A/N: Content warning. You'll know when you get there. It doesn't fully go there, but it gets close.
-(-)-
The first exam was a foregone conclusion for the expectant Chunin. An exam based around quietly gathering information was fairly straightforward. Then following that, an unknown question with 'dire consequences' for getting it wrong. Even if they felt any trepidation, with what was on the line for all of them, they didn't have the opportunity to quietly bow out from doubt.
After all, the message the exam was meant to convey, not knowing what will happen but persevering anyway? They were already experiencing that. They were already at war even though the enemy had yet to declare it. They didn't know what the future would hold, but they had no choice but to face it anyway.
And so the first exam concluded without incident. Not only without incident, but with an enormous number of Genin progressing.
As the proctor for the second exam noted when she arrived in the room via leaf-themed Body Flicker. "Tch. Too many," the purple-haired Special Jonin muttered. She looked over her shoulder at the proctor for the first exam. "How'd this happen?"
"Sorry, Yugao," Ibiki Morino shrugged. "A lot of particularly determined ninja in this exam."
"Yeah?" She turned back to the examinees. "We'll see how long that lasts. We're heading to the next exam site. North-west edge of the village. You'll know it when you see it."
With that, she disappeared. As did many of the Genin only a handful of seconds later, leaving via their own Body Flicker for the few who knew the technique, or going straight for the windows and moving as ninja did. As they travelled, ten Leaf Genin took very particular routes that happened to pass by very particular places to pick up very particular scraps of paper that they very deliberately destroyed immediately after reading.
Soon after, they had all arrived. At the border of the forest at the north-eastern edge of the village. As Yugao had promised, it would have been difficult to miss with the ANBU ninja guarding the place from end to end. They guided the examinees to the proper meeting place with subtle head nods in the right direction until all had been gathered at the proper place. Yugao there waiting for them, sitting on a tree stump.
"Looks like that's everyone." She nodded, getting to her feet. "Alright, listen up! I won't be explaining this twice! This second exam is designed to test your teamwork and ability to survive in hostile territory! You will be arranged into teams of three. Each member of the team will be given a fragment of a single seal. You must arrive at the tower at the other end of this forest with all three pieces of that seal and at least one piece of another team's seal within one week. Assemble your team's seal and you pass! Any questions?"
"Arranged into teams?" Sakura asked. "Aren't we already in teams? I mean, that's how the rules were in the first exam. Pass together, fail together."
"Yeah well that was the last exam, Pinky!"
"Why does everyone call me that?" the medic nin moped.
"Because your hair looks ridiculous," a Sand ninja with a painted face answered.
"Screw you, clown!"
"What'd you call me?!"
"Lay off, Kankuro," Temari interrupted. "We're not here to make enemies."
"How about all of you shut it and act like professionals?" Yugao barked, ending the argument there. "As I was saying. That was the last exam. For this exam we're not leaving you to work in your usual squads. The Hokage is interested in fostering inter-village cooperation so each team will be comprised of three ninja from three villages." She waited for the brief bout of disbelief and complaint to die down. "Don't like it? Quit. Your villages okayed all of it. You want to turn tail and run, no one will stop you."
For as many Genin didn't like the rules of the exam, even fewer liked the idea of giving up here. Especially after the first exam smacked them in the face with the doctrine of perseverance through adversity and the unknown.
"Alright, get your team assignments."
There was every indication that the drawings for teams were entirely random. One third of the Genin were given a drawing for another village to be paired with, followed by which of that village's Genin it would be. Then the final third were assigned based on the pairs that didn't already have one of their own among them. Thus giving enough leeway to make sure there weren't any leftovers that would need to double up. It looked mostly random.
It wasn't. And once again, only ten of the Genin were aware of that.
"Alright, all teams to your assigned gates. Go when the ANBU guards call you."
-(-)-
Neji Hyuga moved with the precision and poise he had demanded of himself in training. He was a proud member of the Hyuga Clan, no matter his station among them. He couldn't allow for anything less. His assigned teammates were far lesser in such personal dignity. They followed at a mild distance. 'Watching his back', as if he either needed them to or wanted them to. His Byakugan remained active. It was necessary. He had been assigned a difficult team. A Grass ninja and a Rock ninja. He knew how this would play out.
They had already completed their assigned task. Found a team that had fallen to pieces immediately, took on their last remaining member. A Waterfall nin who had drastically lowered expectations to pass now that he was on his own and without the enemy seal piece he needed. They took his seal without a fight. On their way to the tower.
Neji Hyuga was exceptional. He had worked hard to become so. And naturally, once the team had acquired the necessary resources to pass... He had become a future obstacle to his teammates. One they would have a better chance of removing two on one. There was not a single word in the rules outlined that all three members of the team needed to be present at the tower for someone to pass. Only their team seal and a partial opponent seal. The Hokage was interested in inter-village cooperation? Hardly. It was merely a ploy to learn more about the ruse and assault the enemy villages were planning. And perhaps thin out a few enemy ninja before things could escalate.
