Previously:

"!!" Naruto and Sakura said, while Sasuke narrowed his eyes at the older genin. None of them liked the idea that someone had been eavesdropping on them without their knowledge.

"Some things happened, and I'm on my way to the tower to meet up with my teammates..." Kabuto explained, returning his scrolls to his pouch.

'What…? Does that mean he collected those scrolls on his own!?' April wondered, taking care not to let her expression give too much away this time. 'It's probably more likely that his team collected their second scroll together before they were split up, but… I'm starting to get an uneasy feeling about this guy… Is he really a normal genin…?' She didn't dislike Kabuto, but she couldn't help the niggling feeling that there was something off about him.

At that moment, they were all being watched by yet another person lurking in the shadows.

"Lucky…!!" the hidden rain ninja they encountered on their first day said, narrowing his eyes at the group of leaf ninjas. It was time for some sweet payback.

Chapter 56: The Path You Should Take…!!

"You… were watching us this whole time…!?" Naruto asked Kabuto, completely taken aback by this revelation.

"Yes," Kabuto replied without apology. "Don't think badly of me... I needed to know wether or not I could trust you. There's four of you, and I'm out here on my own. To covertly hide in the shadows and gather valuable intel… even if it means spying on someone who trusted you… That's a ninja," he said, adjusting his glasses.

"…!!" Sasuke frowned. He understood what Kabuto was saying. He probably would have done the same… but that didn't mean he had to like it.

'… Hmm… Things seem complicated…' Naruto thought, a bead of sweat sliding down his face. Was it his imagination, or did things just get more tense?

"..." Sakura and April were concerned. If Kabuto could sneak up on them without them knowing, then who else might have overheard them?

"I don't dislike you…" Kabuto told them. He really wanted to see the full extent of their abilities. "You seem like you would make good allies, so… I'll tell you the path you should take."

"!" Naruto, Sakura, Sasuke, and April were all surprised by the offer.

"But… I'll tell you as we move," he said, turning to start walking in the direction of the tower. "The smoke from the fire and the smell of cooked fish can be sensed from far away. Wild beasts and enemies could be on the way." He glanced at the rain ninja's hiding spot out the corner of his eyes.

"Yes, that's right..." April said, also glancing subtly in that direction. She may not have sensed Kabuto, but someone was doing a poor job of masking their ill will towards them.

"Damn..." the rain ninja cursed, quickly fleeing the scene when he realized that he had been spotted.

The five leaf ninjas leaped from tree to tree at a great speed while keeping their eyes peeled, aiming to get to the tower as fast as possible without allowing any enemies who might be watching to get the drop on them.

"Are there really enemies left?" Sasuke asked Kabuto.

'Didn't Sakura and I already go over this…?' April thought, sweat-dropping.

"Yes, no doubt about it," Kabuto replied. "Just think about it… Do you know the smartest fighting tactic… in a large area like this jungle?"

"… Hmm…?" Sakura said.

"In an area this spread out, it can be difficult to locate or predict an enemy group's movements, but… the goal for this test is the tower, so we know everyone will have to head there eventually," April said. She was sure she knew the answer, since she had listed it as a possibility earlier, but since it didn't seem to stick the first time around, maybe helping the others reach the conclusion themselves this time, instead of just handing it to them, would be better.

"Correct. So, when there is only one day left, the easiest place to get a scroll is… near the tower," Kabuto finished.

"Oh!!" Sakura said remembering what April told them before. "I see… an ambush!!"

"…?" Naruto frowned, still processing the idea.

"..." Sasuke furrowed his brow.

"Heh," Kabuto smirked.

"So, basically, for the enemies without scrolls… the plan is to go after a team that has assembled both the Heaven and Earth Scrolls and is heading for the tower!" Sakura concluded, also frowning and furrowing her brow.

'Oh! I get it! I get!' Naruto thought excitedly. "I see!!! So there are already tons of enemies near the tower… just waiting to ambush us!! That's what you were trying to say earlier, right April!? Hah!! It's more exciting with a handicap!!"

"Yeah, that's pretty much it..." April confirmed.

