Training Field #44 - The Forest of Death
Naruto and Suki were the first to arrive. Since it was a quarter to seven, they were expecting the other teams to show up soon. Anko Mitarashi appeared before them with an ice pack on her head. The two overheard her declaring that drinking sake till three in the morning is never a good idea.
"Oh, it's you two." Anko said.
"Yo." Naruto said with a wave similarly to Kakashi. It was long before the others team joined up and waited for further instructions. The blond was currently letting his senses run and he smirked when it looked on the Orochimaru. "Hey, Suki." Naruto called out.
"What?" the black hair Uchiha asked as she was still trying to wake up.
"We should stay away from Gaara's team. Chances are, Orochimaru will hunt us down. At anytime I tell you to flee, you're to run directly towards the center of the forest. There will be a tower. I bet that's going to be where we need to go. Inform whatever chunin or jonin you see." Naruto said.
"Do you really think he'll come after us so soon?" asked Suki.
"Most likely. I'm sure my little stunt from yesterday caught his interest. Just be on the lookout, okay?" Naruto asked.
"Alright, shut it! It's almost time for the second exam to begin. As your proctor, it's my responsibility to tell you what you can expect, along with the rules. First off, your objective will be simple. Go to the tower that's in the center of the forest. Now, it wouldn't be an exam to test a chunin if you just had to get there." Anko said as she had two scrolls in her hand.
"The white scroll is a heaven scroll, while the blue one is the earth scroll. Your objective is to arrive at the tower with both scrolls still intact. Each team will be given a scroll at random. This will require tracking along with recon. It won't do you any good to get to the tower with two of the same scrolls." Anko explained.
"So, that's our game. The number will immediatly be reduced by half." Naruto thought.
"Now, for he rules. You must stay inside the forest for five days. You cannot give up or leave because I'll have the forest blocked off, along with holding off on any rescue missions until the five days have passed. You will fail the exam if you are unable to get to the tower in less than one hundred and twenty hours, the entire team fails to arrive. This means if one of your teammates get killed, you fail. Finally, if you open the scroll and read its contents, let's just say, it won't be pleasent. As a chunin, you'll be given missions that require you to handle confidential information." Anko explained.
"What about food?" asked Choji.
"There are plenty of fruits, fish, and many other man eating creatures inside the forest." Anko sad with a sadistic smile.
"WEll, do you have any advice for us?" asked Ino was beginning to regret taking the exam.
"Yeah, just one bit. Don't die." Anko said with a serious tone rising in her voice.
"Oh, yeah. This is going to be really scary. Especially since the snake lady likes to put on a show." Naruto mocked to display his annoyance. Anko heard this and instantly threw a kunai that cut the blond on his cheek. Anko then appeared behind him.
"So, we've got a tough guy, don't we? You know, it's tough guys like you that leave blood all over the forest floor." Anko said. She then drew another kunai as a black haired woman with a long tongue that held the kunai appeared.
"I'm sorry, it seems you've dropped this." the lady from Kusagakure said.
"Thanks. But you know, unless you want to die. I wouldn't get behind me." Anko said with venom in her voice.
"If you two don't get away from me, I'll kill you both." NAruto said with annoyance growing.
"Whatever. Also, you will all be needed to sign this form. If and when most of you die, Konoha isn't going to be liable. So, if you want to take this exam, go ahead and sign your life away on the dotted line. Use ink or blood, I don't really care." Anko said as handed the papers to a chunin to hand out.
Naruto was sitting by a tree with Suki across from him. "Why is it we can never have a normal day?" asked Suki as she signed the form.
"I guess it would make life too easy. Anyway, I'll hold on to the scroll." Naruto said as he finished signing his name in blood.
"While I'm not questioning your leadership. Why do you think it's safer with you?" asked Suki.
"Because, I can seal into my arm. I doubt we'll be killed. Even if we are, the person or team will have fun trying to find it." Naruto said with a chuckle. The two went and handed their scroll to Anko and received an earth scroll. She was surprised and slightly impressed at Naruto's ability to use fuinjutsu.
