A/N: Again, my apologies to people who are actually following this story. Rise of the Uchiha is taking up most of my free time, of which I don't have much to begin with. But Team 10 is too awesome to ignore, so I'll keep plugging away.
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, or any of the characters in this story.
Chapter 10: Not Quite A Challenge
Shikamaru looked around the room, calculating all the while. Hundreds of genin sat at cramped, wooden desks, while the exam proctors sat on chairs ringing the walls. At the front of the room stood the intimidating Morino Ibiki.
"Everyone take one of the tests. There are nine questions on this exam, plus a tenth question you'll receive after you finish the first nine. You have an hour and a half, which is ten minutes for each question. If you're caught cheating, we deduct two points. If you get a question wrong, you lose one point. Lose enough points, and your team is done. Begin!"
Heads bowed over their papers as the genin began the first exam. Shikamaru was waiting for Ino, and she didn't disappoint him.
We're supposed to cheat, right?
Shikamaru hid a smirk. Ino had picked up on the trick right away. After all, it was kind of obvious when the normal punishment for cheating in the Academy was instant failure. The proctors wanted to see how clever the genin could be in discovering the answers for themselves.
Yes, Shikamaru answered. They do want us to cheat.
He scanned the paper quickly, running through the problems in his mind. The exam questions were well beyond what the normal genin would be able to answer, but to Shikamaru they might as well have been basic addition.
This won't be a problem, Ino. Just write down the answers I give you and relay them to Choji.
Ino tossed her ponytail over her shoulder. I'm almost insulted, she thought at Shikamaru. This is disgustingly easy.
Careful, he cautioned. There's still the tenth question, I have a feeling that one will be a little different. Ok, here's the answer to the first question…
Shikamaru began writing down the answers, followed immediately by Ino, and a few seconds later by Choji. Ten minutes after the beginning of the exam the members of Team 10 turned their exam papers over and signaled the proctors that they were finished.
The Chunin proctor that took their tests looked slightly taken aback, but he didn't say a thing.
oOoOo
Are they serious with this test? Temari thought idly as she wrote down the answers. She didn't even need to cheat for questions like this. Maybe she wouldn't get everything right, but it would be close enough. She just hoped that Gaara wouldn't get bored with the exam and start killing people. He would be unleashed on Konoha soon enough, but it didn't need to be in a room full of children.
Temari was just finishing working through the fifth problem when the first team to finish raised their hands. The pineapple-hairstyle caught her eye, and she recognized the slim genin as the one who'd turfed out the Oto shinobi before the exam started. She stopped working for a second, watching the three Konoha genin with interest.
There was something about the three of them… maybe it was the way they always seemed oriented towards each other, as if they knew instinctively where the others were. Almost as if they could communicate with each other… but that was impossible, the exam proctors would have noticed any communication devices.
Temari stifled a wince when she saw Gaara looking at the genin as well. She knew that hungry look, and it didn't bode well for pineapple-head or his friends. Gaara had been impressed by that display of strength, and for Gaara 'impressed' was more or less synomymous with 'murderous.'
She turned back to her test, willing herself to finish the questions as fast as possible. She was actually a little bit pissed that pineapple-head had managed to finish before her. Temari was used to being considered a bit of a genius in the forces of Sunagakure. The only reason she hadn't been promoted already was because Gaara needed a team to infiltrate the Chunin Exams.
Kankuro raised his hand to go to the bathroom, and left, closely followed by an exam proctor. Good, Temari thought, With Crow he'll be able to get the answers easily. While Kankuro was street-smart, and a great ally in a fight, he wouldn't have been able to get the right answers without cheating. His method wasn't very subtle, but apparently none of the exam proctors had noticed the sudden appearance of a new proctor. Temari was willing to bet that Ibiki had noticed the deception, but had let it slide because it was such a convincing disguise.
A few floating grains of sand caught Temari's eye, as they swirled around the floor and returned to Gaara's seat. Temari had been on enough missions with Gaara to know about his Third Eye, and let out a relieved sigh when she realized that Gaara was playing the game by the rules. Though unstable and ruthless, Gaara was fully as smart as Temari – at least when he was in control. He had no doubt understood that they were meant to cheat even before Temari had.
