Sumire leveled a glare at her sensei. She was not in the mood for figuring out whatever game Anko was playing this time. She had just finished giving her report on the now S-ranked mission she just got back from when the psycho she called sensei knocked her out and tossed her in the Forest of Death. Six days in that death trap collecting items from containers spread out all over the training ground before sparring with Anko at the tower. And that wasn't even the worst part of the whole thing…
"This is my co-proctor, Sumire Hatake."
Sumire started. 'Wait, what?'
Anko continued before could respond. "Ready for the second test? Good, now let's go, follow me!"
The entire room stared in stunned silence. Ibiki stepped around the banner. "You're early, again," he said.
"Since when was I co-proctor?" Sumire hissed, not literally. "Or are you just wanting a reason to have me be your gopher."
"Last week and not really," Anko said. She looked at the room and turned to Ibiki. "How many are there? Ibiki! You let all these guys pass? Your test was too easy. You must be getting soft."
"Or it could be a stronger crop of candidates this year," Ibiki said.
"Hm. They sure don't look it. Trust me, before Sumire and I are done with them… More than half will be eliminated."
Sumire tuned out Sakura in favor of deciphering Ibiki's tapped message on her shoulder.
'Training Grounds 44?' A smirk spread across her face. "You know, this might actually be fun." A spike of dread and uneasiness came from four seats.
"Oh, it will be," Anko said, waring a matching smirk. "Alright, you maggots have had it easy so far, but things are gonna be different starting first thing in the morning. Sumire will let your squad leaders know where to find us. Dismissed."
"What was that about me not being your gopher?" Sumire asked as everyone filed out.
"Well, maybe a little."
"I am not fetching you dango, especially after the hell you just put me through."
"It wasn't that bad."
"Because you didn't go through it. All of my weapons better be at my house, otherwise…"
Two arms wrapped around her shoulders. Sumire looked to the sides where she saw Izumo and Kotetsu. If they hadn't made chunin in the exams they were at together two years ago, the two of them would probably had ended up getting field promotions.
"So, how'd your mission go?" Izumo asked.
"How come you get the cool, long missions?" Kotetsu asked.
"Because the two of you are quite happy where you are and neither of you meet the requirements for these missions."
"There aren't many who do," Anko said. "You should get going. Thanks to Ibiki you've got 26 teams to visit before nightfall." She smirked.
Sumire made a rude gesture at her sensei and said goodbye to Izumo and Kotetsu before leaving for home. There was no way she was going to meet with the senseis covered in sweat and muck from the Forest of Death and without having had a shower in almost a week.
The next day at one o'clock, Sumire stood with her sensei outside Training Grounds 44. She couldn't help but grin at the apprehensive genin who were getting their first looks at the Forest of Death. She probably had the same look on her face when Anko first introduced her to the forest after… two years after she became a genin. With so much of her training taking place here since then she'd gotten used to it.
"This whole place just completely creeps me out," Sakura said. Her hands were clasped in front of her as an ineffectual shield against the forest.
Anko chuckled. "It should. It's called the Forest of Death, and soon enough you're gonna find out why."
Naruto huffed. "Try all you want, psycho-sensei, you're not going to scare me off. I've heard stories about you and this place."
"So, looks like we've got ourselves a tough guy," Anko said, smiling. She whipped out a kunai and threw it at Naruto. It sliced his cheek and the hair of a Kusa shinobi behind him. She shunshined behind Naruto. "You tough enough to handle this? You're not afraid, are you?" She wiped a little blood off Naruto's face. "Tough guys like you usually leave their blood all over this forest."
Anko had a quick conversation with the Kusa shinobi when she returned Anko's kunai with her tongue and then rejoined Sumire at the fence line. "Seems like everyone here is quick-tempered. There must be something in the air. This is gonna be fun."
Sumire just sighed and rolled her eyes.
"Now before we begin this test, I have something to hand out to you all," Anko said. "It's just a standard consent form before the test, all of you are going to read over this form and then sign it."
"What for?" Naruto asked.
"Some of you may not come back from this test and I have to get your consent to that risk. Otherwise it would be my responsibility." Anko laughed.
Sumire could see some of the genin growing more anxious at Anko's words and how she didn't seem to care that some of them might die.
