"Talking"
'Thinking'
Jutsu/ Bijuu/ Summons
Flashbacks, Letters, and Setting
I don't own Naruto
Chapter 44: The Forest of Death
With Team 7, in the Forest of Death
"Alright Team, what's the plan?" Narumi asked her two friends when the second stage of the Chunin Exams officially started, the team not having moved too far from the gate that they had been assigned to.
"Why don't we start by seeing which of the scrolls we got?" Sasuke replied.
Narumi pulled out the scroll and handed it to Sasuke.
"Hmmm… so we got the earth scroll, huh?" Sasuke commented as he looked at the black scroll in Narumi's hand.
"We need to decide who's gonna hold on to this." Sasuke brought up.
"Hmm? Does that matter? What's so important about that anyway?" Narumi wondered.
Sasuke sighed. Looked like he'd have to explain the obvious.
"Think from the perspective of the ones seeking to take the scrolls from another team. We all know that each team of 3 has 1 scroll. So, there are a couple ways this can be handled. We can just defeat everyone on their team and look through ALL of their stuff until we find it. This is the most energy consuming, but surest way. Another method is to identify who has it, isolate them in some way, and then either defeat them or "convince" them to hand it over. Another way is to convince the whole team somehow and get them to hand their scroll over. This is least energy consuming way, but also difficult to achieve since most won't go down without a fight."
Narumi nodded as she paid attention. "Right. And?"
"So, the middle ground between the extremes, and the most feasible one is the second method I mentioned. Ambushing the person holding the scroll and taking it. Even if we can't catch them alone or by surprise and end up engaging their whole team, we could isolate them in a fight to focus on them." Sasuke continued to explain.
"Uh huh…" Narumi replied as if she knew where Sasuke was going with this, but the confused look she tried to hide on her face was evident to Sasuke's perceptive eyes.
"And that means it's important to figure out who is actually holding the scroll, Narumi." Sasuke explained as his patience started to diminish.
"Oh. Right! Of course!" Narumi replied.
"But that's something everyone knows. So, it becomes a psychological game, where teams will try to make it difficult to guess who actually has the scroll. Each team is comprised of people with different skills, talents, and capabilities. The basic and most obvious strategy is to give it to the strongest person because they're able to protect it best. But how about approaching the problem from the other direction? Give it to the weakest person because nobody will expect them to have it, in a bit of reverse psychology? Or maybe instead of deciding based on strength, you give it based on decision making? Give it to the smartest one because they'll make the best decisions. Or go for reverse psychology again and give it to the dumbest person who'll just guard it with their life? Or, regardless of what category you decide on, give it to the middle person who might fly under the radar? There are so many factors to consider."
Narumi's head was spinning from all of the factors Sasuke brought up.
"Sheesh! So many things to consider... So, what's your idea then?" She asked the Uchiha Genin.
"Not trying to brag or anything, but I think most people would assume I'm the strongest of our group, being the rookie of the year and an Uchiha."
Narumi rolled her eyes. Whatever.
"I'm saying that's what most people would think, numbskull. Not saying it's true." Sasuke told Narumi as he caught her eye roll.
"But I'm not saying it's not true either." He said with a cheeky smirk to bother her more.
"Alright, alright, whatever. You know I'll kick your butt in a fight if we REALLY fought. Just get to the point, Mr. Sakura-wanna-be."
Sasuke growled at Narumi when he was reminded of when she dyed his hair pink. It took him days and what felt like hundreds of showers to get his hair back to black. It still had a dark pink hue to it when viewed from the right angle under the sunlight.
"You really think you can beat me? All those challenges I beat you in sure tell another story, ramen-brain!"
Narumi and Sasuke glared at each other, practically snarling at each other like two dogs who had a disagreement.
"Ummm… guys?" A quiet voice called out.
"WHAT?!" the two arguing Genins yelled back as they turned to look at the voice who disrupted their argument."
"Sh-shouldn't we focus on the task at hand? We are in the middle of the Chunin Exams after all." Hinata reminded them.
"Ah. You're right. I let this stupid mountain gorilla distract me."
"Hey! I heard you clearly this time! You just called me a mountain gorilla!" Narumi shouted out angrily.
Sasuke pretended he didn't hear her. "So anyway, most people will probably think I'm the strongest of the bunch and think I'm headstrong and insist on holding the scroll. That's why I don't think I should hold on to it."
"So, how about Narumi-chan?" Hinata asked.
"Nah. She attracts way too much attention. I'm sure some people are out to get her just to shut her up. She's also headstrong and people probably expect either me or her to have the scroll." Sasuke replied.
"Hey! I heard that! I'm not that loud!" Narumi shouted, unaware of the fact that she was proving Sasuke's point.
Sasuke ignored her again.
"I think it's best if you hold on to the scroll, Hinata. You don't attract too much attention, and you're more levelheaded than me and Narumi."
Hinata looked over at Narumi to get her opinion.
Narumi rolled her eyes but nodded her approval. She had to admit Sasuke had a good point.
"Good. Now that we've decided that, we now need to decide on who'll be the leader for this mission." Sasuke brought up.
"Oooh! Pick me! Pick me!" Narumi waved her hand in the air to get their attention.
"Yeah… absolutely not." Sasuke replied.
Narumi pouted. "Hey! Why not? I make good plans! Think about that time I dyed your hair-"
"DON'T! Just stop right there. Don't remind me or I might accidentally miss with my shuriken and have it accidentally land in your back." Sasuke hissed out in a threat.
"Besides, I think I should be leader instead anyway." Sasuke continued.
"Oh really? Of course, YOU'd say that! What makes you think you'd be better suited than me anyway?" Narumi argued.
"Well to start, I'm smarter than you. Remember everything I had to explain to you earlier?" Sasuke reminded her.
Narumi sucked in her lips as she became silent. She had to concede on that point.