He didn't need to see the telling grin of the Rock ninja to telegraph the upcoming ambush. But he appreciated it nonetheless.
In the leap to the next tree, he instead leapt backward, between the two ninja. Suddenly he was the one chasing them, and he was far faster. His fingers flared with chakra as he fell upon the Rock nin, eight jabs of his fingers in an instant, cutting off chakra to the enemy's arms. More, twice as many, crippling the major tenketsu of his body.
Confused and helpless, the Rock nin fell out of the tree, helped along by Neji dropping onto him with a heel planted in his throat, driving him down to land headfirst, his neck breaking and skull fracturing on the forest floor.
His head turned, his Byakugan now visible to his other teammate. "Your seal," he demanded. "I wouldn't wish to needlessly harm one of our allies from Grass."
"H-Hold on, we can pass together!" the Grass nin offered with a shaky smile. "Allies, like you said! We're better off without him!"
Neji's bland expression didn't change. Though it seemed far less bland for the bulging veins around his eyes. "You seemed to think differently until just now. Would you like me to recite your conversation with him for you? Just in case you forgot. If memory serves, it began with 'Hey, let's jump this guy while we have the numbers advantage'." He extended a hand. "Give it freely or pay the price of me taking it."
"Tch! Fine! Friggin' Leaf ninja! Some allies you are!" The Grass ninja pulled out his piece and pitched it at the Hyuga who caught it stoically.
Neji shook his head, watched the foreign ninja storm off. He wasn't naive, he kept his Byakugan active as he searched the dead Rock ninja for his own piece of their seal. Mission accomplished. The orders he had picked up were to deal with the Rock member of his team but leave the Grass ninja alive to not tip them off. How nice of them to make things so convenient for him by giving him an excuse.
-(-)-
"Sure lucky that Rain guy was a big dope, huh?!"
"It was unexpectedly fortunate, yes. I suppose there will always be those entered into the exams who are simply not ready for them."
"Yuh-huh! And now all we got to do is get to the tower safe and sound! This'll be easy peasy!"
Naruto had to agree with his temporary teammates. It was very fortunate. Or convenient was probably a more accurate way of putting it. A team that were easy pickings starting right near them, giving them a quick opportunity to complete the requirements of the exam. Quick, clean, simple. All that remained was to carefully make their way through the forest, avoiding any other teams or hazards along the way. They would be finished within a day.
Just as his orders had outlined.
Pass quickly. Feel out allegiance. Subtle.
It felt a little unfair for him to go through the exam like this. Making his way through it, facilitated by the entire village setting things up for him in advance. But that was kind of the point. This wasn't an exam. If it was, it was one the Hokage already declared him to have passed. Maybe it was lucky for his teammates to be put with him, but this whole exam would end in such a mess that he doubted they'd truly benefit from it. No, this wasn't an exam anymore. It was a mission. One with the backing of the village's logistics so he could contribute to the greater war effort.
And so, the first part of his orders had been completed. All that was left was the second part. Finding out where his teammates, and more broadly their villages, fell. He wouldn't be the only one trying to determine such things, but another point of discovery was never a bad thing.
Fu, from Waterfall. And Haku Yuki of Mist. Really, as teams went, there were far worse ones to be on. A cute and cheerful girl and a... Well, Haku was a genuinely absurd beauty the likes of which he had never set eyes on before. Long, dark hair like silk, skin so pale and unblemished as to appear like a spirit of the mists. And the scent as her hair flipped just so, filling his nose with such a fine fragrance–
Hidden from the girls, his eyebrows flattened as realisation dawned. So it was another one of these, was it? Should he thank Fuka for such a horrendous experience that he could see this sort of thing for what it was now?
Well fine. If she wanted to ingratiate herself to him, he'd happily take that opportunity for all it was worth.
The two of them had shown at least the appearance of fair intentions at least for the exam. Haku immediately declaring her desire to complete the exam without causing unnecessary difficulties. That, if possible, she would like to see all three of them pass. That there was no need to attempt to remove one another once they had what they needed.
Fu expressed shock and confusion that it was even a thing they could do. Only to babble incoherently that she would never, ever do that! Who even would?!
Either she was a great actress, or she was just as guileless as she appeared. Ninja were ninja, so it could have been either and Naruto's instincts had been spotty, historically speaking. But then, he wasn't the same as he was back then. He could tell what game Haku was playing, so if he couldn't see any ill-intent or subterfuge in Fu's words or behaviour... Bottom line, he was willing to give the benefit of the doubt for the time being. At least until he learned more.
