The Genin reassembled in front of the Forest of Death and watched as a bird landed on a massive branch of a large tree just beyond the fence. It chirped and flapped its wings, then was suddenly eaten by an enormous snake in a single bite before it eyed the Genin and slithered away.

Sakura gulped and shuddered, moving close to Sasuke as Naruto squinted as was frozen in place for a moment.

"T-This place is just too creepy..." Sakura mumbled.

Anko chuckled and smirked slightly as she looked at the Genin's nervous expressions.

"This place is called the Forest of Death, and you'll soon understand why for yourselves."

Naruto crossed his arms and made a face, exhaling hotly. Then, he put his hands on his hips mockingly, shaking his butt. "'Blah blah blah, Forest of Death, you'll understand why.'" Naruto laughed loudly and recrossed his arms. "That kind of threat won't work on me one bit!" He pointed at her. "So, ha! I'm not scared!"

"Oh?" Anko smirked and tilted her head to the side, closing her eyes as she smiled too sweetly. "You've got a lot of energy."

Her smirk grew and she flicked her wrist and a Kunai knife slipped from her sleeve and into her hand, then she quickly threw it at him. It cut his cheek and buried itself into the ground behind the Grass Genin. Anko flickered behind Naruto before he could blink

"A kid like you dies in the very beginning." Anko whispered darkly and chuckled as his eyes widened and he stood rooted in place, almost trembling. "Dripping with the red blood that I like so much..."

Naruto turned slightly to look at her from the corner of his eyes, unable to make a sound or move. Anko chuckled again, holding his face as she leaned in close to him and licking some of the blood from his cheek.

She scowled and narrowed her eyes, flicking her other wrist to draw out another Kunai and turning to see a Grass Genin behind her. His tongue extended unnaturally beyond his mouth, holding a Kunai out to Anko.

"I'm returning... your Kunai Knife..."

"A-Ah... thanks for taking the trouble..."

Shiore's expression darkened as he looked at Naruto's blood and Naruto shuddered slightly as a chill ran down his spine. Anko met his eyes with an equally intimidating stare.

"But... don't even dare stand behind me when you're so thirsty for blood. Unless you want a quick death..."

Anko took the Kunai from his and his tongue retracted back into his mouth as he smirked.

"Well, it's my nature to act up at the sight of blood of such a lovely red color." His smirk grew as he tone lowered. "And, a bit of my precious hair was cut, so I got excited..."

"Naruto..." Hinata looked at Naruto and frowned slightly, her brow creasing with worry.

"Sorry." Shiore turned to walked back to his teammates.

"W-What's with that proctor?" Sakura watched Anko and gulped. "Frankly, she's psycho!" Sakura stepped out of the way as the Grass Genin passed and narrowed her eyes slightly. "This one. too..."

Naruto put a hand on his cheek to cover the cut and watched as Shiore walked away, letting out a soft sigh of relief. "That guy... why was his tongue so long? That was gross."

"Evidently, we've got a lot of hot-headed kids this time around." Anko put her Kunai away, then put her hands on her hips and smirked as she looked around. "This will be fun."

Naruto made a face and squinted his eyes as he looked up at the proctor. "You're the most hot-blooded, ya know!"

"Well, before we start the second phase, I have to pass this out to you!" Anko walked to the front of the group to stand in front of the gates. She took out a stack of papers from inside her jacket for them to see. "This is a consent form. Before you can take part in this test, you have to sign it."

"Huh?" Naruto blinked. "Why?"

Anko smirked and then laughed quietly. "From here on out, corpses are going to come out, and I have to get your consent for that. Or it'll be my responsibility."

Naruto's eyes widened slightly; his expression shared amongst most of the Genin there. Anko paused to look at them, then she continued.

"Well, I'm going to start the explanation for the second phase now. In short, the limits of your survival will be challenged."

She held out the stack of papers to Naruto, who hesitantly stepped forward to take them. He took one paper for himself and then passed the pile to Misumi.

"Survival, huh? This test will be a total pain." Shikamaru looked at the form in his hands and sighed as he passed the pile to Ino next.