"Besides, I already have some ideas on how to proceed with this mission. Unless you have better ideas other than just randomly walking around and finding random people to fight."
Crap. How did that cocky bastard know that's exactly what her plan was?
"Alright then, Sasuke-chan. Let's hear what your GREAT plan is then." Narumi asked as she crossed her arms.
"Thought you'd never ask." Sasuke said with a smirk. "Now don't interrupt until I'm done talking, alright?"
Narumi rolled her eyes.
"So, we should use a column formation, with me at the front, Narumi at the center, and Hinata at the rear. I can use my Sharingan to analyze tracks or traces that may have been left behind and look for any signs of enemies who may be hiding. Hinata can use her Byakugan to look behind her even as she faces forward, so she's the perfect person to watch our backs. Narumi, you can be in the middle so you can either jump ahead or behind to quickly support either side if anything happens."
Hinata and Narumi nodded at Sasuke's plan for the formation. It seemed solid enough.
Sasuke continued. "Narumi, you could also create a bunch of clones and have them form a perimeter around us at some distance, as a form of an early warning system."
"Wouldn't seeing my clones just alert the other teams that I'm nearby?" Narumi asked.
"That's why you'll have them in a henge. Transform into random people and have them scatter all around us. If they see anything, they can dispel, giving you the general location of where the threat might be coming from. You can then tell Hinata the direction, and she can use her Byakugan to give us a more in-detail description of what's going on."
Narumi and Hinata nodded in agreement.
Huh. That was clever. Why hadn't she thought of that before? Narumi wondered.
"I was thinking we could all assume a henge as well so we can stay under the radar." Sasuke proposed.
"But what if our friends see us but don't know it's us and attack us?" Narumi asked.
"Perhaps that might be an excessive measure, Sasuke-kun. Even if they do know our identity, the other teams don't know what we are really capable of. We'll still have an element of surprise on our side." Hinata reasoned.
"Hmmm… I guess you're right. Besides, the strong ones would see through the henge anyway, and we don't really need to worry about the weak ones. Maybe we can actually use it to our advantage so they'll come to us thinking we're weak, and spare us the effort of looking for them." Sasuke admitted.
"Alrighty! Sounds good to me! That's everything right? Can we actually start now? Or are there more things we need to figure out? Captain?" Narumi said that last part sarcastically, as she asked impatiently, itching to get moving.
Sasuke caught her sarcasm, but still smirked at being called captain. The idea of having Narumi as an underling was something he would relish.
He shook his head. "Nah, we're good to go."
He turned towards the forest and began to head in deeper.
"Alright Team 7! Let's get this party started!"
With Naruto
After hearing the second stage of the Exam began in the Forest of Death, Naruto was wandering down the streets of Konoha deep in thought.
His sister was involved in a life-or-death Exam for a fast-tracked promotion to Chunin, and there was a lot on his mind. Sure, he believed in her and his team, but he couldn't help but be worried. One mistake and he could lose her.
He started thinking back on how he raised her from near infancy. He had bottle fed her himself, cleaned her, changed her diapers, and put her to sleep as if he was both her mother and father since he was 8. She had practically been his child for his whole life. Now she was on track to be promoted to Chunin, and was getting ready to leave the nest, so to speak.
Even if she didn't make Chunin, she'd still be handed over to a different sensei, most likely Kakashi, in about a month or so, as it had been decided that he would become Hokage after a short apprenticeship under Hiruzen, following the end of the Chunin Exams.
Naruto scowled at the thought. He HATED that position ever since the moment his father had been forced to choose between the village and his family. His father chose to destroy his family for the sake of the village, but the village didn't reciprocate the goodwill back to him or Narumi. And now he had to take the role of protector and leader of these backstabbing ingrates. He was expected to sacrifice everything for the sake of the village. He scoffed at the thought.
Now, Naruto didn't outright hate the village, and he would sacrifice a lot to protect the village his father gave up his life, and the happiness of his family, to save. But he also definitely did not and would not put the village above his family like the Yondaime had done. If they ever expected him to use Narumi like some caged animal to be loosed on their enemies, if they dared to deny of her dignity as a human being… he would show them that demons were not just limited to the Bijuu.
"Hey! What's with the sour face, Naruto-kun?"
"Huh?" Naruto was broken out of his brooding when a familiar face called out to him. It was Izumi.
"Sheesh. Are you trying to be like Fugaku-sama? You're gonna be competing with Sandaime-sama in wrinkles by the time you're 30 if you keep making faces like that." Izumi told Naruto as she joined him in walking.
Naruto just rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah. Whatever. What do you want?"
Izumi put a hand to her heart. "Oh my. Can't a friend just come to hang out?" She told Naruto as she feigned being hurt.
Naruto realized he was being snappy from the scenarios he was making up in his head regarding the village and Narumi. He needed to calm down. There was no need to be rude to someone who was practically family.
"Fine. My bad. What can I do for ya?" He asked Izumi in a tone he thought was more friendly, but what most others would think as cold or apathetic.
It didn't really bother Izumi though. She knew what Naruto was like. He was just a cute angry puppy who needed to be wrapped up in a blanket and be fed copious amounts of ice cream as they watched a heart-warming movie. She'd never say that to him though, being the prickly porcupine that he was.
"So! You have free time for the first time in like ages! How is it? Whatcha got planned?" She asked.
Naruto scratched the back of his head as he thought about it. Huh. Now that he thought about it, he did have the next few days off while his team competed. It had been so long since he didn't have a mission or have something planned with his team, that it was a bit awkward.
"Umm… I don't know. Maybe train? Work on some seals?" He answered back.
"Boo! That is like literally the lamest plan. That's all you ever do! You have 5 days off! Do something fun that's not related to work or training!" Izumi responded.