"Hey, blondie." Anko called out. Naruto looked at her. "Be careful. I've read your bingo book entry. You've got skill, but don't let your guard down." the purple haired woman said.
Naruto nodded. "Right." he said as both he and Suki walked towards one of the gates. When they heard to explosion, both members of team seven proceeded through the forest. "Okay, gameplan time. We'll definetly be hunted down by Orochimaru. So, we have one of two options. Option one, we head directly for the tower and patiently wait for him to find us. Option two, we decide to find a team with a heaven scroll for us to kill time." Naruto said.
"Option one sounds easy but boring. Let's go with option two." Suki said.
Naruto nodded with a smile. "That's my girl. Come on, I sense a sunagakure team up ahead." Naruto said.
Inside the Tower
Kakashi, Asuma, Kurenai, Guy, and a few other leaf higher ups were sitting inside a room. Cameras were placed all around the forest to show the progress of each team. "Do you guys wanna make a bet on who will make it to the tower first?" asked Asuma as he lit his cigarette.
"I bet on my teams. Their flames of youth won't be put out by anyone." Guy said as he laid down a thousand dollars.
"Here is three grand. My team will be the last." Asuma said with a chuckle.
"Really? Then why did you recommend them?" asked Kurenai with a motherly concerned tone.
"It will wake them up and show them what the life of a shinobi really is." Asuma added in.
"Kakashi, my eternal rival. What bet do you plan on making?" asked Guy with his energetic tone.
"I'm sorry, did you say something?" Kakashi asked as he turned away from his book.
"Curse you, Kakashi. Always acting cool." Guy mentally exclaimed.
"I'm just surprised that Kakashi will allow his students to take the exam with only two members." Kurenai commented.
"I'm not. Didn't you hear the commotion from yesterday?" asked Asuma.
Kurenai, Kakashi, and Guy looked at the hokage's son with a curious expression. "What commotion?" asked Kurenai.
Asuma chuckled. "Seems that Naruto was living up to his bingo book entry. He not only called Orochimaru out, but he also attacked him. That's not all, he was said to have used the wood release kekkei genkai. That hasn't been around since Lord First." Asuma said.
"Kakashi, is he being serious?" Guy asked.
Kakashi nodded. "Yeah, Naruto has a tendency to do things his own way." Kakashi said.
Inside the Forest of Death
"Okay, let's see what you've got." Naruto said to Suki after she begged for the chance to take down the team herself.
"Sweet." Suki said as she activated her sharingan. To Naruto's surprise, she threw down multiple kunai that were attached to ninja wiring.
"What the hell is this? Hold on, we've been spotted." said one of the ninja from Suna.
"Man, I hope it isn't Gaara." said another man.
"No, if it were him. He'd certaintly kill us instantly." said the appeared leader of the group.
"Fire Release - Grand Fire Dragon Jutsu!" Suki said after going through a series of hand seals.
"Watch out! Wind Style - Great Breakthrough." Said the man.
"You idiot! Wind style boosts the power of Fire!" shouted the third man in the group. He quickly created a water wall. He was then surprised to see Suki standing behind his fellow squadmate with a kunai to his neck.
"Whatever, I'd of just eliminated them." Naruto said as he sat down and viewed the show.
"Give me your scroll or he will die." Suki said.
"Here, take our earth scroll." the man pleaded.
Suki saw this and sighed. She took the scroll but burnt it with another fire release jutsu. "Why did you do that?" asked one of the Suna ninja.
"Aside from us already having an earth scroll, I just reduced the number of people able to pass." Suki said with a smirk before she performed a shunshin and made it back to Naruto. "Waste of time." Suki said.
"No really. You just eliminated another spot. The fewer people their are, the less number of people to stand in our way." Naruto said they kept moving.