"First, I'll give you step-by-step instruction on the terrain of this training field." Anko held up a scroll with a map on it. "Training field Number Forty-Four is surrounded by forty-four locked entrance gates, and there are rivers and a forest, with a tower in the center. It's about ten kilometers from the tower to the gate..." She paused and thumbed behind her at the forest. "In this confined area, you will go through a certain survival program. The contents of which are..." She rolled up the scroll and returned it to the pocket inside of her jacket before meeting their eyes with a smirk. "...An anything-goes scroll battle!"

"Scroll battle...?" Kabuto put a hand on his hip and asked, eying the pair of scrolls in her hand.

"Yes." Anko held out the two scrolls for the group to see. "I want you to fight for two scrolls, the Heaven Scroll and the Earth Scroll. Altogether, twenty-six teams got through the first phase. Half of those... thirteen teams get the Heaven scroll, and the other half gets the Earth scroll. I'll hand over one scroll to each team. To put it simply, that's what you're vying for."

"And the conditions to pass?" Sasuke asked, his hands in his pockets as he took a step forward.

"All three members of a team must bring both the Heaven and Earth scrolls to the tower in the center." Anko answered and put her hand on her hip.

"That means that of the thirteen teams, half of them will definitely fail..." Sakura thought out loud.

"Except that there's a time frame to keep in mind." Anko looked at Sakura and put the scrolls back into her jacket. "For the second phase, the time limit is 120 hours. You have exactly five days."

"Five days?!' Ino stepped closer and her eyes widened.

"W-What do we do about food?!" Choji held up his hands and paled slightly.

"Be self-sufficient!" Anko turned him. "It's a treasure trove in the wilderness. There's more than enough for food..."

"However..." Kabuto looked over his shoulder at them. "It's also teeming with fierce man-eating creatures, poisonous bugs, poisonous plants, and much more."

"N-No way..." Choji let out a heavy sighed and hung his head.

"Fool!" Ino crossed her arms. "That's why it's called survival!"

"Besides," Neji added. "It's improbably that thirty-nine people— thirteen teams— will pass."

"The interval for activity gets longer with each passing day..." Lee looked over at him with a smirk as he furrowed his brows. "While the time for recovery gets shorter. Seems pretty grueling!"

"On top of that, you're surrounded by nothing but enemies, so even falling asleep will be a problem..." Sasuke frowned slightly.

"Besides those injured during attempts to capture scrolls... there will definitely be people who are unable to endure the rigors of the course."

Shikamaru raised his hand. "Um... so, you can quit in the middle of it?"

"According to the rules, you are not able to give up in the middle of it! I want you to spend five days in the forest, pass or fail."

"Just as I thought..." Shikamaru sighed, shaking his head slightly as he crossed his arms. "This is going to be such a drag."

"Moving on; conditions of disqualification." Anko put her hands on her hips. "Number one. If all three of the team are unable to make it to the tower. With both the Heaven and Earth scrolls within the time limit." She held up two fingers. "Number two, if a team loses a member or if a member becomes incapacitated. There's that, and this is a supplement. You absolutely may not look at the contents of the scrolls until you have reached the tower!"

Naruto blinked. "What happens if we look at it halfway through?"

Anko smiled too sweetly and then smirked with a dark expression. "When you look at it, you'll find out."

"Huh?" Naruto crossed his arms and scratched his cheek. "I don't get it..."

"There are times when a Chunin must deal with super-confidential documents. This is to test your reliability. That's all for the explanation." Anko announced and pointed over to a table where three Chunin sat. "I'll now exchange your three consent forms for the scrolls in that hut over there."

"After that, pick your entrance and all the gates will open at simultaneously when it's time." Anko sighed and looked through the crowd of Genin. "Finally, just a word of advice... Don't die!"

Sasuke sat with his back against a large rock by himself as he looked over the consent form. He turned to look at the Chunin as they drew a thick curtain across to block the view of the desk.

"I see... so you won't know which scroll was given to which team... and you won't know which of the three people is carrying the scroll." He glanced back down at the form, reading it carefully. "If what Ibiki said was right, there will be life or death struggles for information in this test." He glanced around to look at the other teams as they each reviewed their own forms. "Everyone is an enemy! The resolve of everyone here is strong. That means that it might come to killing each other."

Anko's eyes rested on Sasuke and she smirked slightly, chuckling quietly under her breath as she watched him furrow his brows and look over the other Genin. "It looks like at least a few of them are starting to understand the meaning of the consent form just a little bit..."