"Fun?" Naruto asked himself out loud. Maybe he could head down to T&I to test out one of his new interrogation seals? But that sounded too much like work, and he was not quite Anko or Ibiki. Maybe he could try to see how much Ramen he could eat? No, that was a waste of money. Sure, he was rich now, but money was meant to be spent wisely. Maybe he could spar with one of his clones? No… that was training too…
Izumi watched Naruto's face in disbelief as he tried his best to come up with something fun but failed.
"Oh my gosh. Are you really struggling this hard to think of something fun?"
"W-well you know… fun… I guess we should start by defining what fun is, and what it could mean for different people. Maybe training is fun for me? Can fun even be measured?" Naruto blabbered, trying to come up with some vague excuse and hide his embarrassment in not being able to come up with anything. Had he always been this boring of a person?
"Yeah… no. Don't try that with me, mister. Don't change the topic." Izumi snapped back.
Drat. Damn Izumi and her perceptiveness to these kinds of things.
When Naruto was left stuttering to reply, Izumi silenced him.
"Ok, it's clear that you don't know what fun means, so why don't you let me choose some things for you to do? I mean, you should go to the doctor when you're sick, and go to a smith if you need new kunai, right?"
Naruto raised an eyebrow. "So, you're saying you're the equivalent of a doctor when it comes to fun?"
Izumi nodded. "Uh huh. People love me, Naruto-kun. And it's not just because of my looks, ok?"
Naruto rolled his eyes. "Yeah yeah. Whatever. So, what's the plan for me then, Fun-sama?"
"Hehe… let's see…" Izumi began to rub her palms together gleefully, which made Naruto nervous.
"Well, I think we should start with something easy. Why don't we try some socializing? We could have a dinner with some friends." She suggested.
"Friends? You want us to have dinner together?" Naruto asked with one eyebrow raised.
"I was thinking more of a gathering of more friends… you do have more friends… right?" She asked carefully.
Naruto rubbed his chin as he began to think again. "Hmm…"
Izumi sighed. This would be the same thing as when he tried to think of something fun. She'd have to do everything here.
"Ok, friends don't have to mean like best friends. Open up your really narrow parameters. Anyone who you get along with."
"Umm… I guess I'm alright with Anko, Shizune-san, Yugao, and some of my ANBU guys?"
"Yeah… ANBU have their hands full with village security right now, including Yugao-san, and Anko is busy with proctoring the second Exam." Izumi explained. "We could start with dinner with me and Shizune-san."
Naruto nodded. "Sure. That sounds fine. I do owe her for helping out with training Hinata anyway. Maybe this is my chance to pay her back a little bit by buying the three of us dinner."
"Oooh nice! If you're trying to thank her, you need to buy her a really nice meal. I'm feeling something fancy, so I'll look for a good spot." She told Naruto.
He conceded to her points and nodded in agreement.
Izumi couldn't help but smirk. Ever since he had handed over the reins on what he should do with his free time, she had immediately begun plotting. This was the perfect opportunity to set up Shizune and Naruto, and so far, everything was going perfectly.
Naruto watched Izumi chuckle to herself creepily as she drummed the tips of her fingers together, looking like the stereotypical schemer. It didn't really inspire confidence within him.
"Ummm… what are you laughing about?" He asked nervously.
Izumi almost jumped in shock when she realized what she was doing.
"O-oh. Nothing. I just thought of a joke that I heard at work. It's not really your type of humor, so I'll spare you the details."
However, the details she was really sparing were related to the plans she had for their dinner.
Naruto wasn't really convinced but he let it slip. Izumi had always been a little strange by his standards.
As they continued to walk together, Naruto subconsciously led Izumi near the site of the second stage of the Exams as they wandered without any real destination.
Izumi pointed in the distance when she saw some familiar faces.
"You see those two? I paired them up. Aren't they so cute together?" She told Naruto as she pointed at Anko and Kakashi who were talking just outside the building where they would monitor what was going on inside the forest which was a little further away..
Naruto just shrugged. "I guess? I don't really know these kinds of things."
He was cool with minding his own business and not get involved with whatever Anko and Kakashi were talking about, but he couldn't help but overhear a bit of their conversation.
"Yeah, you don't have to worry about Team 7. I doubt there's anything some mere Genin can do to them. Didn't they already fight some Jonin in Taki or something?" Anko told Kakashi.
Kakashi was aware of Naruto's presence, so his eyes widened in fear when Anko began referring to the mission in Taki. He wasn't sure how much Naruto had heard, but he needed to shut her up now. He pulled her aside to the darker side of the building and planted his lips on hers suddenly.
Izumi didn't hear anything, but she saw the kissing going on as she passed by them.
"Whoo! Now that's a job well done by me! Good job Izumi!" She congratulated herself as she pat herself on the back.
Naruto turned away from them, uncomfortable with the public display of affection from his senpai, which was highly uncharacteristic by the way, and continued on.
He didn't really care what Kakashi or Anko did in their spare time, but something Anko said stayed on his mind. What Jonin? Was she referring to the little missing-nin rabble that attacked Taki? But they had mostly been Chunin.
"We should hang out with Shizune-san more often. She seems nice. Maybe it would be good for you to have her as a closer friend rather than just an acquaintance you get along with." Izumi told Naruto, distracting him from his thoughts.
There was definitely something he didn't know about that mission to Taki, and it piqued his curiosity, but he decided to leave it for now. For now, he had to listen to whatever it was that Izumi was saying to him.
Meanwhile, Anko wiped the saliva off of her lips with her thumb.
"Grrrr! I don't know where the hell that came from in the middle of our conversation, but frankly speaking, I don't give a shit. All I know is I want more!" Anko purred seductively as she began to nibble on his earlobes.
Kakashi sighed in relief of having dodged the bullet that was Naruto, but now he had another problem to deal with.
"If you don't follow me to the bathroom in the next 5 seconds, I'm dropping my pants right here." Anko told Kakashi.
Kakashi's mask began to grow redder and wetter around the nose.
