunnai Road, heading toward the Valley of Spears below. It was slow going in the rain, and the road ran muddy with runoff. Sakura found herself longing for the previous week of stifling heat—better sunstroke than drowning. The rain seeped into her uniform, matting her hair against the sides of her face. Still, the weather lent the Gorge of Winds a certain mysterious character. Limestone pillars soared from the valley floor, rainwater sloshing down their rugged sides in little waterfalls. Stands of bamboo clung to the sides of the path, bending and rustling in the gusting wind. A place of great beauty, but wild.

They did not reach Kashima Village by nightfall. Instead, when the day began to grow dark, they found themselves wandering the ruins of yet another ancient building.

"The Cathedral of Hands," said Sakura, recognizing the design.

Kankuro laughed. "How many of these are there?"

Of the abandoned Shiva shrines scattered throughout the Earth Country, there were countless. But of the great Cathedrals, only five. The Cathedral of the Faith in Hiroshiki. The Cathedral of Faces in the Sagewood of Iwagakure. The Cathedral of Hands in the Gorge of Winds. The Cathedral of Bones in the Gorge of Mists. And the Cathedral of Hearts in the Gorge of Stones.

One for each of the Five Gods of Zen. The Cathedral of Hands was the holy temple of Dymeter the All-Seeing. The Wind God, and the God of Justice. Sakura could just make out Dymeter's statue at the base of a broken stone pyramid, badly eroded by the rain. A bearded old man with a set of iron scales in his hands. The patron god of criminals.

Huge graven hands dominated the rest of the ruined Cathedral, thousands of them, carved out of walls and towers and stairs, as if to support all the weight of the stone. Moss covered their palms; vines grew out of the cracks between their crumbling fingers. Many of the hands had simply broken off to litter the ground with stone fragments. Trees grew all around them, pine and cypress, tall sentinel trees with their grey-green needles, aspen wreathed with slimy white garlands of ghost moss. And bamboo above all. A vast bamboo forest, stretching all the way across the length of the Valley of Spears.

"Hey," Kankuro whispered. His three puppets Karasu, Kuroari, and Sanshouo were scattered in a perimeter around them, providing reconnaissance. "Something's coming. A lot of somethings."

Sakura tensed. Another genin team?

She did not expect to see a herd of white-tailed deer.

"Hi!" said the doe in front, giggling. The female deer twitched her ears in a friendly manner, shaking water off her coat of brown fur.

"Teru?" asked Sakura.

"Teru!" The deer giggled again. "No, silly, I'm not Teru." She turned to the other deer in the herd, all of which looked exactly the same. "She can't tell us apart, can she? Typical human."

"Our sister went chasing after the prince," explained another doe. "Or was it the princess?"

"But not before Teru told us about you," said a third.

"The new fling," declared the first deer. "The pink-haired girl with the pretty green eyes, who can hardly look at the prince without blushing. Even though she's supposed to be his enemy."

Sakura could feel the heat rising to her cheeks, though the forest was cold and dark and wet. "Did Sosano pass through here?"

"He did." That was a new voice; older and wiser. The other white-tailed deer parted to let her through—the largest and most magnificent deer that Sakura had ever seen. Though the doe's legs were as tall and thick as Sakura's entire body, and her ears brushed the highest leaves of the bamboo forest, yet her every movement was graceful, elegant. Dense white spots dotted her dark flanks almost like stripes. "I see you, humans of distant lands. I am Teru's mother, the one called Tajima. The matriarch of the sacred deer of the Valley of Spears, and the leal servant of the Sougon clan. My daughters and I welcome you to our home."

Temari stepped forward. "Well met, Tajima. We seek only to journey through these lands peacefully."

"Yes. But it will not be possible."

"Why?"

"The prince Sougon Sosano left a warning for you. Beware the ambush."

There was a short silence. Kankuro waved his hands around. "Well… any, you know, details?"

"No more."

"Wonderful."

At that very moment, a fire appeared on the horizon.

Red flames, billowing in the night. Spreading by the second, leaping in the air, filling the sky with cinders and smoke and the dance of burning death. It must have been a very large fire, to be visible even through the rain and the forest and the distance.

A fire out of nowhere.

Sakura had a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach.

"Where is that?" she asked.

The matriarch Tajima turned her great grizzled head. "That is Kashima Village."

"It's pouring rain!" said Kankuro.

He did not have to point out what that meant. No ordinary fire could have survived in such a downpour. But there was a certain kind of flame that the rain did not quench, but only fanned to a greater fury. Demon fire burns on water itself.

One of their most dangerous enemies had reached Kashima Village first.

Team Dayu.

Mizuho.


Next: THE SECOND TRIAL: "Untouchable, Part One"