As they were jumping through the trees, the killing intent from the approaching ninja caught the two members of team seven off guard. "Well, I can't say I wasn't expecting this." Naruto thought as he grabbed Suki's arm and they stopped. "He's here." said Naruto coldly.
"Haha... Impressive. You're sensory abilities. Especially from yesterday's performance. I almost thought I'd go undetected." the Kusagakure woman said.
"Give up the act, Orochimaru. My eyes see past your pathetic diguise." Naruto said.
"Haha...You're sharp. Minato and Kushina would be proud." Orochimaru said as his sinister voice took over. "Wind Release - Great Breakthrough." Orochimaru said as a massive gust of wind was blowing at Naruto.
"Almighty Push!" Naruto said as he stuck his arm out. Orochimaru was sent flying away from his own jutsu, along with Naruto's Deva path. "Suki, stay on guard. He could be anywhere." NAruto said before he received a kick to his back.
The blond was sent crashing in the trees. "Wind Release - Great Breakthrough!" Orochimaru declared once more as Naruto was sent flying away, leaving just the snake sannin and Suki. The Uchiha girl was shaking with how quickly Orochimaru defeated her boyfriend.
"What do you want?" Suki asked as she was shaking and drew a kunai.
"Oh, Suki dear. Don't be afraid. You have so much potential. Why waste it?" asked Orochimaru as he was licking his lips.
"Get away from me!" Suki shouted as she went through a series of hand seals. "Fire Release - Grand Fireball Jutsu!" Suki roared as a massive flame was sent to Orochimaru. He simply laughed and jumped away.
"You'll need more than that." Orochimaru said with his sickening playful tone. "Summoning Jutsu! Go have some fun." Orochimaru said to the massive python that was summoned.
Suki saw this and began to freak out. She started throwing her weapons at the snake but it proved to be for nothing. "Get away!" Suki shouted as he sharingan activated.
"Those eyes... Just like Itachi." Orochimaru said.
Hearing the name of her brother, Suki stopped. "Foolish little sister... You want to kill me, then hate. Let that hate live with you for the rest of your days." said the voice of Suki's older brother. "Wrong!" Suki shouted as she jumped up and threw three kunai at Orochimaru. She then proceeded to kick the snake sannin away.
Suki's two tomo sharingan was spinning as she charged at the Orochimaru that recovered. She proceeded to throw a massive windmill sealed in her arm by the help of Naruto. The snake sannin easily dodged the incoming projectile. Folliwng up, Suki threw a kunai that Orochimaru dodged once more. However, he was expecting another windmill being launched.
The massive shuriken pierced his chest. Little did Orochimaru know, all the other weapons thrown had ninja wire attached to them. Suki pulled them together and for a moment, Orochimaru was shocked at being out smarted. Suki placed her hands together. "Fire Release - Dragon Flame Jutsu!" Suki roared at Orochimaru as the massive dragon made of flame connected with his body.
When the jutsu was finished, Suki dropped to a single knee as she tried to catch her breath. To her horror, Orochimaru appeared to be coming out of the tree branch. "Impressive. Your sharingan allows you to predict my moves. However, it isn't enough." Orochimaru said with his sinister chuckle.
"chakra Propulsion Cannon!" Naruto shouted as multiple balls of chakra were shooting out of Naruto's hand. The balls connected with Orochimaru and provided slight damage. "Swift Release - Shadowless Flight." Naruto said as he vanished in a yellow flash. He appeared in front of the snake sannin. "It's over! Swift Release - Flashing Sphere!" Naruto roared as the white ball of chakra with a yellow ring had begun to cut inside of Orochimaru's body and nearly obliterated it.
Suki saw her teammate but unlike his normal rinnegan eyes, they turned red. "I won't let you touch her." Naruto roared.
To his surprise, Orochimaru appeared to be sticking out of a tree. "That power... Certainly the power of a god. However, I can't afford to deal with that right now." Orochimaru said as he moved at blinding speeds with his chakra enhancing his movements. Because of the massive amount of chakra Naruto used, he wasn't able to respond as quickly as he normally would.