Elsewhere, in the Forest of Death
A red-haired kunoichi suddenly stopped in her tracks while her two teammates continued to keep an eye out for somewhere to camp for the quickly approaching evening.
"Guys… we need to stop. Right now. There's something out there." She told her teammates.
"Of course there's something out there, you useless bitch. We're in the middle of a fucking forest. Now stop holding us back and help us look for some food or shelter instead of being useless as usual." One of her teammates replied rudely.
"No guys, I'm serious. This one's different. I sense several chakra signatures, and-"
"Chakra signatures? Where? How many?" The other teammate asked, cutting her off.
"Three." She replied as she pointed at the direction. "But what's more important is that-"
"Aha! Another team must be nearby! That saves us the effort of having to look for these other losers! Maybe we can get the earth scroll we need so we can head to the tower right away!" One of the kunoichi's overly confident teammates said to the other.
"Guys, I don't think that's a good idea. They seem strong. Really strong. One of them has chakra that's unlike anything I've ever seen before." She said in an effort to deter them.
"Pshhh. Whatever. You think everyone is strong because you're a pathetic kunoichi. If you couldn't sense, you'd be the most useless waste of oxygen." One of her teammates replied back.
"If you're going to be useless, at least be hot or something. Geez. I mean, do you see her hair? She looks like she just got out of bed. And those glasses? She should be in a library with the other nerds. Hurts our eyes to see her." One of the male shinobis said to the other.
The red-haired kunoichi was flabbergasted. Were they seriously talking about her appearance? Here? Now?
"Are you guys fucking stupid? I'm trying to warn you of a danger and you guys are talking about my looks?! We're in the middle of the Chunin Exams, in a fucking forest called the Forest of Death! And you're here judging me on my looks? We could seriously die!"
"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Quit your nagging and shut up. If you're so scared, you can just stay here and look for something to eat while we take care of the little Genin out there and come back with the scroll. Just know that when we get back to Kusa, we're going to tell our sensei how little you contributed to the team." One of her teammates replied back.
The kunoichi really didn't care if her idiot teammates who constantly bullied her died, and she didn't really care about being promoted to Chunin, but she definitely did NOT want to be left in this creepy forest by herself. She had to stop them.
"Seriously guys, let's look for some other team. I promise I'll try my best to look for another one. Just please, PLEASE listen to me this ONE time! Don't go!"
"And waste all that time? If we don't get the scroll now and head to the tower, we'll have to spend the night here. And I don't want to be in this damned forest for a minute longer than we have to. No thanks."
"Hey, maybe if we complete this challenge today, we could break some sort of record and get some sort of benefit for the next stage." One of the Kusa Genin said to the other as they ignored their kunoichi teammate's pleas and jumped towards the direction she sensed the chakra.
The kunoichi huffed and puffed in anger as she stomped the ground. Tears welled up in her eyes in frustration. Why wouldn't these stupid knuckleheads ever take her seriously? Just because she wasn't a combat-oriented kunoichi?
She really hated her life right now. Here she was, forced to enter the Chunin Exams to represent a village who mistreated and used her and her mother, with her idiot teammates who bullied her, had all of her opinions and suggestions ignored, and now she was left alone to fend for herself. She knew for sure she wouldn't ever see those two again, but the sweetness of never having to deal with those assholes was dulled by the reality that she now had to fend for herself in this forest crawling with danger.
And she sucked at fighting.
"Well… guess this is how I die then." She glumly told herself as she began to look for shelter like her teammates had told her to.
A shelter she'd have to use by herself.
With the red-haired kunoichi's teammates
Meanwhile, the two Kusa Genin slowed down their approach and hid themselves in the canopy above when they saw the distant figures of three other Genin.
"That must be them." One whispered to the other as he pointed to the three Genin in the distance.
"Heh. They don't look like much. You see that little runt with the red hair? He looks like he's 11-years-old or something. To think she was making a big deal about this."
"She's so annoying. Can't wait to ditch her when we become Chunin. Maybe we can get some babe on our team instead of her." One Kusa Genin said to the other.
"Speaking of babes, do you see that blonde chick? Wow. I can look at those sexy legs all day." His friend replied.
"Hehehe… why don't we spare her and take care of the other two? Perhaps we can get something in return for sparing her life." The Genin said with a lecherous look on his face.
The two Kusa Genin snuck up on the three seemingly oblivious Genin and drew their shuriken.
"Let's make this quick. One strike to cat-boy and little runt each, and then we pounce on the blonde. On three."
The two counted down to three, and silently threw their shuriken, aimed at the base of their skulls from behind.
They watched with bated breath as the shuriken got closer and closer to their targets. All seemed to be going according to plan. In a few fractions of a second, the two would drop dead, and they'd get their prize by surprise.
They were in for a shock when a wall of sand rose up to catch their shuriken.
"Wh-what? Was that some sort of Doton?" One gasped out in shock.
"B-but no one used any hand seals?" His friend stuttered out.
The red-haired boy slowly turned his head around, revealing a blood-thirsty smile that seemed to be unnaturally wide.
Neither of the Kusa Genin noticed the sand slowly gathering around them, as they pulled out their kunai as they prepared to rush the three Suna Genin.
"Idiots. Did they really think they could sneak up on us talking that loudly?" Kankuro said to Temari as he shook his head.
"They're lucky Gaara got them first before I could put these sexy legs up their ass." She replied with a scowl. She hated perverts to begin with, but perverts who had plans to have their way with her against her will? She was going to enjoy the show to come.
The two Kusa Genin nodded at each other and sprang at Gaara and Kankuro.
"While your filthy blood isn't adequate, I suppose it'll have to do for now. Sabaku Kyu (Sand Binding Coffin)!" Gaara called out as he stretched his hands out towards the two incoming Kusa nin.
It would be too late for the Kusa Genin when they realized they never stood a chance to begin with.