Temari turned over her paper, followed a few minutes later by Gaara. She began to look around the room, just checking out the competition while she waited for Kankuro to return. About the same time, the clumsiest of the cheaters began to lose the last of their points. Teams left the room, some crying, some secretly relieved, but most just ashamed.
Consider yourselves lucky, Temari thought at their retreating backs. You just might live a little bit longer.
It seemed as though the Konoha teams were doing fine. The team with the dog-boy, the Hyuga, and the weirdo with the sunglasses was done, and the only Konoha genin still writing was the loud, obnoxious blond kid. Temari was willing to bet he hadn't even figured out the trick, and was struggling to finish the problems on his own. Sucker.
Kankuro came back eventually, his fake proctor following close behind. He gave Temari a little wink as he sat down, and began writing down the answers nonchalantly.
When the last of the stragglers had either put down their pencils or been ejected, the room held a little under half of the genin that had began the test. The jonin proctor stood up, keeping hold of the tests.
"We will now conduct the tenth question. But first, be warned: if you get the question wrong, your team will never be able to take the Chunin Exams again. So ask yourself if you truly want to subject your teammates to that shame. If you leave now, you won't be a chunin but at least you'll be able to try again."
Temari could hear the shocked gasps that ran through the room. Everyone was weighing their chances, deciding whether they should play it safe or put their careers on the line. Temari almost laughed. Were they really too stupid to see through this mind game? Of course they could still be chunin if they got this question wrong! No shinobi village could arbitrarily decide to stop promoting their shinobi just because some scarred proctor said so. This was just a test of nerve, to see if the genin could risk their own well-being or their teammates' to accomplish a mission.
But what was so clear to Temari did not seem to be that way to other genin. Hesitant hands went up all around the room, followed by shellshocked teams leaving the exam room. Then, to Temari's complete surprise, the blond Konoha genin stood up on his desk!
"Oi, you!" the genin shouted. "I'm Uzumaki Naruto, and I say this question is a piece of crap!"
"I'm really not interested in what you have to say," Ibiki answered dryly. "The only thing you have to do is get off that desk, and decide whether or not to risk your team's chances of promotion."
"That's bullshit!" yelled Naruto. "You can't do that! And even if you can, I'll just be the first genin to become Hokage! So you might as well just give us the question. Team 7 will never give up!"
Temari thought that was going a little too far, since the pink-haired girl that was this idiot's teammate looked more than ready to give up. But apparently Naruto's courage inspired her, because she straightened, and nodded firmly.
Ibiki just stared at Naruto with a bemused expression. "That's… just fascinating. Now get off your desk before I pin you to the wall with a kunai."
Naruto slid into his chair, not altering his belligerent expression at all.
Ibiki looked around the room at the remaining genin. "Is there anyone else who's thought better of taking the tenth question?"
No one moved.
"All right then… you pass!"
Temari could have groaned. That was it? The only thing the genin had to do was decide to answer the question? What a joke. The Chunin Exams should have been held in Suna. This was a soft village, full of weaklings, Temari was convinced.
Ibiki was explaining the reasoning behind the last test, but Temari wasn't listening. She kept an eye on Gaara, trying to get a sense of how he was feeling. Would he go flying off the handle any time soon?
The crash of breaking glass brought Temari to her feet, ready to strike out against the threat. There was a puff of smoke, and then a woman in a trenchcoat appeared, next to a scroll that read, "Mitarashi Anko, Proctor for the Second Exam."
The woman wore a skintight fishnet suit underneath her trenchcoat, and had bluish-black hair pulled back in a spiky ponytail. The woman made a flashy gesture, and the scroll disappeared.
"For all those of you who can't read, I'm Anko, your proctor for the second exam. I'll take it from here, Ibiki dear."
The first exam proctor grinned back wryly. "They're all yours, Anko. Try to leave a few of them alive."
A dangerous glint came into the woman's eyes. "I can't make any promises."
Temari wanted to groan again. What was with these Konoha shinobi and theatrics? Even the jonin couldn't resist dramatic entrances and melodramatic speeches.