"You're half correct," Kabuto said.

"Huh?" Sakura said, while April frowned.

"What would you say the remaining half is, Kabuto-san?" April asked, concerned.

He glanced sideways at her. "People I call 'collectors' that appear at this time in the test..."

"!" April furrowed her brow. She had feeling she knew where he was going with this, and she didn't like it.

"Collectors?" Sakura asked.

"Even though the tower is right in front of their eyes… the difficult test in this Forest of Death… that special situation gives birth to them..." Kabuto explained. "Basically… those who collect extra scrolls… in case they run into a strong enemy and need a gift to ensure their escape. Or those who try to receive favor and information… by delivering an extra scroll to a team from their own village. Or, those that desire to pick off more teams while at an advantage… to ensure an easier time during the third test… It goes without saying, but… these are the strong ones who are confident in their abilities… the worst possible enemies…!!"

"…!!" Sakura and Naruto said, beads of sweat sliding down their faces.

'I had a feeling that he might have accompanied us to obtain mutual protection… I guess this confirms it...' April thought.

"I see..." Sasuke said, smirking. "I finally understand why you appeared in front of us..."

"…!" Kabuto glanced at him, surprised by the statement.

"You're scared, too..." Sasuke concluded.

"… Exactly," Kabuto answered with a smile.

"!" April's eyes widened slightly in surprise. 'That… wasn't it…?' she thought, furrowing her brow slightly in confusion. She thought there was something odd about his response, but… was it just her imagination? No one else seemed bothered by it… She didn't sense any malice, so she decided to focus on the more obvious threat of the enemies that could be waiting to ambush them instead.

It was nighttime when their group stopped for a moment after the tower entered their line of sight.

"Now, we can finally see the tower," Kabuto said. "We must be careful from here on out."

"Alright!!! Let's go!!!" Naruto cheered, getting pumped.

"!!" Kabuto, April, and Sasuke furrowed their brows and immediately whipped their heads around when they sensed a threat.

"An enemy already…!?" Sakura asked, doing the same.

Naruto drew a kunai. "There!!!" he yelled, quickly throwing it in the enemy's direction.

STAB!! SKTR. SKTR. SKTR…

"!" Sasuke frowned.

"!!" Sakura, April, and Naruto gasped.

"..." Kabuto just stared.

The group of five found themselves gazing up at an enormous centipede. It had been climbing up the tree next to them when Naruto nailed its head with his kunai. It only took a few seconds for it to stop wriggling.

"Oh… It was just a centipede..." Naruto said.

"Phew..." Kabuto sighed.

"… It's huge…" April remarked, with a sort of disturbed awe, sweat-dropping. 'This forest is ridiculous…'

"Eww… That's nasty… Look at all those legs," Sakura said, grimacing in disgust. She was really glad Naruto killed it.

"At least it wasn't a bunch of the little ones..." April said.

"That big one doesn't freak you out!?" Sakura asked her, surprised. She was sure April was creeped out by bugs, too, after the way she freaked out when a bunch of spiders landed on them one time when Naruto was messing around in a tree they were sitting under while waiting for Kakashi-sensei.

"Not really," April replied calmly. The thing she didn't like was the feeling of all those tiny legs crawling on her skin. "At that point, it ceases to be a 'bug' and enters 'monster' territory, so..."

"You're saying you would rather face a monster than a bug…?" Sasuke asked skeptically.

"… Pretty much," April agreed with a straight face.

"..." Sakura sweat-dropped. She didn't know what to think of that. Their purple-haired teammate could be a little weird sometimes.

"Naruto-kun..." Kabuto said, adjusting his glasses.

"Nn?" Naruto said, looking up at him.

"I'd like to avoid unnecessary actions and noises from here on," Kabuto stated seriously. "Moving through the forest like an elephant… will only tip off our enemies… and they do not have a fun welcome party planned for us. Form this point on… let's move as slowly and safely as time allows."

"R-Right!" Naruto said nervously, wearing a grim expression after realizing the very real danger they would be in.

"Ok..." Sakura agreed.

"Yeah..." Sasuke said, furrowing his brow and frowning.