In the Forest of Death, with Team 7
"Wooo! This pork and mushroom ramen is SOOO good! I think eating it in the forest is actually making it taste better!" Narumi told her friends before she took another slurp of the remaining broth.
"Heh, who would expect people to be eating this kind of food in this forest?" Sasuke commented to himself before he took another bite of his pickled tomato onigiri.
Sasuke and Hinata didn't have ramen like Narumi, but they too were enjoying a delicious home cooked meal that looked out of place in the vast forest they were in, while others were desperately scrounging to find anything to eat.
The Genin of Team 7 mentally thanked their sensei for saving them from the trouble of finding, killing, and cooking their own food in this forest like the others in the Exams by giving them storage seals that would keep food as fresh as the moment they were first sealed. They had food supplies that would last them weeks with them at all times, and this stage of the Chunin Exams was the perfect time to make use of them.
Narumi had just finished up her meal and was patting her belly, humming with satisfaction, when the memories of one her scouting clones came rushing back to her.
A smile came to her face as she processed the memories. This was going to be fun.
In another part of the forest, with another team from Konoha
"I'm telling you, they went this way for sure. These broken twigs on the floor and bent blades of grass are a tell-tale sign." A Genin from one of the older teams said to his teammates.
The kunoichi of the team smirked. "Heh, amateurs. They didn't even make an effort to hide their tracks. Anyone worth their salt would have travelled on the treetops to leave less traces behind."
"It must either be one of the teams from the other villages, who are less familiar with traveling or tracking in the forest. Either that or a really inexperienced team." The leader of the team mused out loud as they continued to follow the trail.
"You think it might be one of those arrogant rookie brats?" the first Genin asked with disdain evident on his face.
"If so, they'd be easy pickings for an experienced team like us. I'd prefer coming across them rather than some of the other more experienced teams or some of the more savage teams from other villages." The leader replied.
The kunoichi pounded her fist into the palm of her other hand. "I hope it's that team with the Uchiha, Hyuuga, and that loud, annoying red-haired girl. Their whole team is so arrogant and insufferable. I'd love to tear them a new one so we can teach their arrogant bastard of a sensei a lesson like Uraya-sensei told us to."
They continued to follow their trail until their leader raised a fist to get their attention and to halt their movement.
"Quiet." He ordered. He then pointed towards the twisting roots of a tree that formed a small cave-like formation in the distance.
"Do you see the figures there? I think that's the team we were tracking."
The first Genin, who had the best eyesight out of the three, squinted his eyes to get a better look. "Heh. Looks like we're in luck! You guys remember the red-haired brat? In the first stage of the Exam?" The first Genin asked his teammates.
The kunoichi chuckled. "I won't quit! I'll never quit!" she sneered as she repeated what Narumi said in a mocking tone. "What a noob. You can tell she's never been in real trouble before."
"Well, I think I can see her red hair from here." He replied back.
"That's perfect. We're lucky we came across one of the rookie teams. It'll be an easy fight." The leader commented as he began to plan how to attack.
"Can't wait to teach them what a real, experienced shinobi is like. They were lucky, or maybe not-so-lucky, that their bastard sensei got them into these Exams undeservedly and prematurely in the first place." The kunoichi told her team.
"Let's wait and observe them for a little bit before we strike. Let's see if they show any signs of them knowing our position. They do have a Hyuuga with them after all." The leader told his team.
The team began to observe Team 7, hidden in the trees above.
"I think we should start getting ready to spend the night here. I'll go get some firewood. You guys get some water and set up camp." Sasuke told Hinata and Narumi, before he went off on his own.
"Ooooh! I'll go get the water! I needed to pee anyway! I'll go off to pee somewhere first, then go to the river and bring back some water." Narumi declared as she jumped up and dashed off somewhere.
"I-I guess I'll set up the camp then…" Hinata quietly whispered to nobody in particular.
The older Genin team observing them couldn't believe their luck. Not only did they come across one of the least experienced teams in this whole competition, but they were also still undetected by a team that had a Hyuuga, and the green rookies had foolishly split themselves up. They were basically handed to them on a silver platter.
"Wow. They must have 2 brain cells to share between the three of them collectively, because they just did the stupidest thing ever." The kunoichi commented.
"We couldn't ask for a better opening! They all split up! And left the weakest looking one behind too!" The first Genin couldn't believe what he was seeing.
The leader smiled as he drew a kunai. "This is perfect. We'll ambush the Hyuuga before the others get back. If she has the scroll, perfect. If not, we can still hold her hostage to force them to hand their scrolls over."
"If she has the scroll, let's go hunt for the other two after knocking her out, and defeat them one at a time. I'm itching to teach them a proper lesson." The kunoichi suggested.
The leader nodded. "Let's move out."
Hinata was looking around to see where it would be best to set up their tents and stay hidden, when 3 shinobi suddenly appeared around her, and one of them put a kunai to her throat.
"Eeep!" Hinata squealed out in surprise, as her hands were roughly yanked behind her back, and someone kicked the back of her knees to make her kneel.
The leader of the older Konoha Genin team leaned over with a smile on his face.
"A bare forehead huh? You must be the heiress of the oh-so-mighty Hyuuga clan. I've heard rumors of their weak, pathetic heiress. The disgrace of their clan. You're Hinata aren't you?"
Hinata whimpered in fear as she nodded. "Y-yes…"
"I'd enjoy beating you senseless to teach your arrogant sensei and clan a lesson, but I'll spare your pitiful ass if you hand over your scroll."
Hinata hung her head. "I-I can't."
The leader took the kunai at her throat from his kunoichi teammate's hand and grabbed Hinata's throat as he pressed the tip of the kunai at her throat.
"You know, I always did hate you arrogant Hyuuga. Always looking down on us civilian-born shinobi, as if you're so much better than the rest of us filthy peasants. Maybe this could be my chance to get one on you bastards without any legal repercussions."