"All right, kittens, listen up. Meet at the entrance to Training Ground 44 tomorrow morning. We'll go over the details for the second exam then. Oh, and treat this like a mission, because it is. Some of you won't be coming back from this one."
With that, the flashy kunoichi disappeared.
Here we go, Temari thought. Let's hope this second exam gives Gaara the opportunity to blow off some steam.
oOoOo
The next morning Choji met with Shikamaru and Ino, and the three genin left for Training Ground 44. They had all taken Anko at her word, and packed as they would have for a mission. They had enough supplies to last them for a week, and were all carrying more than the usual amount of shuriken, kunai, exploding tags, and ninja wire.
"I looked up Training Ground 44 on the map of the village," Shikamaru told them as they made their way to the training ground. "It's called the Forest of Death, and it's the largest training area in Konoha. There's all kinds of dangers in there. I'm guessing the second exam will be some kind of survival test."
Ino nodded, and tightened the straps on her pack so it fit a little more securely. "Doesn't surprise me. The first exam was all mind games and paperwork. But we're shinobi, not secretaries; it makes sense that there's something more dangerous in store."
"I would have been all right with just mind games and paperwork, actually," Choji said wryly. "The name 'Forest of Death' doesn't exactly fill me with confidence."
"Come on, Choji," Ino teased, "where's your sense of adventure?"
Choji chuckled. "I lost it back when Shikamaru challenged hundreds of bloodthirsty foreign shinobi to a battle royale. Call me crazy, but that was enough adventure for me."
Shikamaru grimaced a little at the reminder. "That's a good point, Choji," he admitted. "We're going to be one of the most visible teams remaining, thanks to my… indiscretion. Let's get through this quickly, and without causing any more trouble than we already have."
"Here's hoping," Ino agreed. "But even without looking for trouble, it'll probably find us."
Please, Choji thought fervently. Let's get through this safely. Just a nice, simple jaunt through the Forest of Death. Nothing's gonna happen… right?
When Team 10 reached the training area, they found most of the other genin already assembled. Anko stood in front of an enormous chain-link fence, which was covered in signs that read 'DANGER – DO NOT ENTER.'
"I wonder if they're trying to tell us something…" Choji muttered under his breath.
Shikamaru led them over to the other two Konoha rookie teams.
"What took you so long?" Kiba hissed. "She's about to start!"
Ino scoffed. "We have plenty of time! Worry about yourself, dogbreath."
Kiba bristled and would have responded, but a kunai went sailing an inch from his nose.
"Oh, so sorry," Anko said sweetly, in a honeyed voice with a dangerous undertone. "Did I interrupt your little chat?"
Kiba shook his head furiously, his face a little green. Choji sighed. Once more, the attention of all the genin was fixed directly on the Konoha rookies. What was it that made them such a magnet for killing intent?
"Right, chicklets, pay attention! I need you all to sign these release forms."
"What for?" somebody yelled from the back of the crowd.
Anko's answering grin gave Choji chills. This lady's mood swings were definitely scary.
"In case you die, of course! You need to sign so that everyone knows it wasn't our fault if you kick the bucket."
Anko signaled the chunin proctors to go around with the release forms. Choji felt very solemn as he signed his, realizing that despite the silliness of a shinobi signing a release form the threat of death was very real.
"Think carefully before you sign," Anko said with malicious glee. "This is your last chance to turn back. Otherwise you're obligated to take the second exam, which means spending five full days in the Forest of Death. Once you're in, there's no turning back."
There were a few murmurs, but all of the assembled genin signed the release form. "How does the second exam work?" someone cried out.
Anko glared at the culprit. "Keep your shirt on, I'm getting to that! This exam will be an elimination round of sorts. Each team will receive one scroll."
Anko held up two scrolls, one gold and one brown. "These are the Heaven and Earth scrolls. There will be an equal number of scrolls. Once you enter the Forest of Death, you will have five days to obtain whichever scroll you don't have. Then, when your team has both a Heaven and an Earth scroll, you will go to the tower located in the middle of the forest. Once you enter the Tower with both scrolls the exam is over."
The implications of the test began to sink in, and from the crowd of genin there arose an increasingly distressed murmur.
