Sasuke stoked the small campfire and watched as it crackled and sent embers drifting upward with the smoke in the night. Naruto and Sakura slept nearby, sleeping deeply despite the current situation. Though they had started the night apart, the cold had driven them to slowly creep closer to the other in their sleep, without realizing, until their backs were pressed together for warmth. Beyond the light of the fire, the night was loud and the air was filled with the chirping of crickets, the buzzing of cicadas, and the hooting of owls. Accompanying this cacophony were the sounds that Sasuke was listening most closely to— the rustling in the undergrowth of the giant centipedes, the slithering of the unnaturally large serpents, and the howls from ravenous timber wolves that had grown accustomed to the taste of human flesh after snacking on the weak and fallen Genin from Chunin Exams past.
He stoked the fire again as he calculated the time. "In an hour it will be Sakura's watch."
His eyes lingered on the way his teammates slept, reminded briefly of the familiar comfort of an embrace, then clenched his jaw slightly and looked away when the warm memory was replaced with one of red. The ground trembled slightly and he looked up quickly to gaze deep within the dark forest where a low growl was barely audible.
"Whatever that is, it's big, and it's getting closer." He stood, looked between his teammates, and then furrowed his brows. "I should check our perimeter to confirm their numbers make sure it isn't coming for a meal."
Three Grass Genin crouched behind the roots of one of the forest's enormous trees and caught their breath.
"Damn it! They're all monsters!" Minto clenched his fist into a tight ball and looked around the dark of the forest. "How can we steal a scroll when defending our own takes everything we've got?"
"But we can't give up! The Village's honor rests with us!" Shigeri furrowed his brows and walked over to their third member, who sat quietly on the ground by herself, then wrenched her to her feet. "We'll go back to tracking and try to come up with a good plan."
"We'll definitely get a scroll next time." Minto nodded.
Shigeri kept his fingers firmly around the girl's arm and bit down as she winced. He bit harder, and her eyes shut tightly and watered as she stifled a cry. She forced her eyes open to look between them, her lip quivering as she spoke in a shaky voice.
"What should I do?"
"You'll only get in the way." Minto frowned and hurried over to her, taking the scroll out of the inner pocket of his jacket.
Shigeri released her arm and wiped his mouth, and she glanced down at the deep indents his bite had left behind in her skin. She bit her lip and cast her eyes downward.
"Just take this and stay hidden. You're only good for one thing, and that's healing us. Just stay out of the way."
"O-Okay." She nodded slowly and winced at Minto bit her arm. He remained latched for a moment before pushing her away, then he nodded at Shigeri, and they hurriedly jumped away. -
Once alone, she held the scroll close to her and dropped heavily to the ground, holding her hand gently over the bitemarks. Her crimson eyes watered and shut, and she hugged her arms close to her as she listened cautiously to the nighttime sounds of the forest around her.
"Oh yeah. I should find a better place to hide." She stood slowly and then paused as she looked around. "Where should I go? I don't see anywhere that's good to hide."
The ground trembled and a chill rushed down her spine.
"What was that? It sounds like it's coming closer."
She turned to see an enormous bear lumbering its way through the trees, each step of its paws shaking the ground with claws tearing the grass and dirt. Her eyes rounded and her breath caught in her throat.
"W-What is that?! It can't be a bear! It's so huge…" She swallowed and trembled, then began to slowly back away from the creature that growled hungrily down at her. "What do I do?! What can I do?! I can't fight that thing!" Her back pressed against the trunk of the tree and stared up at the beast. "I don't want to die!"
The bear snarled and lunged at her, snapping its jaws. She screamed in fear and dodged to avoid the bite, and began to run. She turned to look over her shoulder as it turned to pursue her, and she tripped over a root that stuck out of the ground. She cried out as she landed hard against the earth and her glasses slid off of her face, just out of reach. The bear licked its lips and lunged again at her, only to be stopped by a kick to the head.
"Lion's Barrage!"
Sasuke brought his foot down hard on top of the bear's eyes, kicking again and again, with each kick causing the bear to roar in pain and anger until it collapsed to the ground unconscious. He tapped his foot on the animal to ensure that it was no longer a threat, and then he looked at the girl.
The girl blinked slowly and raised her head to look around at her fuzzy surroundings. The massive blurry mountain of bear had an equally blurry figure standing atop it.
"I was saved!" She squinted and felt around for her glasses, then picked them up and placed them on her face as she sat up. "Did they actually come back to help me?" Her eyes adjusted and she gazed up at the dark-haired boy, then blushed faintly. "Was he the one to save me? He's cute."
She looked at his forehead protector, then her eyes widened slightly. "A Leaf Genin? But why would he help me? Aren't we enemies?"