Further, Waterfall were a fairly small and close-knit village. If there was something to hide, it was unlikely she wouldn't know it just from living there. She would have seen something. Heard something. And yet... She seemed completely at ease beyond the basic parameters of the exam.
They had been moving for some time. Still quite a distance from the tower and having just made short work of some kind of giant tiger that thought it would ruin their day. "So what are your villages like?"
"A daring question," Haku answered. Or didn't, really.
"Not like that," he denied as they ran. "Like, you get to see the Hidden Leaf, but I haven't been out of the village much yet. Just a few missions. And never to another hidden village. Just broadening my horizons best I can, ya know?"
"Waterfall's pretty nice," Fu answered with a vocal shrug. "But it's... All a big secret and everything so I can't say much. Some people can be kinda mean but there's mean people everywhere, right?"
"Well, if you'll be satisfied by broad answers," Haku took over. "There... There used to be a great number of problems in the Mist. I'm sure our civil war was part of your history lessons. The rebellion of the Kaguya Clan and what other bloodline clan members they could convince left a scar. But the Lord Mizukage has done a lot of good in the years since. Fear and hatred for those with bloodlines isn't gone, but it's much reduced in Mist compared to what it was before."
"Sounds like you respect him a lot." Naruto hadn't heard much about Yagura, the fourth Mizukage. But based on just what Haku was telling him he sounded reasonable enough.
"Oh, don't misunderstand. I know it was mostly a practical decision," she assured him. "However... I do feel some gratitude, yes. Had he not acted as he did, the village may have been torn apart in the ensuing bloodshed, and I would likely have suffered in the midst of it." She paused in thought for a moment. "As for how we live... I don't suppose it's much different to you."
"You have a bloodline?" he asked.
Her eyes widened a little. "Ah, well, I suppose I couldn't have kept that secret if we got in any more strenuous combat." Even so, she grimaced in regret.
"Tell you what," Naruto offered with a wink, "I can keep it a secret if you like."
"Me too!" Fu seconded, not noticing or caring for the subtext between her temporary teammates.
"Thank you for that," she spoke mostly to the blond, looking at him with fluttering eyelashes. "But yes, we live more or less the same, I imagine. A great many more seafaring missions, I suppose. Mist ninja will always remain dominant on the open seas, no matter how much Cloud would prefer otherwise."
"Oh yeah!" Fu agreed with sudden irritation. "Cloud and Rock keep being jerks! They've been fighting a bunch in the Land of Waterfalls, like they think they own the place! I had to run back to the village once because they were burning down part of the forest!"
That was probably more information than her leaders would prefer her to have given. Still, it seemed a good indication that maybe Waterfall were still genuine allies. It would be one data point among many, fit for analysis by those more capable of determining the bigger picture. But it was something. Mist meanwhile... He didn't know. But if his suspicion of Haku was right, they might well have been playing their own games entirely outside of the enemy alliance.
-(-)-
Survive.
What the hell kind of orders were those?!
Sho Senkai. Temari of the Desert.
And Sakura Haruno.
On a team like that, the orders made sense. But the pinkette very much wished they had given her a little more to go on than that! She had no choice but to trust in her orders. The only alternative being to abandon the mission entirely but she could never be that kind of person. The village had put her in a dangerous position but they wouldn't put her there with no way to get out of it.
They had secured their means of passing. Taken it from Kiba's team, unfortunately. Or maybe fortunately since it meant he could get out of danger thanks to it. Sho didn't seem to have any compunctions of playing the villain, wanting to rough up the other team, while Temari was playing the reasonable one. Arguing alongside Sakura that there was no point in wasting more time on them. In the end, the majority ruled. Kiba's team were left to quit the field.
And so, the three of them were heading for the tower.
Something was going to happen. Sakura knew it. She had to be ready. She had to survive. She kept chakra focused to her hands, ready to counter whatever the two of them had planned.
"This oughta do it."
The medic turned, catching the knife hand aimed at the back of her neck on her arm. Retaliating with a quickly formed chakra scalpel slashing to separate the joints of his wrist. His hand fell limp. Another and another, cut after cut, she carefully took apart his internals in such a way that he could recover with treatment.
Whether she would give him that remained up in the air.
Temari had drawn her war fan but wasn't attacking. Was she still playing the good guy? She was certainly putting on a show of being alarmed. "Sakura, behind you!"
Behind her? But– "Khh!" She felt something wrap tight around her neck. By instinct she grabbed at it, only for whatever it was to ensnare her hands and lift her off her feet. She looked down to see Sho dissolve into a puddle of water. "Cl-one!" she managed to gasp in a strangled voice.
"That's right," the voice of what she assumed was the real Sho spoke from behind her. "Looks like being the only sensor on the team has its perks."