"That's right, piglets," Anko laughed, "only half of the teams can pass this test. And that doesn't mean that half of the teams will pass. There are no rules about how many scrolls you can gather before you reach the Tower."
This was going to be much more intense than the first Exam, Choji realized. Here there were no rules, and the other teams would get increasingly desperate the longer the Exam went on. The only thing to do was finish as quickly as possible.
"Each team will enter the forest from one of the forty-four gates set in this fence. If one of your teammates dies, you are automatically disqualified. But even if that happens, you must spend the full five days in the woods. Is everyone ready?"
Choji could feel the tension building. No one responded, but it was obvious that everyone just wanted the Exam to start. Ame shinobi hefted their umbrellas, and Kiri teams gave their gas masks one last check. Choji himself made sure his gear was secure, and that his soldier pills were within easy reach in the front of his vest.
"Ok!" Anko shouted. "Everyone form a line and get your scroll."
Choji was shaking with nervous excitement as Shikamaru went into the covered booth. Ino gripped his arm hard.
Ready, Choji?
Choji flashed her a quick smile. Born ready.
Shikamaru walked back to join the group, and they moved a ways away from the other genin.
"We have a Heaven scroll," Shikamaru said, bringing it out but shielding it from view. "Choji, I think you should be the one to carry it."
"Are you sure?" Choji didn't want to carry the scroll if Ino would prefer to keep it.
It was Ino, and not Shikamaru, who responded. "You're the best person for the job, Choji. Your techniques leave you the most mobility, and you're the strongest fighter on our team. It should be you."
"I'll keep it safe," Choji promised.
The three genin rejoined the crowd, and were directed to the chunin proctor who would take them to their entrance.
"Every team will enter at precisely the same time," the chunin told them. "Good luck. Konoha is counting on you and the others doing well."
Choji gave the chunin a thumbs-up and his cockiest grin, trying to emulate Kiba. He didn't think it worked, though.
"In thirty seconds… twenty… ten… go!"
Rather than shoot off into the forest at breakneck speed, Team 10 entered into the trees warily. Choji took point, and Shikamaru and Ino followed a few feet behind him.
"This is possibly the safest part of the forest right now," Shikamaru said. "Once we head farther in, we can't be sure when we'll be walking into trouble."
"What should we do, then?" Choji asked, while scanning the forest ahead of him.
"We do what we have to do. Move forward, and hope we get the drop on someone. The Tower is southwest of us, so that's the direction we should take."
Choji led the way for a solid hour, making sure to look out for any of the warning signs of some of Konoha's forest-dwelling predators. The blood-sucking leeches were particularly frightening. Choji knew that the leeches provided some of the most valuable ingredients for soldier pills, so he was only too familiar with the results of a leech attack. The Akimichi foraging crews often came back with horrible scars, and in need of minor blood transfusions.
Stop!
Ino's mental shout broke into Choji's increasingly frantic thoughts about leeches, and put him and Shikamaru on high alert.
I think someone's coming from our left, Ino explained. Shikamaru pointed straight down, toward the bushes at ground level.
Choji and Ino nodded confirmation, and all three genin dropped noiselessly to the forest floor. They hid themselves in the leafy undergrowth just in time, as three genin wearing Iwa hitai-ite entered their line of sight. They jumped from branch to branch, nearing the space directly over Choji's head.
"I can't see a thing in this damn forest!" the lead genin complained. He had spiky hair and fingerless gloves. His teammates were both boys, one of whom was short and squat while the other was lanky and had sandy-blond hair.
"Yeah," agreed the lanky one. "And these bugs are getting on my nerves. I can't wait to go back to Iwa."
Shikamaru gave Ino and Choji a thumbs up, a signal which needed no interpretation. These Iwa genin were ripe for a good Team 10 smackdown.
Shikamaru says distract them, Ino told Choji mind-to-mind. He'll grab them, and I'll incapacitate them.
Got it.
Choji made two simple clones, one of Shikamaru and one of Ino, and then sent a few kunai with exploding tags straight into the air.
The Iwa genin jumped backward and shouted a few violent curses, evading the explosion and allowing Choji and his clones to run up the side of the tree and come to rest on the branch. Choji and his insubstantial allies faced off against the other genin. Saw a slight movement out of the corner of his eye, and realized that Shikamaru and Ino were already gone. They'd used the distraction provided by the explosion to reposition themselves.