"Now I'll explain what you'll be doing on this test," Anko said as she handed Naruto the forms to pass around. "This test will tax every one of your survival skills. First, I'll give you all a description of the terrain on the training ground. The 44th Battle Training Zone has forty-four locked entrance gates. There are rivers and a forest inside. In the center is a locked tower, located ten kilometers from each gate.
"The test consists of an anything goes battle to get your hands on those scrolls." Anko gestured to Sumire who held up a Heaven and an Earth scroll.
"Both of them?" Sasuke asked.
"Yes. You'll be fighting to get both a Heaven scroll and an Earth scroll. Since there are twenty-six teams taking part in this test, half of them will be going after the Heaven scroll and the other half will be fighting to get the Earth scroll. We'll hand over one kind of scroll to each team."
"So, how do we pass the test?" Sasuke asked.
"Your entire squad most bring both a Heaven and an Earth scroll to the tower," Anko said.
"That means at best half the teams will fail," Sakura said. "More if not every team is able to get both scrolls."
"No one ever said this was going to be easy," Sumire said.
"Oh, and one more thing," Anko said. "The test has a time limit. You must finish it within five days."
"Five days out there?" Ino cried.
"Oh man," Choji groaned, undoubtedly recalling Sumire's horror stories about training there with all the things that could kill you.
"That means with these circumstances, there's no way that half the teams will pass," Neji, one of Guy's students, said.
"This test also measures endurance behind enemy lines," Anko said, after Sasuke and Lee commented on the difficulty. "This is designed to be a grueling test and I'm sure some of you won't be up to the challenge."
"This is gonna be a drag," Shikamaru grumbled.
"There are also some ways you can get disqualified," Anko continued. "The first is simple, if all three members of a team can't make it to the tower with both scrolls after five days. Number two, if a team loses a member or a member becomes incapacitated and can't continue. But most important none of you, absolutely none of you, absolutely none of you, may look at the contents of the scroll before you reach the tower."
"What if it just flops open and you read it?" Naruto asked.
Identical smirks crossed both Sumire and Anko's faces. "You don't want to know," Anko said. "There are times when a ninja may be asked to carry secret documents. The scroll rule is to test your integrity.
"Ok, we're done. Each team sign your consent forms and exchange them at the hut for your scrolls. After that, each team pick a gate and you'll be led inside.
"Oh, and I have one more thing. Just don't die!"
The teams spread out to sign and talk strategy. Sumire leaned against the fence to keep an eye on things.
"Alright everyone, we're gonna start handing out scrolls," a chunin assistant called.
'You better at least survive this,' Sumire thought. 'I'm rooting for the five of you.'
At two thirty Anko announced, "Alright you maggots, the second part of the test has begun!" All around the grounds the gates opened.
"Nothing to do but wait," Sumire said after the gates closed behind the genin.
"For us at least." Anko grinned.
Not even ten minutes later screams erupted from the trees.
"So, do you think they found another team, got caught be some creature, or ended up in one of the traps you put in there for me?"
"Not sure, but it sounds like the fun has begun." Anko reached behind the counter. "I brought dango and red bean soup. We haven't been able to celebrate the completion of your first S-ranked mission yet."
"I wonder why," Sumire muttered. The two of them sat on the roof of the hut to enjoy their meal. Whenever Anko finished a stick of dango, she threw the skewer at the tree beside them.
"Nothing makes dango go doesn't like sweet red bean soup," Anko said. "As soon as we finish the little snack, we should see how the kiddies are doing. The fastest should be finishing up soon." She threw the last skewer finishing up soon." She threw the last skewer finishing the Leaf symbol.
"Pardon ma'am," a chunin said appearing in front of them. "There's a problem."
"What sort of problem?" Anko asked.
"Corpses. Three of them. And there's something strange about them."
"Besides being dead?" Anko asked.
They followed the chunin to the bodies. Sumire recoiled at the faceless bodies. 'What the hell? I've never seen anything like this.'
"I went through their belongings and found their identifications," Kotetsu said. "Ninjas from Kusa. All three were registered for the Chunin Exams. As you can see, they weren't just killed."
"Their faces… they're gone," Sumire said.
"Yeah," Kotetsu said. "There's nothing where their faces used to be. Like they melted or something."