Hinata trembled at his threat.
"I'm not in the mood to play games, Hyuuga. Hand over the scroll, or I just might give you a new hole to breathe from."
"I-I can't give you the scroll, because I-I don't have it." Hinata sniveled out.
The kunoichi patted her down to look for the scroll but couldn't find it on her.
The older Genin cursed. Now they'd have to wait for the others to come back so they can use her as a bargaining chip. No rookie hunting. At least individually. They wouldn't get to see their faces of despair as they were surrounded by older shinobi while they were isolated and alone.
"Guess we'll have to use her as a hostage then. Plan B it is." The leader said with a sigh.
A couple minutes later, Narumi showed up with several full bottles of water. "Got the water guys! Miss me much?"
The smile on her face vanished when she saw Hinata looking at her with sad eyes as she was held hostage by some older Genin.
"Hi-Hinata-chan!"
"Give us your scroll, or we'll add a new fountain to this forest. A fountain of blood."
"B-but I don't have the scroll. Sasuke has our scroll! Please, let her go!" Narumi begged.
"How can we tell you're not lying? Maybe you're just trying to buy time until the Uchiha arrives. Prove you don't have it by letting us search you. Remember, try anything funny, and the Hyuuga Clan will have to find a new heir." The leader of the older Genin told Narumi.
"Fine, you can search me. Just don't hurt Hinata-chan." Narumi replied as she surrendered herself.
The older Genin scoffed after they captured her as well. How stupid do you have to be to hand yourself over like that without a fight?
After a quick search, they soon found that she didn't have the scroll either.
"Shit. I guess the Uchiha has it then. Of course. Give it to the strongest one. Such a rookie thing to do." The other older Genin complained.
They decided to wait for the Uchiha with their two hostages.
Not too long after, Sasuke appeared with an armful of fallen branches for firewood.
He immediately dropped the firewood and pulled out several shuriken when he saw his captured teammates.
"Make one more move, and we'll kill both of your teammates." The leader told Sasuke as he stood between Narumi and Hinata, who were being held by his other two teammates.
A scowl formed on Sasuke's face. This was indeed a bad position to be in. It looked like a fight was out of the question. He would need to be diplomatic.
"Let me guess, you want our scroll?"
The leader nodded with a grin. "Heh, looks like you don't beat around the bush to waste our time. Good. Hand us the scroll without a hassle, and we'll let you guys get off easy."
Sasuke stood there in contemplation for a few seconds, before he reached into his bag to pull out a black scroll.
The three older Genin smiled as they saw the scroll.
"An earth scroll! Perfect! That's just what we needed!" The older kunoichi said with a grin.
"Good. Now throw it over to us!" The leader of the older team demanded.
Sasuke looked at the scroll in his hand, deep in thought as he contemplated what to do.
"Stop wasting our time and hurry up!" The older Genin shouted at him impatiently.
While the Genin holding Hinata was distracted, she suddenly jerked away from him, and turned to face him.
He was caught off guard by her quick and sudden movements and was unable to stop her index and middle fingers from striking his sternum.
He flinched away in fear of the legendary jyuuken, but he soon found himself completely unharmed. It didn't even hurt.
"Heh, useless Hyuuga can't even use the jyuuken properly. That did nothing!" he said in a sneer when he realized nothing happened.
Hinata surprised him by giving him a wide smile that was very uncharacteristic of her, before her hair began to grow long and turn red.
"That's because I'm not a Hyuuga, you knucklehead! I'm an Uzumaki!" the Hinata who turned into Narumi declared.
"Take them down! NOW!" The leader demanded. The situation was quickly getting out of hand.
The kunoichi holding Narumi stabbed her between her collar bone but was surprised when she simply dispelled with a puff of smoke.
It was the same for the other Genin who stabbed the Hinata-turned-Narumi in the stomach.
"What the hell? They were clones?" The Genin asked in confusion.
"But they were solid! What's going on?" The Kunoichi also wondered.
"Sh-shadow clones?" The leader of their team stammered out. "But how? That's an A-rank kinjutsu! How does some random Genin know how to use it?"
"Because we're not just some random Genin, unlike you." Sasuke said with a smirk. "And by the way, Uzumaki like to use seals." He told them as he pointed at the sternum of the Genin who had held the fake Hinata.
"Huh?" he looked down and saw a tag on his sternum that began to hiss.
The three older Genin were surprised yet again when the tag exploded, covering them in a thick cloud of smoke that they couldn't see out of.
When the smoke receded a few chaotic minutes later, they found themselves completely bound by Sasuke's ninja wire, and surrounded by Sasuke, Hinata, and Narumi.
"And that's another trap executed successfully by yours truly!" Narumi sang in triumph as she twirled around in a dramatic gesture. "Did ya guys like my acting skills?"
"You really thought you would catch us unaware? With these pathetic skills?" Sasuke sneered. "And you guys are how old? 18? 20? And this is the best you can do? Wow. You really wasted your time. Maybe you'd be better off doing something else. How about baking?"
The older, fiery kunoichi fought against her restraints in fury, but all that did was cause the ninja wire to cut into her.
"Damn you, you fucking arrogant prick! You're a dick just like your bastard sensei!"
Sasuke put a hand to his heart. "Oh my. Thank you for the compliment. You really couldn't have said a nicer thing to me."
Narumi drew her sword and put it on the leader's neck.
"How DARE you talk to Hinata-chan like that. If you weren't from Konoha, I might have just cut you right now!"
Sasuke looked at her in confusion. "Wait, we're not going to kill them?"
The three older Genin looked at them in fear for the first time. It had taken them years before their first kill, and here were some rookie Genin who weren't older than 12 talking about killing them so nonchalantly as if they had actually killed before.
Narumi punched Sasuke in the shoulder. "Sasuke! How could you even think that? Sure, they're big jerk-faces, but they're still from Konoha!"