Orochimaru yanked one of his rinnegan eyes out. This caused the blond massive pain as he applied pressure to the spot his eye remained. "You bastard... What did you do to me?" Naruto asked.
"Oh, no worries. I just simply wished to study the rinnegan." Orochimaru said with a laugh. He was then sent flying from the three wood clones that appeared.
"Universal pull!" Naruto said and since he lost one of his eyes, his control was slightly off. However, he managed to take it back. "That was a close one." Naruto said but he moaned in utter pain as he pushed the eye back in its socket.
"Damn him. But, this could be something worth looking for in the future." Orochimaru thought. "I'm sorry, Naruto. But I'm in a bit of a rush. I must wrap things up with my dear, Suki." Orochimaru said as his head extended from his body and he bite into Suki's neck.
The uchiha woman let out a massive scream of agony. The yells could be heard. Above the two bite marks, three tomo appeared right above it. Naruto remembered it was the smae mark he was able to see on Anko's neck. "Suki!" Naruto shouted as he ran over to her.
"Well, you kids have fun now. I'll be seeing you much later, haha." Orochimaru said darkly as he vanished.
Suki was pushing her body into Naruto's embrace. "Please, please kill me! The pain, it's too much!" Suki cried out as she clenched her neck. Naruto was skilled in the art of fuinjutsu. However, the seal Orochimaru used was something he's never seen before.
Deciding to quickly get to safety, Naruto picked Suki up bridal style as he made his way to a small save. The blond created a small fire and began to cook some of the squirls and rabbits he found outside. He sat down and placed a wet wrag over Suki's head to help break her fever.
"Damn you, Orochimaru." Naruto said as he created an army of wood clones. "I want fifty of you to create a peremeter around here. The other fifty, I want you to go to the tower and inform whatever leaf higher up is there. Let them know Orochimaru attacked Uchiha, now!" Naruto shouted as his purple eyes flickered red for a moment.
While Suki was resting, Naruto began to copy the seal he saw on her neck. "Suki, this isn't good." Naruto thought as his body ached in pain. "Damn, my body hasn't recovered from the strain of having my eye removed. I'm about at thirty percent. This is bad." Naruto thought as he silently prayed that nobody would attack him.
Hours passed and though Naruto's body was able to usually stay up, his body was greatly weakend. He almost failed to notice the three sound ninja standing in front of him. "Great, of all people. It had to be these jokers." Naruto said as he exited the cave.
"Hey, it's that guy from the first exam." said the man with the head armor.
"That's right, Zaku. However, he feels different. I guess he must have met Orochimaru." the black haired girl said.
"Whatever, Kin. I'll eliminate him myself." Zaku said with his arrogant tone.
"Be careful, Zaku. If what Kin suspects is right, he's in a league of his own. Not many people can go head to head with Lord Orochimaru." said the bandaged man.
"Oh, shut up, Dosu. I'll take him." Zaku said. "Hey! We're looking for that whore of yours.. If you hand her over, we'll leave you alone." Zaku called out.
Naruto growled slightly. He tolerated many things. But calling Suki out of her name, it was something he didn't allow. "Almighty Push!" Naruto said as he sent the three sound ninja way. However, unlike before, his rinnegan eyes were bleeding. "What? This has never happened before.
The sound ninja found themselves against a tree. "Damn, what power. I see why Orochimaru warned us about him." Dosu said.
"I doubt he can keep it up. I sense his chakra is on the lower end of what he had before." Kin commented.
Zaku came out and charged at the blond. "Decapitating Air Waves!" Zaku shouted as a massive burst of wind was being fire at the blond.
"Huh? Dark Release - Inhaling Maw!" Naruto shouted as he was beginning to asorb the sound waves. However, he found himself struck in the gut by Dosu's metal gauntlet.