"Are you hurt?" Sasuke jumped down from the animal to look her over, his eyes resting on the scroll in her hand.
She looked over herself and then slowly stood. "Y-Yeah." She looked down at the scroll in her hand and pressed her lips together. "I know I was supposed to ensure that we all pass, and to protect this scroll, but he did save me, so maybe…"
She held it out to him. "H-Here. If you hadn't come along, then I'd be…" She swallowed and averted her eyes. "Dead."
"You have an Earth Scroll, the same as us." Sasuke stuck his hands into his pockets. "Back to square one."
"Oh." Her arm lowered slightly and looked at him up and down. "You have some injuries, though. I can…" She paused. "I can heal them for you. As thanks for saving me."
He looked down at the scratches. "No thanks."
Her face fell slightly. "Um… If it's because we're from rival villages, you don't have to be suspicious of me. I heal a lot of other people, so… if you want…" She held out her arm slightly as her cheeks flushed. "I can heal you, too. You're the first person to ever help me."
"If it were anyone else, I would suspect a trap, but she's pretty weak and her teammates aren't around anywhere." Sasuke glanced between his injuries and the girl for a moment as he thought. "Chances of our success are also higher if I'm in better condition."
"Alright." He answered after a moment. "I'll accept it."
He took a step closer to her expectantly, and she looked down at her hands.
"Oh, um. I heal differently than others do." She held up her right arm. "You have to bite me for it to work."
"Bite?" He raised his brow.
"I promise I'm not lying or anything." She paused. "I know it's unusual, but—"
"It's fine." He gently took her arm and pressed his teeth to her skin.
She blushed and watched him quietly as her chakra cloaked him in a faint green glow. "It doesn't hurt… he's actually trying to not bite hard. No one else has ever… no one's ever shown consideration."
After a moment he pulled away, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand before looking over himself. "It worked well."
She touched where he had bitten and he met her eyes.
"What sort of technique is that?"
"It's just something that members of my clan are able to do." She averted her eyes.
"Your clan?"
She nodded, and he put his hands into his pockets.
"What's your name?"
"M-Me?" Her cheeks warmed. "I'm Karin… Karin Uzumaki."
"Uzumaki?" Sasuke's eyes widened slightly before he furrowed his brows. "Of course. I knew that red hair reminded me of someone else." He shifted where he stood, looking around for a moment as he listened to the forest, and then turned his attention back to her. "Do you happen to be related to anyone in Konoha?"
"Related to…?" She shook her head. "No, I." Her eyes widened and her mouth gaped slightly. "A-Are there more… I mean… Is there… another Uzumaki? Here? In this village?"
"I should have known better to ask, considering she's from a different village." He turned and took a step. "I'll be going now. Thanks."
"W-Wait!" Karin held up her hand, and when he turned back to her, she blushed. "You didn't tell me your name."
"Sasuke Uchiha."
"Uchiha?" She murmured under her breath. "He's a member of that clan? I've heard the Jonin talk about them before." She took a step toward him. "Thank you again for saving me, Sasuke. I'll never forget it."
"Don't worry about it."
"Wait. One more thing, please." She bit her lip again and her eyes fell to the marks on her left arm. "Please tell me… is there really another Uzumaki in the Leaf? You don't have to give me their name, but…" She covered her marks and her eyes watered as memories surfaced. "I have to know… are they treated well?"
Sasuke kept his back to her slightly, watching her from his peripherals as she tried to hide the marks. He took another step away.
"The Leaf's ramen is supposed to be the best. You should try it sometime."
Karin watched as he quickly left, holding out her hand before hugging her arms closer as she muttered. "Ramen? I don't understand. Why would he bring that up?" Her eyes widened and looked back in the direction he had gone. "Or… is that where I can find…?"
Naruto grinned and stared down into the water at the pair of fat fish that swam lazily and his clones chuckled and licked their lips.
"Special technique! Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu, fishing version!" Naruto and the three clones jumped off a high rock into the water, creating large splashes and ripples. Sasuke stood at-the-ready on the rocky bank with his Kunai. The Narutos swam around after the fish, herding them towards the surface. The fish jumped out of the water and Sasuke quickly threw the Kunai. It stabbed through the fish and pinned it to the tree across the water. He caught two more the same way, and the fish gaped and flailed as he Naruto's head popped out of the water and he took a large breath of air.
Naruto glared at Sasuke, who narrowed his eyes at him.
"Thrash about more! I want to catch some for curing! Three isn't enough." Sasuke put a hand on his hip. "Three more, you loser!"
Naruto's eyes widened and he clenched his jaw. "This is very taxing, ya know!" He waved his fists in the air as he yelled, then slammed his fists on the water to splash. "I mean it! Let's switch!"