Sasuke shrugged. "Hey, it's the Chunin Exams. People die all the time. It's expected. I'm sure they'd rather die than to be humiliated by some 12-year-olds too.
"NO! We don't mind! Please don't kill us!" The older Genin Team begged pitifully, throwing away all traces of dignity.
"No means no. You might be the leader for this mission, but I'm not gonna let you kill Konoha shinobi. That's final." Narumi said sternly.
Sasuke knew how stubborn Narumi could be, and this was not a fight worth having. Sure, he didn't particularly mind killing if he had to, but he wasn't some sick psycho who would go so far as to fight his friend so he could kill some random Genin from his own village.
"Fine. We won't kill them." Sasuke said in resignation. "Hand over your scrolls and we'll let you go."
The bound up Genin team nodded furiously as they told Sasuke where their scroll was.
"Heh, looks like we're in luck. These idiots had the heaven scroll. Now all we have to do is make it to the tower and we're done with this stupid forest that crazy snake woman loves so much." Sasuke told his team after he took the scroll from the kunoichi's pouch.
"You're letting us go now, right?" One of the bound Genin asked.
Sasuke nodded. "Alright. Let them go, Narumi."
Narumi stepped up to the three but didn't make any motions to let them free.
"Well? What are you waiting for? You said you'd let us go! Now free us!"
"I said we wouldn't kill you. I never said we wouldn't hurt you." Narumi said with a sadistic smirk that threw them, Sasuke, and Hinata off.
"Wh-what? B-but what happened to not hurting your fellow Konoha shinobi?" They asked in fear.
"Narumi?" Sasuke asked in surprise.
"You think we'd let them go unharmed after all the mean things they said about Hinata-chan? Uh-uh. Not on my watch." Narumi explained. "Hinata-chan! Come over here!"
Hinata walked over to Narumi, confused as to what was going on.
"Yes, Narumi-chan?"
"Can you believe what these butt-faces said about you? They actually think you're weak! I think you should show them what you're really capable of." Narumi told Hinata.
"I-I don't know… we already took their scroll and everything…" She replied, unsure of what to do. She turned to Sasuke to get his opinion.
"I'm with Narumi on this. I think it's important for you to do this. Not only do they need to learn not to mess with you, and to give you the proper respect you deserve, but you also need to do this for your own confidence. We'll have to fight people who are much tougher than this trash, and you need to warm up to the idea of hurting people." Sasuke replied.
"Hey! We're not trash!" The older Genin shouted out angrily.
Sasuke didn't even spare him a glance as he threw a shuriken that hit him on his Konoha hitai-ite and bounced off. It quickly reminded them of the position they were in.
"O-oh ok. Maybe we are trash. S-sorry." The bound Genin quickly apologized.
"See? I bet you could beat all of them too! Do it Hinata-chan! Teach them not to be such bullies! Show them your skills!" Narumi told Hinata.
"Yeah, because it'll prove your skill to beat up some bound-up people! Oooohh! Wow! So impressive!" The older kunoichi sneered. "Untie us and THEN let's fight! You guys got lucky catching us off guard in the first place! Unless you're too scared to fight us fairly that is!"
"Hey! You guys are much older! And it's three on one! That's not fair either!" Narumi yelled back, before Hinata stopped her.
"No. They're right. It won't mean anything and won't prove anything unless I fight them fair and square." She said in a determined voice.
She had entered to prove to her father, clan, and also herself, that she had come a long way from being an incompetent, scared, and meek little girl. She'd use this opportunity to prove herself.
Sasuke gave her an approving grin and nod. "Narumi, you heard her, untie them."
Narumi shrugged before she quickly gave 3 quick slashes that were too fast for the tied up Genin to fully perceive, and the ninja wire around them fell off.
"You luckily got us in a trap, but now we'll REALLY show you what we can do! You've made a huge mistake in underestimating us, brats!" The older kunoichi shouted out as the 3 Genin surrounded Hinata. "After we're done with her, you're next!"
Hinata calmly took her stance and activated her Byakugan. She wasn't particularly prideful of her clan's status, but she'd show them what a Hyuuga could do.
The leader started off the fight by throwing a flurry of shuriken at her, while the other two Genin ran at her while she was distracted.
Hinata stayed calm as she easily dodged the projectiles that flew at her with minimal movement, maintaining her stance to deal with the two Genin who rushed at her.
The male Genin threw a huge haymaker at her head from the back while the older girl tried to sweep at Hinata's feet with a kick.
Having 360 vision, Hinata saw everything. She calmly stepped over the kick at her feet as she leaned slightly to the left as she turned to dodge the haymaker.
In one fluid motion, she used the movement of her dodging motion to set up for a quick jyuuken jab to the male Genin's armpit that paralyzed his arm and used his own momentum to send him tumbling past her.
The older girl recovered from her kick and tried to punch Hinata's head, but Hinata quickly turned around to face her, and slapped away her arm with her left hand before closing the distance between them.
The kunoichi tried to lean back to dodge Hinata's jyuuken jab, but Hinata used her focus on her upper body against her, and instead stepped one leg between her two legs, and kicked her left leg away, causing her to lose her balance and almost fall into a split.
Hinata finished her off with a chakra-laced jab to her collar bone which took her out of the fight.
The leader of the older trio came at her with a kunai and tried to slash her, but Hinata kept a narrow stance, and used her palms and forearms to deflect all of his strikes, while delivering strikes to his arms which were slowly shutting down.
The older teen with one functioning arm screamed in fury as he threw a kunai with his other arm, but Hinata surprised everyone present when she seamlessly snatched the poorly thrown kunai out of the air and used it to stab the leader's hand holding the kunai.
She used the pause from his shock to deliver a rapid strike to his neck, causing him to cough up blood as he collapsed.
Most people would have tried to stop fighting or run away after seeing their teammates get thoroughly man-handled, but the last remaining Genin came at her with an axe kick from behind.
