Maruku was struggling and it was no secret to the others. Due to them being a group of six genin, others were constantly trying to pick them off. Between the injuries he had from the last phase and the sheer cold of the mountain that seemed to seep down into his very soul it was quite clear he was holding the others back. They didn't have a lot of time. Two whole days had passed since the start of the test and between his own weakness and the fact they were being targeted so often they had made little progress.
"Everyone. Go on without me. I'll catch up." Maruku's statement was immediately met with protest from everyone but Kiba.
"How can we call ourselves your friend if we left you in a place like this. Our main priority should be getting these coins and getting you out the cold. If you stay out here much longer you'll die!" Almost everyone agreed to Naruto's little outburst.
"It's no use guys. In a temperature like this I can't even mold any chakra." That got some eye widening reactions. Sasuke stepped forward his hands going through seals. "Fireball jutsu!"
The force of the fireball slammed into him and Maruku revelled in the glorious heat before it faded. With a bit of energy restored to him the group kept moving.
They were having bad luck when it came to these damn coins. They kept getting duplicates of white ones meaning that he, Shino, and Kiba could pass if they made it to the top but that would mean his friends would be ass out and Maruku couldn't let that happen.
As they kept walking Maruku took a glance below them. He couldn't see anything but clouds yet he knew that they were still nowhere near the top. Breathing was starting to get difficult and the cold was worse than before. His body wasn't listening to him any longer and darkness was starting to encroach in his vision. Maruku couldn't help but be upset with himself. "Am I really this fucking useless?" Those were his last thoughts before he passed out.
The others looked at the collapsed boy."I say we leave his ass." Kiba didn't get any further before Shino laid a hand on his shoulder.
"If you would leave a comrade to die then you don't deserve to be a ninja of the Hidden Leaf, much less a chunin." There was silence between the two as the others tended to Maruku, they had no need for words when it was obvious what they wanted to say to each other. I'm going to beat your ass! Kiba was the first to look away. With the pissing contest done Shino went to check on his other teammate.
It wasn't looking good. The boy was blue from the cold and wasn't breathing. Sakura was performing emergency cpr while Sasuke was doing his best to pump fire chakra into the boy by clasping his right hand. Naruto was doing an admirable job of staying calm but Shino could see the unshed tears in his otherwise stoic expression.
"Breathe goddammit, breathe!" That seemed to be all Sasuke could say as he continued transferring fire style chakra. His pleading seemed to be answered as the other boy finally took a deep inhale. He wasn't out of the woods yet as he was still completely unresponsive with the exception that he was breathing on his own now. If Maruku had any chance of living they needed to get him out the cold, which meant reaching the summit of this mountain.
Naruto picked his friend up and slung him over his shoulder. They needed to get to the peak whether they had the coins or not or else his friend might die. So it was as one that the rest of team seven rushed on ahead. The remnants of team eight followed, one out of concern, and the other because he knew if his teammate showed up first without them then they would be disqualified.
The sun was starting to set on the third day and the peak still seemed nowhere near in sight. Everyone had no choice but to stop. They couldn't keep moving in the dark when they would be completely blind. Most of Shino's insects had died from the cold and the same cold was messing with Kiba's and Akamaru's noses. Team seven didn't have any sensing capabilities at all, the only sensor being Maruku who was out of commission. Sakura didn't have enough chakra for it to be all that useful. Naruto had too much chakra but not enough control to pick up any detail. Sasuke had both the chakra and the control but couldn't use it while moving like his teammate could, it also didn't help that he couldn't use it with his sharingan or else all he would be seeing is a fog of chakra and that didn't help anybody.
With no way to navigate at night they were forced to wait for the sun. It also didn't help the fact that they were so high up that nothing alive other than other contestants were here. They had no choice but to eat their fill of snow and ice until their stomachs had a full feeling. In other words everybody was miserable.
Despite being hungry, tired, and cold Sasuke took it upon himself to breath fire on Maruku every so often. The short rise and fall of his chest being the only indication of him being alive at all. Eventually they settled in to go to sleep taking turns keeping watch with Sasuke being woken up every hour to breath fire on Maruku.
The sun was just starting to rise on the fourth day and already the group was moving. Sasuke was especially irritable and had to take soldier pills in order to keep goin. He knew he was going to crash hard but he needed the chakra because no one else could mold fire chakra if something happened to him.
As they rushed forward they saw a sight that filled them with hope. It was the peak! It still looked incredibly far away but the end was in sight.
Between their eagerness to get to the end and their exhaustion they missed the signs of someone else being in the area. So it was a very close thing that Sakura ducked and avoided getting a shuriken to the forehead.
"Damn dude how did you miss such a big target?" Sakura twitched at the implication of that comment. She flipped through had signs intent on ending these fool's existence.
"Water style: Pressure Cutter!" A highly pressurized beam of water sprung forth from the girl's mouth and pierced right through the opposing ninja who made the comment about her forehead. The snow quickly turned red. Her quick action caused everybody else to move. Naruto backpedaled, he had the important job of protecting Maruku's body. Sasuke rushed forward, eyes blazing and kunai flashing. That was two down but where was the third?
Everyone's question was quickly answered as he popped up from the snow behind Naruto with a kunai in hand. Time seemed to slow as Naruto spun around his fist already hurtling forward surrounded with wind chakra.
"Shredder punch!" The technique was aptly named as Naruto's punch found itself in the other genin's face before the winds tore it apart. It was a gruesome site.
Quickly looting the body for supplies Naruto found it. A black coin. After confirming it was real with Shino he pocketed it and everyone kept moving forward.
Those fodder ninja seemed to be their last obstacle because they were soon met with the peak of Mt. Thunder. Before them were giant stone doors that slowly creaked open once they showed that both teams had the prerequisites.
They were met with another Kumo jounin but before he could speak Naruto was already questioning him.
"Is there a medical facility nearby? Our friend needs emergency care!" The jounin simply snapped his fingers and a pair of medical ninja appeared taking away Maruku.
"Congratulations. both teams eight and seven pass. You have one day to rest and then we'll move on to the next stage of the exams. With his words spoken the proctor vanished.
The teams split off and head deeper into the mountain. It was much warmer in here than it was outside so that took some of the worry off team seven's mind. As everyone looked around they saw that everything was made of the same boring grey stone. This place was depressing.
As they continued forward they found themselves in a large room with a circular fighting ring in the middle. The group took time to study it before moving on.
Team eight made their way to lodging while the rest of team seven made their way to the medbay. They saw a poor sight. It was Maruku being worked on by several med-nin. There was Kakashi-sensei there. He made eye contact with his students and gave them the thumbs up. They all let out a sigh. Maruku would be ok.
With their friend's safety confirmed the rest of team seven could finally focus on the next part of the exam. They would take this short break with gratitude. Tomorrow would be a long day.
An: I know that i usually try to update during the middle of the week but i'm about to start a new job in addition to my classes so i dont know what my schedule will be like moving forward. But in the meantime, let your cosmo burn! The ryu sei ken might make an appearance in the next chapter