"Oh, that was a mistake," the lead genin sneered. "You should have just stayed hidden in the bushes."
For answer, Choji just dispelled the clones.
"What?" the shorter genin cried out.
At that moment the shadow that had been twining around the tree trunk below them raced down the branch and took hold of all three genin. From his hiding place at the base of the tree Shikamaru jumped a step forward, and the three genin did as well. Without the branch in front of them they fell like stones tossed into a pool. Choji winced as they hit the ground twenty feet below. The crack of broken bones echoed off the trees like a gunshot.
Choji jumped from his branch and landed lightly next to his teammates. Ino was completing a set of handseals that Choji had never seen before.
"There," she said with satisfaction. Choji was astounded to see the three beaten genin suddenly fall asleep.
"Wow," he said. "Those lessons with Kurenai are really something!"
Ino waved a hand in dismissal. "Nah, that was nothing. They were already going into shock, so their minds didn't have any way of resisting the genjutsu. Good job with the shadow, Shika," she added to the third member of their team, who was rummaging around in the unconscious genin's pockets for their scroll. "Nice thinking, to walk them off the branch like that."
"No problem," Shikamaru replied absently. "Ah, here we go!" He held up the scroll triumphantly. Choji cursed inwardly when he saw the scroll had gold embroidery.
"Damn," Ino spat, "it's a Heaven scroll. What a waste."
"Not necessarily," Shikamaru said. "Maybe we can trade a team that has two Earth scrolls. Or if a Konoha team is short a Heaven scroll, we can help them out."
Choji looked at his teammate in surprise. He hadn't thought of that. Trust Shikamaru to be thinking ten steps ahead.
Ino looked like she'd suddenly remembered something. "Hey, speaking of Konoha teams…"
Shikamaru turned to her, his expression curious. "Yeah?"
"Remember that Kabuto guy? The one you saved from the Otogakure team? I forgot because we started taking the exam, but he had the strangest expression on his face when you saved him. He looked angry, murderous even. I completely forgot until you mentioned Konoha teams just now, but I thought I'd tell you. It was weird."
"Hm…" Shikamaru looked very thoughtful. Choji wished he knew what his friend was thinking.
"Thanks for letting me know," Shikamaru responded. "For now, let's forget about it. We need to focus on getting out of this forest alive. And as far as that goes, I think we handled ourselves pretty well just now. We ended it quickly and we didn't use much chakra. Just keep in mind the next team might not be that easy."
Choji jumped back up into the trees, the adrenaline still pumping through his body. Yes, that hadn't been hard, but this was just the beginning…
oOoOo
Ino followed Choji and Shikamaru, effortlessly pushing off from branches and flitting through the forest like a squirrel. It was so quiet she could almost believe they were the only human souls in this forest. Almost. Ino hadn't forgotten the rush of fear she had felt after sensing the approach of the Iwa team.
That had been Ino's first time using genjutsu in an actual battle. Sure, it had only been after Shikamaru had already incapacitated the enemy. But she'd still felt the internal jerk that accompanied a successful genjutsu, and she knew she could do it again if she needed to. Maybe not casting sleep, since that required overcoming a person's mental defenses completely. But maybe something that jumbled the sensory signals, so that Shikamaru could catch their opponents with his shadow easier.
Ino stopped daydreaming about kicking ass with genjutsu when the trees began to thin out. Team 10 reached a small stream, which had a little, wooden bridge running across it.
Shikamaru signaled Ino to open up a channel of mental communication.
Mind-to-mind only until we're past this river, Shika ordered. This looks like a good place for an ambush.
Ino relayed the order to Choji, who nodded to show that he understood.
They crossed the bridge single-file, not running but moving quickly to minimize the time they were out in the open. In a few seconds the stream was behind them, and they were in the middle of thick woods once more.
They had been walking for a minute when Shikamaru stopped suddenly.
Oh shit! Damn it, how could I not see that coming?
See what coming? Ino thought curiously. Shikamaru turned to her and shrugged.
We're trapped.