Sumire looked over at Anko who gripped the base of her neck where… 'Don't tell me… This is his jutsu?'
"I need photos of what these three used to look like," Anko snapped. "Where are their ids?"
The chunin who'd alerted them handed over their papers. The Kusa shinobi who had returned Anko's kunai earlier stared up from the top page.
"We've got big trouble," Anko said. "Ok, get moving. Sumire, tell Lord Hokage exactly what happened here. The rest of you tell ANBU Black Ops they need to dispatch a couple squads to the Forest of Death. Meanwhile, I'm going in after these guys. Now go!"
"Right!"
Sumire knew better than to argue with Anko. Besides, she knew she was no match for Orochimaru. She shunshined to the Hokage tower and sprinted up to his office. "I need to see the Hokage, now!"
"He's in a meeting with the councilors," his secretary said.
"Can you get him out… please?"
"Lord Hokage will be back soon."
Sumire growled and paced around the outside the office. Even though not much time passed, to Sumire it was too long until the Hokage walked up smoking his pipe.
"Ah, Sumire, how are the Exams going?"
"Lord Hokage can I speak to you privately?"
"Of course." The Hokage led the way into his office. "What's wrong?"
Sumire explained about the three corpses and Anko's reaction. As soon as she mentioned her suspicions about the attacker being Orochimaru, the air grew heavier.
"We need to go to the tower," the Hokage said. "Do you mind-?"
Sumire shook her head. The Hokage grabbed her shoulder and transported both of them to the Forest of Death. They arrived in one of the rooms away from where the teams would be. Anko and a couple ANBU members were already there. Her sensei was clearly in pain from her curse mark. The Hokage immediately went over to calm it.
Anko explained how she'd confronted Orochimaru and what he'd told her. Apparently, he put a curse mark on Sasuke and then threatened to attack the village if the exams were cancelled.
Sumire bit her lip. 'Damn it. This is a no-win situation. The curse mark means Sasuke really shouldn't continue if his squad passed, but if we pull him out who knows what Orochimaru will do. Oh, I am so out of my depth.'
The Hokage stepped back. "How is it? Does the curse mark still hurt?"
"No not really. Thanks to you its much better," Anko said.
They discussed what to do about the Exams now with the appearance of Orochimaru. Ultimately, Lord Hokage decided to continue as planned while keeping an eye out for the rogue Sannin.
It turned out to be a good decision. The crop of candidates was one of the stronger ones in recent years. For the first time in five years a preliminary round would have to be held. Seven teams had passed in total, including the three rookie teams.
"First of all, congratulations on finishing the Second Exam," Anko said through her mike. All the proctors, senseis and the Hokage stood in front of the competing genin.
"I see your team didn't do too bad, Kakashi," Guy said behind her. "They must have got real lucky. Of course, with my team still around your team is doomed to failure. After all, what matters on the next test is ability we've got you far outclassed. well, I guess that part of growing up is learning to deal with heartbreak, huh Kakashi?"
"Huh, did you say something?"
Sumire snickered at her Tousan's blasé response and Guy-sensei burning up with annoyance. She was glad to see her friends had made it without getting too injured. When she looked at Kiba, she started slightly. Akamaru was curled up in his jacket, whimpering.
'What happened to you?' she wondered.
"Alright, now pay attention," Anko said. "Lord Hokage is going to explain the third exam to you. You better listen carefully, maggots! Lord Hokage, they're all yours."
He stepped forward. "First, before I tell you what the third exam entails, I want to explain something about the test itself." He told the gathered genin about the history of Chunin Exams and their true purpose.
"Now, I'm going to tell you exactly what you'll all be doing on the third exam."
Hayate shunshined over and knelt in front of their leader. "Lord Hokage, before you do, please allow me, Hayate Gekko, appointed as proctor for the third exam, to speak first."
"So be it."
"It's nice to meet you all." Hayate coughed. "There's something… I would like all of you… to do… before we can more on to the real one."
"Preliminary?!" Shikamaru cried, panicked. "Just what do you mean by that?"
"I'm sorry, sensei, excuse me," Sakura said. "But I really don't see the point. What's this preliminary about? Why can't we just move on to the third exam?"