"Agreed..." April said, amazed he was able to get Naruto so quiet using only a stern tone of voice.

They walked and walked, going on and on, treading with the utmost care. As the night wore on, April furrowed her brow and frowned. She wasn't sure how long they had been walking, but it felt like hours, and everyone else was beginning to look as exhausted as she felt. Especially Sakura. Even Naruto had begun to pant, and still the tower felt as far away as ever. She was beginning to suspect foul play, when she noticed something that was definitely out of place.

"Stop!!" She said firmly, bringing everyone to a halt.

"What is it...?" Sasuke asked, furrowing his brow.

"I can't..." Sakura gasped, collapsing to her knees, panting to catch her breath.

"Sakura-chan…?!" Naruto exclaimed, quickly kneeling down to check on her, while April fell into a half kneeling position. "April, too…!?"

"How long have we been walking? Do any of you… think we're actually getting any closer to the tower?" April asked seriously, panting and furrowing her brow.

"Now that you mention it… We aren't getting closer to the tower at all..." Sakura said, frowning.

"It seems like its right in front of us… This is weird…" Naruto said, frowning in confusion.

'… That's true...' Sasuke thought, also frowning. He couldn't believe it took them this long to notice.

"..." Kabuto stared out at the distant tower with them.

"And… There's something else..." April said, the crease in her brow deepening.

"I see… It seems like… we've already arrived at our welcoming party..." He said when he spotted the second thing she was talking about. He raised his hand and pointed to a tree behind them. "That's what bothered you… Right, April-kun?"

"!!" Sasuke and Sakura's eyes widened in surprise when they followed his hand and saw what he was pointing at.

"That's… No way!!!" Naruto shouted incredulously, jabbing his own finger in the air at the disturbing sight of the same dead centipede that he had just killed, stuck to the same tree.

Kabuto smirked. 'April-kun…' he thought, once again impressed. 'To think you would notice it first...'

"I thought it was strange..." April said, frowning when her suspicions were confirmed. It seemed she and Kabuto-san were on the same page. "Even in a place like this… for there to be two dead giant centipedes pinned to trees in exactly the same position..." It was too much of a coincidence. 'They put us on a long loop to keep us from noticing, but they couldn't disguise that centipede...' she thought with a frown. It looked like asking Kakashi-sensei for extra help in identifying signs of being under the influence of a genjutsu had paid off. It was too bad she couldn't figure it out sooner, though. They just wasted a lot of precious time and energy. They had all been too focused on guarding against physical attacks to notice that they had already fallen victim to a mental one.

"Wh… What's going on?!!!" Naruto demanded, confused.

'No way!!!' Sakura thought, shocked. That meant, this whole time they thought they were walking towards the tower, they were actually…!!

"Genjutsu…?" Sasuke asked, furrowing his brow. He was amazed April had spotted that since she normally had so much trouble against it.

"Looks like it… We have completely fallen into a trap..." Kabuto agreed ruefully while April was catching her breath. "Seems like they took advantage of our worries… and made us walk around in circles."

"They are watching us..." Sasuke said.

"Yeah..." April agreed. "They probably planned to tire us out and… then use that opportunity to get us..."

"Then it's going just as they planned..." Sasuke remarked.

"So they should be about ready to attack..." Kabuto said, adjusting his glasses.

"!!" Sakura and Naruto gasped when countless enemy ninjas wearing strange black jumpsuits and rebreathers seemed to suddenly appear, crawling out of the trees and ground as if they had been born from the environment itself.

"Yeah..." Sasuke said with a smirk, getting ready to face them.

"..." April furrowed her brow and forced herself to stand, adopting a fighting stance.

"!" Sakura saw what she was doing and quickly stood up again, also getting ready.

The rain ninja from before watched them from a safe distance with his comrades, narrowing his eyes in annoyance at the purple-haired girl. He still owed her for what she did to his shoulder. He wouldn't let her blow things for him again.

"So, they've appeared..." Sasuke said, smirking.

""Hmph!! This is a perfect handicap!!" Naruto exclaimed, standing up to face their new enemy with a determined grin.