"Sasuke!" Sakura called out. "The fire is ready to light! Could you make some fireballs, please?"
"Hmph." Sasuke glanced back toward the tree. "I guess three is okay for the time being…"
Naruto blinked as Sasuke walked off and then clenched his fist again. "Hey, wait a minute!"
"It's already been four days since the second exam started." Sasuke commented as he watched the fish cooking over the fire.
"Yeah." Sakura nodded quietly in agreement and used a stick to stoke the fire. "That's right."
"The start of the second exam was around three in the afternoon." Sasuke furrowed his brows in thought. We only have twenty-five or twenty-six hours left."
"I'm sure there have already been some teams that have passed." Sakura paused. "That means…"
Naruto ignored their conversation, licking his lips as he grinned and stared at the fish. "I wonder if it'll be broiled soon!"
"We're soon going to be in a tough spot." Sasuke gripped the scroll slightly as he thought, then glanced toward Naruto, who was drooling and watching the fish cooking.
"That's the biggest one! I'm totally taking it for myself!" Naruto chuckled to himself.
"Even if we were to try pursuit, there's hardly anybody left to be targets. What do we do?" Minoji mused aloud, then eyed his friends on either side, who had been listening to him.
The three Leaf Genin jumped from branch to branch in the forest, only landing once they reached the rocky bank of the river.
"Almost everyone's surely already passed." Minoji added with a sigh.
"Yeah, it's been four days, after all." Shibire nodded and frowned.
"Anyway," Tanzō stood and dusted himself off and looked between his teammates. "It's early afternoon now. Let's eat something. You two rest a bit and I'll go find us something to eat."
He leaped back into the forest and his teammates let out a sigh and rested their backs against the cliffside.
"Say…" Shibire held up their scroll to study it.
"Hm?"
"As I recall, on the other one… Heaven was written." He held it out to Minoji. "and, unlike this one, the colors were inverted, right?"
"Well, when they showed the scrolls before the exam, I wasn't really paying attention." Minoji sat up straighter. "What's with your interest in it, all of a sudden?"
Shibire lowered the scroll and smirked, and Minoji's eyes widened.
"Y-You've got to be kidding!"
Shibire's smirk grew as he stared at the scroll and softly cackled, looking slowly over to his teammate.
Team Seven ate their fish in silence around the campfire, with Naruto taking large, greedy bites of his fish, Sasuke eating quietly and neatly, and Sakura taking slow bites as she stared at the slightly-charred flesh of the fish.
"Ah this is so good!" Naruto tore off a chunk of meat roughly, then swallowed after barely chewing. "It reminds me of when Natsumi and I used to fish together." He gulped down another bite and then frowned faintly, continuing to talk aloud to himself. "Come to think of it, we haven't been fishing at all in a while. Maybe I should see if she wants to go again once we get out of this forest." He chewed slowly in thought for a moment, then looked up. "Huh. I wonder what she's doing now?" He turned his attention back to his fish, opening his mouth wide to take another bite, only to stop and watch as Sakura was lost in thought, her eyes unfocused as she held the fish in her hands. "Sakura? Is something wrong?"
"Huh?" She blinked at her name, then sat upright more before nodding slightly. "Well, actually…" She looked down again. "For all we know…" She bit her lip and eyed the scroll on the ground. "there may not be any Heaven scrolls left."
Sasuke lowered his fish and turned to her. "What do you mean, Sakura?"
"Well, in this second part of the exam, four of the five days of the time limit have already passed. That means we've already used eighty-percent of the total exam time. Seventy-eight participants and twenty-six teams." Sakura explained, and Naruto continued to eat, only half paying attention. "There are only thirteen each of the Heaven and Earth scrolls, which means that there will only be thirteen teams that pass, at most."
"What?" Naruto stopped before he took another bite and looked at her.
"Moreover, you remember, don't you, Sasuke? That Orochimaru guy burned the Heaven scroll that we had."
Sasuke nodded shortly and furrowed his brows. "Which means…"
"The teams that will pass had already, at that moment, decreased by one. Also, it's not certain that all of the other scrolls are safe, so…" Sakura trailed off, and the three of them looked down at their own scroll.
"After parting ways with the Leaf Village bunch, we allotted two days for healing." Sasuke paused and watched as the fire slowly began to die out. "So, from here on, we have to increase the distance of our actions. At any rate, the next enemy that we encounter is our last chance." Sasuke stood with his canteen and looked between them, his eyes resting on Naruto. "I'm going to get some water. Don't make a big commotion and draw enemies to us while I'm gone."
Naruto glared and balled his hand into a fist. "As if I would do that, you jerk!"