Sasuke walked slowly as she read the paper line-by-line with her brow creased in worry. Ino walked toward her, smirking as she drew closer.

"Hey, look who's here! It's Billboard Brow." Ino put her hand on her hip. "I thought you'd gone home long ago. I never thought you'd still be here."

"Oh? Look who's here, the ugly Ino-Pig." Sakura returned her smirk and put her own hand on her hip. "Starting now, it's five days of the survival test with Sasuke. There's no reason to go home."

Ino gritted her teeth and narrowed her eyes, then walked closer to Sakura as she glared. Sakura did the same and they growled slightly at each other as they locked eyes.

"Ugly wench!"

"Billboard brow!"

"Ugly! Ugly! Ugly!"

"Billboard! Billboard! Billboard!"

Shikamaru and Choji watched the girls yelling at each other, rooted in place as the color drained slowly from their faces at the intensity of the bickering. Finally, Ino clenched her fists and stomped her foot.

"Sakura! This is impossible for you! For your own sake, just hurry up and go home!"

"I could say the exact same thing to you!" Sakura balled her hands into fists and glared at the blonde. Then, they both scoffed and turned their noses up before turning to walk away from each other haughtily.

"H-Hey... why are those two on such bad terms?" Choji blinked and turned to Shikamaru, whispering.

"D-Do you think I care about something dumb like that?" Shikamaru crossed his arms and furrowed his brows.

"Man... all there is to do is write my name." Naruto furrowed his brows and walked slowly as he read the consent form. "Why does it take this much time?"

He looked up and saw Hinata leaning against a tree and she looked over her own form. He raised his hand and waved at her to get her attention.

"Hey! Hinata! What are you doing over there?"

Hinata jumped slightly at his voice and blushed as she looked at him. "N-Naruto... um... uh... well..."

Naruto squinted his eyes and watched as she averted her eyes and looked away. "Just like I thought... this girl is strange."

Hinata looked back at him and her eyes widened slightly as she saw his cheek. "A scratch..." She dug in her pouch and took out a small jar and held it out. "U-Um! T-This is—"

"Well, see you!" Naruto had waved again and started to walk off as she offered the ointment to him.

Hinata blinked and watched him leave, her expression falling as she sighed softly. "Naruto..."

"It's about time for the scroll exchange." One of the Chunin men pulled back the curtain slightly to look at Anko, then to the Genin, before drawing the curtain again and returning to his seat.

The Genin started to gather around the hut and the teams slowly went in one-by-one as Anko looked on.

"Hmph. I wonder how many will survive..."

Naruto handed over their signed forms with the grin and the Chunin took them with a nod and looked them over. After he set the forms aside, he passed Naruto a scroll. Anko kept an eye on her wristwatch as each team retrieved their scrolls.

"Alright! Teams who have taken the scroll, stay with your representative and move to your gate! We'll all start simultaneously in thirty minutes!"

Team Kurenai stood in front of Gate Sixteen, with Hinata fidgeting anxiously as they waited.

"Yeah!" Kiba pumped a fist into the air and cheered. "Survival is our specialty!" He looked over at Hinata. "Hinata, don't show your weaknesses."

"Y-Yeah, okay..." Hinata nodded and looked up at him briefly, then back down on the ground.

"Life or death..." Shikamaru sighed and looked at the sign for Gate Twenty-Seven, crossing his arms. "It's a pain but we just have to do this. Since it's come to this, Naruto will be our target."

Choji rifled through his pouch, nearly drooling as his stomach growled. "Let's see... for snacks, there's potato chips... oh, and some shortcake, too!"

"I can't believe you two." Ino shook her head and put her hand on her hip.

Team Seven followed the Genin to Gate Twelve and Naruto clenched his fists and grinned as he pretended to throw quick jabs into the air in front of him.

"Okaaay! I won't lose! I'll bring down whoever comes near me!"

Sakura nodded in agreement and furrowed her brows. "Cha! I won't lose to that Ino-Pig!"

"Hmph." Sasuke smirked slightly and crossed his arms.

"Heh..." Zaku chuckled and looked over at the other Sound Genin, furrowing his brows. "Finally, the opportunity is here... to fulfill our mission in earnest..."

Kabuto looked between his teammates and nodded to one another before he crossed his arms and kept his eyes focused on the gate ahead.

