Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto in any way, shape, or form. I don't own the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy ether. So get your lawyers off my lawn.

Hidden by the Fox

Chapter 13: Last Teams Standing

The Guide has this to say on the Cult of the Biju: When the Biju first came into this world, there were some that believe they were divine beings sent to purge the world of sin. These people formed a cult that worshiped the Biju as gods. Most of the Biju found these efforts pathetic and just ignored them. However, a few, such the Kyuubi, saw the use of such obedient servants and would send them on missions they found too troublesome to do. Kyuubi also granted the cultists the summoning contract for foxes.

The cult waned as the Biju were sealed, one-by-one, until the mightiest, the Kyuubi, was sealed by the Third Hokage. The cult now is just a few scattered individuals who pray for the return of the Biju.

The tent was packed with Genin from all corners of the Elemental Countries. The Fox ninja that had passed were crowded into a small corner of the tent. "Hey, losers!" a boy with a fur lined coat and a dog on his head yelled. "I'm surprised you made it this far!"

"Be quiet, Kiba," Shino hissed to his team mate. "You are attracting unwanted attention."

"It's good to hear you six again," Kitumaru said without even looking them.

"Good to see you too, Kitumaru," Naruto replied.

"SASUKE-KUN!" Ino and Sakura screeched, as they tried to latch onto Sasuke; only to be restrained by Gaara's sand.

"Thank you," Sasuke mouthed to Gaara.

"Gaara, check out the competition," Haku ordered.

Gaara nodded and activated his Third Eye. "I see a leaf ninja. He has silver hair pulled into a pony tail, a pair of round glasses; he wears purple and has cards that contain information on the competition."

"Can you spy on what those cards say?" Hinata questioned.

"Yes," Gaara replied. "The card he has now says there are 60 teams from the Leaf, 45 from the Stone, 72 from the Mist, 59 from the Cloud, 64 from the Sand, 12 from the Waterfall, 2 from the Smoke, 13 from the Rain, 23 from the Grass, 11 from the Fox, 24 from the Snow, 7 from the Tide, 1 from the Spirit, 5 from the Moon, 7 from the Sun, and 17 from the Coral."

"Anything else?" Haku asked.

"Yes, he is showing the stats on three Leaf-nin, Shisha Uchiha, Kaimaru Hyuuga, and Zaku… Shit, he put them away."

"Alright, you worthless bunch!" a Coral Jounin yelled. He looked psycho, with blood-shot eyes and spiked hair pulled down with a bandana. "This is the second challenge of the Chunin exams! Now, before you all proceed, you are required to sign this form. This states that if you die, the Hidden Coral will not be held responsible for your death. Yes, this is the part where people start dieing! Just hand your signed forms to the Ninja at the exit, and proceed to the area where the test will take place."

The Fox Genin signed the forms and proceeded down a dirt trail to a fenced-off section of jungle. "Alright, this is Training Area 23; also known as the Red Jungle. It is within this jungle that the second test will take place. There are plenty of vicious predators in the water and the jungle. The objectives of this test are these," the Jounin said, holding up a nondescript tube made of bone. "There are 100 of these tubes hidden through out the area. They may be hidden in plain sight, they may be buried, they may be underwater, or they may be in the possession of another team. Your team needs one of these to enter the outpost in the middle of this area, or, in the case of six man teams, two. You have five days to reach the outpost."

Team 5 waited at their assigned gate. The gate then creaked open, and they took off into the jungle.

"Hinata, activate your Byakugan," Haku ordered. "See if you can see one of the tubes."

Hinata activated her Byakugan and scanned the area. "I see something at the bottom of that pond. I can't make out what it is though, but it looks like a tube."

"Great! I'll get it," Naruto said, making a hand seal. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

A shadow clone appeared and dived into the pond. Suddenly there was a thrashing in the water and a poof of smoke. "Damn," Naruto swore, as he received information from the shadow clone. "There's a crocodile in there. Haku, how far can you apply your bloodline?"

"I don't know? I've never tested the range. Why?"

"Try freezing the tube," Naruto suggested. "You might be able to float it to the surface."

"I'll try," Haku said, as he made a hand seal. The surface of the water broke and an ice block emerged. It contained a bamboo tube which was clutched by the remains of a skeletal hand.

"What do you think is in the tube?" Naruto asked.

"I don't know," Haku replied, as they dragged the ice block in and pried the lid off the tube. A piece of paper and several small packets fell out of the tube. Haku picked up the paper and examined it contents. "It's no wonder this guy was killed," Haku exclaimed. "This tube contains several packets of poison used by the Coral. It also has instructions on how to brew them and how to apply them to sebon! This is gold!"

"That's good," Sasuke answered. "But, we are no closer to finding the two tubes we need."

"Have, faith in our abilities, Sasuke," Kimimaro said. "We still have four days left to track down two tubes."

Another part of the Red Jungle

"So who are these people we are supposed to be assassinating?" a girl, with black hair, black eyes, and a shirt with a red and white fan on it, said to her team mates.

"They are Kimimaro Kaguya, Naruto Uzimaki, Hinata Hyuuga, Haku Reisui, Gaara of the Dessert, and Sasuke Uchiha. You should know this, Shisha," a boy, with long black hair, white pupliless eyes, and black kimono-like clothing, answered.

"Shut up, Kaimaru," Shisha hissed.

"Are you guys almost through yelling? We have some people to kill," Zaku asked angrily. "Why are these guys so important that Orochimaru-sama wants them assassinated anyway?"

Kaimaru groaned. "If we kill them, we deprive the Fox of two Jinchuuriki, two unique bloodlines, and we kill two renegade members of the Uchiha and Hyuuga clans. That kid, Naruto, is also the Namikage's son."

"Oh," Zaku acknowledged. "Well, let's make sure they're six feet under, in five days!"

"You got the bait?" Shisha asked.

"Yup!" Zaku held up a bone tube. The Leaf Genin took off into the trees.

Authors Note: Well that's the start of the second test.

I don't think they mention Haku's surname so I made one up.