"You're doing it now!" Sakura glared and pulled his ear. "Pipe down!"
"Ow, ow, ow!" Naruto whined and rubbed his cheek after she let go, mumbling. "I got it, ya know. You didn't have to do that…" He frowned slightly and looked at the scroll for a moment before picking it up and whispering to Sakura. "Say! Say! I thought of a great way for us to not fight with an enemy!"
"What?" Sakura blinked. "What are you thinking?"
Naruto reached for one of his pouches on the ground, then turned it upside-down to dump out several scrolls.
"Get serious!" Sakura's eyes widened slightly.
"I am serious." Naruto dropped the empty pouch on the ground and picked one up. "I have lots of scrolls stocked, so…" He grinned and looked down at the blue-and-white scroll in his hand. "Ninjutsu manual, deadly poison manual, a scroll for taking notes… If we change its appearance a little, it will be just the same as a Heaven scroll."
"H-Hold it right there!" Sakura held up both hands and he scrunched up his face.
"Huh?"
"Even if you were able to make it look exactly right on the outside, you don't know what's written on the inside!" She held up a finger. "If the proctor looks inside, we'll be found out right away! You didn't even think that through, you idiot!"
Naruto smirked slightly and held his chin as he thought. "Well, when it comes to stuff like this, there's a password or something written where you can't understand the meaning unless you have both scrolls." He grinned and held up a finger as he leaned in closer to her. "In other words, to pass the tower, we'll definitely need the whole password, or something like that, ya know!"
"What difference does that make?" Sakura let out a short sigh and lowered her hand.
"What do you mean?"
"If you don't know what's in the other scroll, there's no use in making a fake!" Sakura clenched her fists and lectured, her eye twitching.
"E-Eh?" Naruto hung his head and sighed.
"Man, here I was wondering what you were going to say, looking all big… but you're just an idiot who can't even think things through."
Naruto looked back up at her. "B-But… what if we can predict what it'll say?" He held up the Earth scroll and Sakura's eyes widened.
"Naruto…?"
"This Earth scroll…"
Sakura furrowed her brows and met his eyes. "You wouldn't dare…"
"I'll just have to open this scroll."
"No!" Sakura smacked his head and he dropped the scroll. "Have you completely lost your mind and forgotten the rules?! We were told not to look inside the scrolls until he got to the tower, remember?"
"Ow…." Naruto pouted and rubbed his head. "But! At this moment, we're in a really tough spot, right?!
Sakura sat back down and sighed, looking down at her hands as they rested in her lap, and they both looked at the scrolls on the ground. After a long time, Naruto picked up the Earth scroll, gulping as he prepared to open it. Sakura leaned forward to watch closely, nodding, and Naruto gulped again, as a bead of sweat rolling down his brow.
Shibire held the scroll in his hand as it trembled slightly, then he glanced at Minoji briefly. They nodded at each other, and Shibire turned his attention back to the scroll, placing his thumb just under the end of the roll.
"There may be a trap or something." Shibire muttered under his breath.
"Carefully…. Do it carefully." Minoji warned.
"I know." He lifted the paper and started to unroll it, slowly at first, then he quickly pulled it open. His eyes widened at the seal there and both Genin screamed loudly.
Tanzō dropped the mushrooms he had gathered in the forest, his eyes wide as he turned toward the source of the screaming.
"T-That's—!" He gulped and quickly ran back toward his teammates. "What's going on?! Is it an attack?!"
He quickly came to the break in the trees, looking all around until he saw Minoji and Shibire. His eyes widened again as he stepped closer, carefully looking around.
"H-Hey! What happened?!" He knelt in front of them, shaking their shoulders and clenching his jaw at their unconsciousness. He gulped again, seeing the blank scroll as it lay open on the ground, then turned back to Shibire. "Hey, wake up! What happened here?!"
Naruto's hand trembled as he stuck his thumb just under the scroll's seal to lift the edge up slightly, just as Kabuto appeared suddenly, clasping his hand over Naruto's to stop him.
"You shouldn't do that."
Naruto and Sakura's eyes widened and they froze.
"Where did he come from?!" Naruto gulped as Kabuto stared at him intently from the corner of his eyes for a moment.
Sasuke walked back toward the campsite and his eyes widened as he saw Kabuto grab Naruto's hand. "An enemy?!" Sasuke ran at Kabuto, dropping his canteen as he drew a Kunai and swung at him.
Kabuto blocked with his own Kunai in his free hand, still holding his hand over Naruto's.
"What are you doing here?!" Sasuke glared at him, and Kabuto pushed back his Kunai, maintaining eye contact before he laughed softly and smiled.