"Sure, the enemy teams are scary, but..." Kankuro watched Gaara from the corner of his eye, while Temari watched him with a worried expression. "I'm way more scared of spending five days alone with this guy."

"Target the Leaf Rookies first." The Grass Genin grinned darkly and narrowed his eyes.

"They said that from now on, it's okay to kill." Shiore licked his lips. "That makes it easier."

"Guy-sensei, I'll do my best! I'll definitely succeed!" Lee clenched his fist in anticipation and Neji and Tenten smirked.

The Chunin kept time on their watches and unlocked the gates, watching the time once again. As the second hand reached the twelve to mark exactly two-thirty, Anko looked up and furrowed her brows.

"We are now starting the second phase of the Chunin Exam!"

The gates burst open and each of the teams hurried inside in blurs.

"Look for the brats!" Shiore looked over at his teammate."

"You mean, those three, right?"

"All right!" Naruto stepped inside the gate, followed by Sakura and Sasuke. "Let's go!"

Kiba, Hinata, and Shino stopped after a while and gathered beneath enormous trees. Kiba grinned and put his hands on his hips and turned to Hinata.

"Okay! First, we search for that thing. Can you do it, Hinata?"

"Yes." Hinata nodded shortly. She brought her hands together in a sign and drew in a breath. "Byakugan!"

"Slow down, Lee! We've only just started." Neji frowned slightly as Lee raced against three the branches and he and Tenten tried to keep up."

"I know. But..." Lee furrowed his brows and his expression intensified. "I just can't stay still! Who knows what kind of powerful foe is waiting for us."

"Hmph." Neji glanced at Tenten, who smiled. "That hot-blooded fool..."

"As you already understand, we only have one target!" Dosu led his team through the branches and narrowed his eyes. "Don't get side-tracked."

Ino and Shikamaru carefully peered out from behind trees and then started to walk once again. Ino stopped and blinked, turning to look at their third.

"W-What are you doing, Choji?!"

Choji sat cross-legged and opened a bag of chips, sniffing deeply and licking his lips before shoving a handful into his mouth. "Just a little break... I'm already tired and hungry..."

"What are you suddenly saying?!" Ino stepped toward him and put her hand on her hip.

"It hasn't even been five minutes since we started!" Shikamaru scratched his head and walked closer.

"I can't help it. I'm hungry." Choji turned his back to them and continued to eat.

"Why, you...!" Ino frowned. "If you were able to bring snacks, you should have been able to at least bring one Kunai knife!"

Shikamaru's eyes widened suddenly and he turned his head slightly to glance over his shoulder. "Ino! Hide!"

They dove to hide in a thick bush, making it just in time as the team of Waterfall Genin landed in the clearing where they had just been. Shikamaru watched as the team looked around, and his eyes widened as he spotted a stray potato chip left on the ground.

"Uh oh!"

The Genin turned to each other, then pointed ahead and nodded to each other. Then, they quickly left and Shikamaru let out a small sigh. Ino exhaled softly and lifted her head. Shikamaru looked as a bead of sweat rolled down his head.

Choji looked up and blinked in confusion. "What happened?"

Three Rain Genin stopped on a branch and looked down below at the three Leaf Genin.

"Anyway, the tower is the goal for everyone, right?" Kiba looked between Shino and Hinata. "So, it would be clever for us to make a trap in the vicinity of the tower."

Akamaru grunted and sniffed the air, then barked softly.

"Aw'right..." Kiba smirked and lowered his voice to a whisper. "Wasting no time, huh? Where are they, boy?"

"Heh... what stupid kids." The Rain Genin chuckled to himself. "It's like they're begging to be found, standing in a conspicuous place like that."

"They sensed our presence." Another chuckled. "But, evidently, they haven't grasped where we are."

The first boy suddenly froze in place, his skin losing its color and his lips turning blue.

"H-Hey!" His teammates blinked. "What happened? You're so pale."

He whimpered in pain, wobbling in place as a lump moved up through the back of his clothes and poked out of the collar of his shirt, revealing a giant leech.

"W-What the hell is that?!"

Dozens of leeches started to rain down from the canopy above and they screamed as the creatures covered their bodies and began to feed. The screaming echoed through the forest and they fell from the branch and crashed onto the ground. The leeches fought over their Genin, tearing into their flesh and feeding until the they lost enough blood that they could no longer scream.