"Uh, well you see, the first and second exams might have been too easy. The fact is, we never expected so many of you to still be here. According to the rules of the Chunin Exams a preliminary round can be held at any stage, to reduce the number of candidates remaining."
"But is that fair?" Sakura asked.
'We're shinobi, Sakura. We don't do fair.'
"It's just at this stage we have to speed things up a bit. As Lord Hokage said, a lot of important guests will be watching. We can't afford to waste their time. They've come to see only the best. So, if there are nay of you who feel you're not in top physical condition, now's your chance to…" He broke off coughing. "Sorry about that. As I was saying, if any of you don't feel up to think, now's the time for you to bow out. The preliminaries will be starting immediately."
None of the genin were particularly happy about that news and Sumire couldn't blame them. They had just spent five hellish days in a place where everything there including the other teams were out to kill them. She certainly wouldn't want to then have to fight after that.
"Oh yeah," Hayate said. "The winners will be determined by one on one combat, sudden death. So, like I said, if there's anyone who doesn't feel up to this, now's your time to raise your hand."
"It's just as I feared," the Hokage said, watching squad 7 whisper amongst themselves.
"what do we do with him?" Ibiki asked.
"We take him out of the exam, hand him over to Black Ops and let them keep him locked up," Anko said. "We have to keep that seal under control or-"
"Oh, you just think he's just going to go quietly along with all this?" Kakashi asked.
"I don't care who he is," Anko said. "If he stays, he's a danger to everyone. As he gets stronger so does the curse mark. That thing's feeding off his chakra. It's a forbidden jutsu that devours the one who bears it. It's incredible the kid's still standing. By now he should be dead. Lord Hokage-"
'Huh?' Sumire saw a familiar genin raise his hand. 'I recognize him from somewhere.'
"Ok, you got me, I'm out," he said.
"Let's see," Hayate said. "Kabuto Yakushi of Konoha, right? Oh, you can go on and step back."
"Seems to me I've seen that one before," Lord Hokage said. "if memory serves, this isn't the first time he's dropped out before a battle. What kind of game is he playing?"
"He was at my exams two years ago," Sumire said, remembering.
"Anko," Ibiki said, snapping Anko back to the present. She was the one holding the files on the genin.
"Oh right," Anko flipped through the pages. "Kabuto Yakushi. Says here he's failed six times in a row."
"What do you have on his background.?" The Hokage asked.
"His time at the Academy was not what you'd call impressive. Average grades, took him a full three tries before he passed the graduation exam. As far as the missions he's carried out since then, there's been two C-ranks and fourteen D-ranks. It's not exactly a battle record to write home about. However… there's something before his time in the Academy. Do you remember the child, the one who was found after the Battle of Kikyo Pass? The only survivor?"
"I remember the story," the Hokage said. "It was said a small boy was found among the enemy dead on the battlefield. He was barely alive and brought back by a jonin from the medical unit. You're saying this is that boy?"
"No then," Hayate said. "Does anybody else want to quit?"
The Hokage blew out a puff of smoke as Sasuke argued with his teammates again. "I'm still concerned about what Orochimaru said. Allow the boy to continue with the exam for now and we'll see what happens."
Anko started to protest, but the Hokage cut her off. "However, at the first sign of the curse mark growing or his power getting out of control you will step in and stop it."
Ibiki and eventually Anko agreed.
"Alright, then," Hayate said. "We'll now begin the preliminary round. This round will consist of one on one, individual combat at full battle intensity. This is not an exercise. There are twenty of you remaining, so that means we will need ten matches. The surviving candidates will advance to the third exam. As for the rules, there are none. You will fight until one dies or concedes defeat or is rendered physically incapable of continuing. Naturally, those who are losing are urged to concede defeat promptly to avoid a fatal outcome. Furthermore, as proctor I'm given a certain amount of leeway in judging the matches. I might occasionally intervene if a match seems hopeless to save as many lives as possible. Now its time to reveal what fate has been chosen for you."
"Open the panel," Anko said into the mike.
On the back wall an electronic board was revealed. "The names of each pair of opponents are chosen completely at random. Before each match, these names will appear on the display behind me. As there's nothing more to say, let's begin. In a moment, the names of the first two opponents will appear."
Names flashed by, ending on Yoroi Akada and Sasuke Uchiha. Hayate directed all but those two to stand on the walkway around the room.