Disclaimer: I am definitely not the the owner of Naruto. If I were, um, Naruto wouldn't be wearing such a silly outfit, and I wouldn't have made such an annoying girl, and I would definitely have revealed Kakashi's face by now. Mwuahaha...But alas, things are not at all like that...And I'm probably lying. How do I know I would really do these things?

Chapter 5: Determination and Bait

There are many entrances to go into the notorious Forest of Death. But none of them served any purpose to them, as they were all closed off to any intruders that weren't Konoha-friendly or sometimes, dense civilians that didn't know any better. All six genins knew what they were getting themselves into.

When Rock Lee had told Neji of the Hyuuga clan, and his other female teammate Tenten about the situation, they agreed to fight alongside with Lee. They had nothing against the Sharingan prodigy, but they knew that if Lee didn't fight him now, then he would be complaining about his lack of strength for days. He'd maybe even strain himself to the point of utter exhaustion in their training sessions for the next couple of weeks, and they definitely didn't want to see that happen again.

Rock Lee was loyal to his friends, so as soon as he told them about the fight, he also told them that it was to take place inside the confines of the Forest of Death. He also told them that there was a chance of not surviving through it. He didn't want to get his team into something that they would not feel comfortable in doing. Fortunately, to his liking, they agreed of their own accord, and he only hoped that he wouldn't regret it...

Sasuke didn't have to do much explaining to his own team. They had experienced the whole thing firsthand, after all. But of course, he still questioned their thoughts on it. He was sure they weren't all that happy that he had brought them into something so dangerously unnecessary against fellow genins of theirs. So, as soon as Rock Lee had left to, most likely, tell his own team, Sasuke gestured with his hands to both Naruto and Sakura, signaling them to come forward. He spoke seriously. He told them that they didn't have to this if they didn't want to. It wasn't that important to him.

Well, that's what he said anyway, but he had the same attitude towards fighting as Rock Lee did. They both were excited by the thought of it, and adding in a possibility of death only tickled Sasuke's senses even more. Well, perhaps not that far for Rock Lee. And as soon as he had finished telling them everything that could possibly discourage them from fighting, as he did not want to be responsible for any unnecessary whining later on, Naruto was the first to speak.

"Sasuke! Of course we're gonna help you! Well, I don't know about Sakura, but I'm definitely in!!"

"Hey! I'm in too! Anything for my team, especially Sasuke-kun..." 3

"Well, are you guys positively sure...Because, you know, you COULD die. And, well, I wouldn't want anything seriously bad to happen to you guys..."

"Yeah..."

"Have you forgotten everything we've been through? It was all dangerous, and we stuck together and survived. When Kakashi had told us about the Chunin exam, we didn't know it had to be entered as a team of three. We didn't know that if one of us decided not to take, none of us could. Because if he HAD said that, we would have forced Sakura, even with her uncertainty, to enter the Chunin exam...Even then, we sacrificed our own personal interests for others, without knowing it..."

"Yeah! And during the Chunin Exam, Naruto sacrificed himself in order for all of us to be able to go on to the next part of the exam. He did it knowing that there was a chance that he could stay a Genin forever and lose his chance at becoming Chunin!!"

"Yeah, but this is different. We're fighting against three incredibly awesome ninjas! And we don't have Kakashi or Pakkun or ANYONE to help us out. I just wanted to make sure that, you know, you were alright with this.

"WE ARE!!!!!!"

"Well...Ok then..."

And so now, all of them were standing in front of one of the many entrances to the Forest.

"So, how are we going to get in there..." asked Sakura with uncertainty that anyone would know the answer to her question. She also asked it with another uncertainty looming in the back of her head. She wasn't sure she could go through with it all. She didn't question her will to do anything for her teammates, she just questioned her ability to perform. I mean, would she only get in the way. Would it be like every other time when both Naruto and Sasuke shined in the spotlight and she got stuck in the back fixing the outfits for their next scene?

She wouldn't have that. In order to be useful for her team, she would have to go after Tenten, which meant that she would have to at least keep up with her ability and also, manage to dodge those incredibly precise attacks of hers.

Although most of the six Genins also had questionable looks on their faces, there was one that only grinned.

"Well, I asked Shikamaru about how we could get in." Naruto started saying. "I know we aren't supposed to tell anyone about what we're doing, so I just told him that I was just asking out of curiousity."

"What did he say??" Sakura asked with relief on her face and disappointment in her heart. Half of her wished that they would have failed in finding a way in without revealing themselves, so that they would have to just turn back and forget the whole thing.

"Well, he first he called me an annoying idiot. But THEN, he said that the only way that we could possibly get in there would be..."

Everyone leaned in closer to him...

"To kill someone."