Hinata pursed her lip, shuddering at the sound and Kiba and Shino turned in the direction of the trap.

"The Flying Leeches of the Leaf sense body temperature and perspiration, then, en masse, swoop down on their prey. If they continue to suck your blood for five minutes, you'll pass on to the next world..." Kiba crossed his arms with a smirk. "Using this knowledge, we set a trap on the path the enemies would use to escape."

"D-Damn it..." One of the Genin struggled to a stand, trying to pull the leech from his shoulder. He fell forward onto his hands and knees, and his eyes widened as his hand tugged on a wire.

They shouted as a net suddenly lifted them into the air and Kiba's smirk widened.

"That's one team down."

The leeches still attached continued to feed and they screamed again, the sound echoing through the forest. Anko smirked as her expression darkened.

"So, the fun's already started..."

Team Seven stopped walking and turned toward the faint, echoing sound.

"Wasn't that someone screaming just now?" Sakura shuddered slightly.

A large flock of birds took to the air at once from the other direction in a loud flurry of panicked flapping and squawking.

"I-I'm kind of getting nervous..." Sakura held her hand close to her chest and pressed her lips together.

"T-That was nothing, Sakura! Believe it!" Naruto chuckled and crossed his arms behind his head. He made a face, nearly twitching as he forced a smile and then suddenly turned and ran over to a nearby tree. "I-I have to pee..."

"Y-You idiot!" Sakura smacked his head as he started to fiddle with his zipper. "Why are you trying to do that in front of a lady?! Go over somewhere else!"

A few moments later, Naruto returned and let out a sigh as he scratched his head.

"Ah... that was a lot! I feel refreshed."

"Hey! Like I said, not in front of a lady!" Sakura shot him a glare and held up her fist in warning.

Sasuke eyes narrowed and he quickly moved in close to Naruto and landed a heavy punch on his face, knocking him back several meters until his back hit a tree. Sakura's eyes widened and Naruto cried out in pain and clenched his jaw as he took in a breath.

"Sasuke! No matter what... you didn't have to go that far!"

Naruto glared at him and rubbed his cheek. "W-What was that for...?"

Sasuke lunged at him again, kicking him back. Naruto rolled to dodge and Sasuke jumped off from the tree to strike at him. Naruto's eyes widened and he dodged again, jumping out of the way to kneel on a branch. Sasuke followed and knocked him down, and Naruto fell to the ground ahrd with a thud in a cloud of dirt.

Naruto scowled and slowly got up, glaring at the Uchiha.

"What are you doing... all of a sudden?!"

"What, you ask? That's my line, isn't it?"

Sakura covered her mouth as she watched and Sasuke glared at Naruto. Sasuke drew a Kunai knife and Sakura held out her hand.

"S-Sasuke! Stop!"

Naruto drew his own Kunai and gritted his teeth. "I-It can't be helped...!" Naruto ran at Sasuke, clashing with one another. Naruto dodged a strike and kick combo, flipping backward to put distance between them.

"Sasuke, please stop!" Sakura took a step forward and looked between the two.

"Sakura, look more closely at him!" Sasuke glanced at her from the corner of his eye.

"H-Huh?" Sakura blinked and looked at Naruto. "W-What are you saying?"

Naruto furrowed his brows and held up his Kunai in a defensive stance.

"Talk!" Sasuke frowned. "Where's the real Naruto!"

Sakura's eyes widened. "W-What?!"

"I have no idea what you're talking about!" Naruto held up his hands.

"What happened to that scratch on you face, then?" Sasuke pointed at him.

Naruto's eyes widened and Sakura gasped softly.

"I'm asking what happened to that scratch you got before from the Proctor!" Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "And your Shuriken holster is on your left leg. Naruto's right-handed!" Sasuke paused. "You're worse at transformation that Naruto, you phony!"

"Heh." Naruto smirked and a small cloud of smoke surrounded him. When it cleared, a masked Rain Genin stood before them. "How unlucky! You got me. In that case..." He narrowed his eyes. "Which one of you got the scroll?"

Sasuke and Sakura narrowed their eyes and held up Kunai.

"If you listen to me obediently, I'll spare your lives."

Sakura and Sasuke remained silent and only glared back at him.

"I see... Then, I'll resort to force!" He rushed at them and they held their own Kunai at the ready.