"Relax, I'm not here to fight you. I just noticed your teammates were about to make the very poor choice of opening your scroll, so I stopped them."
"Hm?" Sasuke kept his Kunai raised and glanced toward Sakura and Naruto, who both paled, sheepishly laughing as they quickly looked away. He let out a short sigh, lowering his Kunai and straightening.
"Man, you're beyond saving…" Sasuke shook his head and glanced toward Naruto. "Not only that, but Sakura was involved as well." He looked at her, and her expression fell. "I would have expected Naruto to do something like this, but I didn't think that you would stoop that low, too, Sakura."
"Sasuke doesn't look happy at all… does he hate me now?" Sakura bit her lip, staring down as her eyes stung. "If Naruto hadn't suggested it first, I wouldn't have even thought to do such a thing!"
"That was too close." Kabuto put his hand on his hip, as Naruto and Sakura both stood, still hanging their heads shamefully.
"W-We're sorry." Sakura mumbled, keeping her eyes down as Sasuke crossed his arms.
"Sorry…" Naruto muttered and scratched his head.
"Those who ignored the rules are forced to withdraw from the exam." Kabuto explained. "In the last exam, a Hypnotism Seal formula was set up to get into the eyes of those who looked in the scrolls early. A measure so potent that they would lie in the forest until the end of the exam."
"By the way…" Sasuke turned to Kabuto, uncrossing his arms. "If I remember correctly, your name is Kabuto, right?"
"Yes, that's right." Kabuto looked at him from the corner of his eyes with a smile, and Sasuke kept his brows furrowed.
"What're you doing hanging out here alone?"
"Like I said, I'm not here as your enemy. I'm not after your scroll."
"I didn't think you were." Sasuke looked away for a moment. "If that was your intention, you would have simply just taken it from Naruto." He looked back at Kabuto and put a hand on his hip. "So, that means that you're also after the Heaven scroll?"
"No." Kabuto shook his head slightly, then reached into his back pouch to hold up two scrolls. "I already have them both, actually. See?"
"What?" Sasuke's eyes widened slightly.
Kabuto returned the scrolls to his pouch. "Some things led to other things… I was hurrying over to the vicinity of the tower to wait for my estranged companions. Now, if you'll excuse me…"
He turned to leave, and Sasuke clenched his fist and furrowed his brows. "Wait!"
Kabuto looked at the boy from over his shoulder. "What is it?"
"Fight me."
Oboro looked down at the group of Leaf Genin and laughed under his breath, muffled by his mask. "Lucky me!"
"You want a fight?" Kabuto smirked slightly.
"Sasuke?" Sakura muttered softly as she watched his intense expression.
"Don't be an idiot, Sasuke!" Naruto frowned and raised his voice. "What're you saying all of a sudden?!"
"Are you serious?" Kabuto turned back around to take a step toward him.
"While I appreciate that you helped stop them from opening the scroll, we don't have any more time." Sasuke straightened, and Naruto balled his hand into a fist and pointed at the Uchiha.
"Hey, Sasuke! Kabuto just saved us! Even if we don't have a lot of time left, you can't just fight him!"
Sakura nodded. "I don't think that'd be a good idea, either, Sasuke."
"Shut up, both of you!" Sasuke glared at them momentarily and focused his gaze on Kabuto. "We wouldn't have needed his help if you hadn't decided to open the scroll, in the first place."
"Sasuke…" Sakura pressed her lips together and looked down, and Naruto made a face and crossed his arms, grumbling under his breath.
"In any case, it can't be helped." Sasuke kept his eyes locked on Kabuto. "This is all that can be done to survive through this forest now."
"Hm… that's a lie." Kabuto adjusted his glasses and turned to look away.
"A lie?" Naruto blinked.
"Your heart isn't entirely in this as much as you're saying." He smiled and turned back to Sasuke, who clenched his jaw. "If you could really become serious about this exam… why is it necessary to fight me? You should jump at me at my unguarded moment, without going through the trouble of announcing it. That's the essence of a Shinobi, after all."
"That's pretty profound." Naruto made a face, scratching his cheek before he crossed his arms.
"It's not that I dislike that side of you." Kabuto added, and they all turned toward him. "So, I'll give you advice on what you should do next. However, it'd be best to talk while we move." He narrowed his eyes slightly, turning to look over his shoulder. "The smell of broiled fish in the fire smoke has traveled a great distance. If we stay here any longer, we'll find ourselves targeted by fierce animals… or enemies."
Oboro's eyes widened from his hiding spot and he quickly flickered away. Kabuto's brows furrowed at the slight rustle of leaves as he vanished, then glanced at the younger Genin, who were unaware that they had been watched.
"Hmph." Kabuto smirked faintly and quietly chuckled to himself.