Hinata turned to grab the Genin's ankle on the raised leg before it gathered its full momentum and delivered a savage low kick to the outer part of the knee of the leg he was standing on, causing it to bend slightly inwards with a sickening crunch.
The teen screamed in pain as he fell to the floor, crying.
The fight lasted less than a minute and ended with 3 crying older Genin scattered on the ground around Hinata.
Sasuke and Narumi were rather surprised at Hinata's savagery in her fighting, and when the fight ended and Hinata got out of her fighting mode, she too seemed shocked at herself.
"WOW. What was that!? Looks like training with Dango-nee paid off!" Narumi said as she clapped.
"I can't lie. I always knew you could fight, but I didn't know you had… this… in you." Sasuke told Hinata.
Hinata turned to face her friends with a shocked look on her face. "Oh no! I-I didn't think it would be like this! I-I just did what Anko-sensei taught me to do a-and… It was like I was in some sort of trance!"
She hadn't intended to be so brutal with them. It was just that, after training with Anko and Naruto at her full capacity each day, she had gotten used to having opponents who could actually strike back. She wasn't used to fighting such weaklings.
"D-did I do bad?" Hinata asked her friends.
Narumi put her arm around Hinata's shoulders. "Of course not! Based on what they said they were going to do to you, and how they killed my clones when they didn't know they were clones, I'd say they got what was coming to them."
Sasuke clapped as he stepped up to Hinata. "Bravo. Now THAT was a masterclass of taijutsu. Keep it up for the other fights we'll have in these Exams, and we'll be good. Great job."
Hinata was still unsure, but she gave her friends a small smile. It faded slightly when she saw the groaning Genin on the ground behind her.
"Now we got both scrolls. Let's leave this trash behind and get to the tower." Sasuke told the team.
Right at that moment, a scream rang across the forest, causing Team 7 to instinctively turn to look in the direction the scream came from. It didn't seem too far away.
"Looks like another team got what was coming. Let's get out of here." Sasuke said.
"Wait, didn't that scream sound like, help?" Narumi asked as she tried to see if she could hear the scream again.
"PLEASE HELP ME!" the scream rang out again.
"It might be a trap, or it might just be another team getting ambushed. Either way it's not our business, and we got both scrolls. Let's go to the tower." Sasuke told Narumi.
But for some strange reason, Narumi couldn't ignore it. She felt drawn to help. The extreme desperation, sadness, and loneliness emanating from that direction didn't help.
"PLEASE! SOMEBODY! ANYBODY! HELP ME!"
"Ok, that's it I'm heading over." Narumi decided as she ran off in that direction.
"Hey! Wait! Get back here!" Sasuke called out, but Narumi was gone.
Sasuke sighed. Why did that idiot have to make things so tough for them?
"Well, we can't let our teammate go alone, now, can we?" Sasuke told Hinata, who nodded.
They ran off after Narumi, leaving the defeated older Genin behind, with a lesson well taught.
*OMAKE*
Naruto looked at his watch as he waited in front of the fancy restaurant Izumi picked out for their dinner tonight. It was 5 minutes from 6 o' clock, and there was no sign of Izumi there.
He looked around and saw people entering the restaurant, all dressed up. He felt slightly underdressed in his simple black long-sleeve and khakis, but this was about as formal as he was willing to dress for a dinner with some friends. Getting him to even dress up this much took a lot of convincing from Izumi. Something about not being allowed into the restaurant or something along those lines.
"You look different today, Naruto-san." A voice called out, causing Naruto to turn around to look behind him.
Shizune walked up to him wearing her usual black kimono attire. "I think you look nice! It's a good change from your usual attire. Unfortunately, I didn't have too much time after work to change, so I just came in my regular clothes. I hope that's alright."
Naruto shrugged. "You look fine. I'm sure it'll be ok."
"Thanks. I hope so." Shizune replied.
There was a bit of awkward silence after they nodded.
"So, I wonder when Izumi is coming. It's almost 6 now. It's almost our turn to enter." Naruto wondered out loud.
"I'm sure she'll be here soon, Naruto-san." Shizune replied.
Once again, there was an awkward silence after they nodded.
Naruto looked at his watch impatiently, waiting desperately for Izumi to come and help break up this awkward tension.
Speaking of awkward, why were things so awkward? He had talked to Shizune before, hadn't he? What did they usually talk about?
He recalled that they usually talked about training or about Team 7. Did he not have anything else? He had known this woman for years, and he never felt this awkward around her before.
"Umm… It looks like it's our turn to go in, Naruto-san." Shizune brought to Naruto's attention when the host called for their party.
"Ah. Alright. I'm sure Izumi will join us soon. Let's go in for now." Naruto told Shizune and the two of them entered.
Not too far from the entrance of the restaurant, a figure clad in a trench coat, a hat, and some big sunglasses face palmed.
"Oh my gosh. Those two are the biggest dorks in this village. Soooo awkward. Why can't they just act normal?" She wondered to herself.
A couple minutes after the two had been seated inside, she was called and she entered the restaurant separately, seated not too far from Naruto and Shizune, but still at a distance so they wouldn't notice her.
"I'm gonna have to keep an eye on you awkward babies… Come on you two, just act normal for once!" She whispered to herself as she pretended to read a newspaper as she watched them.
Ironically, she didn't know she was the strangest one in that restaurant that night.
*Author's Notes*
And that's the latest chapter of the Jinchuuriki's Brother! How did you guys like it? I was worried it would be too short, but it ended up being one of the longest chapters!
There's more action to come in the following chapters, but I just wanted to highlight the strategy aspect of Team 7 and show how they operated in this chapter.
Also, I finally started on some NaruShizu! I'll explore their relationship more with the omakes to come.
Anyway, thanks for reading once again! I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter. I hope you guys all stay safe and have a great day!
Until next time!