"Lord Orochimaru warned us about your ability to absorb chakra. We won't allow it." Dosu said.
Hiding on the side, Shikamaru, Ino, and Choji watched in horror. "Naruto, he's being slaughtered out there." Choji said.
"But what can we do? Where is Suki?" asked Ino.
"She must be in the cave. Naruto looks like he's been through hell and back. Who are these guys?" Shikamaru asked.
"I think those are the sound ninja from earlier." Ino commented.
"It's over for you. We're going to kill you, then we will kill Suki." Dosu said with a sinister glare.
"Not before we have our fun. She isn't too bad looking." Zaku said.
Hearing this enraged the blond. "I won't let you! Planetary Devastion!" Naruto shouted but found that while they were being pulled toward the black sphere, he wasn't able to complete the jutsu. This allowed the sound ninja to breka free.
"Those eyes, they seem to grant a lot of power. I lost mine awhile back. I think I might help myself." Dosu said as he walked towards the blond. However, he was sent flying away with a kick to his face. "What the hell?" Dosu asked.
Standing before Naruto, Rock Lee, a member of Guy's team. He was wearing a full green body suit with bandages wrapped around his arms, and his lead headband around his waste. "I know we are not teammates, but three against one, that isn't right." Lee said.
Naruto chuckled. "Thanks, Lee. But be careful, these guys. They are something else. I'm just too low on chakra right now." Naruto admitted.
"No worries, how long do you need?" asked Lee.
"To tell you the truth, it could take days, weeks, or even months. My eyes my never recover to what they once were. I recently had my eye torn out. It was a miracle that I got it back." Naruto said. Suddenly, both Naruto and Lee felt a massive amount of killing intent.
"What the hell?" Lee asked as his eyes opened wide at the sight before him. Suki stood up, her body was covered in purple chakra. Black markings formed around her entire body and her sharingan was activated.
"Suki? What's going on? Are you alright?" Naruto asked with genuine concern for his girlfriend.
"I've never felt better. You see, I'm an avenger. I can't be weak, I won't be weak." Suki said as she vanished and sent Zaku flying across the clearing. As the sound ninja stood up, he found his arms being pulled behind his back. "You seem proud of these arms." Suki muttered.
"Hey! Let me go!" Zaku shouted.
"Not a chance. I've already lost everything once. I will not let you hurt the only person I've got left." Suki said in a sinister voice similar to Orochimaru. In that instant, she broke both of Zaku's arms. "Haha! I guess you two are next." Suki said as she approached them.
"Fuck... Orochimaru must have given her the curse mark. We need to escape and replan." Dosu thought as he grabbed the heaven scroll. "Here, I've got a heaven scroll. This is what you want, right?" asked Dosu. He then threw to scroll to her. "Please, let us escape. I promise that if we meet again, we won't run." Dosu said.
Suki continued glaring at the man. "Fat chance." Suki said as she charged at him.
"Suki! Stop! This isn't you!" Naruto shouted as he picked himself up with Lee's support. Suki saw her boyfriend call out to her. The look in his eye, the pain at seeing her, it snapped her out of it. The curse mark began to fade away and the girl dropped to a single knee.
"Leave! Don't show your face again." Naruto ordered as he used all his might to get to Suki.
She looked up at the blond and started tearing up. "I'm sorry, Naruto. I don't know what came over me." Suki said.
"It's alright. What's important now is that you rest. I was worried about you." Naruto said before he suddenly passed out.
"No worries, he is just tired. Here, eat this food pill and give this one to him." Lee said as he was about to leave.
"Hey, Lee? Why are you helping us?" asked Suki.
"To fight either of you now, it would be wrong. I rather fight you guys when you're at full strength." Lee said as he left. Suki at the pill and situated Naruto as she watched over him until he woke up. She applied the basic medical aid and wiped the blood from his eye.
"Damn, this has been one hell of a day. I'm really done with fucking nature." Suki thought as she back against the cave wall.