Ino looked around in confusion, but Shikamaru's words turned out to be absolutely true. On all four sides ninja wire appeared, wrapping around the trees and forming a wire cage. Ino looked up and saw wires glinting overhead, too. They were trapped.
Three genin came into view in front of them, all wearing the hitai-ite of Kumogakure. In front was a girl a few years older than Ino, whose black hair was cropped extremely short. She was flanked by two boys her own age, who looked so similar they had to be twins. Their hair was brown and hung all the way to their shoulders.
The boy on the left laughed. "Looks like we caught a few flies in our web, Atsuko."
"We sure did," the girl responded. "It was a good decision to set the trap after the river, once teams let their guard down. Light 'em up, Noboru, Noburu."
The twins spoke together, "Our pleasure."
Ino got a sinking feeling as they formed hand seals in unison. A harsh, yellow glow formed in their hands, and for a second Ino could remember another fight where she'd seen that same glow. That fight hadn't ended well for her. I HATE lightning! she thought crossly.
"Hyaa!" The twins lunged forward, striking the ninja wire with their open palms. The electricity left their hands and the wire seemed to light up, the yellow glow making the wires look like dozens of fuses burning with yellow fire. It would have been pretty, if Ino hadn't known what it meant. They were now hemmed in by a makeshift electric fence, and the wires overhead seemed to be moving rapidly closer.
"This ninja wire is specially made in Kumogakure," the kunoichi, Atsuko, said with a smile. "It can hold a charge for hours, and nothing short of wind chakra can cut it. Throw your scroll to us, and we won't fry your brains with 100,000 volts of electricity."
Shikamaru looked uneasily up at the wire over their heads. It was only yards away now, crackling with a force that would kill them instantly.
"How do we know you won't kill us once we give you our scroll?" he asked.
"You'll just have to trust us," Atsuko responded.
Shikamaru shook his head. "Not good enough. Now, Choji!" As he shouted, he threw a purple ball at the ground. A thick, purple smoke issued from the ball, and shrouded the entire area in darkness.
"Get them!" shouted the kunoichi. The twins Noburu and Noboru brought their hands down violently, causing the ceiling wires to shoot down to the ground, sending their yellow glow through the inky blackness of the smoke.
The twin on the right scratched his head. "Are they dead?"
The smoke cleared, revealing a huge hole in the ground. The members of Team 10 were nowhere to be found.
"Back!" Atsuko shouted, and wasted no time in throwing herself away from the cage. The twins leaped backward just in time, as the earth beneath their feet exploded upward with deadly force. Shikamaru, Choji, and Ino emerged from the earth, kunai at the ready.
"Good work, Choji," Shikamaru said. "You just saved our lives."
"Glad I could help," Choji answered, panting slightly. He'd had to use up quite a bit of chakra to tunnel under the cage, and had expended even more coming back up in an attempt to surprise the Kumo genin.
The two teams faced each other, twenty yards in front of the cage that was still glowing with electricity. Atsuko stepped forward, bringing her arms up in a fighting position.
"Not bad for a bunch of rookies," she spat. "But you should have taken our offer. Now we're not going to take it easy on you."
Atsuko formed seals that Ino remembered all too well. Her hands crackled with electricity, and she slid forward into a ready stance. The twins were both carrying kunai, and stepped forward to one side of the kunoichi.
Ino turned away from her opponents, and directed her comment to her teammates. "Have I told you guys how much I hate lightning? Let me take the bitch, you guys can play with Thing One and Thing Two."
Shikamaru gave Ino a hard look, then nodded. She gave him a grateful smile. Without her having to say anything, Shikamaru understood. Maybe it was childish, but this would be Ino's way of getting over their fight with the lightning-wielding kunoichi from before. If she could take down Atsuko by herself, it would be a kind of redemption. Shikamaru understood that need, and trusted her to be up to the task.
"Ok, bitch," Ino said, turning back to the Kumo kunoichi. "Want to dance?"
Ino charged at an angle, while Choji and Shikamaru ran from a different direction at the twins. The Kumo shinobi knew they were being separated, but apparently didn't care. Noboru and Noburu charged straight at Shikamaru and Choji, and Atsuko set herself and waited for Ino's rush.
