I do not own Naruto Shippuden or any of the characters.

Exam Preparations

Ryuu stepped up with the others and stared at the area before them. A massive, circular forest known as the Forest of Death. It was filled with poisonous plants and insects. And soon, a bunch of battling genin, if Ryuu had to wager a guess.

"This is the location of the second phase of the Chunin Exams," Anko said. "It's the Forty Fourth Training Zone. But we call it the Forest of Death."

"It's not that intimidating," Ryuu said. "Just don't eat anything you don't recognize and check your sleeping bag for insects and snakes. Oh, and of course, watch out for the other genin. Am I right?"

"Well well," Anko grinned. "We've got a tough guy."

Ryuu smirked as a kunai dropped out of her sleeve. She hurled it at him but he raised his hand, slipping it through the ring on the pommel, spinning it and hurling it back, the kunai scratching her cheek and sticking into the fence behind her. She stared at him in surprise before wiping her cheek, a sadistic grin spreading over her face.

"Well well, you have matured well," Anko grinned, licking the blood off her finger. "It's just a shame I can't compete. I'd love to teach you to respect your elders."

"As tempting as that offer is, I'll have to turn you down," Ryuu said. "I'm not interested in dying today."

Anko's grin grew before she straightened up, retrieving her kunai. "Now, before we begin, I have something to hand out to you all. It's just a standard consent form."

"What for?" Naruto asked.

"Some of you may not come back from this test, and I have to get your consent to that risk," Anko explained. "Otherwise it would be my responsibility."

Anko began to laugh as a chunin handed the stack to the first genin, who took one and passed it off. The stack passed down the first row and Ryuu signed without bothering to read, holding the form out.

"Done," Ryuu said.

"Ya know, kid, I'm starting to like you," Anko grinned.

"You didn't even read it?" Sasuke asked.

"It's a combat test where all means of force are allowed," Ryuu said. "You could die, you could be maimed, you could be driven insane. All it's saying is that you're not afraid to die."

Sasuke stared at it before shrugging, also signing without reading. After a few minutes, the forms were finished.

"Alright, let me to explain the test," Anko said. "The Forty Fourth Battle Training Ground has forty four locked gates spread around the fence, with a locked tower in the center. The tower is exactly ten kilometers from each of the gates. The test itself consists of an anything goes battle, to get your hands on these scrolls." She held up two scrolls, one white with the kanji for Heaven and one blue with the kanji for Earth.

"Both of them?" Sasuke asked.

"Yes," Anko nodded. "You'll be fighting to get both a Heaven scroll and an Earth scroll. Altogether, twenty eight teams will be taking part in this test. So half of those teams will be going after the Heaven scroll. The other half will be going after the Earth scroll. I'll hand over one kind of scroll to each team and that's what you'll be vying for."

"Okay, so how do we pass the test?" Sasuke asked.

"Your entire team must bring both the Heaven and Earth scrolls to the tower," Anko said.

"In other words, it's like you said," Ryuu said. "At least half of the teams will be eliminated this round."

"That's right," Anko nodded. "Oh and one more thing. The test has a time limit. You must finish it within five days."

"Five days out there!?" Ino shouted.

"What are we supposed to do for food!?" Choji demanded.

"Just look around," Anko said. "The forest is full of things to eat. There's plenty to feed all of you."

"On the other hand, there's also poisonous plants and insects, I'd wager at least a few giant snakes, obviously regular venomous snakes will be a threat," Ryuu said.

"That means, with these circumstances, there's no way that half the teams will pass the test," Neji said.

"Surrounded by enemies on all sides," Sasuke said. "There won't be time to rest. We'll have to keep a constant watch."

"Right," Anko agreed. "This test is also designed to test your endurance behind enemy lines. This is designed to be a grueling test. And I'm sure some of you won't be up to the challenge."

"So um, let's say mid-exam, can we quit," Shikamaru spoke up.

"Of course not," Anko said. "In the middle of a battle you can't say, 'sorry, I quit.' Well I guess you could but it's probably going to get you killed."

"Oh just great," Shikamaru groaned. "This is gonna be a drag."

"There are also some ways you can get disqualified," Anko said. "The first is simple. If all three teams can't make it to the tower with both scrolls in five days. Number two, if a team loses a member or if a member becomes incapacitated and cannot continue. But most importantly, none of you, absolutely none of you, may look at the contents of the scroll until you reach the tower."

"What if it just happens to flop open and you read it?" Naruto asked.

"Let me put it to you this way young man," Anko grinned. "You...don't...want...to...know."

Naruto sighed.

"Alright, that's it," Anko said. "Everyone line up over there to exchange your forms for scrolls. After that, pick a gate and be ready to start."

With that, she walked away and the chunin at the booth beside the gate who were in charge of exchanging waivers for scrolls pulled a red curtain across the front of the booth. Ryuu sighed, stretching and walking away from the others, leaning against tree to wait. Within seconds, Fu was beside him. He smiled, sitting down with Fu leaning on his side.

"So, five days in the middle of the woods," Fu said. "It's a good thing our teammates are used to this sort of thing."

"That they are," Ryuu nodded, chuckling. "We're practically cheating the entire way through."

"Only until we get to the part of the exam where we inevitably have to fight against them," Fu said. "Yoro says that's always the last part."

"Probably," Ryuu nodded. "Still, at the very least for this part we can work together."

Fu nodded. "Which team do you want to go after first?"

"Anyone but the Sand trio over there or those Grass Ninja," Ryuu said, indicating the two groups.

The Sand group was comprised of the kid with the gourd, the kid with the puppet on his back, and the girl that had gotten the scroll, who held a massive folding fan on her back. The grass ninja were different. Two seemed to be Chunin level, but the third was a monster. Even without being able to sense chakra levels he could feel it rolling off of them. They had a black bodysuit under a manila-colored tunic and a sugegasa with a tag hanging off of it.

"That Grass Ninja is terrifying," Fu agreed. "How about we start with those Leaf Ninja over there."

She pointed at a random group of Hidden Leaf shinobi, none of whom Ryuu recognized, and Ryuu nodded.

"Sure, but we'll need to be careful," Ryuu said. "Lee's going to want a rematch with you."

Fu nodded and they glanced at Lee, Neji, and Tenten, who were standing together off to one side, talking.

"Alright, we're gonna start handing out scrolls!" one of the chunin announced.

Fu and Ryuu stood, their teammates landing around them.

"I take it we'll be working together?" Shin asked.

"Yes," Ryuu nodded. "At least for this exam. The last one's usually a tournament, right?"

He looked to Fu's bodyguards and they nodded. Ryuu sighed and the two teams got into line. A few minutes later, they walked back out, Ryuu having sealed the scroll into his storage scroll with his clothes and emergency food supplies, which it seemed, would be coming in handy. Once Fu was out, the two teams headed away from the booth, finding a pair of gates beside each other and waiting. A few minutes later, a chunin unlocked the gate and swung it open and they all rushed inside, turning to meet each other instantly.

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