"Are there really still enemies around?" Sasuke looked at Kabuto as they traveled through the forest, moving from branch to branch."
"Yes, there's no mistake." Kabuto nodded slightly. "If you think about it a little, you'll understand. Do you know the cleverest way to fight in a battle if the terrain is expansive forests and jungles such as this?"
"No…" Sakura shook her head and glanced at Sasuke, who only looked ahead and did not acknowledge her.
"The tower located in the center of this forest, that's the end-goal for us test-takers. That means that when the last day of the exam's allotted time is here, the area near that tower will be the easiest place to gather scrolls."
Sakura's eyes widened slightly and she smiled wide in understanding, turning her attention to Kabuto. "Oh, I see! You're talking about an ambush, right?"
"That's exactly right, Sakura. You're quick to catch on." Kabuto smiled at her from over his shoulder.
Sakura grinned at the praise and turned toward Naruto, who was squinting slightly as he thought.
"I don't really get it…"
"In other words, Naruto, we go after the scrolls of the teams that have both the Heaven and Earth scrolls and are setting out for the tower."
"That's one-third of the answer." Kabuto nodded again.
"Huh?" Sakura blinked and turned back to him. "What do you mean?"
"You won't be the only ones with this strategy, after all." Kabuto continued to explain. "Near the tower, there are sure to be other teams with the same idea with traps already set up, so…"
"Ah, I see!" Naruto grinned and laughed. "That means there will be lots of enemies lying in wait to engage us." He furrowed his brows and smirked slightly. "Heh. Having a handicap gets me pump, ya know! I'm looking forward to it! We can just beat them all and take a Heaven scroll, then we'll pass the second exam!"
"Not quite!" Kabuto shook his head. "That's still only two-thirds of the answer."
"Well, what's the last part of the answer?" Sakura asked.
"The collectors who are certain to appear during an exam of this nature."
"Collectors?" Sakura repeated.
"In this exam, with the tower only a stone's throw away, you definitely can't rest easy. These particular conditions are what create them. In other words, they'll be the ones to gather extra scrolls as compensation for sparing them when they come across an unexpected enemy. In addition to that, those types will also help their comrades from the same Village by providing the missing scrolls they need. And those who are thinking of— under conditions favorable to them— annihilating the powerful opponents, they will most likely be the ones to reach the third stage of the exam. It goes without saying, but those enemies will be quite formidable and the worst enemies are the ones who are not conceited."
"I see." Sasuke spoke up and narrowed his eyes as he thought. "Now I understand the reason why you appeared before us."
"Hm?" Kabuto glanced toward him, and Sasuke's mouth twitched in a smirk.
"You're scared, too, right?"
"Ah… Yes, that's right." Kabuto smiled sheepishly.
"Now, then, the tower's finally come into view." Kabuto landed silently on the ground and put a hand on his hip as he looked up at the structure that rose over the tops of the trees, backlit by the bright, full. Crickets filled the forest with their loud chirping and an owl's hoot occasionally sounded through the dense trees. Team Seven joined him, looking up at the tower with serious expressions. "From this point on, things will be very difficult."
"Alright, let's go!" Naruto pumped his fist into the air and Sakura's eyes widened as Sasuke and Kabuto scowled and furrowed their brows.
"An enemy already?" Sakura turned to look behind quickly, with her hand hovering over her Kunai holder.
"There!" Naruto launched a Kunai into the trees and embedded itself into the head of an enormous centipede. Their eyes widened at the creature and Naruto groaned. "Oh, it's just a centipede."
"Y-Yikes!" Sakura shuddered, pale now as she drew her arms in close. "It's huge! All those legs are so gross!"
Sasuke narrowed his eyes at the centipede, only silently studying it.
"Naruto." Kabuto looked at the boy, who blinked up at him.
"Hm?"
"I'd like to avoid inadvertent sounds and careless actions from here on. Rushing ahead through a dense forest, making noise like an elephant, it's the same as serving a notice that we're coming." Kabuto pushed his glasses up. "We would definitely receive an enthusiastic welcome."
Naruto gulped and a bead of sweat rolled down his temple at the seriousness of his expression. "O-Oh, I see…"
"As long as time allows, we should move slowly and remain hidden."
"Yeah." Sakura nodded in agreement.
"Okay." Naruto nodded as well, and Sasuke put a hand on his hip.
"Of course."
Naruto's eyes widened suddenly and he broke into quiet laughter, rubbing his head sheepishly. "B-Before we do… I gotta go to the bathroom."
Sasuke let out a hot breath, frowning as he turned away and Sakura crossed her arms.