Ino closed the distance with Atsuko, and led with a right hook. Atsuko brought her left hand up to block, but Ino never made contact. Instead, she ducked and rolled to the right, carrying her away from the girl. Before she even stopped moving forward Ino grabbed two kunai from her pack and threw them backwards. With her back turned, Ino performed a quick set of hand seals. She turned around just in time to see Atsuko dodge the kunai effortlessly.
"Ha!" scoffed the older girl. "Scared to fight me up close?"
"Duh," Ino said scornfully. "Do I look stupid? One block from those lighting-hands and I'd be unconscious. I only charged you so I could get close enough to release my nerve gas poison."
Atsuko's mouth dropped. Ino gave what she hoped was an evil grin.
"That's right. Do you smell it yet? It should smell like flowers. Roses, in fact." In reality, the smell was actually only roses. It was the first genjutsu that Ino had mastered, since she had practiced in her parents' flower shop.
"Pretty soon the second stage should set in," Ino commented, making a second set of handsigns behind her back. Hopefully the other genin was too worried about the 'poison' to notice. "The second stage is when the poison reaches your brain, and scrambles up the signals it's sending."
Ino's second genjutsu took hold, which blocked the signals from the inner ear to the brain. The result was temporary nausea, vertigo, dizziness, and disorientation. The effects weren't even close to what real nerve agents produced, but Atsuko was too scared to think logically. She sank to her knees and retched into the grass. Ino took out a third kunai, and flipped it into the air. She caught it by the tip and sent it shooting toward the older kunoichi's head. The handle made solid contact with her skull, and Atsuko sank to the ground, unconscious.
Meanwhile, Choji and Shikamaru drew closer to the Kumo twins. Right before they closed the distance, Shikamaru jumped back and sent his shadow out in two prongs towards his opponents. The twins tried to change direction, but they weren't quick enough. The shadow rooted them to the ground, and Choji reached them a second later. He bludgeoned the unresisting genin into unconsciousness.
Shikamaru broke off the jutsu and walked over to Ino. He didn't say anything, just nodded. Ino felt a warm swell of pride rush through her. She was no longer the weak link.
Shikamaru bent down over the fallen kunoichi, and rifled through her belt pouch. When he found the scroll he whistled appreciatively. "Ladies and gentlemen, we have an earth scroll!"
Ino let out a sigh of relief. Now they wouldn't have to find yet another team to fight.
Choji walked over to join them, stretching out his hand. "Damn, I think I broke my hand on that guy's face. Hey, did we get the right scroll?"
"Hell yes we did," Ino crowed. "We rock!"
Shikamaru winced. "Let's rock quietly, and let's do it on the way to the Tower. We're only a few hours away, so with luck there won't be any teams lying in wait closer in. But still…"
Choji and Ino chimed in, "…be careful!"
They set off toward the Tower, and it seemed their luck was with them. They reached the imposing structure without any trouble, and knocked on the front door. When nothing happened, Ino began to get frustrated.
"What the hell is the point of telling us to come to the stupid Tower when they just leave us here?"
Shikamaru shook his head, and gestured for Choji to give him one of their Heaven scrolls. He opened both of the scrolls with a snap. There was a puff of smoke, and then Asuma-sensei was standing in front of them.
"Oh," Ino said sheepishly. "I didn't think of that."
Asuma grinned broadly at the three genin. "Great work, guys! You're the first team to finish. I knew you could do it!"
Shikamaru looked around the forest uneasily. "Great, so are we done? I'd like to get inside before more people show up."
"Absolutely, one open door coming right up!" Asuma clapped his hands, and the gigantic door swung inward with an alarming creak. "Follow me, guys. I'll take you somewhere where you can rest. The preliminaries won't be for another four days, so you'll have some down time to train."
Team 10 followed their sensei into the Tower, their footsteps echoing loudly on the stone floor. The door swung shut in their wake, making a resounding crash. Then silence reigned once again in the Forest of Death.
A/N: A lot of canon rehash in this chapter, I know, but I hope the fight scenes made up for it somewhat. Things are going to diverge more and more from here on out, and the pace won't slow down until the story is over. Review, review, review!