Naruto != mine
~Chapter 7~
Ren Senju settled into his seat and closed his eyes, trying to focus his mind when, suddenly, he received a strange feeling, a sort of blurry, black-and white ghost-image of his surroundings, with spectral flares at the tables around him before fading. He quickly exited the meditative state, somewhat shaken, and shook his head. He decided instead to use a technique invented by the Nidaime Hokage instead. It enabled him to detect water around him, and was the first stage of the technique he used to draw water out of the air. Ren use it to 'read' the answers of a student nearby who was rapidly filling in answers by finding the higher concentration of water in the ink and translating the shape. He finished and flipped the test over and proceeded back into meditation like before, getting himself used to the sensation, and he found that Naruto was a dim glow, as was Gaara, while a few others like Tenten and Sakura were dark, which made Ren think. 'Perhaps I should look into this,' Ren thought, exiting the trance.
The hour was almost up, and everyone was finishing up their tests. Some had cracked under the pressure, others were caught cheating and their team ejected from the exam. Then came the tenth question, which made yet more buckle due to the harsh consequences if they got it wrong. However, thanks to an inspirational speech from Naruto, which made Ren smirk at his teammate's boldness and determination. The
bear-like man gave a rather out-of-character smile and revealed that the true purpose of the test was to test both the genins' information gathering and willingness to take on the unknown before removing his bandana hitai-ate. He then explained the harsh reality of shinobi life, demonstrating his scars from a field interrogation he had received. The moment was ruined however, by a window being smashed by a black object flying through it.
It turned out to be a banner, which unfurled to reveal a daringly dressed woman with purple hair in a spiky ponytail. The banner behind her read 'The sexy and single Anko Mitarashi!', and was fixed in place by kunai stabbed into the floor and ceiling. "I think you might be early, Mitarashi-san," Ren snarked from his seat in the back. Ibiki chuckled at the Senju's comment. "He's right," the bear-like man said, "You are early." "Seventy-three people passed? Are you sure that number is right?" Anko asked Ibiki. "One team has four members, and as a result there is an odd number," Ibiki responded. "Oh well, all of you report to Training Ground 44 by nine for the descend exam," she ordered before vanishing in a puff of smoke. Once Team 7 had left the classroom, Ren gestured for them to follow him and took them to a secluded area. "Grab onto my arm," he instructed before running through a few handseals. Team 7's genin vanished in a swirl of mist and a spray of water.
When they reappeared, they were outside of a massive forest surrounded by an extremely high chain link fence. "I like this place. Feels homey," Ren commented, a small smile on his face. "How?" asked Naruto, looking at him oddly. "This place is the result of my ancestor, the Shodaime's, mokuton ninjutsu running loose due to an influx of nature chakra. Apparently it reacted to his mokuton and caused the trees to grow to massive sizes, along with the animals. It gives me a sort of familiar feeling," Ren said, shrugging at the odd looks he was given by his team. Then a kunai flicked past, opening a small cut on Ren's cheek. Mitarashi Anko appeared, licking up some blood which oozed from the wound. "Hello, Mitarashi-san. Would you like some dango?" Ren asked, seemingly unpeturbed. "Sure gaki, and it's Anko-sama to you," she replied. Ren nodded and vanished in a mizu shunshin.
The next team to arrive was the Sand Siblings, who found Team 7 and the proctor for the second stage all resting and eating dango. "Ah, the Sand Siblings. Care to join us for a small snack? After all, we are allies," Ren said pleasantly, proffering a stick of dumplings, keeping a close eye on Anko. Kankuro, still a bit sore over their previous encounter, refused. Temari, however, walked forward and took the dango, taking a dumpling and tasting it. Finding that it tasted quite good, she sat down beside Ren, though she seemed somewhat nervous, seeing as Anko was devouring dango like Naruto did ramen. Ren chuckled, proceeding to continue to eat his own stick at a more sedate pace. When Anko had demolished what was available, she tried to steal some from Ren, who was quick to move it away. Enraged by his refusal to give her his dango, Anko leapt upon him, trying to get the dumplings. In the process, she ended up, much like Ino had, engaging in an unintentional kiss with the young Senju, which made him freeze up. Anko, seeing an opportunity, smirked and grabbed the dango, in the process placing her generous 'assets' in Ren's face. When she drew back, she saw the blushing Senju had a vacant look and a nosebleed.
"Oh, did the little Senju enjoy that?" Anko asked, getting very close to Ren and licking up the blood from below his nose, eliciting a reaction which she felt quite clearly. "Yes, he did," she said, the smirk becoming a near-diabolical grin. Before she could further tease Ren, though, the rest of the genin started to arrive. "We'll have to pick this up later, Ren-kun," she said, giving him a hickey on the neck before getting up and sashaying away. Ren stayed there for a few moments and watched as Anko left. Sasuke gave a small smirk, Sakura looked scandalized, and Naruto seemed downright befuddled. "What just happened?" he asked, cocking his head like a confused dog. "You'll find out when you're older," Ren said, slowly getting up from his sprawled position and giving the Uzumaki a pat on the shoulder.
"Alright, gaki, get these forms and sign them so we can get underway," Anko commanded. "What purpose does that serve?" asked a tall, buxom woman with pale blonde hair who bore a Kumo hitai-ate and a neutral facial expression. "It is a release form which states that Konoha is not liable in any way if the undersigned is killed during the exam," Ren said in a loud, clear, voice, making everyone turn to him. "Who are you?" asked the Kumo kunoichi, eyeing him with passive gray eyes. "Ren Senju, at your service, Kumo-san," Ren said, giving a small bow. "Kumo-san?" she asked, a pale blonde eyebrow raising. "I do not know your name, so I improvised," Ren responded, shrugging. "I am Samui, Senju-san," responded the Kumo-nin cooly. "A pleasure," Ren responded, bowing again, this time kissing the back of Samui's hand. "Stop trying to charm the foreigners and get your form, Senju," Anko ordered tersely. Ren smirked, saluted Anko, and gave a small wave to the Kumo-nin as he joined his team in line. He filled out his paperwork and rejoined Team 7 at their assigned gate.
"Alright, I think that we will have an additional challenge while we're in the forest. Other teams are likely to see us as a threat because of our larger size, and are therefore more likely to be hostile to us. Try to minimize risk, and let's do our best to get to the center tower as fast as possible to give us time to rest. Judging by the number of people who passed the first exam, there will be a set of preliminary fights at the end of the second stage to determine who goes on to the third round proper. We'll need some R&R to advance," Ren said in a small huddle with his teammates. Sasuke reluctantly agreed, as he saw Ren's reasoning, even though he'd like to test himself against the other teams. Sakura agreed as well, and Naruto, eager to advance, also agreed with the Senju's plan of action. Their scroll, an Earth, was given to Sasuke for safekeeping. They were led to their gate, the starting bell rung, and teams of genin from all over the Elemental Countries sped into the Forest of Death, and towards inevitable conflict.