"Now?!" She pointed at him, quietly lecturing him. "Why didn't you do that a while ago? Who knows how many enemies are around here!" She crossed her arms and stuck her nose up. "You'll just have to wait."
Naruto's stomach gurgled loudly and he made a face and Sakura sighed deeply.
"It should be fine to take a short break." Kabuto nodded slightly at the blond, then adjusted his glasses again and lowered his tone. "Granted he doesn't stray far."
"Fine. Just make it quick." Sakura glanced back at him. "And be quiet. If you attract enemies, I'll pummel you."
Naruto gulped again and quickly nodded, speaking in a whisper as he turned and hurried away. "I got it, ya know!"
Sakura sighed again, shaking her head slightly and looked at Sasuke out of the corner of her eyes, who had walked off slightly with his hands in his pockets. "He still hasn't really spoken to me since before, and he's hardly even looking my way. Was he really so angry with Naruto and me?" She bit her lip gently. "Peeking at the scrolls is against the rules, I know that, but we were only trying to help, after all."
Kabuto looked between the two Genin as light tension hung in the air, and then turned to leave. "I'll scout ahead a bit in the meantime."
"Wait." Sasuke stepped toward him and Kabuto stopped. "We should come up with plans for the most likely scenarios we'll run into."
"Good idea." Kabuto nodded. "I assume you have an idea for a starting point?"
"First," Sasuke paused. "I'd like to see the information you've gathered on the other examinees, particularly the ones you think would be most likely to have an ambush in place."
"Of course." Kabuto took out the deck of cards, shuffling them before kneeling on the ground and setting them down. "I'd expect nothing less from someone from the esteemed Uchiha clan, after all." He began to select and set out multiple cards, and Sasuke squatted beside him as he began to choose. He channeled his Chakra, holding up a hand sign and pressing his finger to the cards to reveal their information. "Let's see, starting with this team, then…"
After a while looking over the cards carefully, and discussing strategy, Sasuke handed back the cards he held, and Kabuto returned them to his deck.
"It seems like we have a good idea of where to start." Kabuto returned the cards to his back pouch and stood. "I'll go do a little bit of scouting now. You're in charge of things here until I get back."
"Just a minute." Sasuke stood and watched him carefully. "There's also one more person I'd like to ask you about."
"Hm? Who is it?"
"Do you have any information on Natsumi?"
"Natsumi?" Kabuto repeated and rubbed his head. "I'm sorry, I don't know of any examinees by that name."
"She isn't an examinee." Sasuke stuck his hands into his pockets. "She's Naruto's twin sister."
"Twin sister?" Kabuto smiled slightly. "I didn't know he had one." He lowered his arm to put his hand on his hip. "Well, if she isn't an examinee, then I'm afraid that I haven't gathered any information on her." He paused to study the boy carefully. "Why are you asking about her in the first place?"
"We fought each other in a training exercise, and she was a tough opponent… completely unlike that hopeless idiot of a brother of hers. She claims to train alone, though I don't believe it, and I also haven't been able to find any information about her since she graduated the Academy."
"I see." Kabuto crossed his arms and touched his chin. "So, you see her as a rival, then. She must be very skilled, and the fact that you haven't been able to learn anything about her must be frustrating." He smiled slightly. "Well, I'm sorry to disappoint. My efforts have been to learn about my fellow test-takers, so I can't help you in this case."
"It's fine." Sasuke looked away in thought. "I'll figure it out on my own."
"Well, I'm off then. I'll be back in a bit." Kabuto waved with a smile, then walked off, leaving Sasuke in thought.
"Ah, man! I feel better now!" Naruto chuckled and rubbed his stomach with a sigh and a pout. "It just wouldn't stop… must have been those weird berries I ate a while ago."
"Don't talk like that around a lady, Naruto!" Sakura made a face a crossed her arms. "Also, you shouldn't eat things if you don't know what they are! What if they were poisonous?"
"I know, I know!" He sighed and rubbed his stomach. "I won't be eating those again anytime soon…"
"Naruto…" Sakura shook her head. "You're completely hopeless." She turned slightly to look at Sasuke, who stood by himself
Naruto blinked and looked around, holding his hand up to his eyes. "Hey, where'd that four-eyed guy go?"
"Kabuto went to scout since you were taking so long."
"Oh." Naruto rubbed his head and crossed his arms. "But what are we supposed to do in the meantime?"
Kabuto looked over his shoulder once he was a good distance away, then took out his deck of cards again, shuffling them and taking one out to hold it up. He channeled his Chakra once again, revealing the portrait of a violet-eyed, red-haired girl and he looked over what little information was written below.
"So… the Uchiha boy is interested in you as well?"
"Heh, not bad, everyone." Kabuto knelt on a branch, becoming visible once more, and then looked around.
