Disclaimer: You know the drill. I don't own Naruto.
Chapter 8
Test with a Twist: Revisiting the Forest of Death!
The teams of ninja gathered in front of the Forest of Death, with their various reactions. None of them were particularly excited about going into the forest again, though they were convinced that if they did it once, they could do it again. And though they were determined to win no matter what, they still felt anxious about entering the forest. A five day life-or-death experience didn't fade out of people's minds too easily…
Genma walked to the front of them, raising his hand for silence.
"All right, everyone. If you made it here, good. Because any who aren't here as of yet are disqualified, as are their teams. It's 6:00 sharp so we're starting now." he said.
Sakura looked around. It looked like all the Leaf teams had all their people.
"This test will start today and end five days from now at midnight. The goal is simple: You will each be given one of these."
Genma held up a small copper coin on a chain.
"Each person needs three of these medals to pass into the tower." Genma said.
"So it is different from last time… where before, with the scrolls, you could get lucky and get the right set on the first team you beat, this time you have to beat at least two for sure." she thought, "They're trying to wear us out to thin the numbers more this time."
"However, defeating other teams is not the only way you can get medals." said Genma, "A limited number of them have been scattered through the forest, hidden. And also, a few Chuunin are also in the forest, and they have three medals each."
Sakura sighed in relief. So they didn't necessarily have to fight two teams, they could do any combination of finding medals, fighting teams, or fighting Chuunin. However, she was sure the medals would be well hidden, and she wasn't sure which was actually harder- defeating a Chuunin or three Genin. They'd both be a challenge, for sure.
"The Chuunin also double as a kind of rescue squad. If you get into trouble and need help, shout loud enough and a Chuunin is sure to come by and rescue you. However, this means that you're disqualified if a Chuunin has to rescue you." Genma said.
"That's really all there is to it- any questions? I mean, it's pretty straightforward… until you get in there." Genma said.
Nobody spoke.
"Good, then go to your respective gates and at my signal, enter." he said. The various teams began to disperse.
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"What do you think, Ino?" Sakura asked as they walked towards their gate.
"Isn't it obvious? We go find Shikamaru and get three from him. He's probably too lazy to really fight us, and he's the weakest out of the Chuunin anyway, being new and all." Ino said.
"Maybe so, but he's smart…" Sakura muttered.
"Either way, I'm sure we'll win!" Ino said optimistically.
"Really? Why?" Sakura asked.
"Because we're Team 10! Isn't that right, Chouji?" she replied.
Chouji grunted his affirmation in between eating chips.
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"All right, we're going to win for sure!" Kiba exclaimed as they walked to their gate.
"Why's that, Kiba?" Hinata asked.
"We're the best when it comes to scouting and searching! Our techniques will fish out those hidden medals in no time, isn't that right, Shino?" Kiba said.
Shino nodded.
"That… d-does sound like a good plan." Hinata said.
"Of course. We can take turns looking for medals and looking for enemies while the third person rests, that way we can keep up for days if we have to!" Kiba said, chuckling.
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"So, same plan as last time, right?" Tenten asked.
"Of course! Who wants to go digging around in the dirt when we can fight?" Lee said enthusiastically.
"Well, with my Byakugan we would have been able to look for the hidden ones… but he said there were only a limited number of those, so I say we just engage other teams or Chuunin for it." Neji said.
"Sounds like a plan. We did it last time, there's no way we can fail this time!" Lee exclaimed.
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The Sand Siblings walked towards their gate in silence for a long time. Finally Temari got fed up and broke the silence.
"You aren't going to kill anyone this time, right Gaara?" she asked.
Gaara shook his head.
"Do we actually have a plan?" Kankuro asked.
Gaara shrugged.
"We get those medals, one way or another." Gaara said, "It shouldn't be any trouble at all. We broke the record last time, remember? And this time we're even stronger."
"Well, unlike you two, I DO have a plan." Temari said, "And it should get us three medals easy. The other three we'll have to do something else to get though."
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"Yeah, I agree. None of us are really that good at searching. But what do you think will be easier, fighting other teams or a Chuunin?" Tamaru said.
"Probably the Chuunin. No matter how good the Chuunin is, it's still 3 on 1. We should win easy." said Raigar.
"It was 3 on 1 with Kakashi's bell test." Tamaru pointed out.
"Kakashi's a Jounin though." Raigar responded.
"True." Tamaru said.
"Well, I think that the Genin Teams will be easier." said Rasha, "They'll get careless more easily, allowing us to catch them separated or off guard. And we can all break up into 1 on 1 fighting groups and do what we do best."
"I agree with Rasha!" Tamaru said.
"Well, of course you do…" said Raigar.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Tamaru asked indignantly.
Raigar shrugged.
"You always agree with Rasha for the sake of agreeing with Rasha." he said.
"Well at least she isn't a moron like you!" Tamaru fired back.
"…Whatever. I made my point." said Raigar.
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Genma looked at his watch. It was 6:30, and all the teams had got to their gates. He raised his flare high, shooting a bright red missile high into the sky.
The gates flew open as the teams entered the Forest of Death.
After a short time, Genma followed, heading towards the tower where he would wait for the results.