Arrogantly, he stepped in front of her, facing Temari. Looking up, she hoped she might be able to break the thing binding her hands somehow but felt only dismay when she saw what it was. Naruto's technique. Or the Uzumaki's technique. A sealing chain. She'd need something bigger than what was available to her to break that. Still. She swung her legs back, then forward, trying to flip and catch the end of the chain. Sho didn't even look back as the chain moved to bind her legs as well.
"Temari, right?" he asked, knowing the answer. Only asking the question to be smugly condescending. From under his clothing, another glowing chain appeared, swaying in front of him like a snake waiting to strike. The blonde took a half-step back. "You have a choice here. Surrender your seal now and leave. Or you get to see what you're in for from Sakura before I give you your turn."
Sakura's blood ran cold. He couldn't mean–!
She looked at Temari. Fear written on the Sand Genin's face. But also a deeper inscription.
Irritation.
She didn't actually fear Sho. Of course not. They were allies. This was all a show for Sakura's benefit. To make it look like Cloud were at odds with Sand.
And so, Sakura knew it before the blonde even said it. "Fine." She reached into a pouch and pulled out a piece of ceramic, tossing it at the red-haired Cloud ninja. Then, with a last look of 'regret' at Sakura, she fled.
"Now," Sho said as he turned, facing his prisoner once again. "Let's see what we're working with." The second chain struck, slid under her clothing and pulled, tearing it open at the front. "Hmmm... Not... Terrible, I guess. Still, are you the best my cousin could do? You're cute, but... Well, I guess he has the Yamanaka as well." With an open palm, he slapped her abdomen, leaving behind a series of markings Sakura couldn't comprehend but instantly felt the effects of. Chakra disruption. She opened her mouth. Took a deep breath, only for the chain to release her neck and tighten around her mouth. "Careful now! Try and get attention, you don't know it'll be the good kind. Besides, I'm a sensor. You think I chose now arbitrarily? There's no one even close but our fleeing teammate and she's running as fast as her legs can carry her." As if to prove the point, the chain loosened, letting her scream if she wanted.
"Ngh!" Sakura grunted, the binding chain adjusting again to hang her from a tree by her wrists, looping around her ankles to lift and spread her legs. Sho's eyes lit up as he saw a certain ceramic object peeking out from under her clothes, quickly snatching it. "What the hell do you even want?!"
"Oh, don't get me wrong. This isn't for my benefit," he said, walking slowly, tauntingly around her. "This is for you! I just thought since you're with that worthless dreg of a dying clan, you might want to explore some possibilities." He held her chin, only for her to try to bite his fingers. His hand slid down to squeeze one of her breasts and play with the nipple. "You know, get a taste of the superior option."
She shuddered from disgust and from fear. But she had to put up a strong front. "Not so superior from where I'm hanging," she joked bitterly. "How superior could you be if you have to tie a girl up and force her?"
"I don't have to," he answered with a grin, before licking her neck and slipping his fingers between her legs. "I just love hearing the pleas to stop turn into begging for more. Here, let me show you."
The pinkette could do nothing but screw her eyes shut. Bracing for what was to come.
And so she only heard what happened next.
"Damn it all."
"Eight Trigrams! Vacuum Palm!"
Sakura's eyes opened to see Sho dodge back, only for him to be hit with some invisible force. He grunted in pain, rolling backwards and back onto his feet, the chain holding Sakura up shattering into motes of chakra.
"Sakura!" Hinata's voice. From her new position on the floor, the pinkette could see the other girl standing in front of her. Guarding her. "Are you alright?"
"I've been better," she answered, trying to call on her chakra to form her scalpels, only for it to fail miserably. She could barely even channel it to her hands. "I can't use ninjutsu."
"Don't worry. You won't need to."
"Well damn!" Sho laughed. "Feisty little thing, aren't you?"
"I'll make you pay for daring to call Naruto family only to do something like this!"
"Oh? Oh-ho?" the redhead uttered in surprise. "I guess the dreg rises a little in my estimation if he's got a beauty like you being all protective." He shrugged, stepping back as Hinata stepped forward. "Well, I might not have got what I wanted, but I got what I needed. See you at the tower, ladies."
Hinata watched him go, long after he was out of Sakura's sight. "Thanks," the medic sighed in relief. "That was... That was almost really bad." Quite an understatement, but it felt better to understate it.
"I'm glad I got here in time," the Hyuga said softly, helping her to her feet. 'In time.' So that was why her orders were to only survive. Because they planned to have someone watching her back. "Here." The Hyuga took off her jacket, leaving her in just a vest and mesh top. But it was better than leaving her friend entirely without.
"Hold on." Quickly, Sakura tied the jacket around her waist as a makeshift skirt, while fashioning her own ruined scraps of cloth into what vaguely resembled a vest. "This'll have to do. Thanks. Where are your team?"
They were a Cloud and a Rock ninja," Hinata answered. It was enough to fully answer the question. "We should get to the tower."
"Right."