Sakura walked quietly through a large field of thick, tall grass, while Sasuke crossed a river, breathing through a bamboo snorkel.
"Oh?" Invisible again, Kabuto continued onward until he saw Naruto entangled in vines, quietly struggling to break free. He let out a small sigh and frowned faintly. "He's stuck…"
"Okay, it's this way." Kabuto looked through a scope at the tower, then closed it and returned it to his pouch before the group began to make their way to the tower once again.
After some time, Naruto stopped walking and titled his head slightly to look at a thin piece of rope that hung down into the path. Kabuto put his hand on his shoulder, then glanced upward. Naruto followed his gaze to see three bodies in the branches above, tangled in rope with Kunai and Shuriken sticking out of them. Naruto gulped and took a step back.
"That's awful…" Sakura drew her hand close to her mouth, shuddering at the sight.
"It looks like they fell into a trap." Sasuke put his hands into his pockets and narrowed his eyes as he looked over the bodies and the surrounding area.
"Yes." Kabuto nodded and put a hand on his hip. "Things will get much more intense the nearer to the tower that we get." He turned to walk away, followed by Naruto and Sasuke, but Sakura lingered behind for a moment to clasp her hands together and looked back at the fallen Genin.
"Sure enough, this exam is really dangerous. We'll have to be careful to not be caught in any traps, or else we'll end up like those poor guys."
She swallowed and quickly turned to follow after the boys, and Naruto glanced over at her, studying her expression.
"Don't worry, Sakura-chan. I'll definitely protect you if we get caught in a trap." He held up a thumbs-up and she sighed.
"Um… Thank you, I guess. But I'm not scared, so…"
Naruto grinned at her, then his eyes widened as he took a step and tripped over a wire. A volley of Kunai launched at them from the trees above and Kabuto quickly moved to shield Naruto, falling to the ground as they struck.
"Kabuto-niisan!" Naruto gaped at his body, only to find a section of log in his place. Naruto stood and blinked, then nudged the log with his foot. "The Substitution Jutsu!"
"That was close, Naruto." Kabuto looked down at him from an upper branch and pushed his glasses up. "I told you it would get more intense from here on." He jumped down and stepped toward them. "We should all take care of our surroundings."
"Yeah…" Naruto nodded and looked at the Kunai sticking out of the log, then Kabuto smiled slightly.
"With that in mind, let's keep going."
"I… can't go on any farther…" Naruto huffed and slouched as his pace slowed. Sakura breathed heavily, her legs trembling, and she wobbled and fell on her knees. "Sakura!" He knelt beside her to look her over.
"For crying out loud…" She gasped for breath and held herself up with her arms, which also trembled. "How long have we been walking for? The tower hasn't gotten any closer at all."
"Huh?" Naruto looked toward the tower and squinted. "We can see it right in front of us, though. Strange…"
"There's no mistake about it." Sasuke furrowed his brows at the tower and looked around.
"Well, it seems that we've already run into the enthusiastic welcome." Kabuto frowned and pointed off to the side. "Take a look at that."
They turned to follow his hand, and Naruto's eyes widened.
"What?! It can't be! What on earth is going on?" Naruto gaped as he stared and Sakura paled slightly and hugged her arms close.
"Eep! It's that same centipede from before! No way!"
"Is this Genjutsu?" Sasuke balled a hand into a fist and Kabuto let out a breath.
"So it would seem. We were lured in perfectly." He closed his eyes for a moment, then faintly smirked. "It appears we were meticulously careful and were made to walk around the same place in a circle."
"In other words, we're being watched." Sasuke tightened his fist and clenched his jaw.
"Most likely." Kabuto nodded. "They intend to wear down our physical strength and catch us unprepared when we're exhausted."
"If so, then this follows the enemy strategy."
"They'll be coming soon." Kabuto looked between them.
Invisible, shapeless forms slithered and moved on the trees around them, then turned visible and took the form of Rain Shinobi. Their eyes widened at the number of clones that surrounded them. The clones moved closer to the group silently, their movements jolted.
"They've finally shown up." Sasuke smirked and looked around, and Naruto grinned and cracked his knuckles
"Yeah." Naruto chuckled. "This is the perfect handicap."
Sakura reached for a Kunai, then held it up defensively. "There are so many of them!"
"Don't worry, Sakura." Naruto glanced at her over his shoulder. "I said I would protect you, remember? Don't let these guys worry you one bit."
"Don't get too hasty, Naruto." Kabuto warned. "There are quite a few."
They stepped closer to each other, nearly back-to-back as the clones continued to approach. One clone laughed from behind his mask, the sound breathy and muffled.
"Just like cornered rats…"